The Mark of Death

"Are you worried?" Ron said quietly as they made their way onto the Pitch, which was veiled in shadow from a very ominous looking black cloud.

"No, I don't think it was anything more than the Ravenclaws trying to throw us off our game." Harry whispered back to him, not wanting the rest of the team to hear him. "I doubt Luna would do it deliberately, but I can see Cho saying something loud enough for Luna to overhear and cause a fright."

Ron seemed relieved, which was exactly what Harry wanted. He didn't want Ron worrying so much that he couldn't concentrate on his own game, but Harry did find that the premonition had disturbed him a little.

"Listen for the signals and try to block out any of the commentaries..." Ron started, noticing the puzzled look on Harry's face. "Grey has been appointed commentator."

Nireus Grey was tall, relatively handsome but obnoxious fifth year Slytherin who Harry had never seen alone, he was usually accompanied by a swarm of Slytherin girls.

The stands were crowded; Harry could see there were even some visiting to watch the fame - Professor Lupin was sitting along with Professor McGonagall and Hagrid - and despite the fact that the weather looked so grim there didn't appear to be an empty seat in the stands.

They were facing off with the Ravenclaws; Cho seemed to be looking at Harry with a very strange expression - like she was torn between laughing and crying. Ron had been right about the two new Beaters; Andre Sicamour and William Bodger; they were very solid looking - like Crabbe and Goyle, but Harry could see in their eyes that they were a lot more focused and determined than the two Slytherins. Their new Keeper was a tall and lean seventh year, and he seemed to be sizing Ron up.

As Madam Hooch blew the whistle they kicked off; the screams from the students in the stands quickly drowned out by the boom of thunder. Harry rose high above to circle and keep a watch as the Quaffle was released, hoping to catch the Snitch before the rain would start.

"Potter is up and already grandstanding!" Grey began loudly in a clear vaunting voice, and Harry could hear the load guffaws and boos from the Slytherins... "but Chang is right on his tail, a good place to be if starts to rain - Potter's big head will soak up all the moisture!"

As Harry circled high in the air; feeling the chill of the cold winds seeping into his robes - Cho following him the way Draco often did; making Harry wonder how much coaching Draco had been giving her for this game. He felt smug glancing down to see McGonagall telling off Grey; likely threatening him to hand the duty over to someone more unbiased.

"Bugger off Chang!" Harry muttered under his breath, dipping low then zipping high again; trying to get her off his trail.

"What's wrong with poor widdle baby Potter?" Cho sang out loudly in a voice that had made Harry temporarily lose his grip on his broom handle. She sounded similar to Bellatrix Lestrange when she had been mocking him in the Department of Mysteries, moments after murdering Sirius. He ignored her and dipped low again - seeing Bodger deliberately aiming a Bludger at the back of Ginny's head as she was making a play with the Quaffle to score on the Ravenclaw's net.

"Weasley has Quaffle, she's trying to score..."

TAP TAP TAP TAP

Harry rapped his wand heavily on the handle of his broom; the tapping sound seemed to echo down to the stands causing those watching in the stands to fall silent with curiosity - but Ginny recognized his warning and ducked just in time for the Quaffle to go whizzing passed her head. Several Gryffindors applauded loudly down below, but Cho was outraged.

"Ten to one for Gryffindor!" Grey yelled, outraged. "Points they clearly should not get, cheating that way!"

"That's cheating!" She screamed at Harry - the lightning flashing behind her making her look menacingly evil.

"Deliberately aiming a Bludger at a head is a foul - shall we take it up with Hooch?" Harry retorted. "There's no laws against warning, Ron looked it up."

Cho shot Harry another angry look before dipping down to talk to her two beaters, giving Harry time to scan the Pitch again seeking the Snitch. Gryffindor was behind Ravenclaw with only thirty points to their fifty, and Harry wanted to finish the game quickly so that they wouldn't be all too tired to play against Hufflepuff. Luna's warning was at the very back of his mind as Grey's taunts and catcalls, helping him to concentrate better on the game.

The electricity in the air was putting Harry on edge even more - people were glancing at the leaden clouds as though they were one of Trelawney's Grims. They seemed to be foretelling something terrible. He tried to shake the feeling off and circled quicker, hoping that the thrill of flying would shake off his sense of dread.

