Utsukushii Monogatari: Hehehehe, Harry can't kill anyone! Not even in my story :P Or CAN he?? *dun dun dunnn* :P Hey, your cameo char is mentioned in this chap, near the end ;)
Ali: Hehe thanks hun :) *hugs* But you'll hafta wait a lil longer for your char to be introduced :P
Amanda: lol there shall be more violence to come that you may indulge yourself in :P
icedragon925: Thank you :) I hope you like the chaps to come.
Duochang97: Hehe tis not the ending. It's only winter in the story. This book will go on to late June ;)
AX: You are quite smart. Too smart for your own good...hehe j/k. You'll find out soon enough, m'dear :)
Gem: hahaha thanks hun :) Yeah Rebecca's at the end of this chap. Well, she's mentioned at least :P
I hope that you guys like this chapter. It's my favourite so far. It explains a lot about the rest of the book, so pay close attention :)
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Chapter Fifteen: "Enchanting Dumbledore"
Harry was now in the Gryffindor common room, getting his clothes packed and ready to go. As he grabbed his broomstick, Harry heard a very familiar voice.
"Where is Harry Potter going so late at night, sir?"
It was Dobby.
"Dobby," Harry replied, stunned. He had nearly forgotten about Dobby still being at Hogwarts. "What are you doing in here?"
"Well, sir," Dobby replied in his squeaky voice, "we house elves have nothing to do sir, now that Hogwarts is closed. Everybody has left. Dobby misses seeing Harry Potter, sir."
Harry tried to contain his frustration. Didn't Dobby know when he wasn't wanted?
"This is kind of a bad time right now," Harry replied, trying to think up an excuse for packing his things."
"Is Harry Potter also leaving?" Dobby asked, his voice full of lament now. He took a few hopeful steps closer to Harry.
"Actually," Harry replied, quickly pulling a story out of his head, "Viktor and I are going to keep Siren company in the Slytherin common room for a while. But I'm kind of in a hurry, Dobby." Dobby looked especially aggrieved at this. Harry paused, and added, "Tell you what, why don't you meet us all there, Dobby? I just have to gather a few more things, then I'll be right there."
Dobby smiled brightly, snapped his fingers and was gone.
Normally Harry would have felt guilty for telling such a lie, but right now he didn't care. Siren was all that he could think about. Normally, Harry would've been in his right mind, and would have seen Siren for the evil temptress that she was. Normally Harry would have been able to put the pieces together and figure out what Siren was really up to. But enchantresses were powerful beauties for a reason. Their charms were always used for their own selfish, conniving purposes. Of course Siren could control her enchantments. After all, she was the very powerful heir of Slytherin, and much smarter than she appeared to be, which was saying a lot. And of course, her enchantments had allowed her to gain the trust of everyone she met. It went without saying that Siren was the clever death eater that Voldemort had positioned at Hogwarts. Too bad nobody told Harry all of this. Then again, no one even knew it was so, except for the death eaters, who had all been in on the plan. Voldemort had been planning this for a long time, and Siren was to be rewarded for her major part in the scheme...
For, you see, Siren had known for as long as she could remember that she was the heir of Slytherin. Her mother never let her forget it. We live because you are strong, her mother would always tell her. We live because you're strong enough to keep the aurors away. Keep your inherited strength, my Siren, and the Ministry will never hurt us. Be a true Slytherin, and we will stay alive.
Ever since her mother first said that to her, Siren had done her very best to be on good terms with the Ministry of Magic, for she feared that if they ever discovered her mother's loyalty to Voldemort, they would kill Siren and her mother. And so, after years of 'helping' the Ministry of Magic to foil Voldemort's plans; after years of 'hating' her grandfather, she and her mother kept their true intentions secret. They were both, by blood or otherwise, family to Voldemort. He had treated them both very well before his first encounter with Harry Potter, and Siren would never forget that. As well, Voldemort was one of the few important figures in the wizarding world who had treated her mother fairly, despite her muggle parents. Voldemort never looked upon Raven Kozlovski as a mudblood. She had always tried her best to earn his respect after all, willingly killing off her own muggle family, as well as other pesky mudbloods. To Voldemort, and to all of the death eaters, she was on them.
When Voldemort rose again, Siren went to him as soon as she could, and since then they had been planning the whole thing out. They would take back Salazar's castle, then Hogwarts, and finally the rest of the world. But how were they to accomplish all of this? They knew they could not do it on their own, so they came up with an even better plan: using Siren's good reputation with the Hogwarts staff (which she had spent many years using her enchantments to achieve), she would attend Hogwarts, and eventually seduce Mr Potter, leading him straight into Voldemort's fatal hands. They would then use Harry's inherited Gryffindor powers to conquer their enemies. Once the world was theirs, they would dispose of Harry.
