End of Happiness and Starting Anew

    Adriana was still awake when Harry returned, though she was lying comfortably on the extra bed. Harry smiled at her and started getting ready for bed. Adriana waited for fifteen minutes as Harry finished getting ready, then confronted him when he started slipping into bed. She sat up and turned to Harry.

    "So..." Adriana started quietly. Harry jerked up and stared at her. He seemed to have forgotten that she was in the room. "What's with you and Hermione?"

    "What do you mean?" Harry asked coolly.

    "You two are different. Something's up with you two. For some reason, you two have a..." she stumbled on her words, attempting to find the word for which she was looking, "bond with her. Now, I don't know if its just because you like each other..." Harry's eyes widened at this. "Or," she continued without missing a beat, "there's something else." She looked him straight in the eye, and her mind brushed against his. "There is something else isn't there." Merely a statement, but that's all it took.

    "Yeah? Well, what's this with suddenly knowing your last name? Did Sheba tell you it?"

    "Yes," she whispered, not at all shocked at Harry's outburst. "I guess I should start from the beginning, shouldn't I?"

    Harry nodded grimly. Adriana started her tale.

    I lived for a few years in an orphanage. Life wasn't that bad, but mostly I was ignored. They fed me and kept me well, but they steered clear of me for some reason. I grew up wondering how I got my scar. They couldn't tell me anything about it. Said that I had no living relatives. I would look in the mirror for hours, staring at the scar, wondering where it had come from. I was only about five at the time, so I really couldn't have known better.

    I was seven when Carson Sheba walked into the orphanage. He didn't even look at any of the other people there. He saw me and, well I don't really know. He saw me and that was that I guess. He must have seen something in me. He walked right over to me and looked me in the eye. He then walked up to the lady who ran the place and the next thing I knew, I was walking out the door with him, my stuff was already at his house!

    I never truly understood the man. He explained some information to me. Mostly, he knew my parents and he knew who I was. Told me that I was special. He told me many things. Things that I can't tell you. He must have Memory Charmed me. Anyway, he made me visit the Malfoy's one year.

    Draco wasn't that kind, but he's gotten much worse since then. He acted civil to me. We stayed the week, and I think I am the only person he's ever spoken to as a person. He told me more things that I would have thought I should know, and he didn't charm me into forgetfulness. He showed me the prophecy; the one that would affect his life. It went something like this.

    I never figured out why that was so important. He said that there were four items that had to be collected for it. Two specially made boxes, two specially made statues. These items would preserve them, make them one after some years. He was always curious as to who the Owl was. Never thought it would be anyone less than one of his pureblood friends. Thought it could be me, but I told him that I wasn't it. I wasn't a descendant of one of the four houses.

    That year, I started school, just like Draco. Father requested that I go to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts. Said that his sister was weak because she and Lucius went to Hogwarts. Draco had a fit and would have hexed me into next year, had he had a wand and known spells. I watched forlornly as he went off to Hogwarts.

    I started at Durmstrang, quite afraid of who I would meet there. They had a sorting, of sorts, and I was put in the Hellswarm House. They were the bravest of those who entered Durmstrang, the ones who had encountered the Dark Arts to the fullest extent. Durmstrang had many other houses, Hellswarm the smallest. We played Quidditch quite often; I was the Head Chaser my first year. Never lost a match when we played. Sometimes, we didn't even get the snitch.

    Its been a whole five years of hell. Only my house accepted me, and that was mostly because I could fly. They even got me the Firebolt, like you have. Mine probably got more attention though, I was extremely fast at completing homework. So I was either flying it or perfecting it for the next match.

    It was only two weeks ago that the Dark Lord attacked Durmstrang, and Sheba was unlucky enough to have been in the school then. He came to my house and murdered my family, but I saw them early. I snuck out of there. I'd had a Portkey for that exact reason, and I'd grabbed my broom and used the Portkey. It brought me to Hogsmeade, a place I hadn't visited since I was ten, and a horde of Aurors appeared. They transported me to some place. I don't know where I was, but there was something there. I was in a cemetery, and there was a large creature attacking me. Somehow, it must have been the reason why I was sorted how I was, somehow I got out of there. I'd lost my broom though.