Harry momentarily forgot about Luna, Cho, and the thunder as a glint of gold caught his eye. The Snitch! He could see it already. Shimmering brightly in contrast to the bleak sky and ground about fifty feet from him. He took a dive for it, accelerating towards it...

"CRACK!"

The sound of a Bludger being struck followed by the hollow loud tapping of Ron's wand told Harry that the Ravenclaw Beaters had seen he was going to catch it and were sending a well aimed Bludger at him. He moved out of it's path just in time, but the Snitch had disappeared. He swore loudly, he was sure that he would have caught it had he not ben distracted by the warning and felt these precautions were a bit overkill.

"BRILLIANT BLOCK BY SICAMOUR!" Grey hollered. "Pity the Bludger didn't make it's target though, don't see how anyone can miss that... sorry ma'am."

Harry swooped up again to search for the little golden Snitch, holding the broom tighter as the thunder seemed to roll straight over him at times. He could see that the others were having a hard time with the cold. Katie had paused after losing the Quaffle to one of the Ravenclaw's Chaser's, Panachuk, and was rubbing her arms rapidly to warm them. Ginny was about to overtake Panachuk, passing to his left and sticking her hand out to swat the Quaffle from his grasp when Harry noticed Sicamour coming up to Ginny's behind... his club poised to strike the Bludger directly at her...

TAP TAP TAP TAP

Harry's warning was so loud that he thought he couldn't have possibly made it himself; and he realized he hadn't - Cho was smirking a few feet above him with her own wand tapping the tip of her broom, as were a few others on her team. Their taps were drowning out Harry's.

THWACK

"ONE WEASLEY DOWN!" Grey hollered happily. Harry watched helplessly as Ginny went down. Fortunately, Kirke and Sloper had seen what happened and raced to catch her before she had fallen, each lifting her arms to place over their shoulders as they took her down to the stands where Madam Pomfrey was already waiting.

"THAT WAS DELIBERATE AND DIRTY CHANG!" Ron screeched hysterically from below Harry, swiftly flying up towards her with his wand outstretched at her. He didn't seem to realize it was there, but it looked like a threat to Cho, who screamed and jerked backwards, almost falling off of her broom. Harry followed him to back him up, as were the remaining Gryffindors. Cho was soon joined by her team, who were staring them down from behind her defiantly as Hooch's whistle blew furiously from below.

"Was it?" Cho said innocently. "I believe there are no laws against the tapping, are there?"

The Ravenclaws smiled and nodded in agreement from behind her, and Ron hovered directly in front of Cho. Harry couldn't see where Ron's skin ended or hair began, as Ron's face was burning with rage.

"If you have a problem with me, you take it with me Cho. NOT my sister!"

"Are you actually calling me bitter?" Cho laughed. "I don't care! Breaking up with you was the best thing that ever happened to me! At least Draco can afford to buy a cup of coffee!"

("There seems to be a delay, the two captains are arguing..." Grey's voice drifted up to them.)

Ron jerked back as if he had been slapped. Harry knew that Ron was very sensitive about his family's financial situation. Madam Hooch was still blowing the whistle furiously from below as Kirke and Sloper flew up to see Ron, who was still staring down Cho.

"Drop dead Cho," Ron snapped, flying off and resuming his position at the Gryffindor goal posts as Katie watched with fury.

"If Malfoy is so wonderful Cho, why has he been snogging behind the stands with Parkinson during your entire game?" Katie hollered over the wind, looking triumphant as Cho paled and looked at the stands nervously. Madam Hooch's whistle was bleating louder and louder as she made the quick climb up on her own broom.

"GAME IS TO RESUME! NOW!" Hooch shrieked loudly. "This is disgraceful! All of you, penalty in favor of Gryffindor for that disgusting attack on Weasley!"

The rain had suddenly come down at them swiftly, but Harry could see the flow of tears streaming down Cho's face through the heavy pellets. She was blinking rapidly, looking towards the stands where the Slytherins were usually sitting. Harry followed her gaze and could see that both Draco and Pansy were absent though Snape was sitting among them all with a very unpleasant look on his face. The Snitch seemed to be hovering above him, glittering brightly in contrast to the heavy black clouds.

