The Dark Seed: Part
2 - The Plot Thickens
a/n, disclaimer: Read my first disclaimer, and please review to tell me if you want my story to continue.
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Hermione checked her
watch for what felt like the ten-millionth time.
"Where could Harry be?" She
wondered aloud. "He's usually here way before me."
"Who's usually here way before
you?" Ron asked, sauntering up to Hermione, his brothers and sister not
far behind.
"Harry," Hermione responded
"He's always one of the first students to get here, since he doesn't want
to wait and see if the Dursleys change their mind about driving him."
"Oh." Ron replied. "If you
don't mind, I think I'll wait with you."
"Me too!" Ginny piped up. Percy,
Fred, and George decided to go through the barrier, planning to warn them when
the train came. Many minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Harry.
"Maybe he ran into some trouble with
those Muggles he lives with," Ron mused. "What's the matter,
Ginny?" She had gone rigid, her eyes focused on some point in the crowd.
"Ginny?"
"It's HIM," she shuddered.
"Whaddya mean, 'it's him?'"
"Lord Voldemort."
Ron tensed at the name, but relaxed. "Ginny,
you shouldn't kid about these things."
"I'm not kidding. I feel him."
As if on cue, the crowd thinned, and all three could see a figure dressed in a
long, hooded robe staring off into the distance. Slowly, it turned to face
them. Within the dark interior of the hood, red slits appeared, widening into
large, slanted red eyes, with no pupil to be seen. Ginny screamed. And
screamed. And screamed. The thing seemed taken aback by the noise, and vanished
into the crowd. At about the same time, Percy, Fred, and George came bursting
through the barrier.
"What happened?"
"Ginny, what's wrong?"
"Did you scream?"
"It was Him! Oh, he was so awful, with
red eyes and a big, blood-red cloak! Oh, it was so terrible!" Ginny
sobbed, collapsing into Fred and George's arms. A few Muggles turned to stare.
"Shhhhh, Ginny, shhhhhhh. It's okay.
Let's get you through the barrier. We're attracting too muck attention here,"
Fred comforted her, and they slowly moved through the wall onto Platform 9¾
just as the train arrived. The ride to Hogwarts was tense and worried, and when
they finally made it to the school, through the Sorting Ceremony, and the
accompanying dinner, Ginny had relaxed very little. Harry had still not shown
up. As the students streamed out the doors and to the dormitories, Ginny,
Hermione, and Ron separated from the crowd and made their way over to the twin gargoyles
in front of Dumbledore's office. A soft voice spoke suddenly from behind them.
"Salamander Skillets." They all
jumped. Dumbledore stepped into view, apologizing for the scare, and escorted
them up the moving staircase into his office.
"Now,
what can I do for you?" he asked, settling into the chair behind his desk.
Hermione noted that he seemed a little frazzled himself, and the room seemed a
little messier than usual, with one of his numerous gizmos laying on the floor
and a few pictures askew on the walls, but decided not to comment on it.
"Sir," Ginny spoke up, her voice
weak. "I'm sorry I haven't told you, but since the Chamber of Secrets,
I've been sort of able to...sense Lord Voldemort." She faltered.
"Like some sort of strange
connection?" Dumbledore prodded gently.
"Yes! That exactly!" She looked
relieved, then her statement sobered once more. "Anyway, at King's Cross
today, on the Muggle side, Hermione, Ron, and I were waiting for Harry, who
hadn't shown up yet." Dumbledore nodded. "Suddenly, I could sense
Him, very nearby. It scared me. I told Hermione and Ron about it, and suddenly,
the crowd thinned, and we could see Him. He turned and looked me straight in
the eye
with the most horrid
red eyes I have ever seen. I'm afraid I lost control a little, and started screaming.
That seemed to surprise, then he just...disappeared."
Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair,
eyes glittering oddly.
"What did he look like, Ginny? Please
tell me."
"Well,
he had big, glowing red, slanted eyes, and was wearing a long, blood-red
cloak."
Dumbledore's eyes
widened, and he sank back into his chair.
"I thought so" he mumbled, more
to himself than his visitors "I thought so."
"What do you mean, sir?" Hermione
asked, puzzled, then: "Does this have anything to do with the mess and
your haunted look? I noticed it at the banquet, but never found the appropriate
time to ask."
"Yes, you're right, Miss Granger. You
see, about a week ago, I was attacked by an unknown assailant, who somehow
managed to Disapparate away after knocking me out. Snape, surprisingly enough,
came to my rescue, or I very well might have been dead. The thing, which fits
Ginny's description of Lord Voldemort perfectly, performed a purposefully
diluted version of the Avada Kedavra curse—without a wand.
Let me remind you,
this is strictly impossible, as is Apparating and Disapparating on Hogwarts grounds.
Yet, he somehow managed to do so.
"This whole conversation never
happened. Understand?" All of the students nodded. "Therefore, I say
goodbye, and goodnight."