Araminta Malfoy-Potter: Taking Hogwarts

I wanted to respond to some of the amazing reviews I've had to far--thank you for the feedback! Not everyone reads the review threads, and I fear I've too many characters to fit into the submission form, so I must include my notes at the beginning of the file.

First, I wish to correct my error in an earlier chapter. "Bring Me to Life" is the correct title of the song by Evanescence. Also, I failed to note that Melannen is a real person, if not the type to skip school like that!

I don't have room to respond to everyone, but I will answer a few questions.

Araminta is a name from OotP. She's on the Black family tree, and that's how Draco chose the name. It's quite significant. Her name is obviously not Mary-Sue. This is a story about Araminta.

Malefika, I think you're my most dedicated reviewer! I do read the reviews, actually. And I've read Draco Dormiens. It was the first piece of HP fanfiction I ever read.

Araminta's time will come. Trouble lies ahead, Jessamy! (Er, was that a spoiler?)

XXIX.

Just then a new girl came to the Slytherin table. She was hulking and looked uncomfortable with herself, and she was always blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Hey, Selene," said Araminta without thinking.

The other girl's eyes turned into slits. "My name isn't Selene, it's Millicent. Who the #&*% are you?"

"I'm Araminta Ma..." said Araminta. Oh no. She couldn't tell them her real name. They would ask too many questions and then she'd have to explain that she was a very powerful witch stuck in the past at the present.

Araminta cleared her throat and started again. "My name is Araminta Malpot, but you can call me Minta if you want."

Millicent grunted. "Where are you from?"

Draco answered for Minta. "She's a transfer student from Japan, ne?"

"Hai, Draco-kun," said Araminta.

"Why are you wearing those stupid clothes?" said Millicent.

"Huh?" said Minta.

"You look funny. Slyths wear green and silver, not green and gold," said Millicent with a mean look in her eye.

"Well, I'm not exactly a Slyth," said Minta. A shocked gasp flew up from the Slytherin table and hung over their heads like a low-flying cloud. "It turns out that I have qualities of a Gryffindor, like bravery, and qualities of a Slytherin, like cunning. The Sorting Hat couldn't decide where to put me, so it made me a Slythindor."

A murmur circled around the Slytherin table. In the end, everyone looked to Draco for the final decision because he was the leader of the Slytherins. He shrugged and said, "The hat put the Slyth part first. I'm down with that."

"In that case, welcome to Slytherin," said everybody.

Minta smiled happily into her pumpkin juice.

***

XXX.

After dinner, Draco leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. "So, who wants to play Truth or Dare?"

"Me! Me!" shouted Pansy. Millicent grunted too, and some other unnamed Slytherins raised their hands.

"Well, come on then," said Draco, and he put on his prefect badge and led them down to the Slytherin common room which was located in the dungeon. When they got to the entry place Draco said the password just loud enough that Araminta could hear it: "Bad is the new good."

Araminta repeated the password a few times to herself in case she ever needed it again. She figured that she'd probably hang out in the Slytherin common room sometimes, but she'd probably stay in her own room unless her friends were going to be there.

The Slytherin common room was really nice. It looked like it had some new furniture. One of the chairs still had the tag on it and Araminta could see where it said 'IKEA.'

Draco flopped down on a couch, and everyone stood waiting. "Well, sit down," he said, sneering. "Who is going to be first?"

"Pansy," said Millicent.

"Blaise," said Pansy.

"Flint," said Blaise. So it was true, Araminta saw. There was always at least one stupid Flint brother hanging around and failing all of his classes.

Flint looked at Araminta and pointed. "That...girl."

At least he knows I have a gender

, thought Araminta.

"Millicent, you can go first," Draco drawled.

"Um, truth?" said Millicent.

Draco thought for a minute. "Okay, what's something about you that nobody here knows?"

Millicent looked at everyone nervously. "Um, I just have a mom and no dad."

Draco snorted. "So? Lots of people are divorced."

"Well, actually..." Millicent stopped herself and blushed. "Never mind. Pansy can be next."

Araminta leaned over and whispered in Millicent's ear even though Millicent had a big chunk of earwax there. "Ask her who she likes."

