Til The End

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`Til The End

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The cat blended in with the night. Had it not been for the brilliant, jewel-like eyes gleaming in the darkness, it would have been all but invisible. The graveyard was no longer safe. Too many of the circle had perished there, and now, the darkness took place in an old, abandoned house.

It was risky, of course. The serpent was still alive, and there was always the chance of being struck, poisoned, killed in a quick, merciless fashion.

Of course, that was only to be expected.

The cat was out hunting.

The sliver of a waning crescent moon sliced through the dark clouds, and the cat´s slinky form was visible, silhouetted against the faintly silver tree branch on which she crouched. The window was barred, about a foot away from the cat´s nose, but a feline´s hearing is very keen.

All of the sudden, the window was thrown open, and the ugly, scaly head of a giant, venomous snake shot out, missing the cat by scant inches. The feline leapt nimbly and quickly onto another branch, then another, as the snake slithered out in pursuit. Leaping to the ground, the cat changed into a girl in pure black, a kerchief over her face. A wave of her wand, and the snake was enclosed in a block of ice a cubic foot in volume. The girl became a cat once again, and tore off to the surrounding, protective woods, where there would be protection, and she could go home.

At least she had had a successful hunting mission.

* * *

"That was a close one tonight," Cho, sitting in Jing-Li and Draco´s tent, sighed slightly. "That snake almost got me. But I did manage to get the information."

Jing-Li gave Cho a concerned look, "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I had to transform back, though... " She gave a sigh. "Thank Heaven I didn´t stay in human form for long... I just cast the strongest Freezing charm I knew on the serpent. And then changed back. Let´s hope that it dies... cold-blooded beast..." Cho shrugged. "I don´t think that it knows who I am... but just in case, it would be best if it died. Then, there would not be any way for You-Know-Who to figure out..."

Jing-Li nodded, and exchanged a glance with Draco, who was sitting next to her. Cho looked at the blond young man, and gave him a weary smile. "Well... at least, I have some information. I´m going to lie low myself for a while, but... would you be so kind as to pass it to the Aurors, Draco?"

"No need for pleasantries, Chang," Draco Malfoy waved an elegant, dismissive hand. "Just tell me what you learned."

Cho nodded solemnly, "You know that the Dark Lord isn´t just after Harry, of course."

"Of course," Draco said with polite sarcasm. "Can´t have the world be too Potter-centric, that would be bad."

Jing-Li gave Draco a rebuking look, and Cho rolled her eyes. "So glad to see that old habits die hard, Malfoy. Anyway... they´re also after Dumbledore. They are gathering their forces. They are also trying to recruit more Death Eaters from places that are... well, less vigilant than here. Here, we have Aurors and Unspeakables and Mages all over the place, fighting Dark wizards and witches. However... the Dark Lord is thinking of recruiting more Death Eaters from Durmstrang... it´s going to be very hard to stop them. This isn´t an active effort. They´re simply... well, you know, private correspondence. I have a feeling that it´s not going to be possible to stop that."

Jing-Li let out a string of Chinese curse-words that made Cho wince and Draco raise an eyebrow. The Mage glared at the ground for a few moments, and then looked back at Cho, her face somewhat weary. "All right. And... is there anything else?"

Cho nodded slowly, "This isn´t... certain. I was listening, and then the snake tried to kill me, and I had to leave... but..."

"But what?" Draco asked quickly. "If it´s that awful, you might as well say it so we can all groan about it together."

"They might try to attack Hogwarts. It´s not certain when or how... but it´s a possibility."

"Bugger..." Draco´s voice was full of grim disbelief. Cho nodded soberly.

"My sentiments exactly."

"And you want me to tell this to Davies and Potter and them?" Draco muttered, "No one ever likes the bringer of bad news..."

"Be brave, Malfoy," Cho said tiredly. "Just... let them know, all right?"

* * *

"Attack Hogwarts?!" Roger Davies stared at the younger man, stunned. Draco nodded. Davies looked at the former Slytherin Seeker with jaded blue eyes. "And there´s no news yet... of when and how this is going to happen."

Draco shook his head, "Not at the moment."

Roger nodded slowly, and looked at the pale young man who was training under him. "Well... let´s think of this rationally. You say that they´re trying to gather up additional forces from Durmstrang and neighboring environs... "

"Yes, so it seems. Now... based on what I remember from the `good old days´ when my father was all for sending me to that school... " the blond man spat and narrowed his eyes, "they would probably be trying to recruit about ten or so more Death Eaters and their families. Of course, there are various sympathizers to the Dark Side, but reliably... probably about ten or so."

Roger looked thoughtful as he processed this information, "Right. That means that it would take at least six more months to get these new recruits over and battle-ready. That would take us to... about Halloween. It´s possible that we might have new Aurors by then. But... there´s also the problem of Hogwarts. We have to do what we can to capture Death Eaters right now..."

