Chapter 12 - The Mystery Unfolds
Nobody argued but it didn't mean that they would accept the appaling situation gracefully. As expected, Ron and Chuck shot daggers looks at one another before climbing onto the vacant space at the back of the van. Not a horrible word was uttered between the two but the 'look' was enough. Jeric blatantly ignored them and quickly went on board. He retreated to the farthest end, nearest the driver, and made a spectacular show of staring intently at his clenched fists as if they were the most amazing things he had ever seen in all his years of existence.Hermione, being the sole girl in the group, was given the privilege of riding in front beside a very still black-haired person whose name she didn't know. She gathered that he must have some considerable authority over the group for they obeyed him without question but still, that information was not sufficient for her to correctly assess his character. There has been no polite introduction yet and judging from everyone's facial expression, no one was in the mood for even a simple 'hello' so how could she tell?
Billy only spared a momentary glance at the girl sitting beside him before going back to his intricate thoughts that were growing more complex by the minute. 'What gives?' he wondered thoughtfully. 'The alleged girlfriend appeared highly affronted and confused by the whole situation -- hardly what one would expect from a 'two-timing bitch' as what Chuck had vehemently accused her. And how the heck did Chuck know? Weird...
Matt, surprisingly, was the calmest of them all. But that could just be because he was the one driving and couldn't afford the distraction.
Snape, who was still concealed by the invisibility cloak, was having a horrible time keeping the cloak on while attempting to fit into the cramp space behind the equipments. He had swiftly entered before any of the three could and had settled for the location that he deemed to be 'safe.' 'Merlin! The things I do for the cause!' What he didn't know was that he was still fortunate to be inside the van at all. Minutes after they have settled, rain had started to fall, drenching the poor Slytherin boy who had no choice but to climb on top of the vehicle and hang on for dear life as the van sped off to wherever they were going.
'Someone's going to pay for this indignity I'm suffering!' he thought contemptuously. Luckily, the night was so dark and damp that nobody noticed an arm or leg that accidentally showed whenever the wind blew too hard.
Finally, they reached their destination and Draco saw Harry or Jeric ran out and disappeared into .... thin air? He rubbed his eyes and blinked twice but still, he couldn't fathom where the boy had gone. He then saw an equally temperamental male follow Harry and disappeared too. 'What was that--a black hole?' he thought in confusion. Then the redhead alighted next, giving ample time for the professor to get out before shutting the door firmly.
"Come, follow me." Draco heard the tall, raven-haired young man say to Ron and Hermione. The two warily walked after him and the brown-haired fellow. Their confusion was evident though apparently overpowered by the blasted Gryffindor pride. A few seconds later, the four had also disappeared completely.
'Now, this is getting interesting...they must have went through a wall or something like at the Hogwart's Express.' thought Draco as he expertly jumped to the ground and headed to the direction where he saw them last. He approached the place with a smug expression on his face, no doubt feeling exceedingly proud of his accomplishment. Then, suddenly, he heard a blast and leaped just in time to avoid the potions professor that has been harshly flung backwards by an invisible force.
'Merlin! I could've been hit by that and blown my cover!' Draco swore under his breath and impatiently watched the scene in front of him. The mudblood, the Weasel and the three unidentified fellow appeared from nowhere and all with their wands out, ready for battle.
Hermione was the first to notice the stern Professor neatly sprawled on the ground in an undignified position. She quickly rushed to his side. "Professor, are you all right?"
"Mr. Atherton?" exclaimed the black-haired in disbelief. "You could have spared yourself the trouble if you had revealed yourself a while ago."
"He is--" began Ron but Snape cut him off with the 'look'.
"You could have spared everyone a lot of trouble if you had only informed me that Mr. Potter's with you when we talked on the telephone." replied the Professor in his usual charming way of speaking. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect on the unknown fellow who only raised an eyebrow in response.
"Oh yeah? If I remember correctly, it was Jeric who refused to speak with you."
"Why do you keep on calling him Jeric? His name is Harry....Harry Potter." stated Ron who has finally calmed down enough to carry on a normal conversation.
The three young men looked uncertainly at one another.
"That's why we brought you here...to shed light on some things that has us baffled for a long time now. But first, we must ask you -- are you friends or foes?" asked the one hit by Ron.
"Friends..." Ron, Hermione and Snape said at once.
