Chapter five: Last post
"Where's Hermione going now?" Asked Ron, sitting down to supper in the Great Hall, preparing for the celebration party that was planned for later that night.
"The Library, would you believe", said Harry.
"God she might as live in that room".
Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice, and began to pile his plate high with bagels. Harry glanced around the Hall, his eyes were drawn to the Ravenclaw table, amongst the glum faces he spotted Cho, he hadn't technically dumped her.
Looking away, Harry continued chatting with his friends quietly.
"What do I say to her, I can't exactly go up to her now, after the match and all" sighed Harry.
"Why don't you try this, I'm terribly sorry but I can no longer continue this relationship, will you go out with my friend Ron........."
"Ron!!!" exclaimed Harry. Every now and again Cho would glance in their direction.
"Men! Can't even do the most simplest tasks for themselves" said Ròse standing up.
"Wait-".
Aleta and Ròse strode over to the Ravenclaws, and located a very unhappy Cho.
"Sorry about the match" said Ròse attempting to sound sympathetic.
"Thanks" replied Cho skeptically.
"Oh and by the way your..Harry's dumped you!" was Aleta's only response as she picked up a glass of pumpkin juice and emptied the contents into Cho's face.
Ròse shot Cho a cheesy smile, then along with Aleta strolled back to the Gryffindor table, leaving a shocked Cho fanatically rubbing her eyes and face as mascara and foundation poured from her face in large sticky clumps.
"Needs a trowel to put it on...needs a trowel to take it off" commented Ròse on Cho's make-up habits.
After several rounds of pumpkin juice and a chance to insult Cho, Gryffindor, followed by the rest of the school made their way to their separate common rooms to PARTY!
*
Hermione slammed the book shut, she'd done enough research for one night. She could hear muffled laughter and sounds of breakages. Her eyelids were heavy and she suppressed a yawn.
Hermione made her way past reams upon reams of dust filled bookshelves to place her book in the exact place she had found it.
"Section twelve...it's there somewhere...ahh between these two...there we go".
Hermione made her way through the corridors, the noise level increased as she got nearer and nearer to Gryffindor Common Room.
As she opened the door a vase smashed near her head. Several bodies lay slumped on the floor.
"Would you like to engage in a leisurely game of Polo?" babbled Seamus Finnigan slurring his words, then he collapsed onto a chair. Hermione stode past him to Ron, who had his head propped up against an armchair, but he seemed to be asleep.
"Ahh...someone who isn't asleep!"
"Hul...(Hiccup)......He...(hiccup)...I giz up..." mumbled Ròse staring at Hermione with a vacant expression.
"Okay...are you pissed?" Questioned Hermione, putting it bluntly. There was awkward silence.
"So..Ròse...nice bit of levitating in the library..." probed Hermione pushing her luck, she had her suspicions, and that's all she needed.
"He? leva...can't say it....I knowzzz it was the spam....yes..it wuz Pam..who's Pam? I don't know...you said it.....I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....." and with that she fell asleep.
Hermione spotted Harry lurking near the buffet, incredibly he looked, how could she put it? Sane.
"Hello Harry" Hermione said cautiously, afraid he, like the other two Gryffindors she had met so far, would collapse at her feet.
"Hi, have you been in the library all this time, you missed a hell of a party, Hermione".
"Yes it does look like....emmmm.....just how much did you all drink?" Hermione asked.
"But we haven't-" at that moment a can of Stella fell from the dormitory staircase, it landed with a crash into a very old and sacred tapestry, that had been there since Hogwarts was founded.
"You were saying...." stated Hermione waggling the can of beer at Harry, so he knew it was a rhetorical question.
*
At breakfast the hall was unusually quiet, Harry picked at his food, he felt sick.
"Morning!" beamed Hermione, sitting down at the table.
"Shhhhhh" groaned Harry placing his hand on his head.
"I have absolutely no sympathy for you...if you want to consume large amounts of alcohol....it's up to you, let it be a lesson to you".
"Wind your neck in Hermione! Do you ever stop moaning?" mumbled Ron.
Harry waited patiently for the post; he wasn't really expecting any as Hedwig was already out delivering his letter.
No owls had arrived yet, but it was still early.
"We'd better go to see Hagrid today, he'll be expecting us...me to apologise" commented Harry, he had try hard to hold onto the contents of his stomach, just in case they emptied onto the table, definitely not a pretty sight.
The rest of the school seemed to have been afflicted by the Gryffindor's illness.
