"Fudge is such an ass," I stated as Harry threw the paper down on the
table.
"Of course he is," said Harry. "I thought we'd established that earlier."
"We didn't," I said. "Now we have."
"Okay, if you say so," sighed Harry.
"I do say so," I said, giggling. Harry shook his head, grinning.
We began to notice a definite change after the Daily Prophet article was issued, mainly in the course of the classes. In Charms, we went over how to use the Impediment and Body Bind curses. In Transfiguration, we had to transfigure random things into large bushes or gnarled trees. In Potions, we started using more of the rarer lapi to make truth potions. Dark Arts was the most pressed subject; we learned everything from how to block curses to how to reflect them to the castor. Hermione was even struggling with the amount of work we'd been assigned. Of course, it was the Quidditch players who were feeling the most impact of the homework. It was a wonder how the fit in sleep between practice and school. The next match wasn't until January, but even so...
The Daily Prophet kept publishing articles about Voldemort's return, which kept leading to more and more schoolwork. Ron was shredding a Daily Prophet into bits, blaming it for the crazy amount of work we'd been getting, when Hermione reminded him that the O.W.Ls weren't that far away.
"They're not till June!" protested Ron.
"That's barely seven months!" argued Hermione. "Less because of Christmas and Easter breaks."
"Don't say it, Ron," I said as Ron opened his mouth. Harry laughed slightly as he worked on the Dark Arts homework.
That was one of the few times I heard him laugh. At first, I had thought it had been because of the tremendous workload we'd been getting. Then, more than once, I caught him staring at Cho and Luke as they walked through the corridors hand in hand. I ignored it, until Ginny came up to me two weeks after the first Quidditch game.
"You and Harry are going out, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." I had completely forgotten that she had given me the cold shoulder for most of the year. "Why?"
"No reason," she shrugged. "It's just, he's been staring at that Cho Chang girl a lot."
"Mhm."
"You've noticed?" Ginny said. "You should confront him about it."
"Maybe I should," I said, more to myself than to Ginny. I turned around, but she had gone.
That night, I sat next to Harry and waited for him to finish his homework.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"Well..." How can I phase this? I thought desperately. "I'm wondering... do you still like Cho?"
Harry stiffened. "Why would you say that?"
"Well... lately, I've noticed you staring at her a lot," I mumbled. "I mean, it's perfectly all right if you still like her--"
"What do you take me for, an idiot?" snapped Harry. "Can't you trust me?"
I was completely taken aback. "You know I trust you."
"You have a funny way of showing it," he hissed at me. "And why aren't we talking about you? I've seen you looking at that Luke kid."
"I have not!" I exclaimed, jumping up. "How could you say that? I love you, Harry! You!"
"Sure," he said skeptically. "Isn't part of love trust? If you love me, why are you accusing me of staring at another girl?"
"I- I-" I stumbled for an answer. Why did I ask him? But before I could tell him, Harry grabbed all his things and bounded up the stairs to his dormitory.
"Fine," I said to no one. "Be that way. I'm not going to be the one to grovel for the other's forgiveness."
I was still in a touchy mood next morning. During breakfast, Ron and Hermione asked if I wanted them to talk to Harry for me; and I exploded at them.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" I yelled. I stood up from the table and did possibly the most moronic thing in my life; I walked over to the Slytherin table and plopped down right next to Malfoy.
"Well this is a welcome surprise," sneered Malfoy.
"Shut it, Malfoy," I snapped icily. His sneer vanished.
"I always knew Potter was trouble," he said sadly, shaking his head. "You should've come to me right from the start."
"What? Are you saying I should've been your girlfriend instead of Harry's?"
"All along."
"Me. Be your girlfriend." I raised my eyebrows. "Please. Malfoy, get real."
"Shame," sighed Malfoy, his eyes glinting deviously. "I'd love to see Potter's face if he saw us holding hands."
"Priceless, I'm sure," I said flatly. After a few moments of silence, I sighed. "Fine. I'll be your girlfriend. One condition; you don't say anything rude to Ron and Hermione. They're still my friends."
"Alright," said Malfoy, leaning over and kissing me on the check. I gagged internally.
