A/N: Look for Draco's and Harry's costumes; I think I'll be one of them for Halloween. Hopefully my parents would let me in Harry's. hehe...
Chapter 9: The Trouble with Halloween Confessions
---------------
Hermione and Ron left Hagrid's hut about an hour later falling about 10 feet behind a brooding Lupin. He kept tossing them furious looks, though only Ron noticed as Hermione was currently sobbing into her hands.
It had been awful as Ron recalled. When they had reached Hagrid's hut, they had been moved inside and forced to tell all of what happened. Neither Hagrid nor Lupin had said anything as they described falling into the pensieve, everything they had seen in the pensieve, Harry's reaction to the whole thing, and then about seeing him in Hogsmeade. The group had sat silently for probably half an hour, and while the two students were looking more and more depressed, the two teachers were beginning to look angrier and angrier. Lupin had suddenly stormed out of the room and not wanting to be alone with such an angry Hagrid, they had followed after him.
When they finally reached the front doors, they noticed Lupin headed not toward his office, but to the kitchens for a midnight snack. Now thoroughly depressed, they headed up to their dormitories, never exchanging a word or glance.
And their week before the Halloween ball (it had been announced that morning along with a special trip on Friday to Hogsmeade to pick out costumes) was equally as terrible for Ron and Hermione, much to Harry's enjoyment. Judging from the sympathetic looks from Lupin and the looks Lupin kept giving his old friends, Harry knew they had confessed after he had left the clearing. He was spending a lot of time with Professor Cal, who for some reason he felt he could open up to, sharing his experiences over the summer and everything that was going on. He even told him about becoming an Animagus.
Professor Cal was quite a sweet person once you got past that hyperness of his. He confided in Harry that he had actually gone out with James before James fell for Lily in fourth year; that was when he had gone after Remus.
Yes Harry spent a lot of time with his new friend, something that both Ron and Hermione had noticed.
On Friday, the carriages had arrived at the school for the sixth and seventh years (as there was going to be alcohol at the party, only the upper years were invited). Not spotting Harry, the two resigned themselves to climbing in and taking them down to Hogsmeade. They tried not to look at the thestrals as they climbed out of the carriages at the town; they all seemed to be glaring at the two students with those unblinking eyes...
"Here, Hermione, this is perfect for you."
"Ugh! No, Ron, I'm not going to be a cheerleader!"
"Come on!"
"No!"
It continued on in this stream for several minutes, while nearby students laughed at the bickering. After nearly an hour, they each found the perfect costumes, joining in with Dean, Seamus, and Neville. The five had decided to be the Village People, Ron being the construction guy and Hermione being the indian guy... er, girl. They had already signed up for singing for the school.
("But I don't know their songs!" pouted Ron.)
All the while a certain somebody and his newfound friend were helping eachother find their own costumes.
--------------------------------------------------------
The day was just starting to draw to a close on Saturday before people started getting ready with all the sixth and seventh years acting giddy and excited and every year below them looking irritable and sullen. When the Village People came down the stairs everyone from Muggle families laughed at them, giving out explanations to wizarding kids who had no idea what half of them were.
Everyone was beginning to meet in the entrance hall by 7:30 even though the doors to the Great Hall didn't open until 8:00. Scanning the room, Hermione saw that Harry wasn't here; only a couple of Slytherins which included the intolerable Draco Malfoy, standing with a crowd and gloating. He seemed to be dressed in some sort of 1920's black Muggle suit with small green sequins forming rows of lines down it with matching sequined tie. (A/N: Sorry to interrupt, but think of the lawyer's outfit from the movie 'Chicago' during the sequence 'Razzle Dazzle'. Anyone who hasn't seen Chicago, see it! I normally hate musicals, but it really is a cool movie!)
More and more people showed up, and finally the doors opened. The Great Hall was beautifully decked out for the ball with tiny little specks of glitter falling from the ceiling like snow and catching the light, causing the whole room to look like it was sparkling. But what was most interesting were the teachers.
Professor Dumbledore, dressed as a samurai, greeted them at the door as they entered. Serving drinks and looking around disapprovingly was Professor McGonagall dressed as though she were going to go on safari, complete with elephant gun. Much to everyone's amusement, Snape was going to work the photography booth (dressed to no one's surprise as a vampire) where a thoroughly embarassed Remus (Robin Hood) had a thoroughly excited Professor Cal (Maid Marian) sitting on his lap waiting for Snape to snap the shot.
Music began playing, and they all stepped inside, everyone spreading out and getting drinks, dancing, getting photographs taken, or sitting down at one of the hundreds of tiny tables around the edges. Ron and Hermione took a table to themselves and began looking for Harry but to no avail, giving up after seeing that the Slytherin group were the last students to come in. Averting their eyes away to watch Cal start waltzing with Lupin ("Wow, Lupin's a good ballroom dancer!" exclaimed Hermione) their attention was caught by sudden hoots and catcalls. They turned to see who was getting all the attention.
