Harry Potter and Destiny's Arrow

Jake stared into the embers of the long-dead fire. Katie was angry with him, his mother was going to kill him, and, if he went up to the dormitory, he'd face a hundred different questions from Harry...and, well, Harry mostly, as Ron was probably sleeping like a log. Eventually, he must have dozed off sitting in the armchair because as the sun came up, he was awakened by two voices--male and female.

"Well, what did he say?"

"I don't know, Hermione. He didn't come back last night."

"He...he didn't come back? And you and Harry weren't the least bit worried?"

This next part was mumbled.

"What was that, Ron?"

"I said, I kinda, uh, fell asleep."

"Fell asleep?" Hermione screeched. "He could be lying dead somewhere..." Jake couldn't help but smile at this. Too bad Hogwarts doesn't have a drama department... "Or worse, been expelled." Only Hermione...

"Do you really reckon he's dead?"

"Katie could have killed him."

Silence and then. "Oh, I didn't think of that."

Jake was about to look around the armchair to let them know that he was indeed alive. However, Ron's next words stopped him.

"Um, Hermione, about last night..." he said uncertainly.

"What about last night, Ron? Could you be more specific?" she said in an annoyed voice.

"Um, the part where, um, Jake said that you were...ah...madly...erm...in l-l..."

"Yes?" she asked tersely.

"Well, was it true?"

"Um." Jake was amazed that Hermione was even able to make a sound in response to this.

"B-because...I wanted you...to know...that...I...ah...feel..." Jake silently cheered Ron on. "I feel the same way."

"WHAT?" she blurted out.

He heard Ron take a deep breath. "I'm madly in love with you, Hermione."

Silence. Hermione, say something. Tell him you feel the same way... The silence stretched longer and Jake contemplated revealing himself just to save Ron. Then he thought it might embarrass Ron more to know that Jake heard the whole thing. So he sat there vacillating between coming out and staying hidden. He finally decided to come out from his armchair when...

"I am in love with you, Ron," she said quietly.

"It's about time," Jake said without thinking. When he realized what he'd done, he sheepishly rose up from the armchair. Ron and Hermione were staring at him. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just...there wasn't a good time to..." His explanation was broken up by Hermione throwing herself into his arms. He looked up to find Ron glaring at him. "Jeez, Ron, she just told you she's in love with you. Do you really think I'm a threat?"

Hermione let go of Jake and stared at Ron. Ron let out the breath he'd been holding and smiled uncertainly. "Sorry, mate."

Jake shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"So what happened?"

Jake sat back in the armchair and waited for Ron and Hermione to join him. They sat together on the old leather couch. "Tepes is a vampire. McGonagall told me."

"They know?" Hermione said.

Jake shrugged. "Dumbledore has his reasons, I guess."

"What about your punishment?" This was Ron.

"Two weeks' of detention. Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"That's it?" the redhead said incredulously.

"She said, and I quote, she rather thought I'd have my hands full with Katie."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "How bad?" Hermione finally asked.

"She's angry with me."

"For getting caught?"

Jake shook his head. "No, because I didn't tell her."

"But that doesn't make..."

"You're preaching to the choir."

"I could talk to her," Hermione offered.

He shook his head emphatically. "I think she's angry that you guys knew." He paused. "And she thought we had something going on at the beginning of the term," he added.

Hermione cast a glance at Ron. "How original," she said drolly.

**********************************************

At breakfast, the three of them filled Harry in on the events of the morning (leaving out the admissions of Ron and Hermione, of course).

"Dumbledore knows?" he asked for clarification.

"McGonagall said that was part of the reason why he'd hired Tepes," Jake confirmed.

"Hmm..." Harry said, thoughtfully chewing his toast.

Ron nudged Hermione and motioned to the door. Jake turned in time to see Katie entered the Great Hall. Jake smiled tentatively at her. She ignored him and took a seat at the opposite end of the Gryffindor table. Jake nodded to himself. "Great, she's still angry," he muttered.

"Give her time," Harry said encouragingly.

"Give her time? What if someone else swoops in while I'm giving her time?" Jake asked angrily.

