Harry Potter and the End of Immortality

Nearly two weeks had passed since Harry sent his letters to Dumbledore and Sirius before Hedwig finally came back, bearing two letters and a rather large box of what turned out to be Chocolate Frogs. Despite Harry's insistence that he didn't need anything, his godfather still persisted in sending him occasional gifts that were usually edible.

Harry tore open the letter Dumbledore had sent him, skimmed the contents, and barely managed to control himself enough to not scream with happiness. Snatching his quill up from his desk, he scribbled out a quick letter to Ron:

Ron-Dumbledore says it's safe for me to go over to your house for the rest of break! Hopefully I'll be able to see you soon.

-Harry

He attached this and his second letter to Dumbledore to Hedwig's leg, fed her a quick owl treat and made sure she drank some water, then hurriedly sent her off again. He could go to Ron's house...grinning, he unwrapped a chocolate frog and popped it in his mouth, not bothering to look at the card that fell to the floor.

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Willow sat dejectedly at the kitchen table, waiting impatiently for the telephone to ring. Her mother had Apparated to a job interview about an hour ago and had promised to call when it was through. She was hoping her experience with Muggle schools would get her a teaching position at some wizarding school in Scotland, but Willow had some serious doubts about her mother's ability to control large groups of teenagers. After all, Mum had trouble just managing her own children.

Faith came bouncing into the room happily, her golden hair flowing out behind her as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of pink lemonade. "You want any?"

Willow shook her head slightly, slumping forward and resting her elbows on the table. "Do you think Mum's going to get that job? I don't know if she's really experienced enough in the Dark Arts for it."

Faith carefully poured herself a full glass of lemonade before responding. "Sure, why not? Apparently the school's desperate for positions. People think the job is cursed or something like that because every person who's taught there has had something horrible happen to them."

Willow looked up quickly to see if Faith was telling the truth. She rarely lied about anything, but you never knew. "What sort of horrible things?"

Faith was in the middle of peeling carrots over the sink. "I don't know...one lost his memory or something like that. And I think another got killed."

Willow shivered slightly despite the warmth of the old house. "Why is Mum trying to a job that'll potentially kill her?"

"Oh, you know Maya...any challenge is a good challenge. Besides, we need the money, and the job pays well." Faith carefully set the carrots on a paper towel and brought them over to the table with her lemonade. Noticing the look on her younger sister's face, she quickly added, "Oh, Willow, don't worry so much. Everything will be fine. Maya's not going to die or lose her memory or anything like that. For all I know those are just tall tales some reporter made up."

"Like Rita Skeeter's articles?"

Faith giggled. "Exactly like Rita Skeeter's articles. Only worse. Speaking of which, did you know that Rita Skeeter is taking a year's sabbatical?"

Surprised, Willow shook her head. "Why?"

"I don't know...probably to write a trashy romance novel or something like that. I have to say, Witch Weekly is a lot better off without her. Maybe they'll realize it while she's gone and boot her off the staff."

"Yeah, maybe..." Suddenly the telephone rang and Willow jumped up to get it. "Hello?"

"Willow, honey? Is that you?" Willow felt her heartbeat quicken as she mouthed at Faith, "It's Mum!"

"Yeah, it's me, Mum. Did you get the job?"

"Well, I hate to have to say this, but..."

Willow sighed. "You didn't get it?"

"No, I did!"

"Mum, that's great! Don't do that to me!" Faith grinned at Willow from the table with a look that clearly said, "I told you so!"

"Sorry, darling. Look, what I meant to say is that while it's wonderful that I've gotten this job, it will mean a big change for you girls."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing, while I'm teaching there I won't be able to homeschool you anymore. You'll have to attend this wizarding school instead, and you won't be allowed to practice magic outside of class anymore."

"Why? That's not fair! What do they think we're gonna do, start using the Unforgivable Curses on each other and blow up Muggle houses?"

Her mum sighed then. "Darling, I may trust you, but this school can't be sure that all of the hundreds of students that go there aren't going to cause any trouble."

"Are we going to have to move to Scotland?"

"That's the good news! We won't because it's a boarding school and you girls will sleep in dormitories with everyone else."

Willow considered this for a moment. The prospect of actually being with other people her age excited and frightened her a bit. She knew a couple of other teenagers, but being homeschooled did have its disadvantages socially. Then she remembered that they weren't going to move and frowned to herself. "Uh, Mum?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Could we move anyway? The four of us are dying to get out of here...Ramona was thinking we could try to find a house in the same neighborhood as Alice now that she's settled down with her husband, and...well, you know..." Willow trailed off slowly, not daring to speak of the Incident out loud.

Her mother understood, however. "Oh, absolutely, Willow. I was planning on having us move over by Alice's anyway, only I was thinking we could just wait until next summer. It'd be pointless to buy a house for a month and then leave it to go to Hogwarts for ten months."

