Chapter 9
Harry stared at his watch. The second hand was moving at a snail's pace and it seemed like he was frozen in time. It was almost lunchtime and Harry was stuck in potions class with a very moody Professor Snape. When the lesson finally ended and Snape gave the class a stack of homework Harry rushed to go to lunch. He decided to drop off his heavy books on the way. Harry rushed to the Gryffindor common room and entered through the portrait hole. He placed his books on a table then turned around to leave when he heard the sound of crying. Harry turned around and saw a small girl sitting in the corner. It was the same girl who he had seen that night reading a book. She had her face buried in her hands and was sobbing quietly. Harry rushed over to see what the problem was. "Are you ok?" he asked with concern. The girl stopped crying and looked up at Harry. Then her hand shot out and gripped his face. Her fingers dug into Harry's eyes and squeezed his mouth. He could not scream. The girl rose from her seat as Harry fell to the ground, her hand still stuck to his face. She was standing over him, Harry's twisted body between her feet. "It was me all along!" she laughed madly.
She softened her grip on Harry's face and he fell like a limp sack to the ground. The girl stood over him while Harry moaned in pain. "You didn't even think I was serious did you?" she cackled. "The death note, ooh it caused you agony! How much I enjoyed watching your face burn" Harry watched in horror as the girl's face twisted into a wicked grin. How did she see him burn? The girl looked possessed. Her eyes had turned ruby red, just the same colour as. the black owl which had delivered Harry's death note. "It was you!" he cried. "The owl!" The girl laughed snidely. "Yes, it was me! So tell me Harry, now who was it that enchanted that toilet which you fell down?" Harry knew the answer. "Why!" he spluttered. "Why would you do a thing like that? What made you do these things to me?" The girl put on a look of false sympathy. She knelt down on all fours over Harry's body and looked him squarely in the eyes. The she whispered coldly in his ear "I wanted to kill you Harry". The muscles in his body tensed. The girl rubbed her face against his ear which sent chills down his spine. The she placed her lips on Harry's ear and said "Now I'm going to."
Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table eating their lunch. Ron was slurping his soup loudly while Hermione was buttering a bread roll. "Oh honestly" she said disdainfully "Ron, can you please stop drinking that soup so loudly!" Ron blushed and put his spoon down. "Now where is Harry?" she asked. "Surely he would have joined us by now?" Ron shrugged and went back to drinking his soup.
Harry struggled to move. The girl had magically bound him to a chair with chains which were digging into his neck and ribs and cutting off his air supply. Right now she was pacing about in front of him muttering to herself and shaking her head. Harry was struggling to break free but his efforts were in vain. Then the girl darted around and faced Harry. An evil grin spread across her face. She snapped her fingers and a pot plant appeared in her hands. Harry's heart stopped cold. He recognised the plant from herbology. It was the lofitus laceycharm. The only deadly plant around that was legal. The girl smiled. "Now I'm going to feed you the petals" she said in a singsong voice "and Harry, I think you know what's coming" she said with a wink. Harry's stomach dropped. The girl slowly peeled off a petal from the plant and waved it in front of Harry's face. He shut his eyes tightly and squirmed. The girl placed the plant on the ground beside him and leaned over to Harry. "Open wide!" she said. Harry gritted his teeth. He refused to give in to the girl. But with a snap of her fingers his jaws were magically pried open and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Harry's tongue sizzled as the poison leaked from the lacy leaves into his mouth. He could feel his gums slowly decaying as the powerful poison coated them. As it tricked down his throat he could no longer feel the sting. Harry had simply gone numb from the extreme pain.
