Chapter 5

Bella's POV

"And now it's up to us to defeat Voldemort." Harry said grimly. A bleak silence followed until Emmett spoke up.

"But no pressure."

I chuckled to Emmett. "Right."

But I looked to my friends, who I'd known since I was eleven. "Back to the present. Well…hm…" How should I phrase it…? "Why don't we just get even with each other? I'll put it simply. The Cullens are vampires."

My friends gasped. Except Hermione, who exclaimed, "I knew it! You feed on animals, don't you? I thought I recognized the traits, as well as your odd eye color."

I rolled my eyes fondly. "Why am I not surprised?"

The Cullens were frozen, shocked that I'd told.

Annoyed, I told them, "Please. They won't tell. They—we—aren't stupid."

After everyone returned to normal, I told them about Forks, conveniently skimming over how Edward left me. I told of how Dumbledore had me vow not to use magic until necessary, that he'd sent me to befriend and find the 'vegetarian' vampires, and that he'd forbidden me from using magic. I told of James and the birthday incident, and that they left before I could explain the truth. I told of how I could never be sure if they were the ones Dumbledore meant. Conveniently, I 'forgot' to mention my falling in love with Edward.

When I finished, they all sat in silence, absorbing the new information. At least, until Emmett asked, "So…why do you have to kill Moldywart?"

I bit back a laugh, and explained, "His name is Lord Voldemort, although no one calls him by his chosen name, save Dumbledore, Harry, and I. But, I don't really see why, though."

"That's because," Hermione said, "Dumbledore is the only one You-Know-Who ever feared. And you two are the only ones to have ever survived a direct attack by him. And that the prophecy says that you two are destined to defeat him." She added the last bit doubtfully, and I knew it was because of her qualms about Divination.

I noted to myself that she neglected to say that our destinies were either to defeat Voldemort…or die trying. But the Cullens….my family…didn't need to know that. No, not at all.

So, after that, we went back out, well, after the Cullens told them a bit about vampires in general. Hermione was fascinated. No surprise there.

Later, we were back in the Great Hall. Breakfast hadn't even finished. McGonagall was going from student to student, distributing schedules. When she came to me, she asked, "Swan…Let's see…Same N.E.W.T. classes this year?"

"DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, and Potions. Yes, ma'am." I said. She smiled a bit. "Oh, by the way," I added, "Harry and I were wondering if we could use the Quidditch Pitch for try-outs on Saturday."

She nodded, and moved on to another.

I remember the day in my fifth year when I'd had my career advice appointment with her like it was yesterday…

Flashback:

I was almost late for my appointment with McGonagall because apparently Peeves enjoyed tormenting me specifically.

"So sorry, Professor." I panted as I shut the door. "Peeves decided it was amusing to steal my bag."

"Quite alright, Miss Swan. You are right on time."

Good, I thought, relieved.

As if to spoil my good mood, a sniff interrupted me. I turned to see Umbridge sitting with a clipboard. Great...

I smiled sweetly to her, and she simpered back, venom in her gaze. As I sat down and faced away from the toad, I made a face. McGonagall's smile seemed wider slightly.

She and I shared a dislike of the vile Queen of the Toads.

"This meeting is to discuss any ideas you might have about what you would like to do when you leave Hogwarts, and to help you decide upon classes for your next years. Do you have an idea of what it is you'd like to do?" she asked.

I ignored the scratch of Umbridge's quill behind me.

I smiled to McGonagall. Barty Crouch Jr.'s impersonation of Mad-Eye Moody was the perfect inspiration. "An Auror."

Another rare smile graced my mentor's face, before Umbridge laughed a false, high-pitched snicker.

McGonagall ignored her. "For that," she told me, pulling out a small, dark leaflet from the stack, "you'll need top grades. A minimum of five N.E.W.T.s are required—nothing below 'Exceeds Expectations,' in fact.

"As for the subjects, you'll need Transfiguration. I'm very pleased with your Transfiguration grade right now…an 'Outstanding'. Very good. Then Charms…an 'Exceeds Expectations'…very nice. Potions…an 'Exceeds Expectations' I see…"

"Best I can hope for with him," I muttered. She heard and allowed a small smile.

"Herbology…another 'Outstanding'. And, naturally, Defense Against the Dark Arts. I see you and Mister Potter have the highest Defense Against the Dark Arts grades in your year…appropriate for two Aurors in training."

So that's what Harry wanted to do...

