Chapter 32: He Will Rise Again

The excitement from Gryffindor finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted all week. There seemed to be a party every night, hosted, of course, by Fred, George, and Emmett. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating with us. Each day was warmer and sunnier than the last, meaning all anyone wanted to do was lie on the grass by the lake and enjoy the day.

But we couldn't. June was here, which meant exams were coming up. Rosalie, Edward, and I spent almost every day in the common room, quizzing each other on different spells. Even Emmett, Jasper, and the Weasley twins were studying. They had O.W.L.s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels coming up, which would help decide what they were going to do once they left school. Percy was preparing for his N.E.W.T.s, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. He was hoping to enter the Ministry, so he needed top marks. He was becoming increasingly anxious, which was shown by him giving severe punishments to anyone who spoke above a whisper in the common room.

The only person who seemed to be more anxious than him was Bella. She was surrounded by books every day, and was refusing to speak to even us because she spent every waking moment studying.

We'd given up asking how she was in two classes at once, but when Edward saw her exam schedule, he couldn't help saying something:

Monday
9 o'clock, Arithmancy
9 o'clock, Transfiguration
Lunch
1 o'clock, Charms
1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

"Um, Bella?" Edward said tentatively, not wanting her to snap at him like she did the other day when he asked to borrow a quill. "Are you sure you copied down these times right?"

"What?" she asked, looking down at the schedule. "Of course I have."

"Is there any point of asking how you're supposed to sit for two exams at once?" Rosalie asked with a sigh.

"No," Bella snapped. "Has anyone seen my Arithmancy textbook?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Rosalie whispered sarcastically to me. We both looked up when we heard a rustle at the window, seeing Venus there. Edward ran over, opening the window so she could fly in.

He took the note from her as she settled on his shoulder. Venus loved all my friends almost as much as she loved me. They were all wonderful to her. "It's from Hagrid. They've set Buckbeak's appeal for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," Bella said, moving a pile of parchment, still looking for her book.

"They're coming here to do it," Edward read, his eyes scanning over the parchment. "Someone for the Ministry is coming—and an executioner," he said, his voice quiet.

"What?" Bella asked, looking up. "It sounds like they've already made their mind up."

"That's not fair!" Rosalie protested. "I've spent ages looking up all that stuff for him. They can't just ignore it!"

I bit my lip, feeling a knot form in my stomach. I was sure the Committee already had their mind made up. Draco, who had been quieter since Slytherin lost the Cup to us, had gotten some of his usual swagger back, boasting loudly that he was sure Buckbeak was going to be executed. It took all my self-control not to do what Bella did and punch him in the face.

The worst part about everything was that, due to the security measures, we couldn't even go see Hagrid. And I wasn't about to go and retrieve my invisibility cloak and let Snape catch me by that statue again.

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Exam week began and the castle became unnaturally quiet. Even the portraits seemed to be silent, sensing the anxiety that everyone was feeling. For us, Transfiguration was first for us. I thought I did alright. I could have done better, but I knew I didn't fail at least.

As we all walked out of the exam, everyone was comparing how they did, moaning about how difficult it had been, especially turning the teapot into a tortoise.

Bella managed to make an enemy out of everyone by complaining that hers looked more like a turtle than a tortoise.

"Mine still had a spout for a tail," Ron muttered, shaking his head.

"Do tortoises breathe steam?" Parvati asked, on the verge of tears.

The four of us made our way to the Great Hall for a quick lunch before the afternoon Charms exam. Rosalie glanced to the side, seeing Emmett and her brothers, who had just gotten out of their morning O.W.L. exams. She smiled at him and waved, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"You're fooling around with him!" I accused in a whisper so Edward didn't hear. He still didn't know I told her that Emmett fancied her.

"Am not," she hissed. "I promise I'm not. I said I wouldn't until I broke things off with Oliver. And since I haven't had a chance to end things with him yet, I'm just saying hi to him," she said under my disapproving gaze.

I looked up as Percy and the rest of the seventh years walked in from their N.E.W.T. exams. "Well, there he is. Now's as good a time as any," I murmured, nodding my head in the direction of my Quidditch captain—well, now former Quidditch captain.

Rosalie bit her lip before rising to her feet. "I'll be back. Don't leave for Charms without me," she said. I nodded my head, watching her walk over to Oliver and take his hand, leading him out of the Great Hall.

"What's she up to? Doesn't she know we have Charms in less than 20 minutes?" Bella said, her voice taking on a hint of hysteria.

