While Draco sent his message to his aunt, Severus sent a message of his own, containing the exact date and time, but claiming that he didn't know what would happen, just that it would be a private affair. He had been early to an appointment with Dumbledore and had overheard part of the arrangement being made.
The next couple of days went by calmly though Draco couldn't help but be nervous, scared that maybe his cover had been blown, that he was about to be discovered and, almost 3 days after sending his owl to his aunt, Draco got a reply:
"Draco,
Very good job! This is golden information!
The Lord is extremely pleased with you, and your parents very proud as well. Your mother especially asked me to tell you to keep up the good work. Your father seems a bit frustrated that you're now the one in his family who receives our Lord's favor, but who cares about what Lucius thinks? Not me, and neither should you.
Don't worry about finding out what their visit is about, Our Lord knows what this is about, he was able to guess it, and we'll be ready. Keep an ear open in case anything changes.
I am proud of you,
You're doing a very good job with the Granger Girl. Keep going like this. She seems like a smart girl, try making her want to join our cause for real. No matter her blood status, if she keeps on being this helpful, if you can convince her of our cause, she'll find her place here. Well, unless you're so tired of her that you want to be rid of her, then we'll kill her.
Bellatrix"
Draco smiled while reading his letter, happy to know that their ruse was working. Discreetly, he gave the letter to Hermione, while they kissed hello, so she could show it to Rose and Sirius.
The week of the exam arrived faster than they realized and soon, the corridors were all calm while the students sat in exam rooms. Rose wasn't worried, she was confident that she'd succeed and have top grades in every subject. She was also confident that her friends would do well, including Neville who had worked a lot this year.
Fred and George didn't care about the grades they'd get, but they still did their best during their own exams, just to see how they'd do and to pass the time until the big display of their products Dumbledore had allowed them to put on the very last day, to celebrate and advertise their future shop.
.
That was it.
Rose and Harry were walking out of Hogwarts with Sirius and Remus, on their way to the Ministry of magic, making sure they were seen by spying Slytherins or potential spies in town. Dumbledore had left discreetly earlier, to prepare the Hall of Prophecy with a few chosen trusted Aurors and Fudge himself, who had insisted he was present to see it happen. They would hide, make themselves invisible.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts had made sure people thought him to be in his office all day, in meetings with different people.
They had, a few days ago, very discreetly, moved a few shelves out of the room, to replace them by different ones where they'd be able to safely hide inside until Death Eaters arrived. Everything had been planed very carefully, especially since there could be spies everywhere. Dumbledore had been grateful for Fudge agreeing to work with him so easily, otherwise it would have made everything much harder.
"Nervous?" Remus asked the two Potter.
"Not really. I've faced Voldemort before in case he decided to come along, and I'm pretty sure the Death Eaters he'll send will be people I've faced last summer too. They can't be worst than him. I'm confident I'm ready." Harry replied.
"Rose?" Sirius asked.
"Well, unlike Harry, I've never had to fight for my life before, I've just dueled in school, but I'm confident that I can handle whatever comes and I'm even a little excited for it." She replied.
"I want to make it clear that if a fight starts, the two of you are to hide and stay as safe as possible, as long as you have the option of not joining in the fight." Remus reminded the two teenagers.
"Of course, but when does anything ever goes according to plan?" Harry joked.
"You know how it goes. Make a plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan." Rose added with a bright smile, making Sirius and Remus chuckle.
"You two are way too much like your parents." Remus shook his head.
"As long as you don't push the plan of the rails yourself." Sirius chuckled.
"Anyway, how are things going with Tonks?" Harry asked Remus.
"Well, I was planning on waiting until everything was over to give you the news... I... hum..." Remus started to say, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Are you blushing Moony?" Sirius teased his friend.
"I might have proposed to Tonks, and she might have said yes." Remus replied and they all congratulated him, clapping him on the back and hugging him.
"When's the big day?" Rose asked him after a while.
"We've decided to follow your suggestion, Rose. Mid July, on the 14th. It'll happen in her parents' house, well, their garden." He informed them all, making Rose chuckle happily.
"I'm so happy for you!" She exclaimed.