Harry dove for it but he could see that Cho had spotted it first and was streaming towards it with a look on her face both determined and defiant. He swooped down after her as the rain hammered against his robes... he was catching up... only a few feet behind her...

"CHANG IS AFTER THE SNITCH! RAVENCLAW IS ABOUT TO WIN..." Grey was screaming enthusiastically, and the crowd was cheering with excitement.

"Wait... what the hell? SOMEONE GET HER OFF THE PITCH! SHE'S NOT ON THE TEAM! Looney Lovegood seems to have found a broom and is about to intercept both Potter and Chang!!!"

Harry watched with confusion as Luna came zooming up on a weird looking, bright orange and black striped broom and was heading to collide with Cho just as Cho's hand was closing around the Snitch. What happened next was almost in slow motion; Luna's body had slammed into Cho and knocked her off her broom as a brilliant streak of silver lightning shot out of nowhere. In face, Harry could have sworn it had come from the stands and struck the two girls sending and electric current through them so severely that their hair was standing on it's ends. People below were screaming and even Grey had stopped his comments; there was a lot of scrambling as Harry reached over and tried to steady Luna. The Aurors and the Hit Wizards Harry had seen on the brooms the night Snape and Malfoy were fighting were there in seconds, two each per girl. Taking them down carefully with mirrored looks of fright and shock.

"Come on Harry, you have to go down too."

Harry looked at the cloaked man. It was Kingsley. He followed him down to the grass where hail was bouncing heavily with the downpour of rain.

"What happened?"

"We don't know, but you have to get in... NOW!"

Kingsley had his hand on Harry's back and was urging Harry forward trying to rush him into the castle as he looked around frantically for Ron.

"Your friends are fine! Get in!" Kingsley was pushing Harry through the door where Harry expected to see students running around in a panic, but the halls were empty.

"They've been sent straight to their common rooms," Kingsley explained, seeing Harry's confusion.

"What happened out there?"

"I don't know, I had to move quickly to get you to safety, I didn't have enough time to figure anything. Let's get you to the staff lounge, are you all right?"

"I'm fine but what about Luna...and Cho?"

"Like I said Harry, I don't know. Honestly," Kingsley looked impatient, but Harry wasn't about to budge until he had at least one answer, "It didn't look good. I'm betting anything they have been sent to St. Mungo's. What that one girl was doing up there I have no idea, but there will be a lot of questions, I assure you."

Harry followed Kingsley to the Staff Room where all of the teachers and Aurors seemed to be in extreme chaos.

"Leon Lovegood is on his way here!" Flitwick squeaked nervously. "The Chang family are on their way to St. Mungo's to see to Cho, and then a Paralegal!"

"I would much rather deal with the Paralegal than Lovegood," Snape said quietly. "I can just see the sordid headlines in the Quibbler now..."

"Do I need to remind you all that those girls could die and that is what we should be worrying about?" McGonnagal had walked into the room behind Harry and Kingsley, looking older and more tired than ever. "I will handle Leon, my main concern now is Potter."

"Oh yes, because it would be so tragic to lose the boy," Professor Malfoy snapped from the far end of the table where she was sat, getting up and walking around; casting the occasional glare at Harry. "Never mind a school full of students so long as Boy Wonder is fine."

>

"Watch yourself Malfoy," Snape said smoothly. "Speaking ill of Potter gets you nowhere fast here, as I know firsthand."

Harry heard the door open and turned to see Lupin closing it behind him quietly as he came in.

"Would you all kindly stop bickering please," he muttered, pointing his wand at the door and whispering something. "Dumbledore and Lovegood are outside in the corridor right now, the last thing we need is for him to think that the staff here is incompetent." He fired an icy look at both Snape and Malfoy, "Miss Chang and Miss Lovegood are both suffering shock and severe head trauma by the way. In case someone here wanted to know."

McGonagall sighed heavily. "Does anyone have any idea as to why Miss Lovegood was on a broom to begin with? She isn't on the Ravenclaw team! I don't know how Professor Dumbledore is going to explain that to Leon."

Harry reached in his pocket and placed his hand on the note from Luna, realizing that she had known this was going to happen. From the way Snape was staring at him he knew that he had realized Harry knew something, too.

