She was in a graveyard. Not just any graveyard, though. It was exactly the same as the one from her most recent nightmares. Bastila's eyes fell upon Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory who were both staggering to their feet, and she couldn't help feeling extremely confused at the entire situation. How could dreams come true? She'd read about Seers, of course, but never imagined herself to be one. And from what she had read, this wasn't at all how it worked!
Bastila's sweeping eyes fell upon a large simmering cauldron nearby, and then she found the man in the cloak, and felt anger boiling up inside. She thrust her wand at the man, not even uttering any incantation, and shot forth a wave of intense flames. Bastila didn't wait for the flames to die down before blasting the man with bombarda. The spell struck him in the chest and sent him flying back through the air. He slammed hard against a headstone, and his wand flew from his grasp and landed somewhere in the snow.
Bastila ran towards the man, firing off multiple spells consisting of stupefy, incarcerous, and petrificus totalis. Her spells missed the man, as he was running between headstones toward his wand, and as she drew nearer she watched incredulously as he transformed into a rat. Bastila continued her pursuit, but none of her spells could hit the frantically scurrying rodent. Suddenly, more spells joined hers, and one of them struck the rat.
Bastila looked in the direction of the casters and found Harry and Cedric on their feet with wands aimed at the rat. "What the HELL is going on?" Bastila exclaimed as they approached the man turned rat.
"How did you get here? Are you okay?" Harry asked her, though his eyes were showing pure hatred as he stared down at the rat.
"I have no idea! This Wizard just came out of nowhere while I was in the courtyard and grabbed me, then we teleported here!" Bastila said, her voice rising pathetically in panic. "I thought you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts!"
"The same thing happened to us." Cedric nodded, picking up the rat by its tail. "Harry and I were talking out on the quidditch pitch, then this bloke appears and grabs Harry. I managed to get my hands on the man, and I was brought here with them."
"I dreamed about this." Bastila said, not caring if she sounded crazy. "I saw this graveyard in my nightmares. I mean this EXACT graveyard! You two were in the nightmare as well. It's been happening for the last two weeks."
"Two weeks?" Harry said, his eyes widening.
"What the hell does that matter?" Bastila replied as she tried to regain her usual calm. So far she wasn't having much success. "Maybe I'm from a line of Seers or something. It wouldn't be the first time I discovered a special magical power I have. My Parseltongue, for example." Bastila didn't think Voldemort was a Seer, but it was possible his grandparents or great grandparents, and so on and so on, had borne a Seer somewhere in the family tree.
"I've been having the same nightmares for the last two weeks." Harry said quietly.
"Guys, I think we should figure out a way to get out of here." Cedric interrupted, still holding the rat.
"Good idea." Bastila said quickly, looking around. There was a mansion not too far from the graveyard, and a little village down the hill in the other direction. Then she looked at the rat. She finally felt the calculating calmness within herself once again. "Do either of you have any idea who the rat man is?"
Bastila saw something happen in Harry's eyes, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Is there something you want to share, Potter? Because I'd love to know why someone you're famliar with would kidnap me. YOU got me into this."
Harry held up his hands to stave off her words, but after a moment he said, "Peter Pettigrew."
Cedric's face was one of shock, and he too seemed to recognize the name. "What?"
Bastila herself felt that the name was somehow familiar, but it was in the back of her mind. "I'm Muggle-Born. I'm not exactly up to date on Wizarding criminals." She said, staring at the boys expectantly. She waited a few seconds, but neither of them spoke. Bastila sighed and retrieved the rats wand from the ground, then started walking in the direction of the village.
She wasn't surprised to hear the boys following her. "Who's Peter Pettigrew?" She asked as they fell into step beside her.
Cedric gave her an apologetic look. "He's supposed to be dead. It's a long story. He was killed by one of Voldemorts biggest supporters fourteen years ago. A man named Sirius Black. Sirius Black also killed thirteen Muggles the day he killed Pettigrew."
Again, Bastila saw Harry's face flicker subtly. Bastila badly wanted to try Legillimency on him, but she didn't think it was the time or the place. "How tragic. It seems like Pettigrew has become a bit of a dark wizard himself over the years." Bastila said coolly. "Then again...Looks like he faked his death. What was it for? To hide from Voldemort, or something else?"
Cedric just shook his head. "I dunno. All I know is we have to get back to Hogwarts. We need to tell Dumbledore. I think we're in way over our heads here." He gave a quick glance around. "Any idea where we are?"
"Little Hangleton." Bastila replied, pointing to the sign on the graveyards entrance gate. Little Hangleton Graveyard, it read. "I think we're still in England."
Harry was silent, and he frequently kept looking at the rat, no, Peter Pettigrew. His face held mixed expressions of anger and hopefulness.
"Is it cold to anyone else?" Bastila said, shooting envious looks at the boys, who were wearing plush velvet dress robes.
Cedric gave her exposed upper body a sympathetic look. "I don't know any spells to help with that, sorry." Then he gave a weak smile. "But you look nice."
"Thanks." Bastila said dryly.
Just as the trio was about to pass through the gate, several things happened at once.
