Everybody stood expectantly, waiting for direction.
"Right," Harry said, "Let's start by reviewing what we did last year. We'll begin with the Impediment jinx. Why don't you all pair up –"
Electra had rolled her eyes again, and raised her hand. Harry was reminded of a first-year Hermione...only much more impatient and obnoxious.
"Yes?" he asked bluntly.
"We weren't [I]here[/I] last year," she said, "Some of us don't even know the incantation for the Impediment jinx."
"But [I]you[/I] know it, don't you," Harry thought dryly.
"Fine," he said, "Would all of last year's members please pair up with a new member, if you can? Especially if you feel more confident on this one? Great. Now remember, it's not enough to say the spell, you have to visualize what you want to happen in order for it to work really well..."
They worked their way systematically through what they'd covered last year...the Impediment Jinx, Petrificus Totalus, Locomotor Mortis, and Expelliarmus. Altogether, the new students were catching on pretty quickly...Arthur had a pretty powerful Petrificus, but his poor aim (due, no doubt, to his trembling hands), had already sent Neville crashing rigidly to the mat several times.
"S-Sorry!" squeaked Arthur, turning white at the prospect of having petrified a sixth year for the fourth time, "I'm not doing it on p-purpose, really, I'm n-not!"
"That's alright," Neville said laughing shyly, after Hermione administered the countercurse, "I'm sort of used to it by now. Besides, I was even worse when I first started...really, that wasn't bad..."
Harry grinned to himself and moved on to Parvati and Lavender who were bullying a couple first years a bit, freezing and unfreezing them with the Locomotor Mortis charm, but Harry let it slide – a little good-natured hazing wouldn't hurt. Besides, even though Electra Bellanova was trying to laugh it off as her arm jerked and stopped its way to her wand, he could sense her embarrassed frustration, and it gratified him a bit.
On the other hand, Padma and Luna were having a full-out wizard's duel, to the amazement of a couple new Hufflepuffs...what were their names again?
"Good one!" Padma admitted begrudgingly from the mat, after Luna had tripped her with the Impediment Jinx.
"Oh, thank you," Luna said airily, but this allowed Padma the chance to cry, "Meducapelli!" and Luna's hair came alive, yanking and tugging her head about.
The first year Hufflepuffs clapped, but Luna slapped one hand over her struggling hair, and wielding her wand with the other, cried, "Tereseus!"
Padma let out a little shriek, and began blinking widely, stretching her hands in front of her. "Take it off! You win, you win!"
"Finite Incantatem," Harry said, and Padma suddenly seemed to be able to see him. She put a hand over her heaving chest.
"You frightened me half to death," she said, trying to catch her breath, "What spell is that, Luna?"
"Tereseus," she said, "The Blinding Spell...Daddy taught it to me this summer, for the garden. After we got home from hunting Snorkacks, of course," she said, as though this were perfectly obvious, "The Black-Eyed Susans we planted actually turned out to be Peeping Tomflowers, so I had to blind them every night before I could take a shower. Come to think of it, I've never tried it on a human before..."
Padma seemed like she was either going to faint or chuck something at Luna, while one of the Hufflepuff boys had gone red as a radish, no doubt at the thought of Luna jinxing flowers wearing a towel...
"That was a nice bit with the hair pulling...actually feels sort of pleasant now," Luna said, as her short hair began braiding itself into spiky little braids.
"What was that hair-pulling one again?" Harry asked Padma, offering her a hand up from the floor. He figured she'd been embarrassed enough, especially in front of new members.
"Oh...Meducapelli," she said, regaining some of her dignity, "I did a little research over the summer."
"Great work," Harry smiled reassuringly, "Keep it up!"
After working his way around the room twice, pointing out minor flaws, correcting pronunciation, posture, and aim, he decided they'd had enough for one day.
"Now," he said, after they'd all sheathed their wands in their pockets, "We're going to have to head back in groups. And do try not to get caught. Even though the D.A. isn't expressly forbidden this year – "
"It isn't?" asked Dean, sounding highly disappointed.