"Do you have something to share with us, Potter?" Snape's eyed were boring into Harry's coldly, searching for the unspoken answer.

"No sir," Harry replied, staring at Snape trying desperately to push him out of his mind. "Nothing to tell you at all."

Snape's face twisted momentarily into a rage that was so brief, Harry almost thought he had imagined it, and then sat at the end of the table near Malfoy. Harry had no intention of telling anyone but Professor Dumbledore or perhaps Lupin, but not an entire room full of people he barely knew.

"Well Mr Shacklebolt," McGonagall said sternly. "Potter seems to be safe, could you please escort him to the Gryffindor tower? I assume you remember the way?"

"Yes ma'am," he smiled. "I'll return afterwards."

Harry followed Kingsley out of the staff room and down a couple of corridors before either of them spoke.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that Harry. It's chaos in there. I'm sure Dumbledore will want to speak with you soon about everything but he has to take care of Leon. The man's a bit of a scavenger!"

"It's ok," Harry lied, as he really wanted someone to tell him what was going on. "I'm sure Hermione and Ron are worried, Dumbledore can find me when he's ready."

*

The other Gryffindors didn't seem too aware of how serious everything was. Many were making fun of Luna for being up there and many more were complaining that the second match had been cancelled. Only Hermione seemed aware of how serious everything was. And Ron, who was muttering to himself in a Kreacher-like manner about how it was "All my fault."

"Ron! You're being ridiculous!" Hermione snapped after they crept away from the others and found a quiet corner to whisper. "If anything it's Luna's fault. What was she doing up there?! She doesn't even play Quidditch!"

"Only because Cho wouldn't let her on the team," Ron said quietly. "I was there when she tried out, she's really good. Cho told me later that she thought she wasn't of the 'right stuff' for the Ravenclaw team."

"In other words, she's too weird," Hermione said, and Harry could see that Hermione was partially agreeing with it.

"Luna knew there was something going to happen. She gave me this before the match." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled the note out, handing it to Hermione to look at it. "She hardly said anything, just good luck and hopefully she'd see me later."

Hermione was studying the note closely as if trying to detect a forgery or flaw. "How though? It was lightning that struck, didn't it? Though... it makes little sense, I'm not sure why... I feel as though it would be impossible - no one can control lightning..."

"And the Snitch has charms on it to detract lightning, because it used to attract it years ago, being so small and shiny," Ron interrupted. "So unless someone tampered with the Snitch..."

"Which of course could have happened!" Hermione exclaimed loud enough for a few heads to turn, making her lower her voice and start talking as if to herself more than the two confused boys. "But how would Luna know? I mean, if she overheard Draco and Cho, then surely Cho would have known better than to go after it, and..."

"I want to go and see Luna." Harry said suddenly.

"It'd be useless though! She's comatose, isn't she?" Hermione said.

"Luna would be the only one who could tell us what she heard, and who was in on it," Ron shrugged. "But there's no way we could get into St. Mungos Harry, not without permission."

"Perhaps..." Harry said quietly, "We should go and try to see what her father is being told?"

"We won't all fit under that cloak," Ron muttered. "I want to know if they're going to make it though."

Hermione looked deep in thought. "You two go, I'm going to try and sneak out to the storage to see what's left of that Snitch, I want to know it if had been tampered with."

Ron was looking at her in awe. "You know how much trouble you would be in if you were seen?"

"Give me a little credit, Ron," Hermione smiled at him slyly. "I'll pretend that I was looking for a Professor to fret over my grade! 'Oh Professor Flitwick, I think I might not get an O in Charms'..."

Harry grinned as he went to unload the Invisibility Cloak from the bottom of his trunk. He knew Hermione was taking the mickey the way he had to her in their second year.

*

Harry and Ron slowly crept up and down the corridors around the Teacher's Lounge and near the ugly Gargoyle statue which led to Dumbledore's office, so far having not seen anyone besides Peeves, who seemed to be rather subdued. Just as Peeves turned the corner they heard a very loud crash from behind them; and turned to see Dumbledore and a very odd looking fellow who could only be Leon Lovegood, and the statue of the Gargoyle crashed on the floor in several pieces.