Of all their plan, there was one thing that must be understood: Harry had been told many lies that year, mostly by Siren, and all other false information was somehow related to Siren and her mother's fraudulent tales received by the Ministry after the fall of the death eaters. Siren had told Snape many lies about the death eaters after the rise of Voldemort the previous summer, for she had always known that he was a spy. She sent him on wild goose chases, making him believe untrue things, such as that Lucius Malfoy held the top spot among the death eaters. In truth, Malfoy had become the lowest ranking death eater, only because nobody trusted him. The top spot was instead reserved for Charles Nott. He wasn't really dead, nor did Siren hate him. In fact, the Notts were also a big part of Voldemort's strategy. Not only did they help Siren to distract the Ministry of Magic, but they also helped for everyone to feel sorry for her. In order for Siren to gain trust, she first had to look weak, afraid, tortured, and innocent. Hunter was more than glad to help her with that, as was Andreala. Conclusively, Andreala was not resurrected, nor had she ever been so. Andreala was simply Siren in disguise. During the quidditch game, Siren had hoped to kill Harry, for she thought that he wasn't to be manipulated by her. By that time, Siren had used many charms on Harry, all of which, to Siren, didn't seem to be working. Though Harry refrained himself from hating her, he was not being wrapped around her finger as she had wanted him to be. After disappearing as Andreala, she quickly came up with a new scheme – she would act as an enemy to both Andreala and Voldemort, telling the Ministry false tales of her grandfather's plans to use the Yfel to kill Harry once and for all. Voldemort, reassuringly, did have possession of the Yfel, but he had no plans whatsoever to kill Harry. Not yet.
Siren also came up with many falsehoods about Voldemort wanting Harry on his side. All that Sirius had told Harry about the Slytherin-Gryffindor conflict was true. Unfortunately, Harry thought that Siren's story seemed more believable, and it did, with the help of a little enchantment.
Only two things had really gone wrong with Siren's plans; the aurors had discovered that Siren's mother was a death eater, and she had been killed for it. The worst thing to go wrong, however, was on Christmas morning. Voldemort's letter to Siren, which was intended to be received and read alone, had arrived early, thus putting Siren in a very uneasy situation. Even worse, Siren had forgotten to fetch the letter after breakfast, leaving it for the house elves to discover. Only a few of them had read it, excluding Dobby, and they had brought it to Dumbledore as fast as they could. Dumbledore had read it, but before he was finally able to uncover Siren's plans, the Bullsworth potion kicked in, allowing for Siren to act quickly in wrapping up the act, and finally getting Harry on her side. Indeed she had barely escaped a frightful confrontation with Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Snape, and eventually Harry.
Siren stood in the washroom wherein dwelled Moaning Myrtle. She was right next to the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. She looked into the mirror and for a minute forgot who she was. She stared at herself, but saw someone else. She saw Andreala Durmstrang, not Siren Slytherin.
Andreala gave it all up for love, she thought to herself. Perhaps she could do the same with Hunter. Her grandfather never liked Hunter very much. Not since he became involved with the Dark Lord's granddaughter, at least. Voldemort had always tried to convince Siren that she could do much better. He had tried to persuade her into letting Draco Malfoy court her, for he was not as distrustful as his father. Siren laughed at the mere thought of spending her life with Draco. He was far too arrogant – very much like his father in Siren's eyes. She despised all of the Malfoys. But Hunter...
"And what are you doing in here?" rang a voice in the bathroom. Siren turned around to find herself face-to-face with Moaning Myrtle.
"Go away," Siren said to her frigidly.
"Ooh," squealed Myrtle, "is someone in a bad mood? How wonderful. Now you know how I feel most of the ti-"
"GO AWAY," Siren said loudly. "I have no tolerance for little ghost girls."
Myrtle, however, smiled. She much liked the idea that she was causing someone grief.
"Temper, temper, temper," Myrtle said in a sing-song voice. "Tell us what you're upset about, why don't you?"
"I'm not upset," Siren replied, choking back her pent up anger. She hadn't been able to let out her negative emotions since she the summertime, when she and Voldemort had killed the Dursleys. Needless to say she was becoming a little restless.
"I heard about your mum," Myrtle smiled. "What an awful death. Those aurors certainly did a number on her."
"What would you know about my mother's death?" Siren scowled.
"I've heard those two aurors talking about it," Myrtle replied sourly. "It sounded absolutely dreadful, too, if you must know."
"What two aurors?" Siren asked quickly. "Sirius and Remus??"
"Yes, that's them alright," Myrtle giggled. "I left the bathroom last week to look around the empty school. I rarely ever leave my stall. As I was floating through the walls, I saw them. They were with the Headmaster, talking about your mommy-"
"Did they say who did it?" Siren asked, walking closer to Myrtle, who had by then floated closer to the stalls.
"Oh yes," Myrtle smiled, though she did not say who it was.
Siren waited a moment for an answer. "Well?!" she yelled. "Who?!"
Myrtle looked long an hard at Siren with an enormous, almost triumphant smile upon her face. "They did, of course," she replied. "Someone else helped them, too. I forget his name, though."
"Kurt van der Rohe?" Siren asked, her voice like ice.
"Yes, that was his name," Myrtle replied with a grin and a giggle. "But you needn't ask me about it. Ask him." She pointed to the door of the washroom. Siren turned around.
"You nearly got away with it all," Dumbledore said sternly. He blocked the entrance, and looked at Siren with an angered, yet mournful face.
Siren, however, tried to maintain her innocence. Thunder boomed outside. The storm that had started earlier that night was getting closer. Lightning flashed violently outside the castle, and snow mixed with hail crashed against the beautiful stained-glass windows of the bathroom.
"Got away with what?" Siren asked calmly. She took a few steps briskly towards Dumbledore. "Albus, is something wrong?" She tried her hardest to look concerned, or somewhat sincere.
