A/N: Tadaa! My final chapter! (of this part). I did get a review from someone saying that they actually had no idea this would be a trilogy. Sorry about that! I probably wasn't clear, but like I say on my profile page, this fic is going to be very long. Sorry if any of you wonderful readers don't like super long fics, but that's just the way this story is planned out. (I did planning! I'm so proud:))
And now is time for me to apologise for my huge lack of updating recently. But school just keeps getting in the way, I was sick, and then my computer crashed….and I just hate editing. SOOOO sorry to keep you guys waiting! (I don't know if anyone was, but it makes me feel better to think so). So I over-compensated. This is a long chapter.
Important: It is really very important to note that the name of this fic will be changed to One Last Hope: Dumbledore's Army, and that there will be a sequel. For more information regarding this, please see Chapter 20's Important! a/n.
Disclaimer: For the final time….I do not own Harry Potter!…Wow, that felt good.
Dedicated: This final chappie is dedicated to everyone who has ever read, reviewed, supported, given advise for, listened to my ramblings about, or even just looked at this fic! There are no words to describe how cool you are. ::tear::
Wow, this is getting really long…and kinda sappy.
Anyway, for the last time in One Last Hope: Dumbledore's Army,
Enjoy!
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One Last Hope
Chapter 21: The Second War Begins
Suddenly there were voices, coming out of nowhere. Some were loud, some were quiet, some were worried, others were calm…but they all seemed terribly noisy and irritating, crawling their way into her mind like unwelcome pests. She tried to push them away and shut them out, to drift back off to sleep and that wonderful world of nothingness, but they wouldn't let her, and before she realised it, she was wondering where she was, what was going on, and trying to remember what had last happened. It was terribly confusing, and she wasn't really thinking straight… probably due to semi-consciousness…. Then with a jerk a pair of dark red eyes flashed through her mind and terrified her into snapping up straight and opening her eyes.
"Amy!"
At the sound of her name, Amy shrieked so loudly that everyone around her jumped as high as she did. Her first instinct was to grab her wand, and she fumbled through her robes for it, grabbing madly at the cloth without pausing even a fraction of a second to take in her surroundings.
"Don't be silly, Amy, it's us!" said a voice, as a hand grabbed the wand Amy had finally retrieved out of her grasp. Amy snapped her hand forward to snatch it back, panicking, convinced that for some reason she needed it, when she looked up and her eyes met the friendly multi-coloured ones of Erin Waters.
"Wha-" Amy stopped, her heart pounding, and looked around. She was in the Hospital Wing, on a bed. Exactly the same one she had occupied only hours before, she realized, before thinking that this small detail was such a funny thing to notice first when there were people around her bed that she cared about looking at her as though she'd gone mad. She giggled, oddly relieved, and looked up at their faces. There was Erin, smiling and standing beside her with a firm grip on her hand, Harry, his face lined with worry, Neville, biting his lip, Luna, looking the way she always did, Madame Pomfrey, seemingly calculating how pale she was, Hagrid, looking tremendously anxious even though they had only met once before, and finally Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Oh," sighed Amy, relaxing. She paused. "I didn't think this many people were aloud in the hospital wing," she added, looking over at Madame Pomfrey.
This seemed to worry everyone more, except Harry, whose lip twitched, Dumbledore, who smiled, and Luna, who asked the school nurse calmly, "Has she gone insane?"
"No, no," Madame Pomfrey reassured them briskly. "She's just in a bit of shock, I presume…after what happened and all, and now she's waking up so suddenly…Really, Potter's already in here every month for Quidditch and the like, and now I've got his cousin in here for some crazy stunt that I wouldn't have put passed him…" And she went off back to her office, presumably for supplies, muttering to herself.
"Where's everyone else?" Amy asked, her chest tightening, although she remained strangely calm. "Are they okay?"
"They will be," said a reassuring voice to the right, and Erin moved so that Amy could see Hermione on the bed next to her, smiling sadly.
"What…what happened?" asked Amy, blinking. She was finding it unusually difficult to form complete sentences.
"You passed out," explained Erin.
"Oh." This did not seem particularly troublesome to Amy. "Well, that makes sense. What about everyone else?"
"Nick is there," Luna informed her calmly, pointing to the bed on Amy's left side. "He was knocked out by a spell, Madame Pomfrey says he'll recover fully in a day or two. Ron is over there," she pointed across the room, "He hasn't woken up yet, but Madame Pomfrey says not to worry, he will soon. Ginny's beside him," (Neville shifted to the side so that Amy could see the disgruntled looking redhead sitting up in her bed with her arms crossed), "…and she's perfectly alright."
"Hi Ginny," Amy said happily, smiling at her. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Was I given a sleepy potion or something? I think I'm unnaturally calm." As if to illustrate her point, her tone of voice resembled one that someone might use to talk about the weather.
"Yes, you were muttering in your sleep, tossing and turning, even shouting out at times," replied Madame Pomfrey, bustling over with some potions. "I gave you a sleeping draught to calm you and let you rest. You're simply experiencing a side-effect."
Amy nodded. She looked over at Dumbledore, who smiled kindly at her.
"Am I going to be expelled?" she asked calmly.