From that point on marked some of the most miserable weeks of my life. Harry wasn't allowing me to come to practices anymore, all the Gryffindors(except Ron and Hermione) called me "the traitor," and Malfoy grabbed my hand whenever he saw a Gryffindor further up the halls and pulled me closer to him. The regular Daily Prophet articles didn't help. I never read them anymore, but Hermione always gave me a summary of the paper.
"I can't believe this," she murmured. "They must be lying."
"What?" I asked.
"The Daily Prophet says that Lupin's gone missing." Harry and I had never told Hermione or Ron about Remus being my dad, so of course she wouldn't have known the effect those words had on me.
"No... no, no, no," I muttered. "He can't be--"
"It says that when the Ministry officials arrived at his house, all the furniture and stuff was thrown everywhere," continued Hermione, not hearing my ranting. "I hope he's alright..."
I pushed my chair back forcefully, causing it to fall over with a loud clatter, and ran out of the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor Tower. Sobbing, I threw myself onto my bed when I reached my dormitory.
Finally, it was Christmas break, and most of the Gryffindors had gone home. The few that remained still called me "traitor" whenever I passed them in the halls, but I didn't care anymore. My mind was concentrating on the only possibly way to escape this living hell called my life, but I hadn't decided whether or not to do it. It took me until Christmas to decide.
I woke early on Christmas and opened the three gifts I had received. Ron had given me a bag of dungbombs with a note attached to them saying to plant them in Harry's bed; Hermione an assortment of candies; and Malfoy had given me a pure gold hair clip inlaid with small rubies, emeralds, amethyst pieces, and rhinestones. Trust him to give me something completely useless, I thought.
Looking at the clock, I saw it was 6:43. I thought I'd better do it now before Hermione woke up and I changed my mind.
Don't, said a voice. Ginny and Malfoy set you up, just so Harry would be free for Ginny and Malfoy would get you.
I know, I told the voice. I think I've known all along. That's not why I'm doing it, anyway. Dad's probably dead. Plus, they deserve to see him.
Don't, repeated the voice. Think of everything you'll miss--
Nothing, I thought, and fiercely shoved the voice out of my mind. Nice try, DC.
I ate a few chocolate frogs from the box of candy, then resignedly closed my eyes and recited:
"Yeei allci pnoui heti Rmeadi, Rlystaci Orwepi
Iyghtmi Orwepi, urleri foi llai
Urler foi llai rseatureci, llai tsarsi, llai lsanetpi
Oemci ohrtfi, Yeei unmmosi hetei!"
I concentrated very, very hard, and when I felt some of my energy seep away, I opened my eyes.
There, in front of me, was this amazing, shimmering being, every color imaginable vibrating in it.
"What have you called me for?" it asked. Its voice was powerful and commanding, yet gentle and kind at the same time.
"A while ago, Lily and James Potter's souls were trapped inside the Dream Crystal," I said. "Let them be free again, whole with their mortal bodies."
The Power quivered, then disappeared, and I fell into blackness. Only for a moment, though. The next instant, I was rising towards the ceiling, able to see and hear again. I reached the ceiling, about to go through, but some force was tugging at me, pleading with me not to go. So, obligingly, I strayed, and I watched the chaos unfold below me.
James and Lily were standing next to my bed. No, James was; Lily was kneeling, grasping the hand of my pale body, crying. James put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Barely a few moments later, Hermione woke up, looked at James, and screamed. All the girls in our dormitory had gone for the holiday, which was a good thing, for Harry and Ron rushed in to see what was wrong. Harry stopped short of his parents, all the color draining from his face.
"What's going on?" he whispered. Then he saw my body, and his face became paler, if that was possible. In one stride, he was next to Lily, grasping my shoulders and hugging my body tight to him. Lily started crying again, which brought Harry back to Earth. He stared at her, then at James.
"Would someone mind giving an explanation?" said Harry, Ron, and Hermione in unison. Lily managed a weak smile.
"James, you take this one," she said. I could almost feel the wrench Harry's heart must've gotten when he heard he's father's name.
"Alright, Lily." Another wrench for Harry's heart. "Well... I suppose you know about the Dream Crystal."
They nodded.
