Chapter Three - Back to Routine
It was Friday, the day before the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. My last first Hogsmeade visit of the year. I laughed at myself for thinking this, but I still knew I was going to treasure this visit. It was the second to last weekend of September, and already the seasons were starting to change. The trees were slowly conforming into the normal yellow, red, and orange color scheme of Fall, and the lowering temperature and inconsistent breezes made the slow change of seasons so amazing. I had caught up with homework the weekend before after telling Hermione about Forks (while omitting some of the more... obvious things), and was doing perfectly fine in my classes now. I had returned the majority of the loaned (and old) textbooks back to my teachers after receiving my own by owl, and kept reminding myself about buying my own potion ingredients in Hogsmeade. I hated having to go to the cupboard when I could actually be observing the potion and not leaving Nate in charge of watching it.
Stretching slightly, I put my bag down and organized my books back to the places they should be (one pile for no homework and another for homework ; you can guess which one was bigger). I put my bag away as well as my cloak, and looked at myself in the mirror. I had debated cutting my hair when I got back, but then Harry said he liked my hair long, and then Ron told me mum would have a heart attack if I showed up for Christmas with a lack of hair, so I just left it at that. I looked pretty good, to be honest. No bags under my eyes from staying up to talk to Edward and trying to not fall asleep, no pale ghostly look because of the damning lack of sun in Forks, and most importantly, my eyes were back to normal. It scared me shitless each morning I woke up and saw bland chocolate brown eyes instead of my blue indigo ones I inherited from my mother. Running my hand through my hair, I licked my lips before sticking my tongue out at the mirror. Laughing at myself, I smoothed my skirt down and made sure my white blouse was clean before deeming myself ready to go to dinner.
Humming a small made up melody, I made my way downstairs, passing by some people and waving hello. Already smelling the delicious food coming out from the Great Hall, I could feel my stomach start to complain to me about the lack of said delicious food in my stomach. Slowly walking down the staricase, I could see people pouring into the huge room. Following suit, I walked over to the Gryffindor table, to find Luna sitting there talking with Ginny. I squeezed myself between Harry and Luna, and the pale blonde girl turned to me.
"Bells, I heard you were back," Luna said, before digging something out of her bag, and looking back at me. She had on her usual radish earrings and butterbeer cork necklace, as well as the spectacles the Quibbler had one issue. "Daddy asked me to give you his latest issue of the Quibbler, and to tell you he's glad you're back home safely. Oh, and he wanted to see if you had any problems with the Xenard Flickus while in America, and if you did, for you to send him an owl."
I took the Quibbler with a grin, and just laughed.
"No, no Xenard Flickus for me. Tell him I said thanks, and hope he's doing great?" I asked, and she just grinned.
"Alrightie. He'll be a bit disappointed, but he understands that most people can't see it since it makes you forget about it if it has eye contact with you, which is almost all of the time. I'll see you guys later," Luna said, her voice taking on a grave tone when talking about the Xenard Flickus, before turning back into its constant dream like quality. She practically skipped over back to the Ravenclaw table, and I just grinned. Oh, how I missed Luna.
Turning back to the people in front of me, I tuned into the conversation.
"So, what you're saying is, tomorrow we'll meet up with you guys at Honeydukes?" Ron was asking, and Nate just nodded.
"Yeah, and then we'll all go to the Three Brooms and celebrate all of us being no longer underage with big grown up drinks," Nate said, a mischievous grin on his face. I glared at him.
"If you come back to the castle tipsy, I'm not helping you hide from McGonagall," I warned him, but Nate just waved his hand.
"I never need help," He said, and I snorted.
"Right, like I don't have to bail you out once a semester, sometimes more," I commented, before Nate just sighed.
"Oh Bellie Wellie, hush up and eat."
Rolling my eyes, I stuck out my tongue at him before putting some food on my plate. I plucked fries off my plate while listening to everyone talk, interjecting every other couple of minutes. Before long, we were making plans for tomorrow. Nate cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him. He opened his mouth, and I ended up wishing he didn't.