"Of course not," the Headmaster replied, equally as calm.
"Am I getting suspended?"
"No."
"Oh…. Then why are you here?"
"Simply to check up on my students, and make sure they're on the mend," said Dumbledore sincerely.
"Thank you," said Amy. "But I meant, why are you in the castle…you weren't here before, were you?"
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again. It amazed Amy how much they could do that. "No, I wasn't," he replied, answering her question. "But recently something came to light and the Ministry wanted me back again. Funny how quickly their opinions can change."
"And you," continued Amy, nodding at Hagrid, "Did they hurt your dog?"
"Wha'?" asked Hagrid, looking surprised at being addressed.
"You carried your dog away from your cabin that night. Is he okay?"
"O – o' yeah, Fang's alrigh'."
Amy sighed. "Good."
"Here, take this," Madame Pomfrey said, shoving a glass into Amy's hands. "It's for the pain."
"Pain?"
"In your head."
"Oh, yeah," said Amy, vaguely remembering that, and taking the potion. "Urghlh." She stuck out her tongue and shivered: it tasted worse than sardine Every Flavour Beans.
"I still don't see why I can't get out of bed," Ginny spoke up angrily from the other side of the room. "You fixed my broken ankle in a heartbeat!"
"You need to rest," Madame Pomfrey said, placing emphasis on the word. "Don't argue."
"Neville got hurt, but you're not making him rest!" yelled Ginny, unwilling to comply.
"That's because I know he'll get some rest without me having to supervise," answered the matron, glaring at her patient.
"I just broke my ankle!" said Ginny angrily, but Madame Pomfrey ignored her.
"Hey," Amy spoke up again, remembering. "I saw that happen. I think it was in a vision or something…"
Suddenly the room became very quite and everyone looked worriedly at her.
"What?" she asked, completely confused.
"I now ask that Harry and I be left alone with Amy," said Dumbledore solemnly.
"But sir-"
"No!"
"I have to stay here!"
"Professor, this student-"
Dumbledore silenced the numerous outbursts by holding up his hand.
"You will all get a chance to talk with her later," he told the room calmly. "But I'm afraid I really must speak with her and Harry alone."
Madame Pomfrey bustled angrily back to her office, muttering to herself again. The others all nodded and got up to leave, Erin squeezing Amy's hand as she left, Neville and Luna each nodding at her kindly, although Neville's was rather jerky, and Hagrid patting her leg comfortingly, making her bounce up and down a few times on the bed.
"Thank you!" Amy called as they all went through the doors, because she thought it was the right thing to; they had come to see her in the hospital, after all. She also thanked Hermione and Ginny, and even Ron, although he was still unconscious, before Madame Pomfrey brought over curtains to give them some privacy, and Dumbledore cast a charm to make it so that no one could hear them.
"Am I in trouble?" Amy asked shakily.
"No, no," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "We merely need to discuss your apparent gift for having visions."
"Is she …a Seer?" Harry asked awkwardly.
"Perhaps," replied the Headmaster. "But she seems to be different than any Seer I've ever met. Have you told me about all of your dreams?" he asked Amy.
"Uh, yeah…but not the most recent ones…you were gone…urghhh…" Amy slumped forward slightly, suddenly feeling heavy. Before she knew how he got there, Harry was at her side, a firm grip on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked sharply.
"Nothing…I just…the dazedly happy feeling is going away," Amy said, upset for some reason.
"It's simply the after-affects of the sleeping potion lifting," said Dumbledore sympathetically. "You'll be fine."
Amy nodded, feeling slightly nauseous. "But…but, yeah," she continued, forcing her mind to think. "I told you about every dream. The ones I had when you were gone were basically the same as all the other ones…except of course the one where I saw Harry and everyone in trouble."
"Yes, Miss Waters and Mr. Milton told us about that particular one. They said you were convinced it was real."
"Well, it was!" exclaimed Amy, feeling some of her earlier frustration returning. What if Dumbledore didn't believe her?
"Indeed it was," Dumbledore assured her, and Amy sighed with relief. "But I find it interesting how there seemed to be a link between Harry's dreams and yours."
Neither Amy nor Harry said anything, but waited patiently for the Headmaster to continue. Amy didn't even notice she wasn't breathing; she had waited all year for the answers to her questions, and she finally seemed to be getting some.
"Harry's dreams came through his connection with Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore continued, and didn't even seem surprised when Amy didn't jump at the name. "When Voldemort was feeling particularly emotional, and his mind was weaker, Harry could enter his thoughts while sleeping. It was in this manner that Voldemort was able to set a trap to get Harry to the Department of Mysteries by giving him a vision similar to yours."
"That's Sirius?" Amy exclaimed suddenly, making Harry jump. "In my dreams there was a man who flickered at the end of an isle, as if he wasn't there. Was that the trap?"
Dumbledore nodded, and everything suddenly made more sense to Amy, regardless of the remaining holes in the explanation. They've got Sirius in the Department of Mysteries…Sirius was the man in her dreams, and it was all a trap.
For some reason Harry seemed to get very tense at the subject of Sirius, and although Amy wondered why, she thought it best to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"Will Voldemort be able to do that to Harry again?" she asked worriedly.
