Hi guys, I'm so sorry this chapter was like a month late! I went to Harry Potter World-the Butterbeer was amazing! I loved the place. :D
Savvygurl101LunaRachel: Haha, thanks. Disclaimers get pretty boring (: And sorry about Draco, it's hard to keep him in character while drawing him and Levina together. Um, I don't think the plan with Harry and Sirius ever fell through, it never really mentioned it in the book. Anyways, thanks.
Flyingwerecats: Rita Skeeter deserves to die indeed. Poor Levina and Hermione!
Silvermoony77: Yeah, darn those howlers. And thanks, I was hoping to add more Levina/Draco moments. Haha well that's a lot of explanation behind your penname! I just chose mine because my friends call me crazy. Haha (:
Disclaimer: AVADA KEDAVRA! ...Just kidding. Why would I kill my loyal fans? Oh, and the killing curse is from Harry Potter, so I don't own it.
Exams were slowly killing Levina.
Book after book was dropped into Levina's arms, and every other class was an exam, one after another.
To make matters worse, Draco had stopped playing with her mind and had begun tripping her in the hallway again. Once she even skidded and bowled over four sixth-years.
"I hate you," she muttered to him out of the corner of her mouth every chance she got.
When the day of the third task arrived, Levina could just about feel herself ready to explode from her schoolwork. Exhausted, she trudged to lunch with armfulls of books and, to her surprise, she found that the Weasley family was there.
"What are you lot doing here?" said Levina happily.
"Come to watch the third task," said Bill, shaking her hand. "Good to see you, Levina. Did you get taller?"
"What, since the beginning of the year?" said Levina, sliding into one of the seats.
"Yeah, maybe half an inch."
Hermione was already sitting down with Harry and Ron on the opposite side of the table. Hermione looked sour, having been searching stuff on Rita Skeeter all morning.
"Hello, Hermione, Levina," said Mrs. Weasley stiffly.
"Hello," said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on her face.
"Hi," said Levina, frowning slightly.
Harry looked between the three of them, then said, "Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione and Levina were never my girlfriends."
"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No-of course I didn't!"
But she became considerably warmer towards them after that.
"So, how have you been, Levina?" said Bill, grinning at his mother as she hastily tried to act kinder towards Hermione.
"Good, how about you?"
"Same here. Work's been a little much, but I'll live."
Levina could see over Bill's shoulder, Fleur was watching him with interest. Was she...checking him out? She laughed to herself.
Levina, Hermione, Ron, and Destiny went up to the Owlery before the final task. Destiny folded up a letter for her father back home and passed it to Celeste, who nipped her affectionately before taking off.
"Wasn't Celeste your mum's name?" said Levina as Celeste flapped off across the sky.
"Yes," said Destiny. "I named Celeste after her."
"That's sweet," said Hermione. "How did you get her? They're supposed to be a very rare species-"
"Eric got her for me on my tenth birthday," said Destiny. "He said she reminded him of me, the way she acts sometimes."
"But, how did he get her? Or afford, for that matter?" said Hermione.
"Some street venders in Romania were selling them," said Destiny. "Price wise..." Destiny glanced at Ron nervously, as if afraid to say anything in front of him.
Ron checked his watch. "The task is in ten minutes," he said, looking up at the sky and acting as though he hadn't heard anything Destiny had said.
"We better get going," said Hermione.
"Let me finish my letter," said Levina.
"Who are you writing to?" said Ron.
"Lupin," said Levina. "He was supposed to send me a new book last week...I wonder if he's busy with other stuff? I feel bad about bothering him..."
"Don't," said Hermione, "if you need to contact him, you should."
Levina attatched her letter to Athena and sent her off. "All right, let's go."
By the time they had arrived at the arena around dusk, Harry was looking extremely pale. Levina had tried offering him words of encouragement, but he merely shrugged them off.
"You'll do fine," said Levina.
"Yeah," said Harry, looking off into the distance with an off-look.
He was sent off with the other champions while Levina, Destiny, Hermione, and Ron filed into the stands. The Quidditch field had been magicked so that a huge maze surrounded it, twenty-foot hedges lifting into the sky.
"Well, it's finally here," said Levina, watching as the champions gathered together at the bottom. "The last task."
Hermione was nervously biting her nails and clenching her jaw. Ron looked merely excited.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" boomed Bagman from beside the champions.
The crowd cheered loudly and Levina had to cover her sensitive canine ears. He read out the points and the champions names one by one, earning applause from the audience.
