Last Chance To Love
Disclaimer: Characters taken from JKR's Harry Potter © and used in this fanfiction do not belong to me.
Summary: (Not including DH and parts of HBP) Harry is in his sixth year when a transfer from Beauxbatons arrives. She is smart, beautiful and head strong. She is a new challenge, especially since she doesn't treat Harry like any other girl he's ever met……But what happens when Harry has to make a choice, either to love or to fight?
Chapter Recap
Vera began to sob, her shoulders shaking. Every time she thought things were going to be alright, something had to destroy her happiness. Hermione hugged Vera as she cried. She couldn't imagine how Vera felt, and she wished she could do more to help her. Vera sniffed and pulled out of Hermione's arms. She grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"We can't tell Harry anything until I find out who the father is. It'll be too much for him if he finds out I'm pregnant and it's not even his. Promise me you won't say anything." Vera said. Hermione stared at Vera and looked into her eyes.
At that moment, Harry came down the stairs and looked at the two girls sitting there. Vera's back was facing where Harry was standing but he could see the tenseness of Vera's shoulders and the stricken look on Hermione's face. Harry frowned.
"What's going on you two? What's happened?" He asked.
A/N:Hey everyone. I'm finally starting to get my groove back with this story. Soon and I mean soon, the battle will begin and that also means that the story will soon be coming to a close. But let's not talk of that I hope you guys all enjoy this chapter. Enjoy it XOXO TBG. Oh and R&R please. P.S. I've found this great fanfiction forum website which is a little bit more open then the ones on fanfic. Check it out at fanbbs (dot) net. And this chapter is actually called Searching and Finding but since I have the same title in another story, I had to label it as The Search. But you guys all understand :D
Chapter 21: Searching and Finding
Vera stared at Hermione imploringly. She shook her head at her very slightly. Hermione sighed and then nodded. She looked over at Harry and smiled.
"Nothing Harry. Vera and I were just talking." Hermione said as she got up and went over to Harry. Harry moved but bumped into Hermione. He was trying to get past Hermione, who was standing in front of him now, to get over to Vera. She was trying to take all the stress and worry out of her before Harry reached her. She was also wiping her face furiously to get rid of the tears there. Harry grumbled as Hermione side stepped and ended up in front of him again.
"Whoops, sorry." She said, but as she tried to move, Harry took her shoulders, held her in place and then walked around her. He moved to the couch, where Vera had gotten some semblance of control over herself.
She looked up as Harry came and sat beside her and looked into her eyes. Vera hoped that her eyes didn't betray her as Harry searched hers. He put his hand on her arm caressing her lightly.
"Are you alright?" He asked. She nodded and smiled at him.
"Absolutely fine. I was just talking to Hermione that's all." She said. Harry pursed his lips for a second and then nodded.
"Have you had breakfast already? It seems like you get up earlier than me all the time." He said as he stood up.
"Yes, I've had breakfast. And the only reason I get up earlier than you is because I'm just superior to you." She said as she stuck out her tongue at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh such big words for such a small person." He said as he bent down and kissed her forehead before he walked over to the magical door.
"Whatever, just go eat." Harry waved and then went through the door, a light thud being heard as it closed behind him. Vera let out a pent up breath of relief. Harry hadn't really suspected anything. Hermione came back over to her and sat back down.
"Vera, I think you should tell Harry." Hermione said. Vera bit her lip and shook her head.
"I know I should…..but what if it's Draco's? I can't do it…….not until I find out who the father is."
"And how are you going to do that?" Hermione asked. Vera thought for a moment, and suddenly the thought came all at once.
"Snape…..maybe he knows a way. I'll go to him today and see if I can find out."
"Vera, what is going to be your excuse to go to Snape alone?" Vera shrugged but she knew she'd have to find a way around Harry.
"I'll figure it out Hermione. Maybe I can sneak away today when we go speak to the Grey Lady."Vera said. Hermione sighed.
"Just don't do anything that'll make Harry worry about you. God knows he does that so much already." She said. Vera nodded and stood up and moved to the staircase. But before she went up them she stopped and looked back at Hermione.
"I'll figure this out. Harry can't know yet, not until I know all the facts. I hope you understand that." Vera said. Hermione nodded and Vera turned and went upstairs.
