A/N: Hello people of the world!
Thank you very much to those who reviewed. I promise the person with the most reviews will be mentioned at the end of this fic (if I do finish it, that is).
This is the twelfth chapter of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which is what HBP stands for (I was just too lazy to type it).
I decided to bring the rating up for a very grotesque scene somewhere in this chapter.
I'm sorry for not posting. I just finished with my exams. I'll be graduating next week. Yay! Summer's coming here in the Philippines, so I suppose I'll be able to post more.
I would just like to clarify that Sophie is not perfect. The things about her emotions are what make her very many imperfections. She does know many things, yes, but these things are not worth knowing if you don't know yourself, which is precisely her problem. You will learn more about this in later chapters, I am just saying this in response to a particularly LONG and unsigned review.
I can't say much about this chapter without revealing much information about it. So just read on, and I hope you enjoy.
As always, reviews are very much appreciated.
Kristie
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Chapter 12 – The Rise of the Dark Creatures
There were five minutes left before they were to arrive at Hogwarts. Harry could see the castle, along with some of the seemingly horseless carriages, though he knew very well that Thestrals were attached to them. He could see the fascinating winged creatures, and thought of how he thought they were frightening when he discovered that he could see them the previous year. Ron was eating a few Chocolate Frogs, while Hermione was sorting out some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Ginny was sucking on a Sugar Quill, watching Sophie as she sketched a portrait of Harry looking out the window.
Just then, all the lights went out.
The trolley lady came screaming in their compartment. "Dementors!" she screamed, "tons of them!" When she had said this, all five teens had their wands out, ready to ward them off with Patronuses. (A/N: I checked OoTP, and the plural of Patronus is really Patronuses.)
There was a burst of cold, and everyone saw about twenty cloaked black creatures. All of them bellowed EXPECTO PATRONUM and there were five different silvery Patronuses that charged at the Dementors.
What came next, however, was their discovering that these creatures were not Dementors at all.
They turned away from the Patronuses, yes, but they charged at the trolley lady, who was unarmed. What made them sure that they were not Dementors, however, was the fact that after they had sucked out her soul, they devoured her flesh. Blood oozed on the floor and the woman screamed for a while, but all sound was gone as one of the creatures locked its jaws on her neck, bursting an artery. All five teens attempted to ward them off her with the Patronuses, but it seemed that as long as they were facing not the "faces" of these barbaric creatures, they could not ward them off.
Harry then realized that he was the only one with the guts to witness these savage monsters rip the flesh and crush the bones of the poor innocent woman. Ginny and Hermione wept in each other's arms, while Ron was looking away, his face a sickly shade of green. Even Sophie turned away, her face distorted in a pained expression. This made Harry panic.
The beasts were done devouring the trolley lady. They had left not a single trace. The blood that oozed on the floor was licked clean. Some of the creatures then turned to face the five teens. They seemed to have lost all power, for none of them did anything. Harry was preparing himself for the torture that these monsters would inflict upon him, when he heard Ron scream, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" It was Ron's Patronus that brought Harry back to life. It wasn't Ginny, who could hex all her older brothers into oblivion; nor was it Hermione, the person who memorized all the spells and could throw them at Death Eaters at will; and it wasn't Sophie, who was probably the strongest person there.
It was Ron, someone who was known only as The Boy Who Lived's best friend.
Inspired by Ron's strength and courage, Harry bellowed the spell and a silver stag erupted from his wand, chasing away some of the creatures. Sophie followed his lead, and a silver phoenix erupted from her wand.
Just then, as Ginny and Hermione were trying to conjure their own Patronuses, Remus Lupin entered the compartment. Seeing Harry and the others in danger, He conjured a Patronus, and all six people managed to ward off the creatures. When the creatures left their compartment, he told them, "Stay here. I need to make sure that they don't hurt anyone else. And do eat some chocolate." With that, he shot out of the compartment, leaving the teenagers in constant vigilance. Though they were instructed to eat chocolate, it seemed that only Ron and Sophie were able to eat after watching something incredibly grotesque.
