Keith Lewis Keith Lewis 2 2505 2003-07-18T11:02:00Z 2003-07-18T11:02:00Z 20 7967 45413 378 90 55770 9.2720 Normal Chapter 12A
The Attack
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes :
Watch out for the Epilogue - The Burrow. Coming soon. I'll also be including some of my thoughts on this fic and a little preview from Chapter 1 of Book 2 - I'll want to know if you think I should continue with this and publish. Some points on the review board :
- Why couldn't it be something simple that set the rings off? - The path to fulfilment of the prophecy is not easy. The time has to be right for progression to the next stage to take place - there's more about this in book 2.
- Margot - Pronounced Mar-go, it's the French short form of Margaret.
Ron and Ginny pushed Harry and Hermione in front of them as they went into the headmaster's office. Dumbledore's inner circle was still sitting around the desk, and looked up expectantly as the four walked in. Everyone was beaming at them - even Snape managed a grudging smile.
Ceri was the first to approach, and she caught around Hermione and whispered, "I'm so glad Hermione. I can't tell you how pleased I am for you."
"Thanks, Ceri," she replied, "I ... I can't believe this is happening."
"Come on, you four," said Dumbledore, "come and join us. We've got a lot to discuss. But first let me congratulate you both, Anima Summas. I know everyone around this table is really pleased that you're together at last. From what Ginny said, and having observed you both over the last few months, I think I can safely say that the bonding was completely spontaneous - you both still have that look of surprise on your faces. So you should be able to achieve full powers - whatever they may be."
"Thank you, Professor," said Harry as the four sat down. "I don't think it's really sunk in yet."
"Ginny told us what happened up in the common room," said Sirius, "but can you tell us any more? I mean, we all saw that silvery light surrounding you both, and then it changed to blue. What was that?"
"It was the rings, Sirius," said Harry. "The silvery light came when I put them on our fingers. Then when the rings touched, the light changed. And the rings spoke to us."
Dumbledore looked up suddenly. "They spoke to you? Can you tell us what was said?"
"Well they didn't really speak, Professor," said Hermione. "There was no sound or anything - we just, well, sort of felt the words inside our heads. It told us that we'd receive details of the first of the remaining two quests very shortly."
"And it told us that we had to develop our new powers," Harry continued. "We have to seek out the knowledge wisely and practice it. I think we need to get your advice on that, Professor Dumbledore."
"Oh," said Hermione, "and it warned us of great danger ahead. It said we mustn't be apart. We have to remain as one."
Hermione and Harry looked deeply into each other's eyes as she finished. The professors sat spellbound as they listened.
"And that's not all," said Ron. "Tell them about that spell with Malfoy."
"Draco saw you?" said Snape animatedly. "Does he know about you two?"
"Yes, Professor," said Hermione. "We saw him as we walked back to the school. Even if he didn't see us together under the tree, he'll know something strange is going on because of what we did to him."
"When he made some snide remarks about us," said Harry, "we - well we sent him back to his dormitory."
"How did you do that?" asked Remus.
"The spell just came into our heads," replied Harry.
"But that's not all," said Ginny. "They didn't use their wands. They can do wand-less magic, now."
All the professors in the room gasped, and just stared.
"We don't know if we can do it individually," said Hermione, "or whether we have to be physically touching for it to happen. I suppose that's something we have to find out."
"What was the spell you used?" asked Dumbledore.
"It was PA HENKYT," said Harry.
"What's that?" asked McGonagall. "I've never heard anything like that before. What language is it?"
"We don't know Professor," said Hermione. "It just came into our heads - or to be more accurate, our collective conscious."
"Pa Henkyt," said Dumbledore. "That's not a language I've heard before. How do you think it's spelt? Is it P-A H-E-N-K-Y-T?"
"I don't know, sir," said Hermione, "but that sounds about right, I think."
"Hang on a minute," said the headmaster as he got up from his chair and walked to the large bookcase at the back of his office. He rummaged around and then came back to his desk carrying a very large, leather-bound book. He turned the pages over, searching, and then stopped.
"Pa - it means 'fly to'." He turned several other pages over and then looked up again. "Henkyt - it means 'bed.' You told Draco Malfoy to, literally, fly to bed."
"What language is it, Headmaster?" asked Remus. "I must say I've studied a lot of them, but I've never heard anything like that before."
"No, I don't suppose you have, Remus," replied Dumbledore. "And neither has anyone else - at least not for the last three thousand years. It's Middle-Kingdom Egyptian. I thought the spellings were familiar - you see, I studied Egyptian hieroglyphics at University. There are a number of different transliterations available today - but they all only guess at what the words would have sounded like."
"And this is only the start," said Flitwick. "When you begin to develop your powers, who knows how much ancient knowledge will become available to you."
"Awesome. Really awesome," said Ron.
"Is there anything else you've found?" asked McGonagall.
"Yes Professor," said Hermione. "We're able to feel each other's emotions when we're in contact, and we can also send those emotions to other people we touch - and pick up what they feel as well. We did it with Ron and Ginny before we came up here."
"And we can read each other's thoughts," said Harry. "We even did that when we weren't touching."
"Phew!" exclaimed Sirius. "This is incredible."
"Sorry to bring everybody back down to earth," said Ceri, "but what are we going to do now? Are we going to try to keep this quiet - I mean not just the Anima Summas, but also the fact that Harry and Hermione are together as a couple? What do you think, Professor Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore thought for a few moments, and then said, "I don't know if that's possible. I mean, we can't tell Harry and Hermione to keep their distance from each other can we - I doubt they'd be able to even if they tried. And it's as plain as the nose on your face how they feel about each other. We have to keep the Anima Summa information quiet, of course, but when it gets out that they're an item, it's bound to attract the attention of the Daily Prophet - especially after those articles Rita Skeeter wrote about them back last year."
