Chapter 15
A Secret Hallway
Disclaimer: As you can see, it says 'Princess-Perfect' instead of 'J.K.Rowling', so NO, I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Hi, everybody! By the way, I never answered to a few reviews that I got. I won't say the name of the person (or persons?), but I'll state their questions or reply to their comments
1) Yes, Lupin's a werewolf, and werewolves are killed by silver or silver bullets. And yes, his Thunderbird may be the colour of silver, but it does not mean his car is actually made of the real metal of silver. They're too different things: the actual silver, and the colour silver.
2) I know the Dursleys may seem OOC, but in a way, they're not really. In the 5th book, Petunia got the howler 'remember my last', and started to act a bit better to Harry. Plus, Harry's adult friends gave the Dursleys a talk on treating him better. That's basically why I made the Dursleys nicer.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!!!!
"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you came!" said Cho, sitting up in her hospital bed as Harry held her hand.
"Cho, it's Valentines Day! How could I leave you here all alone?" questioned Harry.
The compliment brought a smile to Cho Chang's face, which put a grin on Harry's face too. Harry told Cho about the Defence Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. Club, and Cho was deeply interested in it. They also talked about the repair of the Quidditch field, which was almost done.
"In less than a month, we'll be able to continue the Quidditch season!" declared Harry gladly.
"I know, especially because the next game is Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff."
"Will you be able to play?"
"No," stated Cho in a sigh. "Madame Pomfrey says I might overwork myself or something. She doesn't want to take any chances of me getting sick."
"But Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance without you, sweetheart!"
"Oh, that's so sweet!" said Cho, and then she kissed Harry's cheek, making him blush.
"Are you hungry?" asked Harry.
"Actually, I am."
"That's great! I have a surprise for you. Dobby! Colin! Dennis! Come in here!" shouted Harry.
At once, the little house-elf, accompanied by Colin Creevey and his brother, brought a trolley with a bucket of ice with butterbeer (they were under-age for champagne), two plates with a silverware dome cover hiding what was underneath and a table set up for a lovely dinner. Cho's jaw dropped in shock and gave Harry an adoring look.
"Harry, I cannot believe you did this for me!"
"Anything for you, my love."
"You're so kind!"
"Dobby has heard of the affection that Harry Potter possesses towards Cho Chang, ma'am!" said Dobby.
"Same here!" said Colin, as Dennis nodded.
Dennis and Colin lifted up the lids, which underneath there were fabulous plates of rotisserie chicken, spaghetti, potato purée and tiny corn.
"Harry, this is magnificent! What delicious food!"
"Thanks."
"Harry, can my brother and I take pictures of you and Cho?" asked Colin Creevey.
"Of course," agreed Harry.
Blinding and flashing lights appeared everywhere as Colin and Dennis took many photos of the couple. Harry didn't quite like the pictures, but Cho didn't seem to mind.
"Dobby almost forgot the music, sir!" shouted Dobby, as he pulled out from under the trolley a small radio. He laid it on the hospital table beside them and turned on the stereo, with soft and romantic music starting to play.
"This is so romantic."
"And I'm not done with the surprises," said Harry. "Dennis, can you please bring me Cho's present?"
"Of course, Harry Potter!"
Dennis took out a little box from his pocket with a card attached to it, and handed it over to Harry. Cho's eyes widened at the sight of the little gift.
"Now a present? Really, Harry, this is so much."
"I love you, Cho, and love deserves more than the world."
"That's so sweet!" said Cho, with tears forming in her eyes.
"Come on, open the present!"
"Oh yes, of course!"
Cho pulled the card off the little box and laid the box aside. She gently took the card out of the envelope, and read the front of the card.
"To my darling on Valentines' Day,"
she said, as she opened the card and read the rest of it:
"Today is a special day, when love is truly recognized as a blessed and loving thing, and when two people can share and appreciate the love they have together. This is not the case between us however. For every single moment I look into your lovely eyes, a warmth of joy comes over me, and for all the times I look at you, my heart is healed from any sorrow it possesses, and for ever single time we're together, I know that our love is true and eternal. But it is only Valentines' Day when I can demonstrate and prove my love to you. May you recognize my love, that is not only found once a year, but every day, every hour, and every second.
From your loving boyfriend,
Harry Potter."
Tears tumbled out of Cho's eyes and onto her cheeks as Harry looked at her with sheer love. Dobby, Colin and Dennis felt quite touched by the gift and card as well. They wept immensely as Dennis passed around tissues. Dobby grabbed some tissues and blew his nose to the fullest, until it was so soggy and disgusting it could make anyone's stomach turn. He threw it away quickly as Dennis offered Cho a tissue. She took it with thanks and dabbed her eyes with it.
"That was too beautiful, Harry," said Cho, still recovering from the tears. "I never knew you felt that way about me."
"I do, Cho," he said confidently. "I do. Open the present."
Cho quickly picked up the little box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful golden heart-shaped locket. In the middle it said in white gold: With all my love. Cho opened the locket and revealed a tiny picture of Harry and Cho together. Cho marvelled at the absolutely thoughtful and gorgeous gift she received, wanting to cry all over again. Harry helped Cho put on the necklace, and she looked down to see how beautiful it looked on her.
"We should start eating our dinner," said Harry, "before it gets cold."
"Yes, of course!"
Dobby heard this and immediately poured some butterbeer into their glasses as they sat themselves down at the table.
"Cheers!" said Harry as they both clinked their glasses together.
