The Last Fight

My head throbs and sharp, burning pain penetrates my back as Lance’s spell throws me into the shelf of Prophecies. It’s a far worse sensation than being hit by any Bludger. Sharp needles of pain mean there has to be glass in my back. My nose grows numb and fuzzy.

“I’m sorry Jennifer, my dear.”

Lance’s slick voice is in my ear and I grope for my wand, but it must have fallen out of my hand when I hit the shelf—

Silver steel glints in the blue light before it slices into my arm. My body is on fire and my bloody hand shakes beyond my control. I don’t bother to keep the scream internalized—I belt it at the top of my lungs to something, anything, will get Lance off of me. I start to thrash around, pushing him away from me, and—

THUNK

My stomach dropped and I found myself on the floor of Sarlanda’s flat, a blanket twisted around my legs and my back and arm still tingling from my imagined injuries. It took almost a minute of deep breathing to get my wildly beating heart under control again. The sound of the front door opening sent my right hand scrambling to find my wand, but it was only Sarlanda who walked through the door.

“What happened to you?” she asked, shutting and relocking the door before pulling off her forest green cloak.

“Dream,” I muttered, attempting to extract my legs from the mess of blankets and cushions.

“Lance again?”

“Dunno if he caused it, but he was in it.” I managed to stand and stretch my aching body. “What time is it?”

“Eight.”

“AM?”

“PM.”

“Bloody hell,” I yawned. Not even two weeks out of school and my sleep schedule was already non-existent.

“You should get yourself put together, we’ve got an Order meeting at nine,” Sarlanda reminded me before going to her room to change out of her Healer’s robes. I grumbled at her in response before surveying the room to find some clothes to wear.

Sarlanda’s flat was small and elegant. She had managed to steal some of her favorite furniture and decorative pieces from Malfoy manor before she unceremoniously moved out. Since the Muggles had no idea she was even here, she didn’t pay a single Knut for her accommodations, leaving her with a considerable amount of spare money. The couch that I had been sleeping on for the past four or five nights was a more recent addition, and despite its regal appearance, it was comfortable as hell. Sarlanda’s sense of dark, antique style wasn’t made any less imposing with all of my books and clothes scattered about. I’m sure that if some sort of Victorian undead ran a morgue, it would look strikingly similar to the living room I was currently in.

I gathered up some jeans from under the dark wood coffee table and a Weird Sister’s tee that had holes growing in it before wandering into the bathroom to sort myself out.

I turned the shower on to somewhere between lava and the depths of hell and let it pour over my head. My neck and shoulders were incredibly tight from sleeping on a couch the past week. Part of me longed to go back to the Diggorys’, where Mrs. Diggory made amazing food and Mr. Diggory argued Quidditch tactics with me, and at night, Cedric was there to wrap his arms around me and snuggle me in his too-comfy bed…

‘Stop,’ I had to tell myself. ‘One week was enough. They’re in danger, and it’s worse when I’m there. Besides, I don’t want to impose on their hospitality.’

I washed my hair, let the hot jets of water hit my neck for a few more minutes, and then got out of the shower. I glanced in the mirror and noted that the skin on my shoulders was nearly as red as my tangled mess of hair. I sighed and started to comb through the mess, seriously considering taking some scissors or a cutting charm to my hair later. This was just too much. Once I was finally dressed and looking presentable, I joined Sarlanda in the living room.

“So, what was your dream about?” Sarlanda asked, nosy as ever.

“Lance. In the Hall of Prophecies,” I responded shortly, sitting to pull on my shoes.

“Any variations?”

“Well, he had a knife this time. That was pleasant.”

“Wonderful.”

We slung on our cloaks and shoved wands in our pockets.

“You ready?”

“Yeah,” I sighed and grabbed her elbow. We turned on the spot and Apparated out of the apartment.

We landed in the swamp about half a mile from the Burrow. I wrinkled my nose and we started sloshing through the impossibly tall grass and waterlogged ground.

“When do you take your test?” Sarlanda asked from behind me.

“In like, three weeks.” It was annoying, but no surprise that I didn’t have my Apparation license yet. I was so much younger than the rest of my class, so I hadn’t been able to participate sixth year. Then when seventh year and rolled around, Umbridge was in charge, I and never would have been given a fair test from the Ministry. This left me in a needy state of using my friends for transport.

