Harry Potter and The Heirs of The Founders

Chapter 22

Petals in the Storm

"Once upon a year gone by
she saw herself give in
every time she closed her eyes
she saw what could have been
well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
when covers tucked in tight
funny when the bottom drops
how she forgets to fight"

(from Paradise, recorded by Vanessa Carlton, Album = Be Not Nobody)

Lavender was sitting by the lake at Hogwarts. It had been a lonely month. Seamus had gone home for Christmas and then had gone on an extended business trip. She had no idea where he was going. She had been true to her word and not left the school grounds although she had been very tempted to. Her students had returned from their Christmas break with a renewed enthusiasm for Divination which made her job a little easier. She couldn't understand why students would take Divination when they really didn't have the aptitude for it. She was going to teach her third years about the Orb next week. Lavender had only gazed in her Orb once in the past month.

She had gazed into the Orb one afternoon late in January. She had been taken only a few months forward in time. She knew this because Hermione was holding a newborn baby. Harry was looking on proudly. She was there also, however she didn't know why. Chrystal was there and for some reason Lavender felt a newfound surge of hatred for the woman. She didn't know why.

She looked away immediately and stashed the Orb in the cupboard of Trelawney's classroom in the North Tower. She hadn't dared to touch it since.

Now, every night when she lay in bed waiting patiently for Seamus' return, she kept seeing Hermione holding Harry's baby. She didn't know why it bothered her. She was over Harry, the past couple of months had made her realise that the entire thing with Harry had all been one silly obsession. A simple girlhood infatuation. And one that was over now that she had rediscovered Seamus.

She sat gazing at the lake thinking of Seamus, not Harry. Suddenly she got a very bad feeling that made goosebumps appear on her rugged up arms. A premonition about Seamus.

He was cold, shivering and all alone. He was in pain. And she had no idea where he was. He just wasn't safe.

She immediately jumped up and ran toward the castle. If what she had seen was right Seamus was in a lot of trouble. Thinking about it she hadn't heard from him in over a week. He had been writing every day until now. She ran toward McGonagall's office, trying to hold herself together and asked McGonagall to locate Seamus' sister, Katie, a second year Gryffindor. McGonagall gave her a strange look but agreed. Lavender then ran up all of the winding stairways that eventually brought her to the North Tower. She ripped open the cupboard door and gently pulled her Orb out of the cupboard. She quickly wiped it with a cloth, tears cascading down her face and tried to concentrate on the Orb.

Everything was swirling. Round and round. She couldn't see anything. Her vision was clouded.

She heard someone calling her name softly. It was little Katie.

'What's wrong Lavender?' she said in a frightened voice. Of course she would be worried. I've never summoned her here before.

'When did you last here from Seamus Katie? It's really important,' she asked the brown-haired girl whose eyes were wide opened staring at Lavender.

'Um about a week ago,' she replied timidly. 'I was getting a letter every few days. Do you think something is wrong Lavender?'

'I hope not,' she said. 'Katie, can you go and get your letters from Seamus and then meet me in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.' Katie nodded and Lavender headed straight for the Staff Quarters. She went towards her room and gathered her letters from Seamus, before knocking on the Black's door.

'Chrystal, Sirius can you please come and help me?' she asked when she spied the two of them in the sitting room. 'It's important. Can one of you find Dumbledore and bring him to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and the other come with me?' Lavender was preoccupied she didn't see the intense look on their faces.

'Sure Lavender,' replied Sirius. 'Mo cridhe, why don't you accompany Lavender and I'll find Dumbledore.'

Chrystal just nodded.

'What's wrong Lavender?' she asked.

'It's Seamus,' she replied. 'Look I need a favour from you. In a way I'm glad Sirius volunteered to find Dumbledore. I'm going to ask you to do something that I need.'

'What?' asked Chrystal as they entered the Dark Art's classroom.

'Listen I know you're a Celt,' she said bluntly. 'And I know what that means. Can you please use that to find Seamus for me?'

'Lavender I'm sorry but I can't,' she said. She looked as if she were in pain. 'I just can't. I don't want to use that kind of magic. It's dark magic. People could get really hurt if I start messing around with these kinds of things. I swore I would never use it and I haven't Lavender. You don't know just how difficult that has been for me.'

