You Were Always There: Part Six

by OpenBookLina

Mia Thatcher and her friends are back for a strange and exciting sixth year at Hogwarts. This time, they have a collector as their potions teacher, Dumbledore is disappearing more often to who knows where, schoolwork and blossoming love fill their daily activities, and on top of it all Harry may find the secret to Voldemort's past and the key to defeating him once and for all.

21. Voldemort's Secret

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter are NOT mine!

Chapter Twenty-One: Voldemort's Secret

MiaPOV

Mia awoke with a sharp gasp, bolting upright in bed with wide eyes and her heart beating erratically in her chest. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Mia sat tangled up in her sheets, her breathing a bit more heavy as she stared around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness that still coated the dormitory. She was silent, hoping that she didn't wake up any of the other girls, and she let out a relieved sigh when she didn't indicate any movement or sound from the other beds. It only took another minute for her heart to settle down and to calm herself enough for her body to relax, lying back down against her pillows and gazing up at the blank canopy above her.

The nightmares just wouldn't stop. Almost every night, she can see her parents death so vividly behind her eyelids every time she dared to close them. She could see the bridge crumbling beneath her feet, and no matter how fast she ran, she could never reach their car in time before the entire foundation completely gave out. Debris and metal would go hurtling towards the water below, and Mia would suddenly find herself trapped in the icy depths of it as well. Among the many automobiles sinking down to the bottom, she could still make out the silver car, carrying her parents further and further away from her, down to the never ending darkness. As hard as she would swim, as much as the muscles in her arms and legs burned, she just couldn't cut through the water fast enough to save them, and she would scream as she lost sight of them. It was then that Mia would usually wake up, the terror and grief still latched onto her, and sometimes it would take a bit for her to remember where she was.

There was a familiar stinging in Mia's eyes the more she thought about the nightmare, and it caused a terrible tightness in her chest that she had experienced too many times. Shoving down the bitter taste it started to leave in her mouth, she shook her head, clearing it of the dark, depressing thoughts before it consumed her once again, refusing to let it cripple her. Almost desperate to get her mind far away from it, Mia sat up again in bed and drew back the curtains, glancing around before sliding her feet into her slippers, grabbing her wand from her bedside table as well as a random book, pulling on her night time robe, and then slowly making her way out of the room, trying her best not to make any noise. Once she walked down the spiral staircase into the common room, she went over to one of the tables near the window and lit the lamp that was resting there, creating a soft glow in the small space. Settling in, she sighed to herself and opened up the book—which turned out to be for her Transfiguration class—and started reading.

However, this only proved to be a very brief transaction. Instead of focusing on the chapter that Professor McGonagall had assigned for them to complete, Mia's mind kept on drifting back to the nightmare that plagued her mind every night. The image of her parents pale, lifeless faces as they drowned made that blasted pain flare up inside of her, threatening to bring her down straight to the ground, and despite trying to shake it off, it wouldn't leave her alone. After almost twenty minutes of this, Mia slammed the book shut in frustration and she grunted, leaning forward on the table to grip her hair in her hands.

The pain of her loss was still so raw and fresh, as if it only happened yesterday, and Mia absolutely hated how weak it made her feel. It was as though the mere thought of Ben and Catherine could bring her crumbling down, whether it was from a good memory or a bad one. It has been well over a month since their deaths, but the hurt seemed like it wasn't going anywhere fast. And when she wasn't attempting to force back the earth-shattering grief that was constantly trying to claw it's way out, it was the raging fury that made her want to blast everything in sight.

Although…maybe blasting a few things might not be such a bad idea. A sudden thought came to Mia's mind, and the more time she spent pondering over it, the more sensible it seemed to her. With a clear resolve, Mia straightened up, grabbed her wand and book, and then proceeded to march straight out of the common room, carefully opened the Portrait of the Fat Lady so as not to jostle her out of her sleep. Once the entrance was closed behind her, Mia swiftly and silently went down the deserted corridor that was lit only by the flaming torches on the walls. Keeping watch for any Aurors that may be patrolling the inside of the castle, or worse, Peeves, Mia slid her way about like a shadow, only taking her minutes to reach her destination. She paced back and forth a couple of times in front of a bare stretch of wall, lit partially by the moon outside, thinking very hard of what she needed as she did so. Then, in the next moment, the wall before her started to shift and transform into the door that would lead her to the Room of Requirement. Looking around to make sure no one was around, she snuck her way into the room and closed the door behind her, letting out a soft sigh as she turned to face the room where the D.A used to gather to practice Defense. Everything was just the way that they had left it last year, when Umbridge had invaded and forced everyone to flee and ultimately stopped any future lessons with Harry. Mia easily lit all the lamps in the room with her wand, as well as the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, giving her plenty of light to work with.

