A/N: Hello again!!! Sorry this took soo long to update. I won't bore u with excuses. I'll just say I was very busy (especially with a new story). Thank you so very much to my amazing, dedicated readers. Ashes: Here's the update!!!! This story will still be just as interesting as my new one!!! Ur really a rose for reading so much. I LOVE ya girl.
Potterlover: Hope u had fun on ur vacation. Thanks for still reading, and thank u for all ur compliments.
A Very Interested Reader: u r one of the most dedicated readers a writer could ask 4. Thanks for the continuing insightful reviews. U were right that Harry probably wouldn't be out of breath after a few flights of stairs. We all know what a hunk he is, (wink wink). I'll change that.
To my little stars, Amy and Lucy, thanks for reading. Ur the lucky ones who get to read be4 anyone else does!!!
Chapter Twenty Four: The MessageRon's fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides; seven years of pent-up fury at one disgusting Slytherin was had reached its boiling point. During their entire stay at Hogwarts, he had insulted him, his friends, his family, and his wizarding honor. He tried to get Hagrid suspended from the school, and he would just stand there smirking while his father would do unspeakable things to muggles. But physically hurting Hermione, bruising and torturing the girl he loved—that was the last straw.
"You are going to pay for this you little son of a bitch," he hissed through his teeth.
Draco released Hermione, who rubbed her aching shoulders.
"Ron, wait-" Hermione began but Draco silenced her with a look. He stood up and walked toward Ron, looking him straight in the eye, even though Ron was quite a few inches taller.
"How touching—the Gryffindor wanting to save his lady fair; but you know what Weasley-"
But he was cut short when Ron punched him so hard he flew about three or four feet across the room. Harry gasped—the force of the blow was almost superhuman. He ran and grabbed Ron by his shirt, trying to stop him. He didn't even look at Harry. "I'm not going to let him get away this time: not with Hermione."
With an almost hungry, primal rage, Ron pushed him and sent him careening into Hermione, who was still struggling to get to her feet—the pain was making her eyes water, but she had managed to half stand up.
Draco struggled to get up, blood flowing from his nose, staining his face, his shirt, forming a small scarlet pool on the floor. Ron was by him in a flash, grabbed him and violently kicked him in the stomach. He coughed up blood. Hermione was screaming, "Ron, it wasn't him! Ron, NO!"
Harry had already put himself in front of Draco before Ron could strike him again. He looked at him fiercely in the eye and grabbed his shirt, trying to shake him to his senses.
"Calm down, mate! Will you listen to Hermione for a second before you go off and kill him?"
Ron roughly turned around and looked at her, his shoulders moving up and down with his heaving breath.
"Ron, it wasn't him. He saved me, actually," she said slightly out of breath.
"What? Are you sure? You saw the bloody git save you?"
Hermione looked at Draco. He was lying on the floor, groaning in pain. It was strange and disconcerting seeing the usual pale and cold boy suddenly splashed with vivid, fiery red. He was barely able to crawl and winced in spasms of pain every time he moved; it was astonishing how much damage Ron had done with just a few blows.
"Hermione, he saved you? Are you sure? Then what happened to you?" Harry asked, trying to be placating.
Suddenly Draco's biting words came back to her-- It's foul in a way that can't be seen, and can't be taken away. No matter what you do, you'll just be common trash you're entire life.
She hardened her gaze. "No, actually. I never saw him do anything. I don't remember anything from the whole ordeal. I just remember seeing his bastard father and then here I was, in his room." She looked at him for an instance. He was looking at her, anger and hurt and betrayal
sharpening his eyes, contorting his face.
"See? He was probably acting all nice and saying he saved you so you could trust him; dirty, underhanded, treacherous thing to do—perfect for a Slytherin," Ron sneered. Harry watched him warily; Hermione was shifting uncomfortably.
