Chapter 14: An Eerie Resemblance

The End

Chapter 14: An Eerie Resemblance

---

Hermione sat up. She had been sleeping at the table in the common room. Aurora sat next to her in the same condition. Hermione tapped Aurora on the shoulder. Aurora jumped up quickly, drawing her wand and looking very alert. She looked at Hermione, who was shaking her head.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. We fell asleep again doing this mess." Hermione nodded down at the papers strewn across the table. Aurora put her wand away and looked at the table. Little yellow notes were everywhere. Books were open, and quills were spread across the small round table.

"We have got to finish up this research soon, Hermione. I'm losing too much sleep over it," she said, gathering her things. Then she looked over at the clock. "We should really be getting ready to go meet the others down at the train station," Aurora said. Hermione took a glance at the clock also.

"You're right. Let's move a little faster, shall we?" Hermione began hurriedly shoving all the papers into her bag. Ron and Harry came down the stairs and looked at the two girls.

"Good morning, ladies," Ron said loudly and jovially. Both Hermione and Aurora jumped and pulled their wands on them. A spark came out of Aurora's. Ron and Harry began laughing like crazy. Both girls put their wands away, scowling at the boys.

"Did we just catch you girls in the middle of something secret?" Harry asked. Hermione narrowed her eyes and continued putting her papers away.

"Now what makes you say that, Harry?" Aurora asked innocently. Harry shrugged.

"Well, for starters, you nearly blasted our bloody heads off, Aurora. You're hiding something from us. I can tell," Ron said. Aurora frowned as Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Ignore them, Aurora. Let's go. We'll meet you all at the train station to escort the others," Hermione said, shooting a glance at Ron. Ron smiled broadly, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She pulled Aurora all the way to the dormitory.

"Mental, I tell you. There's no better word for that one," Ron said. Harry nodded, watching them disappear. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving," Ron said. Harry nodded, then looked back down on the table. A single note was left. Harry picked it up. He read it and looked quite confused.

"Phobophobia?" he whispered.

---

At breakfast, all the boys were sitting together. Harry pulled out the note he'd nabbed from the table in the common room and showed it to them.

"Now I know what phobophobia, necrophobia, and musophobia are. What the hell is illyngophobia?" Draco asked as Lina and Rina sat down noisily next to him. Aurora, Ava, and Hermione were still missing from the table. Neve looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Illyngophobia is the fear of vertigo or getting dizzy when you look down," Ginny said quietly as she sat down next to Harry. Everyone looked down at her.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked. Ginny looked up and smiled.

"I have a bit of it, I guess. Draco, what are the other three?" she asked.

"Necrophobia is the fear of death or dead things like people, animals, et cetera. Musophobia is the fear of mice. Phobophobia is the fear of, for lack of a better word, fear. Why would Granger be looking up different phobias?"

"Well, look at it this way, Draco. So far, we each have one of those," Ginny said. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not following you," he said blankly. Ginny sighed.

"What she means is that from what you've read, at least one of us a one of those. I have musophobia. I'm so scared of mice that I'd probably drive myself crazy. Ginny already said she had illyngophobia. Whether she'll admit or not, Aurora used to have necrophobia. She had to get help for it. Then there's phobophobia. Guess we all have that to certain degree, don't you think?" Neve said, eating a strawberry rather slowly.

"I am not afraid of fear, Neve," he said. Neve didn't seem to pay him any mind. She was examining the ripe strawberry in her hand.

"Sure, you're not, Draco. You can keep telling yourself that," she said lackadaisically. Draco narrowed his eyes and said something unintelligible.

"We really should be going, you guys. We'll ask them about it later," Harry said, standing.

---

Down in Hogsmeade at the train station, the students stood around. They walked back and forth, waiting for the train to come. Aurora looked at the clock.

"The train is late," she mumbled. Hermione nodded.

"The train is never later. I don't think it knows how to be late," Ginny said, giggling a little. Hermione cracked a smile and then heard the train.

"Here it comes," she said, pulling her wand out. As the red train slowed to a stop, Harry saw a hint of red hair in the windows. He smiled to himself and thought of the fun they were going to have with the twins there. Fred was the first one off, pulling Angelina with him.

"How's it going, mate?" he said cordially to Harry. Harry nodded.

"Great, now that you think about it. You guys have one day for rest and relaxation. Then our trainers get back and give us hell. So, my advice is to have as much fun as humanly possible before the others get back," Harry said. Fred saluted him.

"Will do, Harry. Will do." Fred looked slyly at Angelina, who was talking to Hermione and Ginny in excited tones. Ron and Harry watched the other people get off the train. They all had serious looks on their faces and looked at the students with a high amount of disgust.

