First another quick note: One of my reviewers pointed out that I forgot to put in Sirius's letter. Erm...it'll be in the next chapter, 'cause I've already finished this one and don't fill like re-editing. Let's just say everyone forgot with the attack on Harry.
Chapter Thirteen
Of Creatures That Kill In the Night
The next few weeks after the Quidditch match and the Dumbledore illusion passed uneventfully. Harry had decided to skip the Halloween Ball because of loads of homework, and a Slytherin Quidditch match was coming up; the band had to play at it. The grounds were very foggy and misty one Friday afternoon as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked to Care of Magical Creatures. The fog was nearly a solid white color, and envoloped everything it came near. It had crept in the night before, silent in its stealthy "attack" on the grounds. Hogsmeade had somehow evaded the mist, but lay silent amid the laughter around Hogwarts. Every little noise as they walked seemed to be magnified, and somehow reached their ears.
Harry shivered and pulled his robes tight about his lean frame. With the fog, the days had began growing steadily colder since the match. The day seemed to glow with excitement, yet there was a certain cold pretence about the air. It was finally the night of Halloween, also the Halloween Ball; everyone was growing nervous and excited except for Harry and Ron. Ron had decided also to skip the ball; Hermione, as a prefect, had to be there to make sure nothing went wrong. This hadn't helped Ron's decision in staying, but in the end he'd agreed.
After walked a moment more, Hagrid's hut emerged from the mist finally. A few people were already there; at least, a few was all Harry could see. There was also a rumbling nearby, a constant yet distant shaking of something.
"Do I dare ask what we're doing today?" Malfoy's drawling voice drifted through the mist, and he appeared a moment later, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
Now Hagrid appeared out of the mist, wearing dragon hide gloves and looking a little frightened.
"'S' everyone here?" he said loudly.
There were a few "yes"s and "no"s.
"Today we're goin' ter see somethin' you'll ne'er see again," Hagrid said, grinning ear-to-ear.
"Does it involve hurting us in any given way?" Ron muttered.
"Not unless yeh make it mad," Hagrid responded. Ron backed away, eyes widening. "First thin's first. Don' make this creature mad! Tear yeh into small pieces, it will. I'd hate ter pick up yer pieces, too. Yeh should be fine if yeh keep yer distance. Don' make eye contact with it 'less yeh wish to be less a finger or head for that matter. Folla me."
Harry stared after Hagrid's large form until it disappeared in the mist, then slowly trudged after, wondering what in the world they were seeing. Ron and Hermione walked behind him, both looking apprehensive.
"Hold up here," Hagrid commanded, stopping in front of Harry. "Wait till I make sure he don' mind a few visitors."
Harry stared at Hagrid in amazement and wonder. Hagrid disappeared once more, and the rumbling noise stopped for a moment. Then Hagrid reappeared, looking shaken again. The rumbling started up again.
"I'll take yeh to 'im three at a time," he said, grin appearing once more on his bearded face. "You three can come first."
He nodded towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry nodded, mumbling a weak, "Okay" before setting off after Hagrid once more. They were heading towards the Forbidden Forest.
Suddenly the mist parted around a small, iron-barred cage.
"Professor Tallow said yeh were talkin' 'bout Urdais, so I found one o' 'em wanderin' 'round the grounds," Hagrid said, gesturing to a four-foot-tall creature standing in the cage, shrieking. It was shaking the iron bars with ferocity in its eyes, bearing two rows of sharp teeth and foot-long claws. The thing shrieked again. "Don' take kind to bein' in captivity."
"I can...tell," Ron said softly and slowly. "Where'd you find this...this thing again?"
"Wanderin' the grounds," Hagrid responded, scratching his chin. "Thought they were all dead, like most people do. The Urdais were a race back long ago. They were connected to Banshees and...and Reapers. Reapers are...well, you know the Muggle story of the Grim Reaper, don' yeh?" Harry and Hermione nodded, but Ron looked confused.
