Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine :)). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah....forget it & let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS
Chapter 18 – Moods & Progresses
Nov 1.
...Can I ever control this charm or will the charm control me? How do I come up with all these stuff in any case? Why me in every case?
Do I know who I really am?
&&&&
"Madam Pomfrey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Mr. Potter, is there anything the matter with you?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she carefully surveyed the person in front of her desk. "You didn't get into a scramble today, did you?"
"No" Harry replied. "I just wanted to talk to you"
"I see" the school matron replied. "Please have a seat". Though the school matron tried to look casual, Harry could sense the fact that he was being scanned thoroughly. He knew that Madam Pomfrey loved him a great deal and understood her concern for what had happened yesterday night.
"Thank you" Harry replied as he took his seat. It was still an hour to go for lunch and he wanted to finish his business with Madam Pomfrey before that. "Ma'am, can you please tell me what happened yesterday?"
Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a closer look at this question. "Why are you asking me?" she asked.
"Because Professor Snape loves me too much to say anything which would cause me pain, and Professor McGonagall is too lenient about these matters" Harry replied sarcastically. "Also because I do not like you at all after the way you have neglected my treatment for all these years"
Madam Pomfrey seemed to be taken aback a bit at this but recovered quickly enough to smile at Harry. "It seems like you could be a threat to my safety Mr. Potter. On a more serious note, let me tell you what happened". With that, Madam Pomfrey went on to describe Harry her view of the events.
"...And then Mr. Weasley could take it no more and Ms. Granger lost her consciousness too. Soon very few of us were left who could put up some sort of a fight. It was at this point that you came out of the door and, if I might say so, gave us some hope. But..." with a deep sigh, Madam Pomfrey continued to explain what they had seen and how Harry's hate charm had effected them too. Finally, when she was finished, she looked at the grim face of Harry and felt sorry for him.
"How is everyone here?" Harry asked in a croaked voice. "Ron? Hermione? Neville? How are they doing?"
"They will take some time to recover fully..." Madam Pomfrey replied sadly. "...but I think they will be able to attend their classes within the coming two to three days"
"They will be ok, right?" Harry looked quite frightened as he leaned forward to ask his question and Madam Pomfrey could clearly hear the hope in his voice.. "There isn't any permanent damage done, is there?"
"Thankfully not" Madam Pomfrey replied. "I don't know whether it was a fortunate or an unfortunate event, but the truth is that your charm managed to indirectly save them". Harry didn't say anything in return to this.
"And Fle...Professor Delacour? What about her?" Harry asked concernedly.
"She has recovered better than expected" Madam Pomfrey replied. "I think she will be able to give you homework from tomorrow onwards again"
Harry gave a weak smile at this intended joke before asking "Can I meet Professor Delacour for a minute please?"
Madam Pomfrey looked curiously at Harry and asked "And what about you're other friends? Won't you like to talk to them too?"
"Not now ma'am" Harry replied. "I will talk to them at the right time and place"
"It seems you are now a man taking your own decisions but..." Madam Pomfrey paused for a moment before saying "...Harry, you should be more careful about what you do and you should know that your friends care for you very much. AND..." Madam Pomfrey raised her hand as she saw that Harry was about to say something. "And they have been querying about your well being from the time they have woken up. It seems Harry that some of your priorities have changed. But who am I to say anything to you?" Madam Pomfrey looked away at this, got up from her seat and motioned to Harry to follow her. But when she reached the door, she turned around to find Harry still sitting in his chair. Just as she was about to say something, Harry spoke up.
"Madam Pomfrey, where are the beds of Ron and Hermione?". Madam Pomfrey thought that the voice had a guilty feeling to it but she decided to ignore it.
"I will gladly point it out if you follow me Harry" the school matron replied as the young boy came up to her. Giving him a slight hug, she escorted him towards the beds of his best friends.
&&&&
"Hi" Hermione said when she saw Ron in the bed on her left side. "How did we get here?"
"No idea" Ron replied with a struggle as he was now wishing that he had not banged his head on the Gryffindor table repeatedly. "Neville and I have been talking about that for the past 20 minutes while you were still asleep"
"Oh...so Neville's here too" Hermione said as she realized that there could be a lot of people in here. As she got up into a sitting position, she looked around and found that her fears had been true as she recognized many faces. With a sigh, she turned back towards Ron "Do you know what happened?".
Ron gave a shake of his head to indicate he had no idea whatsoever and Neville was of no help either. All three of them got lost in their thoughts about what might have happened when the familiar sound of footsteps was heard near the door of the hospital wing.
"At least he is on his feet for a change" Hermione said, her gaze fixed in the direction of the doorway. Almost simultaneously, Harry's figure came into view but, without even looking around; he turned to the left hand side and disappeared into Madam Pomfrey's office.
"Looks like he is in need of some medicines" Neville said, before asking both Ron and Hermione "Do you know what is wrong with him?" Seeing the sullen face of both his friends, Neville said "I don't know anything either. He seems so different from the person we knew. I think his godfather's death has effected him greatly"
"But for how long can he be like this?" Ron questioned, his voice betraying the irritated mood of his. "Ok...his godfather died. We all can understand that it must be terrible for him. Hell...it would have been terrible for me too if I had been in his place. But why does he stay away from us so much? He could at least talk to us. He..." Ron stopped at this as he felt his strength drain out.
"Don't talk too much" Hermione said concernedly. "Yeah...Sirius meant a lot to him and I think he still misses him. But Ron was the 'thing he would miss most' in the Tri-wizard tournament. Then..." Hermione was lost in her thoughts again as she tried to figure out what was wrong with Harry. Suddenly she heard Ron whisper to her "He is headed this way". Looking around, she saw Madam Pomfrey leading Harry towards them.
&&&&
"Mr. Potter, can I ask you one thing?" came a sudden question from Madam Pomfrey as they approached the hospital beds.
"Yes" Harry replied.
"How did you manage such a powerful charm?" Madam Pomfrey asked curiously, before hastening to add "I mean, I have treated you so many times and I have never felt any kind of hateful feelings inside you. You are always so kind..."
"I can't answer that ma'am" Harry cut short Madam Pomfrey's statement. After a slight pause, Harry said "I don't have a clue as to how I did it myself"
"That's what I had assumed too" Madam Pomfrey replied as they neared the beds of Ron, Hermione and Neville. "There they are" Madam Pomfrey gave a nod towards the patients and left.
