Chapter 10 The Forbidden Corridor
I don't own Harry Potter
Harry and Dudley age 11 year 2007
Hermione POV
She had no friends in the girl's dorms. This was made apparent on her first day. "You're friends with Harry Potter. Can you introduce us?" One of the masses had asked of her.
Hermione told them no. How could she introduce them and waist her friends time? Harry and Dudley told her in no uncertain terms, they didn't want attention.
It was a bizarre request in her opinion. Who didn't want friends? They were her heroes and her friends, she wouldn't betray them.
The girls in her dorm didn't take rejection well. They collectively gave her the silent treatment. All the better to read to in her opinion.
"Hey Hermione, did you sleep well?" Harry asked her. It was the morning of their charms class, with Professor Flitwick. It was only on the levitation charm, but she was still nervous.
"No, the girls in my dorm won't shut up." She said irritably. They made sure to stay up late and gossip. When Hermione protested, they ignored her.
Harry frowned. Her friend didn't have many facial expressions. Frowning normally meant that something was going to happen. A smiling Harry, was a Harry that had succeeded in doing something.
A smile slithered on to her friend's face. "Do you want to investigate the forbidden corridor tonight?" She blinked, it was their third day. He already wanted to break one of the main rules.
"Harry it's forbidden for a reason. What if it's just a test, to see if we can follow instructions. There could be a Professor there waiting to expel us." Harry nodded. She hadn't won. The argument may have sounded stable enough. Harry couldn't be bothered to care.
"Come on Hermione, I'm sure Dudley will go. We can make it an outing of sorts. Just the three of us." Harry said.
"Harry has anyone ever told you curiosity killed the cat?" Hermione said.
"The necromancer brought him back. Or so I heard. The cat made it out in the end better off." Harry said. She blinked then blinked again.
They sat in Flikwick's class. The man went over the theory repeatedly. Did he think them dumb?
She looked around while the teacher lectured. Harry was drawing disturbing images, while Dudley was drawing pieces of armor. "Hermione why is it illegal to levitate a human being?" The teacher asked. He looked at her with a hard gaze.
"The body is made up of many moving parts, Professor. The levitation charm might just move an artery and the target could die. In some cases, the target can be moved at multiple speeds, in various directions. The results are often fatal." Hermione said.
"Ten points to Gryffindor. Yes, the levitation charm while simple can be fatal. Though, at your current level, you may have trouble lifting a feather. That class, just so happens to be our first subject of levitation." She levitated the feather and gained another fifteen points. In her opinion, it was easy money. Harry and Dudley got the spell right on the first try.
It was lunch, when they heard about the girl from Slytherin. Her body hasn't been found. She was seen leaving her dorm and venturing to the boy's dorm. After that she was never seen again. The third years and up Slytherin boy's dorms were searched. Nothing was found.
Rumors of a killer were whispered around the table. Dudley looked unconcerned. "Are you going with us tonight Hermione?" Dudley said. Ron heard him.
"Where are you two going?" Ron asked.
"We are going to sneak into the third-floor corridor. Do you want to join us?" Dudley said a bit quieter.
"Sure, we would." Two red heads said in unison. "We love to sneak around late at night and discover forbidden places. Sometimes we even explore the castle." Fred and George said.
Hermione, watched Dudley for his reaction. Dudley simply nodded his accent for their company. "But what if we're caught, the headmaster said it was dangerous." Hermione said.
"That's why we are bringing Harry." Dudley looked around conspiratorially. "They say he defeated a dark lord as a toddler." Dudley said.
"I don't want to explore with a slimy snake." Ron said.
"Snakes aren't slimy Ron." Hermione corrected. He looked at her angrily.
That night, after she completed her essay for transfiguration, she snuck out of her dorm. The twins, Ron, and Dudley were waiting for her. "Let's go" The twins said.
They made their way towards the trophy case. Harry met them there, with a massive creature. "Harry what's that?" Hermione said. She couldn't control the shake in her voice.
"His name is Bruce. He's my new zombie. I thought, he could give us a hand, if we run into any trouble." Harry said. Hermione remembered reading the book of governmentally forbidden arts. Necromancy was on the top of the list of evil crafts. It was right beside Diabolism and holy/unholy rituals. All rituals were forbidden. Here Harry was showing off, did it have a head like the alien queen from Aliens. Its four eyes locked on to her.
It held out a hand. "Bruce is Bruce nice to meet you." She clasped hands with the zombie. Her hand was swallowed by his.
"Harry Bruce is illegal. How did you make him? Was it a book from the forbidden section?" That was two strikes in her book. One for not sharing a new book, two for doing something illegal.
