May Day Eve

CHAPTER EIGHT : TWINS

Hermione

Hermione stood on her tiptoes while trying to reach the red leather-bound with bronze letterings that said "Charming Charms to Help You Charm Your Way Out" stamped on its spine. Her fingers barely touched the edge of the book but she was determined to reach it. At this point, Harry's hand deftly pulled it out from its shelf, and he handed it to her.

"Here," he said.

"Thanks," she answered.

"Next time, just ask," he told her. Hermione sat on the floor , tucking her knees in, and opened the book in hopes of finding something about Confundus Charms. Harry sat behind her, placing his legs on either side of her and resting his chin on her shoulder so he could read the book from there.

"Harry, don't do that. It tickles," she said.

"Don't do what? Don't breathe?" he asked, tucking a stray brown hair behind her ear.

"Try not to breathe so heavily," she answered, shivering slightly at his touch.

"I'll try," he promised. He gently placed a soft kiss on her exposed neck and wrapped his arms around her waist. Hermione couldn't help but let out a sigh of pleasure. She could feel his touch fully because of the sheerness of her silk pyjamas. For a moment she forgot about the gravity of the situation at hand and just wallowed in the heaven that is Harry. Harry, sensing her defence going down a notch, turned her face to his, and brought his lips down to hers. After a few moments of sweet, chaste, kissing, he decided to tread the indecent waters and he deepened the kiss. She responded in like, massaging his tongue with hers. As she ran her hand over his messy hair, the thought of picking up where they left off occurred to him. His hand swiftly glided from her waist upwards and gently fondled one breast. This move jolted her, unfortunately for him, back to reality. Hermione pulled away, opting to break off their wanton delight.

"Ginny," she told him.

He let out a sigh of frustration. "I can't believe it, I finally get the chance to have you all to myself and something like this happens," he said, blowing his fringe away from his forehead, "Is it me or are we just doomed to have the worst luck ever?"

"It's part of the Potter-Granger-Weasley tradition, rooted in Murphy's law, that on every marked holiday, something strange is bound to happen," she said, reaching up to twirl his hair around her finger.

"So I guess it was a bad idea to get together on a holiday," he said, smiling.

"It was a worse idea not to have gotten together earlier," she smiled back, "and we're still much luckier, mind you."

"I know, I shouldn't be complaining. After all, I have you," he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

She flashed him a wide grin as she turned her attention back to the abandoned book. It suddenly hit her that in her haste, she had forgotten to put her robe back on. Feeling very cold, she leaned back against Harry, letting him snuggle her closer. It was going to be very hard doing research from now on.

Parvati

Parvati clutched her robe tighter as it was very cold, and her feet were freezing "Lucky Hermione, she gets to stay with Harry," she thought.

"Lavender, do you have any idea where the professors' quarters are?" Parvati asked. They had been walking around the castle for the past quarter of an hour.

"Well, it never really came up, did it?" Lavender harrumphed.

"Where do those darned professors sleep anyway?" Parvati cried.

"I don't know. Who would've thought we'd need to know?" Lavender joined her.

They walked around for five more minutes when an idea hit Parvati.

"Filch!" she squealed.

Lavender quickly ducked behind her friend, "Where?!"

"No, you idiot. We'll get ourselves caught by Filch, then he can take us to the professors!" Parvati exclaimed.

Lavender gasped, "Parvati, I never thought you had it in you! You actually used your brain."

"Don't look so surprised. Come on, let's make some noise," Parvati continued to walk down the hall, looking for something that made noise. She left Lavender gawping after her.

Ron

Ron walked ahead of Justin and Malfoy. He couldn't believe he was stuck with them, that it was Hermione who put him in that position in the first place. "Hermione," he thought, "I wonder what she and Harry are doing right now." Anger coursed through his face as thoughts of his two best friends snogging in the library formed in his head. "They would never do that," he scolded himself, "At least not at Ginny's expense."

"Ginny," he thought. He wondered how she was doing at that moment. He dreaded the thought of Ginny suffering in what was supposed to be hell. Images of his sister wailing in pain amidst burning fires made his eyes well up in tears. He bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from crying entirely as he needed to be strong for her.

