Whoohoooo! I managed to to get this one done more quickly this time! Yay!
Alright, thanks to everyone who read the previous one despite the gap between updates. Now, this chapter is a bit longer. It has some development on romance. Well, it covers Valentine's day, so... But we also get a glimpse of other stuff, such as another significant vision for Julie. Oh, and Donahue is back to being annoying. Oh, well...
THE UNDEFEATED STREAK
With the passage from January to February, the Defense Club resumed its sessions. Since it was still freezing cold outside, Professor Potter wasn't keen on imposing tests that would take place out there on the grounds. Instead, he had set up a dueling club. It was built with a simple structure with two groups, between which the students came and went. The first group was essentially about training, and every student attending the club started there. Once Professor Potter had granted his approval on the level of said student, he was allowed to fight in the second group, which was a one-on-one competition, where each win meant points scored for the student's House. The duels were decided either by Professor Potter, so he could assess someone's progress, or by direct challenges between students. Despite the constant rivalries between Houses, so far, it had all been in good fun.
As the sessions went on, something became apparent to Kalindra: Kenneth had stepped down, somehow. He was very active in the training group, helping many students with moves and tricky defense spells, and Kalindra couldn't fail to notice that Potter relied on him to be the core of the group. But he hadn't taken part in so many duels. He had sparred with her, up there in the stands, if only to demonstrate her own progress. He had taken part in a duel with Rob, but it had been only for fun, and half-serious. He had dueled with Gillian and Eamon, and with a few others, but it had always been to validate what they had been working on in the training group. The only really serious exchange had been with Thierry, but only because the sight of a Staff wielder going against a Wand-master was impressive in itself, not because they had any axe to grind. When it came to the competition, basically, he answered to no challenge and issued none. And it showed.
Without surprise, in Kenneth's relative absence from the competition, Donahue began to shine. He had started a winning streak in his duels that had granted many points to Slytherin. At first, Kallie was impressed. But, as often when it came to Robert Donahue, it had gotten old. When his domination over the competition became apparent, Donahue began to strut a little more. Kalindra could tell many people were annoyed with that.
There was also something that annoyed Kalindra to no bounds. Even after the stormy aftermath of the Yule Ball, Julie still hadn't broken up with the Slytherin prefect. Kalindra couldn't understand. She had chosen not to meddle in this, mainly because she could tell Julie was touchy about the subject, and she didn't want to endanger their restored friendship. But she could tell something from the way Julie acted: She was going through the motions, by now. She only lacked a little incentive to finally dump Donahue, but she didn't seem to be able to do it. The defence club was the place where the situation was the clearest. Julie was still throwing suspicious looks to Kenneth and Gillian, for some reason, as if she suspected them to be together, despite what Thierry had said.
Kalindra wasn't the only one to see this. And that was also what goaded Donahue into his winning streak in the club. He was trying to capture Julie's attention again. And, for once, he was smart about it and kept Kenneth out of his game. He hadn't challenged the young Wand-master since the session when Kenneth had revealed the Sphere Parry. And it was clear that he didn't intend to. Kenneth was, even when you counted the Wand Gift out, an adversary that he couldn't challenge lightly. The outcome would be uncertain at best, and it would only serve two things: he could lose his streak of wins, and he would get Kenneth's back into Julie's sight.
So Kenneth was playing a low profile and Donahue was grabbing as much of the spotlight he could. The situation had been captivating at first, because to be honest, Donahue had shown some serious skill during his duels, but it was turning into a very long 'reign of the champion'. Everyone was starting to be fed up with it.
The tipping point, for Kalindra, was when she overheard a conversation at the back of the Club hall, between Kenneth and Janet Spencer, the Slytherin sixth year prefect.
"I'm serious, Kenneth," she was saying. "Can't you just step up there and shut his mouth, once and for all?"
"You would ask me that?" replied Kenneth, surprised. "I get this kind of demands from Will and Rob on a daily basis, but I thought his victories pushed Slytherin back up in the House Cup."
"It does," said Janet, sighing. "And Merlin knows we need those points, after the Quidditch game disaster. But, to be honest, Robert is starting to become obnoxious about this. He lives for the victories, and he can't shut up about it. I'd kick his arse myself, if only he wasn't better than me at dueling. We need you to step up."
"I'm sorry," said Kenneth. "But I won't. I'm not in this club to seek glory by defeating students in a duel. Donahue can play his games as much as he wants. I'm not going to enter this."
"But you could defeat him!" said Janet.
"So what?" said Kenneth. "What will it prove? That I can score ten points for Gryffindor? What's the actual point? You're playing Donahue's game by giving value to his streak. I don't care."
"That's very wise, Kenneth," said Janet, "but he doesn't share the feeling…"
"The day I care about Donahue's view of life…" Kenneth let his sentence die out, to show his lack of interest in this.
Kalindra smiled. So that was his answer, then? Well, Kalindra had never been in favor of backing out from a challenge, but she thought that Kenneth's stance was a smart move, for once. But not for the reason her friend had brought up. Sure, nobility of heart and restraint were Lionheart traits, but there was another angle that Kalindra could see.
The more Donahue bragged, the more sympathy he lost. And, the way he went on like this, it was only a matter of time until Julie would finally take the hint and dump his sorry arse.
Eamon Clarke hit the ground with a muffled thud, as the cushioning charms of the stands protected him from serious injury. Still, he got back, rubbing his backside, with a painful wince. And this was yet another victory for Robert Donahue. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes at this. Since the prefect had started to stack up win after win, Harry had felt his patience at the Slytherin teenager's antics wear thinner and thinner. He had no way to stop him, sadly, because Donahue was taking a serious care of sticking by the rules. All of his wins were legal. No low blow, no forbidden spell. He just won on talent. Harry was forced to admit it. But the bragging and the arrogance of Donahue were starting to get to him.
But still, no matter how obnoxious this was, Harry could see a silver lining: Kenneth hadn't reacted yet. He wasn't planning to, actually. And that was good.
Among the students, Kenneth was of particular interest for Harry, no one in the school ignored that. It was general knowledge that Harry and Kenneth were having special sessions together, in order to help Kenneth refine his Wand Gift and to practice advanced stuff that was way beyond the level of Seventh year students. Many people had referred to Kenneth as Harry's apprentice. While nothing so formal existed between them, Harry admitted that it could define his feelings toward Kenneth. So Harry was paying attention both to his progress in magic and his state of mind. And the wisdom he was showing in the Defense Club made Harry feel serene, as far as Kenneth's future went. He wasn't about to become a reckless idiot any time soon. Harry was particularly sensitive to Kenneth's reaction to Donahue's constant challenges. The Slytherin prefect was goading Kenneth, even with unspoken words. And so far, Kenneth had only shrugged it off, instead of rising for the bait. This was the kind of mistake Harry had made in his school years. His reckless behavior had cost him too much. He had lost Sirius, because of it. He had nearly been expelled from Hogwarts because of it. He had been kidnapped because of this. And he hoped to make sure Kenneth didn't succumb to it and pay a steep price. But his talks with the boy and the Code of Clan Lionheart seemed to have made Kenneth immune to petty taunting. And it was a relief.
When Harry had brought it up at their next session, commending him for his composure, Kenneth had only shrugged.
"He's trying to get me up that stand," he had said.
"Yes, he is," had said Harry. "Good of you to see it. Can I ask why? Is it still the bad blood between you, or does he have a new incentive?"
"I think he feels the need to establish he's greater than me," Kenneth had said, thoughtfully. "Because his aura as a leader was previously based on the fact he had bested me in third year. Now that I kicked his… you know… last year, he may feel he has lost some of that aura. He tries to get it back. But I'm not going to be involved in this. He wants to shine? Let him keep me out of it, this time."
"An excellent posture, Kenneth," Harry had approved.
Although there was something he had chosen not to comment, a side that could also explain why Donahue wanted to score so badly and more especially against Kenneth. There had been a few looks Harry had caught during the defense classes and the Club sessions, looks that Julie sent Kenneth. Harry smiled at the thought. He had felt something between those two when they had returned from the Maze of Era. Harry knew the kind of bonds could be created by an adventure like that. And he was aware of the attraction between Kenneth and the French girl. Only it hadn't gone anywhere. Harry had even doubted his guesses, for a while. But, now, he was certain of it. Things were far from being either set or over between these two.
