Chapter 18
A/N: Wow, I can't believe it has taken me so long to update. I finally reached a breakthrough. A type of path between the plans I have for this. My updates will be scarcer, but I will try hard to update as often as I can. Please be patient, and don't lose interest!!
Samara Potter- I'm so glad you're still reading. Thanks for reviewing!!
Jubily-Lollypops- Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!
kole17- Wow, we finally had a great conversation yesterday. Thanks for reviewing so much. Love ya, hunn!
Lilly- Wow, thanks for the enthusiasm. I appreciate it!!!
Creeky bush- Thanks!!!!
dragonzflame- Thanks, I love that song too!
Angelsparkle006- Thanks so much for reviewing so much!
Forever Felton- I can see you're a Felton fan. I love him, too. Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like this.
sunnysweetie- Thanks for reviewing. I read your story and I think I reviewed. If I didn't, I really liked it.
The next day at breakfast, Seamus tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"I got a message saying I'm supposed to report to Dumbledore's office straight after breakfast," he told him. Harry shrugged and shook his head.
"Sooo...?" he asked uncertainly.
"I was just wondering if you knew what it was about," he explained.
"Why would I know?" Harry asked.
"Well, you usually know what's going on before anyone else around here does," Seamus pointed out.
"No, I don't know what it's about," Harry said, a bit sharply.
Seamus left the Great Hall and Harry turned to Ron and Hermione.
"People act like it's a good thing I have to get special attention from Dumbledore. They can feel free to switch places with me. I'd love to see how they feel about being the one who has to fight Voldemort solo," he said angrily. Ron looked at him sympathetically.
"I wonder what it's about though," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Any personal invitations we've gotten were all for bad things," she pointed out.
"Well, if it's anything serious, we'll find out soon enough," Draco said.
"Hey, where's Lavender?" Hermione asked suddenly. "She was just here."
"Oh, she got a message just like Seamus," Parvati said.
The rest of the day went on as normal; well, almost normal. There seemed to be a bit of tension in the Gryffindor common room. Lavender and Seamus remained in the headmaster's office the whole afternoon.
After dinner that evening, Lavender came up to Harry, tears streaming down her face.
"Lavender, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"I can't believe you," Lavender spat. "Why didn't you do anything about it? Why didn't you stop it, or at least tell me about it? What, you just ignore things that don't affect you?" she cried loudly. Ron, Harry, and Hermione stared at her, their mouths and eyes open wide. Ron stepped towards her, but she backed away.
"I would think one of you would say something or do something to help someone else. I suppose you only do that for each other," she accused. Hermione shook her head, not understanding. Just then, Draco came over and put his arm around Hermione's waist.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," he said before noticing Lavender. "What's the matter?" he asked, concerned. Lavender's face contorted from hurt to anger and she scowled.
"You. It's all your fault. I should kill you right now for everything you've done!" she said, her voice rising. "I hate you! I hate you!" she cried, running away sobbing.
The four kids looked at each other. Draco actually looked hurt at Lavender's odd accusations, and Harry was thinking about what she had said.
"What did I do?" Draco asked them. Hermione shook her head.
"She's upset about something and she obviously thinks we know what it is," Harry said.
"I feel bad," Ron said quietly. "I actually wanted her to go to the ball with me but Padma asked and I just said yes. Now Lavender hates me."
"It's all a misunderstanding," Hermione said. "Everything will be okay once it's sorted out," she assured him.
"Come on, let's go for a walk," Draco suggested.
"Thanks, but we'll pass," Harry said, indicating he and Ron. "We need to find out what happened today."
"Ok. Hermione, do you want to go for a walk?" Draco asked.
"Yeah," she said. He took her hand and they headed off.
The weather outside was beautiful, being that it was already early spring. They walked through the courtyard in silence, just enjoying the fresh grass and flowers.
"This is bad," Hermione said finally.
"What is?" Draco asked. "Do you know what Lavender was talking about?"
"No. But I can tell it's bad," she answered.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the kidnappings? Maybe they found them, but it was bad news?"
"No, if anything happened to Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I would be the ones who got the messages," she said. "Wouldn't we?"
Draco looked at the ground. "I don't even know anymore. Things are getting crazy around here."
