Poisonous Pen
Original title: Poisonus Pen by Pettigrew's Daughter
Beta: lilyqueen777
Disclaimer: My friend posted this on a site called fandom . com in the year 2000. I'm updating the story here for her. Anyway, I don't own Harry Potter, that is owned by J.K. Rowling. I don't own the plot, that is owned by Pettigrew's Daughter. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The First Letter
"This girl, I think she's a first or second year, just gave Harry a letter-" Hermione began.
'Wo hoo, Harry! What did she write? Any juicy bits?" Grinning mischievously, Ron sat down opposite them.
"Ron!-That's the thing-!"
Harry interrupted. He could see a fight forming. "I haven't opened it yet, we were waiting for you. Anyway, I don't think it's from her, I have a feeling…" He glanced back at the note, startled as someone peeked out from between the sheets, a pair of eyes so similar to his own, like brilliant green stones stared back at him.
He pulled the photo out. It was only small, about passport size, framed by half a centimeter of white cardboard. She was gaunt looking, smiling though her eyes indicated there was something wrong. Her shoulder-length red hair flared around her shoulders like blood in water. As soon as he saw her bespectacled green eyes he knew instantly who she was: his mother; He had seen so many photographs of her, but never one so up-close.
Gleaming white teeth shone to match the silver prefect's badge displayed at the base of her neck. Her black dress was a stunning contrast to her white skin and her dark red hair. She was still, motionless. The photo was obviously taken by a muggle camera.
"Harry, what is it?" Ron asked, watching his friend grow china-pale.
"Harry are you all right?!" Hermione sounded frantic. She loomed closer to look at the photograph in his hand, "It's your mother…Harry what does this mean?"
Someone had drawn a line in brilliant red ink through the picture. Written in blotchy handwriting, unsimiliar to that on the outside of the note were the words, 'Lily Potter. Murdered.'
"What kind of sick joke is this?" Harry wondered aloud, fumbling with the rest of the note. There was a vague inkling in the back of his mind that this was all a big set-up, probably by his arch-enemy, Draco Malfoy, but this didn't seem like him. Draco's style was always so obvious and out in the open. If he wanted to make your life misery, you'd know it.
The note read as follows:
Harry,
We
must meet. I need to tell you something, urgently. You must trust me
or you will lose your life like your parents did so foolishly.
Meet me at midnight tonight on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, near Hagrid's hut. I know somewhere we can talk, come alone.
If you are accompanied I may be forced to take drastic action!
"Harry, this letter's a threat! You must tell Professor McGonagall…Someone is trying to kill you!" Hermione exclaimed once she had read the letter.
Ron frowned, "No, he can't do that. For all we know it could be from Sirius and telling a teacher would just get him into trouble."
"No it's not from Sirius…" Harry said slowly, "His writing's far tidier and upright than this mess. Besides, he would have signed it. This letter's anonymous. I have to find out who it's from."
You aren't seriously thinking of going are you?!" Hermione asked, the pitch of her voice showing shock. She grabbed his shoulders, "Harry, it would be very foolish thing to do. This person sounds dangerous; they're making very clear threats. It just would not be safe…Harry! Harry?"
Harry looked at the letter again, "I'm going to find that girl and find out where she got this from before I do anything else. For all I know it could be just a big set-up by Malfoy or someone just to scare me."
"Did either of you see where she went?" A look of disappointment crossed Ron's face as Hermione and Harry shook their heads, "You're very observant aren't you?"
"I think she went out of the common room" Harry said.
"Well the best thing to do is to split up and look for her. Ron, you come with me because you didn't see her, we'll check the grounds. Harry you check the school." Hermione stood up and handed Harry the note. She grabbed Ron by the arm and led him away, much to his disgust.
Harry finally found the girl curled up in the library. She was a second year, he remembered, not a first, and her name was Zoë McMillan.
Zoë wasn't very helpful. She tossed her long blonde curls off her face and declared. "I was walking out on the Quidditch Pitch when this lady came from nowhere. She said, 'Give this to Harry Potter' and was gone."
"What did she look like? Did you see where she went?"
"She was wearing this big gray cloak, terribly tasteless, if you ask me. I couldn't see her face because it was covered by the hood of the cloak and a green scarf. I know she was a woman because of her voice; it was quite deep and kind of purry, like a cat. I didn't see where she went; I would have told you if I did." Zoë said, shaking her head.
"Don't you think it's strange that she just said 'Give this to Harry Potter' and you did?" Hermione interrogated. Harry hadn't heard her and Ron arrive but that was probably because they were ignoring one another.
Zoë's brown eyes glazed and she pouted, "All right, she gave me three gallons and a silver sickle to deliver it. Then, she just ran off into the forest."
"Did she seem very old to you or was she young?"
"I don't know-"
"You're very observant then are you?" Ron thundered, turning the librarian, Madam Pince's head. She headed towards them, a yellow detention book in hand.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione fled, leaving Zoë to deal with Madam Pince.
"Great one, Ron! We could have got more out of her if you had toned your voice down" Hermione moaned.
Ron stopped and snapped, "Well if hadn't put her back up I wouldn't have had to yell at her!" Not bothering to lower his voice he added, "Know-it-all, always thinks she knows best."
"Guys, stop it. That is enough-"
Another boy's voice cut Harry cut off. It was cold and sharp like a knife, "Oow, look it's the famous Gryffindors, Harry Potter, Mudblood Granger and the tall Weasley kid making another scene. Perhaps we should stay and watch…"
"Shut up!" Hermione stumbled away, just missing Malfoy as she deliberately pushed past him.
"Geez, she didn't need to get so upset. Don't you agree Potter? I mean all I did was tell the truth, everyone knows she's a Mudblood, it's nothing new-" Draco said icily as his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
"Harry, Harry, are you all right?" Ron asked.