Harry put his hands up defensively. "I'm just trying..." Harry's sentence was interrupted by an owl gliding over their heads. The owl graciously dropped a red envelope in front of Jake. He took one long at it and knew it was from his mother.

"Super. Just what I need. A howler from Mom. Could this day get any better?" he asked as he opened it.

"JACOB DARIUS WILLIG! I'VE JUST RECEIVED AN OWL FROM MINERVA. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE THERE BECAUSE OF ALBUS DUMDLEDORE'S KINDNESS! HOW DARE YOU ABUSE THAT! I WILL BE IN LONDON ON TUESDAY AND WE WILL BE SPEAKING IN PERSON. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD, YOUNG MAN?"

The red letter tore itself into small pieces that slowly floated to the table. Jake groaned and put his head in his hands.

"What did she mean about Dumbledore's kindness?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Not now," Harry hissed.

Jake looked up to find everyone in the Great Hall staring at him...everyone except Katie. He stood up and left.

*****************************************

Jake made his way to the Quidditch pitch. He could hear the crowd alternately groaning and cheering. He entered the stadium and climbed to the stands for Gryffindor. Rather than fight the crowds to find his friends, he parked himself near the exit. It would be easier to escape before the end of the match. Hufflepuff was ahead by 50 points. And Katie was right. Cho was totally off her game. The mere thought of Katie sent his eyes over the crowd, searching her out. She was up in the stands, sitting alone. Gathering his courage, he went over and sat next to her.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said. She made no indication that she'd even heard him. He sighed and made to stand.

"Why?"

He looked at her. "Come again?"

"Why are you sorry?" She still hadn't looked at him.

He sat back down. "Because you're angry with me."

"You really have no idea why I'm angry, do you?"

"Because I...actually, no, I don't." Her eyes were still fixed on the pitch so he continued. "If I had told you, you would have had two options: rat me out or not rat me out. Option one is more likely because that's the kind of person you are. You do what's right, not what's easy. But since you're so convinced that you wouldn't have, let's examine option two. If I had told you and you hadn't done anything and McGonagall had found out, that would have been it, Katie. No more Head Girl. I care about you too much to put you in that position."

A long moment later, she finally glanced over. His seat was empty.

***************************************************

Sunday morning found Jake scrubbing the medals in the trophy case by hand. He'd already scrubbed the dungeon floors last night. At this rate, he'd be single-handedly responsible for making Hogwarts spick-and-span. His mother and he had had a 'conversation' last night about his behavior. Ron and Hermione were making googly-eyes at each other all during breakfast. Watching them together just made him miss Katie that much more--her long hair, her sky-colored eyes, how she looked in her uniform, her grin, how she always said 'reckon,' the little sigh she made in the back of her throat when he kissed her.

"I think you're going to polish a hole in that medal."

He looked up from his reverie to find Harry grinning at him. "Hey, Harry." He moved onto the last medal. "What are you doing down here?"

"Needed to leave the common room. Ron and Hermione were..." He shuddered.

"The googly-eyes again, huh?" Jake asked with a smile.

"Yeah."

"You OK with this?" Jake knew what it was like to become the third wheel in a friendship.

Harry shrugged. "I guess."

"What do we have here? Potty and Yank, polishing medals?" Malfoy said snidely.

"What the hell do you want?" Jake asked.

"Too bad about you and your girlfriend, Yank," he sneered. He glared at them one last time before slinking out of the room.

"Let's get out of here," Jake said suddenly, throwing down his rag.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"McGonagall said once I polished all the medals, I could go." He glanced at the trophy case. "I've polished all the medals."

"So what should we do?"

"I've got an idea."

*********************************************

Jake stood in front of the Room of Requirement, walking back and forth three times. He flung open the door, nodded, and stepped aside for Harry to enter. Harry walked in and found the room much smaller, furnished with only a heavy bag hanging from the ceiling.

"Hold out your hands," Jake said.

Harry did as he was told and Jake slipped a pair of boxing gloves on and laced them up.

"Go ahead then," Jake commanded.

"What? Punch it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, imagine it's Malfoy's face," Jake encouraged him as he held the bag for Harry.

Harry tentatively punched it.

