Hey, readers! Here's the bonus chapter I promised.
I just want to say one thing;
I'm watching you!
That's right, I see everyone who adds my story to their favorites, or me to their author alerts and so on. Most of the people who do this don't review! I very much appreciate this, but would you mind throwing in a review or two? It's very encouraging and motivates me to put up more chapters!
Thanks!
And now...
Disclaimer: I.DON'T.OWN.HARRY.POTTER... duh!
Chapter 4: No More Nightmares, Okay?
Within a day, Harry was glad to be out of the hospital wing. His head still hurt a little, but he decided he could deal with it. Slytherin Beater Liam Rucker was dealing with a truckload of punishments, and was suspended from the team. He rather it was Mafloy-that would have been a bittersweet victory. The Quidditch match was canceled and postponed for two weeks later. Harry would have been content, if Hermione hadn't been nagging him all day.
Harry settled into a comfy armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room, and closed his eyes. Not to relax, but to sharpen his hearing. He wasn't surprised as he heard a shuffling noise as someone climbed through the portrait hole.
"Harry!" a stern voice called his name. So, she followed him here, even though he was sure she had another class in ten minutes. "Did you walk away from me?"
"Hermione? Erm-no, I had a headache. Went to-er-get some tylenol."
"You and I both know the magical world does't use tylenol." The bushy haired girl took a seat next to him. "Aren't you at all curious about what we just discussed? You really don't seem like yourself lately."
"I told you, it must have been a teacher. I don't care who cast that cusioning charm when I fell," he said, exasperated. For some reason, she couldn't let that small little detail drop. She was convinced it was some significant piece of a puzzle, but Harry didn't believe there was even a puzzle at all. It was just a coincidence. "It's nothing. I mean, I'd like to know who did it but it's not a big deal." If it wasn't Dumbledore, he wasn't interested. He wouldn't admit it, but the fact that it wasn't Dumbledore who had been his savior still irked him.
"But Harry, I just know something weird is going here. Anything else you remember that was... odd?" Hermione asked.
"A lot of things were odd. I was hallucinating when I woke up." Hermione rolled her eyes and got to her feet.
"Ignore it, Harry, but I'm tellling you; you aren't acting like yourself lately, and it worries me." Those were her departing words, and they left Harry more annoyed than before.
What exactly was his self, anyway? Nosy, curious? It didn't matter, he told himself. The dark-haired boy rubbed his eyes and left the common room to the dorm rooms, and went to bed. Harry settled into his four-poster bed.
Closing his green eyes, he drifted off to sleep.
He opened his eyes, and got out of bed. He head hurt horribly, so painfully. He crossed the castle to Dumbledore's office.
"Lemon drops," he said. He went in and found Dumbledore sitting at his desk. His eyes were focused on Fawks.
"Sir, I didn't want to bother you but... My head really hurts. Bad." Just as he said it, it felt like it burst open. "Do you have any tylenol?" Dumbledore ignored him. "Please, Sir. Please!" The old man continued to ignore him for a few minutes. The pain was so bad he fell to his knees, clutching his scar. It wasn't his head anymore, but that lightening-shaped mark on his forehead.
"Ow! My scar!" At this, Dumbledore seemed to finally realize Harry was here.
"Your scar, did you say? My, boy, Voldemort is near!" he said. Harry looked up, nearly blinded with pain.
"What?"
"Yes, he is near. Now is your time! You must fight him, Harry." There was a knock on the door. "That's him! Now go Harry, fight him."
"B-but, I can't! I don't want to. I'm not ready!" he said, and suddenly panicked. The knock grew louder, overwhelming, and the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end.
"You must, Harry, you are the Chosen One!" said Dumbledore.
"I'm afraid!"
"You're a Gryffindor! Why else do you think I chose you as my Golden Boy?"
"What are you saying? Sir, I'm scared."
"You are the Boy Who Lived. Now fight Voldemort, Harry!" Dumbledore shouted. Harry's held his head.
"No! I'm not! I don't want to be the Boy Who Lived! I want to finish school, I want to hang out with my friends! I don't want to be Harry Potter!" The knocking was so loud it deafening to his ears. Suddenly, the door burst open.
A flash of green. His mother was screaming. Everything changed.
He was Voldermort. This was real.
"Weaken him, I told you. Crush him. Make his mind frail. You did not do this," he said in a cold, high pitched voice. He looked down at the bowed man with distaste "Crucio!"
"NO!"
"Harry!" He shotupright, sweat glistening down his forehead. He looked around wildly, clenching his bedsheets. They were soaked with sweat. Ron's wide eyes were inches from his.
