With a Girl Like You
Chapter 9 – Partners in Crime
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…scar…daisies…blank.
Harry opened his eyes slowly. Everything was blurry, but he could just make out the vaulted stone ceiling and the strange, sterilized smell of Hogwarts' infirmary.
Not again…what happened?
"Good to see you're awake, Harry."
That must be Professor Dumbledore. Why can't I see anything? Harry felt something cool close over one of his hands. That's not Dumbledore…
"How are you feeling?"
But that is his voice… "Not too bad," Harry croaked. He had closed his eyes again. His blurred vision was making him dizzy.
"Quite the understatement as usual, Mr. Potter. To get to the point, There was a Death-Eater gathering last night. I believe your scar hurt?"
"Yes, sir." Hurt was an understatement, if there ever was one.
"Can you recall what happened?" Dumbledore asked gently.
Harry reflected. …scar…daisies…blank. "Not quite. I remember my scar hurt, something flashed, and I felt like I was dreaming. And then I blanked out."
"Ah, yes." Harry's blurred view revealed that Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Someone tried to transport you out of Hogwarts."
"I…Hermione always said that apparating was prohibited on Hogwarts grounds." Hermione was always right. How could she be wrong?
"Correct," Dumbledore concurred. "But I did not say 'apparate'. The skill required to 'transport' another witch or wizard without an object, such as a portkey, is great indeed. Thus, it has not been added to the list of the prohibited."
"What happened afterwards?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Harry, observably, could not see him.
"This young lady nearly saved your life."
Young lady? Harry's mind reeled.
"Acacia?" he whispered. The cool hands clasping his own tightened for a brief moment.
"I believe you have a few things to tell each other," Dumbledore remarked, as if prompting an intimate conversation. "Afterwards, since it is Saturday and the majority of your classmates are at Hogsmeade, I expect you to see Hagrid for your detention."
"Sir?" Harry began.
But Dumbledore had already gone.
Well…I suppose I should follow his advice…
A few hours and a meal later, Harry and Acacia walked slowly to Hagrid's hut. According to Dumbledore's suggestion, Acacia told Harry about her parents, her childhood, Uncle Reggie and Aunt Evelyn, Beauxbatons, and, after much consideration, neglected to explain her rescuer-turned-murderer. In turn, Harry explained his situation with Voldemort, his scar, the Triwizard Tournament and Cedric, the Dursleys, Sirius/Snuffles, and his parents. A special link formed between them; they both led lives full of peril, which most deplorably put those around them in danger.
"Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade with everyone else?" Harry managed to ask. He felt a little bad, since Acacia had never been to Hogsmeade and he ruined the trip for her.
Acacia was scanning the landscape around them. "I couldn't," she said simply. Then, after a moment's pause, she whispered fiercely, "I was there. I saw what happened. And I swear to you, you will never be removed from Hogwarts against your will if I can help it."
Harry was momentarily stunned. He did not get the chance to reply.
"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid's booming voice called from a distance.
"Yeah, Hagrid," Harry yelled back. "You?"
Hagrid answered, "Alright meself. Who's that with yer?"
They walked faster. "I'm Acacia Elcombe. Pleased to meet you, Hagrid. I've heard lots of wonderful stories about you."
The giant looked a bit embarrassed. "Hmm, 'nother sixth year. Funny I haven't seen yer 'round too much," Hagrid said, musing a bit. "Elcombe, eh? Sounds familiar…"
"You may have known my father, Christopher Elcombe," Acacia commented.
"Maybe, maybe. But we best be getting' along. We've got a long walk to get this here grumbelworm."
"Grumbelworm?"
"There's two of 'em, you see. The Grinbalworm and the Grumbelworm. Can't get 'em mixed up or you'll find yerself in a fix." Hagrid held up a whitish, sad-looking worm. "This here is a Grinbalworm. Nasty fellers. Bit my finger once."
Harry winced. Acacia looked on with curiosity. Grin for the sad worm…grumble for the cheerful one?
"What does the Grumbelworm look like?" she asked.
I wonder why she finds worms, of all things, so intriguing, Harry thought to himself.
Hagrid held up another worm, though this time, it was a sort of greenish color. Contrary to Acacia's first guess, the worm looked disgusted and depressed. No…furious.
"Changes mood, this one does," Hagrid said, carelessly tossing the worm from one huge hand to another. "Likes to get flung about. Funny creatures."
"Where do we find these…er, worms?" Harry asked. What if that murderer attacks? We won't be protected by Hogwarts; I've never been one to worry, but this is a serious matter. "Not the Forbidden Forest?"
"Why, Harry! Where're ye gonna find beasties anyplace else? Of course yer gonna go in ter the Forest." Hagrid leaned in confidentially. Harry and Acacia instinctively tilted back, away from the temperamental worm perched on Hagrid's broad shoulder. "That's where all the real animals are," he whispered.
"You two can go together," Hagrid announced. "I won't be far. You know the drill."
"I do?" Acacia muttered, stepping carefully over the gnarled roots on the ground. She was sure she would trip and hurt herself at some point. She had her hand in her pocket, wrapped around her wand. That way, she could easily whip it out in case something happened.
"I've been in the Forest a few times," Harry said, trying to sound reassuring. He didn't think his attempt was successful, but Acacia did not say anything further.
"Why do they make students serve detention in the Forbidden Forest?" Acacia inquired.
"Fear," Harry answered. "Or because they need supplies, and there isn't a better way to find people to do the job. We can't object, so we have to do the work."
"Illogical," Acacia denied. Not that she could do anything about it.
They spotted a few worms burrowing in the mud ahead. "Here's the scoop. Bring the bucket and I'll slop them in."
