Edelweiss

Chapter Six: Dreams and Dancing

Dear Mum and Dad;

Harry and his friends are up to something – tell me something I don't know. But it sounds pretty nasty, since Ron was admitted to the hospital with a nasty looking bite on his hand. I don't know what caused it, but it was all purple and yellow, so whatever it was it was venomous. He's all better now, but I still have no idea what did it. Wish I could tell you more on the subject.

But what's worse is that around the time Ron was admitted to the Wing, Harry, Hermione, and Neville (of all people) lost 150 points for Gryffindor. They're completely shunned by everyone, including Fred and George and myself. I don't think I've had a proper discussion with them since the last Quidditch match. I kinda feel bad, but unless they manage to get us those points back and win us the house cup, I don't think I'll be able to talk to them ever again.

Then, to add on to that, they got a detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid tonight, so it should be all right, but there are all sorts of monsters in there.

But aside from them, I've been doing pretty well in school and me and the twins are having a blast, though now that it's getting close to crunch time we haven't had the time to get around to all the things we were planning on doing since September 1.

Love you lots, and see you soon!

Aludra

Aludra froze and gently gnawed on the side of her thumb as she re-read her letter before nodding and putting it in an envelope – she'd make sure to mail it before breakfast tomorrow. She got up quickly, wincing at the sound of the wooden legs scraping against the floor, before darting upstairs. It was way past her normal bed time, but she was too worried to focus on that at all.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was worried about Harry and his friends. She wasn't usually paranoid, but she just had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong. Half of her, the slightly-insane half, told her to grab her coat and rush into the forest and stop her cousin from doing something idiotic (which would without a doubt happen, seeing as this was Harry she was talking about). The other, mentally-safe side of her told her that she was over reacting and that he would be fine. She knew this, because Fred, George, and herself had been in the forest numerous times before and absolutely nothing had happened to them!

'Well, we only went in about three yards before getting caught by Hagrid,' she thought, before quickly banishing the thought.

She stormed as quietly as she could up the stairs, making sure not to wake anyone as she slid her letter into her nightstand and angrily burrowed under her covers, cursing her overactive imagination as images of a mangled Harry popping into her head.

"Stupid cousins doing stupid idiotic things," she mumbled before she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

.

Aludra woke up feeling rejuvenated and was quick to leap out of her bed and almost dance over to her trunk, where she preceded to pull out her clothes and then dance over to the unoccupied bathroom. She took a quick shower, savoring the feel of the water massaging her scalp, before toweling off and slipping into her uniform and grabbing her dirty clothes to put into her hamper.

If someone asked her why she was so happy, she would simply reply that she had a good dream. If they dared to ask her what about, she would not-so-politely tell them to 'sod off and mind their own business'.

As she danced down the stairs, the first thing she did was scan the relatively empty common room for her partners in crime. She didn't have to wait long, and soon Lee, Fred, and George were stumbling sleepily downstairs. She quickly darted across the room, ignoring the stares sent her way, and halted eagerly in front of her friends.

"Howdy," she said pleasantly. Lee raised a sleepy eyebrow while the Twins looked at her in sleepy disbelief.

"How can you be so perky at this hour?" Lee asked, his voice dry. Aludra shrugged.

"Good nights sleep, good dreams," she said, unable to keep down the blush that threatened to make its way up her neck, "You?"

"Good dreams, rubbish sleep," Lee said, and the Twins were quick to nod their agreement. They quickly made their way out of the common room and began the long trek to the Great Hall.

"So, what'd you dream about?" Lee asked conversationally – the Twins were too tired to put up the proper effort to uphold a conversation. Aludra flushed and stuck out her tongue.

"Nonya business!" she said, and the Twins suddenly found the effort they were lacking just seconds before.

"Is it what I think it was?" Fred asked mischievously.

"I think it was," George agreed before they both slung their arms around her shoulders, "Was it about, I don't know-,"

"A boy?" Fred finished. Aludra couldn't keep down the deep blush that erupted over her cheeks.

"Which boy?" Lee asked, switching his position so he was walking backwards and watching her face as it continued to turn red.

"It wasn't about a boy!" she snapped. George gasped playfully.

"A girl!" he asked, and Aludra couldn't help but laugh as she ducked and escaped their grasp. Her friends were quick to turn and hunt her down, hooking their arms around hers and dragging her back towards the Great Hall.

