a/n:
first of all, I am a complete beeping beep of a beep head.
Secondly, I apologise to people who didn't like this chapter and felt confused, and may I kill anyone who did like this chapter and call them beeping weirdos. (hail to the beep! Lol)
Ok, no, no time for jokyness.
I must explain – this chapter I put up about Lily and James was meant to go in my other story "Secret Love" which is actually about Lily and James! This story is Harry through and through. Hate to disappoint the ones who seemed to crazily like the change.
Oh, and if you did like this chapter, go read Secret Love!!! :
Sorry again for the incredible mix up, but it was really late (for me it was, here in sunny England) and I just got confused.
So up in the next chapter (which I have now correctly uploaded) is the actual next chapter. ENJOY. And don't hate me.
Love,
Rowan Lila Arkenson
No one said anything for a while. Everyone seemed stunned into silence. Dumbledore felt particularly stupid, letting Voldemort's daughter into his castle without knowing or realising who she was. Sirius stumbled backwards in shock then almost ran out of the hospital wing to find Remus and update him on the situation. Snape was still breathing heavily from the run he had done to get there, and the strength it had taken to shake Harry so violently. He felt scared. Now he had unveiled Cassandra's true identity, what was Voldemort going to do to him? As far as Voldemort and as anyone else for that matter knew, Snape was still a Death Eater. Only he and Dumbledore knew that he wasn't and would never be again. And only they knew why. Ron had gone a deathly white and was sitting on the floor in deep thought.
Harry couldn't believe it. He knew it did kind of make sense, though. Why else would Cassandra have pretended to like him? She was trying to get to him. Obviously Voldemort had sent her to Hogwarts to trick Harry and try to get on his side. Why else would his scar have started hurting so much that it knocked him unconscious when he had kissed her? Why else would she be the only "nice" Slytherin? Why else would she have made Malfoy her boyfriend? Now that Harry thought about it more and more, Malfoy and Cassandra seemed perfect for each other. Harry knew that Draco's dad, Lucius Malfoy, was a Death Eater, and Voldemort controlled the Death Eaters. They were his servants. His slaves of darkness.
Harry smiled wryly in his mind (he had no strength to actually smile). The heir of Griffindor had nearly fallen in love with the heir of Slytherin. Quite funny really. But Harry thought it was funny for only a few seconds. After that the sadness crept into his mind, and brought him back to reality. He looked up at the gloomy faces that surrounded him. "Right then," he said, shocking everyone with his business-type tone. "What are we going to do about this?"
When no one answered him he grinned bravely. "Oh come on, the daughter of Voldemort in the palms of our hands and you're telling me there's no plan?" Harry could feel Ron's worried gaze on him but he refused to turn and meet his eyes.
Dumbledore looked to Snape, then to the floor, then back at Harry. He smiled. "You are right. There is no time to lose. Snape, let's go and find Arabella and the others."
Harry was about to pull the covers off him when Dumbledore stuck a hand out. "No, Harry. You must rest. When we found you in the corridor your scar was burning black. You must have had a terrible headache."
"But I'm fine now," Harry protested.
Dumbledore looked at Ron. "Make sure he stays here tonight," Dumbledore said. Ron nodded.
Harry sighed and folded his arms in protest. Dumbledore's eyes smiled down on him. "First thing tomorrow, I promise I will come and fill you in." Then he and Snape turned and went out of the hospital wing. As soon as they had gone, Harry turned to Ron. "You don't have to stay here with me, you know. I can look after myself."
"I promised Dumbledore," Ron mumbled, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Harry's.
Harry sighed again. "What is it with people wanting to look after me all the time? I'm fine! Go find whoever's still in the castle. Go to Hogsmede. Buy my Christmas present!" Harry grinned and knew Ron wouldn't be able to help but grin back, despite everything.
Ron grinned. "Fine, I'll go. But you have to answer me this next question honestly, then I'll promise I'll go." Harry nodded in agreement. "Are you ok?" Ron asked seriously.
Harry opened his mouth to answer but knew he wouldn't get away with lying. "Truthfully? No, I'm not. I'm not fine. But all I want to do now is sleep. I'm tired and I'm confused. So you might as well go anyway if all I'm going to be doing is sleeping."
Ron nodded and turned away walking out of the door. Harry lay his head back down on his pillow and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he heard someone come into the hospital wing. Next to him the bed moved slightly with the added weight of a person on it. Harry smiled wryly. He would never escape Ron. Ron would always be there, no matter what Harry did. This thought comforted Harry slightly and he drifted into sleep.
"Harry? Open your eyes, Harry." Harry frowned in wonder at the voice above him. It was a female's voice, kind and light-sounding, if that even makes sense. It did to Harry though. He opened his eyes slowly. There was a figure sitting on the edge of his bed. It was dark. Harry looked around. No one was about. He picked up his watch and just made out the time in the faint glow of light that was seeping in through the windows from the moon. It was just past midnight. Harry put the watch back down and sat up, looking harder at the shadowy figure.
