The End
Chapter 17: A Dangerous Game
Tommy sat nervously in front of the fireplace. It was well past one in the morning. Tommy glanced at the clock. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't lie any longer. It was bad enough that he was keeping his sister at a distance, but he was putting his friends in danger also. Tonight, he was going to tell his father that he couldn't pretend any longer. Tonight, he was going to quit. Tommy looked over at the clock and saw that it was now exactly 1:30. He looked toward the fire once more and the flames rose up violently. Voldemort's face graced it.
"Hello, Tomás. How are you?" Voldemort said. Tommy frowned at him. He inclined his head slightly, showing that he acknowledge his greeting. Voldemort nodded in reply and stepped to the side. Giovanna appeared and Tommy's face lightened up a little.
"Hi, Tommy. Are you okay? You look quite sullen," she said. Tommy looked down, then tried to smile for his mother. Giovanna frowned and continued to stare at him with a concerned look on her face. "You can't fool me, Tommy. I AM your mother," Giovanna said, trying to joke. This time, Tommy managed a faint smile.
"So, what is it now?" Tommy asked a Voldemort's face appeared again. Voldemort said nothing, but looked at Tommy in a questioning manner. It was as if he was trying to read something on Tommy's face. He raised a thin eyebrow, then cleared his throat.
"You wish to say something, Tomás," he said. Tommy looked him in the eye.
"No," he said sternly, trying to sound believable. Voldemort shook his head.
"It was a statement of fact, not a question, Tomás," Voldemort said. Tommy sighed.
"I can't do this anymore," he mumbled. Voldemort's eyes squinted.
"I'm sorry. You're going to have to speak a little louder," Voldemort said. Tommy sighed, not really wanting to repeat himself; it took a lot of courage to even mumble it. "Well? Out with it."
"I can't do this anymore," Tommy said a little louder than he wanted to.
Giovanna, who was across the room at this point, looked up when she heard her son yell. She rose, but Voldemort motioned for her to sit. Giovanna did as she was told, but continued watching Voldemort's reaction.
"And what, dare I ask, has brought you to this decision?" Voldemort asked. Tommy shook his head.
"I hate being so reclusive about things. I'm using the one girl I've ever loved besides my mother and Ava and she doesn't even know it. I'm betraying all of my friends by feeding information to you. I can't do this anymore. I can't lie," Tommy blurted out quickly. To Giovanna, it sounded like a bunch of jumbled up words. Voldemort understood him, though. He cleared his throat loudly.
Little did Tommy know, but a figure hid behind a wall in the common room, listening to every word that was being said.
Aurora had slowed her breathing, trying her hardest to comprehend what she was being hearing. Draco was right about Tommy. He was the leak. He had betrayed them all. She continued to listen silently.
"You really love her?" Voldemort asked. Tommy looked at him with a strange expression. "I take it by that amazed look on your face that I am correct in assuming so. Listen, Tomás, and listen well. You will continue to obey my orders, or I will kill all of your pathetic little friends in their sleep. Now, I know you wouldn't want that. Decide which is worse: All of your friends dead or all of them hating you. Take your pick. Which would you rather have?" Voldemort asked in that sinister voice of his. Tommy looked down.
"Having them all hate me, I guess. I would rather die than to have Neve mad at me. I have already been threatened by Malfoy that if I hurt Neve in any way, he'll kill me. I'm not worried about him. I can easily take him. I'm worried more about what Neve will do," Tommy said. Voldemort nodded.
"Yes. She's a little hellion, if you ask me."
"Lucky for you, but I didn't," Tommy muttered underneath his breath. Voldemort glared at him and Tommy looked away.
"Tomás, don't forget your place. On your mother's orders do I not do what I would like to do to you to teach you some respect. You've had relatively easy training as a Death Eater. Don't test my patience, boy. Now, do as I say, and all will go well between your friends. I will be contacting you again soon..." The sound of glass crashing to the floor was heard.
Aurora looked down at her feet. The vase that was on an end table had fallen, breaking. She began panicking.
"Don't just sit there, boy! Go see what it was!" Voldemort yelled. Tommy rolled his eyes. He saw a figure trying their hardest to get up the stairs, but was too scared to do so. He grabbed the person by the collar of their shirt and pulled them down the stairs.
