PART THREE
CHAPTER TWELVE: SERPENTE EVANESCA
Harry had a very hard time convincing Lupin not to report to his father that he was a Parselmouth. Lupin did not seem very much surprised, though. His reaction to the news was cold and almost unfeeling. He was much more interested in what the snakes had been saying before they had escaped. Harry had merely made it sound like the snakes were answering a call.
"They're going to Voldemort," said Harry seriously as Lupin was walking besides him towards the entrance hall.
Lupin stopped abruptly. He was leaning heavily on his stick. He looked at Harry intently, and it was only then that Harry realised that he had used the name of Voldemort probably for the first time in front of Lupin.
"It's only a name," said Harry irritably.
"To many people it is the name of fear itself," said Lupin, slowly resuming his walk towards the main entrance.
It was very early in the morning. The ball had lasted until well after midnight therefore most of the students were still in bed. It was most likely that no students other than Harry, Ginny, Neville and Eleanor knew of any werewolf on Hogwarts ground during the night of the Yule Ball. At least, that was what Harry hoped because he didn't want to cause Lupin anymore trouble.
At the moment, the corridor was deserted, which meant that he could speak freely to Lupin for what may very well be the last time face to face.
"He's growing stronger," Harry added quietly.
"Yes, Dumbledore has been saying that too," confirmed Lupin. He was looking straight ahead of him and avoiding eye-contact with Harry. His expression was one of deep thoughtfulness.
Harry suspected that Lupin did not want to meet James along the way therefore he had sent Ginny in search of his father so that he, Harry, could have this one last moment with his former teacher. He wanted to have this last chance to say a proper good-bye and maybe to ask a few more questions. Harry doubted that his father would let Lupin come back at Hogwarts or even Hogsmead anymore.
"It's not Voldemort that we're concerned with, though," offered Lupin. "It's the Death Eaters. They're stirring again. Frank and Alice Longbottom are having as many Aurors as possible around Hogwarts to watch their son."
"Yes of course," said Harry with sudden realisation. "They're Aurors. They're here to protect Neville."
"Frank is Head Auror, more accurately," Lupin reaffirmed. "I'm afraid that my little excursion on Hogwarts ground has left Frank Longbottom to believe that Dumbledore has rather lost his touch."
Harry quickly remembered what Lupin had said about Dumbledore earlier.
"Do you think that Dumbledore has lost his touch?" he asked, trying not to sound too bitter or accusing.
"No," said Lupin immediately, "but I don't reckon he should have let Neville compete. Professor Snape, however, seemed to think it a good opportunity to – how did he put it? 'Let the events unfold'."
"He may be right," said Harry. He hated to have to admit that Snape had been right, but the outcome of the third task had been the shedding of Barty Crouch Junior's masquerade appearance. If Harry had not been allowed to compete, Barty Crouch's disguise might have lasted a lot longer, and the deeds that he could have done in Moody's place were too ghastly to imagine. Then again, Snape might have been helping Crouch's son to begin with.
"Yes, Harry," said Lupin understandingly. "Snape may be right, but Frank Longbottom does not see it that way."
Harry merely shrugged. He was not able to put a definite answer on whether or not he believed Snape to be on the good side of the fight against Voldemort. He decided to drop the subject.
"You don't think I'm weird or dangerous because I can talk to snakes," he asked casually, trying very hard not to sound too much bothered with the idea.
"Think about who you're asking," said Lupin with half a smile. "It's not a very common gift. It looked rather painful too, I might add."
Harry didn't reply right away. He couldn't tell which side-effect was troubling him the most at the moment: the Dragon Fever or the burning and invisible scar.
"I'm all right," he said after a while and when he realised that Lupin was staring at him with concern. "It's just a headache. The Mandrakes, you know," he added quickly.
They stopped in front of the wooden entrance door. Lupin had no luggage, only his Invisibility Cloak under his left arm and his walking stick in his right hand. He looked very sick and weak. The morning winter light that came in as he opened the door revealed even deeper shadows under his eyes.
"Will you be alright?" asked Harry with what he hoped was a sincere and concerned tone.
"Oh yes," answered Lupin quite convincingly. "I've looked worst, believe me. How about you, Harry? It's been kind of rough for you too."
"I'm just a bit tired."
As he said this, he yawned loudly. His absent scar was still prickling, but he made no mention of it to Lupin. Overall, he figured that he had enough reasons to be exhausted. He didn't need to open the door for more awkward questions.
"We still haven't covered the subject of your Boggart. Why Dementors, Harry?" asked Lupin darkly. He was still avoiding Harry's gaze and he was looking at the bright sun outside.
One of the school's carriages was pulling in front of the Hogwarts main entrance as Lupin waited for an answer. A large white horse was pulling it.
