Chapter 15: Disagreements

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"And hence it is, that he who attempts to get another 
Man into his Absolute Power, does thereby put himself 
into a State of War with him."

-John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government


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The next morning dawned bright and beautiful. Harry stared out his window wistfully; the students were still required to 
stay inside of the building for the remainder of the week, though some of the restrictions had been loosened. There had been
no further attacks, but Dumbledore was still worried about safety, and classes would remain cancelled for the rest of the week.
Harry dressed quietly, trying not to wake Ron. It was very early; since Harry had been sleeping so much (there was nothing
else for him to do), he was completely awake at nearly 6 AM. Silently, he tiptoed out to the Heads' common room with a Defense
Against the Dark Arts book he had gotten for his birthday a few years ago. He was surprised to see that Hermione was also
awake.

"Hey Mione," he greeted her, sliding into the chair next to her. "Why're you up so early?" She shrugged, looking up from her
own book.

"Nothing else to do," she said with a sigh. "Did you manage to get to the library yesterday?" Harry grinned.

"Actually, yeah I did. Dobby's great with those Hogwarts secrets."

"Did you find what you were looking for? Do you know what the prophecy means?" she asked eagerly. Harry shook his head and
Hermione sat back in her chair, looking disappointed.

"I'll explain to you what's happened so far, and please don't think I'm a nutter because of it," he said slowly. Hermione
nodded encouragingly. "I've been having these dreams-"

"Like the ones from last year?" Ron asked with a yawn as he strolled into the common room. Harry looked up in surprise.
"Blimey, it's 6:00 in the morning, what are we all doing up?"

"Harry's trying to tell me something important about the prophecy, for your information," Hermione said coldly. "So either
leave or stop interrupting." Ron sat down without saying another word, simply rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Er, so like I was saying, I had these dreams. Not like the ones I used to have. In these ones, it was always the same woman
in this white room-"

Ron snickered. "I hope you haven't been telling Rachel about this, she might not appreciate you having dreams about other
women!" Hermione sent him a death glare and he shut up immediately.

"Please continue, Harry," she said pleasantly, still staring daggers at Ron.

"This lady, it was always the same person, would be in my dreams every night. And she would tell me that I was the only one
who can defeat Voldemort and that he is planning on using this ancient form of magic as a weapon." Ron shivered at the
sound of his name. "She kept appearing, every night. Finally, the night after Hermione gave the prophecy, she appeared in
my dreams and I told her I was just imagining her. When I woke up, she was actually there." Hermione's eyes widened and
Ron looked at Harry in disbelief.

"What do you mean, she was actually there? Are you sure this wasn't another part of the dream?" he asked slowly.

"NO! She's a ghost, Ron, she was hovering above my bed." 

"A ghost? A ghost is haunting your dreams?" he asked incredulously. "Don't you think that's a little odd-"

"No, Ron, it isn't!" Hermione argued. "Remember the prophecy? There's one person and one ghost who are supposed to know the
power that Voldemort will have! It's Harry and this woman." She turned to Harry. "I don't suppose you know her name?"

"Dulcinea Rosalind Garcia," Harry rattled off. Hermione's eyes narrowed in thought as she tried to remember if she had
ever heard that name before.

"It sounds familiar... I know we've talked about her in history before..."

"What about Rey Ciro? That was her fiance." Hermione's jaw dropped open, but Harry didn't notice and kept on talking. "I guess
he forced her to marry him or something. And she said that Rey Ciro's magic has already affected my life, don't you think I
would have noticed if it did?" he asked. Then he noticed the expression on Hermione's face.

"Mione, are you okay?" Ron asked gently. "Helloooo?" He waved a hand in front of her face.

"She's right, Harry. It has affected your life... because of me," Hermione finally said, in a soft whisper.

"Er, how would that be?" Harry asked. Hermione's hand rose to the thin gold chain around her neck, and her fingers closed
around the locket.

"La Gema de Dominio," she said simply, shaking her head. "Oh, I should have realized this sooner!" The realization hit
Harry very hard.

"Dulcinea Rosalind Garcia... the woman that Rey Ciro tried to control... that was her! SHE was the one that threw La Gema
de Dominio into the sea!" he cried, finally understanding. Ron looked between his two best friends in utter confusion.

"Wha- what's going on?" he asked, ruffling his hair. "What are you two on about?"

"The stone that Voldemort was controlling Hermione with last year, La Gema de Dominio, was created by this Rey Ciro guy. 
He made it to control the woman he wanted to marry, which was this Garcia lady that's been in my dreams all the time. She
realized it before they married and threw it into the sea!" Harry explained excitedly. "He gave it to her in a bracelet,
it was one of the stones! I've seen the bracelet, she still was wearing it, and one of the stones was missing!" 

"And he has some other power that You-Know-Who is going to try to use against you?" Ron asked, still trying to understand.

"Yes," Harry said urgently. "It's a spell actually, Dulcinea said-"

The door to Hermione's bedroom banged open. All three of them turned around to see Ginny holding a piece of parchment.

"There's been another attack," she whispered.

*********************

Tonks had taken Remus' advice and filled out an application at the Universal Institute for Magic. Though she wasn't really
sure what she wanted to do, she felt that she couldn't just sit at home and think about the loss of her mother. The man who
had interviewed her was supposed to contact her today, and she sat near her fireplace, wondering if he would floo in or use
the muggle telephone. She smiled to herself. He had been very interested to learn that she was a half-blood; he seemed to 
pride himself on his knowledge of muggle objects. A little like Arthur Weasley, she thought to herself, grinning. The
flames in her fireplace suddenly glowed green and she stood up expectantly. Instead of someone from the Institute, however,
she was suprised to see Kingsley Shaklebolt's worried face peering up at her from the grate.

