CHAPTER 14:
The Creature Unmasked
"How is she?" Harry asked Dumbledore outside the hospital wing. "Cho, I mean."
"Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore replied, "says that your friend has a few bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder, but nothing more serious." He put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Not to worry, Harry. She'll be fine."
"May I see her?" Harry asked.
"I don't see why not, myself. She's just regained consciousness. However, you'll have to ask Madam Pomfrey for permission."
Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey said yes, but that she'd only give him five minutes.
"Hey, Cho," Harry greeted her softly at her bedside.
Cho smiled up at him. "Hi, Harry." Madam Pomfrey had already reattached her shoulder, and her arm was now in a sling.
"How do you feel?"
"Like crud."
Harry laughed and kissed her forehead. "I'm just glad you're alright. I don't know what I'd do if you just died on me, then and there." He kissed her on the lips. "So, how long do you have to stay in here?"
"Just for tonight." Just then, the smile vanished from Cho's face, and was replaced by a look of dread, as if she were remembering some sort of torment she recently went through. "H-Harry," she whimpered. "Wh-what was that thing?!"
"I...I don't know," Harry replied, truthfully.
"I don't ever want to see it again!" Cho exclaimed. "That thing was evil! It was the Devil!" She then wrapped her good arm around Harry's neck and burst into tears.
Harry placed his hand behind her head as she cried into his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered into her ear. "Don't worry. You're safe, here."
Madam Pomfrey rushed into the room. "Alright, time's up," she announced. "Come on, now, Mr. Potter. She needs rest."
***
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him.
"Where've you been?" Ron asked.
Harry told them all about how Cho was attacked by the creature.
"Oh, my God," Hermione simply said. "It's finally started attacking people."
"What'll we do, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry thought for a moment. "What we should have done a long time ago," he replied. "Hermione, call a D. A. meeting to order at three, tomorrow."
***
The next day, during the D. A. meeting, Harry told his fellow D. A. members how he'd been seeing the creature throughout the school year.
"You're not alone, then," said Ginny. "I've been seeing it, too."
"So have I," said Neville. "It was so creepy."
"What?!" Harry exclaimed. "You mean you've seen it too?"
"Seen it? It actually chased me!" Colin informed him.
As a matter of fact, almost all of them had seen it. And they all described it in the same way, as being winged, with big, red, frightening eyes.
"Okay, so we all know what it looks like," said Harry. "Big deal! The real question is, how do we stop it from hurting anyone else?"
Nobody said anything.
"Well, first," Hermione began. "I think we should figure out what this thing is in the first place. Now, this may sound rather typical of me, but I think we should go to the library and see what we can find. But not all at once, that would seem way too suspicious. We should just go a few at a time. I'll have to warn you, though, that this may take a while. We may not even find anything."
***
Later that day, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, went up to the library in order to find something that may be of use.
First, they decided to look in all of the books about magical creatures, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Even the books of newly discovered creatures weren't much help.
"I give up!" Ron groaned. "We've looked through every beast book in the whole bloody library twice, and we still haven't found our mystery creature! Though, I now know about every magical beast that's ever been discovered."
"Maybe what we're looking for isn't really a beast," Hermione suggested.
"Then what could it be?" Harry asked.
"A spirit."
So, they looked in the spirit books. At first, their search was unsuccessful, but then, Hermione exclaimed, "I've found it!"
"SSSHHH!!!!!" Madam Pince hissed loudly from her desk.
"Sorry," Hermione whispered.
"Don't be sorry, just be quiet!" Madam Pince replied.
"Well, what is it?" Harry asked, urgently.
"It's called a Mothman."
"Mothman?" Ron repeated.
"Yes."
"You sure this is the creature we're looking for?" Harry asked.
"Positive. According to this, the Mothman, standing about five to eight feet tall, is similar to a human torso in appearance, with a large pair of wings folded against its back. Although it does not flap these wings, it is still capable of flying up to a hundred miles an hour, but is rather awkward on the ground, and tends to shuffle as it walks. Since it is covered in black feathers, and generally avoids any form of light, it is almost invisible when seen. The only part of the Mothman that people usually see is its enormous, red eyes. Anyone looking into these eyes becomes almost entirely paralyzed, incapable of running, screaming, or even moving, and, sometimes, the skin around the victim's eyes redden and inflame. It produces a variety of calls, one similar to the scream of a woman, another a low howl, which has been known to cause severe migraines. The Mothman preys on medium to large-sized mammals, from dogs to cattle, often eating the organs only. It has also been known to shape-shift into a man, and even mimic the voice of one." She looked up at Harry and Ron. "This is definitely our phantom-creature."
"That's great, and all," Ron interrupted. "But, how do we stop it?"
"There's more, Ron! Be patient!" She turned back to the book. "The Mothman has been seen by humans all over the world, since prehistoric times. For some reason, it only shows itself in an area in which an incident is about to occur that will cause a massive death count in the area. It was once seen in a city in China, just a few months before a large dam near the city collapsed. Another time, it appeared near a mine in Germany, just before the mine exploded. It has even been seen in Ukraine, just a few days before the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. However, these incidents were nothing compared to the one that occurred in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, USA. From 1963 to 1965, over a hundred sightings of the Mothman have occurred in the small town alone. Then, on December 24th, 1965, the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour traffic. Thirty-two muggles and ten wizards, forty-two in all, plunged into the freezing waters of the Ohio River. Afterwards, the Mothman has never been seen in Point Pleasant again."
"So, you're saying that this Mothman causes disasters wherever it's seen by humans?" Harry asked.
"That's what it says, here," Hermione replied.
The group fell silent. It was now clear to them what the Mothman was at Hogwarts to do.
