Title: Needed
Chapter 26
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Sailor Moon, and Silverfall belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
I apologize for the long wait. Time has flown, and two years have already passed since a new chapter has been posted. Modification has been made to the story and its characters. I hope that it flows better now than it has in the past.
Enjoy!
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Serenity tiredly sat on the nearest available couch in the room. It had been a little over a week since she accepted the training with Harry. Within that week, they had relentlessly trained to the point where all their mental and physical capacities were protesting. Whoever said that there were only 24 hours in a day surely hadn't had the honor of being instructed by the Sage. The two of them found out not long after the beginning of their training how Professor Elminster was capable of prolonging his class time. The answer was simple – he used magic.
Time Stop, he called it. The spell was a modified version from what would normally be cast with that brand of magic. The spell may be useful, but it drained them considerably of magic when they attempted to use it themselves. Serenity could have gone further with the assistance of her Silver Crystal, but she didn't want to be even more exhausted than she already was. So the two left the spell alone, knowing that they would need more experience in Professor Elminster's magical field before they could attempt anything more complex.
As a result, the two focused their attention on the training regimen that Professor Elminster entrusted to them.
Reading became the key in his set of instructions.
A massive shelf of tomes and scrolls about magical theory and spell casting was left for them to comprehend; a formidable amount that Harry jokingly remarked would make Hermione salivate.
As time progressed, the duo quickly found that reading and memorization coupled with wandless spell casting was taxing on both the body and the mind. Thus, Serenity and Harry spent every free moment that they had in each other's company so that they may practice.
"Serenity, I won't be able to make it tonight," Harry informed her Thursday morning.
Serenity looked up from her plate, and gave Harry a nod of understanding. Looking around, she noted that Hermione was busy reading over her paper for Runes, and noticed that Ron was two seats down, gulping down a plate full of eggs and bacon.
"Tomorrow then?"
"Definitely," Harry nodded in assent, "I think we almost have that spell down."
His emerald eyes were twinkling with excitement, and she wholeheartedly agreed. Professor Elminster had confided in them that the spell would take a great deal of work and commitment. Moreover, he had time and again warned them about the dangerous aspects of the spell and what it would constitute of. However, the two of them believed that if they worked on it hard enough, it would be crucial to the war-effort – the benefits simply outweighed everything else.
"I'll work on it some more, and tell you my progress – Quidditch, right?"
"Yeah, Ron is really..." Harry waved his hand, not wanting to say anything bad about his best friend.
"Uptight," Neville pitched in, dropping his bag on the floor before sitting beside Serenity.
"And how would you know?" Serenity lightly chuckled, eyes twinkling.
"I may not be on the team, but I do watch them practice," Neville turned his nose upward, crinkling it in the process.
"Hmm, not spending enough time with Luna, are you?"
Neville formed a light blush, his mouth gaping open before shutting it close.
"I'll have you know that Luna is quite busy these days," Neville finally said, swallowing a bit of his food, "She's been working on a piece for her father."
Serenity smiled in reply, her eyes trailing over to the Ravenclaws and noticed Luna idly eating a piece of toast, whilst writing on a scroll with her quill. Sure enough, Luna appeared quite busy.
"-renity...Serenity." Neville's voice startled her, and she sharply turned to the concerned Gryffindor, "You've been spacing out."
"Sorry about that, Neville."
"That's alright. You and Harry have been...working hard, right?"
"Yeah..." She turned her head to regard Harry, but was surprised to see that he was no longer there.
"He left a minute ago. He tried to grab your attention, but..." Neville shrugged helplessly.
"It's fine."
Getting up, she picked up her bag full of books and walked away with Neville to head for their Transfiguration class. Looking around, she mentally held in her disappointment at the fact that Ron and Hermione had left without them.
"They left separately," Neville casually informed her, "Hermione first, then Harry, and finally Ron. Ron left with Dean and Seamus..."
"Oh," Serenity clasped her hands around Neville's arm, "I'll just have to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to you."
Neville smiled in amusement, happy to know that his company was appreciated even after everything that happened.
"Same here."
""""""""""
Brown eyes pitifully observed the day's events. With a resigned look on his face, Neville Longbottom turned away and focused on finishing his breakfast.
For the past two weeks, he had been watching Serenity and Draco's relationship, or the lack thereof. In the beginning of the promising relationship, he had been wary – a Gryffindor and a Slytherin was not common. His concerns relied on how much he could trust the Slytherin Prince with the Gryffindor maiden's heart. However, it would seem that he had been mistaken.
