Squib Summer
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma and Jelsemium
a sequel to Squib Caretaker
Chapter Six: Disorder in the Court
All recognizable characters copyrighted by J.K. Rowling.
The less recognizable ones might be under your bed.
I hope you're not leaving dirty dishes under there. It only encourages
them.
The Grey Woman wrestled with Nagini, both physically and verbally, while
the audience of foul flapping horrors shrieked and moaned. The Harpy
preened her wings and looked amused while the Banshee drifted nearby and
looked disdainful.
"He can have the boy after I'm finished with him!" the Grey Woman was
wailing. "The boy's magic is mine! I will devour his essence and your
upstart dark lord can have what remains!"
The insult to her Master made the snake-woman hiss in outrage.
"Mr. Filch..." Potter murmured. "Now would be a very good time to run."
I agreed. "Which way? I was unconscious when she brought us down here."
"Follow me," the boy whispered. Then he bolted into the darkness with
Mrs. Norris at his side. I ran after them, still holding the chain that
Potter had freed me from. It was heavy but it was the only weapon I had.
"They're esscaping!! Grab the boy or face Voldemort's wrath!" Nagini
shrieked at the Grey Woman's misshapen guards.
The flapping horrors were more afraid of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named than
they were of breaking their word to Potter. They swarmed after us out of
the darkness from all sides. I whirled the heavy chain around, smashing
it against any creature that came too close.
Over their squeals of pain and their hisses of rage, I could hear Nagini
and the Grey Woman still fighting. Flailing the chain about, I stumbled
after Potter and my cat.
*******
Harry tripped over something and barked his shin... unless the obstacle
had bitten him. Filch hauled him to his feet and pushed him in front.
They came to an arched doorway.
Mrs. Norris raced through the arch. Harry followed. Filch brought up the
rear. Behind Filch, they all heard the Grey Woman's guards hissing and
flapping in pursuit.
The tunnel was dark and slanted upwards. Pulling Filch along, Harry ran
uphill. He nearly fell over Mrs. Norris, who'd waited for them at the
foot of a flight of stone steps.
"There's a trapdoor at the top!" Harry gasped. "It's the way out... leads
into that building she brought me to!"
"Go, Gryffindor!" Filch shouted at him.
Harry staggered up the stairs. (It wasn't until much, much later that he
realized Filch had been insulting him. He didn't have time right then to
think about it.)
At the foot of the steps, he heard Filch taking on all comers, using the
chain in order to buy him time. Harry slammed hard against the trap
door. It refused to budge! He hadn't seen the Grey Woman lock it... had
she sealed it with a spell?
Desperate, knowing that he needed to use magic, wand or no, Harry cried
out "ALOHAMORA!"
As before, his stomach gave a terrible lurch. He felt even more ill than
before, dizzy and lightheaded. Harry knew that collapsing was a luxury
that he couldn't afford. His push against the trapdoor was a feeble
thing, but this time it moved upwards!
Harry could hear Mrs. Norris screeching. He imagined her wreaking havoc
among Filch's attackers.
"Mr. Filch! Come on!" Harry gasped, shoving the trap door open.
Below him on the stairs, he heard the Caretaker gasp, "...right behind
you..."
Accompanied by a mass of creatures that scratched, clawed and bit, Harry
pulled himself through the opening. He emerged into the basement room
crowded with broken crates, battered and discarded furniture, scraps of
rags, bits of old bone and moldering newspapers.
Using fists and elbows, Harry somehow managed to reach the wall. Claws
caught at his hand-me-downs and shredded them. For once, Harry was
grateful for Dudley's size. If any of those claws had sunk into his
skin... He pushed that thought aside and began to feel frantically for the
light switch. The building was in shabby condition, but there was still
something stored here. Harry prayed that the electricity was still on
and that whoever had designed this building had put the switch right...
there!
Harry flicked the toggle and suddenly the room was flooded with light.
The tangle of fighters that had been Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris and the
audience of monsters quickly sorted itself into Mr. Filch and Mrs.
Norris as the monsters fled back through the trap door, down into the
darkness.
Then, seemingly unaffected by the stampede of light-fearing small
horrors who were all rushing in the opposite direction, the Banshee and
the Sphinx emerged from the trapdoor.
The Banshee faded from view almost immediately, apparently not able to
take strong light any more than the flapping horrors could. The Sphinx
shrugged, then vanished from sight as well.
