Disclaimer: We decided to be different this time. Here's a little quiz for you: True or False: We own everything from Harry Potter.
If you answered True, you are either under the impression that we are JK Rowling, or you are just plain bizarre. For those of you who know that we are not JK Rowling from earlier chapters, or simply made an educated guess and said False, you were right.
It was, thankfully, the end of Potions class on a bright, sunny Wednesday afternoon, and Harry was gratefully putting his potions ingredients away. Snape was prowling around, inspecting the cleanliness of the desks. "Weasley, you didn't finish clearing up your beetle exoskeletons. Ten points from Gryffindor if they don't get cleaned up now," said Snape in his typical devilish manner.
Ron grumbled curses under his breath as he turned away from the door (and freedom) to pick up his mess, but several years of experience had served him well, and he had his desk sparklingly clean in record time. Snape observed the clock and sneered. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley—you didn't clean it up in less than ten seconds."
Ron was about to say something foul, but shut his mouth, feeling that detention with Snape was not on his list of ideal evening plans. He, Harry, and Hermione headed for the door, but Snape stopped them short by saying curtly, "Granger, you are to stay with me. It will only take a few minutes of your 'precious' time."
Ron and Harry looked at each other with surprise, then at Hermione with sympathy, and left the room, embracing their freedom with open arms. Seamus, who was walking by, saw them: "All right!" he said resignedly, throwing his hands in the air in mock surrender. "Who was with someone with feathers? Ron or Harry? Tell me all!"
Harry shook his head. "Seamus, this is getting kinda old, you know."
Ron, however, was whispering into Seamus' ear, "It was Harry. Just look at that dreamy look in his eyes. But don't tell anyone- it's an emotional time for him right now." He laid his hand over his chest dramatically.
Seamus nodded seriously, then approached Harry, and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder in a fatherly manner. "Harry, mate, anytime you wanna talk, I'm here for you. Just remember that."
Harry gave him a funny look. "Er, I'll- I'll be sure to remember that, Seamus. Thanks," he said. "But guys, that's beside the point."
"Harry, its no use denying your troubles. You need to face them for what they really are, out in the open."
"Shut up, Ron. The point is, why is Snape keeping Hermione after class?"
Seamus had left. Harry rolled his eyes after him. "And remind me to tell Seamus next I see him that I'm not having romantic relations with a chicken – or anything else for that matter."
Ron shook his head, "Mate… mate…"
"SHUT UP! Let's go to the library, and see if we can find anything on the subject of that Blue Lake thing from my dream…"
Ron shrugged. "Whatever. Only, if you'd come out and-"
"NO!"
"Your loss."
oOo
In the library, Harry and Ron were not having much success. Not even Madam Pince knew anything about Blue Lake or Red #42. The two were just about to go back to the dormitory when Hermione showed up, looking strangely disoriented. Harry was concerned. "Hermione… you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Ron said, "what did that foul, greasy haired, idiotic &#! --"
"Ron!"
"I mean git – do to you?"
"Um, nothing," Hermione said vaguely. "What are you guys doing here?"
"What? So we can't use the library now? Are we invading your territory?" said Ron with mock seriousness.
"No – well, actually, yes, but you two only come up here for two reasons: to copy my homework or to look up something illegal."
"Hey! You were always with us! Need I remind you who actually got the book Moste Potente Potions for us?" said Harry indignantly.
"The teachers would be suspicious of anyone but me- you needed me for that one."
"Who cares?" Ron said. "Point is, we aren't looking for homework to copy, or for anything illegal. We're looking for anything we can find about 'Blue Lake' – you know, from Harry's dream?"
Hermione suddenly looked confused again. "What do you mean, Blue Lake? You mean Blue Mountain Lake. It's in Arkansas."
"No," said Harry, "I think it's something Muggles use. Or so Ron says."
"Creevy said it too!" Ron said defensively.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Ron guessed that on our way here. After Pince wouldn't tell us anything, we asked some Muggleborns, and Colin was the first one we saw," Harry explained.
"Do you know anything about it?" Ron asked Hermione.
She shook her head. "No. Never heard of it."
Ron groaned. "You just don't want to help us because you think we're being stupid to investigate these eggs!"
