"What in the name of Merlin's saggy left – "
"Mr. Potter! Language!" Came Professor McGonagall's sharp voice.
Al began growling viciously under his breath as McGonagall hurried forward to reattach his splinched left hand, which was lying several metres away in the location he'd been occupying only seconds ago. His hand flopped around like a fish out of water and made rude hand gestures behind McGonagall's back before there was a crack! and Albus was whole once more. Al flexed his fingers, staring in disbelief at his reunited hand. It was a week after February 14th, and, much to sixth years' chagrin, the dreaded Apparition lessons had resumed.
"Well Mr. Potter," Came the withered voice of the Apparition instructor, Galatea Goodthrow. "You may have splinched yourself, but that's still as far as anyone has gotten this entire month. Let's all give Mr. Potter a hand."
Al seemed thoroughly unamused by Goodthrow's pun, and simply glared at her while the Great Hall erupted into applause.
"Excellent job, Mr. Potter." Goodthrow said.
"Yes, I'll try to contain my excitement." Albus said sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow at him. Al was many things, but bad-tempered was not one of them. Something was definitely wrong, and I was curious as to what that was. I seized my chance to speak to him as soon as the lesson was dismissed. I closed the ten feet of space between us, only to find my way blocked by Carina Boot. She stood with her chest out and batted her eyelashes flirtatiously as she spoke to Al. I took a few steps closer to listen in on their conversation.
"…so I thought maybe we could go to Hogsmeade together next weekend."
"That's very kind of you Carina," His voice was polite but his face showed he thought her offer was anything but kind. "But I'm not really interested just now."
"I see." Carina did not look disappointed in the slightest. "Well if you change your mind…you know where to find me." She ran her long, delicate fingers down his arm as she walked away. I approached him and dragged him away from the other girls who were eyeing him hungrily.
"The nerve of her!" I burst out as we entered the Entrance Hall. Behind us, the teachers began setting up the house tables in their regular places for lunch. "Flirting with you so shamelessly."
"Well she's entitled…"
"Not when your girlfriend is one of her best friends!" I came back.
"You didn't let me finish. She's entitled to do whatever she wants…because Delilah isn't my girlfriend anymore."
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to look at him. "She – what? When did this happen?"
"Last night."
"Last night? How come you didn't tell me?"
"Because you were out snogging my stupid fucking brother when it happened." Albus burst out angrily.
I stared at him, my mouth slightly open. In addition to rarely frowning, Al also never used curse words as…well curses. His angry expression dropped from his face and his shoulders slumped, as if staying upset with me for even a few seconds was too draining for him.
"I'm sorry. I'm just upset. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm happy that you're happy."
I sighed. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I've been spending a lot of time with James and unfortunately that's come at the expense of spending time with you. But that's going to change. You're my best friend, so you should be my first priority. That's why today is going to be all about you. I'm going to get you through this break up Albus Potter, even if it's the last thing I do!"
Al's characteristic grin returned to his face and he enveloped me into a hug.
"Thanks, V."
"Excellent. Let's start with lunch though. Apparition really takes it out of me."
He laughed and we headed back toward the Great Hall. As we walked I asked,
"So what, er, brought it on? Did she give you a reason?"
Al ran a hand wearily through his messy black hair. "Yeah. She told me why she was ignoring me over Christmas."
"Which was?" I prompted.
"She met someone else. Said she couldn't stand to live a lie anymore." He rolled his eyes.
"What a tart!" I exclaimed.
Albus nodded dramatically and continued, "I agree. I mean we were never exactly in love. I'm mostly miffed that she decided to lead me on for a month and a half instead of telling me what happened."
"To be fair, she might've not wanted to ditch you just yet because she knew girls would be on you like thestrals on a cow carcass the second she dropped you." I nodded my head pointedly over at the Ravenclaw table where Carina Boot and her friends were looking at Albus and giggling loudly. Al sat with his back to the girls and I took a seat across from him.
A few seats down the table I spotted Delilah practically sitting on the lap of my distant cousin, Corbin Corner, while he fed her bites of cake from his own fork. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You know, I could hex her for you. I can get a pretty good aim from here." I exemplified this point by aiming my wand at her discreetly. Al rolled his eyes and pushed my wand away lightly.
` "I'd take you up on that if I thought revenge on her was worth a week of detention for you."
"Good point." I said, pocketing my wand. "I'll just have a natter with Rose and make sure she gets the worst prefect duties possible."
"Already done." Rose said, plopping down beside Al.
"With discretion." Added James, sitting opposite her. "Oh and I snuck up to the Ravenclaw dorm this morning and left her a gift."
"Time sensitive dung bombs?" Albus guessed.
"Better. Identity sensitive, non-vanishing dungbombs. The stench will be there for days and they'll never know it was me."
Albus grinned at his brother appreciatively.
"How you ever became a prefect I'll never know." Said Rose, shaking her head exasperatedly.
"Hey, she needs to know that no one messes with the Weaslers and gets away with it." James said proudly.
"Weaslers?" I asked curiously.
Rose rolled her eyes. "They came up with it. It's a combination of Potter and Weasley."
"It was that or Posleays. You can see why we went with the first one." Said Albus fairly.
I nodded in comprehension and allowed James to plant a belated 'hello' kiss on my lips.
"Last night was fun." He commented.
"Very." I agreed.
"I figured tonight I could show you the secret passage into the Teacher's Lounge."
I was about to open my mouth to agree enthusiastically when I spotted Albus out of the corner of my eye and saw the way his grin dropped off his face.
"I'd love to. But I promised Albus that'd I'd spend the day with him."
James glanced suspiciously between the two of us before returning to eating. "Alright have fun. I suppose I knew I'd have to share you with him eventually."
"Technically she was my friend first, so I'm sharing her with you."
James opened his mouth – probably to make a snarky retort – but was interrupted by the descent of an owl onto the table in front of us. I looked at it, taken aback. I did not recognise the creature. A moment later, another owl fluttered down in front of Rose and held out its leg. She looked at the three of us confusedly before untying the letter and opening it.
"It's from my mum." She said as she stared at it.
"Well? What does it say?" Questioned Al.
Rose read aloud,
"Dear Rosie,
I just had to hex your father away from sending you a howler. Please be careful not to allow your picture into the news again. I don't know if I'll be able to stop him next time.
Love, Mum."
Albus and James raised eyebrows at her while my gaze fell upon the owl waiting patiently before me. Attached to his leg was a rolled up magazine. I removed it slowly and looked at the cover as the bird took off. On the front was a moving picture featuring the familiar faces of the Wicked Witches of the West. My eyes were instantly drawn to the bold, colourful, titles littering the cover. One in particular that caught my attention was entitled, "The Age of Star-Crossed Lovers."
I flipped swiftly to the indicated page and gasped. The story occupied two, full, glossy pages. On the left hand page there was a large, moving photograph of Rose and Scorpius dancing slowly and staring fixedly into each other's eyes, big stupid grins on their faces. Occasionally they kissed lightly, only to pull back and gaze at each other adoringly once more. This probably would have been considered scandalous…were it not for the picture on the right hand page. I stared at it with my mouth open. The photograph depicted James and I locked in a heated kiss, without an inch of daylight between our bodies. I felt my cheeks glow red, and thanked my lucky stars that the photographer had not approached us from the right, or he would have also immortalised the image of James' hand sliding up my skirt. My face heated even more at this thought, and for the first time in the last few months, I was positively grateful that all of my family members were on the run, otherwise there would undoubtedly be an entire legion of howlers winging their way toward me at this very moment.
At last my eyes arrived at the bottom right corner where I found, written in permanent ink, the words,
Hello ducky! Here's an exclusive, signed copy of the article published in this month's issue of Teen Witch. Tell your "boyfriend" I await his rebuttle with baited breath.
