DISCLAIMER: I solemnly swear that I am up to no….Oops, wrong one…I don't own J.K. Rowlings characters…DON'T SUE ME PLEASE!
A/N: WOOHOO! I may not be getting many reviews for this story, but I am inspired any way! My birthday is not far from now and I actually have a reason to look foreward to it. But hey...I have inspiration, a wonderful man that loves me and a great extended family that keeps telling him to hurry up and pop the question. And they claim I am the impatient one. Here come Chap 5 !
Also those of you who have been reading will take into notice that I have altered this chapter. I was not to pleased with the length of it, so I just spent a good two hours revising in some places and typing in others. I also have a cat to deal with and that alone added to the two hour length of my endeavor. Also I am putting out a request to find a Beta...I find that no matter how good my eyes can be at finding mistakes, I still have made quite a few errors. I could desperatly use the help if I could find it. Thank you all.
Jaina
Chapter 5: Headboy, Headgirl
Harry did not see much of Jaina nor Sirius at the second week of August started to draw near. Harry was sure it was due to the fact Jaina was pregnant. On the morning of the fourteenth he found it hard to be expecting anything else. That morning, whilest Ginny and Ron were adamantly discussing quidditch stratagies, four owls flew in the window, accompanied by Hedwig with a post for Harry. The school list came in that morning.
Hermione was the first to open hers, only to have a small golden pin fall out onto her plate. Ron and Harry had been expecting this all their years at Hogwarts.
Hermione gingerly held the pin in her hand, almost in disbeliefe. " Ginny...Please tell me that says what I think it does..."
" Hermione...It says..." Ginny began, only to stare at it too. " Oh lord...Hermione it says..."
" I'm Headgirl?" It was a question at first, only until the shock settled. " I'm Headgirl..."
Ron smiled at her and patted her shoulder. He opened his letter as well and looked at his list. " Bloody hell...Jaina's giving us a couple of books...But this one is outrageous...' Wiccans: A guide to the Magicks of Nature and Protection.'" Ron stated. " Is it on your list too Gin?"
" No...Must only be her seventh years." Ginny replied. She smiled at Harry, who was now opening his letter. There was a small Clink as the other badge fell out.
" They didn't..." Ron said.
" Did they?" Hermione replied.
Harry didn't say a word. They all looked on his plate, and yet, there it was. Shining in the sunlight was the Headboy badge, the very bagde his father had worn in his seventh year. Harry swallowed hard. Was he following in his parent's footsteps now? He was Qudditch Captain and Headboy. It felt unreal, yet satisfying. He picked up the badge and looked up. Ron and Hermione were beaming at him, as were Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. He was returning their smiles with one of his own, but that was soon replaced by the piece of parchment sitting near his plate. " I'm rather full, thank you for a wonderful breakfast Mrs. Weasley." He stated. He took the parchment and continued upstairs and into the bathroom. He turned and cast an Impreturbable charm on the door and sat on the closed toilet seat.
Harry cautiously unrolled the parchemnt and looked at it. It was in Snape's handwriting and he sighed. He tucked it away and grabbed his wand from Ron's room. " I'm going out for the day Mrs. Weasley! I'll be at Grimauld Place if anyone needs me!"
" Alright Harry Dear! Say hello to Sirius and Jaina for me please!" Mrs. Weasley called back.
Harry apparated almost immediately from the garden to the entrance hall at Grimauld Place. " Sirius! Jaina! Are you home?" he called out. He went down into the kitchen and smiled,. Jaina was raiding the fridge and was in the midst of eating a chicken leg while tryting to find other edible items from the fridge. " Hungry much?" he said.
" Wari!" Called Jaina in surprise, the chicken leg still in her mouth. She pulled out a rather large jar of pickles and sat down at the table there, smiling. " I gotta leave for Hogwarts tomorrow. George'll be there, he wants to be sure that the baby and I don't overexert ourselves." She said happily.
" What's it gonna be...Boy girl?"
" Fraternal twins!" Jaina called out happily, before slapping her hand over her mouth. " Not one word to any living soul.You just happen to be the only other person that knows...I haven't even told my dad yet. "
" My oh my...You're really bent on keeping it a secret aren't you!" Harry replied. He smiled., but the smile wore away quickly. " Snape sent me the other locaction. It's Pompeii. I don't want you to exhaust yourself by coming with me...Trust me please." He reached out his hand and patted hers. " Jaina...I will be alright...I promise. Besides...I'll have Sanriel at my side..."
