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Harry Potter and the Prophesized Six | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, James Potter, Lily Potter, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations Rating: R Reviews: 668 Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story, Harry Potter and the Twists of Fate, starting off a few hours after the last chapter. Harry and his friends are now aware of the part they will play in the coming war. Can their friendship and love hold them together or will they allow jealousy and uncertainty to pull them apart, allowing Voldemort to win? Hitcount: Story Total: 328131; Chapter Total: 4956 Author's Notes: Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait but, as usual, real life interfered with my efforts to bring this story to you. Don't worry. I'll put out the chapters as soon as I'm done. Just have some patience. Please read and review. |
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Chapter 51: Teenage confusion and visions Maggie tried to regulate her breathing as she jogged along but she was a bit out of shape. Looking around at the rest of the New Marauders jogging along around her, she could see that she wasn’t the only one. The previous night in the common room after dinner, Harry had told her, Neville, Rose, Ron, Hermione and Ti that it was time to resume their training which had become very irregular since Ginny’s accident. In fact, none of them had been waking up early for their usual morning training sessions for the past month and a half. The effect of that negligence was evident now. After only fifteen minutes of jogging, most of her companions were red-faced and breathing heavily from the pace set by Harry and Ginny. Only the Bonded couple wasn’t out of breath fifteen minutes later when they stopped for their calisthenics. It got worse during their martial arts session. Most of them turned out to be slow in their reactions in the sparring sessions, earning them many bruises. Worse of all was Ti, who hadn’t really been attending the training sessions even before Ginny’s accident. As his sparring partner, Maggie managed to knock him down several times, more often than before. He also seemed a bit distracted, looking occasionally at Hermione whenever he thought no one was watching him. But Maggie noticed this and had an idea why he seemed fixated on Hermione. She, alone of their group, had seen the look of surprise, disbelief and anger on Ti’s face the previous morning when Hermione had tearfully thrown herself at Ron and begged him not to leave her. Their reconciliation probably removed any chance for Draco to date Hermione which was something Ti seemed to have wanted to happen. Maggie couldn’t fault him for wanting his brother to have a chance but she had a feeling that there was more to Draco’s desire to date Hermione than the usual teenage hormones. Whatever she felt towards Ti, she believed that Draco hadn’t really changed much. She couldn’t tell this to Ti because she feared his reaction. She remembered his reaction to Rose’s accusation and they were a couple then. She wasn’t prepared to risk her friendship with him over that when she wanted to be more than friends with him. She would never have the chance for that if she got him angry at her. She just hoped she wouldn’t regret her decision to remain silent. ******* Ti tried to ignore the aches and pains coming from his sore muscles as he sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall after the New Marauders’ first morning training session in a month and a half. Of course, the pain he felt wasn’t all due to that morning’s session. In an attempt to distract himself from his pain, he glanced at Ron and Hermione as they ate breakfast side by side but he couldn’t help remembering what had happened the night before. Ti hurried through the empty corridors of Hogwarts. He had been in the library with his fellow fourth year Gryffindors Paul and Jake but they had finished their homework an hour before. He still had to finish an essay for Ancient Runes and needed to look at a few books. So he had stayed on and his friends had left without him. Now, he had only fifteen minutes to get to Gryffindor Tower before curfew. As he was about to reach the main staircase, a hand reached out of the shadows and pulled him into an alcove. Before he could draw his wand, a familiar voice asked him, “Just when did Hermione get back together with Weasley?” A bit of light shining into the alcove revealed the person who pulled him into the alcove was Draco. Shrugging Draco’s hands off his shoulders, he replied, “It happened this morning at breakfast. I guess you missed it.” The look Draco