𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧

ACT ONE, CHAPTER THIRTEEN
harry gets high and then cuts
malfoy open, which definitely
doesn't seem legal.

HARRY WAS ANNOYED, and Venus could tell.

Spring was in the air, and patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the castle. However, even as Venus' mood lifted — she had awful seasonal depression — she could tell Harry's wasn't. He was obviously upset about not knowing what Malfoy was doing and how Slughorn still wouldn't give him that missing memory. Venus was trying to make him feel better day by day, and even though it was slightly working, he was still sulking.

"For the last time, just forget about Malfoy," Hermione stated firmly.

Venus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah were sitting in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Hermione, Ron, and Elijah were clutching a Ministry of Magic leaflet — Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — since they were taking their tests that afternoon, but they hadn't calmed their nerves at all.

A girl then came around the corner and approached their group. "Harry Potter? I was asked to give you this."

"Thanks . . ." Harry trailed off, taking the small scroll of parchment. The girl walked away, and he waited until she was out of earshot. "Dumbledore said we wouldn't be having any more lessons until I got the memory!"

"Maybe he wants to check on how you're doing?" Hermione suggested.

Harry unrolled the parchment. Venus peered over his shoulder to see an untidy sprawl of handwriting. It was difficult to read due to the presence of large blotches on the parchment where the ink had run.

Dear Harry, Ron, Hermione, Venus, Charlotte, and Elijah,

Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron,
you met him, and you know how special
he was. Hermione, Charlie, Venus, and
Elijah, I know you'd have liked him. It
would mean a lot to me if you'd nip
down for the burial later this evening.
I'm planning on doing it round dusk,
that was his favorite time of day. I know
you're not supposed to be out that late,
but you can use the cloak. Wouldn't ask,
but I can't face it alone.

Hagrid

Venus' eyebrows knit in thought. "Isn't that the giant spider?"

"That's the one," Harry confirmed. He then passed the note to Hermione, and Elijah peered over her shoulder. "Look at this."

Hermione scanned it quickly. "Oh, for heaven's sake."

"He's mental!" Ron exclaimed once him and Charlotte had read it. "That thing told its mates to eat Harry and me! Told them to help themselves! And now Hagrid expects us to go down there and cry over its horrible hairy body!"

"That's not the only thing, though," Elijah revealed. "Security is a million times tighter now, and he knows it. We'd get in so much trouble if we were caught."

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it would be cool."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "You want to go to a dead spider's funeral?"

"Yeah. How many people do you know are able to say that sentence?"

Harry shook his head. "We've been down to see him by night before."

"Yes, but for something like this?" Hermione countered. "We've risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all — Aragog's dead. If it were a question of saving him—"

"—I'd want to go even less," Ron cut in. "You didn't meet him, Hermione. Believe me, being dead will have improved him a lot."

Harry took the note back and stared down at it. Venus watched him for a moment. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"You want to go, don't you?" Venus asked softly, bumping their shoulders together.

"Harry, you can't be thinking of going," Hermione insisted. "It's such a pointless thing to get detention for."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know. I s'pose Hagrid'll have to bury Aragog without us."

"Yes, he will. Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests . . . try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!"

"Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?" Harry said bitterly.

"Wait," Charlotte voiced. "Oh my God, we're stupid. Just get lucky."

"What d'you mean?"

"You won that lucky potion from Slughorn, didn't you?"

"Charlie, that's — that's it!" Hermione shouted, sounding stunned. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it?"

"Felix Felicis?" Harry questioned. "I dunno . . . I was sort of saving it . . ."

"What for?" Ron demanded incredulously.

"I don't think anything is more important than this memory right now," Elijah admitted.

"Venus is," Harry replied. "I was saving it for when we could go on a date to Hogsmeade and not get caught."

The girl's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Well, we're not allowed in Hogsmeade anymore . . . but I know you love it there, so I was hoping that one day maybe we could both take it and sneak out."

Venus' heart warmed and she kissed his cheek, making his face flush. "You're sweet. I would love that, but right now, Slughorn's memory is way more important."

Harry nodded. "Well . . . okay. If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I'll take some Felix and have another go this evening."

"That's decided, then," Hermione responded. She then got to her feet and performed quite a graceful pirouette. "Destination . . . determination . . . deliberation . . ."

"Oh, stop that, I feel sick enough as it is," Ron begged. He then noticed a couple of girls had appeared in the courtyard. "Blimey, they don't look happy, do they?"

"They're the Montgomery sisters and of course they don't look happy, didn't you hear what happened to their little brother?"

"I'm losing track of what's happening to everyone's relatives, to be honest."

