"Saida, we are over here. Come sit. We were waiting for you." Saida smiled, waved and headed over to her friends.
"Hey honey." George kissed his wife and rubbed her belly. "And hello baby." They both smiled and sat down at the long table. Everyone was already there.
"Saida, it's so good to see you." Hermione smiled warmly at Saida and kicked Ron under the table.
"What, we see them at least twice a week." Ron rubbed his leg.
"Hello Fred, Seamus, Neville and of course, you Harry." Harry blushed and took a sip of wine. Everyone ordered food and sat around talking about the past.
"So Harry, how is our favorite Hippogriff jockey?" Ron teased.
"It's going well. Do you know who I saw last week dancing at the sleazy weasel?"
"Who?" Everyone shouted in unison.
"Lavender and Parvarti." Harry laughed and everyone joined in.
"Hermione are you still lecturing at the University of Magic?" Neville inquired.
"Yeah she is." Ron beamed and wrapped his arm around her chair. Their food came and Saida's stomach growled. She dug in and listened to the men talk about quidditch, hoping that no one would bring up Ginny. The minute she thought that, Harry stood up to give a toast to Ginny. The girl he loved but never told. He told Saida the night she confronted him with the eerie picture of the bottle. They stayed up all night talking about Ginny and Harry confessed he loved her, that he still loved her. Saida divulged the details of her Tea reading and asked if Harry would help her release Ginny. It did not take much to convince Harry, he knew all along that she was not a willing participant to practice evil.
"To Ginny, a beautiful girl, a delightful friend." Saida raised her glass to Harry's and smiled. Harry and Saida had never told anyone the whole story of the night they were found exhausted at the Malfoy Manner.
"So what happened that night Harry?" Seamus asked.
"Harry, are you out here?" Saida scanned the room and sighed.
"I'm right here." Harry pulled the cloak off and Saida walked over.
"Ready?" Saida looked into his green eyes.
"Yeah. Let's go." He covered them both in his fathers cloak and they left the common room. Saida stopped him when she thought they were far enough away from the school. She apparate into the desolate, abandon Malfoy Manner. Harry was right behind her.
"Let's go to where they found Ginny." Saida climbed the rotten steps, walked into a damp, musty room. The room Ginny was killed in. Saida closed her eyes and felt her presence instantly.
"Ginny?"
"It's just me, Saida." Harry touched her arm; Saida opened her eyes and walked to the center of the room. She stared at every inch of the room, looking for something, for the bottle.
"I know it's in this room. Search everything." She walked to the fireplace. She bent down and picked up a pile of ashes. They leaked through the cracks in her fist, until it was all back on the floor.
"Saida come look at this." Harry called her over.
"What is it?"
"It looks like a secret door, to a room." They both felt along the bookshelf and the line in the wall. After the third time Saida gave up. She read the titles of the books. 'In Mortal Peril' She grabbed it off the shelf and it opened itself to page three hundred seventy two. Saida gasped. She read the potion ingredients, the directions and the purpose. Harry read over her shoulder and went pale as a ghost. The haunting picture of the dark bottle stared back at them both. It was the potion that held Ginny captured.
"But how do we get her back from it?" Saida was shaking and Harry took the book. When he took it, the pages flipped more.
"This is how." Saida didn't think she wanted to know anymore. But she had to save her best friend. She just had too. When Saida finished reading she looked at the other books and noticed a lever behind the book next to the empty spot. She ripped it out and pulled the lever up. Harry stepped back when the wall sucked in and they were standing in front of a staircase into …
"Can I get anyone another drink?" The waitress was standing at the table looking at everyone's face.
"Yes please." The waitress left and brought the drinks back a couple of minutes later. Everyone sat there, having a drink, letting the story absorb.
"Keep going Harry."
Saida stepped on the first step, holding her wand ahead of her.
"Lumos." She yelled and stepped down the next step. Harry followed right behind her. They reached the bottom and strained to look around. They could not see anything past the light from their wands.
"Which way should we go Saida?" Saida could tell Harry was shaking, by watching the light from his wand flicker. Saida closed her eyes and felt someone pull her to the left. Harry just followed.
"Why did you stop?"
"I found a lantern." Saida lit it and held it in front of her body. She kept walking to the left. When Harry felt like they had walked at least a mile, Harry stopped. Saida kept walking, and Harry ran to catch up. His eyes were used to the dark, but he still couldn't see where he was or where Saida went.
"This is it." She put the lantern on the floor and looked around. She crawled along the floor looking for the bottle. She grazed her hand along the wet floor, until she felt something. But it wasn't the bottle, or even Harry.