"Even so," Harry said with a smile, "We are still out past curfew...and I don't fancy running into Filch even when I [I]haven't[/I] done anything wrong."
There was a chuckle, and students divided themselves into groups of three or four. Harry watched them on the map, and kept an eye on Filch and Mrs. Norris for them. There were a few close calls – Mrs. Norris had run into Cho Chang and a couple Ravenclaws, but by the time Filch had arrived, they were safely in their dormitory.
Finally, Arthur Aaronson, Neville, and Broderick closed the door to the Room of Requirement behind them, and Harry was left alone with Ron and Hermione.
He heaved a deep sigh. He was finally going to tell them...
"Well," Ron said, "Not bad for a first—"
There was a slight cough to Harry's left, and with a little jump, he turned to find Ginny looking up at him.
At least he'd thought they were alone...
"Ginny!" he said, surprised, "Why didn't you leave with Arthur and Neville and—"
"Oh," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "I just had something to ask you about the Impediment jinx. But..." she said eyeing Ron and Hermione, "I can wait."
"Oh," Harry said, glancing at Hermione, "Well, we can do it now."
"No," Ginny said, "I mean, I don't mind waiting. See, I need you to show me something, I think my wrist technique—"
"It's fine, Ginny, it really is," Harry assured her, trying to hide his impatience, "You're one of the best in the D.A. Really."
"—Because I wanted to ask you—"
"Ginny," Harry interrupted as gently as he could, "I'm really sorry...I was just...kind of hoping I could get Ron and Hermione to myself for a little while?..."
Ginny didn't say anything for a while, and Harry was wondering if maybe she hadn't heard him, when...
"Oh," Ginny said lightly, "Right. Sorry, that was selfish of me."
"Oh, no..." Harry said, befuddled, "That's fine..."
"No," Ginny continued, and Harry recognized, with a sinking feeling, the familiar Mrs. Weasley flame igniting in Ginny's eyes, reddening her cheeks, "Because you [I]obviously[/I] don't spend [I]nearly[/I] enough time together as it is...I'll just leave you to it, then."
"Ginny! Quit being a pain!" Ron said abruptly, "You can hang out with us tomorrow!"
"Oh, [I]can[/I] I?" Ginny said, clapping her hands together sarcastically, "Tomorrow? Or the next day? Or maybe next week? Or at the next D.A. meeting? You know, you'd think I had never faced Voldemort before. You'd think I'd never been with you at the Department of Mysteries. But nevermind," she said, "I'll just go back to the common room with Neville and the other first years, shall I?"
And she stormed out of the room.
"What's the matter with her?" Harry asked irritatedly. He had enough on his mind without Ginny feeling all misunderstood and left out.
And left out of what, he might add? Knowing the awful truth about his prophecized demise?
"Hormones," Ron said with disgust, "She's all...wonky. She used to be fun, and lately she's been all girlie."
Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted as she sat on the edge of a table.
"Wait," Harry said, "Let me guess...you know exactly what's up with Ginny, because this is a girl thing, and we're just too hopelessly dumb to get it?"
"Something like that," Hermione said, "Look, it's not for me to tell you. If half the school can figure it out, you two ought to be able to."
"You know," Ron said thoughtfully, "You can be singularly irritating at times."
"My goodness Ron, 'singularly irritating?' What an [I]awful[/I] lot of syllables."
Harry scowled at the slammed door, "It's like she's been possessed by Cho Chang or something."
"Right," Ron said, "Only at least with Cho she just cried all over you. You got lucky today, mate, I've seen Ginny when she's really miffed...she practically breathes fire."
Hermione had buried her head in her hands.
"And why do you think Ginny might be acting like Cho Chang?" she asked Harry, as though trying to teach him addition.
"Because...she feels left out?" Harry asked, hopefully, "And she wants to make me feel bad?"
"I give up," Hermione said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling, "Look, let's change the subject."
