Harry Potter and the Maneosioan War

Chapter 9

The Rage of Cilia Potter

"So," said Harry. "How've you been?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I take it that wasn't the exact question you were planning on asking us, now, was it?" he said, with a hollow laugh.

Harry sighed and shook his head gloomily. "I want you to explain," said Harry, "how is it that you've existed just as much as the Dursleys, yet it was them that I had to live with all my life?!"

"Oh, dear," said Jasmine and pulled Harry into a tight hug, at which he found himself slightly blushing from embarrassment. "We are so sorry, Harry."

"Yeah," he said as she pulled away, "a lot of people seem to feel that way around me!"

"Don't take it like that - it's just that, well, it's rather a long story - " said Peter.

"I'm listening," said Harry, his arms crossed.

"Perhaps it's best if we go and sit down somewhere, don't you?" Peter's wife told him, tentatively.

"Er - yeah, I think that's a good idea," he said.

Jasmine, Peter, Harry, and Mark all walked into one of the rooms that looked rather empty, as they climbed the stairs, and Harry noticed that it reminded him of the Room of Requirements, only in the fashion of a rather large living room. They all sat on the biggest couch and faced each other.

Peter took a very deep breath. Mark stared amusingly at his parents and then at Harry.

"I suppose it all started with your mother being a witch, Harry," said Peter. "You see, it was quite peculiar that one of her parents was a Squib and the other was a Half-Squib -

"Wait, they were Squibs?" said Harry.

" - Er, yes, or at least that's what I recall - which made her chances of being a witch less than young Mark here had of ever becoming a wizard. We had to note that we weren't too pleased when he showed signs of magical ability. We were prompted to not have to deal with the Wizarding world since the rise and fall of You-Know-Who. He is, mainly, the reason for our avoidance of you. You see, Jasmine and I, unlike many of those who had contact with the magical world, were convinced that he had not fallen completely. We knew that he was still alive...we believed that because we knew about the prophecy..."

"What?!" Harry had gotten up.

"As did your parents, Harry," said Jasmine quickly.

"Lily trusted me, Harry," said Peter. "We were dear friends. She decided to make me the Secret-Keeper of the prophecy."

"But that's impossible," Harry spoke quickly. "The prophecy was nearly at the hands of Voldemort last year. I was able to find it, wasn't I? They had to protect it, didn't they? The Order?"

"Er -" said Peter, looking rather uncomfortable. "Harry, I said that she decided to do that, but the power of the prophecy was ever greater than that of myself for I was a Squib. You see, though I was a perfectly unsuspectable person - a person who seemed to not have any special connection with Lily, it was quite false. Lily and I were very close. The best of friends. She was an amazing cousin and I miss her dearly..."

"But you didn't do it, did you? You didn't have the guts to become it's Secret-Keeper, did you? You were too scared for your own skin, weren't you?" Harry was pacing around the room and on the verge of screaming.

"Calm down, Potter," he said. Harry could hear that his tone had risen and he decided to pace his anger.

"I did no such thing! I agreed absolutely! But the thing was that the fact that the prophecy could be touched by those who it was about gave it the chance to be touched by you, You-Know-Who, and, partially, even Neville himself," he said.

"Neville? How do you know - ?"

"I know about that too, Harry," said Peter.

"But it couldn't be. The Death Eaters, last year, they tried to steal it. They wanted to take it. They could have, couldn't they?"

"On the contrary," said Peter, "they could not. Do you not wonder why the prophecy was dropped by Neville? Do you not wonder why it was destroyed in the hands of someone to whom it did not truly belong? Is it perhaps that Neville was clumsy? No - there is more to it...If Lestrange would have perhaps gotten hold of the prophecy, she would never be able to hold it in her possession. Do you not wonder why no one heard it when it fell? Perhaps because no one was paying attention? Once again - wrong. It was because of destiny, the destiny of the protection of the prophecy that lay inside of my soul. It wasn't as strong had it been conducted within a real wizard, but Lily insisted on using me. The reason why we couldn't take you in, Harry, was because we didn't want to give you the burden of growing up with that knowledge. The fact that we were your close and dear relatives and had lied to you all these years would have led you to despise the very last of the family that you have left. Harry, if Dumbledore had let us, he would have easily revealed us to you earlier. However, there was no explanation for us...you did not know about the prophecy...he was afraid that I might one day leak out the information because I would have been scared for its own purpose...I must say that I do not doubt that that could have been possible...carrying its information is a heavy burden. A Pensive, even, couldn't extract it from my mind," he said.

A moment of silence filled the room.

"So - so Aunt Petunia...she - she's a Squib, is she?"

"Yes...and no," said Peter. "Let's just say that Petunia is about one-fourth of a Squib. She rather likes to avoid magic, even more so than Jasmine and I. She despised everything that walked, talked, or breathed magic" - he shook his head - "Not a pleasant woman...not at all."

"You can imagine," said Jasmine, "when we tried to make contact with her! We were great friends with Lily, and if there ever was a person she despised, it was her own sister. I've never seen any hatred like it, come to think of it."

Harry was breathing silently to himself and Mark was gaping at the three of them.

They all turned to the door as they heard voices in the hallway below. They eyed each other and, shrugging, left the room together.

There, in the entrance to the lighthouse stood a woman who Harry knew to be no other than his grandmother, greeted by Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley.

Oh, no... thought Harry. He was glad to see her, but, he had failed Dumbledore and Sirius...he hadn't told her...

"Priscilla Ann Potter!" came Professor McGonagall's voice as Harry watched her descend the stairs with a broad grin on her face, which he found highly amusing considering the fact that this was the stiff and dense Professor.

"Minerva? Minerva McGonagall?" said Cilia.

Harry's mouth plopped open as he watched Professor McGonagall run up and meet Cilia half-way, embracing her in a deep hug.

"Oh, it is so good to see you, Minie!" said Cilia.

Harry snorted. Minie?

"All these years...how have you been?" said McGonagall in a tone that Harry had never heard her speak before.

