Disclaimer: You know.

Warning: some fighting, some cursing, blah, blah, blah.

Author's note: Look at all these chapters. Go me!

In Fire Lies Redemption

By Marz

Chapter 9

Grawp and Gruel

            Harry looked nervous as he walked into the Gryffindor common room. Of course I'd look nervous too if everyone was staring at me like that. Neville thought. All the 6th years had seen Harry crack up in transfigurations. His eyes had rolled up into his head and he had laughed like a maniac until Ron slapped him. The scary part was the voice coming out of Harry's mouth wasn't exactly Harry's. Lavender had told just about everyone in every house what had happened. Harry did not seem particularly mad about it though. He only looked tired. Neville went back to his essay on medicinal plants. His N.E.W.T. level herbology class was really eating into his free time.

            "Hey Neville." Harry said.

            Neville jumped in surprise.

            "Hey Harry." Neville replied uncertainly.

            "I was wondering if you wanted to come with Ron, Hermione, and me to visit Hagrid this afternoon. We might be going into the forest."

            Neville starred at him in surprise. He was usually not asked to go on strange trips with Harry and his friends, in fact until the previous year, when he had insisted on going with Harry to the Department of Mysteries, Harry had purposely excluded him. Neville was very flattered to be asked along, but suspicious as well. But if I say no, he might not ask again.

            "Sure. I'll go. I'll go put my book bag away then." Neville said, jogging quickly up the stairs to the 6th year boy's dorm.

            As he returned he heard Ron and Harry arguing in the stair well.

            "I don't think it's a good idea is all. The fewer people that know, the better. He told everyone you fainted in front of the dementors third year, you really think he'll keep quiet about a giant?" Ron said in a loud hiss.

            "He can keep a secret; he didn't say anything about the D.A. did he?" Harry hissed back.

            "Alright, but if he tells anyone about the giant it's not my fault."

            Neville could not help himself. He walked quickly down the stairs.

            "Did you say something about a giant Ron?" he asked innocently.

            Harry gave the redhead an angry glare. Ron looked mortified.

            "Yeah, we were talking about Hagrid." Harry said. "Ready to go?"

            Neville nodded. They walked out of the common room, and down the stairs. Hermione was waiting in the entrance hall. She looked surprised when she saw Neville but did not say anything. They set off across the grounds. The air was still very warm, and Neville was sweating a bit when they reached Hagrid's hut. The half giant emerged from his lodging carrying a cross bow and a large sack. His boar hound, Fang stood drooling placidly at his side. Hagrid did not seem to notice Neville at first.

            "All set? I been look'in fir him fir two months, but he keeps moving around, and with the centaurs still in a tizzy o're that Firenze business, it hasn't been going well. Was' worse is I haven't been hear'in no complaints from anybody in the forest lately either. Last year I was up to my ears in 'he's smashed this and stomped that', and now there's noth'in. Scares me that does."  

            "Hagrid," Harry interrupted, "Is it alright if Neville comes too?"

            "Hu?" The huge bushy haired man turned towards Neville. "Oh didn't see you there Neville."

            Hagrid seemed worried, but Harry was nodding, and that apparently was enough assurance.

            "Right then, lets be off before it gets dark." Hagrid said.

They hiked into the gloomy woods, and after a few hundred yards the sunlight was blocked out completely. As they walked deeper into the forest Neville remembered Ron mentioning something about Hagrid having a little brother, the previous year.

After several hours of walking, through a forest with no readily identifiable landmarks, Neville was ready to go home. Really, the walking was the least of his complaints. A spider the size of a horse had snatched up Ron and nearly decapitated him, before Hagrid shooed the horrible thing away as if it were a stray puppy. Then they had to hide in very pixie filled lump of shrubbery while a herd of well armed and angry looking centaurs rode past. All the pixies had of course decided they wanted to chew on Neville. And only a few minutes ago some sort of giant land going octopus had leaned out of a cave and grabbed up Harry. If Hermione wasn't along they'd probably be searching the forest for Harry's missing limbs, rather then a half giant. The only good part of the trip so far had been the bizarre plants. He was proud he could identify nearly every one he saw.  He even noticed a Slurwort plant that, even uncured, would be worth several hundred galleons in any apothecary.  I could be rich if I could get past all those stinging nettles. Neville laughed nervously to himself, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Sorry." He said meekly.

They were about to turn around and head back to school when Ron found it. The trail led down a stony streambed. The gravel was dented in a fairly regular pattern, with footprints as long as Hermione was tall.

"Good eye there Ron." said Hagrid, as he rushed past them.

