Chapter Twenty-Eight: Hallie
Hallie couldn't believe how long the last challenge took to come back up. Professor Snape really wanted to make that no one could follow him. To be honest, she was pretty sure that the room had kept her out for a reason; and she was afraid that said reason was that her brother and Professor Snape had to battle one another. She wasn't supposed to be in there with him yet. It was probably why the doorway had been closed off for herself and Prim. Voldemort was a demon for both of them but she felt like there was something that they were missing. From what everyone has told them this year about how they got their scars, Harry should have been the only one with a scar. Hallie's was a fluke of nature. Voldemort's spell shouldn't have hit her that fateful night. But if her nightmare was correct, then the thing that they were missing was another evil being.
Once she was finally able to go through the door, she noticed that her brother was unconscious and there was a very much dead Professor Quirrell. "What happened here?" She noticed the Mirror of Erised and walked up to it. "What are you doing here?" She watches herself and makes her mind go blank, so she could see what she desired the most. Looking back into the mirror, she sees her brother standing next to her. He smiles before pulling out the Philosopher's stone from his pocket. "Do you have the stone, brother?" She asks herself as she looks behind her at Harry.
Sighing, she walks over to her brother and digs her hand into the pocket he had pulled the stone from. "Wow… How did this even happen?" She slides the stone back into his pocket and stands up. "Now, how to get you out of here… Hmmm… Maybe… No that won't work." Hallie keeps pacing, trying to figure out what she was going to do before hearing a strange noise. "Is that the flames starting back up again? Is Professor Dumbledore already coming to save us?" She questions to herself as she continues to examine her brother.
"Hallie, what… What are you doing here? Is… Is your brother alright? He's not dead, right?" Heather Stewart, their Head Girl asks.
Hallie stands up and looks at her Head Girl. "No, he's just unconscious. Why are you here? No one is supposed to know about this room."
Heather smirks for a second before having a look of fear run across her face. "Exactly, no one was supposed to know about this room and yet, here you are. Now, where… where is the stone. I need it. Please."
"Why do you need it, Heather? This stone that we are talking about shouldn't be your concern. Professor Dumbledore hid it here because he is trying to keep it safe." Hallie looks at her Head Girl, and feels a pain in her scar again. "Heather, why does being in your presence gives me a sharp pain where my scar is."
The Head Girl smirks again before speaking. Her voice goes a higher pitch and says, "It's because I'm possessing her, you stupid girl. You are the reason I'm like this. You and your bloody brother did this to me and my master. I'm now a ghost of myself unless I get this stone. Now hand it over!"
"Wait, who are you? What do you mean that I did this to you." Hallie questions.
Heather tilts her head and says, "Don't you know that I'm the reason you have that scar?" Hallie shakes her head 'no' and Heather growls. "Well, I guess our followers really did not want to put me in the story at all. I'm Ayla Eva Selwyn, the wife of Lord Voldemort and I'm the reason why you have that scar. Haven't you thought of how you could've gotten that scar? Once my husband banished, he couldn't have given you that scar. That scar was brought on from me. I tried to kill you that Halloween night."
Hallie looks down and shakes her head. "That means my nightmares are real. You were the one that killed my dad that night. We knew that something wasn't right, when no one could explain how I had the exact same scar."
"Yes, Heather's talked about how you should've been in Ravenclaw. Now, the stone, Hallie Potter. I want that stone." Heather says creepily, before gasping. "No, Hallie, don't give it to her! She'll kill you!" Heather gasps loudly before dropping straight to the ground. "I told you what would happen if you go against me! I won't hesitate to kill you, girl."
Heather starts to roll around on the ground in pain; gasping for breath. "What are you doing to her!" Hallie runs over to the girl and goes to grab Heather shoulder but jumps back. "What… How…" Hallie looks over at where her brother and Professor Quirrell were lying down. Looking at the burns all over Professor Quirrell's body she bounces away. "I can't… I can't touch you without hurting you, Heather…"
Her Head Girl laughs through her gasps of pain. "I didn't realize that you cared so much, Hallie Potter."
