OUR EXAMS ARE DONE!
Finally! Now, I wait for the results…
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Harry Potter.
Chapter 12: Leonard Laurent Part II
"Fred, why are you wearing a woman's clothes?" asked Molly, who had a look of disapproval on her face. The rest of the ones in the game smirked at Fred, who only sighed.
"Mum, it's the newest trend. Boys dressing up as girls, you know…" Fred reasoned, and though this reason was not accepted, Molly let the matter go. "Teenagers…"
Meanwhile, Harry gulped in fear when Professor Snape entered the room. He squeaked unexpectedly when Ron nudged him, which earned him sniggers from the rest. Harry approached Snape cautiously, clearing his throat. How bad can this be?
"Do you need something, Potter? Water, perhaps?" the professor asked coldly. Harry took a deep breath inside, and said.
"Professor Snape, I just wanted to say that I really really really am thankful to have you as a teacher." He said in a rushed breath. He doesn't care if Snape heard it or not; he had done his dare. In the background, the children burst into laughter.
They seated in the drawing room in the same position as before, and Louis set down his glass of water and took a deep breath, rubbing his fingers over his temple.
"Leonard paced back and forth, not knowing what to do."
"Hang on, what happened last time?" Hugo asked, yawning slightly.
"Hmm… the old mysterious man just left Leonard with the mirror."
"Oh, thanks."
"He held the mirror in his hands, entranced by its beauty and the magic vibrating from its curves. His hands hovered on top of the lock, but retreated back. The locket seemed to be taunting him."
"Rebellious, isn't he?" Hailey smirked, looking at the book with sudden interest.
"Finally, his curiosity took better of him. He opened the locket."
At this point, Louis frowned. "It's cut."
The others jumped in shock. "What?"
Louis' heart beat fast against his heart as he flipped over the pages. "The story is cut. There wasn't any writing more."
Professor Dumbledore gently pried the book away from Louis' hands, placing it on a desk. "Aparecium."
No ink appeared.
There were still a couple of pages left.
"I should take it in my office, and perform the spell on all pages. There might be hidden words, or clues, or sketches to see." He said, tucking in the book under his arm.
"That book—"
"—is bloody useless." Scorpius and Hailey said, huffing in annoyance. Teddy nodded in agreement. "Our efforts are wasted."
Then, the familiar ringing once again began. This time, Remus found the object—a pillow.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"Harry…? Is that you?" Remus asked slowly, the others gathering around him as he set the pillow down. "Oh, hi Remus. And yes, it's me. So, how's everything going?"
Everybody took turns in updating the future people about the past events. When they finished, there was a deafening silence, until Harry cleared his throat. "Well, I'd rather talk to Teddy when he comes back, but someone wants to talk over to Scorpius and Hailey right—"
"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY! HAILENDRA MARIE MALFOY! HOW DARE YOU ROB GRINGOTTS! BOTH OF YOU ARE DEAD WHEN YOU GET HERE! THAT IS SO DANGEROUS! YOU TWO ARE PROHIBITED TO PLAY QUIDDITCH AT ANY TIME OF THIS SUMMER AND I WOULD CONFISCATE YOUR BROOMS!"
"But, mum—"
"NO EXCUSES!"
"We really—"
"AND WHAT IS THIS PREGNANCY YOU TOLD ME ABOUT, HUH HAILENDRA? YOU ARE ONLY SIXTEEN! DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW IT IS TO RAISE A CHILD? YOU ARE A DISGRACE IN THE FAMILY!"
Hailey cringed and blinked back tears. Even though it was a dare, the venom in her mother's words was painful. "Mum, I was just kidding." She said quietly.
Silence.
"Kidding? You are just KIDDING? THAT IS NOT A FUNNY JOKE, HAILENDRA! YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU GET BACK HERE!"
Hailey looked down in shame, not meeting anyone's eyes. Her bangs shaded her eyes as she leaned on Scorpius, her knees becoming suddenly weak. She hates angering her mum. Aside from the hurtful words, she will never spare you from banning Quidditch, whatever excuse you may have.
"I think I'll go to my room." She muttered quietly, letting go of Scorpius' arm and running upstairs. Scorpius sent a look towards Rose, who nodded understandingly and ran off with her.
"Well, now that that's settled… let's get back to business. We also had a bit of an accident here. The Mirror of Erised broke." Harry's voice returned.
"Ahh, I see…" Professor Dumbledore murmured. The others looked confused at this.
"The Mirror of Erised is like the Mirror of Time, although it has a lesser magic since it is more recent. It is founded by Draneol Traneul." The professor explained.
"Isn't that an anagram of Leonard Laurent?" Al mused.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "You're right, my dear boy."
"Everything has to be connected somehow, right?" Lily asked.
Harry from the pillow confirmed this. "We still haven't discovered the connection, though. Children, can I speak with the adults, please? Alone. It's very important."
The teenagers exchanged looks and slowly nodded, walking away upstairs. Even Fred and George thought sane enough than to disobey an older Harry Potter's intimidating voice. The doors and other protective measures were ensured around the room, even the windows and the doors. Harry took a deep breath.
