Disclaimer: Not mine, anything else you recognise probably isn't mine either but I never know for sure since I've read so many stories that I can't tell anymore whether or not it was my idea in the first place.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait but I just couldn't find the right words for these chapters. My Version of Book 5 is coming along slowly but surely and while I'm not happy with the way the story developed a life of it's own, I don't think it came out too bad. Until next time! ^_^
-~/\~-
~...~ = Parseltongue
/.../ = Telepathy between Harry & Carya (in italics)
' ... ' = thoughts
~*~*~ ... ~*~*~ = Flashback or changing POV
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Chapter 22 - Priori Incantatem and Escape or Realisations and Surprises
Harry hadn't said a word since he had been tortured with a certain Unforgivable. The Dark Lord misinterpreted Harry's seemingly nervous looking around the graveyard though and decided to taunt the boy a bit more.
"My, my, so that's the so called Gryffindor bravery. There's not much to that now, is it? Are you scared, Potter?" he sneered and Harry's reply was something they wouldn't have expected in a million years. Malfoy could have perhaps but he decided to keep silent.
Harry started chuckling, his eyes never leaving his opponent. The boy's face was contorted in a grimace because of the pain his body was in but the sounds were unmistakable. A few seconds later the Potter boy spoke for the first time since he had been cursed by Voldemort.
"You're either blind, deaf or a fool. Tell me Voldemort, why didn't you want to kill my mother but my father, my sister and me, eh?" Harry asked sounding more confident than he was feeling while smirking and glaring at the man-creature in front of him.
"You're in no position to demand anything, Potter! Answer my question or I'll have to force you! Why are you laughing?" the Dark Lord growled menacingly after being flustered at Harry's question for a brief moment.
"I'd like to see you try. You were unsuccessful before, just like in my first year. Why should I believe you now?" Harry asked persistently and was sure there had been something in the other persons eyes for a mere moment.
But Voldemort had enough and started throwing curses at the insolent boy in front of him. Fortunately for Harry he was too angry to aim properly and the boy was able to dodge most curses by stepping out of harm's way.
Harry thought about the reaction his question had caused, 'He's hiding something. Could it be possible that he really knew about mum?'
Harry knew that he was just running away right now but he wasn't some stupid Gryffindor who didn't know when he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. Voldemort of course didn't see it that way and told him so when Harry once again jumped behind some headstone to avoid a more harmful curse.
"Now, Harry, we are not playing hide-and-seek here. Come out and face this like a man!" the dark wizard taunted but Harry just shook his head in disbelief.
'How thick is he? Surely someone has already told him that I'm a Slytherin? Didn't he notice in first year or did he just forget that little fact?' thought Harry briefly.
The boy threw some of the curses he knew at the other man himself when he had time to aim and was slowly edging closer to the spot where he had dropped the cup. He tried to anger the Dark Lord further by repeating his initial question. Knowing perfectly well that the other could try to kill him any second.
"So, why did you want to spare Lily Potter? You said she didn't need to die. Why did you?" he inquired sounding truly curious.
Voldemort's eyes widened slightly and seemed to dart to his Death Eaters before they narrowed to slits and glared at Harry.
"You'll die now Potter. You can ask your 'mudblood-mother' yourself in a few moments!" he growled and raises his wand.
To Harry time seemed to slow and he didn't realise what happened at first. He then heard someone shouting.
"Watch out, Harry!" the voice cried and sounded oddly like his twin sister.
Harry turned towards Voldemort again and threw the first spell that came to his mind after hearing the beginning of other man's curse.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry.
The two spells hit each other and exploded in a golden light, connecting the two wands through a thin golden thread of light that was steadily growing thicker. Thinner threads separated from the main one and formed some kind of cage around Harry and Voldemort. Both were too stunned to do anything.
They were lifted into the air. The Death Eaters came running to aid their Master but he told them to stay away. Harry was too amazed and frightened by everything that happened to feel the pain in his scar anymore.
