Chapter Nine: The Warning
"Mr. Potter!" exclaim Snape in potions class. "Will you please tell me what you were think about when you add the dragon's blood before the eye of newt, because I remember tell you not to or this would happen." Snape glared down at Harry and Ron, who both stood staring back at Snape with ashen faces.
"I don't know..."
"Well obviously not." Said Snape. Harry looked around the class and noticed that all of the Slytherins were laughing silently, all except Jamie, who was looking at Harry anxiously. Harry had been trying to speak with her for three weeks now without success. "Well Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley I suggest you two clean this up and start over again. This time don't put the dragon's blood in until the end." Harry stared back at Snape as he headed back for his desk. He was surprised that Snape didn't take any points away from Gryffindor and has he looked around the room, neither did anyone else.
Harry and Ron got up to clean out their cauldron and get some new eye of newt, when he noticed that Jamie was walking back from their area. She sat down and looked at Harry pointedly then went back to work. Harry quickly look at Malfoy, who had also noticed that Jamie was over by Harry's area and was now glaring at Jamie angrily. Harry quickly made his way back to his desk without looking like he was rushing. When he sat back down in his seat he noticed that there was a letter laying on top of his books. It looked as if it was written in a hurry. Harry read the letter quickly
Harry,
I wanted you to know before it was to late. They are going to try something tomorrow. Be careful
The not wasn't signed but Harry knew that it was from Jamie. Harry looked at Jamie who shot another glance at him before looking at Malfoy who was still glaring at her. Jamie suddenly looked very frightened as she hastily went back to work trying not to see Malfoy's glare again. Harry was now staring at Malfoy with a warning stare as Malfoy's glared moved from Jamie to him. They stared at each other, neither one was willing to look away first. It seemed like an eternity, and neither of them even blinked, until Ron nudged Harry to get him to pay attention. Harry slowly turned his attention back to the potion.
"What's up?" Ron whispered with a concerned look. Harry showed up the letter that Jamie had placed on his books and then moment towards Malfoy who had turned his glare back to Jamie. "You don't think..." Ron's words were cut short when they both noticed that Jamie stood up. She was swaying on the spot were she stood, her hand on her head as though it was hurting her, and then in a weak voice spoke.
"Professor..." was the only word she could say before she collapsed to the ground. Harry jumped up and rushed to her and so did most of the class, but only the Gryffindor students. Harry noticed that the Slytherin students were all sitting in their seats continuing to work on their potions.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Hermione. Looking up at Harry and then Professor Snape who was trying to get some of the students to step away from the fall girl.
"She has been very tired lately." Said Malfoy in a cold voice. "She hasn't been sleeping well lately." A smile stretched across his face as he looked at the small girl lying on the floor. Harry looked at Malfoy angrily. He rushed up to Malfoy who was now looking quite surprised to see the Gryffindor coming at him.
"What did you do to her Malfoy?" Harry questioned him. A look of even greater surprise appeared on Malfoy's face as he noticed that Harry was going for his wand, but was interrupted by Snape's voice.
"At is enough Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Snape. Harry turned to look at the Professor, expecting to lose points of his house, but was surprised by Snape yet again when he asked Harry to take Jamie down to the hospital wing with a note. Harry waited patiently at Snape's desk as he quickly wrote a note to Madam Pomfrey. When handed Harry the note he turned to the small girl and took out his wand to float her down to the hospital wing. Harry walked slowly down the corridor to make sure that he didn't harm Jamie. He started to feel really uncomfortable, because he noticed that as he passed classroom there were students staring at him as he passed.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally got to the hospital wing and set the Slytherin girl down on one of the bed. Madam Pomfrey rushed out of her office to see what had happened and when Harry handed her Snape's note, Madam Pomfrey nodded and went to work. Harry stayed there for a few minutes before heading back to his Potions class. By the time he got there they were letting out. Ron and Hermione caught sight of him heading back for the classroom and rushed towards him. Ron had picked up all of Harry's things and was giving it to him when Hermione looked at him with a concerned expression and spoke to him with a worried tone.
"Ron showed me the letter." She said in a hushed tone as the other students pasted them. "Do you think that she really means it, or what?"
"Well Hermione I do think she means it, because of what happened to her just after she gave me the letter." Said Harry. "What I want to know is what happened to her and if she knew that that would happen? Is that what she meant as before it was too late?" Harry looked between his two friends who were shooting questioning glances to one another. "What happened after I left?" asked Harry and Ron's face lit up.
"Well after you left Snape asked Malfoy to come into his office with him while we finished out potions, and while they were in there you could hear Snape yelling the whole time. I couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but when Malfoy came out he was really angry Harry." Said Ron with a laugh.
"Hey guys don't you think we should grab some lunch before Dark Arts class?" asked Hermione with her hand over her stomach as it let out a large growl. Ron and Harry looked at each other and laughed.
"Yeah lets go." Said Harry. "We can talk on the way there." They walked to the Great Hall talking about what they thought Jamie meant in her note and what happened afterwards. When they got to the Great Hall they ate lunch in relative silence. The story about Jamie had already spared across the school and Harry could hear whispered conversations about it throughout the Great Hall. When Harry, Ron and Hermione had finished eating there lunches they headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
"Harry are you going to tell Dumbledore or even Siri... snuffles about the letter?" asked Hermione as they entered the classroom.
"I don't know. If I knew more about it I would tell them, but I don't want to disturb them if this is all a trick that Malfoy made up to have a laugh." Said Harry. He wasn't sure about Jamie just yet, but he won't past any Slytherin to do something that low to get a laugh at Harry's expense, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of Harry's mind that kept telling him that this warning was for real. When Harry looked back at Hermione she started to open her mouth in protest but quickly closed it when Professor Smith started the class. They took their seat quickly as Professor Smith didn't waste a minute to begin.
"Okay today we will examine object that project more that one thing. They are very rare and very hard to find. I don't have one in my collection, but we are lucky because I know that someone in this room owns a ring that protects against three things." Harry looked at Professor Smith angrily, he didn't want everyone knowing that he had the ring, but now that she said it everyone in the school would know about it before dinner. Ron gave Harry a pointed look as the rest of the class whispered, wondering whom it was. Professor Smith walked straight up to Harry and looked at him with an expression that chilled Harry to the bone.
Harry didn't like it, but what choice did he have, she was a teacher. He went for it, but when he couldn't feel it hanging around his neck he remembered he let Ron using it. Harry turned to Ron who already had it out and was waiting for him to realized were it was. He took it and gave it to Professor Smith. She was now giving Harry a look of interest. Professor Smith palmed the ring and headed back to the front of the class.
Everyone was now staring at Harry in amazement that he had this very rare ring. Harry didn't listen as Professor Smith talked about the ring, instead he started to stare at the wall behind Professor Smith he was vaguely aware that he was drawing something on his parchment in order to look as through he was paying attention. He didn't know how long he was like that but the next thing he knew was Ron had slammed his elbow into Harry's side to get him out of his stupor.
"Ouch." Harry said quietly as he turned to Ron who was motioning forward. Harry looked and Professor Smith was standing only a few feet from him, looking down at him with a half smile.
"I hope I didn't wake you Mr. Potter, but I am finished with this." She said and handed Harry the ring and chain. Harry gave it back to Ron without a second though and when he looked back up at Professor Smith who was still staring at him with a half smile. She suddenly turned back to the class after a moment longer and started to talk about other amulets that protected against more than one thing. When class finally let out Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed out of the classroom, because Harry didn't want to stay and talk to everyone about his father's ring. He just wanted to get to dinner, because he was really hungry from the double Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"Why did she have to tell everyone about my ring?" asked Harry. Ron and Hermione stared at him for a minute, because Harry was really angry and they hadn't seen him like this over a little thing as talking about a ring. "I didn't want everyone knowing about my father's ring"
"Harry. It is nothing to be getting this upset over." Said Hermione gently. Harry looked at her and smiled. She was right, as usual, but Harry didn't want to say so they walked to the great hall in silence. When they got there Harry ate his and while waiting for his friends to finish he wanted to look over the notes he took really quick. The first piece of parchment he pulled out was the rolled up piece that he was writing on while staring off in Defense Against the Darks Arts class. He didn't waste time on it and place it on the table know that it didn't have anything important on it. He quickly looked over some notes he took and then when Ron and Hermione were finished eating, he gathered all of his things and started to head out.
"Oh Harry you forgot this." Said Hermione as she picked up the unimportant piece of parchment.
"That is garbage I was going to throw it way..." Harry stopped short when he saw the look on Hermione's face. "What? What is it?" asked Harry.
"What were you doing when you wrote this?" Hermione asked quickly.
"I was just staring at the back wall of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when Professor Smith was talking about my ring." Said Harry and a wave of anger flashed in his eyes. "Why?" Hermione went to say something then looked around her see all the people in the great hall and then pulled the two boys out into the corridor where no one could over hear them. Hermione showed Harry the paper. He felt as if his stomach dropped down to his feet. "But... but how?" Harry stammered.
