DISCLAIMER; I do not own anything you recognize... it all belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling and her family of publishers! Please don't sue, I am a poor student and have no money anyways.
DISCLAIMER #2: (I might quote song lyrics as I feel it, andif I do, this applies) These song lyrics do not belong to me, and they are not meant to promote this story in any way. I love the bands, and actually buy the albums. If anyone is interested in any of the bands I list, I would love to pass on their greatness!
4
After a month with the Weasley's, Harry was almost back to his old self, charming and intuitive. However, no one seemed to understand that Harry would never return to how he was before Sirius died and he found out about the Prophecy. The Weasley's and Hermione would fuss over him, but he needed to be alone with his thoughts most of the time. The only person who understood this was Ginny, whom was most likely to be sitting quietly next to him as he lay flat on his back staring at clouds from the top of a rolling hill near the Burrow.
The Prophecy was the situation that weighed on his mind most of the time; the next was Ginny, though Harry guiltily thought he should be thinking about Sirius more than Ginny. It didn't help to have her with him all the time, but she brought him a little peace from the family (since Mrs. Weasley thought Harry and Ginny should fall in love, and was doing everything in her power to shove them together), and Ginny was good companionship. They never really talked, but Harry seemed to feel closest to her now. And that also made him feel guilty.
It wasn't that Harry was trying to figure out his feelings for Ginny; he had already decided that she was just a friend and was mostly confident that Ginny felt the same way. His problem with Ginny was the shocks he would receive around her. But, he didn't feel like bringing it up with her since he didn't really know how to ask.
"Excuse me, Ginny, why is it that I get shocked whenever you're around?" was a completely mental question and made him laugh even when he thought it.
It seemed a more prevalent question, however, when she almost severely hurt him with her shocks. Harry and the Weasley's were playing a variation of Quidditch where the quaffle was replaced with Harry's Frisbee. The game turned into Ultimate Frisbee, except on brooms. It was actually a quite exciting game since the Frisbee would float so well, and allow for some amazing tactics and plays.
Everything was going well, until Fred threw the Frisbee towards Ginny, who got ready to challenge Harry at the goal. She grabbed the Frisbee in midair, swung around to charge towards Harry. As soon as she made eye contact with him, Harry could feel the static building. The shock ripped through him, a hundred times more powerful than any he had received before. Barely clinging to his broom, he almost yelled for Ginny to stop, but couldn't decide which Ginny to yell at. Before him were two Ginny's: one racing past him on his left, and one on his right. Both were blurry, and he blinked several times before he saw that Ginny was sitting on her broom off to his left, staring at him with her head cocked to the side, her brows furrowed.
His knuckles were white on his broom, and he heard Ron yell at him for not stopping the goal. Harry just stared hard at Ginny, confused beyond belief. The game had ended with her goal, so the rest of the Weasley's were waiting on the ground.
"Ginny, what was that?" Harry ventured, not knowing how to describe what he just saw. Ginny turned a slight shade of pink, and tucked her hair behind her ear, a habit Harry knew she did whenever she was nervous.
"I don't know what you are talking about," she said quickly then flew to the ground, leaving him to watch her descend.
After the quick dismissal, Harry did not venture the subject with Ginny again. The rest of the summer seemed monotonous and the tension that seemed to permanently reside in his shoulders seemed to increase. He was concerned about Voldemort's plans and the Order would still tell him nothing. Dumbledore had said during his sixth year that Harry would not receive information because he was underage. Now that he was seventeen, and of age, Dumbledore's excuse was that he was unsure if Harry was still mentally connected to Voldemort. Harry knew that both explanations were just excuses to get him out of the way. However, after a lack of information led to Sirius' death, Harry was becoming more tensed and restless then ever before. After an uneventful sixth year at school, Harry was unsure that Voldemort and the Order were still working hard against each other.
He however, was still working hard learning new spells and strengthening and conditioning his body. Harry, Ron and Hermione had continued the DA, with Dumbledore's permission, and this also helped with practicing dueling. His main concern, however, was the Prophecy.
Ron and Hermione still were uninformed of it, and it was the main reason Harry felt so alone. But, he knew what their reactions would be, and it was better for both of them if Harry carried his burden alone. Before he was aware of the Prophecy, he knew that Voldemort wanted him dead, but was not completely sure of the reason behind it. He had figured it was because he had almost caused the Dark wizard's death, he did not realize it was because Harry was the chosen One to destroy Voldemort.
Thinking of the Prophecy was like thinking of his fate. Harry knew now that it was his destiny to face Voldemort, and he would either succeed or die trying. Now life for Harry had taken on a different meaning. He was training, eating, breathing, sleeping, and practicing for the day he would face the Dark Lord, and not much else seemed important other than what was unwillingly placed before him.
