Chapter Six
Disclaimer: Snape might kind of compliment Harry. Maybe...
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Harry woke with a start, wand already in hand. It glowed faintly and illuminated the abandoned study he had recently begun to occupy. Seeing nothing out of place he relaxed slightly and settled back into the corner he had been sleeping in.
"Getting loopy I am. Cant even tell dream from reality anymore." He muttered quietly to himself. Yet another night of lucid dreams had ended with him being startled awake.
For the last month Harry had dreamt every night of a decrepit looking prisoner in a similarly unkempt jail. The dream was part of a continual series of visions he was subjected to in his dreams after the incident with he bludger earlier that year. Luckily they were often fairly mundane as the man he watched did not move or do anything at all. In fact all he did was stare down into a courtyard below where he was imprisoned, unmoving and seemingly uncaring about his predicament. Judging by the moss and plant life built up around the figures body it was clear he had sat like this far before Harry had started to observe him. Despite the lack of activity he had learned a few things about the place and its residents so far, not to mention the still noticeable passing of time between dreams. Harry did not know if it was a good or a bad thing that the prison was slowly changing.
As for what he had learned it was first obvious that those who resided in the decrepit prison were either walking corpses or large pudgy monsters. Harry had begun naming of the giant thing that seemed to guard the place as Dudley when it came to mind, which did little to reduce the terror he felt at the same time. He had seen the demonic warden smash countless of the undead prisoners with a giant club it carried. All this, along with everything else he saw of the land, confirmed to him that some dreadful curse had destroyed whatever society once resided here. Why he saw the happenings of this prison he did not yet know but he felt that there was something important about the particular inmate his dreams seemed to revolve around.
The man he followed looked to have kept some of his thought processes as he did not react aggressively towards everything he saw like the others and his eyes remained clear of the red light of his fellow inmates. He was expecting to continue watching the man sit and stare at the stones below for eternity before one night he was shocked by the cadaver suddenly standing from its seated position against a wall, breaking away from the lichen that grew around his body. Slowly they began to wander around the prison, eventually seeming to be looking for a way out as it went from door to door trying its best to wrestle open the rusted iron gates to no avail. Now the only place the stranger could go was through a giant set of doors that lead to where the Dudley monster waited. It seemed the man wished to continue no further when he simply sat down at a small bonfire in the courtyard near the door and had been there for several boring dreams now. Whatever fed the flames kept it lit without any sign of help from the man, though Harry felt it must be fueled by magic. What startled him awake this night was when suddenly another undead, dressed as a soldier with crumbling armor and a rusty sword, jumped from a rooftop and hacked the man Harry was watching in the neck. It was then Harry awoke to find himself in the corner he fell asleep in.
Deciding it wasnt worth trying to get back to sleep he stood up and stretched while quietly yawning. Shaking out his limbs he went and peered out the door looking closely either way. His stomach growled at him telling him where to go. Quickly he exited towards the left, striding carefully towards where he knew the kitchens could be found. As he cautiously navigated the halls there was time to think over some of the events of the school year, which he did several times a day.
After being accused of attacking Filches cat most of the school hadn't actually minded that much. The cat, and its owner, were not exactly favorites of the student body. However his teachers had begun to treat him with disdain, though Snape behavior towards him hadn't changed at all. Even Flitwick looked at the boy uncertainly and had informed him that his dueling lessons had to be put on hold. Harry had not heard otherwise and didn't expect good news about this anytime soon.
While having the teachers like you was nice he found it really mattered little. He simply showed up to his scheduled meetings to get his homework, did all his assignments, and otherwise ignored his teachers glares during meals. His friends had not turned on him for the most part but there were some who stopped talking to him. Again it mattered little to him, as he knew being alone would be something he could handle. Those friends that stayed by his side were more than enough for one that grew up with none.
The day before Christmas break things once again changed.
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Dinner had just been let out when someone burst through the doors of the great hall. A third year Hufflepuff was bent over in the doorway breathing heavily from what must have been a run halfway across the castle. Catching his breath he proceeded to run towards the head table.
"Theres been an attack!" He yelled, causing the room to break out into raucous conversation.
"Quiet!" Yelled the Headmaster in a commanding voice. Nothing but the boy running could be heard in the silence afterwards. The messenger made it to the Professors who talked quietly with him for a few moments before Dumbledore and Professor Snape rushed out the teachers side entrance. Deputy Headmistress Mcgonagall moved to stand at the front of the hall.
