CHAPTER SIX : THE MYSTERY
Next day Harry woke up really late. It was half past eleven. Seamus and Neville were still sleeping. Harry thought of the good time the gryffindors had last night. Even that the slytherin expulsions were more than serious. No one had ever thought they were so evil to use an unforgivable curse on a fellow human... They really wanted victory.
He walked to the Great Hall. It was a Thursday morning, and everyone was at classes. Harry was late. He thought about the schedule, quite panicked. He realized it was not as bad, they had Herbology.
After the class, where Ron and Hermione congratulated him for his sleep, they went to the Great Hall for lunch. He had completely missed defense against the dark arts, which was before Herbology.
He ate more than usual, mainly because he had not taken breakfast. Madam Hooch announced that the next quidditch match was in a week.
"Hufflepuff against Gryffindor", she said. "I do not think there will be anything bad at this game." She had thought, surely, about the dirty play of the Slytherins. "I have never seen something as those Slytherins..."
Other days passed without anything out of ordinary. Next Sunday, Sirius called Harry for a talk about the creator of the portals. He saw the book where he read about them.
"Who do you think that could possibly create a portal?" asked Sirius.
"It is very hard to figure it out... I heard him, I talked to him but I do not know who he is."
"You say Dumbledore wanted you to see the three red ones... It was calling for you... Strange, Dumbledore I know first tried to speak himself to the creator..."
"I guess he did talk to him but found out it was I who he wanted." He paused for some moments. "Do you know where can I find some books about portals?"
"Guess in the restricted section... But I have no idea how to get you in..."
"I have", he said and he hurried to the library. Madam Pince was staying bored.
"You again?" she asked. "What do you want now?"
"I want anything you have about portals!"
"Portals? I have twenty books where you can read about portals! Follow me and I'll show you."
Harry did so. Madam Pince did not look pleased at this, but Dumbledore told her to allow Harry in the restricted section, and she lead him inside. There, she took some books.
"This is what you should read first", she said giving Harry a "History of Portals" book. "Here you will find pout almost anything you want about them".
Harry took it and went to the common room. It was noisy. He could not concentrate well to read.
"Come on, Harry, come to play some chess!" said Ron trying to make him forget about the mystery with portals.
"No, Ron! I have a job to do!"
"Harry! Come on! Why are you so bothered about those portals?"
"Because the creator wants... me! And I still have no idea who he is or what he wants. He must be a very strong wizard..."
With that, Ron left and he read more.
'A portal can be created in many ways, depending of the type of the portal created. The teleportation portal is done in two ways. The first, and easiest, is to apparate in one place, cast a water-smoke spell, then apparate in another part and do a "Walgurius" spell. The water-smoke in one part will turn into a portal, usually blue, and in the other side, the Walgurius will create the end of it. The second way is to cast a very strong Imperius, in the air, and freeze it with a very strong freezing charm. Then, the one who creates it should concentrate hard on the place where the portal would end, and say the following incantation: "Walgurius Metheval Imperio Trendus Alca Isizob".
These days, no one can create portals. Some things that were not discovered yet now diminish the strong magic that was about three hundred years ago.
Some say the magic is diminished by the nature. Because the dark wizards are so evil, the magic fields were reduced and any power a wizard had was halved. This appears to be a false thing.
The other portal types are known only by their effect, no one knows how the wizards used to conjure them. There are healing portals -'
Harry was stopped from his reading. He did not know why he stopped. He looked around the common room. Hermione was doing an essay. It looked like for potions - there they had the longest homework. Ron was listening to Fred, George and Lee who were telling some jokes. Harry returned to reading the book.
'There are healing portals which were usually smaller, and red. They were very -'
Harry stopped reading again. This time he knew what disturbed him.
It was his scar. It had a very strong pain, but it disappeared in less than a second. His worries came back. What could Voldemort do this time?
He wanted to continue reading the book, but suddenly, he closed his eyes. He was forced to do it, and his scar started hurting again.
It was another dream with Voldemort, he said before the image appeared. And he was right. He was in a circular room, with dark gray walls. There was one light in the middle. One wizard stood in one side of the house, wand out, and on the opposite side, there was Voldemort.
"So, Moody, you want a duel?" asked Voldemort.
"I do not want any duel now", he said in a quite scared voice.
"Join me and you will stay alive!"
