Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter. Boo-hoo! *wah*
Oh! And if you want to read a really good HP fic (it's got me hooked, too), then read Naeginnie6 's story "Harry Potter and the Golden Ridgeback". Trust me it's good! And do review it, for my friend, eh?
1
2 Chapter 14
Of Pigs and Teachers and All Sorts of Things
When the time had come for October to be swept away with the massive broom of fall from the front step of the year (November had just come in, after all), Harry had gone to see Hagrid. Perhaps Hagrid would need some comfort, or maybe Harry felt it was only fair, but he wanted to speak with his old friend again. He always felt that the giant man was as soft as a down pillow and that he simply just needed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
It was the day after Halloween, and just an hour before the huge Quidditch match (Gryffindor against Slytherin), but Harry knew that he would always have time to go see Hagrid. His eyes twinkling in the sunlight, Harry headed for the little cabin.
His knuckles rapped on the door.
A hollow echo replied, and then a shuffling that quite easily indicated that someone was going towards the door. The door opened just a crack, and Hagrid's scraggly black beard just barely appeared through it.
" What is it, Harry?" Hagrid asked, nervously.
" I can to see you." Harry replied. " Open the door."
" I'm sorry, but this ain't the best time for visitin', Harry." Hagrid replied.
" It isn't?" Harry was puzzled. " Why? What are you up to again?" Harry tried to push the door open but Hagrid was, obviously, a whole lot stronger and Harry had to give up pushing the door open.
" I'm up to nothin'." Hagrid said, innocently.
" Yeah, sure you aren't!" Harry laughed and then tried to push the door open again. This time, Hagrid let him, and Harry tumbled into the room, then turned around to face the tall man. "Come on, Hagrid, what's the big deal with all this secrecy?"
" Let him find out if he'd like, Rubeus." Lisa's voice rang from inside. Harry saw her in the light of the room and waved to her. She waved back, and asked: " Today's your big Quidditch match, isn't it, Harry?"
" Yep." Harry replied.
" Lisa, don't distract 'im! Harry, you ain't s'posed ter be here." Hagrid boomed.
" We can tell him." Lisa said, softly.
" Tell me what?" Harry demanded to know. Sometimes he was just so sick of guessing games.
" Harry, cross yer heart and swear on all yer bones that yeh ain't gonna tell anyone what we tell yeh?" Hagrid said, softly. Lisa's soft eyes turned to Harry, and so did Hagrid's. Harry knew he had to either back out now or to cross his heart.
" Well, is it something bad?" Harry asked.
" Most likely." Lisa replied.
" I don't know if I should promise I won't tell, then." Harry sighed. He didn't want to make any more promises crossing over what he had promised with Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid.
" Then go, Harry." Hagrid said.
" I can't just leave. There's obviously something bothering you two." Harry reasoned. " If you think I have as little heart as to leave you both like this, then you're wrong."
" Some things are best unsaid." Lisa finally said, after the silence grew prolonged. " But, if you insist. . ."
" Yes!" Harry immediately sat himself down across from Lisa. She turned her sad eyes towards him and spoke: " We've found something that might be a clue of who stole our precious Whitescale. Did Hagrid tell you of that?"
Harry nodded.
Lisa was surprised, but continued anyway: " It might not even be a clue, it could really mean nothing, just a vague thing and all. But here. . ." She put something down on the table before Harry. It was a small golden button.
Harry took it and then turned it around in his fingers. " It looks familiar." He said, after a while. " Very familiar, in fact." He put the button back down onto the table and said: " Can't either of you cast a spell, just to see if you can trace the button to its owner?"
" Neither of us knows spells that advanced." Lisa said.
Harry knew that they couldn't ask someone like Dumbledore about it - Dumbledore would be against it right away. Harry wondered long and hard about it, before saying: " I'll look up the spell, maybe we can try it with my wand."
In the distance, Harry could hear chattering and noise. The Quidditch field was getting prepared for the game and he wasn't there, pep-talking to his team. " Well, I gotta get going, but I'm glad you told me, because I'm beginning to solve this little mystery." Harry told them.
Lisa asked: "What mystery?"
" The dragon-nappin', ya mean." Hagrid rumbled out.
" No, there's a bit more to it then that." Harry grinned, and then added: " I have quite a mystery to solve, in fact, and everything can be a puzzle piece to it."
" Hmm." Lisa lost interest. " What I care for most is to get poor little Annabel back."
" That was the Whitescale's name?" Harry realized it was a female Whitescale. Was that of any significance? Another thing to look up in the library!
" Yeah." Lisa wiped a tear away, which had made its way down her cheek. " Go, now, Harry. The game's gonna begin real soon."
Harry left, and just as he shut the door, he heard Lisa saying: "He's a nice boy."
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
(A/N: I still don't get Quidditch. Yeah, I know, I should by now, but I have NO idea except that it has 4 balls, a lot of goal posts, and a Seeker and Catcher and who knows what else. Since I will most likely mess up, let's just say SCENES MISSING of the Quidditch match, and let's move on to what happens after it.).
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Harry stopped his broom as a sudden cheer rose from the crowds. His fingers held the Snitch. It was nearly impossible to get, and he marveled now at the small golden ball, the wings still twitching and struggling to escape his fingers. He flexed his hand, and then tossed the Snitch at Fred and George, who caught it and paraded around the field holding it up.
The score-board flashed the score: 170 points to 60. If not for the Snitch, then Slytherin would have been the winner. But Gryffindor had caught the lovely golden ball and now his team cheered wildly, exclaiming and giving each other high-fives.
Even though the opposing sides were supposed to shake hands after the game, Slytherin drew away from Gryffindor as if Gryffindor was infested with parasites. Only Draco Malfoy approached Harry, and said: " Nice job. With the Snitch." Then, he walked away.
Harry called after him: "Thanks!"
Then, he was carried away on his team's shoulders, Fred and George cheering loudly enough for a hundred people. Harry caught a glimpse of Hermione as she ran after the Gryffindor team. She probably wanted to congratulate Harry, too.
