A/N: All right, I know I said I wasn't going to write as much so as to spend more time revising and studying, but I just had this great idea for this chapter, at quarter past ten p.m., and I just had to start writing, for fear I'd forget it or lose half of the idea. Mind you, I'll probably start this chapter today and finish it later. I, though you may think otherwise, do not write chapters in one day, only if I have nothing else to do and the chapter nearly writes itself. Usually my chapters are written in a few days, depends on how swiftly I come up with more ideas for it and how well I can fit them in. Anyway, I present you my brilliant idea:
Chapter 34: Lily and JamesHarry stood in what looked like a living room. It wasn't as furnished as most living rooms, most personal possessions were left out, but it was recognizable as one. He looked around. There was a small fireplace, in front of it a simple couch and two sitting chairs. To one side were an adequate bookcase and a potted plant and on the other side were a small round dining table with two chairs and a baby seat. A door to the right led to the small kitchen and the opening in front of him to the hall. Harry wondered what he was doing here. The place looked nowhere near familiar and the picture on the side table next to the couch showed a cooing baby he didn't recognize being held by a happy young couple he'd never seen before… or had he? Harry walked closer to the picture, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. The woman of the happy couple had fiery red hair and amazing green eyes… his eyes. The man looked almost exactly like him, except for the eyes, he had dark brown eyes.
"Mom? Dad?" whispered Harry as he walked even nearer. His parents laughed as little baby Harry struggled to free himself from his father's strong grip. Just then a woman, his mother, exited the kitchen and entered the living room. She looked at the picture, not knowing Harry was there, smiled at it and was about to sit down on the sofa when his father ran loudly down the stairs, a crying Harry in his arms, and rushed into the living room, his face horror-struck.
"What? James, what is it?" asked Lily, fearing the worst, while baby Harry was screaming his lungs out. The real Harry stood off to the side, not wanting to see this, ready to give anything just so he wouldn't have to see this.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off -" His father gave Harry to his mother and then stumbled from the room and into the hall. The real Harry saw the front door burst open and heard the high-pitched cackle of laughter from Voldemort. Harry wanted to run into the hall, to help his father, but he knew it wouldn't have made a difference, knew it would not have any effect at all, besides: his feet were rooted to the spot and the feeling of terror was making him very nauseous. Lily, still holding a screaming Harry, looked every which way, not knowing where to go, tears flowing from her beautiful eyes.
"Run, Lily!" shouted James, right before a bright green light filled the hall and hit him in the chest. Harry saw his father slump to the ground and watched in terror as Voldemort entered the living room, smiling a horrifying smile, his red eyes eyeing little baby Harry, who had suddenly stopped crying. Lily laid Harry carefully in a chair and stood in front of him, blocking Voldemort's way.
"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl," said Voldemort in his horribly cruel voice. Tears streamed down Lily's face, but she did not move aside.
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please, I'll do anything!" she told the malicious man in front of her. Voldemort just laughed.
"Stand aside, silly girl! Stand aside and I will spare your life," He told Lily, but she still did not move. Harry still stood off to the side, watching horror-struck. He had heard it many times before, whenever Dementors got too near, but never had he seen it, never had he actually witnessed what had happened, except when he had been one year old.
"Please not Harry! I'll do anything! Please! Take me instead!" pleaded Lily, but Voldemort dismissed her with another cackle of laughter. Then Harry heard something else, his mother's voice, though she had not opened her mouth. 'Please, let him take me instead of Harry. Please! Let him take me!' he heard and Harry realized they were her thoughts. 'Please save my dear Harry. Save him.'
"If you will not move, foolish mudblood, then I will have to get rid of you myself," said Voldemort and he raised his wand, ready to rob yet another body of its soul, ready to end yet another life. Harry tried hard to look away but he found that he couldn't and as Voldemort said those two fatal words his mother's last thought ran through his head. 'Death will not be so horrible; I-I'll see James again.' Then she slumped to the ground and Voldemort rounded on little baby Harry who had kept unnaturally silent all of a sudden. The real Harry was very silent, too, but tears were streaming freely down his face as he gazed at his one year old self.
"Well, my dear Harry. Now it is time to end your life as well," said Voldemort with his cruel voice. "Avada Kedavra!" there was, for the third time, a flash of bright green light but it rebounded off of Harry and instead it hit Voldemort who gave a horrible shriek and then slumped to the floor.
A/N: so far for my wonderfully brilliant idea.