Moody did not say anything. Voldemort took his wand, and said "Crucio!". The next moment, Moody was lying on the floor, screaming in pain. Voldemort started a laugh. "Avada Kedavra!" he shouted and pointed the wand at Moody.
The green light was closing him, he was still affected by the cruciatus curse, and there was nothing for him to do. Harry could not help him in a dream like that. Voldemort shouted "Plutitus ingarmis!" and Moody's body was floating in midair. The Avada Kedavra missed him.
"Moody", Voldemort said, "I forgot... I have one more question... I know you are friend with Dumbledore... Tell me how I can stop the magical fields near Hogwarts!" Moody did not look as if he betrayed Dumbledore... He was lying there. "Imperio!", shouted Voldemort.
Harry had no idea what Voldemort put Moody to do, but he was surely fighting the curse. Voldemort was looking quite angry.
"You do not want to obey the imperius curse orders? Then, I have just one thing to do... Avada Kedavra!"
The green light was getting close to Moody, and suddenly, there was a small pop and Moody disapparated. Voldemort had done a mistake when he stopped the cruciatus curse. Now Moody was free. Voldemort looked really angry about this. The curse hit the floor, and made a small hole.
The common room was materializing... The dream was over... But his scar hurt very much. He could not feel anything near him. His ears were filled with Voldemort's cold laugh. Hermione and Ron were the closest people to him, and they were saying something Harry did not hear. The pain usually stopped after a quite short time, at least weakened. But this time, it remained very strong. All Harry knew was that he said "Go to Dumbledore!".
He opened his eyes again. The scar did not hurt as before. There was a slight pain. He looked around, and he saw he was in the hospital wing. The dream... He was drained as after the dreams in the summer. He thought the Hogwarts grounds stopped the draining, but this was not true.
Madam Pomfrey was in the room, creating a potion. Harry tried to say something, but he couldn't. He stood there and waited for Madam Pomfrey to finish her potion.
"Harry, you've woken up." It was not Madam Pomfrey. It was Ron. "What happened?"
Harry tried to say something, but he couldn't. Madam Pomfrey came to him, and said, "Drink this potion."
He couldn't drink it. He couldn't move. He couldn't tell her that.
"Can you open your mouth?" she asked. He could do it. She managed to make Harry drink the potion. "This is an energy potion. It looks like you have no energy in yourself at all. This should give you energy, and you will be back to normal."
"I", Harry managed to say, "I..." He could not say it yet. He had no energy. "I was... drained twice... before... when I was at the Dursleys". He felt better. "But it passed after a long sleep."
"You stayed here for one hour. It is not a long time, but... We need to hurry up the things a bit."
Harry woke up. He had enough energy now. "I need to see professor Dumbledore", he said exiting the hospital.
"Harry come back!" said Madam Pomfrey. "You are not ready yet!"
Harry ignored her. He had to tell Dumbledore what was happening, and ran to his office. He was quite used to go there by now. Dumbledore was near the gargoyle, outside his office.
"Harry! You have to tell me what happened." and with that they entered the office.
Harry explained how he read the book, and how suddenly he stopped. After that he explained the dream to Dumbledore, and the fact that he was drained.
"I still have no idea, Harry, that draining is something unusual... as unusual as your scar. I am still thinking about that, and it is possible that we will find out more if we will talk to the creator of the portals. Now, Harry, do not worry about these yet. You have a quidditch match soon!"
Harry felt as if he was slapped hard on the face. He forgot about quidditch, and the team needed as much practice as possible. He left Dumbledore's office and left for the common room. The team members were all there.
"Hey, Fred, George, Angelina, Katie, Alicia and Kevin!" he said after entering the room.
"Yes?"
"What?
"It is time for us to start quidditch practices..."
"Oh, we haven't practiced for some days..." Angelina said.
"Yes, and we should start as soon as possible. Thursday will be the match, and today is Sunday! We have only three days left - except if you want to start today." Harry thought of starting that day; he really wanted to fly again.
"Don't know..." answered Fred.
"Maybe it will be good to start from today..." said George.
"Yes... Let's start now..." the team agreed.
"So..." Harry had to start, "It is five o'clock. We have two hours until the evening, and we may practice after that, too. Come on, everyone."
The group left the gryffindor common room, and went to take the quidditch ball set and their brooms. Then they set off to the quidditch stadium.
