The End

Chapter 30: A Day in an Hour

Nicola was stirring something on the stove. It was black and very, very thick. It also had a very disgusting smell to it. Voldemort walked in the room. Nicola felt his sinister presence and smirked. Voldemort sniffed the air once.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time before you thought to make up that fetid concoction. Why does it have to smell so bad?" he asked, walking over to her. Nicola smiled.

"It is the four-months-decayed hippogriff hearts. They smell something serious, do they not? Once you've been standing here long enough, you get used to the smell." Nicola finished stirring and picked up a ladle. Using the ladle, she poured some of the potion into a glass. "Now, I believe someone will want this." Nicola walked past Voldemort.

Giovanna sat in her room, twiddling her thumbs. She heard the door open and the smell of dead carcasses entered the room. Giovanna nearly threw up from the stench. She felt it actually come up when Nicola stuck the cup underneath her nose.

"Drink up, sister," she said evilly. Giovanna mumbled something illegible and drank the smelly stuff.

"Are there any side effects to this stuff?" Giovanna asked. Nicola smirked.

"Well, in about fifteen seconds, you'll be out for the count. Plus, your eyes will be gray for the rest of your life."

"I guess I can deal with gray eyes. For your sake, this better work. That stuff was disgusting," Giovanna said right before falling asleep. Nicola fluffed her sister's pillow and put her under the covers properly.

"Oh, it will," she whispered.

Madam Pomfrey was moving quickly between beds in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Many students were moaning in pain. Some were bandaged up on various parts of their bodies. Others were unscathed, but were there for their friends. Aurora and Ginny sat next to the bed Neve was in. Neve was not looking at either one of them. She had not so much as said anything since she'd woken up.

"How are you, Miss Assante?" Madam Pomfrey asked, stirring a potion in a glass. Neve moaned something that sounded like a yes. Madam Pomfrey assumed that was what it was and handed her the glass. "Drink it all. It should help with the headache." She went off to the other students. Neve looked down into the glass for a minute.

"Drink it, Neve. You will feel a lot better," Aurora said. Ginny nodded. Neve took a deep breath and drank the putrid liquid in one gulp and put the glass down. She looked over at her sister.

"You must want to strangle me right now," she said. Aurora stiffened for a moment. She sat up off of Neve's bed and looked down at the floor.

"Well, I cannot say that I am happy with you, Neve. But, I feel that you got what was coming to you when I hit you with that curse. I guess that is punishment enough. Besides, you are my sister and I cannot hold a grudge against you forever. Not in these times, anyway," Aurora said, sounding somewhat happy. Neve tried to smile, but it was a weak one. Ginny looked back and forth between sisters.

"Um, pardon me. What are you two going on about?" she asked.

"Just something that happened last year. What about Draco, Aurora?" Neve said. Aurora's body language completely changed at the mention of Draco Malfoy. Neve immediately felt bad for having said his name. Aurora crossed his arms.

"I do not really want to talk to him," she said. Neve rolled her eyes.

"Stop being so damn stubborn, Aurora. Even is he is sometimes tactless, spiteful, mean, and pretty much every negative thing a person can be, he is still a good person. What happened between us was an..."

"Do not say accident, Neveah. You just do not do something like that by accident."

"You get what I'm trying to say, Aurora. I'm not saying you have to forgive him now. Just do it before you lose him," Neve said. Aurora looked into her sister's eyes for a moment.

"You think Tommy is going to try and kill Draco?"

"No. I know they are going to try and kill each other. Something about Tommy is changing, Aurora," Neve said. Aurora nodded. She stood up to leave.

"I am going to have a word with Draco. I will be back," Aurora said. Neve nodded and watched her sister walk off. She looked back over to Ginny.

"I'm not sure I even want to make my suspicions of what happened between you and Draco proven true or false. But, I have something else to ask you," Ginny said. Neve nodded.

"What is it?"

"What in Merlin's name made you spring up like that and take a shot for Tommy? He was going to kill you," Ginny said. Neve looked away from her and down at her hands.

"He wasn't going to kill me," Neve said. Ginny's mouth dropped open.

"Were you there with the rest of us, Neve? Tommy looked ready to blast your head off," Ginny said. Neve closed her eyes and shook her head.

"He wasn't going to kill me," she repeated. Ginny sighed.

"Okay. If that's what you want to believe. Why did you take the shot for him?" she asked. Neve looked back up at Ginny, her eyes burning red.

"If Harry was in the same position with Voldemort, what would you have done? Would you have just stood there and watched him die?" Neve asked, sounding quite livid with Ginny.

"No, I guess I wouldn't."

"Tommy is no different. Even if he is a Death Eater now, he is still the person I love and I'm not going to just sit there and watch him die. That's why I took the shot."

