Chapter 8
"Chivalry reigns!"
"Not in you apparently, waking me up so late!" grumbled the Fat Lady, swinging backwards.
"Do you know your dorm room?" asked Enid, her feet still wobbling, "And do have any idea what hex he used?"
"It must have been a non-verbal one, I didn't hear him." said Harry studying her trembling form.
"Slippery little salamander." muttered Enid, falling on one of the fat sofas, "Finite! Finite! Finite! Finally!"
Happily she then stretched her legs, "I'll get Carrow for that soon enough."
"Is that Prewett?" asked Harry pointing at an auburn haired boy who seemed to have fallen asleep on a plushy red armchair near the fireplace.
"That's him, he has been doing that a lot lately", informed Enid, pointing her wand in Prewett's direction, "Sleeping in the common room I mean. Avis!"
With a loud blast and bright blue light that Harry had to flinch away from, a flock of birds shot out of Enid's wand, twittering madly about before heading towards Prewett.
"What, for Merlin's sake-"hissed Ignatius Prewett, waking up as the tiny birds pecked his face happily, "Get these away from me, Merlin! Where did that noise come from? Oh, it's you, you spell-happy little-".
"Slept off again, Iggy, meet Hadrian Dumbledore, your recent dorm mate. Hadrian… meet Ignatius Prewett also known widely as Iggy the Prig or just Iggy. "
Prewett scowled at her, "Ignatius Prewett, you won't be calling me Iggy or any such nonsense, alright Dumbledore?" said Prewett in a serious tone, though he gave his hand for Harry to shake.
"Call me Hadrian." said Harry shaking Prewett's hand, "And I'll try, what with Enid around, who else calls you that?"
"Septimus, Shafiq and only the entire lot here." answered Enid, winking at Prewett, who ignored her comment.
"Come on then, let's head to the dorm. And that does not go for you, Enid. If I see you again in the boy's dorm, I'm seriously complaining to Professor Dumbledore."
Harry gave his new friend a grin before following Prewett to their dorm, the girl looked unconcerned at the threat, "Night! Be careful of the Erklings, Iggy!"
Prewett groaned, his footsteps hastily moving up the staircase, as Harry laughed. "She certainly knows you well then?"
"Childhood memories, they are a right pain! People remember every embarrassing incident, not that I'm going to tell you, mind."
They had reached the dormitory with its four-poster beds; it was quite dim with the stove's feeble flame providing the only light in the room.
"No need, I wouldn't bother with you, not with Enid around." teased Harry.
"Right there's the half of our lot, we actually have two dormitories for Seventh years, let's see, I'll just introduce you tomorrow, everyone's asleep now."
There were seven beds in the room, five of them occupied leaving two empty. Harry went to the bed which had a bright magenta colored trunk with yellow lemon drops decorating the front beside it. Not at all subtle, Dumbledore.
"That yours?" asked Prewett clearly amused.
"Give me a moment." replied Harry tightly, taking out his Aspen wand and changing the trunk completely black, "My uncle has a sense of humor."
"Not with his sweets, I think he takes them seriously. So, your favorite color is purplish-pink huh?"
"Goodnight, Iggy."
"What did I tell you about calling me that? Are you listening, wait your not actually heading to bed are you? Err, don't you want to get into more comfortable robes? Well….goodnight then."
Harry had to wait for a few hours, as Prewett was a slow sleeper; he was planning to sneak into the common room and call for Kreacher, he had a theory to confirm with that elf! And Voldemort was in the same vicinity as him. Killing his future foe was out of question, though Harry entertained the idea, the various possibilities of what the future could become once Voldemort was killed before his time Harry could at least wonder. Wait….why couldn't he kill Voldemort? He would have to think about that, after all if this was an entirely different world, what did he have to lose?
When he was completely sure Prewett had fallen asleep Harry got out of his bed. He had just reached the bottom of the steps, when he heard hushed voices. Quickly whispering a disillusionment charm over himself, and cursing the current occupants in his head, Harry stepped into the common room just in time to be treated to the sight of a kissing couple near the fireplace. He recognized the red hair as well as Black features perfectly. Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black seemed to be passionately snogging one another in a way Harry had yet to experience. He had to try that out for himself, as soon as he found the time …or the opportunity. The two love birds managed to detach themselves just enough to mutter incomprehensible words before having another go at each other. The lazy flames from the fireplace gave them a nice romantic background that few would have the heart to interrupt.
