CHAPTER 17: The Heirs of Hogwarts
"What's this, Mr. Longbottom?" Dumbledore asked the Gryffindor seriously.
"I-I, well, we saw it on a shelf when we were hiding from the security guards, and I –er- kind of…took it." Neville stammered, avoiding Dumbledore's gaze. The old man seemed to consider this for a minute.
"Well its too late to return it now, open it, lets see if there is anything to it."
"Wait, sir, do you –er- recognize the initials?"
"Yes, I daresay that I do. The first, as you well know, is Sibyll Trelawney, who seems to have proven me wrong, she has actually made three real predictions. The second person, Harry, I shouldn't be surprised that you do not know. Something you may not realize is that when your parents married your mother kept her maiden name, simply adding your father's. This would make her-"
"Lily Evans Potter. So my mum knew about it then? She didn't tell you?"
"Apparently not, Harry. There are many possible explanations, none of which truly matter at this point in time. Neville, would you kindly break the orb?" Dumbledore said with a polite smile. Neville looked at each of his friends before doing as he was told, he dropped the ball orb on the hard floor and it shattered. A pearly white figure floated out of it.
The Dark Lord's second reign of terror shall be more horrible than
any can imagine…Scores of monsters shall join his ranks, yet there is hope
for the good as long as the heirs of Hogwarts stand united…The final battle approaches when three of the Heirs of Hogwarts unite to vanquish the fourth…The heir of Hufflepuff shall be known by his drive to aid his true friends, a boy that contains unexpected powers…The heir of Ravenclaw is marked by a knowledge unrivaled, …The heir of Gryffindor shares power with the Dark Lord, but contains a power the world has not yet seen…There is hope for the side of good as long as the heirs of Hogwarts stand united.
"I-er-did…what did that mean?" Ron asked, breaking the silence after a few minutes.
"It means that Harry can't kill Voldemort alone, there are two other people that can help him. One of those people is the heir of Hufflepuff, the other is the heir of Ravenclaw."
"You got all that from Trelawney's ramblings?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Actually, Mr. Weasley, that was quite a bit easier than Sibyll's other prediction."
"So…who are the other heirs?" Neville asked quietly.
"Well the first is obvious, Neville. That would be you. The prophesy obviously has something to do with you because it allowed you to take it off the shelf." Hermione explained.
"Quite right, Hermione." Dumbledore told her, beaming. Hermione tried not to look overly pleased with herself. "But tell me, have you figured out who the last person is?"
"Well, Sir, I thought that Neville was the heir of Hufflepuff, considering how loyal he is to Harry, Ron, and me, also because he has probably been the hardest working member of the DA."
"I quite agree, continue."
"Well, the heir of Ravenclaw is the brightest person in Hogwarts. That means the best grades. I know that I probably have the best grades of the year, with the possible exception of Harry in a few classes, but I'm not sure about being the smartest in the whole school, there are sixth other years to consider!"
"Come off it, Hermione. You are the brightest witch in Gryffindor, not just our year. That would make you Ravenclaw's heir." Ron said bluntly.
"No, it can't be…"
"I'd have to agree with Ron, Hermione. You're the smartest, and the prophesy said the smartest was Ravenclaw's heir." Neville chimed in.
"No, I can't be Ravenclaw's heir because I am muggle born. I have no magical ancestry, and Rowina Ravenclaw was a witch, its impossible!" The whole room went quiet. Harry hadn't even considered that, he thought it was so obvious that Hermione was the choice that he didn't even remember she was muggle-born.
Harry hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, images of the pearly white figure of Sibyll Trelawney announcing the heirs of Hogwarts kept flashing in his mind.
"Harry!" A voice rang out in the common room. He turned to see Parvati standing in front of the message board. "Hogsmeade trip this weekend!" Harry noticed that she was looking at him expectantly.
"Er- great." Harry said lamely. He was wondering whether it was really a good idea to ask Parvati, it would just make her a target. "Listen, I don't think you should go with me. If everyone sees us together than you'll be in danger." Parvati, to his surprise, smiled back at him.
"Why do you have to be so cute all the time? I'm a big girl, I can stand up for myself. Besides, I'm not worried as long as you're with me." Harry's face went red, causing her to giggle.
