Chapter Nineteen

"Twin Cores"

The journey to Dumbledore's office felt like it took longer than it normally would. When the D.A. was discovered and Lizzie and Hayden were taken to Dumbledore, the journey had felt like it had only taken five minutes.

Now it felt like it took fifteen minutes to an hour before they reached the stone gargoyle. "Er," said Hayden nervously. He had forgotten the password. "Fizzing Whizbee," said Lizzie, uncertain if that was still the password since Umbridge took over.

The stone gargoyle amazingly sprang to life as it began to circle upward and a stone staircase began to revolve slowly with the statue.

Gripping Lizzie's hand, Hayden and Lizzie stepped onto the stone stairs, as they ascended upward until they reached the doors of Dumbledore's office.

Even though they had just survived a battle with Death Eaters, Lizzie couldn't help but wonder if they were in trouble for something – again.

She sighed as she knocked three time sharply on the door and a calm voice replied, "Enter," as they both opened the door and walked inside.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his crimson and gold pet phoenix Fawkes sitting contentedly on his perch, peering sleepily at them as Lizzie and Hayden slowly and nervously walked inside.

"You – you wanted to see us…..Headmaster?" asked Hayden. "Yes, Lizzie, Hayden. Please come in. Shut the door behind you, would you?" said Dumbledore pleasantly. They walked further into the room as Hayden quietly shut the door behind them.

As they walked further into the room, they discovered that they were not alone. Ewan was there, and so was – to Lizzie's surprise and somewhat confusion – Ollivander, the wandmaker in Diagon Alley that had sold Lizzie her wand four years ago.

Dumbledore waved his wand as two chairs appeared before him in front of his desk. "Sit down," he said. Lizzie and Hayden gave each other nervous glances as they sat. "Well, the two of you have had quite the adventurous year in my absence, and Hayden, I see you indeed held your promise of protecting Lizzie. Madame Pomfrey has just informed me that you saved her life?"

"Yes sir," said Hayden. "Very commendable," said Dumbledore. Hayden smiled. "Congratulations to you both on your victories at the horse show as well," said Dumbledore. "I always hoped you would get back in the show ring," he said to Lizzie. "I know losing Raven was very difficult for you."

"It was a hard lesson to learn, but I learned it," said Lizzie. "And that's all that matters," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Forgive me, sir," said Lizzie. "We don't quite understand why you summoned us here. Mr. Ollivander, Ewan…"

"He has just informed me of a most unusual interaction between your wand and Hayden's," said Dumbledore.

Hayden gazed at Lizzie. "Do you want to tell them?" he asked. "Together?" asked Lizzie. Hayden smiled as he reached over and held her hand.

Together they relayed the tale of what happened in the Department of Mysteries.

"We both tried to Stun Bellatrix Lestrange at the same time….." said Lizzie.

"And our spells sort of – combined together…" said Hayden.

"There was this noise like a cannon going off…."

"Knocked her clean off her feet and she hit the wall…"

"I thought I had killed her…." said Lizzie, who despite Bellatrix torturing her, would have felt terrible if she had killed someone without meaning to.

"She's alive," said Dumbledore calmly. Lizzie felt a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"When we were in the D.A.," said Lizzie. "Hayden and I were practicing Stunning Spells, and our wands sort of – malfunctioned, I suppose…."

"They didn't work properly," said Hayden. "And there was this….golden light that came out of our wands…"

Ewan and Ollivander were looking both surprised and intrigued. "May I see your wands?" asked Ollivander politely. Hayden went first, extracting his wand from the pocket of his robes, and handing it to Ollivander as he examined it closely. "Hmmm, Aspen…..fifteen inches….excellent for Transfiguration…and a unicorn tail hair core….This wand was sold to you by Alastair Crow, correct?" asked Ollivander. "Yes sir," said Hayden nodding. "Yes, his is the finest wandmaker in Canada, I know him well….."

Hayden nodded as he was handed back his wand.

Lizzie had taken out her own wand and handed it to Ollivander. A smile grew on his aged face. "Ahh, yes…how well I remember the day you came into my shop, Miss Brooks….." he said. Lizzie could remember too. Now that she thought about it, it felt like it had happened only yesterday. "Tricky customer you were," said Ollivander seriously. "You must have gone through nearly fifty wands before this one chose you…Now let me see…"

Lizzie observed Ollivander curiously as he turned her wand over in his fingers, examining it. "Yes….Cedar….fourteen and a quarter inches…..rather good for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and…well, well, well…..unicorn tail hair core…..