    This ring that I'm wearing, I'd found it in Sheba's room a long time ago. It had a scroll inside of it, with an enchantment. I used it just a few hours ago. It sent me to Ollivanders. I'd never been there before and it was an interesting experience. He got me a wand for free, and I wandered around Diagon Alley. That's when I made it to the Leaky Cauldron. You know the rest.

    Harry stared at her for a few seconds. He looked at his twin in mere astonishment for most of that time.

    "So... now what are you going to do?"

    "I think I'll go with you to Hogwarts. Even if they don't accept me, I don't care. I'll stay."

    "Look," Harry smirked. "Adriana, you'll get in. Dumbledore wouldn't let you be thrown out of the school. Plus, I think I've figured out most of the prophecy. I've found the descendants," Adriana's eyes widened at this, "and I have a good idea who that fifth person is." He smiled broadly.

    "Who are these people?" Adriana asked, entirely confused.

    "Well, I'm the descendant of Gryffindor, Hermione is the descendant of Ravenclaw, Draco is the descendant of Slytherin, and Ginny is the descendant of Hufflepuff," he finished proudly.

    "And... who is the fifth person?"

    "You."

    "But... how?"

    "Simple. The prophecy doesn't state exactly how many descendants there are. It only says that there are no more. There are five. You are also a descendant of Gryffindor," he whispered. "We're twins, remember? Plus, only Draco knew you out of us four. And, Trelawney isn't that good of a Seer. She probably screwed it up. Either that, or it's changed. Maybe its wrong. There are five descendants, whether they like it or not."

    She stared at Harry for a couple of seconds. It was quite impossible. She wasn't special in any way. Her twin, well, he didn't look much like her. He had unruly black hair, and piercing green eyes. He was imposing. Had he not been her brother, she would have found him breath-taking.

    She, on the other hand, had wavy reddish brown hair. She had the piercing green eyes, it was from her mother. She wasn't imposing. She wasn't breath-taking. Sure, she was almost as tall as Harry, she even felt like she knew him entirely, even though they had only met that evening. Sure, she'd filled out over the years. She wasn't impressed with the result, but she didn't know what others thought of her. She had a toned physique from playing Quidditch, and had been one of the strongest people at Durmstrang. She thought that she wasn't that endowed, just mediocre, nothing special.

    Harry was the first to break the silence. "Well... I think we should go to bed. Don't want to get up tomorrow for dinner, do we?" Adriana nodded her head slowly and the twins went to bed, both with more on the mind than they were willing to admit.

    Ron made it home late that night. He waved to Charlie as he Apparated from the house. Climbing up the stairs to his room, Ron tensed. Something was wrong. He stopped directly beside Ginny's room. It was too quiet. He walked over to the door and put his ear on it. Silence. His breathing became shallower and shallower as he slipped open the door. He glanced at the bed and saw that there was no one in it.

    Something was wrong. Ron crept up to his room and slid into bed, tired and worried.

    He awoke that morning to a screaming Mrs. Weasley.

    "Calm down, Molly," he heard his father say during the pause. "She'll be back. Don't worry." His father's voice was drowned out by his mother's weeping.

    "Mum?" he asked, walking out of his room. "What's going on?"

    "Ginny hasn't returned," his father answered. Mrs. Weasley was too absorbed in her thoughts. He walked sullenly to the door of his sister's room and, after checking the room and confirming what she said, turned around.

    "I'll go start breakfast, I guess," he whispered, his voice cracking. That only made Mrs. Weasley bawl even louder.

    Ron started up breakfast, then grabbed a piece of parchment and started scribbling on it.

Harry

    Ginny's missing. We haven't seen her for the past few hours. Mum's all hysterical, and I have to make breakfast. If you find her, I really need an answer. Mum wouldn't be too alive if Ginny died. Please.

Ron

    He walked over to Pig and whispered directions into Pig's ear. Pig flew off with a shot, and Ron watched the owl disappear, before going back to breakfast.

    The person in the bushes grinned evilly. He would succeed with his master's orders. "Kill the Weasley's youngest." Not so hard. He'd only lived with the boy for so many years. Wormtail slipped through the backyard as a rat. He jumped through the window as Ron let an owl out, then crept back in to the kitchen. He watched the boy start cooking.

    Wormtail knew he had few seconds to complete his spell. With a tiny "pop", he became himself, his right hand glinting in the light.

    "Avada Kedavra."

    The last words Ron heard, ever.

