010SN
Chapter Ten
Don't Say That Name!
Swimming was a wonderful experience
that day. They came back inside with burnt faces and shoulders, smelling
of coconut suntan lotion and fish.
Even though Harry wasn't the
best swimmer, he still enjoyed himself greatly. The sand was light brown
the water was dark blue, where ever they were (since he still wasn't sure
exactly) the water surrounding them was fresh water and didn't sting the
little cuts one would get on the bottom of their feet from stepping on
twigs.
Ginny had gotten up much more
quickly then expected, York spent nearly a half an hour explaining to her
why she didn't have to fear Sirius, and whom had really killed Harry's
parents.
She then joined them on the
beach, sticking close to land and trying to tan slightly. Ginny had grown
a lot over the school year, she no longer looked like a little girl.
"What happened to your stomach,"
Ginny asked as she noticed a large white spot on York's tan stomach.
York shuddered slightly, like
she'd swallowed something disgusting, "Well, you see, I got stabbed with
a wand," York blurted out quickly. Ron stopped inches before throwing a
large ball of mud and Ginny and listened to her.
"Someone stabbed you with a
wand," he asked in confusion.
"It was a duel," York explained,
"Once they realized that spells didn't work, they took measures into their
own hands turned the tip of their wand into a small blade and stabbed me,
all the way through to my back."
"Who was it," Harry asked climbing
out of the water.
"Lord Voldemort," she said
casually, Ron and Ginny both flinched and Harry remained un-phased.
"You fought Lord Voldemort
and lived?" Harry asked, still thinking about what Ron had said, about
York being dead.
"Well, you see, I did something
extremely noble, I gave up my life for something so I'm still here now,"
she said smiling, without a word reached over and brushed her hand against
Harry cheek.
He turned to her and noticed
a familiar glimmer in her eyes, which showed she was extremely happy and
he to smiled at her.
"You're dead then right," Ginny
asked sitting next to her in the sand.
"In one way of speaking," York
answered, "That's why you'll noticed my abilities are much different then
any witch or wizard. Remember when I de-gnomed your garden, that's one
of my abilities, very powerful wave manipulation, I also have the ability
to communicate Parselmouth."
York didn't appear to want
to speak more, , Harry and Ron returned to the water, Ginny followed slowly
and York sat on the beach reading a massive book (she had conjured out
of no where).
A large black dog came paddling
through the water around two o'clock holding what appeared to be a newspaper.
He trotted up the beach and dropped the soaking wet paper in York's lap.
She yelped and scratched Sirius' ears playfully. York then closed her book
and turned into her collie form, she looked much more proper sitting next
to Sirius with his shaggy black fur.
They glanced at each other
as Harry turned to see them both coming, if dogs had the ability to smile,
Harry was sure that both Sirius and York were smiling at him. He smiled
back and dived back underneath the water.
Night came far to quickly for
them, that day seemed to slip by faster then the train ride home from Hogwarts
ever had. York and Sirius refused to turn back into humans, it seemed to
them that it was more fun running around being dogs. York did though pulling
several sleeping bags out of the mini house so that they could sleep.
Sirius fell asleep at the foot
of Harry's sleeping bag, while York paced around looking up at the sky
and looking down onto the concrete.
"What's the matter," Sirius
asked yawning loudly.
"I'm just not tired yet," York
said walking around in a circle and finally laying down, "You wouldn't
understand being alive."
"No I suppose I wouldn't,"
Sirius added turning away from her.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny couldn't
understand this of course, Sirius and York hadn't changed back into humans.
"Being dead, I only need at
a maximum twenty minutes to recharge then I'm full for the entire day,"
she stated nudging him in the back of the head with her long dog nose.
"Go jump in the lake then,"
Sirius suggested weakly. York snorted out of her dog nose and did what
she was told, she ran down the dock at full speed barking occasionally
as she went, and jumped right into the water.
Harry woke up and put on his
glasses to see the dog version of York paddling around in the water. Ginny
and Ron both appeared to regain consciousness and saw see too.
Ginny laughed as York climbing
up onto the beach, she was dripping wet and looked extremely happy. She
stepped down the stairs and onto the dock, "Was that fun?" she questioned,
taking a few steps closer. Ron and Harry stood up and headed towards them.
York barked a happy bark and
walked behind Ginny nudging the back of her leg so she would jump in.
"Well..." Ginny said thinking
about jumping. She didn't realize it, but Ron had crept down the stairs
behind her and with a quick dash scooped her up into his arms.
"Somebody is going to get wet!"
he said clearly. Ginny thrashed around in his arms, but it was futile.
"Let me go Ron!" she yelled,
trying to kick her way free. Ron slowly walked towards the end of the dock
and threw Ginny in on her back.
There was a clomping of footsteps,
and as Ron was turning around to see what was going on, Harry crashed into
him and Ron flew nearly headfirst into the water.
Ginny swam up first and yelled,
"Ron, you pillock!' but to her surprise, Ron was no longer standing on
the dock. Harry waved to her when Ron's head came out of the water.
"Harry watch-!" Ron said suddenly,
trying to warn him. But it was to late. York had come up behind him, head
butted him, and splash! Harry had joined the soaking wet pajama club.
Ron, York, and Ginny watched
where Harry had landed in the water. The ripples cleared and the lake was
once again glassy, but when Harry didn't resurface, they all grew concerned.
Sirius was now standing on the dock, he whimpering slightly and seemed
to be talking to York in some dog language.
York didn't waste anytime.
She backed up ran off the end of the dock, turned human before she hit
the water and dived deep into the lake.
