An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Sixty-Three

The last week of term literally flew by. I spent all my time with Cedric, since everyone else was finishing up tests and we had nothing to do. We tried to include Harry sometimes, since he was also bored out of his mind, but it was nice to be able to spend some quality time with my boyfriend after everything we'd been through this year.

Finally, exams finished, and we had some time to relax by the lake with our entire friend group before the end of the year. It was a lot harder for all of us to spend time like this over the summers, so we were going to make a point of enjoying every moment we could get.

The end of year feast was on Friday night, and then we'd all go home on the train the next Saturday morning. It felt weirdly normal, after all the horrible things that had happened over the last week or so, to walk into the Great Hall to see the same decorations as always, and to hear everyone buzzing with excitement over who'd won the House competitions.

I was still trying to process that somehow the most evil, powerful wizard in wizard history was back. Most of the school didn't seem to have the slightest clue about what was going on, and it was freaking me out.

I tried to focus on the happiness though, as everyone talked and laughed and ate incredible food. We couldn't forget everything that made us happy, even when we had no idea what the future might hold. The twins, being their wonderful selves, helped keep me grounded by flicking a piece of food at me while I was trying to finish my dinner in peace. George was the one who took the shot, but he missed wide, and I turned to stare at him.

"Seriously?" George just grinned, and I didn't waste a second before grabbing a grape and launching it back at him with my spoon. Fred joined in, and a furious mini-food fight erupted. I was just starting to worry that it would escalate into a full-scale food fight when Dumbledore stood up, drawing all our attention to him.

"The end of another year," he said, gazing around the room as he stood at the podium. The excited chatter died down, and I noticed that Dumbledore looked far more grim than usual. He gave me, Harry, and Cedric significant looks, then spoke up again. "Our three Hogwarts champions were almost murdered this year by Lord Voldemort."

Panic and shock and a million whispers swept through the hall. I made eye contact with Cedric as soon as I got over my own shock at Dumbeldore's bold announcement, and all I wanted to do was go over and hold Cedric's hand. I couldn't do that right now, though, so I squared my shoulders and tried to be calm as Dumbledore continued.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," said Dumbledore, managing to stay perfectly calm in the midst of the sea of panic. "It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so, either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that the events of the Triwizard Tournament were a bizarre accident does nothing but hurt us all."

The Hall was dead silent now as everyone stared at Dumbledore. I admired his strategy, bold as it was. Nobody could ignore the information they'd received tonight, no matter how badly they may want to. Pretty much every witch and wizard in the country—and some in other countries—would receive Dumbledore's message from the Hogwarts kids. We just had to hope they believed him over the Minister of Magic.

Across the Hall, I made eye contact with Jackson. He didn't have much context for who Voldemort was or what he did, like me, but he knew how to recognize an Avengers-level threat. The grim look he gave me assured me we'd be having a long conversation later.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding," Dumbledore continued after a long pause. "In the light of what has happened—of Lord Voldemort's return—such ties are more important than ever before."