Placing her book down on the nearest table, Mia shed off her robe before transforming her slippers into comfortable sneakers that she could move around in. Then, gripping her wand tightly in her hand, Mia walked off to stand in front of one of the many dummies that they had practiced with in the past, assuming the position that Harry had taught them. She glared at the dummy, imagining that it was one of the Death Eaters that had attacked the bridge her parents were on. And from then until the sun rose hours later, signaling the start of a new day, Mia allowed herself to do nothing but hate.

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

"He's mental!" Ron exclaimed furiously. "What makes him think that we would ever go down there to cry over that thing?! It told its mates to eat me and Harry! We were lucky to get out of there alive!"

"Not even that, but Hagrid knows we will never be allowed to leave the castle at that time of night," Hermione fretted.

"We have been down there to see him after curfew before," Harry reminded her.

"Yes, but never for something like this," Hermione stated. "If it were a question of saving Aragog—"

"Then that would make me want to go even less!" Ron chipped in, shaking his head.

Mia and the others were sitting in a corner of one of the outside courtyards, soaking in the warm sun that had been peeking through the clouds more and more lately, signaling the upcoming summer and chasing the cold remains of winter away. Both she and Hermione were sitting in the empty archways along the stone walls that served as windows, with Mia swinging her feet slightly, while Harry leaned against the wall next to her. Ron was pacing like mad in front of them, reading over the letter that they had just received from Hagrid just minutes before. Apparently, Aragog—the gigantic acromantula that lived in the forst and was a dear friend of Hagrid—had passed away. Hagrid was devastated, and his letter asked if they would be able to come down to be with him while he holds a funeral for the beloved spider that he had cared for, for many years. All four of them were exasperated at this, but Ron was downright agitated, and he had every right to be. Back when Harry and Ron sought out Aragog to try and find out more clues about the Chamber of Secrets, he told his other family members to eat them both. Harry had told her all about it at the end of their second year after she and Hermione had been revived from being petrified, and she was certain that the encounter didn't help Ron's fear of spiders at all.

"There is no way I'm going," Ron said, handing the note back over to Harry, who was staring at it with a bit of sympathy.

"Harry, you can't possibly think of going," Hermione told him. "It's not worth getting detention for."

Mia didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but agree with Hermione. She did feel bad for Hagrid, but it really wasn't worth the risk of getting caught after hours. Besides, she had been to enough funerals in her lifetime, she was not going to another one of she could help it.

"I know," Harry sighed. "Hagrid will just have to bury Aragog without us."

"Yes, he will," Hermione agreed, before moving on to another subject. "Now, with nearly everyone taking their Apparation tests today, Potions should be nearly empty this afternoon. You can try again with Slughorn to get the memory."

"Yeah, fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?" Harry asked bitterly.

"Lucky," Ron muttered, his eyes going wide. "Harry, that's it! Get lucky!"

"What?"

"Use the Felix Felicis!"

"Ron, that's—that's brilliant!" Mia said, smiling. "I can't believe we didn't think of that before!"

"Really? I dunno, I was sort of saving it," Harry admitted.

"Harry, there is nothing more important than getting the memory from Slughorn," Mia said. "You have tried everything you can think of. The potion might be your last chance. And you may only need a sip of it, you should still have some left over."

"Okay," Harry said after few second, nodding. "If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, then I'll use Felix Felicis."

With the plan set in motion, they all remained in the courtyard for just a little while longer before it was time for Ron and Hermione to leave to take their Apparition tests. Mia and Harry wished the both of them luck before they all went their separate ways, with the two of them heading down to the dungeons to have their potions lesson. Upon arriving, Mia saw that there were only two other people in the class—Ernie MacMillan and Draco Malfoy. When the bell rang to begin the lesson, Slughorn announced that since there were so few of them today, he instructed them to surprise him with an amusing potion. After taking a little time to think, Mia eventually decided that she would make Moonseed Poison. It was easy to make, and it wouldn't take very much time at all to brew. Once she grabbed all of the ingredients she needed from the cupboard, she began chopping, stirring, and crushing, with Harry working next to her. Despite having made this potion multiple times before, Mia let herself get lost in the therapeutic haze that potion making always seemed to give her. At some point, Mia glanced over at Harry to see that he was looking over the Half-Blood Prince's notes again in his book, and she frowned slightly.

