A/N: The references to Colin and Ginny here are taken from the really cool Draco fic titled 'The More is My Unrest' written by Jedi Boadicea and Arabella. Also, those of you who've read 'Memories of Tomorrow' by Jedi Boadicea will see some similarities between a chapter in her story and a particular scene in this chapter. This was unintentional. I didn't mean to write this chapter in that way, it just came out like that, and when I realized it, it was too late to change it (without ruining the plot).
Chapter 4: Tears, Fears and Confessions
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly. Harry gulped. He handed the letter to Hermione and Ron, and both of them read it silently.
Dear Harry,
I'm afraid I have bad news for you. We have just received word that a family of Muggles in Shepparton St. in Guidlford has been murdered. A witch close to one of our sources saw the Dark Mark hovering above the house and reported it straight away. The Daily Prophet got wind of it, but they denied that Voldemort was behind it. If you read today's Prophet you'll see what I mean. Remus and I will go and investigate it, so don't contact me here. Just send Hedwig to find me – and Harry, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just remember what I told you.
Sirius.
Ron and Hermione were both wide-eyed with shock. Hermione covered her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was about to cry.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Harry.
"There's nothing we can do, Harry," Ron said quietly.
"There must be something!" Harry snapped. "We can't just sit around and read about people's deaths in letters!"
Ron had a pained look on his face. Hermione however, suddenly turned around and ran out of sight.
"Hermione! Where're you going?" Ron called after her. Hermione didn't answer. Harry and Ron ran to follow her. She ran through hall after hall, and then stopped abruptly in front of the Fat Lady.
"Scangy Cur!"
The Fat Lady's portrait slid open to let them through.
"Hermione…" said a confused Ron.
Hermione went to the corner of the common room where she left her rolls of parchment that morning. Harry and Ron watched her go through them, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" Harry asked. Hermione straightened up and grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet from amongst the rolls of parchment. She unfolded it and went through its pages. When she found the article she was looking for, she sat down on a couch, and Harry and Ron stood behind her to read the article over her shoulder. There was a garish, black and white photo of the Dark Mark hovering above a small, suburban house. The headline read: Dark Mark Sighting Second Time in a Year.
A Muggle family of four has been found murdered in the early hours of today, reports Virgil Brumpster for the Daily Prophet. A witch (who wish to remain unnamed) discovered the unknown family was at 6 o'clock this morning. She was on her way to work when she found the Dark Mark hovering above the family's house. Those who lived through the Days of Terror (as it was then known) will remember that a Dark Mark in the sky meant that a murder had been committed. When she saw the Mark, she alerted authorities straight away.
A Hit Wizard from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad says the family had been dead for at least four hours before they were discovered. He also says there is evidence that the two Muggle adults were tortured. Does this mean that You-Know-Who is back again? According to experts from the Aurors League, it is very unlikely. "We all know You-Know-Who lost all his powers almost fourteen years ago," says Philomena Warrell, head of the Aurors League, "and nobody has seen hide nor hair of him since. As far as we know, You-Know-Who is too weak to be able to do such a thing. We think that this may be a copycat attack. There is obviously some sick individual or group out there who are emulating You-Know-Who's tactics, and using it to scare the population."
Indeed, this is the second time the Mark has been spotted in fourteen years. The first sighting of it was a little over a year ago, at the Quidditch World Cup. The Dark Wizards responsible for it were never apprehended, however.
The Daily Prophet asked Ms. Warrell of the possibility that the former supporters of You-Know-Who may be behind the attack. "We are not sure," she replied. "But we know this much: the Death Eaters were the only ones who knew how to conjure the Mark, so whoever committed the crime must be linked to them, somehow."
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other in bewilderment.
"They are still in denial!" Harry cried angrily. Hermione burst into tears.
"Hermione!" Ron said, alarmed. He moved next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, but she pushed him away and said through her sobs, "Shepparton St is near where my parents live!" And she ran out of sight and into the girls' dorms. Ron and Harry looked at each other with identical expressions of horror.
*****
Harry and Ron sat in the common room hours later. Hermione was still locked up in her dorm, and the two boys had not said a word to each other since she locker herself in there.
