YEE-HAW! A brand-new chapter, as promised!
Thanks so much to everyone who favorited, followed, & commented on the last chapter - the reviews made me so happy!
Arcanix13 - I'm so glad you feel that way about my story, & I hope I don't disappoint!
NicoleR85 - my old friend! Thanks so much for the welcome back!
AquaEclipse - I'm glad you liked "Aunt Prudence"! I actually got the name from an Australian show on Netflix called "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries"! It's about a lady detective in the 1920s, & she has an aunt called Prudence who is played by Miriam Margolyes, a.k.a. Professor Sprout!
The Guest who described Reggie as "such a mood" - you made me laugh so hard! You're utterly fantastic, & I'm so glad you can't stop reading!
As always - read, enjoy, & review!
- Owlix
Chapter Forty Three: Something Wicked This Way Comes
The night after we got back, I met Ron & Hermione in the library to work on our newest mountain of homework. We were starting to dig into Umbridge's assignment when Harry dragged himself in. He'd just come from his first Occlumency lesson, & honestly, he looked absolutely horrible! He was pasty white & clammy, & he was visibly shivering as he slumped into the seat beside me.
"Are you alright?" I asked, just as Hermione asked, "How did it go?"
"Yeah, fine … I dunno," he said, impatient yet too exhausted to snap. "Listen, I've just realized something …"
"What?" I asked, turning to face him in my seat.
"I've been dreaming about this door," Harry said quietly, "& this empty corridor for months. Only, I thought it wasn't real, but it is! It's the door leading to the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry, & Mr. Weasley was there when he got bitten!"
"What was he doing there?" I asked seriously, leaning forward & looking Harry right in the eye.
"The Order's been guarding something," Harry whispered. "They won't say what it is, exactly, but Sirius did say that it was some sort of weapon that Voldemort didn't have last time."
"So … so, are you saying …" Ron asked in a squeaky whisper, "that the weapon - the thing You-Know-Who's after - is in the Ministry of Magic?"
"In the Department of Mysteries, it's got to be," Harry whispered to Ron. "I saw that door when your dad took me down to the courtroom for my hearing, & it's definitely the same one he was guarding when the snake bit him!"
"Of course …" Hermione breathed, her eyes wide & bright.
"What is it, 'Mione?" I asked.
"There was an Auror, Sturgis Podmore," she said, whispering quicker & quicker as she built her theory. "He was part of the Order, but he disappeared until the Prophet announced that he'd been arrested for trying to break through a door in the Ministry. They never said which door it was, but if it's the door Harry saw … It must have been that one, it's too much of a coincidence!"
"How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he's on our side?" Ron asked.
"Well, I don't know," Hermione admitted. "That is a bit odd …"
"What's in the Department of Mysteries?" I asked, feeling a bit confused. "What's so special about it?"
"I know they call the people who work in there 'Unspeakables'," Ron replied with a frown. "No one really seems to know what they do in there … weird place to have a weapon …"
"Not if you don't want others to know what the weapon is," I said quietly. I jumped slightly as I saw Harry moving out of the corner of my eye. I looked over & saw him pressing the heels of his hands against his forehead, like he was trying to push something out or keep something in. "You sure you're OK, Harry?"
"Yeah, fine …" he groaned as he lowered his trembling hands. "I just feel a bit … I don't like Occlumency much …"
"What was it like?" I asked in concern.
"… Bloody awful," he whispered. I waited for a while, but he seemed unwilling to give me any more details.
"Well, I expect anyone would feel shaky after dealing with Professor Snape for an hour," Hermione said sympathetically. "Look, let's get back to the common room, we'll be a bit more comfortable in there."
On our way up there, I made sure to stand right next to Harry, just in case he suddenly toppled. His face was still pale & clammy, & I caught him swaying a couple times as we walked.
Unfortunately, the common room was packed & mind-numbingly loud; Fred & George were displaying their latest invention -
"Headless Hats!"