The three of them decided to go back to the Potions dungeon as it was the only place that they knew for sure that Belpo had been to. Ron stopped in front of the entrance to the dungeon with Justin and Malfoy closely behind him. Without saying a word, he opened the door and walked in.

Stains of blood on the floor caught Ron's attention. Justin and Malfoy seem to have spotted this as well as the three of them squatted on the ground, almost simultaneously, to get a better look. The marks were unclear but the distinct shape of a footstep could be recognized. Justin caught Ron's eyes and they confirmed each other's thoughts with a nod. Malfoy, on the other hand, was already following the trail of blood before the other two could even stand up.

Ron growled under his breath but didn't voice any complaints. He and Justin followed Malfoy as he read the track of the footsteps. Malfoy turned left when he reached the outside of the dungeon and continued walking towards the direction of the staircase. The marks were becoming fainter and farther apart, but it still sufficed.

The three of them watched as the marks became scarcer until there was no more. They found themselves standing dumbstruck in the middle of the entrance hall. None of them had any clue how to continue. The desperation was evident in their faces. That was until they heard feeble scratching noises coming from somewhere.

"Wha--" Justin began but was immediately shushed by Malfoy with a raise of his hand. Malfoy's eyes squinted as he tried to decipher the source of the ruckus. Ron did the same, and after a few moments, he motioned for the both of them to follow him as he went near the door to their right.

"No, Weasel, it's this way," Malfoy aired cockily, pointing to the door to their left.

"I'm quite sure it's this one, Malfoy," Ron answered uncompromisingly.

"When exactly was the last time you cleaned your ears? It's this one," he insisted, his voice rising a little higher.

Justin, who was good at sensing upcoming testosterone battles, came in between them for the second time that night. "No, it's that one," he announced plainly as he pointed to the door next to the one Malfoy was referring to.

"Oh, how do you know?" Ron questioned him.

As if on cue, the scratching noise resumed for a limited moment.

"That's how I know," he answered with a satisfactory smile.

"Well, it's nearer my door," Malfoy expressed.

"Oh sod off," Ron hissed at him.

"Will you two let it go?! You're both wrong! Now concentrate at the problem at hand, Aurora Belpo may be behind that door. What do you suggest we do?" Justin scolded.

"Opening the door would be a good idea," Malfoy smirked.

"How about I slap you silly first?" Justin warned him, placing both hands on his hips.

"I think Weasley boy over here would be more appreciative of that offer and opening the door would be a good idea. In case you haven't heard, this Belpo woman was held captive in a hellish location for half a century, and one day she is finally set free. Do you seriously think that she'd go lock herself up in a broom closet?" Malfoy said with raised eyebrows.

"You have a point there," Justin admitted as he began removing imaginary dirt from his nails.

Once more, a slow screeching noise reverberated from the door. "Then what do you suppose that is?" Ron eyed him.

"Probably just a cat," Malfoy answered nonchalantly as he twisted the doorknob and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" Malfoy toppled backwards, falling over Justin who was right behind him.

"What in the world?!" Ron exclaimed, his face etched with unbeknownst horror.

"GOYLE, I cannot believe you! How could you? With him?!" Justin said with his voice filled with anger and disbelief. He struggled to get up, and he tried to straighten his robes.

"You move onto him? And right after me? Couldn't you have at least found someone who has half as much charisma as me?" Justin continued. Malfoy and Ron looked back and forth between Goyle and Justin as they waited for the former to speak up.

"You don't understand, we're in-love!" Goyle exclaimed in defence. In the meantime, Malfoy was gagging genuinely.

Justin's expression immediately softened at this admittance and he spoke mildly, "Is that true? Are you and Vincent really in love?"

Crabbe and Goyle nodded shyly. They glanced at each other and Goyle leaned forward planting a sweet kiss on Crabbe's lips.

"This is not happening," Malfoy said weakly, his face positively green, "How could I not know about this?"

Crabbe spoke up this time with annoyance at Malfoy, "You don't pay attention, do you Drayyy-coh? The only reason we've been following you around is because you're hotter than a roasted barbecue on a July day noon. We thought we had hope when you took Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball. After all, she could pass for a good-looking male. But then we realized that you just had horrible taste in women and you were hopelessly straight. That's when we started dating other people. Although we only recently found out that we are meant to be together." His eyes had a glazed look in them.

