As Neville turned away, Harry noticed a pair of girl's feet protruding from beneath a crimson hanging. His gaze rose and found Hermione peeking out. Olivia stood near Luna as she spoke to someone. "Lovegood, did you say? I once encountered a seriously unbalanced man by that name at a book signing. Claimed to run a magazine."
"What're you doing?" Hermione yelped and turned. She pulled Harry behind the hanging. Her hair was slightly askew and her lipstick a bit blurry. "And what's happened to you?"
"Hm? Oh, I've just escaped -- I mean, left Cormac. Under the mistletoe." Hermione rush out as Olivia got behind the hanging.
"He made me leave Hermione alone." Olivia was dead tired and her feet hurt. Her lower back was killing her.
"Cormac! That's who you invited!" Harry yelled and he wrapped an arm around Olivia letting her lean on him.
"I thought it would annoy Ron most. But he's a menace. He's got more tentacles than a Snarfalump plant." Olivia let out a laugh as she leaned most of her weight on Harry.
"Dragon tartar?" They turned to find a waiter peeking in a tray in hand. Olivia gagged and Harry gave her a cloth to cover her nose with.
"No thank you." Hermione held her hand up and the waiter nodded.
"Just as well. They give one horribly bad breath."
Hermione grabbed the tray. "On second thought -- maybe it'll keep Cormac at bay. Oh no, here he comes!" Hermione popped two of the Dragon blobs into her mouth, before shoving the tray in Harry's hand. Olivia walked away from it as he walked away from the hanging.
Snape, looking bored, stood on the periphery of a conversation. That was till he spotted Hermione exit one side of the hanging and Cormac entering the other.
"I think she went to powder her nose." Harry looked past Cormac's shoulder and out past the hanging. He saw Slughorn laughing with a guest. Cormac plucked a dragon blob off the tray in Harry's hand, popped it.
"Slippery little minx, your friend. Likes to work her mouth too, doesn't she? Yak yak yak. What is this I'm eating, by the way?" Olivia walked back over as Harry put the tray down on a table.
"Dragon balls." She said and smiled as Cormac's face froze. Harry started to head toward Slughorn when the hanging was swept aside.
"What's going on back here?" Olivia's heart stopped as she looked at her father, the father that didn't know he had a daughter.
Harry pulled her to his side as her hair changed to a light pink. Cormac spewed raw dragon all over Snape's shoes. Snape surveyed the damage before his eyes rose darkly. "You've just bought yourself a month's detention, McLaggen." McLaggen dashed off and Harry made to follow.
"Not so quick, Potter.. and you." Olivia looked down to her feet and her stomach turned.
"I think I should rejoin the party, sir. My date." Harry went to leave pulling Olivia with him.
"Can surely survive your absence for another minute or two. Besides, I only wish to convey a message." Snape stopped him and Olivia was on the verge of crying. Seeing him was much more painful then she thought.
"A message?" The siblings asked at the same time and something in Snape's mind tried to break this wall.
"From Professor Dumbledore. He asked that I give you his best and that he hopes you enjoy your holiday. You see, he's traveling and won't return until term resumes." The feeling reseated when Olivia looked him in the eyes.
"Traveling? Where?" Snape merely stared a Harry silently, briefly, before exiting. Taking Harry's gaze with him, to Slughorn once again, wildly gesturing with a full glass of wine.
"Take your hands off me, you filthy squib!" A frown overtook Slughorn's face and he turned toward the source of the commotion. Harry emerged from the hanging.
Olivia groaned when she saw Draco in Filch's rough grip. "Professor Slughorn, sir! I've just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party."
"Okay, okay, I was gate-crashing. Happy?" Draco growled and his eyes found Olivia. He narrowed his eyes softly at her and she held her stomach softly.
"I'll escort him out." Draco's eyes shifted regarding Snape. He shrugged free of Filch grip.
"Certainly... Professor." Olivia tried to hide the pain in her face as she looked at the two people she loved most. As they left Olivia followed them.
