Story: Moira
Chapter Twelve: Ominous Predictions

The fire crackled in the fireplace, adding more tension to the atmosphere.

Albus Dumbledore was never the tidy man. His table was completely messy with things which he no longer needed or damaged items. After his deputy showed an explicit disgust for the haphazard place, he decided to clear them up a little. That was when he stumbled upon a book gifted years earlier to him by the great alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. A particular story by Gabriel S.Tory totally surprised the aged headmaster.

THE FIGHT OF THE LEO AND SERPENTINE
The founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, were rumored to be the best of pals, but the world does not know the rift which formed between the bosom buddies sometime in the twelfth century.

One day, it so happened that Slytherin and Gryffindor were taking a leisurely walk through the county when they were met with a dilemma.

A prophecy was created by the great individual, D.Ivine, which stated two upcoming fights between the Serpent and the Lion. Mentioned by the same future predictor was a Wizard of Creation and a Witch of Destruction who had the ultimate power, if they were to combine hands, to do the impossible. Slytherin began to doubt Gryffindor, causing the latter to defend himself. The rift started at that exact moment.

Three years later, Gryffindor fell in love and married a young woman who went by the name Giselle. The couple had odd issues. For instance, Giselle often lost control over her magic when angered or emotional, shattering the whole house in a matter of few seconds.

The pair were concerned and when they consulted Merlin, the chief advisor of the court, they were revealed to be the prophesied Witch of Destruction and the Wizard of Creation.

Envious of the new-found powers of Gryffindor, Slytherin waged a magical war against the former. The world saw one of the deadliest fights of history which ended in favor of the –

Dumbledore sighed in frustration. The page was torn right where the answer was. Reading the tale raised more questions in his mind.

He already knew about the recent prophecy, but which Serpent-Lion fight did D.Ivine foretell, nearly hundreds of years ago? The symptoms of Giselle matched those of Harry's – losing control over magic when angered or emotional.

Did that mean that Harry was the Wizard of Destruction? Who was the Witch of Creation, then? Was Harry going to fight someone again? Did that mean that Voldemort was still alive somewhere? Such questions troubled the aged headmaster enough to give him a stinging headache.

He popped a lemon drop into his mouth and slumped down heavily onto his seat. Noticing his emotions, Fawkes sang a low-key, relaxing tune to which Dumbledore found himself humming. That was how Ginny Weasley found him.

"Master? Are you okay?" Ginny asked as she walked into the office. Dumbledore opened his blue eyes, a bright twinkle in them.

"Ah, good evening Ginny. I see you are here for your lesson?"

"Yes, master," Ginny replied. Dumbledore smiled and stood up.

"Today, we are learning ancient runes of protection. They need to be drawn carefully, so pay attention."

____________________

The lesson went right and Ginny was happily skipping her way to the Gryffindor common room when she bumped into someone. That someone being Harry, she smiled widely. He gave her a small smile in return.

"Hey, Ginny. What are you doing here?"

"I was just on my way back to the common room. Wanna tag along?" she asked. Harry looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding.

They started walking to the east tower in silence before Ginny started again. "It so seems that someone has become more open."

"I?" Harry asked, not even showing a hint of surprise.

"Of course. So, what's changed you?"

"Well, I don't know. Hogwarts, maybe? Or you?" Harry asked. Ginny snorted in response. Just like that, the pair joked their way to the common room. Harry had never felt more light hearted but the tension in his system rose as soon as he received a black letter with the stamp of a green skull. The letter materialized in front of him and Ginny when they were chatting in front of the fireplace of the Gryffindor common room.

"What's that?" Ginny asked. Harry twisted his wrist and his wand jolted up to his hand. Ginny looked at him wearily. "I'm sorry if I . . . err disappointed you?"

Harry laughed at her weary apology. "Why'd you apologize? Muffliato," he hissed, magically silencing the area around him. No one would be able to make out what they were talking about. "This letter is from Master's follower."

