Understand
I don't know why I chose this for a title. I also kinda doubt that you people won't get a new chapter every day now. I just wanted to finish the fifth year quickly so that I can get stuck in writer's block...joking. I already got ideas going...that's why I put some things into dreams or vision things so that I don't forget them. I love how my mind works.
"SHE KILLED SIRIUS!" Harry yelled. Leah looked up at him. "SHE KILLED HIM! I'LL KILL HER!" He ran off.
"HARRY!" Leah shouted, scrambling to her feet and chasing after him. Leah completely ignored the fact that Luna, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were all lying on the floor in various states.
Leah took the stairs rather then the elevator and caught up to Harry quickly. She grabbed him and yanked him behind the fountain just as Bellatrix shot a spell at him.
"What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?" Leah asked. Her eyes were red from the crying she had been doing ten minutes earlier.
"Come out, come out, little Harry!" Bellatrix said in the baby voice again. "Come out Leah. What did you two come after me for? I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!"
"I am!" Harry shouted. Leah groaned.
"Aaaaaah…did you love him, little baby Potter?" Bellatrix taunted. "I know Leah did. Won't you come out and give me what I deserve?"
"Keep talking Bella and maybe you'll get more." Leah said.
"Crucio!" Harry said, coming out from behind the fountain. Leah jumped out after him, ready to pull him back into safety if need be…or to curse Bellatrix…whatever came first. Bellatrix screamed and was knocked off her feet. Leah yanked Harry back behind the fountain as Bellatrix sent a counter spell at them. The spell hit the head of the wizard on the fountain and it was blown off.
"Never used an unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?" Bellatrix yelled. "You need to mean them, Potter! Leah would know. You need to really want to cause pain…to enjoy it…righteous anger won't hurt me for long…I'll show you how it is done, shall I? How about I use your girlfriend to demonstrate?" Harry had started to edge around the fountain to the other side. "Crucio!" Harry ducked back behind the fountain. The centaur's arm, holding its bow, span off. "Potter, you cannot win against me!"
"You did it again!" Leah whispered.
"What?" Harry asked, looking at her.
"You've gone and dragged us into danger again! When will you ever learn?" Leah whispered.
"I was and am the Dark Lord's most loyal servant. I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete..."
"Stupefy!" Harry and Leah yelled, moving out from behind the fountain again then ducked back again.
"Protego!" Bellatrix shouted. The Stunning Spells bounced back at them. Leah's hit nothing but the wall. Harry's hit the goblin's ear. "Potter, Black, I've going to give you two one chance." They could hear Bellatrix walking around. "Give me the prophecy…roll it out towards me now…and I may spare your lives!"
"Well, you're going to have to kill me, because it's gone!" Harry shouted. Leah looked at him to see a look of pain cross his face slightly. "And he knows!" Harry laughed and Leah slid away from him slightly. "Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is he?"
"What? What do you mean?" Bellatrix shouted. There was fear in her voice.
"The prophecy smashed when Leah and I were trying to get Neville up the steps." Harry shouted. "What do you think Voldemort'll say about that, then?" Leah could tell Harry's scar was giving him a lot of pain.
"LIAR!" Bellatrix screamed. "YOU'VE GOT IT, AND YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME! Accio prophecy! Accio Prophecy!"
"You can summon it all you want." Leah shouted.
"Nothing there!" Harry shouted, still laughing. Leah was starting to fear for his sanity. "Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that!"
"No!" Bellatrix screamed. "It isn't true, you're lying! MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED…DO NOT PUNISH ME!"
"Don't waste your breath! Harry yelled. "He can't hear you from here!"
"Can't I, Potter?" Leah froze at the sound of Voldemort's voice. She looked up and saw him standing in the middle of the hall, his wand pointed at Harry. "So, you smashed my prophecy? No, Bella, he is not lying…I see the truth looking at me from within both their worthless minds…months of preparation, months of effort…ad my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again…"
"Master, I am sorry, I knew not. I was fighting the Animagus Black!" Bellatrix said. Leah remembered, just in time, that Bellatrix was talking about Sirius, not her. "Master, you should know…"
"Be quiet, Bella." Voldemort said. Leah looked from Bellatrix to Voldemort. He was really pissed off. "I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?"
"But Master…he is here…he is below…." Bellatrix said.