It was a relaxation to Harry to fly again. He had lots of worries last days. But with flying everything passed away. He had freedom. Then he suddenly remembered there was a quidditch practice.
"What's up Harry?" George asked.
"Except the sky", Fred added.
"Nothing really..." answered Harry. "Just enjoyed a bit of flying..."
They started practicing. Harry captured the Snitch from five to five minutes, while flying around the stadium. Ron and George were playing with a buldger like tennis; Angelina, Katie and Alicia tried to put the quaffle in the three hoops and fooling Kevin, who was not pleased with himself.
After about half an hour of practicing, the sky went black. It was very strange, as it was only a quarter an hour to six. The chasers and Kevin flew to Harry, who stopped in midair.
"What's happening?" Harry asked.
"Don't know..." replied Fred.
Harry thought for a moment, and then said, "Something is happening... It is another hour until the night will come -"
"Look!" a scared voice belonging to Kevin stopped him. He pointed at a distant part of the sky, where was a white picture. Harry did not realize what it was at the beginning, but after that he remembered it...
That was the Dark Mark. Someone was murdered. And it was not Voldemort - Harry did not feel any pain in the scar. It was one of the Death Eaters.
Then something passed through Harry's mind. What happened to Lucius Malfoy? He had no information; after the attack no one spoken about that. What did Dumbledore do with him?
This Dark Mark could be created by anyone. It was the same for every death eater, a white skull and two crossed bones under it - an usual evil sign.
"It's a Dark Mark, isn't it?" asked Katie.
"It is, and we should get back to school as soon as possible!" said Harry as he landed on the quidditch ground.
Entering inside the castle, Harry wanted to go straight to Dumbledore. But, a blue smoke clouded one of the staircases. As Harry thought, it was a portal again. He casted a fire spell and saw the fire was attracted by the portal. It was another teleportation one. And Harry knew by now that the voice was teleported, too. Fred and George were with him.
"You again?" Harry asked. "Explain exactly who you are, and I will think then -"
"I do want you to step into the portal - please! I need to talk with you face to face."
"Never until I know who you are!" said Harry in a quite angry voice.
"Now, Harry, I've been reasonable. And I won't hurt anyone. You know why I had come now? It is because Voldemort's supporters killed one of my best friends! And I will not tolerate that... He has no idea who he had been challenging!"
"Who?"
"It is me! And... oh I will not tell you who - i mean what - am I. If you want to know, step into the portal!"
Harry looked around. The whole staircase was full of blue smoke. Fred and George looked thunderstruck. Harry had never seen them so scared. And the portal - who could create that?
"I am warning you that if we won't ally faster, Voldemort will kill us all! We have no chance against him... He will use a very powerful Avada Kedavra and kill us all with one shot!"
"Now tell me how is that possible?" Harry had no confidence in the voice he heard. It could be one of the Death Eaters, trying to lure him to Voldemort.
"It is! You still have no idea how powerful he is now! And he is not powerful because of HIS magic... Eh STEP INTO THE PORTAL AND I WILL TELL YOU!!!"
"Tell me what you are and I will enter!"
"Then, good bye. I know exactly when I'll be ready to teleport at your school. Expect me in the Christmas holiday, I will turn up some day."
The portal disappeared. Fred and George looked more than confused now. Harry told them "Let's go" and they separated. Harry went to Dumbledore while Fred and George went to the common room.
Harry told Dumbledore everything - starting from the dark mark and finishing with the portal. Dumbledore looked really surprised this time. He had never been like this when talking about a portal with Harry.
"Not powerful because of his magic? Then whose?" he asked.
"He hadn't said... Maybe Voldemort uses someone else's magic... and with his own, results a really strong wizard..."
"Yes, and this does not explain anything. It could be you, or maybe him, the creator of the portals. If Voldemort found a way to use someone else's magic instead of his own, he should be really strong even without the other person."
Harry's worries increased. He was now in danger... Greater danger... Voldemort was worth two - or maybe even more - wizards. That was surely dark magic.
Dumbledore was quiet. He looked worried himself. Finally, he said to Harry his last decision.
"At the next meeting - if it will be before Christmas - you WILL have to enter the portal. It's a lot safer to wait for him, but really - this could not be a dark wizard's plan. If he is one, how will he come to us? Will he declare an ally of ours and then destroy us? No that will be a small chance."
Harry stood thinking at his conversation with the portal creator.
