The Secret Lightning Scar Chapter 12 [A Harry Potter Fanfic]

“But why do they have to be so obvious about it?” Ron complained under his breath, glancing over to the opposite side of the common room, where Harry and Ginny were intertwined in a large chair, snogging. In the week and a half since the quidditch game, that was almost all they did anymore.

“Honestly, Ronald, you did the exact same thing a few years ago,” Hermione replied, her eyes fixed on her homework. When she finally looked up and saw the canoodling couple, she grimaced. “Although it is still rather unpleasant,” she conceded before returning to her work.

“You’re upset about this, right, Carrie?” Ron asked.

“Well I’d rather not see them snogging constantly, but I don’t mind the relationship. I even told him that he should ask her out. It was a bit of a surprise when I saw them that first time though,” I replied with a shrug.

“You told him that he should ask her out? Are you mental?!” Ron said a bit too loudly. I glanced over to see if they had overheard, but they were clearly too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else.

“He and Ginny seemed to be pretty serious about each other when they dated a couple years ago, so I said that he should ask her out if he still had feelings for her. He didn’t seem too interested when I said it, but I guess he changed his mind,” I replied.

“Have you talked to him yet?” Ron asked. I shook my head.

“I haven’t talked to him since our fight. He’s been too uh… busy,” I replied, looking back to the chair. Ron rolled his eyes.

“This is the longest you two have gone without talking. Aren’t you the slightest bit concerned?” Hermione said, once again without looking up from her work.

“He was upset with me for putting my boyfriend before my best friend, so if he’s going to do the same thing with Ginny, I’m not going to bother,” I replied.

“Carrie, he’s your best friend-”

“Yeah, and he acted like a total jerk and hasn’t even attempted to talk to me since, so until he decides to apologize or even acknowledge that I exist, I’m not going to bother,” I retorted, cutting Hermione off. In the time since the argument, my frustration had become anger, which had turned into fury. Harry didn’t seem to be even the slightest bit upset about how we had left things last time we had spoken, and that made things even worse.

Within minutes of our fight, when I was still upset and wanting to fix things, he was perfectly content to start making out with my sister. In any normal circumstance, I would have been glad for him to finally go out with Ginny. But not immediately after the biggest fight we’d ever had. He made it very clear that he couldn’t care less about any emotional pain he had caused me, so there was no way I was going to let him see how much he’d hurt me.

“It works both ways, Carrie. Maybe he’s waiting for you to talk to him,” Hermione said.

“But he’s the one in the wrong here!” I replied.

“He probably feels the same way about you,” Hermione said quietly. I frowned, knowing that there was probably at least a little truth to that statement, but there was no way I’d go and try to fix things with Harry after a week of getting ignored.

“It’s almost dinnertime. Can we go get some food?” Ron said as his stomach growled right on cue.

“That’s alright with me. I’m at a stopping point,” Hermione replied. “Carrie?”

“I can’t. It’s mine and Draco’s two month anniversary, and he wanted to do something for dinner. I’m meeting him in about half an hour,” I replied.

“Oh, alright,” Ron replied. “Hermione, can we go ahead and go then?”

“Sure,” she replied, standing up and setting her books down. “See you later, Carrie,” she said as the two left the common room.

I was left with a few random students and the snogging couple, so I gathered my things and went up to the girls’ dormitory. Once up there, I decided to change into regular clothes for the date, so I pulled on jeans and a tank top and threw on a button-up plaid shirt. I made sure to only leave the top couple of buttons undone to make sure that my scar didn’t accidentally make an appearance. That would require explanations that I really didn’t feel like dealing with.

With ten minutes left before I was supposed to meet Draco, I left the dormitory. Fortunately, Harry and Ginny seemed to have gone to dinner as well, because their usual chair was empty. I left the common room and made my way to the Room of Requirement, where Draco had requested that I meet him. He was already waiting for me when I arrived, leaning against the blank wall. When he saw me coming, he paced in front of the wall and a door appeared on it.

He walked inside and held the door open for me. When I walked inside, I found that we were in the same small room that we went to last time. Once again, he had decided to cook dinner. “No creativity, I see,” I joked as he closed the door.

Draco’s face fell. “Really?” he asked. “I thought you’d like it.”

“I’m kidding. I love it,” I replied, giving him a peck on the cheek. He grinned and hurried to put food on the plates. 

For the next half hour, we sat at the table, eating and laughing, enjoying every second of each other’s company. Finally, he stood up and grabbed both of our plates and took them over to the kitchen. I found myself wanting somewhere more comfortable to sit, and when I glanced over to the fireplace, saw that a couch had appeared beside it. I moved over to the couch and Draco joined me a few seconds later, wrapping his arm around me as I leaned into his chest. For a short while, we just sat there, content to be together, without the need to speak to fill a void.

“Carrie?” Draco finally said.

“Mhmm?”

“I really did mean it when I said that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. I made a noise of disbelief, somewhere between a chuckle and a scoff. “I’m serious,” he said, sitting straight up and turning to face me. “This is the happiest I’ve ever been, and it’s because of you.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” I said with a smile. “I am too.”

“I love you,” Draco suddenly blurted out. He seemed to immediately regret saying it, because his face turned bright red and he said, “I’m sorry, that was really sudden. But I’ve been wanting to say it for a while now and it just seemed like the right time. I know you probably think I’m being really cheesy, right now but-”

“No I don’t,” I interrupted him. His outburst hadn’t surprised me; I was actually surprised that he hadn’t said it sooner. I could tell that he’d thought about saying it several times over the last couple of weeks, because I’d felt the same way for a while as well. “I love you too,” I said, softly placing my hand on his cheek.