As Harry slowly approached his friends, he had a kind of feeling as if butterflies were flying in his stomach. In the past, he would have just rushed to the side of these people and would bombard them with questions as to how they were feeling and what had happened to them but this time was different. He had never given a thought to how he would talk to his friends if the need came and now, he had only a single word to describe his feeling - awkward.
Harry felt very awkward as he came nearer Hermione's bed, who had her eyes set on him. He knew that all he wanted to know was that they were all right but still, he felt as if something was wrong. Yes, a voice inside him cried out that something was wrong and that was with him. He had created this situation for himself, where he was hesitating to talk to his best friends, and now he had to rectify it. As he looked at the faces of the onlookers, he found a confrontation with Voldemort more welcoming than this.
"Hi" Harry said to all of them at a time before his eyes came to a rest on Hermione. "How are you feeling?"
"I guess I am ok" Hermione replied in her normal voice though she was tense too. She could almost feel that Harry was trying to break down a barrier, which he had himself setup, but she didn't want to push too hard. "How are you doing?" Hermione asked.
"Ok I guess" Harry replied as he looked at the heap of 'Get Well Soon' cards beside Hermione's table. Under normal circumstances, there would have been his card amongst all of them but alas, things were as far from normal as the North Pole was from the South Pole. Normally Harry would have had a lot to say but this time around, he was almost scratching his head in desperation to find something to say.
"It's nice to see you on your feet this time" Hermione said after a while.
"Ah..." Harry said with a start. "Oh yeah" he said realizing what Hermione had said. Seeing that he had nothing more to say to the girl in front of him, he proceeded towards Ron's bed.
"I am fine and so is Neville" Ron said even before Harry had asked anything. "Anything else you want to know?". Ron was looking angrily at Harry and missed the death glares which Hermione was giving him.
"I wanted to say something..." Harry said after a short pause. "I need time...time to decide some things". Looking Ron dead in the eye for a few moments, Harry turned and left.
"When he gets back to his senses, I am going to give him a sound beating" Ron said through gritted teeth.
"C'mon Ron" Neville said. "He must have some reasons to do what he is doing"
"Yeah Ron" Hermione said. "I think we all agree that this was a start for him"
"Maybe" Ron said with a sigh. "But I am still going to giving him a beating"
&&&&
"That was quick" Madam Pomfrey said when she saw Harry standing before her desk again. "Did you even talk to them?"
"Yeah" Harry replied quickly as he didn't want to continue on this topic any more. "Can I talk to Professor Delacour now?"
"Only if she is awake" Madam Pomfrey replied. She motioned Harry to follow her as she led him towards a section which he had never been to before. "This is the teachers section of the hospital wing" Madam Pomfrey explained to Harry as they entered a curtained area. She then motioned Harry to wait for her and made her way to the extreme end of the area. However, she returned soon enough and told him that Fleur was at the extreme end of the enclosure and had no problems seeing him.
"Hi" Harry said as he reached Fleur's bed. Fleur looked somewhat different from the way he had seen her before but he couldn't point out exactly what it was.
"'ello" Fleur replied. Harry could see a mixture of emotions in her eyes as she said this and the most pronounced of them was that of fear. After a few tense moments, Fleur said "Have a seat". Harry sat down in one of the visitor chairs which was nearby and kept on thinking as to why he had come here. After all, from what he had heard from Madam Pomfrey, he was responsible for the condition in which Fleur was currently and in all probability, she didn't want to see him now.
"I am sorry" Harry blurted out. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wasn't myself"
"I understand" Fleur replied a bit tensely.
"Fleur..." Harry said. "...thanks for trying to stop me. I appreciate it very much; even though the outcome of the event was not something which was expected by you"
"I 'eard zat you drove away ze dementors" Fleur cut short Harry.
"Well...you can say that I drove them away but then..." Harry's voice trailed off at this.
"Then?" Fleur prompted Harry when she saw the look of helplessness on his face.
"Well..." Harry said as he refused to meet Fleur's gaze. "...It's just that it was not me. I mean, it was me but still I wasn't myself". Realizing that he wasn't making too much sense, he quickly added "Sorry but I don't think I can explain it right now"
"I think I 'ave an idea of what you are saying" Fleur replied, albeit a bit coldly. Even though Harry wasn't in the best state of mind, he didn't fail to notice the tone of Fleur's voice.
"I wanted to say something..." Harry said. After he got a confirmation nod from Fleur to proceed, he said "I don't think that the Christmas plan you made will work out. I mean, after what happened yesterday, I think I would be a risky guest for you all and I don't want that to be the case"
"I zee" Fleur said. "What I don't underztand is whether you are declining ze invitation or are you asking me to reconsider my invitation?"
"I really don't know" Harry replied. To tell the truth, he wanted to decline the invitation to some extent because he feared for the safety of the Delacours. "Maybe you would like to reconsider your invitation?" Harry said hesitantly.
"Maybe not" Fleur replied coldly. "It was my decision to invite you and I did it. If you don't want to come, then zay so directly"
"It's not that I don't want to come" Harry replied apologetically. "In fact, if decline the offer, then Tonks will most probably kill me. It's just that I didn't want to give you unnecessary trouble"
"It won't be any problem for us" Fleur's voice had softened slightly. "And Gabrielle would kill me if you didn't come during Christmas"
"Ok then" Harry said with a grin. "Since neither of us wants to get killed right now, I think we should keep the plan the way it was"
"I agree" Fleur replied, even though the warmth with which she used to talk to Harry was missing. "'arry, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course" Harry replied spontaneously.
"Could you please inform Tonks zat I want to talk to 'er?"
&&&&
School was never going to be the same again for Harry. Well, in a way it never was normal for him but still, the whispers and the odd stares seemed to have increased greatly in the past 16 hours. The tale about how Harry had used the Hate Charm had spread in the castle like fire and now, thanks to some of the Slytherins, different variations of it were making the rounds. Harry didn't know whether his decision to have dinner in the Great Hall was a good idea, seeing the amount of whispering going around along with the number of people pointing him out to others, but all whispers stopped as the headmaster rose to say something to the students.
"We all faced a tough time yesterday but we have come through it again" Dumbledore said. "It seems like the dark forces have their eyes on Hogwarts but what they don't know is that Hogwarts remains strong and firm. Yesterday, many of you had fought with great courage and determination which resulted in the survival of Hogwarts. I, as your headmaster, am proud of the fact that I have had the honor of meeting such excellent individuals. I would also like to thank the students who are right now in the hospital wing and..."