'If there's a God, then she's gone for help,' Harry thought. He felt
very weak and his vision was greying out. He struggled to stay on his
feet. Nagini and the Grey Woman were still unaccounted for. It would be
too optimistic to hope that the pair of them had finished each other
off.
*******
"Are you... all right... Mr. Filch?"
Poor Potter. He was swaying on his feet.
"I'll do," I told him, gruffly. "But you look like the eighth day of a
week-long detention!"
It wasn't an exaggeration. The boy was deathly pale and covered with
bites and scratches. He'd managed to keep his glasses somehow, but his
already shabby clothes were now extremely dirty and badly torn.
I'd dragged a box over to the broken basement window, given Potter a
boost up, handed Mrs. Norris up to him and then pulled myself up. Mrs.
Norris, Potter and I were back in the dirty Muggle alley, near the
river. The daylight was beginning to fade. Our imprisonment had lasted
for many hours.
"We're not safe yet," I said. "Hurry, boy. I've got to get you away from
here... and back home somehow."
Potter really did not look well. The boy was shivering and sweaty. His
baggy clothes were damp with perspiration and blood and his green eyes
were glassy. Mrs. Norris was crooning at him in concern.
"What is it, my sweet?" I asked her absently, too worried about Potter
to think about anything else.
"Your cat has senses that you lack, Broken Wizard. She is trying to tell
you that the Grey Devourer's bite is poisonous," remarked a voice behind
us.
Supporting Potter, I turned to see the Harpy perched on a very large
dustbin nearby.
Mrs. Norris hissed at her.
"Truly, I have no wish to see Harry Potter fall into the Evil One's
hands!" the Harpy answered my cat. "Wizards and creatures of the Light
are not the only beings who take an interest in this boy."
"It would be wise to bring him to a Healer," the bird-woman continued,
turning to me and speaking matter-of-factly. "And quickly, too. The Grey
Devourer and the Naga are coming. I fully intend to be somewhere else
when they arrive. I suggest that the three of you do the same."
"You... call... Kn-Knight Bus... Mr. Filch..." Potter murmured.
"You'll have to do it, Potter," I apologized, bitterly. "I can't! No
wand means no wand-hand. I needed the Headmaster to summon the Bus for
me when I left Hogwarts, yesterday. I have a reservation for them to
pick me up when my errands are finished."
"But I don't know if I can without a wand!" The poor boy looked as if he
could barely keep himself upright. His body was shaking. But, no sooner
had he raised a trembling hand then the Knight Bus appeared with a BANG.
"It worked," Potter said with equal amounts of relief and disbelief. I
couldn't blame him. After the kind of day we'd been having, any kind of
good luck seemed more like a trap than a change of fortune.
Then the Sphinx stepped out of the bus.
I sighed, it was a trap. I pulled Potter to a halt.
The Sphinx snorted at our hesitation. "Get in, if you want to live," she
said, gesturing to the door and moving out of our way. Potter pulled me
forward.
"You okay?" Stan said nervously from the bus. He jerked his thumb over
to the Sphinx. "She said we 'ad to come get yer. But I wasn't sure if it
was a rescue..."
Or a free meal, I added to myself.
"It's okay, Stan," Potter croaked out. "She's a Gryffindor."
Was that supposed to be reassuring?
"Well, if you say she's all right, Neville," Stan replied.
Neville? I looked at the Sphinx and was vaguely comforted to see her
looking as baffled as I felt. It's hard to look bloodthirsty and
bewildered at the same time.
"Take us to Saint Mungo's, quickly! It's an emergency!" I gasped,
stumbling up the steps, half carrying Potter. Mrs. Norris followed.
The Sphinx nodded and moved away from the Knight Bus, much to
everybody's relief. Behind us, I heard the sound of mighty wings as the
Harpy took flight.
*******
Stan Shunpike, the young, pimply conductor of the Knight Bus was still
the earnest and conscientious Hufflepuff that I remembered. He hovered
protectively over Harry, and then helped Mrs. Norris and me get the ill
boy into Saint Mungo's as swiftly as possible.
(Shunpike's help was greatly appreciated, though I never did understand
why he insisted on referring to Potter as "Neville.")
Potter was promptly whisked away by a motherly-looking medi-witch. Mrs.
Norris and I took guard positions on a chair just outside the examining
room where Potter had been taken. I wasn't about to let him out of my
sight. A young witch handed me a stack of forms, large enough to impress
even me.
"Send an owl to Albus Dumbledore!" I said, giving the forms a quick
glance. "He'll be able to answer the questions that I can't. He'll be
able to contact the boy's family as well!"
