Harry Potter and the Test

Chapter Five





"Why are eggs so easy to overcook?" Ron muttered, looking at the omelet before him in disgust.

"Stop whining," Harry replied, dryly.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The Slytherin game is only three days away; if anything, I think you should be concerned about what to have for breakfast. It will make or break the game."

Harry, as if in an attempt to shut Ron up, reached across the table and stabbed the omelet with his fork once, and lifted the whole entrée off of his plate. Setting it down on his own, Harry cut off a piece and popped it in his mouth. Chewing it slowly, he put all his attention on testing the quality of the bite.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ron; it's fine," Harry said, giving his evaluation.

"Well, I thought it was overdone."

"And now it's mine," Harry smiled mockingly.

Ron frowned and reigned to pushing the remainder of the food around his plate.

"Hey there," Hermione said, taking her usual spot next to Ron. As she began to spoon food onto her plate, her eyes wandered around the table.

"Where's Adam?" she asked, trying to see how high of a pile of hash browns she could manage to build.

"He's not feeling tops today," Harry explained. "Last night, he slept really fitfully, constantly tossing and turning. I think something is bothering him."

Both Ron and Harry looked at Hermione. Careful not to use any unusual facial responses, she merely shook her head in empathetic understanding and began to reach for the maple syrup.

"Anyway, the poor guy is just lying on his bed; he didn't even change his clothes," Ron said.

As if to signal a shift in conversation, shouts materialized in the dining hall. All three of them shifted their gazes to where the commotion was coming from, along with every other student currently dining. They appeared to be coming from the Ravenclaw table, and as soon as all the other chatting died down, their rants and curses were all that could be heard.

"You take that back!" one of the two girls shouted who was involved in the confrontation.

"Whatever! You're the one who's wrong!" responded the other.

"Bring it on," the first hissed, brandishing her wand, taking it out of an inner pocket, hidden within her robes. To this, the other mimicked the action and the two were now opposing each other, wands in hand, ready for battle.

Other students from the Ravenclaw table stood up from their meals, and started to ally themselves with one of the two students.

"Things are getting ugly," Harry whispered, barely audible to the others around him.

However, just before the first spell was cast, Dumbledore appeared in the doorway of the Great Hall. His presence caused a hush to fall over the entire room, and all eyes were on him within seconds. Even the though the two Ravenclaw students still clutched their wands, they gave their attention to the headmaster as well.

"What is going on here?" he questioned. Although his voice was full of concern, it contained no trace of furry or wrath; it was merely an inquiry.

No one was able to respond, since everyone outside of the battling duo had no clue what was occurring themselves. Even the two whom might have been able to answer the great wizard were at a loss. The tension between them seemed to dissipate almost immediately and they let their arms drop to their sides, signaling the end of the tiff. Those who had surrounded the two took their seats and the whole matter was over within a few moments.

Dumbledore remained in the doorway, but did nothing else. Much like a hawk, his eyes scanned over those in the Great Hall, as if trying to look for something peculiar. Pausing at the spot where Ron, Harry and Hermione were sitting, the four shared glances, but soon broke them, as headmaster turned and left the students to their breakfasts.

Peace had been restored.







"Don't you think that's odd, that Dumbledore did nothing?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione as they walked back towards Gryffindor tower.

"Yeah, I was thinking that," Harry said, appearing to take Ron's comment into deep consideration.

"Maybe he knows something." Ron spoke in between bites of orange.

"But that still doesn't mean he wouldn't have dealt with the two kids," Harry responded, using a hand to gesture his point.

"Maybe the matter is out of the students' hands." Hermione spoke cautiously, careful not to say anything that would raise suspicions about any late night investigations. She hadn't mentioned what she and Adam had discovered last night, and wanted to keep it that way. It was best to wait until Adam was in a more stable state of mind to say anything about their adventure.

"Out of the students' hands? Like, there is something forcing them to fight?" The final question from Ron made his voice shake a bit, wavering in pitch. His nervousness shined through in fearful eyes, looking directed straight ahead, down the hall.

"I think we all know what that could mean," Harry said calmly, signing as he spoke, checking the reactions of his companions. In a darker tone, he continued.

"We should prepare ourselves for anything. If it can happen to other students' relationships, then.."

All three knew the rest of the statement without it being said; it was unnecessary. Not know what else to talk about, the three continued on in silence.







