Since the Yule Ball Harry and Cho had become distant again. They were shy
around each other and only really saw each other on the quidditch pitch.
Plus Harry didn't have much time for relationships anyway. His OWLS were
coming up and all the teachers were keeping their noses firmly to the
grindstone. Well, almost all, Ron and Harry always managed to catch up on
some much needed sleep during Divination. But Hermione made up for
Professor Trelawney's lack of serious work by forcing them to revise until
the early hours of the morning.
Their brains felt thoroughly fried at the end of double Potions. Snape had been working them extra hard and his level of spite and vindictiveness had increased tenfold. If they'd known about the red moon incident they'd have understood why. He was annoyed at not having been taken seriously and was taking out his frustration on the students. His stress levels had reached an all time high with the sporadic Death Eater meetings taking a huge toll on his personal judgement and he found fault with every little thing. He wished he had someone to confide in, someone to understand what he was going through, but as usual Severus was alone.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to Transfiguration when they virtually ran into the Headmaster.
'Hello, Professor Dumbledore.'
'Ah, I was just looking for you three. I have some good news...'
A shy figure emerged from behind Dumbledore's billowing robes.
'Storm!'
'Mr Malfoy was taken to court for the bleeding incident – and we won. He's been banned from keeping riths for ten years and she's been found a new home.'
'Who with?'
'Me.'
'That's great, Professor. But we're going to be late for Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall will have our hides if we are.'
'Of course, of course. Off you go.'
They watched for a little while as Dumbledore led Storm slowly down the corridor. The rith stumbled and lurched crazily against the walls without any of her former grace. It was almost as if she couldn't see where she was going.
* * * * *
Lucius Malfoy had been surprised. Never in a million years did he think a court would convict him on such a trivial matter. But his surprise had turned to anger at what he had lost – one of the most valuable things he owned to that Muggle-loving fool Dumbledore. Luckily he'd bled the creature just before he'd taken her to court. He'd almost bled her dry just in case so at least he had a store.
Those last few days had been a real eye-opener for the elder Malfoy. Since her assault on him the rith had conducted herself such a controlled manner that it would have put most of the Death Eaters in the shade. If his own son demonstrated half the self-discipline and restraint that the damned animal had shown then he would have been proud, but put under the slightest pressure the boy squirmed and whimpered like a child even though he was almost a man. He'd never had any patience with tears or snivelling and had tried his hardest to teach Draco to be strong, but with little avail.
For a week he'd kept the wolf in the smallest and dankest cell without food, sporadically entering to torment her so she didn't even have the comfort of routine. An iron band had been fitted tightly around her muzzle to keep her from wielding her dangerous teeth.
Every torture and punishment he could think of without marking her body was used but none seemed to have any effect. Not a scream of pain, not a grunt, not a flinch, nothing. There was just an emptiness in her eyes like she wasn't there any more. She'd switched off her mind to the pain and was left with an empty shell.
She paid no attention to him no matter what he did, no matter how much he goaded her – her body was as limp as a ragdoll and as weak as a kitten and she was completely unresisting to any act her performed on her.
This had irritated Lucius – it was no sport when the victim didn't object or react and perhaps that had been her greatest defence for Lucius had soon got bored with his toy and left her alone as she began to die. Dehydration hit her worse than anything else and so when he had bled her she had passed out. She still hadn't recovered properly by the day of the trial and was still in a morbid state when she returned to Hogwarts. The whole trial had passed her by without her even noticing, and the journey to Scotland was a blur – she couldn't even remember how they had got back. But the time in solitary confinement had not left her completely unaffected for when Dumbledore tried ensconcing her back into her old dungeon her bleary eyes grew wide with fear and she clung onto the distressed Headmaster whilst crying into his robes.
The last time she had been left alone had been filled with hidden terrors deep within the recesses of her mind and more than anything else she didn't want to be on her own. But she felt comfortable in displaying her fear in front of the kindly wizard. Finally he had relented and taken the anguished wolf back up to his study with gentle words and much comforting.
Dumbledore had never liked the Malfoy family, least of all Lucius, but to have inflicted so much suffering on a defenceless creature, and worse still his own dog, left a bitter taste in his mouth. Lucius had only got away from being sent to Azkaban as a Death Eater by convincing the Ministry that he had been under that Imperius curse, that and the fact that he was one of the most influential wizards in the country and the heir of the name and fortune of a pureblood line. But looking at Storm now his story became even less believable than it had been in the past. Thank Merlin that the NERO lot weren't as blind as the Ministry of Magic. However, it was a very bad look out for the world in general if that proved to be the case.