"Ah! Stop it!" It was Ron's turn to go ballistic, "I'm supposed to be amused by this turn of events in Malfoy's life, but the idea of you two together is just so darn disturbing! I feel for you, Malfoy."

"At least your friends aren't butt-ugly like these two," Malfoy said. He was still unable to get up from the floor.

"Oh, get over it! Shouldn't you be happy that your friends are in love? That goes for you, too, my ickle honey bunny Ronniekins," Justin cooed, gripping Ron's arm so tightly that he was unable to squirm.

Malfoy finally gathered enough strength to stand up. He brushed the dirt away from the rear area of his robes. Placing his hands on his hips, he took a very deep breath and his face was curled in thought. He sighed and pursed his lips signalling that he had made up his mind.

"I'm not sure what I want to think of you two right now, so let's just leave it at that. There are more pressing matters at hand. I have a question for you two, and it's very important that you use all the brain cells available in your head. Have you seen a severely burned woman anywhere within this area in the last half hour?"

"A woman you say? Does this woman have any identifying marks that can set her apart from the rest?" Crabbe interrogated him.

"How often do you see a severely burned woman walking around Hogwarts in the middle of the night?" Malfoy answered sarcastically.

As soon as Malfoy finished, Goyle had a misty look in his eyes.

Malfoy, who noticed it, began to ask him, "Are you reminded of something, Goyle?"

GOYLE'S MAJOR FLASHBACK

"I'm not sure what I want to think of you two right now, so let's just leave it at that. There are more pressing matters at hand. I have a question for you two, and it's very important that you use all the brain cells available in your head. Have you seen a severely burned woman anywhere within this area in the last half hour?"

"A woman you say? Does this woman have any identifying marks that can set her apart from the rest?" Crabbe interrogated him.

"How often do you see a severely burned woman walking around Hogwarts in the middle of the night?" Malfoy answered sarcastically.

As soon as Malfoy finished, Goyle had a misty look in his eyes.

Malfoy, who noticed it, began to ask him, "Are you reminded of something, Goyle?"

END OF GOYLE'S MAJOR FLASHBACK

"No," Goyle answered simply.

Malfoy at this point had a very livid face and was massaging his temples with his fingers. Ron noticed how very feminine they were, long and slender and his nails look as looked as though they had been manicured.

"Have the two of you always been this useless?" Ron voiced.

Crabbe and Goyle looked very confused and just stared at Ron in response.

"The answer's yes," Malfoy supplied.

Ron rolled his eyes upwards, what were they were going to do now? The situation was getting bleaker by the minute. Who knows what horrors Ginny was going through. He chanced a glance on Malfoy and was shocked to see him as distressed as he was. At the back of his mind, he was convinced that Malfoy would be smirking at their misfortune. He began to wonder once more what Ginny had been doing with Malfoy. He shook his head to will away the thoughts of his sister having some sort of tryst with Malfoy. "That just couldn't be," he thought to himself. "There has to be something that we've missed," Ron tried to rack his brain of any detail that may have skipped his mind, and then he saw it.

"What are you staring at Weasley?" Malfoy demanded with his standard smug drawl.

"The front entrance, you git. It's slightly ajar," Ron said. He shoved Malfoy by the shoulder as he proceeded to walk towards the front doors. He could hear Malfoy's and Justin's footsteps right behind him. He also heard an energized slam of the door which he concluded as (was) a sign of Crabbe's and Goyle's eagerness to continue with their snog.

They half ran, half walked on the Hogwarts grounds, only to pause at the spot bordering between stone and grass.

"Where to, now?" Justin was the first to speak up.

"Look there," Malfoy answered him, cocking his head towards the ground, "Tracks." Ron noticed it, too. There were irregular dents on the dewy grass, and it was clear where it was headed. The Forbidden Forrest.

Ginny

The Great Hall was uncannily bright and Ginny struggled to make her way towards the Gryffindor table. She could not recall how she managed to get inside her robes or how she made it out of Gryffindor tower. Her entire body was aching and her stomach was clamouring for eggs and bacon. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood out of the crowd that surrounded her house's table. She watched in shock as Hermione turned around and beckoned for her to come and sit with them, and Harry and Ron did the same. She could feel a wide grin forming on her face and she eagerly accepted the invitation. She was a only few feet away from them when someone rudely snatched her arm, stopping her from going any farther. An audible gasp echoed through the Great Hall as Ginny whipped around to see who the intruder was.