"Emerald..." James paused. "She used it to restore us to our physical form."
"Can you be anymore vague?" Lily chided. She wiped a tear from her cheek, and said, "To begin with, Harry, we never were actually dead."
"You-- you weren't?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded.
"When Voldemort attacked us, I used the Dream Crystal to trap our souls in it until someone- Emerald- used it to release them. We never meant for her to actually do it, of course," Lily said. "I even told her not to. But she did, anyway. Harry, I'm so sorry..."
"So she's dead," said Harry, looking at my pale face. He lifted the Dream Crystal and fingered it. "She sacrificed herself to bring you back."
Lily's eyes widened as Harry played with the Dream Crystal.
"I can't believe it," she whispered.
"Can't believe what?" asked Ron.
"The Dream Crystal is still around her neck," said Lily.
"Doesn't it disappear when the owner dies?" asked James. His eyes widened as he said this. "You mean--"
"Her spirit must be here still," murmured Lily. "She's not all the way dead."
"There's a chance she might be able to live?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Yes," breathed Lily. She looked around the room, mainly at the ceiling. "Emerald, if you're listening, please come back to your body. If you feel an upward tug when you get close, ignore it. Come back..."
"Please," added James. Harry, Ron, and Hermione crossed their fingers. If I had been in my body, I would've cried. I looked at Harry's face, bright with hope, and that was enough to convince me. That, and I still owed him a rain check.
I sped down toward my body; something tugged at me, telling me to come up. I ignored it, as Lily said to, and merged with my body.
My eyes fluttered open, and as I stared up into Harry's face, I knew I had made the right choice.
Harry, seeing my eyes open, yelled with joy and swept me up in a huge hug. I hugged him tightly back, tears squeezing out of my eyes. After a while, I pulled away.
"Enough with the hugging of Emerald," I said, brushing away a tear and smiling. "More hugging of parents."
I pushed Harry towards Lily the James, and they embraced them as tightly as he had hugged me, each of them crying. Ron, caught up in the moment, pulled Hermione out of bed and hugged her. I laughed through my tears, thinking, Everything's right, everything's as it should be.
Soon, everyone broke apart and crowded around my bed. Harry sat next to me a clutched my hand in his, as though if he let go, I'd die.
"Not so tight," I complained. "You're cutting off the circulation."
Everyone laughed, and Harry loosened his grip.
"I still can't believe it," said Harry. "Emerald--"
"Happy Christmas," I said, grinning at him.
"More than that," he said, grinning back and pulling me into another hug.
"You owe her more than a hug, Harry," said Hermione. Ron grinned at her.
"Yeah," he said. "What about that rain check?"
"Well, I was the one who owed--" I was cut off in mid-sentence by Harry, who leaned his head down and... kissed me. Fireworks? Oh, no, much more than that. It was as if... as if I were floating in space, weightless, carefree... But that's a weak description... how it felt couldn't really be explained in words.
Harry pulled away gently, pink blossoming in his cheeks. I grinned.
"Talk about your happy Christmas," I said, only vaguely aware of the others' presences in the room. I pulled Harry close, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, Harry..."
"For what?" he asked. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Forgive and forget," I said. "How about it?"
"Seal it with a kiss," laughed Ron. That made me remember who else was there in the room. Harry turned and looked at Ron.
"Why don't you?" he said. "Go on."
Ron turned red, and so did Hermione. Lily "ahem"ed. Guiltily, we turned to look at her and James, but instead of the stern look we were expecting, they looked as happy as possible. Tears brimmed around Lily's eyes.
"I'm sorry." She grinned. "It's just-- this feels like when Remus and Kati visited."
"Who's Kati?" asked Ron.
"My mom," I told him, feeling a sting in the corners of my eyes. I ignored it and embraced Lily.
"Thank you so much, Emerald," she whispered into my ear. I shrugged.
"It was nothing," I replied, pulling away.
"We should go see Dumbledore about this," said Hermione suddenly. "You know, tell him what's going on."
"You're right," said James. Lily stood up next to him.
"You know," I said thoughtfully, "we should cover James and Lily with the Invisibility Cloak. It would look kind of weird if two people who were supposed to be dead were wandering around the halls."