Umbridge coughed falsely. "Minerva, did you not see the note?" she questioned in her sickly sweet voice. I held back the gag reflex.

"Again? This?" McGonagall said, nauseated, while holding up a neon pink note from my folder. I rolled my eyes. It wasn't that surprising, really.

"Yes. I believe those two do not have the temperament nor the skill to be Aurors."

My anger spiked.

I looked back at the Queen of the Toads and said, "Just because you don't like me, Professor, you shouldn't go out of your way to insult me…or lie. Remember, no one likes a hypocrite," I said, holding up my hand so she could see the scars she'd caused. 'I must not lie,' they spelled.

Her nostrils flared. I only imitated her simpering smile back at her.

She marched out of the office, the door slamming behind her.

"Good riddance." I muttered.

McGonagall only sighed. "You should not have done that, Bella."

I shrugged. "She'll probably be in Azkaban by the end of the war anyways, so she can't do that much damage. And it's true anyways. She is a hypocrite."

"She is…" she hesitated, then grabbed my hand and flipped it over, revealing the scars. She stared at me, horrified. "When did this happen?" she gasped.

"Um…the beginning of the year." I squeaked.

"And why did you not report it to Dumbledore?" she questioned.

"I-I thought he had enough to deal with."

She sighed, muttering to herself. I only caught a few words: "Bloody woman…" and "…damned Blood-Quill…"

"Who else has been forced to use it?"

"Um…I know Harry did. Um…mostly Gryffindors. No Slytherins. The Queen of the Toads is biased. Who knew?"

She stared at me for a minute then said, "Queen of the Toads?"

I blushed a bit, embarrassed. "Yeah. It's my nickname for her."

She chuckled. "I'll have to remember that one. Everyone will get a kick out of that."

" 'Everyone'?" I questioned.

"The staff." She replied. "In case you haven't noticed, none of the staff care much for her either."

I laughed, but was then struck with an inspiration. "Professor, if you don't mind, I need a favor."

"Yes?"

"I need you to promise I won't get in trouble for what I'm about to do."

"Which is?"

"Well…" I hesitated, then explained, "Let's just say, I need to order a paintball gun. And find Peeves. And get him into her office. Then recruit the Weasley twins…Um, you won't tell, will you?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan. I temporarily went deaf for a moment." She said. "Now, I believe you will have no problem reaching the Auror department, and our time is up."

At that, I left, planning.

~End Flashback~

Ah…good times. Unbeknownst to everyone but Peeves and the Weasley twins, I was the mastermind behind most of Umbridge's torture. That was fun to plan. I had loads of fun that year…and plenty of revenge.

About Quidditch, McGonagall had made Harry and me co-Quidditch Captains.

We'd discussed it on the trains. I had told him I'd ask McGonagall.

I called Harry. He turned and I told him, "She said yes."

He grinned. Between classes and stress and Voldemort, Quidditch was our chance to relieve stress. He was probably my best guy friend. We had no romantic feelings—we were like siblings. And, because we were in the same boat, we knew what it was like for the other. We knew things about Voldemort the other didn't. Because we both had a connection to Voldemort, we knew what it was like. We helped each other out.

For instance, I, along with Hermione, helped him with his Potions grade. He, in turn, helped me elude Malfoy.

Malfoy, by the way, was my mortal enemy...and my cousin. Ick. If you think he hates Harry, you are mistaken. I actually have imagined strangling him to calm myself down. That was fun.

As if on cue, Malfoy came up behind me.

"So you're trying to put together a team? Good luck. You'll need it." He sneered.

"Once again, at least I didn't buy my way on the team." I replied calmly.

"You better watch your mouth, filthy--" He cut himself off, but the words he meant to say hung in the air: blood traitor.

I laughed. "Right. Meanwhile, why don't you make like a ferret and bounce?" I asked loudly. Everyone nearby—including passing by Slytherins—laughed.

His face got red, but he left.

To my left my friends were smiling happily. They hated him almost as much as I did. Almost. To my right, the Cullens were laughing. Up at the Head Table, where the teachers were, Carlisle and Esme were barely hiding their grins. I'd told the Cullens about Draco Malfoy: the foul, loathsome, evil, little bouncing ferret a while ago.

"So," Ron asked, "What were you saying before Ferret-Boy interrupted?"

"Quidditch try outs. Saturday." Harry told him. Ron and Ginny nodded, grinning.