"Alright, so Ron and Hermione are going off to snog each other senseless, while I hang out with Bells for like two hours and then hurry off on the date I have with Emma because she said she might as well go with me today and not before Halloween, and then Gin is off snogging Dean, so we'll interrupt them and drag Gin with us as we drink to our hearty content while she drinks her butterbeer and feels like a child, and then we'll all just chill and then come back to the castle and sleep and you know other stuff. Questions?"
Everyone stared at him. Hermione was blushing, Ginny was close to strangling him while Dean was just looking down at his plate, just like Ron was, and Harry just laughed.
"Don't worry Potter, I included you in on the plan too. You're hanging out with Bells because I like Emma and agreed to take her out and everyone else is busy getting some action," Nate informed him, and I just sighed. Everyone started complaining to Nate, and he just shrugged.
"All of you, shut up. We're hanging out tomorrow for like an hour or two. You'll get quality time before. Jeez, you'd imagine I told you I was going to euthanize your kitten and you only had an hour left with it," Nate drawled, and I rolled my eyes. Looking down at my plate, I realized it was empty, and I was pretty content with what I had to eat. After a quick evaluation, I knew Harry and Nate were done.
"Alright, well, you can voice your complaints to this idiot later," I said, before grabbing Nathan by his ear and tapping on Harry shoulder. Everyone said their good byes to us and good night, not knowing what time we'd drag our tired bodies back to the tower. After hugging Ginny goodbye, and waving bye at Luna, I walked out of the Great Hall with my brother and best friend, and dug out a piece of parchment from my cardigan pocket.
I read over it quickly, and looked at the watch I received for my birthday. Dumbledore expected us by seven, and it was nearing that time quickly.
"Move it guys, we're going to be late if we don't," I mumbled as I started walking up the staircase, the boys following me.
"His favorite candy is Acid Pops..." I said to myself quietly, and Nathan snorted.
"It would be just like Dumbledore to love those damn things," He said, before Harry rolled his eyes.
"It means thats the password to his office," He pointed out, and Nate just frowned.
"Hmmm... Sounds plausible."
We both ignored my twin brother at that moment, and it took us a few minutes to finally get to the two statues that guarded the headmaster's office. With a quick saying of 'Acid Pops', the familiar stairwell appeared, and we all climbed up. Nate whined playfully, but I just smacked him upside the head. I was feeling a bit nervous about this meeting, and didn't need Nathan acting like a five year old. He got the message, and instantly started acting his age. He did mumble something about how much me hitting him hurt, and I resisted the urge to laugh. After being around Emmett for so long, and having to hit him upside the head sometimes, I had to go full enough force he'd notice but not enough that I'd break my hand.
Sighing and taking my thoughts away from the Cullens, I looked up to see the door. We finally got to the last obstacle between us and Dumbledore. Harry knocked on the door after a minute of none of us doing it. We stood there for another few minutes, before a familiar voice said, "Come in".
Harry fumbled with the door for a few seconds, before finally opening it. We all stepped in, and I took in the room. It looked the same as ever, if not for the rearrangement of small things here and there, like Fawkes perch stand, and other things. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, and thats when I noticed something off. Very off.
"Professor, is there a reason why you're hand is... Worse for wear?" I asked, eying the black and shriveled up limb. Dumbledore just smiled gently.
"A small incident during your leave, Isabella," He said, before motioning us to sit down. A thousand things ran through my mind, and I nearly sighed at his flippant attitude over his obviously crippled hand. I said down on the left of Harry, while Nate sat on the other side. He let us get settled down, and slowly clasped his hands together on the desk. I cringed internally from observing just how terrible his hand looked, noting its obvious size difference in comparison to his other hand.
"It's good to see you three together again. Your presence was surely missed Isabella," Dumbledore started off with, and I just nodded.
"It's great to be back sir," I replied, and a small smile played on his lips. A moment of silence fell upon us, before Dumbledore looked at Fawkes. His expression was unreadable, as most times, and I wondered what was on his mind. I didn't have to wait for long to find out, before he looked back at us.
