Slytherin Forever! Book Two: Shadow

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Chapter Eleven: That 'Seer' Thing.

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The season to harvest the unborn and pure

Reunite the children of war

Take command of spirits at birth

Put your spells on the already cursed

- The Underworld Domains, Old Man's Child.

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Tumultuous applause broke out among the students as the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the Great Hall on the day of the Quidditch Final. Ginny and the other Slytherins, having entered the Hall moments before to loud boos, hissed loudly as the team passed.

Flint looked paler than ever before as the team tried to eat something. They, of course, failed miserably at it and Zeynep was even seen tossing something back onto one of the dishes. The only real exception of this was Derrick, who ate even more than usual (if such a thing was possible, anyway) and tried to urge the rest to eat.

"I can't work, I can't focus," said Geraldine Halliwell, who had been studying for her NEWTs, nervously. "I hope that the match is over soon and that we don't get flattened too badly."

"We won't lose," Dev assured her. But then she too turned to Flint and the others, asking: "Are you sure that we stand a chance?"

"Our team's better than last year," Draco said with a sigh. "At least Gin does not fly right into one of the poles of the goal hoops."

The older Slytherins laughed for a moment, remembering the unfortunate incident a couple of years ago when Adrian Pucey had flown headlong into one of the poles, before the serious looks returned on their faces and they seemed to try to think about anything but the match.

When it was finally time to get to the pitch the team got up with stark-white faces, not responding to any of the good luck wishes from their Housemates. Ginny swallowed nervously, thinking to herself that it would be okay even though she did not believe a word of it herself, and trudged after the team looking thoroughly miserable. Draco, who immediately noticed it, grasped her hand for a moment and squeezed it gently. He too was nervous for everything seemed to come right down to his actions today.

They finally walked onto the pitch, having changed into their Quidditch robes silently, to loud boos from three-quarters of the crowd but large cheers from their own House. After Lee Jordan had introduced the Gryffindors he continued with the Slytherins, saying:

"The team's led by captain and Chaser Flint, who has made a surprising change in his line-up this year. Next to Derrick and Zabini, the Beaters, and Montague, another Chaser, you will find that Draco Malfoy and Virginia Weasley have been added to the team. Malfoy is the Seeker for this year and Weasley has become the third Chaser. Of course, the Quidditch blood is present in Weasley already for her brothers Fred and George are on the Gryffindor team... and who does not remember the magnificent Seeker Charlie Weasley?"

The teams sped up into the air after Madame Hooch's whistle and a roar from the crowd, and Gryffindor scored within no time at all. Soon it became twenty to zero after a foul committed by Flint, who really seemed to be using any means to get the Quaffle.

Thirty-zero soon came.

Flint was in possession now and Ginny streaked past him quickly on her way to the goalposts of Gryffindor. He passed the Quaffle to her moments later, narrowly avoiding a hit by a Bludger, making her swerve around in mid-air to catch it.

"And what a spectacular catch!" Lee Jordan roared. He seemed to be forgetting to which House he belonged as he continued: "Weasley is a superb Chaser, very difficult to get the Quaffle from her... and yes, she has scored!"

Ginny punched the air with her fist as she flew back to the rest of the team. The Gryffindors were awarded many penalties in the match because all of the Slytherins seemed to have taken the advise of Flint to heart this time around. It was seventy-ten now.

Ginny swooped down to the ground suddenly, bringing the Gryffindors out of their concentration. Zeynep, who immediately realized what she was doing, dropped down several feet as well and went to fly next to her. On the other side of the pitch, Montague and Derrick rose into the air to fly right before the Gryffindor goalposts. Flint intercepted the Quaffle without making any real effort because the Gryffindor team was too busy with staring at the weird tactics, and passed it to Ginny. She sped along the ground, feet nearly touching it, together with Zeynep who flew next to her, armed with his bat to prevent her from getting hit by a Bludger. She zoomed up to Montague, narrowly avoiding Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson on the way, and passed the Quaffle to him. He scored, seventy-twenty.

Angelina Johnson received the Quaffle later on and Ginny sped towards her, face set. She shot towards Angelina with great speed, almost like a bullet, and intercepted the Quaffle before the girl could even blink.

"Great play from Weasley," Lee Jordan commented in a bored voice. "Flint's done a good job at choosing the team this time around."

Derrick and Zeynep both circled around Ginny as she made for the Gryffindor goalposts, leaving the rest of the team unprotected. Ginny passed the Quaffle to Flint, who passed it to Montague. He tossed it back to Ginny as they entered the scoring area and Ginny's face lit up with a shark-like grin as she looked at Oliver Wood. She scored.

"Take that!" Zeynep and Ginny roared to nobody in particular.

