I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the two main pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them certainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
Please note that due to the constant technical troubles of the site, the story is now also being published at AO3. The story will update every second Saturday until the year is done.
I'll try to answer all my reviews, since I do like the feedback for improvement. So please tell me your thoughts on the story in reviews. I would appreciate it. The more feedback I get, the more I can improve the story even further.
Please note that this chapter is censored. If you want to read the spicier parts, you find those on AO3.
This story does have a TvTropes page. You can find the link in my bio. Feel free to visit and contribute to it.
Chapter 75: The Contrasting Blacks
A sigh of relief went through the school when the time came for the second four-way Quidditch match of the school year. The news from the outside were worsening - several days ago Greyback had caused a terrible carnage and as if to mock his victims built a terrifying shine out of their body parts - and any form of distraction was welcome.
Up in the stands, discussion was going on about the game.
"I've heard that Ron said he has adapted tactics after learning from the first game, though he isn't saying much about details. In fact, the entire team isn't saying much," Neville said while they were waiting for the teams to appear.
"That is very smart of them," Luna commented while fiddling with something that looked like a cross between a prayer chain and Macramé. "That way the other teams will know as little as possible about their tactic."
Hermione looked at the thing Luna was fiddling with. "Is the question allowed what that is supposed to be?" she asked Luna.
"You can most certainly ask. I have created a good luck charm for our team." She then saw the skeptical look Hermione gave her. "I do not think I have the needed skill to create a functioning one, but it is the thought that counts."
"If you say so..." Hermione saw that Luna was dead-serious about it, but while knowing that luck potions existed, she still had her doubts that the thing Luna had made could ever fulfill any function.
"Is she doing that often?" Astoria asked, not sitting with her friends due to how they acted when it came to Quidditch.
"That's our Luna and that's exactly how we like her," Neville said, then blushed when seeing the look of approval Luna was giving him.
Astoria saw that easily. "Please don't do that here! I'm not sitting with Daphne because Justin is sitting next to her and both of them get embarrassing to sit with!"
Down in the locker room meanwhile, Ron was giving some last minute words.
"All right, we have prepared well. Last time, we didn't exactly know what we were in for, but this time there won't be any surprises!" Ron announced to the team.
"That's what all leaders say and we know no plan survives the encounter with the enemy," Katie Bell snarked, having heard the same from Oliver Wood. She then noticed the looks she was getting. "It's nothing against Ron, just that we shouldn't expect things to go according to plan."
Ron looked a bit impatient. "Well, that's why I took care to also go through alternatives. The important part is being able to switch on the fly."
"Don't worry about that, Ron," Ginny told her brother. "We are going to smoke them."
"Better don't become overconfident, Ginny," Harry warned his girlfriend, knowing that she would be the chaser for this game.
Ginny's expression became more humble. "Well, yes. But we'll still give them hell this time."
"I honestly would expect nothing less of you, little spitfire," Harry told her with genuine affection.
There were several chuckles from the team. "Better keep the flirting for after the game, otherwise Ginny will look more at you than the snitch," Katie warned jokingly.
Ron for his part had grown a thick hide over time and no longer was phased by such displays of affection between Harry and his sister. As long as they didn't so anything too graphical in his presence - like that damn incident in this very locker room - he could live well enough with the knowledge that Harry and Ginny were sure to do more than that.
Back on the stands, Hagrid had joined everyone by now.
His mood had taken a turn for the worse due to Aragog's health worsening and him knowing that his friend would soon find his end. Of course he couldn't say so right now, so he had to try and pretend he simply was trying to find some distraction. That made him not good for conversation at the moment, though he tried to anyway.
"No, really, you don't have to take special consideration on my mood," Hagrid tried to assure them.
"It is interesting that in you need to see that we have a good time, you are setting yourself up for a far less enjoyable experience," Luna observed while fiddling with her self-made luck charm.
"Uhm..." Hagrid had no idea what to say about that.
Hermione tried not to comment on it, out of respect for Hagrid. Astoria on the other hand could't help but to speak up. "Respecting others is good, but don't pull yourself down in return."
"Maybe she is right. After all, your friend surely don't want you to be miserable," Hermione added, feeling the need to give some context for Hagrid.
Hagrid understood that Hermione meant that Aragog, despite the fact of him impending demise, surely didn't want him to be miserable.
"Ah, the teams are arriving!" Neville then called, knowing this distraction was very timely.
Indeed, the noise rose significantly when all four teams entered the pitch and soon enough the game was on. The second game got many interesting comments by the spectators.
"Woah, I had no idea you could even used a bludger that way!" Magdalena said in awe when watching the incredible feat.
"Yes, but ouch! That girl cried out in pain really loud when it slammed against her tits," Marvin added, ignoring the looks his female friend was giving him.
"I'm more impressed by him there throwing two quaffles at the same time," Mark said, pointing to the chaser in question.
A different pair also was impressed.
"Man, I had seen your friends in games before, but this..." Justin said in awe while watching Millicent using her bat to hit bludgers with incredible force while Dudley tried his best to imitate a wall before the goal hoops.
"They told me they would give it all and they didn't lie." Daphne for her part was again amazed how her bulky friends could be so nimble. It also was a reminder that unlike them she was not that much into sports and thus looked like a twig compared to them.
The game continued, and if anything it was much wilder than the first 4-way game, though behind that were serious tactics by each team. From his post at the goal hoops, Ron could see that his plan was working and that the attacks on the Gryffindor hoops were less numerous. The whole tactic was banking on making the other three teams more concerned with each other. While that meant the other teams also had a higher probability to make goals against each other, it was worth getting significantly less goals against them in return. The trick was to sneak in their own goals against the other teams.
Ron looked to where his sister was circling. All right, Ginny, prove once more that your eyes are as sharp as always. Unlike last time we won't miss it this time.
The game was giving the spectators everything they wanted from it, being highly entertaining and fast-paced. However, as the minutes went by, a trend in the points was slowly starting to become visible, where the Gryffindor team was getting ahead of the other three teams, despite all four teams getting more points constantly.
In the stands Neville looked at the game with awe. "Man, I've seen professional games, and while this doesn't reach that level, it's way more intense than past games."
"At least it's a lot fairer than professional games. I still remember the literal bloodbath that was the World Cup finale," Hermione added, remembering the sheer level of brutality all too well due to how cavalier it all had been treated.
