Disclaimer: As you may have guessed, Idon't own this.
Part Three: Ghosts of the Present, Demons of the Past
Harry was awakened by a ringing in his ears. No, it wasn't coming from the inside, it was coming from the outside. Harry opened his eyes and saw Gretchen sitting on the floor in from of him, screaming. Instinctively, he covered her mouth with his hand and whispered, "Quiet you'll wake the others." Then he raised his head to look at what had
scared her.
Harry's eyes widened in terror. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't because his breath was caught in his chest. He didn't move, didn't breath for several seconds. Then, finilly he stuttered, "N-Nev-Neville?"
"Yes, Harry it's me," the ghost said. He waved his transparent hand in the air. "Hi Gretchen. Sorry I starteled you. I didn't mean to. I-I just realized that I was dead a few days ago. And well, I was flyling around, invisible, and, well, I lost controll and I I ran right threw you guys. I suppose that would be enough to knock you out. I'm sorry." Harry
slowly lowered his hand from Gretchen's mouth. He was worried that she would start screaming agien. Of course, that wouldn't have mattered for Harry could hear many feet climbing down stairs behind him. However, Gretchen did not scream, she was completely silent for a long time, time enough for many students to come intot he commen room.
"So you're haunting the school, Neville?" she asked. The ghost of Neville Longbottem nodded.
"It's still me," he said. "It's just that I'm not alive anymore." Gretchen cleared her throat.
"Well, welcome back Neville. Now, I believe those of us who are alive do need some sleep. I suggest,"-she told the group that had accumulated behind her, mostly students in the first three years,-"That you get back to bed, as I will." She yawned. "Goodnight, Neville. Happy haunting." With that Gretchen turned and left the room, as did many of the curious students. Neville disappeared threw the ceiling. When everyone had
gone, only Harry, Ron and Hermione were left.
"A ghost? Neville? Who would have thought..," Ron started. However, Hermione cut him off.
"Harry what were you doing down here at such an hour! That's a horrible example to set up for the younger students and you know how they look up to you! If Professor McGonagall cought you....."
"Come off it, Hermione," Ron said. "Harry was just talking. It's not like he was doing anything wronge."
"But he's a role model...," Hermione began.
"You're the role model, Hemrione. You're the perfect. Me? I'm just a regular guy," Harry said. Hermione scowled at him.
"Honestly, Harry. There's no need for you to be jealous," she said.
"I'm not jealous," Harry said. "Just surprised."
"Well what are you surprised about! You've broken tons of rules over the last five years!" Harry was angry. How dare Hermione say that.
"Let's not forget that you've helped me every step of the way," Harry shouted. Hermione opene her mouth as if to yell, but no words came out. She raised her hand and then lowered it back to her side before turning sround and storming off. Harry sighed and sat down. Ron turned to look out the window.
"You just need to give her some time, Harry," the red haired boy said. "All the perfect stuff has gone to her head. I suppose it's what she's always wanted. She'll probebly be head girl someday." Ron continued to look at the stars. "You're my best freind, Harry, and I don't want to fight with you, but I am curious, what were you and Gretchen doing
here, anyway?"
"Talking," Harry said.
"Talking? I though you said she was refusing to speak to you."
"She was. But she met me down here and said she was being stupid and that life was too short," he said. Ron nodded.
"Why was she mad at you anyway?" Harry wan't sure exactly what he should say. He hadn't told Ron or Hemrione about his dream, or who Gretchen's father was, or counless other things. Now that he was think about it, Harry couldn't believe ho many secrets he had kept between Gretchen and himself. He had barely noiticed. So he decided to take a leep of faith. He told Ron everything. Everything. He told him about Grtechen's blood bind, and how they were connected some how, about the dream, and about how they were talking later. That's when he stopped. Gretchen had gotten so mad when Harry told Sirius that he was he dad, wuld she get mad if he told Ron?
"Well, hurry up Harry, it's not like we have all night," Ron pushed.
"Sirius came into the room and I noiticed something," Harry said. Harry wouldn't tell Ron, but if Ron figured it out for himself, that would be alright. "Their eyes are the same color."
"So?"
"Gretchen looks like her mum in every way. Except her eyes. Apparently she has her father's eyes." Ron gasped. Harry stoof up and walked back towardas the boys dormitories. "I'm going to bed," he proclaimed, leaving Ron sitting in the commen room, wide eyed.
"Well it's not my fault all you want to do is makeout!"
"That is not all I want to do...."
"Do you think they'll ever stop?" Gretchen asked Harry and Hermione as they watched Ron and Lavender fight in the middle of the Gryffindor Commen room.
"Yes, they will," Hermioen said. "Ron told me that he was starting to get annoyed with her a long time ago."