" Put me down for a sec." Harry told his team. They obliged, and then Harry realized that Fred had put more of his green goop onto his shoulder. He turned and shouted after him: "Fred! Really, you ought to consider acting more your age!"
Fred laughed and called back: " Can't remember my age!"
" Then you should get to know Neville better! You'd make a nice pair!" Harry laughed and then turned to Hermione, who had by now caught up with them. " Hey, Herm. Did you see me? I caught the Snitch, and quite by accident, too. Don't tell anyone else, but I actually wasn't even looking for it. I was kind of distracted by Rebecca, she was practically giving me the 'evil eye' the entire game, and. . ."
Harry couldn't finish since Hermione was kissing him, laughing, cheering him too. " Oh, Harry, you've made Gryffindor unbeatable! I do think we can get the House Cup!" She was saying.
" I didn't think it would mean so much to you." He held her away from him, since he knew that by now she probably had left a good set of pink lips from her lip gloss, right on his cheek, and probably on his lips, too.
" Oh, but it does. You're captain, aren't you? That makes it mean all the more." She gave him a heart-warming smile. He smiled and replied:
" Thanks, Hermione."
They were rushed into the Hogwarts castle as the crowds left the Quidditch game. Harry reminded himself to go speak with Draco about the gift - to tell him how much it meant to him.
Yet, just as he ran to find Draco, he was stopped by the sight of Neville collapsing on his knees, clutching his stomach. Fred and George were standing by him, looking both worried and guilty, which was an expression that didn't cross their identical faces too often.
" Neville! What's wrong?" Harry cried out, kneeling down beside his friend.
Neville coughed, and then coughed again. He choked out in a distorted voice: " I. . . I ate one of the Weasley twin's trick gums." He hugged his stomach closer. " Oh. . . my stomach. . ."
" Fred! George! How could you?" Harry shouted at the twins. "I mean, smearing goop all over my shoulder every blasted time is enough, but nearly killing Neville! Don't you ever learn?"
" Gosh, sorry, Harry. We were only having fun." George whispered.
" Oh yeah? Well go have fun elsewhere. This isn't funny anymore." Harry helped right up Neville, who's knees keep buckling beneath him, his eyes suddenly blossoming to a dark red color. He clawed frantically at Harry and began to shriek like crazy.
" Neville! People are staring!" Harry whispered to him.
" Eee! Eee!" Neville hissed out, his red orb-like eyes focusing on the Weasley twins.
" What kind of gum did you give him, anyway?" Harry asked, in a panicking voice.
" It was sort of one of those, um . . ." George stalled.
" Tell me!" Harry shouted.
People were gathering, staring as Neville let out a piercing howl and his skin erupted in light-colored fur with a few brown areas of discoloration. His nose stretched out, growing broader, the nostrils flipping out in front of it, growing a good inch wide and flaring angrily. His teeth grew elongated.
" Don't tell me!" Harry gasped. " You wanted to turn him into a pig!" Harry clutched at the shrieking Neville, who grew less and less like Neville and more like a pig with every second. Soon, his canine teeth became like tusks (sharp as spears and twice as deadly), and his teeth grew jagged.
" Not exactly a pig." Fred shouted back.
" More like a boar." George added.
" A boar." Harry said to himself in disgust, and then readied his wand. He was going to try to stupefy it. " Stupefy!" He shouted. The boar spun around, squealing; a massive patch of drool was flowing from its swarthy mouth.
Just in time, Professor McGonagall appeared, her gray hair fluttering out of her bun as she ran. " Children! Children, step away! We can't endanger anyone!"
The boar (Neville) stared angrily at McGonagall, and then charged, its tusks bared and gleaming white inside its snout. "Disgusting bugger, isn't it?" Harry heard someone exclaim. He was glad Hannah was sick in the hospital wing (she had twisted her ankle, and he wasn't glad she was hurt but glad she didn't see Neville at such a state).
" Goodness!" Professor McGonagall raised her wand and then shouted an unfamiliar spell: ' Incandium Slumbericus!'. The boar stopped halfway in his pounce at her, and then suddenly fell to its side, asleep.
Everyone let out an honest sigh of relief and then dozens of students gather around the knocked-out, sleeping boar. Even now, Harry approached cautiously, knowing it was only asleep, after all. He nudged his glasses farther up his nose with his finger and then asked Professor McGonagall: " He's not hurt, is he?"
" No, Harry. But I think that the Weasley twins will have a great deal of explaining to do." Her voice dripped in anger.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
" They've done it now!" Hermione whispered to Harry as they both sat together on the couch before a crackling fireplace in the common room. Actually, Hermione was sort of leaning on Harry, and he was leaning on the armrest of the couch. A bowl of Hershey's Kisses stood beside Harry's leg, which Hermione tried to avoid but couldn't. Her mouth was full with a handful as she spoke to him. She loved Muggle candies, especially those Harry managed to sneak from the Dursleys with him as he came to Hogwarts. Hermione's parents, being dentists, didn't like having her eat candy, after all.
" Well, they were looking for trouble the moment they came to Hogwarts." Harry replied.
" I think it's silly, to try and turn Neville into a boar. What were they trying to prove?" Hermione popped another Kiss into her mouth. " These are delicious! How come my parents don't buy these for me?"
" Maybe because they don't want your teeth to rot?" Harry guessed.
She laughed. " Maybe." Her fingers clutched a handful of them and she then dropped them into Harry's lap, right on his shirt, between the folds. They shared them.
She looked up to say something to him and their noses bumped. Harry watched her blush deep scarlet and she looked down again, forgetting what she was to say. He saw that she still wore his rings, even though they didn't match her outfit today.
They sat in silence, looking at the fire. The flames were dancing so merrily tonight! They curled up, licking the metal jaws that encased them inside their prison, their red tongues licking at the cold bars, their golden lips kissing across the brick walls. The fire danced inside Harry's eyes. He tilted his head, his cheek resting on Hermione's head, her head resting on his shoulder.
