8. Returning to twist and turn

Returning to twist and turn

Apart from papers announcing it, it was training it. Against all expectations I felt good in doing so. Krum was amazing in keeping people away and the entire team was just as enthusiastic. After the training, two weeks after the world was told of Dracon flights, we sat in the cafeteria. “I got the weirdest question today” Ned said. We all looked at him and he said: “They asked me, you know me! whether Dracon flights wasn’t a misspell.” He rolled his eyes. Isn’t it Dragon Flights?” he said on a high voice and again rolled his eyes then normally responding to himself: “You’re missing a great point here! And then I walked away.” The others laughed and I smiled. They laughed now, but they were surprised when I came up with his idea. I had told tem it was a covering name for: Draco fights, a cover people wouldn’t see because of a few letters, a cover some people might look for. We chat a little and then something quiet unexpected happened: Dumbledore walked into the cafeteria, accompanied by Snape. We were all surprised, but about to get shocked. “Hello everyone” Dumbledore said on a happy, normal voice. We all responded his greeting, but I read Snape almost as well as the other way around…Something was wrong. “what’s wrong?” I asked Dumbledore, knowing Snape was only with his to ease me if I overreacted. “Well” Dumbledore sat, while sitting down on a chair. “I’m fine, thanks for asking, the school is doing good, so are the little ones Hermione, your kids are all fine! I bring other, somehow strange news.” Snape sat down and stared at me. Only by the fact he was here too, made it clear to everyone it had something to do with me. “I don’t know how to bring this subtly, Joan, but I have a theory I would like you to know about. You see mostly those theories of mine are correct. And this one has been on my mind for a long time now, seven years I think. That is when Severus and I found you, isn’t it?” I nodded and felt the tension everyone felt. “You then told and showed us something rather..special. Do you remember?” Without a second of doubt I nodded. And Dumbledore raised his eyebrows “sure?”
“How could I forget, even after showing it nobody believed it, everyone thought I was losing my mind.”
“no Joan, I didn’t, I was afraid.” Now being sure we were talking about the same thing I got curious but scared. My friends and Fred were overwhelmed, they didn’t know what was going on and therefore also got scared. “I thought of it over an over again, Joan, every detail I noticed or you told us. You remember what I asked?” I nodded. “Still not able to answer it?”
I shook my head. “that’s ok, I’m rather certain already actually.” He sighed. “Joan, you were right.” I stared at him, knowing Snape stared at me in the same observing way, without any emotions. When he didn’t continue I said: “I know that, Albus.” He once again raised his eyebrows. “how come you know?” I frowned “I just do.”
He nodded. “ok, well would you like to know my theory?”
“not sure.”
He smiled and decided to tell me anyway. “I think he indeed heard you and answered you, well in fact I believe your extremely strong love for each other prevented him from passing on to the afterlife, the land of the dead, however you want to call it.”
“You mean, he stayed as a ghost?” Harry asked.
“not entirely, no”
“He had no body shape, he was just a presence.” I answered. Dumbledore nodded.
“here’s what I think. After Voldemort killed him, his body immediately died, but his love for you was the last thing on his mind and he felt it so strong that his will of staying was stronger then average. His love for you only lasted a second or two longer then his body, which was enough to leave him wondering in between two worlds. He what so ever was weak and didn’t hear or see anything, he was doomed to be a wanderer, not strong enough to wander.” I felt tears welling up, by the thought of it. But merciless, Dumbledore continued. “You however felt miserable, loved him, this love kept him a wanderer. A few months later you disappeared and talked to him. Because of you constant talking to him, he was strengthened and able to start wandering. He, like us started looking for you, but your talking guided him better, he reached you and saw you. This again gave him more strength. The love between the both of you was still so strong that he kept strengthening. By the time we found you, he was able to indeed move curtains and stuff like that. I would think he got so strong to sometime affect you, is this the fact, Joan?” I didn’t answer. “Was he able to get into your head, thoughts, dreams?” I slowly nodded. Dumbledore also nodded and then asked. “You don’t talk to him anymore do you?” Now I cried and everyone understood I was afraid I killed him..again. “I shook my head. “he …he left.. when I went to the burrow.” Everyone looked at each other in shock. But Dumbledore nodded as I continued with: “he wanted me to”
“He loved you deeply, Joan, he didn’t want you to be this sad over him and turn to all you friends. When your love overcame your fear, he got as strong as he needed to be to get called away.” Everyone looked at him, holding his breath. “An old man called Hayat has specialist himself into stuff like this. But normally he doesn’t ever complete the job, because there strength is never enough, but your love build on his was a force so strong that Hayat believed he could bring him back, it would be a slow process though. But according to my own guessing he’d be near to it now. I stared at him without saying anything, just processing what he said, me eyes open and emotionless, but losing tears. Fred sat just as emotionless, the other overcame their shock quicker, they knew stuff like this was possible, Harry was the living proof, though this had gone a little further. But after they recovered and had taken it to be true Fred and I still stared. “Joan..”
“don’t… I want to go home.” George nodded as did the others, Fred still stared. I got up as did George, but Fred didn’t move. I wasn’t capable of anything else then walking to the fireplace behind the counter. George and I went home. “Joan” he said when we arrived. “I know you believe it, unlike what you might say the following days. It’s a lot to process, but please, you gotten so far.” I nodded and didn’t mind when he hugged me. I even got into his arms as he sat in the coach, he was surprised, but knew I did this n an effort not to do what I did ten years ago, so he put his arm around me and with me head resting on his chest I fell a sleep.