The Heirs of Dreams

Chapter Fourteen

"You do know that when he wakes...he won't be the same? The spell will have broken and he truly will have hate for you, honest hate," Severus replied.

"I know...can't wait," Zora said with a slight chuckle.

Zora couldn't stand the sight of Draco's weak body any longer. She turned and walked out of the room, the door closing loudly behind her. She looked up and down the nearly vacant hall set off just for the six of them. The only people she saw were the Aurors standing outside each person's private room, protecting those sleeping within.

She began to walk quietly towards her room when the door across from hers opened and closed suddenly.

"Hullo, Zorro," a cheerful voice called to her.

"Hey, George," Zora replied with a small smile as she stepped away from her room and greeted George in the middle of the hall.

George took a step forward and gave her a warm embrace as if they were meeting at the Burrow and not a closed hospital wing. Zora half expected him to be awkward or hesitant in some way, but then she reminded herself that George could never be awkward or hesitant.

"Just come from Ron's room..." he said as he took a step back from her and indicated to the door behind him. "I'd stay clear of there, Hermione's with him now...they were arguing when I left...probably making up by now if you know what I mean?"

"Thanks, George," Zora replied with a chuckle as she eyed the closed door.

"Speaking of making up...hear from Fred yet?" George asked curiously.

"No...he still hasn't visited or owled or...well, anything," Zora replied with a twinge in her heart.

"Ron and Harry, they explained the whole Draco thing to me...although I still can't understand why you would ever prefer him to a good Weasley, spell or not," George smirked. "The thing is Fred was there too."

Zora took in a deep breathe and folded her arms around her stomach as she listened to George continue.

"He knows but...he's still angry. Maybe I can lock him in your room for a while and you can straighten him out for a bit?"

"I think I'd rather him not be forced, but thanks for the thought anyway," Zora smiled.

"My pleasure...oh! And don't visit Ginny either. I hear, Harry's in there with her," George smiled. "I think I'll go play big brother...give you the full update after I scare the pants off Harry...I sure hope they're still on."

With that last thought, George grew a worried look over his eyes that Zora had never seen before and almost ran to Ginny's room, the last in the long hall. With a quiet smile, Zora thought it best to enter the safety of her room where she would be safe of all possible hexes.

When she reached her door, she gave her Auror, a polite woman with long brown hair, a smile as she usual did when entering her room. Her Auror returned her smile and gave her a wink as Zora opened her door and went inside. There, sitting on her bed, was Fred.

He jumped nervously from the bed as she entered and stood awkwardly before her. Zora immediately closed the heavy door and rushed to him. Once she reached him, she suddenly realized she didn't know what to do. She wanted the have him hold her and kiss her, but she remembered that he was still completely livid with her. She could see it in the red patches around his face, he was still angry.

"I...I just want to know if it's true," Fred said after long and awkward moment of silence.

"If what's true?" Zora asked as she awkwardly folded her arms over her hospital gown.

"Did you really kiss him?" Fred asked with pain in his eyes.

"Fred, I-," Zora began in an attempt to explain everything.

"Did you kiss Draco or not?" Fred interrupted her, his anger rising in his voice. "That's all I want to know."

"Yes," Zora replied quietly.

"Why?" Fred continued his torture.

"Because..." Zora began, trying to find a way to explain. "Draco and I are connected in a way I can't even begin to explain. He's part of who I am...of what I am. And that's something that's never going to change...something I can't change."

"I don't think I understand...they tried to explain but...it just doesn't make any sense to me," Fred replied as he scratched at his red hair.

"I'm not like other girls I guess is the best way to put it. Draco is my soul mate," Zora continued as she watched Fred's face sink, "and I will always have a connection with him. If I hadn't been taken away to the orphanage, Draco and I would be married right now...and I would be pregnant with our son as we speak."

"Ok...maybe I don't want to hear this," Fred said quickly as he stepped away from Zora and to the center of the room.

"I just don't want to lie anymore...if you can't deal with this then ...well, I guess you should go, I'll understand," Zora said although in her heart she didn't want him to go.

When he just stood in the middle of the room, she realized that he was actually debating on whether or not to leave the room or not. His head was bent as if he was examining his shoes and his hands were shoved in the recesses of his pockets. If he did turn, if he did leave, she would not stop him. Instead she would cry her eyes out, collapse on her bed, and refuse to go on living.

"I..." he began with a deep sigh as he scratched his red hair. "Damn it, Zora...he's Draco bloody Malfoy!" he burst out loud.

"Fred, he's no different than me. Like I told you, we're the same. Do you despise me like you do the rest of them?"

Fred only looked at her, his ears turning a shade of red as he stared at her.

