A/N: I'll write Hedwig's name correctly from now on. I'm sorry for the error, it's just that in the Polish book I read it was spelled "HEDRZWIG!" So you see my problem, hard to translate that. It's kind of a habit to write Hedgwig though. Sorry if I mix it up still along the way. Oh, and thanks for the nice reviews so far. And I don't own these characters, and that goes for ch.10 since I didn't really say it for that chapter, though its obvious, I think. :o)

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3 Chapter 11

Secret Ghost



It was a beautiful desert, serene and shining golden in the noon sun. The sand was dry, crackling, gritty. Harry's hands ran through the golden grains as he looked around himself, in a blind panic. His scar was burning as if the flesh on his forehead was afire, and yet, he couldn't move his hands or legs to clutch at it, to see if making bodily contact with the infused area would soothe the pain. Harry's eyes squinted as the wind blew a soft wave of sand into his face. Then, a dry raspy voice filled his mind: "Come to me. Join me."

Harry shivered and whispered: " No."

The voice persisted, now in an urging tone, trying to be gentle but not succeeding: " Come to me. You can be great."

" NO!" The shout emerged from Harry as quickly as the upcoming feeling of his body sinking.

" Then you choose death." The voice reasoned.

Harry tried to look down at what his body was doing but his eyes wouldn't obey him. They remained plastered to the figure standing before him, a dark velvet black cloak and two eerie eyes that seemed to penetrate his mind and into his very thoughts.

Harry's body was sinking, sinking into unknown depths and he couldn't escape the wrath awaiting him. His fingers clawed as he tried to emerge out of the massive quicksand. The force sucked him down farther, pulling him, his fingers leaving deep ridges in the sand as he did.

And all the while, the figure in the black velvet cloak laughed. Harry's eyes finally obeyed him and he caught sight of the figure's shoes - black with golden lacing. What did it mean!

His fingers held desperately at anything to keep from sinking. The sun suddenly became unbearable, the gentle breeze became a violent gust, and the sinking sand beneath him became a maelstrom, sucking him down as if he were nothing at all.

" No!" Harry's eyes shot open, taking in the room around him with a sudden surprised comfort.

It had been a nightmare, a horrible one, but still only a nightmare. The sand at which he had clawed was simply the soft sheets of his bed, which he still held to with his balled-up hands. His knuckles had turned white, and he had slipped off his bed.

Harry's finger ran over the scar on his forehead, and then he looked at the faces of the boys around him. They were awakened by his screams of "No!"

Ron asked: " Harry, are you alright?"

" Just. . . just a nightmare." Harry righted himself up from the floor, his head feeling a sudden heaviness, as the room seemed to tilt up to him. He was dizzy.

Fred and George soon began to snore again, but Harry's friend, Ron, kept watching Harry with concern. Harry couldn't fall asleep again that night, either.

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It was a Monday, and as most Mondays go, Harry couldn't wait for it to be over. It was another week since he had seen Rebecca in the owlery, writing to the bookstore. Since then, he didn't see her with any books, and she didn't seem to be interested in him any longer.

Snape's lesson was odd that day, and rather snappy and jumpy and sketchy. The professor hadn't put much care and time into preparing this lesson, obviously.

When Harry walked in, Hermione following closely behind, her hands wrapped tightly around a new book she had dug up in the library on dragons in general - she was searching for the Whitescale in its 2,435 pages - and Ron walked into the room soon after.

Harry's eyes took a while to adjust to the brightness in the room. Snape usually dimmed the lights and the entire room would end up being cast in spooky shadows, but today the room glowed. Candles floated all around the room, and a single huge glowing torch hung over Snape's desk, where he sat. Snape's hair was actually combed down a bit neater today and slicked back slightly, and there was a hint of cologne on him that Hermione caught as she walked by his desk.

This was odd enough, but when the class began, Snape SMILED at his students. Then, he said: " Today we'll have a light lesson."

" A light lesson?" Hermione scoffed from the side of Harry's shoulder. " He must be joking. That's not like him at all."

Harry nodded. It wasn't like Snape. Snape's dark black eyebrows furrowed as he saw the disbelief on his student's faces. "Open your books!" He hissed.