"Aurora could have killed you, Neve," Ginny mumbled. Neve smirked.

"I like to think I'm built a little bit tougher than that, Ginny," she said laughing. Ginny cracked a smile.

In the Great Hall, Dumbledore had called a meeting with all the teachers and guards. Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ava, and Ron were sitting in and listening.

"Harry, what happened when Aurora shot that curse?" Dumbledore asked. Harry looked up from his solitary thinking and glanced at the old headmaster.

"Well, about three-fourths of it ricocheted off a barrier either Neve or Tommy threw up. The other fourth hit Neve head on," Harry said.

"Did the curse fly into the sky?" McGonagall asked. Harry nodded.

"Did it hit anything up there?" Aislin asked.

"It hit another barrier. When it hit the barrier, the force of it almost made us fall," Hermione said. The adults all started glancing back and forth between each other. "Did I say something wrong?" Hermione looked at Harry. Harry shrugged. Suddenly, the sound of someone Apparating filled the air.

"Someone just Apparated," Ron said. Hermione sighed.

"That's impossible, Ron. You can't Apparate inside Hogwarts' ground because of the..."

"Barrier, Granger. Yes, we know that. Apparently, that is not the case anymore if Aislin just Apparated out of here," Draco said.

"But, how did the barrier break if that's the case, Draco?" Hermione asked,. Draco sighed.

"Remember Aurora's curse? Apparently, it had enough juice in it to break the barrier."

"That's impossible. That barrier is hundreds of years old and it is very powerful," Ron said.

"Apparently it was not powerful enough to withstand the rage of Miss Assante, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said from across the room. Harry blinked as realization hit him.

"That means that we're open to all sorts of attacks. We're sitting ducks," Harry said. Dumbledore nodded slightly.

"So it would seem, Harry. Professor Douglas has gone to tell the others of what has transpired here and why their children will not be returning. It appears that we are also missing quite a few other students. The ones that are here escaped before the train jumped track," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.

"After the train jumped track, all the other students seemed to disappear..." Harry's head snapped to the side when the sound of someone Apparating again filled the air. The person that appeared was not who they expected to see.

Chaylse Tremaine stood there, dressed her usual white outfit. She scanned the Great Hall. Everyone immediately pulled their wands. Chaylse held up her hand.

"I have not come to fight," she said, looking at Dumbledore. Dumbledore gestured for everyone to lower their wands. Slowly but surely, every wand was put away. Cye stared at her sister. Chaylse met her eyes once. She then turned her attention back to Dumbledore.

"What is it that you want, Miss Tremaine?" Dumbledore asked.

"I have come to inform you of something."

"What is it?" McGonagall asked. Chaylse turned and faced Harry. Her sharp eyes met his.

"One hour and Hogwarts will suffer attack as well as the Ministry of Magic." With that, Chaylse disappeared. Harry just sat there, too stunned to say anything.

"One bloody hour? That's all that jackass is giving us?" Ron asked.

"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall yelled. Ron looked at the Transfiguration professor.

"This is just great," Draco sighed.

"Silence, all of you. Ferris and Aiko, go and inform the Ministry of the coming attack. Cye, go to Grimmauld Place and retrieve anyone who is there. As for you all, get ready," Dumbledore said, looking at Harry and the others. Harry nodded and started to walk out of the Great Hall.

Outside, Aurora ran into them. She saw the worried looks on their faces and her smile dropped.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We have one hour until our lives are put at stake," Ron said cheerfully.

"And that is a good thing?" Aurora asked. Ron nodded.

"The faster it comes, the faster it is over with. Besides, I have FULL confidence in you and Harry. Leave the rest of those snot-nosed cowards to us," Ron said. Aurora could not resist giggling at him. She looked at Harry.

"Do you have any idea what to do when we finally fight him?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"Not a clue in the world. Apparently, we're supposed to do something together. We've never done any spells together as one, have we?" Harry asked. Aurora shook her head. Hermione looked back and forth between the two. An idea popped up in her mind and she grabbed Harry's shoulder.

"Come on. We have a library and we're going to use it." Hermione started dragging Harry and Ron off. Ava followed her, leaving Draco and Aurora staring at each other. Aurora had a blank expression on her face, as if she was waiting for Draco to say something first. Eventually, he did.

"Aurora," he started. Aurora put a finger to his lips. Draco stopped and looked down at the caramel-skinned witch. Aurora removed her finger and took a step closer.

Professor McGonagall opened the door to the Great Hall as the sound of a hand meeting another's face echoed in the hall. She looked at Aurora and Draco. Draco was holding his cheek and staring at Aurora. Aurora looked extremely satisfied with herself. Shaking her head, McGonagall walked off.

