Chapter 2: Whispers in the Shadows
Well since I finally got some feedback, here's the second chapter. I realize that it's been a while since I actually updated and for that I apologize. Though to be truthful I was seriously considering removing this story but thanks to some wonderful reviews and now the story continues. Same warnings apply as before and as usual please, please give me some feedback for this story.
Chapter 2: Whispers in the Shadows
Rai darted through the shadows without so much as a whisper of a footstep as he raced up the steps of the Astronomy Tower. He had received an owl from Glorfindel earlier the same day stating the exact room they were to meet in and so now, the brunette found himself scanning the faded numbers on several doors. A creak of door hinges to his left startled the elf but with a closer look, Rai spotted the tail end of a Hogwarts cloak disappearing into a most likely empty storage room. Shaking his head, the Gryffindor melted himself further into the shadows, his footsteps lighter than before as he hurried past several occupied and unoccupied rooms.
/Here we are./ Wintry eyes darting around the hallway one last time, Rai slipped into the dimly lit room and sighed in relief when he found Glorfindel perched on the windowsill, staring out at the night sky.
"Rai." Silver eyes drifted over to Rai, a hint of friendly warmth in them before they were focused outside the window again.
"Good evening Glorfindel." He pushed back the hood to his cloak as he came to stand before the blonde. "Good to see that you made it."
"Of course." The blonde shifted in his seat and moved his feet so that there was room for the other to sit. "Not many of the Slytherins paid any heed to me when I left. I would think that you would be the one with more difficulties in getting here."
Shrugging, Rai smiled. "Normally I would but as of late and considering the current circumstances, I doubt anyone would question my whereabouts."
Glorfindel chuckled in agreement. "So where shall we start?"
"I suppose we should start from the beginning."
"Always the best place to start." Glorfindel smiled at Rai, taking away the bite to his comment. "So how much information were you given?"
Rai bit his lip as he sat down on the unoccupied portion of the windowsill. "Well, I had been told by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel that both Harry and Draco are soul mates. It was also said that if they do not acknowledge this and gain access to their full powers, there will be no way to rid this world of Lord Voldemort."
"And we are to somehow aid them." Glorfindel finished for the other. "I was told the same as you then it seems."
Nodding, the elven lord sighed. "But neither of us know how we are to assist them. Or at least I do not."
"Nor I."
Rai's brow furrowed in thought. "I had been given permission to enlist the teachers here if it was absolutely necessary."
"Then perhaps we shall speak with Professor Dumbledore. Although I see another problem that we must solve before we consider this one."
"Hermione and Ron." Rai's expression darkened at the mention of his once friends. "Isn't it ironic that in the end Slytherins were the ones to remain loyal? Gryffindors are so noted for their loyalty and bravery but when we are tested, we failed. At least we managed to convince most of the Gryffindors to endure this new development, albeit they were still stubborn. Word is that Ron's family still accepts Harry. You would not believe how relieved he was when he received Mrs. Weasley's owl nor how furious Ron had been."
Glorfindel grinned wryly. "I hate to say this but I had always seen Ron as one that would seem to react this way. Can you honestly say that he was actually Harry's friend or were there other motives behind it?"
"Before this incident I would have denied the latter but now I am not so sure. Although, Hermione's reaction was entirely surprising." Rai answered, the frown deepening on his features.
"That I concur with." Glorfindel shook his head. "Perhaps we should speak to Professor Dumbledore as well about moving Harry out of Gryffindor until most if not all of his housemates are truly prepared to accept Harry."
"Perhaps. We should speak to Harry and Draco about this before we take any actions though." The brunette closed his eyes briefly in contemplation of his own words before nodding, mostly to himself. "Yes, we would not want to do this and find that they are against it."
Yawning, the Slytherin stretched and stood. "Then we shall speak with him tomorrow."
"I will send an owl at breakfast." Rai climbed to his feet as well. "After this matter is settled then we must move onto the protections. I believe that we may need to work together to erect some more powerful spells about Harry and Draco."
Glorfindel hummed in agreement. "I have already set up my own protections around Draco as I am sure you have around Harry but I agree. Setting a few more incantations would be favorable. I shall prepare some by tomorrow night."
"As shall I." They were standing at the door now and with one last glance at Glorfindel, Rai drew his cowl and vanished into the blackness of the corridor. A short moment later, the silver-eyed wizard followed suit. With both gone, no one noticed when a soft giggle emitted from the corner of the room or did they see the brown-eyed figure as they moved to the door and glided down the stairway.
* * * * *
In Gryffindor Tower, Harry shot up in bed as a burning sensation started sharply in his scar. Tears threatened to overflow in his emerald eyes, as the ebony-haired boy took deep, soothing breaths.