In one of her bouts of romanticism, when the subject had been brought up in their apartment, Ginny told him that it was nearly perfect: the Wand-master and the Princess. That was so obvious… Harry doubted Kenneth or Julie would ever let their lives be dictated by such clichés, but he had to admit the notion sounded better than Julie and Donahue as a couple.
Well, except for the bout of lunacy that had led her to agree to get engaged to him, Ginny had always been a pretty good judge of character.
"That insensitive, idiotic, hare-brained prat!" exploded Ginny, as she stepped inside their apartment.
"Wow!" said Harry, with a twisted grin. "Can I point out I'm relieved that this sentence didn't start by 'you', instead of 'that'? Who are we yelling about?"
"My brother!" Ginny said in an exasperated huff.
"Again, not really helping given the legion of your siblings, love," mused Harry.
"Fred! It's Fred," said Ginny.
"Now, what has he done, this time?" asked Ron, walking in behind her. "Heard you shouting from downstairs, Gin'."
"Sorry about that," said Harry, with a wince.
"Nah," said Ron, with a shrug. "I like to hear my baby sister tear into my older brothers. It makes me feel like I'm the clever one, for a change."
"I swear to Merlin, Ron," said Ginny, "even at the worst of your denial about your love for Hermione, you didn't piss me off half as much as that git does!"
"Ginny!" said Harry, rising his tone to cover her rant. "Get to the point or start making sense!"
Ginny produced a copy of a magazine that she threw on living room small table in a rage.
"Look at what he's doing!" she exclaimed.
Cautiously, Harry picked up the magazine, which turned out not to be Witch Weekly, but a tabloid called "Whistler", which featured high profile wizards and witches, commenting on gossip, rumors, personal news and social events. It was just as trashy as Witch Weekly could get, but at least, it had the honesty of acknowledging it. The editor of the magazine had gone on record to say that people who read Whistler had to make sure to double check any information issued in the paper, for at least three weeks, because it could be subject to changes, corrections, or statements resulting by lawsuits. The Lawyer firm of the magazine was simply the richest in England, simply by working for them. The owner was, a bit like Xenophilius Lovegood, an eccentric, who had loose cash and apparently was in gossip mongering for the fun of it.
The reason for Ginny's wrath was a picture of Fred Weasley, entering a club with Drusilla Hotchkiss, a famous witch that led a life made of parties and not much else, to the point where no one remembered exactly why she was famous in the first place. Harry had been led to meet her a few times when he was in the spotlight himself, during his days as a Seeker for London. She was gorgeous, he had to admit, but she had always left him with the impression of being pretty stupid. The caption on the photograph was pretty clear: "Is the Joker on Drusilla?"
"Tasteful," remarked Ron, sarcastically.
"What the hell is he thinking?!" exploded Ginny. "I mean, I know that Angelina…"
"That's probably exactly that, Ginny," said Harry, trying to pacify her. "He's lashing out, because she dated Keller."
"Oh, for Morgana's sake! They can't go on like this forever," said Ginny. "They'll drive me mad!"
"You mean you're not mad already?" joked Ron. "Sis, you're a Weasley. Hate to break it to you, but…"
"Oh, stop it!" protested Ginny, with a twisted grin. "Don't tell me that these two aren't pissing you off, as well."
"They do, but, I'm certainly not in a position to judge given what I put Hermione through, along the years," said Ron.
"Well, at least you admit it," said Ginny. "Fred won't even say a word about this."
"You want me to talk to him?" asked Harry.
"You?" asked Ron, trying in vain to control his laughter before it was too late.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, mate," grinned Harry. "I'm serious. I could approach him out of concern for his new press woes, and offer my two nuts as a former target of paparazzi, so I could find out what he's really up to?"
"You would do that?" asked Ginny, before to kiss him soundly. "Thanks, love that'd be great."
"So you're here on a mission, then?" asked George, with a mocking grin.
"Basically, yeah," said Harry, hopping on the counter of the shop to sit on the worn out wooden top.
Of course, he had known than trying to be clever about it would have been disastrous, so instead of the false, sneaky approach he had offered Ginny, Harry had walked into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with a strong sense of purpose, and had asked George rather bluntly what his twin was up to. He had then explained that Ginny was getting angry at Fred for his antics, and that he had better have a very good explanation for her, the next time he would see her.
"Why would I need an explanation for anything?" asked Fred, walking out of the backroom. "Hello, future-brother-in-law-who-should-mind-his-own-business."
"Hello, future-victim-of-a-vicious-hex-if-he-doesn't-pull-his-act-together," said Harry, with a grin.
"Okay, what am I supposed to have done, and who's pissed at me?" asked Fred, after shaking his hand.
"Well, you appear to be involved with a professional bimbo," said Harry.
"What, that photo?" said Fred. "Oh… Oooh, Ginny is mad at me, isn't she?" he added, deflating somehow.
"Yup," said Harry with a sympathetic wince. "I just thought I'd let you know, you see, for further survival purposes."
"Thanks, mate," said Fred. "I appreciate it. To answer your question, I'm not dating Drusilla Hotchkiss."
"Sure could have fooled us," said Harry, waving the magazine copy with his right hand.
"We went to a club!" said Fred. "That's it. We didn't even get out together. She stayed there to party all night long. I went straight home."
"Because…" said Harry, helpfully.
"Because I was bored to tears by the shallow cow," said Fred.
"So you asked her out because…" Harry prompted him.
"I didn't ask her out," said Fred. "I was set up with her by Lee. He said that I needed to show that I was moving on."
"And taking Lee's romantic advice has always worked so well, for you," said George, with a merciless grin. "For the record, Harry, Lee was responsible for Chandra, Marylou and Ines."
"Okay, that's it," said Harry. "Lee is forever banned from making any decision in your love life, Fred Weasley. What do you think this did to Angelina?"
"Well, she didn't need to shove that arse Keller in my face!" he shot back.
"Sure, be that way," said Harry. "You think you're making your case of taking things seriously by lashing out like a school boy? 'You date a jerk to piss me off, I hook up with a busty braindead bimbo' is not a strategy that would work beyond any schoolyard! And I'm talking Muggle pre-school, there, not even Hogwarts first year."
"'Busty braindead bimbo'," said George, chuckling. "Coming from you, Harry, that's rich. Remember why we nicknamed Gabrielle 'the Cow'?"
"Oh, I do," said Harry. "And you think I would have been able to last with Ginny if I hadn't admitted that dating Gabrielle was stupid in the first place?"
"Point taken," noted George, turning to his brother. "So, in your all newfound wisdom about the matters of the heart, what brilliant advice would you dish out for my esteemed, misguided, yet identical sibling?"
"At this point, just don't move," said Harry. "I'll confer with your sister, and she'll find a way to let Angelina know you're not shagging around."
"You're too kind," said Fred, wincing.
"I thought I'd get it on early on this whole 'family is about helping each other' thing," said Harry, with a grin.
Harry brought up the result of his so-called 'covert investigation' at the next dinner, in the great hall. He could tell from Ginny's eyes that relief was still mixed with doubt. Maybe she believed that Fred had been able to bamboozle Harry. The trust of his fiancée in his social skill really was overwhelming, he thought with an ironic grin.
"So he's not with that Drusilla cow?" said Ginny, wanting to clear it up, once and for all.
"Ginny! That's an awful thing to say!" protested Hermione.
"You weren't this delicate when it came to naming Harry's exes," said Ginny, with a snort.
"Why, yes, but I did know them personally," said Hermione, with haughtiness.
Harry and Ron had a good laugh at that. Hermione feigned to glare at them, but she couldn't fool them. She was highly amused.
"Anyway, no, Ginny, your brother hasn't abandoned common sense and he's not dating Drusilla Hotchkiss," he explained. "He claims she's boring to tears, but my guess is that he just couldn't go through with it, because he's hooked on Angelina."
"You're sure about that?" asked Ginny.
"His first argument was, basically, 'she started it'," said Harry.
"Oh, for heaven's…"
Ginny took a deep breath, summoning patience at her older brother's attitude.
"So, what did you tell him?" she asked.
"Not to do anything until I spoke with you on a way to fix this," said Harry.
"You dragged me into this? Openly?" said Ginny. "Harry, I thought you were going there to…"
"And you believed me?" said Harry, with a snort. "Ginny, you know full well that I don't do sneaky."
"Well, your plan to bring up your past paparazzi woes was sound enough," said Ginny, on a conciliatory tone.
"Yes," said Harry. "Would have worked, too… for anyone else than me. Anyway, I simply told him you were miffed at him. That was enough to loosen his tongue. May I say that you still got it, love?"
