A/N: Hi, school has begun and with it enough internet access to bring this to you. Hope you like and that it clears up more.
Disclaimer: Can't be bothered to write it… check earlier chapters.
~*~*~*~
Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin
Hermione Granger was having a very strange dream.
It was snowing.
Large white flakes falling in flurries tumbled from a dark grey sky unto an already blanketed earth and the trees around her. She was standing in the midst of it in a wooded area, dressed warmly, but still feeling the chill as icy winds cut sharply through her woollen robes on their way through the trees and twirling the flakes round her. She extended her arms and opened her palms allowing the snow to fill them before sending it up again.
She liked when it was snowing.
She didn't know why she was standing out here though, she couldn't remember how she got here or if she was going
somewhere else in the first place. It was quiet, it was cold, and all she had for company was a vaguely familiar black dog.
And then suddenly someone came up behind her and she was being swept up into his arms.
"Harry!" she squealed, laughed and fastened her arms round his neck.
He laughed as well, "Miss me?"
"Of course I miss you! Where have you been? We've been waiting for hours!" she replied, and tried her best to look cross.
The black dog with her barked its agreement.
He laughed again, "It's only been eleven minutes, it's not like I was gone forever."
"Oh Harry, whenever you're gone it feels like forever," she told him, and this time she was serious.
He put her down, turned her to face him, looked her directly in the eyes and said, "I'll never leave you forever, sometimes for a little while, but never forever. And besides, you said you needed a break, and I got you this…"
Suddenly, a loud buzzing sounded through the air and Hermione started out of her sleep to find herself lying in the dark of her bedroom, alone. She had been dreaming again, the same thing for five days so far, and she couldn't tell whether it was her first actual memory, or the result of that letter.
"As a matter of fact, you are among the very few who know that Harry Potter is still alive."
When would it stop?
No, she stopped herself; she didn't want the dream to stop if it was really a memory. There was the possibility that more would come if she kept up like this. She could soon enough have all of her past restored from this one little teaser torn from the depths of her mind by the revelation.
She scoffed at that.
She would sooner see Harry again. He was alive, he had been this whole time and not once did he make an attempt to contact her.
Maybe it was just her shock that she hadn't reacted with anger yet. Or maybe it was because she hadn't come face to face with the twins to interrogate them on how much they knew. Or maybe still, she just… didn't know what to do, but since that night in Grimmauld Place she had been rather numb.
After waking up in the bedroom that had been set up for the twins-some hours after she collapsed-she immediately left for home. She couldn't, she didn't want to, she… she just had to leave, go home and pretend that she hadn't read that letter.
But the words stuck with her and repeated themselves in her mind when she finally fell into her bed and tried to go to sleep.
"Your father is a little tricky, you know his story, and you know what happened in the war. As a matter of fact, you are among the very few who know that Harry Potter is still alive."
The rest that she hadn't read aloud was there too.
"But you must keep this quiet. The danger that could come to you and your mother should anyone ever find out… there is no telling what could happen. There are those still capable of doing great harm on the loose, the Aurors have not captured everyone and there is the possibility that they never will. Your father once attempted to tell your mother the truth, eleven years ago, shortly after the war. He had taken the same potion but his memories returned, scattered, but there and he was determined that your mother know the truth too. But someone must have seen him on the way to the house and there was an attack. She escaped, barely alive, but your grandparents were not so lucky. We should be thankful that Severus Snape was keeping an eye on him or you would truly be motherless.
Do not contact him unless you have to, and this is especially to you Aimee, do not do it! Whatever you may receive from this may be short-lived."
Who was this woman to keep her children from Harry, or herself? What was Harry thinking to leave them behind? Even if he was trying to protect her, he at least could have been there for his children. Wasn't the only thing he ever wanted a family?
She rolled over in her bed and tried to ignore the first reaches of light from the rising sun coming through the window.
She did not want to think about it, she couldn't allow herself to. It would make today especially harder.
Today, as soon as it was a reasonable hour, she was going down to Hogwarts and having a long conversation with the twins. She had to talk to them, find out how much they knew, and most important of all, she had to be calm when she did it.
She hadn't even told Ron yet, and though his reaction to the twins had been good… she really needed to be calm for this.
The one thing that was actually helping was the rational understanding that this wasn't their fault, that they didn't abandon themselves in France while their father ran away like a coward and their mother was deceived.
Okay, so maybe she wasn't that numb, but she wished she was.
If she was she wouldn't feel hurt, she wouldn't feel angry, or betrayed, or alone, or wish that Viktor was still alive so she could safe in Bulgaria with him, being treated with more respect than these people she thought her friends had given her.
She knew she should at least be happy that he was alive, and she was, very much so.
In the seconds after she heard the words she couldn't remember ever feeling so elated, so euphoric, so… happy. It was as if the floor had fallen away and she was standing on air. She was so happy she felt light-headed-which was probably why she fainted-and on the inside she nearly started giggling like a giddy schoolgirl.
But if he was alive, since he was alive, why wasn't he here?
She snatched a pillow from beside her on the bed and flung it against the door.
She must have loved him, didn't he understand that, didn't he care? But even if he did he just… he just threw it away and headed for the hills.
Gathered his skirts and headed for the hills….
Why did that sound familiar?