"Hermione, I have a skeletal dragon. Bruce is a custom zombie. If the Minister didn't care that I had the dragon, Bruce isn't a problem." It made sense, that just pissed her off more. How come Harry could just bypass the rules.
"Let's go, we don't have all night." Dudley said. They walked slowly towards the third corridor. The stair cases shifted and Bruce had to wait a couple times.
"Finally, we made it." George said. Hermione turned to silence him. "What, the map says that Filch and Mrs. Norris are on the first floor." Fred and George had a parchment that gave away the locations of everyone in the school. Even Bruce was on there.
They unlocked the door with an Alohamora charm. Fred put his wand away, and let Bruce open the door. The eight-foot-tall behemoth calmly walked into the room. They heard the growling of a dog.
Hermione saw three heads, a Cerberus. She covered her mouth, to keep from screaming. First an essay and then unsupervised explorations of the castle had her adrenaline pumping.
The giant dog attempted to bite Bruce in half. The zombie was unafraid. He walked in closer to the Cerberus. The guard dog lunged and Bruce smashed the dogs nose with a fist. It collapsed in pain. She blinked and watched as Bruce approached it. The mismatched armor gleamed.
The dog swiped with its paws, but they bounced off the armor. Bruce had truly massive legs, they looked like tree trunks. The zombie punched the left head in the nose and gave the right head an uppercut. Foam fell from the dog's mouth, as it collapsed.
Bruce crossed his arms. The zombie's green skin looked more intimidating in the absence of light. "Master Harry, does Bruce need to finish the mongrel." Harry shook his head.
"The Cerberus was just doing its job. It's too dangerous for the others to go on. I'm sure there is a treasure, hidden behind the trap door. I'm not interested in getting caught trying to take it, on our third night here." She looked to see Fred and George breathing hard. They looked to be in shock at what they saw. Harry and Dudley looked bored.
That was the difference she quickly realized. Even at 11 Harry and Dudley were exceptional wizards. They were the kind that became Albus Dumbledore, Merlin, or Morgana. Skill, ambition, and unflinching bravery in the face of powerful foes. She wanted to stand among them.
"Let's leave. We've had enough exploring for one night. Maybe we can try the forbidden forest next time." Harry said. Fred and George looked unsure but nodded.
"Hermione are you feeling alright?" Dudley said. She looked at Dudley. He took a mace and bashed the head in of a Satyr. What would he and Harry look like a decade from now? How many accolades, would the wizarding world place at their feet.
"I'm ok. Don't leave me behind when it's time to explore the forbidden forest." She looked over at Ron. The red head looked about ready to pee himself. Hermione wasn't far behind him. Bruce trudged behind them. Ron kept looking at the tall figure.
She just had to find her nook. There was no one who could research like she could. Hermione wasn't the boastful type, but she did have a photographic memory. Maybe she could put it to use.
Harry POV
They went our separate ways after the Cerberus incident. Dudley walked the Griffs back to their common room. His cousin was going to turn in for the night. Tomorrow they had potions with Professor Snape, and astronomy at night.
It was rather early still. 1 am the forbidden forest sounded like fun. One of the portraits stared at him as he opened the door, to the main hall. Harry winked at it and strode out into the night.
The night outside of Hogwarts was pitch black. He tilted his head up and stared at the stars. It was a new moon. The milky way was so bright. Harry loved this place.
"Mr. Potter, what are you doing out of the castle." He had laid down and was staring up at the sky. It of Headmaster Dumbledore.
Harry pointed up at the sky. The Professor looked up and smiled. "As you know Mr. Potter there is a curfew of 10PM. Though, I suppose I can't blame you. I must admit, it has been a very long time, since I star gazed recreationally." I will join you. The old headmaster proved himself to be rather spry. He settled down in the grass next to Harry.
"When the portrait reported you leaving the castle, I must admit, I suspected mischief. It is relieving to know you simply wished to enjoy the new moon. Few students miss curfew for an innocent reason." The headmaster said.
"I like to look up at the stars. It reminds me of how terribly small I am. No matter what I learn or do. In the grand scheme of things, I am just a speck upon a speck, to the universe." Harry said. He hadn't told that to Dudley. Piety was supposed to be his cousin's role.
"Humility, is never an undesirable trait to have, my boy. If all it takes to gain it, is to look up at the night sky. I won't bereave you of your activity. Inform me in the future and I can have a teacher check on you. Perhaps, I will join you again." The headmaster raised himself up. "Though tonight, I am afraid I have to return to the castle. I am trusting you to return soon. Hagrid is still up. Check in with him when you want to return." Professor Dumbledore said.
"Professor, before you go, I need your advice." The elderly man waited patiently, for Harry to collect his thoughts. "If someone tried to kill you and you had them at your mercy, what would you do?" Harry asked.
