The Prince-Who-Lived
Chapter Fifty-eight
Draco was not dealt with until the morning after next, by which time Harry and Alan were both awake and well, even if Alan was still a little pale. The attempt had done damage, but the Mediwizards had managed to get his body to compensate for the short-term lack of oxygen. The result left him weak, but he was assured he'd be better by the beginning of next week and the return to classes.
Draco had awoken once in the intervening time, and, judging by his panic, he'd acquired for himself a brand spanking new ferret Animagus. Judging by his irate chittering and scratching, he was less than enthused by the prospect. The pellet food can't have been much less than an insult, either. When he was brought to Dumbledore's office however, with McGonagall, James, Sirius, Frank and Alice present alongside the three boys, he became infinitely quiet.
Neville grinned mirthlessly. Like that would help after what he'd done.
Severus knocked briskly and stalked inside, shutting the door with a finality that had the small ferret wilting and trying to meld with the floor of his cage.
"Alright, Albus, let's get this over with." Severus growled, standing protectively behind Alan's chair.
Albus nodded, and moved to open the cage. Alan spoke up sharply, "And remember Draco, you have four people in this room that can easily chase you no matter your size, or where you try to run, and will gladly eat you when your pathetic attempt fails and they catch up."
The ferret trembled harder, but didn't try to run when Albus pulled him out and held him gently.
"Minerva, would you help me reverse the transformation?"
"Wouldn't you want to test if the spell used allowed him to accomplish the transformation on his own?" Neville put in.
"What spell did you use?" Minerva asked.
"The last part of the Animagus transformation. I don't know any other spells yet that would engender complete human transfiguration, much less know them well enough to have pulled them off in a groggy and half-asleep state."
Minerva raised her eyebrows and then glanced at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, please attempt to change back to your normal form by your own will. Trust me, it will be far more pleasant than if we have to return you to yourself for you."
The ferret panicked again, and abruptly slid upwards into a mussed looking Draco Malfoy. He flinched from the glares he was receiving. Dumbledore waved him to the chair situated in front of his desk, and, after another glance at the Aurors nearby, he sat down and put on a glower.
"Mr. Malfoy, what were you doing in the back room of the Hospital Wing?"
Draco refused to answer. Neville felt himself begin to get pissed off. Now that his academic miscalculation was dealt with, he could feel angry that Malfoy had tried to kill one of his best friends, rather than startled with what on earth he'd managed pull off.
"Mr. Malfoy, please answer, or I will be forced to use Veritaserum."
He still didn't answer, so Severus stalked over, and pulled his mouth open. Draco wasn't fighting him, and the potion was administered. Dumbledore shuffled several papers tiredly.
"Can you hear me, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes."
"Why were you in the Hospital Wing last night?"
"To kill Alan Prince." Draco answered dully, his tone expressionless and without inflection. "I had to keep trying. The Dark Lord was supposed to kill him when he possessed him, but that failed. I got a letter this morning that said I had to keep trying, so I snuck in and tried to smother him; I didn't want to use a spell in case there was a watch on the room, but when Potter woke up I panicked. I almost had him dead when Longbottom attacked me and I was knocked out."
The tension in the room had skyrocketed immediately. Dumbledore's raised hand kept order; James Potter grasped his left wrist tight enough to leave white marks on the skin until he forcibly relaxed himself.
"Have you made any other attempts upon Alan Prince's life?"
"Yes. I banished his cauldron the first day in Potions class, to spill it on him. I wasn't aware the tables had barriers to contain any spills. I tried to trap him coming out of his room and failed. I poisoned his dishes at supper two weeks later. Two days after that, under disillusionment, I caught him as he came out of the hidden staircase to Arithmancy and pushed him back down. In October, I tried to smuggle a cursed necklace into the school through Raina on the Hogsmeade weekend, but she said Theodore Nott caught her at it and threatened her, taking the necklace. I couldn't get any answer out of Theodore." Neville stared, shocked. Raina wouldn't be an accomplice; not willingly. A motion from his father kept him, Alan, and Harry silent as Draco continued. "I also picked up a length of cursed chain there, leaving it outside the castle until I left it in the halls before the Quidditch game and cast the trigger spell on Alan while I was seeking. When Alan walked by where I'd stashed it, the chain activated and port keyed him to the place I'd marked – over the lake. Two weeks later, I Imperiused Blaise during Potions to foul up the Potion while Alan had his gloves off, because this time I knew the potion wouldn't spill and it needed maximum coverage. I got another potion two days ago in the mail and slipped it into Alan's drink after following the instructions I'd been given on the spell plate under his seat to convince him to drink and to forget to check anything."
"Under whose orders were you acting?" Dumbledore asked, raising his hand to stem the flood of questions.
"The Dark Lord's."
Dumbledore rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. "What do you know of Raina Kozumplik?"
"She was inducted after torture over the summer." Draco answered flatly, but his shoulders were shaking and so was his voice. "Her father and older brother forced her to. She has avoided everyone as far as I know. It was her older brother's idea for the cursed necklace, and thus was she the chosen carrier. She attempted to poison her family after the Zabini party and failed. She hasn't been seen since, but I'm fairly certain she's alive. Nobody died from her attempt."
Dumbledore nodded sadly, and asked, "What do you know of Theodore Nott?"