'Can you feel him now?' she asked. Lavender watched as Chrystal closed her eyes and concentrated hard.

'I'm sorry but I can't,' replied Chrystal. 'He's just not giving it off freely.'

'What's going on Professor Brown?' asked Dumbledore.

'I was sitting by the lake thinking about Seamus Finnegan,' she began. 'A picture of him became visible in my head. He was being tortured because of me. I've only had a premonition like this once before. It was of Harry and Hermione and it turned out to be true. I need to find him and warn him before it's too late.'

Katie Finnegan walked into the room at this moment.

'Here are those letters Lavender,' she said.

Lavender glanced at them.

'I haven't heard from Seamus in a week,' she said slowly. 'He was writing every day before that.' She pulled her letters out of her robes. 'I thought we might be able to find an answer here, if other methods aren't available.' She glanced pleadingly at Chrystal who simply shook her head.

'He was last in Seville in Spain,' said Lavender. 'Professor Dumbledore, could you please arrange for Firenze to take my classes. I need to find him.'

'What about the Death Eaters Lavender?' asked Professor McGonagall.

'I don't care, I need to find Seamus,' she said. She glanced at Katie who was looking more and more frightened. 'I'll owl you everyday Katie okay. Please tell someone if you don't hear from me.'

Katie nodded and Lavender headed towards the entrance hall, summoning things she needed as she headed toward Hogsmeade. As soon as she was out of the castle grounds she apparated to London the tears still flowing.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee walked nervously up the stairs that led to George and Katie's house above the Hogsmeade WWW store. He had done what George had requested and now was willing to report on what he had found. Personally he was extremely insulted that the twins had asked him to spy on his girlfriend's father, however he had felt that it wasn't worth the hassle to argue with them about it.

Fred and George had changed. Lee put it down to The Order. He himself was not a member although he could see why the twins thought it important. Lee felt they had lost a little of their sparkle. He couldn't admit to himself that they might just be judging him for what he'd done to Alicia. He was going away now that he had completed his task. Going to leave his old life behind him and try and start anew where nobody was judging him.

Katie opened the door when he knocked. She embraced him like a long lost friend.

'Lee how have you been?' she asked. 'I feel like I haven't seen you in ages.'

'I guess I've been busy,' he said quickly.

'Preoccupied more like it,' joked Katie.

Lee went a little red. He wasn't altogether too sure what his friends thought of him and Blaise. It wasn't a subject he actually brought up either. He had tried to keep out of Alicia's way at George and Katie's wedding, and had stopped coming into work, asking somebody else to manage the London store. He didn't need to try and be polite to Alicia everyday.

'George will be here soon,' said Katie. 'He's just closing up. Would you like a cold drink or something?'

'I'd love a beer if you have any,' he said. No sooner had Katie brought him a beer, Fred and George appeared in the room.

'Hey mate,' said Fred. 'It's been a while. What have you got to tell us?'

'Straight to it eh?' asked Lee. 'I don't think Mr Zabini is up to anything. I've kept a close eye on him. Blaise and I are invited over there all the time. He's got money but he's not exactly into anything darker. Not in his own house.'

'If you see anything can you let us know?' asked George.

'I doubt I will but if I do,' he replied. 'There's something else I need to talk to you about. I need to resign from the business. Given that the league has been cancelled Blaise and I are going to go travelling for a while. I'm not sure when we'll be back.'

'You don't need to resign,' said Fred. 'You can just take leave.'

'But this way you won't be waiting for me to come back,' said Lee trying desperately to find an excuse to break all ties. 'If there's a job for me when I come back then I'll ask for it, but if you find someone better I don't want you to feel like you owe me a job.'

'Are you sure?' asked George.

'Positive,' said Lee. 'We're leaving tonight. I had better go and get ready.'