"Davies..." a crisp voice spoke up behind Roger and Draco, and Harry Potter walked forward to join the other two men, "I volunteer to patrol Hogwarts. It would be best if someone is there all the time, and... well, when the time comes, it would be best if one of us were there from the start, wouldn´t it?"

Roger looked at Harry soberly, "Yes, of course... well, we should owl Dumbledore about this. I´m fairly sure that he will not have strenuous objections, but we would need to work it out with him. And of course, we have to give you a plausible reason to be there. It wouldn´t do for Dumbledore to announce at dinner one evening, `Here is Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived and former Gryffindor alumnus. He´s here to make sure that when the Dark Lord and all his minions attack, you lot won´t be exterminated until the Dark Lord has killed him first´."

"Obviously," Draco deadpanned, "It would just look bad if he went there without any reason."

Roger gave the sardonic blond a slightly quelling look, and changed the subject somewhat, "So, who gave you this information?"

"Chang," Draco said succinctly, "went spying on His Royal Megalomaniac. Nearly got eaten by the snake that said Evil Overlord keeps for a pet, and hopefully froze said serpent into a reptilian icicle. She´s lying low for a few days."

Roger nodded, and for a moment, his eyes were filled with a faraway, almost wistful expression. And then, he turned back to Draco, once again the businesslike Auror that he had acquired after many years. "I see. Well... tell her that I thank her, from the bottom of my heart. Now... I suppose we should continue with training."

* * *

A week after Cho Chang´s reconnaissance mission, Harry Potter had been installed as a Quidditch coach at Hogwarts. Madame Hooch had been called away by relatives for an extended, paid leave of absence, and the former Seeker for Gryffindor would substitute for her until further notice.

Several students who had known him were quite happy to see him back at Hogwarts. Needless to say, the Gryffindors were proud to have one of their most illustrious alumni back in their midst. Harry was welcomed by the Lions with open and enthusiastic arms. The other houses treated him with politeness, if not fondness. Most of the staff members were hospitable and friendly, although Harry would realistically never become cronies with Severus Snape. But at least the Boy Who Lived and his old Potions Master were able to get along without too much hostility.

Fleur, of course, was exceedingly glad that he was there. She knew full well exactly what Harry was doing at the school, and often, the two would sit together, discussing what was going on in the world. But even happier than Fleur to see Harry was Fleur´s sister.

Gabrielle´s favorite place was now officially the Quidditch pitch.

There was hardly any weekend or free evening that she passed without visiting the Quidditch pitch to talk to Harry about Seeker strategies and anything else on her mind. Of course, as the Quidditch final between Ravenclaw and Slytherin was coming up, this wasn´t too surprising. Coach Potter, who she called "´Arry", had been one of the most brilliant Seekers that Hogwarts had ever seen, and she was simply taking advantage of her prior acquaintance with him, and finding the best way to win the game.

Well, that was what the rest of the school figured, anyway. Una gave her a few quizzical glances now and then, but in general, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain was too busy with other things (Slytherin things with dark hair and blue eyes named Anthony Weston) to pay as much notice to Gabrielle´s frequent visits and talks with Harry as she might have otherwise. Which was all very well with Gabrielle.

She liked Harry a lot; he had saved her life once upon a time, and had been nothing but nice to her since then. When Fleur had married Bill, her parents had allowed her to live with them and go to Hogwarts if she wished, and she had jumped at the opportunity.

As the little sister of Bill´s wife, she had been subjected to lots of warm care and love from the Weasley family. The boys had all taken care of her, each in his own way. Ginny had been like a second big sister to her, and every Christmas, she, like any other Weasley or adopted Weasley child, would receive a bulging package of cakes and pies, as well as a sweater, from Mrs. Weasley.

But Harry had always been an especial favorite of hers. He was quiet, somewhat more thoughtful and meditative than most of the rowdy, cheerful family that had opened their hearts to Fleur and herself after the former had married one of their sons. Gabrielle dearly loved romping around with the twins and Ron or talking about anything and everything under the sun with the older boys. But when she wanted to think, when she wanted to have companionship from someone who, with all that he had seen, would never see her as merely a pretty girl, it was always Harry´s company that she sought.

And he had always given her it whenever she´d asked.

In truth, Gabrielle was in many ways quite in love with Harry Potter, because, like herself, the world saw him in a certain way, and oftentimes could or would not see beyond the facade. But in this, they understood each other.

She could have any boy she wanted, really. As it was, enough of them were willing to do anything they could for her. But this older boy... a young man, really, saw her for herself, and welcomed her into his heart.

One day, perhaps, he would see her the same way that she saw him. Gabrielle was patient.

* * *

Where the Ravenclaw Seeker was going about her business and keeping her own counsel and company, the Ravenclaw Captain spent an inordinate amount of time "fraternizing with the enemy".

Una Markham was still trying to get accustomed to the fact that, in a most incredible, marvelous way, someone who she would never, ever have expected, loved her.