"You need to stop sulking…it's not helping matters…find it…excuse" were some words Harry caught, which were uttered by Cedrella when both stopped to draw breath.
"I can't stay like …my Cedrella...…"
Alright, that was more than Harry was willing to stomach, and he needed the two to vacate the common room so he took off his charm, "What a lovely show of affection…. you two couldn't have found an empty broom closet to enclose it in?"
Seeing the flushed and furious faces, Harry continued, "You both are Prefects after all, wouldn't have been a difficult task. Oh, pardon me Ms Black, but aren't you in Slytherin?"
"Dumbledore isn't it, what are you doing up so late?" questioned Cedrella Black, her voice having a suggestion of arrogance; she had recovered quickly, unlike Weasley who was still flushed and furious, and judging by the way his mouth was twisting he was on the verge of uttering a curse or two in Harry's direction.
Harry twirled his Aspen wand lightly, in warning before turning his attention towards Cedrella, "The same reason as you both, I have a bonny beauty to meet."
"You just came-"
"Septimus, honestly? Can't you realize he is lying?" drawled Cedrella, giving Weasley a disappointed look.
"What do you want, Dumbledore?" Weasley demanded aggressively.
"I just said it. Now Ms Black do you mind, you can take your lover with you, if you please. If anyone finds out a Slytherin is or was in the Gryffindor common room, well what's that saying the muggles say; all hell will break loose." finished Harry dramatically, plopping himself on a comfy sofa.
"I've to go anyway, Septimus." muttered Cedrella, heading towards the tower exit.
"Cedrella…wait; let me walk you out at least."
"And what good is that Septimus, it's not like you're going to come any further, not to the dungeons anyway."
Black left them; an angry Weasley rounded on Harry, "Well, I hope you're pleased with yourself."
"Why ever would I be?" asked Harry in false surprise, "So are you planning to head back? You are in another dorm aren't you?"
"Yes, I am thankfully." said Weasley shortly
They stood silently for a few minutes, sleep was quickly overtaking Harry and Weasley didn't look like he planned to leave.
"You don't want to go up, then?" asked Harry, unable to stop yawning.
"Oh no! I am waiting for your bonny beauty to show up, so I can meet her."
"And then what, you'll leave?"
"Once I tell her what a right ass you are."
"Well what if I said she lost her way taking a detour, and just decided to sleep it off?"
Weasley blinked, confused, "You're weird, Dumbledore. I am not leaving though, I don't fancy sleeping now."
Looking at the determined look on his face, Harry realized there was no getting him out of the common room, "Alright, I'm heading out for a stroll."
"That's not allowed! It's against the rules." came the reply promptly
"You hypocrite." said Harry, casting the disillusionment charm on himself and pulling open the circular hole.
"I'm telling Dumbledore!"
"Then so will I!" replied Harry climbing out of the portrait hole. He was heading for the Room of Requirement, where he could get an uninterrupted session with Kreacher.
"Who's that no good scoundrel? Waking me up so late!" complained the Fat Lady as he walked away from the Gryffindor Tower.
He soon located the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy; now all he had to do was walk past it three times. The Room appeared soon enough, after Harry had sprinted past it triple times. He felt a strange sensation as he entered the Room; the place was dusty, closing his eyes, Harry wished for the required atmosphere. The Room instantly took the form of a serene atmosphere, which Harry found funny.
"Kreacher!" shouted Harry to his heart's content, before surprisingly bursting into fits of laughter. He didn't know for sure why he felt the need to laugh hysterically at the moment; perhaps he shouldn't have mixed the brandy doused pudding with the eggnog and had nine goblets of it. He waited for a long time, but the elf didn't come. What job did Kreacher have this late at night?
He was feeling really sleepy now, and he was finding it odd that he couldn't stop laughing, until a possible explanation dawned on him.
Merlin! Harry hoped he wasn't under some spell; his unstoppable laughing though was destroying his hope. Who else knew of the Room of Requirement? Riddle, he knew about the Room of Requirement and hadn't he hid the Diadem horcrux here? This was going to be fun; as soon as he countered the laughing spell, he was tracking the horcrux down. The only problem was he couldn't form the words in his mouth; he would have to do a non-verbal "Finite Incantatem".
