CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Harry manged to fall unconscious during training a week later.
Harry and Lara had been practising a particularly effective, and thus difficult, defense spell. Harry, in all his concentration of creating a defense, forgot to close the channel allowing his energy out. Thus, the light from within his heart continued to flow out well after the spell had been completed. So much so, in fact, that he had no energy left to power his brain and it shut down competely, rendering him unconscious.
"Enervate." Lara whispered over the unconscious form of Harry. The boy's eyes fluttered open, his mind taking a few minutes to process what happened. As soon as it did, his cheeks flushed a vibrant red.
"Sorry." He said, looking thoroughly ashamed of his lack of control over his energy.
"Don't apologize." Lara said simply, as she gently picked Harry up with a spell and levitated him to the couch, where she deposited him gently.
"What happens now?" Harry said wearily, knowing that he had severly drained his energy supply, a feat which would take at least a week to recover from.
"It will take a week at least for you to recover." Harry winced, looking worriedly up at Lara, who was standing over him.
"I was stupid...." Harry muttered, hating himself for letting it happen.
"No, it wasn't. It was a mistake." Lara said, crouching down so she was level with Harry on the couch. "But it doesn't matter. You've mastered you're training. Hell, you're better than me. You're ready to fight. Just relax this week okay? Store up your energy. I'll finish up Draco's training."
"We're going to fall behind schedule." Harry whined.
"No, we're not. Draco needs another week of training anyway."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" The subject of the conversation yelled from the doorway. He had obviously just finished his dinner and come to their dorms for some more training before bedtime.
"How the hell did you get in?" Harry said grumpily.
"Lara gave me the password."
"Why did you do something stupid like that?"
"It wasn't stupid. Come on, surely you've learnt by now that he's trustworthy, contrary to your prior belief."
"But....but what if he..."
"But what if he what? What's he going to do Harry?"
"Molest us in our sleep?"
"Oh please Potter, I'd never do something so vulgar. But turn on all you're bathroom taps so your room's flooded in the morning, that's something I'm likely do."
"Draco.." Lara said warningly, in a voice that clearly said *don't even think about it*
"But of course, I'll never do that, because I'm on the good side now." Draco said in mock disgust.
"You love it Draco, admit it."
"Never." Draco said before plopping himself down on an adjacent couch. "Now what are we waiting for? Let's train!"
"It's just you and me for the next week Malfoy, although Harry will be watching."
"Why?"
"He.. er.. had an accident." Lara said simply.
"He released too much energy didn't he? Silly prat..."
"Shut up Draco, at least he can do the spells." Lara snapped. Draco narrowed his eyes at the brown haired girl, not trusting himself to reply. "Now let's get training."
"Fine." Draco said huffily, getting up and facing Lara in the middle of the common room.
"I'm going to throw a hex at you okay? Don't worry, it's nothing serious." She added, noticing the look of fear the flashed across Draco's face. "It'll be a simple jelly legs curse, but it'll be a very strong version of it. You have to block it with a defense, okay?"
"Just a question." Draco said quickly, as Lara was raising her wand to strike.
"Yes?" She said exasperatedly.
"We need Energy Magic to attack demons, right?"
"Right."
"But why are we learning defense spells in Energy form?"
"Because a demons attacks are also stronger than most hexes, and require stronger defenses."
"Oh."
"Yes, well, are you ready?" Lara said, bordering on impatience.
"Alright, alright! Don't get your knickers in a knot!" Lara narrowed her eyes, raising her wand and casting the spell as a way of venting her anger out on the blonde haired Slytherin. As quick as lightening, the boy closed his eyes and summoned the defense spell. The curse hit the barrier with a sickening crack, and the sound of shattering glass filled the room.
"Okay, good, your shield worked, but it's better if it doesn't crack. That way you'll be prepared for whatever curse he throws at you next."
"Why can't you just keep a permanent shield up?" Harry asked from his view on the couch.