Harry shot up in his bed screaming, crying and shaking, as he had never done before. He let out a loud holler before two pairs of arms enclosed him in two separate hugs. He stopped shouting but nothing could stem the flow of his tears that were pouring freely down his pale and clammy face, not for a while at least. He guessed by the familiar scent of meadows and rain that Hermione was on his left side and by the well-known scent of raspberries that Nora was on his right, both girls rocking him back and forth ever so slightly. He got flash of a memory that he never knew he had. A woman with auburn hair and brilliant green eyes was trying to shush her crying baby by barely rocking it back and forth, a lily shaped pendant dangling from her neck catching the baby's attention. Harry's tears began to increase again and he cried into whatever he could find, in this case Hermione's arm.
"Poor thing," mouthed Nora, on the verge of tears. Hermione nodded as she gently stroked Harry's head. Ron and Draco stood to the side, not knowing what to do. It was awful seeing their best friend, who always seemed so strong and keen to live, crying endlessly as if he had just witnessed a murder of someone he loved. Ron finally walked over, after Hermione had beckoned him to, and he sat on the bed with the two girls and the still crying Harry. Not sure of what to do Ron gave Harry a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Not only did he feel a little uncomfortable with the situation, but it scared him, too. Harry had always been strong, always been tough. Hadn't he been the one who wanted to stop Snape, who later turned out to be Quirrel, from stealing the Philosopher's Stone. Hadn't he been the one who was determined to enter the Chamber of Secrets and save Ginny. Hadn't he been the one who got through all three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament and survived the return of Voldemort, when he wasn't supposed to? Had he not been the one who had insisted on saving Sirius from Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic and in the process fought off all of those Death Eaters? Ron sighed a quiet sigh and gave Harry, who was now sobbing onto Hermione's shoulder, another reassuring pat.
"Come here," mouthed Nora to Draco who still stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. Reluctantly Draco walked over and seated himself on the bed next to Ron. Hermione and Nora were still hugging Harry and rocking him backwards and forwards ever so slightly as he cried freely into Hermione's shoulder. None of them had so much as a clue as to what had triggered this sudden and unstoppable flow of tears and that was what scared them the most. Sure, Sirius' death had caused Harry to shed a few tears lately, and a lot more when he had only recently died, but Harry was over it for the biggest part so it was impossible that the reason was Sirius. Certainly, nightmares of Voldemort caused Harry to scream every time he woke up from them, clutching his scar, but this time he had screamed a painful, an emotionally excruciating, heartbreaking, painful scream that he had never uttered before and he hadn't just clutched his scar, no, he had really clutched it as if it was killing him in the slowest, most painful way. By all means, Harry usually woke up from his nightmares trembling, but this time he had really been shaking; he had been quivering so furiously that it had looked so unreal. Oh, it had been awful when the four of them had run into Harry's room to see him sitting up in his bed, screaming, shaking ever so feverishly, tears streaming down his face, onto his spread. The horror of it. And they had stood still for five seconds, which had seemed like an eternity, before Hermione and Nora had run up to Harry and thrown their arms around him, terrified looks on their faces, and when they had started rocking him back and forth ever so faintly he had seemed to calm down somewhat, but the tears still came pouring out as freely as ever. The terror of it.
The four of them, Hermione, Nora, Ron and Draco, sat around Harry, waiting for him to calm down somewhat, but it did not look as if that would be happening soon. Hermione and Nora still held him in two separate hugs and were still rocking him back and forth, though they were now also whispering soothing words to him, murmuring calm soothing words as Harry shed still more tears.
Harry's mind had gone almost completely blank. He found it hard to think about anything else but the… thing he had witnessed. His father, trying to give his mother a head start, trying to hold Voldemort off by himself, being killed almost instantly. His mother, laying him, baby Harry, down as she stood in front of him, guarding him against Voldemort. His mother wishing Harry would live, thinking her last thought before she was killed. Knowing she would see James again. All of those things kept flashing through Harry's mind like a slideshow, only everything kept coming back again and again and again. He knew his friends were there, he knew Hermione and Nora were still holding him in comfortable hugs, whispering words he could hear but not understand. His mind was clouded with the death of his parents and the pain that was still coming from his scar. Oh, the pain. He knew Ron was the one that would pat his shoulder reassuringly every so often, but he didn't acknowledge it. He also knew that Draco was the one that sat as stiffly as ever next to Ron, but he didn't realize it. Everything just went by him.
An hour later Hermione and Nora were inspecting Harry with worried looks on their faces. He had slowly stopped crying and trembling but now he just sat silently, staring at nothing in particular, a void, blank expression on his face.
"Dumbledore?" whispered Hermione, on the verge of tears. Nora nodded, almost about to cry herself. Hermione cast an invisible stretcher and charmed Harry onto it. Then she directed the stretcher out of the room and into the Hall, Nora, Ron and Draco following.