He apparated from the living room relieved to have finally told them what was going on. Now he felt obligation free ready to start his travelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

February arrived and Harry began to really miss Quidditch. He was missing it more than he had in fifth year when Umbridge had banned him from playing Quidditch. True he was still attending training, but he missed the excitement he used to get when a game began. Hermione was doing her best trying to fill his days, she had lots of books about pregnancy and childbirth that she wanted him to read in addition to him giving her a hand deciphering the prophecy. That evening he was wandering down Diagon Alley, keeping his eye on Terry Boot. He was wearing his Invisibility Cloak and was having to pay close attention to who was around so that he didn't accidentally bump into anybody.

It was the only way he could discover if Boot was the traitor.

Harry followed him down the main section of Diagon Alley. Constantly aware of his surroundings, Harry spied Madam Malkin out of the corner of his eye closing her store for the evening, Snape in the Apothecary stocking up on Potion supplies and Bill and Fleur outside the new French restaurant, standing there gazing at each other looking so much in love, yet with a vast distance still between them. His heart went out to them. Boot was still heading for The Leaky Cauldron. Harry followed him.

Terry entered the Leaky Cauldron and made his way towards an empty table. Harry scurried behind him and stood up against a post near the table. Harry waited around for a few hours while Boot caught up with some school friends, Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil but there was nothing to report by about ten o'clock. Harry decided to call it a night and Apparated to Dunvegan where he knew Hermione would be waiting for him.

She was lying in bed when he arrived. He crept into the room softly so as not to disturb her. He gently lifted the covers and slid underneath them. Then he moved his body closer to Hermione's and began to kiss the back of her neck. After a while she let out a soft moan and turned around.

'How did you know it wasn't some stranger?' he asked her with a joking tone of anger.

'Because a stranger can't kiss me and give me the shivers like that,' she replied.

'Really?' he asked.

'That and the Dunvegan wards,' she said with a smile. 'Why don't you show me what else you can do?'

Harry was more than happy to take her up on the invitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lavender arrived at the Madrid Floo exchange early the next morning. She had not slept at all that night. On entering the main street of the wizarding world in Madrid, she obtained a map that allowed her to see the safe apparition points and instantly apparated to the one in Seville.

Seamus had made mention of the hotel in which he was staying in his letter. Lavender had supposed that that would be the best place to start. She had no idea where he could be. She just hoped her intuition would guide her.

She made her way to the reception area of the Hotel San Gil. It was an impressive Muggle hotel that more than intimidated Lavender a little. She asked at the counter for Seamus Finnegan.

'I'm Seamus' girlfriend and I've come up to meet him as a surprise,' she said. 'Is he here?'

'He's still checked in,' said the lady at the counter. Lavender didn't like her at all. 'Hold on a moment.' She dialled a number, "654", Lavender committed it to memory. Seamus had once told her that telephone extensions were often the same as room numbers in hotels. 'Mr Finnegan is not here at the moment. Can I take a message?'

'I'll come back later,' she said. 'Do you have a restaurant where I can have a nice warm meal?'

'Our restaurant is on the first floor,' the lady said sharply.

'Could you point me to the stairs?' asked Lavender.

The lady looked at her questioningly.

'The stairs are for emergency use only,' said the lady. 'The elevators are over there.' She pointed at two metal doors. Lavender looked at them in a confused manner. Although Lavender's father was Muggle born, Lavender herself knew very little of the Muggle world. Her father's family had disowned him when he had discovered he was a wizard and her father ensured that Lavender saw as little of the cruelness that human beings could inflict upon each other.

She walked over to them and wondered how they opened. She gazed at them for a couple of seconds before she heard a noise that sounded like a ping and the doors opened.

'What floor S_nora?' asked a man dressed in a smart uniform. Lavender thought of Seamus' room number.

'I'm in room 654,' she replied. The man nodded and pushed a button on the wall. Lavender felt a brief movement before the door opened again.

'You floor S_nora,' he said. Lavender walked out the metal doors with amazement. What was that things called? An elevator. Muggles had such strange contraptions. She walked down the corridor until she came to room 654. She knocked on the door and weighted for an answer. There was silence. She looked around pulled out her wand and pointed it at the door.

