Author's Note- Oh my goodness! It's been days, weeks, months! Yes, yes, I know! But I have been terribly occupied by quite a few things (to see one go to But I'm back… hopefully! AH! I apologize for everything, even the weird way this chapter is written. I have a bad case of writer's block. But here it is. Enjoy!
Disclaimer- I own nothing, at all. Zilch. It all belongs to the Great Harry Potter People. I am not getting paid.
Erika – The Legacy of Lily and JamesChapter 36
Once outside the room we headed for the lift in silence. The lift was empty, save a few letters flying near the ceiling.
"Meg, are you okay?" Anya asked, finally breaking the heavy silence.
Meg nodded, solemn, and said not a word.
"Erika, what about you?" Anya asked, turning to look at me.
"Fine," I replied.
There was another long silence, which Meg broke with a whisper, "Anya, I want to go home."
She was so quiet I could barely hear her. I looked over at her, as did Anya. She was staring straight ahead, and from the expression on her face I knew her mind was racing. I had seen the same expression so many times.
Anya nodded, "All right. When we get back I'll quickly Floo back to Hogwarts and tell Dumbledore that you're upset and I want to stay with you. Then we can both go back tomorrow. How does that sound?"
Meg nodded, still staring straight ahead.
So it was done. When we reached my apartment we found it empty. Ron and Harry were both working. Anya made us promise she wouldn't leave, then Flooed of to Hogwarts.
On any other occasion I would have joked that Anya was treating us like little kids, making us promise to stay put. But the atmosphere was tense and solemn.
Meg went and sat down on the couch, and I joined her.
"Do you want something to eat?" I asked.
Meg shook her head, looking down at her hands, and whispered, "No, thanks, Erika."
When Anya came back a few minutes later we were in the same position.
"Come on, Meg, let's go home," Anya said, "Erika, will you be okay?"
I nodded, "Yeah. Someone should be home soon, or I can go over to Sarah's. Becky and Mrs. J are there."
"Okay," Anya replied, "Let's go."
Anya and Meg disappeared in the fireplace. I leaned back in the couch, and closed my eyes.
Same day
The Jones-Riddle apartment
Anya was sitting on the sofa in her living room, trying to rest after the morning she'd just had. Meg had gone straight to her room, and hadn't been seen since.
"Why do we have to go through all this?" Anya demanded of the empty room.
The furniture didn't reply. Afraid Meg had heard her quiet outburst, Anya looked up at the stairs. Meg was standing on the landing. She looked paler than usual, and her eyes were bright.
"Meg?" Anya asked.
Meg walked down the stairs, and stood before Anya, and looked as though she as struggling with herself, fighting and inward battle against herself.
Finally, she asked, "Anya? Do you think I'm evil?"
Shocked, Anya smiled, and shook her head.
"Of course not!"
Meg had tears in her eyes, and whispered, "Everyone else thinks I am. And I'm not sure… I've done… I… I've done horrible things, Anya."
Suddenly the girl began to cry, her sobs shaking her entire body. She collapsed onto the sofa beside Anya.
"I should be in Azkaban! Or worse! I… I should be dead! I don't deserve this, Anya! I'm an evil person! Everyone thinks so," Meg sobbed, "I've done such horrible things. So many people have died because of me! I don't deserve to live. Why do I get to live and they die? Why?"
Anya tried to speak calm, to hide the tears springing up in her eyes.
"Meg, some things are just meant to be. Maybe… maybe there are great things in your future and it isn't time for you to die yet. Maybe if you died our cause would lose all hope," Anya whispered, "Your information is very valuable to us."
Meg choked on her tears, and spat, "My information! That's all anyone cares about! My information! Because of it they can overlook my horrible side. Anya, I'm so afraid I might become evil, too, like Ralph and Ruth and the rest of them!"
"But you won't, Meg, I know you won't," Anya whispered, keeping her voice level, "Because you know the way you want to go. Your choices determine who you are, nothing else. You know the difference between right and wrong."
"My right and wrong are so meddled, Anya! What was once wrong is now right, what was once right is now wrong!" Meg protested.
Anya was silent for only a second before she replied, "But you know the real right, the real wrong. The difference between the two is the feeling it gives you. The feeling of elation when you do something right, and the guilt when you do something wrong. Those feelings are what determines the real right and wrong for you, Meg. And there's nothing wrong with your feelings."