"Oh, I know," said Ginny, with a proud grin. "Years later, I can still scare the wits out of my brothers. It's nice to know all is right with the world, sometimes."
The smug grin she was sporting was enough to plunge their side of the table into laughter again, drawing an irritated look from Snape, but that was routine, by now. Anytime Harry appeared happy in any way whatsoever, Snape tended to disapprove. Something of a constant in the universe…
Harry would be led to consider romance again pretty soon after that, because, inevitably, Valentine's Day came upon the school. Harry had nothing against Valentine's Day. In fact, he had indeed planned a nice dinner followed by a concert in a nice venue, for his fiancée. But he had to admit the occasion seemed to cause an unusual amount of drama among the students. And drama amongst people who had access to wands usually meant more work for him.
There would be a Hogsmeade outing the week-end after Valentine's Day, which happen to fall on a Tuesday, this year. Harry was also grateful for that. The tension of the exact date would have faded somewhat, leaving the students a little less excited.
Extra security measures were planned for the Hogsmeade outing. The students may have apparently forgotten what had happened to Ichabod Lightbrown already, but the school remained on alert. There was also to consider the fact that the Entwistle twins seemed involved, as they had been keeping watch on Thierry and Kenneth. Harry still wondered how closely they were involved with the Warlocks. Did their involvement automatically imply that the Warlocks were part of this mess, or did they only meddle in Hogwarts' business?
Too many questions and way too few answers... Harry hated walking blind. He was also beginning to resent Amanio a little. The old man was kind enough, but there were some issues that would need him to be more open about his Order's secrets. If Harry knew what the Brotherhood's enemies were after, perhaps he could find out who they were. Right now, since he didn't have all the stakes in mind, he couldn't figure out the nature of the game, and the opponent's strategy. What had been the point of wiping the memory of a student? Only one hour, too… Lightbrown hadn't been the real target. He was most likely a victim of circumstances. But how?
If one added to that the constant lobbying of Macke in the board of Governors, that was starting to pile up and this year had all the makings of a powder keg. Macke was subtle, again, only using the attack on Lightbrown to underline the concerns of the parents. As such, he advocated for the board to regain "oversight over security measures" and "a certain control over the syllabus", which was his way to basically demand that they handed over the keys to Hogwarts to him, so that he could sack political enemies, namely Hermione, Alexander and Harry.
Harry wasn't that arrogant that he believed that he knew the only right way to teach children. But he was pretty certain that Macke's favored way of teaching would basically be wrong. The man was way too elitist and backward in his thinking to consider the Dark Arts as anything but means to an end, therefore completely acceptable. This kind of thinking couldn't be allowed in Hogwarts.
Harry had been notified by Minerva that he was supposed to patrol Hogsmeade while the students would be there. He didn't mind, really. The forecast was a fine weather, if only a little cold. He had planned to take Ginny along, if she wasn't too busy at work.
"Busy?" asked Diana, sounding shocked.
"Don't make it sound like I just grew a second head, Di," said Kieran, shrugging. "I don't have plans for the Hogsmeade week-end. I don't need to shop and I have a few sessions planned with Flitwick and Weasley, so I may get down there, at some point, but…"
"But it's Valentine's Day!" said Diana.
"So?" said Kieran. "It's not like I have a date."
"You don't?" noted Ian, on a tone he hoped was casual. "I thought Terry could have invited you."
"You know full well that I'm not dating Terry," said Kieran.
"Well, yeah, I know that," said Ian. "But I thought… you know… as friends…"
"No," said Kieran. "Terry is fine with harmless flirting, but to go together to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day would be pushing it."
"I guess," said Ian.
He did his best to conceal his disappointment. He had planned to offer Kieran to go to Hogsmeade with him, as friends. But now, given her opinion on that, he felt it wouldn't go over well. And if she had planned lessons with Flitwick.
"Actually, since you brought it up, Ian," said Kieran, "I was wondering if you could join us."
"Er… join you?" said Ian, puzzled.
"I'm working with a few things with Professors Flitwick and Weasley," said Kieran. "And I thought that you could… help."
Ian had a wry smile.
"Let me get this straight," he said. "Are you asking me to be a test subject for your spell theory lessons?"
"Er… sure, put that way, it does sound…" said Kieran.
"I'm kidding you, K," said Ian. "Sure, I'll join. It could be interesting. I was always curious about the way you work with the teachers in those sessions. Tell me when and where."
"Great," said Kieran, smiling brightly. "And for the record, you will be casting spell just as much as you will be receiving them. The point is to see how… accessible they are to a wizard."
"Nice," said Ian.
Kieran excused herself, because she had to check a few books back in at the Library before the start of next lesson. As she walked away, Ian noticed the look Diana had on her face. He raised his eyebrows.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm… considering the possibilities," said Diana.
Ian wondered for a second what she meant. The way Diana saw things… everything in the whole of creation could be perceived through the rose-tinted glasses of her romantic tendencies, which was very, very disturbing sometimes. So, now, was she implying…?
"No," he said. "No, no, no. No way. You are not twisting it in your mind to turn this in a date."
"Well," said Diana, grinning like mad. "She's inviting you to do something she enjoys on the week-end after Valentine's Day."
"We're going to work on her spell writer training, Diana," said Ian, patiently. "It's schoolwork."
"But Kieran loves schoolwork," said Diana.
"There is more to her than that," said Ian. "You think that if she wanted to plan a date, she wouldn't be able to put more thought into this? Besides, why do you insist on pairing up each and every one of us with someone? You have a compulsion or something?"
"Oh, come on, Malcolm, It's not like the notion is that abhorrent, is it?"
"Of course not," said Ian, with a shrug. "But you are aware that literally millions of men and women do have relationships with people without those being romantic, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Diana. "But it's so boring."
Ian shook his head and chuckled. He knew she wasn't being that serious. But if Diana got into her mind the idea of setting up Kieran and him, it wouldn't be good. She would be all kinds of blunt about it, it would probably embarrass the both of them to no end, and Kieran would likely end up furious at her, and at him for not discouraging her. So he decided some preventive measures were called for.
"You should maybe mind your own case," he said. "I mean, you should realize that Orlando will not ask you out."
Diana's eyes were so hard when they landed on him that he could have dropped dead, had they been knives. But he only smiled.
"I don't mean he doesn't want to," said Ian. "He doesn't know how to. He has no clue of how this all works. You want to spend the Valentine's Hogsmeade outing with him? You will have to ask him."
Diana's eyes went wide and he could see she was thinking fast. He was amused. Diana tended to fall in love on a weekly basis. Right now, her infatuation was for Orlando. Ian wasn't condemning the poor novice to that much trouble. Diana was also quick to fall out of love. So, if he needed to sic her after the Italian boy to avoid her sticking her nose in his business… well, not too much harm done.
He also took advantage of Diana's pensive mood to slip away. She could get a little scary, when she got romantic.
To be entirely honest, Ian wasn't that disturbed by the notion of romance. He liked the idea well enough. And if he was truly honest, he wouldn't mind considering a date with Kieran. But clearly, she wasn't in that mood. Should Ian ask her, it would be so out of the blue that she would probably suspect a joke, there. And that wasn't an impression Ian wanted to make.
Leaving Diana behind, as she was now trying to put together a plan to snare the unsuspecting Novice, Ian headed for the owlery. He wanted to check on Merlin.
Julie was feeding Marie with a bit of crumble from the morning's breakfast, when she saw Kalindra enter the dormitory. There was a spring in the girl's step and her smile was wide and bright. Actually, Julie had rarely seen the girl that cheerful. It was nice to see, really.
"Ready for your date?" she said, catching her friend's attention.
It was nice to be able to think of Kalindra as a friend, again. Of course, there were still some sore subjects that they were careful to avoid. Kalindra didn't voice her opinion on Donahue, or her ideas on how Julie should act around Kenneth. And in return, Julie didn't hold any grudge about the harshness Kalindra had shown to her in the first months of the school year. Granted, holding a grudge would have been petty and despicable on her part, given she had deserved any animosity she had gotten from Kalindra, so that was easily dealt with.
Beyond that, they had resumed chatting about everything else: school, family, friends and boys. And Julie had found herself back into the role of confident she had held last year, when Kalindra needed to talk about Rob. But, now, unlike last year, she wasn't frustrated and annoyed anymore. No, she was happy and over the moon.