Dumbledore pointed his wand directly at her. She looked at it warily, and froze in her spot. The soft, angelic singing Dumbledore had heard ever since Siren turned to look at him grew louder in his mind. He saw Siren in a ray of light, her soft skin making her look like a porcelain doll. She was an angel. He knew that she was innocent. This child was nothing like her Slytherin ascendents.
"Albus?" Siren's heavenly voice called out. "What's wrong?"
Dumbledore slowly put down his wand. "I'm so sorry, Siren," he said, his voice full or remorse.
Dumbledore had never known such sorrow. He fell to his knees, looking up at Siren. His old, caring, forlorn face looked to the ground in shame. He felt so guilty. How could he have ever thought Siren to be evil? He was utterly disgusted with himself.
"Oh, you've really done it now, Ridge!" Myrtle gasped. Dumbledore turned to look at the ghost. She, like Siren, was pitiful. He began to reminisce about when Myrtle was a live student at Hogwarts. She was bullied, picked on, and unpopular. He wasn't phased when Siren walked closer. She held his hand in hers, gently taking away his wand. "I forgive you," she whispered. "I know you'd never really suspect me like that. You'd never let me be in danger. You've always been protective over me, like a real grandfather."
Words couldn't describe how touched he was by Siren's last words. "I always wanted you to have a better family," Dumbledore replied to her softly. "You deserve better than to have Voldemort as-"
"Give him back his wand, Siren."
Dumbledore turned his head to look behind him. Looking up he saw a woman. She was shadowed by Siren's radiance and purity. He didn't know who it was, and he nearly didn't care. Siren was afraid, he could feel it. He had to protect her against this dark, shadowy woman.
"Don't let her hurt me," Siren whispered to him, her beautiful voice trembling. "Don't let her come near me...grandfather."
Dumbledore turned to Siren. He still held her hand. He had to protect her. She put his wand back into his right hand. He knew what he had to do.
"Uh oh..." Myrtle smiled, floating closer towards the entrance.
Dumbledore stood up, and pointed his wand at the silhouette of the woman.
"Albus?" the woman said, sounding worried. "What are you doing? Albus?" The voice sounded familiar. Dumbledore knew who it was.
"Don't let her hurt me," Siren said again. "Please, grandfather, don't let her hurt me."
"I won't," Dumbledore replied quietly. He gripped his wand tightly.
"Albus?" the silhouette continued. "Albus, what has she done to you?!"
Dumbledore didn't listen to her pleas. "I'm sorry, Minerva," he said. "I can't let you hurt her."
McGonagall finally understood the situation, and grabbed for her wand, but it was too late.
"Stupefy!" Dumbledore's mighty voice bellowed throughout the halls. McGonagall fell backwards, landing softly on the ground. Dumbledore looked at her limp body, though it was still a shadow. The singing grew louder and sweeter as time passed. If she asked it of him, Dumbledore would've killed McGonagall in order to make Siren feel even a little bit safer.
"I'm safe now," he heard Siren say. Dumbledore believed her, and he felt very pleased with himself. He had made up for his ignorant accusations. He had saved her, but now there was another shadow approaching.
"That's enough, Siren!" the shadow said, and this time it was a man's voice. Before Dumbledore could even think twice to stop it, the shadow pointed his wand at Siren. "Petrificus Totalus!" it said loudly. Siren stood up straight, her eyes looking right at Dumbledore. Dumbledore turned to face her and saw her falling, helpless. He would kill whoever did that to her.
Siren fell to the ground, unable to move. The enchantment was broken. Dumbledore came back to his senses. He looked behind himself, and felt a great swell of sorrow for what he had just done. "Severus?" he said. There stood Snape, no longer a shadow, his wand still pointed at Siren.
"Are you in your right mind, sir?" Snape asked Dumbledore cautiously, without taking his eyes or wand away from Siren's stiff body.
The headmaster looked down at Siren. Her present stillness made her look even more like a beautiful porcelain doll. Just as soon as it had appeared, the storm outside began to pass. Snow was falling lightly, and the thunder and lightning ceased.
"She's more powerful than I thought," Dumbledore sighed. "Or perhaps I'm losing my touch. You didn't seem to be affected at all, Severus."
"Her powers were fully bent on you, sir," Snape replied calmly, though obviously bewildered. Dumbledore nodded, and looked at Siren's still body.
"I must admit, " he said to Snape, "I don't know what to do with her now that she's been stopped. A dementor-free Azkaban would do no good. The Ministry can't contain her-'
"You could kill her," piped in Moaning Myrtle. "I've been dying for a roommate."
"The Dark Lord wouldn't stand for it," Snape continued, as though he hadn't heard Myrtle. "He won't let her be contained. He'll save her somehow."
"And death wouldn't be the answer either, Myrtle," Dumbledore added, looking at the ghost. "I would never kill a child, nor ask for one to be killed. As well, Lord Voldemort's wrath would be far too great if she was to be lost to him forever. He's already lost a son and daughter-in-law to the Ministry, I've assumed. It's too great a risk."
"Perhaps you should see to Minerva, Headmaster, sir," said Snape, who still hadn't taken his eyes off of Siren. "I'll make sure that Siren's doesn't stir."