The next day
As told by Erika Potter
Sarah, Mrs. J, Becky, and Jackie (Sarah's room-mate) arrived early the next morning. Harry and Ron were getting ready to go escort Anya and Meg back to Hogwarts.
"Are you nearly ready?" Mrs. J asked, "We have appointments."
I nodded, gulping down a cup of milk.
"Nearly," I said.
"Mom, stop bugging Erika. We'll make our appointments," Sarah said.
Sarah was right, we did.
It took us al day. When we finally arrived home we were exhausted and irritable. But we had completed our mission: five dresses were on order.
When we came back Harry and Ron were setting up Christmas decorations and in rather merry moods. I went to lay down on the couch and nearly crashed into a box of decorations.
"Careful," Harry warned.
"There's too many decorations," I moaned.
"There is no such thing as too many decorations," Ron commented, hanging up some tinsel.
I stared at them, cautiously, before I finally said, "What happened? You two were not this happy earlier."
Harry grabbed another bulb for the tree and said, "Dumbledore had some news. The Spanish sent some wizards to 'asess the situation' and it's 'potential risk' to them. This means the Spanish are opening their eyes and will begin to help."
I nodded, "Good news, then."
"Come on, help us decorate," Ron said, throwing a bag of tinsel at me.
I stood up and replied, "Fine, but I still say there are too many decorations."
Christmas Eve was a beautiful day. The lot of us went to the Weasley's for dinner. There was plenty of food as well as people. Ron brought Lizzie, and we brought Becky and Mrs. J.
There was a lot of snow on the ground and Becky and I took turns rolling down a hill behind the house. BY dinner the two of us were soaked and red in the face from both the cold and laughing.
Afterwards we went home. An owl was waiting by the window.
"Erika, it's for you," Harry said, tossing me a letter.
I knew who it was the moment I saw the handwriting. It was a letter from Jewel.
"Dear Erika. Merry Christmas! I sent a letter to everyone to wish them a happy Christmas, or noel en francias! How are you? I am trying to keep up with the news from London, but I'm afraid it's not going well. The newspapers mention nothing about London. I am well, we all have colds but other than that, all is well. The strangest realization came to me a few days ago. I was sitting with my friends the night before everyone went home for the holidays. We were talking about the future and our plans. Then I realized how rare this sort of conversation was at Hogwarts. Sure, we could talk about the next day, but years into the future? We couldn't because the next day one of us could be dead. It's so sad and so strange how little they know here, how different it is. I miss England, Erika, I really do. It may not sound like it, but it is true. I want to come back and help the cause. I haven't lost hope for England yet. I only wish there was something I could do. Well, I have gone far from my path of wishing you a happy Christmas, so I will stop now. Best wishes, Jewel."
"What'd she say?" Harry asked.
I shrugged, "She misses England and wishes she could help."
Sarah nodded, "Wish they would. Harry, don't forget we have to go look at crystal the 26th."
Becky sneezed and Mrs. J went off about how the two of us were going to be sick from rolling in the snow.
"We'll be fine, Mom, don't worry," Becky assured her.
Mrs. J wasn't convinced, so Sarah, Becky, and Mrs. J went home so Becky could rest.
"You'd be wise to do the same, Erika," Mrs. J said.
Becky and I exchanged glances.
They promised to come back first thing in the morning.
Harry, Ron, and I stayed up a few more minutes before going to bed.
"Morning!" Becky sung into my ear.
I snapped up, hitting her in the head in the process.
"Ouch!" she yelped, and stood up, holding her head where I'd hit her.
I rubbed my own head and said, "Sorry, Becky. I didn't mean to hit you, I really didn't."
She nodded, "I'm sure. Come on, everyone's waiting for you to get up. It's Christmas!"
She left, and I was amazed for a short moment how much my future sister-in-law could resemble a child on Christmas. But the moment passed and I went into the living room.
As she'd told me, everyone was waiting. There was a pile of gifts under the table, and Mrs. J was making breakfast. I could smell the bacon cooking.
"Erika is here," Ron said, "Let's get started."
Christmas was so fun, with everyone there. I loved it so much. Once we were done with gifts we sat and talked, played games, anything to pass the time. Sarah and Mrs. J made dinner, with Becky and I occasionally helping (neither of us was a very good cook).