Since the ball, Kalindra and Rob had been labelled at the happiest couple in the year. They were cute, in Julie's opinion. Rob may have been slow on the uptake, but he was now going out of his way to please Kalindra and Kalindra was seizing every chance she got for a snog or a cuddle. All in all, it was going very well. Julie was especially pleased to see that it didn't change much of their relationship. They were still chatting, joking, and teasing each other, like they did as friends. But now, whenever Kalindra delivered a strong come back, she would seal her win with a kiss, which did soften the blow to Rob's ego. Rob had begun picking up a little habit, too. At the end of a conversation his hand would slip through the locks of hair near Kalindra's ear, in a tender gesture. Kalindra would feign it tickled her and give him a kiss on the cheek. The little ritual was the most prominent sign their relationship had changed. For the rest, they did tend to keep the mush to a minimum.
Kalindra grinned at her.
"Yep," she said. "He has actually planned stuff, if you can believe it."
"Rob can be thoughtful," said Julie, reprovingly.
"I know," said Kalindra, chuckling. "But it took so darn long to get there, that I like to tease him about it. So what are your plans?"
"Oh, I think Robert and I will hang out around the grounds a bit," said Julie. "It's not like I can access any kind of restaurant or anything like that. Turns out it's kind of complicated to plan Valentine's Day when you're under security measures. Robert is a good sport about it."
"He'd better," said Kalindra. "And I hope he thought of planning a picnic, as well."
"We'll see," said Julie. "How are you going down there?"
"We're keeping it simple," said Kalindra. "The whole gang is going to Hogsmeade together. We'll split up later."
"Make sure to tell me about your day," said Julie.
"Oh, trust me, Goldielocks," said Kalindra. "You'll hear about it over and over and over and over…"
"Oh, get out of here, you lunatic," said Julie, scoffing at her friend.
On a last toothy grin, Kalindra skipped out of the common room, saying she had to meet with Marion before heading out.
Julie returned her attention to Marie and fed her the last bits of bread with a smile. It was nice to see Kalindra so happy.
Marie, full and content, rubbed her nose against Julie's finger, before to dash away, probably on another exploring trip through the tower. Julie stayed on the couch she had settled on for a little while, looking the window. Well, the weather certainly looked like it was on their side, today.
Getting up from her seat, she went upstairs to get her coat. She was supposed to meet Robert in the Entrance Hall. She was far from late, so she could take her time, for once. So, for maybe the first time since she had arrived in the castle, she decided to pay attention to the paintings of the halls she was walking through as she walked away from Gryffindor Tower. There were so many of them, and the students spent a good deal of time simply ignoring them. She detailed a few portraits, noticing a particularly pretty woman dancing on the shore of the Hogwarts Lake, her ebony hair spinning around. She couldn't help a chuckle when she saw a piece where two wizards were locked in a duel, turning each other in various things, from a teaspoon to a newt in a fishbowl.
Something caught her eye. She turned to look at another piece that was set in what looked like a grove. Soon, she realized that not only did the characters move, in the picture, but the background was also evolving. Three children running joyously among the trees... They were dressed in robes like the ones she had seen in the books about ancient Greece or Rome. There were two boys and one girl, with one of the boys clearly younger. They were chasing each other happily, bringing a smile to Julie's face. As they moved away, she followed, entering a clearing that revealed their home, ahead, down the slope.
That's when it hit Julie. She suddenly realized that she wasn't looking at the painting. She was… in the painting! She tried to figure out this impossibility for a second before to realize the truth. She was in a vision! Somehow the paintings had caused her to have a vision!
The scene unfolded before her eyes. She saw the three young children start down the slope, still laughing joyously. Looking around, Julie saw that the buildings in the distance were the houses of an ancient city. Seeing the ocean to her right, she also caught sight of a strange looking tower, some kind of lighthouse, built in pure white stone, a massive fire going at its top.
Before she could really figure out where she was, the children caught her attention again. The youngest had missed a step and had fallen, rolling on the grass, all the way down the slight curve. His two siblings rushed to see how he was, but as he rolled one last time and landed on his back, he was laughing even harder.
"I want to go again!" he said.
Relieved, the girl helped him back to his feet.
"Later, Daeron," she said. "We'll be late for dinner. You know how Mother gets."
As the small boy was regaining his footing, something suddenly flashed at the horizon. The three children looked up and so did Julie. There, in the distance in the land, something was rising in the sky, a gigantic column of light. What had been a sunny afternoon suddenly shifted into a scene of nightmare. Dark clouds gathered at the horizon, tinted with sickly red. Julie could feel the faint rumbling in the ground.
As she looked upon the column of light, she could feel an amazing sense of dread. This was wrong. This power erupting at the horizon was horrifying. Julie felt a tight grip around her heart. As she gazed at the light, she suddenly felt pulled, just like a portkey, toward the vast pillar that lit up the sky, causing death all around. Closer and closer she got, until the light engulfed everything around her and she caught a glimpse of a face contorted in a snarl of rage and hatred. She didn't know who the man was. Then the face seemed to turn to dust, but before it disappeared, it morphed into a multitude of other faces, faster and faster, until finally, the cold eyes of Lilia were looking at her, carrying a promise of destruction.
Julie gasped and was jerked from her daydream. She was still standing in front of the painting. But the woods weren't moving and the children running were dressed in clothes that dated from last century, instead of the ancient times.
Fighting a shiver, Julie walked away from the painting and headed toward the entrance hall of the castle. There, she saw Robert waiting for her, a basket at his feet. The smile she had as she realized he had indeed planned a picnic was tempered by the stress of the vision. And she did feel lousy at the thought of what she was about to do.
When she reached him, he greeted her by a kiss, but she cut it as short as she could without looking hostile.
"I'm sorry, Robert," she said. "I know you surely went through a lot of work to get all this. But I just had a vision. Would you mind if we visited Professor Wroxton about it? I think it's important…"
Robert's smile may have been a little tense, but it was still a smile.
"Sure, Julie," he said. "Lead the way. The food is already cold anyway."
Julie nodded, relieved to be able to deal with this right now. They returned toward the stairs, starting the climb that would lead them to Wroxton's office. Julie somehow felt what she had just seen was extremely significant, but she couldn't fathom why. There had been something familiar about the children. But she couldn't place the time or location, like Wroxton insisted she should with each vision. But she had a suspicion.
Somehow, no matter how impossible it was, she thought she had just lived part of the Fall of Atlantis. The face of Lilia at the end was certainly a hint, there.
What had been the point, though? Who were the children? More importantly, who was the face in the burning light?
The group of the Gryffindor sixth year was making its way down the path leading to Hogsmeade. The weather was pretty fine, so they had decided to forego the carriages and to go on foot.
Kalindra was in such a good mood, that it could be considered annoying. As she exited the main castle gates, she was nearly skipping again. At some point, though, she caught a glimpse of Marion's face, as the girl was walking beside her, and it did put a damper on her enthusiasm.
Marion didn't look very pleased. Depressed would have been a strong word, but she did look a bit unhappy. Kalindra slowed her step. Surely, the rest of the gang could wait.
"Alright," she said, low enough not to be heard by the rest, who were slowly gaining some ground on the two girls. "What is it, now?"
"What do you mean?" asked Marion, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"Sure, try and pull one over me, Sweeney," said Kalindra, with a frown that wasn't serious one bit. "Come on, Marion, spill, what is going on?"
"No, it's… it's ridiculous," said Marion. "I mean, you'll believe I'm pulling your leg."
"Okay, now you said too much or not enough," said Kalindra. "Go on, don't let me stop you."
Marion had a sad smile.
"Well, you know how I got… many offers to go to the Ball," said Marion.
Kalindra would have gently scolded her for boasting, if she hadn't seen that longing look in her eyes.
"And that's a bad thing?" she offered.
"Not that bad, no," said Marion. "But I kinda hoped that…"
"Oh, I see," said Kalindra. "So you got yourself out there to enjoy the life in Hogwarts, but you also hoped that it would send a signal to a certain someone, so that he would ask you out. Do I get that right, so far?"
"Right," said Marion. "But he didn't, so… I guess he isn't…"
"Oh, come on!" said Kalindra. "Don't tell me you're that blind, Marion!"
"Excuse me?" said Marion, looking at her with a blink that could only be qualified as owlish.
"Just to avoid any misunderstanding and all that comedy of errors nonsense," said Kalindra. "We are talking about Teddy, aren't we?"