She'd been holding onto herself downstairs in front of Harry, but now as she got into the shower, the tears began to fall.
Too many things were happening for Vera to be worrying about this. And on top of that, she didn't even know who the father was. She loved Harry with all her heart, but the truth of the matter was that a pregnancy at the moment, was horrible. Both she and Harry had no family to fall back on, and yes Vera did have some money that she would inherit after she graduated from school, but she and Harry were only seventeen! They couldn't have a child, they were barely past being children themselves.
Vera wrapped her arms around herself as the tears fell and she sobbed. She couldn't do this, she was already worried beyond compare of what would happen between Harry and Voldemort. She couldn't be thinking about this too. What if this child was Draco's? What would she do then? What if Harry decided to part ways with her over it?
Vera sniffed and tried to stop her tears. All she knew at the moment was that she needed to find out who the father was before she could say even one word to Harry. At least then, she could say it was his or……Draco's. Vera shuddered at that thought and sighed. She washed her face, and finished her shower and then got out.
She looked in the mirror, making sure her eyes weren't red and then smiled. She'd have to put on a façade for the time being, so Harry wouldn't notice anything amiss. But the way that Vera's heart was aching over this and her stomach was twisting itself into knots, she didn't know if she could pull it off. But Vera, nevertheless, got dressed and went back downstairs to find Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting down there.
"Hey. We were just talking about making our way down to breakfast to see the Grey Lady." Harry said. Vera smiled and went over to him. She was about to sit beside him, but he pulled her to sit on his lap. Vera giggled and relaxed in his arms.
"I think that's a good idea as long as we're all heavily hidden. I don't think we can handle all the Slytherins seeing us at once." Vera said. They all nodded in agreement.
"Alright, me and Vera will take the invisibility cloak and-" But Vera interrupted Harry.
"Harry, you're the most important person, so how about you take the cloak alone and the rest of us, use the disillusionment charms?" Vera said. She saw from the corner of her eye, Hermione raise an eyebrow ever so slightly. Harry frowned lightly.
"I don't know Vera. We can both fit under it, what difference would it make if we're both under it?"
"Well……it'll make it more difficult for us to search for the lady because it's harder for us to maneuver underneath the cloak together. At least with me out, we can find her faster and save a lot more time and effort." She said. Hermione nodded in agreement, even she knew that was a legitimate reason. Harry thought about it, calculating and realized Vera was right. It would save effort and time, but he really didn't want to leave her alone. Vera could see that him leaving her and them saving time, was the deciding factor in his decision. Vera took his face in her hands and pressed her forehead to his.
"Harry I'll be fine, promise." She whispered. He looked into her hazel eyes and sighed.
"Alright. That's fine." He said. Vera let go of Harry's face, but he caught her hand and held it to his lips affectionately.
"Well breakfast is about to start, so I think we should all get going." Hermione said as she glanced at the clock above the fireplace. The all stood up, Harry moving upstairs to get his cloak, while Vera pulled out her wand. She tapped the top of her head, thinking the spell and had the feeling of an egg cracking on top of it. The coolness trickled over her, completely turning her the same colour and texture as whatever was behind her. She watched as Ron and Hermione did the same. The only way someone would see them is if they looked particularly hard at wherever they were standing and if they moved too much.
Harry came down a moment later and looked around. Vera waved vigorously and Harry squinted before he saw her.
"Oh there you are. Is Ron and Hermione still here as well?" He asked as he came to stand beside her.
"Yeah mate. Now let's get going." Ron said. They all nodded and Harry slid on his invisibility cloak. Harry had the Marauder's Map, so he made sure the coast was clear before they left. They moved down the hallway slowly, making sure not to go into any light that could cast their reflection.
When they made it down to the Great Hall, they all noticed that different ghosts were milling around. They were beside the doors, and could see that all the teachers sat at the head table enjoying breakfast while all the students chatted and ate amiably. The clicking of goblets and cutlery on plates was very loud.
"Alright, everyone spread out but make sure that the light from the windows doesn't shine on you and that none of the owls, if we're still here when they come in the post, hit you." Harry whispered. They were all close enough to hear him. Vera slowly crept into the Hall, trying to be indiscreet as possible. Her goal wasn't to find the Grey Lady, it was to speak with Professor Snape, who was sitting at the end of the head table.