"Relax," I laughed, shaking my head. "She'll be back before we head to Charms." I didn't want to tell them what Rosalie was doing. That was her business, not theirs. If she wanted to tell them, she would. I was friends with Bella and Edward, but Rosalie was still my best friend. She was the one I could tell everything to, no matter what. She was the one who I could talk to about Jasper without feeling like I was being judged. Sometimes when I said things to Bella, I got that feeling. And Edward? Well, he was a guy. It was hard to talk about liking a guy to another guy.

Rosalie returned ten minutes later, her face red from crying. I saw Wood follow her in, not even looking in our direction. Instead, he took a seat next to some of his friends and stared down at his food, a dejected look in his eyes.

"It was the right thing to do," I whispered to Rose as she took a seat, taking her hand and squeezing it for comfort, not even caring that it would send me into a vision.

Rosalie looked up at me from the bed in Shell Cottage, an ashamed look on her face. "Alice, I…I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have told you back in August," she sighed.

I shook my head, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Don't. I understand why you did it. I would have never let you come if I knew. You're parents are going to know now, though," I said, lying down on the bed next to her, staring up at the ceiling.

"They'll get over it. Besides, Bill said he'd let me tell them myself instead of him ratting me out. I think everything will be okay, though. I mean, I'm fine. I'm alive, not for lack of trying."

I looked over at her, tears in my eyes. "But what if something happened back there? It would all be my fault. This was all my idea. I never even bothered to think about what could happen to you guys."

"Alice, stop it. Me, Bella, and Edward knew the risk of going with you. We've known the risk since our first year when you led us down the trap door to get the Sorcerer's Stone. At this point, anything that happens to us is our own fault. We know the risk of going with you, and yet we all still come."

"But why? Why do you come with me when you know He could kill you at any moment to get to me?"

"Because we love you, Alice. You're my best friend in the entire world. I would do anything and risk anything for you. Nothing will ever change that. So if one day I died protecting you, it would be worth it. Because I know you're the Wizarding world's one chance at hope. It's you, Alice. You really are the Chosen One, even if you don't want to be."

I sighed, wiping my eyes. "I know I am. And I know what I have to do." I looked at her. "You have to stay here. You can't come with us anymore. Go be with your family. You need them. And I'm sure Emmett's missed you while you've been gone. And please, stay hidden," I begged, hugging her tightly. "You're my best friend, Rose. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

She smiled, kissing the top of my head. "I will, I promise. Emmett's house is safe. I'll stay there until it's safe to go back to my parent's house. And if I see Jasper, I'll tell him not to do anything stupid, like marry another girl," she laughed.

I let out a humorless laugh. "Yes, because waiting to marry me is a great idea. Who knows if there'll be anything left to marry in the end."

"Alice!" Rose was shouting, shaking me. "Alice, wake up. We have to go!"

My eyes focused back into place as I sat up from the floor. Rose, Edward, and Bella were around me, as well as Jasper, the Weasley twins, and Emmett.

"Is she okay?" Jasper was asking. "What happened? We saw her fall to the floor."

"I'm fine," I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "Just exam nerves, I guess," I said, trying to play it off.

Jasper looked at me suspiciously, knowing it was something more than that. "Really guys, I'm fine. But I won't be if you don't let me up to get to my Charms exam," I said, giving them a look.

Emmett took my arm and helped me to my feet while Fred and George dusted me off. "You didn't look okay. You just fell off the bench and onto the ground. It was weird."

I smiled, patting Emmett's shoulder. "Really, I'm fine. I promise. I have to go, though," I said as Rosalie pulled my arm. "I have to go!" I called back, waving as I rushed out of the Great Hall towards the Charms room.

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked in a whisper as the two of us jogged to keep up with Bella and Edward.

"You and me. I have no idea where we were—I think you mentioned your brother Bill, so we were at his house. And you lied to me about something, I think. And then I said something about you not coming with me anymore and me being the Chosen One, whatever that means," I said with a small shrug.

Rose gave me a strange look. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know it doesn't. So let's not worry about it and worry about passing Charms instead," I said with a small laugh. "That's what's important right now, not some silly vision that doesn't mean anything."

Rose and I were partnered together for the exam. I outdid my Cheering Charm due to both nerves and the fact that my mind was distracted from the vision. Though, I suppose it was a good thing. Rosalie definitely needed cheering up after breaking up with Wood. She had to be led away for an hour to calm down afterwards before she could do the charm herself.

After the exam, Rose and I headed up to the common room, where Edward and Bella already were, preparing for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.