Luna, who had constantly watched the game through her omnioculars, spoke up. "It looks like Ginny has spotted the snitch."
Indeed, Ginny had spotted the snitch, but ths also did the other three seekers. She pushed her broom to the limit to get it before them, looking like she was dive bombing. She did catch it... but then had to break so hard, that se was thrown off her broom. That thankfully was a mere two meters above ground, but she tumbled over the ground and thus through the cold mud.
When she finally came to a stop, she actually looked like a girl made of mud. She felt several bruises forming and was wet and cold from the mud covering all of her, but that didn't stop her from proudly presenting the snitch to the crowd.
In fact she was proud to have underscored her reputation as a tomboy who was not afraid to dig into the dirt.
...later that day...
"Woah, Ginny! Where is the fire?!" Harry asked while Ginny was almost literally dragging him through the corridors of Hogwarts.
"Oh, no fire, but I want us to celebrate some more... with a personal touch," Ginny said cryptically, her now being sparkling clean after a long an intense shower being a stark contrast to mud-Ginny from the pitch.
Harry got an idea what Ginny meant. "Wait, you mean...?"
"Oh no, not exactly that. I don't think either of us feels ready for you to conquer that undiscovered country," Ginny said with a slightly nervous giggle - something she normally didn't do.
Harry understood. While Ginny and him had become quite frisky with each other, she still was nervous about him sticking his rod into her. He understood that, since he also was a bit uneasy about it. He wanted their first time to be something special and Ginny agreed with him that it better not be some spur-of-the-moment thing.
Ron and Hermione have hung the bar really high... he added silently. While those two had said nothing, everyone came to the same conclusion that Hermione had saved the moment for Ron as a birthday gift.
"Then, how do you want us to celebrate?" Harry asked.
"Well... while we won't conquer the undiscovered country, we most certainly can explore it... thoroughly," Ginny said and Harry knew what she meant.
"Meaning completely without...?" Harry saw Ginny nod slowly while they reached where the entrance to the Room of Requirement was. "I remember what we've already done, but that feels like a really big step."
Ginny couldn't help but agree while making the door appear, leading into a cozy bedroom. "Of course I also feel like I've swallowed a whole swarm of butterflies, but I think we will enjoy this a lot."
"Oh yes." The idea of them being fully naked was already causing interesting effects.
Ginny, after closing the door behind them, blushed a little. "You know, one of my fantasies was us undressing each other..."
"I can see why you would have that one," Harry for his part also found the idea quite erotic.
That exactly was what they then did. Slowly, one article of clothing after the other, after they were both down to their underwear. Ginny then encouraged Harry to take off her bra - though he did need some instructions how to do so properly - and once said garment fell away, Harry for the first time got an unobstructed view of Ginny's breasts.
Granted, they were not as big as some of the pictures of naked women he had seen - blame him being a teenage boy - which very likely was due to her age of 15, but they in his mind were the most wonderful pair of breasts he's ever seen because they belonged to Ginny. Ginny also seemed quite excited already, since he doubted cool air was responsible for her pink nipples to be hard and erect.
The sight had an understandable effect on Harry. "Looks like you are concealing a wand in there," Ginny said while looking at the tent in his boxers. Though Harry's upper body also held a certain appeal to her, seeing how all the Quidditch training had paid off in the physical department.
"I'm not the only one concealing something," Harry returned, having noticed a small but growing wet spot on Ginny's knickers.
By mutual agreement they hooked fingers into the waistband of each other's last piece of clothing and then carefully pulled down, exposing themselves to each other.
(This spicy part is only found on AO3, read there for the full scene)
It took them well over an hour before they both emerged from the room.
Harry seemed to have trouble to wear his glasses straight while Ginny's hair looked like she had been in a tornado. However, the goofy smile both of them sported spoke volumes about how they'd had a great time.
...Hogwarts owlery, March 25th...
Harry was in the owlery tower of Hogwarts, telling Hedwig that her safety was more important than a fast delivery, reminding her that a white owl was rather distinctive and thus she should take care not to be spotted. Hedwig for her part looked moved how much Harry cared for her well-being and that to him she was more than just a post owl.
While carefully tying the letter to Hedwig's leg, Harry looked over to where Luna was being busy with tying her own letter to the leg of one of the school owls, which were for those students who didn't own an owl of their own. However, meeting her here was a stroke of luck, since he finally wanted to check why Luna seemed to avoid being alone with him.
Looking at her actions, Harry decided to ask her something in order to start the conversation.
"I always wonder why you are relying on school owls instead of getting your own. After all, it would be so much more convenient," Harry asked Luna.
"Oh, our family is trying to adapt as much as possible to our neighborhood. Having an owl would be an obvious giveaway that we are magical," Luna told Harry, feeling this explanation was purely logical.
"Honestly, that makes no sense. I've had Hedwig for six years and never did anyone in our neighborhood blink an eye at the fact that we have a snowy owl in the house," Harry reminded her. "It more feels like your parents have gone a little too far in their efforts to adapt."
Luna blinked, then tried to refute Harry's point but realized after some moments that he was correct. "That... is a good point. Why have I never thought about it?"
"Maybe it was what you've always known, so you didn't question it?" Harry guessed.
Luna actually looked a bit bothered while releasing the owl carrying her letter. "I pride myself at being able to discover the motives of others, yet I was blind about myself. I do need to better myself."
From the outside perspective Harry had noticed over the years how the girl had changed, Luna having become more open, expressive and generally more socially aware, thus improving her relations with others outside of her group of friends. It was so easy now to forget that what all of them saw as obvious could be something that Luna, whose mind at times worked in strange ways, was unable to see unless being made aware of it.
He felt now was a good time to ask the actual question. "Luna, there is something I wonder about," Harry asked her after having sent Hedwig on her way. "I already noticed it during our fifth year, but this year it's even more pronounced. While it's no problem when we are together in a group, you seem to avoid being around me when we are on our own."
It honestly had been small things, but over time a pattern had developed. Sure, Luna had always been closer to Neville - who now was her boyfriend - and Ginny - her first real friend pretty much from the start - but he found it rather odd how Luna seemed on purpose try to avoid interacting with him when it just was the two of them. Meeting her in the owlery had been just a chance encounter.
Harry's question stopped Luna dead in her tracks. "You did notice?"
Harry had not expected that answer. "You... actually did avoid me?"