"They're the Mistresses and Ministers for Magic from other countries. Look, there's Fudge guiding them all," a voice said from behind them. Ron turned to see Percy standing there with Penelope in tow. Penelope smiled at Ron, and he nodded in her direction.

"You were definitely the last person I expected to come with the twins, Percy," Ron said. He still held somewhat of an aversion towards Percy for his stupidity in their fifth year.

"Yeah, well, join the club, Ron," Percy said in a dull voice. Ron smirked and hit his brother playfully on the back. Ava and Tommy were standing off to the side, watching this scene. Ava looked up and saw quite possibly the cutest person she'd seen in her life. Ginny noticed her staring. She walked over to her.

"Do you think he's cute?" Ginny asked slyly. Ava's eyes snapped towards her. She swallowed hard and tried not to look too conspicuous.

"I have absolutely no idea who you are referring to, Ginny," Ava said. Ginny smirked.

"His name's Lee Jordan. He's in business with my brothers. You know, the redhead twins. They all run that joke shop at Diagon Alley. He's nineteen, but he'll be twenty in March. Oh, and most importantly, he's single," Ginny whispered and walked over to Harry and Ron, smiling evilly to herself. Tommy sighed and hit his sister. Ava jumped and glared at her brother.

"What is your problem?" she asked.

"Snap out of it. You look like you were going to start drooling," Tommy said, crossing his arms. He looked a little more disturbed then usual. Ava frowned and turned away from him. Then, she sensed something. Turning around, Ava saw a crowd of people getting off the train. They seemed to just be greeting family members or something. They all wore white cloaks with the hoods up. Ava squinted. She swore she'd felt her mother's presence. Tommy looked at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said. Tommy looked at the group of people as Ava turned. One of the figures looked over at him. Tommy saw the snakelike eyes flash at him. Sighing, he headed after his sister.

---

Back at Hogwarts, Neville, Fred, George, Harry, and Ron were waging war on Ginny, Luna, Angelina, Alicia, and Neve. Snowballs were flying at high speeds whether they were propelled by magic or hand. Ginny got hit with one by Harry right in the face.

"No fair, Harry! You can't use Soliopathy in a snowball fight! You cheater!" she yelled at him. Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, well, my hands are really cold and all that. You know how it is when they get numb," Harry said. Ginny glared at him. Suddenly, she took out her wand. Harry jumped a little.

"Cadere!" Ginny yelled. The spell caused Harry to be sucked to the ground. He looked up as Ginny walked over to him. She put her wand up. Kneeling down to his level, she wiped snow off of his nose.

"That really hurt, Gin," he said, spitting out snow. Ginny smiled.

"Well, my hands were numb, so all I could do was pull out my wand," she said. Harry smirked and tackled her. They continued to roll across the battle zone. All snowballs halted as they rolled. Neve and Ron looked at them like they smelled of something very disgusting.

"Aw, you two, that's bloody disgusting. Get a bloody room!" Neve yelled. Harry and Ginny pretended they didn't hear her. So, in protest, Fred and George began pummeling them with snowballs.

Across the lawn, Aurora, Hermione, and Ava were looking inside different books. Aurora looked up and saw the others.

"Look at them. They are all going to be sick and want us to make them potions to make them feel better. Watch. I can see exactly how that conversation is going to go," Aurora said. Hermione noticed how much she sounded like someone's mother. She reached to her side for a flask. Ava noticed her action.

"Hermione?" she asked. Hermione took a swig of it then looked at Ava.

"Yes?" she answered.

"What's in there anyway?" Ava asked slowly. Hermione looked at her flask.

"Oh, just a potion to help my throat. It gets scratchy around this time. Plus, I spend most of my day freezing my arse off with those buffoons. If I don't take this potion, I might be confined to a bed forever. I'd go crazy if I had to do that," Hermione said. Ava looked at her for a long moment, and then went back to her books.

"Hi, Draco," Ava mumbled without looking over her shoulder. Draco stopped dead in his tracks. He was going to scare the girls. Crossing his arms, he walked around the three girls. Ava still hadn't made eye contact with him.

"That really gets on my nerves, Ava. You can't scare you. Stop being in my mind all the time," he said. Ava smirked and looked up at him. Draco's normally slick hair was starting to look like he just woke up and ran a hand through it.

"Since when do you not comb your hair, Draco? Trying to go for the Harry-look?" Aurora asked absent-mindedly. Draco blinked twice, obviously surprised that Aurora had said anything to him at all. Aurora smiled up at him.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why on earth would I want to look like that bloody idiot?" Draco asked. Aurora shook her head.