"Harry," she said quietly, giving him a look.

"It's not cheating, Mia," he whispered to her.

"And I suppose you still don't think there's anything wrong with it at all?" she asked.

"Not really."

"This isn't your own work, Harry—"

"Enough chatter, you two," Slughorn called over to them. "Before you know it, time will be up and I will need to check your results."

Silence fell between the two of them after that, with Mia trying not to express her frustration with her boyfriend too much. It didn't take very long at all afterwards for Mia to finish her potion, and she spent the remainder of the time catching up on some reading for her Charms homework. It wasn't due until the beginning of the following week, but she figured it was best to get it done and over with. If anything, it was a great way to keep her mind preoccupied. Soon enough, it was almost the end of class, and Slughorn started walking around to each of their cauldrons to check their work. Ernie—having wanted to outdo Harry and Mia for once—created some kind of purple goo at the bottom of his cauldron that left a smelly stench, and Slughorn had deemed Malfoy's Hiccupping Solution as "passable."

"Moonseed Poison, my dear?" Slughorn asked Mia when he finally came up to her work station.

"Yes, sir," Mia confirmed.

"I see," Slughorn said, eyeing the sparkling potion with an eager glimmer in his face. "Ah, you've added a dash of crushed Everlasting Ice Crystals and Snow Pixie Wings?"

"To give the illusion that it could be the Lunar Healing Solution," Mia stated.

"Why, that is rather creative and brilliant, I must say!" Slughorn beamed. "A clever deception for a deadly enemy. Well done, Miss Thatcher."

Of course, Slughorn loved Harry's elixir to Induce Euphoria. Or really, the Prince's version of it. When the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, Malfoy and Ernie left right away, and Mia spared a glance at Harry before packing up her things and leaving the room as well. She wanted to give Harry time alone with Slughorn, hoping that he would be able to use this chance to get the memory from him. She decided that she would wait at the end of the corridor for him while they talked, however, any hope that she had was immediately dashed when she heard hurried footsteps not even two minutes later, and Slughorn rushed past her, briefly wishing her a good evening as he moved. Slowing down to a halt, Mia sighed in defeat as Slughorn rounded the corner, falling out of sight, and turned around to see Harry leaving the classroom, looking utterly dejected.

"No luck?" she asked as he approached.

"None," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'll have to use the Felix Felicis."

"At least you tried, Harry," Mia said as they continued to walk out of the dungeons together. "You did all you could think of to get the memory. Hopefully the potion will do the trick."

Harry nodded, and then he slipped his hand into hers and gave her a softs smile, to which she returned. The aura between them shifted into one only they knew so well. It was a content, peaceful one that chased away any sort of negativity, and happened almost every time they were in each other's presence. Even now, just walking up the staircase and through the corridors together, it brought on a wonderful familiarity and warmth that Mia savored tremendously.

"You know, your birthday is coming up," Harry reminded when they reached the fifth floor corridor. "Have you thought about how you want to celebrate? I know that with the curfew and security restrictions, our options are a bit limited, but we can still come up with something—"

"Harry," Mia cut in gently, bringing her gaze to the floor. "I don't want to celebrate my birthday."

"What?" Harry said, slowing them both down to a halt. "You don't? But love, it's your seventeenth! You'll get to be of age."

"I know," Mia sighed, lifting her head to meet his eyes with her sad ones. "I just—I don't think I really want to celebrate. Not knowing that my…"

"Well, look who it is."

Both Mia and Harry turned their heads to see that Pansy Parkinson, and a few of her fellow Slytherin friends had just turned down the corridor and was walking by with a distasteful sneer on her face.

"Thatcher, if you and Potter are going to start another snogging session, could you please find a broom cupboard so the rest of us don't have to see it?" Pansy snarked. "We'd rather not watch such a disgusting display."