"Huh. He never told me," Harry said.
"Oh," said Hermione suddenly embarresssed. "I'm sure he ment to."
"Well, I'm hungry," Gretchen declaired. "What did you say, Hemrione? You need to tickle the pear to get into the kitchens?"
"Yes," hermione answered. "Oh, and when you come back tell me how Winky's doing." Gretchen nodded and left. Harry watched her go. It had been two months since Harry had had the dream warning of Voldemort's ploting of her life. It seemed to have no effect on her, but Harry wasn't sure if that was quite true. Since the death of Professor
Flintwick and his four close friends (also members of his dueling club) there had been three seperate murders. One of the victoms was a witch named Esmeralda LaTruce. Appearently, the French witch had been a very good freind of Professor Dumbledore, for Harry didn't see him at meals for two days after that. The second murder was of an old
couple-Nora and Rafael Goldstine. For some reason this had upset Gretchen greatly, though she wouldn't say why.
Harry looked at Ron and Lavender agien. "I suppose they'll have to brake up soon, for their sanity's sake," Harry said.
"If not for their sanity then mine," Hemrione anounced. "I'm getting a head ache from all this screaming. I sware, maybe having boyfriends and girl freinds makes things all too complicated."
"From Ron, maybe, but me and Mandy have a good relasionship, and you and Terry get along just fine," Harry pointed out.
"Yes, maybe. But I think that they both suspect we love someone else."
"What?"
"Well, they're in Ravenclaw, Harry, they don't know the kind of secrets we have with eachother. When we spent time with eachother, and with Ron and Gretchen, they think we're well, being together in a way that freinds are not," Hemrione explained.
Harry tried to roll his eyes but he couldn't. He felt a sharp pain in his head. His breath seemed to have been caught in his chest and he had the sudden urge to cover his head, as if to stop something form falling on him. His arm ached. There was a taste in his mouth, burning his throat. Peper. Hot peper. He looked at Hermione. She didn't seem to noitice anything. Suddenly the pain was gone, but the pepery taste in his mouth still remained. "I'm going to go take a walk," he announced. "Maybe I'll run into Mandy if I'm lucky." Hemrione laughed.
"Get out of here, Harry." Harry smiled and headed for the portriet hole. He climbed out and started to walk.
"Hello, Harry."
"Hello, Neville."
"Is your friend all right?" Mrytle, who was flying next to Neville asked.
"Ron will live," Harry announced.
"Not Ron. The girl. Isn't that why you're leaving, to follow her?" Harry looked confused. Neville whispered something into Mrytle's ear. "Oh! That's right! he doesn't know, does he?"
"Know what?" Harry demanded, he was so confused that he almost forgot to skip the step that had once eluded Neville. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"
"The painting. It fell on the girl," Mrytle said. Was she talking about who he thought she was talking about? Gretchen? Had something happened? Harry hurried down the stairs, totally jumping the last six and landing like a cat on the ground below. He dashed threw the halls looking to the painting of the fruit bowl.
When he got there, however, he did not see s bowl of fruit. He saw the door the paint cocealed and the painting itself on the ground. Profesors McGanagll and Morryson were trying to lift it. "Why happened?" Harry asked as he hurried by them.
"Don't...know.....," Professor McGonagall panted as she tried to lift the painting. Harry grabbed an end and started to help. He was able to get it up a few inched high. Some one hurried out from underneath. Gretchen. Harry and the two professors dropped the painting as soon as she was completely out. "Gretchen, are you alright?" Professor McGonagall asked, but she didn't answer. Her eyes were transfixed on the painting. Harry
followed her gaze.
The painting was glowing a silvery color and levitating. It was rising higher and higher, setting itslef back onto it's frame, except that i wasn't a painting anymore. It was a canvas. A blank canvas. The glowing stopped and blood red letters began to bleed onto the white backround, as if someone ahd stuck a needle into pure skin and the blood left writing
on the wall. Quickly a message former. Two words, not even a complete sentence, and yet they awakened a fear in the four who saw them like nothing ever had before. The stood there mockingly in with their dark aura. Two words: Love Mother
Gretchen a hand over her mouth to keep herslef from screaming. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Harry stood next to har and grabbed her shoulders. "It's going to be all right," he told her. "It will be all right." Gretchen nodded weakly and professor McGonagall approched her.
"Let me see your arm," the professor said. Gretchen extended her rigth arm. "It's broken. Oh, and that's a deep gash on it. Here, hold it and try to stop the bleeding, Miss Locus. I'll take her to the hospital wing, Magnus. Go get Dumbledore."
"Yes, Minny-um-Minerva." The nervous looking man turned around and ran to get the head master. For the first time, Harry noiticed something rather odd. Professor McGonagall was waring her hair down. Down! It was clinging to her shoulders.