"I am not sure. Are you sure you didn't know you were writing 'beware' over and over again for a whole piece of parchment?" Hermione looked at him with concern.
"I am telling you that I don't know how this happened. I know I was scribbling on the paper but I just thought I was nothing important." said Harry.
"Yes, but you were kind of out of it." Said Ron. "You didn't even notice when Professor Smith walked straight up to you and stood a couple of feet from you. She called your name a couple times, before I hit you." Harry looked at Ron and thought. Yes, he didn't even know that she was anywhere near him until Ron elbowed him. His brow was wrinkled with worry.
"Harry I think we should tell someone about the letter and this. Right now, before anything else happens." Said Hermione. Harry nodded and they all headed for Professor's Dumbledore's office. Once they got to the stone gargoyle Harry stopped and stared at it he didn't want to go to see Dumbledore about this. He stood there at the gargoyle staring at it and debating in his head well he should go to see Dumbledore.
"You don't want to bother him." Said a voice in his head.
"But this is important." He retorted.
"You don't want him to think that you couldn't handle a little thing like this. It is nothing, just a Slytherin trick that is all."
"I don't know, look at what happened to Jamie I really don't think I is a Slytherin trick."
"How can you be sure? If you go to Dumbledore about this and it turns out to be nothing he will be very angry at you."
"No we are going to see Dumbledore and that is final!"
"Harry!" Hermione's voice interrupted the debate. Harry turned his head to see the worried expression of his friend. "Are you okay?"
"Why yes I was just thinking." Said Harry. Hermione raise an eyebrow in interest.
"No you were talking to the gargoyle." Said Hermione. "First you said 'this is important' then you waited for a moment before saying something about Jamie, and then you waited for another moment before say that we were going to see Dumbledore and that is was final." Harry looked at her. Had he spoken out loud and why would there be only one side to his debate? He looked at the gargoyle quickly as he breathed out the password.
When they got to the door to the office they heard voices coming from just behind the door. Dumbledore was talking to someone. Harry not wanting to wait another minute knocked on the door. A moment later the door flew wide open to show Sirius' smiling face standing there looked down at Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss. Granger please come in." said Dumbledore from behind his desk. The three friends entered the office not even noticing the person who was sitting quietly in the corner. "Is there something troubling you three?"
"Yes Professor." Said Hermione quickly and she told him about Jamie, starting with the Christmas Eve dinner to the letter and her collapse in Potions class, then she went on to talk about Harry's scribbling on his spare piece of parchment.
"Interesting." Was all Dumbledore could say when Hermione was finally finished with her story. Dumbledore sat thinking as everyone in the room stared at him for an answer to what was going no and what might happen.
"Well I see that you are busy professor." Came a familiar voice from the corner. Harry turned his head to see who it might be. Cassandra stood up she was still very pale, and the black robes that she was wearing didn't help much in that matter either. "I guess we will finish our conversation a little later then. Tell me if where is any way that I might help you." Cassandra walked from the room quickly. Harry wanted to say something to her, but she was out of the door before he could speak a single word. Sirius looked after her with an unreadable expression, which troubled Harry a little.
"Professor what do you think we should do?" asked Ron quickly. Harry looked back a Dumbledore who still looked as through he was deep in thought.
"Well one thing I think we should do, is to treat this as a creditable warning." Said Dumbledore.
"You don't think it might be a Slytherin joke on Harry?" asked Ron in an angry voice, and was balling his fist as though Malfoy was standing in front of him.
"No Mr. Weasley. I don't think that it is a joke, for the fact at Miss. Bower is still in the hospital wing and hasn't woken as of yet." The three friends stared at Dumbledore.
"Is she okay?" asked Hermione.
"We are not sure. There is no reason why she hasn't woken. She wasn't cursed and she didn't take any potions or at least none that Madam Pomfrey could find. We are all lost for a reason why she is still in this... this comma or lack of a better word." Said Dumbledore. Harry sighed inwardly and nodded. Jamie was in a comma because she was trying to help him, but why would she do this? Why would this Slytherin girl risk her life to help Harry, and she knew something like this would happen.
"So what do we do?" asked Harry in a weak voice.
"Well I don't want you going around the school alone. If you need to go any where I want someone else to be with you." He stared at Harry until he was giving an answer.
"Yes sir." Whispered Harry. He didn't like having to be followed everywhere he went.
"As for the scribbling I am not sure what happened, it is surely another warning, but a warning of what, that is what I am unsure of, so as I said I would like for you not to be alone at anytime and if you don't have any where to be I want you to stay in you tower where you will be safe." Said Dumbledore and the three of them nodded that him and left the room. They talked to the tower in silence, and when they got there Harry went straight to bed. He didn't get much sleep, because he keep turning over and over again worrying about what might happen the next day.
When Harry woke the next morning he was up before everyone else, so he got dressed, as quietly has possible and headed down for the commons room. He was about to go down to the Great Hall for an early breakfast when he heard his name being called from behind him. He turned to find Ron half dressed running down the stairs to the dormitories. He was pulling on his robe as he came to a stop in front of Harry. "Did you forget what Dumbledore said last night about not going anywhere outside the tower by yourself?"
"No, Ron, I didn't forget. I just didn't want to wake you up." Said Harry as he sighed inwardly.
"Well I am up now, so we can go to breakfast together." Ron said as he went to the portrait and pushed it open. Harry walked out after him. All the way down to the Great Hall talking about Quidditch and their practice just before dinner, and wondering if Dumbledore might cancel it for today.
"I hope we are allowed to practice today. You know with the warning and all." Said Harry as they both walked into the Great Hall to see that they were the first ones there. They both sat down at the Gryffindor table eating and talking way as the Great Hall slowly filled up with the other students. When Hermione finally got to the Great Hall she looked a little anxious.
"I waited a long time for you guys only to find out that you had already left." She said and looked at Ron with an angry expression.
"Well I had to rush out, because Harry was trying to leave on his own." Said Ron and Hermione gave Harry a nasty look.
"I thought he might." She said and then started to eat her breakfast without another word. When they finally had they're filled of breakfast they started for their classes. Hermione went to her class as Ron and Harry went to their divinations class. Harry hated this class so bad and the thing that he hated most about it was the teacher, Professor Trelawney, who always thought that Harry was about to die, and told him so at least once a month.
"I can believe we are going to have to start using tarot cards today. I really don't want to play around with those... they kind of creep me out." Said Ron with a downcast look.
"Don't worry Ron it's not like anyone will really tell you your future with these cards." Said Harry with a smile. They made their way up the tower and into the divinations classroom. Harry walked into the classroom and smelled the now familiar smell of Professor Trelawney's incenses. The rest of the class was already there and they were all playing with a deck of cards.
"Ay yes. Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley please come over here and pick out a deck of tarot cards which you will be spending the rest of the year using." Said Professor Trelawney as Harry and Ron made their way to the head of the class. "It is every important that you pick the right cards so that you can hear them when you are trying to read someone's future."
"But Professor how do we pick the right cards?" asked Harry.
"Well my dear all you have to do is listen and the cards that speak to you, the cards which you are first drawn to are the right cards for you." Said Professor Trelawney. Harry looked at the decks of cards that were left on the table. There were five different decks and they all looked the same and he couldn't pick which one he really wanted, so he just closed his eyes and the first deck that he touched he picked up and started for his desk. Ron joined him soon after that.
"So how did you pick your deck?" asked Ron.
"I just closed my eyes and picked." Said Harry in an off hand sort of way.
"Yeah so did I." Said Ron and they both laughed to themselves.
"Okay I want you to get to know your cards first off, so just look through them and introduce yourself to them." Said Professor Trelawney. Ron and Harry looked at each other, they were about to burst out in laughter, but soon after they started to look through their decks. Harry liked his cards; they had some interesting pictures on it about Knights and Ladies of medieval times. Then Harry came upon the last card, the death card, and Harry looked at it. He suddenly got a very bad feeling from this card. It had the picture of the grim ripper on it, in a long black clock holding a cycle. Its face was just a skull, and it seemed that the skull was staring at Harry and smiling at him. Harry stared at it for a long time, before he was barely aware that someone was talking to him.
"Mr. Potter?" Professor Trelawney's voice came through his haze. Harry looked up at the Professor, who was looking at him anxiously. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes I am fine." Said Harry and he put the death card into the middle of the deck.
"Okay so now you are going to partner up and read the other persons future. If you will look into you books to chapter thirteen 'The wonderful world of Tarot' you will find the meaning to all the cards." Everyone partnered up with their usual partners and began to read their futures. Harry did Ron's future first. Ron shuffled Harry's cards around and then handed them back to Harry, who place the first three cards down on the place one right next to the other.
"Okay." Said Harry as he read how to read the cards. "Your past is..." Harry turned over the first card. "The Wise One, but it is upside down. I am sorry Ron but this says that you were really dumb in the past." Said Harry with a giggle.
"No it doesn't." said Ron a little hurt.