"I have nothing more to say to you, Potter." Voldemort said. "You have irked me too often, for too long." He looked at Leah. "Let's see we get rid of her first…make you suffer even more. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Leah's eyes shut quickly. There was a crash and she opened her eyes to see the golden statue of the headless wizard from the fountain in front of her and Harry. The spell just glanced off its chest. Leah could have sworn her heart stopped and was now working double time.
"What…?" Voldemort said, looking around. "Dumbledore!" He raised his wand and a jet of green light streaked at Dumbledore, who turned and was gone. Next second he was right behind Voldemort and waved his wand at the rest of the statues on the fountain. The witch ran at Bellatrix, who screamed, but got pinned to the floor. The goblin and the house-elf went to the fireplaces and the one-armed centaur ran at Voldemort, who disappeared and reappeared beside the pool.
Leah and Harry were pushed backwards by the headless wizard, keeping them out of the way of the fight. Dumbledore advanced on Voldemort while the centaur moved around them both.
"It was foolish to come ere tonight ,Tom. "Dumbledore said. "The Aurors are on their way…"
"By which time I shall be gone, and you will be dead!" Voldemort said. He tried another killing curse but missed, causing the security guard's desk to burst into flames. Dumbledore did a spell that forced Voldemort to conjure a shield to deflect it. You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore? Above such brutality, are you?"
"We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom." Dumbledore said. He was still calm and this got Leah wondering if he had a big plan or something. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit…"
"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" Voldemort snarled.
"You are quite wrong." Dumbledore said. The headless wizard kept pushing Harry back against the wall. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness…" A jet of green light, again, flew from behind the shield. The centaur moved in front of Dumbledore and took the blow, causing it to shatter into hundred of pieces. Dumbledore had waved his wand as if brandishing a whip and a long, thin flame flew from the tip and wrapped around Voldemort and his shield. For a moment, one single moment, Leah thought Dumbledore had won and everything was ok again.
She was wrong. The rope because a serpent, released Voldemort from it hold, and faced Dumbledore. Voldemort vanished as the snake reared from the floor, ready to strike.
There was a burst of flame from midair above Dumbledore just as Voldemort reappeared, standing where the five golden statues were, barely thirty minutes ago.
"LOOK OUT!" Harry and Leah yelled. A jet of green light shot from Voldemort's wand and…Fawkes came out of no where in front of Dumbledore and swallowed the jet of green light before bursting into flames and falling to the floor. Dumbledore brandished his wand and the snake flew high in the air and vanished. The water in the fountain rose and surrounded Voldemort.
After a few seconds, Voldemort was gone and the water fell, splashing wildly over the sides.
"MASTER!" Bellatrix screamed.
"Oh give it a rest." Leah said. She and Harry were about to run out from behind the statue.
"Stay where you are!" Dumbledore said. He sounded scared…more then scared…he sounded frightened. Leah was confused until Harry made a noise of pain. She took the step or so closer to him and grabbed him before he fell and cracked his head on the ground.
"Dumbledore…what is going on?" Leah asked.
"Kill me now, Dumbledore." Harry said, except it wasn't his voice. Part of the pain from Harry moved to Leah and she winced and bit her lip, refusing to let go of her friend. "If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy."
"Dumbledore!" Leah shouted, scared beyond measure. Dumbledore was instantly next to her and Leah jumped slightly. She wasn't sure how, but now the headless wizard was lying flat on its back. Harry opened his eyes.
"Don't do that. You're gonna give me a heart attack." Leah said, sighing.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." Harry said. Leah had his head in her lap and trying to figure out a way to make him stop shaking. "Yeah, I'm…where's Voldemort, where…who are all these…what's…" Leah looked around and saw the Atrium full of people. Emerald green flames had burst into life in every single fireplace along one wall and streams of witches and wizards were emerging from them. Leah and Dumbledore pulled Harry to his feet. Fudge was lead over to them but the house-elf and the goblin statues. Leah saw her grandfather in the crowd and rushed over to him and hugged him.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Long story short…Harry thought dad was in danger so him, me, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna all came here." Leah said. "Where we found out he wasn't in danger but it was a trap, then we met Death Eaters, fought…kinda…then dad, Remus, Tonks, Moody and Kingsley showed up and Bellatrix…she…dad fell through the veil."
"Where are the others?" Her grandfather asked urgently. Leah told him and he grabbed about seven others before rushing off.
"Leah!" Dumbledore called. Leah rushed back over to him, Harry and Fudge. She looked at Fudge before kicking him in the shin.
"OW!" Fudge shouted, grabbing his shin.
