The End

Chapter 25: The Final Prophecy

' Harry, help me.'

Harry sat up quickly. He looked around the dungeon. Aislin was in the front of the class, saying something. Ron sat beside him, writing something down on parchment. Harry stared off into space, wondering where the voice in his head had come from. This was highly unusual. Ron looked over at his dazed friend.

"All right there, mate?" he asked. Harry blinked and looked at him.

"I just heard someone's voice asking for help," Harry whispered. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Was it a girl?" he asked. Harry looked at him like he'd gone crazy.

"What?"

"Was it a girl's voice? What you could've been hearing is Aurora asking for your help somewhere. We still don't have a clue where to find her. Maybe she could be trying to contact you."

"Perhaps," Harry said as the bell rang. Aislin started rattling off about homework and final exams, but Harry was too preoccupied with his thoughts on Aurora and Voldemort.

At lunch in the Great Hall, Hermione came running up to the table, waving the Daily Prophet back and forth like a flag. She slid down next to Ron and practically knocked him into his food. Ron glared at her.

"What's the bloody rush, Mione?" he asked. Hermione glared at him, then slapped the newspaper on the table for all to see. The headline was clear and it sent shockwaves down everyone's spines:

2 DEAD AT MEETING OF THE MINISTERS AND MISTRESSES OF MAGIC

"Remember when you got that sudden headache yesterday, Harry?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Harry said, still staring at the paper.

"Well, I think Aurora did this."

"That's absurd, Granger. How could Aurora do this if she's with Voldemort?" Draco asked, sounding angered that Hermione would make such an accusation. Hermione glared at him, her face stern.

"Well, Draco, Aurora is a Telepath. She could easily kill someone from wherever she is being kept."

"But why would Aurora do something like that? She's not a killer," Ginny said. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Ava caught her off guard.

"Because Voldemort has four of her family members held captive. He could easily just threaten to kill one of them in order to get Aurora to do as he wishes," Ava said. Draco shook his head.

"It still isn't making sense," Draco said quietly. Hermione sighed and crossed her arms.

"How do you figure that, Draco?" she asked. Draco looked up at her.

"Well, first of all, Voldemort has a Telepath on his side already. Why on earth would he capture Aurora just to kill someone when he could've asked his Death Eater Telepath to do it for him? That doesn't make any sense," Draco said. Hermione and the rest all looked dumbfounded.

"That's a bloody good point, Malfoy," Ron said.

"He's right, Hermione. Why would he capture Aurora just to kill someone? The Telepath he has on his side is obviously powerful enough to put me under a spell and I'm one of the more powerful Telepaths out there," Ava said. Hermione nodded, but she looked dismal. She hated being proved wrong. Something occurred to Neve.

"Maybe Voldemort wanted Aurora to do those things so that he could test her," she said quietly. Draco looked shocked.

"Are you accusing your own sister of murder, Neve?" he asked. Neve looked over at him. Today, her hair was auburn and her eyes were the golden, a very freaky combination. She looked very serious and calm at the same time, which was also a very bad thing.

"I am not ACCUSING Aurora of anything, Draco. I know for a fact that Aurora killed those two people," Neve said. The entire table went dead silent. Draco narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know that?" Tommy asked. Neve pointed to a line on the paper.

"'The victims' foreheads were marked with an eye inside a triangle and their tongues were black.' When Aurora killed my canary, the same thing happened."

"Of course. A signature. I read about those. When a Telepath commits murder, they sometimes leave a mark of some sort on their victims. They call it a firma," Hermione said. Neve nodded. Lina looked down at her plate.

"Firma means signature in Italian," she whispered. Draco looked at them with disbelieving eyes.

"I refuse to believe this," he said.

"Believe it, Draco. My sister is now a murderer," Neve said in a low voice.

Aurora walked slowly through the forest. She had stopped during the night to sleep. She had not imagined that a couple of miles could be so long.