"You can hit harder than that," Jake cajoled.

Twenty minutes later, Harry was sweating and breathing heavily. The two boys switched and now Harry was holding the bag for Jake. "Feels good, doesn't it?" Jake asked as he jabbed and punched the bag.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, it does." He leaned in to counter the force of Jake's punch. "So what's going on with you and Katie?"

Jake shrugged. "She's angry with me. Still." Jab, jab, hook, punch.

"We saw you talking to her at the match."

"You mean Hermione saw me talking to her and she elbowed both of you," Jake said with a smile. Right hook, left jab, right cross.

"Well, yes," he admitted.

Jake smiled. "Forget about it. I would've been the same way." He was silent while he hit the bag some more. "So what about you?"

"What about me?" Harry said a little too innocently.

"You got your eye on anyone?"

He coughed and laughed nervously. "No one."

Jake was going to press the issue, but thought better of it when he saw the look on Harry's face. They didn't talk while Jake finished beating up the bag.

****************************************************

"Mr. Willig, a moment, no?" Professor Tepes asked as she dismissed class on Monday morning.

He glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Catch up with you at lunch," he said softly.

When the rest of the class had left, Professor Tepes motioned for Jake to sit back in his seat. She sat at the next desk over. "You have some...questions about me?"

Jake ducked his head. "Well, I thought that you were...a..."

"Vampire, no?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I broke into your office."

"You were curious. There was no harm, no?" She smiled at him. "Go to lunch." As he made his way to the doorway, he heard her add, "Next time, ask, no?"

Jake made his way to lunch, but found the way blocked by two 7^th Year Gryffindors. Jake didn't know their names, but recognized them as friends of Katie. "You're coming with us. Now." The two girls had him by either arm and dragged him to the Transfiguration classroom. They opened the door and shoved him in. He heard the lock click behind him at the same moment that he heard Katie's voice.

"Professor McGonagall, you wanted..." Her voice trailed off when she caught sight of Jake standing there, hair mussed up, robes flapping open, and tie askew.

"K-katie, what are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to meet Professor McGonagall. What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Your friends frog marched me here and threw me in."

"F-friends?" Awareness came into her eyes and she immediately went to the door to try it. When she found it was locked, she pounded on the door. "Sarah McLeod! Jennifer Spatale! You open this door right now."

"Not until you talk to him," came the very muffled reply.

She spun around to find Jake sitting and staring at her. "WHAT?" she shouted.

"I'd just like to get out of here and eat some lunch," he said mildly.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Yeah, I let your friends manhandle me in front of the whole school," he replied sarcastically.

She pulled her wand from her robes and pointed it at the door.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jake said as she muttered a spell. He paused for a beat. "I don't think it worked."

"So what do we do?" she said, sitting heavily.

Jake shrugged. "Wait for class to start, I guess."

Katie glanced at her watch. "So we just sit here for another 25 minutes?"

A long pause. "We could...you know..."

"D'you really reckon I'm going to snog you?" she asked angrily.

Jake blinked slowly. So she's thinking about snogging me, is she? "I was gonna say talk."

"I knew that." She nervously twisted her robes in her hands.

Jake smiled to himself. "Katie," he said gently. "Why can't we agree to disagree on this?" She glanced up and he continued. "I know that you're angry at me for not telling you, but I couldn't...couldn't risk you getting into trouble over me. Can't you understand that?"

"No," she said candidly.

"Oh." He traced the grain of the desk's wood with his fingertips. The silence stretched to two, three, five, seven minutes.

"I've never had anyone want to protect me before," she said quietly.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice, so startling after the silence. Hazel eyes met blue. "But O-ol...you and Wood..."

She shook her head. "It would have never even occurred to Oliver that something like that could cost me Head Girl." She bowed her head again, unable to meet his gaze.

In that moment, Jake allowed himself a small grin. Willig 1, Wood 0... He stood up quietly and sat down next to her. "Katie." She still wouldn't look at him. Putting a finger under her chin, he tilted her head up. "What do you say we start over?" he asked.

"I reckon that'd be nice," she confessed with a smile.

He smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips brushed together softly for a moment, but then Katie increased the pressure and opened her mouth under his. Jake's tongue slid in and they kissed hungrily. Her hands came up to entwine in his hair as his wrapped around her waist.

"Miss Bell! Mr. Willig!" Katie sprang back, but Jake just lazily turned to grin. "Nice try, Hermio..." His voice trailed off as he took in Professor McGonagall and the 6^th year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, standing behind him. He blushed, but took Katie's hand in his own. "I'm going to walk the Head Girl to class and then I'll be back." With his head held high, he led Katie out of the classroom and away from the stares of his classmates. He swore he heard Ron say in an admiring tone, "Cheeky bastard."

**************************************

Harry was racing after the Snitch in practice. Ron was busy blocking shots from Ginny, Colin, and Katie.

"Remind me again why we're here," Jake said as he pulled his robes tighter around him. It was the beginning of November and it was freezing out.

"We're fools," Hermione replied without looking up from her book.

"Hermione, if we're going to sit here and freeze our asses off, you should at least watch Ron. You know he's going to ask you if you saw the Quaffle he blocked from the left most goal or if you saw his Starfish and Stick."

She glanced up and smiled at him. "That's what I've got you here for. To explain to me everything Ron's done that I've missed."

"Like I've been watching Ron at all." With that, he turned his attention to Katie who was zooming across the pitch passing the Quaffle back and forth with Ginny. The last two weeks had been...well, even though it makes me sound like an idiot...awesome. He and Hermione had gotten an 'O' on their Potions assignment. He'd finished his detentions with McGonagall. And he and Katie had made up for lost time. The only downside was the fact that his mom was in town and wanted to see him on Friday. Harry had been urging him all week to tell Katie the truth 'before she hears it from someone else, mate.'

Angelina landed gracefully and motioned for the team to join her. The rest of the team swooped down and she gave them a few last minute instructions before dismissing all but Harry.

"At least look like you've been watching," Jake muttered as Ron made his way toward them.

Hermione hurriedly put her books away and grinned at Ron. "That was a great Stickfish and Star," she called out.

Jake shook his head. She was hopeless. He glanced at Ron who was grinning back at her. "That's Starfish and Stick," Ron said as he made his way toward them. "And you haven't even been paying attention to me."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

Ron held out his hand for Hermione. "'S OK. I like that you come to practice." She took it and they set off for the castle.

Jake watched, satisfied that he made a fine matchmaker. If only I could find someone for Harry... Before he could pursue that line of thought, a pair of arms snaked around him and two very cold hands wormed their way under his robes and jumper.

"Hey," he shouted. "They're cold." He spun around and found himself facing a grinning Katie Bell.

"Sorry," she said, sounding anything but. She removed her hands as Jake peeled off his gloves and handed them to her.

"I know what to get you for Christmas," he said, laughing as she took only the right glove and slipped it on. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked, holding up the other one.

"Put it on your left hand," she urged. Once he'd tugged it on, she grasped his exposed hand with her own. "See."

"Now I know why Dumbledore made you Head Girl," he said sarcastically. She used her free arm to sock him lightly on the shoulder. As they made their way back to the castle, he approached the subject he'd been avoiding since their first kiss. "Um, Katie, there's, ah, something I've been, um, meaning to tell you," he said seriously.

"Alright, then."

"Well, you see my mom's in town. And she kinda wants to meet you."

"I'd like to meet her too," she said with a small smile.

"That's great. It's just that..." His voice trailed off as he noticed how many people were milling about the entrance to the castle. He picked up the pace and pulled her through the first doorway he saw. He shut the door behind them, plunging them into blackness.

"Lumos," he heard her say in the darkness. A moment later, the light from her wand revealed them to be in the broom closet. He shrugged; it would have to do. He upended two buckets and sat on one, waiting for her to do the same. "Well then?" she asked after she settled herself and peeled off his glove.

"I think that...well, there's something that you...I want to tell..." he tried and failed to convey his point. "I haven't been completely honest with you about me," he finally blurted out.

"Um hmm," she said noncommittally.

"Back home, I'm someone...different, I guess," he said, looking down at his shoes. This was always the hard part; a lot of people looked at him differently once they knew the truth. People who hadn't wanted anything to do with him suddenly did and people he'd thought were his friends suddenly weren't.

