Chapter 17
Forgiveness and Joy
After Madame Pomfrey had given both Hermione and a very resistant Evi some Skelegro and some thick green liquid that smelt like Fairy Liquid, Hermione had fallen asleep. By the time they escaped from Lucius, it was morning and she hadn't slept in a whole 40 hours, so understandably she was shattered. She couldn't figure out how long Lucius had tortured Evi and herself down in the dungeons, since there were no windows and time just seemed to stop. However long it was, she was still absolutely tired out. Even muscle in her body screamed for rest. So she willingly obeyed.
However, she couldn't sleep for log, as she was awoken by Evi who had crept over to her bed and was sitting on the edge of the bed listening to Dumbledore telling someone off on the other side of the curtain.
"You could have got them killed!" he said raising his voice. "You went there with no back up, and risked the lives of all involved by your foolish behaviour." Hermione looked at Evi who was carefully listening to the very one-sided conversation.
"I'm sorry..." the other began.
"Sorry is not good enough. You risked the lives of four of your students."
"Five," the other corrected.
"Five?" Dumbledore said confused.
"Draco Malfoy was there too."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken Professor Snape. Draco was in his room all night. I checked on him as soon as I heard, and I assure you, he did not move from his dormitory." Evi and Hermione looked at each other confused. 'What?' Hermione mouthed to Evi. Evi simply raised a finger to her lips to keep Hermione quiet.
"But you still should have waited. I can't stress how dangerous the situation was. You could have added yourself to the death toll," Dumbledore said. Evi had heard enough and pulled open the curtain to reveal herself and Hermione listening to the conversation.
"And if he hadn't come, Hermione and I would be dead, and Hogwarts would have to close," Evi pointed out.
"Miss Dementia, I'm glad to see you are feeling much better," Dumbledore said changing his voice to a calming, gentle tone.
"Thank you, I am feeling better, but I've got one hell of a headache and you shouting doesn't help," she informed him.
"I will leave you to rest," he gently said. He then turned to Snape. "And I still want to discuss your actions further, in my office later," he said quietly to Snape.
As Dumbledore walked out of the hospital wing, he bumped into Harry and Ron on their way to see Hermione.
"Hello Professor," Ron chirpily said.
"Good morning Ron and Harry. How are you two?" Dumbledore said stopping to chat to them.
"Fine sir," Ron answered.
"It's been a bit of a wild night, sir," Harry told him.
"Lots of revelations!" Ron commented.
"I agree, I would not have suspected Lucius Malfoy of being capable of killing those students," Dumbledore admitted.
"Yeah, I was so sure it was Professor Grimalkin," Harry admitted, although not meaning to.
"Your instinct was correct Harry. Professor Grimalkin may not have been the master mind of the kidnappings, but she was up to something."
"I knew it! The position's jinxed!" Ron said triumphantly. Dumbledore chucked.
"It is not jinxed Mr Weasley. What Professor Grimalkin was going was writing for the Daily Prophet," Dumbledore told them.
"Where's the crime in that, sir?" Harry asked.
"It was what she was writing that was the crime. She was an undercover reporter doing an exposé on Hogwarts. And many of her articles, included comments about you Harry."
"Me?"
"Yes Harry. She is jealous of your fame and ability. So she wanted to make sure that outside world thought as ill of you as she did."
"Nice woman," Ron snorted.
"It's little before your time, but Goliard Grimalkin was a famous and distinguished witch and when you reappeared..."
"I stole her thunder," Harry finished.
"Yes."
"So that's why you banned the Daily Prophet," Ron said.
"Yes and no. It's true I did not want word of what she was writing to reach you Harry, but it is not all about you. The Daily Prophet had also been reporting on increasing number of deaths because of Voldermort and I did not want to frighten the younger students," he explained. Harry had to agree. If the students knew how many people died, they would never come out from under their bed covers.
"I believe Miss Granger is awake if you wish to speak to her for a couple of minutes," he said.