"I'll tell you later, Ron," Hermione whispered.
"Well, Reapers are ten times worse," Hagrid went on quietly. "Swift and silent; yeh don' hear 'em till 's' too late. Carry giant sythes, usually. The Reapers are all but gone, though. Reapers gave way to creatures such as Dementors, and soon Boggarts and every other dark creature was created. Don' ever mess with a Reaper," he added, turning to them, face hard. "Yeh'll be dead 'for yeh can think otherwise. Run if yeh see any 'round here. Let's head on back to the others."
Harry looked at the Urdai again, remembering something. Hadn't that Slytherin first year's name been...Urdai?
By Halloween night, rain was coming down softly from the sky. Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, listening to the rain patter against the glass. The feast was over, and the ball was going on in the Great Hall. Ron had left Harry alone to practice his clarinet, and nearly every other Gryffindor was either at the ball or sleeping. Harry had already practiced his trumpet as soon as they got in from Care of Magical Creatures. He'd also finished all his Transfiguration (Three feet of parchment on why Transfiguration is important to you), and he could now do small Song Charms, which he'd been interested in since he'd read the passage over them over the summer.
The rain splattered down on the windows softly, reverberating through the still common room. The drops weren't coming down hard; it was just enough to shatter the silence for a moment. Every ten minutes or so lightning would briefly light the grounds, which were now void of fog, making everything easy to see even from the top of the Gryffindor tower. Harry sat up suddenly as a bolt of lightning streaked the sky, and lit the grounds enough for him to see...what was it?
Harry pulled out his wand and clenched it tightly in his fist. He walked to the window and stood there, waiting for lightning to flash again. After a moment it did, and Harry saw...Hagrid's Urdai? It was no longer in its cage, if it was indeed the Urdai.
"Nox," Harry whispered. The common room fire died instantly. The room was pitch black. Lightning streaked again. Yes, it was definately the Urdai. But Harry blinked, and it was gone. Just like...just like...
Harry started as a hand touched his shoulder. The common room was lit brightly once more. The Urdai was gone. Ginny Weasley stood there as he turned around, her red hair shimmering in the crackling fire's light. Harry sighed.
"You scared me to death," he muttered, sitting down on the scarlet sofa near the fire.
"Why aren't you at the ball?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to him quietly.
"Why aren't you?" Harry responded defiantly, gazing at the fire.
"No one asked me," said Ginny.
"You could've gone alone."
"I didn't want to."
"Oh."
There was silence for a moment. "What were you looking at?" Ginny asked finally.
"Nothing," Harry answered quickly.
"Whatever, Harry," Ginny responded, sounding a bit annoying...a bit unlike Ginny.
"Ginny, is something wrong?" Harry asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"No. I'm going to bed." Ginny got up and left quickly, muttering goodnight under her breath. Harry stared after her, confused. What had he done?
The next morning, Harry woke up and walked down to breakfast, his head hurting. He knew exactly what he was going to do as soon as he'd eaten breakfast--go see Hagrid. If anyone could shed light on the dark races of animals, it was Hagrid. Hagrid would hug a Blast-Ended Skrewt if he could manage it, so he would of course know a lot about creatures. Even if they were dark.
Harry ate breakfast quickly, and didn't bother to wake Ron and Hermione. There was once more fog on the grounds, so Harry stumbled down to Hagrid's cabin. It was also ten times colder than it had been, so Harry wrapped his robes tightly about him to keep warm. After walked a few moments, Hagrid's cabin emerged from the stillness of the fog. Harry gathered his nerve and knocked on Hagrid's door.
"Harry!" Hagrid beamed down at him. "Thought you'd forgot about me. C'mon in, make yerself at home!"
Hagrid's hut was much warmer than the grounds were; a fire was in the fireplace, and there were a few scraps of food on the table. Harry sat down at the table across from Hagrid, who was still grinning.
"Want summat ter eat?" Hagrid asked.