Harry turned away and busied himself with re-shelving a couple of books that Ernie had been thumbing through. Now that the moment had finally arrived, he wished he could delay it just a bit longer...
"Harry," Hermione pressed, "Tell us about this prophecy."
Harry sighed. In a way, it would be good to finally have this burden off his chest. Or at least share the load of it.
"It's simple, really," he said, "There's this prophecy...Trelawney made it a long time ago—"
Ron burst out laughing.
"Are you serious? Sybill Trelawney? I knew you were reading too much into this. Harry, come on," he said, standing up from the table ledge, "Let's go back to the common room."
"No," Harry said, "I know what you're thinking but this was a real prophecy...you haven't seen her when she does it...it's like...she goes all stiff and her voice..." a slight chill ran down his spine at the memory, "It's really creepy. Like someone else is speaking through her."
"I don't know Harry, I still – "
"Dumbledore believes it's true," Harry interrupted, "And so do the Unspeakables, apparently. And that's enough for me."
"But what does it say, Harry?" Hermione asked, staring at him hard, "Exactly...do you remember the wording of it?"
"Not totally, but it basically says," Harry said, bracing himself, "that either I have to kill Voldemort, or he has to kill me."
He finished in a rush, hoping beyond reason that saying it faster would make it easier to hear. Ron and Hermione were quiet for a moment.
"Blimey," Ron said quietly.
"You can't remember the [I]exact[/I] wording?" Hermione asked, "Because I'd really like to—"
"Hermione," Ron said, at Harry's pained expression, "You can't fix this with your brain. Some things you just can't fix."
They were quiet again for a long time.
"Well," Hermione said briskly, "You'll just have to kill him, then."
"Easy for you to say!" Harry said hotly. Out of all the reactions he'd been expecting, that wasn't one he'd considered.
"Well, that's all there [I]is[/I] to say, isn't there?" Hermione said, "Harry, I'm really sorry that this had to happen to you...but...it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, when I heard what the prophecy actually was...it's as though I already knew it...you understand, right?"
Harry turned his eyes to the new blue mat, and flicked some dirt off of it with the toe of his trainer. He knew exactly what Hermione meant. When he first heard the prophecy he'd been horrified, but something in him had known it to be true. All the events leading up to this moment...yes, he'd always known somewhere, ever since Hagrid had told him the story of his parents' murder, that he and Lord Voldemort, like it or not, were connected permanently.
"So, there's no sense in torturing yourself over it," Hermione said, "As hard as it is. It's just that...there's no other option. Now, we just know exactly what we have to do."
"We?" Harry said, "It only mentions me in the prophecy."
"Prophecies don't include everything," Hermione said with a smile, "Do you think we'd let you do this alone?"
"We told you before, and we'll say it again – you're stuck with us," Ron said bracingly, "And so is V-Voldemort."
Harry felt the same desperately sad, desperately happy feeling he'd felt that afternoon. He wondered what he should say, what he could say to show them how grateful he felt...
"Right," Ron said, jumping up from the table ledge, making all the instruments rattle, "It's been a helluva day. Back to the common room?"
Later that night, Harry lay awake in bed. Tomorrow he'd have to change Secret Keepers...
"Malfoy already asked Hermione if it was Ron, and she said no," he thought, "But that was then...if he suspects Neville now, I can switch to Ron...and he won't think to ask if it's Ron [I]again[/I], because he already has...and he knows she wasn't lying because of the Veritaserum..."
He double-checked his logic. Was he really willing to put Ron in that kind of danger? And what kind of hypocrite did that make him, if he was willing to put Neville in danger and not Ron? Is that why Ginny was mad at him today? Because he didn't treat his friends equally? He squirmed guiltily under the covers.
"It's not my fault they're my best friends," he thought to himself. What was he supposed to do? Treat the entire school the same way he treated Ron and Hermione?
He was suddenly distracted by a creaking noise – someone was walking past the foot of his bed.
"Ron?" he asked in a whisper. The creaking stopped.
