Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by the brilliant mind that is J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers

Chapter 63

Harry's POV

"What's a synonym for revert?" The words whistled out of the corner of my mouth as I chewed my quill, glancing from Ron's large handwriting to my own. I was currently lying on the floor in front of my bed, mirroring Dean who was squinting down at Parvarti's essay opposite me.

"Recrudesce." Seamus muttered, inspecting his profile in his floor length mirror, "Does this haircut make my neck look fat?"

Dean shook his head at his parchment, not responding to his best friend as he scribbled down a sentence. I flicked my wand and summoned an inkwell, thinking for the tenth time this morning that we needed a desk in here, and why in the past six years has that thought never crossed my mind before.

Ron stuck his head out of the bathroom, the Chudley Canon bath towel Ky got him last Christmas sitting around his waist and his face half covered in shaving cream, "Don't use recrudesce mate, that's what Mione' originally used so I used revert. Flitwick will definitely know you copied her if you use poncy terms like that. By the way, how the fuck do you know words like recrudesce. I had to look it up in a bleeding dictionary when I found it in Mione's essay."

Seamus rolled his eyes, "I happen to be a very sophisticated, debonair individual…who happens to be shagging a logophile from Ravenclaw. Oh a logophile is someone who loves words my ginger friend… and when I say Elise loves words… I mean she LOVES words!"

He chuckled smugly, turning to observe his profile from the left as we all stared at him in varying degrees of disbelief.

"Return." Dean nodded at me and I quickly scribbled the synonym down whilst shaking my head at Seamus. Really… I stopped as a thought crossed my mind that brought a smirk to my face…

I wonder whether Ky would get turned on if I recited Potion instructions to her… not that we needed it though… Godric… if I had a timeturner I would get stuck in an infinite loop that ranged from eleven last night till two this morning…

What am I saying! I don't need a timeturner! Now that Ky and I are back together I plan on making up for every lost minute… again and again and again…

"Harry?"

"Huh!" I snapped up, licking my lips trying to cool my face which was quick transforming into a furnace.

Dean laughed at me, "I asked why you weren't copying off Ky's essay?"

I pushed in the full stop and scrolled up the sheet, jumping to my feet and smoothing out my shirt which now had an array of wrinkles down the front. I probably should have copied Dean and waited to finish our work before I got dressed. "She hasn't even started it, I plan on lending her mine-"

"It's due in thirty minutes." Dean stood and stretched, his lips lifting in an amused smile whilst slipping into his shirt, "Mate, I think you're becoming a bad influence on our Ky."

"Seems he was influencing her badly all last night too." Seamus waggled his eyebrows suggestively as Dean wolf whistled.

"Hey! Hey! Come now." Ron exited the bathroom, clean shaven and dressed for the day, "I'm all up for interrogating Harry on just what he got up to last night, but this is Ky we're talking about."

"Ron is right!" Dean smirked as he pointed his wand at his shoes and his laces tied themselves, "We respect Ky too much to inquire about what happens in the sanctity of your own bedroom."

"Or an empty classroom." Seamus straightened his tie smugly.

"Or broom cupboard." Dean added with a wicked smile.

"Or tower." Ron pulled on his cloak, laughing as he knew he was right.

"One time?"

"Two times?"

"Three? Three times!" Seamus' blue eyes grew wide and I busied myself with the fastener on my robe, knowing that my grin was much too visible and impossible to compress at the moment. "OH HARRY!" Seamus screamed and Dean's jaw dropped, "HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!"

"Shut up!" I snapped, tossing the bottle of hair wax at Dean who appeared to be re-enacting what I think he thought was an orgasm but what looked more like somebody getting struck by lightning. Twats.

"This is why he is the Chosen One!" Dean dodged the bottle with ease, "I think I can barely count my first time as one time. Actually… I'm pretty sure it was like… half a time."

"No wonder Marietta's so moody! Damn girl was never sexually satisfied."

