New chapter even though I got so few reviews for the last one. I hope you
enjoy it and I'm moving much further along than I thought. I looked down
at the page number and saw I was in over 100.
Suddenly Andrea spoke up. "Something's wrong." She whispered.
"What?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." She and Allie both closed their eyes in concentration. "It's chaos."
"What?"
"Chaos." Allie answered. "Of magic. Something strange is going on with our powers."
"Like what?"
"My powers are stronger." Andrea whispered, rubbing her head gently, most likely she was receiving visions every few seconds.
"So are mine." Allie said and they turned towards Harry ready to ask about his. But the Gryffindor was now leaning his head back against his chair as his he arched up in pain, clutching his hands over his head. "What is it?"
"There's just so much noise." Harry whispered pitifully. "I can't block it; it hurts." Allie made to pick him up but was nearly knocked over when she felt emotions being enhanced.
"Whoa." She steadied herself and grabbed Harry by the arm. "Andrea, come-" She stopped when she noticed her sister rolling on the ground clutching her head in her hands. Ignoring the shocked looks from other people in the lounge, Allie let Harry go and tried to reach her sister by going into her mind by way of her emotions. Unlike other times, her mind had been magically sealed and now she was now spurting out deaths of people so fast that Allie hadn't time to register them all. Harry was also on the floor like Andrea was. He had clearly been pulled into her sister's mind when she could not. Rising, she tried to get Draco and Randolph but was stopped when she saw the three and her father walking back towards the table. Draco's face was under Anne's coat but she could see by the way his hands were growing that he couldn't keep his appearance together.
"What's going on?" Anne asked fearfully as the lights began to flicker due to Severus and Randolph losing control over their powers.
"Relax Anne." Randolph said as he walked towards Andrea who had now risen to her knees with her mouth open and her eyes reflecting nothing. "Oh, God. She's preparing a prophecy." He whispered as he saw the look on her face; the magic had now grown to such a state that she was entering the highest degree of being a seer for not many seers could predict a prophecy.
Severus went over to Harry who had fallen to the floor and was squirming in pain from all the noise that was filling his head. People had come to see what was going on and Severus knew they would never get out of here with a throng of people surrounding them from both sides. It was then that the magic grew so strong that you could feel it in the air. Searching blindly for something to hold onto, Harry grabbed the tablecloth and squeezed slightly. A second after the touch, the whole table burst into flames, as did every single one in the lounge. Panic arose as everyone tried to find the exit and avoid the sprinklers that were putting out the fire.
"Randolph!" Anne yelled as she clutched her face in fear and watched as all of the tables burned heedless of the water being poured on them. Her boyfriend paid her no attention and pulled his sister away from the fire, as did Severus with Harry. Anne's parents were still standing there looking confused and rather angry. They began spurting out questions until Severus couldn't think anymore.
"Draco!" The coat turned towards him and he yelled again. "Charm them or something. Just get them out." The coat nodded and approached the people. Pulling the jacket off his head and tossing it to Anne, he revealed his face that was long and angular like before but with pointed ears decorating the side of his face and wings that were scrunched towards his back. With a sharp talon, he slowly passed it in front of their faces. Anne was screaming in horror and trying to attack what she considered a monster with her coat. Draco, not moving his eyes from her parents, waited until she was close enough to outstretch his wings and knock he across the floor.
He continued his slow hypnosis and began to speak softly. "Look at me. Be in my eyes." They looked at him with empty eyes, too far gone to react. "Be in me." The last traces of free will had vanished and he led them to the door picking up Anne and tossing her over his shoulder with the aid of his veela strength. Leading them to the door, he set down a frightened Anne. "Take them outside." To her parents, he whispered, "Follow her." She practically ran out of the building grabbing her parents' wrists.
Draco returned to the group that was now huddled close together as they tried to hold down a shrieking Andrea who was screaming words that nobody seemed to understand, except Draco. The language she was using was a primitive elf dialect, one he was familiar with thanks to his father who thought it appropriate to have his son learn of their heritage. Eyes widening at what they were saying, he crept closer with his wings in front of him in an attempt to shield him from the smoke that was coming off the fire that still were refusing to be extinguished.
"Draco, you're back." Randolph said in relief. "Is Anne okay?" He choked over the last part as he breathed in the harmful fumes.
"Fine. Let's get out of here. You two, apparate Allie and Harry." Draco said to Severus and Randolph who looked a little unsure but nodded anyway.
"What will you do?" Severus asked as he scooped his daughter into his arms. Draco smirked and shook his wings out. The Potion Master got the idea and although he didn't think highly of it, it was the fastest way to get them all out. "Fine. Just go." Draco nodded and grabbed Andrea before running at a window and doing a quick tuck as he dove out the window. Once he fell clear of the building, he stretched his wings out and with all the speed he could muster, he flew them home. On the way there, Andrea had gone silent and was now staring at him with her glassy eyes. Draco regarded her seriously and she began speaking again to him in that strange language. Hearing them, he quickly translated them and stored them away in his mind for when she fell quiet again, which she did a minute later. He shivered slightly as he pieced everything to together before quickly reciting it in his head.
~The black, they move in gathering pieces, consuming what was pure and tainting it black. Pale light rests when red is gained by red and then black will fall. Should amalgamation choose a path, all will be lost until we are consumed by darkness in black's light while our spirits shall cross to peace if they believe. May our decisions be made with wisdom for the battle begins at the wolf's howl and ends in grim~
To Draco, the whole thing made no sense, but he knew prophecies were puzzled meant to be deciphered. Sorting it out, he shifted Andrea in his arms who had collapsed when she finished talking, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.
"The black must be Voldemort and the Death Eaters." Draco reasoned out loud. As for what they consumed, well, their name was self-explanatory and that was definitely one of the reasons he refused to bow at Voldemort's feet. Tainting it, or the person for he was sure that 'it' was a person they were corrupting, could be maiming or killing though Draco assumed it was most likely raping some innocent before sacrificing her and slicing her up for dinner. He shuddered in disgust at remembering a banquet at his house. At the time he was not allowed to participate in it, something he was grateful for. The only thing that set his mind at ease concerning his father partaking in these events was that Lucius was a vegetarian as were most elves. He was also.
Yes, the first line was easy, but it was the second that made no sense. How could darkness fall when light just rested? And what was the red? He figured that not everything was as it seemed in this and moved onto the next line. Amalgamation had to do with compounding mercury and another metal or something of the sort or combining races; he was willing to bet on the latter being the correct translation and quite possibly, it could be him. But that would mean he would stay a neutral in the war and that was something he had not planned on. Quickly enough, he had arrived back at their flat with everybody already there and Andrea waking up as he set her down. Severus apparated out to report this to the headmaster while Draco was shifting back to his original form. The other three were cleaning the soot marks off their face from the fire with washcloths that were passed around. He accepted one and waited to see what would happen next.
Draco didn't have to wait long. Randolph had dragged his sister off into another room once he saw how unfazed she looked by the entire situation. He was screaming so loud that the closed door did nothing to hide the argument.
Creeping closer, he listened along with Allie and Harry.
"You knew! Damn it! I can't believe you, I mean, how could you? Are you insane, not to mention incredibly selfish and immature? People could have died and now Anne will never speak to me again!" All three winced as the sound of breaking glass carried across the room.
Andrea's sarcastic voice leaked through now. "I'm so sorry. And yes, I did know. Why do you think I showed up? It certainly wasn't to meet that whore you were dating!"
"Anne's not-"
"Yes she is. And it doesn't matter what I think of her. She could be perfect and I still wouldn't have interfered with anything! So if that makes me mad, then well-"
"I can't believe you." Came Randolph's incredulous voice. "How dare you try and decide what is going on in our lives?"
"Rand-"
"No! You had no right. If Anne wasn't right for me then I could have figured that out for myself."
"You moron! This wasn't about you. Look at the bigger picture. Cassandra did not give me this vision so I could decide the fate of your girlfriend."
"Well next time, whether Cassandra tells you or not, just butt out of my life."
"No, she was a liability. I did what was right!"
"How do you know? What makes you the supreme dictator on all that is right and wrong?"
"I can feel it, all the way to my bones. And if you really want me out of your life, why don't I just get out of your apartment?"
"Well maybe you should."
"Fine!" The door opened and Andrea stormed out and into her room. Draco looked in on Randolph and saw him smash a mirror against the wall. Allie went in to talk to him and gave Draco and Harry meaningful looks. They got the idea and walked to Andrea's room where she already had a full suitcase and was now tossing in small things like hair clips and picture frames. Harry was confused at how she packed so quickly, but Draco knew and spoke to her in a soft voice.
"You knew you were leaving." It wasn't a question and she didn't answer. "You knew about everything: the fire, Anne, that fight." Andrea looked up and gave him a small smile before zipping her suitcase and preparing to leave. "Where are you going to stay?"
She ran her fingers through her hair and hauled her stuff outside while pushing past the two near the door. "With the Diviners Council." At Draco's hesitant look, she smiled. "Don't worry; I'll be fine." Stepping up to the fireplace, she threw some powder in before preparing to step in. "Take good care of them while I'm gone. I'll not be back all summer." She gave them each a hug and whispered something in Draco's ear. "When you figure out that prophecy, let me know." She winked before moving on to Harry. "Harry," She whispered in his ear, "The fire wasn't wandless magic." At his confused look, she added. "Welcome to your second power." Harry looked shocked and Andrea smiled before stepping back into the fire, clutching her suitcase to her. "Divine Right!" She yelled and was gone.