“You don’t mean that. You’re just saying it to make me feel better about blurting it out,” he said, looking almost hurt.

“Yes I do,” I replied. “I’ve wanted to say it so many times, but I was worried about saying it too soon and messing something up. Draco, I love you.”

Something in his eyes changed, and I could tell he finally believed me. “Carrie, you didn’t need to worry about saying it too soon. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you,” he said.

“OK, now you’re being really cheesy,” I laughed.

“I really don’t care,” Draco replied, pulling me toward him. Our lips met and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him as closely to me as possible. He moved his hand from my waist and began to undo the buttons of my shirt. I was so wrapped up in the kiss that I didn’t think about what was going on until he was on the last button. My mind suddenly went into panic mode, realizing that he was mere seconds from seeing the scar on my shoulder.  

“Draco, slow down,” I said, pulling slightly away from him and trying to push his hand from the last button. It was as if he hadn’t heard me, because he undid the last button anyway. His hand returned to my waist and with his other hand, the one behind my head, he pulled his lips back to mine. I pushed him back, worried about where he was going with this, and not wanting to take it any further. “Draco, seriously, stop it,” I told him, but when I looked into his eyes, they didn’t seem very focused, as if he wasn’t even seeing me. The hand he had behind my head trailed down my neck to my left shoulder and began pushing my shirt down my arm, revealing my scar.

In a panic, I reached out and slapped him across the face. This seemed to clear his head and bring his eyes back into focus, and I yanked my shirt back up to cover the scar. But the expression on his face was clear- he had seen the scar, and he had deduced what it meant.

“I’m leaving,” I said coldly as I stood up, trying to keep control of my emotions.

“Carrie, wait!” Draco said as I pushed past him to the door.

“Leave me alone, Draco!” I exclaimed, refusing to even look at him as I hurried out the door and slammed it behind me.

I didn’t even know how to think straight. Draco knew. He knew. Someone knew. It was more terrifying than I had ever imagined. On top of that, he had completely ignored me when I told him to stop. How could he do that to me, mere seconds after proclaiming his love for me? That sick, terrible git.

Somehow, through everything, I managed to find my way back to the Gryffindor common room. The portrait hole opened and I came face-to-face with the last (scratch that, second-to-last) person I wanted to see.

“Carrie?” Harry said, a look of sheer concern on his face. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” I said in an icy tone, trying to push past him. But he stretched his body out, blocking the entirety of the short corridor into the common room.

“You look absolutely traumatized,” he said. “You’re not fine.”

“Why would you care?” I responded.

“Because regardless of whether or not I’m mad at you, you’re my best friend, and I’ve never seen you like this,” he said. The sincerity in his eyes broke me. I collapsed against him and began sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. Without a second’s hesitation, he said, “Let’s go somewhere a bit more private,” and scooped me up into his arms. He carried me up the stairs to the boys’ dormitory, since guys can’t go up to the girls’ dormitory. We entered the empty room and he set me down on his bed and I curled up into a ball as he went to close and lock the door so no one could come in. He then sat down next to me and held me as I cried. I don’t know how long it took for me to stop crying, but the entire time, he sat there right next to me without asking any questions. Eventually, my sobs became more sporadic, breathing became easier, and my tears began to dry up.

“Carrie,” Harry finally said, “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, but if someone did something to you, you need to tell me.”

“He found out,” I said incredulously, not wanting to believe that someone else knew about my scar, especially Malfoy.

“Who, Draco? Found what out?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Draco. He- he found out the thing that I’ve been hiding from everyone,” I answered. Harry looked confused. “You know, when I fell off my broom and told you I couldn’t tell you what had happened,” I clarified. It seemed to click with Harry.

“So he found out, and that’s what upset you?” Harry asked, still seeming somewhat confused.

“There’s more, but essentially yes, that’s the biggest thing,” I replied. I sighed. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for weeks, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I think it’s time I told you. You of all people deserve to know. Just please promise not to freak out.”

“I promise,” Harry replied, looking extremely concerned. I took a deep breath and slipped off the left shoulder of my shirt. It took Harry a second to recognize he was seeing. He touched a hand to his own scar and then looked at me with an expression of horror mixed with confusion. “I-I don’t understand ,” he said, although he seemed to just not want to believe what he’d just seen.

“My parents weren’t killed by a muggle intruder. Voldemort came looking for me, and the same thing happened to him when he tried to kill me. The ministry staged a cover-up, and managed to move my scar, and I’ve never been allowed to tell anyone,” I explained. “And because he tried to kill me because of the prophecy, it applies to me, too. I have to defeat him.”

“And- the day you fell off your broom?” Harry asked, clearly struggling to wrap his mind around all of this new information.

“My scar burned so badly that it made me black out. And when I blacked out, I saw Voldemort’s eyes. I talked to Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore’s painting, and they told me to tell you, Ron, and Hermione. But I just haven’t been able to bring myself to,” I replied.

“But you told Malfoy?” He asked, sounding annoyed.

“No, he saw my scar,” I replied.

“How did he--” Harry paused and his face went slightly red. “Oh.”

“I tried to stop him, because I didn’t want him to see it, but he wouldn’t listen to me,” I replied. Harry looked furious.

“Are you telling me that he tried to force himself on you?” Harry fumed, balling his hands into fists.

“Kind of. OK, yes. But that’s not what’s most important right now. He saw my scar. He knows. He’s one of four people outside of the ministry who know, including myself. It’s just me, you, McGonagall, and Malfoy. He knows,” I said.

