Out of the Shadows (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 27- Truth (Ava)

"What the hell?" I frowned, staring at Seamus with a shocked expression. I could feel my cheeks burning- with anger or embarrassment, I wasn't sure.

"Why wouldn't you trust me?" I eventually managed, taking another sip of pumpkin juice.

"Because you're a Slytherin," Seamus blurted, "And you hardly spoke to Harry all of last year, did you? It was only at the end of the year when Dumbledore died that you went back to your family. I always thought it was weird. And then you disappeared off the face of the Earth for a few months- that was suspicious as well."

"Seamus!" Ginny shouted, finally finding her voice. We were all shocked at what we were hearing from Seamus. He'd been so nice to me all this time- why was he suddenly telling me this?

"I still have feelings for you, Ginny."

We all turned and looked at Dean, our mouths falling open.

"What?" Ginny whispered, and he smiled dreamily.

"I really thought you were the one... you know? I know we argued a lot but I loved you. And then you went off with Harry instead. You broke my heart, Ginny." He murmured softly.

We all sat in silence for a moment, processing what he'd just said. I glanced down into my dark pumpkin juice and sighed. Suddenly, as if something around my mouth had loosened, words started to tumble out.

"I had feelings for Draco Malfoy. He helped me when I was locked up in Malfoy Manor. He loved me and although I don't love him, I think I could have grown to love him. If I'd been at Malfoy Manor for much longer, my feelings might have changed."

I clamped my hand over my mouth and swore.

"I think there's Veritaserum in the pumpkin juice," Ginny dropped her cup in shock, "Don't drink anymore!"

My cup slipped out of my fingers and landed on the cushion, causing dark liquid to spread across the fabric.

"I wish my Gran would stop comparing me to my parents," Neville muttered, staring straight ahead, "I don't think I'll ever be anything like them. They seem like they were afraid of nothing, and I'm not like that in the slightest. I wish I could be braver, but I'm not."

"Neville," I started to say, still struggling to keep a grip on my tongue, "You're one of the bravest people I know. You can't say that, it's simply not true."

"Harry's the bravest person I know," Ginny murmured quietly, "Every day I worry that something dreadful is happening to him. I love him and... I just want to be with him. I want to know that he's okay."

I nodded slowly, "I miss Fred. I miss his touch more than anything. We slept together at his Aunt Muriel's, you know."

I stood up with a gasp, my cheeks reddening.

"Water. Water!"

A jug of water appeared on the shelf above my head and I grabbed it, quickly pouring everyone a drink. I passed them to everyone as quickly as I could.

"Don't worry, Seamus, it's not poison," I muttered bitterly as I gave it to him, and he shook his head quickly, the cup frozen just below his lips.

"Ava, I'm not afraid of you anymore. You're one of the people I trust the most. I've seen your scars and I've seen how brave you are and how ready you are to put your life on the line for one of us. I trust you."

I found myself smiling as I raised the cup of water to my lips and began to drink quickly. He did the same.

Neville started to say something, but I cast a silencing charm on him with my wand.

"We've already said things we'll regret. Let's not say anything else."

Silence settled over the room as the Veritaserum stopped working. Ginny gulped, "So when we saw the Carrows walking away from the Gryffindor table, they'd just put Veritaserum in the Pumpkin Juice. We're lucky we took every pitcher of juice, otherwise... the other students might have revealed any secrets that the Carrows had asked them about."

There was another moment of silence. Neville glanced up at me, "Did you mean what you said? About Malfoy?"

I sighed, "Yes, but he... he can't be changed. I realised that long ago. He will follow his family, whatever that means. And I would never follow him in that direction."

There was another moment of silence, and Ginny glanced up at Dean, "Come on."

The two of them got up and walked over to the crackling fire, sitting awkwardly on the cushions as they began to talk.

I turned away from them, not wanting to watch their discussion. Neville and Seamus did the same.

"I'd rather that we'd have drunk it than the students in the Great Hall," I murmured, "If they'd exposed the re-emergence of the DA, or me hiding out here..."

Neville squeezed my hand, "Well, we're lucky they didn't."

"The Carrows won't back down now," Seamus gulped, "They won't stop until they get what they want."

"No," I hesitated, "But we won't let them win, will we?"

A moment later, Ginny got up and walked back towards us. Wordlessly, Seamus made his way over to Dean and sat down across from him.

"You okay?" I asked Ginny, and she nodded sheepishly.

"More than anything, he's scared about losing us all in the war. He's feeling impulsive- he doesn't want to be alone in these months before we might die."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the morbidity of Dean's reasoning.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Ginny asked, glancing at him, and I reached out and squeezed her hand.

"Definitely. He's not alone, not really. He has Seamus." I looked at the two boys murmuring to each other, "Even if he doesn't realise it."

There was a pause.

"We'll be alright, won't we?" Neville asked nervously.

"Of course," I replied, my voice wavering slightly, "We have each other. We'll always be alright."

I didn't know if my words were true, but we had to be positive. We couldn't carry on this war without positivity.