𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝟎𝟏𝟎
𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞
『••✎••』
Harry Potter felt sick to his stomach.
To be more clear, Harry Potter felt fine but Estrella Consuelas made him feel sick to his stomach.
Why? Because fate bonded him to a worry wart.
"We've missed dinner because of you, I'm starving!" Harry threw his head back and groaned, feeling Estrella taking deep breaths to will away her nausea. "Your parents are gone, why are you on the edge of throwing up?"
"Harry, please shut up before I vomit on you," Estrella opened one eye and glared at him before returning to her mindful exercises. "It's not my parents I'm worried about, it's life in general.."
Oddball Harry sighed, smiling as he watched her eyebrows furrow.
I heard that! Estrella sat up, shuffling to tuck herself beside him. For the last couple of nights it seemed as the she couldn't go a few hours without being near him. Sleep was practically impossible, an perpetual, itchy sort of pain accompanying her. It would dull, eventually after it became so unbearable that she knocked out, the only thing soothing it was Harry's touch, erasing it as though she never felt it in the first place.
Harry could say the same. Out of spite, he liked to argue he felt it worse. Ron could second that since suddenly it seemed if Harry was getting no sleep, neither was he.
"I am dreading you leaving to go back to your room," Harry whispered against her neck. He played with a lock of her hair, twirling it through his fingered. Estrella hummed in agreement as she stared into the fire.
"Do you think over time it'll get easier or harder?" She inquired, her sight set forward. It had been nagging her for a while. "Not being near each other, I mean," she shifted slightly turning to look at him. "Will it always be like this?"
"I don't know," He admitted with a frown, "Maybe...maybe it's like training a baby to sleep in a cot? If we endure it, it might?" Harry shrugged, admiring how the glow of the fire illuminated the side of her face, making her eyes appear fiery gold. "But if it gets worse then I guess we'll be sharing a bed for the foreseeable future."
"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you Potter," A voice sniggered from behind them. The two turned around to see George walking around the couch before he settled into the armchair. Harry turned bright red and George grinned in amusement.
"No, no, I didn't mean-" he protested but paused, trailing off in thought. His cheeks flushed even deeper.
"Harry!" Estrella gasped in shock as the end of his sentence floated in and out of her mind. Sitting up, she punched his shoulder as the thought dwelled in hers.
"You weren't meant to hear that," He muttered in response, rubbing the sore spot Estrella punched him. Out of embarrassment, he glanced behind them taking a sudden interest in the common room decor.
"Hear what?" George pressed, looking between the two. It was clear neither of them planned on telling him, cheeks bright pink and ignoring his existence. "Hear, bloody, what!" He pressed the two but to no avail, they didn't budge. He stuck his foot out, crushing Harry's toes beneath the sole of his shoe. Harry yelped in pain, bringing both legs up, protecting them from George. The balance made him tip, awkwardly into the armrest of the sofa.
"It's none of your business!"
"Stupid bond," George grumbled.
"Where's Fred anyway?" Harry bit, attempting to deflect the attention from the pair.
"Helping Kiana with din...oh speak of the devils!"
"Dinner?" The two chorused in confusion, turning their heads in the direction he was pointing.
The portrait door swung open, the voices of their friends bickering and The Fat Lady 'begging for a bite' filled the room. They winced hearing her, almost as though she had been gifted a megaphone.
In came the group carrying various pots of food, cutlery and crockery. "Can someone move the furniture out of the way so we have more space?" Kiana requested desperately, her voice was higher pitch than normal, clearly out of breath from hauling everything up the stairs
"Quickly!" Hermione exclaimed, her fingers had changed to a pale yellowish colour from how tightly she had been gripping her pot. "I don't think I can hold this for much longer!"
The three sprung into action, moving the furniture to the side and opening up the space. Fred spread a blanket out immediately. He bowed in Hermione's direction and the girl rolled her eyes, though she was certainly grateful. She placed the pot on top, "Thank you." She delicately massaged her hands before turning to Kiana, "I need these to strangle you." She lunged forward, turning the girl by her shoulders and pulling her flush against herself. Kiana shrieked but it melted into a laugh that made everyone else in the room laugh too.