He was tall and lanky. His hair was ash blonde like Luna's, though immaculately tidy and brushed back into a very small ponytail. His eyes didn't seem like hers at all, where hers were wide and innocent his were narrow and scrutinizing. He seemed to be looking around everywhere to find fault. He had a clipboard hovering in med-air in front of him with what Harry recognized to be a Quick-note Quill scribbling furiously across the page.

"Leon," Dumbledore said firmly but caring, "Don't you think that you are wasting time here making trouble when you could be checking on your daughter?"

"NEGLIGENCE!" He shouted, ripping a tapestry off a wall and tossing it to the ground. "my daughter is going to die because of this negligence! Where the hell were you when this all took place? THE HEADMASTER WASN'T EVEN ON SITE!"

"Actually Leon, I was there, though you are right that I haven't been in the building as much," Dumbledore was remaining amazingly calm, though Harry was having a battle within himself to do something about this man's abusive tone towards the Headmaster. "Within good reason I assure you, and I will have to ask you to refrain from damaging anything here as it will not help your daughter's situation and it will only make things worse."

"She's all I have left!" Mr. Lovegood was shaking, "if she dies there will be the biggest investigation and lawsuit up against this school..."

"Now Leon, you aren't helping the matters, there are serious things going on in this world, things that I know you are at least somewhat aware of, more so that the Daily Prophet at least, this might have something to do with it."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other from under the cloak. Was Dumbledore saying this might be Voldemort related?

"I've been giving you hints over the last few years for your paper, and lately you haven't even been needing them. You know where I have been holed up a lot lately, putting things into place because of Fudge's condition..."

"And I'm going to publish every bit of it!"

"That is your choice Leon, but it will do nothing to help your daughter, and it will only help those who likely did this to her. If that is what you want, then by all means," Dumbledore raised his hands as if to tell the man to go ahead. "you will only make things more difficult."

Professor McGonagall had came around a corner and stood next to Dumbledore, likely ready to back him up if needed.

"I - I'll see what the Healers there say before I make any decisions Albus," he choked out, waving a wand over the clipboard and Quill and making them stop. "I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Please Leon, no one wants anything to happen to either of the girls. Please contact me for anything. I will gladly be of any assistance."

Lovegood so closely passed Harry and Ron that they felt the cloak ripple. On a closer inspection his eyes seemed less menacing and more haunted. Harry could feel a sorrow to them deeper than he had ever seen.

"Professor Dumbledore, most of the members are in room, did it go all right?" McGonagall asked quietly.

"Better than I had anticipated, but it's still rather hard for him after losing his wife."

"He had no right to threaten the school!" McGonagall fumed.

"Now Minerva, a parent will do whatever they can to protect their children. I trust Leon."

After Dumbledore and McGonagall disappeared around the hall Ron whispered quietly to Harry, "We should go and find Hermione. Make sure she is ok, and tell her everything."

"Right," Harry muttered, still feeling a chill from Lovegood's eyes. "She should be back at the Common Room by now."

They were just approaching the Grand Foyer when they heard Snape's familiar drawl.

"Bit late to be wandering around the halls, isn't it Granger?"

Harry and Ron slowed down to make sure the cloak was covering them before rounding the corner. Snape was standing there cornering Hermione with both Draco and Theodore Nott behind him carrying a fleet of Nimbus 2001s along with a few other random brooms and equipment.

"They're out, aren't they?" Hermione looked scared out of her wits, glancing at the two boys.

"They are with me, on my permission, as Quidditch has been cancelled they may as well bring their belongings out of the storage. The question is why are you out of bounds without permission when the entire school has been ordered to remain in their dorms?"

Draco and Theodore were looking at Hermione sneering as she squirmed; trying to think of an excuse. She knew Snape knew Legilimency and would see her lies, and Harry was relieved to see her eyes were lowered to avoid meeting his.

"Well, Granger? I suppose I could begin docking points from Gryffindor as we wait for your explanation?"

"Erm..." Hermione's eyes were tearing up with either frustration or humiliation, Harry couldn't tell. Likely both. Draco wasn't bothering to cover his sniggers now, not that Snape would have taken any notice.

"I um..."