"He hasn't been marked. His father reported his refusals and why. He said he would be under suspicion. He said his position in Alan's friends was a vital source of information. He promised reports; I don't think any came. He drew closer to me and Pansy since the beginning of this year He made a point of making polite conversation. I don't know why he stopped Raina from delivering the cursed necklace or what he did with it; I do know I can see where she's coming from in being intimidated by him. He refused to answer me when I asked why he didn't join. His father was supposed to bring him to be marked after the party, but he died of poison. I suspect Theodore engineered it, even though he says his father was too drunk, a house elf was careless, or someone else did it. He could do it, easily. I know he doesn't miss his father in the slightest."
"Did you desire the mark?" Dumbledore's tone was curious.
"I …" Draco floundered a moment. "Yes."
"Very well." Dumbledore sighed, and knocked him out once more. "I believe that is all we needed to ask. James, Sirius, Frank and Alice. I believe he is now in your custody."
James walked over and pulled up Draco's sleeve, sneering at the mark, and then straightening. "He'll probably go straight to Azkaban for now, and be tried at some later convenience." He glared down at him. "Dammit, he's a child. I'm just glad the Dementors are gone. What's Voldemort doing, recruiting children?"
"James, we have done much the same." Dumbledore tiredly pointed out, gently indicated the three boys seated across from him.
Neville sat up straight and glanced somewhere other than at James. That wasn't a flattering comparison. James retorted, but sounded a little embarrassed.
"That's different. If you asked them under veritaserum if they wanted to fight they'd answer with no doubt. They wanted this; they fought us for it. Draco couldn't answer if he'd wanted to fight for Voldemort."
"He was asked if he wanted the mark." Alan pointed out tiredly. "Not to fight for Voldemort. Under a truth potion, that's two different questions."
"Very true." Dumbledore nodded. "There should be no more attempts on your life, Alan, at least not from within the school."
Alan sighed and nodded. "That is a relief, of sorts. I just need to get back to class and move on."
Dumbledore nodded. "Pomfrey has released Harry and Neville from the Hospital wing, but,"
"Yeah, yeah." Alan cut him off, standing carefully. "I'm back in there until my magic gets out of my head and back to normal. Two more days…" He staggered slightly, and Severus quickly put his arm around his shoulders to lead him down the stairs. After he left, Sirius, James, and Neville's parents flooed out with Draco as a prisoner.
IIII
Theodore rapidly proved himself to be as reticent as Draco had said, but Harry bugged Alan into pressing until finally, just before the month turned, they had an answer of sorts.
Apparently Theodore was making an effort to straddle the line towards their side. He swore that if push came to shove he'd go their way, but until he had to, he didn't want to be a part of the war at all. Currently, he could still argue that he wasn't against Voldemort and was intimidated by his harsh rule and his uncontrolled men – including the late Leopold Nott. He said he'd mailed the necklace home from Hogsmeade after taking it from Raina, entrusting it to one of his house elves for protection from idiots. He wasn't stupid enough to think his father would fall for that curse, but he didn't trust him not to use it for his own ends.
Harry, surprisingly, trusted Theodore's answer and so did Alan. When Neville looked ready to scoff, Harry told him to back off, and he subsided with a curious look.
The beginning of February came with the beginning of Apparation lessons. Everyone in their group had signed up, and, as a first Ron found quite funny, none of them were particularly good at it. Susan had gotten the farthest, splinching her leg off, and Hannah refused to talk to Ron for a week after he chortled about it some once she was back together. Susan herself had been put off by it, up until she saw Daphne still trying. If anything, the rivalry between the two girls was something Harry found outright scary at times, and something none of his friends were really all that sympathetic about. Then again, most of his friends had managed to hook up already to some point or another.
Ron, however, was one of the first to notice something was going on with the girls.
"Have you seen Hermione around here anywhere?"
Harry glanced up at Ron walked over, glancing around the table of Slytherins a little self-consciously. Harry marked his place with his finger and twisted to talk to him. "She's not around that I've seen. Why?"
"She's not upstairs." Ron pointed out. "And she's been disappearing like that all week."
"I haven't seen her in the library much myself." Salvador offered. "Although she's occasionally come in and ran off with Lucille. It was a tad scary," He shuddered artfully. "They were giggling. Honestly, one of the reasons I like Lucille is that she doesn't do that horrible female giggling."
The boys laughed, and Neville abruptly pointed out. "None of the girls are present, are they?"
Harry glanced around with everyone else, and, sure enough, all the girls were somewhere else. They all blinked, and Blaise pointed out the wisest course of action. "Let's just pretend we're not suspicious and leave it at that."
The laughter after that quip was strained, but nobody voted to do anything else and they quickly returned to their homework. Harry doubted anyone would be questioning the girls either. If they wanted the boys to know, they'd tell them.
Several days later, they did just that.
The excessive giggling was their first warning. The boys glanced up from their circle in the library, books shutting carefully, wands out. Hermione was pushed into the clearing first, followed by Lucille and Ginny. All three had their wands out, and they weren't in their school robes either. As it was Sunday, the robes weren't required; a few boys were in just trousers and shirts as well. But what they were wearing … Harry had to blink several times and remind himself Hermione was taken. Those black shirts clung to their bodies in a frightfully arousing manner, and the jeans … well; he didn't need the mental picture of them struggling to get the damn tight things on.