'Alohamora,' she whispered. The door opened. She quickly walked in and closed it behind her. Then on surveying the room she screamed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco combed his hair nervously. He was nervous about his summons. He really had no idea what he was going to tell the Dark Lord. He had spent six months staring at the prophecy in his spare time and had really not gotten any closer. No two of them had the same name character. If used just first names Harry and Chrystal were both seven; but Draco knew that Arithmancy in prophecies rarely ran like that. To make things even more confusing, everyone's birth characters equalled two. He had spoken at length to Professor Vector about it and had spent some time talking to Hermione after the last meeting of the Order. The truth was he was no closer than he had been when he had been handed the task.

It was a very real possibility that the Dark Lord would kill him. He had failed.

Chrystal had told him to make it up. She had said that if the Dark Lord's Seers had not worked it out it wouldn't matter and if they had worked it out then he would never be asked. She had even told him to say that Harry and Lavender were paired together. The way she had said it had made Draco feel unsettled. It was as if she really believed it and if anyone told her otherwise she could not be convinced.

Draco appeared in the house at Little Hangleton. He shook as he heard the footsteps of his master approach.

'What do you have for me young Master Malfoy?' he said in his high pitched voice that made Draco shiver.

'The signs are difficult to interpret My Lord,' he said. 'The characters are all two, including yours. Hence all four characters are equal.'

'Is that all you have for me?' his master said raising his voice.

'No My Lord,' he said stammering. He would have to use Chrystal's information. 'I have looked into it in great detail. I have figured that because you and The Heir of Ravenclaw are related then you are paired with The Heir of Ravenclaw.'

'Because of blood Mr Malfoy?' asked the Dark Lord.

'Because of blood,' said Draco.

'How strange you should mention that,' he said in an amused voice. 'Blood you say?'

'Blood,' said Draco more than a little worried that the Dark Lord was making fun of him.

'I have another assignment for you,' his master said. The amused voice was gone. The Dark Lord was serious now. 'You are to keep your eye on this Heaney girl. I have heard about your girlfriend and her family.' The Dark Lord's voice was full of dislike. 'I am willing to overlook that if you are prepared to complete this task for me. You are to tell me where she goes, what she does and who her friends are. I shall be checking up on you Draco.' And with that he Disapparated.

He had to keep an eye on Rose? How was he going to do that? There was only one way, he would have to enlist Ginny's help. She would not be happy with that at all. Draco wandered around the house. He knew it had been the old Riddle House and that the Dark Lord had not ever spent a lot of time here when he was younger.

Draco wondered how he could have let himself get so entangled in this kind of mess. He glanced at the Dark mark on his arm. It was a constant reminder to him that he had chosen the path he had taken. He had allowed his body to be marked with a sign that showed he was the Dark Lord's servant. Only he wasn't. Nor did he want to be. He appreciated the fact that he had been allowed to work with the Order. The work he was doing for them seemed to matter. It was important and he was helping people. Ginny had made him see how much pleasure there was in helping people.

That was the reason he had chosen to study at St Mungos. It was the reason he had decided to become a Potions specialist. That and the encouragement of Snape. His mother thought he was training in Potions because he wanted to brew illegal and dangerous potions. He was inclined to let her believe this. She had a thing for Death Eaters, a thing for pure-blooded wizards. First his father and then Snape. Now she had taken up with another pureblood from somewhere. Former Slytherin of course. It made Draco sick.

He Disapparated from the house and returned to his house in Hogsmeade. He wondered if he could risk a midnight rendezvous. He would have to let Ginny know where to meet him and hope that she was up to it. He could really do with Potter's Invisibility Cloak now. He wondered if Rose still had it. He summoned his quill and a piece of parchment and wrote a quick note to Ginny.

Ginny,

I need to meet you tonight. It's important. Shall we make it our normal meeting place?

Let me know if you can make it,

Draco.

He sent his owl off hoping that she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny received the owl from Draco wondering what was so important that he had to meet her tonight.

Any meeting with Draco was a cause for celebration but the thought of a secret meeting in their little secret spot was always something that she secretly looked forward to. She thought that perhaps she should give him a little treat; after all it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

She smiled as she made her way to the Room of Requirement early in the evening. She didn't want to be caught out of bounds. Then she let out a squeal of delight when she saw what the room had to offer her.

