Chapter Eleven
A/N: I OWN NOTHING!
Harry strolled through the hallway a few weeks after the Polyjuice mayhem, trying to figure out why people thought he was the Heir. Classes had started back up so he was walking towards the library. It was then that he heard someone scream.
"Help!" Susan Bones screamed. Five vipers were cornering her.
Harry blinked but, without thinking, shouted, "Leave her alone!"
The snakes turned their heads, but by this time, Susan's screams had attracted a big crowd. It seemed that half of Hogwarts had heard him speak Parseltounge.
"See!" someone shouted. "I told you he was the Heir!"
Harry looked around in fright, trying to find someone who would believe him. He was shouted down the moment he opened his mouth.
"Come on, Susan," Hannah muttered, pulling her best friend away. "You don't want to be seen with Potter."
"Harry!" Hermione shouted as she rounded the corner. "Are you alright?"
Cedric, Oliver, Ron and Cho followed her, and the twins were right on their tail.
"How—"
"The map, mate," Ron muttered, glaring at the mob. "Go to the lake, we'll meet you there."
Harry needed no prompting as he made a beeline for the door. He could hear dueling begin behind him.
"Harry!" Ginny and Luna waved him over to a hiding spot behind a willow tree. Not the Whomping Willow, a nice willow.
"Come on," Harry willed himself to run faster. Suddenly, he tripped.
"Trip Jinx, Potter," a fifth year Hufflepuff sneered. "Time you learn how we treat Dark Wizards around here."
"Leave him alone!" Ginny shouted, running up to them.
"Shut it, Weasley," one of the boy's friends told her. "Didn't think you'd side with a Dark Wizard."
"Didn't think you'd condemn a twelve year old Cooper," Oliver growled.
When did he show up? Harry thought.
"Aren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be about what's just and fair?" Oliver continued.
"What's fair about losing your sister, mother and grandfather to You-Know-Who?" Cooper growled back. "Time for Potter the Dark Wizard to take a little swim."
Harry paled a little. The Dursleys had never paid for him to take swimming lessons—probably hoped he would drown.
"Let him go!" Ginny yelled, trying to get the attention of Hagrid. Cooper and his friend paid her no mind and tossed Harry into the lake.
"Potter'll be fine," Cooper's friend scoffed while Oliver and Luna tried to restrain Ginny. But when only Harry's glasses floated to the top of the newly melted lake, the two boys began to hightail it out of there.
"Mucus Explodia!" Ginny screamed at the top of her lungs and hit one of the boys with a bat-bogey hex.
"Ginny, worry about revenge later," Oliver shouted. "Harry's still down there."
"What?" Hermione, Ron and Cedric asked as they ran up. Ginny quickly gave them the whole story. When she was done, Hermione had to restrain Ron from finishing the action of his sister.
"Well, someone needs to go and get him," Cedric said running his hands through his hair.
"Get who?" Percy asked as he walked up concerned.
"Harry!" the rest of the group shouted and pointed to the lake.
"Hermione, go get Bill," Percy said as he handed Ginny his glasses. "Everyone else, do something!"
He took off his cloak and then dove in to the lake. It wasn't long before he found Harry, barely staying up as he fought against a strand of seaweed. Percy could see that the second year was barely staying conscious. After removing the strand of seaweed from Harry's leg, Percy swam him up to the surface.
"He's not breathing!" Oliver noted.
"Perc, move," Bill ordered his brother. Percy did just that. Bill tried to revive Harry the magical way but for some reason, that wasn't working.
"Move!" Hermione shouted. "Ron, I need you to press on his chest while I blow into his mouth."
"What!"
"Grow up and do it!"
Ron glowered but did as he was told. A few minutes later, Harry began coughing.
"You okay mate?" Ron asked.
"I will be," Harry said.
"You have Hermione to thank," Bill said as he handed Harry's glasses to him. "What was that, by the way?"
"CPR," Hermione said. "I read about it one time when I was eight and I was trying to read the entire library by Easter."