"What is all this?" Estrella asked in intrigue as sank to her knees on the floor. She removed the lids, the varying smells of the food invading her senses and the delicious aromas fumigated the common room.
"Well..." Kiana trailed off as she maneuvered her way out of Hermione's grasp. "My mom was worried we hadn't eaten 'proper food.'" When she said 'proper food' she raised her hands and formed peace signs, scrunching them together so they moved as bunny ears would. Her voice was still drained, clearly exhausted by the heavy lifting and Hermione's surprise attack. "She wanted to make sure we were getting our proper nutrients, after the match, so she forced Dumbledore to let her bring something that we could all enjoy together."
"Your mum is so sweet, Ki," Inaya gushed, her eyes wide with hunger as she surveyed their little picnic. "Mama wrote this morning telling me to expect something soon," she explained a bit awkwardly, "I think she felt out-cooked."
While everyone was immersed in conversation, Ron snuck around, grabbing a spoon and sticking it in the curry. The second the flavoured burst on his tongue, he moaned in satisfaction and everyone turned to look at him, slightly taken aback. "Kiana please..." he gulped unceremoniously. "Marry me," he pleaded, "I - I can't live without this." The girl turned bright red and she immediately set to busying herself with the dishes, avoiding everyone's looks.
Estrella nudged her waist playfully, "I think he means it," She sang.
"It's just his stomach talking Ella, as per usual." She whispered-shouted back to Estrella, "Now guys tuck in! We have a lot of talking to do, starting with you two." Kiana pointed her spoon at the soulmates.
"Lovely." Harry nodded, he has expected it of course but that didn't mean he was happy. "Throwing us in the deep end."
Aren't you going to say anything? They're staring! Estrella smiled awkwardly as her gaze flitted between their friends faces.
No, I'm going to make myself a plate and you're going to tell them Harry scoffed, reaching forward towards the curry Ron was drooling over, bowl in one hand and ladle in the other.
Pendejo Estrella cursed at him, "Well," She shuffled to sit criss-cross on the floor, "Most the women in my family are subjected to a 'curse', it's called animae dimidium , we are given a soul partner on this earth that we are tethered to-"
"Oh, what are you guys eating?" Ginny Weasley interrupted from behind the twins, cutting Estrella's explanation short. The smell of the food had drawn the attention of a lot of people in the common room, including herself. Her eyes were wide as she eyed the food, clearly starving.
"Ginny!" Kiana smiled in greeting. She squeezed herself in between the twins, looking up at the girl, "Do you want to eat with us?" The twins grumbled in annoyance, shuffling around to make room. "There's more than enough to go around."
Ginny was clearly happy with this, "Thank you, Kiana, it all looks so delicious!" She circled the couch, looking around the group, "What are you guys talking about?"
"A lot," Ron replied. He gestured to the group with his spoon, flinging curry across the room. The group dodged the assault as best as they could. "Ella was just telling us about her and Harry's connection," he informed her. He turned to the pair in question. "I do have a question though," he told them. "What's the point of it? Of your bond, I mean."
"Our destiny..." Estrella gestured between her and Harry, exchanging a look with him, sharing information the rest clearly weren't privy to. "...We're all aware He Who Must Not Be Named wants Harry..." She trailed off trying to find the nicest way to put it.
"Destroyed?" Isabella pitched in.
"Eliminated?" Fred snickered.
"Murdered?" George said matter-of-factly.
"I was going to out of his way-" Estrella spat at them, side-eyeing her soulmate who appeared horror-stricken by their answers, his pupils dilated as he chewed slowly. She placed a comforting hand in his knee, hoping that it would ground his rapidly replicating thoughts. "-So his master plan can work. We don't want that."
"Dumbledore said there is a prophecy," he interjected but was quick to elaborate, "Our prophecy." He placed his bowl in front of himself, "And in the end, one of us might have to give ourselves up to stop him."