Black flames sprung up in front of them, blocking their path. The flames spread quickly to the left and right, travelling along the fence and going until it was out of Bastila's sight. Bastila had a dreadful feeling that the flames were circling the entire perimeter of the graveyard, leaving them with no escape route: No matter which direction they were to choose.
Bastila suddenly felt a stinging pain in her arm. She saw a large cut on her arm, and wondered what could have happened, and why she hadn't noticed it before. A large amount of blood streamed out of her wound, up into the air, as if gravity had been reversed. The blood twisted into a sphere, then flew off and placed itself inside the simmering cauldron. In the next moment something else fell into the cauldron, something that looked like a deformed, lanky infant. Bastila watched, horrified, as the flames beneath the cauldron sprang to life, engulfing it, licking the sides as if eager to burn the creature that had just fallen in...
To Bastila's right, Harry suddenly cried out in pain and pressed a hand to his forehead, directly over his scar.
The cauldron was roaring now, sending bright diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. And then, suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of Bastila, so that she couldn't see the cauldron, nor the graveyard around her. She could see nothing but vapor hanging in the air like an impossibly dense fog.
The cauldron began to melt. Black smoke swirled around it, forming a dark sphere. Through the whirling smoke, a long, thin figure appeared out of thin air.
Harry seemed to be in agony now. Bastila felt an all too familiar surge of pleasure and malice within herself, and she kept her wand aimed at the man inside the smokey vortex. Cedric was doing the same.
The smoke faded, and the fog suddenly cleared. A robed, pale, handsome man with short black hair and glowing red eyes stood in the liquefied remains of the cauldron.
Bastila stared across the graveyard. Brown eyes met red. The man with the red eyes smiled at her and raised his hand. The long, white wand Bastila had taken from Peter Pettigrew flew through the air, into the man's waiting hand. He raised his wand at her, and Bastila felt a great burst of joy. That was when she finally understood. This man was her father.
Lord Voldemort had returned.
Bastila's mind inexplicably flashed back to her dreams, and she remembered the green bolt of death coming toward her. She also remembered conjuring up a wall of ice to block the killing curse. That was the one weakness of the spell. The ONLY weakness. It couldn't travel through solid objects like walls, statues, or furniture.
Before Voldemort could even utter the words, before his wand was fully pointed at her, Bastila focused all her magical powers on bringing up a wall between herself and the Dark Lord. It worked. A massive wall of pure ice appeared in front of her just as Voldemort spoke the dreaded words "Avada Kedavra". The ice blocked Bastila, Cedric and Harry from the Dark Lord's spell. But only for a moment, because in the next instant when the killing curse struck it, the wall exploded into a million pieces.
Bastila rolled to the side. She came out of her roll crouched behind a large headstone. Her heart was pounding. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins. Her hands were shaking. She barely registered the coldness of the fresh snow on her body that she had picked up from her roll.
"Don't you turn your back on me, you insolent girl! I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!" Voldemort shouted after Bastila.
She ignored her father's words, instead she looked around for Harry and Cedric. She saw Cedric hiding among the headstones to her right, just as she was. She caught Cedric's eye and directed hand signals at him, but it was clear from his face that he didn't have any idea what Bastila was trying to convey. She would have to be more direct. She held her wand horizontally across her chest, pointed right at Cedric, and thought 'Ligillmens'.
Bastila felt the world fall away, and then she was inside Cedric's mind. She didn't attempt to penetrate it, or discern his thoughts and memories, however. She simply planted a vision of what she had planned at the surface of Cedric's mind, then Bastila withdrew herself from his mind.
Cedric gasped in shock at what had just happened, but after a moment he nodded at Bastila, his face twisting into grim determination. She held up three fingers and counted down.
Three.
Cedric clenched his wand, his entire body tensing up.
Two.
Bastila listened to the slithering of Voldemort's cloak, now very, very close.
One.
Voldemort's foot entered Bastila's line of sight.
Cedric threw himself out from behind the gravestone, sliding across ground, throwing up snow and mud, his wand pointed straight at Voldemort.
As Voldemort turned his own wand on Cedric, Bastila sprang into motion. She rushed out into the open, running sideways as she threw up an ice wall to shield Cedric. Bastila then sent a barrage of nonverbal spells at Voldemort, all within milliseconds of each other. 'Bombarda, Expelliarmus, Incendio!' She thought furiously.
The Dark Lord blocked every spell seemingly with ease.
But this only made Bastila even more determined. The fact that she had put the Dark Lord on the defensive at all was shocking to her. She approached Voldemort, tossing out spell after spell. Soon she was standing right in front of him. She was staring into his eyes now. What she saw there surprised her. She saw incredible rage, and, amazingly, a flash of fear.
There was the slightest lull in her spellwork, and Voldemort took that opportunity to attack. He jabbed his wand at Bastila, crying out "Avada Kedavra!"
Bastila had already moved at the sound of the first syllable. She twisted to the side and stepped past Voldemort's arm, placing herself flat up against his body. Her hand found his wrist and wrapped around it, redirecting his aim, causing his spell to shoot off far to the right.
Then, Bastila did the only logical thing that someone raised in the Muggle world would do in a fight. She lashed out with a fist that connected with Voldemort's nose. She saw pure shock on the Dark Lord's face. But she didn't wait around for him to recover. She took a step back and, putting all her strength into it, kicked Voldemort's kneecap in.