While she tried to hide it, being caught made Luna show for her unusual signs of nervousness. "Not avoid but..." Luna was trying to put it into words. "Ginny is my friend."
"Uh, and?" Harry wondered at this non-sequitur.
If anything, now Luna started to look guilty when realizing that her actions unintentionally had hurt Harry's feelings. "Ginny was my very first friend... she showed so much patience with me over the years. Being with you makes Ginny happy and so I wanted to give her ample opportunity..."
Harry tried to understand what exactly Luna was trying to tell him and after some moments he had put it together. "Luna, you thought that limiting your time around me, I would spend more time with Ginny and that it would make Ginny happy?"
"It did sound like a good idea at the time..." Luna felt strange. It not only was the realization, it also felt like now that she had become aware how she had hurt her friend with her misguided actions, the bond was punishing her by making her feel Harry's hurt feelings. It was a highly alarming feeling.
Seeing that Luna was starting to cry - something which for her was a rarity - Harry realized that Luna must feel like she had done something unforgivable. Holding the girl close he tried to calm her down. "Luna... Luna, you haven't ruined our friendship. I'm disappointed, yes, but not angry at you."
"I... I still was a horrible friend!" Part of Luna would have never believed how much she could lose control, crying into Harry's shoulder.
"You had good intentions... But instead of doing that, you could just have talked with us," Harry told Luna, trying to not upset the girl even more.
It took a bit before Luna had calmed down enough to look Harry into the eyes, her own eyes red from crying behind her glasses. "I could just have...? What was I thinking?"
"My guess is, that you overthought the entire thing." Seeing Luna's running nose, he gave her a tissue and she blew her nose. "Me being in a relationship with Ginny and us being good friends are not mutually exclusive after all."
"I feel very foolish now," Luna said, unused to having messed up like this.
"You made an honest mistake. I know emotions and social stuff are not your strong suit... Just never do that again to assume that our relationships with each other are a zero-sum game," Harry reminded Luna.
"I -hic-..." Luna had developed a hiccup. "Should I -hic- confess to the -hic- others?"
"They will be somewhat disappointed as well, but won't judge you for it. Have faith in them," Harry assured her.
Luna intellectually knew that Harry was right and her friends - and especially her boyfriend - would forgive her for her error in judgment. It didn't help with her still feeling really bad over it. It took her some moments before she realized what that feeling actually was.
This is what a bad conscience feels like? It is very good at reminding me to not do such a thing again, Luna realized.
...March 30th...
"Oh dear, I honestly had not thought that my little idea of a morale booster would be this successful," Slughorn remarked when seeing how busy the younger years were with trying finding the hidden Easter eggs that had been planted throughout the school grounds.
This was one of his morale boosters which he had planned, especially after the good experiences with the same event two years ago. However, he had not foreseen how popular it would be this time, causing more students than last time to participate in the egg search. Even a number of students from the higher years eagerly participated.
"The students need distraction from the dire news coming from the outside. This is just what they need and they gladly take it," Luna commented, looking a bit awkward.
There was little question why she was awkward. She after all had confessed what she had done in order to ensure that Harry and Ginny would have more time together. And yes, her friends were disappointed with her for doing so instead of being open about it right away. Luna for her part remembered Ginny taking her aside before giving her some gentle but firm words about her actions.
She was not any less Ginny's friend now as she was before, but she knew her friend was disappointed in her, and that made her feel bad. She knew it would take time for all of this to heal, so she was stuck with a feeling of shame she very much was unfamiliar with.
Slughorn had not expected the Easter egg hunt to be this popular. "I don't like having to ask this of you, but perhaps you and others can quickly hide more eggs on the other side of the castle grounds?"
The Six gave each other a look. "Well, we do have more than enough eggs left to hide..." Ron said, remembering the boxes they hadn't used when initially preparing everything.
"It would be good to give the younger students something more," Harry agreed, having already made up his mind. He gave his friends a look and they nodded. "We'll get some of the others and then plant more eggs. Perhaps you can tell them the hunt will then continue on the other side of the grounds in due time?"
"Oh, good, good!" Slughorn was relieved that the problem was solved. "Go ahead, I'll tell the students."
Several minutes later, the Six and some students that had volunteered were outside on the castle grounds and took the wrapped eggs out of their boxes. No one needed to be told what to do, thus they spread out in order to hide the eggs - though not hide them too much, since they had to be found easy enough after all.
It's a bit egoistical, but I hope some eggs will still be left over for us, Ron thought while setting up the eggs he had brought along. Hermione is still afraid how her parents will react one they find out I've given her a taste for chocolate.
Ron had just set down a nest with the egg in the taller grass, when suddenly. -crtsh- -crtsh- That sounded like someone walking on the grass, but glancing to where it came from, he saw nothing. That did raise his neck hairs and taking hold of his wand, he suddenly jumped to the side in a roll, like Moody had made them train. He did all that in under three seconds.
"Diffindo!" Where he had been standing, a deep gash was being ripped into the ground, the egg he'd just set up cleanly being sliced in two. Had that hit him, he would have been dead. The Ron of two years ago would have been dead, but the current Ron Weasley had been through lots of training, which was paying off.
A Severing Charm! Shit, I know that voice exactly! Ron had recognized Malfoy's voice, but since he couldn't see him, he knew Malfoy had to be invisible. "Malfoy, you rat! I know you are here!"
"Diffindo!" Another Severing Charm, but this time Ron was prepared. "Protegro!"-tcchhh- It dissipated against a conjured shield charm while Ron quickly looked around and saw in the grass where Malfoy was walking. "Gotcha!"
Ron knew, killing Malfoy wouldn't be good, but roughing him up in self-defense was perfectly fine. "Repulso!" That had a wide area of effect and the intended outcome, since he did hear a shout of pain and something was catapulted away from him. "Where are you?!"
However, after hearing an impact, Ron only could hear someone running away from him. "Damn coward!"
Ron was about to give chase, when seeing in the distance that he was not the only one having trouble.
Some moments earlier, Hermione had set down her load and was looking around to find a good place to start hiding the eggs.
Her eyes had drifted to the eggs, before she scolded herself. Keep yourself under control! Those eggs are not for you!
That was easier said than done due to Ron having managed to give her a taste for chocolate, especially the good one used in those eggs. She thanked all that is holy that her parents had no idea of this, otherwise it would raise their neck hairs. After all, they had taught her the value of balanced and healthy eating habits.
She was about to take the first egg, when she stopped, hearing something.