Instead of worrying about the former, he found himself worrying for the latter – Draco Malfoy.
Surprising yes, but it was the truth. He saw how Serenity would find herself in the company of Harry Potter on most days, and hadn't given her own boyfriend the time of day.
Though Malfoy appeared to have no care for Serenity's pastime, Neville knew better. He knew that the Slytherin Prince was affected by Serenity's actions. It showed in his behavior. Whenever Malfoy saw Harry and Serenity in the same room together, his mask would slightly fall away as his face would tighten more around the jaw. And if he noticed the two in the Great Hall, he would leave within a fifteen minute timeframe. He simply could not stand the sight of their unintentional affair being displayed in front of his face.
Though Malfoy never said anything and never voiced his protest at being left behind – Neville acknowledged it, and came to pity the boy.
After all, he knew what it was like to be left out of the loop, and feel as if he didn't belong.
That was exactly why he would now do something about it – about them.
""""""""""""
Serenity sighed in relief after the last lesson ended, though her mind remained muddled from exertion.
As she walked away from the classroom, swinging her book bag along the way, Serenity continued to think about the strange event that transpired during lessons. For one, she felt eyes boring at the back of her head from all corners of the classroom. Another was the unease she felt throughout the lesson – as if she was forgetting something important.
But what?
Deciding not to dwell in the matter, she began to head toward the library as soon as possible. However, as she neared the last hallway, she stopped when she overheard two voices close by. Looking around, she saw no shadows and no figures – yet, she heard something.
(Ghosts!) She stilled, her eyes opening wide. She had gotten used to the main ghosts of Hogwarts. As for those she was not familiar with, she tended to avoid their local haunts. She was positive that this section of the castle wasn't a spot...
Swallowing her fear, she tentatively stepped closer and sighed in relief when she could make out a faint outline of a shadow near the corner.
"...aise," a voice gasped out, followed by a rustle of robes, "W-Wait..."
A shuffle of feet on the cobblestone and a sound of a restless sigh.
"I thought I heard something," the same voice said, and Serenity widened her eyes when she finally recognized the sound.
"Hermione, not many students go down this route."
"May I remind you that we're here?" Hermione's voice upped a notch.
"Point taken," the other said, "Did you want to stop?"
Another rustle of robes, and Serenity felt horribly uncomfortable as she remained where she was. She should have left, but the curiosity got the better of her.
(A male... with Hermione? It doesn't sound like Ron...)
After what felt like an eternity, she heard the sound of receding footsteps. Deciding it was safe; she crept closer and turned around the corridor only to discover that the couple hadn't exactly left.
"H-Hermione!" Serenity gasped aloud, a blush on her cheeks.
"Serenity," Hermione said in reply, as calmly as she could manage.
Looking at Hermione, Serenity noticed how well her friend managed to hide any form of evidence that came after a snogging session. Her clothes were neatly pressed, her hair in its same shaggy state, and her cheeks – well, it couldn't be helped that the Gryffindor was blushing. Taking this for what it's worth, Serenity took a deep breath before leveling a glare at her friend.
"I overheard something I shouldn't have, Hermione."
"I knew I wasn't hearing things," Hermione said mostly to herself in reply.
"It wasn't Ron."
Hermione remained silent and Serenity stood there, waiting for a reply or anything in response to her words. But after a few minutes of standing there, not receiving a denial or any other form of answer – Serenity couldn't keep up her silence, and sighed in distress.
"Why Hermione? Ron's been loyal to you, hasn't he?"
Hermione looked away, and stared at the section where the person had headed off after meeting her, a glazed look on her face.
"He makes me forget when I'm with him."
Serenity's eyes widened in realization, and she felt her heart break. She had a feeling that Hermione still hadn't gotten over her parent's death, or over Mrs. Weasley's and Percy's death. But she hadn't believed that Hermione would go so far as this to forget about her problems, about her own inner struggles to cope and accept their deaths.
"Hermione," Serenity swallowed, not exactly sure how to broach the subject, "Do you...?"
"Whenever I see Ron, he makes me remember. I can't even look at him – if I do, I start thinking about the past," Hermione wasn't even trying to look at her anymore and Serenity noticed how tense the other Gryffindor was. Her shoulders were shaking, and her hands were clenching as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
"I know that Ron and Harry are not at fault for what happened. Harry tried his best, the Order – everyone. But the reality of it all, it's too much to bear." Hermione choked out, "We're just teenagers. We're not heroes; we're not supposed to be in this war!"