I took my favorite chair by the fire while Rosalie sat by my feet, both of us focusing on Potions more than anything else. I looked up as Emmett approached us, taking a seat next to Rose.

"So, I heard the littlest Weasley broke the heart of my former Quidditch captain," he teased, elbowing her in the side.

"Shut up, Emmett. Don't you have something to study for?" she asked, sticking her tongue out.

"Tomorrow's Divination. I can just make some stuff up and pass with full marks," he laughed, leaning back as he started playing with her hair.

Rosalie brushed his hand away with an irritated sigh. "Well, I have Potions. So go away and bother someone else," she snapped.

I looked down at her with wide eyes. Rose had never spoken to Emmett like that—the stress must have been getting to her.

Emmett looked slightly hurt before nodding and getting up. "Okay, I'm sorry Rosie. You'll be great, I promise," he said, patting the top of her head before walking over and taking a seat beside Jasper. The two of them kept looking over at us all night. I could feel Jasper's eyes on me, but I didn't dare look up. I knew I'd never be able to concentrate on anything but him if I did.

Care of Magical Creatures was probably the easiest exam any of us had ever taken. Hagrid, too preoccupied with the appeal, gave us all a flobberworm and said we just needed to keep it alive to pass. Since they did best if left on their own, it gave Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and I time to talk to Hagrid.

"Beaky's getting' depressed. Bin cooped up too long. Still, we'll know one way or another day after tomorrow," he sighed.

In the afternoon was potions. It didn't matter what I did, I couldn't get the potion to thicken. I saw Snape walk by with a smirk as he wrote down something that looked like a zero on his clipboard. Though I had always known I'd do terrible in that one.

Astronomy was at midnight on the tallest tower, which was easy. History of Magic was the next morning, where I regurgitated everything from my notes onto the exam. Herbology followed in the afternoon, which meant all that was left between school and summer was Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was in the morning. It was safe to say I had never had a more unusual exam. It was sort of like an obstacle course. There were Red Caps, grindylows, and hinkypunks, as well as a boggart at the end.

I passed the boggart with a grin, finding Professor Lupin standing there with a smile. "Excellent job, Alice. Full marks," he said, patting me on the back as I walked past him.

I moved off to the side, waiting for my three friends to finish. Edward did okay until the hinkypunk confused him. Rosalie tripped up with the Red Caps. And Bella…well, she ran out screaming.

"Bella!" Lupin said, his voice full of concern as he bent over her, trying to calm her down. "What is it? What happened?"

"It was P-P-Professor McGonagall. She said—said I'd failed everything!" she sobbed, pointing to the trunk which held the boggart.

After she had calmed down and stopped crying, she headed back into the castle with us, Edward teasing her the whole time.

I thought she was going to punch him like she did Malfoy, but stopped when we saw the Minister of Magic waiting at the top of the stairs outside Dumbledore's office.

"Alice!" he said, a grin on his face. "Good to see you, my dear. Just had an exam, I suppose?"

"Yes," I said, feeling a bit awkward as my friends hung in the back. It was a bit weird being on a fist name basis with the Minister of Magic, after all.

"Lovely day," he said, gazing outside at the lake before shaking him head. "Pity I can't enjoy it. I'm here on unpleasant business. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures needed a witness for the execution of a mad hippogriff. And because of the whole Black situation, I was needed her anyways."

"So, the appeal's already happened?" Rosalie asked, stepping forward timidly.

"No, it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge said, looking at Rose with a mixture of what seemed to be curiosity and awe. She seemed to have that effect on men, regardless of their age.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution!" she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "The hippogriff might get off."

Before Fudge could answer her, two other wizards joined him. One was so ancient, he could have been Dumbledore's father. The other was tall and built, fingering something on his belt. When I looked down, I saw it was an axe. Rosalie was about to say something, but Bella grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

"What'd you do that for?" she asked once we were in the Great Hall. "They already have the axe ready! This isn't justice, it's murder!"

"Rose, your dad works for the Ministry. You can't just say something like that to his boss. As long as Hagrid keeps a level head, they'll have no reason to execute Buckbeak," she said, though I knew she didn't believe that.

Of all people in the world, why di Buckbeak have to attack Malfoy? There was no way Hagrid could win this appeal, not with Lucius Malfoy owning half of the Ministry.

While we had Divination, Bella had Muggle Studies. We left her at the stairs, her heading to the left, us heading up to the North Tower. We arrived to see everyone sitting outside of the room, trying to fit as much studying in as possible. Rose took a seat beside her brother, Edward and I sitting beside her.