"Ok...sorry I asked that," she laughed nervously. "Fred you know me...I'm no different than I was before now...you just know a little more about me and where I come from."

"No...the girl I knew wouldn't have lied to me...kept things from me...and she damn well would not have gone behind my back with Draco Malfoy!"

"I never meant to hurt you," she replied, feeling suddenly weak and helpless as the reality of Fred's words sunk into her ears.

"Well, you did," he replied as he began to back away, towards the door. "But that's who you are, right? And this is who I am...and I can't be with someone I can't trust."

"Fred..." Zora said as she stepped towards him, tears blurring her vision.

"Thanks for getting my brother and sister out of that castle, I appreciate it," Fred said as he placed his hand on the knob.

"Fred...that can't be it," Zora said, not knowing what else to say.

"I can't do anything else, Zee. I'm sorry. Maybe Weasleys and Malfoys just shouldn't mix," he said as the knob turned under his grasp.

"Fred wait!" she said as she took a few steps towards him.

He was already out of the door and had closed it behind him. Zora turned from the door and into the cold hospital room. She stood stunned for a few moments more before the tears really began to sting her eyes. They were falling down her cheeks and sobs were escaping her lips and filling the room with hundreds of tiny echoing whimpers. Who knew that you could actually feel the slow shattering of your heart?

**

Once the six had all recovered as desired, everyone was sent home. Ron and Ginny were sent to the Burrow, Harry and Zora were sent to their rooms at Hogwarts, and Hermione returned home with her parents. Draco remained in the private room with an Auror and private nurse always at his side...still sleeping soundly.

Harry walked through the quiet hallways as he ran his hand through his ruffled hair. He yawned as he came to the familiar painting in the middle of the hallway. Even through the hall was completely dark, the sunshine glowed from the paint and the trees blew in the invisible wind. Harry stretched his hand to the thick frame and lifted the painting from the wall and entered the concealed hole in the stone.

"Zora?" he called into the vast room as he descended the staircase. "Are you awake?"

"You kidding me?" she called back, her voice rising to the stairs. "Don't go to sleep till the sun's up at least, you know that."

He walked methodically over to the couch placed at the center of the large room and slumped roughly next to Zora's feet. She smiled calmly at him as she looked up from her book as he yawned.

"Can't sleep?" she smiled over the brim of her book.

"Even when I want to," he replied as he yawned again. "Tomorrow's the start of term."

"Is it already? Didn't feel like that long," Zora said as she closed her book and rested it in her lap.

"Maybe it was all the mischief you've been getting yourself into," Harry commented as he closed his eyes.

"Hey...I don't think I was the only one sliding down the stairs last night," Zora smiled as she eyed Harry.

"Well, at the very least...it was your idea to use the Slytherin shields as sleds."

"You found the Slip-n-Slide grease potion," Zora smiled.

"Well...ok, so we've both gotten into a spot or two along the way," Harry admitted with a smile. "Feel like a kitchen raid?" he asked as he placed a hand over his stomach.

"And I'm the bad influence?" Zora smiled as she set the book down on a small end table next to the couch.

She went to the base of the staircase and pressed one of the stones with the palm of her hand. A few of the stones began to slide out from the stairs revealed a passageway. Weeks within the many halls of Hogwarts, with no constant adult supervision, had allowed Zora and Harry to uncover many secrets lurking within the walls of the large room Zora now called her own. The windows were enchanted, as the ceiling in the Great Hall, to show the view outdoors although no one could see the windows from outside the castle. There were passages to each of the four common rooms, one to the kitchen, three to random classrooms throughout the castle, and one leading underground and out of the castle near the Quidditch practice field.

Zora walked into the passageway, Harry trailing at her feet as they walked through the twisting corridors and narrow passages that lead to the small wooden door covering an empty cupboard in the middle of the kitchen. Zora opened the door and stepped out. She immediatly went to the wooden cupboards lining the walls. She removed a plate and set it on one of the tables before she climbed on top of the table and spread her hands over the platter. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Several objects flew passed her head and around her arms and settled on the platter in front of her. She peeked open her eyes and smiled proudly at her handywork as the sandwhiches she conjured sat on the platter. She had finally begun to appreciate her powers and vowed to use them whenever possible before she lost them again.

"So much for underage magic," Harry commented as he climbed onto the table.

He took one of the sandwiches she had conjured and began to eat it greedily.

"Not wand magic and not an official student anymore," Zora replied as she picked up one of the sandwiches. "You on the other hand, are screwed," she added with a smile.

"Snape tell you who you're having classes with yet?"

"Slytherins again," she sighed as she took another bite of her sandwich. "And I get real grades from day one," she added with a false enthusiasm. Real work was far from exciting for anyone.