Dumbledore had to pause here as a small round of applause started, which then began to grow in volume and soon, almost everyone in the hall had joined in. Knowing that this was a gesture of appreciation and respect for the students who were in the hospital wing, all the teachers, except Snape, and the headmaster also joined in. When everyone had settled down once again, Dumbledore continued.
"All of you deserve praise but some of you deserve a little more than the others. I would like to specifically name a few people". A round of whisper broke out between the students in the hall. "Neville Longbottom showed greater courage than many of the seventh year students while Cho Chang was equally courageous. But one person deserves more praise than the others". Everyone looked around at Harry who kept his gaze focused on Dumbledore. Even though he didn't show it, he felt furious at Dumbledore for making him the center of attraction once again. As Dumbledore met Harry's eyes, Harry noticed that the headmaster's eyes were twinkling like the stars above.
"And that person is..." Dumbledore paused for a moment for the effect "...Soha Mentieva". The whole hall was stunned into silence for a moment before the Ravenclaw table burst into applause. Soon, most of the others had joined in too which caused Soha to turn beet red.
"Ms. Mentieva has shown us that the fight of good and evil isn't related to just one country or race" Dumbledore continued when the applause died down. "She has adopted England as her home country for the time being and she is fighting just as well as any of us. We have got a lot to learn from you Soha" Dumbledore said with a slight nod, which was reciprocated by Soha"
"Now, before you all start eating, I have to give you some good news and some bad news. Let me start with the bad news first. Due to yesterday's attack, we have decided that fourth years and below will not venture out of the castle alone unless there is an emergency". A collective groan went around the hall. "And that emergency doesn't include getting some butterbeer" Dumbledore added with a smile. "Also, all quidditch matches have been cancelled until further notice". A louder groan than the previous one ensued while some students protested. "I know how you all feel and I hope that normality will be restored soon. And now for some good news. We have some points to give"
"For the courage displayed by the students of various houses, I award 270 points to Gryffindor house..." the Gryffindor table burst into applause "...250 points to Ravenclaw and 240 points to Hufflepuff...". Both the house tables of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff exploded. "As for Slytherin, I award 135 points". A small round of applause went around in which many other house students joined in. As Harry looked around, he saw that the Slytherins were slowly gaining some acceptance in the eyes of the other students and this was a good sign for all of them. But as his eyes rested on the hatred filled face of a certain Malfoy, Harry felt sure that this boy would never find too much support in most of the student circles.
"And now..." Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of Dumbledore "...dig in"
&&&&
"Mr. Potter" Harry spun around to find Professor McGonagall looking down at him at the breakfast table the next day. "Please meet the headmaster during the lunch time"
"Ok Professor" Harry replied. As he was about to turn away, he saw that Professor McGonagall had opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it. As he watched the retreating figure of the Professor, he wondered what McGonagall had in mind.
"Hi Harry"
"Hi Soha" Harry said as he saw the petite figure of the young Ravenclaw girl standing opposite to his seat. "When did you arrive?"
"Just when McGonagall left" Soha replied. "But you seemed too pre-occupied with something"
"It's nothing" Harry replied honestly. "By the way, you are the new celebrity around here. Congratulations"
"Yeah yeah...you can smile now" Soha replied sarcastically. "Now people will be planning to kill me too". Hearing this, the color on Harry's face seemed to drain out faster than Soha could draw her wand. Realizing that the joke had been a bad one, Soha quickly added "I was just joking. Now, don't take this too seriously, ok?"
On the contrary, Harry looked dead serious and said in a heavy voice "Never ever crack such dumb jokes again. Is that understood?". The way Harry looked at her and his commanding voice made Soha almost feel afraid of him and all she could manage was an affirmative nod. As she saw some of the color returning to Harry's cheeks, she noticed that Harry's overall persona had changed since she had first seen him. Initially he had been almost like a normal but a serious boy but now, he had something of a commanding air about him. Yes, this new aspect could only be seen if someone managed to upset or anger Harry but still, denying its existence would be wrong.
"Anyway..." Harry continued normally "...you did a great job from what I have heard of"
"Thanks" Soha said with a blush. A compliment such as this from Harry Potter was of truly great value. "But Harry, I wanted to ask you about the charm you performed". Harry looked at Soha for some moments and came to the conclusion that it was the Ravenclaw curiousness for knowledge which had forced her to ask this question. In any case, Harry didn't want to talk about it and he made himself pretty clear.
"Not now Soha" Harry replied. "I am not ready yet". Soha looked slightly taken aback at this because Harry had never denied her anything till date, but then she understood that Harry must have his reasons for not saying anything. She gave an acknowledging nod at this.
"Ok Harry. No problem about that. Since I don't want to pester you about this, can you tell me about the charm when you are ready?" Soha asked. Harry gave an affirmative nod at this.
"Ok" Soha said brightly. "I should be going now. I have some work in the library"
"See you" Harry replied.
The rest of the day went as normally as possible for Harry unless one counted the astonishing number of whispers and finger pointing wherever he went. It seemed like tales about the battle against dementors were making the rounds of the castle and new versions were sprouting like weed.
"Hello" came a little voice from beside Harry as he was proceeding towards the headmaster's office during lunchtime.
"Hello" Harry said with a smile when he noticed a first year Hufflepuff boy looking at him with wide eyes. "What can I do to help you?" Harry asked.
"Is it true that you killed a dementor with your bare hands?" The boy asked innocently. Harry was stunned for a moment at this question as he wondered just how much the original tale had been twisted but he was brought back to his senses by a small hand tugging at his robes. "Everyone says you can kill dementors by just looking at them too"
"No, they are wrong" Harry replied much to the dismay of the young kid. "No one can kill dementors by looking at them or with their bare hands"
"Then how did you do it?" came the next question.
"Actually I didn't kill any dementor" Harry replied. "No dementor was killed yesterday by anyone"
"Oh..." The boy replied as if someone had just told him that all the fairy tales he had heard were lies. "Ok...I got to go" the boy replied and ran off in the opposite direction even before Harry had a chance to ask his name. As Harry turned around to proceed towards the headmaster's office, he heard a tiny shout from behind "He didn't kill any dementors...He didn't kill anyone"
Harry proceeded to the stone gargoyle and gave the old password. Surprisingly, the gargoyle moved away and Harry was left wondering as to why Dumbledore had kept the same password for such a long time. As he proceeded towards the office, he assumed that Dumbledore must have gone mad after all.
"Come in Harry" the voice of Dumbledore called out just as Harry was about to knock on the door. Once again he wondered whether Dumbledore had x-ray vision but perished the thought soon. As he entered the office, he heard a tiny rustle from behind a closed door on the left hand side of the office but then again, he thought, his imagination was playing tricks with him.
