- CHAPTER 14: Hatred is as Slow as Poison -
Ron swayed his head to the beat. "I just love this song. It's the best!"
"Definitely!" Harry agreed as he and Ron entered the Mulberry Dance club. "I know… Wella Spookster is an excellent singer."
"I didn't expect that so many people from Hogwarts would show up here." Ron seemed surprised. "This was supposed to be a small and discrete party." He shifted his Chudley Cannon broomstick to his other hand.
Harry was in agreement. "I know. The only person I haven't seen from Hogwarts is Neville Longbottom and a couple of Ravenclaws."
"Hermione's still not here, is she?" Ron asked anxiously, as he glanced at the dancing crowd.
"I don't think so." Harry answered.
"You don't believe … that something happened to her?" Ron was skeptical. "Do you?"
Harry had to laugh out loud. "Ron! You know how girls take ages to dress up. She probably had to put some lipstick on something. Don't worry."
"I hope you're right."
"Damn…." Harry muttered in an irritated tone. "This pirate eye patch is really driving me mad. I can't see anything with my left eye."
"Take it off then." Ron suggested, glimpsing at the entrance in chance of spotting Hermione.
"No… Forget it." Harry decided. "The costume would lose its effect then." It had taken Harry exactly two days to bring this pirate outfit together. He was wearing black shabby pants with patches all over it. His white shirt was torn from many places that gave the effect as if he had just been in a fight. There was a sword slung around his waist and it was a real one. He had borrowed it from the knight in suit of armour who stood in the East hallway at Hogwarts.
Harry didn't have to mess his hair up for the rugged pirate look. It was already accomplished, like always. Even after all these years, Harry still couldn't tame his hair to appear neat and orderly.
Ron, however looked entirely opposite of Harry. While Harry gave away a mysterious and cryptic appearance, his best friend radiated the look of a charmer. The orange Chudley Cannons uniform was looking quite impressive on him. In fact, he didn't seem much different from the attractive Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, only if you subtracted the attitude. And Ron was attracting attention of many girls, including the ones who weren't from Hogwarts.
"Why don't you go and ask someone to dance with you?" Ron implied with a strange grin on his face.
"Don't be daft." Harry shook his head.
Ron grabbed Harry and questioned. "Are you still hung upon her?"
Harry froze in fear. Had Ron figured out about Ginny? "W… who are you talking about?"
"Cho Chang, of course." Ron mentioned. "I know it was hard for you when she left Hogwarts two years ago. But Harry, you need to move on."
Harry let out a breath of relief. "Oh… her. Yes, I'm over her."
"Then why don't you ask someone to dance." Ron insisted. "Alright, why don't we make a deal? Choose any girl here and ask her for just one spin. And I will do your homework for one whole week."
Harry was impressed. "Homework for a whole week?"
"Yes." Ron assured.
Harry raised one of his eyebrows. "And can I choose any girl I want?"
Ron nodded his head. "Yes, but provided that you ask her now."
Just then Harry saw Hermione approaching them and suddenly he had a great idea. "And can I kiss her if I want?" he asked Ron.
"Of course, of course." Ron appeared very happy.
"Fine," A devious smile formed on Harry's lips. "I choose her." He made a dash towards Hermione who was dressed up as a queen. "Hullo Hermione. Would you like to dance with me?"
"What the hell…?" Ron's mouth dropped with surprise. "Harry… you can't!"
"Sorry Ron." Harry shrugged his shoulders playfully. "But you did say 'any girl'."
Hermione seemed amused. "What's going on?"
Harry flashed another crafty smile at his best friend and then faced Hermione. "You look wonderful, tonight. Come on… let's dance." He offered his arm to her and then led her away to the dance floor, leaving Ron in a state of shock and a slight touch of anger.
"What's happening?" Hermione wanted to know as Harry twirled her around.
Harry briefly explained her everything and Hermione giggled in delight.
"Just pretend that you're having a fireball of fun with me." Harry whispered in her ear.
"No problem." she answered as she danced closer with her best friend. "Ron needs to get over this jealousy thing."
Taking small peeks at Ron, Harry chuckled when he saw his face. Ron appeared quite frustrated, and his face was turning beat red with embarrassment. And a few minutes later, Harry and Hermione were back with him.
