Chapter 11: Detention and a Looming Storm
"Can't you warn a guy that you're sitting on his bed?!" Ron huffed, trying to calm a thumping heart, "Or do you want me to join you in the afterlife?"
"Oh, so I'll just leave you alone from now on," Percy said, sharing in Ron's less than amiable mood.
"No, no. Perc, it's just… Well, it's quite a shock to find a ghost on what you thought was an empty bed."
"Well it's no picnic waiting all day for your younger brother to come up to his room. I had to sit sometime, you know."
"Yeah, okay. But…er, it's good to see you again, Percy," Ron said, sitting next to his brother.
"You, too," Percy smiled, "So how was the rest of your summer? How did Mum and Dad take the news?"
"What news?"
"Well…about me."
Ron went a little red. "Um…I didn't tell them," he said quietly.
"Didn't tell them? What about Fred, George? Bill? Charlie?"
Ron shook his head penitently.
"Ron! That was the whole reason I talked to you, so you could ease the news onto the family."
"Well…it never came up."
Percy put his head in his hand. "Never came up? How is it supposed to come up? Mum's not going to ask, "So, anybody see my dead son today?"" Percy sighed. "I guess I should have stayed home a little longer."
Ron stared at the floor, ashamed.
"Um…so, did coming here work?" Harry asked, changing the subject, "Do you remember what you were sent here for?"
"Most of it, yes," Percy answered, "The other ghosts have been quite helpful for the most part."
"…So…what were you sent here for?" Ron ventured cautiously.
"Can't tell you."
"What?!" Ron exclaimed, "You can't tell us?! Oh, c'mon Percy, that's no fair! You can't just leave us hanging like that."
"I'm sorry, Ron, but it's not something that I'm just supposed to blab to everybody," Percy said, irritated at Ron's reaction, "There are some matters that simply do not concern you. Besides, the details are still a little unclear even to me."
"Great, just great," Ron muttered, "First it's 'you're not old enough', now it's 'you're not dead enough.'"
"Oh, come off it, Ron."
"How has your stopover at Hogwarts been, Percy?" Harry asked, again trying to steer the conversation away from controversy.
"Quite fun, actually. I've learned loads about this place, and Sir Nicholas has been a great help. Being invisible is quite a different experience, though. I've overheard many interesting conversations between that Malfoy boy and a Ravenclaw girl."
"Wait, wait, wait, do you mean Azar?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Why, yes," Percy answered, surprised, "You know her?"
"Know her?" Ron laughed, "She and Harry spend half of their time together playing dentist without their hands, if you kno—"
"Ron!" Harry's voice went very high-pitched and his face very red. "Er…uh, what'd they talk about, Percy?"
"Various things. Azar first tried to talk about his mother, but Malfoy stayed clear of that. Then they talked about friendship, and something called "revero detinu". All in very general terms of "they" and "we", though. Were they talking about you?"
"Most likely," Harry said, "Did Azar ever bring up a party?"
"Yes, she did," Percy answered, again surprised by Harry's accuracy, "Apparently Malfoy was very against it. Azar thought it was because he was angry with someone, but she eventually wheedled the real reason out of him. Well, vaguely. He said something about that there are some feelings you just can't trust. That he longed for friendship, but there's something that might break it. That, of course, was one of the later talks. He never would have been that open at first."
"Hey, wait a minute. How'd you hear so many of their conversations?"
"I just chanced upon the first one. It was the night all of you finally arrived. I was walking down the hall, invisible since I prefer not being noticed, and saw Malfoy coming from the opposite direction, rushing into the boys' toilet. Well, before I'd gotten much further, Azar came down the hall and ran right in after him. Naturally I suspected something shady, so I followed her. Apparently Malfoy was as surprised as I to see her there.
"They had something of a row then, but it was a strange one. Azar never once raised her voice, but Malfoy ranted something awful, half the time saying, "This is a boys' toilet, get out." He eventually argued himself into submission and Azar convinced him to meet her outside the Ravenclaw common room the next night, and to bring "that cloak" of his. Naturally I wasn't going to let those two go off out-of-bounds late at night, so I followed them the next night, all the way up to the North Tower."
