Endgame

Chapter 19

"Thank you, Professor."

He smiled and left through the front door.

"Did Professor Dumbledore not want any tea, Hallie?" Gracie asked, holding the teapot.

"No I don't think so mum," Hallie said, still looking at the door. "I'll be up in my room."

"Okay, sweetie," Gracie said kindly as she walked back into the kitchen to continue cleaning the dishes.

"Did you deliver the letter, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked when he finally got outside.

"Yes, I did," he nodded. "This is her first test, Minerva."

"For?"

"Her destiny" he said. "That child is embedded with something so unbelievably special. Now we must go, no word of this will be spoken for another 6 years."

***
"Yes, I've revised that," Hallie said to Fred in the library. "Could you hold this up for me?"

She handed him a mindmap that was filled with different spells for charms.

"What in the?" Fred looked at it mesmerised. "How on earth do you do this much work Hallie?"

"I've had a lot of time on my hands," she chuckled. "What time is it?"

"Half five," he said, looking up at the clock. "I think we'd better head back to common room."

"Oh no," Hallie shook her head. "I'd rather not, Fred. You know what people are like."

"And?" He questioned. "I don't know why you care so much about them, they don't matter."

"I know that," she sighed. "I'm just fed up with the rumours, Freddy."

"I bet you not many people will be there."

Hallie knew Fred was only saying this to make her feel better and although she appreciated it, she couldn't help but feel an icky feeling in her stomach.

"Fred?" Hallie asked, as they walked up to the dormitory.

"Yep, Hals?"

"Does George ever talk about me whenever it's just you and him?"

"Not so much, if I'm being honest."

They both turned a corner and made it to the final hallway. "Something is up with him."

"Well he's been avoiding me," Hallie added. "Maybe I'm the problem?"

"No don't think that even for a minute," he said looking at her. "Sometimes, people don't even know what is wrong with them. They just know they're sad, but they don't know why."

"Homenum revelio," Hallie said to the fat lady at the portrait and she opened it without any speech.

"Look who is here," Hallie added, looking over. "He's not even with Lee, Fred. He's with Dean, look."

They both looked over to see him laughing gleefully with Dean Thomas, a fellow fifth year Gryffindor in Hallie's year.

"Hi Dean, I've got some quidditch posters. Do you want to come and see them?" Fred asked, trying to create a distraction so that Hallie and George could speak alone.

"Alright, yeah, sounds good!"

"See ya, Hals," Fred said to Hallie as him and Dean walked up the dormitory stairs.

"Bye Freddy."

"Hey George," Hallie said, sitting down beside him in the Gryffindor Common Room. The heat of the fire beside them overwhelmed her slightly. She began to cool down after taking her jacket off.