There was a queen sized futon with a bright purple spread that Ginny spied in the corner of the room. Around it were tiny little candles. In fact the entire room was covered with candles. In another corner of the room there was a spa with tiny little bubbles floating on the surface.

She pulled out her wand and ignited all the candles with a single swish of her wand. She slipped off her robes and banished them to a corner of the room. She wandered over to the spa and giggled as she stuck her toes in and found that the water was warm. She plunged her body into the warm water, it was certainly relaxing. She closed her eyes and waited patiently for Draco to arrive. She figured he wouldn't be much longer.

She began to doze off and was abruptly awoken when she felt someone run their finger down the back of her neck. She jumped slightly as it sent shivers down her spine and turned around and saw Draco standing there with a smile on his face.

'Wow Ginny I'm impressed,' he said. 'But this wasn't quite what I was expecting.'

'It wasn't?' asked Ginny going a little red in the face. What had he been expecting then?

Draco gave out a little laugh. A kind laugh, but a laugh all the same.

'No Ginny,' he said softly. 'However I am certainly impressed. But for now I need to talk to you. It's been a long day.'

'Okay,' she said slowly. You could almost detect a bit of trepidation in her voice. 'Listen Draco, why don't you hop in the spa and then you can talk to me. I will do nothing except sit and listen until you've finished. The warn water might help to relieve some tension. Did another person die at St Mungos today? Another one of the Muggle-borns?' Ginny had been paying more attention to what had happened to the Muggle-borns who were abducted since Rose had been taken. It was worrying her that many of them seemed to be dying from unexplained causes.

'No Gin,' said Draco as he slipped into the tub. 'I wasn't at St Mungos today. I had to visit someone. I think I've made a big mistake.'

Ginny gazed at the apologetic look he had on his face. He had had a bad day. She could see it in his eyes. They looked so sad.

'What is it Draco?' she asked softly.

'He summoned me today,' he said. 'The Dark Lord. He wanted to know the results of my work. I told him what at the moment appears to be the truth, yet to me just seems inconceivable. I've exhausted all the avenues using Arithmancy and there's still not a solution. So I told him that Harry and Lavender were paired together, simply due to the fact that Ravenclaw and Slytherin's houses were joined.'

Ginny understood the weight of what he had said. On one hand it put Lavender's life in danger if Voldemort ever got hold of her. On the other it suggested that their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would turn bad.

'If I thought anyone of the three would turn personally I would have to say it would be Lavender,' said Draco.

'Lavender?' asked Ginny in surprise. 'Why her? She's so sweet. I thought you were going to say Harry.'

'I say Lavender because she's deceptive,' said Draco bluntly. 'She comes across as sweet and innocent but deep down inside she's a very jealous personality. I've seen her when she's drunk.'

'Did you know that Seamus is missing?' asked Ginny carefully. 'It means Lavender will try and find him.'

'No,' I didn't,' he replied. 'Listen Gin, that's not what I want to talk about.'

'What do you want to talk about then?' she asked. She was getting slightly confused.

'He knows about us Ginny.'

It was all he needed to say. One sentence that could drastically change the way her life panned out. The Dark Lord knew about her and Draco. And Draco was a spy. If he found out about Draco.

Ginny could feel the blood drain from her face.

'He knows?' she asked. Draco did not answer. He just nodded his head.

'How do you know this?' she asked. She looked into his face. 'He asked you to do something didn't he?'

Draco nodded.

'He wants detailed notes on what Rose does,' said Draco.

'And he wants you to use me as a source of information?' she said raising her voice. 'Well I won't do it.' She stood up and jumped out of the spa grabbing her towel and heading towards the door.

'Gin,' I wouldn't walk out that door like that if I were you,' he said. She turned around and glanced at him.

'Why?' she asked.

'Because students don't normally walk around Hogwarts in fluffy pink towels, however incredibly sexy they may be,' he said. 'And second because even through the towel it's obvious you're cold so why don't you come back and warm up in the spa for a few minutes. You said you'd let me finish talking.' Ginny glanced down at her chest, slightly embarrassed. He was right as usual. She walked back to the spa, left the towel on the edge and slipped in. 'Now Ginny, you agreed to help me when I said I would spy. I need you to help me now.'