George was hawking loudly as Fred demonstrated how his head would disappear whenever he put the hat on & reappear when he would take it off. The resulting gasps, screams, & cheers were incredibly distracting &, considering Harry's headache, potentially painful.
"I don't think I can do this," he groaned, looking decidedly nauseous.
"No worries," I whispered, wrapping my arm around his as I guided him to the stairs leading up to his dormitory.
Just after we opened the door, Harry grabbed his head & then simply collapsed … into fits of laughter. Wild, jubilant, ecstatic, maniacal laughter erupted from Harry's mouth as he writhed on the floor of his dormitory. I immediately grabbed him & dragged him into the room before closing the door, knowing that if someone came to investigate & saw this, they'd immediately announce it to the entire school. Once the door closed, I quickly straddled him & slapped him across the face, calling his name loudly. The laughter took a moment or two to fade away, but by the time it did, his eyes were open & staring up at me in confusion.
"Are you OK?" I asked again, staring him straight in the eye & silently daring him to lie to me.
"I … dunno …" he gasped, sitting up & awkwardly shoving me away. "He's really happy … really happy …"
"Voldemort?" I asked quietly.
"Something good's happened," he mumbled, visibly shaking & sweating like he'd just run a hundred miles. "Something he's been hoping for."
"How good are we talking here?" I asked, knowing that if it was good for him, it was very bad for us.
Harry was quiet for a moment but then said, "He's the happiest he's been in fourteen years."
I felt the blood drain from my face as I swore under my breath.
"So … either someone's dead … or … something else has gone wrong," I whispered, horrified at the idea. "Who do we go to for this?"
"I dunno …" Harry replied. "We'll have to wait 'til morning, I think … I don't know what's happened … can't warn anyone …"
"I hate to ask," I grimaced, "but do you think you might dream about this?"
"Maybe …" Harry murmured. "My mind … seems weaker this time, thanks to Snape … I dunno …"
"'Thanks to Snape'?" I repeated, trying to not snarl as the implications started making my mind run wild. "Care to elaborate on that?"
Again, Harry was quiet, for longer this time, but he eventually opened up.
"He would keep forcing his way into my mind, & I was supposed to force him out somehow," Harry said, snarling himself at the memory. "He told me to clear his mind, to let go of all emotion. Yeah, exactly," he responded when I snorted in derision. "I told him that I was having a hard time with that at the moment, but he said that … I'd be an easy target, that I'm weak …"
"Ohhhh, HELL NO!" I roared, standing up & starting to pace in front of Harry.
"This is why he shouldn't have been the one to teach you!" I growled as I paced. "He's belligerent, he's cruel, he's abusive, & he doesn't give a rat's ASS about you or whether or not you succeed! This sort of lesson needs trust & support & kindness, & Snape wouldn't know those things if they were grinding on his pasty-white ass!"
I was surprised when Harry started chuckling, looking up at me & grinning like he'd never seen anything so entertaining in his life.
"What?!" I asked, not exactly in a playful mood. "It's true! Honestly, I don't know why that … slimy, bitter, know-it-all brat still works here! The way he treats his students - & even his own colleagues - it's ridiculous! I don't know how he expects to be anything more than a paid babysitter with that attitude! If I honestly thought they'd do anything about it, I'd tell McGonagall & Dumbledore about him!"
Harry chuckled again before slowly standing up & walking over to me.
"Thanks," he whispered. "I'd better get ready for bed."
"OK," I sighed. "Um … should I tell Ron or Hermione any of this?"
Harry looked down & thought for a moment before responding.
"Probably," he said quietly. "Maybe not … all of it …"
"I'll just say you got a pain in your scar & heard him laughing," I said, nodding firmly. "Does that work?"
"Yeah, thanks," Harry said gratefully, giving me a hug before heading to his trunk to grab his pajamas. I took that as my cue to leave, throwing a quick goodbye over my shoulder before closing the door.