Serenity approached her, and grabbed Hermione into a tight embrace as she tried to soothe her emotions. Apparently, even the most knowledgeable of people could have emotional breakdowns of this magnitude.
"Blaise has been there for me since the beginning of the year. At first, it was nothing – he'd just pressure me to get some sleep when I overworked myself. And then... it escalated to the point where we'd have meeting places throughout the day."
(Blaise! Draco's friend...)
"Is it serious? Between you and..."
Hermione stifled a laugh as she shook her head, "Merlin, no! I could never... as wonderful as he is, I know that Blaise could never settle down with one girl – let alone me. He just..."
"Oh, Hermione..." Serenity closed her eyes, "Does he even know?"
Whether she was referring to Blaise or Ron, she didn't know.
"...Blaise could never see me in that light."
"And Ron...? Do you even love him?"
"...I don't know."
Serenity bit her bottom lip and remained silent as she kept her hold over the Gryffindor. She didn't want to know if Hermione's answer was toward her first question or second. All she hoped for in that span of time was to console the girl in her arms, knowing that out of the Gryffindor Trio – Hermione was the most emotional, and the easiest to break. In her heart, she prayed that Hermione would figure out where to go from here.
Would she return to Ron? Or would she continue with this charade?
Or would Hermione's world come crashing down?
(Selene, please look after her!)
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Everything was crazy – she knew. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were different from when she first met them.
Granted, back then they were not as close, but the three are different. They were hesitant and cold towards one another. Okay, more like Hermione and Ron were cold to each other and to Harry, while Harry did his best to make things better again. Except, his idea of "making things better" was by leaving his two friends alone, whilst trying to appear approachable. "Trying" being the key word.
It was insane, seeing the Golden Trio like this. But Serenity did her best to brave it all. In the process, she ended up devoting most of her time with Harry – training, studying, and just providing him with her presence.
However she now discovered something else – Hermione. Hermione was hurting, and she didn't know what to do.
What could she do? Should she divide her time between Harry and Hermione... or leave the Head Girl be? It was frustrating not knowing the answer.
(Venus would know, wouldn't she? She's supposed to be the Goddess of Love, after all...) Serenity mused as she reveled in past memories.
Whilst she continued with her line of thinking, she felt another's presence and opened her eyes to see Neville hesitantly standing before her.
"Neville..." she greeted as she relaxed against the cool, hard stone of the school's walls.
Neville bit the bottom of his lip. It was always easier to say things in his mind, but when it came to actually doing it... that was something else altogether.
"What's wrong?" Serenity asked, noticing how fidgety the Gryffindor was.
"Shouldn't it be the other way?" Neville blurted out before he could stop himself, and slapped a hand over his mouth – he... didn't mean to say it like that.
He flushed in embarrassment while Serenity blinked in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Serenity enunciated, eyes questioning and body tense – she was wondering if Neville knew about Hermione and... Blaise.
"These past few weeks, Serenity..." Neville sighed, and slumped to the ground, "You, Hermione, Harry, Ron... and..."
"And...?" Serenity pressed.
"Draco – or have you forgotten?" Neville said, a bit exasperated that Serenity had not even thought about him.
"Draco..." Serenity slowly said the name, before it registered in her mind.
"Draco..." she repeated, regret and sorrow quickly filling her up to nearly overflow her senses.
"Yes, Draco," Neville echoed, and saw Serenity's posture tensing up even more than it had before, "For weeks you've been ignoring him... and for weeks I've been watching him act as if nothing is wrong. But I can see that ... you're hurting him, Serenity."
"I... didn't mean to..."
"Unintentional or not, you still have. As surprising as it is, he hasn't said anything about it. I even overheard him one time, telling the other Slytherins not to give you a hard time about it."
This was news to her, and she looked at Neville and saw that he was telling the truth. Draco for all that she had done to him, still defended her.
She felt even worse now.
"I...I don't know what to say. How could he... even after, Selene, I did this again." Serenity mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall.
"If it was me, I wouldn't forgive you. But I'm not him, and any idiot can see how much Malfoy loves you," Neville bluntly stated, and inwardly cringed at how harsh he was towards his friend.
But he couldn't back down, not after the amount of courage it took him to confront Serenity about this.
