Missing Harry
Hermione Granger knew that there was something wrong in her Thursday class of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry lectured on beasts and Dark creatures, laying out which were more and less dangerous. In his opinion, the most dangerous creatures were the basilisk and the dragon although he admitted he had never seen a nundu. When he had been asked about obscurials, Harry only replied that more information was needed. Hermione had only known him for two weeks but could tell his mind wasn't on the lecture. Something was bothering him.
When class ended, Hermione tried to speak to Harry. But he left immediately after assigning homework, and disappeared into the hallway of students. Hermione was disappointed but also worried. As she walked to dinner with Daphne, she couldn't help wonder what was wrong.
She had struck up a surprising friendship with the pureblooded Slytherin. Daphne Greengrass was a beautiful and capable witch born with the highest rank and privilege. She certainly did not mix in the same circles as muggleborns. Hermione had a sense that Daphne was indebted to Harry, although she could not know why. When they entered the Grand Hall, the two separated. Their friendship was not so strong that she could sit at the Slytherin table.
There were four quarters of the great hall where each house sat. The muggleborns sat between the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuffs. Even with the request of House Potter, the Slytherins merely refrained from insulting the muggleborns directly. The Ravenclaws looked down upon them for their ignorance, hardly fair since they only had two weeks of real classes. Still, Hermione was quite happy to sit with her friends. They appreciated her and not just for her color coded study guides.
The topic that night at dinner was the Yule Ball. On Christmas Day, Hogwarts would hold a ball to commemorate the Triwizard Tournament. The ball was open to all students fourth year or older but younger students could go with a listened to the Gryffindors as they plotted to get invites for the ball.
"The Champions all need dates for the Ball." said a buxom girl with large dark eyes and a sharp chin. Hermione thought the girl was probably younger but looked quite sexually mature.
"Back off Romilda" called out Ginny Weasley. "Harry is mine!"
"What are you going to do? Cast your bat bogey hex?" Romilda yelled back.
"Harry is my soul mate. Stay away from him" screeched Ginny grabbing her wand.
"You are crazy. He doesn't even speak to you."
Before it could deteriorate further, the two older Weasley twins came and separated the two.
"These birds are crazy" announced Ron Weasley loudly, attracting glares from many of the Gryffindor witches.
"Who are you planning to take to the Yule Ball?" asked Seamus.
"The hottest witch I can find. Maybe that veela chick. The Weasley charm is irresistable. All the good looking birds fall for our red hair and hot temper. They think it is how we behave in bed." Ron bragged.
Ron clearly had no idea of an inside voice or manners. Hermione had never attended a formal ball before. She wondered if the muggleborns would even be allowed to attend.
Later that night, Hermione went to the 7th Floor to look for Harry. She stood outside the tapestry of dancing trolls but this time, the door didn't open. She wanted to speak with him, but Harry was nowhere to be founded.
The next morning, Hermione was at breakfast with Sally-Ann when she heard a gasp when the owls delivered papers. Several witches, particularly the Gryffindors, scowled at her.
"Is this true?" Ginny asked. She waved a copy of the Daily Prophet at her.
Hermione read. "Harry Potter - Violent Showoff or Sexy Professor by Rita Skeeter. Harry Potter trounced Bulgarian Bon Bon Victor Krum in a match with dozens of witches shouting and cheering. "It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen" said one young third year witch."
"No, this article!" She pointed at a smaller story.
Hermione read. "Ambitious Muggleborn has her eyes set on the Potter Line — Plain Average Girl named Herms Ganger has been seen on the arm of Harry Potter. Is she even a girl?" Hermione was in shock as Ginny continued to glare at her.
Sally-Ann had borrowed a copy of the paper and showed it to Hermione. The largest story was "Muggleborns Infiltrate Hogwarts. Tensions rise between the three schools as the muggleborns enthrall various pureblood wizards and witches. The article made The Sun look fair and balanced in its reporting.