"The…the North Tower?" Harry asked, looking taken aback, "They went up to the North Tower? Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. I know Hogwarts as well as I ever did," Percy said, a little indignantly, "They met almost every night, sneaking along in his invisibility cloak, and they would always go up on the roof and talk."
Harry didn't answer, his shoulders slumping. To him it felt as though a Dementor had just entered the room.
"Well, now that that's settled, I need to talk with you Ron."
"Er…sure. But the common room probably isn't empty yet."
"We can just talk here," Percy said, though he glanced at Harry with a little concern.
"Oh, I'm going to bed anyways," Harry said, trying to sound normal, " 'night, Ron. You too, Percy."
He pulled his hangings closed, lying back on his bed. And even though the quiet murmurings from Ron's bed were just audible enough for Harry to listen, he didn't. His mind was elsewhere as he frowned at the top of his bed.
****
Severus Snape sat alone in his dark office, working by one lone flaxen candle. His left forearm was stinging painfully, but he ignored it. What he wouldn't give to be rid of that reminder of his biggest mistake. Far from getting his wish, however, he was about to be reminded all the more painfully.
The door of his office opened slowly, and he glanced up casually. He froze, then looked more carefully at the figure.
"Juni?" he asked quietly.
"Severus," his little sister answered curtly.
The Potions master let surprise linger in his eyes for only a moment, then hardened them into the same look that came from his sibling.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your undoubtedly important work," she said sardonically, "but I need to speak with Headmaster Dumbledore and do not know the password."
"What are you doing here, Juni?" he asked, standing up.
"Something worthwhile," she said stiffly, "I've seen firsthand the destruction of your beloved master and have come here to help stop it."
Snape glared at her. "He's not my master."
"He was once, and always will be. You sold your soul to that beast, Severus, and no matter how you try to ignore it, try to deny it, he will always have an influence on everything you do. Your supposed volte-face can never change that," she said darkly.
Snape stood in silence a moment; in a silence all his students knew meant they had gone one step too far. "I would think my own sister would forgive me. Everyone else has."
"Have they really, Severus?"
"Yes," he answered sternly, though not assuredly.
"I have more reason than anyone to never forgive you, brother. You brought shame to the family. And you joined with those who would gladly destroy a person like me."
"If anything, I joined to protect you, Juni!" he answered angrily, "If I was one of them, then I could stop them from killing those I loved."
"Oh, so you wanted to protect me. Like you protected Ethie."
Snape stiffened, drawing in a deep breath. "I'll take you to the Headmaster," he said coldly.
He swept past her, swiftly leading the way. They walked in silence, Snape blinking furiously to keep his vision from blurring. He couldn't let her see the hurt she'd caused.
****
"He can't be serious!" Hermione said, gaping at the paper she'd just received.
"It that bad?" Ron asked.
"That's not a detention, it's… ugh!"
"What?"
"Cleaning the banks of the lake! That shoreline must be at least two miles long."
"Ah, it's not that bad. At least you don't have to clean trophies while belching slugs."
This didn't cheer Hermione any.
"Hey, Herm, is that your detention?" Azar asked as she and Harry came up behind the two at the Gryffindor table.
"Yes," she answered sulkily, "I have to clean up the lake."
"Hey, me too!" Azar exclaimed, surprised, "That should make it easier, eh, Herm?"
"I knew Sirius would do it," Harry smiled.
"Do what?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
"Well, I talked to Sirius about your detention. He seemed a little regretful about giving it to you, but he was determined to make you have one. So I suggested he give you the same job as Azar."
Hermione's eyes bugged out slightly. "Harry! He probably would have let me off if you hadn't done that!"
Harry looked surprised, cowering slightly.
"Ah, c'mon, Herm. You and me, what could be better? The time should really fly! And we'll be helping the environment; what a plus!"
Hermione looked helplessly at Azar, then buried her face in her hands. "What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon," she muttered.
"See, this isn't that bad," Azar said, tossing a deflated bicycle tire into her bag.
"Speak for yourself," Hermione muttered, coming upon what looked like a used diaper, "I can't believe all the gunk that's here! You'd think muggles would have a little more respect for such a beautiful lake."