"Yeah?" Ron asked, his voice muffled through the curtain.
"Nothing...just thought you were asleep."
"Had to pee," Ron said, "What's up?" Harry could hear in Ron's voice that he wanted to get back to bed.
"Nothing," Harry said, "Goodnight."
"Night, Harry."
Harry listened as Ron's curtains opened, and the bed creaked. He'd ask him tomorrow – there was no point in keeping him up any later tonight. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
It was the year of the Yule Ball and Harry couldn't figure out who to take...Cho was already going with Cedric, and Luna was going with Neville...Professor Trelawney kept asking him to go, but then changed her mind and tried to convince Neville to go with her instead of Luna. Dumbledore finally agreed to go with Trelawney, but only if Ron could go with Hermione. Harry found that he had a headache by the time the whole thing was settled, and would have much preferred to stay home.
In fact, his scar was really hurting him...
He was walking down the Department of Mysteries corridor. The black door loomed ahead of him.
"Not again," he moaned to himself, "How many times do I have to see this?"
"[I]Haaaaarrrrryyyy....[/I]" called a hoarse voice.
Harry felt a shiver go up and down his spine. Well [I]that[/I] had never happened before.
He hurried into the circular room with the blue torches, and it began to spin. As it finally settled he wondered which door to take...he knew he was looking for something...But what? What was it?
"Haaaaaaaarrrrrryyyyyy...." Called the sepulchural voice...Harry thought he recognized this voice as well...
"Sirius?" he called out, more asking himself than anything else.
He looked to the door on his left...he knew that it would lead to the stone archway...What if...
What if Sirius actually [I]was[/I] waiting for him behind the veil?
[I]Click![/I]
Harry awoke to the familiar sound of the door to the dormitory clicking shut. He cursed inwardly and rubbed his tingling scar.
He'd been foolish, even to believe it for a moment. It had to be just more torture...Lord Voldemort was just trying to goad him into doing something stupid again. Sirius was dead, and there was no way he was coming back.
Was there?
"Right," Harry said, "Let's start by reviewing what we did last year. We'll begin with the Impediment jinx. Why don't you all pair up –"
Electra had rolled her eyes again, and raised her hand. Harry was reminded of a first-year Hermione...only much more impatient and obnoxious.
"Yes?" he asked bluntly.
"We weren't [I]here[/I] last year," she said, "Some of us don't even know the incantation for the Impediment jinx."
"But [I]you[/I] know it, don't you," Harry thought dryly.
"Fine," he said, "Would all of last year's members please pair up with a new member, if you can? Especially if you feel more confident on this one? Great. Now remember, it's not enough to say the spell, you have to visualize what you want to happen in order for it to work really well..."
They worked their way systematically through what they'd covered last year...the Impediment Jinx, Petrificus Totalus, Locomotor Mortis, and Expelliarmus. Altogether, the new students were catching on pretty quickly...Arthur had a pretty powerful Petrificus, but his poor aim (due, no doubt, to his trembling hands), had already sent Neville crashing rigidly to the mat several times.
"S-Sorry!" squeaked Arthur, turning white at the prospect of having petrified a sixth year for the fourth time, "I'm not doing it on p-purpose, really, I'm n-not!"
"That's alright," Neville said laughing shyly, after Hermione administered the countercurse, "I'm sort of used to it by now. Besides, I was even worse when I first started...really, that wasn't bad..."
Harry grinned to himself and moved on to Parvati and Lavender who were bullying a couple first years a bit, freezing and unfreezing them with the Locomotor Mortis charm, but Harry let it slide – a little good-natured hazing wouldn't hurt. Besides, even though Electra Bellanova was trying to laugh it off as her arm jerked and stopped its way to her wand, he could sense her embarrassed frustration, and it gratified him a bit.
On the other hand, Padma and Luna were having a full-out wizard's duel, to the amazement of a couple new Hufflepuffs...what were their names again?
