OLD MAGIC
CHAPTER 7: NIGHT ACTIVITIES
Alone in the boy's dorm room, Harry quickly found his trunk at the foot of a heavy wooden bed with red curtains and canopy. He pulled the curtains closed around his bed and gently coaxed his kneazle, Wine, out of his shirt.
He petted the creature's head and murmured, "I saved you some food." He pulled an odd flat packet made from a napkin out of his robe and laid it on the bed. Muttering a soft word, the napkin suddenly enlarged and spread itself open to reveal several types of meat. Wine made a low rumbling sound of pleasure and attacked his meal.
Smiling, Harry left his pet alone to enjoy its dinner, closing the curtain behind him. He went to his trunk and removed his personal care kit, bathrobe, and pjs. Pulling his robe off, he folded it neatly and placed it in the trunk along with his tie, jumper, and shoes. Then closed his trunk and padded off to the bathroom.
Pushing the heavy door open he was greeted by a rather ornate bathroom. The sinks were in a circle and the toilets were along one side. To the right of the door was another door. He walked toward that and pushed it open, gaping at the sight before him. The bathtub was the size of a small swimming pool. Wow! Smiling in excitement, he quickly stripped and hung his things on hooks on the wall then jumped into the water. It was wonderfully warm and it bubbled around one's body in a soothing way.
Sighing with pleasure, he washed up then climbed out of the pool. Passing a hand over himself, he was instantly dry. Pulling on his pjs and robe, he had just pulled his outer clothing off its hook when he heard the other boys just arriving outside the door. It pushed open and in poured several of his new classmates.
"Oi! What a fantastic looking bathtub," one exclaimed when he peered in.
"How was the water, Harry," Ron asked, coming up to his side.
"Like heaven! It's the perfect temperature," Harry said with a warm smile.
"That's for me after that long train ride," a tall lanky boy said, stripping off his robe and dumping his other clothing on a bench before jumping into the water with a loud whoop.
Still smiling, Harry quickly left before he got wet by the splashing boys enjoying their bath.
Going back to the dorm, he found a few others skipping the bath and already climbing into bed, the sound of curtains shushing over the rails was heard as Harry made for his own bed. Leaving his robe on his trunk, he pulled the curtain a little ways and climbed on the bed, closing the curtain quickly behind him.
He needn't have bothered as Wine had disappeared leaving only the empty napkin, clean of food, behind. Harry smiled. He wasn't worried for his pet's safety as Wine was well able to take care of himself. Yawning he sighed, picked up the napkin and dropped it on the floor then crawled under his covers and was fast asleep in minutes.
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While the children prepared for bed, in another part of the castle a harsh voice speaking in a loud whisper ranted in anger, "He should be dead...dead as my body is...how could he still be alive?"
"I-I-I-I d-d-don't know master!" A different voice stuttered violently, obviously terrified.
The scary voice grumbled for several minutes, his words unintelligible then, in a much calmer, colder voice, "Perhaps this isn't as bad as it seems...his body is young and would suit me well...but if that doesn't work...then I will make sure he dies this time!"
His servant shivered with fear. He lost his will when this foul thing took up residence within him. He wept in a small part of his mind that was still his own. 'I hope you don't succeed you monstrous thing! I hope Potter takes you down and frees me!' As hopes go, he clung to this one with all that was still left of his own spirit.
Such a fool he'd been going to that part of the Forbidden Forest. He'd been looking for a plant that only flowered under the first full moon and was so rare that only this part of the forest was rumored to have any left. It had been a trap, carefully laid, just for him. The darkness had flitted from its hiding place before he was aware of it and took over his body and mind before he even had a chance to fight. His mind shields proved to be inadequate against the invader.
From that time on, he lived a furtive existence, cutting all ties with the ones that had known him, being forced to lie, cheat, and even kill as the thing inside him carried on its insidious and horrific plans to take over wizarding England. Then horror of horrors, the thing had him apply for an open position at Hogwarts. He feared for the children but was unable to do anything about it.
Now with the arrival of the thing's enemy, perhaps he could finally be set free if the power he could see shining like a second skin over the boy was any indication. To his amazement, the thing within him didn't seem to see that power nor feel it. He hoped the situation stayed that way and he would do what he could to keep the thing blind to it. He just wished he could warn the boy.
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A small form, barely visible to the naked eye padded silently down the quiet corridors, exploring. It found its new, temporary home, fascinating as well as a bit dangerous at times. He'd had to avoid a cat belonging to a grouchy, ugly little man carrying a lantern and another time, a ghost that drifted through a wall just in front of him on its way to somewhere else.
Perhaps later he'd make friends with one or two of them but right now he wanted to remain unknown. He wanted to insure there was no other serious dangers around before exposing himself. Though his master was quite skilled for one so young, the boy still wasn't old enough to handle some of the truly nasty things that moved in the night. Wine would guard his master fiercely for none had treated him with as much respect and care before and this was his way to repay that debt.