**********
Hermione was not having a good day. First was the talk with Mrs. Weasley, which made her more than a little hesitant to even touch someone from her family, had made her want to floo home. Of course, two hours after she got home, an owl flew in, alerting her parents of the situation with Ron. This led to another chat with her mother and plans to meet with his family, his whole family, over dinner. In three days.
Hedwig was sitting on her bed after the conversation with her mother and Hermione eagerly retrieved the note. Ever since Harry left, their correspondence had gone down, but that was fine because his letters often expressed that he was very busy with a new friend. She was glad he had met knew people but still felt slightly jealous at her best friend meeting someone that might take hers or Ron's place; a silly thing to envy. Harry was always a dedicated friend and from what she knew from Ron, when they first met Malfoy, Harry had taken sides with Ron who was his first friend instead of the rich aristocrat.
Now, though, as she was reading the letter, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Harry seemed unusually distant lately for his letters were brief and almost impersonal. She would have thought it fine after what she had seen in the pensieve that he would be a little closeted but here in writing it appeared that he was having fun.
She sighed and wrote a reply with a request to join her and Ron's family for dinner. It wasn't fair to leave him out of their relationship and he was probably the only one in their close-knit circle of friends and family that did not know. She hoped it wouldn't be that much of a surprise.
Opening her desk drawer, she found her memory box and added the letter to the growing collection; no matter how small or unimportant it was, she would never throw these things away. Truth be told, she was a packrat of the worst sort. Mumbling to herself about her unfavorable habits, she picked up some clothes that were lying on her floor and threw them in the hamper. Giggling slightly, she imagined what her fellow Gryffindors would think if they found out what a mess her room was. It would definitely be a blow to the perfect erudite image she created.
With her arms full of clothes once again, she made a second trip to the hamper and when she got back, she noticed a book that was unearthed from under the clothes. Turning it over, she noticed it was the one she bought from Diagon Alley with Percy, Oliver and those strange siblings.
Thinking of the brother and sister reminded her why she had bought the book in the first place. Deciding she had time to kill, she cleared off a space on her bed and began reading; she was glad that she had retained a good memory so she could recall the wand motions that Allie used.
That was a day ago and now she was downstairs sitting in an armchair and reading while her parents glanced at the moving pictures. So far, nothing had matched the wand style; then again, she had only reached the Howe family.
Her reply from Harry hadn't come yet and that was expected as his owl had only left a day ago. Glancing out the window, she closed her book and went outside to wait for a bit.
**********
"I can't believe she left." Allie said as she rolled over, resting her head on Harry's knees that were lying across his bed.
"I know." Draco replied as he tossed a miniature quaffle up before catching it. He looked over at Harry who was still working diligently on his wall mural and was now much further along, driven by some unseen force. "It kinds of feels like they got divorced and we're the kids." Draco said with a laugh and even Harry snorted in amusement without looking up from his paper.
"Yeah, only we can't actually go and live with her." Allie pointed out as she flipped a page in a book she was reading.
"Why not?" Harry asked with a furrowed brow as he tried to find Draco's hair color in the hundred of paints he had so he could color the boy's miniature portrait on the mural. "Geez, Draco, why couldn't you have just been a brunette?" He asked in frustration.
"Because blondes have more fun." He quipped.
"Not as much as black haired people." Allie said and Harry nodded his head in agreement. "Anyway, we can't visit my sister 'cause we're not diviners. They're very strict about that sort of things; they've got all these enchantments making the council impossible to find without their type of gift. 'Sides, they don't take to magic folk like wizards and witches so it'd be almost unfeasible trying to make them grant you permission."
"Hey, when's Sev' getting back?" Draco said, abruptly changing the subject.
She looked at her watch for a moment before responding. "About ten minutes."
"Good. I want to find out why our powers were out of whack." Harry said and then cried with glee when he noticed a color that suited his roommate's hair. "I mean, it's been a day." He continued with his coloring and they all sat in silence for a moment. "How's Randolph? I haven't seen him much recently.
Draco made a so-so gesture. "Not too bad. He's still angry with Andrea plus he had to break up with his girlfriend and then erase her and her parents' memories of the events yesterday."
"Why? She wouldn't have told, would she?"
"Turns out her family were witch hunters." Allie commented. "Runs in their blood, I suppose. Besides, she didn't take the whole thing that well."
"That wasn't the best way to find out." Draco pointed out and dropped the ball to the ground.
"True, but they would have hunted us down and probably tried to get us arrested for arson." Allie commented.
Harry paused with his art supplies and thought for a moment. "Do you think that's what she saw? That could be why she didn't want the two dating." He was met with two shrugs before he turned back to his work. A moment later, he heard the small 'pop' from his second cousin's arrival and quickly threw down his stuff, allowing Allie to get off him, before running to greet him.
"Hey Sev'." Harry said as he sat on the couch next to Draco who had arrived first. Allie came out of the room and sat on the arm of her father's chair and gave him a warm greeting.
"Where's Randolph?" The potion master asked as he glanced around the room.
"In his room." Allie replied as she stood up. "I'll go get him." She disappeared behind his door and reappeared a moment later tugging her brother to the couch and reassuming her perch on the chair Sev' was in. "So why'd our powers get all wacky?"
"From what I understand-" He began but was interrupted by his stepson.
"You mean what Andrea told you." He said bitterly, clearly still upset with his sister.
"That too." Snape admitted. "Voldemort is gathering forces, non human forces. Demons, monsters, dark creatures and such."
"So was that what was attacking us?" Harry asked.
Snape gave a wry smile. "Yes. It was a Chaos Demon actually. Decided to do what it does best-"
"Cause chaos?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"Five points to Slytherin." He said to Draco who scowled at the hidden taunting. "It decided the best way to hurt you all was to mess with your powers. Luckily it didn't have time to finish its job."
Harry spoke up again. "What would have happened if it did?"
"Andrea and yourself quite possibly might have been driven mad from the noise and her visions. I believe you witnessed a few." At his nod, Severus continued. "Draco, you might have permanently stuck in that form and reverted to your primal instincts and Allie, you and Randolph would have become totally emotionless from the overload of feelings that you came in touch with."
"That does not sound fun." Allie said as her nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Would have been worse than fun." Harry said. "We would have been easy targets for Voldemort and completely useless for the side of light."
Draco nodded and jumped in. "Yeah, I mean, who wants to watch two emotionally stunted people, and two mad teenagers when they can be protecting the ones who might actually be able to help in the war?"
"What about you?" Harry asked when he noticed Draco had not put himself on that list.
"I'd be dead." Harry's mouth formed an 'O' at the answer and he just nodded his head. "It wasn't like they'd want to keep a bloodthirsty veela alive."
Randolph changed the subject after deciding the topic was a little morbid. "How'd they find Harry anyways?" Harry looked up at the mention of his name and swiftly turned his eyes towards Severus.
He took a deep breath and began explaining. "The Headmaster told me that we have protection spells over the whole apartment and within a five mile radius, that's the strongest spell and it makes Harry virtually unplottable. The only way to for it to work is to have a blood relative in the twenty mile radius of either the house or Harry and Voldemort hasn't found a way to break through it yet."
"So when Andrea and Allie left, the spell was inactive so they found him." Draco finished slowly, earning a nod from Snape.
"But Andrea knew what would happen," Allie said incredulously. "I can't believe she left when she knew this was going to happen."
"Are you saying she took you and left the house on purpose so Harry would be found and you all would be attacked by a chaos demon?" Severus asked in disbelief. "I know she doesn't always follow the rules, but that's a little excessive."
"I wouldn't put it passed her." Randolph snorted and was met with surprised faces. "Look, I know she's my sister and all but let's face it: she hasn't been the same since her visions began to increase. And it's no secret why the Council keeps itself hidden." He finished smugly.
"Why?" Harry said, looking up from his lap. "Why are they hidden?"
"They're too ashamed of themselves. During the war, many joined with Voldemort and it wouldn't surprise me if-"
"Enough!" Severus roared as he stood up and nearly knocked Allie off her chair. "I will not tolerate hearing a member of our family being degraded by someone saying they are in a league with Voldemort. Her decisions have always turned out for the best. Let's just have a little faith in her."
Harry looked up and noticed Draco was on his feet too. He assumed the Slytherin was the closest to Andrea out of all the siblings. "You know," He spoke quietly but with an edge to his voice, "We all pretend that we are such victims of fate and visions, but none of us even consider Andrea to be one. She didn't ask for her visions and I can't say I'd always do the right thing when confronted with letting someone die or saving him or her at the expense of others a dozen others. I have more respect for her than anybody in this room." With that, he stormed back to his room. Harry got up and shot everyone an apologetic look before retreating the way Draco left.
Draco was laying face down on his bed pounding his fists into the mattress. "Hey, Draco." The boy didn't look up. "Are you okay?" He made a gesture with his hand implying that Harry should leave. Instead, the black haired boy sat on the edge of his bed.
"Go away." Came the mumbled reply.
"No. I don't think you're okay."
"I'm not." He rolled over and faced Harry. His hair was disarrayed and his eyes were slightly puffy glistening with unshed tears. In Harry's opinion, the boy had never looked more beautiful.