Willow grinned at Faith, told her mother she was happy for her, and hung up. "She got the job, Faith!"

Faith raised her eyebrows. "I'm not that stupid, Willow. I could tell from your phone conversation." Laughing, Willow headed upstairs to continue reading the book she had gotten recently. In the hallway she passed Nari, who was dressed a bit...oddly.

"Nari, what are you wearing?" Willow gazed up and down at the sleek outfit; Nari had on tight silver pants and a pale green spaghetti strap tank top.

"Clothes, Willow. What's it to you?" Nari snapped, not even bothering to stop walking to the kitchen, where Faith had the same reaction Willow had.

"Why are you dressed like that?" gasped Faith, gaping at Nari's outfit. It was completely out of character for her; her shoes were about four inches off the ground and her hair was down instead of in its usual bun or braid. Plus, Nari was wearing makeup. Green eyes shadow, silvery lip gloss, and something that made her cheeks glow unnaturally. While it looked pretty, Willow had never known Nari to have such an interest in her own appearance before.

"I'm going out," said Nari simply, grabbing a bottle of iced tea from the fridge. "Tell Mum I'll be back late and not to wait up."

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked Faith, exerting her I'm The Older Sister And You Do As I Say influence. Nari just smirked at her.

"You're a year older than me, Faith, not twenty. Stop acting like you're my mother. Even Maya doesn't try to do that." Turning to Willow, she added, "Why do you call Maya Mum anyway? You're the only person who does in the entire family, you know."

"Because she is my mum!" Willow said, stepping back into the kitchen. Her mother was rather unconventional when it came to child rearing and had always insisted that her daughters call her by her first name.

"Whatever," said Nari without interest. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." She stalked out of the kitchen, swaying her hips as she walked.

"She's gone mad," said Willow in awe.

"No," Faith said sadly, gazing after their sister. "She's trying to fill Erin's place."

Willow gaped at her, shocked that Faith had mentioned her name, but Faith just shrugged. "We've all got to start opening up about it sooner or later, you know. Holding it all in isn't healthy." Tossing her paper towel in the garbage, she glanced at her watch, announced she had to go to her horseback riding session, and went off to get changed, leaving Willow alone in the kitchen.

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Hermione sighed to herself, skimming the list of books she needed to purchase for school that year and wishing she were at Ron's. She had long resigned to the fact that unless Dumbledore let Harry come to the Burrow, she wouldn't be going there either-Ron had said he didn't want Harry feeling left out, which Hermione understood. But a part of her still missed the two of them dreadfully, and she would have given almost anything to have Ron's company for awhile.

Which was why she was stunned with happiness when she got a letter from Ron saying that she and Harry were invited over to his house for the rest of the summer.

Apparently Dumbledore had decided it was safe for Harry to leave the Dursleys, and Ron wanted the two of them over as soon as possible. He said to write back and he'd pick her up by Floo Network the following Friday. Overcome with excitement, Hermione glanced at her calendar and grinned. Only four days!

Suddenly her good mood deflated. Four days! How could Ron expect her to wait that long? She'd be thinking about it all day and probably dreaming about it at night as well. Sighing, she hurried downstairs to the telephone and dialed Ron's number.

He had gotten a telephone installed in his house so that he could talk to Hermione and Harry whenever he felt like it. Even he had to admit that in this case, the Muggle version of getting in touch with people was a lot better than the wizarding version. Hermione had even managed to speak to Harry a couple times, although it was always a risk for Harry, who insisted that he was fine with just owls.

Hermione sighed, hoping someone at the Weasley household would remember that the odd ringing sound they were hearing was a telephone. When there wasn't any answer, she sighed and hung up dejectedly, wondering why she bothered. That was the fourth time this week no one had answered her calls over there. Glaring at the telephone, she stormed back up to her room to continue poring over her school supplies list.

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Willow sat at the kitchen table once more, trying desperately to keep her eyes open. She was waiting for Nari to get home, but she was having an awfully hard time staying awake...it was already past midnight, and Willow usually went to bed much earlier than this...

"What the hell are you doing down here, Willow?" Willow jolted awake, realizing that she had lost the battle to stay awake. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up in time to see her youngest older sister staring down at her questioningly.

"I was waiting up for you, Nari! When you weren't home at eleven I started getting worried and I came down here to wait."

Nari glared at her. "I think I can take care of myself without your help, Willow. And if you wanted to stay awake, why were you drinking hot chocolate? You knocked the mug on the floor, by the way." Nari stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Willow to repair the mug, which she did with a quick Reparo spell. Then she raced up the stairs after her sister, who was just about to disappear into her bedroom.