"Good afternoon sir" Harry said as he stood in front of his headmaster.
"Good afternoon Harry" the headmaster replied. "Since you have just finished your lunch, it would be fruitless to ask you to taste some new products of Fred and George. They look nice but the beauty of their products is only skin deep" the headmaster chuckled at this and Harry was also unable to resist a smile.
"But their innovations are priceless" Harry said.
"Oh yes" Dumbledore replied with a nod. "There can be no doubt about that. Even though James and Sirius were had mastered the art of playing pranks on people, they had never put their talent into something like this. Well, I think I have called you here for a reason and you also know that" Dumbledore said the last sentence more seriously but the twinkling in his eyes seemed to grow even more.
"I think I do sir but still, I would like you to bring up the topic" Harry replied.
"Of course" Dumbledore replied. "Firstly, I have heard that you collapsed initially. Could you please tell me what was the reason behind that?" Harry then explained what he had visualized and how, all of a sudden, it seemed like all the lights in the world had been switched off.
Looking thoughtfully at his young pupil, Dumbledore asked "I see that you have learnt something from this experience and if I am not wrong, this will help you in the future too". Harry didn't say anything in reply as he was not sure whether something was expected of him or not. "You see Harry..." Dumbledore spoke again "...the past is often a terrible thing for many of us. Look at Neville for instance. Can he do anything for his parent's even if he had the power to do so? That would be impossible for him or anyone else for that matter. What he can do is try to make his present and future a better place to live in. Even if his parents fully recover tomorrow, the only thing that they would love most is to see that their son is doing well in life"
"And me sir?" Harry asked despairingly. He had no parents who could be proud of him or who would feel happy if he did well. He didn't have anyone who would give him a pat on his back if he did well in his examinations or who would scold him if he missed classes intentionally. True, Tonks, Remus, Ron, Hermione and some of the others did all they could but still, no one could match one's parents.
"Harry..." Dumbledore said sadly as he looked deep into the troubled eyes of his pupil. "...I knew your parents and godfather very well. If they are listening to what I am saying, then I hope they agree with me when I say that you have made them proud. From what I knew of them, they would never have been happier if they were known as Harry Potter's parents instead of just Mr. and Mrs. Potter. And from what we have seen of you, they are now known to the world as Harry Potter's parents and that's the biggest thing you could hope for. That's the thing they wanted most and that's what you gave them"
"It's not the same" Harry replied sadly.
"I know..." Dumbledore said in a whisper and patted Harry's hand. "When you get close to a person very much and then miss them for the whole of your life, it never feels the same. You will miss your godfather for the rest of your life; but will making your life a misery make him happy wherever he is? No Harry. Believe me, I have seen destruction which has separated brothers, has torn apart families and much worse. It is never a happy feeling but still, one has to fight for what he or she believes in and if that is the right path, that's what makes their parents and relatives happy"
"Maybe..." Harry replied as he pondered over the thought as to whether Dumbledore knew of his vision of his parents or not. From what Dumbledore was saying, it had some major hints to that dream of his but still, Harry couldn't be fully sure.
"Also, you must be wondering as to what made you perform such a powerful charm, right?" Dumbledore changed the topic suddenly. If Harry had any doubts previously that Dumbledore had indirectly hinted at his dream of his parents and Sirius, he was sure of it by now. "Tell me Harry, what were you thinking when you regained consciousness?"
"I really don't know" Harry replied as he tried to remember his feelings. "I mean, I was feeling responsible for the state of Ron, Hermione and everyone else..."
"And you wanted to somehow take revenge?" Dumbledore queried. Harry just gave an affirmative nod in response but the guilt in his heart had surfaced on his features.
"Harry..." Dumbledore said in a god-fatherly tone as he wiped clean his glasses. "...Every person wants revenge at some time or the other. It is quite a miracle that you have never wanted revenge till now. I mean, you are human after all. Tell me one more thing, who did you want the revenge from? From the dementors or yourself or the others?"
After a moment of pause in which Harry decided that there was no problem in telling Dumbledore what had happened, he said "Everyone"
"I see" Dumbledore said with a sigh. "You know Harry, that's the magic of revenge. Once you get drawn into it, it gets difficult to distinguish between what your inner self wants and what your mind wants. In most of us, the mind takes over and people tend to do unthinkable things but you can't let that happen. You remember how you drove out Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic building? I know you can never forget that night but also remember that it was not your mind which drove away Voldemort but it was your heart. Your inner, true self did not want to be like Voldemort and that's why he couldn't stay inside you"
"But this didn't happen this time around" Harry replied sadly.
"Because there was no Lord Voldemort around this time" Dumbledore replied. "It's easy when you are fighting some other wizard but it is very hard when you are fighting your own self. It's very hard to convince your mind that this is not what you want. You can understand this by thinking about the imperious curse. From what I know, you are able to completely throw off the curse but that is because someone else has cast the spell on you. Tell me, would you be able to fight it off if you were cursing your own self?"
"Is that possible?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Many things are possible in this world which is not in books" Dumbledore replied with a smile reminding Harry of the dialogue Moody had said to Hermione once. "Let me tell you...only a very strong wizard or witch would be able to fight his own self and, if I am not wrong, you have the ability to do so. You may not know that..." Dumbledore continued in spite of seeing Harry try to protest against his statement. "...but didn't some part of you protest when you saw the dementors struggling under your curse?". At this, Harry's face fell as he remembered how a part of his self wanted him to stop. Getting no response from Harry, Dumbledore continued in the same serious tone.
"You see Harry; you have to listen to that part of yours when the appropriate time comes. Never ever let your emotions control you fully because that can be dangerous"
"I understand sir" Harry replied. "But how come I could produce such a powerful charm?"
Dumbledore looked slightly tired and aged as he tried to explain his opinions to Harry and it was clear that this was not a job which he preferred very much.
"Harry...somewhere deep down you hate the dementors as much as Lord Voldemort hates you. Dementors have a more adverse impact on you than the others and I have explained the reason to you as to why that happens. But, the fact that it is the dementors who make you relieve that moment again and again has left an imprint on your emotional self. The muggles say that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This is true for human emotions too. If someone loves you, then you tend to love that person too. Well, not always but somewhere deep down, you still care about that person. Now, what kind of feelings will you harbor for a creature which has given you nothing but pain and suffering all your life?"