"Then I'd suggest not looking into any mirrors," Mia huffed, her irritation quickly flaring up. As of late, Malfoy hasn't really been his usual smug, arrogant self, looking thinner and paler than usual. So, he hasn't been keeping up with his inappropriate remarks, teasing or outright insulting behavior. Unfortunately, Pansy seemed to take it upon herself to pick up the slack on occasion.

"What did you say?" Pansy said, ceasing in her walking to look around at Mia.

"I said, then I'd suggest not looking into any mirrors," Mia repeated slowly, as though speaking to a child. "I'm surprised that you haven't cracked one yet."

"Mia," Harry said, squeezing her hand and trying to pull her along the corridor. "Come on love, let's go to the common room to wait for Ron and Hermione. We don't need to deal with this."

"Yes, be a good little Mudblood and run along," one of Pansy's friends teased.

"Don't call me that," Mia said with a deep scowl, narrowing her eyes.

"What else would we call a second rate witch who was raised in a family of filth?" Pansy jeered, a wicked gleam in her eyes when she saw Mia stiffen where she stood. "Such dirty blood could only come from such degrading, Muggle trash."

"Shut up," Mia whispered, her voice like pure ice and her skin feeling inflamed.

"Mia," Harry urged, tightening his hold on her hand and glaring at Pansy. "Don't listen to her—"

"Mudbloods have no place here at Hogwarts," Pansy continued. "You should never have bothered to step through the doors to this castle. Then, maybe at least your parents would still be alive, though, I'm sure the world is better off without them—"

If Pansy was going to say anything else, she never got the chance to. Mia dropped her bag to the floor and wrenched her hand out of Harry's, however, instead of going for her wand in her pocket, she charged straight towards Pansy, her hand curling up into a fist.

WHAM!

In a matter of seconds, Mia drew her hand back and punched Pansy square in the face with all her strength, making the Slytherin girl yell out in pain and stagger backwards, almost falling right down to the ground. The other Slytherins took a few steps back, absolutely stunned at what was happening before them, and Mia was not going to give Pansy the chance to recuperate. She grabbed the front of the girl's robes and shoved her harshly up against the wall, her blue eyes ablaze. How dare Pansy insult her mother and father like that? How dare she call them trash?! All the anger and pain Mia had tried to repress was flooding out and she didn't care if Pansy was on the brunt end of it. She pulled her fist back yet again, but before she could strike, she felt arms wrap around her mid-section, and she gasped as she was forcefully moved off of Pansy.

"Mia, no!" Harry exclaimed, dragging her away.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU BITCH!" Mia screamed as she thrashed around in Harry's arms. "EVER!"

Pansy's friends were quick to help her back on her feet, and the girl had her hand covering her nose, a trickle of blood seeping through her fingers. She fixed Mia with a heated, vicious and enraged glare, but didn't protest when the other Slytherins urged her away, muttering what was sure to be garbled, threatening remarks as she did so. Even after they were gone, Mia still struggled to get out of Harry's hold on her, wanting nothing more than to go after her and keep fighting, wanting her to pay for what she said. A broken nose just wasn't enough! However, Harry seemed determined not to let her go, and after failing to calm her down, he dragged her over to the nearest door, freeing one of his hands for a split second to open it. In the next moment, Harry and Mia were in an empty classroom, and it was only after Harry kicked the door shut behind them that he finally released Mia.

"Are you mental?!" he demanded incredulously. "What were you thinking?"

"She talked about my parents!" Mia argued. "She called them trash!"

"Are you really that surprised? This is nothing she nor Malfoy hasn't done before in the past, and you know that!"

"Well, I'm sick of it! I'm sick of them all insulting us whenever they feel like it just for laughs, and getting away with it! My parents were good people, they were not filth, and those snakes do not have the right to say otherwise!"

"They have said worse things to you before, and you've never acted out of anger like this," Harry chastised with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow.

"This was one time too many," Mia snarled, and she sidestepped Harry to try and go through the door. However, when she turned the knob, she found it was suddenly locked. After wriggling it a few times, she grunted in frustration and turned back to look at Harry.

"Let me out," she said.

"And let you go after Parkinson and risk you getting expelled? No, I don't think so," Harry answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're not leaving until we've talked."

"Talk? Talk about what?" Mia demanded.

"About that fact that you are not okay, no matter how much you pretend that you are," Harry replied. "The fact that all you ever do is throw yourself into your books and schoolwork, how distant you are in conversations, how you've shut yourself down and won't let anyone try to reach you to help. Do you really think that we all haven't noticed how you've changed since you've been back at school?"