Draco through a minor miracle had managed to stand up. The blood had soaked through his clothes, and his skin was half drenched in scarlet. When he spoke, Hermione could see his teeth, stained pink with blood. He spoke in a low, dangerous voice, barely containing his rage. "You Gryffindors think you're so goddamn morally superior, but it's so hard for you to imagine that anybody else might actually do something that you only wish you could do. So you know what? Fuck you." He spat blood right at Ron's feet, and then hit him full in the face. Ron staggered, his face brilliantly red, and struck him so hard he hit the wall with a sickening crack. Ron froze. Draco fell to the floor, limp and unconscious. Hermione screamed and with a massive effort, ran to his side.
"Is he….." Harry gaped.
Hermione was looking at him frantically. "He's still alive, but, oh my God. You guys, we need to get him to the hospital wing."
"You need to go there, too," Ron said indignantly.
Hermione looked at him. Self- blame and worry began filling her: why had she said that she didn't remember anything? She knew in the back of her head what Ron would do: but she had no idea that he would be so violent, or so strong—it was humanly impossible. For a wild second she wanted Draco hurt for what he said, but now all she felt was horribly guilty.
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Madame Pomfrey nearly collapsed when she saw them—Hermione bruised and barely able to walk, holding on to Ron for support, and Harry carrying an unconscious Draco, drenched in blood.
An hour later, after Hermione had explained her disappearance—
"I would have never expected anything like this to happen with you three. I am extremely disappointed," said Dumbledore solemly.
Draco was lying in a hospital bed: Madame Pomfrey had just finished cleaning him up, and the bruise was nearly gone from Hermione's face. She walked up to them, shaking her head.
"His nose was broken, he had about five cracked ribs, and even some internal bleeding. He would have possibly died if you hadn't brought him in here."
"Who did this to him? What kind of spell did you use?"
Hermione looked at Ron; he was looking at the floor, half in shock, half in horror at what he had almost done.
"It…It was me, sir," he croaked, "but all I did was hit him a few times."
Dumbledore looked at him curiously.
Madame Pomfrey replied, "He's obviously lying, Headmaster. This boy has been struck by the force of something like a train. I've never seen anything like it from a fist fight."
"No, it's true. I saw it, and so did Hermione. All Ron did was hit him, and he flew like four or three feet across the room." Harry replied; Hermione nodded her head.
Ron gulped and piped up, "Sir, I swear, I didn't mean to—I mean when I just saw him with Hermione, I was so angry. I had no idea I'd hurt him like that. I have no idea what happened."
"Have you been feeling anything strange since the incident this morning, with the events including Miss Riddle?"
"Actually, yeah. I've had theses insane urges to run, to fly, to do something; like I have this internal power that needs to get out. I dunno, I just thought I was going mad," Ron said, biting his lip.
After a pause, Dumbledore said, "I believe something quite interesting has happened here, Mr. Weasley. This morning Miss Riddle gave her life energy to save yours. I believe in the process that perhaps she has also transferred some of her powers to you as well. I have heard that she is quite a good flyer; but I do not know if she has increased strength. But it's still a plausible idea." Harry stared at him, wide-eyed.
"He'll be like this for how long?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure. It could be merely temporary." He looked at the three of them. "However, I am still responsible for your punishment. I will take 100 points from Gryffindor, 50 for Miss Granger's foolishness, and 50 for Mr. Weasley injuring a fellow student. I will also have to have a word with young Mr. Malfoy here, as he was also nowhere to be found during Miss Granger's disappearance. Until then, Poppy, if you please, give Miss Granger some pain-relieving potion so she may go to bed."
"Oh, this is my last one," she said, as she reached for a potion on the table next to Eve's bed.
"It's alright, Madame Pomfrey. I've already had some." She lowered her eyes away from Ron, "Draco already gave me some."
Ron tried hiding his disdain but still couldn't help his lip curling instinctively. "I guess we'd better go then." He put a protective arm around Hermione and steered her towards the door. He turned around. "Harry, you coming?"
Harry had been looking at Eve sleeping on her bed. He had gone over to her and was feeling her fingers: they had gone surprisingly icy, even though her cheeks were flushed. He had only been half listening to Ron.