"It's not just muggles," Azar sighed, picking up an empty box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
They had been cleaning the whole afternoon, having worked their way near the side of the lake closest to the Forbidden Forest. The sun was hot against their backs, and it didn't help any that the rubber gloves they wore seemed to insulate the heat, causing their hands to stick uncomfortably to the gloves' insides. They had already filled four sacks with the trash from the lake, which it seemed some confused for a dump, and it was clear they would double the amount before they were done. Filch had also warned them that if they did a half-assed job of it, he would make them clean the trash at the lake bottom, too. How, they didn't know, but they'd rather not find out.
"You know, this just makes you want to slap every single person at the school," Hermione said bitterly.
"Little good that would do, Herm. You'll find people will continue bad habits even if…"
She faded off, stopping. Hermione stood up straight, gazing at Azar. She was staring into the forest.
"Did you see that?" Azar asked, glancing back at her incredulously.
"What?"
"That light. It was beautiful! Like…like a fairy or…I don't know. Are there fairies in the forest?"
Hermione shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've only been in there once, and believe me, there were no fairies."
"Well, let's find out then!" Azar said, bursting into a wide grin and running into the forest.
"Wait a second! We can't just…" Hermione faded off, realizing it was little use. With a huff and a very annoyed look, she tossed down her bag and peeled off her gloves, racing after Azar.
The sun seemed to fade away as she emerged under the great canopy. It was a far cry from as dark as night, but the shadows were just thick enough to cause goose pimples to rise on Hermione's arms. She looked around, finding no Azar in sight among the thick tree trunks and dusty light. She did, however, find a path close by and soon was walking along it, tripping on the occasional root and calling for Azar all the time.
"Where have you gone to? Azar! Aza—"
"Boo!" Azar yelled, jumping out from behind a tree and causing Hermione to jump.
"Don't do that!" Hermione scolded.
"Aw, no scream," Azar said with feigned complaint.
"I hardly think that after all I've experienced at Hogwarts that I'd be that frightened by a simple 'boo'," Hermione said disdainfully, "Now come on. We've got to get back to the lake before Filch or Snape notices we're gone."
"Are you kidding? There's something in here, Herm, and I intend to find out what it is."
Hermione sighed. "Well, at least stay on the path then. A sure fire way to get yourself lost in a forest is to go off running into the brush. And believe me, you don't want to get lost in this forest."
Azar shrugged. "Okay, fine. But I seriously doubt that we'll find anything by just sticking to the path. It would be smarter than that."
"If it's smart enough to stay off the path, then it's smart enough to stay away from you. Pity I don't seem to have that much common sense."
"Oh ha, ha, Herm, b—There it is!" Azar cried, and without so much as another word, she tore off away from Hermione.
"Azar! Azar, get back here!" Hermione yelled, "We're supposed to stay on the path!"
"I want to see what's over here!" Azar called back.
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
"Good thing I'm not a cat!"
Rolling her eyes, Hermione hurried after Azar. Though she knew leaving the path wasn't the smartest of choices, she was none too eager to be left alone in the forest. Try as she might, however, to follow Azar in her mad dash, Hermione couldn't keep up. After tripping over a tree root for the third time, she not only couldn't see Azar but couldn't hear her either. She stopped for only a moment, though, marching on in determination that she would throttle Azar when she next caught sight of her.
The forest seemed darker now; the trees overhead were thicker, wisps of moss hanging from their branches. Hermione folded her arms tightly for warmth. It definitely wasn't summer anymore. She marched irritably through the brush, her frown deepening with each step. Though she wasn't sure if it was simply her imagination, it seemed a mist was beginning to curl around the ground, gradually becoming a white blanket over the dirt.
"Azar!" Hermione yelled, "It's getting late and cold! If you don't get over here right—"
Squelch.
Hermione looked down. Her foot had just sunk into a patch of mud. Muttering under her breath, she pulled it out with another squelch. She was all set to abandon Azar and head back out into daylight when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Bending down and pushing aside a little bit of weed, she found Azar's footprint. Now that wouldn't normally have been enough to cause Hermione to stop, but that footprint led to more. And the further the footprints went, the deeper the mud got, until each print was nothing but a puddle.
She looked up sharply. The thickening mist, the moss covered trees, the deepening water… This was a bog. Her mind was racing. Azar had seen a light, had been drawn to it…and they were in a bog. Hermione's eyes widened.