Hallie looks down at the poor girl with pity and sighs, "I'm not one to like to see people in pain, Heather. Professor Dumbledore should be heading this way. He should be able to help."
"Oh, you stupid, stupid girl, no one is coming for you. If you won't give me that stone in your pocket, then I will just have to kill you." Heather says wickedly.
"Haven't you realized, you can't hurt me." Hallie tells them with a smirk.
Heather nods her head before answering, "But I can hurt your brother and with the wide variety of skills that both Heather and myself know, I can easily kill him. Now the stone, Hallie."
What should I do? I have to give them the stone or my brother is dead. But… I also can't allow someone so evil to have this stone. It's too powerful. "Heather, I know that you are in there; just fight her. You are strong enough. Fight until Professor Dumbledore gets here."
"Stop telling her what to do!" Heather screams out and launches herself at Hallie. Hallie kicks at the older girl and moves away.
Hallie could tell that Heather, or more like Ayla, was about to pounce on her, when something changed – Heather started to fight herself. Watching the older girl trying to get the spirit or whatever Ayla was, out was definitely interesting. Though, she was not going to allow this opportunity to go in vain. She runs over to her brother and starts to drag him through the doorway of the last room.
Heather slash Ayla screams loudly and Hallie turns her head. Making sure her brother and the stone was safe, she turns back to the doorway and takes a huge gulp of air. Grabbing the bottle that allowed her to go through the doorway last time, she takes a sip and walks back through. The first thing that her eyes truly focus on was Heather withering in pain on the stone floor. But then all of a sudden, a huge black mist flies out of her Head Girl.
Losing track of where the mist went to, Hallie runs over to the older girl and falls to her knees. "Heather? Heather, please tell me that you are still alive?" She questions as she risks a hand to Heather's chest. "Oh, thank Merlin! How? How did you not die? We need the headmaster… Hopefully, Prim, Hermione, and Ron made it to the Owlry. I promise that I won't leave your side, okay?" Hallie brushes the older girls' hair back and sighs in relief. "Madam Pomfrey will be able to get you back on your feet. You just have to stay with me until help comes." Hallie continues to speak, hoping that she is bringing some comfort to the unconscious girl.
"Hallie! Harry!" Professor Dumbledore calls out and Hallie jumps up. And with her back turned, the weird black mist that had come out of Heather, flies right through her and the young girl falls down to her knees. Before she sub comes to the blackness around her, she sees the look of pure evil on the face that tried to kill her that fateful Hallows Eve night.
What? Where am I? Ow! Why did that hurt to move? Hallie thinks as she slowly opens her eyes. Okay, that was definitely not smart! Let's try this again. Slowly, she brings her right hand up to shield her eyes before opening them. After being able to handle the brightness, she looks around and notices that she was in the hospital wing. Thank Merlin! Professor Dumbledore got to us in time.
"I see that you are awake. That both of you are." Professor Dumbledore says and she turns her head to look at him and her brother. "I was afraid that I was too late."
Hallie closes her eyes again before asking, "How long have we've been out?"
"Oh, just three days. Miss Dursley, Miss Granger, and Mister Weasley will be please to know that you two have woken up." Their headmaster said with a soft smile.
"Do you know what happened? Do you know what we found? What about the stone?" Harry questions and Professor Dumbledore chuckles.
"Don't worry about the stone, my dear boy. It has been destroyed and yes, my friend Nicolas knows what that will mean for himself and his wife. And I've gathered up as much information as I could about the events that happened."
Hallie blinks and shoots up in her bed. "What about Heather? Please tell me that you were able to get to her in time!"
The headmaster smiles sadly and says, "Yes, she's safe and well… She's left the school to be treated for possession. Heather has told me what happened to her over the summer holiday and she might never get over it… But she does want me to tell you how thankful she was. You helped her fight it."