"Why Harry, I would try to show them a better way than murder. If that failed, I would demand their oath. When wizards swear upon their magic, they can't break their oaths. You merely have to word your oath in a way to prevent them from circumventing it." Dumbledore said. It was something for Harry to think about.
"Thank you, professor, now I have something to think about, while I watch the sky." The old man flashed him a smile.
"It is no problem Harry. I hope you make the right decision." Dumbledore said. "Young Adria Lestrange is much too young, to be snuffed out, because she chose to act foolishly. I will leave it as your choice, Harry." The old man chuckled as he left for the castle.
That old man knew the whole time where his assassin was. Harry contemplated that as he lay on the grass. Scotland, was chilly even in the summer. The cold wind nipped at his toes.
Harry held up his suit case. Within lay the body of Adria Lestrange on stasis. She wasn't dead, as he first thought. No, her larynx was crushed and she passed out. She was still very much alive. Harry's stasis charms made sure of it.
She and multiple ingredients were in his suitcase. Multiple gem stones, he had bought at the alley were in there. So too, were his rune codex, three unicorn corpses in stasis, and the skeleton of a new skeletal dragon. He merely had to start the process to animate it. Lotus needed a friend.
Harry took his suitcase and made his way towards the forbidden forest. There was a clearing, he had Lotus set up. This moonless night would be perfect for his ritual. Tonight, light magic was at its weakest.
Harry didn't need light, it would mess with the ritual. The milky way was all he needed. His eyes glowed blue in the night. His necromantic powers were on the rise. This would be his first ritual with a human body.
He fingered his way through his codex. There were words in his runes for resurrection, healing, self-repair, and negation of damage. Harry snapped off a unicorn's horn and carved the sigils.
It took an hour to get them right. He knew his own codex by heart. Why wizards standardized their runes with multiple codex, that don't mesh well was beyond him. Once the horn was finished he placed it inside the girl.
Her skin was still warm, as he placed the holy horn of a unicorn in a blasphemous place. The more he defiles the horn the greater effect his ritual would have. He placed her in a cross position.
Then he took out his pre-inscribed ritual stones. They held the properties of subjugation and obedience to the Potter line. He fired up a brand with his symbol emblazed upon it. His blue flames didn't burn they froze. When it touched the skin off her butt cheek, it seared two skeletal hands molding a pot on her.
It was all prep. Now, was the finishing step of the ritual. He gathered the blood of the unicorns and bathed her in it. The stones lit up as he rubbed the blood into her skin.
Her brown eyes flickered open as she sucked in a breath. The stasis charms ended. Unicorn blood seeped into her body and she began to seizure.
"You decided to explore the forbidden forest and got lost for a day." Harry said, when she stopped seizing. He had placed many curses on her. They allowed her to drain the life from the unicorn blood. An act considered so vile, that normally she would be cursed with the worst luck.
The light magic that would normally curse her, was absent. So, she obtained the full positive effect of the blood without the side effect. The horn he jabbed up her but helped instill within her darker magic.
Harry used diagnostic spell. The unicorn's normally silver magic fibers were turning black. These dark fibers, were binding to the girl's few gold fibers. It wasn't much but she would grow much stronger for it.
The gold color of her magic began to flow through the black fibers. Small scars were left where the new fibers met the old. They would limit her casting power for some time.
She stopped seizing and looked at him. "I tried to kill you. When I opened the door to your room something grabbed me. It strangled me. The last thing I remember were your green eyes opening and turning blue." Adria said.
"You are a failure as an assassin. If not for some advice from the head master, I would have turned you into necromancy ingredients. You should thank him next time you see him." Harry said. His eyes were a glacial blue.
"I healed you and bound you to me. I used a dark ritual, I invented. It has made you considerably stronger.
From this point on you will be my pawn. I am your master. I trust you have no objections." She frowned.
"Harry Potter, the boy who lived." She said with a sneer. "I would have grown up as royalty if not for you. Instead, I was raised by my cousins. They treated me like breeding stock. If I had killed you then, I would have been a hero." Adria said.
"Poor little witch, does the opinion of others mean so much to you. A pity I had thought you would be useful. Was I wrong?" Harry said.
Her eyes widened in fear. She shook her head. "Then when we return you will be my eyes and ears in Slytherin. As my vassal, all who would do you wrong are my enemies. Welcome, to the Potter army." Harry said.
That's a rap
Well things are about to start moving again. Next up potions, more assassination attempts and Adria's newt prep. She will find that Harry is a brutal leader. She got off easy.
I think I am going to change the rating to M. As the story progresses and Harry gets older he will become more mature.
Read fav, follow, and review.