"Well, if you're going to be so bloody insistent on it." Harry smiled, grabbing her hands, "would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"
Parvati made a show of considering the proposal. "Well, yes, I suppose so." She smiled at him, stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him gently on the cheek. Before Harry could respond she was up the stairs and in the girl's dormitory.
"What have I gotten myself into now?" Harry muttered to himself before quietly opening the portrait of the fat lady and escaping the common room.
The week past and Harry was suddenly very nervous about his trip to Hogsmeade, what would happen if his trip with Parvati ended up just like the trip with Cho? What if he made a fool of himself and she never wanted to speak to him again? What if-
Harry's mind seemed to die as he saw Parvati walking down the stairs, she was dressed in a red silk robe with matching lipstick. Harry didn't realize how long he had been staring at her but apparently it had been too long when she looked at him oddly and said "Hello? Harry?" waving her hand in front of his face.
"Wow." Escaped Harry's lips, causing his date to blush, but, to his surprise, she didn't giggle.
"Let's get going, we don't want to be left here all alone, do we?" Parvati asked suggestively. Harry didn't think that would be such a bad thing, but offered his hand and guided her out of the common room instead.
When they reached Hogsmeade Harry had the feeling that he was being watched, but as he looked around he realized that nobody seemed to give him a second look. He realized that he was becoming paranoid and just tried to enjoy his date. This ended up being a very simple thing to do, considering that, alone, Parvati was very easy to talk to, and even easier to just look at. They went into the three broomsticks for butterbeer, where Madame Rosmerta winked and smiled at Harry, causing him to blush and his date to glare at the hostess. Luckily, Parvati didn't seem put off by this for long and they continued to talking, their discussions never getting closer to Voldemort or the upcoming war than a few mentions of the DA.
They emerged from the three broomsticks to find that the air had become slightly colder, so Harry tugged at the collar of his robes to shield his face from the wind. Parvati, he realized, was shivering because she was wearing the light silk robe and no jacket. Without thinking he reached out and rubbed his hands over her arms to warm her up, which earned him a smile. Harry liked the feeling of having his arm around Parvati, but thought it would be a bit awkward to keep rubbing her arms, so he simply slipped one arm around her waist and continued walking. Parvati inched closer to him and he could feel some of her weight press against him, Harry looked away for a minute, wondering what he should do next when he felt Parvati put all of her wait on him. Harry stumbled and fell over, his date on top of him. He tried to push her off of him gently, but a horrible realization dawned on him, he was lifting dead weight, she was stunned.
Harry cursed himself for not realizing the threat of an attack sooner, why had he shrugged off his instincts like that? Harry rolled out from underneath her and got to a knee, surveying the ground before him, it was empty, nobody was there. Harry heard a laugh come from behind him, when he spun around he saw that Antonin Dolohov, the man that almost killed Hermione, was ripping off an invisibility cloak. Harry's wand was out, but Dolohov simply waved his hand in a dismissing motion.
"Now, now, Potter. I wanted to talk to you before I killed you. The Dark Lord wishes to speak with you, more importantly. I believe he has an offer for you."
"Why should I want to hear anything that maniac has to say?" Harry said with a quiet force that unsettled Dolohov briefly.
"Because the Dark Lord knows you are going through a hard time, he can ensure your friend's safety, and he has a way to reunite you with your beloved Godfather." It was Harry's turn to be unsettled, and Dolohov smiled to see the lost look in Harry's eyes.
"Tell Voldemort that he can shove it, he can't bring back the dead and he won't spare my friends."
"Stupid boy, your Godfather isn't actually dead, he's just not here anymore. And yes, your friends could be protected if you join us. You could ensure their safety by sitting at the Dark Lord's right hand." Harry almost didn't hear the last part, Sirius wasn't dead? It had to be a trick; Voldemort was just trying to throw him off. But what if that veil didn't really kill you? What if it simply transported you? Harry had to shake these thoughts from his head. Harry lifted his wand, not wanting to hear anymore.
"STUPEFY!" Harry was stunned, he saw that Dolohov wasn't the only person standing their, the man Harry recognized as Avery had been hiding under a cloak the entire time.
"I told you he was stupid." Dolohov said with a quiet laugh. "The Dark Lord will be pleased. We are about to kill one of his greatest enemies. Avada Kedavra." He finished, pointing his wand at Harry. The jet of green light shot fro the tip of the wand right at Harry. Before he could even contemplate his end the spell struck him in his chest, causing more pain than he could have ever imagined. This was worse than the cruciatus curse, worse than when Voldemort possessed him last year, he began to wish that he would die.
