I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC
Hello guys, Badger here. After having to rewrite the entire previous chapter from file corruption [thanks computer], this chapter was immediatley written afterwards, meaning this was published sooner then I was hoping. This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I was just so tired that I decided to end it before it got to long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 30
The Grim
Harry sat with James and Daphne, at the Slytherin table, as the Sorting went on for the new year.. The chocolate given to him by Lupin definitely helped, though he did have a slight headache from the effects of the Dementor.
"Potter!" A voice hissed
Harry looked to see Malfoy and Nott looking at him, with a smirk on their faces.
"Is it true you fainted?" Malfoy asked "You actually fainted?"
Nott proceeded to make an overexaggerated act of fainting in his seat, making Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and a few others laugh whilst Blaise Zabini, who was sitting next to Malfoy, looked at Harry with an apologetic look on his face.
"Shove off Malfoy!" Harry snapped, causing Malfoy and Nott to laugh to themselves
"Harry, calm down" James spoke calmly
"How did he find out about that?" Harry asked
"I don't know, but just ignore it" James patted his shoulder gently, causing Harry to take a small breath, and turn his attention to Dumbledore who stood up on the podium, when the final child was sorted.
"Welcome, First Years and returning students, to a new year at Hogwarts!" His voice rang across the Great Hall "First off, I am pleased to welcome Professor Remus Lupin who was happy to fill the post for the Defence Against the Dark Arts, good luck to you Professor"
There was applause across the Great Hall, as Lupin stood up and happily bowed politely to the students, before he sat down again.
"Also, it is a shame to announce that our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Kettleburn, has decided to retire after many years" Dumbledore continued "though, I am delighted to announce that his position will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid"
Harry and Daphne shared a look, as everyone gave a round of applause. After meeting Aragog the previous year, they weren't exactly ecstatic for their lessons. As the applause died out, Dumbledore looked grave, as he leant against his stand.
"Finally, on a more serious note" He said "At the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, until further notice, will play host to the Dementors of Azkaban…as I am sure you know, Sirius Black was able to escape Azkaban and its possible he may come here…the Dementors will be stationed at the entrances to the grounds…they are under strict orders to not enter the castle itself, but you may see them patrolling whilst you go about your day…Under no circumstances are you to approach them, you'll find the nature of a Dementor isn't forgiving…that is all for now, tuck in and enjoy"
The feast was anything but cheery, as students began piling their plates. Those who had read about and knew who Sirius Black was, kept sending glances to Harry, which made him just want to shrink back in his seat. Everything just felt tense and the cold feeling in the Great Hall, did not help things. He was more then happy for the feast to end, and being back in the safety of the Slytherin Common Room and his dorm room. James leaned against the far wall, as he looked to Harry, who was looking out the dorm rooms massive window that looked into the depths of the Black Lake.
"Are you going to be okay Harry?" He asked
"I will be" Harry sighed "I was just hoping for a normal year"
"I know" James nodded "Don't worry…I'm sure Black will be captured soon enough…we just have to trust the Ministry"
…
Dumbledore sighed, tiredly, as he leant back in his chair. Sometimes situations like this reminded him just how old he was getting. He remembered the day Sirius Black was put in Azkaban. He still couldn't believe that he was a loyal Death Eater to Voldemort. Dumbledore was there during Sirius' youth, when he attended Hogwarts and not once, did he show any characteristics of a Death Eater. He may have been a Black, but he refused to follow the path his family wanted him to go down and the man was a Gryffindor. Not to mention, who he was friends with. Dumbledore tried to get the man a trial, as he just didn't believe it to be true. However, he was turned down and with all the evidence provided, there was just nothing he could do. So, when Black escaped Azkaban, Dumbledore agreed to have some guards around Hogwarts, even if he didn't like the idea of Dementors roaming free. Which is why he was more than glad that Lupin agreed to be the Defence Professor, as he would be able to give Harry more protection.
After the news of Sirius' escape, Dumbledore began looking at connections to Voldemort, who was still out there somewhere, if the wraith leaving Quirrell two years ago was any indication. Then there was last year. After the Diary was destroyed, he immediatley began looking for where the other Horcruxes could be and where Voldemort could have gone. So far his attempts were unsuccessful. What could he be missing? As he thought about everything, Dumbledore ended up falling asleep on his desk, his head resting on his arm.
…
It had been a pretty chilly morning, the next day. Frost had covered any and every window on the castle and there seemed to be a slight mist in the corridors. Some suspected this was because of the presence of Dementors surrounding the castle. Harry, on the other hand, chose to ignore it, as he made his way into the Divination classroom, alongside James and Daphne. None of them were looking forward to this lesson, due to the comments older students have made about it. But as James said, they can drop it next year. The Divination classroom was just an absolute mess of curtains and rugs, which were various shades of red. Each table had a glass ball, as well as cups, with three chairs and there was a smell of sherry in the air. They were sat for a few minutes, when Professor Trelawney appeared through some of the curtains. She was dressed in some ragged green dress, her hair was practically a massive bush and she wore massive glasses that made her eyes look like that of a bugs.