"You have it?" asked James. I shook my head.
"Harry does," I answered.
Five minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I walked down the corridors towards Dumbledore's office. Lily and James were concealed under the cloak, following us closely.
When we reached the stone gargoyle, Harry gave the password, and all of us stepped onto the staircase, reaching the oaken door a few moments later. I knocked softly, waited a few seconds, then pushed the door open.
Dumbledore was sitting on his desk, scribbling a short note. He looked up as we came in and rested the quill on the parchment.
"Hello," he said. "What brings you four up here at this time?"
"Well," started Hermione, unsure of how to explain.
"Brace yourself," I said, then I nudged the space behind me where Lily was. She took the hint, and the invisibility cloak fell away from her and James. Dumbledore stared at them unbelievingly.
"I would be much obliged," he said carefully after a few seconds, "if you would explain this all."
With the help of Ron, Harry, Hermione, James, and Lily, I did. Gradually, the confused look faded from Dumbledore's face as the story unraveled. Understanding (or was it comprehension?) took its place.
When I finished, Dumbledore smiled softly at James and Lily. I noticed how tired he look; he must have been really busy lately trying to suppress Voldemort.
"I'm happy to have both of you back," said Dumbledore. "However, I'm afraid you can't stay at Hogwarts. Perhaps it would be better if you could stay with Sirius."
"Sirius?" James sounded hopeful, his blue eyes glittering.
"Then let's go," said Lily happily. "And I better not wake up to find and Dungbombs in my bed."
"That was in 7th year!" protested James, sounding exactly like Harry. I grinned slightly.
"I'll arrange for the Knight Bus to meet you in Hogsmeade tomorrow," said Dumbledore. "They'll know where to take you."
We all smiled broadly. "Thank you, sir," I said as Lily and James disappeared back under the cloak. He nodded, then took up the quill and started writing again. We made our way back to the Gryffindor girl's dormitoy, Lily and James throwing the cloak off as soon as we entered.
"I feel like I've had too much egg nogg," I giggled as Harry and I plopped down onto my bed. Hermione and Ron sat next to us; James and Lily sat on Hermione's bed, heads together, talking quietly.
Glancing at Ron and Hermione for a second, I whispered something into Harry's ear. He grinned and nodded in agreement, pulling out his wand. I pulled out mine, too. Ron and Hermione were looking at us, confused.
"So," I said, nearly choking on giggles, "are you two gonna kiss, or are we gonna have to make you?"
"What?" they exclaimed.
"Go ahead," prodded Harry. "Kiss him. I know you want to, and I know he wants to."
"Harry," began Hermione, turning bright pink, "I--"
Suddenly, Ron leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hermione's. She looked surprised for a moment, then closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Ron's neck. Giggling, I grabbed Harry's hand and led him down into the empty common room. He sat down on an armchair facing the fire, and I curled up on his lap, resting my head back onto his shoulder. Harry laced his hands around my waist and hugged me tightly to him.
"Can we never fight again?" I asked, my eyes closed.
"Absolutely," Harry answered, kissing my cheek. I turned my head towards him, my lips finding his. Our second kiss lasted a little longer than our first because no one was watching.
"I love you," whispered Harry after we broke away.
"I love you, too," I replied, gazing into the flames. We stayed curled up in front of the fire until Ron and Hermione came down, hand in hand.
"We should, er, go get some breakfast," said Hermione, her cheeks still pinkish.
"Let's bring it back here," suggested Harry as we got up.
A few moments later, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I returned to the Gryffindor Tower with our arms loaded with knapsack-fulls of bacon, toast, pancakes, biscuits, hash browns, pumpkin juice, plates, and napkins. We carried it all up to the girls' dormitory, dumped it on the floor, and had a mini-feast with James and Lily. After breakfast, Harry and I returned to our armchair in front of the fire.
About an hour later, Ron and Hermione shook us out of a sleep neither of us remembered falling into.
"Let's go outside," grinned Ron.
"What about--?" I asked drowsily.
"They're under the Cloak," explained Hermione, grabbing my wrist and hauling me out of my cozy position. "C'mon!"
Harry yawned, then rose and wrapped an arm defensively around me. "Let's go then."
