The Whispers and the Tale
Chapter 1
Ere the season come when night
Ends the dreams of lasting light
In the wintery woods they lurk
Ever seeking beneath the murk.
Whispers will turn to life
And dreams will cloud
As the high power
Turns to white light.
Harry folded the piece of ragged parchment up with a sigh and tucked it into his robes. He had read and reread the prophecy over and over. He was sure, along with everyone else, that the old prophecy was referring to him.
The author's name had been smudged to badly to read. Harry longed to know who had foretold the future. Although, according to Hermione, all fortune telling was a load of rubbish, Harry couldn't seem to shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach.
"Whispers will turn to life?" he muttered, shaking his head. What was that supposed to mean? The person who had written the old prophecy certainly hadn't made himself clear about what was going to happen.
"Exactly," Hermione had said. "See, they didn't really know, but they wanted to make it look impressive, Harry."
He and Ron weren't taking in Hermione's thoughts as confidently as she was. Ron had glared very purposely at Hermione when she'd said this and said, "How come prophecies always come true, then?"
Hermione had turned pink at stuck her nose in the air, saying, "Well, if it's that vague, then it's bound to happen isn't it?"
Now Harry was wandering aimlessly in the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the first day of his fifth year at Hogwarts, and somehow, the happiness that he'd had on the train with Ron and Hermione had dissolved.
This, as the years past, was going to be a very interesting year. Professor Lupin, Harry's favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, was the one who had uncovered it. It was in Hogwarts, but in a room that no one had ever known about.
Dumbledore had never pretended to know all of Hogwarts' secrets, and this was proof that what he said was true. Lupin had discovered a library full of ancient books and scrolls of torn parchment. All of the prophecies had been blurred so that they were unreadable. All but this one.
Hermione had been ecstatic when she'd found out about the new library. But Dumbledore was allowing strictly teachers to go into that room (Hermione responded to this with a loud, "Hmph!")
Life wasn't going to be exactly easy for Harry, either. Already, on the first day of school, the information about the prophecy had spread like wildfire. If you didn't live under a rock, you knew it. People kept coming up to him and saying stuff like, "Don't go near the forest, Harry," and, "The lake might be really dangerous, don't you think?"
"Harry!" A voice from behind him made him jump. Harry turned and saw Ron and Hermione hurrying towards him. "Where've you been?" asked Ron as he stopped in front of Harry.
Harry sighed and waved the paper absentmindedly. "Musing over this." Hermione put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.
"Come on, Harry, you aren't still thinking about that, are you?" she said, clearly trying to make herself sound as if she knew what it was all about.
"Yes, I am," said Harry, sounding more annoyed than he had intended.
Even Ron was on Hermione's side, for the moment at least. "But it's the first day of school, Harry. Come on and have some fun."
"Yeah, it's been an hour since the feast's ended. Usually we're all up in the common room," added Hermione, touching his arm. "Please?"
Harry really wanted to give in and go up to the common room, and maybe play a few games of Exploding Snap. But he also knew that it was essential to find out what the prophecy meant, before it was too late.
"I can't. Don't you understand? This prophecy wasn't just discovered now for no reason. It must mean that I have to figure it out this year," said Harry, frustrated.
"But today's only the first day!" said Ron and Hermione in unison. Harry looked from both of their determined faces. He looked from Ron, with his mop of flaming red hair and freckles, to Hermione, with her bushy brown hair and set determination. He sighed and nodded wearily.
"I guess I can work on it tomorrow," he muttered, relenting to Hermione's firm grip on his arm as she pulled him up to the Gryffindor tower and murmured the password (Dillapidus).
"Up for a game of chess, Harry?" asked Ron brightly as the Fat Lady swung forward and the three of them stepped inside.
"No thanks," said Harry, the beginnings of a grin spreading across his face. He pushed back a strand of his jet-black hair and laughed. "I don't really feel like being beaten by you tonight."
"Exploding Snap, then?" said Hermione, pulling out a pack of the cards. Harry nodded and sunk into a cushy armchair by the fire, settling into the rhythm of being back at his favorite place in the world again.
Charms was a disaster. Professor Flitwick, although usually nice, kept pestering Harry about the meaning of the prophecy. Harry had to put up with the tiny little professor musing about it throughout the entire lesson while Harry tried desperately to do his lesson.