Harry still looked incredibly angry, but tried to move on with me. “I’m still trying to deal with the fact that Voldemort isn’t dead,” he said. “What did McGonagall and Dumbledore say to do?”

“Sit tight at let him make the first move,” I replied.

“What?” Harry exclaimed. “The most evil dark wizard ever is coming after you, and they told you to sit tight?”

“What else would they tell me?” I asked.

“Anything!” Harry exclaimed. “There has to be something you could do. They can’t just tell you to do nothing. That’s practically inviting Voldemort to come after you.”

“I’m glad you’re concerned, Harry, but this isn’t your problem anymore,” I said.

“This absolutely is still my problem,” Harry replied. “If they’re going after my best friend, they’re going after me!” He released what sounded like a sigh of relief and looked over at me with possibly the most affectionate expression I’d ever seen on his face. “All this time, I felt so alone trying to defeat Voldemort, but I really had you the entire time,” he realized.

“I tried to empathize with you as much as possible without giving anything away,” I said. “I didn’t want you to feel like you were completely alone.”

“No wonder you were always so helpful,” Harry replied.

“Yeah, I basically had a special window into your mind. You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you what was going on,” I replied.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me,” he said. “But that’s such a heavy load to carry. People at least had some idea about my situation and tried to help. But you’ve had to deal with this by yourself for all these years.”

“It wasn’t easy,” I agreed. Looking at Harry, I saw my own pain reflected in his eyes.

“Well, you’re not on your own anymore. You’ve got me, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. My eyes brimmed with tear.

“Pinkie promise?” I said weakly.

“I promise,” he said with a small chuckle. “I’m not going to leave my best friend on her own.” With a smile, I leaned my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around them.

“Thank you,” I said softly. And for a few minutes more, the two of us simply sat there, enjoying the company of the only other person in the world who could understand what we were going through.  

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The Secret Lightning Scar Chapter 11 [A Harry Potter Fanfic]

Days turned into weeks, and I still couldn’t get up the courage to tell any of my friends my secret. I knew Dumbledore’s suggestion to tell them if I had another incident was more of a worst-case scenario and that he wanted me to tell them as soon as possible, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them.

Dumbledore, however, did talk to Professor McGonagall, and she called me into her office only a few days after my initial discussion with Professor Dumbledore. She was uncharacteristically flustered, and it was clear that her world had been flipped upside down. I didn’t blame her- since June, she’d been living in a fool’s paradise, blissfully unaware that Voldemort was still alive. She gave me the same suggestions as Dumbledore- “don’t go looking for Voldemort”, and “for goodness sakes, tell your friends!”

But it wasn’t that easy. How could I sit down with my three best friends and tell them that Voldemort was actually still alive? The worst was imagining how Harry would react. He had spent seven years trying to rid the world of Voldemort, and thought he’d finally defeated him. But he’d only set him back a couple steps.

An entire month passed without me being able to tell them, and I found it very easy to convince myself that I had actual reasons for not telling them. With the first quidditch game quickly approaching and practices becoming more and more frequent, I found myself blaming my lack of courage upon the fact that I just “didn’t have any free time to tell them.”

The day of the opening quidditch match versus Slytherin arrived, and for once, sharing my secret with Harry, Ron, and Hermione was the last thing on my mind. I walked into the Great Hall with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and almost immediately locked eyes with Draco across the room at the Slytherin table. I glared playfully at him, which he returned with a small smirk. Today, we were enemies.

Ron was so nervous that he could barely eat, so breakfast was a fairly brief affair. Afterward, he, Harry, and I said goodbye to Hermione and headed toward the quidditch pitch. Draco, who was also leaving for the quidditch pitch, met us at the door and walked down with us.

“Ready to be crushed?” he teased as we neared the pitch.

“You wish, Malfoy,” Ron replied, clearly not in the mood for Draco’s taunting.

We reached our respective locker rooms and I turned to Draco. “Meet me out here after the game,” I said. Draco smirked.

“If I’m still talking to you,” he joked.

I rolled my eyes and he winked at me before we went our separate ways.

The next half hour before the game was spent stretching, warming up, and listening  to Harry’s pep talk. I had to try extremely hard not to laugh while he was giving the pep talk. He tried really hard to get as into it as Wood had back in our first few years, but he never quite succeeded.

Finally, it was gametime. We made our way out onto the field and met the Slytherin team mid-field. As Slytherin’s captain, Draco stood in front of the rest of his team. I thought that it was a little ironic that Harry and Draco would be facing off in their last match against each other as captains, but not quite enemies anymore. Around us, seas of scarlet and green filled the stands and loud cheering emanated from all around us. A section of the Slytherin stands were chanting their version of “Weasley is our King”, with a large section of the Gryffindor section chanting the revised version back at them. I looked to Ron for a reaction and saw that he was looking slightly green.

Madame Hooch asked them to shake hands, and as they did, Draco gave Harry a genuine smile. Harry half-heartedly returned the smile, but said, “Good luck.”

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You too, mate,” he replied. Madame Hooch didn’t seem to know how to respond to this out-of-the-ordinary exchange, but counted us off and blew her whistle.

All fourteen players shot up into the air and began gameplay. I weaved in and out of people, going after any bludgers that flew toward the Gryffindor players. There were a couple close calls where I hit it out of the way just in time, but overall, nothing terribly crazy happened. 

The chasers were more cutthroat than ever, knocking people off brooms, faking each other out, and blatantly elbowing the other team in the face. Once, Madame Hooch had to separate Ginny and a Slytherin chaser who had gotten into a fight and were about to hit each other.