"Good one!" Padma admitted begrudgingly from the mat, after Luna had tripped her with the Impediment Jinx.
"Oh, thank you," Luna said airily, but this allowed Padma the chance to cry, "Meducapelli!" and Luna's hair came alive, yanking and tugging her head about.
The first year Hufflepuffs clapped, but Luna slapped one hand over her struggling hair, and wielding her wand with the other, cried, "Tereseus!"
Padma let out a little shriek, and began blinking widely, stretching her hands in front of her. "Take it off! You win, you win!"
"Finite Incantatem," Harry said, and Padma suddenly seemed to be able to see him. She put a hand over her heaving chest.
"You frightened me half to death," she said, trying to catch her breath, "What spell is that, Luna?"
"Tereseus," she said, "The Blinding Spell...Daddy taught it to me this summer, for the garden. After we got home from hunting Snorkacks, of course," she said, as though this were perfectly obvious, "The Black-Eyed Susans we planted actually turned out to be Peeping Tomflowers, so I had to blind them every night before I could take a shower. Come to think of it, I've never tried it on a human before..."
Padma seemed like she was either going to faint or chuck something at Luna, while one of the Hufflepuff boys had gone red as a radish, no doubt at the thought of Luna jinxing flowers wearing a towel...
"That was a nice bit with the hair pulling...actually feels sort of pleasant now," Luna said, as her short hair began braiding itself into spiky little braids.
"What was that hair-pulling one again?" Harry asked Padma, offering her a hand up from the floor. He figured she'd been embarrassed enough, especially in front of new members.
"Oh...Meducapelli," she said, regaining some of her dignity, "I did a little research over the summer."
"Great work," Harry smiled reassuringly, "Keep it up!"
After working his way around the room twice, pointing out minor flaws, correcting pronunciation, posture, and aim, he decided they'd had enough for one day.
"Now," he said, after they'd all sheathed their wands in their pockets, "We're going to have to head back in groups. And do try not to get caught. Even though the D.A. isn't expressly forbidden this year – "
"It isn't?" asked Dean, sounding highly disappointed.
"Even so," Harry said with a smile, "We are still out past curfew...and I don't fancy running into Filch even when I [I]haven't[/I] done anything wrong."
There was a chuckle, and students divided themselves into groups of three or four. Harry watched them on the map, and kept an eye on Filch and Mrs. Norris for them. There were a few close calls – Mrs. Norris had run into Cho Chang and a couple Ravenclaws, but by the time Filch had arrived, they were safely in their dormitory.
Finally, Arthur Aaronson, Neville, and Broderick closed the door to the Room of Requirement behind them, and Harry was left alone with Ron and Hermione.
He heaved a deep sigh. He was finally going to tell them...
"Well," Ron said, "Not bad for a first—"
There was a slight cough to Harry's left, and with a little jump, he turned to find Ginny looking up at him.
At least he'd thought they were alone...
"Ginny!" he said, surprised, "Why didn't you leave with Arthur and Neville and—"
"Oh," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "I just had something to ask you about the Impediment jinx. But..." she said eyeing Ron and Hermione, "I can wait."
"Oh," Harry said, glancing at Hermione, "Well, we can do it now."
"No," Ginny said, "I mean, I don't mind waiting. See, I need you to show me something, I think my wrist technique—"
"It's fine, Ginny, it really is," Harry assured her, trying to hide his impatience, "You're one of the best in the D.A. Really."
"—Because I wanted to ask you—"
"Ginny," Harry interrupted as gently as he could, "I'm really sorry...I was just...kind of hoping I could get Ron and Hermione to myself for a little while?..."
Ginny didn't say anything for a while, and Harry was wondering if maybe she hadn't heard him, when...
"Oh," Ginny said lightly, "Right. Sorry, that was selfish of me."
"Oh, no..." Harry said, befuddled, "That's fine..."
"No," Ginny continued, and Harry recognized, with a sinking feeling, the familiar Mrs. Weasley flame igniting in Ginny's eyes, reddening her cheeks, "Because you [I]obviously[/I] don't spend [I]nearly[/I] enough time together as it is...I'll just leave you to it, then."
