Prophesied

Chapter 11

A Change of Hearts

I wondered the grounds of Hogwarts wondering what to do. I was alone again, using my anger to hide my pain. Would anyone pick up on that?

I was nearing the Care of Magical Creatures professor's hut. Wrong way, I guess. I had no reason to be out this way, I didn't even have this class. He walked out of his hut with his huge dog at his heals and walked around the back. Harry always referred to him as 'Hagrid', rather than 'Professor Hagrid', which would have been proper. Then again, we all call our teachers by their last names away from class. It was different with this one though. Harry always thought of Hagrid as a friend, not a teacher.

I wondered around the back of the hut, rather close to the forest, and he looked up at me.

"Stay outta there," he warned. "I don' need to be chasin' yeh down righ' now."

"I wasn't going to go in there. Unlike Harry, who seems to always be there."

"Not always. Jus' more than the others."

"How long have you known him?" I asked.

"Seven years now," he grunted, throwing a bag of animal feed over his shoulder. He walked over to a barn and set the bag down. "Why?" he asked opening the large red door.

"No reason really."

"You two still together then?"

"No," I answered sadly. "Not anymore."

"Shame," he replied walking in the barn to feed the animals. "He really liked you."

"That's the problem," I confessed. "He loved Malfoy more."

"Malfoy, eh?" he asked. He bent down to rip open the bag and walked to the nearest bin. "Lot's o' problems with that kid. Lots o' problems. Not a nice family, tha one. Death Eaters for abou' three generations. Father an' son all followin' eachother's footsteps. Cept tha' Draco. He's the exception. Never followin' no one, not once he got his head on straigh'. Good man fer Harry."

"Oh?" I asked. "Even with the supposed betrayal?"

"He couldna dun it."

"At least I'm not alone..."

~*~*~*~

I tried to get away soon after she left, but Hermione wouldn't let me.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"She broke up with me."

"No, what was she talking about? What did she mean, 'the miracle right before your eyes'?"

"SHE MEANT DRACO!" I yelled. "She left me so I could be with him."

"She called you a liar."

"When?"

"When she was talking about feeling the emotions of liars. She was talking about you."

"She was not."

"How could you though?" she asked quietly.

"How could I what?"

"Choose a Slytherin over a Gryffindor?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said holding up a hand. "She left me, or have you already forgotten that?"

"You chose him over me, and now you've chosen him over her. Not only that, but he be--"

"Are you so sure? She spent two hours with him, Hermione. If she believes him, who am I not to?"

"She wasn't there!"

"NEITHER WERE YOU!"

"He's a murderer!"

"He killed a Death Eater."

"He killed his father."

"He was no father."

"You're quick to defend him for someone who's hated him for most of your life."

"Who ever said I've hated him that long? I didn't know him until I was eleven, Hermione, that can hardly make me hate him for so long."

"Fine, for the majority of the time you have known him!

"What if she leaves?" she demanded. "Does that prophecy mean nothing to you? 'She is the power to defeat the Dark Lord' or whatever it said. Are you really willing to sacrifice us all for your stupidity? Are you really willing to let us all die when your own godfather's death is too much for you to bare?"

I felt like she had physically slapped me. "YOU LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" I thundered. "How dare you."

"How dare I?" she asked. She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. How dare you, Harry. This is all very Slytherin of you."

"You don't know what you're saying. I didn't do anything!"

"No, you didn't, did you? You didn't get over the ex who almost cost your life, did you? In fact, you didn't do it so well, that the next person to be stupid enough to fall for you saw it and got herself out before it was too late. Then again, maybe she didn't. Maybe she realized it too late and she's trying to save as much as she can."

"You are out of line, Hermione."

"I am?" she asked irate. "Guess I'm not the only one," she spat walking out of the common room, Jeff following her. I slumped down on the couch and sighed heavily. Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?

~*~*~*~

I walked into the common room and was surprised to see Harry sitting all alone. "Hi," I said awkwardly, dashing toward my room, not really wanting anything to do with him at the moment.

"Lita, wait," he said standing. "What's with this?" he asked. "Last night, everything was great, wasn't it? Then this morning you're mad at me, now you break up with me. I don't understand, is this one of those 'love 'em and leave 'em' things? If so, it's not a great feeling."