Both Lizzie and Hayden gazed at each other perplexedly. Unicorn hair was relatively common in wand making, so neither could quite understand why Ollivander seemed to be so interested in the fact that their wands had the same substance in their cores.

There was a long silence that was so palpable you could have cut it with a knife. "May I see you wand again, Mr. Chamberlain?" asked Ollivander. Hayden obliged and produced his wand a second time for Ollivander's examination. There was another long silence as Lizzie and Hayden watched Ollivander examine the two wands together. "I wonder…" he said. "Would the two of you perform a Disarming Charm on one another?"

Hayden and Lizzie nodded as they stood at opposite ends of the room as Hayden raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" he cried. Lizzie's wand quivered but did not leave her hand. Instead, the same gold light that had been conjured between the two wands appeared and connected the two of them.

After a moment, it vanished. Ollivander looked intrigued, so did Ewan. "Good," said Ollivander. "Now, would the two of you perform a spell at the same time? Any one you like," he said.

Not really thinking about what they were doing, Lizzie and Hayden pointed their wand at a table full of shiny silver instruments. "Reducto!" they said as there was a bang like a gunshot and the table dissolved into dust, the silver instruments clattering to the floor in pieces.

"I'm so sorry, Professor! I-I wasn't thinking! I'll-I'll mend them if you like….." said Lizzie, stooping down to clean up the mess. "No matter, Lizzie," said Dumbledore, smiling. "I daresay, I have far too many."

"So, what does this mean?" asked Ewan curiously. "I can only conclude," said Ollivander. "That the unicorn, whose tail hair resides in Miss Brooks' wand, gave another hair, which resided in Mr. Chamberlain's wand. They are one in the same."

"Twin cores?" asked Ewan in disbelief. "Twin cores," said Ollivander, nodding. "There has only been one other example of twin cores in the Wizarding world. It is extremely rare, extremely rare indeed….."

"But how does that explain how our wands don't work well against each other, but fine when up against someone else?" asked Lizzie.

"When wands with twin cores are used against one another, their magic never works well, and they have a tendency to malfunction as you said," said Dumbledore. "However, when used against a separate opponent, their magic can increase tenfold, just as you described in the Department of Mysteries.

"You said that this kind of thing was rare," said Hayden. "How rare are we talking here?"

"I can remember every wand I have ever sold, Mr. Chamberlain," said Ollivander. "And I have only seen one other example of twin cores – that is to say, your friend, Mr. Potter and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Lizzie's jaw dropped. Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand had twin cores too?

"Yes," said Ollivander. "Mr. Potter possesses a holly and phoenix feather wand, while He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named favored a yew and phoenix feather wand."

"And…..the feathers in the two wands came from the same phoenix?" asked Hayden. "Not just any phoenix," said Dumbledore, nodding at Fawkes. "This phoenix, in fact."

"No way!" said Lizzie, not realizing how loud she had shouted.

"Calm yourself, Lizzie," said Dumbledore. "Sorry Professor," said Lizzie, blushing. She then remembered the prophecy that they had recovered. "There was this….this prophecy….we never heard what it said…But I think it might have had something to do with Harry…."

"I know it well," said Dumbledore, smiling. "And you are quite correct, Lizzie, it does have something to do with Harry. In fact, it has everything to do with him….."

Lizzie and Hayden sat on the edge of their seats listening as Dumbledore continued. "Sixteen years ago," he said. "On a cold, wet night, in a room above the Hog's Head Inn, I had gone there to see an applicant for the post of Divination teacher."

"Divination?" asked Hayden. "Yes, indeed," said Dumbledore. "Although, it was against my inclination to allow the subject of Divination to continue at all. The applicant, however, was the great-great granddaughter of a very famous, very gifted Seer…."

"Professor Trelawney!" Lizzie gasped as Dumbledore smiled. "Your insight serves you well," he said. "Yes, Sibyll Trelawney was the applicant I had gone to see that day. Though I must say, I was disappointed."