Light poured out of the front windows of the Burrow and bathed our faces in gold. Sarlanda knocked sharply on the door, and there was a slight scuffling sound before the door opened on Remus Lupin holding a wand in our faces.

“Name yourselves.”

“Sarlanda Bellatrix Malfoy.”

“Jennifer LilyAnne Potter.”

“What are the names of Harry’s aunt and uncle?”

“Vernon and Petunia,” we answered together, and Remus lowered his wand, lips twitching into a faint smile.

“Good to see you two,” he said, allowing us into the Burrow. “I trust you are well.”

“Alive,” I corrected, “we’re alive, so I guess that’s what really matters.”

“True.”

The smell of smoldering firewood and the leftovers of a hearty dinner filled the living room of the Burrow. Only a few people sat around the fire—Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, and Colin Parker. Mrs. Weasley got up to hug us, smiling and smelling of warm spices.

“Goodness Jennifer, have you been eating enough? You certainly look thinner,” she said, frowning slightly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” ‘No, I’m homeless.’

“Do you girls want anything? Coffee? I have some biscuits as well.”

“That sounds excellent, Mrs. Weasley, thank you,” Sarlanda replied, choosing the armchair by the fire. I took a seat on the couch next to Colin, and Ginny looked up at me from her and Ron’s chess game.

“How is it, Jen? Not being in school?”

“It’s uhh… it’s weird.” Now Ron was looking at me too, and I shifted in my seat. “It’s like they just kicked us out and expect us to be functioning adults. I don’t think seventeen counts. Just because I can legally do magic doesn’t mean I know how to get a job or find a place to live.”

“Do you need somewhere to live?” Mr. Weasley asked, looking up from his newspaper. “Because we have spare rooms here—”

“No, it’s fine, I don’t want to impose—”

“—since the Twins left, it has been rather quiet—”

“—I couldn’t possibly put you in that kind of danger—”

“It wouldn’t be any different than when Harry is here—”

“Yeah, and the Order put loads of enchantments on the house—”

Ron and Ginny had joined in the argument now, and Remus had to shout to be heard.

“Hey! Cedric is here, so we need to start the meeting.”

“Ron, Ginny, bed.” Mrs. Weasley had reentered, carrying a tray of coffee and biscuits, with Cedric looking over her shoulder, smiling at me. I smiled back as weakly as my knees felt. Ron and Ginny protested, but another look from Mrs. Weasley made them gather up their chess game and head upstairs. I had no doubt they would try to eavesdrop.

Cedric squeezed my knee before planting himself on the floor between my feet. He snagged a cup of coffee for me and a biscuit for himself before Remus started talking.

“Evening, everyone. Albus couldn’t be here, so he asked me to speak to you instead.” He coughed and then continued to pace slowly in front of the fireplace. “We’ve had increased Death Eater activity now that they’re out in the open. And now there are reports from the Ministry of Dementors abandoning their posts at Azkaban.”

My spine ran cold. No, no, no, this was not good.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the abysmal weather hanging around London. These events are not coincidental. The people of London, wizarding and Muggle alike, are in danger.” He paused to let the words sink in. “We’re not sure how many Dementors are out there, or what other creatures have been recruited, but there have been rumors of Inferi appearing on the outskirts of the city.”

“What’s the proposed course of action?” Sarlanda asked, grey eyes watching intently, shining from the fire.

“The only things we can do for now are patrol and gather intelligence. Save lives when needed. I know you and your peers are busy, but the whole group of you have the least amount of responsibilities of anyone in the Order.”

“You want four teenagers to walk around London periodically and fight Dementors and Inferi, two of the most powerful, dark magical creatures?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I let my fingers run through Cedric’s thick hair, hoping that keeping my hands moving would provide a good outlet for my nerves.

“Not my orders—Dumbledore’s. And no, not just you four. We are merely putting you in charge of the operation. It’s Dumbledore’s hope that you will lead your peers who are not present in keeping the capitol safe.”

“Sounds straight-forward enough,” Cedric said, nodding.

