Star Cross'd Lovers
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter as it belongs to JK Rowling.
Chapter 8 - A Gathering in the Woods
Spring was coming. Each tree was breaking out in colour with blossoms again. The sun would shine for longer and in the evenings it cast long shadows of the pupils. On the day of the second Quidditch match of the year it shone brightly in a grey sky. But it was a crisp, cold day and the ground was damp. That didn't matter to the Quidditch players; as long as the sky was clear enough and the rain stayed away.
Harry checked his watch. He had a few minutes to spare before he would meet up with Susan. He let a few Ravenclaws walk past him and then he hurried down to Professor Ctesias' classroom.
Please let him be there. Please let him be there. If he's not then I can't go to anyone else.
Luckily there Professor Ctesias was, sitting at his desk correcting essays. He looked very tired and worn out. Harry started to wonder if it was a good idea to bother him like this.
"Aaah, Potter." said Ctesias without even looking up. "What brings you here? Judging by the sound of your nervous footsteps I'd say you were in need of help. But obviously you don't need help with your Defence Against the Dark Arts homework. . .100 percent. . .Well done Potter. Not too good for your friend Weasley though. . .he got 12 percent. . .but that can be remedied in time and hard work." Finally Ctesias set the quill back into the ink and looked up at Harry. Underneath his shabby grey hair he had dark patches around his eyes but he looked wise and knowledgeable. "Anyway. . .like I've said; what brings you here?"
"This a difficult question to ask, Professor", Harry shifted nervously.
Ctesias gestured to a chair. "Sit down if it helps." Harry declined the offer and went straight into the question.
"Is it possible sir, for a wizard to forget how to do a spell?"
Ctesias sat with his hands under his chin and looked mildly puzzled. "Yes. . .if for example a witch or wizard put a memory charm on you-"
"No, I don't mean like that. I mean. . ." Harry groaned, "it's difficult for me to explain."
"Please try."
"Let's say that a completely normal wizard was able to do a spell quite easily for a few years and then one day. . .he couldn't."
Ctesias cleared his throat and then said, "What? Did he die or something?"
"No", Harry said exasperatedly. "How can someone completely normal just stop being able to do a spell. It doesn't make any sense."
"I won't lie to you Harry. . .I've never experienced a situation like that myself. Young wizards are taught very basic spells to begin with and to the wizard performing those spells is almost like breathing - you don't have to think about doing it, you just do it. However, if this wizard in question is older and tries a complicated spell then I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't do it. But I've never heard of a wizard suddenly not being able to perform a spell that he used to be able to perform for a few years. Maybe he'd be out of practice."
"Definitely not out of practice", Harry said quietly.
Ctesias sighed. "Look, the only reasons I can think of for that happening is if the spell needed certain potions the wizard didn't have, or if it took something that the wizard didn't have for the spell to work. Such as a memory, a certain feeling, a brain. . ."
"A brain?"
"Believe me, it happens." Harry paused and thought about what he had said.
"A feeling? Do you mean like if the wizard felt a certain way when performing the spell and one day he couldn't feel it anymore? Would that stop him being able to perform the spell?"
"I suppose", Ctesias said, nodding. "This situation you're speaking of must be very rare Harry, for I've never heard of a wizard losing the ability to cast a spell. A spell can be very valuable to a wizard. I suggest that this 'wizard' go talk to someone he can truly confide in because if he's feeling the wrong emotions he needs to get it sorted straight away." Ctesias winked reassuringly at Harry. At once Harry knew he'd not be very good at hiding this. "Let me know if you have any more trouble. And good luck at your Quidditch game today Harry."
A great weight had been lifted from them pit of Harry's stomach before he began dressing into his Quidditch robes. They were playing Hufflepuff today - so there wasn't much to fret over. Harry expected the game to be over within an hour. It helped that Harry knew what he could one day be able to perform a Patronus charm once again but he still didn't quite know what happy memory he could find that was powerful enough to overcome the sadness he felt about Sirius. He turned these thoughts over in his mind as he did up the buttons on his shirt.