"Draco?" she mouthed breathlessly, "What do you want?" She yanked her arm away from his grasp, and surprisingly, he did nothing to stop her.

"I just wanted to thank you," he said in that suave, cool tone of his that made even Gryffindor girls swoon.

"Well, now that you did, you can scoot off," she said, her voice irate. She turned away from him, all set to join her brother and his famous friends, but Draco would not allow her. He forcefully turned her towards him by the shoulders. She held her breath as she watched long strands of soft, silver hair curtaining intense grey eyes that bore through her like a one of those muggle screwdrivers that ran with ecklectricity.

"I'm a Malfoy, I don't just say thank you," he told her, both his hands still tightly clasped on her shoulders. Ginny's mind raced with different thoughts of how he could thank her. Each one of her thoughts would have driven her mother to St. Mungo's. She saw him take a deep breath. He began to close the gap between them until he was so close to hers, she could swear they exchanged faces. "Oh my," she muttered.

She sighed with disappointment when he released her from his hold and turned his face downwards. She could see his chest rising up and down in perfect coordination with the sway of his hair. She wondered if the potion had worked, and her thoughts led her to seeing him without that pesky robe and looking for herself, to see whether or not the potion successfully removed the hairs from his chest. Her right hand involuntarily reached out to touch him, but another soft, slender and pampered hand stopped her. She glanced at him and saw that he was looking at her. His face was still turned towards the floor but his eyes were raised towards her. She could see his trademark smirk and she closed her eyes. She could sense his hand making its way up to cup her face, his hands which were, coarse and rigid?

Ginny's eyes fluttered as it tried to adjust to the soft candlelight surrounding her. She could still feel the coarse and rigid hand on her face. Her eyes opened fully and upon registering the being in front of her, she promptly screamed.

Parvati

Parvati slugged her feet up the marble staircase. She and Lavender had been running around Hogwarts looking for any sign of Filch. On a normal day, he would have dragged their bums to McGonagall's office by now, but obviously, this wasn't a normal day.

"Something is terribly wrong," Lavender mused loudly.

"You've noticed that just now?" Parvati said irked.

Lavender set her hands on her hips and let steam out through her nose. She cleared her throat and launched her Sonorus-like talk, "FILCH!!! Where are you!!! Come and get me, I'm right here!!!" As she screamed the last sentence, she bent over letting her breasts practically burst out of her nightgown allowing anyone within a two-mile radius full view of her cleavage. This has no impact or significance to the situation but it happened nonetheless.

"It won't work, Lavender. It's as if they can't even hear us," Parvati said. She let out a loud growl and started reciting all the curses she learned since childhood.

"Wait," Lavender suddenly cut her off.

"What is it?!' she screamed at her and stopped from her pacing.

"Calm down, will you? Do you hear that?" Lavender asked, tilting her head sideways so her ear could hear better.

Parvati paid more attention and heard what Lavender was talking about. "It sounds like someone's crying."

"Moaning Myrtle?" Lavender suggested.

"No, not even Moaning Myrtle can sound that pathetic," she answered. They continued to listen until the faint weeping developed into a full-blown wailing, a loud, deep and nasal wailing.

Parvati caught Lavender's eye and she knew that they shared the same thoughts.

"Peeves?!" they cried in unison. Their speculations were confirmed when they heard a loud sniffing followed by a dismal call, "Filch! I've stolen a student's broom! A Firebolt, come and get me! Why won't you come and get me!" They found him standing beside sculpture of a one-eyed warlock. He blew his nose on his orange tie and carried on with the wailing.

Parvati was torn between feeling extremely sorry for the poltergeist and laughing her arse off at the sight of him. Lavender nudged her and whispered something in her ear. "Perhaps we can ask him what happened."

Parvati agreed with her and side by side, they walked towards Peeves who still wasn't aware of their presence. He was clinging tightly to the warlock.

"Peeves," Parvati began cautiously.

Peeves turned around slowly and his tear glazed eyes travelled from Parvati to Lavender and back again. At first, he didn't seem to be conscious of his surroundings, but as soon as he recognized the two Gryffindors, he wailed again, "FILCH!!! Students out at night!!!"