The girl smiled smugly at Harry and watched his slow agonizing death happen before her eyes. She soon got bored with watching Harry and decided to take a walk around the room. Harry could see in the corner of his eye the Laceycharm plant on the ground. He stretched with all his might and his fingers finally brushed against the leaf. He clasped his fingers around it and managed to tear off the tiniest piece. With a trembling hand, Harry reached for his mouth and fed himself the leaf. The relief was immediate. Harry could feel his mouth returning to normal. The powerful antidote had quickly restored his skin. Then he knew what he had to do. Harry ripped off a petal from the plant and held it in his clenched fist. Then he pretended to struggle and howl in pain. This caught his attacker's attention and she rushed over to Harry with an amused smile on her face. "Take your last breath Harry, the end is coming soon" she said. "No, take your last breath" thought Harry. Then his hand shot up like lightning and he forced the lethal petal into her mouth. The charm which bound him to the seat was immediately broken and he ran free. The girl didn't even put up a fight. She simply fell to the ground in a heap. He knew the girl was finished. She would be dead in a matter of seconds. Harry couldn't believe it. The reality suddenly hit him and he realised he had just killed someone! But he knew it was either his life or hers.
Suddenly the moment was broken when a huffy first year girl burst into the common room. She looked distressed and has come up to the common room to be alone where she could cry in private. Harry recognised the girl. She was Licce Melding one of the girls who had been in the bathroom that night. Licce was about to throw herself onto the lounge by the fireplace when she caught sight of Harry standing over Neecholi's body. Licce hurried over to him and her fears were confirmed. "What have you done?" she demanded. Harry suddenly realised what he had gotten himself into. He also had a feeling this would not be an easy situation to escape. "Hello!? I'm talking to you!" yelled Licce. "What did you do to my friend?" Harry took a step back from Neecholi's body. He held his hands up. "It wasn't. I didn't" he stammered. Harry shook his head. "Look Licce, she was trying to kill me! I had no choice!" Harry was choking on his words. Licce narrowed her eyes. "Trying to kill you? Harry what is going." Licce's words were cut off by the sound of glass shattering. Harry and Licce both turned around to see the window which had been splintered. Fragments of glass had flown in every direction. Licce ducked to avoid a section of glass which was flying towards her forehead. "Duck!" cried Harry as he grabbed Licce's wrist and pulled her down with him.
They lay flat on the ground with their cloaks pulled over their heads, sheltering them from the flying glass above. When the loud clinking of glass had settled Harry peeked over the edge of his cloak. It looked all clear. He helped Licce to her feet and they both straightened themselves up, quivering in disbelief. Harry's eyes shot over to the spot where Neecholi lay. He blinked. Harry couldn't believe it. She was gone! Licce noticed this to. Harry was speechless. He shot Licce a baffled expression. "Impossible" she whispered. "It's impossible!" Harry wandered over to the broken window. He was careful not to touch any broken glass. He noticed the window looked singed, and the remaining pieces of glass were blackened. Harry decided someone must have thrown a fireball at the window. "Harry" said Licce softly "Look". Harry made is way over to where she was standing. She held out her hand to him. In her palm lay three glossy black feathers. Owl feathers.
Harry and Licce sat face to face on the floor of the common room. Harry had performed a quick clanius restoroita spell which had repaired the window instantly. Neither of them spoke. Licce finally broke the silence. "Shall we tell someone?" she asked softly. Harry sighed with exasperation. He shook his head and punched the floor. "I don't know." He said. "I honestly don't know." Licce's gaze drifted to the floor. "I think we should tell Dumbledore". Harry blew at his fringe. "Maybe we should." He mused. Licce reached for Harry's hand. "Let's go" she said. Harry reluctantly got up and followed her to the headmaster's office.
Minerva laughed and shook her head. "That Poor Potter kid, he's been through hell hasn't he?" Dumbledore nodded. "Although I can't believe I didn't catch onto that Neecholi girl's plans! How could I have been so foolish?" he moaned. Minerva shrugged. "Well it was pretty stupid of you." Dumbledore's cheeks turned red. Minerva slapped his hand. "I'm joking!" she laughed. Dumbledore gave her a small smile. "Look, the problems have been sorted and the girl has been expelled." She said calmly. "HA!" spat Dumbledore. "Sure she could have killed Harry but no big deal!" "That's not what I meant and you know it." Minerva said bluntly. Dumbledore threw his hands up and sighed. "Albus" she said sharply "Let it pass, Harry is fine so will you stop worrying! You can't control everyone's actions you know!" Dumbledore looked at her uncertainly. "And you will learn from this mistake Albus." she said reassuringly. "Although it is a great shame the girl wasted her magic talent on evil, when she could have done so well at Hogwarts. That girl had a bright future ahead of her. What a waste." Dumbledore nodded.
