Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: Well well…it seems I finally managed to get over my "writer's block", and trust me, it didn't take much from my editor to make sure I got out of it quickly. It got to the point where I would want to turn and run every time I saw her coming towards me in the school hallway. And no, I am not over reacting, I'd like to see you face a mad Nimalka, trust me, her nickname may be Nemo, but she is nothing like the cute little orange fish. She'd kill you as soon as look at you if you got on her nerves. Pleasant when she's happy, but watch out for her famous "I'm going to kill you" look. After some time of jumping on me in the halls and trying to chock the life out of me, I have finally decided I shall NOT PUT UP WITH THIS ABUSE ANY FURTHUR! I DO NOT WANT TO BE ATTACKED EVERYTIME I RUN INTO HER! ARR! So…I have decided….that as a way to prevent further abuse…to…umm…to….obey her every command and do whatever she wants. And to the person that calls me coward after you read this, meet her and then open your fat mouth please.

Ps: I had this chapter done about a million years ago, but was too lazy to read it over and then post it up…I'm sorry…please don't kill me…hehe

E/N: wow…talk about harsh….as you can see she is seriously over reacting. I don't ALWAYS want to kill her, I'm generally a really nice person, though I joke around a lot. If you knew how many times I had to constantly remind her to finish the chapters before you got fed up with her for not updating, you'd see why I got so mad! So its really not my fault….she brings it upon herself!

Oh well….and actually, as a fact my nickname 'Nemo' was made by a friend that couldn't pronounce/remember my real name, and has nothing to do with the cute fish we all know about.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Seven

"Really your Highness! Is this honestly necessary!" cried an indignant voice.

"Oh hush your whining Terry," An overly cheerful tone replied "or I shall be forced to have that sharp mouth of yours permanently removed."

"Riding horses without a carriage I can understand your highness, but is dressing up as page boys really necessary? This wig is making me sweat, I cannot think properly if my head does not get enough air!" Terry wailed, waving her hands up and down, giving her a strange resemblance to a bird.

"Page boys?" Princess Lavender giggled, "We look nothing like the pages up in the castle. I doubt they would accept us even if we tried, face it, neither of us will last one day under the orders of Sir Charlie and Sir Bill. The horrendous stories I've heard from pages on their training was enough to give me nightmares. And besides, it's not my fault we are out here; father was the one that refused to let us go!" she complained, "Why, I haven't seen Ginny in ages, he can't expect me to sit and wait patiently in the castle when I could very well go and greet her along the way. It would give us some more time to catch up."

Terry huffed, "The King did have a good point, and if I may say so your Highness, you cannot blame him for being worried about your safety!" She complained loudly, "Besides, we have been riding for hours! I do not believe my behind can take any more of this! I didn't even get a chance to pad the saddle this morning before we left, it's as hard as a rock right now and my rear is having problems adjusting to it! I would rather be having a warm cup of tea up at the castle right now then riding horses through uninhabited forests, sweating like a blacksmith!"

Lavender laughed and looked at the other girl slyly from the corner of her coal black eyes. She had to contradict, Lady Terry of LionVille, even with her disguise, did not even bear the slightest resemblance to a blacksmith, or a male at all. Locks of her dark curly black hair peaked out from beneath her fake brown boyish cut wig. Her honey like complexion, with a pair of rosy lips - currently placed in a dissatisfied pout, - added to her feminine appearance. But the feature that was most alluring and captivating was her eyes; her grey stormy eyes that seem to constantly alter colors depending on her mood. Lavender hid a grin as she bent down to pat her horse, Moonlight, lightly on the side of his neck. Right now, Lady Terry's eyes were almost clear green, illustrating her immense displeasure.

"You only wish to be back in the castle so you can be near my handsome brother again." Princess Lavender teased lightly and grinned as she heard a sharp intake of breath from the other girl.

"Prince Sirius?" She exclaimed incredulously, "Why in the world would I want to be any where near him?" Lady Terry shifted slightly from left to right, avoiding contact with Lavender's piercing brown eyes.

Lavender snorted in disbelief, "Really Terry," she said, exasperated. "You two have known each other for almost all your lives. Why, sometimes I think you know him better than I do, and I'm his sister! Besides, you're always talking about him, it's always Sirius this, or Sirius that. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you feel nothing for him?" She turned and gave the girl riding slightly behind her a questioning look.

Lady Terry blushed and looked down at her hands. Bangs from her boyish brown wig fell down and covered her eyes from view. Her hands were almost white from holding on to the reign so tight in her discomfort. "He does not feel that way towards me your highness. He cares about me, yes, but it's the same way as he cares about you," She said quietly. A tear streaked its way down her cheek, before she angrily swiped it away. "We grew up together, why, he's practically taught me how to walk and talk. I will always be a little sister to him, there is no way that he would ever think of me in any other way." Terry's tone was bitter and defeated and she finally managed to look up and give Lavender a forced, teary smile.