"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three-two-one-"
He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried off into the maze.
Levina clapped loudly along with the crowd, standing up to applaud him as he vanished into the hedges, looking frightened.
"Wait, so we can't even see what's happening?" said Ron irritably, standing up to try and see where Harry was.
"Use your Omnioculars," Levina suggested. She took hers out from her bag and adjusted them, but Harry was long gone.
"No use," said Ron.
"Oh, I hope he does okay, I hope he does okay," Hermione whispered, dancing on her toes as she looked anxiously out into the maze.
"Hope won't save someone that pathetic," said a drawling voice behind them.
Draco Malfoy sneered down at them, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Well that's the pot calling the kettle black," said Levina.
"What?" said Draco.
"She means you're a hypocrite," said Hermione coldly.
Draco smiled. "Of course you would know, mud-"
"Don't even start," Levina warned.
"Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum!" called Bagman, causing all of them to jump.
Fleur gave one last look to her sister and she dashed off into the maze with Krum, her blonde hair vanishing into the green.
"This is going to take a while, I presume," said Hermione, still trying to see over the hedges.
"Yeah," said Ron as he sat down and ate away at a chocolate cauldron.
"Especially since we can't see," said Levina sadly.
"Hey, I have an idea," said Destiny cheerfully, sitting upright. "Want to go see the dragons?"
"Are you insane?" said Levina. "This is the last task!"
"So?" said Destiny. "Nothing's happening anyway. Come on, Levina, don't you want to see them?"
"But we've only just sat down!" said Levina.
Destiny merely shrugged. "We might not get another chance to.":\
"You two need to be careful," said Hermione nervously. "I'm not sure you two should be-"
"Oh let them go, Hermione," said Ron through a mouthful of chocolate. "Nothing interesting's going to happen anyway till the match is over with."
Hermione looked like she might say something, but Destiny grabbed Levina's hand and pulled her down the stairs, towards the exit.
"Where are you two going?" said Fred from a row below them. "The match has barely even begun!"
"Uh, nowhere in particular," said Levina, all too aware of Draco eyeing them suspiciously.
Destiny reached into the top of her shirt and pulled out an emerald-green dragon necklace, casually tapping it with a finger.
"Ah," said Fred, nodding knowingly. Apparently she'd told him.
Destiny led Levina away from the cheering crowd and down to the path, walking with a bit of a skip.
"Where'd you get that?" said Levina enviously, staring at the necklace.
"From Dad on my third birthday," said Destiny. "'Course, I didn't care for jewlery much then...Dad became upset with me because I was more interested in the cardboard box it came in..."
"Sounds like me," said Levina, laughing.
"We need to get used to the dragons anyway," said Destiny, heading for the woods. "I mean, it's not like they're just going to love us."
"Yeah, I suppose," said Levina.
They didn't have to go very far into the woods before the smell of burning wood reached them.
The four dragons were fast alseep, curled up in various cages magicked with a large lock on each, to keep them in. A handsome, tall male with black hair and golden-caramel eyes stood in front of the cages, leaning against them lazily.
"Eric!" squealed Destiny.
The male looked up, and Levina noted that his features were similar to Destiny. He had a scarred face and many slashes along his burned, muscular arms. He appeared to be around his early twenties.
"Hey," said Eric, and Destiny knocked him over with a tight hug.
"Eric, this is my cousin on dad's side, Levina," said Destiny happily. "Remember?"
"Nice to meet you," said Eric, shaking her hand. "You're the one that can speak Draconic, right?"
"That would be me," said Levina. "Are you really going to take all of these to your house?"
"Well, the thing is, we can't keep them all on the same plot of land. The Ministry of Magic's been on my case about the whole thing, so we're going to just have to send them to Romania at times, with Charlie and I," said Eric, shrugging. "Shouldn't you two be at the third task?"
"Nothing's happening," said Destiny. "It's a shame we can't keep them all at the same time. May we see the dragons?"
He folded his muscular arms across his chest. "No."
"Pleaaase?" Destiny begged.
"Just for a bit," Levina promised. "Then we'll go back to the match."
Eric sighed. "Fine. Just a few minutes." He stepped aside and let them get up close to the cages.
The four creatures were stirring now, lazily lifting their heads and yawning.
"Mm?" said Huojin, stretching. "Who's there?"
"Me again," said Levina.
"Oh good," said Ilonca, lifting her head and glancing over her massive tail. "Mind coming a bit closer so I can rip off your head?"
"No," said Eric firmly, shooting Ilonca a glare.
