The Firefly Still Glows

The Firefly Still Glows

Ron walked down the road in Hogsmeade, wearing his new robe. He was on his way to the Three Broomsticks, where he would be meeting his date, Hannah Abbott. He had been preparing for this for a long time, but he still didn't feel quite ready. After all, he hardly knew the girl he was about to eat with, and she didn't really know him that well either. Their parents had set up the date. It was still a common practice among some of the older wizard families to arrange marriages, and the Weasleys weren't an exception, except that they did want Ron to be happy with the girl they chose.

Ron was not upset with his parents for their decision. He was in fact pleased that he finally had a chance to go out on a date. He might not like Hannah, but at least he knew a little about her. He knew she was in Hufflepuff house, which meant that although she might not be the brightest bean in the Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Bean bag, she would at least be nice, and probably a fun person to get to know. However, he was still nervous.

Just as he was approaching the Three Broomsticks, he suddenly bumped into someone and fell forward onto the hard, dusty ground, knocking the person over. Getting up, he saw that it was one of his least favorite teachers, Professor Trelawney of Divination. He looked down on her for a moment, and then held out his hand to help her up, which she took advantage of.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Weasley," she said as she was getting up. "I of course foresaw that this would happen, but still, I wasn't quite prepared for it."

Yeah right, Ron thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Thank you for your apology. I'm sorry too, I should have been looking ahead." He paused then said, "What are you doing here in Hogsmeade? I've never seen you here before."

"We all need relaxation sometimes, right? Also, I was on my way to The Vablatsky Store to buy some new crystal balls for my classes, and perhaps a couple books. Would you like to come with me? I am sure you would learn new things about Seeing," she replied.

"Thank you, but I must respectfully decline," Ron said, fighting back laughter. "I was about to enter the Three Broomsticks to meet someone."

"Ah yes, I saw this in my tea leaves this morning. I See much trial and pain in the path you are going on, my student. Be cautious, Mr. Weasley. Much suffering comes from nothing," she stated, her eyes staring deeply into Ron's.

"Yes," Ron said slowly, staring back at her. "Thank you for the warning. I will be cautious."

"Goodbye then," she said, breaking eye contact with Ron. "I will be seeing you again at lessons next week, Mr. Weasley." She then walked past him and out of sight. Ron chuckled to himself, then continued into the Three Broomsticks. He didn't really give her predictions much credence anymore, but nonetheless, he became even more nervous about his date as he entered the tavern.

He gazed at his surroundings as he walked in. There weren't as many people in the tavern as there were when he had been there earlier that day. He guessed that it must be approaching the time of night when the dementors came out, but that didn't worry him much. Since the return of the dementors to Hogsmeade, he had learned a lot more about dementors in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

He saw Hannah sitting at a booth for two along the edge of the far wall, looking as anxious and uncomfortable as he now felt inside. It was comforting to know he wasn't alone in feeling nervous about the meeting.

He walked over to her and said, "Hello Hannah. You look exceptionally lovely today. I hope you haven't been waiting for me very long?"

Hannah looked up at Ron and stared nervously at him. "Just a couple minutes," she replied. "But I've been nervous about this all day long."

"So have I," said Ron. "It's all right, though, I..."

Madam Rosmerta suddenly came to their table. "What would you two like?" she asked.

"I'll take a butterbeer and a toast sandwich," said Hannah.

"And what do you want, Ron?" Rosmerta continued.

"I'll take the same stuff she ordered." Ron replied, smiling at Rosmerta.

Rosmerta smiled back. "You'll have your orders in a moment. I hope your date goes well."

"Thank you!" said Hannah, rather pleased. After Rosmerta left, Hannah said to Ron, "I think she likes you."

"I know. I had a conversation with her earlier today." Ron replied

"What did you talk about?"

"My friends mostly." Ron paused. "We've been having some problems, but they're all worked out now."

"That's good." Hannah said, smiling slightly. Then she noticed the robe he was wearing. "That's a very handsome robe you're wearing, Ron."

"Thank you. Harry bought it for me."

