Chapter Seven-Aftermath
By Marmalade Fever
Harry tore his way through the room and out into the hallway, the jar with the snake still clutched in his hand. "Dumbledore," he thought, "must find Dumbledore!" This was bad, this was very, very bad. Voldemort was gone. He had been so sure of it. This didn't make sense. The man was dead for Pete's sake! He had seen it happen, he had buried him, he had performed every necessary precaution...the man was dead! The burning on his forehead slowly dwindled away.
"Calm down, bucko!" the miniscule snake hissed from below.
"You don't understand!" Harry muttered, not sure why he was bothering to explain anything to a snake.
"Sure I do," Bernard said. "You are the Great One. The scar, it is there! Upon your head. You are Harrrrry Potttttter."
"The scar was gone though! It was fading! Voldemort...Voldemort is gone!" The snake recoiled and went silent. Harry was walking blindly down the corridor, and was startled when he ran straight into someone. It was Snape.
"Watch it, Potter!" He said.
"You!" Harry said, eyes widening. He grabbed at Snape's wrist.
"What in the world..." Snape said, attempting to tug his arm away. "What do you think you're doing!"
"The mark, is it there?" Harry half-shouted. Snape's eyes narrowed into slits, but he rolled up his sleeve, nonetheless. His pale white arm was pearly and blank.
"What is this about, Potter?" Snape almost sounded half-interested.
Harry brushed his hair away from his forehead and Snape's eyes widened at the clarity of the lightning bolt. "It hurt!" Harry sneered. "And look!" He held up the snake. He whispered to it. "It says that you need a haircut!" Harry spat.
The insult passed over Snape, who was still looking with rapt attention at Harry's forehead. "This," he finally said, "is not good!" Evidently, Snape knew something about the vanishing of Harry's "gifts from Voldemort." There was a look of fear in Snape's eyes that Harry had seen on very few occasions. A moment later it was gone.
"Dumbledore needs to know," Harry said slowly, eyes fixed on Snape's.
"Dumbledore," Snape said, equally slowly, "is not here. "He left after dinner for London and won't be back until Wednesday."
"In that case," Harry said, "I'm going to the owlery." He turned around to leave, but Snape's drawling voice echoed past him.
"Haven't you learned yet Potter, that it is dangerous to put things like these in writing?"
Harry stood still. Snape had a point. There were still innumerous Death Eaters lurking about that had not yet been caught. Azkaban was tricky, due to the mixed loyalties of the dementors. "Fine, I'll wait 'til Wednesday," and Harry went back to his office for bed. The enormous stack of papers was still there. Still riled up, Harry sat down to work on them. It was well after one when he at last decided to go to sleep. He had a strange dream in which the snake, Bernard, was telling him a bed time story about how Neville Longbottom and Hagrid were both fighting over Madame Maxime as a guest to his and Hermione's wedding. Then Ron showed up with his hair completely green saying that it was the latest fashion in Paris.
"Harry," Hermione said, nudging him. "Wake up! It's nearly eight- thirty!"
"Huh?" Harry asked, blinking. She handed him a cup of coffee.
"You were mumbling in your sleep," she said, laughing. "You said, 'Your hair looks like lima beans.'"
"Oh," Harry said. "Yeah, I was talking to Ron... He'd dyed it... What time did you say it was?"
"Eight-thirty! Come on! Classes start soon and you haven't even gotten out of bed!" Hermione paused as Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. In the process he had uncovered the hair from his forehead. "H- Harry?"
"Yeah?" Harry asked, going on a search for his shoes.
"Your scar...?"
Harry turned around abruptly. "It's back, I know..."
"But..."
"It hurt. I've got the parseltongue thing back, too. I was going to tell Dumbledore, but I ran into Snape. He said Dumbledore's in London, won't be back 'til tomorrow. He doesn't have the mark though."
"This is not good!" Hermione said, aghast.
"Yeah, that's what Snape said."
"You don't think that V-Voldemort's b-back, do you?"
Harry looked at her seriously, then shook his head. "Not possible... He's gone, I know he is. Listen Hermione, do you think you could leave for a bit so that I can get dressed?"