"Of course he is," said Harry. "I thought we'd established that earlier."
"We didn't," I said. "Now we have."
"Okay, if you say so," sighed Harry.
"I do say so," I said, giggling. Harry shook his head, grinning.
We began to notice a definite change after the Daily Prophet article was issued, mainly in the course of the classes. In Charms, we went over how to use the Impediment and Body Bind curses. In Transfiguration, we had to transfigure random things into large bushes or gnarled trees. In Potions, we started using more of the rarer lapi to make truth potions. Dark Arts was the most pressed subject; we learned everything from how to block curses to how to reflect them to the castor. Hermione was even struggling with the amount of work we'd been assigned. Of course, it was the Quidditch players who were feeling the most impact of the homework. It was a wonder how the fit in sleep between practice and school. The next match wasn't until January, but even so...
The Daily Prophet kept publishing articles about Voldemort's return, which kept leading to more and more schoolwork. Ron was shredding a Daily Prophet into bits, blaming it for the crazy amount of work we'd been getting, when Hermione reminded him that the O.W.Ls weren't that far away.
"They're not till June!" protested Ron.
"That's barely seven months!" argued Hermione. "Less because of Christmas and Easter breaks."
"Don't say it, Ron," I said as Ron opened his mouth. Harry laughed slightly as he worked on the Dark Arts homework.
That was one of the few times I heard him laugh. At first, I had thought it had been because of the tremendous workload we'd been getting. Then, more than once, I caught him staring at Cho and Luke as they walked through the corridors hand in hand. I ignored it, until Ginny came up to me two weeks after the first Quidditch game.
"You and Harry are going out, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." I had completely forgotten that she had given me the cold shoulder for most of the year. "Why?"
"No reason," she shrugged. "It's just, he's been staring at that Cho Chang girl a lot."
"Mhm."
"You've noticed?" Ginny said. "You should confront him about it."
"Maybe I should," I said, more to myself than to Ginny. I turned around, but she had gone.
That night, I sat next to Harry and waited for him to finish his homework.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"Well..." How can I phase this? I thought desperately. "I'm wondering... do you still like Cho?"
Harry stiffened. "Why would you say that?"
"Well... lately, I've noticed you staring at her a lot," I mumbled. "I mean, it's perfectly all right if you still like her--"
"What do you take me for, an idiot?" snapped Harry. "Can't you trust me?"
I was completely taken aback. "You know I trust you."
"You have a funny way of showing it," he hissed at me. "And why aren't we talking about you? I've seen you looking at that Luke kid."
"I have not!" I exclaimed, jumping up. "How could you say that? I love you, Harry! You!"
"Sure," he said skeptically. "Isn't part of love trust? If you love me, why are you accusing me of staring at another girl?"
"I- I-" I stumbled for an answer. Why did I ask him? But before I could tell him, Harry grabbed all his things and bounded up the stairs to his dormitory.
"Fine," I said to no one. "Be that way. I'm not going to be the one to grovel for the other's forgiveness."
I was still in a touchy mood next morning. During breakfast, Ron and Hermione asked if I wanted them to talk to Harry for me; and I exploded at them.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" I yelled. I stood up from the table and did possibly the most moronic thing in my life; I walked over to the Slytherin table and plopped down right next to Malfoy.
"Well this is a welcome surprise," sneered Malfoy.
"Shut it, Malfoy," I snapped icily. His sneer vanished.
"I always knew Potter was trouble," he said sadly, shaking his head. "You should've come to me right from the start."
"What? Are you saying I should've been your girlfriend instead of Harry's?"
"All along."
"Me. Be your girlfriend." I raised my eyebrows. "Please. Malfoy, get real."
"Shame," sighed Malfoy, his eyes glinting deviously. "I'd love to see Potter's face if he saw us holding hands."
"Priceless, I'm sure," I said flatly. After a few moments of silence, I sighed. "Fine. I'll be your girlfriend. One condition; you don't say anything rude to Ron and Hermione. They're still my friends."
"Alright," said Malfoy, leaning over and kissing me on the check. I gagged internally.