"Oh…" Harry said as if he suddenly remembered. "The deal was also that I kiss the girl."
Ron possessively put his arms around Hermione and exclaimed. "Don't you dare, Potter!"
Harry doubled over with laughter. "Calm down, Weasley! I was just joking!"
"Is this your idea of a joke?" Ron demanded; he was red in the face with fury. "Well, it's not very funny!"
"Ron…" Hermione came to Harry's defense. "We were just doing it to get you steamed up. So why don't you relax."
It took Ron Weasley a good six minutes to finally let it go. "But don't ever do that again." He warned Harry.
"We won't." Harry promised for the third time with a smile. "Besides, you know that…" But Harry had to stop. That smile disappeared off his face and it was replaced with a look of complete surprise.
"What's wrong?" Hermione went worried.
Harry couldn't believe it! Was it really her…? Were his eyes deceiving him? Did Harry just see Ginny Weasley…?
Without a word, he hurried towards where she was standing. Behind him, Harry heard Ron call out his name but he ignored his friend.
She was gone. Harry quickly scanned each face in the crowd, but Ginny was nowhere to be seen.
He stopped to catch his breath. Ron and Hermione were at his side in moments.
"What's the matter, Harry?" Ron wanted to know.
Harry shook his head. "I thought… I thought that… I saw Ginny."
"What?" Ron shrieked as his face cringed in pain. It was apparent that he didn't want to be reminded of his dead sister that instant.
"I'm sorry." Harry muttered, looking extremely pale. "It must have been a mistake."
"Harry…" Hermione started. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes, these disco lights play nasty tricks on the eyes. You must have seen someone else who looked like Ginny."
Suddenly a voice behind the trio exclaimed. "Harry didn't see Ginny. He had seen me..."
It was Shauna and all three of them turned around to face her.
Hermione let out a terrifying gasp when she saw Shauna and Ron roared. "You damn bitch! How dare you!"
Shauna smirked as she twirled around to fully expose her costume. "Do you guys like it?"
Harry was in complete shock. It wasn't just possible. Shauna was dressed as Ginny…
"Isn't it perfect?" Shauna cooed in joy. "I couldn't think of anything better." She had dyed her hair red and had styled it in two braids, exactly the way Ginny used to plait her hair before she had died. Shauna was wearing a maroon Weasley jumper with the letter 'G' on it in yellow, along with a bottle green plaid skirt. Her white socks were rolled down exactly the way Ginny used to do. Even her eyes had changed. Instead of a green colour, Shauna's eyes were now coffee brown, just like Ginny's...
"How could you do this?" Harry breathed, still in a trauma.
"What?" Shauna seemed disappointed. "Don't tell me it's not nice. I had spent hours on making it just right."
Ron was scrunching his teeth as he unexpectedly made an attempt to lunge at Shauna, but Hermione pulled him back. "No Ron… Don't!"
"I can't believe it!" Harry exclaimed, anger creeping inside his heart. "How dare you do this?"
Shauna folded her arms and demanded. "What? Dress up as Ginny? Well… if you people aren't aware, then let me tell you. This is a costume party!"
"She died not so long ago!" Harry screamed. "And some of us may still be mourning over her… you insensitive bitch!"
"So what?" Shauna chuckled. "Last I heard, you could still dress up as dead people. I mean, look at that Albert Einstein costume, or the Merlin the Magician one, right over there. Those are dead people but I don't see anyone else having a cow over them!"
With one swift movement, Ron stepped forward and slapped Shauna right across the face. "You have a lot of nerve doing this. And I'm not going to tolerate any of it when it comes to my sister!"
Tears were forming in Shauna's eyes as she touched her cheek where Ron had slapped her. "I thought you were all better than this." With that, she ran towards the exit and had disappeared in moments.
"Why would she do such a thing?" Hermione asked in horror.
Harry wasn't able to speak, so Ron answered, he was extremely angry. "Some people just have wretched souls and Shauna is just one of them." Then he looked at both of his friends. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can stay here a moment longer. I'm going back to Hogwarts."
"It's a good idea." Hermione solemnly agreed, the she turned towards Harry. "Coming?"