The two girls just watched him make pathetic attempts to get them caught. Peeves eventually gave up and went back to sobbing.

"Peeves, do you have any idea where Filch is?" Lavender asked.

He blew his nose again before answering, "I don't know. I've been making a riot all night, but he hasn't come. Maybe he doesn't think much of my pranks anymore. Am I getting old? Are my antics no longer amusing? Tell me! TELL ME!!!"

It was Parvati's turn to nudge Lavender, "Say something."

"No, your pranks are still amusing. It amuses us," she mumbled.

"Oh, thank you, you are too kind!" Peeves fell on his knees and hugged Lavender's waist who began gagging internally. There is nothing more disturbing than an insecure poltergeist. "Help," she mouthed to Parvati. Parvati immediately tried to yank the hysterical poltergeist away from her friend.

As soon as Peeves was safely hugging the one-eyed warlock, instead, Parvati continued with their interrogation. "You mean you haven't seen a shadow of Filch, all night? Did that ever happen before? Perhaps he's sick?"

Peeves shook his head vehemently at each of her question, "He doesn't get sick. Even if he did, that smelly cat will take his place, and I haven't seen her all night either. I miss Filch." He launched into another series of sobs.

Parvati turned to face Lavender. "What's happening here?"

"Whatever it is, it's not good," Lavender said.

"Why did we ever get involved with those three?"

Harry

"All right, Harry. Do you understand the principle now?" Hermione asked him.

Harry nodded and Hermione went on with her instructions, "All right then. Why don't you try it on me so we can see if you've got it down?"

Harry raised one eyebrow at her, "You?"

"You don't see anyone else in here, do you? Now remember, diction is very important. It's Ree-gahl-to Con-foon-dio the con should be soft, and the e is stressed. Your mind must remain focused; you have to believe yourself about this alternate existence you're imposing upon that person."

Harry agreed wordlessly. Hermione stood in front of him and signalled for him to start the spell. Harry held his wand at arms length and pointed it at her.

"Regalto Confundio," he said clearly. He watched Hermione's eyes flutter, the charm was beginning to take effect, but the incantation was just half of it. His mind struggled from thinking of the actual reality. Harry concentrated on the alternate reality he'd been thinking of since they were left alone in the library.

The expression of Hermione's face softened and she gave him a tender smile that made him want to jump in the lake.

"I came as soon as I saw your note," Hermione said huskily, making Harry's hairs stand on end, in a good way. She obviously was completely under the spell; he successfully performed a Confundus charm. He knew he should be performing the counter spell by now, but an unknown force took over him and he let her carry on for a few more minutes.

She strolled to where he stood and she gently slid her hands around his neck, bringing his head closer to her face. "So what did you want to study about?" she whispered against his ear as she softly kissed the sensitive skin under it, but she didn't give him a chance to answer the question as she decidedly sealed her mouth over his eliminating all thoughts of conversation.

Harry could have kissed her all night but he knew they had to stop at some point, and there was no better time than the present. Regrettably, he pushed Hermione away. She looked positively hurt, but he was aware that it was just the spell. He pointed his wand at her and he recited the counter spell "Confundio Liberato"

Her eyes fluttered once more and she was back to her regular self. She was oblivious to the events that transpired while she was confunded. She smiled at Harry and asked, "So, did it work?"

He couldn't help the sly grin on his face, "It worked quite well."

Hermione frowned at his expression. "What exactly did you make me do, Potter?"

"Nothing that you wouldn't have done on your own accord." He was still telling the truth after all.

"I'm going to let you off the hook this one time, but only because we have to get out of here and meet Ron and the others," she said, "Let's hope all went well."

Draco

Draco was trailing Ron Weasley who bolted towards the Forbidden Forest the instant they realized that was where Belpo may have headed. Justin was right behind them. Draco couldn't fathom how it was possible for him to keep up with two fast runners while wearing those frivolous shoes. They were nearing the edge of the forest, but there wasn't any sign of another creature nearby. He watched as Ron thoughtlessly entered the forest. He felt compelled to follow and apparently, so did Justin.