"Hey! Hey! You're well aware that Mari and I dated two years ago and I am not taking the blame for her becoming a complete bitch Seamus." Dean raised his hands up in defence and I walked to the door, eager to leave this conversation behind.

"Wow! Potter! Bit early for number four, no?" I turned, showing Seamus the finger and backing out amidst the laughter.

"Harry! I've been looking everywhere for you!" I snapped around and side stepped, just about to collide with Neville who seemed to have run up all seven flights to get here as he hunched over, trying to catch his breath.

Dean sauntered out the door, clapping Neville on the back, "I wouldn't bend like that Nev. The Chosen One is looking for number four…"

I glared at the dark boy's sing song voice as his sandy haired friend giggled and followed him on his way out.

Ron gave Nev a glass of water as he pushed my bag into my stomach, shouldering his own and stepping out the door, closing it behind him.

We waited patiently as Neville downed the water, "You think we have time for breakfast?" Ron mused as I stuffed my essay into the bag.

"Ky… hospital wing… fainted…"

"What?" Ron gasped as Neville straightened to his full height.

"I went to fetch my Asthma Relief tonic and I saw her… they wouldn't say… Harry!"

I was already halfway down the stairs by the time Neville finished his sentence and I could hear Ron's footsteps as well as his unspoken thoughts mirrored my own and echoed down the steps…

What happened now?

"For the last time, I feel fine!" I let the door swing close behind me as I crossed the Wing, my muscles finally relaxing as I heard the familiar voice. I pushed past a leather clad jacket and hurtled towards the familiar body.

I pulled her into my arms, ignoring the presence of the many eyes on us and nuzzled my face in her hair for a moment or two. I felt her hands sneak around my waist just as I pulled back, gripping her face in the palm of my hands and observing her. She looked fine, exhausted but that was expected, we barely had any sleep. "What happened? Are you alright? What's going on? Are you OK?"

I stepped back, perusing her body intensely, my eyes searching for blood, blemishes or bruises and finding none.

"Yes!" She snapped but the venom wasn't directed at me.

I glanced to my left, Snape's jaw was so clenched he looked as if his mouth was welded shut, his lips were turning white and the veins in his neck popped up as his black eyes glared down at us.

I straightened my back, pulling Ky into my side and letting my hands settle on her waist, recalling the underhanded way he stripped me of my quidditch duties. It was as if Malfoy hadn't thrown an unforgivable at me? Not that I was proud of my actions… I had made a mistake and I had no qualms for taking responsibility for that mistake by getting points docked and serving as much detention as possible. But banning me from quidditch was so obviously for the benefit of his House, so subjective... so personal.

His nostrils flared and I wondered just how many points he was going to dock off us for this slightly disrespectful public display but instead his eyes focused solely on the dark haired beauty at my side.

"You were writhing on the floor in pain until Pomfrey managed to push a sleeping draught down your throat. So do not test my patience. You are not to leave this ward until a healer-"

"I don't need a healer!" Ky scoffed, folding her arms about her impatiently, "I told you, I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey, tell him I'm fine!"

The matron's usually emotive face paled as Snape turned his glare on her, "Well… she really does appear to be fine… there's no traces of any sort of unnatural elements in her blood stream and physiologically her parameters are all well within the normal range but I do agree with Professor Snape-"

"Madam Pomfrey!" Ky squealed as I observed her again. Currently she was nipping at her bottom lip and I frowned, she did that when she was nervous, not when she was putting up a fight. Her nostrils were not even flared… What happened? She looked fine but Snape said that she had been in pain…

"We have to go." I glanced at the source of the voice that also happened to be the source of the leather jacket from earlier. Roger Davies. The redhead at his side was a familiar face but I could never remember her name. "I promised Lenzo I would let him know if anything-"

"NO!" Ky snapped, turning her stormy orbs on the brunette boy, "Don't… worry him for no reason!" She ran a hand through her hair as her face reddened, "I am fine. There's nothing to tell…"

"Your brothers worry about you." The redhead's voice was soft yet held a great level of reason, she glanced up at Roger and stepped forward, "Plus. Roger and I promised… Selina and Silvain that we would always look out for you when they were… away."