"We'll lead the way," whispered Draco and he and Ron hurried out of the hall to stairs where they stopped. Where was Dumbledore's office again? They cursed the castle as Hermione stopped next to them, Harry floating in the air on the invisible stretcher beside her, staring at nothing.
"Which way?" she asked desperately. "And where did Nora go?" She peered into the hall and saw Nora hurrying through it. "What took you?" snapped Hermione when Nora finally arrived.
"Nothing. I was just checking the room for anything we could've taken with us," replied Nora as she took her hand out of her pocket. Hermione looked back at Ron and Draco, asking if they had found out how on earth they were going to get to Dumbledore. Nora felt her pocket to make sure the piece of parchment was still there. She had, when Hermione, Ron and Draco were hurrying out of the hall, seen a piece of parchment fly out of Draco's pocket and drift towards the floor. When she had neared it she had noticed that it was a picture, a picture of a very beautiful girl that smiled and waved to someone that stood beside the photographer. Underneath the picture had been neatly written in cursive writing: Nymphirah. The name sounded oddly familiar, but she guessed that was because of Tonks' first name, Nymphadora.
"I remember," said Draco.
"Remember what?" asked Hermione, hoping he knew where to go.
"How to find Dumbledore's office," replied Draco. Then he continued very loudly: "Sir Cadogan! We have another quest for you!" For the next few seconds nothing happened and Hermione and Nora looked at him as if he'd lost his marbles, but then they heard a clattering noise, growing louder and louder.
"That's right. We were supposed to call him if we had another mission," said Ron as Sir Cadogan arrived, looking a bit flushed.
"Couldn't… mount… pony… had… to… run," he panted as he leaned on a plump witch in her painting. The witch batted him away and then ran off into another painting for cover. Sir Cadogan ignored it and then asked eagerly: "So, what is this quest you have for me?"
"We need you to bring us to Dumbledore's office again. It's really urgent," replied Hermione. Sir Cadogan's smile faded a little, because it wasn't a new quest, but he began running into to the other paintings anyway, leading them. The four students followed him, Harry floating in front. All the while Nora could not help but wonder what Draco was doing with a picture of such a little girl when it hit her, how could she have been so stupid? It was Draco's little sister, the one he had the cared most for, the one he had loved more than life itself.
"It is not far now, my fair ladies and good gentlemen," Sir Cadogan told them as he hurried through another painting. Hermione was trying hard to keep Harry's stretcher straight while also struggling to keep up with her friends and the knight. "Ah, there it is. Looming in the everlasting shadows. The Unicorn of Hope and Life. I shall be off now. Remember, if you have another quest, shout my name and I shall come a-running!" Sir Cadogan exclaimed and then he ran away again, leaving the others behind, staring at him.
"Canary Creams," said Hermione, remembering why they were here. The Unicorn turned to life and walked to the side to let them through, pawing the ground nervously as if it knew something was wrong with Harry, who was still floating in the air, staring at the ceiling, the void, blank expression still in his eyes, his face pale and beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. Draco opened the door and hurried through the hall, opening the next door for his friends, who were nearly running, hoping Harry would be all right.
"Professor Dumbledore, sir!" exclaimed Ron when he entered the room. Though the room was filled with light, it was empty except for Fawkes who flew off his perch immediately and settled himself on Harry's chest. The magnificent bird could sense Harry was wounded, but as it was not physically, there was nothing he could do. Not even his tears could save Harry now. Hermione lowered the invisible stretcher on the ground and then let it disappear. She and Nora kneeled next to Harry and both embraced him in yet another hug, beginning to whisper words again, trying to pull him back to reality… but it did not help. Nothing did. Harry's eyes remained void and his face expressionless as he stared at nothing. Ron and Draco paced around as Fawkes flew circles above Harry singing a beautiful, hope giving song. Though this magnificent song strengthened Hermione, Nora, Ron and Draco, it did not seem to affect Harry at all.
Ron and Draco were still pacing around five minutes later, though it seemed like forever, while Hermione and Nora still tried everything in their power to help Harry when the door burst open with a loud crash and Dumbledore stormed into the room, his eyes searching.
"Sir Cadogan told me you were waiting here. He said it was urgent. What happened?" he demanded when he spotted Ron and Draco, who had finally stopped pacing.
"Nightmare," replied Draco immediately. "That's all we know." Dumbledore furrowed his brow and only then did he spot Harry sitting on the floor, staring ahead of himself and Nora and Hermione hugging him. Dumbledore was with Harry in two large quick strides. Nora and Hermione got up and stood aside with Ron and Draco as Dumbledore checked Harry.
"Strange… horrendous…" muttered the old man. None of the other four dared ask what was so strange and horrendous; they had never seen Dumbledore look so… lividly worried. Finally Dumbledore stood up, leaving Harry lying on the ground. "I have no doubt that this is the work of Voldemort," he told them.