"Tonks, I know you've been really upset lately, and if you can't come I'll understand, but there's been another attack-"

"I'm coming," she answered defiantly. "Where do I apparate to?"

"Diagon Alley. Just to warn you, I haven't been there yet, but I've heard it's really bad." Tonks nodded grimly, slipping her
wand into her pocket. She closed her eyes and apparated immediately.

Tonks' eyes widened in horror. Sure, Kingsley said it was bad, but I didn't think it would be like this... The charred
remains of buildings covered the streets. Tonks immediately saw two children, obviously too young to attend Hogwarts, huddling
in the doorway to a shop. She hurried over to them.

"You two, come inside here at once," she insisted, pointing her wand at the door. "Alohomora!" The lock sprung open
and she pushed the little boy and girl inside. A woman's voice cried out from inside the building.

"Stay out!" she screeched, running towards the door. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Listen lady, just watch these kids." She headed towards the door. "I'm going back out there." She pulled her wand out of her
pocket and held it ready. As she walked back onto the deserted streets of Diagon Alley, Tonks could feel the fear rising in
her chest. I can't do this for much longer, she thought to herself. I just can't handle it anymore.

The silence was eerie; thin wisps of black smoke rose from the smouldering ruins of a building nearby. Tonks could hear spells
just around the corner richoceting off buildings and other objects. Taking a deep breath, she rushed forward. Death Eaters were
everywhere. A stocky-looking man in a black cloak pulled away from the melee and focused his attention on her, raising his
wand. 

"Expelliarmus!" Tonks cried immediately, catching him off guard. She quickly performed the body-binding curse on him. A male
voice swore loudly to her left; Tonks spun around to see Dawlish knocked backward by a bolt of orange light. She cast a few
quick spells and the Death Eater lay still. 

"Thanks," Dawlish gasped as Tonks pulled him off the ground. 

"No problem," Tonks muttered, turning around. She cried out as a Death Eater, standing only a few feet behind her, swung his
fist angrily into her face. She fell noiselessly to the ground, her world going black, as the battle around her continued.

***

"Nymphadora? Tonks, sweetheart, are you all right?" Tonks opened her bleary eyes to see the concerned face of Balin Dawlish.
She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a moan. "I wouldn't try to move just yet, I'm sure you've got a bit
of a headache after that!" he said gently. "Do you want anything? Can I get you something?"

"Water," Tonks mumbled. Dawlish hurried over to the sink and brought back a cup. Tonks took a small sip.

"Where... why am I here?" she wondered aloud, looking at her surroundings. She realized she was in a small room in the Order's
headquarters.

"There were lots of injuries," Dawlish said softly. "We knew you were going to be okay, so we just took you back to headquarters.
St. Mungo's is full," he said anxiously. "Do you feel all right?" He leaned in closer to her.

"I'll be fine," Tonks mumbled, turning away from him. He was so close that he was making her uncomfortable.

"You saved me back there," he whispered. "Thank you, Nymphadora." He brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. Tonks gulped and
pulled away from him, pushing herself back into the bed. 

"You're welcome," she said quietly. "I'm really tired, I think I'd like to-" Suddenly, his lips were on hers. Tonks' heart
was racing. What in Merlin's name is he DOING? her mind screamed. She pulled back swiftly, but Dawlish just smiled.

"Get well soon," he said, leaving the room. As he closed the door behind him, Tonks shivered in disgust. Sure, he was a nice
guy, but he just wasn't her type. She couldn't think of him in a romantic way. Trying to kiss me when I'm half dead, she
thought angrily. She rolled over and fell fast asleep.

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The Gryffindor common room was a highly stressful place. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had left their small Heads' common
room to visit their friends in the main room, but most students were frantically trying to get more information about the
attacks. The letter Ginny had received had hardly any information, but no one knew anything else. The portrait door was
locked again and the students were being kept inside of their dormitories. Harry anxiously paced the room, praying that no
one from the Order would be lost in this battle. He collapsed into a chair next to Hermione, trying desperately to lighten 
the mood.

"Are you doing homework, Hermione? What is that, an essay for Binns? It must be ten feet long!" he joked. Hermione looked
up, smiling a little.

"Actually, it's a letter," she said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Ron, who had been chatting with Seamus, stopped dead.
Harry felt his stomach drop; a fight was brewing. Oh no.... Why did I have to ask?

"A letter to who?" he asked dangerously. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"It's to Viktor, actually," she said calmly. Ron clenched his fists in anger.

"You're still writing to him?!" he burst out. 

"I can write to whomever I want, Ron," she replied, dropping the letter and glaring at him. "Just because I'm dating you doesn't
mean I can't have friends!" The entire common room went silent.

"You can have friends... just as long as they're not male!" Ron yelled back.

"Is that so?" Hermione asked angrily, her face red. "Fine then. Maybe we shouldn't be dating." Grabbing her half-finished
letter, she stalked up the stairs to her bedroom. Ron sat on the sofa next to Harry.

"Why did she do that?" he asked furiously, glaring around the room as if looking for something to throw. 

"Ron, I'm sure they're just friends..." Harry tried. Ron still looked mad. "Not to interfere or anything but... You really
can't tell her who she can be friends with. I'm male, she's friends with me," he said, half-jokingly. Ron sighed.

"Yeah, that was a pretty stupid thing to say. But we've been dating forever, and she's still-"

"Ron, why don't you go talk to her about it?" Harry suggested. Ron gave a half-hearted laugh.

"Because I'm an ignorant berk and I'll probably just make it worse," he replied, sinking into the couch. 

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