"No, I just ate breakfast," Harry responded. "I thought it had been a while since I'd come to see you, so I decided to drop in. Hope you don't mind."
"No, no, not at all," Hagrid said. "What's on yer mind?"
"I was kind of interested in the dark creatures during Voldemort's time," Harry said slowly, ignoring Hagrid's flinch. "You know, what kinds were there and where did they come from. Stuff like that."
"Well," Hagrid began uncertainly, "the Urdais were there, o' course. Tore people limb from limb You-Know-Who didn't want ter kill.... The Reapers were there, as well. There were on'y a few o' the Reapers, but they made their presence known. Never really fought with You-Know-Who or us either one, just kinda let themselves be acknowledged. Swift and silent, deadly predators. The Dementors were fightnin' with You-Know-Who as well.... A few Veela joined in on the fight with him, but they mostly kept to themselves. All kinds of ferocious feline creatures; panthers, tigers, coots, sphinxes, and bobcats. Coots are three foot-long panthers with glowing red eyes. They're still in the forest to this day."
He paused for a moment. "I s'ppose it was the Urdais and the Reapers that killed the most people. Along with You-Know-Who's basilisk, they were unstopable. But even You-Know-Who feared the Reaper...the Reapers only worked with him because they liked to kill, not out of fear as most did. Fierce demons. Steer clear o' them. Don' ever mess with a Reaper. Once it's got yer trail, yer as good as gone. Never gives up once it starts huntin', an' huntin's what it does best. No one's e'er seen a Reaper's face, except its victoms. Yer as good as gone when yeh see the face."
In the bows of a dark castle, a small, manlike creature walked slowly onward, cloak wrapped about its form. Its red eyes were but slits against the darkness surrounding it, and even from several feet away, the last of the Urdais was easily recognizable to those who had seen them in earlier days. The Urdai walked swiftly down the corridors until it came upon a long, marble, red-carpeted staircase. A man with red slits for eyes like the Urdai stood a few steps up, his eyes narrowed towards the Gnome-like visitor.
Voldemort lifted his head slightly towards the Urdai, an odd look creasing his face.
"What brings you through these parts, Urdai?" Voldemort asked softly. "Any luck?"
"One victom," came a rattling voice from behind the shadows of the cowl. "I shall destroy Potter soon."
"Be swift in your attack," said Voldemort, "or Dumbledore will have you before you can blink."
"It shall be so."
"Do not fail me. I cannot tolerate many more failures."
"Of course."
"Why are you here?"
There was silence for a moment. "I want a pay increase."
"Twenty thousand Galleons not enough for one simple murder these days?" Voldemort asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Not enough for two murders, and I have already commited one."
"How much do you want?"
"Fourty thousand. No less."
Voldemort bristled upon the Urdai as though he'd drawn his wand.
"Thirty thousand," said Voldemort.
"Thirty five."
"Deal."
The Urdai extended his hand.
"Ah-ah-ah. I'll pay when you've got Potter's body here."
"Very well. I shall be back in three days to check in."
He bowed to leave, but Voldemort's voice stopped him.
"First, I want you to meet my new friend," Voldemort said softly. A shadow emerged from the backgrounds of the shadowy castle, a tall, lean form, cloaked in black. Its movements were swift and silent; death itself. The Urdai gulped. A Reaper. "This is the penalty of betrayal and failure, Urdai."
The Urdai nodded, then bowed and disappeared. The Reaper disappeared once more into the shadows of the castle, but Voldemort could feel its presence near him.
"Tonight, we terrorize the Finnigins," Voldemort hissed softly, feeling the Reaper's excitement grow.
***
Harry Potter slept restlessly in his dorm at Hogwarts, as dreams continued to creep into his head, torturing him a bit more each time. He woke with a start at one point, and heard footsteps scuttling across the floor. Harry grabbed his wand and pulled back the curtains of his four-poster. Seamus Finnigin stood there, tip-toeing towards his bed.