"Is he d-d-dead?" asked Hermione while clinging on to Nora. Dumbledore shook his head and both Hermione and Nora let out a large sigh of breath they had no idea they'd been holding. "But it was a very close call." Hermione's grip on Nora's arm tightened again. "If it had not been for you two and your comfort, Harry would have slipped into eternal darkness, forced to relive and only think about whatever it was that has him so troubled. It was a very close call indeed."
"Will he be all right?" demanded Ron. Dumbledore nodded, his serious and livid face making room for a slight smile.
"Yes he will be, but now we have to get him to the infirmary." And with that Dumbledore levitated Harry back onto an invisible stretcher and directed him out of the room, into the splendid hall, out of the splendid hall and into the space where the Unicorn of Hope and Life guarded the door, the others following in dead silence. Dumbledore led them all through the castle and to the infirmary that contained five beds. Dumbledore directed Harry to the nearest one and laid him onto it. He then began rummaging around in one of the cabinets as Nora, Hermione, Ron and Draco stood beside Harry who lay with his void eyes open, staring at the ceiling, unblinkingly. Both Nora and Hermione took one of his hands in theirs, a few tears rolling down their pale cheeks. Dumbledore arrived with a smoking goblet. He stood beside Harry and poured the liquid into his mouth before closing it. Harry did nothing for a few seconds and they all watched in fear, then he swallowed it. The others let out sighs of relief and watched as Harry's eyes closed and his breathing became calm.
"I gave him a dreamless sleeping potion," explained Dumbledore before calling out to no one in particular. A few seconds later a house-elf appeared with a pop.
"May Snowglobe be of service?" asked the house-elf in its high-pitched voice.
"I was hoping you would watch Harry for us while we go train outside on the Quidditch Pitch," said Dumbledore, while indicating to Harry who was sleeping peacefully. Snowglobe nodded.
"Of course I is watching Harry Potter, sir."
"Thank you. And warn me the instant he shows signs of waking up," said Dumbledore. Snowglobe nodded and then took a seat in one of the chairs by the beds. "Come, we will start practice on the Quidditch Pitch. Escaping those Bludgers will take your minds off of things," he told the other four students with a slight smile. Then he turned around and walked into the corridor outside the infirmary to wait as the four said their goodbyes.
Ron clapped Harry softly on the shoulder, muttered: "Good luck, mate," and then turned around and headed for Dumbledore. Draco put a hand on Harry's arm, gave a forced smile and then walked after Ron. Both Nora and Hermione gave the hand they were holding a kiss. Nora said quietly: "Hope you get better soon," and then walked off after the other two while Hermione brushed the clammy hair away from Harry's forehead. She traced the now clearly visible scar with a finger. "Who would've known such a little scar can give you so much trouble… and nearly kill you," she muttered. "Get well quickly." And then she too walked into the corridor outside of the infirmary.
"Today's training will be the same as the day before yesterday: I will shoot Bludgers at you four and all you have to do is avoid them," explained Dumbledore as they crossed the clearing in front of the castle towards the Quidditch Pitch. The rest of the walk was spent in silence while rumbling could be heard overhead, occasionally a few raindrops would fall. They grabbed their brooms in silence too and walked onto the Quidditch Pitch as another few raindrops fell.
"On my whistle you will kick off of the ground and training will start," said Dumbledore, breaking the stillness. The others nodded and when Dumbledore's shrill whistle pierced the air the four of them kicked off from the ground. When they were high enough they turned around so they could at least see when a Bludger was near before avoiding it. Hermione had begun to shriek again whenever a Bludger would approach, still trying to get used to flying and having large balls being pelted at her. The normal Sloth Grip Rolls avoided the first Bludgers but soon the students had to go to the extreme to avoid being hit.
Draco was still hanging upside down on his broom, his legs clutching the wood tightly, when he had to avoid even more Bludgers before having time to sit back upright. So for a few minutes he was flying around upside down, which was very hard to do, before he had to get out of the way of a Bludger meant for Ron and was finally able to let some blood stream out of his head. Ron had gotten slightly nauseous from all of the loops, spins and twirls he was making to stay clear of the Bludgers. If he went on like that he'd have to stop and throw up, he was sure. Nora wasn't doing much better than Draco and Ron; she, too, was going to extremes as so not to get hit by the Bludgers. She had even taken up to swearing whenever she had to swerve out of a Bludger's way and felt that if Dumbledore didn't ease up on them soon, she'd burst and just stop training. Hermione, though still anxious on her Firebolt, was loosening up a lot faster than she had done last training, but she still felt that there had to be another way to practice this instead of in the air with Bludgers that could cause some serious damage. To make things worse, rain began to pour and within minutes they were completely soaked.