"Why?" asked Hayden. "It seems, Hayden, that despite being descended from a great Seer, she had no trace of the gift herself," said Dumbledore. So Hermione was right all along, Hayden thought. "I told her, courteously, I hope, that I did not think she was suitable for the post. I turned to leave."

Dumbledore got to his feet and walked past Hayden and Lizzie to a black cabinet that stood beside Fawkes' perch. He bent down, slid back a catch, and took from inside it, a shallow stone basin carved with runes around the edges.

Dumbledore walked back to the desk, and placed the Pensive upon it. Hayden gazed at it looking curious and fascinated as Dumbledore raised his wand to his own temple. From it, he withdrew silvery, gossamer-fine strands of thought clinging to his wand, and deposited them into the basin. Lizzie and Hayden watched curiously as Dumbledore sat back down behind his desk, watching his thoughts swirl and drift inside the Pensive for a moment.

Then with a sigh, he raised his wand, and prodded the silver substance with the tip.

A figure rose out of it draped in shawls, her eyes magnified to enormous size behind her glasses, as she revolved slowly, her feet in the basin. But when Sibyll Trelawney spoke, it was not in her usual ethereal, mystic voice, but in a harsh, hoarse tone that neither Lizzie nor Hayden had ever heard her speak before.

"T HE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE D ARK L ORD AP -
PROACHES
. . . . BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM , BORN
AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES
. . . AND THE D ARK L ORD WILL MARK
HIM AS HIS EQUAL
, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS
NOT
. . . AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEI -
THER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES
. . . . T HE ONE WITH THE
POWER TO VANQUISH THE
DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH
MONTH DIES . . . ."

The slowly revolving Professor Trelawney sank back into the silver mass below and vanished. Lizzie and Hayden sat stunned as the words of the prophecy echoed in Lizzie's brain: The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not...For neither can live while the other survives...

"Professor?" asked Lizzie. "What does it all mean?"

"It means, Lizzie," said Dumbledore, "that the person who has the only chance of conquering Lord Voldemort – oh, don't be afraid of the name, Lizzie," he added, seeing Lizzie flinch at the sound of the name. "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Lizzie nodded as Dumbledore continued.

"The only person who has the only chance of conquering Lord Voldemort for good was born at the end of July, nearly sixteen years ago. This boy would be born to parents who had already defied Voldemort three other times.

"And…that meant – Harry?" asked Lizzie. Dumbledore surveyed her for a moment through his glasses.

"That's the odd thing, Lizzie," he said softly, "the prophecy could not have meant Harry at all." "Who then?" asked Hayden. "Sibyll's prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of them whose parents are in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was Harry, the other was your good friend, Neville Longbottom."

"Neville?" asked Lizzie. Dumbledore nodded. "That's right," he said. "But then – why was Harry's name on the prophecy?" asked Hayden.

"The official record was relabeled after Voldemort's attack on Harry as a child," said Dumbledore. "It seemed plain to the keeper of the Hall of Prophecy that Voldemort could only have tried to kill him because he knew that Harry was the person to whom Sibyll was referring."

Then something stirred in Lizzie's memory. The supposed 'prophecy' that Professor Trelawney had made during her first Divination lesson at the beginning of the year

"She made another prophecy," said Lizzie. "Oh?" asked Dumbledore. Lizzie nodded. "During my first Divination lesson last term, I was getting ready to leave, and Professor Trelawney stopped me and told me that I would meet someone this year; a handsome stranger whose name began with 'H', she said he would be extremely important to me, and at some future date, he would save my life."

She was looking directly at Hayden as she spoke. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "I think…I think she was talking about you," she said. "You never said anything," said Hayden. Lizzie shrugged. "To be honest, I didn't know what to make of it at the time," she said. "We hadn't even met yet, but I kept thinking about it, and over time I just sort of…. put the pieces together and…kind of….figured it out on my own."

To both Hayden and Lizzie's surprise, Dumbledore was smiling. "Sibyll know you were in a bad place at the beginning of the year, and foresaw you meeting Hayden and the deep connection the two of you would come to have." "And she knew about me saving her life too?" asked Hayden. "She did," said Dumbledore, continuing to smile.

Lizzie stared at him. If all of this was true, then Professor Trelawney wasn't as kooky as she and Hermione thought.

"Did she know about the twin cores too?" asked Hayden curiously. "No, I don't believe so," said Dumbledore.