That evening the news I had been dreading finally came. I looked over to the fireplace to see a head appear. A few years ago I might have screamed in surprise, but now I just turned away and called, "Harry!"
Harry, Sarah, and Ron came out of the hallway, while Becky and Mrs. J came from the kitchen.
"Hello, Professor Lupin. Happy Christmas," Harry said.
Lupin's face didn't change, it remained grim and set.
"We just got an owl from Dumbledore. We need you and the Weasleys to help us evacuate a family. They're supposed to be attacked tonight," Lupin said.
Harry nodded, "Sure. Where?"
Lupin gave directions, and disappeared. Sarah, Ron, and Harry started to grab their cloacks and wands.
"Ginny should be here soon," Harry told me, "We'll be back."
I nodded, and called as they walked into the hallway, "Take care!"
And they were gone. Becky and I settled ourselves on the couch, looking at the tree. Harry and Ron had put a bunch of fairy lights on it and it glowed beautifully.
"They had to do it on Christmas," Becky whispered.
"I don't think Voldemort and his croonies know Christmas, except that it's more of a tragedy if someone is killed on Christmas," I said, absent-mindedly.
Becky wouldn't look at me, she looked to the side of me, then said, "Sarah told me something really weird. She told me that Harry was the only one who could stop Voldemort… or whatever his name is."
I nodded, slowly.
"He is?" Becky asked, in disbelief.
Again, I nodded, then explained, "It's part of a prophecy, made just before he was born. Everything has been fufilled, except the last part. And that part means everything. It says that one of them has to die, and not just die, but be killed by the other. So Voldemort has to kill Harry, or Harry has to kill Voldemort. And that'll be the end, one side will win."
Becky was silent, then whispered, "Wow. That's a lot to deal with."
"It scares me sometimes. I don't want to lose Harry, he's all the family I have left. I don't want to be the last Potter, I will not be the last Potter. And Voldemort is so powerful… But Harry's has a lot of emotion, Voldemort only knows anger and hate. So it evens it out," I continued.
I looked up at the clock, and said, "Ginny should have been her by now. She's never this late."
"Do you think something's happened?" Becky asked.
I shrugged, "I don't know."
We found out a little while later. Sarah came back to the apartment, tired, and alone.
"What happened?" I asked, jumping off the sofa, "Where's Harry and Ron?"
Sarah sighed, and replied, "They're at St. Mungo's. Don't worry, they're fine. It's Ginny… she was hurt. She snuck out to help, and got hit with a few spells. Everyone's at St. Mungo's with her. Harry wants me to bring you over right away."
I nodded, and followed Sarah to the fireplace.
We Flooed to St. Mungo's, and then walked quickly through the near abandoned halls to the Fourth Floor, Spell Damage. The Order had a connection with one of the Healers in one of the Fourth Floor wards, which meant that whenever someone from the Order showed up, no questions were asked.
Outside of the door to the ward a group of witches and wizards were gathered. I couldn't see any of the Weasleys, but Harry was standing outside.
"Harry!" I called, and ran over to him.
The conversation stopped, and I asked, immediately, "Is she all right?"
Harry nodded, "She will be, soon enough. She can't see, though. She will be able to soon, but the spells have to wear off."
I sighed, and relaxed.
"Her family is in with her now," one of the others said, "They wanted you and Harry to go in when you got here."
"Thanks," I answered.
Harry opened the door to the ward and I followed him in. There was a group gathered by one of the beds, sadly not the only bed occupied by a member of the Order. I could hear them talking.
Mrs. Weasley was crying, weeping, and choking out words, "I'm so sorry, Ginny. This is all my fault. I… I tried to keep you my baby for too young. I keep forgetting you've grown up and you don't need to hold Mummy's hand any more. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt… And now… look at you. From now on, I won't treat you like a baby. Ginny, can you hear me? From now on, you can go, just like everyone else."
Author's Note- So, I decided not to kill her. Not yet, anyway. Never fear, plenty of your favorite characters will die… which is sad. I am not a sadistic, crazy person… most of the time. So I hope you enjoyed it. It took me long enough to write it! Come back soon! Buh-bye!
July 16th is THE DAY!