All characters owned by J K Rowling of course. I would also like it put on record that I do not own any dolls evil or otherwise!
Chapter Four – Harry Potter
Hermione looked at his hand in shock. "It must be Voldemort!"
"He who must not be named has come back as a doll?" Said Ron. "What's his plan? Take up home with Action Man and Cindy?"
"I'm serious Ron!" Said Hermione trying to look concerned at Harry and glare at Ron. "We should see Professor Dumbledore right away!"
Harry's head started aching at this. "No!" He said rather more forcefully than he meant to. "No," he said again. He looked down at his hand. The marks were beginning to disappear again.
"We need to talk to someone," said Hermione quietly.
Harry walked up to the mirror in the common room. He looked deathly pale. The mirror looked strangely warped or was it just him? Harry blinked a couple of times. He came back into focus again. He turned around. "I'll be fine, it's just a nightmare. I'm going to bed." He could see in the mirror Ron and Hermione glance at each other. "I'll be fine."
Despite his recent catnap Harry was still feeling tired. Yawning widely Harry climbed into bed and soon dropped off to sleep.
He was back in the wood this time. This time he had been caught. His hands were tied tightly behind his back and his head was being forced over a bowl. Silvery wisps were whirling in front of him. He could see a reflection of someone else in the surface of the bowl it was…
He woke up with a start again. Shaking and shivering as before. What was that dream about?
He looked at the chair next to his bed. The doll, still tied up was staring at him. He must be imagining it he thought. Dolls don't stare. Light from the window streamed into the room and Harry, yawning, walked up to the window to look out. It was a beautiful day. Several clouds skidded across the sky and a few winged forms were visible in the distance.
Ron was still asleep. Harry gave him a friendly kick to wake him up while he was putting on his wizard gown. Still rubbing the sleep from their eyes they walked down the stairs. Harry reached into his pocket to get the timetable out. Muggle studies.
"We've got that stupid muggle show to do today," said Ron.
Harry stopped in his tracks. "We haven't prepared anything."
"It'll be easy," said Ron. "We take that doll out say a few poor jokes about the price of fish try and drink and talk at the same time. It always gets a laugh."
Harry was worried about this approach but didn't say anything. It was better than any ideas he had. They walked down the stairs to the Great hall. The vast ceiling was mirroring the sky outside. Today it had a bright blue ceiling with the sun blazing cheerfully in the corner. Puffy white clouds were racing along the heavens. The teachers were sitting on a table on a raised platform at the front of the room. There were only two tables in the room now. One for Slytherin and one for Gryffindor. The teachers' table was about half empty as well. Filius Flitwick the charms teacher was missing as was Rolanda Hooch the flying teacher, Poppy Pomfrey the school nurse was missing and so was Irma Pince the librarian.
Harry grabbed Ron by the arm. "You can't tell me you don't notice anything wrong here?"
"What do you mean?" Said Ron, annoyed at being stopped before the table.
"There are only two house tables here. Half the teachers are missing."
Dumbledore was sitting in his normal place in the centre of the teachers' table. He gave Harry a genial nod. Harry ignored him.
Ron looked at Harry with a perplexed look. "Hogwarts only has two houses Harry. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Talk to Little Miss Know it All if you don't believe me?"
Hermione came marching over to them. "Come on you two! The sooner we eat the sooner we can get to lessons!"
Ron and Harry exchanged a glance at this. Ron spoke. "How many houses are there in Hogwarts Hermione?"
Hermione straightened herself up. This was one of her favourite subjects. "Well in the History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshott it mentions the two houses of Hogwarts. Hogwarts a History is generally thought of as being the definitive guide though and it states that the Gryffindor house was founded by Godric Gryffindor in …"
"Yes, yes," said Ron, eager to stop this diatribe. "I think we have established that. Come on let's eat!"
They sat down, Hermione sitting opposite him, and plates of bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms and tomatoes magically appeared in front of them. Harry pushed the food around the plate thinking. This was not right, not right at all.
Hermione glanced over at him. "Are you all right Harry, you look kind of peaky?"
Peaky what the hell is peaky when it is at home, thought Harry. "Well apart from half of Hogwarts disappearing and no-one taking a blind bit of notice, I'm fine thank you."
Ron looked over at this. He dabbed some ketchup at the corner of his mouth with some bread. "What do you mean 'half of Hogwarts?'"
"Don't you think it a bit strange? We are sitting in half of this hall. There is enough space for a quidditch match in the rest of this place." He threw his arms out nearly hitting Neville Longbottom and sending his mug of tea onto the floor with a crash.
"Calm down Harry," said Hermione. She gave a little half smile. "Why don't you talk to Dumbledore about this?"