"Harry's prophecy said, 'neither can live while the other survives'," said Lizzie. Dumbledore nodded, still smiling at her.

"I don't understand," said Lizzie. "What does it mean?" "It means," said Hayden. "One needs to kill the other…..in the end."

Dumbledore nodded again For a long time, the three of them didn't speak. Somewhere beyond the office walls, Lizzie could hear the sounds of voices, students heading down to the Great Hall for an early breakfast, perhaps. It seemed impossible to think that for the first time since Hayden had saved her life that day in the Forest, that she had no interest in food whatsoever.

"I feel I owe you an explanation, Lizzie," said Dumbledore. Lizzie looked up at him. "Sir?" she asked. "You may, perhaps have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect,"

In the beginning, Lizzie had wondered this, but given what happened to Raven, and what she had done to cause his death, she felt herself undeserving of this title.

"After what happened to Raven," said Lizzie slowly. "I don't think I would have been the most popular choice, and I wasn't mentally or emotionally ready to handle a responsibility like that."

Dumbledore smiled. "You've grown so much this past year," he said. "I'm proud of you, Lizzie."

Lizzie smiled as she and Hayden stood up and left the office, closing the door shut behind them.

HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED RETURNS

In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more.

"It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord – well, you know who I mean – is alive and among us again," said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. "It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the dementor of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry's employ. We believe that the dementors are currently taking direction from Lord – Thingy.

"We urge the magical population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defense that will be delivered free to all Wizarding homes within the coming month."

The Minister's statement was met with dismay and alarm from the Wizarding community, which as recently as last Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was "no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumors that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more.

Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening. Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was unavailable for comment last night. He has insisted for a year that You-Know-Who was not dead, as was widely hoped and believed, but recruiting followers once more for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile the Boy Who Lived –

"There!" said Lizzie as she and Hayden sat at their favorite spot at the edge of the Black Lake, reading the Sunday Prophet. She hadn't talked to Harry since receiving the horrible news that Sirius had passed away; she had been trying to be a good friend and give him space, just as he had done with her when Raven died.

"Is that what the kids are calling him these days?" asked Hayden, smiling down at the words 'the Boy Who Lived.' "He's had that title forever," said Lizzie. "You know, because he's the only one to have survived a Killing Curse?"

"Really?" He's the only one?" asked Hayden. "Yep," said Lizzie. "Wow!" said Hayden.

"Still," said Lizzie, rustling the paper. "At least they're not calling him a liar anymore, that's something, right?" "Yes, it is," said Hayden, smiling. "Listen – 'A lone voice of truth…perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story…..forced to bear ridicule and slander…"

"And yet, they never mention it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering," said Hayden rolling his eyes. "Talk about pot meets kettle…."

" 'You-Know-Who's Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore….' Oh, I give up!" said Lizzie, tossing the paper aside and lying down on the grass as Hayden followed suit.

"Pretty cool about our wands having twin cores, though," she asked, staring up at the sky that was a pale, cloudless blue.

"Yeah," said Hayden. "Even more amazing that our wands were made by two different wandmakers in two different countries – I mean, what are the odds of that happening?"

"Astronomical, is my best guess," said Lizzie. "It almost seems like a sign, doesn't it?" "What do you mean?" asked Hayden. "I dunno, it's like – like we were meant to be together," said Lizzie. "You don't believe in that stuff," said Hayden.

"Way too many things happened this year, that were just….too coincidental to ignore," said Lizzie. "You don't believe in coincidences either," said Hayden. "After everything that's happened this year, I'll believe in anything," said Lizzie. "Speaking of, how're you holding up?" asked Hayden. "Much better now that Umbridge isn't headmistress anymore," said Lizzie as she started to laugh. "What?" asked Hayden smiling. "I was just thinking, you know what the irony of that is?" asked Lizzie as she started laughing harder. "What?" asked Hayden, who was starting to laugh too. "She spent all her time and energy trying to run me out of the school and yet, she's the one who got run out! Ha!"

They laughed for a long moment, both of them gasping for breath after a few minutes. "Ahh, I always knew karma would catch up to her….."

Lizzie's life at Hogwarts had indeed improved, but it unfortunately came a little too late because term ended in two weeks.

She had fourteen days to spend as much time with Hayden as she possibly could before he went back to Toronto.