"The mysterious person said he will teleport here. How can he? Hogwarts is protected against disapparating."
"How indeed..." said Dumbledore. "Now Harry, go to the gryffindor tower. If there will be any important things here, I will tell you. Do not worry - as long as you are here, you will not be in any danger - of course, except if you go looking for it, and I saw you usually do this... Please... Stay out of trouble!"
Harry left the office. He was heading, in a slow walk, to the gryffindor tower, thinking. How could not be worried? Voldemort could want him dead all along. He was in more danger than last years... Voldemort was now back to power, and he continued his murders and terror throughout the country. The Death Eaters could be planning an attack on him at any time. And if one of them managed to disable the Hogwarts protection fields, the dementors could be affecting anyone. But he had a help - at least he felt like he had. But it was still unknown... The wizard who created the portals... He had to be very strong, maybe even stronger than Voldemort... And that could be their last chance. Harry had to speak to him before Voldemort would destroy them all...
"What happened?" the Fat Lady asked him seeing so worried.
"Doesn't matter now. StarCraft." The portrait swung open and he entered the common room. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George walked straight to him.
"What happened?" asked Ron and Hermione in unison. Fred and George looked anxious to hear Dumbledore's opinion about the portal. They were listening carefully while Harry said the entire story, because Ron and Hermione did not know much.
"So... You-Know-Who is so strong?" Ron asked, terrified. Harry got upset in hearing that name. "Then how comes he did not attack Hogwarts when the Death Eaters were here?"
"I don't know..."
As the night approached, Harry felt very tired of today's events. When he finally went to the bedroom, he was continuously asking himself questions. How could Voldemort be so strong? Who was the mysterious person? Why was he drained after some of the dreams about Voldemort?
His worries increased by every passing second. All he wanted now was a normal life, where he did not have to worry about being the primary target of Lord Voldemort and his helpers. After some days, he had another quidditch match. It wasn't as bad as Voldemort, but he was really worried that they'll lose. He was definitely not good for a captain and he had to do something fast.
The same days have come as before the match against Slytherin. Practice, eating and school and then quidditch again. Every day was the same.
Thursday had come, and the match was programmed for the evening. Before the match, Harry became as nervous as before. And he was not confident enough with himself - why should he lose the match with such a good team?
Later the day, at four o'clock, he and the rest of the team went to change into their quidditch robes. He had no speech to say before the match started, so they went to the stadium, which was already packed with students. The thing that cheered him up was Lee's commentary.
"Welcome to the first considered quidditch game of the season! Today's game, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff! The gryffindor team, which will probably have no trouble in winning the inter-house cup -"
Professor McGonagall shouted something to Lee, about not to favorite any team.
"- The gryffindors are... Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Johnson, Bell, Spinnet and Trevion!"
Harry was again relaxed by his flying. He could not hear what Lee said at that moment. He was himself again only when he heard Lee's voice saying that the game began.
"Good catch by Bell, who passes to Johnson, BE CAREFUL! Oh, Angelina was hit by a buldger, almost falling from the broomstick."
Harry did not pay any attention to the commentary. He was looking for the Snitch. But yet there was no sign of it. The buldgers were trying to knock the chasers most of the time. Fred and George were much better than the hufflepuff beaters. Their chaser was looking for the Snitch, too, and one of the buldgers went to him. Harry had no time to see them, he looked for the Snitch in his own.
After a short time, he had seen it. A tiny golden glittering was staying near Fred, who had trouble with both buldgers, one sent by each hufflepuff beater. If he hit one of them, the hufflepuffs sent it back to him.
Harry got close to him, and the three beaters had seen the Snitch too. The hufflepuff beaters sent the buldgers right towards Harry, who was flying with an incredible speed. He dodged both of them and Fred sent them high into the air, so Harry would have time to catch the Snitch. And he did it.
The tiny golden ball was trying to move its wings in Harry's hand. They had won the match, and Harry had no idea about the score until -
"Gryffindor wins with two hundred twenty to zero! A very bitter loss for the hufflepuffs, this time..."
Lee's commentary was interrupted by McGonagall, who said "The match is over, Jordan!" and stopped the megaphone.
The game was finished after twelve minutes from the beginning. It was another very fast one. The Gryffindors were joyful, they had no party that night but Harry's worries about quidditch were no more. He was enjoying their win like the others. The evening drove away all his worries. He had not thought of Voldemort or any of his evil plans that day.