"Sure," she said this calmly enough, but Harry could tell that she was in a panic.
"I'll talk to you later," Harry said, fishing around in his wardrobe for a pair of pants.
"Right," Hermione said, and left. Harry dressed, grabbed a donut from the teachers' lounge and went to his classroom, a mounding headache throbbing through his skull. By the time lunch rolled around, he felt half- starved and slightly dizzy. He met up with Hermione in the Great Hall.
"Harry," she asked, still looking rather apprehensive, "you mind if I borrow Hedwig? I can't seem to find my owl anywhere."
"Go ahead," Harry said, fixing himself a meatloaf sandwich. "Who are you writing to?"
"My parents... I, I was going to tell them about, er, our weekend."
Harry coughed on his pumpkin juice, but managed a smile. "Good, good..." he said at last. The excitement of the previous night had made him a little forgetful about their new relationship, not to mention the lethifold and his detention with lover boy. He'd nearly forgotten to tell her about that. The whole no name thing was really odd... and who was "she" anyway? Bellatrix Lestrange perhaps? Who knew? He told Hermione all about it, and she seemed just as puzzled.
"Well," she said, after a pause, "I'm off to the owlery. I'll see you at dinner, okay?"
"Sure, see you then," Harry said. He finished his meal and went back to his classroom to prepare for his next class. He had been able to capture a boggart in a cabinet and was eager to show it to the Gryffindors in his next class. Most of his students seemed to like him alright, or, at least, more so than the last few professors they'd had for the subject. Overall, he was very pleased with their progress.
As the day went by the initial shock of his scar hurting began to wear off and he had almost convinced himself completely that Voldemort was not back. Nevertheless, when the next day came and Dumbledore was once more at the staff table at breakfast, Harry leaned over to him.
"Professor, may I have a word with you later?" Purposely, Harry pushed his bangs out of the way. Dumbledore seemed to catch the clue.
"Of course Harry, as soon as we're done eating, I think?" Harry nodded back and sat done again. He ate his porridge as casually as he could, glancing over to see what progress Dumbledore was making on his kippers. At last, the elderly man stood up and beckoned Harry to follow. He led the way, not to his office, but rather out onto the grounds and off toward the lake. It had rained the night before and the ground was rather soggy.
"When did it come back?" Dumbledore asked, after a few moments of watching the giant squid perform a spectacular feat of synchronized swimming.
"Monday night, about half past eleven," Harry said. Dumbledore seemed to make a mental note. "I felt it when I was in my office, ran to look in my mirror, and there it was. That's not all though. I can speak parseltongue again." Harry was a little worried that Dumbledore might ask him where he found a snake, as he wasn't sure if his little detention had been entirely appropriate. He didn't though.
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, as he had on so many other occasions.
"There is one thing," Harry said. "Do you know that Slytherin fifth year with the green hair?"
Dumbledore paused to think. "Yes," he said.
"Well," Harry said. "I had a detention with him that night. Anyway, I've been trying to figure out what his name is, and when I asked him that night, he said that he hasn't been named yet. Actually, his exact wording was that 'she' hasn't named him yet. I don't know what that means, but it sounds kind of important."
"Are you certain he was telling the truth?" Dumbledore asked, looking out over the lake again.
"Positive," Harry said, thinking of the attributes of the fairy ring. "Professor, was he here last year?"
"He's a new student I believe. His paperwork said that his name is Barnabus Blithewick... but that is not to say that paperwork can't have a tendency to lie."
Harry nodded, thinking for a second of the Daily Prophet, which, a few years back, did very little, it seemed, but lie. The clouds above made a threatening sound and a few drops broke loose. Somewhere in the castle a large bell let out its warning, and the two men walked back inside.
"Keep me posted Harry," Dumbledore said.
"I will."