'Whoa.' Harry thought, backtracking. 'Where did that come from?' He ignored it and began concentrating when Draco began talking.
"I just want to get out of here."
"Where would you go?" Draco shrugged and gestured with his hands meaning out.
"I just need some air. Some peace and trees. The elf in me is surfacing." He said with a laugh.
Harry looked confused for a moment. "You want to go camping or something?"
"Or something. I'm thinking of staying in the elfin village in the Forbidden Forest."
His eyes widened at this statement. "We have a village of elves in the forest?" Draco made a vague noise to confirm it. "Huh. Learn something knew everyday. Well, go if you want." He stood up and allowed Draco to get off his bed.
"Know what? I think I will." His face broke out into a smile. "It's been years since I've been. I remember when I went with father-" He broke off and Harry gave a sympathetic smile. Draco had told him about the deaths of his parents on their second night there. He didn't know why; maybe it was because he had gone through the same thing, or that Draco was finally seeing him as a friend. Or maybe he was just there. Whatever it was, it made the boys closer, perhaps not friends but pretty darn close.
"When are you leaving?" He asked quietly. Although he was glad to see his friend so happy, it hurt to have him leave.
"Tomorrow if I get permission from Sev'." Draco said as he ran out the door. Harry sat on his bed and waited for a few minutes before Draco came back in and began packing immediately. "He said I could go!" He cried and Harry rolled his eyes at him stating the obvious.
"For how long?"
Draco shrugged while throwing in a few shirts. "Not too long. Maybe a week. It's just that everything is getting so cluttered around here and I just need some space to breathe." Harry nodded; he too had felt like the walls were closing in on him in this apartment recently. He briefly wished he could go with Draco but supposed the village was only for those carrying elfish blood. "What are you going to do?"
Harry looked up but then sat in thought for a moment. What was he going to do? It wasn't like he had any plans this summer anyways and sad to say, he had mostly relied on Draco to entertain him this past week and a half. "I don't know." He replied quietly. "I hope to finish my mural before school so I could work on that." Draco just nodded his head and went about packing leaving Harry to wonder if he even heard him. He didn't wonder long for at that moment, Hedwig flew through his window with a letter tied to her leg. He hurriedly untied it and left Hedwig to rest a bit.
"Who's it from?"
"Hermione." Harry replied as he read the letter to himself.
"What does she want?" Draco asked when he noticed Harry wasn't reading anymore.
"She invited me to go to dinner with the Weasley family and her family in two days. Looks like I will have something to do with you gone." Harry teased as he folded up the letter.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm your source for entertainment, Potter."
"Yet I seem to be yours. How will you survive without me?" Harry said with mock concern as Draco sealed up his bag.
"Probably socialize with beautiful elves. Heavens, how should I cope?" He stated dramatically as he threw himself backwards on his bed. "So, want to see a movie?" Harry shook his head in amusement at the rapid subject change.
"Sure."
*********
Hermione was beginning to be bored with this book, something she never thought she would say, but there were just so many wizard families that that girl could have belonged to. So instead of reading, Hermione had her book in her lap and was now staring off into space both nervous and excited for the dinner tomorrow. She was glad she was able to see her friends again and the Weasley family held some of her favorite people in the world but she was not looking forward to explaining how Mrs. Weasley found out about her and Ron. She was about to pick up her book again when she heard the 'swoosh' of air from the chimney. Knowing it wasn't Ron, for he was not allowed to visit until after the dinner, she curiously went to the next room to see who was standing in her fireplace.
"Harry!" She squealed as she saw him climb out of her fireplace and dust himself off.
"Hi Hermione." He smiled, a gesture that was returned by her. She helped him dust his robes off that were still covered in ash and soot before he threw his hands up in the air in defeat.
"Ah, to hell with it." He pulled his robes off revealing khaki cargo pants and a tight gray shirt. Hermione stood back and surveyed his outfit. If she had been Ginny or another girl at Hogwarts, she might have been swooning over her best friend who's t-shirt clung to his abdominal muscles from Quidditch and showed off his lean frame. Harry's old NHS glasses had also vanished and were replaced with sleeker silver frames, but this wasn't new for she had seen him wearing these in the hospital and figured they were a gift from Sirius. As it was, Hermione only saw him as a brother and felt nothing more than platonic appreciation for his body.
"What are you doing here so early?" She grunted as they removed his trunk from the fireplace.
He ran a hand through his hair making soot fly up from it and Hermione laugh. Harry grinned sheepishly and she led him to the bathroom where he cleaned himself of the fireplace mess. "Well, Herm, I sort of had a change in plans. Got a little bored at where I was at and decided to come here." He stopped scrubbing at his hair with a washcloth and looked up. "That's okay, isn't it?"
"It's fine." She assured him and together they walked back out into the living room. "Did Dumbledore give you permission to come here for the rest of the summer?"
His eyes widened and he slapped his forehead cursing his forgetfulness. "I can stay for a brief amount of time, but, I hate to be rude and that's how I'm going to sound, but could I have another person stay with me while I'm here?" Hermione nodded slowly, not sure who he would want to bring.
"Sure. We've got the space." And the Grangers did. Both of her parents were well to do dentists and she never failed to have a sufficient amount of living area in her house. "Who'd you have in mind?" Before he answered, another sound of wind came through her chimney and she moved out of the way just in time for Harry to catch the girl that fell out.
"Hey, Allie. You okay?" Harry asked and the girl nodded her head. Now Hermione was really shocked. This was the girl from the hospital and Harry seemed to be on rather friendly terms with her. They weren't dating, were they? She figured she would have to ask later and instead greeted Allie and led her to the bathroom so she could clean up also.
The three went and stored the two trunks in two different rooms that were on either side of her bedroom before they went downstairs and prepared to grab a snack.
"Sorry about everything being sugar free." She said apologetically as they sorted through various health foods.
"It's fine." Harry said dismissively. "The Dursleys never fed me good food anyway and Allie's an ovolactovegetarian anyway. She lives off healthy stuff." Harry said.
"Such big words for such a small brain." Allie said as she grabbed a carrot and began munching on it.
"What does it mean?" Hermione asked interestedly.
Harry looked shocked that she didn't know something but she just ignored him and listened to what Allie was saying. "I'm a vegetarian and I eat eggs and dairy products but nothing that would kill the animal." She said with a shrug. "More complicated than it sounds.
"You must have a lot of discipline." Hermione said with awe for although she wasn't a heavy meat eater, every feast at Hogwarts she proved she was no vegetarian.
"Not really." Harry teased and was almost hit in the head with her flying carrot. "They were supposed to be vegans."
"But we found that we could not live without butter and cheese." Allie said seriously.
"Behold the power of cheese." Harry said seriously and they both began laughing. Hermione kept a smile on her face but inside she was frowning. Just a day ago she had tried to convince herself that they were all still best friends but even Hermione had rarely seen him this open. Maybe they were dating.
She decided to ask but was answered with complete silence and then they burst out laughing again even harder than before. "I'll take that as a no." She muttered to herself as they held on to cabinets to support themselves when their knees became weak from laughing so hard.
They finally calmed down a moment later and almost at that exact time, Hermione heard the door open revealing her parents with their arms full of groceries.
"Hermione, dear. Give us a hand with these." Her mother's muffled voice said and Hermione obediently grabbed a bag from her mother and laid it on the kitchen island where the two guests were now sitting. "Hello." Kate Granger said politely before turning to her daughter and giving her a questioning glance.
"Mum, this is Harry and his friend Allie. Is it okay if they stay here for a while?" She asked pleadingly. Harry glanced over to look at Allie who was focusing intently on a spot on the counter top; more likely was that she was using her powers of empathy and reading what Mrs. Granger was feeling.
"I guess." She said with a sighed and Harry brightened. "We might want to put Allie with you because your cousins are coming in two days. How long do you plan to be here?" Kate asked the two.
"I don't know." Harry answered truthfully. "If you need extra space, though, Allie can stay with me." He said helpfully. It didn't even occur to him that Mrs. Granger might find this strange, for the siblings had all shared couches or beds with each other and the houseguests in perfectly innocent circumstances. Once you had met that family, you were a member for life and there was no awkwardness involved in any of it.
Kate Granger sputtered, as did her husband. "I don't think it's a good idea to have your girlfriend in the same room with you Harry." Greg Granger pointed out noticing their clasped hands, which were actually due to them combining their powers to get a better feeling on the couple in front of them.
"What?" Allie asked in surprise. "We're not dating." She looked at Harry who was as confused as she was.
"Oh. Still I would prefer it if you didn't share the same room. I know you say nothing will happen now-" He began to trail off but was interrupted by the accused that shook their heads and Harry responded.
"It won't happen ever. I'd bed Snape before I decided to pursue a relationship with her." Allie watched wide-eyed and Hermione began to giggle.
"Excuse me? I hope that doesn't mean I'm repulsive." She said in a huff as she took her hand back.
"Not at all." Harry replied smoothly, ignoring Hermione who was still laughing at the Snape comparison. "I'd jump you if circumstances were different." The Granger's eyes widened and they all prepared to see Harry get smacked. Instead Allie grabbed his hand again and smiled happily.
"Thanks! I'd jump you too." Harry beamed and they turned back towards the shocked Grangers. "That worked better with Draco in that Italian restaurant." Harry said quietly to Allie who nodded in remembrance of the event. Suddenly remembering something Harry sat up straight. "Hey, I forgot! We never met before. I'm Harry Potter and this is Allison Caprice." Allie waved cheerfully.