"How do you expect to attack when your curses are blocked?" Lara said, answering his query with another question.
***********
"Okay, a lot of improvement today. I think that's enough for one night."
"Finally, I'm exhausted."
"So am I." Lara said wearily, flopping down on the couch as Draco made to exit the dormitory.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot." He said suddenly, just as he had reached the doorway.
"What is it?" Lara asked, turning around on the couch to face him.
"I caugh Weasley and Granger making out in a closet today!" He said, exiting the room quickly before Lara or Harry could extract any more information out of him.
"WHAT?" They both yelled after the retreating Slytherin, but he had already shut the door, muffling their yells.
"You reckon he's telling the truth?" Harry asked.
"He wouldn't lie, not about something like that."
"I wish I could interogate them about it." Harry said, sighing whistfully. Lara grinned evilly.
"I think I'm going to do just that." She said, before getting up off the couch and entering her room. She came out seconds later with a legnth of silvery fabric, undeniably an invisibility cloak.
"Report back to me when you return!" Harry yelled after her as she exited the dorm and made her way to Gryffindor tower, throwing the cloak over her shoulders as she went.
**********
"Titilandus." Lara whispered to the Fat Lady, before entering the common room and spotting Ron and Hermione sitting VERY CLOSE together on the couch. The brown haired girl watched from the shadows as the Common Room empty and the pair were left alone.
Or so they thought.
"Is everyone gone." Hermione whispered, looking around.
"I think so." Ron said seductively in the girls ear, before leaning over and kissing her softly on the lips.
"Mm... who cares?" Hermione said, giggling like a school girl as she pulled Ron closer into a deeper kiss. After a few minutes, the couple had progressed to an all out snog session. Lara, having had enough of watching her two friends snog, decided to interrupt their session.
"So it's true then?" She said amusedly, stepping out of her invisbility cloak and walking around the couch so she was facing them. The couple both wore identical looks of horror and shock on their faces. They sprang apart instinctively, Hermione obsessively smoothing her skirt and trying to fix her dishevelled hair.
"What's true?" She said, obviously trying to avoid the question.
"Don't play dumb Hermione, because I know you're not. You and Ron, going out! Since when?"
"Well, it's been four days actually." Ron said sheepishly. Lara laughed.
"You're serious? It's times like this I wish I was still living in Gryffindor Tower, I would've picked up on it a long time ago."
"How did you find out?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Draco." Lara said simply.
"That bastard! He promised he wouldn't tell!"
"Oh give the guy a break! He was walking around with the juiciest bit of gossip at Hogwarts and you expect him to keep quiet?"
"Well it would've been nice." Hermione said grumpily.
"Everyone's bound to find out anyway." Lara said airly. "So who else knows?"
"No one, except you and Malfoy and some stupid first year that walked in on us last night." Ron said.
"Why do you want to keep it a secret anyways?"
"We just wanted some privacy for a bit, you know?"
"Sounds a bit silly. I'd just get it out in the open, coz then you wouldn't have to wait till the common room clears just so you can have a snog."
"How long were you standing there?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Long enough." Lara said, smirking. "So who initated the first kiss?"
"What is this, twenty questions?" Ron said, going slightly red.
"Come on, I'm your friend. I have a right to know."
"Alright." Hermione said, knowing full well that if the roles were reversed, she would be just as curious as Lara was being. "It was a mutual sort of thing. We were downstairs, the day after we had that.. er... discussion." Lara nodded, while Ron looked on curiously.
"The day he asked you to the Yule Ball." Lara said, remembering Hermione telling her of the conversation she had with Ron just after she'd left the common room.
"Yeah."
"How did you know?" Ron asked, confused.
"Girl talk." Lara said, grinning, before motioning for Hermione to continue.
"And we were studying, innocently." Lara snorted at this, but didn't comment. "We'd been shuffling our chairs closer together the whole night, until finally I leaned across to pick up a quill and our shoulders brushed. And then we sorted, leaned in at the same time and well....we kissed."