"I don't think so," replied Dumbledore. "Voldemort could not stand the pain of possessing Harry, and will surely realise that Harry is smart enough not to play into his hands again, so I think Harry is safe from mind intrusions for now."
Amy noticed how Dumbledore had said "for now" and had mentioned Harry being possessed, but let it go for the moment.
"So what about my dreams, then? They were a bit different."
"Indeed," agreed Dumbledore. "Unlike Harry's, your dream showed you that what lay ahead was a trap. You also saw the corridor to the Department of Mysteries not from Voldemort's point of view, but from your own. You even saw glimpses of where Harry stayed over the summer and Christmas holidays, something Harry has recently assured me had never happened to him."
"That corridor led to the Department of Mysteries?" Amy asked. This fact seemed to have hit her harder than any other, and she was still having trouble thinking clearly enough to have made this connection before.
Dumbledore nodded.
"Oh. I wondered…."
"So, Amy's dreams don't come from Voldemort, right?" Harry said, looking up at the Headmaster. "They come from her own power."
Dumbledore nodded. "It would seem that way. Especially since, according to Miss Waters and Mr. Milton, Amy was having visions while she was quite awake during their trip to the Ministry."
"Yeah, and they were accompanied by blinding headaches…" muttered Amy, but then she remembered something. "Oh, yeah! When my head hurt, it often felt like the pain was coming from a scare on my forehead, like Harry's…except that I don't have one."
Harry looked slightly alarmed, but Dumbledore smiled sympathetically. "That was probably due to the relation between your visions and Harry. Harry was the one who you saw in danger, and who's scare hurt at moments. Had your visions been about someone else, for example…"
"So you're saying that if my visions concerned Hermione most, I would probably feel pain in my back from lugging too many books around?" Amy asked.
"Perhaps," replied Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, and Harry's lip even twitched upward.
"But…sir," said Harry after a short pause, "There's something I still don't get. Amy had visions, like a Seer, but Trelawney makes prophecies…and – er – uses crystal balls and stuff."
Amy frowned. Trelawney made prophesies? Were they accurate? Could that be why Dumbledore wanted her to stay at Hogwarts?
"Yes…" said Dumbledore. "I'm not quite sure if Amy is a Seer, like Professor Trelawney – who by the way, Harry, has been reinstated as Professor and you must now address her as such – but Amy clearly possesses the power to See, not just what lies ahead or elsewhere, but also through deceit. We shall have to monitor her abilities closely to find answers to these questions, and, of course, make sure these visions remain safe…"
"Um, I'm still here, you know." Amy was getting a little irritated of the way they were talking as if she wasn't in the room.
"Apologies," said Dumbledore, nodding in her direction, and she nodded back. After a slight pause, he continued. "I must be off, now, I'm afraid. However, please keep me informed of all your dreams and visions, Amy, as well as any unusual headaches, throughout this year and the next. During the summer, I can be reached in an emergency by owl, although mention only that you need help, as owls can be intercepted. Please tell me about any visions you have during the holidays upon your return to Hogwarts next year."
Amy nodded, her heart sinking. Dumbledore had reminded her of something: summer. A knot formed in her stomach as she wondered if she'd be able to return home.
But before she could ponder this question any further, Dumbledore was waving at them in farewell and stepping outside the curtain, and Harry was fixing her with an unblinking stare.
She leaned away from her cousin. "….What?" she asked carefully.
"Why did you do that?" he asked simply.
"Do…what?"
Harry sighed. "Come to the Ministry to try to help me. You could have just stayed here, where you'd be safe."
"Harry, I wasn't in that much danger. Unless, of course, you count being in close proximity to Fudge as dangerous. And I probably would have passed out anyway, I can't control my visions."
"You were in the same room as Voldemort," said Harry gravely. "I'd say that counts as pretty dangerous."
"But I needed to warn you! And Erin and Nick are okay too, so-"
"You were this far away from a killing curse hitting you," said Harry through gritted teeth, holding up his hands at about two feet apart.
That startled Amy quite a bit. "Really?" she asked, unconsciously biting her lip.
Harry just looked at her.
"Well, it's not like that's never happened to you!" she exclaimed defensively.
"That's just the point!" Harry almost yelled. "I know I do a lot of dangerous things, but that doesn't mean you have to! I don't want you getting involved in these kinds of things because I have and I've almost died!"
"That's not the point," said Amy, frustrated. "I can't just know these things and not try to help. Erin, Nick and I helped Ron and everyone escape Umbridge's office, and they said you were in trouble, and we couldn't help. So you know what we did? We did the only thing we could and went to get help. We got Snape, and then we went to alert the Aurors-"
"But you didn't have to!" exclaimed Harry. "Dumbledore brought lots of help-"
"Well how am I supposed to know that?" Amy yelled, cutting him off. "I can't – I don't, because you won't tell me, and so I improvise, I do what I can to help-"
"But you don't have to!" repeated Harry wildly. "Why can't you understand that? This is my fight! I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, you don't have to help me!"
For some reason hearing that calmed Amy down. "You're right, I don't have to help."
Harry sighed with relief.
"But I want to."
Harry looked at her sharply, but instead of yelling again, he studied her for a moment, before finally saying, "You remind me of me a lot."