I met Ron & Hermione at the bottom of the stairs, all three of us looking serious.
"You were up there a while," Hermione mused, not accusingly but something close to it.
"Harry was having a hard time with the noise," I said with a shrug. "I think the Occlumency lessons wore down his defenses."
"Why do you think that?" Hermione asked.
I looked around for a moment & then leaned in.
"Harry had another scar attack," I whispered. "He didn't see anything, just heard Voldemort laughing!"
"Laughing?!" Ron asked, his voice going high-pitched in fear.
"Yeah," I said, nodding seriously. "Harry thinks something really bad's just happened, but he doesn't know what."
Ron & Hermione looked at each other in worry before looking back at me.
"Is he alright?" Hermione asked in concern.
"More or less," I replied. "He's got a bad headache & he's shaky, but he's hoping a good night's sleep will help."
"That's good," Hermione said, her body language loosening considerably at the good news.
"I'll go up & check on him," Ron offered, standing & heading upstairs before either of us could reply.
Hermione & I spent the next few hours finishing as much homework as possible before midnight finally came. We groaned as we made our way upstairs, silently acknowledging that there was little we could do until morning.
At breakfast the following day, we finally found the answer to the mystery provided by Harry's fit.
Hermione had received her Daily Prophet &, after taking a single glance at the front page, let out a loud yelp that made everyone in earshot stare at her. Since I was sitting next to her, I leaned over & looked over her shoulder. What I saw made me swear out loud before slapping my hand over my mouth to keep worse words from slipping out.
"What?" the boys asked.
Hermione simply spread the newspaper in front of them & pointed at the ten black-&-white mugshots that glared, sneered, or sulked up at us. Nine of the ten mugshots were of men & the tenth, which was set up on top of the other nine, was that of an awfully familiar witch:
Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture & permanent incapacitation of Frank & Alice Longbottom, her caption said.
The portrait that Kreacher had displayed had sported thick, sleek, shiny black curls that were elegantly piled on top of her head, dark eyes that glinted with a frighteningly sharp intelligence from under thick eyelids, & an arrogant, disdainful smile playing on her plump-lipped mouth. She had been every inch the dangerously powerful Pure-blood witch, the perfect Black Lady.
The woman who looked up at us now was not a shell of what she'd been, as Uncle Sirius now was. All of the danger & sharpness & malice that had been hiding under a noble veneer was now unleashed from every inch of her being. Her dark curls were unkempt & straggly, flowing erratically as she tried to break free from the manacles around her bony wrists. Her eyes were open wide & wild with rage, alternating between staring into the corners at something that only she could see & glaring ferociously at us outside the frame. Her mouth was now framed with chapped lips & filled with crooked brown teeth as she roared in the most primal fury I'd ever seen.
She was everything Dark that I knew that I could be &, according to the Daily Prophet, she was now free to unleash that Darkness on the world that had tossed her into the depths of Hell.
"Something wicked this way comes …" I whispered quietly, very horrified at the possibilities.
"There you are, Harry," Ron said, sounding awestruck. "That's why he was happy last night."
"I don't believe this," Harry snarled, looking down at the article. "Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?!"
"If he's insisting that Voldemort isn't back, he has no other option," I whispered sternly. "Uncle Sirius is the only other person who has broken out from Azkaban! Short of Voldemort himself blowing the prison up, who else could've broken them out?"
I paused & looked up when someone rushed by me. I jumped & felt my stomach sink when I saw Neville hurrying out of the room, his hand close to his face as if to hide any potential tears.
After quickly excusing myself, I hurried off after him.
"Neville?" I called quietly as I caught up to him on the far side of the Entrance Hall.
He stopped & glanced over in fear, relaxing visibly when he realized that it was me.