"Their little brother was attacked by a Werewolf," Venus told him sadly. "There's a rumor going around that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters. The boy was only five. He died in St. Mungo's."

"He died?" Harry repeated in shocked. "But surely Werewolves don't kill, they just turn you into one of them?"

"Sometimes they do," Charlotte announced, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her robes and putting them on casually.

Elijah blinked at her. "Where did you get those?"

"I've had them the whole time. Anyways, Werewolves can kill when they get too carried away. Hagrid told me."

"What was the Werewolf's name?" Harry inquired quickly.

"Well, the rumor is that it was that Fenrir Greyback," Hermione responded.

"I knew it — the maniac who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!"

Hermione looked at him. "Harry, you've got to get that memory. It's all about stopping Voldemort, isn't it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him . . ."

The bell rang overhead in the castle. Hermione, Ron, and Elijah jumped to their feet, looking terrified.

"You'll do fine," Harry reassured them as they headed towards the entrance hall to meet the others who were taking their Apparition Test. "Good luck."

"And you too!" Hermione called to Harry as they started to head off to the dungeons.

There were only five of them in Potions that afternoon — Venus, Harry, Charlotte, Penelope, Ernie, and Malfoy.

"All too young to Apparate just yet?" Slughorn asked. "Not turned seventeen yet?" All of them shook their heads. "Ah well, as we're so few, we'll do something fun. I want you all to brew me up something amusing!"

"That sounds good, sir," Ernie replied.

Malfoy looked irritable. "What do you mean, something amusing?"

"Oh, surprise me," Slughorn answered airily.

Venus opened up her copy of Advanced Potion-Making and flipped through it for a minute. She stopped on an Everlasting Elixir — not anything too special, but it would do. Charlotte decided to do the same thing, and the two of them worked together.

An hour and a half later, Slughorn had rounded the room to look at their Potions. As always, he was entranced by Harry's potion, which was an Elixir to Induce Euphoria.

"Well, now, this looks absolutely wonderful," Slughorn voiced, clapping his hands together as he stared down into the sunshine yellow contents of Harry's cauldron. "Euphoria, I take it? And what's that I smell? Mmmm . . . you've added just a sprig of peppermint, haven't you? Unorthodox, but what a stroke of inspiration, Harry, of course, that would tend to counterbalance the occasional side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking . . . I reallydon't know where you get these brain waves, my boy . . . unless it's just your mother's genes coming out in you!"

Charlotte quietly scoffed. "Mhm."

Venus nudged her with her elbow. "Quiet."

"Oh . . . yeah, maybe," Harry said.

Ernie looked rather mad. Obviously determined to outshine Harry for once, he invented his own potion which had curdled and formed a purple lump at the bottom of his cauldron. Malfoy was also upset, because Slughorn pronounced his Hiccuping Solution merely passable. Meanwhile, Penelope, Venus, and Charlotte weren't bothered.

The bell rang, and Ernie, Penelope, and Malfoy left. Venus quickly winked at Harry before linking her arm with Charlotte's. They stood outside the room, but not even a minute later, Harry came out.

"No luck?" Venus questioned. "Oh, sorry. Bad pun."

Harry shrugged. "Guess I've got to use Felix now."

Venus and Harry sat together in the common room. In the late afternoon, Ron and Hermione returned.

"Harry!" Hermione cried as she climbed through the portrait hole. "Venus, I passed!"

Venus smiled and hugged Hermione. "I'm so happy! Eli?"

"He passed too!"

"And Ron?" Harry continued.

"He — he just failed," Hermione whispered as Ron came into the room, looking sad. "It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he'd left half an eyebrow behind . . . how did it go with Slughorn?"

"No joy. Bad luck, mate, but you'll pass next time — you, me, Star, and Charlie can take it together."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Ron responded grumpily. "But half an eyebrow! Like that matters!"

"I know, it does seem really harsh. . . ." Hermione said soothingly.

They spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner. Ron looked a little more cheerful by the time they started to go back to the common room, now discussing the problem of Slughorn and the memory.

"So, Harry — you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?" Ron demanded.

"Yeah, I s'pose I'd better," Harry voiced. "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twelve hours' worth, it can't take all night . . . I'll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it."

"It's a great feeling when you take it. Like you can't do anything wrong."

Venus raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're talking from experience. You haven't even taking Felix Felicis before."

"Yeah, but I thought I had, didn't I? Same difference really . . ."

They lingered in the common room for a while. The plan was that Harry would go to Slughorn's office once the teacher was done with dinner. Once the sun had sunk to the treetops in the Forbidden Forest, they decided the moment had come. They checked carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room before they sneaked up to the boys' dormitory.