Sniffing the air currents, Wine scented a familiar odor. He followed it down yet another of the myriad of corridors this castle sported. A familiar form walked the hall ahead of him. He hurried to catch up and soon came abreast of the swiftly striding figure.
Making his form visible and giving a soft, rough, mew, he got the man's attention.
Professor Snape stopped in his tracks and stared down at his feet in surprise. "Wine is that you?" The kneazle purred and rubbed the man's ankles in response.
Looking around carefully and seeing nor hearing anyone, Snape knelt down and petted the magical creature. "Well, I see our mutual friend decided to bring you along. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to keep to the shadows?"
Wine snorted and gave him a hard stare.
A small smile tugged on the potion master's lips. "I didn't think so. I'm glad you are here. There's no such thing as too much protection and with so many enemies, he will need it. If ever you need assistance, don't hesitate to seek me out. I live in the lower areas of the castle, just follow your nose. And you are welcome in my apartment any time but be very cautious as I would hate any of my enemies to harm you," he murmured softly, giving the kneazle a final scratch behind its ears before standing once more. "I'm making my rounds as I usually do, you're welcome to join me." With that Snape headed off down the corridor again, a small shadow keeping him company.
Snape didn't find it unusual holding a conversation with the creature. Ignorantly enough, most Wizards considered kneazles only a little smarter than the ordinary house cat but the professor knew them to be extremely intelligent, even more so than the owls used to handle messages, and possessing a small amount of magic of their own, especially in keeping invisible to most eyes until they wanted to be seen.
They were fierce little creatures and known to take on animals more than twice their size and winning. He would never underestimate one and was glad Harry had thought to bring his along. It would protect the boy but it would also provide him with a friendly companion as well. The position Snape was in was precarious and dangerous which didn't allow for friendships as his enemies wouldn't hesitate to kill or use them against him. Having Harry and now Wine as friends that no one knew about eased his spirit and made his ordeal as a spy much easier to endure.
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Dumbledore found sleep impossible so was sitting in his office staring out at the moonlit night and the silent grounds of Hogwarts. In the distance, smoke trailed from the chimney of the grounds keeper, telling him that Hagrid had not yet gone to bed either but then the half giant was known to roam the woods at night looking for injured creatures or unusual ones for his class as he was the professor who taught The Care of Magical Creatures class for Hogwarts besides being the Keeper of Keys and Grounds for the school.
Sighing, he turned away from the window and went to sit at his immense desk that was laden with all manner of things. He took a small tin and opened it, popping a sherbet lemon in his mouth to suck on while he thought.
He glanced to his left and noted his Phoenix was sound asleep, head beneath a wing. Fawkes wouldn't answer his many teaming questions so he left the bird alone.
Where had Harry Potter been? Who had raised him? It was obvious the child had been taught some serious magic but how much and how skilled was he? Was he skilled enough to protect himself from the enemy that still haunted their world? So many questions. It chaffed him to have to wait for answers.
Pulling his small spectacles off his nose, he rubbed his tired eyes. Sighing, he put them back on and got up from his seat. Sleep was indicated, even if he didn't feel like it. He headed reluctantly off to bed. Tomorrow, hopefully, he would get the answers he sought.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
After a quick patrol of the area and giving the centaurs a report on how Harry's reveal had gone, Hagrid returned to his hut around midnight. A small shape waited for him on his doorstep. He smiled warmly and opened the door to allow the small creature into the warm interior.
"Well, had a nice snoop around, Wine?" He asked warmly as he puttered around, stoked the fire, and prepared for bed.
The kneazle leaped onto the old wooden table and sat down. In answer to Hagrid's question, the small creature nodded its head.
"Would you like some water?"
The small head jerked from side to side.
"Did you get plenty to eat?"
Wine gave a kitty version of a smile, purred, and waved its tail lazily back and forth.
"That's good. Harry settle in okay?"
Wine nodded enthusiastically.
"Good to know, though tomorrow will be his true trial of keeping his temper when he's asked for the hundredth time where he'd been all this time, eh?"
Wine gave Hagrid a quiet stare, which the half giant understood as being a concerned one. "Don't fret none. Harry will do okay and we're here to help him too. Want to stay the night here?"
Wine seemed to debate this a moment then repeated its negative head movement.
"Ahh, going to return to Harry then," Hagrid said with certainty and smiled. He reached down and patted the small head. "Then I'll bid you good night and see you around."
Wine meowed then jumped down to the floor and walked to the heavy door. Hagrid opened the door and the kneazle strode out. "There are some of Aragog's young hunting close by, best be off to the castle for tonight, save the exploring for another time," he warned, quietly.
Wine mewed his understanding and headed off to Hogwarts at a run. Hagrid closed his door and went to bed, tomorrow would be a very busy day for all of them.
More than thirty minutes later, Wine slipped into the dorm room. The portrait was quite taken with him and allowed him entry by way of the front door though he'd found a way out through a large mousehole earlier. Going to Harry's bed, he slipped under the curtain and clawed his way up the bedding until he was on top then walked to the sleeping boy's side and curled up to sleep.