Next day Harry woke up really late. It was half past eleven. Seamus and Neville were still sleeping. Harry thought of the good time the gryffindors had last night. Even that the slytherin expulsions were more than serious. No one had ever thought they were so evil to use an unforgivable curse on a fellow human... They really wanted victory.
He walked to the Great Hall. It was a Thursday morning, and everyone was at classes. Harry was late. He thought about the schedule, quite panicked. He realized it was not as bad, they had Herbology.
After the class, where Ron and Hermione congratulated him for his sleep, they went to the Great Hall for lunch. He had completely missed defense against the dark arts, which was before Herbology.
He ate more than usual, mainly because he had not taken breakfast. Madam Hooch announced that the next quidditch match was in a week.
"Hufflepuff against Gryffindor", she said. "I do not think there will be anything bad at this game." She had thought, surely, about the dirty play of the Slytherins. "I have never seen something as those Slytherins..."
Other days passed without anything out of ordinary. Next Sunday, Sirius called Harry for a talk about the creator of the portals. He saw the book where he read about them.
"Who do you think that could possibly create a portal?" asked Sirius.
"It is very hard to figure it out... I heard him, I talked to him but I do not know who he is."
"You say Dumbledore wanted you to see the three red ones... It was calling for you... Strange, Dumbledore I know first tried to speak himself to the creator..."
"I guess he did talk to him but found out it was I who he wanted." He paused for some moments. "Do you know where can I find some books about portals?"
"Guess in the restricted section... But I have no idea how to get you in..."
"I have", he said and he hurried to the library. Madam Pince was staying bored.
"You again?" she asked. "What do you want now?"
"I want anything you have about portals!"
"Portals? I have twenty books where you can read about portals! Follow me and I'll show you."
Harry did so. Madam Pince did not look pleased at this, but Dumbledore told her to allow Harry in the restricted section, and she lead him inside. There, she took some books.
"This is what you should read first", she said giving Harry a "History of Portals" book. "Here you will find pout almost anything you want about them".
Harry took it and went to the common room. It was noisy. He could not concentrate well to read.
"Come on, Harry, come to play some chess!" said Ron trying to make him forget about the mystery with portals.
"No, Ron! I have a job to do!"
"Harry! Come on! Why are you so bothered about those portals?"
"Because the creator wants... me! And I still have no idea who he is or what he wants. He must be a very strong wizard..."
With that, Ron left and he read more.
'A portal can be created in many ways, depending of the type of the portal created. The teleportation portal is done in two ways. The first, and easiest, is to apparate in one place, cast a water-smoke spell, then apparate in another part and do a "Walgurius" spell. The water-smoke in one part will turn into a portal, usually blue, and in the other side, the Walgurius will create the end of it. The second way is to cast a very strong Imperius, in the air, and freeze it with a very strong freezing charm. Then, the one who creates it should concentrate hard on the place where the portal would end, and say the following incantation: "Walgurius Metheval Imperio Trendus Alca Isizob".
These days, no one can create portals. Some things that were not discovered yet now diminish the strong magic that was about three hundred years ago.
Some say the magic is diminished by the nature. Because the dark wizards are so evil, the magic fields were reduced and any power a wizard had was halved. This appears to be a false thing.
The other portal types are known only by their effect, no one knows how the wizards used to conjure them. There are healing portals -'
Harry was stopped from his reading. He did not know why he stopped. He looked around the common room. Hermione was doing an essay. It looked like for potions - there they had the longest homework. Ron was listening to Fred, George and Lee who were telling some jokes. Harry returned to reading the book.
'There are healing portals which were usually smaller, and red. They were very -'
Harry stopped reading again. This time he knew what disturbed him.
It was his scar. It had a very strong pain, but it disappeared in less than a second. His worries came back. What could Voldemort do this time?
He wanted to continue reading the book, but suddenly, he closed his eyes. He was forced to do it, and his scar started hurting again.
It was another dream with Voldemort, he said before the image appeared. And he was right. He was in a circular room, with dark gray walls. There was one light in the middle. One wizard stood in one side of the house, wand out, and on the opposite side, there was Voldemort.
"So, Moody, you want a duel?" asked Voldemort.
"I do not want any duel now", he said in a quite scared voice.
"Join me and you will stay alive!"