"I'm here, Argus," Dumbledore's calm voice had never been more welcome.
He took the forms from my hand. "I've already sent for the Dursleys. In
the meantime, I'll take full responsibility."
"Thank you, sir" I said, gratefully. "How did you know what was going
on?"
"Hypatia owled me," Dumbledore said, as he began filling out forms. The
look on my face must have prompted him to continue. "Well, technically,
she sent a falcon, but there's no need to split hairs. She said she was
going to commandeer the Knight Bus, but that I would probably be needed
to handle the aftermath."
"Hypatia?" I asked him, confused. "Who's...?"
"You can't possibly have missed her," the Headmaster said, wryly. "She's
quite unmistakable. Head of a woman, body of a lion..."
"The SPHINX?" I squeaked. "Sir...? You're on a first-name basis with THE
SPHINX?"
He nodded absently, gazing down at a question on the form. "Why, yes,
Hypatia's been calling me `Albus' for ages now. She and I share a
fondness for tenpin bowling and chamber music. And she knows some truly
delightful riddles..."
"You answer her riddles? But, sir, you mustn't! Wouldn't she EAT you
if...?"
"Goodness, no. It would ruin a most rewarding friendship."
I shuddered. "Headmaster," I said, "You're just as bad as Hagrid!"
"Thank you, Argus." Dumbledore looked up and smiled at me in weary
amusement before returning to Potter's forms.
*******
Harry was just aware enough of his surroundings to be uncomfortable, but
didn't have strength enough to pull himself into full wakefulness. At
one point he thought he heard the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon sputtering
about being dragged such an ungodly distance at such an ungodly hour,
and Aunt Petunia sputtering about the disgraceful way they were being
treated. The only one who seemed to react at all to Harry being
stretched out like a slab of undercooked bacon was his cousin.
"Is Potter going to die?" Harry heard Dudley ask, fearfully.
"I should be so lucky," snapped his aunt.
Someone responded to her in acidic tones, but Harry was losing what
little focus he had and didn't recognize the speaker. As soon as he
stopped fighting for consciousness, the nightmare began.
He felt himself being dragged along, like a dog on a leash and he knew
that whatever was waiting for him was going to be bad... very bad. He
struggled, but somehow his muscles weren't working. In front of him, he
could see the Grey Woman being pulled along between Nagini and Wormtail.
Nagini was grinning with anticipation. The corridor ended at a rust
streaked iron door. Harry, and obviously the Grey Woman, knew who was
waiting on the other side.
"So, Grìsionn-cràdh," Voldemort hissed. "You promised that which you
could not deliver. Now Potter is out of my reach once more. If you had
come to me directly, I would have had him. Dumbledore shall not allow
such a leak in his defenses to remain unplugged. And now he will be
twice as wary about letting the brat out of his sight."
"I am sorry, My Lord!" whimpered the Grey Woman. "I hungered so... I
needed his magic to sustain me!"
The slitted nostrils flared slightly. "You will not have that worry any
longer," he said coldly. "I have a new spell that I've been working on..."
He raised his wand and the Grey Woman tried desperately to back away.
Harry also pulled back. He was certain that he did NOT want to see this.
When the screaming began, it was all he could do to not scream along. He
had a terrible feeling that if he made a sound that Voldemort would hear
him... Voldemort would have him...
To Be Continued
Author's Notes:
Alla: Thanks!! Jelsemium and I don't mind if you join the Snape vs Potter discussion. Jelse and I have different views on Snape. He's my second favorite character, flaws and all. (Like you, I don't admire the way he treats his students, especially Harry and Neville, but I do like his honor, courage and complexity.)
Alla -- Thanks! I like Sphinxes, too! ** Thanks for your opinion on the ongoing Snape/Potter debate. As far as I'm concerned, you are free to jump in at any time! I agree, I wish Snape would stop bullying all the students. For the record, I'm not *totally* against Snape. He just hasn't earned my respect yet. -- Jelsemium
Saphron: Thank you!! Yes, the Sphinx could be described as "twinkly."
It's a quality that she shares with a very good friend of hers. ;O)
(The friendship-patronage between Dumbledore and the Sphinx was
Jelsemium's idea. I thought it was delightful and made a lot of sense.)
-Ozma
Saphron -- Thanks! I think Harry really should learn to appreciate Mr. Filch. They really do have a lot in common. ** I love mythical beings of all sorts. Glad you like how the Sphinx came out. -- Jelsemium
AET: Thank you!! I think that you've probably summed up how Snape himself feels about James and Harry.