*****
And so it was that the Hogwarts staff had foiled yet another one of Siren's plans. Voldemort was to be furious when he got word of it, and so was Harry.
Harry, who in the meantime had been waiting for Siren in her classroom, still had his things packed and was ready to go. The fact that he was about to join forces with his archenemy didn't seem to phase him at all. On the contrary, he was almost happy to do it. It was what Siren wanted. He's do anything for her with a smile on his face.
Harry was looking out the window as he sat on Siren's desk; the desk where only hours prior he had made love to Siren in the happiest moment of his life. He stared out the window, past the distant mountains, in hopes of seeing even the tip of Salazar's Castle. Even a vision of it would have satisfied him. His hopes were in vain. He only saw the distant, looming mountains, their tips drowned in the dark clouds which now consumed the sky.
"Harry," said a voice from behind.
Harry whipped himself around. There stood Krum at the door to the classroom.
"Harry, the Headmaster vants to see you," Krum added slowly. Harry noticed the panic in his voice.
Harry was trying to come up with some good excuses for being alone in Siren's classroom. He had to wait for Siren. He couldn't go to see Dumbledore, not now.
"Actually, Viktor," Harry replied, digging into his back pocket. He grabbed his wand firmly, just in case...in case he's have to take care of Krum. Harry hesitated, then continued, "I, um...could you tell Dumbledore I'll see him in a bit? I'm kinda busy right now."
"It's urgent," Krum replied quickly. "It's about Siren."
Harry heart fluttered at the mere mention of her. There was something unsettling about the way in which Krum had just said her name, though.
"Is she alright?" Harry asked nervously.
"She's alvright," Krum replied. "Harry, you should vreally come and see it all."
Harry didn't think twice. Siren was in trouble, he knew it. Harry would do anything to help her, absolutely anything.
Krum lead Harry to where Dumbledore and Siren were, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As Harry approached it, he saw both Sirius and Lupin. They, however, did not see him. They were too busy keeping an eye on whatever was on the floor.
"What are they guarding?" Harry asked Krum, yet walking away from him without waiting for an answer.
"Sirius," Harry said when he was close enough. "What's going on? Krum said that Dumbledore wanted me-"
Harry stopped dead in his tracks. Siren was on the ground, still as ice, while Sirius , Lupin, and Snape each had a wand pointed directly at her.
"What-"
"Harry, there's something that you need to know about Siren," said Sirius.
"What did you do to her?" Harry asked coldly.
"She's on Voldemort's side, Harry," Lupin added.
"What did you do to her?" Harry asked again. He reached into his back pocket. He held on to his wand, but didn't pull it out. Not yet. There was a reasonable explanation for this. There had to be.
"Harry, listen to me," Sirius continued. "Siren's been using us all. She's been lying to everyone hear ever since Voldemort rose again, and she's been lying to the Ministry for years. She's on her grandfather's side, Harry, not ours-"
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Harry yelled. He took our his wand and pointed it only half an inch away from Sirius's head.
"I put a petrifying charm on her," Snape answered him calmly. He didn't seem very phased at Sirius's imminent danger, nor did he seem to care about Harry's sudden outburst of anger. "When she wakes, we will give her a truth serum, then we'll all see where her loyalties truly lie."
Truth serum? Harry couldn't let that happen. She would tell them too much. She'd tell them about being intimate with Harry. She'd tell them about the Bullsworth Potion. She'd tell them about their plans to join Voldemort. Harry would go to Azkaban for it, and so would Siren. Harry couldn't let her be locked away. It wasn't what she deserved.
"You're wrong about her," Harry said aloud.
"Put your wand down, Harry," said Sirius, a slight note of panic in his voice.
"After you," Harry replied serpentinely. "All of you. Put down your wands. Leave her alone."
Sirius and Lupin both put down their wands. Snape, however, did not.
"Potter," Snape said silkily," Professor Dumbledore will be most displeased with you when he returns from the hospital wing."
"She hurt him?" Harry laughed. "Well, it serves him right."
"He's fine," Sirius replied, looking at Harry, his face screwed up, trying to find out what was wrong with Harry. "Harry, what's gotten into you?" he asked worriedly. "Put your wand down. I'm your godfather, for goodness sake, why would you want to hurt me?"
Harry ignored him. "Why's Dumbledore in the hospital wing, then?"
"Professor McGonagall was injured," Lupin answered, trying to sound calm. "Harry, put down your wand."
"No." Harry looked at Snape. "Wake her up," he told him, "she doesn't deserve this. She's too...too special...to be put through this..." Harry's voice trailed off as he looked upon Siren. He was entranced by her, though she wasn't even awake.
"Don't be foolish, Potter," replied Snape in a tone which implied that he was on the brink of releasing Siren from the charm as well. "Siren's got you under an enchantment. She's been enchanting us all from the first time we've met her."
"She's innocent," Harry retorted, now pointing his wand at Snape. "The ministry of Magic should be punished. They killed her parents, and now they want to kill her."
"Her parents were death eaters," Sirius replied gently, as though not wanting to provoke Harry's anger any further. Snape now had his wand pointed right back at Harry, daring him to try anything.
"They were innocent," Harry snapped back. "It was lousy aurors like you two," he looked at Sirius and Lupin, "who wrongly killed them. They were innocent." Harry looked down again at Siren. She laid but a few feet away from him. She was so close, and yet so far away. "They would've been better off as death eaters, though, I suppose," Harry added bitterly.
