CHAPTER 7: BAD MOON RISING
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Wednesday, October the 29th
"It is true!"
"It's not!"
"IT IS!"
"IT'S NOT!"
The two Weasleys glared at each other, catching their breath, unaware they had just attracted the attention of every other Gryffindor in the table. It was already morning, and the Great Hall was packed with students eating their morning meal. Harry and Hermione, however, were nowhere to be found. Ron had left Harry still asleep on the dormitory they shared, while Ginny had gotten a glimpse of Hermione talking with Roger on the hallway.
Luna, who had sat that morning next to Ron, looked at the two siblings and said, "Could you please lower your voice? I don't think this is something you want to advertise." "It's not my fault, honey. Ginny's just bloody mad," Ron said, his ears as red as his hair.
"I am not insane," Ginny whispered, leaning across the table so Ron and Luna could see how serious she was. Neville, who was sitting next to Ginny, already knew how serious Ginny was. After all, they had discussed this subject all the way to the Great Hall when they walked together this morning. Neville suppressed a smile; he had never seen his girl so determined about anything.
Ginny continued unabated, "I know what I saw last night, Ron. That was jealousy… plain and simple jealousy!" "Harry is not jealous of Roger! Who would be jealous of Roger? He's a pompous, slimy, son of a bi…" Ron managed to whisper before Ginny interrupted, "and he has Hermione as his date to the ball."
"So? Harry doesn't want her to go with Roger, and neither do I! That doesn't mean I'm in love with her! It just means that I don't like Roger! Which is exactly how Harry feels," Ron said sheepishly. Even Luna looked unconvinced with his logic. "Yeah, but you don't look at Hermione the way Harry does," Ginny said, a triumphant smile spreading on her freckled face.
"That's true," both Neville and Luna said at the same time. "Are you all insane?" Ron asked, wide eyed. When Neville, Ginny and his girlfriend gave him the international "We are not crazy; you are," look, Ron knew he better start explaining what was going on before they got any ideas in their head.
"Look, let's say… hypothetically, of course… that Harry drank a love potion we were preparing in Snape's class… and that he looked at Hermione while doing that… So, Ginny, if you saw jealousy in Harry's eyes… well, it was because of the potion," Ron explained.
"He DRANK it? That's stupid. Not even I do that," Neville said, grimacing. Ron snapped, "It wasn't on purpose. And that's beside the point. The point is that Ginny here thinks that Harry is in love with Hermione, but she's wrong! He's not in love with her! He was just under the effects of the potion last night. It will pass… soon."
"Wait, wasn't your Potion class on Monday?" Ginny asked; Neville nodded in return. "So?" Ron asked. "So, the effects of the Philtrum Casses Amator last for only eight hours," Luna answered.
"Have you been playing with love potions behind my back?" Ron asked his girlfriend. "You just don't like being wrong. Harry couldn't have been under the influence of the potion a day after he drank it," Ginny answered cheekily.
"How can you know? For all I know, I could have mixed more fairy dust or less dragon dung or stirred it the wrong way, and that might have resulted in the potion's effects lasting for a longer time," Ron said, knowing Ginny's arguments by heart, since they had been floating around on his mind since Harry's behavior the day before.
Neville caught sight of a certain raven-haired boy entering the great hall. "Harry's coming," he quickly announced, and everyone tried his or her best to look nonchalantly as Harry approached the table. "What's going on?" Harry asked, frowning. There was definitely something up with his friends.
"You look better than you did last night," Ginny said as Harry took the empty seat next to Ron. "I feel better," Harry answered. It was true that his body felt better, even if the bump next to his scar was hurting like hell. Madam Pomfrey's potion had worked wonders on him.
Now, if she could only make a potion to make him fall out of love with his best friend…
He has just started to savor his first piece of toast with grape jelly when he saw Hermione step into the Great Hall. Like yesterday, Roger's arm was draped around her shoulders, making Harry's stomach do flip-flops. He forced himself to swallow as they stood next to the Ravenclaw table.