"No! I swear! I don't know what you're talking about!" Hermione cried, looking under threat.
"Yes you do! Stop being thick!" Ron said accusingly.
"I am not being thick!" said Hermione, running out of the library, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"No yelling in the library, Granger," Madam Pince called after her. "And that goes for you too, Weasley."
Ron turned back to Harry, and added in a quieter voice, "She gets more barking by the day, I'm telling you."
"WHAT?" Madam Pince shrieked. Brandishing her feather duster, she chased them out of the library.
"I meant Hermione!" Ron yelled back at her. "So," he added to Harry as they walked down the hall, "since we had no luck there, I say we do that Auror stuff on Malfoy now."
Harry shook his head. "You and your Auror deal. No, I say we start with Snape."
"Wha'?"
"You heard me. We'll just pretend you left your book in there or something."
"Why mine?" Ron moaned.
"Because mine's right here," grinned Harry, pulling his out of his bag.
"Oh, crap," said Ron, looking in his bookbag, "I did leave my book in there."
"See?"
oOo
Harry and Ron approached the dungeons, and just as in the house in Harry's dream, the door was ajar. Ron started to whimper.
"C'mon. There're no spiders, Ron, what could you possibly be whimpering about?" said Harry.
"I dunno. It seemed like a whimpering sort of moment."
Harry cautiously opened the door a little wider. Snape was inside, and so was Malfoy. Snape was once again muttering that strange spell, only now that Harry could hear it clearly, he realized that it wasn't a spell at all.
"After preparing the water and vinegar, add the 'bright Eastery color' of your choice." Snape shuddered. He added what looked like orange food coloring to the contents of the cauldron. Upon seeing the pair enter the room, he gave an uncharacteristic start. "What do you mean by coming here uninvited?" he snarled. "I assure you that I did not set detentions for you this time… unless that is what you came to receive…"
"No, sir!" Ron said quickly. "I- I left my book here. Just came to pick it up. Sorry if we interrupted anything."
"Perhaps you are referring to this?" Snape sneered, gesturing toward the cauldron that was now emitting orange steam; "I am simply preparing lessons for… first years. Perhaps you could benefit from them. Now go!"
Malfoy laughed. "You 'forgot your book,' huh, weasel?" Ron's ears went red with either anger or embarrassment; it was hard to tell. "What did you really come here for?" Malfoy's eyes glinted with malice.
"So… is Malfoy helping with these 'first-year lessons'?" Harry asked innocently.
"That, Potter, is none of your business. Not that that has ever stopped you from sticking your unattractively long nose, which seems to be a characteristic of the male members of your family, in things that shouldn't be meddled with…"
At this, Harry broke. "What, like your nose isn't uglier, sir?" he added with mock politeness.
Ron grabbed his book and ran for his life. He had no desire to witness Harry's predicament, so he waited quietly outside the classroom.
Approximately thirty seconds to a minute later, Harry joined him, looking considerably the worse for wear. He rubbed the back of his neck painfully. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that," he said, still attempting a smile.
"Mate, what happened?"
"Nothing much. He kind of… pinned me against the wall… threatened to destroy the only remaining member of the Potter family… the usual stuff."
Ron shook his head. "C'mon. Let's go back to the Common Room." He began to walk down the corridor, deep in thought. Harry followed.
"What could he be doing with 'bright Eastery colors of his choice'?" said Ron.
"He's dying Easter eggs," Harry said quietly.
"Huh?"
"While Snape was shaking me and pounding me against the wall, I got a better look in that cauldron. And it was so obvious, too – how we kept finding the eggs on the Potions floor, and Blue Lake and Red #42 are obviously dye colors. Snape must have been dying eggs in my dream, too! But then… but then Voldemort must be in on it somehow!"
Ron shuddered. "Will you please stop saying the name!"
"No. Quick – let's go tell Hermione! Maybe she'll help us once she finds out that we were right."
A/N: We are now lions living in the African savannah, and we do not live off of antelope, or any other source of meat for that matter. We live off of your kind, whole-hearted reviews! You know the drill… (And if you don't review, we will make an exception to our diet and eat you instead.)