"Okay now to your present." Said Harry and he turned over the middle card. "The Fool and that one too in upside down, so that means... You are having good fortune." Ron smiled at that. "And last your future." Harry turned over the last card and smiled. "Temptation... that is all I have to said about it." Harry winked at Ron and they both burst out in laughter. It was a little loud and the whole class was staring at them by the time they stopped laughing.
"Is there something funny gentlemen?" asked Professor Trelawney, who looked at Harry's cards and then back at Ron. "You have a good future Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter what is your future?"
"I don't know Ron hasn't done it yet, we just finished with his future and now it is mine turn." Said Harry.
"Mr. Weasley do you mind if I read Harry his future?" asked Professor Trelawney. Ron looked at Harry who was shaking his head he really didn't want Professor Trelawney to be reading his future and tell him that he was going to die. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Professor Trelawney smiled and spoke first. "Thank you Mr. Weasley, can I use your deck then Mr. Weasley." Ron gave Professor Trelawney his cards and then turning to Harry mouthed the word 'sorry'. Harry shook his head and then got Ron's cards and started to shuffle them. He shuffled them good so that Professor Trelawney couldn't possible find the death card. He hand the deck to the Professor, who set them in front of her. She picked up the first three cards and place them one by one next to each other. Then she ran her hand over them with her eyes closed. Harry looked around him and notice that everyone was watching Professor Trelawney as she read Harry his future. He looked back at Professor Trelawney who smiled at Harry. "Are you ready, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded.
"Okay this is your past." Professor Trelawney who picked up the first card and looked before placing it down on the table. She face went pale as she place the death card on the table. Harry let out a sigh of relief, if he got the death card first there was no way that he could get it again. "You have death in your pass." Said Professor Trelawney.
"Everyone knows that Harry has death in his pass, you do have to use tarot card to tell him that." Said Ron, and Professor Trelawney shot him an angry look.
"Mr. Weasley will you please not speak while I am trying to read his future." Said Professor Trelawney and then went back to the cards. She picked up the middle card and looked at it again before she set in on the table. She looked at it and all the color seemed to drain from her face. Then she turned to Ron and asked him. "Did you tamper with these cards?"
"No Professor." Said Ron. He didn't know what she was talking about, what did she mean by tampering with the cards. "I just looked through them and they all seem fine. I didn't tamper with the card in any way." Professor Trelawney looked back at the card with great anxiety. Then she looked at Harry as though she was about to cry.
"What is it?" asked Harry. Professor Trelawney shook her head and then placed the card on the table as the whole class took a collective gasp. It was...
"The Death Card, but would is that possible. You already used the death card?" Harry questioned.
"I don't know." Said Professor Trelawney. She put a trembling hand over the last card and stared anxiously at Harry. "Okay your future is." She picked up the card and looked at it. Tears started to from in her eyes and she started to shake her head. Then she placed the last card on the table and Harry heard someone in the room scream as they all looked at yet another death card. Harry stared at the smiling skull as it stared at Harry. "I am sorry my dear boy, but the cards have spoken." Harry picked up the rest of the deck and looked through it. They were all death card.
"But how can this be. Ron you said that these cards were normal just a moment ago?" Said Harry and he looked at Ron who was nodding at him. Harry looked at the cards again and noticed something interesting. The backs of the cards were all different. "Professor these death cards have come from different decks."
"What?" Professor Trelawney looked at all the cards, and the rest of the class looked through their cards.
"Professor my death card is missing." Said Lavender Brown. "So is mine." Said another student.
"Mine too." Said yet another, and the rest of the class said the same. All of the other student's death cards were missing as well. Harry anxiously stared at his card, but then a moment later he looked through them, and...
"I still have my card." Said Harry and everyone looked at him sadly. Lavender looked as through she was about to cry.
"Okay you are all excused I need to figure this out. Please return all of the deck and I will sort this out. Harry and Ron were the first students to return their cards, wanting to get rigid of them as quickly as possible, and they rushed out of the classroom down to their next class. They met up with Hermione just outside the classroom and when they all were sitting down in their seats Ron told Hermione about what had happened in divinations class.
"Someone must of tampered with the cards before you got there as some kind of joke." Said Hermione, as she never believed in the divinations class and least of all in Professor Trelawney. "Don't worry about it Harry."
"I am not worried about what the cards said, but I am worried about what is going to happened when it get around the school that I am doomed to die." Said Harry as the rest of the students came into the classroom and in seeing Harry started to whisper and point. "See what I mean it has already started, soon the whole school will know what happened with the tarot cards and everyone will be all weird around me." Harry was right about that by the time their last class of the day had let out everyone in the school had heard about Professor Trelawney's tarot card reading of Harry's future.
Harry just wanted to get this day over with and it was almost done when he with to Quidditch practice with Ron. "Well nothing has really happened to you today, I am thinking that it was all a Slytherin joking even more than before." Said Ron as they entered the locker room to see the rest of the Gryffindor team staring at them. "What, we aren't late are we?" Ron glanced down at his watch. The rest of the team just stared at them with down cast expression. "What's the matter?" George was the one to answer
"No you are not late, but you just missed Professor McGonagall as she told us that are practice today was canceled."
"What? Why?" asked Harry.
"I don't know, she told us that we are supposed to go back to the common room so that she could address the entire house at once." Said Fred. "She wanted us to wait for you two before heading back to the commons room, so lets go." Harry and Ron stood in the same spot staring at each other and letting the rest of the team go ahead of them.
"I beat is has something to do with that stupid tarot card thing that Professor Trelawney cause a panic with some of the students." Said Ron with an angry tone. Harry shrugged and turned to leave the locker room with Ron right behind him. The other members of the team had already got back to the castle as Ron and Harry started back up from the pitch. Harry's mind was racing happened everything that happened to him this year and what might happened during the rest of the year. What would Voldemort do to him this year? When suddenly Harry stopped in his tracks. There was something wrong and he could feel it.
"What? What is it Harry?" asked Ron as he stopped along with Harry, but then his question was soon answered when Harry suddenly felt really cold and turned to see three cloaked figures standing on the Quidditch pitch.
"Run Ron run." Yelled Harry, but when they turned back to the school there were more four more cloaked figures. Harry knew that they were both Dementors and Death Eater, but he had no time to think of what to do, because they started to advance on the two boys. Harry pushed Ron to move and they started to run in a direction with no Death Eaters or Dementors. They were heading straight for the forbidden forest, and Harry suddenly realized that is exactly where they wanted Harry to go. "Ron stay with me." Said Harry as he changed direction suddenly. They were now running parallel to the forest heading towards... "Hagrid's hut!" Harry thought quickly, but as it came into view Harry noticed that there were a couple of Death Eaters standing near the hut.
The hut was completely dark and Harry realized that it wouldn't work because Hagrid wasn't in. He was probably up at the castle helping the other Professor with whatever canceled their Quidditch practice. Harry quickly changed direction again and Ron followed, they were heading back towards the forest, but Harry knew that he must not take a single step, because if he did he would never come back out, and Ron was with him.
He didn't want anything to happen to him. Harry suddenly saw the great dark outline of the Whooping Willow and he got an idea. "Ron we are going to make for the Whooping Willow, they don't know how to get in after we go down into the tunnel, and I doubt that they know where it leads to." Harry said with labored breath. Ron nodded his head as they both ran to the great tree. Harry picked up a stick and quickly pressed the knot that made the tree stop. They both disappeared into the tunnel and press the knot from the inside to get the Whooping Willow to start up again. Ron and Harry stood at the entrance watching as some of the Death Eaters trying to get closer to the tree only to get hit hard by the Whooping Willow.
After a minute or two Ron pulled on Harry's robes to get him to start down the tunnel. They both ran for what felt like forever, because every now and then one of them would trip over a root that was sticking out of the ground. Ron fell so hard once that he ripped his pants open at the knee. When Harry went to help him help he noticed that Ron's knee was bleeding pretty bed, but it didn't seem to bother Ron as they both ran as fast as they could towards the other end of the tunnel hoping anxiously that the Death Eaters didn't know where the tunnel ended up and that they hadn't gotten past the Whooping Willow.
When they finally got to the end of the tunnel and the entrance to the Shrieking Shack they stopped and slowly crept into the Shack just in case there was any Death Eaters there. Harry and Ron looked around the familiar dust surrounding of the Shrieking Shack, were Remus Lupin used to change into a werewolf and where Harry found out that Sirius was his innocent of what he was accused of. They looked through the entire shack, but there was no one there. Harry let out a sigh of relief that they were safe for the moment, but they were still away from Hogwarts and they didn't know if there was any Death Eater waiting for them outside or even in the tunnel.
"Lets find a window that we can see out." Said Harry and they searched the house again until they found a window with a board missing. Harry looked out of the window and saw Hogsmeade in the dying light of the setting sun. He couldn't see any Death Eaters or Dementors anywhere. "Okay Ron we are going to leave he and head for Honeydukes where we can take the tunnel in the basement back to Hogwarts."