"But I don't think we can keep it from 'You Know Who' Professor," said Snape. "When Lucius Malfoy hears about this - and you can be sure that Draco will tell him about the wand-less magic - he'll go running to the Dark Lord post haste."
"Do you think that Draco's the spy, Severus?" asked Flitwick.
"There's no proof of that, Filius. And I'm not suggesting that he is for one minute, but I know he's in touch with his father regularly. There's nothing sinister in that, but he's bound to tell him what's happened."
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right, Severus," said Dumbledore, looking quite sad. "Voldemort is bound to find out. But I don't want Cornelius Fudge or the Daily Prophet finding out about the Anima Summa just yet - things will start to get out of hand when that happens. Perhaps we'd better sleep on it for now. Harry, Hermione - it's basically up to you two whether you want the rest of the school to know that you're a couple. We'll all meet back here after lunch tomorrow, and then you can tell us what you've decided. Thank you everybody, it's been a very eventful day, and I'm sure you want to get to your beds - without any help from the Anima Summas though, I hasten to add."
***
"This place is so beautiful, Nadine. No wonder you come up here as often as you can."
Charlie and Nadine were taking a break from writing the report on the magical creature activity, and were walking slowly up the little wooded valley above Demont's cabin. They were walking alongside the mountain stream, heading up to try to find its source.
"Yes, Charlie - this place is in my blood. Whenever I'm away from here I always feel as if there's something missing."
"Hang on, Nadine. I'll help you," said Charlie as he athletically leapt over a stile at the side of the stream.
"Thank you, kind sir," she replied as she climbed the stile and balanced precariously on the top step, holding her arms out towards Charlie.
Now if a soccer referee had been present, he would have immediately given Nadine a yellow card for the obvious 'dive' she then took. Charlie, however, didn't notice the subterfuge and just steadied himself as she crashed into him.
"Careful, Nadine," he whispered, their faces just inches apart and his arms holding her tightly.
"Sorry, Charlie," she replied quietly.
"I'm not," he said, and he did what he'd been dying to do ever since he met her. As they kissed, everything around them seemed to dissolve - only the two of them mattered - everything else was forgotten. It was as if the beauty of the countryside had been transferred into their very beings. They didn't even see the grinning Demont as he stood watching them about 50 yards back down the valley.
Demont whistled happily to himself as he trotted back to the wine shed at the edge of the stream. He wanted to write a short note to his fellow conspirator at Hogwarts. 'Ginny is going to be so pleased,' he thought to himself as he tied the note to his owl and sent her on her way.
A while later, around lunchtime, Charlie and Nadine walked back to the cabin, and were pleasantly surprised to see that Demont had prepared lunch on the table outside. He was sitting on one of the chairs grinning broadly as they joined him.
"What?" said Nadine, looking quizzically at her brother.
"It's happened at last, hasn't it," he replied. "You've both finally seen the light."
"Demont ..." Charlie started to reply.
"I saw you up at the side of the stream," continued Demont, "and I just had to make you lunch, by way of celebration."
"Oh," said Charlie.
"Don't look like that, Charlie. I'm pleased for you both. Really pleased. Come on, let's tuck in."
Nadine and Charlie looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Demont got up and kissed his radiant sister, and then caught hold of the grinning Charlie's hand and shook it vigorously.
"Oh, I'd better tell you both - I just sent Della to Hogwarts with a note for Ginny. She'll be really pleased to hear the news about you two."
"Oh no," said Charlie. "That means that mum will know about it too - that's the first thing Ginny'll do when she finds out. I can expect a plague of owls now. Mum'll want to know everything about you, Nadine. And she'll want to meet you - she won't rest till she does."
"Don't worry, Charlie," said Nadine. "It's just natural for a mother to want to know about the girl that's in love with her son."
Charlie looked at Nadine intensely, again lost in her beautiful deep blue eyes. Then he shook himself. "What about your parents? Have you owled them as well, Demont?"
"Not yet Charlie. I'll have to wait for Della to come back first."
As they ate their lunch, Charlie's expression suddenly changed from ecstatic to worried.
"What's the matter, Charlie?" said Nadine. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, Nadine. Just as we get together, I'm going to have to leave you for a few days. I've got to give my lecture at the ministry in London the day after tomorrow, so I'll have to go back in the morning to prepare my presentation."
"Oh," said Nadine, her smile fading slowly from her face.
"What's the problem Charlie?" said Demont. "As I see it, you can kill two birds with one stone. Why don't you take Nadine with you? She can give you moral support at your lecture, and then you can visit your parents together."
"Nadine?" Charlie lifted his eyebrows questioningly at her.
"Yes. I'd love to come, Charlie. Just as long as I won't be in the way."
"You can never be in the way, Nadine. And I'll be able to show you off to my friends at the ministry."
"Right, that's settled then," said Demont. "Come on - let's get back to work. The sooner we finish this report the more time you'll have to yourselves."
***
Hermione, Harry and Ron sat in the Great Hall eating their lunch. The Anima Summas had made great efforts to act normally all day, trying to conceal their feelings for each other until they met Dumbledore before the afternoon classes started.
Suddenly, Ginny came tearing into the hall, clutching a piece of parchment and grinning all over her face. She quickly sat down beside Hermione, breathing heavily.
"What's the matter, Ginny?" said Hermione.
The three looked expectantly at the grinning redhead, waiting for her to get her breath.
"It's happened," she blurted.
"What. What's happened?" said Ron impatiently.
"Charlie and Nadine. They've got together at last. I just had an owl from Demont."
"Oh that's great!" said Hermione, clutching her friend's hand.
"Oh is that all?" said Ron looking disappointed. "I thought that something important had happened - like the Chudley Cannons signing that star chaser everybody's talking about."
"Ron!" said Hermione and Ginny together.
Harry chuckled to himself. "That's great, Ginny. I know how much you've been wanting that to happen."
"Thank you, Harry," said Ginny, and then turned to Ron, looking hurt. "You should be happy for Charlie, Ron."
