Never Alone
Chapter 10
Cnorth
Disclaimer: All HP Characters belong to JKR. And Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy belongs to Douglas Adams.
Beta: Winthrops Slayer
A/N: Ok, things are going to start moving fast now. I should have a chapter up every couple of days.
"How do you plan to explain this, Chelli?" Professor McGonagall asked, frowning in frustration. Yet another American student had randomly appeared. The Gryffindor girls dorm was getting very crowded. If it weren't for Ms. Patil and Ms. Brown offering to move to the 6th year dorm, they would have already been out of beds in the room.
And Jenny had indeed been sorted into Gryffindor. Much like Draco Malfoy's sorting, the hat hadn't even required touching her to realize where she was meant to go. Though Chelli and Hollie had quickly become McGonagall's favorites, she still felt the need to protest this unauthorized major magic use. It was not every day that a student managed a spell such as this, and she wasn't entirely sure whether to be proud or disappointed. She seemed drawn to troublemakers, because honestly enough, the Weasley twins had been two of her favorite students. Still, she had punished them throughout their schooling, so it only made sense to do the same to this new generation of Gryffindors.
Ironically, it seemed that it was not possibly for a single generation to pass by without some form of pranksters. Given that Americans were this set, the Headmistress couldn't help but wonder whether the next would come from somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.
"Now before you consider punishing me, consider that I just added a student to your low attendance rate." Chelli argued, foreseeing her fate, and knowing just how to get around it.
McGonagall thought about her options, and nodded, having not really wanted to punish her anyway. So Chelli left the office without problems, continuing downstairs to meet the others for the carriages to Hogsmeade.
Ashley, who had spent most of the past two weeks nursing Fawkes back to health, now had a completely healthy phoenix perched on her shoulder, and was looking forward to spending some quality time with Joe. Shaylin and George had planned a romantic picnic in a field near the cave Sirius hid in during Harry's third year. Luna was spending the time with Lori, Whitney, and Stacy, who she hadn't seen much in the previous weeks except for the time when they were in her class. Malfoy had, surprisingly, asked Hollie if he could buy her a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, but she had turned him down with the line, "I don't mean to be mean…oh, who am I kidding? Yes I do!"
So Hollie and Sam both were spending their day in Hogsmeade wandering around with Chelli and Jenny, who had been practically inseperable since Jenny's arrival.
Meanwhile, in a back booth at the Hogs Head, the Dark Lord was meeting again with his servant. "Well? How have you progressed in the task I set you?"
"I have recruited another to help my cause, my Lord," she intoned, flinching when she realized what she had said.
"Your cause, Bluebird?" he whispered dangerously. "Crucio!" she whimpered, fighting the urge to scream, knowing she could give herself away by doing so. "My cause, Bluebird. Remember that, and get on with it. It's them or you." And with that, they both apparated away.
About an hour later, the screams began when a jet of green light shot out of nowhere and hit the ground a few inches from Justin Finch-Fletchley.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were standing only a few yards away, threw up shield charms and began pushing the younger students into buildings, before taking up defensive stances and preparing for a rough battle. The Americans (other than Jenny, who didn't have enough practice with magic yet) also threw up shield charms and began fighting.
Death Eaters appeared from many different alleys, and some even apparated in directly to the street.
Lori had gotten separated from Luna, Whitney and Stacy, and despite the number of spells she had learned in the past month, the Ravenclaw knew that, on her own, she was well out of her depth. She dodged the imperius curse, and was shocked to feel the force of another curse slamming into her. Her entire body felt like it was on fire all at once. Then, all of a sudden, the pain stopped, and she saw a friendly face hovering over her as she began to black out.
She woke up several hours later in the Hospital Wing. She felt a heavy weight on her arm, and once her vision cleared a little, she lifted her head to see that Neville had fallen asleep with his head resting on her arm.
Lori gently shook the boy awake, smiling tenderly as she whispered, "Hey, Nev," softly as his eyes opened and a faint blush came onto his already rosy cheeks.
"Hey. Sorry I fell asleep on you," he said, not even aware that he was gently stroking her hand.
"You saved my life. I think I can forgive a little thing like you falling asleep on me," she chuckled, before taking his hand in hers and leaning to place a gentle kiss on his cheek in thanks. He drew a sharp, gasping breath, and before she had leaned back completely, his lips were on hers, and a rush of excitement ran through both of them.
A few moments later, they heard a soft chuckle from the next hospital bed over. They broke the kiss, once again becoming very shy, and Lori looked over to see who had laughed. Her eyes widened.
"Shay, is that who I think it is?" Shaylin was sitting next to the other bed, and a still figure of a girl was sprawled on the bed, unconscious.
"Laura. George and I found her on our way back to the village. She was huddled up in a cave, and she had lost so much blood that she passed out. George carried her back, and she's been out cold ever since."
"Did you guys miss the fight?" Neville asked, and Shaylin nodded, shivering when she thought of the state of Hogsmeade when she went back through the town.
Thankfully, most of the students under 5th year had been apparated out by professors right in the middle of the battle, because by the end of the fight, half of Hogsmeade was on fire due to curses that missed their mark.
The damage was severe, but no one had seen Voldemort at the battle, so it was assumed that they would hear in the next couple of days of something else that had happened at the same time. Luna was getting suspicious that one of the girls was working for Voldemort, because Malfoy had disappeared after the Hogsmeade visit, and since he had been under protection due to spying on the dark lord and getting found out, it seemed completely possible that one of the girls had lured him.
Hollie, who was now worried for the Slytherin boy, was going nuts. She felt so bad about turning him down that way, and then having him disappear right out from under her nose.
"If I could just get him back in one piece, I swear I would kiss that damn Slytherin with his freakin' ice blue eyes," she mumbled under her breath. Unfortunately for Hollie, Whitney, Stacy, and Chelli were within hearing distance. So, when Draco was discovered three weeks later by Hagrid on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and Hollie ran to the hospital wing to see how he was doing, claiming the whole time that she just wanted to yell at him again, Stacy called her on it.
So, rather than running into the hospital wing, as she would have done, she slunk in, muttering under her breath. Her breath caught when she saw his broken form lying in the bed, bruised and battered, and her feet sped up a little bit subconsciously. When she reached his side, his eyes fluttered slightly open before closing again as he fell back into a healing sleep. She sighed, and left, promising herself she would come back every day, until she had fulfilled her oath to kiss him.
That night at dinner, Professor McGonagall stood up before the students could begin eating to make an announcement.
"This year, in order to celebrate the heritage of our muggleborn students, we will be celebrating Halloween in a very muggle way. As those of you with muggle parents know, Halloween in the muggle world is often celebrated by dressing up in costumes and going to parties. So, in order to get a little more appreciation for the muggle world, we will be having a Halloween party, at which everyone will be required to be costumed and masked until the clock strikes 12. Then the masks will come off, and you will be able to see that blood and house aren't nearly as important as personalities. Also, each person's voice will be changed, so that they can't be recognized. You aren't to tell anyone your costumes. No one at all. Go ahead, enjoy your dinners. The party will start at 8 pm on next Monday, and celebrations will continue into Tuesday, which you will have off from classes."
A low hum of excitement ran through the room, and though the party was the only topic of conversation for the rest of the night, Hollie's mind kept drifting back to Draco's broken body lying against those white sheets, looking so pale and fragile, and angelic.