Ravenclaw, who were most likely trying to drown their sorrows in a large tankard of mead, were not present at breakfast.
At the top table the staff were discussing the frequent absences of Draco Malfoy.
"What was his fathers excuse last time?" asked Professor McGonagall buttering her toast. Dumbledore was reading a book, only glancing upwards when the noise level in the hall rose.
"Hold a moment.....there has been a death in the family.........." Professor Trewlawney added, she had finally dragged herself from that mystic, godforsaken tower of hers.
"I'm sure Draco doesn't own a hamster, so that can't have died, now if you would kindly proceed to tell us whom it is that has died recently, or was it his beloved pet goldfish, Bubbles?" said Minerva irritably.
"Minerva may I have word with you in my office" interrupted Dumbledore, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere.
"Of coarse Albus" said Professor McGonagall rising from her seat; they then proceeded to depart from the room.
Back on Gryffindor table, they had finally decided to eat. Ron attempted to down a glass of Ribena, but spilt it on his robes.
"I'm ever so glad they brought these Muggle drinks in, I was getting sick and tired of pumpkin juice" said Hermione loudly.
"Ah.....but you can't beat a glass of butterbeer" chimed Ron.
The teachers began to leave the hall along with Hermione, who was always one step ahead; she had packed up her things and headed of to her runes class.
"Come on we better get up to the tower, she'll have already predicted that we're late"
*
An strong aroma of incense wafted through the class, Professor Trewlawney began with a strange ritual rain dance, it still proceeded to snow, by which stage she was eager to commence the lesson.
"Today I'm going to throw you into the deep end with a lesson on telepathy and mind reading" Trewlawney began. Harry thought that her mind reading technique was a little strange, this lesson was going to be impossible, only a trained person or in Professor Trewlawneys case - a bloody good liar could do telepathy. The class were paired up and attempted the task ahead.
"Harry is thinking about.......let me see......euhhh Harry that's disgusting" said Ròse jokingly, causing the whole class, with the exceptions of Parvati and Lavender, to burst into fits of laughter.
"They don't suspect a thing" thought Ròse directing it to Aleta.
"A bit of a useless lesson for us" replied Aleta telepathically.
The lesson droned on, Harry couldn't wait to leave it and continue with more interesting subjects.
*
Susan Bones clambered up to the owlery, she was delivering a letter to her pen friend, the usual twittering that escaped the owlery had ceased, perhaps they suspected someone was approaching.
One more blasted step and she reached the oak door, Susan reached for the brass handle and hesitated. She pushed open the door. Feathers littered the scarlet stained floor, it was a deathly silence. Innocent bodies of mutilated owls had been strewn around the room, their once perfectly preened feathers matted and flecked with blood. Who or what could do something like this? Susan opened her mouth to cry out in alarm, but instead she gasped for breath, her lungs exploded with an excruciating pain, someone had their hand clasped firmly around her throat. Susan struggled and kicked out violently, scratching and biting any flesh that came near her. Her eyes began to bulge as her body twitched and convulsed, blood trickled from the side of her curved mouth. A crack indicated that her neck was broken, but the thing scarred her throat with its nail just too make sure, causing a sea of red to gush out covering her robes. The corpse was thrown to the floor, with no feelings of remorse or guilt the thing bent over the body and drank the freshly spilt blood, twisting its lips with what only could be seen as pleasure and satisfaction, then it dissolved.
*
"Did you hear it!" exclaimed Aleta, bolting up out of her chair in the common room.
"No but I sensed it" said Ròse shivering "Where did it come from".
"The owlery, I heard-"
"What?!" panicked Ròse.
"Her soul". Ròse ran to her dormitory and grabbed her axe, her mind set to battle mode. Harry was slowly walking down the corridor, after his senses had been clouded by Trewlawney's incense.
"What are you-" blurted Harry as Ròse and Aleta sped passed with their weapons.
"Can't stop!Gotta go!" panted Ròse.
"This is gonna take a lot of explaining" shrugged Aleta.
They raced up to the owlery, Aleta was not far behind Ròse and was brandishing a crossbow.
Aleta kicked open the door, it was like a nightmare after a horror film, they couldn't believe it, a cold thought swept over Ròse, as she glanced at the carnage.
"CIRCE!!!!!!!" she cried, the call to her peregrine falcon echoed off the bare walls.
The body of her beloved pet and friend was thankfully nowhere in sight. Amongst the feathers and blood Susan's body was unnoticed.
"Circe!!!!" Ròse said relieved with joy when her falcon dived through the window into her arms.