"How much of that did you understand?" said Levina.
"'Rip' and 'head'," said Eric. "I only know some Draconic."
"Why do you keep bothering us?" Hefina demanded. "What do you want?"
"I'm sick of being shut up in here," said Adela, lowering her head. "What I wouldn't give to stretch my wings."
"Well, you're going to go to Romania-"
"What!" said Hefina angrily. "What makes you think we want to stay with you?"
"The alternative being death, I'd say you don't have much of a choice," said Levina. "And besides, you'll be in Romania with the other dragons, you won't have to be actually with me."
"Romania?" said Huojin. "I always wanted to go there."
"You don't even know what it is!" snarled Adela.
"Yeah I do! I saw it once!"
"You're full of crap-"
"You two should get back to the tournament," said Eric.
"Will we ever see them?" said Destiny hopefully.
"You've got Ryuu," said Eric. "I don't think you need five dragons on one manor. Now go watch the last task."
Destiny looked upset, but she didn't argue. "Come on then, let's get back."
"Bye guys," said Levina, waving to the dragons.
"Good riddance," said Ilonca.
When Levina and Destiny had arrived back in the stands, there was some commotion arising.
"What's up?" said Levina.
"Fleur's returned!" said Hermione.
Fleur Delacour was standing in the grass below, holding her head in pain and drinking something Madam Pomfrey was offering her.
"Why, what happened?" said Levina.
"Someone sent up red sparks for her," said Hermione. "We're not sure what exactly happened."
"Hmm," said Destiny. "Wonder if she was attacked?"
"By what?" said Levina.
Destiny shrugged helplessly. "Not the slightest idea. I just hope that Harry's all right, wherever he is..."
Quite some time passed. It wasn't until at least twenty minutes later that Krum was brought back on a magicked stretcher, knocked out cold.
"Two down," said Ron. "Two to go."
"Oh no, oh no," said Hermione again, biting her fingers. "Oh no, oh no..."
"Harry'll be fine," said Levina reassuringly, but at that exact moment, she felt something in her head pound suddenly. She staggered slightly and hit the bench in front of her.
"Levina!" cried Hermione, grabbing her arm. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Levina gasped, "fine...I just-"
Suddenly, she felt a great pain in her mind and there was a flash: Harry, blood running down his arm; Cedric, fallen over on the ground, eyes open and empty; Lord Voldemort himself, laughing terribly.
Levina fainted.
Levina found herself standing in a misty graveyard, but she couldn't see clearly. Everything was blurry and fogged.
"Blood of the servant," Wormtail's shaky voice echoed in Levina's head. She jerked around to look over her shoulder, but she couldn't see anyone.
Harry's voice could be heard, calling Cedric's name.
There was a blinding green light.
A body hit the ground.
"Cedric-" Levina cried out.
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken-"
Harry's horrible scream made Levina icily cold and shiver.
"No," she whispered, "No! Harry, no! No!"
Cedric's eyes were open wide, his mouth lopsided in a scream that never reached him.
"No," she gasped. "Cedric-Harry-"
She awoke with a start to find she was lying flat on her back. She was in the grass. Apparently not much time had passed, since she was still at the third task.
"Nice of you to join us," said Ron, grinning. "Can you ever not pass out-?"
"Ron-" Levina sat up and snatched the front of his robes with a pale hand. "Ron, he's-he's back, he's-"
"What?" said Ron, confused. "Who's back?"
"Him-he's-Harry-" she gasped.
Hermione's face appeared next to Ron. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Cedric, he's-he's," Levina gulped, a tear leaking out of her eyes.
"What, what?" said Hermione.
"-dead," she finished.
"Dead? Who's dead? Harry?" said Ron, his face pale.
"I-I don't know," said Levina. "But Cedric-"
Suddenly, Harry appeared from thin air, pale and sweating, leaning over the body of-
"Cedric!" gasped Levina again.
"What about him-?" Ron began, but Destiny let out a loud shriek.
"He's dead!" she wailed, pointing.
Cedric's body lay under Harry, who was shaking like mad and refusing to let go. Dumbledore swept past the now-screaming crowd to reach Harry.
"Harry! Harry!"
Levina pushed past the judges, knocking Karakoff and Madam Maxime over in her haste to get to his side.
"Harry? Harry, hey!" said Levina, attempting to pry him off Cedric's body. She could feel the tears welling up in her own eyes.
Harry let go of the Cup in his left hand, but his right remained on Cedric's wrist as he looked up, pale and fear-stricken.
