It was around 8 when they got situated around a table at the Three Broomsticks. They had to use the secret passage to get there, and had almost been caught by Filch…twice. Jenny and Seamus had been goofing off and Jenny was constantly letting out bursts of laughter.
Now the main course had been ordered. Jenny and Seamus had excused themselves to "fill up the cashew bowl", but that was twenty minutes ago. Draco and Harry were having a fairly civilized discussion regarding the latest professional Quidditch game. Shannon and Natasha were having a conversation of their own silently. They were arguing over who was the prettiest.
I mentally flip you off! Natasha thought.
Well I know where you can put that finger! Shannon replied.
And I know where you put my flute! I always wondered why it smelled funny after you spent the night!
Shannon's mouth dropped open; I'll mentally slap you for that one.
And I'll mentally say ouch, then I'll mentally kick you in the shin!
I'll mentally punch you in the nose!
I'll mentally pull your hair!
I'll mentally pinch you!
I'll mentally…. Natasha hesitated, running out of ideas. Poke you in the eye!
"Poke me in the eye?" Shannon laughed out loud. Both girls were in hysterics. Draco and Harry looked at each other confused. They had noticed the girls' silence, and the way they were staring at each other, as if they were fighting. Natasha looked at Draco sheepishly.
Nevermind, Shannon told Harry mentally. He shrugged.
Jenny and Seamus returned just then. Shannon and Harry looked at each other and laughed while Draco wrinkled his nose. He didn't like the idea of those two together. Bad visuals. Shannon heard this and told Natasha to kick her boyfriend. So, Natasha kicked her boyfriend.
"What was that for?" he asked.
Natasha looked confused. "What was it for?" she asked Shannon.
Shannon raised an eyebrow, "You know," She explained it silently to Natasha who slapped Draco in the arm.
"What?!" he cried. Shannon and Natasha laughed.
"I'll explain later," Natasha told him. Perfect timing, because their food suddenly showed up. Everyone dove in hungrily. As she was eating, Shannon knocked into Harry lightly with her elbow. She got another flash. It was a quick one. She saw some sort of fireball flying through the air. She didn't see where it came from, but it headed straight toward Harry. At least she thought it was Harry. The image was there and gone before she had time to comprehend it.
"Shannon, are you alright?" Harry asked. The whole group was looking at her. She had been eating and all of a sudden she sort of gasped and froze in place, fork midway to her mouth. She swallowed slowly, not sure how to explain. Only three people at the table knew about her being an oracle. And she wasn't even sure if she really had a vision. Maybe it was the butterbeer and she hadn't slept much the night before. She was probably just tired.
She nodded, "I'm fine. I uh, I just bit my tongue. That's all." She looked guiltily at table. She was a terrible liar, but the light was dim enough that no one noticed. She took a deep breath, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and gave Harry a nervous glance. He gave her a sympathetic smile and rubbed her shoulder briefly before returning to his food.
"I'm gonna go to the ladies room. I'll be right back," Shannon told them.
"I'll come too," Natasha replied.
As they walked away they heard Seamus say, "I swear girls are afraid of the lavatory. They always go in packs." Harry and Draco laughed, but Jenny just grunted.
When they got to the restroom, Shannon splashed some cold water on her face while Natasha touched up her eyeliner. As Shannon straightened up she bumped Natasha. There was another flash. She saw Natasha go flying into a wall. Once again, she didn't see the source, or Natasha's face, but she knew who it was.
"Bite your tongue again?" Natasha asked. Shannon saw herself in the mirror, looking frozen. She shook her head. "Shannon, what's going on?" Natasha put her hand on Shannon's back and a flash came again. She saw Draco bent over Natasha, a tear in his eye. He didn't see the rock about to drop on his head.
"Oh God!" Shannon cried. Tears were welled up at her eyelids and she looked terrified.
"Shannon…?" Natasha asked, afraid of what was going on.
"Oh God," Shannon whispered, shaking her head. "Natasha, something's gonna happen, something bad."
"What do you mean?" Natasha raised a shaky hand to push away the hair falling into her face. Shannon could tell she didn't want to know. Shannon went rigid as another flash came. She saw herself lying on the ground, blood trickling from her mouth. Then she saw Jenny and Seamus hug each other in fear, bracing themselves for something. Shannon curled against the wall, rocking back and forth.
"Oh God, oh God," she repeated. She was horrified. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know when this would happen and she didn't know how to stop it.
"Shannon?" Natasha crouched down and reached a hand toward her. Shannon jerked back.
"Don't touch me!" she cried. She had a crazy gleam in her eye. "I can't take it. I can't see anymore!" Tears were flowing down her cheeks.
"Shannon, listen to me, ok? I'm going to get you a glass of water and then you're going to explain to me what's going on. I'll be right back. I promise," Natasha rose.
