Beginning of the End
Authors: Starchild and Saavik
Chapter Twenty-Eight - You Should have thought of all this before you where born. (N. F. Simpson)
***Disclaimer*** See Chapter Seven.
When you see // ..// it means the person is thinking and not talking.
************'
In a few hours the train would be arriving. Harry looked around his dorm room. //It won't be long and these beds will be full. I'll have to deal with more than just Neville and Snape. I know I told Ron the school was creepy empty, but I liked it. It was nice to be able to walk around without getting stared at or having Malfoy trying to get at me. Even Snape's nicer without all of the students. I'll miss having meals with the professors and I hate the noise in the Great Hall when its full.//
Harry looked down at his hands and sat on his bed. The last few weeks had been an ordeal, emotionally and physically. The potions for the new school year where done, as was the ingredients storage. It had taken Snape, Harry, Neville, and Prof. Sprout countless hours to finish everything but the list of projects was finally complete. Harry had loved the work, it made him feel.... He rubbed at the potion stains on his fingers. He debated using a cleaning charm but decided he liked them. It proved that he hadn't been useless. He hated being useless. The clock chimed. //Only a few more hours. Perhaps I should take a nap. My last chance before I have to deal with Dean's snoring.// Harry settled back onto the pillows and stared at the canopy. //I should go down and apologize to Hagrid for real this time.//
Harry cringed at the thought. He had hurt the half-giant's feelings very badly about a week and half past. Prof. McGonagall had made him apologize, but Harry hadn't meant it at the time. Hagrid had been upset that Harry had been back at Hogwarts and hadn't been to see him. Hagrid had returned from a trip to France a week after Harry had arrived /no need to guess why he was there//. Harry had been tired and had been dodging Neville all morning. He didn't feel like talking and tried to get out of the conversation. When Hagrid started insisting that he come and have tea, Harry snapped back that he had better things to do than pretend to eat inedible biscuits and drink tea strong enough to peal paint. Hagrid had looked shocked and asked him what was wrong. Harry had glared at him and told him to leave it be and stormed off. Hagrid had called after Harry and told him that he had something very important to tell him about the next school year. He had sounded very excited and Harry could only image what monster the man had now. Trying to avoid an encounter with a creature libel to eat him, Harry had turned and replied in a cold voice, "What, did they hire a descent Care of Magical Creatures professor?" and went back to his trek across the castle.
McGonagall had found Hagrid crying in the entryway. She had pulled him together and gotten the story from the distraught man. Hagrid had always considered Harry to be like a younger brother to him, or at times a son. To hear Harry say he couldn't teach hurt. McGonagall had flown into motion and pulled Harry from his work in the dungeons by his ear. After a good hour-long tirade she hauled him out to Hagrid's hut and watched as he said he was sorry and it was just the stress. Hagrid had tearfully pulled him into a crushing hug and then looked him in the eye. " 'Arry, I knew you didn't mean it. I'm sorry 'bout all the fuss. I should 'ave listened to Minerva when she said you 'ern't yourself lat'ly." The big smile on Hagrid face hadn't even fazed the boy-who-lived at the time. All he had wanted was to escape back to the potions lab to work in the silence. Now, however, the smile haunted him.
//Hagrid was my first friend. I shouldn't have treated him that way, and I should have really meant that apology. What's wrong with me? I can't get along with Neville, I hurt Hagrid's feelings, I punched Snape...Merlin I hit Snape, in front of the Headmaster.// Harry racked a hand through his hair. //Am I loosing my mind? Why can't I get a grip? It's like I can't think before I act anymore. My impulse control is gone, gods I could kill Malfoy if this keeps up. One comment about my mother and he's toast. I've got to get a handle on this before the others get here. I'm a time bomb. Okay, I haven't had much sleep. Maybe that nap would help. Settle my mind, get me back in focus. Then I'll just have to try counting to ten if anybody starts in on me. I feel better just with the plan, yeah, a plan is all I needed.//
Harry closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Sleep wouldn't come. He kept thinking about how angry he was. At what he didn't know, everything he guessed. Sighing Harry reached into his nightstand and pulled out a small bottle of a mild sleeping draught he had 'liberated' from Snape's potions stores. He was sure the man knew he had it, but let him take it anyway. //He probably needs one to.// Harry uncorked the bottle and downed a tablespoon. Replacing the cork, then the bottle, Harry laid back down. This time sleep came and with it something unexpected and all together unpleasant.