----
"Maybe I did hex that Bell girl. Maybe I didn't. What's it to you?" Draco was slumped against the wall in lazy insolence, and Snape.
"I swore to protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow-" Olivia remembered that night, Draco was there to hold her.
"I don't need protection. I was chosen for this! Out of all others. Me! And I won't fail him." She knew he did, he tried to pretend that he didn't.
"You're afraid, Draco. You attempt to conceal it, but it's obvious. Let me assist you-" Snape could see the fear and pain in Draco, just like Olivia.
"No! I was chosen. This is my moment!"
---
Ron laid on his back, while Harry sits opposite. He was looking through the Half-Blood Prince's potions book. "Unbreakable Vow. You're sure that's what Snape said?" Olivia was laying her head on Harry's lap as she slept.
"Positive. Why?" Harry asked softly trying not to wake his sleeping sister up.
"It's just, well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow." Harry let out a breathy laugh at Ron. He stopped moving as Olivia shifted, only to fall back asleep.
"I'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough." Ron rolled his eyes at his best friend before looking out the window.
"No, you don't understand. Oh, bloody hell." Lavender stood outside the compartment door. Fogging the glass with her breath and etched "Ron + Lav,". She encircled it with a heart and mimed "I miss you" and exited with a pout.
"Lovely." Olivia shifted again and Harry laid a hand on her shoulder. That was enough to settle her back down into a restful sleep.
"All she wants to do is snog me. My lips are getting chapped. Look." Harry shook his head.
"I'll take your word for it." Just then, Hermione passed by. Her stride broke as she spotted Lavender's handiwork, then continued on.
Ron shook his head at that. "So what happens? If you break an Unbreakable Vow?" Ron glowered as he watched as Lavender's heart slowly vanish.
"You die."
----
The house was a glow with light and holiday music rung from the wireless. Fred and George filled cups with steaming nog and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny ferry plates of food. "Eat up, eat up, everyone! There's more to come!"
Harry sat in deep conversation with Lupin, Tonks, and Mr. Weasley. Ron sat by silently. Lupin looks haggard. Olivia was trying to regulate how much she was eating. She didn't want anyone to look at her with a weird look as she dipped a pickle in mustard.
"Draco's plotting something, I know it, something to do with Voldemort. He's been given a task or a mission -- and Snape was offering to help." Olivia looked up before looking back down at her plate. Ron looked at her weirdly as Harry grabbed her hand.
"Voldemort has chosen Draco Malfoy for a mission?" Lupin asked as he looked over at Olivia. Her scent was different, but she didn't look different.
"I know it sounds mad-"
"Has it occurred to you, Harry, that Snape was simply pretending to offer Draco help so that he could find out what he's up to?" Olivia knew what Lupin was trying to get Harry to realize, but at the same time. Harry was correct.
"That's not what it sounded like."
"Perhaps Harry's right, Remus. To make an Unbreakable Vow, after all-" Lupin turned to Tonks and cut her off.
"It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgement. He trusts Snape. Therefore, I do." Harry sighed roughly as Olivia pulled her hand out of his.
"But Dumbledore can make mistakes. He's said it himself-" Lupin looked Harry dead in the eyes. Olivia looked on with wide eyes.
"You're blinded by hatred."
"I'm not-" Harry looked at him with shock and Olivia nodded.
"You are! People are disappearing, Harry. Daily. We can only put our trust in a handful of people. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we're doomed." Tonks gave Harry a furtive glance, as if to say, "Leave."
"Olivia, can you help me with this thing?" Tonk and Mrs. Weasley asked and Olivia nodded. She dipped her pickle again before getting up and walking into the kitchen.
"When were you going to tell us?" The two women asked and Olivia looked at them with a confused looked.
"Tell you what?" She asked trying to keep her hair from changing colors.
"That your pregnant." Olivia looked at the two women with her mouth wide open.
"Sweetie, you are glowing, and Harry seems to be watching you closely." Mrs. Weasley told her and Olivia blushed.
