The End

Chapter 31: The Beginning of the End

Aiko walked into the Gryffindor common room. She was carrying a large sack. Ron and Hermione walked over to her as she sat the potato sack on the floor. She let out a sigh of relief as she did so, signaling that it was a rather weighty bag. Ron peered inside the bag.

"What's all this?" Hermione asked as Neve and the twins came downstairs. Aiko smiled. She opened the bag fully to reveal a lot of red and white robes and unitards. Aiko wore a white on herself. Neve picked one up and looked at it. She was chewing on a chocolate frog.

"These, Miss Granger, are your battle uniforms. They have been enchanted to protect you from various attacks, but do not think that you can't get hurt while wearing this. Guys wear red and girls wear white," Aiko said.

"Is it okay if we make minor modifications to these?" she asked, still examining the unitard. Aiko eyed her.

"What kind of 'modification' are you talking about, Neve?"

"The kind that exposes skin, knowing Neve." Lina's comment was intended to be a thought. Everyone looked at her. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Do as you please, Neve. I don't see what purpose it will serve," Aiko said. She turned and left as Harry and Ginny entered.

"What's that?" Ginny asked, peering into the sack.

"Battle uniforms. They're supposed to protect us against hazardous spells," Ron said. Neve took out her wand and began waving it around. Pieces of cloth began flying around as she practically tore the unitard to shreds.

"There," she said, looking satisfied with herself.

"Now, what purpose did that serve, Neve?" Rina asked. Neve smiled.

"Half the boys in Slytherin would like nothing more than to shag me. Unlike you two, I don't need to be a Siren to take people off guard. I can work my magic using what I've got. I'm going to get dressed." Neve picked up her outfit and went up to her dormitory.

"The sad thing about it is that she's right," Harry said. Ginny punched him in the arm. "What was that for?" he grumbled, rubbing his arm. Ginny crossed his arms.

"I don't expect you to ogle Neve, Harry," Ginny said. Harry just laughed.

"I won't ogle Neve, Gin. I was merely stating that Neve IS hot and everyone knows that the Slytherins all want her. If they weren't all deathly afraid of what Malfoy would do to them if he found out she was dating one of them, she would have practically been mauled by them."

"Draco? What about Tommy?" Hermione asked. Ron shrugged, picking up his uniform.

"The Slytherins were not afraid of Tommy. Just like us, they underestimate him. If you ask me, I think Tommy's been hiding his ability all year," Ron said.

"WE underestimated Tommy? What makes you say that?" Harry asked.

"Are you three really that daft? Tommy HAS been masking his abilities all year. If anything, I think he would be ranked as an Arbitrario on the Magus list. You can't sense the sheer, raw power emanating from him?" Lina asked. Ginny, Hermione, and Harry shook their heads.

"It's what I would expect from the son of Voldemort," another voice said. They all turned and looked at the stairs. Neve was strapping her belt on. Harry and Ron blinked as they stared at Neve. Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes. Neve's "modification" meant that she made her unitard a two-piece with her stomach showing. It did not help that the unitard was already skintight.

"THAT was your alteration? Neve, you are incorrigible," Lina said, smiling. Neve winked and descended the stairs. She pulled her robe around her and closed it.

"Why are you closing it?" Ginny asked.

"Like I said before..." Neve winked. "...I want to take them off guard. You all should get dressed. We have ten minutes left." Neve started for the portrait hole. Before she reached it, Aurora stepped through it. She examined her sister's attire and frowned.

"Neve, you look like a whore," she said. Neve raised an eyebrow. She smirked.

"Foxtrot oscar, Aurora," she said. Aurora looked confused, but Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all laughed maniacally. Aurora watched Neve step around her. She then turned her attention to the other four. Harry caught sight of Aurora's face and cleared his throat.

"What is so damn funny?" she asked. Ron's laughter died down and he looked at Harry. When their eyes met, the both started laughing again. Ginny and Hermione wiped tears away from their eyes.

"You don't get what she just said to you, do you?" Hermione asked, out of breath. Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"No, I do not. Do you care to explain to me what it is that she said?" She asked, starting to get irritated with Ron and Harry. Finally, she pointed at the two.

'Petrificus totalus,' she thought. Harry and Ron's bodies seized up and they fell to the ground. Ginny watched them fall, stifling a giggle. Aurora turned back towards Hermione.