"But doesn't the same apply for Voldemort?" Harry asked with mixed feelings. Some of the things which Dumbledore was saying were actually making sense to him and it seemed to him that the old headmaster had really given up on his puzzling methods of explanation, at least with him.
"In a sense, yes" Dumbledore replied. "Voldemort has been the source of your pains but he is uneffected by the hate charm. You will never be able to use this charm against him". Pausing for a moment, Dumbledore continued "Also, you might actually hate the dementors more than Voldemort because not only do they make you relieve your own pains, but they had effected another person close to you as well"
"Siri..." Harry was about to say the full name of his late godfather but stopped when he saw Dumbledore raising his hand.
"Alas, we cannot take his name yet" Dumbledore said sadly as Harry saw unmistakable sign's of pain his eyes. Dumbledore had seen a lot in his life, including the deaths of some of his favorite students, maybe even relatives, and it was expected that he would be effected by all of it. He was human after all.
"You see Harry, you and your godfather were quite close together and that's where the magic of blood and love comes in. You just don't feel your own pain but also the pain he suffered. In my opinion, all these facts make you hate the dementors more than Voldemort" Dumbledore said.
"Maybe..." Harry said in a strange sort of voice as his mind seemed to be filled with the images of the happy moments he had spent with Sirius. A few minutes of silence ensued before Harry realized that he had been there for a long time now "I should be going now. Classes start in 5 minutes".
"Remember one thing Harry" Dumbledore said as Harry got up to leave. "Fighting with one's own self is the hardest thing to do. Also, don't let the love or the hate for anyone effect your feelings for the rest of the world. Life always goes on in spite of what has happened or what will happen"
&&&&
"How are Ron and Hermione doing?" Tonks asked tentatively during dinner time. She knew that Harry hated her constant pestering over this issue but she was not going to let go of it anytime soon.
"Quite fine" Harry replied as he continued to munch on his meatloaf.
"What did they say?" Tonks asked, biting her lower lip in anticipation.
"Nothing much except that they are ok". Remus looked up as he heard Harry say this while Tonks jumped up in joy.
"You talked to them! You talked to them!" Tonks shouted as she started to dance around in her own way. As she looked at Harry, she saw that he was giving her one of his serious looks. Immediately, the joy on Tonks face faltered and one of her legs stopped moving while the other seemed intent on dancing. The result was that she fell with a crash on the floor.
"Ouch" Tonks said as she got up and rubbed her backside. Stomping her foot on the place she had fallen, she said "That will teach you not to be so hard again". Avoiding the grinning face of Remus, she resumed her seat as gracefully as possible.
"So..." Tonks said a bit more slowly but there was no enthusiasm lost in her voice. "...what did you guys talk about...oh stop grinning Remus"
"Nothing much" Harry replied without too much emotion. "I just asked how they were and they did pretty much the same thing"
"That was it?" Tonks asked a bit despairingly. She had expected at least a 2 minute chat but from the look of things, the chat might have been only a 20 second one at the best.
"Pretty much" Harry replied without raising his head from his dinner.
"Oh..." Tonks said as if she had just realized that the earth went around the sun and not the other way around. "What about Fleur? Did you meet her?"
"Yeah...I met her all right"
"So?"
"So what?"
"What did she say?" Tonks queried. "I hope she wasn't angry, was she?"
"No. But..."
"But what?"
"But...she seemed slightly different" Harry said. "She looked a bit cold to me"
"Don't worry about that" Tonks said. "She's just a bit shaken up"
"Maybe" Harry replied. "Well, I then talked about the Christmas trip to their home". Seeing the questioning look on the faces of Tonks and Remus, Harry continued "I asked her that after what had happened yesterday...well...would she still want us to visit them or not"
"WHAT!" Tonks shot up from her chair. "You tried to sabotage our vacation?"
Ignoring Tonks question, since this was pretty much how she reacted to such situations, Harry continued "Fleur said that it was not a problem with her and her invitation stands just the way it was 48 hours ago. So, I guess, we are going after all"
"God bless Fleur" Tonks said in relief as she took her seat once again. "She is such a nice vee...girl". Tonks gave an innocent smile as she saw Harry giving her another glare. As Harry looked away, she gave a sigh of relief while Remus shook his head in disappointment. Tonks was one girl who had a real difficulty in changing her smallest habits.
"And Fleur wants to talk to you" Harry said.
"Why?" Tonks asked in surprise.
"Don't know" Harry replied. "Maybe another round of girl talk"
"I think it will be something different from the last time" Tonks said thoughtfully before turning back to Harry with a question. "By the way, what the hell is the matter with you?"
"What?" Harry asked in reply. "Why should anything be the matter with me?"
"Let's me if I am wrong" Tonks sounded a warning to Remus who gladly nodded his head in reply. "You are very serious. You didn't smile when I fell in such a graceful motion. You are not looking at us too much". Tonks kept counting on her fingers as she listed these points. "You seem depressed. And now that I am saying all this stuff, there is a complete lack of emotion on your part"
"She's right Harry" Remus agreed. "Anything troubling you?"
"I don't know" Harry replied as he watched Dobby clear the dishes. "I just don't feel like doing anything anymore"
"What!" Tonks exclaimed again. "You mean you are quitting from your job? Who is going to take care of that dark lord?" Tonks tried to make her statements funny but a shake of head from Remus was enough to make her stop. It was quite obvious that Harry was not in a mood for these things and Remus didn't want Tonks to make any unnecessary comments.
After a few minutes of silence in which Tonks and Remus kept talking about some Order business, Harry said "I think I will turn in for the night".
"What's the matter with him?" Tonks asked as Harry went into his room and shut the door.
"Nothing much" Remus replied but his voice seemed concerned too.
"What do you mean by that?" Tonks said a bit angrily. "Obviously something is wrong and you say that it is nothing much!"
"What I meant was that he needs some time alone to sort out some things" Remus said. "We can't do anything". Seeing that Tonks was about to make a protest, Remus said "Tonks, think about it. If 150-odd dementors were around you for some seconds, then how long do you expect the effect to linger? It takes people days to get back to their normal self. In Harry's case, he was near the dementors for close to a minute or two. It's just as well that he was not in his normal mindset or he would have been mad by now. Even then, you can't expect that he would be totally unharmed by the dementors, can you?". This explanation seemed good enough for Tonks who turned her head back towards Harry's room. "Give him some time, he'll be ok soon"
"Will he ever be like what he was before?" Tonks asked in tiny voice.
