Prologue and Chapter One - Secrets of the Sennipah
Inside the infirmary, Professor McGonagall stood behind Harry, who had fallen asleep in a chair next to the bed where Hermione's unconscious body lay. McGonagall's stern features were filled with concern as she took in Harry's exhausted form. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and seeing the untouched food next to Harry, knew what Harry was going through at that moment. Miss Granger was a very close friend of Harry's.
'The poor boy,' she thought silently. As he slept, Harry clutched Hermione's stiff hand as she lay motionless on the bed. Her face was deathly pale while her lips were slightly bluish in color.
Ron was asleep as well, sitting on the floor close to Harry. Mcgonagall draped a blanket over the two boys. She walked away feeling totally helpless for the first time in her many years at Hogwarts as an instructor. She saw Madam Pomfrey in one corner, shaking her head. "Poppy, will Ms. Granger's condition improve tomorrow?" she asked the school nurse.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "If she doesn't wake up by tomorrow evening. There will be no hope for her," she replied regretfully.
Neville, who was about to enter the infirmary, froze at the doorway upon hearing Madam Pomfrey's words. When he entered the room, both women stopped talking. He quietly slipped in the room, stood silently next to Harry and looked at Hermione's still body. He numbly sat at the edge of bed next to Hermione, lost in his own thoughts. He remembered just this morning how excited their group was about their first trip to the Forbidden Forest.
CHAPTER ONE
"Hey, wait for me!" Ron called out to Harry, Hermione and Neville. They were on their way to their next class for that day, which was Care of Magical Creatures. Just a few steps ahead of them were Parvati, Lavender and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years. When their group reached the place, the Slytherins were already there.
"Ol'right then, all of yeh be paired in two's. I have prepared the list," said Hagrid. He pointed to the list posted to a large tree. They immediately went to look and found out that Hagrid had the Slytherins and Gryffindors paired separately.
ASSIGNED PAIRS
Neville Longbottom - Hermione Granger
Ron Weasley - Parvati Patil
Harry Potter - Lavender Brown
Hermione found herself scanning the bottom of the list and read that Draco was paired to Millicent Bulstrode, while Pansy was paired with Crabbe. A ghost of a smile appeared at the sides of her mouth. When she looked up, she caught Draco Malfoy staring at her. Both of them quickly looked away.
"Right, we best get started then," boomed Hagrid's voice.
They all turned to listen to Hagrid's instructions. He led them deep into the Forbidden Forest and straight into a narrow path for about half an hour in silence. The mist was very thick, and they could barely see what was in front of them. Finally, he lifted one hand, a sign for all of them to stop.
Peering through the thick mist, they realized with a start they were now standing in front of an entrance to a enormous cave known as the Cave of the Udanax.
"Inside teh magical cave yer ter find mysterious creatures. We call em Sennipah," explained Hagrid. The students just gaped at him, too fascinated with the cave. Hagrid appeared satisfied with their reaction, and continued his explanation. "Sennipah are sensitive ter light and sound. Not one ter show themselves ter noisy crowds, Sennipahs love teh dark an' quiet. Them creatures multiply ter life force with yer happy thoughts. Teh more happy thoughts ter more they grow stronger. Don' go doing any magic with yer wands when yer inside ter cave," warned Hagrid. "It only backfire to yer."
He explicitly instructed them into groups of ten, five pairs to each group. Each group would get a turn in going inside the cave. Hagrid would accompany them, while the rest waited outside.
"I repeat, no sound inside ter cave. And no running either," Hagrid warned them. No one said a word. "Ahright. Who wants teh be firs' ter enter the cave?" he inquired. The Slytherin group volunteered at once. "Fine. Ol' of ye come wit' me!"Hagrid turned to Harry's gang and said, "Rest of ye, wait here."
Draco Malfoy was the first one to move and the rest followed Hagrid inside the cave. When they were finally out of sight, Hermione happened to glance at Neville.
"Neville, is there something wrong?" she asked with concern.