His wand grew cold as he thought of the incantation in his mind; it was a nice indicator for finding out if one's spells worked or not. Having got rid of the hex, and then waiting in vain for Kreacher, Harry headed out of the room, after making sure no more spells awaited him near the exit. But he did meet an unexpected fellow House-mate.
"Hello, so how did you find out about it?"
The wizard before him was looking cheekily at Harry; he had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, and had his hands behind his back.
"Who are you?" asked Harry trying to place the features of the wizard before him.
"Lyall Lupin, what's your name? But you're a Gryffindor; I've never seen you before."
He had to be Remus's father, a much happier version.
"Hadrian, just came yesterday and I'm a 7th year. Are you a 5th year or 6th?
"5th year, we have never had new enrollments for upper years before. There was one for 3rd, but that's all. So how did a new student find out about the Room?"
"Sheer luck, I was simply exploring the place, and wandering around aimlessly; it just appeared, with a big squashy chair inside….after I got tired of walking."
The boy grinned at that, "I found it by luck as well! It's very useful, I don't think many know about it, well….other than a few Ravenclaws and err the Head boy, you know Tom Riddle."
"And why is the Room hexed? I know you did it"
Lupin gave a laugh that sounded forced, "Well after an unfortunate incident with a Ravenclaw student, I decided to cast a modified version of a cheering charm, which would inform me when someone's using it and occupy them until I get there, I see you have gotten rid it."
"Not that difficult to do, why would you want to know if someone's using the room?"
"Err, curiosity I guess-"
"And something else as well."
Lupin looked uneasy, "Nothing else-"
"What is it?"
"I'm telling you-"
"The Ravenclaws can tell me I bet."
"You don't know which one." said Lupin looking coldly at Harry.
"I'll have to put a notice then."
"But that will inform the whole public!"
"The more the merrier, we could host a ball in here."
"I-"Lupin looked resigned, "Can you just let it rest?"
"I could help you, Lupin, whatever the problem."
"Why would I trust you? You're just a new student; you don't know much about the castle exits."
"I know a lot about Hogwarts, my uncle teaches here, so I know a lot of secret exits as well, Lupin, more than you I bet.
"Your uncle?"
"Professor Dumbledore, ring a bell?" Harry winked at the bewildered boy.
Lupin seemed to be taking in the new revelation.
"Err, uncle you say, I find that frankly a bit difficult to believe, I thought it was just a rumor." Lupin looked consideringly at Harry, "Fine, I'm trusting you. Do you know what a Griffin is?"
Griffins, he had caught sight of its picture in one of the Library books Hermione had borrowed for reading in their sixth year. They had looked more eagle than lion to Harry.
"A mix of lion and eagle, right?"
"Yes, well I found one, don't ask me how, I'm not telling you!"
"You hid it in the Room?" questioned Harry skeptically
"It was a baby; I didn't know what to do with it. Well, this is a perfect place, and I've been feeding it-"
"Do the Ravenclaws know? The Ravenclaw you had…..an accident with?"
"No, he only saw me, the Griffin was hidden. I'm planning to take it away during the holidays-"
"And you haven't told anyone about it?" asked Harry; Lupin was somewhat reminding him of Hagrid…wait, Hagrid?
"Ahh Lyall, did you get it from somewhere or from…someone?" questioned Harry looking slyly at Lupin.
The past was proving to be too easy.
"It was Hagrid wasn't it?" asked Harry, taking pity at the conflicted emotions appearing on Lupin's face.
"How do you know him?"
"Professor Dumbledore told me. So he gave it to you, did he?"
"He found it in the Forbidden Forest."
"Listen I'm going to help you, but tell me, did you tell anyone about this Room?"
"I figured they can find it out themselves, when they need it." shrugged Lupin
"So the ones who know," said Harry carefully playing out his words, "do they know that others might also know?"
Lyall Lupin scratched his neck thoughtfully, "Err, well I know the Ravenclaws know about me, because of the accident, I don't think the Head boy knows or he may know, I'm not too sure. We should head back to the common room, the Heads usually patrol this floor a lot, and they have the worst punishments once you end up with detention, Carpe loves meting out humiliating punishments, so we need to hurry-"
"Carpe?"