"Not half as good as my bestest friend. You look younger than ever, Minie," she replied.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Cilia," said McGonagall and they both laughed.

Never had Harry seen Professor McGonagall behave like this except perhaps at Christmas dinner.

"And where the devil is my grandson! I haven't seen him since I had a glimpse of him several months ago!"

"Hi, Grandma," said Harry, a grin spreading over his face as he followed Professor McGonagall down to greet her.

She smiled at him and Harry just noticed that she, unmistakably, had his messy black hair, which had retreated to a somewhat greyish color and braided so that it wasn't out of control.

"Harry! Ohhhh, it's great to finally - oh, it's just so good to see you," she said as she held him in a very unbreakable hug. "Now! How long are you planning to stay here? For Christmas I suppose, don't you? Let's see, I made reservation for the next deportation on the first of January, so I think we're good - "

"Cilia? What are you - ? Potter, you didn't talk to her, did you?" said McGonagall, her character retreating to its usual strict self.

"Talk about what, Minie? Harry's coming with me, aren't you, dear?"

"Well...erm...no, I - I'm not," said Harry.

As Cilia's expression sank, he suddenly began to wish that those words had not come out of his mouth because she wasn't only looking depressed...she was angry...beyond measure. Harry had only seen two people with expressions that looked this mad and they had belonged to Dumbledore and Luna.

"What do you mean by it?!" she yelled, turning away from Harry and to the others. "He is coming with me!"

"Now, Cilia, be reasonable," said McGonagall in a worried voice.

"REASONABLE?! I AM BEING REASONABLE, MINERVA!" she yelled. Harry had now began to realize where he had gotten his temper from -

But that was not all. Harry noticed that his grandmother was looking scarier than ever and her fists were clenched. Her hair began to unravel from the delicately executed braid that she had bore and Harry recognized a similar aura about her that he had seen when Luna had told him that it was her that had destroyed the veil...

She was shining significantly and began to rise into the air...her hands were glowing now, as were her eyes.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HARRY AWAY FROM ME! HE IS LEAVING WITH ME, IF IT IS THE LAST THING HE DOES!"

Harry gulped. Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Mrs. Weasley had all whipped out their wands and pointed them at her, each blocking her off from Harry.

"DO NOT TOY WITH US, CILIA!" boomed Dumbldore's voice, which made Harry's bone shiver, but, no matter, it was nothing compared to Cilia's shrill voice that made Harry even more frightened.

"TOYING, DUMBLEDORE? WHO'S TOYING, BUT YOU WITH THE BOY'S EMOTIONS? WHEN HE WAS DEPRIVED OF LOVE FOR SO LONG! NO PARENTS, NO RELATIVES, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY IT? HE BELONGS WITH ME!"

"HE DOES NOT!" said Dumbledore, pointing his wand more meaningfully at her. "HE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO LEAVE. YOU MUST HEAR HIM OUT, CILIA!"

"PLEASE! DON'T GIVE ME ANY OF YOUR COCK-AND-BULL, DUMBLEDORE! WHAT COULD HE POSSIBLY TELL ME - ?"

"Please, Grandma," said Harry weakly. "Just hear me out."

Her head jerked over to him, and she began to sink to the floor. She came closer to Harry and put a wrinkled hand on his face. She sighed and turned to Dumbledore, nodding.

Harry caught a glimpse of some puzzled faces looking down at them from the top of the stairs, having walked out of the rooms that they were in, in order to make out what all of the commotion was about.

"There, now," Dumbledore spoke. "Harry, I suggest that you explain everything thoroughly to your grandmother. And I believe you owe him a bit of an explanation yourself, Cilia."

She scowled, but placed a hand on Harry's back.

"We will meet the two of you for dinner. In the meant time, I would like to inform you, Harry, that the school has been completely evacuated and that no students reside there at the moment. Exams will be made up after the Winter Break, if all goes as planned, for we have not heard further information on the Order's behalf," he spoke calmly and left Harry to be dragged away to another part of the lighthouse by Cilia, where Harry was slightly shaking at the idea that she might explode again.

Cilia had walked with Harry for quite a while before she finally spoke. "I'm sorry I lost my temper, there, Harry. I suppose that it is rather in my, say, nature."

"That's a-alright," said Harry, still a bit shaky; he hoped that he never had to see her like that again. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm staying, aren't you?"

"Staying? Now, we have not decided that yet! I don't know what you have in mind to convince me, Harry, but I do hope that the reason is worthy enough!"

"It is," said Harry and began to tell her about the prophecy, whose re-telling he didn't fancy, especially while he had to look into her worried face. He then included his experience with Voldermort during his five years at Hogwarts and how he rose back to power.

Cilia stood there, open mouthed. "Oh, dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." she mumbled. "I don't believe it! And I suppose Fudge didn't either, did he?"

"N - how do you know that?"

"Know? Harry, dear, Cornelius Fudge was at school with me! Several years younger, but such a foolishly ignorant boy; we use to call him Fudgie. He hated the name," she chuckled. "Was rather pathetic, mind you, all throughout school."

"And Professor McGonagall? She attended school with you?"

"Oh, yes. I owe a lot to Minie - er - that's Professor McGonagall to you. She was the best friend that many dare not imagine of ever being towards me."

"How come?"

Cilia sighed, looking at Harry. "Oh, come now, dear, can't you tell what I'm like? Didn't you just see my reaction? I'm - I'm not really what you call normal."

"How so?" asked Harry, curiously.

She sighed again. "You ever meet a banshee, Harry?"

"Banshee? Well, no, but - actually, yes, in my third year. Though she was just a boggart of Seamus's - "

"Who's this Seamus boy?"

"Seamus Finnigan, he's - "

"Finnigan!" she shrieked, and Harry was tempted to cover his eyes at the thought that she would burst again.

"Er, you know him?"

"Know him? Hmph. Well, not so much as him, but I knew his grandmother. Emily Finngan. Earlier known as Emily Stratter. That wench! She was that one that spilled my entire secret to the school and then forced me to leave the country!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry anxiously.