"Ròse look, his eye's, one of them isn't purple anymore," pointed out Aleta.
"It's red, how?"
"It's a charm, oh! I remember you did it, but if I remember rightly you couldn't complete it, amateurs!" Aleta teased.
"Shut it elf ears".
"I do not have elf ears" scowled Aleta.
"You would if you took the charms off.........elf ears".
"I cannot believe you are joking at time like this" just then Aleta glanced at Ròse who had gone a deathly shade of white.
"What?"
Hands trembling Ròse pointed towards the extremely mangled body of Susan Bones that was sticking out from under a chest of drawers.
"Oh god, not again", murmured Aleta.
"Circe get Dumbledore" Ròse said to her previously brown falcon that was now white with fear, immediately the falcon shot out the window with speed, becoming little more than a white blur.
"She's dead, isn't she" Ròse mumbled solemnly.
"I'm afraid so" Aleta said "with a slit throat and a blue face your outlook isn't usually that good".
Over the weeks Hogwarts had become a grave place, none of the usual banter and happy faces could be seen. With two deaths at the school and Ginny missing, this term was getting worse.
Harry had been doing his usual disappearing tricks to the library, on each occasion Aleta and Ròse were already there and neither of them had had a reasonable explanation.
As usual the two of them without fail were sat in the restricted section, surrounded by mountains of dark arts books.
Harry walked slowly in their direction being careful not to make a sound.
"Oh come on those minging little black thingies must be here somewhere, this is the twelth book we've read and the last one had seventeen bloody volumes in it," whined Ròse.
Harry had become suspicious of these two; they always seemed to get away with everything and were always the first ones present at the scene of a crime.
"I wish there was a way we could read these books faster...." Ròse suddenly had a brain wave, only to find that Aleta had the same idea.
"Obsentia lavina cala" chanted Aleta holding her hand on a book, the contents of it were instantly absorbed into her mind. Ròse did the same, but instead of picking up a useful book she grabbed anything close enough and began the charm.
"I suddenly feel the urge to go to the kitchen," Ròse said getting up out of the chair.
"You idiot, what do you need to learn a cookery book for!"
"Well when we leave school you'll be the one that starves, and then you'll be running round to my place for a fry up" lectured Ròse.
They didn't notice Harry stood in front of them with the invisibility cloak thrown at his feet.
"Now where was I, How to cook an omlette".
"Ahemmm, Ròse" said Aleta.
"I'm not listening I won't cook for you and that's that!" Ròse glanced up at Harry "Why didn't you tell me Harry was there, Hi! Look I was babbling on like an idiot and-"
"You still are" smiled Harry.
Harry attempted to kick the invisibility cloak out of sight but Ròse had already seen it.
"Wow look at that! What is it?"
"It's nothing-" before Harry could make his excuses and leave Ròse picked up the fine material and her arm disappeared.
"So that's how you've been sneaking in here," teased Aleta shaking her index finger at Harry.
"How've you been getting in?" quizzed Harry.
"It doesn't take a genius to get in here, It's not as if it like Azkaban or anything".
At the mention of Azkaban Harry's mood changed slightly, as he remembered the blood curdling dementors.
A cat hissed in the distance, footsteps could be heard. Harry scooped up his cloak in a flash; the cat could only mean one thing, Filch.
Harry hesitated, before he could offer the salvation of his cloak to Ròse and Aleta, Filch called out. They'd been rumbled.
Harry didn't stop to think he ran for the door, he had already had more than one encounter with Filch and didn't care for another one.
"It's you two, no questions asked, I never saw you here" grumbled Filch, he turned his back, picked up the old fashioned lantern from the table and left.
"Harry" whispered Aleta looking for any sign of him.
"I think he's gone....hang on a minute, Aleta, the first murder, Harry has an Invisibility cloak!"
*
Harry had been avoiding Snape, but he knew he couldn't avoid him forever; the homework had been due in yesterday. Harry was surprised that Snape hadn't found him already, it was unusual, perhaps he had more important things to think about, Harry couldn't think what.
Harry approached the transfiguration class; he pulled up a chair next to Ron.
"Where's McGonagall" muttered Harry, Ron nodded towards the particularly stern looking chair, placed strategically at the front of the classroom.
"Is she invisible".
"No Mr. Potter, I was showing the rest of the class who arrived here on time how to transform into solid objects, now where Mr. Potter have you been?"
"Err.....-"
"As I thought, sit down and open your book" droned Professor McGonagall going back to the lesson.