"Huh?" said Amy, puzzled.
"Hermione says I have a … saving people thing," Harry continued, ignoring Amy's bewildered look. "If I know something's wrong, I just have to help, whether it's a good idea or not." He looked at her seriously again. "Watch out for that, it can be a weakness."
Amy just blinked confusedly.
Harry sighed. "All that aside, I…well, I kind of want to thank you, 'cause…" he trailed off and tossed a copy of the Daily Prophet on her bed.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Read it."
Amy looked at the headline, which said, in huge bold letters: HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED RETURNS, with an article continuing down the rest of the page, and on the next few pages over, Amy soon discovered, as she ripped through them.
"How'd this happen?" she asked slowly.
"You brought the Minister down to the Atrium in time to see Voldemort," replied Harry simply. "That paper is a few days old, though, now they're full of the latest news on what they think he's planning and suspected sightings, articles on how to protect yourself, that sort of thing…oh, and of course the interview I printed in the Quibbler."
"It says a bunch of Death Eaters were captured," commented Amy, reading a bit of the article.
"Dumbledore managed to round up the ones in the Department of Mysteries," explained Harry. "The Ministry officials put them in Azkaban, which, I guess, is also thanks to you," he finished stubbornly.
"Don't mention it," said Amy, winking, knowing it annoyed him to think that none of those things would have happened if she had stayed at Hogwarts like he had wanted. She scanned the rest of the article. "So I see you're a hero again."
"Yeah…" Harry sighed.
Amy closed the newspaper and caught sight of the date. Suddenly, something Harry had said earlier came back to her…that paper is a few days old…
"What day is it?" she asked, bracing herself.
"Huh?"
"You said this paper was a few days old," Amy elaborated, "So what day is it now? How many days was I asleep?"
Harry bit his lip, not meeting her eyes, which Amy thought was a pity, because that way he couldn't see her glaring at him.
"How many days?"
He took a deep breath. "Three and a half."
"THREE AND A HALF DAYS!"
"Er – y-yes," replied Harry, after having landed back in his chair from jumping in fright. "We were all pretty worried."
"How could I have slept for three and a half days?" Amy asked angrily.
Harry shrugged meekly.
Amy sighed. "What curse hit Nick then, if he's still sleeping?"
"Oh, no, don't worry," Harry assured her quickly, as though worried she would blow up again. "He's already woken up, he just needs to sleep a lot to recover."
"But he's going to be okay?"
Harry nodded, smiling for some reason.
"What?" Amy asked, annoyed that he found this amusing.
"It's just… This reminds me of when I woke up here after I went down the trap door with Ron and Hermione my first year here," he replied. "I think I was actually in the exact same bed you're sitting in now."
Amy frowned. "And why is that funny?"
"Well, it's not, really," said Harry, thinking. "It's just eerily similar, that's all. I woke up, and I was really worried about my friends, because I knew if anything had happened to them, it would be my fault."
"Why would it be your fault?"
"Because I led them into danger," her cousin replied, as though it was obvious.
"But surely you didn't force them to come along?"
"No, of course not! I told them they could go back if they wanted, but-"
"So it wouldn't have been your fault," Amy told him with certainty. "It was their choice to come with you."
"Like it was Erin and Nick's choice to come with you," Harry said.
Amy frowned. "No…well, yes, I mean…but we sort of skipped the whole noble thing where I tell them I'm going to save my cousin and they don't have to come along."
"Why?" Harry's tone wasn't accusatory, but curious.
"B-because," stuttered Amy. She hadn't really thought about it. "The thought of not going together didn't really cross our minds. I mean, Nick said multiple times that it might be better if we stayed here, but as soon as Erin and I said we'd leave without him, he agreed to come along."
"Funny," said Harry after a long pause.
"Why?" asked Amy.
Harry shrugged. "It's just, you guys are so close that you didn't even think of going it alone, whereas I keep thinking I should, just to keep everyone out of danger." He plucked at the hem of his robes sadly.
"Well, the way I see it, that's not really your decision to make," said Amy, and Harry looked up. "People are going to help if they want to, and you don't really have the right to tell them they can't. Besides, with Voldemort back, everyone's going to be in danger anyways, so what's the point of trying to be all noble and making it harder for everyone?"
Harry paused. "I never thought about it like that."
"And I'd never really thought about it at all…until now, that is," replied Amy.
They sat in silence for a while longer, until Amy burst out, much in the same fashion as she had in the elevator, "Why didn't you tell me about Sirius Black?"
Harry's face suddenly closed, so she couldn't read his expression. "What do you mean?"
"Voldemort made a trap for you and Sirius was the bate," Amy explained. "But from what I know, Sirius is the one that betrayed your parents, so why would you risk your life to go and save him?" Amy studied Harry's face carefully, which was difficult, as he was looking away. "It doesn't add up."
Harry continued to say nothing, so Amy added, "Look, I know you can't tell me everything, but it would be really great if you could trust me with-"
Harry's head snapped back towards her. "I do trust y-"
"I'm not finished yet!" Amy exclaimed and Harry blinked in surprise. "It would be nice if you could trust me with certain bits of information like that, you know, to sort of give me a head's up! I know you think you can protect me by not telling me anything important, but being ignorant isn't going to help me either! I also know there's some stuff I'm not allowed not know, but at least find a balance where I'm not flying blind!"
