9
Sarah POV
After a night's rest and breakfast, I felt better. I had to take the necklace off when I slept, afraid of breaking it, but I was determined to get some answers. I still needed to talk with Dumbledore about the presence I felt around Harry, I wanted his advice on Occlumency, and still wanted to wriggle out of his assignment on keeping Malfoy from harm. He'd done me a favor last year, and I hadn't cursed him into oblivion- now we were even. We'd never been friends, and we'd never had an alliance. It had been all business.
Harry had Quidditch Tryouts after breakfast, so I joined Hermione in the stands to watch.
"Did Harry tell you about his Potions book yet?" Hermione asked stiffly after watching him bellow at two Ravenclaws trying to make it on the Gryffindor team.
"What do you mean?" I asked, watching the Ravenclaws run off the field giggling.
"He found a Potions book for this year that has a whole bunch of tips and hints in it. That's why he's so good this year." Hermione said- and it made sense. I had only been to Potions once- and Harry had greatly impressed Slughorn. Since he'd been only average at Potions before- it had surprised me, but I hadn't commented on it.
"So he's cheating," I said, and Hermione beamed at me.
"Exactly. I checked the book for any harmful spells, but nothing came up." Hermione said, sounding satisfied.
"Well, he'll get in trouble for it eventually. I won't try to take it from him unless he does something stupid." I said, enunciating the word 'stupid' as a kid trying out for Beater fiercely hit it only for it to ricochet off a post and hit him in the gut. I chuckled, and Hermione did too. For the rest of tryouts we chatted, watching Harry uncharacteristically bellowing as he stomped around the field. To my amazement, Hermione Confounded Cormac McLaggen so that Ron could be Keeper without a second thought.
"Please don't tell," She said as Harry talked to the new members of the team. Most people were already leaving- the fun was over. "Ron is...well…" Hermione sputtered, and I laughed, standing up and giving her a hand. It was obvious to me that Hermione really liked Ron, and that Ron was starting to notice.
"Don't worry about it." I said, then congratulated Ron as he bounded over, grinning ear to ear. He immediately launched into a long story about how one of the new Chasers had put spin on the Quaffle and how his save had been so dramatic. Harry and Hermione insisted that we go and see Hagrid, and I ganged up on Ron and made him go too. As we walked across the rolling grounds, I felt Hogwarts' magic work on me, and I felt lighter and happier than I had in months. It was such a relief to be laughing and having fun with my friends- I was so afraid that it wouldn't happen. Ron was still glowing, Hermione was laughing at him, and Harry was hoarse from shouting so much, but we were discussing his picks for the team. I felt warm, I knew I wasn't radiating cold or pale in the face. We pulled up even with Hagrid's cabin, and I hesitated, even though Harry, Ron and Hermione had moved forward to pet Buckbeak. His great orangey yellow eyes were watching me carefully- he knew that something wasn't quite right. Harry caught on at looked at me, looking confused. Before he could ask me about it, Hagrid came stumping around his cabin, wearing a giant flowery apron and a frown. He took one look at us and stormed into his cabin without another word.
After Harry convinced him to let us in, Hagrid told us the truth- that Aragog was dying. It was terrible to see Hagrid cry- but Hermione calmed him down easily enough. Then we cheered him up by bashing Professor Grubby-Plank and talking about Grawp. When he waved goodbye to us, he looked a lot better. Unfortunately, the closer I got to the castle, more of that happy, light feeling slipped away from me until the smile died on my face. Discreetly, I reached up and rubbed my neck, feeling the chain under my collar. It reminded me that I still needed to speak with Dumbledore- I still had some questions, and, of course, the dark presence I felt in Harry. I still didn't understand it. Harry was such a kind and sweet person, even if he was a bit clueless at times. I had never been afraid of him, even when he was angry. It didn't make sense for me to notice that in him. As we walked towards the Great Hall for dinner, I made myself promise that I'd go to Dumbledore tonight. Ron started talking to me again about Quidditch, and I smiled and nodded as he blabbed on. All during dinner, I glanced inconspicuously once and awhile at Malfoy. Now that I was actually looking at him, I noticed that he looked rather tired, and pale, like me. His skin looked almost grey, and he had bags already, even though it was only the first week of school. "Are you feeling alright?" Ron asked, sounding slightly irritated that I was no longer listening.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Hermione leaned past Harry and hissed, "Honestly, Ron, she had a seizure only yesterday!"
"Guys, guys," I interrupted hastily, seeing the look on Ron's face. "I'm fine, seriously. I s'pose I'm just tired."
"You should go up and rest," Hermione pressed.
"Actually, I wanted to see Professor Dumbledore after dinner," I said casually as possible. My friends immediately took it the wrong way.
"Why?" Ron asked.
