CHAPTER 25
It turned out; they weren't going to play until after Easter. Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to Hagrid's cabin the first day of their holidays. "Ah hello." Hagrid beamed at them when they entered. "They accepted Firenze, he wants to thank you, but... you don't fancy going back in the forest do you?" Hagrid's bearded face beamed at them.
"We'll go." Said Harry quickly.
"Will we?" Ron muttered but Harry ignored him.
"It's not dangerous in there." Hagrid said gruffly.
"Oh yeah, it's perfectly safe. There's only werewolves, giant spiders and you-know-who's death eaters." Ron muttered again.
"Ah, the werewolves won't hurt yer!" Hagrid said, overhearing. "They're only in the heart of the forest anyway. And Aragog's alright. He's just a spider yer know. There shouldn't be any death eaters... but well I'm not welcome in the forest. You can send up sparks. I'll keep a watch out from the edge."
So five minutes later they had entered the forest. It wasn't the evening, but the trees thickened blocking all sunlight. They heard the sound of four hooves. It was just one centaur. It was odd, as they rarely came far from the forest centre. "Firenze?" Hermione called.
"Ah, my human friends." Firenze said smiling. "I wanted to thank you. I also wanted to warn you. The stars have told us centaurs many things, one is that you must not bond with..."
"We know about that." Harry said.
"I see." Firenze said. "Also, danger is near. Danger is getting much nearer by the minute."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Stars do not name names." Firenze said gravely. "Just be careful. I must return to my tribe before any of them get suspicious. I should not be talking to you at all really. But, the tribe know a lot more about the danger than me. You could talk to them."
"Talk to them!" Hermione spluttered. "Last time we tried talking to them they..."
"Do not worry," Firenze said. "Their thoughts regarding humans have changed, they will require something in return of course."
"Well, we could try..." Hermione said, thinking it over. "After all, we could just hear what we've got to do couldn't we?"
"Ok." Harry said and they headed into the heart of the forest.
"Ah, humans." Said a centaur at the front of the pack with a long mane.
He waited, so Hermione spoke. "We were... wondering if... we could give you something in return for you telling us... what the stars say about... danger."
"Indeed." Another centaur spoke. "We require ingredients, if you can get them for us, we will tell you what you need to know."
"What ingredients do you require?" Harry asked them.
"The blood from a freshly slain werewolf, the heart of a Mucostile, boomslang skin matured by moonlight and Gilly weed. We have little ideas where to find them." A centaur said as though this line had been learned by heart.
Harry looked at Hermione who looked shocked but determined. "We'll do it." She said.
"Are you mad!" Ron asked her five minutes later; they were leaving the forest. "How are we going to get the blood of a freshly slain werewolf?!"
"Oh don't worry Ron! It won't be that hard." Hermione said reassuringly.
"Won't be that hard!" Ron exclaimed. "Hermione! If you want to murder a werewolf then..."
"Oh we won't do that!" Hermione laughed. "No, I think I know exactly where to get some werewolf blood, we'll have to wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend though. We'll ask Hagrid for a Mucostile, Gilly weed from the forest and boomslang skin... I'll think about that one."
Harry couldn't help secretly agreeing with Ron, Hermione was mad to even think about doing some centaur quest. She found a way to get boomslang skin however, which was not to Ron's liking at all.
"I know I shouldn't take it..." Hermione muttered as she gazed longingly at Ingrid, Andrew and William's ingredients that were lying abandoned on a table by the entrance to the common room. "But how else will we get one?"
"But Hermione!" Ron pleaded "think how funny it will be!"
"It might be funny for you, but it won't be for her!" Hermione said glaring at Ron.
Ron groaned and turned away. "Go on then, take it." He said with a sigh as though this sentence came as a great strain to him.
Hermione looked at the abandoned boomslang skin. "You know, I have a better idea." She said. "Ingrid..." Ingrid was sitting by the window, watching Hedwig fly round outside. "I've been reading up about this quill, and it's so much simpler to just use a pinch of dragon skin. I've got some if you want."
Ingrid frowned. "Well, I've already had the boomslang skin matured by the full moon. It's ready and it seems a waste to throw it away."
"Oh, we'll have it!" Hermione said brightly. "We need boomslang skin."
"Oh all right," said Ingrid at last. "I hope it works."
"It will, I'll go and get the dragon skin. They're my care of magical creatures gloves actually, but you can have them." Hermione headed upstairs.
"Do you think it's true? Will it still work with Dragon skin?" Ron asked Harry looking hopeful.
