Ron, Lavender, Mandy and Goyle sat in the airplane in silence, the sounds of the ticket man still in their head. How long would this keep going? How many more innocent people would need to die? They didn't know. What they did know was that Harry was the only one who could put a stop to it.
Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick walked up to the four students, who looked up startled.
"The Ministry has taken the Death Eaters. Do you have any idea how they found you?" Dumbledore asked. The students shook their heads.
"They did follow us." Mandy said. "They followed us all through London and then when we were in a taxi Goyle yelled: "London airport, quick," when a Death Eater pulled open the door, maybe he heard." Dumbledore nodded.
"That might be an idea. But how did they know where you were staying?" The students shrugged.
"Albus… another group is calling us." McGonagall told Dumbledore. He nodded.
"We'll leave you now. Take care." With that they walked out of the airplane and Disapparated.
"Wonder who called them?" Ron asked half an hour later, when the plane was in the air.
"What's taking so long?" Parvati asked impatiently just as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick Apparated by her side.
"What's the problem?" Dumbledore asked immediately.
"Death Eaters," Harry said promptly.
"Surely not here?" asked McGonagall.
"No, back in London. They nearly got us when the portkey took us to away," Harry replied.
"Peculiar. You're the second group that has been pestered by Death Eaters today. Ron and his group had a close counter, too." Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "We'll need to find a different way of sending the tasks and cities, Minerva. Snape, see if you can find anything out."
"Yes, Albus," Snape replied, then he Disapparated.
"I wonder why the Death Eaters are being so clumsy. Showing themselves in public area's… surely Voldemort isn't so stupid. The Ministry would be able to catch them in a matter of seconds. He must be getting desperate," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. He turned back to the group. "We'll leave now, take care, and warn us if there is anything suspicious going on."
"Yes, sir," the four students replied. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick Disapparated too.
"Ron's group has been attacked, too? I hope they're ok," said Parvati anxiously.
"Don't worry, they are. Otherwise Dumbledore would have said something about it," Harry replied.
"Let's just go to the Hotel. I don't feel safe standing here in the middle of nowhere," said Crystal-Rose, looking around suspiciously.
"Actually we're staying in a tent here. But let's go find a place to set it up," Crabbe agreed. Harry and Parvati nodded. They took out the map and Harry and Crabbe led them to an open space by the beach.
"Right here?" asked Parvati. Harry nodded.
"Yup. Who has the tent?"
"Me," Crabbe answered. He got a small package out of his bag and put it on the ground. "Engorgio," he said and the little package expanded. In a few seconds their tent was standing in front of them.
"Kind of small, isn't it?" Crystal-Rose asked. Obviously she'd never been in a wizard tent.
"Don't worry about that," Crabbe said smiling. He crawled into the small tent and Crystal followed his example. After that Harry and Parvati entered. They walked into a cozy living room with a small fireplace and two comfy couches. On the right were a small kitchen and a dining table with four seats. On the opposite side we're three doors. The one in the middle led to a bathroom and the other two each led to a bedroom with two beds.
"Wow," Crystal-Rose said, looking around amazed.
"It's a bit small, but we'll manage," Parvati said, sitting down on one of the sofa's.
"A bit small? Are you kidding? Muggle tents are nothing compared to this!" Crystal exclaimed.
"All right, all right. Calm down."
Ron and his group landed near the beach a short while later. They walked around the airport in silence and wandered to the Hotel saying nothing to each other. Ron and Goyle were leading the way with a map they had received. Unlike Harry and his group they'd be staying in a hotel, a wizard hotel.
They entered their hotel rooms and silently sat down in front of a large fireplace. Even though there wasn't any air-conditioning, it was pleasantly cool in the Hotel.
"I hate this," Mandy said all of a sudden.
"What?" Goyle asked, staring at the fireplace.
"What Voldemort and his supporters are doing. Just killing any innocent people that get in the way." They all stared wide-eyed at Lavender who began singing:
"Ain't that just the way that life goes down, down, down, down. Movin' way too fast and much too slow. We're getting' up, getting' high, getting' down, getting' no, no, nowhere," she sang quietly. A tear trickled down Lavender's cheek and Ron put an arm around her.