Ginny's eyes widened. "They are alive?"

"Oh yes, and you met one when we saved Astoria."

"That man . . . is Voldemort's follower?"

"Yes."

Ginny paled, then looked at him. "What's in the letter?" Harry shrugged, then tore open the letter.

Young Master,
We have found a remedy for getting back the Dark Lord from his state of weakness. A ritual must be performed and your blood, combined with the chosen girl's blood, is required. We have planned to portkey the girl when she touches the cup. You may Apparate to the spot.

Hoping to see you on the day of the year's lunar eclipse.

Yours,
Bella

Harry immediately stood up. "I'm sorry. I have to get going now."

"Is everything okay?" she probed.

"Yeah," Harry lied. A pang of guilt penetrated through his heart for lying straight to her face. She smiled knowingly as if she knew he was guilty of lying to her. This smile hurt Harry more but he had no other choice. She stood up and faced him. For a minute, he felt, or rather, selfishly wished she would kiss his cheek again, but she did not.

"Alright. Good night, Harry."

"Good –" his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Good night."

With that, he left her. When he turned around before leaving the room, she was looking at him with the same knowing smile. Harry smiled back, slightly embarrassed and left without looking back. It troubled him enough just to lie to her.

It was quite strange if he could put the feeling into words. He had never felt guilty or remorseful if he lied to anyone. He had lied countless numbers of times but he had not once felt bad for that. Tonight was a bizarre occurrence then, he decided.

On his way back to the grounds, the thoughts of the letter occupied his restless mind. His master was still out there, but how? Harry had killed him. He was sure of that. Are the Death Eaters mistaken?

Harry felt his nervousness grow with each step he took and he wanted so desperately for Ginny to hug him and tell him it was okay. But he was afraid of one thing – rejection. What if Ginny rejected him if he were to ask her for the ball? Surely many guys would have asked her out already, given her beauty and her status as the champion of Hogwarts. The very thought did nothing to improve his nervousness. They just piled it up more and Harry finally decided to meditate under the oak tree for peace.

And that's what he did.

_________________

"I'm sure you will look beautiful in whatever dress you are wearing, Tori," Draco reassured. The brown haired girl shook her head.

"I was very excited to wear that dress . . ."

"Fear not, Tori. I would love you even if you wore a simple sundae!" Draco said. Astoria looked confused for a minute before she burst out laughing, her hand covering her mouth. It was Draco's turn to look confused.

"Draco! Sundae is an ice cream!" Realization dawned on the blonde boy's face and he laughed along with her.

"Pardon me. Knowing Ron for thirteen years has rubbed off on me, I s'ppose."

They shared a laugh again and Astoria continued. "I think you meant a sundress." Draco nodded and she smiled before kissing his cheek.

"At least I don't have any siblings. I don't think I would have wanted to be in this situation," Draco joked, and she laughed lightly.

"Draco . . ." Astoria started lowly. The fire of the Slytherin common room reflected in her dark brown eyes.

"Is anything wrong, Tori?"

"If . . . if our relationship doesn't work out, will we remain friends until the end? Because, I don't want to lose you . . . " her voice was unsure and timid, causing Draco to pull her into a bear hug and stroke her hair.

"I won't let our relationship go wrong and even if it does, I won't let you go."

That was enough for her. She pulled back a little and met his lips with vigour. Draco finally got what he wanted. Someone who would love him for who he was. Not for the rich Malfoy or for Harry's friend. He smiled before reciprocating the kiss with just as much passion and nothing else mattered to either of them. . .

I wanted to end the chapter with some bit of Drastoria. It is seriously an underrated couple! That's part of the reason why there is more of Drastoria than Romione. ;)

Ay, don't worry Romione shippers! More chapters are to come and they sure have their moments. Same goes for Nuna shippers.

I hope you liked this chapter. After all, I left it with an ominous note.

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x