"Ah," everyone nodded.
"What happened?" Bill asked. "Hermione didn't explain anything, just that I needed to get down to the lake."
"Christopher Cooper and a friend of his threw Harry in the Lake because he's a 'Dark Wizard'," Oliver said.
"That's absurd!" Percy exclaimed.
"Harry?" Luna said softly. "What happened?"
"I was walking down the hallway when I heard Susan scream," Harry said. His voice was still a little raspy and he was breathing hard. "She was cornered by five vipers."
"Why were there vipers in the hallway?" Hermione asked.
"Sixth years were transfiguring them yesterday and they escaped," Oliver said with a timid smile.
"Ah," Hermione said.
"I told the snakes to leave her alone," Harry continued, "but her screaming had drawn a crowd."
"They must have heard you speak Parseltounge!" Ginny gasped.
"Cooper is a fifth year," Percy said. "He'd know shortcuts out of the castle."
"Would explain how he beat me out of there," Harry shrugged.
"Harry, you have to do something," Ron frowned. "Owl Sirius or Remus."
"I don't want any trouble," Harry said. Little did he know that trouble was going to come whether he wanted it or not.
"Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said in Transfiguration a few days after the incident. "Please report to Professor Dumbledore's office."
"Probably going to do the right thing and expel him before Potter can kill anyone," Ernie muttered to Justin.
Harry ignored him but Hermione and Dean had to restrain Ron from jumping Ernie and punching him in the mouth. He walked to Dumbledore's office, feeling a feeling of nerves.
"WHAT!"
Harry jumped and realized that he had reached the door to Dumbledore's office. He knew that voice.
"Sirius, calm down," Remus tried to sooth his friend. Harry sighed and knocked on the door.
"Enter," Dumbledore said and Harry walked in.
"You wanted to see me Professor?" Harry asked and smiled when he saw Sirius. But then that smile faded as he saw Cooper and his friend—along with their parents—in the office as well.
"Mr. Weasley—"
"Which one?" Sirius asked.
"Young William," Dumbledore informed the black-haired man.
"Ah. Please continue."
"Mr. Weasley informed me of a tragic occurrence a few days ago," Dumbledore said. "He said that young Mr. Cooper and his friend tossed Mr. Potter into the lake. Young Percy jumped in and saved him."
"My boy would never do that!" Cooper's dad boasted. "Potter must have been asking for it."
"Harry, do you know how to swim?" Remus asked and Harry quickly shook his head no.
"So had young Percy Weasley not dove into the lake and got him, Harry would not have been able to survive," Remus almost growled out.
"Why accuse my boy?" Cooper's dad sneered. "Maybe Potter fell into the lake?"
"Why not a memory?" Sirius suggested. "That way all questions will be settled."
"Harry?" Remus asked and Harry walked up to him. He thought of what happened that day and allowed Remus to pull the memory out.
"Let us watch it," Cooper's dad said. "Some of us actually have jobs to go back to."
Sirius growled a little but remained seated.
"Sirius, are you going to watch the memory?" Remus asked but Sirius shook his head. He believed Bill, and if viewing the memory meant leaving Harry without protection then no thank you!
A few minutes later, the remaining adults came out of the memory in shock.
"Mr. Cooper and Mr. Moss, you will be suspended for the rest of the term," Dumbledore said in a grave voice. "You shall perform your OWL's at the Ministry."
"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "Dumbledore, they tried to kill my godson!"
"We didn't know Potter couldn't swim!" Moss shouted. "Who would suspect that?"
"The punishment seems fair," Moss's dad nodded. As they stood, Mr. Moss stopped for a moment.
"Mr. Black, I would like to apologize for my son's actions," he said.
"Apology accepted," Sirius nodded stiffly, his hand remaining on Harry's shoulder.
The Coopers just left without saying a word. Harry knew that unless they found the real Heir and soon, his trouble at Hogwarts would just be starting.