Venus leaned against the wall by the door and crossed her arms across her chest. She watched as her boyfriend took out some rolled-up socks a the bottom of his trunk and extracted a tiny, gleaming bottle.

"Well, here goes," Harry said, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp.

Venus stared at him curiously. "How're you feeling?"

Harry was silent for a moment before he got to his feet, smiling brightly. "Excellent. Really excellent. Right . . . I'm going down to Hagrid's."

"What?" Venus, Ron, and Hermione chorused together.

"No, Harry — you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?" Hermione insisted.

"No," Harry refused confidently. "I'm going to Hagrid's, I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's."

Ron looked stunned. "You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?"

"Yeah." Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. "I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?"

"No," Venus, Ron, and Hermione said together.

Hermione held up the bottle of the light. "This is Felix Felicis, I suppose? You haven't got another little bottle full of — I don't know—"

"Essence of Insanity?" Ron suggested.

Harry laughed. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing . . . or at least—" he strolled confidently over to the door "—Felix does."

He then looked over at Venus and stepped in front of her, towering over her. Venus felt her heart race against her chest from their close proximity. However, she didn't let it show. She merely stared up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't get caught," Venus told him.

Harry smirked. "Me? Never."

He then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. Venus indulged in it for a quick moment before pulling back.

She nodded her head towards the door. "Go."

Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs. Venus shook her head and followed after him, Ron and Hermione close behind her. Well, Harry on that lucky potion was certainly something else.

╞════════ ༺ ༻ ════════╡

THE FELIX FELICIS had done its job.

Venus, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Elijah sat together during the next morning's Charms lesson. With the Muffliato spell cast upon those nearest to them, Harry explained how he had managed to get the memory from Slughorn and how he went to Dumbledore's office, only for Dumbledore to tell him about Voldemort's Horcruxes and promise to take Harry along if he found another one.

"Wow," Ron replied when Harry finished telling them everything. He was waving his wand very vaguely in the direction of the ceiling without paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was doing. "Wow. You're actually going to go with Dumbledore. . . and try and destroy . . . wow."

"Ron, you're making it snow," Hermione told him patiently, grabbing his wrist and redirecting his wand away from the ceiling from large flakes had started to fall.

"Oh yeah," Ron replied, looking down at his shoulders in vague surprise. "Sorry . . . looks like we've all got horrible dandruff now. . . ."

"So, Eli," Hermione began. "Did you know that Ginny and Dean split up?"

Elijah blinked in surprise. "Oh yeah? Why?"

"Oh, something really silly . . . she said he was always trying to help her through the portrait hole, like she couldn't climb in herself . . . but they've been a bit rocky for ages. Suppose now's your chance."

"My chance?" Elijah repeated.

"Yeah, don't you like Ginny?" Hermione continued, although Venus couldn't help but notice it sounded a lot like she was trying to figure that out for herself.

Elijah shrugged. "I don't know anymore. We're really good friends, but—"

"Flitwick," Ron then warned.

The Charms master was making his way over. Venus, Hermione, and Elijah were the only ones of their group who had managed to turn vinegar into wine. Their glass flasks were full of deep crimson liquid while Harry and Ron's were still murky brown.

"Now, now, boys," Flitwick stated. "A little less talk, a little more action . . . let me see you try . . ."

Together they raised their wands, and concentrating will all their might, they pointed them at their flasks. Harry's vinegar turned to ice while Ron's flask exploded.

Flitwick reemerged from under the table and pulled shards of glass out from the top of his hat. "Yes . . . for homework, practice."

They had one of their rare joint free periods after Charms and walked back to the common room together, leaving Elijah because he claimed that he left something in his room. Their little group seemed more lighthearted and cheery today, and Venus smiled widely as Harry took her hand and laced their fingers together.

The group of four climbed through the portrait hole into the sunny common room. There was a small group of seventh years clustered there.

"Katie!" Hermione cried. "You're back! Are you okay?"

Venus looked over. Sure enough, Katie Bell was there, looking completely healthy and surrounded by her jubilant friends.

"I'm really well!" Katie exclaimed happily. "They let me out of St. Mungo's on Monday, I had a couple of days at home with Mum and Dad and then came back here this morning. Leanne was just telling me about McLaggen and the last match, Harry . . ."

"Yeah, well, now you're back and Ron's fit, we'll have a decent chance of thrashing Ravenclaw, which means we could still be in the running for the Cup," Harry replied. "Listen, Katie . . ." Harry dropped his voice as Katie's friends started gathering up their things, apparently late for Transfiguration. ". . . that necklace . . . can you remember who gave it to you now?"

