A/N: Sorry this took so long, everyone! DADA is next and I'm far more inspired to write that, so the next chapter shouldn't take long. A big THANK-YOU to everyone who reviewed. You guys are the best! And yes, coconut-ice agent h/h, you may borrow Draco, but have him back in time for potions class. ;-D As for why Ron and Hermione had to leave, since when are they ever allowed to stay?
One more note. The references to Egyptian mythology are based on what I know off the top of my head. I'm sorry if I'm wrong.
*****
Harry slowly made his way towards Gryffindor Tower, ignoring the students who wandered the halls. Most students were in class but some, like him, had a free period. Hogwart's gossips must have been working overtime, Harry thought to himself as a few students eyed him as he walked by. It amazed and irritated him how a school this large could have so many students spread all over the place, in class no less, and the gossip still managed to fly. Petrify a couple of students and no one sees anything, but get into a fight or break up with your girlfriend and there are fifteen hundred sworn witnesses by lunch.
Madame Pomfrey had released him on the condition that he take it easy over the next day or two. He had apparently lost a lot of blood and had to be given a restorative potion to gain it back. He was to report back to the hospital wing if he became dizzy or nauseous. After dinner, he needed to go back regardless and take another potion. Harry sighed to himself. First day of class and he had already had a near death experience. At this rate, Harry might be dead or unconscious before he even meets the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, let alone be attacked by him.
Harry paused before the Fat Lady, eyeing the portrait warily. This was also Ron's free period and he'll want to know what happened. Luckily, Hermione was in her Arithmancy class so Harry could explain to Ron that he only wants to tell the story once and that would buy him some time. Harry frowned. What was he worried about? Ron was his best mate, after all. Why wouldn't he want to tell him?
Harry sighed again, his eyes slipping closed. Maybe he could take a nap before lunch. He was so tired.
"Are you just going to stand there all day? That's very inconsiderate, you know," the Fat Lady said. Harry opened his eyes. She was standing there, looking down on him with a disapproving expression.
"Feline animagus," Harry said.
"About time." The portrait swung open and Harry stepped through.
The common room was practically empty, the scarlet and gold furniture and décor looking almost lonely without the light of a fire or companionship of students. The silence that dominated the usually active room had, in the beginning of sixth year, creeped Harry out so badly that he avoided the place during his free periods. After a while, however, the quiet had come to be a kind of treat. Solitude was a very rare thing at Hogwarts, especially living with four other boys. It wasn't that Harry enjoyed being by himself, exactly. He had spent so much time alone at the Dursley's that he found the presence of others to be very comforting. It was difficult to find time to oneself so, when a person got the time, they took advantage of it.
The common room wasn't completely empty, however. Just as Harry had expected, Ron was pacing the center of the room, hands clasped behind his back. As Harry walked in, Ron turned, favoring his friend with a look that clearly said he had taken far to long to get here. It was a look so similar to Hermione's from that morning that Harry burst out laughing. Ron frowned.
"What's so funny?"
Harry tried to calm himself, holding his stomach. "You- you look just… like Hermione…" He continued to laugh.
Ron blinked owlishly at him for a moment then looked at himself. Surprise blossomed across his face as he realized what he was doing. This, of course, resulted in Harry laughing harder. Ron's frowned deepened.
"It's not that funny," he grumbled at him, moving to cross his arms over his chest. He seemed to realize that this was also something Hermione did often for he froze halfway through the act then dropped his arms. He swung them uselessly for a moment, unsure of what he could do without ending up looking like his girlfriend. Harry collapsed to the floor, tears of mirth streaming down his cheeks.
"Fine," Ron said, eyeing Harry on the floor. "Laugh it up. I'll just tell Hermione you were laughing at her."
"Not-" Harry gasped out, trying to control himself.
"Who do you think she's going to believe? Her boyfriend, or you?" Ron asked.
Harry snickered at him. "Me." He wiped the tears from his cheeks, chuckling to himself. "After that bet this morning, she'll trust you about as far as she can throw you."
"Uh, Harry, she's a witch. She could throw me pretty far," Ron pointed out.
Harry shrugged, leaning back on his heels, still grinning at the red head. "Whatever."
"I can't believe you told her about that bet," Ron said, leaning against the back of a large scarlet sofa. "That's an awful thing to do to a chap, especially since it was your idea."
"That reminds me," Harry said, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Where's my cut?"
Ron glared at him. "On your bed. I should have kept it until you apologized."
Harry waved him off. "She'll get over it, Ron. It's not like you've never been on her bad side." Harry thought back to the brief conversation he'd had with Hermione that morning. "Besides, she would have figured it out eventually anyways."
They were silent for a moment. Harry mentally counted down the seconds. "You know I'm going to ask Harry, so you might as well start talking," Ron said.
Seventeen seconds. Not bad. "Can it wait?" Harry asked. Ron opened his mouth to speak but the smaller wizard interrupted. "I'm going to tell you, Ron. I just want to know if it can wait until Hermione is here so I only have to tell it once."
Ron peered at him. "Are you feeling any better, mate? You're looking a little peaky."
Harry ran a hand over his face. Now that Ron mentioned it, he didn't feel so well. "I just need to go lie down." He carefully climbed to his feet, grasping the sofa firmly as the room spun around him. He swallowed, closing his eyes to fight the nausea and dizziness. His legs felt weak and it was all he could do not to slip back to the floor. He must have lost more blood than he had thought.
"Maybe you should go back to the hospital wing," he heard Ron suggest. He started to shake his head and stopped when the dizziness intensified.
