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Chapter Three: The Captors
At breakfast there was a stir of excitement as today was the day in which the 5th years where having their first lesson with Professor Escodus Dendrosilia.
Harry was chatting to Aleta. Ron was cramming a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth whilst an overflow of milk trickled down his chin.
"So what was it like at Beaux batons" said Hermione, genuinely interested at even the most minute details Ròse supplied.
"Just like here really, apart from they all babble on in French"
"Such an interesting language"
"Sort of gets on your nerves after a while!" replied Ròse drowsily.
Malfoy had turned around on the bench of the Slytherin table and began to flick orange pips at Colin Creevey, which he didn't seem to notice. Malfoy soon got bored and turned his attention to Ròse, when the pip was just inches from her head, she turned suddenly.
The pip stopped in mid air, turned, then dropped to the ground.
Ròse giggled to herself and turned back to the conversation.
"Did you see that?" exclaimed Malfoy.
"No"
"You must have..she's...she's.. a WITCH!"
"Well duhh" said Ròse pulling her face.
"She stopped that pip I threw at her... IN MID-AIR" babbled Malfoy "NO WAND JUST HER EYE'S" Malfoy was now dramatically widening his eyes and pointing at them.
"Face It Malfoy, you're just a bad shot!" added Aleta.
Even the Slytherin table began to think Draco had gone mad, his own companions where edging away slowly.
The owls streamed in from all directions in the great hall, Harry was surprised when Hedwig landed on his shoulder preening her feathers, she was bearing a letter which was shoddily tied to her leg with a bit of worn string.
It couldn't have possibly been from his Aunt and Uncle they never sent him anything, most of the time he never existed except in Aunt Marge's case.
Harry opened the letter enthusiastically, much to his surprise the letter read:
Dear Harry
I hope you are well, my where abouts are still to be unknown and remember call me by the name of snuffles. I'll be glad when this is all over and I am no longer in the shadows.
We may still meet again in the future providing all is well.
Tell H and R too.
Snuffles
"What's that?" asked Hermione as she caught sight of Harry cramming a piece of parchment in his pocket.
"Tell you later" said Harry.
"O.K.", after that no more was said.
*
"Right class" droned Professor Sprout "Today you will be extracting juice from the seed pods of Solanum nigrum also known as the deadly nightshade. Can anyone give me a description of the nightshade plant?"
Immediately Hermione's hand rose up along with Neville's, Herbology was the one class he was ever any good at.
"Yes, Neville" Professor Sprout beamed.
"It's ...um, a relative of the potato plant and is very poisonous. It has white flowers and small black berries; it can grow up to 12 inches and has oval leaves. It is very poisonous only when eaten in its raw form."
"Swot", Ron hissed jokingly in Neville's ear, causing him to blush, bright red.
"Any guess to who's been memorizing the herbology textbook", jested Aleta.
"It's known to have been used by the Nymphs in their many spells to protect their natural habitat.............................." Harry had been listening to professor Sprout drone on in her amazingly soft lullaby voice, Harry felt his eyelids begin to droop and he started to dream.....
He dreamt of an open field of wheat with bright red poppies, scattered amongst the yellow daffodils, there was a shift in time the field of wheat was dead but for a single red poppy, before Harry could get a better view of his surroundings the scenery changed, there was acres of charred grass that could be seen with the naked eye for miles around, there was a shimmer on the horizon due to intense heat, The sky grew dark, a foggy veil blocked out the sun's rays, Harry felt a cold presence which made him shiver, that was the last thing he remembered before darkness engulfed him.
A sharp pain shot through Harry's ribs and his eyes snapped open.
He was still sat in his seat whilst Professor Sprout wittered on.
"Did you not get any sleep last night?" inquired Ron
"Hmmm" said Harry coming out of his trance like state.
"You fell asleep!" Hermione snapped receiving a stern stare from Professor Sprout.
"I did not", Harry replied defiantly.
"You men, you were just resting your eyes, is that it?" Hermione said sarcastically.
The class then began to pack away their books.
"Wh...what's going on", Harry was confused.
"It's the end of the lesson and you slept through the rest of it!" Hermione scolded.
*
The door snapped open, stood framed in the doorway was Lucius Malfoy! He moved towards Ginny and grabbed the back of her hair, pulling her head back with a jolt.
"Where's the stone?-".
Ginny murmured a cry of horror when Lucius tightened his grip on her hair. "I...I...don't......know".
"Is that a- you don't know where it is or your not going to tell me?"
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING" she screamed with her last ounce of energy. Lucius pulled harder causing Ginny to screw up her eyes with pain.
"TELL ME YOU USELESS MUDBLOOD LOVING WEASLEY". Ginny spat in his face. The anger built up instantly, Lucius raised his wand, "Crucio"- and there it was again- the flashback, he was only nine years old when it happened. Draco cowered in the corner, trying to shrink further into the background, he didn't mean to do it, his father loved him. Draco told himself for reassurance. Blood trickled from a wound above his left eyebrow. His little sister, Lola, backed out of the room, afraid of what her father was going to do her, it wasn't her fault that mummy had gone away because of the shouting. "Just like your mother", Draco peered through a gap in his tiny hand that where covering his face, he saw his fathers back disappearing through the door, it was those words again, please not those dreaded words, he didn't want to hear them, he shouldn't have to hear them! "Crucio!". Draco heard a heart stopping scream and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. No!No!This isn't happening, he scrambled from the safety of his corner desperately trying to reach the door, he heard thudding, it was getting fainter, and fainter, Draco reached the door and there was a 'THUD'. Then the silence was sickening.
Ginny lay in center of the room, her flaming locks now streaked with scarlet blood. Lucius turned angrily to face the door.
"Come Draco", he drawled in a toneless voice.
"Give me a moment", said Draco, a plan forming in his brain, "I'll see if I can get anything out of her".
"I very much doubt that Draco, but you may try", and with this, Lucius reached for the handle of the door, pulling out a white tissue and mopping the blood. The blood that would never truly rid itself from his hands.
Ginny was acting like a cornered, wounded, wild animal. She stared at him with wide eyes, still shivering uncontrollably. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but Ginny backed away. What does she think I am? A monster? It'll be that Weasley putting thoughts into her head. I'm only trying to help, she probably thinks I'm like my father; I'm nothing like my father. It's those eyes; she's got Lola's eyes. I couldn't do anything then, but I sure as hell can now, I'm not nine years old anymore Lucius! Draco pulled a packet of tissues out of his pocket, removing one of them he, leaned forward and attempted to clean the dry and matted blood from her hair and face, Ginny flinched at first, but seeing that he was trying to help, her tension eased. Where is it? I know I had it this morning. Ah here it is. Draco passed a chocolate bar in Ginny's direction. She wolfed the thing down within seconds. Poor girl. She must be starving.