"Yes?" Snape sneered, causing the two boys to laugh.

"I needed to go to the Nurse's Wing, to um, take care of something."

She was looking down at the ground, Harry was wondering what she was playing at, he'd sense the lie as soon as she looked up.

"Take care of what?" Draco snapped. "Toothache?" He looked at Snape incredulously. "Sir, there's nothing visibly wrong with her, obviously she's lying!"

"Indeed Miss Granger, Malfoy has a point," Snape seethed. "You're walking. If there was something wrong, which I think is highly unlikely, I am sure it could have waited until morn-..."

"I was early, Sir." Hermione said firmly, her bushy hair covering her face as she looked at the ground. "I wasn't supposed to start until next week..."

Snape took a step back looking completely horrified. Draco looked disgusted and Nott looked purely confused. Harry was feeling pretty much the way Nott looked out of the loop completely but Harry could feel Ron shaking with silent laughter next to him.

"Go!" Snape hissed at her, or presumably at her, as he wasn't looking remotely in her direction. "Enough details, get to your dorm as soon as you are finished!"

Harry was impressed. Whatever Hermione had been implying, it really seemed to have hit a nerve with Snape, who was quickly ushering the two boys out of the hall and towards the dungeons without so much as a glance back. Hermione, on the other hand, was pale and shaking. Ron had been unable to contain his laughter anymore and had burst into invisible giggles.

"It isn't funny Ron!" Hermione snapped, obviously well aware that they had heard the entire thing and starting towards the Gryffindor Tower. "The Slytherins will make me miserable about this for the rest of the year. It's going to be humiliating, but it was the only thing I could think of to say and not worry about him trying to make eye contact! That stupid cow Pansy will- "

"Oh, come on Herms! You can shut her up by telling her she acts like she's suffering from it daily!"

This brought a weak smile to Hermione's lips.

"Suffering from what?" Harry was confused. "And why did Snape back down like that? Usually he'd have given you detention and points..."

Ron whispered a quick and embarrassing explanation, making Harry feel awkward and causing an uncomfortable silence on the group the rest of the way to the Common Room.

*

The Common Room was still crowded and it seemed the House Elves had brought up food for them to take dinner there, giving them an opportunity to grab a few sandwiches and sit in their quiet corner to discuss what they had seen and heard.

"Well, I guess that explains where Luna gets her oddities," Ron said quietly after they had given Hermione all of the details of Lovegood and Dumbledore's confrontation.

"Dumbledore's been giving him information to publish, I don't understand that! It's a paper that doesn't get read!" Hermione said quietly. "And it is full of drivel! Remember that rubbish about the Heliopaths?"

"Maybe it wasn't rubbish Hermione," Harry said slowly, "but she knew what was going to happen if I had caught the Snitch. What did you find on that, anyway?"

"Well..." Hermione looked mystified, dropping her voice lower as Ginny and Dean took a seat nearby. "I couldn't find the Snitch, and as you saw. The storage room had been emptied of all the Slytherin belongings, hadn't it?"

"So you think it was Malfoy?" Ron shrugged. "Makes sense."

"He didn't seem too concerned seeing as his girlfriend might die, did he?" Hermione replied.

A shadow suddenly crossed Ron's face. "I told Cho to drop dead up there, I'm going to feel so terrible about it if she does!"

"Don't Ron, you didn't know!" Hermione rubbed his arm.

"I'm just hoping they're both all right, especially Luna, I need to talk to her and..." Harry nearly said 'thank her' but left it out. He was glad to see Hermione and Ron getting along so well, and he knew that Hermione was unrealistically skeptical of Luna's intentions - he didn't want an argument.

"I'm going to take an early night, I figure tomorrow's going to be a long day for all of us," Harry got up. "Goodnight."

He went upstairs to his bed, leaving Ron and Hermione alone to talk, figuring they needed it.

(Side Note - big apologies for taking so long, there's several reasons for this; mainly I was thinking I had to change some of the plot line due to one of JKR's recent clues which debunked where I was going with this - but then I thought, Hey! It's a fan fiction, it can't be completely cannon. Thank you for the patience and the great reviews, and to the Flamer from a few weeks ago, click on my link to my Dead Journal, there's a message there waiting for you. ;) )