Hey I'm starting this chapter on Monday so just to tell you, you're probably reading this Thursday or Friday and I apologize for the wait…again. I'm doing a community play and I had 5-9 rehearsals all this week so I barely have time to myself. So now please read and review.
Harry Potter and the Tragedy of Love
Chapter 7
The First Dinner
Harry kept looking from Ginny to Hermione. Ron kept looking from Harry to Hermione as so was Ginny. Ginny sat about 5 seats away from the group but could still se everything. This agitated Hermione, her plan had not worked.
They were still in the great hall. The 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and now 1st years had already arrived and they all were waiting for Dumbledore's announcement.
"When can we get the food." said Ron
"As soon as Professor Dumbledore makes his speech; you know that." said Hermione with a wary attitude.
"Well excuse me for being hungry"
"You can still be hungry Ronald but you have to learn patience none the less respect…" And they were off. Harry was use to their constant arguing. He had seen to that since their first year but now for the first time it actually annoyed him. It didn't take Harry long to figure out why.
'She is not yours to loose, remember that' thought Harry 'You told Ron he could have her, deal with it'
Harry straightened up, put on a fake grin, and prepared himself or a long night. He looked over at Hermione who was now in a deep debate with Ron on whether Redondo plants where poisonous or not. How they had gotten there the world may never know but that wasn't what stumped him. Hermione was.
Her hair under the false sky looked a diamond. Her skin was an offish pale but only made it luminescent. Her teeth were a perfect ray of pearls due to the braces she had in their earlier years. To Harry she was heart stopping which only made it all to harder to keep up a false pretense.
'What was I thinking? She is mine to loose; mine I have lost.' Harry went right back into black mood. He hated being there.
He took a quick glance at Ginny who turned her head as soon as he laid eyes on her.
'Great, now I have a watcher' exasperated Harry.
"Have we all a good travel" said Dumbledore from behind his podium. The once busy, bedlam of a dinning hall went to a deep quiet.
"I sure hope so for these are dark times and dark times require happiness, even in the darkest hours."
Harry couldn't help but feel that Dumbledore was looking directly at him when he said this. Ron and Hermione noticed and looked toward Harry who kept his face looking toward Dumbledore.
"See just because Voldemort has risen again, just because you might be having a few problems with your friends doesn't mean your alone. It means the rebellion has begun."
There was a ripple of mummers from the students. There was already a rumor that a war was beginning but Dumbledore had just pressed seal to it.
"And to anyone who feels like they're alone or just having some odd ball friends to trust, remember you can find a diamond in the ruff for you never know if they could be your biggest life savor." again Harry saw his cool blue eyes flash to his.
"In any rate…" He continued his speech as normal this time but Harry had an aching feeling he was talking to him.
'How could he know of my problems? I know he can perform Occulomency but he hasn't been around to hear my thoughts.'
"What was that all about" said Ron leaning over the table.
"I…think he's been reading my mind" Ron looked at him questioningly.
"Now we have to here to enjoy some merriment. Let us eat." At those words food appeared on there tables and everyone wasted no time in digging in. Harry smirked at the awing of the first years.
"Dumbledore's creeping me out. I mean he always did but never like this."
"What are you talking about" asked Hermione
"Harry thinks he's been reading his mind"
"Why would he do that?"
"Hermione didn't you noticed that when he spoke he spoke almost directly--."
"Hello young ones." Harry hadn't noticed that the crowd had gone silent. He followed their stares and saw Dumbledore standing behind him.
"Having a nice dinner?" None replied. "I was hoping so for you're going to need your strength this year especially you Harry" he winked at him.
"W-what d-do you mean?" Ron stuttered. "What do we need our strength for?"
"I mean that you three are going to be running around doing a lot of things for me." he smiled and left.
They all watched him walk down the isle and out the room. As soon as he had everyone went into whispers.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" said Ron "I mean its one thing to come to a student's table but another to say something like that."
"That was rather odd, Harry do you know--."
"No" he cut Hermione off saying.
"I've heard he's been doing a lot of odd things lately." said a 4th year sitting beside them.
"Yeah me to, everyone's reckon that he's lost it over the years." said the kid's friend.
"He's not crazy!" said Harry.
"He has gotten a bit old but he's as completely as sane as--." Hermione tried to defend Harry.
"Loony Lovegood." someone said.
"Hey Luna's a nice girl." Harry said when he looked at Luna who gave a warm smile. The whole great hall started tuning in to the conversation.
Hermione looked at him and gave a face that meant really. Harry suppressed at laugh.
