Harry Potter & the Dark Lord – Chapter 5
Disclaimer: The characters and setting belong to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: You guys are just too sweet!! I appreciate all the reviews and I hope you keep them up. I haven't posted as quickly as usual (sorry), but I hope you haven't forgotten me. This time there's less romance (but haven't you had enough of H/G and R/H already? Just kidding!!), and more plot. I needed to write this stuff to set up the next chapter, which I hope will be much more interesting. READ, REVIEW, and ENJOY!!!!!!
By the way, GO YANKS!!!!!! (That's in reference to the Subway Series, for you non-New Yorkers out there. Sorry, couldn't resist!)
Harry didn't have time to reflect on the Hogsmeade trip, as the next week was very interesting, indeed. Rushing to Herbology – he had forgotten his dragon-hide gloves and they were working with tiger lilies – Harry ran right into someone and dropped his things all over the hallway. He mumbled an apology and bent over to grab his books. Just as he was reaching for his wand, Harry heard a familiar voice.
"'Arry, eez that you?"
Harry looked up, balancing two books, his gloves, and wand under one arm as he reached for a third book with his other arm. Standing before him was Fleur Delacour, beaming at him with her dazzling smile and her brilliant blue eyes sparkling. She tossed her sheet of silvery blonde hair back with one hand and reached over to help Harry up.
"Fleur?" Harry was in complete shock. "What are you doing here?"
At this Fleur's smile faded a bit (although she still looked just as beautiful – that was the veela in her) and a hint of sadness showed in her eyes. "Theez weekend would 'ave been Cedric Diggory's eighteenth birthday. Your 'eadmaster invited ze former champions to come for a memorial service at 'ogwarts. We will be 'ere for two weeks."
"We?" Harry asked, wondering if this meant ALL the champions would be there. "Is Krum here also?"
"He will arrive later today. Don't say anything, 'Arry, if you don't mind. I think zey wair going to announce it tonight after dinner." Fleur's smile returned as she leaned over and gave Harry a big hug. "I am so very glad to see you again 'Arry. I 'ope to see you many more times while I am 'ere." With that, Fleur continued down the hall.
Harry remembered he had Herbology and ran the rest of the way. He walked out to the greenhouse, out of breath and sweating, just as Professor Sprout was handing out the tiger lilies. These weren't Muggle tiger lilies. These flowers had striped tiger fur and were carnivorous, eating anything that got in the way of its petals. The striped fur on the flowers had grown too long and the class had to trim it, while avoiding the plant's sharp teeth. Professor Fletcher had requested the tiger lily fur be saved for use as an ingredient in a potion he was preparing. Harry settled next to Ron and Hermione, but didn't mention anything about what had just happened, remembering what Fleur had asked. Class went by quickly, and Harry managed to avoid getting bitten, although Ron accidentally got a bite on his finger when he took his glove off to make an obscene gesture at Malfoy. Luckily, his plant was old and most of its teeth had fallen out.
As they walked to the Great Hall for lunch, Ron suddenly frowned. He was staring down the hall and stretching up on his toes so as to see further.
"What're you looking for Ron?" Hermione was trying to see what had caught Ron's attention, but being so much shorter, she had no chance.
"Nothing, I must be seeing things," Ron shook his head as if trying to clear his vision. He kept on looking down the hall with a confused expression on his face. "It's just, I swear I just saw Krum!"
At the mention of Viktor Krum, Hermione blushed a deep pink and looked away. Harry figured he might as well tell the truth now, seeing as Ron would be even angrier later if Harry didn't tell him. "Well, actually, you probably did just see Krum. He's here for a memorial for Cedric. They're going to announce it tonight."
A scowl was quickly forming on Ron's face. "Why does he have to come! He barely even knew Cedric!"
Hermione, still pink, carefully said, "Well, that explains his last letter. Viktor wrote he might be seeing me soon, but I didn't know what he meant. But how did you know Harry?"
Ron's scowl had grown deeper upon hearing about Krum writing to Hermione. Harry glanced quickly at him, then at Hermione, and added, "Fleur told me."
Ron's face immediately brightened, "Fleur? Is she here, too? Where did you see her?" He started looking excitedly around as if Harry were hiding her behind his robes.
"I bumped into her on the way to Herbology." Literally, he thought, smiling to himself. "Anyway, she said they'll be here for two weeks."
Ron was floating on air after that, and Hermione kept on shooting angry looks at him, to which he was oblivious. While Harry didn't have any particular affection for Krum or Fleur, he was looking forward to something different and interesting happening at the school. Divination zoomed by that afternoon as Harry and Ron happily played along with Professor Trelawney, eagerly predicting their deaths. They met Hermione in the Great Hall for dinner and rushed through their meal, anxiously looking around until everyone had done eating. Finally, Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"As I'm sure his friends remember, this weekend would have been Cedric Diggory's eighteenth birthday. His parents have agreed to allow us to hold a memorial in his honor, so we can celebrate how he lived his life and remember what he fought against in his death. To join us on this occasion will be the champions from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, who shared his last year with him. Viktor, Fleur…" Krum and Fleur entered from the side door and joined Dumbledore at the staff table. The Great Hall was abuzz with whispers, as everyone was straining to catch a glimpse of the two. Most of the girls were searching for quills to ask Krum for his autograph; he was a star quidditch player after all. Meanwhile, many of the boys were staring at Fleur with their mouths agape, including Ron. Hermione had given him a hard jab in the ribs, but was distracted as Krum walked over to their table.