"Welcome, my children" She spoke, trying to pull off a mystical and airy voice, but it just made her seem strange or drunk, possible both "In this room, you shall explore the mysterious art of Divination. In this room, you shall discover if you possess the sight…I am Professor Trelawney, together we shall cast ourselves into the future…but know this, one either has the sight, or not. It cannot be divined from a book…books only clouds ones inner eye"
"Oh, dear Merlin" Daphne whispered, as she pinched the bridge of her nose "I predict she is going to be worse than Lockhart"
"Daphne, give her a chance at least" James replied "She may be good"
"James, don't kid yourself" Daphne sighed "You know she is going to be useless…this class is pointless as it is"
"Yeah, you're right" James shrugged
Professor Trelawney was too busy explaining the lesson, to hear what they were saying, where she suddenly spun and pointed at Neville.
"You boy!" She said "Is your grandmother well?"
"Umm…I think so" Neville replied, a bit startled at the question
"Give me your cup" Trelawney said, to which Neville cautiously gave it to her, where she looked at the leaves inside for a moment, before she tutted "I wouldn't be so sure of that"
Neville looked a bit worried, as he looked at his cup, before looking into his book. Trelawney didn't seem to care, nor notice, as she turned to the rest of the class.
"As well a Tea Leaves, we will be palmistry, fire omens and eventually…the crystal ball" Trelawney explained "Now….Mr Potter, take Mr Badger's cup and tell me what you see"
James hands over his cup to Harry, not looking all that interested. Harry looked at the tea leaves for a moment, before he looked through his book, to see what the symbols meant.
"Well, there are two symbols present" Harry spoke after a moment "One is a dagger, which means there are going to be difficult times ahead, then there is a rose at the top of the cup, which means that love and passion, so…though you will face some kind of danger in the future, you will also find love in another"
"Very good" Trelawney cheered, whilst James looked now intrigued about what he heard "I wish you luck in your future Mr Badger…now please do the same thing and read Mr Potters cup and tell me what you see"
James cautiously took Harry's cup and looked inside, a bit unsure at what he saw. He looked at his book for a moment, and did a few double takes.
"Well, there seems to be a weird wonky cross" James said "That means trials and suffering, but there is also something that could be a sun, which means happiness…so, Harry is going to suffer, but be happy about it…though I can't be too sure"
"Really?" Trelawney asked "Well, hand me the cup, maybe I can see"
James handed her the cup. She looked at the leaves before she screamed, quickly putting the cup back on the table and recoiling away. She looks at Harry, with fear and pity.
"My dear boy…you have the Grim"
"What…what is the Grim?" Harry asked
"'The Grim…'" Daphne read in her book "'is an omen taking the form of a giant spectral dog, it is among the darkest omen of our world…it is an omen of death'"
Harry picked up his cup and looked at the leaves. They were shaped in a small dog that almost seemed to be snarling back at him. A small chill rain down his spine and this time, it wasn't because of the Dementors.
…
Harry sat in the Great Hall, thinking about what happened in the Divination Classroom. Death Omens? Everything just seemed to be getting worse and worse. Malfoy and Nott had a field day when Trelawney told him about the Grim. Everything was mostly quiet in the Great Hall as people ate, until someone in Slytherin near them, who was reading the Daily Prophet yelled out:
"He's been sighted!"
"Who has been sighted?" Another student asked
"Sirius Black!"
Harry, James and Daphne looked closer at the Daily Prophet the student held. Though the picture wasn't clear, it was easy to tell the person on the photo was indeed Sirius Black, who snuck away, down a small alley.
"Dufftown" Daphne read on the article "That isn't far from Hogwarts!"
"Do you think he will actually come to Hogwarts?" Tracey asked "I mean, there are Dementors around"
"He has already escaped the Dementors once" James replied "It's possible he will do it again"
"James is right" Flint spoke up "Sirius Black could be anywhere...he is like water slipping through your fingers"
Harry's eyes narrowed as he looked at the photo on the Daily Prophet. Like Lupin, there was a small amount of familiarity as he looked at the man. He wasn't sure why. He just hoped that he was captured soon.
...
There we are guys I hope you enjoyed. Again, things were kept close to canon, with a few minor changes.
Writing the Divination lesson was actually pretty fun for me to do. I don't know why. Before you ask, yes, for James' tea leaves were actual symbols. I don't remember the place I found them, but I did some research to make the symbols accurate. Also, keep note of what Harry described James' future will be. This may or may not be foreshadowing for future plots, but I won't say what.
Also, I know the sighting of Sirius Black doesn't happen until after the Care of Magical Creatures lesson, but I wanted to do things my way okay, for what I have planned will be exciting. Seriously, I have waited for months to write the next two chapters. Be ready, because the next two chapters will not only reveal more of James' secrets, but we will also find out who he is! I'm sure you all want to see that!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you in the next one. Feel free to leave a review and last chance to vote on the poll, at the end of this week, it will be taken down.
Badger out.
