(note for correction: near the end of Chapter 7, I stated the following:
"not more than three miles away,". What it should have read, and in my
haste to hurry it along without checking for errors, is this: "not more
than three hundred miles away". I hope those who read the chapter
understood it to be that far.)
Chapter 8:
Nothing of note happened to Harry and his friends during their dinner and the start of term.
The first day, they were to have Charms with the Ravenclaws first. Professor Flitwick was there, as usual, and taught them the basics to a rather tricky shrinking charm.
However, Potions was next, and it was with the Slytherins. Everyone was eager to see who would be filling in for Professor Snape, so Harry actually looked forward to it a bit. Down to the dungeons went Harry, Ron and Hermione and the rest of class. Once in, they noticed the Slytherins all seated, well nearly all seated, and the room was empty of a teacher. Harry sat between Ron and Hermione and took out his parchment.
Finally, the door burst open, yet nobody was there at first. Then, a cloaked figure came striding in, soaked from the rain outside. The person entered the room slowly, and walked to the coat, or in the case, cloak hanger.
'Sorry for the entrance,' said the person, taking off his hood. Harry nearly dropped his parchment and quill.
'WOOD!' yelled Harry.
Indeed, it was Oliver Wood, a former student at Hogwarts.
'Hi Harry!' said Wood.
'What are you doing here?' asked Harry.
'Teaching. I may not know as much about potions as Professor Snape, but that is the field I am trying my luck on right now.'
The fact was, he wasn't good enough at Potions to really teach, but he had asked Professor Dumbledore to give him a try until Snape came back, so Dumbledore did, as a career boost for Wood. The potion was simple today, and they needed only to trim some ingredients.
At the end of the lesson, Fred and George came running to Wood and patted him on the back.
With that beating of welcome, Harry and the others headed for Herbology.
At dinner, Harry sat with Ron, Fred and George, while Hermione sat with Ginny and Neville.
'I can't believe they let Wood of all people to fill in!' said George.
'Yes, it's odd to see him teaching anything other than flying X's and O's on a chalkboard,' said Fred.
'Well, I just hope he doesn't give long prep speeches for this next class,' said Harry with a chuckle, and the others joined in.
Harry picked up a scoop of potatoes with his fork, and just before he put it in his mouth, he dropped the fork with a loud clatter, and slapped his hand over his scar, and screamed in pain... it burned with almost as much force as it did in the grave yard, but only for a split second.
And in that second, he could have sworn he saw the dark mark in his mind.
'What's the matter Harry?' yelled Hermione from a few seats over. The others eyed him with much worry in their eyes.
'Nothing,' he said, picking up his fork. 'Just a fly.'
Ron and Hermione didn't believe him.
After dinner, in their common room, they asked him.
'Was your scar hurting?' asked Hermione.
'SHHH... yes, what else could it have been?' said Harry annoyed.
'I don't like the sound of that one bit,' said Ron. 'You-Know-Who could be near.'
Hermione elbowed Ron for that comment.
'I'm not going to worry about it,' said Harry. 'Goodnight.'
With that, he went up to bed by himself, followed by Ron some minutes later.
Dumbledore sat in the dark, only lit by the moon outside his window. He sat at his desk, in his office, waiting.
'Thank heavens it's not full,' he said with a sigh.
There came a knock at the door.
'Come in,' muttered Dumbledore.
The door opened slowly. A man walked in, cloaked in a hood, which he brought down.
'Remus, thank you for coming,' said Dumbledore. 'What have you learned?'
'Nothing by way of the dark Forrest. We shouldn't expect Voldemort or his people to be there for some time, not until they think it safe. What about our spy, has he seen anything?' said Remus Lupin.
'No, he hasn't returned yet, but I expect him tonight. Tea?'
'No thank you sir.'
Just then, an owl swooped in, and dropped a letter. Dumbledore quickly placed the tea pot on the counter and picked up the note.
He read it out loud:
'"Dumbledore, I saw them, he released the Dark Mark in the sky. I will return tonight."
There you have it,' he said, putting the parchment down.
'I shall wait,' said Lupin.
'Thank you. Ah! Have you heard from snuffles?' asked Dumbledore.
'Not since our meeting last week, Sirius is looking better, with more food.'
'Perhaps best we call him Snuffles for now on, Remus, okay?'
'Certainly.'