Their euphoria at scoring didn't last long. Seconds later Draco dove down to the ground, having sighted the Snitch below, but lost out on Harry Potter's fast Firebolt. Harry caught the Snitch in the end. Silence reigned among the Slytherins as they landed even though the Gryffindors and everyone else were celebrating the victory.

"We did our best," Ginny said to a disappointed Flint. "The penalties were the largest issue. I think that we have learned our lesson for next time."

"Our best was not good enough," Draco mumbled as the team changed into their regular clothes. "I should have been faster. I waited too long."

"Don't beat yourself up because of it," Zeynep said sternly as Draco buried his face in his hands. "The Gryffs won with sheer dumb luck and there is absolutely nothing that any of us could have done to change that."

Ginny looked at the miserable figure that was Draco on the bench. She sighed and went to sit next to him after a while, saying:

"I think that you played well. This loss is not the end of the world, you know."

"I wanted to win so badly," Draco mumbled. "I wanted to show everyone that we were more than just a bunch of good-for-nothing Slytherins."

"And so you have," Ginny whispered and pulled him into a (one-armed) hug. "I'm proud of you."

"How much I hate to interrupt this cute moment," Flint grinned, "we really need to get back to the castle before anyone misses us."

"Of course," Draco nodded and got up. "There will be other matches."

***

Salem Academy Of Magic. Salem, Massachusetts. United States Of America.

"As I understand it now the end of the school year is only weeks away," May said to the staff of the Academy. "I want to thank every single one of you for another magnificent year and I hope to see you all back safe and sound at the start of the new school year."

"Don't worry, I'll be safe," Bonnie Peters grinned. "I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for a good reason..."

"And I'll return after I've seen the World Cup," Arthur Langtry said with a smile. "I hope that Bulgaria gets into the final."

"I'm for the UK," Bonnie replied, "as you know fully well."

"But first there are the exams," Ellie Mayfair, the old Transfiguration teacher, announced to loud groans from everyone else. "Has everyone set their exams and so yes, what are you going to do? I am going to ask the three years I have lots about Animagi this time."

"I am going to set the first four years some Transfiguration spells they have to perform in order to pass," Erica Williams, the other Transfiguration teacher, said with a smile. "They will enjoy the exam because it is not very difficult and should be easy for everyone."

The Academy in Salem has got the most extensive staff from all the wizarding schools around the world, with the possible exception of Sverige Academy For Gifted Youngsters in Sweden. The first four years are taught the basics of all the subjects, after which they are fit to work in the wizarding world. Therefore the education at the Academy starts when the children turn fifteen (before that they have gone to a Preparation School) so that the children have turned nineteen when they graduate. Anyone who wishes it can continue at the Academy with another three years of education in which they learn harder spells. These three years need different teachers for each subject because the amount of work the students have to make is more than in the past four years they have already had. So for the first four years there are teachers for the basic principles and for the remaining three there are others hired who usually have a broader range of knowledge.

"I think that we don't have the time to discuss this subject," May sighed. "I regret to announce that our Divination teacher for the higher years, Melanie Smith, has decided to resign. She has been offered a post at the Dark Arts Department in Durmstrang, Bulgaria, and she has accepted this offer with gratitude."

"It's not like I want to go away from everything familiar here," Mel explained softly, "but it is better for our future if I go. Bad things are going to happen soon and I want to be around when they do so that I shall be able to stop them."

"We'll all miss you," Bonnie said firmly. "Who is taking your place?"

"I don't know yet," Mel shrugged. "And, Bonn, I'll miss you too."

***

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, Britain.

When the exams began the castle finally regained some of the peace that had reigned before the Quidditch Final had passed. The Slytherins were all subdued; the team members were still terribly disappointed in themselves... and the only Slytherin in the castle who seemed to be happier than ever was Loki.

Even Ginny had to admit that Loki looked better than he had done before as she saw him one day laughing with Professor Flitwick about something. He gave her the tiniest of nods as she passed and she smiled back, eyes still filled with the fresh memory of their loss. However, there was no time to dwell on any of this as the exams started.

"My water goblet still had feathers," Dev complained after Transfiguration. "What a nightmare!"

"Mine still had a beak instead of a handle," Ginny comforted Dev. "I think that McGonagall shall take more points off for that."

Charms was not that much better, Ginny reflected afterwards. She had managed to perform a couple of charms successfully but had gone completely wrong at Summoning things in the room, making them fly away from her instead. Natalya's performance had been slightly better, thanks to some help from Zeynep beforehand, but she had Levitated Flitwick so high that he had bumped into the ceiling and had stayed out cold for at least five minutes.

"My potion was pink," Marita shuddered as they left the Potions dungeon the next day. "Do you reckon that Snape is going to notice that?"