"You can call me Allie."
"Hello Harry and Allie. I take it you're both magic folk?" Both of them nodded.
"Yeah. Both sides." Allie said as she fiddled with the pendant around her neck. She had been wearing it ever since she came back from that trip with Andrea and Harry hadn't asked her about it yet but was going to try tonight.
"Sort of both sides for me too." Harry said as he ate a pack of sugar free fruit snacks.
"Oh." Mrs. Granger said and looked to her husband to make up another topic but Harry beat them to it.
"So you're both dentists." Both of the parents nodded this time.
"You know," Allie said thoughtfully, "There are no dentists in the wizarding world. Now we have charms for everything. Or potions." Before the Grangers could reply Harry shot his cousin a smirk.
"You mean like the Sciftan Potion?" He asked innocently, contrasting with the smirk he was just wearing. Her eyes widened and she looked at Harry fearfully.
"You know about that?"
"Yes. It was enlightening, to say the least." Harry replied. Hermione had been silent the whole time, very confused at where this conversation was going.
Allie, however, brightened at this. "Yeah, did you see that scene after the mines?"
"My goodness! I don't think people have those kind of muscles in their bodies to do that."
"Yeah." Allie said dreamily.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione finally said when she noticed both of them were getting starry-eyed.
"Nothing." Harry said quickly, not wanting his friend to know what habits he was taking up when they weren't around. "So what's this big dinner for anyways?"
"Well," Hermione replied with a blush, "Ron and I are sort of-" she waved her hands around in the air for a moment and the only thing Harry could think of was that they were not as graceful as Draco's.
"Going out?" Allie guessed. At Hermione's nod, Harry began laughing.
"It's about time! You should have been together since the Yule Ball." He sputtered out and began laughing again. It was almost like old times, Hermione thought.
**********
Harry had been at Hermione's for only one night and during that time, the bushy-haired Gryffindor couldn't help but notice that he spent a majority of his time with Allie. It wasn't that she didn't like Allie; it was just that she was slightly jealous. Just slightly. She padded over to Harry's room the morning of the dinner and raised her hand to knock when she heard peals of laughter floating to her from under the door. Opening the door gently, she watched as Allie began making mad gestures with her hands and acting something out while Harry rolled on his bed in laughter. She took another step in and, as if one, they both turned their heads to face her.
"Hi, Hermione." Harry said brightly as he sat up. "Do you want to hang out with us?"
"No, not exactly. I was wondering if you two wanted to go to the pool with me. It's a neighborhood pool down the street." She said nervously, feeling she had interrupted something.
Harry's eyes brightened and he quickly replied. "Sure! Allie, do you want to come?" She shook her head and explained something about writing a letter before gliding back into her room. "I wonder if she's okay." He said to himself before springing off the bed and grabbing his swim trunks. "Go get changed and I'll check on Allie to see if everything's okay."
"Okay. I'll meet you downstairs." She turned and left leaving Harry alone to get ready. Once he pulled the trunks on, he grabbed an extra shirt and went over to Allie's room. Instead of being at the desk writing a letter, she was concentrating on the pendant she kept around her neck. It was just a crystal set in a silver ring but now it seemed to be glowing purple.
"I thought you were writing a letter." He said cautiously as she opened her eyes and focused her attention to him.
"I lied, but I am trying to contact Andrea." She waved the pendant and Harry figured that it was a communication device, which would explain why she wore it so often.
"Through that?" He pointed to the pendant and she nodded.
"Yeah, it's like a locator spell only it allows me to use my powers and see how's she feeling." She looked at the ball and sighed. "Only now it's not working."
"Is that bad?" Harry asked with his eyes furrowed.
Allie nodded her head slowly. "The pendant can't find her and I can't read her. So she either has cloaked herself or someone did it for her. The only other option would be-" She trailed off and Harry knew what the other was. Death.
"I bet she's cloaking herself. You've said before that since her powers began to grow that she's become more secretive." Allie made a noise of affirmation and Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm sure she's fine." Allie gave him a small smile before looking down at the ball and falling into a meditation trance. "See you in a bit." He got up and left. Walking downstairs, he saw Hermione already at the bottom with a bag full of towels and other pool gear.
"Ready?" She asked and he nodded in response. Picking up the pool gear, she led him out the door and down the street. "Was Allie okay?"
"Just a little homesick." It wasn't really a lie; she probably did miss her home.
"That's too bad." Hermione said evenly. Harry didn't think she really felt any sympathy for the other girl, but then again they had only just met. "I'm glad to have you here." She said and Harry smiled.
"It's good to be here. I missed you and Ron a lot."
"You seemed like you were having a lot of fun in your letters." Hermione commented and suddenly Harry understood. Living with two empaths had made him rather perceptive to others' emotions. His friend was jealous of the siblings and even Draco, though she didn't know about him yet.
"You're not jealous are you?" He said incredulously and inwardly smiled when her ears turned pink. Not waiting for an answer, he continued. "You know, it's not like I'm going to leave you two. I can have more than two friends, so don't worry; you're not being replaced." He gave a soft smile that was returned by Hermione. By then, they had reached the pool and were slipping through the gate.
"Thanks Harry." They padded over to some empty lounge chairs and toed off their shoes. Hermione immediately removed her top and shorts revealing her swimsuit before heading towards the edge of the water. Harry looked around for a moment and noticed that they were only about twelve other people and they had almost the whole side of the pool to themselves. Reaching under the hem of his shirt, he was just about to pull it off when the back of his hand came in contact with the Dark Mark that was still burned on his skin. He still hadn't told anyone, not even the siblings though sometimes he had the feeling they already knew, and Draco and him had reached a pack where they agreed not to speak of their injuries.
Harry quickly pulled her shirt down and sat limply on the lawn chair. Hermione noticed this and walked over to him. "Well, aren't you coming in?"
"I can't." From her look, she didn't believe him so he quickly thought of something. "I'm a little self-conscious about my torso since the incident." Her face softened and she went to sit next to him. It seemed that all the lessons with Draco in telling the truth by omitting some of it were paying off.
"I'm sorry. I can just tan if you want." Harry nodded and leaned back against the chair. He wished he had brought a book or something to do. Then a rather nasty thought snuck into his head. If he just reclined against the chair and closed his eyes while going into a meditation trance to activate his powers, it would seem to Hermione and the rest of the pool that he was just sun tanning. Doing just that, he let his mind go free and break down any mental barriers in his head. Randolph and Allie had been trying to teach him to control his powers and harness them to his greatest advantage but so far he could only pick up traces of people's thoughts that sounded muddled.
As of right now, his powers began to hum as they were reawakened and Harry let his body slip into a state of total awareness by thoughts only. He could hear Hermione's voice swimming around in his head and the young boy's who had just walked past him but nothing was clear yet. His mind brushed past the people of the pool and floated out, encompassing a large area of Hermione's neighborhood and leaving Harry feeling in tune with the world. All around the neighborhood was the faint buzz of people's thoughts except for one niche. Curious, Harry allowed his mind to focus on that one spot; it was a spot of emptiness and serenity. Having never felt such a space, Harry fine tuned his telepathy to search for any presence and was greeted with Allie's voice in his head.
//Harry? What are you doing in my head?//
// Sorry. // He thought sheepishly as he concentrated only on her voice and allowed the others to melt away. // I was just testing my telepathy and your head seemed like a big empty hole. //
Allie's presence was filled with amusement and it made Harry smile. // That better not be an insult. My minds only empty so I can find Andrea. //
//Have you found her? // Harry questioned.
He felt a mental head shake and took a moment to reflect on how odd it was that he could feel her gestures by her thoughts alone. // No, she's still missing. //
// Want some help? With our powers combined- //
// We are Captain Planet! // She boomed in a voice deeper than her own. She felt Harry's confusion and giggled slightly. // Sorry, it's a muggle cartoon. // Harry mentally rolled his eyes at her. // But, yeah, sure. I could use the help. //
// What do I do? //
// Just relax and concentrate only on finding Andrea. I'll merge with you. // She instructed and Harry obeyed allowing his mind to only focus on her twin. Vague images flew through his head and he felt his mind being taken over water, land and mountains. Opening his mind's eyes, he could see dark haired people with tanned skin walking around in a town but they were gaunt, almost black and white. Their shading only gave Harry a clue to what nationality they were, which was probably Spanish. It was then he noticed only one figure in color, Andrea. Allie's presence was once again in his mind and he could feel Andrea's emotions and felt waves of apprehension and fear tinged with determination and hope wash over him.
They watched patiently for a moment before Allie told him they could leave now. However, at that moment, another of the gray looking natives approached Andrea and wrapped a hand around her wrist before dragging her in an alley.
// Wait! // Allie cried and Harry let his mind drift to find her twin again. They found her pinned up to a wall with her feet dangling off the ground and a sturdy hand wrapped around her throat. She fought against him while trying to draw air back into her lungs, but it was at that time that Harry felt his concentration slipping and he knew he was being drawn back to his body. // No. We need to stay! // Allie cried adamantly when she felt them being pulled back over mountains and land and water until they were back in Hermione's house. Harry felt the connection break and he slipped back to his body. Almost like the whole world was once on pause, the noise grew and he registered people talking around him as he sat up in his chair and gasped for breath, feeling like he had been the one held against the wall and not his distant relative.