***Dream****
The forest was dark and a light fog covered the ground like a special effect from one of the movies he use to hide and watch when Dudley's friends came over and the Dursleys rented something. Harry couldn't feel the air but something told him it was too cold for England in early September. To the left lay a clearing and in the center Voldemort stood. He had just dismissed what looked like a group of 5 Deatheaters. Harry moved closer. One figure stood unmasked at the feet of the seated Dark Lord.
"Wormtail."
"Yes Master?"
"Today is September 1st."
"Yes my Lord."
"Do you know what happens today?"
"The students arive at Hogwarts."
"Excellent my rat, and do we have an update from Lucius?"
"No my Lord. He hasn't con.con..contac..checked in since after the attack."
"With the students in residence it will be harder for him to get what I need. I knew that fool would fail."
"Forgive me Master, but if you knew he couldn't retrieve the 'one' from Dumbledore why did you send him?"
"Crucio. Never question me Wormtail. There is a reason for everything. His failure and death at that old imbecile's hands will get him out of the way without my directly moving against him. Lucius wants me gone so he can be the next Dark Lord. I don't like competition rat. If I just kill him his supporters may rally. But if they see him for the weakling he is, even if he lives he will not have anymore followers. And there is always the odd chance he will succeed. In which case I will just give him your job."
Wormtail trembled. "Master, what about the other little problem."
"It should be taken care of by our 'competition'. If I am correct, which I am, Lucius has the same weakness as his brother. He will fall for the same trap Stephan did. What I do not understand is why it lives. It has no magic and yet it escaped. Dumbledore deems it to have enough value to protect and it has ensnarled one and soon two of my servants. I want to know why. It might be connected to the larger goal. Get to work on it Wormtail. I don't like riddles."
"Yes my master."
"Rat."
"Yes my Lord?"
"Quickly."
"Yes Lord. Quickly."
The forest began to waver as the sleeping draught started to ware off. The last image Harry clearly caught was Wormtail going to a trunk set under what appeared to be an elm. He lifted the lid and slid out a book. The cover showed the Armstrong Academy, it was a yearbook for the previous school term. Wormtail flipped to a page showing the triplets playing some kind of a game with Ms. J. Harry leaned closer as the image faded to a pale black and white and saw there were several others in the photo too. A man that reminded Harry strongly of Lucius Malfoy, at least his hair and body posture, was standing on the sidelines glaring at Ms. J and a group of kids were off on one side laughing at their teacher trying to hit the ball over a net with her hands. Harry realized they were playing volleyball in the gym and that the children in the background hadn't made it. He saw that the triplets and Ms. J. appeared to be playing against a young woman who had the same hair as his teacher and three boys; Zack, Nicolai, and a blond Harry didn't know. Wormtail began to mutter something about the 'one' as he lifted the book to a table and pulled out a stool. Harry lost the image completely.
