Bucky: yes, the AgiVega who's posting 'paintings' to gryffindortower.net is me. But in fact those are not real paintings, they are mostly made by pencil – even the colouring. No, the theme for the next story isn't Dan being a squib, but Dan will still be important in it. Much more important than in this fic.
grambones and SkyeLeah: I don't ship D/G.
C-chan/Sailor Capricorn: your vampire butterflies haven't attacked me yet! Btw, what does 'kami-sama' mean? I'm curious!
star queen: what do you mean by 'the missing Weasley theory'? I haven't heard about anything like that before. Fill me in, please!
X_Tow_Naga: no, non-magical people can't do exsugo vium magicae, because it's wandless magic. (you know, when Harry set the boa constrictor on Dudley or turned his teacher's wig blue, it was also wandless magic. A muggle couldn't have done it.) So, even if Harry and Ginny had sex and Harry uttered 'Exsugo vium magicae', he wouldn't be able to get powers from Ginny, because he cannot perform wandless magic anymore, given that he is totally deprived of his powers. I think that Natasha/Tatyana didn't have a wand to levitate her mother with, and she couldn't perform this charm without a wand. Or maybe she wasn't even allowed to witness her mother's execution at all.
Moony Lover: no, Natasha/Tatyana has nothing to do with Dan being a squib. Mere coincidence. You'll see the good old Dursleys in chapter 38 again. (I'm also missing them:)) How old is your sister? Thanks for worrying me because of the floods. Yes, Hungary also has floods, but I live in the capital that is well-protected. So I'm fine, don't worry :)
Gabernell: 39 chapters together. I'm going to get back to Angie/Fred/George. The children will have a major part in the next story – in fact it will be mostly about them.
Orange Sulphur: yes, I'm writing a sequel – fourteen chapters written, and they're very long chapters! While in my first fic the usual chapter-length was 4-6 pages, in this one it's 7-8 pages, in the third one it's 10-11 pages!
K.C. Hunter: I have also read some of the NJO books, but I don't like the whole concept of them. First Chewie is killed off, then Anakin Solo (the only Solo kid I liked!), so I simply stopped reading the series. My only happiness in it was the birth of Ben Skywalker. Luke deserved to become a father long ago...
Melinda Malfoy: what happened to Lucius? Hm... that will be revealed in... er, the third story, sorry... *evil grin*, you'll have to read that, too, if you want to find out!
Aimee: yes, mum is till betaing for me, and I gave her your thanks :)
Wood'd secret lover: it IS a trilogy. I think that answers your question :)
Tessa: no, I don't have that much knowledge of these cultures – in fact an Indian friend of mine gave me quite a lecture on the mistakes I made on India in the last chapter (but of course I was thankful to him!:)
Nefertiri: oh, you have autographs from Daniel, Emma, Rupert and Richard Harris? I'm envious!!! You – as many others on ffnet – wrote the name of my country wrong. It's not Hungry, but Hungary – there's an 'a' in there. I'm always so miffed when it's written wrong! I hope you understand :)) Yes, we do have chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans here in Hungary – I don't really like the horse-radish flavoured ones, but the carrot and tomato flavoured beans are really good! My favourites are the sweet popcorn flavoured ones. So, you have just graduated? That means that you're 17? Well, congrats on your graduation!
LilGinny: yes, I have read Cassandra Claire's fics, and they're cool.Thanks for writing twice.
jeanine23Dr: true, we never got to know Narcissa's personality, but I thought that there had to be at least one decent member in the Malfoy family – and Narcissa wasn't even born a Malfoy, so she could be nice. Hey, Ginny has ALREADY found out about Harry having sex with Tatyana – it was in chapter 27! I wrote about her reactions as well: she almost slept with Draco to take revenge on Harry, but then Anna Karenina's ghost told her that Harry had been 'forced' to sleep with Tatyana and he was innocent, so Ginny forgave him. You asked what cliffie meant. It is the short form of 'cliffhanger'. Cliffhanger is a bad situation at the end of a chapter or TV series episode – a situation in which you don't know what will happen, but you are very excited about it. I guess that the term 'cliffhanger' comes from Sylvester Stallone's movie, Cliffhanger, in which he climbs a mountain and a woman slips, he catches her, holds her by the hand (she is dangling over a precipie), and then she falls down…
Waldomier: we don't even have cable in our weekend house, just antennas with which we can get three TV channels. That's all. So no prospect for Internet.