"Aw, how cute." Lara said, smiling at her two friends who were by now blushing very dark shades of red. "Well I'd better go now and relate all this to Harry. He'd have come too, but there was a little accident with training this afternoon."
"What happened?" Hermione asked worriedly, her blush disappearing as a concerned face crossed her features.
"Nothing too bad, he just used too much magic. He's going to have to stay in bed for a couple of days and relax, get his strength back." Lara said softly. Her words reminded her of the task that lay ahead, of her up coming encounter with Voldemort. Her smile, which had stayed on her face throughout the entire conversation with the couple, now faded.
"How long until you have to face Him?" Ron asked, understanding the cause of her fading smile.
"A week, two. Not much longer than that."
"Are you scared?" He asked softly. Lara nodded.
"But not for me." She said, before walking out of the common room. Just outside the portrait, she sweeped the invisibility cloak over her shoulders before heading back to her rooms, not being able to hide the icy fear that had welled up inside her.
*******************
"Well?" Harry asked impatiently as soon as she got back.
"I told you Draco didn't lie." She said simply, shaking off her fear and forcing a smile on her face.
"You're serious? So they're together? Since when?"
"Four days ago, the day after our little chats with them."
"Well about time." Harry said happily, smiling. Lara smiled softly back, although her heart wasn't in it.
Harry noticed.
"Something's eating you." Harry said simply. Lara glanced over at Harry, a mask of worry and hopelessness creasing her features.
"I'm not usually scared. It's one of the few emotions I don't portray often, along with kindness and compassion. But when I do fear, hell... I'm terrified. And right now, right now Harry, I am scared. More scared than I've ever been in my life."
"Why?"
"I... it's because of Voldemort. I...." But she couldn't finish the sentence. Because the true reason behind her fear was her worry for Harry, and she couldn't' voice it just yet.
"I know. I'm scared too. But we're going to do this, we're going to go in there and fight and we're going to win." Lara smiled softly, getting up from her sofa and making her way to Harry's couch. The dark haired boy sat up slightly, allowing room for Lara to sit, before laying back down on her lap.
"What makes you so sure?" She said, subconsciously raising her hand and stroking Harry's hair.
"We're in it together Lara." He said, looking up into her eyes as she looked down into his.
"Don't forget Draco" Lara laughed knowing how much the infamous Slytherin would hate being forgotten in ANY situation.
"Yes... we can never forget him." Harry said, rolling his eyes. This look of exasperation was then replaced by a more serious face. "Do you still like him?" He asked her suddenly.
"I broke up with him Harry. Of course I don't like him that way..." She drifted off. An uncomfortable silence settled over the two as identical thoughts passed through their minds.
*Just say it... Just blurt it out.*
*But what if she doesn't like me?*
"Lara." Harry said simply.
"Yeah.."
"Remember that prophecy?"
"The one claiming I will fall in love?"
"And that love will be greater than all the loves that ever was?" Harry finished.
"Yeah... what about it?"
"Do you think that prophecy was talking about Draco?" Harry questioned, getting slightly drowsy from his magical exhaustion and from Lara stroking his hair gently.
"No, it wasn't." Lara replied without hesitation.
"How do you know?"
"I... I just do." She finished lamely. Harry nodded, turning his body onto it's side and curling up slightly. "Don't go getting comfortable now Harry." Lara said warningly, wriggling slightly.
"Mmmm.." Harry mumbled sleepily, obviously too far down the land of dreams to register what the girl had said. Lara rolled her eyes at the sleeping boy.
"Fine, I'll drift you to bed myself." Lara said huffily, waving her hand slightly so that Harry's figure rose from the couch. She guided him across the common room and into his room, resting him on the bed.
"Goodnight Harry." She said softly from the doorway, knowing full well that Dumbledore's spell prevented her from entering his room.
Sighing, she turned around and headed back to her own room, settling herself into bed.