"Seamus, what are you doing?" Harry asked softly.
Seamus turned with start, glancing at Harry uncertainly.
"I snuck out to see Lavender," he said quickly. "You won't tell, will you Harry?"
"Guess not, Seamus," Harry muttered, crawling back into bed. "Good night."
As Harry laid back down, he felt a prick on his back. He got up and turned to see a little needle sticking through a piece of parchment on his bed. Blood-red ink was scribbled across it. Harry unfolded it slowly, and read:
BeTtEr WaTcH YoUr gIrLfrIenD TonIGht PoTtER
Harry stared at the letter a moment longer, then, without thinking, ran to the girls' dormitory in search of the fourth years' dorm. He nearly knocked the door down as he pushed through, then remembered everyone was asleep. He stared at the beds. Which one was Ginny's? He crept to the one on the far right, and slowly pulled the four-poster open. To his surprise, the redhaired girl was lying there, eyes closed softly. Harry shook himself inwardly, then headed for Dumbledore's office, wondering why he'd gone to Ginny first.
The castle at night was full of all sorts of strange sounds, which didn't ease Harry's conscious in the least. Dumbledore's office was quite a far way away from the Gryffindor tower, so Harry walked briskly, wondering if the headmaster was even awake at times like this. It was one o'clock in the morning, Harry thought as he checked his watch.
But he continued to Dumbledore's office. He finally stopped as he reached the gargoyle in front of the professor's office. He didn't know the password. In the end (and after shouting numerous Muggle sweets at the gargoyle), Haryr decided to leave a note on the door. He left the piece of parchment and scrolled a short letter to Dumbledore (I found this last night, Harry) and stuck the needle through the soft wood. He then went back to bed and slept soundly the rest of the night.
At breakfast the next morning, an owl came for Seamus. His parents were dead, killed by Voldemort's new henchman, a Reaper.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
All right, here's a quick note: Thanks to those who have reviewed. The next part may take a while longer 'cause I haven't started on it and I've got a LOT to do this weekend...I'll try to get it up by Sunday hopefully. Thanks for your patience. Don't you just HATE Algebra?
Chapter Thirteen
Of Creatures That Kill In the Night
The next few weeks after the Quidditch match and the Dumbledore illusion passed uneventfully. Harry had decided to skip the Halloween Ball because of loads of homework, and a Slytherin Quidditch match was coming up; the band had to play at it. The grounds were very foggy and misty one Friday afternoon as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked to Care of Magical Creatures. The fog was nearly a solid white color, and envoloped everything it came near. It had crept in the night before, silent in its stealthy "attack" on the grounds. Hogsmeade had somehow evaded the mist, but lay silent amid the laughter around Hogwarts. Every little noise as they walked seemed to be magnified, and somehow reached their ears.
Harry shivered and pulled his robes tight about his lean frame. With the fog, the days had began growing steadily colder since the match. The day seemed to glow with excitement, yet there was a certain cold pretence about the air. It was finally the night of Halloween, also the Halloween Ball; everyone was growing nervous and excited except for Harry and Ron. Ron had decided also to skip the ball; Hermione, as a prefect, had to be there to make sure nothing went wrong. This hadn't helped Ron's decision in staying, but in the end he'd agreed.
After walked a moment more, Hagrid's hut emerged from the mist finally. A few people were already there; at least, a few was all Harry could see. There was also a rumbling nearby, a constant yet distant shaking of something.
"Do I dare ask what we're doing today?" Malfoy's drawling voice drifted through the mist, and he appeared a moment later, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
Now Hagrid appeared out of the mist, wearing dragon hide gloves and looking a little frightened.
"'S' everyone here?" he said loudly.
There were a few "yes"s and "no"s.
"Today we're goin' ter see somethin' you'll ne'er see again," Hagrid said, grinning ear-to-ear.
"Does it involve hurting us in any given way?" Ron muttered.