"Give yourselves up?" Hermione gasped, "As in, one of you could die?"
The pair nodded, already having come to terms with the fact. This was war, and in war, people did. "Possibly."
"What?" Inaya shook her head. "That can't be the only way!"
"Inaya what other way is there?" Estrella pleaded. " You Know Who is going to keep trying to come back. If he's successful, people are going to die. Harry and I happen to be number one on his hit list, so we're most at risk."
The group fell quiet, silent, worried looks exchanged between them. The reality of the Dark Lord's desired future dawned on them, falling heavy among the group. "If he comes back, he won't stop until he has everything," Inaya muttered as she seemed to come to the same understanding. She leaned into Hermione, "And even then...having everything won't be enough." It was reality without their friends and family surrounding them. It was unfathomable.
Bile rose up their throats as they felt themselves get hurtled towards a reality where they had to grow up too fast and feel heartbreak too soon. A lilting hum gently diffused through the air, The Fat Lady's pass-time melody bringing bizarre sense of comfort amongst the group, despite their apprehensive silence.
"Hasn't Dumbledore give you a slight indication of how exactly you're going to defeat You Know Who?" Isabella broke the silence, sitting up straight after a little while, "That's a crazy amount of information to dump on you guys with no explanation ," she was right, it was a lot for the young couple to take in. "I mean, it's your lives we're talking about here!" She made eye contact with Estrella whose erratic gazed jumped from point to point. Isabella could tell something was eating her from the inside. "Estrella?" Her voice softened, "What's is it?"
"I-I think Dumbledore is hiding something...from me." Estrella confessed, gnawing at her lip as she took in the rest of the group's visibly surprised looks. "I don't want to doubt him but-"
"But what Estrella?" Harry cut her off, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Where was this coming from? They hadn't spoken of any doubts prior to now.
"If Dumbledore asks to see us, to talk to us about what we are going through..." She chose her words carefully, knowing Harry viewed Dumbledore with no faults. "Not only that but is aware this bond something bigger than just 'a partner'?" She looked up at Harry, his expression giving away the fact that he wasn't happy with what she was suggesting. " And he simply refers to one of us sacrificing ourselves 'for the greater good'? Does that not worry you in the slightest, Harry?"
"I trust Dumbledore, Estrella," He pressed in disbelief. He stared at her as though she had grown two heads, baffled by the fact that she was questioning one of the only people who really cared for Harry. "He wouldn't tell us anything we don't need to know."
"But we do!" She exclaimed, her frustration bubbling over. The group watched them argue tensely, their meals forgotten. Hermione likened it to watching tennis, their comeback flying back and forth like the ball. "We deserve to know all of it ! Especially if it's going save our lives."
"Dumbledore said we might have to give our lives," Harry reminded her, "it doesn't mean it's definite-"
"But it is definite!" Estrella cut him off, standing up as her frustration got the best of her. The odds were against them and it seemed Harry hadn't even given it a thought. She paced back and forth, rambling. "We all know how bad it was the first time, and, You Know Who has had over ten years to plot a better return and by the sound of it, he's already tried twice." Her hands grew clammy as the familiar feeling of nausea from earlier crept back. Not only that but Estrella was acutely aware of all eyes on her. "Harry, each time, he came directly after you!"
"I just...I need to know what this bond means for us," she gestured around the room, "For all of us. The only way to do that is to find out what happened to my Grandmother. And if Dumbledore won't tell me, I'll find someone who will."
"Like who?" Ginny pierced the silence with her question.
"My Grandfather," Estrella's shoulders dropped as though a great weight had been lifted. "Mama's father." She turned back to Harry who was aghast, his thoughts and feelings showing through his face. "Don't look at me like I'm crazy-," She accused, pointing a finger at him. "He will tell me."
"And how pray tell? How do you expect to find him?" Harry stood up, coming face to face with her. He was patronising her, she knew it. He didn't think this could work, Harry didn't care and it made her skin crawl.