"Harry, I don't expect you to understand but, I'm - I'm rather different, Harry. I'm not like everyone else. I'm part - part-banshee."

"What?!"

"I was afraid that you would not want to contact me if you knew the truth. I was highly feared at school when Emily spilled my secret. My early maiden name was Dewitt, Priscilla Dewitt, so I was soon known as the dangerous and avoided `Dewitt girl.' Not many people would befriend someone that was part banshee, mind you."

"But - but how is that possible?"

"Ever wonder why you have such untidy hair, Harry?"

Harry numbly ran his fingers through his hair, at which in popped back into its confused place.

"Was my father - ?"

"No, only women become banshees, thankfully. At least, that is exactly the reason for why I never had more than one child; I was afraid of having a girl and that my curse would become her nightmare. Nevertheless, I was afraid for him. I feared that people would treat him the same way that they treated me when I attended Hogwarts. But James was brave, like his father. He wouldn't let anyone look down on him. Well, with the exception of your mother, that is. He made sure that, if he was feared, he had his own reason. James was a wise magician. He made powerful friends and had quite the title at his school. You can only imagine the number of owls I got about him from the care taker daily," she chuckled.

"That's why - that's why - " Harry found it hard to break down the words.

"He was a bit of a git?" Cilia finished for him.

"Er - yeah."

She laughed. "Yes, James did not like to take those who annoyed him lightly. Particularly those who ever brought up my name in a harsh manner. Eventually, however, he took it a bit further than I expected and went a bit tough around the corners, but calmed down near graduation year."

"How is it that she made you leave the country - Emily, that is?" said Harry.

"Emily was scared, not to mention jealous, to death of me. I was quite the beauty queen when I was young, mind you. If there was one thing that she made sure to do is make it so that the entire public knew that I was a banshee as well as the school. When the war began, people feared that a part-banshee would work for You-Know-Who considering the fact that he had them recruited. They did not trust me and the Ministry had began to gather aurors to capture me - "

"No!"

"Yes! Dumbledore insisted I stay, but Eric - that was your grandfather's name - did not want to risk my safety. We fled to Brazil, where we managed to gain a beautiful home. As I've mentioned before, I pleaded James and Lily to come with us, but they insisted on staying. Little did I know though - if they would have told me, I would have understood about the prophecy..."

"But didn't you get - er - mad?"

"Oh, I had rarely turned that way towards James and I knew that he could decide for himself...it was time for me to let go. Of course, I tried to fight Eric off and tell him that I would not leave them alone during the war, but he managed to put me under a Restraining Charm and led me out of the country. I still blame myself for not staying behind...maybe things would have been different..."

"That's not true!" said Harry. "You're not to blame yourself for something like this. It is absolutely not your fault!"

"I wish it were so, dear...how I wish it were so..."

Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted to comfort her and tell her that she was overacting, but he was too scared of what she might do...

"What made you come back?" he asked.

"Why - Sirius's death, of course," said Cilia, though soundng rather depressed. "He was like a son to me. When he died, the Ministry sent me an invitation to the Department of Mysteries - they had figured out where I had fled to after the war was over and had gathered their wits to do a little paperwork - and I came straight here. Of course, I still had no idea that you existed. I knew what had happened to Lily and James and had visited them earlier on, but they never once mentioned you. I don't think they wanted me to know. But when I came to see Sirius, he explained what had happened - he told me that you did not have anyone left...that you needed me. The moment he told me this, which was a little before your birthday, I think, I was very upset. He told me not to take you with me, but just to let you know that I was there for you. I did not want to hear another word. I stormed out of the Department of Mysteries and settled down in London. I got one of those muggle whatsits that they call hotel rooms and was determined to find you. When I finally went to visit you, however, you had already left the Dursleys. Luckily, I ran into you at the metro station. I did not want to startle you, of course, so I made a casual approach towards you and Snape so that I might have a chance to properly present myself eventually. You see, things did not go according to my plan. I had a ship waiting for me to go back to Brazil, in hopes that I would be taking you with me, but I had not gotten the chance to speak to you. So, I departed."

"Departed? Don't you mean Dissapperated?"

"Dissapperated? Oh no, no, no dear. You cannot simply Apparate or Dissaperate in and out of country! How are they supposed to regulate control over the wizards and witches living there? It's too much of a hassle. The Worldwide International Ministry simply could not have it! No, Apparations are limited to country borders. We use bewitched transportation to get from place to place. That is why it took me so long before I could come back and see you again; I couldn't get another ticket until Christmas break, what with the war and all..."

Harry shook his head. "I don't understand...all these years and I could have visited my parents...and now the veil has been destroyed and I won't - "

"That what?! Destroyed!? When did this happen?" her voice became breathless and panicked.

"The veil...it's gone, you know," said Harry.

"Oh, my. This is simply terrible," she said.

"Tell me about it," said Harry. His face suddenly began to shine. "But isn't there another Department of Mysteries in Brazil? Isn't there one in every country with it's own veil?"

Cilia shook her head. "Oh, dear, no. There is only one Department with the Black Veil and I believe some other top-secret things. The Ministry of Magic that is in London had them stationed them for the Worldwide International Ministry. England had long been at peace with the other countries; everyone though it was safe...until now...And then, of course, I do not know why you weren't allowed to see your parents since I myself did not know that you existed since only a couple of months ago..."

"What did they say the last time you saw them?" Harry's voice was low, but he asked her, nevertheless.

"They said that they were going on just fine. They were happy that the war was over. I questioned them on You-Know-Who's downfall, but they said that they did not know anything of it. Of course, my visit there was so short that I barely got the chance to speak with anyone. You were famous, Harry, but how was I supposed to know that the Harry Potter everyone was talking about was my grandson?! I was sure Potter was simply a common name! You could have been anyone! Everywhere I went it was Harry Potter this and that, but I would have never guessed. I never heard anything about Lily and James's deaths' connection with you. Brazil only got the main facts: Voldemort was gone. Things did not carry that far and I had been isolated from much civilization myself, living out in the middle of the Amazon. Since your grandfather died, I had been most alone and I did not want to find comfort in anyone else..."