"Nice or not you just have to admit Dumbledore's lost some of his marbles." said a voice from across the room. He looked over and saw Malfoy.
'Great this is just the dinner I wanted.' thought Harry.
He slowly walked over to the Gryffindor table. All eyes were on him.
"This is none of her business." said Hermione.
"Are you kidding me this is every ones business" he showed showing that the whole room was listening.
"Everyone except yours" said Ron
"Oh yeah, come the end of the year see if you can say that again."
"What do you mean by that huh." said Harry standing up. He had enough of this foolishness.
"Look at Potter, acting as if he could actually take me."
"I have already haven't I?"
"Let's see our first was when I caught you out of the school, past hours. That was a loose, loose. In our second year we had that one duel where everyone saw you as a freak. Nobody one that one. In fourth year I was the one that started the Plotter badges. Last year I didn't need to do anything, everyone was already against you."
"Very nice Malfoy but I think you're forgetting third year, the year where Hermione gave you a bloody nose."
The crowd that had surrounded them went mummers; Hermione looked embarrassed but no more than Malfoy who looked as though he wished he hadn't started anything.
"Think that's funny Potter."
"It really was hilarious" snickered Ron
"Well at least I didn't break up with my girlfriend because of a crime she was forced to do." It immediately went silent. Now Harry was embarrassed, not everyone had known what happened. Then his embarrassment turned into anger.
"Yeah no thanks to you." said Harry pushing Draco. He remembered how Malfoy and his little group gave Cho truth serum to tell of their whereabouts.
"Do you really want to do this, especially without wand" he said as he conjured a spell at Harry who missed it. Finally the teachers got involved.
"You two stop this instant, Mr. Malfoy what are you doing here? Your table is over there, now go." said Professor McGonagall
Malfoy gave one long warning look at Harry before he slipped through the crowd and out the room without bothering to finish his meal.
"And as for the rest of ya, there is nothing to see so either go to your common rooms or go sit down, please" They all went their separate ways disappointed there had been no fight. McGonagall turned to Harry.
"Potter try not to get into trouble this year but I suppose telling you this would be like talking to a brick wall." she sighed and walked back to the teachers table. Harry sat down. Hermione and Ginny looked at him worried.
"I'm fine" no one said anything, just looked.
"I said I'm fine." They looked away.
After a couple of minutes Harry found it impossible to enjoy his food anymore.
"You know I think I'll just go to the tower."
"We'll come" said Hermione getting up.
"No I just really want to be alone." Hermione sat back down.
Harry walked quickly down the isle and out the Great Hall. It was normally a place he liked but now he wanted nothing but to get as far away from it as possible. Harry worried that all his safe harbors would become extinct.
As he walked he saw peeves dangling from the ceiling.
"Hey what you doin Harry, dinner is that way." He said as he floated to his face.
"Please back off I'm not in the mood."
"Aw is someone having a bad time."
"I said shut it!" Peeves backed away a bit.
"You know you don't have to be mean I just wanted to talk"
"No you just wasted to prank me or do some kind of inappropriate joke."
"Inappropriate joke ooh here this knock, knock."
"I'm not playing that." Harry began to walk a little faster. This wasn't helping his nerves.
"No silly you're supposed to say 'who's there'."
"Peeves please go away and annoy someone else."
"Ant."
"What?"
Peeves sighed. "You're supposed to say ant who."
"For the last time I'm not doing this!"
"Ant you annoyed." and he bowled over in laughter. Harry took this diversion to escape.
He rounded the corner and down the hall to the staircases that lead to the Gryffindor Tower.
'Maybe things will be better in here' Harry hoped.
As he walked up the stairs he heard whispers coming from afar. He stood by the corner and listened.
"So what have you heard?" someone asked. Harry was curious and turned his head so he could see. Harry gasped. There stood Fudge, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Percy!
"That he-who-must-not-be-named is starting to fight back." said McGonagall
"What exactly is happening?" asked Fudge.
"We got an owl last week from Voldemort himself saying that he's watching us." said Dumbledore.
"An owl?!" said Percy.
"Yes a very unusual thing for him." said McGonagall.
"But why?"
"The reason is unclear but all we know at the moment is that he has someone in the castle, someone that doesn't belong."
Harry stopped listening there. He had so many questions in his head he thought it would explode.
'What was Percy doing here?' Does Ron or Ginny know about it? When did Fudge get here? And why does Dumbledore actually look shaken up?'