"I don't know. I'm just afraid of them. Isn't that the whole point of a Boggart?" said Harry rapidly.
"Dementors force us to relive our very worst memories," said Lupin. "I cannot think of any event in your life that would have the effects that you describe. I'm no expert of course, as I am obviously not in your shoes twenty-four hours a day. But for your Boggart to turn into a Dementor and have such a powerful effect on you… There would have to be horrors in your past beyond something as trivial as a werewolf."
Harry couldn't reply anything. He couldn't tell Lupin what memory the Boggart was feeding on. He couldn't even say that he had been in the presence of a real Dementor once, more than one in fact, and that the experience still haunted him. It was too much. Harry's mind was filled with sullenness now. Voldemort's return was close, too close. It was not fair. He wanted to live his perfect life just a little longer, even if it was less than what he had wished for.
"There's so much you're not telling me, Harry," said Lupin softly. There was a deep fondness in his voice even though he was quite distant in manners. "You have to learn to trust people more."
Harry didn't reply. He was thinking about his bed now. All he wanted was to sleep. Lupin seemed to understand. He took a few steps outside, shivered a little, and then he turned around to face Harry one last time.
"If you're ever in doubt…" he started to say.
"I know," answered Harry quickly, "I should talk to my dad."
Lupin smiled.
"Actually, I was going to say that you should go to Dumbledore. Good bye, Harry. Take care of yourself."
"I will," said Harry. He was yawning again. "You too, take care."
The last sight of Remus Lupin that Harry could catch was the outline of his smile as his former professor waved good-bye from the carriage's window.
When Harry awoke later that same day, the room that he was sharing with Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus was empty except for him. Harry went straight into the shower. The water had a wonderful effect on his body temperature but not on his troubled mind. He was sure of only one thing: the second task would be the perfect opportunity for anyone to capture Neville. Yet Harry was sure that he could not use Polyjuice Potion to take Neville's place this time. Neville would not allow it. What then? Was he to take up the second task by force? Somehow, that did not sound right.
When Harry walked in the Common Room, he had hoped that it would be empty. He wanted nothing more than to sit in front of the fireplace, undisturbed, so that he might think about what lay ahead for him. Instead, his father was sitting there and amongst a fair few Christmas presents.
"Merry Christmas, son," he said gladly as Harry sat on the opposite couch. "You usually don't wait that long to open your presents, but I guess you have a good reason this year. Go on. Dig in."
Harry took a look around him. There were actually a lot of presents. In fact, he was almost certain that Dudley had never had as much presents. He chose the one closest to him and started to unwrap it. It came from Sirius and it was a very strange dark detector in the shape of a compass. Harry's dad was looking at it apprehensively.
"Well he hasn't given up on you, has he?" said James Potter. "Sirius reckons that you can still improve your grades enough to get the required OWLs and become an Auror."
"It's a good plan," said Harry. He was searching into his father's face to find a sign of whether or not his dad wanted him to become an Auror. "Do you prefer being a teacher?"
"I believe I do," said James pensively. "Go on. Open your other presents, Harry."
The other parcels were containing various clothes that Harry suspected came from his mother.
"She's sleeping," said James when Harry asked where she was. "Tough night. I didn't want to wake her up, which reminds me that I needed your opinion on something."
Harry's dad pulled out a small blue and velvety box out of his pocket. He leaned closer to Harry and opened it. Tucked inside the box was a beautiful silver and gold necklace with elaborate twists and swirls. The pendant was in a familiar shape.
"It's a miniature Snitch," said Harry with wonder.
"Think your mom will like it?"
Harry smiled widely and rather fondly at his dad. "Yeah. It'll look great on her."
James Potter put the box and the necklace back into his pockets as Harry was reaching for another parcel that had a familiar shape as well. He unwrapped it quickly, but at the same time he was aware that his dad was watching him from the corner of his eye and rather anxiously.
"Now don't get mad at me, Harry," said James before Harry could say a word.
He was holding a Nimbus Two Thousand and Four. Its gleaming handle was a little straighter than the one of the Firebolt, but it was definitely a top-of-the-line broomstick.
"Nev seemed convinced that you would like it. I know that you don't like Quidditch, but that doesn't mean that you can never fly," said James Potter, sounding slightly nervous. "You'll like flying, and it's a very good broom."
Harry didn't know what to reply. He couldn't explain it. His father had seemed so cold and distant at first, and then Harry had almost decided to hate him because of how he had treated Lupin. Why did he have this new emotion then? Why did he have a lump in his throat as though he was going to cry?
"Well, do you like it?" asked his father fretfully. "I can understand if you don't want it."