"Keep your hands off our wizards." yelled Ginny.
Several owls bearing red envelopes rushed toward Hermione. She had read about these in Hogwarts: A History. She was about to get bombarded by howlers, who were sometimes sent by thoughtless parents to embarrass their children at the school. She braced herself for the cacophony of noise.
Suddenly she saw a snowy white owl intercept the deliveries, hooting angrily at the other mail owls. The frightened owls flew away in a rush and tried to regather themselves to deliver the mail. Her half kneazle say by her side, flashing its claws, promising retribution on any that dared delivered a howler. That coupled with Hedwig circling about her head, cowed the mail birds into submission.
Hermione gracefully finished her breakfast, and with her head held up high walked away from the great hall. She had managed to stick a copy of the Prophet into her book bag for further inspection.
As she left, Daphne Greengrass caught up to her. She was accompanied by Tracey Davis.
"I saw the article." said Daphne. "To be honest, I am surprised it didn't already appear."
"Daphne, you don't think it is true?" gasped Hermione.
"No. Well, Harry is a sexy showoff. If you want to seduce a wizard, you could do far worse." she joked.
"I hope Harry doesn't believe it."
Daphne and Tracey both laughed. "It's too bad you are not a Slytherin. I would love to be with you when you confronted him with the paper." The two witches left Hermione to her confusion.
That Friday, Hermione kept getting dirty looks in the hallway from Hogwarts students. She could understand why. The article by Rita Skeeter made her sound like an attention hungry brat and a scarlet woman hellbent on seducing the naive Potter heir. Rita claimed that Herms Ganger wanted to be the first Muggleborn Minister of Magic by exploiting Harry Potter's accomplishments. Her last class that day was Charms with Lily Potter. She worried that Lily had read the article.
Lily Potter was a kind teacher but her class was chock full of instruction and learning. Even Hermione had difficulty keeping up with the copious material. Lily went through the multiple variations of levitation spell, starting with the simple wingardium leviosa to much more targeted spells involving movement and stopping movement. The summoning and the banishing spells used similar mechanisms as the levitation spell, but were simply much more targeted.
At the end of the class, Hermione was eager to leave. She just wanted to plop down in the muggleborn quarters and write a letter to her mum. She had no idea how to approach Harry after such a humiliating development. When Lily asked her to stay after class, she was quivering. Her childhood idol was on the verge of banishing her forever from Hogwarts!
"I am sorry, Mrs. Potter. I am not trying to trap Harry in a loveless marriage to steal books from the Potter Library!" Hermione blurted out.
"What are you talking about?"
Hermione sadly handed over the Daily Prophet article talking about that scarlet muggleborn and her efforts to get the Potter fortune.
"Oh, Rita Skeeter strikes again. She is a disgrace to reporters everywhere. No one will believe her article."
"Nobody?"
"Well, nobody with any sense. Unfortunately, that means a lot of pureblood snobs and jealous witches will." Lily looked concerned. "You didn't receive any howlers, did you?"
"I did, but Hedwig chased them away."
"Good, let me teach you a charm to drive away howlers." Lily quickly showed Hermione the incantation.
"Mrs. Potter, if you are not asking me about the Prophet, what did you want to speak about?"
Lily took a breath. "Hermione, have you seen Harry recently?"
"Only at class yesterday. Why?"
"We can't find Harry. He is very upset and I was hoping you could make sure he is okay." Lily said.
"I knew something was wrong!"
"How, Hermione?"
"On class Thursday, Harry was asked a question about obscurials. He seemed distracted afterwards."
"He has a lot on his mind. Hermione, if you can speak to him, that would be great."
Hermione was about to leave the classroom and she felt much better. A thought struck her. "Mrs. Potter, why do you know how to drive away howlers?"
Lily smiled. "You are not the only one to receive howlers. I got my fair share after my engagement with James was announced."