The Hermione of two years ago would have missed it entirely, having been a simple student and intellectual girl, but she no longer was that girl. Glancing to the side, she didn't see anyone, but she did pick up the sound of breathing as well as the grass being disturbed. Her training kicking in, she jumped to the side while taking hold of her wand. That all had happened in a mere two seconds.
"Bombarda!" -Blom!-The spell missed her by a mile, instead exploding the eggs, pieces of chocolate raining everywhere. The spell would have ripped a hole through her spine, had she not shown constant vigilance.
That's Pansy - I do recognize her voice right away! Hermione then managed to deflect another Explosion Charm with a quickly conjured shield - that even non-verbally though she kept that in her mind for later.
Does she think being invisible makes her invincible?! Hermione was not as good in Defense as Harry and some others, but she had learned enough to defend herself properly against threats. Spotting where the grass was being disturbed, she now fired back with a spell of her own creation.
A rain of plant thorns blasted in an arc from her wand. "Oooouuugh!" A cry of pain was enough to show she had hit Pansy. Numerous thorns sticking on an invisible target. Said invisible target suddenly was running away, shaking off the thorns in the process. Hermione knew giving chase would be pointless.
"Hermione!" That was Ron running to her, wand drawn. "That bastard Malfoy tried to attack me! Was that ...?"
"Yes, Parkinson. But I did take care of her." The adrenaline leaving her, Hermione held onto Ron. "That came out of nowhere... I..."
"Constant Vigilance has paid off..." Ron himself also only now realized that those two could have killed them. Seeing the others running to them, he knew one thing for sure. "That's it... To hell with plans for some greater picture!"
o
Draco and Pansy up to now had thought that they had seen Snape when he was livid, but in fact they hadn't. They were doing so now, only instead of hot anger, Snape was radiating a cold anger that was way worse. It had been several hours since their attempts to do serious harm to Potter's companions Weasley and Granger had failed - and a big part of the blame had to fall onto them actually having chickened out at the last moment, though it in the end wouldn't have made a difference.
They had not known that even without them hesitating for a moment, the spells would have missed due to the training their targets had gone through. Snape actually had caught onto that fact. "You are telling me you got cold feet at the last moment and it only added to you messing up what you are doing?"
"Y-yes..." Pansy stammered. "I know I would have missed anyway, it's like they have eyes in the back of their heads, but that contributed. W-we hesitated a bit too much."
"Also, where did you get the wands to cast the spells?!" He held up the offending wands. "I know for sure that your wands are locked away outside of lessons and these are from Ollivander's stolen stock," Snape wanted to know this, since the whole thing by now was an utter mystery to him. How were they smuggling these items into the castle?
"N-no!" It seemed Draco was having at least some courage left.
"We won't tell! We won't!" It seemed Pansy was wanting to keep at least some shred of control.
"Very well..." Snape gave them sharp looks. "I hope you understand the consequences of your actions, since it was impossible for me to disguise this. The Headmaster is now onto you. Though there is no hard proof, he is now watching you like a hawk and you will no longer have any chance at further attempts."
"We've failed?" Draco paled at the realization.
Snape saw that those two now had realized the trouble they were in. "Oh yes, you messed up badly enough that the Dark Lord also wants to give you a message... He called you foolish and that he and Bellatrix are most eager to meet you, once the school year is over."
Seeing how both teenagers now looked like they were walking towards their own execution, he knew they understood that Voldemort was highly displeased with them and they would get severely punished. To be honest, Snape didn't like that he had to contribute to their bleak future, but in the end it was their own decisions which had caused them to end up in this place.
Snape left without any further word.
"Pansy... I..." Draco didn't manage to say more when Pansy held onto him as if her life depended on it.
They both had not imagined it to be this way. At the beginning of the school year they both had been, despite the horrifying training Bellatrix had put them through, been very confident they could do the task the Dark Lord had given them with ease. But now they knew better and it filled them with terrible dread for the future.
Fact of the matter was, even though both of them had let out their brutal side during the days of the Inquisitorial Squad, actually maiming or murdering someone was something entirely different when you had to do it directly instead of using a mechanism or ordering it. Yes, their attempts would have failed anyway today, but today had also shown them brutally that they were a far cry from the men and women Voldemort normally had at his command.
If anything, that only made their fear worse.
Snape some time later was in the office of the Headmaster, having reported everything.
"...they don't have it in them to truly maim or murder someone. It explains why before they had only tried to do so indirectly, since that disassociated them from the act," Snape ended his report.
"At least they are not that far gone." Dumbledore nonetheless looked determined. "We take no more chances and now suppress any further attempts they try. Once the school year is over, we won't let them leave, since only death awaits them there."
Moody, who also was present, looked up. "Finally... but why only arrest them then?"
"Because we have to keep up the pretense and win time." Dumbledore was not proud of such a cold reasoning, but he had to think about the bigger picture. "Nonetheless, I can no longer tolerate any further endangerment of the students."
"Ngh..." Moody look unimpressed, but at least he now knew those two would be done in. "Wouldn't the main reason be because there now is lots of fire under your arse?!"
Dumbledore grimaced at the reminder. "Mister Weasley and Miss Granger were very... harsh with their words, since they had been in considerable danger. Even though technically both of them are adults now, their parents did get involved as well."
Snape knew that Dumbledore must have been roasted over a small flame for the incident, since it was him allowing Draco and Pansy to stay at the school that had enabled it in the first place. "Cowed into submission by Molly Weasley..."
"No, not her. Though she also was very vocal..." Dumbledore now looked troubled. "The Grangers were really calm, but told me they were very tempted to strap me to a chair and then use dentist drills on me."
The other two men paled, both of them knowing what a dentist drill was.
"Don't make them your enemy," Moody said after having drunk from his hip flask to calm his nerves. "What I can't understand is how those two smuggled the wands into the castle. That damn room can't create them for outside usage, so they must have smuggled them in. But how...?"
"I wish I knew, but the Dark Lord has not lost a single word about that." Snape felt quite annoyed with that mystery by now.
Still, one way or another, the days of Draco and Pansy at Hogwarts were numbered now - not that they would tell them.
...April 18th, the Riddle House...
"My Lord, I have to admit that I honestly am a little confused," Barty admitted to Voldemort.
"Really, Barty? In which regard?" Voldemort asked while giving attention to Nagini. The throne room otherwise was empty.
