Harry Potter and the Godric's Curse

Harry Potter has many problems. He wears glasses, he's hunted by Voldemort, he has bad grades, and he has more enemies than he should want. Oh, yeah…that, and Neville has misaimed yet another spell…at him. In the time of Chamber of Secrets. Definitely not compatible with the books.

*****

Chapter Fourteen

*****

"Now…" Sunny murmured. "How do you open a lock?"

Harry let out a groan. "Oh, no…" he sighed. "This may take a little while then."

"What type of lock is it?" Midnight asked.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "It looks like a regular pick-lock."

"A what?" Sunny and Midnight meowed together. Harry chuckled.

"I mean, it's a lock you open with a key." Harry sighed. "But we don't have the key…"

"We have claws, don't we?" Sunny suggested. She raised a paw, unsheathing her claws. "Come on, then. Let's pick the lock."

Midnight nodded. "Okay, then. What way do we turn it?"

"Once the key- er, claw-is in the keyhole," Harry explained, "You turn right. That way, the bar unlocks." He turned his head. "Does that make sense?"

"No," Sunny and Midnight mewed at the same time. "But," Midnight meowed, "we'll give it a shot."

Sunny nodded. "You first," she told him. "I want to see how it's done."

Midnight snorted. "More like you don't want to break a claw," he snickered. Harry laughed quietly, not waking the Slytherins. Midnight unsheathed his claws and began to try to fit his claw into the keyhole.

"I've nearly got it," Midnight grunted. "Just a little more- OW!"

"Shhhh!" warned Harry and Sunny. "Will you be quiet?!" Sunny hissed. "You don't want to wake the humans!"

"Yeah," Harry added, "If Malfoy wakes up, then we're as good as dead."

Sunny and Midnight exchanged worried glances. "Let's get you out of here, quick!" Sunny hissed. Midnight nodded and continued digging at the lock. Sunny padded forward to talk with Harry. "They're really that bad? They'd kill you?" she asked, her eyes shining with worry. "And we've let you be here so long? I'm sorry…"

Harry placed his nose on her check. "Stop worrying," he meowed. "I exaggerated. Everyone does, don't worry. Midnight?"

Midnight had snatched his paw away from the lock. "I'm sorry, Echo," he meowed. "Sunny, you try."

Sunny nodded. "Glad to," she meowed. She and Midnight switched places on the windowsill. Midnight stood closer to Harry.

"Berry and Leo are going to need Overseers soon," he meowed. "Next month."

"Really?" Harry meowed. "That quick…wow…"

"Yeah." Midnight nodded. He turned to face Harry. "So, are you okay? You look exhausted. And you looked pretty confused earlier." His head turned to the side as his dark fur gleamed in the moonlight shading through the window.

"Malfoy- the leader of these guys- shot a spell at me earlier," Harry meowed. "He hit me in the head. So I couldn't remember much until you two showed up. It took a little while to remember Sunny's name. But then, the pale eyes gave it away."

Midnight nodded. "Huh…" he grunted. "I've never known anyone to know her by her eyes." He raised an eyebrow. "That's funny." He purred. "So what's between you and her? When did that happen? Suddenly, she's been more and more worried for you, and suddenly you know her by her eyes. What's with that?"

Harry flattened his ears. "We're just friends!" he snapped truthfully. He thought about it, and it seemed true. But it's not, he told himself. I'm sorry if she feels that way, but I don't…I really don't. And that was the truth. "So what? You've been friends with her your whole life."

Midnight nodded. "Okay, okay. Sorry." He turned to see Sunny. "Are you almost done?" he asked.

"No!" Sunny hissed. "This stupid thing! I can't do it!"

Harry's heart sank. "Malfoy must have jinxed the lock!" he realized. He shook his head. "I don't believe it…We were so close, I'm sorry."

"No…" Midnight sighed, shaking his eyes. "Forgive us. We don't know how to work with magic…"

Sunny stared at her paws. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I wish we could do something…"

Harry stared at the lock. Suddenly, he cried out, "Alohamora!"

The lock glowed white for a moment, and then it faded. A sudden hissing sound emanated, and then a jet of white light backfired and blew Harry back.

"Echo!" Sunny and Midnight cried, getting as close to the bars as they could. Harry was blasted back and slammed onto the hard surface of the carrier's wall. He groaned and stood up.

"I'm okay," he mewed weakly. "Sorry about that."

Sunny and Midnight let out a long sigh. "Don't scare us like that!" Sunny scolded. "Honestly!"

Harry rolled his eyes and purred. "Okay, okay," he meowed. "Now you two should probably be getting back to the Felina Patrol camp. Right?"

Sunny and Midnight exchanged a worried glance, which they soon revealed to Harry. "But…we can't leave you," Midnight protested. "We are all friends…right? And we stick by each other, right?"

Harry nodded. "But not now," he murmured. "I can't let you stay here. If you stay, you'll be hurt. I couldn't watch that." Midnight and Sunny's faces fell. "But…" Harry smiled. "Please…tell everyone that I'm okay. Because I am…thanks to you two."

Sunny and Midnight brightened. "We will," they promised truthfully. Then came time for farewells.

Midnight stepped forward. "Good luck," he meowed. "You know where to find me, when you get out. I'll always be ready to help. And I promise we'll let Rose know. We'll let everyone know."

"Thanks, Midnight," Harry meowed. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye…" Midnight turned away.

Sunny stepped where Midnight had stood. "Well…this is it for now," she meowed. "Good luck, Echo. We'll look out for you. And we'll be back for you if you're not out by Monday."

Harry purred. "Thanks," he meowed. "Goodbye…for now."

"Goodbye," Sunny meowed, dipping her head. "Good luck, Echo- I mean, Harry."

Harry's eyes widened as Sunny turned away and followed Midnight into the gloom of the dungeons. He blinked slowly, still taking in what Sunny had said.

She called me Harry.

…I guess I still am a human.

Content with this, Harry sighed and watched the two Patrol cats leave. He watched them go, trusting them to pass on his message. Good luck, he thought to them.

Maybe it was his imagination. Maybe it was him going crazy. But something told him it was really their voices. Their voices meowing back to him.

Good luck, they said.

*****

Please review, as always!