Colin, Dennis and Dobby stood there in admiration as Harry and Cho started eating their delicious meal. They stood there for a long time, and it became quite annoying to Harry.
"You can leave now, you know," said Harry.
All three of them looked startled and embarrassed, and quickly exited the hospital wing. That evening, Harry and Cho had a lovely dinner, and even danced a bit with the music of the radio. The date was sealed with a tender kiss as they both parted for the night. Harry went to the common room and went to bed, thinking of nothing other than Cho. It was a Valentines' Day to remember.
*****
The following day, Harry couldn't stop thinking about that magical evening he had with Cho on Valentine's Day. During most of his classes, he drifted away into thought of his beloved girlfriend. A couple times he spotted Cho in the hall, and his heart fluttered as they both gave each other warm 'hello's.
Because of this, Harry found it difficult to concentrate on the conversation his friends were having on Malfoy's scheme to bring Lord Voldemort to power, as they were walking down the hallway to the common room.
"So what's Lucius Malfoy's part in all of this again?" asked Ron.
"He's one of Lord Voldemort's former Death Eaters, who isn't in Azkaban, and he's the one responsible for most things outside of Hogwarts," replied Hermione.
"Mr. Malfoy's probably the one who kidnapped the hypnotist, the businessman from Chile and that rare diamond," added Joy. "What was it called?"
"It was the Luxark Diamond," said Hermione. "What would Malfoy or Voldemort need that for?"
"I remember the newspaper saying it can turn any animal into a powerful and mythical creature," said Ron. "You-Know-Who had a basilisk, or some kind of snake, right?"
"Right," they both answered.
"Maybe he's trying to bring it back."
"It could be," said Joy. "Plus, he could probably turn even a small rat into a ferocious dragon and use a whole bunch of them to terrorize witches and wizards everywhere. Just think about it: wild dragons stomping down Diagon Alley. That's pretty creepy."
"Why was the businessman kidnapped?" asked Ron.
"It's probably because he was a very powerful person in the business industry," said Hermione. "Remember, most of Voldemort's work is to terrorize and cause chaos."
"Have you seen the stock market values these days?" asked Joy. "It's dropped 70% since Mr. Belroni's kidnapping! Obviously, many companies have lost a lot of money. Even so, he was in charge of a lot of magical items such as wands, charms, and such. The stock for magic supplies hasn't just dropped in Chile, but all around the world. You may not know this, but he was also an inventor and a scientist, who created many of the things he sold. Nowadays, there aren't as many magic supplies as there were before."
"Decreasing the wizarding world of its magic and making it weaker; a typical Dark Lord thing," said Ron.
"Harry- Harry? Are you paying attention to us at all?" asked Hermione.
"What?" said Harry as he snapped out of his 'trance', still thinking about Cho. "What were you saying?"
"Harry, seriously! You should be listening to our important conversation!" lectured Hermione.
"I was too busy thinking about that wonderful date I had with Cho last night," said Harry.
"Just because you had a nice evening with your girlfriend, doesn't mean you can be lollygagging in dreamland while we're having a conversation concerning highly important issues," told Joy. "I had an absolutely magnificent evening with Ron, maybe the best Valentine's Day I ever had, but you don't see me drifting off!"
"You mean it, Joy?" asked Ron. "It was really the best Valentine's Day you ever had?"
"Of course, sugar cookie!"
"Can you just tell me what we were talking about?" demanded Harry.
"We were talking about Lucius' business in all this and the topic on the kidnapping of the business man from Chile and the Luxark Diamond."
"Oh, yes of course. Uhmm... Can I ask you another question?"
"Of course, what?"
"Where are we?"
All of them stopped to look around and asked themselves the same question. They had lost track of where they were going, and now they had no idea where they were. They were completely lost.
"Great!" said Ron. "We're lost!"
"I've never ever seen these hallways before," said Hermione. "Where's this part of the castle?"
"If we knew which part of the castle we were in, we'd now where we were, and we wouldn't be lost!" shouted Ron.
"Ron, calm down!" said Joy. "Does anybody remember the last place we were?"
Everyone shrugged and shook their heads.
"No? Well, maybe we should go back to see where we made a wrong turn."
"Joy, we don't know at all which turns we made!" said Harry. "No one was paying attention."
"I guess we just have to see where these hallways lead to. It's the best way."
"Besides, it's a chance for us to see how this place is like," said Hermione. "I've never seen this place in Hogwarts, so it's bound to be interesting."
"Speak for yourself," murmured Ron.
"Come on, let's go!" said Harry.
Everyone followed Harry, going in twists and turns throughout unfamiliar and strange hallways. Awkward pictures were in that part of the castle, filled with statues of ghouls and monsters which crept them out a bit. Harry wasn't sure if there was any possible exit, but he was bound to find a way out.
Unfortunately, after a worthless and exhausting hour of confusing halls, Harry Potter and his friends found themselves in a dead end. It seemed that all hope was lost (just like they were).
"A dead end! Great, we're permanently lost!" shouted Ron in anger. "What is this, a Labyrinth?"
"We'll be stuck here forever!" cried Hermione, taking a seat in the corner.
"Maybe we should go back and try to take some different turns," said Joy, trying to be optimistic.
Harry sighed and looked around. It was a very long hallway; it would probably take them 10 more minutes to find another turn. There was only one torch, so it was extremely dark. As a shadowed silhouette in the depths of the dark corridor, Harry saw a kind of gargoyle statue, which sent a leap of hope swelling in him. Maybe it can be a secret entrance to something, thought Harry. He thought it best to ask Joy a question.