"Er… yes," said Marion, finally nodding.
"So, you flirted around to make Teddy jealous, in the hopes he'd notice that you wanted to date him?" Kalindra summed up.
"More or less," said Marion. "I know… stupid move."
"Oh, it all depends," said Kalindra, with a wry smile. "If you hoped to piss him off, you certainly scored the hoop right in the middle."
Marion's panicked eyes were fixed on her.
"You think he's mad at me?" she asked, desperate.
"He's not mad at you, he's mad at himself for not asking you out sooner," said Kalindra. "He feels like he missed his shot. So, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, why don't you go find him, tell him you like him and by the end of the day, you may have managed to snog the life out of him and we'll all be greatly relieved."
Marion's eyes bulged behind her glasses.
"You… you think he likes me?" she said.
"Annoying," said Kalindra. "So much blindness around the Gryffindor tower was cute in the beginning. Not it's just annoying. YES! Yes, Teddy likes you. Now go ahead and go find him."
"But… but I've… I mean, he's… I've dated…" said Marion, unsure.
Kalindra rolled her eyes to the sky.
"Please, Marion," she begged. "Do try to make this easy on me, for a change, huh? You've grown in confidence throughout the summer and you sure can get your pick in boys, right?"
"Er… right," said Marion.
"You go do the same with Teddy and he'll go for it in a heartbeat," said Kalindra. "Don't waste time on this, please."
"O… okay," said Marion, with a weak smile. "You're sure he'll be…"
"YES! Now, go, before I smack you," said Kalindra, half-groaning and half-laughing.
Marion gave a start and began to walk a little quicker, to catch up with the group. As she reached them, she gave a slight pause, before to shake herself and grab Teddy by the arm, saying she needed to have a word with him. She then dragged him away from the group on a quicker pace, leaving a few confused friends behind. Kalindra, with a serene smile, caught up with Kenneth and Rob, who threw her a questioning look. She mimicked dusting off her hands.
"And another one solved," she simply said.
"Oh, so Marion was into Teddy, as well?" asked Kenneth, catching on quickly.
"Yep," said Kalindra. "Wanted to make him jealous a bit. But Teddy didn't blow up, so…"
"Oh, dear," said Rob. "So I suppose you told her…"
"To get her game together, seduce our poor keeper and then snog him," said Kalindra. "She should be on her way to do that, right now."
"Nice going, Kallie," said Kenneth, nodding in approval.
"Right, who else has sentimental issues?" she asked.
"Give it a rest, lady," said Rob. "I do have plans for today, so if you would be so kind not to spend the whole of our date helping others get dates…"
"Fine," said Kalindra. "I'll resume duties around dinner, then."
Kenneth only chuckled. Kalindra would have joined him, only, as they took the next turn into the woods, leading to the grounds' gates, she saw someone, that could bring a cloud over Kenneth's relaxed mood.
Gillian Crawley was talking with a friend on the side of the path. Kenneth saw Kalindra's worried look and followed her eyes, until he saw her. He only shook his head, never losing his smile.
"It's alright, Kallie," said Kenneth. "We're not at odds, you know."
"I still don't understand how," said Rob. "I mean, she did look really into you."
"Well, she wasn't that much," said Kenneth.
The reached Gillian and, when the Ravenclaw girl saw them, she finished her conversation with her friend. Said friend then started up to path back to the castle, leaving Gillian alone with them.
"Hello, Lions," she said.
"Hello, Raven," said Rob, friendly. "Off for a stroll in Hogsmeade?"
"Meeting a few friends at the Broomsticks, actually," said Gillian. "Milly forgot something, so she had to head back."
"Care for some company on the way?" offered Rob.
"Sure," said the chestnut haired girl, before to fall into pace with them.
There was a lull in the conversation, and Mandy didn't like nervous silences.
"So… Er… you, I mean, after the ball…" she began.
Gillian actually laughed, which came as a surprise to Kalindra. Gillian turned to Kenneth, grinning.
"Are they trying to preserve peace between us, then?" she asked.
"Something like that," said Kenneth. "Mandy, I told you there were no hard feelings between Gillian and me."
"Yeah, you say that, but you're a boy," said Mandy, with a wince.
"No," said Gillian. "He's right. We both found it wasn't exactly what we wanted. So, now, we'll have to be friend, I guess."
She had let enough irony slip into the words to make everyone smile.
"I hope you'll be able to endure it," said Kenneth, with a quirk of his eyebrow. "I mean... being friend with a Gryffindor boy…" he mimicked a shiver.
"You just made a joke?" exclaimed Kalindra, grinning. "Are you running a fever, Lionheart?"
Gillian laughed with the rest.
"I'll have you know that Kenneth can make jokes," she said. "I heard him joke often enough during the ball… Well, I guess they were intended to be jokes…" she added, feigning to look more and more unconvinced.
"Nice one," said Kenneth, smirking, while the rest laughed even harder.
The mood relaxed visibly, after that. The group resumed chatting and Gillian quickly got dragged into a conversation about boys and girls by Mandy and Kalindra. The boys were piping in here and there, while getting ever closer to Hogsmeade.
"So, any other guy on your radar?" asked Rob, light-heartedly, at some point.
"Excuse me? My… what?" said Gillian, puzzled.
"Mind your language, Rob," said Kenneth, grinning. "Gillian here speaks Muggle only as a second language."
"Oh, right," said Rob. "I don't know, with a name like Gillian Crawley, I always assumed you knew your way around the Muggle world. It does sound Muggle."
"Ha!" laughed Kalindra. "Says the Muggleborn with a name that sounds like it's from the Wizengamot founders' clans!"
"I've always wondered about that," said Gillian. "How come your name sounds so..."
"Pure-bloody?" offered Rob.
"No," chuckled Gillian with a wince. "That sounds awful."
"It does," said Kalindra, joining her laughter.
"Well, my family may have had wizards, back in the dark ages," said Rob. "When my Mum learned I was a wizard, she joked that it was Dad's fault for having a name out of a Roleplaying Game."
"A Roleplaying Game?" repeated Gillian.
"No, don't even go there," said Kalindra, before Rob could even attempt an answer at that. "We'll be stuck on that for weeks if you encourage him."
Kenneth had a smirk. Gillian wisely chose not to push it.
"Anyway," said Rob. "A Radar is a device that allows muggles to detect flying objects in the sky. It's used to avoid losing planes and stuff."
"How?" asked Gillian, suddenly very interested.
"It sends radio waves in the air," said Rob. "The wave hit an object up there, they are sent back and it gives off a signal. It determines the distance a plane is from you, the size it is and the speed it goes at."
"That's... that's a brilliant notion," said Gillian.
She suddenly looked lost in her thoughts. After a while, Kalindra snapped her fingers in front of her face.
"Hello? You're still here with us?" she asked.
"Sorry about that," said Gillian. "I was just... I need to see Raphaella and Alwena."
And on that, she strode away, looking pretty excited. The rest of the group exchanged looks for a while, before one decided to talk.
"Is it me, or did I just give her an idea about the Quill?" said Rob.
"I think you got that right," said Kenneth.
"If they crack it because of that, do I get credit?" asked Rob.
"I doubt it," said Kalindra, patting him on the shoulder.
"Hardly fair," said Rob.
"You'll get over it," said Kalindra, kissing him on the cheek.
Julie was contemplating the lake in silence, her head resting against the bark of the tree. She was once more lost in her thoughts. Surely she should have had her mind more to the moment and the nice picnic Robert had set up for them on the banks of the lake, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease she had gotten from the vision. While she hadn't felt the urgency of the worse ones, such as the one which had led to the collapse of her relationship with Kenneth, she couldn't help but feeling that it was deadly important.
She admitted that she was distracted, to be honest.
Robert certainly hadn't missed that. At some point, he had a little sigh.
"Julie, I'm sorry, but you're not here, right now," he said.
Julie had a very slight start and turned to him. She winced.
"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind, right now."
"It's bad enough that we can't enjoy a proper date, in Hogsmeade," said Robert, before to wince as well. "Sorry."
"I'm sorry about that, too," said Julie. "I... the safety measures... I need to remain in a place where the Order of the Phoenix can keep tabs on me."
"I know, I know," said Robert, showing he was trying to stay patient.
There was something in his tone that did annoy her, then.
"Look, I'm not that happy with it, myself," she said. "I don't appreciate being stuck in the castle. I like Hogwarts as much as the next student, but I don't plan on living here for the rest of my life."