Draco was in the middle of hanging upside down again when Dumbledore's penetrating whistle rang through the air and he scrambled back upright on his broom. He and the others flew over to their Headmaster, feeling slightly queasy. Only then did they notice that Dumbledore was holding a green glowing piece of parchment.
"Snowglobe has just sent this saying Harry is waking up. I will go immediately to check up on him. It is now quarter past one, you four are free to do whatever you like," Dumbledore told them, then he flew straight to the ground, hopped off his broom and vanished. The other four made their way to the earth a bit calmer, all feeling immensely relieved Harry was waking up; they had feared he wouldn't. From then on they were filled with some joy again.
"Well, that certainly was a tiring training session," said Hermione as the four of them walked out into the clearing in front of the castle, rain falling down upon them.
"Definitely," groaned Ron. "What should we do now?"
"Well, we can't do anything outside; it's raining so heavily I feel like someone's continuously emptying a bucket full of water over my head," replied Draco.
"Oh, don't be such a killjoy. Rain is FUN. Come on, let's frolic!" exclaimed Nora. Draco looked at her with an expression that clearly said he did not frolic, but before he could stop her, she had grabbed his arm and started pirouetting around in the rain with him, her laughs echoing around them.
"I never knew you were such a rain person," Draco told her as she spun around, her now wet hair flying around her, launching droplets of water at her surroundings.
"Well, now you do," she replied, positively radiant with energy she seemed to be receiving from the rain. Just moments before she had complained that she was so exhausted she could just fall asleep right then and there. Draco seemed to be thinking along those same lines.
"I thought you were so exhausted moments before?" he asked, stopping still.
"Well, now I'm not. Come on! Dance with me!" exclaimed Nora as she grabbed his hands again and began twirling around. Hermione and Ron stood off to the side, wondering what on earth happened to their friend.
"Is this normal behavior?" Draco asked Hermione as he spun faster and faster with Nora. Hermione laughed, it, too, echoing all around them.
"Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't," she replied. "She's filled with mysteries even I haven't been able to uncover yet."
"Ah, well then I shouldn't be worried, should I?" Hermione shook her head, laughing again.
"No, you shouldn't." she replied, watching Nora frolic in the heavy downpour, dragging Draco along with her. Just then Ron pranced by her, deciding to have a bit of fun in the rain too. Hermione sighed and ran over to her other three friends, knowing she'd regret it if she didn't have some fun too. So now the four of them were playing in the pouring rain as if they were six, seven instead of sixteen, seventeen. Both Hermione and Nora were laughing happily and it seemed to bounce off of everything, allowing it to echo around them magically. Ron and Draco smiled at them, chuckling every so often.
Nora and Hermione suddenly ran off, their long wet hair flying behind them. The two girls stopped still and then began twirling around, their arms stretched out like wings, giggling as if they really were little girls instead of the women they were growing up to be. Ron and Draco walked over, watching with amusement.
"We always used to do this when we were little children," Hermione told them. "We'd sneak out of the house and twirl in the rain until our parents caught us." A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting the faces of the girls and they looked younger than they ever had in the past six months. Carefree fun always makes you younger… always. Another flash of lightning streaked across the thunderous sky and Ron and Draco were dragged back to reality.
"Come on. We'd better get inside before you two catch pneumonia or something," said Ron as he grabbed Hermione and pulled her towards the castle. Hermione gave another mirthful laugh that echoed straight back to them as she looked upwards, watching the raindrops fall. Draco took Nora's hand and began walking towards the castle. Nora, too, looked up and gave a jovial laugh that Draco hadn't heard in what seemed like eternity, which was actually only a week or so ago, when they had landed in the Entrance Hall of the Concave Castle.
"Party pooper," said Nora when she turned to look at Draco. He laughed at her childishness.
"So what if I am. It's for your own good. We don't want you to get sick, do we?"
"I suppose not," agreed Nora. "But you're still a spoilsport." Draco laughed again. "You haven't laughed like that since… ever," whispered Nora, though it was still loud enough to be heard, even over the constant rumblings of the thunderous sky.
"Neither have you," whispered Draco as he let go of her hand, feeling that she wouldn't run off to dance in the rain anymore.
"I have too. I've laughed like that when we just arrived here. Remember? On the cold floor," replied Nora.
"Oh, yes. The cold floor, how could I ever forget," said Draco sarcastically, but there was a little perverted smile on his face at the memory of it.
"Yes, and that is the exact same smile you gave me when you wouldn't get off of me," said Nora, pointing at him.
"Why, so it is."