"Joy?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Harry?" responded Joy exhaustingly.
"I think I see some kind of statue on the wall of the dead end. Maybe there's something behind it."
"Great idea, Harry!" said Joy.
Joy put her hand on the statue at the dead end to see what she was dealing with. She took out her wand from her robes, waved it around and concentrated.
"Lumos!" she said.
A blast of light illuminated the statue and lit up the entire hallway. Harry and his friends could see that it was a gargoyle statue, with a scrunched-up face, dominating wings, and vicious claws. It was on some kind of platform, and the statue was inside a nook in the wall. Hermione stood up as they tried to examine the gargoyle.
"Do you think the statue can be removed?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe," said Ron, as he leaned on the platform of the statue.
Suddenly, the platform and statue sank inside the nook and vanished, revealing a secret passageway. All four of them, absolutely amazed, entered the small entrance.
Once they went through the entrance, they realized they were in some kind of small secret hallway with alas, a dead end, which made it seem more like a small room. Behind them, they could see that the gargoyle statue had pushed aside.
"What opened the entrance?" asked Harry.
"I think I might have pushed something," said Ron, looking at the platform he was leaning on. He pointed to the top-right corner of the stone block with a kind of metal decorative corner and a small button. "I probably pressed the button here," he said, as he pressed it again. Suddenly, the gargoyle glided to the left and closed the entrance. They were locked in.
As everyone else let out a sigh, Hermione spotted some kind of door on the floor, which could have barely been noticed. It was completely cut out of the floor, and it had tiny silver hinges and a tiny door knob.
"Look here!" she said in excitement. "There's some kind of door on the floor! I'll open it."
Hermione kneeled down and lifted the door. Once opened, she looked in to see nothing but complete darkness. Everyone else kneeled to see what was inside.
"There's nothing," said Harry. "It's just some hole in the floor, that probably leads to nowhere."
"Maybe it leads to the centre of the earth, or even China!" said Ron. Ron leaned his head into the dark pit until his shoulders were swallowed in darkness. "Wow, is this ever dark- "
Ron lost his balanced and fell right into the dark pit with many screams following him. Joy and Hermione shrieked in horror, as Harry gasped. Would Ron be alive, and where would Ron go?
"If my boyfriend has fallen into that floor entrance, I'm coming with him!" said Joy bravely. She sat up on the edge of the pit and looked down into the dark hole.
"Joy, you can't go!" said Hermione. "What happens if you never come back?"
"We don't know what's down there!" added Harry. "What if you're killed?"
"If there's something down there that can kill me, then there's a chance that it will kill Ron, and I don't want that to happen. Besides, we don't know what's down there, so we might find out there's nothing there in the first place!"
"But- "
"Too bad, I'm going in!"
Joy slipped off the edge of the entrance and fell into the dark hole. Harry and Hermione looked down and wondered to themselves if it was safe to go in.
"Well if Ron and the Princess are going in there, I might as well go in too!" said Hermione.
"Wow, that's very unlikely of you, Hermione."
"Harry, you've known me for what, almost 6 years now? You should know by now I can be very surprising."
Hermione jumped into the black hole with a little yelp and plunged into darkness. Harry looked around him, and realized there was probably no way out of the small room anyway. Maybe there's a way to get out from where the hole ends up, thought Harry. He leaned on the very edge of the hole and glared at the dark pit.
"I might as well go in," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders.
He closed his eyes, and with all his courage, he leaped into the dark pit.
For a while, he was falling endlessly in pitch blackness, but he suddenly landed on a rock surface and slid downwards. He found out he was going down some kind of tunnel, but hadn't realized it because he still couldn't see anything. The darkness everywhere was indescribable, and he was falling in it. He felt as if he was going down a gigantic slide with his eyes closed. He bumped into the rocky surface of the tunnel continuously, until he saw a kind of light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to make it out, thought Harry, as he wondered what was at the end of the tunnel. He hoped his friends were okay there, as he slid through the end of the tunnel.
He dropped right into a large circular room, completely empty except for his three worried friends. The three of them were huddled around the hole and went to Harry to make sure everything was all right.
"Harry, are you all right?" asked Joy, giving him a hug, being grateful nothing bad happened to him.
"Of course I'm all right!" said Harry. Harry looked around the room that he was in, which looked more like a dungeon. It's ceiling reached to a great height, and the whole entire room was in stone. Right across from him, he could see a large, wooden door. "Look over there, there's a door!"
"No, Harry, it's really a Boggart in disguise," said Ron sarcastically.
"Have you tried to open it already?" asked Harry.
"No, it's absolutely locked," responded Hermione as they all turned to the door.
"Why don't I try to bust it open?" suggested Ron, as he walked proudly to the door.
With great force, he smashed himself right into the door, trying to break it down. Unfortunately, the door remained completely intact, and Ron's arm was completely sore. As he groaned, he shrugged and looked up at his friends.
"Maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all."
Harry, Joy and Hermione went to the door. Hermione examined it to see if there was any possible lock that could be open, while Harry looked around the dungeon-like room to see if there were any buttons or ledges that could be pressed which could open the door, and Joy tried to comfort Ron after bashing his arm into the door. Hermione put her ear to the door, and gasped in discovery. She listened some more and grinned in success.
"Everyone, come here! I hear voices inside."
"Hermione, I have no idea why you're smiling, because hearing voices doesn't sound like great news," said Ron. "The last time Harry said he heard voices in the wall, it got him into big trouble."
"No, it's not that! There are other people talking on the other side of the door. There are people in there! No wonder the door was locked."