"It's all right," he said. Lavender sniffed and shook her head. No one said anything. A tapping sound came from the window and Ron got up to let Hedwig in. She hooted at him and he took the piece of parchment that was tied around her leg.
"I'm just going to go read this in my room," he said. The others didn't say anything. He went into his room and closed the door.
Dear Ron,
I never told you, Nora or Hermione anything about my dreams and I've decided that I should. My dreams are being pestered a lot more by flashes of meetings that Voldemort has with his Death Eaters and one item keeps returning: The Amulet of Era's. I've heard the name a few times now and I'm quite sure this is what he was looking for the night Neville was attacked and when we were hiding out behind the tapestry, but I remember not having put it on the list or reading about it in one of the books from the library.
Voldemort wants this Amulet really badly and he thinks it's somewhere in Hogwarts, or that one of the students has it. Maybe that's why all those students were killed… I don't know. I've written a letter like this to Nora and Hermione, too.
HarryRon finished the letter. 'So Voldemort is after the Amulet of Era's?' he thought. 'And he thinks it's in Hogwarts?' this wasn't making sense at all. If something this important were hidden at Hogwarts surely Dumbledore would've known Voldemort would attack one of these days. Unless… 'Dumbledore doesn't know it's at Hogwarts.' Ron was still confused but left his bedroom so as not to make the others suspicious.
Nora, Padma, Justin and Draco landed on bare Australian ground with a 'thud'. They didn't bother to get up.
"How on earth were Death Eaters able to find us?" Padma exclaimed. "We could've been killed!"
"I know. Keep it down, or we'll make people suspicious," Justin whispered.
"What do you mean: We'll make people suspicious? There's no one around for about five miles! We're all alone in this god forsaken country!" she yelled. Justin decided to let it go. He got up and grabbed the tent out of his bag and enlarged it. The four quickly entered it; staying outside was just a bit too warm in Australia.
"Who's got the contacting device?" Draco asked.
"Why?" Questioned Padma.
"I'm telling Dumbledore," replied Draco.
"Telling Dumbledore what?" Asked Padma.
"About the Death Eaters," Draco said, disturbed. Nora took the device out of her bag and handed it to him, not saying anything. "Thanks." She just nodded. A few minutes later Dumbledore arrived, McGonagall by his side.
"What is it?" Dumbledore asked, looking weary.
"Death Eaters were after us. We barely escaped by portkey," Draco explained immediately.
"You, too?" McGonagall asked. "Albus, don't you think this is strange?"
"Certainly, Minerva," Dumbledore replied. He seemed lost in thought.
"Excuse me, Professor?"
"Yes, Mr. Finch-Fletchley." McGonagall asked.
"Which other group has seen Death Eaters?"
"Group 3a and 3b. I daresay they were nearly killed," McGonagall said quietly.
"Harry and Ron?" Nora asked. "Are they hurt?"
"No, thank goodness not. They're quite all right," replied McGonagall.
"Minerva, we're being called again," Dumbledore said. And with a quick "Take care." The two Disapparated. There was a weird noise coming from one of the windows. Draco got up, opened it and in flew a brown owl. Nora immediately took it to her bedroom and started to read Harry's letter:
Dear Nora,
I never told you, Hermione or Ron anything about my dreams and I've decided that I should. My dreams are being pestered a lot more by flashes of meetings that Voldemort has with his Death Eaters and one item keeps returning: The Amulet of Era's. I've heard the name a few times now and I'm quite sure this is what he was looking for the night Neville was attacked and when we were hiding out behind the tapestry, but I remember not having put it on the list or reading about it in one of the books from the library.
Voldemort wants this Amulet really badly and he thinks it's somewhere in Hogwarts, or that one of the students has it. Maybe that's why all those students were killed… I don't know. I've written a letter like this to Hermione and Ron, too.
HarryNora finished reading. So Voldemort was looking for the Amulet of Era's? She had never heard of it before, but if Voldemort was seeking it then it must've been very powerful. She entered the living room again and let the unfamiliar owl fly out the window with a small response.
Hermione sat on her bed in the Hotel in Florida reading a letter she had gotten from Harry, though Hedwig had not been the one who had delivered it.