"Hinkypunk," she whispered.
With a jolt, she leapt to her feet and raced after Azar, following the footprints. The water became deeper to her right, and weeds and cattails grew so thick it was hard to discern water from land. Azar's steps soon disappeared into the pond, but Hermione stayed on the bank, hoping the hinkypunk kept going the same direction. She fought through the trees and weeds, stopping once to pull on a shoe the mud had loosened. Through a mess of hanging moss, she glimpsed a light. Her heart gave an unwelcoming jump, but she quickly headed towards it. Coming free of a spider's web and stepping from the barrier of trees, she landed right in a foot of water. She stared disgustedly at her submerged feet for a moment, then looked up. The fact that the hem of her robes was now soaking suddenly seemed very trivial.
There stood Azar, waist deep in the marsh, the wispy hinkypunk dancing about, three meters in front of her.
"Azar!" Hermione yelled, "Azar, get out of there!"
Azar jumped slightly, as if being jolted awake, and then turned to Hermione. "Oh, Herm, I…" She stopped, suddenly realizing where she was. "What in the world?!"
"Azar, that's a hinkypunk! You have to get out of there!"
Azar's eyes widened and she turned back to face the creature. "A…a hinkypunk?" With a jolt of panic, she tried to step back, and nearly fell over. Catching her balance, she looked back at Hermione.
"My feet are stuck in the mud! Herm, get me outta here!"
"Okay, okay, just a minute."
Hermione turned back to the forest, trying to find a vine or branch or something that she could use to pull Azar out. However, no such object was conveniently lying around.
"Herm!" Azar's voice came, "Herm…"
Hermione quickly got back to the bank, and froze. The hinkypunk had given up on luring Azar further and was now making its way toward her.
"Your wand, Azar!" Hermione yelled, "Get it out; blast it!"
But Azar didn't move. She was absolutely petrified with fear. Thinking quickly, Hermione plunged a hand into her robes, withdrawing her wand and pointing it straight at the advancing hinkypunk.
"Relashio!" she yelled, sending a searing jet of red light at the creature.
With a shocked yelp, the hinkypunk skittered away. Azar stood there stunned a moment, then turned sharply to run out of the quagmire. Crying out in pain, she disappeared under the water with a splash. A few seconds later, she came up spluttering. Hermione rushed out into the water, helping Azar out until they both collapsed on the bank. Hermione took deep breaths, half out of exhaustion and half out of excitement. Azar, however, stared blankly at the bog in shock.
"You okay?" Hermione finally asked, "Azar? Azar?"
"I Saw it…" she whispered, "I knew it was going to happen…but that didn't change it…"
"What are you talking about, Azar?"
"The light, the bog, even the word 'hinkypunk'…they were all there," Azar rambled on, "But I froze. It didn't change a thing…"
"Azar, are you all right?" Hermione asked with concern, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder.
Azar shook herself, then smiled up at Hermione. "Yeah, sorry, I'm okay. Just a twisted ankle, a shoeless foot, and a shattered ego. I can't believe I froze out there. That was quick thinking, Hermione."
"Thanks. But I… Her…Hermione?" You would have thought Hermione had never said her own name before.
"Huh?"
"You didn't call me 'Herm', but 'Hermione'…"
Azar shrugged, smiling. "Well, I figure if you took the trouble to save my life, I could take the trouble to say your name right."
Hermione gaped a moment, unable to say anything. Then a smile broke on her face and she flung her arms around Azar. This absolutely shocked the poor girl, her arms out and eyes wide.
"Thank you!" Hermione laughed, still holding on tight, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Er…think you could let go now, Hermione? Besides, if anyone should be saying 'thanks' it's me," Azar said, getting out of Hermione's grasp and standing up, "We'd better get back."
Azar took a step, and nearly collapsed in pain. Hermione quickly stood and held her up.
"Thanks," Azar smiled grimly, "I guess I twisted it worse then I thought."
"Sit and let me have a look at it. Oh wait, we'd better just leave that shoe on. It should hold it in case of a break. Here, lean on me," Hermione said, putting an arm around Azar's shoulder, "Just use me as support as you walk, and try not to use that foot too much."