"Really?" Snape asked coolly. "How so?"
Harry laughed wickedly at Snape, and answered, "Do you really think that you all stand a chance against Voldemort? None of you do! He'll kill you all! Siren and I are smarter than that. We're going to be spared. He'll show us mercy. He'll show you mercy, too, if you'd only join him!"
The others said nothing. All that could be heard was Moaning Myrtle sobbing in her stall (Snape had said something unkind to her only minutes before Harry had arrived).
"You plan to join him?" Sirius finally asked in disbelief. "Harry, are you insane?"
Harry laughed at this as well. "Insane?" He repeated. "No. In fact, joining is the sane thing to do. You're the ones who've lost your marbles. You're fighting a losing battle."
"Voldemort killed your parents!" Sirius yelled at him. "Harry, listen to yourself! Voldemort's tried to kill you more than five times! Do you honestly think that he'll want you on his side? It's a trap, Harry!"
"Siren wouldn't lie to me," Harry replied quickly, as though reassuring himself of it. "She wouldn't put me in danger-"
"Your parents would be ashamed of you, Harry," said Sirius, who was breathing deeply and shaking his head in frustration.
Harry put down his wand. "My parents were fools," he replied simply. "Ask Snape. I'm sure he'd agree."
"Yes, they were," Snape replied darkly. He still had his wand pointed at Harry. "Fools for giving up their lives for you. Their sacrifices were obviously in vain." Everyone remained silent after this for quite some time. Sirius stared blankly at Siren, not looking up at any of the others.
"I suppose that was foolish of them," Lupin said, breaking the silence. "They may as well have let Voldemort get to you so that he could show his...mercy, did you say?"
Things were indeed starting to make more sense now for Harry. He bit his lips nervously, then looked to Siren. He felt Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up at him. "I – I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I don't know what came over me."
"It's not your fault," Sirius responded. "Siren's obviously been working very hard on you."
Harry's knees felt weak. He was sick with himself. He was sick with Siren, too. She had used him. He thought that she had loved him, or at least liked him and cared about him. It was all a lie. He was so angry. He should've realized it all sooner. Why had he been so stupid? He had made such a fool of himself.
"So," Harry asked, "what happens now?"
"Ve should go see Professor Dumbledore," said Krum. Harry nearly jumped. He hadn't noticed that Krum was right beside him the whole time.
"I agree," Sirius added. "He'll do a better job at explaining things to you, Harry."
"Right," Harry replied. His brain was numb. His scar burned a bit now each time he glanced upon Siren. Then, he noticed it: a tiny black skull on Siren's right forearm.
"She's one of them," Harry muttered to himself. He saw Snape wince a bit. His dark mark must have been burning, too.
"He's calling the death eaters," Snape said to Sirius and Lupin, suddenly ignoring any rivalry or conflicts they had with each other. "He knows something's happened."
"We'll have to act quick," Lupin replied gravely. "Harry, go get Professor Dumbledore. Tell him we need to speak with him. We'll all explain things to you right after we figure out what to do with Siren."
Harry simply nodded. He turned on his heels to leave.
"Viktor, stay here," Sirius told Krum. "We'll need as many wands on her as possible until Dumbledore gets here. If she awakes for any reason, a simple disarming or petrifying charm should do the trick to knock her out again. It's also important not to look at her a lot if she does awake, for it only enhances the enchantments-"
Harry was soon out of ear shot. He found himself running as fast as he could to the hospital wing. He saw a troll mumbling to itself in one of the corridors. It was almost a comfort to know that Voldemort didn't have all of the trolls on his side yet. Some were still helping to guard most of Hogwarts, though Harry hadn't seen many of them for months now. They must've stopped for a while, and then started guarding again once the school had shut down. He skidded to a stop in front of the entrance to the hospital wing. He opened the doors and, and without really looking, bumped right into someone standing near the entrance. It was the auror that had escorted Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Platform 93/4 at the beginning of the year.
"Sorry," Harry said dully, walking briskly past the man. He had to find Dumbledore. Harry shivered as he glimpsed behind each curtain. It was unusually cold in the castle now that Winter had reached it deepest frost that year. Harry was still breathing hard from his flight up to the wing. He could see his steamy breath in front of him. Finally, reaching the bed furthest away from the hospital entrance, Harry spotted Professor McGonagall.
"Professor," Harry gasped. McGonagall was very pale and ill-looking. A grave face was painted across her normally stern expression. "Are you alright?"
"Quite fine, Potter," she tried to say happily, but failing.
Harry looked at her for a bit longer before asking, "Did Siren hurt you?"
McGonagall nodded. "Yes," she replied, "She was the cause of it."
"I'm glad you're here, Harry." Dumbledore stood behind Harry, looking down upon him with pity. "I must speak with you," he added.
"But Professor-"
"It cannot wait any longer, Harry," Dumbledore replied quickly. "There is something that I must show you."
"But sir," Harry said quickly, "Sirius said he needs you. They think that Voldemort knows about-"
"Trust me, Harry," Dumbledore interrupted, a small smile appearing on his old, though still charismatic face. His eyes had regained their sparkle which had been missing for months. "Sirius and the others can wait. What I'm about to show you will forever change what we know about the battle between the Slytherin and Gryffindor families."