"Good."
The three young men smiled and beckoned them to follow. Soon, all of them vanished once more and Draco was left alone on the cold, damp neighborhood with no food nor shelter in sight. He still did not uncover what was happening with Potter but at least he knew of their general location. Sighing heavily, he searched for a restaurant with a muggle payphone inside. Quickly, he dialled the numbers that would connect him to Malfoy Manor. It was a family secret that they had a muggle communication device. No one knew except those in the inner circle and it was very useful in cases like this when owls were unexistent.
RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG!!!!
"Who's this?" asked a slightly breathless voice followed by a husky feminine moan that immediately sent a scandalous picture in Draco's mind. Surely, his father would not be as vulgar as to 'entertain' a woman inside the manor while his mother was still recovering at St. Mungo's...
"Father, I have something important to tell you..." Draco forced the disturbing image of his father's infidelity out of his mind and proceeded to report his findings, omitting unnecessarily details to keep the call as short as possible. Much as he hated to admit it, he was damn scared of his father especially when he's in one of those 'moods'.
"Stay there...I'll send some men over." his father replied in a throaty groan and slammed the receiver down with such a force that gave Draco another upsetting image on his mind.
'I shouldn't have called...owls are much better...keeps me from finding out things that I don't wish to know...' he muttered grimly and thought of his poor mother who has no idea of her husband's treachery.
Billy closed the door behind him and waited for everyone to settle down. He noticed that Jeric had locked himself in his room, presumably to suck to his heart's content, and he was almost relieved that the boy was not present in the discussion. The revelation of his past might be too much for him. "First things first, I'm Billy, that guy over there is Chuck and the other is Matt. The youngest, of course, is Jeric. Now tell us who you are and why you are here." he stated evenly.
"I'm Severus and these are Hermione and Ron, Pot--Harry's bestfriends." replied the Professor, imitating the first-names-only introduction that Billy had used. Then he addressed the band in his eerily polite manner. "Why do you keep on calling him Jeric?
"That's because that's the name he told us. Why do you insist on calling him Harry Potter?" asked Matt in an equally solemn expression.
"That's because he is..." replied Hermione instantly.
"How do you know?" asked Billy shrewdly.
"Because we went to the bar last night and we talked a bit..." replied Ron.
"He's not mad at you?" asked Chuck who was eyeing the two teenagers now with growing curiosity.
"Of course not! Why should he be? We're his bestfriends and Hermione's not his girlfriend....yet." Ron replied and sent a mischievous smile at Hermione who blushed furiously inspite of herself.
"Oh...oh! I'm sorry...I must have made a mistake then..." muttered an apologetic Chuck. "I thought...you know...well...sorry again."
"Never mind that. Actually, we're more concerned about why Harry reacted that way. He knows the real score and after what happened between him and Her---" began Ron but Hermione quickly stomped on his left foot.
"We're just wondering...how come he doesn't seem to recognize us?" queried Hermione to steer the conversation away from her.
"Because he doesn't..." replied Billy carefully and was immediately met with silence.
The air within the room abruptly changed from casual to nerve-wracking as the visitors pondered the shocking statement. Snape noticed that Billy and Chuck immediately glared accusingly at Matt and urged him to further explain the situation.
"Does this have something to do with a dementor attack last night?" asked Snape to break the tension.
"How do you know about it?" asked Matt through narrowed eyes.
Snape's lips tightened at the subtle accusation in the younger man's voice. "Look, let me assure you that I'm not in a habit of divulging secrets to satiate anyone's infantile curiosity. I may not like Potter but--"
"He doesn't like you either..." replied Billy cheekily. The nerve of this man! he thought.
"...but I'm not about to jeopardize my reputable position by bringing harm to that boy however pleasurable that may be." the potions master continued as if he didn't hear the nasty remark. It was not in his best interest to lose his temper but Harry's new friends were just too annoying.
Hermione hastily stepped in. "Some ministry aurors informed our headmaster about it and we're really worried about Harry so please tell us what happened..." she pleaded.
"Can Je-Harry produce a patronus?" asked Billy suddenly.
"Yes."
"A corporeal patronus?"
"Yes."
"What shape does his patronus take?" Billy continued to ask with growing anticipation.
"A stag - why do you ask?" asked Hermione who couldn't seem to follow his line of questioning. As far as she knew, Harry never performed the spell because his wand was at the castle when the attack happened.
