In Another World

It’s everything I wanted.
It’s everything I needed.
It’s everything I dreamed about.
It’s here in my heart,
It’s deep in my soul,
And nothin’s gonna take it out.
Never felt so good,
Never felt so right.
Never knew that it would be,
The biggest part of my life.
 
Chapter Seven: Old Friends, New Beginnings
 
“With all due respect, Headmaster, I’m not sure if I want to go back.”
 
Dumbledore blinked. He hadn’t expected this (which is VERY unusual). He gave Kodac a piercing blue stare. Kodac’s head bowed, then looked up again.
 
“Why don’t you want to go back to Seabring, Kodac?” Dumbledore asked.
 
Before Kodac could answer, the door burst open (with a glare from Madam Pomfrey) and Lavender ran in, followed by Harry, Hermione, and Ron, all of whom very out of breath. Lavender dashed over to Parvati and threw her arms around her.
 
“I was so worried about you!” Lavender sobbed in relief. Parvati hugged her friend weakly. Madam Pomfrey clucked again.
 
“I am sorry, Miss Brown, but I cannot permit you to excite her any longer. She’s been through a horrible ordeal, and she needs rest and relaxation!” Madam Pomfrey spoke sharply. Lavender hung her head as she mumbled an apology. Dumbledore smiled to himself.
 
“I’m alright, Lavender. Just tired…and very hungry,” Parvati said softly. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and, after failing to drag Ron out, left. Ron, however, was worried more about Lavender than Parvati and Kodac. Ron awkwardly patted Lavender’s back. He had started to pull away when Lavender threw her arms around him, too. Blushing redder than his hair, Ron led the sobbing Lavender from the room.
 
Parvati watched them go, and then turned back to Kodac, who was speaking with Dumbledore.
 
“Why don’t you want to go back to Seabring, Kodac?” the Headmaster asked again. Kodac bowed his head. He was blushing, too (Parvati could see his ears reddening). Dumbledore glanced in her direction. He chuckled softly, then left the room.
 
He had just closed the door when Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office with a plate of food for Parvati. Thanking her, Parvati ate, watching Kodac all the while. Pomfrey had gotten him a plate too, but he said he wasn’t hungry, much to the nurse’s chagrin. Kodac seemed to notice he was being watched, and he looked and saw Parvati, eating (rather quickly, in his opinion) and watching him. He got up and walked over.
 
“Don’t eat too fast. You don’t want a stomach ache, do you?” he chided her. Parvati slowed down, and took a swig of pumpkin juice before answering.

 
Kodac had just lain down to sleep. He closed his eyes, and began to dream.
 
Kodac looked through the door. He listened to his godparents’ discussion.
 
“He must know his surname sooner or later, Marvin,” his godmother told him.
 
“I know, but to tell him now, would destroy him in the long run, I think,” came the reply.
 
“I want to agree with you, but with a surname like ‘Drache’ I don’t know what to do.”
 
Kodac gulped. They turned. Kodac had ducked back into the shadows of his room and dived into bed. He had just pulled the blankets up to his chin and closed his eyes when they threw the door open. Seeing him in his bed, they knew he’d overheard.
 
Kodac opened his eyes. Sitting up, he looked about the infirmary. He could hear Parvati’s soft, gentle breathing. He’d acted as though he’d never overheard his godparents talking about his surname, and they acted as though they didn’t know he had overheard. He had quite forgotten about it when he was knighted, and in the excitement of the adventures that followed.

 
Harry and Hermione walked down the corridor. Though their hands were intertwined, they didn’t pay any attention (though many people saw their hands) and went on talking about the situation.
 
“He has to go back to Seabring, Harry. If he doesn’t, Seabring could be overrun by evil things!” Hermione pleaded.
 
“I know, but if the rest of Seabring’s knights are anything like Kodac, it’ll be just fine without him. Have you seen the way he looks at Parvati?” Harry asked. Hermione bowed her head.
 
I wish Harry’d look at me like Kodac does Parvati, she thought. She looked down at something, than looked up to see Harry looking into her eyes. She lost herself in his eyes, as he had done in hers.
 
Their faces were close. They didn’t realize that they were in the entrance hall (and that people had stopped talking to watch). They only seemed to care about the other.
 
Their faces moved closer still. Wild thoughts rushed through Hermione’s mind. Their faces move yet closer. So close, they could the other’s breath. They kissed.

 
Ron led Lavender up to the Gryffindor common room. Lavender’s sobbing quieted when she sat down on the couch close to the fire. Ron sat next to her, holding her, comforting her. Lavender blinked through her tears of relief. Looking up at Ron, she suddenly realized what she was really feeling.
 
Ron bowed his head when Lavender looked up. He’d had a crush on her since mid-way through their fifth year; he didn’t want to spoil his chance now.
 
Lavender smiled when she saw Ron look down at the floor. Bringing his head up to look at her, Ron smiled shyly. Lavender felt a smile creep over her face as well. Their faces edged closer. Their lips connected.
 
Lightning coursed through Ron’s body. He finally felt what he had been waiting for since fifth year. He didn’t know Lavender was feeling the same thing. Nor did he know that she has had a crush on him since the end of fourth year.
 
A sudden noise startled them. Looking about, Ron blushed as he saw Harry and Hermione standing in the portrait hole. Hermione blushed, too, as Harry bowed his head.

 
Kodac rushed from the infirmary. He suddenly felt the need to get out of there.
 
When he found his bearings, he found himself at the clearing where he’d first seen Parvati and Lavender. He looked up at the tree he had watched them from, then climbed to the spot where he’d hid.
 
A time passed. He didn’t see a small figure approach him.
 
“Awfully cold up here, isn’t it?” Parvati spoke softly, startling him.
 
Kodac saved himself from falling by grabbed a branch, which cracked with his weight. When he was steady, he looked over to Parvati.
 
“How did you find me?” he asked.
 
“Followed you. Mind you, it wasn’t easy to do so. You’ve had years of exercise, I had trouble keeping up,” Parvati chided him. Kodac blushed. “You woke me up, you know, in the infirmary.”
 
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I had a bad dream, and felt that I had to get some air.”
 
“Mind telling me about it?” Parvati asked softly.
 
“It was about a discussion I had overheard when I was a child. You know, I was orphaned when I was small, and was raised by my godparents. Well, this discussion I overheard. I found out my surname then,” Kodac explained. A tear threatened to fall down his face.
 
Parvati put an arm around his shoulders and hugged him to her. She spoke tentatively, “So what is your surname?”
 
“Drache.”
 
Parvati thought this over, then shoved it to the back of her mind. She noticed a tear threatening to go down his face. She brushed it away.
 
Kodac looked down. He looked up again. “We should get back to the castle. Don’t want that happen again,” he said softly.
 
Kodac helped Parvati to the ground, then walked to the edge of the forest before stopping and looking at her.
 
“Parvati, I…” he started, but the words didn’t come. Say it now, dammit, say it now! he thought. He looked into Parvati’s eyes. “I…love you.”

 
Voldemort howled. He was angry. He was more than angry. They had taken his wand, they had slain his pets, and now they had gotten away. He vowed to get them back. Anyway he knew how…