"That's very nice." She paused, then continued, "Tell me about yourself, Ron."

Before he could do that, though, Rosmerta came back with their orders. "That'll be 13 Sickles, please." Ron reached for the money, wondering what Professor Trelawney would have thought about the price, but Hannah beat him to it and deposited a Galleon into Rosmerta's hand.

"Keep the change." Hannah said, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Ron just looked at her, astonished.

"Thank you very much." Rosmerta said. She left.

"It's no problem at all, Rosmerta." Hannah replied. "Where were we, Ron?"

"You asked me to tell you about myself." He paused. "I didn't know you had so much money."

"Yeah, my family isn't too poor." Hannah said. "Not that long ago, my family inherited a decent sum of money from my Grandfather Charles. So now I have a bit more money than I'm used to. I like to be generous."

Thank goodness, she's not a snob, Ron thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Well, thank you for covering the costs." He paused. "My family doesn't have as much money, you know."

"That's O.K." Hannah replied. "Most rich people are snobs, like Draco Malfoy. I know what it was like when we didn't have as much money as we do now, it's wasn't really all that different. I can't imagine you're family is too bad off, your father won 700 Galleons a couple years ago."

"We spent it all on a new wand for me, and a trip to Egypt." Ron said, finally biting into his sandwich. It was rather good, he thought. He wondered if Hannah liked the food as much as he did.

"You went to Egypt? Cool!"

"It's rather hot down there. Hot and overrated." Ron said.

"But I bet the tombs were cool!"

"They were all right. I got a little turned off when the mummies came after me, though."

Hannah recoiled in fright. "Mummies?"

"Sorry. I was joking. My brothers Fred and George did try to lock my older brother Percy in one of the tombs, but it didn't work."

"Yeah, well I couldn't imagine my mothers being in Egypt anyway. They'd probably faint from the heat."

Ron looked at her for a moment in disbelief, then laughed outrageously. After a moment, he said, "Did you say mothers? As in more than one?"

"Yeah," Hannah sighed, "My father's first wife died several years ago. He remarried a year later."

At first Ron didn't know what to say. Finally, he said, "I'm so sorry to hear that. It must have been terrible when your mother died."

"Yeah, but I've gotten over it." She paused, then continued, "Sometimes, I'm still afraid though."

"Of what" Ron asked.

"Death." Hannah stated, as they were both finishing their sandwiches. "Why don't we go outside? It's a lovely time for a walk, don't you think?" she continued, changing the subject.

Ron had enough tact buried inside him to know that he shouldn't ask her about what she meant by her previous comment, and instead finished his butterbeer and said, "Sure, I'd love to go for a walk with you." He got up and took her hand in his as she got up. The two of them walked out of the Three Broomsticks, holding hands.

As the walked back out onto the dusty roads, Ron saw that the sky was starting to turn bright shades of pink and orange as it darkened into twilight, and that fireflies were starting to appear. It wasn't that bad, Ron thought, as they walked together holding hands. She actually is a nice girl. And it is a nice time for a walk.

Out loud, he said, "Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Yes, I really did. I enjoyed talking to you more, though." Hannah replied.

"Thank you." Ron said, as they passed a bench where Draco Malfoy was sitting, alone, glaring at them maliciously. "I enjoyed talking to you, too."

"Thanks. It actually felt good, to be able to tell some one about my mother. Thank you for listening."

"No problem." Ron said, smiling at her.

Hannah looked off in the distance, then said with a wink, "Those are some rather lovely Grape Bushes over there, Ron, next to the little wood over there.. Would you like to see them?"

"I'd love to." Ron said, grinning even more. They walked over to the bushes and sat down behind them, still holding hands. They looked at each other for a moment, then he leaned forward and kissed her. It was wonderful, Ron thought. This is the best moment of my life. He didn't say anything this time.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound behind them. Ron parted from Hannah and saw five dementors walking towards them through the wood. "Perhaps we should go, Hannah," he said nervously.

"I agree." Hannah said, also sounding somewhat frightened.