Vera could see getting over to him would be difficult, only because she had to pass all the windows in the hall to reach him. She didn't think it was smart to go right up the middle of tables, where there was such little space and would definitely cause her to bump into someone if anyone chose to get up. Vera looked around, trying to spot the others, but couldn't at the moment. Good, that meant Harry couldn't see what she was doing. She crept to the first window, and got down on her hands and knees, crawling under the bottom of it.
She stayed on her hands and knees, crawling underneath each window. Vera was still looking at all the ghosts, looking for one who could possibly be the Grey Lady. She still didn't see anyone so she continued on her way. Soon, Vera was only a few seats away from Snape when a babble second years in the seats in front of her stood up to leave. Vera stifled her gasp and moved to press her self as far as possible against the wall behind them.
She couldn't have any one of them bumping into her and she held her breath as they rushed past, only inches away from her legs. When they had gone, Vera let out a silent sigh and then got back to what she was doing. She smiled when she reached the table and stepped behind Snape.
Vera saw a grey looking female ghost moving toward the door and frowned. Crap, she could see a slight shimmer beside the ghost, who she could tell was the Grey Lady, and knew that Hermione or Ron had intercepted her and were going to speak to her right now. Vera knew she had little time before she would have to leave, so she waited as Snape lowered his spoon to his cereal and then moved to his ear and whispered.
"Professor, don't jump. It's Vera."
She waited with bated breath, but Snape didn't react at all except for a small twitch of his left hand. Vera glanced at the doorway. The Grey Lady was gone, but Vera was pretty sure that she was hovering outside the door speaking to the others.
"Professor would it be alright for me to come see you today around two? Blink once for yes and twice for no."
Vera watched in relief as Snape blinked once. She sighed and then lightly reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
"Thank you." She said before she went back to her sleuth-like movements and made her way out of the Hall. Snape on the other hand was wondering, what was possibly so important that Vera wanted to speak to him alone about it? He shrugged and continued with his breakfast.
When Vera got outside of the Hall, she looked around. There was no one there. She could also hear the flurry of many wings behind her as the post arrived. She looked behind her, just to make sure that no was coming out of the hall and then called out in a stage whisper.
"Guys, where are you?"
"Over by the tapestry." Vera heard Harry's voice say. She went over to it and pulled it open to see nothing.
"C'mon, we'll go back to dorm and then we'll talk" He whispered. They all went to the dormitory more or less together, considering they couldn't see each other. Finally when they reached it and the door was closed behind them, Vera took her wand and tapped it on her head. It felt again like an egg was being cracked there, but this time it was a warm feeling that flowed over her body.
She looked down at her hands and saw that she was visible again. She saw Harry rip off the invisibility cloak and Hermione and Ron appear in front of her. Harry came up to stand in front of her.
"Where did you go? We thought we'd lost you when we found the Grey Lady and you didn't come to speak to her with us." Harry said as he took Vera's hands. Hermione was looking at Vera.
"Well I got stuck behind the Hufflepuff table. There were a group of students that had me backed up against a corner. I couldn't leave until they did. But don't mind that, just tell me what the Grey Lady said." Vera said. She all three of them sighed.
"Nothing that would help us to find it. She said that she was tricked by a handsome boy some fifty years ago to tell her where it was, and afterward the diadem disappeared. She never saw it again." Harry said.
"And we guessed that boy was Tom Riddle. So now we're back to square one." Hermione said. Vera sighed.
"Don't worry we'll find something. We'll figure it out." Vera said as she squeezed Harry's hands. He smiled at her.
"I hope so." He said. Vera reached out and stroked his face.
"I think I'm going to do more reading up on the diadem, maybe there will be a clue there." He said. Vera nodded and let him go as Ron went and slumped in front of the fireplace. Hermione was about to follow but Vera grabbed her arm and whispered into her ear.
"I talked to him and I'm going to meet him today at two to talk about it. That's why I didn't talk to the Grey Lady with you guys." Vera said. Hermione looked shocked but nodded.
"Well good luck. For your sake, I hope the person you want it to be, is the.....you know." She whispered back while glancing at Ron. Vera nodded and let go of Hermione.