Neville gapped for a moment. I thought they meant another half giant. He felt a bizarre sort of panic rising in his chest. But the others started running so he ran with them.

Even sprinting they could barely keep the Hogwarts professor in sight, Ron and Harry quickly left Neville and Hermione behind. When they caught up again Neville was wheezing hard. Harry and Ron stood at the edge of a gully, looking down at Hagrid, who was carefully circling a small hill.

"Is the giant behind there?" Neville asked in a gasping whisper.

Harry looked at him with the tiniest hint of a smile. "Neville, meet Grawp," he said waving his hand at the hill, which shifted slightly as Hagrid touched it.

"It's alright ta come down now." Hagrid said sadly. "He's unconscious."

The four teenagers scrambled down the gulley. As they circled him, Neville realized they had been looking at the giants back. The massive creature was curled up in a fetal position, with his huge hands hiding his face. The air smelled fetid and rotten as they got close.  

"The arrow wounds must have gotten infected." Hermione said.

 Neville noticed she kept a great distance between her self and the giant.

Hagrid stood on his toes and pried back the giant's hands. The odor intensified a hundred times. Ron gagged. The giant's face was a swollen mess of green and red. Neville could barely pick out facial features. Hagrid stood starring, his shoulders sagged, and before Neville knew what was happening the huge man had burst into loud sobbing tears.

"I should a' left him wi' the others, but they were so mean ter him." He bellowed. "I've killed ma' only brother!"

"He'll be alright Hagrid," Harry said, as he patted the half giant on the back. "We'll go and find Madam Pomfrey and she'll fix him up."

"Yeh don't understand, she'll report him, she'll have ta and the Ministry'll come and…and…"

The huge man broke off sobbing. Neville looked nervously about. The Ministry had a very strong anti-giant policy. Hagrid would go to jail and his brother would be deported at the very least.

"Could you tell Dumbledore?" asked Harry gently.

Hagrid shook his head. "No if I tol' him he'd be liable too, Fudge is still looking fer excuses ter take power from him. I'll have ter turn myself in. I can't let him die. Avery ain't in charge o' the department no more, he might have a chance…"

"Maybe we could put on some bandages. Do you have many in the sack, Hagrid?" suggested Hermione as she edged closer.

"He's got infections though, but we could sneak some potions from the hospital wing," said Ron.

"We'd need gallons of them. They might not have enough of them in stock." said Harry, "They're bound to notice them gone, and it would take weeks to prepare all those potions ourselves."

A thought hit Neville like a slap in the face. "Slurwort!" He declared.

They all turned to stare at him. "I saw one growing by the path back there, if we had a cauldron and some mandrake sap…"

Hagrid looked at him, nearly glowing with hope. "Yeh think yeh could help him Neville? Harry said you were a right genius at Herbology."

"Well if we had a cauldron, we'd need to dilute the sap of course and it would have to be peeled, and we'd need bandages like Hermione said…" Neville trailed off looking at he ground. When he looked up again they were all still starring at him.

"Make us a list Neville, we'll run back to the castle." Harry said.

After six hours of digging, dicing, peeling, stewing, stirring and slathering, Grawp the giant's face had returned to what Hagrid insisted was its natural state. Neville just nodded in agreement. The angry red swelling, green ooze, and terrible smell were gone at least. Hagrid had taken on the unpleasant task of pulling out the arrowheads still stuck in the wounds with a pair of pliers. Neville and the others sat by the small fire they had started to heat the cauldron. Neville's hands were sore and covered in little cuts and scrapes.

"I wonder if I could put this on my resume when I apply at St. Mungo's." he joked quietly.

"So that's where you want to work?" asked Ron, "When me and Harry come in with Auror related injuries could we get a discount?"

They all laughed tiredly. Despite the aches and exhaustion Neville felt ridiculously happy. I'm one of them, was the triumphant sentence that played over and over in his head. His happy mood shattered instantly as the sound of hoofs echoed through the gulley. They jumped to their feet, and drew their wands. Hagrid set down his gory pliers and snatched up his crossbow.

"We don't want trouble." Hagrid said loudly. "Be on yuir way."

The hoof beats drew slowly closer, and a young voice floated out of the darkness.

"Are you wizards?"

"Some o' us." Hagrid said.

He lowered his crossbow as a small centaur walked into the circle of firelight. He had the lower body of a Clydesdale horse, but the upper half of a human. If centaurs aged anything like humans did, Neville guessed the boy could be no more then seven years old. He had dark brown hair, but his intense light blue eyes were very familiar. Harry must have thought so too, because in the next second he asked, "Are you related to Firenze?"

The little centaur jumped at the name. He looked nervously about.