-Clive Tyler
There followed an illegible signature. As the message was in ink and paper, I couldn't be sure of the intended tone, but I would hazard a guess as to say it was sarcastic and mocking. My hands started to shake with rage.
"I'm going to kill him. I swear – "
"Let me see." Rose yanked the article from my hands and gasped as well. "That stupid bloody wanker…" She muttered furiously as her eyes scanned the article. Albus snatched it from her before she finished and gaped at what he saw. He repeated Rose's sentiments, but with a much greater and more colourful variety of language. James was the last to see the article. He stared at it for a full ten seconds before – to my immense displeasure – he began to laugh.
"Well played Mr. Cilve Tyler. And here I thought this would be boring." He said through appreciative chuckles.
"What's so damn funny?" I demanded irritably.
"Well I expected a retaliation of some kind after I threatened him but I never thought he'd be this bold. This feud is going to be much more fun than I thought."
"Fun?" My voice adopted a low hissing quality, reminiscent of my grandfather when he was angry. James stopped laughing immediately, evidently aware that he was in trouble.
"Erm…I mean…" He tried to come up with an excuse, but as he couldn't be sure why I was upset, he simply fell silent.
"Well I'm glad this is fun for you, James. Unfortunately what is not fun is that our society is prone to double standards. Do you know what the entire country will think when they see this?" I gestured to the magazine, my voice still dangerously low. James waited for me to continue. "They'll look at it and congratulate you for being a player, and condemn me for being a slut."
I pushed my food away from me and got to my feet. James caught my wrist as I turned to go.
"Since when do you give a shit what anyone thinks?" He demanded.
"I don't care what they think. I care what they do." I yanked up my left sleeve to reveal my forearm, where the white outline of the words BLOOD TRAITOR were still visible. "Two weeks into first year, a group of Slytherin girls pinned me down in the bathroom and burned this into my arm. I've never given a damn what anyone thought of me, but that didn't stop tears from streaming down my face while I screamed for help and no one came."
I spun on my heel and stalked out of the Hall. Albus caught up with me just outside the doors and I came to a stop, forcing a smile onto my face as I turned to face him.
"I'm so sorry, Al. I almost forgot my promise. Want to catch a movie in the prefect's lounge?"
He nodded and we directed our feet that way. He didn't bring up what had just happened in the Great Hall, for which I was eternally grateful. I was already beginning to feel embarrassed. We climbed through the portrait hole to the prefect's lounge ten minutes later. To my relief, it was empty. The common room and the prefect bathroom were basically my only reasons for remaining a prefect. The common room was always fully stocked with Honeydukes' sweets, ice cream, and various other delicious but wildly unhealthy foods, and carried a large television, movie playing devices, and various other muggle and wizard game stations. At Hogwarts, it really paid to be a prefect.
Albus plopped down on the comfortable couch opposite the television while I began searching through the available movie titles.
"So with my female friends, a break up movie marathon generally consists of romantic comedies starring unrealistically good looking actors and a lot of candy and ice cream. Should I revise that for your gender? Perhaps trade out romantic comedies for action movies featuring half-dressed women?"
Al laughed and rolled his eyes at me. "It depends. Do those romantic comedies also include unrealistically good-looking actresses?"
"Naturally. And come to think of it, they're fairly scantily clad as well."
"Let's try your way then. Go ahead. Give me your worst." It sounded like a challenge. I instantly selected the three mushiest, most romantic movies I could find and queued them up. I dug snacks out of the kitchen before settling in with Al to watch the movies.
As it turned out, Al took to romantic comedies very easily. So much so that he talked me into taking our dinner in the common room. Various prefects from other houses, including Alex Longbottom, joined us as time wore on. By half past seven that evening, fourteen of us occupied the large couch, clinging to each other and positively enraptured by the scene unfolding before our eyes. We were so hypnotised by the screen in front of us that we all let out a screech when a silvery shape suddenly erupted through the wall and came to a halt in front of me. Having determined that the Patronus wasn't a threat, the other girls returned to the film. I stared intently at the familiar creature and listened as James voice played in my head.
I'm sorry about earlier. I wanted to speak with you at dinner but couldn't find you. If you want to talk, I'll be in the Gryffindor common room all evening.
I nodded in understanding and the creature vanished into thin air.
"What does James want?" Al muttered out of the corner of his mouth, apparently having recognised James' Patronus as well.
"He wants me to go meet him."
"Are you going to?"
I sighed and stared up into Albus' emerald eyes. "Only if it's okay with you."
He grinned. "I think he's suffered long enough. You go ahead."
"Thanks." I breathed. I pecked his cheek appreciatively and stood.
"Where are you going, Vera?" Asked Melanie Dabney, a tiny Hufflepuff fifth year.
"I'm going to meet James." The eleven girls and Alex all made an "oooh" sound.
"Oh sod off, all of you." I growled as I climbed out of the portrait hole. I heard a collective giggle as the painting slammed shut behind me.
Fifteen minutes later, I reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Upon entering the common room, I looked around for James. I found him in an armchair in the far corner of the room reading a book. He looked up when I was a few feet away. His brown eyes lit up.
"Vera." He sighed my name. I instantly felt guilty for our row earlier. He stood quickly and took my face in his hands, kissing me sweetly. "Listen…"
"It's fine." I interrupted. "I'm sorry too."
He grinned. "You're completely forgiven. But…I sort of spent all afternoon working on this apology so I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway."
I giggled. "Alright. I'm listening."
"It was insensitive of me to drag you into my conflict with Tyler. I should have been more attentive to the way it would affect you. I know you've been mistreated in the past and that you still carry some of those demons with you. But I accept all of them. I'm not going to say it won't happen again because I don't want to make any promises about things that may not always be under my control. But I promise, if I do mess anything up again, I will always be as adorably apologetic as I am now."
I laughed and kissed him lightly. When I pulled away I said,
"Okay. My turn."
"You don't have to – "
"Shh. I've been working on this all day too. I want to say it."
He chuckled and waited for me to continue, "I'm sorry for what I said. You're right, I do carry a lot of baggage around with me, but that's not your fault, and it was unfair of me to take it out on you. I can't promise that I'll never blame you for something that isn't your fault again, because…well me getting angry with you for stupid things is a part of every romantic relationship. But I can promise that I will always be susceptible to you being adorably apologetic."
He grinned at my apology and kissed me sweetly once more. The kiss may have progressed into something else had a horribly familiar voice not echoed behind me.
"Well, if it isn't the star-crossed lovers back together again."
I groaned and rested my forehead against James' chest, wishing she would go away.
"What do you want Ava?" I asked without looking at her.
"Oh nothing." Her voice mocked innocence until it cried. "I was just purusing Teen Witch this morning and it reminded me of that little conversation we had last Saturday. See, you still appear to think that you are so very high above the rest of us, and that's fine for you. But after today, I can assure you that the entire UK will think that you're just as much of a slag as we do."
I opened my mouth to deliver a clever retort but James beat me to it,
"Oh shut up, Anna."
I turned to face her and caught the livid expression that formed in response to James' comment.
"Anna?" Her voice was almost a screech. "We dated for two months and you have the nerve to call me Anna?"
James raised an eyebrow at her and said, "We dated?" as though this was the first time he'd heard of such a thing.
I grinned appreciatively at his ploy. I knew full well that he remembered her; he had spoken of her to me last Saturday night. Which made it obvious to me that he was only pretending to forget about her to antagonise her.
Ava's eyes flashed but she kept her calm. "Whatever. You just helped to prove my point, James. That will make it twice as amusing when you ditch this gagging heap and move on to someone else."
"I'm not sure I appreciate your tone." James said coolly, stepping in front of me.
Ava grinned evilly. "What are you going to do about it, my love?"
"Well I could give you a weeks worth of detention, or maybe a month. Your choice." I was in awe of how collected he remained.
