Author: Azeroth
Author E-mail: mrlindberg3h@yahoo.com
Category: Mystery, Drama, Action/Adventure, Romance
Keywords: Harry, Ginny, Voldemort, Chalice
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For all four books
Summary: Harry begins his fifth year at Hogwarts with a female Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, feelings of guilt for Cedric Diggory's death, and looking for someone to share his emotions with. Voldemort has steadily begun to build his reign of terror as a sense of urgency and vigilance goes through Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
The Sides of Fear
Chapter 12
Next Stop, St. Mungo's
The month of September had gone by surprisingly fast as Harry spent every waking hour thinking about homework, Quidditch, and Sirius. There had been no word from Sirius since his last letter, and Harry was getting worried. He knew his godfather was probably out on one of his missions, but he had not heard from him for over a month. He remembered what Sirius had said in his letter and decided to go and ask Dumbledore for information. This would of course have to wait, as it was time for Quidditch practice.
Harry was up early, a habit he had never had before becoming the Gryffindor captain. He used to wonder how Wood could be up so early and always ready to drive the rest of the team insanely tired. Now he knew. He had begun to take responsibility for their performance, and the twins had been nice enough to "Oliver Wood Jr." on the back of one of his robes. He had of course made them practice even harder after that earning him grumbles from Fred and George.
It was still dark outside as Harry reached the Quidditch pitch. Classes had been worse than ever as Snape had requested five parchments about the possibly use of something. Harry was so confused that he could hardly remember all the things he had to do. The stressful reality of school had made Harry put aside his feelings about the death of Colin and the attack on Hogsmeade. He had even forgot to ask Hermione who, or what, she thought might have been the target. He reminded himself to do that later today.
"Another thing I have to do," Harry sighed, rolling his eyes.
The sudden release he felt as he soared into the air on his Firebolt was indescribable. As soon as he kicked off from the ground he could feel all his troubles sift away, almost as if they were left on the ground. The only thing he knew was the crisp morning air flowing through his messy hair. At times he wished no one would show up for practice. He came out early just so he could enjoy some time alone, without Hermione getting on him about his homework or Ron asking him for help about Hermione. "At least they were talking now," he thought. They had all prepared a small birthday party for Hermione since she had missed her real birthday, and Ron had taken her aside to talk to her. Whatever he said must have made difference because they had begun to mend their friendship. Viktor and Fleur had actually been mostly absent from the Gryffindor dorms. Harry made a note to ask Hermione if she knew what was going on.
"No. Stop thinking. Just fly," he said to himself, enjoying the last few moments of solitude as six people were dragging their bodies across the grounds.
It was really a beautiful morning. The sun was coming up and the morning dew gave the grass a magical sparkle. Harry found himself perched on his broom high above the others. His eyes drifted from Fred and George to the Chasers who were in full swing trying to beat Ginny. She had been having a strange effect on him lately. He was not sure whether he liked it or not. Most of the time he would feel very comfortable around her, but sometimes she made him feel very uncomfortable. He had found himself thinking about giving her more hugs than were really needed. He was able to regain control of his body by Ron's voice in the back of his head reminding him the fate that awaited any person trying anything funny with Ginny.
Fred and George were up to no good as usual as they had conspired with Angelina and Katie to turn Alicia's broom pink. An unexpected side effect had been that Alicia actually turned pink as well. They had dropped their bats and ran for their life as Alicia sped towards them with a Bludger and a bat in her hands. The spell had finally worn off, but Alicia had caught up with them and they were now hanging from a tree upside down begging for forgiveness.
Harry and Ginny had been the only two not involved in the whole ordeal, and as they watched the thing unfold they were laughing every step of the way. Harry looked over at Ginny who was right next to him and found that his arm had made the journey across her back, and his hand was on her waist. As if sensing something was wrong Ginny quickly glanced at Harry, looked at his hand, then turned bright pink herself. Harry pulled his arm away as if he had been holding his arm out for a dragon to take a bite.