"I just want to know how you are hiding it so easily." Olivia sighing knowing that she couldn't lied to the two older ones.
"Yeah, Fred and George helped me out with that." She pointed to her shirt and picked it up showing off the round stomach. "About five months. God, my back hurts my ankles don't like me anymore and I never get any sleep at night."
"Who's is it?" Tonk asked with excitement in her voice.
"Draco's." Olivia smiled and pulled her shirt back down. "I swear she doesn't like sleeping at night, when I want to sleep."
----
"Open up, you." Harry turned and found Ginny, holding something in her fingers. "Don't trust me?" He obliged and she popped a small tart in his mouth.
"It's good."
"'Course 'tis. Made them myself." She smiled at him and hooked her ginger hair over one ear. Ron plopped down between them. Big brother to the rescue.
Harry trailed Mr. Weasley through his cluttered workshop, which was chock-a-block with muggle objects: Steam irons, toasters, clock radios, plugs. Lots of plugs.
The party can still be heard, drifting faintly from the main house. "You'll have to forgive Remus. It takes its toll -- his condition."
Harry looked at Mr. Weasley. "Are you alright, Mr. Weasley?" Arthur tried a smile, but it faded. He frowned and it looked pained.
"We're being followed, all of us. Molly doesn't leave the house most days. It's not been easy." Harry nodded.
"Did you get my owl?"
----
"Well if you need anything, we will help you out." Liv smiled at them and nodded.
"Well, I haven't been able to get anything for when he arrives. Think you can help?" She asked the two eager woman. They looked at each other and smiled.
"You'll have everything by the end of the month." Olivia smiled and let out a laugh. She hadn't been this happy in a long time.
----
"Yes, but I thought it best if I replied in person. If Dumbledore's traveling, it's news to the Ministry. But perhaps that's the way Dumbledore wants it. As for Draco Malfoy, I know a bit more." Harry nodded again and messed around with his hands.
"Go on."
"I sent an agent to Borgin & Burkes. From what you describe, I think what you and Ron saw at the end of the summer, the object that Draco seemed so interested in, was a Vanishing Cabinet."
"A Vanishing Cabinet?" Harry asked and Mr. Weasley nodded shortly.
"They were all the rage when Voldemort first rose to power. You can imagine the appeal. Should the Death Eaters come calling, one needed only slip inside and disappear for an hour or two. But they're tricky contraptions. Require a tremendous amount of looking after. Eventually they fell out of favor."
"What happened to it? The one at Borgin & Burkes?"
"Nothing. It's still there." Harry nodded and pondering that. "Harry. You know, I went through all this before -- the last time around. Times like these, dark times, do funny things to people. It can bring them together and it can tear them apart. Things speed up. It's what happens when you don't know if today will be your last."
----
On the porch, Molly and Arthur, looking middle-aged and fragile, said goodbye to Lupin and Tonks. While the others talk, Lupin stood a bit off to the side, staring into the reeds. His nostrils flared subtly. "It was delicious, Molly. Really."
"You're sure you won't stay?" Mrs. Weasley asked Tonk and she nodded.
"No, we should go." She lowered her voice. "He first night of the cycle is always the worst-" Tonks gestured vaguely to the moon. Arthur glanced at Lupin as the hairs on the knuckles rise.
"Remus?"
----
Harry peered through the ripples of an imperfect windowpane, studying the others below. A floorboard creaked.
He turned and watched Ginny emerge into the light. She was in a robe, twisting her wet hair in a towel. "Everyone gone to bed?"
"Soon." Harry simply said and she nodded.
"I don't sleep these days. So I wash my hair. Silly, right?" Harry just stared at her, the air prickling with silence. Ginny eyed him knowingly. "Happy Christmas, Harry." Olivia walked into the room humming along to her walkman and looked up.
She stopped and cleared her throat. Harry turned and grinned at her as Ginny huffed like something was going to happen.
----
Lupin continued to peer into the reeds. His pupils contracted. "Sweetheart."