"Ugh…" she groaned and rolled unto her back. She was grasping at straws, she was trying too hard to remember, to understand why….
She paused when she heard sounds of movement from the next room. She didn't want Caspar to wake up yet.
In the days since they found out about Harry, he had woken up early to be with her as long as he could before school. Her little champion, all he wanted was to protect her.
If she ever saw Harry again, she would never forgive him for what he was doing to their children. She doubted they would too.
First their daughters, now her son, all of them were being and going to be affected by this. The girls surely had no idea of what it was like to be Harry Potter at Hogwarts, so they couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to be his daughters. The attention this was going to garner… and even for Caspar too, he already had a famous father, but now…. What was it that Rita Skeeter had written?
"Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy."
She gave a mirthless laugh.
Hadn't Harry properly thought through this plan of his before he executed it? If he thought she was ever going to forgive him… he would… he would probably be right.
She… she was angry, so very angry, but somewhere inside, she believed he had a very good excuse. There had to be a reason for what he did, he would never just run off and leave her behind, leave all of them behind if he didn't think it was for the best.
Oh gods that was ridiculous.
This was madness.
Poor Viktor, she should have loved him more. She said it once and many times before, and she would do it again. He would have never done this to her, though, granted he would never have been put in a situation where he might have in the first place. He was never on the same level with Harry, no matter how much more experienced he might have been. But he deserved better than her, the castaway bride of the Man-Who-Triumphed.
Oh, that's right too, Harry allowed her to marry Viktor Krum even though she was still married to him. She had been a bigamist for five years. How lovely.
"Mummy, are you up yet?"
She was pulled from her bitter musings by the sound of Caspar's voice.
Lifting her head off the mattress, she spied Caspar in the doorway. He immediately ran to her, clambered unto the bed until he lay beside her and wrapped his arms round her as best as he could go, his head lying on her breast.
"Why aren't you sleeping? It's Saturday, you can go to the Weasleys…" she began.
"No, I can't," he protested, and cut her off. "Today I go with you, to meet my sisters at school."
She had forgotten about that. But then, she didn't really want him to be with her today, not if she lost control and yelled at the twins when they didn't deserve it.
Thank goodness they didn't look like him; she wouldn't be able to stand it.
"Caspar… I don't…" she began again, trying to convince him otherwise.
"No, Mum, you promised, you said that I could meet them when you went again and you're going today. I don't care about Harry, I want to see them!" he insisted.
A sigh, a moment of silence, and then she replied, "Okay, I shouldn't punish you, or them, for something they're not responsible for. They've been writing to me all week and it's been fine, why should today be any different?"
She felt Caspar smile, she bent forward and kissed his head, and then dropped her head back unto the mattress with her eyes closed and tried her best to believe it.
~*~*~*~
The crumpled letter was spread out on his desk before him, and as he had for every day in the five since Dobby gave it to him, Ron just sat there staring at it. He hadn't spoken of it to anyone. He hadn't even attempted to question the twins or his nephew about the finer points of the night in the Owlery. As a matter of fact, he had decidedly avoided them, not even bothering to call on them in class when he usually would.
He couldn't.
He feared what might slip out if he did.
He wasn't mad at them; there was no way that he could ever be mad at them for knowing and not telling him. He was sure that they must have been told some cock and bull story to keep their knowledge a secret. But after all that Hermione had been through, the torture of their meeting that was visible in her eyes, someone could have said something.
There, was another sticking point for him.
He hadn't heard a thing from Hermione since last Sunday when she told him that she was going to Grimmauld Place for Hallowe'en. Oh, he had heard about her visit, his mother said that Lupin told her that they had found the twins' room, and even another that had apparently been set up for them for the summer. But then nothing, no news from Hermione on how she felt, how this affected her, when she planned on telling the twins the truth… there was nothing but a blank wall.
It was annoying, frustrating and had been bothering him for days, and Ron Weasley greatly disliked being left out.
Rising from his desk, he walked to the window and looked out at the still slumbering castle grounds where lights lit at nightfall the day before still twinkled. The sun was just rising, the sky palest blue-grey and large white clouds were slowly traversing it. But already blustering winds were picking up, and he knew the air to be quite chilly. Even the weather was in a foul mood, he hoped Maia was ready for it.
In a matter of hours Hermione should be arriving again, to see Maia's first Quidditch match and introduce the twins to Caspar. Hopefully, there would be an explanation for her silence. If all went well, she might even learn what the twins knew and something could happen between them. But knowing their luck at times, something could also go wrong and the world might know their secret before they wanted them to.
The Quibbler's presses were already on standby for the official announcement they planned to make once the truth was out. It would be terrible if they were denied the right to release it first.
He scoffed and massaged his eyes, what was he thinking about?
This was far more important than petty press rivalries. A mother had been forcefully separated from her children for the past twelve years. Their reunion was the only thing that anyone should care about.
But no, there were other things. There were the secrets that were destroying what had once been a simple and deep relationship between them all. There was the betrayal that Hermione was quite unlikely to forget anytime soon no matter her forgiveness. There was the fact that Harry was still not here, and would never again, to help raise the children he had so reluctantly given up.
What on earth had they been thinking?
Who had they really been protecting in all of this? Him…? Ginny…?