"I know," Serenity sighed, "I need to make it up – somehow. He's been there for me. And yet, after one offer from the Professor... I drop him and spend more time with Harry for convenience's sake."
"How am I going to fix this mess?" Serenity bumped the back of her head against the stone walls, but stopped when Neville reached out to stop her.
All that Neville could do was slump beside her and shrug in response. Although Neville pitied Draco, it didn't stop him from caring for his friend.
At the sight of Serenity's distraught face, he felt that she deserved some sympathy – even just a smidgen.
""""""""""""""
Professor Elminster hummed a random tune under his breath as he went about his office, waving at a pile of papers here, a few tomes over there, and then stopped when his blue eyes alighted on a nameless scroll.
Peering at it, he unfurled the parchment and read its contents. With a grave face, he nodded to himself before magically rolling it back up and making it vanish without even a wave of a hand.
In his mind, the contents still echoed in his mind.
Soon.
He knew what it meant, and knew the implications. Soon there would be war to be had, lives to be lost, and students to prepare.
What stood out aside from his duties was the fact that he would be returning home when that time came.
When that day arrives, he would not be here to help with the war effort – because it was Mystra's will.
"They'll be fine..." ... because I believe in them.
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Serenity was beside herself. The Hermione, Ron, and Harry problem. The war. The training.
But Draco... Draco stood out even more after her 'conversation' with Neville.
To think, she forgot someone so precious to her. Hadn't she done so before? Now here she was, doing it again.
With a frustrated sigh, Serenity got up from her seat in the library, ignoring the concerned looks flashing her way from nearby neighbors, and Harry in particular.
"Serenity?"
She shook her head apologetically, and began packing her belongings into her book bag.
"I'm sorry Harry, I need to fix something," Serenity whispered, and shouldered her bag before leaving the library altogether.
Behind her, Harry released a sigh and watched her go before returning to his work.
(About time...) Harry mused to himself, feeling a small clench around his heart.
He knew that Serenity had been spending far too much time with him. He was not blind to this fact, and noticed how much Malfoy tried to pretend that everything was fine. He saw the looks the Slytherin gave them when they were in the same room, the hurt and jealousy. And as much as Harry would love Serenity to spend every waking moment together with him, he had already known that her heart belonged to Malfoy.
He could pretend that that they were together again. But it couldn't last forever, not unless Serenity returned his feelings. In truth, she didn't – he knew that from that moment in their Sixth year.
Releasing another sigh, Harry laid his head on the table. He hoped that Serenity would be alright after her encounter with Malfoy.
If not, he would simply wait for her – right here, as always.
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Serenity paced back and forth, muttering feeble apologies and excuses that she felt would help her in her encounter with the Slytherin. However, with each excuse and apology that left her lips, she felt ten times worse.
(Nothing I can say or do would be good enough.) Serenity slumped against the cold stone wall.
"If you sit down here, you will catch a chill, little cub," Draco drawled as his languid form hovered over hers.
Looking up, she saw a small frown marring his usually impassive face. For the first time in a long while, she really looked at Draco Malfoy – and what she saw ate away at her as guilt kicked in.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Serenity gave a strained smile as she got up from her seat on the ground.
He nodded in reply, a grim expression now taking over but he fought against it until a blank mask took its place. Serenity already saw it.
"I don't really have the right to say anything – I already told myself that nothing I do or say would be good enough, and it's true." Serenity uttered.
She couldn't say how awful the Slytherin looked. Draco was paler than normal, his stance rigid, and bags were beginning to form under his eyes.
(This couldn't be all my doing, could it?)
"You've been ignoring me for Potter," Draco coldly stated, and Serenity bit the bottom of her lip in the process.
"Your whole life has been revolving around the Golden Boy for the past few weeks," Draco continued, his voice low and cool, almost mechanical in her ears.
"It's because..." Serenity started, but quieted when Draco continued.
"You two have been taking private Defense classes with Flamel – I know that much. The both of you have been seen spending a lot of time together..."
She bowed her head, ashamed. To anyone else, it would appear that she had been blatantly cheating on her boyfriend with someone else. But she knew Draco couldn't have come with that conclusion, or had he?
"Tell me Serenity," Draco's eyes hardened, "Why did you choose me over Potter?"
"I've seen how you to act with one another, and..."
Serenity shook her head vigorously and moved forward, not caring that she should be cautious around the Slytherin. She had to do something, anything to stop those words from flowing from his mouth.