"How did he die?"

"He said that he had to take care of urgent matters while the war was still going on and returned to England. I begged him to stay, but he insisted. He didn't return for months. The next news I heard of him - he was killed by Death Eaters. Not that I didn't know it. You don't know what it's like, Harry, being part-banshee. I know when it happens...when they...die. Even if the Ministry had not informed me of the death, I still would have known. Every time someone died that was close to me, even before the death, I would get a feeling, the feeling that I get when I am in rage for putting them in danger in the first place...the urge to Cry...it is a heavy burden, Harry...I did not come to the memorial or the veil. I felt as if I would have ran into it and tried to be with him if I did. I stayed in Brazil. Years later...I find myself standing here, before you, and telling you that you remind me so much of him," she sobbed.

"You really loved him, didn't you?" said Harry.

"Yes...yes, I did," she spoke. Harry watched with a frown on his face as tears trickled down her wrinkled face. "Oh, look at me. I'm getting all emotional on you, Harry. C'mon, let's go grab a bite to eat before they swipe everything off the table."

Harry laughed and she led him towards the dining room while whipping off her tears and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh, and, one more thing, Harry," she said just as they reached the door.

"Uh-huh?"

"If it's that important to you, you may stay...I make it your choice..."

He beamed at her and nodded as they proceeded into the hall.

Some people stared at Harry and Cilia as they entered, and some of the noise died down. Others, however, came up to Cilia and hugged her, telling her how much they missed her and how glad they were that she had returned. A vast majority, unfortunately, did not look too pleased.

Harry saw the Evans siting on one side of the table, in deep conversation with Mrs. Weasley. Cilia went to join Professor McGonagall and some other members of the Order, while Harry sat in between Ron and Hermione and faced Luna, who sat opposite of him. He noticed that she had her head bowed and was silently cutting the meat on her plate with her knife.

"What was that screaming all about? They didn't bring Sirius's mother's portrait here, did they?" asked Ron.

"Nope. That was my grandmother," said Harry.

"Your grand - ?"

But Harry cut him off. "Er - Luna, are you all right?"

She looked up at him. "Yes...I'm all right. Why do you ask?" she said.

"Well, you've just been behaving sort of - er - normal, don't you think?"

She sighed. "I suppose that I just miss my parents, that's all."

"How long is your father staying in Sweden?"

"Until the war is over," she replied.

"Oh - but where are going to stay when you're not at Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

"At Remus Lupin's," said Luna.

Harry's eyes widened. "Lupin? You know him?" he said.

"Not much. But his brother, Romulus, was a good friend of my father's. He knew him rather well."

"What happened to him?" asked Harry.

"Who? Romulus? He was killed. During the First War, you know," she added matter-of-factly.

Harry took a bite out of some of the pastry on his plate and swallowed hard. How many lives had been lost during the First War? he thought.

Suddenly they were all interrupted. Harry watched as Cilia had gotten up and backed away from the table where everyone else was sitting, staggering her breaths while clutching her chest. She began to glow again and her knees bent as she lowered herself onto the floor.

Harry stood up and decided to help her, but Professor McGonagall had gotten there first.

"Cilia? Cilia, dear? What's wrong? Are you alright, Cilia? What is it?"

Cilia began breathing even deeper and Professor McGonagall came away from her.

She began to rise into the air just as she had done about one hour ago, but this time, she did not seem conscious of it. Her pupils had disappeared behind her eyes, which were glowing a whitish color.

A chilly wind blew through the dining hall and the earth began to tremble slightly; she was not alone. Unexpectedly, nearly twenty ghostly figures of banshees had appeared from all around the hall and formed a circle around them, Cilia in the lead. They were not solid, like Cilia, however, but more like spirits.

All of them were wearing white cloaks that flapped silently in the wind and their hair was blowing about excitedly.

At once, they all spoke in a monotone voice, which soon developed into a scream, Cilia's above the rest, "ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE." The shriek was so unbearable that Harry's ears were pierced with a sharp pain. Beside him, Hermione was clutching him in absolute fear.

After the announcement, all of the twenty-some banshees opened their mouths wide and bellowed the most horrible noise that Harry had ever heard of. He placed both his hands in his ears, but it made no difference. The shriek was so terrifying that he didn't want to live to hear it; as if a hundred people were being tortured by the Cruciatus Curse all at the same time. Finally, the chorus ceased and the banshees vanished. Cilia's gleaming dimmed and she was lowered to the floor, where she crouched on her knees and gasped for breaths on her palms.

Professor McGonagall ran up to her, as did Harry.

She was crying. "I'm - so - so - no - can't - why - me - sorry," she whimpered.

"Cilia, calm down," said McGonagall. "Calm down, dear. It doesn't meant a thing."

"Indeed it does, Minie," said Cilia, her voice shocked.

"But what can this mean, Cilia? Surely not - "

"It means that my death is to proceed shortly after the Wail of the banshee, Minerva," spoke a voice behind all of them in the entrance.

"No - no - Dumbledore, this is ridiculous! You cannot - it doesn't -"

"The Cry means that my death is luring, Minerva. A banshee does not say when a death approaches, but it does meant that I have only a short time to live."

"But it can't - don't you - how could - ?" Professor McGonagall didn't seem to want to believe it. She helped Cilia up, who was crying desperately, and Dumbledore came up and hugged her, something that Harry had never seen him do.

"It's alright, Cilia. After all, eternity in another Realm is only as much a gift as a period of life in this one."

"It's - dreadful...dreadful...dreadful..." she sobbed.

He let go of her and spoke, "On the contrary, it is not as dreadful as it may seem. But...it is unmistakably clear, then, that it has been foretold...that my death is, I dare say, unavoidably approaching."

Harry looked up at him and saw that, now, more than ever, Dumbledore's age was showing as clearly as Harry's lightening-bolt scar.

Chapter 10

Another Christmas, Another Catastrophe

The atmosphere in the room was dense; no one wanted to either speak or move. Deep breaths could be heard through out the dining hall. Within moments, Harry saw someone faint and people spread a circle around that person. Harry noticed that it was Mrs.Weasley.