As the Dark Lord went down, shrieking in pain, Bastila ripped his wand from his grasp and then kicked him square in the jaw, laying him out in the snow.
Bastila stood over Voldemort with her snakewood wand, as well as Voldemort's own yew wand, pointed down at him.
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU STUPID GIRL! YOU DARE TAKE THE DARK LORD'S WAND!" Voldemort screeched, his eyes blazing. He didn't try getting to his feet.
Bastila just stared down at him. "Hello father." She said softly.
Voldemort's eyes went wide with shock. "So you know, do you? It was Dumbledore, wasn't it? That meddling fool! Will you kill me, girl?" Voldemort said, panting in pain. "Will you kill the one who created you, who is the reason for your existence in this world?"
"You're a monster." Bastila replied quietly. "You deserve to die." Still, she didn't move, didn't think about the killing curse, the spell that could end everything. End her father's reign of terror before it could even begin.
Voldemort's eyes flashed. He struggled into a sitting position, then moved a hand to grasp the opposite arm. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a strange, green tattoo of a snake coming out the mouth of a skull, all the while staring at Bastila. "You are right, of course. But I am not the ONLY monster, now am I?" His hand hovered over his forearm for a moment, then he pressed a lone finger into the tattoo.
The mark seemed to come to life, squirming and darkening, with the snake circling around the skull.
The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the trees, in every shadowy space, wizards were Apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. They all stood still, taking in the sight of Voldemort sitting on the snow covered ground with Bastila standing over him.
They were Death Eaters. Voldemort's loyal followers from the last war. Bastila knew this. She also knew they weren't Voldemort's core followers for nothing. They were deadly, as evil and sick as Voldemort himself.
The Death Eaters began raising their wands.
Bastila grabbed Voldemort and yanked him to his feet, forcing him to stand on his overextended knee, making him gasp from the pain. She wrapped an arm around Voldemort's waist, aiming her snakewood wand at his gut, while pressing Voldemort's yew wand into the square of his back, against the Dark Lord's spine.
"Nobody move!" Bastila ordered, her eyes moving over all the masked Wizards. Her voice was remarkably calm, something that seemed strange even to herself, given the circumstances. Bastila counted over a dozen Death Eaters, and she felt the beginnings of fear resurfacing. She crushed that fear ruthlessly. If she, Cedric and Harry were going to survive, she needed to have a clear head. "You can't kill me without hitting your precious born again Dark Lord. I don't imagine he'd be too happy about that. And besides, the second any of you even try anything, I'll just blast him to pieces myself."
"Do nothing!" Voldemort told his Death Eaters, his voice full of angry resignation.
"Let's do this the intelligent way, shall we?" Bastila directed at the Death Eaters. She glanced over her shoulder and found Cedric and Harry standing there with wands pointed at the Death Eaters. Bastila walked slowly backwards, dragging Voldemort with her. "Me and my friends are going to get out of here, and we're taking Voldemort with us." Bastila continued.
Bastila leaned in, putting her mouth next to Voldemort's ear. "We'll get some quality father daughter time over the next few decades, don't worry. I promise I'll visit you in your azkaban prison cell."
She straightened up, smiling as Voldemort spasmed and nearly screamed with every step on his injured knee.
"I don't suppose either of you know how to teleport?" Bastila asked Cedric and Harry.
Harry shook his head, while Cedric looked as if an idea had struck him.
"Cedric? Any suggestions?" Bastila said quickly, keeping her eyes on the Death Eaters closing in on them. They wouldn't attack for fear of hitting Voldemort, but Bastila doubted that fear would last.
"None of us can Apparate, and we don't exactly have any Flood powder at hand, but we could try to create a Portkey." Said Cedric, his face pale with fear.
Bastila almost groaned. "I know what a Portkey is, but I don't know how the hell to make one! If you know, you should tell me!"
"Just...Take any object and cast the Portkey spell on it while thinking of a destination. A Portkey will activate as soon as you touch it, or you can set a specific time for it to activate. The spell is, Portus." Cedric explained quickly.
The Death Eaters were close now. Too close. Some of them were circling around Bastila, Cedric and Harry.
Bastila was starting to unravel now. Thoughts of death chased each other in her mind. Her fear rose up like a massive snake. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her throat clenched tight. The Death Eaters had them surrounded now. She looked around at them, and closed her eyes. Images flashed before her. Hogwarts, shining in the night. The forbidden forest in winter, the trees of pure white, and the glittering mountains of ice behind them. The sparkling surface of the black lake in the fall. Daphne, laying on the lakes shore with Bastila. The rays of dawn giving Daphne's hair an angelic glow, bringing tears to Bastila's eyes. Bastila's mother, holding her after a day of an upsetting day of school. Her mother, smiling at her with pure love, telling Bastila she could do whatever she wanted with her life, that it didn't matter what anyone else said or did to her, or what they thought about her.
'We're born free, all of us. Free!' Bastila thought in the darkness. 'Free to love. Free to live! Some don't believe it. Some try to take it away. To hell with them! Water like fire, mountains of ice. The whole bit! Lay your eyes on that, and you'll know what freedom is. That it's worth fighting for! Fight to win, risk it all for even a glimmer of real freedom! It doesn't matter what comes next, or what's come past! It doesn't matter how cruel the world can be, or how unjust! Fight! FIGHT! FIIIIIIGHT!'