turned on him caused Ti to shiver a bit. It was an all too familiar look, one of anger and frustration after being denied something he wanted. Ti had not seen it in over a year and was nervous to see it again because Draco usually lashed out when he had that look and his target was always Ti. After a few seconds, the look turned into a scowl. “I woke up late this morning and just managed to get to the Great Hall near the end of breakfast. No one told me the Weasel managed to get Hermione back until I saw them at dinner. It was disgusting to see them. Why didn’t you tell me?” The look was back. “I-I didn’t realize you didn’t know,” he replied. “Pugnatus!” Draco cried as he pointed his wand at Ti. Ti felt the punching hex hit his stomach, causing his breath to explode from his body. Another hex hit his shoulder, spinning him around against the wall. On pure instinct, he pulled out his wand out and pointed it at Draco. “Stupefy!” The stunner hit Draco in the chest, dropping him to the floor. Shaking a bit, Ti slowly approached Draco’s body. After making sure he was just unconscious, he left the alcove and hurried back to Gryffindor Tower. Thankfully, the common room was empty. He proceeded to the fourth year boys’ dorm where he was grateful to see that Paul and Jake were already asleep. He opened his trunk and got a clean set of underwear and pajamas. He went into the bathroom and took a hot shower, winching as the hot water hit the bruises forming from the punching hexes. Then he dressed and went to sleep since he had to wake up early the next day for the renewed New Marauders’ morning training session, knowing that he would be in for a workout. Ti winched again as he felt a twinge of pain from the shoulder hit by Draco’s hex. He couldn’t believe Draco had attacked him like that. Well, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Draco had done that as late as two years ago. But now, after a year of getting along, it seemed like it was a mistake. “Ti, are you all right?” he heard someone ask him. Turning in the direction of the voice, he found that it was Maggie Longbottom who was now seated beside him. The third year girl had a look of concern on her face that touched Ti. “I-I’m fine,” he answered. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a few seconds. “Are you sure? You don’t usually winch after one of our morning sessions. I didn’t hit you too hard earlier, did I?” “Um, not really,” he replied. “I’m just a bit out of practice. Don’t worry about it.” “All right,” she said. “But, I think you should see Madam Pomfrey if you still feel bad at lunchtime. Okay?” A bit puzzled why she was insistent, he decided to humor her. “Okay, I promise.” “Good,” she said, smiling at him before turning to eat. Ti felt his stomach lurch on seeing her smile. He never used to feel that way when he saw her smile and he’d known Maggie for three years now. Puzzled by this, he quickly turned his attention to his own breakfast. As he ate, he occasionally looked toward the Slytherin table, on the other side of the Great Hall where Draco was sitting, eating his own breakfast. From what Ti could tell Draco seemed unaffected by the stunner Ti had hit him with the night before. Ti wondered if he had gotten back to the Slytherin dorms before curfew. Twenty minutes later, Draco looked up from his plate and their eyes met. Ti was surprised by the look of remorse on Draco’s face. Maybe he was wrong to doubt Draco but he couldn’t do anything about it at the moment. He didn’t want anyone to know what had happened between him and Draco before they talked about it. Ti returned his attention to his plate and continued eating. Half an hour later, the period for breakfast was over and he heard the gong signaling the start of classes. He picked up his bag and headed for the exit from the Great Hall, Paul and Jake at his side. As he passed the double doors into the Entrance Hall, he saw Draco waiting for him, looking nervous. “Um, Ti,” Draco began, “can I have a word with you? Please? It’ll just take a minute or two.” Ti looked warily at him. Should he trust him after last night? Most of his brain was saying ‘No’ but a small part of him was saying ‘Yes’. He decided to give Draco a chance though not too much of one. He turned to Jake and Paul and told them to wait for him before turning back to Draco. “All right, we still have a few minutes before we need to get to Charms. Let’s go over there.” He led Draco over by the door of the broom closet near the Great Hall’s doors. “Well?” he asked Draco. Draco looked down at the ground as he spoke, “I want to apologize for hexing you last night. I was just so angry that Hermione got back together with Weasley before