'It probably felt like a couple of miles to her athletic arse,' she thought about Chaylse. Sighing, she tried to look over her shoulder. Santino was sleeping on her back, barely hanging on. Aurora smiled to herself and continued walking.

After about ten more minutes, Aurora came to a clearing. The clearing was a perfect circle. There were dead tree trunks and the ground was charred and blackened. She turned around in a circle examining the sight before her. When she made a full 360-degree turn, she gasped and nearly dropped her brother.

"Hello, Miss Assante,"a voice said. Aurora stared in disbelief at the dark figure before her. It was her boyfriend one true nemesis: his father. Lucius Malfoy walked towards her. Aurora took a step back.

"How..."

Darkness.

Chaylse's head jerked to the side from the slap she received from Consuelo.

"Esto era el tiempo perfecto para usted para conseguir una conciencia (It was the perfect time for you to get a conscience)!" he yelled in Spanish. Chaylse wiped the blood from her mouth. Voldemort was also in the room, watching this scene with interest. Chaylse showed no sign of pain from the beating she was getting. Consuelo raised his hand again. Nicola caught it.

"That's enough, Enrique. I think she's learned her lesson," Nicola said. Just as she finished talking, the door opened and Lucius Malfoy appeared, holding Aurora. She struggled in his grasp. Behind her, Jada held the sleeping Santino. Voldemort looked over at her as she walked in. Aurora stared defiantly back.

"Release her, Lucius," he said calmly. Lucius nodded and pushed her forward. Aurora tripped and fell at Voldemort's feet. She managed to push herself up and look up at her captors. "You honestly thought I would let you escape?" he asked her. Aurora stared at him for a moment then spat at his feet.

"For about eight hours, I managed to, did I not?" she said, smirking. Voldemort nodded.

"So it would seem, Aurora. It appears that your school-year is coming to a close in less than a month. Do you know what that means?" he asked her.

"No, ed io non si preoccupano specialmente per sapere neanche (No, and I do not particularly care to know either)," Aurora groaned. Voldemort looked over Nicola.

"She basically just said no, Tom. All the rest of that was just a smart comment," Nicola said, sounding tired. Voldemort nodded and kneeled down to Aurora's level.

"It means, Miss Assante, that Potter's time is almost up. With you in possession, you will make a great ally to me."

"I will do no such thing, you conniving bastard." Aurora spat in his face. The glob of saliva landed near his right eye. Aurora smirked satisfactorily. Voldemort wiped the spit from his eye and glared at her.

"We will see when the time comes, Miss Assante. Lucius, get her out of my sight and make sure she stays there this time," he said. Lucius nodded and grabbed Aurora roughly by her arm. He dragged her off. Aurora caught one last fleeting glance at her brother.

"Has anyone seen Malfoy lately?" Neville asked out of the blue. They were at dinner. Hermione blinked when she realized that he had not been in the last two classes.

"Draco skived off the last two classes. I haven't seen him since lunch," she said. She looked at Harry and Ron who just shrugged. Neve was picking idly at her food.

"Maybe someone should go looking for him," Neve said quietly. Everyone looked at her.

"I think I know where he is," Harry said.

Draco sat in the Astrology tower, staring out at the grounds. The wind blew through his disheveled hair. All the feelings going through him at the moment were unknown to him. He was worried sick about Aurora. The things that Hermione, Neve,and Ava had brought to light earlier that day were a little unsettling to him. He just could not see Aurora killing anyone. Draco was so lost in his thoughts that he did not hear the footsteps behind him.

"Malfoy?"a voice said. Draco whirled and pointed his wand at Harry. He sighed when he realized who he was. Putting his wand back, he turned back around.

"What do you want, Potter?" he grumbled. Harry walked up beside him.

"Are you going to waste away the rest of these weeks up here brooding?" Harry asked, taking out a napkin. He gave it to Draco. Draco opened it up and saw cookies and rolls. He looked back up at Harry. "Eat it, Malfoy. Starving yourself won't bring her back any faster."