"But you're not a student," Harry commented. "Pansy's coming back, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but rule number five hundred and forty something says dependants of staff members of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who are not first admitted as one of the original ten accepted of their year have the opportunity to join in on lessons in exchange for a certified education, although forfeit all privileges of practicing students. No colors...no Quidditch...no common room...no Hogsmeade...no clubs...etcetera etcetera etcetera. But," Zora said as she began to smile, "there's also no points."

"But detention," Harry reminded her.

"Hmm...they'd have to catch me first," Zora replied as she raised her eyebrows.

"Been hanging around Fre-," Harry began before he stopped himself. "I mean...err..."

"It's ok, Harry," Zora assured him. "You can say 'Fred'... 'Fred Fred Fred Fred Fred!' I'm completely positively unquestionably over him."

"Ah huh," Harry replied as he bit into another sandwich.

"Ok...so I still think about every so often, it's nothing big...few more weeks and I'll be good as new," Zora replied, although she sounded closer to trying to convince herself than Harry. "He's right anyway...Weasleys and Malfoys shouldn't mix. At least one of us got a Weasley. How is Ginny?"

"Fine I think," Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Haven't gotten an owl from her in a while...but Dumbledore said we shouldn't send too many, so I guess that's why."

"Hear from anyone else?"

"Hermione and Ron sent owls last week," Harry replied. "You?"

"Snape sent one two days ago...said Draco's still asleep, but he stopped clawing himself finally so it shouldn't be too much longer. Hermione sent a potion she found in one of her books. George sent me a chocolate spider. They started making them in dark chocolate now, says your visit inspired him."

"Wow, that seems so long ago, doesn't it?"

"Our birthday party," Zora recalled. "More specifically known as the other night."

"First night you died, second night Draco died...you're gonna start running out of people to bring back from the dead."

"Considering I already died, I'd be more worried if I were you. You're next in line," Zora smiled.

"Oh don't say that unless you've dreamt it and even in that case I don't think I want to know."

"Remember that...only tell when I dream and even then don't. Any other contradictions on your brain you want to share?"

"Not right now," Harry replied.

"So...what'll it be? Swim in the Lake, more crashing down stairs, or racing through the Quidditch field?"

"Scaring the Giant Squid, waking the ghosts, or running into trees you can't see in the dark."

"Do ghosts sleep?" Zora asked curiously.

"I have no idea," Harry replied with a deeper thought than usual.

"C'mon! Let's go find out," Zora said as she hopped off of the table.

They ran to the small cupboard they had entered through and raced through the winding passages. They entered Zora's room, the moonlight pouring through the large windows, casting shadows against the broad and smooth stone floor.

They darted at the window farthest to the left. Zora knocked on the window pane three times and opened the golden latch. Instead of opening to the outside of the castle, the window revealed a dark passageway leading to the Slytherin common room. The two darted through the winding passage. This particular passage was longer than the others and much colder as it passed partially underground into the dungeons. Zora crept down on her knees until she was on the ground and pushed the loose stone out from the wall and entered the common room. The room was cold and echoed their steps as they ran to the wall and removed the usual shields from the walls. Zora took one simply green and silver while Harry took one with a large silver serpent on a green background. Both of the shields had the heavy remnants of the slippery potion still covering the colored sides as well as a number of silver streaks through the paint showing where the last batch of the potion had worn off.

Harry ran back to the wall, shield held under his arm, and replaced the stone in the wall before they ran for the exit, laughing the whole way. It really was too bad their chaperoning Aurors had to sleep eight hours a day...it was in those eight hours that Harry and Zora got themselves into an unbelievable amount of trouble, never to be caught. Pity.

They looked over the stairwell's edge as they held the green and silver shields in their hands.

"It's amazing how much trouble you can find when you're bored enough," Zora smiled as she set the metal shield on the edge of the top stair.

"Or sleep deprived enough," Harry commented as he set his shield down with a loud clang echoing through the empty halls.

"It's not my fault we can't sleep. Ok...just remember to steer. You know what happened last night," Zora reminded him as she climbed onto the shield, it slipping momentarily under her before she gained control of it.

"The scar's fading nicely," Harry said as he looked at his elbow before he sat next to her in the serpent shield.

"Ready? One...two...three!"

They pushed off of the stairs and slid down and down. The two had spent the better half of their time in the castle sliding down these stairs. They flew straight, leaned into the turns and curves, and managed to keep themselves sitting upright. Harry remembered their first trip down just as he and Zora leaned together into a sharp turn, narrowly missing each other. During their first slide, they didn't make it past the first turn. But now they were racing down the stone steps, the sounds of the clanging metal echoing through their ears.

"Hey!" Zora called to Harry as they left a turn.