"What do you reckon those bizarre things were?" Ron asked them, popping a Chocolate Frog in his mouth.
"I thought they were Dementors, but apparently, after that scene…" Hermione said, trailing off.
"They can't be Lethifolds either," Sophie said, her brow wrinkled in thought, beheading a Chocolate Frog.
"Lethi – what?" Harry said.
"Lethifolds. They look like Dementors, but they devour living flesh," said Ginny.
"Then why can't these creatures be Lethifolds?" asked Ron.
"Because the Lethifolds' victims are the sleeping. They suffocate you when you're asleep, then they devour you. They never attack the waking, and they're practically never seen in the daytime. Also, these creatures sucked the trolley lady's soul before devouring her. Lethifolds don't do that," said Sophie.
"I think they're some sort of new creatures or something. I don't think that even Lupin doesn't know what they are," said Harry.
Just then, the lights were back on.
"I think it's all over," Hermione said, sighing with relief.
Lupin entered the compartment, clutching a broken portrait. "It's all over. Those creatures are gone. Sirius' portrait, however, is… well, I think Sophie can make another."
"Nah, I'd prefer if you didn't, Sophie," said Harry, turning to Sophie. "I mean, I liked it and all, but I don't want you to take too much time, seeing as it's bound to be a busy year. And, well, it won't help me get over Sirius' death if I have a portrait of him that seems so real. I'll tell you, however, when I'm over it, so you can make me another one."
Sophie nodded, smiling. "I can make one for you, Remus," she said.
"That would be nice, Sophie," said Lupin. It was obvious that he was the one who was most affected by Sirius' death. He left the compartment, and in about five minutes, the train was moving again, and they were about to arrive in Hogwarts.
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When they arrived, the trio and Sophie were in one carriage, while Ginny was in the carriage behind them, most probably snogging Dean, much to Ron's disgust.
"So this is what the Thestrals look like," Sophie said, looking at the winged horses.
"Yeah. I thought I was imagining things last year. What made things worse was that the only person who could see them at that moment was Luna Lovegood. And seeing as she comes out with the most bizarre things on earth – "
"Seeing as her father runs the Quibbler – "
"I thought I was going insane as well. I thought I was gonna end up becoming a nutter, like Luna."
Sophie laughed. "That was pretty mean, Harry."
"Well, she is batty, you have to admit that much."
"True, true, but… I dunno, she seems really nice."
"She is, but… I dunno… she's nice, but she really is quite nutty."
"She is, she is. Quite nutty indeed."
They both laughed. Sophie continued to look at the winged horses with some sort of respect and awe.
"Whom did you see die?" asked Harry quietly.
"My aunt. She was," Sophie snorted, "attacked by a Lethifold last summer. It was night, and I entered her room. All I saw was this thing chewing on the only part of her left – her arm. I also saw my parents die shortly after that. That wasn't as bloody as the Lethifold attack, but it was a death nonetheless."
Harry said nothing. How she could take things like death very lightly was beyond his comprehension.
After a few minutes, the carriages arrived at the castle. Ginny rejoined the other four, and before they even got to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall told them that the Headmaster wished to see them.
"I wonder why Dumbledore wants to see us," Ron said.
"It's probably because of that entire train incident," said Hermione.
"I do hope he tells us what those monsters were," said Ginny, shuddering.
"I do hope that we won't have to recall that incident," said Sophie.
"I think that he'll want us to. And, here we are," said Harry, pointing at Dumbledore's office.
"So, what's the password?" asked Sophie.
"Er, I don't know. It's usually some sort of sweet he's grown particularly fond of."
Silence. Long silence.
"Chocolate Frog!" said Ron.
"Sugar Quill!" said Ginny.
"Ice Mice!" said Sophie.
"Acid Pop!" said Harry.
"Mars Bar!" Hermione said in desperation.
The stone gargoyle moved, revealing the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Hermione, what's a Mars Bar?" asked Ginny, while Ron had a bemused look on his face.
Suddenly, Harry, Sophie and Hermione had dreamy looks on their faces.