"I dunno." Said Harry, watching Hermione return and trade the dragon skin for the boomslang skin. "Probably."
"Right." Said Hermione happily. "I'll go and fetch a mucostile!" She hurried off.
"She's keen." Said Ron.
"Well, the sooner the better really." Said Harry.
"What are you doing?" Ginny came over to their table.
Harry and Ron explained about what the centaurs said. "We want to find out all about you-know who," Ron said. "And about that weird Chang girl..." He gasped. "Ginny," he said in a whisper. "What's my favourite quidditch team?"
Ginny stared him straight in the eye. "I don't know." She muttered quietly, loosing eye contact.
Harry and Ron exchanged awe struck looks. "She's going to pass it on to you-know-who in her dreams!" Harry exclaimed; making sure Anna couldn't escape.
"There's only one thing we can do, "OBLIVIATE!" Harry and Ron both hit her with a memory charm. She now couldn't remember a word of what they had said.
Ginny or Anna lay still on the floor for a minute, then suddenly, Ginny's eyes opened. Fiery eyes, almost red. "You cannot curse me!" She roared in a voice quite unlike her own. The Gryffindor onlookers were now surrounding her, staring in horror. "I'm coming back! I have my body and soon I'll have more power than ever! I will destroy Albus Dumbledore!" Ginny collapsed on the ground.
Everyone was watching in horror. "That was Voldermort speaking!" Harry said in shock.
"Ginny?" Everyone was now waving in front of her face.
Hermione came running in. "Hermione, you won't believe what you've just missed!" Harry and Ron explained everything to her.
"I've got to tell someone!" Hermione said in shock. "This is really serious! Voldermort in Hogwarts!" She raced back out of the common room, dumping the small box she was carrying on Harry, who put it aside and glanced at Ginny, who was still lying on the floor, motionless.
"She is alive isn't she!" Ron asked getting anxious. Harry realised what Ron must feel like seeing his sister lying motionless.
"She's breathing," said Ingrid who was kneeling down by Ginny and taking her pulse. She smiled when Ron frowned at her. "It's first aid, I learnt it at primary school." She explained.
Ron grinned and turned back to Harry muttering something about 'The things muggles do,' and opened the box the mucostile was in.
"Eugh! Ron don't!" Squealed Parvati and Lavender as a loud squelch indicated that Ron had not bothered listening to them.
The jelly like slug was travelling across the bottom of the container, it's bony skeleton unmistakable through the blob of green jelly it used as a body. "How's Hermione going to get it's heart?" Ron asked. He appeared to be getting quite fond of the mucostile and obviously didn't like the thought of Hermione plunging a hand into it to seize the small reddish shape that was probably one of its most vital organs. The mucostile made another loud squelch.
"Oh close it!" Lavender said desperately. "I don't like those things, they're so unnatural!"
Ron did so and returned it to the windowsill. He turned back to Ginny and at the same time, Professor McGonnagal came into the common room. She swept over to Ginny and pulled out her wand. "So, what exactly did she say?" She asked nervously, there were beads of sweat on her bony forehead. Ingrid repeated the words she had spoken. "And you say this is Anna Chang?" Professor McGonnagal asked Hermione who nodded. "Right, Reliota!" She said, pointing her wand at Ginny, who suddenly, changed to Anna, lying breathlessly on the floor. She sat up suddenly and looked around.
"What happened?" She asked as though waking up.
"I'll ask you the same question if you don't mind." Professor McGonnagal said frostily. "Starting with the most important school rule we have which is..."
"I've no idea." Anna said looking round in awe. It was impossible for Harry to tell if she was lying or not, but as she fixed him with an innocent and nervous stare, he knew that she could not be lying. This was the Anna Chang who he had met that night in the castle back in September. "I fell asleep, then when I woke up..."
Professor McGonnagal was looking anxious. "How long ago was this?" She asked.
"I don't know," Anna said. "It may have been last night, today even."
"So, you heard a voice in your sleep, then..."
"I don't know!" Said Anna, staring round frantically like a trapped rabbit. "I might have done."
"Do you remember saying something about Albus Dumbledore?"
Anna shook her head. "We'd better go and tell him what's happened. I think something dangerous is going on, we must inform the people straight away." She and Anna left the common room.
"D'you think she's lying?" Ron asked.
"No," Said Harry and Hermione together.
"It's obvious Voldermort's controlling her." Harry said.
"Well, back to the mucostile..." Hermione began as though there had been no interruption. The buzz of voices absorbed in what had just happened were dying away now, and one by one, the students were going up to bed.