Roger kissed Hermione on the cheek and whispered something in her ear. Hermione was blushing as she nodded at him (why does she have to look so beautiful when she blushes?), turning around and making her way back to the Gryffindor table. She was still smiling when she took the empty seat next to Ginny.
Was it Harry's imagination or had Roger thrown a very angry look his way?
"Good morning, everyone," Hermione said, quickly grabbing a green apple and sinking her teeth on it, the juice dripping lazily down her chin. Harry fought the urge to wipe it with his thumb. "Morning," everyone, including Harry, greeted.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked out loud. Harry immediately knew that, even if she hadn't forgiven him for being a total jerk yesterday, she was still very concerned for him. His stomach gave another jolt when he remembered how she had saved for him last night.
"I'm feeling better. Thanks for asking," Harry whispered, forcing himself to look at his plate because he still didn't trust himself around her. For a moment this morning, he had thought the potion's effect had disappeared. But seeing Hermione walking in Roger just helped him see how wrong he had been.
Harry felt Hermione nod, and he didn't even look up when he heard the familiar fluttering on hundreds of wings as the morning owl post arrived. He heard a heavy thud on the table in front of him and looked up for just a moment to see Hermione picking up her copy of the Daily Prophet from a beautiful tawny owl.
Hermione opened the newspaper, and Harry forced himself to butter another piece of toast. None of them missed the way Ginny nodded at the two of them, her eyes locked on the blushing Ron.
"This is interesting," Hermione said absentmindedly, her eyes scanning the front page. "What is it?" Luna asked, twirling a red strand of Ron's hair in her fingers. Hermione turned the newspaper around so Luna could see what had caught her attention.
"Ancient Magical Artifact Stolen from Muggle Museum," Luna read out loud. Hermione once again turned the newspaper so she could read, but knowing Luna was interested, she read the clipping out loud.
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Ancient Magical Artifact Stolen from Muggle Museum
By Bobby McGee
At 1:32 AM today, the Museum of Berlin reported a break-in on their premises, and an object of magical origin has been reported as missing.
The Museum, one of the oldest and most respected Muggle institutions in Europe, was currently housing a special exhibition of Myths of the Dead from the Middle Ages. This exhibition had been prepared in collaboration with Berlin's Ministry of Magic officials.
Berlin's Ministry officials have not released information specific about the missing object. All that is currently known is that the object is of extreme value to the magical community.
An inquiry is under way to see how such a magical artifact ended up in a muggle institution.
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"Somebody screwed up," Neville said when Hermione finished reading the story. "I didn't know that people in muggle government knew about our world," Ginny said absently. Luna answered by saying, "Some do. They help to keep our world secret from the muggles."
"Which is why I find so strange that such an important artifact was housed in a non-magical place," Hermione said. "This looks like a case for Shirley Holmes!" Ron added, winking at Luna, who had been pestering him to take Muggle Studies since they started dating.
"The name's Sherlock Holmes, Ron," Harry mumbled, pushing the piece of bacon all over the plate. "Harry, would you just eat? You've been pushing your food around for the last two days," Hermione sighed.
Harry threw his fork on the plate with a loud clink. How dare she criticize his eating habits? She was the one that seemed to be in a perpetual diet since… since…
"You are one to talk! Since you became Roger's girl you hardly have a decent meal!" Harry snapped before the rational part of his brain had a chance to kick in. No sooner had the words left his mouth that he wanted to slap himself senseless.
He had managed to anger the woman he cared for.
'Great. Now you did it, Potter. Now you really screwed up…'Hermione sat up abruptly, her chair screeching against the marble floor. Without saying a word, she started walking away. Roger sat up when he spotted her, but Harry watched over his shoulder as she put her hand up to stop Roger from following her, shaking her head and finally exciting the Great Hall.
When Harry turned around, he found all the Gryffindor students were looking at him in shock. "Your breakfast is getting cold," he hissed, standing up and turning around, intent on following Hermione and apologize.