Dumbledore came up to her and kneeled at her side, as did Mr.Weasley. He pointed his wand at her and muttered something, at which she opened her eyes.

"Arthur, get her to the nearest bedroom and make sure she gets some rest," he said.

Mr. Weasely helped his wife up, who was still looking rather faint, and walked her out of the room.

The Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione, all exchanged nervous looks. Professor McGonagall was still trying to comfort Cilia, who was sobbing into her shoulder.

"I suggest that you make your way upstairs," he motioned towards Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the others. "I trust that you have already eaten."

Harry whirled around and was closely followed by the others. As soon as Mark, who had been instructed to go with them, walked out and Hermione shut the door, however, Harry pressed an ear against the door, but he heard Moody growl, "He meant now, Potter!"

Harry scowled and began to climb the stairs. Hermione appeared at his side.

"Harry, is there something that you'd like to tell us about your grandmother?"

"She's part-banshee," he said.

"No kidding," said Ron sarcastically. "And I thought she was a mermaid when she made all of that wailing noise."

"So it's true, then," said Hermione. "About the prediction, that is."

"Must be," said Harry, who was trying hard not to think about it.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed. "Poor Dumbldore - I never thought I'd actually say that..."

"When do you think it's going to happen?" asked Neville.

Harry gulped. He didn't want it to happen. Dumbledore's decisions had sometimes angered Harry, but never to a point where he would not feel terrible if he died. Dumledore was the only one that Voldemort ever feared and, if he was gone, Harry wouldn't know who to turn to...Sirius was gone...his parents were gone...he couldn't let this happen...

"Are they always right? The predictions, that is?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Hermione. "Banshees are supposed to be ancient fairies of mystical powers, you know. They cannot cause death while predicting, but they definitely sense it. When there's a large chorus of them, like what just happened down there, it means that someone of great importance is going to die...I don't know much about them, but I remember reading something of the sort..."

"And there's no way around it?" asked Harry.

"No," said Hermione. "A banshee can curse a family by constantly following them and predicting the deaths of the members, and there are shunning spells against it, but, once it's predicted a death, that's it...there's nothing you can do about it..."

"What sort of powers do they have?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Hermione, shaking her head. "But they're not to be fooled around with. I think that, if it is in their desire, that they can cause their Screech to be fatal...They can also fly, as you can tell, and I think that solid objects such as walls and even some spells aren't an issue for them. It's awful that Voldemort has them recruited...no good can come from that, I can say..."

They went inside of one of the rooms and Harry began to pace. Before he knew it, he was screaming.

"WHY NOW? WHY? DUMBLEDORE'S STAYED ALIVE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG? AND HE JUST HAS TO DIE NOW? WHY?....why?....why?..." Harry felt tears falling to the floor from his eyes.

Hermione had opened her mouth to say something comforting, but even she had no response to his question. Harry could see tears swimming in her eyes as well.

No one said anything. Harry saw Mark shivering and looking around the room, not seeming to know which way was up or down.

"Maybe - maybe this is a good thing," said Hermione. "Maybe this means that the war will be over sooner than we know - "

"Oh, come off it, Hermione," yelled Harry. "This is the Maneosioan War, for crying out loud! It's not some kiddie battle! People are dying! And Dumbledore, damn him, just has to be one of them, doesn't he?"

"It's not supposed to be like this..." she said, gasping for air and pulling Harry into a hug.

"I know...I know..." Harry mumbled into her neck.

Harry looked around the room and saw Neville with his hands in his pockets, kicking the floor with one foot; Ron with his hands folded behind his neck, starring into the ceiling; Luna gazing thoughtfully into the middle of nowhere; Mark now ceasing to look rather nervous, but still appearing to have a rather large headache; and Ginny sitting cross-legged on the floor with her cheeks resting in her palms.

All of them were affected by this, and all of them were thinking the same thing, Harry could tell - why Dumbledore? and who was next?...

"So what do we do?" asked Neville.

"Do? What can we do? You heard Dumbledore: Don't act no matter what happens," said Harry in an annoyed tone.

Suddenly, Luna seemed to be conscious of something and lowered her head, placing her hand on her forehead.

"No - no - it can't be," she mumbled.

"What is it, Luna?" asked Ginny, curiously.

Luna's knees weakened to the floor.

"He knows," she breathed.

"Who knows?" asked Harry urgently. "What are you talking about, Luna?"

"I - I have to go," she said rather abruptly and, getting up, ran out of the room. Ron wanted to follow her, but Harry stopped him.

"Don't - I don't think she wants us to go after her."

Ron looked at Harry, then at the door through which she had left, and nodded.

"What do you think happened?" asked Hermione.

"I dunno," said Harry.

A few moments later, Cilia came bursting into the room, wearing a sunken expression.

"Harry? Harry, dear?! Oh, you're here. Good. Listen, something's happened. Azkaban - it's been attacked!"

"What?!" all of them said at once.

"Yes; the Death Eaters have gone free! Oh, this is terrible!"

"How did this happen?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know. Mind you - to overcome aquapaths!" she was shaking all over.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Hermione.

"Of course! It just happened! The Order has been informed immediately!"

"Are you in it now?" Harry asked.

"Naturally, I'm not an official member considering the fact that I'm leaving in January - "

"What? You're leaving?" said Harry.

"Oh, dear. I cannot stay at this time. Do you not understand that I could easily be recruited by You-Know-Who because of the banshee gatherings that will be taking place? It is something that my subconscious mind is a part of and something that I cannot control. That's why I must leave...."

"I see," said Harry.

"But I am staying for Christmas, so all is well," she said, though her voice was clearly depressed.

"How could all be well?" spoke Hermione in a shrill and teary voice. "They've gone back to Voldemort (there was a sharp intake of breath), haven't they? And if aquapaths - aquapaths, for heaven's sake - have been overcome, then his army must be more powerful than even we can imagine!"

"I'm sorry dear, I don't know your name," said Cilia, patiently.