Harry manged to fall unconscious during training a week later.
Harry and Lara had been practising a particularly effective, and thus difficult, defense spell. Harry, in all his concentration of creating a defense, forgot to close the channel allowing his energy out. Thus, the light from within his heart continued to flow out well after the spell had been completed. So much so, in fact, that he had no energy left to power his brain and it shut down competely, rendering him unconscious.
"Enervate." Lara whispered over the unconscious form of Harry. The boy's eyes fluttered open, his mind taking a few minutes to process what happened. As soon as it did, his cheeks flushed a vibrant red.
"Sorry." He said, looking thoroughly ashamed of his lack of control over his energy.
"Don't apologize." Lara said simply, as she gently picked Harry up with a spell and levitated him to the couch, where she deposited him gently.
"What happens now?" Harry said wearily, knowing that he had severly drained his energy supply, a feat which would take at least a week to recover from.
"It will take a week at least for you to recover." Harry winced, looking worriedly up at Lara, who was standing over him.
"I was stupid...." Harry muttered, hating himself for letting it happen.
"No, it wasn't. It was a mistake." Lara said, crouching down so she was level with Harry on the couch. "But it doesn't matter. You've mastered you're training. Hell, you're better than me. You're ready to fight. Just relax this week okay? Store up your energy. I'll finish up Draco's training."
"We're going to fall behind schedule." Harry whined.
"No, we're not. Draco needs another week of training anyway."
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" The subject of the conversation yelled from the doorway. He had obviously just finished his dinner and come to their dorms for some more training before bedtime.
"How the hell did you get in?" Harry said grumpily.
"Lara gave me the password."
"Why did you do something stupid like that?"
"It wasn't stupid. Come on, surely you've learnt by now that he's trustworthy, contrary to your prior belief."
"But....but what if he..."
"But what if he what? What's he going to do Harry?"
"Molest us in our sleep?"
"Oh please Potter, I'd never do something so vulgar. But turn on all you're bathroom taps so your room's flooded in the morning, that's something I'm likely do."
"Draco.." Lara said warningly, in a voice that clearly said *don't even think about it*
"But of course, I'll never do that, because I'm on the good side now." Draco said in mock disgust.
"You love it Draco, admit it."
"Never." Draco said before plopping himself down on an adjacent couch. "Now what are we waiting for? Let's train!"
"It's just you and me for the next week Malfoy, although Harry will be watching."
"Why?"
"He.. er.. had an accident." Lara said simply.
"He released too much energy didn't he? Silly prat..."
"Shut up Draco, at least he can do the spells." Lara snapped. Draco narrowed his eyes at the brown haired girl, not trusting himself to reply. "Now let's get training."
"Fine." Draco said huffily, getting up and facing Lara in the middle of the common room.
"I'm going to throw a hex at you okay? Don't worry, it's nothing serious." She added, noticing the look of fear the flashed across Draco's face. "It'll be a simple jelly legs curse, but it'll be a very strong version of it. You have to block it with a defense, okay?"
"Just a question." Draco said quickly, as Lara was raising her wand to strike.
"Yes?" She said exasperatedly.
"We need Energy Magic to attack demons, right?"
"Right."
"But why are we learning defense spells in Energy form?"
"Because a demons attacks are also stronger than most hexes, and require stronger defenses."
"Oh."
"Yes, well, are you ready?" Lara said, bordering on impatience.
"Alright, alright! Don't get your knickers in a knot!" Lara narrowed her eyes, raising her wand and casting the spell as a way of venting her anger out on the blonde haired Slytherin. As quick as lightening, the boy closed his eyes and summoned the defense spell. The curse hit the barrier with a sickening crack, and the sound of shattering glass filled the room.
"Okay, good, your shield worked, but it's better if it doesn't crack. That way you'll be prepared for whatever curse he throws at you next."
"Why can't you just keep a permanent shield up?" Harry asked from his view on the couch.