"I'll be back later", he said passing Ginny his cloak, "It'll hurt for a couple of days...I should know".
*
The trio rounded the corner to potions with increasing speed, nervously looking over their shoulder, should Snape be following them. As they reached the dungeons they heard a roar coming from the classroom. Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other with puzzled faces as a base tune erupted from within their potions classroom. Had Snape gone mad?
Harry opened the door cautiously, only to find Ròse and Aleta dancing on the desk waving two skimpy floral printed thongs in air, this wasn't the only thing amiss, Draco wasn't there!
Nobody noticed Snape walk into the room, he was standing in the corner looking like an enraged stallion, Aleta was having such a good time, that her grip on the thongs loosened, the floral panties flew across the room with a hellish grace, reaching their destination with accurate precision, they landed slap bang in the middle of Snape's greasy head.
"I believe you would call that...bull's eye" whispered Hermione.
Aleta was staring at her hands in dismay, whilst Ròse once again was laughing at something so ridiculously dramatic.
Aleta finally found her voice "Emmm......can I have those back please?"
Snape snatched the skimpy knickers from his head, and threw them. With their last flight they landed safely back in their owners hands.
"Sit down you insolent girls" spat Snape.
To Harry's surprise Snape seemed incredibly calm for a man of his temper.
The remainder of the lesson consisted of Snape screaming at Harry and Ron for no particular reason and Crabbe and Goyle creeping round Snape like his pet dogs.
*
"Now you have to tell us, how on earth did you pull that off without getting a detention?" Fred exclaimed having been told in a reconstruction type way by Ron, about Aleta and Ròse's spectacle.
"Oh it was only the Beauxbatons Charm" Ròse grinned.
"Yeah we're famed for......." before Aleta could finish her sentence, from a corridor to the right came a piercing scream.
The four tricksters ran towards the direction of the outburst. Ròse and Aleta were the first to reach the scene. They rounded the corner to be faced with the most horrifying sight they had ever seen. Lying on the floor was a little girl, who looked only just old enough to be in her first year. On the floor around her were pools of scarlet blood, trickling from deep gash across her neck were it had been slit open. The only thing that seemed to be an incriminating object at the scene of the crime was a long, grey nail.
"Oh my god.....damn it you two!" Ròse screamed staring at Fred and George "don't just stand there get someone, a teacher, ANYONE!"
Their instructions were clear enough, Fred and George bolted back down the corridor.
"What are we going to do.... she's dying!" Ròse exclaimed, whilst Aleta felt for the girls pulse.
"No Ròse, she not dying.....she's...um...she's...dead" Aleta stared blankly at the little girl on the floor.
"What?!"
"Dead, deceased, perished, expired, lifeless, not possessing life, inanimate, brain dead, late, defunct, cadaverous, breathless, mortified, no longer living, not endowed with life, departed, gone!!" Aleta shouted. "And we were brought here to stop this kind of thing happening".
"Aleta, you know as well as I do, we can't raise the dead. We're not miracle workers Aleta"
"Yes but we could have stopped it, for heavens sake we were in the room next door!"
"It couldn't have been Voldemort though, I'd have known, no it's someone else, and they're still here, remember you can't Apparate out of Hogwarts"
"They're close, I can sense them" Aleta raised her head looking wildly up and down the corridor.
"They must have a cloak or something", Ròse commented.
Dumbledore reached the scene with Fred and George at his heels.
By this time many students had crowded around Ròse and Aleta.
"They're gone" Aleta whispered to Ròse.
"Everyone remain calm, I would like everyone to make their way back to their common room, Harry get a message to Professor McGonagall." said Dumbledore.
Ròse and Aleta got up from the side of the lifeless body and turned to follow the rest of the group.
"You two come with me!"
"This is the sort of thing that you two were brought here to investigate, and now is the time to put your skills to the test."
Ròse and Aleta both stared at the floor, Avoiding looking Dumbledore in the eyes.
"Don't blame yourselves, after all you're only human" with Dumbledore's last word Aleta began to whistle.
"I apologize for my ignorance, Sorry Aleta, what I meant was you're only Human and Elfish".
Dumbledore informed Ròse and Aleta of their task and added "Choose your weapons".
Ròse headed straight for the Axe whilst Aleta went for a more sensible Bow and Arrow, also equipping herself with a sword for close combat.
Ròse grabbed a range of small daggers, tucking them neatly into her belt.
The entire student body had been confined to their common rooms for the remainder of the day. All lessons had been postponed, until further notice. As the night dragged on, exhausted students slowly made their way to their dormitories, one by one.
Ròse and Aleta however, sat by the fire, their mood was very tense and silent, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Once the last of the Gryffindor students had departed from the common room, Ròse and Aleta began to prepare themselves for the night ahead of them.
The door of the castle swung shut.
"Ready?" said Ròse as they neared the edge of the forbidden forest. There was a light radiating from Hagrid's hut, and fang's whimpering snores could be heard from within.
"Ready!" replied Aleta.
The trees loomed over them, the sound of a twig cracked under foot. Ròse swung round to be faced by nothing. The forest floor was blanketed by damp dew. The trees, plants, rocks and dirt were covered by an eerie gloom. Patches of grass were illuminated by a ghostly moon that shone in the night's sky.
Ròse and Aleta ran through the forest with pure agility, branches slashed at their legs and faces, causing a gash on Ròse's cheekbone. Noises emerged from the wilderness, echoing in the distance. There was a shrill wind whistling through the forest, rustling the dead leaves on the black encrusted trees; it was getting colder. After what seemed like hours, Ròse and Aleta reached the end of the forest. On either side of them were steep cold rock faces, sprinkled with coarse heather. In front of them was a clear, yet still, pool of fresh water, the moon's reflection glistened on the surface. Sharp rocks jutted out at odd angles near the waters edge. There was an unearthly silence, and the slightest whisper could be heard for miles around. Ròse sat herself down on a huge slab of stone. Aleta moved away from Ròse, and stood by the waters edge. Ròse pulled out a small hip flask, Aleta gave her a stern look.
"We don't drink on the job"
"Dutch courage", shrugged Ròse, "don't worry it's only butter beer".
The two then remained silent once more, listening intently for any sound. Aleta moved even closer to the side, and gazed once again into the water, reflected on the surface, was a scaly hand, with long claw like nails which appeared over the side of the cliff. Aleta pulled an arrow from her quiver and loaded her bow; she frantically looked around for a target.