"Sure…" Harry muttered as he made his way towards the exit, with Ron and Hermione on his trail.
Their way back to Hogwarts was completely silent. Harry didn't think anyone of them had the willpower to get through the dragging night.
Harry couldn't fall asleep. How could he? The night was constantly roaring of thunder, and lightning flashed every two minutes or so. Besides, the heavy rain splattering on his window was loud enough to burst anyone's eardrums.
He lay in his bed thinking about what happened a few hours ago. Every time he thought that Shauna had some goodness inside her, she would ruin it by doing something extremely deplorable. Things like dressing up as Ginny Weasley for Halloween.
He knew Ron was very much hurt and in immense pain. It had taken him great effort and whole lot of time to subside the pain he felt for loosing his little sister. Now, it was probably surfacing again and it was all Shauna's damn fault.
Of course, Harry was hurt as well. He had really thought he had seen Ginny the first time around at Mulberry's. His heart had immediately perked up with joy, clinging for a desperate chance to see Ginny Weasley alive once more. Just once…
And what about Shauna? Harry was really beginning to feel something for her. She seemed to have lost so much and needed someone to comfort her desperately. Sometimes she appeared so wise and yet, so fully vulnerable. Harry couldn't deny it, but he had definitely witnessed some good in Shauna. But why did she always revert back to her evil side?
He couldn't figure her out. Was Shauna evil or good? Perhaps, she was just a really good fibber and all the things she had to Harry about herself, were all lies. And perhaps, she was telling the truth…
All of a sudden, Harry had to confront her. What she had done tonight was just utterly despicable. Dressing up as Ginny was like a thunderbolt that had struck him and Ron at the core of their hearts. She wasn't going to escape this that easily, and slapping her once wasn't enough.
Making sure everyone else in the dormitory were fast asleep, Harry quietly got up from his bed and carefully tiptoed towards the door. Minutes later he was striding towards the ex-storeroom. Hermione had told Harry a long time ago that none of the girls wanted to stay in the same dormitory as Shauna because of her repulsive temperament. So Professor McGonagall had given Shauna the extra store to use as a dormitory in order to avoid any nasty conflicts.
When Harry reached her room, he wasn't sure that he wanted to lock horns with her anymore. Maybe he should go back and do it in the next day or something. After all, it was two o' clock in the morning and she would probably be fast asleep.
But when Harry recalled what she had done last night, his temper began taking over his mind and body. All in one breath, he reached out for the door handle and twisted it. It opened easily and the next moment Harry was inside her room.
Shauna was standing right next to her bed. "What the hell are you doing here, Poopy Potter?"
And what was she doing awake in the middle of the night? Harry wandered as he saw that a large trunk was sitting on her bed, and Shauna seemed to be throwing her clothes in it.
"Are you going somewhere?" Harry suddenly asked.
There were tears in her eyes that Harry hadn't noticed before. She was facing him when she exclaimed irritably. "By Golly! You're smart, Potter. Yes I am… just can't stand this place anymore!
"Does Dumbledore know you're leaving?" he was quite surprised.
"No! I'm running away!" Shauna exclaimed, as she went towards her cupboard, pulled out of few more of her things and dumped them in the trunk.
"Buy why…?" Harry wanted to know as he took a stop closer.
"It's probably because of people like you and Ron and Hermione…!" Shauna almost screamed. "You have made my life so MISERABLE, that I have to get out here!"
"What?" Harry demanded getting extremely angry. "WE have made your life miserable? May I need to remind you, that YOU are the one who has made our lives completely TORMENTED!"
"I didn't…" Shauna started, but Harry exclaimed.
"And how dare you dress up like Ginny? How dare you do deprecate the memory of Ginny Weasley by doing this absurd act?" Harry was screaming and he didn't care if he woke up the whole of Hogwarts.
Shauna just stared at him and just shook her head sadly. "I didn't mean to deprecate Ginny Weasley in any way. It was supposed to be just plain fun."
"Fun?" Harry repeated, with his eyes widening in disbelief. "You just reminded Ron of his dead sister! Someone who was brutally murdered just a couple of months ago! Is that your idea of fun?"