They walked in silence for a while, Azar wincing each time her good but shoeless foot came upon a rock or root.
"How come you didn't recognize it as a hinkypunk from the start?" Hermione asked, trying to break the silence.
"Never seen one before. That was one of the creatures Remus taught you guys about, right? Well, I only learned them by book. It's a lot different in—" Azar took in a sharp breath, having stepped on a particularly sharp rock.
"Oh, your poor foot!" Hermione cried, realizing why Azar had stopped, "Here, use my shoe."
"But then you'll suffer."
"No, I'll be fine. Besides, you have to put all your weight on that one. Here."
Hermione took her shoe off and slipped it over Azar's sopping sock.
"Thanks again," Azar said sheepishly as they continued on.
They were silent for the rest of the walk, finally coming out onto Hogwarts' grounds to find a setting sun. They'd just started toward the castle when they spotted Filch skulking toward them. He marched up, but stopped when he saw them more clearly in the fading light.
"Miss Zundel!" Filch said, unable to contain his surprise, "What happened? Did you fall in the lake?"
Azar thought a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Sounds like a likely story to me."
With that, she and Hermione continued toward the castle, smiling.
~*~*~
A/N: *smiles* I think I'm fairly pleased with this chapter. It's semi-long, purposeful, and I just like it. ^_^ Hm…hopefully I can get the next chapter written before Spring Break is over. I want to get as many as I can written now, 'cause AP test time is quickly approaching, and I'll have no time to write then. *sigh*
Thank you everyone who reviewed!
Naralina: lol Nope, you're not hallucinating. Happened to Ronniekins in WoC. I'm glad you caught onto it. ^-^ Bwa-ha-ha! You think I'd tell you whether or not James is evil? Snape and McGonagall are more likely to elope than for me to tell ya. ^_^ Thanks!
Taracollowen: *grins* I will neither deny nor affirm that James is evil. ^-^ Thanks!
summersun: *grins* Thanks!
SilverFireFairy: Thanks. No. I don't write or read slash fics in general. It's not that I'm homophobic or any such nonsense, it's just I like to keep in characterization and, in my mind at least, that's in neither of their characters.
*Jay*: Wow, thank you! Azar didn't do anything to Draco, simply convinced him to come. ^-^
Laurs: Thanks! More about James later, though. ^_^
Raven of Death: If you hate Ron now… *grins maliciously* Yeah, I'm not saying any more on the subject. Oh, lucky! I wish my exams were over. The math one is on my birthday, to top it all off. *sigh* Thanks. ^_^
Moon Warrior: lol MW, you are too funny. Thanks.
chrestomanci: lol Ah, well, Filch is a squib, but he can see Hogwarts. I don't know exactly why, but I figure if he can, Juni can. Thanks!
sweets: Thanks. ^-^ lol But I can't help it! Summer just seems so close!
Kelly: "Evil, not lazy, evil!" ^_^ I'll keep that in mind. LOL I love your review, Kelly! And if you need help, email me! My door is always open, and I love beta-reading! Thanks!
BlueIce: LOL Thanks!
Mrs. Grim: Thanks! *grins* *in mystical Trelawney voice* I know all and see all…
suger: Thanks! Sure, I'd be glad to! Just email me at adyremard@yahoo.com I love reading people's stuff before they post it. ^_^
Trisana: ^_^ Thanks!
yerbroham: Hope you don't mind my not answering in an email, but I figured since I was sticking this up today, I'd just answer here. Wow, really?! I've honestly been trying and I'm glad to see I've had some success. ^-^ Colin was a bit more annoying than James is. He hasn't asked for Harry's autograph yet, at least. ^_^ Yeah, revero detinu… Well, I'd hoped that the distance issue would suffice there. Though I know that doesn't really do for after they arrive at Hogwarts… *sigh* Yeah, I'm too selective with that. But it will play a much bigger part later on. And I will look into explaining it all. (I'll have to wrack my brain, but I'll do it. ^-^) Thanks!!!
Well, I hope no one minds too much, but there'll be more of that going-into-conversations-and-happenings-that-Harry-isn't-involved-in stuff. ^_^
Be excellent to each other!
-Ady