It was enough to cause Hermione to faint quite literally. There, arm laced with Draco's, was Harry. Harry was looking just as he had from the Hogsmeade trip. He had his long hair done in luxurious curls, falling elegantly down his back. But what was calling the attention to him (or her, actually) was what she was wearing. She was wearing a tight, black, sleeveless outfit rather like a leotard with a beautiful leather corset attached. Looking down his friend's body (he guessed his friend found some way to wrap down his... er. manhood) he saw garters coming from the corset holding up fishnet tights (his friend had shaved his arms, chest, and legs apparently) with some black high heels. She wore fishnet gloves with claws on them, and a cat tail and cat ears, both enchanted with magic to move naturally, sat in their respective places. Add some silver eyeliner, lip gloss, and contacts along with whiskers and Harry made one hell of an attractive cat girl, even if he didn't have an hourglass figure.
Not noticing Professor Lupin checking on Hermione ( he was a bit preoccupied with his friend's endless legs), Lupin followed his gaze.
"I don't believe I've seen her around," said Lupin casually, helping the waking Hermione sit. Ron turned to Lupin, grinning.
"Consider what we told you that night about our trip to Hogsmeade. Do you really not recognize her?"
Looking back, Lupin suddenly fell over himself, saying something that curiously sounded like "Shit!"
under his breath before coming up.
"That's-"
"Yep," said a sniggering Ron. "I'm guessing Malfoy doesn't know or else he'd flip."
"I think I might go talk to him," said Lupin and walked in the direction of cat Harry.
"May I cut in?" asked Professor Lupin, looking at a sour Malfoy. Malfoy let go of his gorgeous dance partner, knowing to let the teacher get what he wanted. Harry looked a tad alarmed as they went to the dance floor and started to waltz. Lupin started talking first.
"I know it's you, Harry."
"Ssshhhh," the cat girl gestured. "Right now my name's Artemis."
Lupin chuckled as he continued guiding Artemis around the dance floor.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing really," chuckled Lupin. "The goddess Artemis, or Diana, goddess of the hunt and of the moon. Her chariot pulled across the sky by a pair of silver stags..."
Catching on, suddenly realizing what Lupin was applying at (A/N: hint hint; patronus), the cat girl gave a chuckle and continued now to a slow waltz as the song changed.
"Why did you dress like this here and at Hogsmeade?"
"It's nice to not have people recognize you and be able to feel like a normal person, even if I have to resort to dressing the opposite gender."
"I'm guessing you didn't want to be recognized by certain people tonight, anyway?"
"They told you it was me, didn't they?"
"Yes, they told me it was you, and they told me the truth after that night in the clearing. I cannot tell you how to feel, Har- er, Artemis. I can only tell you that they are truly sorry. It was an accident that they fell into the pensieve. Hermione had been holding Ron's arm when Ron touched the surface and they got sucked in."
"Sure they got sucked in accidentally..." he said, glancing suspiciously at the two people sitting at the table, looking forlornly at him.
"Now, Artemis," reprimanded Lupin. "I know how you got your first experience with a pensieve. You didn't know you could get sucked in either." Harry looked down, looking ashamed with himself over something. He was trembling under Lupin's touch..
"I don't think I could forgive them, even if I wanted to..."
"But why?" Reaching with a finger to lift up Artemis' chin, he saw a tear streaked face. Her voice was shaky and she was breathing erratically, as though she were collapsing in upon herself..
"But that's the trouble love causes. You grow to love and trust someone- my parents, Ron, Hermione, Sirius- and then love comes and stabs you in the back with betrayal or loss. I will not permit myself to love again!"
With that, she broke out of the surprised teacher's grip, and ran out of the Hall and onto the frosty grounds outside.
"Where'd she go?" shouted Hermione to Lupin.
After what happened, the party had a stagnant feel to it, and everyone left early for their common rooms. However, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin were now searching the grounds for their friend.
"This is ridiculus! Accio Marauder's Map!" whispered Lupin. As soon as the map arrived he made the map come alive, and searched frantically while the other two ran up to him. They saw him blanche.
"Quick! The tower!"
They were running the perimeter of the building and stopped near the tower that housed the Gryffindors. Looking up, they saw why Lupin had blanched.
Harry had changed into a set of white robes, the wind on top of the tower whipping them around his legs. He looked at the view around him, still crying, closed his eyes and jumped....
-------------------
A/N: Oh no! I'm mean to you aren't I? The next chapter will prove to be interesting... Actually, I'm releasing this chapter with chapter 10 because if chapter 7's cliffhanger had Laurel Elven irritated, this one probably would have made them hunt me down and kill me! hehe
Oh, Harry's costume is the worst I'll ever get with his dressing. If you lasted this far, congratulations! I had a lot of fun writing his costume. hehehe
Chapter 9: The Trouble with Halloween Confessions
---------------
Hermione and Ron left Hagrid's hut about an hour later falling about 10 feet behind a brooding Lupin. He kept tossing them furious looks, though only Ron noticed as Hermione was currently sobbing into her hands.