While Hermione and Draco were outside, Harry and Ron went to the library to talk. They figured they wouldn't be overheard there.
"I still think we need to do something about this," Ron said.
"About what?" Harry asked.
"This. Everything. Missing students, Lavender and Seamus's secret messages, Lavender's hysteric episode..." he trailed off. "We have to figure it out."
"I know. I think we should go for it. When should we go?" Harry asked.
"Look, Harry, I want to. I really do. But maybe Hermione's right. Maybe we have to wait it out," Ron said.
"Ron, it's Ginny! I can't believe you can just sit back like this!" Harry exclaimed.
"You think I'm just sitting back? Don't you think I want to go after her? She's my bloody sister! I'd do anything to save her. But going after her could endanger her more. This isn't like the other times. This isn't going through a few obstacle chambers playing chess. This isn't wrestling one giant snake. It's not going back in time to rescue and man or even escaping newborn Voldemort and his friends. Don't get me wrong, you were incredible each time. But I really think alot of it was luck. We can't depend on being lucky this time. We may find Voldemort at his strongest. We may find hundreds of Death Eaters. We can't even hope for luck with this," Ron explained.
Harry sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess we just have to endure," he smiled weakly. Just then, Seamus entered the library and sat at a table by himself.
"Maybe Seamus will tell us what's going on," Ron whispered. Harry nodded. They got up and sat by Seamus.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Harry asked kindly.
Seamus looked at him with a straight face. "No," he said.
"We...uh...saw Lavender, earlier," Ron said. Seamus nodded sympathetically.
"Well what happened?" Harry asked. Seamus hesitated.
"There was a Death Eater attack," he said softly.
"Did they catch them? Any news on Ginny?" Ron asked excitedly.
"No. Five people were killed. One of them was Lavender's mum. Another was me dad," he said, hanging his head.
"Oh, no," Harry breathed.
A/N: Well, I know it was short but I had to put this event in there to make a bridge from the events that happened before to what is going to happen. I know it may seem as though I am victimizing Lavender and Seamus. Honestly, I have nothing against them. I just had to pick two characters. Please read and review!!!!
A/N: Wow, I can't believe it has taken me so long to update. I finally reached a breakthrough. A type of path between the plans I have for this. My updates will be scarcer, but I will try hard to update as often as I can. Please be patient, and don't lose interest!!
Samara Potter- I'm so glad you're still reading. Thanks for reviewing!!
Jubily-Lollypops- Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!
kole17- Wow, we finally had a great conversation yesterday. Thanks for reviewing so much. Love ya, hunn!
Lilly- Wow, thanks for the enthusiasm. I appreciate it!!!
Creeky bush- Thanks!!!!
dragonzflame- Thanks, I love that song too!
Angelsparkle006- Thanks so much for reviewing so much!
Forever Felton- I can see you're a Felton fan. I love him, too. Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like this.
sunnysweetie- Thanks for reviewing. I read your story and I think I reviewed. If I didn't, I really liked it.
The next day at breakfast, Seamus tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"I got a message saying I'm supposed to report to Dumbledore's office straight after breakfast," he told him. Harry shrugged and shook his head.
"Sooo...?" he asked uncertainly.
"I was just wondering if you knew what it was about," he explained.
"Why would I know?" Harry asked.
"Well, you usually know what's going on before anyone else around here does," Seamus pointed out.
"No, I don't know what it's about," Harry said, a bit sharply.
Seamus left the Great Hall and Harry turned to Ron and Hermione.
"People act like it's a good thing I have to get special attention from Dumbledore. They can feel free to switch places with me. I'd love to see how they feel about being the one who has to fight Voldemort solo," he said angrily. Ron looked at him sympathetically.
"I wonder what it's about though," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Any personal invitations we've gotten were all for bad things," she pointed out.
"Well, if it's anything serious, we'll find out soon enough," Draco said.
"Hey, where's Lavender?" Hermione asked suddenly. "She was just here."
"Oh, she got a message just like Seamus," Parvati said.
The rest of the day went on as normal; well, almost normal. There seemed to be a bit of tension in the Gryffindor common room. Lavender and Seamus remained in the headmaster's office the whole afternoon.
After dinner that evening, Lavender came up to Harry, tears streaming down her face.
