Chapter Twenty- Five- Dementor Invasion
No one could stop talking about Gryffindor's victory for days. Whenever Harry and the others entered Gryffindor Tower, they were greeted with applause and cheers. It seemed quite plain that Dean was attracting much more attention than he ever had before. Neville was also meeting the same attention as Dean. What shocked Harry even more was that less than a week after the match; Lavender and Parvati had started dating two Hufflepuff boys.
Ron was happier than he ever, and he continuously talked about the match to anyone who would listen. The Creevy brothers were all over Ginny, and pretty soon, Harry thought they were going to end up dueling. The School seemed to be in higher spirits since Gryffindor snatched the cup for the third year running. However, the Slytherin's were still taunting Gryffindor's, and Harry was happy that Malfoy was not apart of it.
"Hey Potter, have you split up from your Girlfriend, Chang?" Pansy shouted during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. "She always knew you were too ugly!"
The Slytherin's behind her roared with laughter. Harry felt his face grow hot. He wanted to shout back at her, but he remembered that he had to control his temper.
Hermione stepped in however. "I see your boyfriend split with you! Is it because he saw how much of a cow you were!"
The Gryffindor's now roared with laughter, and Pansy flushed red, and moved to another side of Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid opened his door, and bustled out of it.
"Good Afternoon!" he said, as Fang came charging out of the cabin. "Glad ter see yer all on time! Alrigh', follow me!" Hagrid said. He turned and headed towards the lake. The class exchanged gloomy looks but followed in suit. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were walking side by side with Hagrid.
"Hagrid, where are you taking us?" Ron asked.
"Lake," he answered shortly.
Harry looked at Ron. They both exchanged confused looks. Hagrid seemed depressed. They continued to the lake in silence.
"Alrigh', gather round here!" Hagrid said, stopping to face them. The class gathered around the edge of the lake. Everyone stared into the clear lake. "Now, today, I though' we could try and discover some water creatures. Can anybody name some?"
Hermione's hand shot into the air. Hagrid pointed at her.
"Um, there's Merpeople. They're not exactly creatures, but some wizards label them that way."
"Good! Take five points ter Gryffindor. Alrigh', I want you all ter watch closely."
Hagrid dug into his pocket, and pulled out a roll of slimy material. Harry squinted his eyes, and saw that they were worms. Hagrid took something out of his other pocket. It was a spray bottle with some blue liquid inside. Hagrid sprayed the worms with it, and Harry saw them wiggle slightly, but become immovable like before. Hagrid then dropped them into the lake.
The minute he did, Harry expected something dramatic to happen but was thoroughly disappointed, because nothing happened. The class continued to stare at the spot where the worms were dropped. Several moments later, a bubble emerged to the surface. Everyone stirred.
"There they are," Hagrid said.
Suddenly, red figures appeared at the surface of the water. Some people jumped back. The red creatures had bodies that were round and had feet like ducks. They had very cheerful faces, and flat noses. Their eyes were scarlet red, and their ears looked like puppy ears. They were quite cute.
"Wow!" gasped Lavender and Parvati from somewhere behind Harry.
"These are Goglers. They're often found in deep lakes, and sometimes the ocean." "I never knew Hogwarts had these," said Hermione, as one of them licked her finger.
"They're very shy. Now, there's a bucke' o' worms over there. Take some and find a Gogler to play with. Take observations" he said pointing to a near by tree stump with a large bucket sitting atop it.
The class did as they were told. Malfoy shuffled over to Harry during the process.
"So, did you find out anything?"
"No," said Harry, as he grabbed some worms. "It's just an ordinary map."
Malfoy stared at him. Harry quickly looked away, as he headed back to the lake's edge. He moved close to Hagrid, as Ron and Hermione came over too.
"Hagrid, are you okay?" he asked.
Hagrid looked up, his large black eyes shining from the reflection of the sun.
"I'm alrigh'," he said.
"No your not. Your too quiet." Hermione said.
"Hagrid, come on. You can tell us!" Ron said, throwing a worm in the water at one of the Goglers. It nibbled on it.
"Its nothin'. I'm just tired. Been doin' a lot of work fer the order and stuff."