He led the dejected creature up to his chambers, always ready to catch her should she fall. There seemed to be no strength left in her bony legs, or any other part of her body. Her tail and head hung limply and her eyes were blank and glazed. Wherever Storm was right now she wasn't in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, only her body was.
Once in the study she collapsed on the stone floor and immediately fell asleep. He ordered up some food and water from the house elves and almost instantaneously one appeared with a small pop and a tray full of delicious- looking food. A house elf with huge green eyes and a pencil shaped nose.
'Here is the food you is ordering, sir.'
'Dobby, I'm so glad it's you.'
'Sir?'
Dumbledore pointed to the heaving mass of blue, black and white upon a mattress conjured there by the thoughtful wizard. Dobby's jaw dropped and he looked at Dumbledore uncertainly.
'It's all right, Dobby, you can say hello, but she's only just got back. She's come to live at Hogwarts.'
The house elf cautiously approached the sleeping rith, 'Zafyre? Zafyre, it's me, Dobby.'
At the sound of his voice the wolf awoke and looked round. As soon as she saw him her eyes lost some of their abandoned air and brightened with tears. Dobby threw his small body on the rith and they wept into each others arms like the survivors of a catastrophe who thought all others were lost.
Dumbledore felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes at the obvious display of love between the two. Broken fragments of sentences could be heard between the elf's sobs, but it was the embrace that mattered the most.
Storm fell asleep in Dobby's spindly arms and he gently laid her back down on the mattress before turning to his master, his voice still shaking, 'If Dobby can do anything for Professor Dumbledore he does not even have to ask. Zafyre was Dobby's only friend and now he has freed her too. But Dobby's old master has done terrible things to her, hasn't he?'
He decided to be gently frank, 'Yes, although I don't know what. But given time I'm sure she'll be back to normal. You can come here and visit her any time you'd like.'
Dobby bowed in gratitude, 'Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, but Dobby must be getting back to work now.'
With a small pop the elf disappeared again and the Headmaster was left alone with the sleeping rith. He sat for a little while watching her rhythmic breathing and occasional twitches pondering on a question. Who did she remind him of?
Their brains felt thoroughly fried at the end of double Potions. Snape had been working them extra hard and his level of spite and vindictiveness had increased tenfold. If they'd known about the red moon incident they'd have understood why. He was annoyed at not having been taken seriously and was taking out his frustration on the students. His stress levels had reached an all time high with the sporadic Death Eater meetings taking a huge toll on his personal judgement and he found fault with every little thing. He wished he had someone to confide in, someone to understand what he was going through, but as usual Severus was alone.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to Transfiguration when they virtually ran into the Headmaster.
'Hello, Professor Dumbledore.'
'Ah, I was just looking for you three. I have some good news...'
A shy figure emerged from behind Dumbledore's billowing robes.
'Storm!'
'Mr Malfoy was taken to court for the bleeding incident – and we won. He's been banned from keeping riths for ten years and she's been found a new home.'
'Who with?'
'Me.'
'That's great, Professor. But we're going to be late for Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall will have our hides if we are.'
'Of course, of course. Off you go.'
They watched for a little while as Dumbledore led Storm slowly down the corridor. The rith stumbled and lurched crazily against the walls without any of her former grace. It was almost as if she couldn't see where she was going.
* * * * *
Lucius Malfoy had been surprised. Never in a million years did he think a court would convict him on such a trivial matter. But his surprise had turned to anger at what he had lost – one of the most valuable things he owned to that Muggle-loving fool Dumbledore. Luckily he'd bled the creature just before he'd taken her to court. He'd almost bled her dry just in case so at least he had a store.
Those last few days had been a real eye-opener for the elder Malfoy. Since her assault on him the rith had conducted herself such a controlled manner that it would have put most of the Death Eaters in the shade. If his own son demonstrated half the self-discipline and restraint that the damned animal had shown then he would have been proud, but put under the slightest pressure the boy squirmed and whimpered like a child even though he was almost a man. He'd never had any patience with tears or snivelling and had tried his hardest to teach Draco to be strong, but with little avail.