"I don't know" Remus replied. "Most probably not. He would always have that extra burden on his shoulder to not go overboard with his emotions. It's just how fast he can adjust himself with this burden"
"Why only him Remus...why only him?" Tonks voice was slightly croaky as she said this.
"Fate" Remus replied with a sigh. Why Harry? This question was similar to the one he used to ask himself many years ago - why only me? He had got no answer then and there was no one around who would be able to provide an answer this time around.
"I don't believe this fate thing" Tonks replied angrily. "Why...tomorrow someone may predict that I am going to die on such and such date but I could kill myself before that. Then what?" Tonks thumped her hand on the desk to emphasize her point.
"Tonks, I understand what you are saying but we know that prophecies come true" Remus replied. "We can't do anything here, can we?"
"The hell we can" Tonks almost shouted at Remus and got up from her seat. "What does that old man do in his room all day? Can't he fix up these things? C'mon..." Tonks said, throwing up her arms in exasperation "...someone must have predicted who the next dark lord would have been. If only that old man had gotten rid of him when he was a student...". As she looked at the ever-so-cool face of Remus, her anger got the better of her "Damn it...who am I talking to?" With that, Nymphadora Tonks walked away to her room and slammed the door shut.
&&&&
"How was school today?" Remus asked as he saw Harry walk in the trunk. A few days had passed since the start of Harry's bad mood.
"The usual" came the reply as Harry entered his room and shut the door behind him. Remus had started to get concerned about Harry and the after-effects of the dementor attack. What he feared most was something which the muggles termed as 'depression'. Though this term was never used in the magical world, the symptoms of depression were quite similar to what happened to people in Azkaban after staying there for long. It was only after Remus had made such a comparison between these two cases, did he start getting really worried about Harry.
"Come in" Harry said as he heard a knock on the door of his room. As the door opened, the room was filled from light from outside.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Remus asked as he entered Harry's room.
"People think best when they are unaware of their surroundings" Harry replied. "I was trying to think clearly"
"I see" Remus replied as he sat down in a chair which seemed to appear just where he had wanted it to be. "You want to talk about something which might help you?"
"Well..." Harry thought for a moment. "...you could tell me something about Sirius"
"Don't you think it will depress you more than cheer you up?" Remus asked cautiously.
"I will be fine" Harry replied. "It's just that I like thinking about him and dad and mom. You know, from the time after those dementors left, I always have them on my mind". The room was still in dark but Remus could vaguely outline Harry's figure and could see that Harry was stretched out on his bed and looking at the ceiling. "They are always with me. I mean, they don't talk to me or anything like that...I am not mad...but I have this strange feeling that they are there. I mean...Remus…you understand what I mean, don't you?"
Remus nodded in the darkness but didn't say anything. If Harry wanted to talk, it was best that he was not interrupted in between. After a very brief pause, Harry started to speak again. "You see, I was thinking about how I was such a natural flyer. That's dad, isn't it? Also, I was thinking about why I care about people so much. Well, people say that I care but that's what everyone should do, isn't it? If people didn't care for each other that what is the purpose behind life? It just can't be about power and survival of the fittest, can it? Anyway, I care about people. That's mom in me, right? And Sirius...what about him? He has to be somewhere right inside me. I think I got his sense of style". Harry gave a chuckle as he said this and Remus also grinned. Even though the situation was very serious, Harry's sense of style was not even a close match with Sirius's. Remus was glad that Harry had come up with a witty statement and he felt even better when he heard Harry's chuckle.
"Yeah..." Remus said. "But I think you are more stylish than Sirius. You have such a nice hairstyle"
"See, that's what I meant" Harry replied in a voice which informed Remus that he was still grinning. "Sirius must be so jealous of me"
"No. He is very proud of you" Remus replied, echoing both his and Sirius's feelings. If he knew Sirius even a little bit, he knew that he was telling the truth.
"You think so?" Harry asked in a slightly emotional voice.
"I know so" Remus replied as he got up from his chair and went down to sit beside Harry. But as Harry moved aside instinctively, Remus too stretched out beside him and put his arms around Harry's shoulders and started talking again.
"You know Harry, after you were born, Sirius used to hang around you more than James ever did. You were the apple of his eye" Harry looked at Remus with wide, moist eyes as he heard all this. "Lily used to shout at Sirius 'Don't bring any more sweets' 'Don't take him on your motorcycle' 'Don't do this' 'Don't do that'...but Sirius...he never did anything he was told to. He always had his way and Lily also knew that he would never do anything which might harm you"
"What did dad say to all this?" Harry asked expectantly.
"You dad had a lot of fun with your mom regarding Sirius" Remus said with a sad smile as the old memories came flooding back. "He used to ask her who was your real father...and then...then Lily would get really mad. She would curse him or rather try to curse him because he was so fast, he was always out of the house in an instant. Even Sirius laid a claim to you once. I will never forget that day"
"What happened?" This question came from, surprisingly, Tonks. Apparently, Tonks had slipped in unnoticed. Acknowledging the presence of Tonks with a smile, Remus continued.
"Well...you were flying with your dad but something seemed to be wrong. Lily suggested that you might want to play with Sirius because, evidently, your dad and Sirius had messed up your priorities. At that moment, Sirius said that you just wanted to play with your 'real' dad". Harry chuckled at this but stopped quickly enough so as not to interrupt the story. "Lily was shocked for a moment and Sirius was smiling like mad. At that moment, your dad said 'Harry has every right to play with his real dad. C'mon Harry, let me take you to your dad'"
"And?" Harry asked, trying to visualize the scene.
Remus smiled and said "And the world saw the fury of Lily Evans Potter. She ended up giving painful boils to both your dad and Sirius and cursed Sirius's bike so that it would never be able to fly again"
"Where were you all this time?" Tonks asked.
"I was sitting in the lawn and reading The Daily Prophet" Remus replied.
"What happened next…what happened next? What happened to the bike then?" Harry asked anxiously. He could never have enough of his parents and his late godfather.
"That's another long story" Remus replied but he felt that Harry wanted to hear it now. Even in the darkness around, he could almost feel every emotion of Harry and, for a moment, he wondered as to how close he had become to him. Not wanting to disappoint him, Remus said "Now, Sirius knew that..."
No one knew how time flew by as they talked till well past midnight. It was lucky that Dobby served them dinner in Harry's bed otherwise they might have forgotten all about food. Even though the stories were fascinating, nature was not to be denied and Tonks fell asleep on a chair with her head on Harry's bed. Soon, Harry was also asleep in Remus's arms but it was a long time before Remus could fall asleep himself. As he watched the silhouette of Tonks and Harry, he wondered about how many people were lucky enough to find such a family for themselves. Clearing the hair from Harry's eyes, he watched his godson until his tiredness got the better of him.