Surely neither, for by the time the war was over Ginny had almost completely begun to move on, and he and Hermione had realised that whatever they were doing was simply not working.
The twins, perhaps…?
No, since Viktor's death Hermione had been raising Caspar quite fine on her own, first with Viktor's relatives in Bulgaria and now here with them, as she could have raised her daughters, and she was doing quite fine. The only disruption this single-parent situation had had was when his mother's guilty conscience had become too much for her at Hermione's birthday party.
So who then, who really had benefited from this? What was the point of separating…?
Oh, that's right… of course, why didn't he think of it before?
Harry had always been this perfect human being. He was flawless, nothing could touch him. Mistakes-pfft-they were cool as long as he made them, he could be forgiven. He was the Chosen One, he could do no wrong.
Well, maybe he went too far this time. A pre-marital sexual relationship with a friend that spawned illegitimate children was a scandal Witch Weekly would have had a field day with. They couldn't let anybody know that, they couldn't let anyone know that he was just as human as the rest of them.
Oh, who was he kidding? They already knew that, they more than everyone else already knew that.
So what were they thinking?
What would have been so wrong in letting Hermione raise Aimee and Maia without Harry when there was already the very strong possibility that he would have died anyway? He would have helped, even if it meant marrying her, he would not have left her alone. He was their friend, how could they have denied him the chance to prove that?
Suddenly, he was drawn from the window by the sound of his office door opening behind him. He turned at once, and was quite surprised to find that his early morning visitor was none other than Maia Black.
Well, he really should start calling her Maia Potter now.
"Um, bonjour professeur, I don't mean to bother you, but… I…" she began, could go no further and then said, "I don't know what I'm doing but… I…"
He smiled at her, and came away from the window, "You're worried about the match today?"
"Well, yeah… I mean, I've never played Quidditch on a team before in a competition… what if I… if I don't catch the Snitch…?" she asked, and her eyes revealed no end to her concern.
Ron tried his best to be reassuring, "Then you'll be just another footnote in the long sad history of Hufflepuff Seekers, don't worry, it's a house tradition. But beware of Slytherin; they have a house tradition of underhanded tactics that Professor Theoden cannot dream to reverse."
"Thanks Professor… I think…" replied Maia, and for a moment-and only just a moment-she looked the perfect reflection of Harry.
But there was no scar, thank gods there was no scar.
She walked to his desk and drew from the pocket of her teal bathrobe, a small brown paper package. Without waiting for his question, she untied it to reveal her canary yellow and black Quidditch uniform.
"I just got it yesterday, Mercury brought it-that's what we named the owl, seemed right, "winged messenger"-anyway, he brought it, but with something extra… what do you think anyone would say if I wore these?" she asked and drew out two pairs of ribbon, one pair, yellow, the other, black.
But instead of the apprehension he expected, he saw… barely contained excitement.
"Ribbons… where did you get them?" he asked, taking them from her. They were silk, and a quick glance to the uniform confirmed their expense as well. They had to have been provided by the same high-end clothing store that made the girls' school uniform.
Well, at least he was spoiling them like every good parent should.
"Oh… um… I asked for them too, I wanted to wear them, I have this idea to have my hair in pigtails, with…" she explained but he didn't have to hear it. He didn't believe her, he didn't know why, he couldn't come up with a better explanation, but he didn't believe her.
"Well, I don't think they'll mind too much if you wear them, as long as they don't distract you while you're playing… you have quite a fight ahead of you, Hufflepuff needs to win by at least eighty points," he told her.
"I know, I know!" she said, clearly exasperated, throwing her head back and groaning, "That's all Captain Christensen has been talking about… I think I dreamed about it last night."
He was glad someone had had a good night, his dreams, and this was for the past eleven years, mostly consisted of watching his best friend disappearing into a forest to die. This past week, there was a corrupted variation where he was being dragged into the shadows while reaching towards a very pregnant Hermione who was being held prisoner by his family and friends.
Lucky girl, Maia, blissfully unaware of the evil of men, all she had to worry about today was Quidditch.
"Stop thinking about it so much, my first match… is still a blank to me, but maybe someday when it comes back I'll tell you about it. What I can tell you, is just stop thinking about, just go out there and fly your best," he told her.
Wow, that sounded like something a father would tell their child before an important moment of their life. See, he could have helped Hermione just fine.
"How was Harry's first match?" asked Maia, her honeyed gaze showing that he had her full attention.
"Um, well, he didn't… he was kind of scared, but he was younger than you, only eleven… you're twelve, there's a difference. But if you really want to know, it was great, he liked flying so much he forgot all about the rest of us while he tried to catch the Snitch, you do that, everything will be fine," he told her.
"I'm probably going to suck," she said.
"No, you can't, according to your sister, it's in your genes," he said with a smile.
For a second, and only a second, there was something like alarm spread over her face. But before he could be sure, it had been replaced by a half-smile and she said, "These things can skip a generation you know…"
Just then, the clock in his office began to chime. They both looked up to it and checked the time. Ron spoke first, "Seven o' clock, the match starts at ten…. Get some breakfast, get dressed and spend some time with your team-no detours-you'll be fine."
Maia gathered up her package, "I don't think so."
"None of that, now get out of my office, I have to prepare myself for the shock later when I support… H-H-Hufflepuff… in a match," he ordered.