Despite the aggression, the game continued fairly evenly. But it’s not a quidditch game without some crazy incident, right?

Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied at 70 when the speakers blared: “And it looks like the Slytherin seeker has found the snitch!”

I whipped around looking for Draco, and sure enough, he was speeding through the air, his arm outstretched. I wasn’t very far away, so I could see the little golden ball flying several feet ahead of him. Harry had been on the other side of the field and was flying as quickly as possible toward Draco.

At the same moment, however, I felt my stomach drop. A bludger was headed straight toward him, and if he didn’t change directions, it looked like he would get hit in the head. It was clear that Draco hadn’t seen the bludger, because he hadn’t so much as glanced in that direction. I looked around and saw that the Slytherin beaters were on the complete opposite side of the field, seeming to be stupidly unaware of the action, and not doing much of anything. Without a moment’s hesitation, I sped toward the bludger.

As Draco closed in on the snitch, the bludger closed in on him. I sped up, trying to close the gap between myself and the bludger as quickly as possible. In my peripheral, I saw Harry closing in on us as well.

The bludger was almost to Draco, but just before it hit him, I finally caught up and smacked it away with a large crack. Draco glanced backward in surprise, but only for a second, because he was just about to the snitch. Harry finally caught up, but he was too late. Draco gave one last burst of speed and wrapped his fingers around the tiny golden ball.

Cheers exploded from the Slytherin stands as Draco lifted the snitch high above his head. Seconds later, Harry skidded to a stop beside me.

“What was that?!” he yelled. His brow was furrowed and he looked like he was about to punch someone.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, taken aback by his sudden burst of anger.

“You just cost us the game!” he exclaimed. Before I could respond, he took off, speeding back toward the earth. Frustrated at how thick he was being, I darted after him. We landed only feet apart, but he refused to look at me as he stormed toward the locker room.

“Harry!” I yelled after him. When he ignored me, I began sprinting toward him. I caught up to him just as he was walking under the stands. I reached out, grabbed him by the shoulder, and spun him around.

“What’s your problem?!” I exclaimed.

“My problem?” Harry bellowed back. “My problem is that if you wouldn’t have stopped that bludger, I would have gotten the snitch and we would have won!”

“It was about to hit him in the head! What was I supposed to do, let it?” I replied.

“Yes! That’s exactly what you were supposed to do!” Harry yelled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s on the other team!”

“He could have gotten seriously hurt, Harry!” I exclaimed.

“And that’s what the hospital wing is for,” Harry replied. “We’ve all ended up there countless times because of quidditch!”

“Do you realize how incredibly insensitive you’re being?” I asked incredulously.

“I’m not being insensitive,” Harry replied. “You let your emotions cloud your judgment and you betrayed your team.”

“Betrayed my team?” I yelled. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“You helped the other team win because you had to go play hero and save your poor boyfriend from an injury that could be fixed in a matter of minutes! How is that not betraying your team?” Harry fumed.

“I can’t believe you!” I screamed. “I get that you’re upset we lost, but how can you blame me for not wanting my boyfriend to get hurt?”

“Are you even listening to yourself? You couldn’t bear letting Malfoy get hurt, so you helped Slytherin win! How does that make any sense in your mind? Two months ago, you wouldn’t have even considered it!” Harry said incredulously.

I rolled my eyes. “I knew it! This is more about Draco than it is about losing, isn’t it?” I exclaimed.

“It’s both,” Harry said. “You’ve let that git interfere with your life and friendships and now he’s interfered with quidditch too!”

“Because I like him! He’s changed, and I gave him a chance! And I’m happy! But the rest of you can’t seem to handle that, and that’s not my fault. I can’t believe we’re still having this discussion after over a month! I thought you had at least started to accept him,” I fumed.

“I never said that I accepted him. I told you how I felt. He doesn’t deserve you. And you’ve let him come into our lives and mess with your friendships. You side with him over people who have been there for you for years!” Harry argued.

“Because he’s a different person and you lot can’t just move on from the past! Why do you even care so much about who I date?” I exclaimed.

“Because I care about you! You’re my best friend! And I see that you’re making decisions that I think are becoming detrimental to your life, and I feel the need to tell you. I’ve been holding back for a while now, but I can’t keep doing it,” Harry said.

“I can make my own decisions about my relationships, Harry. If you can’t get along with Draco, that’s your problem, not mine,” I replied.

But then, Harry’s face changed. Up until that point, his brow had been furrowed in anger and he’d been red-faced. But then, he frowned and looked almost sad.

“If you’re going to prioritize that git over your best friend, then I don’t have anything else to say to you,” he said softly but sternly. He then turned away and continued walking toward the locker room.

Stunned by what had just happened, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. In all the years that Harry and I had been friends, we’d never had a confrontation like that. Had that really just happened? I set my Firebolt down and leaned against the stands for support, no longer trusting my legs to do all the work.

“Carrie? Are you alright?” I turned in the direction of the voice and saw Draco walking toward me from the field. He had his broomstick in one hand and the snitch in the other, and his face was flushed from all the excitement. He still wore a smile from his victory, but his face fell quickly upon seeing me.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” He said, rushing over to where I was standing. The tears began to fall from my eyes, but I wiped them away furiously. I hated letting people see me cry.

“I’m OK. I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, attempting to regain my composure. I stood upright again and took a deep breath to calm myself down.

“You don’t look like you’re OK,” Draco replied, the concern written across his face.

