Pleasant music started and Harry looked down at Luna. She looked around at all the decor smiling dreamily. To Harry, Luna and him were the only two on the dance floor, even with the floor flooded with students. Soon, the song ended and the duo walked to the head table where they were sitting. Harry smiled when Cedric Diggory and his date, Cho Chang sat next to them.
"Hey Harry! Pretty nice dance huh?" Cedric asked. Harry nodded and stabbed a slice of ham and put it on his plate. Luna was munching on a small plate with salad on it. Cho seemed to only ogle Harry which made both boys uncomfortable. She immediately stood up and smiled tightly. "Oh! Cedric dear, I'll be right back. Just going to refresh my drink, that's all..." Harry frowned yet Luna looked as calm and collected as ever.
Harry continued chatting with Cedric until he heard a shatter. Behind him, Cho looked down at a pool of pumpkin juice. What pumpkin juice that wasn't on the floor covered Luna's dress. Luna's face was completely red and Harry could see her eyes welling up. She looked between Harry and her dress and a single tear fell down her face. She stood and wiped off the front of her dress. "Well Harry," She asked tearfully, "it was fun..." Her voice cracked and she strode away quickly. Harry glanced at Cho who was trying not to blush. He sighed and shook his head.
Harry felt a flood of emotions. He furious with Cho on one hand however, he was desperate to find Luna. He looked through the crowd to see where Luna had run off to. Pushing through the crowds, he started calling out, "Luna!? Has anyone seen Luna?"
She was no where to be found and his face fell. "Oh Luna... I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."
"Harry?"
Harry turned to see Fleur leaning against the wall outside the dance. "Hey Fleur. How's the dance? I'm surprised you aren't in there with your date." Harry said with a hint of bitterness. Fleur heard the tone, to which she frowned.
"You'd get tired of your date gaping at you for the past hour, too. Speaking of dates, where is yours?"
"I don't know. The stupid Chang girl ruined her dress. I couldn't find her anywhere afterwards." Harry replied. Guilt washed over him. He should have seen this coming and yet Luna's night was ruined.
Fleur nodded firmly, "Well, I suppose since both of our dates are not around for one reason or another I must ask, would you like to dance?"
Harry snorted, "It seems a little unorthodox to have a girl ask a guy but, how could I say no to such a pretty face." Fleur smirked and slapped his arm.
The final dance song started playing. Moonlight Sonata Harry believed it was called. He swayed with the beautiful music, his eyes locked on Fleur's. Far too soon in Harry's opinion, the song ended and Harry walked Fleur to her room and kissed her hand, wishing her goodnight.
Harry exited the carriage, smiling dreamily when a dark blur caught his eye. He sprinted to the source of the blur and saw the Hogwarts professor Severus Snape. Harry contemplated following the shadowy potion's master. Soon, curiosity got the better of him. He clung to the shadows and listened intently when Snape met the Durmstrang Headmaster and started speaking quickly.
"I feel it too, Karkaroff. He will return by the end of the summer at the most." Snape uttered. Karkaroff said something Harry could not hear.
Snape sneered, "Then flee, I will create an alibi for your absence." Harry shook his head at the last part, "However the Dark Lord will return whether you like it or not."
After creeping away, Harry started processing this new information. So Karkaroff was a death eater as well as Snape? If what Snape said means what he thought, then he was screwed. Without another thought, he rushed back to the carriages.
He almost ripped the door to the carriages off it's hinges and ran to his room. He thought about going to Fleur and asking for help however he shook his head. Voldemort and his death eaters were his problem and his problem alone. With a longing look at his bed, he dove in and in only a few minutes, he fell asleep.
His dream was murky and disoriented. A large chair sat in the dark, musty room. He couldn't see who was sitting in it but he definitely hear them. "Soon Wormtail, by the end of the year at least. When those fools least expect it we will strike and Potter will be ours." It said. Harry heard a sort of hissing noise in the chair as well. It was as if a giant snake was speaking to this Wormtail.
"Y-Yes master. Your will be done." Harry turned to see a stout man with long fingernails and rat-like teeth. Harry felt dirty just looking at the man. Harry turned back to the first speaker and shook his head, who was this mysterious person and/or snake?
"Ah... We have a guest. Naturally as my mortal enemy you cannot know my plans, or at least the rest of them." The chair turned and Harry would have puked if he had not been in a dream. It was like an infant that had been savagely disfigured. It was a face not even a mother could love. Somehow it's thin arm moved in a flash. The last thing Harry saw was a green light a a hissing cackle.
Harry woke with a start and put a hand over his heart. His pulse was going a million miles a minute and he just couldn't sit around any longer. He stood, stretched quickly and sprinted to the headmistresses' room. After banging on the wooden door, Madame Maxime appeared and frowned.
"Harry? what is wrong?"