"He is banished and has no family in the herd," the centaur said in a very automatic way.

The teenagers looked at each other confused. Hagrid shook his head sadly. The centaur looked about the group: at the injured giant, his half human half brother, the three wizards and the witch. He stepped closer, his eyes darting.

"Is Firenze well?" he whispered.

"He was fine in class today," said Neville. He was the only one in the group who had passed his divinations O.W.L. Professor Trelawney taught the subject to third through fifth years while Firenze confused all the upper classes with it. The centaur was half way between horror and delight. He looked around again before speaking.

            "Could you tell him Ares sends him greetings?" he whispered.

            "Alright." Neville said carefully. "Anything else?"

            There was a sudden sharp snapping noise in the forest. They all whirled to look. A deer wandered past, its eyes shining in the reflected light. When they turned back the little centaur was gone.

It took Hagrid another half hour to finish bandaging Grawp. When he was done he stood back wiping his hands. They knew he was reluctant to go but it was nearly midnight.  

            "Should we build up the fire before we leave?" asked Harry.

            "I think that'll just bring unwanted attention," said Ron.

            "He might get cold," Harry said.

            "I don't think cold bothers him," Hermione said. Neville glanced over at Hagrid, who seemed more worried then before. Hermione followed his gaze to the huge man. "But if you're that concerned…"

            She took off her school cloak and set it on the forest floor. With a wave of her wand and a few quick words the cloak grew to the size of a circus tent. Only when they were throwing it over Grawp's massive form did they realize he was awake.

Hermione was tucking an end of the cloak under his shoulder when his dull sludge colored eyes sprang opened. She shrieked as a huge hand darted toward her. Ron scrambled and stumbled through the gravel, he fell and bloodied his hands and knees, but he still reached Hermione before Neville did. Ron and Harry drew their wands but Hermione's screams cut off. Instead of grabbing her, Grawp very carefully patted her on the top of her head with his table sized hand.

            "THANK HERMY" he said in a low rumbling voice.

            "You're welcome Grawp." She said shakily. Tears ran down her face as she attempted a friendly smile. The hand disappeared a moment later and she sprinted to her friends, attaching herself to Ron's side like a limpet. The giant's eyes roved over the assembly. 

            "THANK HAGGER, THANK…" the giant waved vaguely at the three teenage boys. His eyes closed.

"SLEEP," he said, and a few seconds later the giant was snoring.

"I tol' you he could learn manners!" Hagrid said proudly.

As they marched back along the path towards school Neville regained the happy feeling of belonging that had momentarily fled. In front of him was Hagrid leading them along, then Hermione, now wearing Ron's cloak, and walking at his side. Harry was in the back this time, making sure no one fell behind. The trees began to thin out and every once in a while Neville could see stars shining down on them. He let a faint smile creep over his face.

A massive shadow fell over them and they halted, pointing their weapons.  The shadow landed on the path in front of the group, cutting off the way to school. It was like a huge tattered sheet waving about in a strong wind, with the faintest suggestion of limbs. Hermione lit her wand, but the glowing light revealed nothing more of the shadowed thing. It seemed to be made of darkness.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Don't move, any o' you," Hagrid muttered to them. He turned toward the shadow. "Who are you looking for?" Hagrid asked it loudly.

The thing twisted and turned, blocking out different parts of the sky and forest before them. It did not answer.

"Who sent you?" Hagrid asked.

Again the thing did not respond. Ten more minutes passed. Hagrid waved for them to follow and they stepped off the path, circling widely through the trees and undergrowth. The shadow did not pursue them. They did not speak until they passed the last tree of the forest. Harry started towards Hagrid's hut but the large man directed him toward the castle instead. Fang the boarhound came with them as well.

"What was that?" asked Harry, as they passed through the gates of the school.

"It might a' been a wraith, but if it were, it was an odd one." Hagrid said slowly. "A wraith is a kind a'…er… I can't explain it to well.  They're angry things that got but one purpose, ter kill what they was directed at. There's loads o' dark magic in those things, and not a ward yet made can keep um out, but they don' just flit about like that. Usually the only people that see um' are the ones they're about to kill. I've gotta tell Dumbledore about tha'," he said starting up the stairs to the headmasters office. He paused to look back at them.

"Thank yeh' fer all yuir help ter night. I don' know what I woulda' done without yeh," said Hagrid, looking teary again.

"Good night Hagrid," said Harry. They all mumbled good night to Hagrid as well, and took the stairs up to Gryffindor tower.