" The nightblade! It gave you it's name?" Jaina said. " You're the one destined to weild it then...Makes sense, uncanily." Jaina replied. She swalllowed slgihtly. She took a napkin and a spoon and cast the Port key charm on it. " Here...Be careful Harry...I'll inform Molly and Arthur of your sudden departure.."
Harry went to touch the portkey when Ron jumped on his back.
" And where do you think you're going without us!" Ron said incredulously. He looked Harry sternly and Harry couldn't help but to smile. " Ok 'Mione, you can come out of hiding now."
Hermione rushed into the kitchen the prospect of their first true wizarding adventure outside of school. It made her excited at the place they would be going, what they might be facing. " Ok Harry, where are we off to?"
Harry sighed insinctively. " Are you guys sure you want to be there? Lucius Malfoy is on the loose at the moment and is looking for someone to torture..." Harry replied.
Ron nodded. " Besides mate, you forgot this..." Ron replied. He handed Harry Sanriel, who shook his head and tied the sword to his left hip. " Ok...We have one hour to prepare for this?"
" No, we have to leave now..." Harry replied. He looked to Jaina and smiled. " Make sure Mrs. Weasley's alright..."
Jaina nodded. As a soon to be teacher, she felt proud of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She heard the door open and saw Sirius enter looking at them with tired eyes. " Dad...They'll be ok." Jaina said to him quietly. She looked over at Harry. " Any chance I can join you?"
Harry shook his head. " Sorry Jaina...You need to pack anyways."
Jaina swore under her breath and looked at them. " Be careful in Pompeii. The port key will take you approximately twenty feet away from the next location...Good luck." Jaina watch anticipantly, Hermione quickly transfiguring the napkins into black cloaks. " Be watchful of your surroundings, you three. Always have your wands at the ready and don't believe you're senses until you are safe back home. Understand."
All three nodded and they touched the portkey. With a rush of wind, the three friends felt the familiar sensation of being dragged to their destination by their navals. They arrived in a pile of dust, all three standing, now drawing their wands. Hermione looked around with quick eyes and spotted an openng about twenty feet from them, going down into a crumple ruin.
" There, look." she said softly.
" Ok...Let's move quick...I'm not going to keep you guys in danger. Unlike me, you guys do have parents and family to go home to..." Harry said. He moved speedily through the ruins, and Ron and Hermione followed just as fast. They came to a door,all three looking at it in both confusion and awe.
Ancient writing and pictures covered the wall, and Hermione pushed past them, and began looking at the writing on the wall. They stood there for a good few minute before they heard Hermione cry out in excitement. " Harry...I want you to say this in Parseltongue..." Hermione thrust a piece of parchemnet at him and Harry looked at the doorway. He could swear the snake in the picture was moving towards a muggle hunter.
" Open the door to me, the greatest parseltongue since Salazar Slytherine himself. Open the door to the greastest of all wizards and no other but I." Harry said verbatum in a low hiss,then tapping the tip of his wand on the wall. Something began glowing from inside of his wand and the three heard a slight rumble and the wall began moving backwards until a tunnel was in view. " Ok...You two ready?"
Hermione and Ron nodded and Harry whispered ' Lumos.' to his wand and helf it aloft to give them light. They walked along for sometime and came upon a large room. At last there they were, standing in front of the golden cup bearing Helga Hufflepuff's seal.
" Ok...What do we do next?" Ron asked, looking at the cup and then to Harry and Hermione. He allowed his gaze to linger briefly on Hermione and swallowed hard.
Harry unsheathed Sanriel. He felt an ebb of a trap around them. He couldn't quite place where it was but Harry couldn't help but to feel as if they were surrounded. " Stay on your guard you two..."
Hermione stole a glance around them. There was an uneasy air around them. The trio stood back to back as each studied a part of they're surroundings.
Harry stared hard at the painted monsters on the stone wall. His eys settled on the basilisk there and looked at it. It seemed a little too real for comfort. The same basilisk he was staring at was circling around the room. When the tongue flicked out, Harry couldn't help but realizing that it was a little too late. " DUCK!" he screamed out loud as the giant snake burst forth from the wall, fangs bared and itching to kill the new prey it scented.
The basilisk turned and Harry raised Sanriel in an upward arch and Sanriel dug into the snake's exposed underbelly. Ron pushed Hermione protectively behind him and sent a Conjunctivitis Curse towards the snake's eyes. A strangled hiss reached Harry's ears as he dug the blade deep into the bottom of the basilisk's jaw.
