Title: The Cryptic
Author: Acouta (ME!!)
DISCLAIMER: *checks copy of OotP* No, I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter except this rather fruity plot, it's J.K Rowlings so don't sue me, I'm just having fun!!
Chapter Three - The Answer
So the first of September had rolled around again, Hermione thought as she glanced at her bedside clock. It was ten past midnight. And today, for the last time, she would be travelling on the Hogwarts Express back to school.
For the last time.
This thought only served to make Hermione feel even worse about going back to Hogwarts. She was usually so level-headed, but now for the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do. What would she say to Ron? How would he react? Would he even be there at all? And what, what was she going to do when she found out who had been sending that light to her?
She was very close to knowing, too. Since she wanted to do nothing but sit in her room, Hermione had begun to read every single one of her books from cover to cover, hoping to find something, anything, that referred to pale lights. Of course, she had picked out some titles that looked promising first, but when none yielded the information she seeked, she resorted to just trawling through the endless pages, hoping. And she had found what she was looking for, in a book entitled The Secrets of Watching. The bit she was most interested in was only a short paragraph. She now picked the book up and re-read the paragraph.
The Cryptic
This charm is quite complex to perform, although the end result is quite simple. The Cryptic allows the one who performs it to watch anyone they so desire to, with little or no chance of being found out. The Cryptic itself manifests as a minute ball of light, hardly visible except at night, and it will find the person it is supposed to be watching and will follow them until a specific time and date preset by the one who performs the charm. They are able to see what The Cryptic is seeing through the use of a mirror, any mirror. The only drawback to this charm is that, when the charm is performed, it will take a part of the maker with it, inside it, and so if the Cryptic is caught, it is fairly easy to discover who has performed the charm.
She looked down to the bottom of the page. There was the important part, the part that told her how to catch it. All she had to do was point her wand at the light and say 'Confinious.' Simple as that. She looked at the clock again. Twelve twenty-five. A thought sneaked into her brain...............
What if she did it now? The light would hopefully be appearing in less than four hours, and she could catch it. Technically speaking she shouldn't perform magic outside school but, technically speaking, it was also the start of term, so surely she was allowed? Yes, she assured herself. And besides, they wouldn't expel the best student in the school for something like that.
She rummaged through her trunk and found her wand. Then she nestled down into her blanket and waited.
One o'clock.
Two fifteen.
Three o'clock.
Three forty-five.
Three fifty-nine.............four o'clock.
Suddenly her window was briefly illuminated as the sphere of light passed through it unscathed. It floated around for a while, and then settled in mid-air just at the end of Hermione's bed. The moment was here. She braced herself, and took out her wand.
"Confinious!" she said, and out of the end of her wand shot something bright white and writhing. It snaked around the ball of light, crackling like lightning, and then formed a white mist around it. The Cryptic started shaking as if trying to break loose. Hermione put her wand down.
"Wow. I really am good....." she muttered. She stood up and walked over to look at what she had caught. It looked rather like a large pearl. She felt slightly bad at having caught it, but shook off this feeling as she realised that she would find out who was watching her.
"Now if only I knew how to get the information out of it."
Again she began to rummage through her books. She was stopped mid-search by a faint humming noise. She looked at the imprisoned light. It was shaking so much it was a blur. The hum was growing louder. Hermione was sure her parents would hear it, so she grabbed her wand, pointed it at each of the four walls of her room.
"Sonorous Impervious." This would soundproof the room.
The hum was now starting to make her spine tingle, and small objects danced across her shelves. And then, the light imploded on itself.
Hermione dived underneath her bed as a fury of light rushed towards her, but there was no need. It passed through her. She stuck her head out, and gaped at what she saw.
She was surrounded by images. She could still see her bedroom but the images were hovering in the air, shimmering like holograms. But this amazing visual display paled into comparison next to the actual things she was seeing.
A shadow approaching a mirror, holding up it's hands. A serpent entwined around someone's neck, someone hiding in darkness, someone watching someone............watching her! Then a number shone in the air, a very familiar number to her now: Four Thirteen. As she watched, the numbers scattered into particles, and then reformed to make the letters D and M. Something flared up deep inside her. The letters then burned red, and were emblazoned onto an envelope, which was being held by a figure she couldn't quite make out, but detail was not needed. The blonde hair, the proud stance, the glowing initials................It was Malfoy.
"Malfoy?!" Hermione shouted, as the images began to change again. "Malfoy sent me that letter? He....he went against his own father..........."
She looked up. And stared at herself.
A replica Hermione flickered above her. As she watched, her double turned to face someone. The two stared into each other's eyes, and kissed passionately. Hermione felt numb.
She had just watched herself kissing none other than Draco Malfoy.
A/N - sorry this is such a short chapter, I will have loads more next time but I thought I'd do this one now so there are at least three chapters before I go away! I still only have one review but I love writing, so I'm just putting up the chapters anyway in vague hope.
