Destiny

Discussing the Inevitable

Chapter 14

Harry had been kissed before. Several times in fact. While he was with Cho Chang and also during games, but never like this. Destiny was, without a doubt, the best person he'd ever kissed. She wasn't one of those people who slobbered on you so much you could actually choke, but she also wasn't the annoying pursed lipped kisser either. She was perfect.

Drawing back from the kiss, he carefully brushed her hair behind her ear. Leaning in to kiss her again, he had just placed his lips on hers when a flash of blinding light went off. As Destiny let out a little shriek, they both spun around.

"Colin!" Harry yelped. "What do you think you're doing?"

Stepping back nervously, Colin Creevey stuttered, "R-Ron gave me a galleon to follow you and get a picture if you kissed her!" Turning around, he sprinted for the safety of the school. Harry was jumping up to chase him when he felt Destiny's soft hand on his arm.

"Let him go. It's not a big deal. We were only kissing."

"Yeah, I guess." Smiling teasingly, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Speaking of kisses, that was great. We should try it again..."

"Yeah, I know I'm wonderful; nobody can resist me," Destiny replied in a snobbish voice, sticking her nose in the air.

Laughing, Harry asked seriously, "So... what does this mean?"

"Well... I know what I want it to mean..."

"I want it to mean something too..."

"All right!" Destiny shrieked, jumping up and throwing her hands into the air. "I have my first boyfriend AND I'm still a teenager!"

"What?" he asked amused.

"Well, I always figured I'd be fifty before I ever had a boyfriend- if ever."

Smiling, he grabbed her hand and started towards the school.

"They're going to crown the King and Queen soon... Maybe you'll win."

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she exclaimed disgustedly, "I don't want some stupid piece of metal scrap on my head!"

"Okay, okay!"

Walking slowly into the Great Hall, Harry left to find his friends while Destiny went in search of Draco.

"Draco!" she yelled when she finally saw him. Running up, she hugged him from behind. "Hi!"

Jumping in surprise, Draco turned around. "Hello," he muttered, shoving the hair out of his eyes with his knuckles. "I saw your grand entrance. That was really something."

Snorting loudly, Destiny grimaced. "That wasn't my intention!" Pausing hesitantly, she said suddenly very serious, "I need to talk with you. Alone."

Nodding, Draco excused himself from the scowling Slytherins and followed her to a quiet corner.

"Where did you go?" Draco hissed.

"Away. That's not the point. What's been going on?"

"With what?"

"Death Eater activity; when are they going to initiate you?"

Shifting nervously, he whispered, "Next week, on the first day of the new year."

"Oh, God help you," she muttered sadly.

"What are you going to do?"

"Me? I'm not working for him; I refuse to even pretend... Will you become a spy?"

"For you?"

Nodding, she pleaded, "For me."

Looking at his feet, he whispered, "For you, anything."

"I'll send some of my ghosts with you. They'll be there with you the entire time. Even if you can't see them, you'll be able to feel them." Smiling slightly, Draco turned to go. "Draco? I'm going to train Harry to be a Mage. Would you like to learn too? It may help you survive one day..."

"With Potter?" he asked, disgusted.

"Yes," she replied simply.

Sighing with defeat, he finally agreed. "But I refuse to be his friend!"

"Wouldn't dream of it. See you tomorrow at the Quidditch pitch. I'll show you where we'll be meeting."

Inclining his head in her direction, he turned and headed back to his group of friends. When he reached them, they immediately started to question him. He just waved away their questions.

Destiny was so absorbed in watching him; she didn't even hear when Harry approached.

"Destiny?"

"Ah!" she shrieked. Blushing at her outburst, she squeaked, "I'm fine! I'm good! What did you need?"

"I was going to tell you that they were going to announce the King and Queen soon. Don't you want to watch?"

"Uh... Sure. Who's up for the running?"

"Hannah Abbott, Parvati, Hermione, and you were added after you showed up."

"NO!" she moaned, slapping her hand to her forehead. "I don't WANT it!"