Why had he immediately wondered what those would look like on Daphne and Susan? Couldn't he have picked one or the other for the thought?
"Alright boys, saddle up. You're coming with us downstairs, savvy?" Lucille clucked out.
"Got that?" Ginny purred.
Hermione rocked her hips sideways, and smiled. "Pretty please?"
Harry was sure he could hear Neville gulp from here.
None of the boys really volunteered to get up first, in fact Theodore looked bored and Alan was trying to finish off an Arithmancy problem still, but after a quick cluck from Lucille, Salvador quickly put his books away and started the rest of the boys on the action. Several spells were discretely cast while the books went away but none of the three girls indicated they knew it was happening. Harry tried one himself, but nope. No glamour. Those were the girls themselves, as unbelievable as that seemed.
Someone had actually talked Hermione into those skin-tight jeans. That was an accomplishment.
When everyone had their bags on their shoulders, and a wry smile on their face as a few, easily guessed, adjusted their pants – Harry was glad the three girls were taken; the reminder of the potential fire fight if he made a move on them kept him from potential discomfort. Going downstairs was curious thing, but everyone followed willingly, even if Alan still looked preoccupied, and a few curious looks -and glares- came Harry and Alan's way as they entered Myrtle's bathroom. Hermione beamed at them.
"Don't worry, neither Harry nor Alan had anything to do with this. It was just a simple matter of Luna getting a recording spell."
Several people blinked; Alan blushed. Harry noted he seemed to do that a lot when Luna came up, and he wondered just how many times he'd managed to get frisky with Luna. He did have to wonder what he could have been doing that he didn't notice Luna using a recording spell … and why he was saying 'open' in parseltongue too.
Then again, maybe he didn't want to know.
The recording worked perfectly, and the Chamber opened. A faint tinkling bell sounded, and Harry winced. When he noticed he'd done so, he resisted the urge to smack himself. Just because they'd attached a delicate chime to the Chamber was no reason… Ah, Hell with that. It was so girly. Had they gotten into excessive amounts of sugar quills or something to start doing this? He was getting a touch scared of how strangely they were behaving.
Maybe that was the intent …
Well, either way they were sent down the pipe after Ginny in order and the girls weren't inviting questions, just covetous or discrete stares depending on the particular boy's dating status. Before Harry went down, he saw Melanie and Nanna march Ron inside. He wasn't sure if he should groan or laugh that his sister and Neville's were also wearing the tight jeans and black shirts. He was, however, grateful that Dillan wasn't there.
Naturally, after he thought that Tracey stalked in with Dillan following. He stopped and nearly tripped on himself when he glanced away from Tracey's backside and saw Nanna.
Harry was just glad it was his turn to go down or else he might have done something regrettable, like hexing him. He was not allowed to go over-protective on Nanna. No matter how badly he wanted to, much less on a Baker.
Landing at the bottom, he was met with a smiling Hannah and Ginny, and instructed to wait to the side with the other boys. Well, Ron would have to forgive him for staring but Hannah had a larger chest than he'd thought. He wasn't going to argue with those. He shook himself to get back on track as he joined Salvador, Alan, and Blaise, waiting for the rest of them to come down quite patiently. He made a quick head count.
Lucille, Hermione and Ginny had fetched them from the library. Tracey had brought Dillan. Nanna and Melanie had brought Ron from Gryffindor tower. Hannah was down here waiting. Where were Luna, Susan, and Daphne? Already further inside? All the boys were accounted for; outside of the library it had only been Ron and Dillan. Theodore and Neville came down before Ron and Dillan did, followed by the rest of the girls. Hermione smiled at Alan and asked him to close the tunnel, which he did so. After, he asked,
"What are we doing down here?"
"We decided to devise a little pick-me-up for everyone." Hermione smiled. "Just follow me."
After a curious exchange of shrugs and glances, everyone followed. Hey, Alan had done it several times. He was following Hermione; why not give it a shot? Harry wasn't averse to the idea at all. Although the thought of Susan and Daphne being involved made his knees feel a tad weak. He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason 'why' – it was stuck somewhere between dreading the catfight and finding it unbelievably arousing. A few moments later he blushed as he felt his pants get a lot tighter. Great.
Well, he fit in now.
He suspected the only person not currently imagining his girlfriend in various and imaginative ways was Theodore. Then again, his ex was present… Harry wasn't sure if that would be attractive or annoying. They certainly still got along as far as anyone could tell, but this was Theodore.
They reached the second door and found it shut. This time he was asked to open it, and Harry gladly did so, watching for a sign of what was coming. Unfortunately, the room was only lit on the near end, and while something was present at the far end, it wasn't nearly clear enough. Either way, the girls encouraged them to go through and wait by the wall. A second look made Harry blink several times. Was that a curtain back there? It was quite long …
"Boys, drop your bags here and come along." Lucille strutted ahead and Salvador didn't pause in following her orders. Not even the soft chuckles of his friends would deter him from obeying Lucille's beck and call. Since Christmas they had been so tightly meshed together it was almost frightening. Lucille was in his lap every moment she found the chance, and Salvador occasionally slipped enough to have a soft smile on his face. Both of them were ecstatically happy to be together.