"Where am I?" Tonks asked as she woke up with a stiff neck. She had never had a stiff neck in the past few months in the trunk but today, in spite of all the facilities the trunk provided, she had one. As she raised her head to look around, she saw Remus and Harry sleeping in each others arms but the most remarkable thing was the peaceful expression on each of their faces. She had never seen either of them being so relaxed in all these months in the trunk. As she looked at her watch, she saw that it was half past seven and it was most unusual for Harry to be so late. Seeing that she had no other choice than to wake up Harry (School!!!), she shook him hard by his shoulders.
"Wake up or you will be late for your classes" Tonks said. One look at the watch and Harry was out of the bed in a flash. Remus, who had been awakened by the voice of Tonks, smiled at her.
"Did he sleep well?" Remus asked.
"Looked like an angel when I got up" Tonks said with a smile and Remus too smiled at this bit of information. As he got up to leave the room, he turned back and said "You know Tonks, today I feel that I have fulfilled my destiny". With a smile fixed on his lips, Remus left the room.
&&&&
"Who's ther'"
"It's me Hagrid" Harry replied. Soon, the half-giant opened the door to let inside his favorite student in Hogwarts.
"How have ya been?" Hagrid asked as he pulled Harry into a bone crushing hug. "I have been so worried about ya"
"Hagrid...air" Harry barely managed to say these two words while trying to breathe. "Thanks Hagrid, I feel much better now" he said as Hagrid let go of him, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"So, what have ya been doin'?" Hagrid asked casually but Harry could see that he was casting a nervous glance towards Harry time and again.
"Nothing much" Harry replied. "I have a 45 minute break between the classes and I thought that it had been a long time since I had come here. So I decided to drop in"
"Good for ya" Hagrid said as he offered some rock cakes to Harry. Harry took one of them and politely refused the rest. "I heard you...and...your friends are talking again"
"Yeah" Harry replied casually. "We are back on 'hi-hello' terms"
"I always knew that ya would be back togetha' again" Hagrid said, running his fingers under Fang's ears. "They miss ya a lot"
"So, what's up with Dumbledore?" Harry asked, trying to divert the topic. "I haven't been seeing him around much"
"Yea...He's spending time with old...." Hagrid paused slightly before saying "I mean, he's taking care of things around here"
"What things?" Harry pressed on.
"Young man, ya need not bother yourself with the power" Hagrid said. "No, I shouldn't have said that…I shouldn't have said that" Hagrid added, shaking his head all the time.
"What power?" Harry's curiosity peaked at this. "Is there something here? I mean, death eaters, dementors, everybody seems to be attacking Hogwarts. What is it that they are looking for?"
"They won't get anythin'" Hagrid replied. "Now ya go on to your classes". With that, Harry was almost pushed out of the hut by Hagrid who seemed determined not to reveal anything else.
"What was he talking about?" Harry thought as he walked towards the castle. Earlier it was Snape who had been saying that Dumbledore was being drained and this time Hagrid said something about some power. Was there some powerful weapon in Hogwarts which Voldemort wanted?
Dumbledore had said that Voldemort had wanted to get hold of Gryffindor's sword but, as far as Harry knew, Gryffindor's sword didn't impart any special power to its possessor. It was true that Harry had killed a basilisk using that sword but why would Voldemort be bothered by that? After all, Voldemort would cast the killing curse on Harry and it was unstoppable. Also, it wasn't like Voldemort would stand only a few feet away from Harry which would enable him to use the sword against Voldemort.
The more that Harry thought about this, the more concerned he became. Finally he came to a conclusion which was enough to strike terror in the hearts of many - there was something in Hogwarts which Voldemort wanted desperately.
Classes went on normally for Harry as the slight chill of the month of November started settling in. Even though his mood was almost back to normal thanks to Remus, to Harry it seemed like the calm before the storm. It seemed to him that everywhere he went, there was a chance that he might stumble upon some kind of powerful weapon. Harry knew that he was acting slightly like Moody but he knew he had to be alert all the time. Slowly, as the days passed by, his nervousness seemed to diminish and he seemed to relax. If there was something really dangerous in Hogwarts, then Dumbledore must be handling the situation correctly.
&&&&
"Any news?" Harry asked when he was back in the trunk after his classes. It had been over 20 days since the dementor attack and Voldemort's forces had seemed to have gone quite. If someone came into England now, they wouldn't even suspect that a dark lord and his forces were at large in the country.
"Nothing too much except that I had a chat with Fleur" Tonks replied. "Everyone seems to have gone quite"
"Too quite if you ask me" Remus cut in. It was just like in the old days when one failed attack would be succeeded by days of silence and then followed up with a mass attack. At least, this time around they had loads of spying devices set up around the country.
"Yeah…" Harry agreed. "It's quite disturbing. Even Malfoy doesn't seem to taunt me about anything nowadays. He always used to boast about how I would die or how Hogwarts would fall but nowadays…"
"Harry, he's a Slytherin" Tonks said. "You can't expect him to say immature things for long"
"He said them for 5 years to be precise" Harry retorted. "But nowadays…hey, tell me one thing. What is Snape doing nowadays?"
"He dropped out of You-Know-Who's good books" Tonks replied. "Too bad You-Know-Who didn't find about him sooner"
"Tonks!" Remus gave a look at Tonks which caused her to shut up. Turning back to Harry, he said "He is trying to get some death-eaters over to our side"
"What do you mean by that?" Harry queried. "Soon we would have a hundred Snape's on our side? Yuck!"
"Don't say that in front of him, ok?" Remus said with a wink. "Seriously speaking, there are many death-eaters who had been forced to join Voldemort, right?" Tonks and Harry nodded their heads in agreement. "Now that Snape has lost Voldemort's trust, he is trying to use some of these guys to spy for us. His main problem is convincing them that we will win the final war but many believe that the light side is slightly better off due to both you and Dumbledore"
"You mean the Boy-Who-Lived and Dumbledore, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes" Remus replied. "Apart from that, some have been slightly shocked at how their forces couldn't penetrate Hogwarts twice in these past few months. This also has had an effect on many of them"
"I see" Harry said thoughtfully. "How many of them are willing to help us?"
