s e v e n
The rest of September passed by rather quickly with Belle spending most of her time completing the ever-growing pile of homework that teachers constantly added to, to get them ready for their upcoming NEWTs.
Care of Magical Creatures had definitely become one of Belle's favourite classes. Hagrid, who had told the class that he had some 'special contacts in other countries' had brought in a rather large, wooden box to his lesson one cold, October morning.
"Now, gather round, yeh lot," he called to the seventh years. Belle and Pansy, who had taken the class just so she would have less homework, moved closer towards the front, curious to see what he had brought to the lesson.
"Now, yeh all know tha' dragons aren't allowed on school grounds bu' Professor McGonagall gave me special permission to show yeh all these," Hagrid pulled the top from the crate, placing it on the green grass behind him. The rather small class of students leaned forwards to peer into the crate, only to see a dozen, small, different coloured eggs sitting on glowing coals.
"Hagrid, are those real dragon eggs?" A Slytherin boy asked curiously. Hagrd shook his magnificent head at this.
"No. Yeh see, before dragon trainers can work with proper dragons, they need ter understand how dragons work and act. They're given these prototypes as a test. They won' grow much bigger than yer hand, but I'm allowed to give yeh all one as the beginning of your NEWT project," Hagrid explained. It was no secret that everyone was excited about this.
"They're all different kinds, aren't they? All the eggs are different," Belle noted and Hagrid grinned broadly.
"Not a single same one in here!" He responded.
"Now, line up yeh lot and pick an egg," Belle was about halfway towards the front and had eight different eggs to choose from when she reached the crate.
The first egg was completely red, almost blending in with the glowing coals it was sitting on, but had gold outlining that sparkled slightly in the heat. The second was a dark violet and had blue flecks accenting the scales that covered the shell. The third was a brilliant bronze that looked almost identical to the knocker on the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower. The fourth was a soft yellow that looked as though it had been made from butter and flower petals. The fifth was a dark, forest green and the sixth was a deep blue. The seventh was a dark orange that looked like fire but the eighth egg was the one that caught Belle's undivided attention.
This egg was an inky black, silver outlining the scales that covered the dragon inside. It sparkled in the sunlight, yet seemed slightly eerie which was probably the reason as to why it hadn't been picked yet. Belle, however, stretched her hands out and picked the egg up softly, hissing a little at the heat.
"Yeh sure yeh wan' tha' one, Belle?" Hagrid asked, glancing at the small brunette who nodded.
"Alright. They're vicious, those ones. The mos' beautiful dragons there are, but terrifyingly vicious," Hagrid told her, causing Belle to smile very gently.
"It'll be a nice challenge," Belle replied, causing Hagrid to grin. Belle stepped out of the line and Pansy went next, choosing the deep, forest green egg.
"Does Hagrid expect us to keep dragons in our dorm?" Pansy asked curiously as she stared down at the egg in her hand.
"I dunno, but they're very pretty, aren't they?" Belle replied, running her hand gently down the black egg she held in her hands.
"Yours looks like it was born in Azkaban," Pansy replied bluntly causing Belle to snicker.
"Yours looks like grass."
"What an incredible insult," Pansy drawled sarcastically, earning a small laugh from Belle.
"Alrigh! Now, yeh'll be keepin' yer dragons down here with me, but once they've hatched yeh'll be able ter look after 'em!" Hagrid explained and Belle grinned down at the egg in her hand.
"This is quite exciting, isn't it?" Belle asked the Slytherin girl who only raised her eyebrows.
"Keeping multiple dragons in the school? Oh yeah, very exciting."
***
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Ron asked Hermione when she entered the Common Room one night, a frown on her face.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she dropped down into the seat next to the redhead boy.
"You're frowning and you've been practically living in the library for the last month," Ginny explained from where she was sitting on the floor, playing with Arnold, her pet Pygmy Puff.
"I've just had... homework. Lots of homework," Hermione lied smoothly.