Hermione decided to seek Harry out before dinner. She didn't want to catch him half dressed again, especially in light of Rita's article. It was obvious who she would need to ask.
"Please, Hedwig. I need to find Harry." Hermione really hoped the snowy owl could understand Human. Crookshanks padded next to his mistress as Hermione.
The owl merely turned away, beak high up in the air. Crookshank pantomimed stuffing his mouth with his paws.
"Do you think that's enough? Bribing Hedwig with food?"
Crookshanks nodded his head eagerly. Hermione thought that Crookshank probably was projecting his own personality. Still, she needed to find Harry.
"Alright, Hedwig, I will be back with a plate of bacon." The owl looked at her approvingly.
Hermione returned with a plate of bacon and a saucer of cream. As the magical creatures dug into their meals, Hermione sat, with her stomach grumbling. As she watched Crookshanks and Hedwig, she wondered who was the master and who was the pet.
After the pets finished, Hedwig flew to the seventh floor. "Hedwig, I have been here before." Hermione said standing next to the tapestry with dancing trolls.
Hedwig scratched her talons on the wall. The door opened up, and Hedwig flew into the room. A voice called out. "Hedwig? Are you hungry? Do you need more food?"
Hermione and Crookshanks walked in as well. The room had completely changed. It was now a vast chamber, full of boxes and chests, with strange figurines and unusual memorabilia. There were helmets and winged catapults, although many items looked in poor condition. The books were not stored in two small cases but rather extended all the way to the ceiling twenty feet away. In a small space near the middle of the room, obscured by the magical junk, was Harry Potter sitting with his eyes closed on a small mat. He was dressed in his Hogwarts robes and a silvery, almost transparent, cloak.
"Harry." Hermione called.
He opened his eyes. "Hermione? How did you find me?" Harry looked suspiciously at Hedwig.
"What is this place?"
"This is the Room of Requirements. I discovered it two years ago."
"Why is it so different?"
"The room reshapes itself to what its user needs."
Why would Harry need a room full of discarded objects? "I am worried about you, Harry. What's wrong?"
"Why would there be anything wrong." Harry said in a bitter voice.
That wasn't good. Hermione was at a loss in terms of what to say. She reached in her bag for the Daily Prophet and offered it to him.
Harry summoned the newspaper wandlessly. "Muggleborns at Hogwarts. Harry Potter, violent showoff. Ambitious Muggleborn." Hermione blushed as he read the last article. "Hermione, this is all rubbish."
"Some of the other witches don't think so."
"Well, they are idiots then." He closed his eyes again.
Hermione sensed that he was retreating back into his own world. "Harry, your mum was looking for you as well."
Harry groaned. "She doesn't understand."
"Harry, can you tell me what is going on?"
Harry replied. "I've seen things you wouldn't believe, Hermione. Things that shouldn't be. My life may be a lie."
She didn't understand him, but she tried. "Harry, you can tell me."
"Hermione, you don't know occlumency."
"So teach me, then!"
"Occlumency can't be taught in a few lessons. And it is complicated. Your teacher sees your inner most thoughts. It can take years and it can only be taught by someone you trust."
"So what are you going to do, Harry?"
"I don't know. I am not sure what I can do. Something strange is happening. The obscurial, the trolls, the tournament, I don't know if I am ready."
"But you are Harry Potter!"
"What does that mean?"
"You are the best fourth year wizard at Defense against Dark Arts. You are such a great teacher and fighter."
Harry shrugged. "Hermione, I am just a student. Sure, I am fast with my wand. But I am not special. I don't know if I can do this - whatever this may be. I might not be good enough. I may fail."
Hermione decided that she needed to be brave. She slipped the top of her robe down, so she could remove her right sleeve.
"What are you doing, Hermione?"
She showed him her bare right arm. There were words inscribed in ugly black scar — "I will listen to my betters" written many times around her bicep.
Harry gasped. "How did you get this?"
"Umbridge forced me to use a blood quill. Last year, I had to write these lines as a punishment."