Hallie nods her head before asking the question that she's been thinking about since that night. "Why does no one know about Ayla Selwyn? Or more of, why does no one talk about how she is the one to give me my scar?"
"That's an amazing question, Miss Potter. All I can tell you is that she wasn't out there on the front lines until that night. Don't misunderstand me when I say that she wasn't ever there because she was just as important as Voldemort but she just dealt with the background of things. I don't know everything about her; but I do know that night; it was important to them. They felt that they had to get rid of the two of you for their rein to continue. Obviously, they were wrong… But Voldemort and Ayla were a power couple in their ranks and that was why they had so many followers. He needed her for her blood status. She was the last of the Selwyns, Hallie."
"Why did they burn when we touched them?" Harry questioned. "I'm just assuming that Heather had a few burns if Hallie ever touched her."
Professor Dumbledore nods his head and says, "They couldn't touch you due to your parents' love. Lily and James died for the two of you. They loved you so much and that meant that their love, their blood will always protect you." Hallie and Harry nod their heads and Professor Dumbledore sighs. "I want you two to both realize that they are still out there and they will do whatever it takes to get their hands on a human form. So, be careful. Now, I'm sure your friends would love to see you."
And with that, Professor Dumbledore stands up and walks out. Hallie looks over at her brother and sigh. "We are going to have a tough time here, won't we?"
"I think so, Hals, but if we have each other and our friends… we can get through it." She smiles and nods her head.
Ron, Hermione, and Prim run into the room and right over to their beds. "Guys, Gran would have killed you if the two of you had died!" Prim says with tears in her eyes. "What happened? Professor Dumbledore wouldn't tell us much. He's trying to keep the story on the hush even though everyone knows that something happened down there."
"Well… It wasn't Professor Snape down there, but Professor Quirrell. He was behind everything that's happened this year – how I almost died during the Quidditch match, the troll… All of that was him… Anyways, somehow I was able to win the battle between us and Voldemort's spirit or something comes out of our teacher and through me… which caused me to pass out."
Hallie picks up where he left off, "So, once I'm finally able to come into the room, I see my brother unconscious and Professor Quirrell dead. I find the stone in Harry's pocket and put it back, so he could keep it safe when our bloody Head Girl walks in. At first, I was confused and was frankly hoping that she was there to help us… But well, she was being possessed by the witch that had gave me my scar. Voldemort actually had a wife named Ayla Eva Selwyn and they were like the evil power couple in their group of followers. Well somehow, I was able to give Heather the will to fight the possession and… And I saved her. She's alive because I wouldn't let her give up on herself. Anyways, long story short, as Professor Dumbledore was making his way to us, Ayla's spirit went through me and I passed out. The stone has been destroyed and the Flamels are actually okay with dying."
"Now, can we get the story of what happened once we split up?" Harry questioned.
Hermione smiles and says, "Well, once Prim and I were able to get Ron to wake up, we fly up to the third floor and make our way to the Owlry. Luckily Professor Dumbledore already knew that something was up and we kind of met at the entrance to the school. I still have no idea how we never saw Heather down there..."
"I don't know… But do we know how the year is ending, point wise?" Hallie asked.
"Well, because Harry was out cold, we got creamed during our last Quidditch match. And somehow Slytherin won the house cup. Do you know if the two of you will be able to come to the end of year feast tomorrow night?" Ron asks and the Potter twins shrug their shoulders.
Prim stands up and sighs. "We better get going. Madam Pomfrey didn't want us in here to begin with. See you two tomorrow, alright?"
Luckily, Madam Pomfrey was able to release them, with some hesitation, the next day for the end of year feast. After doing some light cleaning in their dorms, they meet up with their friends. "Has anyone told Neville how sorry we are?" Hallie asks as all of them start to walk out.
"Yeah, I've talked with him. He now understands why we had to do what we did that night. So, the good thing is that he won't hate us, but his sister isn't all that happy with us. Ella didn't like coming down the stairs the next morning but she'll get over it at some point." Prim says with a shrug as the group makes their way down to the Great Hall.