"Right..." Ron trailed off, frowning at his girlfriend as she stared into the fire, her mind clearly going into overdrive. He glanced over at Harry, who was staring back at him. Harry only shrugged his shoulders, giving him a pointed look. Ron replied with a nod of his head towards Hermione and a desperate look. Harry rolled his eyes and leaned forward to look at their friend.
"Hey, Hermione, are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded, sending him a small smile.
'I'm alright, Harry. I promise," Hermione, however, had come across a book in the library that was in the completely wrong genre it should have been in. This book was talking about the history of humanoid magical creatures and how they came to be. Hermione had opened it, not thinking it was important. She had flicked through the pages and was about to shut it to put it back, when a familiar face had caught her eye.
On one of the very last pages, a woman that looked oddly like Belle and her sister, their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, was smiling up at Hermione, with the same distant look in Belle's eyes. On the top of the page, the name Praevideat was printed in bold letters.
Below that was the history of a long line of female witches who had the extraordinary ability to speak to spirits that hadn't yet moved on to the afterlife. Hermione, completely intrigued, had pored over the book, coming to a realisation hours later that the females in the Praevideat family were Clairvoyances. Hermione had checked the book out and it now sat in the bag that she had placed on the floor in front of her.
"Has anyone seen Belle lately?" Hermione asked nonchalantly, causing Ron and Harry to look over at her.
"She was in the Great Hall with Luna at dinner," Harry replied.
"How do you know?" Ginny asked, her tone slightly odd. Harry, however, didn't notice this as he turned to the fiery girl.
"I saw her?" Ginny didn't reply, instead, she turned back to Arnold, a stony glare etched upon her face.
"I suppose we'll see her tomorrow in Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione spoke, before she stood up, grabbing her bag.
"I'm going to bed," she announced, swiftly kissing Ron on the cheek and giving Harry and Ginny a wave goodnight before heading up the staircase to the girls dormitory.
"Why did she want to know about Belle?" Harry asked Ron curiously who only shrugged.
"Dunno. D'you think she'll spend any longer in the library? I'm starting to wonder if there's something she's not telling us." Ron replied. Ginny only let out a loud noise of distress, causing both boys to move their gazes down to her.
"Everything alright, Ginny?" Harry asked. Ginny huffed, gathering Arnold in her hands before standing up and glaring at the two boys.
"Isn't it obvious? Something weird is going on with Belle and Hermione is trying to figure out what. For all you know, she could be trying to raise Voldemort again," Ginny snapped before storming off in Hermione's direction.
Harry and Ron sat in silence for a moment, completely stunned at what had just happened.
"Er, is she alright?" Harry asked after a moment and Ron furrowed his eyebrows.
"She's been acting like that ever since Belle talked to you that morning at the Gryffindor table," Ron explained, before turning to Harry.
"You don't really think Belle could be trying to raise Voldemort again, do you?" Ron asked tentatively, not wanting to upset his friend. Harry, a sudden urge of irritation surging through his body at Ginny's words, shook his head.
"She fought for us, didn't she? She's too kind. Besides, she's friends with Luna and Luna'd tell us if there was anything weird going on with her," Harry replied, his eyes turning back to the merry fire that crackled brightly in the warm common room.
"I'm going for a walk, I'll see you soon," Harry told Ron suddenly, getting up from his spot on the sofa.
"Right, uh, see you soon." Ron had become accustom to Harry's abrupt departures now. He'd become used to the way Harry could be smiling at one moment, but then completely shut him out and disappear the next.
Harry climbed out of the Common Room and headed through the empty, stone corridors. His footsteps created echoes, his shadow following him as he made his way up the many flights of stairs. Eventually, he came to a stop at the top of the Astronomy Tower, breathing in a lungful of fresh air. His eyes fell upon a small, dark figure that sat at the edge of the tower, their legs dangling over the edge. Not wanting to disturb them, Harry went to make his way quietly back down the stairs but accidentally caught his foot in a crack in the ground and stumbled. The figure turned
"Uh, sorry, I was just leaving," Harry apologised quickly, not wanting the figure to suddenly start showering with questions. This had happened to him every time he had been alone and stumbled upon a student.