Davies' blue eyes found the tiles but the redhead held Ky's gaze determinedly. Memories of last night, at how Ky freaked out when she saw… whatever she saw about Selina and Silvain… I pulled her to me and I looked down in shock at the trembling that tickled the side of my arm.

Ky was shivering, her hands folded like a straightjacket around her midriff but what scared me the most was the flow of blood that dribbled out at the puncture wound at her bottom lip.

"Ky-"

"Bane-"

She sucked in her lips and shook her head, "I…I'm fine." Her eyes were frighteningly wide, threatening to pop out by the power of its trembling and I rubbed her right arm as dread seeped through me.

"Of course you are." Snape's voice was shocking in its softness as he lowered onto the bed in front of her, just below her eye level as he tenderly picked up her hands and held them in his palm.

He glanced up at Ky, all traces of fury gone and I was petrified to her side in shock at the tender expression on his face. "You're fine. You're okay."

I felt the bristles of her hair as she nodded in agreement and her trembling slowed down, I glanced at Davies but he seemed just as confused by the interaction. I watched as her hands now lay peacefully in Snape's larger one's as the Potion Master stared at her in concern.

Snape seemed to come to the realisation that fighting her on this matter would garner no results... plus... something about her seemed so fragile. I realised that I had been supporting most of her weight for most of the conversation and I worried that she was feeling weak and I glanced at the bed. Should she get some more rest? What happened?

"What… what happened Bane? Will you tell us now?"

I looked down at her but all I could see was thick eyelashes as her eyes were transfixed on her shoes, the strands of her hair fell across her face but she ignored them and I held her tighter as the trembling finally stopped altogether.

"She got into my head." I had to strain my ears to hear her even though she was right at my side, "She showed me what happened… what they did to Silvain… and Selina… that night…"

I watched as Snape's hands enclosed hers and his nostrils flared as I wondered who she was?

"You saw?" His deep voice was but a whisper as he stared at a spot past her shoulder as he voiced the question.

She nodded and I patted her head, feeling utterly useless knowing that she must have witnessed such terrors… after the photograph that was sent to her from Bellamy… they were tortured… and she saw that… how?

"I thought… I thought people can't do that. Get into her head." Davies voiced my puzzlement, "I thought legilemency doesn't work… unless Bellamy managed to break through?"

"Bellamy?" I grumbled, "Alya Bellamy?" I glanced around the occupants of the room as if they had gone mad? Alya Bellamy? Evil incarnate? In Hogwarts?

"Yes. She was allowed permission to visit her cousin." Davies nodded his head towards the bed at the other end of the room, the hangings were drawn around it but the shadow of person lying down could be made out through the cotton material.

"But she's-"

"She's not been tried for any of her crimes. She doesn't have the mark. There's no reason she couldn't enter these walls without permission." Snape muttered, answering my question without looking at me. "Did you feel her… break through your-"

"She gave me something." Ky removed her right hand and touched her lips, "She kissed me and then… I'm fine."

Kissed her? What the fuck? I pulled her closer to my side, anger rippling up my back… fucking hell…

"We searched her thoroughly… we didn't find any traces of any dark artefacts on her person."

"Because it was actually on her person." Snape muttered. He's eyes hardened as they fell on Ky but softened quickly, "Whatever it was it worked momentarily, legilemency is not working now. Any noticeable tastes or textures Bane?"

She shook her head in the negative as my brows furrowed, unsure how I could contribute. "I think it might be red… well her lipstick was red and… she could have mixed it in… I don't know."

"We didn't think to check her makeup, but we did do a full body inspection for dark matter and it yielded no results." Davies folded his arms in defence as Snape rose from his seat.

"Probably because the substance has yet to be identified. Go to Lenzo." He raised his hand as Ky began to protest, "Tell him that Bane is okay but tell him what happened. He will take it to Linus and they will know where to go from there. I will write to Dumbledore personally."