"No!" Shannon yelled and flung an arm out in protest. "You can't! It could happen then."
"What could happen?" Natasha crouched down again. Shannon took a deep breath, then another. She had to be strong. She had to prepare her, prepare them all. She had to stop it from happening, if it was the last thing she ever did. And it very well might be. Shannon slowly raised her eyes to meet Natasha's.
"When we were eating," Shannon began. "I didn't bite my tongue,"
"Oh God," Natasha confirmed as she sank down next to Shannon.
Shannon put her head in her hands, "I don't know what to do," She glanced at her cousin.
Natasha swallowed, then said, "I guess we should tell them." Shannon nodded and they both stood and made their way back to the table.
"Impeccable timing. We were just-" Harry stopped once he got a look at Shannon's expression.
"We need to talk," Shannon and Natasha sat down, but that was as far as Shannon could get. How do you tell people, people you love, that they're going to die and you don't know how to stop it? She looked down at her butterbeer and saw the image of her dead body reflected up at her. As she glanced around the table she saw it all over again, reflected in their eyes. Natasha and the wall, Draco and the rock, Harry and the fireball, Jenny and Seamus….they were the worst. She'd seen them right after her own death. Besides the fear in their eyes, she saw hopelessness and felt an overwhelming sense of failure.
Harry put his arm around her. She saw Harry's dead body and heard an evil laugh that chilled her to the bone.
"Don't touch me," she whispered forcefully.
"What?" Harry pulled away, confused. There was something eerie about her voice.
Shannon looked at him with a grave expression, "Please don't touch me," She swallowed and looked around the table. "That's what sets it off," Shannon began to explain her premonitions. She watched the worried looks pass over their faces.
"How-" Draco began.
"Oracle." She stated. Draco opened his mouth but Shannon stopped him. "Not now,"
"So what do we do now?" Jenny asked in a shaky voice. Shannon shook her head sullenly.
"I don't think there's anything we can do, at least not right now. I say we get back to the school. We'd be safer there," Shannon looked at them with sad eyes. They all nodded. The guys split the bill, threw some coins on the table, and the group headed toward the passageway.
Harry watched the group walking before him. Draco had his arm around Natasha, as Seamus did around Jenny. He looked at Shannon. Her eyes were on the ground and she looked so sad. He wanted to put his arm around her too, but she had specifically said not to touch her.
She raised her eyes to meet his. He gave her a weak smile. She tried to return it, but to no avail. Then she stopped dead in her tracks, head cocked to the side slightly.
"Shannon?" Harry asked.
"Shh-" she put a hand up toward him. The rest of the group stopped. Shannon looked around the dark street. "Hurry!" She ran toward the sweet shop, where the passage was. They got the hint and followed suite. Luckily, the shop looked empty and they made it safely into the passage.
Shannon and Harry walked in the front of the group this time. Both did their best to see into the darkness before them. Then they both stopped. There was a boy standing before them.
"It's time to go…" came his voice.
"You," Natasha sneered. "I don't have time for you now!" she pushed past Shannon. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. She only knew it involved getting a hold of him and inflicting a lot of pain. Suddenly she went flying against the wall. The boy went flying backward with a wave of Shannon's hand. Draco took a step toward Natasha but Shannon put an arm up to stop him. The next thing she knew she was on the ground. She heard Harry yell something and saw a flash of light go jetting through the darkness, toward the boy. Draco ran over to Natasha.
"Draco no!" Shannon cried, but it came out as a whisper. Then she saw the fireball headed straight at Harry. She reflected it backward at the boy as she raised herself from the ground. She was getting very angry.
Natasha opened her eyes to see Draco looking down at her. Then she noticed the rock. She pushed him out of the way just as Harry yelled "Averito!" and the rock exploded.
Draco blinked and looked at Harry, stunned, "Thanks," Harry smiled and then was hit by a jet of yellow light. Shannon watched him fall, unable to move. He couldn't die. She couldn't lose him. She heard a thud as Jenny fell to the ground.
"You're getting on my nerves…" Shannon growled as she headed toward the figure. It threw some sort of blue orb at her but she dodged it. It threw another and she reflected it back at him, only to have it bounce off and come flying back at her. She waved it into the wall.
"Whoa," Seamus gasped. Shannon's eyes looked like they were glowing red. He heard Harry groan and attempt to push himself into a sitting position. "Harry!" he cried.
She didn't hear Seamus. Instead she pinned the figure against the wall. When she got up close to it, she didn't recognize its face. It didn't look anything like the boy that it had been only a few minutes ago. She just glared at it with her red eyes, burning its cheek.
"You can't do this. I won't let you!"
It raised a hand to its burned cheek, then smiled evilly. She looked at it, confused. It smiled wider and then threw her against the opposite wall. It held her there. Slowly it walked toward her.