"My grandmother once told me it's unlucky to enter a cave," answered Neville, nervously.
"I don't know about that," she told him, "but Hagrid will be there. He won't let any harm come unto us. Don't worry about it." Hermione smiled at him.
Neville seemed to relax. "You really think so?"
Hermione nodded, still smiling.
"Err, Neville," she said with slight hesitation, "I happen to notice, you seem to be doing well in Potions."
At this remark, Neville gave a sheepish smile.
"Well, you see, Hermione," he said, "err, Hermione, can you keep a secret?" His cheeks appeared a little flushed.
Hermione nodded, looking intrigued.
"Em, you see I'm using Kwikspell." His voice barely a whisper, not wanting others to hear for fear he might get laughed at.
"Kwikspell?" she repeated, clearly confused.
"It's a corresponding home lesson," he explained."It helps forgetful persons, like me, to remember better." He seemed relieved Hermione was not laughing at him.
"Good for you!" Hermione said.She was glad for him. She had been friends with Neville since first year, but until that exact moment, she had not noticed how far he had come from being the round faced, forgetful and extremely clumsy little boy that he once was. She felt proud of him, knowing how hard it was for him.She never liked watching Neville be bullied by other students; he deserved to be happy. She remembered with sadness what Harry told them about what happened to Neville's parents.
She was shaken out of her reverie when she heard Neville say, "Hagrid's back, Hermione."
"Just follow me," Hagrid called out to them.With Harry at the front, they silently followed Hagrid into the cave. It was incredibly dark inside and eerily silent. It made most of them intensely nervous. Even Hermione felt tense. She was trying her best not to stumble or fall on the ground, which was hard to do, since they were all groping in the dark; she could hardly see who's in front of her. All ten of them tried to keep up with Hagrid, not having the least desire to get lost.
"It's creepy here!" whispered Lavender.
"Sshh."
"Harry, was that you?" Lavender asked in a hushed voice.
There was no reply.
"I know we're not supposed to talk. Sorry," Lavender mumbled.
Hermione silently agreed with Lavender but didn't say anything. She did have a very strong urge to conjure a bluebell flame, but controlled that urge when she remembered Hagrid's warning about doing any magic inside the cave.
"Why is it so dark here?" Ron grumbled. "We could do with a bit of light, eh?"
"Ron, what are you doing?" Parvati bumped into Ron. "Why did you stop?"
"Looking for my wand," Ron muttered, "Ahh, here it is."
"Ron, you, moron," Parvati said angrily, "no magic inside the cave!"
"Sorry, I forgot," he snapped irritably.
"Ron, shut it," Hermione heard Dean say.
"Okay." Ron sounded annoyed. "I hope there's no spider in here."
"Don't be a sissy," Dean retorted.
"Shut it, you two!" Hermione heard Harry said impatiently.
Ron grunted but didn't argue anymore.After that, all they could hear was their muffled breathing, and the shuffling of their feet. They finally reached the center of the cave. It wasn't dark anymore. There was a huge stalactite emitting a bluish light, which illuminated the whole cave. Draco and the others were already seated by the crevices in pairs. Hagrid told them in a hushed voice to sit in pairs anywhere they wanted.
Hermione chose a spot; Neville sat beside her. The others followed suit. After a minute or so, Hermione felt something. She tugged at Neville's robes. He looked at her questioningly. She whispered, "Don't you feel anything weird?"
"Thought I was just imagining it," he admitted in a low voice.
Slowly, a kaleidoscope of color surrounded Hermione and Neville, who were both astonished by the sight. Suddenly, something even more colorful appeared in front of them. It was as big as a rabbit, oddly shaped and shimmering with prisms of color. She thought at first glance that it might be a Cornish Pixie, but realized in an instant that it wasn't. Looking closely, she discovered its eyes were as round as saucers, and it had a funny looking beak, but it didn't resemble any sort of bird, which Hermione had ever seen before. The Sennipah, Hermione discovered, looked like a weird combination of a furby and McDonald's Grimace only it was multicolored and it shimmered and dazzled Hermione with its astonishing brilliance.