She quickly changed the subject. "So how long is it until I can teach again?" she asked. "Poppy says it will be a matter of days" replied Dumbledore. "What a relief!" said Minerva. "I'm sure the students are relived too" added Dumbledore. "Have you decided what to do about Snape and Spleen then?" asked Minerva. "Of course I haven't! Not without my headmistress" said Dumbledore with a sly smile. Minerva laughed. "I say you kick the both of them out of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Well that is a bit drastic but I'm sure I will figure out a more suitable punishment. I shall call them into my office tonight for a little chat." "Very wise." Minerva replied with a grin. "So my dear Professor I must be leaving now" said Dumbledore. Minerva wished him goodnight and watched Dumbledore leave. Before he exited the infirmary she saw Madame Pomfrey stop him. She looked like she was telling him something very important. Then Minerva saw her pulling Dumbledore into the nurse office by the hand. Curiosity got the better of Minerva and she hauled herself out of bed and followed them. Minerva crept up to the nurse's office and peeped around the corner.
There she saw Madame Pomfrey standing very closely to Dumbledore and speaking to him with a flirty grin on her face. "Very suspicious indeed" she thought to herself. Then she saw Madame Pomfrey leaning over to kiss Dumbledore. He was pulling away from her. Minerva's suspicions were confirmed and she did not need to see anymore. She stepped into the room and made her presence clear. Madame Pomfrey saw her and pulled back from Dumbledore. "Why hello Minerva" she purred. Minerva returned the smug smile. "Hi Poppy. Hello Albus." Dumbledore looked very confused.
Harry stared at his watch. The second hand was moving at a snail's pace and it seemed like he was frozen in time. It was almost lunchtime and Harry was stuck in potions class with a very moody Professor Snape. When the lesson finally ended and Snape gave the class a stack of homework Harry rushed to go to lunch. He decided to drop off his heavy books on the way. Harry rushed to the Gryffindor common room and entered through the portrait hole. He placed his books on a table then turned around to leave when he heard the sound of crying. Harry turned around and saw a small girl sitting in the corner. It was the same girl who he had seen that night reading a book. She had her face buried in her hands and was sobbing quietly. Harry rushed over to see what the problem was. "Are you ok?" he asked with concern. The girl stopped crying and looked up at Harry. Then her hand shot out and gripped his face. Her fingers dug into Harry's eyes and squeezed his mouth. He could not scream. The girl rose from her seat as Harry fell to the ground, her hand still stuck to his face. She was standing over him, Harry's twisted body between her feet. "It was me all along!" she laughed madly.
She softened her grip on Harry's face and he fell like a limp sack to the ground. The girl stood over him while Harry moaned in pain. "You didn't even think I was serious did you?" she cackled. "The death note, ooh it caused you agony! How much I enjoyed watching your face burn" Harry watched in horror as the girl's face twisted into a wicked grin. How did she see him burn? The girl looked possessed. Her eyes had turned ruby red, just the same colour as. the black owl which had delivered Harry's death note. "It was you!" he cried. "The owl!" The girl laughed snidely. "Yes, it was me! So tell me Harry, now who was it that enchanted that toilet which you fell down?" Harry knew the answer. "Why!" he spluttered. "Why would you do a thing like that? What made you do these things to me?" The girl put on a look of false sympathy. She knelt down on all fours over Harry's body and looked him squarely in the eyes. The she whispered coldly in his ear "I wanted to kill you Harry". The muscles in his body tensed. The girl rubbed her face against his ear which sent chills down his spine. The she placed her lips on Harry's ear and said "Now I'm going to."