"There's someone out there. I can smell him. There's more than one-" Suddenly, throughout the reeds, torches blazed.
The rippled window behind Harry blushed with light. Ginny's eyes shifted from Harry to the trees beyond. "Oh my god."
Harry turned and his breath fogging the windowpane. Flames snaked out of the reeds and slithered toward the house.
Bellatrix emerged, peering up through the darkness toward Harry's silhouette, a mad grin on her face. As she shrieked eerily, his eyes flashed with hatred. "Stay here, Liv."
Harry bursted through the front door, wand drawn, pelts toward Bellatrix.
She grinned and turned and vanishing into the reeds. Liv looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow before running into the reeds.
"Harry, no!" Flames raced up the porch steps and climbed the walls of the house. Lupin drew his wand and raced after Harry and Olivia.
"Remus!" Ron, Fred and George appeared, join Arthur as he dashed toward the smoking marsh. Arthur glanced back as Ginny emerged.
"Ginny, stay with your mother!" Without hesitation, she raced for the reeds.
Harry careened through the marsh, reeds flashing past. Olivia spied Bellatrix. She grinned, looking like a crazed wood nymph. As they pursued her, fire snaked through the reeds toward them.
Fred, George, Ron and Arthur fanned out, running full-out. their feet kicking up sparks as shadows splintered throughout the reeds. It's like chasing ghosts.
Ginny, copper hair gleamed as she raced through the reeds. Bellatrix lead Harry and Olivia on, grinning madly.
Ginny came dashing to a halt, chest heaving as she peered into the smoking marsh. A huge figure quivered through a veil of smoke.
Ginny's eyes shifted to see Bellatrix racing forward through the reeds. She shifted back as the veil of smoke evaporated and revealed Greyback.
Bellatrix made an odd, clicking noise, like a signal, and Greyback edged forward, sweeping away the reeds in front of him and revealing Harry and Olivia. They pelted forward. "No, Harry! It's a trap!"
Harry faltered and grabbed the back of Olivia's shirt. He looked toward Ginny's voice and spied Greyback. Bellatrix stopped dead and wheeled in her tracks. Olivia pulled her wand out and fired at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix rose her wand and fired a bolt of red light which explodes in a shower of sparks around Ginny. Ginny fired back and turned only to be meet with Greyback, sharp teeth glittering.
"Don't you smell clean." Just then a bolt of blue bursted off Greyback's back and he turned to see Harry and Olivia standing several yards off.
As Greyback gave chase, Ginny pelted after and Harry and Olivia. Ginny and the beast between them, faster and faster. Their breaths shortening until Greyback rushed into a clearing, panting and glancing about.
Olivia tried to get air back into her lungs. Her chest burned with every breath she took. "Draco's going to flip when he hears about all of this." Olivia let out of a breathy laugh.
"God, you're so right."
Just then, three bolts of light blast from opposite sides of the clearing and Greyback was lifted in the air, slammed to the ground.
As he regained his feet he looked into the reeds and sees Harry, Olivia and Ginny, wands poised. He grinned when Bellatrix's odd, clicking signal carried through the night once again. Turning away, he left.
Harry, Olivia and Ginny slowly stepped out of the reeds and stared at each other wordlessly. Then Ron, Fred, George, Arthur and Lupin come thrashing into the clearing and stopped.
All around them, the reeds smoked, the flames dying. Across the marsh, Bellatrix's cackle rose briefly on the air, then all is quiet.
----
"You're lucky you weren't killed." Hermione read the Daily Prophet as she walked alongside Harry.
Hermione grabbed a snack out of her pocket and handed it to Olivia with out looking up. Olivia laughed as she walked the other direction of the two. The headline was gloomy: "MORE DISAPPEARANCES."
"You have to realize who you are, Harry." Hermione asked as she put the paper down to look at him.
"I know who I am, Hermione, alright?" He said sharply before frowning. "Sorry."
"So tell me what Arthur said."