Books fluttered open.

" Page seventy-eight, top right column." Snape adressed the classroom, then stopped beside Neville's desk. " Why, Mr. Longbottom. Why don't you have your book?"

Neville's chin trembled, and he looked down at his cleared-off desk and said nothing. The room watched in stunned silence, expecting Snape to punish Neville in some odd, cruel way. Instead, Snape simply slapped his hand down on Neville's desk and said, struggling obviously with his own words: " Just. . . just bring it next time."

Neville nodded.

The room was never this quiet. Harry was worried that Hermione could hear his heart exploding with fear. Snape rarely acted this way, and something was either very wrong with Snape or he was simply so angry his mind malfunctioned.

Snape's eyes slithered over onto Hermione, then looked past her at Harry. " Harry Potter."

" Yes, sir?" Harry couldn't let his eyes meet with Professor Snape's.

" You haven't opened your book."

Snape was right. Harry had been too concerned with Neville's fate to open his own book. It lay closed beneath his folded hands. His fingers twitched and he immediately flipped open the book, but Snape froze Harry in place by saying:

" I think I have a better idea. Why don't I go to Miss Thea's room and borrow a Potions book from her? I believe she might have a spare one." Snape's eyes seemed dull and glazed over in thought as he suddenly left the room.

" Weird." Hermione whispered.

" I know!" Ron exclaimed. " What's gotten into him?"

" I don't think Thea would have a Potions book, she teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts." Lavender piped up.

" Maybe he's so mad at her he'd flipped!" Ron said. " Maybe he went to kill her right this minute."

" I doubt it. Then we'd all be witnesses." Hermione told Ron. "After all, we'd all seen him head for her classroom. It would just be too obvious if we find poor Miss Thea dead."

" Then what does he want with her?" Harry wondered.

Just then, Snape walked into the room again. He didn't have a book in his hand. He stopped halfway to the front of the room and then told Neville: " She didn't have one."

Neville didn't look too surprised, but he still edged a bit away from Snape, who was standing so close to the poor boy's desk.

" Now, class!" Snape stared at the room, his eyes examining the faces of the students in order. " Does everyone have their book open by now?"

Harry had managed to find the right page.

" Then it will be silent reading for the rest of the period." Snape went to sit at his desk again. Harry watched as Snape's fingers caught a delicate white flower that was on his desk for some odd reason (the rat skull he kept on his desk since the beginning of the year was replaced with the flower now), and he twirled the flower in his fingers.

" Double weird." Harry told Hermione.

" No talking." Snape said, more to himself, and then his eyes rested on the bud of the white flower.

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Anyone who had Snape for a teacher that day couldn't stop remarking about how weird Snape was behaving. Harry himself couldn't understand it.

It was lunchtime now and everyone was either eating or listening to Dumbledore's speech. Dumbledore was standing at the front of the room at the moment, after all, his great deep eyes glancing around the children's faces meaningfully, his long silver-white beard dangling low on his velvety robes: " Students!"

Harry listened up.

" I'm sure you are all aware of the upcoming Halloween! It is, after all, in just a bit under two weeks." Dumbledore checked around to see that the assembly before him knew what he was talking about, then continued: " We'll be having a bit of preparations going for this occasion. I'm sure you all know that there was never much of a hubbub about Halloween previously, but this year will be different."

" Great." Colin murmured. He hated having these huge, special, once- in-a-lifetime things now since he no longer had his faithful camera with him to capture the moments. " Why does everything unique happen when I can't photograph it?"

Dumbledore's speech continued: " Students who wish to help decorate the castle are welcome to add any decorations. They must be APPROPRIATE, though! No bloody hanging people or gore, mind you!"

Draco snapped his fingers and said in a theatrical voice: "Aw, man." The Slytherin table laughed.

" There will also be a new addition to the festivities. Other then the usual Halloween Ball, which had been in plan for a few weeks now, there will be a Secret Santa addition, though it will be called Secret Ghost for the Halloween Occasion." Dumbledore watched as a few students groaned. " It'll be fun!" Dumbledore added. " I always see the merry bunch of students having their bit of fun and pranks on Halloween. . ."