"Without going to such extremes, was there no way for you to even step outside?" asked Robert, on a tone that was more conciliatory. "I mean, it can't be good for you to stay in here all the time."
"Before Ichabod was attacked, I could go out," said Julie, "but the staff considers the risk, right now. Apparently, there could be a threat. I'm still in potential danger, so they can't take the risk to expose me."
"Did they at least tell you what the threat was about?" asked Robert.
"I'm not sure they are clear on that, really," said Julie. "But they prefer to play it safe."
"I see," said Robert.
"Don't make it sound like it's such an inconvenience," said Julie, a little dryly.
"Well, it does a lot to make your life miserable," said Robert. "Since there is no defined danger, I wonder if that's worth it."
"Given what happened last year, I can't really blame them for being cautious," said Julie. "I don't want people having to risk their life for me."
"I get that, Julie, and it does honor you," said Robert. "But at least, are they trying to find these guys?"
"And do what?" asked Julie. "They are teachers, Robert, it's not like they can go to war with a sect that apparently has hundreds of followers. The Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix are on the trail of the Warlocks. In the meantime, the teachers are doing what they can to protect me and the other students."
Robert had a light shrug. Julie may have felt a little guilty to force him to stay within the grounds, but his attitude, right now, was a bit irksome. It was as if the security measures around Julie were seen as a personal inconvenience. Julie did like how Robert often allowed her to forget about her predicament, but to dismiss it like this was a bit too much.
"Robert," she said. "I know my circumstances can be a bit of a bother..."
"I'm willing to go past that," said Robert, with a little smile.
He was trying to be light about it, again. But this time, it did annoy Julie. The truth was, Robert couldn't know how it felt. They didn't speak much about it. In truth, it was her fault. She had chosen not to share this burden with her boyfriend, instead confiding more in Kalindra, Professor Wroxton, or even Miss Weasley, Professor Potter's fiancée.
As annoyed as she felt, she didn't really blame Robert, because he had been kept apart from the whole ordeal. Now, she couldn't fault him for trying to distract her. He had been her refuge for a long time. He provided a company that wasn't tainted by the shadows of the warlocks.
But, right now, this early after a vision like the one she had just experienced, it wasn't what she needed.
"I'm sorry, Robert," she said, earnestly. "I mean... I admit I'm not in the mood, really. This vision did shake me."
"What did Wroxton say?" asked Robert, trying to show support.
"Not much," said Julie. "It was the first time I saw this. I have some recurring visions, but this one was new. So she didn't have much to go on, yet."
"Why is it so shaking, then?" asked Robert.
"I don't know," said Julie, sighing. "It's the feeling I got from this. There was a feeling of... terror, which was all around in the air. The scene wasn't that violent in itself. But that light on the horizon... it chilled me to the bone. That light was death. I still don't understand what it was, but it felt... wrong, plain wrong."
"I don't think you will gain much by lingering on it for too long," said Robert. "Perhaps you should try to push it aside for now, maybe sleep on it. It may be clearer a little later."
Julie made a doubtful face. Again, Robert was trying to distract her, but she couldn't shake the feeling. In fact, a chill once more ran through her.
"I can't shake it," she sighed. "I'm sorry, Robert. I'm not really good company, right now."
She got up, brushing the twigs from her robes. Robert got up as well, looking a little annoyed.
"I think I'd like to head back, now, actually," said Julie. "I... Perhaps, you should head to Hogsmeade and meet with your friends."
"That wasn't exactly my plan, you know," said Robert.
"I know," said Julie. "I'm sorry. I really am. I... I'm just not in the right state of mind. I know I'm messing up our date..."
"It's fine," said Robert. "I guess I can explain to my friends, why my date was cut short."
Now, this did tick her off, a little. Was it so important? Robert's reputation? Why should she care about what Robert's friends would think, should he show up without his girlfriend?
Still, she had been the one to ruin the mood so she chose not to comment.
"I'll see you later," she said, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Of course," said Robert.
And on that, he gathered his basket with his wand, then shrunk it and put it in his pocket, before to walk away. Julie looked at him go, but soon, her eyes were back on the waters of the lake, as she once more lost herself in deep thought. She was still shivering a little. But, she was also starting to be a little angry at herself and a little at Robert.
Surely it wasn't his fault, but his reaction to her trouble wasn't really what she had hoped it would be. With a sigh, she admitted to herself that she was being unfair again. She couldn't expect everyone around her to just roll with it, when her messed-up life came knocking. Robert was, by her own doing, kept out of the whole mess. She couldn't be miffed at him for not being the comfort she needed, right now. It was her fault, not his.
Still, honestly, it wasn't the way she had planned her Valentine's Day.
The dinner hall was abuzz with conversation, that night. It didn't come as a surprise at all for Harry. It had been, indeed, a pretty romantic day for a quite a lot of students, even if it was four days after Valentine's. It didn't stop the students to get excited and slip easily in the mood. Now, as the day was coming to a close, Harry could notice a few habits and rituals that the students would go through. Whenever a pair of students would walk into the Great Hall hand in hand, there would be a small amount of discrete whistling and cat-calling, coming from their part of the table, whatever House they were in. When said pair was from different houses, the reaction could be seen on both tables. It was funny he never noticed that before.
Turning to Hermione, he did mention the issue.
"Oh, yes," said Hermione. "It's pretty much common. Each time a couple is formed, friends around tend to celebrate and tease."
"How come I never noticed that before?" asked Harry.
"You don't tend to care that much about romance among your students, Harry," said Hermione.
"Was it the same in our years, too?" asked Harry.
"Of course," said Ginny.
"Then how come I never…" he began.
"Well, it was never done to you," said Hermione. "Honestly, you never got a normal relationship in Hogwarts."
"Don't go tell that to Cho," said Harry.
"Your couple with Cho was not normal by any standard," said Hermione.
"I can say amen to that, Harry," added Ginny, helpfully.
"Ha ha," said Harry. "Can you explain that to me, please?" he asked Hermione.
"You two got together out of slight attraction and Cho's need to find comfort after losing someone she loved," said Hermione. "It was very loaded from the beginning, so no one in Cho's group of friends would ever joke about that. On your side, Ron was being so thick about the romantic stuff…"
"Hey, I resent that," said Ron. "I wasn't thick! I was stupid! I thought we agreed on 'stupid'."
Everyone laughed at that.
"As for me, I wasn't in favor of it," said Hermione, "but I didn't want you to pass on a chance to feel good, so I didn't discourage you."
"And I, for my part, was pissed off," said Ginny.
"Were you?" said Harry.
"Of course I was," said Ginny. "How that uptight Ravenclaw hosepipe could even dare to put her lips on my Harry?"
"Er… Ginny, weren't you dating Michael Corner at the time?" asked Hermione, helpfully.
"I never said I made sense at the time," said Ginny, on a small superior tone. "Seriously, though, it wasn't as much jealousy as it was more outrage that she would consider you for a rebound. I mean, she did reject you the previous year. Dated the other bloke, she did. And then, suddenly, she was into you? I found that suspicious. And the way she got jealous of Hermione, of all people, was just annoying. I never really understood how you even agreed to try again, the next year."
"I… I was really attracted to her," admitted Harry, sheepishly. "And I didn't want to have my first real relationship with a girl to end on such a disappointing note."
"Right," scoffed Ron. "So, instead, it ended on a dreadful note, and a vicious Quidditch game."
"I didn't claim to have made much sense back then, either," said Harry, with a glare to his best friend.
"Had you made sense," said Ginny, "perhaps you'd have asked someone who was actually into you, then," she concluded with a wink to Harry, who smiled back.
"Oh, and that someone would have been a redhead, I suppose," said Hermione, teasingly, and completely missing the trap.
"Actually she was and still is," said Ginny, with an impish grin. "She was so cross with you, Harry, when you chose to try to fix things with Cho."
"Oh, was she?" said Harry, with a knowing smile.
"Oh, yes," said Ginny. "Besides, you would have been better off with her, too. A lot more cheerful than Cho, she was."
"Again, Ginny," said Hermione. "Weren't you dating Dean, at the time?"
"Who said anything about me, dearie?" said Ginny.
"Well, I mean… redhead… cheerful," said Hermione. "Into Harry…"
"Like you said, I was into Dean, at the time," said Ginny, haughtily, eyeing the table around.
She marked a pause, apparently, waiting for something before she went on.