"Harry?" Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Belle's soft voice emit from the figure.
"Are you alright?" Harry pulled his foot free from the crack and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I'm fine. Tripped," he replied. Belle nodded slightly and turned back to the night sky, her eyes trained on the twinkling stars. Without saying a word, Harry sunk down next to Belle, looking down at the ground. He bit the inside of his cheek as he remembered the night Dumbledore had died.
"Dumbledore was killed here, you know?" Harry spoke up after a moment, causing Belle to look over at him.
"It was Draco who was supposed to do it originally. But Snape..." Harry trailed off at the memories.
"Harry, you don't have to tell me," Belle said quietly and Harry shook his head.
"No, I want to. You're the only one who treats me like I'm a person, not a broken thing and I hate it. I hate the constant stares and the whispers. I hate the questions, I hate everyone constantly asking if I'm okay, when I don't know if I'm okay," Harry said, his voice growing louder and louder. Tears gathered in his eyes as he stared out.
"I don't know what to do, Belle," Harry said, his voice coming out no louder than a whisper. Belle hesitantly raised her arms and wrapped them around Harry. The boy, thankfully, leaned into her embrace and placed his head on her shoulder. His shoulders shook slightly as he repressed his sobs.
"It's okay to cry, Harry," Belle said quietly. Harry sniffled a few times, only tightening his grip on the girl.
"It just hurts," he said quietly, his voice shaky with emotion..
"So many people blame me for their children dying. So many people died fighting off Voldemort because I was stupid enough to run from him. I should have stayed, I should have killed him when I had the chance. I should have died." Harry's voice cracked and Belle bit down on her lip. She stayed quiet, however, and allowed him to continue speaking.
"The Weasley's lost a brother, a twin, a son. Teddy Lupin lost his parents. Dennis Creevey lost his brother. Lavender, Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody, Dumbledore, Cedric, Sirius, Mum, Dad. They all died for me. They should be the ones here, not me. So many good people died when they shouldn't have." Harry had tears in his eyes, some of them making tracks on his cheeks as they spilled.
"You must have lost someone," Harry turned to Belle, not bothering to wipe away the moisture on his face as he turned to Belle. Her eyes had filled with tears at Harry's words.
"I-I..." She stuttered but then sighed quietly and nodded.
"Yeah."
"You lost someone. Every single person in this castle lost family, friends and it's all my fault!" Belle pulled Harry close once more, letting the boy cry on her shoulder as he dissolved into tears.
"It's not your fault," Belle spoke after a moment.
"You're not the one who caused those deaths. He did. Voldemort did. Voldemort did whatever he could to try and hurt you and I'm not going to sugarcoat it. He did. His followers killed your family, your friends, my friends, my girlfriend. But that doesn't make it your fault, because he's the one who wanted it. Voldemort's the one that wanted the pain, the misery, everything evil even after his death. It's not easy, that's for sure. Everyone's hurting, there's no lie in that but they're all still here with us. Whether it be in your heart or your memories, the ones you lost, the ones we all lost will always still be with us. The good died fighting for a cause that was worth fighting for, not because they wanted to. The bad died because we avenged the good and you're the one who avenged them all." It was silent for a moment and Belle turned to Harry.
"Did you ever think about what might have happened if you had've died?" Belle asked. Harry peered at her curiously, before shaking his head. He wiped away the tears that glistened on his face with the back of his hand, wiping the moisture away on his sweater.
"We might not even be here. Hogwarts might not be here. You, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, everyone you love and care about that are still living, could be dead. Who knows, some of your friends could have even become Death Eaters, but because of you, you saved the entire world from falling under the wrath of Voldemort. He's dead, hopefully at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean where he can never be found again and that's all thanks to you," Belle placed her hand on his arm as she spoke.
"You saved us all, Harry. And we're the ones that will forever be grateful towards you."