'But Draco you're suggesting I spy on one of my best friends,' she said. Her voice was pleading with him. She was not going to do it.

'No that's not what I'm suggesting, it's just what I've been asked to do,' he said. Ginny looked at him with surprise. 'You didn't let me finish. I suggest we tell Rose. She has a right to know that the Dark Lord has his eye on her. Then between you and her you come up with what to tell me. Some of it will have to be true. Able to be verified by any Death Eaters who happen to be roaming around the school. I can't not do it Ginny. It would mean death for both of us.'

Ginny realised what he was saying was true. She was involved in Voldemort's plans whether she liked it or not. She could conform or be killed. She only now fully understood why Draco had made the decision he made.

She gazed into his grey eyes. They were looking at her pleading with her. She felt her back shivering despite the warm water. She needed him more than she could imagine. She leant closer towards him and kissed his ear.

'If we must we must,' she whispered, before continuing to devour his neck. He was doing a good job trying to resist her advances. She moved behind him and began to massage his shoulders.

'We need to get rid of that tension don't we?' she asked. She pushed her fingers into his hard tense shoulders before she began to kiss the entire length of back with tiny little kisses until she reached his neck. Then he turned around. Ginny could tell he was aroused, no matter how much he was trying to pretend he wasn't.

'You shouldn't do this to me,' he said. 'You're such a tease.'

He moved on top of her and pushed her body against the wall of the spa.

'I'm going to have to teach you a lesson for being such a tease,' he said. He picked her up and carried her over to the futon where he lay her gently on the bed, before he continued his lesson. She continued to be an enthusiastic student. As the lesson continued she could feel the tension rising inside her until it reached a peak.

Later that night as she lay relaxing on the futon in the arms of her beloved she felt better. They had hard times to face, but if they had each other they might just make it through them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry and Hermione flooed to Grimmauld Place for the next meeting of the Order. Harry was no closer to completing his assignment; however he was fairly sure that the traitor wasn't Terry Boot. Harry had followed him round of an evening for over a week and Ron had kept an eye on him at work and neither of them had seen anything that would suggest that he was involved with the Death Eaters. Of course he could have just been overly cautious, but Harry felt that he simply wasn't the one.

It meant that they were back to the drawing board on that one however. His mind kept replaying the meeting over and over again. Who had been in the room?

Chrys had been sick, so she and Sirius had been sitting on her bed. Despite what he had overheard lately he didn't think it would have been one of them. Lupin and Tonks were on the floor. Dung was there also and his men had been involved in the mission. Despite the fact that Dung was a crook Harry simply couldn't see him having given away the operation. Especially given that his security guards, scrappy as they were, were in danger throughout the operation. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were there. Again Harry couldn't see one of them being responsible. The next was Mad-Eye Moody. Again another unlikely candidate. And the Weasleys. That was it.

He reluctantly walked into the meeting room and sat down at the large oak table. Hermione gave him a concerned look as if she could sense his frustration. Harry didn't pay much attention to the words that were flying across the table. He gave his report and although nobody commented he felt that he had let everyone down. He tuned out as Draco was giving his report about his meeting with Voldemort. His eyes drooped and he was left to his thoughts.

Again he was in some strange building that he did not recognise on features yet he knew it was Hogwarts. He spied the white haired man again. Slytherin. He was angry. Harry could tell by the look on his face. He stormed into a room that had the name "Professor Ravenclaw" inscribed on the door. He pulled the door open with force.

'Well Rowen you have your wish,' he said with a snarl. 'I am leaving Hogwarts. Tomorrow morning. Just as you requested.'

'Thank you Salazar,' she said nervously. 'I appreciate it.'

'About The Covenant Rowen,' he began. 'You know I did it for you don't you?'

'Why Salazar?' she asked.

'So I can take the boy,' he replied. 'Kearney will come with me, you may keep Àille.'

'Kearney is just a child,' she said. 'He needs his mother.'