Millicent glared at Minta. "She hasn't said if it's going to be truth or dare yet! Pansy, truth or dare."

Pansy said, "Dare."

Araminta was disappointed, but interested to see what Pansy would have to do for a dare.

Millicent scrunched her nose while she thought and blew the bangs out of her eyes. "Um, Pansy, I want you to go wake up Professor Snape and tell him that you need some advice on dating."

Pansy's eyes got as big as saucers. "No, I can't!" she said.

"Yes, you can," said Draco. "All you have to do is find him and ask him. Don't be such a chicken."

"All right, fine," Pansy said and she stomped out of the room.

"Millicent, you go too and make sure she asks Snape for advice about her love life," said Draco.

Millicent stomped out behind Pansy and Minta could hear them arguing as they walked down the corridor.

"Now it's your turn, Flint," said Draco. "Minta, what should we ask him?"

Now it was Minta's turn to laugh. "He didn't say if he wants truth or dare yet!"

"Oh, right," said Draco. "Flint, truth or dare?"

Flint scratched his head and said, "Truth, I guess."

This was easy. Araminta said, "What's the grossest thing you've ever seen?"

Flint's eyeballs bulged out and his eyebrows shot skyward. "Once I saw Flich and Professor McGonagall in the Great Hall and when they thought nobody was looking, they kissed each other with tongue!"

"You're pulling our legs," said Draco. "No way did you see McGonagall kissing Filch."

"Oh," said Flint stupidly. "Well, maybe it was someone else."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You are really stupid, Flint. Can't you even remember who it was?"

Flint was so stupid that he didn't even answer him back. He just rolled over on the couch and ate some candy from a dish on the coffee table.

"Okay, Blaise, it's your turn," said Draco.

"Why does it always have to be my turn?" Blaise intoned.

"It hasn't been your turn yet and I'm not ready to go. So it's your turn. Blaise, truth or dare?"

"Dare," said Blaise.

"Okay, show us your underwear," said Draco.

Blaise said, "Uh oh, I just remembered something really important I have to do. Oh, I have a detention, yeah, a detention. I just forgot about it until now." Blaise ran out.

Draco looked over at Araminta. "Okay, your turn, Araminta. Truth or dare?

***

XXXI.

Araminta got really nervous. What if he asked her a question she couldn't answer? Well, maybe she could answer the questions, but it wasn't like she could tell Draco Malfoy that he was her dad. He'd never believe her anyway.

"Um, okay," she laughed a little. "Dare, Draco."

Draco flipped back his platinum blond hair and his pale eyes went wide. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want a dare," said Araminta, who felt suddenly bold.

"Okay, then," said Draco. "Araminta, I want you to go into the Forbidden Forest and bring back a toadstool to prove you were there. There are some purple ones that grow right on the very edge. Bring back one of those."

Araminta looked out of the dungeon window (she had to stand on a chair to look out of it, because it was just a little narrow one up near the ceiling). The sun was setting and long pink clouds were hanging in the sky. Pretty soon it would be dark. Maybe even before she got outside.

"Draco, are you sure it is safe?" asked Araminta fearfully.

Draco sneered. "You're part Gryffindor, aren't you? Yeah, I think it's safe. You only have to go in a couple of feet." His stormy gray eyes grew calm and he looked around to make sure nobody was listening. "I feel like you're my sister or something. I wouldn't let you go anywhere dangerous."

Araminta smiled and Draco smiled back.

"Okay. I'll go get a purple toadstool for my dare!" said Araminta. She got up and pulled her green and gold robes close and made sure that her hair was in a tight braid down to her knees. "I'll be right back!"

"I'll be waiting right here," said Draco, looking bored.

Araminta walked out of the Slytherin common room and into the hall. She walked up the stairs and out the front door, closing it behind her.

By then only a little bit of light was left and it was damp and chilly. A little bit of rain was falling and everything was slippery. Araminta suddenly wished that she had her bodyguard and personal house-elf, Bollocksy, there to help her. It was a long way across the slippery, wet grass to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest.

Then Araminta laughed. This was an easy dare. She had figured out the whole thing.

***

XXXII.