“I leave the rest of the planning to you, then. Dumbledore felt that you four were most adept to lead this particular mission.”

I glanced around the room. Sarlanda, Cedric, Colin, and myself: Admittedly, not the worst group of people to lead some sort of vigilantly policing, but certainly not the best. At least I knew that the four of us could produce a proper Patronus. But… this seemed a little ridiculous. How could this possibly work?

My own yawn broke up the meeting. “If that’s all, we should get going,” Cedric said, moving to stand, the warm his back was providing to my legs dissipating instantly. “We all have long days tomorrow.”

Remus nodded, and the room was filled with the noise of five people standing and pulling on their cloaks and checking their pockets for all their belongings. I fastened my black cloak and nodded to Sarlanda, indicating that I was ready to go. I wanted to head out as soon as possible to plan this mess with her, and also avoid more badgering about my own living situation. I didn’t need to make anyone else unsafe. It was bad enough right now, but at least I had the utmost confidence that Sarlanda could handle herself. Hell, she could handle herself better than I could half the time.

Sarlanda just sent me back the slyest smile I’d seen in a while before she turned on the spot and stranded me at the Burrow. My jaw fell in shock and my face heated. What the hell was she doing? She knows I can’t Apparate yet, what the—

“Need a ride home?” Cedric asked, his lips tickling my ear. I jumped a little, but rolled my eyes. Of course. It was all apart of Sarlanda and Ophilia’s never-ending game to interfere in my relationship.

“Yeah,” I muttered, grabbing the front of his cloak. “Can we talk?” I slipped out the front door without much more notice, Cedric following me as we walked away and around the edge of Mr. Weasley’s shed. Moonlight hit the side of the low building with fierce silver, and before Cedric could say anything, I pushed him against the aging wooden wall and kissed him, my fingers tugging on his hair. One week had felt far, far too long.

When we broke away, he panted a little before asking, “What did I do to earn that?”

“I… missed you,” I replied, blushing.

He grinned and gave me another kiss. “I missed you, too.”

My face was too hot, buried in his shoulder, his arms wrapped around my waist. Time was stopped. If only it could have stayed that way.

“Could you… take me home, please?” I asked, studying the ground. Someone had to be practical, and it usually ended up being me.

“Home where?” I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or serious.

“Sarlanda’s.”

“Can I show you something first? It won’t take long.”

I wanted to argue that I had a lot of planning to do tonight, but I didn’t want to be parted from him quite yet. Plus, Sarlanda had ditched me for a reason, and this was probably it. She and Cedric had plotted against me before.

“Alright, but quick.”

He pulled me close and we spun on the spot, Apparating away from the Burrow. Muffled sounds of cars going by, cats and dogs yowling, and shitty late-night game shows with laugh tracks surrounded us in the dark of the alley. We had to be in London, but where, I didn’t know.

“It’s actually pretty close to Diagon Alley, just a few Underground stops away,” Cedric said, leading me around the building and through the front door. We went up a set of stairs and then all the way down the hallway. “Dad and I did the Fidelius Charm this morning, so you’re the only other person who knows where it is.” He pulled out his wand, tapped the doorknob of the door that materialized in front of us, and lead me inside.

The flat had yet to be furnished, but it was so tiny that the boxes piled around the room swallowed it. A bar counter separated the kitchen from the living room, and a small hallway probably lead to the bathroom and bedroom. White walls under fluorescent light gave a terrible impression of being in a sanitarium, but with a few decorations, it wouldn’t be that bad.

“So it’s all yours?” I asked, walking around to see the rest of the kitchen. Not much space, but it would do for one person.

“Well… yours too, if you want,” he said sheepishly, his face pink.

“You… you want me to… move in?” I wasn’t terribly surprised, but at the same time, it was sort of impossible to believe that he had actually asked me. “When?”

“Tomorrow, again, if you want to.” He was blushing terribly hard now, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “I just… I mean, you don’t have a place to go, and I… I wanna live with you.”

“Cedric, that’s… that’s sweet, but it’s so dangerous—”

“I know. That’s why I’ve done all the protective charms. This flat is practically as safe as the Burrow.”

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?”

