t o u c h

s e v e n t e e n

Seventeen flights of stairs, and you end up being on the first floor," Ron complained, out of breath as the trio finally approached Alexandra.

"Sorry," she apologized, greeting the three. She pulled them into hugs, forgetting about her fear for a short moment. "I just didn't believe I was truly here for a moment."

"Merlin, how long were you gone?" Hermione asked, pointing out how tightly Alexandra was hugging her.

"A very long time," Alexandra huffed, not wanting to think about it.

"How do they suppose you take your O.W.Ls then?" Hermione asked, concerned. "Everything must've been taught differently fifty years ago."

"I've actually already taken them. Did you know students used to take them twice before Dumbledore became Headmaster? Once after the holidays, and once right before the end of term," Alexandra explained.

"That sounds awful," Ron groaned.

"Come on, let's go somewhere more private. You look like you have a lot to talk about, and you have some more people waiting for you," Harry said softly, gesturing for Alexandra to follow them to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived, a familiar sensation filled Alexandra. A sensation only caused by one particular person.

She followed the trio into the room, but somehow found herself alone. The door slammed behind her, making her jump.

The room was a similar sight, filled to the brim with glowing prophecies. As she walked forward, she stepped on shattered glass. When she looked down, she froze. The shattered glass was that of the prophecy she had shattered over fifty years ago.

"Miss me already?" A voice rang. Alexandra gasped, turning to see Tom standing a few feet away from her.

"You're not real," she said aloud, trying to convince herself she had gone mad.

He stepped towards her, gently placing his hand on her cheek. Alexandra let out a loud sob, throwing her hand over her mouth when she felt his touch. He was real.

"I'm as real as you make me," he smirked, letting his hand fall to his side and stepping around her. She turned, and he was gone. Her relief was short lived, dying when she heard his voice again.

"This is a silly little prophecy," he said. She turned the corner and found him holding a glass ball in his hands. She walked over to him, and noticed the orb was foggy.

"How are you here?" She asked shakily. She knew part of him lived in the castle when he first split his soul, but Harry had killed that part of him years ago.

"Magic works in mysterious ways, my love," he chuckled, placing the glass ball back into it's spot and picking up another one. "I found this silly little thing in Dumbledore's office. I charmed it so even you can't break it."

To prove he wasn't lying, he dropped it on the ground. It didn't shatter, but instead it rolled towards Alexandra. She picked it up, and visions started filling her mind almost immediately.

She saw Hermione screaming as she lied on the ground being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. She saw Ginny and Neville standing in front of a group of children all covered in dirt and blood, cowering under thin blankets in bunches. She saw Ron in what looked like a dungeon, crying and screaming for his life. She saw Harry lying limp in Hagrid's arms. She saw George hovering over a lifeless Fred. She saw Draco cowering in fear as Voldemort held his wand at his neck. A burst of green light filled her sight before she dropped the orb on the ground. Again, it didn't break. These visions were almost exactly the same as the ones her divination professor had shown her, only more had been added.

"Work against me, and you'll join them," Tom told her.

"Get out!" She yelled, shutting her eyes and bringing her hands to her head. "Get out!"

Tom's laugh filled her ears, only fading when she was shaken out of her trance. Her eyes shot open as she started looking around frantically. The prophecies were gone, and so was Tom."

"What the bloody hell happened?"