As the lesson progressed Harry began to realise that Aleta and Ròse were being funny with him, they avoided any questions he asked and looked at him suspiciously whenever he moved or went anywhere.
"Look, why are you acting like this? If I've done something wrong tell me" blurted Harry.
"Nothing, just go back to your deeds and your schemes".
Ròse and Aleta left the room after a very uneventful lesson.
"They're treating me like I'm a criminal, what have I ever done to them?" said Harry, he was extremely pissed off at them, until now he had always liked them both, even a little more than friends.
Harry took a left turn as Snape came into view.
"Ok what have you done now?" sighed Hermione.
"What is it with everyone today, I'm not a convict" moaned Harry stepping into the well lit common room.
"Harry, Harry would you sign this it's for my mum," chirped Colin, pushing a notepad towards Harry.
"Not now Colin I haven't got time".
*
Ron, Hermione and Harry crammed into Honeydukes, an array of sweets greeted them, the new stock had been delivered that very morning.
The new sweets seemed to draw Hogwarts students to them like flies, large swarms of 3rd years lurked around barrels of fizzing whizzbees and hordes of 4th years marveled at the sugar quills.
Harry, Hermione and Ron were gathered around a shimmering display of mouthwatering Rainbow fudge, that turned your hair all the colours of the rainbow while you were eating it. Having bought as many sweets as they could carry, they decided to pay a visit to The Three Broomsticks.
Ron went off to buy them some steaming mugs of Butterbeer leaving Hermione and Harry to find a table. Once seated a rather unwelcomed visitor decided to rear his ugly head.
"Hello Potter", sneered Malfoy his voice dripping with sarcasm . "Having a nice day?"
"Well I was until you turned up," Harry spat.
"Oh, hello Malfoy", said Ron arriving with the bubbling golden butterbeer, "Not skiving today then?".
"I'd be careful if I were you Weasley, there may come at time when you'll thank me".
"What are you on about? You don't half talk some crap Malfoy, go back to Cranky and Gargoyle your most loyal friends, who seem to be helping themselves to your sweets" grinned Ron pointing over to the table where Crabbe and Goyle were seated.
"For once I'm glad Pidwigdeon is a hyperactive annoying little runt, I mean if he'd have been in the owlery the other day, he'd be dead", Ron said with a grave face.
"And if Hedwig wasn't delivering a letter at that time either she'd most likely be dead too", Harry added.
"I know, I feel sorry for people who have lost their owls, at first Pavarti locked herself in our dorm and no one could get her to come out. She doesn't sleep either, last night she just sat on her bed and hugged her knees whilst rocking backwards and forwards. Honestly I think she's gone mad. What with her dad and all".
"Why what's wrong with her dad?" Asked Ron.
"What didn't you hear, he's..dead. He was killed while out walking their pet dog, the dog came back to their house alone, and Pavarti's mum realised something was wrong. She performed a simple Dr Dolittle charm on the dog and it led them to the body. And do you know what they found? The dark mark, high in the sky above the body. He worked for the Ministry, Pavarti's dad, Fudge can't ignore the fact that You-Know-Who has come back for much longer."
The Three Broomsticks had become incredibly crowded; Harry could hardly hear himself think.
He hadn't seen Ròse or Aleta all day, but he suspected that they were up at the shrieking shack.
*
"Who does Harry think he is? What a wanker!" bitched Aleta sat facing Ròse who was braiding her hair.
"I caught him with that Hufflepuff girl twice yesterday, and he had the cheek to use my bedroom, I keep my axes in there, what if he'd have seen them, not that he knew they were there but, anyway he was in my room."
The shrieking shack was incredibly quiet, the only people near the place were, of course, were Ròse and Aleta, Dumbledore had suggested they use it for training practice. They had decided they needed somewhere to talk about the strange occurrences in Hogwarts, but so far they had only managed to bitch about Harry and mess around.
"Did you find anything else out about those things we saw on the night of the first murder, it's just, I haven't really had time because of our studies" asked Ròse.
"No, not yet, but I was wondering if Hermione knew".
"What if she tells Harry? No, she's not like that." Ròse reassured herself. Ròse picked up her axe and swung it around menacingly, almost slicing Aleta's head off.
"I think you need more practice," suggested Aleta, "And I'll just stick to my bow".
Although Aleta said this she knew full well that Ròse was just as skilled as she was.
"You must be joking, me practice, I've never heard so much crap in my life" chuckled Ròse, going over to the window. It was getting late; they had to be back in time for supper. Unfortunately for those two it was their turn to keep watch tonight, another sleepless night.