"What's wrong?" Harry demanded.
"I knew something was wrong!" Hermione whispered fearfully.
I couldn't help it, I laughed. The expressions on their faces were priceless. "It's nothing serious, I feel great, actually. I didn't feel poorly once all day." I said honestly. Ron was still looking at me with his mouth half open, Hermione looked suspicious, and Harry looked skeptical. "Seriously." I said strongly.
"Well then, why see him if you feel fine?" Hermione challenged, essentially trapping me. If I now admitted that something was bothering me, it would re-raise my poor friends concerns. But if I couldn't tell them what I was really up to- Bellatrix and Dumbledore wouldn't allow it.
"There is something I wish to discuss with him." I chose my words carefully, and went back to my soup, even though I suddenly wasn't hungry. There was a moment of silence until one of the new Chasers came over with a message for Harry, something about his detention with Snape that evening. As she was speaking, I saw Dumbledore rise and leave the staff table, shaking his sleeve indifferently over his burnt hand, bidding Professor Flitwick goodnight. "I'll see you later," I muttered, hastily getting up and abandoning my soup. As I slipped out of the hall, I had to pass the staff table and of course, Snape. My mark burned, as did his, because I saw him glance up only for a moment. I had avoided him at all costs ever since my breakdown in his office during Occlumency. I knew that I had to return, but I had been dreading it. Then I hurried on, sprinting once I was away from most of the traffic. I didn't know the password up to see Dumbledore, and once he was up in his study I wouldn't be able to call him down. It was a miracle that he was actually here and not busy- he'd been away already, and no one knew where. "Professor!" I called, seeing him almost around a corner and put on an extra burst of speed. He paused, and I skidded to a stop about a foot past him.
"Well, you seem to be feeling better, Ms. Wimkil," He noted, smiling. "Seeing as you've rushed to see me, I assume that there is something you wish to discuss."
"Yes," I said, straightening my skirt and then robes hurriedly. "I need to talk to you about Harry." I continued, looking up to see him frowning slightly.
"Of course. Come, we shall discuss this in private," He said lightly, but there was a new quickness to his step. A short and brisk walk later, we were stepping into his office. He offered me a lemon drop, which I took just out of politeness. "Now, what is troubling you, Sarah? What has Harry gotten himself into this time?"
"No, no, Harry is fine. I've just…noticed something about him is all." I said, and Dumbledore pressed his fingertips together and nodded his head, an indication to go on. "I felt it at first around Ron and Hermione too, at the end of last year, and I thought I was just imagining it at first. It's this…presence. As I was getting of the train last year, we had a moment alone and I realized that it was from him, not anyone else. It's dark." I confessed. Dumbledore had been watching me intently, and now he stood, pacing for a fraction of a second before looking back to me.
"I believe you have been fooled, my dear. I think you are feeling the smallest of traces left over from Harry's past. Harry's scar has long since held a darker connection to Voldemort." Dumbledore said, sitting back down.
"Sir, does it affect him in any way?" I asked, worried, and he laughed, but his eyes remained sober.
"It will pain him once and awhile, and, of course, he has had dreams similar to the ones he had last year." He said, looking at me with a larger meaning in his words. I knew he still blamed Harry for what had happened- and I still hated Dumbledore for it. I twitched, wanting to stand, but remembering that I had another thing to ask him. "But I hear that you had an interesting start to Occlumens, and for that, I'm sorry." He said, and I inhaled sharply, quickly looking away from him. My gaze fell on Fawkes, who was watching me with beautiful, intelligent eyes.
"Sir, I have one last thing to ask you." I said softly, but with a firmness which signaled that he shouldn't continue with his last topic.
"You are at liberty to ask me anything." Dumbledore said, and I looked back to him, already feeling myself frowning, even though being near him and Fawkes made me feel as if the mark wasn't there.
"Do you still wish for me to try to help Malfoy?" I asked, hearing my own reluctance in my voice, and Dumbledore chuckled lightly.
"Yes, I want you to try, Sarah. I know it will be difficult for you, but if a soul can remain unbroken then I wish for it to be so." He said, and I stood.
"Then I guess I have something else to do besides schoolwork. Thank you, sir, for putting up with me." I said hastily, standing up and going to leave.