Ron joined him soon after their robes were fastened. Their first match had been against Ravenclaw and they had won by 30 points. It had been a spectacular victory over Ravenclaw (not because they'd gained a lot of points but because Ravenclaw put up a good fight). Ron was not nervous; he was determined to stop any other house winning a vast number of points.
"Susan says good luck", he told Harry. "I saw her out there just before the match. Does she give you any hints about what Hufflepuff's strategies might be?"
"Nah, she doesn't talk about Quidditch much. Just furry kittens, pink and picking flowers. . .you know girly things and the like."
"Yeah", Ron said, playing along. "Sugar, spice and everything nice?"
"Stuff we wouldn't understand", Harry said nodding.
They started to laugh as they went out onto the Quidditch pitch. It was dreadfully cold and as they breathed they could see the clouds their breath had made. At the other end of the pitch the Hufflepuff players stood together. Smith was the tallest and had a look of sheer determination on his face. Everyone else had a look of foreboding. Smith did not want to be defeated by the Gryffindors. Somewhere up in the stands Susan would be watching. Harry waved to the crowd, hoping she would see him. Ron was shaking but everyone seemed pretty confident. Hufflepuff were easy enough to beat and Harry felt much better when Susan wished him luck even though she'd be cheering for her own house. A while ago Susan had asked Harry if he understood this and he laughed, saying he did. Just because his girlfriend was in the house he was playing against didn't mean he'd go easy on them.
When they were on the pitch Madam Hooch stated the rules of the game. While everything seemed normal Harry couldn't help but notice that there was something different about Zacharias Smith, for when the two Quidditch captains shook hands Smith had the expression of a warrior about to go into battle. His jaw was firmly set and he was watching the Quaffle with focused eyes, as if nothing else in the world existed. wished them luck and blew her whistle to signal the start of the game.
It was as if wild animals had broken loose from cages. The Quaffle went soaring up only to be caught immediately in mid-air by Zacharias Smith. The true battle had begun. Harry realised this with a feeling of dread because all of a sudden the Hufflepuffs were playing against the Gryffindors with all their worth. With every move the Hufflepuffs made the Gryffindors were a few seconds behind them and in this game every second counted.
Obviously, a lot of preparation had went into this game. Hufflepuff seemed to have set positions and whenever the Quaffle was passed to a Gryffindor there was always one chaser from the opposing team to intercept it. They were moving fast. . .too fast, leaving stunned Gryffindors way behind them. The whole Gryffindor team was in disarray. They were too shocked to see the next move coming.
Harry looked around frantically for their new captain Alicia Spinnet, who was just as shocked as the rest of the team. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. But this was no time to look confused.
"Right you lot!" she shouted at her fellow team members. "Sharpen up!" It was too late for a pep-talk but her command seemed to wake everyone up. It was so strange to see the Hufflepuffs playing like this. Never before had they been this much of a challenge. Harry knew that he'd have to get the Snitch as soon as possible.
He flew high up into the air to get the best view of the pitch. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a huge black object hurtling towards him. He knew it was a bludger instantly and swerved to get out of its way. But no sooner had he done this than the bludger turned with him and charged after him. Images were blurred in front of his eyes as he turned yet again to avoid it.
Thishas to be a coincidence, he thought. The bludger had simply moved in the wind or something. But to Harry's horror it turned once more. He elevated his broom but the bludger moved upwards. He anxiously searched the pitch for some kind of explanation but all he could see was hundreds of people merged into a mass of colour because he was moving so fast. The only other time this had happened was in his second year when Dobby had sent a rogue bludger after him and Harry only wished that Dobby was the cause of this now. He was just waiting for his little head to come running onto the pitch, his bat-like ears flapping and saying, "Dobby is only trying to help Harry Potter sir! Dobby is doing this for Harry's own good!"