"Okay sounds good to me." Said Ron as they went to the back of the Shrieking Shack. The back door was boarded up, but if they went that way no one would have noticed that the door had been busted open. Harry took out his wand and whispering something quickly the door flew open. The two boys rushed out of the Shrieking Shack and headed for Honeydukes. The people who were walking down the street in front of the Hogsmeade stores looked at the boys with odd expression as they past.
"Wait you two are Hogwarts student!" exclaimed one of the people. Ron and Harry stopped for a moment. "You two aren't supposed to be out of school..." The woman trailed off as she saw three of the cloaked figures who had being chasing the two boys. "My God!" breathed the woman as the cloaked figures started to head towards them.
"Run." Shouted Harry and he and Ron ran straight for Honeydukes. They entered the store and the sales clerk smiled at them but the smile quickly faded as he saw the figures heading for his store. He went to the counter and got his wand form behind it. Harry wanted to help him fight off the Death Eaters, but Ron pulled him down into the basement before Harry could do anything.
They jumped down into the tunnel and then running back to Hogwarts heard a loud explosion from behind them and the tunnel started to collapse. Running as fast a they could trying to just ahead of the fall earth, they finally came to the end of the tunnel. Harry went to open the entrance of the humped witch when he slipped he reached out for something to grab a hold of, and took a hold of Ron's robes pulling him down with him. Harry hit his head hard again the wall and sat up with his head on a cut on his forehead, which was bleeding badly.
"Ron?" Harry called but he couldn't see anything the tunnel was completely dark. Harry pulled out his wand and said 'lumos' a faint light lit the tunnel and Harry saw Ron laying unconscious on the ground next to him. He hit his head as well, but he hit it hard enough to knock him out. Harry quickly opened the entrance in order to pull his friend out of the tunnel. Ron was a little heavy, but Harry pulled him clear of the tunnel. When Harry laid his friend on the ground and stood up he suddenly became really dizzy, so he put his hand on the wall to steady himself. He looked up at the wall where his hand was and notice that he left a bloody handprint on the wall.
"Filch isn't going to be happy with me." Said Harry has he took out his wand again to float Ron to hospital wing when he became dizzy again, but this time he slipped into the darkness.
When he woke again he was in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey was busy with Ron to notice him sit up in his bed. His whole body seemed to ache and his head most of all hurt. Harry lifted his hand to his head to feel that the cut was gone, but it still hurt him. He started to get out of bed when Madam Pomfrey finally noticed that he was up.
"Mr. Potter, so you decided to come back to the land of the living." She smiled at him. She looked him over and then smiled at him again. "You look all better now. Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you in his office."
"How long was I out for?" asked Harry.
"Only an hour." Said Madam Pomfrey. Harry went to ask about Ron but Madam Pomfrey stopped before a word came out of his mouth. "Yes Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley is going to be fine he just got a good knock on the head. You better go he is waiting." Madam Pomfrey turned back to Ron as Harry stood up and headed out of the hospital wing. He walked quickly to Dumbledore's office, where he found Hermione and Sirius sitting in chair into of the Headmaster's desk.
"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione as she noticed Harry standing in the doorway of the office. She got up and rushed to him giving him a hug. She looked as through she had been crying. "Oh Harry I was so worried, when the Quidditch team came back without you and Ron Professor McGonagall got mad at them for not waiting for you, but when they told her that they thought that you two were right behind them we started to get really worried."
"How long were we gone for?" asked Harry, he suddenly realized that he had lost all track of time, but he knew that he had been gone for a while.
"You were missing for four hours Harry." Said Sirius.
"Four hours!" Harry didn't thinking it had been that long.
"Yes Harry four hours." Said Professor Dumbledore as he came out of one of the back rooms. "We were searching the entire castle for four hours and when Professor Snape found you and Mr. Weasley in one of the corridors we all were happy to find you alive." Harry smiled and took a seat in front of the desk. Hermione and Sirius followed suit. "Harry can you tell us what happened today?"
Harry told the three of them all about leaving the locker room to find Death Eaters and Dementors on the grounds. Then he told them how they tried to get him to run into the forest to escape from them, but that he knew that he shouldn't go into the forest, so he ran for the Whooping Willow and all the way to the Shrieking Shack. Then about what happened in Hogsmeade.
"But Harry how did you get back from Hogsmeade?" asked Sirius. At first Harry didn't want to tell Sirius and the Professor about the secret tunnel to Hogsmeade that he had used a couple of times, but then he remember that it had caved in and their was no hope of using it again. Harry told them about the tunnel under Honeydukes and how they had to run away from the cave in.
"Every clever Mr. Potter. That was a every clever way of getting away from the Death Eater, although it would have been better if you told me about the tunnel long ago so that I might of known. You know that people could have gotten into the school that way." Dumbledore said with a frown.
"Yes Professor." Said Harry with a down cast look, but when he looked back at the Professor, he was smiling.
"I am just glad that you are okay. Now I know that you have to be tired, so you and Miss. Granger better be getting off to you tower." Said Professor Dumbledore.
"But Professor can we go see how Ron is doing?" asked Hermione suddenly.
"No Miss. Granger he will be fine for the night you can see him in the morning. Please, go back to your tower." Said Dumbledore with a stern tone. Hermione nodded and they both walked out of Professor Dumbledore's office in silence.
They were almost to the Gryffindor tower when Hermione stopped. "Err... Harry do you might waiting here while I go to the restroom?" she asked and pointed to the girls' restroom right behind him.
"No. I will be waiting right out here." He said but Hermione hesitated for a moment.
"Are you sure... I mean if you need help yell and I will come running." Said Hermione as she rushed into the restroom. Harry laughed and then leaded up against the wall just outside the door to the girls' restroom. Harry was really tired so he closed his eyed for second. He left as though he might just fall asleep right there in the middle on the corridor. He stood there for a couple of minutes as sleep threatened to come upon him when he heard his name being called.
"Harry..." A woman's voice called him. Harry opened his eyes excepting to see Hermione standing in front of him, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Harry..." Harry looked up and down the corridor, but no one was there. "Over here Harry." He turned to the direction that the voice was coming from. His vision was a little hazing, it was because he was so sleepy, or so he thought. He started to talk towards the voice when he saw the outline of a figure just ahead of him.
"Whose there?" asked Harry as the figure took a step forward so that he could see her clearly and Harry gave a sigh of relief. "Cassandra, what are you doing here?"
"Harry, I need you to come with me." Said Cassandra with an urgent tone.
"What? Why?" asked Harry.
"Because you have to kill Voldemort." Said Cassandra quickly and Harry looked at her in shock.
"What are you talking about?"
"Voldemort is here Harry, and he will kill everyone you love if you don't kill him now!" said Cassandra.
"I don't understand. How did he get in?"
"There is no time for that right now he is down in the hospital wing right now. If you don't hurry he is going to kill Ron." Panic raised in Harry at the thought of Ron being in trouble. Harry pulled out his wand quickly. "No Harry you're not going to be able to use you wand on him. He has protective wards up around him to stop any curse or spell you shot at him." She said and then reached into her pocket pulling out a long knife and handing it to Harry she spoke again. "You must do this or he will kill everyone you love. Follow me." Cassandra started to run down the corridor. Harry put the knife into one of his pockets and ran after Cassandra trying to keep up with her quick pace.
When Harry finally got to the hospital wing Cassandra was waiting for him at the entrance. She was staring into the hospital. Harry looked down the hospital wing at where Ron lay sleeping. Then Harry felt as if he couldn't breath when he saw the tall-cloaked figure standing next to Ron's bed his back to Harry. "Voldemort!" Harry whispered to himself.
"Harry you are going to have to sneak up behind him in order to kill him." Said Cassandra and Harry nodded to her. Harry walked slowly and silently into the hospital wing towards Ron's bed. Harry put his hand in his pocket and took a hold of the handle of the knife, but keeping it out of sight as he crept closer to Voldemort. It seemed to take him forever to get to the tall man, and Harry would be able to forgive himself if he let Ron die while he was so close. He was only a few feet away when he pulled out the knife and started to raise it, when Voldemort turned around to face him.
There was a look of shock in his eyes as Harry tried to bring the knife down, but Voldemort grabbed Harry's arm before it hit him. Harry tried to force his arm down, but Voldemort was too strong. Harry continued to try and stab Voldemort when he saw a Death Eater coming at him from the other side of the bed.
"Harry stop it!" Said the Death Eater with a familiar voice that Harry couldn't place right then because all he could think about was killing Voldemort. The Death Eater started for Harry but was stopped by Voldemort.
"No don't do anything." Said Voldemort, but it wasn't his voice. It was a woman's voice coming out of Voldemort's mouth. "Harry." The woman's voice said. "Harry wake up! Wake up Harry!" Harry closed his eyes for a second and opened them again quickly. His heart jumped up into his throat when he looked at who was standing where Voldemort was supposed to be.
"Cassandra?" Harry said confused. "What is going on?"