Aurora hit her head on the wall. Tommy looked amazed. Aurora stood up, looking maliciously at Tommy. Tommy grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the fireplace. Aurora practically fell on the floor. She glared at Voldemort, who was smirking at her.
"Ah, Miss Assante. What a pleasant surprise. Quite the little snoop, aren't we?" he said, tauntingly. Aurora's eyes narrowed to the point where she looked exactly like an angry Neve. Tommy shivered when she looked at him, her face like ice.
"Good thing I was, too. Wait until I tell Draco about..." Aurora began. Voldemort interrupted her.
"You will do no such thing, Aurora. Unless you want your sister and Draco to die a slow, painful death, you will do as you are told," Voldemort said. Aurora stared at him.
"You're bluffing. You don't have the power to kill them from wherever you are. You aren't even a Telepath," Aurora said. Voldemort just smirked.
"I have my ways, Miss Assante. Plus, Tommy has the power to virtually make your sister melt into his hands. Whose word do you think she will take? Yours or his?" Voldemort asked. Aurora frowned.
"Mine, of course. I'm her sister."
"No. You are with Draco Malfoy, right? Neve knows that you know what transpired between Malfoy and herself," Voldemort said. Aurora looked shocked and Tommy looked confused.
"And how would you know about that?" she asked. Voldemort merely smirked, his snakelike eyes narrowing. Aurora cringed inwardly.
"I have my ways of knowing things, Miss Assante. Anyway, she would be thinking that you are just trying to rid her of Tommy. That's the way the human mind works, Miss Assante. Sad, but true. Tomás is still clueless about that, but I suggest you don't inform him of it unless you want Draco to suffer any more than he is going to. Now, you will not speak of this to anyone. I shall know if you do," Voldemort said. "And, I won't be happy. I shall contact you in subliminal ways." With that, Voldemort's face disappeared. Aurora turned and looked at Tommy. She punched him.
"I suppose I deserve that," he said, rubbing his jaw. His eyes met Aurora's. Her silvery-green eyes burned holes into him.
"Tell me, Tommy. Why are you helping this scum? Is Ava in on it, too?" Aurora asked, disgust in her voice. Tommy looked away from her stare.
"You wouldn't believe me even I told you," he said. Aurora crossed her arms.
"Humor me," she said, barely audible. Tommy sighed.
"He's my father. No, Ava doesn't know about any of this and I don't want you telling her about it." Aurora's eyes widened then they narrowed again. Tommy turned back to face her. He smirked. "If looks could kill..." he began.
"In my case, they can," Aurora said dangerously. "You have bigger problems to worry about than your sister finding out what a jerk you are. You have no idea what Draco is capable of. Do not get me started on Neve. And all this time, I have been mad at Draco for being protective of her..." Aurora's voice trailed off. Then something hit Tommy.
"Why are you up?" he asked pointedly. Aurora turned back to look at him.
"It does not matter why I am up. That is none of your concern. I do not care what happens to me. I am telling." Aurora stood up and started to go for the stairs. Tommy was faster than her. He grabbed her arm and swung her into the wall. His hand was cutting off her air supply. Aurora struggled under his grip.
"You are not going to say anything. If you do, my father will be the least of your worries," he said. His voice was in a tone she'd never heard him use. She held her hand out. "Don't even think about it. I could curse you seven times before you even muttered the words," he said.
"You vile bastard," Aurora said. Tommy let her go. "I will not tell. You are going to have to come clean on your own. I will also not stop anyone if they try to do you harm. You have brought this on yourself," Aurora said spitefully, rubbing her neck.
"If it means anything to you, you have made it harder for me to quit now. I was telling him that I didn't want to do it anymore because of my feelings for your sister," Tommy said in a sad voice. Aurora just frowned, unfazed by his words.
"Go to hell, Tommy." Aurora flounced off with those words.
Ron yawned as he watched Harry battle Aiko. She looked extremely different with an eye patch over her right eye. During the battle at the Ministry of Magic, Aiko was hit with a stunning spell in her eye. Her eye had been healed, but it needed at least three weeks without being exposed to light.
Aiko was constantly using the Toshi Technique. Each time, it made Harry more frustrated. Aurora shifted uncomfortably on the log she was sitting on. Neve looked at her.
"Are you okay?" Neve asked her. Aurora looked at her sister and produced a fake smile. She nodded.