Bastila opened her eyes. Her magical core was burning with an incredible intensity. All of her magic exploded outward, sending ripples through the air, blasting the Death Eaters away, ripping up the ground, and tearing gravestones out of the very Earth itself. Everything around Bastila, Cedric, Harry and Voldemort was swept away by the waves of Bastila's magical explosion.
And then there was silence.
Bastila felt completely exhausted as her power died away. Her eyes started to close, and she almost fell to her knees. But she remained standing, holding onto Voldemort and keeping her eyes wide open. She pointed her wand at her dress and pictured the Hogwarts courtyard in her mind. "Portus." She muttered, doing everything she could to keep her voice strong. She wasn't going to give Voldemort any quarter.
Her dress glowed blue for a moment, then the light faded.
"Hold onto me." Bastila told Cedric and Harry. The boys stared at her for a moment, then looked at each other. Cedric shrugged and placed his hand on Bastila's shoulder. Harry gingerly put his hand on her other shoulder.
Bastila wrapped her arm more tightly around Voldemort and cast a stunning spell point blank into his stomach. He fell to the ground, completely limp, and it took all of Bastila's physical strength to keep herself from falling down with him.
Bastila, Cedric, Harry and the unconscious Voldemort appeared at Hogwarts in the Courtyard. Exactly where Bastila had been taken from. They stood there for a few seconds, simply glad to be away from the graveyard. Bastila dropped Voldemort, And then Dumbledore and a few Aurors who had been talking in the Courtyard turned their attention to Bastila, Cedric, and Harry.
Severus was sitting alone in the Great Hall. All the students had been sent to their Dormitories following the kidnapping of Bastila. His heart was heavy with fear and trepidation he hadn't felt since he'd realized Voldemort would be going to kill Lily Potter. The doors to the Great Hall opened. Severus glanced up and saw Dumbledore and three Aurors coming into the Great Hall, along with Cedric, Harry, and Bastila, who was levitating a man in a cloak who was strangely familiar to Severus-
No.
Severus got to his feet and rushed towards his daughter, running faster than he ever had in his life. He made it to the other end of the Great Hall within seconds. Severus swore his heart skipped a beat as he came up in front of the small gathering. It was unmistakably, HIM. Voldemort. Severus drew his wand in an instant. But in his mind, Severus was furiously wondering how the Dark Lord could be here in Hogwarts. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Severus couldn't ponder it any longer on account of being tackled by his daughter and hugged so hard he almost fell over.
Before Severus could say a word though, Bastila tensed up and spun towards the unconscious Voldemort with the Dark Lord's unmistakable yew wand raised. Thick ropes shot out and bound his arms and legs. Then she hit him with a stunning spell, even though he was clearly already stunned.
"How is he here? How do you have his wand?" Severus asked, trying to stay calm. "Did you...Capture the Dark Lord?" Severus's eyes went to Albus, who's face held a look that made Severus scared for his life.
But Albus wasn't the only one. As Severus turned his eyes back to his daughter, Bastila's eyes were murderous, and her expression was cold. Severus could see the resemblance to Voldemort clearly in that moment, and he hoped never to see her face like that again for as long as he lived.
"It's a long story." She said, her voice shaking.
Dumbledore gave Bastila, Cedric and Harry a look. "The three of you will accompany Severus and myself up to my office. There is, I believe, much we need to discuss."
Severus embraced Bastila once again, and he thought he'd never let go.
"...And that's how we got back here." Bastila said, finishing her story. She'd told everything to Dumbledore, Severus and McGonagall, as well as a group of Aurors in Dumbledore's office.
She'd told them about the Graveyard, the apprehension of Peter, using Legillimency on Cedric, dueling Voldemort, the arrival of the Death Eaters, and then finally the return to Hogwarts via Portkey. She had endured their questions and comments the entire time, and Bastila had had to stop several times to regain her composure, as well as her balance.
Peter and Voldemort had both been taken into Ministry custody over an hour ago. Peter had been forced out of his animal form, and identified by Dumbledore and Ministry officials, and had confirmed the events of the past year that Harry had told everyone about. This also meant that, apparently, a man on the run called Sirius Black, who had taken the blame for Peter's crime, was in fact innocent. As for Voldemort's wand...Bastila had been forced to hand it over to the Ministry, though she would have preferred to have kept it. Having a spare wand seemed like a smart idea.
"I'm glad we made it back, no matter what Bastila had to do to get us here. Without her we would've been dead..." Cedric said in a quiet voice.
Bastila flashed him a smile. A Hufflepuff sticking up for a Slytherin! Who knew?
"And that Peter's finally been captured." Said Harry. He threw a half glance at the Aurors, then added, "Minister Fudge will have no choice but to believe me about last year, now."
Bastila shot a hard glare in Severus's direction at that. She knew he had issues with Harry's father, and the he treated Harry badly because of it, so she'd been working all year to get him to ease up, if not stop entirely. To see how juvenile and wrong his behavior was. Now it was time to truly put it to the test. "Ahem." Bastila faked a cough in Severus's direction. "Don't you have something to say to Harry?" She said pointedly.