Harry felt alone, guilty, and (though he would not admit it to anyone) terrified. These were the feelings he kept with him constantly and now they seemed almost normal to him as he stepped on the train to Hogwarts to start his last year of school.
-
Draco clenched his fist, concentrating hard, and the door to the Head Boy and Girl cabin slid closed. Checking to make sure his wand was locked in his trunk, he smiled to himself, thinking that the training he had this summer was finally paying off – he was able to do wandless magic. Though it was still very weak, since it had only been a month, his teacher said that Draco had improved with great speed.
Ever since Voldemort had learned of the Second Prophecy and the Aspects, his goal was to transform Draco into a full Aspect. The Dark Lord believed that if the Aspects were prophesized to kill him, than an Aspect could kill Harry Potter. Draco laughed bitterly, he was now going to be confined to a school with the person he was being trained to kill.
But there had been setbacks this summer. The special teacher who trained the Second Prophecy Aspects needed to be obtained for Draco to learn how to conjure Aspect powers. In the meantime, he was busy developing his wandless talents while waiting for the Death Eaters to locate her.
Though using wandless magic was nothing compared to the power harnessed by an Aspect, the fundamentals of each were the same. Draco had never seen his father so proud as when Voldemort called upon Draco to train for the honor of killing Harry. He received strict instructions to never use his powers in front of anyone, and he was not to harm Harry in any way until the Special Teacher was found and he could begin his training.
Closing his eyes, he laid his head back onto the seat, his legs stretched out across the floor, and thought of Ginny. It was actually one of the first times he had thought of her since she had written him back, mostly because of his rigorous training. He vaguely hoped she would be in one of his classes again, he knew his new knowledge would help immensely and he would probably pass her in the class finally. And so he could get a daily look at her lovely long legs.
One of the things Draco could never insult was Ginny's legs. Long and beautiful, he decided they were absolutely perfect. He just wished he could get her in a pair of sleek black stilettos and …
Draco rubbed his eyes, trying to get the image out of his head. He chalked his vivid imagery of Ginny up to lack of sleep, and decided he needed to get some rest. Draco had not gotten a moments peace for a month. Between his father and his trainer, Draco worked hard with little sleep. Smiling to himself at the chance to finally get some rest without being disturbed, he propped his feet up on the facing seats and settled back into the cushions.
What felt like moments later the door to the cabin opened, and the object of his stiletto fantasy stood illuminated in the doorway.
"Way to skive off duties," she said. "Who knows why Dumbledore made you Head Boy, you couldn't even be woken up to do your Train Rounds." Ginny looked down her nose at him, her eyes glinting with smugness.
"I still have the whole train ride, Weasel, don't get your knickers in a bunch," Draco retorted, then noticed that the light from the hall of the cabin was very bright… which meant it was dark outside. "Shit," he muttered, briefly pressing his palms to his eyes.
"Hold on, why didn't someone wake me up?" Draco demanded, standing up and grabbing the luggage rail to keep from falling over as the slowing train jerked and shuddered.
"Oh, believe me, I tried, but I admit not that hard though. After you told me to piss off, then said that I could join you and you would, I believe the phrase was 'make it worth your while, redhead,' Hermione said that I could let you sleep,' Ginny said stonily, though she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He really was quite the persuasive sleeper.
"So who took my duties? Hermione?" Draco asked, turning a slight shade of pink. How embarrassing, he thought, though hitting on Weasley didn't seem all that bad…
"No, she had enough to do. She asked me to do it," Ginny said, shrugging. Draco stared at her. Head Boy and Head Girl train duties were the worst. It involved overseeing organizing the student luggage in the baggage car, then checking student tickets and patrolling the corridors and compartments until it was time to again make rounds to remind students to change into their uniforms. Then another set of rounds were made to make sure the uniforms were proper and clean for arrival. And the last duties involved overseeing the unloading of the baggage car at the train station. All in all, it made for a pretty shitty train ride.
"Well, you're awake," Ginny said, uncomfortable with the silence and his staring. "Too bad though, I was hoping you'd be able to sleep all the way back to King's Cross and wouldn't return until Christmas," she laughed, and crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at him. "Anyways, Hermione said you have luggage duty by yourself so you better get going." She turned to leave, pausing quickly to think that he couldn't even thank her for being so selfless and letting him sleep while she patrolled the compartments dealing with the unruly younger students. Figures, she thought.