Two men had gathered behind Dumbledore as he said this. One was quite tall with light brown hair. He wore black robes with a silver sash tied around his waist. He looked no older than about 30 years old. Though very attractive, there was something unnerving about his face – the left side of it was full of deep, long scars.
The other man had red hair, freckles, and a bright smile towards Harry. It was Charlie Weasley.
"Charlie?" Harry asked, and a smile uncontrollably spread across his face. "What are you doing here?"
Charlie's smile began to fade. Harry could tell that he was worried. "I'm so sorry, Harry," he said. "I know I'm too late."
"Too late?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Too late for what?"
Charlie sighed. He looked at Dumbledore.
"We should explain this elsewhere," Dumbledore said quietly. "You should rest, Minerva."
"I'm alright, Albus," McGonagall replied, frustrated. "I don't know why Poppy's keeping me here. You'll need my help, after all."
"She' right," the tall man standing next to Charlie said. "We will need her help with Siren."
"Yes," Dumbledore said, trying kindly to smile as he looked upon McGonagall. "Later. Not now. Rest, Minerva."
McGonagall sighed heavily and looked as though she wanted to argue. Instead, she nodded her head. in compliance. "Go on then," she said, briskly shooing them away with her hand. "Discuss the matter elsewhere."
With one last look at McGonagall, Harry was lead out of the hospital wing by Dumbledore, Charlie, and the tall man. They walked to an empty corridor not far from the wing, where Dumbledore came to a stop. A painting behind Harry of a Greek goddess stared at them all, but remained still and silent.
"This corridor should be suitable," Dumbledore said aloud to them all. "Nobody seems to be around."
The painting behind Harry coughed loudly, as though to gain attention. Dumbledore looked at it and smiled. "Except you, Hecate," he added. "I'm sure you won't repeat our conversation to anyone."
Hecate winked at him reassuringly. Dumbledore smiled again, then turned his attention back to Harry. "Harry," he said, "I'd like to introduce you to Kurt van der Rohe."
The tall man extended his hand to Harry. "Pleased to meet you, Mr Potter," he said, shaking Harry's hand.
"Yeah," Harry replied, still looking at the man, though mainly at his scarred face. "You, too."
Charlie spoke up. "Harry, Kurt and I work together," he said, "and before he tells you what he came here to tell you, there's something you should know."
Charlie, Harry noticed, look very uneasy.
"Well," Charlie continued, "over the summer, a co-worker and I were sent to Moscow to deal with an unfriendly Ukranian Ironbelly dragon that had taken over a small building. Other Russian Ministry of Magic members were there, dealing with the muggles who had witnessed the dragon. It had to be the largest amount of memory charmwork I've ever seen. Anyways, the Russian Ministry of Magic had asked that any local wizards would help to keep the whole deal secret to the other muggles in Moscow. Some were in the building's lower levels, making sure no other muggles walked in. I had gone down to the buildings first floor to see if I could find a water fountain, I mean, battling dragons really wipes you out. Anyways, while I was down there, I ran into a young lady named Siren. She gave me the rest of her water, then offered to help me with the dragon. She was unusually strong for her age. She told me she was a Hogwarts graduate, and was studying to become an auror. Eventually we got the dragon under control and sent it back to its home forest in Ukraine. I stayed in Moscow that night, though. Siren said she used to live there, and agreed to show me around. So...one thing led to another, and..." Charlie began to blush a bit.
"You slept with Siren?!" Harry yelled angrily. "Charlie, how could you? She lied! She's only fifteen!"
"Harry," Charlie laughed uneasily, "no, I didn't touch her. Even though I thought she was older, I didn't touch her. I mean, she tried, but...I have my eyes on a woman who works in Muggle Relations," he trailed off. Sighing, he continued, "Anyways, I noticed that she had a certain, er...charm to her. I mean, I was hearing singing and everything. I thought it was a little odd. She was still angry that I had rejected her when I asked her about it. Her eyes literally turned red, and she said that if I said anything about what had happened that night, she would kill me, and she would kill my family. They're bodies will rest in ashes, she told me. Tell anyone and you'll never see them again. Obviously, I didn't speak a word about it for quite some time. Not until about a month ago." Charlie looked to Kurt. "I was in Romania," he continued, "tackling a Norwegian Ridgeback with Kurt. When we had it calmed down, an owl flew next to me. It was Erol, and he had a letter for me from my mum. She always sent me at least one letter a week. So anyways, this one had news about Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny's schooling. She knows that I like being up to date with how well they're doing. She stated that Ron had written to her at the beginning of the school year, saying that his Dark Arts teacher, Siren Ridge, was an enchantress, and the heir of Slytherin."
Harry sighed loudly. He had told Ron and Hermione not to tell anyone about Siren's lineage.
"Oh, don't worry, Harry," Charlie smiled at him. "Ron knew that mum wouldn't tell anyone who wasn't family." He swallowed loudly, then continued. "Things were making sense to me about Siren. I knew that she must have been related to You-Know-Who. Mum's letter said that Ron described her as being really nice. I knew otherwise, of course. I was obviously afraid for you all at Hogwarts, so I thought I should tell someone. I didn't know whether or not to tell Ministry officials, but I had to tell someone. Kurt was a few feet away from me at that time, and saw that I had been upset. He asked what was wrong, and, well, I told him everything."