"That's for thinking my father was a murderer!" Leah said. She knew Dumbledore had told him. Dumbledore picked up the head of the wizard statue and turned it into a portkey.
"Now see here, Dumbledore!" Fudge said. "You haven't got the authorization for that Portkey! You can't do things like that right in front of the Minister of Magic, You…you…"
"You will give the order to remove Dolores Umbridge from Hogwarts." Dumbledore said. Leah looked at him as she leaned against slightly. "You will tell your Aurors to stop searching for my Care of Magical Creatures teacher so that he can return to work. I will give you…" Dumbledore pulled out a strange watch from his pocket. "Half an hour of my time tonight, in witch I think we shall be more than able to cover the important points of what has happened here. After that, I shall need to return to my school. If you need more help from me you are, of course, more than welcome to contact me at Hogwarts. Letters addressed to the Headmaster will fine me.
"I…you…" Fudge said.
"Take the Portkey Harry, Leah." Dumbledore said, looking at the teens. Leah looked at it then sighed and put her hand on it. "I shall see you two in half an hour. One…two…three…" Leah and Harry were transported to Dumbledore's office.
"I hate Portkeys." Leah muttered as she shook her head and the golden wizard's head fell to the ground. She looked at Harry. Harry started walking around the room. Leah sat down on a chair and turned it so that she could watch him. "Harry…"
"Don't talk to me." Harry snapped. He looked at Leah who had dropped her eyes to her hands. Both of them were extremely surprised to see how cut up they were and how Leah's clothes were covered in blood stains.
"You didn't have to snap at me." Leah said, looking up.
"Well I'd rather not hear you say 'I told you so…if you just listened to me then Sirius would still be'..." Harry's voice faded. Leah looked back at her hands and watched as the blood slowly stopped coming out of the wounds.
"Ah…Harry Potter…Leah." Both teens looked to see Phineas Nigellus yawn and stretch his arms as he surveyed, first Harry, then Leah. "And what brings you here in the early hours of the morning? This office is supposed to be barred to all but the rightful Headmaster. Or has Dumbledore send you here?"
"Umm…" Leah said.
"Oh, don't tell me…" Phineas said, yawning again. "Another message for my worthless great-great-grandson?"
"He wasn't worthless!" Leah asked. A few more of the portraits woke. Harry walked over to the door and tried opening it.
"I hope this means…" The red-nosed wizard said. "That Dumbledore will soon be back among us?" Harry turned and nodded. Leah could tell he was still trying to open the door. "Oh good. It has been very dull without him, very dull indeed." Leah looked back at her hands. She knew Phineas was watching her. Worried maybe? She doubted it. "Dumbledore thinks very highly of you, as I am sure you know. The wizard was still talking to Harry. "Oh yes. Holds you in great esteem."
The fireplace burst into green flames, Harry leapt away from the door, and Dumbledore came out of the fireplace. The witches and wizards on the walls welcomed him.
"Thank you." Dumbledore said. Leah watched as he put the now baby Fawkes on the tray of ashes beneath the post that Fawkes, as an adult, normally stood. "Well Harry, Leah. You two will be pleased to hear that none of your fellow students are going to suffer lasting damage from the night's events."
"Thank god." Leah muttered.
"Madam Pomfrey is patching everybody up." Dumbledore said. "Nymphadora Tonks may need to spend a little time in St Mungo's, but it seems she will make a full recovery." Harry nodded, staring at the carpet. "I know how you're feeling, Harry."
"No, you don't." Harry said loudly. Leah jumped and stood up, taking a few steps towards him. Dumbledore motioned for her to stop.
"You see, Dumbledore?" Phineas said. "Never try to understand the students. They hate it. They would much rather be tragically misunderstood, wallow in self-pity, stew in their own…"
"Shut up." Leah said. Harry had turned his back to Dumbledore and was staring out the window.
"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry." Dumbledore said. Leah was slightly aware that she probably didn't need to be here, but she didn't care. If Dumbledore didn't mind that she was there, then there was no problem. "On the contrary…the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength."
"My greatest strength is it?" Harry asked. "You haven't got a clue…you don't know…"
"What don't I know?" Dumbledore asked. How could he be so calm when he knew that Harry probably wanted to hurt him real badly?
"I don't want to talk about how I feel, all right?" Harry said, turning around. Leah looked at him and backed towards Dumbledore.
"Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human…" Dumbledore tried explaining.