Draco saw her stop at the compartment door as she was leaving. For some reason, anger and embarrassment coursed through him, who did she think she was helping him? And her gorgeous long legs that gave him burning dreams… gods, she was a pain. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Well, I hope you aren't waiting for payment or something of the sort. I know you poor Weasley's are always looking for handouts, but you don't have to be so disgustingly obvious about it."
Ginny turned to look at him, her jaw set, her eyes glinting with anger.
"I see I was wrong in thinking we were past seriously insulting each other, Ferret," she said darkly, her eyes flashing.
"I was never above insulting you," Draco corrected, who was she to push him around? He was Voldemort's prize fighter; she was a poor little red head.
"I guess it was too much to think that you could at least say thanks for the shit I put up with today, especially because I saved your ass. But I guess you really are the drool encrusted troll everyone says you are," Ginny hissed at him. Giving him another of her famous withering looks, she turned and slammed the compartment door shut with a fury.
-
Ginny had noticed how tired Malfoy had looked, he had dark circles under his eyes and his usually pale skin was even paler. It didn't concern her much now though; Malfoy was positively evil to her. Although last year, he had stopped insulted her and her family on a regular basis, she wondered where this change came from. He even tried to hit on her in his sleepy state which was a huge change. And he didn't thank her for saving his ass. But, Ginny was probably angrier about the way her stomach flip-flopped when he had grabbed her hand when she went to wake him up (before she figured out he was so tired he was incoherent), than she was about the fact that he didn't thank her for filling in for him today.
After all, she was still angry that he had the gall to write to her this summer just to insult her. At least that's what she thought he was doing. She had a lot of time to think over the summer, and unbearably most of it was about Draco.
Harry wasn't the only one who grew over the past years. After watching Harry go through his painful experiences, and being with him while he sat sorting things out left her a lot of time to contemplate her place in her family and in Hogwarts. She was a Weasley, the youngest, and that left a lot to live up too. Bill and Charlie were athletic and smart, Percy was brilliant and ambitious, Fred and George were troublemakers, and Ron is… Ron.
Of course she was different from her brothers; Ginny had been appointed Prefect for the sixth year Gryffindors, and when she got her letter, Mrs. Weasley had cried in happiness for an hour. But Ginny wasn't as excited as her family was, it meant that she would have to work with Colin (the other sixth year Prefect) and worst of all, Head Boy Draco. Colin wasn't so bad, after she thought about it, though he did have his moments. However, Draco and his huge ego would be a headache.
But, this year would be different, she promised herself. She already stopped taking crap from Draco, and if he decided to revert to his old ways, so would she. She was the new Ginny Weasley: athletic, brilliant, ambitious, and of course, a troublemaker. She smiled to herself as she stepped off the train to find her friends.
-
Emlyn was standing next to Lukas at the top of the stairs leading down into the entrance of the Great Hall. Her robes were new and completely black because she hadn't been sorted into a house yet. Her blond hair fell down her back. Anyone watching would see a placid observer, but Emlyn was seething inside.
They had spent the summer here at Hogwarts after their sister and parents were killed by Death Eaters. Dumbledore had told them of Tynan's sacrifice to keep them safe from Voldemort, and that her plan had succeeded… for now.
Emlyn and Lukas had continued to train with their teacher, who was the one who had brought them to Hogwarts. But it wasn't the same without Tynan and both Emlyn and Lukas could feel it. Their trio had been broken, and they were missing a crucial link, but their Tutor believed they could be trained to Lift like Tynan. Emlyn couldn't prove it, but it seemed as if the Tutor was waiting for something, or rather someone…
It was hard being somewhere new, and she was scared for the school year to start. Though both Lukas and Emlyn were smart, this was the first time they had to study something other than their Aspects. Dumbledore said that life should go on as normal for them. However it was extremely hard to live without their sister and family. The most pain came from practicing without Tynan though, she was gone and Emlyn and Lukas were finally realizing it.
And now they had to lie. Dumbledore suggested, with their best interests at heart, that Lukas and Emlyn should pretend to be from different families, different parts of the world. They had to pretend to be complete strangers. And Merlin, how hard it was going to be not seeing Lukas every day.
But there was one person she kept in the back of her mind during their intense training at Hogwarts. The one who was responsible, Harry Potter, would pay for her family's death. And he would be here any moment.
Emlyn went back to quietly watching the students file into the Hall excitedly, no one really noticing that she was there. She scanned the crowed eagerly, the first glimpse of the person who occupied her thoughts the most was only seconds away. If only she could find him…
-
Draco wanted to kick himself for what he said to Ginny. He didn't know where those words came from, they just popped out.