Katie Bell: have I REALLY ignored you in my A/Ns? Sorry! I'm trying to answer as many people as possible, but I just cannot answer all the 60-70 reviewers after each update, because then my A/N would be longer than the actual chapter. Thanks for writing, though :))
MauiGoddess3: I must tell you that your review made my blush :)) I have received many sweet reviews, but yours belonged to the cutest ones. May I ask something: is Maui an island?
Cassandra Anthemyst: no, the fact that Harry has a squib son has nothing to do with the other little details – it was just an additional thing that will prove important in story #3.
'mione weasley: thanks for writing three times and sorry for not having updated so long.
Crazycutee831: IMHO the fact that Draco's mum looked as though there was dung under her nose doesn't mean that she couldn't be pretty. It rather meant that she was a bit haughty – but probably she had only been ordered by Lucius to look like that in the Weasleys' presence. For more on the topic, ask Rowling :) No, the story won't end before school starts. The last chapter will be posted some time in September or early October. Story #3 will be posted as soon as I'm ready with it – and I'm only around the middle. The other fic I'm writing (that has nothing to do with this series) will probably be posted next spring, because I have only written one single chapter of it and don't feel like writing it right now. I want to concentrate on the third part of the trilogy. You asked whether I had lost some reviews because of ffnet break-down. Yes, I did – TGSoHH had around 2010 reviews (although many of them were by accident submitted for several times), and then came the break-down and suddenly I had by 30 less reviews. No problem, I have 2011 again :))
Eclectus: nice to see you again, I already thought that you had forgotten about me! :) The Tatyana-Natasha thing was made up by me, but in the story it is true, not just a legend. There were runes on the stones of the secret 'stable portkey' with which you can get to Durmstrang, but it was just an unimportant detail. About Narcissa, read my answer to jeanine23Dr. The India thing Tatyana was talking about took place in the ninth century (according to Beautiful Bill's Biography). Although I'm not sure that it's historically all right – sorry if it's not, another Indian reader of mine has already told me the mistakes I made on India. Anor is a Swedish Viking who had lived in the area of the current Russia. Why did Aouda become Natasha? Well, she just chose herself a Russian name, because she was living among people who were mainly Russian. Yes, I'm having a lot of fun with Draco's character – it's nice making him a bit kinder than usual. You asked whether I was majoring in writing. Nooooo… I'm studying foreign trade, economics and from next term Public Relations – these things have nothing to do with writing at all. No one has ever taught me how to write, but I've always loved writing – already in the primary school. Whenever the literature teacher asked us to write a composition, I felt downright excited – I guess I'd die if I couldn't write anymore :)
Rose: I visited your site, it looks really cool. However – if you let me remark on something – those always flashing little yellow things are a bit tiring for the eye. And there's a link that has green background, making it almost impossible to read the text. You should maybe choose another color. Apart from that, the site is very good – I envy you, I have no idea how to make a webpage at all :(
apple-pie: my vacation has been okay, thanks. And yours? Where have you spent it?
Also thanks to: Indigo Ziona, Notebook Girl, Blondie in Disguise, Lady Python, Jaz, GinnyPotter387, Lana Riddle, princesswitch, Elfangor19, Lavendar Brown (twice), Saphron, PrincezzShortie, Harrysgirl, VeRyWiLdWiTcH, Princess Faerie of Neopia, AmandaPanda, PepsiAngel, kitch, teacherchez, PadmeSkywalker, rebkos, goldenstar555, MidniteSunrise, Arif, Peggy Sue, amazing typo, spangle*star, kim, Ari Potter, 2Coolio
Chapter 29 Frozen hearts, melting bodiesGinny felt as though a dagger had been stabbed into her heart. "W…what?" she stammered, clutching at her chest. "You don't mean it, do you?" she looked pleadingly at the old man. "Please… tell me that you didn't meant it!"
