Chapter 22
Back to School
"Put me down!" Hermione was screaming right until we got to our house and Alice dropped her onto the living room couch. "Where are we?"
"Our place," I spoke, putting Harry down as well. "Edward will show you where the bathroom is and give you some dry clothes to change into."
"I'm going to be sick," Ron whispered, holding his hand to his mouth. Alice was already handing him a bucket.
"What are we doing here?" Hermione asked.
"You two weren't anywhere near stopping arguing, and Harry just went into the cold lake, so we brought you here, where he won't get sick."
"Oh my god, the locket!" Hermione exclaimed, looking at Harry, who was following Edward to the second floor.
"Edward destroyed it." Alice chippered. At the same time, I heard a hurl coming from Ron, who was sitting on the floor too pale for a human and felt my face turn into a disgusted grimace.
"Your venom, of course! I should've thought about it!"
"Speaking of Horcruxes, any ideas what else can be one?" I asked.
"We think something that belonged to the other three houses, something valuable, important," Hermione answered. "You guys were in Hufflepuff, something comes to mind?"
I looked at Edward, who had just come back downstairs.
"I don't know. I think I've heard someone mention something about the Helga Hufflepuff's garden scissors. They were charmed to make a perfect cut and never got dull." Edward spoke.
"Sprout just said that, so you and your friends would want them enough to sort through all garden scissors." I shook my head.
"What?" He looked at me confused.
"You guys never did any work!" I giggled. "It was a very smart move on her part since you did exactly what she wanted you to do."
"Unbelievable!" He clasped his hands on his head. "We spent so much time doing that!"
"Oh, I know…" I continued laughing and then something came to mind. "Can it be the Hufflepuff cup?" I asked.
"Why is it important?" Hermione asked.
"Helga Hufflepuff made it herself. It's believed to be the very first dining utensil at Hogwarts to assist in the magical transportation of food from the Kitchens."
"How do you know that?" Edward asked.
"While you were too busy trying to get under my cloak during the History of Magic classes, I actually listened." I showed him my tongue and chuckled.
"Is it still at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.
"No, I think it was in Hepzibah Smith's possession, a vial woman, but she claimed to be the Hufflepuff descendant, doubtfully though, since she was put in Slytherin."
"How do you know all that?" Hermione asked.
"Walburga, my grandmother from dad's side, they were roommates in Hogwarts, saw each other every once in a while after school ended. When she died, my dad and I found her diaries where she wrote about all of her friends' accomplishments…out of pure jealousy, I believe. The Slytherin locket was once Hepzibah's too if I recall correctly."
"Then we've got to find her, question if You-Know-Who might have stolen it from her."
"She's been dead for decades, Hermione." I shook my head.
"Who's been dead for decades?" Harry asked, walking downstairs. Edward's clothing was too big for him, dangling loose on his shoulders.
"Hepzibah Smith," Edward spoke.
"I know that name!" He exclaimed. "Dumbledore showed me in the memory where Vol…"
"NO!" Ron shouted, "Don't say his name, it's a taboo now. The Snatchers and Death Eaters will be here any minute if you say his name."
"That's how they seemed to know exactly where we were all this time!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Anyway, You-Know-Who killed that woman and took something out of her house." Harry ignored Hermione's revelation.
"Oh, look at that, Potter." I chuckled. "I've helped you find another Horcrux."
"Um…Guys. Everyone is coming back from the hunt." Alice spoke.
Oh crap, I guessed with the trio's traveling, none of them knew about Fred and George yet. Ron…
"Stand behind us," Edward instructed the three humans in the house. "Better yet, try not to move too much, we have two newborns living with us, it's still hard for them to control their thirst sometimes, especially around new scents."
"Or we could just go back to our tent," Hermione spoke. "I'm sorry, but no one is supposed to know what we are doing, and letting new people know about us might put us in more danger."
"Well…Actually, I doubt our new family members would rat you out, after all, they're your family too." I spoke to Ron mostly. "Uh…You'll see in just a moment."
The moving of the feet was coming closer, I heard giggles and chattering right outside the house.
"You're home already?" Carlisle asked as he opened the door for everyone. "Oh, we have company, Savi."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked amused when they found themselves surrounded by the bluish bubble. And then all their jaws dropped when they saw the Weasley twins walk in, my daughters were on their backs. Something, my husband was definitely not a fan of.
"Ronny?" Fred asked confused.
"You two are vampires now?!" Ron asked as confused.
"Yeah, Death Eaters attacked after the wedding, so obviously they chose the most handsome target." Fred pointed at himself. "Bella saved my life."
"And you?" Ron asked George.
"Well, I couldn't let Fred be more handsome than me, or the world would've ended," George replied.