“Just give me a couple minutes. I’ll meet you outside the locker rooms,” I said. Draco nodded and I hurried past him toward the Gryffindor locker room. Fortunately, Harry had left already, so I changed quickly and splashed water on my face in an attempt to feel less gross than I actually was. After a few more deep breaths and more wiping away of tears, I exited the locker room to find Draco standing outside waiting for me. He too had already changed into his casual clothes, but looked much more put together than I did.

“Do you mind if we find somewhere to sit down?” I asked.

“Sure. I think there’s a bench under that tree,” he replied, pointing at a large tree several meters away. I followed him over and we sat down in the shade. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him.

“Alright, so what happened?” He asked, his eyes shining with concern.

“After the match, Harry yelled at me for stopping the bludger from hitting you. He said that I helped you win and betrayed my team and then went on a rant about how you don’t deserve me and that my relationship with you is destroying my friendships,” I said.

Draco’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought he was the one that was alright with us?” he asked.

“Apparently not,” I said. “We’ve never gotten in an argument like that. And then he said that if I was going to prioritize you over my best friend, then he didn’t have anything else to say to me. I don’t think he wants anything to do with me right now.”

“Well…” Draco began, “I can kind of see where he was coming from with the quidditch.” I shot him a look, but he continued on. “I’m not saying I would have done anything different if I was in that situation, but I could understand that he would be upset about what happened. Not to that extent, but I get it.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I conceded, resting my head on his shoulder.

“About the rest of the stuff, however, he was being a bit of a git. But who needs him, right? You’ve got me, and you’ve got Ron and Hermione and all of your other friends. If he wants to decide to cut you out of his life, that’s his decision,” Draco said. At those words, I sat upright and looked at him with wide eyes.

“He’s my best friend, Draco,” I said in surprise, “I can’t just let him cut me out of his life after one argument. He’s too important to me.”

“But what if he doesn’t want you in his life because he doesn’t like some of the choices you’re making?” Draco asked.

“He wouldn’t do that,” I said vehemently shaking my head. “We’re too close.”

“Are you sure?” Draco asked. “He said a lot of pretty serious things.”

I thought about that for a second. “A few hours ago, I would have definitively said that I’m sure about that,” I replied. “I’m not so sure now. I’d hope that things haven’t changed so drastically between us in the last few hours that it can’t be fixed. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Then maybe you should go and try to fix things with him before too much time passes,” Draco suggested. I frowned and furrowed my brow at that. I didn’t want another confrontation. Draco seemed to sense that and continued on. “I know you don’t want to face it, but if you care as much as you claim to, you need to go take care of it.”

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder again. “I know. You’re right,” I replied.

“As usual,” Draco replied with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes and stood up to leave, Draco stood up as well and took me by the hand as we made our way back to the castle.

We walked into the Entrance Hall and Draco gave my hand a little squeeze.

“Good luck talking to him. Everything’s going to end up ok,” he said with a comforting smile.

“Thanks, babe,” I replied with a smile. I gave him a quick peck on the lips and we went our separate ways- Draco toward the dungeons and me toward the towers. As I made my way toward the common room, I felt my heart beating really hard, and I actually felt nervous to talk to Harry. I almost laughed at myself because of how ridiculous that sounded, but it was true. I was worried about another screaming match. I finally reached the fat lady’s portrait and took a deep breath before saying the password. The portrait swung open and I stepped through into the common room. As I walked into the room, the scene in front of me caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

Right in the middle of the room, on the couch, sat Harry.

And he was snogging Ginny. 

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I hope y'all enjoyed chapter 11 of The Secret Lightning Scar! Don't forget that the next one will be up later this month!

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The Secret Lightning Scar Chapter 10 [A Harry Potter Fanfic]

Fred, George, Harry, and I slowly made our way through the tiny tunnel toward Hogsmeade, guided only by the light of Fred’s wand.

“How have you managed to get into Hogsmeade so many times without a single soul seeing you and telling someone at Hogwarts?” I asked the twins.

 “Because we don’t go into Hogsmeade,” George replied with a sly smile.

“Then we should probably turn around because we’re heading straight toward it,” Harry joked.

“Oh no, Georgie, we accidentally took the wrong passage!” Fred said sarcastically.

“So if we’re not going to Hogsmeade, where are we going?” I asked.

“We’ve figured out a spot in the tunnel that’s outside of Hogwarts bounds, which makes it possible for us to apparate in and out of the tunnel rather than showing our faces in Hogsmeade constantly,” George explained.

“I’m actually slightly impressed,” I said, only slightly surprised at my brothers’ cleverness.

“So how do you make sure that you apparate into the right spot rather than further down or in an entirely different tunnel? Tunnels tend to look rather similar,” Harry said.

“We’ve got the spot marked,” Fred replied, “Which you can see just up ahead.”

I saw what he was talking about up ahead, but couldn’t make out what it was until we got closer. Etched into the stone wall was the symbol for Fred and George’s joke shop.

“Once again, slightly impressed,” I said. The twins grinned.

“So where are we apparating to in Diagon Alley?” Harry asked.

“The back room of our shop with the fireplace attached to the floo network,” George answered. Harry and I nodded in understanding.

“Alright. See you there,” Fred said before turning on his heel and vanishing with a pop. George followed suit almost immediately, and Harry and I were not far behind. Another small pop, and I found myself standing beside the other three in the Twins’ shop.

“Fred and I will obviously be staying here to run the shop, but you two can go wherever you like,” George said as we walked out into the shop.