"'Foxtrot oscar' is basically a euphemism for 'fuck off.' It's just slang. I didn't know Neve knew our language that well," Hermione said, sounding awe-inspired. Aurora frowned and waved her hand. Harry and Ron sat up and glared at her.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You two were starting to annoy me. I'm going to get dressed." Aurora grabbed a uniform and went upstairs.

Neve walked outside school into the front courtyard. She saw someone in red staring out towards the lake. Their hood was up, so Neve could not see their face. She could tell by the height and posture exactly who it was though. She walked up behind him. Before she could touch his shoulder, she felt a wand being pushed into her throat.

Draco sighed when he saw the person was just Neve. He lowered his wand and removed his hood.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on me, Neve. At least not anymore," Draco said. Neve smirked.

"No need to be so jumpy, Draco," Neve said. She stepped up beside him and pulled out a picture. Draco looked at it. It was the picture that Madam Pomfrey had taken of them while Ava was in the hospital wing. It was the last time everyone was together and happy.

Everyone was gathered around Ava. Ava was pale but she was attempting to smile all the same. Lina and Rina were giggling like mad girls. Ginny was peering over Harry's head. Ron and Hermione were arguing, as usual. Draco and Aurora were actually paying attention, as were Neville and Luna. Neve's eyes rested on her and Tommy. They were both staring at each other, oblivious to the chaos around them.

"Cute picture," Draco said, looking away from it.

"I wish we could all go back to looking like this. We all look so happy. Even you, Draco," Neve said, smiling. Draco sighed. He looked back down at the picture again. Before he could respond to her, a bolt of lightning hit no more than four feet in front of them. This shocked them so much that both stumbled backwards. A loud crackle of thunder shocked them again.

"That was surreal. Good thing that lightning never strikes the same place twice," Draco said, panting hard. The bolt could have killed either one of them.

Not too far off from them, Ava and Ferris stood, staring out at the lake. Ava was looking at the sky. Dark storm clouds were rolling in fast. Ferris looked over at Ava. She was concentrating on the sky as if she had never seen it before.

"Is something wrong, Ava?" he asked. Ava did not answer. Instead, she looked over to where Neve and Draco were staring at the charred spot on the ground. Her eyes widened and she whipped out her wand.

"Rictusempra!" she yelled. The spell flew across the courtyard at an amazing rate. Neve turned at the sound of Ava's voice only to get hit with the spell. She flew back into Draco just as another bolt of lightning came down. Neve sat up, her body aching. Draco pushed her unceremoniously off of her.

"Ava! What the bloody hell was that for!" Draco yelled. Neve looked at the spot where she was previously.

"Draco," she whispered and pointed to the charred ground. Draco followed her finger, seeing the singed spot. "Ava just saved my life."

"Split up!" Ava yelled. Just as Draco pushed Neve even farther from him, a lightning bolt struck between them.

"What the fuck is going on?" Draco yelled. Ava shrugged.

"Get inside, now!" Ferris yelled, pulling Ava with him. Draco grabbed Neve's arm, pulling her roughly to her feet. She barely missed another bolt. They ran full speed back inside and promptly ran into Aislin and Professor McGonagall. Ava and Ferris ran over to them.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you two running?" McGonagall asked, crossing her arms. Neve was too out of breath to answer her, but Draco was not.

"We were trying to escape death. For some reason, lightning has picked us two as its target," he said sarcastically. McGonagall raised an eyebrow. Ava blinked and pushed Draco down. Draco fell backwards as a bolt flew inside the doorway, barely missing Aislin.

"What the hell?" Ferris asked.

"This isn't a freak occurrence. Someone is trying to kill Draco," Aislin said. Draco stood back up.

"Could you at least warn me when you're going to do something like that?" Draco said, looking a bit peeved. Ava just shot him a dangerous look. Draco backed down and dusted himself off.

Harry looked at the clock in the common room. The minute hand moved ever-so-slightly directly over the twelve, indicating that it was now 4 o'clock, exactly an hour from when Chaylse Tremaine had given the dreadful warning.

"Time's up," Harry whispered. No sooner had the words come out then both Aurora and Harry doubled over, screaming in pain. This brought Ron, Hermione, and Ginny back to the real world. Ginny ran to Harry's side.

"Harry! What's wrong?" she yelled frantically. Harry stopped screaming and squeezed his eyes shut. All at once, the pain stopped. Both Aurora and Harry looked up at each other.

"He's here," they said in unison.

AN: Yes, I know that was probably my shortest chapter besides the prologue. Sorry, but this is where the SUSPENSE begins! Muahahahaha!