Dobby never came. Neither did any other help for that matter. Everyone was as confused as Harry. Harry couldn't see it but Professor McGonagal was moving through the crowd, trying to find the source of the magic. All the Quidditch players had stopped, except Hufflepuff who were still playing as normal. Harry neared the edge of the pitch, hoping to fly away from it. Perhaps whoever was controlling the bludger would lose control over it if it was outside the pitch.
Just as Harry was about to leave over the walls of the field another object came flying towards him.
It was the Quaffle! He turned his head just in time to see that a Hufflepuff chaser had thrown it in his direction. Those idiots were still playing! And after the Quaffle came the speeding figure of Zacharias Smith.
It took Harry barely half a second to register that Smith was about to grab the Quaffle, unaware that Harry was nearing.
It all happened so fast. Smith's face hadn't even the time to look confused.
Harry banged into Smith.
The huge bludger was moving through the air with a dull, heavy sound, parting the air as it came. The bludger hit Harry directly in the stomach so hard that Harry temporarily couldn't breathe. All the air had been knocked out his lungs. He gasped for air as if he'd been under water for too long.
The force of the bludger made Harry hit Smith's body behind him with nearly the same force.
And so they fell.
Luckily they missed the wall of the pitch by a few inches and were falling outside the pitch. The wind roared in Harry's ears as he fell. Like a monster all around him, waiting for him to fall into its mouth, getting ready to consume him. They must have been fifty feet in the air and were drawing ever closer to the ground.
Harry's first instinct was to grab hold of something. His broom! He reached upwards to grasp his falling broom. But his arms only flailed in the wind. He must have been falling faster than his broom. Suddenly his hand brushed against wood. He tried again and closed his fingers around the handle of his Firebolt. He clung on tight but still the broom fell.
Desperately he reached inside his robes and withdrew his wand. Above the noise of the wind he cried out a spell to stop the falling broom. Instantly the broom stopped and Harry's arm tugged the broom. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the possibility of his arm breaking due to the speed at which he was falling. His arm gave a sickening pull in its socket but no excruciating pain came.
Harry reached blindly out into wind and pulled Smith's robes towards him. The weight was a lot for the broom to cope with but it supported the two boys long enough for Harry to steer it to the ground. Harry held onto the broom and Smith with all the strength he could muster.
When his feet touched the ground he sank into the wet grass with relief. His body seemed to go limp and he collapsed. Smith was trembling faintly beside him. Harry lay face down on the slippery muck and then turned over when he regained his strength.
His throat was dry. "Smith. . .Smith? Zacharias?"
Smith had gone weak. Everything had happened within a matter of seconds and he was still in shock.
"Whuh?" His breathing was quick. "Har-"
"Are you alright?" Harry climbed up from the ground and went to Smith's shaking body. The pain in his gut caused him to stumble.
"I. . .I think so. . ." Harry was glad to hear he was. "You. . .pushed. . .me", he gasped. Harry was affronted. He'd just done all he could to save Smith and now Smith was accusing him of trying to hurt him.
"I didn't push you!" Harry said angrily, clutching the pain in his stomach. "A bludger hit me. It was an accident." In the heat of the moment Harry felt like thumping Smith but the shock of the fall made him feel that way. Harry thought that maybe Smith had accused him because of the shock he was also feeling.
"Are you alright?" Smith asked.
Harry moved his arms around. They weren't broken. "Yes."
"Then no one was hurt too badly."
Harry fixed his robes and tried to flatten his wind swept hair. There was mud and dirt all down the front of his robes but he was thankful that he was safe. He steadied himself and felt his chest. It was painful but no broken bones. The bludger was gone and people could be heard from inside the Quidditch pitch, shouting in confusion. Smith just lay on the ground shaking. He searched around for a sign of who had attacked him but when he could find nothing he turned to Smith with his brows furrowed.
"I want to know why that bludger attacked me. Tell me honestly. Did anyone fix it to come after me? Anyone from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team?"
It was Smith's turn to feel affronted. "No! I'm just as confused as you are."