"It will be a small ceremony though, just family. You guys, her parents, the Weasley, Albus, Moody and Kingsley, that's it." He assured them.
"Well, I'm very happy for you Moony, you deserve it." Sirius assured his best friend.
"Who knew that you'd be the last of us to get married." Remus replied.
"I... I'll find someone, eventually. I'm fine on my own for now. I'm still young!" Sirius shook his head.
He almost told Remus that Peter wasn't married either, so he wasn't the last one, but Peter wasn't their friend anymore, he had betrayed them in the worst way possible, so he didn't count. This made Sirius the last single one of their groups. He, the lady's men, hadn't had a relationship since before he was thrown in Azkaban! Maybe it was time he started looking for someone.
As muggles said, he needed to get back on the horse, or he'd end up an eternal bachelor.
.
They eventually arrived at the Ministry of Magic and, knowing that Voldemort would have people watching them, they played along, like they were meeting with Aurors that were officially part of the Order before they discreetly made their way to the Department of Mysteries, which was conveniently empty.
They knew that they could be watched, so they didn't speak until they stood in front of the Prophecy. They knew that the Death Eaters would wait until Harry held it before attacking, they needed him to hand it to them. Knowing they were watched, Sirius followed the script they had all decided on to confuse Voldemort and his men.
"Now remember kids, Dumbledore said that we don't know which one of you is the child from the Prophecy, so you'll have to grab it together, at the same time, to be able to retrieve it from the shelves."
"Of course." Rose nodded.
They counted to 3 and they grabbed it. Less than seconds later, they were interrupted by Death Eaters. Bellatrix was there, leading, with her husband and his brother on each side of her. Lucius Malfoy was there too, along with a few others. There was 10 of them, and it looked like the Potters and their godfathers were outnumbered.
"Now, you could just give this to us and save us a nasty fight that you'd end up losing anyway." Bellatrix spoke, going straight to the point.
"I don't think so." Harry, Sirius and Remus sad at the same time, making Rose chuckle.
"Sirius, traitor to your blood! I always knew you were a bit dense, you'd have to be given your choice of friends, but you have to know how to count! You're out numbered." Bellatrix spat at her cousin.
"You make one move and we break the prophecy." Rose promised.
"Daring aren't you baby girl? Do you want to play with the big girls? I bet I could teach you a few things little girly!" Bellatrix mocked in a dark chuckle.
"Maybe you're the one who should learn how to count, Bellatrix." Sirius replied as Dumbledore, Fudge and 10 Aurors in purple robes walked out and surrounded the Death Eaters.
"No! How?" She exclaimed angrily, trying to find a way out as her team members started forming a circle to best defend themselves.
They had prepared a reason for the Auror's presence, one that protected Draco.
"We know you have spies in the Ministry, Bellatrix. We figured that you'd know it the minute they arrived. We knew Voldemort would know why we came and would act fast, so, when we decided to come, because we had to come, we planned to have a special escort." Dumbledore explained in a very calm voice, positionning himself in front of the Potters.
"Did you really think we'd risk Rose and Harry's lives? I know you're not a parent, Bella, so you don't understand it, but surely Lucius could have warned you about it. He's a parent, isn't he?" Sirius added before Bellatrix, in a cry of rage, started the hostilities and started casting curses all around her, which forced everyone else to start casting curses as well.
Harry and Rose didn't see what happened next because, just as they were about to fight too, Dumbledore grabbed them and pushed them out of the room before he locked the door behind him and ran back to the fight.
"What do we do with this?" Rose asked in a small voice, pointing to the prophecy.
"Maybe we really should break it, just to be safe." Harry whispered.
"Dumbledore did say that it would be for the best, since he knows it." Rose nodded, whispering back.
"Hum, hum." They heard coming from behind them.
I had to cut it here lol
Of course you've all guess who is behind them, right?
What do you think will happen next? Someone will die, but on which side?
I feel I need to give you this important clarification: Sirius is my favorite character, I won't kill him, don't worry. After reading your reviews, I feel this is an important information for you. Most of you are worried about him.
Review please
Lorelei Candice Black