"What type of work?" Harry asked.
"Now, what did Dumbledore tell ya? Stop nosin' in the Order's business."
Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned.
"What?"
"Nothing," said Harry. "Your just not good at keeping things from us." For the rest of the lesson, they did not ask anything else of Hagrid. They knew that eventually he would crack. The booming bell sounded from across the grounds. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked back towards the castle. Their final lesson of the day was over, and they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. However, outside the Great Hall, Hermione stopped.
"I've got stuff to do," she said shortly. She gave Ron a quick kiss, waved to Harry and dashed up the stairs towards the library.
"You know, I've just got tired of asking her what she does in there," Ron said, as they entered the loud Hall, and sat down at the head of the Gryffindor Table. Harry, was not feeling all that hungry. He simply poured himself some Pumpkin Juice.
"How much Homework have we got today?" Ron asked, moments later.
"Astronomy Essay, History of Magic, and Transfiguration." Harry answered, counting them off on his finger. He took a quick glance at the Staff table, and saw that someone was missing. Professor Dumbledore was not sitting in the center chair. It was empty.
"Hey, where's Dumbledore?" he asked, still looking.
Ron turned his head. "He must've went to the Ministry or something."
Professor Kevin entered the hall, looking flustered and tired. However, Harry noticed there was a long tear in his robes, and a spec of Blood caught his eye. Professor McGonagall quickly rose from the staff table, and met him halfway into the hall. They left.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"No idea,"
Harry did not get much sleep that night, having dreamed that Cedric had turned into a large hippogriff. He also dreamed that he was walking back down that hallway towards Fawke's lair. His parents came in and out of his dreams, but on the whole, Harry was glad his scar had not been hurting much.
Dumbledore finally reappeared at the staff table several days later, and Professor Kevin was back to normal. Harry didn't pay it much mind, because he was too busy studying for his final exams. He had jammed his brain with notes, and could not find too many things he had missed.
He took his History of Magic final, and thought it was just as dull as the class was. However, he felt confident he had passed. (Although, something in his mind told him that he could have answered the questions more thoroughly.)
Transfiguration was the exam that Harry looked forward to the most. His transfiguration of Ron turning into a dictionary was good, except he saw that the dictionary had eyes. He hoped Professor McGonagall did not see. ("It felt weird" Ron said when the exam had finished.)
Potions, was by far the worst exam Harry did. He accidentally missed an ingredient in the Potion he mixed, and it burst into flame, however, he got it under control and submitted a flagon of it. ("Knowing Snape, its going to be worth a T" He said to Ron and Hermione.)
Defense Against the Dark Arts was just as easy as the O.W.L, and he did not see any worries there.
The rest of the exams, Harry felt sure he had passed, and on the last day of the exams (which was his Divination exam), Harry felt burnt out.
"Its finally over," he said wearily in the library. Hermione had dragged him there to help her look up stuff on House-elves.
"We've still got a week until term ends. Until then, I am going to need your help!" she said. "RON! WAKE UP!"
She slammed a large book upon the desk in which Ron was sleeping, causing him to leap up.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and sounding angry.
"Because, your not helping!"
Harry grinned, and looked out the window, at the beautiful sunset in the distance. The sky was now a dusky purple, and starts began to appear. He looked down at the grounds, and saw that something was strange. It looked darker than usual, even with the moon rising, and the sun setting.
"That's strange," he said slowly.
"What?" Hermione asked, walking over.
"The grounds. They look darker," Harry said.
"Your right. I wonder-"
And she broke off. Harry clearly saw why. Black figures were appearing all over the grounds blocking the road to Hogsmeade, the Quidditch Pitch, and the lake. It couldn't be, he thought. No way.
"Are those, Dementors?" Hermione asked slowly.
Several students that were in the library clambered to the windows, to see. Ron walked over and peered out.
"Those are Dementors!" said a third year Gryffindor boy.
"But why are they here?" asked a fifth year Ravenclaw girl.
It could not be, Harry thought. And at that moment, a sharp pain shot across his scar. Voldemort was happy. Harry could hear him laughing. Harry couldn't believe it. Voldemort was planning his invasion.