TO BE CONTINUED
The Creature Unmasked
"How is she?" Harry asked Dumbledore outside the hospital wing. "Cho, I mean."
"Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore replied, "says that your friend has a few bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder, but nothing more serious." He put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "Not to worry, Harry. She'll be fine."
"May I see her?" Harry asked.
"I don't see why not, myself. She's just regained consciousness. However, you'll have to ask Madam Pomfrey for permission."
Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey said yes, but that she'd only give him five minutes.
"Hey, Cho," Harry greeted her softly at her bedside.
Cho smiled up at him. "Hi, Harry." Madam Pomfrey had already reattached her shoulder, and her arm was now in a sling.
"How do you feel?"
"Like crud."
Harry laughed and kissed her forehead. "I'm just glad you're alright. I don't know what I'd do if you just died on me, then and there." He kissed her on the lips. "So, how long do you have to stay in here?"
"Just for tonight." Just then, the smile vanished from Cho's face, and was replaced by a look of dread, as if she were remembering some sort of torment she recently went through. "H-Harry," she whimpered. "Wh-what was that thing?!"
"I...I don't know," Harry replied, truthfully.
"I don't ever want to see it again!" Cho exclaimed. "That thing was evil! It was the Devil!" She then wrapped her good arm around Harry's neck and burst into tears.
Harry placed his hand behind her head as she cried into his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered into her ear. "Don't worry. You're safe, here."
Madam Pomfrey rushed into the room. "Alright, time's up," she announced. "Come on, now, Mr. Potter. She needs rest."
***
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to find Ron and Hermione waiting for him.
"Where've you been?" Ron asked.
Harry told them all about how Cho was attacked by the creature.
"Oh, my God," Hermione simply said. "It's finally started attacking people."
"What'll we do, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry thought for a moment. "What we should have done a long time ago," he replied. "Hermione, call a D. A. meeting to order at three, tomorrow."
***
The next day, during the D. A. meeting, Harry told his fellow D. A. members how he'd been seeing the creature throughout the school year.
"You're not alone, then," said Ginny. "I've been seeing it, too."
"So have I," said Neville. "It was so creepy."
"What?!" Harry exclaimed. "You mean you've seen it too?"
"Seen it? It actually chased me!" Colin informed him.
As a matter of fact, almost all of them had seen it. And they all described it in the same way, as being winged, with big, red, frightening eyes.
"Okay, so we all know what it looks like," said Harry. "Big deal! The real question is, how do we stop it from hurting anyone else?"
Nobody said anything.
"Well, first," Hermione began. "I think we should figure out what this thing is in the first place. Now, this may sound rather typical of me, but I think we should go to the library and see what we can find. But not all at once, that would seem way too suspicious. We should just go a few at a time. I'll have to warn you, though, that this may take a while. We may not even find anything."
***
Later that day, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, went up to the library in order to find something that may be of use.
First, they decided to look in all of the books about magical creatures, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Even the books of newly discovered creatures weren't much help.
"I give up!" Ron groaned. "We've looked through every beast book in the whole bloody library twice, and we still haven't found our mystery creature! Though, I now know about every magical beast that's ever been discovered."
"Maybe what we're looking for isn't really a beast," Hermione suggested.
"Then what could it be?" Harry asked.
"A spirit."
So, they looked in the spirit books. At first, their search was unsuccessful, but then, Hermione exclaimed, "I've found it!"
"SSSHHH!!!!!" Madam Pince hissed loudly from her desk.
"Sorry," Hermione whispered.
"Don't be sorry, just be quiet!" Madam Pince replied.
"Well, what is it?" Harry asked, urgently.
"It's called a Mothman."
"Mothman?" Ron repeated.
"Yes."
"You sure this is the creature we're looking for?" Harry asked.
"Positive. According to this, the Mothman, standing about five to eight feet tall, is similar to a human torso in appearance, with a large pair of wings folded against its back. Although it does not flap these wings, it is still capable of flying up to a hundred miles an hour, but is rather awkward on the ground, and tends to shuffle as it walks. Since it is covered in black feathers, and generally avoids any form of light, it is almost invisible when seen. The only part of the Mothman that people usually see is its enormous, red eyes. Anyone looking into these eyes becomes almost entirely paralyzed, incapable of running, screaming, or even moving, and, sometimes, the skin around the victim's eyes redden and inflame. It produces a variety of calls, one similar to the scream of a woman, another a low howl, which has been known to cause severe migraines. The Mothman preys on medium to large-sized mammals, from dogs to cattle, often eating the organs only. It has also been known to shape-shift into a man, and even mimic the voice of one." She looked up at Harry and Ron. "This is definitely our phantom-creature."
"That's great, and all," Ron interrupted. "But, how do we stop it?"
"There's more, Ron! Be patient!" She turned back to the book. "The Mothman has been seen by humans all over the world, since prehistoric times. For some reason, it only shows itself in an area in which an incident is about to occur that will cause a massive death count in the area. It was once seen in a city in China, just a few months before a large dam near the city collapsed. Another time, it appeared near a mine in Germany, just before the mine exploded. It has even been seen in Ukraine, just a few days before the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. However, these incidents were nothing compared to the one that occurred in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, USA. From 1963 to 1965, over a hundred sightings of the Mothman have occurred in the small town alone. Then, on December 24th, 1965, the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour traffic. Thirty-two muggles and ten wizards, forty-two in all, plunged into the freezing waters of the Ohio River. Afterwards, the Mothman has never been seen in Point Pleasant again."
"So, you're saying that this Mothman causes disasters wherever it's seen by humans?" Harry asked.
"That's what it says, here," Hermione replied.
The group fell silent. It was now clear to them what the Mothman was at Hogwarts to do.
TO BE CONTINUED