"Oh I am, Ginny. Honestly I am. But it wasn't exactly unexpected, was it."
"Well," said Ginny. "Mum's going to be so pleased about this. Ron, can I borrow Pigwidgeon? I've got to send her a note straight away."
"Yes ok, Ginny," he replied.
Ginny got up quickly and raced off towards the Owlery. "Don't forget our meeting in fifteen minutes," Hermione shouted after her.
Ten minutes later, Ginny made her way towards Dumbledore's office. As she climbed the main staircase Parvati and Lavender, who stood right in front of her, looking determined, halted her.
"What's happening between Harry and Hermione Ginny?" asked Parvati. "Something's going on, isn't there!"
"Wh ... what makes you say that, Parvati?"
"Come on Ginny. The Slytherins have been spreading rumours that they're an item all morning. But if anybody knows, you do."
"And we've noticed the way they've been looking at each other in class this morning," said Lavender.
"I ... I. Look, I can't stop to talk now. Dumbledore wants to see me - like straight away. I'll speak to you later, right?"
Ginny deftly sidestepped around the two girls and ran up the stairs to the headmaster's office.
"There's something going on all right," said Lavender.
"Sorry I'm late, everybody," said Ginny as she walked into the headmaster's office.
"Come and sit down Ginny," said Dumbledore smiling. Hermione had told everyone about Charlie and his new French girlfriend and Ginny's visit to the Owlery.
"Right then," said Dumbledore. "Harry, Hermione. Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"
"Uh, sorry to interrupt," said Ginny, "but I don't think there's any point in Harry and Hermione trying to hide that they're an item. Lavender and Parvati stopped me on the way here - that's why I'm late. It seems that Draco Malfoy's been blabbing, and there're rumours about them coming from the Slytherins. But more importantly Hermione, Lavender and Parvati have noticed the vibes coming from you and Harry. And you know what they're like. Once they get a whiff of something romantic, they won't stop until they find out about it."
"We've been trying our hardest to conceal it all morning," said Hermione, looking aghast.
"But there's no point any more," said Harry. "We've already decided to make it known, anyway."
"It was just so difficult trying to keep it concealed this morning," said Hermione.
"All right. I respect your decision," said Dumbledore. "Just keep your eyes out for Rita Skeeter. She's bound to come looking for a story sooner or later. So - how are you going to let everybody know?"
"Oh, we won't say a thing, will we Hermione?"
"No - not a thing. But everybody'll know before we eat dinner this evening."
"All right. Good luck," said McGonagall. "You four had better get to your classes now."
After they'd gone, Dumbledore called the meeting to order.
"It's best that they go public, I think," said Flitwick. "It would be too hard for them to keep how they feel about each other under wraps. But what bothers me is that they may show something, well, unusual when they're together. I mean, they don't even know themselves what they're capable of, magically, and what they may find 'normal' may be seen as quite startling to everyone else. Can you see what I'm getting at?"
"Yes, I think we do, Filius," said Dumbledore. "It's only a matter of time, really, that strange things will start to happen when they're together. And you can be sure that it'll get back to Fudge, eventually."
"I just hope that he won't start snooping around until they've sat their OWLS," said McGonagall.
"Yes, Minerva. That's what concerns me. We're just going to have to do a bit of stone-walling until the exams are over."
"What about 'You Know Who,' Headmaster?" asked Remus. "What do you think he'll do when he finds out that Hermione is the Anima Summa?"
"I don't know, Remus. I think he'll try everything to get at them now. He might even try to attack Hogwarts itself."
There was a gasp from everyone in the room.
"Surely you don't think he'll go that far, Headmaster?" said McGonagall aghast.
"Minerva, Voldemort is capable of just about anything. And if he can see his dream of world domination being threatened, he may just do that. We'll just have to be as vigilant as we can."
That evening, the Great Hall was buzzing with the rumours about Harry and Hermione. Although rumours that came from the Slytherins were normally taken with a pinch of salt, Lavender and Parvati had wasted no time in telling everybody what they thought was going on. Everyone kept looking at the Gryffindor table, but although Ron and Ginny were there, there was no sign of their two friends. No one noticed that Kristen was also missing.
Then the Great Hall doors opened, and everyone turned to look, the room becoming quiet. And Kristen walked in. She was smiling as she walked to her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. The buzz of chatter started up again as Kristen sat down. Parvati and Lavender started quizzing her about why she was late.
"Where've you been, Kristen?" asked Lavender. "Have you seen Harry and Hermione?"
"Just wait, Lavender," she replied. "They'll be here in a moment."
"What? Have they said anything to you?" asked Parvati.
"Just wait," said Kristen. She was still feeling the wonderful emotions shared with her by Harry and Hermione after they'd told her that Hermione was the Anima Summa. Although she was still a bit fragile about losing Harry, she was really glad that Hermione had been the one. And she was glad that they'd taken the trouble to tell her everything before the rest of the students found out.
Then the doors opened again. Once more, every head turned around and the room became very quiet.
First, Hermione entered and then waited as Harry followed and closed the doors behind him. Then, not taking their eyes from each other, they reached out and held hands - and then walked towards the Gryffindor table.
The room erupted with excited chatter, and there were some jealous looks among some of the girls. Most of them, however, were grinning broadly, and the Gryffindor girls rushed to the pair, firing questions. Lavender was the first to arrive, quickly followed by Parvati.
"It's true then? You're really together - as a couple?"
"Yes, Lavender," said Hermione.
"And about time too," said Parvati. "We've had our suspicions for a while now - ever since we caught you watching …Uh, so when did this happen then?"
"Only yesterday evening, Parvati," Hermione looked gratefully at her.
"Well we're really pleased for you both," said Lavender. "Come on, come and get something to eat."
Everyone went back to the table, except for little Clare Bryant, who tugged Harry's cloak and gestured for him to lean close to her.