"Thank you Professor," Harry and Ron said and they made their way to the hospital wing.
As Harry and Ron approached the hospital wing they could hear a woman shouting at someone. The wandered in and found the woman shouting was Evi and she was shouting at Snape.
"You lied!" she screamed at him.
"I had to," he argued.
"No. You could have told me this, but you chose to keep it from me. God, even Lucius knew before I did."
"Well, if you hadn't told Crispin who you were, then he would never have found out," Snape retorted. "He knew about Lily and I. He was there at her initiation ceremony."
"That's not the point! You blatantly lied to me in the express purpose of keeping something from me. You knew how much I wanted to know about my mother, so you filled me with stories that are bullshit!" she screamed.
"You wanted to know, but I couldn't tell you, but still you pressed for information about her. So yes, I made her up," Snape admitted.
"I have never felt this betrayed in my whole life," Evi said. Snape didn't reply, but looked actually hurt by her words. Evi on the other hand clearly meant it.
"I don't know what to say to make it up to you?" Snape said.
"How about bye?" Evi said coldly. He didn't reply. Evi's face was stern and he knew she was in no mood to argue with him. So he turned on his heels and walked out of the hospital wing with a backward glance to his daughter, who refused to catch it.
"You were a bit hard on him weren't you?" Hermione said to Evi when he was out of sight.
"He lied to me Hermione. The one person in my life who is not supposed to lie to me did. So no, I wasn't too hard on him.
"You know, he was only trying to protect you," Hermione tried to reason with her.
"I can protect myself," Evi said angrily.
"Your current injuries state otherwise," Hermione pointed out.
"Look," Evi said standing up from her bed to face Hermione properly. "My father has been the only steady thing in my life and to find out that he lied to me, shakes my soul. Right now, I couldn't imagine myself forgiving him," Evi said with tears once again in her eyes.
"You know, this means we are half brother and sister," Evi said after a pause, a long pause. It took herself a while to compose herself.
"Scary!" Ron commented.
"Hey!" Evi protested.
"Sorry, but you have to admit it's still scary," Ron said defending himself. They all laughed.
"By the way Hermione, I was right," Ron said turning to Hermione who was wrapped in Harry's arms.
"About what?" Hermione said.
"Professor Grimalkin. She is evil!" Ron said proud he was right all along.
"She's an undercover reporter writing stuff about Hogwarts and me," Harry explained further.
"That's what she's been up to!" Evi exclaimed, getting back into her hospital bed opposite Hermione.
"Yep," Ron said. "That's why Dumbledore banned the paper."
"Speaking of secrets," Evi said. "What's this thing between you and Draco, Hermione?" Evi enquired.
"Oh, you'll soon see," she cryptically said.
Ron and Harry exchanged more confused looks, but Hermione refused to say anymore, despite demands from Evi and the lads. Ron went in a huff with her for not telling him, and realised that Cho may have been worried about him, so made his apologies to all (except Hermione who he made a point no apologising to) and left the three alone.
Evi drifted off to sleep, while Harry and Hermione sat in each other's arms. After half and hour, Madame Pomfrey threw Harry out literally! Although Hermione was glad as if he had asked her if she needed anything one more time, she would have thrown him out herself! Hermione finally had chance to close her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
The Great Hall was full of the hustle and bustle of the end of year feast. Everyone was excited about leaving and about a surprise that had been rumoured to happen at the feast. Hermione and Evi looked like they had been through the wars, or had a huge cat fight, a rumour that had spread around. Most, however, were gossiping about Evi and Snape. It was well known now that Evi was Snape's daughter, but what puzzled people was, why was she mad a him? She still had not talked to him, and ignored every one of his attempts to apologise, until he no longer bothered. No-one knew about Lily and Snape though, which Harry was grateful for. The last thing he wanted was 20 questions from everyone.
However, Draco was the most confusing. News of what Lucius had done had reached the school, but no-one knew what Draco had done. Instead, they all (all being the Slytherin House) seemed to pity Draco as Harry had put his father away. Harry even found Draco glaring at Harry and co with a look of complete hatred. However, they both knew the truth and this was the first time Draco allowed Harry to take the credit for something he had done. It completely bewildered Harry.