I had a chance to ask her out. I needed to take it out on something and you were there.” “So I noticed,” Ti said. “It’s just like when we were kids, Draco. Mum or Dad would refuse to let you have something and you’d get mad and take it out on someone, sometimes a house elf like Dobby but usually I was your target. Well, as you noticed last night, I’m not taking it anymore. I’m quite capable of defending myself now. I won’t allow you to take me by surprise again.” He turned to leave. “Wait!” Draco cried, “Please, Ti, I’m really sorry. I don’t want to lose the closeness we’ve had for the past year. I promise to control myself, Pureblood’s Oath.” Ti raised an eyebrow. That was one of the most honor bound promises one could make in the Wizarding world, almost like an Unbreakable Vow among Purebloods without the death from magic if broken. Someone who was discovered to break a Pureblood Oath would be disgraced and shunned in Pureblood society, like a social death sentence. Draco must be really serious to say that. Despite his inner reservations, Ti decided to accept his apology. “All right, Draco, I accept your apology. I’m sorry that you lost a chance to get together with Hermione but who knows, the way Ron acts they may break up in the future. I’ll let you know if that happens.” “Thanks for accepting my apology, Ti,” Draco said. “I’ll hold you to that. Considering how stupid Weasley is sometimes, it’s bound to happen before the summer holidays start.” Ti left Draco and met up with Jake and Paul. The three Gryffindors barely made it to Charms. The day’s classes passed without Ti seeing Draco again except during lunch though they didn’t talk again. Later, that evening, as dinner was about to end, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet. The entire Great Hall fell silent as the students became curious about what was going on. “I hope you have all enjoyed the lovely supper for this evening,” Professor Dumbledore said. “Before you go off to your common rooms, I have an announcement to make regarding the coming Easter holidays.” Everyone perked up and turned their attention to the Headmaster. Easter holidays were to begin in the last week of March. Most of the students were looking forward to going home for a couple of weeks. “In spite of our isolation in the highlands of Scotland, I am sure all of you are aware of the grave happenings around the country and the continued Death Eater attacks. Concern has arisen in the Ministry over your safety during the trip back to London in the Hogwarts Express. With the uncertainty of the times, Hogwarts is seen as one of the safest places in the country. Therefore, it was decided it would be best for you to remain here until the start of the summer holidays. So I’m afraid I have to announce that no one will be going home for Easter this year,” he said. As the noise level in the Great Hall exploded dramatically from the students reacting to Dumbledore’s news, Ti felt disappointment run through him since he had been looking forward to seeing Sirius, Sam and Lizzie after two months apart from them. He had also hoped to visit his mother. Looking around, he saw that the other New Marauders also shared his feelings of disappointment and sadness from the looks on their faces. He glanced then at the Slytherin table and was surprised to see a smirk momentarily cross Draco’s face. What the hell is he happy about? Doesn’t he realize he won’t get to see Mother until the summer holidays? What is he thinking? Does he like all the trouble this war is causing? Did he really mean his apology this morning? Has he really changed? He felt really confused now. When Dumbledore dismissed them, he trudged up to Gryffindor Tower still in a daze, not realizing he was in the common room until someone nudged his shoulder. He looked around and found Maggie looking at him with a puzzled expression. “Are you feeling all right, Ti?” she asked. “You look a little out of it.” “Huh?” Ti replied groggily before snapping out of his daze, “Oh, um, no, no, I’m fine, really.” “Are you sure?” she asked, eyeing him shrewdly. For a few moments, Ti was about to tell her everything but managed to shake his head, saying, “Y-yeah, I’m all right, t-thanks for your concern.” He walked past her and headed for his dorm room. As he prepared for bed, his mind went over the significant events of the last twenty-four hours from his confrontation with Draco to his interaction with Maggie Longbottom a mere twenty minutes earlier. It was all so confusing, especially his reactions to Maggie. He didn’t know what to think about everything and decided to sleep on it. Even then, it took him a long time to fall into an uneasy sleep. A week after