The cage seemed to be made of pure light and all sounds from the outside were strangely muffled now. Harry couldn't understand the Death Eaters cries anymore and neither could Voldemort. They both looked at the beam of light connecting their wands. The wands themselves started vibrating.
Suddenly Harry heard a beautiful sound, one that he had heard before. The sounds filled the air and his fears lessened slightly. It was a phoenix song!
It seemed to tell him something though, 'Don't break the connection!'
'I won't,' thought Harry firmly keeping his gaze focused on both, his enemy and the golden thread connecting their wands.
Keeping hold of his wand became more difficult now. Large beads of gold had appeared along the thread and were edging towards him. His wand was shaking so hard now that he had to grip it with both hands to keep it steady.
Harry noticed that Voldemort was concentrating very hard on something. He seemed to have the same problem as Harry and the boy realised that this was now a battle of willpower. He knew he had plenty of that if he only wanted and so he started fighting.
His concentration increased and the beads came to a halt. Slowly, very slowly they changed their direction and were now wandering towards the Dark Lord. Said man was now looking at this phenomenon in shock and seemed almost ... scared.
His wand was starting to shake just as hard as Harry's had done moments ago. As hard as Lord Voldemort tried he couldn't make the beads of light change direction again. Harry's will was stronger and he kept fighting.
One of the large beads was only a couple of inches away from the dark wizards wand now. Harry tried to push to beads even harder with his mind and it connected with the tip of the Dark Lord's wand. Harry didn't know why he did this but it seemed incredibly important.
As soon as the light hit the wand of the Dark Lord terrible screams echoed around the graveyard. Harry suddenly wasn't scared anymore. He felt good actually aside from the pain he was in. His head hardly hurt and his mind felt clear not blank like under the Imperius Curse but clear to think.
Voldemort's eyes widened at hearing those screams. Harry recognised his own voice under the different anguished voices. Seconds later a smoky grey hand flew out of the wand. It vanished soon after though.
'That's the hand he made for Wormtail. The screams must have been the Cruciatus Curse, but what happens here?' Harry thought analysing the situation.
More screams came out of Voldemort's wand before something bigger took the place. It seemed like a large something was trying to escape the wand and the next thing Harry saw was a head, then a body and finally he saw the whole smoky grey figure of a man he'd only seen once in his nightmare's.
The boy instinctively kept hold in his wand but normally he'd have dropped it in shock. The figure walked around them inside the cage, looked curiously at the two figures that were in there with him and spoke to Harry.
"He was a real wizard, then?", he said, his gaze never leaving the Dark Lord whose eyes were opened wide now, "Killed me, that one did ... You fight him, boy! ..."
Many other people which Harry didn't know emerged from the tip of Voldemort's wand. All of them telling him to hold on, to fight and not give up, encouraging him while they whispered things to Voldemort which Harry couldn't hear but he seemed to grow scared with every passing second.
The next person Harry knew from the yearbooks they had searched for clues about their parents heritage. It was Bertha Jorkins the fist ministry witch who had gone missing before the Quidditch World Cup.
She too was encouraging the boy, "Don't let go, now!" she cried, and her voice echoed as though she was far away from him. "Don't let him get you, Harry - don't let go!"
The figures were now pacing inside the cage and circling around the two duelling wizards. Another figure emerged from The Dark Lords wand after a small flash of light came out of it. It was a woman and Harry knew exactly what he'd see.
He didn't know how he knew but he just knew that his mother was the next to come. She smiled at him and hissed something in parsel at the Dark Lord which only he and Harry could understand.
Voldemort seemed truly shocked now and Lily turned towards Harry who was smirking at his enemies facial expression just now.
"Your father is coming, Harry, He wants to see you. Everything will be alright, just hold on, you hear me, my baby boy?" she said softly and Harry just nodded.
As soon as he did the next smoky shadow appeared out of Voldemort's wand. It was James Potter or rather something that looked like an echo of the man he'd once been. James smiled at his son and looked at Lily for a second.
"Harry, once the connection is broken we have only mere moments to stay here. It will give you some time. Run and take the portkey back to Hogwarts, do you understand?" he asked his son.