"Wanna play chess, Harry?" Ron asked, interrupting the awkward silence.
"Yeah, whatever," Harry replied dully. Right now he didn't care what he did, as long as it took his mind off Voldemort. Ron dashed to their dormitory and moments later, came back with his tattered chess set. Harry and Ron played chess in silence, neither boy's heart in the game. Even though Ron was not playing with his usual enthusiasm, Harry was still losing. The portrait hole swung open, and Fred and George bounced in.
"So, how'd it go boys?" Fred asked, clapping Harry on the back.
"Great," Harry and Ron replied flatly.
Fred and George stopped smirking. "You didn't get found out, did you?" asked George.
"Nope," said Ron.
"Then why in the blazes do you two look like someone's died?" asked Fred.
"Because someone did," Harry said dully. Ron's Queen had just checkmated him, but Ron didn't jump up and down like he usually did.
"Who? Malfoy?" Fred asked with an evil grin.
"Nope," said Harry. Fred and George looked stumped. Harry grabbed Hermione's Daily Prophet and threw it at Fred, who promptly caught it. They watched Fred and George read the article, their faces contorting into identical open-mouthed shock.
"That's sick," said George, sitting down next to Harry. He had a melancholy look on his face. Fred heaved a great sigh and sat down on the other side of Ron. The four boys sat in silence for what seemed like ages.
"Er…" George said, looking around uneasily at his brothers and Harry. "I think we should go to dinner."
"Good idea, George," Fred said, getting up. The twins disappeared through the portrait hole.
"I think I should go see if Hermione's alright," Ron said quietly, and he disappeared into the girls' dorms. Harry sat alone in the common room, lost in thought. Was this what it's going to be like for the rest of the year, him hearing about people's deaths in newspapers? He tried to imagine what it would be like to hear of a friend's death in a newspaper. It scared him to think about it, but deep down, he knew Ron was right – there was nothing they could do.
"Harry?" He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of someone's voice. He looked around, and saw Ginny standing by his side, looking at him with concern.
"Oh. Hi, Gin," Harry said, forcing his face to smile.
"Are you OK?" Ginny asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, fine thanks," Harry replied, avoiding her eyes.
"Mind if I sit down?"
"No."
Ginny sat down next to him, and Harry suddenly felt strange again. He picked up one of Ron's chess pieces out of impulse, and started fiddling with it nervously.
"Hey! Stop fondling me, you pervert!" yelled the Knight in its tiny voice. Harry, embarrassed, dropped the Knight like a hotcake. His face began to flush, but to his surprise, Ginny started laughing. She had a high-pitched, musical laugh, and the hair on the back of Harry's neck pricked up from its mesmerizing sound.
"That one's got attitude, doesn't it?" She said, pointing at the knight, who was looking up at Harry with a dirty look on its little face.
"Yeah," Harry said weakly. He looked over at Ginny, whose smile was lighting up her face, and he instantly forgot his earlier worries. There's something about Ginny…
"Got his attitude from the twins, I think," Ginny went on. "Fred and George used to play chess with Ron a lot, and I think their attitude rubbed off on the chess pieces."
Harry laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised," he said. "Your brothers are wicked." Then he suddenly remembered the prank they had played on Malfoy and his cronies in Potions earlier that day. "You wont believe what happened in Potions today," he said, his mood lifting at the memory. He told Ginny all about the enchanted robes and boxers, and Ginny listened raptly, ooh-ing and aah-ing at every interval. It never occurred to Harry that Ginny was this easy to talk to. All those years he'd known her, he had never had a proper conversation with her, and yet here they were, talking as if they were old friends. When he finished the story, Ginny was on the floor in stitches, her face bright red with mirth.
"That was a classic!" she said through her giggles, clutching her belly.
"It sure was," Harry said, smiling.
"And Snape took half a point from Slytherin? He's unbelievable!"
"No, he's actually predictable. I knew he'd do something like that!"
Ginny regained herself and once again sat next to Harry. When their giggles subsided, the two sat in silence for a while, though this time it was a comfortable kind of silence.