"I'm glad you're together with Hermione, Harry. She's nice, and I'm sure she'll be able to cheer you up."
"Well thank you, Clare," said Harry grinning as Clare walked back to her seat.
Harry and Hermione sat opposite Ron and Ginny, who were grinning widely. "Well there's no going back now," said Ginny.
***
The following evening, Charlie and Nadine stood nervously outside the Burrow. Charlie had given his lecture on the Romanian Longhorn dragons, and it had proved to be a great success. Now he anticipated a more harrowing time as he prepared himself mentally to introduce Nadine to his mother.
"Well are we going in, Charlie?" asked Nadine.
"Yes, in a moment Nadine. Look, my mother can be a bit, well, overpowering at times. And she's going to be pretty excited at meeting you. Are you going to be ok?"
"Yes, Charlie, of course I am. Come on - let's go in. You really should have told them we were coming, you know."
Charlie grinned nervously. "They like surprises, Nadine."
They walked up to the door and Charlie opened it cautiously. They walked into the kitchen to see Arthur sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet, Molly over by the stove preparing dinner, and Percy sitting in a chair by the fireplace reading a ministry report. As they walked in, all three heads shot up and just stared at them for a few moments.
Then Molly let out a loud shriek, the pan she was holding clattering into the sink. She ran over to Charlie and threw her arms around his neck.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she said as she looked across at Nadine with tearful eyes. "I'd have prepared a special meal."
"Uh, mum. This is Nadine - she's from France. She's my girlfriend."
"Oh, Charlie," said his mother, "I know who it is. I got everything out of your sister yesterday. Hello, Nadine - you're very welcome at the Burrow. Come and sit down by the table and meet the others."
She caught under Nadine's arm and eased her over to the kitchen table.
"Very pleased to meet you, Nadine. I'm Charlie's father - call me Arthur."
"And I'm Percy, Charlie's brother," said Percy smiling as he walked over and sat next to Nadine.
Nadine shook hands with the two men. "I'm pleased to meet you all. I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this?"
"Mind? Of course we don't," said Molly. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for days."
"Hello. Who's this then?"
Everyone looked to see Bill Weasley come into the room. "Nadine," said Charlie with a wide grin, "the cool-looking dude who just came in is my elder brother, Bill. Bill this is Nadine."
Bill smiled and walked over to the table. He lifted Nadine out of her chair and hugged her.
"So you're the girl who's captivated my little brother? When I spoke to him last month, he couldn't stop talking about you."
"Hello, Bill. Pleased to meet you," said Nadine, laughing.
"Bill Weasley," shouted Molly. "You mean to say you knew all about this a month ago and you didn't tell me?"
"No Mum," said Bill defensively. "I knew Charlie was in love with a girl, but I didn't know the feeling was mutual back then." He looked slyly at Charlie and Nadine. "And for the sake of Charlie's sanity, I thought it best not to mention it until he did something about it. You know what you're like."
"Well really!" said Molly, trying to suppress a smile.
"So Bill, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Egypt?" asked Charlie.
"Oh just a lightening visit, Charlie. I had to come over for a meeting at the bank in Diagon Alley, so I thought I'd drop in for dinner."
"Charlie, I didn't know you had two other brothers," said Nadine. "I thought it was just Ron and Ginny."
"Uh, I've got two more as well, Nadine. Fred and George are in their seventh year at Hogwarts. I suppose you'll have to meet them at some time."
"Why do you say it like that, Charlie? Don't you want them to meet me?"
"Oh no, you misunderstand Nadine. Well, just ask Bill and Percy what they're like. They're an experience all on their own. Believe me, once you've met them you won't be the same person again."
"Oh Charlie," said Arthur. "Now you're exaggerating. I know those two can be a bit, well, inventive on times, but they'll just adore Nadine, I'm sure."
"Inventive is not the word, Dad," said Percy. "Remember that time last year when they nearly blew up all the Slytherins?"
"Yes, Arthur," said Molly. "I've had to send more howlers to those two than all the other kids put together."
"Blew up the Slytherins?" said Nadine, laughing. "I think I'm going to like them a lot."
"Nadine was at Hogwarts for her final year - the year after I left," explained Charlie, "so she knows what the Slytherins are like."
"So how long can you both stay?" asked Arthur.
"Only overnight, Dad," replied Charlie. "We've got to get back to France to finish the report on the magical creature disturbances."
"What happened, Charlie? Did you find out the cause of it all in the end?" asked Bill.
"Uh, yes we did. But I can't really tell you, I'm afraid. Professor Dumbledore has sworn us to keep it secret."
"Dumbledore? How's he involved?" said Bill, looking pointedly at his brother.
"We saw Ron and Ginny in France," said Charlie. "They were with Harry and Hermione. It seems they were on a quest, which happened to be the cause of all the disturbances. So we sort of joined forces with them."
"And how are you feeling now, Nadine?" asked Molly. "Ginny told me you were hurt in that fight with the Death Eaters."
"Oh it was nothing, Mrs. Weasley. Just a cut from some splintered wood."
"Death Eaters?" shouted Bill. "What were they doing there?"
"Bill, I can't tell you any more details - let's just say that the four kids are involved in some pretty heavy stuff. Don't worry - they're well protected. But 'You Know Who' is involved."
"'You Know Who'? In anybody's language, that means that Ron and Ginny are in great danger. Can't we do anything to help?"
"I don't think so Bill," said Arthur. "Try not to worry too much - Dumbledore is looking after them. He won't let anything happen to them."
Everybody's attention was drawn to the fireplace as a rush of blue flame shot up the chimney. Then Ginny's head appeared, grinning widely. "Mum?" she shouted.
Molly walked over to the fireplace. "Ginny. I didn't expect you to call me tonight. What's the matter?"
"Just a quick call, mum. Just to tell you that Harry and Hermione have got together - you know, as a couple."