"Shut up, Potter," Draco said, stuffing a roll into his mouth. "Besides, it isn't the fact that Aurora is gone that is unsettling to me. It's the fact that she has the power to kill one of us off at anytime. Who knows what things she will do? Voldemort has four of her family members held hostage. She has all the incentive she needs to kill you," Draco said. Harry nodded.

"That is true, Draco. The thing about that is Aurora can't kill me. Only Voldemort can. The worst she could do is to render me insane," Harry said. Draco sighed.

"I have a feeling that he is going to keep her until the very end."

"Yeah. When we have to fight him. He's going to use her against us and she will have to make a choice to kill one of us or have one of her family members killed."

"That would be simple decision for me," Draco mumbled under his breath. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked. Draco smirked and swallowed a piece of cookie.

"My entire family is made up of Death Eaters, pretty much. My father, my mother, my aunt, my uncle. The only one who is remotely sane is my cousin, Tonks. And your godfather, of course. The rest of them are crazy, power-hungry mongrels who get off on death and destruction," Draco said, sounding sarcastic. Harry nodded.

"Just stop thinking out here alone, Malfoy. And no more skipping classes." Harry turned to walk off.

"Whatever, Potter. Go screw Weasley's sister," he said snidely. Harry smirked and shook his head. Draco could never resist taking a potshot at Harry or anyone for that matter.

'Same old Malfoy,' he thought reflectively.

The next day, Neve was on the pitch, shooting arrows at different targets. Tommy watched the intensity of her face. Neve had not smiled since her sister's kidnapping. She also had not said very much to anyone, Tommy included. Ava held a type of radar contraption that measured the speed of the arrows. Neve shot one off.

"That was at one hundred twenty-four kilometers per hour, Neve. Where are you getting these inhuman speeds?" Ava asked. Neve did not answer. She just loaded another arrow. She aimed at the bulls eye. The last arrow had hit the center exactly.

"Ready?" Neve said in an icy tone that sent shivers down Tommy's back. Ava nodded. Neve shifted her vision back to the bulls eye. Aiko walked up next to Ava.

"How's she doing?" she asked as Neve sent the arrow flying. A splitting noise was made. Ava, Tommy, and Aiko looked at the board. Neve's arrow had split the preceding arrow down the middle. Ava looked at the contraption.

"Three hundred kilometers per hour. That's..." Ava paused for a moment and seemed to making a calculation in her mind. "...about one hundred eighty-six miles per hour. Neve, are you feeling all right?" Ava asked, looking worried. Neve turned her gaze towards her.

"I'm fine." Neve grabbed another arrow. She aimed at the bulls eye, but at the last minute changed directions. She shot the arrow seemingly up into the sky. Aiko looked at her like she was crazy.

"You just wasted a perfectly good..." Aiko did not get to finish. A crow hit the ground with an arrow stuck in its neck about four meters from Ava. Neve smirked at Aiko's disgusted face. Ava just stared at the bird. Blood covered the tip of the arrow.

"Apparently it hit something, Aiko." Neve put the bow down. She walked over to where Tommy was sitting up against a tree. She sighed and leaned back, staring out at the rising sun. Tommy looked at her.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" he asked. Neve nodded.

"I already said I'm fine," Neve replied. Tommy nodded and decided against questioning her further.

Later that day, Neve was packing up to leave Divination. Luna and Ginny were talking ahead of her. Professor Trelawney walked over to Neve.

"Neveah, may I have a word with you?" she asked, looking at her through her thick glasses. Ginny and Luna looked at Neve.

"Do you want us to wait?" Ginny asked.

"This should only take a second, Neveah," Professor Trelawney said.

"If you feel the need," Neve said. She followed Professor Trelawney over her desk. She watched the woman take a seat. Neve looked down the professor.

"Neveah, are you feeling all right? You have a dark aura surrounding you," she said. Neve just stared at Trelawney blankly. The woman's class was basically an easy grade. That was the only reason she took it in the first place.