"Sarah," He called, and I stopped. "Do not hesitate to come to me again. I know that I've been gone- and busy- but it is imperative that we keep in touch, especially if you have a dream or feeling. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I said, then walked even faster for the door. I only relaxed on his staircase as I went down. The meeting had been good- I had a reason now for the darkness in Harry- I could stop worrying that something bad was happening to him. Plus, being closer to Dumbledore again had lifted the strain of the darkness, making me feel normal again. However, Dumbledore still had to blame Harry, make me feel uncomfortable, and insist that I try to talk sense into Draco Malfoy, the most arrogant, stuck up prat I had ever known. As I walked back to Gryffindor Tower, I thought about how my sixth year would go. I had finally broken out of my obsessive student streak, but I had the mark, Occlumency, and Malfoy to deal with. I knew my friends, bless them, were always worried about me now. Learning Occlumens was going to be incredibly difficult. Worst of all, I had to change the heart and mind of Malfoy- even though I couldn't speak of all the things I knew. I hadn't even told Harry, Hermione and Ron- I didn't know how to say it without worrying them more. Trying to forget my current woes, I walked faster through the familiar and friendly halls to the Common Room and slipped inside. Harry was still gone on his detention with Snape, which meant that Hermione and Ron had probably been bickering. I sat on the floor, leaning against the coffee table, examining the two of them. They were sitting in armchairs side by side, but both were scowling and immersed in whatever they were doing. A rush of affection washed over me as Hermione shot a glance at him. I could tell that she loved him, despite Ron's lack of tact and patience. "Hey, guys," I said cheerfully, Summoning my bag.
"I take it everything's fine then?" Hermione asked, barely looking up.
"Nothing was ever wrong," I assured her with a grin, pushing my thoughts about Malfoy and Occlumency aside for the night. Hermione did not continue the conversation- she was either really mad at Ron or she was really engrossed in her work- I couldn't tell which. So I figured I should do my homework too, and, regretfully, we did have a lot this year. I had passed all 11 of my O.W.L.S., but there were no Time-Turners available. Apparently, Harry's group smashed all of them last year in the Department of Mysteries. I would have been the only one in the group not to have cut Care of Magical Creatures if a class was available. After awhile, I looked up, done with my work, to see Danielle and Luke watching me. They had seen me at the beginning of the year, and then my sudden turn around to back to normal, and I knew that if they weren't worried, they were at least curious. "Be back in a sec," I muttered, getting up, and Ron only grunted. I had made up my mind to at least go over and try to be civil. I stopped in front of them, and for a moment, they only looked at me.
"What happened to you?" Danielle spit out finally.
"It was just like all the rumors. My house was attacked by Inferi." I said plainly.
"Why would they attack your house? Your muggleborn," Luke asked, sounding almost disbelieving.
"Because I would really know the answer to that, Luke. It's not like I invited them for tea," I said acidly. I just couldn't believe it- I really had been a bad judge of character with my ex-friends. Luke had never looked down on me for being muggleborn before, but the first thing he said to me again was basically an insult.
"He did have a point you know," Danielle said angrily, only proving my point further. "And I suppose you came over here just because you were jealous, huh?" She said, but lifted her nose in what I suppose was supposed to be a 'proud' gesture.
"Why would I be jealous?" I asked, actually curious.
"We've been dating for a year. Bet that makes you jealous," Danielle said gleefully as Luke took her hand, looking smug.
"I came over here because you were staring. And I don't know how I could ever be jealous of you, a snotty bitch, dating a racist asshole who hits girls. All the happiness to the both of you," I snapped before walking back over to Ron and Hermione, who had been joined by Harry, who reeked of flobberworms. "Hey," I greeted him, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, seeing as he'd unconsciously taken my spot. "You smell absolutely delightful, just to let you know," I tacked on, and he rolled his eyes. But then he saw something past me and looked almost sickened. I turned to look to see Danielle and Luke snogging in a vicious fashion. "Gross," I muttered, turning back to see Harry with his 'icky' face on. "So, how was detention?" I asked, and he groaned.
"Sorting rotten flobberworms from the good ones without gloves didn't really make my night." He said, absentmindedly playing with his tiny bottle of Felix Felices. "Oh, did things go ok with Dumbledore?" He asked, and I almost froze. His mentioning of Dumbledore made me want to try to pinpoint his darkness again, to see if it really was his scar, and if I'd been such a fool all this time.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, it went great," I said distractedly. As Harry dug through his bag, bangs falling in his eyes, I looked closely at his scar. The darkness was still in him, but it seemed to be more in his torso, not in his head. That made me curious, but I looked away as Harry straightened with a slightly mangled quill, a piece of parchment, and a textbook. He immediately started to work. I looked around the Common Room for a moment, tired, before I stood up and Summoned all my things together. It would take me time to try to fall asleep tonight- with all the thoughts pushing in on my head, no matter how I tried to avoid them. With a sigh, I muttered, "Night," before heading for the girl's staircase.
"Hey, Sarah, wait, by the way…Snape said you should show up for Occlumency tomorrow." Harry's voice stopped me before I got far, and I almost swore under my breath before turning and giving Harry a tiny smile, it wasn't his fault that I had to let that greasy git Snape poke in my head.
"Thanks," I said before heading up the staircase, dreading tomorrow already.