Neville did not go to the Gryffindor common room after classes the next day. Swamped with homework he climbed the stairs to the library and found a very secluded corner to hide in. It was not that he did not want to be invited on another adventure, but he could now understand why Harry and Ron never seemed to have their assignments finished.

Neville finished up the last sentence of his transfigurations essay and set it aside to dry. There was a prickling feeling on the back of his neck. Very casually he took his wand from his pocket and held it across his lap. The prickling feeling continued and he was certain someone was behind him. He whiled in his chair. Only empty rows of bookshelves stood there. He turned back to his papers.

" 'ello," said a loud female voice.

Neville nearly fell out of his seat.  The tall girl from the boarded up train compartment stood in front of his desk. Her curly black hair was falling over her face, and she watched him without blinking.  He remembered her being sorted into Slytherin, but could not remember her name.

"Hey." Neville said back cautiously.

"I'm Verdad," she said holding out her hand. He shook it.

"I'm Neville Longbottom."

"You're in 6th year right?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Would you mind if I took a peek at that paper you've just finished up?" she asked pointing at his essay.

He was half afraid she would tear it up as part of some Slytherin prank, but he nodded. She carefully picked it up and looked it over. Her lips moved slightly at times, as if sounding out some of the longer words.

"How come you've written this part three times?" she asked pointing out several of the paragraphs. His eyes followed her fingers.

"You're supposed to. It's an essay, so you've got an introduction, the body paragraphs that explain your thesis, and then you wrap it all up with the conclusion."

"But couldn't you just write 'You don't transfigure magically unstable objects because they blow up'?" she asked.

"Well that doesn't really explain it. You have to be thorough, that's why they ask for an essay." Neville said.

"Hmmmm," she made a thoughtful noise. "Would you mind having a look at a paper I did. It's got a bunch a' corrections on it but I've got no #$@%ing idea what they mean."

Neville's mouth dropped open a bit at the casual profanity, but he nodded. She took a folded up piece of parchment from her robes and handed it to him. The entire lower half of the page was covered in red ink. He recognized Professor McGonagall's handwriting instantly. Verdad had written five sentences in very large handwriting, explaining basic object-to-object transformations.        

            To transfigure one object into another, that is not alive, you need a wand. You point the wand at the object and say verto. While you point the wand at the object you have to think of what you want it to turn into, because you can't not know what you want it to turn into or it gets messed up. Then when the object is changed you show it to the teacher and she gives you a grade. Then you have to write an essay on it. The End.

Professor McGonagall had written several long paragraphs about taking assignments seriously and not giving into peer pressure. There was a long railing section about not becoming the class clown at the beginning of the year. It ended with a note to see her after class.

Neville looked up at Verdad, who was still watching him very carefully. He was about to ask her if the paper was a joke, but her expression was so serious he changed his mind.

"You've never written an essay before?" he asked.

"No." she said aggressively.

"Did you transfer from Durmstrang?" he asked.

"No. Are you going to tell me what's wrong with my essay or not?"

"Well it isn't really an essay…"

"Why not?"

"An essay starts out with a thesis statement, that's your main idea, and then you build around it…"

Neville was still explaining basic English to the Slytherin girl when something in the great hall exploded. 

            "Has anyone else noticed a definite down turn in the quality of food this year?" asked Dean Thomas, as he picked at the meatloaf on the serving dish. It somehow managed to be watery.

            "Actually I did." Ron said, "Hermione did you trick all of the house elves into freeing themselves, or send them on strike or something?"

            Hermione looked at him with great contempt. "I haven't tricked anyone into doing anything." she said. "Maybe they've just realized what a bad lot they've got and decided to protest."

            She ladled some unusually purple stew onto her plate, and began to eat. Harry looked up and down the table at the singed rolls and wilted salad. Maybe the Ministry's cut the schools budget to get back at Dumbledore. Harry thought. His eyes drifted to the Slytherin table. He noticed the food over there was in much better condition.  He looked at the head table. Most of the teachers were absent, as was the headmaster. Harry tried a little of the stew. It had a funny almost sweet taste, as if some one had poured zero calorie sugar substitute into it. He was just finishing some of the overly tart custard when he noticed Draco Malfoy watching him.   

            "Malfoy's looking…" Harry started to say.

            Hermione dropped forward into her dish of stew. Ron and Harry jumped forward at once, calling her name. They pulled her up right. The purplish glop ran down her face and robes, and her eyes were rolled back in her head.

            "Get Madam Pom…" Ron dropped to the floor halfway through his sentence.

            Some first year Gryffindors ran from the hall. Harry felt at Ron's neck. He couldn't find a pulse. The fourth years crowded around them gawking.