Vera was antsy the entire time that she was waiting for it to be two o'clock. She tried to sit and read up more on the diadem but it was impossible for her to focus. Hermione was keeping Ron company and Harry was still upstairs.
Vera knew a way that she would get to Snape's but it involved telling Hermione and Ron where she was going and using the secret door to go there. She couldn't risk going out into the halls.
Finally two o'clock came and Vera stood up. She went over to Hermione and Ron and smiled down at them.
"Hey guys, I'm gonna go grab some food from the kitchens. I'll be right back." She said winking at Hermione when Ron had looked away. Hermione nodded and turned back to him.
Vera went over to the door and whispered her destination. She opened it and Snape's office came into view, where she stepped in and the door shut behind her. Snape looked up from his desk and smiled at her.
"Good afternoon Miss. Minare. Now what was so important that you couldn't bring the others with you?" He asked as she took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. Vera took a deep breath and then plunged right into it. She didn't know how much time she really had with Snape.
"Well for one, nobody other than Hermione knows about this. And I don't wish anyone, especially Harry, to know about it until I am clear about all the facts." Vera said. Snape nodded, watching her with trained eyes.
"And what would this 'it' be?" He asked. Vera took another deep breath and continued.
"I'm most definitely sure that I am.....pregnant." Snape's eyes widened at this but Vera held up a hand.
"That isn't the reason why I came here though. The parentage of this child is....unclear to me because of certain things that happened at the Malfoy manor when I was held prisoner there." Vera said. She could tell that Snape understood and he looked saddened by what she was saying. He had seen her and he had only guessed that, hoping he was wrong.
"So I need to know, is there a potion or a spell that can tell me who the father of my baby is?" Vera bit her lip, hoping that he would say yes. She didn't know what she would do if she had to wait until the baby was born to find out its parentage. Snape took a deep breath and then nodded. Vera sighed raggedly and clasped her hands together on her lap.
"Thank goodness. So do you know how to perform it?" She asked.
"Yes, I do know how to concoct the potion that would tell you who the father of your baby is, but I'd like to know something first." He said. Vera nodded.
"What will you do if this baby's father is not who you wish it to be?" Vera bristled.
"That's really none of your concern Professor." Vera said coldly. Snape pursed his lips.
"Well if that is the case then maybe it would be safer for the child's parentage to be unknown until birth."
"No!" Vera yelled, standing up at the same time. She looked down at Snape and could see what he was doing. He thought Vera would abort the pregnancy if it wasn't Harry's child. But really and truly Vera didn't know what she'd do if it was Draco's. Right now, she could only think as far as finding out who the father was and then dealing with everything else when she got to that point.
"I need to know. I can't keep hiding it from Harry. Soon I'll be showing and I can't in good conscience look at him and tell him that it might not be his. I need to have the solid knowledge of who this baby belongs to before I can say anything. I don't want him to find out and have some glimmer of hope that it's his and be disappointed. That's worse then anything I could possibly do to him." Vera said, the tears accumulating in her eyes. Snape looked at her and sighed.
"Sit down Miss. Minare. I just don't want to see an innocent child get hurt over this."
"Please. You can't know how it feels to think that a part of you has created life with something as vile and evil as Malfoy. Please.....I need to know. For my sanity and for Harry, I need to know the truth." Vera said. Snape looked at her long and hard for a moment as a tear fell down her cheek. She wiped it away furiously and stared right back at him. He sighed in defeat and nodded.
"Alright. For the potion to work I'll need something of Harry's. Anything that he wears, or touches or uses. I need it to use in the potion." He said. Vera nodded and stood up.
"Thank you." She said. He nodded and watched her walk toward the door on the wall.
"Come back here tonight at midnight. I will have everything ready for you then." Snape said. Vera smiled back at him and then went through the door quickly. She sighed in relief as it closed behind her and she leaned against it. Midnight tonight, she would know.
Vera went back into the room and moved upstairs. She put her hand on the door of her room shared with Harry and suddenly a thought came to her. Something that Harry had said and even something that Draco had shown her come back to her.
"Professor Dumbledore said that Voldemort tried to come back to the school and wanted the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts. He said he suspected that he was only coming back to search for something in the school"……and then Draco had shown her the secret room in the Room of requirement, a room full of lost and hidden items…...