"Nu-uh," Fred chastised, "You need to eat – you're a growing girl who needs all the nutrition she can get!"

"And seeing as how we're your only friends," George added.

"We're the ones who need to make sure you get your daily portions of food," Lee finished.

Aludra rolled her eyes, "You guys aren't my only friends. I've got tons of friends – the girls in my dorm all like me, Ron and Hermione don't think I'm too bad…"

"But WE'RE your best friends," George interrupted, "Right Ally?"

Aludra sighed playfully before nodding in consent, "Right, right. Now let me go – I can walk on my own!" They glanced at each other before shrugged and letting her arms drop. She quickly straightened her robes and turned back around, her stomach growling in anticipation.

The rest of the week was a nightmare – the Professors were all going out of their minds trying to stuff all the last-minute information they could into their students mind as the last week before finals arrived. On that Monday, Aludra found herself setting in class and zooming through the practicals while faltering on the written.

Then, before she even knew it, exams were over and she was chilling in the common room with the ever overzealous Fred, George, and Lee – but she couldn't find it in her to celebrate. She didn't really know why there was this bubble of apprehension building in the pit of her stomach, but she chalked it up to the end of the year and the separation from her friends. She was one of the first to retire that night.

.

The sound of water dripping against the stone floor of Hogwarts echoed around in her head, slowly driving her mad. She looked around and saw nothing, before quickly moving through the twists and turns of her school.

She jumped in surprise as a large goat charged her angrily, baahing venomously, and she didn't even move. She just raised her arms in a half-arsed attempt at protecting her face. The goat just diverted its course at the last minute and darted around her. She turned to follow it, but it was gone, only the echo of its angry call left.

She kept walking until she came to the second floor lavatory, where the suddenly not-dead Myrtle danced in the moonlight, her arms thrown above her head and her voice echoing metallically in the air.

"One, two, three, four, Tommy will open the door," she crooned, and Aludra tilted her head.

"Who's Tommy?" she asked. Myrtle giggled and shook her head before dancing up to the Gryffindor and pulling her into a complicated dance.

"Just dance, Ally!" she cried, "Dance and dance until he comes out to play! Then we have to hide. Shhh – He'll find you even here."

"Who?" Aludra asked. Myrtle didn't give her an answer, but dipped her partner low until her hair touched the suddenly water soaked floor, before yanking her back up and spinning her with enthusiasm.

"Five, six, seven, eight, better run here comes the snake!" Myrtle cackled and spun her again, and while she was in mid spin Myrtle dropped her hand and wailed miserably before dashing into her toilet. Aludra fell to the floor with a dazed expression. Suddenly, she was pulled to her feet by both Fred and George, who were then pulling her through the halls of Hogwarts with gleeful if not scary expressions.

"What's going on?" Aludra asked – she wasn't even fazed when she looked down and saw her robes gone and replaced with a set of elegant dress robes – and her body did not look like that ten seconds ago!

"The apple isn't ripe yet," George said cryptically.

"The worm is looking for the cheese," Fred said, as if the statement completely agreed with his brothers.

"Then why doesn't the worm eat the apple?" Aludra asked, "and give the cheese to the mouse?"

"Because the mouse was eaten by the snake, and soon, the vase is going to be smashed to bits," George answered.

"Checkmate!" Fred called victoriously, "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Bzz! Bzz!"

"Bzz?" Aludra asked. The two suddenly stopped and turned to look at her with faces of comical horror.

"How dare you say that about our Queen!" Fred asked, "Bzz, bzz bzzz?"

"Bzz!" George yelled, "You're just a bzz bzzz bzbz!"

"Well bzz bzzz to you too!" Aludra snapped. Fred and George then removed their white gloves (were they wearing those before?) and slapped her cleanly across the face.

"Have at the, ye scurvy dog!" George chastised.

"Avast ye swabbies!" Fred agreed, hoisting his sword into the air, "The castle is under attack, and the bumble bee has fallen from his nest!"

"Och, aye!" George agreed, suddenly dressed in a kilt with a bagpipe cradled in his arms, "I've been chasin' the toad o'er hill an' o'er dale! The naughty snake is 'oot an' aboot,an' the min'stry's been neglectin' it's chil'ren, snark snark!" He whinnied then, before making a clomping sound much like that of a heard of horses.