From that point on marked some of the most miserable weeks of my life. Harry wasn't allowing me to come to practices anymore, all the Gryffindors(except Ron and Hermione) called me "the traitor," and Malfoy grabbed my hand whenever he saw a Gryffindor further up the halls and pulled me closer to him. The regular Daily Prophet articles didn't help. I never read them anymore, but Hermione always gave me a summary of the paper.
"I can't believe this," she murmured. "They must be lying."
"What?" I asked.
"The Daily Prophet says that Lupin's gone missing." Harry and I had never told Hermione or Ron about Remus being my dad, so of course she wouldn't have known the effect those words had on me.
"No... no, no, no," I muttered. "He can't be--"
"It says that when the Ministry officials arrived at his house, all the furniture and stuff was thrown everywhere," continued Hermione, not hearing my ranting. "I hope he's alright..."
I pushed my chair back forcefully, causing it to fall over with a loud clatter, and ran out of the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor Tower. Sobbing, I threw myself onto my bed when I reached my dormitory.
Finally, it was Christmas break, and most of the Gryffindors had gone home. The few that remained still called me "traitor" whenever I passed them in the halls, but I didn't care anymore. My mind was concentrating on the only possibly way to escape this living hell called my life, but I hadn't decided whether or not to do it. It took me until Christmas to decide.
I woke early on Christmas and opened the three gifts I had received. Ron had given me a bag of dungbombs with a note attached to them saying to plant them in Harry's bed; Hermione an assortment of candies; and Malfoy had given me a pure gold hair clip inlaid with small rubies, emeralds, amethyst pieces, and rhinestones. Trust him to give me something completely useless, I thought.
Looking at the clock, I saw it was 6:43. I thought I'd better do it now before Hermione woke up and I changed my mind.
Don't, said a voice. Ginny and Malfoy set you up, just so Harry would be free for Ginny and Malfoy would get you.
I know, I told the voice. I think I've known all along. That's not why I'm doing it, anyway. Dad's probably dead. Plus, they deserve to see him.
Don't, repeated the voice. Think of everything you'll miss--
Nothing, I thought, and fiercely shoved the voice out of my mind. Nice try, DC.
I ate a few chocolate frogs from the box of candy, then resignedly closed my eyes and recited:
"Yeei allci pnoui heti Rmeadi, Rlystaci Orwepi
Iyghtmi Orwepi, urleri foi llai
Urler foi llai rseatureci, llai tsarsi, llai lsanetpi
Oemci ohrtfi, Yeei unmmosi hetei!"
I concentrated very, very hard, and when I felt some of my energy seep away, I opened my eyes.
There, in front of me, was this amazing, shimmering being, every color imaginable vibrating in it.
"What have you called me for?" it asked. Its voice was powerful and commanding, yet gentle and kind at the same time.
"A while ago, Lily and James Potter's souls were trapped inside the Dream Crystal," I said. "Let them be free again, whole with their mortal bodies."
The Power quivered, then disappeared, and I fell into blackness. Only for a moment, though. The next instant, I was rising towards the ceiling, able to see and hear again. I reached the ceiling, about to go through, but some force was tugging at me, pleading with me not to go. So, obligingly, I strayed, and I watched the chaos unfold below me.
James and Lily were standing next to my bed. No, James was; Lily was kneeling, grasping the hand of my pale body, crying. James put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Barely a few moments later, Hermione woke up, looked at James, and screamed. All the girls in our dormitory had gone for the holiday, which was a good thing, for Harry and Ron rushed in to see what was wrong. Harry stopped short of his parents, all the color draining from his face.
"What's going on?" he whispered. Then he saw my body, and his face became paler, if that was possible. In one stride, he was next to Lily, grasping my shoulders and hugging my body tight to him. Lily started crying again, which brought Harry back to Earth. He stared at her, then at James.
"Would someone mind giving an explanation?" said Harry, Ron, and Hermione in unison. Lily managed a weak smile.
"James, you take this one," she said. I could almost feel the wrench Harry's heart must've gotten when he heard he's father's name.
"Alright, Lily." Another wrench for Harry's heart. "Well... I suppose you know about the Dream Crystal."
They nodded.
"Emerald..." James paused. "She used it to restore us to our physical form."