"Why would there be other people on the other side of the door?" asked Harry. "Are there other students who know about this place, or do all these confusing hallways lead to other places around the school?"
"It could be any of those reasons, or others!" said Joy.
"What did you hear from the people on the other side of the door?" asked Ron.
"I don't know," said Hermione. "All I heard were muffled voices.
"Is there a way we can hear what they're saying?"
"We can make the door see-through from our side," suggested Joy.
"How are we going to do that?"
"Do a charm," responded Joy. "I know how to do it. Do you want me to cast the charm?"
"Go right ahead!" said Harry.
Joy stepped back as she took out her wand and waved it.
"Invisiblo portus!" said Joy, as green sparkles spat out of her wand and covered the door, making it invisible. All of them huddled near the door as they could see completely what was on the other side.
On the other side of the door, there was a massive room that was lavishly furnished, with was a large extravagantly-carved chair elevated onto a platform. Sitting on the throne was a strange dark figure, and kneeling a distance from the elevated dark figure was a teenage boy with a head of blond slick hair clad in Slytherin robes.
"It's Malfoy and You-Know-Who!" said Ron.
"What are they saying?" asked Harry, trying to listen to the conversation in the room, but couldn't recognize what they were saying.
"I don't know," said Hermione. "Joy, is there a way to listen in on their conversation?"
"Sure, I'll make the door un-soundproofed, which will stop the door from blocking the things that they're saying." Joy waved her wand again and said another charm. "Soundio unproofus!"
It seemed as if someone had turned a volume switch on high. The voices immediately became clear, and they could recognize each voice. It was definitely Malfoy's voice being spoken, and they could hear the high-pitched, harsh and evil voice of Lord Voldemort. Because they were finally able to hear inside the room, they listened in on their conversation.
"I hear there is news from our other partner in our plan," said the dark shadow.
"Yes there is, Master," responded Malfoy.
"Then tell me, what is this news?"
"He said that the Aurors are questioning the former Death Eaters immensely, and they are progressing in their search. They've been questioning my father. Will he confess, Master?"
"I think not, Draco Malfoy. I can still remember the years I'd been in power. Your father had been questioned greatly, and he never let out his secrets, our secrets. Considering that is settled, let us speak of our attack on the Headmaster."
Harry gasped as he heard the high-pitched and raspy words slither out of the dark figure's mouth. Was Professor Dumbledore going to really be attacked? Ron gulped, Hermione yelped in shock and Joy became quite tense and frightened. It looked as if Her Royal Highness would cry, but she did not.
"We have discussed this greatly, and the plan is complete," said Malfoy.
"Excellent! I have waited so long to make a move like this on Albus Dumbledore, but I never had the chance. This time, I have the chance and this time, it's fatal! Now tell me what will happen."
"We found out that Professor Dumbledore will be giving Mr. Fudge, the Minister for Magic, a visit in less than a week. He is going to wait in the courtyard until his carriage brings him to the Minister. We have planned that the carriage driver will be one of our accomplices, a newly-made Death Eater. On the road to where the meeting is with Mr. Fudge, there is a large and very dangerous forest. Our Death Eater will take a turn into the forest, and push Dumbledore out of the carriage. There, many of our new Death Eaters will trample, torture and eventually destroy the Headmaster."
Joy burst into silent sobs as she listened to these sharp and malevolent words. It was clear to Harry that she couldn't stand hearing the fact that her very-great grandfather was going to be murdered in less than a week. Ron put his arm around her in comfort, as Hermione stood there in complete shock. Harry's face became as white as a ghost.
"What a wonderful plan!" remarked Lord Voldemort with a small cackle. "When is this meeting with Mr. Fudge?"
"In 4 days, Master."
"Magnificent! We will dispose of Dumbledore very soon. One of my greatest threats will finally be destroyed!!"
The Princess let out a sobbing howl as she heard the last vicious sentence from the Dark Lord. Hermione and Ron were trying to comfort her, but Harry was too shocked to realize what was happening around him. With her face red with dripping tears, Joy cast a spell to make the door un-invisible and soundproof again.
"Don't worry, Joy!" said Harry. "We'll tell Dumbledore all about this so it can be prevented."
"How can we tell him," said Joy, wiping her tears and sniffing, "if we don't even know how to get out of here?"
"I don't know, but we'll find a way."
Harry leaned his elbow on the stone wall. Suddenly, the brick he was leaning his elbow on sank in, opening an entrance out of the room. They rushed to the entrance and looked outside.
"It leads to the school grounds!" said Hermione excitingly.
"We're free!" shouted Ron.
"Come on, let's go tell Dumbledore about this odious plan!" said Harry, as he lead all of them through the entrance, into the grounds and into the castle.
Author's Note: Let's recap - Harry and Cho had a great Valentine's Day, Harry and his friends got lost in the hallways and found themselves into a secret hallway which led to a really dark pit and they all went in which was actually a really dark slide which led to a stone circular room with a door which they listened into to hear a secret conversation between Malfoy and Voldemort that they're doing an attack on Dumbledore *huge gasp of air after huge sentence* Oh, and then they found a passageway out. By the way, during Harry and Cho's date, they had 'butterbeer' instead of 'champagne' (which I was going to write), but then I remembered they're under-age. So what's going to happen next? They're going to tell Dumbledore about the attack! See what happens next on:
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRINCESSES FOR MAGIC *in sci-fi narrator voice*. Oh, and PPLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSEEEE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIEEEEEW!!!!!!!