"Why haven't you ever laughed like that before? It makes a real difference, you know," and she was back to whispering. Draco shrugged.
"My father. I was never allowed to laugh or play when my father was around when I was little, so I guess I got used to it and never laughed anymore, just the sleazy grins, smirks and sneers all Slytherins wore," he replied simply, shrugging again. "I don't think I've really laughed like this since I was about five. I never thought I ever would, either."
"Well, rain has healing powers," Nora told him as she looked up again and tried to catch a few raindrops on her tongue.
(A/N: Wow, the crap I can come up with. It's almost ridiculous.)
"And then, when Nymphirah was murdered, I almost knew I'd never smile again. No one in the world would've been able to get a real sincere smile from me ever again."
"… Except me."
"Except you, yes." Draco absentmindedly put his hand in his pocket and froze still.
"What?" asked Nora, seeing the horrified look on his face. Hermione and Ron were already entering the castle and they were just a few feet away, still standing motionless in the pouring rain.
"I've lost it," replied Draco.
"Oh, come on. You're as sane as I am… which might not be too much comfort," Nora added as an afterthought.
"No, I've lost my picture of her. I've lost it! Maybe it's in the Quidditch Pitch. Maybe it fell out of my pocket when I was dangling upside down," said Draco and he turned around and ran.
"Draco! Come back! You'll get sick!" Nora called after him, but he did not turn around. Then it struck her that she had the picture. That she had picked it up when it had fallen out of his pocket this morning. Nora began sprinting as fast as she could towards Draco, calling out all the while. "Draco! Stop! I have it! I have your picture of her! Of Nymphirah!" finally Draco stopped and turned around. When Nora caught up with him she took the picture of the beautiful girl out of her pocket and handed it to him while trying to catch her breath.
"How on earth did you get it?" asked Draco while carefully pocketing the piece of parchment.
"It fell out of your pocket this morning when you were running to show the way to Dumbledore's office, so I picked it up and was going to give it to you later, after Harry was dealt with, but I forgot to give it." A relieved look spread over Draco's face.
"Thanks," he replied, his soaking hair falling over his eyes. He brushed it away impatiently. "I don't know what I would've done if I'd have lost this, too."
"You're welcome. See, isn't this fun? Standing in the rain?" she asked and then began twirling again. Draco laughed at her childishness again before taking her hand and running towards the castle with her, saying:
"We really are going to get sick, you know."
"At least we had fun," came Nora's reply. Draco smiled. It was true. At least they had fun while getting sick, instead of wrapping themselves in warm clothes and then still falling ill, which always happened. They finally reached the castle and burst into the Entrance Hall where Hermione and Ron were waiting for them.
"What happened to you? I thought you guys were right behind us?" demanded Hermione.
"It's my fault," replied Nora. Draco looked away. He hoped she wouldn't mention Nymphirah's picture. Sure, he had told her about it, but that was about all he could take. Besides, he had known Nora a lot longer and a lot better than Hermione and Ron. "I broke away and began frolicking in the rain again," finished Nora with an impish grin. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Can we eat now?" whined Ron, as he tugged on Hermione's arm.
"Yes, we're all here now. We can go eat." Ron did a little jig and then ran into the Dining Room where food was already waiting for them. "Goody!" he shouted as he sat down and began piling food on his plate. The others joined him, though much calmer, and a late lunch began.
"Playing in the rain is fun," said Nora while gazing outside.
"Uh-huh. You know, I haven't danced in the rain since I began Hogwarts," said Hermione thoughtfully.
"I've never danced in the rain up until now," said Ron and Draco together,.
"It's not so much dancing as it is… playing," Nora told them, thinking it'd be stupid to dance in the rain. "I played in the rain at least a couple of times every year."
"Really? Even when you began Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.
"Yup."
"Even while you were AT Hogwarts?"
"Yup."
"What? How come I never saw you?" asked Hermione.
"Well, you were either surrounded by dozens of books and you didn't notice or you were studying and you didn't notice either," replied Nora.
"Wait, so whenever you were going to visit Hagrid on your own in the rain, you were actually just dancing around?" asked Ron. Nora grinned.
"No, playing. But yes. And I did visit Hagrid, too," she added.
"Or whenever you said you were going to take a walk in the castle when it rained, you were actually just prancing around in it?" questioned Hermione. Nora nodded again, her grin growing larger as she thought back to those times.
"Or whenever you said you wanted to make out in a rainstorm but then kept running away in it?" asked Draco, a smirk on his face. Nora blushed a little.
"Yes, but we always eventually did make out in the rain, after I was done playing around," she replied. Ron spit out his food, spraying it over the table, complaining about a 'mental image' and how it was burned onto his eyes.
