Hermione and Terry kept snogging in the pool for a bit, while Hannah and Timothy were racing each other, seeing who could swim the fastest.
"Let's do something else, this isn't fun anymore," Hannah said after a while, folding her arms over her chest.
"Yes it is, I'm having a good time, actually," Timothy replied, turning to look at the Hufflepuff.
"That's because you keep winning. I want to do something else. Something you're NOT good at."
"Well, I suck at erm… well… nothing actually," he told her, looking very smug with himself in a way only Slytherins could.
"Great. I'm bored, but unfortunately Romeo and Juliet over there are glued together at the lips, so I can't do any girl stuff either," Hannah said sourly, glancing over at Hermione and Terry. She wasn't exactly mad at them but just so very bored.
"We could do the same thing?" Timothy said suggestively, wriggling his eyebrows. Hannah snorted.
"Yeah, with you," she replied sarcastically.
"I am utterly and deeply humiliated. And for that, I will not play with you anymore," Timothy said, pretending to be hurt. Hannah chuckled.
"Then what'll you do?" She asked.
"I'll go back up and watch television," he replied, getting out of the pool. Hannah's face lit up.
"Television? Can I come, please?" she asked, following him, looking extremely excited.
"I guess," he replied, shrugging.
"Thank you!" Hannah said, smiling. She turned to Hermione and Terry. "Erm… you guys?" she asked. No reply. "We're going back up now, I take it you two will stay here for a bit longer?" The two gave a little wave with their hand to show they had heard but didn't look up. "Great. Let's go then. So… how does a television work exactly?" She asked, walking off with Timothy.
Hermione loved the wonderful feeling she got when being around Terry and the two remained in each other's arms for a pretty long time before finally breaking apart and heading back upstairs.
They found Hannah and Timothy sitting on the couch watching television. Terry sat down beside them while Hermione grabbed some clean clothes and made her way to the shower. When she stepped under the hot water she felt very comfortable and rinsed herself thoroughly, trying to get rid of the pool smell. Twenty minutes later Hermione was all clean and dressed. As she walked into the living room she noticed that the television was turned off and her three friends were huddled over a piece of paper. She sat down beside them.
"What's that?" Hermione asked.
"An owl just delivered our next city and task," Hannah replied, not taking her eyes off of the parchment.
"Which are…?" Hermione inquired.
"Dijon and visit the French museum, there," Hannah replied sombrely; she didn't like museums, they were always so dull.
"Oh! But I already visited that museum two summers ago."
"Poor you," Hannah said before sighing. "I don't know who comes up with these tasks but they're definitely not quite right in their mind."
"Must be Dumbledore, then," Timothy muttered, inspecting the parchment for further details. Hannah slapped him on the arm. "Ouch!" he spluttered, rubbing his upper arm. "Well it could be! Every one says he's off his rocker!"
"So?" Hannah replied, sitting back in her seat, folding her arms and looking him straight in the eyes. Timothy shook his head a little and turned to talk to Terry, muttering something about "Women."
"So… do you really think we have to visit the museum?" Hannah questioned Hermione.
"Yes," replied Hermione, who didn't mind at all. Hannah groaned.
"Right, where's the map again?" Timothy questioned, throwing things aside, searching everywhere.
"Here it is," Hannah said, picking it up off the floor. "Will we be staying in a hotel or do we have to use the tent?" she asked.
"Hotel again," Timothy replied. "Who has the tent, by the way?"
"I do," Hermione replied. "Why?"
"No, just checking."
"How are we getting to Dijon?" Hermione asked.
"Airplane," Hannah replied, anxiously. "Is it scary? I've never flown one."
"No, no, no. You don't fly one, you fly in one. Pilots fly the airplane and you can just sit and relax," Hermione replied.
"Oh, all right, then," Hannah said, but she didn't look like she felt better.
"The plane leaves at ten o'clock by the way," Terry said to the others. Hermione and Timothy groaned. "What?"
"This means we'll have to be at the airport around nine o'clock…" Timothy began.
"Meaning we have to get up at about seven thirty," Hermione finished.
"What? Why?" Hannah asked. She'd never been much of a morning person.
"Well, I, for one, want to take a shower tomorrow morning, then we have to finish packing all of our things, eat breakfast and then take a cab to the airport," Timothy told her.