"Potter," she said sharply. "Stay here until Magnus returns. Gretchen and I will be back as soon as the bone is healed." Harry nodded. The head of his house and one of his best friends disappeared down a corridor.
"There you are," said a cheery voice. Harry saw Mandy walking towards him. "Why do you look so gloomy?"
"Err..the painting fell on Grtechen. It was kinda weird," he said. Mandy's eyes turned cold.
"What were you doing here with Gretchen?" she asked, heavy accusation in her voice. Harry wondered how she could possibily be so jealous.
"I wasn't doing anything with her. I was walking about and I professor McGanagall and professor Mottyson trying to get the painting off her. I just stopped to help," he said.
"Oh," Mandy said, light returning to her eyes and a smile appearing on her lips. "That was all? Good. Come on, Harry, let's take a walk." Harry shock his head.
"I was told to wait here while professor Morryson gets Dumbledore," he explained. Mandy frowned. She walked around him in a semi-circle, as if doing her best to be a preditor that stalks it's prey.
"Why do you always have an excuse not to be with me, Harry? Don't you love me?" she asked. Her pacing stopped. She looked Harry dead in the eyes.
"Oh course I love you, Mandy," Harry said, "but my life doesn't revolve around you."
"So it revolves around her then, doesn't it? Gretchen. Gretche Locus. What does she have that I don't, Harry? The not prettier then I am. Anyone can see that. She's not nearly as smart. So tell me, Harry, what makes her so spiecal?" The tiger Mandy was getting ready for the killing blow. Harry knew this would be his one chance to save their relashionship. But did he want to save it? Was it worth saving. Harry leaned over and kissed Mandy.
"The only thing Gretchen has that you don't is a steak of bad luck, which is something you don't ewant anyway. However, you have something she doesn't. You have me." Mandy looked at him.
"I'll see you after brakefast tomorrow," she said. Mandy leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheack. Then she left. Harry traced the invisibile mark on his cheack were she had kissed him. A hot/cold feeling radiated from it.
Dumbledore and Morryson came a few moments later. Dumbledore looked at the painting and frowned. "Where is Gretchen?" he asked.
"I'm rigth here, sir," she said as she and McGonagall walked up to Dumbledore, Morryson, and Harry. Madam Pomfrey was with that, carrying some white bandages. Harry noiticed that the cut on Grtechen's arm had been cleaned, but that still slightly bleeding. Dumbledore looked at her arm.
"Don't wrapp it yet, Poppy, there is something I must see.....," he took hold of Gretchen's arm with one hand a used the other to get some of gretchens blood on just on finger. He released her arm and took a drop of blood from the painting on that hand. "Ah," he said. "It's the child's blood on the painting."
"What does that mean, Albus?" professor McGonagall asked. She glanced at Gretchen for a moment, who's head was lowered in shame, eyes towards the floor.
"For one thing, it means that Winetta is after her daughter, but we've known that for a long while. All this has done is verified that fact agien. And it has also showed us, that though Winetta wants to harm her daughter, she's not in the castle now." Dumbledore looked at the painting. "Minerva, kindly go fetch Violet's painting. I believe she'll fit. Magnus, would you like to assist her?"
"Of course, headmaster. Minerva?" Magnus said as he offeared her his arm. She took it and the two disappeared together". Dumbledore watched them for a moment, the fire Harry knew so well returning to his eyes.....but it disappeared quickly enough as he turned back to face Harry and Gretchen.
"Do you have any idea," he asked, "any idea as to what may have caused this?" Gretchen looked at Harry for a moment. He just swallowed, the taste of peper still thick in his mouth. Peper juice....The thought enetered Harry's mind and he knew immediately it was not his own. He looked at Gretchen, knowing that it much have been hers. Harry and
Gretchen had exchanged thoughts the way only once before, the day Gretchen left for the deatheater's camp. The day Harry followed her. The day Neville died.
"I don't know," Gretchen said. "How could my mum do this without being in the castle? She cant hurt me without being near me....can she?" Dumbledore nodded grimly.
"I appears so," he said. "Perhaps it would be best if you two headed back to your common room. Gretchen needs rest. You don't want to be ill two Halloweens in a row, do you?" The twinkle had returned to Dumbledore's eyes. "Try not to worry, Gretchen. I promise you that as long as you are here, she won't harm you again. Go on, now." Harry
and Gretchen nodded and headed for the Gryffindor common room. Behind them they could hear Albus Dumbledore humming contentedly to himself.
"We can't let something like this happen agien," Harry said.
"How can we stop it," Gretchen said softly. Her tone was more serious then Harry had ever heard it before.
"We're going to get a map."