"Wanna go skating?" Hayden offered. Lizzie smiled. "Sure, I'll never say no to that!" she said as she and Hayden stood up and began to make their way back to the castle.

They had just walked through the oak doors when there seemed to be a row going on between Harry and Malfoy.

"The dementors have left Azkaban," said Malfoy. "Dad and the others'll be out in no time….."

"Yeah, I expect they will," said Harry. "Still at least everyone knows what scumbags they are now….."

"He's got a point, you know," Lizzie mumbled to Hayden as the two of them sniggered.

Malfoy's hand flew towards his wand, but Harry was too quick for him. He had drawn his own as Lizzie and Hayden stepped back trying to act as normal as possible.

"Potter!"

The voice rang out across the entrance hall; Snape had emerged from the staircase leading down to his office. "What are you doing, Potter?" asked Snape coldly as ever, as he strode over to them.

"I'm trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir," said Harry fiercely.

"Well, that's bold," said Lizzie, glancing up at Hayden.

Snape stared at him. "Put that wand away at once," he said curtly. "Ten points from Gryff….."

Snape looked toward the giant hourglass on the walls and gave a sneering smile.

"Ah, I see there are no longer any points left in the Gryffindor hourglass to take away. In that case, Potter, we will simply have to…."

"Add some more?"

Professor McGonagall had just stumped up the stone steps into the castle. She was carrying a tartan carpetbag in one hand, and leaning heavily on a walking stick with the other, otherwise looked quite well.

"It's Professor McGonagall!" said Lizzie happily. "She's back!"

Lizzie ran over to Professor McGonagall and wrapped her arms around her. "M-Miss Brooks!" she said, quite surprised at this show of affection by a student. "How-How are you?" "Better now that my Head of House is back!" said Lizzie brightly. "How are you? We missed you so much!" McGonagall couldn't help but smile at this as she wrapped her free arm carrying her bag around Lizzie. "I'm quite good as new!" she said. "Good," said Lizzie. "Right then," said McGonagall looking up at the hourglass on the wall. "Well, I think Potter and his friends ought to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who! What's say you, Professor Snape?"

"What?" snapped Snape, though Lizzie knew he heard perfectly well. "Oh – well – I suppose….."

"So that's fifty each for Potter, the two Weasley's, Longbottom, Miss Granger and Miss Brooks," said Professor McGonagall. "And I do believe Miss Brooks' scores during the National cross-country championship should count towards that as well…"

A shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of the Gryffindor hourglass as she spoke.

"And let's see, another fifty congratulatory points to Miss Brooks for her victory. Most impressive, indeed!"

"Professor!" gasped Lizzie. "Now, now, Miss Brooks, you deserve it!" said McGonagall proudly. "Also, your mother wishes to let you know that she has paid for a full lease on Flicka for you for the following school year – you may ride her whenever you wish for as long as you wish – as long as you are not out on the grounds after dark…."

"Really?" asked Lizzie. "Wow! Thanks, Professor!" "Now, run along, you two," said McGonagall, smiling at Lizzie and Hayden as they both trudged up the marble staircase.

They stopped by Gryffindor Tower for Lizzie to get her ice skates before making their way up to the seventh floor to the Room of Requirement that had magically turned into an ice rink when they entered.

They stepped onto the rink after tying up their skates as they glided around the ice. Lizzie could not have been happier in this moment. The world knew that Harry wasn't a liar, McGonagall was back and no worse for wear, Hagrid had returned as well, Umbridge was no longer headmistress…..Life was good as far as she was concerned.

Hayden took Lizzie's hand as they skated into a backward crossover together, then as Lizzie let go of Hayden's hand, the both of them simultaneously struck off from the ice into a triple axel before they landed on their feet, then both performing a butterfly jump with Lizzie landing in a camel spin, and Hayden in a sit spin with Lizzie finishing in a layback spin.

After about an hour of skating time, both were tired and Lizzie's feet ached, so Hayden suggested that they go and visit Hagrid.

They thought at first when they knocked on Hagrid's door fifteen minutes later (Lizzie had to go back to Gryffindor Tower to put her skates back into her trunk) that he was out, but then Fang came charging around the corner and almost bowled Lizzie over with the enthusiasm of his welcome.