"He's back," Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort."
"What?" said Levina.
"What's going on? What's happened?"
Cornelius Fudge appeared at their side, looking white and appalled.
"My God-Diggory!" he whispered. "Dumbledore-he's dead!"
Levina sank to her knees, hot tears welling up in her eyes.
An uproar of screams and shouts erupted into the air, but Harry remained against Cedric, shaking violently.
"Harry-" said Levina, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Harry-"
"Harry, let go of him," said Fudge, trying to pry him away. It didn't work.
Levina looked away from the scene and staggered back slightly. Destiny ran next to her and grabbed her shoulders as she swayed back and forth.
"Don't faint again," she pleaded.
"I tend to do that a lot," said Levina breathlessly, her face becoming increasingly pale. "Dead...Cedric..."
More people were pushing and shoving to get to Cedric and Harry. Harry refused to let go of Cedric's body.
"W-why don't we t-take you to th-the hospital wing, L-Levina?" stammered Hermione; her face was blotchy and red and she had sweat gleaming on her forehead.
"Why?" Levina demanded. In answer to her question, she tipped over again and fell onto the grass heavily.
"That's why." Fred was now next to her as well. "I'll take her," he added to Hermione.
"Why are you lot so worried about me?" Levina demanded. "Cedric's dead!"
"J-just go with him," said Hermione, wiping her eyes with her hands. Tears were leaking out of her eyes.
Fred took Levina by the arm and led her up to the castle, the sounds of the wailing and shrieks fading. They headed down the corridors in silence.
Levina kept her eyes on the ground as she walked. What had happened? Had Voldemort really returned? If so, was she his next target?
She shuddered; Fred squeezed her hand tightly, but she merely shook her head. "He's dead."
"Yeah." Fred wouldn't meet her gaze.
When they reached the Hospital Wing, Levina dropped heavily onto one of the beds, her eyelids drooping. How could she even think about sleep at a time like this?
"I should be down there, helping," said Levina sadly.
"You're not in any condition to," said Fred. "By the way, I know you faint a lot, but what was with the writhing and stuff?"
"I had a vision...Voldemort killed Cedric, he's returned," said Levina, trembling. "Wormtail helped him, he t-took Harry's blood."
Levina put her face in her hands. Fred dropped down onto the bed next to her and wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.
"Hey..." he said, lifting her chin up so she could see his eyes, warm and inviting. "It's all right."
For a moment, Levina almost believed it to be so. But the lie didn't last. "No!" she said abruptly, waving his hand away. "It's not all right! Cedric's d-dead!"
Levina grabbed the first object she saw (A bottle of Skele-Grow) and chucked it across the room, sending shards of glass and liquid across the floor.
The only other person in the room was a first year Ravenclaw boy, but he jumped, terrified, and fled from the room. Fred merely looked at Levina sternly.
"That wasn't-"
"Prudent?" said Levina through tears. "Sensible?" she got to her feet and drew the curtains back so she could look out across the grounds, where Harry was being lifted away from Cedric. "I don't give a crap."
Madam Pomfrey returned to the Wing, looking hassled, with several girls magicked onto stretchers. They were wearing Hufflepueff outfits and Cedric badges, so Levina figured they'd passed out from seeing Cedric.
Madam Pomfrey's face was blotchy and she had tears in her eyes, but she looked moody about having to take all the girls up to the Wing herself.
"Goodness!" Madam Pomfrey had caught notice of the Skele-Grow. She turned and glared at Levina and Fred. "This stuff doesn't grow on trees, you know!"
"Yeah, I figured," muttered Levina through her hands, which had crawled back to cover her face oncemore.
"Did you lose conciousness as well?" said Madam Pomfrey, magicking the girls onto beds across the room.
Levina gritted her teeth. "No, and I want to go back down to-"
"Yes, she did," said Fred. Levina shot him a cold look.
"Here, lie down and take some pain medicine for any headaches," said Madam Pomfrey.
"I'm fine-" Levina insisted.
"You don't want to be down there anyway," said Madam Pomfrey. Her face was grief-stricken. "Please, lay down."
Levina reluctantly slid onto one of the beds. She hated admitting it, but it was soft and comfortable. The pillow was accomodating for her pounding head.
"Leave my patient to rest, please," said Madam Pomfrey to Fred, who shot her a last look before turning away and exiting the room.
Levina's eyelids curtained her eyes away into darkness, and after a moment, she drifted into dreams...or rather, nightmares.