Without skipping a beat, Maia replied, "Aimee said that Mrs Krum has to do the same thing every time you take her to a Chudley Cannons game."
~*~*~*~
With less than an hour to the time that the match was slated to begin, the weather's ill temper had little improved. In fact, one could say that it had gotten worse.
It was still a blustery morning out, but now large dark-grey clouds began to appear, quickly moved by the wind but ever so often releasing a shower to drench the stands and the gathering spectators. In gaps between these clouds, one could find brilliant blue sky with patches of smaller, slower white clouds and ever so often a faint rainbow. But in the distance all round, there was the rumbling of the thundershowers, and if one was high enough, they could even spy white lightening blazing across the sky. And of course, it was rather cold.
It was going to be one of those days.
Hermione barely noticed.
Seated in the teacher's box with Caspar, Ginny, Ron and Professor McGonagall, she first searched the stands for Aimee. It took her a while, but sure enough there she was, seated with friends, Dean and Parvati's daughter, Sarmistha, and Cho and Michael's, Lixue. As Gryffindor would never support Slytherin in anything, they, some of Ravenclaw, and of course, Hufflepuff, were lost in a tide of yellow, gold and black streamers, banners, flags and other supporting paraphernalia.
The Slytherins made a point of ignoring them. Making as much noise in support as they could, they cheered under a large banner of an animated green and silver serpent slithering its way over to a nest of cowering infant badgers.
Hermione wondered if they knew that traditionally, badgers killed serpents.
Turning away from them though, her eyes desperately searched the field for the players. In the teacher's box, the student commentator, Gavin Bennett, was getting ready to begin, annoyingly testing the loudspeaker every five minutes. Madam Hooch was already out on the pitch, and discussing something with the young student assisting her with the equipment at the goal posts to their left. Very soon the players would be coming out, and all Hermione wanted was to see Maia.
Caspar seated beside her, leaned over and asked, "I'm bored, can't I go sit over there?"
He pointed at the Gryffindor stands where Aimee was.
Professor McGonagall answered for Hermione, "Unfortunately, young man, you can't. Not until you're sorted, and according to your mother… that won't happen for another three years."
Caspar looked away muttering to himself. Ron bit his tongue to stifle his snickering.
And then they were brought to rapt attention when Gavin's voice sounded over the field, "ONCE AGAIN, WELCOME ALL TO A HOGWARTS QUIDDITCH MATCH! TODAY WE HAVE HUFFLEPUFF VS SLYTHERIN, WE ALREADY KNOW WHO'S GOING TO WIN BUT WE NEED A LAUGH! ANYWAY, HUFFLEPUFF IS SHOWING OFF THEIR NEW SEEKER, MAIA JAE BLACK-AND YES I HAD TO GIVE HER FULL NAME-HER SISTER'S MY FUTURE…"
He was abruptly cut off when one of Caspar's gloves whacked him upside the back of his head.
He turned back furious and searching for the person who hit him. Seeing Hermione though, left him stuttering, and he forgot all about it… until Professor McGonagall hissed, "Gavin! Gavin, the game, have you forgotten something?"
He started, and turned back to the loudspeaker, "RIGHT… SO HERE ARE THE TEAMS! FIRST ON THE FIELD, SLYTHERIN! CAPTAIN THATCHER IS KEEPER, AND THE REST: BENTHAM, DICKINSON, GREAVES, GREAVES, MERLOT AND ZABINI AS SEEKER!"
In green and silver uniforms, the seven Slytherin players marched out unto the field, formed a serpentine "S" and did a very theatrical bow to their supporters.
"AND HERE'S HUFFLEPUFF! CAPTAIN CHRISTENSEN IS A BEATER, AND THE REST OF THE TEAM: ANDREWS, BLAIR, BLACK, DAVISON, THORNE, AND WOODS! BLACK IS NEW SEEKER."
In black and yellow and a "V" like migratory birds in flight, the Hufflepuff team joined their opponents on the field. Their Keeper and Seeker were in the back, and Ron was quietly amused to find that Maia had indeed put her hair in two long, braided pigtails with her little silk ribbons. Once with the Slytherins, they bowed to their supporters.
"ON THAT SILVER ARROW II, BLACK'S STIFF COMPETITION FOR ZABINI, BUT SHE'S NEW AND FRENCH, SHE DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE!"
This time, Caspar left his seat and went down to where Professor McGonagall and Gavin were standing. Somehow, his voice came over the speakers, "DOESN'T HE EVER SHUT UP?"
Most of the stadium erupted in laughter.
Gavin laughed nervously, "UM, OH YES, AS SPECIAL VISITORS FOR TODAY'S MATCH, WE HAVE MRS HERMIONE GRANGER-KRUM AND HER SON, CASPAR. THAT WAS… CASPAR… ANYWAY, ON TO THE GAME, HUFFLEPUFF HAVE TO WIN BY EIGHTY POINTS IF THEY DREAM OF SO MUCH AS SNIFFING THE QUIDDITCH CUP! HEY…! PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL HE KICKED ME… YES… HE DID… EVERYBODY SAW HIM! ALRIGHT, AND THEY'RE OFF! BUT HERE'S A BIT OF TRIVIA, BOTH SEEKERS WERE FRIENDS UNTIL RECENTLY, MAYBE THEY CAN SETTLE THEIR DIFFERENCES OVER A GOOD GAME OF QUIDDITCH!"