"Have you seen the queen?" Aludra asked, "I hear she has this fabulous snake skin hat…"

"Sacrilege!" Fred cried from his spot, as he stood on his head and balanced a pile of plates on each foot, "Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma! Ooch a dook, dook!" He continued to make strange noises as he walked around.

"Ba-donk-a-donk?" Aludra asked weakly, trying in vain to understand what they were saying. George clapped eagerly, before dashing off.

"The British are coming, the British are coming!" he cried, and Fred quickly leaped to his feet and followed after his brother, shouting out strange noises and obscenities that Aludra hoped to never hear come out of his mouth again.

Then she was alone, save for the eerie sound of scales moving against the Hogwarts floors that seemed to follow her no matter where she turned. She stopped though, and noticed that she was dressed as a large T-bone steak, and was dripping some sort of sauce. There was then a dog chewing on her leg, and Aludra quickly shooed it off.

"Didn't you hear – the British are coming!" she chastised, and the dog quickly ran off, yelping as if he had been smacked over the head.

"I can see clearly now, the rain has gone!" Myrtles voice echoed from down the hall, "I can see all obstacles in my way!"

Aludra jerked from her sleep with a physical lurch, and she quickly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her heart was thudding, and she couldn't keep the confused smile from her face.

"What the hell?" she asked weakly. She let out a shaky breath – something about that dream had terrified her, despite how strange it was, "At least I didn't dream about loosing all my teeth," she murmured as she swung out of bed and headed towards the steps, needing to escape the claustrophobic feeling of her dorm.

She froze as she reached the bottom step and saw one Neville Longbottom at the center of the common room, the latest victim of the full body bind curse. Aludra made a quick decision and hurried upstairs, grabbing her wand, and then running back downstairs.

"Finite," she whispered, and Neville gasped as he came to.

"Who did this to you? Aludra asked.

"Hermione," he answered. Aludra raised a skeptical eyebrow, and Neville was quick to explain, "She, Harry, and Ron decided to leave after hours to go to this trap door they found, and I told them not to – I did! – but Hermione cursed me before I could try and stop them. We're going to loose more points now, aren't we?" Neville looked close to tears, and Aludra patted his back while trying to shove back her fears.

"How long ago was this?" Aludra asked as she glanced at the nearest clock – it was a quarter till two in the morning.

"About midnight," Neville admitted. Aludra felt her heart constrict, and before Neville could say any more she was dashing out of the common room, ignoring the Fat Ladies angry calls, and hurried to McGonagall's office. She pounded on the door, and it took a few seconds for the professor to get to the door, but when she did answer, her expression was less than welcoming.

"Miss Black! What one earth-,"

"Harry's in trouble!" Aludra blurted. McGonagall's face turned from one of anger, to one of worry. Aludra quickly told her tail and McGonagall's face got only more anxious.

"Oh dear," she said, "Aludra, return to bed – I'll go get the Headmas-,"

"There will be no need for that, Minerva," Dumbledore said as he approached to two with a peaceful face, "I have already been down to the Mirror, and I am saddened to say that Professor Quirrel is deceased."

"What?" McGonagall and Aludra gasped in horror. Dumbledore nodded sorrowfully.

"Yes – I am afraid, he was under the servitude of some very dark magic," he explained, "and was attempting to retrieve the stone to restore his master to power. It is very fortunate that you alerted me about Harry's anxieties, or I might not have gotten to them in time. As it was, I intercepted Miss Hermione Granger on her way to get help."

"What happened?" Aludra whispered, her eyes wide in horror. Dumbledore frowned.

"Voldemort has tried to return," he said bluntly. McGonagall gasped, and Aludra felt her back stiffen with fear. She didn't live through his reign of terror, but she had heard stories. She knew how he could impact a family.

"Did he succeed?" McGonagall asked. Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, not this time. He ran off, though, before anything could be done."

"And Harry?" Aludra asked. Dumbledore managed a peaceful smile that forced her to relax.

"He's fine, my child," he soothed, "I have take him and his friends to Madame Pomfrey to be treated. They have all been through so much tonight – they should be fine."

Aludra felt her body sag with relief, and McGonagall placed a steadying hand on her back, "Can I go see them?"

"They're asleep right now, I'm afraid. You can visit them first thing in the morning. However, I must floo their parents right away. They will want to know about this as soon as possible. You, Miss Black, should go get some sleep – rest easy knowing that your cousin is safe."

