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Author: Northumbrian Story: Tales of the Battle Rating: Teens Status: WIP Reviews: 2 Words: 21,095
At first it was simply as a reminder of my foolish sixth year crush. We arrived on the side of a windswept hill. It was blowing a gale; a few flakes of snow flurried around me and the wind whistled wildly. I shivered and stumbled – a pinstripe jacket and skirt were no protection from the wind, and my heels were sinking into the grass. ‘My Patronus is a swan. Harry taught us the spell, and I’ve never cast it since the DA lessons, so only the DA would know that,’ I told her as I shivered. I called on Marietta that evening. The pimples on her face were faded, but were still visible, if you knew where to look under her heavy make-up. She seemed pleased to see me, and we chatted and gossiped like the old friends we were for over an hour. Finally, I asked the question. ‘Marietta, do you remember the Galleon that we got when we joined the DA?’ I asked. Her hand made an involuntary movement up towards the pimples, and I realised that I’d started the conversation badly. She looked at me in disbelief. ‘How could I forget?’ she asked. It was as if a door had suddenly blown open. The warmth between us was replaced by an icy chill; the atmosphere in that room seemed to be even colder than on that bleak snow-swept hillside. ‘Why do you want to know?’ ‘Do you still have it?’ I asked. ‘Why would I keep that thing?’ she asked. She was suddenly hostile. I could see suspicion and fear in her eyes. I wondered if Katie had been right to be worried. Marietta … Marietta had betrayed us before, I realised; not just Harry, all of us, even me. I’d defended her, afterwards, but I was supposed to be her best friend, yet she had gone behind my back to Umbridge. I wasn’t certain what to do or what to say next. This time it wouldn’t be detentions; peoples’ lives were at stake. I suddenly understood why Katie had asked me. ‘I’d like you to give it to me,’ I said. I was struck by an inspiration. ‘The jinx that Granger put on the Galleons is still active, so you’d best not lie to me,’ I warned her. Although in fact I had no idea whether it was. I tried to keep my voice friendly, but I saw her face and knew immediately that the trust between us was broken, probably forever. ‘They’re using it,’ Marietta said. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. She knew, so she’d been reading the messages. I nodded. ‘You haven’t told anyone, have you?’ I asked. She shook her head and again rubbed her pimples. ‘Will you fetch it for me, please?’ She didn’t reply, she simply walked over to the table, picked up her purse, opened it and threw a Galleon at me. I wasn’t expecting such a violent action and the Galleon caught me just under my left eye. I wasn’t even close to catching it; it’s no wonder no one wanted me as a professional Seeker. With tears in my eyes, I picked up the Galleon and read the latest message. It was about a DA meeting at Hogwarts. ‘Get out, and don’t come back,’ Marietta told me, her voice a harsh whisper. I did, and I have not seen her since. I sent her a Christmas card, but she didn’t send me one in return. For four months, I have worked for the resistance. I do what I can to help from my lowly paid job within the Ministry. With enchanted Galleons and messages on beer mats passed along by another DA member, a blonde barmaid who no one pays any attention to (apart from for the obvious reasons). My friends and I plot and plan and carry out our acts of defiance. Sometimes they are big, like the mass release of all of those Muggle-borns in Cardiff. Sometimes they are small, like the anti-Voldemort graffiti. Throw one of the Weasley twins “truth-bombs” at Harry’s wanted poster and it transforms the words “Undesirable Number One” into “Desirable Number One,” complete with a flashing pink heart surrounding his face. It’s nothing more than a simple, magically-guided paint-ball, and people (me included) are taking them into the Ministry. Someone managed to get one into Umbridge’s office last week. She was furious, but it’s her fault for coming up with such a ridiculous name for Harry. Though I don’t suppose he’ll like the twin’s alternative, either. Since Christmas this Galleon has taken me to places I never imagined; it has led me into danger for months, and now it is doing so again. I look down at the still-warm gold coin in my hand; the message reads: “He’s at Hogwarts. We’re fighting. Hog’s Head Inn”. It’s from Neville Longbottom, an even less likely hero than I am. There is no doubt who “He” is; the elusive Harry Potter has turned up at last. I concentrate on that dingy pub where we first met and Disapparate. I arrive in the empty bar. ‘Upstairs,’ the barman says grumpily, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. I reach the upstairs room in time to see Lee Jordan climbing through a portrait. I hear others behind me, too, so I hurry through this strange secret passage and into my old school. ‘I got the message,’* I tell everyone as I look around the room. Harry looks astonished. He looks careworn and skinny and older than his years, too. But he’s still rather cute. Ginny Weasley is watching me. She went out with Harry for a few weeks last year, but they finished when Professor Dumbledore was killed. Harry can be so moody and intense that it’s difficult to like him, but I still do. I spot Michael and his friends, so I go and sit with them and listen while they make plans. Harry is looking for something to help him defeat Voldemort, but he won’t tell us what. All is confusion, but Harry is, as usual, flanked by Ron and Hermione, and Ron seems to be giving him advice. For some reason, Harry is interested in the Ravenclaw Diadem. As usual, Luna Lovegood goes off at a fanciful tangent until Michaels shuts her up. I volunteer to take Harry to our common room and I stand to lead the way. But Ginny, rather forcefully, suggests that Luna do it! He’s not your property now, Ginny – he finished with you, I think. But Harry looks eagerly at Luna, not me, so I sit down and try not to look disappointed. I wanted to show him how much I’ve changed, but it appears that he’d rather be with Luna Lovegood than with Cho Chang. *Authors Note: Dialogue from Deathly Hallows p468 (UK Edition).
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