"Then if the Hufflepuffs didn't do it, who did?" Smith didn't answer; he was too busy trying to recover. Harry knew very well that there were more dangerous people who would fix a bludger like that but he kept quiet. Now that Harry was firmly on the ground he focused on his surroundings. They were definitely outside the pitch and beyond them was the Forbidden Forest, dark and eerie. Harry's eye caught sight of something.
A black figure moved through the trees on the outskirts of the forest. It was going deeper into the woods. Whatever it was it must have been the thing to set the bludger on Harry. He sat upright and glared into the darkness.
"What are you looking at?" Smith asked, sitting up also.
"Did you see that?" Harry asked breathlessly. "Something in the forest."
"See what? Let's go Harry, I feel sick."
Harry scrambled to his feet and, driven by the sheer anger he was feeling for the person in black, ran towards the forest.
Smith was shouting behind him. "Harry! Where the hell are you going? Are you mad? You're heading straight for the Forbidden Forest!" Smith got up resignedly, feeling he owed Harry for saving him and ran after him. He didn't want Harry to get hurt.
"HARRY!" Smith tried again. "ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE?" Mad. . .totally and utterly mad! Smith thought. He was out of breath by the time he caught up with Harry. There was a mad gleam in Harry's eyes, as if he was too angry to talk.
The leaves above them filtered some green light through to the forest floor and Smith shivered. He'd never been to the Forbidden Forest before and every animal cry made him jump.
"Where are we going?" Smith demanded. They both trudged deeper into the forest, though the nettles and brambles. As they were walking Smith slipped down a rise in the ground. His hands cut on some stones and twigs, drawing blood. He tried to raise himself up but was surprised to see Harry's outstretched hand.
"I'll pull you up." Smith looked at Harry quizzically.
"Why do you want to help me up? I tried to set a bludger on you, remember?" he said sarcastically.
Harry tutted, took Smith's hand forcefully and pulled him up.
"I didn't ask you to follow me", Harry told him as they walked through the forest together, both boys taking their brooms.
"Where are you going?" Smith asked, ignoring Harry.
"I saw something in here. I think it was the person who controlled the bludger."
"Aren't you over reacting? You could've saw an animal move and even if you did see a person it might not have been the person who controlled the bludger."
Their pace quickened. "No, it was a human alright. I know the shape of what I saw. And that person was watching me, as if waiting for the bludger to hit. Besides, why would an innocent person run off into the forest when he or she saw me looking?"
"Still. . .I think we should have waited for teachers or someone."
"What? And let him get away?"
"You know something Potter, you always like to be the hero."
Harry glared at him. "No I don't. I just don't want someone trying to hurt me running around Hogwarts." Both boys realised the light was fading fast as they moved deeper into the forest. All there was ahead and above them were trees. Harry noticed that Smith's trouser leg had ripped and were stained with blood. "Is it sore?" he asked, pointing to the cut.
"Not much", Smith said, although he had begun to limp. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be able to-"
Smith stopped dead in his tracks and stood paralysed with a look of numbness on his fear stricken face. His eyes opened wide to take in the sight before him.
All around them high up in the trees were hundreds of gleaming red eyes. Smith clutched at Harry's sleeve like a small child as he quivered in fear. The eyes never moved. They just stared at the two boy standing as still as statues. Harry, afraid that Smith would make a sudden movement, began to move slowly forward and hoped Smith would follow his example. Much to Harry's relief, Smith stepped cautiously over the forest floor and followed Harry.
The red eyes were like the eyes in a painting; they seemed to follow the boys wherever they went. Whatever creatures owned the eyes were prepared to attack if they had to. But Smith's injured leg slipped on a small twig and a loud snap followed, bringing the creatures from their hiding places in the trees.
All Harry could do was throw himself down on the forest floor and cover his face with his hands. Smith grabbed his broomstick and stated swinging it wildly at the creatures. Both boys knew that the black, furry creatures were Doxys as soon as they came flying from the trees. In all his confusion Harry had forgot to guard his broomstick. Some Doxys started to encircle it lying on the ground but Harry was too afraid of their poisonous bite to fight back.