"Relax. It could be worse."

"How? How could this possibly get any worse?"

"Well... You could be forced to dance the hula naked when you get up there."

Raising her eyebrows, she shook her head in mock sadness.

"Why me?"

Before he could answer, Dumbledore stood up and called for attention.

"Good evening! I know you're all eager to know the results of our little contest. But first, how are you all enjoying being muggles for a night?" Loud cheering filled the room until the Headmaster motioned for silence. "Good, good! Now, can all of our candidates please join me here at the front?"

Grabbing Destiny's hand, Harry started to pull her towards the stage.

"No! Let go!"

"Stop it!" Harry hissed. "You're making an idiot of yourself!"

Letting her shoulders sag in defeat, she shuffled up to the teachers table. At the head table, Draco Malfoy, a sixth year from Hufflepuff, and a fifth year Ravenclaw stood with the girls.

"Please, oh please, not me!" Destiny muttered over and over.

Snickering, Harry squeezed her hand.

From where she was standing, Destiny could see Draco smirking at her. Annoyed that he found her pain funny, she stuck her tongue out at him and turned away.

"And now," Dumbledore said, "Our Queen is-"

"Not me, not me..." She whispered frantically, closing her eyes and crossing her fingers.

"...Hannah Abbott-"

"YES!" Destiny shrieked loudly. As a wave of laughter went through the school, she smiled sheepishly. "Whoops!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're quite thrilled Miss Black," Dumbledore said with a smile, the twinkle in his eyes even more pronounced than usual. "Moving on, our King is... Harry Potter!"

"HA!" Destiny exclaimed before she could stop herself. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she cringed. 'Two outbursts in two minutes; no more caffeine for me!' she thought.

Giving her a nasty look, Harry went up to accept his crown. Taking Hannah's hand, they walked off to have their dance together as was customary.

"Psst! Malfoy!" Glancing over at her, Draco raised an eyebrow. "Wanna dance?" Nodding, he came over and led her out to the dance floor. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled up at him. "So are you happy you didn't win? 'Cause I am."

"You're happy I didn't win?"

"No, that I didn't."

Looking over her head to where Harry was dancing with Hannah, he said, "I didn't really care. There are more important things in the world..."

"Yeah... Hey Draco?"

"Hm?"

"Are you afraid? Of what's going to happen next week, I mean?"

"Yes, I'd be an idiot if I wasn't."

"Oh..." Closing her eyes momentarily, she said quietly, "I wasn't afraid when he came and asked me. Not for myself anyways. I was only afraid for everyone else... Did you ever actually want to join him?"

Looking hesitant, he answered slowly, "I'm not really sure. I did want this, but only because my Dad told me to want it. I never thought it would happen- actually I never even really thought about it. And now that it has happened, I realize it's not what I wanted. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes." Sighing sadly, she quoted, "The grass is always greener on the other side-"

"Until you get to the other side and realize it's mostly just weeds," Draco finished for her.

"Exactly."

"What about you?"

Looking thoughtful, she finally said with conviction, "No. I never wanted a life of inflicting fear. It wasn't for me. I've always wanted to help others... Probably because I knew what it was like to be hurt. I was always the one picking up lost animals and trying to fix everything."

"Really?" Draco asked surprised. "You don't seem the type."

"Yeah, well, things change. I grew up and realized that my destiny was to help those that were beyond the help of anyone in the rest of the world: the dead. I saw that... I wasn't meant to help anything on this plain of existence."

"You really believe that?"

"It's all I've ever been told; all that I've ever known. How could I possibly believe anything else?" Seeing him giving her a look of sympathy, she quickly turned the subject away from herself. "Have you learned yet what your purpose is?"

"No, and I don't think that most people ever truly realize their purpose."

"Oh..."

After a few minutes of silence, Destiny asked, "Why are you willing to hang out with me even though it makes the rest of your house angry?"

"Because you understand, without being told, what I could never say aloud." As the song drew to a close, he stepped back. "See you tomorrow on the pitch?"