"The typical Draco-Malfoy-answer. I do not know why I expected anything other than that from you," Aurora said. Draco frowned up a bit.

"I'm surprised you're even talking to me. Lately, you've been acting as if I have some sort of contagious disease," he commented. Aurora's smile disappeared from her face. She stared at him hard for a long moment. Then she stood up.

"You, of all people, should know the reason for that, Draco." Aurora stared at him directly in his cold eyes.

I know, she transmitted to him. Draco's eyes widened as she flounced off. He just stood there and watched her go.

She only thinks you two kissed, Ava told Draco via telepathy. Draco nodded slightly, relieved somewhat.

---

Neve had been watching that exchange rather closely. She figured that whatever made Draco's face suddenly change like that could not have been good. She also had a feeling that Aurora knew something. Her train of thought was interrupted by Tommy tackling her. She fell back on the snow with him on top of her.

"Tommy!" she yelled.

"Hey, beautiful. What are you pondering so hard about?" he asked. Neve smirked. In one fluid motion, she managed to put Tommy on the bottom and herself on top. Tommy blinked twice before he realized what just happened.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Neve kissed his nose and stood up.

---

In Hogsmeade, Nicola stared out of a window. She saw the ghastly frame of the school on the horizon. Her red hair was down. She heard the door behind her close. Not bothering to turn around, she spoke.

"You know, there is this little thing called common courtesy..." she began.

"Shut that hole in your face, Nic. I surely don't want to hear you talk about courtesy," Giovanna said. Nicola turned around, her hair swinging. Giovanna smiled. "My, my. This is surely a rare and auspicious occasion. Since when do you wear your hair down, Nic?" she asked. Nicola smiled.

"Well, Vanna, never actually. The reason it is down is because I WAS going to retire. But, since you have so graciously come to pay me a visit, how can I go to sleep now? You don't plan on going tomorrow, do you?" Nicola asked. Giovanna shook her head.

"What? And give my son and daughter away? I don't think so, Nic. You can't possibly think that I am that dense."

"Well..." Nicola said in a joking manner. Giovanna threw a pillow off of her bed at her.

"The reason I came up here is to tell you to watch out for my children. I know that Tomás will try to fight in order to not look suspicious. Tom tends to get a little carried away. Plus, I don't think that Lestrange woman will make any distinction about whom she curses. Just do me that one favor, Nic. That's all I ask of you," Giovanna said. Nicola nodded.

"Sure. They are my niece and nephew anyway. What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't?"

---

The next day, Harry and Draco stood at the main entrance to the school. All the students had been placed in different positions around the school while the meeting went on in the Great Hall. Draco looked extremely sullen. He kept staring out into seemingly nothing. Harry cleared his throat loudly.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked quietly. Draco's head turned toward him so quickly, it looked as if had it been any faster, Draco's neck could've snapped like a twig. Harry tried hard not to chuckle at it.

"Talk about what, Potter?" Draco asked.

"Whatever has you looking like you've just lost your entire inheritance. Believe me. I've seen that look on your face before," Harry said. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"When?"

"When you lost your entire inheritance last year, smart one," Harry said. Draco frowned at him and then looked back out towards the lake.

"Something is bothering me, if you must know, Potter. But, that does not mean that I'm going to sit here and discuss it with the likes of you," Draco said. Harry nodded.

"Okay, Malfoy," Harry said. In his mind, he counted down. Draco rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Aurora found out something that happened a while ago between Neve and I," Draco said quickly. Harry smirked.

"It took you less than five seconds. I'm impressed. I knew Aurora knew about it. Being her virtual opposite has its privileges," Harry said. Draco looked utterly confused.

"What the hell are you talking about? How did you know?"

"Like I said, I'm her virtual opposite. I know more about the way Aurora feels at a particular time then you will ever know, Malfoy. Do you remember the day that every glass in the Great Hall broke? It happened at lunch," Harry said. Draco looked at him in an odd manner.

"Yes, I do. We all thought it was Peeves," Draco said. Harry shook his head.

"No. It wasn't Peeves. It was Aurora. She heard you talking to Ava. I let my mind wander, and I heard the entire conversation via our link. When you came back in the Great Hall, every glass broke. That never struck you as odd? Anyway, it was Aurora losing control. If you remember, I was rubbing my head after that," Harry said. Draco nodded.

"So, what was she feeling?"