"Oh that's great, Ginny. They're a lovely couple of kids - well matched." There was a hint of disappointment in Molly's voice - she had secretly hoped that Harry and Ginny would have got together one day.
Charlie looked at Nadine and walked over to the fireplace to stand beside his mother. "Did I hear right, Ginny. Harry and Hermione?"
"Charlie!" Ginny shouted. "Is Nadine with you?"
Nadine walked to Charlie's side. "Hello Ginny. How are you?"
"Oh Nadine. I was so glad to hear about you and Charlie. I can't wait to meet you both again. I've got so much I want to ask you - and I want to know everything!"
"We'll probably see you over the summer holidays, Ginny," said Charlie. "But what about Harry and Hermione?"
"Look, I've got to go now. Everybody's coming back from dinner. Charlie, Nadine - Hermione's the one. You know what I mean. See you soon - 'bye."
Ginny's head disappeared in a burst of blue flame, and Charlie and Nadine just stood grinning.
"What did she mean, Charlie?" asked Percy. "She's the one - what was that about?"
"I can't tell you, I'm afraid. It's all part of the thing we've got to keep secret."
"Well I'm sure we'll be told when Dumbledore thinks we need to know," said Arthur.
Molly let out a yell at the sound of water boiling over on the stove. "The dinner," she said as she rushed over. "It'll be ready in ten minutes."
"I'll just show Nadine around the garden, Mum," said Charlie as he led Nadine out through the kitchen door.
"She's a very nice girl, isn't she?" said Arthur.
"Yes she is," said Molly, a dreamy look in her eyes. "You could tell straight away, couldn't you? And did you see the way they look at each other?"
"I like your family, Charlie," said Nadine as they walked around the garden, "and I can't wait to meet Fred and George."
Charlie grinned. "They like you as well. I could tell straight away."
"Do you think that Hermione's Harry's Anima Summa, Charlie?"
"Yes, that's what Ginny meant, all right. I just hope that 'You Know Who' doesn't find out."
"I'm so glad for them. I could tell that she was in love with Harry, and she was really hurting back in France - Ceri told me. It's so romantic, isn't it?"
"Yes, I guess it is, Nadine. Talking about romance, come here for a minute."
Nadine squealed with delight as Charlie pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. After five minutes, Bill, who shouted from the kitchen door, interrupted them.
"Put her down, Charlie. There's something else to eat in here. Come on."
After they had finished dinner, they sat at the table talking, finishing off the four bottles of wine that Bill had brought over from Egypt.
"So, what are you going to do when the report's finished?" asked Arthur.
Charlie and Nadine appeared startled as they looked at each other.
"Uh, I don't know, Dad," said Charlie. "We haven't really talked about it. And I don't know what the ministry's got lined up for me next - I suppose they'll let me know after my holidays. They've given me six weeks off - the first break I've had for a year. We're going to spend most of that time back in France with Nadine's brother - and we'll pop back here for the odd visit, of course."
"Be sure you do, Charlie," said Molly darkly.
***
"So Granger's the other Anima Summa," said Voldemort reflectively. Lucius Malfoy had just given his report after receiving the message from Draco. Wormtail looked at the Dark Lord with trepidation, expecting him to go into a rage. But his master just sat on his throne deep in thought.
"And you're sure he's got it right? They did wand-less magic on him?"
"I'm sure, my Lord," said Lucius. "He said the spell they used wasn't in any language they'd come across at Hogwarts."
"Hmm. I wonder how strong they are? And from what Lupin told us, they can now only get stronger. We've got to do something, and do it quickly."
"What do you suggest, my Lord?" asked Lucius.
"I can see no alternative, now," said Voldemort darkly. "We'll have to attack Hogwarts. It'll be dangerous with Dumbledore there, but perhaps we can arrange a few surprises. Wormtail - go and summon my inner circle. I want them here, now!"
Wormtail rushed out of the cave while Voldemort tapped the arm of his throne impatiently. Five minutes later, six more black-cloaked figures stood in front of the throne.
"There have been developments," said Voldemort. "Potter has found his Anima Summa - the Granger girl. We have to act soon to capture them - they can't be allowed to develop their powers. I have decided that I will lead the attack on the school myself."
"But my Lord," said Lucius hurriedly, "you'll be seen by everyone at the school. The ministry will be forced to admit that you have returned, and that's going to set back your greater plan by months, if not years."
Voldemort reflected on his chief lieutenant's advice. "Perhaps you're right, Lucius. I still need to be there to control the Dementors and to weaken the protection spells around the grounds, but it may be better if I remain hidden. I don't want you seen either, Lucius, nor the rest of you - your positions at the ministry will be compromised if you're spotted. Like me, you will have to remain hidden and direct operations from inside the Forbidden Forest."
"But who'll lead the attack, my Lord?" asked Avery. "It won't be that easy to capture Potter and Granger now they've joined together. And you can be sure that they'll be well protected."
"What I have in mind will draw off that protection, Avery, and leave them exposed. Wormtail - you and Travis will lead the main attack to capture the pair. I want all of you to get together and choose one hundred of your best Death Eaters for the main attack."
"Yes, my Lord," they all said in unison.
Voldemort shifted his position on his throne, and pointed his wand at the floor. As they all watched, a plan of the school grounds appeared in the dust. He then looked up. "Now this is what I plan to do …"
***
It was the dead of night at Hogwarts, and all the students were sleeping soundly - except for two of them who crept silently through the corridors, each carrying a heavy sack over their shoulders. Peeves was floating about the empty hallways that night, but the two easily managed to evade him. They'd had plenty of experience at doing that during their seven years at the school.
They moved stealthily into the Entrance Hallway and then went into the corridor that led down into the dungeons. They were heading for the Slytherin common room.
"Did you get the password, Fred?"
"Yes George. I put a bit of pressure on that first year Slytherin - I told him that I'd tell Snape about his little midnight jaunts unless he gave it to me. No problem."