"It's a Muggle sweet – "
"A delicious chocolate bar – "
"With ooey gooey caramel – "
"That sticks to your teeth – "
"And melts in your mouth – "
"And it's best when it's at room temperature – "
All three sighed.
"Wow, I've never seen you get worked up because of a sweet, Hermione," said Ron.
"This isn't any ordinary sweet, Ron! We're talking about Mars Bars here!" said Sophie indignantly.
"I haven't had a Mars Bar since I left the Dursleys," said Harry.
"While I acquired a taste for them only yesterday while I was in Muggle London," said a voice that belonged not to any of the teens.
Professor Albus Dumbledore was looking at all five teenagers, wearing a weary, but sincere, smile on his face. "Come in, come in. Professor Lupin is upstairs as well."
The five teens went up to the office and entered a door. Seated on a squashy chintz armchair was Remus Lupin. Without being told, Sophie conjured another five armchairs, which were perhaps not as comfortable, but comfortable enough. Dumbledore got to his chair and sat before he began to speak.
"I heard of the situation in the train. Professor Lupin told me about what had happened. I just need a full account of what had happened before he entered your compartment. Harry, will you be ever so kind to…"
"Yes, Professor."
Harry was accurate in the retelling of the incident on the Hogwarts' Express, though he left out some of the gory details that he felt were perhaps of no relevance to the case.
"What are these creatures, Professor?" asked Ginny.
"They seem to be a cross breed of Dementors and Lethifolds."
"My question, Dumbledore, is how anyone could manage breeding a Lethifold and a Dementor," said Lupin.
"The Dementors and Lethifolds have joined Lord Voldemort and have agreed to breed in order to help him gain more power. With these new creatures, I'm afraid that Voldemort's starting a new reign is more complicated than we had expected. Anyone incapable of conjuring a Patronus has no chance against these murderous beings. They have inherited the hunger for flesh and the hunger for souls from both species from which they come from. You have witnessed one of the first brutal murders that these new creatures are capable of doing."
"Professor?"
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"If we witnessed the murder, how come Ron, Ginny and I still can't see the Thestrals?"
"We didn't look at the trolley lady when she died, Hermione," said Ginny, "we turned away after she screamed. Harry was the only one who could bear to watch."
"Yes. I suppose that's why. I suppose one of you is willing for the memory to extracted for my Pensive?"
"I'll give mine, Professor. I don't think I can bear to recall it ever again," said Ginny.
"I think Harry should give his, though," said Sophie. All heads turned to her.
"He's the only one with the recollection of all the events in the incident. The rest of us had our heads turned when the weird things were devouring the trolley lady. I suppose if Professor Dumbledore wants the most accurate memory, Harry's is the best one to extract. However, if the gory details are of no relevance, I suppose he should take Ginny's."
"Miss Volkova, I do believe you are right. However, Miss Weasley, I assure you that even if I extracted your memory, you would still remember what had happened, though perhaps in less detail. And I do believe that Harry has seen more details than any of you, so he most probably needs to have his memory of the incident extracted."
"Yes, Professor. I'm sorry, Harry, I wasn't thinking. It was rather selfish of me."
"Now, let's extract that thought, shall we?"
Dumbledore took his wand out and pointed it to Harry's temple. He extracted a fine gossamer strand and put it in the basin. For a moment, the thoughts in the Pensive swirled about, restless, then finally, the contents of the basin, which resembled liquid, had stilled. Harry could no longer remember the Lethifold/Dementor crossbreed locking its jaws on the trolley lady's neck, but he could vaguely remember the sight of flesh being stripped away from the bone.
"Well, I suppose we ought to get to the Great Hall now. I have my usual start-of-term announcements to make. I also wouldn't fancy missing the House Elves' sumptuous cooking." At the mention of the House Elves, Hermione had a reproachful look on her face. Knowing her place, however, she dared not speak back to the Headmaster, whom she respected and had a high regard for.