Time passed slowly, and yet Harry wished it would stop altogether. If the world were to end at that moment and the earth were to be split by ravenous fires, he would have been satisfied with this being his last moment.
A small piece of wood slid down inside the fireplace, bumping with another. A wide gash of black soot erupted, and was soon swallowed by beautiful flames again. Harry was mesmerized by the fire, and only realized a while later that Hermione had fallen asleep. Her head had fallen forwards, now her forehead grazing his chest. Harry immediately scooted over, letting her lie down.
He cleaned up the few spilled Hershey's Kisses and then put the bowl back on top of the mantle, where he had planned to hide it from the other boys in the room. Knowing the male appetite, Harry couldn't leave a bowl of sweet chocolate just out in the open like that.
Harry returned to where Hermione was sleeping. He wondered if he should wake her up and then escort her to where the girl's sleeping rooms were, but then he thought better of it and let her sleep, her rich brown curls hanging in ringlets and glowing to the burning rhythm in the fire. Harry put the fire in the fireplace out with a spell, the warm glow leaving the room. Instead, the moonlight outside bathed the room.
He stood in the doorway, looking at the room with fondness, then went to his bed and fell asleep quickly.
¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Professor Trelawney looked at Harry with her deep meaningful eyes. "Harry, have you studied for our palm reading exam today?"
" It was today?" Harry gasped out. He had completely forgotten all about it. His Palm-Reading book was still book-marked at the beginning of the chapter and he hadn't cracked the book since.
" Yes, it was today." Professor Trelawney suddenly turned around and told Pansy Parkinson, whom was writing a note to a friend: " Pansy, dear, put the letter to Parvati inside your bookbag before your quill spills ink on it."
It was a bit too late, for just as Professor Trelawney said 'ink', Pansy's quill let out a large messy ink splotch that swallowed up the entire corner of the paper. " Oh, no!" She cried out. " And I wrote so much!"
" I'm sorry." Professor Trelawney turned back to Harry. "Now! What do I have to do to you children to make you believe me when I say that this is IMPORTANT!" Her cheeks were blotched in anger. "Especially you, Harry. I sense something in you, a much stronger aura then in anyone else. You have to take this seriously. It can help you someday."
" It won't help any of us. It's guesswork and a whole lot of it." Draco suddenly drawled out. Professor Trelawney spun around to face him, her face even redder.
" It ! Is! NOT! GUESSWORK!" She shouted out each word like a separate sentence so it hung in the air over Draco's head like a two ton anvil.
Draco didn't seem convinced. He scoffed.
Everyone was now wondering if Draco was just stupid or really brave.
" Nobody can tell me that some soppy tea leaves or the ridges on your hand will tell you the future." Draco said, leaning on a little table. It teetered a bit and he took his elbow off it.
" As a matter of fact, they do!" Professor Trelawney dug into her big black canvas bag and pulled out a massive book, one that could tip the scales when weighed against three Bibles. " I have a million pieces of proof and evidence in this book, Draco, as to how this does tell the future."
" What if the evidence is made up?" Draco questioned. " Is there any way to actually prove the things written in there?"
Professor Trelawney's face reddened even more. She stammered out: " Um, um. . . yes, I think there is a way to prove it!"
" What is it, then?" Draco asked.
" I. . . I don't know!" Professor Trelawney suddenly looked very furious. " Get out of my room, Draco Malfoy! Get out right now!" She pointed with her thin bony finger at the doorway. Draco sat there, smiling as if he didn't care.
" Can't take it when someone questions you with the truth." Draco finally said. " Well, then, see you people." He stood and walked out, slowly, with honor.
Lavender was staring with an odd admiration at him that hadn't been there before. The room stayed in a strange stiff silence for a while, then Professor Trelawney collapsed in her chair, her head in her hands, and said: " Just. . . just study from your books today, and the exam will be shifted to tomorrow." Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Outside, through the little glass panel in the door, Draco Malfoy was standing, his head dropped, leaning on the wall. His posture wasn't so honored and proud out there.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Lunchtime was just about the only time Harry could catch up to Draco and talk to him. Draco had been locking himself up inside his common room during dinner and breakfast, and he, out of pure hunger, stayed for lunch.
He had to thank him, but somehow in a subtle way, so he didn't just push his gratitude all over Draco. He knew that Malfoy probably would hate that. Harry had come early to lunch and then found Draco, sitting with Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. He had some sort of a letter in his hand and he was avidly explaining something to them, and from their blank stares, he figured that they had no idea what Draco was talking about.
Harry caught a few words of their conversation before he said something. Draco was patiently explaining to them that the word 'balloon' had two l's.
" But I thought it had two O's." Goyle murmured.
" Yeah, but it has two L's, too." Draco said.
" Why?" Crabbe leaned forwards.
" Hey! Do you want to write a prank letter with errors all over it? They'd know right away that you chicken-brains wrote it." Draco smiled and then added something at the bottom. " We should write anonymous at the bottom."
" But I thought we weren't going to sign it!" Crabbe exclaimed. "And you said we have a bad memory."
" And who's Andy Nomynous anyway?" Crabbe wondered.
Draco took a deep breath and Harry could swear he was counting to ten inside his head. Then, Draco slowly, carefully explained: " Anonymous is the word for 'unknown author'. It's not a name, it's a term."
" Oh." Crabbe and Goyle both said, but they still didn't understand it.
Draco folded up the paper and handed it to Goyle. " Now go put it in McGonagall's office, right on her desk. Won't she be surprised to find out that there's a bouquet of roses for her in Dumbledore's office, when we're going to leave a snake there." Draco smiled to himself, the evil little plan coming together in his head. " Now to keep old Dumbledore from barging in there."
" Um. . ." Harry approached them just then.
Draco pushed the letter off the edge of the table and it fluttered to the floor and Goyle stepped on it. " Goyle! You idiot! I wanted to hide it, not ruin it." Draco whispered fervently at them, then turned to Harry. "What do you want?"