Closing his eyes, Harry sat there for a long moment, trying to calm himself before the pain subsided and he was able to lay down again. /He's back./ Harry though bitterly to himself as he drew his blankets tightly about himself. The Gryffindor found no sleep though as he buried his face in his pillow.
Meanwhile, at the far side of the dorm, crimson eyes watched as Harry tossed and turned before finally settling so that the wizard was not facing him. Smirking cruelly, the figure advanced. He had just come to the edge of Harry's bed when the door to the room creaked open. Cursing to himself, the intruder muttered a spell and vanished.
Not a moment later, Rai entered the dorm. He paused at the entrance though as he gaze confusingly at the spot beside Harry's bed. The American was positive that he had seen something move in the dark there but with a moment's more hesitation, Rai shook his head and fully entered the room. "Harry? Are you still awake?"
"Yes." The other sat up as he felt the bed dip and grabbed his glasses. "What are you doing up?"
"I had to speak with someone." Rai frowned. "Are you well Harry? You seem shaken."
Harry bit his lip and closed his eyes. "It was my scar."
"Voldemort?"
Nodding, the emerald-eyed wizard sighed. "He's close. I know it."
/This is moving faster than I thought it would. It appears that Glorfindel and I will not only be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about room arrangements tomorrow./
"What am I going to do Rai?"
Rai snapped out of his thoughts as Harry's voice caught his ear again. "Do not worry Harry. Glorfindel and I are here to help you now. The best thing for you to do now is get some more sleep. I will remain here to watch after you for the night if that will comfort you any."
"It does but are you sure you don't want to go to bed?"
"Don't worry about me. I am used to this. Sleep now Harry. We will speak more about this tomorrow." Smiling reassuringly down at his friend, Rai gently removed Harry's glasses and then his own cloak before settling at the end of the other's bed. He concentrated as he spoke a spell and a dim shimmering surrounded the bed before dying away.
"Thank you Rai. Good night."
"Good night Harry." Rai watched as his housemate fell back into slumber with a grave note in his features and as he guarded over Harry, the elf made his companion an oath. /I promise you Harry Potter, that you shall see your life end with old age and this shall be the last year that Voldemort will be the basis of your torment./
And everyone knows that when an elf makes an oath, he is never one to break it.
T.B.C.
Well, finally I have chapter two up. Please give me some more reviews on this story and I'll work on chapter three when my schedule allows. (I am in school now and I just got another job so who knows when I can but I promise that I will try my hardest.) Thanks and until the chapter. ^_^
Well since I finally got some feedback, here's the second chapter. I realize that it's been a while since I actually updated and for that I apologize. Though to be truthful I was seriously considering removing this story but thanks to some wonderful reviews and now the story continues. Same warnings apply as before and as usual please, please give me some feedback for this story.
Chapter 2: Whispers in the Shadows
Rai darted through the shadows without so much as a whisper of a footstep as he raced up the steps of the Astronomy Tower. He had received an owl from Glorfindel earlier the same day stating the exact room they were to meet in and so now, the brunette found himself scanning the faded numbers on several doors. A creak of door hinges to his left startled the elf but with a closer look, Rai spotted the tail end of a Hogwarts cloak disappearing into a most likely empty storage room. Shaking his head, the Gryffindor melted himself further into the shadows, his footsteps lighter than before as he hurried past several occupied and unoccupied rooms.
/Here we are./ Wintry eyes darting around the hallway one last time, Rai slipped into the dimly lit room and sighed in relief when he found Glorfindel perched on the windowsill, staring out at the night sky.
"Rai." Silver eyes drifted over to Rai, a hint of friendly warmth in them before they were focused outside the window again.
"Good evening Glorfindel." He pushed back the hood to his cloak as he came to stand before the blonde. "Good to see that you made it."
"Of course." The blonde shifted in his seat and moved his feet so that there was room for the other to sit. "Not many of the Slytherins paid any heed to me when I left. I would think that you would be the one with more difficulties in getting here."
Shrugging, Rai smiled. "Normally I would but as of late and considering the current circumstances, I doubt anyone would question my whereabouts."
Glorfindel chuckled in agreement. "So where shall we start?"
"I suppose we should start from the beginning."
"Always the best place to start." Glorfindel smiled at Rai, taking away the bite to his comment. "So how much information were you given?"
Rai bit his lip as he sat down on the unoccupied portion of the windowsill. "Well, I had been told by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel that both Harry and Draco are soul mates. It was also said that if they do not acknowledge this and gain access to their full powers, there will be no way to rid this world of Lord Voldemort."
"And we are to somehow aid them." Glorfindel finished for the other. "I was told the same as you then it seems."
Nodding, the elven lord sighed. "But neither of us know how we are to assist them. Or at least I do not."
"Nor I."
Rai's brow furrowed in thought. "I had been given permission to enlist the teachers here if it was absolutely necessary."