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yeah," he said, distracted, "I'm coming." He turned to the nurse. "Keep on eye on her, please, Madame Pomfrey."
"Oh, of course, dear. She'll be fine, though," she said. She was busy checking on Draco. Harry hesitatingly got up and left.
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Draco opened his eyes, but had to blink a few times before his vision stopped being foggy. His head was pounding and he felt like his entire body had been wracked. It was painful to sit up. He touched his face, seeing that his bruise had been completely gone. He never remembered how he got in the hospital wing—probably the Gryffindors . Just like them, to do something stupid at the spur of the moment and then regret it later and try to help just to save face. He was still amazed at how Weasley managed to hit him like that. He sighed, and instinctively looked around: Madame Pomfrey wasn't anywhere to be found. He looked at Eve's bed, saw her lying on it, eyes closed. He tried focusing better in the dark. He thought he saw beads of sweat on her face.
Suddenly she shot up from the bed. Draco got up, wincing, and ran to her. She was staring with her eyes unfocused at nothing in particular, and panting heavily. Tears were silently streaming down her cheeks.
Draco grabbed her by the shoulders, "Eve, look at me. Eve!" He touched her moist face—it was freezing. But it was as if he wasn't there. Her eyes suddenly focused, but they were still blank. They were still green, but didn't look like her own eyes because of something Draco couldn't quite put his finger on. She got up and started walking out of the hospital wing, barefoot and in her nightgown. Her eyes were transfixed on something invisible.
"Eve, where are you going?"
She turned around and finally spoke, ghostly and haunting. "I need to see Harry." She walked out of the room as if she were floating. Draco sat there, his mouth wide open in shock-- shocked because Eve had spoken with a voice that wasn't hers.
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Harry had gone to sleep, but was having a strange dream. He was in his parent's house, in Godric's Hollow: he had seen how it looked in pictures. He walked through a room, bright gold with the rays of the sun. He turned, and to his right, he saw a baby carriage—empty. Then a warm wind ruffled his hair, made him turn his face to the beautiful open window. The white curtains were moving, and then a form of a woman materialized.
Harry found himself staring into the emerald eyes of his mother. He froze, his heart wrenching; he felt half joy, half terrible sadness. Harry had dreamt of his parents before, but he had mostly dreamt of his father—he never dreamt of his mother alone before.
And there she was, standing right across him. She was breathtakingly beautiful; she was wearing a pristine white dress, which seemed to glow through the golden sunlight.. Strands of her straight, red hair were falling across her face from the wind. And through them he saw her eyes—astonishingly green, like fresh grass in the spring. She was staring at the baby carriage, the sadness in her eyes making them even more beautiful.
When she spoke, her voice echoed mysteriously. "This was where I last saw you, Harry."
She raised her head, and looked at him straight in the eye. Harry suddenly seemed to have misplaced his voice. She looked barely a few years older than him; he wasn't surprised why his father had fallen in love with her.
She walked closer to him—Harry felt a pang as he saw that he was quite taller than her.
"Harry, I need to tell you something very important." She raised her hand; Harry thought his heart had stopped beating—he wondered what it would feel like if she touched him. Her fingers touched his hair covering his forehead, and then she touched his scar.
Harry felt s shock wave as he was thrust back into cold reality. But he was still staring at a pair of green eyes, and he still heard his mother's voice, " You need to visit us, Harry. You must come to us in three days. Or else all is lost."
Finally Harry spoke. "Mum?" was all he could mutter. But his voice shattered the cloudy trance he seemed to be in, and at the same time he realized that the green eyes were surrounded by flowing, black hair.
He felt a jolt of surprise. "Eve?"
When he said her name she suddenly shook herself, and screamed. She started crying, crying like someone who had just been thrust into hell and come back. Harry grabbed her, trying to calm down her shuddering body. She was wearing nothing but a thin, short nightgown, and her shoulders were bare—she was freezing cold. When Harry held her she looked at him and widened her eyes, as if she had just seen him for the first time that instant. She put her arms around Harry's neck and buried her face in his shoulders.