Lavender shook her head disapprovingly, "You need to have confidence in yourself Terry. You know his situation better than me; he doesn't believe anyone could love him like that because of his…condition. He's really changed after that battle a few years back, and He's really lucky to have you." She smiled reassuringly, "He just doesn't know it yet."

Lady Terry sighed unbelievingly, "His condition doesn't stop any of the other ladies at court from chasing him. Besides, I think he is perfect," blushing slightly, she continued, "Just because his…well…It does not make him any less attractive, kind, understanding…" finally realizing that she was babbling, Lady Terry turned pink, quickly tightened her lips and became suddenly interested in the trees by their surroundings.

The forest was quiet with occasional sounds from birds and the rustling of new born leaves, welcoming the spring sun. Light illuminated the pathway, but the forest on either side of them was still somewhat dark, as the sunlight was reflected by the treetops. The sound of hooves almost seemed out of place as the two girls rode along. The road was littered with twigs, fallen leaves and some branches broken off by the late night storm. The grass was still damp with raindrops that glimmered like diamonds as they mirrored the sun's rays. They were a few hours of riding from GriffinHill, where the Countess was sure to stop for a rest. GriffinHill was famous for its delicious bakeries and extravagant Inns, many nobles like to stop by on their journeys.

Lady Terry could almost hear Lavender's mocking grin as she looked around to try and ignore her own embarrassment. True, she was in love with the Prince, but she did not plan to do anything about it. He could never love her, and even if he did, it would mean putting their relationship in jeopardy, and she did not want that. Lovers may last for only a few weeks, but friends last forever. She did want to ever lose him, he meant too much to her, more important than her own life. She still remembered the day that they brought him back to the castle from the Last Battle. He was carried into the gates on a makeshift stretcher as chaos ensued, people rushing in and out, trying to get a better look at the Prince. His head was slumped to the side, visible wounds could be seen all over his body. The most noticeable gash was his left arm, blood was gushing through as thick amounts of the red substance dripped to the ground.

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears, drowning the sound of chaos as she saw him being carried in. She had been worried for days when no letter came from him and hoped that she could see him soon. But this was not how she had wished to see him. When he was placed on to the infirmary bed with servants running to and fro, carrying washcloths and buckets of water that was stained with blood, she just stared blankly at his unmoving body. His face bore a painful expression that pierced through her heart more violently than she had expected. It took a few minutes for her to realize what was happening, and when she did, she had collapsed on the side of the bed and cried strenuously. Her tears flowed for what seemed like an hour before Princess Lavender, summoned by a servant, pulled her gently to her feet and out of the room.

Sighing, she shook her head. She would never forget that moment, how happy she was when she found out that he would live, that he wasn't going to die. But he had changed, he never smiled as much, or joked around like he used to. His body may have not died that night, but his soul and his heart did.

"Terry!" an urgent voice whispered. Lady Terry jerked slightly and quickly looked up at the Princess, who was glancing around with frightened eyes. Terry followed her example, but she saw nothing that seemed out of ordinary.

"What's wrong your highness?" Lady Terry whispered inquiringly, her voice shook slightly with anticipation. Everything seemed unnaturally quiet and still for a few seconds, before suddenly, the flutter of thousands of wings could be heard from the distance. It seems as if all the birds in the forest abruptly took flight at once, almost as if they were fleeing from something. Screeching from small mammals followed as Lady Terry stared with disbelief, there must have been hundreds of squirrels, rabbits, foxes running pass them in hast. The horses paced uneasily, trying to avoid collision, but the animals seemed all too scared to care who, or what they ran into. Suddenly, as if it was an instinct, the horses turned and began to gallop along with the rest of the fleeing creatures. Princess Lavender tugged hard on the reign to retain control of Moonlight and turned her around in time to nearly miss a cloud of sparrows that screeched past her head. Even Orion, Lady Terry's horse, who was normally calm and collected, began to jerk around nervously.

Then, the silence fell thick around them, choking the oxygen from the air. It was hard to breathe, Princess Lavender pressed a hand to her chest, almost as if she was trying to coax her lungs to work. Squinting in the distance, she spotted something crystal white that glistened and loomed closer and closer. The dense mass slowly made its way through the still forest, covering vast areas, and spreading like an epidemic disease. Slowly, spidery thread-like patterns began forming on the bark of the trees, and stretching out to the tips of the leaves and grass that surrounded them.

"Princess! It's frost! The forest is freezing!" Lady Terry's voice was choked and urgent as she watched the silent scene unfold with an alarmed expression.

"RUN!" Lavender screamed, the color drained from her face as realization dawned upon her. "HURRY!" the order was given without hesitation as they turned and raced in the opposite direction. Lady Terry glanced behind her shoulders fearfully as she watched the frost still slowly progressing and the tendrils covering the place where they had once stood. Princess Lavender concentrated on the road before them as she road as hard as she could. She couldn't let IT catch them.