Hallie nods and says, "I'll talk to both of them. We never meant for Neville to be there that night. I don't want there to be any bad blood between any of us. We already have the whole house against us after we lost the House Cup."
"It does suck that Slytherin is the house to win, but I'm happy for Daphne. Slytherins get a lot of crap for being bad but any house can have an evil student. I mean, Heather was kind of evil for a while this year." Hermione adds in as they make it to the Great Hall. "Are you guys ready to face the stares and whispers?"
Harry looks at the group before sighing. "We are going to have to be ready. It would look worse if we missed the feast." The group of five walked into the Great Hall to see it decked out in Slytherin banners to celebrate their seventh year at winning the House Cup. Even though Hallie was happy for Daphne, she hated the fact that their house would have originally won the cup if they had not have been caught that night with the dragon. As soon as they had stepped foot into the grand room, everyone goes quiet before the silence erupted into a roar as every student tried to look at the five first year Gryffindors.
"Merlin's beard, I hate this…" Hallie grumbles as she beelines for the seat next to Seamus. "Please, just don't." She says as she places herself down next to the Irish boy. "I don't really want to talk about it." Seamus nods his head and the group makes themselves comfortable. Luckily, Professor Dumbledore makes himself known at the moment.
"Good evening, my pupils. Another year has come and gone; and I hope you all have gained knowledge and experience this year. I'm sure your full heads will be empty by the new term. Now, I do believe we have the end of year House Cup to award." The Slytherin's table erupts in a loud cheer and Professor Dumbledore nods. "Yes, yes. I do believe we have a winner. Now in fourth place with two hundred and two points, Gryffindor! Third place with three hundred and fifty-two points, Hufflepuff! Second place with four hundred and twenty-six points, Ravenclaw! And that leaves Slytherin in first place with four hundred and seventy-two points!"
The Slytherin House erupts into another roar as Professor Dumbledore continues to talk. "But there are some additional points that your Professors and I have agreed to give out last minute." Hallie looks over at the Slytherin table and notices that all of their smiles have fallen off of their faces. "First, to Mister Ron Weasley, fifty points for the best game of chess ever played here at Hogwarts." Ron starts to blush as everyone cheers at the fact that their house was now moving up in points.
Hallie could hear Percy Weasley calling out to the other prefects that Ron was his brother. That's nice that he is so excited for his brother. "To Miss Granger, fifty points for being able to use logic in the heat of the moment." Hermione turns into Harry's shoulder, hopefully shaking with joy but Hallie was pretty sure her best friend was crying.
"To Miss Dursley, fifty points for being able to think clearly in a difficult situation." Professor Dumbledore says as Prim shoots everyone a beaming smile. "To Mister and Misses Potter, sixty points each for showing everything that Gryffindor stands for when it matters the most."
"We are tied with Slytherin!" Seamus says as he gives Hallie a quick hug! "I wonder how this work?"
Hallie gives him a grin before saying, "I don't know… Maybe we share the cup? It's not a win but it's also not a loss in my opinion."
"Now, being able to stand up to your enemies shows a lot of courage but to be able to stand up to your peers and people you call your friends – shows more. So, we would like to award Mister Neville Longbottom ten points. I believe the final total for Gryffindor is four hundred and eighty-two points." And just like that, Professor Dumbledore changes the banners to show Gryffindor pride as everyone – but Slytherin – cheer for the Gryffindors.
As dinner shows up on the table, Hallie stands up to walk over to where Ella and Neville were sitting. "Hey guys… I'm sorry for what happened the other night. We never meant for you to be there, Neville. We also didn't want to get in trouble, but we had to protect the Stone… Harry and I… Well, we have this duty to always make sure we fight against evil and well… We had to that night."
"It's okay, Hallie. I understand why you guys did it." Neville says with a smile. "I still can't believe that I had the courage to stand up against you guys. The five of you are… probably the most popular students in our year. But thanks for apologizes, Hallie, it means a lot to both Ella and I."