"Can you be anymore vague?" Lily chided. She wiped a tear from her cheek, and said, "To begin with, Harry, we never were actually dead."
"You-- you weren't?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded.
"When Voldemort attacked us, I used the Dream Crystal to trap our souls in it until someone- Emerald- used it to release them. We never meant for her to actually do it, of course," Lily said. "I even told her not to. But she did, anyway. Harry, I'm so sorry..."
"So she's dead," said Harry, looking at my pale face. He lifted the Dream Crystal and fingered it. "She sacrificed herself to bring you back."
Lily's eyes widened as Harry played with the Dream Crystal.
"I can't believe it," she whispered.
"Can't believe what?" asked Ron.
"The Dream Crystal is still around her neck," said Lily.
"Doesn't it disappear when the owner dies?" asked James. His eyes widened as he said this. "You mean--"
"Her spirit must be here still," murmured Lily. "She's not all the way dead."
"There's a chance she might be able to live?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Yes," breathed Lily. She looked around the room, mainly at the ceiling. "Emerald, if you're listening, please come back to your body. If you feel an upward tug when you get close, ignore it. Come back..."
"Please," added James. Harry, Ron, and Hermione crossed their fingers. If I had been in my body, I would've cried. I looked at Harry's face, bright with hope, and that was enough to convince me. That, and I still owed him a rain check.
I sped down toward my body; something tugged at me, telling me to come up. I ignored it, as Lily said to, and merged with my body.
My eyes fluttered open, and as I stared up into Harry's face, I knew I had made the right choice.
Harry, seeing my eyes open, yelled with joy and swept me up in a huge hug. I hugged him tightly back, tears squeezing out of my eyes. After a while, I pulled away.
"Enough with the hugging of Emerald," I said, brushing away a tear and smiling. "More hugging of parents."
I pushed Harry towards Lily the James, and they embraced them as tightly as he had hugged me, each of them crying. Ron, caught up in the moment, pulled Hermione out of bed and hugged her. I laughed through my tears, thinking, Everything's right, everything's as it should be.
Soon, everyone broke apart and crowded around my bed. Harry sat next to me a clutched my hand in his, as though if he let go, I'd die.
"Not so tight," I complained. "You're cutting off the circulation."
Everyone laughed, and Harry loosened his grip.
"I still can't believe it," said Harry. "Emerald--"
"Happy Christmas," I said, grinning at him.
"More than that," he said, grinning back and pulling me into another hug.
"You owe her more than a hug, Harry," said Hermione. Ron grinned at her.
"Yeah," he said. "What about that rain check?"
"Well, I was the one who owed--" I was cut off in mid-sentence by Harry, who leaned his head down and... kissed me. Fireworks? Oh, no, much more than that. It was as if... as if I were floating in space, weightless, carefree... But that's a weak description... how it felt couldn't really be explained in words.
Harry pulled away gently, pink blossoming in his cheeks. I grinned.
"Talk about your happy Christmas," I said, only vaguely aware of the others' presences in the room. I pulled Harry close, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, Harry..."
"For what?" he asked. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Forgive and forget," I said. "How about it?"
"Seal it with a kiss," laughed Ron. That made me remember who else was there in the room. Harry turned and looked at Ron.
"Why don't you?" he said. "Go on."
Ron turned red, and so did Hermione. Lily "ahem"ed. Guiltily, we turned to look at her and James, but instead of the stern look we were expecting, they looked as happy as possible. Tears brimmed around Lily's eyes.
"I'm sorry." She grinned. "It's just-- this feels like when Remus and Kati visited."
"Who's Kati?" asked Ron.
"My mom," I told him, feeling a sting in the corners of my eyes. I ignored it and embraced Lily.
"Thank you so much, Emerald," she whispered into my ear. I shrugged.
"It was nothing," I replied, pulling away.
"We should go see Dumbledore about this," said Hermione suddenly. "You know, tell him what's going on."
"You're right," said James. Lily stood up next to him.
"You know," I said thoughtfully, "we should cover James and Lily with the Invisibility Cloak. It would look kind of weird if two people who were supposed to be dead were wandering around the halls."