Suddenly Andrea spoke up. "Something's wrong." She whispered.
"What?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." She and Allie both closed their eyes in concentration. "It's chaos."
"What?"
"Chaos." Allie answered. "Of magic. Something strange is going on with our powers."
"Like what?"
"My powers are stronger." Andrea whispered, rubbing her head gently, most likely she was receiving visions every few seconds.
"So are mine." Allie said and they turned towards Harry ready to ask about his. But the Gryffindor was now leaning his head back against his chair as his he arched up in pain, clutching his hands over his head. "What is it?"
"There's just so much noise." Harry whispered pitifully. "I can't block it; it hurts." Allie made to pick him up but was nearly knocked over when she felt emotions being enhanced.
"Whoa." She steadied herself and grabbed Harry by the arm. "Andrea, come-" She stopped when she noticed her sister rolling on the ground clutching her head in her hands. Ignoring the shocked looks from other people in the lounge, Allie let Harry go and tried to reach her sister by going into her mind by way of her emotions. Unlike other times, her mind had been magically sealed and now she was now spurting out deaths of people so fast that Allie hadn't time to register them all. Harry was also on the floor like Andrea was. He had clearly been pulled into her sister's mind when she could not. Rising, she tried to get Draco and Randolph but was stopped when she saw the three and her father walking back towards the table. Draco's face was under Anne's coat but she could see by the way his hands were growing that he couldn't keep his appearance together.
"What's going on?" Anne asked fearfully as the lights began to flicker due to Severus and Randolph losing control over their powers.
"Relax Anne." Randolph said as he walked towards Andrea who had now risen to her knees with her mouth open and her eyes reflecting nothing. "Oh, God. She's preparing a prophecy." He whispered as he saw the look on her face; the magic had now grown to such a state that she was entering the highest degree of being a seer for not many seers could predict a prophecy.
Severus went over to Harry who had fallen to the floor and was squirming in pain from all the noise that was filling his head. People had come to see what was going on and Severus knew they would never get out of here with a throng of people surrounding them from both sides. It was then that the magic grew so strong that you could feel it in the air. Searching blindly for something to hold onto, Harry grabbed the tablecloth and squeezed slightly. A second after the touch, the whole table burst into flames, as did every single one in the lounge. Panic arose as everyone tried to find the exit and avoid the sprinklers that were putting out the fire.
"Randolph!" Anne yelled as she clutched her face in fear and watched as all of the tables burned heedless of the water being poured on them. Her boyfriend paid her no attention and pulled his sister away from the fire, as did Severus with Harry. Anne's parents were still standing there looking confused and rather angry. They began spurting out questions until Severus couldn't think anymore.
"Draco!" The coat turned towards him and he yelled again. "Charm them or something. Just get them out." The coat nodded and approached the people. Pulling the jacket off his head and tossing it to Anne, he revealed his face that was long and angular like before but with pointed ears decorating the side of his face and wings that were scrunched towards his back. With a sharp talon, he slowly passed it in front of their faces. Anne was screaming in horror and trying to attack what she considered a monster with her coat. Draco, not moving his eyes from her parents, waited until she was close enough to outstretch his wings and knock he across the floor.
He continued his slow hypnosis and began to speak softly. "Look at me. Be in my eyes." They looked at him with empty eyes, too far gone to react. "Be in me." The last traces of free will had vanished and he led them to the door picking up Anne and tossing her over his shoulder with the aid of his veela strength. Leading them to the door, he set down a frightened Anne. "Take them outside." To her parents, he whispered, "Follow her." She practically ran out of the building grabbing her parents' wrists.
Draco returned to the group that was now huddled close together as they tried to hold down a shrieking Andrea who was screaming words that nobody seemed to understand, except Draco. The language she was using was a primitive elf dialect, one he was familiar with thanks to his father who thought it appropriate to have his son learn of their heritage. Eyes widening at what they were saying, he crept closer with his wings in front of him in an attempt to shield him from the smoke that was coming off the fire that still were refusing to be extinguished.
"Draco, you're back." Randolph said in relief. "Is Anne okay?" He choked over the last part as he breathed in the harmful fumes.
"Fine. Let's get out of here. You two, apparate Allie and Harry." Draco said to Severus and Randolph who looked a little unsure but nodded anyway.
"What will you do?" Severus asked as he scooped his daughter into his arms. Draco smirked and shook his wings out. The Potion Master got the idea and although he didn't think highly of it, it was the fastest way to get them all out. "Fine. Just go." Draco nodded and grabbed Andrea before running at a window and doing a quick tuck as he dove out the window. Once he fell clear of the building, he stretched his wings out and with all the speed he could muster, he flew them home. On the way there, Andrea had gone silent and was now staring at him with her glassy eyes. Draco regarded her seriously and she began speaking again to him in that strange language. Hearing them, he quickly translated them and stored them away in his mind for when she fell quiet again, which she did a minute later. He shivered slightly as he pieced everything to together before quickly reciting it in his head.
~The black, they move in gathering pieces, consuming what was pure and tainting it black. Pale light rests when red is gained by red and then black will fall. Should amalgamation choose a path, all will be lost until we are consumed by darkness in black's light while our spirits shall cross to peace if they believe. May our decisions be made with wisdom for the battle begins at the wolf's howl and ends in grim~
To Draco, the whole thing made no sense, but he knew prophecies were puzzled meant to be deciphered. Sorting it out, he shifted Andrea in his arms who had collapsed when she finished talking, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.
"The black must be Voldemort and the Death Eaters." Draco reasoned out loud. As for what they consumed, well, their name was self-explanatory and that was definitely one of the reasons he refused to bow at Voldemort's feet. Tainting it, or the person for he was sure that 'it' was a person they were corrupting, could be maiming or killing though Draco assumed it was most likely raping some innocent before sacrificing her and slicing her up for dinner. He shuddered in disgust at remembering a banquet at his house. At the time he was not allowed to participate in it, something he was grateful for. The only thing that set his mind at ease concerning his father partaking in these events was that Lucius was a vegetarian as were most elves. He was also.
Yes, the first line was easy, but it was the second that made no sense. How could darkness fall when light just rested? And what was the red? He figured that not everything was as it seemed in this and moved onto the next line. Amalgamation had to do with compounding mercury and another metal or something of the sort or combining races; he was willing to bet on the latter being the correct translation and quite possibly, it could be him. But that would mean he would stay a neutral in the war and that was something he had not planned on. Quickly enough, he had arrived back at their flat with everybody already there and Andrea waking up as he set her down. Severus apparated out to report this to the headmaster while Draco was shifting back to his original form. The other three were cleaning the soot marks off their face from the fire with washcloths that were passed around. He accepted one and waited to see what would happen next.
Draco didn't have to wait long. Randolph had dragged his sister off into another room once he saw how unfazed she looked by the entire situation. He was screaming so loud that the closed door did nothing to hide the argument.
Creeping closer, he listened along with Allie and Harry.
"You knew! Damn it! I can't believe you, I mean, how could you? Are you insane, not to mention incredibly selfish and immature? People could have died and now Anne will never speak to me again!" All three winced as the sound of breaking glass carried across the room.
Andrea's sarcastic voice leaked through now. "I'm so sorry. And yes, I did know. Why do you think I showed up? It certainly wasn't to meet that whore you were dating!"
"Anne's not-"
"Yes she is. And it doesn't matter what I think of her. She could be perfect and I still wouldn't have interfered with anything! So if that makes me mad, then well-"
"I can't believe you." Came Randolph's incredulous voice. "How dare you try and decide what is going on in our lives?"
"Rand-"
"No! You had no right. If Anne wasn't right for me then I could have figured that out for myself."
"You moron! This wasn't about you. Look at the bigger picture. Cassandra did not give me this vision so I could decide the fate of your girlfriend."
"Well next time, whether Cassandra tells you or not, just butt out of my life."
"No, she was a liability. I did what was right!"
"How do you know? What makes you the supreme dictator on all that is right and wrong?"
"I can feel it, all the way to my bones. And if you really want me out of your life, why don't I just get out of your apartment?"
"Well maybe you should."
"Fine!" The door opened and Andrea stormed out and into her room. Draco looked in on Randolph and saw him smash a mirror against the wall. Allie went in to talk to him and gave Draco and Harry meaningful looks. They got the idea and walked to Andrea's room where she already had a full suitcase and was now tossing in small things like hair clips and picture frames. Harry was confused at how she packed so quickly, but Draco knew and spoke to her in a soft voice.
"You knew you were leaving." It wasn't a question and she didn't answer. "You knew about everything: the fire, Anne, that fight." Andrea looked up and gave him a small smile before zipping her suitcase and preparing to leave. "Where are you going to stay?"
She ran her fingers through her hair and hauled her stuff outside while pushing past the two near the door. "With the Diviners Council." At Draco's hesitant look, she smiled. "Don't worry; I'll be fine." Stepping up to the fireplace, she threw some powder in before preparing to step in. "Take good care of them while I'm gone. I'll not be back all summer." She gave them each a hug and whispered something in Draco's ear. "When you figure out that prophecy, let me know." She winked before moving on to Harry. "Harry," She whispered in his ear, "The fire wasn't wandless magic." At his confused look, she added. "Welcome to your second power." Harry looked shocked and Andrea smiled before stepping back into the fire, clutching her suitcase to her. "Divine Right!" She yelled and was gone.