Across the field in the Gryffindor stands, Aimee turned her Omnoculars to the sky and searched for her sister. She found her quickly enough, and by account of the Slytherin Seeker tailing her broom.
She took them off, sighed and said, "Rhiannon's following her, a good idea since Maia has the faster broom, but it won't help her if she wants the Snitch."
"Oh is that so? Experts on Quidditch now?" asked a voice behind her.
The three girls turned to find Philippe seated behind them, and as usual, flanked by a number of friends. He waved at Aimee, grinned, and said, "Because I'd be found hanging if I ever supported Slytherin, I'm doing your sister a favour. I'm not going to hold my breath though."
"… AND SLYTHERIN SCORES! SORRY HUFFLEPUFF, BUT WE SAW THAT COMING A MILE AWAY!"
Philippe shrugged, then snatched away her Omnoculars and searched the air for Maia.
"Hey look, I think she's seen the Snitch… of course, it could the light on the goal posts…"
And then the rain began to fall again.
The players donned their goggles and drew tighter robes that allowed in way too much of the biting cold air than necessary. Spectators drew up umbrellas and raincoats. Hermione searched the air for Maia, and found that the two Seekers had vanished from view.
Alarmed, she turned to Ron and asked, "Where are they? Where are the Seekers?"
He looked up as well and found nothing but twelve players where there should be fourteen.
The game went on, the commentator's voice ringing over the field: "AND BLAIR PASSES TO THORNE… BENTHAM STEALS… DUCKS A BLUDGER, CAPTAIN CHRISTENSEN MUST HAVE MISSED… SLYTHERIN IS MAKING AN ATTEMPT TO SCORE… KEEPER ANDREWS SAVES! WHAT A THROW… HUFFLEPUFF IN POSSESSION… THORNE PASSES TO WOODS… DAVISON TAKES OVER… HE SCORES! HUFFLEPUFF SCORES, SLYTHERIN MUST BE SLIPPING!"
No one noticed the missing Seekers until….
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT? THE SEEKERS ARE COMING DOWN… SPIRALLING! CAPTAINS, WHAT ARE YOUR PLAYERS UP TO? THIS MIGHT END IN COLLISION… SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT BLACK THE FINER POINTS OF THE GAME BEFORE LETTING HER ON THE FIELD…"
Sure enough, the two Seekers were descending from the cloud-covered heavens in what were hopefully controlled spirals with no sign of the Golden Snitch to lead them. It looked very much like Maia was trying to shake Rhiannon off her tail, or maybe they were having a very strange fight, and no one could reach them to stop them.
Then suddenly, Maia broke the spiral and both girls shot up away from each other, before disappearing into the skies again… just as a bolt of bright, hot, white light tore out of air behind them.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT…?" demanded Gavin.
Even Professor McGonagall was in too much shock to notice he had sworn. The teams were still trying to score of course, but with noted weakened enthusiasm. They were as distracted as everyone else as to what had just transpired.
Hermione looked at Ron, then up at the sky, and asked, "Are they fighting?"
"I doubt it… or at least I hope not, that could go on forever…" he replied absently, his eyes searching as well.
In the Gryffindor stands Philippe was doing his worst. He would not, or seemed incapable of, shutting up about it, and he didn't even know what it was in the first place.
Aimee did her best to ignore him, but her patience was wearing on thin and if he didn't let up soon there were a list of hexes, curses and jinxes she was yet to try out. Couldn't he see that they were trying to watch the game?
"THAT WAS A FOUL CAPTAIN THATCHER! YOU KNOW IT! YOU KNOW IT! THERE IS NO WAY THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU WERE AT THE POSTS! HUFFLEPUFF TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE DISTRACTION TO SCORE… HONESTLY, WHO WOULDN'T? ACTING LIKE SLYTHERINS MORE AND MORE THESE HUFFLEPUFFS! OW! WOODS ALMOST TAKES OUT THAT SLYTHERIN CHASER!"
High in the sky, oblivious to the confusion they had caused, the two Seekers were once more on a search for the Snitch. Their spiral had been as much a move to shake the other off as it was an attempt to escape the bolt of lightening that had suddenly ripped off behind them.
Once they were back in the sky, Maia had actually called "Thanks!" to Rhiannon for starting the spirals in the first place. But they couldn't escape this dark grey world of terrifying close noises, driving rain that stung against their wet faces, and brilliant, blinding flashes of light until they caught the Snitch and soon they were off on their own again.
Maia had quickly found though, that she had forgotten all about the other players, the spectators and even the commentator once she had mounted the broom and soared over the stands. Professor Weasley had been right; once she was flying there was nothing else that mattered.
Robes, pigtails and ribbons whipping out behind her, eyes peeled while hands gripped the broom handle until knuckles whitened, she couldn't remember ever feeling so alive.
Maybe it was just the adrenaline, but she doubted it. Surely it couldn't make someone feel like they never wanted a game to end despite the horrible weather they were playing in could it? Or even make her feel like laughing as she soared amongst the clouds or speedily descended whenever she caught a flash of gold? Or even still wish that she could go further than the air above the field in pursuit of that elusive little, winged ball?