Poor Severus has a prickly, unpleasant personality. I think that, deep down, Snape longs to be liked, though he may not realize this about himself. He envies Harry and James for being so likeable. From Snape's point of view, both Potters achieved popularity without effort. (I also find it poignant that Snape would never believe just how little poor Harry actually CARES about being popular.) -Ozma
AET-- Thanks for the review. You're comments are appreciated, even if I don't agree with them. (Hey, I like debates!)
Re: Snape being a double agent: Remember that Snape is in a position to be a double agent against the 'icon of evil' because he had joined said 'icon of evil' of his own free will. (Love that phrase!) Once he let the Dark Mark get branded on him, Snape had three choices -- Stay with Voldemort, run like hell or join Dumbledore. Face it, at that point, Snape's best chance for survival was to help bring down Voldemort.
As for not getting any recognition, Dumbledore testified that Snape was spying for the good guys.
As for James not doing anything to earn respect -- According to Hagrid, James was Head Boy at Hogwarts, not an honor you get just through some 'small talent for Quidditch'. There's also the fact that Voldemort thought James was important enough to target. (And James' courage must have been extraordinary if Voldemort actually praised it.) James' biggest act of bravery may have been to try to live a normal life and start a family, even in the horrible dark times that he was living in.
At the beginning of Book One, Harry *hadn't* done anything to really deserve his fame. On the other hand, he also hadn't done anything to deserve the attacks Snape leveled at him from the moment he set foot in Hogwarts. However, by the end of the fourth book, I'd say Harry has done a LOT of deeds worthy of respect. (Even leaving out the ones that had him stealing from Snape's private stores.)
Personally, I think the root of the James/Severus issue is Lily. -- Jelsemium
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Argus sincerely hopes that the Harpy wasn't
flirting with him. (His hopes are in vain. She was.) I agree that
Jelsemium has really captured a nice mythic feel with the Council of
Predators and the Tasks. -Ozma
Ariana Deratle: I wanted to have Harry speaking Parseltongue, but there wasn't any place for it in the story. ** I've been wanting to use the skills that Harry learned from the Weasley twins in a story somewhere.** Glad the wandless magic felt right. There is another reason Harry almost got sick here, aside from just using up energy at an alarming rate. I'm not sure if we made it clear that the Grey Stalker has poisoned him. ** I love how Ozma wrote the interaction between the Harpy and Argus. Maybe Minerva has competition! ** Originally, I was going to have three tasks. However, I thought of a fourth judge and I didn't want to get rid of any of the three that I already had. So, I went with a non-traditional four tasks. (Five, if you count Petunia's words as a 'task.') -Jelsemium
Shadowycat: Thank you!! Well, Nagini managed to make off with a
consolation prize for her master. Filch does not enjoy such intimidating
company. Give him a Castleful of muddy-footed brats any day. You weren't
imagining things... the Sphinx is a good guy! -Ozma
Shadowycat: This is the chapter that answers your questions about what Nagini is allowed to do. ** No you aren't imagining things. The Greyling picked the WRONG predators to judge her trial. -Jelsemium
Persephone Kore: Thank you!! -Ozma
Persephone Kore: One hopes that something nasty will eventually befall Nagini. That's half the fun of having a really good villain; seeing his or her downfall. ** Thanks, I liked the Sphinx from the fourth book and
wondered why she was put in the maze. You can see my version of why they
would trust her with the students here. -Jelsemium
Miriam: Thank you!! It's fun writing with Jelsemium. We've known each
other for a long time. -Ozma
Miriam: Thanks for the review. Glad you like our style! -Jelsemium
Andrea13: Thank you!! Poor Harry... he's such a sweet kid. Jelsemium's
paragraph where Harry said he deserved to be treated badly just melted
my heart too. Even grumpy old Filch was distressed to hear the boy talk
that way. -Ozma
Andrea13: Thanks for the review! Yes, poor Harry, just can't be given a break, can he? He sure needs a hug. (You think customs would notice if I tried to smuggle a fifteen year old wizard into the States? Oh, wait, maybe I wrap him up in his father's cloak...) ** Nagini is just a sore loser. Harry won, so she's going to try to claim that he cheated.
-Jelsemium
A. Lee: Thank you!! Yes, each Predator definitely had ideas of her own.
-Ozma
A. Lee: The Greyling made a big mistake when she assumed that the other
predators would automatically side with her. And at least two of them
had hidden agendas that didn't help her case at all. -Jelsemium
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma and Jelsemium
a sequel to Squib Caretaker
Chapter Six: Disorder in the Court
All recognizable characters copyrighted by J.K. Rowling.