"Because now we knew for sure that it was Harry who saved us last night." declared Billy triumphantly as if he just solved the puzzle of the century. Then seeing their confusion, he elaborated some more. "You see, when Harry went out last night, the three of us decided to have a bit of fresh air ourselves. We were about to go home when suddenly, the dementors attacked us. We tried to fight but our patroni were not strong enough. The blasted creatures almost gave us the kiss but a huge stag drove them all away. We had our backs turned so we never saw our savior. But thanks to you, now we know..." Billy smiled weakly as he recounted the story.
Hermione absorbed the information and decided not to mention the wand yet. That matter could wait...and what she was about to ask could not. "That's amazing, Billy, but it still doesn't explain why he couldn't recognize any of us." she said with as much patience as she could muster. Harry's bandmates seemed to be delaying answering that particular topic.
Both Billy and Chuck stared meaningfully at Matt. "Well, just promise first that you won't kill me..."
"We're not promising anything..." declared Snape, his expression more dangerous than before.
"I guess I deserve it...but please do try to understand..." Matt sighed heavily. "W-we all thought that he's just an ordinary muggle...After the attack, we turned around to see who helped us and then, I saw him with a surprised expression on his face. The first thing that came into my mind was a muggle saw us performing magic...therefore, he must be obliviated..."
"And?!?" prompted Hermione who already had an idea where the story was leading to.
"...and I did..." finished Matt quickly and waited for the blow.
"WHAT?!? OF ALL THE JUVENILE, IDIOTIC ---" exploded Snape incoherently as the never-ending horrifying possibilities became jumbled on his mind.
"HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A HORRIBLE THING TO HIM?!?" yelled Ron and was about to hex if Hermione did not get hold of him first.
"It's not a very powerful memory charm right? I mean, it's reversible?" asked Hermione tentatively, almost afraid to hear the reply.
"It's not supposed to be strong since we are all weak that time but for some reason, the spell seemed to have a powerful impact on him. We already tried the reversal charm but it didn't work either." explained Billy. His wavering tone suggested that he and his friends were all extremely confused as well.
Snape ranted some more about incompetent wizards that left the three young men hanging their heads low in shame.
"Where's the boy? I could break the charm." said Snape in an arrogant tone.
"You really think so, Professor?" asked Ron and Hermione hopefully and for the first time during their journey, they were exceedingly grateful that the greasy-slimy-git-but-brilliant professor was with them.
Billy went to Harry's room. out now...The professor can help you regain your memory..." He really hoped Severus could undo the spell. It would make things a lot easier that way.
No reply.
"Jeric...please..." He knocked once more, a little louder this time. Maybe the boy had fallen asleep.
"JERIC!!!"
"Hey, what's wrong?" said Matt who followed him a few seconds later since he could not anymore stand the 'look' that the visitors were sending his way.
"He's not answering." Billy replied.
Chuck, Ron, Hermione and Snape became followed to check what was happening too.
"HARRY, MATE!!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!" Ron yelled as he vigorously pounded the wooden door.
Still no reply.
"You don't have a window there, do you?" asked Hermione worriedly.
Billy and his friends groaned at once. "Unfortunately, we do."
Snape lost the last thread of his patience and used the unlocking spell to open the door. "ALOHAMORA!" They all burst inside only to find....no one. No one? NO ONE?!? DAMN!
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!! AND THAT IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE WHY I FIND THAT BOY SO BLOODY ANNOYING!!!" Snape yelled in frustration and punched the wall once for dramatic effect. He glared at them all as he tried to regain his composure then on a steady note, he addressed the group. "You stay here and look for that stupid boy who doesn't know what's good for him. I'll go and fetch headmaster. I'm sure he could deal with this situation better than I can." Then, with an elegant swish of his robe, he was gone....only to appear again on the opposite corner of the room.
"AAARRRGGGGGHHH!!!!" Snape yelled once more. The situation was clearly getting on his nerves.
"Oops, sorry. I forgot to inform you. No one could apparate in or out of this house." stated Billy while straining to keep a straight face. "You have to get out first."
The professor only glared at him and left in a huff. The ones left immediately let out the laughter they were holding...but after the laughter had died down...they glumly recalled that they still had a problem to solve.
