Something About That Girl

Something about that girl (3)

"Watch out!" somebody screamed. But Harry didn't and the Bludger hit him hard on the arm. He managed to land his Firebolt safely on the ground and Ron landed right beside him. Harry had just caught the snitch and the air was filled with loud cheering of ecstatic Gryffindors. Red and gold banners and scarves were wildly waved at the pitch.

Ron landed next to his friend. "Are you all right, mate?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I don't think it's broken," Harry answered. Streams of cheering Gryffindors were headed towards them.

"No, I mean are you all right, Harry?" Ron placed his hands heavily on his Harry's shoulders and gave him a severe look. Harry reluctantly met Ron's eyes.

"Are you even aware that we have just won the Quidditch cup again? You're like a bloody zombie!" Ron shouted through the massive cheering. Then he lowered his voice and suddenly looked very sad.

"I can't stand to see you like this and Hermione can't either! We thought you began looking much happier when you first started teaching D.A., but these last few days you've been miserable! Is this about Sirius? You can't let his death beat you, mate. Or has something happened?"

Harry was annoyed. Why did Ron have to remind him of Sirius now?

But as he watched Ron's earnest face that showed pure anxiety, Harry suddenly realized how glad he was to have a friend like Ron: Harry knew he could trust him. He sighed and said, "Let's go for a walk around the lake."

They had a hard time getting away from the triumphant Gryffindors, who kept trying to carry Harry and Ron on their shoulders, but eventually they managed.

As they slowly walked around the lake, Harry told Ron about what happened at the last D.A.D.A. lesson.

"It was like she had some sort of shock, I think she remembered or saw something that upset her and then she just walked away. She wouldn't talk to me. I had no idea the charm would have such an effect on her. Perhaps I should have - after all it's not intended for ordinary students. I just thought, well, if I could then she could too. Perhaps I saw to much of myself in her," he sadly concluded.

"Come on, you couldn't have known that, who knows what goes on in girls' heads?" Ron said. Harry smiled and felt a bit relieved.

He shot Ron a sideways glance and to his surprise Ron was also smiling. "What?" he curiously asked.

"It's just, well, apart from your little adventure with Cho Chang, girls haven't really been your highest priority, have they? You know mate, I think we're growing up!"

Harry smiled when he saw Ron's truly amazed look.

"Yes, well, it happens to the best... But I'm not in love with her so shut up!"

But Ron just chuckled and said, "Remember when we met on the Hogwarts Express? Its just ages ago! I mean, just think all the things we've done!"

Harry laughed. He thought back on that train trip a thousand years ago.

"Do you remember Hermione in the first day we met on the train? You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" he said in a posh voice, imitating her. Ron laughed.

"And my mum's Howler after our little car ride in our second year? Ronald Weasley, I am going to kill you!"

The boys were howling with a long missed laughter all the way back to the entrance, and their laughter echoed long after in the Dark Forest.

"Are you there, Severus?" a polite voice sounded at the door to Snape's office. Snape raised his head from the stack of papers. He had almost fallen asleep marking. He quickly got up and opened the door while straightening his cloak. He was not surprised to see the headmaster standing in the doorway with his hands on his back and a polite smile on his face.

"Come In," Snape croaked in a hoarse voice and stepped aside.

Dumbledore walked in and sat down on a stool. Snape sat down behind his desk. He had a notion of what was coming.

"Lovely weather today, Severus. I see some of our students have felt a great desire to take a walk around the lake." He smiled a brilliant smile.

A muscle in Snape's cheek twitched. That was not what he had expected.

"Indeed," he growled. Why did the old man not just speak his mind? Snape knew that there was something he wanted to discuss and he thought he knew what the topic might be.

"Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. Snape looked up and faced the blue eyes. Dumbledore's smile was gone and he looked very serious.

"Why haven't you told her? What are you waiting for?"

Snape cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Headmaster, but I believe this is a private matter. I thank you for your concern but in this case... Well, I have quite a few parchments to correct, so if you will excuse me." Snape got up with a determined look on his face. Dumbledore looked at him with sadness in his eyes that Snape interpreted as pity. His rage grew.

"She will not reject you, Severus. Believe me."

"I believe I have spoken my mind on the subject," he said through gritted teeth.

Dumbledore gave him a last glance before he said," As you wish, Severus." Then with a more business-like voice, "I also have an Order mission for you. We need more information about the whereabouts of Voldemort and I believe you know where and how to get it."

"When they come for you / you know just what to do / close your eye / prepare to die / the Dark Lord will always know, when you lie," a loud, drunk voice sounded from the living room.

Elizabeth walked to the doorway, holding on to her soft toy bunny. She stopped there and watched a woman pour brandy in a glass with shaking hands. She coughed in between slurps of brandy and loud, strange songs. The TV was on full blast; the woman was watching a talk show about women with violent husbands. She didn't notice Elizabeth.

She was plump, wearing a dirty shirt and striped leggings. Her hair was very messy and to her, a penetrating smell of brandy clung.

Elizabeth's hearth was pounding fast. She was not sure why, but she was afraid. She was afraid that her father might come home and find her mother like this.

The woman suddenly turned her head as if the thought of Elizabeth's father had been hers. She looked crossed. "What are you looking at?" she spat.

Elizabeth trembled and felt two warm tears run down her cheeks.

The woman's expression loosened up a little and she sighed. "Sorry darling," she said in a gentle though driveling voice, "Mum's just a little tired today, that's all." She spread her arms out and said, "Come here." Elizabeth sniffed and walked to her mother, who seated her on her lab and turned off the TV. The little girl placed her head against her mother's warm neck, ignoring the smell of sweat and brandy.