It was so easy to run across in her unicorn Animagus form that Araminta would have laughed out loud if she had been a person. Instead of slipping on the wet grass, her unicorn hooves magically adhered to the grass and kept her from falling down. She galloped across the ground, feeling her silvery mane flapping in the wind.

Araminta vaulted over Hagrid's garden and raced along the outside edge of the forest. It felt so free to run so fast and take big breaths of clean air. She knew that her unicorn form could run forever and never tire.

Finally, Araminta remembered that she had a dare to do and she stopped, prancing back and forth. She lit up her unicorn horn for light and walked toward the forest. "If I were a purple toadstool," she whinnied, "where would I hide?"

She looked and looked but she only saw red, blue, green, and yellow toadstools. "Draco said they would be close to the edge," she whinnied. "Maybe he didn't mean this close," she decided. She cantered under the canopy of trees, her feet clip-clopping on the ground.

There was a soft, rustling sound in the bushes. Araminta peered into the darkness, but even her sharp unicorn vision didn't show her anything. There was another rustle, and she turned to see, but still there wasn't anything here but Araminta wasn't worried. Her unicorn senses were just heightened.

She raised her nose into the air and sniffed. She could smell the color purple off in the distance somewhere so she pointed herself into the forest and began to walk over fallen logs and pine needles. It was completely dark by now but that didn't matter. Unicorns can see in the dark, and besides, she had her softly glowing horn to guide her on the way.

Araminta hummed a happy tune, which wasn't quite as pretty as what she could sing with her witch's song magic, but quite nice nonetheless. Since she missed Fawkes-Iolanthe, she decided to sing an oldie but goodie in her honor, 'Imaginary' by Evanescence. (If she'd been reading, she'd probably have put on this CD.)

I linger in the doorway

Of alarm clock screaming

Monsters calling my name

Let me stay

Where the wind will whisper to me

Where the raindrops

As they're falling tell a story

The rain started falling hard through the trees on Araminta, but she still hadn't found a purple toadstool to take to Draco.

In my field of paper flowers

And candy clouds of lullaby

I lie inside myself for hours

And watch my purple sky fly over me

Araminta wanted more than purple sky. She wanted that purple toadstool.

Don't say I'm out of touch

With the rampant chaos--your reality

I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge

The nightmare I built my own world to escape

Araminta sat down on a log for a minute and sighed. If she didn't find the toadstool, she'd be out here all night. Her eyes were getting grainy and sandy with tiredness. She rested her unicorn head against the trunk of a tree and she was getting ready to close her eyes when a ghostly yellow glow started coming her way.

***

XXXIII.

The ghostly yellow glowball came closer and closer. Araminta had been sitting funny and her back legs were asleep. She swished her tail and tried to stand, but she could only drag herself forward and forward was a direction she really didn't want to go in because she wasn't sure what the glowball was going to turn out to be. It could be really dangerous!

Araminta whinnied a sad, scared sort of whinny and finally the glowball came into the clearing. She started to shiver in fear, and then she stopped right away. After all, she was Gryffindor. She stood up to meet the ghost head-on.

A man and a woman stepped out of the yellow glow. They were both very tall, they both had pointed ears, and they both were carrying a bow and arrows. "Transform. Do not be afraid, youngling."

Araminta shook off her unicorn form and rubbed the circulation back into her legs. "Who are you?" she asked, amazed.

"We are Elves of Middle Earth," they said together. "We are here to deliver a prophecy."

Araminta counted quickly on her fingers. "I know! I know! You're here to deliver the prophecy about my fathers' foretold love!"

The elves looked at each other. "We sense that you are a time-traveler, as we are. We have come back in time to repair a rift. Tell us, what is this prophecy that you know?"

"Well," said Araminta, "Daddy Harry said that he was waiting outside of Dumbledore's office and that he heard 'Potter will find true happiness in the arms of a Malfoy.' He knew right away that he needed Daddy Draco to be happy. Then, some elves came out. You must be those elves!" She squealed and clapped her hands together in delight. "It's soooo romantic!"