"But I thought we were flying in an airplane," Terry said confused. Hermione smiled.
"We are, but the airplane leaves from the airport," she explained.
"Aaaaaah. I see," he replied, though he still looked a little confused.
"You'll see tomorrow," Hermione said.
"I'm going to bed. It's already a quarter to eleven," Timothy announced, getting up. Hermione looked shocked.
"That late already?" she asked.
"Well…" Hannah began. "You two did spend a lot of time in the water." Hermione blushed and Terry yawned, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"I think I'll go and get some sleep too, especially if we have to get up so early," he told the two girls, giving Hermione a goodnight kiss.
"Well, then there's no point for us to stay awake either," Hermione told Hannah, who shook her head. The four entered their rooms, undressed and got into bed, dozing off almost at once.
The next morning was hazardous, as mornings usually are just before leaving. The four Hogwarts students were running around their hotel rooms looking for stuff they'd forgotten to pack. Timothy had been bothered in the middle of his 'relaxing' shower due to Hannah banging on the door saying she needed to get her things from the bathroom into her overloaded trunk. Timothy opened the door and let her in, wearing a towel around his waist with water dripping from his hair and body onto the floor while Hannah rummaged around, wondering where her hairbrush had run off to.
"How's the shower coming along?" Hermione teased as she passed Timothy and entered the bathroom too. Timothy groaned; now it'd take even longer before he could hop back into the shower. When Terry entered the bathroom too, however, he just gave up and cast a quick drying spell, changing in his bedroom.
At eight o'clock everyone had their trunks packed, which vanished from sight, arriving in their rooms in Dijon. The four headed downstairs for a good strong breakfast before they'd try and find a taxi that would take them to the airport.
"Who's got the Muggle money?" Hermione asked, worried that she was the one responsible for it.
"Me," Timothy replied, shoving some eggs and bacon into his mouth.
"Good." Hermione said, giving a sigh of relief.
"Yes, can you take us to the airport, please?" Hermione asked the cab driver. He nodded and she beckoned to her friends to sit down. It was a quite uneventful ride to the airport and when they got out of the taxi they quickly headed into the airport and ran all through it trying to get to the right place at the right time.
"No, no, no," Hermione said. "Gate two is over here to the right!"
"No it isn't, it's to the left," argued Timothy.
"Why don't we just mix the two and go straight ahead?" Terry asked. Hermione and Timothy shot him a nasty look before continuing their argument.
It was ten minutes later that they did arrive at the right gate, and just on time. The four handed their tickets and just as Timothy received his, he shot his head to the left, a nasty glint in his eye. The other three followed his gaze and, huddling in a corner, wearing the unmistakable grey robes, were two Death Eaters, whispering two each other. Before the students could do anything else they were shoved into the plane by a horde of French people, speaking rapidly with each other. The four Hogwarts students sat down in their seat, lost for words. Was it a coincidence that the Death Eaters had been here? Or had their letter with the next city and task been intercepted? Hermione reached for her neck and held on to the necklace that had come with her Halloween costume. The familiar touch of it calmed her down somewhat.
Nora was running through a long complicated maze, but wherever she went there was nothing indicating her nearing to the exit. From high above her she could hear a cold cruel laugh. She looked up and through the dark grey clouds and thunderous sky she could see the white face and red eyes of Voldemort, his features looking with pure glee. Nora sped up and turned corner after corner, running deeper into the maze, hearing Voldemort's high-pitched laugh above her all the time.
"Run, little mudblood, run. For it is all you have in your power to escape the darkness that hides in this fascinating maze," he said, laughing at her. A shot of panic ran through Nora and she started running even faster, concentrating hard on finding the exit.
"Oh no, my sweet little child, there is no exit, you are doomed to be torn apart by the beast of all darkness that is following your scent." Nora's heart sank. There would be no way to get out of here; she'd be doomed to die a painful death.