"I just need to lie down," he said, carefully taking a step forward towards the boys' dormitories. His right arm was pulled over Ron's shoulders as the taller boy helped him to bed. It was fortunate that he had a free period. Harry thought it was entirely possible that he may have passed out in class if he had attended one. Malfoy would never have let him live that down.
The two boys carefully climbed the stairs to the seventh year dorm room. It was empty, everyone else in various classes. Ron walked Harry over to his bed. "I'll wake you in time for lunch," Ron said as he watched Harry climb onto the bed.
"Thanks," Harry said, lying down. He was out almost immediately.
*****
Soft hands ran over Harry's forehead. It was incredibly comforting, causing Harry to feel a safe warmth in his chest. He nuzzled deeper into his pillow, sighing under the caress. He tried to will himself back to sleep.
"Harry?" a soft, feminine voice said. Harry whimpered indistinctly. He didn't want to wake up. The gentle fingers brushed his hair back off his forehead. "Harry, it's time for lunch." Harry frowned slightly. Lunch? He carefully opened his eyes, blinking against the bright light of the sun. He saw a large blur of red and a smaller blur of black and brown. The gentle hands placed his glasses back on his nose. Now that he could see, he noticed that the hands belonged to Hermione.
"Hermione?" Harry asked, swallowing against his dry throat. A hand passed him a glass of water. He looked up at Ron as he took a sip. He turned back to Hermione. "What are you doing up here?"
"You wanted us to wake you up in time for lunch," Ron said, slipping his hands into his pockets.
Hermione eyed Harry critically. "About lunch, Harry. Are you sure you want to go? We could always bring you something back."
Harry rubbed his eyes. "Do I really look that bad?"
"Not bad, exactly…" Ron muttered.
"You just look tired and pale," Hermione continued. She smiled at him. "Besides, if you pass out in front of Malfoy, he'll never let you live it down."
Harry paused, frowning at her. "Stop reading my mind. It's irritating."
She grinned at him. "I'm not reading your mind. I just know you." Her grin faded. "What would you like us to bring back?"
Harry sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "I'll go with you," he said, slowly slipping off the bed beside her. "I need to go to the hospital wing anyways." He grimaced. "Madame Pomfrey said that if I feel dizzy or nauseous I should go and see her."
Hermione stood up, holding out a hand to help him stand. "We'll go with you and you can tell us about this woman."
Harry groaned. "I knew there was a reason you were being nice to me."
"It couldn't just be that we like you?" Hermione asked.
Harry snorted. "What has that got to do with anyting?"
"So tell us about this woman," Ron said, grabbing his and Hermione's bag. They all walked out of the dorm. Harry looked around for people.
"Everyone's at lunch," Hermione said. "We checked on our way up."
"I just wanted to be sure no one over heard this," Harry replied. "For some reason, people have a tendency to over-react when I mention speaking Parseltongue."
"Can't imagine why," Ron said, looking a little green.
They left the tower, Harry telling them all about his dream. He described everything to them, his clothes, what the woman said, what she looked like, and his vision. When he finished, he glanced at the both of them. Ron looked pale while Hermione was thoughtful. "You had You-Know-Who's eyes?" Ron asked, his voice shaking slightly. Both Harry and Hermione glared at him. "What?" he said, looking between the two.
"After all these years, you still can't bring yourself to say 'Voldemort', can you?" Hermione said, her tone colored with scorn.
"You've only been beating into me for six years. 'You-Know-Who' was beaten into me for eleven years before that. Which do you think is going to win?"
Hermione ignored him. "Would you say that she looked Egyptian?" she asked Harry. He shrugged.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Why?"
"The way you described her," Hermione replied. "The look sounded Egyptian and that would narrow our field of research."
"So, what are we looking for exactly?" Ron asked. "A Dark Egyptian Queen?"
"Not exactly. We're more likely looking for something in relation to serpents in Ancient Egyptian mythology."
Ron and Harry exchanged a glance. "Why?" Ron asked.
"The Ancient Egyptian faith had many animals in it. Most of the gods even had animal-like characteristics, the most common being the head of an animal," Hermione said, her tone matter-of-fact.
"They wore animal heads?" Ron asked, slightly disgusted.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Considering the Ancient Egyptian religion held some of the oldest forms of magic, you would think that you would know more about the subject, Ron. The gods had animal heads. For example, Horus had the head of a falcon, Thoth, the head of an ibis, and Anubis had the head of a canine."
Harry, who had been quietly listening, frowned at Hermione. "Please tell me that you don't believe that this woman was an Egyptian goddess."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I sincerely doubt it."
"Good," Harry replied. "It's hard enough being the Boy-Who-Lived without adding He-Who-Sees-Ancient-Dark-Snake-Goddesses to my list of credits."
Hermione frowned. "Where do you two get these ideas? And besides, if it was a goddess, who says she is dark? The serpent gods of Egypt were associated with rebirth, fertility, and the Nile River." They all stopped before the doors to the hospital wing. "Anyway, I don't think it is an Egyptian goddess, I just think that cross-referencing Ancient Egypt with snakes and Parseltongue may give us a clue as to who this woman is or what she symbolizes." With that, Hermione pushed open the hospital wing door and walked inside.
"What do you mean, what she symbolizes?" Ron called after her. There was no reply. Ron and Harry looked at each other. "Did you follow that?" Ron asked.
"Not quite," Harry replied. "I'm still unclear if we are researching immortal, but not divine, serpents of Ancient Egypt or their appearance in dreams in relation to people who speak Parseltongue."
"Well," Ron sighed, following Hermione. "As long as we're both confused."