They tried hard to contain the fit of giggles that bubbled inside them as they approached the entrance portal to the Slytherin common room. Fred stood in front of the stone snake and said the password.
"Vampire bites."
The stone snake hissed and the portal opened. They both let out a sigh of relief as they silently crept inside.
The following morning, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny went down to the Great Hall early for breakfast. A few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were there, but the four were surprised to see two red-haired figures sitting at the Gryffindor table - Fred and George were grinning like Cheshire cats as they each tucked into a mound of bacon and eggs.
"Uh oh," said Ginny. "Something's up. They're never down this early."
"What have you two been up to?" asked Ron as the four sat opposite them.
"You'll just have to wait to find that out, little bro'" said George.
"Let's just say that this is our big-bang farewell to Hogwarts," said Fred.
"What have you done?" asked Harry. "I suppose we'd better keep our eyes peeled on the Slytherin table?"
"Spot on, Harry," said George.
"Pass the word when the others come down," said Fred.
Ten minutes later, almost all the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs sat tucking into their breakfast. But there was no sign of the Slytherins yet. The word had been spread and everyone was chatting excitedly, wondering what was going to happen.
The teachers looked puzzled at the top table, wondering why no Slytherins had appeared, and what all the animated chatter was about.
"Severus," said McGonagall, "where are your lot this morning?"
"I don't know," replied Snape. "I think I'd better go and find out."
As Snape rose from his seat, Malfoy came into the Great Hall, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Then more Slytherins appeared and walked over to their table. Two minutes later they were all there. The room had become very quiet, with all the other students watching the Slytherin table expectantly.
"Something's up," said Malfoy to his two friends. "Look at the way everybody's watching us."
"What's gone wrong, Fred?" asked Ron. "Nothing's happening."
"Just wait for five minutes," Fred answered.
Three minutes later, there was a buzz of disappointment around the room as nothing untoward had occurred at the Slytherin table. They were just wolfing their breakfasts as they normally did, and talking among themselves. Two minutes after that, something started to happen.
Crabbe, who had stuffed himself silly with five helpings of bacon and eggs, opened his grease-covered mouth to tell Goyle to pass him some more toast, but no words came out. Instead, something that resembled a balloon issued from his mouth, floated up to the ceiling, and then exploded with a loud 'BANG.'
There was silence in the room as everybody stared. Then Malfoy opened his mouth to ask what was going on - and the same thing happened. The balloon almost reached the ceiling before it exploded. Then, all the Slytherins started talking at once - except they didn't talk. Hundreds of balloons started rising into the air and exploding. The noise was deafening.
Meanwhile, Fred and George were congratulating themselves on their best prank yet, while all the other Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs fell about with uncontrollable laughter.
As the Slytherins got angrier at what was happening, they started shouting - aiming their ire at the Gryffindor table. But the bubbles just got bigger and the explosions got louder. As a consequence, the mirth of the rest of the students increased in intensity - they were all now rolling about on the floor, holding their sides, as they failed to keep their giggling under control.
Even most of the teachers were laughing quite openly at the sight - except for Snape, who looked angrily at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, and he had an amused grin on his face.
After five minutes, Snape brought the show to a close. He rushed over to his house table and herded the Slytherins out of the Great Hall and into the school grounds, where it was raining quite heavily.
After a further five minutes, the students started to recover their composure and some of them walked up to Fred and George, patting them on their back.
"Really cool, George," said Lee Jordan.
"Your best one yet, Fred," said Seamus Finnegan.
"Wicked - really wicked," said Katie Bell.
"That was hilarious - I can't remember when I've laughed so much," said Angelina Johnson.
Hermione leaned over the table towards the proud-looking pair. "So you've really managed to go out with a bang then?"
This brought a further bout of giggling from the Gryffindors, who then started to rush out of the Great Hall, wanting to see what the Slytherins were doing now.
"What did you do?" asked Ginny.
"Well," said Fred, "we've been working on this for a few weeks, now. We played on the Slytherins well-known aptitude for greed."
"Yes," continued George, "we made about three hundred fake gold coins - they look exactly like the real thing. Except that we spiked them all with this new charm we invented last month - a variation of that Donkey charm we did on them."
"And we planted them in the Slytherin common room last night," said Fred.
"We knew they wouldn't be able to keep their hands off the coins," said George. "That's why they were late - I bet they were making sure there were no more coins hanging about."
"When you pick one up and put it in your pocket, the heat of your body eventually dissolves it, and it gets absorbed into your skin. It then makes its way into the stomach, where it waits. The effects - well you just saw that," said Fred.
"It's not activated until food or drink mixes with it," said George.
"So how long will it last?" asked Ron.
"That depends," said George.
"On what?" asked Harry.
"On how greedy they are," said Fred. "You see, the more coins they stuff into their pockets, and the more food they eat, the longer the effects will last."
"It can be from about an hour, right up to a full day," said George.
"That's brilliant," said Hermione. "Everybody can now see which of them is the greediest. "
"I bet the two greediest will be Crabbe and Goyle," said Ron.
Fred and George looked at each other, and started grinning. They each bent over the table and planted a big kiss on Hermione's cheek.
"You're brilliant, Hermione," said Fred, "we hadn't thought of that."
"We can make another killing, George." said Fred. "Just like we did with Ginny's spell last year."
"I was thinking the same thing," said George. "We can take bets from all the students on who they think will be the greediest - we can't lose - especially if we give even money odds on each bet."
"Five sickles on Crabbe," shouted Ron as he handed the money over to his brothers.
"Three sickles on Goyle," said Ginny as she dug her hand into her cloak pocket.
"How about you two?" George asked Harry and Hermione.
They looked at each other and Harry said, "We'll have 10 sickles on Malfoy."
"Done," said Fred as he took the money. "Come on George, let's get round all the others before classes start."
"Just one moment you two - what do you know about what happened earlier?"