"Want me to show you a secret?" the woman asked conspiratorially. Elizabeth nodded.

"Okay. But first you have to promise you won't tell daddy, okay? Never, ever."

"Never, ever," Elizabeth repeated while her anticipation grew.

The woman placed her hand on the table and whispered, "Calor". A bright, orange rose sprang from the tabletop as if it had grown out of it. Elizabeth laughe and the woman joined her. "More, mum, show me more!" she yelled excited. Her mother pointed her finger at a picture of sinister looking man on the wall and said, "Animaris". The man suddenly grinned friendly at them and waved from his frame. Elizabeth clapped her hands and yelled for more. Her mother took a cigarette from the table and said with a grin, "Exsuperum Malum" and the cigarette turned into a light candle. They both laughed hard and her mother turned to the door and pointed it with a smile. But her smile vanished when she saw her husband stand there, looking furious. After a moment of frightful hesitation, she waved her hand quickly and whispered, "Finite Incantatum". The rose and candle disappeared and the man looked sinister in his frame again. Elizabeth felt her heart pound fast again. Her father walked slowly towards them.

"Go to your room," he growled to Elizabeth. She did not want to leave her mother. She was sure something terrible would happen if she did.

"Go on, " her mother said and pushed her down from her lab. "It's all right, darling," she said while her hands trembled uncontrollably.

Elizabeth ran to her room while hugging her bunny. She climbed on to her bed and put a pillow over her ears. But it wasn't enough to keep the awful sounds from the living room out.

White clouds drifted lazily over the blue sky and birds were singing little tunes. Professor McGonagall was talking about transfiguring rodents into furniture. Elizabeth was looking out of the window without paying attention.

She thought about the incident in the last D.A.D.A class and how she had been overwhelmed by suddenly remembering her parents' faces again. She thought that the years had made her tough but now she had realized how much she really missed them.

"Miss Parker, you are not paying attention!" McGonagall snapped.

Elizabeth started and was about to offer an apology when Professor McGonagall interrupted her. "It's not like you not to be focused. Is anything the matter?" she said briskly.

"No, no, I'm fine, I'm sorry, I should have paid attention before. You were saying something about, erm, transfiguring rats into chairs, right?" Elizabeth blustered. She just wanted to say something to make sure McGonagall didn't get suspicious.

But the professor wasn't easy to fool. She surveyed Elizabeth through her glasses. Then she sighed and said gently, "Miss Parker, if anything is the matter and I do mean anything, I hope you will come to me. I'm not telling you to share your most private emotions if you don't want to, but if I can be of any help, please say so. All right?" Elizabeth met her eyes. She knew that Dumbledore had told McGonagall about his plan and Elizabeth's role in it, and he seemed to trust her very much. And she realized she trusted Professor McGonagall too.

"It's just... When somebody die, or disappear out of your life... do you... think they leave you forever? If you forget the faces, are they then completely gone?"

McGonagall looked surprised for a moment. Then her expression softened and she removed her glasses and leaned back in her chair, looking thoughtful.

"That is a difficult question to answer," she said, "but I think I can do that by telling you a story about a special boy," she said a moment later. Elizabeth shook her head while her anticipation grew.

"Well," McGonagall began, "Once upon a time, there was an ordinary little boy who lived with his mother and father who loved him very much. During the first war, some twenty years ago, the boy's parents fought against You-Know-Who. They were some of the best resistance England had and very loyal to Dumbledore. But they were betrayed when their child was just one year old - You-Know-Who found their home. First he killed the father. Then he went for the baby, but the boy's mother begged him to take her life instead. He killed her too, in cold blood. But he also, most unwillingly, placed an ancient protection spell on the child. If a mother makes the greatest sacrifice she can for her child, her life, the child is protected from the mother's assassin.

"When You-Know-Who tried again, his spell backfired and left the little boy with nothing but a scar."

Elizabeth was amazed by the story but she couldn't really see how this answered her question. But McGonagall was not finished. "So strong was his mother's love, that he became the "Boy Who Lived."

Elizabeth looked out of the window again and smiled. The clouds had lifted.

"Ron! Harry! Come look at this!" Hermione yelled and ran towards them as they entered the Great Hall. She had The Daily Prophet in her hand and an alarmed look on her face. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then ran to meet her. She gave the boys the paper. The front page was covered with a large article:

Dementors desert Azkaban Prison

London: Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has just confirmed the rumour that all the Dementors are beyond control and have left Azkaban. The minister says in an exclusive interview to The Daily Prophet, "I mortally regret to inform the magic society that the Dementors have left Azkaban last night between three and four pm. This unhappy event is not entirely unexpected though, it has been suspected by the Ministry,

- "Ha - more likely Dumbledore has suspected it," Harry said, to happen for some time now and we have taken all means in use to capture the Dementors and secure the prisoners of Azkaban. Therefore I urge the public not to panic."

DP has asked random witches and wizards on the streets about their reactions. Street sweeper in Diagon Alley, Alfred Inclinius (46) agrees with Fudge, "We have seen worse times, and panic will only increase the danger. If we keep our heads cold and take precautions, there is no reason to fear the Dementors." Housewife Emma Fulgoro (34) says, "We were almost falling down the chairs in our house, and I am personally not letting my children out on their own until Fudge has captured every single Dementor!"

The big question is, "where have the Dementors gone?" DP asked minister Cornelius Fudge; "Well, there is really only one place they could have gone, isn't there?" a slightly annoyed Fudge says, "To wherever You-Know-Who is."

A special trained Auror team has been sent to hunt down the Dementors and DP will bring further news in tomorrow's paper.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Well," said Harry, "I suppose we can start counting the days till the Death Eaters in Azkaban break out."

(End of chapter 3)