Without warning, there was an explosion of thunder rumbling out the window. Both of them jumped in surprise, and Harry's heart began to beat faster.
There was complete silence for a few minutes, as the sounds of thunder and intense rain splashing went on into the night.
"I'm sorry..." Shauna finally muttered avoiding his gaze.
Harry nearly laughed out loud in ridicule. "Apologizing isn't going to better anything. The damage has already been done!"
"Well… it doesn't matter anymore!" Shauna declared. "Because I'm leaving! So Ron or Hermione or you wouldn't have to go through any more horrors with me!"
"Thank God for that!" Harry cried out. But at the same time he felt a pang of guilt, he didn't want Shauna to depart from Hogwarts, not yet.
"Good! I'm glad my leaving will make everyone very happy!" Shauna was sobbing again as she put last of her possessions inside the trunk and shut it. Then she grabbed her coat and scarf and while putting them on, she faced Harry. "It was nice knowing you, Potter. We could even have become friends, but I guess it wasn't just meant to be. Tell Ron and Hermione that I'm really sorry. Goodbye." With that she rushed towards the door, with the trunk in one hand and an umbrella in the other.
Harry's guilt overlapped all his emotions when he heard the word 'goodbye'. "Wait…" he called out. Shauna stopped, hesitant and slowly turned around. "Where are you planning on going?" Harry asked her.
She was lost in thoughts for a few seconds. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a witch… so I'll probably go back to the muggle world."
"Back to your parents?"
She shook her head unhappily. "I can't let them know that I've failed." Shauna paused for an instant. "I know this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but… I don't have anyone in this world." She left the room and Harry instinctively followed her.
"You can't just sneak out of here." Harry implied. "Besides, Hogwarts Express isn't going to London anytime soon."
"That's too bad." Shauna insisted as he reached the Fat Lady's Portrait and climbed out. "But I'll manage somehow. I just can't stay here anymore." Tears didn't stop rolling down her cheeks.
Harry bit his lip. Perhaps he had overlooked how hard it must have been for Shauna to be suddenly shoved in a whole new and strange world. He remembered his first few days at Hogwarts; he was excited then but also a bit afraid. But the apprehension soon disappeared because of people like Hermione, who alike him had no clue about magic and Harry had found someone he could relate to. And also because of people like Ron, who instantly became a magical friend.
Shauna didn't seem to have any of those advantages.
"You do know that it'll be terribly dangerous at a time like this?" Harry reasoned as he walked alongside with her. "You can't just go out alone. And it's raining like hell out there!"
She suddenly stopped and showed him her umbrella. "Why do you think I have this for?"
"That thing is not going to protect you from this terrible storm." Harry tried to explain. "And it's not wise at all to run away at this time of night…"
"Goodbye, Potter." Shauna was firm about it and she sprinted forward, dragging her trunk with her.
"It's firmly locked." Harry remarked when they reached the Great Gate. "You can't get out. Not even by magic."
"You really have to give credit to some muggle ways." Shauna said as she took out a pin from her hair and inserted in the keyhole. In minutes, she had managed to unlock the Giant doors and as she opened it, a great gust of wind pushed itself in, almost knocking both of them down.
"You don't have to do this…" Harry was letting her know. "Perhaps, if you'd talked it out with someone and they could agree to help you…"
She looked at him; teary eyed, as if it were the very last time she would ever see him. "You're a good person, Potter. I wish you well in life. Goodbye." With that she opened her umbrella and tumbled out in the midst of the pouring rain.
Harry stood there for a minute, thinking feverishly. Should he call someone? Or maybe it was the better to let Shauna go.
And was all this fair to her? Shauna had given up so easily, probably because no one had really given her a real chance. She was running away from who she was, and Harry realised that she would never be able to be a true witch nor a true muggle. She was stuck in between, and that was a torment no one should suffer from, not even someone like Draco Malfoy.
All of a sudden, there was bloodcurdling scream from the outside. Harry's spine tingled and he instantly realised that the cry had belonged to Shauna.
Harry forgot about making up his mind. He was only in his nightdress but he really didn't care. Without thinking, Harry immersed deep into the shattering storm, while thunder powerfully clapped just inches above him.
He finally saw her; his heart plunging deeper in immense fear. "Oh God…"