"Did you had a fight with your girlfriend, Potty?" Draco snickered from the nearby Slytherin table. Harry resisted the urge to turn back and punch him, so he swallowed his anger and left the Great Hall. When he arrived in the hallway, he looked sideways, trying to find a clue as to where Hermione had run off.
Harry felt a hand on his arm, and before he knew what was going on he was being turned around forcefully. He found the angry face of Roger Davies staring at him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO NOW?" Roger spit in his face. Harry clenched his hands on fists, thinking, 'A fight with Roger is the last thing I need right now.'
"Let me go, Roger. I want to apologize to Hermione," Harry said, trying to control his temper in the presence of his least favorite person in all Hogwarts.
"I won't let go until you tell me what you did to my girl!" Roger said, holding so tightly to Harry's arm Harry was sure he would leave a mark.
'My girl… how dare he call her "my girl". He didn't even smile at her until she became Head Girl!'Harry wriggled his arm free of Roger's iron grip and said, "First of all, she's not YOUR girl. Second, what goes on between Hermione and me STAYS between Hermione and me. If she feels like sharing with you, it's her choice!"
"20 Points from Gryffindor!" Roger hissed, taking one more step so he was less than an inch away from Harry. Harry looked up at the taller man and couldn't help but smirk, replying, "Roger… you can take those 20 points and shove 'em where the sun don't shine."
Harry turned around quickly before Roger could do anything that could jeopardize his position as Hogwarts' Holier-Than-Thou Head Boy, and sprinted down the hallway.
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MEANWHILE
Ron and Ginny were involved in another of their staring contests, and Ron was loosing badly. After what they had just witnessed between Harry and Hermione, Ginny was surer than ever of what was going on.
Ron finally sighed in defeat and looked away, saying, "It's the potion, Ginny."
"It is not the potion, Ron!" Ginny said, shaking her head. She added resolutely, "I've been expecting this for a while… Believe me, Ron, there's something else there… something's that's been brewing since last year."
Ron leaned across the table, not wanting any of the other Gryffindors to eavesdrop, and said, "Since you know everything, what are you asking me for?"
"Because I need to know what WE are going to do about it…" Ginny said. "We? WE? We are not getting involved in this, Ginny. If Harry does feel something for Hermione… then is his problem if he wants to admit it or not!" Ron replied angrily.
"Ron," Ginny said softly, knocking the anger right out of her big brother.
"Don't you think your best friends deserve a chance to be happy?"
Ron should have known better than to think Ginny was going to back down. It was a good thing too, because his little sister had just given him the push he so desperately needed.
Ron looked from Luna, to Neville and back to his sister, a small smile spreading on his freckled cheeks.
"Alright… hypothetically… what are we going to do about it?"
***************
A few hours later…
To his dismay, the school bell had rung before Harry had a chance to see Hermione and apologize. He didn't have any classes with Hermione during the morning, and he knew better than to interrupt her during one of her classes.
The thought of her had consumed him the entire morning. He knew he better start working on an antidote soon, because he couldn't bear the thought of hurting Hermione more than he had already hurt her.
Divination was his last class of the morning, and the last hour he would have to endure without apologizing to Hermione.
Divination was one of Harry's favorite classes. After all, he would usually sit down on the enchanted hill that was Firenze's classroom, and looked at the make-believe stars hovering over them, thinking about Quidditch, butterbeer and weekends in Hogsmeade.
As usual, the handsome Centaur that was their Divination teacher, Firenze, started his class by saying, "Students, please sit down. Relax your thoughts and open your mind. Look up at the heavens… and prepare to see what they may be ready to show you."
"I'm happy to comply," Ron whispered as he lay down on the grass next to Harry, both putting his hands on the back of their heads and looking up.
Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For the first time since the whole potion incident, he felt truly at peace. Maybe it was the thought of finally apologizing to Hermione and begging her for forgiveness… maybe it was the thought that as soon as he drank the antidote everything between Hermione and himself would go back to normal.