"Harry," Ginny said, turning to face Harry with a serious look on her face. Harry turned to face her. "There's something I never got around to telling you." Ginny was giving Harry a piercing look, and he could see spots of color returning to her cheeks.
"What is it?" Harry asked, his brows furrowing.
"Remember that letter…the one you said that Malfoy faked?"
"What about it?" Harry asked her, leaning closer.
"Well – "
"I can't calm her down, Harry." Ron had come bounding down from the girls' staircase, interrupting Ginny. He looked pale-faced and crestfallen. Both Ginny and Harry were alarmed to see him.
"Ron!" Ginny got up and rushed to her brother. "What's wrong?"
"It's Hermione," Ron said quietly.
"What happened to her?" Ginny asked urgently. Ron and Harry looked at each other uneasily. Ginny's eye traveled from Ron to Harry, and she demanded, "What's going on?" Harry handed her the Daily Prophet article. Ginny went pale as she read it.
"It can't be…" she gasped, looking at Harry wide-eyed. She was mouthing silently, shaking her head from side to side. "Tell me it's not…?"
"No, it's not Hermione's parents," Harry said gently.
"But that place is near where Hermione's parents live," Ron added, nodding at the article.
"That's why she's so upset," Harry finished.
"Oh! Poor Hermione!" Ginny cried. "I'm going up there to see her!" And she disappeared into the girls' dorms. Harry and Ron looked at each other, then,
"Guess we should go to dinner then," Ron muttered.
"Guess so," Harry agreed.
*****
Neither Hermione nor Ginny turned up at dinner that night. Both Harry and Ron didn't have much to eat from worrying about them. Even Fred and George were unusually quiet. When dinner ended, Harry and Ron bundled off several slices of Shepherd's Pie and slices of Mudcake to bring to Ginny and Hermione, and both boys hurried off to Gryffindor Tower. Out in the Entrance Hall, they were met by Draco Malfoy and his cronies.
"Going to feed your family, Weasley?" Malfoy said in his usual drawl, eyeing the large food package that Harry and Ron were carrying. "Because you might want to add some more slices of pie there, since your mother has such a huge appetite."
Ron's face went purple, but for once he didn't take out his wand or hurl any remarks back at Malfoy. Harry, however, turned to Malfoy and said coolly, "Oh, are you feeling better now, Malfoy?"
Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "Oh I feel just fine, Potter. I'm so touched to know that you're concerned," he said sarcastically.
"Really? Because you looked like you were going to wet yourself this morning," Harry said scathingly.
Ron started laughing. He imitated Malfoy's drawling, frightened voice and said,
"But it wasn't me Professor Snape! I swear it!"
Harry laughed at Ron's theatrics, while Malfoy's face flushed. Harry turned to Ron and said loudly, "Hey, Ron, what did that incident remind us of, again?"
Ron, not missing a beat, replied, "Er…are you talking about Moody and the amazing, bouncing white ferret?" Harry and Ron erupted in a fit of hysterics. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle whipped out their wands and pointed it at them.
"Say another word, Potter," Malfoy said evenly, "and I will hex you into a thousand pieces."
Several people who were walking by suddenly stopped and formed a crowd around them. Harry and Ron stood still, both of them glaring at Malfoy.
Out of the blue, Malfoy's lazy drawl said in a loud voice, "I stink!"
Malfoy's face flushed redder than ever, and he looked around wide-eyed. Crabbe and Goyle looked stupidly at him, both wearing stunned expressions.
"I didn't say that!" Malfoy said, his eyes darting from side to side. The crowd started laughing. "It came from over there!" Malfoy said, pointing between Ron and Harry. "Someone in an invisibility cloak is copying my voice!" Malfoy yelled.
People around them were shaking their heads and muttering, "He's gone mental!" to each other.
"I stink!"
This time, Harry glimpsed the source of the voice: a buttonhole on Malfoy's school robes had moved. It had formed into a tiny mouth and Malfoy's voice had come out of it. Malfoy looked suddenly frightened. He beckoned for Crabbe and Goyle, and the three of them ran out of sight and into the dungeons. Harry and Ron laughed hysterically.