"Ginny! Quit being a pain!" Ron said abruptly, "You can hang out with us tomorrow!"
"Oh, [I]can[/I] I?" Ginny said, clapping her hands together sarcastically, "Tomorrow? Or the next day? Or maybe next week? Or at the next D.A. meeting? You know, you'd think I had never faced Voldemort before. You'd think I'd never been with you at the Department of Mysteries. But nevermind," she said, "I'll just go back to the common room with Neville and the other first years, shall I?"
And she stormed out of the room.
"What's the matter with her?" Harry asked irritatedly. He had enough on his mind without Ginny feeling all misunderstood and left out.
And left out of what, he might add? Knowing the awful truth about his prophecized demise?
"Hormones," Ron said with disgust, "She's all...wonky. She used to be fun, and lately she's been all girlie."
Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted as she sat on the edge of a table.
"Wait," Harry said, "Let me guess...you know exactly what's up with Ginny, because this is a girl thing, and we're just too hopelessly dumb to get it?"
"Something like that," Hermione said, "Look, it's not for me to tell you. If half the school can figure it out, you two ought to be able to."
"You know," Ron said thoughtfully, "You can be singularly irritating at times."
"My goodness Ron, 'singularly irritating?' What an [I]awful[/I] lot of syllables."
Harry scowled at the slammed door, "It's like she's been possessed by Cho Chang or something."
"Right," Ron said, "Only at least with Cho she just cried all over you. You got lucky today, mate, I've seen Ginny when she's really miffed...she practically breathes fire."
Hermione had buried her head in her hands.
"And why do you think Ginny might be acting like Cho Chang?" she asked Harry, as though trying to teach him addition.
"Because...she feels left out?" Harry asked, hopefully, "And she wants to make me feel bad?"
"I give up," Hermione said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling, "Look, let's change the subject."
Harry turned away and busied himself with re-shelving a couple of books that Ernie had been thumbing through. Now that the moment had finally arrived, he wished he could delay it just a bit longer...
"Harry," Hermione pressed, "Tell us about this prophecy."
Harry sighed. In a way, it would be good to finally have this burden off his chest. Or at least share the load of it.
"It's simple, really," he said, "There's this prophecy...Trelawney made it a long time ago—"
Ron burst out laughing.
"Are you serious? Sybill Trelawney? I knew you were reading too much into this. Harry, come on," he said, standing up from the table ledge, "Let's go back to the common room."
"No," Harry said, "I know what you're thinking but this was a real prophecy...you haven't seen her when she does it...it's like...she goes all stiff and her voice..." a slight chill ran down his spine at the memory, "It's really creepy. Like someone else is speaking through her."
"I don't know Harry, I still – "
"Dumbledore believes it's true," Harry interrupted, "And so do the Unspeakables, apparently. And that's enough for me."
"But what does it say, Harry?" Hermione asked, staring at him hard, "Exactly...do you remember the wording of it?"
"Not totally, but it basically says," Harry said, bracing himself, "that either I have to kill Voldemort, or he has to kill me."
He finished in a rush, hoping beyond reason that saying it faster would make it easier to hear. Ron and Hermione were quiet for a moment.
"Blimey," Ron said quietly.
"You can't remember the [I]exact[/I] wording?" Hermione asked, "Because I'd really like to—"
"Hermione," Ron said, at Harry's pained expression, "You can't fix this with your brain. Some things you just can't fix."
They were quiet again for a long time.
"Well," Hermione said briskly, "You'll just have to kill him, then."
"Easy for you to say!" Harry said hotly. Out of all the reactions he'd been expecting, that wasn't one he'd considered.
"Well, that's all there [I]is[/I] to say, isn't there?" Hermione said, "Harry, I'm really sorry that this had to happen to you...but...it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, when I heard what the prophecy actually was...it's as though I already knew it...you understand, right?"