"It's just that Harry is getting so worked up, it's starting to give me a headache," Aurora lied. Neve nodded, then turned her attention back to Harry. Tommy sat next to her. He squeezed her hand lightly and Neve giggled. Aurora cringed. Neve didn't "giggle." She either smirked or laughed outright. Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention back on Harry and Aiko.
"Damnit, Aiko! Stay still!" Harry yelled. Looking around him, there were at least four images of Aiko. He couldn't distinguish them from the real one. Two of the images faded. Harry got an idea. He took out his wand.
"Stupefy!" he yelled. Two streams of light shot forward, one from his hand and the other from his wand. Both hit the images, and one turned out to be Aiko. Harry smirked smugly. Cye walked over to her friend and revived her. Aiko sat up immediately and glared at Harry. Harry continued looking smug, being careful to stare at a spot on her shoulder so she couldn't curse him. Cye looked at him.
"That was pretty interesting, Harry," Cye said, walking over to him.
"How so?"
"It was a good strategy to use both your wand and Soliopathy at the same time. I surprised you thought of it all by yourself. To tell you the truth, I didn't know it could be done. I always thought it was one or the other," Cye said. Harry nodded. Aiko stood up, still glaring maliciously at Harry.
" You little ingrate..." she began. Cye sighed deeply.
"Aiko, why are you such a sore loser? I swear, you've been on a rampage of nastiness since you got shot in the eye," Cye said. Aiko glared at her with her one good eye.
"Fuck off, Cytheria," Aiko said. Cye's eyes widened and she punched Aiko in her good eye. Aiko fell back on the ground. She turned, holding her swelling face and lunged forward, tackling Cye. Darien shook his head and pulled them apart.
"Shame on you for fighting in front of your pupils. Now, stop fighting and continue teaching. This is not a wrestling match," Darien said. The two women looked at him. Ferris leaned over to his friend.
"Now would be a good time to walk away, mate," Ferris said. Darien nodded slowly, still watching the two Magi carefully. He turned toward the group.
"Um, Aurora and Neve, let's go," Darien said. The Assante sisters stood and looked at each other. They'd never really fought each other before, except when it was in a playful manner. Tommy's eyes met Aurora's. She would've liked nothing better but to kill him right on the spot, but held her tongue. The sisters walked to the center of the pitch.
"Ready?" Aiko asked. The girls nodded and never took their eyes off each other. "Go!"
After the two fought, they were allowed to go inside for lunch. This was the last day of Christmas break, and they wanted to thoroughly enjoy it. At the table, many conversations were going on at once. Aurora stared at her plate of food. Ava looked at her. Deciding it was best not to say anything aloud, she used Telepathy.
'Is something wrong, Aurora?' she asked. Aurora blinked, but did not say anything. She sighed.
'I know of something, but I cannot disclose what it is to anyone or people will get hurt. Do not try to read it out of me, Ava. I will block you,' Aurora sent back to her. Ava nodded.
'I already know what it is. I'm not stupid. Tommy's the leak,' she thought. Aurora's eyes widened as she ate.
'How did you know?'
'I've been watching Tommy for quite some time now. Do you remember when we felt his presence at the pitch that day? It was before the attack and before Dumbledore approved Tommy for membership to the Order,' Ava thought.
'Yes, I remember. I thought it was just a random premonition. I didn't think it meant anything,' Aurora sent back. Ava shook her head slightly.
'I know my brother's mind signature anywhere. It comes with being a twin. Ask Fred and George or even Lina and Rina. Even though they are not Telepaths, they can sometimes feel their twin's thoughts. You just sensed him. I knew he was there, but chose to dismiss it,' Ava sent. Aurora inclined her head, realizing what she meant.
'I see. Well, my "random premonition" was right. Tommy is the lying snake,' Aurora sighed.
'Hey! Even though he is one, you don't have to acknowledge it. He's still my brother, Aurora,' Ava sent angrily. Aurora smirked.
'Sorry about that, Ava. Got a little carried away. What are we going to do?'
'Nothing. Like you said, I'm sure Voldemort has him on a leash. There's nothing we can do until the right time comes.'
'And when will this TIME come, Ava?'