"Nari, wait a minute! Where were you? What were you doing? And why are you being so mean to me?" Willow cringed her last remark, realizing instantly that she sounded more like a little kid than the teenager she was.

"Willow, shut up! Do you want everyone in the house to hear you?" Glancing around, Nari motioned Willow into her bedroom, which Willow knew from past experience had several soundproofing charms on it. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to sound like that. I just don't like the thought of you worrying about it this late at night, especially when you have tennis lessons first thing this morning."

"Oh my god, I completely forgot about that! I have to wake up at six-thirty tomorrow-"

"Today, you mean."

"Whatever! I'm not going to get enough sleep! What am I going to do?"

Nari grinned and opened one of her desk drawers, revealing several bottles of multi-colored potions. She pulled out a large vial of a strange green one labeled "Extra-Strength Sleeping Potion" and handed it to Willow. "Drink that. It'll give you two hours of sleep per every one you actually get." Noticing the suspicious look on Willow's face, she added quickly, "I drink it all the time, it's perfectly safe. Now go!"

Willow stepped quietly out into the hallway, smiling to herself. The original version of her sister was still in there somewhere.

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"Lucius Malfoy, I have an extremely important task for you, one which I would not place in the hands of any other Death Eater at this point in time."

Lucius, already kneeling on the hard wooden floor, touched his forehead to the dusty ground before raising it slowly back up again. "What is it that you require of me, my Lord? You know that I have been and remain completely loyal to you, and I would do anything you-"

"Silence! Haven't you been told enough that silence is golden unless I'm the one speaking?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"So don't you think it'd be a wise idea to speak as little as possible when answering me and not babble on about loyalty? Actions speak louder than words, Lucius, and certain actions of your in the past have showed a slight resistance toward me. Do you want me to grant this task to another person?"

"But didn't you say you wouldn't grant it to another person at this time?"

"SILENCE! Did I not say you should speak as little as possible?!"

"Yes, my Lord, I apologize."

"Apologies are not enough. Crucio!" The pain Lucius felt was completely unexpected, and he writhed on the ground as pain as terrible as a thousand knives stabbing him at once shot through his body. He screamed loudly and without shame, wishing for nothing less than for the pain to stop, to cease, to end...

It broke off abruptly, leaving Lucius gasping for breath as his muscles ached unforgivingly.

"Leave, Lucius."

"But Master, what about my task?"

"You no longer have a task, you insolent little fool! Now leave before I lose my temper!"

Cringing, Lucius scurried out of the room, terrified for his life and ready to kick himself. He was on the Dark Lord's bad side now, and he knew full well what happened to those who were on Voldemort's hit list. One misspoken word, one simple misunderstanding, so much as one toe out of line and it was over. He would have to be extra cautious around the other Death Eaters now...if they realized he wasn't one of the favored of the Dark Lord, they would start spreading rumors about him to get him killed.

It was a dangerous game, this Death Eater business, and sometimes Lucius wished he wasn't a part of it.

Sometimes.

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Early Friday afternoon Hermione stood expectantly in the living room beside the fireplace, her suitcase in hand and Crookshanks purring against her legs. Any moment now, Ron would appear in a puff of flame and take her over to the Weasley household, then Floo over to Harry's and do the same. She was so excited she could barely contain her excitement as her mother quizzed her about whether or not she had packed everything she needed, what they were doing, and how often she would write.

"You have your toothbrush, right, Hermione?"

"Yes, Mum."

"And your toothpaste?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Floss?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Mouth wash?"

"Yes, Mum!"

"All right! Just checking. We don't want you having bad teeth when you're older, do we? Especially since you had that nurse of yours shrink your teeth in such an unnatural way..." Her mother shuddered at the very thought of it. Hermione just sighed.

"I've told you a thousand times, Mother, it wasn't unnatural! Magic is natural for me! I'm a witch, remember?"

"I still wish you hadn't done that...oh, well. He's here."

Hermione jumped at the sight of Ron; she hadn't realized he was standing there. Glaring at him suspiciously, she asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

Ron grinned. "Long enough...are you ready?"

Hermione held up her suitcase and motioned to Crookshanks, then hugged her mother, who had taken the afternoon off from work in order to see her daughter off. Ron looked down at Crookshanks warily, gingerly picked him up, and headed back into the fireplace. The last thing Hermione heard him say before he spun out of sight was, "The Burrow!" Grinning to herself, she threw some more Floo powder into the fireplace before hurrying after him.

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Harry sat impatiently by the Dursleys' fireplace, glancing at his watch every five minutes and wishing he could speed up time. He had been waiting for Ron to arrive for over half an hour now, and the unnerving silence his uncle Vernon from the opposite side of the room was starting to get to him.

There was a sudden odd crackling sound from the fire, but it turned out to be nothing more than one of the logs caving in on the other. Sighing, Harry slumped back in his chair, not daring to meet his uncle's eyes.

