Chapter Twenty – The Four Houses
"This is really beginning to freak me out," Harry whispered under his breath.
"Is she staring again?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," Harry muttered under his breath. "She stares at me every bloody day!"
Neville took a quick glance at the Hufflepuff table. Sitting there, staring maybe not at Harry, but the entire group was the girl they saw kidnapped. Nata, Ginny had said her name was.
"Maybe she wants to talk to you," Ron said.
"Then why doesn't she just come up to me and say something?" Harry asked, taking a bit of toast. "Why just stare at me?"
"Maybe she has a crush on you," Ginny said slyly, putting her arm around Harry's shoulders. "She wouldn't be the first, would she, Mister Potter?"
Harry blushed and concentrated on the bowl of cereal in front of him. "Forget it," Harry said with a bit of a smile in his voice.
The day went quickly. After Potions, Neville had every intention on going to the Greenhouse to get some work done. But to his surprise, Ginny was waiting outside of the Potions classroom when they were dismissed.
"Time to make a trip to the Room of Requirements," she said under her breath.
"What's happened?" Harry asked.
"You'll find out in the Room of Requirements," Ginny said. They all walked up to the room. Ginny opened the door, and inside, Luna, Draco and the girl who wouldn't stop staring was waiting.
"Hi," Harry said uneasily to the girl.
"Fortunata Haley," the girl said, standing up. "But please call me Nata."
Neville hadn't realized how tall she was. Her dark brown hair was extremely curly and even looked more out of control then Hermione's sometimes. But what stood out were her bright blue eyes.
"I went to talk to Nata after lunch," Ginny said casually. She sat down on a chair and brought her legs under her. "Nata just wants to talk to us."
"Okay," Harry said uneasily as everyone else found a seat.
There was quite an uncomfortable silence as they all waited for Nata to talk.
"So why did Death Eaters come after you?" Neville asked finally.
"Because I'm a Metamorph," Nata said quietly.
"You are? Really?" Ron asked. "There was a rumor about that."
"I just found out last year," Nata said. "I'm not very powerful yet. But I'm training."
"With Tonks?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"I am actually," Nata said brightly. "They couldn't get to Tonks, and somehow they found out about me. And I guess I was the next best thing."
"But you escaped?" Harry prompted.
"Tonks got me out," Nata said. Her face clouded over slightly, remembering. "They did some pretty bad things to me."
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Physically, I'm fine," Nata said, running her hand through her hair. "Tonks said I should talk to you, Harry. That you might understand a bit of what I'm going through. I guess I went about this all wrong. I didn't mean to keep staring. I was just trying to work up the courage to speak to you."
"If you want to talk, go ahead and talk," Harry told her.
"I don't just want to talk," Nata said quietly.
"What do you want to do?" Hermione asked.
"I want to help," Nata said determinedly. "After what I went through, I want to help in any way I can. I know I belong to the DA and everything, but I see you all talking together, and I can't help but think that you're planning something."
"Were you really tortured?" Harry asked.
Nata nodded. "I was able to throw off the Imperius Curse twice. After the second time they hit me with the Crutacius Curse, followed by the Imperius Curse again. When I was under the spell, they told me to morph into Harry Potter. I was able to do it, because I was under the curse. But then, after an hour, my body gave out. I'm just not that powerful yet. They let me rest and started the curses again."
"How'd you get out?" Neville asked. He had to admit he was interested in this story. So few people escape the Death Eaters with their lives.
"I would have been killed if it wasn't for Tonks. She snuck in and morphed as me. The Death Eaters couldn't figure out who was who. She gave me enough time to recover my strength, then got me out with a portkey," Nata said. "They tortured her pretty badly after I disappeared, from what I could tell."
"So they want to get a Metamorph to pose as me?" Harry asked.
Draco cleared something in his throat.
"Do you have something to say, Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"I do, Weasley, thanks," Draco said shortly. "Remember that unfortunate incident last year, Potter? The one that landed me in Azkaban? And you with some nice press clippings?"
"What about it?" Harry asked angrily.
"We were trying to get Tonks under the Death Eater control," Draco said simply. "The Dark…You-Know-Who has been trying to get a Metamorph to pose as you for a long time. Problem is, at the moment, there are only two known Metamorphs."
"Tonks and me," Nata said.
"Exactly," Draco said. "Tonks is too skilled. She could hide away forever and never show her real face again if she wanted to. Nata here's not powerful enough to handle the plan. At least the Death Eaters know that now. They'll figure out another plan."
"What was the plan?" Harry asked.
"Pretty simple. Last year, we were going to put Tonks under the Imperius curse and have her take your place. Then we'd sneak you out and no one would be the wiser," Draco said.
"But that didn't work out, now did it?" Ron smirked.
"Well, if I had known what I know now, it would have," Draco sighed.
"Which is?" Ginny asked.
"That Snape's working for Dumbledore. I had no bloody clue," Draco said, shaking his head. "I'm sure he set the whole thing up with Tonks to backfire in my face."
"Did Snape tell you that?" Harry asked. "You haven't told anyone, have you?"
"Do I look like a complete idiot, Potter?" Draco asked. "Anyway, something happened. It hasn't been publicized, but Pansy told me that Snape stepped down as the Head of the Slytherin House."
"You're joking," Hermione said. "Could he have been found out?"