God save you if you teased them, though.
Typical Slytherins.
Lucille clapped her hands and the torches all lit themselves, dazzling the eyes. A long curtain spanned the room, which with how high it rose was a damn impressive feat, and cut off the ugly statue from view. In front of them was a long stage in a horseshoe shape, a semicircle of chairs several feet back. Lucille pushed Salvador into his seat, and the pointed at the rest of the chairs.
"Sit. Alan, here," She indicated the seat next to Salvador. "Ron, Harry, Neville, Blaise, Theodore, Dillan."
Harry took his seat with a faint smile, turning to Neville. "Oh, we can tell who planned this, now can't we?"
"Harry, hush." Neville scolded.
Harry subsided with a faint smile, enjoying being able to tease Neville with Hermione again. Lucille stepped back and smiled at them all. The other girls had disappeared.
"Now then. You will listen as Melanie and Nanna read the rules, and you will sit back, relax, and enjoy yourselves." She raised her eyebrows. "Without scarring the impressionable young minds we invited here. Or your friends."
Melanie and Nanna giggled delicately, and saluted Lucille simultaneously as she stalked out behind the curtain. Melanie and Nanna stood in front of the stage, coughed in synch, and pulled out small scrolls that they unrolled and read in unison.
"Boys, we grant you a late Valentine's gift in return for your care and kindness," They lowered the scroll momentarily and changed to a wry tone, watching Theodore, "Theodore, you can ignore that part, you're just here because you were with them at the time,"They coughed and raised the scrolls again, ignoring Theodore's grin, "and hope you will find this enjoyable despite the fun we had ordering you around. Thank you for your compliance. Please keep your eyes on the stage and anything not waterproof should be doffed immediately and handed to the attendants, us, before the show begins. No matter how tempting it is, you are not allowed to jack off or mob the stage. You can get some wet hugs and kisses after the fact. Thank you, and enjoy."
They pocketed the scrolls in synch and asked, united, "Anything to be spared the water treatment?"
Harry took off his watch and fished a set of notes from his pockets. Several others had small things they put into a bag that was tied and tagged with their name before Nanna and Melanie tucked them in a closed purse each of them had on their shoulder. Once that was done, they asked, in stereo again, "Any questions? Please note you are welcome to cover your eyes at any time; there will be no offence taken. However, you are not allowed to pick a fight amongst yourselves over the choice to do so or not. Thank you."
Nobody spoke up, eyeing the stage with desperate curiosity. What the Hell had these girls cooked up? Nanna and Melanie separated to the sidelines, and then clapped twice. The lights dimmed, a low heavy beat started, and the stage floor lit up. Neville was staring at the stage, clearly deathly curious and intent on interrogating the girls, when Harry suddenly laughed and punched his shoulder. Neville looked up – and gulped audibly. The others laughed.
Hermione was stalking down the stage from the left, opposite Lucille on the right. Both of them were wearing a knee length, delicate looking white robe that clung to their curves as they walked. Hermione's face was slightly pink, her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and she was barefoot. She managed the walk pretty good, though. Lucille had just left her hair down, and she was staring down Salvador as though she wanted to eat him. Harry started the clapping first, but a firm thump in the beat hushed the spattering of applause.
When each girl reached the end of the horseshoe, the bend that was near the boys, they paused several feet apart and posed, changing from one leg bent, arms akimbo, to blowing a kiss to the crowd, to various others that suited their fancy. Abruptly, several seconds after they'd started, a fountain of water splashed from the spot dead centre, aimed at both sides. The water was pretty powerful; both girls had to stumble a bit to keep their balance, but they turned into the water, and around, soaked from all angles. And, well … white delicate fabric plus water. Neville's face was hot enough to cook an egg off of, but he certainly hadn't covered his eyes. Fortunately, in part, the girls weren't quite naked under their flimsy robes or he didn't think they were. The water was cold enough to make the nipples stick out, but they likely wore undergarments coloured to blend in as no particular colours stood out.
Course, he could be seeing wrong. He was blushing as badly as Neville. He didn't even dare glance at Lucille. Salvador might kill him. But… He was too curious for his own good.
Lucille's hair was plastered down her shoulders and back, sticking to the fabric. Either the fabric chosen was different or something, because there were two specks of pink on her breasts in the appropriate places, although nothing showed up down yonder despite the fabric getting stuck there. Maybe because she was blonde or … he cut off that train of thought. Those were dangerous thoughts, particularly about Lucille.
The fountain died down shortly, and the girls in question took a faint curtsey and stepped down off a short set of steps, walking to stand by the edge of the curves of the stage. Nanna abruptly shouted, "Cover Ron's eyes!" just before Luna and Ginny stalked out. Ron gaped, ready to make an indignant outcry, and Harry just put him in an affectionate headlock, leaning down to whisper, "You wanna be awake to see Hannah?"