Ròse didn't see Aleta arming her bow, as she was looking the other way. From up above, a scuff of a foot caused dirt to fall over the side into the water sending ripples across its surface. Seeing this Ròse pulled a hand crafted dagger from her belt, Ròse swung round after hearing light footsteps behind her, without pausing to aim she threw her dagger at an unknown target. It fell to the ground with a wail. A swarm of creatures lined the either side of the rocks, surrounding them.
A minority of the group shimmied down the steep cliff, Aleta skillfully slayed the ones closest to the back until she was forced to draw her sword in close combat. Ròse was not far away wielding her axe.
"Don't bring that thing near me!" gasped Aleta as she severed her opponents arm clean from his body, causing him a slow, painful death. Ròse and Aleta killed their opponents quickly, when no more attacked, Ròse and Aleta ran along a narrow defile over an old rickety bridge, that had been weathered away by heavy downpours.
The things were following and were not far behind, Aleta turned suddenly to face them.
There was a low rumbling sound and a clap of thunder, a bolt of lighting struck the earth which was now beginning to tremor.
"Grab hold of something!" shouted Aleta over the noise as the pupils of her eyes dilated turning a deep, coal black.
Many boulders and large rocks had been loosened from the ground, causing a shower of dirt to spill down the hilltop like a waterfall.
Ròse spotted a large rock which had been unearthed by the shake. Ròse focused on the object and the rock began to move, at first only slightly, then it got higher, and higher until it was raised high above their heads, She dropped the boulder in a cramped gap blocking off the creatures.
They re-entered the forest; still shivering from the cold, Aleta pulled her cloak tightly around her body. It was even darker than before, Ròse and Aleta raced through the forest, Ròse ran right into Hagrid who was making his way up to the castle.
"Are you blind?" said Hagrid as he hauled Ròse up of the floor, with an enormous hand.
"S...sorry" mumbled Ròse rather disorientated.
"You two go get some sleep, I'll tell Dumbledore yer back, then ya can report in't mornin'".
*
Harry awoke to find himself sprawled out across the floor of Gryffindor common room. The curtains were still closed; through a small gap in the centre of the crimson curtains no sunlight could be seen.
"Ow, that's my head" squealed Harry as someone's foot trod on him.
"Ooops"
"Who is it? What are you doing up?" quizzed Harry. By this time Neville was making his way over to bathroom, after a long and tiring night on the floor, as all the students were to afraid to sleep alone in their dormitories, they had all snuck back downstairs after dark, choosing the option of sleeping in a protective group.
"My head..." groaned Harry rubbing his head, after consuming large amounts of butter beer the night before.
"Don't turn around!" came Ròse's voice.
"Why not?" asked Harry puzzled.
"Because I'm.....err....Naked" replied Ròse kicking the axe that she lazily threw on the floor the night before, under the table.
"What?!" exclaimed Harry.
"Yes....What? What am I doin' naked?" babbled Ròse trying to think of an excuse. "I was on my way to the bathroom...when. I dropped my towel...on the floor....and then I tried to make a run for it back to my dorm'......Then you woke up!"
"Fine...Fine...Just go" said Harry wiping sweat from his forehead.
Ròse picked up the axe and ran back to the dormitory, throwing herself on the four-poster bed.
"Boy that was close."
*
"Come on" moaned Harry climbing the spiral staircase to the owlery.
"I don't think my legs can take any more, we'll have other opportunities to send the letter!"
"Oh come on! We're nearly half way there" said Hermione.
"Yes only another 526 steps to go!" sneered Ron scowling at Hermione.
Hedwig fluttered around the owlery; it was easy to pick her out amongst the beat of wings; as Hedwig after all was the only snowy-white owl.
"Take this to Snuffles" Hedwig launched her wings gracefully and flew out of the open window.
"Can someone drag me down the steps please, I don't feel like walking" said Ron feeling sorry for himself.
"You need a granny lift" said Hermione.
"What?"
"Doesn't matter"
*
Several weeks had gone by and lessons had returned to normal. It was the night before Halloween. The Hall had been filled with decorations, pumpkin lanterns floated above their heads, and towering fountains of deep red pumpkin juice lined the walls.
Everybody was excited and with no attacks since that fateful night, everybody was at ease once more. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed off towards the library, covered by the silky fabric of the invisibility cloak.
"Ron your arms sticking out" whispered Hermione. There was a dingy overcast that hung in the corridor, even though torches lined the walls, something seemed to be blocking out the light. They halted near a painting of an old man, who radiated a sense of power, his lined face was illuminated by the flicker of a torch; sending a reflection of an orange flame dancing across the surface of the canvas.
"ssshhh, someone's coming" said Harry as they all ducked behind an ancient suit of armor, depicted on it was fine illustrations of old battle scenes, the lines were engraved in such a way that they flowed into one another.
"It's probably Filch"
This thing was definitely not Filch, a dark shadowy figure glided across the floor; it was saying something.
"Were issss it? Bring back what isssss rightfully mine" it hissed in a sharp, shrill voice "you will pay for this", and then it disappeared through the tall, glass window at the end of the corridor.
"Give back what?" pondered Hermione as they got to their feet, wiping away the dust, that they had acquired from the stone floor off their robes.
The library door creaked open, revealing the tall bookshelves covered with a dusty gloom. The three crept along the darkened aisles of the library. They approached the restricted section with caution; Harry still hadn't forgotten the screaming book incident. Harry saw movement out of the corner of his eye; he turned as a large volume of Dark creatures slid off the shelf, disappearing to the other side of the bookcase. Harry tugged hard on the book dragging it back to his side of the shelf. This tug of war lasted for a few seconds until the book was released, sending Harry flying backwards, knocking Ron to the ground.
"Watch it you clumsy.........." hissed Ron.
Harry shushed Ron and began telling him, using very odd hand signals, what he had seen.
As Harry finished, Ron raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Forget I....." the sound of something heavy hit the ground with a loud thud, along with muffled curses. They moved silently towards the noise, shaded by the invisibility cloak. Aleta lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, a book was levitated above her head, Ròse was staring intently at the book, her concentration was broken as Harry pulled off the cloak, causing a very bulky, leather bound book to plummet to the ground, hitting a very disorientated Aleta on the head.
"FIRST YOU DROP ME ON THE FLOOR, THEN YOU DROP A BLOODY GREAT BOOK ON MY HEAD, FAT LOT A GOOD YOUR LEV-A-TA-TIN........H...H...Hi" screeched Aleta through gritted teeth turning rather sheepish upon seeing her fellow students.