The less recognizable ones might be under your bed.
I hope you're not leaving dirty dishes under there. It only encourages
them.
The Grey Woman wrestled with Nagini, both physically and verbally, while
the audience of foul flapping horrors shrieked and moaned. The Harpy
preened her wings and looked amused while the Banshee drifted nearby and
looked disdainful.
"He can have the boy after I'm finished with him!" the Grey Woman was
wailing. "The boy's magic is mine! I will devour his essence and your
upstart dark lord can have what remains!"
The insult to her Master made the snake-woman hiss in outrage.
"Mr. Filch..." Potter murmured. "Now would be a very good time to run."
I agreed. "Which way? I was unconscious when she brought us down here."
"Follow me," the boy whispered. Then he bolted into the darkness with
Mrs. Norris at his side. I ran after them, still holding the chain that
Potter had freed me from. It was heavy but it was the only weapon I had.
"They're esscaping!! Grab the boy or face Voldemort's wrath!" Nagini
shrieked at the Grey Woman's misshapen guards.
The flapping horrors were more afraid of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named than
they were of breaking their word to Potter. They swarmed after us out of
the darkness from all sides. I whirled the heavy chain around, smashing
it against any creature that came too close.
Over their squeals of pain and their hisses of rage, I could hear Nagini
and the Grey Woman still fighting. Flailing the chain about, I stumbled
after Potter and my cat.
*******
Harry tripped over something and barked his shin... unless the obstacle
had bitten him. Filch hauled him to his feet and pushed him in front.
They came to an arched doorway.
Mrs. Norris raced through the arch. Harry followed. Filch brought up the
rear. Behind Filch, they all heard the Grey Woman's guards hissing and
flapping in pursuit.
The tunnel was dark and slanted upwards. Pulling Filch along, Harry ran
uphill. He nearly fell over Mrs. Norris, who'd waited for them at the
foot of a flight of stone steps.
"There's a trapdoor at the top!" Harry gasped. "It's the way out... leads
into that building she brought me to!"
"Go, Gryffindor!" Filch shouted at him.
Harry staggered up the stairs. (It wasn't until much, much later that he
realized Filch had been insulting him. He didn't have time right then to
think about it.)
At the foot of the steps, he heard Filch taking on all comers, using the
chain in order to buy him time. Harry slammed hard against the trap
door. It refused to budge! He hadn't seen the Grey Woman lock it... had
she sealed it with a spell?
Desperate, knowing that he needed to use magic, wand or no, Harry cried
out "ALOHAMORA!"
As before, his stomach gave a terrible lurch. He felt even more ill than
before, dizzy and lightheaded. Harry knew that collapsing was a luxury
that he couldn't afford. His push against the trapdoor was a feeble
thing, but this time it moved upwards!
Harry could hear Mrs. Norris screeching. He imagined her wreaking havoc
among Filch's attackers.
"Mr. Filch! Come on!" Harry gasped, shoving the trap door open.
Below him on the stairs, he heard the Caretaker gasp, "...right behind
you..."
Accompanied by a mass of creatures that scratched, clawed and bit, Harry
pulled himself through the opening. He emerged into the basement room
crowded with broken crates, battered and discarded furniture, scraps of
rags, bits of old bone and moldering newspapers.
Using fists and elbows, Harry somehow managed to reach the wall. Claws
caught at his hand-me-downs and shredded them. For once, Harry was
grateful for Dudley's size. If any of those claws had sunk into his
skin... He pushed that thought aside and began to feel frantically for the
light switch. The building was in shabby condition, but there was still
something stored here. Harry prayed that the electricity was still on
and that whoever had designed this building had put the switch right...
there!
Harry flicked the toggle and suddenly the room was flooded with light.
The tangle of fighters that had been Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris and the
audience of monsters quickly sorted itself into Mr. Filch and Mrs.
Norris as the monsters fled back through the trap door, down into the
darkness.
Then, seemingly unaffected by the stampede of light-fearing small
horrors who were all rushing in the opposite direction, the Banshee and
the Sphinx emerged from the trapdoor.
The Banshee faded from view almost immediately, apparently not able to
take strong light any more than the flapping horrors could. The Sphinx
shrugged, then vanished from sight as well.