No one could stop talking about Gryffindor's victory for days. Whenever Harry and the others entered Gryffindor Tower, they were greeted with applause and cheers. It seemed quite plain that Dean was attracting much more attention than he ever had before. Neville was also meeting the same attention as Dean. What shocked Harry even more was that less than a week after the match; Lavender and Parvati had started dating two Hufflepuff boys.
Ron was happier than he ever, and he continuously talked about the match to anyone who would listen. The Creevy brothers were all over Ginny, and pretty soon, Harry thought they were going to end up dueling. The School seemed to be in higher spirits since Gryffindor snatched the cup for the third year running. However, the Slytherin's were still taunting Gryffindor's, and Harry was happy that Malfoy was not apart of it.
"Hey Potter, have you split up from your Girlfriend, Chang?" Pansy shouted during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. "She always knew you were too ugly!"
The Slytherin's behind her roared with laughter. Harry felt his face grow hot. He wanted to shout back at her, but he remembered that he had to control his temper.
Hermione stepped in however. "I see your boyfriend split with you! Is it because he saw how much of a cow you were!"
The Gryffindor's now roared with laughter, and Pansy flushed red, and moved to another side of Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid opened his door, and bustled out of it.
"Good Afternoon!" he said, as Fang came charging out of the cabin. "Glad ter see yer all on time! Alrigh', follow me!" Hagrid said. He turned and headed towards the lake. The class exchanged gloomy looks but followed in suit. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were walking side by side with Hagrid.
"Hagrid, where are you taking us?" Ron asked.
"Lake," he answered shortly.
Harry looked at Ron. They both exchanged confused looks. Hagrid seemed depressed. They continued to the lake in silence.
"Alrigh', gather round here!" Hagrid said, stopping to face them. The class gathered around the edge of the lake. Everyone stared into the clear lake. "Now, today, I though' we could try and discover some water creatures. Can anybody name some?"
Hermione's hand shot into the air. Hagrid pointed at her.
"Um, there's Merpeople. They're not exactly creatures, but some wizards label them that way."
"Good! Take five points ter Gryffindor. Alrigh', I want you all ter watch closely."
Hagrid dug into his pocket, and pulled out a roll of slimy material. Harry squinted his eyes, and saw that they were worms. Hagrid took something out of his other pocket. It was a spray bottle with some blue liquid inside. Hagrid sprayed the worms with it, and Harry saw them wiggle slightly, but become immovable like before. Hagrid then dropped them into the lake.
The minute he did, Harry expected something dramatic to happen but was thoroughly disappointed, because nothing happened. The class continued to stare at the spot where the worms were dropped. Several moments later, a bubble emerged to the surface. Everyone stirred.
"There they are," Hagrid said.
Suddenly, red figures appeared at the surface of the water. Some people jumped back. The red creatures had bodies that were round and had feet like ducks. They had very cheerful faces, and flat noses. Their eyes were scarlet red, and their ears looked like puppy ears. They were quite cute.
"Wow!" gasped Lavender and Parvati from somewhere behind Harry.
"These are Goglers. They're often found in deep lakes, and sometimes the ocean." "I never knew Hogwarts had these," said Hermione, as one of them licked her finger.
"They're very shy. Now, there's a bucke' o' worms over there. Take some and find a Gogler to play with. Take observations" he said pointing to a near by tree stump with a large bucket sitting atop it.
The class did as they were told. Malfoy shuffled over to Harry during the process.
"So, did you find out anything?"
"No," said Harry, as he grabbed some worms. "It's just an ordinary map."
Malfoy stared at him. Harry quickly looked away, as he headed back to the lake's edge. He moved close to Hagrid, as Ron and Hermione came over too.
"Hagrid, are you okay?" he asked.
Hagrid looked up, his large black eyes shining from the reflection of the sun.
"I'm alrigh'," he said.
"No your not. Your too quiet." Hermione said.
"Hagrid, come on. You can tell us!" Ron said, throwing a worm in the water at one of the Goglers. It nibbled on it.
"Its nothin'. I'm just tired. Been doin' a lot of work fer the order and stuff."