When he opened his eyes again, the room was strangely quiet. He couldn't even hear Ron's soft snores next to him. Harry sat up and looked around… only to find he was completely alone in the grassy hill.
'What's… what's going on?' Harry thought, his fingers digging deeper into the earth as he felt a cold wind forming all around him, messing up the brown leaves around him, ruffling his hair every which way, until the coldness was so sharp he had trouble keeping his eyes open.
He panicked when he found he couldn't move as roots that looked like thin arms with bony fingers wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles, pinning him into the ground. He tried wriggling himself free, but only managed to cut into his skin.
It was Harry's turn to scream, but when he tried to, no sound came out of his mouth. It felt like someone had sucked the air out of his lungs, until only the burning sensation of being deprived of oxygen accompanied the icy coldness that spread thru his body.
He sharply snapped his head back, trying with all his might to draw some much needed air. He found that the night sky that had been filled with stars moments ago was now pitch black, and the only source of light was the foreboding full moon.
Harry was gasping by the time he noticed that the full moon was turning darker
and darker… that something seemed to be crawling on is surface, slowly
swallowing it behind a curtain of red.
Red.
A drop fell on Harry's cheek, and he knew it wasn't water. It was something warm and sticky… something that smelled of death and pain.
Harry didn't need to be a genius to know what blood felt like.
He forced himself to look at the moon, really look at it, as more and more drops fell on his face, his arms, his chest…
The moon was being swallowed by blood.
The drops soon became a drizzle… Harry tried harder than ever to free himself of the holds, completely disgusted by the blood falling on him. He could feel the cuts in his arms and legs growing deeper and deeper, until he cried in pain and frustration.
But it wasn't a drizzle anymore… it was as if the heavens themselves had decided to open their doors for much needed release… Harry was soaked to his very bones, completely covered by the offending liquid. He could taste the blood in his mouth, he could feel it going down his nose and slowly coming down his throat.
Harry tried closing his eyes, but he couldn't… there has too much blood floating in them
The ground started to cave in inch by inch until the ground underneath him was swallowing Harry.
It was Harry's turn to drown in a pool of blood.
"HARRY! HARRY! HARRY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
Harry opened his eyes to find Ron's face hovering just inches above his. He quickly tried to sit up, but knocked his forehead against Ron's chin in the haste. Clutching his newest injury, Harry looked around.
His fellow students were looking at him as if he had sprouted a second head. Even Firenze was looking at him in wonder. But aside from that, everything looked just as it did when he had stepped into the classroom.
"What happened?" Harry asked Ron, who was rubbing his chin and wincing. "How the hell should I know? You just started screaming and trashing like a madman!" Ron replied.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Lavender asked worriedly. Harry nodded absently. What the hell had just happened? He hadn't felt sleepy when he first came into the classroom. How come he had fallen asleep and had subjected himself to another nightmare?
"I am," Harry lied, clutching his scar absentmindedly. It felt like a hot metal rod was poking his forehead. He was soaking wet, but thankfully, it was only sweat.
Professor Firenze spoke for the first time, "Students, you can go now. Class has ended… for now." Ron and Neville helped Harry to his feet. He was a bit wobbly, but soon found the strength returning to his legs. When he found he could stand on his own, he nodded at the two boys.
Harry had already threw his bag over his shoulder and was about to follow Ron, Neville and his fellow Gryffindors out of the classroom when he heard Firenze's voice say, "Harry, I need to talk to you."
Harry sighed in defeat. 'Why can't anything be easy?'
"I'll meet you outside," Harry whispered to Ron. The redhead nodded and left the classroom with Neville. When they were in the hallway and out of earshot from Harry, Ron turned to Neville and said, "You stay here. I'm going to get Hermione. Something's definitely wrong with Harry."
Inside the classroom, Harry was trying to busy himself with looking at his shoes and ignoring Firenze's eyes on him. The centaur had remained silent for almost five minutes, with only the occasional clop of his hooves breaking the uncomfortable silence.
