Wail of a Banshee, Tear of a Dryad

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, at least nothing you recognise. It belongs to the amazing, the formidable, the unbelievable… J. K. ROWLING

Chapter Three

Truth

It was very late when Harry, Ron and Hermione left the library to go back to Gryffindor Tower.

Suddenly, they heard voices drifting around the corner.

"…reaction, once the boy finds out!" It was Snape's dark, velvety voice.

"Shut up!" This was Professor O'Connor's voice, angry and agitated. Snape sniggered.

"Oh please! You knew Potter's parents were doomed, yet you didn't have the stomach to warn them!"

Harry froze to the spot.

"I was imprisoned at that time! I wanted to warn them, I feel sorry for Harry, I know what it's like to have no parents."

"Your father lives, Helen!" Snape sniggered.

There was a frustrated scream and Ron and Hermione pulled Harry into a cupboard, right before the angry Professor O'Connor stormed past them.

They waited for a couple of minutes. When they didn't hear anything, Hermione peered around the corner. The hallway was deserted and they left the cupboard.

The trio exchanged looks. "What was that about?" Harry asked the other two. They could just shrug.

**

Back in the common room, they sat down in three of the squashy armchairs. Ron pulled his schedule out of his pocket. This year, they had gotten them along with their booklists.

He skimmed the rows lazily… then he jerked.

"Hang on!"

Hermione looked up. "What's wrong, Ron?"

He handed her his schedule. "Where's Care of Magical Creatures? Check yours!"

Harry and Hermione pulled out their schedules as well, but they didn't find the subject either.

Harry looked up and met the worried glances of Hermione and Ron. "They can't have sacked him."

**

Helen slammed her office door behind her.

Why oh why had she let that overgrown bat provoke her? He had been able to do that since their schooldays.

Slumping down at her desk, she put her face into her hands and let out a sigh. Classes with the sixth year Gryffindors first thing tomorrow morning… Classes with that Potter boy.

She wasn't sure what to expect. If Severus was to be believed, he was as bad as his father had been, which was very bad indeed! But maybe not.

She sighed again. How she had loathed James Potter. It was his fault her friendship with Severus had ended, it was his fault that her friendship with Lily Evans had failed… and yet she had forgotten about her hard feelings for the Marauders for that one fateful evening… She couldn't help remember.

It had been two weeks after Dumbledore had contacted her about the Order of the Phoenix… She had been summoned to number twelve, Grimmauld Place, where Sirius Black had put her up for the night…

*Flashback*

Sirius stood awkwardly next to her, as she examined the small room with the grimy window, the little wardrobe and an old, but comfortable looking bed.

She smiled at him, trying to alleviate the tension. "It's really nice, Sirius!" she said and his face broke into a smile, which made him look very different. He looked much more like the handsome boy he had been at Hogwarts, much more like the boy every single girl at school had swooned over.

"Well," he said, finally taking the hands out of the pockets of his robes, "fancy a drink down in the living room?" She considered it for a moment, then she nodded, accepting the courteously offered arm and they went down the stairs. Sirius couldn't keep his eyes away from her, and Helen had been very lonely for a very long time!

It had only taken him six glasses of firewhiskey to convince her that they would be more comfortable in his bedroom…

*End Flashback*

"Oh my God…", she moaned. Tomorrow was certainly nothing she looked forward to…

**

The Gryffindor sixth years had no sooner filed into the classroom then Professor O'Connor entered as well. Some students were still taking out their stuff when she charged into the room, her dark, forest green robes billowing behind her. She shot the still-rummaging students an angry glare, and as she slammed her bag onto the desk, she hissed, "Silence!"

The room fell quiet immediately.

Her eyes, that appeared to be pitch-black, wandered from face to face before they came to rest on Harry.

"Harry Potter", she said quietly, but she, like Snape, was audible even if her voice was just above a whisper, "I see from the records of my former colleagues that you have shown great aptitude in this subject, last year aside… Why, pray tell, do you put this much energy into this particular subject?"

Harry shrugged, unsure about how to answer. Why was she glaring at him like that? She hadn't been like that on the train. In fact, her expression now was similar to the one Snape wore when seeing Harry.

"I… dunno. I guess because it seems most important to me."

Her lip curled slightly. "Does it…" She was about to go on talking as suddenly the door opened and Professor McGonagall entered.

"All students", she said in a slightly quivering voice, "are to return to their dormitories! Helen, you have to come with me!"

Helen frowned. "I do not appreciate you interrupting my class, Minerva, but if this is absolutely necessary…" She stood up and the students hurried past the Gryffindor Head of House. She held back Harry, Ron and Hermione, though.

"I regret to tell you that… well… Hagrid had accompanied his brother Grwap back home… and he has been very seriously wounded. He made it back to Hogwarts, but Madame Pomfrey was not able to save him. I am so sorry. I will escort you to your common room now. Helen", she said to the other teacher, "you should hurry to Dumbledore's office."

Harry didn't really listen to her anymore. This could not be. Not again. He could not have just lost someone so dear to him again… Hagrid… dead?

Harry fainted.

TBC

A/N: I know this was a bit drastic, but since I only got so little reviews on Chapter Tow, I had to do something! *pouts* Rating might go up soon. Anyway, you know what to do, right? Hit that review button! Flames will be extinguished immediately by the fire brigade!