Ron, Neville, and Seamus woke up, causing a commotion.
"Whassa matter?" said Neville, still groggy with sleep.
"Who screamed?" asked Ron.
"How did she get here?" said Seamus, amazed.
"What happened?" Harry said, looking down at Eve..
She looked at him, eyes pink and drowned in tears. Her voice was choked and muffled. "Oh God, Harry. I saw…I saw….." But she buried her head in his shoulders, unable to continue. Harry felt quite awkward holding her in front of everybody.
"Wow, I thought if she ever came up here, she'd be in someone else's arms, if you know what I mean," Seamus indicated Ron, who groaned in frustration.
Eve broke away slightly from Harry, and looked around. "Where am I?"
"What, you mean you don't remember coming up here?" Neville asked.
"No, I don't remember anything. Am I…am I in your dormitory?" Eve asked, confused.
Ron sat next to her on Harry's bed. He said quietly. "Eve, you don't remember walking from the hospital room, opening the portrait hole, and climbing up the stairs to get here?"
Eve shook her head. Then she smiled. "Glad to see you okay, Ron."
Ron sputtered, and turned red. "I'm better than ever. The important thing is, how are you?" He bit his lip and lowered his eyes. "Th-Thank you, for what you did."
Eve turned around from Harry. She raised his chin using her fingers. She smiled brightly and kissed him gently on the cheek. She kept her face close to his. "You're welcome," she whispered. Ron's face was so brilliantly crimson his freckles had disappeared. Seamus winked at Harry. Harry felt even more awkward and downtrodden. He had been holding her in pure bliss, feeling her feathery hair, touching her skin, but then was cruelly reminded of who Eve had saved that morning.
Eve looked at him. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just I saw a sad dream."
Eve raised an eyebrow. "What did you see?"
"No big deal. I just saw my mum, that's all."
Eve's eyes widened in shock. "Who?"
Suddenly the door to their room slammed open. Draco Malfoy stumbled in still in his hospital wing striped pajamas.
"What is this, an invasion?" Seamus said, his eyes narrowed at Draco.
Ron stood up. "Get out of here, Malfoy, or I'll finish what I started." He threatened.
"You're lucky if I don't get my father to get you expelled, Weasley." Draco said.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"What am I doing here? I just saw Eve here get up and stroll out of the hospital wing like she's hypnotized, and mentioning Harry's name, talking in some other woman's voice. I thought she was possessed or something. I had to threaten that damn portrait with vile curses before that fat cow would open up."
"Draco, I'm fine," she said. He went over to her and moved the hair from her face, staring into her eyes. He shook his head.
Harry muttered to himself, "Another woman's voice?"
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The next morning suspicious murmuring and gossiping was spread throughout the school. During breakfast, when Ron, Harry, and Hermione walked in, a wave of frantic whispering rolled through the Great Hall. Random people would come up to Ron and say hi to him, leaving him very awkward because he didn't even know their names. For the first time ever, a fifth year Ravenclaw came and asked Harry, "Hey, you're Ron's friend, right?"
"I can't believe how shallow people are," Hermione said. "They're only interested in Ron because they think Eve fancies him, and whoever she fancies must be really powerful."
Harry said quietly, "Are you positive Eve doesn't really like him?" hermione looked downward sadly.
"Don't be stupid. You saw her last night. She was practically dissolving over you, Harry," Ron said. Harry wanted to point out that she did kiss Ron, but thought not to say anything in front of Hermione.
"I wonder what she said she saw. We need to talk to her. I think she might know some things." Harry said, looking over at Eve.
And those that loathed Ron most of all were of course, the Slytherins. Pansy was fretting all over Draco, doing little favors for him and fawning over him nauseatingly. They all had their own versions and rumors running around they whole school, some even saying that Draco had caught Ron and Eve kissing and in the confrontation, Ron tried to purposely kill him and would have succeeded if it weren't for Snape.