They had their wands out and ready. It had just rained and the mud was clinging to the soles of Draco's boots. The saturated soil made it hard to trudge inside the woodland. The moon wasn't particularly bright and their eyes still haven't adjusted to the darkness. They were all listening intently for the crackling of leaves or branches.

Everything was vaguely in view but Draco didn't miss it when Ron's foot was unwittingly caught on a bulging tree root. He smirked amusingly as Ron strained to get up. While they waited for Ron to get his wits about him, Draco was amassed with paranoia. His ears became extremely sensitive with every swish of leaves or mild hooting of birds. He deduced that they were about a hundred meters or so from the edge of the forest.

Then suddenly, he heard an all too distinct sound of a breaking twig. It must be somewhere nearby. He felt the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. He could swear that someone was watching them. He looked in every direction but all he could see was an abyss-like path or a tree.

He, Justin and Ron were now standing very closely, their backs to each other. Draco had the feeling that what they were hunting was now hunting them. The three of them kept their breathing to a minimum, not willing to let any sound escape their ears. The next few seconds felt like an eternity, with each decade of their life hanging at the balance between their fate of hunter or prey.

"She's behind that neem tree," Justin spoke with a hushed voice.

"How would you know that?" asked Ron, who was obviously skeptical (sceptical) about Justin's confident declaration.

"I have a good ear," Justin said matter-of-factly.

"Just good? If it you had said excellent, I would've given you more credit," Ron answered sardonically.

It was as if Ron's voice triggered some external force from the universe as a sudden strong gush of wind practically knocked them off their socks. It was during this freak wind storm that the indefinite presence of a figure behind the neem tree was confirmed when a lost black silk came dancing into view and got tangled into a protruding splinter of wood. A bloodied hand came and tugged the captive silk with little success.

"Aren't we supposed to try and attack her now?" Justin asked, his eyes never leaving the bloodied hand.

"Why don't you go first? I'll stand guard," Ron suggested.

As they watched, the mysterious hand was joined by its owner. Draco turned away at the sight of her, but immediately got over his own fear and faced Aurora Belpo without reserve.

She turned her face upwards and stared back up at them, "Are you going to stand there or are you going to help me?"

The three, who seemed to have forgotten why they were there in the first place, was snapped back into their senses. Almost simultaneously, they raised their wands and pointed it directly at her. She remained calm despite their obvious intent to hurt her.

"I don't think you'll need your wands for this. A strong pull can do it," she said imperturbably.

"We know who you are," Draco spoke first.

"Good for you," she said, she was still preoccupied with the hem of her black silk dress that was currently being munched by the neem trees bark. Draco noticed that her voice seemed normal, not croaky as he had imagined it would be.

"You have to come with us. My sister, she's locked inside the mirror, and we have to get her out." It was Ron's turn to speak.

"What makes you think I'll come with you?" she asked in amusement.

"We're not asking," Draco spoke in the most threatening tone he could manage. He lifted his wand and was about to throw a Stunning curse when they heard a loud flapping of wings. The three stood paralyzed as a hippogriff came swooping down, and it landed deftly between them and Aurora. There was a figure wrapped in a hooded cloak mounted on top of it.

"What took you so long?" they heard her say from behind the humongous magical creature in front of them.

The figure lifted the hood of the cloak, and Draco was bowled over at the sight that greeted him. It was the same raven hair that came down to her waist, cloaking an abnormally white face. Compared to her, Draco looked as if he spent a week in the Bahamas.

Justin apparently shared his thoughts when he heard him mutter weakly, "Aurora?"

Whoever this woman was, she had ears as sharp as Justin's as she turned around to look at the three of them with translucent blue eyes and answered, "Close enough." She gave them a wicked smile. She then let out a hand that was hidden under her sleeves, and helped Aurora climb behind her on the hippogriff.

Aurora wrapped her arms around her as she gripped the reins on either side of the hippogriff. She gave them one more look and said, "Don't waste your energy trying to hex us. It simply won't work. We're much too intelligent for you lot."

She gave them a wink and she pulled on the reins, kicking the creature on both sides. The three of them threw every curse they've learned in their last six years at Hogwarts, but just as she said, they didn't work. Every single one of their curses rebounded back to them and Justin's robe even caught fire, causing him to run around shrieking.

They watched helplessly as the two women and their hippogriff disappeared into the night.