"That is right." Voldemort laughed again, watching her run through the maze. It began to rain very hard and within minutes she was soaked. Voldemort alone could see where the beast was and it was quite a distance away. "You seem to be going in the very opposite direction the beast goes." Voldemort said. 'Good.' Nora thought, but another thought entered her head. 'What if it's trick? What if he wants you to keep running that way?' She started panicking again and decided to turn right at the next chance she got. It took quite for a right turn to come up, but when it did she ran into as fast as she could. 'What if that was his plan?' A thought told her. Nora didn't know what to do, and as usual when cranky, tired, annoyed and desperate to live, accidents occurred and this time she slipped in the mud, falling flat on her face.
"Very good," Voldemort said laughing hardly. Nora quickly got up and started running again, though she saw no point. She knew no one would be able to save her and the beast would catch up sooner or later. She might as well stop running right now and let the animal come and devour her. Just then she heard a voice, different from Voldemort.
"Just tell her, then," it said. Nora didn't know where it came from and saw no one except Voldemort's large face floating above her, laughing ever so horribly.
"I-I can't. I really want to, but I can't," Another voice replied as Nora turned yet another corner in the endless maze of doom. She had no idea where the voices were coming from and a little ray of hope had grown inside her. If there were other voices, surely there was a way out after all? Or maybe they'd be able to help her? A fork of lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the maze for a split second.
"Why not?" Asked the first voice. Nora kept running, the cold hard rain splashing against her body. There was still no sign of anyone the voices could belong to and judging by Voldemort's happy laughter and shouts of joy her doom was nearing her every second. She sped up again just as the other voice started to speak again.
"Oh please. You know what I've done to her the last few years, to you too," it said full of grief. But Nora wasn't paying attention, she concentrated hard on her running, another slip up would be fatal since she could now hear loud growls as well. There was a sudden fork of lightning right beside her and out of shock she fell painfully on her back, her whole body splattered with mud and what looked like… 'Blood?' She thought looking at her arms and stomach. Her whole t-shirt was covered with a dark red bloodstain, so were her arms. A loud rumbling growl made her look up and she stared into the eyes of evil.
There, staring at her, stood a gigantic leopard and instantly Nora knew what it was. She had learned the whole book of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by heart and knew that the beast in front of her was a Nundu, the most dangerous animal in the world. The Nundu was a gigantic African leopard that moved silently, despite its size, and who's breath could cause disease virulent enough to eliminate entire villages. Fewer than a hundred skilled wizards working together had never yet subdued it. Nora knew her life was at an end; she would never be able to fight this beast with her bad wounds and no wand. The first voice spoke up again, as Nora and the Nundu stared in each other's eyes.
"Just tell Nora you love her, I know she'd at least consider what you said, Draco." Right after that the Nundu jumped, its mouth open wide and large pointy teeth glistening as rain fell as hard as ever. Nora let out a deafening scream as the Nundu's teeth sank painfully in her skin.
"Wake up, Nora. Wake up," a gentle voice said, as the person shook Nora lightly. Nora sat up gasping for breath, sweat covering her whole body. She looked around and saw Padma holding her shoulders and looking worried. Justin and Draco stood on the other side, looking just as scared as Padma. "I tried to wake you up as soon as possible," Padma said, letting go of Nora.
"We were dead worried," said Justin. Nora just turned to look at him, she couldn't speak. The nightmare had been so horrible and real that she didn't think she could ever be happy again and now Dean wasn't there to comfort her anymore and… and… 'Oh, DEAN!' Her mind screamed unhappily and devastated. Nora put her head in her hands and burst into tears. Everything was going wrong in her life. Everything.
"It's all right," Padma said. She sat down beside Nora and pulled her into a comforting embrace, rocking back and forth very slightly. Justin and Draco just stood there, not knowing what to do. After a while they left the room and sat on the sofa in silence.
Half an hour later Nora finally stopped crying and was quietly telling Padma about her nightmare, leaving out the voices she had heard.
"T-that's a-awful!" Exclaimed Padma when Nora had finished. Nora barely nodded her head.
"It was. I even felt t-the pain when it s-sank its jaws into m-me," she said, rubbing her throat, almost expecting to find teeth marks there.
"Horrible, just horrible," said Padma, shaking her head a little. "Do you want to sleep for a little bit more?" She asked.
"No," Nora replied quickly, she feared that if she'd go back to sleep again the nightmare would return.
"I understand. Want to join us in the living room, then? Maybe watch a little Tellievizion?" Padma asked, getting up from the bed. Nora nodded her head.