'AH! Arabella, come in,' said Dumbledore, as Mrs. Figg knocked on the door.
'Have you found anything about Wormtail?' asked Lupin.
'No, Remus. You know of in this castle, Remus... the cat that helped Sirius last year...?'
'Yes, a student had it.'
'I need to talk with him, but he is nowhere to be found,' said Mrs. Figg.
'Certainly, you looked in the Gryffindor dorm?' said Dumbledore.
'Yes, but he is not there.'
'Have you asked Mrs. Norris?' asked Dumbledore.
'She hasn't seen him since this morning, the girl, Miss Granger, hasn't seemed to notice he's gone.'
'Do you not trust this cat?' ased Remus.
'No, I trust him much, and wish to speak with him.'
'I am sure he will turn up, he often roams the grounds when in deep thought,' said Dumbledore.
Arabella Figg bid her goodbyes and left the room.
As she was departing, heavy, fast footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.
'I just got your letter!' yelled Dumbledore at once. 'You nearly beat your own owl to me, tell me, tell me all that happened.'
The man spoke to them, and told of a tale of how he had gathered information and pieced together a rather small meeting of death eaters and their master was to occur on the night of the sorting, far from Hogwarts. The man said he hid and waited. Then, the dark mark was cast high in the sky, and death eaters popped into the field with sudden quickness.
'I overheard things like 'He's at Hogwarts, and we must now wait,'. Voldemort himself said that. Dumbledore, you must not wait any longer.
Something is being prepared, and I'm not sure even you can stop it. There was brief discussion of the Giants, I couldn't hear all... I gather they will try to lure the Giants to them,' said the man in the cloak.
Dumbledore bit his lip a bit, in thought.
'I shall speak with Fudge, I have no choice.'
'No doubt, the Dark Mark had to be seen by somebody around the region,' said Lupin. 'It should have reached Fudge, perhaps that's all he needs.'
Dumbledore stood, in thought for about five minutes. Nobody spoke.
Dumbledore turned to the stranger, and said, 'You hid in the bushes, you saw it for yourself, you must stay here until Fudge comes... I want you to speak with him.'
'But if I waste a day here, we could lag behind... we cannot waste too many hours, sir.'
'Perhaps, but if your words can help at all, Severus, it is worth it.'
Chapter 8:
Nothing of note happened to Harry and his friends during their dinner and the start of term.
The first day, they were to have Charms with the Ravenclaws first. Professor Flitwick was there, as usual, and taught them the basics to a rather tricky shrinking charm.
However, Potions was next, and it was with the Slytherins. Everyone was eager to see who would be filling in for Professor Snape, so Harry actually looked forward to it a bit. Down to the dungeons went Harry, Ron and Hermione and the rest of class. Once in, they noticed the Slytherins all seated, well nearly all seated, and the room was empty of a teacher. Harry sat between Ron and Hermione and took out his parchment.
Finally, the door burst open, yet nobody was there at first. Then, a cloaked figure came striding in, soaked from the rain outside. The person entered the room slowly, and walked to the coat, or in the case, cloak hanger.
'Sorry for the entrance,' said the person, taking off his hood. Harry nearly dropped his parchment and quill.
'WOOD!' yelled Harry.
Indeed, it was Oliver Wood, a former student at Hogwarts.
'Hi Harry!' said Wood.
'What are you doing here?' asked Harry.
'Teaching. I may not know as much about potions as Professor Snape, but that is the field I am trying my luck on right now.'
The fact was, he wasn't good enough at Potions to really teach, but he had asked Professor Dumbledore to give him a try until Snape came back, so Dumbledore did, as a career boost for Wood. The potion was simple today, and they needed only to trim some ingredients.
At the end of the lesson, Fred and George came running to Wood and patted him on the back.
With that beating of welcome, Harry and the others headed for Herbology.
At dinner, Harry sat with Ron, Fred and George, while Hermione sat with Ginny and Neville.
'I can't believe they let Wood of all people to fill in!' said George.
'Yes, it's odd to see him teaching anything other than flying X's and O's on a chalkboard,' said Fred.
'Well, I just hope he doesn't give long prep speeches for this next class,' said Harry with a chuckle, and the others joined in.