Hermione, fascinated, reached out to touch it.
"Don't touch it, Hermione." Neville stared fearfully at the unknown creature.
Hermione had never experienced something like this before. She gasped in surprise. "Neville, it's okay. Go on. touch it." Her voice was filled with wonder. Never in her wildest dream could she ever imagine seeing the thoughts, which used to swirl inside her head, with her own two eyes. 'This is incredible!' she thought.
Still looking fearful, Neville slowly reached out a trembling hand to touch the Sennipah. The moment his fingertip made contact with the mysterious creature, an incredible feeling of absolute wonder suddenly filled his whole being. "Wow!" he murmured. He felt like floating in a dream state, his happy memories and dreams meshed into one, and the end result was his own fantasia.
What Hermione found out was that these magical creatures have the unique ability to fill people with absolute happiness, placing you in a dreamlike state of euphoria. She didn't know that Hagrid had paired them up for a reason. Whenever a pair entered the cave, each Sennipah would make it's own selection; it would allow only it's chosen pair to see and touch it. The Sennipahs allow this to happen only once in a lifetime. If one of them try to enter the cave again, even with another person, the Sennipah will not reappear.
Hermione and Neville were not aware of the time anymore, each one lost in their own private paradise. There was a flash of blinding silvery light then Neville, realized with a start that he was being immersed inside the secret world of Hermione's thoughts, dreams and memories. The same thing happened to Hermione. She was astonished as Neville's most intimate thoughts and memories flooded her mind.
For more than an hour, all of them, except from Hagrid, were able to delve in each other's most secret, most private inner thoughts and dreams.They rediscovered a lot of things they would have never possibly remember. Some even witnessed memories long forgotten, buried at the back of their mind.
Hagrid never told them that they would even have the chance to take a glimpse at the person they were partnered with. Hermione, for instance, had been friends with Neville for ages, but she didn't have an inkling what Neville's inner thoughts and feelings really were, and if not for the Sennipah, she would never have found out, not in a million years.
She was most surprised and curious to see that most of Neville's thoughts were all about a silver haired adorable little girl. The girl seemed to be about six years old. She was an extremely pretty child, reminding Hermione of a Veela. She was always smiling, sometimes laughing, playing with Neville, offering him an apple, asking him to play hide and seek and many more others childhood memories of the past. His last memory was a heart tugging one. The little girl was crying, she was waving goodbye to him. With tears in her eyes, she told Neville, "Promise, you'll owl me back."
Only one happy memory of Neville was during his stay in Hogwarts. Hermione remembered it clearly. Dumbledore had awarded Neville points for his bravery. It was because of that extra point that the Gryffindors finally won the House Cup for the first time during their first year.
Neville, on the other hand, found out a lot about Hermione. He realized with amazement that Hermione's happy memories seemed boundless in comparison to his. Last year's memories whirled past Neville's eyes in a maelstrom of colors making Neville feel slightly dazed. Gradually, the visions slowed down, becoming clearer to Neville. He saw Victor Krum asking her to visit Durmstrang. It was immediately followed by a very pretty-looking Hermione dancing with Krum during the Yule Ball. He was offered a view of Harry and Ron talking right after the first task, followed by a vision of Harry as he snatched the golden egg from the clutches of a fiery dragon. Neville like laughing out loud when Draco Malfoy was changed into a white ferret by Professor Moody. Then he saw Cedric Diggory's smiling face when he was announced Hogwarts Champion.
Neville couldn't help but wonder what Diggory was doing in Hermione's memories. He had expected to see Ron, Harry, and yes, even, Krum but not Diggory, though. It struck him as odd. Before he could dwell on it longer, the visions shifted, there was more. He saw Madam Pomfrey magically fixing Hermione's teeth. There was the colorful and exciting Quidditch World Cup championship; he saw Harry and Ron, as expected, and even a glimpse of Ginny, the Weasley twins, and Ron's parents. Then, there was Professor McGonagall praising Hermione for her work in Transfiguration. Neville couldn't help but be proud of her.
