The Warning

"Hello, April." Remus kept his wand and stepped aside to let the young lady enter the Shrieking Shack.

"Wow, Remus.  You're really on the alert, aren't you?"

"We can never be too careful."

She shrugged.  "I've brought your lunch.  Quite a nice spread today."  She set down the food and beamed at Remus, before a slight frown slowly crept into her face.  "Are you alright? You look rather pale."

He did not meet her eyes.  "Sirius is upstairs.  I'll go get him."

As Remus disappeared up the stairs, April looked around the room and noticed something peculiar.

"Lupin! Black! What have you done to the windows?" she shouted, confronting the two men as they joined her in the room. "Why are all windows boarded up? What's wrong with a little healthy sunlight? And this place needs some airing too!"  April began to reach for her wand.

"No!" Sirius grabbed her hand and stopped her.  "We - we just prefer it this way."

"Really, Sirius.  If you're expecting someone to peep through the window and see a convicted murderer, you are overreacting. No one will even come near this place!"

"It's not him," Remus said quietly. "It's me."

April stared at him, both speechless and confused.

"You see…I'm a werewolf."  There was little emotion in Remus' voice.

She soon found her voice. "You're kidding, right? Very funny. What a dumb joke.  This must be one of Sirius' twisted ideas."

At the same moment, Remus looked right at April, and she was caught off-guard by the pain in his eyes.  Her heart skipped a beat as she realised that he was being honest with her.  There was tense silence in the room for what seemed like an eternity.

When April finally spoke, her voice was shaky. "Does Albus know?"

Remus nodded.  "I'll always be in his debt.  He was the only headmaster who would accept me first as a student, and then as a teacher."

Sirius had been watching the scene furiously.  He felt that he had to defend his friend.

"Remus did not ask to be a werewolf.  He did nothing wrong.  All these years, he has never harmed a soul."  Sirius' cold hard voice caused April to wince.

"I'm not blaming him. I'm…I'm just…surprised," she said. "This is unexpected. I've never heard Albus mention this." April bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry, Remus. I shouldn't have reacted this way."

"It's alright," Remus replied in the same quiet voice. "If you wish, I can ask Albus for alternative arrangements so that you don't have to be the one delivering our meals everyday."

April's face turned red from both anger and embarrassment.  "No way!"  she said fiercely.

As if to prove that she was not afraid of Remus' real identity, she went up to him and gave him a fierce hug. "I'll just stay away during full moons," she whispered playfully into his ear.  Then just as suddenly, her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Yesterday was full moon!"

Remus nodded, unsure of how to react.  He could not decipher what April was thinking.  He wasn't sure if she could accept him for what he really was.

Remus' thoughts were cut off by Sirius' voice. "Hey, that's not fair! How come I don't get a hug?" Sirius teased.

"Fat chance, Black," she laughed it off.

The tension had disappeared.  They were friends once more.

*

"Crucio!"

Lucius Malfoy fell to the ground, shrieking in pain. A tall thin man with red silted eyes was standing before him. 

Voldemort's high cold voice rang out. "You were so sure that your spy at Hogwarts would have no trouble getting the Stone, Lucius.  Obviously, your judgement has failed. All you have succeeded in doing is to put the old fool on the alert."

"I'm sorry, Master." There was clear panic in Lucius' voice. "I beg you to give your loyal servant another chance.  This time, I will not fail.  I will present the Sorcerer's Stone to you, my Lord."

"I will give you a chance to redeem yourself, Lucius. But you will not get the Stone.  I have another task for you. I trust you know I do not tolerate failure very well."

*

"Stand aside!  I will kill him!  He is mine!" shrieked Voldemort.  "Accio!"  Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup.  It flew into the air and soared toward him.  Harry caught it by the handle. He heard Voldemort's scream of fury at the same moment that he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey had worked - it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and colour. . .

Suddenly, Harry felt something tug at his leg, causing him to nearly lose his grip on the Triwizard Cup. Harry tried desperately to shake it off, but the pull was getting more and more forceful.  He finally lost his grip, and fell lower and lower, as the ground zoomed closer and closer…

"Harry Potter, sir, wake up!"

Harry opened his eyes.  It was a dream.  He was back at the graveyard again. Had it ended? He closed his eyes again, rubbed them vigorously before opening them.

Harry blinked when he saw what was at the foot of his bed.

"Dobby! What are you doing here?" Harry sat up in bed, now wide-awake.  "Don't you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sir must not get angry with Dobby," the house-elf said, twilling the filthy corners of his hand-knitted sweater anxiously.  "Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter."

"What is it, Dobby?" Harry asked with a little impatience. Afterall, this is the same elf who had caused him to break an arm in an attempt to 'rescue' him.

"Harry Potter is in danger," Dobby said in a trembling voice.  "Dobby hears terrible things.  A terrible plot to kill Harry Potter."

Harry was glad that the room was dark, for blood was draining away from his face.  "Slow down, Dobby. Tell me what you know," he instructed.

"Winky is upset, sir.  Dobby knows Winky has been upset for a few days.  Dobby hears Winky crying in the kitchen many times. Winky will not tell Dobby the reason.  But Winky talks in her sleep, sir. Winky does that often. Winky does not sleep well."

"Get to the point, Dobby."

"Sir must hear Dobby out.  He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back. He will send his followers to attack Harry Potter.  They are coming to Hogwarts! Harry Potter must not be harmed!"

"Hogwarts? That's impossible! The Death Eaters will not dare to enter the school! Not with Professor Dumbledore around!"

"Dobby hears they are coming.  Dobby is warning Harry Potter.  Sir must be careful!"  With that, Dobby blew his nose loudly into his sweater and disappeared into thin air.

Harry stared at the spot where Dobby had been for a long time, his heart pounding like drums.

*

Harry felt both disappointed and anxious when Dumbledore was not at breakfast the next morning.  He wanted to tell the headmaster what Dobby said. Harry was not sure if the house-elf was right, but he felt sure that the headmaster would want to know.  And he wanted to hear Dumbledore's thoughts on this.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," Harry lied.  He had not told his friends about Dobby's visit.  He was not sure why, but he thought they might feel that he was overreacting to believe Dobby's words.  Afterall, Dobby was known to overreact.

After his Transfiguration class that day, Harry deliberately lingered in the room till most of his classmates had left.  He then went up to Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, Potter?" 

"Professor, I…I was just wondering…I noticed that Professor Dumbledore was not in the Great Hall this morning…" Harry stammered, feeling uncomfortable under Professor McGonagall's glare and the realisation that it was most impertinent for a student to question the headmaster's whereabouts.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips into a thin line.  "Professor Dumbledore has important matters to attend to, Potter. Now run along. You're going to be late for your next lesson."

Harry left the classroom, feeling more disturbed than ever. Something's not right, he thought grimly to himself.

He was making his way to the North Tower for his Divination class.  But as soon as he stepped into the tower, he came to an abrupt halt, hesitated for a few seconds, before turning back. 

Harry knew what he had to do.

***

There'll be more action in the next chapter.