"Well, I'm sorry that I haven't exactly been my cheery self, lately," Mia bit out.

"You know what I mean, Mia," Harry said. "You haven't spoken about your parents even once, and now you're trying to hide away your feelings about it all."

"I told you, I do not want to talk about this!" Mia hissed.

"That's too bad, because we are," Harry countered firmly. "I won't have you keep doing this to yourself, Mia. This is not healthy, you're not letting yourself grieve properly."

"I've done my grieving, there's no sense in wallowing in it anymore! Damn it Harry, just let me out of here!"

"No. Not until we fix this."

"There's nothing to fix! What do you want me to say, Harry? That I haven't gone a single night without having nightmares about their deaths, where I couldn't so anything to save them? How I go to the Room of Requirement most mornings when everyone is still asleep so I can destroy Death Eaters dummies, pretending it's the real thing? Or how all I want to do is curse or punch anything in sight because it's the only time I ever feel anything anymore? Is that what you really want to hear, that I'm weak, and hopeless, and pathetic?"

"You're not," Harry muttered, his face softening.

"Yes, I am," Mia argued, shaking her head, her breathing turning a bit more ragged and an angry expression falling over her face. "What could they have been thinking? They knew that Muggles were being attacked at random, but they still went out to celebrate instead of just staying home."

"They couldn't have known—"

"They should have! How could they be so ignorant to assume that they would be safe, even for one evening out? Would it really have hurt to spend just one anniversary at home with Brian? The Order knows where I live as well as you, Harry, they could have helped if any threat came along is they were home! Now they're gone, they left me and Brian alone, and I couldn't save them!"

At this point, Mia was almost panting, her hands curled into fists at her sides and her eyes glimmering with fury. It was silent for a brief moment after she spoke, and she saw Harry's stature loosening, his arms falling to his sides as a sad realization seemed to hit him.

"You hate them," he whispered.

"What?" Mia said, her anger temporarily gone. "I don't—"

"You hate your parents for leaving you," Harry continued. "And you hate yourself for feeling that way. So you're doing all you can to punish yourself, because you don't think you have the right to mourn someone you resent."

"That's not—I don't hate them," Mia argued, but there was not real bit to her tone. "They were amazing parents, I just…I…"

Suddenly finding herself at a loss, Mia unclenched her fists, letting Harry's words sink in a little and she could feel the anxiety begin to creep up on her. No, she didn't hate Ben and Catherine. They had been nothing but supporting and loving from the very beginning, even after they discovered that Mia was a witch. More often then not, Mia would count herself very lucky to have such wonderful people as her parents because no matter what, they were always there for her.

Then why did they leave? Why did they leave me behind?

Mia wasn't sure exactly how long she stood there lost in her own mind, but before she knew it, Harry was standing directly in front of her, one of his hands cupping her cheek and lifting her face up to meet his. Beautiful green eyes gazed tenderly into hers, and his expression held nothing but complete sympathy and understanding. He used his thumb to wipe away at her cheek and it was only then that Mia realized she was crying.

"It's okay to hate them, Mia," he said quietly.

"It doesn't make sense," she murmured through a quivering voice. "I know they didn't mean to leave me and Brian. They would have done all they could to avoid that happening. It was their anniversary, they wanted a night to themselves, something good to look forward to with everything going on. But I'm just—I'm so angry. I'm so angry with them, and it wasn't their fault. Every time I think of them, it hurts, so much, I just don't want to feel it anymore. I can't."

"You need to feel it, love. The pain, the anger, the guilt, the sadness…it shows that you are human. It shows that you care so much, you feel like it will end you, but it won't."

"I can't," Mia gasped, reaching forward to grasp at Harry's robes like a lifeline, her knees wobbling. "I can't, Harry, I can't."

With every word spoken, Mia could feel the cuts made into her heart deepen, leaving their scars open and raw. Eventually her legs gave out from beneath her and Harry caught her before she fell, holding her close to him as he gently lowered them down to the ground. Mia felt as though she couldn't breathe, her chest constricting painfully, and the tears doubling in size. What started out as quiet gasps turned into heart-wrenching sobs, and for the first time in weeks, Mia let herself feel something other than hate. She let herself fall apart completely in Harry's embrace, while he soothed her with comforting words, kissing the top of her head.