"No, it's great," said Harry, fighting hard to keep his voice steady. "We… err… could maybe play Quidditch together… sometime."
At that moment, his father gave him such a look that all the worries about the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort's return seemed to fade away.
"Whenever you want," said his dad.
Harry spent the next two hours sitting with his dad, opening presents, talking, laughing, opening more presents, trying on clothes on top of his pyjamas, and enjoying every minute. There was no mention of a werewolf or Boggart or Dementor. When the Common Room started to fill up with students, James called in a few House Elves and asked them to bring breakfast up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Soon, all of the Gryffindors were sitting with a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereals between their knees and sharing their best memories of the Yule Ball or showing off their Christmas presents. Ginny took a seat next to Harry and close to the fireplace. There was glitter on her hair still. Ron and Neville spent a fair amount of time examining Harry's new broomstick with great enthusiasm.
It was almost noon when Harry's dad left the Common Room. Most of the students were dressed now and even had their coats on. Visits to Hogsmead were permitted on Christmas Day, Harry realised.
He turned to Ginny who was rummaging through the pages of "The Art of Defence: What to do when your wand is out of reach" which Sirius had given him. Along with Neville, they were the only ones not dressed yet.
"Going to Hogsmead?" he asked Ginny. The Christmas spirit had definitely improved his mood. He felt like inviting her to join him for a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.
"Neville and I are going to try to figure out the egg clue," she said absent-mindedly.
A stone seemed to drop in Harry's stomach.
"Right," he said.
He didn't want to argue. He still wasn't sure that Ginny had approved his taking on the first task in Neville's place.
"It's Christmas Day, Ginny," said Neville suddenly, taking the book away from her at once. "We still have time to figure out the clue. Let's go to Hogsmead."
Harry was very grateful that Neville had decided not to linger on the egg clue on Christmas Day. The weather was beautiful. The snow was light and the sun was out. Hogsmead was the most welcoming place in the world on Christmas Day, after Hogwarts. The streets were decorated with holy and red ribbons. A choir of snowmen was singing "Sleigh Ride" in front of Madam Rosemerta's pub. Harry saw Ron and Hermione, hand in hand, walking into Zonko's. Everyone seemed happy and kept shouting cheers at Neville. They spent all afternoon visiting every shop.
"I told your dad that you'd like a broomstick," said Neville a little too cheerfully, throwing a snowball at a nearby tree as they were walking slowly back to Hogwarts. "He was afraid that you wouldn't react well, but I told him you wouldn't. I'm really glad that things seem to be getting better between you two."
Ginny smiled. "Nev was really nervous about that," she added to Harry's ear.
"Well I was," agreed Neville. "Remember when he gave you the "Quidditch Anthology"? I mean, you threw the books out of the window."
Harry laughed. He couldn't imagine himself throwing anything out of the window in anger. It was simply ludicrous. It was like hearing the story of somebody else's life.
"Ginny told me about the snakes," said Neville uneasily. His tone had changed completely and it took Harry by surprise. He stopped walking and looked around. Ginny and Neville imitated him. They were alone.
"What do you reckon it means?" asked Ginny.
Both Neville and Ginny were now staring at him intensely. He merely shrugged and looked down at the snow and at his foot prints.
"I don't know what it means," he said truthfully. "It means that Voldemort is strong now. He's gathering the Death Eaters and the snakes to him."
"He can't come back," said Neville resolutely. "My dad's put all the Aurors on the case. The Death Eaters are all being watched."
"Those that we know of," Ginny corrected him.
"Dumbledore knows them all," retorted Neville even more convincingly. "He was at the trials thirteen years ago. They're watching even those that got off, including Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, Karkaroff, and more. My dad told me all about it. He says that we shouldn't worry."
"Are they watching Snape?" asked Harry.
Neville seemed to think for a moment.
"I don't recall him mentioning Snape. I can ask, though."
"Never mind," replied Harry a little more harshly than he had intended. He remembered how strongly Dumbledore had defended Snape's case in the Pensive, but he wasn't convinced of Snape's innocence.
"Snape's a git," said Ginny with conviction. "He hates Hogwarts. He's dead jealous of your dad and Sirius, but he's too much of a coward to attempt anything with people like Mr Longbottom and Mad-Eye Moody around."
A silence fell on all three of them. The faint echo of the choir of snowmen could be heard in the distance singing "Scarborough Fair".
"Do you still think that You-Know-Who wants to capture me?" asked Neville to Harry with the same uneasiness.
"I'm sure," answered Harry as convincingly as he could. The last thing that he needed now was for Neville to drop his guard.
Neville seemed to absorb the news with more ease than before.
"Fine," he said, resuming his walk at a fast pace. "Let him try. My parents will kick his butt all the way back to the graveyard."