Ava didn't back down in the slightest. "Oh? Are we playing the Prefect and the Naughty School Girl again? I seem to recall that was your favourite."
James looked as though he was trying very hard to remember something, "Hold on, I think I remember you now. You were the one with the embarrassing – "
Ava let out a screech and went for her wand. Her arm was raised halfway toward us when a fourth voice entered the fray.
"Expelliarmus!"
I watched the progress of Ava's wand from her hand, through the air, and into Rose Weasley's free hand.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She demanded of Ava. Ava glared at her in response. "You know full well it's against the rules to use magic on other students. I'll have to give you a detention."
"You can't punish me for almost using magic." Ava replied snarkily.
"Actually, I can. If I, as Head Girl, see that one student is endangering the wellness of another student, I am permitted to take any and all action I deem appropriate. And I think it would be appropriate to reward your actions with a double detention."
"You can't prove anything." Ava hissed.
"You mean, I couldn't ask anyone of the twenty students sitting in here to write out a statement of what they witnessed?" Rose motioned around at the silently watching students. Ava seemed unable to form a counter argument. Knowing she had won, Rose continued, "You will report to the potions dungeons tomorrow at eight o' clock to serve your detention."
Ava let out another furious screech before storming up the stairs and out of sight. The common room erupted into applause. I turned to James,
"I'm going to speak with her. I'll be back in a few minutes."
James raised an eyebrow at me but otherwise did not comment on my decision. I took Ava's wand from Rose and climbed the stairs to my dormitory.
I heard crying before I even opened the door. I found Ava sitting on her bed, a pillow held to her face while her shoulders shook with sobs. I approached steadily and sat beside her, waiting for her to speak.
"You know…" She said after what seemed like forever. "I really hate you."
"I'm not sure I really blame you." Was my reply.
"I also hate myself." Her voice was weak now, vulnerable.
"Why's that?" I asked, gently moving the pillow from her face so that I could hear her better.
"Because I'm such an idiot!" She burst out, her voice cracking with pain. "I just made a fool of myself in front of half the house!"
"Don't worry about them." I said softly. "They just like gossip. It will blow over soon enough and they'll forget all about it."
"It's not just that…" Her voice was a whisper.
"Then what is it?" I lowered my voice to match her volume.
"I – I know I sound like a stupid teenage girl but…I really was in love with him." I was silent as I waited for her to continue. The words burst from her as though she had held them against her chest for a long time. "I fancied him from first year to fifth year. I was in awe of him. He was gorgeous, confident, brilliant, famous…everything. Then in fifth year, when it seemed like he liked me back, it felt like a dream…a miracle really. During those two months we were together, I did everything I could to make him happy. I wanted so badly for him to care about me the way I cared about him. So I did everything he wanted, figuring if I did so then it was only a matter of time before he felt the same way. I even slept with him! That's the part that still haunts me. Then, two months in, we were sitting by the fire, and I told him I loved him. Do you know what he said?" Her voice turned shrill again. "He said, 'Thanks.' I bore my soul and all he could say was 'Thanks'! He couldn't even manage a full 'Thank you'!" She took a few deep breaths. I rubbed her back and waited for her to go on. "A week later he broke up with me. I couldn't understand it. I'd tried so hard to make him happy, and in the end I didn't even make a dent in his life! In the end, I was just another name on his list.
"He destroyed me. Last summer was the worst one of my life. I spent most of it in bed, trying to understand what had gone wrong. Wishing desperately that he would change his mind and come back. But he'd already moved on…and on…Then this year, I decided I wasn't going to let it bother me. I was never going to let him make me feel that useless ever again.
"But then I saw him kiss you on the Quidditch pitch last week, and it all came rushing back. All the hurt, all the anger. It was almost too much to handle. But it wasn't just because he kissed you. I'd seen him kiss plenty of girls. It was the way he kissed you. It was so sweet; so adoring. Like he'd be happy to just sit with you and stare into your eyes for hours, and never want anything else from you. Without even trying, you'd gotten what I had sought after for years. And I hated you for that. So that evening, I poked you where I knew you would be vulnerable. I knew what you would be worried about in your relationship with him, because it was the same thing I had worried about. So I took that and shone a million spotlights on it.
"I don't know what I expected to happen. It's not like I thought you would break up with him and he would come back to me. I just wanted someone – anyone, to feel as badly as I felt."
"Well," I said once she'd fallen silent. "You did manage to freak me out…a lot."
She gave a watery chuckle. "Believe it or not, that helps."
I shook my head at her, smiling humourously. "Well maybe this will too…I know nothing I can say will make you feel better. I'm positive you've heard it all before. And I can't apologise for what James did to you. But I can say that I'm sorry you had to experience such heartbreak. You may be a bitch, but you're a good person, and you didn't deserve what you got. And for what it's worth, I think you're really beautiful. There is not a doubt in my mind that one day you will find a bloke who treats you the way you deserve to be treated."
She cast me a genuine smile. "Thank you, Vera. That means a lot." I nodded and allowed her to rest her head against my shoulder. I would generally be uncomfortable with such contact, but I made an exception for her broken state. After what felt like a few minutes she finally said, "You know, I still hate you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." I replied.
I reentered the common room ten minutes later with new found resolve. Rose and James stood upon catching sight of me.
"Vera!" Said Rose, sounding almost as though she'd been holding her breath. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'll tell you later." I said, not altering my course towards the portrait hole. "I've got to go do something really quickly."
I slipped through the portrait hole, ignoring the questions they fired at me. Taking a deep breath, I set off briskly down the stairs. I slowed my pace upon reaching the entrance to the library. I looked around as I walked. He had to be here somewhere…
At last I spotted him. Donovan sat in a secluded corner, pouring over a book. He had taken to spending more and more time in here ever since we had returned from break. I knew it was my fault, but I also knew that trying to talk him into returning to the common room would not go far in mending bridges. He needed his space, and I understood that. But I needed to speak with him, so here goes…
"Don." I whispered upon reaching him. His eyes were clouded over when he looked up, as though I had just woken him from a deep sleep. He appeared surprised upon realising who had spoken to him.
"Vera?" He looked confused.
"Hey." I muttered, taking the armchair across from him.
"Er, what's up?" He asked, sitting up and setting his book aside.
"I wanted to talk to you."
"About?"
"Well, I was just up in the common room with James…" His expression clouded over, so I hurried on, "And Ava King came up and started harassing us. Rose diffused the situation and Ava left for the dormitory. I went up to talk to her, and she told me about when she and James were together. She was crying – sobbing actually. She was so hurt. And it made me think of you."
"You thought about me sobbing over James?" He jested. "He was my best mate but I think I'll learn to love again."
I rolled my eyes, and for a moment things felt almost normal between us. "You know that's not what I meant. All this time while you've been furious with me, I've been acting like the victim. Like all I was trying to do was follow my heart and you were standing in the way of that. I felt bad for what I did to you, but I never stopped to think about how much I had hurt you. Now that I've seen the raw pain that something like that can cause…I know that I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you. It was cruel. You're an amazing person, and you didn't deserve what you got."
Donovan's expression didn't change the entire time I spoke, nor did he utter a word once I had finished. My heart began to race. Why didn't he say something? I knew if he didn't speak soon, I was going to start babbling.
"I'm never going to forgive myself, but if you can ever find it in yourself to forgive me, I'd love for us to be friends again. We used to have so much fun together and…and I miss you, Don."
Several painful seconds dragged by as I watched his face. At last he sighed,
"Honestly Vera…what you just said, I think that's what I've needed to hear this whole time." Smiles slowly overtook both of our faces. "So sure, let's be friends again."
I jumped up excitedly at his response and was rewarded with a stern look from the librarian. I ignored her.