“Leave whenever you like, but come back this way once the shops close. If we leave at the same time, we might as well leave together,” Fred added.

“Sure, mum,” I said, rolling my eyes. Fred gave me a look, but turned and walked toward one of the employees, followed quickly by George.

“So where do we want to go?” Harry asked as we made our way through the many displays toward the front of the store.

“Well, we have all day, since it isn’t even noon yet. We can go pretty much everywhere,” I replied.

We ended up wandering around between shops for the rest of the morning. Around lunchtime, we headed toward the Leaky Cauldron to get food.

“So are you feeling better now that you’ve gotten away from campus for a couple hours?” Harry asked as we began to eat.

“Definitely,” I replied. “It’s relaxing to not have to worry about anything. And I’m glad you decided to come.”

“Me too,” Harry grinned. “It feels like we haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow. “We see each other every day.”

“I know,” he replied. “But lately, with Hermione and Ron being all weird with the Draco thing, it feels like we’re all a bit more distant.” Harry shrugged. “And plus, you’ve been spending more time with Draco. I was starting to think you were forgetting you had a best friend.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was kidding, and we both laughed. “Exaggerate much?” I said.

“OK, maybe that was stretching it a little bit,” Harry conceded, “but you have to admit that everyone’s friendship is a little strained right now.”

“Yeah, I know.” I sighed. “I’m hoping that everything that happened this morning fixed that. Or will at least help it.”

“I think Hermione’s coming around. Ron will be harder to convince. He’s already protective over you, but the fact that it’s Draco makes it worse,” Harry replied.

“But I can take care of myself,” I said firmly.

“Yes, you can,” Harry said. “Which reminds me…” He paused, seemingly wondering whether or not to continue.

“Spit it out,” I said, slightly concerned about what he was about to say.

“That day when you had that accident… and you said that you couldn’t tell me what happened…”

I stiffened, realizing where he was headed with his statement.

“Is there any chance you’d tell me what was going on? I’m worried about you,” Harry said.

I vehemently shook my head. “No. I’m sorry, Harry, but I just can’t tell you. But please don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“Well, you obviously weren’t fine when you fell off your broom and basically broke your body,” Harry shot back.

“You still haven’t told me what you were doing this summer, and I was worried about you too,” I pointed out.

“Fine,” Harry replied. “You tell me what happened to you that day, and I’ll tell you what I did over the summer.” He frowned slightly, possibly wanting to take back what he’d just said, but didn’t say anything else.

I thought about his proposition for a second. Yes, I was definitely still concerned about what he’d been doing in secret all summer, but that had to be nothing compared to what I was hiding from him. “Yeah, all along, you thought you were the only chosen one, but it turns out that I was too and because of that, Voldemort’s not actually dead after all and he’s probably plotting his return to power right now as we speak. But enough about me, what did you do this summer?” Yeah, I could see that conversation going over really well.

I shook my head. “Sorry, Harry, but I can’t tell you. Not now, at least. Maybe eventually, but I just can’t right now,” I said. Harry frowned slightly, but didn’t continue trying to convince me to tell him. “You’re not upset with me, are you?” I asked.

“No,” he replied slowly, “but it concerns me that you still won’t tell me. I’m concerned that it’s something more serious than I previously thought.”

He looked at me, as if expecting me to confirm or deny his assertions. “I’m not telling you anything,” I replied. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to be pushy,” he said. “I just want to help. And I want to stop worrying about you.” 

“You don’t need to worry about me,” I said. “I can take care of myself.” Harry frowned again, but this time, he didn’t continue on.

From then on, we completely avoided the topic of my accident, which made me feel significantly better. We spent our afternoon looking around in the shops, staying in the Quidditch supply shop longer than we should have. After successfully stopping each other from buying nearly everything in the shop, we proceeded to buy ice cream and spent nearly an hour just sitting and laughing and talking about non-secretive topics. By the time the shops began to close in the evening, neither of us were ready to leave, but we still made our way back to the joke shop. We browsed around for a few minutes while Fred and George shut everything down but soon, Fred and George called out that it was time to go, and the four of us apparated back into the tunnel. One after another, we once again made our way back through the tunnel toward Hogwarts, and climbed out of the statue.

It was slightly past dinnertime, but none of us had eaten, so we made our way to the Great Hall to see if there was any food left. When we got there, there were still a good number of people inside, most of them finishing up their meals. After a quick glance down the table, I saw that Ron and Hermione weren’t there. Across the room, I saw Draco. I grinned and waved at him, receiving disapproving looks from the twins. The four of us found a spot at our table to sit, and I saw Draco, who had already finished eating, stand up and start walking in our direction.

“Ahem,” came the noise of someone behind us clearing their throat. I looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing directly behind me.

“Potter, Jacobsen, Weasleys, please come with me to my office,” she ordered. I glanced at Harry, realizing that she must know that we had been to Diagon Alley all day. Harry shrugged, and I wondered how she could know.

The four of us stood up, and I glanced back to Draco, who had stopped walking in our direction and was looking at me with a quizzical expression on his face. I shrugged and followed Professor McGonagall out into the Entrance Hall. We snaked our way through the corridors to the Headmistress’s office.

“Dumbledore,” Professor McGonagall commanded. The eagle guarding the entrance sprung to life, spiraling upward toward the door. We climbed the stairs and followed Professor McGonagall through the door into the large office. She took a seat at her desk and we stood facing her as her icy stare bored through us, before she finally began to speak.