I heard two knocks.

"Adam?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Adam? Are you there?"

The door to my room opened. I wasn't able to actually see it open, but with its unique 'whine', it was easy to tell if it was moving on its hinges.

"Adam."

Her angelic voice pleaded for me to look up. I had been lying on my bed for nearly twelve hours, doing nothing but thinking and occasionally crying. My tear stained pillow was damp against my face, but I refused to rise form it. Very little good could come of it.

"Adam, talk to me, please."

It was useless. I had lost the battle; I looked up and saw Hermione standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Adam." she said, seeing what a wreck I was. Even with all the tears, my face was pale, as were my hands. My eyes were bloodshot and I was pretty sure I had really bad breath.

Shutting the door behind her quietly, she stepped over to my bed and sat on the edge. After a slight hesitation, she placed a hand on my back and began to soothingly rub it. I grunted slightly; feeling that physical contact was nourishment for my aching soul.

"Adam, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I mumbled into my pillow, doubting she'd hear it.

"No, I am. I knew what the repercussions of looking into that mirror would be, but I let you go ahead anyway. I didn't warn you."

With only minor difficulty, I managed to shift onto my side, so that I was now looking directly at her. As always, she looked radiant; adding insult to injury, a pang struck up in my heart.

"You warned me plenty, Hermione. I was the one who tugged off the cloth, I was the one who cleaned it off, and I was the one..to.." My voice just trailed off. Leaving it at that, I decided to fiddle with my tie. I hadn't even changed clothes when we got back from last night's escapades. Too drained, too exhausted, I simply laid down on top of the bed, and drifted off into a stressed, unfulfilling sleep.

Even without looking at the clock, I could tell it must have been around mid-afternoon. I had missed all my classes; at the current situation, they mattered little to me. Speaking of which.

"Hermione, don't you have class right now?"

"Don't worry about it," she said, brushing off the thought as if it was nothing.

"Don't miss class over me; one of us needs to be smart." With that, I rolled back onto my stomach, burying my face in the pillow.

"Making sure you're okay is much more important to me than class."

"You mean that?" I asked, forcing myself onto my side once more.

She nodded, a motion which allowed her gorgeous locks to spill about her shoulders.

"I would like to help you, Adam. Please, tell me what you saw. I won't say a word to."

"No, Hermione," I began, finally deciding to sit up, "I trust you, wholeheartedly."

At this, her face brightened a bit.

"It's just that I don't think I could..explain it."

"Is it that same feeling you get around Harry?" she inquired.

"It's similar, but even more drastic; I feel like I've been punched in the stomach or something, I suppose."

She scooted up next to me. Shoulder to shoulder, I felt secure and a little stronger than before.

"Was it some evil spirit?"

"No; quite the opposite, actually. I saw..I saw me."

"Is that bad?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It wasn't me now, you understand," I explained, finding it hard to suppress a smile, "but it was me then. It looked as if I was no older than two, if that."

Hermione grabbed a box of tissues which sat on the floor below my bed. Handing me the box, I accepted one and blew my nose.

"I'm sorry. It's embarrassing."

"No, it's not. Go on, please."

I felt a soft, petite hand take hold of mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. Almost instantly, I squeezed back. Face to face, I saw her smile when I reciprocated.

'I'm gonna be okay.'

"Well, I was there; I had no problem with that. I mean, I have never seen what I looked like at that young of an age."

"You have no baby pictures?" she asked, somewhat astonished.

"Not one, and yes, I have wondered why that is. I have, many times."

I paused, gathering my thoughts, and attempted to moisten my dry mouth.

"What I saw, I..just can't believe."

'I can't do this.'

Another squeeze.

Deep breath.

"Hermione, I think I saw my parents."

"Isn't that good?" she wondered.

"I think I've been living a lie all these years. The parents I live with weren't the ones in the mirror."

Waiting for a response, I only got silence.

"I'm sorry, Adam. Forgive me, but I don't quite understand."

My eyes we're welling up. Grabbing another tissue, I blew my nose, ignoring the tears.

"What I'm saying is the parents that bore me, the ones I saw in the mirror, are not the parents I live with now," I explained.

Hermione understood, nodding as I spoke.

"Adam, how do you even know that the people you saw in the mirror were even your parents to begin with?" she asked sympathetically.