"Have you ever seen anything in the crystal ball?" Edward asked while Rose studied with her brother.

"Nope. I'm just going to make things up. Hopefully she buys it," I said with a sigh. Edward reach over, patting my hand. He started to say something, but his voice got quiet as my vision darkened.

"You!" Edward roared as Rosalie and Emmett walked into the common room from the Yule Ball.

Emmett sighed, letting go of her hand. "Look, I know she's your friend, Edwa—"

"I'm not talking to you!" he snapped. "I'm talking to her! How could you do this? My brother. MY brother. We're not supposed to date each other's siblings!" he shouted while Rosalie's face went bright red.

"You don't have any say over who your brother dates, Edward! I don't see why you care, either," she snapped.

"Because. It's not right. He's too old for you. And you're just going to dump him like you have every other boy at this school!"

Rosalie glared at him before slapping him across the face. Edward, Emmett, and I all stared at her. "How dare you, Edward. You're one of my best friends. I thought you'd be happy for me. Well, you can go to Hell for all I care. Don't speak to me again unless you plan on acting like an adult," she said, storming off without even saying goodnight to Emmett.

I stared at Edward. In the matter of thirty minutes, he'd managed to get Bella and Rosalie to hate him. I moved over next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Edward. I'm still here for you," I promised. After all, he was the only one who stuck by me in the beginning of the year. I wasn't going to desert him now.

"Alice!" Edward said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Alice, wake up!" he said, whispering so as not to get the attention of everyone.

I sat up, feeling a bit nauseous. That was new. The visions were getting worse. I was falling over, passing out—and I didn't know why.

"What did you see?" he whispered, putting an arm around me.

"You. And Rose. Her yelling at you and telling you to sod off," I said, looking up at him.

Edward bit his lip. "Why?" he asked. "What did I do?"

"Yelled at her about something," I said, the vision slipping away just as quickly as it had come. "I can't remember why. I'm sure it's nothing," I said, biting my lip.

Edward shrugged it off. "It was probably nothing. Me being an idiot or something like that," he said as Rosalie came down the ladder.

"How was it?" Edward asked, standing up as his name was called.

"Load of rubbish. Couldn't see a thing. Made up stuff about seeing the grim around you, and she seemed to buy it," she said with a shrug. "I'll see you back in the common room," she promised, ruffling my hair as she walked past me.

Edward came back after ten minutes, shaking his head. "Don't even ask. I'm sure I failed—she didn't buy a single thing I said," he said, heading in the direction of the common room. "I'll see you back there," he called.

"Alice Brandon," came Professor Trelawney's airy voice. I climbed up the stairs to the classroom, taking a seat in front of the crystal ball. "Good day, my dear. If you would, please gaze into the Orb and tell me what you see. Take your time," she said, smiling at me as she watched every more I made.

I looked into the glass ball and, as usual, saw nothing. I racked my brains, but all I could think of was Hagrid and Buckbeak, hoping he was doing okay in his appeal right now.

"What do you see?" Professor Trelawney asked, prompting me to start talking.

"Um, some kind of dark shape. It kind of looks like a hippogriff," I said, looking up at her.

"Indeed!" she said, leaning forward intently. "My dear, you may be seeing the outcome of Hagrid's appeal today. Tell me, does the hippogriff have its head?"

"Yes," I said firmly.

"Are you sure? Look harder. Does it seem to be writing on the ground? Any blood? Any crying Hagrid?"

"No," I said, wanting nothing more than to get out of here. "It's fine. It's flying away," I said, just wishing more than anything that it was true.

"Oh," she said, giving me a disappointed look. "A little disappointing, but I'm sure you did your best," she said.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I got up, picking up my bed and turned to head back to the common room

"It will happen tonight."

I turned around suddenly, seeing Professor Trelawney sitting in her chair. Except she didn't look normal. Her eyes had rolled back and she was gripping the armchair tightly, her entire body rigid. "Professor?" I asked,, taking a step towards her.

She didn't seem to hear me. I thought she was about to have a seizure—or maybe she was already having one? She looked up at me, her eyes out of focus as she spoke again in a voice that wasn't like hers.

"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight…the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with the servant's aid, greater and more terrible than he ever was. Tonight…before midnight…the servant…will set out…to rejoin…his master…"

Professor Trelawney seemed to sit there for a moment before standing up, looking at me. "Oh, I'm sorry, my dear. I drifted off there for a moment." Her voice was normal again, and she didn't seem to realize what had just happened. "Is there something wrong?"