    Harry awoke staggeringly early. He tried falling back asleep, but after two minutes, he knew something was wrong. He got out of bed and hurriedly dressed himself. He glanced once at the other bed and realized that Adriana was not in the room. He slipped out of his room and relocked the door, walking silently down to the ground floor of the Leaky Cauldron. He sighed as he saw Adriana sitting in a chair by the small fireplace. That fireplace wasn't used for Flooing, it was too small. It was used entirely for heating purposes. Adriana had a quilt wrapped around her body. She seemed content and Harry suddenly realized that it was quite a cold morning. His feet padded softly as he walked over to Adriana.

    "Oh, good morning, Harry," Adriana said softly, not wanting to disturb the sereneness of the room.

    "Morning," Harry said in a quiet response. They sat in silence for over an hour. The silence was destroyed when Harry noticed Pig fluttering outside a window. Hardly containing a snicker at Pig, Harry managed to get the letter from Pig, and gave the tiny owl some water, then read the letter.

    "What is it?" Adriana asked silently. Harry showed her the letter, and she smiled somewhat. They knew where Ginny was, she was fine.

    "You should respond," she told him. Harry nodded slowly, then gasped.

    "Harry?" Adriana questioned, putting her hand on his arm.

    "Ron," was all Harry said when he rushed up to the room. Adriana followed him just as fluidly and got herself ready faster than Harry had even gotten his wand. He looked up and realized that she was waiting for him. Harry shook his head slowly, then made a mental note to ask her about that. They ran to the bigger fireplace and Harry grabbed himself some Floo powder.

    Ignoring the soot, Harry called out, "the Burrow!" and Adriana followed after him.

    What they saw when they appeared in the living room was not what they had expected.

    Hermione sat at the table in her empty house, reading Hogwarts, A History. She smiled at a couple parts, finding them humorous. Not that anyone but Hermione would find something humorous in reading such a book, Ron would have commented. She smiled even more, thinking that her best friend would say just that. She felt a small twinge when she thought of Ron, then started worrying.

    She stood up suddenly, and remembered that she could almost talk to Harry. She quickly formulated a picture of Ron and a feeling of concern, then sent it to Harry. She got back an overwhelming sadness and a picture that she thought would never happen. Her parents walked in the door to a screaming Hermione.

    "Hermione!" her mother cried, dropping all of her luggage and running to her daughter. "Hermione, what's wrong!"

    Hermione, however, could not respond. She was crying too much. Her mother brought her over to the sofa in the house and consoled her. Hermione went over every single thing that she, Harry and Ron had gone through, every adventure. She remembered the Troll incident, the first time she'd lied. She remembered the Polyjuice Potion, when she had turned into a cat and Ron had laughed at her. She remembered almost killing Sirius, then finding out who Scabbers was. She remembered the Triwizard Tournament. And, she remembered her fifth year, the one that Ron had meant the most to her in. The year she'd told him that she loved him. The year that they had found each other. It was short-lived, true, but it still meant something to Hermione.

    And now he was gone. She had never been able to tell him how much she appreciated him, how much he meant to her. The last time they had actually talked, they'd had a row, and neither was talking to the other. And she couldn't apologize to him anymore. They couldn't be friends, not in the normal sense. She sat in her mother's arms for over an hour, crying, and when tears did not come, she sat in depression, her chest heaving.

    I've lost Ron, she thought at one point, I can't lose Harry now. I don't think I would be able to make it.

    Harry sat on the sofa in the Weasley's sitting room, motionless. Ron was dead. That thought repeated itself throughout Harry's entire conscious persona. Not like previous times, where he could save him. This time was impregnable. He'd lost his first friend since he walked into the happiest years of his life. Since the first day at Hogwarts, Ron and Harry had been best friends, and the entire class knew it. Harry first suspected Draco Malfoy, but he was still unconscious in Harry's room. Harry's mind briefly went over if it was Lucius, but he kept remembering how Lucius was in Azkaban. It wouldn't be Voldemort, the Burrow was overprotected so that exact person couldn't get in. It could have been some random Death Eater. No, Harry did not believe that. Then it hit him.

    Wormtail, Harry thought. The only Death Eater to have been in the Burrow. The only Death Eater to have lived under the noses of the Weasley's, ever.