Okay, maybe it could, but she didn't care, this was the most fun she had ever had.
And then she realised that she was alone. And that she had been that way for quite some time actually.
Oh no.
Dropping into a dive, Maia descended as quickly as she could to catch up with Rhiannon. And at first there was nothing. She went for quite some time without the barest hint of green and silver or a spot of gold.
The commentator's voice appeared again: "SLYTHERIN SCORES! NINETY TO SEVENTY! HUFFLEPUFF IS PUTTING UP A FIGHT!"
Then there was the roar of the crowd. They were cheering something; she hoped it wasn't the Seeker's victory.
That would be disastrous. She had no explanation for what she was doing while Rhiannon caught the Snitch.
She began to wonder though, if Rhiannon was not still up above her.
And then suddenly, as she dropped back into the visibility of the stadium, her robes flapping in the wind as the standards and banners of the supporters, Rhiannon appeared beneath her. She was coming up out of the trenches… and just out of the reach of her gloved hand was the Golden Snitch. With the rain cleared up, a radiant rainbow appearing just out of the stadium against the grey sky and the sun's light spreading over its drenched subjects there was no denying what it was.
Maia grinned, and swooped down immediately, cutting right across her path and closing her fingers round the tiny ball as she went.
She did it! She caught the Snitch!
It was only a matter of seconds then, before Gavin noticed and announced it as well: "OH GODS! THE SNITCH'S CAUGHT HUFFLEPUFF! I MEAN, HUFFLEPUFF… BLACK'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! HUFFLEPUFF'S WON! AND BY MORE THAN EIGHTY POINTS! TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY TO SEVENTY… HUFFLEPUFF WINS! THAT MEANS THEY GET TO PLAY RAVENCLAW AGAIN… AND AFTER THAT… HEY… HUFFLEPUFF'S GOING TO PLAY AGAINST US IF THEY BEAT THEM! OKAY, NOW CAPTAIN CHRISTENSEN REALLY NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION!"
The cheer that erupted from the stands all round threatened to shake them out of their foundations. Philippe was staring on in silent shock, but even if he had said anything it would have been lost in it. Aimee screamed her sister's name and willed her to see her. Hermione, Caspar, Ginny and Ron in the teacher's box were standing and screaming with them.
She did it! She actually did it!
The two teams descended to the centre of the field and stiff handshakes were exchanged. Well, until Maia reached Rhiannon. She threw herself unto the girl to give her an almost bone-crushing hug, screaming excitedly in French and forgetting all about the fact that they were opponents and had stopped speaking to each other.
She was quickly pulled off by Captain Christensen though, who hoisted her unto his shoulder, mounted his broom, and along with the rest of the team, dared to parade her around the entire stadium to show off their victory.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO HUFFLEPUFF! NEXT MATCH: GRYFFINDOR VS RAVENCLAW! SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS! THIS IS GAVIN BENNETT SIGNING OUT! HAVE A GOOD DAY, ALL OF YOU! WE KNOW HUFFLEPUFF IS!"
She was wet, suddenly tired, her clothes and hair were sticking to her skin, but she was so jubilant she didn't care. There was nothing to bring her down from that high now, absolutely nothing.
Boy was she ever wrong.
~*~*~*~
It took most of the afternoon, but eventually Ron managed to find the Hufflepuff team-and the party they were having in their basement Common Room-to steal Maia away. Aimee was with her, as were their friends, and surprisingly, Philippe-happily downing butterbeers in the corner. She hadn't even had the chance to change out of her uniform, arm and leg guards included, but it didn't matter. Not to him anyway, her mother had insisted that they be brought to her "as is" as soon as he found them, and so they were going.
Climbing halfway down the stone steps, he cast "Sonorous!" on himself, and said, "WILL MAIA AND AIMEE BLACK-AND YOU TOO PHILIPPE WEASLEY, THIS ISN'T YOUR HOUSE COMMON ROOM-PLEASE FOLLOW ME TO MY OFFICE, YOU HAVE VISITORS!"
He didn't need the spell, but he just wanted to annoy. Captain Christensen immediately protested, once he and everyone else took their hands from their ears, "We're celebrating sir, couldn't this wait?"
"NO! COME ON YOU THREE, LET THEM THROUGH!" he replied, and went back up the steps to wait for them.
Eventually they appeared above with him, and he shut the trapdoor. Removing the spell, he said, "Philippe, go back to Gryffindor Tower and sleep off those butterbeers, you two come with me."
"Where are we going?" asked Maia, loosening the ribbons and freeing her hair so it fell still wet and stringy down her back.
"To my office, you have visitors… Philippe, don't go back in there," he said and led them away.
Before he was out the door that led back to the halls and steps to upstairs, he heard the trapdoor open and shut again.
Well, they'd put him out eventually.
"Visitors?" asked Aimee, "Who's come to see us, Mrs Krum again?"
He tried not to grit his teeth at hearing her call her mother "Mrs Krum", and replied, "Yes, she wants to talk to you again, and personally congratulate this one on her spectacular display. Don't tell her this, but I loved how you stole the Snitch right out of Rhiannon's hand, that was bloody brilliant!"
"You think so?" asked Maia, eagerly.