Hagrid, it transpired, was picking runner beans in his back garden.

"All righ', Lizzie? Hayden?" he asked, beaming when they approached the fence. "Come in, come in, we'll have a cup o' dandelion juice…"

They followed Hagrid into his hut, with Fang trotting along at their heels.

"How's things?" Hagrid asked them as they settled down at his wooden table with three glasses apiece with iced juice. "Not bad," said Lizzie, politely taking a drink of juice. "Listen, Hagrid," said Lizzie, setting her glass down and reaching into her robes and pulling out a horse shoe. "I wanted to thank you for this, and the bracelet," she said, showing him the braided piece of horse hair around her wrist.

"Yer not still beatin' yerself up over wha' happened ter him are yeh?" asked Hagrid. "Not so much anymore," said Lizzie. "I just wish…I wish I knew what happened to him. I mean, what was done with his body after he – he died."

Hagrid surveyed Lizzie for a moment then got up from his chair. "Come with me," he said. "I wanna show yeh sommat…"

And abandoning their half empty glasses of juice, Lizzie and Hayden followed Hagrid through his kitchen and bedroom and out the back door past the water barrels and back garden toward the stables.

All the lesson horses were grazing in their designated paddocks as Lizzie walked past the one that Raven used to inhabit. She remembered going down there on sunny days when she would bring a book and sit beside the fence and read to him. He really liked that…..

They continued to walk along the grass near the edge of the Forbidden forest until they came to a large paddock like area of grass that wasn't fenced. In the middle of it, Lizzie saw a strange rectangular object in the middle of the grassy field some hundred or so feet away.

But as they got closer Lizzie realized that the rectangular object in the ground was a tombstone made of marble. Inscribed on it in big block golden letters were the words:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

RAVEN

2001-2004

Lizzie stared at the gravestone. Was this a marker? Or was Raven buried here?

"What is this?" asked Lizzie, staring at it. "This is where I buried him after he died las' year," said Hagrid. "Dumbledore gave me permission ter bury him out here. An' the school paid fer his gravestone…"

"So he's…here?" asked Lizzie Hagrid nodded. Lizzie wanted to say something, but the words kept getting lodged in her throat and she wasn't able to speak them. Hayden was staring at the dates on the tombstone. "Raven was only four when he died?" asked Hayden. Lizzie nodded without looking at him. "I know what you must think of me," she said. "Lizzie….." said Hayden. "If you want to break up with me, I will understand….." said Lizzie.

"Lizzie!" said Hayden holding onto Lizzie's shoulders. "I'm just surprised, that's all. You never mentioned how old he was the last time we talked about him."

Lizzie turned her head away, staring at the ground. A moment later, Hayden understood. "You didn't want me to know. You were too ashamed," he said. Lizzie nodded. "Aww, Lizzie," said Hayden, hugging her. Lizzie was crying as she hugged him back. "I miss him so much!" she sobbed. "I know," said Hayden.

A moment later, Lizzie released her grip on Hayden. "I-I have to do something, I'll be right back," she said as she turned and began walking in the direction of the stables.

She walked right through the sliding barn doors and immediately went over to her tack trunk, not even stopping to acknowledge Flicka.

She unlatched her trunk and began rummaging through it before taking out Raven's old halter and his name plate that used to hang on his stall door.

After taking these two items out of her trunk she latched it shut again and quickly exited the stables.

She quickly made her way back to where Hagrid and Hayden were, as they turned and saw her. "Hey, where did you go?" asked Hayden. Lizzie held up the halter and name plate in her hand. "I had to go back and get these," she said as she walked up to Raven's headstone and placed the halter and nameplate against the shining marble surface.

Hayden took his wand out from the pocket of his robes and waved it, conjuring a bouquet of flowers and handing them to Lizzie.

Lizzie took them and placed them in front of the tombstone too.

"This used ter be his favorite spot, this was," said Hagrid. "If he wasn't in his stable or his paddock, I could always coun' on findin' him here. This is where we did most of his trainin'….

As Hagrid relayed these fond memories, a thought struck Lizzie. "After he died, was he just…..brought back here and buried?" asked Lizzie. "Well, yeah," said Hagrid. "Most o' the kids had already gone home fer the summer…" "So he was never given a funeral or anything?" asked Lizzie. Hagrid shook his shaggy head. "No, there wasn' enough time fer one," she said.