Ron’s birthday, the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff took place with a strong wind buffeting the players over a snowy field. After a closely fought match, Cho Chang managed to out fly the Badger’s Seeker to win the match for her team. The next match would be Gryffindor against Hufflepuff on the first Saturday of April which was the first day after the Easter Holidays. A win by Gryffindor guaranteed the Quidditch Cup for the Lions. Because of this, Ron had both regular and reserve teams resume practice twice a week to much grumbling but at least the weather was warmer. Unfortunately, the teachers gave the students a lot of work to take their minds off being unable to go home for Easter. In addition, with the O.W.L.s only two months away, the fifth years were spending most of their free time studying together. Then the rest of the New Marauders were once again researching about Voldemort’s rituals. This gave couples very little time to be with each other aside from a quick kiss in the morning before classes or in the common room in the evenings. So, one evening in the third week of March, as he looked over at Ginny studying with Rose, Colin and Luna Lovegood in a corner table of the library, Harry was once again grateful for the Bond he shared with her. It made their time apart bearable since they could talk through it and share their feelings with one another. He glanced at Neville seated across from him and caught him glancing at Rose. They also hadn’t had more than a few minutes alone since Ron’s birthday. Harry felt a bit of satisfaction that they couldn’t do more than snog when they had time alone but, at the same time, he felt sympathy for his friend that he couldn’t spend more time with his girlfriend. He knew that Rose was very happy with Neville and couldn’t wish for much more than that for his sister. He returned to doing the Transfiguration essay he had been working on. Half an hour later, Ginny’s mental voice broke into his mind. “Harry, come quickly. I think Rose is having another vision.” Alarmed, he looked up and saw Rose sitting in a rigid position, staring straight ahead of her. Colin was staring at her with wide eyes while Luna was only watching her with a curious expression. He rushed toward the fifth years’ table, unmindful of the reaction of other students remaining in the library. Neville took a second to realize what Harry was doing before following him yet he reached her side first, sitting on an empty chair on Rose’s right side, grasping her hand. Harry stood at Rose’s other side, behind Ginny who was still seated beside her, and grasped Rose’s other hand, finding her fist tightly clenched. Harry wondered how long she was going to be in her vision. Suddenly Rose gasped and began to look wildly around. She saw Neville and embraced him tightly. “Hey,” Neville said, returning her embrace, “its okay, Rose. You’re all right.” Harry felt a bit jealous that someone else was comforting Rose which was something he or his parents used to do when she was younger. He felt Ginny brush his mind with feelings of sympathy and amusement. “It’s all right, love,” she said. “I bet my brothers and parents know exactly how you feel. I guess she’s really in love with him if she turns to him for comfort even when you’re here.” Harry sighed. Even if he approved of Neville dating Rose, it was hard to accept that she loved him in the same way he loved Ginny. He just hoped Neville felt the same way. Of course, the gentle way Neville was using to comfort her seemed to confirm that. He was running his fingers lightly over her back in circles. It was exactly what Harry loved to do when Ginny was in his arms. He had to restrain himself from making Neville stop his actions. To distract himself, he looked across the table to Colin and Luna who were still watching them with no change in their facial expressions. He leaned across the table so he was closer to them. “Um, I’d appreciate it if you two keep this quiet. If anyone asks, just say she had a bit of a nervous breakdown over O.W.L.s.” Colin just nodded. Luna, on the other hand, smiled at him and said, “Sure, Harry, though I think she may actually have had an attack of the bindywings. They like to enter the ears of people who are too intent in their studying and cause a short circuit in their brains.” She turned toward Colin, extending her hand. “Come on, dear. I have to get back to my common room.” Colin gave her a shy grin and stood up. He grasped her hand and pulled her up. After biding them a quiet goodbye, he led Luna out of the Library. Harry watched them leave, feeling a bit bemused of how the enigmatic Luna had managed to tame the normally boisterous Colin. They seemed good together. He turned back to his sister and tried to be patient as Rose continued to seek comfort from Neville. Finally, Rose sniffed and pulled a little back from Neville. Neville asked in a low voice, “Did you have a vision, Rose?” She jerkily nodded her head then embraced him again, resting her head on his chest. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her. “I-I guess I h-have to,” she replied in a shaky voice. She took a deep breath then said in a low voice, “We should go to Professor Dumbledore for this.” She stood up but wobbled a bit. Luckily, Neville and Harry both reached out an arm and steadied her. “You sure you can make it?” Harry asked her. Rose shrugged the boys’ arms off her and glared at Harry before walking resolutely out of the library. Neville gave him a smirk before following her. Harry turned to see Ginny likewise glare at him. “What?” he asked her. Ginny rolled her eyes before shaking her head and grabbing his arm. “Come on. Let’s catch up to them.” A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the door to Dumbledore’s office. The gargoyle had leaped aside as soon as Harry came into view since he had been given permission by the Headmaster to come to his office whenever he felt it necessary to talk to Dumbledore. “Come in, Harry, Neville, Rose, Ginny,” they heard Dumbledore say. “We really must find out how he knows whoever is at his door,” he said to Ginny. Ginny agreed with him. They found the Headmaster sitting at his desk with parchment scattered on top of it. “Ah, what can I do for the four of you?” he asked. “Professor,” Rose began, “I’ve had another vision.” She shivered involuntarily and Neville placed his arm around her waist. “I see,” Dumbledore said. “Do you want to tell me about it or would you rather I extracted it from you and look at it in a Pensieve?” Dumbledore asked Rose Rose took a deep breath, “I’d rather you extracted the memory of the vision from me, Professor. I don’t want to think too much about it since it was about me.” Dumbledore frowned again and said, “All right, Rose.” He waved his wand. Two loveseats appeared in front of his desk. “Please, sit down, all of you.” Harry sat down in one loveseat with Ginny while Rose and Neville occupied the other, with Neville placing his arms comfortingly around Rose. Harry marveled at how perceptive Dumbledore was. How did he know Rose needed Neville’s comforting presence as they tackled her vision? He rose from his seat and went to the cabinet behind his desk, opening it and bringing out his Pensieve. He placed it on his desk and went up to Rose. He gently extracted the memory of the vision from her mind and placed it in the Pensieve. He waved his wand again and the memory in the Pensieve was projected above it for all of them to see it. They saw they were in a dark room with a door made of wood at the far end. The walls were made of stone and the floor was hard packed dirt. The view changed like Rose was looking around. It then became apparent that she was seated on the floor with manacles around her ankles and wrists that were attached with chains to the wall. She appeared to be dressed in her Hogwarts uniform. “I was trying to find my wand but it didn’t appear to be on me,” Rose explained. The door then opened and two men in Death Eater robes and masks came in. One of them came into the cell and waved his wand, causing the chains to detach from the wall into his hands. He ordered Rose to get up, pulling roughly on the chains. Growls could be heard from Harry and Neville as they watched this. The scene changed as the two Death Eaters led Rose out of the cell, down a corridor lined with the doors to other cells, up a flight of steps through a steel door that was behind a tapestry, then down a corridor of richly paneled wood past several ornately decorated rooms. Finally, they came to a large elaborately decorated living room with a fireplace along one wall and an expensive looking rug covering most of the floor. There were several elaborate chandeliers on the ceiling. The only occupant of the room was the one person none of them wanted to see, Voldemort. “Ah, Miss Potter,” he said in his hissing voice. “I am so happy to finally meet you.” “I wish the feeling was mutual,” the vision-Rose replied. Voldemort laughed, causing the four Gryffindor students to winch at its harshness. “I suppose that is true. However, it doesn’t matter. I know you are a seer. You will use your seer powers to help me take over the Ministry.” “You’re kidding, right?” vision-Rose asked. “Why would I help you? My Dad is the Minister. Hell, you want to kill my brother!” “So?” Voldemort asked, “If you help me, I will spare you and