Hallie gives him a smile and says, "Well, the apology comes from all five of us, you know." Neville nods his head with a smile. "Good, and sorry, Ella… that you had to come up onto your brother like that the next morning. I… I don't know what I would've done if I came up on Harry like that."
"Thanks, Hallie. It was definitely scary but I went and got Madam Pomfrey as soon as I saw him like that." Ella tells her and Hallie nods.
"Thanks for accepting my apology guys. I'm going to let you two get back to your dinner." The three of them say bye and Hallie walks back over to her friends with a smile.
A few days later, their exam results came out and everyone earned stellar marks. Hermione was the best in their class, with Hallie following close behind her. Hallie was sad that she had to pack up the last of her possessions but she was thankful that she was heading back to a loving home. She couldn't wait to see Gran and Papa, so she shoved the last of her things into her trunk and called for Cleo climb into the carrier. "I know you hate it in here, but it's only until we get onto the train."
Prim walks up shortly and says, "Have you seen Midnight? She doesn't want to go into the carrier, so now she's hiding from me."
"No, but let's look for her. She couldn't have gotten far." Both girls do a quick glance over their room before walking down to the common room.
"Prim, Midnight was hiding in the boy's dorm." Harry says with a laugh as he hands over her familiar. "I'm guessing she's not liking the carrier?" Prim shakes her head 'no' as she places Midnight in carefully. "Have you seen Hermione or Ron yet? I had to run and get Hedwig; and when I came back I couldn't find either of them."
Hallie laughs before saying, "I think Hermione went to the library, to see if she could check out a book or two. Don't know why when she could go to Diagon Alley over the summer holiday. And I don't know about Ron." She sees Seamus walk down the stairs with Dean and calls out. "Hey, have you seen Ron by chance?"
"He's walked down already with his brothers. We have to be at the train station soon." Seamus tells her with a smile and says, "Here… So, we can make sure to keep in touch over the holiday." She smiles as she pockets the parchment with his address.
The group walks down and they all meet up by the lake. As they were about to get into the boats to be taken over to the Hogwarts Express, Hagrid pulls both Hallie and her brother to the side. "'Arry, 'Allie, I sent out some letters ter yer parents' old school friends an' they sent me some pictures, so I could make this fer yeh two." He hands them two separate leather books and grins. Hallie opens hers up and smiles. "Now, yeh two get on the boat with yer friends."
"Thanks Hagrid. We now have two separate albums of our parents." Hallie and Harry say at the same time before getting on the boat.
The trip home wasn't anything special. They all played games and ate sweets and before Hallie knew it, she was changing out of her robes and into her normal clothing. Once the train stops at the station, they have to wait until the conductor lets them go through the barrier. They were only letting groups out by twos or threes. As they walked towards their families, Hallie could hear Ron's sister calling for them. "Mom, there they are!" Ginny smiles and hugs her brother quickly.
"Eventful year?" Mrs Weasley asks and everyone nods their heads 'yes'.
"Thank you for our gifts over the holiday," Hallie and Harry say at the same time.
Hermione's parents and little sister find their group and pulls her into a tight hug. "I'm so happy that you are back home. Now, let's get you home. We have a fun holiday planned."
"Hey, don't forget to ask if you guys can come visit this summer," Ron calls out as his family starts to walk away.
"We won't!" Prim calls back as the three of them finally spot their grandparents, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley. "It's good to be home with our family."
Hallie smiles and says, "I couldn't agree more. Let's head on home."
A/N: So, did you guys suspect the Head Girl, Heather Stewart? I had fun coming up with who the other bad guy would be in this series... Ayla Eva Selwyn came into my mind when I first read about how the Killing Curse could only be directed at one person at a time. So, when I decided that Hallie would have the same scar, I had to give her a villain as well. I can't wait to dig deep into Ayla's background with all of you! Thank you for reading and loving my story as much as I have. I am working on book two as we speak!