**********
Hermione was not having a good day. First was the talk with Mrs. Weasley, which made her more than a little hesitant to even touch someone from her family, had made her want to floo home. Of course, two hours after she got home, an owl flew in, alerting her parents of the situation with Ron. This led to another chat with her mother and plans to meet with his family, his whole family, over dinner. In three days.
Hedwig was sitting on her bed after the conversation with her mother and Hermione eagerly retrieved the note. Ever since Harry left, their correspondence had gone down, but that was fine because his letters often expressed that he was very busy with a new friend. She was glad he had met knew people but still felt slightly jealous at her best friend meeting someone that might take hers or Ron's place; a silly thing to envy. Harry was always a dedicated friend and from what she knew from Ron, when they first met Malfoy, Harry had taken sides with Ron who was his first friend instead of the rich aristocrat.
Now, though, as she was reading the letter, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Harry seemed unusually distant lately for his letters were brief and almost impersonal. She would have thought it fine after what she had seen in the pensieve that he would be a little closeted but here in writing it appeared that he was having fun.
She sighed and wrote a reply with a request to join her and Ron's family for dinner. It wasn't fair to leave him out of their relationship and he was probably the only one in their close-knit circle of friends and family that did not know. She hoped it wouldn't be that much of a surprise.
Opening her desk drawer, she found her memory box and added the letter to the growing collection; no matter how small or unimportant it was, she would never throw these things away. Truth be told, she was a packrat of the worst sort. Mumbling to herself about her unfavorable habits, she picked up some clothes that were lying on her floor and threw them in the hamper. Giggling slightly, she imagined what her fellow Gryffindors would think if they found out what a mess her room was. It would definitely be a blow to the perfect erudite image she created.
With her arms full of clothes once again, she made a second trip to the hamper and when she got back, she noticed a book that was unearthed from under the clothes. Turning it over, she noticed it was the one she bought from Diagon Alley with Percy, Oliver and those strange siblings.
Thinking of the brother and sister reminded her why she had bought the book in the first place. Deciding she had time to kill, she cleared off a space on her bed and began reading; she was glad that she had retained a good memory so she could recall the wand motions that Allie used.
That was a day ago and now she was downstairs sitting in an armchair and reading while her parents glanced at the moving pictures. So far, nothing had matched the wand style; then again, she had only reached the Howe family.
Her reply from Harry hadn't come yet and that was expected as his owl had only left a day ago. Glancing out the window, she closed her book and went outside to wait for a bit.
**********
"I can't believe she left." Allie said as she rolled over, resting her head on Harry's knees that were lying across his bed.
"I know." Draco replied as he tossed a miniature quaffle up before catching it. He looked over at Harry who was still working diligently on his wall mural and was now much further along, driven by some unseen force. "It kinds of feels like they got divorced and we're the kids." Draco said with a laugh and even Harry snorted in amusement without looking up from his paper.
"Yeah, only we can't actually go and live with her." Allie pointed out as she flipped a page in a book she was reading.
"Why not?" Harry asked with a furrowed brow as he tried to find Draco's hair color in the hundred of paints he had so he could color the boy's miniature portrait on the mural. "Geez, Draco, why couldn't you have just been a brunette?" He asked in frustration.
"Because blondes have more fun." He quipped.
"Not as much as black haired people." Allie said and Harry nodded his head in agreement. "Anyway, we can't visit my sister 'cause we're not diviners. They're very strict about that sort of things; they've got all these enchantments making the council impossible to find without their type of gift. 'Sides, they don't take to magic folk like wizards and witches so it'd be almost unfeasible trying to make them grant you permission."
"Hey, when's Sev' getting back?" Draco said, abruptly changing the subject.
She looked at her watch for a moment before responding. "About ten minutes."
"Good. I want to find out why our powers were out of whack." Harry said and then cried with glee when he noticed a color that suited his roommate's hair. "I mean, it's been a day." He continued with his coloring and they all sat in silence for a moment. "How's Randolph? I haven't seen him much recently.
Draco made a so-so gesture. "Not too bad. He's still angry with Andrea plus he had to break up with his girlfriend and then erase her and her parents' memories of the events yesterday."
"Why? She wouldn't have told, would she?"
"Turns out her family were witch hunters." Allie commented. "Runs in their blood, I suppose. Besides, she didn't take the whole thing that well."
"That wasn't the best way to find out." Draco pointed out and dropped the ball to the ground.
"True, but they would have hunted us down and probably tried to get us arrested for arson." Allie commented.
Harry paused with his art supplies and thought for a moment. "Do you think that's what she saw? That could be why she didn't want the two dating." He was met with two shrugs before he turned back to his work. A moment later, he heard the small 'pop' from his second cousin's arrival and quickly threw down his stuff, allowing Allie to get off him, before running to greet him.
"Hey Sev'." Harry said as he sat on the couch next to Draco who had arrived first. Allie came out of the room and sat on the arm of her father's chair and gave him a warm greeting.
"Where's Randolph?" The potion master asked as he glanced around the room.
"In his room." Allie replied as she stood up. "I'll go get him." She disappeared behind his door and reappeared a moment later tugging her brother to the couch and reassuming her perch on the chair Sev' was in. "So why'd our powers get all wacky?"
"From what I understand-" He began but was interrupted by his stepson.
"You mean what Andrea told you." He said bitterly, clearly still upset with his sister.
"That too." Snape admitted. "Voldemort is gathering forces, non human forces. Demons, monsters, dark creatures and such."
"So was that what was attacking us?" Harry asked.
Snape gave a wry smile. "Yes. It was a Chaos Demon actually. Decided to do what it does best-"
"Cause chaos?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"Five points to Slytherin." He said to Draco who scowled at the hidden taunting. "It decided the best way to hurt you all was to mess with your powers. Luckily it didn't have time to finish its job."
Harry spoke up again. "What would have happened if it did?"
"Andrea and yourself quite possibly might have been driven mad from the noise and her visions. I believe you witnessed a few." At his nod, Severus continued. "Draco, you might have permanently stuck in that form and reverted to your primal instincts and Allie, you and Randolph would have become totally emotionless from the overload of feelings that you came in touch with."
"That does not sound fun." Allie said as her nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Would have been worse than fun." Harry said. "We would have been easy targets for Voldemort and completely useless for the side of light."
Draco nodded and jumped in. "Yeah, I mean, who wants to watch two emotionally stunted people, and two mad teenagers when they can be protecting the ones who might actually be able to help in the war?"
"What about you?" Harry asked when he noticed Draco had not put himself on that list.
"I'd be dead." Harry's mouth formed an 'O' at the answer and he just nodded his head. "It wasn't like they'd want to keep a bloodthirsty veela alive."
Randolph changed the subject after deciding the topic was a little morbid. "How'd they find Harry anyways?" Harry looked up at the mention of his name and swiftly turned his eyes towards Severus.
He took a deep breath and began explaining. "The Headmaster told me that we have protection spells over the whole apartment and within a five mile radius, that's the strongest spell and it makes Harry virtually unplottable. The only way to for it to work is to have a blood relative in the twenty mile radius of either the house or Harry and Voldemort hasn't found a way to break through it yet."
"So when Andrea and Allie left, the spell was inactive so they found him." Draco finished slowly, earning a nod from Snape.
"But Andrea knew what would happen," Allie said incredulously. "I can't believe she left when she knew this was going to happen."
"Are you saying she took you and left the house on purpose so Harry would be found and you all would be attacked by a chaos demon?" Severus asked in disbelief. "I know she doesn't always follow the rules, but that's a little excessive."
"I wouldn't put it passed her." Randolph snorted and was met with surprised faces. "Look, I know she's my sister and all but let's face it: she hasn't been the same since her visions began to increase. And it's no secret why the Council keeps itself hidden." He finished smugly.
"Why?" Harry said, looking up from his lap. "Why are they hidden?"
"They're too ashamed of themselves. During the war, many joined with Voldemort and it wouldn't surprise me if-"
"Enough!" Severus roared as he stood up and nearly knocked Allie off her chair. "I will not tolerate hearing a member of our family being degraded by someone saying they are in a league with Voldemort. Her decisions have always turned out for the best. Let's just have a little faith in her."
Harry looked up and noticed Draco was on his feet too. He assumed the Slytherin was the closest to Andrea out of all the siblings. "You know," He spoke quietly but with an edge to his voice, "We all pretend that we are such victims of fate and visions, but none of us even consider Andrea to be one. She didn't ask for her visions and I can't say I'd always do the right thing when confronted with letting someone die or saving him or her at the expense of others a dozen others. I have more respect for her than anybody in this room." With that, he stormed back to his room. Harry got up and shot everyone an apologetic look before retreating the way Draco left.
Draco was laying face down on his bed pounding his fists into the mattress. "Hey, Draco." The boy didn't look up. "Are you okay?" He made a gesture with his hand implying that Harry should leave. Instead, the black haired boy sat on the edge of his bed.
"Go away." Came the mumbled reply.
"No. I don't think you're okay."
"I'm not." He rolled over and faced Harry. His hair was disarrayed and his eyes were slightly puffy glistening with unshed tears. In Harry's opinion, the boy had never looked more beautiful.
'Whoa.' Harry thought, backtracking. 'Where did that come from?' He ignored it and began concentrating when Draco began talking.