"Of course he will, seeing as the original was supposed to be blue," Natalya said to her. "My potion had a cloud of grey smoke hovering over it though so I think that I have not done that well either."

"I think that I've done well," Ginny remarked. "Mine was a darker blue than I had intended at first but I think that Snape will hardly notice it."

"You'll pass Potions with flying colors," Draco assured her as they lunched together. The others were in the library, doing some last-minute revision for Herbology. "I had Divination this morning and let me tell you that Trelawney hung on every word I said. Of course -" he grinned sheepishly "-- I have never seen anything in a crystal ball before so I'm not sure if I passed the test of looking as mysterious as possible."

"I think you did," Ginny said thoughtfully as she looked at her friend. "What did you predict? That Potter is going to hit himself around the head with his Firebolt?"

"No I didn't, though that's a good idea for next year," Draco smirked. "I predicted that You-Know-Who would rise again soon. I only saw a lot of fog in that ball but I pretended that it had something to do with the dark times ahead of us."

"That prediction might actually be accurate," Ginny muttered as she glanced around to make sure that nobody heard what she was saying. "I have reason to believe that he is not dead and will do anything to get his old power back and he shall succeed in that somehow. I don't have those nightmares for no reason at all, you know. And Lya... well... she says that she saw the future the day she had that vision: You-Know-Who was at the height of his power."

"But you don't know that for sure," Draco replied softly. "We'll see what the future brings without predicting it - or trying to predict it, anyway - and there is no reason to be worried about those things yet. It might take years before it comes to that point again..."

"Somehow I didn't get that impression," Ginny muttered as the bell rang. As an afterthought, she added: "Though that just might be me."

Herbology was an unqualified disaster for most students. Ginny did rather well on the parts where she had to write things down but her Yrrin Coskin's tentacles had slammed into her face moments after she tried to take three leaves from it. (Yrrin Coskin was used for antidotes against all kinds of venoms but was pretty violent itself.) She strongly suspected herself to receive a very low mark for her work this time around.

The others were not that good with the plants either. Thomas had taken three leaves from the plant but had done some damage to the plant itself in the process. Trevor and Nelson, despite their good marks in Herbology before, were having problems of a different kind because their plants seemed to be in love with each other so much that they constantly tried to get into each other's pots. (The Yrrin Coskin plants are known for their emotional life and therefore this was not very unusual, though not very handy.) Natalya, meanwhile, was doing fine and Ginny really suspected that her friend had received a very good mark.

The week progressed slowly, with History of Magic and Astronomy on Wednesday. Ginny found both subjects not so difficult and she wrote everything down she knew about the Giant Wars and the many moons of Jupiter that day. But on Thursday, in the middle of the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, things started to go horribly wrong...

The class was quietly working on a test about all kinds of creatures, including the nasty Grindylows, and some spells Loki had taught them when Lupin was absent. The fact that they had been included in the test suggested that Loki'd had some influence on the test itself; making most of the Slytherins hope that he would also have some influence on their marks. However, all of those thoughts were roughly disturbed when Natalya fell off her chair.

"Miss Cruz, are you okay?" Lupin asked calmly.

He did not get a response from the girl at all. Ginny rose to her feet together with Alisha and they ran over to their friend quickly. Natalya's eyes were closed and she was breathing irregularly. Ginny shared an understanding look with Alisha. Lupin had come up to the girls by then and looked at Natalya's fragile body on the floor with a sigh. But then she began to speak, in a harsh voice that nobody had ever heard come out of her mouth before, and these were her words:

"...Before midnight this eve the servant will set out to find his master. Greater than ever the Dark Lord shall rise and the world shall fall back into shadow. More terrible than before he shall be and he shall rule us all... unless the last of his blood defeats him at the solstice..."

Silence followed her words and the class looked on in awe as Natalya gasped and sat up straight. She looked around and whispered:

"Sorry, I must have dozed off for a second."

But then she noticed how everyone was looking at her and her dark eyes became large just before they slowly filled themselves with fear and comprehension.

"It happened again, didn't it?" she asked nobody in particular. "If I scared anyone: I'm sorry and I honestly didn't mean it. What did I say?"

"You have said something that still has to be explained to both of us," Ginny said grimly. "We shall go and ask for an explanation tomorrow evening."

"He said that we had to wait until the school year was over," Natalya muttered. "But, yes, I agree with you."

"The school year's nearly over and I have a feeling that he'll tell us everything we want to know this time around. Though -" and here Ginny finally looked worried "-- I don't know if I will be able to handle the truth..."

"I'll be there too," Natalya said firmly. "No matter what happens tomorrow, Gin, just remember that I'll always be here for you to turn to."

"And so shall we," Alisha said and the rest of the group nodded in agreement. "Even Zeynep and Draco will not deny that we, above all else, hold onto each other in times of need."