Vera pulled the door open and looked at Harry excitedly. The one place that it was most likely hidden in if no where else and they hadn't even thought to look there. Harry looked up at Vera and saw that her eyes were bright with excitement. She walked over to him and pulled him up.
"I think I might know where the diadem is." She said. Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head as Vera tried to pull him downstairs.
"What do you mean? You can't know. What makes you think…." But Vera hushed him and dragged him to Hermione and Ron and then stood in front of them.
"Okay remember how Dumbledore told you Harry that Voldemort tried to come to Hogwarts and Dumbledore suspected he was there to search for something, well I think that something was the diadem. And it is hidden in the school." Vera said, trying as best she could to calm herself down.
"But if it is here, where in the school is it?" Harry asked. Vera smiled.
"Well it has to be a student access area and it has to be somewhere where you could hide things. Let's think…is there a room in the castle where students could hide things and teachers wouldn't know about it? A place filled with million of lost and hidden items?" Vera asked. As Harry stared at her, it clicked, The Room of Requirement. Harry looked up at Vera, the same excitement in his eyes as hers. The same intensity burned through them.
"The Room of Requirement. The room which has all those lost and hidden items. It could be there, if it's anywhere, it's probably there." Harry said. Hermione and Ron were staring at the two of them. But as they thought about it,they knew there was a defintite chance that it was there. They stood up.
"Let's go. Right this instant." Hermione said. Ron nodded and all four of them looked ready to do this.
"I don't know if we can use the magic door to get in to the room, since it has it's own magic." Vera said. He nodded but still took her hand and went to the door.
"That's all right. We'll use the door to get to the hallway across from it. C'mon." Harry said. He moved to the doorway and said the 7th floor hallway to the magical door. The door glowed then opened out into the hallway, hidden it seemed, behind a painting there. The door closed, with the painting swinging in front of it to conceal it. The four of them looked around the hall and saw that it was deserted.
They rushed to the patch of wall that concealed the hidden doorway to the Room of Requirement and stood back as Harry moved in front of the wall three times. When he'd walked past it the third time, the door appeared and they opened it and went inside.
The room was how Vera remembered it. Vast chambers and halls full of random items. They scattered everywhere covering the walls and making the infinitely large room even more grand. Vera smiled at everyone and they moved deeper into the room. Ron peaked as they walked around.
"Hey, how about we try this. Accio Diadem."He said. They waited but nothing happened. Harry laughed but patted Ron on the shoulder.
"That wouldn't work Ron. The diadem has its own enchantments and powers. It can't just be summoned or anyone could have just stolen it." Harry said.
"Well then I guess we're doing this the mortal way." Hermione said. Ron sighed and nodded.
"Give a shout if you find anything." Vera said. They all nodded and moved to different parts of the room. Vera stayed near the immediate area thinking that if Voldemort had truly hidden it in there, he would have hidden it somewhere where he'd be able to find it again. She didn't think he'd put it deep inside the room.
Vera crept around looking at different things, lifting up blankets and books to look under them. She heard a thud and a groan somewhere in the room.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Vera yelled into the silence.
"Yea, just fine." Ron's voice said and Vera sighed in relief. It was eerily quiet where Vera was and she looked around, digging deeply in a drawer full of broken wands, toys and jewellery. Vera sighed when she did not find the diadem. She moved toward another area to search.
But as she did her foot caught on the edge of the desk and she fell down, face first. She groaned and then turned her head so that she could place her hands down and get up.
"Great." She whispered to herself. But as she did, she had a view of the underside of a small desk that was sitting beside her. Vera's breath caught as she saw the glittering jewels and dusty but extravagant exterior and she reached down and pulled it out. She clutched it in her hands and looked at it, her breath ragged. I found it, I found the diadem, she thought.
Vera began to pull herself up to tell the others when a sound from behind her, near the door, made her turn. Vera couldn't remember hearing any of the others go back past her. Vera moved toward the sound and then stifled her gasp and ducked behind a desk as she stared.
Draco Malfoy and three other large Slytherin boys were with him. Shit, Vera thought. They're probably here to do something with the cabinet. And the others don't know. Vera thought. She began to shake in her hiding place, her chest feeling tight. This was not good, not good at all.