"THEN I DON"T WANT TO BE HUMAN!" Harry yelled, making Leah jump. He grabbed a silver instrument from the table beside him and threw it across the room. It shattered into hundred of tiny pieces against the wall. "I DON'T CARE!" Harry yelled at the portraits that were muttering stuff about him. He threw a lunascope into the fireplace. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE…" He threw the table and it broke apart on the floor.
"HARRY STOP!" Leah screamed. Harry just gave her a look that made Leah move behind Dumbledore.
"You do care." Dumbledore said. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."
"I DON'T!" Harry screamed.
"Oh yes you do." Dumbledore said. "You have now lost your mother, your father, and the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course you care."
"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" Harry shouted. "YOU…STANDING THERE…YOU…"
"I know how you feel." Leah said, stepping out from behind Dumbledore. "So what if Dumbledore doesn't know? I do. I lost my grandmother and my father…all in one year. You think it's hard for you to lose Sirius? Imagine what it's like for me!" She walked closer to Harry slowly. "I was there Harry…I was there when he was taken away…I've known my whole life that he was innocent…I saw him in Azkaban. I went there practically every month to see him. Until I was five because the Dementors affected me almost as badly as they affect you."
"Leah…" Harry started. Leah put her hand up to stop him.
"You hated him." She said. "You wanted to kill him because you believed what Fudge said. You believed that it was him that killed your parents. You tried to kill him and if it wasn't for me telling you that he was my father and shocking you…you probably would have." Leah stopped about twenty paces from Harry. "I lost my father before I even knew him…I got him back for an hour…then I lost him again. God…do you know what I've gone through? I've been in a constant state of depression since I was seven. Why? Because everyone else at the school I went to…they all had dad's that picked them up. What did I have?"
There was a silence that lasted after three minutes. Harry ran back to the door and tried opening it. Leah could tell that he didn't want to feel anything but the pain, anger and hatred he felt now. He didn't want anything but what he had now. The door still wouldn't open.
"Let me out." Harry said.
"No." Dumbledore said.
"Let me out." Harry repeated.
"No." Dumbledore said.
"If you don't…if you keep me in here…if you don't let me…" Harry said.
"By all means continue destroying my possessions. "Dumbledore said. "I daresay I have too many." He walked around his desk and sat down, watching Harry. Leah watched Harry as well.
"Let me out." Harry said.
"Not until I have had my say." Dumbledore said.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO SAY!" Harry said. "I don't want to hear anything you've got to say."
'You will." Dumbledore said. "Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it."
"Harry…let's just listen to him…please." Leah pleaded. She sat down again. Harry didn't say anything.
"It is my fault that Sirius died." Dumbledore said. Leah's breathing stopped for a minute. She didn't want to believe that Sirius really was dead. "Or should I say, almost entirely my fault…I will not be so arrogant as to claim responsibility for the whole. Sirius was a brace, clever and energetic man. Such men aren't content to sit at home in hiding while others are in danger. You should have never believed for an instant that there was any necessity for you to go to the Department of Mysteries tonight. If I had been open with you, Harry, as I should have been, you would have known a long time ago that Voldemort might try to lure you to the Department of Mysteries, and you would never have been tricked into going there tonight. And Sirius would not have gone after you. That blame lies with me and be alone."
"Harry please sit down." Leah said. "You are really making me edgy." Harry walked across the room and sat next to Leah.
"Am I to understand that my great-great-grandson is dead?" Phineas asked. Leah nodded. "I don't believe it." He disappeared from the picture.
Dumbledore went on, telling about how Harry got his scar and the reason behind it. Also the reason behind why Harry had to learn occlumency. Dumbledore's talking didn't hold Leah's attention so she stood up and walked over to Fawkes. She was about to pet him but remembered her hands were covered in blood. She wiped them off on her robe, wincing, then gently and careful pat Fawkes' head. Leah heard her name so she turned and looked at Dumbledore and Harry.
"Umm…Professor…why did you mention me?" She asked.
"Because I was explaining to Harry why Kreature lied to him." Dumbledore said. "Harry is not his master, therefore Kreature could lie to him without needing to punish himself. Now…I mentioned you because if you had been the one to ask, then Kreature would have had to tell you."
"Oh…ok." Leah said. She turned her attention back to the phoenix. She paid little attention to what Harry and Dumbledore were saying until there was a shout.