Author: Acouta (ME!!)
DISCLAIMER: *checks copy of OotP* No, I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter except this rather fruity plot, it's J.K Rowlings so don't sue me, I'm just having fun!!
Chapter Three - The Answer
So the first of September had rolled around again, Hermione thought as she glanced at her bedside clock. It was ten past midnight. And today, for the last time, she would be travelling on the Hogwarts Express back to school.
For the last time.
This thought only served to make Hermione feel even worse about going back to Hogwarts. She was usually so level-headed, but now for the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do. What would she say to Ron? How would he react? Would he even be there at all? And what, what was she going to do when she found out who had been sending that light to her?
She was very close to knowing, too. Since she wanted to do nothing but sit in her room, Hermione had begun to read every single one of her books from cover to cover, hoping to find something, anything, that referred to pale lights. Of course, she had picked out some titles that looked promising first, but when none yielded the information she seeked, she resorted to just trawling through the endless pages, hoping. And she had found what she was looking for, in a book entitled The Secrets of Watching. The bit she was most interested in was only a short paragraph. She now picked the book up and re-read the paragraph.
The Cryptic
This charm is quite complex to perform, although the end result is quite simple. The Cryptic allows the one who performs it to watch anyone they so desire to, with little or no chance of being found out. The Cryptic itself manifests as a minute ball of light, hardly visible except at night, and it will find the person it is supposed to be watching and will follow them until a specific time and date preset by the one who performs the charm. They are able to see what The Cryptic is seeing through the use of a mirror, any mirror. The only drawback to this charm is that, when the charm is performed, it will take a part of the maker with it, inside it, and so if the Cryptic is caught, it is fairly easy to discover who has performed the charm.
She looked down to the bottom of the page. There was the important part, the part that told her how to catch it. All she had to do was point her wand at the light and say 'Confinious.' Simple as that. She looked at the clock again. Twelve twenty-five. A thought sneaked into her brain...............
What if she did it now? The light would hopefully be appearing in less than four hours, and she could catch it. Technically speaking she shouldn't perform magic outside school but, technically speaking, it was also the start of term, so surely she was allowed? Yes, she assured herself. And besides, they wouldn't expel the best student in the school for something like that.
She rummaged through her trunk and found her wand. Then she nestled down into her blanket and waited.
One o'clock.
Two fifteen.
Three o'clock.
Three forty-five.
Three fifty-nine.............four o'clock.
Suddenly her window was briefly illuminated as the sphere of light passed through it unscathed. It floated around for a while, and then settled in mid-air just at the end of Hermione's bed. The moment was here. She braced herself, and took out her wand.
"Confinious!" she said, and out of the end of her wand shot something bright white and writhing. It snaked around the ball of light, crackling like lightning, and then formed a white mist around it. The Cryptic started shaking as if trying to break loose. Hermione put her wand down.
"Wow. I really am good....." she muttered. She stood up and walked over to look at what she had caught. It looked rather like a large pearl. She felt slightly bad at having caught it, but shook off this feeling as she realised that she would find out who was watching her.
"Now if only I knew how to get the information out of it."
Again she began to rummage through her books. She was stopped mid-search by a faint humming noise. She looked at the imprisoned light. It was shaking so much it was a blur. The hum was growing louder. Hermione was sure her parents would hear it, so she grabbed her wand, pointed it at each of the four walls of her room.
"Sonorous Impervious." This would soundproof the room.
The hum was now starting to make her spine tingle, and small objects danced across her shelves. And then, the light imploded on itself.
Hermione dived underneath her bed as a fury of light rushed towards her, but there was no need. It passed through her. She stuck her head out, and gaped at what she saw.
She was surrounded by images. She could still see her bedroom but the images were hovering in the air, shimmering like holograms. But this amazing visual display paled into comparison next to the actual things she was seeing.
A shadow approaching a mirror, holding up it's hands. A serpent entwined around someone's neck, someone hiding in darkness, someone watching someone............watching her! Then a number shone in the air, a very familiar number to her now: Four Thirteen. As she watched, the numbers scattered into particles, and then reformed to make the letters D and M. Something flared up deep inside her. The letters then burned red, and were emblazoned onto an envelope, which was being held by a figure she couldn't quite make out, but detail was not needed. The blonde hair, the proud stance, the glowing initials................It was Malfoy.
"Malfoy?!" Hermione shouted, as the images began to change again. "Malfoy sent me that letter? He....he went against his own father..........."
She looked up. And stared at herself.
A replica Hermione flickered above her. As she watched, her double turned to face someone. The two stared into each other's eyes, and kissed passionately. Hermione felt numb.
She had just watched herself kissing none other than Draco Malfoy.
A/N - sorry this is such a short chapter, I will have loads more next time but I thought I'd do this one now so there are at least three chapters before I go away! I still only have one review but I love writing, so I'm just putting up the chapters anyway in vague hope.