Harry could hear Smith's groans as he put all the energy he had into each swing of the broom. One Doxy got too near Smith and was knocked backwards by the force of the broom. But too many were coming. Something had to be done and fast.
"Zacharius! Stop hitting them with the broom! Hit them with your wand!"
"I can't find it!" Zacharius called back. Harry panicked and clambered to his feet. A loud crunch beneath his feet made his heart seem to twist in despair. He'd found Smith's wand. . .
But his worry was replaced with a feeling of utter dread when he got a better view of what was going on.
About twenty little Doxys had hauled his Firebolt from the ground and were flying into the air with it.
My broom! Harry shook in horror. Sirius gave me that broom. A large Doxy flew straight at him in the face and Harry was thrown backwards slightly, clutching a large scratch on his jaw that the horrid creature had given him.
Smith, it turned out, was having worse luck than Harry. Just as he thought he'd landed a full-blown strike on a Doxy which was charging at him he managed to hit it on its wing. Angered, the Doxy flew onto his leg, where it sank its sharp teeth right through Smith's flesh. Zacharius fell backwards in pain. A searing pain was shooting its way up his legs, right up to his thighs until he could no longer stand it and he collapsed on the ground.
Harry heard his cries and hoped against hope that Zacharius would be alright. He knew he'd probably never get the broom back but what was important was their lives.
"Can you run Zacharius?" Harry called over the angry screeches of the Doxys.
"Not very fast!" was Zacharius' cry through clenched teeth.
Harry ran over to him, dodging the Doxys which weren't attacking his broom or Zacharius. He grabbed Zach by the sleeve of his Quidditch robes and hauled him up. Then, slinging one of Zach's arms over his shoulder he helped him run as fast as Zach's injured body allowed them. In all the confusion Harry had to admire Zacharius. He'd just been bitten by a Doxy but he could withstand the pain long enough to run.
Now most of the Doxys had changed direction and were following Zach and Harry. Both boys weren't fast enough but Harry could fire some charms behind him at the creatures which at least kept some of them off. The pursuit of the Doxys seemed to go on forever and the forest kept getting darker and darker.
Suddenly, the boys lurched forward and found that the ground before them had disappeared. They'd run right over the edge of what they soon found was a riverbank. Neither boy had time to register all this until later but were so shocked by the sudden drop that they let out an echoing cry all the way down. Their fall wasn't far and soon they found themselves swimming in a muddy, black river. Harry gulped in the disgusting water, trying to breathe but Zach was finding it hard to swim with an injured leg. The pain had now travelled up to his stomach.
He didn't know how he'd done it, but he must have been stronger than he thought because after much struggling and pulling the injured boy, Harry reached the safety of the bank and sprawled out on the muddy edge with Zach.
Darkness. Light. Darkness. Light. Harry blinked slowly several times and thought he could make out a light above him. He adjusted his eyes to the gloom. The light must've been his imagination because all around him was the darkness of the woods. He sat up, alert once more.
"Zacharius?" he said urgently.
"I'm here", Zach groaned, turning over. "Where are we?"
Harry hung his head. "We're lost."
"Where are those things? Those Doxys?"
Harry searched around him for the Doxys. They had gone. But no, they couldn't have. They were hell bent on getting the two boys only a few minutes ago. But it was true, they were gone.
"Gone", Harry told him, still not believing it.
"They mustn't have wanted to go after us into this nasty river", Zach said also sitting up.
"River?" Harry looked around him and saw that they had jumped off a ledge that led into a murky river. The more Harry looked at the river of blackness the more he wondered at whether this river had any water at all in it. His hands were wet but a black slime ran off his hands and his clothes were soaked with it. "I wouldn't want to go into this river either. . .if that's what it really is."
"Yeah it smells like rot", said Zach. Harry realised that Zach was right. It smelled absolutely foul. The Doxys mustn't have wanted to follow the boys into a sludgy river so they were now long gone. . .along with Harry's broom.