"DON'T TALK ABOUT SIRIUS LIKE THAT!" Harry yelled. Leah turned around to see Harry standing. What happened next scared Leah more then she thought she could be scared after what had already happened. Harry's mouth was moving but no sound was coming from him. Leah's eyes went wide.
No…no I'm sorry…I'm sorry master please…
Bellatrix was getting tortured. Voldemort was hurting her. Leah could feel it.
Yes…I failed you…I am sorry…please don't master…please.
Leah bit her lip to keep from voicing her pain. She didn't want to draw attention to herself.
"He chose the boy he thought most likely to be a danger to him." Dumbledore said. Leah shook her head and focused him Dumbledore and Harry. "And notice this Harry: He chose, not the pure-blood (which, according to his creed, is the only kind of wizard worth being or knowing) but the half-blood, like himself. He saw himself in you before he had even seen you, and in marking you with that scar, he did not kill you, as he intended, but gave you powers, and the future, which have fitted you to escape him not once, but four times so far…something that neither your parents, nor Neville's parents, ever achieved."
Again the sound was gone and Leah shut her eyes tightly and kept her mouth closed as she heard and felt Bellatrix being tortured. Leah couldn't stand it anymore. Neither Dumbledore nor Harry's mouths were moving so she figured they were done talking. Whether she wanted to or not, attention was going to be drawn to her. Leah groaned the fainted.
She woke up in the hospital wing, yet again. The second she sat up, a tray of different kind of sweets was shoved in front of her. Everyone, but Harry, was there.
"Ok…I missed something." Leah said, looking around. "I missed a lot actually. Hey…Why's Umbridge here?" Ron explained. "Yep…that's very traumatic."
"She shows signs of life if you do this." Ron said, clicking his tongue. Umbridge sat up instantly and looked around with fright. Leah laughed and lied back down after fixing her pillows so that she wasn't completely lying down.
"We're sorry." Neville said.
"About what?" Leah asked.
"I told them…about Sirius." Neville said. Leah looked away from them. "I'm sorry. They would have found out anyways."
"I'm not blaming you Neville." Leah said. She sighed and looked back at them before sitting up and swinging her feet out of the bed. "This is never gonna stop though."
"The fighting will stop Leah…don't worry…" Ginny said.
"Not that Ginny." Leah said. "The pain…first my grandmother…then my father. You'd think it wouldn't hurt so much but it does. Because of the fact that I barely knew him and…oh god!"
"What?" Hermione asked.
"He thinks I hate him." Leah said. "My dad died thinking I hate him."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"The last time we saw him…at Christmas…he tried telling me not to worry about my dream." Leah said. "But I snapped at him. I was so mad at him…and now he's dead and I didn't get the chance to tell him I'm sorry…again. It's like back in third year but this is worse because we don't have the damned time turner to go back in time and fix it." Leah broke down into tears and Ginny rushed to hug her.
"He knows you don't hate him." Hermione said.
"Hermione's right, Leah." Ginny said. "Sirius knows how you feel. He knows you don't hate him. He's your dad…he knows that you love him."
"Ginny…he's dead." Leah said, finally admitting it to herself. "Quit talking about him as if he's still alive…just not here."
"Leah…what was your dream?" Luna asked.
"Exactly what happened between the time that Dumbledore showed up and the time that dad fell through the veil." Leah said, wiping her eyes. No one talked.
They found out later from Harry that each of them had gotten fifty points from McGonagall. Also, they found out that Hagrid was hiding in the mountains in a cave.
On the train ride home, Leah and Harry, although were still friends, barely spoke to each other or looked at each other. If they had to talk to each other, then they tried to say it in as little words as possible. Leah found out that Ginny and Dean were dating, and she smiled slightly at Ron's reaction.
When they got onto the platform a group of people met them. Moody, Tonks, Remus, Molly, Arthur, Fred and George were all there. As soon as he saw her, George grabbed Leah and gave her a hug, muttering how sorry he was.
"Leah, may I speak with you?" Remus asked. Leah gave him a look but nodded and followed him away from the group. She looked back at the group and realized all the adults, Fred and George included, were looking at her but their eyes shot back to Harry as soon as Leah looked at them. The look they were giving was one of sadness.
"What's going on?" Leah asked. "I can tell this isn't about dad…"
"No…this is about your mother." Remus said. Leah's eyes went wide and what colour she had in her face was gone.
Ok…now this is considered a cliffhanger…technically. That dream Leah had a few chapters ago is about to being real. She's going to go through drastic changes and spend most of the summer at her house where she's doing all the changes.