"I would prefer it if you weren't flying at all," Harry replied seriously. Before Amy could protest again, he continued quietly, "Sirius is my Godfather. He…he looks out for me."
Amy just looked at him, positive the expression on her face did not say much for her intelligence.
He sighed. "When Voldemort was after my parents, they went into hiding. They used a Fidelius Charm…it's a spell that makes it so no one can find you unless one person, the Secret Keeper, tells them."
Amy listened patiently, sensing that this was a sore subject for him.
"My parents picked Sirius, but then switched to Peter Pettigrew at the last minute, without telling anyone. He was the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort." He looked over at Amy. "You know the story of Pettigrew, right?"
Amy nodded. With so many Death Eaters on the loose and all of Hogwarts talking about it, it was hard not to.
"Well, he's an Animagus – someone who can turn into an animal," he elaborated at Amy's confused look. "He turned into his rat form and made it look like Sirius killed him. He framed him…" Harry finished, mumbling.
"…That sucks." At times like this, that was all Amy could ever think to say.
"So you believe me?" Harry asked, looking bewildered.
"Should I not have?" inquired Amy, equally as bewildered.
"Well, just, most people wouldn't believe it."
Amy just looked at him exasperatedly. It had never even crossed her mind that he wasn't telling the truth.
"Oh," said Harry meekly, catching her unspoken point. "Right."
She paused for a long moment before saying, "So…you and Ron and Hermione and Neville, Luna, Ginny and Dumbledore all made it out okay…was there anyone else there?" she asked suddenly, hoping no one was hurt.
"Yeah…but don't worry, they'll all be okay," replied Harry, knowing she was worried.
Amy sighed. "Oh, good…and Sirius, he's okay too?"
Very abruptly, Harry looked away, not answering her.
A knot tied in Amy's stomach, which didn't really make sense to her, since she had thought Sirius a murderer until a minute ago. "Harry…"
Still he said nothing.
"Harry, it won't help not to tell me," she said softly. "I – is Sirius okay?" she repeated the question anxiously.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Harry shook his head.
"What happened?" Amy didn't even hear herself ask the question.
"He…he didn't… he fell…" Harry's voice broke, and suddenly Amy knew that some horrible, heart-crushing, stomach twisting thing had happened to Sirius, and as she watched her cousin, who was obviously holding in some sort of pain, she became very surprised to find tears falling down her own face instead of his.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, fairly distraught. "That's not fair! Why should I have to be so upset? I didn't even know him!" Harry looked over as she tried to dry her eyes on her bed sheet. "Why am I crying?" she asked again, her throat becoming tight. "I've never even met him…. It's so stupid."
"It's not stupid," said Harry quietly. He paused, and swallowed. "You know, he – he wanted to meet you."
"Really?" asked Amy, looking up. "Why?"
Harry shrugged. "He's my godfather. Anything important that had to do with me was something he wanted to know about. Anyone related to me was someone he wanted to meet. He said…he said you sounded like a good person."
Amy laughed bitterly. "Naw…I can't be a good person, can I?"
"Why not?" asked Harry.
Amy sighed. "Because I like to think I'm a good person, but then I think that's incredibly selfish, which makes me think I'm not a good person at all. It's a vicious cycle."
"That's why no one is ever very good at judging their own character," Harry said, offering her a tissue, and she gave him a small smile. "And Sirius…that's an example of why I don't want you involved in the battle against Voldemort."
Amy looked him in the eye, suddenly understanding fully what he meant when he said that.
"But…" Harry continued, "You're right, keeping you in the dark won't help either, so…so I'll try and tell you more stuff, keep you more prepared."
Amy brightened a bit. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
Harry paused. "Because I've had the same problem, being kept in the dark, because someone was trying to protect me…" Harry sighed. "And that didn't work out too well."
He looked sadly off into space, and Amy wished she could think of some way of comforting him. But she couldn't, so instead she placed her hand on his, and he held onto it for a long while, as she wondered who could have possibly kept secrets from him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Amy stared blankly at the page in front of her, not even noticing her porridge on the table, which was getting increasingly colder, as her stomach seemed to sink lower and lower. No. That's all she could think, over and over in her head. No, no, no…
"Amy, are you going to eat that, or can I read your letter?" asked Erin, her tone halfway between worried and joking.
Amy numbly passed her the letter she had received from Tomas just a few moments ago. She had been out of the hospital wing for three days now (although she kept returning so that Madame Pomfrey could check up on her and so that she could visit Ron and Hermione, who were still hospitalised, and getting increasingly irritated) and had plucked up her courage and sent a letter to her brother asking if she could go home for the summer holidays. Her nerves had been practically fried over the next few days as she waited anxiously for his response, which might have explained her current numbness.
"I'm sorry, Amy," said Nick gloomily, after he was done reading the letter with Erin.
"What am I going to do?" asked Amy, although she was not quite sure if she was voicing her thoughts aloud or not.
She must have been, however, because Erin asked, "What do you mean?"