"Potter! Weasley!" The sound of Filch's voice echoing in the Entrance Hall suddenly put an end to their laughter. They watched as Filch stomped angrily over to them, followed by Mrs. Norris, who was meowing contentedly. Filch stopped inches from them, his face red and his eyes blazing.
"Follow me," he said through clenched teeth.
*****
When they walked back through the portrait hole, they found Ginny and Hermione sitting by the fire. Ginny was rubbing Hermione's back and was talking in a low, soothing voice. When Harry and Ron approached, Ginny looked up and gave them a weak smile.
"We've brought you food," Ron muttered, handing the pie and cakes to Ginny.
"Thanks, Ron," Ginny replied. Hermione only nodded.
"You OK, Herm?" Harry asked.
"Yes. I'm fine thanks, Harry," Hermione said quietly, though her eyes were still bloodshot, and she was sniffling.
"Where've you two been? Fred and George got back ages ago," Ginny said, changing the subject abruptly.
"We've been in Filch's office, getting instructions for our detentions tomorrow night." Ron said.
"Detention?"
"Yeah. Snape gave us detention for that, er, blackboard incident," Harry said, his cheeks reddening from the memory. At the mention of it, Ginny too, blushed.
"What d'you have to do?" she asked.
"Gut a tubful of dead Murtlaps in the dungeons," Harry said dully.
"The feral way," Ron added darkly. "You know, with our bare hands. No knives or wands or anything."
"Gross!" Ginny said, wrinkling her nose and laughing.
To their surprise, Hermione started giggling as well. She looked from Ron to Harry. "Oh, I wouldn't want to get near the both of you after your detention!"
"Yeah, very funny Hermione," Ron said sarcastically, but privately, Harry knew Ron was relieved to see that Hermione was no longer upset.
*****
"You have got to be kidding," Ron said to Harry, his nose wrinkling in disgust. They were in one of the smelly dungeons near Snape's office. An antique tub full of stiff Murtlaps stood at one side, and a brass cauldron right next to it. Filch had given Harry and Ron two tiny box cutters each to slice the Murtlap's belly open – the rest of the gutting process they were to do with their hands. It was worse than Harry expected. Once, he had been forced by his Aunt Petunia to gut a trout – but that had only been one trout, not a tubful of it. Harry and Ron reluctantly got on their knees, grabbed their box cutters, and picked up one dead Murtlap each. Ron looked like he was going to throw up. He was holding the Murtlap gingerly by its whiskers, trying to decide the best way to cut it open. Harry eyed the cauldron next to him. They had been instructed to fill it with intestines by the end of their detention, so that Snape can use it for his 6th and 7th year Potions class the next morning. But judging by the size of the cauldron, Harry knew that there was no way they'd fill it by the end of the night…
"I just hope Malfoy's detention is just as bad as this," Harry muttered glumly, half a cauldron full of guts later. "On second thought, I hope it's worse than this."
"Why couldn't we gut Filch instead, eh?" Ron replied moodily.
Harry looked at Ron incredulously, and both of them burst out laughing.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Harry," Ron said more seriously, once their laughter subsided.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hermione."
"Oh." I should've guessed, thought Harry, inwardly amused.
"I don't know how I can help her. She's really scared for her parents, you know. That Muggle family lived just a few streets away from her parents! Imagine that, eh, it could've easily been her parents!" Ron's eyes started to water. Harry was startled to see him so emotional.
"I wish there was something I could do to help, too," Harry said truthfully. "But you said yourself, Ron, that there's nothing we can do." Ron nodded miserably, and Harry added, "And you're right. We can't do anything, because we're in here."
"What are you saying?" Ron asked blankly, eyeing the Murtlap in his hand weakly.
"Well, Sirius said that he and Professor Lupin would be going over there to investigate. D'you reckon I should ask them to put up wards around the Grangers' house?"
Ron's eyes widened, and he suddenly looked cheerful. "Harry, that's a brilliant idea! I can't wait to tell Hermione! Then she wouldn't be so upset anymore!"