"Hello, Herm-o-ninny," Krum said, "I told you I vould see you soon! Are you surprised?"
Hermione's cheeks were a little pink, but she managed to respond calmly, "Yes, Viktor, I'm very surprised. I wish you had told me," she scolded, "I wasn't expecting you to come back to Hogwarts!"
Harry noticed Hermione looked a little uncomfortable but he chalked it up to Ron's embarrassing behavior. At this point, Fleur was walking towards them and Ron was practically drooling. He almost fell out of his chair trying to offer it to Fleur, but she waved it off and turned to Harry instead.
"'Ello again! I am sharing a room with Professor Figg while I am 'ere. I will see you soon!!! Oh, 'ello Ron. Nice seeing you again," she said as she noticed Ron hovering around her.
As Harry, Ron and Hermione were headed up to the common room that night, Krum stopped Harry in the hall. Harry told Hermione and Ron he would meet them upstairs and turned to Krum, who was looking slightly uneasy, his eyes on the ground. "I vanted to apologize for thinking vat I did about you and Herm-o-ninny last year. Ve vrote a lot this summer, and she finally convinced me you are just her friend."
Harry was a little surprised at this. He had known that Krum was worried that Hermione mentioned him so much, but he hadn't realized this was bothering him. "How did she convince you?" Harry asked, curious.
Krum looked even more uncomfortable, "Vell, she told me…it is really not my place to say. Anyvay, ve are just friends now. It is best that vay."
Harry joined his friends in the common room guessing that Hermione may have told Krum who she really liked – at least he hoped she had. He thought it was a good sign if she was actually admitting it to herself. However, Ron and Hermione were acting somewhat cold to each other that night, and Harry went to bed early. Listening to the radio that night, he heard some news that shook him out of his easy thoughts.
"This just in – urgent special report from Enid Horsehead of the KMGC News Team. If there is any doubt that he is back, it is vanishing rapidly. You-Know-Who appears to have returned with a vengeance. Five Muggles have been killed in three separate locations across England. While the Ministry has been working non-stop to keep the truth from the Muggles, it will not make any official announcements. Unofficial sources, however, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said they are contacting Muggle officials to warn them of You-Know-Who's return. These sources, whose names I will not reveal under threat of the Unforgivable Curses (well, maybe I won't go that far), also point a finger at the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, who refuses to acknowledge the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named."
Harry froze. So he's really back now. Harry thought he should feel afraid but instead he felt relieved. At least it was out in the open now. It seemed easier to deal with when he knew what he was up against. After what seemed like hours, Harry finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Long after, Harry would remember this week as one of the most unusual. If the events and news of the first day of the week weren't enough, Harry had another shock over breakfast the next day. He told Hermione and Ron about the radio news story, and they also seemed somewhat relieved, as if they could stop dreading what they feared would happen as it had already happened. Both seemed somewhat more cheerful now that Krum and Fleur weren't around. Soon, the loud noise of thousands of flapping wings filled the room as hundreds of owls swooped in with the morning mail. Hermione excitedly grabbed her copy of the Daily Prophet to see if it had reported anything on the Muggle deaths. Before she could read it, they were interrupted as a large brown owl they didn't recognize dropped a letter on Harry's plate, taking a slice of Harry's bacon before flying away. Harry picked up the letter and nearly shouted when he recognized the handwriting, remembering at the last second to keep his voice down.
"It's from Sirius!" he whispered to Ron and Hermione, who gathered closer to him. Harry motioned for them to follow him outside, grabbing some toast as he left. They walked towards the lake, stopping at a tree and settling under its shade. Here, far away from the other students, Harry read the letter aloud.
Harry—
I know you haven't heard from me in quite a while. I'm really sorry about that but it couldn't be helped. I understand that Mrs. Figg is at Hogwarts now so you may have heard some of what has been happening. Don't worry, I'm fine. But the situation is getting worse. I have reason to believe that Voldemort is heading back to England, so I've come back there after him. I need to meet with you. Let me know if you can come to Remus' old hideout at 8 o'clock Thursday night. Don't send Hedwig.
Take care of yourself.
Sirius
"The Shrieking Shack? That shouldn't be too hard," Ron said. "The only ones who know about it are Dumbledore and Snape, and Snape is gone." He couldn't help smiling at this.
Hermione wasn't so confident, "Someone can still see us getting to the Whomping Willow. A lot of students are out at that time."
"We can use the Invisibility Cloak, but I don't think it can cover all three of us anymore," Harry said slowly, "I'd better go on my own."
"What?" Ron looked extremely disappointed. "But, I want to see Sirius too! You shouldn't go alone. You might get caught!"
"Ron, Harry's right," Hermione decided. "We can go with him to the Whomping Willow and act as lookouts."