" I thought I should thank you for the gift." Harry began.
" Gift?" Crabbe's eyebrows raised.
" Potter's gone crazy. I didn't give him a gift." Draco said, then gave Harry a look. " You guys go away! Ad pick up that damn letter! It's got your footprint on it now. McGonagall's gonna know your gigantic flappers, if anything."
Goyle and Crabbe listened, to Harry's amazement. They picked up the letter and then scrambled out of there.
Malfoy turned back to Harry, after a while. " They're just like kids, really." He said, softly. " How on Earth will they make it outside of Hogwarts? They need supervision at all times."
Harry didn't know if it was a question he should ask or one of those rhetoric ones that should remain unanswered. He decided it was the latter, and then said: " I never thought you'd give me my mother's locket. I didn't even think you'd get me a gift." Harry had the locket with him, inside of his pocket. He took it out. " I don't know how to thank you."
Draco didn't reply. He took a bite out of a piece of bread and then chewed in thought. Finally, he said: " So you like it?"
" Of course." Harry was stunned by the question. He figured it was obvious that he liked the gift.
" Good, then." Draco replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't a man of many words, perhaps. Draco took another bite of the bread and then asked: " Why are you still standing there? Shouldn't you go back to your table before anyone thinks you'd flipped?"
" Right." Harry turned, his fingers clutching the locket protectively. " Did your father find out?"
" Find out what?" Draco asked, nervously, his eyes suddenly getting an animal fright inside them, one that changed the cold blue eyes of his into two drops of painful fear. He looked like a puppy that had been kicked too much.
" That you took the locket. And the yearbook pictures." Harry explained.
" Oh. That." Draco's fearful eyes faded back to a normal, uncaring blueness. " No, he didn't find out. He probably doesn't even remember he had the locket."
" Well, thank you, again." Harry smiled at him.
He didn't get a smile in return. Draco turned his head, and said, just barely: " You're welcome." The words were unnatural to him.
Harry decided to leave it be at that. He went back to the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Hermione were discussing something. The table seemed a bit different without Neville, since he was still at Madame Pomfrey's, trying to get turned back into a human again.
The Weasley twins were gone, too. They had actually been suspended from Hogwarts for the week, forced to go back to their parents. Ron had told Harry that this was the last thing his parents needed on their minds - the two rambunctious twins.
Harry sat down and then put the locket back into his pocket. Hermione turned to him and said: " Oh, hi Harry. I thought you wouldn't come to lunch today. You're always here by now."
" I had something to take care of." Harry replied, shortly.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
The next day, after an uneventful evening, Harry found himself in Snape's class. Snape was speaking to his class in a deep, rumbling voice, his lessons back to normal. He had, most likely, tried to pretend he didn't care for the good-looking Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Today's class didn't consist of a demonstration (this made Harry feel quite good, because he had become a regular victim to Snape's demonstrations). Just as they opened their books to read, Nearly Headless Nick floated into the room.
He went right up to Snape and said: " I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to see Harry Potter outside for a moment."
Nearly Headless Nick waited as Snape considered whether he should let Harry go or whether he should tell Nearly Headless Nick to get out of his classroom. Finally, Snape nodded his consent. Nearly Headless Nick floated over to Harry's desk and Harry stood and followed the ghost out the room.
Once they were in the hallway, Harry asked: "What's wrong, Nick?"
" I found it most important to tell you right away. It seems Rebecca Crick was rather careless in speaking her plans aloud as she wrote them down for herself, and I had to come and tell you, right away. . ." Nearly Headless Nick was babbling.
" What's the problem?" Harry asked, cutting Nick short. He got right to the point:
" There is a girl named Rebecca Crick. You know her, do you not?"
" Yes." Harry nodded.
" Well, I heard her mumbling your name quite often as she was writing something down. Evil plans, I think." Nick paused. "Are you sure you know who I'm speaking of?"
" Yes!" Harry nodded again, this time a bit stiffly, impatience taking its toll on him.
" She's been practicing the Avada Kedavra curse, too. She has a whole group of fruit flies in a jar on her desk and she goes up to them and says the Avada Kedavra curse quite often to them." Nick sighed. " The poor things - they die quickly with that curse."
" Avada Kedavra! But it's a deadly curse! She's not even supposed to know how to use it!" Harry cried out.
" I know, and that's why I'm telling you. I figured that since you always seemed to solve the mysteries before, (with the help of your friends), you should know this." Nick added: " She's awfully good at the curse now. She can say it in her sleep, I bet."
" How can she know it, though?" Harry marveled. " It takes years of practice. Very few wizards mastered the curse."
" I don't know. She might have began when she was seven or so, to learn it. Quite a scary seven year old she must have been, don't you think?" Nick's voice droned out.
" I suppose." Harry's mind swirled with new clues and new arrows. He had a few threads, and he felt he had something going against Rebecca Crick already. He had to speak to Hermione about it. And he also had the thread with how the dragons were disappearing and how Charlie was attacked, and the death of Timothy Rower and how it all added up. He figured he still needed more clues, but this put many things into clearer perspective.
" That's all I wanted to say. Have a nice class." Nick turned and floated away.
" Thanks, Nick. That would be a lot of help!" Harry called out after the ghost. In the distance, down the hall, the ghost of the friar was bustling through, his robes swirling.
Harry returned to Potions class just as Snape was explaining to the class the process of boiling a potion that could, when ingested, make someone invincible to snake bites. It was supposed to only work for two hours, though.
Hermione whispered to him as he sat down: "What did he say?"
" I'll tell you later. It's really important. And I think I should tell you something I found out about Hagrid. . ." Harry realized that he should at least break the promise to Hagrid, because he knew Hermione needed to know. He would have never solved anything, past or present, without her.
Author's Note:
I have crossed 225 pages on Microsoft word with this story, and I am quite amazed that I was able to make it this long so far. Thanks for the reviews, they are what kept me going when I was out of ideas. I promise this will get better, or at least stay the same in satisfaction.