Severus seemed to struggle with himself for a long time, then he gave a great sigh. "Fine...Potter. I...A-Apologize..For my...Behavior last year regarding..The incident in the Shrieking Shack." He said haltingly, as if he were wrenching the words out of the depths of his very soul.
Bastila gave Severus a wide smile.
"Err...Thanks Professor...?" Harry said just as awkwardly.
Dumbledore clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's eyes to him. "I believe our young Champions would like to return to their Dormitories now. If everything is in order..."
"Of course, Albus. I think we have everything we need." Kingsley motioned to the other Aurors, and they trooped into the fireplace, vanishing with bursts of flames.
Bastila stole another glance at Severus, then stepped up to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, would it be alright if I go with Sev to his private quarters? I think I'd like to spend a little time with him."
"Understandable, my dear, highly understandable. You have all been through a very upsetting experience." Dumbledore told her, Cedric and Harry. Albus turned to Severus. "I will allow this. But do not keep her too long, Severus. I'm certain Miss Greengrass is still quite worried over the disappearance of Miss Phoenix, and Miss Phoenix needs time to recuperate."
Dumbledore's words pierced Bastila, and she felt a twinge of guilt. "We could stop by the dormitory and let her know I'm back." Bastila said quickly. She got a nod from Dumbledore, then left the Headmaster's office with Severus close behind her.
Father and daughter made their way to Severus's private quarters, though they did stop by the Slytherin dungeons for a few minutes so Bastila could talk with Daphne, just as she'd said, then they continued on to their original destination. Along the way, Bastila finally gave in to her exhaustion, and fell to the ground. Severus showed amazing strength by carrying her the rest of the way to his quarters.
"You did a good thing back there, with Harry. I'm proud of you." Bastila said quietly. She and Severus were sitting together on a couch in front of a fireplace in his private quarters. Bastila was curled up against Severus, and they had been laying in silence for the past thirty minutes.
"It was my understanding when I agreed to adopt you that I would be the parent in the relationship." Severus said, scowling.
"It's mutually beneficial." Bastila replied, her voice low.
Severus sighed. "You are right, I suppose. And perhaps it is time I changed my ways. Potter...Is not his father. James Potter would never have had the spine to confront an old friend turned dark..."
"So you'll finally stop bullying Harry because of what his father did to you? Like I've said before, that's pretty pathetic, and wrong."
"Indeed..." Severus said softly, his eyes glistening in the firelight. "I could not be more proud to have you as my child. You bested the Dark Lord, and ensured his capture."
"I never want to repeat the experience." Bastila said as she drifted off to sleep.
"You will never have to." Whispered Severus, his words unheard by the now sleeping Bastila.
Bastila's arrival in the Slytherin common room nearly two hours after her time in Severus's quarters was met with an an unexpected welcome. Several students approached her and expressed their worry over her disappearance, and their relief at having her back. Though some of their reasons were inane ones, such as, "You always get Slytherin so many House points! I don't think we could win the House Cup from those Gryffindors without you!" Bastila was still grateful that her Housemates cared about her and seemed genuinely upset at her kidnapping.
Before Bastila could reach the girls' dormitory, she happened upon one of the two Housemates she'd hoped most to see.
"Glad you're not dead." Draco said casually by way of greeting, with his hands in his pockets. "Then again, it's not like I ever doubted it. You can take on dragons and come out alright." He added quickly, looking sheepish in the face of Bastila's glare.
Her face softened when Draco took a hand out of his pocket and extended it for her to shake. She didn't take it, instead leaning forward and giving him a bone crushing hug. Draco's pale face was redder than ever, and he coughed once Bastila released him and stepped away.
"You're still wearing that thing?" Draco said, eyeing her ruined, filthy dress.
Bastila glanced down at herself, then took her wand from its holster and waved it at her dress. "Scourgify." Instantly, it became cleaner and less wrinkled, but it would still need some work to make it perfect again. "I haven't exactly had the chance to change yet."
Draco laughed shakily, then looked at the floor. "I kept thinking about you when you were missing. I kept thinking about how if you were dead I'd never get the chance to make it up to you for how I've treated you lately."
"I already forgave you at the Ball."
"I know." Draco looked up again and met her eyes. "But I still feel like I should make it up to you."
"You do that." Bastila grinned, placing her wand back in the holster. "In the meantime, I have something I want to give you."
"I swear, if it's another one of your hugs-" Draco began, eyeing her warily.
"It's something much better. Stay here!" Bastila rushed past Draco and into the girl's dorm room. After a quick rummage in her trunk, she dashed back out to the common room with a small, bow tied package with silver and green wrappings in her hands.
"You got me a present?" Draco asked dubiously. Bastila wordlessly held the gift out to him, and he reluctantly took it. "Go on, open it!" Bastila prompted, watching Draco with expectant eyes.
Draco sighed and tore the wrappings off, then opened the small box. He gave an exasperated laugh when he found even more wrapping stuffed into the box. "You had to make this so difficult?"
Bastila just rolled her eyes. "Like fighting with paper is such a challenge."
A second later Draco was holding the object hidden inside the box. His eyes went wide in confusion as he looked at the item in his hand, and then at Bastila. It was a silver ring with a large emerald gemstone.