"It's Hermione Granger," she said, still breathless.

"Granger - yes, right. Well, all I can say, Hermione, is that we must wait for any further instructions. From what I can understand, You-Know-Who's decoyed an attack on Hogwarts so that no one would suspect Azkaban! He is clever, the fool!"

"So does anyone know what happened?" asked Harry.

"Not yet! I told you, it just occurred!"

"Luna - do you think she knew?" Harry asked the others.

"I don't thinks so," said Hermione. "It seemed like she was talking more about a person, didn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Cilia looked puzzled between the two of them.

"Hogwarts is still being watched," she said, finally. "But I'm sure that you'll be able to be back in school after the break. I wouldn't recommend it to Dumbledore, of course, but I suppose he knows what he's doing..."

"EMERGENCY MEETING," came Moody's voice that rang through the room.

"Oh - that's for me. I must go," said Cilia. She turned around. "Try to not go anywhere. If you can, stay in this room until further instruction is given, you hear me?"

They nodded and watched her disappear behind the door.

Harry tried hard to not look any of them in the eye. If Azkaban had been attacked, that meant that there were barely any boundaries that could stop Voldemort and his army. And what, just what would happen if he did attack Hogwarts?

Just then, Harry nearly fell to the floor as Melificent came whizzing past him through a crack in the door and under the bed.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Here, kitty. Here, kitty, kitty," Ginny called her from under the bed, but she didn't come.

"Where's she been?" asked Harry. "I haven't seen her for a while? Have you?"

"No," said Ginny. "Fleur said that she might have been out hunting or something."

"That's a weird cat, I tell you," said Ron.

"I thought you liked her," said Hermione with a smirk.

"Well, she's not as bad as Crookshanks," he replied and she threw him a disgusted look.

There was a long silence.

"Now what?" Neville sighed.

"Now, we wait," said Harry in a slightly quivering voice and fell on the couch. "Exploding Snap, anyone?"

Time flew by so fast and so emptily that Harry wished it rather stay still. Luna had returned and Hermione was eager to speak to her, but Mrs. Weasley told them that she was feeling rather ill and to not bother her. Harry's patience was ready to jump of a fifty-foot cliff any day now since they had received no further information on Voldemort or what had happened that day in Azkaban. He had not seen Dumbledore since the day of the prediction and he had the feeling that he was avoiding Harry again. Melificent, on the other hand, seemed to be sticking so close to Harry that he soon found himself constantly tripping over her as she ran around his feet. He often hoped that a large black dog would show up and scare her away, but he knew that it was not possible...

Christmas was only several days ahead and Harry and the others were asked to help Mrs. Weasely set up decorations around the lighthouse. She told them that they would have a rather unusual company for Christmas, but Harry couldn't think of anything any more unusual than being surrounded by thirty-some Order members, a werewolf, a part-banshee, a part-veela, the Evans, and the Weasleys all under the same roof.

On Christmas morning, Harry awoke to find Ron and Neville already pulling off their pajamas and putting on some proper clothes.

"C'mon, Harry! Presents, you know! And I dare not imagine all the food!" Ron said excitedly.

Harry grinned and got dressed. They walked outside and got knocked into Fred and George, who were also in a hurry to get downstairs.

"Watch where you three are going, will you?" said George furiously, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, I've seen more alert people that were Petrified," said Fred.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled. "Why don't you two just Apparate downstairs?"

"Can't" said George angrily. "This place was built by the founders of Hogwarts, wasn't it? I'm sure Hermione's quoted it one time too many: can't Apparate or Dissapperate on the grounds."

"Oh," said Harry, "right."

They made their way downstairs into the hall where they were all supposed to meet and Harry found himself staring into what seemed a dome-shaped ball room with a huge Christmas tree that bore miniature fairies that twinkled merrily amongst the shining orbs that hung from it in the center. Piles and heaps of gifts lay under it and he watched as illuminating lights encircled the room on the walls alongside boughs of holly and mistletoe. Simply the sight of the room rose Harry's spirits, not to mention warm welcomes from people who Harry hadn't seen in a while.

He could clearly make out two large forms of Hagrid and Madam Maxime. Hagrid had bent over to give her a kiss on the cheek under the mistletoe, and, seeing Harry, he raised his hand in recognition.

Harry walked over to them. Madam Maxime was wearing a bright red dress, which made her stand out more than ever, and Hagrid was wearing a black suit, which Harry thought was much better than wearing a bright red one to match her because then they would have unmistakably resembled St. Nicolas and his wife.

"'Lo there, 'arry, 'Appy Christmas!" said Hagrid. "'Aven't seen yeh in a while. Buh I suppose you've been rather busy what with the, er, problems that 'ave been going on, eh?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Shame yer not takin' me class anymore. Buh, then again, I s'pose it would be more useful to concentrate on Defense and Charms...'Arry! By the way! Yeh'll never guess what, 'arry! Me and Olympe, 'ere, are enganged!"

"That's great!" said Harry, who felt extremely happy for Hagrid. "Congratulations!"

He thought for a moment, staring at the two of them, who were beaming, then said, "And what about the - er - about Grawp?"

"Oh, he's doin' along just fine," said Hagrid. "Still needs a bit 'o trainin', 'o course, buh Dumbledore's allowed me to keep 'im in the Forest. And Beaky's been stayin' with me as well, 'o course."

Harry nodded at him, grinning.

"Ah, there's Dumbledore now. We'll meet up with yeh later, 'arry," said Hagrid and led Madam Maxime across the hall.

Harry soon ran across another unexpected guest who was none other than Mrs. Figg. She scurried over to him wearing green slippers and a red robe.

"Harry! Good to see you! I was so glad when they cleared you last year! I know I wasn't too convincing during the trial, but the important thing is that you got off, right?"