"Alright, I know how badly all of you want to know which of you will survive the war."
The past people stayed silent. It's basically a confirmation in itself.
"But you also know that I cannot tell you directly about it."
Another silent confirmation.
"Perhaps I could tell you how many will not survive, though."
All the past adults had a shaken breath.
"In that house, among everyone present, I'd say… six."
"It's so unfair! When we're trying to help, it's wrong, when we aren't, it's also wrong! Where will we place ourselves? Why do we have to be the one always noticed? It's just so. BLOODY. UNFAIR."
Hailey slammed her hand on the bed, her hand stinging. Rose walked over to her silently and rubbed her arm, leaning against her shoulder. The Malfoy Twins sure had a lot of pressure on them. They've got everyone along the Pureblood lines, with the whole Ministry, and the whole wizarding World. Their every breath—every move, is being watched. Especially with a once Death Eater out of Azkaban as their father.
That's when the door opened, and in came Ginny and Hermione.
Hailey quickly composed herself and regained her position. "What happened?"
"Harry wanted to talk to the adults, and we were sent away." Hermione answered, sitting down on the opposite bed. Then, her voice turned softer. "Are you alright?"
Hailey forced a smile, which looked genuine enough for all except Rose. "Of course."
"Anyway, you said you'd tell us about my—er—son's first kiss." Ginny said. Hailey smiled as she remembered the incident, unlike awhile ago. "Oh, yes. Well, basically—"
Unfortunately, the door opened, and James, Fred, George and Louis entered, all looking mischievous.
"What are you lot talking about?" James asked. Hailey smirked at him. "Your first kiss."
"Oh. Well—what?"
James quickly rushed over to Hailey, but Fred and George held him back. "Hey! Pranksters don't do this to each other!"
Fred and George flinched and shrugged. "She looks scarier than you."
"I can be scary!"
Hailey grinned as she fingered her wand. "Yeah, well… You're missing the whole point, Prongs. It's the fact that I'm more powerful than you. Anyway, Aunt Ginny—"
"NOOOO! I SWEAR I'D KILL YOUR PRECIOUS PYGMY PUFF ONCE WE GET BACK!"
Hailey looked startled and faltered. She sighed disappointedly and turned to Aunt Ginny. "Get this Aunt Ginny—two overprotective cousins, sneaking out, invisibility cloak, Hogsmeade first date, and an accident. There. I didn't tell her about your first kiss, Prongs."
"Y- you—"
"Technically, she really didn't." Rose and Hermione mused out loud, leaving James fuming.
"Anyway, why are you four here?" Ginny asked them, turning to Louis, whose amusement was quite the most obvious. For the first time in a year, Louis' mischievous smirk came back. "We plan of something."
"No rules will be broken, I hope?" Hermione interrupted. Louis grinned at her. "Rules? By time travelling, we already broke the law."
Hermione groaned.
"So, what we're planning is—drum roll, please."
Fred and George happily obliged.
"A prank fest." Rose finished dully, examining her nails. The four of them turned to her incredulously. "How exactly did you know?"
She glared at them pointedly. "I lived with you lot for sixteen years."
"Yeah, well…"
"So, what are we going to do?" Hailey asked, leaning forward interestedly. Her mood became better when she heard the word 'prank'.
"First… we'll need supplies." James said, recovering now. "We'll throw in some muggle concept with our pranks so it won't be as expected as it would be. I also have a few remaining supplies of futuristic pranks, and we're throwing them in. Here's the list."
"Let me guess… you plan on buying this in a muggle grocery store?" Hermione asked.
James sighed. "We're getting reaaaalllyyy predictable. But anyway, something's wrong with that. You four are the ones assigned to do this task."
"Why us?" Ginny asked.
"Well… you lot would be the one who'd be able to navigate through the store. Besides—"
"—they might buy the wrong one, or the worst brand." Rose smirked at James, who glared at her. Louis and Hailey chuckled.
"So, we assume you'd be covering up for our absence once we're gone?" Hailey verified. The four paused, glancing at each other, and then slowly nodded.
"But what if others caught us?" Hermione whispered furiously.
"We'll go out in disguise. I suppose changing the hair and some of the facial features would do. Where's the list of the things needed?" Rose asked. Hermione looked at her incredulously. "You're in this?"
Rose shrugged. "We need to liven up. And I'm guessing that what Uncle Harry said awhile ago is something big and it would dampen the mood. It's the children's duty to make them happy."
George handed them the list and smiled. "Good luck."
Hailey smirked as she stood, driving the boys out. "Now, shoo—we better change clothes. Then we're sneaking out and carry out this little prank fest."
"Don't overdo it." James warned her as she pushed him away. "Sure, Prongs."
Okay, first I've got questions.
1. What do you think would happen to Leonard Laurent?
2. What do you thing SHOULD happen to Leonard Laurent?
3. Can you guys give me some funny pranks? I have very few, and I'm not sure if they're funny. Basically, I'm more Hermione- ish about the breaking- rules thing.
Thank you again, by the way! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.