Dangerously Close

In all honesty, I was awestruck.

Confused, but nonetheless, I felt like I was on cloud nine.

Cedric’s actions had surprised me and left me completely speechless. I was befuddled with everything, and was still trying to process what had happened mere minutes ago. What he’d said.

I didn’t even have time to react to the moment. In a blink of an eye, he was gone. The kiss was sweet, but finished almost quicker than it started. There were no other words.

So now, here I was in the Forest, trudging slowly and quietly behind Harry. Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione were walking a bit a ways from us. They were boasting about Harry and me to each other. Many excited words were shared about our success.

My brother kept his hands in his jeans, looking straight ahead with a neutral expression. Meanwhile, my steps were not thought, and I look dazed, if not drunk. Bringing me back to the only explanation, which was that I was absolutely awestruck.

“What’s got you so giddy? I mean about an hour ago you and me almost died,” he asked, grinning.

“Nothing,” I mumbled, keeping my face looking down to attempt at hiding the red creeping onto my cheeks.

“Come on, I tell you everything,” he complained. “Plus, I’m your brother.”

“-soon to be the youngest Triwizard champions ever in existence,” Hagrid exclaimed, the other two with him cheering.

“Fine. I, e-erm, Cedric kinda…”

Harry eyed me, waiting anxiously for my answer. “Cedric kind of..?”

“Um, he kinda kissed me?”

His eyes widened, and his voice rose. “He kissed you? But isn’t he with Cho Ch-”

“Merlin’s beard, you’re talking to me, not the whole of Hogwarts,” I grumbled. “And yeah, he is. But I don’t particularly think he wants to be…”

He sighed. “And? How did you feel about it?”

“About what? The Cho thing, or the kiss?”

He shrugged. “Both.”

I paused for a moment, thinking. “In all honesty, I’ve liked him since I met him, so I obviously feel like I’m floating in a magical aura. As for Cho, I dunno. I mean, if he doesn’t like her, it’s not wrong, right?”

Harry furrowed his brows. “Sure…”

We remained silent for a minute, listening to the chorus of the Groundskeeper, Ron, and Hermione as they sang our school’s song.

“I sorta feel bad for Cho.”

I scoffed. “Of course, you have a thing for Chang, too.”

His eyes widened, his cheeks turning pink. “What? Erm, no, no I do not. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rolling my eyes, I continued slowly taking steps forward. “Whatever you say, Harry.”

Letting the leaves cracking under our feet and the singing in the back be our only sound, we continued our never-ending, no-point journey. I felt Harry grumble and rub his temple, right where his famous scar was.

“Harry, what’s wrong,” I asked, my tone worrying.

He continued walking, me following along anxiously. Was Voldemort messing with his mind again?

“No, it’s no-”

He stopped talking as he noticed something behind the tree amongst the thick fog. I squinted my eyes, stepping closer and closer to it when I realized it was a body. The nearer I got, the more I realized who this man was.

“Mr. Crouch,” Harry asked, his brows furrowed in confusion, fright, and shock.

His lifeless body lay there, an arm draping over his chest. His eyes and mouth were lolled open slightly, his skin having a deathly, eerie glow to it. His chest wasn’t heaving up and down like I expected, and his expression showed terror.

Barty Crouch was murdered and hidden to never be found in the Forbidden Forest.

♥ ♥ ♥

“-a man has died here, Fudge! And it certainly won’t be the last,” Dumbledore’s exclaim rung out as Harry and I stepped slowly past the gargoyle and up the stairs.

“I will not! In times like these, this is not acceptable - I will not cancel the Triwizard Tournament and I will not be seen as a coward!”

“The Minister is out of his bloody mind,” I breathed as I waited for the conversation to end and an appropriate moment to walk in.

“Truly, a coward does what’s right and wise, not what’s wrong to make other people see him brave -”

“What did you say to me, Albus? What did you say? Do you th-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but this conversation is no longer private,” Moody gruffly spoke.

The door swung open, revealing me and my brother’s bodies to the three elders. We both wore blank expressions as we watched Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, turn with a sudden smile on his face. “Oh, Harry, Rosalie! How good to see you again,” he spoke, his voice cracking slightly.

“Great cover up, Minister,” I scoffed. “But it’s good to see you, too.”

His face fell to match the expression of my brother’s. An awkward silence filled the room, when Harry broke it.

“If you’re busy, we can come back another time -”

“No, nonsense, Harry. I think me and the Minister are just about done here. I’ll be back in a quick moment. Alastor, come join me. As for you Cornelius, off with you.”