It had been awful as Ron recalled. When they had reached Hagrid's hut, they had been moved inside and forced to tell all of what happened. Neither Hagrid nor Lupin had said anything as they described falling into the pensieve, everything they had seen in the pensieve, Harry's reaction to the whole thing, and then about seeing him in Hogsmeade. The group had sat silently for probably half an hour, and while the two students were looking more and more depressed, the two teachers were beginning to look angrier and angrier. Lupin had suddenly stormed out of the room and not wanting to be alone with such an angry Hagrid, they had followed after him.
When they finally reached the front doors, they noticed Lupin headed not toward his office, but to the kitchens for a midnight snack. Now thoroughly depressed, they headed up to their dormitories, never exchanging a word or glance.
And their week before the Halloween ball (it had been announced that morning along with a special trip on Friday to Hogsmeade to pick out costumes) was equally as terrible for Ron and Hermione, much to Harry's enjoyment. Judging from the sympathetic looks from Lupin and the looks Lupin kept giving his old friends, Harry knew they had confessed after he had left the clearing. He was spending a lot of time with Professor Cal, who for some reason he felt he could open up to, sharing his experiences over the summer and everything that was going on. He even told him about becoming an Animagus.
Professor Cal was quite a sweet person once you got past that hyperness of his. He confided in Harry that he had actually gone out with James before James fell for Lily in fourth year; that was when he had gone after Remus.
Yes Harry spent a lot of time with his new friend, something that both Ron and Hermione had noticed.
On Friday, the carriages had arrived at the school for the sixth and seventh years (as there was going to be alcohol at the party, only the upper years were invited). Not spotting Harry, the two resigned themselves to climbing in and taking them down to Hogsmeade. They tried not to look at the thestrals as they climbed out of the carriages at the town; they all seemed to be glaring at the two students with those unblinking eyes...
"Here, Hermione, this is perfect for you."
"Ugh! No, Ron, I'm not going to be a cheerleader!"
"Come on!"
"No!"
It continued on in this stream for several minutes, while nearby students laughed at the bickering. After nearly an hour, they each found the perfect costumes, joining in with Dean, Seamus, and Neville. The five had decided to be the Village People, Ron being the construction guy and Hermione being the indian guy... er, girl. They had already signed up for singing for the school.
("But I don't know their songs!" pouted Ron.)
All the while a certain somebody and his newfound friend were helping eachother find their own costumes.
--------------------------------------------------------
The day was just starting to draw to a close on Saturday before people started getting ready with all the sixth and seventh years acting giddy and excited and every year below them looking irritable and sullen. When the Village People came down the stairs everyone from Muggle families laughed at them, giving out explanations to wizarding kids who had no idea what half of them were.
Everyone was beginning to meet in the entrance hall by 7:30 even though the doors to the Great Hall didn't open until 8:00. Scanning the room, Hermione saw that Harry wasn't here; only a couple of Slytherins which included the intolerable Draco Malfoy, standing with a crowd and gloating. He seemed to be dressed in some sort of 1920's black Muggle suit with small green sequins forming rows of lines down it with matching sequined tie. (A/N: Sorry to interrupt, but think of the lawyer's outfit from the movie 'Chicago' during the sequence 'Razzle Dazzle'. Anyone who hasn't seen Chicago, see it! I normally hate musicals, but it really is a cool movie!)
More and more people showed up, and finally the doors opened. The Great Hall was beautifully decked out for the ball with tiny little specks of glitter falling from the ceiling like snow and catching the light, causing the whole room to look like it was sparkling. But what was most interesting were the teachers.
Professor Dumbledore, dressed as a samurai, greeted them at the door as they entered. Serving drinks and looking around disapprovingly was Professor McGonagall dressed as though she were going to go on safari, complete with elephant gun. Much to everyone's amusement, Snape was going to work the photography booth (dressed to no one's surprise as a vampire) where a thoroughly embarassed Remus (Robin Hood) had a thoroughly excited Professor Cal (Maid Marian) sitting on his lap waiting for Snape to snap the shot.
Music began playing, and they all stepped inside, everyone spreading out and getting drinks, dancing, getting photographs taken, or sitting down at one of the hundreds of tiny tables around the edges. Ron and Hermione took a table to themselves and began looking for Harry but to no avail, giving up after seeing that the Slytherin group were the last students to come in. Averting their eyes away to watch Cal start waltzing with Lupin ("Wow, Lupin's a good ballroom dancer!" exclaimed Hermione) their attention was caught by sudden hoots and catcalls. They turned to see who was getting all the attention.
