Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx

Harry Potter and the Students of the School of the Sphinx (15/?)

By Angelina Johnson

Chapter 15

Tara Blake

    Harry quickly learned that this trip to the Burrow was not going to be the same as his last few. Though Fred and George had been cheerful and outgoing at Grimmauld Place, once they were back home George sort of faded into the background. He was always quiet, and he was not himself at all.

    "He misses Alicia," Fred whispered to Harry one afternoon. Fred, Harry, Ron, Alex and Ginny had been out flying, while George had stayed inside.

    "I miss her, too. I mean, we were friends, but George really took this hard. He took it harder than Katie and Angel, and they were her best friends. He really loved her. I'm sure I would be the same way if it were Angelina," Fred said.

    "Poor George," Harry replied.

    "Yeah, poor George. The only person who's been taking it harder than George is Tara Blake. George blames her, in case you hadn't noticed," Fred said. The truth was, Harry HAD noticed. Tara Blake was eighteen, just like the twins. She was pretty, with shoulder-length dark brown hair and green eyes, and she was working in Mr. Weasley's department at the Ministry. She had recently graduated from Beauxbatons, and Harry had noticed that she spent a lot of time at the Weasleys house, talking to Mr. Weasley about work. Mr. Weasley had explained to Harry the first night there that Tara's mother had died when she was born, and that her father had always been busy traveling because of his work. According to Mr. Weasley, Tara had practically been raised by the Spinnets, and she blamed herself for them being gone.

    "George only makes things worse for her. Dad wants her to stay with us because he thinks it'll do her some good, cheer her up some, make her feel less guilty, but George treats her like she's the devil or something. He won't talk to her, he won't look at her, and when he does he just glares at her. She told me that she's afraid of him. She's really sensitive, she cries every night over what happened, and George definitely doesn't help matters," Fred said.

    "It's not really fair for George to blame her, though, is it? I mean, she didn't force the Spinnets to be their Secret Keepers, they knew what it involved and they made their choice, didn't they?" Harry said. Fred nodded.

    "Well, at first George tried to blame himself for not being there for Alicia, but then when he met Tara he decided that it would be easier to blame her," Fred said.

    "Oh, that's real nice of him," Harry muttered sarcastically.

    "It's not like he does it to make her hurt more, though, he does it to make him hurt less. Surely you, of all people, understand what it's like. Even though it wasn't either of their faults, they feel responsible," Fred explained.

    "Well, when you put it that way, I can understand. I blame myself for Cedric, and I blame myself for Sirius almost dying, I know it wasn't my fault, but I still feel like there was something I should have done, and that I should be blamed. With Cedric, neither of us had any idea what in the world was going on, neither of us could have possibly known that the Cup was a Portkey to Voldemort. And it wasn't my fault that Sirius came to protect me. He didn't have to," Harry said.

    "Sirius certainly was lucky, mate. Good thing Melissa was there," Fred said.

    "I still don't understand how Melissa knew to be there, though. I mean, she told me that your dad tipped her off, but how could your dad have known? Something's missing there, I feel it," Harry said.

    "Wait, Melissa said my dad tipped her off? You're right, there's something odd about that. Dad wouldn't have known-unless someone told him," Fred said.

    "Someone did," a voice said. Harry and Fred both whirled around to see Tara Blake sitting underneath a tree next to where they were walking.

    "I'm sorry. I couldn't help but overhear you. Don't worry, though, all I heard you talking about was your dad being tipped off about the Department of Mysteries thing," she said.

    "Oh," Harry said, not bothering to question her. Fred, however, was curious.

    "Wait, what'd you mean, someone did? Who did?" Fred asked her.

    "I did," Tara replied calmly. Her voice was even and confident, but her hands were shaking.

    "What'd you mean, you did? How would you have known? No offense, T, but how are you important enough to know something like that?" Fred asked her. Tara was shaking all over now.

    "There's more to me than you know," Tara said.

    "That much has become obvious," Fred replied dryly.

    "George figured me out almost instantly. And I did hear the whole conversation. I think you should know that George doesn't just blame me because it's easier," Tara replied.

    "Look, Tara, I have no idea what you're talking about," Fred said.

    "Sometimes what you don't know can't hurt you," Tara said.

    "Very rarely, if Voldemort's involved. You know what, Tara, you have got to be the most confusing person I know," Fred said.

    "You're right. I am confusing, and I hope that it stays that way. I don't want you to hate me the same way that George does. Enough people hate me as is," Tara said.

    "I don't hate you, Tara, and neither does George. He just misses Alicia," Fred said.

        "You would hate me, if you knew. So would the rest of your family, and you, Harry, and Hermione, and Alex as well," Tara said.

    "If it weren't for you, the closest thing to family I've ever really had would be dead. I doubt I could ever hate you," Harry assured her.

    "And no matter what George tells you, Tara, we're your friends," Fred said.

    "But Alicia was your friend!" Tara moaned. She was still shaking like mad.

    "I've already told you that I don't blame you for what happened," Fred said.

    "But you SHOULD. George is right. It is my fault," Tara said.