The six turned to see the angry face of Professor Snape glaring at the twins.
"Now, now, Severus," said McGonagall as she joined them, "you don't know that Fred and George had anything to do with it."
"Come on, Minerva," he replied animatedly, "who else would it be? This has Fred and George Weasley stamped all over it."
Just then, Professor Dumbledore joined the group.
"I want these two disciplined, Headmaster," said Snape. "I think that expulsion would not be too harsh a punishment."
"Come now, Severus," said the headmaster. "There's no proof that they were responsible. I think it would be best if the matter were dropped. And I really think it would be a good idea if you go outside to see if your house students are all right."
Snape made a strangled noise and stormed out of the Great Hall. Dumbledore then turned to Fred and George. "I must say that I haven't seen such hilarity at the school for many a year. I haven't seen anything like it since the time of Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. This will go down in the annals of Hogwarts as one of the best pranks ever played on the Slytherins. Minerva, 10 points to Gryffindor for raising the morale of the school, don't you think? But not a word to Severus."
"I quite agree, Headmaster," she replied.
"Oh, before you go, you two," said Dumbledore. "Professor Snape was right in one respect. I wouldn't be doing my duty if I let you both go unpunished. Make sure that half of any profit you make is donated to school funds."
"Yes sir," they both said together, feeling relieved, wondering how Dumbledore found out about their betting plan. They then ran out to see the other students.
For the next two days, the prank was the talk of the school, and everywhere, students could be heard chuckling as they recalled the event. Fred and George duly handed over 6 galleons to a grinning headmaster, being fifty percent of their winnings.
Their profit margin was far greater than they'd hoped, so they didn't mind giving half of it to school funds. The reason for this was the unexpected winner of the 'greediest Slytherin' competition. Most of the students had bet on either Crabbe or Goyle. But the winner, albeit only by about five minutes, turned out to be Millicent Bulstrode. Crabbe was second and Goyle third. It turned out that Malfoy was way down the list.
***
The following Saturday turned out to be one of the warmest and sunniest days of the year so far. Most of the students were taking advantage of the kind weather that morning as they sat and lay on the grass in the school grounds. Most of them were revising for their imminent exams. The fifth-years, in particular, were starting to get a bit panicky - their OWLS were now less than two weeks away.
Even Ron had started to get down to some real work. He, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were lying on the grass, reading their textbooks. They were lying on their stomachs under a tree, not far from the Forbidden Forest. They had gone there to get away from a group of first-years students, who had congregated by the lake. Their incessant chatter was ruining their concentration.
Ceri, Remus and Padfoot were patrolling just inside that part of the Forbidden Forest nearest to the four friends.
They knew that something was wrong from Harry's behaviour. He was quietly reading his Potions notes, when he suddenly jumped to his feet, clutching his forehead. Hermione and the other two looked up, startled.
"What's the matter, Harry?" said a concerned Hermione.
"It's my scar," Harry replied. "It just started to hurt."
His face was screwed up in pain as he sat back down on the grass, still holding his hand to his head.
Ron turned towards where Ceri and the others were sitting and shouted to them, "Come quick. Harry's scar is hurting."
Remus, Ceri and Padfoot rushed over, looking about them all the time, trying to spot anything unusual.
"My scar suddenly started to hurt," he told Ceri. "Voldemort is close - I can feel it."
"I'll go and get Dumbledore," said Remus. "Ceri - you'd better get these four back up to the school."
Before anybody could move, they heard a commotion coming from the far end of the grounds. Students were screaming and running back across the Quidditch field towards the school. As they looked to see the cause of the panic, a feeling of coldness and despair shot through their minds. Just at the far edge of the Forbidden Forest, they could see about twenty Dementors, the ghoulish forms heading directly towards them.
"I can't see 'You Know Who' with them," said Ceri.
"Oh he's there all right, Ceri," said Harry. "My scar's telling me that. He must be hidden in the trees somewhere."
As they started up to the school, they saw the teachers rushing out of the main doors, quickly followed by Dumbledore. They ran to head off the Dementors, preparing to repel them from the grounds. The charms they'd put in place earlier had given them advance warning of their approach, so they'd had time to plan their defence.
Ceri and Remus started to run to join the teachers, but Dumbledore waved them back. "We'll take care of those," he shouted. "You keep close to Harry and the others."
Most of the students were now watching the action, having been joined by the ones that had run from the far end of the grounds. Some of the seventh-years, including Fred and George, rushed to help the teachers with the Dementors.
Ceri and Remus ran back to the group and started to direct them up to the school. But at that moment, they saw a sight that filled them with fear.
From five points around the grounds, opposite where the Dementors were attacking, poured about a hundred Death Eaters, their faces covered by their black hoods. Ceri could see that the attack had been carefully planned, one of the groups of about twenty were moving quickly to cut off their retreat to the school, while another was headed to cut off any possible escape into the forest. The other three groups were converging on their position, the ones in the lead already starting to throw curses, although they were still too far away to achieve any sort of accuracy.
The students started screaming in panic, and rushed back to the school, trying to get away from the black-cloaked demons. Most of them were close enough to get into the school fairly quickly, but some - including the group of first-years - had quite a distance to run.
Ceri looked back at the other end of the grounds, and could see the teachers and some of the students producing their Patronus to fight off the Dementors. They hadn't seen the Death Eaters attack yet.
Padfoot suddenly transformed and Sirius grabbed Ceri and shouted, "Come on. We're cut off from the school - lets get these kids behind the tree. At least we'll get some protection there. We'll try to hold them off until we get some help from the other end of the grounds."
Ceri complied as she helped get the four friends behind the cover of the tree, but she knew it was hopeless. The Death Eaters were closing fast and there was no chance that they'd get help in time.
As they all crouched behind the tree, curses started to pepper their position. Despite the spells they threw in return, they could all see that it was only a matter of time before they were surrounded.
