What can I say, apart from I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to leave it this long and I am very grateful to those who are still reading this story. Special thanks go out to my cousin and to Helena. Those two who pestered me until I updated were the ones who pushed me on. I hope you aren't too disappointed in me and I hope you continue to read this.
Thank you to all who reviewed and please do not give up on me. Ok.
I do not own Harry Potter. Writer's block hits me hard until unconsciousness. I know that has nothing to do with the disclaimer, but its true!
DARKNESS OR LIGHT. WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?
Chapter 29 - Exams and Disappearances
The wind blew gently through the trees, making the branches move ever so slightly. The breeze also made the water of the lake ripple.
It was by this lake that Ginny sat, her red folder open in her lap with her transfiguration textbook open at 'spoons into knives. The best option when you can't find one.' Her red hair was loose and it continuously floated into her face and each time she absently brushed it back.
A black inkblot was forming on her parchment from the suspended quill in her hand. Her mind was not on schoolwork, just like it hadn't been for the entire term so far. Ever since after New Year in fact. The reason, being Harry.
Why? Why had this happened? How? She had never been filled in properly.
Never been told all of the facts. She surmised it was probably when she had been told about Harry; she had gone on a rant and refused to listen to anyone. She had even lunged at Dumbledore in a blind rage. She had apologised profusely afterwards.
At first, she had blamed Malfoy. In her single-mindedness, she had seen him as the cause. Even though it was his father and Hermione, Malfoy had taken Harry away from her.
When her grief had calmed slightly, she began to notice how Malfoy's attitude had completely changed. Gone was the arrogance, the confident walk, and the flowing, expensive robes. He never smiled, hardly ever spoke and now hung out with Ron on a regular basis. He was no longer the Malfoy she had grown up hating and she realised that she didn't actually blame him for Harry's death. She could now only feel sympathy for the once proud boy.
"Hey Ginny," she heard her brother's voice call from across the lake, nearest to the castle. "Have you seen Hermione lately?"
"Last time I saw her, she said she was heading to the library to revise." was her reply.
"That was the first place I checked but she wasn't there. If you see her, tell her that she has my book. I can't study without it and you know how she hates it when I don't study."
"Okay."
Ginny ran her hand through her hair and watched as her brother re-entered the castle, then she closed her folder and sighed. There was no way she could focus at all. As it was, she was very grateful that she wasn't in her brothers year, preparing for the OWLs. Focusing on things like that during times like these was totally impossible. If it wasn't for Hermione, she was sure that her brother would fail all of his exams.
xxxx
Exams!
They had started and he was not ready. No way.
Ron stared down at his colour-coded timetable and grasped a bit of his hair with one of his hands and pulled. Draco then reached out and pulled his hand out of his hair.
"I'm sure you don't want to go bald before you turn sixteen," Draco's hand went back to his book and turned a page, not even looking up. "Then again, maybe Pansy will like that shredded look."
"Shut up," Ron growled. "Have you seen what exam is first?"
"Of course not. I mean, we've only had the listing for about a month so I would definitely not have looked at it." Draco did look up at Ron then, and rolled his eyes at the frustrated boy. "Look, worrying about it won't help you, so just think of it this way. Once your most hated subject is out of the way, they can only get easier right?"
"I suppose you can look at it that way," Ron conceded. "I just know that I'll fail this exam. Snape will definitely not pass me."
"For the last time Ron," Hermione sat down at the table opposite him and looked at him in exasperation, "Snape is not judging the exam. A group of proper examiners are. The teachers don't get involved."
"I bet he will be standing in the room though, watching us, putting us off."
"Ron," Hermione reached over and smacked him across the head in annoyance and Draco followed up with a slap across the shoulder, again without looking up from his book.
xxxx
It didn't happen. In fact, Snape was not present in either the written or practical part of the exam. Professor Binns was also not present during the History of Magic Exam. By the end of the first day, Ron had calmed down quite a lot and decided to spend the evening wrapped in the embrace of his girlfriend.
"How are you coping?" she asked as she was pulled onto his lap, both sprawled over the couch in the Gryffindor common room.
"Okay, I guess. I had a little difficulty with the potion but…"
"Not the exams," she interrupted. "With Harry." It was not a frequently discussed subject between the two of them, mainly because they spent most of their time with Draco, comforting him, and speaking about Harry in front of Draco was not the best thing to do.
"It still hurts," Ron confessed. "I mean he was my first real friend who didn't care how much money I had or who my family was. He was practically my brother and having to pretend that everything is okay to the entire school is so hard. Every time Seamus, Dean or Neville ask me if I've heard any news from him, it takes all that I have to respond to them without breaking down."
