Oh, my gosh, you guys! I'm so sorry! I've just been so busy with fencing, and I had to be a counseler at a camp for little kids where they're trying to learn how to fence, and it's all too much for one 15-year-old! But don't worry, I'm spending all night and all day tomorrow writing the next chapters! Good thing I don't have a social life! It was also very hard writing this chapter, and you'll see why! Enjoy!
Chapter 7
"Is it supposed to be talking?" whispered Jeremy as we sat next to each other on the Knight bus, Damon in the seat behind us.
"Shh!" I hushed my younger brother as our seats shuffled around the bus, not bolted to the floor. "How much longer til we reach King's Cross Station, Ernie?" I shouted at the driver over the rambling the shrunken head was doing.
"10 seconds!" he bellowed back.
"Yeah, right," I heard Damon mutter.
"He's serious," I informed my vampire boyfriend. He started to roll his eyes, but Ernie immediately kicked the bus into warp speed, and, in the time promised, we were parked in front of King's Cross Station.
As both Damon and Jeremy stared out the window in shock, I rose from my unstable seat, and stepped off the bus, bag over my shoulder, thanking the Knight bus driver for the lift, handing him a sickle. We'd already stopped at the newly renovated Gringotts, so money was no issue.
"You're very welcome, Miss Potter," he answered back with a toothy grin. I winced at the mention of my former last name, and Damon and Jeremy, now off the bus along side me, noticed. My expression, however, signaled them to ignore it.
I led them through the station, much dirtier than it was when I saw it during death, and to the gateway to Platform 9 ¾. It was there that I handed them each a train ticket for the Hogwarts express. Since it was the early morning of graduation day, the express was up and running, seeing as many parents were now visiting Hogwarts.
Eyeing his ticket, Damon said, "Brooke, this can't be right. I'm looking around, and there's no such thing as a Platform 9 ¾."
I smiled knowingly, remembering the same words I'd said to Hagrid nearly eight years ago. "That's because we aren't quite there yet." I took a step back from the solid brick wall, and then told them, "We have t run straight through the wall. Be sure to get a running start." Just as they began to protest, claiming I'd lost my mind and that I'd break my skull open, I charged straight at the wall, eyes closed. When they opened, I was in my comfort zone: surrounded by people tossing magic around like cheap wine.
Out of nowhere, Damon and Jeremy appeared behind me, still in shock over the 'walking through walls' concept. I laughed whimsically. "C'mon, or we'll miss the train!" I announced, grabbing both their hands and dragging them onto the Hogwarts express behind me. We quickly found an empty compartment, where, once we were settled, I explained to them what t expect from the wondrous School of witchcraft and wizardry. I could only hope it was as glorious as I had once known it to be before the war.
After that, I left to use the restroom to change while they did the same in the compartment. We had to look nice. It was a graduation ceremony after all. After slipping on a strapless pink cocktail dress and a pair of black slightly-heeled sandals, I combed out my now flat-ironed raven hair, and then applied some natural looking makeup around my bright green eyes, as well as a thin layer of rosy pink lip-gloss. Collecting my belongings in the restroom, I left, making my way back to the compartment where Damon and Jeremy had finished changing into their suits. I stored the pouch I was carrying into my luggage back, and then sat down, telling both my boys to get some sleep, just before doing so myself.
~stoppingtosmellroses~
A few hours later, when the train reached Hogwarts, Damon, Jeremy, and I stepped off the train and made our way through the bustling crowd of magical parents. We separated from them by standing off to the side in the courtyard while they all made their way towards the Great Hall, where the ceremony would be held.
"We'll wait here for a little while, or until the crowd calms down." Both Damon and Jeremy nodded at my statement, and we did so. After a few minutes, the population of loved ones of the Hogwarts students decreased, and a young redheaded witch dressed in her school robes appeared, apparently making her way towards the Great Hall as well. That was, until her eyes landed on mine.
"Brooke?" she spoke, barely audible. Tears filled my eyes, as they did in hers as well, and I nodded slightly. Before I knew it, Ginny, my wonderful best friend, the sister I'd never had, was charging at me across the stone. Embracing me, she gasped out, "Hermione told me that she'd run into you, and that you were alive, but that was it!" She then pulled away from me, grasping my shoulders, coldly staring at me at eye-level (due to the high heels she wore), and shrieked, "I started to think you were dead! You bitch! You couldn't answer one bloody letter?!" Anger claimed her face.
My hand shot up to stroke her ginger hair, and she immediately calmed down, her face relaxing. "I'm sorry," I said, "But I kinda got involved in a bunch of vampire drama."
She stared at me in awe. "Seriously?"
Taking a step back from her and breathing heavily, I introduced her to my two traveling companions. "Ginny, this is my younger brother, Jeremy, and this is my boyfriend, Damon. He's a vampire." I gestured to Jeremy, then Damon. They both smiled at Ginny.
