Chapter 5

While in Hogsmeade, Harry's scar began to burn. Something was wrong. But one glance at the invisible ring on his finger gave him the hint that all were accounted for. So, he pushed the thought into the far recesses of his mind, hoping against hope. And he wouldn't realize until Monday that he should have paid attention to that burn.

Early Monday morning he walked down to the Common Room only to find his two siblings frantically writing. "Potions?"

The two blushed, sheepishly smiling. Everyone in Gryffindor knew that if you were caught scribbling fast it was a Potions assignment yet to be finished. "It's due today and we kept putting it off."

Harry laughed, that's what they did last time too. "We've all done that but Snape always seemed to know."

Ginny tilted her head, "Going down?"

He lifted the cloak, "Yes. I'm leaving a bit early because Hagrid found a burrow for a large snake. He's never seen a snake that large in the Forbidden Forest. Might take me awhile before I meet you at the clearing."

"That's okay." The two younger students peered at the disheveled area of parchment, quills, ink, and books. "Uh, might be awhile for us as well."

Smiling, "Take your time."

They quietly called out, just as he slipped out the Common Room, "We want details!" Harry snickered back at them, shutting the portrait of the Fat Lady in a pink dress.

Harry had spent his entire walk quietly chuckling over his two younger friends' words. In his second year the entire magical community learned he was a Parselmouth. But out of them all, only three were excited to hear him continuously use Parseltongue. Those three were Ginny Weasley and the Creevey brothers. They didn't care that he gained that ability that fateful Halloween night nor did they care that it was a trait of Dark wizards.

They enjoyed hearing the hissing syllables slip from Harry's mouth. Even Dennis got into the habit of recording snakes and owling them to Harry, just to learn what they were saying. After he received a Howler from Ginny and Harry, as well as a verbal warning from his brother, about how dangerous it was to be that close to snakes and to not do it again, Dennis was told word for word what the snakes had said.

That excitement was the reason they enjoyed leaving as early as they could, staying as long as possible in the Forbidden Forest. There were plenty of small snakes slithering about that Harry could talk to.

And because his thoughts were continuously distracting, Harry never felt someone swiftly reaching out and slipping his wand from his back pocket. He never realized that moment that he shouldn't have left his robes back in the Gryffindor Tower. But he never wore his robes this early in the morning, especially not before classes began. Hagrid always had some type of breakfast ready, made by the house elves at times, for the three in his cottage. This gave them time to visit the Forest, eat breakfast, and hurry to the Tower for their things before class.

With no knowledge of a missing wand, Harry slipped quickly into the shadowy edges of the Forbidden Forest. He knew Hagrid would be along shortly. Harry just wanted to try and find the snake himself, curious as to what it would say without someone else around.

While he was searching, Ginny and Colin's clones were stepping outside the castle, just like the originals would have done that same day. Just as they stepped out, they were snatched by demanding hands, dragged from the groundskeeper's cottage to the Whomping Willow. Pansy Parkinson was quick to hand her fellow friend, Blaise Zambini, the potion required to turn into Harry Potter. Blaise drank the liquid quickly and cast swift binding spells onto the clones' legs. Pansy vanished into the shadows, not wanting to be caught.

Dark eyes peered over to the castle doors from her hiding place just in time to see a small figure step out. Glee filled her eyes, knowing her plan to lure the unknown little girl had worked. It was only the matter of overhearing the girl and her friends mentioning Potter. With that tidbit of information, Pansy had lured the girl with the hopes of spending some time with the girl's crush. And it was working splendidly since the girl was moving in view of the Willow.

Blaise turned Harry Potter could see the new arrival out the corner of her eyes. She continued to torture the two clones until she was sure the other girl was looking her way. And looking that way was what the other had just done, hearing a loud familiar voice. The attention fell onto the small group just as Blaise said the two illegal words, "Avada Kedavra!"

The other girl shrieked as she saw the brilliant green light speed towards two fallen figures on the ground. And she continued to scream as she saw the familiar black hair, a flash of green eyes, and the pale lightening bolt shaped scar before Harry disappeared into the shadows of the Forbidden Forest.