"Like I said, I can't explain it. I must sound like a nut to you, huh? All these feelings and sentiments of mine." I said, looking out the window directly across the room from where we were sitting.

"I have never said that, Adam. Have I?"

"No, you haven't," I admitted, accepting another tissue.

"So you're sure they are you're parents?"

"I'm positive."

With that, I leaned my head on her shoulder. She held onto my hand tightly, gently stroking the skin between my thumb and forefinger. Everything felt right; even in the screwed up situation I was in, I felt content there, next to Hermione.

"What do they look like?"

"Well, my father wore glasses, and had kind of wild black hair; short, but kind of spiked. He.(I laughed softly).he looked like what a smart guy should look like. My mother had long, red-orange hair; it just kind of rolled down her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled like jewels. She was just.remarkable, to put it plainly.but." I stopped, biting my lower lip.

"But what?"

"It's odd; she seemed to be pregnant in the picture."

"Pregnant?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember having a brother or sister."

A felt Hermione tense up.

"You okay?" I asked, turning to look at her.

"Yeah.how old are you?"

"Me? I'm eighteen. I'm old for my grade. One of the oldest, in fact," I added on. "Why?"

"And you say that you looked to be about two in the mirror?"

"About, probably a little younger. I'm not usually any good at guessing ages. Why? Why are you asking me all this?" I asked her.

She got up from the bed and walked over to Harry's bureau. On it rested his personal items, along with a thick book which I had assumed to be a diary. Spotting it, she opened it up.

"Hermione, that's Harry's!"

Ignoring me, she flipped towards the back of the tome. A few pages later, she stopped, and picked up the book, holding it open to the page she had found. With it in hand, she began to walk back to where I sat.

"Adam, what I am about to show you may shock you. If you don't want me to show you.I won't."

"Show me," I said plainly, after considering her offer.

Putting the book before my eyes, I saw a picture, a single three by two picture pasted onto a page. The two of them were there, but I was no where to be seen. Instead, dad appeared to be holding a baby. It wasn't me.

The pain in my stomach materialized all of a sudden, stronger than ever before.

"Oh God, that's them."

"Are you sure?" she asked, in a serious voice.

"That is them! How did you.how.why is it in Harry's book?"

Confused, all I could do was laugh. Hermione looked at me steadily, seeming almost to be at a loss of words.

Then it hit me.

"Oh my God. No, no, no..NO! It's not true!" I got up and began to pace about the room like a mad man. My fists were clinched, my face reddened.

"Adam, calm down, please," she pleaded, standing by, watching me spew babble.

"I've been living a lie, Hermione. Everything I've done, is fake, is.pointless!!!"

Suddenly, I felt very drained; every ounce of energy I once had was spent. I began to feel very weak and I could feel my legs buckle underneath me. Before I could grab a bedpost, Hermione was already there. Wrapping her arms around me, she managed to keep me up and off the floor.

"It's okay, Adam," she cooed. "It will all be okay."

Sitting me on the edge of the bed, she began to loosen my tie. I hardly noticed and began to sob.

"Why does it have to be this way? All I did was fall into.take a wrong step and the shit hits the fan.it's.mind boggling."

Quickly, she had taken off the tie and the rest of uniform as well. Leaving only momentarily, she grabbed a pair of pajamas from the dresser.

"God.Hermione why is all this so painful?"

"I'm sorry, Adam; I really am," she said, slipping the pajama top over my head. "If there was anything I could do to make it better."

"You have." It was the first clear, coherent thing I had said for minutes.

"Thank you," I said, looking up at her, admiring her beauty. "Thank you."

As she smiled, I could see tears beginning to collect in her eyes.

"Slide in there," she said, having pulled back the covers of my bed. I did so, enjoying the feel of the covers weighing down on my body. Sinking into the mattress, my eye closed almost immediately.

Soon after, though, I felt a pair of lips brush against mine. They were warm and soft, but were much more, as well, forming not merely a physical bond, but an emotional one as well, one of understanding, compassion and devotion.

For those few seconds, I felt as if I hadn't ever found the mirror, as if I hadn't discovered the fate of my parents, as if I hadn't found out that I was Harry's brother. I felt as if everything was as it should be and that for the first time in a while, that I loved someone who truly loved me in return.

Just before slipping into a peaceful slumber, I heard the door creak and then shut.