"Lavender, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"I can't believe you," Lavender spat. "Why didn't you do anything about it? Why didn't you stop it, or at least tell me about it? What, you just ignore things that don't affect you?" she cried loudly. Ron, Harry, and Hermione stared at her, their mouths and eyes open wide. Ron stepped towards her, but she backed away.
"I would think one of you would say something or do something to help someone else. I suppose you only do that for each other," she accused. Hermione shook her head, not understanding. Just then, Draco came over and put his arm around Hermione's waist.
"Hey, I've been looking for you," he said before noticing Lavender. "What's the matter?" he asked, concerned. Lavender's face contorted from hurt to anger and she scowled.
"You. It's all your fault. I should kill you right now for everything you've done!" she said, her voice rising. "I hate you! I hate you!" she cried, running away sobbing.
The four kids looked at each other. Draco actually looked hurt at Lavender's odd accusations, and Harry was thinking about what she had said.
"What did I do?" Draco asked them. Hermione shook her head.
"She's upset about something and she obviously thinks we know what it is," Harry said.
"I feel bad," Ron said quietly. "I actually wanted her to go to the ball with me but Padma asked and I just said yes. Now Lavender hates me."
"It's all a misunderstanding," Hermione said. "Everything will be okay once it's sorted out," she assured him.
"Come on, let's go for a walk," Draco suggested.
"Thanks, but we'll pass," Harry said, indicating he and Ron. "We need to find out what happened today."
"Ok. Hermione, do you want to go for a walk?" Draco asked.
"Yeah," she said. He took her hand and they headed off.
The weather outside was beautiful, being that it was already early spring. They walked through the courtyard in silence, just enjoying the fresh grass and flowers.
"This is bad," Hermione said finally.
"What is?" Draco asked. "Do you know what Lavender was talking about?"
"No. But I can tell it's bad," she answered.
"Do you think it has anything to do with the kidnappings? Maybe they found them, but it was bad news?"
"No, if anything happened to Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I would be the ones who got the messages," she said. "Wouldn't we?"
Draco looked at the ground. "I don't even know anymore. Things are getting crazy around here."
While Hermione and Draco were outside, Harry and Ron went to the library to talk. They figured they wouldn't be overheard there.
"I still think we need to do something about this," Ron said.
"About what?" Harry asked.
"This. Everything. Missing students, Lavender and Seamus's secret messages, Lavender's hysteric episode..." he trailed off. "We have to figure it out."
"I know. I think we should go for it. When should we go?" Harry asked.
"Look, Harry, I want to. I really do. But maybe Hermione's right. Maybe we have to wait it out," Ron said.
"Ron, it's Ginny! I can't believe you can just sit back like this!" Harry exclaimed.
"You think I'm just sitting back? Don't you think I want to go after her? She's my bloody sister! I'd do anything to save her. But going after her could endanger her more. This isn't like the other times. This isn't going through a few obstacle chambers playing chess. This isn't wrestling one giant snake. It's not going back in time to rescue and man or even escaping newborn Voldemort and his friends. Don't get me wrong, you were incredible each time. But I really think alot of it was luck. We can't depend on being lucky this time. We may find Voldemort at his strongest. We may find hundreds of Death Eaters. We can't even hope for luck with this," Ron explained.
Harry sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess we just have to endure," he smiled weakly. Just then, Seamus entered the library and sat at a table by himself.
"Maybe Seamus will tell us what's going on," Ron whispered. Harry nodded. They got up and sat by Seamus.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Harry asked kindly.
Seamus looked at him with a straight face. "No," he said.
"We...uh...saw Lavender, earlier," Ron said. Seamus nodded sympathetically.
"Well what happened?" Harry asked. Seamus hesitated.
"There was a Death Eater attack," he said softly.
"Did they catch them? Any news on Ginny?" Ron asked excitedly.
"No. Five people were killed. One of them was Lavender's mum. Another was me dad," he said, hanging his head.
"Oh, no," Harry breathed.
A/N: Well, I know it was short but I had to put this event in there to make a bridge from the events that happened before to what is going to happen. I know it may seem as though I am victimizing Lavender and Seamus. Honestly, I have nothing against them. I just had to pick two characters. Please read and review!!!!