Ron and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table eating their lunch. Ron was slurping his soup loudly while Hermione was buttering a bread roll. "Oh honestly" she said disdainfully "Ron, can you please stop drinking that soup so loudly!" Ron blushed and put his spoon down. "Now where is Harry?" she asked. "Surely he would have joined us by now?" Ron shrugged and went back to drinking his soup.
Harry struggled to move. The girl had magically bound him to a chair with chains which were digging into his neck and ribs and cutting off his air supply. Right now she was pacing about in front of him muttering to herself and shaking her head. Harry was struggling to break free but his efforts were in vain. Then the girl darted around and faced Harry. An evil grin spread across her face. She snapped her fingers and a pot plant appeared in her hands. Harry's heart stopped cold. He recognised the plant from herbology. It was the lofitus laceycharm. The only deadly plant around that was legal. The girl smiled. "Now I'm going to feed you the petals" she said in a singsong voice "and Harry, I think you know what's coming" she said with a wink. Harry's stomach dropped. The girl slowly peeled off a petal from the plant and waved it in front of Harry's face. He shut his eyes tightly and squirmed. The girl placed the plant on the ground beside him and leaned over to Harry. "Open wide!" she said. Harry gritted his teeth. He refused to give in to the girl. But with a snap of her fingers his jaws were magically pried open and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Harry's tongue sizzled as the poison leaked from the lacy leaves into his mouth. He could feel his gums slowly decaying as the powerful poison coated them. As it tricked down his throat he could no longer feel the sting. Harry had simply gone numb from the extreme pain.
The girl smiled smugly at Harry and watched his slow agonizing death happen before her eyes. She soon got bored with watching Harry and decided to take a walk around the room. Harry could see in the corner of his eye the Laceycharm plant on the ground. He stretched with all his might and his fingers finally brushed against the leaf. He clasped his fingers around it and managed to tear off the tiniest piece. With a trembling hand, Harry reached for his mouth and fed himself the leaf. The relief was immediate. Harry could feel his mouth returning to normal. The powerful antidote had quickly restored his skin. Then he knew what he had to do. Harry ripped off a petal from the plant and held it in his clenched fist. Then he pretended to struggle and howl in pain. This caught his attacker's attention and she rushed over to Harry with an amused smile on her face. "Take your last breath Harry, the end is coming soon" she said. "No, take your last breath" thought Harry. Then his hand shot up like lightning and he forced the lethal petal into her mouth. The charm which bound him to the seat was immediately broken and he ran free. The girl didn't even put up a fight. She simply fell to the ground in a heap. He knew the girl was finished. She would be dead in a matter of seconds. Harry couldn't believe it. The reality suddenly hit him and he realised he had just killed someone! But he knew it was either his life or hers.
Suddenly the moment was broken when a huffy first year girl burst into the common room. She looked distressed and has come up to the common room to be alone where she could cry in private. Harry recognised the girl. She was Licce Melding one of the girls who had been in the bathroom that night. Licce was about to throw herself onto the lounge by the fireplace when she caught sight of Harry standing over Neecholi's body. Licce hurried over to him and her fears were confirmed. "What have you done?" she demanded. Harry suddenly realised what he had gotten himself into. He also had a feeling this would not be an easy situation to escape. "Hello!? I'm talking to you!" yelled Licce. "What did you do to my friend?" Harry took a step back from Neecholi's body. He held his hands up. "It wasn't. I didn't" he stammered. Harry shook his head. "Look Licce, she was trying to kill me! I had no choice!" Harry was choking on his words. Licce narrowed her eyes. "Trying to kill you? Harry what is going." Licce's words were cut off by the sound of glass shattering. Harry and Licce both turned around to see the window which had been splintered. Fragments of glass had flown in every direction. Licce ducked to avoid a section of glass which was flying towards her forehead. "Duck!" cried Harry as he grabbed Licce's wrist and pulled her down with him.