It was enough to cause Hermione to faint quite literally. There, arm laced with Draco's, was Harry. Harry was looking just as he had from the Hogsmeade trip. He had his long hair done in luxurious curls, falling elegantly down his back. But what was calling the attention to him (or her, actually) was what she was wearing. She was wearing a tight, black, sleeveless outfit rather like a leotard with a beautiful leather corset attached. Looking down his friend's body (he guessed his friend found some way to wrap down his... er. manhood) he saw garters coming from the corset holding up fishnet tights (his friend had shaved his arms, chest, and legs apparently) with some black high heels. She wore fishnet gloves with claws on them, and a cat tail and cat ears, both enchanted with magic to move naturally, sat in their respective places. Add some silver eyeliner, lip gloss, and contacts along with whiskers and Harry made one hell of an attractive cat girl, even if he didn't have an hourglass figure.
Not noticing Professor Lupin checking on Hermione ( he was a bit preoccupied with his friend's endless legs), Lupin followed his gaze.
"I don't believe I've seen her around," said Lupin casually, helping the waking Hermione sit. Ron turned to Lupin, grinning.
"Consider what we told you that night about our trip to Hogsmeade. Do you really not recognize her?"
Looking back, Lupin suddenly fell over himself, saying something that curiously sounded like "Shit!"
under his breath before coming up.
"That's-"
"Yep," said a sniggering Ron. "I'm guessing Malfoy doesn't know or else he'd flip."
"I think I might go talk to him," said Lupin and walked in the direction of cat Harry.
"May I cut in?" asked Professor Lupin, looking at a sour Malfoy. Malfoy let go of his gorgeous dance partner, knowing to let the teacher get what he wanted. Harry looked a tad alarmed as they went to the dance floor and started to waltz. Lupin started talking first.
"I know it's you, Harry."
"Ssshhhh," the cat girl gestured. "Right now my name's Artemis."
Lupin chuckled as he continued guiding Artemis around the dance floor.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing really," chuckled Lupin. "The goddess Artemis, or Diana, goddess of the hunt and of the moon. Her chariot pulled across the sky by a pair of silver stags..."
Catching on, suddenly realizing what Lupin was applying at (A/N: hint hint; patronus), the cat girl gave a chuckle and continued now to a slow waltz as the song changed.
"Why did you dress like this here and at Hogsmeade?"
"It's nice to not have people recognize you and be able to feel like a normal person, even if I have to resort to dressing the opposite gender."
"I'm guessing you didn't want to be recognized by certain people tonight, anyway?"
"They told you it was me, didn't they?"
"Yes, they told me it was you, and they told me the truth after that night in the clearing. I cannot tell you how to feel, Har- er, Artemis. I can only tell you that they are truly sorry. It was an accident that they fell into the pensieve. Hermione had been holding Ron's arm when Ron touched the surface and they got sucked in."
"Sure they got sucked in accidentally..." he said, glancing suspiciously at the two people sitting at the table, looking forlornly at him.
"Now, Artemis," reprimanded Lupin. "I know how you got your first experience with a pensieve. You didn't know you could get sucked in either." Harry looked down, looking ashamed with himself over something. He was trembling under Lupin's touch..
"I don't think I could forgive them, even if I wanted to..."
"But why?" Reaching with a finger to lift up Artemis' chin, he saw a tear streaked face. Her voice was shaky and she was breathing erratically, as though she were collapsing in upon herself..
"But that's the trouble love causes. You grow to love and trust someone- my parents, Ron, Hermione, Sirius- and then love comes and stabs you in the back with betrayal or loss. I will not permit myself to love again!"
With that, she broke out of the surprised teacher's grip, and ran out of the Hall and onto the frosty grounds outside.
"Where'd she go?" shouted Hermione to Lupin.
After what happened, the party had a stagnant feel to it, and everyone left early for their common rooms. However, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin were now searching the grounds for their friend.
"This is ridiculus! Accio Marauder's Map!" whispered Lupin. As soon as the map arrived he made the map come alive, and searched frantically while the other two ran up to him. They saw him blanche.
"Quick! The tower!"
They were running the perimeter of the building and stopped near the tower that housed the Gryffindors. Looking up, they saw why Lupin had blanched.
Harry had changed into a set of white robes, the wind on top of the tower whipping them around his legs. He looked at the view around him, still crying, closed his eyes and jumped....
-------------------
A/N: Oh no! I'm mean to you aren't I? The next chapter will prove to be interesting... Actually, I'm releasing this chapter with chapter 10 because if chapter 7's cliffhanger had Laurel Elven irritated, this one probably would have made them hunt me down and kill me! hehe
Oh, Harry's costume is the worst I'll ever get with his dressing. If you lasted this far, congratulations! I had a lot of fun writing his costume. hehehe