"Thank you so much, Don." I whispered happily as he drew me into a hug. "So I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
He nodded and grinned. I hugged him once more and took my leave. However as I made my way toward the door, I caught sight of a flesh coloured piece of string and a quivering ear gliding along the floor and out of the exit. I picked it up, keeping my footsteps as silent as possible. I crept around the corner of the doorway and, sure enough, saw all three Potter children plus Rose kneeling just outside, each clutching a portion of the string to their ears and arguing in whispers.
"What did you do wrong, James?"
"Nothing, Lily!"
"Then why can't we hear anything?"
"Hello." I said loudly into the ear. They all jumped dramatically and clutched their heads.
Lily jumped to her feet and leant nonchalantly against the wall. "Oh, hey there Vera. Fancying running into you here…"
I ignored her. "So should I start calling my private business my private-excluding-all-the-Potters-and-Weasleys business or should I just omit the 'private' part altogether?"
The four of them looked properly guilty.
"We're sorry, Vera." Muttered Rose. "But you took off without telling us where you were going and…well we got curious."
"Of course you did." I said, not swallowing her excuse. "And that's why you also recruited Lily and Al?"
"No we met them on the way." James offered.
I crossed my arms and stared each of them down. I wasn't really angry. I was trying to be, but I loved them all too damn much to stay upset.
"Well," I drew out the word, building the tension, "I suppose I'd best just get used to it, aye?"
They cast me four wide grins. Then Lily exclaimed,
"Group hug!"
Oh no. I tried to make a run for it but James caught me around the waist and pulled me back. The next second, I was engulfed in eight pairs of arms and losing air quickly. I squirmed for only a few seconds before giving up and allowing the four of them to squeeze me to death.
The weeks leading up to Easter passed in a state of bliss. On the Saturday following my reconciliation with Donovan, James asked me to accompany him to Hogsmeade to purchase a present for his Uncle Ron's birthday. We briefly discussed the safety issues revolving around this particular excursion, but in the end he managed to coerce me into it using tactics I wasn't sure were entirely fair. He showed me the secret passageway to the village, which proved to be much less exciting than I had built up in my mind. What was by no means less exciting, however, was the way he would press me randomly against cavernous walls and snog me senseless.
The next weekend, he whisked me away to the Whomping Willow just after Quidditch practise, and I soon learned that it was more than an eccentric tree. He led me through a passageway under the roots of the tree that was so narrow we often had to squeeze closely together to accommodate the space. When we arrived at the decaying house, he led me through each room, telling me an epic tale of adventure from his father's third year at Hogwarts. I raised an eyebrow at certain parts of his story, but for the most I clung to his arm anxiously, enraptured by the deep, thrumming quality of his voice and jumping at the smallest squeak of the floorboards.
The third weekend, he lured me to the top of North Tower at four o' clock in the morning to watch the sun rise. We drank butterbeer and tea while chatting lightly. It was always so easy to slip into conversation with him. Everything was easy with him. Sometimes things were even better than easy. Sometimes they were simply a pleasure. Like when he kissed me just as the sun stretched its sparkling fingers out over the lake. It was so simple, so utterly perfect that I never wanted it to end. But alas, perfect moments would not be perfect if they were not surrounded by a hundred other imperfect moments, so eventually we were forced to climb down and join the bustle of the main school.
A letter arrived from Mr. Potter that same day (addressed to Olivera Narcissa Greengrass-Malfoy) inviting Scorpius and me to the Potter House for Easter. I sent back my eagre acceptance immediately.
"Er, Vera I believe?"
I gaped at the person who had just spoken to me. It was Easter Sunday, and the entire Potter and Weasley family, accompanied by the Longbottoms and Scamanders, had congregated at the Burrow. I had been sitting in a white plastic chair just beyond the orchard with Alex, sipping butterbeer and watching the generational Quidditch game playing out before me (Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, Uncle Ron, Uncle George, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Angelina, and Uncle Bill vs. Albus, James, Rose, Roxanne, Victoire, Louis, and Fred). Alex had just nipped inside to grab more butterbeer a few minutes ago. I was therefore, thoroughly startled when someone cleared his or her throat beside me – and was even more surprised when Teddy Lupin turned out to be the throat-clearer.
"Yes, it's Vera. Teddy right?" I said cautiously. I, of course, knew who he was, but felt it would be in my best interest to appear not to know too much.
"Correct…do you think we could chat for a moment?"
I nodded hesitantly and motioned for him to take Alex's vacated seat. Teddy sat and ran a hand wearily through his turquoise hair. It was an idiosyncrasy I had observed in all the Potter men. I supposed surrogate Potters possessed the characteristic as well.
"So, er, what did you want to talk about?" I asked when he did not begin to speak immediately.
"Oh," His sea green eyes refocused as he looked at me. "I wanted to talk to you about James."
Of course you did. I thought irritably.
"What about him?" I tried not to sound defensive.
"I just…don't take this the wrong way but…I just don't understand your relationship."
"What about it do you find confusing?" I asked slowly.
"Well…when I last saw him at Christmas it seemed like we were on the same page regarding you. Then I come back three months later and suddenly he's all doe-eyed and giddy every time he looks at you." I smiled at my lap at the thought of staring into James' eyes. "Yeah, that's the look." Teddy said, pointing to face. "And I just wanted to know…what changed?"
My eyes found the boy in question while I considered my response. As I watched, he ducked under his mother, spiraled past his Aunt Angelina, dodged a bludger from his Uncle George, and scored on his Uncle Ron, a wide grin never leaving his face.
"I'm not sure really." I said at last. "I suppose you could say we were bonded by trauma. I'm sure you heard about what happened in the village over Christmas." He nodded. "But I suppose it's not even that." My tone was thoughtful. "When I think about it, I've felt this way about him as long as I can remember. It's like, as soon as I allowed myself to feel this way about him, I just couldn't stop." I finished then, not wanting to bear anymore of my soul to the less than affectionate Teddy Lupin.
"That's what he said as well." It was Teddy's turn to look thoughtful.
"But you don't buy it, do you?" I guessed.
He shook his head. "I'm not even sure. It just seems so odd to me. You two are so different…"
I examined his face before speaking. "You don't know me well, do you Mr. Lupin?" I asked carefully.
To my relief, he grinned. It wasn't a happy grin, but at least it wasn't a frown. "No, I suppose I don't. Why don't you tell me about yourself, Ms. Malfoy?"
I knew he was mocking my formality but I didn't mind. I liked Teddy Lupin, despite his fervent dislike of me.
"Well, did you know I'm in Gryffindor?"
"I do believe I heard a rumour." He said humourously. "Rocked the family tree there, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. And that wasn't the first time. I'm nothing like the rest of my family. I never have been. I've never been overly interested in gold or power, nor have I ever considered greed and selfishness to be acceptable personality traits."
"So you're not a Slytherin. What are you then?"
I watched James again while he tailed his Aunt before continuing. "I'm a Holy-Head Harpies fan. My favourite subject in school is Defence Against the Dark Arts. I love chocolate cake. My best friend is Albus Potter. I first learned to ride a broom when I was five. My preferred breakfast is cereal. My fondest childhood memory is visiting the coast with my family…but most of all, I care very much about your 'little brother.' And I don't really think I need to prove that to you."
He chuckled at my cheek before falling silent and watching the game once more. After a moment he sighed and said,
"I still can't say I understand it."
"Perhaps this will ease your mind." I braced myself as I continued. "You know James very well, right?"
"He's practically my brother." Teddy confirmed.
"And you've spent a lot of time around him these past few years?"
The corners of Teddy's mouth turned down into a frown. "I suppose not as much as when he was younger. Not since I started dating Victoire."
I nodded knowingly. "That happens. Priorities come up. But that wasn't my point. Did you know that James once told me that he has spent the past two years of his life being completely miserable?"
"Yes, er, he did mention that when I spoke to him…"
"And does he seem happier to you now?"