The old man shook his head. "I am truly sorry, madam, but he is really dead. I have seen him die."
"When? How?" Mileta cut in, looking just as shocked as Ginny.
"I was down by the lake with the others… when… when that whirlwind came… I saw an unfamiliar wizard… he was making the whirlwind… there was the potions teacher with him… they were holding hands as though they had been lovers or something… then he… he killed Harry Potter."
"But why?" Ginny shrieked, grasping the old man's robes. "Tell me! Why?"
"I… I don't know… that wizard only shouted some kind of a spell at him and Potter collapsed… dead. I remember… everyone started to scream, pointed their wands at the evil wizard, but they couldn't do anything… the whirlwind took them all."
"But where's the body?" Draco asked, his complexion just as pale as that of the women.
"The soil was frozen… so I cut a hole into the ice of the lake…" the old man's voice trailed off.
Ginny ran up to the window, gazing out onto the lake, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Why did he kill my Harry?" she whispered, eyeing her husband's icy 'tomb'. "Why? What did Harry do that he had to die?"
"Well… he slept with the evil wizard's girlfriend." came a voice from behind. It was Anna Karenina.
"What?" the old man gasped. "Harry Potter… slept with the Potions teacher?"
"Was… was it avenge, then?" Ginny blinked.
"Very possible." Anna shrugged. "Anyway, when I used to haunt the dungeons, once I happened to enter a room that I didn't even know existed… there was a guy with long black beard sleeping in there… he was the same who made the whirlwind… though I still don't know who it is."
"But why did she sleep with Harry?" Ginny asked, clinging to this one detail. "Why, and…?"
Draco put a hand on her shoulder. "Leave the questions to another time. Now it is time to grieve and remember. Not to ask."
"No!" Ginny tore herself out of his embrace. "It is time for revenge!" she bellowed. 'Revenge… revenge… revenge…' the walls of the corridor echoed her voice. "I'm going to kill that man!" 'Kill that man… that man…'
"Ginny, calm down!" Draco said, reaching out for her hand, but she jumped back, stretching out her wand-hand in front of herself, rage and hate sparkling in her emerald eyes.
"Ginny!" he yelled, holding his wand in defence-position. "I want to help!"
"Then come and help me kill Harry's murderer!" she howled, her face as red as her hair, her voice shaking.
"I'm sorry. Stupefy!" Draco said and she fell to the floor, unconscious. He turned to the others. "I'm going to take care for her – she needs rest… and protection… against herself. She is dangerous in her current state."
Draco bent down and scooped her body up, heading upstairs.
* * * * *
Draco placed the woman's lithe body on the bed and tucked her in. Even unconscious, her face revealed her suffering. Draco sat on the bed, taking her hand into his, gently caressing it.
"I know how you feel." he whispered, knowing that she couldn't hear him. "Or maybe not. I know what it feels like to lose whom you love… it happened to me as well… though the woman I love did not die. She is still alive… but loves another. I don't know… some time I might have a chance with her… you know, she's a widow. Do you think… do you think that I should hope? Hope that she might reciprocate my feelings someday?"
"You should." came a quiet voice from the door that stood half-ajar.
"Oh, it's you." Draco looked up to see the old man standing there.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to eavesdrop." the old man apologised. "I just wanted to come and ask whether I could help with something… for example take care of the young lady while you go to sleep."
"I'm not going to sleep." Draco shook his head.
"But you should. It's already past ten o'clock. You look tired." the old man approached the bed. "Go. I'll sit up for her and won't let her harm herself."
"How could you prevent it?" Draco gave him a sad smile. "She's a powerful young witch and you're a weak old Muggle."