Moody did not say anything. Voldemort took his wand, and said "Crucio!". The next moment, Moody was lying on the floor, screaming in pain. Voldemort started a laugh. "Avada Kedavra!" he shouted and pointed the wand at Moody.
The green light was closing him, he was still affected by the cruciatus curse, and there was nothing for him to do. Harry could not help him in a dream like that. Voldemort shouted "Plutitus ingarmis!" and Moody's body was floating in midair. The Avada Kedavra missed him.
"Moody", Voldemort said, "I forgot... I have one more question... I know you are friend with Dumbledore... Tell me how I can stop the magical fields near Hogwarts!" Moody did not look as if he betrayed Dumbledore... He was lying there. "Imperio!", shouted Voldemort.
Harry had no idea what Voldemort put Moody to do, but he was surely fighting the curse. Voldemort was looking quite angry.
"You do not want to obey the imperius curse orders? Then, I have just one thing to do... Avada Kedavra!"
The green light was getting close to Moody, and suddenly, there was a small pop and Moody disapparated. Voldemort had done a mistake when he stopped the cruciatus curse. Now Moody was free. Voldemort looked really angry about this. The curse hit the floor, and made a small hole.
The common room was materializing... The dream was over... But his scar hurt very much. He could not feel anything near him. His ears were filled with Voldemort's cold laugh. Hermione and Ron were the closest people to him, and they were saying something Harry did not hear. The pain usually stopped after a quite short time, at least weakened. But this time, it remained very strong. All Harry knew was that he said "Go to Dumbledore!".
He opened his eyes again. The scar did not hurt as before. There was a slight pain. He looked around, and he saw he was in the hospital wing. The dream... He was drained as after the dreams in the summer. He thought the Hogwarts grounds stopped the draining, but this was not true.
Madam Pomfrey was in the room, creating a potion. Harry tried to say something, but he couldn't. He stood there and waited for Madam Pomfrey to finish her potion.
"Harry, you've woken up." It was not Madam Pomfrey. It was Ron. "What happened?"
Harry tried to say something, but he couldn't. Madam Pomfrey came to him, and said, "Drink this potion."
He couldn't drink it. He couldn't move. He couldn't tell her that.
"Can you open your mouth?" she asked. He could do it. She managed to make Harry drink the potion. "This is an energy potion. It looks like you have no energy in yourself at all. This should give you energy, and you will be back to normal."
"I", Harry managed to say, "I..." He could not say it yet. He had no energy. "I was... drained twice... before... when I was at the Dursleys". He felt better. "But it passed after a long sleep."
"You stayed here for one hour. It is not a long time, but... We need to hurry up the things a bit."
Harry woke up. He had enough energy now. "I need to see professor Dumbledore", he said exiting the hospital.
"Harry come back!" said Madam Pomfrey. "You are not ready yet!"
Harry ignored her. He had to tell Dumbledore what was happening, and ran to his office. He was quite used to go there by now. Dumbledore was near the gargoyle, outside his office.
"Harry! You have to tell me what happened." and with that they entered the office.
Harry explained how he read the book, and how suddenly he stopped. After that he explained the dream to Dumbledore, and the fact that he was drained.
"I still have no idea, Harry, that draining is something unusual... as unusual as your scar. I am still thinking about that, and it is possible that we will find out more if we will talk to the creator of the portals. Now, Harry, do not worry about these yet. You have a quidditch match soon!"
Harry felt as if he was slapped hard on the face. He forgot about quidditch, and the team needed as much practice as possible. He left Dumbledore's office and left for the common room. The team members were all there.
"Hey, Fred, George, Angelina, Katie, Alicia and Kevin!" he said after entering the room.
"Yes?"
"What?
"It is time for us to start quidditch practices..."
"Oh, we haven't practiced for some days..." Angelina said.
"Yes, and we should start as soon as possible. Thursday will be the match, and today is Sunday! We have only three days left - except if you want to start today." Harry thought of starting that day; he really wanted to fly again.
"Don't know..." answered Fred.
"Maybe it will be good to start from today..." said George.
"Yes... Let's start now..." the team agreed.
"So..." Harry had to start, "It is five o'clock. We have two hours until the evening, and we may practice after that, too. Come on, everyone."
The group left the gryffindor common room, and went to take the quidditch ball set and their brooms. Then they set off to the quidditch stadium.
It was a relaxation to Harry to fly again. He had lots of worries last days. But with flying everything passed away. He had freedom. Then he suddenly remembered there was a quidditch practice.