"Just, let me sit down for a moment," she agreed, plopping down on the stone floor and taking a deep breath before letting it out. McGonagall quickly stepped around her and began a hushed conversation with the Headmaster. Aludra waited a few more seconds before forcing herself to stand and wiping of the imaginary dirt from her pants.

"I'll see you in the morning, Professors," she said. The both bid her good night, and by the time Aludra made it to her bed she felt more exhausted then she should have. She was quick to curl under her covers and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

The next morning was a big event, and the first thing on her list of things to do was to check up on her annoying cousin. She got dressed, ignoring the curious looks of her friends, and dashed down the stairs and out of the common room. She ignored her friends curious glances as she dashed passed them and down the halls until she came to the Hospital wing, where Uncle James and Aunt Lilly sat at Harry's bedside, while a five year old Aster lay sleeping on one of the empty cots. To Harry's left was Ron, who was banged up pretty bad but awake and suffering through the worried fussing of his mother.

"Mum! I'm alright!" he said, but Aludra could tell he liked the attention.

"Auntie Lily! Uncle James!" she called, dashing forward and leaping into her Uncles arms. James grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Hey, Ally cat," he said affectionately, though she could see how stressed he was, "How's school been?"

"It's been pretty good," Aludra shrugged, "how's Harry?"

"Madam Pomfrey says he's going to be fine, he's just a little weak and needs to get his strength back up," Lily said, and Aludra hurried to give her a tight hug, "I hear you were more than a little worried about Harry last night," she teased, and Aludra just rolled her eyes.

"Well, don't tell Harry that – he might actually think I like him," she said, "Where's mum and dad?"

"Sirius has some work to finish at the Ministry and Adelaide's looking after Noah and Ryan," James explained, "They'll be over as soon as Harry wakes up – they're just looking after things at home."

"You should get to class, though," Lily said, "You mum will kill me if you miss anything."

"But exams are over!" Aludra cried, and Lily shot her a look that said 'Do what I say', and Aludra nodded before obediently leaving and heading down towards the Great Hall, where Fred and George eagerly awaited her. She tried to hold back her grin, but the two were quick to notice.

"What's up?" They asked, not even sparing each other a second glance. Aludra raised an eyebrow.

"Hey George – can you do a Scottish accent?" she asked. George blinked in surprise before shaking his head.

"Nah – we're absolute rubbish at accents," he admitted, while Fred nodded his agreement. Aludra couldn't keep back her grin as she slid into her seat and began to pile food on her plate, "Did you hear what happened last night?" George asked.

"Yeah – woke up in the middle of the night and found out that Hermione jinxed Neville," she said with a wry grin, "Almost had a heart attack when I heard they were off to do more mischief. We don't need to loose any more house points!" Fred and George were both eager to nod their agreements.

"So, where's Lee?" she asked. The twins shrugged.

"Haven't seen him all morning," Fred replied.

"Was already out of the dorms by the time we woke up," George added. Aludra frowned before shrugging and turning back to her meal.

"So, do you think we have a chance at winning the house cup?" Fred asked after a few minutes silence. Aludra scoffed.

"You do realize that we're in last place, right?" she asked, "We'd need a miracle to win the cup at this rate!"

.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all things concerning belong to J.K. Rowling. I own Adelaide Black, Annalisa Bertucci, Aludra Hope Black, Ryan Sirius Black, and Noah Antares Black.

A/N: I'M SO SORRY I'VE BEEN AWAY! I love you all so much, and I'm SO SO SO SO SORRY! Please don't hate me! Hell, just review and get out all your anger and then keep reading. Haha, pleading for mercy and I still find the time to ask for reviews.

So…why I didn't update? Buffy, Doctor Who, lack of inspiration, and HP-related writers block. I'M SO SORRY!

So, quick little question: Who do you think Aludra should get together with? I know who I planned her to get together with, but I want to know what you want. She CAN NOT get together with: Ron, Harry, Neville, Crabe/Goyle, Hermione, Ginny, or any other character who has a pairing decided by JK. HOWEVER! If it's with a person who is not considered canonical, like Astoria Greengrass, then it's ok. So she can be with Draco, Lee, Fred, George, Collin, Percy, Wood, or anyone else.

Song of the Chapter: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield cuz its super-mega-awesome-hot.

B.E. Nomads