Ginny's jaw dropped. I quickly added. "Oh yeah, and I found out I was adopted, hence the brother."
After a few moments, she finally mustered a response. "You don't sound English."
I busted out in laughter. It wasn't long before she joined me. "That's all you have to say?! I tell you that my parentage was a lie, and that I'm dating a vampire, and the only thing you process is that I don't sound English?!" She nodded through her hysteria. "I've been living in America for a year, so my accent's changed."
We went silent for a few moments, staring at each other. It wasn't until Jeremy awkwardly coughed behind me that we both chuckled. Ginny then smacked her own forehead, and said, "Oh, blimey! I almost forgot! It's time for graduation! Which reminds me, thank you for coming." She pulled me into another hug.
After squeezing her lightly, I said, turning back to the two men behind me, "Alright, time to go see my best friend graduate." With that, we all made our way towards the doors of the Great Hall. Ginny and I walked, arms linked, and Damon and Jeremy kept up behind us.
As we walked on, Ginny spoke up. "So, you haven't seen anyone, albeit Hermione, in a year. My mum is gonna be pissed," she warned.
I sighed regretfully. "Let's put it this way, Ginny. You're mum is the last person I'm worried about seeing. And I really am sorry for never writing back."
Unhooking her arm from mine and rubbing her newly freed hand over my shoulder, she said, "You're safe, which is an extremely rare thing, considering the way Hermione spoke of you, so don't worry about my brother. Just focus on my gorgeous face!" She grinned like she was Gilderoy Lockhart in coordination with her sarcasm.
I laughed at her remark. "Will do. And, hey, just because it's your special day, I'll save the drama until after the ceremony. But only because I love you." I smiled.
She chuckled in return, and then demanded that I tell her all about my vampire-esque adventures in the past year when I share a room with her that night.
"Oh, Gin, that's so nice of you to offer us the Burrow to stay at, but we were just going to rent a space at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Pfft, as if I'd let you sleep there. Besides, I also need to here all the juicy details about this immortal romance you're engaged in," she added with a wink at me.
Damon smirked when I looked over my shoulder at him. "Fine," I agreed, "But not for too long. We're here on a certain agenda."
Satisfied, she nodded, and then she pushed open the massive door to the hall. The four of us entered, and I was overwhelmed by familiar faces. Mixed within the crowd was Neville Longbottom, whom Ginny said was here to see his girlfriend, Luna Lovegood (who I also spotted nearby him) graduate. I noticed many of my old professors, ushering families to seats. They included McGonagall, Slughorn, Sprout, Flitwick, and Trelawney. Headmistress McGonagall's eyes met mine briefly, she smiled a truly happy smile, and began hastening towards me. When she reached me, she enveloped me in a monstrous hug.
"Potter, how have you been?"
Ignoring her calling me Potter, I told her I couldn't complain (sarcastically, of course), and when she was summoned by a frustrated Flitwick, she told me we'd catch up later, before turning away.
"Oh, Ginny, darling, there you are!" I heard Molly Weasley bellow over the crowd. She and her family made their way to Ginny. And when I say 'family,' I mean the whole damn ginger clan, with the exception of a certain twin. George, to be exact.
During my short conversation with my old Professor, I'd drifted slightly away from Ginny, Damon, and Jeremy. I was now somewhat behind my redheaded friend, where none of her family members quite noticed me.
"I've missed you all so much since last holiday!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around Arthur and Molly. "And look who's here!"
This was it. I was facing the closest thing I'd had to a family for the first time after nearly a year of no contact. They were gonna be so pissed. Hopefully no one would cry. I didn't want to deal with that. Not with everything I'd had going on lately.
Ginny turned, grabbed my arm, and spun me towards her family.
Here we go.
Before I could say, "Merlin's beard," I was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by Molly Weasley.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley-," I began, but was cut off.
"Brooke, you naughty girl! How could you leave for a year, and not tell ME where you were going?!" she demanded, pulling out of the embrace. "You said it'd only be a little while, and here we are, a year later! Where have you been living?! And WHAT have you been eating?! You're even skinnier than I remember, if that's possible!" She stared at me for a few more moments, expecting answers, but I was speechless. Then, droplets of water fell from my eyelids. Wasn't I the one who'd hoped there'd be no crying?
"Mrs. Weasley, you have no idea how much I've missed you," I squeaked.
"Oh, my dear," she poke back, then pulled me down for a kiss on the top of my head like she always did. It reminded me how much I'd yearned for a mother figure in the past year. I had Jenna, or at least, used to, but she was more like a sister. I'd replayed the memory of my mother's spirit in the Forbidden Forest, and reminisced over my scarce time with Miranda. As for Isobel, she was just a sick reminder that I would never have a loving mother. But Mrs. Weasley's warmth quickly contradicted that.