"What's up Harry?" George asked.
"Except the sky", Fred added.
"Nothing really..." answered Harry. "Just enjoyed a bit of flying..."
They started practicing. Harry captured the Snitch from five to five minutes, while flying around the stadium. Ron and George were playing with a buldger like tennis; Angelina, Katie and Alicia tried to put the quaffle in the three hoops and fooling Kevin, who was not pleased with himself.
After about half an hour of practicing, the sky went black. It was very strange, as it was only a quarter an hour to six. The chasers and Kevin flew to Harry, who stopped in midair.
"What's happening?" Harry asked.
"Don't know..." replied Fred.
Harry thought for a moment, and then said, "Something is happening... It is another hour until the night will come -"
"Look!" a scared voice belonging to Kevin stopped him. He pointed at a distant part of the sky, where was a white picture. Harry did not realize what it was at the beginning, but after that he remembered it...
That was the Dark Mark. Someone was murdered. And it was not Voldemort - Harry did not feel any pain in the scar. It was one of the Death Eaters.
Then something passed through Harry's mind. What happened to Lucius Malfoy? He had no information; after the attack no one spoken about that. What did Dumbledore do with him?
This Dark Mark could be created by anyone. It was the same for every death eater, a white skull and two crossed bones under it - an usual evil sign.
"It's a Dark Mark, isn't it?" asked Katie.
"It is, and we should get back to school as soon as possible!" said Harry as he landed on the quidditch ground.
Entering inside the castle, Harry wanted to go straight to Dumbledore. But, a blue smoke clouded one of the staircases. As Harry thought, it was a portal again. He casted a fire spell and saw the fire was attracted by the portal. It was another teleportation one. And Harry knew by now that the voice was teleported, too. Fred and George were with him.
"You again?" Harry asked. "Explain exactly who you are, and I will think then -"
"I do want you to step into the portal - please! I need to talk with you face to face."
"Never until I know who you are!" said Harry in a quite angry voice.
"Now, Harry, I've been reasonable. And I won't hurt anyone. You know why I had come now? It is because Voldemort's supporters killed one of my best friends! And I will not tolerate that... He has no idea who he had been challenging!"
"Who?"
"It is me! And... oh I will not tell you who - i mean what - am I. If you want to know, step into the portal!"
Harry looked around. The whole staircase was full of blue smoke. Fred and George looked thunderstruck. Harry had never seen them so scared. And the portal - who could create that?
"I am warning you that if we won't ally faster, Voldemort will kill us all! We have no chance against him... He will use a very powerful Avada Kedavra and kill us all with one shot!"
"Now tell me how is that possible?" Harry had no confidence in the voice he heard. It could be one of the Death Eaters, trying to lure him to Voldemort.
"It is! You still have no idea how powerful he is now! And he is not powerful because of HIS magic... Eh STEP INTO THE PORTAL AND I WILL TELL YOU!!!"
"Tell me what you are and I will enter!"
"Then, good bye. I know exactly when I'll be ready to teleport at your school. Expect me in the Christmas holiday, I will turn up some day."
The portal disappeared. Fred and George looked more than confused now. Harry told them "Let's go" and they separated. Harry went to Dumbledore while Fred and George went to the common room.
Harry told Dumbledore everything - starting from the dark mark and finishing with the portal. Dumbledore looked really surprised this time. He had never been like this when talking about a portal with Harry.
"Not powerful because of his magic? Then whose?" he asked.
"He hadn't said... Maybe Voldemort uses someone else's magic... and with his own, results a really strong wizard..."
"Yes, and this does not explain anything. It could be you, or maybe him, the creator of the portals. If Voldemort found a way to use someone else's magic instead of his own, he should be really strong even without the other person."
Harry's worries increased. He was now in danger... Greater danger... Voldemort was worth two - or maybe even more - wizards. That was surely dark magic.
Dumbledore was quiet. He looked worried himself. Finally, he said to Harry his last decision.
"At the next meeting - if it will be before Christmas - you WILL have to enter the portal. It's a lot safer to wait for him, but really - this could not be a dark wizard's plan. If he is one, how will he come to us? Will he declare an ally of ours and then destroy us? No that will be a small chance."
Harry stood thinking at his conversation with the portal creator.
"The mysterious person said he will teleport here. How can he? Hogwarts is protected against disapparating."