A.N.: Thank you for reading! (10 points to each of your houses!) I have a plan of action now... mostly. Next chapter, I think, will probably be that wedding. Feed back appreciated! Oh, and I thought I'd tell you that I bought three little fish and named them Harry, Ron, and Hermione. (Ron has an orangey tail, but you can't tell Harry and Hermione apart. lol)
By Marmalade Fever
Harry tore his way through the room and out into the hallway, the jar with the snake still clutched in his hand. "Dumbledore," he thought, "must find Dumbledore!" This was bad, this was very, very bad. Voldemort was gone. He had been so sure of it. This didn't make sense. The man was dead for Pete's sake! He had seen it happen, he had buried him, he had performed every necessary precaution...the man was dead! The burning on his forehead slowly dwindled away.
"Calm down, bucko!" the miniscule snake hissed from below.
"You don't understand!" Harry muttered, not sure why he was bothering to explain anything to a snake.
"Sure I do," Bernard said. "You are the Great One. The scar, it is there! Upon your head. You are Harrrrry Potttttter."
"The scar was gone though! It was fading! Voldemort...Voldemort is gone!" The snake recoiled and went silent. Harry was walking blindly down the corridor, and was startled when he ran straight into someone. It was Snape.
"Watch it, Potter!" He said.
"You!" Harry said, eyes widening. He grabbed at Snape's wrist.
"What in the world..." Snape said, attempting to tug his arm away. "What do you think you're doing!"
"The mark, is it there?" Harry half-shouted. Snape's eyes narrowed into slits, but he rolled up his sleeve, nonetheless. His pale white arm was pearly and blank.
"What is this about, Potter?" Snape almost sounded half-interested.
Harry brushed his hair away from his forehead and Snape's eyes widened at the clarity of the lightning bolt. "It hurt!" Harry sneered. "And look!" He held up the snake. He whispered to it. "It says that you need a haircut!" Harry spat.
The insult passed over Snape, who was still looking with rapt attention at Harry's forehead. "This," he finally said, "is not good!" Evidently, Snape knew something about the vanishing of Harry's "gifts from Voldemort." There was a look of fear in Snape's eyes that Harry had seen on very few occasions. A moment later it was gone.
"Dumbledore needs to know," Harry said slowly, eyes fixed on Snape's.
"Dumbledore," Snape said, equally slowly, "is not here. "He left after dinner for London and won't be back until Wednesday."
"In that case," Harry said, "I'm going to the owlery." He turned around to leave, but Snape's drawling voice echoed past him.
"Haven't you learned yet Potter, that it is dangerous to put things like these in writing?"
Harry stood still. Snape had a point. There were still innumerous Death Eaters lurking about that had not yet been caught. Azkaban was tricky, due to the mixed loyalties of the dementors. "Fine, I'll wait 'til Wednesday," and Harry went back to his office for bed. The enormous stack of papers was still there. Still riled up, Harry sat down to work on them. It was well after one when he at last decided to go to sleep. He had a strange dream in which the snake, Bernard, was telling him a bed time story about how Neville Longbottom and Hagrid were both fighting over Madame Maxime as a guest to his and Hermione's wedding. Then Ron showed up with his hair completely green saying that it was the latest fashion in Paris.
"Harry," Hermione said, nudging him. "Wake up! It's nearly eight- thirty!"
"Huh?" Harry asked, blinking. She handed him a cup of coffee.
"You were mumbling in your sleep," she said, laughing. "You said, 'Your hair looks like lima beans.'"
"Oh," Harry said. "Yeah, I was talking to Ron... He'd dyed it... What time did you say it was?"
"Eight-thirty! Come on! Classes start soon and you haven't even gotten out of bed!" Hermione paused as Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. In the process he had uncovered the hair from his forehead. "H- Harry?"
"Yeah?" Harry asked, going on a search for his shoes.
"Your scar...?"
Harry turned around abruptly. "It's back, I know..."
"But..."
"It hurt. I've got the parseltongue thing back, too. I was going to tell Dumbledore, but I ran into Snape. He said Dumbledore's in London, won't be back 'til tomorrow. He doesn't have the mark though."
"This is not good!" Hermione said, aghast.
"Yeah, that's what Snape said."
"You don't think that V-Voldemort's b-back, do you?"
Harry looked at her seriously, then shook his head. "Not possible... He's gone, I know he is. Listen Hermione, do you think you could leave for a bit so that I can get dressed?"