"Yes, I do. I'll make it back, I promise!" the boy replied firmly and tried to keep a hold on his shaking wand.
Voldemort looked positively livid now. His wand too was shaking just as hard as did Harry's. The boy couldn't hold the connection upright for much longer now. His mother spoke again.
"Harry, when your father tells you to run, break the connection and do just that, do you hear me? Get back to Hogwarts, back to your sister and to Sirius. You'll be safe there. Tell Carya that we love you both and will never stop protecting the two of you!" she whispered to him and Harry's eyes filled with unshed tears.
He nodded towards his mother and expectantly looked at the ghostly form of James Potter. His father looked sad for a moment before smiling at is son affectionately. Harry grabbed to vial of potion that Carya had given him earlier with his left hand while his right held onto the wand.
"Do it now," James whispered, "be ready to run ... do it now! ..."
Harry nodded and pulled as hard as he could. The connection broke, the cage and the phoenix song disappeared but the ghostly figures remained shortly. They were still walking around Voldemort in a tight circle.
Harry used the distraction of the Dark Lord and his minions to swallow the potion. A funny feeling cursed through his body and he was gone. The ghostly figures vanished and Voldemort looked around for Harry. The boy was nowhere to be seen. He was livid now.
"Find the boy! He is only hiding! He must have used some kind of invisibility charm on himself!" Voldemort shouted in fury, "He can't have apparated even if the boy knew how. The wards would prevent that!"
Harry carefully dodged the Death Eaters curses flying around and finally reached the cup. The pain in his body had come back full force when he broke the connection between the wands but the confident and warm feeling his parents had given him had remained.
The boy reached into his pocket and found the antidote to his invisibility potion. He pocketed his wand and his right hand hovered above the handle of the cup when he drank the bluish liquid. He started shouting something at the Dark Lord then.
"I know you're hiding something old man! You wouldn't get angry at my question if you didn't. I know more than you think I do and I will use my knowledge. I'm sorry to leave the party early but I have a Tournament to win!" Harry yelled and shot Voldemort a cheeky smirk before waving his hand.
Harry grabbed the cup and was gone, his leg and arm hurt as did his whole body but he'd be safe pretty soon. Back at the castle Carya was breathing heavily before gasping and she suddenly woke up along with Tom.
"Harry!" she shouted and sat up abruptly. Not caring about her unsteady feet she ran towards the maze and looked for her brother.
Her voice sounded raw from the screaming she had done earlier. Tom was hard on her heels, she was shaking all the time and seemed to have problems walking as well. They passed Fudge who had seen the fake Moody and was still quite flustered about the events of late.
He didn't want to believe it and now was trying to find an excuse for the whole affair. Carya glared at him while passing and Tom did the same. The chubby looking minister cowed away and the kids reached a spot next to the maze's entrance.
They didn't need to go inside though as Harry appeared right there a second later and Carya almost stumbled over him. She collapsed next to the boy and gently shook his right shoulder.
"Harry, please, wake up!" she called desperately.
Dumbledore and the professors as well as Moony and Padfoot were right behind them. Harry woke up shortly after that and he recognised his sisters voice immediately.
"Thanks little sister, for warning me," he croaked out and then he turned to the rest saying, "He's back," before collapsing in his sisters arms.
Harry wasn't unconscious though, just very much exhausted. He held onto his twin with all strength left and didn't let go of her. Carya told him about Moody then.
"Harry, it was Moody, I was right all the time. Do you remember the night when I thought I'd seen Crouch on the Map? It was Crouch's supposedly dead son but he was polyjuicing as Moody. They have the same first name.
That's why we never noticed. As you know, the Map never lies and can't be fooled by spells or potions!" she said tired.
Harry laughed dryly before stating, "Figures, two idiots, one goal!"
Carya smiled at that because she knew that Harry would be perfectly alright after a trip to the hospital wing. His robes were torn and blood was smeared on his leg and arm. His face looked slightly burned as well but nothing too bad.
Tom stood next to them worried and very quiet. He too had seen everything that Carya and Harry had experienced. Tom felt disgusted at Voldemort's behaviour but surprisingly this time he didn't feel guilty for the other's actions.