For a week he'd kept the wolf in the smallest and dankest cell without food, sporadically entering to torment her so she didn't even have the comfort of routine. An iron band had been fitted tightly around her muzzle to keep her from wielding her dangerous teeth.
Every torture and punishment he could think of without marking her body was used but none seemed to have any effect. Not a scream of pain, not a grunt, not a flinch, nothing. There was just an emptiness in her eyes like she wasn't there any more. She'd switched off her mind to the pain and was left with an empty shell.
She paid no attention to him no matter what he did, no matter how much he goaded her – her body was as limp as a ragdoll and as weak as a kitten and she was completely unresisting to any act her performed on her.
This had irritated Lucius – it was no sport when the victim didn't object or react and perhaps that had been her greatest defence for Lucius had soon got bored with his toy and left her alone as she began to die. Dehydration hit her worse than anything else and so when he had bled her she had passed out. She still hadn't recovered properly by the day of the trial and was still in a morbid state when she returned to Hogwarts. The whole trial had passed her by without her even noticing, and the journey to Scotland was a blur – she couldn't even remember how they had got back. But the time in solitary confinement had not left her completely unaffected for when Dumbledore tried ensconcing her back into her old dungeon her bleary eyes grew wide with fear and she clung onto the distressed Headmaster whilst crying into his robes.
The last time she had been left alone had been filled with hidden terrors deep within the recesses of her mind and more than anything else she didn't want to be on her own. But she felt comfortable in displaying her fear in front of the kindly wizard. Finally he had relented and taken the anguished wolf back up to his study with gentle words and much comforting.
Dumbledore had never liked the Malfoy family, least of all Lucius, but to have inflicted so much suffering on a defenceless creature, and worse still his own dog, left a bitter taste in his mouth. Lucius had only got away from being sent to Azkaban as a Death Eater by convincing the Ministry that he had been under that Imperius curse, that and the fact that he was one of the most influential wizards in the country and the heir of the name and fortune of a pureblood line. But looking at Storm now his story became even less believable than it had been in the past. Thank Merlin that the NERO lot weren't as blind as the Ministry of Magic. However, it was a very bad look out for the world in general if that proved to be the case.
He led the dejected creature up to his chambers, always ready to catch her should she fall. There seemed to be no strength left in her bony legs, or any other part of her body. Her tail and head hung limply and her eyes were blank and glazed. Wherever Storm was right now she wasn't in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, only her body was.
Once in the study she collapsed on the stone floor and immediately fell asleep. He ordered up some food and water from the house elves and almost instantaneously one appeared with a small pop and a tray full of delicious- looking food. A house elf with huge green eyes and a pencil shaped nose.
'Here is the food you is ordering, sir.'
'Dobby, I'm so glad it's you.'
'Sir?'
Dumbledore pointed to the heaving mass of blue, black and white upon a mattress conjured there by the thoughtful wizard. Dobby's jaw dropped and he looked at Dumbledore uncertainly.
'It's all right, Dobby, you can say hello, but she's only just got back. She's come to live at Hogwarts.'
The house elf cautiously approached the sleeping rith, 'Zafyre? Zafyre, it's me, Dobby.'
At the sound of his voice the wolf awoke and looked round. As soon as she saw him her eyes lost some of their abandoned air and brightened with tears. Dobby threw his small body on the rith and they wept into each others arms like the survivors of a catastrophe who thought all others were lost.
Dumbledore felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes at the obvious display of love between the two. Broken fragments of sentences could be heard between the elf's sobs, but it was the embrace that mattered the most.
Storm fell asleep in Dobby's spindly arms and he gently laid her back down on the mattress before turning to his master, his voice still shaking, 'If Dobby can do anything for Professor Dumbledore he does not even have to ask. Zafyre was Dobby's only friend and now he has freed her too. But Dobby's old master has done terrible things to her, hasn't he?'
He decided to be gently frank, 'Yes, although I don't know what. But given time I'm sure she'll be back to normal. You can come here and visit her any time you'd like.'
Dobby bowed in gratitude, 'Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, but Dobby must be getting back to work now.'
With a small pop the elf disappeared again and the Headmaster was left alone with the sleeping rith. He sat for a little while watching her rhythmic breathing and occasional twitches pondering on a question. Who did she remind him of?