"Where's Hermione going now?" Asked Ron, sitting down to supper in the Great Hall, preparing for the celebration party that was planned for later that night.
"The Library, would you believe", said Harry.
"God she might as live in that room".
Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice, and began to pile his plate high with bagels. Harry glanced around the Hall, his eyes were drawn to the Ravenclaw table, amongst the glum faces he spotted Cho, he hadn't technically dumped her.
Looking away, Harry continued chatting with his friends quietly.
"What do I say to her, I can't exactly go up to her now, after the match and all" sighed Harry.
"Why don't you try this, I'm terribly sorry but I can no longer continue this relationship, will you go out with my friend Ron........."
"Ron!!!" exclaimed Harry. Every now and again Cho would glance in their direction.
"Men! Can't even do the most simplest tasks for themselves" said Ròse standing up.
"Wait-".
Aleta and Ròse strode over to the Ravenclaws, and located a very unhappy Cho.
"Sorry about the match" said Ròse attempting to sound sympathetic.
"Thanks" replied Cho skeptically.
"Oh and by the way your..Harry's dumped you!" was Aleta's only response as she picked up a glass of pumpkin juice and emptied the contents into Cho's face.
Ròse shot Cho a cheesy smile, then along with Aleta strolled back to the Gryffindor table, leaving a shocked Cho fanatically rubbing her eyes and face as mascara and foundation poured from her face in large sticky clumps.
"Needs a trowel to put it on...needs a trowel to take it off" commented Ròse on Cho's make-up habits.
After several rounds of pumpkin juice and a chance to insult Cho, Gryffindor, followed by the rest of the school made their way to their separate common rooms to PARTY!
*
Hermione slammed the book shut, she'd done enough research for one night. She could hear muffled laughter and sounds of breakages. Her eyelids were heavy and she suppressed a yawn.
Hermione made her way past reams upon reams of dust filled bookshelves to place her book in the exact place she had found it.
"Section twelve...it's there somewhere...ahh between these two...there we go".
Hermione made her way through the corridors, the noise level increased as she got nearer and nearer to Gryffindor Common Room.
As she opened the door a vase smashed near her head. Several bodies lay slumped on the floor.
"Would you like to engage in a leisurely game of Polo?" babbled Seamus Finnigan slurring his words, then he collapsed onto a chair. Hermione stode past him to Ron, who had his head propped up against an armchair, but he seemed to be asleep.
"Ahh...someone who isn't asleep!"
"Hul...(Hiccup)......He...(hiccup)...I giz up..." mumbled Ròse staring at Hermione with a vacant expression.
"Okay...are you pissed?" Questioned Hermione, putting it bluntly. There was awkward silence.
"So..Ròse...nice bit of levitating in the library..." probed Hermione pushing her luck, she had her suspicions, and that's all she needed.
"He? leva...can't say it....I knowzzz it was the spam....yes..it wuz Pam..who's Pam? I don't know...you said it.....I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....." and with that she fell asleep.
Hermione spotted Harry lurking near the buffet, incredibly he looked, how could she put it? Sane.
"Hello Harry" Hermione said cautiously, afraid he, like the other two Gryffindors she had met so far, would collapse at her feet.
"Hi, have you been in the library all this time, you missed a hell of a party, Hermione".
"Yes it does look like....emmmm.....just how much did you all drink?" Hermione asked.
"But we haven't-" at that moment a can of Stella fell from the dormitory staircase, it landed with a crash into a very old and sacred tapestry, that had been there since Hogwarts was founded.
"You were saying...." stated Hermione waggling the can of beer at Harry, so he knew it was a rhetorical question.
*
At breakfast the hall was unusually quiet, Harry picked at his food, he felt sick.
"Morning!" beamed Hermione, sitting down at the table.
"Shhhhhh" groaned Harry placing his hand on his head.
"I have absolutely no sympathy for you...if you want to consume large amounts of alcohol....it's up to you, let it be a lesson to you".
"Wind your neck in Hermione! Do you ever stop moaning?" mumbled Ron.
Harry waited patiently for the post; he wasn't really expecting any as Hedwig was already out delivering his letter.
No owls had arrived yet, but it was still early.
"We'd better go to see Hagrid today, he'll be expecting us...me to apologise" commented Harry, he had try hard to hold onto the contents of his stomach, just in case they emptied onto the table, definitely not a pretty sight.
The rest of the school seemed to have been afflicted by the Gryffindor's illness.
Ravenclaw, who were most likely trying to drown their sorrows in a large tankard of mead, were not present at breakfast.