"Not unless yeh make it mad," Hagrid responded. Ron backed away, eyes widening. "First thin's first. Don' make this creature mad! Tear yeh into small pieces, it will. I'd hate ter pick up yer pieces, too. Yeh should be fine if yeh keep yer distance. Don' make eye contact with it 'less yeh wish to be less a finger or head for that matter. Folla me."
Harry stared after Hagrid's large form until it disappeared in the mist, then slowly trudged after, wondering what in the world they were seeing. Ron and Hermione walked behind him, both looking apprehensive.
"Hold up here," Hagrid commanded, stopping in front of Harry. "Wait till I make sure he don' mind a few visitors."
Harry stared at Hagrid in amazement and wonder. Hagrid disappeared once more, and the rumbling noise stopped for a moment. Then Hagrid reappeared, looking shaken again. The rumbling started up again.
"I'll take yeh to 'im three at a time," he said, grin appearing once more on his bearded face. "You three can come first."
He nodded towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry nodded, mumbling a weak, "Okay" before setting off after Hagrid once more. They were heading towards the Forbidden Forest.
Suddenly the mist parted around a small, iron-barred cage.
"Professor Tallow said yeh were talkin' 'bout Urdais, so I found one o' 'em wanderin' 'round the grounds," Hagrid said, gesturing to a four-foot-tall creature standing in the cage, shrieking. It was shaking the iron bars with ferocity in its eyes, bearing two rows of sharp teeth and foot-long claws. The thing shrieked again. "Don' take kind to bein' in captivity."
"I can...tell," Ron said softly and slowly. "Where'd you find this...this thing again?"
"Wanderin' the grounds," Hagrid responded, scratching his chin. "Thought they were all dead, like most people do. The Urdais were a race back long ago. They were connected to Banshees and...and Reapers. Reapers are...well, you know the Muggle story of the Grim Reaper, don' yeh?" Harry and Hermione nodded, but Ron looked confused.
"I'll tell you later, Ron," Hermione whispered.
"Well, Reapers are ten times worse," Hagrid went on quietly. "Swift and silent; yeh don' hear 'em till 's' too late. Carry giant sythes, usually. The Reapers are all but gone, though. Reapers gave way to creatures such as Dementors, and soon Boggarts and every other dark creature was created. Don' ever mess with a Reaper," he added, turning to them, face hard. "Yeh'll be dead 'for yeh can think otherwise. Run if yeh see any 'round here. Let's head on back to the others."
Harry looked at the Urdai again, remembering something. Hadn't that Slytherin first year's name been...Urdai?
By Halloween night, rain was coming down softly from the sky. Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, listening to the rain patter against the glass. The feast was over, and the ball was going on in the Great Hall. Ron had left Harry alone to practice his clarinet, and nearly every other Gryffindor was either at the ball or sleeping. Harry had already practiced his trumpet as soon as they got in from Care of Magical Creatures. He'd also finished all his Transfiguration (Three feet of parchment on why Transfiguration is important to you), and he could now do small Song Charms, which he'd been interested in since he'd read the passage over them over the summer.
The rain splattered down on the windows softly, reverberating through the still common room. The drops weren't coming down hard; it was just enough to shatter the silence for a moment. Every ten minutes or so lightning would briefly light the grounds, which were now void of fog, making everything easy to see even from the top of the Gryffindor tower. Harry sat up suddenly as a bolt of lightning streaked the sky, and lit the grounds enough for him to see...what was it?
Harry pulled out his wand and clenched it tightly in his fist. He walked to the window and stood there, waiting for lightning to flash again. After a moment it did, and Harry saw...Hagrid's Urdai? It was no longer in its cage, if it was indeed the Urdai.
"Nox," Harry whispered. The common room fire died instantly. The room was pitch black. Lightning streaked again. Yes, it was definately the Urdai. But Harry blinked, and it was gone. Just like...just like...
Harry started as a hand touched his shoulder. The common room was lit brightly once more. The Urdai was gone. Ginny Weasley stood there as he turned around, her red hair shimmering in the crackling fire's light. Harry sighed.