"You can't stop me," it laughed. She heard her friends running toward it, but it raised a hand and they all fell back. It slapped at the empty space in front of it. She felt its long fingernail connect with her cheek, though it never touched her.
She cried out in pain and felt the blood run down her cheek. It laughed and struck out again. This time it caught her across the arm. She tried weakly to freeze its hands, but nothing happened.
"You can't hurt me," It was only a few inches from her now.
"But I can," Harry cried. He and Draco were standing behind it, wands at the ready. They both yelled a spell simultaneously and a wave of color was shot at him. It was the last thing she saw before the flash of green hit her.
She groaned and opened her eyes. Harry pushed the hair back from her forehead and leaned down to kiss it. She smiled.
"Hi," she whispered. "What happened?"
He smiled and helped her sit up straight. "Well, a lot." Shannon laughed weakly. She looked around to see she was in the hospital wing. Jenny was in the bed to her right and Draco to her left. She raised a hand to push her hair behind her ear and winced.
"Oh yea," she nodded, remembering. "We were fighting, whatever it was. I thought it killed you. I thought I could stop it myself but…." She trailed off.
"I know," Harry replied. "I saw you down there. You were doing well, until he pinned you against that wall. We all tried to come help you, but he knocked us out. Well, most of us. Seamus, Jenny and Natasha were in the front. That's why they're here. Natasha's the only one who's woken up. Draco and I only fell down. We snuck up there as fast as we could. We were almost too late,"
"What do you mean?" She asked. Harry glanced at her cheek, then looked down.
"We only just stopped him from completing the spell. A few seconds later and you would have died." He glanced at her cheek again. "That's how you go this," he lightly touched her cheek, then handed her a mirror. There was a scar just below her cheekbone. It looked like a crescent moon.
"Wow," Shannon touched it and winced. It throbbed slightly.
Harry smiled, "I was afraid you'd freak out,"
Shannon laughed, "Actually, its kind of cool."
Just then, Natasha walked in. "Shannon! You're awake!" Natasha gave Shannon a quick hug. "Cute scar," she laughed.
"Thanks," Shannon replied.
Natasha's eyes darkened as she looked at Draco. She went and sat on his bed.
"Help me over there," Shannon told Harry. He uncovered her legs and steadied her as she walked. Shannon looked down at Draco. He was close to coming back. She could feel it.
Natasha looked down at him. Why had she been the one to wake up? She wondered. Shannon had even woken up before him.
"Please wake up," Natasha whispered. She took his hand in hers. His eyelids fluttered open.
"Natasha?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yes. It's me," She bent down to hug him, her eyes filled with joyous tears. He gave Shannon and Harry a confused look over her shoulder. They just grinned and headed back to Shannon's bed.
"I have a question," Shannon told Harry. "When you were explaining this to me, you kept saying he. Did you know who he was?"
Harry's eyes darkened, "Yes, I knew him. He was Voldemort. He's been after me for so long. But you knew that." Shannon nodded. "We killed him. At least I think we did. He didn't know we were behind him. He wasn't prepared." He trailed off and Shannon squeezed his hand.
"It's okay," she whispered. Her eyes were half-open and a moment later she was asleep. Harry smiled and kissed her forehead again before standing up to leave.
"Harry," Draco called. Harry turned to face him. "Thanks,"
"No problem," Harry smiled.
The next day, Seamus and Jenny woke up sometime during the night. Natasha had been free to go the previous day, but chose to stay with Draco, who was still quite weak. It had taken all of his and Harry's strength to fight off Voldemort. Shannon, Harry, Natasha, and Draco were all sitting around the hospital wing, while Jenny and Seamus rested.
"I'm just so thankful we're all alive," Natasha was saying. She and Draco had been almost inseparable, Natasha clinging to Draco as though he were dying.
"Shannon, you're a hero!" Harry said with a grin. Shannon shook her head.
"No, you and Draco are. I was the one who got you two into the mess. I failed…" tears were forming in her eyes. Harry wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.
"You were a hero Shannon. You warned all of us, prepared us, and you fought the battle. You're a hero."
"He's right cuz!" Natasha piped in. "You were awesome!" Draco nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, and Ms. Peters!" Madame Pomfrey came into view. "You three can go tonight. I'm betting that a good night's rest in your own beds will do a lot of good."
That night, Natasha and Draco were in his room, kissing madly.
"Draco," Natasha said breathily. Draco grunted and pulled her back to him. "Draco!" Natasha said more urgently. Draco reluctantly pulled away.
"I'm so proud of you. You saved all our lives," she said, grinning proudly. Draco laughed.