Oh! And if you want to read a really good HP fic (it's got me hooked, too), then read Naeginnie6 's story "Harry Potter and the Golden Ridgeback". Trust me it's good! And do review it, for my friend, eh?
1
2 Chapter 14
Of Pigs and Teachers and All Sorts of Things
When the time had come for October to be swept away with the massive broom of fall from the front step of the year (November had just come in, after all), Harry had gone to see Hagrid. Perhaps Hagrid would need some comfort, or maybe Harry felt it was only fair, but he wanted to speak with his old friend again. He always felt that the giant man was as soft as a down pillow and that he simply just needed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
It was the day after Halloween, and just an hour before the huge Quidditch match (Gryffindor against Slytherin), but Harry knew that he would always have time to go see Hagrid. His eyes twinkling in the sunlight, Harry headed for the little cabin.
His knuckles rapped on the door.
A hollow echo replied, and then a shuffling that quite easily indicated that someone was going towards the door. The door opened just a crack, and Hagrid's scraggly black beard just barely appeared through it.
" What is it, Harry?" Hagrid asked, nervously.
" I can to see you." Harry replied. " Open the door."
" I'm sorry, but this ain't the best time for visitin', Harry." Hagrid replied.
" It isn't?" Harry was puzzled. " Why? What are you up to again?" Harry tried to push the door open but Hagrid was, obviously, a whole lot stronger and Harry had to give up pushing the door open.
" I'm up to nothin'." Hagrid said, innocently.
" Yeah, sure you aren't!" Harry laughed and then tried to push the door open again. This time, Hagrid let him, and Harry tumbled into the room, then turned around to face the tall man. "Come on, Hagrid, what's the big deal with all this secrecy?"
" Let him find out if he'd like, Rubeus." Lisa's voice rang from inside. Harry saw her in the light of the room and waved to her. She waved back, and asked: " Today's your big Quidditch match, isn't it, Harry?"
" Yep." Harry replied.
" Lisa, don't distract 'im! Harry, you ain't s'posed ter be here." Hagrid boomed.
" We can tell him." Lisa said, softly.
" Tell me what?" Harry demanded to know. Sometimes he was just so sick of guessing games.
" Harry, cross yer heart and swear on all yer bones that yeh ain't gonna tell anyone what we tell yeh?" Hagrid said, softly. Lisa's soft eyes turned to Harry, and so did Hagrid's. Harry knew he had to either back out now or to cross his heart.
" Well, is it something bad?" Harry asked.
" Most likely." Lisa replied.
" I don't know if I should promise I won't tell, then." Harry sighed. He didn't want to make any more promises crossing over what he had promised with Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid.
" Then go, Harry." Hagrid said.
" I can't just leave. There's obviously something bothering you two." Harry reasoned. " If you think I have as little heart as to leave you both like this, then you're wrong."
" Some things are best unsaid." Lisa finally said, after the silence grew prolonged. " But, if you insist. . ."
" Yes!" Harry immediately sat himself down across from Lisa. She turned her sad eyes towards him and spoke: " We've found something that might be a clue of who stole our precious Whitescale. Did Hagrid tell you of that?"
Harry nodded.
Lisa was surprised, but continued anyway: " It might not even be a clue, it could really mean nothing, just a vague thing and all. But here. . ." She put something down on the table before Harry. It was a small golden button.
Harry took it and then turned it around in his fingers. " It looks familiar." He said, after a while. " Very familiar, in fact." He put the button back down onto the table and said: " Can't either of you cast a spell, just to see if you can trace the button to its owner?"
" Neither of us knows spells that advanced." Lisa said.
Harry knew that they couldn't ask someone like Dumbledore about it - Dumbledore would be against it right away. Harry wondered long and hard about it, before saying: " I'll look up the spell, maybe we can try it with my wand."
In the distance, Harry could hear chattering and noise. The Quidditch field was getting prepared for the game and he wasn't there, pep-talking to his team. " Well, I gotta get going, but I'm glad you told me, because I'm beginning to solve this little mystery." Harry told them.
Lisa asked: "What mystery?"
" The dragon-nappin', ya mean." Hagrid rumbled out.
" No, there's a bit more to it then that." Harry grinned, and then added: " I have quite a mystery to solve, in fact, and everything can be a puzzle piece to it."
" Hmm." Lisa lost interest. " What I care for most is to get poor little Annabel back."
" That was the Whitescale's name?" Harry realized it was a female Whitescale. Was that of any significance? Another thing to look up in the library!
" Yeah." Lisa wiped a tear away, which had made its way down her cheek. " Go, now, Harry. The game's gonna begin real soon."
Harry left, and just as he shut the door, he heard Lisa saying: "He's a nice boy."
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
(A/N: I still don't get Quidditch. Yeah, I know, I should by now, but I have NO idea except that it has 4 balls, a lot of goal posts, and a Seeker and Catcher and who knows what else. Since I will most likely mess up, let's just say SCENES MISSING of the Quidditch match, and let's move on to what happens after it.).
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Harry stopped his broom as a sudden cheer rose from the crowds. His fingers held the Snitch. It was nearly impossible to get, and he marveled now at the small golden ball, the wings still twitching and struggling to escape his fingers. He flexed his hand, and then tossed the Snitch at Fred and George, who caught it and paraded around the field holding it up.
The score-board flashed the score: 170 points to 60. If not for the Snitch, then Slytherin would have been the winner. But Gryffindor had caught the lovely golden ball and now his team cheered wildly, exclaiming and giving each other high-fives.
Even though the opposing sides were supposed to shake hands after the game, Slytherin drew away from Gryffindor as if Gryffindor was infested with parasites. Only Draco Malfoy approached Harry, and said: " Nice job. With the Snitch." Then, he walked away.
Harry called after him: "Thanks!"
Then, he was carried away on his team's shoulders, Fred and George cheering loudly enough for a hundred people. Harry caught a glimpse of Hermione as she ran after the Gryffindor team. She probably wanted to congratulate Harry, too.