"This doesn't make sense" a small voice in Harry's head whispered, "this death should be instantaneous, I shouldn't be feeling anything." Just as soon as that voice stopped another voice, a woman's voice entered Harry's thoughts. Either must die at the hand of the other. For the first time Harry realized that the prophesy had two sides to it, he was the only one that could kill Voldemort, but Voldemort was the only one that could kill him. Harry got to his knees, a surge of energy running through him, numbing the pain completely.
Harry felt a strange focus coming over him, making everything look almost like it was happening in slow motion. He raised his wand at the two death eaters, who were standing over Parvati, their backs to him, and sent a bludgeoning spell at Dolohov. The man turned when he heard the noise, but it was too late. The spell struck him in the side of his head, crushing his skull with a sickening crunch. As the limp body fell Harry turned towards the other man, who was now staring, wide eyed, back at him. The Death Eater hadn't even had time to raise his wand before Harry conjured a small blade. With a flick of his wand he sent the knife hurdling towards Avery, who still hadn't reacted yet. The blade embedded itself in the Death Eater's heart. Harry ran past the two fallen Death Eaters to get to Parvati. He knew his first reaction was that she was stunned, but what if he was wrong? All he really knew was that she wasn't moving, she could be…
Harry skidded to a halt beside her and rolled her onto her back. He checked her pulse and realized that it was beating, relatively slowly, but beating. He stood up, pointed his wand at her and muttered "enervate." She began to stir.
"Harry? What happened?" She asked, her eyes still somewhat unfocused. Harry tried to respond but his head had began aching again, now that the unseen force was leaving him he began to feel the pain that he had been putting off. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to speak, to tell her that everything was going to be ok. He kneeled down next to her, placing his hands on the ground to steady himself, but it was no use, he blacked out.
"Get up, boy." A gruff voice commanded Harry. As his eyes came back into focus he could see a familiar looking man standing over him. Harry tried to spring out of bed, but was stopped by a dizzying headache. "Relax, boy. You're safe here."
"Harry!" Parvati squeaked, running into the room. Harry took in his surroundings for the first time. He was in a room not unlike the rooms found in the Leaky Cauldron.
"What happened? Where am I? Are you alright Parvati?" The man smiled for the first time, he stared at Harry, his blue eyes twinkling. "Dumbledore!"
"Not exactly." The gruff voice responded, the twinkle in his eyes now gone. Harry wasn't sure if he had said something to upset him or he was trying to hide something.
"No, you're Dumbledore alright." The man looked at him suspiciously before turning to Parvati and asking her to step outside. "As I was saying, you're Dumbledore alright, you're just not Albus. It's nice to meet you Aberforth." This earned him a strange look, but to Harry's surprise, the man grinned.
"So, my clever disguise has failed, eh? Yes, I'm Aberforth, Harry. And I've heard quite a bit about you from my brother. Seems you have a habit of getting into trouble?" Harry began to respond before Aberforth put up his hand to silence him. "I've got endless respect for a man that can do what you've done, Mr. Potter. And between the two of us, my brother isn't quite as genius as some people make him out to be." Aberforth finished in a whisper.
"I know what you mean," Harry said, remembering Dumbledore's mistake in not telling him about the prophecy. A mistake that got Sirius killed. "But what are you doing here?"
"You're in the Hogs Head, Harry. I own the place."
"Wait a second…This is where Dumbledore met Prof- er- met with the divination candidate wasn't it? You were the one that found the spy weren't you?"
"Yea, that was me." He grunted. "And there is something I think that you should understand, boy. My brother is pretty damned smart, but this isn't his fight now, it's yours. And that means that if you ever need anything, I'd be happy to help you. Even if my dear old brother disagrees, it's your decision, and you need to fight this war as you see fit."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, but that reminds me, I would've thought I'd be being watched by the Order today. I figured someone would've been senaking around under one of Moody's old invisibility cloaks, that's one of the reasons I didn't get too worried when I felt someone's presence."
"Astute, aren't you, boy?" Aberforth grinned. "Yea, you were supposed to be watched, but Fletcher wasn't exactly around, was he?"
"Apparently not. Not that I'm overly upset, I learned something that will come in handy."
"What's that?" Aberforth asked, raising his thick eye brows.
"Only Voldemort can kill me."