Harry believed he saw Dumbledore look directly at Fred and George as he said this.

" . . . But there are also those who end up just standing under the wall, sulking, having no fun at all." Dumbledore smiled. " I know that recent occurrences might have made some of us a bit depressed, but this festivity might be, shall I say, therapeutic. So, to give everyone something to be cheerful about this fall, I want every student to pick a name from this here cauldron."

Hundreds of pairs of eyes stopped on a gigantic black cauldron overflowing with scraps of paper. Dumbledore continued:

" Know this! Every student's name is in there, and if it is successful, every student will pick up a name. It will be even greater if in the end every student receives an appropriate gift. Now, we will be going to Hogsmeade again a few days before Halloween especially so some of us can get gifts, since I know not everyone has the abilities to craft homemade gifts."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and then looked at the Slytherin table, where a certain few people looked very unhappy with the idea of giving.

Dumbledore continued, finally:

" The teachers will also give Secret Ghost gifts to one another. Teacher's names are not in the pot, due to the fact that some students might think it is funny to give a nasty gift to their unfavorable teachers."

Some students laughed, but Dumbledore looked so serious that the laughter slowly ebbed out.

" Now, enjoy your lunch, and please pick up a name from the cauldron by the end of lunch."

Harry felt Hermione's hand tangle into his and she pulled him to his feet. " Come on, Harry, let's get our names now and get it over with. I want to know who I'll be giving a gift to."

They made their way to the front of the room, where a great amount of students were standing already. Harry heard Cho saying: " Oh! I got. . . who's this?"

Rebecca looked at the name on her paper and then said: "Colin Creevey."

Harry couldn't help but smile. Poor Colin would blush to death if Cho were to hand him a gift. Harry suspected that Colin had a bit of a crush on Cho now that Harry was over her.

There was a great push as the students surged to get to the cauldron.

" Take your time!" Professor McGonagall warned the students, for they looked ready to trample the cauldron and topple it over.

Nearly-Headless Nick watched the raucaus from up above and shook his head. Harry looked up and waved to the ghost, and the ghost gave him a wave too.

" Oh! I got Thomas Wigg!" Some first-year girl exclaimed.

" Lucky!" Another first-year shouted.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that. He was finally pushed towards the pot and he grasped for a name. The papers slipped from his hands and he finally clutched one. He held it up to the light and his stomach dropped: Draco Malfoy.

What would he get HIM?

Hermione tapped his shoulder and shouted over the noise: "Who'd you get?"

Harry showed her his paper and she sighed. " Aw, I'm sorry."

" No, don't be. I'll get him a nice gift." Harry quickly said. He figured that perhaps Draco wouldn't yell at him or laugh if he gave him a gift.

Hermione grabbed for a name as well, and she then showed Harry her paper: Dennis Creevey. She grinned. " I know just what to get him! Didn't he say he wanted one of those little broom stickers that shimmer and show an image of the owner?"

" Yeah, I think that' what he wanted." Harry said. His mind still filled with thought of what to get Draco.

Ron approached him just then. Harry had by now maneuvered his way out of the mass of people by the cauldron and stepped more to the side. Ron showed Harry his own paper, and said: "Guess who I got."

" Who?" Harry looked at the paper: Rebecca Crick. " Oh, no."

" How about you?" Ron's unhappy eyes focused on the name of Draco Malfoy which Harry held on his hand. " Oh, no for you too."

" It's not that bad. I might find him something alright." Harry said, though he doubted it.

" What will I get Rebecca? A mace or something, with the words: Use this on Harry?" Ron joked.

" Now, remember, students, this is Secret Ghost, meaning you don't tell who you're giving a gift to!" Professor McGonagall shouted.

" Too late." Hermione giggled.

Harry laughed too but he knew he was in a bit of a pickle, since he had absolutely no idea of what to get Draco Malfoy. Perhaps Ron had it a bit easier, since every girl would like some makeup or perfume.

But Draco. . .

Maybe hair spray, or mousse, or something? But Draco would probably think Harry put something in it and be afraid to use it. And Harry had absolutely no idea of what Draco was interested in. He realized now he knew very little after all about Malfoy.