"Where am I going to stay?" Amy was beginning to panic now; she could feel it in the bottom of her gut. "I suppose I could ask Dumbledore if I can stay here…"
"Don't be stupid, you're coming to my place," said Erin matter-of-factly.
Amy turned to face her friend for the first time. "What?"
"I thought this might happen, so I sent a letter to my mum, asking if you could stay the summer, and you can," Erin elaborated. "And you can come for some of it, too," she added, turning to Nick.
Amy blinked. She was fairly sure Nick was telling Erin he'd be glad to get away from his place for a while.
"You'll have to stay in my room, so it'll be kind of squishy, but my brothers always come home for the summer holidays to visit." Erin was talking to Amy again.
"I can seriously stay with you?" Amy asked quite suddenly.
Erin looked a little taken aback. "Yes."
"For the whole summer?"
"Yeah…"
"And it won't be a problem, you're family's okay with it?"
"Yes, I mean, unless you'd rather-"
But Erin was suddenly finding it hard to breath due to the redhead beside her hugging her to death.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Amy exclaimed, very relieved, as she finally let her friend go. Truth be told, Amy hadn't really been looking forward to going home and facing her mother, partly because she was ashamed of what she'd done, and partly because she was still mad, and knew her mum would be, too.
Nick was still laughing at both girls when some welcome company arrived.
"Hello, all," called Luna dreamily, sitting down beside Neville, who had also come to join them.
"Hi!" replied Erin cheerfully. "How are you guys?"
"Pretty good," said Neville half-heartedly.
"Everyone's so gloomy," grumbled Erin, crossing her arms.
"Well, I supposed they all have reason to be, after what happened," stated Luna calmly.
Erin just sighed.
"So has Harry been doing any better?" asked Neville, looking over at Amy.
"How should I know?" answered Amy, shrugging as she spread jam on the toast that was replacing her now stone-cold porridge. "He doesn't really talk much anymore, especially not to me."
"Why especially not to you?" asked Neville.
Amy shrugged again. "Haven't a clue."
"What about you two?" asked Erin, "Are you guys getting better?"
"Neville wasn't hurt very badly, so his injuries were fixed very quickly by Madame Pomfrey, and I didn't get hurt," replied Luna, stating the obvious.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," said Erin sincerely, although her mouth twitched upwards a little at Luna's tone, which had remained the same as always.
"And you guys?" asked Neville, surveying all three first years across from him.
"We're alright," replied Nick. "A little gloomy, sure, and Amy still has to get checkups done, but we're really okay."
"When'd you get out of the hospital wing?" asked Neville, nodding at Nick.
"A few days ago," he answered, unconsciously rubbing his shoulder, where Amy knew he'd been hit. "I only had to stay a few days, I'm fine."
"How about you?" Luna asked dreamily, turning to Amy. "Are you still having nightmares?"
"Yeah," sighed Amy. "But they're the regular kind. No vision-y ones. I keep having nightmares about what I saw in my visions, but…"
"How do you know they're not visions?" asked Neville quietly.
"I donno," replied Amy, realising this for the first time. "I just sort of…do."
The rest of the meal was spent conversing on more pleasant topics, such as Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup, and all of them having attained well enough marks on their exams.
It was the last day before students were to return home that Amy finally plucked up the courage to take up Hagrid's offer and visit him.
"Oh! Well, 'ello there!" he said when he opened the door and saw her standing there. "Did yeh er…want ter come in for some tea?"
Amy nodded silently and walked into the small cabin, taking in the scene before her. Hagrid seemed to live in nothing more than a particularly squashy summer cottage, but it felt simple, and homey, so she was able to relax a little as Hagrid made tea. She spoke only to say thank you to Hagrid when he placed a rather large cup of tea in front of her.
"Rock cakes?" he asked.
Amy's lip twitched upwards as she shook her head, remembering when Harry had warned her many months before never to eat them.
"So…ah…well, lovely surprise, havin' yeh here," began Hagrid awkwardly. "Really glad yeh came…but, uh, any particular reason yeh did?"
Amy chuckled softly. "So that I could talk to someone without having to be fine, or say that everything's okay," she answered, talking into her teacup.
Hagrid nodded. "So…wha's buggin' yeh?"
Amy sighed. "Well…mostly Harry. He's been really distant…which is understandable, of course, but…I don't know, I just kind of feel like an outsider. He would trust Ron and Hermione with anything, he always wants them with him on his adventures, despite what he says… but I'm always shut out…he's always trying to protect me…"
"Blockin' someone out is one of the unfortunate side effects of tryin' to protect 'em," said Hagrid wisely, patting Amy's hand and making the table shake. "Sometimes there's nothin' much yeh can do abou' tha'."
"Except I want to do something," replied Amy, letting out all of her frustration of the past few days. "I want to be useful, to be in the loop, to help…but he won't let me do that."
Hagrid sighed. "'Arry's always had this thing where he thinks everythin' is his responsibility, tha' it's up ter him ter protect everyone…" Hagrid looked Amy right in the eye. "Yer the o'ny person 'ee considers real family. Those Dursleys are nothin' bu' trouble, and the Weasleys are like his second family…but yer las' name is Evans, yer connected ter him through blood…. 'Arry never though' he'd have someone who was his real family."