"Then perhaps we shall speak with Professor Dumbledore. Although I see another problem that we must solve before we consider this one."
"Hermione and Ron." Rai's expression darkened at the mention of his once friends. "Isn't it ironic that in the end Slytherins were the ones to remain loyal? Gryffindors are so noted for their loyalty and bravery but when we are tested, we failed. At least we managed to convince most of the Gryffindors to endure this new development, albeit they were still stubborn. Word is that Ron's family still accepts Harry. You would not believe how relieved he was when he received Mrs. Weasley's owl nor how furious Ron had been."
Glorfindel grinned wryly. "I hate to say this but I had always seen Ron as one that would seem to react this way. Can you honestly say that he was actually Harry's friend or were there other motives behind it?"
"Before this incident I would have denied the latter but now I am not so sure. Although, Hermione's reaction was entirely surprising." Rai answered, the frown deepening on his features.
"That I concur with." Glorfindel shook his head. "Perhaps we should speak to Professor Dumbledore as well about moving Harry out of Gryffindor until most if not all of his housemates are truly prepared to accept Harry."
"Perhaps. We should speak to Harry and Draco about this before we take any actions though." The brunette closed his eyes briefly in contemplation of his own words before nodding, mostly to himself. "Yes, we would not want to do this and find that they are against it."
Yawning, the Slytherin stretched and stood. "Then we shall speak with him tomorrow."
"I will send an owl at breakfast." Rai climbed to his feet as well. "After this matter is settled then we must move onto the protections. I believe that we may need to work together to erect some more powerful spells about Harry and Draco."
Glorfindel hummed in agreement. "I have already set up my own protections around Draco as I am sure you have around Harry but I agree. Setting a few more incantations would be favorable. I shall prepare some by tomorrow night."
"As shall I." They were standing at the door now and with one last glance at Glorfindel, Rai drew his cowl and vanished into the blackness of the corridor. A short moment later, the silver-eyed wizard followed suit. With both gone, no one noticed when a soft giggle emitted from the corner of the room or did they see the brown-eyed figure as they moved to the door and glided down the stairway.
* * * * *
In Gryffindor Tower, Harry shot up in bed as a burning sensation started sharply in his scar. Tears threatened to overflow in his emerald eyes, as the ebony-haired boy took deep, soothing breaths.
Closing his eyes, Harry sat there for a long moment, trying to calm himself before the pain subsided and he was able to lay down again. /He's back./ Harry though bitterly to himself as he drew his blankets tightly about himself. The Gryffindor found no sleep though as he buried his face in his pillow.
Meanwhile, at the far side of the dorm, crimson eyes watched as Harry tossed and turned before finally settling so that the wizard was not facing him. Smirking cruelly, the figure advanced. He had just come to the edge of Harry's bed when the door to the room creaked open. Cursing to himself, the intruder muttered a spell and vanished.
Not a moment later, Rai entered the dorm. He paused at the entrance though as he gaze confusingly at the spot beside Harry's bed. The American was positive that he had seen something move in the dark there but with a moment's more hesitation, Rai shook his head and fully entered the room. "Harry? Are you still awake?"
"Yes." The other sat up as he felt the bed dip and grabbed his glasses. "What are you doing up?"
"I had to speak with someone." Rai frowned. "Are you well Harry? You seem shaken."
Harry bit his lip and closed his eyes. "It was my scar."
"Voldemort?"
Nodding, the emerald-eyed wizard sighed. "He's close. I know it."
/This is moving faster than I thought it would. It appears that Glorfindel and I will not only be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about room arrangements tomorrow./
"What am I going to do Rai?"
Rai snapped out of his thoughts as Harry's voice caught his ear again. "Do not worry Harry. Glorfindel and I are here to help you now. The best thing for you to do now is get some more sleep. I will remain here to watch after you for the night if that will comfort you any."
"It does but are you sure you don't want to go to bed?"
"Don't worry about me. I am used to this. Sleep now Harry. We will speak more about this tomorrow." Smiling reassuringly down at his friend, Rai gently removed Harry's glasses and then his own cloak before settling at the end of the other's bed. He concentrated as he spoke a spell and a dim shimmering surrounded the bed before dying away.
"Thank you Rai. Good night."
"Good night Harry." Rai watched as his housemate fell back into slumber with a grave note in his features and as he guarded over Harry, the elf made his companion an oath. /I promise you Harry Potter, that you shall see your life end with old age and this shall be the last year that Voldemort will be the basis of your torment./
And everyone knows that when an elf makes an oath, he is never one to break it.
T.B.C.
Well, finally I have chapter two up. Please give me some more reviews on this story and I'll work on chapter three when my schedule allows. (I am in school now and I just got another job so who knows when I can but I promise that I will try my hardest.) Thanks and until the chapter. ^_^