"When do we leave Canberra?" she asked.
"A portkey will take us to a northern city of Australia this afternoon at five to six sharp. We have to sleep in a tent there."
"All right then." Nora got up from her bed very slowly.
"Want to take a shower first?" Padma asked her. Nora nodded, giving a little smile. Padma knew exactly what she needed. "All right then, you go to the bathroom and I'll chose some clothes out for you. We're going to the beach today." Nora gave another nod and stalked off out of their room. She passed the boys in silence and they said nothing back, still shocked. Nora entered the bathroom and turned on the tap, filling the bathtub with hot water. She grabbed some bath foam and filled the whole bath with it. Padma entered a minute later carrying some clothes. She hung them on a rack and gave Nora a comforting hug before leaving the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Nora locked it, undressed and entered the warm bathtub.
She began to relax almost immediately and slowly the nightmare and Dean's death flooded into her mind and she burst out into tears again. She wished that she could go back to the ignorant girl she had been in her first, second and third year. Those were the years when no one had known Voldemort would keep trying to kill Harry Potter and any 'Mudbloods' every year. Those were the years when no one would have to die just because Voldemort wanted to rule the world again, when he hadn't killed anyone yet. Nora remembered that day in 4th year very well, when Harry had returned to the maze, clutching Cedric's dead body. The horror that had filled them all on that day, had returned to her the year after when Sirius had fallen into the mysterious veil. Harry's shouts were still vividly in her mind:
"Sirius!" He had yelled. "Sirius!" Harry had tried to run to the veil but Lupin had held him back.
"There's nothing you can do, Harry"
"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"
"It's too late, Harry"
"We can still reach him" Harry had struggled hard and vicious, but Lupin would not let go…
"There's nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… he's gone."
And now, half a year later, forty-seven more students had died, and Professor Spring, making it forty-eight. All these deaths were killing off every little bit of hope people had that good would win it over bad. She closed her eyes and rested for a while, hot tears streaming down her face. She heard a soft knock on the door and lifted her head up.
"Yes?" she asked.
"It's me, Padma. Justin and I are going for a walk, is that ok?" Padma asked.
"Yes, go ahead. Have fun," Nora replied, trying to sound normal.
"We'll be back within half an hour. Draco will be there if you need anything. Don't stay in the bath too long or you'll get all wrinkly. Bye!" Nora laughed softly. "I heard that," Padma added happily.
"I bet you did. Bye!" Nora closed her eyes again and a minute later she heard the main door close. Nora decided to follow Padma's advice and she got out of the tub not to too long after the couple had left. She changed into the white shirt and blue shorts Padma had laid out for her and put her hair quickly into a high ponytail. She found Draco sitting in the sofa glaring at the remote control and then pushing the buttons frantically, his tongue sticking out again. Inwardly Nora smiled, but she felt too devastated to show any emotions on the outside. Draco smelled her scent before he'd even noticed she was there and turned to look at her.
"Help!" he said, holding the remote control of the television out to her. Nora shook her head slightly, trying to smile, as she walked up to him and grabbed the remote control. She sat down beside him and taught him how to use it again. "Uh-huh. Thanks," Draco told her and turned the T.V. on. Nora sat quietly beside him, realizing slowly that the voices she had heard during her nightmare with the maze had been Justin's and Draco's and the conversation sprang to her mind. 'He loves me,' she thought. All the while she'd just thought he'd had a crush on her and that it would pass eventually, but if he loved her it'd take a much longer time to overcome. She knew she didn't feel the same thing for him. Just friendship. What she had been thinking the other night in his room was wrong. He was a close friend. Nora suddenly remembered Justin had told Draco to tell her how he felt. And she completely panicked when Draco turned his head to look at her and opened his mouth. She had to think of something, 'QUICKLY!' her mind shouted. She looked at Draco too and quickly said:
"I want something to drink, do you want something to drink? I'm getting something to drink." And she quickly got up and walked to the table in the corner where they kept a large bottle of water.
"Er… I'll have some water, too," Draco said hesitantly. Nora gave a quick nod and poured some water for him too. She brought the two cups back to the sofa and handed him his, drinking her water hastily. Apparently Draco had lost his courage because he didn't try to say anything else.