He gulped, and apologized, sitting up and putting his hands over his eyes. Harry snickered and watched Alan leaning back in his seat, watching Luna's every move with hungry eyes and a predatory grin. It was actually honestly funny watching her; she was practically skipping up the stage, staring dreamily into space. Ginny was prowling the distance like a lioness, and Blaise was watching with equal intensity. They reached the same point Hermione and Lucille had and moved into the posing, awaiting the fountain. Interestingly enough, the wet clothes showed that Ginny had quite the skin tone to show off under the white fabric, and was clearly bold enough that Harry glimpsed red down yonder, somewhere he did not want his eyes going on Ginny Weasley before he glanced at Luna. Her skin looked as white as her shirt, only a suggestion of pink letting him think she wasn't wearing a bra like Hermione had to hide the marks and her hair so blonde he couldn't have guessed the bottom half even if he'd looked. The cloth hugged her figure quite well though, and he laughed shortly and watched them flounce off quite happily.
Harry elbowed Ron when Ginny was over on the other side of the stage and he glanced up in time to watch Hannah stalk out with Tracey. Theodore immediately catcalled Tracey who flipped him off as she walked, a wide grin on her face. Both girls reached the centre, and Hannah was giving herself a coy, innocent look. Tracey was trying to set their blood boiling, and a lot of the boys were looking at her, which very likely suited Ron and Hannah fine. Knowing Tracey, she wanted it that way as well. Hannah met the water with a little squeak, and Tracey crouched to catch the spray in her face straightening slowly and thrusting her chest into prominence. He had to admit, it was a very nice chest and the suggestions she was making were not lost on him in the least. Theodore called out a highly rude suggestion, to which she splashed water out of the stream at them, and then, when it turned off and she left the stage, she tossed her hair Theodore's direction, spattering more water onto them. Hannah's slightly pink colour didn't stop her from turning to wink at Ron.
Suddenly the girls all started clapping, and Harry's brain caught up with him. That was all the girls – but two. He was tempted to call it a night, but instead just slid down in his seat as both Susan and Daphne stalked out of the curtain and up the walkway.
Oh, shit.
Oh, shit.
Merlin, Mary and Mordred, he would never live this down.
Susan was just … he stared for a long time, honestly. He abruptly realized her hair had grown back enough to now sweep easily over her shoulders, straight and loose as she stared him down with a heat he had never associated with any Hufflepuff but her. Her figure was lean, but short. She certainly had that over Daphne; Daphne could look him in the eye. But Daphne …
She was stalking down the stage like Tracey had, long sweeping strides that made her chest jiggle enticingly and pulled the fabric tight across her long legs. Her eyes were smouldering desire that made him bite his lip, and she licked her lips as she stalked forward.
Harry huffed under his breath, "Merlin, Mary, and Mordred."
They stopped at the front, just far enough apart he had to turn slightly to appreciate one or the other as they lifted the hem further up their thigh or ran their hands down their torso. This was getting a lot hotter than the other girls, probably due to the competition they felt. He'd notice them glance at each other as often as they looked down at him, and Daphne flipped off Ron when he made a catcall like Theodore had to Tracey.
The fountain started and Harry's cheeks burned as both girls stepped into it. Susan stepped momentarily on top of the spray, letting a jet go up under the fabric to her nether regions, and Harry stifled the desire to groan. This was freaking dirty pool! It helped, slightly, as he started to get himself under control and he began to smile a lot easier, bursting into a grin as he looked from one to the other. He was interested to note that Susan's nipples showed up better than Daphne's, but that he suspected Daphne wasn't wearing panties while Susan was. He wasn't sure which was more arousing. He laughed when the other boy's groaned at the fountain's turning off, and stood up to clap for the girls. Neville joined him, and Salvador called out, "Bravo!"
The girls curtseyed as best they could in the clinging wet robes, and Daphne literally jumped off the stage to come to him, Susan following behind as she took the stairs. Daphne threw herself into his arms, and, well, what was he supposed to do? Ignore her? He kissed her back, happily, pleasantly, wonderful fizz starting in his toes and running up his body in spite of the cold water soaking through his jeans and shirt. After several minutes, Daphne let him go and grinned, but as she turned triumphantly to Susan, Harry let her go and held out his hand to Susan. Susan smirked at Daphne and pulled him down into a kiss of her own, seeking and giving and making her own bid for his attention.
Dammit, why did there have to be two of them?
A lot of the other boys received wet hugs and wet kisses, quite happily enjoying this and laughing and teasing each other. As Alan and Luna were quite thoroughly exploring each other, Blaise finally coughed and broke in,
"Wow, Alan. I hadn't known the cure for possession was to be found in Lovegood's knickers."
Alan let Luna breathe and glared at Blaise. "Cute. Real cute."
"Oh, it's not like he's wrong." Neville butted in. "Really."
"Go back to discussing the spells on the stage." Alan ordered.
Hermione snickered and Neville blushed, muttering, "I'm not that obvious, am I?"
"No more obvious than when Hermione suggested the idea and had to be 'convinced' to join the runway." Lucille grinned.
It was Hermione's turn to blush, and she turned back to Neville, pointing ostentatiously at the area where the fountain had arisen. Neville pulled her up there to look closer. That, more than anything, indicated how flustered he was. Naturally, as he and Hermione were looking at it, the fountain turned on again. They were both soaked in cold water, Hermione's robe clinging to her once more, and Neville yelping like a stung dog. They glared at Lucille, who pointed to Ginny and Blaise.
The show dissolved into a good-natured game of who can hex who the most times. If a girl's robe flipped up, or got wet again, it was an accident.