"I'm fine, professor. The only reason I can think of that I might have a dark aura surrounding me is that five people from my family are MISSING," Neve said, sounding supremely irritated. Trelawney nodded.

"My dear, you cannot bottle your feeling up inside of you. If you need someone to talk to..."

"Professor, I'm fine. Honestly. May I go now?" Neve asked. Trelawney stood up and held her hand out. Neve sighed and shook it reluctantly, instantly wishing she had not after their hands connected. A wave of dysphoria spread over Neve. Trelawney smiled at her and sat back down. Neve looked back into her eyes and saw that they had glazed over somewhat.

"Professor?" Neve asked. Trelawney looked up at her. She took out a piece of parchment and wet her quill. She began scrawling something down. Neve tried to read the writing. It was not in English, but it was not in Italian either. Suddenly, Professor Trelawney went into a coughing fit. Neve jumped back. Trelawney stopped coughing and took in the sight of Neve before her.

"Yes, dear? Is something wrong?" she asked as if nothing had happened. Neve shook her head, picked up the parchment, and turned to go. When she met with Ginny and Luna, she walked right pass them. Ginny and Luna looked at each other then followed.

"Neve? What's wrong?" Ginny called after her. Neve stopped when she saw Lina and Rina. Luna and Ginny caught up with her.

"What's the matter, you guys?" Lina asked, looking around at the three girls.

"What does this say?" Neve shoved the parchment under Rina's nose. Rina looked at her and grabbed it. She squinted at the paper.

"It's hard to read, but it isn't in English, French, or Italian. Where did you get this?" Rina asked, looking up at Neve.

"Professor Trelawney. She went into this weird trance thing and scrawled this down. When she finished, she didn't even realize what she had done. I tell you that woman frightens me," Neve said. Ginny gasped.

"Trelawney may be crazy, but the woman is a Seer...on occasion. This might be a prophecy. Why did she write it down instead of saying it?" Ginny asked, examining the sloppy script. Neve shrugged.

"What language is this in? We need to know what it says. Take it to Hermione. She might be able to identify what language it is written in," Neve said.

During lunch, Hermione examined the writing:

"Do you know what it says?" Luna asked. Hermione shook her head.

"I've never seen anything like this before. It looks very strange. It doesn't even appear to be written in any language at all. It just looks like a bunch of scribbles," Hermione said. Draco stared at the writing. It did look exactly like Trelawney had just picked up a quill and started scribbling it down. Harry stared down at the parchment with the same confusion. He stared at his spoon. The parchment reflected in it and Harry realized something.

"It's written in Italian or French. I can't tell," Harry whispered. Hermione looked at him.

"Harry, that's not possible. It doesn't even appear to have clear words or anything. It just looks like random scrawls," Hermione said. Harry shook his head.

"It IS in one of those languages and I will prove it to you. Lina, do you have a mirror?" Harry asked. Lina nodded and reached inside of her bag. She handed it over to Harry.

"Never leave the dormitory without it," she giggled. Harry gave the mirror to Hermione and picked up the parchment. Rina looked into it and gasped.

"He was right, Hermione. It is in Italian. It's just written backwards," she said. Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Rina. Neve, write what it says down," Hermione ordered. Neve glared at her, but did as she was told. She began scribbling the words down. Everyone looked down at the parchment when she finished. The parchment read:

La figlia della donna spagnola sarà posizionata difficile fra l'amante e la famiglia. La bellezza scura sacrificherà il suo ultimo possesso per quelli che ama. Il platino uno distruggerà i suoi demons e sarà esente dalla loro tortura. L'ora finale viene vicino e con esso viene betrayal. Il momento del suo destino e di quello del suo opposto verrà nella seconda settimana del sesto mese. Per concludere, il bambino testardo che cambia darà i tempi cinque di nascita al gemellato come il settimo anno muore. Il terrore presto seguirà e la morte sarà inevitabile a tutti i coloro che oppone l'oscurità sei un. Il periodo di pace raggiungerà la relativa estremità quando quelle rosse si uniscono con quelle scure.

