Guys, I would just like to let you know that the last chapter, the very end to this story, will be chapter 61. That's only two chapters away. Just a heads-up.
Valkyrie turned as someone came into the room quietly. She turned and saw Harry, standing in the doorway.
"Harry" she said slowly, "come in." He nodded and closed the door behind him. He didn't look good. Didn't look like he'd slept at all the night before.
"Are you ok?" She asked. The words sounded stupid the moment they came out of her mouth. Of course he wasn't ok, his last family member was dead. Voldemort was still out there, on the loose. Even she didn't feel ok, and she had practically nothing to do with it.
"They're getting rid of Umbridge." He muttered. She nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
"Hagrid's coming back."
"That I didn't know, but I guess that's good, right?"
"Yeah. We've not got very long left though, have we?"
"I guess not."
"It's just 2 weeks. Just 2 weeks till the end of school."
"Listen Harry, where will you be staying?"
"Now that Sirius…" There was a moment of pain on his face before it went away "well, I'll be staying with the Dursley's – my aunt and uncle."
"And you don't like them?"
"No. They're the worst kind of people. I hate them." Valkyrie was reminded of her own family. She'd hated Beryl and Fergus, hated Carol and Crystal more. Now Carol was gone, and Crystal was alone.
"Harry, you, you should always love your family. Even if you feel like you hate them. Even if they're the worst people in the world, you should still love them. Just a little bit at least. You don't even have to tell anyone you do, but you should."
"You don't know them."
"If they're anything like my aunt and uncle, I know exactly what you mean."
"I bet your aunt and uncle never locked you in a cupboard."
"They locked you in a cupboard?"
"The cupboard under the stairs. It was my bedroom for eleven years."
"Not now?"
"Not since they learned I could do magic."
"Ah, they're afraid you'll turn them into a toad."
"Actually they're more afraid that I'll make them look bad in public."
"Ok, so they're not great relatives. But, just try, just a teenie tiny bit." Harry looked at her. "Please?" He turned his head away.
"I'll try." He muttered. Valkyrie sighed slightly before turning and scribbling down her address – or, Gordon's address – on a piece of paper.
"Listen, you ever get in trouble, go to this address and ask for Stephanie. I'll do what I can to help you. Oh, but if you meet my mum, please don't tell her you're a wizard, she'll think you're nuts." She handed him the piece of paper, and he looked at it.
"Your mum doesn't know about wizards?" He asked.
"Actually, she doesn't know about anything." Valkyrie said sadly "She thinks I'm at a boarding school finishing my last year of education before Uni. She doesn't know about magic, the Sanctuary, Hogwarts. She doesn't even know my taken name. To her, I'm just Stephanie." There was a moment of silence "Anyway, if you can't find the address, try to talk to Seamus, he might know where I am. Do you know where Seamus lives?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Right." There was another pause "Well I've been rude, I didn't even ask you why you were here. Harry, why are you here?"
"Just, well, we were wondering if you and Skulduggery were coming back next year." The third and longest pause took place.
"No." Valkyrie said eventually. "We're not. After this year, it'll be like we were never here. Your combat lessons are being taken off the curriculum. Unfortunately, that means no more sorcery training either."
"Mmm. I don't think I would have been a good sorcerer anyway."
"Honestly, I think you would have had a shot. But, you're a wizard. It'd be better to keep it that way."
"I guess so. So, are you getting the train back?"
"Yeah."
"And then it'll be goodbye."
"Until you need us again, yeah. Yeah it will."
"How can you be so sure we'll need you again?" Harry asked, and Valkyrie looked him straight in the eye.
"I don't, but I'd rather hope this wasn't just a one year friendship. Wouldn't you?" Harry nodded, and Valkyrie looked away.
"And if you see Fred and George tell them they better visit me in Ireland. I'll never forgive them if they don't."
"I think they're setting up a shop in Diagon Alley."
"Where?"
"Diagon Alley. It's where you go to get all your wizard supplies. It's in London."
"Let me guess what they're selling." Valkyrie said, rolling her eyes. Harry cracked a small smile.
"Yeah, it's going to be crazy."
"When isn't it?" Valkyrie leant on the table. "So, is it lunch time yet, or not?"
The last few days were sad. There was a morose feeling in the air, a kind of dark tension. The train would be coming tomorrow. It was both too soon and too far away. In one way, she wanted to get back home as soon as possible – well, she'd be living on Gordon's extravagant estate now the house was gone – to see her parents. Her dad would surely be out of the hospital by now. Alice would be nearly a year older. So would she. And her mum, her poor mum, who'd had to deal with it all herself, without her dad or her being there. And what then? Would her mum still be suspicious of her? She would be even more opposed to Valkyrie taking the 'job offer' now, needing her home. Valkyrie couldn't just simply slip away any more. The reflection was gone. It was a dilemma she planned to solve. And she didn't like her plan one bit.
On the other hand she liked Hogwarts. It had a strange, cosy atmosphere. She knew she didn't belong there, she belonged on the streets, fighting bad guys and solving crimes with Skulduggery, but still, it was nice to have friends her own age, it was nice to be able to put her feet up every once in a while. It was nice while it lasted. Of course, the reflection, Umbridge, Voldemort and Darquesse hadn't helped, but besides that… and Tanith was back now too. That would be another good thing about Hogwarts – it was the place where Tanith Low had returned (even if the way she returned hadn't been so great). She knew she would miss it, the tapestried walls, the warm classroom, the company, the extra soft bed… she found herself drifting off to sleep, and for once, she slept soundly, or as soundly as she could get.
The room was an exact replica of Gordon's office, except there was no echo-Gordon there. Just Valkyrie, and a mirror image, perfectly matching her in every physical way, and yet somehow looking so much more evil. Darquesse sat down on the chair and sighed.
"Well, we're going." She said, brushing her hands through her hair. Valkyrie nodded stiffly. Conversations with Darquesse were never usually good.
"We are."
"You know, I really hate this plan of yours."
"It's the only way to keep you contained."
"Come on, Valkyrie. I wouldn't hurt mum and dad."
"You set the house on fire."
"Yeees, but only to break your mind and spirit."
"Oh, just that? That's comforting."
"If you had let me out willingly in the first place like I keep telling you to, then, it wouldn't have happened." Darquesse stared out of the window from where she was sat, and then propped up her legs on Gordon's desk. Valkyrie scoffed.
"Really? You're accepting no responsibility for this." Darquesse tilted her head for a moment in thought.
"Nope, none at all."
"You're impossible."
"Don't you mean we're impossible?"
"No, I mean you."
"Hey, be nice." Darquesse said, facing her "Remember, you owe me."
"I don't owe you anything."
"I think you do. Remember? I helped Harry. I didn't have to do that. I could have said no. I could have just done nothing. I could even have broken down the barrier between our minds and been free."
"Then why didn't you." Darquesse thought again.
"I'm not sure, he's… interesting. I'd like to see how this was of his is going to turn out."
"There won't be a war." Darquesse laughed.
"Oh, Valkyrie you make me laugh. You're funny, you know that? Of course there'll be a war. This whole thing is too big for there not to be a war. Think about it, Voldemort is like the me of the wizarding world, except far more ugly and far less powerful. He also smells bad. If I broke out and couldn't be put back in you, there'd be a war to try and stop me. The Sanctuaries would probably declare war too, like the idiots they are. No, there's no escaping it. I'll want to see the outcome though, even if this plan of yours does go ahead – and let me assure you, if it does I'm going to be in your head for the rest of your life hating you."
"You know, I think I can live with that."
"We'll see." Darquesse smiled cruelly. "We'll see."