He had realised that he truly wasn't the monster that was calling himself Voldemort and that he would never willingly become anything like him.
'I'm just Tom. Like Carya always says. I swear, Voldemort will pay for hurting my love and Harry. He'll pay for that!' the Riddle boy thought angrily.
A second later Sirius scooped Harry up into his arms to carry him back to the castle. Unsurprisingly Carya asked Tom for help which he gladly gave her. Remus was only smiling at them. Tom though seemed reassured of his earlier musings.
The children were brought to the infirmary where both Carya and Harry were placed in a bed each. The professors then asked the children to tell them everything that had transpired over the last hours from their point of view.
Carya was looking at them oddly and cast unsure glances towards Dumbledore. She was hesitant to tell anything since she still didn't trust the headmaster. The girl looked at her brother and Sirius knew what they were doing.
/Harry, should we really tell them? With Dumbledore here? I know the world's in danger but still ...,/ she said.
/I know what you mean but we don't really have a choice. We just don't tell them everything. Only that what is necessary to understand the situation as what it is,/ Harry replied.
/Okay, you'll start, won't you? But don't tell about our visions, about the connection or our telepathy either, okay? Keep quiet about our heritage and about Mum speaking parsel, Harry!
And don't tell about the founder's chambers, my new potion or my empathic powers. I'll cross that bridge myself shouldn't we convince them with the rest,/ she added to her request.
Harry nodded slightly and the teachers wondered what that was about but Harry soon started to tell their tale. When he came to the point where they suspected something odd about Moody the professors looked truly curious. Now it was Carya's turn to continue.
The girl hadn't stopped casting glances at Dumbledore though. She seemed almost wary of him. That disturbed not only Snape and McGonagall but also the other people present. She then told about her suspicions about Moody when Snape asked about that.
"I had a weird feeling when he was introduced at the start of the year. At first I didn't know what it was but a few days later I knew that I had that feeling before. In first year with Quirrell. Something was definitely not right. So I decided to be careful around that man.
I did tell the others and they agreed after some time. Especially after our 'special' lessons with him. We were placed under Imperius in order to learn how to fight it. Harry and I succeeded and a few others showed some resistance too.
I daresay that a professor should've been proud of us then but he wasn't, he seemed truly angry about that instead. That became even more evident when Tom and I had that fight in November. He was teaching us shield charms and mine was pretty good.
I blocked everything he threw at me and if you ask the others they'll confirm that he certainly tried his best to get a curse past it. I was pissed off and extremely angry that day so I didn't notice much. I did when he tested our shields again in February though.
He was furious that my shield was even stronger then. And it angered him that the others were fairly good too. That was just wrong. I'm sure you see that the same way as I do," she told them and the professor's faces wore many different expressions.
Some were confused, others thoughtful and a few looked shocked. Carya didn't go on though. There was nothing more to tell them. They didn't need to know the rest. The most unusual expression could be found on the headmasters face.
He looked quite sheepish and apologetic for not noticing that someone else had taken his friends place in their midst. They had found the real Alastor Moody after they had interrogated Crouch in the dungeons under the influence of Veritaserum.
The real 'Mad-Eye' was currently occupying another bed at the far end of the infirmary. A white screen shielding him from view. The kids had caught a glimpse on him though. He looked far less scary than the Death Eater in disguise had one but that could be because of his state of health.
Harry resumed telling what happened at the Tournament. After he came to the point where he had been kidnapped Carya and Tom every so often confirmed the things he said by adding their view on them.
They wanted to know how Carya and Tom knew those things and she was suddenly very evasive. She told them that it seemed like some sort of vision but she didn't know why that happened. Tom had been pulled into it somehow when he had touched her face.
She had to tell about her being able to feel everything that Harry felt though. Madam Pomfrey had already confirmed that she was suffering the same after-effects of the curses as Harry did.
"I don't know why though. Maybe our scars are responsible for that? I mean it was only one curse that hit us both as babies. Perhaps this works like that too?" she asked sounding unsure.