"How do you expect to attack when your curses are blocked?" Lara said, answering his query with another question.
***********
"Okay, a lot of improvement today. I think that's enough for one night."
"Finally, I'm exhausted."
"So am I." Lara said wearily, flopping down on the couch as Draco made to exit the dormitory.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot." He said suddenly, just as he had reached the doorway.
"What is it?" Lara asked, turning around on the couch to face him.
"I caugh Weasley and Granger making out in a closet today!" He said, exiting the room quickly before Lara or Harry could extract any more information out of him.
"WHAT?" They both yelled after the retreating Slytherin, but he had already shut the door, muffling their yells.
"You reckon he's telling the truth?" Harry asked.
"He wouldn't lie, not about something like that."
"I wish I could interogate them about it." Harry said, sighing whistfully. Lara grinned evilly.
"I think I'm going to do just that." She said, before getting up off the couch and entering her room. She came out seconds later with a legnth of silvery fabric, undeniably an invisibility cloak.
"Report back to me when you return!" Harry yelled after her as she exited the dorm and made her way to Gryffindor tower, throwing the cloak over her shoulders as she went.
**********
"Titilandus." Lara whispered to the Fat Lady, before entering the common room and spotting Ron and Hermione sitting VERY CLOSE together on the couch. The brown haired girl watched from the shadows as the Common Room empty and the pair were left alone.
Or so they thought.
"Is everyone gone." Hermione whispered, looking around.
"I think so." Ron said seductively in the girls ear, before leaning over and kissing her softly on the lips.
"Mm... who cares?" Hermione said, giggling like a school girl as she pulled Ron closer into a deeper kiss. After a few minutes, the couple had progressed to an all out snog session. Lara, having had enough of watching her two friends snog, decided to interrupt their session.
"So it's true then?" She said amusedly, stepping out of her invisbility cloak and walking around the couch so she was facing them. The couple both wore identical looks of horror and shock on their faces. They sprang apart instinctively, Hermione obsessively smoothing her skirt and trying to fix her dishevelled hair.
"What's true?" She said, obviously trying to avoid the question.
"Don't play dumb Hermione, because I know you're not. You and Ron, going out! Since when?"
"Well, it's been four days actually." Ron said sheepishly. Lara laughed.
"You're serious? It's times like this I wish I was still living in Gryffindor Tower, I would've picked up on it a long time ago."
"How did you find out?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Draco." Lara said simply.
"That bastard! He promised he wouldn't tell!"
"Oh give the guy a break! He was walking around with the juiciest bit of gossip at Hogwarts and you expect him to keep quiet?"
"Well it would've been nice." Hermione said grumpily.
"Everyone's bound to find out anyway." Lara said airly. "So who else knows?"
"No one, except you and Malfoy and some stupid first year that walked in on us last night." Ron said.
"Why do you want to keep it a secret anyways?"
"We just wanted some privacy for a bit, you know?"
"Sounds a bit silly. I'd just get it out in the open, coz then you wouldn't have to wait till the common room clears just so you can have a snog."
"How long were you standing there?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Long enough." Lara said, smirking. "So who initated the first kiss?"
"What is this, twenty questions?" Ron said, going slightly red.
"Come on, I'm your friend. I have a right to know."
"Alright." Hermione said, knowing full well that if the roles were reversed, she would be just as curious as Lara was being. "It was a mutual sort of thing. We were downstairs, the day after we had that.. er... discussion." Lara nodded, while Ron looked on curiously.
"The day he asked you to the Yule Ball." Lara said, remembering Hermione telling her of the conversation she had with Ron just after she'd left the common room.
"Yeah."
"How did you know?" Ron asked, confused.
"Girl talk." Lara said, grinning, before motioning for Hermione to continue.
"And we were studying, innocently." Lara snorted at this, but didn't comment. "We'd been shuffling our chairs closer together the whole night, until finally I leaned across to pick up a quill and our shoulders brushed. And then we sorted, leaned in at the same time and well....we kissed."