"Help me!" Harry yelled inside
his head. A large, slime-covered, tentacle-like hand was strapped around
his wrist. Forcefully, he yanked at it trying to free himself. He opened
his eyes underwater, and although everything looked extremely blurry, he
could see the outline of it on his pale skin. His glasses had slipped off
his face, and his vision had got even worse.
The water was growing cold.
Harry was sure they were near the bottom of the lake by now. He shut his
eyes, beginning to feel tired. With one last tug and kick, his head slumped
down on his shoulder. He stopped struggling, and fell limp.
"Grizabella! Get your booty
up here!" a loud voice roared from under the water. If it had been on T.V,
they would have used subtitles. Slowly, the tentacle began to lift Harry
to the surface.
"I told you to capture any
evil that landed in the lake! How dare you, Grizabella, hurt this boy?!"
the same voice yelled. York appeared, she looked extremely disapproving,
and shock her finger underwater at Grizabella.
"I'm sorry, mistress," Grizabella
said, still only lifting her slime covered arms towards her. She was a
large creature which enjoyed the blackness of the colder waters she was
nearly impossible to see in the dark lake. Harry floated in her grip and
she nudged him towards her.
"I will not punish you," York
said comforting her, "It was a mistake, but do not attack this boy again!"
Grizabella released Harry and
York took him gently.
"Yes, mistress, I promise I
will never hurt him again." Grizabella disappeared into the murky depths
of the water.
Making sure she was gone, York
swam as fast as she could towards the surface of the water, holding Harry
above her, "Come on, boy," she pleaded inside her head, "I know you'll
make it."
They broke the surface together,
Ron, Ginny, and the human form of Sirius where standing their waiting.
"Harry!" Sirius yelled, as
York lifted him out of the water to Sirius.
"Once he coughs up the water,
he'll be OK," York paused and laughed slightly.
"What's the matter with you?"
Sirius asked, stepping several steps back, thinking that the water might
have made her insane.
"No, it's not that," York said,
nearly reading his mind, "I'm a hundred percent concerned about Harry.
I was just thinking about when you joined me, Sirius. How much trouble
Grizabella gave you down there!"
Grizabella had caught Sirius
much like he'd caught Harry, when Buckbeak landed on York's island, Grizabella
pulled him under the water (following her orders to attack those who weren't
approved of) and since he was set free, Grizabella had grown to fancy him.
Sirius blushed at her laughter,
but turned all his attention to Harry. Harry weakly opened his eyes. Everything
was extremely blurry. Someone put his glasses on his face, and he jumped
back, seeing his godfather staring at him.
"That thing in the lake...
dragged me down," Harry said quickly, not waiting to catch all of his breath.
"It's OK, Harry," York said,
climbing up out of the water, "Grizabella doesn't mean any harm. She's
protecting the lake from anything that would want to harm this place. Now
that she knows you, she'll never pull you down again."
York laughed again quietly,
while Harry got to his feet and coughed up several cups of lake water.
"It tastes like fish," Harry
said, coughing again with disgust.
"We'd better go inside and
dry off," Sirius said, ushering them towards the small cabin. York took
out her long wand, made a towel appear out of her hand, and gave it to
Harry.
"If you don't dry off, your
hair will be terrible in the morning," York said with a smile.
"It doesn't matter," Harry
said, rubbing his head with the towel, "It's always messy anyway."
York sighed, "Just like your
father," she mumbled to herself. Harry caught her speech and turned to
her again.
"You knew my dad?" he questioned,
looking at her. York slapped her hand over her mouth, she turned to Sirius
who too looked rather nervous about something. Harry stared at her confused,
drying his hair with the towel.
"Well, Harry," York began thinking
for the right words, "This might be hard to believe but I did go to school
with your dad. We were close friends, so to speak."
There was a short pause, then
Harry asked, "You must have known my mum, Lily, then too?" He sounded extremely
hope. He didn't know a lot about his mother, except for the fact that she
was Aunt Petunia's sister.
When Harry mentioned his mother's
name, York automatically smacked herself in the face.
"Yes I knew her too," York
replied rubbing the side of her face, "Just don't say her name, all right?"
"Why?" Harry questioned. Sirius
got to his feet and headed towards Harry quickly.
"We should go now," he said,
pushing Harry away.
"Why can't I say Lily?" Harry
asked. York this time kicked the side of the dock, and yelped lightly in
pain. Sirius brought Harry and Ginny. Ron was gestured to follow but once
Sirius turned his back to him Ron hopped back down onto the deck, and towards
York.
"Lily!" he commanded softly.
York did a perfect back flip and landed on her feet.
"Don't say that name!" York
commanded fiercely.
"Oh you mean... Lily," Ron
said, smugly enjoying himself as York's knees went out and she crumpled
onto the wooden planks.
"Please, Ron, stop," she pleaded
weakly, standing up again. Ron stopped and turned to leave.
"I still don't trust you, but
I'll be kind," Ron said heading towards the cabin. York rubbed her back
with both hands.
"Good thing, I almost blew
my cover. A bit more of that, and I would have a ton of explaining to do,"
York said still massaging her back. She turned and looked up into the sky,
"James, your image still hangs in the stars, and could make anyone fall
in love with night. I just wish you were here, Harry wishes you were here.
I want us to trade places at times if it's possible. But I still think
we should let Sirius adopt Harry and let them live here."
Several stars in a sky shined
brightly in disgust and a small tear ran down York's face, "What makes
you so afraid? Harry will always know that we are his parents, but I can't
send him back to my sister when someone else has the same capabilities
to protect him and love him. Why do you always disagree with that!"
The stars glew red in fury
York scowled at them, "We will talk of this later," she smiled a tearful
smile and happily ran up to her own cabin.