"Mr. Potter!" exclaim Snape in potions class. "Will you please tell me what you were think about when you add the dragon's blood before the eye of newt, because I remember tell you not to or this would happen." Snape glared down at Harry and Ron, who both stood staring back at Snape with ashen faces.
"I don't know..."
"Well obviously not." Said Snape. Harry looked around the class and noticed that all of the Slytherins were laughing silently, all except Jamie, who was looking at Harry anxiously. Harry had been trying to speak with her for three weeks now without success. "Well Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley I suggest you two clean this up and start over again. This time don't put the dragon's blood in until the end." Harry stared back at Snape as he headed back for his desk. He was surprised that Snape didn't take any points away from Gryffindor and has he looked around the room, neither did anyone else.
Harry and Ron got up to clean out their cauldron and get some new eye of newt, when he noticed that Jamie was walking back from their area. She sat down and looked at Harry pointedly then went back to work. Harry quickly look at Malfoy, who had also noticed that Jamie was over by Harry's area and was now glaring at Jamie angrily. Harry quickly made his way back to his desk without looking like he was rushing. When he sat back down in his seat he noticed that there was a letter laying on top of his books. It looked as if it was written in a hurry. Harry read the letter quickly
Harry,
I wanted you to know before it was to late. They are going to try something tomorrow. Be careful
The not wasn't signed but Harry knew that it was from Jamie. Harry looked at Jamie who shot another glance at him before looking at Malfoy who was still glaring at her. Jamie suddenly looked very frightened as she hastily went back to work trying not to see Malfoy's glare again. Harry was now staring at Malfoy with a warning stare as Malfoy's glared moved from Jamie to him. They stared at each other, neither one was willing to look away first. It seemed like an eternity, and neither of them even blinked, until Ron nudged Harry to get him to pay attention. Harry slowly turned his attention back to the potion.
"What's up?" Ron whispered with a concerned look. Harry showed up the letter that Jamie had placed on his books and then moment towards Malfoy who had turned his glare back to Jamie. "You don't think..." Ron's words were cut short when they both noticed that Jamie stood up. She was swaying on the spot were she stood, her hand on her head as though it was hurting her, and then in a weak voice spoke.
"Professor..." was the only word she could say before she collapsed to the ground. Harry jumped up and rushed to her and so did most of the class, but only the Gryffindor students. Harry noticed that the Slytherin students were all sitting in their seats continuing to work on their potions.
"What's wrong with her?" asked Hermione. Looking up at Harry and then Professor Snape who was trying to get some of the students to step away from the fall girl.
"She has been very tired lately." Said Malfoy in a cold voice. "She hasn't been sleeping well lately." A smile stretched across his face as he looked at the small girl lying on the floor. Harry looked at Malfoy angrily. He rushed up to Malfoy who was now looking quite surprised to see the Gryffindor coming at him.
"What did you do to her Malfoy?" Harry questioned him. A look of even greater surprise appeared on Malfoy's face as he noticed that Harry was going for his wand, but was interrupted by Snape's voice.
"At is enough Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Snape. Harry turned to look at the Professor, expecting to lose points of his house, but was surprised by Snape yet again when he asked Harry to take Jamie down to the hospital wing with a note. Harry waited patiently at Snape's desk as he quickly wrote a note to Madam Pomfrey. When handed Harry the note he turned to the small girl and took out his wand to float her down to the hospital wing. Harry walked slowly down the corridor to make sure that he didn't harm Jamie. He started to feel really uncomfortable, because he noticed that as he passed classroom there were students staring at him as he passed.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally got to the hospital wing and set the Slytherin girl down on one of the bed. Madam Pomfrey rushed out of her office to see what had happened and when Harry handed her Snape's note, Madam Pomfrey nodded and went to work. Harry stayed there for a few minutes before heading back to his Potions class. By the time he got there they were letting out. Ron and Hermione caught sight of him heading back for the classroom and rushed towards him. Ron had picked up all of Harry's things and was giving it to him when Hermione looked at him with a concerned expression and spoke to him with a worried tone.
"Ron showed me the letter." She said in a hushed tone as the other students pasted them. "Do you think that she really means it, or what?"
"Well Hermione I do think she means it, because of what happened to her just after she gave me the letter." Said Harry. "What I want to know is what happened to her and if she knew that that would happen? Is that what she meant as before it was too late?" Harry looked between his two friends who were shooting questioning glances to one another. "What happened after I left?" asked Harry and Ron's face lit up.
"Well after you left Snape asked Malfoy to come into his office with him while we finished out potions, and while they were in there you could hear Snape yelling the whole time. I couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but when Malfoy came out he was really angry Harry." Said Ron with a laugh.
"Hey guys don't you think we should grab some lunch before Dark Arts class?" asked Hermione with her hand over her stomach as it let out a large growl. Ron and Harry looked at each other and laughed.
"Yeah lets go." Said Harry. "We can talk on the way there." They walked to the Great Hall talking about what they thought Jamie meant in her note and what happened afterwards. When they got to the Great Hall they ate lunch in relative silence. The story about Jamie had already spared across the school and Harry could hear whispered conversations about it throughout the Great Hall. When Harry, Ron and Hermione had finished eating there lunches they headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
"Harry are you going to tell Dumbledore or even Siri... snuffles about the letter?" asked Hermione as they entered the classroom.
"I don't know. If I knew more about it I would tell them, but I don't want to disturb them if this is all a trick that Malfoy made up to have a laugh." Said Harry. He wasn't sure about Jamie just yet, but he won't past any Slytherin to do something that low to get a laugh at Harry's expense, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of Harry's mind that kept telling him that this warning was for real. When Harry looked back at Hermione she started to open her mouth in protest but quickly closed it when Professor Smith started the class. They took their seat quickly as Professor Smith didn't waste a minute to begin.
"Okay today we will examine object that project more that one thing. They are very rare and very hard to find. I don't have one in my collection, but we are lucky because I know that someone in this room owns a ring that protects against three things." Harry looked at Professor Smith angrily, he didn't want everyone knowing that he had the ring, but now that she said it everyone in the school would know about it before dinner. Ron gave Harry a pointed look as the rest of the class whispered, wondering whom it was. Professor Smith walked straight up to Harry and looked at him with an expression that chilled Harry to the bone.
Harry didn't like it, but what choice did he have, she was a teacher. He went for it, but when he couldn't feel it hanging around his neck he remembered he let Ron using it. Harry turned to Ron who already had it out and was waiting for him to realized were it was. He took it and gave it to Professor Smith. She was now giving Harry a look of interest. Professor Smith palmed the ring and headed back to the front of the class.
Everyone was now staring at Harry in amazement that he had this very rare ring. Harry didn't listen as Professor Smith talked about the ring, instead he started to stare at the wall behind Professor Smith he was vaguely aware that he was drawing something on his parchment in order to look as through he was paying attention. He didn't know how long he was like that but the next thing he knew was Ron had slammed his elbow into Harry's side to get him out of his stupor.
"Ouch." Harry said quietly as he turned to Ron who was motioning forward. Harry looked and Professor Smith was standing only a few feet from him, looking down at him with a half smile.
"I hope I didn't wake you Mr. Potter, but I am finished with this." She said and handed Harry the ring and chain. Harry gave it back to Ron without a second though and when he looked back up at Professor Smith who was still staring at him with a half smile. She suddenly turned back to the class after a moment longer and started to talk about other amulets that protected against more than one thing. When class finally let out Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed out of the classroom, because Harry didn't want to stay and talk to everyone about his father's ring. He just wanted to get to dinner, because he was really hungry from the double Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"Why did she have to tell everyone about my ring?" asked Harry. Ron and Hermione stared at him for a minute, because Harry was really angry and they hadn't seen him like this over a little thing as talking about a ring. "I didn't want everyone knowing about my father's ring"
"Harry. It is nothing to be getting this upset over." Said Hermione gently. Harry looked at her and smiled. She was right, as usual, but Harry didn't want to say so they walked to the great hall in silence. When they got there Harry ate his and while waiting for his friends to finish he wanted to look over the notes he took really quick. The first piece of parchment he pulled out was the rolled up piece that he was writing on while staring off in Defense Against the Darks Arts class. He didn't waste time on it and place it on the table know that it didn't have anything important on it. He quickly looked over some notes he took and then when Ron and Hermione were finished eating, he gathered all of his things and started to head out.
"Oh Harry you forgot this." Said Hermione as she picked up the unimportant piece of parchment.
"That is garbage I was going to throw it way..." Harry stopped short when he saw the look on Hermione's face. "What? What is it?" asked Harry.
"What were you doing when you wrote this?" Hermione asked quickly.
"I was just staring at the back wall of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when Professor Smith was talking about my ring." Said Harry and a wave of anger flashed in his eyes. "Why?" Hermione went to say something then looked around her see all the people in the great hall and then pulled the two boys out into the corridor where no one could over hear them. Hermione showed Harry the paper. He felt as if his stomach dropped down to his feet. "But... but how?" Harry stammered.