"You know that Bellatrix right at the moment is giving birth to your first offspring, and yet you defy common expectation and are not present at all for that event. It does confuse me," Barty explained.
Indeed, hours ago Bellatrix had almost doubled over in pain when her water had broken, signaling that the birthing process had started. To Barty's great confusion however, the Dark Lord was acting like nothing was different from usual. He knew that Pettigrew, Alecto and Amycus also were confused, but only he had dared to ask the question, since he had the most clout with the Dark Lord.
Voldemort chuckled dryly. "Your question shows, Barty, that your priorities have not yet matured. Once you reach my age, you' ll have had certain realizations about how the world works - a wisdom I was fortunate to gain early on."
"Can I request of you to impart that wisdom on me, Master?" Barty asked, now honestly wondering what kind of wisdom Voldemort had gained that was connected to not being present when Bellatrix gave birth.
"No need to be that formal, Barty." It seemed Voldemort was more amused than anything. The war against the Ministry was going well, though there were many smaller setbacks that at times had seriously angered him. He was chalking up those to the Order, making him wonder how much support Dumbledore truly had gathered.
Being done with Nagini, Voldemort now gave Barty his full attention. "The simple answer is, that you have to concentrate on what is truly important and can't allow yourself to become attached on an emotional level."
Barty needed a moment to think about it. Even though he understood why the Dark Lord thought like that - and there was a logic behind it - part of him was knew he would never be able to actually do so himself. Even he, as ruthless and loyal to the cause as he was, felt unable to actually let go of all and any emotional attachments.
"To my shame I have to admit I would be unable to do so," Barty finally admitted.
"And that is why Lord Voldemort is the strongest of all," Voldemort concluded like it was the most logical thing in the world. "Bella knows that as well, thus she is perfectly happy with me not being present."
Despite his loyalty to Voldemort, Barty honestly didn't want to become like that.
On the ground floor meanwhile, Bellatrix was panting.
It finally was over. Giving birth had been really exhausting and felt like she was being split open, yet she was down and ready to do so again, as a service to the Dark Lord was the greatest honor. The baby finally was out - as if the cries were not proof enough - and the healer was being busy with removing everything else that had come out of her from between her legs.
"Is the child healthy? I have no wish to disappoint the Dark Lord," Bellatrix finally asked.
If the healer was disturbed by the indifference, she didn't show it. "Yes, she is perfectly healthy. It is a daughter, Lady Lestrange."
Bellatrix looked slightly disappointed. "I had hoped for a son, but it doesn't matter to the Dark Lord. After all, there will be more. When can I be back on my feet?"
"You need to recover. Pregnancy and childbirth take a significant toll on the body of a woman. It will be at least a week before you truly will be back on your feet, even with magical healing. It will take longer for all the aftereffects to disappear," the healer explained, being strangely unafraid of Bellatrix.
"I will arrange for an elf to take care of the girl. I do have more important tasks than being her nursemaid. As the Dark Lord's child, she will have to learn to be independent from very early on." The statement was cold and very much showed that Bellatrix held no emotional attachment to the baby girl.
"I know my memories of these events will be wiped anyway. As loyal as I am to the Dark Lord, secrecy is of the utmost importance here." It was disturbing to see how calmly the healer was about having her memories erased. "Yet, before that is done, is it allowed to ask what name the girl does have?"
Bellatrix looked over to were the newborn girl was screaming, glad that she would not have the job of constantly having to take care of her, she decided to humor the healer. "The Dark Lord does have a list of names for the males and females of his line. Her name is Delphini, first in the Dark Lord's line."
o
Right at the same moment, another birth was taking place in Hogwarts. However, compared to the detached coldness showcased in the Riddle House, here the circumstances were vastly different.
It had been during the final Defense class of the day when Dora's water had broken. The sight of that happening, especially the look on her face, had scared many of the girls in the class stiff - them still remembering Madam Pomfrey's lesson on sex and reproduction all too well. Thankfully, due to Remus being right with her, there was no time lost when he'd rushed her to the hospital wing.
That was where they were right now.
"Mum... Urgh... Did I put you through all of this?" Dora whined while feeling another contraction hit her.
"Yes, you did. Now you understand how much work it was to give birth to you," Andromeda said while being busy between her daughter's legs.
Andromeda had insisted to be the healer present when Dora's gave birth, and her insistence - brought forward with the confidence of a Black woman - meant no one would deny her this. That was why she was doing the lion's share of the work, with Madam Pomfrey more acting as her helper. Of course it helped that Andromeda was a highly qualified healer and was very invested in that there would be no complications.
"Oh great... Nnngh..." Dora looked to where her husband sat beside her birthing bed, her holding onto his hands. "I guess I now have an idea who you feel each full moon."
"I doubt it's as bad as that," Remus tried to assure her. The transformation pain was something else, and he doubted giving birth could be compared to having your body being re-arranged.
"I think it's close enough!" Dora gasped out.
Remus didn't dare to voice his doubt, since Dora was already in enough discomfort. That her hair had returned to its natural brown color and seemed locked there was a hint at how stressed she currently was. There was no way he would add to what she currently was going through.
Andromeda looked up with a smile. "All right, you are close to being done. The baby is about to come out, so now all your strength is needed."
Dora now realized that all what had come before had just been the prelude. "Oh great..."
Outside of the hospital wing, there was nervous waiting.
That Ted Tonks was waiting outside was expected - after all, it was his daughter giving birth to his first grandchild. Sirius also was expected, since he always had a very good relationship with Dora. And the Six had over the years unofficially adopted Dora as the cool older sister and thus would be very eager to hear the news. Everyone else would hear the news later, not wanting to create too big of a crowd.
"I thought I'm prepared. After all, I also was waiting when Mark was born... As well as Steve and Kathleen..." Harry said, the wait by now having become unbearable for him.
"Harry, you are never prepared for such situations," Ted told Harry. "While I should envy my wife, since she is in there, I actually don't. I actually have it easy waiting out here for my first grandchild, while she has to help Dora through the whole birth."
Sirius - who of course also was present - chuckled. "I remember how nerve-wrecking it had been waiting for news of your birth, Harry. Though in a way I got off easy, since James later said Lily was particularly vicious during the birth."
"Please, I don't need to hear that!" Harry pleaded.
"That kind of makes me appreciate we two are the youngest. Means no memories of a tense atmosphere due to a sibling's birth," Ginny commented to Ron, her brother nodding in agreement.