"Care to inform us one what that says?" Harry asked to no one in particular. Neve squinted on the writing.

"'The daughter of the Spanish woman will be put in a difficult position between lover and family. The dark beauty will sacrifice her ultimate possession for those she loves. The platinum one will destroy his demons and be free of their torture. The final hour comes near and with it comes betrayal. The time of the one's destiny and that of his opposite will come in the second week of the sixth month. Finally, the stubborn child that changes will give birth times five to the twin as the seventh year dies. Terror will soon follow and death will be inevitable to all those who oppose the six dark ones. The time of peace will reach its end when the red ones join with the dark ones,'" Neve said slowly.

"And that means what?" Ginny asked.

"The only part that I can possibly figure out is the part with destiny and opposite. That must mean Aurora and I. At the end, it sounds like something that will happen further into the future. You know, after all of this stuff happens," Harry said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We just have to figure out whom all that other stuff is referring to. Dumbledore needs to see this," Hermione said.

Dumbledore sat in his office, examining the parchment that Hermione had just handed over to him. The lines on his face grew more intense with each passing moment. Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Finally, the old man cleared his throat and looked up from the parchment.

"Where did you hear this, Miss Assante?" Dumbledore asked Neve. Neve blinked when she realized that he was addressing her.

"Oh, um, Professor Trelawney gave it to me. She asked to see me after class. We talked, then all of sudden, she went into this reverie. Her eyes got all glassy and big. She started scrawling mumbo jumbo on a piece of parchment." Neve took out the original parchment and gave it to the headmaster. Dumbledore took a look at it.

"It is written backwards and it's in Italian," Hermione said. Dumbledore nodded. He looked back over at Neve's translation.

"You are quite right. What I do not understand is why she would write it down, backwards, and in a language she does not know," Dumbledore said.

"No clue," Neve said. Dumbledore intertwined his long fingers.

"Well, I will see that the Order gets wind of this. Back to class, all of you, and say nothing," Dumbledore said. They all nodded, but Draco, Harry, and Ron stayed behind after they were gone. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at them, Draco in particular. Draco Malfoy was never one to linger in his presence very long. "You wish to have a word with me, young Malfoy?"

"Yeah. Professor, the prophecy speaks of a platinum person. I'm the only one here with platinum blonde hair. It couldn't be talking about me, could it?" Draco asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"It is talking about you, Draco."

"I don't have any demons, sir," Draco said.

"Are you certain?" Dumbledore countered. Draco stared at him for a long time, still not catching his meaning.

"You know about that prophecy, don't you?" Harry asked. Dumbledore just looked at them over the rims of his spectacles.

"Yes, I do. I know exactly who it is referring to in everything. Except the first sentence and the last three sentences. They baffle me the most. It appears that they are something totally different from the preceding sentences. The first few talk about the coming battle between you all and Voldemort. The last sentences, however, talk about something that will inevitably happen AFTER the battle," Dumbledore said.

"It also says something about a time of peace being ended. Does that mean that we defeat Voldemort?" Ron asked. Dumbledore shrugged.

"I can honestly say that I have no idea, but I believe you will."

"About the stubborn one and the twin, professor. It says that the stubborn one will give birth five times?" Draco asked. Dumbledore shook his head.

"It says that they will give birth times five, Draco," he said. All three boys just stared at him. Dumbledore looked back, his eyes twinkling. Harry's eyes widened when he realized what that meant.

"Times five? So that must mean that this person will give birth to quintuplets; five babies at the exact same time."

"Precisely. Get back to classes, boys. I do not want your teachers coming after me for holding you." Dumbledore said. The three nodded and bid the headmaster farewell. Once they were gone, Dumbledore relaxed in his chair and sighed deeply.

'I know exactly who the stubborn one and the twin are. The problem is, what do they have to do with anything,' Dumbledore thought, staring at Fawkes. The phoenix blinked at its master and Dumbledore smiled.