Harry was becoming restless. He looked at Dumbledore. "How exactly does this affect the battle of the heirs?" he asked.
"I should answer that, Harry," Kurt piped in. He looked at Harry. "Harry," he continued, "I was shocked to find out that Miss Ridge was the heir of Slytherin. It made me rethink my own ancestry, in fact."
"And why is that?" Harry asked him, still obviously flummoxed.
"Because," he said, "I had always thought that there was only one heir, but there's not. There's two."
Harry looked at him suspiciously. What is he getting at? Harry though to himself himself. "Who else?" Harry asked quietly, though he already knew the answer.
Kurt took a deep breath, and bluntly replied, "Me."
Harry nodded his head. He wasn't very surprised. By now he was so used to surprises to even give a damn about what Kurt had just said.
"Alright," Harry said again, "what does this have to do with the battle of the heirs?"
"It can be over," Kurt replied, a little disappointed at Harry's lack of enthusiasm. "The conflict between our families can be over, if we only get Siren and Voldemort out of the way."
Harry laughed at that. "Good luck," he said. "And why should I trust you? I trusted Siren, after all. That went over well, didn't it?" Harry could feel anger building up inside of him.
"Harry," Kurt tried to reason with him, "sometimes our experiences or upbringing affect who we become. Voldemort's experiences created his evil self. Siren was raised by a death eater. I, on the other hand, have lived a relatively normal and productive life. I most certainly am not one of Voldemort's pawns."
"Well, you certainly say his name freely enough to be on his good side," Harry retorted, "just like the other heir."
"Now Harry," Dumbledore interrupted, "Many people aren't afraid to name Voldemort. You do it. I do it. Sirius does it. It does not make us his followers."
"But we've had dealings with him," Harry spat. He looked angrily upon Kurt. He had trusted Siren and her conniving ways. He was sure not to do the same with Kurt. "Who dealings could you have possibly had with him?! You work with dragons, for fuck's sake."
Kurt's temper was also rising. "Yes, and you're a fifteen year-old schoolboy, but do I judge you by that?" he asked darkly.
"Voldemort killed my parents!" Harry yelled back at him. His hands, which had gradually formed into fists, were now shaking with anger.
"He killed my wife!" Kurt said crossly. "Believe it or not, Harry, other people have suffered from Voldemort's reign of terror, not just you!" Kurt's eyes, the only area of his face which seemed to be fully unscathed, were quickly filling with tears. Harry remained silent.
"And where do you think I got these scars from?" Kurt asked Harry, pointing to his own face. "These are from the death eaters that kidnaped my wife last summer before Voldemort murdered her. These are what I got for trying to save her." His face was now drenched in tears. Harry remained still and silent. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling his hand brush past his scar as he did so. Harry couldn't imagine what it must be like to have a face full of those things. Harry's stomach felt like it was having seizures. He was so sick with himself. Why was he acting like such a martyr around Kurt? And why was he acting like a jerk to everyone he cared about? First he threatened Sirius, then he called his parents fools, and now he was accusing a man he didn't even know of being as twisted as Siren. Harry felt so low.
*****
"So, what will happen to Siren now?"
Harry was now in Dumbledore's office with the Headmaster, Sirius, Lupin, and Snape. Charlie and Kurt had both been called back to work. Apparently a dragon had made its way into Transylvania, and was killing quite a few muggles, which was the worst case scenario in Charlie and Kurt's line of work.
"I don't know, Harry," Dumbledore replied, handing a cup of tea to Harry. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon. About 30 aurors had arrived at Hogwarts and took over watching Siren, who was still in a petrified state.
"Where's Viktor?" Harry asked, sipping his tea. He looked at the window as the first ray of sunlight appeared over the tree line on the horizon.
"He's still with Siren," Sirius answered. He, too, was looking out the window. "He said he wanted to be there in case she wakes up."
"The poor kid still thinks she's innocent," Lupin added grimly. He was staring blankly at the floor. "He keeps making up excuses for it, saying that she's under the Imperius curse and whatnot."
"That isn't a possibility, is it?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Goodness, no," Dumbledore answered him. "The Imperius Curse only lasts about a month or two at the most, Harry, not your entire life."
Harry nodded and took another sip of his tea. "I don't understand it all," Harry admitted, looking back to Dumbledore, who was standing near Fawkes's cage. "How did you find out that she's working for Voldemort?"
Dumbledore sighed and looked at Harry. "By luck," he replied. "The letter Siren had received from her grandfather on Christmas morning explained it all. I'm assuming that Siren didn't expect the letter at that time. What a sticky situation she must have been in. Her plans wouldn't have been foiled, however, had it not been that she'd forgotten the letter, leaving it for the house elves to find as they were cleaning the table."
Harry looked out the window once again. He sipped his tea, and looking back to Dumbledore, he asked, "Is there...is there any chance that Siren's innocent? I mean, there can be other excuses than the Imperius curse."
"Innocent until proven guilty," Dumbledore replied, smiling at Harry. "Soon enough, we'll know the truth. Luckily, Professor Snape always has some Veritaserum ready, in case of any such emergency."