Harry picked up a scoop of potatoes with his fork, and just before he put it in his mouth, he dropped the fork with a loud clatter, and slapped his hand over his scar, and screamed in pain... it burned with almost as much force as it did in the grave yard, but only for a split second.
And in that second, he could have sworn he saw the dark mark in his mind.
'What's the matter Harry?' yelled Hermione from a few seats over. The others eyed him with much worry in their eyes.
'Nothing,' he said, picking up his fork. 'Just a fly.'
Ron and Hermione didn't believe him.
After dinner, in their common room, they asked him.
'Was your scar hurting?' asked Hermione.
'SHHH... yes, what else could it have been?' said Harry annoyed.
'I don't like the sound of that one bit,' said Ron. 'You-Know-Who could be near.'
Hermione elbowed Ron for that comment.
'I'm not going to worry about it,' said Harry. 'Goodnight.'
With that, he went up to bed by himself, followed by Ron some minutes later.
Dumbledore sat in the dark, only lit by the moon outside his window. He sat at his desk, in his office, waiting.
'Thank heavens it's not full,' he said with a sigh.
There came a knock at the door.
'Come in,' muttered Dumbledore.
The door opened slowly. A man walked in, cloaked in a hood, which he brought down.
'Remus, thank you for coming,' said Dumbledore. 'What have you learned?'
'Nothing by way of the dark Forrest. We shouldn't expect Voldemort or his people to be there for some time, not until they think it safe. What about our spy, has he seen anything?' said Remus Lupin.
'No, he hasn't returned yet, but I expect him tonight. Tea?'
'No thank you sir.'
Just then, an owl swooped in, and dropped a letter. Dumbledore quickly placed the tea pot on the counter and picked up the note.
He read it out loud:
'"Dumbledore, I saw them, he released the Dark Mark in the sky. I will return tonight."
There you have it,' he said, putting the parchment down.
'I shall wait,' said Lupin.
'Thank you. Ah! Have you heard from snuffles?' asked Dumbledore.
'Not since our meeting last week, Sirius is looking better, with more food.'
'Perhaps best we call him Snuffles for now on, Remus, okay?'
'Certainly.'
'AH! Arabella, come in,' said Dumbledore, as Mrs. Figg knocked on the door.
'Have you found anything about Wormtail?' asked Lupin.
'No, Remus. You know of in this castle, Remus... the cat that helped Sirius last year...?'
'Yes, a student had it.'
'I need to talk with him, but he is nowhere to be found,' said Mrs. Figg.
'Certainly, you looked in the Gryffindor dorm?' said Dumbledore.
'Yes, but he is not there.'
'Have you asked Mrs. Norris?' asked Dumbledore.
'She hasn't seen him since this morning, the girl, Miss Granger, hasn't seemed to notice he's gone.'
'Do you not trust this cat?' ased Remus.
'No, I trust him much, and wish to speak with him.'
'I am sure he will turn up, he often roams the grounds when in deep thought,' said Dumbledore.
Arabella Figg bid her goodbyes and left the room.
As she was departing, heavy, fast footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.
'I just got your letter!' yelled Dumbledore at once. 'You nearly beat your own owl to me, tell me, tell me all that happened.'
The man spoke to them, and told of a tale of how he had gathered information and pieced together a rather small meeting of death eaters and their master was to occur on the night of the sorting, far from Hogwarts. The man said he hid and waited. Then, the dark mark was cast high in the sky, and death eaters popped into the field with sudden quickness.
'I overheard things like 'He's at Hogwarts, and we must now wait,'. Voldemort himself said that. Dumbledore, you must not wait any longer.
Something is being prepared, and I'm not sure even you can stop it. There was brief discussion of the Giants, I couldn't hear all... I gather they will try to lure the Giants to them,' said the man in the cloak.
Dumbledore bit his lip a bit, in thought.
'I shall speak with Fudge, I have no choice.'
'No doubt, the Dark Mark had to be seen by somebody around the region,' said Lupin. 'It should have reached Fudge, perhaps that's all he needs.'
Dumbledore stood, in thought for about five minutes. Nobody spoke.
Dumbledore turned to the stranger, and said, 'You hid in the bushes, you saw it for yourself, you must stay here until Fudge comes... I want you to speak with him.'
'But if I waste a day here, we could lag behind... we cannot waste too many hours, sir.'
'Perhaps, but if your words can help at all, Severus, it is worth it.'