"Who is that?" Harry asked. The person didn't say anything. "Cassandra, is that you?" Harry had thought he recognised the voice, and now he knew who it was. It was Cassandra. "Cassandra, what are you doing here?"
"I'm not Cassandra," said the figure with Cassandra's voice. "It's me, Hermione." Whoever it was, she sounded pleading, as if she were desperate for Harry to believe in who it was.
"You're not Hermione, don't mess around with me," Harry said angrily in a loud whisper.
He could hear Cassandra begin to cry with despair. "But I am Hermione, I am! Why won't you believe me?"
"Um, well, quite a few reasons really," Harry said. "One, you sound like Cassandra, two, Hermione's dead, and three, I'm not stupid!"
The figure then leaned in toward the light, revealing its face. Harry recoiled in horror. They had a hooded cloak covering a lot of their face, and it was a man, definitely a man. He smiled evilly and although Harry couldn't quite remember what his enemy looked like, he knew with every terrified inch of his body that it was Voldemort. Harry clasped a hand to his burning scar. Lord Voldemort opened his mouth slightly and grinned. "You sure about that?"
Harry yelled and he shot up in bed, eyes snapping open. To the right of him he could see Ron, half-sitting half-lying on the floor next to him. His friend's eyes also shot open and he turned to Harry in worry. "Harry? What's going on, what happened?"
Harry looked around him. It was getting light, but he knew the castle wouldn't quite be awake yet. He got out of his bed and looked more carefully around the room. No one was there. Voldemort wasn't there. It was just a dream. Harry sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, shaking. Ron came and sat next to him. "Bad dream?" he asked knowingly.
Harry nodded his head but didn't look up. "The worst. Cassandra was here except she kept saying she was Hermione but she sounded like Cassandra, I know it was Cassandra…"
"And was it?"
Harry turned and looked up at Ron. He looked down again. "No," he answered simply, shaking his head. "It wasn't Cassandra or Hermione. It was Voldemort."
Harry climbed slowly back into bed without even looking at Ron, and fell once again asleep.
Christmas came and went without Harry even looking up to greet it. No word came from Dumbledore or Sirius and Harry didn't go to ask. He didn't really want to have anything to do with it. He needed some time to think. He never saw Cassandra or Malfoy; he didn't even spot them at the Christmas day feast, although he wasn't particularly looking around for them. Ron thanked Harry for the beautiful cloak he had bought him, and said it was perfect for taking Rowan to the ball with. Rowan was a sixth year Ravenclaw, and Ron had only just recently got to know her through his sixth year Griffindor sister, Ginny. Rowan had been so pleased to even be asked to the ball by a seventh year that she said yes straight away, much to Ron's delight.
Harry hadn't asked anyone to the ball yet. No one had asked him either. Though he was suspicious some had wanted to. A few days before the end of term, someone had come up to him, someone he recognised of course but didn't know by name, and she had opened her mouth to speak, but then had run away. Harry just assumed people still weren't sure about the Hermione situation yet. I mean, how long are you supposed to wait after someone's girlfriend died to make a move on them?
Truthfully, although Harry (and Rebekah of course) had arranged this ball, Harry didn't feel like going. He was confused enough about Cassandra at the moment. He wasn't sure who to ask. People were returning back to school on the 5th of January, and they decided to have the ball on the 6th. It didn't seem fair to have it during the holiday, when most people had gone home to their families.
Harry had thought of asking Lavender, but then he had decided against it. He thought that Lavender did like him, but he was still too confused about everything. Maybe he'd ask her when she got back, assuming she didn't already have anyone to go with. Either that or Harry would go alone. There were no rules about going on your own, but Seamus and Dean had said to him that it would be a shame to go on his own, seeing as there were so many people who would be willing and desperate to go with him!
From Ron as a Christmas present Harry got a photo album. It was full of pictures of the three of them; the three musketeers. The first few pages were pictures taken in their fifth year. Harry knew because there were some pictures of Ron and Hermione kissing (only a few, they hadn't gone out for very long). The last bunch they were in their sixth year. Lots with Hermione and Harry, looking really happy together. Harry had smiled down at it and hugged Ron, thanking him sincerely. It had now been a week since he had got it, and every single night before Harry fell asleep, he would take out the photo album labelled "The Three Musketeers" and the one of his parents that Hagrid had given him in his first year, and he would look at the photos, thinking how much, how desperately he wanted Hermione and his mum and dad back. It was a way of not thinking too much about Cassandra, and instead of getting revenge on Voldemort.