"Is this a bloody joke?" Draco screeched, his voice going high. He dropped the ring and the box as if they had burned him, his eyes never leaving Bastila.
Bastila was as confused at Draco's behavior as Draco was at being given the ring, and she was also more than a little hurt. Why was he so upset about her gift? Had she broken some Wizarding custom without even knowing it?
"What?" She said blankly.
"I thought you and Greengrass were together!" Draco cried, waving his arms frantically.
"We are? What does that have to do with your gift?" Now Bastila was really confused.
Realization dawned in Draco's eyes, and then he was quiet. "You don't know, do you? Why would you, being Muggle-Born..."
"Just tell me what I screwed up here."
"You basically offered to bind yourself to me until we come of age." Draco explained. He hesitated, then finished, "And then you... You'd marry me..."
"You're kidding. Kids can do that in the Wizarding world?" Bastila said after a long silence. She didn't know whether to be amused at what she'd done out of her own ignorance, or if she should be banging her head against the nearest wall.
"Yeah. Witches pledge themselves to future Pureblood lords, and the Pureblood Wizard keeps the proposals on a list. I have about a hundred going for me." Draco was now looking extremely uncomfortable with the conversation. "But I wouldn't have to accept any of them if I didn't want to. And you could always withdraw your pledge."
Bastila wasn't sure how she felt about this Wizarding custom, so she chose to say the most neutral thing she could think of: "Okay."
"Okay?" Draco said cautiously.
"Okay." Bastila repeated, for some reason feeling the urge to laugh. The entire situation was ridiculous! "Let's just forget about this marriage business. The ring is supposed to be a plain old gift. It has magical properties, and it was very expensive, so I hope you like it."
Draco retrieved the ring from the floor and slipped it onto a finger, looking it over carefully. "What exactly is it supposed to do?"
"Well the shop owner told me it's supposed to activate a series of incredibly powerful mental barriers whenever someone tries using Legillimency on you, and it'll alert you to any intrusions."
"Why would I need this, and when did you even get it?"
Bastila pursed her lips into a frown. "When I went to get my dress for the Yule Ball...Look, it's to make you feel safe around me alright? I'm really, really good at Legillimency, and you're around me all the time. Now you don't have to spend your life wondering whether I've seen that embarrassing Christmas photo of you at Malfoy Manor, or whatever else floats around inside your head."
The look on Draco's face showed that such a thing hadn't even occurred to him, which Bastila thought was rather sweet.
"Thanks." He finally said, giving Bastila a faint smile and slipping the ring on.
"Don't mention it." Bastila replied. She went back into the Girl's dormitory and shut the door once she was inside. She went over to her bed, where Daphne was already laying down and asleep. Bastila collapsed next to Daphne and fell asleep within seconds.
The next two months up until the second task were peaceful and normal, something Bastila relished, despite the irony of magic not being "normal" by Muggle standards. Bastila had even gone on several visits to the Wizarding village of Hogsmeade with Daphne, as well as Draco, once Severus had finally decided to sign the permission form for it. (He had been holding out all year for fear of her safety, and the incident in the Graveyard hadn't helped that insecurity. Though Bastila had managed to convince him, finally, after berating him with how she had preformed in the first task and within her classes, as well as with the fact that Voldemort was captured.)
It was on one of these warm spring days in early February that Bastila and Daphne were hanging out by the lake, when Bastila finally figured out how to open the egg. Or rather, Daphne had figured it out. Bastila had gone swimming near the shore, and had tried to coax Daphne into it. But Daphne hadn't budged, so Bastila had splashed her with water, and Daphne had, in retaliation, tossed Bastila's golden egg into the lake.
When Bastila swam down to retrieve it, she saw the egg was open and glowing, and she heard a beautiful voice singing.
Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour, the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.
Bastila had trudged over to Daphne and took her into a dripping wet hug, telling her about the egg finally opening, and the clue within. They had quickly worked out that the clue meant that Bastila would have to retrieve something from underwater. Something that she'd miss, which meant it had to be something important to her. For the life of her, Bastila couldn't figure out what was going to be taken, and it bothered her all the way up to the day of the second task.
She wasn't worried or anxious as she walked down to the black lake, where there were stands on floating platforms filled with students and teachers and their families. She was prepared, of course. She'd already learned and mastered the bubble head charm months ago during her intense and wide ranged preparations for the unknown first task.
She'd be able to last the entire hour underwater without any trouble, and she was an incredible swimmer, having spent most of her summers at pools in the Muggle world. She also had the Lumos spell long mastered, to see better under the waters, depending on how far down she'd have to go, and a water repelling charm which would enable her to move through water as if she had a shield around her body that would stop the water from touching her at all. She would be completely dry while underwater. She was particularly thankful for this spell, because her movements wouldn't be hindered when she were to swim. But even so, as a precaution, she'd put on her two piece bikini before going down for the task. That way, if the water repelling spell were to fail for some reason, she'd still be able to swim effectively.
Bastila was confident and collected. She was sure she'd be able to get whatever was lost and bring it back to the surface before any of the other Champions. Bastila reached the platforms and stood with the other Champions on the edge, ready to dive into the lake. She smiled around at everyone, ignoring some of the whistles from the males in the crowd that she was getting for her outfit. Bastila saw Hermione swat an open mouthed Ron Weasley on the arm, who was staring wide eyed at Bastila from the stands.