"Yeah, how are you going to get the heart?" Ron asked. "You're not going to kill it are you?"
"Oh don't be pathetic Ron! It doesn't have feelings it's a mucostile!" Hermione said impatiently.
"Can't we wait till it dies naturally?" Ron asked her.
"No, they live for a long time. You never know, it might survive without a heart. Some of these creatures can work without a lot of essential human body parts, while some creatures die if you remove one lung, or one..."
"Oh cut the muggle talk!" Ron said impatiently. "Will it die or not?"
Hermione sighed patiently. "I don't know." She said. "Why don't we find out? It won't hurt it Ron! It's jelly!" She stuck a finger into the body of the mucostile. It appeared to not have noticed and continued moving.
"Eugh!" Ron groaned as Hermione carefully pulled out the heart.
"Don't worry Ron, it's ok." Hermione said bringing her hand out from the body. The mucostile didn't appear to notice a thing Hermione had done. "It doesn't seem to need a heart, then it doesn't have any blood does it?" She had the tiny red organ clutched gently in her hand. "I'll put it in Murtlap essence to keep it fresh." She said and disappeared upstairs.
"That's gross!" Ron said, examining the heart less mucostile that was plodding away on its journey towards the lid.
"So now it's just the Werewolf blood and gilly weed." Harry said quietly. "I wonder where Hermione thinks we'll get them."
But as the Easter Holidays drew to a close, Harry began to wonder whether Hermione had forgotten all about the centaur quest. Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "So Hermione, how are you going to get the werewolf blood?" He asked her in the Great Hall next morning. The Easter Holidays were over and Harry wondered why she had left it so late.
"Well, we have a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon so, well I've been talking to Kingsley Shakklebolt, he's a great fan of the Hogs Head because he picks up all sorts of things there. He said that this Saturday a group of dark wizards are going, so we'll go to." Hermione said smiling.
"What do you mean Dark wizards?" Ron asked her looking puzzled. "How's that going to help us get the blood?"
"You'll see," Hermione said mysteriously and left the Great Hall for Transfiguration. Harry and Ron followed.
A/N: Sorry about the short chapter! I will update when I get more reviews! =) Thanks so much 4 reading!
It turned out; they weren't going to play until after Easter. Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to Hagrid's cabin the first day of their holidays. "Ah hello." Hagrid beamed at them when they entered. "They accepted Firenze, he wants to thank you, but... you don't fancy going back in the forest do you?" Hagrid's bearded face beamed at them.
"We'll go." Said Harry quickly.
"Will we?" Ron muttered but Harry ignored him.
"It's not dangerous in there." Hagrid said gruffly.
"Oh yeah, it's perfectly safe. There's only werewolves, giant spiders and you-know-who's death eaters." Ron muttered again.
"Ah, the werewolves won't hurt yer!" Hagrid said, overhearing. "They're only in the heart of the forest anyway. And Aragog's alright. He's just a spider yer know. There shouldn't be any death eaters... but well I'm not welcome in the forest. You can send up sparks. I'll keep a watch out from the edge."
So five minutes later they had entered the forest. It wasn't the evening, but the trees thickened blocking all sunlight. They heard the sound of four hooves. It was just one centaur. It was odd, as they rarely came far from the forest centre. "Firenze?" Hermione called.
"Ah, my human friends." Firenze said smiling. "I wanted to thank you. I also wanted to warn you. The stars have told us centaurs many things, one is that you must not bond with..."
"We know about that." Harry said.
"I see." Firenze said. "Also, danger is near. Danger is getting much nearer by the minute."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Stars do not name names." Firenze said gravely. "Just be careful. I must return to my tribe before any of them get suspicious. I should not be talking to you at all really. But, the tribe know a lot more about the danger than me. You could talk to them."
"Talk to them!" Hermione spluttered. "Last time we tried talking to them they..."
"Do not worry," Firenze said. "Their thoughts regarding humans have changed, they will require something in return of course."
"Well, we could try..." Hermione said, thinking it over. "After all, we could just hear what we've got to do couldn't we?"
"Ok." Harry said and they headed into the heart of the forest.
"Ah, humans." Said a centaur at the front of the pack with a long mane.
He waited, so Hermione spoke. "We were... wondering if... we could give you something in return for you telling us... what the stars say about... danger."
"Indeed." Another centaur spoke. "We require ingredients, if you can get them for us, we will tell you what you need to know."