"It's okay," she heard him whisper through her tears. "It's going to be okay. You will never, ever be alone Mia. I promise."

=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=

"Wow," Ron said in awe, idly twirling his wand at the ceiling and not paying the slightest attention to what he was doing. "You're actually going to go along with Dumbledore…and try to destroy…wow."

"Ron, you're making it snow," Hermione said, taking his wrist and pointing his wand away from the ceiling. Mia sat in her chair next to Harry, eyes wide and mulling over what he had just told them.

The previous night, Harry had used the Felix Felicis to finally get the memory out of Slughorn and the road he took to get it was definitely an odd one at that. After he drank the potion, Mia could see the change in Harry's attitude and behavior instantly. A giddy sort of grin came across his face, and his entire aura was almost euphoric. He had surprised them all by stating that instead of going to see Slughorn right away, he was actually going to go down to visit Hagrid at his home. Of course, Mia, Ron and Hermione were all stunned, with the latter immediately protesting that course of action. But Harry was persistent, saying he had a very good feeling about going to Hagrid's, and that was where he needed to be. When he had left the common room, Mia was honestly sure that this plan was not going to work in the slightest and she wondered briefly if Harry had really gone bonkers. Yet they had no choice but to wait for Harry to come back, and see what happened.

While the three of them waited for Harry to return, Mia got the distinct feeling that Ron and Hermione were going a bit out of their way to make her comfortable. As subtle as ever, Ron suggested going to the kitchens to get any snacks or drinks that she might want, even going so far as to offer her a blanket from his bed if she was cold at all. Hermione, bless her, had recommended a card game, or even a chess game to pass the time, and hinted at the fact that they could talk about whatever Mia wanted to at the moment. During all of that, Mia couldn't help but smile softly. Harry wouldn't have told them about her breakdown in the empty classroom, even if the whole school would know about Mia punching Pansy's nose by the following morning, but her two best friends were smart enough to realize that something had happened with her. Mia felt guilty that her mood and behavior had been so off and unpredictable that a dramatic shift would cause her friends to be cautious around her. The fact that Ron and Hermione were doing what they could to help her feel better meant everything to her, and so, with only slight hesitation on her part and surprise on theirs, she decided to play a chess game with Ron while telling them some stories about Ben and Catherine.

Eventually it had gotten so late that they all had to retire for the night, but the very next morning, while they were sitting at the back of their Charm's class, Harry cast a quick "Muffliato" before settling down to tell them everything that had happened. Apparently, by some miracle the Felix Felicis actually worked, because on his way down to see Hagrid, Harry had bumped into Professor Slughorn. The Potions professor had accompanied Harry down to Hagrid's home after Harry had explained where he was going, not wanting him to walk along the grounds after curfew hours on his own. The circumstances couldn't have been more perfect, for Harry explained that once he and Slughorn reached Hagrid's garden, Slugnorn was absolutely amazed because the groundskeeper was just about to bury Aragog. After expressing his sincere condolences to Hagrid for loosing a dear friend, Slughorn offered to say a few parting words in memory of the great beast (after sneaking a vial or two of Aragog's venom, of course).

They all had headed inside Hagrid's hut at that point, and hours later, both Hagrid and Professor Slughorn were drunk, and Harry seized his opportunity when Hagrid passed out. Through natural charm and using Slughorn's fond memory of Lily Potter to his advantage, Harry was able to convince Slughorn to give him the true memory of what he had spoken of with Voldemort so long ago. Slughorn was reluctant to give it up, and Harry admitted the older man seemed deeply ashamed of what he had done, but Harry had reassured him that he could make up for it with the memory.

And indeed he had. Once the memory was obtained, Harry headed straight for Dumbledore's office, where the two of them immediately poured it into the Pensive and dove in to observe. As it turned out, Tom Riddle had used his own charm and alleged curiosity to ask Slughorn about Horcruxes…and Slughorn told him. He had told Riddle all about the severe dark act of ripping a person's soul apart, through murder, and concealing that piece in an object, thus creating a Horcrux. The Horcrux itself could be just about anything, and once that part of the soul is concealed within it, it is protected if the host body is ever attacked. In other words, the person who created the Horcrux could never die. The memory also revealed Riddle asking Slughorn if it were possible to make more than one Horcrux, such as seven, and Slughorn was shocked at the question, wondering how someone could ever consider ripping their soul into seven pieces. Slughorn had wanted to believe that Riddle was asking about this solely for academic purposes, but it was obvious by his reluctance to hand the memory over, that he was deeply ashamed of all that he had told Riddle.