"I'm not sure that constantly lying to the entire school was the way to go," Pansy mused, wrapping an arm around Ron's neck. "I mean, for us, not talking about it isn't healthy. I've always been told not to bottle things away as it would hurt more later."
"I do agree Pansy, but chatting about it hurts just as much. Besides, people need their invincible hero. They need to believe that the boy who defeated 'You Know Who' is out there, giving them hope. Personally, I'm surprised that nothing has leaked out."
"Hmmm."
They both sat in silence for a few minutes, both comfortable in each other's presence.
"Oh yeah, did you receive any Easter eggs?" Pansy asked, changing the subject completely.
"Just one large one from my mother. She sent one to Draco as well and it surprised the heck out of him." Ron smiled at the memory. "How about you?"
"Oh, a couple. Scoffed the lot mind you and nearly made myself sick. If I hadn't though, someone else would have eaten them."
"Do you Slytherins always try to steal from each other?"
"Oh no, just some of them are pigs who see sweets lying around and instantly claim them as their own."
The portrait entrance opened and Seamus walked in, followed by Neville and Pavati.
"Hey Ron, Pansy," Seamus nodded, walking over to them and dropping onto one of the chairs. Pavati and Neville also said their hellos and then walked up the main staircase to the dorms.
At first it had been slightly uncomfortable for the Gryffindor's to accept three members of Slytherin house into their vicinity, but due to Pansy's relationship with Ron, Blaise's over friendly personality and Draco's personality change, the atmosphere had cleared and now it was a common occurrence to see them. Ron's dorm mates especially understood and had accepted them readily.
"Hi Seamus. How do you think you did today?"
"Terribly. Potions was hell, and I don't think I remembered a single date right in History.
"Same."
Draco came through the entrance at that moment with Hermione. Both reading through notes and Ginny was close behind with her folder clutched to her chest.
"That is not logical," Ron heard Hermione argue.
"Well, it's the best it's going to get," Draco sat down next to Ron and scowled at the frizzy haired girl. "and I don't want to discuss it any more. The whole subject is irritating."
"Do I want to know what you are arguing about?" Ron asked with a slight smile.
Draco looked at Ron, and then shook his head, looking irritated. "Never mind. Its not important really, although Granger seems to think it is."
"Its your exam Malfoy, of course its important."
"Yeah, shoulda, coulda, woulda," Draco grumbled, waving a hand in her direction, "and I told you that I wasn't going to discuss it anymore."
Hermione huffed and dropped onto a chair next to Seamus. "I was only trying to help."
"We know," Seamus reached over and patted her hand and Hermione pulled it away and glared.
"Don't patronise me Seamus."
"I wasn't."
"Of course you were."
"Anyway," Ron turned to Draco, ignoring the argument that had started on the opposite chairs, "how did the Potions exam go for you?"
"Really well. The potion was perfect and the written exam was easy."
"So says the teachers pet of Potions," grumbled Ron, leaning his head back on the chair. Pansy snuggled closer and Ron sighed in contentment. "I don't know how I did but there's not much I can do about it now."
"Well, there's not much you can do about stupidity."
Ron swung a leg, aiming a kick at Draco, but couldn't quite reach due to Pansy restricting his movements. "Yeah, whatever. I'm too tired to retaliate to that."
Conversation stilled and the three of them sat quietly, blocking out the heated tones of Seamus and Hermione as best as they could, until they got too loud and the whole common room stopped what they were doing to listen to them.
"Maybe if you actually studied, you might find the work easier to understand," Hermione had stood up and she was leaning over Seamus' still seated form. "You slack off more than Ron."
"Hey," came the huffy response from the other sofa.
"I've never been very good at book study, like you," Seamus folded his arms and looked away. "I try my best."
"Your problem is, you never use your eyes. You just fumble your way along, stumbling along the way."
"Well, you're just as bad," Seamus finally stood up and glared at her. "Things throw themselves right in your face but you never see them."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Oh man," Seamus flung his arms in the air, and then walked to the main staircase. "Hermione, you may be smart, but you can be dense and completely oblivious." He stomped up the staircase and they heard the door slam upstairs. Hermione turned to the three on the sofa, one that was reading and two that were smirking openly.
"What was he talking about?"
Ron, Pansy and Draco shrugged in usion.
xxxx
The Defence Against The Dark Arts exam took place a few days later. The written exam was in the morning and the practical in the afternoon, held in the Great Hall. They were called alphabetically, five students at a time and Ron and Blaise were two of the last to go and finished at nearly the same time.
That didn't seem so bad," Ron stretched his arms; them placed them behind his head as they walked out of the Great Hall. "I nearly forgot the Boggart banishing spell until I remembered seeing Snape in Neville's Gran's dress and hat."