Katie shook her head. "No. Everyone's been asking me, but I haven't got a clue. The last thing I remember was walking into the ladies' in the Three Broomsticks."

"You definitely went into the bathroom, then?" Hermione added.

"Well, I know I pushed open the door, so I suppose whoever Imperiused me was standing just behind it. After that, my memory's a blank until about two weeks ago in St. Mungo's. Listen, I'd better go, I wouldn't put it past McGonagall to give me lines even if it is my first day back . . ."

She got her bag and books before hurrying after her friends. Venus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left to sit down at a window table and think about what she had told them.

"So it must have been a girl or a woman who gave Katie the necklace to be in the ladies' bathroom," Hermione voiced.

"Or someone who looked like a girl or a woman," Harry countered. "Don't forget, there was a cauldron full of Polyjuice Potion at Hogwarts. We know some of it got stolen . . . I think I'm going to take another swig of Felix and have a go at the Room of Requirement again."

"That would be a complete waste of potion. Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn't enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don't go wasting the rest of that potion! You'll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him . . ."

"How does one make Felix Felicis, anyways?" Venus sked.

Harry pulled his copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and looked up the potion. "Blimey, it's seriously complicated. And it takes six months . . . you've got to let it stew . . ."

"Typical," Ron commented.

The only person who wasn't pleased that Katie was back was Dean, because he would no longer be Chaser. He took the blow easily enough when Harry — and Venus — told him, merely shrugging it off, but Venus knew that when Dean and Seamus walked away they were muttering behind Harry's back.

Maybe it was the Quidditch practice, but remember when Venus said Harry was annoyed? Well, he wasn't too much annoyed anymore. The second he would get back from Quidditch practice, he would have the brightest smile on his face and pull Venus down to sit with him on one of the chairs in the common room.

Harry had explained everything about the match to Venus, who had somehow managed to remember it. This match could decide the Championship. If Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw by more than three hundred points, they would win the Championship. Less than three hundred, Ravenclaw would win and Gryffindor would be second. If they lost by a hundred points they would be third behind Hufflepuff, and if they lost by more than a hundred, they would be dead last.

The days leading up to this crucial match had all the usual features. Members of rival Houses were attempting to intimidate the opposing team in the corridors, unpleasant chants about individual players were called out, and the team members were either enjoying the attention or dashing into bathrooms between classes to throw up.

Things were looking up, so Venus only expected for things to go south.

Venus was sitting at one of the window seats in the corridor before dinner with Charlotte and Elijah. The two of them were pestering Elijah about him having to choose between Ginny and Hermione when she heard footsteps stomping towards them. Venus looked up, only to see the angry figure of Pansy Parkinson.

Charlotte stared at her in boredom. "What?"

Parkinson kept her gaze on Venus. "Where's Potter?"

Venus shrugged. "Don't know. Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean I have tabs on him at all time." Venus shook her head. "But why are you looking for him?"

"Moaning Myrtle just told me that Potter attacked Draco in the bathroom on the first floor."

She froze. "What? No, Parkinson . . . Harry — Harry wouldn't do that."

"Then tell me why Draco's in the hospital wing right now because a spell Harry used made him cut open and bleed," Parkinson argued. "Whatever. Your boyfriend's a horrible person, I would break up with him if I were you."

Parkinson then angrily stormed off. Venus stared at the floor, her mind spinning. Of course, Parkinson could just be painting Harry out to be the villain, but she sounded so serious . . .

"Vennie?" Elijah began quietly. "There's no way that's true, is it?"

"I have to go find him," Venus said quietly, standing up. "Sorry, guys."

"Go," Charlotte urged. "Let us know what happens."

Venus nodded before rushing off. She started to go towards the common room, ignoring the gazes and whispers from others in the hallways. Venus told the Fat Lady the password and climbed through, only to see a group consisting of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny standing with each other in the common room. She immediately stopped in her tracks. Harry's face was panicked. Her eyes went down to his robes, which were wet and covered in a red liquid. Venus started to feel sick to her stomach. She knew what the liquid was.

"It's true," Venus began, slightly breathless. "Parkinson — Parkinson was right."

Harry took a step towards her, but Venus involuntarily took a step back. "Star, please—"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Venus demanded. "Harry, why?"

"Malfoy — Venus, you have to believe me—"

"Then tell me everything. Tell us everything."

