A/N- ^_^ Yay for wonderful reviewers!

Keita- Now that I think of it, that makes an awful lot of sense, you guys being really far inland and such.  Ya learn something every day! ^_^

Star Dust- Thanks, it's nice to know my dorkiness is appreciated! ^_^ Anyway, you shall know what they plan eventually… when I feel like revealing ::evil cackle:: But yeah, in Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone Blaise Zabini is the last person Sorted.  We don't know if Blaise is male or female, and we never hear about him/her again, so it makes him/her a really versatile character.  All you have to do is make sure Blaise is a Slytherin!

FEEdLestEEx- Thanks!  Though if this isn't fast enough for you, I can't wait till I've caught up with myself.  Nice name, BTW! ^_^

Harmonia- Thanks, glad to know I'm appreciated! :D

kneh13-  teehee. No prob, bob!

Anyway, any lurkers that happen to be hanging about- REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!  Criticism is good too, any kind of review please!

***WARNING!!!! Spoiler from OotP!! If you haven't read it and don't know who died yet, you might wanna skip the end of this chapter.  Thanks, now on with your regularly scheduled update!***

Chapter 6

The second weekend in October, the weather decided to be most uncooperative to Ginny, Amara and Katie's plans to go riding; the spell of golden-warm days had most emphatically broken.  If you looked out the window, you would think there was a waterfall right outside, complete with a thunderous roar that refused to cease.

Ginny sighed and turned away from the window.  Now what to do?  She shrugged and decided to go get breakfast first- hopefully she would see the girls there and they could think of something.

She greeted her Ravenclaw friends with a wave.  "So much for going riding," she said with a wry grin.  "Any ideas for something else to do today?"

Katie, a tall, slim girl with shiny brown hair and huge hazel eyes, shrugged and looked to Amara hopefully.  Maybe this time…  

Her fellow Ravenclaw was only about 5'4" and had softly waving red-gold hair and guileless blue eyes.  She bit her lip and replied softly, "Well, I did promise to show you the music room the next time we didn't have anything planned, so I suppose that's an option…"

Ginny and Katie grinned and agreed promptly.  They had been waiting for Amara to get over her self-consciousness about her voice and sing for them for months!  The giggling trio sat down and chattered for a bit over a light breakfast, waiting for mail before heading out.  After a few minutes, a rush of wings overhead announced that their wait was over.  All three girls delightedly accepted letters from various owls.

"Mum says hi," Ginny relayed, smiling at her family's zaniness.  Katie laughed and showed the other two girls a picture her parents had sent of her and her much younger brother playing catch on the front lawn- with a startled-looking puppy.  She assured them that she had had her wand out to levitate the young dog if her brother had missed as he often did. 

Suddenly Amara paled as she read her letter from home.  "What's wrong?" a concerned Ginny asked. 

"Danny's been checked in to the hospital again," she answered, her voice shaking slightly.  Oh, Danny… When her concerned friends asked why, she told them that her longtime Muggle friend had been diagnosed the previous year with leukemia.

"What's that?" Katie nervously asked.

"It's… a kind of disease in your blood," Amara replied absently, scanning the letter again.  "They found it last year, but I thought he had it beaten… I guess it just went into remission," she said sadly.  Danny was her absolute best friend back home, the big brother she never had.  "You wouldn't believe what they can do with medicine now, though.  I'm sure he'll be fine," she said, a little more cheerfully.  The three girls quickly finished their meals and set out for the music room.

*   *   *

"Oh, wow," Ginny said breathlessly.  The room Amara had let them into wasn't all that large, but the ceiling arched quite high overhead, letting sound ring far more than it would have had the room had a normal, flat ceiling.  There were many instruments hung on the walls; guitars, violins, flutes, trumpets, all sorts of things.  There were even a few funny-looking ones Ginny didn't recognize.  In the center of the room there was a beautiful baby grand piano.  Amara walked over to it and sat down.

"So," she asked, smiling nervously, "What should I play?"

"Anything," Ginny said eagerly.  "We just want to hear you!"

Amara laughed and relaxed a bit, then thought a moment and began playing Beethoven's "Für Elise."  This famous song was actually not as hard as it sounded, and was a good warm-up piece for Amara's fingers.  Ginny and Katie listened, entranced, to the lovely flowing melody rippling from under Amara's nimble fingers.  They felt the distinct emotions of each section: first, the peaceful, slow part that anyone could recognize; then, the light cheerfulness of the second section.  The first part came back again, then was followed by a pounding, mournful section.  The main part came back one final time to round out the piece, leaving the delighted audience peaceful and soothed.

Ginny sighed and opened her eyes.  "That was so lovely, 'Mara, you should play for us more often!"  Katie nodded, fervently agreeing.

The shy redhead smiled, pleased that she had gotten such a good reception.  "Thanks, girls.  It means a lot to me."

"So," Katie asked slyly, her eyes twinkling.  "Do we get to hear the famous voice now?"  When the two young witches had gone to visit Amara's Muggle family over the summer, her mother had been constantly after her to sing for the family and guests; Amara had adamantly refused, blushing furiously.