"Well, I think I deserved that," Draco said. Aurora nodded.

"You deserve much more, actually, Mr. Malfoy. But, I guess since I do not know what is going to happen within the next couple of hours, I do not want something bad to happen and us having left each other on bad terms. Just know that you if we come out of this alive, you will have some major sucking up to do," Aurora said, smiling. Draco nodded, removing his hand from his red cheek.

"I guess I can suck up to a certain extent. Is Neve awake?"

"Yeah. She is with Ginny right now," Aurora said, turning and pointing in the direction of the hospital wing. Draco nodded and grabbed Aurora. Aurora opened her mouth to protest, but Draco stopped her with his own mouth. The kiss did not stop until they heard someone clearing their throat behind them. Draco turned and saw Luna and Neville standing there, smiling. Aurora pushed herself away from Draco and started walking off. Luna followed after her. Neville just looked at Draco.

"What the bloody hell are you smirking at, Longbottom?" Draco asked. Neville just shook his head.

"Such language, Malfoy. It is on very rare and auspicious occasions that we ever see you act all emotional like that. The most frequent emotion we get from you is anger. Could Aurora be softening you up?" Neville said, passing Draco. He stopped when he felt a hand hit him in the back of his head.

"Shut up, Longbottom." Draco started walking after the girls. Neville frowned and followed him, rubbing the back of his head.

Tommy sat down in front of his father. Voldemort looked sternly at him. Tommy had his hood covering his face, but Voldemort could see his eyes glowing.

"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes glow?" Voldemort asked. Tommy blinked.

"Neve told me, once. It was dark at night," he said. Voldemort nodded.

"You still love her, don't you?" he asked. Tommy looked at him, his gaze threatening to pierce a hole in Voldemort's forehead.

"And if I do? What are you going to do about it?"

"I think that it is going to have to beaten out of you to forget about that damn girl. She will be nothing but your downfall, Tomás," Voldemort said as Nicola entered the room. Tommy was about to say something. Sensing the impending argument and possible duel, Nicola stepped up.

"Tomás, come with me," she said. Tommy looked up at his aunt. Nicola winked. Tommy glared at Voldemort one last time and stood up to follow his aunt out. Nicola led him to another room. She closed the door as he walked in. "You need to heed what your father says, Tomás," she said. Tommy glared at Nicola.

"Listen, AUNT Nicola. I can handle myself. So what if I still love Neve? That has nothing to do with me fighting anyone else," Tommy said. Nicola crossed her arms.

"You are far too emotional for your own good, Tomás. The minute Neveah's life looks like it is in danger, you will abandon whatever it is that you are doing to save her. You can't do that. You can't have it both ways," she said. Tommy just stared at her.

"Tante Nicola, je ferai que je veux, quand je veux (Aunt Nicola, I will do what I want, when I want)," Tommy said in a deadly tone. Nicola knew that his tone meant that the conversation was over.

"Faire comme vous plaisez, Tomás. Ne pas laisser vos émotions triomphent de vous (Do as you please, Tomás. Do not let your emotions get the best of you)." Nicola left the room. Tommy watched her go. After standing alone for a moment, he left for his mother's room.

Giovanna was lying in bed when she heard the door open. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Bonjour, Tommy. What brings you to me right now?" she asked, Tommy sat beside his mother's bed.

"Have you ever had to fight my father?" Tommy asked. Giovanna opened her eyes. She frowned at what she saw. She could actually see the outline of her son's body. She reached out for him. Tommy noticed his mother's hand. "Mamá?" he asked. Giovanna sat up, her vision becoming clearer.

"I can see you a little. You have on a dark red robe, right?" she asked. Tommy smiled.

"Yes, I do," he said happily. Giovanna smiled. The potion that Nicola had made her was starting to work.

"Your aunt made a potion to restore my eyesight. It's working as we speak. So, what was your question?" Giovanna asked, as Tommy became clearer to her.

"Have you ever had to fight my father?" Tommy repeated. Giovanna blinked as Tommy came into full focus. She examined her son for a moment. The air around him was different. She looked into his blue eyes. She could not read one emotion in them except hatred and love, and there were many.

"No. I have never had to fight your father. I have, no certain occasions, threatened his life. Why are you asking me this? Is this about Neveah?" Giovanna asked. Tommy nodded.

"She is on the opposing side, mamá. They keep telling me to forget about her because she will be my downfall," Tommy said, putting his head in his mother's lap. Giovanna stroked his hair gently.

"You are such a big baby sometimes, Tomás. I can't believe you still do this. Anyway, either way this goes, you and Neveah will never be able to be together again," Giovanna said sadly. Tommy sighed.

"I know. That's the part I'm afraid of. She saved my life earlier."