"No," I answered. "It's not that at all. You forget, Harry, that I know your emotions, probably better than you do because I'm not the one feeling them directly. You love him, you love him so much, it's better for you if you're with him. I love you, Harry; I just can't take being second like I have been this whole time. Call me crazy, but when the guy I love is in love with someone else, I can't allow myself to be set up for that kind of heartbreak. I've done it more times than I care to admit."

"What do you mean?"

"I've fallen hard for three people in my life. Two of them are in this very building. One of them was setting me up for that scenario. As soon as he knows for sure that the one he loves wasn't lying, he'll leave me. I had to do it first to save myself. And him.

"Don't worry about me, Harry. You've got bigger problems coming your way if you don't hurry. You've got an appointment you really don't want to be late for."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you need to go to Malfoy and you need to do it now. He was on the edge when we were all up there earlier, you may have pushed him over today by not believing him."

"Who said I didn't believe him?"

"You did."

Harry looked at me confused, then he did as I instructed. Harry left me for him.

~*~*~*~

I activated the Marauder's Map to shorten my search for him. Draco wasn't on the grounds, in the air, the classrooms, the halls, anywhere. Except the astronomy tower.

Merlin, what was he still doing there? What could he possibly be doing there now? What would I be too late for if I didn't go to him? Was he--no, he couldn't be. Not now, not after today.

I dropped the map, realizing Draco could in fact be doing as I dreaded. It is what I myself have considered countless times. I raced up to the tower, wishing Apparating was allowed inside the walls of Hogwarts.

I took the stairs two at a time, making a mountain of noise along the way. If anyone were to come up here, it would be to check on the racket I was making.

I stopped dead as soon as I reached the landing. Draco was exactly where he shouldn't be. Standing on the window ledge, looking down at the world some 1,000 feet below.

"Draco?" I said quietly panicking. Don't jump, love, please don't die...

He flinched and turned around. "Long way down, you know?" he asked nervous. "After that, a moment of sharp pain followed by nothing. I'm almost to that nothing, Harry. I almost don't feel a thing anymore. Except for you, the pain, for you.

"You know, your girl Lita was the first to believe me? My own mother won't even talk to me. It's not because of my father, which would be too easy. I could live with that. No, she wont talk to me because of what I did to you. She loved the change you sparked in me. The spark you had that brought me back to life...

"And here I am dying.

"It's funny, you know? The world thinks I'm guilty of betrayal but the Ministry wont touch me. I killed a Death Eater," he shrugged, "big deal. And not just any Death Eater, mind you, but Lucius Malfoy, the supposed right hand man of Voldemort.

"Do you know what that curse does to you, Harry?" he asked stepping down off of the ledge. "How it feels once you've used it?

"It's like a bloody parasite. It attaches itself to you and no matter what you do, you can't get rid of it, you can't get it off. And it grows. It grows and it grows and you feel like you're suffocating. You try to get rid of the feeling, but you can't. It starts growing, building up, layer by layer, and it feels like you're caked with so much dirt and grime that no matter how much you wash off, you can't get it off quick enough.

"It keeps getting worse and worse until you either go mad, cast it again, or kill yourself."

His voice was scratchy, probably from the lack of use for the majority of a year. I could have cried with what he was telling me. It was all so painful, so agonizing.

Was this what I would be dealing with in the future? Could I kill Voldemort without using this curse?

"Kill...I've done a lot of that. I killed my father, and then I killed you. And the constant Dementor I've got walking around inside my head isn't letting me forget it. I remember everything about that night and the months following thus far. I remember when I asked you for help, I remember the first time I kissed you, held you, made love to you, and they're all painful memories that I don't want to think about anymore. But the thing that stands out the clearest is that you didn't love me enough to believe me.

"My House hates me because I killed him, the school hates me because I betrayed you. I would never betray you, Harry. I couldn't, no matter what."

"I know that now," I said with tears in my eyes. "I just don't know what to do, Draco--" I stopped talking the moment he let out a sob. He was sitting on the ledge, face held in his hands, sobbing. I rushed to him and knelt in front of him. "What's wrong?" I asked, running my hands down his arms. He threw his arms around my neck and sobbed on my shoulder.