"What do you think you're doing Harry?" yelled Fred, trying to untie the ropes.
"Yeah, it looks like we turned you two pink instead!" said George, eyes glinting with mischief.
Harry refused to look at Ginny who must have been just as embarrassed as he was. He could feel his face burning while the ominous looks on the twins' faces were bad news for him. Wanting to change the subject he signaled for everyone that practice was over.
"Harry? Can I talk to you for a second?" asked Angelina as the rest of the team went up to the Great Hall.
"Sure."
"I have this friend who needs some flying lessons, and I told her I'd help her this weekend. The thing is...well Fred and I have...plans. So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping her out?" asked Angelina pleadingly.
He had so much homework to do for next week, and he had to plan new strategies for the team. This weekend was the only time he had to sit down and relax. Hermione had actually planned time for him to relax. Knowing how much he had to do he told Alicia the only thing he could.
"I wouldn't mind at all," he said, wondering what part of his brain was responding. Evidently his brain was not working today.
"Great. I'll tell her I found a replacement. Thanks Harry," smiled Angelina. "Now let's go eat some breakfast."
Harry grabbed his broom knowing all too well what his apparent brain dysfunction would cause during Potions with Snape. He could hear Snape's voice saying "Detention, Potter, and twenty points from Gryffindor for not paying attention." He sighed heavily and trudged across the grounds to face another long day.
***
Sirius had taken it upon himself to buy groceries at the local bazaar. The marketplace was bustling with activity as he made his way back to the gateway carrying several bags. It had been almost a month since they had arrived at their new home. The driver had taken them the gateway to the magical world in Cairo where they were given a key to their apartment. Once settled in the room Remus had taken out their instructions with Sirius standing over his shoulder reading.
R/S,
If our suspicions are correct we believe one of our operatives are in danger. William Weasley has been working for Gringotts and secretly for us. Much of our information concerning the Chalice would not have been revealed if he had not been able to create a network of spies. However, we believe Voldemort has found out and Mr. Weasley is not safe at the current location. Several of our spies have gone missing or turned up dead. Your job is to watch over him as well as try to find out who might try to assassinate him. Your new identities as well as a key to your vault at Gringotts in Cairo can be found by tapping your wands to the right of the mirror.
Good Luck,
AD
It was clear that Voldemort was beginning to ascend to the powers he had once held. They had set about to familiarize themselves with their new environment, starting with going to Gringotts to withdraw and exchange money. Shari Shalif, which was the name of the place, looked much like Diagon Alley. Of course much of the architecture was different, but wizards were crowding the streets just as they did in Diagon Alley. They had changed into their wizard robes, and they had taken on their new identities thanks to the Polyjuice Potion they had found in the secret compartment by the mirror. Sirius liked his new body as he had turned a little younger, and perhaps even a bit better-looking than before. Remus on the other hand was now missing some teeth as well as balding, all too Sirius' amusement.
He reached their building and went up the stairs saying hello to people who were sitting with their doors open. The women had certainly grown fond of Sirius' new self, Mustafa Hadzimujic, who was now opening up the door to apartment 23. Remus was sitting by the window silently watching the entrance to Gringotts.
"Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?" said Sirius, setting down the groceries on the table.
"The usual, which is absolutely nothing," sighed Remus, getting up and pulling out a fresh apple only to sit back down by the window.
"Did Yosef stop by yet with the Wolfsbane potion?"
"Yes, and it tasted as awful as Snape's concoction,"
"Well, I suppose I should get started with dinner then," said Sirius, pulling out the chicken he had bought.
"Padfoot, you're starting to sound like my mother," chuckled Remus.
"What do you mean?"
Remus turned around to find Sirius holding a chicken in his left hand, and newly pulled feathers in his right. He was wearing an apron with flower designs on it, no doubt left behind by the previous occupants. He just shook his head and turned around to face the window.