"What type of work?" Harry asked.
"Now, what did Dumbledore tell ya? Stop nosin' in the Order's business."
Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned.
"What?"
"Nothing," said Harry. "Your just not good at keeping things from us." For the rest of the lesson, they did not ask anything else of Hagrid. They knew that eventually he would crack. The booming bell sounded from across the grounds. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked back towards the castle. Their final lesson of the day was over, and they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. However, outside the Great Hall, Hermione stopped.
"I've got stuff to do," she said shortly. She gave Ron a quick kiss, waved to Harry and dashed up the stairs towards the library.
"You know, I've just got tired of asking her what she does in there," Ron said, as they entered the loud Hall, and sat down at the head of the Gryffindor Table. Harry, was not feeling all that hungry. He simply poured himself some Pumpkin Juice.
"How much Homework have we got today?" Ron asked, moments later.
"Astronomy Essay, History of Magic, and Transfiguration." Harry answered, counting them off on his finger. He took a quick glance at the Staff table, and saw that someone was missing. Professor Dumbledore was not sitting in the center chair. It was empty.
"Hey, where's Dumbledore?" he asked, still looking.
Ron turned his head. "He must've went to the Ministry or something."
Professor Kevin entered the hall, looking flustered and tired. However, Harry noticed there was a long tear in his robes, and a spec of Blood caught his eye. Professor McGonagall quickly rose from the staff table, and met him halfway into the hall. They left.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked.
"No idea,"
Harry did not get much sleep that night, having dreamed that Cedric had turned into a large hippogriff. He also dreamed that he was walking back down that hallway towards Fawke's lair. His parents came in and out of his dreams, but on the whole, Harry was glad his scar had not been hurting much.
Dumbledore finally reappeared at the staff table several days later, and Professor Kevin was back to normal. Harry didn't pay it much mind, because he was too busy studying for his final exams. He had jammed his brain with notes, and could not find too many things he had missed.
He took his History of Magic final, and thought it was just as dull as the class was. However, he felt confident he had passed. (Although, something in his mind told him that he could have answered the questions more thoroughly.)
Transfiguration was the exam that Harry looked forward to the most. His transfiguration of Ron turning into a dictionary was good, except he saw that the dictionary had eyes. He hoped Professor McGonagall did not see. ("It felt weird" Ron said when the exam had finished.)
Potions, was by far the worst exam Harry did. He accidentally missed an ingredient in the Potion he mixed, and it burst into flame, however, he got it under control and submitted a flagon of it. ("Knowing Snape, its going to be worth a T" He said to Ron and Hermione.)
Defense Against the Dark Arts was just as easy as the O.W.L, and he did not see any worries there.
The rest of the exams, Harry felt sure he had passed, and on the last day of the exams (which was his Divination exam), Harry felt burnt out.
"Its finally over," he said wearily in the library. Hermione had dragged him there to help her look up stuff on House-elves.
"We've still got a week until term ends. Until then, I am going to need your help!" she said. "RON! WAKE UP!"
She slammed a large book upon the desk in which Ron was sleeping, causing him to leap up.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and sounding angry.
"Because, your not helping!"
Harry grinned, and looked out the window, at the beautiful sunset in the distance. The sky was now a dusky purple, and starts began to appear. He looked down at the grounds, and saw that something was strange. It looked darker than usual, even with the moon rising, and the sun setting.
"That's strange," he said slowly.
"What?" Hermione asked, walking over.
"The grounds. They look darker," Harry said.
"Your right. I wonder-"
And she broke off. Harry clearly saw why. Black figures were appearing all over the grounds blocking the road to Hogsmeade, the Quidditch Pitch, and the lake. It couldn't be, he thought. No way.
"Are those, Dementors?" Hermione asked slowly.
Several students that were in the library clambered to the windows, to see. Ron walked over and peered out.
"Those are Dementors!" said a third year Gryffindor boy.
"But why are they here?" asked a fifth year Ravenclaw girl.
It could not be, Harry thought. And at that moment, a sharp pain shot across his scar. Voldemort was happy. Harry could hear him laughing. Harry couldn't believe it. Voldemort was planning his invasion.