At the moment the only thing Harry was sure of was that Malfoy was 'the one that doesn't belong'. 'He has to be' Harry thought. 'There is just too much evidence against him.'
Harry continued up the stairs to the fat Lady.
"Happiness" the password was and she swung open.
Harry stepped in and sat on the couch. He sat there for a short while when it hit him. All the vertigo from the train, all the anger from the hall way hit him at once. He bent over the couch and stuffed his face in the cushion. He wasn't a crier but tonight was an exception. The only thing was that tears wouldn't come. He tried har to let it out but only made him more frustrated. He felt like scream which only made him dig his head in more. His stomach was aching and he a funny feeling he was being lit on fire as if someone had put a curse on him. He stayed like that, bent over trying not to scream. He couldn't straighten u because his stomach hurt too badly.
Finally he wore himself out. He slipped to his side and rested. Before he knew it he was sleep.
* * * * * * *
He looked around him to see he was surrounded by fire with a snake/ human staring right at him with deathly eyes.
"Give me the stone" he said Harry realized at once what was happening.
The snake object started moving toward Harry. He tried to back up but was trapped. He fell and tried to defend himself but when he touched him, his flesh started to burn. He continually touched him as more and more of him burned. Then when he was defeated Harry stood up victorious.
Then he saw a shallow ghostly figure and before he knew what it was he was down on the floor again unconscious. He felt as the living air had just been knocked out of him. As the he were dieing a slow death or he was death.
Then the scene changed everything went into a blur of confusion. Harry almost thought he had been put through a porky. He spinned in the bedlam till he was completely still…but not for long. A huge basilisk came rushing at him and he move; though it was as easy as Harry would have liked. He was up against the wall on a formation that looked like skull, he climbed up to one of it's ridges in hopes to escape but it came even quicker.
Then he realized he had the Gryffindor sword in his hand remembered how he had used.
'I sure hope this works again.' thought Harry and just as the basilisk was coming again he thrust the sword up his mouth.
Again there was no time to be proud. Just as he had before he had the huge fang in his arm. He could feel it swelling up. His arm went completely limp but he could still feel the burn. But something happened that hadn't happened before; he started loosing unconsciousness and found himself falling of the skull.
He fell and fell. Harry knew he should have hit the floor by now but he didn't. He realized he was becoming more cognizant and the feeling in his arm faded.
Then he felt a thud under hid back and e was on the floor by Sirius.
"Sirius?" Harry said. "Sirius, oh I'm so glad to…" and he looked up to see dementors floating above. Again no time to be happy.
One by one the swooped down over Harry and performed the kiss. There was no happiness. How had he ever been such a fool to believe that or at least that's how he felt, it felt. He was right to have been sad never happy, never.
Then he saw a beaming light, so bright it hurt to look but he forced himself. He saw all the dementors scatter scared of it but before he could find the source he was unconscious again.
He open his eyes to see a graveyard.
'No anything but this' Harry had been through enough all ready.
"Harry where are we?" Harry turned his head to see Cedric.
"Cedric, Cedric no get back to the cup!!" Harry thought he would actually get a chance to save him but then there was a green light and proved him wrong.
"Cedric no!" he went to his side. He was dead of course and Harry's knees buckled. He had no strength to get up, not even to look around to see Pettigrew put together Voldemort. He hardly even moved when he placed him up against the bones of Voldemort's father. He lay silent.
There was no hope, no hope at all. Harry looked up to see it start raining.
'This is new'
The rain got heavier and heavier till it completely blocked off the picture and started a new one, the order.
He and Sirius were fighting of one of the death eaters. They were winning.
"Good one James" said Sirius. Harry stopped in his tracks. He had forgotten he called him that. Then Bellatrix ruined it all. Another flash and Sirius was gone. He floated up into the veil, so peaceful it made Harry angry.
'Revenge' he thought. "Revenge" and he ran toward Bellatrix who also ran. He somehow got her on the floor and he swore he was actually about to kill her then something strange happened; something that didn't make sense. He was being poured over by a bucket of water and it was cold. Then he heard voices.
"Harry, Harry its ok"
"Come on lad wake up"
He was shaken in his spot to finally open his eyes and see the Gryffindor common room. Harry saw Ron with a bucket of water with Ginny and Hermione and a few others staring at him. He lost it. He had felt every possible worst feeling at once and he could have no more. He sat there and cried in front of everyone, even Hermione and Ginny.
No one said anything. Hermione bent over to hold Harry and Ginny let her. Ron patted his back while everyone else moved away to give them their space.
He hated it her. He wanted to go home wherever that was.