Don't test me Potter She glared at him, blood boiling. Estrella stayed silent giving Harry a moment to rethink his comments filtering through their minds.
I wouldn't dream of it Butterfly, his once agitated demeanor falling and instead replacing it with a much gentler tone. But please, think rationally. You don't know the man, how do you expect to get in contact with him, if you've never met?
"Her great great Grandfathers' portrait!" Hermione clapped, Estrella's idea forming in her mind. "Ella that's genius! Portraits can travel between their locations, if your Grandfather has the Great's portrait or any of your other family members do, they'll find him in no time!"
"Exactly." Estrella smiled triumphantly. "I'm glad someone can actually read my mind."
"And then what?" Harry inquired, slightly hurt by Estrella's comment . "You find out something horrible happened to your Grandmother, because that is what you want to hear Estrella," He stressed, falling back against the sofa, his head lolling back. "You find that out and you just, run away? Leave us? Hunt Voldemort to make sure you get him before he gets you?" Harry sighed exasperatedly, sitting down on the plush sofa with his shoulders slumped. Do you leave me?
She faltered shaking her head hotly, "No, I-I..."
"You...." The twins chorused, prompting her to carry on.
"I...don't know." The young witch sat back down, staring at the floor. Once she got her answers, where would she go from here?....That was it, she wouldn't. She alone couldn't beat Voldemort, she couldn't even begin to know how. And to be honest, she wasn't the one he was after.
Harry was.
Chasing these answers would drive her mad, and maybe that's what Harry had been trying to get her to understand.
"You're too worried about the future El," Kiana shuffled next to her, bringing her into a hug. "We don't know anything for definite. Yes, The Dark Lord may come back," She pulled away, placing her hands on the girls shoulders. "But he may not. You can't spend all this time wound up worrying over something you can't control. You'll miss everything that's waiting for you."
"Aren't you worried?" Estrella asked weakly after a moment. She let out a faint gasp, "I didn't even ask! Are you okay? All of you,...What did Dumbledore tell you?"
"Well," Kiana started, "When I woke up, it started with this horrible headache, I felt like I could hear absolutely everything. All these voices, your voices, as if you were all trying to tell me something at once." Her expression contorted into a wince as she faintly remembered the searing pain rushing through her skull.
Kiana's fingers laced together as she brought them to her lap, "Madam Pomfrey gave me this potion to drink and finally made everything quiet. I couldn't even move my body beforehand!"
"When Dumbledore took my parents and I into his office, he did a lot of small talk," Kiana emphasised, tutting when she recalled how awkward the conversation was. Her parents barely spoke, leaving Dumbledore to fill the silence with any and everything he could. "Slowly, as he was speaking, I could feel the effects of the potion wearing off and again, Dumbledore's voice, my mother and my father all in my head. My mother was on repeat, Is Kiana going to die? Is Kiana ill? All these typical questions but the crazy thing was," She paused, her hands cupping her knees. "Her lips weren't moving."
The group leaned forward, Estrella placing a comforting hand over Kiana's as she closed her eyes trying her best to remember. Ron felt an urge to get up and sit next to her while the others watched and waited.
"It got even weirder when finally, I heard Dumbledore...asking me," Kiana pointed to her chest in disbelief, "if I could hear him. I remember nodding and his eyes gave me that look as though to say, I've figured it out."
"Well?" Isabella pressed. "What did he figure out?"
"I can read minds." Her fluttered eyes open again. "Everyone's thoughts, I can hear them. It's like being in a one-sided conversation, not so much like you two," She pointed at the soulmates. "I can hear but I can't respond."
"Can you- Are you hearing our thoughts right now?" George asked warily, barely keeping up with all the plot twists tonight.
Kiana shook her head, "Dumbledore gave me the potion and while I learn how to control it so I don't hear everything all at once I have to keep taking it."
Hermione timidly raised her hand, "How long does it last? And is it hard to brew?"
Kiana shrugged, "It lasts for at least 2 hours at a time and ... I'm not sure really. It's got to be in a textbook somewhere, why?"