But as they walked back out into the now empty street, the dementors did not back off. Instead, they followed Ron and Hannah, taking deep rattling breaths. Ron felt himself going cold. He took out his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" Nothing happened. It wasn't working. "Run!" He shouted to Hannah.

They both started to run, stirring up a lot of dust, but then five more dementors started approaching them from ahead, and they were surrounded. The dementors formed into a circle around them, holding hands, and all of them took deep rattling breaths. Ron and Hannah both took out their wands and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" over and over again, but could not manage to conjure a patronus.

Ron felt himself falling to the ground. He suddenly had a horrendous vision of Hannah, lying dead on the ground, with hundreds of spiders crawling all over her. Suddenly she got up and walked towards him, but she still looked dead, and the spiders were still crawling all over her. The image broke into a wave of colors flooding over his soul. He was overwhelmed, the colors were draining him. He heard laughing in the distance. Then he fainted, and everything turned black.

* * *

Professor Trelawney exited the Vablatsky store into the fading outside light, carrying a single bag with some new crystal balls in it. Unfortunately, the store had been all sold out of the book she was looking for, but the balls would be useful.

Suddenly, she heard screaming coming from a couple streets away. She didn't pause to think about it, she just laid her bag on a bench, pulled out her wand, and ran towards the source of the screaming. As she approached she recognized that one of the voices was that of the boy she had bumped into earlier, Ron Weasley. Then his voice stopped, and she ran faster.

Turning a corner, she saw that Weasley and a girl were on the ground, surrounded by dementors, and that there was a blond-haired boy laughing nearby. She recognized him at once as Draco Malfoy, one of her top students. What was Malfoy laughing at, she thought. Surely he must realize how horrible this situation was.

Out loud, she said, "Expecto Patronum!," and a bright white horse made of stars erupted from her wand and chased away the dementors. She ran over to where Weasley and his friend were, and found that they had both become unconscious, but fortunately, they still had their souls.

She then remembered that Malfoy was there and had been laughing. She turned around to face him with her wand out and said, "Mr. Malfoy, go get Professor Dumbledore and tell him to come here immediately, or else I'll curse you so bad you'll wish you had stumps instead of legs!" Malfoy took her threat very seriously, and ran, leaving her with the two unconscious students on the dusty road.

* * *

When Ron woke up, he found himself lying on a bed in the hospital wing. He saw that there was chocolate on a tray next to his bed, and that Hannah was lying on the bed on the other side of it. He took a piece of chocolate and bit into it, letting the warmth spread over him slowly so he could savor it. He was free again.

He decided to wake Hannah. "Hannah?" he said. "Hannah?"

She awoke slowly and rolled over to face him. "Ron," she said, "You're all right."

"Yes, I am, Hannah. We're safe now." Ron said. "Eat some of the chocolate on the tray, it'll help."

"Thanks," Hannah returned. She took a piece of chocolate and started to eat it. "It was horrible, Ron."

"Yeah, I know. Dementors are terrible creatures." Ron paused, then asked, "What happened?"

"I saw Nothing," she said, sounding frightened. "Pure Nothing. I felt dead, and I was powerless to help anyone or myself. I think I saw death, Ron."

Ron said nothing. Instead he just held out his hand to Hannah, and she reached out and took it. "I feel a little better now, Ron," she said, smiling a little. Ron looked at her a moment, then used his other hand to kill a firefly that had somehow gotten into the room. Hannah gasped. "Why did you do that?"

"Look at it." Ron said, and Hannah noticed the firefly's light was still glowing in Ron's other hand. "Even after it is dead, the firefly's tail light continues to glow. It is a magic that has nothing to do with magic, but rather is a part of the infinitely amazing thing we call nature. Likewise, our souls will continue to shine after we are dead. We don't need to fear it, Hannah. Because everything will be all right in the end, and as long as we have our friends, and each other, we can be all right here as well."

Hannah smiled again. You're amazing, Ron, she thought. I love you. Out loud, she said, "You're right, Ron." And they laid in their beds for a while, holding hands until Madam Pomfrey came to tell them they could leave.