Ah, who was he kidding, he knew where his anger stemmed from. He was sick and tired of hearing about how the little poor Weasley scored better than the pureblooded power of a Malfoy. He was also sick and tired of hearing about perfect Potter and his redhead girlfriend. He knew Ginny didn't deserve his anger; it was in fact his fault for scoring lower than her. She had wounded his ego, he smirked. But it made no difference when it came to venting his anger.
The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin but the Great Hall was filled with the laughter and noise of students sharing their summer break stories with their friends. Draco wasn't even trying to listen to Pansy describe her shopping ventures in America. She was boring and predictable, and he didn't have to listen to know what she was saying.
Glancing around, his eyes stopped on Ginny. She was sitting next to Potter. They were sitting quite close to each other actually. Their faces were slightly turned towards each other, though they weren't talking. It was if they both didn't like the noise, and comforted themselves in being near each other.
It disgusted him.
But before he could think more of it, the Sorting Hat had started his song, and the ceremony had begun.
-
Harry had watched the First Years sit one by one on the stool until there was only pair of students left, a girl and boy who were obviously not eleven.
The boy was about as tall as Harry, at least six foot, with short blond hair. The girl standing next to him…
She took Harry's breath away. Her angelic face was set in an unreadable expression, her wavy blond hair falling down her back. As her gaze flicked over the students watching her, he saw that her eyes were clear blue.
"They must be the new students," Hermione whispered to him, noticing that he was boldly stared at the new girl.
"You knew we were getting new students?" Ron asked her, "Why didn't you tell us? What year are they?"
"Calm down, Ron. I don't have to tell you everything," Hermione said crossly. Ron rolled his eyes, muttered something that sounded like 'crazy Head Girl' and turned back towards the stage as McGonagall quieted the students.
"Attention, please!" She called, waiting for the noise to settle. When it had dimmed to her satisfaction, she continued. "We have two new students this year, in addition to the First Years."
A wave of whispers floated thought the Hall, but Harry was still staring at the back of the new girl's head. She seemed unfazed by the attention they were getting. Harry felt drawn to her, and found himself hoping she would be sorted into Gryffindor so that he could talk to her.
"Lukas Brandon and Emlyn Riley will both be sorted into houses and continue with other Seventh Years. Lukas, if you will?" McGonagall motioned to the stool and hat, and Lukas slowly made his way across the stage. He did not look nervous at all, rather a bit sad. But, he sat down, and the Sorting Hat took quite a long time placing him in a house.
"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat yelled. The Ravenclaw table erupted in applause, and Harry watched him smile and make his way over to the table. As he passed where Harry was sitting, Lukas stopped for a second and smiled directly at Hermione. She blushed profusely, and Ron gave a big "Hrumph." Harry laughed to himself.
"Emlyn Riley," McGonagall said, and Harry watched as the angelic blond girl made her way up to the stage to sit on the stool. She also looked sad, but as she sat down, she caught Harry staring at her intently. McGonagall placed the Hat on her head, and a slow smile spread over her face. She was looking directly at Harry, and the smile turned more malicious than friendly.
"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat yelled, and Emlyn stood up, raking her fingers through her long hair. She smirked, and made her way over… to sit directly next to Draco.
Harry was about halfway out of his seat before he felt Ginny's hand on his arm. He sat down again. The angel-girl was a Slytherin! Harry fumed as Draco began talking to her and Emlyn smiled brilliantly at the blond.
Dumbledore rose and smiled across the Hall.
"Welcome back students, from all the happy faces I gather the summer was enjoyable," he smiled again, but Harry noticed he purposefully looked at Lukas and Emlyn.
"I would also like to introduce Ms. Damaris Morticai. She will be taking the position as Defense Against the Dark Arts for the year. Please join me in welcoming her to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore clapped enthusiastically, and a short woman with long curly black hair stood up at the faculty table. She looked surprisingly young and very nice. Harry wondered if she actually knew anything about the Dark Arts.
"Before we get started with the feast, there are few Start of Term Reminders I would like to take care of. Mr. Filch has added 42 more items on his list of banned objects, for complete list, please see his office door. Also, the East Wing of the North Campus is strictly of limits. Please, under no circumstances approach this area of the castle unless you wish to incur most painful injuries."
Harry looked over at his friends, exchanging curious glances. He wondered what was in that wing of the castle, hopefully not another Fluffy.
"Herm?" he nudged her.
"It's the old dueling arena, Harry," she said in a bored voice. Harry grinned at her and Ron.
"Though, I am very curious as to why he's blocked it off. No one really used it anyways," she whispered. They all shrugged, and immediately forgot about it because the feast had begun.
Get back to me about what you think! Questions, mistakes, critiques, applause, howlers... I'll take it all! I promise you will want to read what's next... :) latas-xxx