"I just want to get out of here."
"Where would you go?" Draco shrugged and gestured with his hands meaning out.
"I just need some air. Some peace and trees. The elf in me is surfacing." He said with a laugh.
Harry looked confused for a moment. "You want to go camping or something?"
"Or something. I'm thinking of staying in the elfin village in the Forbidden Forest."
His eyes widened at this statement. "We have a village of elves in the forest?" Draco made a vague noise to confirm it. "Huh. Learn something knew everyday. Well, go if you want." He stood up and allowed Draco to get off his bed.
"Know what? I think I will." His face broke out into a smile. "It's been years since I've been. I remember when I went with father-" He broke off and Harry gave a sympathetic smile. Draco had told him about the deaths of his parents on their second night there. He didn't know why; maybe it was because he had gone through the same thing, or that Draco was finally seeing him as a friend. Or maybe he was just there. Whatever it was, it made the boys closer, perhaps not friends but pretty darn close.
"When are you leaving?" He asked quietly. Although he was glad to see his friend so happy, it hurt to have him leave.
"Tomorrow if I get permission from Sev'." Draco said as he ran out the door. Harry sat on his bed and waited for a few minutes before Draco came back in and began packing immediately. "He said I could go!" He cried and Harry rolled his eyes at him stating the obvious.
"For how long?"
Draco shrugged while throwing in a few shirts. "Not too long. Maybe a week. It's just that everything is getting so cluttered around here and I just need some space to breathe." Harry nodded; he too had felt like the walls were closing in on him in this apartment recently. He briefly wished he could go with Draco but supposed the village was only for those carrying elfish blood. "What are you going to do?"
Harry looked up but then sat in thought for a moment. What was he going to do? It wasn't like he had any plans this summer anyways and sad to say, he had mostly relied on Draco to entertain him this past week and a half. "I don't know." He replied quietly. "I hope to finish my mural before school so I could work on that." Draco just nodded his head and went about packing leaving Harry to wonder if he even heard him. He didn't wonder long for at that moment, Hedwig flew through his window with a letter tied to her leg. He hurriedly untied it and left Hedwig to rest a bit.
"Who's it from?"
"Hermione." Harry replied as he read the letter to himself.
"What does she want?" Draco asked when he noticed Harry wasn't reading anymore.
"She invited me to go to dinner with the Weasley family and her family in two days. Looks like I will have something to do with you gone." Harry teased as he folded up the letter.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm your source for entertainment, Potter."
"Yet I seem to be yours. How will you survive without me?" Harry said with mock concern as Draco sealed up his bag.
"Probably socialize with beautiful elves. Heavens, how should I cope?" He stated dramatically as he threw himself backwards on his bed. "So, want to see a movie?" Harry shook his head in amusement at the rapid subject change.
"Sure."
*********
Hermione was beginning to be bored with this book, something she never thought she would say, but there were just so many wizard families that that girl could have belonged to. So instead of reading, Hermione had her book in her lap and was now staring off into space both nervous and excited for the dinner tomorrow. She was glad she was able to see her friends again and the Weasley family held some of her favorite people in the world but she was not looking forward to explaining how Mrs. Weasley found out about her and Ron. She was about to pick up her book again when she heard the 'swoosh' of air from the chimney. Knowing it wasn't Ron, for he was not allowed to visit until after the dinner, she curiously went to the next room to see who was standing in her fireplace.
"Harry!" She squealed as she saw him climb out of her fireplace and dust himself off.
"Hi Hermione." He smiled, a gesture that was returned by her. She helped him dust his robes off that were still covered in ash and soot before he threw his hands up in the air in defeat.
"Ah, to hell with it." He pulled his robes off revealing khaki cargo pants and a tight gray shirt. Hermione stood back and surveyed his outfit. If she had been Ginny or another girl at Hogwarts, she might have been swooning over her best friend who's t-shirt clung to his abdominal muscles from Quidditch and showed off his lean frame. Harry's old NHS glasses had also vanished and were replaced with sleeker silver frames, but this wasn't new for she had seen him wearing these in the hospital and figured they were a gift from Sirius. As it was, Hermione only saw him as a brother and felt nothing more than platonic appreciation for his body.
"What are you doing here so early?" She grunted as they removed his trunk from the fireplace.
He ran a hand through his hair making soot fly up from it and Hermione laugh. Harry grinned sheepishly and she led him to the bathroom where he cleaned himself of the fireplace mess. "Well, Herm, I sort of had a change in plans. Got a little bored at where I was at and decided to come here." He stopped scrubbing at his hair with a washcloth and looked up. "That's okay, isn't it?"
"It's fine." She assured him and together they walked back out into the living room. "Did Dumbledore give you permission to come here for the rest of the summer?"
His eyes widened and he slapped his forehead cursing his forgetfulness. "I can stay for a brief amount of time, but, I hate to be rude and that's how I'm going to sound, but could I have another person stay with me while I'm here?" Hermione nodded slowly, not sure who he would want to bring.
"Sure. We've got the space." And the Grangers did. Both of her parents were well to do dentists and she never failed to have a sufficient amount of living area in her house. "Who'd you have in mind?" Before he answered, another sound of wind came through her chimney and she moved out of the way just in time for Harry to catch the girl that fell out.
"Hey, Allie. You okay?" Harry asked and the girl nodded her head. Now Hermione was really shocked. This was the girl from the hospital and Harry seemed to be on rather friendly terms with her. They weren't dating, were they? She figured she would have to ask later and instead greeted Allie and led her to the bathroom so she could clean up also.
The three went and stored the two trunks in two different rooms that were on either side of her bedroom before they went downstairs and prepared to grab a snack.
"Sorry about everything being sugar free." She said apologetically as they sorted through various health foods.
"It's fine." Harry said dismissively. "The Dursleys never fed me good food anyway and Allie's an ovolactovegetarian anyway. She lives off healthy stuff." Harry said.
"Such big words for such a small brain." Allie said as she grabbed a carrot and began munching on it.
"What does it mean?" Hermione asked interestedly.
Harry looked shocked that she didn't know something but she just ignored him and listened to what Allie was saying. "I'm a vegetarian and I eat eggs and dairy products but nothing that would kill the animal." She said with a shrug. "More complicated than it sounds.
"You must have a lot of discipline." Hermione said with awe for although she wasn't a heavy meat eater, every feast at Hogwarts she proved she was no vegetarian.
"Not really." Harry teased and was almost hit in the head with her flying carrot. "They were supposed to be vegans."
"But we found that we could not live without butter and cheese." Allie said seriously.
"Behold the power of cheese." Harry said seriously and they both began laughing. Hermione kept a smile on her face but inside she was frowning. Just a day ago she had tried to convince herself that they were all still best friends but even Hermione had rarely seen him this open. Maybe they were dating.
She decided to ask but was answered with complete silence and then they burst out laughing again even harder than before. "I'll take that as a no." She muttered to herself as they held on to cabinets to support themselves when their knees became weak from laughing so hard.
They finally calmed down a moment later and almost at that exact time, Hermione heard the door open revealing her parents with their arms full of groceries.
"Hermione, dear. Give us a hand with these." Her mother's muffled voice said and Hermione obediently grabbed a bag from her mother and laid it on the kitchen island where the two guests were now sitting. "Hello." Kate Granger said politely before turning to her daughter and giving her a questioning glance.
"Mum, this is Harry and his friend Allie. Is it okay if they stay here for a while?" She asked pleadingly. Harry glanced over to look at Allie who was focusing intently on a spot on the counter top; more likely was that she was using her powers of empathy and reading what Mrs. Granger was feeling.
"I guess." She said with a sighed and Harry brightened. "We might want to put Allie with you because your cousins are coming in two days. How long do you plan to be here?" Kate asked the two.
"I don't know." Harry answered truthfully. "If you need extra space, though, Allie can stay with me." He said helpfully. It didn't even occur to him that Mrs. Granger might find this strange, for the siblings had all shared couches or beds with each other and the houseguests in perfectly innocent circumstances. Once you had met that family, you were a member for life and there was no awkwardness involved in any of it.
Kate Granger sputtered, as did her husband. "I don't think it's a good idea to have your girlfriend in the same room with you Harry." Greg Granger pointed out noticing their clasped hands, which were actually due to them combining their powers to get a better feeling on the couple in front of them.
"What?" Allie asked in surprise. "We're not dating." She looked at Harry who was as confused as she was.
"Oh. Still I would prefer it if you didn't share the same room. I know you say nothing will happen now-" He began to trail off but was interrupted by the accused that shook their heads and Harry responded.
"It won't happen ever. I'd bed Snape before I decided to pursue a relationship with her." Allie watched wide-eyed and Hermione began to giggle.
"Excuse me? I hope that doesn't mean I'm repulsive." She said in a huff as she took her hand back.
"Not at all." Harry replied smoothly, ignoring Hermione who was still laughing at the Snape comparison. "I'd jump you if circumstances were different." The Granger's eyes widened and they all prepared to see Harry get smacked. Instead Allie grabbed his hand again and smiled happily.
"Thanks! I'd jump you too." Harry beamed and they turned back towards the shocked Grangers. "That worked better with Draco in that Italian restaurant." Harry said quietly to Allie who nodded in remembrance of the event. Suddenly remembering something Harry sat up straight. "Hey, I forgot! We never met before. I'm Harry Potter and this is Allison Caprice." Allie waved cheerfully.