When Padma and Justin returned they immediately grabbed their things and headed for the beach, which was absolutely wonderful. The water was a light blue along with turquoise, the sand was a very light yellow colour and the sun was welcomingly warm. Nora and Padma lay down on their towels to sunbathe while Justin and Draco headed for the water.
"This is so comfortable," Padma said.
"I know, how come we never thought of it before?" Nora asked, but inside she continued to stay deeply troubled.
"I don't know, but shopping is nothing compared to this, and here the boys have something to do, too, instead of following us everywhere and whine and nag at our heads."
"Exactly." The two girls turned around and lay on their stomachs so that their backs could get a little colour too. Lying there in the sun was so comfortable that they slowly dozed off and were woken up a while later due to something cold on their backs.
"What's that?" Padma asked, lifting her head. Nora did the same thing, rubbing her face with two hands in tiredness.
"No, no, no, stay down. It's sun lotion, you'll get sunburned if you don't get some protection soon," Justin said, rubbing the sun lotion on Padma's back, which was already a bit red. Nora could only guess that Draco was smearing the white liquid on her. She laid her forehead back down on her folded arms, frowning as she tried hard not to cry, and Draco gave a soft sigh of relief, worried she would've objected. After both girls had carefully and fully been rubbed in with lotion they both got up and ran into the cool water, to cool off. Justin and Draco stood watching.
"Well, that was useful," Justin said, folding his arms.
"Yes. Now we'll have to smear them in again when they come back out," Draco replied.
"Not that I mind, but they could've waited a while," said Justin, grinning sheepishly.
"Right." Draco sighed.
"Aw, come on buddy," Justin said, slapping Draco on the back. "I know she'll get there someday." Padma turned around and beckoned the two boys to come join them. They dropped the sun lotion tubes and ran into the water to join the girls in a water fight.
"That certainly was fun," Padma said as the four walked out of the hotel with the stuff they needed.
"Too bad we didn't think of it before, though," Justin replied. They made their way through a couple of busy streets and finally reached a dark alley where a rotten stick lay.
"That's our portkey," Draco said, pointing at it. The four grabbed the stick and Justin looked at his watch. "Barely on time, just three more minutes." They gripped the stick tighter. Draco looked out of the alley to the street where a car drove past. He froze. The others followed his gaze. Standing in the opening were three Death Eaters, whispering. One of them looked at the four and nudged his colleagues.
"Over there," he said gruffly. The other two Death Eaters looked over at the four, too, and immediately started walking to them in a fast pace. They were only a couple of feet away when the four felt the familiar tug at their bellybutton.
"Aw, too bad," Draco said and they vanished from sight.
(A/N: Writers block just kicked in.)
Ron and Lavender made their way back to the hotel where they'd meet Mandy and Goyle. The two walked the streets holding hands and chatting happily.
"We thought you'd forgotten," Mandy said, when Ron and Lavender finally arrived.
"No, we were just… held up for a while," Ron replied, his ears turning red.
"I see," Mandy said, smiling at Lavender who was blushing a little bit, too. "Goyle?" She asked, for Goyle was staring at something down the street with intense concentration.
"We'd better go," he said.
"What? Why?" Lavender replied, she looked at where Goyle was staring, a far distance away three people were standing together.
"Let's go," Goyle repeated and he quickly walked into the opposite direction. The others followed reluctantly.
"Goyle, why are we in such a hurry?" Ron asked, trying to keep up with his large strides.
"Nothing, just hurry." He looked around his back and began walking even faster. "What can take us to the airport?" He asked Lavender and Mandy.
"A Taxi," Mandy replied confused. She looked around for one, but couldn't find it.
"Ok," Goyle said, looking back once more. The other three did the same thing and gasped. The three people from the other side of the street were not too far behind them and were dressed in grey cloaks.
"Death Eaters?" Lavender said, unbelievingly. "Death Eaters? I thought we were safe from them!"
"Nope," Goyle replied. He broke into a run and the others quickly followed his example. The four students ran as fast as they could from the Death Eaters and turned every corner they could, trying to shake Voldemort's supporters off their track.
"Where is a taxi when you need one!" Lavender shouted.
"There's one," Mandy replied, pointing a far bit ahead. The four started running faster, the Death Eaters still behind them.