"Snape is still trying to win their confidence. So, right now, we have no one's services at our disposal" Remus clarified. "But Snape hopes to convince at least three death eaters to help us"
"Three!" Harry exclaimed. "Only three! You almost had me convinced that forty to fifty death eaters were willing to defect to our side"
"Are you mad?" Remus asked. "Even if three joined us, or rather spied for us, then also we would have a lot of information to work with"
"Yeah…yeah" Tonks chipped in sarcastically. "Even with so many spying devices around we aren't getting enough information and you expect three death-eaters will serve us better. What if they turned out to be newcomers whom no one trusted, let alone You-Know-Who?"
"We have to trust Snape's judgment on this" Remus replied.
"His judgment?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't trust him for bringing me a glass of water and you are asking us to trust the guys he brings in"
"He is bringing in no one" Remus corrected Harry. "He is trying to setup a network of spies. They only know that he works for Dumbledore. That's it. The Order is nowhere in the picture"
"I would prefer it that way too" Harry replied.
"What if he ends us passing information which really takes off the Order from all kinds of pictures?" Tonks questioned Remus. "Maybe he would say that there is going to be an attack in London by ten death-eaters and we arrive to find a hundred waiting for us"
"Tonks…when will you ever trust Snape" Remus asked coolly, without any trace of irritation on his face due to the constant doubt being cast on Snape's loyalty.
"Never" Both Tonks and Harry chorused together and burst in laughter.
"C'mon guys, believe me, he is trying his best. We can just hope that the end results are as good as his efforts"
"When did you start liking him so much?" Tonks asked Remus with a nudge at Harry.
"I don't like him but I trust him" Remus replied. "Those two are very different things. In any case, don't you think we are discussing this topic for too long?"
"Yeah" Harry replied. "Have you heard from the twins or Norman Wood lately?"
"I have" Tonks said with a broad smile and it was instantly obvious that she knew something important.
"Ok Tonks, what do you know?" Remus asked.
"They are doing ok" Tonks replied. "They...". At this point, Harry cut short Tonks.
"Tonks, tell me one thing. How much is this security thing making?" Harry narrowed his eyes as he asked this. "I think you have been talking mainly with Norman"
"Damn" Tonks muttered under her breath but was still audible enough for both the males present there. "How did you know?"
"Your smile" Harry replied. "You have this unique smile which is visible only when you are seeing plenty of galleons in your mind"
"You...you..." Tonks seemed lost for words but recovered quickly. "Why...did I do anything wrong if I talked to Norman? I was just checking how fast we can repay your loan. That's all I wanted to know about"
Harry peered closely into Tonks eyes and said "So how could you help it if you were told that you are making enough to buy a castle in a year, right?"
"Right" Tonks gave a firm nod of her head before she understood that she had made a hurried statement. "No...I mean, yes, we are making enough money but no, not a castle"
"Tonks, give the important news first" Remus said.
Tonks became serious and said "The sales are good. Skhoner is selling items at high prices to many anonymous clients, which is good news in a sense. Sarah has developed a user manual sort of thing which shows how to install the security enhanced items. This has also helped sales since some people don't want Norman peering into their houses. We have every reason to believe that these high-paying, non-peering clients have a lot to hide. Apart from that, our items are very popular in the middle class and the poor families too. Almost 40 of the middle class families in London have enquired about our products and out of that, Norman estimates half of them will buy our products. And our products are the number one with the poor families"
"Ok...so there is hope for this business" Remus said.
"Lots of hope I think" Harry commented. "And how much money is coming in? Oh Remus...just look at her smile"
"Shut up" Tonks said, unable to control her smile in spite of being a metamorphmagus. "Ok..ok..I am telling you. We are making a profit of 1000 galleons per month"
"Whoa" Harry said as Remus gave a low whistle. "That's a lot"
"Yup" Tonks replied. "It's coming mainly from our anonymous clients but some rich people are dropping in too. This is just an average estimate and Norman expects it to stabilize into something like 700 a month"
"Hmm..." Remus said at last. "Anyway, we have had a lot of talk tonight. I think it will be best if we said good night for today"
"Yeah" Tonks said as she stretched herself. "I feel tired too"
"Ok guys" Harry said as he proceeded towards his room. "Good night". With that, he closed the door and soon his room was plunged into darkness. As Harry lay in his bed, he felt quite pleased with himself. His mood was now back to it's normal and he and his family members didn't have any underlying tension amongst them. Also, he was trying to make a new start in the direction of his relation with his friends. Yes, he still didn't want to be closely associated with them in public but at least, he could maintain some kind of a healthy relation in private. All in all, the month of November seemed to be ending on a good note for him. It was with a smile that he slept that night.
"I plan everything to the last detail…" A figure was pacing around in a dark room somewhere and 12 hooded figures were standing in front of him. "…and yet it doesn't work" the chill in the voice could be felt throughout the room.
"I ask myself as to what could be the reason and I don't find an answer" the figure had stopped pacing and was looking to and fro between two person's, one on his left side and another on his right.
"How could Lord Voldemort's plans fail?" Everyone in the room shivered at the mention of the name and many squirmed in their places. "First I lost one of my most trusted giants and then the dementors failed me too". There was a long pause after this as all the death eaters felt that their lord was minutely examining them.
"I don't like waiting too long" Voldemort said at last. "How much longer?" Voldemort asked to the person just to his right. The hooded figure seemed to lose his voice for some precious seconds but said at last "Soon master". He knew he was walking a fine thread between life and death but giving a deadline to his lord would mean setting a deadline on his own life. If, for any reason, his planning got messed up, that would mean the end of his life too.
"I want it done faster" Voldemort said in a deathly whisper as a huge snake lay before his feet. "My patience is running out and Nagini is feeling hungry too". Sweat broke out on the forehead of the person with whom Voldemort had just had a chat.
With a hissing voice, the dark lord said "I want the Power of Hogwarts destroyed"
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A/N:
Here's the 18th chapter. I had this chapter ready by the 25'th night but couldn't post it due to the tsunami. This chapter (and this whole fic) is dedicated to my uncle, aunt and their family who were lost to us forever in the tragedy. And I hope for the best for all those people out there who are still searching for their loved ones.
skittles-07 – About gollum from LotR…LotR means Lord of the Rings, right? If that is so, then I have to say I have neither read the books nor seen the movie. So anything which might sound similar is coincidence.
Civenus – Harry won't turn dark.
Talons – I will check the writings of the authors you mentioned but I fear it will take me many a month to do so. And thanks for your rating :)
To all those people whose names I don't mention here - Thanks. Each and every word you write in your reviews is of great importance to me and I always take your suggestions/comments very seriously.
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