"The Weasleys should be his real family," said Amy quietly. "And Hermione."
"Ah, they will be…give it time…eventually he'll realise tha'. But it doesn't change the fact tha' yer his li'l cousin…ee's over-protective of yeh."
Amy sighed. "Yeah…I guess. It's just, I feel so useless! The war will always revolve around Harry, because he's the one Voldemort wants dead the most-" she looked up at the sound of a splash to see Hagrid mopping his front: he had spilled his tea when he had heard Amy use Voldemort's name.
"So his habits have rubbed off on yeh, have they?" he asked, annoyed.
For some reason this was so funny that Amy burst out laughing. She didn't understand why she was laughing, but she just couldn't stop, so she just laughed for a while, and Hagrid's eyes grew warm, and he refilled her still almost-full tea mug, and waited for her to calm down.
When she did, she said, slightly less gloomily, "If the war always revolves around Harry, and he keeps pushing me away from it, I'll never be able to help…I'll always be in the background."
Hagrid smiled fondly at her. "Yer a lot like him, aren't yeh?"
Amy blinked, surprised.
"Always wantin' ter be in the middle of things, always wantin' ter know everything…" He sighed. "Bu' there are a lot o' people who already know, an' they can handle tha'. Yeh migh' be more useful ter 'Arry if yeh were in the backgroun'. E' can figure things out from yer visions, 'cause Dumbledore said we could trust em'…" –Amy squirmed uncomfortably, fidgeting with the handle of her mug- "So if yer not righ' there with him all the time, tha's okay. The war needs people like yeh, 'Arry needs people like yeh…people who can help, bu' aren't in constant danger, people they can talk to abou' other things…" Amy looked up at him. "I know it's hard, bu' yer in a good position ter help… we need folks like yeh an' yer friends ter help with other things…trus' me, yer roll's important."
And while Amy still wasn't convinced, she left Hagrid's hut later that day feeling better, and with a slight craving for eatable rock cakes, which Dobby, who came to the common room later that evening to say goodbye for the summer, happily provided.
The welcoming feast later that night, although Harry was still depressed, Ron and Hermione were still wincing from their injuries, and everyone was scared stiff that Voldemort was back, was one of the best evenings Amy had had in a very long time. Just like at Christmas, she forgot the world outside, pretended she just didn't care, and enjoyed herself for her last night at Hogwarts until the next year. It was like Erin said: there was good food, and good people to eat it with, and no one was dropping a bomb on their heads, so life was good.
Amy slept peacefully that night for the first time in ages, but was the last to leave the dormitory the next morning, despite having packed the night before.
"Ready?" asked Erin, poking her head through the door, "You're going to miss the boats if you don't hurry."
"Yeah," sighed Amy, leaning against her bedpost and looking around the room. It seemed so bare without things sticking out of her drawers, without Erin's many extra pillows on her messy bed as well as her Quidditch posters all over the walls and the charmed bed sheets Carry and René had hung by a wire in front of the window because they had taken down the curtains to serve as rugs for the floor beside their beds, claiming they didn't keep enough light out.
"We'll come back next year," Erin told her reassuringly. "To this very room. No matter what happens during the summer, no matter what Voldemort pulls, we'll still come back."
"True," said Amy. "But…I just wish I didn't have to leave. I can't even go home, because I chose to come here instead, so…I donno, it just feels weird…like if I leave here, I won't really have a home." She looked up at her friend. "Am I crazy?"
Erin chuckled. "No. Well, at least, I don't think so, anyway, but that's not saying much." She sat down on her own bed. Then, quite suddenly, she said, "Do you regret it?"
Amy blinked. "Regret what?"
"Leaving home. Coming to Hogwarts."
Amy thought about that and shuttered. It was a pretty frightening thought. Never learning about magic, never meeting Erin and Nick and Harry and everyone else, feeling miserable because she was different than the world she knew for the rest of her life…
"No," she said. "I wouldn't take back what I did, even if I could. Not even for my mum or Tomas, or even Tara, who's still one of my best friends. I love them, but I'm glad I came here instead of staying."
"Well then," said Erin, once again sounding chipper where no one else would manage it. "Then maybe that's not your home anymore. Maybe it's more like your dream vacation spot. Maybe Hogwarts is your home now, which is why you'll be back here, two months from now."
"That makes sense," replied Amy, all of this sentimental thinking tiring her out. Then something entirely random popped into her head. "Hey, Erin?"
"Yeah?"
"That thing you thought of in the elevator at the Ministry, the one you never told us about but said you would?"
"Uh-huh?"
"What was that?"
"Oh. I just thought that perhaps Harry, Ron and Hermione had seen Sirius on the Marauder's Map, you know, when he entered the castle in their third year, and they might have found out something about him then, like the fact that he's actually innocent."
That very fact had been one of the many big headlines scattered across the front page of the Daily Prophet in the last few days.
"So that's why you couldn't say what you were thinking? 'Cause we're not allowed to tell Nick about the Marauder's map?"
"Pretty much."
"It does feel weird to keep secrets from him," Amy confessed.
"True," replied Erin. "But it's not really our secret to keep."
