A/N hides from menacing crowd sorry it took so long! My computer has died!! Gawd, it had to happen with a cliffy, didn't it?

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Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Aurora stopped. She looked down. Time seemed to stand still as she slowly descended to the hard, stone floor of the Slytherin common room amid the claps, coming to a halt a foot above the three prone bodies on the floor. She blinked and looked at Lucius hard.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

"Very impressive. You will be an asset, won't you?," the white-blonde man said lightly.

The expressive electric blue eyes that Aurora normally had were now a bottomless black, only with flashes of sapphire. There were no whites, nor pupils showing. Her hair had turned black, and she looked at her uncle without any expression whatsoever, although the gleam in her eyes was merciless. This was the man who had tortured her for weeks. Who was making her cousin's life a living hell. Who had murdered her parents.

The man cringed as he looked at her. "Now, now. Don't get yourself into a state, child," he said in a smooth voice, as if it were sincere. Aurora knew better than that.

He walked forward and held out a handkerchief to her; lowering it and stuffing it back into his silver cloak when she did not accept it. "Your parents did actually leave you in my care. I am your guardian, and it is time to come home." He spoke firmly, his piercing grey eyes never leaving her face. He awaited her reaction.

She blinked her onyx eyes. "Why?" she asked flatly, hovering in her spot. Her ebony hair was blowing about wildly, as if moved by an unseen wind.

Lucius paused. He grit his teeth, but spoke calmly. "You don't belong here. You have power, girl! Just look around you. That power is going to be utilised for the Dark Lord's purposes whether you want it to or not. Do make it easier on yourself, and come with me."

Aurora blinked again. She began to rise slowly, inch by inch. "Power…" she trailed off, as if tasting the word in her mouth.

Lucius nodded, his gaze calculating. He pulled a long stick out of the depths of his cloak. The stick was made of chrome and a bit longer than his usual wand. Aurora laughed shrilly. "What magic will force me to come with you?" she questioned.

Lucius smiled sadistically. "I will not need magic," he said evenly, eyeing the stick in his hand. "And this is not my wand."

Aurora eyed the stick suspiciously. "Something wicked this way comes," she whispered in a harsh voice, her hands cradling her skull. "He sings songs and cries out with joy, naughty boy, this Pied Piper of Hamelin. In the end he takes the children away."

Lucius sneered. He pressed an unseen button on the long, thin stick. Instantly, sparks came flying out of the top. The stick gave a sizzling sound, punctuated by zaps.

"Did you know," he asked pleasantly, ignoring her rant. "That water conducts electricity?" he lightly touched the tip of the rod to the hand of one of the bodies on the floor. It jerked madly, and started to smoke. "One muggle invention I actually like," he said to himself casually.

Sapphire eyes met grey and Lucius lunged forward, plunging the electric rod into her blue stomach.

The shock jarred Aurora. It was running all through her, taking control of her nervous system. The electric jolts were spreading from the tip of her tail to the ends of her hair. She screamed with all her might. In the background, mirrors smashed. The rod tip was buried deep inside her body.

The power of it took her over. Aurora couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't speak save screaming. She began to go into convulsions, her limbs went into spasms because of the pain. The water in her body conducted the shock, and made the pain even more.

With one last scream, there was another explosion of sparks. In a burst of smoke, sparks and energy, Aurora was gone.

In her place was Ice, her Animagiamo figure. The blue phoenix screeched and soared upwards towards the ceiling, until…there was just a gaping hole where the ceiling should have been. Aurora travelled through eighteen floors of Hogwarts, mercifully not going through any other dorms or offices – only a few classrooms and the Great Hall on one storey. Finally, she emerged far above the castle, where she circled the towers in a blaze of energy.

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Back at the party, Hermione jumped up and down excitedly. "I finished, I finished!" she bubbled over the music that was playing. Everyone looked at her oddly.

"Finished what, Mione?" Ron asked.

She grinned furtively and pulled a piece of wrinkled parchment out of her robes. "Oh, just the prophecy," she said smugly.

Ron laughed and gave her a huge hug, lifting her off her feet. "That's my girl!" he said proudly.

Even Draco looked impressed. "Huh," he contributed.