"Yep, don't even want to imagine what Bill went through," Ron added, knowing that Bill must've had actual memories of waiting for news of most of the births of his siblings.
Thankfully, the waiting finally came to an end about twenty minutes later when the door opened and Andromeda walked out.
"Well, stop to worry, mother and child are both in good health, though both of them also are of course quite exhausted," Andromeda told them. "So if you are loud, I will throw you out."
They knew Andromeda would do so, thus they made an effort to lower their volume when they walked in. They quickly spotted Dora in a bed, looking like death warmed over, but at the same time looking almost deliriously happy. The reason clearly had to be the bundle she was holding. Remus, standing next to her bed, looked like he could burst with pride.
"Ah, all of you are here. Come closer..." Remus said when noticing them. "This little guy here is Edward Remus Lupin."
"Unlike Mum, we worked hard to give him a perfectly normal name, even though basically we just took Dad's name." Andromeda looked a bit annoyed while Dora looked to her father. "I know the short form would be 'Ted', but since that and his complete name would be confusing, 'Teddy' is perfectly acceptable."
"I don't know, I feel honored..." While taking a closer look, Ted noticed the fuzz on the baby's head change color. "Seems he's taking after you."
"That took all of us by surprise. Directly inheriting a rare treat like being a Metamorphmagus is almost unheard of," Andromeda admitted. That had been a hell of a surprise for everyone involved.
Everyone took a good look at the newborn baby Teddy with nothing but love and happiness.
After some time, Dora gave the teenagers a little embarrassed look. "Ehm, can one of you do me a favor and tell the Headmaster I'm resigning as of this moment form the Defense post? No way I want I want that curse to..."
She didn't have to finish when Ginny whipped out her wand and conjured her horse Patronus. "Tell the Headmaster that Dora Lupin wants to resign from her job, now that her baby is born. He better prepare all the paperwork." The Patronus then vanished through the wall to deliver the message.
"Somewhat unorthodox way to use a Patronus, but nonetheless impressive," Remus said, unable to hide how proud he was of the progress those teenagers had made.
"It's the fastest way, isn't it?" Ginny asked, clearly feeling there was nothing wrong with it.
o
Due to the wonderful event taking place, McGonagall had not been in her office for several hours - instead waiting for news somewhere else. That was unfortunate, since the Book of Attendance had written on the last slot of the current page about the birth of 'Delphini Riddle' right on this very day. She also would not see that entry, since the page then flipped over to document on the next page the next birth of a wizard on the British Isles with Edward Remus Lupin.
It was that entry that McGonagall would see, not thinking about flipping back to the previous page to look at the newest entries.
In 12 Grimmauld Place meanwhile, the magic woven into the family tapestry of the Blacks was doing its work as well. Indeed, it was working really hard due to this day having been filled with changes on the family tree.
On the entry were Remus and Dora were being shown as married, of course Teddy was being entered as their first child, the sketch of his baby picture just like the picture of his mother changing hair color regularly (even if in his case it at the moment was just some fuzz on his head). Kreacher had expected that to happen, having been told that the newest member of the Blacks was about to be born, thus he paid little attention to the tapestry, knowing Master Sirius was sure to tell him in person.
That again was unfortunate.
That was due to a bit before Teddy's entry appeared, the tapestry had begun to modify a different section. The entry of Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix still showed them to be childless. However, the tapestry instead drew two new entries. It was a mechanism built in by the Blacks of old to document illegal offspring - a mechanism that still was within the tapestry.
The name of Tom Moravolo Riddle appeared close to Bellatrix, the frame around the name and lack of a picture showing that he was not legally married to Bellatrix. From his and Bellatrix' entries two lines went to a new entry with a frame that indicated a bastard child - and which of course also held no picture.
The name in that entry was 'Delphini Riddle'.
...April 21st...
"Congratulations to most of you for passing the final exam in apparition, showing the needed skill and safety awareness. You already have been entered into the files at the Ministry for being permitted to use apparition from now on," the head tester announced while his assistant was giving out the license cards to those who had passed.
He then turned to a different group. "As for you, apparition is difficult to master. Even though you failed the final test, you can try again. At least this time there has been no accidents, which is something a number of your predecessors can't say of themselves."
No one tried to react to those final words, but it was futile. After all, they had been shown pictures of apparition gone wrong - in many cases from people doing so illegally - which had resulted in very graphic reminders that doing apparition without proper training was highly dangerous. The bloody pictures of severed body parts were a great motivation to learn this properly.
That's like saying the driving tests went well because no one caused a car crash this time, Hermione thought while accepting her card.
She probably would never understand the cavalier way many in the magical world were talking about serious injuries. The ability to cheat reality and come back from a lot of things that normally should be crippling to deadly had caused a serious disconnect. Her parents had compared it to people not caring about their teeth at all, since they just can have them regrown, resulting in utter carelessness.
"Well, this then concludes today. You will now be escorted back to the castle," the tester said.
The final test had been held in Hogsmeade for certain reasons, thus they now were on their way back to the castle. Hermione again looked at her license while being on the way back, before putting it away in her pocket. She was promising to herself that she would not go nuts with her new ability like some other people she knew had been. The stories Ron and Ginny had told her were cautionary tales to not go crazy with it.
Interestingly, her friends were already waiting for her at the gate.
"Did you get it?" Ginny asked, despite having been through this with almost all her brothers it never got old for her.
"I do have the proof right here." Hermione then showed them her license before putting it away again.
"Not that there was any doubt about you passing. Once you are determined about something, you work hard until you have reached your goal." Ron didn't care that Ginny grumbled that he was laying it on thick, since Hermione liked it.
"Eh, no one got maimed during the tests?" Neville asked, hoping that nothing happened.
"Thankfully, nothing happened. To be honest, none of us would have continued had something happened," Hermione admitted.
"Thank all goodness. I probably will never learn it, since I always have to think of what could go wrong," Neville admitted, since alone the description of spliching had been enough to put him off from wanting to learn it.
"It most certainly would be very distressing for me, should you lose parts of your body," Luna told Neville.
Luna still was somewhat awkward around her friends - especially Ginny - but she was getting better. It did help that they were not holding her serious error in judgment against her. Instead, the biggest obstacle was Luna herself having to come to terms with her own actions. She was getting there, but it would take some more time.
Galloping hooves stopped their conversation.