    "Look, Tara, I understand that you miss her. We all do, but you have to accept it and understand that it wasn't your fault," Fred said.

    "But it WAS my fault. You don't understand, Fred! My father didn't want the Spinnets to be our Secret Keepers, I DID! It was my choice, and they felt obligated to accept, because we were their Secret Keepers in the First War, that's why my Mum was tortured to death by Voldemort, that's why they felt that they had to return the favor. But they're all gone, all gone because of me," Tara wailed.

    "You're not making any sense, Tara. It still wasn't your fault, they could have still refused," Fred said.

    "But it was because of ME that we needed a Secret Keeper. It was all because of me. Voldemort was only after me. Not after my dad, after ME," Tara said.

    "That's crazy. You're one eighteen year old witch, in a lowly department at the Ministry of Magic. What would he want from you? I mean, you're brilliant, but I still haven't seen any reason for you to be one of Voldemort's most wanted. I was under the impression that Harry here topped that list," Fred said.

    "Voldemort doesn't see me as you do. He doesn't see me as the eighteen year old Ministry worker fresh out of Beauxbatons. He sees me as the daughter of a powerful figure, as the Seer of the century, as a vicious spy and a powerful witch. He sees me as a threat, and he doesn't want me around. He wants me dead, and that's the reason that the Spinnets are dead," Tara said. Fred and Harry both stared at her.

    "Seer of the century? Spy?" Fred asked.

    "Yes, Seer of the century. I've known for a while. Voldemort wants me on his side. I've never made a prediction that was wrong, and I've seen things that will happen, and you know what, Fred? They always do! I hate seeing the future, I hate making all these weird prophecies without meaning to, I HATE IT! I hate putting the people I care about in danger, I hate feeling like I have no control over my life. It scares me, Fred. I scare me," Tara said.

    "Tara, I didn't know. I wish there was something I could do to help you," Fred said.

    "There's nothing you can do without being added to Voldemort's most wanted list. I can tell you the top ten, if you'd like. That's the advantages to being a spy," Tara said.

    "But how are you a spy?" Fred asked her.

    "I told you I was a powerful witch. I can transfigure myself, change my appearance without a potion or something, and it goes undetected. I can hide among Death Eater ranks, and the best part is that I confuse the hell out of Voldemort. I'm just afraid of getting caught," Tara admitted.

    "So you're a Death Eater?" Fred asked her.

    "No. Vitani Pride is a Death Eater. Tara Blake is a Seer, and a spy, and a Ministry of Magic worker, and even a member of the Order of Phoenix. But I am not a Death Eater," Tara said.

    "Oh. SO, who's on this most wanted list, then?" Fred asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Harry could tell that Fred was just as shocked as he was.

    "Well, Harry's at the top, along with Dumbledore. Then there's me, and Moody. Lupin, Black, Gumtree and Montgomery are all on the list. Oh, and McGonagall, and the last one is Alex Evans," Tara said.

    "Alex? Why?" Harry asked. It was the first time he had spoken in a while.

    "Well, she's the most intelligent student at the School of the Sphinx, her mum and dad have both been his targets in the past. Oh, and she has the power to control most magical creatures, which is always useful. But the thing that really put her on that most wanted list was becoming a member of the Black family. As soon as the Blacks adopted her, she became a threat. Voldemort knows that anyone who is close to them, and you, Harry, is a threat. He knows that they'll have knowledge and will fight against him to the death," Tara said.

    "So Voldemort wants her dead just because she's close to me, Sirius, and Melissa?" Harry asked angrily.

    "Well, pretty much," Tara admitted.

    "So where does that put the Weasleys, and Hermione? They're close to me, does that make them targets too?" Harry asked bitterly. He hated his role in the war, and he could relate to Tara well.

    "Yes and no. Voldemort would, most likely, want the Weasleys anyway, with their loyalty to Dumbledore. Hermione would be a target because she's a Muggle-born and she's one of the smartest students at Hogwarts. But I doubt they'd be in the top twenty-five, at least Hermione, anyway," Tara said.

    "So it's all my fault that they're in danger," Harry said.

    "They're not in any immediate danger, Harry. Especially since most of them are at Hogwarts. Besides, there are still plenty of people that Voldemort wants before them. They're at the bottom of the top. There's the ten I told you about, and a few Aurors and such," Tara explained.

    "But if something happens to them... I don't want them to be in danger because of me," Harry said.

    "Believe me, Harry, I can relate," Tara said All of a sudden, Tara clutched her wrist.

    "What's wrong?" Fred asked.

    "Dark Mark. Voldemort wants us," Tara said. Quickly, her features began to change. Her dark brown hair turned bleach blond, her height deteriorated, her green eyes turned black, her face broadened, and her hair length grew. Harry saw the Dark Mark appear on her arm now that she was transfigured.

    "Be careful," Fred whispered, and she Apparated away.

    "Dangerous life she leads, isn't it? I can't believe she's kept all of that inside. Oh, and I doubt George has figured any of that out," Fred said.

    "You doubt I've figured any of what out?" George asked as he walked up to them.

    "What do you know about Tara?" Fred asked his twin.