"Did I say that out loud?" a procession of nodding followed Aleta's words. "Does anyone know the...memory-charm?"
"Toodles" said Ròse grabbing Aleta by the arm.
"Strange" muttered Harry scratching his head as Ròse and Aleta ran through the open door.
*
Paper planes glided through the air elegantly with the aid of a few magic incantations.
Professor Dendrosilia walked into the room just as a plane flew in his direction; he dismissed it with a laugh when it bounced off his head.
"Now, now, calm down class......" he began, glancing around the room "This is an Emryss, please observe" several jets of colour shot out the end of his wand, they spiraled into each other forming a very vivid picture.
"God!!!" gasped Padma Patil covering her eyes in horror, her outburst was caused by a gut wrenching picture of grey figure with a pair of glowing orange eyes, its other facial features were obscured by the haze which surrounded it.
"Don't gaze into its..........." A chair clattered at the back of the room, and Neville lay on his back twitching uncontrollably, Harry thought he was having a fit.
"Oh Neville" said Hermione sympathetically as Professor Dendrosilia scooped Neville up of the floor.
"He'll be all right it's nothing serious, the poor lad stared at its eyes for too long, before I had time to warn anyone".
Minutes passed, and then Professor Dendrosilia returned to the classroom.
"Is he going to be all right?" asked Hermione.
"Madam Pomfrey will take care of him, He'll be fine"
The class spent the remainder of the lesson learning about the Emryss or the "Immortal" if you prefer. It was followed by some interesting facts about injuring it, but Ron insisted it could be killed, despite being told several times that it was immortal.
"Ron it won't die!"
"Yes. I know....but....but you can kill it...honestly". He argued all the way back to the common room, giving in Hermione told him he was right all along just to make him shut up.
"Calvina Alura" Harry said purposefully as the portrait of the fat lady swung open, they were faced by a red scrawl plastered all over the Gryffindor common room:
GINNY! MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU WEASLEY? HAND OVER POTTER AND YOU'LL GET YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE RED HEAD BACK! IF NOT SHE DIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"SHIT!" cursed Ron unable to find a more suitable word, Hermione walked over to the wall and touched some of the writing, a red smear came off onto her hand only god knows what it was.
"The stupid...fat arsed...slimy....wankin.....tossin.....shit eating....feckin....son of a bitch...I'm gonna kill 'im..."
"Who?" by this time Hermione was panicking and waving her arms about in the air.
"MALFOY, WHO ELSE"
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10" Hermione said trying to calm herself down "O.K. I'm calm" she was now breathing in deeply with her eyes shut.
"If it was Malfoy he'd publicly announce it and sign his name all over the bloody room!" Harry said angrily. The rest of the Gryffindors arrived, to get ready for the party.
"HOLY FUCK" blurted Ròse standing in front of the porthole, getting in the way; a disorganized queue began to from at the back of her.
"Who the hell is holding us up....shift...come in through......get out of the way....VIP.....do I see a prefect badge on you...no?....then budge it....move it dog breath!" Aleta elbowed her way past and stopped suddenly next Ròse.
"Bollocks!"
*
Transparent figures floated across the hall to the tables, an asortment of costumes were being paraded around in. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the hall feeling kind of foolish.
"Is that you Hermione?" said Lavender to a semi-transparent Hermione; she was wearing a very scary medieval costume. Harry had a pair of fangs protruding from his mouth, the problem was that every time he spoke they fell out, his Dracula cape trailed along the floor, and the high collar was throttling him.
"What are you supposed to be?" sneered Malfoy as he walked over, he was wearing a costume very similar to Harry's but with added blood on the tip of the fangs.
"Do I need to spell it out for you? I know I'll sing you a little song:
I'm a little leprechaun,
I sit among the lucky charms,
I eat 'em for me breakfast,
I eat 'em for me tea,
I'm a little leprechaun,
If you catch I'll grant you wish,
Or I'll disappear like this" and with this Ron clicked his fingers, but to his dismay he was still stood there.
"Did you think you could really disappear? God you even stupider than I thought" Malfoy laughed and walked away leaving Ron standing there in shock.
"I told you it wasn't scary Ron" stated Hermione.
Because it was Halloween Dumbledore didn't give one of his usual eccentric speeches, instead he was sat at the top table listening to Hagrid ramble on in his half drunken state, after all the night was still young.
"Wow" said Harry staggering backwards as Ròse and Aleta entered the hall. Aleta was dressed in a very short, skimpy red dress, crowning her black hair, was a pair of devil horns. Ròse on the other hand had a very tight fitting leather cat suit on, finishing the look off were two furry black ears perched on her head. The suit seemed to squeak ever so slightly when they made their way over.
"You two look....."
"Aren't you forgetting something Harry" added Hermione.
"You've got a girl friend" whispered Ron in Harry's ear "Hello Ladies".
"Ahemmm...I'm here" said Ròse to Ron.
Harry was staring at Aleta with his mouth open.
"What are you staring at? My necklace?"
"Oh...yes...it's very nice" stammered Harry
"I'm not wearing a necklace...oh and by the way you look like a goldfish, so I suggest you close your mouth".
"Yeah, tongue in, jaw up, eyes off!" Ròse said as Ron and Harry obeyed her every word.
"Anyway where's Cho? She said she'd be here" wondered Harry glancing around the room, only to find she was nowhere in sight.
Harry made his way over to one of the pumpkin juice fountains with his glass for a refill. Suddenly the lights went out, along with screams from several first years. What was going on?
Harry felt a gush of air pass by his face, sending his neatly spiked hair messy. Students stumbled around blindly in the dark, unable to see anything but the scattered stars above them.
"Ron where are you?"
"I don't know, but I'm near some thing squishy!"
"Will you kindly stop prodding my arse?" said Cho stepping away from the groping hand.
"Sorry". There was a loud thud from the back of the room.
"I've spilt my beer"
"Oh! Hagrid all over my robes" grumbled Professor McGonagall sharply.
"Someone help me I'm stuck under the table" squeaked a little voice.
"I'll bet anyone 10 Galleons that it's Neville" said Aleta not caring if anyone was listening or not.
"I will soon have the problem under control" said Dumbledore clearly over the noise "once Hagrid courteously moves from my feet".
Moments passed and the lights came back on, Harry wasn't surprised to see that Hagrid had passed out; Cho had finally arrived and had been stalled by Malfoy who was trying to work his smarmy little charm. Well it wasn't going to work, and Harry was going to make sure of that!