They saw a young centaur girl, whose age would be around ten years in human terms, running to them. They had seen her around, mostly close to the first-year students. It was amazing how children often were much more open to adapting than the adults were.
"There you are!" It seemed she had looked for them for some time, needing to catch her breath first. "Firenze sends me. He want to see you at the cottage! Be fast, he said."
"Oh-uh, that sounds like some kind of emergency," Harry said, wondering in what kind of trouble Hagrid had gotten.
They made haste to get to Hagrid's cottage as fast as possible. Nothing seemed amiss at first, but they did notice people behind the cottage. So they much haste and got to the back of the cottage... "AAAAHHHHHHH!" And that was Ron screaming in pure terror when seeing the carcass of a spider the size of a small elephant. Granted, it looked very dead, but that wasn't making it better for him and he was close to fainting from shock.
Not that he wasn't the only one getting scared out of their mind at the sight. Ginny later on would vehemently deny that that highly feminine shriek of terror had come from her, while Hermione had gone almost deathly pale. To them that had come out of nowhere.
"This was bound to happen," Firenze said with a shake of his head, before getting a big sheet and drape it over the carcass to hide it. "It is dead, so you have nothing to fear."
Ron slowly calmed down while the others noticed Hagrid kneeling next to the carcass, looking devastated. "Hagrid?" Harry asked carefully, having a feeling that Hagrid right now was emotionally fragile.
Hagrid looked to them with tear-soaked eyes, though also looked quite beaten up, like he had narrowly escaped something terrible. "Aragog... Aragog is dead. I... I still can't believe it."
Hagrid clearly was not the most communicative in such an emotional state, so Firenze decided to explain. "Hagrid was called to Aragog, as his final moments had arrived. Me and a friend of mine insisted on coming along, since we knew what would happen and to protect him in case other centaurs in the forest attack us."
"Like what happens with many types of spiders?" Hermione said with a gulp. "As soon as Aragog was dead, the colony went out of control and tried to cannibalize the corpse?"
"I see you are knowledgeable about such things, and yes, they tried. They of course also attacked us as well, since they right then saw us as fair game. Hagrid would have died had he been alone, but together we managed to get out and he brought the corpse of his friend along," Firenze explained what had happened.
"Whatever you do, do not enter the forest," Frienze's friend warned them. "The spiders are now highly aggressive, and since the part of the herd that chased us away is itching for conflict with them, the forest will be a very dangerous place to be in."
"We were told they will annihilate each other," Luna said calmly, though deep inside she found the impending bloodbath very disturbing.
"No doubt about that." Firenze's friend sounded more resigned than anything else about that fact.
o
The dusk was getting rather dark and the grounds next to Hagrid's cottage were illuminated by the light from torches. Hagrid had said that Aragog had liked this time of the day the most, so he would bury him at dusk. Of everyone that was being present, only Hagrid himself had ever met the living Aragog. Everyone else mostly was being present in order to support Hagrid, who had been hurt deeply by the demise of his friend and the horrible events that followed.
The Six were present as Hagrid's friends. Surprisingly, Slughorn was being present as well, saying that he felt he had a debt to Hagrid due to not reporting Tom Riddle when he was pusuing highly forbidden magic, resulting in Riddle keeping his white vest. Dumbledore was present due to knowing Hagrid needed support. Several centaurs - among them Firenze and Celestra - were being present since not only were they close to Hagrid, but they also wanted to honor Aragog as a fellow creature of the forest.
Hermione couldn't help but to make an observation while Hagrid was lowering the sheet-covered corpse into the grave. "It in a strange way is a fitting burial ceremony for a creature that's being seen as the king of spiders. Don't you think so?"
"Now that you mention it... The torches the centaurs are holding, an honor guard by dusk, the memorial stone at the head of the grave. Not that it helps Hagrid's mood," Harry observed, then looked to Luna. "Wasn't that memorial stone your idea?"
"Yes, it was. Not only to honor his place as a king of spiders, but also to give Hagrid a place where he can remember him. I also think after being falsely accused of what Riddle did with his basilisk, the dead Aragog does deserve something after the end," Luna explained.
"In a strange way it makes sense..." Ron then again watched what Hagrid was doing and shuddered a little. "Sorry, the whole thing still makes me nervous."
"It's not like you've chosen to be afraid of spiders," Hermione reassured him, knowing exactly where his phobia was coming from.
Finally, Hagrid had moved out of the grave and taken a shovel - refusing to close the grave with magic. That was the cue for everyone who wasn't a centaur to also take a shovel and help Hagrid with filling the grave with dirt (which looked weird with Slughorn, considering his bulk). Together, they didn't need long to fill it up.
"I... I can't thank all of you enough for being here for me," Hagrid finally said, his emotions being very fragile at this moment.
"You are our friend, Hagrid. Of course we help you," Harry assured Hagrid.
"Thank you so much... Oh, I don't feel good..." Hagrid said, looking very tired.
"I can see that you are not in a good way right now, Rubeus. Please take the next days off to recover. No one will blame you for needing time," Dumbledore gently told Hagrid while leading him towards his cottage.
"Headmaster... Thank you... You always look out for me..." Hagrid's voice started to fade.
"Poor Hagrid. I know, many would just say it was a spider, but he was Hagrid's friends," Harry said, looking after both men vanishing into the cottage.
"It would be ignorance at work." That was Celestra. With the torch she was holding, she looked like something straight out of an roleplaying game. "Many in the magical world are incapable of even understanding that just because something is not human doesn't mean it isn't a person in its own right and capable of the same emotions and intelligence."
"This is why I'm so appalled how house-elves are treated. They are people with their own values and culture, but instead of even attempting to come to a mutual agreement, one side stacked the deck entirely to their favor and treats the elves like a household item." Hermione knew by now that the situation of the elves was complicated and probably would be a lifetime ask to improve.
"In your youth you already are wiser than many of advanced age. The six of you measure others by their actions; not by what species they belong to," Celestra told them. "While you recognize that our culture and values are different from yours, you treat us no better or worse than your own people."
"Just because you are a different species and have four legs doesn't make you any less being people." Ron knew that in his younger years he probably would have thought different.
"Indeed, indeed." They had forgotten that Slughorn was still being present, and the man looked impressed with the conversation. "Your open-mindedness is a good trait, and it will get you far. However, the other side has to be open-minded as well. As much as the Ministry can be blamed for the bad relations with the goblins, the goblins have done a lot for it as well."