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Harry was now in Thea's classroom. She was keeping her promise, and quite well, when it came to making class fun. Even Draco enjoyed her class. Harry believed that everyone was getting top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts, since everything Thea taught would stick in their minds.

Thea smiled happily at the students in her room and said: "Did you all practice the spell I taught you yesterday?"

The class nodded.

" Good!" Thea wrote something down in her teacher's handbook, then told her students: " A perfect mark for the day, for each of my students. How about that?"

Some people actually cheered.

" Excellent!" Ron grinned.

" Now, I need about, oh, four volunteers." Thea slid off her desk, since she was sitting on it the whole time. Her eyes scanned the room, which was full of raised hands.

Harry's hand was up, too, but he knew he had a bit less of a chance to get picked now. Draco Malfoy's hand wasn't up, though, but Harry could see Draco would gladly volunteer as well. Harry knew that Draco wouldn't raise his hand though.

Harry's mind went back to the Secret Ghost thing. What COULD he get Draco? There was little guesses and choices of gifts on his mind now, and he knew it will be a hard pick to make. Perhaps the trip to Hogsmeade would refresh his mind.

" Neville, how about you?" Thea smiled at Neville. Neville nodded and stood up.

Hands waved frantically in the air to get called on. Thea crossed her arms, her eyes twinkling. " How about. . . Hannah Abbot?"

The pink-faced girl with long blonde pigtails raced up to the front of the room. A/N: she's in the first book, I didn't make her up.

" Now, who can be next?" Thea smiled at Harry. " Harry, would you like to?"

Harry was surprised and he nodded anyway. He suspected Thea favored him a bit, but he couldn't really understand why. Perhaps it was because he was THE famous Harry Potter or something like that.

He watched as the last person was picked - Crabbe - and then the lesson began.

Thea walked back and forth from one side of the room to the next, thinking. She paced for a while before saying: " I believe we can move on to the next lesson. You all seem ready."

The class nodded along.

" Well, today, we will simply practice deflecting the Solidifier - you know what that is, am I correct?" Thea looked around the class questioningly.

Hermione called out: "Professor Snape taught us."

" Snape had gone over quite a bit of material with you already, then." Thea smiled. " Well, then, I'm sure you know how to cast the spell by wand?"

" No. Only by potion." A few students replied.

" Goodness! I keep forgetting. Professor Snape only teaches you Potions." Thea put her hands in her pockets again. " In that case, you simply point your wand and shout: Solidify!"

She smiled at the class. " It's quite simple." She added.

Harry was to face Neville and Neville raised his wand nervously, not knowing how to cast it too well yet.

Thea instructed her students: " You will all cast Solidifier spells at one another, and the other must deflect it with the words: Liquidius Deflectus." Thea continued after all the volunteers had raised their wands. " Please remember to keep the sleeves of your robes out of the way of the wand. You all remember what happened to Goyle's robes?"

Harry remembered all too well. It still brought up a laugh in conversation - Goyle had tried to cast a spell but the sleeve of his robe got in the way. When he cast it, the entire sleeve turned into liquid and his clothing slowly began to melt away. If Thea hadn't caught it, then Goyle would have been standing before the classroom dressed the way he was when he was born - quite reasonably naked, in other words.

Harry asked Neville: " Do you want to be the one deflecting the spell or should I be the one deflecting it?"

" I'd prefer casting the Solidifier." Neville said.

" Alright then." Harry prepared himself to deflect the spell as Neville shouted: "Solidify!"

The spell shot out at Harry and Harry immediately brought his wand up before his face and deflected the spell with the words: " Liquidius Deflectus!"

The two spells clashed in the air and then suddenly the spell was deflected and Neville turned into a completely solid form. Harry grinned and then tapped his wand on the stone Neville, casting the Liquefier spell.

Because the Liquefier and Solidifier would cancel each other out if cast one after another, soon Neville was back to his old self, and Thea turned to the class and said:

" I hope you all saw at least one of our volunteer pairs casting and deflecting the spell. Now I want you all to remember what you saw and try to practice it inside your mind so you're familiar with it. Whatever you do, don't just simply CAST it on one another, unless you wish to get in serious trouble." Thea then stopped speaking for Snape walked into the room.