A Secret Hallway
Disclaimer: As you can see, it says 'Princess-Perfect' instead of 'J.K.Rowling', so NO, I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Hi, everybody! By the way, I never answered to a few reviews that I got. I won't say the name of the person (or persons?), but I'll state their questions or reply to their comments
1) Yes, Lupin's a werewolf, and werewolves are killed by silver or silver bullets. And yes, his Thunderbird may be the colour of silver, but it does not mean his car is actually made of the real metal of silver. They're too different things: the actual silver, and the colour silver.
2) I know the Dursleys may seem OOC, but in a way, they're not really. In the 5th book, Petunia got the howler 'remember my last', and started to act a bit better to Harry. Plus, Harry's adult friends gave the Dursleys a talk on treating him better. That's basically why I made the Dursleys nicer.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!!!!
"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you came!" said Cho, sitting up in her hospital bed as Harry held her hand.
"Cho, it's Valentines Day! How could I leave you here all alone?" questioned Harry.
The compliment brought a smile to Cho Chang's face, which put a grin on Harry's face too. Harry told Cho about the Defence Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. Club, and Cho was deeply interested in it. They also talked about the repair of the Quidditch field, which was almost done.
"In less than a month, we'll be able to continue the Quidditch season!" declared Harry gladly.
"I know, especially because the next game is Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff."
"Will you be able to play?"
"No," stated Cho in a sigh. "Madame Pomfrey says I might overwork myself or something. She doesn't want to take any chances of me getting sick."
"But Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance without you, sweetheart!"
"Oh, that's so sweet!" said Cho, and then she kissed Harry's cheek, making him blush.
"Are you hungry?" asked Harry.
"Actually, I am."
"That's great! I have a surprise for you. Dobby! Colin! Dennis! Come in here!" shouted Harry.
At once, the little house-elf, accompanied by Colin Creevey and his brother, brought a trolley with a bucket of ice with butterbeer (they were under-age for champagne), two plates with a silverware dome cover hiding what was underneath and a table set up for a lovely dinner. Cho's jaw dropped in shock and gave Harry an adoring look.
"Harry, I cannot believe you did this for me!"
"Anything for you, my love."
"You're so kind!"
"Dobby has heard of the affection that Harry Potter possesses towards Cho Chang, ma'am!" said Dobby.
"Same here!" said Colin, as Dennis nodded.
Dennis and Colin lifted up the lids, which underneath there were fabulous plates of rotisserie chicken, spaghetti, potato purée and tiny corn.
"Harry, this is magnificent! What delicious food!"
"Thanks."
"Harry, can my brother and I take pictures of you and Cho?" asked Colin Creevey.
"Of course," agreed Harry.
Blinding and flashing lights appeared everywhere as Colin and Dennis took many photos of the couple. Harry didn't quite like the pictures, but Cho didn't seem to mind.
"Dobby almost forgot the music, sir!" shouted Dobby, as he pulled out from under the trolley a small radio. He laid it on the hospital table beside them and turned on the stereo, with soft and romantic music starting to play.
"This is so romantic."
"And I'm not done with the surprises," said Harry. "Dennis, can you please bring me Cho's present?"
"Of course, Harry Potter!"
Dennis took out a little box from his pocket with a card attached to it, and handed it over to Harry. Cho's eyes widened at the sight of the little gift.
"Now a present? Really, Harry, this is so much."
"I love you, Cho, and love deserves more than the world."
"That's so sweet!" said Cho, with tears forming in her eyes.
"Come on, open the present!"
"Oh yes, of course!"
Cho pulled the card off the little box and laid the box aside. She gently took the card out of the envelope, and read the front of the card.
"To my darling on Valentines' Day,"
she said, as she opened the card and read the rest of it:
"Today is a special day, when love is truly recognized as a blessed and loving thing, and when two people can share and appreciate the love they have together. This is not the case between us however. For every single moment I look into your lovely eyes, a warmth of joy comes over me, and for all the times I look at you, my heart is healed from any sorrow it possesses, and for ever single time we're together, I know that our love is true and eternal. But it is only Valentines' Day when I can demonstrate and prove my love to you. May you recognize my love, that is not only found once a year, but every day, every hour, and every second.
From your loving boyfriend,
Harry Potter."
Tears tumbled out of Cho's eyes and onto her cheeks as Harry looked at her with sheer love. Dobby, Colin and Dennis felt quite touched by the gift and card as well. They wept immensely as Dennis passed around tissues. Dobby grabbed some tissues and blew his nose to the fullest, until it was so soggy and disgusting it could make anyone's stomach turn. He threw it away quickly as Dennis offered Cho a tissue. She took it with thanks and dabbed her eyes with it.
"That was too beautiful, Harry," said Cho, still recovering from the tears. "I never knew you felt that way about me."
"I do, Cho," he said confidently. "I do. Open the present."
Cho quickly picked up the little box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful golden heart-shaped locket. In the middle it said in white gold: With all my love. Cho opened the locket and revealed a tiny picture of Harry and Cho together. Cho marvelled at the absolutely thoughtful and gorgeous gift she received, wanting to cry all over again. Harry helped Cho put on the necklace, and she looked down to see how beautiful it looked on her.
"We should start eating our dinner," said Harry, "before it gets cold."
"Yes, of course!"
Dobby heard this and immediately poured some butterbeer into their glasses as they sat themselves down at the table.
"Cheers!" said Harry as they both clinked their glasses together.
Colin, Dennis and Dobby stood there in admiration as Harry and Cho started eating their delicious meal. They stood there for a long time, and it became quite annoying to Harry.