'If there's a God, then she's gone for help,' Harry thought. He felt
very weak and his vision was greying out. He struggled to stay on his
feet. Nagini and the Grey Woman were still unaccounted for. It would be
too optimistic to hope that the pair of them had finished each other
off.
*******
"Are you... all right... Mr. Filch?"
Poor Potter. He was swaying on his feet.
"I'll do," I told him, gruffly. "But you look like the eighth day of a
week-long detention!"
It wasn't an exaggeration. The boy was deathly pale and covered with
bites and scratches. He'd managed to keep his glasses somehow, but his
already shabby clothes were now extremely dirty and badly torn.
I'd dragged a box over to the broken basement window, given Potter a
boost up, handed Mrs. Norris up to him and then pulled myself up. Mrs.
Norris, Potter and I were back in the dirty Muggle alley, near the
river. The daylight was beginning to fade. Our imprisonment had lasted
for many hours.
"We're not safe yet," I said. "Hurry, boy. I've got to get you away from
here... and back home somehow."
Potter really did not look well. The boy was shivering and sweaty. His
baggy clothes were damp with perspiration and blood and his green eyes
were glassy. Mrs. Norris was crooning at him in concern.
"What is it, my sweet?" I asked her absently, too worried about Potter
to think about anything else.
"Your cat has senses that you lack, Broken Wizard. She is trying to tell
you that the Grey Devourer's bite is poisonous," remarked a voice behind
us.
Supporting Potter, I turned to see the Harpy perched on a very large
dustbin nearby.
Mrs. Norris hissed at her.
"Truly, I have no wish to see Harry Potter fall into the Evil One's
hands!" the Harpy answered my cat. "Wizards and creatures of the Light
are not the only beings who take an interest in this boy."
"It would be wise to bring him to a Healer," the bird-woman continued,
turning to me and speaking matter-of-factly. "And quickly, too. The Grey
Devourer and the Naga are coming. I fully intend to be somewhere else
when they arrive. I suggest that the three of you do the same."
"You... call... Kn-Knight Bus... Mr. Filch..." Potter murmured.
"You'll have to do it, Potter," I apologized, bitterly. "I can't! No
wand means no wand-hand. I needed the Headmaster to summon the Bus for
me when I left Hogwarts, yesterday. I have a reservation for them to
pick me up when my errands are finished."
"But I don't know if I can without a wand!" The poor boy looked as if he
could barely keep himself upright. His body was shaking. But, no sooner
had he raised a trembling hand then the Knight Bus appeared with a BANG.
"It worked," Potter said with equal amounts of relief and disbelief. I
couldn't blame him. After the kind of day we'd been having, any kind of
good luck seemed more like a trap than a change of fortune.
Then the Sphinx stepped out of the bus.
I sighed, it was a trap. I pulled Potter to a halt.
The Sphinx snorted at our hesitation. "Get in, if you want to live," she
said, gesturing to the door and moving out of our way. Potter pulled me
forward.
"You okay?" Stan said nervously from the bus. He jerked his thumb over
to the Sphinx. "She said we 'ad to come get yer. But I wasn't sure if it
was a rescue..."
Or a free meal, I added to myself.
"It's okay, Stan," Potter croaked out. "She's a Gryffindor."
Was that supposed to be reassuring?
"Well, if you say she's all right, Neville," Stan replied.
Neville? I looked at the Sphinx and was vaguely comforted to see her
looking as baffled as I felt. It's hard to look bloodthirsty and
bewildered at the same time.
"Take us to Saint Mungo's, quickly! It's an emergency!" I gasped,
stumbling up the steps, half carrying Potter. Mrs. Norris followed.
The Sphinx nodded and moved away from the Knight Bus, much to
everybody's relief. Behind us, I heard the sound of mighty wings as the
Harpy took flight.
*******
Stan Shunpike, the young, pimply conductor of the Knight Bus was still
the earnest and conscientious Hufflepuff that I remembered. He hovered
protectively over Harry, and then helped Mrs. Norris and me get the ill
boy into Saint Mungo's as swiftly as possible.
(Shunpike's help was greatly appreciated, though I never did understand
why he insisted on referring to Potter as "Neville.")
Potter was promptly whisked away by a motherly-looking medi-witch. Mrs.
Norris and I took guard positions on a chair just outside the examining
room where Potter had been taken. I wasn't about to let him out of my
sight. A young witch handed me a stack of forms, large enough to impress
even me.
"Send an owl to Albus Dumbledore!" I said, giving the forms a quick
glance. "He'll be able to answer the questions that I can't. He'll be
able to contact the boy's family as well!"
