THE AFTERMATH | RON WEASLEY [BOOK FOUR]

16. FELIX FELICIS

Gene tossed and turned for hours that night, unable to draw her mind away from the memories that Dumbledore had shown them, the images of Voldemort, the conversations that had taken place. It was all rather overwhelming, and it seemed as though it would only get worse from here onwards.

Still, after another successful extra session of Apparition in Hogsmeade, Twycross had deemed Gene practically ready for her test, even though she had to wait until the summer to take it.

Gene made her way down to lunch with Ron and Hermione who had joined her in Hogsmeade for sessions, but Hermione had drifted away in conversation with another. More specifically, Finn to her relief.

"So, what exactly happened with Lavender?" Ron asked quietly, practically shaking with fear after Lavender had smiled at him in the corridors.

"Well, she broke up with you, I guess." Gene shrugged, doing her best to hide her smile as they made their way towards the Great Hall.

"With me?" Ron said in surprise, catching a glimpse of Hermione and Finn at one table and he lead them towards her, "And now you two are friends again? How does that work?"

"Well, she was my friend first." Gene reminded him, to which he rolled his eyes, "I don't see the problem, Weasley. She's perfectly happy and you don't seem too heartbroken." she remarked.

"Course I'm not." he said, shrugging.

Gene smiled at this, perhaps more than she should have.

"How comes you aren't complaining about having to sit with Finn?" Gene asked now, nodding towards the table that they approached.

"Well," Ron began, "Finn's not all bad, is he? Him and Hermione have that thing, don't they? And we had a good chat, the other night." he told her.

"Oh yeah?" she lifted an eyebrow at him, "What about?" she asked, curiosity taking over now.

"Man stuff." Ron answered to which Gene laughed at, her hand gripping his forearm in surprise and he glared at her playfully.

But as she caught a glimpse of platinum white hair ahead, her smile had faltered and she squeezed Ron's forearm affectionately, gesturing for him to go ahead while she approached Draco. He looked at her briefly, his skin pale and clammy but he mustered a nod and she returned it, unease settling in her stomach.

A few feet ahead, Harry stood with a recovered Katie and the sight seemed to stop Draco dead in his tracks, causing Gene to do the same. She looked at him, watching as his skin went white, swallowing hard as he looked at Harry. Or it might have been Katie.

Gene's lips parted to say something, her stomach turning in realisation, before Draco backed away, turning and leaving the Great Hall in a rush. Then, Harry came running towards her, only to brush straight past her.

"Harry–" she called after him, to no avail.

Gene had no choice but to follow, considering the possibilities of what could happen if Harry caught up to him. She'd lost sight of Draco already, and Harry had disappeared in the corridors. Her brisk walk had turned into a full on run now, eyes darting across the empty corridors until she heard the sound of a duel.

She gasped, following the sound of rushing water and the sight of sparks coming from the boys lavatory. Then, she heard crying.