At the top table the staff were discussing the frequent absences of Draco Malfoy.
"What was his fathers excuse last time?" asked Professor McGonagall buttering her toast. Dumbledore was reading a book, only glancing upwards when the noise level in the hall rose.
"Hold a moment.....there has been a death in the family.........." Professor Trewlawney added, she had finally dragged herself from that mystic, godforsaken tower of hers.
"I'm sure Draco doesn't own a hamster, so that can't have died, now if you would kindly proceed to tell us whom it is that has died recently, or was it his beloved pet goldfish, Bubbles?" said Minerva irritably.
"Minerva may I have word with you in my office" interrupted Dumbledore, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere.
"Of coarse Albus" said Professor McGonagall rising from her seat; they then proceeded to depart from the room.
Back on Gryffindor table, they had finally decided to eat. Ron attempted to down a glass of Ribena, but spilt it on his robes.
"I'm ever so glad they brought these Muggle drinks in, I was getting sick and tired of pumpkin juice" said Hermione loudly.
"Ah.....but you can't beat a glass of butterbeer" chimed Ron.
The teachers began to leave the hall along with Hermione, who was always one step ahead; she had packed up her things and headed of to her runes class.
"Come on we better get up to the tower, she'll have already predicted that we're late"
*
An strong aroma of incense wafted through the class, Professor Trewlawney began with a strange ritual rain dance, it still proceeded to snow, by which stage she was eager to commence the lesson.
"Today I'm going to throw you into the deep end with a lesson on telepathy and mind reading" Trewlawney began. Harry thought that her mind reading technique was a little strange, this lesson was going to be impossible, only a trained person or in Professor Trewlawneys case - a bloody good liar could do telepathy. The class were paired up and attempted the task ahead.
"Harry is thinking about.......let me see......euhhh Harry that's disgusting" said Ròse jokingly, causing the whole class, with the exceptions of Parvati and Lavender, to burst into fits of laughter.
"They don't suspect a thing" thought Ròse directing it to Aleta.
"A bit of a useless lesson for us" replied Aleta telepathically.
The lesson droned on, Harry couldn't wait to leave it and continue with more interesting subjects.
*
Susan Bones clambered up to the owlery, she was delivering a letter to her pen friend, the usual twittering that escaped the owlery had ceased, perhaps they suspected someone was approaching.
One more blasted step and she reached the oak door, Susan reached for the brass handle and hesitated. She pushed open the door. Feathers littered the scarlet stained floor, it was a deathly silence. Innocent bodies of mutilated owls had been strewn around the room, their once perfectly preened feathers matted and flecked with blood. Who or what could do something like this? Susan opened her mouth to cry out in alarm, but instead she gasped for breath, her lungs exploded with an excruciating pain, someone had their hand clasped firmly around her throat. Susan struggled and kicked out violently, scratching and biting any flesh that came near her. Her eyes began to bulge as her body twitched and convulsed, blood trickled from the side of her curved mouth. A crack indicated that her neck was broken, but the thing scarred her throat with its nail just too make sure, causing a sea of red to gush out covering her robes. The corpse was thrown to the floor, with no feelings of remorse or guilt the thing bent over the body and drank the freshly spilt blood, twisting its lips with what only could be seen as pleasure and satisfaction, then it dissolved.
*
"Did you hear it!" exclaimed Aleta, bolting up out of her chair in the common room.
"No but I sensed it" said Ròse shivering "Where did it come from".
"The owlery, I heard-"
"What?!" panicked Ròse.
"Her soul". Ròse ran to her dormitory and grabbed her axe, her mind set to battle mode. Harry was slowly walking down the corridor, after his senses had been clouded by Trewlawney's incense.
"What are you-" blurted Harry as Ròse and Aleta sped passed with their weapons.
"Can't stop!Gotta go!" panted Ròse.
"This is gonna take a lot of explaining" shrugged Aleta.
They raced up to the owlery, Aleta was not far behind Ròse and was brandishing a crossbow.
Aleta kicked open the door, it was like a nightmare after a horror film, they couldn't believe it, a cold thought swept over Ròse, as she glanced at the carnage.
"CIRCE!!!!!!!" she cried, the call to her peregrine falcon echoed off the bare walls.
The body of her beloved pet and friend was thankfully nowhere in sight. Amongst the feathers and blood Susan's body was unnoticed.
"Circe!!!!" Ròse said relieved with joy when her falcon dived through the window into her arms.