The female elf sighed gently and took Araminta's hand. "That is the problem. It has been a plague on Harry Potter that he is to be the victim of misheard prophecies. It is no accident that you are here, Araminta Malfoy-Potter. We spoke with Dumbledore and arranged for him to give you a Time-Turner in the hope that we could convince you to come back in time, though we find that you've come back remarkably well on your own. The future as you know it is not correct."

The male elf snorted. "Harry Potter was always one for taking fate into his own hands, rather than letting it happen."

The female elf nodded. "We only provide prophecies for our own. Several human generations ago, an elf fell in love with a witch. He had no great love for humans, and trained his family in his beliefs. Now, a half-breed of ours sits in the school, unsure of his place in this world, and without outside influence, he might fail to find his true love." She gave Araminta a grave look. "And you might fail to be born. And the prophecy will not come true."

Araminta was puzzled and afraid. "I don't understand."

The male elf took his turn to speak. "Time travel is a tricksy business. We've arrived here too late to stop ourselves from giving Dumbledore the prophecy." He closed his eyes as if he heard something only he could hear. "Even now, Harry Potter hears his future told and searches the castle for his one true love. Even now, your mother weeps in her room because she saw you kissing Draco Malfoy this afternoon at the very time she chose to make up with him, and even now she is not carrying the child she should be."

"Hold on," said Araminta. "Do you mean to say that Daddy Draco and Daddy Harry aren't my real parents? That they're not my fathers?"

The elves shook their heads. "Yes, and no. You have a true mother, Araminta, and she is so pure-hearted that she could not bear to stand in the way of a foretold love, so she stepped aside. She has tried to stay nearby the ones she loves, though, all these years."

Araminta knew who it was right away. "Aunt Hermione is really my mother." She thought she was going to be sick.

"Yes," said the female elf, "and Draco Malfoy is your father. However, they will not be your parents unless you help them to love one another all over again. If you do not succeed, you yourself will fade into the mists of time. We cannot help you any more. We have already overstepped our boundaries and can alter the course of time no more. Araminta, you must save yourself." They turned to go.

"Wait!" said Araminta, running after them. "But what about the prophecy? The part that says 'Potter will find true happiness in the arms of a Malfoy'?"

The elves looked at her with pity. "Dear child of our line, can you not imagine who that Malfoy might be?" Then, they disappeared in a glowing, misty haze.

"Oh Merlin, it's me," Araminta whispered to herself.

***

XXXIV.

Araminta sauntered slowly back to the castle. She didn't even feel like turning back into a unicorn on the way. This had to be the most horrible day of her life. Her family was nothing like she thought it was. Her daddies didn't really love each other. She had her awful, awful Aunt Hermione for a mother, and there was the possibility that she wasn't even going to be born.

She wasn't really paying attention to where she was walking. Suddenly, she realized that she was standing outside the Slytherin common room. "Bad is the new good," she said, feeling more terrible than ever.

Draco was still on the couch, looking beautiful in an otherworldly way. "Hey, Minta, you didn't bring back a toadstool. What happened?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Araminta fell to the floor, sobbing and shaking like there was no tomorrow. Heck, for all she knew, there really was no tomorrow. She'd screwed up everything just by being here, and she might never be born, meaning that she couldn't come back in time, and that the world would be messed up forever.

Draco kneeled down next to her and touched her hair, which had come loose from its braid and was covering her like a cloak. "Minta, don't cry. It can't be that bad."

"Y-y-yes it can," she sobbed.

"Does your dad want you to become a Death Eater?" he muttered coldly.

"Worse," sobbed Minta.

"Oh, Minta," said Draco, and he gathered her up in his arms and carried her back to the couch. He held her in his arms and let her cry, stroking her hair in a way that reminded Araminta of the future, the future she might never get to have. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry."

Araminta sobbed harder, trying not to drip on her dad. Finally, she curled up close to him and they slept together on the couch.

The next thing she knew, a cold rush of air was waking her up and Aunt Hermione--no, Mom--was walking into the Slytherin common room. Her hair was bushy and tangled and it looked like she had been crying too. When she saw Draco and Araminta entwined on the couch, she jumped to the wrong conclusion and her jaw dropped.