Zach let out a sickening moan and held onto his left leg where he'd been bitten, as if his precious blood was flowing from the bite.
"We have to get out of this forest", Harry said miserably. "And get you some help. The poison shouldn't take effect for another few hours."
"Take effect!" Zach shouted incredulously. "It feels like the insides of my legs are being ripped apart." He twisted in agony. "I think it's taking its fucking effect by now!" Harry felt so guilty. It was because of him that Zach was hurt. He felt like his insides were being ripped apart.
"I meant it will be a few hours before you. . ." Harry trailed off softly and closed his eyes in despair.
Zach's pain must've have subsided for a while because he slid through the mud towards Harry and put an hand on his shoulder.
"I know", said Zach tiredly. "I'm sorry I shouted, it just hurts so much. We'll get out of here soon."
"No I'm sorry Zacharius. This would never have happened if I hadn't been so stupid."
Zach sighed. "I'm not saying what you did was the best thing to do but I know you meant well. I've been an asshole to you and all you've been trying to do is help me. Now let's get the hell out of this forest so that I can get an antidote for this leg." Harry smiled at Zacharius. He started to see Hufflepuffs in a different light ever since he'd met Cedric. They were brave and good people, and Zacharius' stamina was admirable.
Above the trees it had grown dark both boys had been lost for an hour since their fall into the black river. The sounds of the night could be heard around them as they walked. They had decided to find a way around the river and make their way back. Thoughts of ever catching the person who'd attacked Harry had long vanished from their minds.
Once they'd heard the soft sound of hooves. Zach was constantly wary but Harry knew it was probably only a unicorn. He remembered Susan and thought about how much better the situation would be if she, Ron and Hermione were with him. The bobbing light of a lantern shone before them in the distance.
Zach looked expectantly at Harry.
"Don't follow it", Harry warned him. From the way the light jerked up and down Harry knew what the owner of the light was. "It's a Hinkypunk. It'll lead you into a bog. Probably straight into that river again." They passed the smoky creature and ignored the hovering light and soon noticed that all the while they were walking the air had grown colder.
Soon it was icy all around them and neither boy could help but shiver.
"No. . ." Harry whispered softly. Far off in the trees Harry could see a mass of black spectres. He threw out a hand to stop Zach going any further. Quietly, and very slowly Harry pointed to the group of Dementors standing in a huge circle. Harry's mind was numb and fear gripped him. As silently as he could, he led Zach away again. They took a different route towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Both were too frightened to speak.
What were they doing there? Was the question Harry kept turning over his mind. First Hogsmede, now the forest. When they saw the welcoming light burning in Hogwarts castle Harry and Zach thought they'd never been so happy to be back. All the time they had been glancing cautiously over their shoulders to see if a Dementor had noticed their presence.
"We have to tell Dumbledore about those Dementors!" Zach told Harry when they were safely out of the forest. Harry nodded, he should've at least let someone know about the Dementors in Hogsmede. . .maybe that way the Dementors wouldn't have got as far as the forest.
"First let's go to the Hospital Wing and get that antidote!"
Although Professors McGonagall and Sprout were furious at the boys for running into the forest, their anger quickly turned to fear when they heard all the boys had to say. Zach was attended to by Madam Pomfrey immediately and any search parties of teachers which had been sent into the forest to look for the boys were quickly summoned out. Dumbledore informed Harry he would act quickly in response to the Dementors but Harry knew that the Dementors wouldn't be caught so easily. And sure enough, by the time Dumbledore sent members of the Order out to find the Dementors they'd gone.
Harry visited Zach in the Hospital Wing and they were on good terms with each other by now. Zach was sorry about Harry's Firebolt but Harry said it couldn't b helped. It was best not to think about it, otherwise he'd go crazy.
Whatever the Dementors had been doing in the forest bothered Harry very much but as the days wore on it looked as if he'd never fond out what they were up to. He was happy he had new friends but nothing beat spending his days with Susan, Ron and Hermione.