"We don't know why George got turned when I bit Fred." I shook my head in disbelief at their words. And to think I'd have to share my forever with those two idiots…I already had Emmett in the house, that was enough.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stayed with us that night. The showers and Esme's home-cooked meal were much appreciated by the trio. They left early next morning to their campsite, but not before Harry asked me if I still had my charmed D.A. galleon. I promised I would go to Grimmauld Place to get it as soon as possible. All of my things were supposed to be transported there from my Hogwarts bedroom after my 'death'. Savi, Nessie, and Edward were going to come with me. My husband for emotional support and the girls to know where I lived for twelve years of my life.
As I stepped into the fireplace, I felt anxious. I was going back to my house, which I now technically owned, although on the paper it was already Harry's.
"12 Grimmauld Place," I spoke and felt the green flames gently touch my body before I disappeared, only to reappear in another living room.
I stepped out and looked around. The house was in worse shape than I remembered it to be. Didn't I tell Kreacher to keep it tidy? Things were rummaged around the floor, some broken, some torn apart. I guessed that was Mundungus's doing.
I picked up a few things that were still intact from the floor and placed them on a nearby shelf. Maybe that's what I would do for the next couple of days…get the house cleaned up. The rest of my traveling group arrived a moment later.
"Can we see your room?" Nessie asked, smiling.
"Sure." I smiled back and let them up the stairs. My room was my late uncle's old room, which still had his name written on the door.
"Hey, where did all your fan posters go?" Edward asked, looking around.
"I threw them out, after you…you know died, it made me mature even more…I was trying to show my dad I was ready to join the Order, leave the childhood behind me sort of thing." I shook my shoulders and felt strong hands cuddling me.
"Maybe we could stay here for a day or two. The four of us, I mean." He smiled at all of us. "We could clean everything, maybe try and get rid of Walburga's annoying portrait."
"Oh, I would love to throw that thing out!" I exclaimed and received weird looks from my daughters. "She's so annoying! Her portrait screams and insults everyone who she believes to be unworthy to be in this house. It's taped to the wall with a glue spell. We tried getting rid of it for years, but nothing worked. Maybe the vampire strength would do the trick." I explained to the girls.
"Staying here for a couple of days could be very nice."
"What? Not even going to try and get to invite George and Fred here?" I giggled.
"Dad needs a little time to get over the fact that Ness and I are dating now. My theory is that spending some time alone with us would help him realize that we'll always be there and not going to run off with the first boys we meet." Savi spoke and I looked at Edward, who now stood with his arms crossed on his chest.
"Come on dad, they're your friends!" Nessie spoke now." And it's not like we're moving out! Besides, you can read their thoughts. Were they somehow untrue in their feelings toward us?"
"I'll go check if the other rooms have beds for you to sleep in." Edward backed out of the room, without answering her question. I knew that kind of behavior could only mean that he couldn't disagree with her words.
"At least you understand that, right?" Ness asked me now.
"I do, and your father will too one day. He's just being overprotective, as always." I smiled. "He'll never get over it though, I hope you understand that. We've been together for over three centuries and he still does that to me."
The next couple of days were one of the best of my life. I loved my family and loved being around all of them, but living in the same house with eleven other people was too much at times, four people were a much better arrangement. We managed to clean the whole house, only interrupted once when we found Kreacher hiding in one of the drawers in the kitchen. Seeing how he wasn't any help with helping us clean the house, I sent him to Hogwarts Kitchen to see if he could try and get any information about Snape and the Carrow twins, who were now running Hogwarts.
I found the D.A. galleon and now always kept it on me in case Harry would try and contact me through it. I hoped he was alright, I also hoped I would see him soon enough again.
"Has anyone seen a gold necklace around?" I asked confused. "It was supposed to be in my jewelry box upstairs."
The necklace was something I cherished deeply and really wanted to get back. It was a simple design, a little puppy, with a diamond in the place where the eyes should be. A gift from my dad, that I accidentally left in my room before coming back to school after winter break.
"No," I received three answers.
"I'm going to kill him. Mundungus must've stolen it too." I spoke upset. I knew there were many things in the house that my dad had given me throughout the years, but still, that necklace was important to me. I no longer felt even remotely bad for forgetting he was locked up in my house for nearly 24 hours straight.
The month of May had started already and yet there was no message from Harry, a little over a month had passed since I last saw him, and I was getting a little worried. The radio channel that was run by Lee Jordan and Ryan Hastings, Fred and George's friends has just announced that Harry, Ron, and Hermione have broken into Gringotts and left on a dragon. I wouldn't believe that if I didn't know just how incredibly reckless Harry's ideas could be. Fred and George were eager to help the rest of us protect Hogwarts but understood how they can do completely the opposite in case someone gets hurt and they smell blood. It was decided that Nessie and Savi would stay with them, keep them company. That decision took some weight off my shoulders.
It was later in the evening when I felt the galleon in my pocket heat up. I haven't experienced that kind of warmth since before the D.A. meetings were stopped by Umbridge. I quickly took it out and read a message, to my surprise, it wasn't from Harry…It was Neville informing everyone to come to Hog's Head in Hogsmeade.