"What are you getting at, Liz?" asked Hayden. "I want to give Raven a memorial service - a proper one," said Lizzie. Hayden and Hagrid stared at her. "I want people to know what really happened to him. Not what they think happened to him – The truth!" said Lizzie. "Lizzie…" said Hayden, walking up to her. "You don't have to put yourself through this again." "I want to," said Lizzie. "Coming to terms with his death was easy, letting go of the guilt was harder. I think I'm ready. I'm ready to let it go. Why do you think Raven's been hanging around?"

"Are you saying," said Hayden. "That the reason he's been hanging around was because you haven't let go of the guilt surrounding his death?" he asked. Lizzie nodded. "And he can't move on until I do," said Lizzie. "Do you want him to?" asked Hayden. "Having him around has been nice," Lizzie admitted. "It was like having a guardian angel, but he's ready to move on, I can sense it, and I feel like I owe that to him,"

Hayden surveyed Lizzie for another long moment, then nodded. "If this is what you really want," he said. "It is," said Lizzie.

Hayden nodded again as he hugged her, both of them facing Raven's gravestone. "I wish I could have known him," said Hayden. "From everything you told me, he sounded like a great horse." "He was," said Lizzie, taking Raven's shoe and setting it in front of the marble slab. "An' he loved yeh, too, Liz," said Hagrid. "I don' think I ever saw him so calm with anyone else. Certainly not with Malfoy, tha's fer sure!"

Lizzie chuckled. "I remember the first day I met Raven, Malfoy confronted me as I was putting Raven back in his stall and he said to me, 'Would you mind staying away from my horse'."

Hayden nodded gravely. "He wanted to emphasize that Raven was his to prove a point?" he asked. Lizzie nodded. "At first, I was surprised that a horse as beautiful as Raven would be owned by someone like Malfoy, but then it made sense. And I'll never forget, as I turned to leave, I saw Malfoy try to pet Raven. Raven had his ears pinned back, he was snorting and he tried to bite Malfoy."

"What did Malfoy do?" asked Hayden. "He said something like 'Stupid nag! I thought he was trained!' and that his father would hear about it, blah-blah-blah…."

"Mm-hmm. Figures," said Hayden, rolling his eyes. "Then as Malfoy walked away in a huff, Raven looked at him, then at me. I dunno, it was like….like he was saying 'I hate him'," said Lizzie.

"So you two had a connection almost right away?" asked Hayden. Lizzie nodded "With Malfoy, Raven would kick, bite, rear, and buck him off. But when I started riding him, he was a different horse! A first year could have ridden him!" she said. "So his temperament varied on who rode him and how he was treated?" asked Hayden. "Yeah," said Lizzie as her mind drifted back to her final show with him.

She suddenly remembered something that she had blocked out for months. Raven had been calm and docile for nearly all of the three days of the show until the showjumping. As they stood at the gate waiting for their turn, and as Malfoy came up to Lizzie and insulted her, Raven changed. His pinned his ears back and began snorting aggressively, pawing at the sanded ground, and at the time, Lizzie had misinterpreted these cues as excitement to get going. But Raven was angry that his former owner was treating his current owner like this. He had always been so protective of Lizzie.

"He knew," said Lizzie. "What?"' asked Hayden. "Raven knew what Malfoy was saying to me that day!" "Aw, come on, Liz," said Hayden in an effort to sound patient. "I know you miss him, but….."

"No, hear me out, please!" said Lizzie. "Raven was…so incredibly smart! I used to joke that he was almost human because of how smart he was! He hated Malfoy with a burning passion. Can you imagine what it would feel like for him to hear his former owner, whom he despises, saying horrible things about the person he loves?"

"If I was in Raven's hooves, I'd be pretty pissed," said Hayden. "Exactly!" said Lizzie. Her mind replayed the moment when he refused the final jump in the course, when it occurred to her that in the entire time she had known and ridden Raven, he had never refused a jump – ever. She also remembered how fast they had been going. Her surroundings appeared blurry as she galloped around the arena…..

If Raven had never refused a jump before, then he must have had a reason for doing it that day….

Then it hit Lizzie like a gigantic slap in the face. Malfoy's comments…How fast they were galloping….Raven suddenly refusing the last jump when he never had before….