And so, Serenity thrust herself forward and desperately fisted her fingers into Draco's robes, burying her head into his warmth.
"I chose you, because I love you - not Harry."
Serenity fixed herself more tightly around Draco, afraid that he might pull away from her. She didn't know why, but when he began to act so coldly toward her, when his gray eyes hardened, and when he saw his impassive face she grew fearful that Draco would want to end their relationship.
A large part of her didn't want that to happen – even though Draco had every right to do so.
After all, was she not the one who neglected him for someone else? For the Boy-Who-Lived, for the one she recently rejected?
"I know I've been horrible to you; I know that I haven't been seeing you as I should have, but...I didn't mean to."
Draco still didn't respond, and Serenity audibly sighed in frustration.
"Merlin that sounded bad."
Serenity pulled away, and Draco let her – his expression still set in cold stone.
"You're right – you didn't mean to," Draco said, his tone still indifferent and his posture stiff.
She looked up at him, confusion and apprehension apparent on her face.
"But even if you claim to love me, your actions claim otherwise."
Serenity froze, and she felt her heart clench. It is true; she claims to love him and for a time she had – the small affair they shared in Sixth year, and again toward the end of Sixth Year to the beginning of their Seventh Year. However, she dropped him, and forgot about him.
But couldn't she argue that she had been busy? That the war effort is more important…?
She mentally shook her head in a negative. No, those were inexcusable to her ears. She had made things work with Mamoru in her past life, in both of her past lives. And yet, she couldn't do a thing in this present time.
"I won't leave you, if that's what you're thinking," Draco interrupted her musing.
"I promised, didn't I?" Draco sighed, letting a bit of his mask slide off as he walked close to her, "I'll always be here, waiting for you."
Serenity felt tears prick up at the corner of her eyes – she couldn't understand why he would still stand beside her.
"But I want you to reconsider your feelings for me," Draco stared hard at Serenity, and tilted her chin up to meet his gray eyes.
"I want you to think about us."
He closed the distance between them, capturing her lips in a sweet, sensual kiss. It was bliss, it was everything she could want – peace, safety, and comfort. And when it ended, she was left in a daze with only his parting words.
"I love you."
(Not once has he said those words… just like with Harry.)
"""""""""""""""
Serenity stumbled back to Gryffindor Tower that Tuesday night, ignoring the looks of concern that flashed pass everyone's faces as she headed straight for her dorm room and collapsed onto bed.
That November night Serenity finally allowed everything fall away – she released her pent up emotions and cried. She cried for the Weasley family, for the Grangers, and she cried for Draco and his family. She cried for the broken relationships, the failing relationships, and the ones that should have been and could have been.
Outside her door, and down in Gryffindor Tower people would be wondering and whispering about what happened. A few tried to catch her attention and bring her comfort, but were ignored. Unfortunately, the only ones that could have brought even the smallest comfort were not there to witness the event – each one musing about their own problems, their own insecurities, and their own fears.
""""""""""""""
By Wednesday morning, a tense and foreboding feeling enveloped the Great Hall when everyone gathered for breakfast. All was quiet aside from the occasional murmur and small talk in an attempt to release the tension.
"Serenity?" Neville whispered, unease settling in his abdomen when he sat next to her, "Are you alright?"
Serenity blinked in surprise, not expecting anyone to speak with her.
"You were right, Nev," Serenity whispered before returning to her breakfast.
Before Neville could respond, a flurry of crows and ravens fluttered through the windows, blending in with the Owls. Eyes opened wide – surprise, fear, apprehension, curiosity, and pride apparent on everyone's faces.
The reason for the varying degree of expressions was because of the envelopes that each crow and raven carried with them.
A large amount settled itself on the Slytherin table, a lesser amount on Ravenclaws, a smaller batch amongst Hufflepuffs, and a scattered few on the Gryffindor table.
One made itself known right in front of Serenity.
A large black crow settled itself in front of her, a black envelope sealed with the emblem of the Dark Mark on it.
Invitations into the Death Eater fold have arrived at Hogwarts.
"""""""""""""""
Serenity glared at the unopened black envelope sitting on the Gryffindor table. She had whipped out her wand as fast as she could, and had cast several hexes and curses at the offending object. However, not one of them worked, and it only served to infuriate her even more.
Others around her watched, and some had even had the audacity to come up to her section. Those close to her remained silent, aside from a select few.