"I am not sure. Are you sure you didn't know you were writing 'beware' over and over again for a whole piece of parchment?" Hermione looked at him with concern.
"I am telling you that I don't know how this happened. I know I was scribbling on the paper but I just thought I was nothing important." said Harry.
"Yes, but you were kind of out of it." Said Ron. "You didn't even notice when Professor Smith walked straight up to you and stood a couple of feet from you. She called your name a couple times, before I hit you." Harry looked at Ron and thought. Yes, he didn't even know that she was anywhere near him until Ron elbowed him. His brow was wrinkled with worry.
"Harry I think we should tell someone about the letter and this. Right now, before anything else happens." Said Hermione. Harry nodded and they all headed for Professor's Dumbledore's office. Once they got to the stone gargoyle Harry stopped and stared at it he didn't want to go to see Dumbledore about this. He stood there at the gargoyle staring at it and debating in his head well he should go to see Dumbledore.
"You don't want to bother him." Said a voice in his head.
"But this is important." He retorted.
"You don't want him to think that you couldn't handle a little thing like this. It is nothing, just a Slytherin trick that is all."
"I don't know, look at what happened to Jamie I really don't think I is a Slytherin trick."
"How can you be sure? If you go to Dumbledore about this and it turns out to be nothing he will be very angry at you."
"No we are going to see Dumbledore and that is final!"
"Harry!" Hermione's voice interrupted the debate. Harry turned his head to see the worried expression of his friend. "Are you okay?"
"Why yes I was just thinking." Said Harry. Hermione raise an eyebrow in interest.
"No you were talking to the gargoyle." Said Hermione. "First you said 'this is important' then you waited for a moment before saying something about Jamie, and then you waited for another moment before say that we were going to see Dumbledore and that is was final." Harry looked at her. Had he spoken out loud and why would there be only one side to his debate? He looked at the gargoyle quickly as he breathed out the password.
When they got to the door to the office they heard voices coming from just behind the door. Dumbledore was talking to someone. Harry not wanting to wait another minute knocked on the door. A moment later the door flew wide open to show Sirius' smiling face standing there looked down at Harry.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss. Granger please come in." said Dumbledore from behind his desk. The three friends entered the office not even noticing the person who was sitting quietly in the corner. "Is there something troubling you three?"
"Yes Professor." Said Hermione quickly and she told him about Jamie, starting with the Christmas Eve dinner to the letter and her collapse in Potions class, then she went on to talk about Harry's scribbling on his spare piece of parchment.
"Interesting." Was all Dumbledore could say when Hermione was finally finished with her story. Dumbledore sat thinking as everyone in the room stared at him for an answer to what was going no and what might happen.
"Well I see that you are busy professor." Came a familiar voice from the corner. Harry turned his head to see who it might be. Cassandra stood up she was still very pale, and the black robes that she was wearing didn't help much in that matter either. "I guess we will finish our conversation a little later then. Tell me if where is any way that I might help you." Cassandra walked from the room quickly. Harry wanted to say something to her, but she was out of the door before he could speak a single word. Sirius looked after her with an unreadable expression, which troubled Harry a little.
"Professor what do you think we should do?" asked Ron quickly. Harry looked back a Dumbledore who still looked as through he was deep in thought.
"Well one thing I think we should do, is to treat this as a creditable warning." Said Dumbledore.
"You don't think it might be a Slytherin joke on Harry?" asked Ron in an angry voice, and was balling his fist as though Malfoy was standing in front of him.
"No Mr. Weasley. I don't think that it is a joke, for the fact at Miss. Bower is still in the hospital wing and hasn't woken as of yet." The three friends stared at Dumbledore.
"Is she okay?" asked Hermione.
"We are not sure. There is no reason why she hasn't woken. She wasn't cursed and she didn't take any potions or at least none that Madam Pomfrey could find. We are all lost for a reason why she is still in this... this comma or lack of a better word." Said Dumbledore. Harry sighed inwardly and nodded. Jamie was in a comma because she was trying to help him, but why would she do this? Why would this Slytherin girl risk her life to help Harry, and she knew something like this would happen.
"So what do we do?" asked Harry in a weak voice.
"Well I don't want you going around the school alone. If you need to go any where I want someone else to be with you." He stared at Harry until he was giving an answer.
"Yes sir." Whispered Harry. He didn't like having to be followed everywhere he went.
"As for the scribbling I am not sure what happened, it is surely another warning, but a warning of what, that is what I am unsure of, so as I said I would like for you not to be alone at anytime and if you don't have any where to be I want you to stay in you tower where you will be safe." Said Dumbledore and the three of them nodded that him and left the room. They talked to the tower in silence, and when they got there Harry went straight to bed. He didn't get much sleep, because he keep turning over and over again worrying about what might happen the next day.
When Harry woke the next morning he was up before everyone else, so he got dressed, as quietly has possible and headed down for the commons room. He was about to go down to the Great Hall for an early breakfast when he heard his name being called from behind him. He turned to find Ron half dressed running down the stairs to the dormitories. He was pulling on his robe as he came to a stop in front of Harry. "Did you forget what Dumbledore said last night about not going anywhere outside the tower by yourself?"
"No, Ron, I didn't forget. I just didn't want to wake you up." Said Harry as he sighed inwardly.
"Well I am up now, so we can go to breakfast together." Ron said as he went to the portrait and pushed it open. Harry walked out after him. All the way down to the Great Hall talking about Quidditch and their practice just before dinner, and wondering if Dumbledore might cancel it for today.
"I hope we are allowed to practice today. You know with the warning and all." Said Harry as they both walked into the Great Hall to see that they were the first ones there. They both sat down at the Gryffindor table eating and talking way as the Great Hall slowly filled up with the other students. When Hermione finally got to the Great Hall she looked a little anxious.
"I waited a long time for you guys only to find out that you had already left." She said and looked at Ron with an angry expression.
"Well I had to rush out, because Harry was trying to leave on his own." Said Ron and Hermione gave Harry a nasty look.
"I thought he might." She said and then started to eat her breakfast without another word. When they finally had they're filled of breakfast they started for their classes. Hermione went to her class as Ron and Harry went to their divinations class. Harry hated this class so bad and the thing that he hated most about it was the teacher, Professor Trelawney, who always thought that Harry was about to die, and told him so at least once a month.
"I can believe we are going to have to start using tarot cards today. I really don't want to play around with those... they kind of creep me out." Said Ron with a downcast look.
"Don't worry Ron it's not like anyone will really tell you your future with these cards." Said Harry with a smile. They made their way up the tower and into the divinations classroom. Harry walked into the classroom and smelled the now familiar smell of Professor Trelawney's incenses. The rest of the class was already there and they were all playing with a deck of cards.
"Ay yes. Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley please come over here and pick out a deck of tarot cards which you will be spending the rest of the year using." Said Professor Trelawney as Harry and Ron made their way to the head of the class. "It is every important that you pick the right cards so that you can hear them when you are trying to read someone's future."
"But Professor how do we pick the right cards?" asked Harry.
"Well my dear all you have to do is listen and the cards that speak to you, the cards which you are first drawn to are the right cards for you." Said Professor Trelawney. Harry looked at the decks of cards that were left on the table. There were five different decks and they all looked the same and he couldn't pick which one he really wanted, so he just closed his eyes and the first deck that he touched he picked up and started for his desk. Ron joined him soon after that.
"So how did you pick your deck?" asked Ron.
"I just closed my eyes and picked." Said Harry in an off hand sort of way.
"Yeah so did I." Said Ron and they both laughed to themselves.
"Okay I want you to get to know your cards first off, so just look through them and introduce yourself to them." Said Professor Trelawney. Ron and Harry looked at each other, they were about to burst out in laughter, but soon after they started to look through their decks. Harry liked his cards; they had some interesting pictures on it about Knights and Ladies of medieval times. Then Harry came upon the last card, the death card, and Harry looked at it. He suddenly got a very bad feeling from this card. It had the picture of the grim ripper on it, in a long black clock holding a cycle. Its face was just a skull, and it seemed that the skull was staring at Harry and smiling at him. Harry stared at it for a long time, before he was barely aware that someone was talking to him.
"Mr. Potter?" Professor Trelawney's voice came through his haze. Harry looked up at the Professor, who was looking at him anxiously. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes I am fine." Said Harry and he put the death card into the middle of the deck.
"Okay so now you are going to partner up and read the other persons future. If you will look into you books to chapter thirteen 'The wonderful world of Tarot' you will find the meaning to all the cards." Everyone partnered up with their usual partners and began to read their futures. Harry did Ron's future first. Ron shuffled Harry's cards around and then handed them back to Harry, who place the first three cards down on the place one right next to the other.
"Okay." Said Harry as he read how to read the cards. "Your past is..." Harry turned over the first card. "The Wise One, but it is upside down. I am sorry Ron but this says that you were really dumb in the past." Said Harry with a giggle.
"No it doesn't." said Ron a little hurt.
