UNTOLD | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 3)

[ 27 ]

After the night where Aine and Harry had found Barty Crouch Senior dead, both the Gryffindors were slowly having an unsettling feeling about the events that were going to unfold. It seemed like it was a warning of something big that was going to happen, and the several occasions of the possibility of the Dark Lord rising once more made them even more anxious. What Aine had dreamt during summer, the invasion of Deatheaters during the Quidditch World Cup, Harry's name drawn from the Goblet of Fire, Barty Crouch's death and the reveal of Igor Karkaroff's death mark were all starting to line up. The previous rendevous with Sirius in the Gryffindor's common room with Harry only confirmed that these were no coincidence— Voldemort is no doubt reappearing once more and this time, they hoped that they'll be able to face him without falling. 

The thought of a second war made Aine uneasy, with tales from survivors and her father, she knew that they barely ended the First Wizarding War with them winning, but at what cost? The number of casualties and deaths were so tragic that it left many relationships destroyed, families broken, and children being orphaned. The idea of Deatheaters reigning in Aine's world was terrifying enough to make her shiver to the core, it made her wonder this time, will they manage to win it as they did before? Or will it be the age of Voldemort's dominion?

Yet, though these questions occasionally pop into Aine's head, it was often shadowed by her thoughts; visions that she was seeing now and then were like reoccurring dreams that were disguised as the truth and memories. Repeatedly, she would have dreams of the same woman, staring at her through the mirror and muttering her name over and over again like it was a spell to cast her into a trance. Nevertheless, every time she woke up after dreaming of her, it was as if her mind was being cracked open with a hammer, and she would be filled with such intense fear that at times, it was hard to conceal it from her friends. It even made her not being able to sleep well or at all, resulting in her slowly having bags under her eyes.

A month and a half have passed since the second task and the third and final task was only two weeks away. For the past few days, Aine along with Hermione and Ron have been constantly training along with Harry to prepare him for the next task in midst of their revisions for the final exams. Every day, without fail they would practise spells so that Harry could use them during the last mission.

"Professor Flitwick would be so proud of us," grinned Ron after successfully managing to conjure a freezing spell to freeze a couple of leaves before making them levitate off the ground and shooting them at Harry who dodges swiftly. 

"You seem to be doing better than me, Ron," Harry complimented and the red-headed boy beamed, "Really?" he asks and Harry nodded. 

Hermione simply shook her head at the two boys, she turns to Aine who was practising her non-verbal spells. It was still shocking to see her, a girl younger than who she was being able to perform such a high level of magic and she couldn't be prouder, "Aine, shall we duel for a bit?" she asks the girl who smirks, "Sure."

The boys took turns to watch them as both Hermione and Aine stood in a distance, wands clenched as they whipped around, walking a few steps before positioning themselves into a duelling stance. Aine took a deep breath, her eyes focusing on Hermione who smile through her growing competitiveness. 

"One..." Harry counted as he and Ron counted down, "Two..."

"Three!" 

Aine's eyes went wide, her wand shooting out golden flames towards her friend who dodges them on time. Though Hermione wasn't able to duck when the last fireball came in two waves, it split into two directions before coming together at her.

"Protego!" the brunette shouted, casting a wide translucent shield to protect herself. 

"Phew, that was close!" Ron yells, cheering with his flailing arms.