At last Teddy turned his eyes upon me. To my surprise, they had turned cerulean. "Loads happier."
I smiled weakly at him. "I'm happier too. So even though I know you don't approve of me, I like to think you'll make an exception…just to see him smile like he's smiling now."
Teddy turned to watch James again. He grinned serenely at what he saw and then nodded slowly at me.
"I suppose you're right, Vera."
I returned his peaceful smile. We sat in relative comfort for a few more minutes before Teddy spoke again. "I suppose we should stick together, you and I."
"Why's that?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of James.
"Well, you're more related to me than any of the Weasleys. We're second cousins or something, I think. We've got to keep the streak of decent Black descendents alive, don't we?"
"I do believe that is our duty." I replied jokingly.
"What are you two laughing about over here?" Came James' voice as he bounded up to us. The game appeared to be over.
"Oh nothing." Teddy said casually. "I was just inviting Vera here to my wedding."
Teddy and I exchanged a brief glance, and I understood that I was not to tell James what we had discussed.
"Yes he was." I agreed. "It sounds like it's going to be lovely."
"That's excellent!" James said, beaming. "I'm glad you two are getting along."
"Well of course, she's one of my only two real cousins here." And with that, he stood and strode off.
"So who won?" I asked as James and I began heading back toward the Burrow.
"We decided to call it a draw. Everyone knows that defending the title isn't worth missing one of Gran's hot meals."
I slid my hand into his as we walked. He took this opportunity to give me a blow-by-blow account of the game with the 'Older Generation.' I nodded and laughed in the appropriate places, but I wasn't really listening. Instead, I was examining the serene valley that surrounded that tall, crooked house I'd become so accustomed to. And I thinking about what that delightful building held: a large group of people whom I'd come to be so comfortable around.
The return to school was hectic. End of year exams were coming fast upon the Hogwarts student body. The instant we returned from break, we were thrust into a world of never-ending essays, examinations, and above all, homework, homework, and more homework. That was not my only concern however. I still had grueling late night prefect duties to contend with, not to mention exhausting Quidditch practises made even more frequent in response to the upcoming match versus Ravenclaw. Our standings were good, but not unshakeable. Hufflepuff had defeated Slytherin two weeks ago, placing them in third and fourth place respectively. Gryffindor had won two matches and held 470 points. Ravenclaw had won only one match, but scored highly in both games played and stood at 340 points. This was a margin of 130 points, which meant that Ravenclaw needed only to catch the snitch at less than twenty points behind, and they would be awarded the Quidditch cup. This was, of course, not an option for any member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, so we practised tirelessly in the run-up to the match.
The night before the match found James and I entwined on a fainting couch in the Room of Requirement, revising for exams by quizzing each other. I lay on my back with A Standard Book of Spells: Grade 7 resting open on my rib cage, while James lay on his side next to me, propping his head up with his right hand and tracing patterns on my abdomen with his left.
"The incantation and wand movement to counteract an excessively performed Cheering Charm." I said.
"Deprimidus, then arc from left to right and flick."
"Correct!" I congratulated. "That's five out of five, so you are now eligible for your reward."
He grinned and accepted his reward by kissing me lightly. He pulled away a moment later and sighed,
"Studying with you is way more fun than studying with Rose. You know what she did last week? She tried to make me a colour-coded, talking, study schedule. Can you believe that?"
"Honestly I'm impressed you managed to placate her. She's already made Al and my N.E.W.T study schedule and I haven't even finished the sixth year yet."
"Thank Merlin your brother convinced her to revise with him."
I nodded, suddenly distracted. This brief allusion to my brother had abruptly reminded me of the conversation he and I had had nearly two months ago. I hadn't mentioned what he had told me to James, mostly because I feared his reaction. Would he accept it and vow to treat Scorpius with more respect? Or would he be unreceptive and accuse me of being naïve for believing what my brother had told me? I couldn't be sure, and therefore had not broached the subject. Perhaps I could find a way to lead into the conversation casually, so as not to present Scorpius as a target. I opened my mouth to direct the discussion that way, but James interrupted me with thoughts of his own.
"Vera, can I ask you something?" His voice was uncharacteristically soft and tentative.
"Of course you can." I replied, closing the Charms book and setting it aside.
He hesitated for a moment before beginning, as though he was choosing his words carefully.
"Do you ever…wonder about the future?" His eyes met mine, and I sensed an unrecognisable energy rolling off him. I decided to respond lightly,
"Honestly I can't see very far past my exams, as they may mark the end of my days."
He smiled noncommittally before continuing. "But beyond that? Like…how do I phrase this…how do you see the next five years of your life?"
I bit my lip while I thought. "I don't know really. Nothing specific so far. I'll of course finish my final year here. Then I suppose I'm off for two years of pre-healing school. After that there's my one year internship at the Hospital and then I'll be a fully-fledged Healer. I can't really see too far past that, to be honest."
James was quiet while he considered my words. "Sounds as good a plan as any." He said after a minute. "What about next year do you think…maybe you'll want to see other people?"
My heart stuttered to a stop. "What are you saying, exactly?" I forced out. He saw the expression in my eyes and corrected himself hurriedly.
"Oh no that's not what I meant! I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to…whether or not you'd like to stay with me. I understand if you're not interested in long-distance…"
"Oh shut up." I snapped. "Of course I want to stay with you." Then something occurred to me. "Unless you don't want to…"
"No of course I do. I just wanted to make sure." He said quickly. I smiled at him and he kissed me softly. When we broke apart he rested his forehead against mine and whispered, "You know, I really like you a lot."
"I do know. I like you a lot, too." And for a moment, just one fleeting moment, another word danced upon my lips. A much stronger, more terrifying word; yet somehow much more fitting and specific as to how I felt about him. That word was…love.
"I'm glad." He said, before pulling away and glancing at his watch. "Ah, bugger. It's nine o' clock. We should get back to the dormitory. I want everyone well rested for the match tomorrow."
I nodded in agreement and got to my feet. We gathered our books and left the Room of Requirement hand in hand.
The Great Hall was practically vibrating with excitement when I entered it the next morning. The Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables were completely swaddled in blue and bronze. The Hufflepuff table was a mix of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor colours while Gryffindor was, of course, a sea of red and gold. I took a seat beside Rose, whose face was stuffed in a book. This was not necessarily unusual behaviour for her, but it had become an increasingly common sight the closer we came to exams. Now with one week before her N.E. , we had ceased mocking her and simply accepted that we would not hear her voice or see her face for another two weeks.
Al sat across from me, looking uncharacteristically anxious. It was understandable of course. The entire house was depending on him to catch the snitch before the Ravenclaw seeker, Delilah Wood, during today's match. James sat beside Al, once again pouring over various game plans and Quidditch moves.
I piled several pieces of toast onto my plate, not really intending to eat them but rather to pick at them for a while until James ordered us all to the changing rooms. At last his voice sounded over the chattering crowd, and all seven of us stood and left for the changing rooms.
James was unusually quiet as we changed into our Quidditch robes. I didn't press him, figuring that he was handling his anxiety in his typical, closed off way. After we had all changed, he gathered us around for the traditional pre-match pep talk.
"Alright team, this is it: the big one. We've been working toward this point the entire year, and so far we've been pretty damn successful. We've practised every play and every move meticulously and we work as hard as we play. There isn't a doubt in my mind that we are the best team in this school, now all we have to do is go out there and – Am I interrupting you, Al? Rose?"
Maria, Don, Ferdinand, and I whipped around to look at Rose and Albus. They appeared to have been caught in the midst of a whispered argument and now looked slightly embarrassed.
"No Captain, my Captain." Said Albus cheekily. James rolled his eyes but decided not to pursue a squabble.
"As I was saying, we are the best damn team in this school, so all we have to do now is go out there and convince everyone else."