She was gradually becoming used to the long, blush-inducing looks that he would give her, sitting at his table at mealtimes, always at a vantage point where, if she looked up and over the bent heads of the other people, their eyes would meet and lock. The school knew that she was spoken for, and when everyone had found out, there had been surprised, disbelieving looks and questions for days. He had gotten tired of the insolent inquiries quite rapidly, and when one nosy Gryffindor third year had asked if they were really together, Quidditch rivals and all, he had stalked up to her in the Great Hall, where she and several other students had been coming out from dinner, and had taken her in his arms and kissed her, long and amorously, in front of everyone. She´d spent the rest of the day with her face burning, but it had been unmistakable that she was "his girl", and the inquiries had stopped.

She´d taken to sitting next to him at Prefect Meetings, and he would hold her hand in his slender but strong one, caressing the palm once in a while with his thumb, and Head Girl Orla would give them disgruntled, "Pay-Attention-To-The-Business-At-Hand" looks. To which, he would grin disarmingly, if a bit impudently, and bring his other hand up to play with her hair. But every time Orla asked him a question, he would answer promptly, and so, the Head Girl would not be able to voice any real complaints against his lack of attention.

They´d have their rounds together sometimes, and as they walked the hallways and patrolled for loitering students, they would talk. There would be spirited but good-natured arguments about anything from medieval Wizarding laws to the omnipotent Game Boy. They would frown and glare at each other when they argued, but in the middle of her quick, vociferous speech, he would catch one of her hands as she gesticulated, and press a kiss to the fingertips, and she would pause, and look at him, eyes wide. And the arguments would stop for the time being.

And sometimes, she would still take him to the Astronomy Tower and show him the stars. They would find a constellation in the sky, and then he would lie down, with his head in her lap, and she would tell him the story behind it. And whenever she looked down into his face, he would be looking at her, and the intensity of his cerulean gaze would make her blush and shiver despite the warmth of her cheeks. And she would feel beautiful, even though she knew that there were other girls with more even, harmonious features than she had, because she was beautiful to him, and he let her know this without saying a word.

The Quidditch Final was coming up, and they would be rivals on the pitch. It would be interesting... she´d never played against him in this context before.

* * *

The day of the Quidditch Final dawned bright and sunny, and Una went for an early morning fly. There was a slight wind, which ruffled the hair that she had tied back in a braid. She soared through the air, taking a brief assessment of playing conditions, and then landed after doing two laps around the pitch.

She was not alone.

He was walking up to her, and gave her a somewhat cheeky smile. "Thought you´d be here."

"Am I becoming predictable now?"

"Not really... I just stalk you," he´d replied. She rolled her eyes.

"Should I be afraid?"

"If you have snog-phobia, you should be very..." he gave her an intense look with hooded eyes, "very afraid."

She laughed, "Too bad, you´re not scaring me, Anthony."

"Who said anything about it being too bad?" he growled.

* * *

One hour later found them on the pitch again, this time facing each other, rivals. Caulfield was announcing, "And today´s game, Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin, is not only the Quidditch final, but a showdown between Markham and Weston, cutest couple of Hogwarts since Granger and Weasley! Let´s hope that they don´t distract each other during the game!"

Una had shot a half-hearted glare at the Head Boy before taking the air.

The game was quick and smooth; both she and Anthony had trained their teams intensely through the year. Sometimes, her team would be up ahead, and sometimes his would be.

A half-hour after the start of the game, her team was up 40:30, and all of the sudden, Aaron Montague and Gabrielle Delacour were both diving.

There was a blinding moment... and then, Slytherin Beater Peony Parkinson pelted a bludger at Gabrielle.

Gabrielle swerved out of the way of the bludger, so sharply that she lost control of her broom, and would have been seriously injured...

... Had the new Quidditch referee, Harry Potter, not managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

* * *

It seemed like Harry Potter was already saving students´ lives, and there had not been any sign of Death Eater attacks yet.

Montague caught the Snitch, and Slytherin won.

And for the first time since the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor game where Cedric Diggory beat Harry Potter to the Snitch due to the presence of Dementors in the field, the victorious captain of a Quidditch match begged for a rematch. But Harry, like Madame Hooch, had conceded that the game had been won fairly. Slytherin was champion.

Anthony Weston spent an hour railing at his Beater for nearly killing his sister before Una found him, and dragged him away with her to the hospital wing to see how Gabrielle was doing.

And when they got there, the sight that met their eyes made them turn back, and realize that, whatever else happened, she would be fine.

The part-veela girl was lying fast asleep in the bed, and sitting by her bedside, holding her hand gently, was Harry Potter. Una was reminded of that other Ravenclaw/Slytherin game so long ago, when she had been a first-year, and Cho Chang had faced off Carl Warrington. Cho, too, had ended in the hospital... and Roger Davies, no longer a student, had been there for her, just like Harry was for Gabrielle now.

And so, despite the fact that her team had lost, Una smiled. There was hope, and the world would be all right.