Deep within the forest, the real Harry Potter was caught up in a hissing conversation with a very large Anaconda. He had learned in Muggle school that Anacondas were only found in the Amazon rain forests. That they loved living near rivers and lakes. But somehow this Anaconda had found its way into the Forbidden Forest, talking to a small boy it could easily crush.

But the dark green and black snake was curious. Besides, it had already fed a few weeks ago on a large unfamiliar creature. And it was quite strange yet comforting to be speaking to a human, telling the human that he had been traveling on a boat, locked up in a small cage. When the cage had been taken off the boat, more humans began to take him somewhere he didn't want to go, another glass cage. Before those humans could lock him up, he had fought back and slithered off, searching for a safe place, finding it here among the dark shadows of this forest.

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Hagrid had just finished rounding up the Hogwarts professors and medi-witch. He was the one who had taken the screaming girl to the Hospital wing for treatment when he heard screaming. And now he stood to one side, watching and waiting.

"Poppy?"

Trained medi-witch, Madame Poppy Pomfrey wiped her hands against the old-fashioned black dress with a white apron. She was shaken by what she had found with her magical scans over the two fallen students. Surprisingly, her voice held, "It's not right. Ms. Weasley and Mr. Creevey were incapacitated." The few professors stared at the kneeling woman. Not one could believe their eyes or ears as she continued the scanning, as well as the explanation of the two younger students' death. "Someone cast a partial bind on their legs and made vines wrap around their wrists, holding them down with their wands in their lap." One professor paled. Severus Snape knew this type of 'punishment.' Several Death Eaters loved to bind their magical victims with their wands in easy reach, despite the fact the bound ones couldn't even reach them.

"With the partial binds, the caster used the Critacus Curse on both of them while keeping them under a silencing charm." Poppy couldn't believe how someone could be so cruel to two young children. How could someone bind two innocent children, wands in close reach and view, then silence them as they were tortured, knowing they couldn't hear themselves scream? "Their throats are torn and raw from the screaming, nerves completely shot and sensitized. The caster gave mercy after allowing the two to come close to insanity with two Killing Curses."

The female members of the staff had turned away at some point, not wanting to believe someone at Hogwarts could do this much horror. As Severus began to believe that someone had allowed a Death Eater inside the school or one of his friends had their child commit the act, he noticed something lying a few yards away.

Albus Dumbledore was sorrowful for the two families involved. He wasn't sure where he had gone wrong or who he had done wrong. The only student he knew that had this vicious streak was Tom Riddle. At least that was until solemn blue eyes spied his Potions Professor walking quickly a few yards from the two fallen students. He followed and was in time to see the man lift an abandoned wand from the grass. "Severus." The dark haired man glanced up to see the Headmaster. He handed the wand over to the frowning man. Just touching the wand made his hidden Dark Mark stir, truly worrying him. "Prior Incantatem."

A flash of colors burst free surrounding a grinning green skull. Severus knew what they meant, "The Killing Curse."

Albus shook his head, gravely wishing he hadn't done the revealing spell. Not one of the professors liked how the normally bubbling, joyful Headmaster suddenly looked very old and defeated. "Eleven inches, Holly, and a Phoenix feather core. A feather given by Fawkes, brother to one other wand in the Magical Community."

"No, Albus, no." Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall tried to wipe away those words as she did her tears. She didn't want to believe it. She did not want to believe someone of her own house could torture a fellow friend in such a way.

"I'm sorry, Minerva." Blue eyes tried to reason with the prim looking woman, who promptly burst into even more tears. Albus glanced at the other professors, some still confused about the wand. "This wand belongs to Harry Potter." Every professor gasped, suddenly hoping he was wrong. But he wasn't, "His magical signature is exact. The Aurors will know more shortly. For now, Poppy, please take Ms. Weasley and Mr. Creevey to a private room in the Hospital Wing. I'll alert their families of the ordeal after I contact the Aurors."

Still sobbing, Minerva gasped out, "I'll tell Ms. Weasley's brothers."

With saddened hearts and little hope, the entourage of professors hurried inside. All the while Pansy Parkinson watched from the shadows until it was safe for Blaise to reappear. The two Slytherins snuck back into the castle, barely making it pass a distracted Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape. And as the entourage were back inside the stone walls, one student was still outside, waiting for his friends, never knowing what had happened.