I nodded, watching carefully as they all stood up, heading down. Dumbledore walked to a bowl and pointed at it. “If you two would like, feel free to indulge in a little snack. But I have to warn you, the Licorice Snaps are a bit sharp.”

He took one, popping it in his mouth before exiting his office, leaving me and my brother completely alone as the door shut behind us.

I scanned the room I was familiar with from many times before in the past, sighing. Harry walked over to the bowl, taking a handful.

I chuckled. “Harry, I would only take one if I were you.”

He shrugged when suddenly the Snaps all began to jump around, biting him. He jumped, walking backwards until he crashed his back against a wall. He shook off his hand, as I amusedly watched with a smirk.

“Having fun?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Oh hush, you would have done the same.”

“Keep telling yourself that, little brother.”

He began attempting to stomp on them, removing evidence of his little accident. Soon, he was on all fours, trying desperately to catch them. He looked like a cat attempting to catch a mice, which made even more hilarious than need be.

Suddenly, a bright blue light was revealed as the “wall” from before opened into, revealing a large, fountain-looking item. My eyes widened as I stepped up to the mysterious item, my brother following closely behind.

The closer I got, I realized the inside was filled with an odd and beautiful liquid. It shimmered brightly, setting off lots of light. It was a fluorescent light blue color, unlike anything I’d ever seen.

“What do you think it is,” I asked.

“Dunno,” Harry responded.

He looked down at it, watching as the waters began to sway. Soon, an orange outline began breaking out from it, revealing an image. Before I could make out what it was, Harry began dipping his head inside of it. I eyed him quizzically, wondering if he was that insane. I waited patiently to see what would happen.

He didn’t come out, but I could hear him talk perfectly. At first, I heard a scream, which confused me.

“Are you okay,” I asked, shaking him. He wouldn’t budge.

The next thing I heard was him say, “Professor?”

I furrowed my brows. What was going on?

I allowed several moments to pass, waiting for Harry to return from whatever he was doing, or seeing. I grew curious and anxious, knowing if he took too long, Dumbledore would catch us.

A door swung open, and I turned my head, eyes widened. “Oh, Professor, erm, it’s not what it looks like, Harry just -”

He put his hand up, chuckling lightly. “Oh, dear Rosalie. Don’t worry. Your brother is just merely curious.”

I nodded, sighing as I watched. After a few more moments, he jumped out, scaring me as he fell back, landing on the floor.

“Curiosity is not a sin, Harry,” Dumbledore quietly spoke, a small smile on his face.

“Professor, what is that,” I asked, when Harry just stood up, panting and not saying a word.

“It’s a Pensieve. Helpful and useful if you’re like me and find your mind a wee bit stretched.”

Harry looked at it, confused.

“I like to use it to go back to my memories. You see, Harry, Rosalie, I’ve searched my entire life for something. One small, tiny little detail. Something I may have overlooked, something that could explain why bad things keep happening, but every time I’m close to an answer, it slips away! It’s maddening, I tell you.”

Dumbledore sat down by a pillar, staring off into the distance as I gazed at him with no words.

“Sir,” Harry began. “Mr. Crouch’s son, what happened to him?”

“Wait what? Mr. Crouch has a son? What do you mean ‘what happened to him?’ Am I missing something?”

“Harry dabbled into one of my memories, surely he shall explain to you later what he saw. But to answer your question, he was sent to Azkaban. Destroyed his father’s life and crushed his heart. He had no choice, though.”

“I had a dream about him,” he stated.

“Dream,” I gasped. “Is he the man in the dreams we saw?”

He nodded. “I-I think so.”

Dumbledore raised a brow. “What dream?”

Harry went on into full depth about the dream from the summer which would come to us repetitively, me listening intently. I was confused.

“Has there been other dreams like this?”

I nodded. “Sir, we’ve had these a lot. Definitely more than once. These things, they aren’t actually happening, right?”

Dumbledore stood up suddenly. “I don’t think it’s wise to continue lingering over dreams, Harry, Rosalie. I think the best option is to just let them go.”

I watched as Dumbledore put a wand to his head, a blue wave-like spark coming out of it. He dropped it into the liquid, letting it fade away.

I let out a long sigh.

“I can barely cast away what’s happening now, how do I cast away a memory, or a dream?”

Dumbledore smiled whole-heartedly at me, adjusting his spectacles. “You simply forget about them.”