"Trust me." the old man said. "I can take care of her… and if there's problem, I'll tell you."
Strangely to Draco, he felt some kind of trust for this guy, although he didn't even know his name. "Really," he said, "what's your name?"
"My name?" the old man blinked. "Call me Piotr."
"Okay, Piotr." Malfoy nodded. "I'm going to get some sleep. My room's right under this one. Should she wake up and do something stupid, just knock on the floor. And…" he reached out for Ginny's wand, "I'd better take this."
"Good night, Draco Malfoy." Piotr said.
"G'night." the young wizard turned back from the door-frame. "Hey, how do you know my name?"
"The invisibility cloak." the old man squinted at him. "I was standing there in the cloak, close to you when you introduced yourselves to the ghosts."
"Oh. I see." Draco nodded and left the room.
* * * * *
The old man was sitting by Ginny, looking down at her like a grandfather would look at his granddaughter – his expression full of care and concern. He was sure that the young woman was dreaming, for her eyelids were moving fast – like they do in REM sleep.
And she was dreaming – reliving the happiest moments of her life that she had spent with Harry…
"You are not mad because I love you, are you, Harry?"
"How… how can you think of such a thing? Mad? No, Ginny, on the contrary. I'm glad that you love me."
"M…marry me?"
"Yeah. I'd be honoured if you married me, Virginia Weasley. I love you."
"…maybe it was the will of fate. Perhaps it wanted to test us. To see whether our love was strong enough to bear all this… and it is strong enough, Harry. No matter, what happened or what may happen in the future, I will always love you, and I don't care if our future babies aren't magic. We'll still love them. So… I say it's no worth refraining from expressing our love to each other. Express it, Harry. Show me how much you love me."
"Oh, Ginny."
"Harry…" she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks.
The old man's heart sank, seeing this beautiful young creature suffering so terribly – even in her sleep.
"It's okay." he reached out with a wrinkly hand to wipe her tears away. She must have felt his hand on her skin, because her eyes fluttered open and she sat up.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Don't you remember me? I'm the guy you met today. Aberforth Dumbledore's servant."
"The old man…" she whispered, suddenly realising what getting to know this old man meant for her: getting to know the truth about her husband's death. "Oh…" she bent her head down, beginning to sob and shake.
The old man reached out and pulled her to himself, so that her red head snuggled into his long, white beard. She felt good and protected in his embrace, though she couldn't explain why. He caressed the top of her head while she sobbed into his beard, making it all wet.
"Cry. Just cry. It helps." he said softly, and she did cry for minutes. When she finally felt her tears ebb, she drew back from the embrace of the old man.
"What were you doing in my room?" she asked, sniffing.
"Watching over your sleep." he gave her a benign smile.
"But why? You don't even know me."
"I had a daughter and you remind me of her." Piotr said. "When she needed me I was always there for her… to lull her into sleep, to console her when she was sad…"
"And where's your daughter?" Ginny asked.
"She died. Along with my wife." Piotr sighed.
"I'm sorry." she said. "At least I have my children… they are my everything… they are all that's left for me."
"And one day you might find a new father for them." the old man said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"What?" Ginny hissed. "No way! No one can ever replace Harry! I will never ever get married again!"
"Are you sure?" Piotr asked. "You are so young… the whole life is still before you. There might be someone whom you will be able to love again."
"No! No one!" she snapped. "I'll be faithful to Harry's memory!"
"Faithful to the memory of someone who slept with another?" the old man shook his head. "He didn't deserve you. He deserved to die."
"No!" Ginny turned away. "He… he… was bewitched… he believed that woman to be me!" she started sobbing again. "Please, leave my room. I need to be alone."
"I'm sorry but I can't. I promised to Mr. Malfoy that I'd take care of you."
"Malfoy!" she growled. "What does he think of himself? That he's my father?"
"No." the old man said sternly. "But he cares for you."