Harry looked to Snape, who was staring unblinkingly at the wall opposite to where he was seated. Harry figured that he was obviously distraught by the entire situation. Snape had, after all, appeared to be very close to Siren. She had even told Snape that he was like a father to her. Whatever feelings of betrayal Harry was feeling must have been somewhat trivial compared to Snape's.
"When are you going to give it to her?" Harry asked, still looking at Snape.
"Whenever Professor Snape is ready," Dumbledore replied quietly, also glancing towards Snape.
"The sooner the better," Sirius added loudly, and quite rudely, knowing that Snape was listening.
Snape looked at Sirius, for once, with a relatively calm expression. "I suppose you're right," he sighed, standing up. He then walked briskly out of the office.
Lupin sighed. "Try to be nicer, will ya?" he said to Sirius after Snape had left. "He's going through a rough time, I'd imagine."
"Remus," Sirius replied, "I'm not too keen on liking or trusting him right now. You know that Severus has been friends with Siren's family ever since he graduated from Hogwarts."
"He has?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "He tends to be friendly with a lot of mass murderers."
"He didn't know, Sirius," Dumbledore replied softly. "The Ministry of Magic didn't even know Siren was related to Voldemort until her mother finally told Severus, about two years ago. Their family has a way with concealing their identity. I never even knew that Seth was Voldemort's son, the way he acted when he was here. He was the only Slytherin who seemed to be friendly with muggle-borns."
"Speaking of which," Harry stated, finally remembering that Siren's mother was a muggle-born, "why would Siren's mother be a death eater if she was muggle-born?"
"Who knows," Lupin answered. "I mean, look at Voldemort. He's half-muggle, and his followers don't seem to care."
"And Salazar Slytherin himself was muggle-born," Dumbledore stated, walking over to his desk and sitting down. "No one really knows why the death eaters only accept some muggle-borns as though they were pure-bloods."
"Is Kurt a pureblood?" Harry asked him.
"Indeed he is," Dumbledore replied. "Branching up as far as to Salazar, his family has been of pureblood."
Harry remained silent for a bit, re-thinking what Kurt had said about Voldemort killing his wife. "Who was his wife?" he asked.
"Her name was Rebecca Steel," Dumbledore replied. "They started dating in their sixth year at Hogwarts, and married right after graduating."
"Was Kurt in Slytherin?" Harry asked. He was hoping that the answer was no.
"He was indeed," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "Both he and Rebecca were in Slytherin. Thought I must say, after their generation graduated, that house has seemed to fall into ruin. The students never used to be so pernicious in Slytherin. Not until about 30 years ago, give or take. It was once a house of nobility, but now..." Dumbledore shook his head and sighed a bit.
Harry, still wanting to know more about Kurt, continued to ask questions. "Did they have any children?" he asked. The sun had fully appeared over the horizon, brightening up the entire room.
"Rebecca was unable to bear children," Dumbledore answered gently. "Although, they were just about to adopt before she passed away."
Harry looked outside again. It was a beautiful morning. It didn't matter, though. Nothing seemed bright enough to shine light upon the situation at Hogwarts. Looking away, Harry asked, in little more than a whisper, "How did she die?"
Dumbledore swallowed, and looked very sadly upon Harry. "She was taken by the death eaters on August 2," he answered solemnly. "Three days later, an owl arrived at Kurt's house, and dropped off a package from Voldemort."
"A package of what?" Harry asked curiously.
"It was a box," Dumbledore replied hesitantly, "and in it were...her remains."
Harry dropped his cup of tea. It didn't shatter, but spilled its contents on to the floor. Sirius, however, with the wave of his wand, cleaned it up.
"That's horrible," Harry finally managed to say. "How could someone be that sick?"
"I don't know," Dumbledore replied quietly.
"It was after that when the Ministry ordered that Hogwarts be under top security," Lupin stated.
"What a great job it's done," Sirius replied sarcastically.
"It would've been better," Lupin said levelly. "Well, we might not have stopped Siren, but Arthur's death could have been prevented if the trolls hadn't left to join Voldemort."
Harry bolted upright in his chair. His heart sank as he spoke. "The trolls left?" He asked worriedly.
Lupin looked at him awkwardly. "They've been gone for a few months now," he replied. "Didn't you notice? We didn't say much about it because we didn't want to startle the students."
But Harry had seen one earlier that night, on his way to the hospital wing. "Then why was one in the school a few hours ago?" Harry asked slowly.
"What?" Lupin asked, seeming more shocked and concerned.
"On my way to the hospital wing," Harry answered cautiously, "I saw one as I passed by the east exit..."
Lupin, Sirius, and Dumbledore all looked at one another with fearful expressions.
"The east exit?" Dumbledore repeated.
"Yeah, it was mumbling to itself..." Harry trailed off as he look outside again. Right outside of Dumbledore's office was a huge green skull with a snake portruding form its mouth. A Dark Mark was pitted against the beautiful morning sky. Harry's scar burned worse than it had for a long time. Dumbledore, Siruis, and Lupin all noticed the green skull as well.
"He's here," Dumbledore said under his breath. "Voldemort has come to Hogwarts."
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Dun dun dunnnnnnn. Neehehehehe! Mwaahahahahaahhahahaa! Ahahaha hahha hahahaha! *gets slapped by the readers* Oh come one, like you didn't see something like this coming? :P I hope you liked it. Please review ;)
-Summer