"I'm here, Argus," Dumbledore's calm voice had never been more welcome.
He took the forms from my hand. "I've already sent for the Dursleys. In
the meantime, I'll take full responsibility."
"Thank you, sir" I said, gratefully. "How did you know what was going
on?"
"Hypatia owled me," Dumbledore said, as he began filling out forms. The
look on my face must have prompted him to continue. "Well, technically,
she sent a falcon, but there's no need to split hairs. She said she was
going to commandeer the Knight Bus, but that I would probably be needed
to handle the aftermath."
"Hypatia?" I asked him, confused. "Who's...?"
"You can't possibly have missed her," the Headmaster said, wryly. "She's
quite unmistakable. Head of a woman, body of a lion..."
"The SPHINX?" I squeaked. "Sir...? You're on a first-name basis with THE
SPHINX?"
He nodded absently, gazing down at a question on the form. "Why, yes,
Hypatia's been calling me `Albus' for ages now. She and I share a
fondness for tenpin bowling and chamber music. And she knows some truly
delightful riddles..."
"You answer her riddles? But, sir, you mustn't! Wouldn't she EAT you
if...?"
"Goodness, no. It would ruin a most rewarding friendship."
I shuddered. "Headmaster," I said, "You're just as bad as Hagrid!"
"Thank you, Argus." Dumbledore looked up and smiled at me in weary
amusement before returning to Potter's forms.
*******
Harry was just aware enough of his surroundings to be uncomfortable, but
didn't have strength enough to pull himself into full wakefulness. At
one point he thought he heard the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon sputtering
about being dragged such an ungodly distance at such an ungodly hour,
and Aunt Petunia sputtering about the disgraceful way they were being
treated. The only one who seemed to react at all to Harry being
stretched out like a slab of undercooked bacon was his cousin.
"Is Potter going to die?" Harry heard Dudley ask, fearfully.
"I should be so lucky," snapped his aunt.
Someone responded to her in acidic tones, but Harry was losing what
little focus he had and didn't recognize the speaker. As soon as he
stopped fighting for consciousness, the nightmare began.
He felt himself being dragged along, like a dog on a leash and he knew
that whatever was waiting for him was going to be bad... very bad. He
struggled, but somehow his muscles weren't working. In front of him, he
could see the Grey Woman being pulled along between Nagini and Wormtail.
Nagini was grinning with anticipation. The corridor ended at a rust
streaked iron door. Harry, and obviously the Grey Woman, knew who was
waiting on the other side.
"So, Grìsionn-cràdh," Voldemort hissed. "You promised that which you
could not deliver. Now Potter is out of my reach once more. If you had
come to me directly, I would have had him. Dumbledore shall not allow
such a leak in his defenses to remain unplugged. And now he will be
twice as wary about letting the brat out of his sight."
"I am sorry, My Lord!" whimpered the Grey Woman. "I hungered so... I
needed his magic to sustain me!"
The slitted nostrils flared slightly. "You will not have that worry any
longer," he said coldly. "I have a new spell that I've been working on..."
He raised his wand and the Grey Woman tried desperately to back away.
Harry also pulled back. He was certain that he did NOT want to see this.
When the screaming began, it was all he could do to not scream along. He
had a terrible feeling that if he made a sound that Voldemort would hear
him... Voldemort would have him...
To Be Continued
Author's Notes:
Alla: Thanks!! Jelsemium and I don't mind if you join the Snape vs Potter discussion. Jelse and I have different views on Snape. He's my second favorite character, flaws and all. (Like you, I don't admire the way he treats his students, especially Harry and Neville, but I do like his honor, courage and complexity.)
Alla -- Thanks! I like Sphinxes, too! ** Thanks for your opinion on the ongoing Snape/Potter debate. As far as I'm concerned, you are free to jump in at any time! I agree, I wish Snape would stop bullying all the students. For the record, I'm not *totally* against Snape. He just hasn't earned my respect yet. -- Jelsemium
Saphron: Thank you!! Yes, the Sphinx could be described as "twinkly."
It's a quality that she shares with a very good friend of hers. ;O)
(The friendship-patronage between Dumbledore and the Sphinx was
Jelsemium's idea. I thought it was delightful and made a lot of sense.)
-Ozma
Saphron -- Thanks! I think Harry really should learn to appreciate Mr. Filch. They really do have a lot in common. ** I love mythical beings of all sorts. Glad you like how the Sphinx came out. -- Jelsemium
AET: Thank you!! I think that you've probably summed up how Snape himself feels about James and Harry.