His head started aching at this suggestion. Why is that he thought? It would be so easy. Just walk up the hall to Dumbledore and talk to him. Dumbledore was sitting at the teachers' table holding an energetic conversation with McGonagall about the proper way to greet a Manticore, a vicious beast with a scorpion's tail, lion's body and a head like a human. Dumbledore was saying you had to bow and shake it by the tail, McGonagall was saying you had to run away.
His head was really aching at the thought. Just talk to Dumbledore. That's all. He'll sort it out. He always does.
Harry frowned at this. Dumbledore never sorts it out. He always leaves Harry to sort it out. He turns up at the end with a genial smile and a perplexed grin. If he was in the X-files he would be the like the smoker. "You've never been so close, keep going. The government are aliens." Knowing so much and telling so little. He'd be damned before he goes crawling to Dumbledore. At this thought his headache started to ease.
"No," he said and looked back down at his plate.
Hermione's mouth pursed shut at this. She was annoyed. Well who cares, thought Harry. He started eating his breakfast. It was cold now because he had pushed it about the plate for so long. He could warm it up with a quick incendio spell, or though that might just as easily burn it, but he couldn't be bothered. Ron and Hermione were whispering to each other. He could hear the words "Hospital wing" being mentioned. He frowned at this and then brightened. Madam Pomfrey the school nurse wasn't at the table with the teachers where she normally was. Even her chair had disappeared.
"You think I might need to visit the hospital wing do you?"
Hermione looked at him intently. "Only for your own good Harry."
Harry looked at the teachers' table with all the empty seats and then back at Hermione. "Who looks after the hospital wing?"
"Why it's Madam Pom…" she coloured. Looked at the teachers table and the empty seat looked back at Harry. "Just talk to Dumbledore."
Harry went white. "You know don't you." He said. He stood up. "You know what is going on?"
Hermione stood up as well. "Just calm down Harry. You're not well."
"Why do you want me to talk to Dumbledore? What the hell is going on?"
Other Gryffindor's were looking up at this noise. Harry could hear laughing coming from the Slytherin table but he didn't care. Hermione started backing away. Harry stood up on the chair and climbed onto the table. Hermione backed away some more. "Just sit down Harry. Finish your breakfast. We've got lessons soon. You don't want to lose any house points do you?"
Harry jumped down the other side of the table, knocking over several plates. The ketchup bowl tried to waddle out of his way but wasn't fast enough and Harry kicked it off the table in fury. It went flying across the room and went splat against a Slytherin flag. "Who the hell are you? What is going on?" Shouted Harry.
"Mr Potter explain yourself!" yelled Professor McGonagall from the teachers' table.
Harry pointed at Hermione. "This is between me and her…" he pointed at Hermione.
"If you could kindly keep your childish squabbles off school property Mr Potter."
Harry stood on the table again. "Doesn't anyone notice anything wrong here?"
Professor McGonagall toned. "20 points from Gryffindor. Get off the table Mr Potter or you will be in detention."
Harry ignored her. "We are missing two houses here! Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and all their teachers!"
At this remark the tables of Gryffindor and Slytherin started whispering loudly to each other. Harry heard the odd comment. "Really lost it this time." "That scar must have affected his brain." "If he's finished eating breakfast I'll eat his bacon."Harry looked over at Hermione. She was looking at him with a look of pure triumph on her face. Ron was just looking shocked and trying surreptitiously to finish Harry's breakfast. "She knows!" He pointed at Hermione. "She knows and she's not telling!"
"Mr Potter I will not tell you again. Sit down and carry on with your breakfast or you will be in detention."
Harry looked over at Professor McGonagall. "Screw you. Screw this whole dump. Something is going on and nobody is telling me."
"One hundred points from Gryffindor and you will kindly refrain…"
Harry didn't the rest of this. He ran out of the Great Hall. He didn't know where he was going or why but he knew he had to get out of here. He ran up the stairs to the Gryffindor room shouting the password at the fat lady as he went.
Sweating slightly from the exertion he ran into his room to pick up his wand. He was getting out of here, he thought. He looked at the chair. The doll was gone. The door to his dormitory was slammed shut and there his yellow eyes' gleaming was the doll.
The doll was blocking the way out of his dormitory. All thoughts of what was happening in Hogwarts left Harry and he concentrated on the battle in hand. Where was his wand? He looked at the doll. It was holding his wand in its hand. He needed that wand. He needed it badly.
All thoughts of self-preservation left Harry and he leapt at the doll. The doll, although it was only about two foot tall was stronger than it looked and threw Harry to the end of the room. Harry landed with a thud on a chest of drawers. His breath was knocked out of him and only his magical inheritance saved him from serious harm. He got to his feet and pushed his glasses back on his nose. Where the hell had it gone? He looked down and could see the doll grinning up at him. It's mouth full of sharp incisors. Harry grabbed his wand back. At the same time the doll grabbed him by the leg and threw him out of the window of the 7th storey tower.