'I can't take this anymore.'
"Professor, I…" Harry started saying, when Firenze interrupted him by saying, "I know what it is you saw."
'WHAT?'"It is a very powerful omen… what the heavens have decided to reveal to you, Harry," Firenze added. "Professor, I'm sorry but… I just fell asleep. I bumped my head the other day on the library and… well, I've been having weird dreams since then," Harry replied hesitantly.
"That was not a dream, young Potter. You need to be asleep in order to dream. You were very much awake when you received a vision," Firenze said sharply, his eyes growing into slits as if he wanted to see what was going on inside Harry's mind.
"A vision?" Harry asked out loud. "Yes, a vision… a vision of death and destruction… of the past… of the future… maybe of the present… time doesn't mean much to the universe," Firenze said quizzically.
"That was helpful," Harry said, suddenly feeling very angry. Why do these things happen to him? Why couldn't Ron or Hermione or even Dumbledore get cryptic messages from the universe? Why did it have to be the boy with the freaky scar?
"What I just told you is all I know. All I know is that a cruentus lunaris is a very powerful omen…" Firenze said, showing a bit of anger at Harry's words on his usually calm eyes.
"But… but how can I know what it means? I mean… let's say for a moment that it was a vision… why me? Why now? What is the so-called universe trying to tell me?" Harry said rapidly, a thousand different thoughts floating in his tired mind. "I don't know. It hasn't been revealed to me… I was not the chosen one," Firenze said forcefully.
All the frustration and anger and disappointment that Harry had felt all his life seemed to accumulate and explode in that single moment. Why couldn't he get a straight answer for once?
"Well, I won't let the universe fuck me over one more time," Harry said fiercely, turning around and walking away, leaving a shock Firenze behind. "Trouble is coming your way, young Potter!" Firenze called.
"Tell me something I don't know!" Harry said angrily as he finally left the classroom. He was so angry he couldn't even see straight, and he unwittingly bumped against someone or something.
"Harry, are you okay? What happened to you?" a familiar voice, full of worry, suddenly asked.
"Hermione?" Harry asked, his legs feeling very weak. He felt Hermione grab him by the waist and push him against the wall, using her body to pin him and support him. He would have been exhilarated if it wasn't for the fact that he felt as if he was dying.
"Oh my god. We have to get you to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said worriedly, putting her hand on his forehead. Her hand felt so cold against his rising fever. Harry shook his head in protest. He had visited the hospital enough this week; he wasn't about to waste more hours cooped up in that room.
"But you have to! You are not well!" Hermione said, her voice breaking with emotion. Harry tried to look at her thru his fogged up glasses. Her eyes were red and full of anxiety; her lips were trembling slightly, and she was shaking with the exertion of supporting Harry's weight.
"I'll be fine, Mione. Don't worry," Harry said tiredly. He put his forehead against Hermione's shoulder. Hermione softly started caressing the back of his head with her hand, as a mother would do to her crying child.
Harry did felt like crying. Everything had been going so well this semester. His grades had gone up, he had done well on his first Quidditch match, and even Voldemort had gone into hiding. But this week… it was as if the gods upstairs had decided to come together and send something Harry's way just because they were bored.
Before he knew it, Harry was moistening Hermione's shoulder with tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, until her body was rocking with his sobs.
"Harry, I'm here… talk to me," she whispered soothingly, kissing his hair with tenderness. "Just… just…hold me," Harry whispered, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist and pulling her toward him.
It was so comforting to be in her arms, to breathe in her scent, to feel the warmth of her skin against his. And Harry Potter felt something he had not felt since he was a baby.
He felt safe.
He was about to tell her he was sorry for the way he had acted, and he was even going to confess about the potion, when she took his face between her hands and forced him to look at her.
"Harry, what happened in Divination class?" Hermione asked him, her thumbs gently kneading his cheeks. "What do you mean?" Harry asked, knowing full well what she meant. But how could she know? She was in another classroom when it happened.