Ron started gutting with much more enthusiasm and fervor than they started out with, smiling serenely. Harry watched him with a smile. It was so easy to make Ron happy. If only I can make him admit that he likes Hermione, he thought with a grin. Harry cleared his throat.
"Er…Ron?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes?"
"Tell me the truth, OK?"
"Tell you the truth about what?" Ron asked absent-mindedly, flinging intestine into the cauldron.
"Do you, er, have feelings for – "
"HAVE YOU TWO FINISHED YET?" Filch burst into the dungeon, towering over them with a nasty frown on his face.
"Er…not yet, sir," Harry said.
"Well, I suggest you two hurry up if you don't want to be in here all night!" Filch bellowed. He turned around and sauntered out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"What time is it?" Ron asked Harry, deliberately avoiding his eyes.
"Midnight," Harry replied, consulting the new watch he'd bought for himself to replace his old one.
"Blimey, it's late. No wonder Filch was so keen for us to get out of here. Our detention finished an hour ago!"
"He was keen, but he wasn't happy," Harry pointed out. "If Filch had a choice, he'd gladly keep us in here for another twenty four hours!"
They quickly tidied up their mess in silence, and made their way out of the dungeon.
*****
By the next few days, Hermione's mood had lifted considerably. Harry had written to Sirius asking him to put wards around the Grangers' house to protect them in case the Death Eaters came around for another attack. Sirius had written back saying that the wards had been put up successfully.
Hermione was back to her usual self again, going over Ron's and Harry's homework, correcting them, and urging Ron and Harry to visit the library several times a day with her. However, Harry noticed that Ron complained less – he was usually the first to complain when Hermione mentioned the word 'library'. Harry wondered whether the threat of the Death Eaters to Hermione's parents might've strengthened Ron's feelings for her, but he had no way of finding out, since Ron was not likely to tell him any time soon. Ron often found all sorts of excuses to be with her, which Harry found amusing.
Today, Ron, Hermione and Harry were making their way to Transfiguration when a bizarre sight met their eyes. Pansy Parkinson and her gang were entertaining a bunch of people in the corridor. Pansy and her friends were wearing bright red wigs, done up in plaits on either side of their heads. They appeared to be chanting something. When Harry got closer, he heard a bit of what they were singing: "Harry, Harry, come to tea. Harry, Harry, marry me!" Harry froze on the spot. Ron stopped beside him, and muttered disgustedly, "That has got to be the ugliest redhead I have ever seen." Hermione was wearing a severe frown, and she said disapprovingly, "How immature!"
From amongst the crowd, Harry saw Ginny inch away, red-faced, hurrying out of sight. Colin Creevey followed her. Harry had noticed that Colin had been cozying up to Ginny more than was usual (the Slytherins were still giving her a hard time over the blackboard incident). When the whole school found out about Malfoy's trouble with Snape, and his 'episode' in the Entrance Hall (as the students had called it), many thought that Malfoy needed his head examined. As a result, Malfoy stepped up his hate campaign against Ginny and Harry, mainly because he wanted to take the focus off of himself; and also because he had no one else to blame over the incident. He picked on Ginny the most, because she was more vulnerable than Harry. Well, the Slytherins have surpassed themselves today, Harry thought, for Ginny had looked genuinely upset when she rushed out of sight.
"I don't like the way Creevey's sucking up to Ginny," Ron said with narrow eyes. Harry silently agreed. It bothered him that Colin was trailing around after her like a puppy dog. But what got to him the most was that he actually cared enough to get bothered in the first place.
"What've you got against Colin, Ron?" Hermione asked curiously, turning to Ron.
"Nothing. She's just my little sister, that's all," Ron said sarcastically. "Aren't I allowed to look out for her?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ron.
"He's right, Hermione," Harry said suddenly, turning to her. "Colin and Ginny aren't really well-suited."
Ron nodded in agreement, but Hermione looked at Harry with a smile.
"Oh, really now?" she said with raised eyebrows. "I wonder why, Harry?"
Harry avoided her eyes, his face beginning to flush.
"Ginny's too young to bother with boys," Ron said suddenly, taking the heat off Harry.