"I thought it would be obvious, seeing how she tried to kill the entire population of the Great Hall. She was mad, sad, and above all, she felt betrayed. That's why she's been avoiding you and Neve. I think you should explain what happened to her. Girls only see one side to everything. Then, they tend to choose the most irrational way of seeing it. Aurora will listen if you just talk to her. Plus, I consider myself pretty good at reading other minds without being detected. For once, Ava had her guards down, and I got the complete story on what went on between you and Neve. Aurora doesn't know the whole story, but I think you should tell her soon," Harry said. He looked over at Draco, who was staring at his feet. "Oh, don't tell me you have 'Auroraphobia,'" Harry joked.

"Actually, Potter, that's the fear of the aurora borealis or the aurora australis. No, I'm not scared of Aurora. I have no reason to be."

"Yeah, right," Harry said, leaning back against the stone wall. Draco sighed. Then, Harry noticed someone walking up the walkway to the school. Draco looked at him. Harry shrugged. They stood up and took a few steps forward.

"Stop right there!" Draco yelled. The figure stopped. The person wore a hood that covered their face. All the two boys could see was their mouth. By the way the person was smirking, they could tell it was a woman. Draco furrowed his eyebrows. He slowly pulled his wand.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" Harry asked, getting on his guard. The woman pulled her hood back.

"Oh, Potter. Don't tell me you've forgotten who I am." Bellatrix Lestrange stood there, smirking at Harry. Harry frowned and got ready to hex her when she put her hand up. "I really don't want to fight you, Potter. All I want is to see the meeting," Bellatrix said.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Bellatrix," Harry said. Bellatrix smiled her grimy smile.

"Come now, Potter. You aren't a very convincing liar. Plus, my sources tell me that a meeting of the Ministers and Mistresses for Magic is taking place inside the school. You thought you were pretty smart trying to trick us into going to the Ministry, huh?" she said. Draco noticed several Death Eaters coming up behind her.

"Uh, Potter..." Draco began.

---

On the other side of the school, Ava had her eyes closed. Hermione sat beside her. Suddenly, Ava looked up, scaring Hermione. Hermione pulled her wand and pointed it at Ava. When she realized what she was doing, she dropped her guard.

"You've got to stop scaring me like that, Ava," Hermione said. Then she noticed Ava's face. "Ava, what's wrong?" she asked. Ava turned around and looked back inside of the school. Then she looked forward.

"Someone's coming," she whispered. Sure enough, four Death Eaters appeared over the hill. Hermione stood and pulled her wand back out.

"Ava, contact the others," she whispered. Ava nodded and closed her eyes. One of the Death Eaters looked up at Hermione. Hermione knew instantly who it was.

"We meet again, Miss Granger," Lucius Malfoy said. Hermione grumbled something unintelligible. Ava stood there and watched the interaction between the two. Lucius noticed Ava and bowed. "And whom might you be?" he asked. Ava was a little surprised at the man's demeanor. He looked very familiar.

"Avariella Zaviera. Who are you?" Ava asked, not bothering to pull her wand. Lucius took note of her relatively relaxed disposition. He smirked as he realized who she was.

"Lucius Malfoy. You're very pretty, Miss Zaviera. So much like..." Lucius didn't finish, as one of the Death Eaters nudged him. Ava squinted at him for a moment.

"Malfoy?" she whispered.

"He is Draco's scum of a father," Hermione said. Ava nodded.

"Surely I'm not all THAT bad. Well, you have one of two options, Miss Granger and Miss Zaviera," Lucius said. Hermione kept her wand trained on him.

"And what's that, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. Ava looked around at the other Death Eaters. None of them had pulled their wands. Then she noticed one of them wore white. The Death Eater came forward, pulling their hood back. It was the woman from the train station. She resembled Hermione in an odd way.

"Lucius, I'll handle this." Hermione squinted at the woman.

"I remember you..." Hermione said. The woman looked at Hermione and smiled.

"Yes. I'm Lady Nicola Feleti. You saw me at Diagon Alley a few months ago," Nicola said. Then she noticed something. Hermione had very familiar eyes. They were most like her ex-husband's. Hermione's grip on her wand faltered for only a moment. Nicola took this time to summon it. Hermione's wand flew into Nicola's hands. "Nice wand," she said, examining it. Hermione grumbled something. Nicola handed the wand to Lucius and walked forward. She looked into Hermione's eyes. Then, something clicked.

"Ivi?" she whispered. Hermione frowned.

"How do you know my middle name?" she asked. Nicola gasped. Ava and Lucius watched the two with wide yes, wandering what was going to happen next. Hermione and Nicola just kept staring at each other.

"It can't be..." Nicola murmured. Hermione continued staring at the woman whom she bore an eerie resemblance to.

---

Just a little side note...

I was informed that Hermione's middle name is Jane, but I was not aware at the time this story was written. I'm leaving it as is to suit my plot. Thank you.