****Gryffindor Dorms***
Harry sat bolt upright. //Voldemort wants one of those people, but who? Wait, he said 'it' didn't have magic and escaped. I saw the pictures in the Daily Prophet, the school was leveled. What if what Voldemort wants isn't a person but a thing. But he said it lives, a thing doesn't live. And he talked about a 'one' and this other 'it'. So he's after two things and he sent Lucius Malfoy to get them. He thinks Malfoy'll fail. Well he will if I have anything to do with it.//
//Malfoy has a brother, or had by the sound of it. Scary thought, two were enough. Ms. J. was in that picture Pettigrew was looking at. If he wanted to find out how she got the students out he...maybe Voldemort ..how did she get them out? That's what he wants to find out, she must have used something to transport the class to safety. A charm, pendent, portkey thingy, or something. That must be what he's after. Dumbledore must have hidden it. But she's the muggle studies instructor, what could she know about that kind of thing. He said it wasn't magical. Maybe she pulled a 9mm and shot her way out.//
The image of Deatheaters dodging bullets almost made Harry laugh, almost. The idea had merit. Harry filed it away to think about later. The logistics of smuggling a firearm into Hogwarts when they were illegal in Muggle England was a little to daunting for the moment. The clock chimed again and Harry put the dream at the back of his mind. If Voldemort was waiting for Lucius to fail then time was not a necessity. Dumbledore knew of Malfoy's alliances and wouldn't let the man anywhere near whatever it was. But just in case Harry vowed to keep an eye on the younger one. The Headmaster seemed to have a soft spot for the blond and Harry didn't want to take any chances.
Harry also made a mental note to watch the new instructor closely. //There is something about her I don't trust. They way she handled Dumbledore that first day, and that thing with the elves. I mean, what was she playing at. If Voldemort doesn't know how she got the kids out then she can't be working for him. She's in danger, but I still don't trust her. I've got a bad feeling she's hiding something. A big something. I do love a mystery.// Thinking back to the dream Harry chuckled and added, //I love a good Riddle too, only I like mine with their lifeless heads impaled on sticks in my garden.// Grinning, Harry warded his trunk and bed and left the tower.
Taking the stairs two at time, Harry hurried to the guest quarters to round up the new kids for the sorting feast. He smiled. He couldn't wait to collect his money from Neville. There was no way that Willow was going to make it into Gryffindor. //She's pure Hufflepuff, she is.//
A/N: Sorry for the odd Hagrid speech. I'm American and his accent is hard to put down. Oh well, you get the picture anyway I'm sure.
LL&P Saavik
Authors: Starchild and Saavik
Chapter Twenty-Eight - You Should have thought of all this before you where born. (N. F. Simpson)
***Disclaimer*** See Chapter Seven.
When you see // ..// it means the person is thinking and not talking.
************'
In a few hours the train would be arriving. Harry looked around his dorm room. //It won't be long and these beds will be full. I'll have to deal with more than just Neville and Snape. I know I told Ron the school was creepy empty, but I liked it. It was nice to be able to walk around without getting stared at or having Malfoy trying to get at me. Even Snape's nicer without all of the students. I'll miss having meals with the professors and I hate the noise in the Great Hall when its full.//
Harry looked down at his hands and sat on his bed. The last few weeks had been an ordeal, emotionally and physically. The potions for the new school year where done, as was the ingredients storage. It had taken Snape, Harry, Neville, and Prof. Sprout countless hours to finish everything but the list of projects was finally complete. Harry had loved the work, it made him feel.... He rubbed at the potion stains on his fingers. He debated using a cleaning charm but decided he liked them. It proved that he hadn't been useless. He hated being useless. The clock chimed. //Only a few more hours. Perhaps I should take a nap. My last chance before I have to deal with Dean's snoring.// Harry settled back onto the pillows and stared at the canopy. //I should go down and apologize to Hagrid for real this time.//
Harry cringed at the thought. He had hurt the half-giant's feelings very badly about a week and half past. Prof. McGonagall had made him apologize, but Harry hadn't meant it at the time. Hagrid had been upset that Harry had been back at Hogwarts and hadn't been to see him. Hagrid had returned from a trip to France a week after Harry had arrived /no need to guess why he was there//. Harry had been tired and had been dodging Neville all morning. He didn't feel like talking and tried to get out of the conversation. When Hagrid started insisting that he come and have tea, Harry snapped back that he had better things to do than pretend to eat inedible biscuits and drink tea strong enough to peal paint. Hagrid had looked shocked and asked him what was wrong. Harry had glared at him and told him to leave it be and stormed off. Hagrid had called after Harry and told him that he had something very important to tell him about the next school year. He had sounded very excited and Harry could only image what monster the man had now. Trying to avoid an encounter with a creature libel to eat him, Harry had turned and replied in a cold voice, "What, did they hire a descent Care of Magical Creatures professor?" and went back to his trek across the castle.