"Reggie …" he stammered, gasping as he tried to keep from crying. "I s-saw … the - the paper …"
"Me too," I said sadly, realizing that his secret was now completely public to anyone who cared to read the paper. I also realized that, as the daughter of Bellatrix's first cousin, I was one of the two people in the building related to the woman who utterly ruined his family's life. I sighed as I realized that Neville needed to hear this from me.
"Listen …" I said, looking down & putting my hands in my pockets as I gathered all of my Gryffindor courage. "There's … there's something you need to know … & you should hear it from me before someone else tells you."
Neville stepped a bit closer, signalling to me that he was listening.
"I'm … I'm related to that … that woman, Bellatrix Lestrange," I said, trying to speak clearly but quietly. "She & my dad were … first cousins."
"So … you & Malfoy really are …"
"Second cousins," I confirmed. I took a deep breath before plunging onwards. "I understand if you … don't want to be friends with me anymore. I'm part of her family, & she's responsible for destroying yours, so …"
"W-Wait!" Neville cried, surprising me as he stepped up close to me.
"I don't want to stop being friends with you!" he said while looking straight in my eyes. "You're one of my closest friends & the bravest person I know, apart from Harry! I don't care who your cousin or aunt or grandmother is - I just care about who you are!"
I tried to not cry as I smiled up at Neville, who awkwardly smiled back at me.
"I, um … thanks," I sniffled, looking down to quickly wipe my eyes before looking back up at him. "Are you, um … are you doing OK?"
"Um … I think so," he said. "I just … I'm still not sure I'm ready for everyone to know."
"They're gonna know eventually," I said quietly. "My advice is to stay with at least two other people when you're moving around. If you're in a bigger group, you'll be less likely to get cornered, especially if you're with friends."
"Yeah?" he asked, looking almost hopeful at the advice.
"Friends will keep you safe from the worst of it," I warned, "but people will still gossip & whisper & gawk & point & all that shit. You'll have to get ready for that; that isn't going away."
He nodded & looked down with a sigh. He looked very forlorn for a moment before I reached up & grasped his shoulder in support. He looked up in surprise.
"If all else fails, you just find me," I said with a vicious smirk. "I will whoop the asses of whoever is giving you trouble & give them a month of nightmares for good measure!"
I was surprised when Nevile burst out laughing. I had never realized it before, but he was actually quite a good-liking guy! Whichever woman finally snagged him would be a very lucky girl!
"You wanna head back in?" I asked, pointing over my shoulder back into the Great Hall.
He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, & nodded firmly before following me back. I was immediately worried when I saw the horrible looks on the Trio's faces.
"What's wrong?" I asked after hurrying over to them.
Hermione shoved the paper towards me & pointed at an article.
TRAGIC DEMISE OF
MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER
"We saw him," Hermione whispered, "at St. Mungo's! He was in the same room as … as your father!"
My eyes almost bugged out of my head as I finally remembered.
"The old man who got the potted plant!" I gasped.
"He was an Unspeakable," Ron whispered. "He worked in the Department of Mysteries!"
My mind immediately began spinning with the possibilities.
"They're trying to get in," I realized, speaking hoarsely as I sat down. "The Death Eaters!"
"What?!" Ron asked.
"What if the reason they're called Unspeakables is because they've sworn a magical oath to never talk about what they do there?" I asked. "If the Death Eaters tried to force him to tell them what they wanted to know, they could've broken him & made him crazy!"
Hermione stared at me for a long moment before standing up & packing her bag.
"Where are you going?" Ron asked, startled.
"To send a letter," she responded. "Well, I don't know whether … but it's worth trying … & I'm the only one who can …"
Without another word of explanation, she hurried out of the Great Hall.
"I hate it when she does that," Ron grumbled as he scooped up his own bag & got ready to leave. Harry joined him, passing me a napkin wrapped around some British pancakes covered in marmalade as he nodded at the door. I smiled at him & grabbed my bag before following them out towards the Entrance Hall.