"Ehm, History was not exactly engaging, so what is the problem there?" Neville asked, having already forgotten most about the many goblin rebellions.
"Understandable, as it is rather repetitive..." Slughorn then shook his head, not wanting to badmouth Professor Rogers. "As much as they like to style themselves as the victims, the goblins refuse to in any way adapt to the world outside of their circles and instead arrogantly insist only their rules count for everyone else. The rules of property are the biggest problem."
"That, and goblins in general are highly racist themselves," Firenze added. "They see my people as little more than dumb animals, therefore that should tell you how much they are like those they claim are suppressing them."
"You sound like you are speaking from experience," Ginny guessed, having noticed the slightly bitter undertone.
"I met several goblins over the years and each of them made their contempt for us centaurs clear." Firenze didn't seem to want to go into any more detail.
"It is a lesson that there are things that are not as clear-cut as they first appear to be," Celestra added.
Those words honestly were quite thought-provoking.
...April 27th...
The unusually warm weather of the past two weeks - especially for the Scotish Highlands - had lured many of the students to spend their time outside on the school grounds. That of course had become a challenge for security and thus caused Alastor Moody to nearly rip his remaining hair out. The Prefects were not enjoying much of that day, being busy with helping out with keeping an eye on the students.
That included Harry and Ginny, who of course also were Prefects. They both had little of the nice weather, being too busy with ensuing that the safety of the students was not at risk. Their friends had quickly learned to keep some distance from those two, since their stress levels made them quite a bit irritable.
The Prefects however had not been able to keep an eye on Neville and Luna, who had managed to sneak away and right at the moment were enjoying the sun from the far side of the Black Lake, lying on a blanket that was spread on the ground deep inside the high grass next to the shore.
"You were right, it is very nice to just let the sun shine onto us," Neville said with a content sigh, holding onto Luna's hand while he did so.
Luna looked very relaxed as well. "Sometimes it's the small things that make the day good."
"Yes... Some time without any problems. Bit of a luxury nowadays to have time to forget all of it." Neville would have never thought that such a thing would become a luxury in the first place.
"You know, there is another reason I suggested coming here, besides enjoying the sun," Luna told Neville.
"Really, what?" Neville wondered.
"While the water is still a little on the cool side, it's been far too long since we've been swimming," Luna explained to him.
A little confused, Neville opened his eyes at looked to his girlfriend. "Uhm, Luna, we don't have any swimwear with us."
"Oh, swimwear is not needed," Luna told him , looking like this was the most natural thing in the world.
"You mean...?" Neville blushed a little. Despite how close they have grown, they had not yet seen each other naked. Thus Luna suggesting it like that had caught him on the wrong foot.
Luna gave him an innocent smile, then stood up and started to take off her clothes.
(This spicy part is only found on AO3, read there for the full scene)
Some time later the were both panting while exchanging some more kisses.
"That was wonderful." Luna then looked a bit thoughtful. "However, I don't feel I'm ready to have the full experience."
Neville noticed the small signs and knew what they meant. "You are a little scared of the idea of me being inside you, aren't you?"
"I do want it, but... Yes, I am scared." Luna knew she had to be honest with him. "The only thing that ever went in were tampons and my fingers. Having your manhood enter me is a bit intimidating."
Neville could have lived without some of the details. However, he was unable to formulate an answer, becuse right then...
"I know the two of you are there in the high grass. You were loud enough, after all. Get dressed and then come out." That was Hagrid, and he honestly sounded quite disappointed.
Even Luna could only think Oh shit! while they both hastily got dressed and then quickly complied with Hagrid's order. Both teens were blushing madly while standing in front of the giant man. I was a mere week since Aragog's funeral, so they all had given him space to mourn. It seemed that while he still was not yet ready to move on, he at lest seemed to try to get back to his duties properly.
"Look, it is our job to protect you in these nasty times. The two of you sneaking off to such a remote corner is making our job very difficult." He was putting it in simple terms, but the message was clear enough and they felt guilt rising for disappointing him like that.
"Are you going to tell the Headmaster?" Neville asked.
"Well, I should..." Hagrid then sighed. "However, I know you are good kids and I know how it feels to want some couple time..." Thankfully, Hagrid didn't go into detail about that. "This time I'll leave it at a sharp reminder to never do this again."
They both felt like they had barely avoided a highly embarrassing mess while Hagrid escorted them back to the part of the school grounds that was deemed as suitable for students in these times. Luna for her part also had found out that there indeed were things that could embarrass her to the core. It gave her the strong wish to not again feel such embarrassment connected to her sexuality.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"When the Curtain Falls..."
Notes:
Here the notes.
Again, for those who missed it, the uncut version of this chapter is found on AO3.
First off, I have to address that I got a review where someone complained that Harry is doing too little in the story. That reader obviously missed the point of canon and my story that Harry is a teenager and in a reather restricted environment. In canon things came to Harry as well. It's not that he's doing nothing in this story, Lord, he's doing his share of the lifting, but don't expect him and his friends to do everything. It will however be a serious point of friction very soon in the story, since Harry himself feels he and his friends could do more and feel school has become rather irrelevant for the time being.
As I said in reviews, I didn't show the second four-way Quidditch game in detail, since I realized I suck at describing those. However, as always what's going on around the game is the truly interesting stuff.
Yep, Harry and Ginny do quite some exploring, though not yet going all the way. As headstrong as Ginny is, there are things she feels she is not ready for yet. As ussual, the full scene is on AO3.
The scene between Harry and Luna came to be since a reader wrote me, that there is little actual interaction between just Harry and Luna. It made me think and I spotted the point in the story where that happened, so I decided to actually make it a plot point.
Slughorn is organizing another Easter egg hunt, but this time Draco and Pansy disrupt things. Too bad for them that Ron and hermione are no pushovers anymore. And yes, even without them hesitating, Ron and Hermione would have escaped injury and bested them. It just gave some more wiggle room.
I intentionally drew a sharp contrast between the births of Delphini and Teddy to show how utterly different the people around them are. I really hope it brought the point across. Delphini will become a plot point in the final year, but she won't do anything since she's just an innocent baby.
I hope I gave Aragog a worthy funeral.
And yep, Neville and Luna get naughty, though also not all the way. Also, the full cene is on AO3.
Btw., if you know UK history of 1997, you do know what the title of the next chapter plays at...