She knew it had to be similar to that. They had experienced too many identical nightmares and visions for this to be a mere coincident but they didn't need to know that. Harry launched back into his tale. He was desperate to finish for he would love to just fall into a dreamless sleep right now.
He told about the resurrection of the Dark Lord which made the other occupants of the room gasp in shock. He told about Pettigrew and the Death Eaters and about the strange effect he had experienced when duelling the Dark Lord.
He left out Carya's potion and the questions he had asked though. He explained how he managed to get back to the cup and how he was brought back when he grabbed it for the second time that night.
The injury on his arm was explained as a cutting curse thrown by one of the Death Eaters which could be true since Harry didn't really remember which injuries were from the maze and which were not.
For once in his life Fudge couldn't deny the evidence. He had to tell the public or he would have to suffer the consequences. They had a full confession from a supposedly dead man. And on top of that they had found the elder Barty Crouch where his son had said he was.
The other man had been dying though and it had been too late to rescue him. Even the mediwizards at St. Mungos couldn't help him anymore. His last words were that he had to warn Dumbledore and the 'he' was going to come back.
Every single one of the aurors had known who Crouch had meant. All the time Tom was holding his girlfriends hand and didn't want to let go. It was clear to all of them that the boy would hurt everyone who dared to try and hurt Carya even further now.
When Fudge suggested that she and Harry were crazy attention-seeking children when they said that 'You-Know-Who' was back his self-control snapped.
He almost exploded in rage, "How dare you, I saw it too and I would tell the same story like Harry and Carya even under a truth potion. You pathetic fool, why don't you believe that the bastard is back, huh? He is back and he'll be after everyone who's opposing him.
The sooner you accept that the sooner you can warn everyone but you won't do that since you're afraid of losing your position when it comes to war!" Tom growled and several people agreed even if only in their mind.
Fudge only sputtered but was so shocked that he couldn't reply to that insult. Carya thought it was vital for them to know some things in addition. She remembered what the Dark Lord had said to his minions when they had apparated to the graveyard.
"Professors, Voldemort said something important to his Death Eaters when they apparated in. He named the ones present, not that Fudge will believe me anyway but ... their names were Wormtail as in Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Walden Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott.
He said that two - the Lestrange's - who had always been loyal to him, are rotting away in Azkaban, that three are dead in his service and one had already returned tom him. That one was his most faithful the whole time - Bartemius Crouch Junior, I assume by what has happened today.
He said that one's too much a coward to ever return which could be Igor Karkaroff for all we know and ... he also said that ... one's most likely left him forever ...," Carya told and Snape's eyes widened when she cast a calculating look at him that went unnoticed by all but the 'Slytherin Six'.
'They know about my mark! But what else do they know?' were Snape's first thoughts and he fought the urge to run.
Fudge was cowering by now. He was still afraid of the young Potter girl but too proud to admit defeat so she started threatening him in a not so subtle way.
"Minister Fudge," she sneered, "If you do not inform the public then I will do that. Although she wrote nothing but rubbish about Harry and I, should we ever find her, I will convince Skeeter that I tell the truth.
I don't think she's gone, you know? Not that woman, she probably got hexed by someone whom she pissed off one time too many I'd say. She tends to do that quite a lot," the girl said and Fudge went even paler.
He knew Skeeter hated him with a passion since he'd forbidden her to write those 'lies' about him or she'd have to face a trial. Snape was really amused by how a grown wizard and the Minister of Magic at that cowed in front of a fourteen year old.
But he had to admit that Carya Potter could be really scary sometimes. He hadn't forgotten the incident in Knockturn Alley when she was there in disguise with Draco.
He's heard about six children who looked like that from Lucius Malfoy already and assumed the 'Slytherin Six' had something to do with that. What had startled him was that one of those six, a girl, had used a highly frowned upon dark curse on one of the drunks in the alley.
Fudge said something to Dumbledore and they left the infirmary to talk in the headmasters office while Sirius and Remus stayed with the children. As soon as everyone but them and the friends were gone they insisted on being told the whole truth.