"Well we don't want you running out do we?" Kiana melted at her response, her bottom lip jutting out as she stood and rushed over to Hermione, pulling her in for a hug.
"Did Dumbledore tell you what brought it on? And how are you going to learn to control it?" Isabella tapped Kiana to grab her attention.
"Apparently Professor Snape is skilled in this sort of thing," Kiana grimaced, pausing as she racking her brains to remember what stirred this power. "Passed down through the family is what he said but apart from that, he couldn't offer anything else."
"He said the exact same thing to me!" Isabella exclaimed. "But it can't be true because no one, and I mean no one, in my direct bloodline, has ever had the ability or power to see as far as I do. My parents told Dumbledore this but he deflected, said 'It's the only explanation'."
"What do you mean, see as far as I do?" Harry interjected, "You can see the future?"
"No, from where I'm sat I can see what's happening in...the Forbidden Forest for example." She closed her eyes, "Right now Hagrid is with Fang and they're with the centaurs, one of the babies has just pulled on Hagrid's beard and they're all laughing."
"Woah," The group chorused, staring at her wide-eyed. If the night kept up its disordered incline, they were all sure to admit themselves back into the Hospital Wing under very clear cases of insanity.
Ron shook his head, refusing to comprehend what he was hearing. "If you're so sure, tell me who's going to walk into the common room next, since you can see them."
Isabella quirked her eyebrow, eyes still closed. "Parvati and Padma are walking up the stairs, Lavender is behind them and she's holding a torn card and crying. Neville, Dean and Seamus are behind them, Dean and Seamus are sharing a cauldron cakes."
Within seconds the portrait door swung open, in coming an exasperated Padma and Parvati storming in, heading straight for the dorms; a wailing Lavender following them, crying "Why doesn't he want me back!", and picking up the pace once she noticed the twins rushing to lose her.
Dean and Seamus waltzed in after, guffawing at Lavender's cathartic performance with Neville trailing in after them. "Boys don't you, you know, feel a little...mean?" Neville scratched the back of his head, wincing as Lavender's cries echoed down the staircase.
The two friends looked at each other and back at him before shaking their heads in unison, "Serves her right," Seamus swallowed, heading up the staircase, brandishing his umpteenth cauldron cake in the direction Lavender ran, "She's been hounding Aaron Blitz since second year."
"Yeah! No wonder he finally snapped." Dean laughed along with his best friend, trudging after his best friend, patting his full stomach. Neville sighed, following after them with a pout before pausing. He turned on his heel and saw familiar faces all staring back at him, their mouths dropped open.
"Are you guys feeling okay?" Neville asked uncertainly. Isabella nodded with a bright smile, telling him not to worry and wishing him a lovely evening. He nodded warily, walking backwards up the stairs until they were out of sight.
"Believe me now Ron?" Isabella quipped.
The boy nodded sheepishly in agreement, "Yeah yeah I guess it's pretty cool. Inaya what about you? Let me guess...you can see the future?"
"Well there goes my big reveal," She laughed and crossed her arms jokingly.
"WHAT!" The shouts came from everywhere, Inaya covering her ears as she giggled.
"I can only see the near future, and it happens whenever. I can't just see whenever I want to."
"How far into the future can you see?" Hermione stared at her in wonder.
Inaya nodded, "Only a day maybe two, nothing years ahead. Dumbledore told us that our near future weighs on the choices we make today, which is why I can see it play out."
"It's not unexpected however. My aunt is a seer so we weren't shocked, more so confused why it's decided to show up now and not when I was born."
"I still can't believe I guessed it right!" Ron placed a hand on the back of his neck, extremely chuffed.
Estrella rolled her eyes at her friend, gesturing at him to pipe down. "How did you find it out? Did you just wait for something to happen?"
"Well it's odd, you all told me I blacked out the moment your bond completed, much like Isabella and Kiana but I remember small glimpses of all of you worrying, talking about your brooms and my parents crying over me." She counted each memory off her fingers. "I-I remembered them so vividly, I really believed I was awake."