"I don't understand. I thought Malfoy would jump at the chance to admit he had one over me," Harry confessed.
"Yeah, he's acting like he wasn't there," Ron agreed.
"Oh, but he wasn't," Evi said appearing. "May I?" she asked indicating the empty seat beside Ron. Ron nodded and she sat herself down.
"What do you mean he wasn't? We saw him!" Harry said.
"Not according to Dumbledore," Evi said.
"Dumbledore told Snape that Draco was in his room all night," Hermione explained. "And Dumbledore will believe what he saw."
"But Malfoy knows better than that. Why hide it?" Harry asked.
"You see, there is something you should know about Draco Malfoy," Evi whispered. "He hated his father for what he did to Crispin and himself, but Slytherin House means everything to him. If people found out that he rescued you, Harry, and betrayed his father, he would be thrown out of Slytherin faster than they could curse you."
"Then we're supposed to do what?" Harry asked.
"Take the credit and don't speak of it to anyone," Evi advised.
"But that's so unfair," Hermione commented.
"True, but think of it this way. You'll be saving his life if you take the credit." They all glared at her in confusion. "He would not be able to handle being thrown out of Slytherin House on top of betraying his father," Evi explained.
"So what happened to Lucius?" Hermione enquired. She really wanted to know what punishment the Ministry had inflicted on him. After everything he had done to her friends, herself and his own family, she wanted to know that he would suffer.
"You haven't heard?" Evi said surprised. They all shook their heads. "I think you'll appreciate the poetic irony of this Hermione. Lucius Malfoy is now the manager of the Uxbridge branch of Focus Wickes DIY store," Evi informed them with the biggest grin on her face Harry had seen.
"What? You mean he isn't in Azkaban?" Ron exclaimed, not so thrilled at the news.
"Ron you have to understand why I find it so funny. Lucius 'muggle-hater' Malfoy has to live the rest of his life as the one thing he hates."
"But if he gets hold of a wand, he's back to his former self," Harry pointed out.
"There is a spell the ministry put on him to quash his magical ability. They usually do that when they snap someone's wand."
"But Hagrid can still use mag..." Harry started to argue, but realised he had dropped Hagrid in it. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.
"I know," Evi reassured them. "But Hagrid is harmless. Big but soft." Harry laughed. That was a good description of Hagrid: bit but soft.
"So he's still out there?" Harry said turning the conversation back to Lucius.
"Wandless and powerless," Evi said happily.
"So, how are you and your dad?" Hermione enquired.
"Can we not talk about that?" Evi said bluntly.
"Ok," Hermione said surrendering. "But he's coming over here," she added. Evi spun her head round and sure enough Snape was making his way over.
"I'll see you guys later," she excused herself and walked off.
Harry saw Snape stop as she got up and then sigh as she walked off from him. But it apparently wasn't Evi he wanted a word with. He turned to face Harry.
"Mr Potter, I believe I have something of yours," he said and unclasped the Celtic cross from round his neck and held it out towards Harry. Harry carefully took it and examined it.
"It belonged to your mother," Snape told him.
"This is the necklace Sirius was on about. She had it ever since she was in school," Harry said remembering what Sirius had told him on his birthday.
"I know. I was the one you gave her it," Snape replied. "Harry instantly looked up at Snape along with Hermione and Ron. Snape just shrugged his shoulders. "It is similar to the one you gave Miss Granger." Hermione rubbed her necklace and smiled. "Just before she died, Lily gave it back to me, saying I needed the protection more than she did," he explained.
"I just felt you should have it," Snape said turning to leave.
"Wait Severus," Harry said using his first name to make a point. This was not Hogwarts business: this was personal. Snape looked back.
"My mother gave it back to you because she wanted you to have it," Harry said. "So you should keep it." Harry held the necklace back towards Snape who seemed shocked at Harry's kindness. "I know you'll keep it safe," Harry added.