"Rancorous Carpe, he's the caretaker, the Knarl who thought of containing Peeves inside a bell jar, that's the school poltergeist, another one you got to watch out for."
Both headed back to the common room, Riddle's horcrux could wait.
….x…x
"Wake up! Merlin help you!"
It was a bright sunny morning, and Prewett was shouting at him unnecessarily. Harry opened his eyes to see six sleepy-eyed dorm mates near his bedside peering at him with interest.
"Right, he has finally woken up; let me introduce you to," Prewett pulled a blue-eyed Gryffindor, "Leo Longbottom, beside him-"
"Hello, do you have a twin?" asked Harry interrupting Prewett's flow.
"No, but I'm guessing you met Enid, she is seven months younger to me."
"Mrs. Longbottom got heartily sick of waiting, so she hastened up the process." informed a boy with blond hair, "Marty Richards."
Prewett then continued introducing Harry to the rest of their dorm mates; Harry tuned out most of the introduction, having had just a few hours sleep last night.
…..x…..x
A few days had gone by; Harry had confirmed his theory with Dumbledore after Kreacher had repeatedly failed to show up and was planning on a Hogsmeade trip. He found himself quite alone in the carriage as not one of his dorm mates wanted to venture out. His carriage had just started moving, when Harry heard footsteps scrambling through the snow.
"Good evening, hello, just in time, thankfully." said the wizard lifting himself into the carriage. He wore a straw hat, making for an unusual sight.
"Hello?"
"Call me Edward, Edward Lovegood. Oh, you're a Gryffindor, thank Merlin! Mostly Slytherins heading out these days; nearly had my skull cracked when I boarded their carriage last trip."
"Lovegood" said Harry, good-naturedly peering at the wizard, "Ravenclaw, aren't you?"
"Yes, but for some reason Slytherins don't like me even then. Can't know with them. So where are you heading Dumbledore?"
"Hadrian, I am probably going to the Three Broomsticks, and then Scrivenshaft's Quill shop as I need some new ones."
"I'll tell you something Hadrian, I'll tell you for what I'm really going to Hogsmeade for." said Edward looking conspiratorially at Harry.
"Go on." said Harry preparing himself for wacky theories on magical creatures.
"They say a fleet of Numbwarts are going to infest on Hogsmeade."
"Numbwarts" asked Harry with an amused face.
"They are big creatures with many tiny limbs; they have been wanted for their venom for years, could sell for Galleons!"
"And who told you?"
Edward stopped mid-flow blinking rapidly at Harry, "Why should you ask that, aren't you excited at the prospect of seeing them?"
At that moment their carriage jolted suddenly throwing them off their seats.
"Oh, I think they have reached us, but its too early." shouted Edward hysterically, beginning to crawl out of the carriage.
"Edward must you react like this?"
We can't escape them, but at least I would've caught a glimpse-"
"Edward, stop moving, your leg just hit me in-"
"I see them!" shouted the wizard, half his body dangling outside the slow-moving carriage.
"The carriage must have stumbled on a rock, Edward! For…...Numbwarts sake, man stop moving!"
"I see-"
Flipping Edward's body off him, Harry climbed out through the other side of the carriage and managed to stop the two thestrals harnessed to it.
"I can see them…" came a muffled voice from the other side of the carriage, before there was a "thud" sound. "They wear dark robes, oh-"
As he reached the other side, Harry groaned inwardly at the sight of two heavy robed figures standing beside Edward's sprawled body.
"Dumbledore, what a surprise! We thought something unfortunate had happened here." said Tom Riddle smiling, "And imagine our sorrow at seeing dear Lovegood in such a pathetic condition. Whatever did you do to him?"
Lovegood was lying on the mud, near their feet, motionless.
"This was highly unexpected from you, Dumbledore." said Lycus Carrow kicking away Edward's straw hat, which had fallen on the ground.
Author Notes: I am tired of writing more, thought I might post this anyway. Next update will be a bit slow. Ta!
Thank you for the reviews, and for reading, all of you even the ones who read this as guests, though I have no way of knowing. :D