"You can leave now, you know," said Harry.
All three of them looked startled and embarrassed, and quickly exited the hospital wing. That evening, Harry and Cho had a lovely dinner, and even danced a bit with the music of the radio. The date was sealed with a tender kiss as they both parted for the night. Harry went to the common room and went to bed, thinking of nothing other than Cho. It was a Valentines' Day to remember.
*****
The following day, Harry couldn't stop thinking about that magical evening he had with Cho on Valentine's Day. During most of his classes, he drifted away into thought of his beloved girlfriend. A couple times he spotted Cho in the hall, and his heart fluttered as they both gave each other warm 'hello's.
Because of this, Harry found it difficult to concentrate on the conversation his friends were having on Malfoy's scheme to bring Lord Voldemort to power, as they were walking down the hallway to the common room.
"So what's Lucius Malfoy's part in all of this again?" asked Ron.
"He's one of Lord Voldemort's former Death Eaters, who isn't in Azkaban, and he's the one responsible for most things outside of Hogwarts," replied Hermione.
"Mr. Malfoy's probably the one who kidnapped the hypnotist, the businessman from Chile and that rare diamond," added Joy. "What was it called?"
"It was the Luxark Diamond," said Hermione. "What would Malfoy or Voldemort need that for?"
"I remember the newspaper saying it can turn any animal into a powerful and mythical creature," said Ron. "You-Know-Who had a basilisk, or some kind of snake, right?"
"Right," they both answered.
"Maybe he's trying to bring it back."
"It could be," said Joy. "Plus, he could probably turn even a small rat into a ferocious dragon and use a whole bunch of them to terrorize witches and wizards everywhere. Just think about it: wild dragons stomping down Diagon Alley. That's pretty creepy."
"Why was the businessman kidnapped?" asked Ron.
"It's probably because he was a very powerful person in the business industry," said Hermione. "Remember, most of Voldemort's work is to terrorize and cause chaos."
"Have you seen the stock market values these days?" asked Joy. "It's dropped 70% since Mr. Belroni's kidnapping! Obviously, many companies have lost a lot of money. Even so, he was in charge of a lot of magical items such as wands, charms, and such. The stock for magic supplies hasn't just dropped in Chile, but all around the world. You may not know this, but he was also an inventor and a scientist, who created many of the things he sold. Nowadays, there aren't as many magic supplies as there were before."
"Decreasing the wizarding world of its magic and making it weaker; a typical Dark Lord thing," said Ron.
"Harry- Harry? Are you paying attention to us at all?" asked Hermione.
"What?" said Harry as he snapped out of his 'trance', still thinking about Cho. "What were you saying?"
"Harry, seriously! You should be listening to our important conversation!" lectured Hermione.
"I was too busy thinking about that wonderful date I had with Cho last night," said Harry.
"Just because you had a nice evening with your girlfriend, doesn't mean you can be lollygagging in dreamland while we're having a conversation concerning highly important issues," told Joy. "I had an absolutely magnificent evening with Ron, maybe the best Valentine's Day I ever had, but you don't see me drifting off!"
"You mean it, Joy?" asked Ron. "It was really the best Valentine's Day you ever had?"
"Of course, sugar cookie!"
"Can you just tell me what we were talking about?" demanded Harry.
"We were talking about Lucius' business in all this and the topic on the kidnapping of the business man from Chile and the Luxark Diamond."
"Oh, yes of course. Uhmm... Can I ask you another question?"
"Of course, what?"
"Where are we?"
All of them stopped to look around and asked themselves the same question. They had lost track of where they were going, and now they had no idea where they were. They were completely lost.
"Great!" said Ron. "We're lost!"
"I've never ever seen these hallways before," said Hermione. "Where's this part of the castle?"
"If we knew which part of the castle we were in, we'd now where we were, and we wouldn't be lost!" shouted Ron.
"Ron, calm down!" said Joy. "Does anybody remember the last place we were?"
Everyone shrugged and shook their heads.
"No? Well, maybe we should go back to see where we made a wrong turn."
"Joy, we don't know at all which turns we made!" said Harry. "No one was paying attention."
"I guess we just have to see where these hallways lead to. It's the best way."
"Besides, it's a chance for us to see how this place is like," said Hermione. "I've never seen this place in Hogwarts, so it's bound to be interesting."
"Speak for yourself," murmured Ron.
"Come on, let's go!" said Harry.
Everyone followed Harry, going in twists and turns throughout unfamiliar and strange hallways. Awkward pictures were in that part of the castle, filled with statues of ghouls and monsters which crept them out a bit. Harry wasn't sure if there was any possible exit, but he was bound to find a way out.
Unfortunately, after a worthless and exhausting hour of confusing halls, Harry Potter and his friends found themselves in a dead end. It seemed that all hope was lost (just like they were).
"A dead end! Great, we're permanently lost!" shouted Ron in anger. "What is this, a Labyrinth?"
"We'll be stuck here forever!" cried Hermione, taking a seat in the corner.
"Maybe we should go back and try to take some different turns," said Joy, trying to be optimistic.
Harry sighed and looked around. It was a very long hallway; it would probably take them 10 more minutes to find another turn. There was only one torch, so it was extremely dark. As a shadowed silhouette in the depths of the dark corridor, Harry saw a kind of gargoyle statue, which sent a leap of hope swelling in him. Maybe it can be a secret entrance to something, thought Harry. He thought it best to ask Joy a question.