"D'you have a girlfriend back home?" Katie asked quietly.

"Wh-what?" he stammered, gazing up at her.

She repeated her question.

"N-no, of course not." He couldn't help but spot the look of relief that crossed her face at this. Somehow, that made what he was about to say a little easier. "My mom is kinda famous." And Voldemort's kinda bad...

"Famous how?" Katie asked as she stood up and pulled off her Quidditch robes. It was stifling in the broom closet.

"Well, you've heard of the Minister of Magic?" Jake asked, grasping for an analogy.

She rolled her eyes at him and pulled off her jumper, revealing a long-sleeved shirt that, along with the sweat she'd worked up, clung to her suggestively. Jake tugged at his collar and willed his eyes to move back up to her face. "Jake?"

"Yeah," he said, as his eyes darted upward. They locked on her sky-colored eyes. "Um, right. My mom is sorta like the Minister...of Magic...in the U.S. She's, uh, the President." Involuntarily, his eyes squeezed shut. This was the moment of truth. She'd either be OK with it or she wouldn't. Jake was desperately hoping for the former.

"Jake?" she said more gently than before. He opened his eyes to find her staring at him. "Why are you here?"

"In the broom closet? I, uh, didn't want anyone to overhear us. No one knows. Well, no one except Harry and Dumbledore. Harry's been trying to convince me to tell you since...well, since our first date, I guess..." He was babbling now. She placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"Why are you here at Hogwarts?"

His eyes widened as his face turned pink. Katie removed her finger and he continued. "Well, you see, we...my mom and me...we got some threats. Mom fought in the first war, you know, against V-" He saw her blanch as he began to speak Voldemort's name so he quickly switched. "Against You Know Who. So now that's he's gathering followers again, we've gotten some threats. She thought I'd be safer here. Where no one knew me."

"You're in danger?"

He nodded, noticing how pale she'd become. I was so worried that she'd change once she found out; I never even thought about the fact that I'm in danger possibly. "I may be. And if you want to...want to stop seeing me, I understand." His gaze dropped to his shoes again.

"Well, you'll just have to be careful then, won't you?" She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. Dropping his hands, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

*********************************************

Harry bolted awake, yelling in his sleep. "There's...there's been an attack...at the...Ministry."

The other boys blurted out a hundred different questions, but Jake's voice cut through all of them. "Harry, what about my mom..."

Harry shook his head. Jake took off from the boys' dormitory and raced toward Dumbledore's office. Before he got there, the Headmaster's voice stopped him.

"Mr. Willig, I take it you've heard," Dumbledore said gently.

Jake turned to find Dumbledore and McGonagall standing in the corridor. "How is she? Is she..." He couldn't even bring himself to utter the word. His mother was all he had left in the world. If anything had happened to her...

"She's in very serious condition. At St. Mungo's."

"Great. How do I get there?"

McGonagall and Dumbledore shared a look. "I'm sorry, Mr. Willig. I cannot allow you to leave. It's far too dangerous."

Jake jabbed his finger in the old man's chest. "Listen to me, you hippie freak, I am going to St. Mango's with or without your help." McGonagall gasped.

The Headmaster removed his Jake's finger from his chest and smiled patiently at him. "I understand what you must be going through. With that being said, however, I cannot allow you to leave Hogwarts' right now. In a day or two, we can get some Aurors to escort you."

"Aurors? Is that who was supposed to be protecting the Ministry and my mother?" Jake said sarcastically.

"Mr. Willig!" McGonagall said, clearly scandalized by Jake's tone with Dumbledore.

"It's fine, Minerva," he replied quietly. He turned back to Jake. "In a few days, Mr. Willig."

Jake turned on his heel and fled back to the dormitory. He had to get what he needed before anyone else came back. He flung open the door and glanced around, finding it empty. Harry and company were probably heading to Dumbledore. For a split second, he hesitated, but shook his hesitation off. He opened Harry's trunk and rooted around until he found the bottom. He grabbed the two items he wanted and left the dormitory, not bothering to close the trunk or the door.