Honestly.
IIII
At the end of the week, it was a Hogsmeade weekend and Ron's birthday. He was ecstatic about his gifts; being friends even distantly with several Slytherins got him an expensive set of trainers, aside from all the other expected gifts, including the Firebolt Harry had determined to get him in the beginning of the year. He had to be talked into leaving it in the dorm, but once that was done he gleefully joined the others as they wandered downstairs and out to the town. Neville waved off an invite, standing nervously in the common room. Harry had a strong suspicion what he was gearing himself up for and pulled Ron out after him with a snort. Ron took only a moment to catch on and started laughing himself. They met up with Alan and his friends, all of them eyeing them carefully. Harry winked at Alan.
"I think Neville's showing some Gryffindor traits."
"Hardly." Alan snorted. "It took him this long?"
"I suppose you're right." Harry nodded solemnly. "You would know, wouldn't you, you Gryfferin?"
Alan blinked and growled. "Start running. Now. I will hunt you down for using that ridiculous moniker again."
Harry laughed indeed, and took off running, waving to Sybilla as he passed her and waiting for a nod before starting to all-out sprint down the trail. He heard a roar of laughter, and lost it in the rush of wind. Darting around other students, he glimpsed them wave, laugh, or mock tripping him. He was breathing heavily by the gate, and before he passed it, Alan grabbed his shoulder leading them both to stumble, trip, and roll onto the ground. After several minutes, they both caught enough breath to lie there and laugh, Harry waiting until he could breathe again before pointing out,
"You are so Gryffindor, Alan." He ignored the half-hearted punch to his arm. "I swear. You will do something insanely Gryffindor when you're fighting Voldemort. It'd be so you."
"I will not." Alan groused. "Stop mocking me. If I do something that stupid, I'll transfer to Gryffindor. You can sleep in Slytherin in my stead. Sound funny to you?"
Harry was snickering too hard to answer.
Alan glared at him and huffed. "Oh, shut up."
"No." Harry snickered out. "Too … funny. Poor … Theodore."
"Theodore will sic Crabbe and Goyle on you." Alan warned.
That just made Harry laugh harder. He rolled onto his side and coughed, unable to stop. Alan started snickering as well. Their friends finally caught up and Blaise looked down at them, shaking his head.
"You two are hopeless."
"No!" Harry argued. "It's just … Hee hee hee. 'Crabbe! Fetch me my slippers!"
Alan started laughing out loud, flat on his back. Blaise struggled not to smile, and said, "They're not quite that stupid, you know."
"Close enough." Harry argued.
Ron hollered at them both, "Harry hurry up and get over here or I'm stealing Susan as my second date!"
That brought Harry hopping to his feet, still laughing softly. He turned and poked Alan in the side and then staggered as he moved over to Susan. She giggled at him, and sniffed.
"Have a good roll in the hay with Alan?"
Harry just groaned. "Susan, that joke was old … I don't know when. Ages ago."
"C'mon, hardly anyone uses it." Susan offered. "I've never heard it that often."
"That's Hufflepuff for you." Harry shrugged. "Not many of them willing to toss mud around."
"Oh, we throw plenty of mud." Susan nodded. "We just keep it within the house."
"Was that why you vetoed my idea for you and Daphne to mudwrestle?" Lucille asked curiously.
Harry blushed viciously as the image assaulted his senses. Susan wasn't faring much better, and Harry quickly offered her his arm and addressed Ron, "Coming, oh mighty birthday boy?"
Ron sniggered and followed as they split away, wandering to the village and down the street, laughing quietly. Ron jumped and quickly pointed ahead. "Harry, look!"
Zonko's was gone; a few days ago the news had told of the death of the owner of that particular store, but remarkably, the building was open. It didn't take much of a look to figure out what had happened, though: the building was an eyesore in the middle of the relatively drab storefronts around it with the Ministry announcement posters. Weasley Wizard Wheezes had opened in Hogsmeade, and the children were flocking inside as often as they entered Honeydukes across the way. Gleefully, Harry and Ron went inside immediately, and they were ambushed at the door.
"Ronnikins!"
"Little brother!"
The twins grabbed Ron immediately, one of them mindfully begging Hannah's leave, and then hauled him towards the till, where they spun him around and quickly set off loud firecrackers from their wands. Ron was the infamous Weasley red and didn't manage to make any headway on struggling out of their grips.
"Store full of lovely children, we beg your attention to bring you the remarkable announcement,"
"Our lovely dear brother,"
"One of the last of our line holding court in Hogwarts, less our little sister,"
"Is come to his majority today!"
And they immediately broke into song, the birthday song, naturally, with altered lyrics that rendered several people into gut-wrenching guffaws and granted each twin a makeover as Hannah hexed both of them with Ginny's bat bogey hex (she'd refused to teach the boys but apparently it hadn't extended to her fellow women). Ron escaped as the twins jerked aside and struggled the end the hex on each other, swearing good-naturedly.
It took them nearly five minutes, and Harry took the break in chaos to bid Ron well and remind him they could visit the place again later or he could wait for his present. Ron chose to wait, but Harry slipped out with Susan, wandering into Honeydukes. Naturally, he got ambushed there too – this time by Daphne. Susan sniffed, but told her she could hang out as well. Harry wondered if they were trying to kill him; he was blushing again. Sugar helped allay his distress, and, well, the girls liked it, so he got a fair bit of that, and politely allowed both Susan and Daphne to destroy his box of his Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, laughing at the strange flavours and when one of them had to spit one out.