“I have received correspondence from no fewer than five wizards today informing me that four of my students were in Diagon Alley today. Three of them claimed to have seen you, Miss Jacobsen, and you, Mr. Potter, this afternoon in The Leaky Cauldron. The other two saw you two,” she turned to Fred and George, “inside your joke shop. What do you have to say for yourselves?” She stared all four of us down, and I became too nervous to even move. Harry didn’t seem to want to say anything either.

George, however, seemed to be bursting to speak. “It’s not fair, Professor! We have a business to run! We can’t spend all of our time here and leave our shop in someone else’s hands!” he exclaimed.

“Fair or unfair, those are the rules, and you must follow them, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall retorted.

“Can’t we just work something out? We have to be able to run our shop,” Fred begged.

Professor McGonagall looked at him thoughtfully, possibly trying to gauge her reaction. 

“Perhaps, Mr. Weasley, but the fact is that today, you have broken the rules. All four of you will receive detentions. You’ll receive a note stating the date and location of your detention,” she said. “Now out!”

Fred, George, Harry and I made our way out of McGonagall’s office, disappointed at the rather sad turn that our day had taken. We were making our way back toward the common room, when I heard a voice calling out my name. I turned to see Draco hurrying toward us.

“Go on, I’ll be there in a minute,” I said to the other three, who continued down the hall.

“Why did McGonagall want you in her office?” Draco asked when he caught up to me.

“Well… Harry, Fred, George, and I went to Diagon Alley for the day… and some people saw us and told McGonagall. She gave us detention,” I admitted. For a few moments, Draco didn’t say anything, but just frowned.

“What did you do that for?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. “I just wanted to get away for a little while.”

“I mean that it wasn’t exactly a smart thing to do. You’re lucky you didn’t get in a lot more trouble,” Draco replied.

“It’s not a big deal. I just needed to get away for a little while after dealing with all of this drama. You can understand that, right?” I said, surprised that he was practically scolding me about going to Diagon Alley.

“You could’ve gone somewhere else on Hogwarts grounds rather than going to Diagon Alley and risking getting caught,” Draco suggested.

“I don’t see why this is a big deal. It’s just a detention, and it was only Diagon Alley,” I said defensively, becoming annoyed with him. “It’s not like you’re my dad or something.”

“No, but I’m your boyfriend, and I’m worried that you’re being unnecessarily reckless,” Draco replied.

“Reckless?” I asked. “Taking a day trip to Diagon Alley isn’t reckless! It isn’t dangerous. I just wanted to go.”

“You didn’t seem so keen to go to Diagon Alley when I suggested it,” Draco retorted.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“When I suggested going to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade for our date, you said they were too risky,” Draco explained. “But clearly you’re completely up for risking detention to go to Diagon Alley with Potter.”

“So that’s what this is about,” I said, rolling my eyes at his jealousy. “You’re just still worried that I like Harry, even though I told you that I don’t. How do you expect to maintain this relationship if you can’t just trust what I tell you?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Carrie-”

I cut him off, becoming more and more angry. “Then why can’t you just believe me when I say that I don’t like him? If I liked him, why would I be dating you? Do you have any idea how awkward it’s been to be around Ron and Hermione because they don’t approve of our relationship? I’ve defended you to them countless times, and I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to get to know you and actually growing to like you, and you still can’t get over the idea that I like Harry. Do you realize how childish that is?”

Draco just looked at me with a slightly sheepish expression on his face.

“And also, if it matters at all to you, Harry decided to go with the twins after I did. But clearly, I did some great mind reading and went only because he did,” I said. I turned and walked away, fuming about all of the drama I’d dealt with that day. I couldn’t believe, that after all of the trouble I went to in order to convince my friends to accept my boyfriend, he thought I’d rather be dating Harry.

I made my way up to the Gryffindor Tower and rather than stopping in the common room, continued up to the girls’ dormitory. If I’d had to sit through another dramatic conversation, I might have cursed someone. I flopped down onto my bed in frustration, finding myself in virtually the same position I had been in earlier that day. I wished I could turn back the clock and just stay in bed all day rather than dealing with all the drama.

It was then that I realized that one of my problems had been solved.

Professor McGonagall had said the password to her office. I almost gasped at the realization. I knew the password to the Headmistress’s office. It was Dumbledore. I could get in there and talk to Professor Dumbledore! I just needed a plan. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. I just needed to figure out when she was teaching class and make sure no one was watching while I opened the door. It wasn’t foolproof, but it also wasn’t a bad plan.

I hopped out of bed and hurried down to the common room to the bulletin board, where schedules for the younger years were posted. It looked like Professor McGonagall would be teaching the entire morning the next day. My best bet would be to try to get in at ten, since that was my free period, so no one would be missing me from class. Before anyone could ask me what I was doing or scold me for my trip to Diagon Alley, I hurried back upstairs.

The next day, I woke up feeling nervous. If I got caught, I’d have to explain myself. I wasn’t sure if I should make up a story or tell Professor McGonagall the truth. She needed to know sometime, right? But at the same time, I didn’t think I could handle telling her the truth. And I didn’t know if I wanted anyone else to know the truth yet. I figured I would just let it happen when the time came. Well, if the time came. I was still hoping that I wouldn’t have to explain myself.

The day started out just as it normally did, with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I meeting in the common room to head down to breakfast. However, my morning derailed itself when we got down to the first floor. We reached the Entrance Hall and found Draco standing outside of the doors to the Great Hall.

I paused, unsure whether or not I wanted to talk to him after his explosion the day before, but Harry, Hermione, and Ron continued on without me, and before I could catch up, Draco had stepped in front of me.