Eve was in total disgrace. Draco, of course, tried explaining that she did nothing wrong, but everyone felt that their version was much better. He insisted that she sit next to him (despite objections from Pansy), but everyone refused to talk to her. They called her a traitor behind her back, which didn't matter much because Eve knew what they were all thinking anyway. She seemed to be taking much of it in stride, and even winked at Ron when he passed by, just to piss off the Slytherins even more.
As soon as they sat down, Hermione almost squealed with excitement.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"We were so busy with everyone, we didn't see who's sitting at the table with the teachers!" Ron and Harry looked, and almost immediately their faces brightened. Lupin was sitting at the table, deep in conversation with Dumbledore. He glanced for a moment in their direction and smiled. He still looked tired, but it seemed that he had been trying harder to keep up a more decent appearance: his robes were no longer torn and he had a new briefcase. His hair seemed more tidy.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and the Hall became silent.
"I have a very short announcement to make everyone. In light of recent events I am happy to announce that we have finally found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The older students might recognize him as Mr. Remus Lupin." Lupin stood up for an instant and bowed modestly.
The Gryffindor table started cheering, with Ron, Harry, and Hermione clapping the hardest. The Slytherins were staring at him disdainfully.
Still being in a good mood, Harry tried to figure out a way to set up a meeting with Eve, but he didn't really need to. A small school owl swooped in and dropped a small note to Ron. Of course, everyone stared. He unrolled the note. All it said was
Meet my in my room right after classes end. I need to see allthree of you. Very important. Love, Eve.
He quickly hid it in his pocket.
"Who was that from, eh Ron?" Dean asked.
"Oh, just a note from, er, Percy. He keeps on nagging me about taking this new job offer at the Ministry. Thinks I should even start working during the Christmas holiday. Trying to act like the responsible brother and all."
"How would Percy be sending you a note using a school owl?" Seamus asked suspiciously. Ron squirmed silently.
"I wonder if "Percy" is really asking you out for a secret rendezvous in the Astronomy tower," George winked. Him and Fred were eating at the Gryffindor table; they wanted to spend a little more time with Ron as they were leaving with Ron's parents that day.
"Fine. I'll prove it's not that. Read this, Hermione," and he gave the note to her. She read it with a bit of a smile and gave it to Harry. Dean and Seamus stopped sniggering.
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They walked into Eve's room only to many boxes and trunks strewn across the room. Eve was folding clothes and packing them.
"Why are you packing? Where are you going?" Harry asked.
She smiled. "Relax. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just being…moved. We have a new DADA teacher, and he kinda needs somewhere to sleep." She had a mischievous look in her eye. "Not that I'd mind sharing with him. He's not bad looking. Almost as handsome as your godfather, Harry." Harry turned pink. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Where are you moving?" Ron asked.
"Well that's the problem. None of the Slytherin girls will have me, and I know it's kinda short notice but," she bit her lip slightly, "Hermione, can I share your room with you?"
Hermione stared. "What?"
"Well you know you have a big room all to yourself-"
"I worked hard for seven years to be Head Girl. I deserve my own room," she snapped.
Eve nodded. "I know, I know, but it's just that I'd like to be with someone I can have an intelligent conversation with, you know. Please, Hermione. If not, I'll end up with Professor McGonagall or something."
Hermione crossed her arms. "I don't know."
"Pleeease. Think of it as a favor returned, you know, for what I did for Ron yesterday."
Ron put her hand on her shoulder. "You know, she has a point."
Hermione looked at him angrily. "Why should I be nice to someone who…who is in love with my boyfriend?"
Eve's jaw dropped. "What? Surely you're smart enough to fall for that, Hermione?"
"Well what am I supposed to think? You went and you used a love spell to save his life. And what does the omen say? You were willing to die for him. I think that means something."
Eve sighed, "That's not actually true. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to die."
"How in the hell-" Hermione began, but Eve held out a hand to quiet her.
"Let me show you something." She rummaged around her trunk and took out a knife. She shifted her eyes uncomfortably. "Just promise me you won't panic."
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