"I'll be sure to tell Susan Bones how you dismiss her, just because I have the same hair and attitude," said Ginny, after marking a short pause
Her plan paid off and Ron spit half his glass in surprise, as Harry burst out laughing. Ron was struggling to get his breathing under control, coughing and sputtering, while Hermione was looking at her friend in pure shock.
"Nicely timed, love," said Harry.
"Thanks, Harry. I thought Ron would never take that drink," said Ginny, laughing.
Hermione was looking confused and Ron was still trying to recover.
"You…" he croaked. "You're a sadistic human being."
"I know that, dear brother," said Ginny, grinning.
"You… you were joking, right?" said Hermione.
"About Susan? Nope," said Ginny. "Back in the day, she had this huge hidden crush on Harry. We still joke about it, any time we have lunch together."
"Did you know?" Hermione asked Harry, accusingly.
"I found out about it years later," said Harry. "Ginny told me. She used it to prove how blind I could be, as a teenager. You mean, you actually didn't know? I thought you hung out a lot with Susan, right after the war."
"Well, she never mentioned her crush on you," said Hermione, still astounded.
"You were too close to Harry," said Ginny. "She wouldn't risk being embarrassed before him, by having blabbing about that. I learned about it after I got with Harry. She didn't want to hide it from me."
"Anyway, back to the main point," said Harry. "It appears this week-end was quite prolific in new romances," he said, nodding toward the student tables.
"Is it even any of our business, Harry?" asked Hermione.
"It could be one," said Harry. "If it creates tensions, whether between friends or between Houses."
"I can understand that, but I still don't think we should stick our noses into the kids' business," said Hermione.
"I don't say we should," said Harry. "I'm just pointing it out, because it's… interesting?"
"How is that interesting?" asked Ginny, pointedly.
"I find curious that so many couple are formed in a time when the school may be under threat," said Harry. "Are they looking for a distraction of some kind?"
"You know what, Harry?" said Ginny. "That's probably the saddest assessment you've ever made on human nature. Not romantic for one bit."
"And probably true," said Harry, confidently.
"And probably true," said Ginny, grumbling. "You're managing to ruin Valentine's Day for me, you know that?"
"Am I?" said Harry grinning. "Because I just analyze a situation..."
"Leave the analyzing to Hermione, alright, sweetie?" said Ginny. "She can do it without being a complete buzz-kill."
"I'm hearing this, you know," said Hermione, between her teeth.
"Speaking of ruined romance," said Harry. "Any news on your brother's front?"
"Ooooh, subtle, Harry," said Ginny.
"That was awful!" protested Hermione. "Fred and Angelina's romance isn't ruined, is it? They just need to get their act together!"
"And you're going to trust Fred with that? Yep, it's ruined," said Harry with a twisted smile.
"Prat," said Ginny, with a smile not so far from her fiancé's. "I'll have you know that I sat down with him over a lunch. He's not only refused to go out with Hotchkiss again, he also is trying to figure out how to talk to Angelina."
"That would be progress," said Hermione, thoughtfully. "Did you manage to tell Angelina that this was all a big misunderstanding?"
"Oh, I did," said Ginny, grinning. "Got caught in a hug in the middle of Diagon Alley for my trouble, too..."
"She hugged you?" said Ron, pretty surprised.
"Apparently the news that Fred isn't sleeping around and actually still cares about what she feels was good enough for a hug, yeah."
"Wow," said Harry. "She's hooked."
"She is," said Ginny. "I still think there must be a potion for her mental condition, but if she's that much into Fred... who am I to judge, eh?"
"Not everyone can show your level of wisdom in matters of the heart, love," said Harry, on a pompous tone, winking at Hermione.
"I'm not rising for that bait, Potter," said Ginny, haughtily, feigning to ignore him and pay very close attention to a detail over the fire place mantel piece, to her right.
Hermione shook her head with a smile.
"The trouble we go through because of love," she said.
As the students of sixth and seventh year made their way to the Defense Club for another session, Julie's thoughts were clouded in irritation. Not only did Valentine's Day still leave a sour taste in her mouth, but Robert seemed to have decided the session of today would be once more about him. The arrogance he was showing in the dueling competition had finally gotten to Julie's nerves.
It wasn't so much about the fame or the strutting. At first, she had been amused by that. Now, it was more about the fact that he seemed to believe this was really important. Julie knew for a fact that duels between Hogwarts students had as much significance as the Quidditch Cup or the Silver Quill. Out there, no one cared that you were undefeated. It didn't stop anyone from trying to kill you. And if you thought these victories made you invincible, well, that made you an idiot.
Julie couldn't really understand why it bothered her so much. This was just in good fun, but a thought was nagging her at the back of her mind. Fragments of memories from the Maze, from the attack on the Quidditch game, last year, from her abduction, all of this came to dance in her thoughts. And the terrifying visions of Kenneth dying in her arms, and that dream of Lilia dueling someone until she cast a Killing Curse…
That was it. She had seen real violence up close and personal and she wasn't amused that her boyfriend would make light of it by taking too much pride out of these school duels, while at the same time acting forgetful of the real danger she was in.
In short, she was fuming, as she stepped inside the dueling room. Kalindra seemed to wonder what her mood was about, but chose not to ask. But her look told volumes. Julie sighed deeply.
"Sorry," she said. "Bad day."
"Care to share?" asked Kalindra, with a smile.
"Not really," said Julie. "I don't need you to tell me once more that my boyfriend can act like a jerk."
"Oh," said Kalindra, as neutrally as she could, but Julie could feel a smile struggling against her apparent calm. "Did he upset you? I heard your valentine's day wasn't that good."
"Yeah, not that good," said Julie. "It wasn't his fault, actually. I mean, I had a vision just before to meet him and it did ruin my mood. I'm not angry at him, really... It's just..."
Before she could explain, Robert made his way into the room, with his whole entourage. He was walking proudly, his whole demeanor screaming arrogance.
"I wish he'd stop this," muttered Julie.
"I hear you on that," agreed Kalindra. "There's only so much cockiness one can take. You've talked to him about this?"
"No," said Julie, sadly. "I can't help thinking that he can't understand why it annoys me. I mean, it all seems so..."
"Futile?" offered Kalindra.
For a second, Julie was surprised, but then, she realized that if someone could share her feelings, Kalindra could. She had been there, in the Maze, fighting for Julie's life. Her eyes instinctively searched for Kenneth in the crowd and she found him, in a discussion with Thierry and Janet Spencer that involved discreet waves of wands. They were probably discussing technique. Kenneth, too, could see how hollow the glory Robert was getting from this was, which was probably why he wasn't getting involved in the tournament, in the first place.
"Exactly," she said in response to Kalindra's comment. "He gets way too much into it."
Professor Potter gathered everyone.
"Alright," he said, silencing everyone. "Today, I would like you to all focus on silent casting. After the lesson of sixth year, you should all be able to go through a full duel without any spoken incantation. Who would like to start?"
Robert made a show of jumping up the stand, and got some applause for it. He looked around in proud satisfaction. Kalindra rolled her eyes. As Potter was asking for another volunteer, something snapped inside Julie.
"Oh, for the love of..." she grumbled, before to step up. "I'll go, Professor, if you don't mind."
"Sure, Miss Carteret," said Potter.
Julie faced Robert, who looked stunned in surprise. She ignored him as she dropped her school robes. But he still took his position as instructed by the teacher.
"Julie, what...?" he began, as he bowed.
"Shut it," she hissed. "On your guard," she added after a quick salute.
"Wands at the ready," said Potter. "Begin!"
Julie attacked at once, sending shock waves at him. Despite his surprise, Robert reacted fast enough and countered her assault. He pushed back and Julie had to duck one spell and block the next.
Julie's irritation had made her step up in the duel, but slight bother at Robert's attitude was like a spark that set fire inside of her. Irritation turned to rage. Rage at the constant danger that constantly hung over her head. Rage at the ache she constantly felt in her heart, which spiked each time she looked at Kenneth and most of all, rage at herself for her own mistakes and her own cowardice.