"Now, for the last year, I've been meeting Nathaniel and Harry ever so often to teach them about Voldemorts past. I've sent you, Isabella, letters, but I don't believe many of the owls got through, did they?" Dumbledore mused, and I shook my head.
"I received one maybe... Once every three months." I said, biting my lip. I always freaked out when I did get those letters, and had to hide them in my closet along with Lena. It was a slap to the face each time I got them, reminding me of the real reason I was in Forks, and how different Bella's life was from my own. But, all it took was Edward to let me forget about them. Dumbledore nodded, before sighing.
"It's very hard for owls to make the trip to Forks from here. I'm amazed any got to you at all. Now, tonight, I will be informing you of things that I should have before Isabella left... It is a mistake of mine, but I promise it was in the best of your interests... Now, the prophecy. You all do remember it, correct?"
I swallowed, wondering just what could be going on. Something he should have told us? That could have been anything. I bit my bottom lip, a habit of mine whenever I got nervous or worried. Nate had the foreign expression he adopted whenever something very serious was going on, making him have to be serious. It was strange and alien on his face. Harry merely sat there, deep in though, his hands fidgeting against each other.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The two born to those also who have defied him at the height of the ninth month will aide him in his quest against the Dark Lord... Identical in many ways, yet different in others…. the Dark Lord will mark he who can thwart his wrath as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." Dumbledore recited perfectly, before shifting the position of his hands slightly. He looked troubled, and I could feel my heart start to ache. He continued on.
"Now, you might wonder just how Tom has survived what he has, and there is an answer. Long ago, Tom questioned a professor of his who had a soft spot for him a very important question. With it, he has managed to be able to be invincible, some would say immortal. Voldemort made seven horcruxes. A horcrux is truly one of the darkest items in the dark arts, and is not taken at all lightly. It includes murdering someone, which many say in itself is a terrible crime that already makes your soul break. It was ultimately a fragment of your soul, hidden in an item you enchant for that particular reason. Harry, you destroyed one your second year. His diary. Bella, you destroyed another, after the incident at the Ministry of Magic involving Salazar Slytherin's locket Bellatrix was wearing when the fiendfyre was unleashed in the Department of Mysteries and you threw it into the fire. Nate, you destroyed one as well with the sword of Gryffindor when Nagini took aim at you in last years attack. Now, I myself have destroyed a few, leaving Voldemort with only one soul fragment. That is, in his own body."
After his small speech, he sat there, looking at our reactions. I had gotten up about halfway through the speech and started pacing, while Nate followed my own fidgeting tendencies and was leaning on the wall, the tip of his thumb in his mouth, looking deep in thought. Harry was slumped in his chair, staring at the ground. I wanted to sit next to him and take his hand in mine, but I couldn't seem to stay still.
I started fiddling with my hair as I paced, and everyone was given their own space to think for a few minutes. I could tell everything was at a boiling point. The war we were fighting seemed to to change into our favor considerably, but I knew that the only way it'd really be finished was when Voldemort was dead. I remembered back to when I destroyed the locket, when one of the death eaters had stupidly released the enchanted fire in the room with all of the prophecies. The screams of dying death eaters and the rogue Ministry workers played themselves in my mind again, and the sounds of the locket... Dying. I wrapped my arms around myself, wanting to just go back to when I was a kid and only had to worry about having counter pranks against my brothers.
Harry broke the silence, taking me away from my own thoughts.
"Sir... Why.. Why are you telling us this all of a sudden?" Harry asked quietly, and I stopped in my tracks to look at Dumbledore. His expression was surprisingly calm.
"Now... I received my injury from tracking down the last of the horcruxes that I destroyed. I had been... Foolish. Impulsive. The ring had a curse on it, and I only managed to get back to the castle and get treated by Severus in time for the curse to be contained. For that time," our headmaster said, leaving the rest of his explanation to lay out in the open air. He was going to die. No, scratch that. He was already dying. I could feel tears start to pool in my eyes, and I didn't even try to fight them. I could feel them rolling down my face.