Dear Hermione,
I never told you, Nora or Ron anything about my dreams and I've decided that I should. My dreams are being pestered a lot more by flashes of meetings that Voldemort has with his Death Eaters and one item keeps returning: The Amulet of Era's. I've heard the name a few times now and I'm quite sure this is what he was looking for the night Neville was attacked and when we were hiding out behind the tapestry, but I remember not having put it on the list or reading about it in one of the books from the library.
Voldemort wants this Amulet really badly and he thinks it's somewhere in Hogwarts, or that one of the students has it. Maybe that's why all those students were killed… I don't know. I've written a letter like this to Nora and Ron, too.
Harry
Hermione sighed as she folded the letter again. She had heard of The Amulet of Era's before. She had read it in one of the library books, but she couldn't remember which one it was or anything about the mysterious Amulet. Just then Siberia flew into her room. Hermione took the shrunken letter out of the bird's beak, enlarged it and began to read.
Dear Hermione,
Glad I could make you feel better. I always knew Terry would be good to you. Anyway now it's your turn to make me feel better because I'm really not very happy. This evening when we were walking back to the Hotel from a lovely dinner, Draco and I decided to take a walk in the park while Justin and Padma entered a café. We were quite tipsy; Draco had ordered wine during dinner, and we were having a pretty good time. We lay down to watch the stars and then we… kissed! Passionately. He made the first move but I did nothing to stop him. It was… pleasant, but I can't be thinking that way! It's all so confusing. Please help me. Please! I wish Dean were still here…
But I'm going to try to push the events aside for now because I want to get back to what you said about Voldemort. I also think Voldemort is seeking the Amulet again and according to me he thinks it's hidden somewhere in Hogwarts castle. I surely hope his plan to get more Death Eaters is failing because after what happened… when we were in our hideout… it was horrible…
I miss you too, write back soon because I really don't know what to do!Love,
NoraP.S. I just asked Draco and he said he'd see what he could do to make Pansy stop teasing you… we just kissed again. Oh my god, HELP!
Hermione was shocked. What was Nora doing kissing a Slytherin? Twice? It was getting too absurd. When she entered the living room she saw that Dumbledore and McGonagall were there too.
"So you say Death Eaters were standing there?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," Timothy said.
"Did they do anything, try to capture you?" McGonagall questioned.
"No, but I don't think they saw us." Terry told her.
"Dear, dear. Albus, this is the fourth group so far, and only the groups that had… you know… in it."
"Yes, I can see that, Minerva. This is very strange, very strange indeed."
"Who else saw Death Eaters?" Hannah asked curiously.
"Groups 2a, 3a and 3b."
"What?" Hermione shouted. Everyone looked at her. "Are Harry, Nora and Ron all right?"
"Yes, Ms. Granger, they are feeling fine. I'm afraid we must leave now. Take care and watch out or further more Death Eaters," Dumbledore said. He gave a small smile and then he and McGonagall Disapparated.
Every time when Harry, Hermione, Nora and Ron's group would leave for their next destination Death Eaters would be around. After the close escapes the four groups would tell Dumbledore what had happened and every time Dumbledore would say they were the only ones this happened to.
Somewhere around mid February Harry had written another letter to his friends:
Dear Ron, Hermione and Nora,
I have had another Voldemort dream. It contained some new information but I cannot figure out what it means: There's the usual talk about the Amulet of Era's but Voldemort told his Death Eaters that it is not in Hogwarts. 'One of the five has it.' Were his exact words. I haven't been able to figure out who or what 'the five' are because that was when I woke up with my scar hurting again.
HarryNone of them could figure out what Voldemort had meant and they were left in the dark until…
Dear Harry, Nora and Ron,
I've got it! I am currently in a wizard city and decided to look up information on the Amulet of Era's. It took a long time, about five hours, but I have it:
The Amulet of Era's is a powerful and mysterious gem that has the ability to change colors. Because this amazing Amulet has not been sighted for over one thousand years no one knows what it looks like, but it is said that the Amulet is connected with both Good and Evil. If Good is feeling very strong emotions or powerful the Amulet will give off a bright blue light. If Evil is at a particular powerful stage, however, the Amulet will shine a bright red light.
Rumors have gone around for years that the Amulet of Era's has the power to send people and items to the past or the future. Also told is that it can heal every human being and animal, destroy anything and it's touch can bring new hope and strength into anyone. It is said Merlin made this powerful Amulet and that nothing can destroy it.