            "Don't just stand there! Get help!" Harry bellowed. They scattered. Madam Hooch and Hagrid came running over.

            "They aren't breathing!" Harry shouted desperately.

            Dean and Harry set Hermione on the floor.

            "Maybe we should do CPR." Dean suggested.

            "Do you know how?" Harry asked.

            "Seen it done on television…" Dean toppled over backwards at Hagrid's feet.

             Hagrid grabbed up the fallen students and was headed for the door when a Hufflepuff girl fell backwards across his path. All around the hall students collapsed. Hagrid set down the three he was carrying.

            "They been poisoned. Somebody find Professor Snape!" Hagrid bellowed.

            Harry whirled toward the Slytherin table. Not one of them had collapsed. Malfoy was smirking at him.

            "Is something wrong with the mud-bloods?" Malfoy called.

            "YOU DID THIS!" Harry shouted, storming across the hall. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" He demanded at the top of his lungs.

            "I haven't done anything." Malfoy said smirking.

            "I KNOW YOU'VE POISINED THEM! WHAT WAS IT?" Harry bellowed. He was shaking from head to foot and red was clouding the edge of his vision.

            "I don't know what you're talking about Potter. Maybe it was just their time to go." Malfoy said with the same superior smirk.

            "YOU… YOU…" Harry's scar blasted open, he couldn't see the room, it was a blur of red light. He refused to let himself fall. He staggered about trying to push the pain aside. "You…kill…you…son of  a…" His throat tightened and he felt strangled by his own rage. "Murderer…" he was on his knees and the pain and the anger continued to build. Someone was picking him up but he could not tell who. Though it all he heard Malfoy and the other Slytherins laugh. He never hated anyone so much…

            "AAARRRGGGG!"

Harry screamed in agony and convulsed so hard the person carrying him dropped him on the floor.

            It was happening again.  That hatful invisible burning thing smothered him. It twisted around him and through his skin. He tried to call for help but his mouth would not move. He was frozen in agony. He did not know how long.

            "What's wrong Harry?" asked a familiar voice from very near by.

            He tried to scream for help but other words came out instead.  He felt himself sit upright, every muscle quivering in convulsive agony.

"I'm fine sir, my scar hurt for a minute there," his voice answered. Acid was melting his skull. He knew it. 

 His mouth was twisted in to sheepish grin.

"My friends need help sir." His mouth said.

He felt his arm pointing, but he could not see where through the blinding veil of red across his eyes. He could hear the Headmaster walking away from him. He felt his own hand move inside his robes and draw out his wand, pointing it towards the sound of the retreating foot steps.

Some one help me! He thought desperately. He called out a warning but nothing happened. Sirius are you there? He begged. He's going to kill him! Please help. The barking came again, but much fainter then last time. The strangling coils loosened, but he could not move his arm. He tried again to yell but all that came out was a rasping inhuman hiss.

"Avada Kedavra!" the words came from his mouth a second later.

 Even through the red haze he could see the green light coming from his wand. Something struck him in the chest and he was thrown across the hall. He struck a bench and it toppled on him, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his scar. His body stood up again without his consent.

"Let him go Tom." Dumbledore's voice echoed in his ears.

"He's not here old man! You think you can do this to me and get away with it? I'm not taking orders from you ever again!" his voice announced.

"Tom I know you're in there. You don't know Harry half as well as you think." Dumbledore said calmly.

Harry felt his arm move again. His wand darted to the side and he heard other students screaming. No! Harry thought desperately. Stop! The barking rang louder in his ears. Sirius please help me! There was a sudden intense pain in his arm, as if something very large was biting his wrist. His wand was pointed at the floor. He tried to scream again but only the hissing escaped his lips.

"Stupefy!" Dumbledore shouted, but the stunning curse bounced off Harry's chest without effect.

"It won't work old man!" his voice taunted.

"Let him go Tom." Dumbledore repeated.

"Make me!" his voice said, laughing.

"GINNY NO!" Harry heard Hagrid bellow.

Harry was tackled and pinned to the floor. Small hands wrapped around his wrist, trying to pull his wand away from him. Harry's free hand shot up and he felt it tangle in Ginny's hair. She shrieked as he pulled her downward. Harry felt his arm move, pressing the tip of his wand into her neck. She tried to push it away, but Voldemort was stronger then both of them.

"Avada…

All of his will and strength, everything he had, Harry put into moving his right arm. The barking had gone, the shouting had gone, even the pain had gone. It was his arm against the strangling thing inside him. As the wand moved, Harry felt the Voldemort's surprised expression put on his face. As the word Kedavra left his mouth the wand was pointed entirely at Harry's own forehead.