“Please, let me talk to you,” he said. I folded my arms and glared at him, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry, Carrie. I was being ridiculous and completely overreacted. Forgive me?” Draco begged.

“If this relationship is going to work for any length of time, you’ve got to chill out a little,” I said. “I need my independence, and I need you to trust me. The whole jealous boyfriend thing doesn’t work with me.”

Draco hung his head. “I know. I feel really bad about what I said. I didn’t mean it,” he said. I raised an eyebrow, skeptical at that claim. “Alright,” he admitted, “I kinda meant it. But it was one of those suppressed gut feelings that I didn’t want to admit that I felt. But then when I got angry, it just all came out.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that you feel that way,” I pointed out. “I need you to trust that what I tell you is the truth. I’m not going to lie to you.”

“I know. I’m working on it. It’s just- I’ve always been convinced that you had feelings for Harry and that was why you kept saying no to me. It’s a hard habit to break. But I’m trying,” he replied.

“I kept saying no to you because you were a git,” I said, to which he gave a slight nod of acquiescence. “But now you’re not. Mostly.” Draco looked embarrassed again. “If I didn’t want to be with you, I wouldn’t be.”

“I know,” Draco said. “I believe you. Just let me know whenever I’m getting into the jealous territory. Or if I’m being too overbearing.”

“Trust me, I will,” I replied.

Draco smiled. “I trust you. Am I forgiven?”

“I guess,” I replied, to which he smiled and hugged me.

“I’ll give you some space to eat with your friends. See you in Defense Against The Dark Arts,” he said. We walked into the Great Hall and went our separate ways.

The rest of the morning was back to normal. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I ate breakfast and then continued on to Defense Against The Dark Arts, which continued to be just as easy and frustrating as ever. I was surprised that Hermione hadn’t received detentions for as many times as she interrupted class.

After class, I told Harry, Ron, and Hermione that I’d be going somewhere with Draco, and then told Draco that I needed to go work on homework. I made my way to Professor McGonagall’s office, passing by the Transfiguration classroom to make sure that she was in there. As I approached her office, I checked in each direction and saw that there was no one around.

“Dumbledore,” I said to the stone eagle, which immediately sprang into motion. I climbed the stairs up to the door of the office. After listening at the door and not hearing any movement or voices, I opened the door and stepped inside.

I immediately glanced up at the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses to see if they would cause any sort of commotion, but nearly all of them seemed to be napping in their frames. A couple frames were empty, and the few who were awake didn’t seem to care that I was in the office. For all they knew, Professor McGonagall may have sent me here. But the only portrait I cared about was the one hanging directly behind Professor McGonagall’s chair. Albus Dumbledore sat straight up, wide awake, gazing at me over half-moon glasses with the hint of a smile on his face.

“Professor Dumbledore?” I said, approaching his portrait cautiously, concerned he might scold me for breaking into the office.

“Good morning, Carrie. What might I do for you? I’m sure you didn’t come just for the sweets?” Dumbledore replied pleasantly.

“Not quite, sir,” I replied. “Some things have been happening, and I fear that Voldemort is growing more powerful. A couple weeks ago, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and then blacked out and saw his eyes. I’m worried about what’s to come, and I don’t know what to do.”

“I see, I see,” Dumbledore said vaguely. “And have you divulged any information about your situation to any of your family or perhaps your friends?”

“No sir, I haven’t told anyone at all,” I replied. “I don’t want them to worry.”

“I believe, then, that you’ve found the place to start. He is becoming more powerful, and it won’t remain a secret for much longer. It’s better that they know so that they can prepare. When anything of the sort happens again, I believe it will be time to tell them,” Dumbledore replied.

“And… Professor McGonagall… does she know?” I asked.

“No,” Dumbledore replied solemnly. “Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to divulge that information to her before my death. But if your scar is hurting, I believe it is time to let her know. I can tell her, if you like. It will be easier coming from me.”

“I would appreciate that greatly,” I said, relieved that Professor McGonagall was one person who I didn’t have to tell. “But Professor, what do I do to prepare or to know when he might be coming. There must be something, mustn’t there?”

“Do not seek him out, whatever you do,” Dumbledore replied. “Let him come to you and he will be more vulnerable. But there isn’t much else you can do. There are no other horcruxes, just you and Voldemort. The only way to combat him is to have as many people as possible to help you stand against him and whatever allies he can muster.”

“And that’s all I can do to fight against Voldemort?” I asked. Dumbledore nodded.

“I believe in your ability to defeat him, Carrie. Perhaps, yes, he may have learned from past mistakes, but he can be defeated,” Professor Dumbledore replied.

“And what will happen when you tell Professor McGonagall?” I asked.

“She will probably call you down to discuss a plan of action. I will, of course, give my own humble opinion, which I have just given, but you are at your own liberty to not listen to either of our advice,” he answered.

“That would be rather foolish,” I replied.

“Yes, I would have to agree so myself,” Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

“Thank you for your help, Professor,” I said.

“You’re welcome, Carrie. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you soon,” Dumbledore replied.

“See you soon,” I said. I hurried out the door and down the stairs, checking the corridors before walking out.

For the first time in several weeks, I felt a little more at peace. Sure, I didn’t really have much more to go off of to defeat Voldemort, but I had Dumbledore’s blessing to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was still slightly wary, deciding definitely to wait until another scar episode occurred, but for once, the prospect of having someone I could fully lean on didn’t seem so far away. 

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I hope y'all enjoyed chapter 10 of The Secret Lightning Scar! I've gotten back into a routine of writing these, so they'll return to being posted every two weeks! 

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