"I think he saved Tonks," Nata offered. "The day I was kidnapped, I mean. He was there, with the Death Eaters. I thought he was one of them. I spit at him." Nata looked very proud of herself.
"You spit at Snape?" Ron asked. Nata nodded her head.
"You lived out every Gryffindor's dream," Ginny laughed. "The chance to spit at Snape."
"It's still pretty amazing that you were able to escape," Neville said.
"Thanks," Nata said. But then her face clouded. "But now I have to have two Aurors follow me at all times. It's really annoying."
"There aren't Aurors here, are there?" Harry asked quickly.
"Nah," Nata said, shaking her head. "They were changing shifts. They don't have any idea where I am right now."
"Good," Harry said.
"So can I help?" Nata asked eagerly. "I really want to join your club."
"It's not really a club," Neville said awkwardly.
"Then what is it?" Nata asked. "I see you all talking all of the time. I know that you're working against You-Know-Who. I know I could help you."
"How?" Harry asked. He said it so rudely that Neville was taken aback.
Nata blinked slowly. "How?" she repeated.
"How can you help us? No offense, Nata, but you're fourteen years old. We don't know you, and I don't know if we can trust you," Harry said.
"Harry…" Ginny trailed off.
Nata's eyes filled with tears, but she kept staring at Harry, not backing down.
"What if something had happened to you when you were captured, and you didn't even realize it?" Harry continued. He stood up and started pacing. "We've already said too much in front of you! What if you're under the Imperius Curse? What if you'll run and go tell everything we just said to a Death Eater and not even realize it?"
"I'm not under the Imperius Curse," Nata said forcefully. She stood up and faced Harry, her hands on her hips. Neville could tell she was furious. Harry even looked taken aback, as Nata was actually taller than him.
"You can't just accuse people of being under curses," Nata said shortly. "I'm offering you my help. I've actually managed to escape from Death Eaters. That should count for something."
"Are you looking just to help or are you looking to fight?" Harry asked. "Because that's how this is going to end, Nata. There is going to be a battle. And people are going to die in this battle. I'd think very carefully before you sign up with us."
"I want to fight," Nata said, crossing her arms over her chest. "None of you have been tortured by Death Eaters. If you had, maybe you'd understand."
"Nata, we're more than happy to talk to you…" Hermione said, trying to put a bit of warmth in her voice.
"You're not fighting with us," Harry snapped.
"Fine," Nata said quickly, then turned around to leave. "Sorry I aksed."
"Harry, it's already been written that she'll fight with us," Luna said peacefully, with a far-away look in her eyes. Nata turned back around and faced the group.
"No offense, Luna, but you have no idea what the hell you're talking about," Harry said angrily.
Neville got to his feet then. "Harry, don't yell at Luna," Neville told him.
"Already written? What does that mean?" Harry retorted. "She's not making any sense!"
Now Neville was getting angry. Luna had done nothing but support them and now Harry was yelling at her. He started to open his mouth to yell back at Harry when Luna raised her arm and pointed at Harry.
"Gryffindor," she said.
Then she pointed at Draco. "Slytherin."
Pointing at herself, she said, "Ravenclaw."
Then finally she pointed at Nata. "Hufflepuff. The four Houses working together to fight you-know…to fight…Voldemort. The Sorting Hat told us that's what needed to happen in order for us to win," she said serenely, not looking put out at all that Harry had yelled at her.
Harry's jaw dropped. Neville looked at Luna proudly. He couldn't remember exactly what the Sorting Hat had said, but he knew it was something like that.
"She's right, Harry," Hermione said softly. "The Sorting Hat said, 'Add Hufflepuff and your circle is now complete.' We're the circle."
"You're only a fourth year," Harry said, not meeting Nata's eye.
"You were only a fourth year when…" Nata stopped and took a deep breath. "When Voldemort came back."
"Let her stay, Harry," Ginny said, taking Harry's hand.
Harry shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," he whispered as he sat back down in his chair.
"Harry, it's our choice to stand by you," Hermione said quietly. "Please stop feeling responsible for our lives."
Without a word, Nata sat down again and beamed at the group.
Neville looked at Draco, who had been unusually quiet during the conversation. "What do you think, Malfoy?" Neville asked.
"I think I'm in Ravenclaw, so this little theory doesn't hold up," Draco said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Hermione sighed. "You were only placed in Ravenclaw for your protection, Draco. You're as Slytherin as they come."
Draco's face flushed slightly, as if the words upset him. "Maybe you're right," he said finally.
"The Gryffindor side is pretty lopsided," Ginny said. "Maybe we should go out and get four more of the other houses, just to be safe."
"This is plenty, thanks," Hermione said. "How in the world are we going to be able to meet with this many people?"
"Let's use coins, like we did fifth year for the D.A.," Ron said. "I still have mine."
Hermione nodded, and a silence fell over the group. Neville looked around at everyone. For some reason, Neville did feel more of a sense of completion in the group. Maybe because of the nice round number of people, or maybe it was simply the yellow and black tie Nata was wearing, which signified the trust and loyalty Nata added to the group.
Gryffindor's bravery. Slytherin's cunningness. Ravenclaw's wisdom. And now Hufflepuff's loyalty. Neville smiled and settled back in his chair. He knew in his heart it wouldn't be easy. That it would take every ounce of their skills and house qualities. Neville understood all of that. But he also knew that they finally had the right combination of people to defeat Voldemort.