"You…you just told me the Dark Lord's going to rise again. That—that his servant's going to break free and rejoin him."

She looked at me, shocked. "That Dark Lord? My dear child, that's hardly something to joke about. Rise again indeed," she said, shaking her head.

"But you just said it!" I protested. "Just now. You said—"

"I think you must have dozed off as well," she said, cutting me off. "I would certainly not presume to predict anything as far-fetched as that," she said, ushering me out of the room.

I walked down the hall, thinking over what had just happened. Was that just her way to end the semester? Or…had that been a real prediction? I started running down the corridor, giving the password breathlessly as Professor Trelawney's words echoed in my head.

The common room was full of people laughing and enjoying the end of exams. Emmett and Jasper were laughing at a joke Fred had just told while Lee and George were playing a game of exploding snap.

I looked over, spotting Bella, Edward, and Rosalie sitting in the corner. "Guys," I panted, coming to a stop. "Professor Trelawney—" I fell silent at the sight of Rosalie's face.

"Buckbeak lost," she said, her face pale and voice trembling. "Hagrid just sent this," she said, handing me a note.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.
Hagrid

The note was barely legible—Hagrid's hand had been shaking so much when he wrote it. "We have to go," I said. "We can't just leave him alone to deal with this."

"We can't," Edward said. "Especially not you, Alice. They'll never let us."

I sighed, taking a seat. "If only I had the invisibility cloak."

"Where is it?" Bella demanded, standing up. I told her about the statue of the one eyed witch and how it opened. "Stay here. I'm going to get it," she said walking away from us without another word.

Edward stared after her, his mouth wide open. "I don't know what's gotten into her lately. She punches Malfoy, walks out on Trelawney, and now she's getting the cloak so we can sneak out. Is this a nerd's way of being a rebel?" he asked as she came back, the silvery cloth in her hand.

"Let's go," she said, throwing the cloak over the four of us. We carefully headed out of the common room, making sure our feet were still hidden. Edward, who seemed to have grown a bit since first year, had to crouch a bit to keep hidden.

"This would be easier if you were shorter," Rosalie hissed, holding onto his arm tightly as we moved out of the castle and across the grounds towards Hagrid's cabin.

Bella reached a hand up, knocking a few times. "Hagrid, it's us!" she called. "We're under the cloak," she said as Hagrid opened the door. Edward pulled it off us as Hagrid ushered us inside.

"Yeh shouldn't 'ave come," he said, walking over to the kitchen and started preparing tea. "Want some?" he asked, his hands shaking as he dropped a cup.

"Hagrid, I'll get it," Bella said kindly, pushing him into a chair with a bit of force. She started preparing tea for all of us. "Where's Buckbeak?" she asked, looking around the small cabin.

"Outside. I thought it'd be best if he were outside, 'round the fresh air," he said, letting out a great sigh, his hands shaking.

Bella opened the cabinet for some sugar, letting out a small shriek, dropping another cup on the ground.

"What is it?" Edward asked, jumping to his feet.

"I…I don't believe it. Rosalie, it's Scabbers!" she laughed, holding up the rat by its tail. She handed the rat to Rose, who looked down at him with a smile.

"It's really him!" she laughed, holding him up to the light. He really looked awful. He was extremely thin with large patches of hair missing as he tried to desperately escape from Rosalie's hold on him. "It's okay, Scabbers! It's me! There's no cats here," Rose said, holding him tightly.

There was a branch snapping behind us. Hagrid turned, his face paling. "There're coming. You lot have to get outta here. You'll be in a lot of trouble if they catch yeh out here—'specially you, Alice," he said.

"No, we're staying," Bella said.

"No!" Hagrid said, pushing us out the back door and throwing the cloak over us. "They can't see you here. Just go," he said, shutting the door.

Bella led us away from the cabin, her face anxious. "Hurry. I don't want to hear them do it," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Rosalie stopped, causing us to pause in our tracks.

"Please Rosalie. Please…" she moaned.

"It's Scabbers. He won't stay still," she said. "Scabbers, stop it. It's Rosalie. Calm down," she muttered, trying to shove him in her pocket.

We moved forward a bit, Scabbers squeaking wildly. But it still wasn't enough to cover the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a swish and a thud as the axe connected with something as Hagrid started wailing loudly.

"They did it," Bella whispered, throwing her arms around Edward's neck. "They actually did it."