Hermione smiled and brought it out. "This may be complicated. You guys are in for a lecture," she warned.

"Eight will join, eight will love,

The Puzzle they shall right,

The Bird of Flame shall guide them

As they go and win the fight.

Now, there are eight of us: Me, Ron, Gin, Lindsey, Harry, Rose, Draco and Aurora. The Puzzle is You-Know-Who, so this is telling us how to kill him. The Bird of Flame is obviously a phoenix. Fawkes, maybe? Next stanza.

Sun marked of blanc Apollo

The fire inside him burns.

The Dawn and Moon will follow,

Two arcane loves take turns.

Well, this took me a long time, but I think the Sun person is Harry. Your star sign is Leo, Harry, and it's ruled by the sun, and is a fire sign in the zodiac. The marked part could be your scar. The Dawn and Moon is Aurora, as we established before."

Here she was interrupted by Draco's musings. "Huh. Two arcane loves? I wonder what that means." He shrugged. "No idea."

Harry gulped and coloured faintly, but he was out of Draco's sight. He stole a glance with Lindsey, who grinned and pointed at the back of Draco's head, whispering "Clueless!"

Harry looked relieved. Everyone else seemed to know what the prophecy was talking about. He was glad that Draco didn't know about him and his cousin. There would be hell to pay when he found out.

Hermione suppressed a giggle and cleared her throat.

"Mercury helps deliver the message,

Her role in this is true.

The last of six joins the eight

To start our lives anew.

I'm Mercury, and - "

She was cut off by Ron. "How'd you figure that out? I thought Mercury was a bloke."

The bushy-haired brunette smiled. "Yes, but it says 'her' in the next line. Anyway, the name 'Hermione' is the female form of Hermes. Hermes and Mercury are the same deity in Greek and Roman mythology. He is the messenger of the Gods. As you can see, I'm delivering the message by deciphering the Prophecy for the rest of you. The last of six who joins the eight is you, honey," she said to Ron.

He pulled a face in thought. "Oh. As in, uh, the last son out of six in my family?"

She smiled.

"Stealthy Superstition joins

Justice will prevail.

The love of last yet first of seven

Shall never rightly fail.

The superstition is Lindsey. The second two lines, well - "

She trailed off and gestured to one of the sofas dotted around the room.

Rose, Harry, Ron and Draco turned around to see Lindsey and Ginny making out, yet again. Four pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously.

Hermione continued.

Round and round the muse speaks sound,

Echoes through columns non standing.

Union with St George's triumph

Will help defeat Puzzle's forthcoming."

Annabelle Rose froze, her eyes wide. She gulped visibly. Across the room, Draco had done a double-take, and was now leering against a wall to mask his apprehension.

Hermione bit her lip. "Now, columns non standing must be horizontal. And they are rows, which must mean Rose. Right? St George's triumph is the dragon, as in St George and the dragon, a medieval legend. But union is-"

She was cut off by Rose, who interrupted loudly. "That must be referring to me opening his psyche," she said hastily, her eyes wide and innocent. "Nothing more, cuz it ain't gonna happen."

"You got that right," came the sarcastic remark from the corner. Harry glared in his direction.

Rose took a moment to marvel to herself how lucky it was that Harry was so oblivious to her and Draco, and how Draco was so oblivious to Aurora and Harry. If either one of the boys found out that his beloved sister/cousin was dating his arch nemesis, there would be hell to pay.

Hermione looked sceptical, but shrugged. "Okay. That'll do.

Sun, Dawn and Moon: their power is greatest.

Mercury and Last: their loyalty is truest.

Superstition and first: their love will be awoken.

Muse and triumph: the Puzzle is broken.

Well, that is obvious." Hermione smiled. Then her brow furrowed and she looked back down at her parchment. "Wait, I missed a bit. It was in the paragraph about Lindsey and Ginny. Something about justice…?" She looked in the direction of the two tens, and found that once again, they were busy kissing.

"Oi! Gin!" Ron yelled, outraged. "Do you mind not doing that when I'm here?"

Ginny pulled up to stick her tongue out at her older brother, before rearranging herself on the lounge more appropriately. "I'm fifteen, loser. You're not much better. Get a clue!" she implored.