Chapter Three: The Captors
At breakfast there was a stir of excitement as today was the day in which the 5th years where having their first lesson with Professor Escodus Dendrosilia.
Harry was chatting to Aleta. Ron was cramming a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth whilst an overflow of milk trickled down his chin.
"So what was it like at Beaux batons" said Hermione, genuinely interested at even the most minute details Ròse supplied.
"Just like here really, apart from they all babble on in French"
"Such an interesting language"
"Sort of gets on your nerves after a while!" replied Ròse drowsily.
Malfoy had turned around on the bench of the Slytherin table and began to flick orange pips at Colin Creevey, which he didn't seem to notice. Malfoy soon got bored and turned his attention to Ròse, when the pip was just inches from her head, she turned suddenly.
The pip stopped in mid air, turned, then dropped to the ground.
Ròse giggled to herself and turned back to the conversation.
"Did you see that?" exclaimed Malfoy.
"No"
"You must have..she's...she's.. a WITCH!"
"Well duhh" said Ròse pulling her face.
"She stopped that pip I threw at her... IN MID-AIR" babbled Malfoy "NO WAND JUST HER EYE'S" Malfoy was now dramatically widening his eyes and pointing at them.
"Face It Malfoy, you're just a bad shot!" added Aleta.
Even the Slytherin table began to think Draco had gone mad, his own companions where edging away slowly.
The owls streamed in from all directions in the great hall, Harry was surprised when Hedwig landed on his shoulder preening her feathers, she was bearing a letter which was shoddily tied to her leg with a bit of worn string.
It couldn't have possibly been from his Aunt and Uncle they never sent him anything, most of the time he never existed except in Aunt Marge's case.
Harry opened the letter enthusiastically, much to his surprise the letter read:
Dear Harry
I hope you are well, my where abouts are still to be unknown and remember call me by the name of snuffles. I'll be glad when this is all over and I am no longer in the shadows.
We may still meet again in the future providing all is well.
Tell H and R too.
Snuffles
"What's that?" asked Hermione as she caught sight of Harry cramming a piece of parchment in his pocket.
"Tell you later" said Harry.
"O.K.", after that no more was said.
*
"Right class" droned Professor Sprout "Today you will be extracting juice from the seed pods of Solanum nigrum also known as the deadly nightshade. Can anyone give me a description of the nightshade plant?"
Immediately Hermione's hand rose up along with Neville's, Herbology was the one class he was ever any good at.
"Yes, Neville" Professor Sprout beamed.
"It's ...um, a relative of the potato plant and is very poisonous. It has white flowers and small black berries; it can grow up to 12 inches and has oval leaves. It is very poisonous only when eaten in its raw form."
"Swot", Ron hissed jokingly in Neville's ear, causing him to blush, bright red.
"Any guess to who's been memorizing the herbology textbook", jested Aleta.
"It's known to have been used by the Nymphs in their many spells to protect their natural habitat.............................." Harry had been listening to professor Sprout drone on in her amazingly soft lullaby voice, Harry felt his eyelids begin to droop and he started to dream.....
He dreamt of an open field of wheat with bright red poppies, scattered amongst the yellow daffodils, there was a shift in time the field of wheat was dead but for a single red poppy, before Harry could get a better view of his surroundings the scenery changed, there was acres of charred grass that could be seen with the naked eye for miles around, there was a shimmer on the horizon due to intense heat, The sky grew dark, a foggy veil blocked out the sun's rays, Harry felt a cold presence which made him shiver, that was the last thing he remembered before darkness engulfed him.
A sharp pain shot through Harry's ribs and his eyes snapped open.
He was still sat in his seat whilst Professor Sprout wittered on.
"Did you not get any sleep last night?" inquired Ron
"Hmmm" said Harry coming out of his trance like state.
"You fell asleep!" Hermione snapped receiving a stern stare from Professor Sprout.
"I did not", Harry replied defiantly.
"You men, you were just resting your eyes, is that it?" Hermione said sarcastically.
The class then began to pack away their books.
"Wh...what's going on", Harry was confused.
"It's the end of the lesson and you slept through the rest of it!" Hermione scolded.
*
The door snapped open, stood framed in the doorway was Lucius Malfoy! He moved towards Ginny and grabbed the back of her hair, pulling her head back with a jolt.
"Where's the stone?-".
Ginny murmured a cry of horror when Lucius tightened his grip on her hair. "I...I...don't......know".
"Is that a- you don't know where it is or your not going to tell me?"
"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING" she screamed with her last ounce of energy. Lucius pulled harder causing Ginny to screw up her eyes with pain.
"TELL ME YOU USELESS MUDBLOOD LOVING WEASLEY". Ginny spat in his face. The anger built up instantly, Lucius raised his wand, "Crucio"- and there it was again- the flashback, he was only nine years old when it happened. Draco cowered in the corner, trying to shrink further into the background, he didn't mean to do it, his father loved him. Draco told himself for reassurance. Blood trickled from a wound above his left eyebrow. His little sister, Lola, backed out of the room, afraid of what her father was going to do her, it wasn't her fault that mummy had gone away because of the shouting. "Just like your mother", Draco peered through a gap in his tiny hand that where covering his face, he saw his fathers back disappearing through the door, it was those words again, please not those dreaded words, he didn't want to hear them, he shouldn't have to hear them! "Crucio!". Draco heard a heart stopping scream and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. No!No!This isn't happening, he scrambled from the safety of his corner desperately trying to reach the door, he heard thudding, it was getting fainter, and fainter, Draco reached the door and there was a 'THUD'. Then the silence was sickening.
Ginny lay in center of the room, her flaming locks now streaked with scarlet blood. Lucius turned angrily to face the door.
"Come Draco", he drawled in a toneless voice.
"Give me a moment", said Draco, a plan forming in his brain, "I'll see if I can get anything out of her".
"I very much doubt that Draco, but you may try", and with this, Lucius reached for the handle of the door, pulling out a white tissue and mopping the blood. The blood that would never truly rid itself from his hands.
Ginny was acting like a cornered, wounded, wild animal. She stared at him with wide eyes, still shivering uncontrollably. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but Ginny backed away. What does she think I am? A monster? It'll be that Weasley putting thoughts into her head. I'm only trying to help, she probably thinks I'm like my father; I'm nothing like my father. It's those eyes; she's got Lola's eyes. I couldn't do anything then, but I sure as hell can now, I'm not nine years old anymore Lucius! Draco pulled a packet of tissues out of his pocket, removing one of them he, leaned forward and attempted to clean the dry and matted blood from her hair and face, Ginny flinched at first, but seeing that he was trying to help, her tension eased. Where is it? I know I had it this morning. Ah here it is. Draco passed a chocolate bar in Ginny's direction. She wolfed the thing down within seconds. Poor girl. She must be starving.