"Sure," she said this calmly enough, but Harry could tell that she was in a panic.
"I'll talk to you later," Harry said, fishing around in his wardrobe for a pair of pants.
"Right," Hermione said, and left. Harry dressed, grabbed a donut from the teachers' lounge and went to his classroom, a mounding headache throbbing through his skull. By the time lunch rolled around, he felt half- starved and slightly dizzy. He met up with Hermione in the Great Hall.
"Harry," she asked, still looking rather apprehensive, "you mind if I borrow Hedwig? I can't seem to find my owl anywhere."
"Go ahead," Harry said, fixing himself a meatloaf sandwich. "Who are you writing to?"
"My parents... I, I was going to tell them about, er, our weekend."
Harry coughed on his pumpkin juice, but managed a smile. "Good, good..." he said at last. The excitement of the previous night had made him a little forgetful about their new relationship, not to mention the lethifold and his detention with lover boy. He'd nearly forgotten to tell her about that. The whole no name thing was really odd... and who was "she" anyway? Bellatrix Lestrange perhaps? Who knew? He told Hermione all about it, and she seemed just as puzzled.
"Well," she said, after a pause, "I'm off to the owlery. I'll see you at dinner, okay?"
"Sure, see you then," Harry said. He finished his meal and went back to his classroom to prepare for his next class. He had been able to capture a boggart in a cabinet and was eager to show it to the Gryffindors in his next class. Most of his students seemed to like him alright, or, at least, more so than the last few professors they'd had for the subject. Overall, he was very pleased with their progress.
As the day went by the initial shock of his scar hurting began to wear off and he had almost convinced himself completely that Voldemort was not back. Nevertheless, when the next day came and Dumbledore was once more at the staff table at breakfast, Harry leaned over to him.
"Professor, may I have a word with you later?" Purposely, Harry pushed his bangs out of the way. Dumbledore seemed to catch the clue.
"Of course Harry, as soon as we're done eating, I think?" Harry nodded back and sat done again. He ate his porridge as casually as he could, glancing over to see what progress Dumbledore was making on his kippers. At last, the elderly man stood up and beckoned Harry to follow. He led the way, not to his office, but rather out onto the grounds and off toward the lake. It had rained the night before and the ground was rather soggy.
"When did it come back?" Dumbledore asked, after a few moments of watching the giant squid perform a spectacular feat of synchronized swimming.
"Monday night, about half past eleven," Harry said. Dumbledore seemed to make a mental note. "I felt it when I was in my office, ran to look in my mirror, and there it was. That's not all though. I can speak parseltongue again." Harry was a little worried that Dumbledore might ask him where he found a snake, as he wasn't sure if his little detention had been entirely appropriate. He didn't though.
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, as he had on so many other occasions.
"There is one thing," Harry said. "Do you know that Slytherin fifth year with the green hair?"
Dumbledore paused to think. "Yes," he said.
"Well," Harry said. "I had a detention with him that night. Anyway, I've been trying to figure out what his name is, and when I asked him that night, he said that he hasn't been named yet. Actually, his exact wording was that 'she' hasn't named him yet. I don't know what that means, but it sounds kind of important."
"Are you certain he was telling the truth?" Dumbledore asked, looking out over the lake again.
"Positive," Harry said, thinking of the attributes of the fairy ring. "Professor, was he here last year?"
"He's a new student I believe. His paperwork said that his name is Barnabus Blithewick... but that is not to say that paperwork can't have a tendency to lie."
Harry nodded, thinking for a second of the Daily Prophet, which, a few years back, did very little, it seemed, but lie. The clouds above made a threatening sound and a few drops broke loose. Somewhere in the castle a large bell let out its warning, and the two men walked back inside.
"Keep me posted Harry," Dumbledore said.
"I will."
A.N.: Thank you for reading! (10 points to each of your houses!) I have a plan of action now... mostly. Next chapter, I think, will probably be that wedding. Feed back appreciated! Oh, and I thought I'd tell you that I bought three little fish and named them Harry, Ron, and Hermione. (Ron has an orangey tail, but you can't tell Harry and Hermione apart. lol)