"What ingredients do you require?" Harry asked them.
"The blood from a freshly slain werewolf, the heart of a Mucostile, boomslang skin matured by moonlight and Gilly weed. We have little ideas where to find them." A centaur said as though this line had been learned by heart.
Harry looked at Hermione who looked shocked but determined. "We'll do it." She said.
"Are you mad!" Ron asked her five minutes later; they were leaving the forest. "How are we going to get the blood of a freshly slain werewolf?!"
"Oh don't worry Ron! It won't be that hard." Hermione said reassuringly.
"Won't be that hard!" Ron exclaimed. "Hermione! If you want to murder a werewolf then..."
"Oh we won't do that!" Hermione laughed. "No, I think I know exactly where to get some werewolf blood, we'll have to wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend though. We'll ask Hagrid for a Mucostile, Gilly weed from the forest and boomslang skin... I'll think about that one."
Harry couldn't help secretly agreeing with Ron, Hermione was mad to even think about doing some centaur quest. She found a way to get boomslang skin however, which was not to Ron's liking at all.
"I know I shouldn't take it..." Hermione muttered as she gazed longingly at Ingrid, Andrew and William's ingredients that were lying abandoned on a table by the entrance to the common room. "But how else will we get one?"
"But Hermione!" Ron pleaded "think how funny it will be!"
"It might be funny for you, but it won't be for her!" Hermione said glaring at Ron.
Ron groaned and turned away. "Go on then, take it." He said with a sigh as though this sentence came as a great strain to him.
Hermione looked at the abandoned boomslang skin. "You know, I have a better idea." She said. "Ingrid..." Ingrid was sitting by the window, watching Hedwig fly round outside. "I've been reading up about this quill, and it's so much simpler to just use a pinch of dragon skin. I've got some if you want."
Ingrid frowned. "Well, I've already had the boomslang skin matured by the full moon. It's ready and it seems a waste to throw it away."
"Oh, we'll have it!" Hermione said brightly. "We need boomslang skin."
"Oh all right," said Ingrid at last. "I hope it works."
"It will, I'll go and get the dragon skin. They're my care of magical creatures gloves actually, but you can have them." Hermione headed upstairs.
"Do you think it's true? Will it still work with Dragon skin?" Ron asked Harry looking hopeful.
"I dunno." Said Harry, watching Hermione return and trade the dragon skin for the boomslang skin. "Probably."
"Right." Said Hermione happily. "I'll go and fetch a mucostile!" She hurried off.
"She's keen." Said Ron.
"Well, the sooner the better really." Said Harry.
"What are you doing?" Ginny came over to their table.
Harry and Ron explained about what the centaurs said. "We want to find out all about you-know who," Ron said. "And about that weird Chang girl..." He gasped. "Ginny," he said in a whisper. "What's my favourite quidditch team?"
Ginny stared him straight in the eye. "I don't know." She muttered quietly, loosing eye contact.
Harry and Ron exchanged awe struck looks. "She's going to pass it on to you-know-who in her dreams!" Harry exclaimed; making sure Anna couldn't escape.
"There's only one thing we can do, "OBLIVIATE!" Harry and Ron both hit her with a memory charm. She now couldn't remember a word of what they had said.
Ginny or Anna lay still on the floor for a minute, then suddenly, Ginny's eyes opened. Fiery eyes, almost red. "You cannot curse me!" She roared in a voice quite unlike her own. The Gryffindor onlookers were now surrounding her, staring in horror. "I'm coming back! I have my body and soon I'll have more power than ever! I will destroy Albus Dumbledore!" Ginny collapsed on the ground.
Everyone was watching in horror. "That was Voldermort speaking!" Harry said in shock.
"Ginny?" Everyone was now waving in front of her face.
Hermione came running in. "Hermione, you won't believe what you've just missed!" Harry and Ron explained everything to her.
"I've got to tell someone!" Hermione said in shock. "This is really serious! Voldermort in Hogwarts!" She raced back out of the common room, dumping the small box she was carrying on Harry, who put it aside and glanced at Ginny, who was still lying on the floor, motionless.
"She is alive isn't she!" Ron asked getting anxious. Harry realised what Ron must feel like seeing his sister lying motionless.
"She's breathing," said Ingrid who was kneeling down by Ginny and taking her pulse. She smiled when Ron frowned at her. "It's first aid, I learnt it at primary school." She explained.
Ron grinned and turned back to Harry muttering something about 'The things muggles do,' and opened the box the mucostile was in.