Snape gently took the necklace back and put it back safely round his neck. He slightly bowed to Harry, who did the same.
"Oh by the way, Mr Potter, there will be someone waiting for you at Hogsmeade station tomorrow," Snape added.
"Who?" Harry asked. But he did not receive a reply. Snape just gave a sly grin and returned to the faculty table.
"That was good of you Harry," Hermione praised Harry while holding his hand.
"Well, it meant more to him than me," Harry said giving her a quick kiss.
It seemed to Harry that everyone finished their evening meals faster than usual that night. The plates disappeared and then so did the tables and chairs to leave everyone standing in the spot they were sitting a moment ago.
Dumbledore raised his hand to speak. Harry glanced at Evi you indicated that it was time. He grabbed Hermione, Ron and Neville and made their way over to where Evi was standing.
"I have been asked by Professor Dementia to read the following out to you all this evening," Dumbledore told an intrigued student body. He put his glasses on and held a piece of parchment at arms length so he could read it. "For your viewing pleasure tonight, here is the musical delights of "Figure of Eight." And Dumbledore pointed towards the side of the Hall where a stage had magically appeared with the four standing waiting for their cue.
They were all wearing muggle clothing. Neville was wearing normal jeans and a red t-shirt, while Harry and Ron were wearing baggy jeans and skater tops with long sleeves. Hermione was wearing long jeans, a bright pink vest top, a stripped tie loosely round her neck, and gummy bangles of an assortment of colours up her arms.
Ron started his bass riff then Harry's guitar came in with Neville's drums. Harry started to sing.
Johnny use to work on the dock
He went on strike
He's down on his luck
It's tough, so tough
Students were up dancing, cheering and several of them singing along. The loudest of the letter had to be Evi, who was centre of the dance floor strutting her stuff. Harry noticed Snape watching her with a smile on his face. He was glad she was happy, even if she wasn't with him. Ron sang the next verse.
Gina works the diner all day
She brings home her pay
For love,
They all sang the chorus inviting the student body to join in, and join in they did. They were all screaming the words by the end of the song. Hermione joined in the chorus for the harmonies. Harry got several whistles during his guitar solo and by the end of the song everyone was fully impressed. There were cheers from all around. "Harry!" "Ron!" "Neville!" several girls were screaming, though Cho was not too pleased about all the attention her boyfriend was getting and how much he seemed to like it. Neville on the other hand, had never had that sort of attention and was quite pleased he was able to hide behind his drum kit. As they applause died, they all sprung back into action with the next song on their list: Dammit. It was one of Harry's favourite songs as it was so fun to play, although he was not that keen on rock music. Again, Hermione only joined in on the chorus while Ron and Harry sung the verses, but she spent most of the time dancing around the stage. They couldn't help that even though this was their muggle studies exam, it was so much fun!
After they finished the song, they only had the most difficult level song to play. They all had practised this one hard, and they always thought they played it well. They had already decided to play more songs than the three, especially upon finding more music in the room.
The next song was Sk8er Boy by Avril Lavigne. Neville started them off with one the most complicated drums sequences. He was difficult but he loved to play it! Hermione took centre stage on this on, and boy did she give a performance!
He was a boy, she was a girl.
Can I make it anymore obvious?
He was a punk, she did ballet.
What more can I say?
He wanted her, she'd never tell
The secret is she wanted him as well.
But all of her friends, stuck up their nose
And they had a problem with his baggy clothes.
She started to bounce around the stage upon starting the chorus, putting all her energy into this song.
He was a skater boy,
She said see you later boy,
He wasn't good enough for her.
She had a pretty face,
But her head was up in space.
She needed to come back down to Earth.
Five years from now, she sits at home,
Feeding the baby. She's all alone.
She turns on TV, and guess who she sees,
Skater boy rocking up MTV
Hermione points to Harry
She calls up her friends, they already know
And they've all got tickets to see his show.