When Harry had finished explaining what he and Dumbledore had seen in the Pensieve, Mia was utterly speechless, her mouth open. By the sounds of it, ever since that meeting with Slughorn when he was a boy, Voldemort had managed to achieve his goal of splitting his soul into several pieces and hiding them into different objects to obtain immortality. Mia realized that, that was the reason why Voldemort survived the night he had tried to kill Harry when he was a baby. Despite having the Killing Curse rebounded onto him, parts of his soul still survived, therefore he did too. She just couldn't imagine doing so much horrible damage to one's own soul, but at the same time, she couldn't be surprised that Voldemort would go to any means to cheat death.

"And Dumbledore said that Riddle's diary was a Horcrux as well?" Mia eventually whispered in shock.

"Yes," Harry confirmed with a nod. "He had a feeling that it was something beyond normal Dark magic, with the power it had over Ginny. And Marvolo Gaunt's ring was one as well, but they're both destroyed now. Dumbledore reckons that there are still four of them left, and he said he'd let me know once he finds another one."

"Sirius' brother," Mia remembered suddenly with a gasp, her eye going wide. "He knew about Horcruxes back when Voldemort was in power during the first war. Do you think he might have found out about Voldemort's Horcruxes and tried to find them?"

"Why would he do that?" Ron asked.

"Regulus supposedly died years ago, and Sirius admitted that there had been rumors of him wanting to leave the Death Eaters," Mia explained. "If Regulus found out Voldemort's secret, that could have gotten him killed."

"That is a possibility," Hermione muttered. "Do you think that he succeeded in finding any?"

"I don't know," Mia replied. "The notes that I found in his study didn't mention anything about it—"

"Now, now, you four, less talking and more action," Professor Flitwick said reproachfully as he came over to see their progress of turning vinegar into wine. Hermione and Mia had been able to complete the transformation successfully, but Harry and Ron still had yet to complete it themselves. Under Flitwick's watch, both Harry and Ron attempted to perform the correct Charm, however, Harry's vinegar ended up turning to ice, and Ron's flask exploded, thus earning them extra homework for the night. As Flitwick walked away, shaking excess glass from his hat, Mia caught a glance of Lavender Brown glaring over at Ron and Hermione, her eyes red and puffy from crying. As annoying as she had been the last several months, Mia couldn't help but feel a tad bit sorry for her. When Harry had left the dormitories to visit Hagrid, he had been wearing his invisibility cloak, and—since they had left the dorm before Mia—when Lavender saw Ron and Hermione coming down the staircase together, that was the last straw for her. After a loud, brief fight, things were finally over between Lavender and Ron, and Mia couldn't help but notice that Hermione seemed cheerful at the thought of it.

The warmer, sunny days started to become more profound as they dwindled through the month of May, and for the first time, Mia surprisingly found herself looking forward to leaving the chill of winter behind for the year. The grounds were looking more lush and green with each passing day, the rain clouds becoming fewer and fewer. Even the brightly colored plant life was beginning to be in full swing down by the lake, and Mia was happy to see that almost all the leaves on their favorite Willow tree was back. Every time they walked through one of the courtyards, Mia would tilt her head towards the sun, letting it warm her face, and spread through her insides. Ever since she let her feelings out after punching Pansy, it was getting better for her to handle her grief over her parents. It still hurt, but taking time to talk about them, letting herself cry every now and then, and having her friends there to help her through it all made it much more bearable. Joking around with Ron, studying with Hermione, spending nights curled into Harry's side in the common room, and reading the letters she got from Brian was helping the healing process in so many ways, and Mia could feel the hate that resided in her heart so long evaporate.