Well? Interesting isn't it? No wonder Voldemort is after it, it would make him the most powerful wizard in the whole world again.
Love,
HermioneHermione's information definitely gave them a bigger idea of what it was Voldemort was after but it made them worry a lot more. If Voldemort got his hands on the Amulet then even Harry wouldn't be able to save them. Needless to say Harry was being squished by the pressure and was sleeping less and less. It wasn't until Parvati gave him a dreamless sleeping potion that he got a good rest. She kept on giving it to him, of course.
After about nine more accidental snogging sessions Nora and Draco had finally gotten together and they were thoroughly enjoying the trip with Padma and Justin, though Nora was constantly thinking about Voldemort and the Amulet.
Hermione was doing quite well, too. Pansy had stopped picking on her, thanks to whatever Draco had done. She was constantly with Terry and had good laughs with Timothy and Hannah who kept bickering about the littlest of things.
Harry and Ron spent a lot of time with Parvati and Lavender walking through the cities they were in. Sure, McGonagall had said that teams a and b weren't allowed to spend that much time together but, well, they didn't care.
Around the end of April and begin May Nora and Draco were walking through the streets of Sydney when all of a sudden they weren't there anymore and instead were lying on top of each other on a cold marble floor.
"Draco?" Nora asked.
"Yes?"
"Get off me." Draco gave a little perverted smile.
"No, I'm very comfortable with this position thank you." He wriggled his eyebrows. Nora rolled her eyes and laughed
"I'm sure you are. Get off." Draco looked straight into her eyes and once again could not resist the urge to kiss her. So he did. They were snogging fully when they heard two thumps and a yell.
"Nora? … WHAT THE -?" Nora and Draco both stopped kissing and turned to look at Harry who was furiously scrambling up.
"Oh crap," muttered Nora, her stomach vanishing completely. She had told Hermione about dating Draco, but she had kept it secret from Harry and Ron and them snogging on the floor of some unknown room sure looked suspicious.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" questioned Harry. Ron scrambled up and stood next to his best friend, glaring at the two on the floor. Draco quickly took his hand off of Nora's breast and Nora took her hand off Draco's firm and lovely ass. (A/N: drool, drool).
"Er… nothing." replied Nora, trying to sound casual.
"NOTHING? MALFOY, GET OFF OF HER!" Harry yelled. Ron just stood beside him, nodding furiously. Draco stood up and then helped up Nora. The two quickly brushed off their clothes. Harry and Ron kept glaring at them.
"So…" said Nora thinking hard of something to say. "What's up?" She asked. She mentally slapped herself for thinking of something so stupid.
"Nice one," muttered Draco.
"What's up?" Ron yelled, speaking up at last. "WHAT'S UP? WE COME HERE AND FIND YOU TWO, GRYFFINDOR AND SLYTHERIN, GOOD AND EVIL, EACH OTHER'S WORST ENEMY, SNOGGING! EXPLAIN!"
"Er… we're… uhm…" Nora couldn't think of any more dumb excuses so she decided to tell the truth. "The truth is… we're… going out," she muttered quickly.
"You're what?" Harry asked, looking confused. Nora cleared her throat.
"Dating," she muttered again but Harry and Ron were still looking confused, obviously they couldn't hear her.
"Speak clearly, will you?" demanded Ron agitated. Nora sighed, while Draco just stood silently beside her, having decided to let her clear this up with her friends herself.
"We're dating, all right? Dating," Nora told her two friends.
"You're… WHAT?" There was another explosion, nearly killing off everyone's hearing.
"Just let it go, Harry," Nora muttered. She had already gone through this when she had told them that she was forced to go to the Halloween Ball with Draco. This was definitely not worth her time.
"No! I won't let it go! You're dating Draco! You're betraying us!" Harry shouted promptly, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Fine, then. So what if I am betraying you," Nora said, crossing her arms. Harry and Ron goggled at her. Was she risking her friendship with them for a… Slytherin?
"You're actually going to go through with… him… if that means it'll end our friendship," stated Harry unbelievingly. Nora nodded her head resolutely, arms still crossed. Just then Hermione landed in between the two pairs standing across each other. She got up off the ground, looked at the angry faces and knew.