"I'll be back later", he said passing Ginny his cloak, "It'll hurt for a couple of days...I should know".
*
The trio rounded the corner to potions with increasing speed, nervously looking over their shoulder, should Snape be following them. As they reached the dungeons they heard a roar coming from the classroom. Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other with puzzled faces as a base tune erupted from within their potions classroom. Had Snape gone mad?
Harry opened the door cautiously, only to find Ròse and Aleta dancing on the desk waving two skimpy floral printed thongs in air, this wasn't the only thing amiss, Draco wasn't there!
Nobody noticed Snape walk into the room, he was standing in the corner looking like an enraged stallion, Aleta was having such a good time, that her grip on the thongs loosened, the floral panties flew across the room with a hellish grace, reaching their destination with accurate precision, they landed slap bang in the middle of Snape's greasy head.
"I believe you would call that...bull's eye" whispered Hermione.
Aleta was staring at her hands in dismay, whilst Ròse once again was laughing at something so ridiculously dramatic.
Aleta finally found her voice "Emmm......can I have those back please?"
Snape snatched the skimpy knickers from his head, and threw them. With their last flight they landed safely back in their owners hands.
"Sit down you insolent girls" spat Snape.
To Harry's surprise Snape seemed incredibly calm for a man of his temper.
The remainder of the lesson consisted of Snape screaming at Harry and Ron for no particular reason and Crabbe and Goyle creeping round Snape like his pet dogs.
*
"Now you have to tell us, how on earth did you pull that off without getting a detention?" Fred exclaimed having been told in a reconstruction type way by Ron, about Aleta and Ròse's spectacle.
"Oh it was only the Beauxbatons Charm" Ròse grinned.
"Yeah we're famed for......." before Aleta could finish her sentence, from a corridor to the right came a piercing scream.
The four tricksters ran towards the direction of the outburst. Ròse and Aleta were the first to reach the scene. They rounded the corner to be faced with the most horrifying sight they had ever seen. Lying on the floor was a little girl, who looked only just old enough to be in her first year. On the floor around her were pools of scarlet blood, trickling from deep gash across her neck were it had been slit open. The only thing that seemed to be an incriminating object at the scene of the crime was a long, grey nail.
"Oh my god.....damn it you two!" Ròse screamed staring at Fred and George "don't just stand there get someone, a teacher, ANYONE!"
Their instructions were clear enough, Fred and George bolted back down the corridor.
"What are we going to do.... she's dying!" Ròse exclaimed, whilst Aleta felt for the girls pulse.
"No Ròse, she not dying.....she's...um...she's...dead" Aleta stared blankly at the little girl on the floor.
"What?!"
"Dead, deceased, perished, expired, lifeless, not possessing life, inanimate, brain dead, late, defunct, cadaverous, breathless, mortified, no longer living, not endowed with life, departed, gone!!" Aleta shouted. "And we were brought here to stop this kind of thing happening".
"Aleta, you know as well as I do, we can't raise the dead. We're not miracle workers Aleta"
"Yes but we could have stopped it, for heavens sake we were in the room next door!"
"It couldn't have been Voldemort though, I'd have known, no it's someone else, and they're still here, remember you can't Apparate out of Hogwarts"
"They're close, I can sense them" Aleta raised her head looking wildly up and down the corridor.
"They must have a cloak or something", Ròse commented.
Dumbledore reached the scene with Fred and George at his heels.
By this time many students had crowded around Ròse and Aleta.
"They're gone" Aleta whispered to Ròse.
"Everyone remain calm, I would like everyone to make their way back to their common room, Harry get a message to Professor McGonagall." said Dumbledore.
Ròse and Aleta got up from the side of the lifeless body and turned to follow the rest of the group.
"You two come with me!"
"This is the sort of thing that you two were brought here to investigate, and now is the time to put your skills to the test."
Ròse and Aleta both stared at the floor, Avoiding looking Dumbledore in the eyes.
"Don't blame yourselves, after all you're only human" with Dumbledore's last word Aleta began to whistle.
"I apologize for my ignorance, Sorry Aleta, what I meant was you're only Human and Elfish".
Dumbledore informed Ròse and Aleta of their task and added "Choose your weapons".
Ròse headed straight for the Axe whilst Aleta went for a more sensible Bow and Arrow, also equipping herself with a sword for close combat.
Ròse grabbed a range of small daggers, tucking them neatly into her belt.
The entire student body had been confined to their common rooms for the remainder of the day. All lessons had been postponed, until further notice. As the night dragged on, exhausted students slowly made their way to their dormitories, one by one.
Ròse and Aleta however, sat by the fire, their mood was very tense and silent, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Once the last of the Gryffindor students had departed from the common room, Ròse and Aleta began to prepare themselves for the night ahead of them.
The door of the castle swung shut.
"Ready?" said Ròse as they neared the edge of the forbidden forest. There was a light radiating from Hagrid's hut, and fang's whimpering snores could be heard from within.
"Ready!" replied Aleta.
The trees loomed over them, the sound of a twig cracked under foot. Ròse swung round to be faced by nothing. The forest floor was blanketed by damp dew. The trees, plants, rocks and dirt were covered by an eerie gloom. Patches of grass were illuminated by a ghostly moon that shone in the night's sky.
Ròse and Aleta ran through the forest with pure agility, branches slashed at their legs and faces, causing a gash on Ròse's cheekbone. Noises emerged from the wilderness, echoing in the distance. There was a shrill wind whistling through the forest, rustling the dead leaves on the black encrusted trees; it was getting colder. After what seemed like hours, Ròse and Aleta reached the end of the forest. On either side of them were steep cold rock faces, sprinkled with coarse heather. In front of them was a clear, yet still, pool of fresh water, the moon's reflection glistened on the surface. Sharp rocks jutted out at odd angles near the waters edge. There was an unearthly silence, and the slightest whisper could be heard for miles around. Ròse sat herself down on a huge slab of stone. Aleta moved away from Ròse, and stood by the waters edge. Ròse pulled out a small hip flask, Aleta gave her a stern look.
"We don't drink on the job"
"Dutch courage", shrugged Ròse, "don't worry it's only butter beer".
The two then remained silent once more, listening intently for any sound. Aleta moved even closer to the side, and gazed once again into the water, reflected on the surface, was a scaly hand, with long claw like nails which appeared over the side of the cliff. Aleta pulled an arrow from her quiver and loaded her bow; she frantically looked around for a target.