McGonagall had found Hagrid crying in the entryway. She had pulled him together and gotten the story from the distraught man. Hagrid had always considered Harry to be like a younger brother to him, or at times a son. To hear Harry say he couldn't teach hurt. McGonagall had flown into motion and pulled Harry from his work in the dungeons by his ear. After a good hour-long tirade she hauled him out to Hagrid's hut and watched as he said he was sorry and it was just the stress. Hagrid had tearfully pulled him into a crushing hug and then looked him in the eye. " 'Arry, I knew you didn't mean it. I'm sorry 'bout all the fuss. I should 'ave listened to Minerva when she said you 'ern't yourself lat'ly." The big smile on Hagrid face hadn't even fazed the boy-who-lived at the time. All he had wanted was to escape back to the potions lab to work in the silence. Now, however, the smile haunted him.
//Hagrid was my first friend. I shouldn't have treated him that way, and I should have really meant that apology. What's wrong with me? I can't get along with Neville, I hurt Hagrid's feelings, I punched Snape...Merlin I hit Snape, in front of the Headmaster.// Harry racked a hand through his hair. //Am I loosing my mind? Why can't I get a grip? It's like I can't think before I act anymore. My impulse control is gone, gods I could kill Malfoy if this keeps up. One comment about my mother and he's toast. I've got to get a handle on this before the others get here. I'm a time bomb. Okay, I haven't had much sleep. Maybe that nap would help. Settle my mind, get me back in focus. Then I'll just have to try counting to ten if anybody starts in on me. I feel better just with the plan, yeah, a plan is all I needed.//
Harry closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Sleep wouldn't come. He kept thinking about how angry he was. At what he didn't know, everything he guessed. Sighing Harry reached into his nightstand and pulled out a small bottle of a mild sleeping draught he had 'liberated' from Snape's potions stores. He was sure the man knew he had it, but let him take it anyway. //He probably needs one to.// Harry uncorked the bottle and downed a tablespoon. Replacing the cork, then the bottle, Harry laid back down. This time sleep came and with it something unexpected and all together unpleasant.
***Dream****
The forest was dark and a light fog covered the ground like a special effect from one of the movies he use to hide and watch when Dudley's friends came over and the Dursleys rented something. Harry couldn't feel the air but something told him it was too cold for England in early September. To the left lay a clearing and in the center Voldemort stood. He had just dismissed what looked like a group of 5 Deatheaters. Harry moved closer. One figure stood unmasked at the feet of the seated Dark Lord.
"Wormtail."
"Yes Master?"
"Today is September 1st."
"Yes my Lord."
"Do you know what happens today?"
"The students arive at Hogwarts."
"Excellent my rat, and do we have an update from Lucius?"
"No my Lord. He hasn't con.con..contac..checked in since after the attack."
"With the students in residence it will be harder for him to get what I need. I knew that fool would fail."
"Forgive me Master, but if you knew he couldn't retrieve the 'one' from Dumbledore why did you send him?"
"Crucio. Never question me Wormtail. There is a reason for everything. His failure and death at that old imbecile's hands will get him out of the way without my directly moving against him. Lucius wants me gone so he can be the next Dark Lord. I don't like competition rat. If I just kill him his supporters may rally. But if they see him for the weakling he is, even if he lives he will not have anymore followers. And there is always the odd chance he will succeed. In which case I will just give him your job."
Wormtail trembled. "Master, what about the other little problem."