The bright days leading up to summer also brought the time for preparing for the upcoming final Quidditch game of the season. It was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, and Mia had to admit, it was nice seeing everyone getting excited for the match. There was the usual friendly rivalry between the two houses, and the enthusiastic intensity only seemed to increase more and more as the day drew nearer. The game itself would take place only days before Mia's birthday, and while she still didn't want to do anything big, if Gryffindor were to win, she would consider it a truly wonderful gift. During the week of the game, Mia was having some fun with Lucy and Jenna, the three of them taking advantage of the weather and having a study session out in the main courtyard right outside of the entrance hall, their backs to the fountain and books strewn across their laps. Although, the academic talk had ended some time ago, and the girls were hyping each other up over the upcoming match. Instead of going over Wendell the Gourd's discovery of the tombs of ancient wizards around Merlin's time, they were discussing their respective players tactics and the likelihood of victory in a friendly debate. The conversation definitely lifted Mia's spirits, and she was happy at the way she felt lighter recently.

When their "study" session came to an end, they all started packing up their things to head on back inside, and while they were doing so, Mia caught sight of Alex walking through the courtyard with his friends, shaking his head with a grin while they were laughing at something. Their gazes locked onto each other for a brief moment that lasted only seconds, however it was long enough for her to see Alex's grin falter ever so slightly and then he turned his face away as he continued to walk up the short flight of stone steps into the Entrance Hall. Mia sighed sadly to herself—ever since she realized that Alex had been the one to send her the poem back in their second year, he seemed too embarrassed to be in her presence. They still spent time together from time to time, but never alone, and Mia could feel the shift in the atmosphere between the two of them. It was nothing negative, but not quite as it used to be, leading Mia to think that the feelings he had for her back then may not have fully gone away.

"You know he still fancies you, right?" Lucy asked, as though she were reading Mia's thoughts. "

"Yes," she murmured. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"There's really nothing you can do," Jenna pointed out. "He knows you're head over heels for Harry, and he's good enough to not try and wedge his way between the two of you. He still wants to be friends, and that's the most you guys can hope for right now."

"He can't even make eye contact with me," Mia reminded.

"That's just him being shy and worrying that you will see him differently now that he knows how you feel," Jenna stated wisely. "He doesn't want anything to change between you both."

"Neither do I, but I think it may be a little late for that," Mia said sadly.

"Just keep doing what you guys have been doing," Lucy suggested with a smile. "I'm sure it'll be easier and less awkward with time."

"It's been months, though," Mia said.

"I didn't say it would be anytime soon."

"Great, thanks," Mia mumbled, earning a giggle from both girls while Lucy placed an arm around her shoulder as the three of them entered the hall together. It was there that they went their separate ways, with Lucy and Jenna meeting a couple house mates in the Great Hall, and Mia started trekking her way up to Gryffindor Tower. She took the stairs with a small smile on her face, already looking forward to the next time she could hang out with her Ravenclaw friends. With everything that's happened in the past few months, it had felt like ages seen they really could spend time together outside of class. Mia let herself ride the cloud all the way up the moving staircases and past the many portraits lining the corridors. She soon found herself on the floor that held Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as she neared the door, she suddenly heard a loud noise that made her pause in her movements. It sounded as though something made of glass had shattered, and after a few more seconds, there was loud scuffling and it was followed by an even louder bang!

"No! No, stop it!" yelled Myrtle's voice. "Stop it!"

What is going on?! Almost on pure instinct, Mia reached into her pocket for her wand and gripped it tightly in her hand, approaching the door as more bangs and crashes came to her ears, and soon she heard the sound of rushing water, as though a pipe had burst, and then she heard voices other than Myrtle's, shouting over each other.

"Cruci—"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Hearing those curses echoing through the hall was almost enough to make Mia stop dead in her tracks and her heart stand still. She had been around both of those voices long enough to know exactly who they belonged to, and the terror that suddenly gripped her body was overwhelming. Without a second thought, Mia threw open the bathroom door and a terrible sight meet her once she was inside.

The bathroom itself was a complete wreck, with broken lamps, shattered mirrors, blown up trash bins, scorch marks on the tiled walls, and somewhere out of view, a burst pipe was gushing water all over the floor. Her eyes darted around the room until they landed on Harry, who was on the floor as though he had been blown backwards, his green eyes wide and horrified, and his wand held out in front of him. Following his line of sight, Mia gasped as she saw the familiar, limp form of Draco Malfoy, lying on his back with his wand feet away from him. His face and torso looked as though it had been slashed open with a steel blade, blood seeping through his clothes and dripping into the water around him and surrounding his body with nothing but red. Mia swallowed thickly before turning back to meet her boyfriend's gaze.

"Harry," she whispered. "What did you do?"

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I hope you guys liked this chapter, I'll see you in the next one.