Amara flushed again, then replied, "I suppose so."  She thought a moment, then smiled sadly and started to play again.

After a few bars of a lovely, flowing introduction, she started to sing a gentle, loving tune:

"Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are callin'

From glen to glen and down the mountainside

The sun is gone, and all the roses fallin'

It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow

Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow

It's I'll be here in sunshine, or in shadow

Oh Danny Boy, Oh Danny Boy, I miss you so.

And if I come, and all the flow'rs are dyin'

And you are dead, as dead you well may be,

I'll come and find the place where you are lyin'

And kneel, and say an Ave there for thee.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow

Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow

It's I'll be here in sunshine, or in shadow

Oh Danny Boy, Oh Danny Boy, I love you so."

Her lovely voice rang through the room; rich and smooth, but at the same time light and pleasant, she sang the ancient tune as if her heart were breaking.

When she was finished, a profound silence filled the little room as she wiped away tears from her pale cheeks.  Ginny and Katie just stared at her, stunned, letting their own tears run unchecked down their faces.

Amara finally turned and looked at them.  Her eyes widened as she took in their reactions.  She cleared her throat and they jumped.

Ginny was the first to recover.  She wiped her face and tried to speak, cleared her throat, and tried again, with better success.  "Wow."  Amara smiled through her tears at her friends as they walked up and gathered her into a three-way hug.  She sobbed quietly into their shoulders for a few minutes as they held her, telling her without words that should she ever need them, they would always be there.

*   *   *

It stayed rainy until Wednesday, so none of the riders could take out their mounts until then.  Thankfully, Wednesday was another one of the crisp, sunny days that alicorns and people alike loved.

The early part of the week was normal, in the routine they had all set up; go to class all day, go riding for the hour between class and dinner, eat, and do whatever until bed.

For Amara, everything changed on Thursday. 

*   *   *

At breakfast, the mail came as usual; Ginny was commenting rather acidly to the Trio about Fred and George's latest product at "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" when she suddenly felt compelled to look over to the Ravenclaw table.

Amara sat white-faced in shock, staring fixedly at the letter in front of her.  She began to shake, and suddenly bolted from her seat before the tears could start pouring down her face.  Ginny gasped and went after her, with no explanation to Ron, who had demanded to know where she was going.

"Let her be, Ron," Hermione commanded.  "Something's wrong with her friend, she needs to be with her."

Ginny was joined by Katie as they dashed down the hall after the crying girl.  "Amara!  Wait!" she gasped.  The distraught young witch did not stop, but instead ran up to the Ravenclaw tower and into her bedroom that she shared with Katie.  As her panting friends reached the entrance to the common room, Katie said the password ("Avianis!") and they rushed after Amara.

When they finally ran into the room, they found Amara curled in a ball on her bed, wracked with tearing sobs that shook her petite body violently.  Ginny and Katie walked up to her and sat down on either side of her.  "Mara, what happened?" Katie asked; there was no answer but more cries of grief.  Ginny picked up the letter Amara had thrown on the bed and read it; her eyes widened and she put her hand to her mouth in disbelief.  "Oh, no," she breathed, eyes filling with tears.

"What?  What happened?" Katie asked frantically.  Ginny wordlessly handed her the letter.

Danny was dead.

Katie couldn't believe her eyes; hadn't he just been checked into the hospital?  But as she read on, she saw that he had hemorrhaged while in the shower, and died almost immediately.  Both fifth-years comforted their grieving friend as best they could, rubbing her back and murmuring soothing things to her as she cried herself to sleep.

*   *   *

Amara didn't go to class on Friday; she stayed in her room and didn't even come out to eat until Saturday afternoon, when she avoided her friends and went straight to the paddock outside Hagrid's hut.

"Hi, Dancer," she sighed, scratching the copper mare behind the ears.  She grabbed her saddle, halter, and grooming tools from the tack box nearby, put everything on the fence rail, and brought the alicorn outside.  She told her all about Danny, and how much she missed him, as she brushed the dust and mud from her coat and cleaned her hooves. 

Finally ready, Amara saddled and bridled Dancer and rode out into the nearby forest.  After riding about ten minutes, she came to her favorite clearing and they halted.  Amara dismounted and walked over to the large rock in the center of the clearing; it was nice and flat on top, perfect for sitting on and sunbathing.  She sat down and let the roiling mass of emotions within her slowly sort themselves out.  Eventually, she swallowed down the painful lump in her throat and began to sing.

*   *   *

As Harry and Onyx wandered among the trees by the lake, he heard something in the distance- a haunting melody… who could be singing?

He followed the sound deeper into the woods; this wasn't really the Forbidden Forest, nothing really came this far out.  This was just a normal forest by the lake.  As Harry went deeper, he still couldn't quite make out the words- maybe she was facing away from him…?