"You can call me Allie."
"Hello Harry and Allie. I take it you're both magic folk?" Both of them nodded.
"Yeah. Both sides." Allie said as she fiddled with the pendant around her neck. She had been wearing it ever since she came back from that trip with Andrea and Harry hadn't asked her about it yet but was going to try tonight.
"Sort of both sides for me too." Harry said as he ate a pack of sugar free fruit snacks.
"Oh." Mrs. Granger said and looked to her husband to make up another topic but Harry beat them to it.
"So you're both dentists." Both of the parents nodded this time.
"You know," Allie said thoughtfully, "There are no dentists in the wizarding world. Now we have charms for everything. Or potions." Before the Grangers could reply Harry shot his cousin a smirk.
"You mean like the Sciftan Potion?" He asked innocently, contrasting with the smirk he was just wearing. Her eyes widened and she looked at Harry fearfully.
"You know about that?"
"Yes. It was enlightening, to say the least." Harry replied. Hermione had been silent the whole time, very confused at where this conversation was going.
Allie, however, brightened at this. "Yeah, did you see that scene after the mines?"
"My goodness! I don't think people have those kind of muscles in their bodies to do that."
"Yeah." Allie said dreamily.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione finally said when she noticed both of them were getting starry-eyed.
"Nothing." Harry said quickly, not wanting his friend to know what habits he was taking up when they weren't around. "So what's this big dinner for anyways?"
"Well," Hermione replied with a blush, "Ron and I are sort of-" she waved her hands around in the air for a moment and the only thing Harry could think of was that they were not as graceful as Draco's.
"Going out?" Allie guessed. At Hermione's nod, Harry began laughing.
"It's about time! You should have been together since the Yule Ball." He sputtered out and began laughing again. It was almost like old times, Hermione thought.
**********
Harry had been at Hermione's for only one night and during that time, the bushy-haired Gryffindor couldn't help but notice that he spent a majority of his time with Allie. It wasn't that she didn't like Allie; it was just that she was slightly jealous. Just slightly. She padded over to Harry's room the morning of the dinner and raised her hand to knock when she heard peals of laughter floating to her from under the door. Opening the door gently, she watched as Allie began making mad gestures with her hands and acting something out while Harry rolled on his bed in laughter. She took another step in and, as if one, they both turned their heads to face her.
"Hi, Hermione." Harry said brightly as he sat up. "Do you want to hang out with us?"
"No, not exactly. I was wondering if you two wanted to go to the pool with me. It's a neighborhood pool down the street." She said nervously, feeling she had interrupted something.
Harry's eyes brightened and he quickly replied. "Sure! Allie, do you want to come?" She shook her head and explained something about writing a letter before gliding back into her room. "I wonder if she's okay." He said to himself before springing off the bed and grabbing his swim trunks. "Go get changed and I'll check on Allie to see if everything's okay."
"Okay. I'll meet you downstairs." She turned and left leaving Harry alone to get ready. Once he pulled the trunks on, he grabbed an extra shirt and went over to Allie's room. Instead of being at the desk writing a letter, she was concentrating on the pendant she kept around her neck. It was just a crystal set in a silver ring but now it seemed to be glowing purple.
"I thought you were writing a letter." He said cautiously as she opened her eyes and focused her attention to him.
"I lied, but I am trying to contact Andrea." She waved the pendant and Harry figured that it was a communication device, which would explain why she wore it so often.
"Through that?" He pointed to the pendant and she nodded.
"Yeah, it's like a locator spell only it allows me to use my powers and see how's she feeling." She looked at the ball and sighed. "Only now it's not working."
"Is that bad?" Harry asked with his eyes furrowed.
Allie nodded her head slowly. "The pendant can't find her and I can't read her. So she either has cloaked herself or someone did it for her. The only other option would be-" She trailed off and Harry knew what the other was. Death.
"I bet she's cloaking herself. You've said before that since her powers began to grow that she's become more secretive." Allie made a noise of affirmation and Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm sure she's fine." Allie gave him a small smile before looking down at the ball and falling into a meditation trance. "See you in a bit." He got up and left. Walking downstairs, he saw Hermione already at the bottom with a bag full of towels and other pool gear.
"Ready?" She asked and he nodded in response. Picking up the pool gear, she led him out the door and down the street. "Was Allie okay?"
"Just a little homesick." It wasn't really a lie; she probably did miss her home.
"That's too bad." Hermione said evenly. Harry didn't think she really felt any sympathy for the other girl, but then again they had only just met. "I'm glad to have you here." She said and Harry smiled.
"It's good to be here. I missed you and Ron a lot."
"You seemed like you were having a lot of fun in your letters." Hermione commented and suddenly Harry understood. Living with two empaths had made him rather perceptive to others' emotions. His friend was jealous of the siblings and even Draco, though she didn't know about him yet.
"You're not jealous are you?" He said incredulously and inwardly smiled when her ears turned pink. Not waiting for an answer, he continued. "You know, it's not like I'm going to leave you two. I can have more than two friends, so don't worry; you're not being replaced." He gave a soft smile that was returned by Hermione. By then, they had reached the pool and were slipping through the gate.
"Thanks Harry." They padded over to some empty lounge chairs and toed off their shoes. Hermione immediately removed her top and shorts revealing her swimsuit before heading towards the edge of the water. Harry looked around for a moment and noticed that they were only about twelve other people and they had almost the whole side of the pool to themselves. Reaching under the hem of his shirt, he was just about to pull it off when the back of his hand came in contact with the Dark Mark that was still burned on his skin. He still hadn't told anyone, not even the siblings though sometimes he had the feeling they already knew, and Draco and him had reached a pack where they agreed not to speak of their injuries.
Harry quickly pulled her shirt down and sat limply on the lawn chair. Hermione noticed this and walked over to him. "Well, aren't you coming in?"
"I can't." From her look, she didn't believe him so he quickly thought of something. "I'm a little self-conscious about my torso since the incident." Her face softened and she went to sit next to him. It seemed that all the lessons with Draco in telling the truth by omitting some of it were paying off.
"I'm sorry. I can just tan if you want." Harry nodded and leaned back against the chair. He wished he had brought a book or something to do. Then a rather nasty thought snuck into his head. If he just reclined against the chair and closed his eyes while going into a meditation trance to activate his powers, it would seem to Hermione and the rest of the pool that he was just sun tanning. Doing just that, he let his mind go free and break down any mental barriers in his head. Randolph and Allie had been trying to teach him to control his powers and harness them to his greatest advantage but so far he could only pick up traces of people's thoughts that sounded muddled.
As of right now, his powers began to hum as they were reawakened and Harry let his body slip into a state of total awareness by thoughts only. He could hear Hermione's voice swimming around in his head and the young boy's who had just walked past him but nothing was clear yet. His mind brushed past the people of the pool and floated out, encompassing a large area of Hermione's neighborhood and leaving Harry feeling in tune with the world. All around the neighborhood was the faint buzz of people's thoughts except for one niche. Curious, Harry allowed his mind to focus on that one spot; it was a spot of emptiness and serenity. Having never felt such a space, Harry fine tuned his telepathy to search for any presence and was greeted with Allie's voice in his head.
//Harry? What are you doing in my head?//
// Sorry. // He thought sheepishly as he concentrated only on her voice and allowed the others to melt away. // I was just testing my telepathy and your head seemed like a big empty hole. //
Allie's presence was filled with amusement and it made Harry smile. // That better not be an insult. My minds only empty so I can find Andrea. //
//Have you found her? // Harry questioned.
He felt a mental head shake and took a moment to reflect on how odd it was that he could feel her gestures by her thoughts alone. // No, she's still missing. //
// Want some help? With our powers combined- //
// We are Captain Planet! // She boomed in a voice deeper than her own. She felt Harry's confusion and giggled slightly. // Sorry, it's a muggle cartoon. // Harry mentally rolled his eyes at her. // But, yeah, sure. I could use the help. //
// What do I do? //
// Just relax and concentrate only on finding Andrea. I'll merge with you. // She instructed and Harry obeyed allowing his mind to only focus on her twin. Vague images flew through his head and he felt his mind being taken over water, land and mountains. Opening his mind's eyes, he could see dark haired people with tanned skin walking around in a town but they were gaunt, almost black and white. Their shading only gave Harry a clue to what nationality they were, which was probably Spanish. It was then he noticed only one figure in color, Andrea. Allie's presence was once again in his mind and he could feel Andrea's emotions and felt waves of apprehension and fear tinged with determination and hope wash over him.
They watched patiently for a moment before Allie told him they could leave now. However, at that moment, another of the gray looking natives approached Andrea and wrapped a hand around her wrist before dragging her in an alley.
// Wait! // Allie cried and Harry let his mind drift to find her twin again. They found her pinned up to a wall with her feet dangling off the ground and a sturdy hand wrapped around her throat. She fought against him while trying to draw air back into her lungs, but it was at that time that Harry felt his concentration slipping and he knew he was being drawn back to his body. // No. We need to stay! // Allie cried adamantly when she felt them being pulled back over mountains and land and water until they were back in Hermione's house. Harry felt the connection break and he slipped back to his body. Almost like the whole world was once on pause, the noise grew and he registered people talking around him as he sat up in his chair and gasped for breath, feeling like he had been the one held against the wall and not his distant relative.