"Okay now to your present." Said Harry and he turned over the middle card. "The Fool and that one too in upside down, so that means... You are having good fortune." Ron smiled at that. "And last your future." Harry turned over the last card and smiled. "Temptation... that is all I have to said about it." Harry winked at Ron and they both burst out in laughter. It was a little loud and the whole class was staring at them by the time they stopped laughing.
"Is there something funny gentlemen?" asked Professor Trelawney, who looked at Harry's cards and then back at Ron. "You have a good future Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter what is your future?"
"I don't know Ron hasn't done it yet, we just finished with his future and now it is mine turn." Said Harry.
"Mr. Weasley do you mind if I read Harry his future?" asked Professor Trelawney. Ron looked at Harry who was shaking his head he really didn't want Professor Trelawney to be reading his future and tell him that he was going to die. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Professor Trelawney smiled and spoke first. "Thank you Mr. Weasley, can I use your deck then Mr. Weasley." Ron gave Professor Trelawney his cards and then turning to Harry mouthed the word 'sorry'. Harry shook his head and then got Ron's cards and started to shuffle them. He shuffled them good so that Professor Trelawney couldn't possible find the death card. He hand the deck to the Professor, who set them in front of her. She picked up the first three cards and place them one by one next to each other. Then she ran her hand over them with her eyes closed. Harry looked around him and notice that everyone was watching Professor Trelawney as she read Harry his future. He looked back at Professor Trelawney who smiled at Harry. "Are you ready, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded.
"Okay this is your past." Professor Trelawney who picked up the first card and looked before placing it down on the table. She face went pale as she place the death card on the table. Harry let out a sigh of relief, if he got the death card first there was no way that he could get it again. "You have death in your pass." Said Professor Trelawney.
"Everyone knows that Harry has death in his pass, you do have to use tarot card to tell him that." Said Ron, and Professor Trelawney shot him an angry look.
"Mr. Weasley will you please not speak while I am trying to read his future." Said Professor Trelawney and then went back to the cards. She picked up the middle card and looked at it again before she set in on the table. She looked at it and all the color seemed to drain from her face. Then she turned to Ron and asked him. "Did you tamper with these cards?"
"No Professor." Said Ron. He didn't know what she was talking about, what did she mean by tampering with the cards. "I just looked through them and they all seem fine. I didn't tamper with the card in any way." Professor Trelawney looked back at the card with great anxiety. Then she looked at Harry as though she was about to cry.
"What is it?" asked Harry. Professor Trelawney shook her head and then placed the card on the table as the whole class took a collective gasp. It was...
"The Death Card, but would is that possible. You already used the death card?" Harry questioned.
"I don't know." Said Professor Trelawney. She put a trembling hand over the last card and stared anxiously at Harry. "Okay your future is." She picked up the card and looked at it. Tears started to from in her eyes and she started to shake her head. Then she placed the last card on the table and Harry heard someone in the room scream as they all looked at yet another death card. Harry stared at the smiling skull as it stared at Harry. "I am sorry my dear boy, but the cards have spoken." Harry picked up the rest of the deck and looked through it. They were all death card.
"But how can this be. Ron you said that these cards were normal just a moment ago?" Said Harry and he looked at Ron who was nodding at him. Harry looked at the cards again and noticed something interesting. The backs of the cards were all different. "Professor these death cards have come from different decks."
"What?" Professor Trelawney looked at all the cards, and the rest of the class looked through their cards.
"Professor my death card is missing." Said Lavender Brown. "So is mine." Said another student.
"Mine too." Said yet another, and the rest of the class said the same. All of the other student's death cards were missing as well. Harry anxiously stared at his card, but then a moment later he looked through them, and...
"I still have my card." Said Harry and everyone looked at him sadly. Lavender looked as through she was about to cry.
"Okay you are all excused I need to figure this out. Please return all of the deck and I will sort this out. Harry and Ron were the first students to return their cards, wanting to get rigid of them as quickly as possible, and they rushed out of the classroom down to their next class. They met up with Hermione just outside the classroom and when they all were sitting down in their seats Ron told Hermione about what had happened in divinations class.
"Someone must of tampered with the cards before you got there as some kind of joke." Said Hermione, as she never believed in the divinations class and least of all in Professor Trelawney. "Don't worry about it Harry."
"I am not worried about what the cards said, but I am worried about what is going to happened when it get around the school that I am doomed to die." Said Harry as the rest of the students came into the classroom and in seeing Harry started to whisper and point. "See what I mean it has already started, soon the whole school will know what happened with the tarot cards and everyone will be all weird around me." Harry was right about that by the time their last class of the day had let out everyone in the school had heard about Professor Trelawney's tarot card reading of Harry's future.
Harry just wanted to get this day over with and it was almost done when he with to Quidditch practice with Ron. "Well nothing has really happened to you today, I am thinking that it was all a Slytherin joking even more than before." Said Ron as they entered the locker room to see the rest of the Gryffindor team staring at them. "What, we aren't late are we?" Ron glanced down at his watch. The rest of the team just stared at them with down cast expression. "What's the matter?" George was the one to answer
"No you are not late, but you just missed Professor McGonagall as she told us that are practice today was canceled."
"What? Why?" asked Harry.
"I don't know, she told us that we are supposed to go back to the common room so that she could address the entire house at once." Said Fred. "She wanted us to wait for you two before heading back to the commons room, so lets go." Harry and Ron stood in the same spot staring at each other and letting the rest of the team go ahead of them.
"I beat is has something to do with that stupid tarot card thing that Professor Trelawney cause a panic with some of the students." Said Ron with an angry tone. Harry shrugged and turned to leave the locker room with Ron right behind him. The other members of the team had already got back to the castle as Ron and Harry started back up from the pitch. Harry's mind was racing happened everything that happened to him this year and what might happened during the rest of the year. What would Voldemort do to him this year? When suddenly Harry stopped in his tracks. There was something wrong and he could feel it.
"What? What is it Harry?" asked Ron as he stopped along with Harry, but then his question was soon answered when Harry suddenly felt really cold and turned to see three cloaked figures standing on the Quidditch pitch.
"Run Ron run." Yelled Harry, but when they turned back to the school there were more four more cloaked figures. Harry knew that they were both Dementors and Death Eater, but he had no time to think of what to do, because they started to advance on the two boys. Harry pushed Ron to move and they started to run in a direction with no Death Eaters or Dementors. They were heading straight for the forbidden forest, and Harry suddenly realized that is exactly where they wanted Harry to go. "Ron stay with me." Said Harry as he changed direction suddenly. They were now running parallel to the forest heading towards... "Hagrid's hut!" Harry thought quickly, but as it came into view Harry noticed that there were a couple of Death Eaters standing near the hut.
The hut was completely dark and Harry realized that it wouldn't work because Hagrid wasn't in. He was probably up at the castle helping the other Professor with whatever canceled their Quidditch practice. Harry quickly changed direction again and Ron followed, they were heading back towards the forest, but Harry knew that he must not take a single step, because if he did he would never come back out, and Ron was with him.
He didn't want anything to happen to him. Harry suddenly saw the great dark outline of the Whooping Willow and he got an idea. "Ron we are going to make for the Whooping Willow, they don't know how to get in after we go down into the tunnel, and I doubt that they know where it leads to." Harry said with labored breath. Ron nodded his head as they both ran to the great tree. Harry picked up a stick and quickly pressed the knot that made the tree stop. They both disappeared into the tunnel and press the knot from the inside to get the Whooping Willow to start up again. Ron and Harry stood at the entrance watching as some of the Death Eaters trying to get closer to the tree only to get hit hard by the Whooping Willow.
After a minute or two Ron pulled on Harry's robes to get him to start down the tunnel. They both ran for what felt like forever, because every now and then one of them would trip over a root that was sticking out of the ground. Ron fell so hard once that he ripped his pants open at the knee. When Harry went to help him help he noticed that Ron's knee was bleeding pretty bed, but it didn't seem to bother Ron as they both ran as fast as they could towards the other end of the tunnel hoping anxiously that the Death Eaters didn't know where the tunnel ended up and that they hadn't gotten past the Whooping Willow.
When they finally got to the end of the tunnel and the entrance to the Shrieking Shack they stopped and slowly crept into the Shack just in case there was any Death Eaters there. Harry and Ron looked around the familiar dust surrounding of the Shrieking Shack, were Remus Lupin used to change into a werewolf and where Harry found out that Sirius was his innocent of what he was accused of. They looked through the entire shack, but there was no one there. Harry let out a sigh of relief that they were safe for the moment, but they were still away from Hogwarts and they didn't know if there was any Death Eater waiting for them outside or even in the tunnel.
"Lets find a window that we can see out." Said Harry and they searched the house again until they found a window with a board missing. Harry looked out of the window and saw Hogsmeade in the dying light of the setting sun. He couldn't see any Death Eaters or Dementors anywhere. "Okay Ron we are going to leave he and head for Honeydukes where we can take the tunnel in the basement back to Hogwarts."