"Oh, calm down, Ron," said Hermione, while Ron was savagely rubbing his eyes, groaning. It was then that Dumbledore entered.
"Harry has fully waken up now and has snapped out of his little 'daze.' He told me all about the nightmare Voldemort gave him and I would advise you to ask nothing more about it, as it is still a sensitive subject," he told the four eagerly listening students.
"What was the nightmare about, sir?" asked Hermione.
"His parents. He dreamed about how is parents were murdered by Voldemort, which caused him severe pain, physically and emotionally," Dumbledore told them.
"Can we visit him?" asked Ron. Dumbledore smiled.
"Yes you can. I will lead the way." and so the five of them walked through the Concave Castle heading for the small infirmary. When they entered they saw that Snowglobe was still sitting next to Harry, but Harry himself was sitting up in his bed. His face and eyes lit up when he saw his friends enter. Hermione, Nora and Ron rushed over to him immediately while Draco stayed a little behind.
"Oh, I was so worried! I thought you'd died!" exclaimed Hermione as she gave Harry a tight hug. Harry cracked a smile.
"I will die if you don't let me breathe soon, 'Mione," he replied, trying hard to get some air into his lungs. Hermione let go, blushing.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"That's all right," replied Harry, smiling. But before he could fully catch his breath again Nora had thrown herself onto him in a hug as tight as Hermione's, though she let go a bit earlier.
"Don't you dare scare us like that again, will you?" she exclaimed, pointing a threatening finger at him.
"Let it go," Ron muttered to Harry when he was about to reply. Harry closed his mouth. Ron clapped him on the shoulder.
"Glad you're back, mate," he said, beaming.
"I'll be leaving you alone now. I still have some business to attend to," Dumbledore told them before leaving the infirmary. The other four each grabbed a chair and Hermione and Nora sat on Harry's right side while Ron and Draco sat on Harry's left.
"So, what did you guys do today?" asked Harry.
"Well, we had another training session in the Quidditch Pitch," said Ron. At seeing Harry's disappointed face that he hadn't been there, he added: "But it wasn't that great. Just avoiding Bludgers again."
"Yes, it was very exhausting. And then when we were finished with training we were held up in the pouring rain because Nora wanted to go frolic around in it," Hermione told him, smiling.
"You still do that?" Harry asked Nora, who grinned and nodded. "I remember in the beginning of this year, you dragged me out into the rain and started gamboling around in it," he said thoughtfully. Just then Nora shouted:
"Balcony!" jumped out of her chair, opened the two doors that led to the balcony and ran outside. She looked up and let out a soft: "ooooh." The others laughed. It was a phenomenon how this girl could be a woman at one time and a few seconds later a little child.
"I'm on it," said Draco and he got up and walked out onto the rather large balcony that overlooked the clearing in front of the castle and the forest.
"Hi," said Nora happily. "Have you come to join me?" Draco smiled but shook his head.
"No, I haven't. I've come to take you inside. It's too dangerous for you to be dancing around in the rain now. Especially in your jeans and t-shirt," he told her but Nora grabbed his hands and began to spin around slowly and then faster and faster.
"Oh, come on, it's fun!" she exclaimed.
"You know, you'd think you were drugged or something," said Draco and his face became serious.
"I am not."
"How do you know?"
"I always act like this when I'm in the rain and really happy."
"Why are you really happy?"
"Harry's all right and it's raining!" she exclaimed while twirling around some more.
"Look, you're going to get ill if you don't come in soon."
"So?"
"If you don't come in on your own I'll bring you inside by myself." Nora smiled at him but continued to twirl around like a little child. "You asked for it." And with that Draco picked her up in one swift motion so that she was lying in his arms.
"Hmmm… How to get out of this one," said Nora thoughtfully, while looking around her, trying to think of ways to free herself.
"Oh no you don't," said Draco and he marched inside. Nora folded her arms and pouted.
Harry watched as Draco stepped out onto the balcony and Nora asked him something. He saw Draco shake his head, reply and point inside. Then he saw Nora grab his hands and include him in her twirling. He watched as they had a serious conversation while spinning around and saw that Draco broke free of it and said something else. He watched Nora look at Draco but continue twirling and then saw Draco pick her up in his arms.
"You see it now, don't you?" asked Hermione quietly as she leaned forward to Harry and Ron. Harry sighed.
"Yes, I do," he replied, frowning in slight frustration, but Ron looked confused.
"See what?" he asked.
"That they should be together," answered Hermione impatiently.
"Oh."
"Do you see it?" she asked, a bit threateningly.
"Yes," replied Ron as Draco marched inside, Nora pouting in his arms. He put her in her chair and then walked around Harry's bed to sit in his own.