Voldemort's laughter...Harry's horrible scream...Cedric's pale, dead body, drained of color...
"No," moaned Levina. She tried to shake away the pain, but her head was burning.
"Crucio!"
Harry's flailing body...blood dotting the grass...
"Harry," said Levina weakly. She attempted to sit up, but she felt glued to the ground.
"Imperio!"
Levina awoke abruptly. She wiped her eyes, which had been leaking silent tears in her sleep, and sat up.
There was commotion; Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Destiny, Hermione, and Ron were grouped around a harrassed-looking Madam Pomfrey.
"For the last time, I don't know where he is!" she said angrily.
"But you must have some idea-" insisted Mrs. Weasley, wiping tears from her red face.
"I don't!"
"Levina!" said Destiny suddenly. She ran over and sat down at the edge of Levina's bed. "A...all right?"
"What does it matter!" said Levina, exasperated. "Harry's the one you should be concerned with, not me!"
Destiny cleared her face of three stray tears that had made their way down her cheeks. "I was just worried."
Suddenly, the door burst open. An incredibly pale Harry stepped inside, accompanied by Dumbledore and a black dog Levina understood to be Sirius.
"Harry! Oh Harry!"
Mrs. Weasley started towards him, but Dumbledore put a hand up.
"Molly," he said, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay, you may do so, but do not question him."
Only then did Levina realize someone else was in one of the empty beds in the hospital wing: Mad-eye moody. His wooden leg and magical eye were sitting on the table next to him.
"What happened to-?" Levina began, but Dumbledore shook his head.
"Later," he said calmly. Then, he turned away and left the Hospital Wing.
"Here's a potion for a dreamless sleep," said Madam Pomfrey, passing a steaming goblet to Harry. "Miss Snowpetal, you best take one, too-"
"I've done too much sleeping!" said Levina angrily. She turned to Harry. "Harry, are you all right?"
"Fine," said Harry. He looked far from fine.
Levina fiddled with her fingers. "Listen, Harry, I'm-"
"I'm fine," said Harry again, more sternly. He drained the goblet and sunk against his pillow, blinking tiredly.
Feeling slightly rejected, Levina turned away and leaned back against her own pillow. Sirius, still in dog form, padded over to her and rested his chin on her leg.
"Hi, Snuffles," said Levina as she wiped a stray cheek off her cheek. She scratched him behind the ears.
Sirius wagged his tail slightly and gave her an encouraging look.
Destiny had a handkerchief out and was messily mopping up her face. Her brilliant blue eyes were filled with sorrow and her black hair was messier than Levina had ever seen.
"He-he'll be f-fine," said Destiny bolsteringly, casting Harry a nervous look.
"Yeah he will," said Levina in agreement, but she couldn't mask her own fear.
"Drink up, drink up, you," said Madam Pomfrey, now looking irritated as she hustled over to Levina and held out a glass of some strange but perfume-smelling drink. "You need your sleep and I won't listen to your excuses."
Levina sighed heavily and drained the glass in one gulp. Sleep came almost instantly, but she awoke even faster.
She had not dreamed, but when she sat up, her head was still pounding. Most of the people had cleared the room, and Sirius, still in dog form, lay curled up next to her bed. Destiny sat in the corner on one of the visitor's chairs, watching Snape as he paced the room with a terrified expression, clearly frightened by his own angry look.
Dumbledore was closing the door, where Madam Pomfrey had just exited. No one was speaking, but when the door had shut tightly, Dumbledore turned around and said, "And now...Sirius, if you could resume your usual form..."
The great black dog got up and in an instant there was a man in his place.
Mrs. Weasley shrieked and leapt backwards. "Sirius Black!"
"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"
"Him!" Snape snarled, staring at Sirius with horror and fury. "What is he doing here?"
"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."
Levina snorted. That's likely, she thought.
Harry had heard her and realized she was awake. "Hey, Levina," he said wearily.
"Hi," said Levina. "What's going on?"
"Don't ask," said Harry.
"I just did," said Levina impatiently, but she refrained from saying anything else.
"You will shake hands. You are on the same side now," said Dumbledore.
Very slowly, although still glaring at each other, Snape and Sirius moved across the room to each other and shook hands very hastily and abruptly.
"Now, I think there may be an explanation in order," said Dumbledore. He gave the two men specific orders and crossed the room to where Levina was sitting.
It took nearly ten minutes to explain every single thing in detail that had occured over the past hours, but by the end of it, Levina understood.