As if to answer, Hermione said, "Ron looked for me and told me what happened. He asked me to come in after you. He was so worried! And I can see why… Harry, please let me take you to the hospital."
"He did. Didn't he?" Harry said, feeling the coldness once again as he let go of Hermione's waist. Is that why she was here? Because Ron sent her to check up on him?
"Don't be mad, Harry. He's just worried… and so am I! You've been acting weird all week…" Hermione said worriedly, dropping her hands from Harry's face when she felt him tense.
"I've had things on my mind," Harry mumbled, running his hands on his raven hair. "Things? THINGS? You collapsed on Transfiguration yesterday! You started screaming in Divination just half an hour ago… that's more than just things!" Hermione said, beginning to be exasperated by Harry's stubbornness.
"You don't know what they are," Harry said softly, looking for a way to make a swift exit from what had downgraded to a very uncomfortable situation.
"Because you refuse to talk to me, Harry!" Hermione replied, crossing her arms over her chest with equal stubbornness.
'I can't take this anymore… I can't… I can't breathe… I need to get out of here…'"That's because there are things about me that don't concern you!" Harry screamed, making Hermione take a few steps back. He regretted it immediately. He was angry at all the bullshit around him… but he was definitely not angry with her.
Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and she was biting her lower lip to stop herself from screaming back at him.
'Great, Potter. Just great. You are in love with the girl and you've made her cry twice in less than 24 hours. Way to go. No wonder your relationships suck!'
"Fine! You want to play the lone fucking ranger now, that's fine with me! See if I care!" Hermione blurted in an uncharacteristic surge of anger, turning around sharply on her heel and walking away as if the devil himself was nipping at her feet.
'Shit! Shit! SHIT!'"Hermione, I'm sorry..." Harry started, but it was already too late. She had already rounded the corner and was out of his sight.
He contemplated running after her and begging for forgiveness, but if he had learned anything these last six years about his best friend was that if Hermione Granger was angry, then she needed her space. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of her right hook like Malfoy had on their Third year.
So Harry decided to skip lunch and run straight to the library, putting thoughts about the dream/vision in the backburner. He had a more pressing problem, and he needed to find a solution.
NOW.
What Harry didn't know was that Neville and Ron had been watching from the far corner his little exchange with Hermione… and that Ron was not a happy camper.
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Hey guys! Hope you liked the longer chapter! Worked really hard on this one, so I hope u can take a few seconds to drop me a line. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!
For those of you who like trivia, "Cruentus Lunaris" means "bloody moon" in Latin.
On the next chapter of Caught in a Web: Ron confronts Harry about Hermione. Harry finally apologizes, and is left to wonder about a future he never dreamt of considering.
And thanks to the wonderful reviewers:
Nightwing 509: Glad you enjoyed it. I've decided to make Roger a bit more proactive in this story, so the obstacles against Harry will just keep coming!
AngellicHuntress: LOL Who says Harry will get Hermione? I think the Ginny question was answered in this chapter. LOL And I can't believe you are still laughing about that scene… let's do something… if u keep a correct Harry injury countdown in this story, I'll send a cookie your way. Hehe *HUG*
Harrys_Girl5: Welcome to the story. So very glad you enjoyed it. Is Harry under the potion's spell? Hehe you'll have to wait to find out about that.
Sally: Thanks for reading. All the best to you too.
Lisa Oceans Potter: Men are certainly insane. But you know what they say! Can't live with em, can't live without em! Oh, glad you liked the song… music is my main source of inspiration. Hehe Neville is actually my favorite character in the books (I SUCH LOVE THE UNDERDOGS) and I know he really likes Ginny (he was always sticking up for her in OOTP) so I decided to give them a chance (even when JKR won't!). Let's just hope Neville survives a visit to the Weasley house! Poor Harry or Stupid Harry? For now, I would go with stupid Harry… he's too thick for his own good!
Peace,
Anasazi