"It should be taken care of by our 'competition'. If I am correct, which I am, Lucius has the same weakness as his brother. He will fall for the same trap Stephan did. What I do not understand is why it lives. It has no magic and yet it escaped. Dumbledore deems it to have enough value to protect and it has ensnarled one and soon two of my servants. I want to know why. It might be connected to the larger goal. Get to work on it Wormtail. I don't like riddles."
"Yes my master."
"Rat."
"Yes my Lord?"
"Quickly."
"Yes Lord. Quickly."
The forest began to waver as the sleeping draught started to ware off. The last image Harry clearly caught was Wormtail going to a trunk set under what appeared to be an elm. He lifted the lid and slid out a book. The cover showed the Armstrong Academy, it was a yearbook for the previous school term. Wormtail flipped to a page showing the triplets playing some kind of a game with Ms. J. Harry leaned closer as the image faded to a pale black and white and saw there were several others in the photo too. A man that reminded Harry strongly of Lucius Malfoy, at least his hair and body posture, was standing on the sidelines glaring at Ms. J and a group of kids were off on one side laughing at their teacher trying to hit the ball over a net with her hands. Harry realized they were playing volleyball in the gym and that the children in the background hadn't made it. He saw that the triplets and Ms. J. appeared to be playing against a young woman who had the same hair as his teacher and three boys; Zack, Nicolai, and a blond Harry didn't know. Wormtail began to mutter something about the 'one' as he lifted the book to a table and pulled out a stool. Harry lost the image completely.
****Gryffindor Dorms***
Harry sat bolt upright. //Voldemort wants one of those people, but who? Wait, he said 'it' didn't have magic and escaped. I saw the pictures in the Daily Prophet, the school was leveled. What if what Voldemort wants isn't a person but a thing. But he said it lives, a thing doesn't live. And he talked about a 'one' and this other 'it'. So he's after two things and he sent Lucius Malfoy to get them. He thinks Malfoy'll fail. Well he will if I have anything to do with it.//
//Malfoy has a brother, or had by the sound of it. Scary thought, two were enough. Ms. J. was in that picture Pettigrew was looking at. If he wanted to find out how she got the students out he...maybe Voldemort ..how did she get them out? That's what he wants to find out, she must have used something to transport the class to safety. A charm, pendent, portkey thingy, or something. That must be what he's after. Dumbledore must have hidden it. But she's the muggle studies instructor, what could she know about that kind of thing. He said it wasn't magical. Maybe she pulled a 9mm and shot her way out.//
The image of Deatheaters dodging bullets almost made Harry laugh, almost. The idea had merit. Harry filed it away to think about later. The logistics of smuggling a firearm into Hogwarts when they were illegal in Muggle England was a little to daunting for the moment. The clock chimed again and Harry put the dream at the back of his mind. If Voldemort was waiting for Lucius to fail then time was not a necessity. Dumbledore knew of Malfoy's alliances and wouldn't let the man anywhere near whatever it was. But just in case Harry vowed to keep an eye on the younger one. The Headmaster seemed to have a soft spot for the blond and Harry didn't want to take any chances.
Harry also made a mental note to watch the new instructor closely. //There is something about her I don't trust. They way she handled Dumbledore that first day, and that thing with the elves. I mean, what was she playing at. If Voldemort doesn't know how she got the kids out then she can't be working for him. She's in danger, but I still don't trust her. I've got a bad feeling she's hiding something. A big something. I do love a mystery.// Thinking back to the dream Harry chuckled and added, //I love a good Riddle too, only I like mine with their lifeless heads impaled on sticks in my garden.// Grinning, Harry warded his trunk and bed and left the tower.
Taking the stairs two at time, Harry hurried to the guest quarters to round up the new kids for the sorting feast. He smiled. He couldn't wait to collect his money from Neville. There was no way that Willow was going to make it into Gryffindor. //She's pure Hufflepuff, she is.//
A/N: Sorry for the odd Hagrid speech. I'm American and his accent is hard to put down. Oh well, you get the picture anyway I'm sure.
LL&P Saavik