"We should put a leash on her. You know, prevent her from running away into the rain all the time," Draco told the others. They laughed and looked at Nora, who was gazing longingly outside.
"You know, maybe we should," said Ron seriously. Nora glared at him, though playfully, and then took to staring outside again. Then… she sneezed.
"There you have it," said Draco. "You're ill." Nora shook her head but sneezed again. "Yes you are." Nora shook her head again, followed by yet another sneeze. "Deny it all you want but you're ill."
"At least we're going to have nice weather tomorrow," said Hermione happily. The others looked at her in confusion. "She sneezed three times in a row. That means we'll have nice weather tomorrow," she explained with an air of no-I-am-not-crazy.
"I don't want to be sick," pouted Nora.
"Well then you shouldn't have been so stupid as to run around in the rain," said Ron.
"'Mione, can't you make a potion or something that'll make me better?" Begged Nora. "Please? You're so smart, the smartest in our year, I know you can do it." A bit of flattery couldn't hurt.
"I could but I'm going to need a lot of ingredients and a helping hand from the others couldn't hurt either," she added, looking at Ron and Draco.
"I'll help. I've made a Pepperup Potion many times before. For my sister," said Draco.
"Good. First we'll get all the ingredients and prepare them. Then we'll start making the potion," said Hermione, smiling at the thought of brewing a complicated potion again. "And you! Stay away from the rain!" she added threateningly to Nora. Nora sat down in her chair beside Harry, folded her arms on his bed and laid the right side of her head on them so she was facing Harry. Hermione smiled and then ordered Ron and Draco to follow her and search for the ingredients she'd need. Harry raised a hand and stroked Nora's hair.
"I miss them. My parents. I never knew them, but I miss them so much," said Harry.
"I know you do," replied Nora, her eyes closed in weary exhaustion. "I know you do."
"Sometimes I wonder what life would've been like if they hadn't been murdered. If Voldemort hadn't existed." Harry closed his eyes wearily.
"It would certainly be a lot better than this," came Nora's reply.
"Do you still miss him?" asked Harry, knowing she had referred to Dean.
"Yes. But sometimes I completely forget it ever happened and then, when I realize it, I feel terrible."
"Yeah. Sometimes I forget Sirius died and then I feel awful for forgetting about him. Or I completely forget he ever lived at all." The two remained silent for a while, drowned in their own thoughts, when Nora sneezed again.
"He warned you, you know. That you'd get sick," said Harry.
"I know. It's bizarre. It feels like the rain is calling me to come out. I think I get all my energy from the rain. I mean, inside I feel completely exhausted from the previous training, but when I'm out in the rain I'm simply bursting with energy… My mood swings are getting out of control," said Nora.
"Yes, well you are strange," Harry told her, while still stroking her hair, about the only thing he could do. Nora smiled, though she kept her eyes closed.
"Tell me about it." Then she and Harry dozed off out of pure exhaustion.
"So now we cut up the mandrake roots while we let the flobberworm mucus boil in the cauldron," said Hermione happily as she began chopping up the Dragon liver. The three of them worked for a full two hours on the potion for Nora, while she and Harry slept.
"Wake up, Nora. Wake up," whispered Hermione as she gently shook her friend. Nora sat up straight and rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Finally," muttered Hermione.
"Ugh. My dose is all glogged up," said Nora as she grimaced. "I hade having a gold," she added.
"Well, you better cheer up; your potion is ready," Hermione told her. Nora's face lit up, though she shivered a bit.
"Really? Is id really ready?" she asked.
"Yup. Here. But Draco says it'll taste really foul," warned Hermione. Nora took the steaming goblet and poured the brownish liquid into her mouth. She pulled a face and swallowed the stuff with extreme difficulty.
"Eew, gross," she said while handing the empty goblet to Hermione. At first nothing happened, and Nora was about to pout, yet again, when a warm feeling spread through her body and her nose began to unclog.
"And?" asked Hermione, hoping they had gotten the potion right and not just simply poisoned their friend.
"It worked," said Nora happily. She looked outside and was glad to see that it had finally stopped raining and cleared up a bit; now she wouldn't be tempted to go outside again.
"Thank Merlin. But keep it down; Harry's still asleep," said Hermione. As if on cue, Harry gave a loud snore. Ron and Draco walked over, after having cleaned everything up, and Nora gave each of them a hug, glad she had gotten rid of her cold. Then she calmed down and sat next to Harry, not knowing what else to do. The others followed her example and sat down in their chairs, too, just watching Harry sleep ever so peacefully.
A/N: Longer than I had expected it to be. Yay. I guess I owe it to you; the previous chapters were a little on the short side. Hope you liked it. Now I'm going to get back to my revision and studying. One question: is it annoying when I put song lyrics in my chapters?