He came to the edge of a small clearing; he could hear the song coming quite clearly now.  In the middle of the tiny meadow sat Ginny's friend Amara, her hair shimmering red-gold in the sunlight.  He could only see a little of her face, but he could hear the words clearly now:

You're in the arms of the angel/ Far away from here/ In this dark cold hotel room/ And the endlessness that you feel/ You are born from the wreckage/ Of your silent reverie/ You're in the arms of the angel/ May you find some comfort here.

Harry stood, spellbound, as Amara's pure voice rose and fell, rang through the clear light and throbbed with emotion.  The slender girl obviously had no idea anyone except her beloved alicorn was listening; Harry figured no one else even knew where she was.

As he listened to the heartbreakingly lovely song, he was unwillingly reminded of the family and friends he had lost; his parents and Cedric were, indeed, in the arms of the angels right now.  He could feel the sorrow rising from the girl in waves, and his own eyes stung and burned as he watched her sing.

When the last clear note had faded into the forest, Harry stood with two lonely tears running down his cheeks; he sniffed automatically and Amara whirled to face him, her eyes wide and bright with alarm.  Quick as a flash, she was on her alicorn and bolting through the trees away from him.

"Wait!" Harry cried.  "I didn't mean to scare you… bugger," he muttered as he nudged Onyx after the chestnut mare and her rider.

Amara and Dancer dodged through the trees as long as they could, but they finally burst into a tiny pocket-meadow at least a mile away from where they had been.  The underbrush all around the edge was far too thick for Dancer to plow through, and the meadow was only a few yards wide; there was no way they could get away.

Harry finally caught up with them.  "Are you alright?" he asked, concern clear in his eyes; those eyes widened when he saw Amara crumple, sobbing, on the back of her alicorn.  He hurriedly dismounted, then walked over and gently pulled her off her mount.  She's so tiny, he thought absently; though still wiry, he had grown to a couple inches shy of six feet, so Amara's slim 5'4" was quite a difference.  He sat down with the weeping girl cradled in his arms, and held her close as she cried herself out.  He remembered times when he had so desperately wanted someone to hold him, but had held back from embarrassment; he was sure that this was what she needed more than anything right now. 

Harry tried to remember if Ginny had told him what had happened on Thursday, but then realized with a wince that he hadn't seen Ginny since then.  He had no idea why she was crying so hard, but it must have been absolutely awful…

After several minutes, Amara's tears finally ran out.  She stayed folded in Harry's arms for another few minutes until even her breathing was back to normal.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked quietly.  He had felt awful while telling Dumbledore about Cedric's death, but it had been such a relief afterwards.  Hopefully it would help her as much.

Amara just sniffed as she collected her thoughts.

"His name was Danny."

Harry and Amara leaned back against the warm bulk of Onyx, who had laid down behind them (forming a quite comfortable backrest).  It was nearly dark; they had talked for hours.  First, Amara had told him all about Danny.  He had been her closest friend since she could talk, and was the only Muggle besides her parents to know she went to Hogwarts.  She told him all about the games they had played, how they had grown even closer during the summers home; then, holding back tears, she related how his doctor had discovered that he had leukemia.  She relived the pain and worry of the previous year, when he had been fighting so hard to live; the relief when he had told her he was all right again; then she had broken down and cried again when she told him how he died. 

After drying her tears a second time, Harry opened up to her as well; he told her about growing up with the Dursleys, especially Dudley, and about when he got his Hogwarts letter.  He talked about his parents, what he had learned about them from Sirius, Hagrid, Professor Lupin, and the memories he had seen from Snape.  He related the whole story of his fourth year, his crush on Cho, his jealousy of Cedric, even the battle with Voldemort.  Finally, he told her of his lingering grief over Sirius's death at the end of his fifth year, and the guilt he still felt.  What if he hadn't run off?  What if he had just…

When both of them were talked out, they remained sitting together, Harry's arm around her, her head on his shoulders.  He's really sweet, Amara thought to herself.  I can see why Ginny had that crush on him for so long.

Harry looked up at the sky; when he saw stars beginning to peek out, he swore softly.  "We should probably be getting back," he said reluctantly.  Amara sighed, but stood up and gave him a hand up. 

"I wish we could stay longer," she said wistfully.  Looking at her in the moonlight, Harry's heart lurched a moment; then he shook himself.  What are you doing, she's one of Ginny's friends!  Not for you! he told himself sternly.  The young students mounted up, and rode back to school together, glancing at each other in the moonlight.

A/N- I know, no Draco; he's taking a little vacation while I fill in details about Amara and Katie.  But Harry's got some interest!  Side note- Katie is heavily based on my bestest bud, Katie Morrisey.  Luv u Flag!

On a different note, Danny's story is actually not made up; there was a senior violin performance major at my school who died November 20th from leukemia.  I didn't know him, but everyone who did misses him more than words can say; he was sweet, hardworking, and extremely talented, and he didn't deserve to die as young as he did.  This chapter is dedicated to Justin Campbeau: I'm sorry I never knew you, and I wish I had.  Your memory lives on in all your friends and brothers.