"Write to him?" Ky's voice trembled with discomfort as Davies and the redhead nodded and exited the room. "Isn't he here…"

"He just left a few minutes ago. He had a meeting… elsewhere." Snape turned to Ky as Madam Pomfrey bustled to the door as a pair of students walked in. "When did you last take your tonic?"

Ky glanced at me as her dark brows crinkled together with thought, "Eleven last night… maybe later. Why?"

"You will report to my office at eleven tonight. I will write to Silvestre requesting his presence-"

"No." Ky's voice was soft but stern.

"No?" For the first time in minutes Snape had an edge in his tone.

"I don't want him to erase the memory." Ky deadpanned as it dawned on me what Snape suggested. Wait until the tonic leaves her body and get Silvestre, the only person who could get into Ky's mind, to erase the memory Bellamy had planted. Then she can take her normal dose of tonic.

"Bane, this is not some test of strength…nobody should witness what happened…what…"

She reached forward and grabbed at his elbow, "I want to keep it Sev."

"Why?"

"She thinks I'll break. She thinks cause I saw what they did to them I'll break. She thinks she showed me them at their weakest." A shiver went down my spine as Ky's lips stretched into a wide smile, "But I saw her… I saw her eyes… Alya thinks that she's tormenting me but in truth she's given me the greatest gift. A clean conscious. So I want to keep it, I want to remember the look in Selina's eyes as they climbed onto her again and again, the steel in her brown orbs… unbroken. So I'll remember the difference. The difference between a hero's death and a villain's downfall… I'll show her the difference…"

The death threat hung unfinished in the air as I stared down at Ky as her eyes focused on the wall to the left of us. I didn't want her to have such hate in her heart…such venom in her voice… I didn't want her to hold that memory in her mind. I glanced at Snape who seemed just as contemplative as I was as he stared down at Ky.

"I need to get ready for Charms." She glanced at me and I nodded, slipping my hand into her own as we walked towards the exit.

I glanced back, as Snape settled on the bed once more, staring out the window and I wondered what was going through his mind? Whatever he was, manipulative, spiteful, selfish bastard. He did care for her...

I wasn't as startled as I would have been by Ky's reaction. She knew what Alya's intentions were with this memory so it made sense to try and rationalize a way for her mind to take all that negativity and try to drain some positive from it. To try and win when Bellamy was so adamant she loses.

She glanced at the drawn curtains as we exited, to the cot where Malfoy lay but there was not a sympathetic sinew in her eyes… for the first time that morning I wondered just what Ky was doing in the Hospital Wing whilst Bellamy visited Malfoy? Whatever it was though… it surely didn't work out in favour of Malfoy.

"Ky." She glanced up at me just as we stepped out of the Wing and I relaxed slightly as her eyes took on its more natural gleam, I turned to her and her face reddened as my right hand cupped her left cheek, "You don't have to keep it in. You don't have to be brave… not with me."

She touched my hand, holding it against her warmth as the sun tossed her hair into brown rays, "You know she never shed a single tear… not one tiny drop." I stopped my mind from fully comprehending her words, from visualizing the sentence as my nostrils flared as I pulled her closer to me, paranoid by the despicable acts that befell Selina and angry that such creatures existed in this world. "So I have to be brave Harry."

I lowered my lips to her forehead, taking in her words. As much as Snape, as I, wanted to remove this taint from her mind, Ky was right. There was an ugly, unforgiving war that was seeping closer and closer and no matter how tight we barred the doors shut and how many wards we put up… the best defence will always be your natural armour, your toughened skin… iron heart… determined mind…

"Ky!"

I released my lips from her forehead and slowly stepped back as Hermione came hurtling down the corridor, Ron had gone for her ages ago. I was pushed further back as both Parvarti and Lavender bounded forward and I raised my brows to Ron as the girls embraced. I overheard Ky mumble something about fainting and Hermione glance at me, knowing that it was veiled truths due to our audience.

"Never been that excited to see me." Ron added with a glance at Lavender who was hopping around Ky, scrutinizing her for any outward signs of injury.