"How could you?" Hermione asked Draco as he blinked his silvery eyes sleepily. "We only broke up yesterday!" She turned around and fled the room.

"Granger, wait!" shouted Draco, and he started to get up from the couch but Araminta pushed him back down.

"It's all my fault," she said unhappily. "Let me at least try talking to her first, okay? After all, we're both girls so we understand each other better."

"Okay," Draco agreed reluctantly.

Araminta steeled herself and walked out to find Hermione. She was going to make Hermione date Draco, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer. After all, if they didn't date, they'd never get married, and Minta might never be born.

It was a matter of life and death.

***

XXXV.

Araminta caught up with Hermione outside of the Gryffindor common room. "Hermione, wait up."

Hermione, who had been about to give the password, stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her cinnamon-brown eyes met Araminta's gray-green ones. "What could you possibly want?" she snapped.

"I-I-I," Minta panted. She was out of breath from running up all those stairs after she'd already had a run in her unicorn form on the same day. "I want you to know..."

The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Harry looked out. "Hermione, come on in. Who is your friend?"

"She's not my friend!" Hermione spat.

"Oh, right. You're the new girl--the transfer from Japan, right?" said Harry. "You can come in too, since you're part Gryffindor."

Minta smiled at her dad--actually, her future boyfriend, she realized--and accepted his offer to come in to the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione came in too, huffing and sniffing. "Look, I need to talk to Harry, and it's very important, so I think you should be the one to leave."

"Calm down, Hermione," said Harry. "What are you so worked up about?"

"That girl, the one you're talking to...she--she--argh!" said Hermione. Araminta guessed that no one knew about the secret love between Hermione and Draco.

"I what?" Araminta asked sweetly. She supposed she should love Hermione, since Hermione was her mom, but she also wanted her to suffer a bit longer for never telling her the truth and for being so stuffy all the time.

Finally, Araminta turned to Harry. She wanted to look at his beautiful green eyes, to smooth down his messy black hair, and to tell him the truth: that she was destined for him, and him for her. However, if she didn't clear up this mess with Hermione and her real dad first, there would be no future for them. "I think Hermione means that she's in the mood for a little girl talk, Harry," she said. "Could you leave us alone for a few minutes? I think we should all talk together in fifteen more minutes."

"Sure thing," said Harry. "I'll be in my dormitory if you need anything." He looked at the two girls and then stalked off to his room.

"We need to talk," Araminta said to Hermione. "It's very important."

"Oh no we don't," said Hermione. "A picture paints a thousand words. Do you know what picture I saw tonight? I saw you and my ex-boyfriend on the couch, making out or possibly even having foreplay. Did he tell you that we only just broke up with each other, or did you come up for air long enough to let him tell you? You were certainly sucking face hard enough in the corridor today. I wonder what else you do?"

"No, no, it wasn't like that at all!" cried Araminta, startled. Ew, Draco was her dad. "The kiss was an accident, and we fell asleep on the couch after Draco comforted me--"

Hermione snorted. "So that's what you're calling it nowadays. I don't want to see your ugly face ever again!"

Araminta was fed up. She wasn't ugly or easy like her mom seemed to think. She opened her mouth to reply but Hermione walked into her Head Girl bedroom and slammed the door.

Araminta decided to go to bed and work on her problems in the morning. It would all seem easier after she'd had a good night's sleep.

***

XXXVI.

Well, Araminta was wrong. She didn't really feel better in the morning. If anything, she felt worse. It was going to be a fight for her life.

In the meantime, though, she had to get to class. She sat up in her bed and tried to untangle her hair. "Bollocksy, bring me a brush," she commanded before she remembered that Bollocksy hadn't come back in time with her. On the other hand, she was part-elf--maybe that would have some magical advantages?

Araminta squeezed her eyes shut tight and thought so hard that she made orange juice from concentrate. After she drank her orange juice, she Summoned a pair of scissors and enchanted them to cut her hair. Then, she Vanished all the clippings. She bounded out of bed and over to the mirror.

