One Single Day

I stood staring at the graves, so many of them. I took a deep breathe and let it out slowly. I felt like I should be buried among them, a martyr to the wizarding world. I should not have survived. I was tired, I just wanted to sleep among them, my mother, father, godfather...my family. I had no one else but Hermione, Ron...and they were just friends. I rarely saw Ron anymore and Hermione was so wrapped up in getting better at her job. I sighed and went over to the bench nearby. I usually spent all day here, among the dead. Sometimes I would talk to them, other times I would sit and think over what I had been doing all year long.

We had finally brought in Remus, he was running wild among the woods. Apparently the veela had taken his humanity and he was just another wolf. We managed to reverse whatever she had done to him and he was more or less back to his old self. Ron recovered from his injuries but I don’t think he’ll recover from his hurt pride over trusting the woman. I looked up into the gray skies above, it was going to start raining again. I liked the rain, it felt cleansing and simple.

“Want company?” Hermione asked, walking towards me. She was dressed in a black skirt and jacket with flowers in her hands, I scooted over and she sat down next to me, looking out on the quiet, wooded graveyard.

“I don’t know what happened, nobody is talking to me about it but I think something big happened,” she looked to me finally, I raised an eyebrow at her.

“When Ginny and you came back from whatever had taken you...then Malfoy just popping up the next day like nothing had even happened. It’s confusing,” she explained, I nodded, looking down on my clasped hands.

“I don’t really know. A veela kidnapped us then let us go. Sometimes we aren’t meant to know all the answers. I don’t know why she let us go or how Ginny escaped her. All I know is that they’re happy now,” I sighed, feeling kind of sad over all that had happened. Draco had resigned from his position at Hogwarts and moved in with Ginny after she graduated. They were living in muggle London somewhere.

“Yeah seems to me like a fairytale ending between them. Whenever I run into them, they’re...so in love it’s sort of embarrassing to watch but that’s probably because I have no one of my own. Could just be envy,” Hermione sighed.

“You’ve seen them around?” I was curious since I hadn’t seen even a glimpse of either of them, she blinked, thinking it over.

“They’re around a lot. Usually in Diagon Alley but I’ve seen them around London, at the Ministry...they’re always doing something,” she shrugged, looking to me. “I’m surprised you haven’t seen them.”

“Could just be that I have weird luck,” I answered her, she nodded and stood up to put her flowers out on the graves. I watched her for a while before getting up and started walking. I ended up on the far end of the graveyard and was startled when I suddenly realized I was looking at a living person instead of another stone statue. She was sitting there, her head in her hands as she just stared out unseeingly. Her long black hair lightly blowing around her head. She was in a long black elegant gown, her eyes slowly rolled up to meet my gaze, they were also an all consuming black.

“Professor Potter,” she acknowledged, I looked away. I couldn’t place her name, in fact I couldn’t even recognize her.

“I’m afraid I don’t know you,” I responded, looking back, her red lips curled into a sardonic smile.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to know who I am. I’m just another mourner in a graveyard. If you insist on a name, I’m Maeve,” she answered.

“Pleasure,” I murmured, looking behind her to the massive tomb she was sitting next to.

“Yes, it’s the Malfoy family tomb,” she answered my questioning gaze.

“Figures,” I looked away and she laughed.

“Someone’s going to die today,” she was grinning now, I frowned at her, confused.

“How do you know?” I asked her.

“I know these things. But it’s your choice, you will decide on who will live and who will die but someone will die,” she answered.

“Who are you?” I demanded, she shook her head.

“My kind have many names Professor. Some call us Bane Sidhe...” she trailed off.

“Banshee,” I repeated but it didn’t sound like she had pronounced it, she nodded and got up, turning to stare up at the large family tomb.

“So what are you going to do Professor Potter?” She asked, standing beside me.

“This is surreal,” I stage whispered, she looked over at me then turned and disappeared into the thickening mist.

“There you are,” Hermione walked towards me out of the swirling mists.

“Come on, it’s getting way to cold,” she grabbed my arm and apparated back to Hogwarts.

~~~~~

“I need to talk to you,” Ginny stood up as I walked into my office. I frowned, wondering what she was doing here.

“About?” I managed to put my desk between us. She sat down and fidgeted, crossing her gorgeous ivory legs as her lovely blue eyes wandered around my office.

“Ms. Weasley?” I brought her attention back to me.

“Come on Harry, I don’t go to Hogwarts anymore. You can call me Ginny,” she gave me a dark, mischievous grin before getting up and walking around my desk.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“It’s Draco...he’s been ranting about this woman he saw today. He said it’s a family apparition. Something about a screaming lady, I don’t really understand him but it’s been making him really scared. I don’t know who to turn to,” she explained finally.

“A banshee?” I offered, she nodded, her pretty face collapsing into worry.

“I was hoping you could talk to him, get some sense out of him,” she continued.

“I don’t know what I can do, maybe Hermione would know something about them,” I offered, she shook her head.

“No, Draco doesn’t want to see anyone else. You have to go talk to him,” she insisted, I sighed and stood up.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“I’m not going with you. You have to go to him alone,” she was dead serious about that.

“Why? This is really suspicious,” I told her.

“I can’t explain everything. But...I think it’s a life or death thing, I don’t want to risk it,” she looked really afraid right then.

“Alright...” I trailed off, not liking this at all.