    "I know that she's the reason that Alicia is dead, and I also know that there's more to her than meets the eye. I can tell that she's hiding something, although I have no earthly idea what it is," George said.

    "I know that it's not fair for you to blame her for Alicia's death, and I know that it's been hard enough on her without you making things worse. I also know that she's under a LOT of pressure, and that she carries a lot of weight on her shoulders. I know that no matter what she says, she cares what we think about her. She respects us and our family, and it really hurts her that you blame her for Alicia's death, because, as I've told you a million times, she blames herself enough already. I also know that she's doing important things, and that the memory of the Spinnets' death haunts her. It's affecting what she's doing, and I know that her work would be a lot easier if you just told her that you don't blame her. It is not her fault, George, no matter how badly you want it to be, nor is it your fault, George Weasley, and you need to accept that. Once you've accepted it, it will be easier for Tara to accept it," Fred said angrily.

    "Look, Fred, I know it's not her fault, and I guess I finally know that it's not my fault. I just miss Alicia, and I'm afraid that if I accept that she's gone, if I accept that it was her choice, then it'll be like I've forgotten her. I don't want to fail her memory," George said.

    "You won't forget her, George, and you're not failing her. If anything, you would have been failing her by blaming her death on Tara, someone that she was close to all of her life," Fred said.

    "I still just can't believe that she's gone," George whispered, "I miss her so much."

    "We all do," Fred said. Harry left the twins together, feeling that they needed to talk alone.

    Harry walked inside of the Burrow to find Alex, Ginny, Hermione and Ron seated at a table in the living room. Harry noticed that Ron was gazing at Alex.

    "What took you so long? And where's Fred? It's been over half an hour since we headed in," Ron said.

    "Well, Fred and I were talking to Tara for a little while, but then she had to go somewhere," Harry said, not wanting to reveal Tara's secret, "and Fred's talking to George now."

    "Oh. Tara still seems a bit strange to me," Hermione said.

    "Yeah. Yeah, I thought so too, at least at first," Harry said.

    "Well, what changed your mind?" Alex asked.

    "I can't tell you, at least not yet. And no, Hermione, it's not just you that I'm not going to tell, it's everyone," Harry said, remembering the argument that they had had just recently about him not being open with her.

    "Oh, Harry, I told you it didn't matter!" Hermione said, sounding exasperated.

    "I know. I'm only kidding, Hermione," Harry said, laughing at her reaction.

    "Well, I'm going to help Mum with dinner. Maybe then she won't think I'm worthless anymore," Ron said.

    "She doesn't think you're worthless!" Ginny said, laughing at Ron.

    "I feel like I should help, too. I mean, I barely know your family, and here I am staying with them. I feel like I ought to do my share of the work," Alex said. She and Ron headed to the kitchen. Hermione, too, rose.

    "I have some reading that I need to do," she explained, and she headed towards Ginny's room. That left only Harry and Ginny. Harry met her eyes, and he felt something odd. It wasn't the usual feeling he got when he saw Ginny. Something felt wrong. He felt angry, and he didn't feel like himself at all. He felt lost within himself, and he felt the anger rising. Just as quickly as it had risen, however, he felt the anger subside, and he felt glad to be around Ginny again.

    "Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked him.

    "Yeah, why?" he asked her.

    "Oh, no reason. It's just that, well, you seemed odd right then," Ginny said.

    "What do you mean, odd?" Harry asked her.

    "I dunno, I can't explain it, but something didn't feel right. It's like it wasn't even you," Ginny said.

    "Oh. I don't know what you mean," Harry lied quickly. He didn't want to alarm Ginny. What would she think if he told her that he had felt as though he were a different person, as though someone that wasn't him was controlling him. The only time he had ever felt like that was when he had been able to see what Voldemort was doing, the time he had seen Mr. Weasley attacked. He could tell that whatever had come over him wasn't evil, but it hadn't been him.

    "Are you sure? Because Harry, I think something weird is happening. And not just to you. To me, too. Sometimes I feel like I'm not myself, like someone else is there. And a couple of times, I've called people by the wrong names," Ginny said.

    "Nothing so unusual about that. People mix up names all the time," Harry said.

    "I called Hermione Rowena," Ginny said.

    "Rowena?" Harry asked.

    "Now do you believe that something weird is going on? I would never call Hermione Rowena, Harry, it wasn't me, it was someone else. I KNOW what it's like to be possessed," Ginny reminded him.

    "Yeah. Yeah, you do. Hermione's been calling me Godric," Harry admitted.

    "What is going on?" Ginny asked.

    "I don't know," Harry said.

    "I don't know, either. Tara would know something, if it had to do with Voldemort, but I'm not sure that it does," Ginny said.

    "You know about Tara?" Harry asked her.

    "Yeah. I figured she would tell you sooner or later," Ginny said.

    "Well, she did, Mary," Harry said.

    "Mary?" Ginny asked him.

    "Oh. That's not good, is it?" Harry asked.

    "No, it's not good, Godric!" Ginny said.

    "Godric?" Harry asked.

    "Oh, dear," Ginny muttered, and she lay her head on his chest.