Snape's cheeks actually flushed as he spoke to Thea: " Uh, Miss Thea, uh. . ." Snape couldn't get the words out.

" What is it?" Thea's eyebrows raised.

" Are you SURE you don't have a spare Potions book?" Snape asked.

Harry couldn't help but feel like laughing. Something was really wrong with Snape. How could Thea just magically have a Potions book when she didn't have one before?

Thea replied, with a bit of a grin on her face: " No, Severus. Everything's about the same as an hour ago, when you asked."

Snape murmured something about how he was sorry and quickly left the room. He still smelled nice, faintly of cologne, and perhaps something more. And Harry just noticed that Snape was wearing nice clean robes that actually seemed a bit more cheerful then the usual drab colors.

Thea watched Snape leave, then her eyebrows raised and she turned back to the class. " Anyway. . . um. . ." She smiled. " What was I saying?"

Hermione suddenly whispered: " Oh, brother. I can see what's going on."

Harry couldn't, but he raised his hand and told Thea: " You were just telling us what our assignment was."

" Was I?" Thea tapped her fingernails on her desk. "Well, make sure you practice what we went over in class. . . that's all. . ."

The students slowly moved out of the class as it came to an end, and Hermione caught up with Harry. She told him: " Did you think up of what to get for Draco yet?"

Harry shook his head. " I'm still stumped."

" Bummer." Hermione sighed. " Well, I hope you find something. See ya." She separated from him just then, going her own way. Harry was left alone and wondering.

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That day, just as the sun had set, a group of students went to the dining hall to offer their help in decorating the school. It was looking nice already - the hallways sparkled in streamers, balloons, and color. Someone had hand-painted a large poster with a cheery-looking ghost, saying: "Happy Halloween!" Harry could see what Hermione had done - she, using her wand, had made a long carpet appear down the main hallway. On the carpet there was an intricate design of little dancing ghosts, pumpkins, and black cats. Harry couldn't help but marvel at it. Hermione had a way with difficult spells.

Harry had volunteered to help hang streamers and to put up other ornaments. Neville was put on the committee of floating pumpkins - he was to cast spells on the jack o' lanterns so they'll float up above the dining hall.

Professor McGonagall, herself, was awfully busy. She was at the moment yelling at some boy who had, instead of making a pumpkin float, given his best-friend moose antlers.

Lavender was handing Harry the streamers as he put them up. She snipped them every few feet and then Harry would get off the large ladder he was using and move the ladder to the side to put up more. Suddenly, he got an idea.

" Let's make this take a shorter time." He told Lavender.

" How?" She asked.

" Watch." Harry aimed his wand at the streamer roll. He said a spell that Hermione had taught him and it began to unravel and pin itself up to the wall, all on its own.

The streamers then wound around little orange flowers that a girl named Susan Bones had helped make. These orange flowers, when pinned magically up along with the streamers, added a life to the room that would have taken a great deal of trouble and time otherwise to make.

Dumbledore was instructing a group of girls on how to successfully roll up the tissue paper and make little orange flowers so that Harry could add more to the streamers.

The whole entire process rolled smoothly.

Suddenly, Harry was shocked to see Draco Malfoy. He was in the corner of the room, a brush in his hand, and a bucket of black paint in the other.

" Hold on a second." Harry told Lavender.

She nodded and then waited impatiently, hands on her hips.

Harry made his way through the crowds towards Draco. Draco had something up on his mind - was he going to spill the black paint on the posters? Pour it on Neville? Ruin something else?

Harry stopped in front of Draco. Draco looked up from the paint and said: " What?"

" What're you doing?" Harry asked.

" Helping." Draco replied, his pale eyebrows arching upwards. " Really, can't you mind your own business before I paint you a mustache?"

Harry rolled his eyes. " Why on Earth would you be helping?"

" Why not?" Draco kneeled down beside a huge group of posters at his feet. " I happen to have been instructed in the arts by a private tutor. Father wants me to be most acceptable."

Harry watched as Draco filled in the outlines of a black cat with the paint. Harry couldn't help but still be suspicious. Draco didn't seem the kind to help. . .

" Don't just stand there! Lavender needs your help, you know. She looks mad." Draco called over his shoulder at Harry.