"Prefects are to gather their entire house and bring them to your respective dorms. I want every student accounted for within the next fifteen minutes. Your heads of houses will be along shortly to check on your safety. Now go!"
Harry moved with the rest of the Ravenclaws to the tower, wondering where Luna was that she missed dinner. Most of the Claws were inside when Harry got to the door into Ravenclaw Tower, which then promptly slammed shut in his face.
"Wha-" he started in surprise. The bronze knocker then spoke in its normal voice, but instead of asking a riddle this time the bird gave an unexpected message.
"Only members of House Ravenclaw may enter the tower until the school lockdown has been lifted. Return to your own common room until a staff member retrieves you."
Harry stared dumbly at the door but stepped out of the way. When those behind him walked up to the door it readily opened to allow them in. A few entered giving him confused looks as they passed. A seventh year who was a member of the dueling club and friendly to Harry held the door open and beckoned him in. However the older Claw was pulled inside by an invisible force and the door slammed shut once again as Harry drew near it. Confused and defeated Harry stepped out of the way and let the rest of his house go inside. Before long he was left sitting on the stairs outside looking worriedly down the stone steps. He was nervous for a moment when footsteps started making their way up but Professor Flitwick soon cam into view looking quite serious. He stopped upon seeing Harry which caused his brow to furrow, immediately making Harry nervous again.
"Wha-" was once again all Harry was able to ask before being interrupted.
"Not another word, Mr Potter. Wait here and do not move." Was all Flitwick said before entering the Ravenclaw common room. After a minute he exited back out and rushed past the boy. "Follow me." He said curtly before starting down the steps.
Harry followed him down to the grand staircase and through several wings of the school into a section that sat unused. They rounded one final corner where Harry stopped dead in his tracks.
Covering the walls, floor, and ceiling was blood. So much blood that Harry felt sick just thinking about what must have happened. Immediately he knew they thought he had done this but had no idea where to even begin trying to refute them. Dumbledore stood in the middle of it all waving his wand and chanting while lights glowed around him. "What the hell happened? Why are you showing me this?" He exclaimed, taking a step back and putting a hand to his mouth.
"You know very well that is paint Mr Potter." Said a red faced Flitwick who stood before him. "NEVER would I EVER think one of my students could do something like this, but to your own friend?! I want EVERYTHING, and I want it NOW!" Shouted the Charms Master. He may have been short, but Harry was cowering away from the sheer power the man put behind his voice.
"W-what do you mean? Paint? What happened to my friends! Who was it, are they-"
"Perhaps," interrupted Dumbledore who had moved next to Flitwick, "we should ask the boy some questions. We are not yet sure yet of his guilt. Harry," he turned towards Harry speaking with a grave tone of voice, "where were you before dinner?"
"What? I was studying with Luna like normal. Then we started going to dinner but she left a notebook behind and went back to- !" He suddenly realized what had happened, panic seizing control over his brain. His breathing grew frantic and heavy while his heart started pounding loudly in his ears. The only person he hadn't seen at dinner was Luna, or at least anyone he had cared to notice missing. She had been fine when she left, giving him a hug before skipping away down the hall. What would want to harm the innocent girl, who danced to class and wore a smile even while she slept?
"Mr Potter, Ms Lovegood is not physically injured or at risk of being so more than Mrs Norris, for the time being. Currently she rests in the Hospital Wing under the influence of a very powerful Petrification curse. The only one as strong I have ever seen was before Halloween when we suspect you used the very same unknown curse on Mr Filches pet. Do you see why you have been brought here now?"
"You think I attacked my own best friend!? I wouldn't ever hurt Luna in a million years! I want to see her right now!"
"That is enough!" Interrupted Flitwick. "You have already been permanently removed from house Ravenclaw by my authority as head of house. Until the evidence is compiled and studied you will be a ward of Hogwarts castle. You are not to attend any classes until further notice and will eat all of your meals in the kitchens. Furthermore your wand will be confiscated until it is either snapped or your innocence is proven."
"Fine, do whatever you want! Im going to make sure Luna is okay and I'm not going to stand here and be blamed for this."
"You will do no such thing! If you so much as step foot in the hospital wing I will personally cast you outside the wards into the depths of the forbidden forest. Do I make myself clear?" The icy tone and hard look on Flitwicks eye told him that arguing would likely see him suddenly surrounded by trees and dark creatures.
"Where should I go then?" Harry asked, defeated and feeling like a cry. He hadn't done so in a long time but the thought of loosing Luna was more than his mind could handle.