"Okay sounds good to me." Said Ron as they went to the back of the Shrieking Shack. The back door was boarded up, but if they went that way no one would have noticed that the door had been busted open. Harry took out his wand and whispering something quickly the door flew open. The two boys rushed out of the Shrieking Shack and headed for Honeydukes. The people who were walking down the street in front of the Hogsmeade stores looked at the boys with odd expression as they past.
"Wait you two are Hogwarts student!" exclaimed one of the people. Ron and Harry stopped for a moment. "You two aren't supposed to be out of school..." The woman trailed off as she saw three of the cloaked figures who had being chasing the two boys. "My God!" breathed the woman as the cloaked figures started to head towards them.
"Run." Shouted Harry and he and Ron ran straight for Honeydukes. They entered the store and the sales clerk smiled at them but the smile quickly faded as he saw the figures heading for his store. He went to the counter and got his wand form behind it. Harry wanted to help him fight off the Death Eaters, but Ron pulled him down into the basement before Harry could do anything.
They jumped down into the tunnel and then running back to Hogwarts heard a loud explosion from behind them and the tunnel started to collapse. Running as fast a they could trying to just ahead of the fall earth, they finally came to the end of the tunnel. Harry went to open the entrance of the humped witch when he slipped he reached out for something to grab a hold of, and took a hold of Ron's robes pulling him down with him. Harry hit his head hard again the wall and sat up with his head on a cut on his forehead, which was bleeding badly.
"Ron?" Harry called but he couldn't see anything the tunnel was completely dark. Harry pulled out his wand and said 'lumos' a faint light lit the tunnel and Harry saw Ron laying unconscious on the ground next to him. He hit his head as well, but he hit it hard enough to knock him out. Harry quickly opened the entrance in order to pull his friend out of the tunnel. Ron was a little heavy, but Harry pulled him clear of the tunnel. When Harry laid his friend on the ground and stood up he suddenly became really dizzy, so he put his hand on the wall to steady himself. He looked up at the wall where his hand was and notice that he left a bloody handprint on the wall.
"Filch isn't going to be happy with me." Said Harry has he took out his wand again to float Ron to hospital wing when he became dizzy again, but this time he slipped into the darkness.
When he woke again he was in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey was busy with Ron to notice him sit up in his bed. His whole body seemed to ache and his head most of all hurt. Harry lifted his hand to his head to feel that the cut was gone, but it still hurt him. He started to get out of bed when Madam Pomfrey finally noticed that he was up.
"Mr. Potter, so you decided to come back to the land of the living." She smiled at him. She looked him over and then smiled at him again. "You look all better now. Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you in his office."
"How long was I out for?" asked Harry.
"Only an hour." Said Madam Pomfrey. Harry went to ask about Ron but Madam Pomfrey stopped before a word came out of his mouth. "Yes Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley is going to be fine he just got a good knock on the head. You better go he is waiting." Madam Pomfrey turned back to Ron as Harry stood up and headed out of the hospital wing. He walked quickly to Dumbledore's office, where he found Hermione and Sirius sitting in chair into of the Headmaster's desk.
"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione as she noticed Harry standing in the doorway of the office. She got up and rushed to him giving him a hug. She looked as through she had been crying. "Oh Harry I was so worried, when the Quidditch team came back without you and Ron Professor McGonagall got mad at them for not waiting for you, but when they told her that they thought that you two were right behind them we started to get really worried."
"How long were we gone for?" asked Harry, he suddenly realized that he had lost all track of time, but he knew that he had been gone for a while.
"You were missing for four hours Harry." Said Sirius.
"Four hours!" Harry didn't thinking it had been that long.
"Yes Harry four hours." Said Professor Dumbledore as he came out of one of the back rooms. "We were searching the entire castle for four hours and when Professor Snape found you and Mr. Weasley in one of the corridors we all were happy to find you alive." Harry smiled and took a seat in front of the desk. Hermione and Sirius followed suit. "Harry can you tell us what happened today?"
Harry told the three of them all about leaving the locker room to find Death Eaters and Dementors on the grounds. Then he told them how they tried to get him to run into the forest to escape from them, but that he knew that he shouldn't go into the forest, so he ran for the Whooping Willow and all the way to the Shrieking Shack. Then about what happened in Hogsmeade.
"But Harry how did you get back from Hogsmeade?" asked Sirius. At first Harry didn't want to tell Sirius and the Professor about the secret tunnel to Hogsmeade that he had used a couple of times, but then he remember that it had caved in and their was no hope of using it again. Harry told them about the tunnel under Honeydukes and how they had to run away from the cave in.
"Every clever Mr. Potter. That was a every clever way of getting away from the Death Eater, although it would have been better if you told me about the tunnel long ago so that I might of known. You know that people could have gotten into the school that way." Dumbledore said with a frown.
"Yes Professor." Said Harry with a down cast look, but when he looked back at the Professor, he was smiling.
"I am just glad that you are okay. Now I know that you have to be tired, so you and Miss. Granger better be getting off to you tower." Said Professor Dumbledore.
"But Professor can we go see how Ron is doing?" asked Hermione suddenly.
"No Miss. Granger he will be fine for the night you can see him in the morning. Please, go back to your tower." Said Dumbledore with a stern tone. Hermione nodded and they both walked out of Professor Dumbledore's office in silence.
They were almost to the Gryffindor tower when Hermione stopped. "Err... Harry do you might waiting here while I go to the restroom?" she asked and pointed to the girls' restroom right behind him.
"No. I will be waiting right out here." He said but Hermione hesitated for a moment.
"Are you sure... I mean if you need help yell and I will come running." Said Hermione as she rushed into the restroom. Harry laughed and then leaded up against the wall just outside the door to the girls' restroom. Harry was really tired so he closed his eyed for second. He left as though he might just fall asleep right there in the middle on the corridor. He stood there for a couple of minutes as sleep threatened to come upon him when he heard his name being called.
"Harry..." A woman's voice called him. Harry opened his eyes excepting to see Hermione standing in front of him, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Harry..." Harry looked up and down the corridor, but no one was there. "Over here Harry." He turned to the direction that the voice was coming from. His vision was a little hazing, it was because he was so sleepy, or so he thought. He started to talk towards the voice when he saw the outline of a figure just ahead of him.
"Whose there?" asked Harry as the figure took a step forward so that he could see her clearly and Harry gave a sigh of relief. "Cassandra, what are you doing here?"
"Harry, I need you to come with me." Said Cassandra with an urgent tone.
"What? Why?" asked Harry.
"Because you have to kill Voldemort." Said Cassandra quickly and Harry looked at her in shock.
"What are you talking about?"
"Voldemort is here Harry, and he will kill everyone you love if you don't kill him now!" said Cassandra.
"I don't understand. How did he get in?"
"There is no time for that right now he is down in the hospital wing right now. If you don't hurry he is going to kill Ron." Panic raised in Harry at the thought of Ron being in trouble. Harry pulled out his wand quickly. "No Harry you're not going to be able to use you wand on him. He has protective wards up around him to stop any curse or spell you shot at him." She said and then reached into her pocket pulling out a long knife and handing it to Harry she spoke again. "You must do this or he will kill everyone you love. Follow me." Cassandra started to run down the corridor. Harry put the knife into one of his pockets and ran after Cassandra trying to keep up with her quick pace.
When Harry finally got to the hospital wing Cassandra was waiting for him at the entrance. She was staring into the hospital. Harry looked down the hospital wing at where Ron lay sleeping. Then Harry felt as if he couldn't breath when he saw the tall-cloaked figure standing next to Ron's bed his back to Harry. "Voldemort!" Harry whispered to himself.
"Harry you are going to have to sneak up behind him in order to kill him." Said Cassandra and Harry nodded to her. Harry walked slowly and silently into the hospital wing towards Ron's bed. Harry put his hand in his pocket and took a hold of the handle of the knife, but keeping it out of sight as he crept closer to Voldemort. It seemed to take him forever to get to the tall man, and Harry would be able to forgive himself if he let Ron die while he was so close. He was only a few feet away when he pulled out the knife and started to raise it, when Voldemort turned around to face him.
There was a look of shock in his eyes as Harry tried to bring the knife down, but Voldemort grabbed Harry's arm before it hit him. Harry tried to force his arm down, but Voldemort was too strong. Harry continued to try and stab Voldemort when he saw a Death Eater coming at him from the other side of the bed.
"Harry stop it!" Said the Death Eater with a familiar voice that Harry couldn't place right then because all he could think about was killing Voldemort. The Death Eater started for Harry but was stopped by Voldemort.
"No don't do anything." Said Voldemort, but it wasn't his voice. It was a woman's voice coming out of Voldemort's mouth. "Harry." The woman's voice said. "Harry wake up! Wake up Harry!" Harry closed his eyes for a second and opened them again quickly. His heart jumped up into his throat when he looked at who was standing where Voldemort was supposed to be.
"Cassandra?" Harry said confused. "What is going on?"