There had been nothing peculiar for almost four weeks now, and Remus was beginning to doubt whether or not their time was well spent sitting in a small apartment watching over Bill Weasley. After a month of frustration Remus had finally asked Dumbledore for permission to make contact with Bill, and try to get closer than they already were. The response had been quick and encouraging. Dumbledore had told them to wait for two more days. They were to make contact tomorrow morning at Gringotts.
"Dinner's ready, dear," chimed Sirius in a mock female voice.
Remus got up, but stopped and quickly grabbed the Omnioculars looking out the window. Sirius who had been busy ladling up food went over to see what had grabbed Remus' attention.
"What do you see? You know you shouldn't be spying on innocent witches in the privacy of their home," he said, trying to sound disapproving.
"Here. By the Apothecary," said Remus, shoving the Omnioculars into Sirius' hands.
Sirius focused in on the Apothecary across the street only to find a familiar face standing by the entrance talking to some dubious characters.
"Well, I'll be..." said Sirius, putting down the Omnioculars and looking at Remus. "Is that who I think it is?"
"Yes...Lucius Malfoy," grumbled Remus, grabbing his wand and heading for the door.
***
Potions had taken a toll on Harry as Saturday morning rolled around with more homework on the horizon. Divination had become the usual guessing game for him and Ron, and Care for Magical Creatures had been cancelled for a few weeks due to a few incidents with the Lupertilios. Malfoy had been foolish enough to repeat the same mistake again by treating his Lupertilio with the utmost disrespect. Hagrid, much to the disappointment of the Gryffindors, had been able to restrain it from actually biting Malfoy's head off. While looking for a replacement project he had given it as homework for each student to pick an animal they would like to take care of for the rest of the year. He would then decide what their new project would be.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was becoming increasingly difficult as Miala tried to prepare them for the unexpected. Her furious tempo and uncanny ability to teach the most physically draining spells was slowly taking its toll on everyone. Thankfully, History of Magic allowed everyone an hour of sound sleep as Professor Binns put everyone but Hermione to sleep when talking about the Resurrection of Garlog Gripehook, and any other possible subjects.
He had planned to take the morning off and just lay around for once, when Angelina had come up and reminded him how nice, or insane, he had been to agree to help her friend out with flying lessons. His good mood had been replaced by a sinking feeling that he was never going to get any time to relax.
Angelina had told him his "student" would meet him down by the Quidditch field right after lunch. All Hogsmeade visits had been suspended until further notice, which left most of the students sitting in the common room playing games or just having a nice chat. Harry grabbed his Firebolt and headed down to the pitch feeling angry about wasting his only day off on teaching someone else to fly. "Don't they follow along during class?" he thought angrily, kicking up some dirt as he walked across the grounds.
All those thoughts disappeared as he saw who was waiting for him. Ginny was lying down in the grass humming a tune, oblivious to Harry's presence. As he walked closer he continued listening to Ginny and her singing.
"Wow, her voice is so beautiful," said a voice in the back of his head.
"Get a hold of yourself," he thought, but the voice came back.
"And her hair. So beautifully red with streaks of gold. It makes you want to hug her, doesn't it?"
"Stop it!"
Ginny stopped singing and quickly spun around.
"Harry? What are you doing here...and who were you talking to?" she asked nervously.
"Eh, Angelina asked me to help one of her friends out with flying lessons," said Harry, eyes darting everywhere trying to avoid looking directly at Ginny for too long.
"Oh, she didn't tell me who...I thought it might be Katie," Ginny said, the tip of her ears turning pink. "So, umm...who were you talking to?" she asked, trying to turn Harry's attention away from her now red ears.
"Huh? Oh, that. It was just...mosquitoes...yeah...hate those buggers," he said forcing a smile.