'My son will come with me,' said Salazar. 'And I will leave as promised.'

She reluctantly agreed. Slytherin brought the boy in.

'Kearney, say goodbye to your mother,' he said sneering.

The little blonde-haired boy jumped up on the desk next to his mother.

'Where am I going Mummy?' he asked.

'You're going for a long trip with your father,' she said. She pulled off her necklace and placed it in her sons hands.

'Kearney, I want you to give this to your sister when you find her,' she said.

'What if I don't find her?' the little boy asked curiously.

'Then give it to your son so he can find Àille's daughter,' she said carefully.

'What if I forget?' he asked.

'The necklace is charmed my dear son,' she said. 'You won't forget and if you do it will remind you.'

Salazar looked at her with strong dislike.

'You will be lucky if your Heir ever wear's that necklace Rowen,' he said. 'I swear this to you today.'

Salazar picked up the little boy who was now crying for his mother, while holding onto the Celtic necklace his mother had given him. He marched out the door, a Squib following him laden with bags and stormed out of the castle never to return again.

Harry awoke with a shake from Hermione.

'Have you heard from Seamus Harry?' she asked as he gradually stirred from his thoughts.

'What?' he asked looking around. The meeting was over. 'No, Seamus, no not for a while. Why?'

'You weren't listening were you?' she said with a disapproving look on her face.

'No, sorry,' he said.

'Seamus is missing and Lavender's run off to try and find him,' said Hermione.

'But she'll be captured by those Death Eaters who are after her,' said Harry with some alarm.

'Not only that, Malfoy has told Voldemort that she is paired with you,' she said. 'That means that they'll kill her if they find her.'

Harry gazed at Hermione blankly letting it set in.

'She's in a lot of trouble Hermione,' he said slowly. 'A lot of trouble.'

'I know,' said Ron. 'Seamus was telling me about what the Death eaters were saying they were going to do to her when they found her. Because she was such a pretty thing they said.'

Harry was stunned. He couldn't believe that someone would say something like that in public.

'Moody has sent me to go and find her,' said Ron. 'I'm taking Boot with me. That will at least keep him out of trouble. I'm going to head off now.'

Harry nodded in acknowledgement.

'I'll be back down in a moment Hermione,' he said leaving the room.

Harry couldn't believe that Seamus was missing of that Lavender would rush off to find him like that. He knew he had to write to Dean and find out what was going on. He made his way upstairs intending to send him an owl immediately. When he reached the top of the stairs he could hear his mother and Sirius talking.

'Sirius you've got to tell her,' his mother said. 'How long do you think you can keep this kind of thing a secret?'

Harry crept closer to the door. What was it that Sirius was hiding? Sirius had been conspicuously absent from the Order's meeting that afternoon and Harry had wondered why. He was determined to find out. He crept into the room where he and Hermione would be spending the night and located his Invisibility Cloak. He covered himself and crept into the room where his mother and Sirius were.

'Sirius I can't believe you even talked me into this in the first place,' his mother said. She sounded angry and almost as if she was exasperated.

'Well, Lily I couldn't let her do it,' he said in a desperate voice. 'She would have regretted it eventually. You cannot reverse the effects of that kind of Potion.'

'When she finds out that she didn't get the sterilising Potion,' said Lily.

'She won't find out,' Sirius pleaded.

'I had to switch it for a fertility potion,' she said. 'You do realise that don't you Sirius? It's the only thing that would taste remotely the same and given that she knew the ingredients,'

'I know all this Lily,' he said cutting her off. The desperation in his voice was increasing exponentially. 'But you can't tell her. If Chrys finds out that I swapped it for a fertility potion she'll kill me. And I had to do it. I just need to wait until the right time to tell her and then everything will be fine. She'll realise that swapping the sterility potion for a fertility one was a good idea in the long run.'

'You did what?' a voice came from the corner of the room. Harry glanced over and saw Chrystal standing in the doorway. 'Of all the stupid, foolish things that you've ever done Sirius Iain Black, this has to be one of the most.' She had a hurt and betrayed look on her face. 'How could you do this to me?'