"How indeed..." said Dumbledore. "Now Harry, go to the gryffindor tower. If there will be any important things here, I will tell you. Do not worry - as long as you are here, you will not be in any danger - of course, except if you go looking for it, and I saw you usually do this... Please... Stay out of trouble!"
Harry left the office. He was heading, in a slow walk, to the gryffindor tower, thinking. How could not be worried? Voldemort could want him dead all along. He was in more danger than last years... Voldemort was now back to power, and he continued his murders and terror throughout the country. The Death Eaters could be planning an attack on him at any time. And if one of them managed to disable the Hogwarts protection fields, the dementors could be affecting anyone. But he had a help - at least he felt like he had. But it was still unknown... The wizard who created the portals... He had to be very strong, maybe even stronger than Voldemort... And that could be their last chance. Harry had to speak to him before Voldemort would destroy them all...
"What happened?" the Fat Lady asked him seeing so worried.
"Doesn't matter now. StarCraft." The portrait swung open and he entered the common room. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George walked straight to him.
"What happened?" asked Ron and Hermione in unison. Fred and George looked anxious to hear Dumbledore's opinion about the portal. They were listening carefully while Harry said the entire story, because Ron and Hermione did not know much.
"So... You-Know-Who is so strong?" Ron asked, terrified. Harry got upset in hearing that name. "Then how comes he did not attack Hogwarts when the Death Eaters were here?"
"I don't know..."
As the night approached, Harry felt very tired of today's events. When he finally went to the bedroom, he was continuously asking himself questions. How could Voldemort be so strong? Who was the mysterious person? Why was he drained after some of the dreams about Voldemort?
His worries increased by every passing second. All he wanted now was a normal life, where he did not have to worry about being the primary target of Lord Voldemort and his helpers. After some days, he had another quidditch match. It wasn't as bad as Voldemort, but he was really worried that they'll lose. He was definitely not good for a captain and he had to do something fast.
The same days have come as before the match against Slytherin. Practice, eating and school and then quidditch again. Every day was the same.
Thursday had come, and the match was programmed for the evening. Before the match, Harry became as nervous as before. And he was not confident enough with himself - why should he lose the match with such a good team?
Later the day, at four o'clock, he and the rest of the team went to change into their quidditch robes. He had no speech to say before the match started, so they went to the stadium, which was already packed with students. The thing that cheered him up was Lee's commentary.
"Welcome to the first considered quidditch game of the season! Today's game, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff! The gryffindor team, which will probably have no trouble in winning the inter-house cup -"
Professor McGonagall shouted something to Lee, about not to favorite any team.
"- The gryffindors are... Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Johnson, Bell, Spinnet and Trevion!"
Harry was again relaxed by his flying. He could not hear what Lee said at that moment. He was himself again only when he heard Lee's voice saying that the game began.
"Good catch by Bell, who passes to Johnson, BE CAREFUL! Oh, Angelina was hit by a buldger, almost falling from the broomstick."
Harry did not pay any attention to the commentary. He was looking for the Snitch. But yet there was no sign of it. The buldgers were trying to knock the chasers most of the time. Fred and George were much better than the hufflepuff beaters. Their chaser was looking for the Snitch, too, and one of the buldgers went to him. Harry had no time to see them, he looked for the Snitch in his own.
After a short time, he had seen it. A tiny golden glittering was staying near Fred, who had trouble with both buldgers, one sent by each hufflepuff beater. If he hit one of them, the hufflepuffs sent it back to him.
Harry got close to him, and the three beaters had seen the Snitch too. The hufflepuff beaters sent the buldgers right towards Harry, who was flying with an incredible speed. He dodged both of them and Fred sent them high into the air, so Harry would have time to catch the Snitch. And he did it.
The tiny golden ball was trying to move its wings in Harry's hand. They had won the match, and Harry had no idea about the score until -
"Gryffindor wins with two hundred twenty to zero! A very bitter loss for the hufflepuffs, this time..."
Lee's commentary was interrupted by McGonagall, who said "The match is over, Jordan!" and stopped the megaphone.
The game was finished after twelve minutes from the beginning. It was another very fast one. The Gryffindors were joyful, they had no party that night but Harry's worries about quidditch were no more. He was enjoying their win like the others. The evening drove away all his worries. He had not thought of Voldemort or any of his evil plans that day.