'I don't know, Aurora,' Ava concluded. Aurora nodded again. She wasn't sure she should tell Ava of Voldemort being her father. She wasn't sure she should know yet. So, she kept that bit of information in the most secure place of her mind so that Ava couldn't read it. She looked over at her sister. She was playing with Tommy. Aurora had to admit it. Those two did make a cute couple. She'd never seen Neve so happy about any guy before.
"Aurora, snap out of it!" Harry said loudly. Aurora blinked and looked across the table at Harry.
"What?"
"You were thinking too much and it was starting to hurt my ears." Harry jerked. Ron laughed.
"Harry, you made a funny," he said like he was two. Hermione frowned at him.
"Shut up, Ron," she said, taking a sip of her flask. Ron sighed.
"You are STILL taking that horrid stuff? It reeks," Ron said, making a disgusted face. Hermione playfully pushed him.
"It's for my headaches, Ron."
"I thought it was for your throat," Ava said. Hermione paused for a moment as inquiring eyes looked at her.
"I, uh, switch between them every now and then. Whenever my migraines start back up, I use the headache potion. Whenever my throat acts up, I use the throat potion. Right now, it's for my headaches," Hermione said. Ron and Harry looked at each other.
"As long as you don't get addicted to that bloody stuff, I'm straight with it," Ron said, continuing to eat. Hermione smiled.
"Thanks for your concern, Ron," Hermione said, smiling and taking another gulp of her potion. Ginny raised an eyebrow. Something wasn't right. It'd taken Hermione entirely too long to answer that question. Normally, she would've said something as soon as the words got out of Ava's mouth. Instead, she'd paused.
After lunch, the group was dispersing to go get ready to take George, Fred, Angelina, Alicia, Percy, Lee, and Penelope down to the train station. Ginny grabbed Hermione by the arm and pushed her against the wall.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. Ginny smiled.
"Girl talk. We'll catch up with you guys," Ginny said. Hermione frowned at her best friend (that is a girl).
"Ginny, what is your problem? Why'd you slam me into the wall like that?" she whispered furiously. Ginny smirked and grabbed the flask from Hermione's bag. Hermione reached for it, but Ginny was too quick for her. Ginny opened it and took a gulp, but immediately spit it out.
"Hermione! That is NOT headache potion. I know what headache potion is and THAT is most definitely not it," Ginny looked up for a minute, thinking to herself. Hermione was shaking her head, seemingly worried. Then Ginny's eyes widened in apprehension. "That's Tristezza Potion. Hermione, why are you taking that?" Ginny asked. She looked down at Hermione, whose eyes were becoming glassy with tears.
"Because it eases the pain," she said quietly. Ginny looked utterly baffled.
"What pain?"
"I'm just so sad. I'm sad about everything that has happened and all the pain I've put Ron through. So, I take that stuff whenever I start thinking about it again," Hermione said. Ginny crossed her arms.
"Hermione, you're playing a dangerous game. Tristezza Potion is addictive. You could do harm to yourself," Ginny said, a warning tone in her voice. Hermione frowned.
"Ginny, I'm not addicted to it." Hermione reached for her flask. Ginny moved out of the way of Hermione's arm.
"I beg to differ," she said with a skeptical look on her face. Hermione's frown deepened.
"Ginny, I can stop taking it whenever I like," Hermione said. Ginny smirked.
"Then prove it. If you can go a week without taking it, then I'll give it back to you. Until then, you can't have this back," Ginny said triumphantly. Hermione stared blankly at her for a moment.
"Fine, Ginny. You won't tell Ron about this, will you?"
"Hermione, we went through keeping things from Ron before. Personally, I'm not up to doing it again," Ginny said, putting the flask in her bag. Hermione watched her. Ginny looked at her friend and sighed. "No, Hermione. I won't tell. But, if I suspect you of taking this potion, then I will tell Ron and I will have no qualms about doing it. Now, we have to hurry or they'll leave us." Ginny grabbed her hand and began pulling Hermione off.
AN: Well, there you have it. Updated. If anyone is wondering what Tristezza Potion is, it's a depression potion I made up. "Tristezza" is the Italian word for "sadness." Depression is "depressione" and it just didn't sound interesting enough, so I used tristezza instead. I wasn't going to explain what Tristezza Potion is in the story, because the students already know what it is. So, this is just for your reference. The plot thickens. Expect a new chapter out 3-1-05 or 3-2-05. CHAO!