Ròse didn't see Aleta arming her bow, as she was looking the other way. From up above, a scuff of a foot caused dirt to fall over the side into the water sending ripples across its surface. Seeing this Ròse pulled a hand crafted dagger from her belt, Ròse swung round after hearing light footsteps behind her, without pausing to aim she threw her dagger at an unknown target. It fell to the ground with a wail. A swarm of creatures lined the either side of the rocks, surrounding them.
A minority of the group shimmied down the steep cliff, Aleta skillfully slayed the ones closest to the back until she was forced to draw her sword in close combat. Ròse was not far away wielding her axe.
"Don't bring that thing near me!" gasped Aleta as she severed her opponents arm clean from his body, causing him a slow, painful death. Ròse and Aleta killed their opponents quickly, when no more attacked, Ròse and Aleta ran along a narrow defile over an old rickety bridge, that had been weathered away by heavy downpours.
The things were following and were not far behind, Aleta turned suddenly to face them.
There was a low rumbling sound and a clap of thunder, a bolt of lighting struck the earth which was now beginning to tremor.
"Grab hold of something!" shouted Aleta over the noise as the pupils of her eyes dilated turning a deep, coal black.
Many boulders and large rocks had been loosened from the ground, causing a shower of dirt to spill down the hilltop like a waterfall.
Ròse spotted a large rock which had been unearthed by the shake. Ròse focused on the object and the rock began to move, at first only slightly, then it got higher, and higher until it was raised high above their heads, She dropped the boulder in a cramped gap blocking off the creatures.
They re-entered the forest; still shivering from the cold, Aleta pulled her cloak tightly around her body. It was even darker than before, Ròse and Aleta raced through the forest, Ròse ran right into Hagrid who was making his way up to the castle.
"Are you blind?" said Hagrid as he hauled Ròse up of the floor, with an enormous hand.
"S...sorry" mumbled Ròse rather disorientated.
"You two go get some sleep, I'll tell Dumbledore yer back, then ya can report in't mornin'".
*
Harry awoke to find himself sprawled out across the floor of Gryffindor common room. The curtains were still closed; through a small gap in the centre of the crimson curtains no sunlight could be seen.
"Ow, that's my head" squealed Harry as someone's foot trod on him.
"Ooops"
"Who is it? What are you doing up?" quizzed Harry. By this time Neville was making his way over to bathroom, after a long and tiring night on the floor, as all the students were to afraid to sleep alone in their dormitories, they had all snuck back downstairs after dark, choosing the option of sleeping in a protective group.
"My head..." groaned Harry rubbing his head, after consuming large amounts of butter beer the night before.
"Don't turn around!" came Ròse's voice.
"Why not?" asked Harry puzzled.
"Because I'm.....err....Naked" replied Ròse kicking the axe that she lazily threw on the floor the night before, under the table.
"What?!" exclaimed Harry.
"Yes....What? What am I doin' naked?" babbled Ròse trying to think of an excuse. "I was on my way to the bathroom...when. I dropped my towel...on the floor....and then I tried to make a run for it back to my dorm'......Then you woke up!"
"Fine...Fine...Just go" said Harry wiping sweat from his forehead.
Ròse picked up the axe and ran back to the dormitory, throwing herself on the four-poster bed.
"Boy that was close."
*
"Come on" moaned Harry climbing the spiral staircase to the owlery.
"I don't think my legs can take any more, we'll have other opportunities to send the letter!"
"Oh come on! We're nearly half way there" said Hermione.
"Yes only another 526 steps to go!" sneered Ron scowling at Hermione.
Hedwig fluttered around the owlery; it was easy to pick her out amongst the beat of wings; as Hedwig after all was the only snowy-white owl.
"Take this to Snuffles" Hedwig launched her wings gracefully and flew out of the open window.
"Can someone drag me down the steps please, I don't feel like walking" said Ron feeling sorry for himself.
"You need a granny lift" said Hermione.
"What?"
"Doesn't matter"
*
Several weeks had gone by and lessons had returned to normal. It was the night before Halloween. The Hall had been filled with decorations, pumpkin lanterns floated above their heads, and towering fountains of deep red pumpkin juice lined the walls.
Everybody was excited and with no attacks since that fateful night, everybody was at ease once more. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed off towards the library, covered by the silky fabric of the invisibility cloak.
"Ron your arms sticking out" whispered Hermione. There was a dingy overcast that hung in the corridor, even though torches lined the walls, something seemed to be blocking out the light. They halted near a painting of an old man, who radiated a sense of power, his lined face was illuminated by the flicker of a torch; sending a reflection of an orange flame dancing across the surface of the canvas.
"ssshhh, someone's coming" said Harry as they all ducked behind an ancient suit of armor, depicted on it was fine illustrations of old battle scenes, the lines were engraved in such a way that they flowed into one another.
"It's probably Filch"
This thing was definitely not Filch, a dark shadowy figure glided across the floor; it was saying something.
"Were issss it? Bring back what isssss rightfully mine" it hissed in a sharp, shrill voice "you will pay for this", and then it disappeared through the tall, glass window at the end of the corridor.
"Give back what?" pondered Hermione as they got to their feet, wiping away the dust, that they had acquired from the stone floor off their robes.
The library door creaked open, revealing the tall bookshelves covered with a dusty gloom. The three crept along the darkened aisles of the library. They approached the restricted section with caution; Harry still hadn't forgotten the screaming book incident. Harry saw movement out of the corner of his eye; he turned as a large volume of Dark creatures slid off the shelf, disappearing to the other side of the bookcase. Harry tugged hard on the book dragging it back to his side of the shelf. This tug of war lasted for a few seconds until the book was released, sending Harry flying backwards, knocking Ron to the ground.
"Watch it you clumsy.........." hissed Ron.
Harry shushed Ron and began telling him, using very odd hand signals, what he had seen.
As Harry finished, Ron raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Forget I....." the sound of something heavy hit the ground with a loud thud, along with muffled curses. They moved silently towards the noise, shaded by the invisibility cloak. Aleta lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, a book was levitated above her head, Ròse was staring intently at the book, her concentration was broken as Harry pulled off the cloak, causing a very bulky, leather bound book to plummet to the ground, hitting a very disorientated Aleta on the head.
"FIRST YOU DROP ME ON THE FLOOR, THEN YOU DROP A BLOODY GREAT BOOK ON MY HEAD, FAT LOT A GOOD YOUR LEV-A-TA-TIN........H...H...Hi" screeched Aleta through gritted teeth turning rather sheepish upon seeing her fellow students.