"Yeah, at noon. Be ready for the worst workout of you life!"

The rest of the night passed quickly for Destiny and before she realized it, she was moving towards the exit on her way to Gryffindor tower.

"Destiny!"

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Remus waving her towards him.

"Hey!" she said happily as she stopped by his side. "What's up?"

Looking unusually grave, Remus said, "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office. I'm supposed to escort you there."

'Crap! And here I was hoping this would wait until morning.'

"Alright, let's go."

Walking in silence, Remus finally asked the question that had been running through his mind all night. "What were you thinking just showing up like that? I mean, you left the school without permission and just expected to be allowed back in?"

Giving him a look that could kill, she said bluntly, "Yes. If they want to keep me on their side badly enough, they will look the other way and pretend to not have seen."

Reaching the stone gargoyle, Remus gave the password and she continued up the stairs alone.

'Here we go again,' she thought as she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called out.

The interior of the room looked much the same as it had the last time she had been in there. The only difference was that, this time, she had to face the Headmaster on her own.

"Hello, Sir. How are you?"

"I'm very good. I have a proposition to make with you."

"And what would that be Sir?"

"I would like for you to join the light side. Now, I understand that on the Dark Side you wouldn't have to prove yourself but, on our side, you must. Everyone has to. We must know that you are truly loyal- it's the only way we can protect ourselves."

"And what happens if I prove myself?"

"You can be initiated into the Order of the Phoenix."

"That's not important to me. Have you given any thought to what IS?"

"Destiny, I realize that you want equal rights but the only one who can get them for you, is you."

"But..." she prompted.

"But I will help you show people that you are not the monster you have been made out to be."

"I believe you have yourself a deal, Albus Dumbledore. But, I have some conditions. I want to train Harry Potter for combat. He needs to know how to use his Mage powers and how to use hand to hand combat should his wand be taken away and he finds his powers are failing him."

"This is fine by me."

"There's more. I also wish to train Draco Malfoy."

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes. He's willing to become a spy- if you can bring yourselves to trust him," she said sarcastically.

Ignoring her tone, Dumbledore nodded and said, "We welcome him to our side."

"Good. Is that all?"

"One more thing. If you take off like that again, I will have no choice but to expel you. Have a nice evening Miss Black."

"Sure, you too."

*****

"Harry?" Ron inquired.

"Yes?"

"Where did you and Destiny go earlier?"

Smiling slyly, Harry said, "We went for a walk around the lake... Alone."

"And?" Ron asked, sitting up straighter. "What happened?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Ron's jaw dropped open. "There is no way you're going to get away with not telling me!"

Laughing, Harry smirked, "Relax Ron. Not much happened. We just kissed."

"And how was it?"

"Best kiss ever."

"Is that so?" a voice said from behind him and Ron's couch.

Spinning around, Harry smiled nervously. "Um... Hi Destiny! How long have you been there?"

With an amused smirk, Destiny replied, "Long enough."

"Oh..."

"Um... I'm going to bed now," Ron said uncomfortably, rising to his feet.

"Bye Ron," Destiny said absently, keeping her eyes on Harry who was shifting nervously under her gaze. As Ron disappeared up the stairs, Destiny smiled. "Well, there's something I never expected to see: Harry Potter acting like a guy."

"Sorry," he replied softly.

Laughing softly, she walked around the couch and plopped down into Harry's lap.

"You misunderstand. I'm not angry." Brushing his hair off his forehead, she leaned against his chest. "I'm just happy you weren't trashing me."

Hugging her tightly against him, he whispered into her ear, "I would never do that."

"I know. That's what makes you special."

Content to just listen to his heart and even breathing, Destiny closed her eyes and cuddled up against him.

'I feel so safe, so perfectly safe...' she thought peacefully. As she drifted off to sleep, a vision flashed through her head- and was promptly forgotten.

A vision of death and destruction, of a world where chaos ruled. And Destiny's visions were never wrong...