"Really? How did she do that?"

"I was supposed to..."

"They wanted you to kill her," Giovanna stated.

"Yes. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't do it. Then her sister shot a curse at me. I was just going to take it but Neve stood up and somehow put up a barrier. Neve's not a Soliopath like me and Aurora. I have no idea how she did it. The barrier really wasn't that strong, but it blocked most of the curse. Neve got hit. When I left, she was unconscious," Tommy said. Giovanna nodded.

"It will all work out, Tomás," she whispered. Tommy nodded slightly as his mother started humming.

Neve walked down the hall to Dumbledore's office. Madam Pomfrey had said that he wanted to see her immediately as soon as she was well enough to walk. Neve had complied and now was on her way to what she was sure was not going to be a pleasant conversation. When she arrived at the gargoyle, she found that the staircase was there. Shrugging off her suspicions, she walked up the staircase.

Inside the office, Dumbledore was sitting there, looking quite serene, even with the oncoming threat. Neve saw Darien Shamus standing there. He had his arms crossed. Dumbledore gestured for Neve to take a seat. She did as she was told and crossed her fingers in her lap.

"Neveah, do you know why you are here?" Dumbledore asked. Neve stared at him for a moment. His expression showed that he was not angry with her. Neve shook her head.

"No, I don't. Why am I here?" she asked.

"You broke a promise that you made to me. In doing so, you put yourself in great danger. Why did you not tell me that you had made contact with Tomás?" Dumbledore asked. Neve immediately felt very ashamed of herself. She never thought of her disobedience as breaking a promise. She remembered promising him this.

"I...I...just didn't want Tommy to get hurt," she said, squeezing her fists together. Dumbledore nodded.

"Well, I can understand what one would do for love. It is a great emotion that I am sure Tomás has learned, unlike his father. I told you the consequences would e great, didn't I?" Dumbledore looked at her over his half moon spectacles.

"And what are my consequences?"

"Well, you didn't commit a CRIME, but you did disobey me and made yourself out to be pretty unreliable. But, I must ask one more thing of you, Neveah." Dumbledore intertwined his long fingers. Neve raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"I know you will do everything in your power to make sure that Tomás does not die. I cannot stop you from protecting him. But, after this fight, you must never see him again," Dumbledore said. Neve looked at the old man like he was speaking Japanese.

"You know if Tommy and I survive this?" Neveah said. Dumbledore did not answer her right away.

"Let's just say that I know of something that will come to pass if you do not heed my words, Neveah. You will bring harm to yourself and everyone you ever loved if you continue to see Tomás after this affair," Dumbledore said.

"I...I...I...can't promise you that, professor. I can only tell you that I won't go looking for him. I cannot help it if Tommy comes looking for me," Neve said. Dumbledore nodded, seeing her logic.

"You are right. Just please heed my words this time, Miss Assante. You are free to go."

Harry skimmed down the pages of The Power of the Opposite in the library. Hermione and Aurora sat next to him, doing the same thing in two other books. Harry sat back, his eyes burning from all the quick reading.

"I can't find anything useful, Hermione," Harry said. Hermione did not respond to him. Harry sighed and looked over at Aurora. She was rubbing her eyes furiously. "Found anything yet?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"Not a thing. How do we know what we can do together? I mean, we were never trained to attack as one," Aurora said. Harry nodded.

"Wait! I think I've found something," Hermione said. Harry and Aurora leaned over to her. Ron and Ginny tuned in to listen. Ava stood in her solitary corner with Draco.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It says here that nothing can tell you what to do. You have to figure it out for yourself. In other words, it will come to you when the time is right," Hermione said. Harry and Aurora looked heartbroken. "Sorry," Hermione said.

"Some help that was. So, Aurora and I could practically be on our last legs before we realize what it is that we have to do. This is just fucking perfect. Ron, what time is it?"

"We have twenty minutes before this hour is up," Ron said. A long, awkward silence ensued. Ron broke the silence as usual and started walking towards the door. Hermione watched him. She stood up.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked. Ron turned and faced her, smiling.

"Well, if this in fact is my time to go, then I'm going to do it on a full stomach. I'm going to the kitchens. Anyone want to come along?" Ron asked genially. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny could not help but to laugh.

"I swear, Ron. Sometimes I wonder if you had to make a choice between eating a jelly doughnut and passing a test, you would happily eat the doughnut and fail the test," Harry said.

"You know me all too well, Harry. I'll see you all later." Ron headed off with everyone else in tow.

Harry sensed someone else behind him. He did not even need to turn around to know who it was. Draco walked up beside Harry, watching their friends walk off.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco asked. Harry just stood there for a moment.

"Shitless," he answered. Suddenly, it seemed as if a day had gone by in an hour.