"No, you were fine," said Harry. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Oh, what's to thank me for," she said, brushing off the comment. "If Mundungus - ah, there he is, Christmas morning and he's already as drunk as a dog - hadn't left his post, none of this would have happened! Oh, well, I suppose what's done is done, eh?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

Harry also found himself greeted by Professor Flitwick, his Charms teacher, with his wife, who's size took Harry aback considering the fact that she was about five feet taller than her husband. He saw Tonks in deep conversation with Charlie, and Bill kissing Fleur in the corner. A greater and greater number of people began to arrive, some of which Harry had seen before, while others that he had never met in his life.

He watched as Lupin, Kingsley, Professor McGonagall, Cilia, and a number of other members were crowded to the side and laughing about something.

Harry was amazed that something had finally arrived that could take him mind of the war, and it had apparently done the same for others as well.

Mrs. Weasley suddenly hurried over to him and whispered urgently, "Harry...Harry dear! Go upstairs and put on your dress robes. I told Ron and the others to do the same! There's going to be dancing, you know!"

"What?" said Harry. "But I don't have any - "

"I bought you some new ones dear. I hope you don't mind - I took the key to your vault from your desk when I left to Diagon Alley one day."

"No, I don't mind at all. Thanks"

"Alright then. Better hurry up. Go on, dear."

Harry made his way up to his bedroom and saw Ron and Neville scampering around and pulling on some dress robes.

"Why didn't you guys tell me anything?" he asked.

"'You were constantly talking with someone, mate," said Ron. "Didn't want to be rude and interrupt."

"Oh, yes it would have definitely not have been rude of you when I would have been the only idiot not wearing dress robes!" he said.

"Sorry," said Neville.

Harry found a small package on his bed and unwrapped it to see dark green dress robes that had a golden interior and rather fancy buttons along the front. He quickly changed into them and joined Ron, who was wearing some much nicer robes than he had last time, of a dark red color, and Neville, who was wearing dark blue robes, and stepped outside.

They were just lucky enough to meet the girls, who were walking downstairs and looking more stunning than ever.

When Harry saw Hermione descending, he felt the lock on his chin loosen and the dying desire to stare at her crawl into his eyes. She was wearing an elegant light pink dress robe and her hair was designed in delicate curls. Harry had been staring for so long that he hadn't even realized that she was now standing right in front of him.

"Harry? Are you alright?" she asked in a slightly amused tone.

He suddenly woke up and said, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. You look beautiful. Happy Christmas!"

She blushed and said, "Happy Christmas! You don't look so bad yourself."

Harry offered her his arm, which she took, grinning, and he looked around at Ron, who was staring mindlessly at Luna. She was wearing a light blue dress robe and had her hair back into a pony tail. He then saw Neville, who had Ginny clinging to him at his side and wearing a soft orange dress robe with her hair in a bun, blushing furiously at the idea of being accompanied by the same girl twice in a row.

Harry had just turned to take a step down the stairs, when his foot accidentally met a hissing Melificent and he was sent gliding down several steps, getting up, and rounding at Ron's sister.

"Ginny! Will you get this idiotic cat away from me, for heaven's sake?" he yelled at her.

"Come here, come here," she said to the cat, who was still hissing, and was unwillingly picked up by Ginny.

Once she was restrained, they made their way carefully downstairs and into the hall. Taken aback, Harry raised his eyebrows as he noticed that it was nearly full. Fortunately, he recognized all of the people that occupied it to either be members of the Order or some kind of relatives.

As Harry led Hermione into the gold-polished ball room, an elderly man nearly ran up to him and grasped his hand, shaking it hurriedly.

"Mr. Potter! Heard so much about you! The name's Aberforth! Ah, and Miss Granger," he said taking her hand and kissing it with his bushy beard brushing against it, "another legend." Hermione blushed. "Happy Christmas!" he said and she returned the greeting.

"Happy Christmas! You're Professor Dumbledore's brother, aren't you?" said Harry.

"Yes...yes....in the coming of events, as you may know, I was asked to see to him...Never in his right state, Dumbledore, but he is my brother...Nothin' you can do about the blood in your bones, eh?"

"Er - right," said Harry, slightly confused. He knew that Moody had told him that he was strange, but even Luna couldn't measure up to him. He wore a saggy gray coat and had his beard tied in several places, with pieces of what seemed like stones and bones hanging at the tips. His fingernails were full of dirt and he wore an over-exited grin that stretched from one ear to the other, which made him look surprisingly young.

"I wonder if Daddy's managed to capture a Crumped-Horned Snorlack yet," he heard her say as she passed them arm-in-arm with Ron. Then again, thought Harry...

"Er, I hope so," Ron said.

Music had just erupted in the hall and Harry heard a shuffle of cloaks as they made their way to the center of the hall.

"Do you want to dance, Ronald?" Luna asked. "I know you don't like to, but I heard that dancing places a mutual bond between the body and the soul that can - '

"Er, right, whatever," said Ron and led her into the crowd that had already began swinging to the music.

"Shall we?" Harry asked Hermione.

"It depends," she said, beaming, "are you going to trip over your robes again?"

Harry laughed.

"No, I'll try not to," he said.

"Good," she smiled and they walked out into the center after Ron and Luna.

Harry had enjoyed himself in a manner that was much more gratifying than the Yule ball. The fact that Hermione was smiling up at him in his arms and that his worries were soon flooding away swam through his mind and the war was finally floating away until all he could think about was the gorgeous girl that was standing in front of him and the beautiful music that was in the background.

The euphony finally ceased and everyone applauded. Harry and Hermione, however, leaned in for a kiss...

"Ahem," came Ron's voice before their lips could touch. "She's supposed to be my girlfriend, remember, Harry?"

"Oh, yeah," said Harry, disappointed. "Sorry."

"So are we going to open presents now, or what? I'm starved," said Ron.

Ron, Luna, and Hermione joined Neville and Ginny and began walking towards the tree, but Harry was held back as Cilia approached him with a warm smile.

"Happy Christmas, Harry!"

"Happy Christmas, Grandma!"

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard that, eh?" she said, laughing. "Take a look at this."

She handed him a rather old photograph of what looked like two girls who seemed to be no older than Harry. They were laughing and beaming up at him and he noticed that one of them bore his unmistakable and quite unruly raven-black hair.