"Professor..." I said softly, and he looked at me with a weary smile. I took a deep breath, and gave myself a minute before continuing, hoping my voice wouldn't crack.
"There's... Nothing that can be done?" I said, whispering the last part. He shook his head, and looked back at Fawkes.
"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." was all he said. I looked at him horrified, and could feel the tears continue to fall. Leave it to Dumbledore to near damn welcome his own death, greeting death like an old friend... That left me thinking about a story mum had told me a long time ago, when the tale of three brothers wove themselves into my dreams as she bid me goodnight and left me to sleep. I shook my head. Now was not the time to think about The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
I could tell Nate and Harry weren't taking the news any better than me. Harrys hands had long formed into fists that trembled slightly, and Nate ended up sitting, with his back against the wall, his hand stuck to his hair, continuously pulling it back from his face. I could tell what we were all thinking.
Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard of our generation. Hell, in the whole world really. The fact that he was dying was... Shocking. Unexpected. And most importantly, emotional. While we all could agree Harry was the closest to Dumbledore, me and Nate were still fairly close to him. He had been there, all these years. I remembered he would visit the Burrow when me and Nate were just toddlers during the holidays to say hello, and remembered how I would tug on his beard and laugh when he made a different face each time I did. I remembered how his eyes would twinkle and the skin around his eyes would wrinkle when he smiled.
Looking back, I can never really tell how long our mutual silence was. I just remembered that he cleared his throat softly before quietly telling us to have a good night and get some rest and have fun tomorrow at Hogsmeade. Before we left, I hugged him, as did Harry and Nate. We walked back to Gryffindor tower quickly, none of us bothering to talk or try to strike up a conversation. When we got to the empty common room, I mumbled a quick goodnight before heading up the girls staircase, and quietly walked into my room and changed as fast as possible. I barely managed to close my bed curtains and whisper 'muffliato' quickly before I started crying. I fell asleep crying, and woke up the next morning with tear tracks fresh on my cheeks, and knew that even though I didn't remember them, my dreams hadn't been pleasant.
Everyone else was gone when I got out of bed, probably eager to hurry up and spend as much time as they could at Hogsmeade. I took my time showering, letting the smell of my strawberry shampoo and lavender body wash soothe me. I threw on some skinny jeans and my (washed) Gryffindor sweater shirt, forgoing makeup aside from some lip balm. I attempted to actually do something with my hair, but ended up just putting it up in a functional high ponytail. After a small pep talk, I hurried up to get the Great Hall before someone came looking for me.
I put on a small smile, but my thoughts for the day started off cynical. I sat myself between Harry and Ginny, and leaned my head on Harry's shoulder. Nate looked particularly subdued, but made the excuse that he was up late last night working on prank layouts. I nibbled on some toast, not in the particular mood to eat. However, Ron did manage to make me eat a slice of bacon, which I, too, nibbled on. After drinking the last of my pumpkin juice, I got up and everyone else followed suit. Hermione and Ron held hands, and I could feel my face and thoughts soften and brighten up a bit. Ginny followed suit with Dean, although they looked to be in the midst of having a heated debate under their breaths to each other. With a sigh, I ignored them. Looking away from the 'happy' couple, I noticed a girl with a caramel complexion, black hair, and stunning gray eyes walk up to Nate. She said something and he laughed, before leaning in to kiss her cheek. I guessed this was Emma, and couldn't help but have a genuine smile. Nate looked over at me, and I winked at him. He winked back with a grin that I could only describe alike to the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.
We walked in pairs, with me and Harry crossing our arms together and talking while everyone was else was with their significant other. We were talking over Quidditch plays when we finally reached the beginning of the quaint wizard village, and we immediately talked it over. We'd meet back in three hours, with Nate finding me in two and hanging out with me for an hour with Emma. Everyone voiced their agreement, and soon we all left to wherever we needed to go.