Harry remained rooted on the spot. The mention of the graveyard had the effect of a snow ball impacting on his back. He had been trying hard to put that memory out of his mind.
He felt Ginny lay a hand on his arm.
"Harry, what is it?" she said softly to his ear.
Neville was already a good distance ahead of them. Harry looked at Ginny but couldn't say anything. He wanted to believe that they were well protected, that the Aurors had it all covered, that the tournament would end without Voldermort's return. However, a part of him knew that it was not possible. He had said the spell. It was his incantation that had created this reality. It would therefore be his burden to stop Voldemort, just as he had wished. He should have wished something else. He should have wished that none of it had ever happened. He should have wished that Voldemort had never existed.
"Out of the way! Out of the way, everyone! Harry! Ginny! DUCK!" a familiar voice suddenly yelled from behind them.
Harry and Ginny both turned around at once and saw Charlie Weasley and four other young men running towards them. They all had their wands out and were pointing at the sky.
"DUCK!" Charlie shouted again.
Ginny pulled Harry to the ground as the long silhouette of the Chinese Fireball swept over their heads.
"Stay down!" shouted Charlie as he ran pass them.
Harry remained flat on the cold snow as he was told. He could see the dragon flying fast, its body undulating in the sky; it was going towards Neville.
"No!" yelled Harry.
Suddenly, all was white around him as though a powdery snow had been swept off the ground at the passing of the dragon. Every sound had become muffled, no more than a murmur.
"Watch your friends more closely, Harry Potter," a voice said in his head.
He instantly recognised the strange effect that talking to dragons seemed to have on him. A few paces ahead, Neville was also laying flat on the snow on his belly, just as Harry and Ginny were, but with both of his hands over his head. Then Charlie and the other four young men directed their wands at the dragon. Harry did not hear what the spell was but they shouted all at once. The dragon's body curved instantly to avoid the five red blasts. It was hit only at the tip of its tail, but another blast immediately followed.
Harry tried to concentrate as best as he could, closing his eyes as he did so, and said in his head as though he was praying: "Leo, don't do that. Don't take Neville. Please."
"Look more closely," was the reply that filled his mind.
"Harry, look!" cried Ginny suddenly, her hand pointing at the trees. Her voice was only a murmur to Harry but the tone of urgency was undeniable.
There was a long and thin shadow slithering between the trees and going in Neville's direction. Harry realised that Leo was also circling towards that shadow, but now the spells directed at him by Charlie and the other dragon tamers was forcing him to recoil.
"Leo is not attacking Neville," thought Harry.
Ginny seemed to have also grasped what was really going on. Quickly, she got up and pulled Harry unto his feet.
"The trees," said Ginny. Harry could hear her more clearly now. "There's a snake! Leo is protecting Neville against a snake!"
Charlie and his colleagues did not appear to notice that Harry and Ginny were up and running towards the source of the danger. They were too busy with trying to immobilise the beast that was hovering over their heads. The dragon was sweeping down on the group now and they were replying with spells. They had not seen the snake that was menacingly close to Neville.
Harry took his wand out, pointed it at the snake and shouted as loud as he could: "Serpente evanesca!"
A high-pitched hissing noise filled his ears. It was the snake writhing in pain. It was a horrible sound, like nails scratching a blackboard, and Harry had to resist the urge to drop his wand and put his hands over his ears.
"Neville, move!" Ginny yelled.
Harry repeated the spell, concentrating on the creature and the magic that he was performing. He had heard Snape use this charm once against a snake when they had been practising duelling in his second year. It seemed to work even better the second time that Harry said it. They were close enough now and Harry could see the snake's body twisting in pain. It was a big snake, about four feet long, but not as big as Voldemort's servant snake Nagini.
Neville had seen the real threat now thanks to Ginny's warning and he was struggling unto his feet. When he had managed to put some distance between himself and the creature, Harry said the incantation once more.
At the third spell, the snake's body ignited and burst into flames. It was consumed rapidly and its ashes were swept away in a strong wisp of the wind. Harry's hand was trembling. He had not imagined that the charm would be so difficult to perform. He was almost as exhausted as the first time he had conjured a Patronus.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled under his feet as though there was an earthquake.
Harry wheeled around just in time to see the long glittering body of the dragon falling helplessly onto the soft snow, unanimated. The mist that had fallen on Harry's mind lifted and he finally heard the shouts that were directed at him and Ginny by the dragon slayers. Charlie was already taking Neville by the shoulders and leading him towards the castle hastily. Neville was pointing at the tree and Harry could hear him say very loudly: "It wasn't the dragon! There was a snake! Didn't you see the snake?"
"Oh no," whispered Ginny. "They've taken Leo."