After she released my head, Molly stepped out of the way, and I was practically mauled by her children. Fred wrapped me in an inescapable bear hug, lifting me off my feet, Ron shouted, "Where the bloody hell have you been?!," and Mr. Weasley asked something about ever finding out about the function of a rubber duck. I answered each question briefly, for the ceremony was starting in minutes, and explained to them all that I'd catch them up on my whereabouts later on. I introduced them to Jeremy and Damon, who were getting much too fidgety at this point, and we all started making our way to our seats.
When we reached the bench where our large group would be seated, I shuffled towards Fred, and mouthed to him, "Where's George?"
He was about to answer, but then shut his mouth when he spotted someone over my shoulder making his way towards us. Fred then looked back at me, his eyes almost saying, "Get ready."
When George reached the two of us (seeing as the rest of our group was already seated), he began saying, "Sorry I took so long. Slughorn needed help with one of the students who got transfigured into a warthog during a prank, so I-," but he stopped talking as soon as his eyes fell on me. As we stared at each other for what felt like forever, I saw every emotion in existence flash through his blue orbs. Hurt, anger, love, confusion.
My mouth hung slightly open, and as hard as I tried to say something, anything, I couldn't muster a squeak. Fred's voice, after a few painfully slow moments, eased the tension.
"Well…this is awkward. The ceremony's starting, so you two can have your lover's quarrel later." I saw George shoot his brother a pissed off look. I'd never seen either of them even slightly angry at each other. I didn't like it.
After a moment of hesitation, George and I followed Fred to the bench where our party was seated. On the short walk there, I slowly began to feel more and more sick. I felt absolutely horrible seeing George. I felt slightly guilty, but for George? No. For Damon, because the moment I'd seen George, butterflies appeared in my stomach, like they had every time my boyfriend walked into the room for over 3 years.
I took my seat on a bench between Damon, whom Jeremy sat on the other side of, and Fred. You could guess who sat on the other side of him.
Throughout the ceremony, George and I stole glances at each other each time Fred leaned forward. We said nothing, but just stared at each other for moments at a time. I think the only time I actually paid attention to the ceremony was when Ginny and Luna were called up to the stage. Besides that, I was trapped in my thoughts. I didn't even realize when the ceremony ended until Damon had crouched down in front of me and took my face in his hands.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.
I nodded, pulling his hands away and standing up. "Let's go."
~stoppingtosmellroses~
Once we'd all made our way outside the walls of Hogwarts, we each apparated to the Weasley residence, where a small party for Ginny was being held. Each Weasley, and Hermione, had taken a seat somewhere in the living room. It was then that I began my story, starting with the moment that I'd found my birth certificate at the Dursley's. Everyone sat there and listened attentively, Hermione nodded as if my life were a book she'd read before. However, when I got to the part where Klaus kidnapped and sacrificed me right after she'd left, she went berserk, but then recovered when she grasped the concept that I was alive and well.
I finished the story with, "Oh, and I can only stay for a few days, since we have a lead on Stefan leaving murders lying around somewhere in Scotland."
They all stared at me like I had three heads. The tension in the silence that had filled the room was too thick to be cut with a knife. Nodding my head awkwardly, I decided that now would be a good time to let them think it all over themselves. "I'm just gonna go for a walk now." With that, I turned to walk out the door. When I did, Damon and Jeremy began to stand, but I stopped them, signaling them to stay behind with my hand. They both nodded, and sat down in their seats. Ginny then waltzed over to the both of them, and, as I exited the room, I could hear her say to Jeremy, "So, I get that Damon's taken, but what about you?"
I chuckled at my friend's question as I paced around the garden, wondering how I would handle Damon around the Burrow for the next few days. He'd nearly blown up listening to the Hogwarts school song, so how would he manage the hectic and upbeat burrow?
I should have let him bring some scotch.
Looking up into the sky, I could see the stars reveal themselves from behind clouds. It was dusk now, and after a long day of travel, I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. I sighed in exhaustion.
"Long day?" spoke a deep voice behind me. I turned my head slightly to face its owner, and George looked up at the sky, stepping beside me.
"Long year," I answered. "How are they handling the news in there?"
He chuckled. "Ginny's obsessing over your brother. He doesn't appear to have a problem with it. Ron's asking Fred, 'So, does that mean she's a vampire, too?' and Fred's just rolling his eyes. Hermione's having a nice chat with your vampire friend, Damon. The others are just staring at each other."
I turned to look at him. "And you? How are you handling all of this?"
He sighed. "Honestly, I'm pissed. You leave for a year, and then come back like nothing happened? I get that you've been busy, but how hard is it to write a letter?"
I took a deep breath before answering him. "I know, and I'm sorry. I meant to start writing again after Hermione visited, but I kinda died, and after that I thought Damon was really sick, so I was freaking out and-."