Me and Harry stood off the side of the pathway, still discussing Quidditch plays, before he pointed out to me that I had some shopping to do. Swearing at almost forgetting, I dragged him to the local Apothecary. Opening the door to the shop, the faint but pleasant scent of hundreds of herbs and potion ingredients intoxicated my senses. After about twenty minutes of me just staring at everything, Harry made me finally buy an advanced potions kit and some other ingredients he knew I'd end up wanting and needing.
Afterwards, we headed over to the basic writing supplies store, buying parchment and quills and ink. I'd been running low seeing how I never went back to school shopping before coming back to Hogswart, and made Harry run low from taking his things (Nate kept his own supplies somewhere in his trunk, which I was not keen on visiting after an incident concerning a balloon, a sandwich, ink, and soda in our fifth year). It was my turn to drag him away from buying a million different quills made from exotic animals. He snickered when I bought a peacock feather quill, and I just rolled my eyes and looked down at his hawk feather quill. That soon shut him up, and I smiled sweetly.
We walked out toward the woods area of Hogsmeade with our purchases in hand, talking about random things like classes and the weather. Soon, things got quiet, and we ended up laying on the ground and staring up at the sky. He would point out some cloud that looked like a car, and I'd just laugh. It usually resembled more of a shapeless blob or a piece of cotton candy at best, but he would insist about his 'gorgeous Ford Anglia', and how Trelawney would be proud of his cloud observing skills. That sent us both into a riot. We calmed down for a bit, and I sighed.
"Be careful, Harry Potter, or the cloud will come down and kill you in a terrible, awful, painful death," I warned him in a grave, dream like voice that resembled our Divinations teachers own tone, and we both ended up losing it again. We had just calmed down a bit (with the occasional burst of laughter and then small laugh fest), when I heard Nate's voice. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but if he was looking for me and reverting to yelling, it wasn't anything not embarrassing.
Harry wrinkled his nose, before looking at me.
"You're going to kill him when he gets here," He notified me, as he stood up and stretched, before putting his hand out. I snorted before taking it, and he pulled me up, just as I saw the familiar mop of brown hair come down the pathway.
"OH BELLIE WELLIE DELLIE MELLIE, WHERE FOR ART THOU LONELY SISTER? IF I AM THE SUN, AND YOU ARE THE CLOUDS, YOU SHOULD KINDA SORTA BE OVER HERE RIGHT NOW."
I blinked rapidly at the song Nathan had made up and was obviously keen on everyone hearing, with Emma trying to get him to quiet down a bit, but failing, and laughing in between her shushing him. He caught sight of me after belting out the song again, and instantly ran towards me.
Bloody hell, was all I thought before I threw myself out of the way, resulting in him rolling down the slight hill and calling out a mumbled "fuck". Emma just looked at us and laughed, while hurrying down the hill to get to Nate. Harry looked amused, and just helped me up again.
"Time to go to Honeydukes?" He asked me, making the pose men did before escorting their date to the ball. I looked over at Nate and quickly assessed he wasn't bleeding or really injured, before grinning.
"Very much so," I said, before walking off and grinning, my arm linked through his. Emma and Nate joined us soon after, Nate limping a bit. He scowled at me, and I just pouted at him before he rolled his eyes and pushed into me. It was my turn to roll my eyes at him, before he formally introduced me to Emma. I swatted my hand at his arm, and he gasped.
"Why are you physically attacking me? Abuse!" He cried out, and I just flicked his chin.
"You should have introduced us properly earlier," I said, before turning to Emma.
"Nice to meet you," I said, and she just smiled.
"I've heard a lot about you," The black haired girl said, and I just grinned.
"All good right? Cause if not..." I joked, and Nate just let out a groan.
"Bells, what else? I mean, yeah sure you physically abuse me at every oppurtunity..." He whined, and I just sighed.
"Oh, Nathaniel, your accusations wound me," I said aridly, and Emma just laughed at the two of us before striking up a conversation about professional Quidditch. Emma and Nate debated between the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemere United, while Harry was defending the Tutshill Tornadoes after the both of them basically took a shit all over them. I just ignored them, having not watched professional Quidditch in over a year. Thankfully, it was a ten minute walk back to Honeydukes, and soon enough, all talk of Quidditch disappeared when we all were inside the candy shop. Instantly, Nate said he was going to buy some Chocolate Frogs, and dragged Emma with him. Rolling my eyes, I looked around.