Ginny cocked an eyebrow and looked at him curiously as if trying to decide whether or not he needed to be committed to St. Mungo's any minute. Harry kept smiling hoping she would not ask any further questions, and to his relief she turned around and picked up her broom, a Nimbus 2000. The twins had decided to give Ginny a much needed broom with some of the money Harry had given them. It was of course nowhere near as fast as his Firebolt, but it was a huge step up from her old and battered Cleansweep.
Harry found his eyes wandering over Ginny's figure as she was walking ahead of him to the Quidditch field.
"C'mon Harry, I know you want to give her a hug," came that annoying voice again.
"Shut up!" he yelled, slapping himself on the face, which made Ginny turn around.
"Are you sure you're all right Harry?" she asked, concerned.
"Yeah...hehe...mosquitoes again," he said, swatting his hands in the air and forcing a laugh.
Ginny frowned and looked at him as if he was out of his mind. She was studying him intently trying to figure out what was really bothering him. Finally she let Harry go with her piercing gaze and got on her broom. Harry kicked off the ground and soared up beside Ginny who was waiting in the middle of the field.
"So, umm...what do you need help with Gin? I think you're great...at flying," Harry added, feeling like lunch was going to make a quick round-trip.
"Well, I wanted to learn how to do a few of the more difficult moves, like the Cardochian Cross. Basically anything you can teach me now that I have this new broom."
Harry nodded and began to give Ginny step-by-step instructions on every move he could possibly think of. It took Ginny a while before she could actually perform the Cardochian Cross, but after several tries it looked like she had it down. The uncomfortable feeling he had had before slowly disappeared and they spent a full hour working on moves Ginny could use playing as a Keeper. They had both started to work up a sweat and Harry felt like he needed to go take a shower.
"Harry? Would you mind showing me the Wronski Feint?" Ginny asked out of nowhere.
Harry was taken aback as there would be no use for her to know that move as a Keeper.
"Why? Are you going to try to kick me off the team?" he said jokingly.
"N-no, I...I just wanted to learn how to do it."
Harry smiled at Ginny as he rose high in the air, pushed his broom down and forward, and sped towards the ground at blistering speed. Just when it seemed like he was going to hit the ground he pulled up coming only inches from ending up as a small puddle on the ground. He rose to where Ginny had been watching feeling strangely proud of himself.
"There you go. The Wronski Feint, just for you," he said smiling.
"I thought you were going to hit the ground," Ginny said, avoiding Harry's eyes, "but you did it, you always make it."
Harry felt himself blush and all of a sudden he wanted to get away from the situation. One thing he had not learned was how to take praise well, especially from someone he knew did not consider him as "The Great Harry Potter", but just Harry.
"Uh, thanks," he managed to mutter, running his hand through his hair.
"I need to go," said Ginny, still looking at her broomstick.
"Me too," said Harry even though he had absolutely nothing planned for the rest of the day.
"Thanks Harry. I know you have a lot of other things on your mind so I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out."
"I'd do anything for you Gin," he blurted out, immediately wishing he could just sink right through the ground.
Thankfully enough Ginny did not seem like she had interpreted what he had said the wrong way. She simply gave Harry a quick nod before making her way down to the ground. Harry followed her and together they made their way back up to the common room. When they entered the room Ron's eyes fell upon both of them giving Harry a disapproving look. Harry knew he would have to have another talk with Ron, but that could wait. He needed to find Hermione and ask her for some help. If she was not in the common room there was only one place she could be. The library.
Ginny walked up the stairs and looked back at Harry who was walking out the portrait hole. She saw Ron getting up from his game of chess with Dean, heading straight for her with the look of an over-protective brother. She sighed and tried to make it up the stairs, but Ron was too fast. He caught her arm and turned her around.
"What've you been doing all day?" he asked rather angrily.
"It's none of your business...Ronald," she answered, tired and irritated.
"You're my little sister. I decide what's my business."
"I'm not a little baby anymore," Ginny hissed, pulling her arm away from Ron's grasp.
"I demand to know what you were doing out there with Harry," Ron said, raising his voice and drawing the attention of the rest of the students in the common room.