Harry turned to see Lavender, hands on hips, staring angrily at Harry. Harry gave her an apologetic smile, then said to Draco: "Sorry, it's just that I thought you were up to something."

" Well, I'm not. I will be if you don't leave me alone." Draco looked up, his blue eyes not kidding at all.

" Alright, alright, sorry." Harry moved away from Malfoy and then headed back to Lavender. She was now pinning up a whole new roll of orange streamers, and she didn't look too happy about it.

" That color doesn't match." Harry told her.

" I know." Lavender let go of the piece of pale yellow, which clashed horribly with the orange. " We're out of orange."

" No problem." Harry searched the room for Hermione. She was now helping put up the black cat Draco had finished so that it could dry.

Harry ran up to Hermione and said: " Come on, help us."

He took her hand, and she followed him towards Lavender. Lavender looked at Hermione skeptically and asked: "What can she do?"

" Herm, can you help us change the color of the streamers? I think you'd know a spell that would help us out." Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, pulling up the sleeves of her robes. " I can do this. What color do you need?" She directed the question at Lavender.

" Orange." Lavender replied. " To match the one already on the wall."

" Orange." Hermione repeated. " Well, here goes nothing." She concentrated, then said a spell so quietly that Harry barely heard it. The streamers began to glow and then turned a rich orange color, perfectly identical to the one on the wall.

" You're a genius! Thanks!" Harry exclaimed.

" No problem." Hermione replied.

Just then, an awful pain racked Harry's scar. He dropped the scissors in his hand and then grasped at the scar on his forehead. The pain rocketed through his a few times, then stopped.

Hermione and Lavender were both staring at him in concern. "Harry, are you alright?" Lavender asked.

" You should tell Dumbledore. Maybe it means something." Hermione added to Lavender's words.

" It's alright. I have a headache. It's not my scar." Harry lied. He hoped this was true - the pain had gone away so quickly and left nary a trace of it, so he couldn't even be sure if it really even happened or not.

*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*

Harry sat at the extra desk in the common room, writing a list of things he could get Draco. Draco had mentioned he had art lessons- maybe he could get Draco some nice paints?

But Draco was so rich, he probably had plenty of it. And besides, just because he had lessons in it didn't mean Draco liked to paint.

Harry crossed the words 'Paints or other art supplies' from his list. Then, he read over the rest of it, which still included the paint supplies in it:

**WHAT TO GET DRACO**

--------------------------------

~ Paint Supplies

~ Something to do with Quidditch

~ ?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It wasn't much. Harry knew himself that Draco didn't seem to have any obvious interests. Perhaps he could get him something less personal - something like candy, which every kid liked?

Harry added 'Candy' to the list. He'd have to buy a whole lot of candy, though, to make up for the money it would take for an average present.

" What else?" Harry asked himself, out loud.

Fred and George were in the room, too, playing a game of chess against one another. Neither seemed to be winning, in fact, both seemed to be LOSING. They had each lost a great deal of game pieces.

Fred's bishop had just wrestled George's knight off its horse and had begun to drag the knight off the board rather maliciously.

George looked up from the game and said: " What are you writing, Harry?"

" Secret Ghost ideas." Harry sighed.

" Who do you have to get a gift for?" George asked.

" Draco Malfoy." Harry replied.

" Oy!" Both twins laughed.

" I want to get him something decent." Harry looked at the list thoughtfully. "So far, I don't have much written down. I don't really know what to get someone like him."

" How about a gun?" Fred suggested.

" With a note: use this on yourself and think of me?" George laughed.

" You guys!" Harry groaned.

" I read that in a joke book." George added, seriously, so as not to take all the credit for the joke. He and Fred continued laughing.

" I think I'd rather get him something less violent. I don't want him to get any ideas." Harry twirled his quill in his hands. " Maybe I can get him a book?"

" Books stink." Fred said angrily as George's pawn demolished his queen. " Oh, drat! My QUEEN!"

" Hah!" George grinned triumphantly.

Harry realized the twins would be little help in his decision. Perhaps Hermione would think something up, she always had good ideas.

A/N: I'm having a great Holiday, I hope everyone else is, too!