She tags along and stands in the crowd
Looks up at the man that she turned down.
He was a skater boy,
She said see you later boy,
He wasn't good enough for her.
Now he's a superstar, slamming on his guitar,
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
He was a skater boy,
She said see you later boy,
He wasn't good enough for her.
Now he's a superstar, slamming on his guitar,
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
Harry took centre stage again for the small guitar solo while Hermione moved back to bounce around at the back of the stage and stand on Neville's drums, and then jump off when she needed to sing.
Sorry girl, but you missed out,
Well tough luck that boy's mine now,
Hermione put her arm around Harry as he played and as she sung.
We are more than just good friends,
And this is where the story ends.
Too bad that you couldn't see,
See the man that boy could be.
There is more than meets eye,
I see the soul that is inside.
He was a boy, I was a girl
Can I make it anymore obvious?
We are in love, or haven't you heard
Hermione looked lovingly at Harry.
How we rock each other's world.
I'm with the skater boy,
I said see you later boy,
I'll be back stage after the show.
I'll be at his studio singing that song he wrote,
About a girl he used to know.
I'm with the skater boy,
I said see you later boy,
I'll be back stage after the show.
I'll be at his studio singing that song he wrote,
About a girl he used to know.
Dumbledore rose from his seat applauding, assuming that was the end, along with the rest of the student body and Evi. But there was a further surprise in store. Suddenly the sound of a guitar playing filled the Great Hall, but it was not from Harry or Ron. Hermione got her wand out and shed some light on the mystery player. Standing to one side was Draco Malfoy with a guitar in his hands playing the beginning riff to 'Sweet Child 'O Mine'. Neville joined in with his drums and Harry supplied backing guitar to Draco's. Most of the Slytherins were standing in complete and utter shock. There was Draco Malfoy, their leader, playing a muggle instrument. He was out of robes too, opting to wear a black long sleeved t-shirt with a slogan on which said, "How's my playing? Call 0800-kiss-my-ass," and a pair of baggy jeans. But what surprised Harry and Ron was how well he was playing. He was ten times better than they were. Harry invited Draco up on stage with them as he started to sing. Draco joined in with harmonies, and surprised everyone at how well their voices complimented each other.
The song reached the long instrumental and guitar solo that Harry couldn't play, but boy could Draco. He was amazing, even playing with his eyes shut as if he knew it off by heart. It surprised most of the students and all of the teachers who were sitting in shock. Evi even couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had no idea he could play. She whistled at the end of the solo, which Draco smiled at. Hermione on the other hand, did not seem surprised by the scene unfolding in front of her. She had gone off stage to let the boys enjoy their moment. All the lads looked like they were enjoying themselves, even Draco who had this permanent smile fixed on his face.
The song finished and there was an uproar of applause from everyone, with the Slytherins trying to clap louder than everyone else. Hermione jumped back up on stage.
"So that's your secret?" Harry said turning to Hermione. She just smiled. Harry walked up to Draco, who was unsure what he was about to do.
"Not bad," Harry said. "Not bad at all," and he held out his hand. Draco smiled and took his hand and shook it. Hermione knew that Harry was also thanking him for what he had done for them.
"Fancy doing another?" Draco asked.
"Yeah," Harry said. Ron and Neville agreed.
"Do you know 'Basket Case'?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, Evi left the music in the practise room," Ron added.
"Actually I did. I left it in there when I found the room once," Draco admitted.
"And that's when Hermione found you," Harry said guessing, while Hermione cuddled into him.
"Something like that," Draco said. "Are we going to play or what?"
It was a very fun song to play, and all were jumping around on the stage. Draco and Harry's voices matched perfectly, so it sounded amazing. Draco took lead vocals this time though, and with both guitars, the song sounded better than it ever did in practise. Although some of the teachers disapproved of the lyrics in the song, they still seemed to enjoy themselves. So did the students who continued to dance and fully enjoy themselves. Once the song ended, the there was another uproar or a different kind.