Returning her attention to the Champions, Bastila almost laughed when she saw Fleur's outfit. Apparently bikini's weren't a thing in the Wizarding world, as the French girl was wearing some sort of half dress robe thing. Next Bastila's eyes drifted over to Cedric, and he looked away the moment their eyes met, his face red with embarrassment. She looked at Victor Krum, who was standing all surly like, as usual, and she noted that Harry wasn't among the Champions.
However, it was a few minutes later that an out of breathe Harry Potter came running to join them. The Judges looked displeased at his lateness, particularly Madam Maxime, but Dumbledore and Bagman gave Harry encouraging smiles.
After checking on Harry, Bagman returned to the judges' table, pointed his wand at his throat and said, " Sonorus!" and his voice boomed out across the dark water to the stands.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One…two…three!"
As Bagman had been speaking, Bastila gripped her wand tight, concentrating hard on the bubble head charm, the water repelling charm, and the lumos spell. All three spells activated simultaneously.
The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air. The stands erupted with cheers and applause. But Bastila had dove down into the lake the moment the word "Three" had come out of Ludo's mouth, leaving the other Champions behind by a good three seconds.
Bastila grinned to herself as she slipped into the water, reveling in the feeling of being completely submerged yet not feeling soaked or cold in any way before swimming down further into the lake.
The lake did become darker, though, the further down she went. That's where the Lumos spell came in handy. She could see a good twenty feet around herself in all directions. Finally she went down into a small canyon, and she assumed she was near the middle of the lake at this point, or at least close to it. That's when she saw it: A mermaid.
Bastila would have thought she was seeing things, had she been anywhere else in the world, but this was Hogwarts! Of course Bastila had read about Mermaids before from the books in the school library, but she'd never expected there to be Mermaids in the Hogwarts lake!
The Mermaid was female, and she was beautiful. She was golden, glowing, and had a fish-like face with pouty lips and long hair. She also had flippers instead of legs, true to Mermaid accounts in both the Muggle and the Wizarding worlds.
Bastila swam closer to the Mermaid after making a split second decision. "Can you help me find whatever I need to find for the second task?" She asked the Mermaid, her voice clear and normal inside the bubble charmed around her head.
The Mermaid, surprisingly, talked back in a harsh, guttural voice, though it was still easily female in tone. "That's what I'm here for, student of Hogwarts. Follow me to retrieve what we have taken."
"You mean what Dumbledore gave for you to take?" Bastila grinned, gladly following the Mermaid through the watery trench.
The Mermaid whipped her head around and looked at Bastila in surprise. "You are intelligent, for a Human child. But yes, the Headmaster gave us what we needed for the task, what you are required to retrieve."
The Mermaid led Bastila to an underwater village, full of other Mermaids and even Mermen swimming about, or poking their heads out of hollowed out structures that Bastila assumed were their versions of houses.
Bastila was led to a clearing, and was shocked at what she saw. Five students were unconscious and tied to separate poles. She rounded on her Mermaid guide with an ice cold glare. "What the hell is this? Dumbledore gave you students to hold at the bottom of a lake for an hour?"
"The students agreed to do their part for the task. They knew exactly what would happen." The Mermaid said placatingly.
Bastila calmed at the Mermaid's words and swam closer to the poles to look over the students. Her eyes fell on an unmistakable girl with blonde hair. Daphne. Bastila turned back to the Mermaid. "I assume they've been charmed by Dumbledore not to drown or anything like that?"
"That's correct. And were any other sea creatures to try attacking the students, we Mer-people would protect them."
Bastila flashed a smile of relief, then swam behind Daphne and aimed her wand at the ropes binding her to the pole. A quick diffindo and Daphne was free. Bastila thanked the Mermaid, then began the long process of pulling her unconscious Girlfriend back up to the surface. It was very slow going, however, and Bastila let out a frustrated growl. Her mind went through every spell she knew or had ever heard of, desperate for some way to speed things up. She looked down below herself and saw Harry in the distance. He had reached the city of the Mer-People. Cedric and Krum didn't seem to be far behind him.
Bastila's mind finally settled on a spell she could use, or at least she hoped she could use. It was called Ascendio, a spell meant to lift the caster high into the air. She only hoped it would work underwater. She gripped Daphne tighter to herself and pointed her wand up at the far distant surface, then shouted, "Ascendio!"
The effect was instantaneous. Bastila felt as if the hand of God itself had closed around her and was lifting her up. She shot straight up through the water at an impossibly high speed, almost losing her grip on Daphne from the sheer force of it. Five seconds later the two girls burst out past the surface, flying high into the air. They came sailing back down and hit the water a bit too hard for Bastila's liking.
But on the positive side, Daphne was awake once more. She clutched Bastila's neck tightly, and Bastila could feel her shivering against the cold already. Bastila shifted in the water for a moment to allow Daphne to get on her back, piggy-back style, then began making broad strokes through the lake, taking them toward the water platforms. They reached it within a few short moments, and they both collapsed in a heap as soon as they were safely out of the water.