"You have it?" asked James. I shook my head.
"Harry does," I answered.
Five minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I walked down the corridors towards Dumbledore's office. Lily and James were concealed under the cloak, following us closely.
When we reached the stone gargoyle, Harry gave the password, and all of us stepped onto the staircase, reaching the oaken door a few moments later. I knocked softly, waited a few seconds, then pushed the door open.
Dumbledore was sitting on his desk, scribbling a short note. He looked up as we came in and rested the quill on the parchment.
"Hello," he said. "What brings you four up here at this time?"
"Well," started Hermione, unsure of how to explain.
"Brace yourself," I said, then I nudged the space behind me where Lily was. She took the hint, and the invisibility cloak fell away from her and James. Dumbledore stared at them unbelievingly.
"I would be much obliged," he said carefully after a few seconds, "if you would explain this all."
With the help of Ron, Harry, Hermione, James, and Lily, I did. Gradually, the confused look faded from Dumbledore's face as the story unraveled. Understanding (or was it comprehension?) took its place.
When I finished, Dumbledore smiled softly at James and Lily. I noticed how tired he look; he must have been really busy lately trying to suppress Voldemort.
"I'm happy to have both of you back," said Dumbledore. "However, I'm afraid you can't stay at Hogwarts. Perhaps it would be better if you could stay with Sirius."
"Sirius?" James sounded hopeful, his blue eyes glittering.
"Then let's go," said Lily happily. "And I better not wake up to find and Dungbombs in my bed."
"That was in 7th year!" protested James, sounding exactly like Harry. I grinned slightly.
"I'll arrange for the Knight Bus to meet you in Hogsmeade tomorrow," said Dumbledore. "They'll know where to take you."
We all smiled broadly. "Thank you, sir," I said as Lily and James disappeared back under the cloak. He nodded, then took up the quill and started writing again. We made our way back to the Gryffindor girl's dormitoy, Lily and James throwing the cloak off as soon as we entered.
"I feel like I've had too much egg nogg," I giggled as Harry and I plopped down onto my bed. Hermione and Ron sat next to us; James and Lily sat on Hermione's bed, heads together, talking quietly.
Glancing at Ron and Hermione for a second, I whispered something into Harry's ear. He grinned and nodded in agreement, pulling out his wand. I pulled out mine, too. Ron and Hermione were looking at us, confused.
"So," I said, nearly choking on giggles, "are you two gonna kiss, or are we gonna have to make you?"
"What?" they exclaimed.
"Go ahead," prodded Harry. "Kiss him. I know you want to, and I know he wants to."
"Harry," began Hermione, turning bright pink, "I--"
Suddenly, Ron leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hermione's. She looked surprised for a moment, then closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Ron's neck. Giggling, I grabbed Harry's hand and led him down into the empty common room. He sat down on an armchair facing the fire, and I curled up on his lap, resting my head back onto his shoulder. Harry laced his hands around my waist and hugged me tightly to him.
"Can we never fight again?" I asked, my eyes closed.
"Absolutely," Harry answered, kissing my cheek. I turned my head towards him, my lips finding his. Our second kiss lasted a little longer than our first because no one was watching.
"I love you," whispered Harry after we broke away.
"I love you, too," I replied, gazing into the flames. We stayed curled up in front of the fire until Ron and Hermione came down, hand in hand.
"We should, er, go get some breakfast," said Hermione, her cheeks still pinkish.
"Let's bring it back here," suggested Harry as we got up.
A few moments later, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I returned to the Gryffindor Tower with our arms loaded with knapsack-fulls of bacon, toast, pancakes, biscuits, hash browns, pumpkin juice, plates, and napkins. We carried it all up to the girls' dormitory, dumped it on the floor, and had a mini-feast with James and Lily. After breakfast, Harry and I returned to our armchair in front of the fire.
About an hour later, Ron and Hermione shook us out of a sleep neither of us remembered falling into.
"Let's go outside," grinned Ron.
"What about--?" I asked drowsily.
"They're under the Cloak," explained Hermione, grabbing my wrist and hauling me out of my cozy position. "C'mon!"
Harry yawned, then rose and wrapped an arm defensively around me. "Let's go then."