"Yes, I do. If Harry could've seen you do it I know he'd agree with me," he replied.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile widen and Aimee tugged sharply on her robes.
Oh, they knew, there was no way around it, they knew.
It seemed like forever before they were standing before his office door. And it surely was for they were occasionally stopped in the corridor for someone to congratulate Maia, or for a Slytherin to sneer, or a Gryffindor to offer a warning. Maia took them all in stride, with a perpetual smirk on her lips; she recounted for them all the way there how she managed to catch the Snitch.
At his office then, he stopped and said, "I'll be back shortly," and went in, leaving them in the hall.
He had to speak to Hermione, and quickly, before letting them in.
Without care for all else with her, he began immediately, "Couldn't we do this some other day?"
"What?" Hermione asked, looking up from her conversation with Professor McGonagall, shocked and confused.
"You know what, you should see them right now, they're… I know you've waited more than enough but, just one more day. If you could just see them now," he continued, not bothering to directly answer her.
Hermione sighed and shook her head, "Ron, you know I can't. I want… I want to know them, I want to talk to them, I can't wait… and… and if what you told me is true, then they can't either. No more waiting, I think eleven years is enough; for goodness sake they're almost thirteen!"
That was all he needed to hear.
He looked around at the others now with them, Lupin, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley and Hagrid, at Caspar, Ginny and Professor McGonagall, and said, "Okay, here they come."
Walking back to the door, he opened it and said, "Come on in, I hope you don't mind, there are some more people with us than before."
The twins walked in still smiling, Aimee was saying as he closed the door behind them, "Professeur, did you see what happened to the Slytherin banner, someone stole it and enlarged the badgers… they put it up in the Great Hall someone just told me, they're eating the snake…"
Her voice trailed off when she turned around and saw their audience.
Mrs Weasley gasped. Hagrid seemed very much as if he was fighting against saying something, Lupin was staring at Maia slightly open-mouthed and the rest plainly just stared.
"Here they are," said Ron, "Maia and Aimee Black."
No one moved at first. Only Hermione spoke, saying, "Hello again girls, I've brought some friends, but you should know your teachers."
The girls nodded and replied, "Bonsoir,"
An uncomfortable silence had fallen, as if everyone knew that the game was up but no one was willing to speak first. Ron went back to his desk and had a seat, the twins remained where they were… and then finally Caspar freed himself from Ginny and went over to them.
"Caspar Krum, nice to meet you," he said, shaking both their hands.
The girls smiled at each other, and then at him, and replied in unison, "Nice to meet you too, Caspar, your Dad was the best Seeker in the world."
"Yours was the best in the whole school, and the youngest in a hundred years according to them," said Caspar, and without waiting for their alarmed reactions, he continued, "Are you going to come home with us for Christmas or are you staying here?"
Well, if no one else was going to do it.
Maia spoke first, "What?"
"Mum's forgets everything nowadays, so I had to choose your room. It's just opposite mine, right across the hall, and it's large enough for two beds or if you want a bunk. You can decorate it any way you like, we don't mind, but don't make a mess, Mum hates that," he told them, ignoring her question.
Aimee put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "What did you say?"
"Mum keeps an eye on the sugar, but Mrs Weasley gives you anything you want if you ask nicely. I have fish, but I want a toad, do you think the cat will eat it? Aunt Ginny is getting married for New Year's Day; do you have clothes for that? Knowing her she'll drag you into it, or at least, that's what Aunt Fleur says…" he went on, still ignoring her.
Ron, as alarmed as everyone else and also unable to stop him, looked across to the others for reaction. Hermione, Tonks Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Mrs Weasley had tears silently streaming down their cheeks, though Hermione was smiling. Lupin looked pensive, Mr Weasley was smiling as well and shaking his head, and Ginny was staring at them with her mouth open. And seemingly oblivious to them all, Caspar went on babbling.
The twins' reaction though, and at least to him, was best. Their alarm, once they realised what was happening, melted away to bright smiles that did little to curb Caspar's mouth but clearly revealed their joy. At any minute it looked as if they would silence him with a hug, Aimee's hand was actually trembling on his shoulder.
"We have house elves, but they're free, Mum wouldn't have them if they weren't, and every month she gives them something in appreciation. You can have anything you want really, we have lots of money so you can live with us and don't go back to that creepy old house. Please say that you won't, I promise you'll like it, Uncle Ron says Mum's a swot but she's not that bad once you get to know her. So please? Please come with us…"
Caspar finally stopped, but it was only to look up at the twins and plead with his eyes as well. For a time then, the world stood still, neither twin saying a word or moving. And then they looked up at the others, and each other and finally Aimee said, "If you'll have us… I guess…"
Caspar's face lit up as he grinned. He turned back to Hermione, and said, "They'll come, Mum, they said they'll come!"
The twins looked up at Hermione, but there was apprehension in their eyes. Caspar turned back to them then, and said, "One more thing… please?"
They allowed their gazes to fall back upon him, and he said, "Um… would you… would you let me be your little brother? Would you mind if I was…?"
The girls looked at each other again, grinned-and mischievously at that-and enveloped him in a hug, and Maia said, "Why wouldn't we?"
"We've always wanted a little brother…" agreed her sister.