"There are quarters on the seventh floor waiting for you. You may read from whatever Madame Prince allows you to but otherwise are expected to spend your time in your room or away from other students. Go now before I forget myself and give you the punishment you deserve."
Harry did start to finally cry silently after he turned around. He caught Dumbledore say "-easier until we know more-" but cared little that the Headmaster was not as sure of his guilt. The rest of the long walk to find his room was spent crying and worrying about what would happen next
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Following the second attack, Harrys life continued to spiral downward. He didn't talk to another student for five days until accidentally running into a fifth year Ravenclaw. He gave Harry a look as if he were a disgusting bug before pulling out his wand and casting a severely painful stinging hex to his head and spent the rest of the day with a splitting headache. He realized quickly after interacting with a few more students that everyone though he was a lunatic who had attacked his best friend. He was lucky if they didn't try to curse him on sight.
While he didn't know the details of how Luna was doing he took the Headmasters word that she would when the potions to reverse petrification could be made. He knew there was nothing he could do and so tried to ignore the urge to sneak in under his invisibility cloak. While it was an amazing tool he didn't want to test the power of both Dumbledore and Hogwarts nor the wrath of the Charms Professor.
The only thing one could say was a positive, if you could call it that, was a brief meeting with Professor Snape. They ran into each other during his second week of Harry's solitude.
"Nothing better to do than wander the halls, Mr Potter? I though you were intelligent enough to at least be trying to find the real culprit, but it seems I was wrong."
"Y-You know I'm innocent?" Harry had asked, almost as shocked as he had been to see the hallway smeared with blood.
"I find it highly unlikely that someone with even your poor level of intelligence would come up with something so obvious. Perhaps I was wrong?"
Snape had then sped off down the hallway, cloak billowing as always. While it was far from anything comforting, it meant that at least someone could see he was innocent. Sadly it seemed that Snape was the only one. Everyone, including Cedric and the Twins, would try to hex him on sight. Fred and George were some of the worst, finding him no matter where he went and doing horrible things to him. He tried his best to proclaim his innocence to his peers but stopped after he realized nobody wanted to listen to him. His days were reduced to hoping the Twins were busy and reading from whatever books he could find. He found that while Madame Pince would only give him fiction novels and some historical books, the private library he and Luna discovered was still accessible. Or at least nobody noticed him using it yet.
While probably only a fraction the size of the main library it still held several hundred volumes. There was a good variety of magical literature, allowing the already studious boy to devour information during his many hours of solitude. He felt that he was keeping up with the level of learning his classmates must have been if only somewhat different material as he focused on trying to find out more about petrification. If he had been more involved with the rumors of the school he might have realized sooner that Slytherins monster was a Basilisk, a large snake known for petrifying or killing victims with its gaze, was being set loose upon the school. He also tried to study from some more advanced books on spells to take down such a large magical creatur but without a wand he could do little. There was one book on how one could learn wandless magic though and Harry made a little progress in the skill even after two months of study. The book noted that it would take years for all but abnormally powerful wizards to get even a feather to float, while he already gotten one to shake a few times.
When a third attack occured, leaving a first year Gryffindor petrified as well, Harry was the first to be blamed. Again he tried to explain his innocence. Instead of listening, it seemed both Mcgonagall and Flitwick were only more frustrated by the lack of hard evidence needed to convict him. He was almost expecting the fourth attack when it happened, this time leaving another Ravenclaw in the hospital wing petrified. That time he was nearly thrown out immediately but Headmaster Dumbledore stopped his removal from the grounds. There was no evidence to suggest Harry had been there for any attack other than the first. Since he was always alone there was nobody to prove he was elsewhere. It surprised him that he was not put under constant surveillance and it would not be until much later that he would learn he actually was in some ways.
With the next attacks came an increase of what Harry bitterly referred to as "Harry Hunting". It was much the same as the game Dudley used to play with his friends, but instead of just his fat cousin and lame friends there was a school full of witches and wizards after him. He was fortunate to catch the Twins off guard one day, trying to spy on them and see how they kept finding him. While he did not know what the paper they were using was or how it worked he was able to steal it and hide it in what he was beginning to see as "his" library, the only place nobody could really find him.
School was entering its last four weeks when Harry found himself walking to the kitchens one cold night, muttering about "those damned weasley's" and far away prisons...
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A/N
Thanks for your eyeballs. You can have them back now.