The seven of us erupted into cheers and ran spiritedly from the changing rooms toward the pitch. We were all jittery with nerves as we warmed up and then formed into a line opposite the Ravenclaw team. I watched Albus while James shook hands with Connor Boot, the Ravenclaw Captain. He was staring intently at a blushing Delilah. I was so focused on the pair of them that I kicked off a split second after everyone else. I recovered myself swiftly and turned my attention back to the game. Heidi Jordan's voice echoed over the pitch as the quaffle entered playing height,
"Bradshaw of Ravenclaw takes the quaffle. Passes to corner. Corner back to Bradshaw. Bradshaw to Krane. Krane to – intercepted by Rose Weasley! She passes to Potter. Potter to Malfoy. Malfoy to Weasley. Weasley to Potter. Potter dodges a bludger from McClaggen. He's going for goal! He shoots – damn it! Saved by Conrad. Still zero zero."
I heard McGonagall yell something like, "Bias" but did not stop to listen. Heidi's commentary resumed a moment later.
"It's Ravenclaw with the quaffle. Krane dodges Potter, she ducks past Thomas, she's going straight for goal and – " Heidi cursed. "Ravenclaw scores. Ten zero to Ravenclaw."
I let out a curse to match Heidi's and moved into position as James took the quaffle.
"Now it's Gryffindor with the quaffle. Potter passes to Weasley, Weasley to Malfoy, Malfoy to Potter, Potter back to Malfoy. She goes on ahead. She ducks a bludger from Boot. She swerves past a bludger from…er, McClaggen I guess. She's going for goal, she shoots – hold on, was that the snitch?"
I threw the quaffle, not even waiting to see if I'd scored before turning my attention towards Albus' end of the field. To my surprise, I did not see an Albus coloured blur being closely tailed by a Delilah coloured blur. Instead, I saw a completely stationary Albus and Delilah, floating across from each other and apparently arguing.
"Al! What the hell are you doing?" I screamed at him. He whipped around, looking as though he had just been broken from a deep sleep. Delilah glanced around as well, but the snitch had disappeared.
"Potter and Wood lose the snitch, apparently held up by a lover's quarrel. You know, I heard they broke up. The rumour is she cheated on him. I don't know why anyone would. I mean look at him!"
"Jordan!" Came McGonagall's stern voice. "The game?"
"Oh. Right you are, Professor. So it's tied at ten each. Ravenclaw with the quaffle. Bradshaw passes left to Krane, Krane short passes to Corner, Corner throws back to Bradshaw – she swerves to avoid a bludger from Krakowski but keeps hold of the quaffle. She passes to Krane, who passes to Corner. Corner back to Bradshaw, she shoots – and Duvall just barely saves it! You go Maria! Duvall gives the quaffle to Weasley. Weasley dodges Corner. Weasley passes to Potter, Potter passes back to Weasley, who…passes it to Potter, Potter throws to Malfoy. Malfoy dodges a bludger…and another bludger…and another…and – hold on. Is that normal, Professor?"
I began to wonder the same thing as I ducked a bludger for the fourth time. I wouldn't have been concerned under normal circumstances, but I was also fairly certain that bludgers did not generally change direction of their own free will. I was not given time to expand upon this thought however, as the bludger's partner had just soared toward my head. I barrel-rolled in midair, just barely managing to keep my grip on the quaffle. I sped up in a vain attempt to out fly them. The bludgers matched my speed, taking increasingly more accurate swings at me.
What the - The words hadn't even formed fully in my mind when one of the bludgers succeeded in colliding with my elbow. I held fast to my broom but unfortunately dropped the quaffle. The Ravenclaw chasers, though looking quite as confused as everyone else, did not fail to press their advantage. Bradshaw took the quaffle and soared off toward the goal post as my teammates crowded around me in a scattered rescue attempt.
"No!" I screamed at them. One of the bludgers seemed to have decided that Rose had gotten too close, and just barely missed her shoulder. "Focus on the game! I can handle this."
"Are you sure?" James called over the wind.
"Yes!" I shouted back. James and Rose took off after Bradshaw without further argument while Donovan and Ferdinand tried to coordinate their way around the angry bludgers. Don succeeded in hitting one away from me with his bat. It soared ten metres in the appointed direction before coming to an abrupt halt and barreling back toward me. I managed to dodge it, but narrowly.
"Vera! Are you okay?" Came Al's voice. I let out a humph of irritation as I avoided yet another attempt on my life.
"I'm fine! Just catch…" I dodged. "…the bloody…" I swerved. "…snitch" I dived. He nodded and soared upwards to peer over the game.
Madam Hooch arrived on the scene a minute later, sitting unsteadily on her broom and shooting Reductor Curses at the bludgers. This, however, served only to infuriate them further. My avoidance of them became narrower and narrower as time wore on. At one point, Ferdinand tried to sneak past their defences and attempt to pull me onto his broom, but his bravery earned him only a sharp tap in the knee cap from one of the bludgers. His diversion, however, allowed me enough time to pull my wand from the front of my robes and aim it at the first bludger's equally aggressive counterpart.
"Reducto!" I shouted. My spell hit the center of the bludger and it exploded into dust. One down. I thought. At that moment, however, a scream erupted from the Gryffindor spectators. I whipped around to see Albus soaring above the stands, the fluttering, golden snitch grasped tightly in his fist. I screamed victoriously with the rest of the fans…but my euphoria was short lived. A moment later, the second bludger collided with the back of my head, and my vision went black. It was all I could do to keep a hold on my broom as I zig-zagged toward what I hoped was the ground. After what seemed like forever, the tip of my broom stuck in the sand, and I tumbled unceremoniously off of it. My vision came back just in time for me to roll onto my side to avoid the determined bludger. It slammed into the ground, spraying me with sand before rising into the air again. I flipped again to avoid the second onslaught, but it managed to clip my left ankle and rise up again.
"Help!" I screamed as I tried to feel around for my wand. A moment later, I heard about several voices shout, "Reducto!" followed by the sound of an explosion. At last I allowed myself to rest back upon the ground as I attempted to focus my vision. There were footsteps and someone knelt down beside me.
"Vera?" Came Albus' voice.
"Al! Did we win?"
I tried to focus on his familiar grin, but black began to close like a tunnel around my vision.
"180 to 40." Was his reply.
"Thank Merlin." I muttered, closing my eyes. And then I knew no more.
I was awoken later by the sound of muttering voices. I briefly considered opening my eyes, but decided that my energy would be better utilised in exploring my surroundings with my other senses. I was lying on my back on what felt like a comfortable feather bed. I was wrapped tightly in soft blankets, and surrounded by the smell of antiseptic. Around me, quiet voices vibrated peacefully in conversation. I focused more intently on this sound, trying to comprehend the words being spoken.
"So you've searched the grounds?" Said a familiar voice.
"Every inch of them." Said another, equally familiar voice. "Maybe if we'd looked the second the bludgers started acting unusually we would have found something, but we decided to finish the stupid game anyway."
"At least we won." Said a third voice.
"Yes, but being handed the cup wasn't nearly as fun when I had to carry my girlfriend up to the Hospital Wing afterward."
"You should be grateful. Madam Clearwater said it could have been much worse." Said yet another voice.
"I know. Thank Merlin she's such a good flier – oh look. She's waking up."
My eyelids fluttered open to reveal five members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team plus Mark, Alex, Lily, and Janie milling about my bed. I managed to scan each of their concerned faces before James suddenly lunged to plant a kiss on my forehead.
"Thank goodness you're alright." He murmured into my hair.
"Yeah, you gave us quite the fright there." Said Albus, who stood just behind his brother.
"How are you feeling?" Asked Janie anxiously.
"Like I was just struck in the back of the head by a bludger." I murmured to the amusement to my audience. "What time is it anyway?" I asked, only now noticing the location of the sun beyond the windows.