Jeric ran straight to his room and forlornly mulled over the betrayal of his 'girlfriend'. How could she? Well, if truth be told, he did not exactly remember having any relationship with her but he noticed her immediately and was drawn to her when she entered the bar. When Chuck whispered that the girl was actually his girlfriend and had cheated on him with his other bestfriend, he felt something inside him snap. He felt a sharp pang in his heart and he realized he must have loved her so much to feel so hurt by her betrayal. 'How dare her? What have I done to her that made her hurt me this way?' he thought. He wondered why Billy had to invite them over but he didn't want to find out why. Instead, he climb through the window and went out of the house. He just hoped that when he got back, the visitors were already gone.
Draco chuckled softly to himself when he noticed his school rival walking towards him. The raven-haired boy was too pre-occupied with his thoughts that he didn't seem to notice where he was heading. Draco immediately removed the cloak when the boy passed by and couldn't resist the temptation to taunt him.
"Well, well. Who do we have here?" he called out.
The boy stared at him in confusion. "Are you talking to me?"
"Who else?" Draco sneered at the boy who still seemed out-of-it.
"Hey, Potty! Having girl trouble?" he mocked the boy, expecting a sharp retort. To his surprise, Potter sat beside him and nodded.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I just went out to clear my mind. It's good that the rain had stopped, otherwise I won't be able to stand the cold. What about you? Why are you here? Girl trouble, too?" asked Jeric politely. He didn't really like talking to strangers but that moment, he felt like he really needed someone to talk to and the blond-haired guy was currently the best candidate for the job.
"Me? Just the usual family problems...unfaithful father to sick mother....you know." Draco replied nonchalantly. He wondered what Potter's playing at. It was so uncharacteristic of Potter to just sit beside him and chat about anything. The last time they met, they nearly hexed each other to death. 'Maybe, this is a trap!' he thought in alarm and glanced around quickly to be sure but nobody seemed to be lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. In the end, he decided to play along....anyway, he had nothing better to do.
"Oh, does your mom know?" asked Potter in a concerned tone.
"No, she doesn't. In fact, I, myself, just found out a while ago." replied Draco and realized in horror that talking to Potter was not as repulsive as he had expected.
"Tsk...tsk...How do you feel about it?"
"Hurts like hell...I respect my father so much, you know..." the words were out before Draco could stop himself. He expected Potter to stop the game and start to hex him at the mention of his father but the boy only patted his back a bit, as if to console him. 'This is getting freaky!' he thought.
"Who are you, by the way? I'm Jeric." Potter extended his right hand to him.
Draco's jaw dropped. Now he understood why Potter was acting so friendly....why he lashed out at his bestfriends....why he did not seem to recognize him. Harry Potter had lost his memory! He stared at the boy's outstretched hand. The situation brought him back to their first year at Hogwarts when he offered his friendship to Harry Potter and the golden boy refused. Now, the situation was reversed and he wondered if it would be wrong to take his enemy's hand and shake it...just to see what would happen...just to find out what's so special about him...why so many people cared...If the news reached his father's ears, he could always claim that he did it to gain more information. Excellent! With a real smile, he took the boy's hand and shook it.
"I'm Malfoy...Draco Malfoy." Draco watched with worry when Potter frowned at the name but when the boy smiled at him, he knew his secret was still safe. Potter couldn't remember anything yet.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!!!
Draco stared in horror as death-eaters apparated within the vicinity. He cursed himself for forgetting that his father told him to stay put and that he would send some of his peers over. He looked at Potter who seemed unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
"Hey, look at those masked men...think they're going to a masquerade ball or something..." commented Potter casually as if seeing masked men was just an ordinary thing for him. "Look! Cool effects, too..."
"What effe---DUCK!!!" Draco's eyes widened when he saw the flashes of light sent to Potter's way. Fortunately, Potter still had his Quidditch reflexes intact and was able to elude the spell in time.
"WHOA!!! What was that?!?" exclaimed Potter in confusion but Draco was in no mood to explain.
"COME ON, POTTER! RUN!! I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT THEM LATER....TRUST ME OKAY! THEY'RE BAD GUYS! WE SHOULD AVOID THEM AT ALL COST!" He yelled at Potter as he felt curses flying above their heads. He flung some hexes of his own as they ran to safety. He might not like the boy but he sure didn't want him to be taken this way...defenseless...It's not fair...