But I’m dangerous. Murderers are hunting for me. I’m wanted by some of the most dangerous Dark wizards of the age. I have a stalker who belongs in that category, who will stop at nothing until I’m either sleeping in his bed or in my grave. Why do you even like me? Are you sure you could stand living with me? Could you withstand not only my neurotic personality, but also the possibility of being attacked every moment you’re even associated with me? I mean, you’ve survived for this long, but this is the real world, and… are you even strong enough for this?

“You don’t trust me.”

I was quiet for long enough that he had drawn his own conclusion.

“What, no, that’s not—”

“It’s fine, I figured.” He sighed dejectedly. “Look, whatever it is you’re thinking, just… just tell me, please. I know you don’t trust me to… I dunno. Not get killed? Is that it?”

“Cedric, I…” It was pointless. I had cornered myself. “I would rather you didn’t die, okay? I don’t know if I could handle another person I love getting killed.” My fingers trembled, eyes stinging as I took a deep breath. Don’t cry, you idiot.

“You don’t trust my abilities to look after myself?” He was exercising a lot more self control than I was.

“No, that’s not it, I—”

“Look, Jen. You need to stop worrying about me.” His voice was firm, eyebrows scrunched. “Seriously. It’s not flattering. And no, it’s not some guy thing. If you spent more time worrying about yourself than you did about other people, you wouldn’t be homeless.”

I gulped down my impending tears.

“I can take care of myself. You know I can. I don’t need to be protected. You need to protect yourself, and you should let me do the same.”

“Okay,” I finally said, voice strangled. “Okay, I’m sorry, I—”

“I know.” He pulled me into a tight hug. “I just want you to trust me, that’s all.”

“I can do that.” I felt a few tears escape from my eyes, but I wiped them on his shirt before I looked at him. “So you’re sure you want me to live with you?”

“Absolutely. Unless you really don’t want to. None of this ‘to protect me’ nonsense, but if you, I dunno, secretly hate me or think I smell funny, then you probably don’t want to live with me…”

He chuckled when I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest lightly. “You idiot. If you smelled bad, I would have broken up with you ages ago.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it, okay? Can I give you an answer in a few days?” He nodded and kissed my forehead. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

He tilted my chin up and kissed me, my breath leaving my lungs, wanting my body to be crushed against his, my stomach dropping when his hands find the small of my back and he runs his thumb up my spine. He moaned when I backed him into the front door, my hands finding his hair again, and he ran his hands under my shirt and along my back again. I stop kissing him to make a very pleased sound, and he chuckled into my hair, tilting my head to kiss my neck.

“You sure you have to go?” he asks between kisses.

My breath is so caught in my throat that I have trouble forming words. “Y-yeah,” I finally say, my nails digging into his shoulder and scalp as I attempt to keep my noises to myself. How dare he be this good at making my stomach feel hot and tight. “Sar-Sarlanda will get worried if I don’t go h-home-ahhhhh,” I sighed as his warm hands traced over my stomach and ribs, pushing my shirt up as they went. He was sucking on my neck now, determined to keep me here for as long as possible. Oh god, this was going to bruise in the morning.

“I guess maybe I should take you home then, if nothing else because I don’t want Sarlanda to hex me,” he joked, his breath cold over the spot on my neck where he had decided to mark me. I shivered, making him laugh more, and I yanked my shirt back down.

“Come on, I gotta go.”

“Alright, fine. I see how it is.” He was smirking at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, get over yourself, Cedric Diggory.”

“Get over myself?”

I stepped away and straightened out my clothes, making sure I had my wand. “You just aren’t as good at seducing me as you think you are,” I remarked casually, running my hands through my hair.

He stepped towards me, wrapping his arms around me in preparation to whisk us away to Sarlanda’s flat. “Your body says otherwise, my dear.” His words tickled my ear and made me blush full scarlet. Then he turned on the spot and we were outside Sarlanda’s building.

He walked me up to the top floor, hand in hand, my heart still beating faster than normal. What a jerk, this guy. He kissed me again outside the door, my lips tingling when he pulled away.

“Good night. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Let me know what you decide about the flat.”

“I can do that.”

With another kiss, he was gone, and I was left on the doorstep, feeling a little breathless. I took a moment, then stepped through the door, wanting to just read a book and calm my over-reactive heart.