"I think I'm going to buy a bit of everything," I mused, and Harry just smirked.
"You're going to drive Hermione up the wall if you do," He said, his green eyes staring at a barrel filled with Ice Mice, which I instantly got a bag for and dumped some in. I winked at him.
"Oh, I know."
We got back from Hogsmeade just when the curfew was about to be set for students, and I nearly smacked Nate upside the head. It was his fault, seeing how he wanted to play a game of hide and go seek in the Shrieking Shack, and we ended up losing him for a good two hours while he sat in the corner with Harry's invisibility cloak. It wasn't until I heard him laugh and smack the 'wall' that we found him. We all had an hour of down time until dinner, so everyone was entertaining themselves with a game or reading a book (in Ginny's case). I heard Nate swear as he, Dean, Ron, and Hermione played their fifth round of Exploding Snaps, but I had no time to look back and laugh. I looked down at the board game in front of me, and found exactly what I was looking for.
"Knight to A-7," I said, a triumphant smile on my face as Harry swore. It had come down to who was the best at unpredictable tactics for this game, seeing how after all these years of playing against each other, we knew each others thinking process far too well. I tapped my wand on the board, and the pieces all patched right up, and packed themselves back into the box, along with the chess board.
"Best two out of three when we come back from dinner?" Harry asked, and I smirked.
"Sure, if it gives me another reason to beat you," I teased, and Harry shook his head.
"I will be triumphant in this battle, Swan," He warned, and I sighed.
"Potter, you're mistaken, for I will be victorious. Anyways, I'm starving, and I'm sure everyone else is too, so pick your pride up off the ground and come on," I shot back, and he just laughed before standing up. I followed suit, and he just shook his head.
"Oh, Bella, so cocky. Can't wait to demolish you when we get back," Harry retaliated with, and I just shrug and started walking out with everyone else. Suddenly, I could feel extra weight practically jump on top of me.
"For fucks sake," I muttered as Nate latched on to my neck and tried to stay on my back without his feet touching the ground. I tried to shake him off, but it just resulted in his sneakers pressing even harder into my side. With a groan, I hobbled the whole way to the Great Hall, everyone around us laughing at what they knew was Nate's usual humor, or what I call it, idiocy. I manage to finally shake him off when I sat down for dinner (although I could tell he had debated still latching on then), and he just put his legs in my lap when he sat down next to me.
"Bellie, lighten up," Nate said, and I nearly punched him in face. He just grinned before kissing my cheek and hugging me.
"Awwhhh, Bellie Wellie, come on, smile," He cooed, and I just sat there, trying to eat and drink my dinner in peace. He pouted when he realized I was ignoring him, and shrugged before licking my cheek. I shrieked, and he clapped.
"Yes, I got something other than a scowl out of her," He said, putting his hands up in victory. I poked him in the spot on his side that I knew was ticklish, and he instantly doubled over slightly and groaned.
"Bells, that's not fair," He moaned, and I just took a sip of my pumpkin juice.
"It's what you get for you foo-" I started to say when the doors of the Great Hall opened up with a low screech. I looked back, and instantly wished I hadn't. The familiar sheet white skin, golden topaz eyes, and picture perfect looks hit me like ice water. No, it couldn't be, I tried to reason with myself, but I realized it was, when everyone else became quiet and stared at the new comers, the strangers.
There they were, in all their glory. The Cullens.
Hey guys. Sorry for the delay, I know I promised by yesterday night, but I wrote like two more pages than normal on Word, so I was hoping you guys would excuse my tardy with that said. Anyways. The Cullens are now back in the story. Now, I know you guys might have questions about the timelines and past events, so just shoot me a PM and I'll try my best to answer your questions. Anyways, good luck with school tomorrow, and I'm already starting on the next chapter since I'm really into it now that the drama is starting, so look out for a chapter four soon!
xoxo
Lorri