"Joy?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Harry?" responded Joy exhaustingly.
"I think I see some kind of statue on the wall of the dead end. Maybe there's something behind it."
"Great idea, Harry!" said Joy.
Joy put her hand on the statue at the dead end to see what she was dealing with. She took out her wand from her robes, waved it around and concentrated.
"Lumos!" she said.
A blast of light illuminated the statue and lit up the entire hallway. Harry and his friends could see that it was a gargoyle statue, with a scrunched-up face, dominating wings, and vicious claws. It was on some kind of platform, and the statue was inside a nook in the wall. Hermione stood up as they tried to examine the gargoyle.
"Do you think the statue can be removed?" asked Hermione.
"Maybe," said Ron, as he leaned on the platform of the statue.
Suddenly, the platform and statue sank inside the nook and vanished, revealing a secret passageway. All four of them, absolutely amazed, entered the small entrance.
Once they went through the entrance, they realized they were in some kind of small secret hallway with alas, a dead end, which made it seem more like a small room. Behind them, they could see that the gargoyle statue had pushed aside.
"What opened the entrance?" asked Harry.
"I think I might have pushed something," said Ron, looking at the platform he was leaning on. He pointed to the top-right corner of the stone block with a kind of metal decorative corner and a small button. "I probably pressed the button here," he said, as he pressed it again. Suddenly, the gargoyle glided to the left and closed the entrance. They were locked in.
As everyone else let out a sigh, Hermione spotted some kind of door on the floor, which could have barely been noticed. It was completely cut out of the floor, and it had tiny silver hinges and a tiny door knob.
"Look here!" she said in excitement. "There's some kind of door on the floor! I'll open it."
Hermione kneeled down and lifted the door. Once opened, she looked in to see nothing but complete darkness. Everyone else kneeled to see what was inside.
"There's nothing," said Harry. "It's just some hole in the floor, that probably leads to nowhere."
"Maybe it leads to the centre of the earth, or even China!" said Ron. Ron leaned his head into the dark pit until his shoulders were swallowed in darkness. "Wow, is this ever dark- "
Ron lost his balanced and fell right into the dark pit with many screams following him. Joy and Hermione shrieked in horror, as Harry gasped. Would Ron be alive, and where would Ron go?
"If my boyfriend has fallen into that floor entrance, I'm coming with him!" said Joy bravely. She sat up on the edge of the pit and looked down into the dark hole.
"Joy, you can't go!" said Hermione. "What happens if you never come back?"
"We don't know what's down there!" added Harry. "What if you're killed?"
"If there's something down there that can kill me, then there's a chance that it will kill Ron, and I don't want that to happen. Besides, we don't know what's down there, so we might find out there's nothing there in the first place!"
"But- "
"Too bad, I'm going in!"
Joy slipped off the edge of the entrance and fell into the dark hole. Harry and Hermione looked down and wondered to themselves if it was safe to go in.
"Well if Ron and the Princess are going in there, I might as well go in too!" said Hermione.
"Wow, that's very unlikely of you, Hermione."
"Harry, you've known me for what, almost 6 years now? You should know by now I can be very surprising."
Hermione jumped into the black hole with a little yelp and plunged into darkness. Harry looked around him, and realized there was probably no way out of the small room anyway. Maybe there's a way to get out from where the hole ends up, thought Harry. He leaned on the very edge of the hole and glared at the dark pit.
"I might as well go in," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders.
He closed his eyes, and with all his courage, he leaped into the dark pit.
For a while, he was falling endlessly in pitch blackness, but he suddenly landed on a rock surface and slid downwards. He found out he was going down some kind of tunnel, but hadn't realized it because he still couldn't see anything. The darkness everywhere was indescribable, and he was falling in it. He felt as if he was going down a gigantic slide with his eyes closed. He bumped into the rocky surface of the tunnel continuously, until he saw a kind of light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to make it out, thought Harry, as he wondered what was at the end of the tunnel. He hoped his friends were okay there, as he slid through the end of the tunnel.
He dropped right into a large circular room, completely empty except for his three worried friends. The three of them were huddled around the hole and went to Harry to make sure everything was all right.
"Harry, are you all right?" asked Joy, giving him a hug, being grateful nothing bad happened to him.
"Of course I'm all right!" said Harry. Harry looked around the room that he was in, which looked more like a dungeon. It's ceiling reached to a great height, and the whole entire room was in stone. Right across from him, he could see a large, wooden door. "Look over there, there's a door!"
"No, Harry, it's really a Boggart in disguise," said Ron sarcastically.
"Have you tried to open it already?" asked Harry.
"No, it's absolutely locked," responded Hermione as they all turned to the door.
"Why don't I try to bust it open?" suggested Ron, as he walked proudly to the door.
With great force, he smashed himself right into the door, trying to break it down. Unfortunately, the door remained completely intact, and Ron's arm was completely sore. As he groaned, he shrugged and looked up at his friends.
"Maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all."
Harry, Joy and Hermione went to the door. Hermione examined it to see if there was any possible lock that could be open, while Harry looked around the dungeon-like room to see if there were any buttons or ledges that could be pressed which could open the door, and Joy tried to comfort Ron after bashing his arm into the door. Hermione put her ear to the door, and gasped in discovery. She listened some more and grinned in success.
"Everyone, come here! I hear voices inside."
"Hermione, I have no idea why you're smiling, because hearing voices doesn't sound like great news," said Ron. "The last time Harry said he heard voices in the wall, it got him into big trouble."
"No, it's not that! There are other people talking on the other side of the door. There are people in there! No wonder the door was locked."