"Did I say that out loud?" a procession of nodding followed Aleta's words. "Does anyone know the...memory-charm?"
"Toodles" said Ròse grabbing Aleta by the arm.
"Strange" muttered Harry scratching his head as Ròse and Aleta ran through the open door.
*
Paper planes glided through the air elegantly with the aid of a few magic incantations.
Professor Dendrosilia walked into the room just as a plane flew in his direction; he dismissed it with a laugh when it bounced off his head.
"Now, now, calm down class......" he began, glancing around the room "This is an Emryss, please observe" several jets of colour shot out the end of his wand, they spiraled into each other forming a very vivid picture.
"God!!!" gasped Padma Patil covering her eyes in horror, her outburst was caused by a gut wrenching picture of grey figure with a pair of glowing orange eyes, its other facial features were obscured by the haze which surrounded it.
"Don't gaze into its..........." A chair clattered at the back of the room, and Neville lay on his back twitching uncontrollably, Harry thought he was having a fit.
"Oh Neville" said Hermione sympathetically as Professor Dendrosilia scooped Neville up of the floor.
"He'll be all right it's nothing serious, the poor lad stared at its eyes for too long, before I had time to warn anyone".
Minutes passed, and then Professor Dendrosilia returned to the classroom.
"Is he going to be all right?" asked Hermione.
"Madam Pomfrey will take care of him, He'll be fine"
The class spent the remainder of the lesson learning about the Emryss or the "Immortal" if you prefer. It was followed by some interesting facts about injuring it, but Ron insisted it could be killed, despite being told several times that it was immortal.
"Ron it won't die!"
"Yes. I know....but....but you can kill it...honestly". He argued all the way back to the common room, giving in Hermione told him he was right all along just to make him shut up.
"Calvina Alura" Harry said purposefully as the portrait of the fat lady swung open, they were faced by a red scrawl plastered all over the Gryffindor common room:
GINNY! MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU WEASLEY? HAND OVER POTTER AND YOU'LL GET YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE RED HEAD BACK! IF NOT SHE DIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"SHIT!" cursed Ron unable to find a more suitable word, Hermione walked over to the wall and touched some of the writing, a red smear came off onto her hand only god knows what it was.
"The stupid...fat arsed...slimy....wankin.....tossin.....shit eating....feckin....son of a bitch...I'm gonna kill 'im..."
"Who?" by this time Hermione was panicking and waving her arms about in the air.
"MALFOY, WHO ELSE"
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10" Hermione said trying to calm herself down "O.K. I'm calm" she was now breathing in deeply with her eyes shut.
"If it was Malfoy he'd publicly announce it and sign his name all over the bloody room!" Harry said angrily. The rest of the Gryffindors arrived, to get ready for the party.
"HOLY FUCK" blurted Ròse standing in front of the porthole, getting in the way; a disorganized queue began to from at the back of her.
"Who the hell is holding us up....shift...come in through......get out of the way....VIP.....do I see a prefect badge on you...no?....then budge it....move it dog breath!" Aleta elbowed her way past and stopped suddenly next Ròse.
"Bollocks!"
*
Transparent figures floated across the hall to the tables, an asortment of costumes were being paraded around in. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the hall feeling kind of foolish.
"Is that you Hermione?" said Lavender to a semi-transparent Hermione; she was wearing a very scary medieval costume. Harry had a pair of fangs protruding from his mouth, the problem was that every time he spoke they fell out, his Dracula cape trailed along the floor, and the high collar was throttling him.
"What are you supposed to be?" sneered Malfoy as he walked over, he was wearing a costume very similar to Harry's but with added blood on the tip of the fangs.
"Do I need to spell it out for you? I know I'll sing you a little song:
I'm a little leprechaun,
I sit among the lucky charms,
I eat 'em for me breakfast,
I eat 'em for me tea,
I'm a little leprechaun,
If you catch I'll grant you wish,
Or I'll disappear like this" and with this Ron clicked his fingers, but to his dismay he was still stood there.
"Did you think you could really disappear? God you even stupider than I thought" Malfoy laughed and walked away leaving Ron standing there in shock.
"I told you it wasn't scary Ron" stated Hermione.
Because it was Halloween Dumbledore didn't give one of his usual eccentric speeches, instead he was sat at the top table listening to Hagrid ramble on in his half drunken state, after all the night was still young.
"Wow" said Harry staggering backwards as Ròse and Aleta entered the hall. Aleta was dressed in a very short, skimpy red dress, crowning her black hair, was a pair of devil horns. Ròse on the other hand had a very tight fitting leather cat suit on, finishing the look off were two furry black ears perched on her head. The suit seemed to squeak ever so slightly when they made their way over.
"You two look....."
"Aren't you forgetting something Harry" added Hermione.
"You've got a girl friend" whispered Ron in Harry's ear "Hello Ladies".
"Ahemmm...I'm here" said Ròse to Ron.
Harry was staring at Aleta with his mouth open.
"What are you staring at? My necklace?"
"Oh...yes...it's very nice" stammered Harry
"I'm not wearing a necklace...oh and by the way you look like a goldfish, so I suggest you close your mouth".
"Yeah, tongue in, jaw up, eyes off!" Ròse said as Ron and Harry obeyed her every word.
"Anyway where's Cho? She said she'd be here" wondered Harry glancing around the room, only to find she was nowhere in sight.
Harry made his way over to one of the pumpkin juice fountains with his glass for a refill. Suddenly the lights went out, along with screams from several first years. What was going on?
Harry felt a gush of air pass by his face, sending his neatly spiked hair messy. Students stumbled around blindly in the dark, unable to see anything but the scattered stars above them.
"Ron where are you?"
"I don't know, but I'm near some thing squishy!"
"Will you kindly stop prodding my arse?" said Cho stepping away from the groping hand.
"Sorry". There was a loud thud from the back of the room.
"I've spilt my beer"
"Oh! Hagrid all over my robes" grumbled Professor McGonagall sharply.
"Someone help me I'm stuck under the table" squeaked a little voice.
"I'll bet anyone 10 Galleons that it's Neville" said Aleta not caring if anyone was listening or not.
"I will soon have the problem under control" said Dumbledore clearly over the noise "once Hagrid courteously moves from my feet".
Moments passed and the lights came back on, Harry wasn't surprised to see that Hagrid had passed out; Cho had finally arrived and had been stalled by Malfoy who was trying to work his smarmy little charm. Well it wasn't going to work, and Harry was going to make sure of that!