"That was the first clue," She carried on, her voice soft as she stared out at the pink and orange hues of the sky through the window. "And later, on the way to Dumbledore's office, I was speaking with my parents and I just remember freezing up," Her focus rejoined the group as she contemplated how to describe what happened next. "My limbs went stiff and I felt something cloud my mind, my eyes and force its through until all I could see was....this."
"This?" Ginny looked around the common room for anything unusual.
"Yes, this," Inaya emphasised at their circle, "All of us, talking, arguing," She looked between Harry and Estrella with a smirk, "Spending this evening together and everything up and until now happened exactly the way I saw it."
"So say we needed to know if an exam is an easy pass or not," Fred started.
"So we can see how much work we need to do," George tagged on,
"You could just, you know, tell us what's on the exam?" Fred finished hopefully.
Inaya rolled her eyes at the boys, "It doesn't work like that! I can't choose what I see and most likely it will be a vision that concerns me since it's my ability?" The twins grumbled sticking their tongues out in response, standing up in unison and stretching their legs.
"Well we're off, this was fun but my head is going to fall off my shoulders if I stay and listen to you all any longer." George sighed, waving the kids goodbye and throwing an arm around his twin brother.
"We best be off too El," Isabella stood up, walking towards her with a hand outstretched, "The Prefects will be doing their rounds soon and if they catch us tonight then it's definitely a week's detention."
"You're right," Estrella sighed, standing up and nodding to Inaya if she wanted to join. "We'll drop you off at Ravenclaw Tower before we head to the dungeons."
Inaya smiled sweetly, thanking Kiana for the meal and giving her a tight squeeze before joining her Slytherin. They waved their Gryffindor's goodbye, heading out of the common room and with every step Estrella took the prickling, itchy pain returned and grew stronger and stronger. The young witch tried her best to power through, taking her time but upon reaching the Ravenclaw stairwell Estrella paused, slumping down and leaning all her weight against the stone barrier panting and writhing in pain.
"Go on without me," She panted to Inaya, pushing her away as sweat droplets raced down her temples. "Have a good sleep, I'll be okay."
"Ella no we need to get you to the Hospital Wing or something, you can't spend the night like this!" Inaya slapped her hands away and lugged her up, bracing Estrella's dead weight on her.
"What she needs is Harry but she's too stubborn to tell us that," Isabella tutted, "Estrella we either take you back to the Gryffindor Common Room or we take you to the Hospital Wing. Your choice."
"I-I need," She heaved, coughing as she felt her legs start to burn, "Harry, I think I need H-" Estrella's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she lost all consciousness, sagging onto Inaya making her stumble backwards.
"Gryffindor common room it is," Isabella huffed, taking one of Estrella's arms and slinging it behind her neck.
"Why are we all so bloody stubborn?" Inaya laughed, timing her steps with Isabella.
"No idea," Isabella replied, shaking her head with a smile. Even though she was lugging her blacked-out best friend up a staircase with the help of one of her platonic soulmates, she couldn't help but feel content. This was her home and these were her people. No matter how absurd or how odd their circumstances may be, at least they had each other.
"Merlin help us all Inaya, we're going to be the end of each other."
hellooo everyone! long time no see omg!
i can officially announce my exams are over and i passed them allll !!!!!
what's crazy is i treated my first ever patient this week too so i am exceptionally chuffed! he said i did amazing so i was incredibly grateful!
how is everyone? i hope you're all doing so so well!
i am so happy with how this chapter turned out, it was a conversation that was needed amongst all of them for sure!
i wanted to also say the BIGGEST thank you to cat sectxmsemmpra , this was my first time writing a dialouge heavy chapter and without her help i would be scrapping this whole thing! cat you are truly amazing and i am so very grateful for you <3333
i'm hoping to get chapter 11 out soon to because you all deserve it but for now please indulge in this and maybe leave a vote if you like it?
thank you so so so much for all your support, i can't believe we have gain 3k reads it's incredible.
all the love, t x