"Why would you be freaking out over Damon being sick?" George cut in. "I thought his brother was your best friend and all."
Oh, Merlin. I completely forgot to mention that I was with Damon.
"When you walked out, Gin said something about him being taken," George went on. I winced, knowing where this was going. "You didn't mention who he was with."
"George, I…" I started, but I couldn't go on. I just stared at him, hoping he'd figure it out so I wouldn't have to painfully explain. And, eventually, he caught on. It was just as painful.
"Wait, him and you?" he asked in disbelief. I nodded slightly.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you thought I'd come back and we could just, well, you know," I tried to apologize.
It did nothing. "Are you serious?" George questioned. "You say you'll only be gone for a little while, you kiss me goodbye, and then you leave for a year! Do you have any idea how lonely it's felt around here?"
"Lonely?" That hit a nerve. "Let's get something straight, you don't know the meaning of the word, lonely, until you've been in my shoes!" And it was right about then when, not only did I set into Drill Sergeant Brooke mode, but George fell into angry ginger mode.
"Yes, I get it! We all get it!" he snapped back, throwing his arms in the air. "You've lost so many people you care about! And I'm sorry because you don't deserve that! But that still doesn't give you the right to act like no one else has feelings!" He turned to stomp away.
Oh, no, you don't, you git.
I immediately shot a miniscule spell at the back of his head. After feeling the apparent ping, he spun around to face me.
"Did you really just zap me?" he asked in shock.
"Maybe," I spoke indifferently with a shrug.
"You are so immature." With that, he turned to walk away once more. So I did it again. Bad choice. Due to the fact that that was what started the all-out zapping war.
George immediately turned to face me again, pulling his wand out of his back pocket, and shouted, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" He then shot a zap at me. Mayhem ensued.
Have you ever had a poking war with a friend? Or contiously shot rubberbands at each other? Maybe even get into a slight wrestling match? Well, this was the magical version of that.
I'm not entirely sure how long our angry little scuffle of zapping went on for, but it wasn't long before Mrs. Weasley came running outside, stepping in between us, and screaming at us both for using magic so irresponsibly.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!" she shouted after taking away my wand (which I had begun to use) and then George's. "You're supoosed to be family, one way or the other! Yes, George, Brooke has a new boyfriend, but that doesn't give you the right to go zapping her." I smirked triumphantly, until Molly spun around to face me. "And you, Brooke Potter!" She stuck a finger in my face.
"Gilbert," I muttered benath my breath, staring at the fancy shoes I hadn't bothered to take off.
Molly sighed at my comment, dropping her bony finger. She took a step closer to me. "Brooke, we all understand what's happened to you, whether it be before or after the war. And I'm so happy you found a family. I'm also terribly sorry that they were taken from you so quickly. But please remember that we're your family, too, and that means that it was uncalled for to ignore us for so long." I nodded, not meeting her eyes. She took a step back.
"Now, hug it out the Weasley way, you two."
I looked up to find that George had turned a shade of a red out of embarrassment, as had I.
"Mum, I don't think that a very good idea-," he began, but Molly held a hand up. We both knew she would get what she wanted.
Hesitantly, we both stepped towards each other, and hugged each other in what was most probably the most awkward moment of my life. At least, it was, up until I wrapped my arms around George's torso, burying my face in his chest, and he began to stroke my hair. I'm pretty sure we both forgot about his mum, and, apparently, everyone else who had been watching the two of us from the open kitchen window since we had begun screaming at each other.
Remember what I said about the hug being the most awkward moment of my life? Scratch that. Pulling away from George after a hug like that to face my little brother and boyfriend was worse. I watched as Jeremy suddenly went tense, not entirely sure as to what was going on, but figured something was up. He turned to ask Damon, but shut his open mouth when Damon sent an icy glare in George's direction. Needless to say, Jer figured out the situation.
And then, of course, Fred, being the ever so suave and smooth talker that he was, cut the tension by speaking. "Well that wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be. I need to stop watching so much muggle daytime TV dramas."
Just as I opened my mouth to tell him to shut it, screaming was heard from the pitch-black sky. As it continued to grow louder, or closer, perhaps, everyone made their way outside the burrow to where George, Mrs. Weasley, and I were standing.
"What the hell is going on, Brooke?" Jeremy whispered in my ear.
I couldn't answer though. I was speechless, as was every person in the area, with the exception of Damon and Jeremy. Damon's pissed off state faded into a look of concern for me.
"Impossible," I whispered to myself, because what I then saw appear in the sky should have been impossible. What I saw appear in the sky was the dark mark, followed my blinking lights of wands, and shrieking dark figures moving towards us on brooms.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN!
Return of the death eaters, perhaps? We'll see, and please feel free to give me any suggestions as to what you want to happen next.