"Wait up!" Ron yelled at the taxi, hoping it wouldn't leave at the last minute.
"It can't hear you, Ron," Lavender said, trying to gasp for breath. They had finally reached the taxi and the Death Eaters were right behind them. The four entered and Goyle quickly yelled:
"LONDON AIRPORT, QUICK!" The cab driver nodded and stepped on the gas pedal just as one of the Death Eaters tried to pull open the door next to Ron. Ron pulled at it in all his might, trying to close it again. Finally the Death Eater fell behind and Ron closed his door properly.
The four got out of the taxi at the London airport and Mandy paid the driver. They entered the main entrance and walked straight to gate nine, the sooner they got on the plane the better. Still tired out from their run around the city they gave their flight tickets to the man on duty and started to walk down the little passage that was connected to the plane.
"WAIT!" yelled a voice. The four turned around and saw the three Death Eaters standing in the large hall, Muggles looking at them with bemused expressions on their faces. The Death Eaters started moving forward and the four students quickly ran into the passage. They heard the man that took the tickets ask:
"Do you have a ticket?"
"What? No!" A Death Eater replied, confused.
"Then I can't let you enter. Please step aside. A stick? Are you threatening me?"
"Avada Kedavra!" The four students gasped as they heard the death bringing words and a 'thump'. Mandy took out the contact device from her bag and quickly summoned Dumbledore. He appeared a few seconds later with McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick.
"What is the problem?" He asked seriously.
"D-Death E-E-Eaters," Lavender replied, shakily. The four Hogwarts Professors immediately walked out of the passage and quickly began a small battle. Screams from Muggles could be heard. The four students slowly walked into the airplane, not wanting to be near. Ron and Goyle were too subdued and scared to look around in amazement. They just plopped down into the seat Lavender and Mandy showed them. So far the trip idea had failed. They were not safe from the Death Eaters.
When Harry and Parvati finally finished snogging it was quite a while later and Crystal-Rose and Crabbe had already gone back upstairs to change. Harry and Parvati did the same thing. They took turns showering and when they were all finished packing the four plopped down on the sofa and turned on the T.V.; their portkey wouldn't take them away for another hour, so they decided to relax a bit.
"This is such a cool movie," Crystal-Rose said. Parvati nodded. They were watching Die Hard with a Vengeance.
"Bruce Willis is so cool," Parvati said.
"I feel left out," Harry told her, pouting.
"Aw, you're cool too," Parvati replied. "It's just you wouldn't be able to all of that," she said, pointing to the television screen.
"No, but I can do some magic." Parvati smiled.
"We all can," she told Harry, and then turned back to watch the movie again. Harry watched her a little while, smiling, before turning back to the movie too.
So where do we go?" Crystal-Rose asked. Harry and Goyle looked at the map.
"Erm… I think that way," Harry said pointing to the right. They walked left, turned a couple of corners, back tracked a little and asked a few Muggles the way before they were finally where they were supposed to be: A small dirty alley with a few large trash containers.
"What's our portkey?" Crystal-Rose asked.
"Knickers," Crabbe replied in disgust.
"Gross," Parvati said. They searched around but couldn't find it.
"There it is," Harry told the others, pointing to dirty knickers on the floor. The four were all very reluctant to grab it, but as they had to leave London they eventually did. Goyle looked to the entrance of the alley.
"Quick, behind here," he said. The others just caught a glimpse of what had made him drag them behind one of the trash containers: four Death Eaters.
"What are they doing here?" Harry whispered to Crabbe, who shrugged.
"I don't know, they better not find us, or else we're as good as dead," he whispered back. The two girls clung to the dirty knickers out of fright. It was true; if the Death Eaters found them they'd surely be killed.
"Shhhh... I think they're coming closer," Harry whispered. He pressed a finger to his lips and they all stayed silent.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A voice asked cruelly. "Master will be pleased with this, now won't he?" Three more Death Eaters appeared by his sides, they were all sneering, though it couldn't be seen due to their mask. The four Death Eaters reached for the students all at once, just as they, the students, felt the tug at their bellybutton and vanished from sight.
A/N: I know, not as long as the previous chapters, but I'm running low on ideas. Hope you liked it though.