"You scared me to death," he muttered, sitting down on the scarlet sofa near the fire.
"Why aren't you at the ball?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to him quietly.
"Why aren't you?" Harry responded defiantly, gazing at the fire.
"No one asked me," said Ginny.
"You could've gone alone."
"I didn't want to."
"Oh."
There was silence for a moment. "What were you looking at?" Ginny asked finally.
"Nothing," Harry answered quickly.
"Whatever, Harry," Ginny responded, sounding a bit annoying...a bit unlike Ginny.
"Ginny, is something wrong?" Harry asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"No. I'm going to bed." Ginny got up and left quickly, muttering goodnight under her breath. Harry stared after her, confused. What had he done?
The next morning, Harry woke up and walked down to breakfast, his head hurting. He knew exactly what he was going to do as soon as he'd eaten breakfast--go see Hagrid. If anyone could shed light on the dark races of animals, it was Hagrid. Hagrid would hug a Blast-Ended Skrewt if he could manage it, so he would of course know a lot about creatures. Even if they were dark.
Harry ate breakfast quickly, and didn't bother to wake Ron and Hermione. There was once more fog on the grounds, so Harry stumbled down to Hagrid's cabin. It was also ten times colder than it had been, so Harry wrapped his robes tightly about him to keep warm. After walked a few moments, Hagrid's cabin emerged from the stillness of the fog. Harry gathered his nerve and knocked on Hagrid's door.
"Harry!" Hagrid beamed down at him. "Thought you'd forgot about me. C'mon in, make yerself at home!"
Hagrid's hut was much warmer than the grounds were; a fire was in the fireplace, and there were a few scraps of food on the table. Harry sat down at the table across from Hagrid, who was still grinning.
"Want summat ter eat?" Hagrid asked.
"No, I just ate breakfast," Harry responded. "I thought it had been a while since I'd come to see you, so I decided to drop in. Hope you don't mind."
"No, no, not at all," Hagrid said. "What's on yer mind?"
"I was kind of interested in the dark creatures during Voldemort's time," Harry said slowly, ignoring Hagrid's flinch. "You know, what kinds were there and where did they come from. Stuff like that."
"Well," Hagrid began uncertainly, "the Urdais were there, o' course. Tore people limb from limb You-Know-Who didn't want ter kill.... The Reapers were there, as well. There were on'y a few o' the Reapers, but they made their presence known. Never really fought with You-Know-Who or us either one, just kinda let themselves be acknowledged. Swift and silent, deadly predators. The Dementors were fightnin' with You-Know-Who as well.... A few Veela joined in on the fight with him, but they mostly kept to themselves. All kinds of ferocious feline creatures; panthers, tigers, coots, sphinxes, and bobcats. Coots are three foot-long panthers with glowing red eyes. They're still in the forest to this day."
He paused for a moment. "I s'ppose it was the Urdais and the Reapers that killed the most people. Along with You-Know-Who's basilisk, they were unstopable. But even You-Know-Who feared the Reaper...the Reapers only worked with him because they liked to kill, not out of fear as most did. Fierce demons. Steer clear o' them. Don' ever mess with a Reaper. Once it's got yer trail, yer as good as gone. Never gives up once it starts huntin', an' huntin's what it does best. No one's e'er seen a Reaper's face, except its victoms. Yer as good as gone when yeh see the face."
In the bows of a dark castle, a small, manlike creature walked slowly onward, cloak wrapped about its form. Its red eyes were but slits against the darkness surrounding it, and even from several feet away, the last of the Urdais was easily recognizable to those who had seen them in earlier days. The Urdai walked swiftly down the corridors until it came upon a long, marble, red-carpeted staircase. A man with red slits for eyes like the Urdai stood a few steps up, his eyes narrowed towards the Gnome-like visitor.
Voldemort lifted his head slightly towards the Urdai, an odd look creasing his face.