"Harry, what's wrong! Get a hold of yourself!" To his embarassment, Seamus, Neville and Dean also crowded around him.
"I'm fine-er, go back to bed." Seamus cast him a strange look and wandered back to bed. Dean shook his head sympathetically and followed Seamus's lead.
"What happened?" Harry whispered to Ron.
"Well, nothing. I felt something weird and scaly brush my leg. It kinda hurt, so I woke up. I reckon it's my new pajama pants, there so uncomfortable. When I woke up, I heard shouting and, well, groaning. Looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare so I woke you up, and the others woke too, and came running." Ron motioned towards Neville and looked back at Harry apologetically.
"I heard it. You alright, Harry?" asked Neville. Harry nodded, his eyes refusing to meet Neville's. Without warning Harry jumped, his eyes wide.
"Did you see that?" Neville and Ron looked behind them fleetingly.
"See what?" Ron asked.
"I swear... Or I'm seeing things." He could have sworn he saw the torso of a black snake just slither out of the room. But there was no way...
Ron looked at him uncertainly. "Harry, are you alright? Maybe you should go back to sleep... No nightmares, okay?"
Like he could control it. "I'm fine. Just got to bed, already. It's fine." Not really. He had to tell somebody-to tell somebody that wouldn't think he was crazy. He had a powerful urge to talk to Hermione.
Morning sunlight struck him full in the face through and open window. The rest of Harry's sleep went by undisturbed but he still felt uneasy. Brushing it off, along with his night clothes, he got dressed and headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast.
Harry went towards the Gryffindor table and seated himself next to Ron and across from Hermione. He wanted to talk to her; but all the Weasley's were there, and Neville, Seamus, and Dean, so he kept his mouth shut and loaded bacon onto his plate.
"Morning," said Ron through a mouthful of eggs.
"Good morning, Harry," chorused the twins. Fred and George were all the more cheery towards Harry since the Quidditch accident, and had it out for Liam Rucker. Harry warned them not to take revenge but the next morning the Slytherin was puking all over the Great Hall. Nobody but Harry knew that Fred and George somehow slipped the purple end of a Puking Pastil into his food...
"Morning, Harry. How are you feeling?" Harry looked up and met Hermione's brown and all-knowing eyes. Then he looked over to Ron, who pretended to be picking dirt out of his nails. He definitely told her.
"Fine," Harry told her stiffly and took a bit of toast. His reply came out colder than he intended it-he was really just cross with Ron. So, softly he added, "How about you?"
"Alright," she answered conversationally. "Let's see. We have History of Magic today-you know, I still haven't finished the essay. It's due in two days so I thought I'd head over to to the library after Charms. You want to come with me?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"Alright," he said. Ron watched the exchange perceptively.
The beginning of their classes passed normally. Double Tranfiguration, Potions, Charms, and lunch. But instead of lunch, Harry and Hermione went straight to the library. Hermione led him to a secluded cubicle were she usually studied, pulled a few books off the shelves to avoid the suspicion of the Librarians, and sat down. She wated no time getting to the point.
"Alright, Ron told me you were having nightmares. What's going on?"
"Nothing," Harry said hastily. "That's not what I want to talk about. It was just a nightmare, honest. But I... I think I might be seeing things." Hermione looked at him strangely.
"That snake. I thought I saw it in the hospital wing and I thought I saw it when I woke up from my nightmare. Well, I didn't exactly see it-it just keeps slipping away and I just see part of it. I'm not sure-"
"In the hospital wing, did you say?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, why? Did you see it?" Harry asked, hope rising in his chest, a hope that maybe he wasn't going crazy. His face fell when Hermione shook her head.
"No," she admitted in a whisper, "I didn't. But Hagrid has been letting the thing all over the school. I think we should go have a talk with him tomorrow. Me, you, and Ron."
"Ron," Harry said, annoyed.
"Oh, don't be mad he told me. He was just being a friend."
"Yeah," Harry agreed gruffly and got up. The pair went off to lunch, but Harry hardly ate. He was feeling rather anxious. But, the thought of visitng Hagrid the next gave him something to look foward to.
Next chapter- Harry, Hermione, and Ron go to see Hagrid and something interesting happens... Ron's worst nightmare! Well keep 'R&R'ing!!
Random-Side-Story-Of-The-Day
...is and interesting fact that will probably make you mad.
I already have half of this story finished, I just choose to post the chapters in pairs so I get more reviews.
But why, you ask, why do you do this!??!
Because... I want more reviews and critisisms, so I can edit the fic. It needs some major revising so your input is welcome!!!!