Then Harry and Hermione stood up and joined hands, Harry's right hand clasping Hermione's left. The others looked on in surprise as they lifted their other hands, palms upwards above their heads, and shouted out two strange words.
"DADEX MER."
A beam of silvery-blue light shot from their upraised hands and met about ten feet above their heads. Where the beams met, an emerald green shimmering light appeared. It then spread outwards in all directions for about twenty feet, and then cascaded down until it met the ground. All seven of them were now encased by the emerald green light.
"What's that, Harry?" shouted Sirius. "What have you done?"
"We're just protecting you, Sirius," Hermione replied.
Just then, the three closest groups of Death Eaters came around both sides of the tree and pointed their wands at the seven. One of the Death Eaters stepped forward and spoke.
"It's all over," said Travis. "Your position is hopeless. We can kill you all in a second."
Another of the Death Eaters stepped up alongside him. "You can all go free if you put down your wands and hand over Potter and Granger to us. I'll give you 5 seconds to decide."
A low growl came from Sirius, "Wormtail!" he said. "You can go to hell."
He lifted his wand to fire off a spell at his enemy, but was restrained by Harry placing his hand on his arm.
"You won't be able to penetrate the protective shield with any spells," said Harry, "but we can."
"I think you'd better transform, Sirius," said Hermione. "The teachers and some of the seventh-years will be here soon."
Back at the other end of the grounds, a huge and powerful Patronus, generated by Dumbledore, forced the remaining five Dementors to retreat back into the Forbidden Forest. They joined the other Dementors who had been banished from the grounds a little earlier.
"Headmaster. Look," shouted Flitwick as he stared at the other end of the grounds.
The teachers and seventh-years turned to see a large number of Death Eaters standing in three groups. One of the groups - of about sixty - was surrounding Harry, his three friends, two adults and a large dog.
"Come on, quick," shouted Dumbledore, panic clearly showing in his voice. "We've got to help them."
They all took off for the other end of the grounds in a mad sprint, Fred and George in the lead. The sight of their little brother and sister being in such a hopeless position spurred them on.
Harry and Hermione turned back to the Death Eaters after Padfoot appeared. They again lifted their arms and pointed their palms at Wormtail.
"SHAJ HER," they shouted together.
A beam of silvery-blue light left each of their hands and again met in front of them, before continuing through the protective shield to strike Wormtail directly on his head.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Wormtail's black hood disappeared to reveal his rat-like features. Then, incredibly, his head expanded to about five times its normal size. Wormtail turned around in panic, shouting to the other Death Eaters for help. But they all stood transfixed at the sight, not knowing what to do.
Dumbledore and the others were now getting close.
"Look," shouted Professor Trelawney, "it's Peter Pettigrew! Harry was right. He's still alive."
Everyone else was able to see Wormtail, drawn to his features by the size of his head - even the students who had gained the protection of the school and were peering out from the windows on the ground floor couldn't really miss him.
Then, suddenly, Wormtail's head resumed its normal size.
"Quick," said Travis. "Grab them - Dumbledore's getting too close for comfort."
Five of the Death Eaters advanced to grab hold of Harry and Hermione, but were brought to a sudden stop. They couldn't get through the barrier that the pair had erected. Again they tried, aided by another ten Death Eaters, but they couldn't penetrate through to the pair.
Wormtail and Travis howled in frustration. "Kill them. Kill them all," shouted Wormtail.
Sixty Death Eaters lifted their wands and aimed them at the group of seven.
"AVADA KEDAVRA," they all yelled at the same time. Sixty deathly-green beams of light struck the emerald green barrier. And sixty beams of green light were deflected away, leaving everyone inside the shield untouched.
"Kill them," roared Wormtail. Again the Death Eaters flung their killing curses, and again they were deflected. This time, however, some of them rebounded back and struck some of the Death Eaters. Six of them fell to the ground dead. Unfortunately, one of the beams rebounded and missed Wormtail's group, travelling straight between a gap in their ranks, and continued up to strike into the midst of the last group of students who had just arrived, breathless, at the school doors - the first-years.
"Noooooo!" wailed Harry and Hermione as they saw what had happened.
"Let's get out of here," shouted Travis as he saw the rapidly approaching teachers and seventh-years.
All the remaining Death Eaters took flight, flinging curses wildly behind them. Some just grazed some of the nearest seventh-years, although no great harm was done.
"Ten of the fleeing hoard were stunned by the spells flung by Dumbledore and the teachers and dropped to the ground, immobile, but the rest of them escaped back into the forest.
Harry and Hermione had remained linked together ever since they had erected the protection barrier. Now they again raised their hands and ended the spell, the emerald green field dissipating into the air.
"Are you all ok?" shouted Dumbledore anxiously as he went up to them.
"Yes, we're all right, Professor," said Hermione, and then pointed up towards the school, "but there's someone up there who isn't, I'm afraid."
Everyone rushed up to the main entrance doors of the school, where they found the group of first-years crying and looking down at the ground, where a small form lay unmoving.
"Oh no!" said Dumbledore as he hurried over. But Harry got there first and looked stunned as he saw Clare Bryant lying on the floor. Her face was white and her eyes stared sightlessly at the sky above her. She bore the unmistakable mark of the killing curse.
"On no," cried Harry, "not Clare!"
Harry knelt on the ground beside her and lifted the still form gently in his arms. He hugged her to him as he cried unashamedly. "I'll get them, Clare," he whispered, "I'll make them pay for this."
Everyone felt completely helpless and inadequate at that moment. All they could do was just stand and stare, unwilling to believe that the popular little girl had been taken from them.
Harry raised his tear-stained face to the headmaster. "She didn't deserve this, Professor. She wouldn't harm a fly."
Hermione approached Harry, her eyes ablaze, and touched his shoulder.
(Continued in part 2 - I've had to split the chapter again because it was too big for the upload software to handle - A.S.)