The blonde narrowed her sharp brown eyes at her boyfriend, "Why don't I knock you unconscious and see what happens?"

I glanced back at Ron in confusion; Lavender was never one to be sharp tongued with her Won Won. "You're more likely to bore me to sleep than knock me unconscious."

"Why you loathsome-" Whatever Ron was, we never found out as at that precise moment he pulled her into a serious liplock, which Lavender retaliated by jumping onto his waist and Ron backed his way up the corridor and towards the nearest broom cupboard.

"We have Charms in five minutes!" Hermione shouted in exasperation as Lavender unglued her face from Ron's and laughed,

"He only needs two!"

"Hey!" I shook my head at the two as Hermione sighed.

"At least those two are back together." Parvarti grinned, "A single Lavender is about as debilitating for the wizarding world than You Know Who is."

"I didn't even know they were broken up." I stepped to the side, letting Ky walk forward as she and Hermione were nose deep in some parchment, on our way up to Charms.

"I wish I had that privilege!" Parvarti gasped as we made our way up to the Third floor.

"What privilege?" Ky laughed as Ron and Lavender joined us, the former tucking his shirt in and the latter straightening her skirt. "Of being my best friend?" The Indian girl rolled her eyes as the blonde grabbed her about the arms.

"No, of experiencing two minute shags." Parvarti laughed as Ron scowled at the girl.

"I'll have you know that the only reason I rushed is because we were running late for Charms!"

"You must be late for Charms often then." Lavender giggled in jest and then gasped as Ron tossed her over his shoulders. "Hey! Put me down!"

"I'll show you late for Charms." He muttered as he made his way pass the Charms classroom. I glanced down at Hermione, expecting her to scold after them for evidently bunking the lesson but I was distracted by the look of contemplation on her face.

"What is it?" I asked, glancing between my girlfriend and my best friend, receiving a piece of parchment in response.

Ky

Nott is in stable condition but he has to undergo extensive therapy to overcome some of the more lasting effects of the many… experiences he had to endure. It is quite astounding that physically he is unscarred but internally is another matter all together. He has yet to gain consciousness but I already foresee problems with certain motor abilities due to traces of the poisons I could identify in his bloodstream.

Unfortunately, do not expect him back this term, to be safe I will keep him with me in one of our safe houses.

Will keep you updated.

Stay safe. Keep out of trouble.

Silvestre

I sighed, handing the note back to Ky and pulling Hermione under my left arm, "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine." She took a deep breath and walked into the classroom and I shook my head, following Ky and Parvarti in.

I'm fine. Two words that I have heard much too often this morning... it seems my lot in life was to be surrounded by brave, stubborn women.

"Oh Shit!" Ky gasped just as Flitwick's head bobbed through the aisles, "Reversion Charm Essay!"

I laughed at the look on Hermione's face as Ky turned to me, the shock of forgetting to do her homework quickly receding to be replaced by a mischievous smile that made the temperature increase by a good few degrees.

"You know... I'm feeling ever so tired. Perhaps a nap in a certain Tower is on the... table?" Her grey eyes flickered suggestively at the nearest table as her brows wagged naughtily.

I smirked, ignoring Hermione's chastising look and grabbed Ky's hand, keeping an eye on Flitwick's bald spot as he explained something to Neville on the other side of the room, his back to us.

We snuck out of the room quicker than I thought, just before I closed the door on the classroom I caught Seamus gesturing his four fingers at us with a big wink whilst Dean was mouthing the number "Four" at us.

I laughed, pulling the door closed just as Ky stuck her head in quickly, holding all five fingers up and mouthing the accompanying number.

I pulled her out whilst she giggled just as I heard the distinct sound of Dean's wolf whistle from within the room.

"Five?" I laughed, "I'm not a machine."

"No you're not." She fiddled with my tie and my heart hammered in my chest at her heated gaze, "You're a wizard, Harry. Show me just what you can do with that wand..."

By Godric. I was in love with this woman.

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Kalina