"So...that's the real Moody?" said Levina, eyeing Made-eye Moody suspiciously.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Now then, I suggest you get some rest-"
"Rest?" demanded Levina. "All I've done is rest!"
"And the more you get, the more awake and alert you shall be later," said Dumbledore. He got up and headed to the door, where he vanished into the hallway.
Destiny lifted herself out of her chair and walked over to Levina, where she sat on the edge of the bed.
"We all wish there was more we could have done to help," said Destiny, as though she knew exactly what Levina was thinking. "But what difference would it have made? Had any of us been there, we also probably would have been killed."
"Why does Voldemort care so much about my abilities?" said Levina, ignoring Destiny's flinch at his name. "I mean, I can change colors of things and talk to dragons. Is that really worth it to him?"
"I suppose so," said Destiny, shaking her head.
"Poor Cho," said Levina, and next to her, Harry winced slightly. "I mean, they were dating..."
"You should talk to her when you can, then," said Destiny. "I'm going to go back to the Beauxbatons carriage...I'll seen you later..."
"Bye," said Levina. She sank into her bed as Destiny left and closed her eyes, sighing. Destiny was right; what could she have done to have prevented Voldemort from coming back? From killing Cedric? All she knew was that the next few weeks would be some of the hardest she'd ever had to witness.
Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory were the worst of anyone. They sobbed wherever they went, but Levina was glad they never blamed Harry for the incident. In fact, they merely thanked him for bringing his body back.
"He suffered very little," Mrs. Diggory said constantly to make herself and her husband feel better. "It was over fast, he was happy before...before..." She broke down again.
In the evening, they returned to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione and Ron said that in the morning at breakfast Dumbledore had explained everything and had asked them not to pry Harry for information.
People had been purposely avoiding Levina in the hallways when she walked with Harry. They avoided eye contact with her and whispered through cupped hands inaudible words to the common ear, but Levina caught every word of it with her canine hearing.
"...killed Cedric himself, he did-"
"She was in on it..."
"...think they're killers?"
"Hogwarts isn't safe."
Levina did her best to ignore most of the whispers as best as she could. Fred and George popped up around almost every corner, trying to cheer her up, and she found herself talking with Ginny a lot.
She hardly ever got to speak with Destiny, who was sent back with the Beauxbatons students. The only times they spoke were the occasional exchanges of greetings in the halls or on the grounds.
Levina packed up her trunk with a heavy heart; she and Destiny hadn't discussed their plans to stay at her house in weeks, and she was beginning to doubt it would even happen. Lilypad curled up in her carrier obediently and Athena returned with her letter from Lupin, who had encouraging words that didn't do much to aid her sorrow.
At the Last Feast, the Great Hall was decorated with black curtains instead of the usual house colors. Levina herself had dressed in a black outfit with her hair up, and she could see the real Professor Moody at the staff table, looking rather twitchy and nervous. She couldn't blame him; after all, he had been locked in a trunk for quite some time.
"The end," said Dumbledore from the staff table as everyone grew quiet, "of another year."
Dumbledore's eyes lingered on the Hufflepuff's table longest, where all the students were pale and silent.
"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured to the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all to raise your glasses to Cedric Diggory."
Every person in the Hall stood and raised their goblets. "Cedric Diggory," they said together.
Levina caught Cho's eye. She was crying silently in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't even manage to offer Levina a smille, but rather raised a small hand to wave to her slightly before sitting back down.
"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, and he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him or not. I think you have the right, therefore, to know how it came about."
Levina turned away from Dumbledore, unable to look at him as he spoke his next words.
"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."
A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. Levina had a sudden urge to run out, away from everyone else, to be away...
"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," Dumbledore continued. "It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as an accident or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."
Every face looked at Dumbledore now, but Levina could see Draco whispering something to Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. She forced herself to look away from them.
"There is someone else who must be mentioned in the connection of Cedric's death," said Dumbledore. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."
Levina tried to look Harry in the eye, but he refused to look away from Dumbledore.
"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever expressed in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."
Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and raised his glass. Levina and the rest of the hall followed in kind. Most of the Slytherins and Draco had not stood, nor had they drunk from their glasses. Levina tried not to burn up at this.
"Every guest in this hall will be welcomed back at any time," said Dumbledore. "I say to you all, once again-in the light of Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united. It is my belief that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this hall have already suffered at the hand of Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.
"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."
Sorry for a rather depressing chapter; it couldn't be avoided. How'd you like it? I promise to get the last one up as fast as I can.
Things to come: Goodbyes, Destiny's home, and return.
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