"You called me Draco," he whispered. "You haven't done that all year."

"Merlin," I whispered, holding him tighter.

"Can I ask you something?" he choked.

"Whatever you want, love," I answered.

"Don't let me die."

________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 12

In Love's Arms

Elven language is shown in brackets ( [ ] ) from this point forward.

It was hard, being around him and not being with him. I don't know how I dealt with it, maybe by spending as little time around the common room as possible. I became closer to Hermione, causing me to miss him even more than before.

I didn't know what to do, I still had the same feelings I'd had for Jeff in my fifth year, did he still feel the same about me? I couldn't be sure, and I didn't really want to find out, not with him and Hermione now so close.

I sat outside on the balcony ledge, thinking about what was happening now. Harry and Draco were inside laughing and Hermione and Jeff were in our room. I didn't know or care what either of the couples were doing, I was wallowing in self-misery these days. It had been five days since Christmas. New Years eve was tomorrow, and they were all planning on staying awake and getting drunk. Hermione was interested; it would be her first experience with alcohol. I didn't think I would be joining in the festivities.

"What's wrong, Kid?" Jeff's familiar voice sounded. I turned of the empathetic feelings, only just figuring out how to do so. I didn't want to know what he was feeling right now.

"What do you think is wrong?" I asked in response.

"Harry?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "Can't get anything past you can I?" I asked dryly.

He smiled sympathetically. "I know how you feel," he said leaning against a different edge. "I felt the same way when this girl I love left me in my fifth year. She was amazing, short, long black hair, the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen, pale--especially in the moonlight..." he looked up at the darkening sky. "What I wouldn't give to have her back in my arms...

"But she left me. I don't really know why, apparently I screwed up. Got really mad about something. Lost control. Lost her. ...Anyway," he said looking back at me. "Cheer up," he ordered. "There's a party tomorrow and you should be there."

He pushed himself off of the edge and kissed my forehead before walking inside.

"What a great boyfriend you are," I heard Harry say. "Kissing someone else..."

The rest faded away as Jeff shut the door.

I didn't have to be an empath to know exactly what Jeff was thinking. It would take so long for me to get over Harry though. The situation made me wonder how long he'd waited before dating again. Did he wait until the next year? Longer? Was Hermione his only girlfriend after me?

I jumped off of the ledge and walked inside.

~*~*~*~

He kissed her! He's Hermione's boyfriend and he kissed her! I don't care if it was only a kiss on the forehead, he fucking kissed her! He scoffed at me when he came back inside, then left.

He doesn't even care about Hermione. He seriously doesn't care about her. I can't believe she's with someone like that. Even more so, what she did with someone like that. Not to mention Lita.

"Harry?"

I snapped back to reality and looked at Draco. Why did she do it? What did she really know? How did she know what Draco was about to do? Was she possibly only pulling my chain to get me to get away from her?

That didn't seem right though. Her warning had to be for real.

"Where are you?" Draco asked.

"Christmas," I sighed laying back on the couch.

Draco ran his fingers through my short spikes and chucked to himself. "I think I like the red better than the blonde," he confessed. "It suites you."

"How?" I asked, enjoying being this close to him again.

"Gryffindor-idiss." he answered simply, smiling. It had been so long since I'd seen him smile; I had almost forgotten how it changed his face entirely. Especially now, when we were both still recovering from last June.

I smiled as well, remembering the first time he used it. "I never thought I'd hear that term again," I confessed. It was ours; no one else could use it.

"You'll hear it more often then," he promised. "Cheer up, there's a party tomorrow, and I am going to ensure that you get pissed."

"Oh, no," I protested, sitting up. "You are not getting me drunk."

"How am I supposed to have my way with you then?" he asked. "You're no fun if you're not pissed."

"I was plenty fun when I wasn't pissed. Besides, unless you still have your own room, we have no where to go."

"Maybe Jeff and Hermione will have fun in her room. That way, we'd have yours all to ourselves."

"Lita," came my short answer. "And I don't think I like Jeff being with Hermione."