Then all of a sudden, he saw Harry riding a flying Hippogriff. 'That's Buckbeak!' he thought excitedly. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing. From what he could see, it was obviously the middle of the night, and as Neville tried to make sense of what he was seeing, he saw the same Hippogriff being led away outside Hagrid's hut. He grew confused as he listened to Ron saying, "You're no longer alone in helping Hagrid with Buckbeak's case."
Neville blinked in surprise upon seeing Professor Lupin saying, "You're the cleverest witch of your time."
There was a flurry of pinkish glittery substance, then the visions cleared once more. He saw Hagrid saying proudly, "An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do." Neville was still smiling when he saw Hermione lying in one of the beds in the Hospital Wing. She didn't seem hurt, but she was smiling as she read a Get Well Soon card. His mouth dropped open when he discovered who was the sender. It was Professor Gilderoy Lockhart.
'What was it with Lockhart, all the girls seemed to fancy him?' he thought in confusion.
Neville smiled slightly as he witnessed at how Hermione took one look at the furry, ginger-haired cat, and decided then and there to buy the cat. Dumbledore appeared so suddenly, startling Neville. The Headmaster, Neville realized, was awarding Hermione points for cool logic during their first year. The scene changed before him. He had to squint because it was dark and quite hard to see what Hermione, Ron and Harry were doing at the rooftop. They seemed to be carrying something, and were waiting for someone named Charlie. He was still wondering about what it was they were carrying, when he saw Harry catch the golden snitch for the first time in Quidditch.
A wave of sparkling, bluish substance encircled Neville for a full minute. Then it whooshed past him, and he could see Hermione waving her wand in Ollivander's shop. Behind her, Mr. Ollivander appeared extremely pleased at the choice of wand he had selected for her. He couldn't help but feel slightly nostalgic as he was reminded how impressed they all were the first time they entered Hogwarts. He caught a glimpse of an obviously elated Hermione as she read the letter, which informed her that she was officially accepted as a student in Hogwarts school of Magic.
It was quite a pleasant surprise for Neville when he saw a much younger Hermione sitting on his father's lap. Her father was looking at her fondly, telling her, "Daddy will always love you."
Neville felt a stab of sadness, remembering his own parents. It took him a few seconds before he realized that what he was seeing was probably a memory of Hermione when she was still a baby. There were tiny fairies encircling her crib. She raised one chubby hand, trying to catch one of the fairies. Neville thought she looked adorable as she gurgled happily, smiling at the fairies.
There were still a lot more visions whirling around but were starting to fade into a blur, confounding Neville.
The Sennipah slowly faded, then disappeared entirely. All of the them slowly drift back to reality.
Draco was the first one to stand up. He was followed by Millicent Bullstrode as steadied herself when she stood up. They looked around, observing the others. Pansy looked unmistakably uneasy while Goyle was looking at her in an alarmed way. He quickly left her side and scrambled to Crabbe's side. Among the Gryffindors, Harry looked lightheaded. Ron was smiling sheepishly, his eyes downcast. The rest, including Dean had a look of amazement on their faces.
Hagrid made a sign telling them to leave the cave in pairs. They all turned to leave, but stopped when Neville cried out, "Hermione?"
They all turned to look at Neville, who waskneeling towards a deathly pale Hermione, lying crumpled on the ground. Hagrid was about to rush to Hermione's direction, when a very frightened Ron shouted, "Hagrid, Parvati's not breathing at all!"
Parvati was slumped unconscious to the ground. Like Hermione, her face was chalky white and eyes tightly closed. Before anyone could do anything, Harry said in a startled voice, "Lavender isn't breathing either!"
Panic instantly filled the entire group.
Hagrid said tersely, "Someone help me carry them three outa here. The rest of yeh go in two's and leave the cave this instant."