"That..Fucking...Ass!" Daphne said through chattering teeth. "I'm never helping him with anything ever again! The next time he comes to me and asks for my help I'll say: Oh Headmaster, remember when you put me at the bottom of a lake?! I'd rather eat a slug than help you-"
"Hello, Miss Phoenix, Miss Greengrass." Dumbledore's voice said as he approached with the other judges. Bastila and Daphne sat upright in an instant, with Daphne looking mortified. Dumbledore's expression only held amusement and concern, however. "I trust that neither of you came to any harm under the lake?"
Bastila shook her head, and after an elbow to the ribs, Daphne did too. "We're fine, thanks Headmaster." Bastila replied quickly. She gave a look around the platform, then grinned at Dumbledore and the other judges. "I guess we're the first ones out?"
"Indeed you are." Dumbledore smiled. "Also, if you would allow me to..." He flicked his wand at Daphne, and she found herself instantly dry. She gave a muttered thank you, then fell back against the deck.
Bastila got to her feet a little unsteadily and looked at the clock. It had only been twenty minutes so far. She spotted Fleur sitting near the judges panel, and Bastila was confused for a moment before she came to the conclusion that Fleur had to have forfeited the task, or had been in some sort of trouble under the lake that she couldn't have escaped on her own.
Bastila gave a sigh of relief, feeling incredibly pleased with herself at her performance in the task, as well as glad that it was all over, then sat back down beside Daphne and took her into a loving embrace. Daphne leaned back against Bastila, submitting to the arms wrapping around her waist.
"You made it out alive, and in first place again." Daphne congratulated Bastila. Bastila responded by kissing Daphne's neck and wrapping her arms around her a little more tightly.
"Yeah. Let's see if I can do the same on the final task and make it a flawless victory." Bastila grinned, now placing little kisses all the way up to Daphne's ear.
Daphne pulled away a little, giggling loudly. "You can't do that here!"
"Says the one who always puts her hand in a certain place under the breakfast table..." Bastila countered, her voice a whisper in Daphne's ear, not stopping her kissing.
Daphne froze, then relaxed into Bastila's embrace once more. "Alright, fair point." She sighed, though from her tone Bastila could tell she was smiling.
As the hour went on, everyone waited. Cedric appeared first with Cho Chang, then Victor clutching Hermione Granger, and then finally, ten minutes after the hour's end, Harry emerged from the lake carrying Ron Weasley and a young girl that looked remarkably like Fleur. Bastila assumed it was Fleur's little sister, and she was proven correct when she listened in on the conversation between Fleur, Harry, Ron and the girl.
Amusingly, Hermione fretted over Harry far more than she payed attention to Victor.
Dumbledore was crouching at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female. He was making the same sort of screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water. Clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. Finally he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."
The judges went into a huddle. Madam Pomfrey had gone to rescue Ron from Percy's clutches; she led him over to Harry and the others, gave him a blanket and some Pepperup Potion, then went to fetch Fleur and her sister. Fleur had many cuts on her face and arms and her robes were torn, but she didn't seem to care, nor would she allow Madam Pomfrey to clean them.
Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making them all jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows.…"
"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."
Applause from the stands.
"I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head.
"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble Head Charm, was second to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd. Bastila saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him forty-seven points."
Bastila watched Harry's face fall, and she thought she knew what he was thinking. If Cedric had been outside the time limit, Harry most certainly had been!
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was third to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.
Bastila repressed a snort. Daphne had no qualms about it, and loudly broke into laughter at Karkaroff's facial expression, earning herself several glares from the Durmstrang students.
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was second to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."
Ron and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks.
Bastila shot him a smirk, and she saw his face heat up as he turned away.
"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However…Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."
Bastila frowned at that, thinking. That would put Harry in a tie for second place with Cedric. Still, she applauded nonetheless.
Ron and Hermione, in their surprise, stared at Harry, then laughed and started applauding hard with the rest of the crowd.
"There you go. Harry!" Ron shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all - you were showing moral fiber!" Fleur was clapping very hard too, but Krum didn't look happy at all. He attempted to engage Hermione in conversation again, but she was too busy cheering Harry to listen.
Bagman wasn't quite finished, though. And spoke again when the noise died down. "Now, finally, Bastila Phoenix made an incredible use of a multitude of spells, including Lumos, Ascendio, the Bubble-Head charm, as well as a water repelling charm. In addition to this, she was the first to reach the hostages, as well as the first to return to the surface, all within the first twenty minutes of the task. Therefore the judges have unanimously agreed to award miss Phoenix the full fifty points!"
The Slytherins in the stands were in an absolute uproar, shouting and clapping madly, and Bastila grinned and waved at them all.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of May," Finished Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."
"Your performance in the second task was magnificent." A low voice said from behind Bastila as everyone began leaving the stands. She turned around to find a smiling Severus Snape standing there. "I find myself once again reminded of how...Lucky I am to have you as my daughter. You make me proud." Then for the first time this year, Severus opened his arms and hugged her in full view of everyone, and without any of his usual awkwardness.
"Thanks, daddy." Bastila whispered against his chest.
Next time she was in Hogsmeade, Bastila decided as she, Daphne and Severus walked back up the stone steps into the castle, she was going to buy Severus as many mugs of butterbeer as she could afford.