"Yes, I bet 'riddikulus' was the right word on both counts," Blaise covered his smile with his hand." I would have loved to have seen that."
"It was cool."
"What did the Boggart turn into for you? I didn't see."
"A giant spider with long legs. How did you miss it? Most of the Great Hall screamed when they saw it. Even the examiner jumped"
"I was last so I was with the last group that came in. I missed practically everyone's."
They reached the staircases leading upwards to Gryffindor and downwards to Slytherin and Blaise headed down.
"I'll see you later Ron, I'm going to hit the books."
Ron nodded and started up the other stairs, then stopped and swore. "Shit, Hermione's book." He had left it in the Potions classroom during class earlier and Hermione had reminded him at dinner that she needed it.
He was just heading down the potions corridor when he heard Snape's voice coming from outside the Potions classroom. Peering around the corner, he spotted Snape and McGonagall engaged in what looked like a heated conversation.
"Have you actually read the paper recently?"
"No, but surely it can't be as bad as all that."
"Yes it can. Six children Severus. Six. All of them are Muggle born."
"But what does it have to do with us? If they are Muggles, then let the Muggle law enforcers worry about it."
"You're not listening are you?" McGonagall glared at him angrily. "As per usual." Ron smirked at that, but even though he thought that it would give him nightmares for weeks, he had to agree with Snape. "If you had," he heard his head of house continue, "you would know that each of these children are magically gifted and would have been receiving their Hogwarts letter during the summer."
The two teachers conversations faded as they stepped into the potions classroom and closed the door. Ron sighed and turned around, deciding to get the book later and made his way back down the corridor. He was totally curious about what he had just heard and was determined to get hold of a copy of the Daily Prophet to see exactly what they were talking about.
"Hermione," he called as soon as he entered the common room, "where are you?" He stared over at the chairs by the fireplace and spotted Hermione sitting there, rolling her eyes at him. "Oh!"
"Yes, oh. Did you get my book?"
"No, I…."
"Surprise surprise."
"Now look, it's kind of hard to ask for a book when the teacher you were going to ask is having a private conversation with your head of house." Ron threw himself onto the opposite sofa, disturbing Draco who was curled up under a blanket.
"Get off Ron. You're heavy." Draco's disgruntled voice came from the depths of the said blanket.
"Sorry mate. Didn't see you there." A snort was heard and Ron grinned.
"Well, what were Snape and McGonagall talking about?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"I'll tell you in a sec. Do you still have today's copy of the Daily Prophet?"
"Yes. I haven't actually had time to read it yet." Hermione reached down beside her and pulled her bag up from the floor. She took out a scroll and tossed it to Ron.
Ron grabbed the roll in mid flight, and then he shifted over slightly so he was no longer sitting on Draco and opened the parchment and began skimming through it.
"Ron?" Hermione began questioningly, until Ron, his eyes still glued to the parchment, held out his hand, palm pointing towards her, halting her question.
"Aha," Ron stopped on a section half way through the sheet. "Found it."
"Found what?" Draco sat up, pushing the blanket away from him. "What were you looking for?"
"Shh. Listen." Ron began to read.
Last night, another kidnapping of a child was discovered. As before, this was a child who, this summer was due to receive a letter to attend the infamous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Also, as before, this child is Muggle born. In the other five kidnappings, the child disappeared without a clue as to who did it, but with the last child, there was a witness. The young boy by the name of Jason Ellis was last seen talking to a teenager with long black hair. He was wearing a black cloak and had no shoes on his feet. The witness states, one moment they were standing by a wall, talking, and the next they were gone. The boys mother, Sarah Ellis is extremely worried and it was her close friend and Witch, Hazel Rosmath who informed us of what had happened."
The three students on the two sofas sat in silence for a few moments until Hermione broke it. "Six Muggle children. Six. What is going on?"
"The teenager they mentioned sounds familiar somehow," Draco mused. "I know I've seen someone like that before."
"If it's Muggle children, soon to become a Witch or Wizard, surely it's ' You Know Who' involved."
"If it is him Ron, then I know who the black cloaked teenager is." Draco sat up straight.
"Who?" Hermione asked, "and how do you know?"
"It's Vin. The one Harry mentioned whilst he was spewing prophecy. The name we all heard on New Years Eve. The person I saw in Harry's dream on Christmas Eve. Vin."
"The one who is stronger than 'He Who Must Not Be Named,'" Hermione recited. "Do you think so?"
"Yes."
"So, what do we do?"
No one could answer.
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Did I leave it at a bad point? I'm sorry, and I apologise again for the total lateness of this chapter. I have been so blocked. Anyway, I will update ASAP. As part 1 is practically finished, I can get on with part two soon. Yay.
Please read, review and don't have a go. I can only apologise
Rie
xx