"Strange," I whispered as I read the message once more. "Is everyone ready to go?"
My family looked at me and all placed their hands on my shoulder, ready to apparate. I did exactly that and a second later I heard a gasp.
"Is…Bella!" Ginny Weasley exclaimed as all of us appeared in Hog's Head. "What…"
"We got Neville's message too. What's going on?" I showed her the enchanted galleon and looked in her direction, Harry's old roommate Dean Thomas, and Luna Lovegood, who was picking something out of her hair were standing next to Ginny.
"I think Harry is back in Hogwarts, Luna and I were just going in there right now," Ginny explained.
"We'll be right behind you, dear," Esme spoke.
I saw the portrait of a young woman open to reveal a hidden passage behind it. We all climbed in there and followed Ginny, Dean and Luna.
"We'll actually get to see Hogwarts?" Emmett asked excitedly.
"Don't get too excited, we don't know what's waiting for us behind this painting," Edward spoke.
"Look," I heard Harry's voice but then he stopped when the tunnel door had just opened and our group emerged from it. Ginny gave Harry a radiant smile
"We got your message, Neville! Hello, you three, I thought you must be here!" It was Luna who spoke.
"Luna," said Harry distractedly, "what are you doing here? How did you…? Bella, Edward?"
"I only sent for her and Ginny," said Neville, holding up the fake Galleon. "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up, I'd let them know. Is that…Isabella? Cedric? But you…"
"Should be dead, we know. It's a long story." I stopped him. "But I brought reinforcement!"
"We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution," Neville spoke to Harry again, still not letting his eyes off me and my family. "That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
"Of course, that's what it means," said Luna brightly. "Isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"
I noticed that everyone was now staring at Edward and me. It made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, I never liked being the center of attention…Besides at a moment like this one, it was a lot more important for everyone to concentrate on what Harry was saying.
"Listen," said Harry with a rising sense of panic, "I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then… "
"You're going to leave us in this mess?" demanded some boy.
"No!" said Ron. "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who… "
"Then let us help!" said Neville angrily. "We want to be a part of it!"
There was another noise behind us, and I turned. I felt my breath catch in the middle of my throat; Lee Jordan was now climbing through the hole in the wall. Another friend of mine, who I didn't even think about telling that I was alive.
"Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," said Lee, raising his hand in answer to several cries of greeting. "He wants a kip, and his bar's turned into a railway station." Harry's mouth fell open. Right behind Lee Jordan came Harry's old girlfriend, Cho Chang. She smiled at him, and I noticed a quiet growl escape my lips. Edward chuckled in my ear.
That noise got me another few stares, one was from Lee and he hurried towards us with shocked expressions on his face.
"Surprise!" I spoke as he hugged me tightly.
"What the hell?" He asked both me and Edward, after giving the latter a long hug too.
"Will explain everything later, I promise," I spoke sincerely, just glad that he didn't start crying or fainting.
"So, what's the plan, Harry?" said Cho.
"What did you call them all back for? This is insane…" Harry spoke.
"Why can't they help?" Ron asked suddenly.
"What?"
"They can help." He dropped his voice and said so that no one else but Hermione and well...us could hear him. "We don't know where it is. We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux."
Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who murmured, "I think Ron's right. We don't even know what we're looking for, we need them." And when Harry looked unconvinced, "You don't have to do everything alone, Harry."
"All right," he said quietly to the other two. "Okay," he called to the room at large, and all noise ceased. "There's something we need to find," Harry said. "Something...something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"
He looked hopefully toward the little group of Ravenclaws, to Padma, Michael, Terry, and Cho, but it was Luna who answered, perched on the arm of Ginny's chair. "Well, there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it."
"When was it lost?" asked Harry.
"Centuries ago, they say," said Cho. "Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked, but," she appealed to her fellow Ravenclaws. "Nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?"
"And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?"
They all shook their heads again. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and his own disappointment was mirrored back at him. An object that had been lost this long, and apparently without a trace, did not seem like a good candidate for the Horcrux hidden in the castle ... Before he could formulate a new question, however, Cho spoke again. "If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry. Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue."
"He's on the move," Harry said quietly to Ron and Hermione, rubbing his scar. He glanced at Cho and then back at them. "Listen, I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep...you know...keep each other safe."
Cho had got to her feet, but Ginny said rather fiercely, "No, Luna will take Harry, won't you, Luna?"
"Oooh, yes, I'd like to," said Luna happily, as Cho sat down again, looking disappointed.
"How do we get out?" Harry asked Neville.
"Over here." He led Harry and Luna to a corner, where a small cupboard opened onto a steep staircase. "It comes out somewhere different every day, so they've never been able to find it," he said. "Only trouble is, we never know exactly where we're going to end up when we go out. Be careful, Harry, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."
"No problem," said Harry. "See you in a bit."
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