"That bitch."
"Harry, before I met you, that was my magical life. These classes have been so wonderful for me, for the rest of the muggleborns. The wand, Crookshanks, even simple things like brewing potions and magical creatures. Harry, please don't give up."
Harry held her arm gently. He couldn't believe that anybody be so vicious. "Does Umbridge do this to other students?"
"Umbridge is careful. She threatens a lot. She uses the blood quill as punishment for the older students. Most students don't get permanent marks. I get into trouble more than the others." She said quietly.
"I am sorry, Hermione. I am whining about my problems." Harry rubbed the scarred skin gently.
"Harry. Your problems are real but I want to help."
Hermione hugged him. He was a bit surprised but then held her close. Hermione wasn't sure what he felt but she knew that so long as he let her, she would always be close to him, and that he would mean more to her than anyone else.
"You have helped, Hermione. A lot." The room shifted. The boxes and chests disappeared and the chamber turned plain and sparse. "Promise me something. If Umbridge or anybody else does this again, tell me. Or go to my parents or Lord Black for help. You don't deserve this. None of the muggleborn do."
Harry paused in his thoughts. "I can't tell you much, Hermione. To be honest, I am not completely sure of what's going on. I think I am in danger. That all of us are all in danger."
"What can I do?"
Harry didn't doubt Hermione's courage. She only had a few weeks with her wand though, and he was the one in the tournament. "Just keep your eyes open. I will teach you some more magic." Harry continued. "Help me help the other muggleborns."
Their stomachs both grumbled. "Let's get some dinner. It has been a long couple of days." Harry said. Harry summoned Hoppy. The house elf popped up, carrying a plate of bacon for Hedwig and more milk for Crookshanks.
"Hedwig! All that bacon isn't good for you."
The owl snorted and ignored her master, simply beginning to eat. Crookshanks happily followed.
The next morning at 8 AM, Hermione found Harry in the library, deep at work. He had several books in front of him, Practice Defensive Magic and A Guide to the Dark. He was taking notes on the Guide to the Dark. The book was open to a page on a formless black creature that looked very much like a Dickensian ghost.
"Hi Harry. What is that?"
"Morning, Hermione. It's a dementor." Harry closed his book. He cast a sliencio spell around them. "This isn't known publicly, but my uncle Arcturus was attacked last night."
"Merlin, is he okay?"
Harry looked surprised. "Lord Black? Yes, he is totally fine. He was attacked on Black family grounds. Unfortunately, the attacker escaped."
Even muggleborns knew that attacking the head of a noble house at their own home was a bad idea. "Why would anybody attack Lord Black at his home?"
"Well, it wasn't the Manor. That would be even stupider. It was in the forest. He likes to fly on his thestral."
Hermione had only seen a thestral on paper. The winged beats were as large as adult horses, but with skeletal wings. "Aren't thestrals very dangerous?"
"To enemies, yes. He has had Nightmare for several decades."
"He rides a thestral named Nightmare?"
Harry nodded. "Nightmare has an extraordinarily good sense of smell. She hunts for food in the Black Forest. She smelled the attacker. Kicked him too. You should come one of these days to Potter Manor."
"Do you ride a thestral as well?"
"I have but personally I prefer my broom." Hermione wrinkled her nose. "We have non magical horses too. No wings!"
Harry dispelled the silence spell. He returned his focus back to his notes. Hermione knew he was planning the lecture for Sunday. She started her Transfiguration homework, not wanting to disturb Harry. They worked together into the afternoon.
In the castle, another Defense Against Dark Arts teacher was brewing a dark potion, mixing dragonblood with venom from manticore spines and vampire dust. He knew the elixir needed to be seasoned for exactly a week to be most potent. That would give him just enough time to prepare. His master had given him very specific instructions. Only after the Champions finished their Tasks, would that events unfold. What would happen when they realized that Gellert Grindelwald was alive?