" Put me down for a sec." Harry told his team. They obliged, and then Harry realized that Fred had put more of his green goop onto his shoulder. He turned and shouted after him: "Fred! Really, you ought to consider acting more your age!"
Fred laughed and called back: " Can't remember my age!"
" Then you should get to know Neville better! You'd make a nice pair!" Harry laughed and then turned to Hermione, who had by now caught up with them. " Hey, Herm. Did you see me? I caught the Snitch, and quite by accident, too. Don't tell anyone else, but I actually wasn't even looking for it. I was kind of distracted by Rebecca, she was practically giving me the 'evil eye' the entire game, and. . ."
Harry couldn't finish since Hermione was kissing him, laughing, cheering him too. " Oh, Harry, you've made Gryffindor unbeatable! I do think we can get the House Cup!" She was saying.
" I didn't think it would mean so much to you." He held her away from him, since he knew that by now she probably had left a good set of pink lips from her lip gloss, right on his cheek, and probably on his lips, too.
" Oh, but it does. You're captain, aren't you? That makes it mean all the more." She gave him a heart-warming smile. He smiled and replied:
" Thanks, Hermione."
They were rushed into the Hogwarts castle as the crowds left the Quidditch game. Harry reminded himself to go speak with Draco about the gift - to tell him how much it meant to him.
Yet, just as he ran to find Draco, he was stopped by the sight of Neville collapsing on his knees, clutching his stomach. Fred and George were standing by him, looking both worried and guilty, which was an expression that didn't cross their identical faces too often.
" Neville! What's wrong?" Harry cried out, kneeling down beside his friend.
Neville coughed, and then coughed again. He choked out in a distorted voice: " I. . . I ate one of the Weasley twin's trick gums." He hugged his stomach closer. " Oh. . . my stomach. . ."
" Fred! George! How could you?" Harry shouted at the twins. "I mean, smearing goop all over my shoulder every blasted time is enough, but nearly killing Neville! Don't you ever learn?"
" Gosh, sorry, Harry. We were only having fun." George whispered.
" Oh yeah? Well go have fun elsewhere. This isn't funny anymore." Harry helped right up Neville, who's knees keep buckling beneath him, his eyes suddenly blossoming to a dark red color. He clawed frantically at Harry and began to shriek like crazy.
" Neville! People are staring!" Harry whispered to him.
" Eee! Eee!" Neville hissed out, his red orb-like eyes focusing on the Weasley twins.
" What kind of gum did you give him, anyway?" Harry asked, in a panicking voice.
" It was sort of one of those, um . . ." George stalled.
" Tell me!" Harry shouted.
People were gathering, staring as Neville let out a piercing howl and his skin erupted in light-colored fur with a few brown areas of discoloration. His nose stretched out, growing broader, the nostrils flipping out in front of it, growing a good inch wide and flaring angrily. His teeth grew elongated.
" Don't tell me!" Harry gasped. " You wanted to turn him into a pig!" Harry clutched at the shrieking Neville, who grew less and less like Neville and more like a pig with every second. Soon, his canine teeth became like tusks (sharp as spears and twice as deadly), and his teeth grew jagged.
" Not exactly a pig." Fred shouted back.
" More like a boar." George added.
" A boar." Harry said to himself in disgust, and then readied his wand. He was going to try to stupefy it. " Stupefy!" He shouted. The boar spun around, squealing; a massive patch of drool was flowing from its swarthy mouth.
Just in time, Professor McGonagall appeared, her gray hair fluttering out of her bun as she ran. " Children! Children, step away! We can't endanger anyone!"
The boar (Neville) stared angrily at McGonagall, and then charged, its tusks bared and gleaming white inside its snout. "Disgusting bugger, isn't it?" Harry heard someone exclaim. He was glad Hannah was sick in the hospital wing (she had twisted her ankle, and he wasn't glad she was hurt but glad she didn't see Neville at such a state).
" Goodness!" Professor McGonagall raised her wand and then shouted an unfamiliar spell: ' Incandium Slumbericus!'. The boar stopped halfway in his pounce at her, and then suddenly fell to its side, asleep.
Everyone let out an honest sigh of relief and then dozens of students gather around the knocked-out, sleeping boar. Even now, Harry approached cautiously, knowing it was only asleep, after all. He nudged his glasses farther up his nose with his finger and then asked Professor McGonagall: " He's not hurt, is he?"
" No, Harry. But I think that the Weasley twins will have a great deal of explaining to do." Her voice dripped in anger.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
" They've done it now!" Hermione whispered to Harry as they both sat together on the couch before a crackling fireplace in the common room. Actually, Hermione was sort of leaning on Harry, and he was leaning on the armrest of the couch. A bowl of Hershey's Kisses stood beside Harry's leg, which Hermione tried to avoid but couldn't. Her mouth was full with a handful as she spoke to him. She loved Muggle candies, especially those Harry managed to sneak from the Dursleys with him as he came to Hogwarts. Hermione's parents, being dentists, didn't like having her eat candy, after all.
" Well, they were looking for trouble the moment they came to Hogwarts." Harry replied.
" I think it's silly, to try and turn Neville into a boar. What were they trying to prove?" Hermione popped another Kiss into her mouth. " These are delicious! How come my parents don't buy these for me?"
" Maybe because they don't want your teeth to rot?" Harry guessed.
She laughed. " Maybe." Her fingers clutched a handful of them and she then dropped them into Harry's lap, right on his shirt, between the folds. They shared them.
She looked up to say something to him and their noses bumped. Harry watched her blush deep scarlet and she looked down again, forgetting what she was to say. He saw that she still wore his rings, even though they didn't match her outfit today.
They sat in silence, looking at the fire. The flames were dancing so merrily tonight! They curled up, licking the metal jaws that encased them inside their prison, their red tongues licking at the cold bars, their golden lips kissing across the brick walls. The fire danced inside Harry's eyes. He tilted his head, his cheek resting on Hermione's head, her head resting on his shoulder.