give you a high position in my regime. Forget your father and brother. Forget your family. They are nothing compared to what I can offer you.” “No fucking way, you bastard!” vision-Rose shouted. Voldemort’s eyes blazed red. He raised his wand and pointed it at vision-Rose. “Crucio!” Vision-Rose began to scream as the memory above the Pensieve ended. As Harry tore his gaze away from the Pensieve, he turned his gaze toward Rose. She was deeply burrowed within Neville’s arms, soft sobs coming from her while Neville attempted to soothe her. Realizing that Neville was the best one to comfort her, Harry turned his attention to Dumbledore. “Sir, what can we do to protect Rose?” he asked. “This is one vision that can’t come true.” Dumbledore sighed, “I realize that, Harry. I don’t know what more we can do to prevent her from being captured. She is safe within the walls of the castle. Maybe it would be best if she didn’t go outside, even for Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Quidditch.” “Not Quidditch,” Rose said suddenly, turning around within Neville’s arms to glare at Dumbledore. “If you’re going to ban me from Quidditch, Professor, you might as well send me home to Potter Manor.” “Maybe that would be for the best, Professor,” Harry said, “She’d be even safer at home.” “Harry!” Rose cried, standing up to stand toe to toe with Harry. She glared at him, or rather up at him since he was half a head taller than her. “There’s no way I’m going to hide at home.” “She’s right, Harry,” Ginny said as she stood next to Harry. “She won’t be happy there even with your parents and brother and sister with her. We can watch over her here.” “I know,” Harry said, sitting down on the loveseat Rose had been sitting in and looking down at the floor. He remained silent for several minutes before looking up again. “I guess we just have to go on with what we’ve been doing all along. Someone has to be with her at all times.” He turned to Dumbledore. “Professor, I don’t think we should ban her from Quidditch or her classes outside the castle. Gin is with her in all her classes, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years. All of them are in the DC so they’ll be able to defend her if anyone tries to get her.” “Very well, Harry,” Dumbledore said. He turned to Rose. “Rose, please be careful. I know you would never use your Seer powers for Voldemort willingly. Unfortunately, there are methods Voldemort can use to force you to do so, the least of which is the Imperius curse. I do not want you in the position to allow Voldemort to do that.” “Of course, Professor,” Rose said, “Don’t worry. That vision is the closest I want to be near Voldemort.” “I will have to tell your parents about this vision, Rose,” Dumbledore said. “I hope they agree with your decision to stay. Please return to Gryffindor Tower. Here is a pass in case one of the teachers or Argus meets you on the way back. After all, it is an hour past curfew.” The four teens were startled at the late hour. They bid the Headmaster a good night and left his office. Luckily, they didn’t run into any other person on their way back to Gryffindor Tower. When they got there, they found Ron, Hermione, Maggie and Ti waiting for them at their usual spot in front of the fireplace. The common room was empty otherwise. Harry filled them in on Rose’s vision while Rose decided to go to bed with Ginny accompanying her. They agreed with Harry that it would be best for Rose to remain at Hogwarts, though Hermione did so reluctantly. James and Lily accepted Rose’s wish to remain at Hogwarts, albeit with some reservation. Harry and the others made sure that one of them was with Rose at all times. They continued their morning physical workouts and Sunday training sessions, as well as the Defense Club meetings. ******* One evening a week after that, Rose was in the common room studying with Ginny, Colin and two other Gryffindor fifth year boys, Andrew Kirke and Harvey Jervis. Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione were in the library doing their own homework. Rose had been reading her Transfiguration book for hours and the page was beginning to swim before her eyes. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with her left thumb and forefinger. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself no longer in the Gryffindor common room but in a long wide hall with a floor made of some dark wood and a ceiling of peacock blue strewn with golden symbols. The walls were lined with ornate fireplaces. There was also a large fountain with several golden statues halfway down the corridor. Dozens of Wizards and Witches filled the hall. Rose recognized it as the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. A large clock suspended above the corridor indicated the time to be eleven in the morning. However, there was no indication of the date. As she returned her gaze to the fireplaces, several of them sprouted green flames. A moment later, Death Eaters stepped out of them and began firing hexes into the crowd. The people in the crowd started to panic even as a few Aurors on duty began to engage the Death Eaters. More Death Eaters Flooed in, further outnumbering the Aurors. As some of the Death Eaters kept the Aurors busy, several ran past the security desk through the golden gates to the lifts. Rose followed them. She managed to get in one lift before the doors closed. She flattened herself against the wall as the lift descended, finally stopping. “Level 1, Office of the Minister of Magic,” the lift’s voice announced. Rose gasped. She screamed, “Dad!” “Rose!” she heard someone shout, “What’s wrong?” She looked around and found herself standing back in the Gryffindor common room. Dread filled her as she thought about what the Death Eaters would be doing in her dad’s office. She felt her arm being grasped then she was pulled away from the table where Colin, Andrew and Harvey were still seated with stunned looks on their faces. Ginny made her sit down on the couch in front of the fireplace and sat down beside her. She waved her wand, casting several spells around them, among which Rose recognized an Imperturbable charm and the Muffliato, before she turned her attention back to Rose. “You’ve had another vision, haven’t you?” she asked. Rose just nodded. This vision scared her just as much as the last one. She felt Ginny wrap her arms around her. She returned her friend’s embrace and began to cry. She felt terrible for crying but couldn’t help it since she felt so afraid for her father. Ginny started rubbing her back soothingly. “Shh,” Ginny whispered. After a few minutes, she added, “It’ll be all right.” Rose felt a sudden anger rise inside her and pulled away with a jerk. “All right? All right? How can you know that? You don’t even know what I saw!” Ginny crossed her arms across her chest and said, “I know you’re scared, Rose but don’t take it out on me.” Rose felt her anger deflate. She let her head flop back against the couch. “I’m sorry, Ginny. I didn’t mean to blow up at you but this one doesn’t look good. It set me on edge with worry.” Just then, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville came in through the Portrait hole. Rose realized then that Ginny must have told Harry that she had had a vision through their bond and Harry had told the other three. Moving quickly after spotting them, Rose’s brother and boyfriend reached her at the same time. “Are you feeling all right?” both boys asked at the same time. Rose glared at both of them. “Thanks a lot, you two. Now everyone will be wondering what’s wrong with me since you rushed over to me faster than a Firebolt.” Harry and Neville looked sheepishly at Rose as they sat down on opposite sides of her. “Sorry,” they both said at the same time. “I know you guys were born a day apart but that doesn’t make you twins,” Ron said, grinning at them. “So stop talking at the same time.” Harry and Neville looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. Neville gently took hold of one of Rose’s hand and said, “So, can you tell us about this vision?” Rose nodded and proceeded to tell them about the vision. Once she was done, she looked at Harry who now had a panicked look on his face and began breathing rapidly. Ginny reached out from behind Harry and wrapped her arms around him which calmed him down. They then had that look on their faces which told Rose that they were talking through their bond. After a few minutes, Harry said, “All right, we just need to tell Dumbledore and Dad about your vision.” He looked at Rose, “Did you see anything to indicate what day the attack on the Ministry?” “No,” Rose answered, “I didn’t.” “All right,” Harry said. “At least they’ll be warned it may happen. Come on, it’s still an hour before curfew. You can at least leave the memory with Dumbledore and he can let Dad look at it if you don’t want to see it again.” Harry, Neville and Ginny went with Rose to Dumbledore’s office. The Headmaster sent them back to Gryffindor Tower once he had extracted the memory of the attack. Once back in their common room, Rose felt too drained to continue studying. Ginny accompanied her to their dorm after giving Harry a goodnight peck on the lips. Rose quickly brushed her teeth and changed into some pajamas before crawling under the covers of her bed. She was asleep in seconds. Unfortunately, she was plagued by nightmares