Ron coloured. "Anyone is better than you guys. Anyway, we were talking about you two. The Prophecy, remember?"

Lindsey shrugged. "What were we talking about?" he asked, smiling disarmingly.

"Justice, concerning you," Hermione supplied. "So what's unjust in your life, Lindsey?"

Lindsey's smile faded slowly. His eyes, normally sparkling, were subdued. He folded his arms across his chest and scowled, exchanging a dark look with Harry. Harry too was looking quite threatening now.

"Sirius," Harry said, and Lindsey looked really forbidding.

"Yeah. Dad," he said, flopping angrily onto a couch. Ginny followed.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly. "It's just…talking about him has never made you this angry before. What happened?"

He glowered. "Harry filled me in on what's been happening concerning Dad for the last four years. Let me say I'm not impressed."

Ron shrugged in a corner. "Sorry mate. It must be so sad to have a parent die."

Hermione gave a small gasp and hit him lightly across the arm. "Ron!" she hissed.

But Lindsey was looking confused now. "Dead?" he asked, puzzled. "He's not dead. He can't be. Tell them, Harry."

Ron looked at Harry weirdly and was about to say something, but stopped himself just in time.

Rose looked at Harry sadly. "Harry," she said. "Do you want to-"

"NO!" Harry said loudly. "He's not dead. He's just…not here, is all."

Rose bit her lip. She took a step forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She sat down next tom Lindsey and placed Harry on her other side. "Harry. Lindsey. Listen to me. Dumbledore made me search for him for weeks afterwards. I even used the Sphere, and I couldn't find him. He's gone, and I…"

Rose suddenly fell quiet. She started rubbing her arms as if she were cold. Harry's brows furrowed.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked.

Rose took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "Oh…kind of…" she said, sounding unsure. "I don't know. I feel weird."

Harry frowned. "Maybe you should lie down," he said concerned, and put a hand on her shoulder. He jerked his hand back quickly as a tiny zap passed between them. He laughed. "Static," he said.

Rose smiled and nodded. Then she paused and took a moment to grab her crystal. She took another deep breath, and closed her eyes. Harry waited.

Rose's eyes sprang open, and she gasped. "Oh dear…" she muttered. Harry looked at her, baffled.

"Everyone – outside! QUICK!" she shouted. Ginny pulled a face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, but Rose just shook her head.

"NOW!" she roared, and everyone obeyed.

Without a word, all seven raced out of her bedroom and through the Meeting Room. Lindsey pushed aside the door and waited for everyone to go through before following himself.

All seven students thundered down the halls of Hogwarts. Most of the school was still asleep.

Harry paused suddenly when he thought he heard something. A booming sound like a canon going off. It was repeating again and again, coming upwards. They had reached the Great Hall when there was a massive blast heard.

They were all thrown off their feet backwards, and gazed in wonder as a whirl of blue and white and silver raced upwards through the floor and ceiling, emitting a shrill shriek all the while.

Draco was the first to recover. "Oh crap," he said, stunned. "Ice? That was…th-that was Aurora!"

Without a word, Draco and Harry both sprung up before the others and raced outside. They all gathered on the lawns and looked upwards into the sky.

Illuminated by moonlight, Ice was circling the towers of Hogwarts in a blaze of blue energy, screeching all the while. Draco was freaking out.

"What do I do? What is she doing? Is she okay? what…?" he trailed off, running his hands through his hair in anxiety.

Within seconds, the doors to the Entrance Hall flew open and a most welcome figure approached them.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

&*&*&

A/N hello readers!!! Guess what? I have had some major inspiration. My muse has revisited me, and I am full of new ideas!! sadly, as I write this, my internet connection has died. I will try to update this ASAP.

Meanwhile, thanks loads to everyone who reviewed, and Aleana, whose death threats have not gone unnoticed. O M G Perry read this!!! Luv ya Pez! ; )

Wink also thanks to everyone else. You guys are starting to review this story a lot more!! Please keep them coming. Oh and if you have time, please check out my Buffy/HP fic, Princess of Sin. It's my other baby, and it's more…deliciously evil. Quite dark, but very fun. Dedicated Buffy fans will adore…I think. Still coming.

REVIEW PLEASE : P 3