    Harry jumped up. Adriana, who was sitting next to him, not sure if she should be just as depressed or if she should help around, flinched as he stood up. Harry rushed over to the fireplace and grabbed some Floo powder. He lit the fireplace and threw the powder in. He jumped in and called his destination.

    "Leaky Cauldron!"

    Adriana cursed audibly, and Mrs. Weasley glared at her. She was about to stand up as Adriana followed Harry, only so much faster. She landed in the Leaky Cauldron and saw Harry's fleeting form rush up to his room. She followed, right on his tail after a few seconds, and got into his room before him.

    "Harry," she started, "what are you doing?" Harry jerked up, just noticing his cousin.

    "I think I know what happened," Harry panted, grabbing the two unconscious people in his room.

    "What?" Adriana asked, watching Harry move them to the centre of the room. He did not answer her, but he grabbed Ginny's hand, and dropped it on Draco. Adriana gasped as both Ginny and Draco started twitching. Ginny groaned and her eyes fluttered open first.

    "Wha- what happened?" she asked silently. Harry shushed her, keeping her calm.

    "Huh? Potter..." Draco snapped awake and immediately saw Harry sitting by Ginny calming her down. "Potter, what is going on. Why am I sitting in such a..." He looked around at the room, entirely oblivious to Adriana. "Such a dismal, dingy place?" He concluded.

    "Draco?" Ginny asked. She sat up, knocking Harry over onto the floor and giving most a surprising shock. "Draco... what happened?"

    Harry sat up and answered before Draco could. "Ginny, remember what happened to Hermione and me?" Ginny nodded and before Harry could continue, Draco stepped in.

    "Its bad enough I have to wake up in a room with you, Potter, don't make it worse by mentioning the Mudblood."

    "Draco, I suggest you drop it now, before I lay you low," Harry said to Draco in an even tone, his green eyes glowing with an inner fire that Draco had not seen before. "And I thought Malfoy's had manners to most people," Harry continued, not at all affected by Draco's even glare. "You can't even acknowledge Adriana's presence."

    Hearing the name Adriana gave Draco a larger shock than waking up in the room had.

    "Did you say... Adriana?" he croaked out, turning around, noticing, for the first time, Adriana sitting on her bed. She smiled and waved slightly. "Adriana Sheba? But... the Dark Lord killed all the Sheba's last week!"

    "Yes, that is true Draco," Adriana whispered. "But, he couldn't kill all the Potter's."

    Draco's eyes widened as he looked at Adriana again. He saw the same emerald green eyes and the height, even though she was sitting down.

    "You-you're related to Potter?" he gasped. This was too many surprises for him.

    "Draco, I know its hard having to hear so many things that you thought you'd never hear, but here's another one. Not only am I related to him, I'm his sister. And, not only being his sister, I'm his twin."

    At this proclamation, Draco blanched and fell back to the ground moaning. Ginny looked right at Harry with an accusing stare.

    "Ginny... I only met her last night, just twenty minutes after I found you and Malfoy sprawled upon the table in the booth behind Hermione and me." Ginny didn't seem to believe Harry, but seemed to accept the truth for what she thought it was, a lie. "And... we have bad news, Ginny. Your family thinks you are dead," Ginny blanched, like Draco, but Harry continued, unheeded, tears falling down his cheeks. "But, your family knows tha- th-..." Harry's voice fell instantly, and he started crying, unabashed, about Ron's absence.

    "Ginny," Adriana said quietly, "Ron's, well, he isn't with us anymore."

    Ginny flinched and her eyes unfocused. Draco recognized this instantly, and quickly grabbed Ginny, not because she was about to land on Harry, but because she might hurt herself. Inwardly, Draco was pleased that Ron was gone, but Ginny was beyond upset, and that did not make Draco happy. He pulled Ginny close and murmured softly in her ear. It was obvious that he was trying to comfort her, but he was not getting very far.

    "Harry," Adriana said a little louder. "Get Hermione. Now."

    Harry looked up. His face was clear, but it was obvious he was crying. "How much time do we have?" he asked softly.

    "Not much. Quickly, get her. I'll explain to you what will happen as you fly."

    Harry nodded, and quickly grabbed his broom, and flew out of the window faster than he ever had.

    You don't have much time, Harry, he heard Adriana think to him. It's going to happen soon. Hurry!

    Harry flew to Hermione's house, with one thought on his mind.

Hurry.