Harry turned his eyes to the new blue mat, and flicked some dirt off of it with the toe of his trainer. He knew exactly what Hermione meant. When he first heard the prophecy he'd been horrified, but something in him had known it to be true. All the events leading up to this moment...yes, he'd always known somewhere, ever since Hagrid had told him the story of his parents' murder, that he and Lord Voldemort, like it or not, were connected permanently.
"So, there's no sense in torturing yourself over it," Hermione said, "As hard as it is. It's just that...there's no other option. Now, we just know exactly what we have to do."
"We?" Harry said, "It only mentions me in the prophecy."
"Prophecies don't include everything," Hermione said with a smile, "Do you think we'd let you do this alone?"
"We told you before, and we'll say it again – you're stuck with us," Ron said bracingly, "And so is V-Voldemort."
Harry felt the same desperately sad, desperately happy feeling he'd felt that afternoon. He wondered what he should say, what he could say to show them how grateful he felt...
"Right," Ron said, jumping up from the table ledge, making all the instruments rattle, "It's been a helluva day. Back to the common room?"
Later that night, Harry lay awake in bed. Tomorrow he'd have to change Secret Keepers...
"Malfoy already asked Hermione if it was Ron, and she said no," he thought, "But that was then...if he suspects Neville now, I can switch to Ron...and he won't think to ask if it's Ron [I]again[/I], because he already has...and he knows she wasn't lying because of the Veritaserum..."
He double-checked his logic. Was he really willing to put Ron in that kind of danger? And what kind of hypocrite did that make him, if he was willing to put Neville in danger and not Ron? Is that why Ginny was mad at him today? Because he didn't treat his friends equally? He squirmed guiltily under the covers.
"It's not my fault they're my best friends," he thought to himself. What was he supposed to do? Treat the entire school the same way he treated Ron and Hermione?
He was suddenly distracted by a creaking noise – someone was walking past the foot of his bed.
"Ron?" he asked in a whisper. The creaking stopped.
"Yeah?" Ron asked, his voice muffled through the curtain.
"Nothing...just thought you were asleep."
"Had to pee," Ron said, "What's up?" Harry could hear in Ron's voice that he wanted to get back to bed.
"Nothing," Harry said, "Goodnight."
"Night, Harry."
Harry listened as Ron's curtains opened, and the bed creaked. He'd ask him tomorrow – there was no point in keeping him up any later tonight. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
It was the year of the Yule Ball and Harry couldn't figure out who to take...Cho was already going with Cedric, and Luna was going with Neville...Professor Trelawney kept asking him to go, but then changed her mind and tried to convince Neville to go with her instead of Luna. Dumbledore finally agreed to go with Trelawney, but only if Ron could go with Hermione. Harry found that he had a headache by the time the whole thing was settled, and would have much preferred to stay home.
In fact, his scar was really hurting him...
He was walking down the Department of Mysteries corridor. The black door loomed ahead of him.
"Not again," he moaned to himself, "How many times do I have to see this?"
"[I]Haaaaarrrrryyyy....[/I]" called a hoarse voice.
Harry felt a shiver go up and down his spine. Well [I]that[/I] had never happened before.
He hurried into the circular room with the blue torches, and it began to spin. As it finally settled he wondered which door to take...he knew he was looking for something...But what? What was it?
"Haaaaaaaarrrrrryyyyyy...." Called the sepulchural voice...Harry thought he recognized this voice as well...
"Sirius?" he called out, more asking himself than anything else.
He looked to the door on his left...he knew that it would lead to the stone archway...What if...
What if Sirius actually [I]was[/I] waiting for him behind the veil?
[I]Click![/I]
Harry awoke to the familiar sound of the door to the dormitory clicking shut. He cursed inwardly and rubbed his tingling scar.
He'd been foolish, even to believe it for a moment. It had to be just more torture...Lord Voldemort was just trying to goad him into doing something stupid again. Sirius was dead, and there was no way he was coming back.
Was there?