"Guess they found out, then," she told Nora, who looked at her, helplessly and sorrowfully; if Dean had never died… oh this would never have happened!
"Yeah," she replied softly. Harry decided then that it was another good time to yell.
"HERMIONE? YOU KNEW? YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?"
"I was asked not to, and I didn't want to either. Just look at how you react!" Hermione said angrily. Harry decided to glare at Nora again, instead of respond. Hermione walked over to Nora and gave her friend a hug when a door to the left opened and Dumbledore walked out.
"I see that you are all here. Come in," he said and he re-entered the room. The students followed him silently, glaring at each other. There were five chairs in a row, Dumbledore standing in front of them. "Sit," he told them, motioning to the chairs. Draco sat at the far right, Nora beside him, Hermione beside her, Ron reluctantly next to her and Harry at the far left. They stared at Dumbledore intently.
"I have found some information that is of interest. This is being told to you because you each have a part in the defeat of Voldemort." The students looked at him in shock, except Harry. "The thing Voldemort is after is the Amulet of Era's. He believes that it is located in Hogwarts. This Amulet holds immense strength and is connected to both Good and Evil. The problem is it hasn't been sighted for over one thousand years and no one knows what it looks like." The five students looked at him in boredom, except for Draco, to whom this information was new. "I assume that you four have already figured this out?" Dumbledore asked, the familiar twinkle dancing happily in his eye. Harry, Nora, Hermione and Ron nodded. "Do any of you NOT want to help in Voldemort's defeat?" Dumbledore asked. No one raised their hand, except…
"You do not want to help, Draco?" Dumbledore asked.
"I do, it's just… I don't want Nora to," Draco said quietly.
"You what now?" asked Nora in disbelief, looking at Draco. He turned his head to her.
"I don't want you to get killed. I think it's safer if you don't fight, neither should Hermione."
"What?" Hermione asked him, eyebrows raised.
"Draco," Nora said. She got up and turned around to look at him, not knowing why on earth he was doing this. "What if you get killed? Then I'll keep telling myself that if I'd been there I could have made a difference."
"Still, it'd be better if you and Hermione just stayed out of this."
"Draco, I can't. I've been fighting Voldemort since the first year with Harry, Hermione and Ron. Not fighting this year would make me feel useless. I need to fight. I need to… for… for Dean." She was beginning to well up and tried hard not to let any tears escape, her eyes stinging painfully with the effort it took.
"Me, Harry and Ron will fight for the lives of those students who were killed," Draco said. The others remained quiet, not daring to interfere.
"No, Draco," said Nora, shaking her head, not believing she was having this conversation with him. "You can't just make me stay away from that battle."
"But what if you get killed? Have you any idea how I'd feel?" Draco exclaimed, standing up too.
"Well, what if you get murdered? I've already lost someone I loved! When… when Dean died I felt like I'd never be happy again… I mourned for days, for weeks, for months. I had made up my mind to never fall in love again and yet you crept your way into my heart and I don't want to feel like my heart is being ripped out, ever again! I wouldn't be able to live like that and if you go into that battle and make me stay home then I'd feel pretty close anyway! You can't expect me to just sit around while you go and risk your life to defeat Voldemort! Either you decide we go into that battle together, with Harry, Hermione and Ron, or I'm out of your life forever," Nora yelled at him, straining hard to keep her tears inside, anger flowing through her veins. Draco hung his head, but looked up again only seconds later.
"I'm sorry. I want you to stay away from Voldemort," Draco told her, close to tears himself. As he said it he could see Nora's heart break. That look of sadness that had been in her eyes for months after Dean had died suddenly returned at full blast and it frightened him. Inside Nora had known that would be his reply, but still she felt devastated. Her heart was forced to endure so much strain again as a million emotions washed over her, but she still managed to say, in a calm, cold and distant voice:
"Then it's over." Not a second later a light blue light shot out of Hermione's necklace, giving the room an eerie blue glow. Harry, Nora, Hermione and Ron stared at the necklace around Hermione's neck.
"The Amulet of Era's," Harry, Ron and Hermione whispered.
A/N: Aw… sad chapter. Anyhow, perhaps you feel like reviewing?