"So, the little girl has a protector, eh?"
Acacia stiffened noticeably as she straightened up. "Don't move, Harry," she mouthed silently, gripping her wand tightly. He glanced warily at her and continued to put worms in the bucket.
"Don't expect me to wait for you, little one. You're as good as dead to me now."
Acacia did not move, either. They waited. For a while, the only sound was the slop-slap of the mud landing in the bucket. The forest was eerily silent.
There! Acacia thought, her eyes coming to rest on a tree. He's there!
"Ah, my little one has advanced in her studies. Perhaps too far!"
When the man, ragged, dirty and fading, leaned against the tree, Acacia knew he was in no condition to duel with her. She could not tell who he was, however. The invisibility spell was extremely potent; the countercurse did not banish it entirely. Acacia saw that Harry was staring at her from the corner of his eye. What the hell is this invisible madman talking about? he seemed to be asking. And where the hell is he?Never taking her eyes off the madman, she made a quick and barely discernable symbol with her left hand. Harry tensed. They were going to make a run for it.
The last worm slopped into the bucket. As if on cue, red sparks flew off the tip of Acacia's wand.
"HAGRID!!!"
"Acacia!"
"What?"
"Tell us!"
"What?"
"TELL US!"
"About WHAT?!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come on, you had detention with Harry. What happened?"
Acacia rolled her eyes as well. "Really! Nothing happened. Now finish your homework."
"It's Saturday."
"Oh. Right."
Ginny giggled.
"Finish it anyway!" Acacia countered, getting a bit peeved.
"We're going to find out anyway," Hermione reminded, practicing an advanced levitation charm with Acacia's belongings.
Acacia scrambled around the room, trying to rearrange all the objects Hermione misplaced. "Stop that!"
"Tell us about detention, first."
"Oooo…blackmail!" Ginny giggled.
"I already told you! Nothing happened! Nothing at all!"
Acacia could tell that her friends did not believe her in the least. "I have to go to see Professor Flitwick, anyway," she finally said, scooting towards the door.
"Oh no you don't," Hermione thought, grabbing a pile of books. "Great! I'm heading to the library. We can walk together." She grinned slyly. "And…you can tell me more about detention."
Why are they so persistent? Acacia thought darkly, fingering her wand. It was sort of nice for a change, however, to have people care about her.
The two disappeared through the portrait hole and continued up to the library.
"What did you have to do for detention, anyway?" Hermione inquired.
"Grumbelworms…or was it grinbalworms?" Acacia began.
"WHY did they have you looking for those things?" Hermione screeched, walking in front of Acacia. She stopped, blocking Acacia's path.
Acacia pretended look bewildered. Her plan was working, because Hermione looked aggravated. "I don't know. Hagrid told us they were temperamental worms, and they are. Why? What do they do?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I thought you studied your potions text!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "Of course you have to know that those are mostly used for potions!"
"What's so terribly bad about that?"
Hermione was growing more and more incensed. "They're used for DARK magic, Acacia! We have never used the two most coveted ingredients in any of our potions, have we? The demand for the grumbelworm and grinbalworm was so large that the trade stopped completely during Voldemort's time, and is now illegal!"
"Oh. Dear."
The bushy-headed girl seemed to have calmed down a bit. "So you don't know why you had to find those," she reflected. They were walking again.
"No," Acacia reminded her. "But we didn't get that many, anyway."
"And Harry went with you?"
"Yes."
"Nothing happened?"
They reached the library, and Acacia hesistated. Hermione pounced on her opportunity.
"Come ON!"
Choosing a seat at a table, she set her books down. She couldn't bring herself to explain everything, so she ended up saying, very quickly: "therewasavoice…andIcastaspell…he…tokill…me…*deep breath* Andthenwesenthelpsignal…*pause*…andHagridcameand…and…and…"
Hermione only caught 'voice', 'kill', 'signal' and 'Hagrid'. "Hagrid WHAT?!"
"No, no. Hagrid got us out of the forest immediately."
"But what happened?"
"I just told you."
"GIRLS! This is a library!" said Madame Pince, walking past the two girls.
"Sorry, Madame Pince," they chorused quietly. Hermione glared at Acacia, and got up to find a book.
"She asked for it," Acacia murmured to herself.
"Who asked for what?"
Turning around, Acacia came face to face with a certain green-eyed someone.
"H-harry!"
"What are you doing here all alone? Where's Hermione?"
Hermione? Oh. Oh well. "Over there." Acacia pointed to some bookshelves. "She's mad at me for some reason," she added mischievously. Her spirits, however, were subdued.
"I'll bet she is, if it has anything to do with our detention."
"Naturally. Uh oh, here she comes. Brace yourself." Acacia grinned.
Harry wanted to laugh.
As Hermione came nearer, she glared at him, also. "What happened in the Forest?" she hissed. "That girl won't tell me a thing."
"What makes you think I will?"
Acacia was shaking with silent laughter. Hermione was livid.
Harry decided that an irate Hermione would be most difficult to work with at a Prefects' meeting. "We have a prefect meeting right now. Care to join?"
Ah. He's so perfect, Acacia found herself thinking. If only…if only what? Death is my fate. I'm asking for too much…
Her thoughts were broken as Hermione gathered her books. "We'll see you later, Acacia. Meet us in the common room."
"See you there," she replied. She watched sadly as the two walked out. She didn't know what to do next.
The whole day disappeared so quickly. Come to think of it, I don't even know what they did at Hogsmeade. I'll have to ask later. She got up and went to a shelf near the Restricted Section of the library, eyeing the books on the Dark Arts.
Maybe…if I can find the perfect book…
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