Another Year at Hogwarts

“I can’t do this!” I shouted as I stormed into the Snape’s office that evening. He was standing by his desk and was facing a large portrait of Dumbledore as I cam marching in. “I’m so not cut out for this! I mean, seriously, I almost blew it—TWICE!” I exclaimed in Snape’s face. “First with Neville. Oh my—ah! Is he blind or something? Did he not see what those vile siblings did to that first year yesterday? Why would be go and piss them off—on the first day of school for crying out loud! Seriously, there a line between bravery and idiocy, and I strongly think that Neville is getting very close to crossing over to the idiocy side. He’s a bloody mess, and I mean that literally! If he keeps this up, he’ll be dead by the end of the week.

“And then, Draco comes strolling along and starts reminding me of how wonderful a person he was and can be after making me insult my dad. He still annoys the hell out of me.

“And now all these feelings that I’ve tried to stow away for the past year is just bursting out of control. Not to mention, I now don’t know if I still have feelings for him or if I just hate him! If I still have intimate feeling for him, I’m totally screwed if You-Know-Who dives into my mind. From there, all hell will break loose and then I have another problem I have to deal with.

“And it’s not like I don’t already have enough problems to deal with, you know? I, mean, I’m still having trouble getting over the fact that I’m back in this world. Then there’s the fact that I’m now Scarlet Angel’s daughter and a follower of the Dark Lord, and apparently I’m supposed to hate Muggle-born and Muggles—though I, myself, am one. And then there’s helping you get things back on track, while trying to figure out where Harry and the others are! Also, at the same time, I have to make sure that Neville and the DA don’t get themselves killed because that will just cause more trouble in the future!” I then let out a frustrated scream and sank down in the chair behind me. “I hate today—so much!”

“Do you not know how to knock?” Snape asked.

“Oh, you are the last person who should be asking me that, Snape,” I snapped.

“And you complain an awful lot,” Snape commented.

“Well, I have a lot to complain about,” I grinned innocently.

“These situations with Draco can easily be avoided if you learned to control yourself—if you learn how to control your emotions when you’re around him,” Snape instructed as he leaned on his desk.

“Similar to how you can control yourself when a first year is being tormented in front of the student body?” I asked.

“As I recall, you restrained yourself from helping the boy, too,” Snape reminded. “Do the same with your feelings for Draco.”

“Easier said than done,” I groaned while crossing my arms across my chest. “Especially of you lov—once loved,” I corrected, “…or despise them with a strong passion, as I do Draco.”

“You need discipline then.”

“I see that Severus is being as charming as ever, isn’t he Ms. Bell?” Dumbledore’s portrait chuckled.

“Obviously,” I agreed before turned back to Snape to yell at him some more. Suddenly, I jumped to my feet and stared at the portrait. “Wait, ‘Ms. Bell’? P—Professor Dumbledore? How did you know it was me? No, I mean—you—uh…sorry,” I groaned. I sighed heavily before greeting the portrait back. “Good evening, Professor Dumbledore…or rather Professor Dumbledore’s portrait.”

“I see that the two of you are getting along as well as ever,” Dumbledore chuckled. “But in regards to your concern about Mr. Potter and his friends, Ms. Bell, I assure you that all is well now.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Severus.”

Snape sighed as he looked to Dumbledore and then to me. “There’s finally news of Potter, Granger and Weasley,” Snape informed.

“Really?” I asked bit a hint of excitement in my voice. “What—what’s the news? Is it good or—?”

“Potter and his friends apparently broke into the Ministry of Magic earlier today,” Snape said. “Whether that’s good news or bad news—well, that depends on what side you’re on, doesn’t it?”

“No, that’s great news! It means things are getting back on track, then!” I exclaimed. “That means that I won’t have to stay here much longer, right? I can—I can possibly go home soon, right?”

Snape glanced at Dumbledore’s portrait and looked back at me. He sighed deeply as he explained, “That’s what Albus and I were just discussing.”

“I don’t understand. What’s there to discuss?” I questioned. “You said that you summoned me here so that I can help you set things back on track. Now that things are starting to go the way it’s supposed again, doesn’t that mean that I can expect to go home soon?” I asked with a small smile.

“Ms. Bell,” Dumbledore’s portrait said, “Severus and I believe that you may not be able to go home until all of this is over.”

The smile on my face immediate disappeared. “‘All of this’?” I repeated. “You can’t possibly mean—”

“You might not be able to go home until Potter fulfils his destiny,” Snape finished. I could tell that he wasn’t too thrilled by this either because he refused to look at me when he said this.

“You mean until he defeats the Dark Lord?”

“Yes,” Dumbledore replied.

“Why?” I asked. “Why do I have to stay here until then?”

“Because you are the key that is needed to make this story progress,” Dumbledore replied.

“Did you notice that once you were back in this world, things began going the way they are supposed to? Do you know why this is?” Snape asked. “It’s because you—Violet Bell—play more of a role in this world than you think.”

“No!” I argued. “This happened because things are supposed to go this way. My being here had NOTHING to do with the progression of the story! Look at last year for example, nothing went they was it was supposed to!” I pointed out. “Slughorn was supposed to be here at the beginning of the year and should have taken over Potions while you, Snape, finally got the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry was supposed to find your old Advanced Potions textbook and do exceptionally well in Potions because of it. Draco was supposed to try and murder Professor Dumbledore throughout the course of the school year, which he never did.”

“But then things began to go the way they were supposed to shortly after Valentine’s Day,” Snape commented.

“That’s only because—”

“Because Draco stole your book on Christmas night,” Dumbledore finished.

“After Valentine’s Day, with the knowledge and assurance from that book he took from you, Draco suggested the idea of murdering Albus to the Dark Lord,” Snape explained.

“Wait, Draco suggested that?” I questioned. “Why? Why would he—why would he do such a thing? No offense, but Draco’s a bit of a coward.”

“That love triangle between him, you and Potter is what drove Draco over the edge,” Snape answered. “Draco was in a dark place after Valentine’s Day. First of all, he already failed his first mission to kill you for being the Muggle girl from the prophecy by falling for you. Then he discovers that you never felt the same—”

“Don’t! Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I immediately interrupted. I glared sternly at Snape as I said, “You know better than anyone not to say that to me.”

“When Draco believed you to be in love with Potter,” Snape quickly corrected, “he turned to the only thing he had left—his loyalty to the Dark Lord. Knowing that his plans would be successful, Draco suggested many of the Death Eaters’ actions last year, which began Potter’s final journey and the Death Eaters attack on the Muggle world and other activities.”

“Don’t you understand, Ms. Bell?” Dumbledore’s portrait asked. “You had to have been here to provide Draco with the materials to progress Mr. Potter’s journey. Without that book, Draco would have never been to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.”

“You’re saying that as though it was a good thing,” I scoffed.

“It is what it is,” Dumbledore’s portrait replied. “In the end, you know that good comes out of all of this.”

“And so this is why I must remain here until the end?” I asked. “To make sure that things progress like they are supposed to? To make sure the story continues as it should?”

“Yes,” Dumbledore’s portrait answered.

“Then why can’t I just give you guys the final book?”

“Because we are of this world,” said the portrait. “Knowing the future may influence us to alter and try to change the future for our own benefits.” He then sighed heavily and added, “I can’t imagine the difficulty you are going through right now Ms. Bell, but you are greatly needed here. You are our only hope.”