This whole time Lizzie had assumed that he had wanted to refuse the jump as a way of misbehaving. But now she realized that he hadn't tried to refuse the jump because he simply didn't want to.

Raven knew how fast they were going and how dangerous it would be if they were to go over that final jump at the speeds that they were going. He wasn't trying to refuse, he was trying to send a message to her: We're going too fast! I don't want to win like this, it's not worth it! please, STOP!

Raven's last communication with Lizzie had been to try and protect her from a dangerous situation.

Lizzie gasped in shock. "Oh, my God!" she gasped as she fell to the ground, gripping the grass in her fists, her shoulders shaking as great sobs wracked her body.

"Lizzie!" gasped Hayden as he knelt down in front of her. "What is it?"

Lizzie sniffled loudly as she slowly looked into Hayden's eyes, her own still swimming with tears. "He…..he wasn't trying to refuse the jump," said Lizzie. "He was trying to protect me. He knew how fast we were going, and he was trying to tell me to slow down…..I didn't know!" Lizzie wailed. Hayden held Lizzie as she cried, staring up at Hagrid, who was crying too.

Now Hayden was wondering, after this revelation if Lizzie still wanted to go through with the funeral. Would she still have it in her to stand up and tell everybody this? And if so, would they believe her? They hadn't so far, so Hayden had his doubts.

"Lizzie," said a voice as Lizzie looked up and saw a large black horse standing in front of her. "Come on, please don't cry for me," said Raven. He was speaking telepathically, so Lizzie was the only one who could see and hear him.

"Raven?" she said sniffling as she got up. "Is – Is that you?" "Yeah," said Raven, nodding his head. "So, now you understand what I was trying to tell you that day?" he asked. "Yeah," said Lizzie. "I knew exactly what Malfoy was saying to you, and I wanted to win too, but after I realized how fast we were going, I decided that winning just to prove a point wasn't worth it." "I'm so sorry!" Lizzie sobbed. "I-If I had k-know th-that that was what you were t-t-trying t-t-to tell me I w-w-would have never…." "I know," said Raven. "Anyone could have made the same mistake in this situation. You are not alone in this."

"Th-then why d-does it hurt so much?" Lizzie bawled. "Because you keep going over and over in your brain how you could have done it differently. There's no 'Woulda, shoulda, coulda's'. We can't go back and redo that day, and no magic can reawaken the dead. I can't come back to you," said Raven.

"I know," said Lizzie. She had been told this many times already by Hermione. "We were thinking about having a funeral for you," she said. "I was planning on telling people what really happened to you." "You don't have to prove anything to anyone," said Raven. "If they don't believe our story, that's their problem, not yours," "I know," said Lizzie. "I just want to let go of the guilt. I'm tired of carrying it around. That's why you haven't moved on, yet isn't it?" Raven nodded his big onyx head. "I can't move on until you do," he said. "I had a feeling it was something like that," she said. "I think the idea of you holding a memorial for me is nice," said Raven. "But if you do choose to tell the story about what happened to me, and how I died, don't do it for the same reasons for when I refused to take that jump. Don't do it for them. Do it for yourself."

Lizzie understood what Raven was trying to say. If she wanted to get up and tell the real story about how Raven died, he wanted her to do it so she could free herself from the guilt that had been slowly eating her alive for a year.

"I'll do it," said Lizzie. Raven's large eyes softened as they sparkled. He turned his gigantic head toward the Forest. "I'd better go. Bane will wonder where I've gone…..

Lizzie nodded as Raven turned and galloped down the grass and disappeared into the thick trees that lined the Forest.

"What did he want?" asked Hayden, wrapping his arm around Lizzie's shoulder. "He thought the idea of giving him a proper memorial was a nice gesture, but he did tell me that if I did want to get up and tell people the true story of what happened to him, I shouldn't do it to prove a point, I should do it for myself. He also said that he can't move on until I do."

"Meaning that until you let go of the guilt, he's just going to be hanging around?" asked Hayden. Lizzie nodded. "I feel like I have to do this," she said. Hayden nodded. "Come on, let's go tell Dumbledore and McGonagall," he said, holding out his hand as Lizzie took it and they walked back to the castle but not before Lizzie walked up to the headstone, kissed her forefingers and pressed them against the cold marble surface.