Everyone stood. With a wave of her wand, Sophie vanished the chairs that she conjured. Dumbledore then motioned for all of them to follow him. He, along with Lupin, escorted the five students into the Great Hall.
When they got to the Great Hall, the Sorting Ceremony was just a few names away from being over. The hat was busy sorting "Tennessee, Roger," when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Sophie took their seats. Roger Tennessee was put in Ravenclaw. Following the new Ravenclaw were "Thompson, Kate" and her twin brother "Thompson, Kurt," who were both sorted in Gryffindor. "Thurman, Albert" became a Hufflepuff.
Harry could see Alexander. He was standing behind a blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl who was chatting with him – without his consent, it seemed. He looked annoyed, because the girl seemed quite ditzy. She was joined by another ditzy girl, this time a brunette. (A/N: I put a brunette so that the blondes do not take offense to the ditziness of the character.)
There weren't many kids left. "Underling, Rodolphus" was made a Hufflepuff. "Ulinder, Thomas" was the next Slytherin. "Villacorta, Julia," a foreign looking girl, was sorted into Gryffindor. Much to Alexander's surprise, the ditzy blonde and her equally ditzy brunette friend ("Vermin, Mimi and Vellar, Ria) were both sorted into Ravenclaw. Then finally, it was Alexander's turn.
"Volkova, Alexander."
Alexander sat on the three-legged stool, the Sorting Hat covering his eyes. The hat seemed to be speaking to him, and he seemed to be whispering in reply. After what seemed like an eternity but in reality were only a few minutes, the hat seemed to have finally made its decision on what house Alexander belonged to.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
There was applause for the young boy as he stood and made his way to the Gryffindor table. He seemed fine with the hat's decision, but upon establishing eye contact with his sister, he wore a look of utmost disgust and displeasure. He made his way to the far end of the table and began a conversation with Nearly Headless Nick. Sophie eyed her younger brother warily as he talked to the resident ghost of Gryffindor house.
After a few moments that seemed like forever to the hungry people anticipating a good feast, the Sorting Ceremony was over. A vast variety of sumptuous dishes appeared magically on the House Tables, and everyone began to heap mounds of food on their plates.
A few courses and many burps and belches later, Harry felt warm and sleepy. After a full day and a very full meal, he was looking forward to sleeping on his wonderfully warm and soft four-poster bed.
Dumbledore then stood, and began his speech. "As we are all consuming the delicious feast prepared for us, I ask for a few moments of your very precious time. Our caretaker, Argus Filch, has asked me to remind you that duels, hexing, cursing and the like are prohibited from the corridors, as well as Dungbombs, Stinkpellets and other odiferous and/or mayhem causing Zonko's merchandise. To see the list of the aforementioned merchandise, please see Mr. Filch's office door." He cleared his throat, then continued.
"To our new students, please be informed that the forest in the grounds, otherwise known as the Forbidden Forest, is considered out-of-bounds, hence its name.
"As for our staff, we are very pleased to welcome back Professor Lupin for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Firenze, who you might know as the teacher who took over Professor Trelawney's post as Divination teacher last term, is replacing Professor Sinistra, who decided to take a break from work. Professor Trelawney has been reinstated as Divination teacher." There was fairly enthusiastic applause for the staff. Dumbledore waited for the applause to subside, then continued.
"Your Head Boy and Girl have come up with the idea of having a Halloween ball. All those in fourth year and above are requested to come. Those in the third year and below, however, have the option to attend or not. Dress Robes shall be worn, and a Hogsmeade weekend shall be organized for Dress Robe shopping. Dates are not required. Well, then…"
Harry's mind seemed to stop. Not another ball! he thought. He thought of whom to take as his date. Looking around, he saw that most of the girls were giggling madly. He could count on his fingers the girls who had no peculiar reaction to Dumbledore's announcement, Hermione, Sophie and Ginny part of that list. At least there's no more pressure on me. I'm not required to have a date…
He could not bring himself to listen to Dumbledore's announcement regarding Quidditch tryouts. Thoughts of who to bring and how to act and what to do during the ball occupied his mind.