Harry glanced over as she tried to tell him something. Just as he looked over, he saw that the staircase they were riding on changed and connected with a different hallway.

The two almost immediately crashed into a wall and laid sprawled on the floor.

"Ugh," Harry grumbled as he attempted to pick himself up from the floor.

"Agreed," Zora said as she nursed her head. "Why would the stairs pick now to change? They didn't change one other time."

"Where are we? We must be near the Gryffindor common room now," Harry said as he looked at the paintings around him.

"My...God," Zora whispered at his side.

He glanced over at her and saw that she was starring behind them, at the wall they had collided with. Harry looked up and saw it. The girl in the red velvet dress sitting in the green velvet chair and the saddest blue eyes he had ever seen starred back at them.

"That's her, isn't it?" Zora asked as she stood. "That's...my mother."

"Yeah, it is," Harry replied as he cupped his elbow.

"She's...she's beautiful," Zora smiled as she wiped at her eyes. "But...it's not moving, why isn't it moving?"

"It's getting late, Zee...we should start packing for tomorrow," Harry said as he tugged at her arm.

"I want to stay here," she whispered, not taking her eyes from the painting above her head.

Harry felt a bit awkward standing there with her. He slowly backed away and left her alone with her mother. He entered the common room and threw his body on the overstuffed couch in the center of the room and closed his eyes. He lay for an hour, maybe two, and sleep did not come. He grumbled as he picked himself up and went to his bed to lay for another hour and a half before his dreams finally took him over.

**

Harry shoved a few more items into his trunk, trying to make it look more filled than it actually was. Most of his clothes remained hidden under his bed where his roommates were sure not to notice his belongings. His eyes burned from the bright sunlight and he yawned ferociously as he moved.

"You're not really packing all of your things are you?" a musical voice called behind him.

"Course not," he replied with a smile as he slammed the lid of his trunk closed, "is this show completely necessary?"

"You know no one can know we've been here all summer. Everyone's worked really hard to keep it all secret," Zora replied as she sat on his bed.

"Does it really have to be kept a secret?" Harry asked, "It would forge the war on right?"

"Well, I for one don't want the whole world knowing and I'm sure a few others don't either," Zora replied.

"Manage any sleep last night?" Harry asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Do I ever?" she replied.

Despite her smile, Harry knew she hadn't been sleeping. She hadn't slept the night through since they arrived from the hospital. Harry could give her no lectures or advice on the sleep issue. He hadn't slept more than three hours a night either.

"It's weird...I've had so many dreams about her, but I still didn't recognize her picture. Her hair was darker...her eyes too." Zora said suddenly. "She looked...so sad..."

"I always thought that too," Harry said, not knowing what else to say.

"I wish I could have known her...I wish there was something I could do..." Zora trailed off dreamily. "Oh, nevermind," she said with a smile although it was not cheerful, "let's go pretend to arrive at the station."

They all filed into the small train compartment one by one and took their seats. For a while they only looked at each other, none knowing what to say. Dumbledore had instructed them to keep as little contact as possible to not set off too much attention.

Zora took to starring outside the window and watched as the landscape changed with the speed of the train. The silence was getting eerily thick when a giggle erupted. Zora tore her gaze from the window and looked back into the compartment. Hermione of all people had her hand clasped over her mouth and she was desperately trying to not laugh.

"What exactly is so funny?" Ron asked with a curious smile.

"It's just so serious in here," Hermione smiled.

At that, all five of them started laughing uncontrollably.

"Well, I thought Potter's dorky glasses were amusing, but not that damned much," a familiar drawl sounded from the door.

All laughing stopped. Zora looked and felt her mouth drop at the sight of the compartment door. There between Crabbe and Goyle was Draco. "You all look like a bunch of idiotic hyenas," he added with an evil smirk. His cronies laughed on cue and proceeded to the next compartment.

"No comments?...Honestly it's like you lot saw a ghost or something," Draco said with a tone of disgust.

Draco looked back in the hall and back to the compartment with a wide smile. He gave them a wink and a satisfied smirk before continuing to torture the next compartment.

"Well...looks like he's feeling better," Ron broke the tense silence.

Ginny was the first to begin laughing this time, the tension breaking yet again and a sense of happiness filing the small space again. Harry turned and looked outside the window after a while and saw the outline of the castle getting closer. Harry hoped the rest of the year would remain this way. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind...he knew it couldn't. Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder and slipped her hand into his. He smiled comfortably and leaned his head back as he looked out the window.

"Has anyone seen Trevor?" a plump boy was calling through the halls as Harry smiled to himself, they year had officially begun. He wondered rather calmly to himself just when would everything go down hill. It wouldn't take long...

*Continuation to Come*