"What brings you through these parts, Urdai?" Voldemort asked softly. "Any luck?"
"One victom," came a rattling voice from behind the shadows of the cowl. "I shall destroy Potter soon."
"Be swift in your attack," said Voldemort, "or Dumbledore will have you before you can blink."
"It shall be so."
"Do not fail me. I cannot tolerate many more failures."
"Of course."
"Why are you here?"
There was silence for a moment. "I want a pay increase."
"Twenty thousand Galleons not enough for one simple murder these days?" Voldemort asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Not enough for two murders, and I have already commited one."
"How much do you want?"
"Fourty thousand. No less."
Voldemort bristled upon the Urdai as though he'd drawn his wand.
"Thirty thousand," said Voldemort.
"Thirty five."
"Deal."
The Urdai extended his hand.
"Ah-ah-ah. I'll pay when you've got Potter's body here."
"Very well. I shall be back in three days to check in."
He bowed to leave, but Voldemort's voice stopped him.
"First, I want you to meet my new friend," Voldemort said softly. A shadow emerged from the backgrounds of the shadowy castle, a tall, lean form, cloaked in black. Its movements were swift and silent; death itself. The Urdai gulped. A Reaper. "This is the penalty of betrayal and failure, Urdai."
The Urdai nodded, then bowed and disappeared. The Reaper disappeared once more into the shadows of the castle, but Voldemort could feel its presence near him.
"Tonight, we terrorize the Finnigins," Voldemort hissed softly, feeling the Reaper's excitement grow.
***
Harry Potter slept restlessly in his dorm at Hogwarts, as dreams continued to creep into his head, torturing him a bit more each time. He woke with a start at one point, and heard footsteps scuttling across the floor. Harry grabbed his wand and pulled back the curtains of his four-poster. Seamus Finnigin stood there, tip-toeing towards his bed.
"Seamus, what are you doing?" Harry asked softly.
Seamus turned with start, glancing at Harry uncertainly.
"I snuck out to see Lavender," he said quickly. "You won't tell, will you Harry?"
"Guess not, Seamus," Harry muttered, crawling back into bed. "Good night."
As Harry laid back down, he felt a prick on his back. He got up and turned to see a little needle sticking through a piece of parchment on his bed. Blood-red ink was scribbled across it. Harry unfolded it slowly, and read:
BeTtEr WaTcH YoUr gIrLfrIenD TonIGht PoTtER
Harry stared at the letter a moment longer, then, without thinking, ran to the girls' dormitory in search of the fourth years' dorm. He nearly knocked the door down as he pushed through, then remembered everyone was asleep. He stared at the beds. Which one was Ginny's? He crept to the one on the far right, and slowly pulled the four-poster open. To his surprise, the redhaired girl was lying there, eyes closed softly. Harry shook himself inwardly, then headed for Dumbledore's office, wondering why he'd gone to Ginny first.
The castle at night was full of all sorts of strange sounds, which didn't ease Harry's conscious in the least. Dumbledore's office was quite a far way away from the Gryffindor tower, so Harry walked briskly, wondering if the headmaster was even awake at times like this. It was one o'clock in the morning, Harry thought as he checked his watch.
But he continued to Dumbledore's office. He finally stopped as he reached the gargoyle in front of the professor's office. He didn't know the password. In the end (and after shouting numerous Muggle sweets at the gargoyle), Haryr decided to leave a note on the door. He left the piece of parchment and scrolled a short letter to Dumbledore (I found this last night, Harry) and stuck the needle through the soft wood. He then went back to bed and slept soundly the rest of the night.
At breakfast the next morning, an owl came for Seamus. His parents were dead, killed by Voldemort's new henchman, a Reaper.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
All right, here's a quick note: Thanks to those who have reviewed. The next part may take a while longer 'cause I haven't started on it and I've got a LOT to do this weekend...I'll try to get it up by Sunday hopefully. Thanks for your patience. Don't you just HATE Algebra?