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Harry Potter and the Secrets Within
Chapter 7 – Centaurs and That Stupid Fwooper
Remus and Sirius waited anxiously at the edge of the forest. The class had been dismissed, but Harry hadn't returned. Remus gave Sirius a worried look.
"I shouldn't have let him go in alone," he said.
"I'm sure he's fine…" Sirius said uncertainly.
"We should get Dumbledore," Remus said. "Harry's not okay."
"Okay," Sirius said, "Good idea. Let's go."
They hurried across the lawn and to the school. They climbed the stairs quickly, passing their fellow classmates and teachers. They stopped at the stone gargoyle and Sirius looked over at Remus.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"Sugar Quill?"
"Cockroach Cluster?"
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?"
"Blood Pops?" The gargoyle jumped aside.
"Blood Pops?" Remus repeated incredulously. Sirius shrugged.
"He's Dumbledore, what do you expect?" he said with a smirk. They went up the spiral staircase quickly, entering the office without knocking. Dumbledore looked up as they entered, his eyes twinkling. Lily and James looked over their shoulders at them. James looked perplexed. Lily looked annoyed.
"Hello Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked. Remus shifted the books he was carrying and eyed Dumbledore worriedly.
"Sir, we were in Care of Magical Creatures studying Fwoopers, when ours flew into the Forbidden Forest. Professor Kettleburn told us to go in and get it," as Remus said this, the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes faded. "And Harry went in alone. He hasn't come back out Sir, and I think he was caught by Death Eaters."
"Why, Mr. Lupin, would you think that?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"Because," he hesitated, "Because a Death Eater was in our room last night. Attacking Harry."
"I see," Dumbledore stood his wand in hand. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, I'm afraid our discussion will have to wait until later."
"We want to help find Harry," Lily said, speaking for both of them. James nodded in agreement. Dumbledore smiled, his twinkle returning.
"Very well. Come," he beckoned. "Hagrid will assist us."
The group made their way outside and across the lawn to Hagrid's hut. The headmaster knocked gently. Hagrid, the enormous, bushy haired, beetle eyed man peered out, then smiled as he saw who it was and threw the door open.
"Its good 'ter see you again 'Eadmaster Dumbledore! Come in, come in," he said happily. Dumbledore shook his head.
"I'm afraid our business here today is not for pleasure. A student is lost in the Forbidden Forest. I know that you are familiar with the forest and its creatures, and was hoping you would aid us in the search for the boy," Dumbledore said somberly. Hagrid nodded, picking up his crossbow that was next to the doorframe.
"Yes, o' course," Hagrid nodded and led the group into the dark trees. Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius stuck close together. Lily uncharacteristically clung to James's arm. James, also very uncharacteristically, had a deep blush on his cheeks. Sirius smiled cheekily and Remus was grinning.
Hagrid led them deep into the forest. They had been walking for hours and the sun was setting. Lily yawned tiredly and snuggled up against the nearest person – James. James stared straight forward, his cheeks stained red still and his body stiff. Sirius's face was also red, but it was from contained laughter rather than embarrassment.
"Why do you venture into the forest?" a mystical voice asked from behind them. Hagrid turned and let out a sigh.
"Hello Xylo," he greeted. A centaur with white-blonde hair emerged from the underbrush and nodded in greeting. His blue eyes flashed in the moonlight.
"You are here for a reason," Xylo the centaur said. Hagrid nodded.
"There is a boy lost in the forest," Dumbledore said. "Would you happen to know where he is?"
"I do, good sir," Xylo answered. The centaur stepped closer, and the group could see that the fur from the horse half was pure white. "The boy of whom you speak came in early morning. He was brave to come in alone. Or perhaps very foolish."
"Can you bring us to him?" Dumbledore implored.
"That I can do, if it is the boy I think of. If it is, we haven't much time," Xylo said seriously starting in the opposite direction. The group followed.
"What do you mean? Is he in trouble?" Lily wanted to know. Xylo looked down at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"The Dark Lord's reinforcements have found a way to get onto the castle grounds. The stars tell us that the boy will bring horrors which no one has ever seen," Xylo said.
"Horrors which no one has ever seen?" Sirius squeaked.
"The Dark Lord wants the boy for only himself, and will stop at nothing to get him. The boy is the Dark Lord's only threat and all creatures of evil will stop at nothing to kill him. The Dark Lord will rise, the fates have spoken," Xylo whispered. The four teens shared a look of confusion and terror.
"I know," Dumbledore said. "That is why we must find him quickly."
"He is not far from here. Let us hope we arrive before something else does," the centaur said, going deeper and deeper into the dark forest. The four teens lit their wands, as did Dumbledore. Xylo stopped.
"The path ahead will lead you to him. I dare not venture further, but I bid you all good luck." With those words, Xylo turned and galloped into the darkness. Hagrid loaded his crossbow and the group went slowly through the trees. As they walked, Remus stared at the forest floor. He stopped suddenly and knelt down.