"Is that you?" he asked her, pointing to the girl on the left, who Harry noticed was exceptionally beautiful.

"Yes, that's me...And that there's Minie Gibson - Minerva McGonagall to you."

Harry looked into the background and saw that they were in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It was definitely clear that many boys were staring at Cilia as she posed for the picture. He looked over at Professor McGonagall and saw that her original hair color was a very faint orange and she had full brown eyes that were twinkling from the flash of the camera; she looked so happy and unconcerned that Harry would have never guessed that the young sixteen-year-old girl would become the stiff and bossy Transfiguration teacher...

"You were both in Gryffindor, then?" he asked her, after looking at the badges that resided on their chests that were crested with a golden lion.

"Sure were," said Cilia. "The Sorting Hat took a while with me, though. It got confused between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and, to my most displeasure, even Slytherin."

"You were considered being putt into Slytherin?" he asked her, taken aback.

"Yeah...but that was partly because of the whole 'I'm part-banshee and must therefore love the Dark Arts' deal."

"Oh," said Harry. He had considered telling her that he was also nearly placed in Slytherin's House, but decided that it was better not to bother her at the moment.

"Well, best go and open your presents, now, dear," she said pushing him gently on the back towards the others who had already began tearing off the paper off of their gifts and grinning broadly at what they had received from each other.

Before he could react, however, Hermione had rushed up to him and grabbed him by the arm, carrying the gift that Harry had given her in her arm and dragged him out of the hall and into a nearby room.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. "Thank you," she said. "I loved it!"

"I can tell!" said Harry, laughing.

Harry had gotten her a custom-made jewelry box that, when opened, played a joyous tune as a house elf, dressed in some proper clothes and wearing a hat along with a scarf, spun around in the center.

"I knew that you'd given up on spe - I mean, S.P.E.W., but I still thought you'd like it," said Harry.

"I love it!" she repeated, kissing him a second time.

Startlingly, however, Ron had suddenly burst into the room, opening the door behind which Harry and Hermione stood only to reveal heart-stopping screams outside that made Harry's blood run cold.

"Harry! Hermione! Get out now! We've gotta go! Run!"

"Ron, what the - ?"

But Harry was interrupted as he suddenly felt the creeping sensation of everything growing cold around him; the lights had gone out and darkness had surrounded them. Rattling breaths could be heard coming from around them. People were panicking and screaming. Several silver forms erupted out of nowhere and ignited the scenery so that Harry could visualize the dementors that were floating above them, hundreds of them.

"Ron, get the others; we need to find someone from the Order - Dumbledore, Lupin, your dad, anyone!"

"GINNY?! NEVILLE?! LUNA?! MARK?!" Ron shouted.

There was a loud burst somewhere and Harry saw an explosion of flames; this was the end...they were all going to die...

He whipped out his wand, but he did not see the use.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry shouted with the little of his might that he had left. A stag erupted from his wand, but there were more dementors than he had counted on. Beside him, a silver otter swam out of Hermione's wand and into the opposite direction where it chased away some more of them.

But it was no use -

"That's it! We're done for!" came Ron's voice.

Harry heard a great rumble of what sounded like water outside of the lighthouse and suddenly screamed, "RUN! UPSTAIRS! GO! NOW!"

He seized Hermione and tugged on Ron's sleeve and heard a great muffle of footsteps behind him. As they got nearer the top, the sides of the lighthouse suddenly erupted and Harry caught a glimpse of two piercing aqua eyes that lay between a glowing red-mane.

"Aquapaths!" he whispered. "Luna, can't you do something?" he said to her as he saw that she was standing next to him.

Luna whimpered beside him. "I-I can't Harry! There's nothing I can do - "

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY IT? YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THE POWER OR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU SAID, DON'T YOU?!"

"I...I..." Luna whimpered.

But Harry's attention was now focused below him where he saw what looked like another four aquapaths join the others and emit a roar that pierced Harry's brain. They swiped away the dementors with their bare hands, and Harry saw as several other Patronuses erupted from somewhere amongst all of the screams.

Someone had ran up next to them and Harry noticed that it was Lupin and Mrs. Weasley.

"FOLLOW ME!" she yelled at them and Harry and the others whipped around after them as they headed for the top of the tower to where their bedrooms where. The screams where still echoing through the house and the staircase was now shaking.

"HURRY UP! IN HERE!" cried Lupin above the noise.

They shuffled inside the room and Mrs. Weasley locked the door behind them.

"Harry, we have to get you and the others out of here immediately!"

The ground below them shook and Harry had the impression that the lighthouse was about to collapse.

"Get your things!" Lupin rounded at him.

"But what about the others - ?"

"He said NOW!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. Harry gathered his belonging along with the rest of them with such speed as he had never done before. His head was ringing so strongly and his scar piercing so badly that he could barely think properly.

"Where are we going?" he asked finally.

"Back to Hogwarts," said Lupin.

"Hogwarts? But that's not safe - "

"Enough!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Move! Let's go!"

She motioned them out of the room as they dragged their things along side of them. Harry kept walking downstairs, ahead of them, but noticed that the stairs had been cut short.

"Mrs. Weasley!" he cried.

"IN HERE!" she yelled and opened a door that could still be accessible through the side. Harry noticed that it was the same room in which Harry had talked with the Evans. Or was it? It looked all the same.

"Ready?" she asked.

"For what?" asked Ron.

"Concentrate on coming back to Hogwarts!" yelled Lupin.

"What - ?"

"JUST DO IT!" said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry focused his mind on being back in the castle and his insides suddenly did an unpleasant lurch. The echoing screams where gone and he opened his eyes; he was in the Room of Requirements.

"How the - ?"

"I'll explain later," said Mrs. Weasley.

"I want you to go into the Gryffindor common room and stay there until further instructions are given! Everything will be okay - "

"HOW?" said Harry.

"Just go," said Lupin and opened the door so that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Mark, and Ginny could walk out of it, still hearing the screams ringing in their ears, only to be taken aback by a beige cat that ran past Harry, knocking him down for the third time.