"Cares? All he cares for is to get me laid!" she spat. "But he won't get it… we didn't find Harry, after all… not alive, not even dead. I'll never pay him."
Although the old man had no idea what she was talking about, he didn't say a word.
* * * * *
Next morning the three champions and Draco gathered in the staff room to discuss what could be done, but they didn't find any kind of solution to their problem.
"Really. We're stranded here, cannot help the others, and there's also that frozen guy who we don't know anything about…" Dennis sighed, munching a sandwich.
"Frozen guy?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"A man frozen in ice." Mileta said sullenly. She seemed to have cried over the night.
"We found 'im during ze second task." Guillaume added.
"This should be interesting." Draco said. "Could you show him to me?"
"Well, he's down in the ice cave." Dennis shrugged. "We could go down again… though I don't really feel like doing so."
"Neither do I." Mileta shook her head. "But if we can't help the others, maybe we could help this man. Melt him out or something."
"Yeah, that'll be fun. Come, we'll show the route." Dennis told Malfoy and put down his sandwich.
* * * * *
"What is he doing here?" Ron pointed at Lucius Malfoy.
"No idea." Arthur replied. "A Malfoy visiting us at the Burrow? This is really interesting."
Molly stepped to the door to let Lucius in. "Good morning." she greeted him. He only nodded and walked into the living room of Burrow Manor.
"What are you doing here?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "The time isn't convenient for us to have guests – we are preparing for the journey to Durmstrang."
"And that's why I'm here." Lucius said. "I'm coming with you."
* * * * *
"This is creepy." Draco said, eyeing the man with long, black beard. "He looks so… alive. He's just not moving."
"Yeah. We said the same." Dennis replied. "Do you know how to melt him out?"
Draco shrugged. "I'm not sure… I think he's dead. Even if we melt him out he won't revive."
"Don't you know a charm to revive him?" Dennis kept inquiring.
"Should we revive him at all?" Malfoy asked. "He looks cool this way… Anyway, how could I know an appropriate charm?" he knitted his eyebrows.
"Well… you used to be in Slytherin, after all. And you're a Malfoy as well. You should know some dark arts to do stuff like this…"
"I have to disappoint you, Creevey. I don't know anything that could be useful now. There's only a simple heat charm…"
He pointed his wand at the translucent ice-wall of the cave and said: "Calor."
The ice started to melt, but the process was quite slow. After five minutes the four of them were standing in a puddle and some parts of the frozen man's body had been freed from the captivity. His hands, beard and nose were already out of the ice.
"You could help me, you know." Draco said. "Let's do it together."
The three champions raised their wands and said the incantation in unison.
In the next instant the cave's floor was flooded with water and the man, that had been held prisoner by the wall, fell into the water with a splash.
"Catch him!" Draco shouted, wading through the water to reach the floating body of the man. "Mobilicorpus!" he said, lifting the limp body into the air. "We are going to take him up to the castle. There we either revive him or bury him properly."
The other three nodded, following him and the hovering body.
After ten minutes they reached the castle and Draco dropped the man's body onto the tile floor of the entrance hall. "I suggest we all go up into our rooms and change into something dry. This guy won't run away until we're changing."
They all left the black-bearded, motionless man and headed upstairs.
* * * * *
His senses assaulted him all at once. The air bit at his skin with a thousand icy teeth, wind seemed to rush around his ears at hurricane volumes, he couldn't feel which way was up and which way was down, he felt the whole world spinning around himself, he felt dizzy and nauseous… and then came the visions. Visions from his childhood, visions of himself and his twin brother playing together, images of their brave and righteous father, their nice and beautiful mother… memories of his wife… and the last day of his life… The betrayal of his brother, his high-pitched, vicious cackling as he flipped his wand, pointing it at him…
He sat up, taking a breath as though it was the most wonderful thing in the world… breathing again. The air felt cold in his lungs, but it was full of oxygen, stimulating his whole body, activating his slumbering mind, making him feel alive.