To everyone's surprise, it was Draco Malfoy who immediately rushed to Hermione's side. He scooped her up and carried her in his arms. "I'll carry Hermione outside," he said to Hagrid.
Pansy let out a shocked gasp.
Draco took no notice of the shocked expression among the Slytherins, and hurriedly walked towards the path leading to the entrance.
A stunned Hagrid nodded. Everyone stood there in disbelief, most especially Ron and Harry. Neville recovered from his shock and quickly followed Draco. Ron quickly lifted Parvati and left the still stunned group without saying a word. Harry, with Lavender in his arms, followed suit. Hagrid motioned to the class to follow quickly. The rest began walking towards the path, which led to the cave's entrance. Nobody uttered a single word; they just kept walking in muted silence.
Outside, Draco placed Hermione gently on the grass, then he took his wand and a stretcher popped into view. Quickly placing the deathly pale Hermione on the stretcher, he waited for the others to come out of the cave. He remained standing rigidly by her side, a frown on his pale face.
It didn't take very long, but it felt like a lifetime to him. The first to come out was Neville, followed by Ron and Harry. Finally, Hagrid's bulky form appeared as well. Hagrid prepared two more stretchers for Lavender and Parvati. A little while later, everybody had come out of the cave, looking perplexed and worried.
Harry immediately strode towards Hermione's side. He glared at Draco, who still had not budged from his spot. He looked away and focused on Hermione's face. But her pallid face only made him look more agitated.
"Ennervate!"
To his utter dismay, nothing happened.
Ron had already left Parvati Patil and was now standing close toHarry. He looked furiously at Draco, who remained standing at Hermione's side.
"What's he doing here?" he asked Harry, throwing Draco a scornful look.
When Harry didn't make a reply, he whipped his wand and pointed it at Hermione.
"Ennervate!"
Again nothing happened. Worse, Hermione's pallor seemed to be changing to a bluish hue, which was normally associated with dead people.
Ron gave Harry a terrified look. "Harry, it's not working."
"It's no use, Ron. I've already tried that," Harry said grimly.
He went to Ron's side. They looked helplessly at each other. He placed a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder. With great reluctance, Ron put down his wand. Harry silently ignored Draco, but Ron, on the other hand, kept glaring at Draco pointedly.
"What's that idiot doing?" Draco said all of a sudden, making Harry and Ron look at him in surprise.
Harry followed Draco's gaze. His eyes blazed with anger as he turned to Draco. "Don't you ever call Hagrid an idiot!"
"If he isn't a complete idiot," Draco replied scathingly, "then what is he doing at a time like this?"
"You're the only idiot here, Malfoy," Ron fired back. Turning to Harry, he whispered, "What is Hagrid up to?"
Hagrid appeared to be busy picking fruits on a nearby tree. The fruit was about as big as a cherry, but silver in color
"I dunno," Harry replied quietly. "Ron, do you know what fruit is that?"
Ron shook his head. "Maybe we should go ask him," he suggested. "Hey, what's he doing now?"
They observed in confusion as Hagrid started smashing the fruits he picked with his hand. He then grabbed a thick leaf to hold the juice flowing from the smashed fruits.
"He seems to be coming this way." Harry said.
True enough, Hagrid was heading towards them. He went to Hermione first, placing the leaf close to her lips. He let one drop of the colorless juice drop onto her lips, then he did exactly the same to Parvati and Lavender.
With bated breath, they waited for some kind of reaction but nothing happened.
"I fergot that Muggle born are affected strangely by Sennipah," Hagrid said guiltily. "I don' understan' why those ter are affected, too."
But no one felt blaming Hagrid for what just happened. Even the Slytherins were oddly silent. Not even Draco Malfoy had anything to say at the moment.
Long silence ensued.
"Will they die?"
Everyone stared at Pansy Parkinson in surprise.
"She isn't going to die!" Ron snapped furiously.
"I'd like ter say no," Hagrid said, sighing,"but really do not know. This ne'er happened afore."