Time passed slowly, and yet Harry wished it would stop altogether. If the world were to end at that moment and the earth were to be split by ravenous fires, he would have been satisfied with this being his last moment.
A small piece of wood slid down inside the fireplace, bumping with another. A wide gash of black soot erupted, and was soon swallowed by beautiful flames again. Harry was mesmerized by the fire, and only realized a while later that Hermione had fallen asleep. Her head had fallen forwards, now her forehead grazing his chest. Harry immediately scooted over, letting her lie down.
He cleaned up the few spilled Hershey's Kisses and then put the bowl back on top of the mantle, where he had planned to hide it from the other boys in the room. Knowing the male appetite, Harry couldn't leave a bowl of sweet chocolate just out in the open like that.
Harry returned to where Hermione was sleeping. He wondered if he should wake her up and then escort her to where the girl's sleeping rooms were, but then he thought better of it and let her sleep, her rich brown curls hanging in ringlets and glowing to the burning rhythm in the fire. Harry put the fire in the fireplace out with a spell, the warm glow leaving the room. Instead, the moonlight outside bathed the room.
He stood in the doorway, looking at the room with fondness, then went to his bed and fell asleep quickly.
¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Professor Trelawney looked at Harry with her deep meaningful eyes. "Harry, have you studied for our palm reading exam today?"
" It was today?" Harry gasped out. He had completely forgotten all about it. His Palm-Reading book was still book-marked at the beginning of the chapter and he hadn't cracked the book since.
" Yes, it was today." Professor Trelawney suddenly turned around and told Pansy Parkinson, whom was writing a note to a friend: " Pansy, dear, put the letter to Parvati inside your bookbag before your quill spills ink on it."
It was a bit too late, for just as Professor Trelawney said 'ink', Pansy's quill let out a large messy ink splotch that swallowed up the entire corner of the paper. " Oh, no!" She cried out. " And I wrote so much!"
" I'm sorry." Professor Trelawney turned back to Harry. "Now! What do I have to do to you children to make you believe me when I say that this is IMPORTANT!" Her cheeks were blotched in anger. "Especially you, Harry. I sense something in you, a much stronger aura then in anyone else. You have to take this seriously. It can help you someday."
" It won't help any of us. It's guesswork and a whole lot of it." Draco suddenly drawled out. Professor Trelawney spun around to face him, her face even redder.
" It ! Is! NOT! GUESSWORK!" She shouted out each word like a separate sentence so it hung in the air over Draco's head like a two ton anvil.
Draco didn't seem convinced. He scoffed.
Everyone was now wondering if Draco was just stupid or really brave.
" Nobody can tell me that some soppy tea leaves or the ridges on your hand will tell you the future." Draco said, leaning on a little table. It teetered a bit and he took his elbow off it.
" As a matter of fact, they do!" Professor Trelawney dug into her big black canvas bag and pulled out a massive book, one that could tip the scales when weighed against three Bibles. " I have a million pieces of proof and evidence in this book, Draco, as to how this does tell the future."
" What if the evidence is made up?" Draco questioned. " Is there any way to actually prove the things written in there?"
Professor Trelawney's face reddened even more. She stammered out: " Um, um. . . yes, I think there is a way to prove it!"
" What is it, then?" Draco asked.
" I. . . I don't know!" Professor Trelawney suddenly looked very furious. " Get out of my room, Draco Malfoy! Get out right now!" She pointed with her thin bony finger at the doorway. Draco sat there, smiling as if he didn't care.
" Can't take it when someone questions you with the truth." Draco finally said. " Well, then, see you people." He stood and walked out, slowly, with honor.
Lavender was staring with an odd admiration at him that hadn't been there before. The room stayed in a strange stiff silence for a while, then Professor Trelawney collapsed in her chair, her head in her hands, and said: " Just. . . just study from your books today, and the exam will be shifted to tomorrow." Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Outside, through the little glass panel in the door, Draco Malfoy was standing, his head dropped, leaning on the wall. His posture wasn't so honored and proud out there.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
Lunchtime was just about the only time Harry could catch up to Draco and talk to him. Draco had been locking himself up inside his common room during dinner and breakfast, and he, out of pure hunger, stayed for lunch.
He had to thank him, but somehow in a subtle way, so he didn't just push his gratitude all over Draco. He knew that Malfoy probably would hate that. Harry had come early to lunch and then found Draco, sitting with Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. He had some sort of a letter in his hand and he was avidly explaining something to them, and from their blank stares, he figured that they had no idea what Draco was talking about.
Harry caught a few words of their conversation before he said something. Draco was patiently explaining to them that the word 'balloon' had two l's.
" But I thought it had two O's." Goyle murmured.
" Yeah, but it has two L's, too." Draco said.
" Why?" Crabbe leaned forwards.
" Hey! Do you want to write a prank letter with errors all over it? They'd know right away that you chicken-brains wrote it." Draco smiled and then added something at the bottom. " We should write anonymous at the bottom."
" But I thought we weren't going to sign it!" Crabbe exclaimed. "And you said we have a bad memory."
" And who's Andy Nomynous anyway?" Crabbe wondered.
Draco took a deep breath and Harry could swear he was counting to ten inside his head. Then, Draco slowly, carefully explained: " Anonymous is the word for 'unknown author'. It's not a name, it's a term."
" Oh." Crabbe and Goyle both said, but they still didn't understand it.
Draco folded up the paper and handed it to Goyle. " Now go put it in McGonagall's office, right on her desk. Won't she be surprised to find out that there's a bouquet of roses for her in Dumbledore's office, when we're going to leave a snake there." Draco smiled to himself, the evil little plan coming together in his head. " Now to keep old Dumbledore from barging in there."
" Um. . ." Harry approached them just then.
Draco pushed the letter off the edge of the table and it fluttered to the floor and Goyle stepped on it. " Goyle! You idiot! I wanted to hide it, not ruin it." Draco whispered fervently at them, then turned to Harry. "What do you want?"
" I thought I should thank you for the gift." Harry began.