"Ròse look, his eye's, one of them isn't purple anymore," pointed out Aleta.
"It's red, how?"
"It's a charm, oh! I remember you did it, but if I remember rightly you couldn't complete it, amateurs!" Aleta teased.
"Shut it elf ears".
"I do not have elf ears" scowled Aleta.
"You would if you took the charms off.........elf ears".
"I cannot believe you are joking at time like this" just then Aleta glanced at Ròse who had gone a deathly shade of white.
"What?"
Hands trembling Ròse pointed towards the extremely mangled body of Susan Bones that was sticking out from under a chest of drawers.
"Oh god, not again", murmured Aleta.
"Circe get Dumbledore" Ròse said to her previously brown falcon that was now white with fear, immediately the falcon shot out the window with speed, becoming little more than a white blur.
"She's dead, isn't she" Ròse mumbled solemnly.
"I'm afraid so" Aleta said "with a slit throat and a blue face your outlook isn't usually that good".
Over the weeks Hogwarts had become a grave place, none of the usual banter and happy faces could be seen. With two deaths at the school and Ginny missing, this term was getting worse.
Harry had been doing his usual disappearing tricks to the library, on each occasion Aleta and Ròse were already there and neither of them had had a reasonable explanation.
As usual the two of them without fail were sat in the restricted section, surrounded by mountains of dark arts books.
Harry walked slowly in their direction being careful not to make a sound.
"Oh come on those minging little black thingies must be here somewhere, this is the twelth book we've read and the last one had seventeen bloody volumes in it," whined Ròse.
Harry had become suspicious of these two; they always seemed to get away with everything and were always the first ones present at the scene of a crime.
"I wish there was a way we could read these books faster...." Ròse suddenly had a brain wave, only to find that Aleta had the same idea.
"Obsentia lavina cala" chanted Aleta holding her hand on a book, the contents of it were instantly absorbed into her mind. Ròse did the same, but instead of picking up a useful book she grabbed anything close enough and began the charm.
"I suddenly feel the urge to go to the kitchen," Ròse said getting up out of the chair.
"You idiot, what do you need to learn a cookery book for!"
"Well when we leave school you'll be the one that starves, and then you'll be running round to my place for a fry up" lectured Ròse.
They didn't notice Harry stood in front of them with the invisibility cloak thrown at his feet.
"Now where was I, How to cook an omlette".
"Ahemmm, Ròse" said Aleta.
"I'm not listening I won't cook for you and that's that!" Ròse glanced up at Harry "Why didn't you tell me Harry was there, Hi! Look I was babbling on like an idiot and-"
"You still are" smiled Harry.
Harry attempted to kick the invisibility cloak out of sight but Ròse had already seen it.
"Wow look at that! What is it?"
"It's nothing-" before Harry could make his excuses and leave Ròse picked up the fine material and her arm disappeared.
"So that's how you've been sneaking in here," teased Aleta shaking her index finger at Harry.
"How've you been getting in?" quizzed Harry.
"It doesn't take a genius to get in here, It's not as if it like Azkaban or anything".
At the mention of Azkaban Harry's mood changed slightly, as he remembered the blood curdling dementors.
A cat hissed in the distance, footsteps could be heard. Harry scooped up his cloak in a flash; the cat could only mean one thing, Filch.
Harry hesitated, before he could offer the salvation of his cloak to Ròse and Aleta, Filch called out. They'd been rumbled.
Harry didn't stop to think he ran for the door, he had already had more than one encounter with Filch and didn't care for another one.
"It's you two, no questions asked, I never saw you here" grumbled Filch, he turned his back, picked up the old fashioned lantern from the table and left.
"Harry" whispered Aleta looking for any sign of him.
"I think he's gone....hang on a minute, Aleta, the first murder, Harry has an Invisibility cloak!"
*
Harry had been avoiding Snape, but he knew he couldn't avoid him forever; the homework had been due in yesterday. Harry was surprised that Snape hadn't found him already, it was unusual, perhaps he had more important things to think about, Harry couldn't think what.
Harry approached the transfiguration class; he pulled up a chair next to Ron.
"Where's McGonagall" muttered Harry, Ron nodded towards the particularly stern looking chair, placed strategically at the front of the classroom.
"Is she invisible".
"No Mr. Potter, I was showing the rest of the class who arrived here on time how to transform into solid objects, now where Mr. Potter have you been?"
"Err.....-"
"As I thought, sit down and open your book" droned Professor McGonagall going back to the lesson.