Her head felt so much lighter! Instead of having long, platinum blond hair down to her knees, she had platinum blond hair which fell in soft layers at her shoulders. She sort of missed her lowlights, but decided that she had more important things to do today than fiddle with her hair. She waved her wand to apply her makeup, put on a fresh set of green and gold robes, and headed downstairs to breakfast.

Araminta stopped at the door and sniffed. Belgian waffles for breakfast! She hoped this was a good omen. She walked toward the Slytherin table, but Harry snagged her sleeve and pulled her down beside him. "Come sit with us, Araminta."

Araminta shot a glance over to Draco. "It's okay," she mouthed.

Harry saw this. "Don't tell me you've got a crush on Draco Malfoy too?" He rolled his eyes. "Half the school does." He looked like he was going to say something else, and Araminta knew he was thinking about the prophecy. However, Harry just shook his head and spooned up more Cream of Wheat.

"You should have some of this, Araminta," he said. "It will warm you right up and keep you warm while you watch Quidditch tryouts. It's kind of cold out today."

"Quidditch tryouts?" asked Araminta. "Today?"

"Yes," Harry laughed. "Hey, why don't you try out too? Or did you not have Quidditch in Japan?"

"Oh yeah, we did," replied Araminta, suddenly glad that Harry and Draco had taught her so much about Quidditch growing up. "I was following the Tengu for a while."

"Then come on out and give it a try!" Harry said, looking pleased. "We need some new blood."

Araminta noticed Hermione's scowl. "Oh, I forgot. I don't have a broom."

"Oh, Hermione will loan you hers," Harry said airily. "She never uses it. I got it for her last year, and you guys have the same body type, so it should fit you perfectly."

"Um, okay," said Araminta. Hermione just scowled into her Cheerios. "What time are the tryouts?"

"Eleven-thirty," said Harry. "Wear something comfortable to play in. Did you cut your hair?"

"Yes," said Araminta, pleased. She put a hand to her head self-consciously. "I'm surprised anybody noticed."

"He might be blind, but anyone would notice that you cut about four feet right off!" Hermione slammed her spoon down on the table. "I can't stand to watch this. Going to cut a swath right through every house, or isn't one enough for you?"

Araminta shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Can we talk about his somewhere else?"

"No," said Hermione coldly. "We don't need to talk about this at all."

Hermione got up from her seat and picked up her big stack of books. "I'll see you later Harry, Ron." She sneered at Araminta one more time and stomped out of the Great Hall.

"That went well," Araminta said, to no one in particular.

***

XXXVII.

At eleven thirty, Araminta met Harry and Ron at the Quidditch pitch. Harry hadn't been able to get Hermione's broom, so Araminta had borrowed Draco's. It was really fancy and expensive.

A big crowd had gathered around. "Okay, everybody, we're going to give you some tests and see who should play in which position. First, mount your broom and take a lap around the Quidditch pitch. Last one back is a big loser!" said Ron, who wasn't captain but wanted to be.

Araminta leaped into the air and flew around the Quidditch pitch like a lightning bolt. She was the first person back by a long shot, which was no surprise. She was flying on a magnificent broom and had been flying for years anyway.

"All right, this time with Bludgers!" cried Harry, letting them loose from their trunk. Araminta zoomed ahead, dodging the flying balls. A few students were knocked from their brooms, taking away some of the competition.

Then, everyone was placed into groups of three and they had to pretend to be Chasers and try to make a shot. Araminta passed the Quaffle to the other players, and let them put it through the hoop.

"One last test," said Harry, who was holding something that was small and vibrating in his hand. "You have to try to beat me in grabbing my favorite ball."

He opened his hand and the golden Snitch flew into the air, buzzing around their heads. Everyone gave a big shout and hopped back onto their brooms, looking for the little ball.

Araminta stayed on the ground for a minute, tracking the Snitch with her sixth sense, just like Harry and Draco had taught her to do. This one had a predictable pattern: Fly close to the Ravenclaw stands, make a circle, loop back around past Hufflepuff, a figure eight, then zoom under the Slytherin bleachers, past Gryffindor, and then it started the whole pattern again. Araminta pretended to tie her shoe to give everyone a head start, then she flew over by the Hufflepuff stands and waited.