"Why?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the asshole is using her."

"He is not using me, Harry," came Hermione's irritated voice. "Careful, you are in grave danger of sounding jealous."

"I'm not jealous," I protested. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"You worry too much, Harry," she informed me. "You constantly worry. You need to stop worrying about us, and start worrying about how you're going to win this war."

~*~*~*~

They were loud, all of them. I chose not to join them, Jeff wasn't too happy with that decision. I think he was hoping to get me drunk so that I would be with him again. There would be an excuse if word got out. Alcohol being the impairment that it is, who's to say that we didn't do it just because we were drunk.

The door opened and Jeff walked in, carrying a two glasses of what looked like Firewiskey, which was the only alcoholic drink I knew of that was the color of fire, as well as the only one I knew of them having out there.

"Here," he said handing me the fuller glass. "Drink that, and get your ass out there. You are joining that party no matter what."

I swallowed the shot and coughed at the burn. Jeff smiled. "You haven't drank in a while, have you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not since fifth year."

"Good," he said.

Suspicions confirmed. He wanted me drunk.

"Why?" I asked. He was already drunk enough that lying really wasn't part of his mental abilities. Jeff was a very honest drunk.

"Gives me an excuse," he replied loudly, swaying slightly. "You should drink more."

I allowed myself to be dragged from my room to the party.

"LITA!" the five of them (Ron and Ernie included) cried upon seeing my arrival.

I was mauled and drinks were forced into my hands. Within fifteen minutes, I was drunk, and Jeff was all over me. The elf part of me--with the higher tolerance for alcohol--noticed Hermione was the only one without someone. I guess that's okay though, she is passed out on the couch.

Jeff drunkenly picked me up and carried me to my room, where we toppled onto my bed, kissing.

[I love you,] he said in my Elvish tongue.

"I love you, too," I answered.

I woke up not remembering a thing from the night before. I shot up, naked, and franticly looked around. Jeff was in the bed next to me.

"Shit," I whispered harshly. I hurried out of bed and put on my clothes, then began looking for Jeff's. "Wake up!" I yelled throwing what I found at him.

He groaned and sat up. "What?" he asked taking in the situation. "Did we?" he half asked.

"I don't know," I answered pulling my shirt over my head. "I can't remember a thing after you dragged me out of here."

"So you did go to the party then?" he asked.

"You got me drunk," I answered remembering. "And then we...yeah, Jeff, we did."

His expression looked torn between elation that we did, and torture that he did that to Hermione.

"Do you think she knows?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Get dressed," I requested. As hot as he was, I really didn't want to see what I couldn't have. I turned away from him and walked out. I knew I shouldn't have gone to that party.

Hermione was just walking out of the bathroom when I walked out. "So this is what a hangover feels like?" she asked holding her head.

I nodded. "I take it you've been praying to the Porcelain God?" I asked sitting down. Hangovers were rare for me, though I remember Jeff having quite a few things to say to the Porcelain Gods of Stoneridge.

"Praying to the porcelain god?" she asked sitting down on the arm of one of the chairs.

"Puking your guts out in the bathroom," I said nodding to the closed door.

"Oh," she replied with an embarrassed smile. "Yeah."

Jeff came walking out of our room then, and Hermione looked at me confused. "What was he doing in there?" she asked.

"I don't remember," I lied. "Last night is a blur for me."

"You went?" she asked.

"Jeff dragged me out here. That's the last thing I remember."

"Oh."

~*~*~*~

I woke up with my arms around him. The sun was just shining through the window, and I had him. This couldn't be a better New Years to wake up to. Too bad I didn't have this last year.

I kissed the side of his neck, just below his ear, causing his eyes to flutter open. He looked confused for a second and then smiled. "Morning, Harry," he said softly.

I smiled. "I almost forgot what this was like," I confessed. I sighed. "I'm never doing that again."

"Doing what again?" Draco asked confused. "Forgetting?"

"Yeah," I replied quietly. "Forgetting."

"I don't think you're going to have to worry about that. Happy New Years, love," he said sitting up.

"Happy New Years," I replied following his lead.