Hermione gave Ron a disapproving look. "Honestly, Ron! Ginny's not five years old! She's only a year younger than you, might I add!"
"So?" Ron said indignantly.
"What do you mean, so? She's old enough to look after herself, meaning, she's old enough to date whomever she wishes."
"Er…I think we should get to class," Harry interrupted, afraid that Ron and Hermione will get into another fight.
*****
"Just think, Harry, this is our second-last night of detention!" Ron said happily, once they had gotten their mops, brushes and cleaning solutions from the broom cupboard on the second floor. It was time for their detention again, and the two slowly made their way to the second floor bathroom. Their task this time was to scrub the bathroom clean – the Muggle way. Once they got themselves settled in the first cubicle, Harry asked Ron the question that had been on the forefront of his mind all day.
"So…do you think there's something going on between Colin and Ginny?" Harry asked nonchalantly, not wanting to appear too interested.
"Dunno," Ron shrugged. "Hope not!"
They worked in silence for a while.
"Do you think Ginny would go for him though?" Harry asked, concentrating on scrubbing the tiles, even if it was already clean.
"Dunno. She'd better not!"
"I mean, no offence to Colin or anything, but they don't really make a great couple, do they?" Harry asked, with a timid half-glance at Ron. Ron didn't notice.
"Not at all," Ron agreed, after a moment's silence. Ron didn't seem too interested in the subject of Ginny and Colin, and so Harry lapsed into silence.
Four cubicles later, and after many minutes of spirited discussions of Quidditch tactics, Harry once again found his mind wandering to Ginny. He looked over at Ron, who was busy pouring cleaning solution on his sponge. Harry cleared his throat, and this time, approached the subject delicately.
"Hypothetical question, Ron," Harry said to him.
"Yeah?"
"What would you do if, er, Colin and Ginny started going out?"
Ron looked at Harry, pondering his question. Then he frowned. "That would never happen, Harry."
"But just say if it does, what would you do?" Harry asked casually.
"I'd make Colin's life a misery, that's what I'd do."
"What have you got against Colin, Ron?" Harry asked amusedly, in spite of himself.
"I don't have anything against him, personally," Ron replied thoughtfully. "I'm just worried about Ginny, that's all."
"Why?"
"I don't want her to get hurt."
"D'you reckon Colin will hurt her?"
"Well…Colin tends to be a bit obsessive about things. I reckon he's more infatuated with you than he is with Ginny," Ron said grinning.
"Shut up, Weasley!" Harry said, throwing his sponge at Ron.
"Seriously!"
"So what are you saying? Colin is cozying up to Ginny so he can get closer to me?" Harry asked disbelievingly.
Ron gave him a wicked grin. "Obvious, isn't it?" he said. "Everyone knows that Colin is your biggest fan!"
"You're sick Weasley!" Harry said, laughing.
Silence.
"So Harry," Ron said, looking at Harry closely. "What have you got against Colin?"
"Er…nothing," Harry muttered, polishing the floor with fervor. He can feel his ears getting hot.
"Riiight," Ron said slowly.
Silence.
"Tell me the truth OK, Harry?" Ron asked, moments later.
"Depends on what the question is, Ron," Harry said, determinedly avoiding Ron's eyes.
"Do you have feelings for my sis-"
" – YOU TWO!" Filch barged in on them again, wearing a severe frown. "WHY ARE YOU STILL IN HERE?"
"Er…because this is our detention?" Ron asked sarcastically, giving Filch a dirty look.
"I told you to report to me at half past ten! That was half an hour ago!"
"Oh, sorry," Ron said, who did not sound sorry at all. "We were having so much fun."
"Fun eh?" Filch said nastily, drawing himself taller, and trying to look intimidating. Ron was almost as tall as him, so it didn't really work. Filch put on a menacing face instead. "Well, perhaps I should separate the two of you!" He leaned closer to Harry and said, "As of tomorrow night, Potter, you will be doing your detention with Mr. Malfoy!"
"Malfoy?" Harry said aghast.
To be continued in Chapter 5: Awakenings.