He rubbed his eyes, looking around to see a hall so huge that he felt extremely small in it.
"Would you look at that!" someone shouted, the voice coming from above his head. He slowly turned around to see six people descending the stairs. Four of them were practically running, the other two – a red-haired woman and an old man with long, white beard – followed them somewhat slower.
The four fast-runners reached down to him in no time, dropping to their knees, looking at him with dumbfounded expressions.
"How did he revive?" a young boy with brown hair asked in a strange language.
"Dunno." a blond man with grey eyes shrugged. "How did you wake up?"
The black-bearded man blinked. These people around him were speaking in a language that he had heard and learnt during his journey to the British islands, but they were speaking this language in a rather unusual way. Not with the same pronunciation…
"Who are you?" he asked from the people surrounding him.
"I'm Draco." one of the blonde guys replied.
"Dennis."
"Guillaume."
"Mileta."
"Ginny."
The old man, though, did not introduce himself. His lips were trembling and his eyes glinted with fear under his hood. "You… you!" he burst out. "You took them all!"
"What?" the black-bearded man asked, feeling confused. "What did I do?"
"You are the evil wizard who kidnapped everyone from here!" Piotr yelled at him.
"Evil wizard?" the newly revived man blanched. "My brother. Anor. You are talking about him… that means, that he… he's awake? Oh, no."
"What?" Draco asked. "The wizard who kidnapped everyone from here is your brother?"
"Yes. He must be… if he looks like me…" the black-bearded man replied. "We are twins. That's why the old man here has mistaken me for him. My name is Aaron, by the way."
"Aaron…" the red-headed woman knelt down next to him. "How came that you were frozen?"
"My brother…" Aaron replied quietly. "He and his lover, Natasha…" he looked up and his glance fell upon a huge statue of a woman. "Her! She is that bitch!" he jumped up, pointing at the statue. "Natasha! My brother's lover! They plotted it, together! They wanted to take over the wizarding world…" for a second he seemed to weaken, he leant to the window-frame, trying to support himself. No doubt, he was in shock. His glance fell at the lake. "We…" he wheezed, "…we were just spending the winter solstice holidays here… we had a small house next to the lake… I guess right where this castle… or whatever is standing now… The holidays started well, I didn't suspect anything… Then one day Anor killed my wife and then got rid of me, as well… froze me. Then… he murdered our father… I saw it, because my soul left my body for a couple of minutes after having been frozen… I saw it all… our father fought him… but he was old and weak… all he could do against Anor was to accomplish a final charm with which he managed to send Anor into an eternal sleep. Then father, who had been seriously injured, died. My soul was sucked back into my body again, because I wasn't dead, after all… so I spent all my time in a frozen body, oblivious to the events outside for who knows how long… really, what date is today?"
"25th March." Guillaume replied.
"But which year?"
"2000."
"What?" Aaron gasped. "Two-thousand? I have… I have spent more than a millennium in ice, then! 1104 years!"
"Mr. Aaron," the red-haired woman spoke up again, "your brother has kidnapped about six-hundred people from here. Do you have an idea where he could have taken them?"
Aaron looked into her clear, green eyes, and saw despair in them. "Mr. Aaron, I have already lost my husband because of your brother. But there's still my sister-in-law, who is expecting twins… she has to be found… and we have other friends there, as well. We want to save them. Do you know where we could find them?"
Aaron heaved a deep sigh. "I guess I know. And I'll take you there… but first I'd like to get some dry clothes, if you don't mind."
A/N2: REM means Rapid Eye Movement. When you are dreaming, your eyes are moving very fast under your eyelids, and you are in the REM phase of your sleep.
The 'reviving' part in this chapter has been borrowed from the book Return of the Jedi by James Kahn. I re-wrote that short paragraph a bit, but I used most of Kahn's original text because I thought that I couldn't have written a better 'after-effect of melting thingie'. Han Solo's melting in RotJ was just perfectly written, I hope Mr. Kahn doesn't mind me borrowing a couple of lines from there.