After almost two hours of hard riding, they managed to reach a small town that they had passed through earlier. By then, dawn had fallen, and the passers-by were few. Many gave strange glances at the two disheveled riders, and their tired horses. The pair searched the streets before finally finding a slightly weather beaten Inn that resembled more like a pub. But it was their only option, as the poor stricken town hardly received any visitors and could only afford to have one Inn built for travelers. They stabled their horses, and paid the stable boy four sickles to groom the sweating and tired horses.

"See to it that they are feed and receive water. I want them well rested for the morning." Princess Lavender ordered with a curt nod before she turned and rushed out through the stable doors. Terry, left behind, noticed the young lad's haggard appearance and took out a gallon from her purse. Pressing it in his palm, the malnourished boy's eyes grew wide as he stared at the shimmering gold coin sitting in his hand. Terry winked and felt her heart swell with contentment as he gave her a toothy grin.

Lady Terry watched quietly as Princess Lavender paced back and forth before her in their small room. Dark water stains covered the walls and ceiling and everything seemed to be in a state of decomposition. The tables and beds looked unstable with small holes in the wood, resembling conclusively like the bite marks of insects. The food there wasn't that great, bland chicken stew with stale bread. The windows were shut tightly with two pieces of black rags made to appear like curtains on either side. There was a towel shoved between the crack under the door that looked as if it was going to fall in any second. They spoke in hushed whispers, incase someone was to discover the real identity of the 'Duke of Ghanesbury's personal messengers' – if there was ever such a place or man, they'd never know. They just needed to lay low, and figure out a plan for now

It was quite a funny sight if not for their present situation, Lavender's 'special' stubble spell, still hadn't been removed, her wig was lying on the floor somewhere, and her cascading black hair was loose. She had all the look of a lady, but the stubble had started to grow more, and the ensuing effect was extremely absurd and amusing. Terry's wig was off in a blink as soon as she had stepped into the room, and now, looking at Lavender, she couldn't help but think that the Princess bore a strong resemblance to Irinis. Irinis, A War God, was rumored to be living up in the high mountains of Niandrathol. She was a strong built female, who unnaturally possessed a permanent bread finer than any man's. That was the reason she never came down from her haven, because she was considered to be half man and half woman. It was an old folk's tale of course, passed down from generations of generations ago.

Lady Terry tried to stifle a laugh as she received a death glare from the Princess. The armchair before the fireplace suddenly became slightly uncomfortable under the wrathful gaze of Princess Lavender. Glancing insignificantly around the room, her eyes couldn't help but wonder back at the small beard forming at the bottom of Lavender's chin. She fought the giggles threatening to erupt from her throat. The Princess, realizing what Terry was laughing at, quickly performed a counterspell and blushed slightly.

"We cannot just stand here and do nothing Terry, father has to know about this before it's too late!" Princess Lavender exclaimed before resuming her agitated pacing.

Lady Terry shook her head, not understanding why the other girl was so worried about this, "Don't you remember? We sneaked out your highness, the king would not be pleased if he found out what we are up to."

"Terry! Don't you realize what's going on! What almost happened to us!" Her voice was almost screeching with disbelief as she waved her arms wildly in the air.

Terry shrugged and shook her head, "Freak of nature I guess, maybe somebody was trying to play a trick on us, and decided to use a freezing spell."

"Freak of NATURE! Terry!" Princess Lavender exclaimed, before slumping her shoulders in defeat. She glared at Lady Terry as if she was insane, "Nobody could conjure a freezing spell powerful enough to cover the whole forest. Terry, that was not someone out there…that was someTHING."

Lady Terry felt her heartbeat speed up slightly, "Something? What do you mean by something!" Her tone was anxious as she tightened her fists, her nails digging into the palm of her hand.

Princess Lavender shook her head and didn't reply, turning, she sat before the writing table and pulled out some pieces of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. Dipping the phoenix quill carefully into the ink bottle, her hands began to work furiously over the parchment that was once blank.

"I have to warn father, this is not right, this is almost impossible. But yet, it's true, we saw it, and we have to find some way to prevent this from spreading. Terry, go find a messenger, I don't care if he's asleep, or if he's sick, or if he's on his death bed for that matter. Get him, and bring him here to deliver this letter. Tell him we shall pay him handsomely." Her tone was dismissive as Lady Terry got up immediately and made her way to the door. Princess Lavender may be her best friend, but she was still royalty, and her orders were inscribed on stone, they had to be obeyed, no questions asked.

A/N: yes I know, kind of short, but too lazy…uhhh…I mean…too busy…to write anymore…sorry! Please leave a review! I love getting reviews!

E/N: BAKA! Don't write that

U'll loose reviewers

I TOLD YOU TO GET BETTER EXCUSES!

exasperated sigh

when will you learn?….

'

A/N: ….grouchy orange fish….