The night everyone returned from their homes was an…interesting, night, certainly. Ron and Harry sat in the common room as the only two seventh year Griffindors to have stayed, waiting for their friends to return. Various other Griffindors of different ages were scattered around the common room, playing chess, finishing homework, talking in little groups, blissfully unaware that the Dark Lord, the one who they all feared but thought was gone for a while, had placed a spy, his own daughter, in the castle they had thought to be safe. A castle which was no longer safe.
Harry still hadn't talked to Dumbledore. He knew he'd have to sooner or later. Harry knew that Snape had somehow found out about, or had actually seen Cassandra and Harry first hand, kissing, and so had presumably told the rest of the Scooby gang, as Ron had called them several times. Harry decided he'd see Dumbledore after dinner that night.
The first person to step into the common room was Seamus. He walked into the common room, spotted Harry and Ron by the fire, and grinned, walking over to them. "Happy new year!" he said, taking a place on the floor next to them.
Harry simply smiled but said nothing. He didn't feel like talking at all. He was too confused, and too exhausted from all the thinking he'd had to do lately.
With a very discreet glance in Harry's direction, Ron turned to Seamus and smiled. "Welcome back," he said.
Seamus looked at Harry. "So, Harry mate, you alright? Didn't seem too good when we left you!"
Harry laughed wryly but still, he said nothing. Seamus raised an eyebrow at Ron. Ron laughed in pretence; "Oh, he's fine. Got a sore throat, haven't you Harry? Very bad, hurts to talk." Seamus nodded knowingly, and at that moment Harry actually felt very grateful that he'd never be rid of Ron.
Next to come in was Dean and Neville. Ron explained to them quickly about Harry's sore throat and then changed the subject very quickly and skilfully by making a joke about how Neville hadn't lost Trevor yet. Neville turned bright red at everyone's laughter, and held on even more tightly to his already suffocating toad, Trevor.
Then Lavender and Parvati walked in. Harry still felt he couldn't talk, and really didn't want to, to anyone, but he really wanted to ask Lavender to the New Year's ball. Why? Well, mainly because he wanted to show Cassandra that he didn't need the Princess of Darkness, he had Lavender. And two, he had spent so little time with Lavender, and just after their friendship had met new levels after Hermione's death as well, and he felt guilty.
Harry bent over to Ron's ear and whispered something to him. Ron grinned and nodded, jumping up and walking over to Lavender.
"It's great to be back though, isn't it?" Parvati said to Lavender.
"Yeah," Lavender agreed. "But I think I may miss my mum and dad already!"
Parvati laughed, and then stopped and coughed, seeing someone who was approaching them over Lavender's shoulder. Lavender frowned, confused, but then understood and turned round. She saw Ron and smiled. "Hi, Ron."
"Hello girls," Ron said charmingly.
Parvati laughed. "You're such a charmer, Ron," she said sarcastically.
"I know," Ron said, just as sarcastically. Then he turned to Lavender. "Lavender, has anyone asked you to the ball yet?"
Lavender was just about to answer when Parvati cut in. "Um, Ron, have you forgotten a certain young brunette in Ravenclaw to whom you promised your arm tomorrow night?"
Ron frowned in confusion, then shook his head. "No, no I haven't forgotten about her, actually," he answered, smiling. "And for your information, not that it's any of your business, I wasn't asking for me."
"No, no one's asked me yet. Well, some people have, you know, but I said no," Lavender added quickly, heart beating quickly. "Um, so who wants to know?"
"Harry." Ron said this like it was no big deal, and Lavender tried to calm the pounding in her heart as she took in what he had just said.
"Harry? Really?" Lavender could feel Parvati trying to surpress a giggle next to her, and poked her sharply in the back. Parvati bit her lip to stop crying out, and shot daggers at Lavender.
Ron waited for an answer. "Well? Will you go with Harry?"
"Um…sure, yeah ok," Lavender said calmly.
"Ok, great. See you two later." Ron turned round and went back to the chairs; seeing Seamus had nicked his, he pushed his friend off and sat down quickly, while Seamus sat sprawled on the floor, pouting. While everyone laughed, Ron said something to Harry, who smiled, but didn't say anything back.
Lavender smiled.
Parvati burst out laughing. "What?" Lavender asked crossly.
"Oh come on, what do you mean, what? You've been waiting and waiting for Harry to ask you out and now he has, you're just acting like it's no big deal!"
Lavender didn't grin, but stayed very calm and mature. "Parvati, he's not even asking me out, we're just going to the ball together, that's all. And besides, he's probably just asking me as a friend."
"Ah, but probably doesn't always mean definitely, now does it?" Parvati pointed out in her annoying wisdom-like way. She scuttled off to the dormitory stairs and Lavender tutted and shook her head. But inside, her heart was all a flutter.
a/n: don't pelt me with "Harry&Lavendar?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!" bombs, because none of you know what's going to happen! READ ON. I will tell you though that I'm afraid Hermione probably won't come back. Sorry. R&R)