"Yes, yes, it could have something to do with the Forbidden Forestor the lake for that matter," said Professor Flitwick, scratching his chin and reading the paper over again. "Dreams will cloud? That could have to do with either sidewhat do you think, Harry?" he asked in a squeaky voice.
"I don't know, Professor," Harry muttered, very exasperated. He turned to Hermione and murmured under his breath, "How long till the lesson's over?"
"Ten minutes," she whispered back.
"That was torture," groaned Harry as he walked out of class. Professor Flitwick seemed very disappointed when Harry had hurried out. Evidently, it hadn't been enough time for him to discuss the prophecy.
"Well, Professor McGonagall won't talk to you endlessly about it," said Hermione encouragingly. Harry gave a feeble nod as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"So, Potter," said an all too familiar voice to Harry's left. Draco Malfoy sauntered up, flagged on either side by his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. "Showing off again?"
"Save it, Malfoy," muttered Harry. "I didn't find the prophecy."
"Oh, but of course it relates to precious Potter. Precious Potter's going to save the world - " mimicked Draco, but Hermione cut him off.
"Why don't you just go away, Malfoy? Disappointed that You-Know-Who hasn't killed Harry yet? Ready to become a Death Eater yet, Malfoy?" whispered Hermione angrily.
Draco smirked. "Not that I'd tell you, Granger," he said lowering his voice, "but I'd like to - "
"Is there a problem?" said a very stern voice behind them. All of their heads turned and Malfoy scowled.
"No," he said, quickly turning away from Professor McGonagall and walking back to the Slythering table, muttering to Crabbe and Goyle quietly. Professor McGonagall frowned, looking from Harry to Hermione to Ron before shaking her head and walking away.
"I'll bet anything that Malfoy is going to become a Death Eater," growled Ron, clenching his fists. Harry and Hermione nodded. It was likely, considering that Malfoy's father was right in Voldemort's inner circle.
"Let's go down to Hagrid's after Transfiguration," Harry suggested as they got up and walked very slowly towards the Transfiguration classroom.
"Yeah," said Ron. "Wonder what he'll think of the prophecy."
"Why," began Hermione, "are you still going on about that stupid prophecy thing again? All those things are big jokes."
Harry and Ron scowled at her. "Maybe you think that, but we don't," said Ron angrily, still glaring at her as they entered the classroom. Hermione said, "Hmph!" and crossed her arms, sitting on the other side of Harry.
Professor McGonagall entered, closing the door behind her with a snap. The light glinted off of her glasses ominously as she paced in front of the class.
"Today," she said, "we will be transfiguring these chairs into cats." She gestured to a row of folding chairs along the opposite wall briefly before continuing. "You may each take a chair and get to work. Potter, a word please?"
Harry glanced nervously at Hermione and Ron before walking slowly up to Professor McGonagall. She wore a look of concern, although very rigid concern about that.
"Now, Potter," she sighed, "I don't want you to worry about the prophecy. Yet," she added quietly. "We'll just have to see what happens. If you can't figure it out at the moment, you won't be able to until something happens. So don't spend too much time on it, okay?"
Harry nodded numbly and moved back to his desk, grabbing a chair on the way. Hermione and Ron were instantly questioning him.
"What did she want?"
"Did it have to do with the prophecy?"
"Why would it - "
"Oh, come on. What did she want?"
"Harry?" said Hermione firmly, shooting Ron a look that silenced him. Harry sighed and sat down in his chair, tossing his wand onto the desk.
"It was about the prophecy. She just told me not to worry about it and that I didn't have to figure I out, at least not yet," said Harry, picking up his wand and trying to recall the spell that they needed.
He cast it towards the chair, not really trying his hardest. There was a loud pop and the chair turned into something that looked like a mix between the cat and the chair. It had a head, but no ears, whiskers, and very stiff legs. Its tail was nonexistent and the coloring was a very funny wood-striped.
Harry grinned in spite of the past moments and performed the spell again. This time the cat looked more normal, other than the slight detail of the color.
"Let's go to Hagrid's," Harry muttered after the lesson finished, pulling Hermione and Ron out the door and down to Hagrid's hut as quickly as he could.
A/N: More parts will be up soon if people like it.
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, everybody belongs to J.K. Rowling