POP! Ron Weasley came flying through the fireplace, spraying ash and dust all over the Dursleys' living room carpet. Ron just chuckled at the look of horror on Vernon's face, grabbed Harry's trunk from beside the chair, and leapt back into the flames. Harry started to follow suit, but Uncle Vernon suddenly jumped in front of the fireplace, mustache twitching furiously.

"Oh, no you don't!" he roared. "You're not leaving until this place looks exactly as it did before he came!"

Sighing, Harry tried to find a way out of this predicament, but there didn't seem to be any way to escape. Looking around blankly, he was just about to run out of the living room and try to call Ron when there was another loud popping and Mr. Weasley came bounding out of the fireplace, wand in hand. The look on Uncle Vernon's face when he was nearly knocked over by Mr. Weasley was priceless, but he didn't think it would help matters much if he laughed.

"Klensio!" Mr. Weasley shouted, and the entire living room was clean again. Harry stepped into the fireplace and managed to yell "The Burrow!" before choking on a large mouthful of soot.

He had barely landed in the Burrow's fireplace before Mrs. Weasley charmed him clean and leaned forward to embrace him tightly. She had no sooner let go of him than Hermione was crushing him tightly to her, and somewhere behind him Ron was laughing and yelling, "Having fun, Harry?"

His laughter stopped abruptly when Hermione pulled away from Harry and instead hugged Ron.

"Hermione, stop it! I don't want a hug any more than Harry does! Geroff!" Ron managed to push Hermione away, looking rather annoyed, but she just smiled mischievously.

"It wouldn't be fair to give Harry a hug without giving you one as well, Ron," said Hermione, grinning. Ron just muttered something about girls to himself before turning to Harry.

"Er, Harry...now that Wood's gone, won't the team be in need of a new Keeper?"

"Why, were you thinking of trying out?"

"Yeah...do you think I have any chance of making the team?"

"I don't see why not..." Harry walked slowly around Ron, lost in thought. "You have longs arms and legs, which is an important quality for Keepers to have...and I've seen you play before, you're really rather good..." Ron's ear went extremely pink.

"Can we go outside then? Ginny and I were talking before, and I told her I'd only be a minute or so..."

"Sure," said Ron, ears still slightly pink from being complimented. "Just let us get our broomsticks. You brought yours, right, Harry? I don't particularly fancy the idea of going back to your cousin's house for it..."

"It's in my trunk," Harry said, grinning at the thought of his furious uncle's face. "Go get yours and we'll practice some moves."

And so they practiced. First Harry hurled the Quaffle as quickly and accurately as he could through the goal hoops, but Ron deflected those with such ease that Harry felt it wasn't much of a challenge for him. Practicing special Keeper moves didn't prove effective either, as Ron already knew how to execute all of them perfectly. They were just about to call it a day when Ginny, who had up to this point been sitting quietly under a tree with Hermione, stood up.

"Mind if I give it a shot?"

Ron rolled his eyes at her, then turned to Harry. "Ginny fancies herself a Chaser when she's older...don't see why she bothers."

"Why's that?" Ginny snapped. "Because I happen to be a girl, or is it just because I'm your only little sister and you're all overprotective of me?" She stalked over to Harry and held out a hand. "Let me borrow your Firebolt and I'll give him a run for his money." Surprised, Harry handed her his broomstick, and then watched as she whipped the Quaffle through the goal posts several times in rapid succession. Ron just smirked.

"Easy enough when there isn't a Keeper in front of the goals, Gin." He flew up in front of the three hoops, eyes gleaming. Ginny just shrugged before brilliantly faking a left which Ron fell for and then dodging rapidly to the right, sending the Quaffle soaring through the utmost goal. Ron blinked disbelievingly, then commanded Ginny to do that again, which she did instantly.

For several minutes the two of them were completely fixated on the game-Ginny hurtling the ball as hard as she could at the goal posts, Ron desperately attempting to stop their progress. Ron blocked more than Ginny scored, but by the end of the short session Ron was dripping with sweat and everyone there knew that Ginny would without a doubt make a superb Chaser after Angelina, Alicia, and Katie left next year.

Tossing her hair haughtily, Ginny settled herself back down next to Hermione and picked up Crookshanks, placing him in her lap and petting him slowly.

"Bloody showoff," Ron muttered under his breath, but Ginny heard him anyway.

"You're just mad because I showed you up," she said, grinning. "But I'm sure they'll make you Keeper...if I don't show up at tryouts, that is."

"Oh, shut up!" Ron growled.

"Ron, don't work yourself into a bad mood," said Hermione, smiling. "We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, and you don't want everyone to think you've become a Scrooge over the summer."

"Who's Scrooge?" asked Ron, looking puzzled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Never mind, Ron, never mind..."

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