"I had a nightmare but... it wasn't exactly. There was this green light and this man named Wormtail! This wasn't some sporadic nightmare, it was like a vision." Harry explained desperately.
Madame Maxime nodded grimly, "Come, let us go to Dumbledore."
Harry and Maxime strode up to the castle and entered Dumbledore's office. After waking the headmaster and explaining what had happened, his eyes twinkled with curiosity.
"What you saw Harry, was Lord Voldemort. As you know, Voldemort tried to kill you as a young child and failed under mysterious circumstances. Many believed him dead yet I never thought that he could have died so easily. No, I assumed him to be alive in some twisted way. I have my theories but for now, we must be on our guard even more. We are in more peril than I had previously anticipated." Dumbledore said.
Harry nodded and looked at Madame Maxime who looked like she was seeing Harry in a casket rather than alive and breathing. Dumbledore gave a small smile and leaned forward.
"I have a saying Harry and I want you to remember this. It has kept me sane since I heard it and assuming this won't be your last experience, it might help you as well. 'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.'" Dumbledore advised. Harry smiled a little.
"Thank you sir. Good luck to Cedric Diggory." Harry answered.
The days went by slow ever since the dream. Reality felt a little off balance and everyone seemed to mesh and blur together. He felt at some times that he was losing himself. It seemed like all he did to keep sane was talk to Fleur and surprisingly, Luna. While she was an odd girl, she definitely was more down to earth than most. The second task seemed so far away and it was only a few weeks away.
One day, it was particularly snowy. It was even too snowy for Harry's taste. Instead of staying in the carriage, Harry started exploring the castle. He felt his hand along the hallways and smiled in melancholy. He never thought he'd be wandering around the school his parents went to yet here he was. He could imagine them walking down these halls and just enjoying the castle and having fun. He wished he could be in their position at the time considering his problems.
In a sort of daydream, he didn't notice that he was in an odd part of the castle where few went. The halls became quiet and ominous as opposed to the usual corridors that were filled with smiled students and teachers. Ever twenty feet a torch burned but it was still dark.
Suddenly, a pair of loud footsteps knocked him out of stupor. He cautiously drew his wand. "Hello?" He called out. Down a dim hall to his right, two shadows darted across his peripheral vision. He spun toward them and cast a stunning curse. "Get back!" he shouted. As the curse passed harmlessly down the hallway he could vaguely make out two figures. Both were lanky and tall. They were exactly the same height.
Harry cast another curse but before it could hit either of them, they disappeared. Harry sprinted down the hall, thinking he had the offensive. When he got to the spot where the figures were, all he saw was a statue of some weird knight with a missing arm. "Where did they go!" He growled.
"Ya know, I don't think this guy's all too bright, brother of mine." said one of the figures. You could feel the mischief in his voice. Harry turned and shot a spell at him but he countered with a shield. The spell fizzled.
Before Harry could cast another curse, another similar voice echoed the other direction, "I do believe you are right, my handsome sibling." Harry turned the other direction and saw the exact same figure. Was it an illusion?
"Go away!" He yelled and shot curse after curse at them. To his dismay not one hit.
"Tsk Tsk, they youth these days have no manners these days." One clucked. "Lumos"
Out of the murky dark appeared two older looking boys with bright red hair and pale faces. They had identical mischievous grins that made Harry check his pocket for his belongings. "Who the hell are you two?" Harry asked.
"I'm Fred.." One said
"I'm George and we're..." The other continued
"The Weasley Twins!" They chorused. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I've never heard of you two before."
George clutched his heart and swooned into the arms of his brother. "Oh! He wounds us Fred! If the great Harry Potter does not know us, then who does?" George cried dramatically. Fred smirked at Harry.
"My brother I cannot answer that question for I too, feel wounded." Fred moaned.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Alright, that's enough. What do you two want?" He asked.
They both stood up and bowed, "We are the Weasley twins, as we have said before. We wish nothing but to introduce ourselves and make your acquaintance. You fascinate us." George answered. Harry turned red.
"What? I'm not some sort of experiment or toy!"
"Oh please."
"Of course you're not."
"We never meant any disrespect of course."
"However you do fascinate us for one reason, Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail."
"Last year, a certain professor told us about his school years, how he and he three friends would pull pranks and were like kings."
"We also found out that one of them happened to be James Potter." George concluded
"Harry raised an eyebrow, "Who are you guys?" The twins bowed again.
"Let us reintroduce ourselves. I'm Fred and this is George. It's a pleasure to meet you." Fred answered.
Hello you people! You amazing, spectacular, patient (I hope) people! Thank you so much for reading my story this far and actually probably enjoying it! So far I've almost hit 200 followers which is seriously amazing! So yea, about Harry. He grew up in France where he only knew of his actual story. He'd never heard of his father or mother's school years except they went to Hogwarts. Thats why I introduced Fred and George like I did. It will create a good connection between him and his parents. Anyways, I love you all! See you guys in the next chapter!