Ginny could feel her face turning red as her brother was turning her into the rarely known furious reincarnation of Molly Weasley.
"If you have to know," she snapped, "Harry and I were having a real snogfest by the lake," Ginny yelled as Ron's face was beginning to drop, "and we're planning on continuing right after I take a shower."
Ron was standing with his mouth open, face red, and eyes wide open. Ginny took the opportunity to retreat to her room by slamming the door loud enough for all the Gryffindors to jump in their seats. Ron finally regained his composure wobbling down the stairs, and sitting down by Dean again.
"She's utterly mad I tell you, completely nutters," he muttered, feeling an urge to find his best friend and rip his head off.
Ginny threw her broom violently down on the floor and flung herself onto her bed.
"What did I just say?" she thought to herself. "Harry is going to hate me after this...and Fred and George...I'm never going to live this down."
She looked over on her bedside table where her mother was looking back at her in one of her family pictures. She could hear her mother's voice scolding her for turning into a "scarlet woman" and bringing shame on the family name.
Meanwhile Harry was happily unaware of what awaited him on his return to the common room. On his way to the library he thought he should go ask Dumbledore if there had been any news about Sirius. When he turned the corner he could hear voices coming from the entrance to Dumbledore's office, and Fleur and Viktor walked out together engulfed in a heated discussion. Harry quickly drew back behind a closet as Fleur and Viktor walked the other way. When their footsteps had faded away he came out from his hiding place, and walked straight to the library to find Hermione, forgetting all about talking to Dumbledore.
End of Chapter 12
A/N: I was able to upload another chapter as I have been in a real writing mood as of late. At the moment I'm working around the World Cup. I hope to be able to finish this story within two months, which should give me time to complete a trilogy before book 5 comes out. Reports have been we won't see it until Fall of 2003. Yes, all of you can join me crying and whining if that is the case :~(
vedette: Thank you. It's always nice to see another person reading my story. I know killing off Colin was probably not the nicest way to end his appearance, but I kind of followed what J.K. Rowling has hinted during interviews. Of course she only said that a "special fan" would kick the bucket.
Maddy: I think Ron really has a violent streak deep deep inside *grins* Just wait and see, we might actually see Ron trying to rip off arms, hands, ears, heads, and whatever else he can reach.
AnGeL: I'm finally getting to the point where most of the ground work has been laid in the story and the actual action can begin. Don't hate Viktor...I kind of like him myself. His role will play out sooner than you think, and perhaps Ron will finally get who he wants...Millicent Bulstrode :)
ADJ: The longest review yet. Almost as long as one of my chapters :) Draco will always be an evil little git, but like Voldemort said, there's more to him than you might think *hint* *hint* I figured I would not make Harry make a complete change of character as he has never really experienced anything about the opposite sex, and...he's only 15. All the elements will soon be revealed (chapter 351 or so), but I refuse to give any hints...or maybe I have. But all of you who have read the books well know that nothing is ever what it seems. That's all I am going to say about that. Oh yeah, your threat worked...a new chapter is up quickly.
RogueAngel & Bella Black: I actually changed my plans a little since the two of you wanted some more H/G. Like I said before though Harry is just starting to deal with these new emotions, and the fact that Ginny is Ron's little sister does not make things easier. But hey, I do read your reviews and listen to what you have to say. This won't work every time though *grins*, but thanks for reviewing and giving me some help and hints on what you would like to see.
chochang913: I'll read your story, but I have to warn you. I am a terrible procrastinator. You are right about Ron. He is really an over-protective brother, but hey, that's his job :)
Chris H: Thanks for that compliment. I wanted to make it as close to the canon as possible, and turning all of them into snoggomaniacs just would not work. First the boys and girls have to figure out what, and how, to deal with their emotions.
Raven Xavier: Thanks, and here's the next chapter. I don't know when the next chapter will be done, but hopefully in a few days or so if I keep up the same pace.