"Eugh! Ron don't!" Squealed Parvati and Lavender as a loud squelch indicated that Ron had not bothered listening to them.
The jelly like slug was travelling across the bottom of the container, it's bony skeleton unmistakable through the blob of green jelly it used as a body. "How's Hermione going to get it's heart?" Ron asked. He appeared to be getting quite fond of the mucostile and obviously didn't like the thought of Hermione plunging a hand into it to seize the small reddish shape that was probably one of its most vital organs. The mucostile made another loud squelch.
"Oh close it!" Lavender said desperately. "I don't like those things, they're so unnatural!"
Ron did so and returned it to the windowsill. He turned back to Ginny and at the same time, Professor McGonnagal came into the common room. She swept over to Ginny and pulled out her wand. "So, what exactly did she say?" She asked nervously, there were beads of sweat on her bony forehead. Ingrid repeated the words she had spoken. "And you say this is Anna Chang?" Professor McGonnagal asked Hermione who nodded. "Right, Reliota!" She said, pointing her wand at Ginny, who suddenly, changed to Anna, lying breathlessly on the floor. She sat up suddenly and looked around.
"What happened?" She asked as though waking up.
"I'll ask you the same question if you don't mind." Professor McGonnagal said frostily. "Starting with the most important school rule we have which is..."
"I've no idea." Anna said looking round in awe. It was impossible for Harry to tell if she was lying or not, but as she fixed him with an innocent and nervous stare, he knew that she could not be lying. This was the Anna Chang who he had met that night in the castle back in September. "I fell asleep, then when I woke up..."
Professor McGonnagal was looking anxious. "How long ago was this?" She asked.
"I don't know," Anna said. "It may have been last night, today even."
"So, you heard a voice in your sleep, then..."
"I don't know!" Said Anna, staring round frantically like a trapped rabbit. "I might have done."
"Do you remember saying something about Albus Dumbledore?"
Anna shook her head. "We'd better go and tell him what's happened. I think something dangerous is going on, we must inform the people straight away." She and Anna left the common room.
"D'you think she's lying?" Ron asked.
"No," Said Harry and Hermione together.
"It's obvious Voldermort's controlling her." Harry said.
"Well, back to the mucostile..." Hermione began as though there had been no interruption. The buzz of voices absorbed in what had just happened were dying away now, and one by one, the students were going up to bed.
"Yeah, how are you going to get the heart?" Ron asked. "You're not going to kill it are you?"
"Oh don't be pathetic Ron! It doesn't have feelings it's a mucostile!" Hermione said impatiently.
"Can't we wait till it dies naturally?" Ron asked her.
"No, they live for a long time. You never know, it might survive without a heart. Some of these creatures can work without a lot of essential human body parts, while some creatures die if you remove one lung, or one..."
"Oh cut the muggle talk!" Ron said impatiently. "Will it die or not?"
Hermione sighed patiently. "I don't know." She said. "Why don't we find out? It won't hurt it Ron! It's jelly!" She stuck a finger into the body of the mucostile. It appeared to not have noticed and continued moving.
"Eugh!" Ron groaned as Hermione carefully pulled out the heart.
"Don't worry Ron, it's ok." Hermione said bringing her hand out from the body. The mucostile didn't appear to notice a thing Hermione had done. "It doesn't seem to need a heart, then it doesn't have any blood does it?" She had the tiny red organ clutched gently in her hand. "I'll put it in Murtlap essence to keep it fresh." She said and disappeared upstairs.
"That's gross!" Ron said, examining the heart less mucostile that was plodding away on its journey towards the lid.
"So now it's just the Werewolf blood and gilly weed." Harry said quietly. "I wonder where Hermione thinks we'll get them."
But as the Easter Holidays drew to a close, Harry began to wonder whether Hermione had forgotten all about the centaur quest. Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "So Hermione, how are you going to get the werewolf blood?" He asked her in the Great Hall next morning. The Easter Holidays were over and Harry wondered why she had left it so late.
"Well, we have a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon so, well I've been talking to Kingsley Shakklebolt, he's a great fan of the Hogs Head because he picks up all sorts of things there. He said that this Saturday a group of dark wizards are going, so we'll go to." Hermione said smiling.
"What do you mean Dark wizards?" Ron asked her looking puzzled. "How's that going to help us get the blood?"
"You'll see," Hermione said mysteriously and left the Great Hall for Transfiguration. Harry and Ron followed.
A/N: Sorry about the short chapter! I will update when I get more reviews! =) Thanks so much 4 reading!