"Why would there be other people on the other side of the door?" asked Harry. "Are there other students who know about this place, or do all these confusing hallways lead to other places around the school?"
"It could be any of those reasons, or others!" said Joy.
"What did you hear from the people on the other side of the door?" asked Ron.
"I don't know," said Hermione. "All I heard were muffled voices.
"Is there a way we can hear what they're saying?"
"We can make the door see-through from our side," suggested Joy.
"How are we going to do that?"
"Do a charm," responded Joy. "I know how to do it. Do you want me to cast the charm?"
"Go right ahead!" said Harry.
Joy stepped back as she took out her wand and waved it.
"Invisiblo portus!" said Joy, as green sparkles spat out of her wand and covered the door, making it invisible. All of them huddled near the door as they could see completely what was on the other side.
On the other side of the door, there was a massive room that was lavishly furnished, with was a large extravagantly-carved chair elevated onto a platform. Sitting on the throne was a strange dark figure, and kneeling a distance from the elevated dark figure was a teenage boy with a head of blond slick hair clad in Slytherin robes.
"It's Malfoy and You-Know-Who!" said Ron.
"What are they saying?" asked Harry, trying to listen to the conversation in the room, but couldn't recognize what they were saying.
"I don't know," said Hermione. "Joy, is there a way to listen in on their conversation?"
"Sure, I'll make the door un-soundproofed, which will stop the door from blocking the things that they're saying." Joy waved her wand again and said another charm. "Soundio unproofus!"
It seemed as if someone had turned a volume switch on high. The voices immediately became clear, and they could recognize each voice. It was definitely Malfoy's voice being spoken, and they could hear the high-pitched, harsh and evil voice of Lord Voldemort. Because they were finally able to hear inside the room, they listened in on their conversation.
"I hear there is news from our other partner in our plan," said the dark shadow.
"Yes there is, Master," responded Malfoy.
"Then tell me, what is this news?"
"He said that the Aurors are questioning the former Death Eaters immensely, and they are progressing in their search. They've been questioning my father. Will he confess, Master?"
"I think not, Draco Malfoy. I can still remember the years I'd been in power. Your father had been questioned greatly, and he never let out his secrets, our secrets. Considering that is settled, let us speak of our attack on the Headmaster."
Harry gasped as he heard the high-pitched and raspy words slither out of the dark figure's mouth. Was Professor Dumbledore going to really be attacked? Ron gulped, Hermione yelped in shock and Joy became quite tense and frightened. It looked as if Her Royal Highness would cry, but she did not.
"We have discussed this greatly, and the plan is complete," said Malfoy.
"Excellent! I have waited so long to make a move like this on Albus Dumbledore, but I never had the chance. This time, I have the chance and this time, it's fatal! Now tell me what will happen."
"We found out that Professor Dumbledore will be giving Mr. Fudge, the Minister for Magic, a visit in less than a week. He is going to wait in the courtyard until his carriage brings him to the Minister. We have planned that the carriage driver will be one of our accomplices, a newly-made Death Eater. On the road to where the meeting is with Mr. Fudge, there is a large and very dangerous forest. Our Death Eater will take a turn into the forest, and push Dumbledore out of the carriage. There, many of our new Death Eaters will trample, torture and eventually destroy the Headmaster."
Joy burst into silent sobs as she listened to these sharp and malevolent words. It was clear to Harry that she couldn't stand hearing the fact that her very-great grandfather was going to be murdered in less than a week. Ron put his arm around her in comfort, as Hermione stood there in complete shock. Harry's face became as white as a ghost.
"What a wonderful plan!" remarked Lord Voldemort with a small cackle. "When is this meeting with Mr. Fudge?"
"In 4 days, Master."
"Magnificent! We will dispose of Dumbledore very soon. One of my greatest threats will finally be destroyed!!"
The Princess let out a sobbing howl as she heard the last vicious sentence from the Dark Lord. Hermione and Ron were trying to comfort her, but Harry was too shocked to realize what was happening around him. With her face red with dripping tears, Joy cast a spell to make the door un-invisible and soundproof again.
"Don't worry, Joy!" said Harry. "We'll tell Dumbledore all about this so it can be prevented."
"How can we tell him," said Joy, wiping her tears and sniffing, "if we don't even know how to get out of here?"
"I don't know, but we'll find a way."
Harry leaned his elbow on the stone wall. Suddenly, the brick he was leaning his elbow on sank in, opening an entrance out of the room. They rushed to the entrance and looked outside.
"It leads to the school grounds!" said Hermione excitingly.
"We're free!" shouted Ron.
"Come on, let's go tell Dumbledore about this odious plan!" said Harry, as he lead all of them through the entrance, into the grounds and into the castle.
Author's Note: Let's recap - Harry and Cho had a great Valentine's Day, Harry and his friends got lost in the hallways and found themselves into a secret hallway which led to a really dark pit and they all went in which was actually a really dark slide which led to a stone circular room with a door which they listened into to hear a secret conversation between Malfoy and Voldemort that they're doing an attack on Dumbledore *huge gasp of air after huge sentence* Oh, and then they found a passageway out. By the way, during Harry and Cho's date, they had 'butterbeer' instead of 'champagne' (which I was going to write), but then I remembered they're under-age. So what's going to happen next? They're going to tell Dumbledore about the attack! See what happens next on:
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRINCESSES FOR MAGIC *in sci-fi narrator voice*. Oh, and PPLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSEEEE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIEEEEEW!!!!!!!