Poor Severus has a prickly, unpleasant personality. I think that, deep down, Snape longs to be liked, though he may not realize this about himself. He envies Harry and James for being so likeable. From Snape's point of view, both Potters achieved popularity without effort. (I also find it poignant that Snape would never believe just how little poor Harry actually CARES about being popular.) -Ozma
AET-- Thanks for the review. You're comments are appreciated, even if I don't agree with them. (Hey, I like debates!)
Re: Snape being a double agent: Remember that Snape is in a position to be a double agent against the 'icon of evil' because he had joined said 'icon of evil' of his own free will. (Love that phrase!) Once he let the Dark Mark get branded on him, Snape had three choices -- Stay with Voldemort, run like hell or join Dumbledore. Face it, at that point, Snape's best chance for survival was to help bring down Voldemort.
As for not getting any recognition, Dumbledore testified that Snape was spying for the good guys.
As for James not doing anything to earn respect -- According to Hagrid, James was Head Boy at Hogwarts, not an honor you get just through some 'small talent for Quidditch'. There's also the fact that Voldemort thought James was important enough to target. (And James' courage must have been extraordinary if Voldemort actually praised it.) James' biggest act of bravery may have been to try to live a normal life and start a family, even in the horrible dark times that he was living in.
At the beginning of Book One, Harry *hadn't* done anything to really deserve his fame. On the other hand, he also hadn't done anything to deserve the attacks Snape leveled at him from the moment he set foot in Hogwarts. However, by the end of the fourth book, I'd say Harry has done a LOT of deeds worthy of respect. (Even leaving out the ones that had him stealing from Snape's private stores.)
Personally, I think the root of the James/Severus issue is Lily. -- Jelsemium
Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Argus sincerely hopes that the Harpy wasn't
flirting with him. (His hopes are in vain. She was.) I agree that
Jelsemium has really captured a nice mythic feel with the Council of
Predators and the Tasks. -Ozma
Ariana Deratle: I wanted to have Harry speaking Parseltongue, but there wasn't any place for it in the story. ** I've been wanting to use the skills that Harry learned from the Weasley twins in a story somewhere.** Glad the wandless magic felt right. There is another reason Harry almost got sick here, aside from just using up energy at an alarming rate. I'm not sure if we made it clear that the Grey Stalker has poisoned him. ** I love how Ozma wrote the interaction between the Harpy and Argus. Maybe Minerva has competition! ** Originally, I was going to have three tasks. However, I thought of a fourth judge and I didn't want to get rid of any of the three that I already had. So, I went with a non-traditional four tasks. (Five, if you count Petunia's words as a 'task.') -Jelsemium
Shadowycat: Thank you!! Well, Nagini managed to make off with a
consolation prize for her master. Filch does not enjoy such intimidating
company. Give him a Castleful of muddy-footed brats any day. You weren't
imagining things... the Sphinx is a good guy! -Ozma
Shadowycat: This is the chapter that answers your questions about what Nagini is allowed to do. ** No you aren't imagining things. The Greyling picked the WRONG predators to judge her trial. -Jelsemium
Persephone Kore: Thank you!! -Ozma
Persephone Kore: One hopes that something nasty will eventually befall Nagini. That's half the fun of having a really good villain; seeing his or her downfall. ** Thanks, I liked the Sphinx from the fourth book and
wondered why she was put in the maze. You can see my version of why they
would trust her with the students here. -Jelsemium
Miriam: Thank you!! It's fun writing with Jelsemium. We've known each
other for a long time. -Ozma
Miriam: Thanks for the review. Glad you like our style! -Jelsemium
Andrea13: Thank you!! Poor Harry... he's such a sweet kid. Jelsemium's
paragraph where Harry said he deserved to be treated badly just melted
my heart too. Even grumpy old Filch was distressed to hear the boy talk
that way. -Ozma
Andrea13: Thanks for the review! Yes, poor Harry, just can't be given a break, can he? He sure needs a hug. (You think customs would notice if I tried to smuggle a fifteen year old wizard into the States? Oh, wait, maybe I wrap him up in his father's cloak...) ** Nagini is just a sore loser. Harry won, so she's going to try to claim that he cheated.
-Jelsemium
A. Lee: Thank you!! Yes, each Predator definitely had ideas of her own.
-Ozma
A. Lee: The Greyling made a big mistake when she assumed that the other
predators would automatically side with her. And at least two of them
had hidden agendas that didn't help her case at all. -Jelsemium