"Someone to beat up…"
"And lock in the closet…"
"And experiment potions on…"
"And play games with…"
"And love…"
The sound of Hermione's stifled sob ended their banter, but didn't stop the embrace. She rose from her place beside Professor McGonagall, walked over to the trio, and after a moment's hesitation, carefully wrapped her arms around them. Caspar freed himself then, just to let her and the twins have a moment, and grinned at Ron, properly proud of himself.
But slowly, eventually, the embrace ended and Maia started away from Hermione, saying, "Oh no, your robes… I'm wet and dirty…"
"I don't care," said Hermione. "I've never really cared that much for fashion… I just… you flew really well today, just like Harry…."
"We know, we heard," said the twins.
At her puzzled expression, Aimee said, "I heard you… the last time…. Sorry we didn't say anything… but you didn't, you acted like you didn't know us…"
And here was the dark cloud to rain on their parade.
"I… I didn't…" she said.
Now it was their turn to be confused and they stepped away from her slightly, but visibly.
Hermione's face fell, and she began, "This is going to sound strange but… I… I don't even know where to begin…. Um, you know you were born in the middle of the Second War right?"
The twins nodded, Maia replied, "The fifteenth of May, 1999, Tantie Marie told us that it was at sunset on a really bad day, someone ambushed Papa and some people were killed."
Hermione nodded, "Okay… oh gods, I don't even remember that…. But, you were born in the middle of a really dark time, and it wasn't safe for you to be around, or for anyone to know about you. Not even… not even your father and me, so we… we gave you away and drank a memory potion to forget… to forget you both to keep you safe. M-my memories never came back… ever…. I still don't have them, now… my first memories of you are of right now, when I met you the first time last week, and now today… thank you Maia."
The twins didn't move, but Aimee asked, "You don't… you still don't remember… but how come?"
Hermione closed her eyes a moment, exhaled slowly, and replied, "The potion… the memory potion, it works much like how people can sometimes. You know how sometimes-how sometimes you smell, or taste, or see something, and you have a flash of a memory? (They nodded.) Well, it's like that. The memories are there, no-no memory potion or charm can actually ever really take them away-look at Gilderoy Lockhart-but they can suppress them. Just like after a while you can "forget" things, things that you were too little when they happened that you would remember now, it basically sped up that, and put them deep into my mind so that, even if I drank Veritaserum if you asked me about them I could deny it and be telling you the truth. But-but, I know that you are my daughters, they said it, and a test could prove it, I can't remember you, but I know who you are…. And I've missed you from the moment I heard about you, and possibly for longer still, I just didn't know it yet…."
She had come to sit on the floor before them, and as she finished speaking, they sat too. They looked at no one else, just at her, as if trying to find a lie in her face. Finding none, and once they were satisfied that they wouldn't, Maia said, "Tantie Marie always said that you couldn't contact us because it wasn't safe… are you in danger now? Were you always in danger?"
Something that could have been anger, flashed across Hermione's face temporarily, but disappeared too quickly for Ron to be sure. She shook her head, and when she spoke her voice broke slightly, "Not that I know of… but maybe at first…. I'm so sorry that I wasn't with you growing up… if only I had known, I had remembered… I would have come for you at once. I wouldn't have ever waited, not once…."
The twins gave little reaction, and then Aimee asked, "What about Papa? He remembers us; Tantie Marie always gave us his presents. Was it very dangerous for him too?"
Ron spoke up, "Aimee… Harry's-Harry's dead Aimee… Tantie Marie was lying. This might be hard for you to believe but she bought those things. According to my sister-in-law she was withdrawing money from his account to raise you, and whenever she could, she would buy you something and say he sent it. He's gone… Voldemort killed him."
The girls turned to him, and went as white as death. But Aimee protested, "No… no, he's not. That's not true… we wrote to him when we first came here… see, I have his address…."
She dug into her pockets and drew out a crumpled piece of paper and read, "See, Number Seventeen, Turret's Lane, Blackpool. Tantie Marie gave this to us, and she's dead, so there's no one else it could be, this is Papa's address…"
Ron summoned the paper from her and read over what she had written in complete shock. He looked up to his mother and the others and found their expressions to be the same.
Ginny began, "No… he's dead… he died in the forest fighting Voldemort…. They never found his body, but he died when he did it…."
Both girls shook their heads, Maia began, "And he wrote back… he sent back a letter asking us about our trip and if we were alright, and said that if we needed anything we just had to ask. He even asked us if we knew if Mama was okay, and how Professor Weasley was doing in classes…"
"And if the Weasleys still lived in The Burrow in Ottery St Catchpole, but we didn't know that. And about the Headmistress, and Hogwarts and Professor Hagrid, and Professor Dumbledore's tomb…" continued Aimee.
Ginny snapped, "Stop it! It's not true! He's dead!"
"No… he's not," a voice replied, calmly.
Silenced, and even more stunned, they all turned back to Hermione on the floor. Lupin looked out the window at the sun beginning its colourful descent into the horizon.
"They're telling the truth… he's not dead…. When we went to Grimmauld Place… I… we found a letter, from Amaranthe that they were supposed to receive in the summer. It explained everything. She was telling them the truth because her last wish was that they know, and that they know why… why we couldn't be with them… and how they might change that…. Harry's alive… he didn't die with Voldemort eleven years ago… and he knows everything…" she said.
-->