"Aw, how cute." Lara said, smiling at her two friends who were by now blushing very dark shades of red. "Well I'd better go now and relate all this to Harry. He'd have come too, but there was a little accident with training this afternoon."
"What happened?" Hermione asked worriedly, her blush disappearing as a concerned face crossed her features.
"Nothing too bad, he just used too much magic. He's going to have to stay in bed for a couple of days and relax, get his strength back." Lara said softly. Her words reminded her of the task that lay ahead, of her up coming encounter with Voldemort. Her smile, which had stayed on her face throughout the entire conversation with the couple, now faded.
"How long until you have to face Him?" Ron asked, understanding the cause of her fading smile.
"A week, two. Not much longer than that."
"Are you scared?" He asked softly. Lara nodded.
"But not for me." She said, before walking out of the common room. Just outside the portrait, she sweeped the invisibility cloak over her shoulders before heading back to her rooms, not being able to hide the icy fear that had welled up inside her.
*******************
"Well?" Harry asked impatiently as soon as she got back.
"I told you Draco didn't lie." She said simply, shaking off her fear and forcing a smile on her face.
"You're serious? So they're together? Since when?"
"Four days ago, the day after our little chats with them."
"Well about time." Harry said happily, smiling. Lara smiled softly back, although her heart wasn't in it.
Harry noticed.
"Something's eating you." Harry said simply. Lara glanced over at Harry, a mask of worry and hopelessness creasing her features.
"I'm not usually scared. It's one of the few emotions I don't portray often, along with kindness and compassion. But when I do fear, hell... I'm terrified. And right now, right now Harry, I am scared. More scared than I've ever been in my life."
"Why?"
"I... it's because of Voldemort. I...." But she couldn't finish the sentence. Because the true reason behind her fear was her worry for Harry, and she couldn't' voice it just yet.
"I know. I'm scared too. But we're going to do this, we're going to go in there and fight and we're going to win." Lara smiled softly, getting up from her sofa and making her way to Harry's couch. The dark haired boy sat up slightly, allowing room for Lara to sit, before laying back down on her lap.
"What makes you so sure?" She said, subconsciously raising her hand and stroking Harry's hair.
"We're in it together Lara." He said, looking up into her eyes as she looked down into his.
"Don't forget Draco" Lara laughed knowing how much the infamous Slytherin would hate being forgotten in ANY situation.
"Yes... we can never forget him." Harry said, rolling his eyes. This look of exasperation was then replaced by a more serious face. "Do you still like him?" He asked her suddenly.
"I broke up with him Harry. Of course I don't like him that way..." She drifted off. An uncomfortable silence settled over the two as identical thoughts passed through their minds.
*Just say it... Just blurt it out.*
*But what if she doesn't like me?*
"Lara." Harry said simply.
"Yeah.."
"Remember that prophecy?"
"The one claiming I will fall in love?"
"And that love will be greater than all the loves that ever was?" Harry finished.
"Yeah... what about it?"
"Do you think that prophecy was talking about Draco?" Harry questioned, getting slightly drowsy from his magical exhaustion and from Lara stroking his hair gently.
"No, it wasn't." Lara replied without hesitation.
"How do you know?"
"I... I just do." She finished lamely. Harry nodded, turning his body onto it's side and curling up slightly. "Don't go getting comfortable now Harry." Lara said warningly, wriggling slightly.
"Mmmm.." Harry mumbled sleepily, obviously too far down the land of dreams to register what the girl had said. Lara rolled her eyes at the sleeping boy.
"Fine, I'll drift you to bed myself." Lara said huffily, waving her hand slightly so that Harry's figure rose from the couch. She guided him across the common room and into his room, resting him on the bed.
"Goodnight Harry." She said softly from the doorway, knowing full well that Dumbledore's spell prevented her from entering his room.
Sighing, she turned around and headed back to her own room, settling herself into bed.