"Around three." Maria informed me.
"Have you all been sitting here since the game?" I asked incredulously.
"They have." Said Maria, pointing to the three Potter children. "The rest of us went to the after-party and then came back here after lunch."
"Hold on," I interrupted. "If it's three, that means I've been out for…"
"Almost three hours." Alex said helpfully.
"Shit." I said under my breath. "I'd planned to revise after the game." The thought of revising caused me to observe a notable absence. "Speaking of which, why isn't Rose hovering teary-eyed over my sick bed like the rest of you?"
All ten of them rolled their eyes in unison. Lily chose to explain first,
"Her exact words were, 'Of course I'm worried about Vera. And if she wakes up I'll come to visit her. But if it turns out she is comatose I'll feel awfully silly for spending all that time staring at an unconscious person when I could have been revising.'"
I joined them in another round of eye rolling.
"I suppose she's with my brother then?"
"Actually…" Said Don, inclining his head pointedly to my left. I looked around to find a silent, stoney-eyed Scorpius sitting in a chair on the opposite side of my bed from the others.
"Well," He began, "With our parents on the run and Grandfather and Grandmother in hiding, I had to be here just in case someone had to decide whether or not to pull the plug."
"Your concern is touching." I said sarcastically.
"Not to mention exhausting." He said, disregarding my sarcasm. "But I actually do have to meet Rose if you'll all excuse me."
Everyone was silent as Scorpius' slender form rose from the chair and headed for the door.
"Apathetic git." Mark muttered as soon as Scorpius disappeared.
"Actually," I said. "For Scorpius that was positively cuddly."
The ensuing chuckles alerted Madam Clearwater of my return to consciousness.
"Oh good, Ms. Malfoy. You're awake." She said as she bustled over. "How are you feeling?"
"A bit woozy." I clutched my head for extra measure.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I have a potion that may relieve the symptoms." She left and returned a moment later holding a vial filled with deep green liquid. I tossed it down my throat and sputtered slightly. The potion could definitely afford to taste better. "Good. When they delivered you to me you had a concussion, a bruised elbow, and a fractured ankle. I managed to heal the bones but the surrounding tissue may be a bit sensitive for a few days. I repaired the damage to your skull and you should be fine, but its standard procedure for me to keep you under observation for at least twenty-four hours following any head injury." I nodded solemnly, beginning to image the next twenty-four hours of boredom I would have endure. To my surprise, Madam Clearwater continued speaking. "When you feel up to it, I can escort you to Professor McGonagall's office. She sent me a message saying she would like to speak with you as soon as you are able."
Curiosity erupted like a volcano in my mind. "I can go now." I said quickly. I threw the blankets off and made to stand.
"Are you sure, Vera?" James asked, catching my elbow.
"Positive." I affirmed, getting to my feet. I swayed slightly where I stood but otherwise remained upright.
"We can take her up, ma'am." Said Albus cautiously.
"It's perfectly alright, Potter. You may all return to your common rooms."
"But – " Started Lily.
"You can come back and visit her afterward. She'll be here all night, after all."
I groaned at this but otherwise allowed Madam Clearwater to steer me away from my friends and toward McGonagall's office. She left me in front of the gargoyle with the password and promised to return to take me back to Hospital Wing when I was finished. I nodded gratefully and said,
"Minister's Cat."
I nodded once more to Madam Clearwater as the rotating staircase took me up and out of sight of the corridor. Voices grew louder and louder the closer I came to McGonagall's office door. Upon stepping off of the silently twisting staircase, my Gryffindor curiosity halted me in my tracks to listen in on what sounded like a heated conversation.
"…I just don't know what more we can possibly do to protect them, Professor! My house is one of the most secure locations in Britain, and not only did he manage to find it but he also got a spell through all of our protective charms. Now he's figured out how to break into Hogwarts, incidentally one of the most secure locations on the planet!"
"It's almost as though he's invented a new way of casting magic. It's beyond anything we've ever seen." Added a familiar female voice.
"Plus – "
"Shh." Said another voice. "We aren't alone anymore."
I hurriedly raised my hand to knock on the door but it swung open before my knuckles even made contact with the wood.
"Good evening, Ms. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall greeted. "Won't you join us?"
"Thank – thank you, Professor." I said, allowing my feet to carry me into the room. Professor McGonagall sat at her desk with her fingers steepled thoughtfully. Facing her were three people I'd come to know very well. "Good evening, Mr. Potter. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Mr. Potter and Mrs. Weasley nodded politely at me while Mr. Weasley simply crossed his arms and stared me down. I returned my attention to Professor McGonagall. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"
"Yes, Ms. Malfoy. Please sit down." She motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk.
"How are you feeling?" Asked Mr. Potter once I had gained my seat.
"I've been better." I replied honestly. "Is this about what happened at the Quidditch match?"
Mr. Potter, Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley exchanged looks.
"That's part of it, yes." Mrs. Weasley said slowly. "We received the news of your predicament this morning and arrived on the scene shortly before you passed out. After which, we immediately sent fourteen members of the auror office plus a select group of teachers and older students to search the grounds for any suspicious characters."
"Did you find anything?" I asked quickly.
"Unfortunately, no." Replied Mr. Weasley. "We also questioned every member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, with no information forthcoming. Not that we expected anything anyway."
"Why's that?" I asked curiously.
"Because no student, nor many grown witches and wizards for that matter, would be powerful enough to charm such objects as bludgers. They are made of special materials and covered in a variety of spells that make it impossible for anyone to tamper with them using wizard's magic."
"Wizard's magic?" I didn't miss the specification. The three friends exchanged another look. Mr. Potter chose to explain,
"In my second year, I suffered a similar accident, except luckily for me it was only one bludger. It was set upon me by a House Elf. House Elves possess a very different brand of magic from wizards. So much so, that they are often not subject to the same restrictions as wizards in spell casting."
"So…you think it was a House Elf who set those bludgers on me?"
"Of course not." Interrupted Mrs. Weasley. "We questioned each of them for good measure, but they all emerged innocent as well."
"So that leaves…"
"The Half Blood Prince, yes." Mr. Potter confirmed.
"And?" I questioned eagerly. The three of them exchanged yet another look. Mr. Weasley was the first to speak,
"While we were searching the grounds, we received an alert of suspicious behaviour at the Derrick household in London. Harry and I went to investigate while Hermione finished up here.
"When we arrived, everything was perfectly in place. We knocked on the door and when no one answered we burst in. We found three bodies from two generations of Derricks lying in the drawing room with the Prince's – er – usual decorating touch." I remembered back to the image of Theodore Nott lying on his back with a gaping wound in his chest and shivered. "On top of that, there were a variety of muggle books scattered about the scene. When examined, we found that each of the books had one word highlighted in each of them. Our field analyst took the evidence, found all the words, and arranged them into a message."
"What did it say?" I almost didn't want to hear the answer. Mr. Potter and the Weasleys exchanged one last look before Mr. Potter said, slowly and firmly,
"You've kept the girl from me. Expect to pay the price."
The onslaught of exam week proved to be sufficient in distracting me from my fate. I was so busy reading, revising, and practising that I didn't even have time to ponder the depths of my mortality. I was only forced to think about the danger I was in during brief periods throughout day. For instance, when I left for breakfast in the morning to find an auror outside of the portrait hole, when a teacher walked me back and forth to the bathroom during break, or when the grumbling and ancient Argus Filch marched me back to Gryffindor Tower in the evening.
Being under such scrupulous observation would not have bothered me so much were it not for the fact that it indefinitely postponed James and my exploration of the castle by night. We still met up in the daytime, but our already limited time was sliced even shorter when exams started. He would come and find me during his free time, only for one of use to dash off again after twenty minutes to sit an exam.