They were paused outside the window of the Three Broomsticks when the man in black apparated in front of them. Harry grabbed Susan immediately and moved her behind him, watching carefully. The moment he saw the white mask, a blasting curse threw the Death Eater into another recently apparated fellow of his. Behind him, Daphne screamed and he turned immediately, throwing a cutting curse: Alan's dark cutting curse. The man lost his arm, and Susan shrieked as well, even as she pulled Daphne to the door to the Three Broomsticks, even as Harry turned further and cast again and again. Four Death Eaters nearby were knocked down, not for good, but for the moment.
Harry turned around immediately and eyed Daphne, recalling the spell required to check damage and spell residue. He vaguely knew the curse she was under, but not the counter. He grabbed his mirror out of his pocket, thanking heaven he'd done as Alan had and merged them, and thrust it at Susan.
"Once you're in there, call for Neville and get the countercurse to the fifth dark bleeder curse. He'll know what I mean. Use mobilicorpus and block yourselves in there. I don't see many Death Eaters here, so just hang tight."
Susan nodded, pale already but she quickly lifted Daphne and darted inside. Harry didn't wait for her, stunning the man he'd lopped the arm off of, and throwing a bodybind at the two who were beyond the door. He turned around and raced back to Honeydukes, his heart constricting as he saw his little sister, back to back with Dillan, surrounded on all sides. Dillan was reaping some decent destruction, but he wasn't skilled enough to overpower their shields. Harry came from behind and tilted the fight, bringing down two more men and thrusting the rest to the street. Dillan grabbed Nanna's arm and she grabbed back, both of them shouting to the other students to get inside, somewhere defensible. Harry ran past, glancing at the two, lumbering Death Eaters whaling on Weasley Wizard Wheezes and getting peppered with spells. One of them sent a spell inside and someone, a woman, shrieked in agony only to be cut off abruptly. Harry was tempted to enter, but a green flash startled him; he jumped aside and turned, seeing Voldemort and feeling cold trickle down his spine.
IIII
Alan did not know what Luna loved about Scrivenshafts, but she always wanted to make a trip inside and who was he to deny his girlfriend? She was already flicking through the quills and humming to herself, moving to the bound notebooks and sheaves of parchment … he followed her indulgently, happily even, looking around himself and enjoying seeing her so pleased.
They were looking at the ink selection when someone screamed outside, and Alan spun in place. Luna whispered, "Darkness falls."
That was enough for him. He ran to the front and slammed out the front door; light flashed in his peripheral vision, and he threw himself into a front roll, bruising his shoulder and skidded onto his side, scrambling to his feet.
Voldemort
The Dark Lord glared down at him, and Alan stared back, silently edging to the doorway of the store; he wanted cover on his back first, thank you. He saw white hair in his peripheral vision, and turned to look. Luna suddenly grabbed his robes and threw him backwards, landing on him as he turned to protect her; something snapped sharply, but feeling no pain he ignored it as the spell roared overheard and shattered the nearest store's windows. Alan scrambled inside the doorway and hissed at Luna,
"What are you thinking? Get inside!"
"Alan, you're in danger; I'm not a damsel!" Luna snapped.
Alan heard another curse and moved for his wand – and froze. "Merlin, Mary, and Mordred!" Alan hissed, astonished. His wand was broken. Again. This time, completely.
Luna saw it, licked her lips, and took the two separate pieces from him. "Use mine."
"Luna, I can't –"
"It's yours for the moment, you have my trust. Use my wand, Alan!"
Alan could feel the wand testing him, pressing. He stared down at the unfamiliar wood and bit his lip. He didn't have much choice, he hadn't brought his second wand to Hogsmeade, and Luna had given him the use for the time being. He just hoped that actually worked.
"Come out, come out." Voldemort called softly.
Alan pressed against the space one moment longer, and saw with relief Luna pull out her old wand, tucking his pieces into her pocket lovingly. Assured of her safety, as much as could be expected, Alan twisted out and threw a blasting curse at the Dark Lord. The wand resisted a moment, and then gave in. The spell flew straight and true, and knocked him off his feet.
Wow, Alan thought, that's not half bad at all.
He tried several more, high level spells, and they came off easily, beautifully. He had enough time to scold himself to not be jealous of Luna's wand before Voldemort attacked back and he didn't have time for much other than paying attention to where the spells went. After a few more exchanges, he was dodging killing curses, and wondering what Voldemort was so irate about that proximity made his head hurt so much.
"Do you know what you've been up to, Alan?" Voldemort called. "What you brought upon me?"
"Mortality, perhaps?" Alan asked mockingly. "Your snake, your relics. What of them?"
Voldemort suddenly gave a twisted smile. "I know you destroyed them all, or at least all those you could find."
"How many were there?" Alan threw at him. "Six?"
"Seven, actually." Voldemort tossed back, along with a horrible blood-boiling hex. Alan dodged and staggered. Seven! What was the last one? What the Hell could it possibly be?
"That makes eight pieces. Not so mighty a number." Alan stalled.