Harry pushed his way blindly back into the library. Something very strange was going on. He could barely hear Ron's voice and Ron's face was melting away…He tried to fight the darkness falling on him. He couldn't. Blackness engulfed him.
He was in the library. The early evening sunlight filtered new and fresh through the dusty curtains. Everyone had disappeared as if by magic, except for one short girl stacking shelves. She had a shock of dark red hair which was tied up in a rather messy attempt at a bun. Her faded black robes were tatty and holed.
Harry thought it was Ron's little sister, so he asked her, "Ginny, what are you doing?" Strangely, he couldn't hear his own voice and she certainly didn't seem to either.
For a moment she stopped working and stood motionless. She didn't turn around. Then she went back to slotting books into the library shelves.
Harry felt a funny feeling run through his body. His head spun as if he were floating. He felt light-headed and dizzy. A flowing melody drifted through his head as he approached the girl, noticing that he was hovering 3 inched off the floor. "Ginny?" He asked again.
This time she turned around. It wasn't Ginny. Stray red hair fell across her face. She wore dark-rimmed glasses which framed her bright green eyes in oblongs. There was a dash of brown freckles across her nose and pink cheeks. Her surprised eyes stared right through him.
"Peter! You startled me! What on Earth are you doing here? I thought you'd be down watching the Quidditch…"
Harry realized she wasn't speaking to him at all but to a chubby boy who had just entered the library. This boy had sandy brown hair and looked strangely familiar…
"Well Lily, that's it-" The boy, Peter, began.
"Oh, I know why you're here. Sorry, I totally forgot. It's that Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment we're working on together, isn't it? The books are under section 921, I'll be with you in a minute if you'll just get started-"
"No Lily, it's not that-" Peter twiddled with his thumbs, nervously as she continued stacking shelves, the silver prefect's badge at her throat gleaming.
Lily picked up an extra heavy volume and pushed it into place with great difficulty. "The Quidditch, how is it going?"
"We're losing," Peter told her, "Miserably. Without Lois and James on the team we don't have a chance against Falcon's Ravenclaw side."
"But their injuries are healed-Madam Pomfrey can fix a snapped bone just like that," Lily clicked her fingers, "Why aren't they playing?"
Harry kicked the book case. There came no sound, in fact his foot went right through it! What was this? Was he a ghost? Why could he see his dead mother and the man who helped kill her conversing as though they were still in school? He felt scared, how did he get here? What if he could never escaped?
"Professor McGonagall sidelined them for this match. She was trying to teach them a lesson at the team's expense" Peter said quietly.
"You have to admit that it was a stupid thing to do, playing Quidditch against that tree. They could have been killed, Sirius too; we're lucky he didn't get knocked out by the Whomping Willow and could go and get help."
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, that's why I'm here. James is really low about letting Gryffindor down, James and Lois both are. Nothing me or Remus, or Sirius can do will cheer them up, so we were wondering whether you'd be able to, you know, cheer them up" Peter asked.
"I wish I could," Lily picked up another leather bound book from her trolley, "But I promised Madam Pince I'd finish shelving these."
"I can do that." Peter said abruptly, "You go and help James, you're good at that." He moved towards the shelves, "You stack them up but the number on their spine, eh?"
"Peter, you don't have to do this-"
"Look,
I want to, okay? Go and cheer up James and Lois." The chubby boy
pushed her toward the door, "I can't do it. Go on, he needs
you…"
"Will you? Oh, thank you Peter. You're a great friend, the best in fact. I won't forgot this-" Lily driveled, her green eyes lighting up as she smiled, "Yes, by the number on the spine, thank you, Peter."
After making sure Lily left, Peter made his way towards the restricted section if the library. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and read it, then grabbed a book from the shelves, "I hope this is the right book, Sirius, because we aren't going to get a chance like this again…"
Harry's head spun as the room turned tipsy turvy in front of his eyes. He saw his mother, he saw to of her, then she disappeared and everything blackened.
"Harry! Harry! Wake up!"
He became aware of fingers digging into his neck and a female voice growing louder and louder. His stomach ached and his head felt as it did after a lesson with Professor Binns.
"Wha-What happened?" he croaked as concerned faces came into view.
A blurry red dot said "Harry you stared going nuts, talking about Quidditch to someone called Peter and then answering yourself in a funny voice. Then you just sort of lurched towards the library stairs and fell over. You're lucky you didn't fall down on the stairs" The dot's voice rose and fell in volume, making Harry feel more squeamish.
Red strands of hair and green eyes met his sore eyes, "Lily? Mum is that you? What is it this? Why is it happening? I-I think I'm going to be sick…" Harry turned his head to the sides as his lunch came up in a torrent. His stomach kept contorting and he was obliged to open his mouth as his vomit rushed out. It smelled rotten.
"Mum always says, better out than in, eh Ron?" Ginny Weasley said cheerfully, holding his head. Harry felt embarrassed. He'd just called her Mum.
"Has anyone gone to get a teacher?" Zoë McMillan asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Yeah, someone should get Madam Pomfrey for Weasley girl's little baby" Malfoy's voice sneered.
Harry stumbled to his feet. He was not going to give Malfoy the satisfaction of seeing him lying there. "It's all right; I can walk to the hospital wing."
"Harry, are you sure? Look at you; you're falling all over the place. Let me give you a hand-" Ron's face disappeared from view again. Harry could feel people holding him up and was aware that his feet were being dragged along the ground. He couldn't do anything about it. People were talking all around him and he could hear Malfoy jeering and Hermione's disgusted yells.
Things kept slipping in and out of focus in slow motion. Everything was black and grey. Harry felt as though his brain had just taken a one-way trip through Aunt Petunia's blender.