that imagined what the Death Eaters might do once they got into the Minister’s offices. Several days passed uneventfully until it was the first Saturday of April and the day before Easter. It was also the day of the last game for Gryffindor for this year’s Quidditch season, which was against Hufflepuff. Even if the Badgers had lost to both the Eagles and the Snakes, the Lions were not taking any chances. Their Chasers used every bit of skill they had to keep their Hufflepuff counterparts from getting hold of the Quaffle. Rose caught the underhand pass from Ginny and raced off toward the Hufflepuff goals. She rolled twice to avoid a Bludger sent her way by one of the Hufflepuff Beaters. She swerved to the right to avoid two of the Hufflepuff Chasers before tossing to Katie. The seventh year girl caught the Quaffle, rushed toward the left hand goal. The Hufflepuff Keeper moved to block her when Katie suddenly threw the Quaffle back to Rose who threw it right through the rightmost goal. “Score for Potter!” the announcer, Harvey Jervis, shouted. “The score now stands at 160 to 30 in favor of Gryffindor!” The shouts and cheers echoed from the Gryffindor stands. The Hufflepuff stands were silent as their occupants looked glumly on. Rose grinned as she guided her broom after the Hufflepuff Chasers. Seconds later, Ginny managed to steal the Quaffle as their opponents tried to pass it around. Rose and Katie flanked her as she raced toward the Hufflepuff goals. They then passed the Quaffle to each other while Neville and Seamus made sure the Bludgers didn’t get near them. Rose passed the Quaffle to Ginny who bluffed the Hufflepuff Keeper to move right before throwing the Quaffle into the centermost goal. “Another goal for Gryffindor!” Harvey cried, “This time courtesy of Ginny Weasley. It’s 170 to 30 for Gryffindor.” As Rose watched the Hufflepuff Keeper recover the Quaffle and toss it to one of his Chasers, she heard the announcer cry, “Harry Potter has seen the Snitch! There he goes. Ooh, Mackay is too far. He can’t possibly catch up to Potter.” Sure enough, several seconds later, Harry caught the Snitch to the wild cheering of Gryffindor house. Rose grinned as she flew down with the rest of the team to congratulate her brother. Of course, Ginny was there first, flying into the arms of her love and kissing him passionately in full view of the entire school. Rose felt very happy. Their House was practically guaranteed to win the House Cup again. Several hours later, she and Neville ducked out of the Tower to have some time alone. They moved to the corridor containing the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. However, nothing happened after they walked past the empty wall three times. “Just great,” Rose whined, “Looks like someone’s already using it. Come on, Nev. Let’s just find a nice broom closet.” Unfortunately, several other couples also had the same idea including Colin and Luna. They actually caught their fellow Gryffindor with his hands on the arse of the unusual Ravenclaw who didn’t seem to mind at all. They finally found an empty broom closet on the third floor. It was an hour before they came out, disheveled but happy. As they walked down the corridor, they heard someone call them. Turning, they saw Ti coming towards them. “Hey, Neville, Rose,” Ti said. “Neville, Madam Sprout is looking for you. She said she needs your help right away with the Venomous Tentacula.” “I thought we dealt with it yesterday,” Neville said. Ti shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know about that. She just said you should come right away.” Neville hesitated. “Wait, I can’t go right now.” Rose realized that he wanted to bring her back to Gryffindor Tower first before going to Professor Sprout’s aid. She knew how much Neville loved working with plants and to put her first just showed her how much he cared about her. Her heart swelled with love for him. “It’s okay, Neville,” Rose said. “Go on and help Madam Sprout. I’ll be all right. Ti’s here. He’ll bring me up to the Tower safely.” “Are you sure?” Neville asked. “It won’t take us long to get there.” “I’m sure,” Rose said, feeling a bit irritated but happy he seemed hesitant to leave her. Neville turned to Ti. “You take care of her now.” “Sure, Neville,” he said, “I’ll take care of her.” “All right,” Neville said. “I’ll see you later.” He gave Rose a quick kiss on the lips before rushing off. Rose watched him disappear down the corridor. Once he was gone, she turned toward Ti. She was surprised to see him pointing a wand at her though it didn’t look like his wand. Before she could say anything, everything went black. |
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