She whipped her wand furiously, sending stunning spells and disarming charms, trying to break through Robert's defenses. He countered and replied in kind. Julie could at least give him that, he wasn't going easy on her. Good! That gave her the chance to finally purge her anger. She attacked relentlessly, but at some point, she exposed herself. A slight shock at her shoulder showed her mistake and she had to take a step back. Narrowing her eyes, she sent a minor shocker toward Robert, and linked it with a spectral fist, that exploded on Robert's shield, nearly shattering him and sending Robert stumbling back. This time, a trace of anger flickered on Robert's face and he slashed his wand at her waist, in a swift move. Julie felt like she had been punched in the gut, all air chased from her lungs. She bent in two, unsteady on her feet. Robert didn't pause for a second before to send a shocker at her. She felt the slight pain run through her body as she was sent flying at the other end of the stand. She landed roughly, only spared any pain from her landing by the cushioning spell cast on the stand by Potter, earlier. Robert twirled his wand and disarmed her. Julie stayed on the floor for a long moment, panting, Robert walked to her, with a slight smile.
"Nice fight," he said, offering his hand to help her up.
Julie only glared at him, and she saw that he was a little shocked by that. She dismissed his help angrily, pushed herself back on her feet, and snatched her wand back from his hand, before to walk away without a word. The hall was silent. No one was even cheering for Robert, this time. Julie passed by Kalindra and ignored her concerned questioning. She pushed the doors open and stormed out of the dueling hall, fighting long enough for her self-control, so that no one would see her break. When she reached Gryffindor Tower, thankfully close from the duelling room, she hurried to her dorm and sought refuge on her bed. Rage, frustration, anguish and self-loathing finally got to her and she started to sob into her pillow.
"Are you alright, Julie?" asked a voice, right at Julie's next exit from the Common Room, a few hours later.
She had taken the time to fix her make-up and intended to act as if she hadn't cracked. But the voice caught her off-guard and she turned, wide eyed, to face Ginny Weasley. The reporter had a smile.
"Harry told me you put on quite a show, this afternoon," she explained. "He was worried for you. So I told him I'd check on you."
"I'm fine," said Julie, without any harshness. "Really, don't worry."
"Ginny's rule twenty-two: 'fine' is not fine at all," said Ginny, wisely. "Come on, Julie, walk with me."
She extended her hand and Julie followed with a smile.
"I've been watching you," said Ginny. "I see you growing more and more frustrated with each day, since the beginning of September. What's eating up at you, like that?"
Julie sighed deeply. Ginny had been there for her through the whole mess of the Warlocks, and she had helped her saving her friendship with Kenneth, last year. And now she had gone and squandered all of her help by acting like the stupidest bitch ever. At least she owed Ginny Weasley some honesty.
"I've made a mess of things, and now it's starting to pile up," she said. "And I'm tired, angry, mostly at myself, and nothing I try to do is enough to fix it. And I snapped, at the duelling club."
"I heard you dueled your boyfriend," said Ginny.
"More like I went for his throat," said Julie, bitterly. "I don't know... for a moment, his arrogance became... a beacon for my rage. I guess I took it out on him. And that wasn't enough to defeat him. Even pissed off like I never was before, I can't win a school duel."
"Mr Donahue seems to be very skilled in dueling," said Ginny.
"But I was angry at him because this is school duellng," said Julie. "And I was looking down in anger at him, because I've been out there, where the danger is real. And the way he boasts about all this... it's wrong. But when I faced him, I couldn't beat him."
"You couldn't beat him because you were furious," said Ginny, sententiously. "Always keep your self-control in a duel. It's like Quidditch, really. You always have to keep a measure of calm and lucidity."
"Easier said than done," said Julie. "I just... I just feel I have no control over my life. I have this blasted cult after me. I'm haunted by visions and no matter how good Professor Wroxton is to me, I can't seem to find a way to stop them from messing with my life. I'm a lousy friend and I'm starting to realize I'm a lousy girlfriend... And I broke someone's heart. Quite the résumé for the descendant of Atlantis royalty, isn't it?"
"You put too much on your shoulders, Julie," said Ginny. "I don't think your friends expect that much from you."
"I'm taking all the wrong steps," said Julie. "And I can't change my direction."
"I don't understand that," said Ginny, concernedly. "Why couldn't you change? If your relationship with your boyfriend isn't working, break up. If you need to reconnect with your friends..."
"I can't change my path," said Julie. "If I do, the outcome will be worse."
"Julie, we're talking about your visions, here, aren't we?" said Ginny, seriously. "What have you seen?"
Julie shook her head.
"I… I can't," she said.
"Julie, this is very serious," said Ginny, urgently. "If you have seen something that bad, you need to tell someone about it."
Julie was panicked, now. Because if she revealed her vision of Kenneth, how many questions would rise with it? Why wouldn't she tell the teachers? How could she think she would be able to deal with it alone? And she was terrified to face her own arrogance and stupidity.
"Julie," said Ginny, once more. "This is important. This is no school matter, is it?"
And that did it. She was right of course. Julie had been so angry at Robert for making such a fuss about the dueling competition, while she prided herself to know what was really important. Now, she needed to follow her own logic. There were lives at stake and she couldn't deal with it.
It was time to admit she needed help.
"Let me start by telling you that I understand," said Wroxton.
Julie raised her eyes to her, astonished.
They were settled back in her office. Miss Weasley had insisted that they would go to talk to Wroxton about this vision. Once she had begun to talk about it, it had all poured out of her. She told both women everything, from the dreams to the actions she had taken to prevent it, and the painful frustration to be still haunted by the visions.
And now Wroxton said she understood? How could she? When she looked back at what she had done, Julie couldn't say anything else than 'you've been an idiot'. And Wroxton was supportive?
"How can you even…" she began.
"I told you many times of the impact of a prophecy," said Wroxton, raising a hand to gently cut her sentence. "It messes with your mind. It's a warning from the future. It's almost like it's written in stone. Even if you know how the future can be in constant motion, it does put everything into a certain frame. It's a natural reaction. The human mind does that. Now, when you consider that these visions have haunted you for months… It does take its toll, doesn't it, Julie? You get restless, you grow obsessed. You can't see anything else. There is a point, where the visions keep you from thinking straight. And you make bad calls, sometimes."
"You're saying that I'm so engrossed in that vision that it explains why I've been a stupid bit…" Julie stopped herself before she finished that sentence, embarrassed by her lack of control.
Wroxton and Miss Weasley had a slight smile.
"Julie," said the Seer. "You are sixteen. Your mind tends to seek the simplest solution. Once you had decided of a way of action, you stood by it, and the visions piling up only convinced you that it was the only way. I'm not saying it's the right decision or that you were right not to tell me or anyone in the staff about it, but I can see why you chose to act like that."
Julie dropped her eyes.
"I guess I did handle my first days as a Seer pretty poorly, huh?" she said.
"I wouldn't say that," said Miss Weasley. "You received a vision, and you sought the way to prevent it to come true. That's commendable."
"Indeed," said Wroxton. "That's the whole point of these visions, really."
"But?" said Julie, knowing there was more.
"But you made bad assumptions on many things," said Miss Weasley. "You assumed you knew Kenneth's behavior enough. You also didn't trust your friends enough. They would have helped…"
"They risked so much, already!" said Julie. "I don't want any of them put in danger because of me. I'm not worth it!"
"So that's the actual issue, here, isn't it?" said Wroxton. "You don't think you're worth that kind of sacrifice. Why not?"
"Because I'm nothing special!" said Julie. "I... I see them. Kenneth, Kalindra, Kieran, Ian... they are all so brave and clever. And they all risked their life... for me? Why? All I brought them is trouble and heartache and..."
"They are your friends," said Miss Weasley. "They became your friends despite the threat over you. They care about you and your safety. I know Kenneth a bit, you know. The others not so much, but I saw how they act. They are faithful friends. To care for you is their choice. There is no logic, no notion of being worth it. They don't expect you to be perfect or even, as you say, special. They just want to help."
"And this is how I repay them," said Julie, somberly.
"Don't see it that way," said Miss Weasley. "True, your way of dealing with Kenneth wasn't the right move, but so far, you haven't caused them true harm. Nothing that you have done cannot be fixed, Julie."
Julie looked at her, not daring to hope that she may be right.
"At some point, though, you will have to tell Kenneth the truth," said Wroxton. "This may be his fate at stake. You can't keep those visions only to yourself."
Julie nodded slowly, knowing that this time, she was clearly right.
She would have to talk to Kenneth. If only for the heartache she had caused him, she owed him the truth. Only she was terribly afraid, now. That revelation could actually ruin what friendship she could have with him forever.
Still, she knew she had to change things. She just didn't know how.
Ok, so there is progress, at least a bit of progress, there. We can only wait and see if Julie can sort things out. Hope you liked it.
See ya next time, hopefully before August is done.