"More! More!" the students screamed. They only intended on doing one more song. Draco turned to them.
"One more?" he suggested. "You know, "Rain Down on Me" by Kane? It's a good one to end on."
"Fine." Harry turned back to the microphone. "OK, you have been great, but this is the last song of the night, I hope you like it."
It certainly was a good song to end, with lots of fun guitar and drum beats for all. Hermione joined in singing as well, and they were surprised to find Hermione and Draco's matched considerably better than his and Harry's. Near the end of the song, magical rain started flowing down from the ceiling. It looked just like rain, but was not wet and just dissipated when it hit the floor. Harry wondered if Evi was the one doing it, but found it was Snape. He was still leaning against the wall watching the show from a distance. He was muttering a spell for the rain, and made sure that it did not appear as drizzle, but like the heavens had opened up and was pouring down. It was a brilliant night, and a perfect end.
Evi ran back up to the stage as the audience continued to applaud their entertainment. It took several minutes for the applause and the screams to die down enough before Evi could be heard.
"OK, what a brilliant night! And what a band! That's Figure of Eight!" she said and there was another long applause. "This was not just for entertainment however, this was their muggle studies exams, and I can now give them their results." She turned to face them. "You guys, you passed." They all jumped up and down congratulating each other. Draco on the other hand had snuck off stage and was making his way back to Crabbe and Goyle.
"Oi, Malfoy!" he heard Evi shout at him over the microphone. He slowly turned round.
"Milk, two sugars?" he quipped. Everyone in their muggle studies class laughed at the joke, though the rest had no idea.
"I haven't seen skill like that since... well you know. I think that a simple A grade would not suffice. Thus I will award you with the highest award in my power. An A with distinction." Draco smiled, he only did it for fun, not for a grade. "Even Hermione hasn't got one of those," Evi added. That made Draco laugh even harder. He went to join his groupies and leaned against the wall. He looked up at Hermione and smiled and slightly bowed his head. Hermione did the same, happy that her little blackmailing paid off.
Finally the school settled back down, and it was time for Dumbledore's end of year speech.
"Another year has gone, with considerable noise," he said indicating Evi who just laughed the comment off. "You would have learnt much in your time here, and hopefully skills that will one day help you in the future. But there is still one more duty I must perform: to award the House Cup." Everyone hushed. The points this year had been close indeed.
"The points stand as this: In fourth place, Hufflepuff with 296 points. In third place, Gryffindor with 325 points. In second place is Ravenclaw with 375 points. And with 412 points, Slytherin house wins the house cup," he announced. The Slytherin house all jumped for joy and screams of adulation filled the Hall. Draco walked over to Evi, seemingly confused. Harry was standing not far from Evi, so heard what he said.
"I thought we were on 312?" Draco said looking at her for the answer.
"Well, lets just say, Severus felt that there was a certain student who deserved a hundred extra points," Evi said looking at him. Because Draco refused to take credit for what he had done, Snape must have awarded him the points as a thank you. Draco returned to his group and they all celebrated.
"Yes, well done Slytherin and well done to Gryffindor for winning the Quidditch cup this year," Dumbledore congratulated them. The Gryffindors cheered.
"This year has been tainted by the sad deaths of our students, and I would like to take a moment's silence to think of them." For about 30 seconds there was silence, with quite a few glaring at Draco who tried his best to avoid their gaze and suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.
"I cannot let this year pass without a word about the current state of evil. Evil is all around us, everyday, and you must decide to which side you belong. Because of the tragic events of this year, the world is now aware of the danger it is in, and hopefully united against this evil. I give this warning and hope you heed this warning. Evil is not something to go looking for. You should be frightened if it seeks you out." It certainly wasn't the most cheerful of speeches Dumbledore had ever given, in fact it was rather morbid, but it was needed. The students had to be warned, after all, they had been the targets.
"Now, enjoy your journey home and I hope to see you all back here next year," and there was a huge round of applause. They all filed out of the Great Hall to spend their last night in Hogwarts for another year.