They knew the twins far too well for being lied to by them and they had been told about the visions before. Harry told what he knew and Carya as well as Tom added from their memory to fill the gaps. They too told about the potion that they'd given Harry. He had after all been able to escape with the help of it.
"I'm only glad that Voldemort assumed I had used some kind of invisibility charm on myself. Had anyone tried to smell or hear me they would've found out that something was wrong. And another plus was that he was too angry to aim at me properly.
I .. Eh, Carya I think it's time we finally told them about mum, don't you think?" he said.
"You're right Harry but not here. The walls have ears. We'll do that once we're home," she replied and their guardians agreed reluctantly since they couldn't argue with the girls logic, "Moony, Padfoot, when the term is over we'll have to tell you something really important. It brings some light into the whole matter but you cannot tell anyone else ever, do you understand?"
Both adults noticed her seriousness so they nodded. After Siri and Remy left, the children heard the headmaster and Snape return. Dumbledore asked Snape something and got a defeated sounding reply.
"Severus, you know what I am going to ask of you, don't you?" Albus asked.
"Yes headmaster I know what you are asking of me," Snape replied.
"Good, are you ready to do that for me?" Albus wanted to know and Severus answer sounded anything but thrilled.
"As ready as I'll ever be, sir," he said.
"I know it'll be hard to go back and regain 'his' trust but it's vital for us Severus," the old wizard added before leaving again.
The kids knew what Albus meant with regaining 'his trust'. They'd heard from Sirius and Remus about Severus Death Eater trial and how Albus had stood up for the other man.
Not much later Madam Pomfrey came back fussing over them. She tried to get the other four children out of the infirmary but Tom and Hermione refuse to leave. In the end the children were allowed to watch over their friends if they kept really quiet and didn't disturb their friends rest.
She gave Harry and Carya a dreamless sleep potion and something to lessen the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse. The twins fell asleep immediately and were spared the nightmares the had experienced lately.
Morning came and somehow they got away from the overprotective nurse. When they entered the Great Hall everyone fell silent. The six friends settled down at the table and ignored the stares. Fudge and the other judges where present too.
After a couple of minutes Bagman broke the silence, "Well, I think it's time to announce the final results of the Triwizard Tournament. In sixth place with 63 points is Armand Solet from Beauxbatons Academy. He will be awarded fifty galleons.
In fifth place we have Vladimir Kravec from Durmstrang Academy with 69 points. He will be awarded seventy-five galleons. In fourth place we have Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy. She gained ninety-five points and will receive one hundred and twenty-five galleons.
In third place with 113 points stands Viktor Krum from Durmstrang Academy. He will receive two hundred and fifty galleons. And now in second place with 126 points stands Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts School. Cedric will be given five hundred galleons.
In first place and therefore winner of the Triwizard Tournament with a total of 144 points, the youngest Champion out of these six, who wins the prize of one thousand galleons ... Harry Potter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Bagman announced.
And while all students had clapped politely for the foreign champions and were enthusiastic about Cedric they now erupted into cheers. Even those who didn't like Harry that much but right now he was the 'Hogwarts Champion' and not only a Slytherin.
The other champions congratulated Harry on his achievement. But their mood was a bit dampened in the light of events. Cedric was relieved that he hadn't reached the cup first though.
"You know Harry, I'm kind of glad that you were the first at the cup. I surely would have died. I never was one for duelling, you know. You are a very strong wizard Harry even though you are only fourteen. I think that the best has won this tournament," Cedric said and stuck out his hand.
Harry took it and he wished Cedric good luck for his NEWTs starting the next week.
"What are you planning to do after school Cedric?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I'm not really sure. I'll decide after I got my results. But Oliver Wood has already made some contacts for me. You know, with professional teams who are looking for a halfway decent seeker," the Hufflepuff boy answered and Harry nodded in acknowledgement.
The champions returned to their seats and continued with breakfast. Harry knew that at dinner Dumbledore would announce the return of the Dark Lord not worrying if the students were going to believe him.