When the Snitch fluttered by, she reached out her hand to grab it and Harry came at the same time, his hand flexing convulsively over hers. He paused in mid-air, his green eyes meeting her gray-green ones and an unreadable expression on his face.

"How did you know where it would be?" he asked her.

"I was taught by a master," she said, blushing slightly. She'd always known Harry was handsome, but she hadn't really noticed because he was her dad. Now that he was her future lover, she was very aware that he was close to her on his broom and that they were very high in the air. If her knees got weak, she might just fall off her broom!

"You're really good," Harry admitted.

"It's all your fault, really," said Araminta. "I watched you to see what to do."

Harry hadn't let go of her hand and she could feel the Snitch twitching against her palm. "Maybe we should fly down," she said, finally.

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said, his eyes glazed. He let go and Araminta raised the Snitch over her head to signal that she had it.

A loud cheer erupted from the other kids who were trying out. Araminta was a little embarrassed because she knew Harry wasn't used to missing the Snitch. When he was older, he never missed. Araminta knew she'd only beaten him because he was still a kid and because he'd trained her so hard.

"Wow, Araminta," said Ron admiringly. "Guess you'll be on the team."

"Yeah, guess so," Araminta replied. "But only if Harry wants me to be."

She looked at Harry for confirmation.

His face broke into a grin. "Sure. No way will Slytherin be able to beat us now!"

Araminta thought he was really cute, but he was especially cute when he smiled. She was lucky that her foretold love hadn't been Flint, or worse, Filch.

Just then Madam Hooch came onto the field. "I'll sign you up for Quidditch right now. What's your name?"

"Araminta Mal-Malpot," Araminta said, catching herself just in time. She supposed that if everything worked out, she'd someday have that name again.

Madam Hooch gasped. "You're the transfer student from Japan who is a Slythindor." She clucked her tongue.

"So?" asked Araminta warily.

'"Well, according to Hogwarts rules, you have to play for your House team. However, you are in two different Houses, Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" asked Ron, his face screwing up comically.

Madadm Hooch gave Araminta a sharp look. "I hope you really like Quidditch, because you'll be playing for both Gryffindor and Slytherin."

For the first time in her life, Araminta fainted.

Well, it had been a hard couple of days.

***

XXXVIII.

Araminta woke up in the hospital wing, and the first thing she saw was the faces of Harry and Draco hovering over her. "Are you okay?" asked Harry.

"Hey, I was going to say that! Are you okay, Araminta?" said Draco, who was glaring at Harry.

"Now, don't get all angry for nothing. We agreed that we wouldn't fight around Araminta, remember?" said Harry.

"Oh, right," said Draco. Araminta could tell he was still mad.

"What happened?" Araminta rubbed her eyes. "I was practicing for Quidditch--no, there were tryouts for Quidditch, and..."

"And you fainted," said Harry helpfully.

"I've never fainted in my life," said Araminta. "I didn't think I knew how," she laughed weakly.

"Madam Pomfrey checked you out and said she didn't think there was anything seriously wrong with you. Just maybe not enough sleep and not enough vitamins. Maybe you should come to lunch with me," said Draco.

"Or, you could join us at the Gryffindor table," said Harry.

Araminta thought for a minute. She loved both of them in different ways, and since she knew them so well she knew that any minute now they were going to have an argument. "I have a better idea. Let's take a picnic out by the lake and eat outside," she said.

The boys looked at each other and gray eyes meet flashing green ones. "I'm sure Draco wouldn't want to come along. He might get his expensive designer leather pants dirty, or smudge his eyeliner."

Draco scowled. "Well, Potter only wants to eat outside because he stinks so much they won't let him in the castle!"

"Stop it, both of you," Araminta said. Harry actually looked hurt; she knew that Draco probably was but wasn't letting it show. "I want you both to come with me. And before we go outside, I want you to declare a truce. There can be no fighting when you come on my picnic, or I'll leave."

Draco rolled his eyes and gave in first. "Oh, all right. I will if he will."

"Fine," said Harry, and he stuck out his hand. Draco grabbed it and they shook hands, but Harry held Draco's a little bit too long, Araminta thought. She was going to have to move quickly before Harry fell in love and she had to break his heart.