~*~*~*~

A fight was brewing between Jeff and Hermione. I walked out onto the balcony, not wanting to listen to them.

I loved him, still. I never stopped. I thought of my behavior over the past six or so months towards him and realized I had been out of line the entire time.

[Father,] I said to the wind. [Help me understand. Help me see my path...]

[How long do you think it will take for him to get the message?] Jeff asked. "Wasn't it only thee days back at Stoneridge?"

"Depends on Wind. What happened in there?"

"Nothing. She was just upset because of her hangover and the fact that I came out of your room and she doesn't know why. I told her it was because of Harry and Draco. That they went into our room and I didn't want to risk it, so I slept on her bed."

"I don't think she believes you."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because she has yet to see Harry and Draco emerge from your room."

"They just came out. Anyway, are you alright?" he asked. "You don't seem like yourself."

"Today was the first time in two years that I've woken up in your arms, Jeff. I've just been thinking on that and other things."

"I'll take that as a 'no' then."

"Take it however you want to," I sighed. "I just want to be alone."

He shrugged. "Alright," he said. "But I'm here--"

"If I need you, I know," I finished. "Right now, I need to be alone. Away from everyone, especially you."

"Why?" he asked confused and hurt.

"Jeff, please," I asked, frustrated with his reluctance to leave me alone. "I need time to think. I need to be left alone."

"Why 'especially me'?"

"Because you are the one I'm most confused about, Jeff," I nearly yelled.

[I love you,] he said, sounding like he was trying to convince me to let him stay. [If you're confused about me, let me help you.]

[No,] I answered. [You're with Hermione, Jeff. You need to be there for her. She's been puking her guts out all morning.]

[Then she shouldn't have gotten drunk.]

[Then she would know what we did.]

"THEN SHE SHOULD KNOW!" Jeff yelled, finally loosing his temper. "Christ, Lita, you know I love you! She knows I love you! They all know I love you. Why won't you let us be?"

"Because you hurt me, Jeff! I don't know if I'm ready to chance that again."

"Life is Chance. If you don't take the great ones, you won't be living."

"Such wise words from someone so ignorant," I answered bitterly.

~*~*~*~

"THEN SHE SHOULD KNOW!" Jeff yelled out on the balcony. Who should know what? I wondered. He continued talking to her out there, and he appeared to be furious.

"Hey," Draco said walking up behind me and placing a kiss on my neck. "Are you going off about them again?" he sighed looking out on the balcony. "Merlin, Harry, you're acting like you're still dating her."

"Sometimes I wonder if they really ever broke up," Hermione said looking out at them as well. "Jeff and Lita I mean. It's obvious that they still love eachother."

"Was he talking about you?" I asked her, referring to Jeff's earlier statement.

"I think so. They both slept in our room last night. Mix alcohol with that and their emotions, I think I know what happened and I think they lied when they said they didn't remember. Especially since elves have an exceptionally high tolerance for alcohol. They make some of the strongest themselves after all."

"And you're not bothered by the fact that they lied to you?"

"I don't know for sure that they lied," Hermione said. "I was out cold on the sofa."

"You were?" I asked. Then I remembered. "Oh yeah, you were! You ever going to drink again?" I asked, noticing that she looked pale.

"Not that much again," she said with a slight smile. "As for drinking again altogether, I don't know."

The door opened and Lita entered, looking furious. "He's your goddamn boyfriend," she said to Hermione, slamming the glass door. It shattered and glass sprayed out everywhere. "You deal with him," she finished. Then, she turned around and repaired the doors. "I'm sick of it."

She then stormed out, again, slamming the door. Thank Merlin this one was wood.

Hermione turned to us, visibly stricken. "What happened out there?" she whispered.

It was Jeff's turn to storm in the room. "Where did she go?" he demanded. "What did she say?"

"She said nothing and she left," Draco answered. "Why?"

"Did she say where she was going?"

"She said nothing," I repeated. "What happened?"

"You," he growled.

"Then why is she mad at you?" Draco asked, seemingly innocent.

"Stay the fuck out of it!" Jeff yelled, leaving.

"Hermione," I said after he slammed the door. "Are you really sure you want to stay in that relationship?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not anymore I'm not," she answered.