But at last the first week of June came to a close, and with it our exams. The last day of school proved to be the tearful and nostalgic event it always was. Friends clung to each other, promising to write and meet up over the summer. As usual, the seventh years created the worst of it. At one point, I even spotted Rose Weasley hanging onto a Slytherin girl (whom I was positive I'd never seen before in my life) just after the graduation ceremony and promising that she would never forget her.
At last, the uncomfortable emotional displays were over, the drawers were cleared, the trunks were packed, and the entire Hogwarts student body was preparing to board the Hogwarts Express. The auror office had considered the matter in depth, and had decided that the best way to transport Scorpius and I back to London was, in fact, the train. Apparition was deemed impossible due to the distance, floo powder was dismissed due to its susceptibility to tampering, and portkeys were pronounced inefficient due to their inherent necessity for open, exposed spaces.
Scorpius and I loaded our trunks into carriages before taking the arms of two grim-faced aurors and apparating to Hogsmeade station. There, we were chivied swiftly onto the train without incident and directed to two compartments that had been deemed the most "secure." My friends joined me in my compartment half an hour later, while Scorpius' friends filed into the adjacent one.
"So, er, how was the carriage ride?" I asked my friends, trying and failing to ignore the auror standing just outside the door.
"Er, same old, same old." Replied Janie, also glancing at the auror.
"And the apparition?" Asked James, throwing an arm casually around my shoulders.
I wrinkled my nose. "Terrible. I had to side-along. I don't know why though, I've passed my test. I guess they just don't trust me."
"They don't trust any of us." Piped up Al. "The big one got a little handsy while he was checking us all for dark artifacts."
"I think that was just with you, Al. You should be flattered. Perhaps he has a little crush." James prodded. The compartment erupted into laughter as Al turned a fantastic shade of pink.
"Someone's jealous." He muttered under his breath. We laughed again.
The six of us whiled away the journey to Platform 9 ¾ the same way we always did: playing wizard chess, filling out Witch Weekly questionnaires, and discussing past year and the year to come. It was already two o' clock before anything out of the ordinary happened.
A white-blonde head poked in through the sliding door.
"Oli, can I speak with you for a moment?" Scorpius said. After looking distrustfully around at all my friends he added, "Alone."
I arched an eyebrow at him but otherwise didn't comment as I followed him from the compartment and out into the corridor.
"My sister and I would like to have a private conversation." Scorpius informed the aurors. The two of them exchanged a look.
"I'm afraid we can't permit that." Said the female one who had been guarding my compartment.
"It has nothing to do with matters of security, I assure you. I simply wish to discuss a personal matter. I'd even invited you to listen in if I thought you'd consider the subject matter of any importance." Scorpius said, adopting a smooth, persuasive voice.
"I'm still not sure…" Said the man who had been overseeing Scorpius' compartment.
"It'll only take a moment, I swear." He cast them a smile so charming that even I wanted to smile back at him.
"If it really is…only a moment." Said the woman, looking slightly dazzled. The man nodded his agreement.
"Thank you both very much." Scorpius said smoothly. He gripped my arm and led me out of earshot, finally stopping a few metres away, incidentally at the location where this carriage connected to the next one. He didn't slide the door closed but rather cast a nonverbal charm that I guessed prevented others from eavesdropping.
"What's going on, Scorp?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice. He gripped my shoulders in his long-fingered hands and murmured quietly,
"I think I know where mum and dad are."
Needless to say, I was astounded. "What – how?"
"Well all year I've been wondering where they could have possibly gone. The Prince would never be able to figure it out, but we know them a lot better than he does. So I started to think about it. First I thought of places our parents would never go. I thought about how badly dad burns and immediately ruled out anything further south than Italy in Eurasia and the Americas. Together, mum and dad speak French, Spanish, German, and English. I also figured that they would not want to associate with too many people while on the run, including a translator, so I eliminated all countries that don't speak any of those languages. Of those countries, I realised that they would most likely venture to somewhere familiar. So I thought of all the places in those countries that we've visited…and I picked the most likely."
"Which is?" I asked eagerly. Scorpius glanced around before continuing.
"Do you remember that muggle show you used to watch when you were eight? The one about the wizard?" I nodded slowly. "Do you remember what you asked to do for your ninth birthday?"
I let out a gasp that Scorpius quickly stifled with his glare. I ignored his paranoia. "So you think they're in Wales?" I whispered. "In the forest?"
Scorpius nodded solemnly. "So here's what I think we should do: as soon as the train pulls onto the platform, we should apparate to the house in London. Then we can use the fireplace to – "
"Hold on," I interrupted. "Why would we do that?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes at me. "So we can go find mum and dad, of course."
"But…shouldn't we tell Mr. Potter first?" I asked carefully.
"No! If we tell the auror office they won't let us go."
"But they can help us!"
"But it's none of their business."
"They're trying to help us, Scorp."
"Yeah and they've done a pretty shotty job so far if you ask me. Still have that scar on your back do you?"
"Oh shut up! They've done a lot to keep us safe. Stop acting like such a – "
I didn't get to finish. Just then, there was a loud bang, and the entire carriage rocked dangerously, throwing Scorpius and I off of our feet. I heard the doors on either side of us slam shut and both locks click ominously as I tried to regain my feet. I was upright once more when there was another bang! Scorpius seized the scruff of my robes and forced me to the ground just as a shadowy black shape burst through one wall and out the other. Wind flooded the compartment, its powerful fingers attempting to drag us out of the train. There was another bang as a different shadowy shape punctured a second hole in the wall of the train. The wind roared even louder as the shadowy shapes began to form into…people?
On the other side of the glass door, the two aurors and Scorpius and my friends cast all manner of spells in an attempt to reach us…all to no avail. I scrambled backwards, pulling Scorpius along with me, as the two people approached us slowly. They wore hooded black robes and the most bizarre masks. The one on my right wore a mask that was white on one side and red on the other. The one two my left bore a mask similar in style but with three fourths of it red and one fourth white.
My back collided with the glass door and I was suddenly met with the horrible realisation that there was nowhere to run. I reached for my wand but Scorpius was faster. I couldn't hear the incantation over the wind, but a moment later a jet of yellow light burst from the tip of his wand. The figure on the left waved its wand almost lazily to deflect the jinx. A moment later, they lunged at us. The one on the right wrapped its arms around me tightly. I would have thought it was hugging me under different circumstances. A second later, my feet left the ground and I let out a shriek as wind suddenly slapped my face even harder. I squirmed around and was just able to see the scarlet train get further and further away before a gruff male voice whispered,
"Somnus!"
And I knew no more.
Author's Note: This is another long chapter. Sorry about the one-shot nature of it, but there were a few story lines I had to wrap up before beginning our ascent into the climax.
A few other things: James' patronus was originally a stag. It made sense to me as he is so much like his grandfather, but then realised that three generations of Potters with the same patronus didn't quite fit together. What do you all think it would be? Perhaps a stallion or an eagle? Thoughts?
I don't know if any of you caught the Dead Poet's Society reference, "Oh Captain, my Captain." It's sort of a running joke in every English class I've ever been in, and it's what I always hear in my head whenever anyone says the word "captain."
The password to McGonagall's office has a funny back story to it. Minister's cat is actually a Victorian parlour game, but not why I chose it. Rowling revealed that Minerva is the daughter to a muggle Minister. Minerva's animagus shape and patronus are both cats, so I thought together the two words suited her well.
Some raised the concern that Vera appeared needy in the last chapter. I never thought of it that way so thank you for providing that feedback. I assure you all that she will show her true Gryffindor colours soon enough!
Finally, thank you for all your delightful and insightful comments: Forever Siriusly Serious, welcome2michaeland, Guest, Nimea, lilirox187, rose013, China2009, SilenceIsCompliance, and Jenny.
Please review!