As the lesson progressed Harry began to realise that Aleta and Ròse were being funny with him, they avoided any questions he asked and looked at him suspiciously whenever he moved or went anywhere.
"Look, why are you acting like this? If I've done something wrong tell me" blurted Harry.
"Nothing, just go back to your deeds and your schemes".
Ròse and Aleta left the room after a very uneventful lesson.
"They're treating me like I'm a criminal, what have I ever done to them?" said Harry, he was extremely pissed off at them, until now he had always liked them both, even a little more than friends.
Harry took a left turn as Snape came into view.
"Ok what have you done now?" sighed Hermione.
"What is it with everyone today, I'm not a convict" moaned Harry stepping into the well lit common room.
"Harry, Harry would you sign this it's for my mum," chirped Colin, pushing a notepad towards Harry.
"Not now Colin I haven't got time".
*
Ron, Hermione and Harry crammed into Honeydukes, an array of sweets greeted them, the new stock had been delivered that very morning.
The new sweets seemed to draw Hogwarts students to them like flies, large swarms of 3rd years lurked around barrels of fizzing whizzbees and hordes of 4th years marveled at the sugar quills.
Harry, Hermione and Ron were gathered around a shimmering display of mouthwatering Rainbow fudge, that turned your hair all the colours of the rainbow while you were eating it. Having bought as many sweets as they could carry, they decided to pay a visit to The Three Broomsticks.
Ron went off to buy them some steaming mugs of Butterbeer leaving Hermione and Harry to find a table. Once seated a rather unwelcomed visitor decided to rear his ugly head.
"Hello Potter", sneered Malfoy his voice dripping with sarcasm . "Having a nice day?"
"Well I was until you turned up," Harry spat.
"Oh, hello Malfoy", said Ron arriving with the bubbling golden butterbeer, "Not skiving today then?".
"I'd be careful if I were you Weasley, there may come at time when you'll thank me".
"What are you on about? You don't half talk some crap Malfoy, go back to Cranky and Gargoyle your most loyal friends, who seem to be helping themselves to your sweets" grinned Ron pointing over to the table where Crabbe and Goyle were seated.
"For once I'm glad Pidwigdeon is a hyperactive annoying little runt, I mean if he'd have been in the owlery the other day, he'd be dead", Ron said with a grave face.
"And if Hedwig wasn't delivering a letter at that time either she'd most likely be dead too", Harry added.
"I know, I feel sorry for people who have lost their owls, at first Pavarti locked herself in our dorm and no one could get her to come out. She doesn't sleep either, last night she just sat on her bed and hugged her knees whilst rocking backwards and forwards. Honestly I think she's gone mad. What with her dad and all".
"Why what's wrong with her dad?" Asked Ron.
"What didn't you hear, he's..dead. He was killed while out walking their pet dog, the dog came back to their house alone, and Pavarti's mum realised something was wrong. She performed a simple Dr Dolittle charm on the dog and it led them to the body. And do you know what they found? The dark mark, high in the sky above the body. He worked for the Ministry, Pavarti's dad, Fudge can't ignore the fact that You-Know-Who has come back for much longer."
The Three Broomsticks had become incredibly crowded; Harry could hardly hear himself think.
He hadn't seen Ròse or Aleta all day, but he suspected that they were up at the shrieking shack.
*
"Who does Harry think he is? What a wanker!" bitched Aleta sat facing Ròse who was braiding her hair.
"I caught him with that Hufflepuff girl twice yesterday, and he had the cheek to use my bedroom, I keep my axes in there, what if he'd have seen them, not that he knew they were there but, anyway he was in my room."
The shrieking shack was incredibly quiet, the only people near the place were, of course, were Ròse and Aleta, Dumbledore had suggested they use it for training practice. They had decided they needed somewhere to talk about the strange occurrences in Hogwarts, but so far they had only managed to bitch about Harry and mess around.
"Did you find anything else out about those things we saw on the night of the first murder, it's just, I haven't really had time because of our studies" asked Ròse.
"No, not yet, but I was wondering if Hermione knew".
"What if she tells Harry? No, she's not like that." Ròse reassured herself. Ròse picked up her axe and swung it around menacingly, almost slicing Aleta's head off.
"I think you need more practice," suggested Aleta, "And I'll just stick to my bow".
Although Aleta said this she knew full well that Ròse was just as skilled as she was.
"You must be joking, me practice, I've never heard so much crap in my life" chuckled Ròse, going over to the window. It was getting late; they had to be back in time for supper. Unfortunately for those two it was their turn to keep watch tonight, another sleepless night.