Ron looked defeated. "I guess. But you'll tell us everything as soon as you get back!"
With that, Harry went up to the owlery to send a response to Sirius with one of the school owls.
Later that night, Harry, Ron and Hermione were just deciding to head up to Gryffindor Tower. Dinner had been quite interesting, as both Fleur and Krum had joined them. Ron didn't say much during the meal, which Harry thought would probably have been a good thing if he hadn't been staring at Fleur the whole time. Hermione didn't seem to be enjoying Krum's company quite as much, as she kept on shooting angry glances at Ron. Harry was actually relieved that Ginny had joined them, as she was at least one other person able to carry on an intelligent conversation. When Neville came by and asked Ginny to go and study with him, Harry even managed to keep his face blank, although his stomach was twisting itself into knots.
As the three walked through the Entrance Hall, they turned when they felt a draft, and saw the front doors swing open. In stumbled a dusty, scratched up, bleeding man with his filthy hair hanging in front of his face. He fell to his knees as Harry rushed forward to help hold him up. As the man lifted his head, his hair fell back. Harry, Ron and Hermione all froze. It was Snape.
Hermione was the first to recover from the shock. "He's hurt. I'll go get help!"
Harry helped Snape to his feet. He seemed to be conscious, but he appeared completely numb. Snape looked down at Harry and said in a tired voice, "I need to speak to Dumbledore."
At that moment, Hermione rushed back from the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall. Snape saw her and, just as impassively as he had spoken before, repeated, "Minerva, I need to speak to Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall took Snape from Harry and started to rush away. She turned back to Harry, and added, "Don't just stand there. Go tell Madam Pomfrey that I'll bringing Professor Snape in shortly! And the rest of you go up to your room!"
After Harry had informed Madam Pomfrey, he headed back to the common room to rejoin Hermione and Ron. They rushed up to him to see if he had learned anything from Madam Pomfrey, but she had refused to tell Harry anything. Harry was very restless now. He decided he was going to do a little exploring to see what he could find out. As he headed up to his dormitory to get his invisibility cloak, Hermione looked at him sideways. "Harry, what do you think you're doing?"
Harry ignored her and came back down with the cloak in his pocket. He sat edgily for the rest of the night waiting for the common room to empty. When Fred and George came by to announce that they had chosen Ron as the new Gryffindor keeper, Harry was so distracted that Ron became angry. Hermione managed to calm Ron down when she took him aside and pointed out the cloak in Harry's pocket and told him what she suspected. Ron wanted to join Harry, but he had to admit that it would be easier for Harry to go alone.
Finally, the twins stopped plotting Quidditch strategies with Ron and headed up to bed. Hermione started to say something to Harry, but one look at his face told her it would be useless to argue with him. Once the room emptied out, she and Ron opened the portrait for Harry and he silently walked out.
Harry wasn't sure where he was going or what exactly he was looking for. On a hunch, he headed to the dungeons towards Snape's old office. Sure enough, as Harry got closer, he heard voices that seemed to be arguing. Luckily, the door to Snape's office was open and he silently crept in and pressed himself against one wall. Professor Snape was apparently out of the infirmary and was arguing with Professor Fletcher. Snape's bruises seemed mended and he had cleaned himself up, although his hair was greasy as ever.
"I don't have time for this Fletcher. Is the potion ready or not?" Snape did not raise his voice, but it such a cold edge to it that Harry shivered.
"I wasn't expecting you so soon, Severus. I need just a few more days. Then it'll be ready for the final ingredient. I'm assuming you were successful in getting it?" Fletcher snapped back at Snape with an unmistakable note of hatred in his voice.
Snape observed Fletcher coolly. "Of course I was successful. But our time is growing short. I believe Voldemort's activity is picking up."
Fletcher grudgingly admitted this was the case. "Fine, after tomorrow's lesson, I will..." But he was interrupted by Snape.
"I will be handling tomorrow's lesson, Fletcher. You were substituting for me and now I have returned. I only hope you haven't left too much damage for me to repair."
Fletcher was reaching for his wand, but Snape already had his out and said "Expelliarmus," still in that cold quiet voice. Fletcher's wand flew straight into his hand and Snape smiled callously. Harry had to fight the urge to grab Snape's arm, but Snape simply handed the wand back to Fletcher.
"You always did do stupid things. I was always amazed at how you managed to keep yourself from being expelled. It appears you haven't changed at all after all these years." Snape observed Fletcher, who, while red with embarrassment, was shaking with fury. "You really should learn to keep that nasty temper under control. It could get you into trouble. Now if you would leave me alone. I've had a, let's say, difficult day, and I need to prepare for my lesson tomorrow. Good night Fletcher."
Fletcher turned quickly and stormed out of Snape's office, and Harry snuck out behind him. He hurried back to his room and crawled into bed. Ron was already asleep, so Harry lay awake for the second night in a row trying to make sense of what he had seen.
A/N: Sorry again it's taken this long, but I promise to get the next part up much quicker!!! Please Review and tell me what you think!!!!! I really, really, really want to know. Next time, Sirius!!!!!! Maybe I'll throw in some H/G and R/G if you want.
Thanks!!!!