Hermione pushed past Ron and pulled her wand. " Filitore varatantum!" she cried. A bright flash of golden light encompassed the basilisk and Harry felt Sanriel clatter to the floor beside his feet, and looked up. The basilisk was now moving restlessly on the stone wall, as if trapped. " Finite incarceras!" Hermione cried again. " It can't jump from it's painting any more. Let's move Harry...I feel as if we're still being watched..."
Ron and Harry beamed at Hermione proudly. " That was BLOODY BRILLIANT!" Ron cried out. " Where did you learn that spell?"
" Uh...From one of the books I checked out of the library...It talked about allowing pictures to move from their frames into our world. I never thought reading up on it would ever come in handy..."
Harry didn't hear any of it though. He was moving towards the cup, as if in a trance once again. Harry walked towards the cup, looking at it with unfeeling eyes. He raised his blade, intent to strike. He brought the blade down, and it crashed hard against the rim of the ancient chalis. Harry watched in terror, even though the cup and the evil apparition were destroyed, as Sanriel's blade shattered. Harry let out a shriek of pain, a fire burning in his right hand and along his arm. He watched the shards imbedded themselves into his very skin, leaving a very frightened looking Hermione and panic stricken looking Ron staring at the bloody arm.
What the hell is happening! What happened to Sanriel! he thought frantically. He couldn't see straight for the pain in his arm and realized that they had to go, very soon. " 'Mione...Port key quick...He knows..." Harry sputtered. He couldn't help sinking to his knees at that moment due to the pain in is scar and his arm.
Hermione and Ron both ran over to him and heard several pops. " KILL THE OTHERS! CAPTURE POTTER!" they heard the voice of Lucius Malfoy scream.
Hermione looked directly at the man and to his left. " NO! You heartless son of a bitch! How could...Impotente palopatorum!" She shrilly shouted, and the man to Lucius' left immediatly fell to his kees as if hit with a stunner, clutching his goods at the same time. " And as for you Lucius..." She murmured.
Ron and Harry only glanced up quickly enough to see Lucius Malfoy shrink to the ground, bright blue bell flames engulfing he and the other remaining deatheaters standing. "HERMIONE!" they both screamed and all the touched the spoon and disappeared.
Harry fell into a chair, aidded by Ron,as they reached grimmauld place a moment later. " Hermione...Who was that first death eater that you hit and what spell was that...I would like to refrain fromupsetting you and having that spell cast on me." Ron asked.
" Oh well, um...the spell was a..." She paused, turing a bright red that would rival Ron's hair. She murmured the rest of the sentence to the window and Harry and Ron gavce her a confused look.
" What?" Harry said as Hermione took to quickly casting a healing charm on his arm to help the pain. " Thanks 'Mione..."
" Do two you really want to know what spell that was?" Hermione said warily. She sat down, highly embarrassed at that momentnow that the boys had witnessed her outrager towards the man and the justice she felt she had properly distributed. She sighed exasperatedly as the two nodded. " Oh lord...I...Have you ever had a moment when...Uh...You felt intense pain...There..."
Ron cuaght on quickly. " Try having five older brothers Mione...I know..."
Harry shifted uncomfortably. " Well there was the time back in first year when I accidently mounted a little hard during quidditch practice." Harry murmured quietly.
" And ever have those moments when one moment...Gods how do I put this?" Hermione cried out softly.
Ron snorted. He deliberately waited for Hermione to look at him. " What, pitched a tent then to have it fall because of a disturbing thought or scene?"
Harry automatically burst out laughing at this statment, not only becuase of how bluntly Ron had put it, but because of how red Hermione had turned in front of them at his words. " Don't worry 'Mione, we're men...Yeah it's happened...More times to me than I'd like to count, but really just say it...What kind of spell was that back there?"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, only to close it. She conjured a parchemnt and a pen, and wrote it down, clearly too embarrassed to say anything. She first passed it to Ron, who paled almost immediatly and passed the slip to Harry.
" WHAT IN YOUR RIGHT MIND POSSESSED YOU TO CAST THAT SPELL?" Ron said. " Honestly woman...I am willing to do anything to stay in your good graces just so that I don't have to be on the recieving end of that spell. "
" But really Hermione...Who was the unlucky bloke that you have permantly ensured can't have kids?" Harry ventured softly.
" The problem is Harry...He already has gotten someone you know pregnant..." Hermione said, her voice now quavering in absolute anger for the victim of her spell. " It was Jonas...He's not dead, like Lucius pronounced him, he's very much alive and is working for Voldemort..."
Suddenly there was a clatter and Harry and Ron turned quickly. Jaina was standing in the door way and had dropped the plates she was carrying. She was pale and looked as if she had been told that she would miscarry in the next twenty four hours. " He's alive...HE'S WHAT!"