"I wasn't about to let my life die," seeing the confused look on her face, he restated, "Yes Natasha, you are my life and my whole world. I knew that I had to die before you. If you died, I'd kill myself anyway." He smiled and pulled her back to him, their lips once again connecting. Natasha smiled through the kiss, then pulled Draco under the covers.
Harry and Shannon would have been in one of their own rooms, doing the same, but Dumbledoore had asked the two to come to his office so he could talk to them.
"You might be wondering why I asked you here," he began, "I would like for you to explain to me everything that happened that night." Harry and Shannon began telling the story, starting with the premonitions, to the secret passage, to Voldemort's defeat.
"I think Malfoy and I killed him," Harry said proudly. Dumbledoore shook his head.
"You two couldn't have killed him that way, as wonderful as that would be, but I think he may have lost a lot of his powers, and possibly the body that he worked so hard to get." Harry and Shannon exchanged disappointed looks.
"Oh," Harry said, eyes directed at the floor. Shannon just shook her head.
"Don't be disappointed. Who knows if he'll come back from this? You two are heroes." Dumbledoore smiled. "Now, may I suggest you get back to your dorms and get some rest." He winked.
Shannon laughed and stood up, pulling Harry to his feet.
"Thank you sir," she said and left with Harry.
The last few days of school seemed to fly by. The next thing they new, it was time for the final feast of the year. It was supposed to be a celebration, but they couldn't help feeling sad. When the year was over, they'd go their separate ways and not see each other for months.
Shannon went to Harry's room to see if he was ready. She found him sitting on the bed, staring into space.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Shannon smiled, sitting down next to him.
"Hm?" he looked up at her, pulling himself back to reality.
"What were you thinking about?" Shannon tried again.
"Oh," Harry sighed. "It's just, it's the last feast. I don't want to go back to the Dursley's. I always hate going back there, but this year it's worse. This year I'll be missing you."
Shannon just smiled. "Don't worry. We're going to have fun tonight."
"How do you know?" Harry asked.
Shannon raised her eyebrows quickly, "Trust me,"
When they arrived at the Great Hall, they took their regular seats next to Ron and Hermione. Shannon noticed people still staring at her scar. She couldn't help but laugh.
Finally, Dumbledoore stood and quieted the hall. The students looked up at him expectantly.
"This year has been an interesting one," He began. "And what a way to end it! I'm sure you have all heard the story of Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Peters, Ms. Herring and Mr. Finnigan. Never before have people from different house bonded together in such a way. For this reason, I propose something quite unorthodox." He waved his hand and the house flags disappeared. Everyone found themselves in the same uniform purple. "Feel free to move about," The students looked around, uncertain. Then Natasha and Draco stood and made their way to the Gryffindor table, closely trailed by Jenny. A few Syltherin's looked at Draco in awe while others simply shrugged and stood. Soon, the room was alive with the movement of students to different tables. Shannon watched as Dumbledoore nodded approvingly, and gave her a quick smile.
"One more thing," He said when the room began to settle. "Let's eat!" And then came the food. Hermione laughed as Ron practically shoved his head into the bowl of mashed potatoes.
"You'd think the kid hadn't eaten in a week," she whispered to Shannon.
"Shannon," Harry nudged her, pointing at Seamus, who's wand was pulled out. "I think he's trying the water to rum trick again," She quickly froze the wand in midair. Seamus glared at her, but Shannon just shrugged innocently and turned away.
Good Move, she heard Natasha think. I'm not in the mood to get all sooty. Natasha cocked her head toward Seamus, who happened to be sitting next to her, and rolled her eyes. Once again Draco and Harry involved themselves in a conversation concerning Quidditch. Shannon and Natasha talked about clothes.
All too soon, the feast was over and Harry was leading Shannon back to the Common Room, arms linked. She tried to keep the sadness from his eyes by keeping the conversation light.
"I told you we'd have fun," Shannon insisted.
They stood at platform 9 ¾. Shannon, Natasha and Jenny were all fighting back tears. Shannon hugged Harry, trying to memorize that moment, the feeling of Harry's arms around her. It would have to get her through the whole summer. Seamus had already left. His mother had been quick to hurry him home. Natasha and Draco were another story. They were clinging to each other for dear life.
"Natasha, we have to go," Shannon urged.
"I don't want to go," Natasha mumbled into Draco's chest.
"Sweetie you have to. I promise I'll write you as often as I can, ok?" He tightened his hug briefly and attempted to push her away. Natasha reluctantly released him.
Shannon leaned over to kiss Harry good-bye and took a deep breath as the two boys walked away. She looked down at the photo in her hand. Harry, Shannon, Draco, Natasha, Jenny and Seamus stood in their matching purple robes, arms around each other, smiling and laughing. They had it taken during the feast. This would certainly be a year they'd never forget.
"Well girls," Shannon sighed. "Let's go home."