"Shouldn't you open it?" Colin piped up wanting to know what was inside.
"Are you daft? That's obviously from You-Know-Who!" Ron shouted in outrage, startling quite a few of his peers.
"That's why I've been trying to get rid of this," Serenity waved her wand, muttering another incantation only to be met with the same result, or lack thereof.
"You could always bring it to Dumbledore," Hermione suggested, putting her tome down.
Serenity shook her head, and waved her hand absentmindedly away from her and toward the other houses.
"He's preoccupied by the others who received the same letter."
"We could try joining our powers together," Harry leaned over and whispered.
Serenity shook her head; it wouldn't do to waste their efforts on an envelope.
"It's no use; I'll just wait until the Headmaster comes up with a solution."
She turned her attention away from the black envelope and looked across the Great Hall towards the Slytherin table.
Draco was calmly sitting beside his peers, the black envelope firmly clasped in his left hand as he spoke to his Head of House and then to the Headmaster, a dour look on his face. Every few moments he would turn his attention towards Blaise and Pansy, conversing shortly before returning to his Professors.
"The Slytherin House looks unhappy about their invitations," Ginny pointed out.
"Not all of them," Seamus disagreed.
"Most of them, then," Dean rolled his eyes at his best friend's antics.
Before long, Draco nodded solemnly before putting the black envelope inside his robes and then turned away from the Great Hall. Behind him, the other Slytherins followed suite and strode out – surprising most of Hogwarts' population.
"Did you just see that?" Neville spoke up.
"It doesn't mean anything," Serenity diffused any outrageous thoughts that the others may be having, "If any of you would care to remember – the Headmaster was right there with them."
The others saw the point – Dumbledore couldn't possibly be suggesting for the Slytherins to take Voldemort's offer. It was preposterous.
"But Serenity…" Harry ruffled his hair and looked at her, remorse in his eyes, "The Headmaster…he did do something that…"
Neville, Ron, and Ginny immediately noticed where Harry was going with this and all looked at each other, wondering if they should interfere.
It was Neville who decided to put a stop to it.
"Not here, Harry," Neville pressed, putting a hand firmly on Harry shoulder.
"Serenity, please understand that the Headmaster – no matter how incredible he may appear – has his own flaws as well." Ginny stressed, and then glared at Harry for his tactless approach.
It was at that point that Hermione and the others knew that something was up – something that even she knew nothing about. However, instead of demanding to know right away, she chose to keep her silence. She had no place to demand anything from them, not when she had been trying to distance herself away from her friends.
Meanwhile, Serenity slowly caught on to what the others were saying and paled. She remembered the time she spent with Him and inwardly shuddered. She knew what they meant now, and stifled a muffled scream of horror. She knew then that the Headmaster allowed it to happen.
Serenity didn't want to believe it, but she knew it to be the truth. She knew that she was nothing more than a piece, an object for the Headmaster to use and manipulate – to throw away when he found no more need for her.
Yes, he meant well. But if push comes to shove, the old man would do what it takes to ensure that those that truly mattered to him were protected. That Harry Potter was alive and well.
Serenity stared at the raven haired Gryffindor and felt a tug at her heart. She knew it as well – that if push came to shove, she would do what it took to help him.
Even so far as to die for him, because he is the Chosen One – the one destined to rid the Wizarding World of Voldemort.
And most importantly, she was sent here to rid the universe of Chaos.
Bowing her head, she summoned up enough courage from the Silver Crystal's warmth emanating from her oakwood wand. Once reassured, she fixed a faux smile on her face and turned to her friends.
"I know that everyone has their flaws, Ginny." Serenity turned away from them, "Thank you for reminding me of that."
Without a backwards' glance, Serenity strode out of the Great Hall, ignoring the black envelope that she left behind.
The only thought she had in mind now was the absolute fact that in this world, she would never get anywhere without making those first steps. She knew, without a doubt, that everyone had their own secrets and flaws. She accepted that.
She only hoped that she could amend for her own mistakes.
To be continued…
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If anyone is wondering about that scene between Draco and Serenity – then allow me explain. Draco is not leaving Serenity; he won't be the one to break up with her, because he loves her. He wants Serenity to be sure of her feelings, and doesn't want her to feel compelled to stay with him. A bit OOC but please bear with it. I figured that as Draco would be the type to be duty-bound and would not willingly leave a relationship unless the other person really wants to break it off.