Amy nodded, and there was silence for a while.
"So…you ready to go?" Erin finally asked.
"Just about," Amy smiled. "But there's one last thing I think we should do before we leave."
"What's that?" asked Erin.
Which was when Amy grabbed her pillow and threw it, with impeccable aim, right at Erin's face.
"AHHH!" screamed Erin, and the pillow fight that came next resulted in them being so late that they almost did miss the boats back across the lake. The boat ride was almost just as aw-inspiring as the first one, and it made Amy sad to think that she would never have the chance to do it again; Erin had said that next year they would arrive by horseless carriage.
Soon after they got on the train they were almost at King's Cross - or so it seemed to Amy - and it was time for the goodbyes.
"I hate this part," muttered Erin, as Hermione gave her a one-armed hug in farewell. "It's much more fun to be saying hello than goodbye."
"True," Hermione chuckled, squeezing Nick's shoulder before coming to hug Amy. "But look on the bright side, we'll get to say hello in two months."
Erin brightened and Ron smiled and ruffled her hair, then did the same to Amy and gave Nick a pat on the back. Harry shook both Erin and Nick's hands, although the former teased him for his formality. Then he came over to Amy.
"Stay out of trouble, now," he told her, trying to be stern and resisting a smile.
"Same to you," Amy smiled. "And don't forget to write!" she said quickly.
Harry chuckled as Ron and Hermione started helping Erin and Nick unload their luggage from the train. "I won't."
"And don't sink too far into depression, it's bad, take it from me, I know." Amy was talking faster than she was thinking, but she knew she had to tell Harry this now, when she could see him, and not when he might be refusing to answer her mail for one reason or another.
"Don't worry. Hopefully I won't stay too long with the Dursleys, so that'll help."
Amy nodded. "But make sure and tell me if they're horrible to you because I know they usually are and they shouldn't be aloud to lock you in a cupboard-"
"Amy, I'll be okay," Harry cut her off. "Besides, the Dursleys haven't locked me in that cupboard for years. I just need to know if you'll be alright…I know you can't go home or anything…"
Amy smiled sadly. "I'll be okay."
Harry looked at her sceptically.
"Well, I'm sure Erin's folks won't starve me to death, at any rate," she added on a more cheerful note.
Harry smiled back at her, and then pulled her into a hug. Amy was slightly startled; he had never really hugged her before. She hugged back anyway, knowing she wouldn't see Harry, the only relative she had that she could still talk to everyday, for what felt like a very long time.
"Bye, Harry," she said when they pulled apart. "At least try to have a good summer."
Harry sighed sarcastically. "Well, I suppose…" He smiled at her one last time, and then with a wave of his hand, he disappeared into the crowd, looking for Ron and Hermione.
However, Amy didn't have much time to stare sadly after him, as no sooner had he left than Erin and Nick showed up beside her, each grabbing onto one of her arms and dragging her towards their luggage.
"It's summer vacation, Amy! This is no time to be sulking!" Erin reprimanded her.
"Yeah, and I'm the only exception to that rule!" added Nick, cheery for once.
"Ah, we'll get you outta there soon enough," Erin assured him, referring to his house as the three friends picked up their trunks and began wheeling them through the crowded station to the barrier.
They waved as they passed friends from the DA and members of their year. Amy and Erin shared high fives with René and Carrie, and Neville and Luna even came up to them to wish them a good summer.
Amy hardly noticed that they got in line to get through the barrier. She was busy looking around everywhere, trying to remember each familiar face, every part of the scenery, every tiny detail, unable to make the tiny voice at the back of her mind stop repeating that because Voldemort was out in the open, something terrible might happen and she might never come back.
"You three ready?" asked the wizard next to the barrier who was letting students out in twos and threes.
"Huh?" said Amy, coming out of her reverie.
"It's our turn to go through the barrier," Nick answered slowly, mocking her.
Amy glared at him before turning to Erin.
"Ready to go back to the regular world?" Erin asked, smiling.
Amy laughed. "Nope!" she exclaimed, and then grabbed both her friends by their sleeves and ran them, luggage and all, through the barrier wall.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
A/N: Oh, my. Will you look at how much I've written? That's a lot to read. I do sympathise, but then again, you didn't have to edit it.
For the last time, unless you look at my profile page, if you could please, please go to the top of chapter 20 and read the IMPORTANT! a/n, that would be wonderful. You are ever so kind.
And by the way, I'm really sorry that Sirius still had to die, but that's just the way it had to be. I know it sucks.
Anyway, I'm done! (The first part of three) Wheeeeeeee! The freedom! I must eat chocolate to celebrate!
I will post the sequel as soon as I can. It will be titled One Last Hope: The Lightning Struck Tower. Yes, I know that is a chapter title from book 6. Also, keep in mind that before I post it, I will be re-editing this entire fic, cause it needs it.
Thanks again to all my wonderful readers and reviewers! Now this is the last chapter, so you should review, you know, to tell me how my first story was. :) Please? Constructive criticism helps me, compliments motivate me (heehee), and flames are bad but will give me a much-needed laugh (seriously, they'll be treated like comic relief).
Thank you.
This is Little Lily Granger, signing out! (or something witty like that)
:D