"What are you doing?" Sirius asked. Remus looked up, raising the object in his hand. Harry's glasses. And a few feet ahead of them, lying innocently on the ground – his wand. Remus folded the glasses carefully and put them in his pocket. James took the wand from the ground and the group moved on.
They stopped at the edge of a clearing. Many of them gasped; all of them froze.
Harry was sitting in the middle of the clearing, tied to a lone tree. His legs were curled up and he was shivering. His breath was visible in the pale moonlight as he took deep breaths through his nose, as if trying to calm himself and failing miserably. His face was scratched and scraped, like someone had rubbed something rough over it to break the skin. His head snapped up as Lily went closer. The rest of the group stayed back, still in shock.
Lily fell to her knees next to him and leaned forward, putting her arms around his neck to undo the blindfold. He gasped and tried to jerk away, his breaths getting short and choppy. Lily gently but firmly took hold of the blindfold, untying the knot and gently taking away the cloth. She then gently pried the cloth away from his lips and peered at his face. He'd pulled away as soon as she'd given up contact and was squeezing his eyes closed like he was expecting to be hurt.
"Harry," she said quietly. "Look at me, Harry. Let me know you're okay." Harry's eyes opened slowly and he turned his head, looking her in the face. He could see her faintly through the dark. His head throbbed and his slight vision was getting dim. He fell limply against the ropes, his head falling delicately on her shoulder. She felt the shivers racking his body and looked over at the group for help.
Sirius, James and Remus scrambled forward, falling in similar positions. Sirius took a pocketknife out of his robes and cut through the thick bonds. The ropes fell away and Harry slumped forward onto Lily and didn't move. She struggled to support his weight. Remus and James pulled him off so he leaned against the tree again. His eyes were closed and his breathing was more even, but he still didn't move.
Sirius cut the ropes around Harry's wrists slowly, exposing skin that was red and raw. Harry's chest rose and fell slowly. He opened his eyes halfway and looked over at them.
"We should get out of here," he said croakily. "He said he's going to come back for me."
"Who is 'he' Harry?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"He's going to bring me back to Voldemort," Harry whispered. "I don't want to go back." Hagrid and Dumbledore came forward into the soft moonlight. Lily placed a gentle hand on his forehead.
"He's feverish," she informed them. "He's way too hot. I've never read about fever this high before."
"Do you study medicine?" James asked.
"You know I'm studying to be a Healer, James," she said quietly, placing both hands to his face. "He's got high fever, incessant shaking, eyes unfocussed, probably delusional. I'd say the Wizard Flu, but there's no way to be sure until Madam Pomfrey checks him over."
"Will one of you take him? I'm afraid Hagrid must keep his bow steady and I'm not as young as I used to be. Levitating him would be too risky." Dumbledore said. Sirius, being the strongest and largest of the teens, instantly gathered the small boy in his arms. The rest got to their feet and they started to leave.
"Wait," Harry whispered, his fingers curling around the front of Sirius's robes. Sirius looked down. "I didn't get the Fwooper yet…" his head fell against Sirius's chest and he looked up at him form the corner of his eye.
"Definitely delusional," Lily said. Harry's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell limply in Sirius's arms. It didn't take as long to get back to the castle. They brought Harry to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey examined him thoroughly; assuring them it was just a bad case of exhaustion.
James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus were shooed out of the infirmary and brought to the Gryffindor Common Room by Dumbledore. None of them went to bed after that though. The words of the centaur Xylo were flashing through their minds.
"I don't get it," Remus said. The rest nodded.
"The boy will bring horrors which no one has ever seen," Sirius recited. Lily sighed, shifting in the cushy, red chair.
"Well, you know centaurs can't be trusted sometimes," James said. "A lot of them just talk to hear themselves speak. Maybe it was just gibberish."
"I hope so. But I doubt it," Sirius said. "Dumbledore agreed. He knew Harry was 'dangerous'. You heard him."
"He doesn't seem dangerous though," Remus muttered. "He seems….like he's vulnerable and scared but he won't show it."
"Why do you think Voldemort wants him so bad?" James asked.
"Xylo said he was the only threat to You-Know-Who. Do you think it's the truth?" Sirius asked.
"It has to be," Lily said. "I need to think…I'm going to bed."
"I don't know if we should trust Harry," Sirius said slowly as Lily departed up the stairs.
"Why not?" Remus asked.
"He's dangerous, that's what Xylo said. He said the Dark Lord would rise again. If Harry's powerful like Dumbledore says, he could be helping You-Know-Who. His story could be totally fake," Sirius whispered.
"We'll give him another chance; we'll try to figure some things out before we judge. I mean, we've only known the guy for a week," James suggested. Sirius nodded in agreement.
In the Hospital Wing, Harry slept fitfully on the bed nearest the window. Cool moonlight flooded the room and a dark shadow fell over the bed.
Kim Kotchanski, muse, erm..., Goddess of the Mystics, Bloodless Ace, Masked Detective, AidenPryde, loonygrl90, Inuaru12, Shalaren, pitbull123- thanks for reviewing
Miguel2007 - You have to wait and find out