" Gift?" Crabbe's eyebrows raised.
" Potter's gone crazy. I didn't give him a gift." Draco said, then gave Harry a look. " You guys go away! Ad pick up that damn letter! It's got your footprint on it now. McGonagall's gonna know your gigantic flappers, if anything."
Goyle and Crabbe listened, to Harry's amazement. They picked up the letter and then scrambled out of there.
Malfoy turned back to Harry, after a while. " They're just like kids, really." He said, softly. " How on Earth will they make it outside of Hogwarts? They need supervision at all times."
Harry didn't know if it was a question he should ask or one of those rhetoric ones that should remain unanswered. He decided it was the latter, and then said: " I never thought you'd give me my mother's locket. I didn't even think you'd get me a gift." Harry had the locket with him, inside of his pocket. He took it out. " I don't know how to thank you."
Draco didn't reply. He took a bite out of a piece of bread and then chewed in thought. Finally, he said: " So you like it?"
" Of course." Harry was stunned by the question. He figured it was obvious that he liked the gift.
" Good, then." Draco replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't a man of many words, perhaps. Draco took another bite of the bread and then asked: " Why are you still standing there? Shouldn't you go back to your table before anyone thinks you'd flipped?"
" Right." Harry turned, his fingers clutching the locket protectively. " Did your father find out?"
" Find out what?" Draco asked, nervously, his eyes suddenly getting an animal fright inside them, one that changed the cold blue eyes of his into two drops of painful fear. He looked like a puppy that had been kicked too much.
" That you took the locket. And the yearbook pictures." Harry explained.
" Oh. That." Draco's fearful eyes faded back to a normal, uncaring blueness. " No, he didn't find out. He probably doesn't even remember he had the locket."
" Well, thank you, again." Harry smiled at him.
He didn't get a smile in return. Draco turned his head, and said, just barely: " You're welcome." The words were unnatural to him.
Harry decided to leave it be at that. He went back to the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Hermione were discussing something. The table seemed a bit different without Neville, since he was still at Madame Pomfrey's, trying to get turned back into a human again.
The Weasley twins were gone, too. They had actually been suspended from Hogwarts for the week, forced to go back to their parents. Ron had told Harry that this was the last thing his parents needed on their minds - the two rambunctious twins.
Harry sat down and then put the locket back into his pocket. Hermione turned to him and said: " Oh, hi Harry. I thought you wouldn't come to lunch today. You're always here by now."
" I had something to take care of." Harry replied, shortly.
*¤*.¸¸.·´¨`»*«´¨`·. ¸¸.*¤*
The next day, after an uneventful evening, Harry found himself in Snape's class. Snape was speaking to his class in a deep, rumbling voice, his lessons back to normal. He had, most likely, tried to pretend he didn't care for the good-looking Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Today's class didn't consist of a demonstration (this made Harry feel quite good, because he had become a regular victim to Snape's demonstrations). Just as they opened their books to read, Nearly Headless Nick floated into the room.
He went right up to Snape and said: " I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to see Harry Potter outside for a moment."
Nearly Headless Nick waited as Snape considered whether he should let Harry go or whether he should tell Nearly Headless Nick to get out of his classroom. Finally, Snape nodded his consent. Nearly Headless Nick floated over to Harry's desk and Harry stood and followed the ghost out the room.
Once they were in the hallway, Harry asked: "What's wrong, Nick?"
" I found it most important to tell you right away. It seems Rebecca Crick was rather careless in speaking her plans aloud as she wrote them down for herself, and I had to come and tell you, right away. . ." Nearly Headless Nick was babbling.
" What's the problem?" Harry asked, cutting Nick short. He got right to the point:
" There is a girl named Rebecca Crick. You know her, do you not?"
" Yes." Harry nodded.
" Well, I heard her mumbling your name quite often as she was writing something down. Evil plans, I think." Nick paused. "Are you sure you know who I'm speaking of?"
" Yes!" Harry nodded again, this time a bit stiffly, impatience taking its toll on him.
" She's been practicing the Avada Kedavra curse, too. She has a whole group of fruit flies in a jar on her desk and she goes up to them and says the Avada Kedavra curse quite often to them." Nick sighed. " The poor things - they die quickly with that curse."
" Avada Kedavra! But it's a deadly curse! She's not even supposed to know how to use it!" Harry cried out.
" I know, and that's why I'm telling you. I figured that since you always seemed to solve the mysteries before, (with the help of your friends), you should know this." Nick added: " She's awfully good at the curse now. She can say it in her sleep, I bet."
" How can she know it, though?" Harry marveled. " It takes years of practice. Very few wizards mastered the curse."
" I don't know. She might have began when she was seven or so, to learn it. Quite a scary seven year old she must have been, don't you think?" Nick's voice droned out.
" I suppose." Harry's mind swirled with new clues and new arrows. He had a few threads, and he felt he had something going against Rebecca Crick already. He had to speak to Hermione about it. And he also had the thread with how the dragons were disappearing and how Charlie was attacked, and the death of Timothy Rower and how it all added up. He figured he still needed more clues, but this put many things into clearer perspective.
" That's all I wanted to say. Have a nice class." Nick turned and floated away.
" Thanks, Nick. That would be a lot of help!" Harry called out after the ghost. In the distance, down the hall, the ghost of the friar was bustling through, his robes swirling.
Harry returned to Potions class just as Snape was explaining to the class the process of boiling a potion that could, when ingested, make someone invincible to snake bites. It was supposed to only work for two hours, though.
Hermione whispered to him as he sat down: "What did he say?"
" I'll tell you later. It's really important. And I think I should tell you something I found out about Hagrid. . ." Harry realized that he should at least break the promise to Hagrid, because he knew Hermione needed to know. He would have never solved anything, past or present, without her.
Author's Note:
I have crossed 225 pages on Microsoft word with this story, and I am quite amazed that I was able to make it this long so far. Thanks for the reviews, they are what kept me going when I was out of ideas. I promise this will get better, or at least stay the same in satisfaction.