They sat down. Harry then recounted the entire story — Malfoy crying in the bathroom, how he tried to attack Harry, Harry using the spell he found in the Prince's book, how Harry had gotten rid of the Prince's book in the Room of Requirement, and Snape giving him detention on Saturday nights until the end of term so he wouldn't be able to play the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match.

"I won't say I told you so," Hermione said.

"Leave it, Hermione," Ron snapped.

"I told you there was something wrong with that Prince person. And I was right, wasn't I?"

"No, I don't think you were," Harry insisted.

"Harry, how can you still stick up for that book when that spell—" Hermione argued.

"Will you stop harping on about the book! The Prince only copied it out! It's not like he was advising anyone to use it! For all we know, he was making a note of something that had been used against him!"

"I don't believe this. You're actually defending—"

"I'm not defending what I did!" Harry interrupted quickly. "I wish I hadn't done it, and not just because I've got about a dozen detentions. You know I wouldn't've used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can't blame the Prince, he hadn't written try this out, it's really good — he was just making notes for himself, wasn't he, not for anyone else . . ."

Hermione looked at Harry incredulously. "Are you telling me that you're going to go back—?"

"And get the book? Yeah, I am. Listen, without the Prince I'd never have won the Felix Felicis. I'd never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I'd never have—"

"—got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don't deserve."

"Give it a rest, Hermione!" Ginny shouted. "By the sound of it, Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!"

"Well, of course I'm glad Harry wasn't cursed!" Hermione protested. "But you can't call that Sectumsempra spell good, Ginny, look where it's landed him! And I'd have thought, seeing what this has done to your chances in the match—"

"Oh, don't start acting as though you understand Quidditch, you'll only embarrass yourself."

There was so many things going on that Venus was getting a headache. She let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead.

Harry looked at her cautiously. "What do you think?"

"I think you're absolutely stupid," Venus answered. "Nothing about this is okay." She shook her head sadly. "I told you I'm with you always. I can't be this time."

Harry looked down at his lap sadly. "I know."

Venus chewed the inside of her lip for a moment. "I still love you, you know."

"I love you too, Star."

After a couple days of Slytherin taunts and Gryffindor anger, the day of the match finally came upon them. Venus, Harry, Ron, Penelope, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah were all eating breakfast together before the match. Finally, when the time had come, Ron and Ginny left with the Gryffindor team. Venus kissed Harry goodbye and wished him luck on his detention before leaving with Penelope, Hermione, Charlotte, and Elijah, all clad in their Gryffindor (besides Elijah) gear. Harry had given her his Quidditch jersey, claiming that he would be there in spirit, but Venus had an inkling he just wanted to see her in it.

The stands were split in half like normal, this time a sea of bronze and blue for Ravenclaw and a sea of gold and red for Gryffindor. Both teams walked out onto the pitch, followed by roars of screams. The match started with Luna Lovegood commentating. Venus' eyes followed the players on the pitch.

Gryffindor scored goal after goal, and Ron kept blocking most of the shots from Ravenclaw. Ginny was flying around the pitch, since she was the fill-in Seeker for Harry. Venus kept cheering as Gryffindor got more and more points. And finally, Ginny ended the game by catching the Snitch.

The Gryffindor side of the stands erupted in deafening cheers. Venus cheered with them, clapping loudly. This meant that Gryffindor had won the Championship — God, she couldn't wait to tell Harry. He was going to be so excited.

Obviously, there was a party in the Gryffindor common room afterwards. Whether they won or lost, there was always a party. Charlotte, Elijah, and Penelope even stayed. The party was raging — butterbeer was flowing, music was loud, and Ginny was holding the silver Quidditch cup. Ron and Penelope were in another corner of the room, Elijah was talking with Hermione, and Charlotte and Venus were just dancing together.

More cheers then sounded. Venus looked over to see that Harry had now entered the common room. She glanced back at Charlotte, who rolled her eyes playfully and pushed her forwards.

Ginny abandoned her conversation and ran up to Harry. "We won, Harry! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty!"

Venus then slowed to a stop in front of Harry. Their eyes locked, and Venus felt the noise of the party drown to nothing behind her. Harry smiled widely and brightly at her. Before she even knew what was happening, Harry snagged her waist in her arms and pulled her into him. He instantly pressed her lips to hers hard. Venus' mind went into overdrive and she kissed him back, reaching up and placing her hands on either side of his face, pulling him in even closer. Cheers got even louder from behind them as they continued to kiss.

Finally, after a couple long moments, they separated from each other. Venus, slightly out of breath, looked up at Harry. He grinned down at her and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. It was obvious to Venus that a long walk in the grounds was indicated, where — only if they had time, of course — they would discuss what happened at the match.

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act one is almost over????? what