It was Monday, June 12th and Harry was not really looking forward to class. He might have told everyone that he was alright but he was still tired and his muscles were pretty sore from the curses last night. Carya didn't feel any better though.
The results of the Tournament had been reported to the newspapers the last night too and as a result of that they did appear in the special issue that was brought by the time lunch came around. Harry's face was threatening to turn beet red but he hid it fairly well.
The boy and his friends left the table early to head towards afternoon classes. After Ancient Runes the 'Slytherin Six' disappeared from view. No one was able to find them. Not even Dumbledore who had borrowed the Marauders Map from Remus Lupin until the end of term.
They didn't resurface until dinner and were gone after that too. At dinner though Dumbledore made an announcement.
"Attention please! I'm aware that most of you already heard what has transpired during the third task that was taking place last night. Mister Potter was kidnapped from Hogwarts grounds and had to witness the resurrection of Lord Voldemort who is now back and will surely start gathering his followers around him.
But we need not to fear because as long as we are united we are strong enough to withstand everything he can throw against us. I'm happy to see that some of our students have already followed that path.
They have overcome their differences, stepped over the boundaries created by house rivalries and became friends or even more. I have to say that I'm very proud of these students but you all have the potential for this. Do not see the others as your enemies.
Try to see what they see, try to understand their view on things and perhaps you will even understand yourself a bit better then. I am aware that many of your parents will deny this news but believe me. It is unfortunately the whole naked truth.
I wish our guests a good and safe journey home when they leave us tomorrow and I hope that you were able to make some friends while you were here," Dumbledore said and sat down again.
Many students clapped and soon the whole great Hall minus the children of loyal Death Eaters joined them. Beneath those who clapped hesitantly were the six friends. They might not trust the man but he was right and had a point there. They needed to stick together.
If they already fought each other at school then they would continue fighting once they graduated. After a brief silence the usual chatting started again. Ron and Lavender were once again sitting at the fifth house table together with the couples and the Weasley twins.
Carya was smirking at him and looked at the Weasley's with a strange look in her eyes.
"Hey Ron, you do realise that we will not exclude you from our pranks next year, don't you? I promise though that we won't include anything connected to spiders when you are involved," she said and Ron looked half scared and half surprised.
"We expect you two to open your joke-shop fairly quickly when you finished school! Some things take just too much time to create by ourselves," Draco teased the Weasley twins.
Fred and George gaped at the six friends. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"You six want to play pranks next year? How come that you changed your mind about being pranksters," they asked.
"Two things, Fred. Firstly you are graduating next year or should I say that you'll try to? Well, anyway, where's the fun in pranking if you have no one who can retaliate? Not that you could beat us but still ... It will surely be fun to compete against you.
The second point is that we will need every chance to be happy and laugh in the years coming. If my feelings don't betray me and they hardly ever have, then we are heading into very difficult times.
Voldemort is back - Oh stop cringing already, it's just a name for Slytherin's sake! - and he will cause much trouble," Carya explained before she sighed annoyed.
"Listen, Fred, George, if you cannot say his true name then we could perhaps offer a nickname for our dear Dark Lord?" suggested Harry, "Carya invented it for Hermione, Draco and Ginny to use."
"Go on, I'm curious now. What do you call 'You-Know-Who'?" asked George.
"It's simple my dear brother. Since I can't say his full name yet without cringing like you just did, we call him ... Voldie!" Ginny stated matter of factly and with a dead serious expression on her face.
Ron who had heard all that as well as Fred and George stared at their sister, then at each other and another second later they burst out laughing. Once again everyone's attention was on the table that had been added during the year.
"I can't believe that you have the guts to call him that. That's just ... just ... wait until I tell mum. She'll faint, that's for sure!" gasped Fred.
George and Ron agreed wholeheartedly. They couldn't argue with their brother's logic. Ginny just smirked at them. She had known what sort of effect the name would have on the twins. The others didn't know what had been so funny but the laughter felt good even if they only heard it.
It was a little light on an otherwise dark day. Nothing else happened that night and all students left for bed quickly after dinner, thinking about everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours.
Finished September 30th, 2013