They lay flat on the ground with their cloaks pulled over their heads, sheltering them from the flying glass above. When the loud clinking of glass had settled Harry peeked over the edge of his cloak. It looked all clear. He helped Licce to her feet and they both straightened themselves up, quivering in disbelief. Harry's eyes shot over to the spot where Neecholi lay. He blinked. Harry couldn't believe it. She was gone! Licce noticed this to. Harry was speechless. He shot Licce a baffled expression. "Impossible" she whispered. "It's impossible!" Harry wandered over to the broken window. He was careful not to touch any broken glass. He noticed the window looked singed, and the remaining pieces of glass were blackened. Harry decided someone must have thrown a fireball at the window. "Harry" said Licce softly "Look". Harry made is way over to where she was standing. She held out her hand to him. In her palm lay three glossy black feathers. Owl feathers.
Harry and Licce sat face to face on the floor of the common room. Harry had performed a quick clanius restoroita spell which had repaired the window instantly. Neither of them spoke. Licce finally broke the silence. "Shall we tell someone?" she asked softly. Harry sighed with exasperation. He shook his head and punched the floor. "I don't know." He said. "I honestly don't know." Licce's gaze drifted to the floor. "I think we should tell Dumbledore". Harry blew at his fringe. "Maybe we should." He mused. Licce reached for Harry's hand. "Let's go" she said. Harry reluctantly got up and followed her to the headmaster's office.
Minerva laughed and shook her head. "That Poor Potter kid, he's been through hell hasn't he?" Dumbledore nodded. "Although I can't believe I didn't catch onto that Neecholi girl's plans! How could I have been so foolish?" he moaned. Minerva shrugged. "Well it was pretty stupid of you." Dumbledore's cheeks turned red. Minerva slapped his hand. "I'm joking!" she laughed. Dumbledore gave her a small smile. "Look, the problems have been sorted and the girl has been expelled." She said calmly. "HA!" spat Dumbledore. "Sure she could have killed Harry but no big deal!" "That's not what I meant and you know it." Minerva said bluntly. Dumbledore threw his hands up and sighed. "Albus" she said sharply "Let it pass, Harry is fine so will you stop worrying! You can't control everyone's actions you know!" Dumbledore looked at her uncertainly. "And you will learn from this mistake Albus." she said reassuringly. "Although it is a great shame the girl wasted her magic talent on evil, when she could have done so well at Hogwarts. That girl had a bright future ahead of her. What a waste." Dumbledore nodded.
She quickly changed the subject. "So how long is it until I can teach again?" she asked. "Poppy says it will be a matter of days" replied Dumbledore. "What a relief!" said Minerva. "I'm sure the students are relived too" added Dumbledore. "Have you decided what to do about Snape and Spleen then?" asked Minerva. "Of course I haven't! Not without my headmistress" said Dumbledore with a sly smile. Minerva laughed. "I say you kick the both of them out of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Well that is a bit drastic but I'm sure I will figure out a more suitable punishment. I shall call them into my office tonight for a little chat." "Very wise." Minerva replied with a grin. "So my dear Professor I must be leaving now" said Dumbledore. Minerva wished him goodnight and watched Dumbledore leave. Before he exited the infirmary she saw Madame Pomfrey stop him. She looked like she was telling him something very important. Then Minerva saw her pulling Dumbledore into the nurse office by the hand. Curiosity got the better of Minerva and she hauled herself out of bed and followed them. Minerva crept up to the nurse's office and peeped around the corner.
There she saw Madame Pomfrey standing very closely to Dumbledore and speaking to him with a flirty grin on her face. "Very suspicious indeed" she thought to herself. Then she saw Madame Pomfrey leaning over to kiss Dumbledore. He was pulling away from her. Minerva's suspicions were confirmed and she did not need to see anymore. She stepped into the room and made her presence clear. Madame Pomfrey saw her and pulled back from Dumbledore. "Why hello Minerva" she purred. Minerva returned the smug smile. "Hi Poppy. Hello Albus." Dumbledore looked very confused.