"It was unintentional." Voldemort allowed, smiling grimly. "But ironic."
This is for irony.
Alan blinked and focused on the spellwork. Where'd he hear that? Harry, after his torture, right? Nanna had complained about it, regarding the cut on his eye. A cut in the shape of a lightening bolt. He'd said Voldemort had told him if he was so like Alan he could have another mark.
Unintentional.
Death.
Mark.
Oh Hell no.
"You really fucked up that night, didn't you?" Alan called, trying to distract himself.
"Quite." Voldemort agreed. "However, the problem may be easily remedied with little loss."
"Gonna lock me in a box?" Alan scoffed. "Like that'll work."
"You might say that."
Voldemort twisted faster than any human had a right to, and Alan found himself knocked off balance, then jerked forward by his robes. His feet didn't leave the ground – he was far too tall for that, but as Voldemort was just shy of his height, he certainly was pulled to his toes, staring shortly down at him with a grimace. Voldemort levelled his wand at Alan's right eye and a strong tug occurred on his Occlumency shields.
Alan considered his options and shifted to one leg, firmly kicking Voldemort's nearest shin. Voldemort swore, staggered, and Alan twisted out of his grip, dancing out to circle him again, thinking. He glanced around. Harry was engaged with another Death Eater just beyond, but winning. There were a few bodies down, but not many. Snape was duelling two further up the way, and Luna was exchanging spells with the last nearby from the doorway to Scrivenshafts, another customer maintaining a shield for her. Beyond, there was a skirmish, but it wasn't large. Even as he watched, people ran their direction, Tracey among those he recognized. They were winning just fine. Alan knew Harry could hold his own against Voldemort, and so could his father.
This was his fight, and they were so close to finished. Just one horcrux left, and Voldemort would be mortal. Killing him with a horcrux left didn't leave Alan feeling confident; what if he got possessed again? Swallowing the lump in his throat, Alan grinned back at Voldemort and resigned himself to a stupid chance.
"So, I take it you want something from me?" Alan asked cockily.
Voldemort smiled confidently back. "It won't hurt very long, I promise. I have much practice, I assure you."
Alan laughed brashly. "True, very true. I'll even take your word for that, now shouldn't I?"
"Do you think I lie?"
"Not in the least." Alan grinned, raising his wand straight up. "After all, you've already been through it, haven't you?"
Voldemort's face pinched, and Alan started the curse, "Avada-"
Voldemort was disgusting, a vile creature to the core; he knew that as he pointed his wand at his right eye,
"-Kedavra."
He hated every piece of him.
IIII
Harry growled as Dolohov ducked aside again and cast the firewhip, lashing out at him and hissing a curse as he missed again. Dolohov was casting fairly quickly and agilely, but he wasn't moving as fast as he had been, and Harry had kept him hopping. He shot once more, and Dolohov nearly caught him with a spell. He dropped the whip and launched a series of bone breakers and tossed a blood-boiling curse in amidst them. The weak shield he was using failed and Dolohov screamed. Harry turned away before he could lose his lunch over what he'd just done and scanned the fights. Alan had just twisted away from Voldemort's grasp; Harry's heart skipped a beat and he swore under his breath, watching as Alan started pacing carefully at a distance, scanning around much as Harry had. Tracey turned and hexed the large blonde Death Eater by WWW, and then was set upon by Emmeline Pupp. Harry turned aside and moved towards Voldemort in time to see Alan grin recklessly.
Harry grimaced. That look never promised anything good. When Alan's wand tip glowed green while aimed upright, Harry couldn't fathom what he was doing.
When Alan turned his wand on himself, Harry could feel his heart stop.
"What the Hell did you do to him?" Harry screamed, bursting into a run, straight through the circle. Alan wouldn't do that! How did it happen, how did he get him into that position? He didn't register Voldemort's rage, but both of them could agree on one thing: the other was a perfect outlet for their rage.
Blind with fury, Harry still took the effort after blasting the ground beneath Voldemort to banish Alan's body towards Scrivenshafts, not too successfully but out of range of their area, where Harry was driving Voldemort.
Their wands lashed; Harry stumbled over his own feet as his spells left, gorged with power and fury. His shield strained under the pressure of the spells deflected. He was already familiar with Voldemort's pattern of attack from the two times he'd fought him before, familiar enough that keeping moving out of his reach took little thought.
He didn't realize the spells were almost too powerful, didn't notice his wand arm shaking, nor that Voldemort's also shivered, his eyes locked on Harry as the small young man met him head on in a blaze of power. Neither saw the small audience, as those who had dispatched their Death Eaters paused to gaze upon the fight, and listen to the distant thrum of phoenix song as the spells left golden splatters of fire on the ground once spent.
Suddenly Voldemort tripped, wide-eyed, startled and frightened. Harry brought back his firewhip and slapped it around his opponent's waist, throwing him over his head and into the window behind him, remembering a moment too late that Alan was over there.
Alan … God, why him? Why did he have to die?
His thoughts halted at the sharp report of a gun.
A/N: And while some of you may have forgotten it happened in this chapter due to the incongruity, the wet t-shirt contest was inspired by Big D's work. Thank you.
Aside from that, what do you think? Decent chapter, hm?
Fire & Napalm