Chapter Eight – The Scars
But it was one breakfast, when the most of the school were in the Great Hall, on a weekday morning, when things started getting interesting for the first time in weeks. The owls came through the top rafters, as usual, when commotion between the owls, sent Harry's eyes towards the ceiling. An eagle owl was attacking a snowy owl, which Harry reconised instantly as Hedwig. Also there was a large parcel fall from the ceiling with very small owl tied to it, which Harry reconised as Ron's own owl, Pigwigen, struggling, tired with the parcel. Harry didn't know who to go for first, Hedwig or Pig. Ron dived under Pig, ready to catch the parcel, but it was falling to fast, and if it hit the hard stone floor, it would kill the bird. Harry looked back at Hedwig, who was falling at the same rate, the eagle owl, ripping her to pieces. Then Harry reconised the eagle owl as belonging to Malfoy. Harry looked at him, to see a smirk on his face, like no other, a smile of pure pleasure. But before anyone could do anything, two of the largest birds, Harry had ever seen dived through the rafters, a large tattered golden eagle diving for Pig and the parcel, and the largest great gray eagle owl ever seen, a third bigger then Malfoy's, went for Hedwig's attacker.
The golden eagle dived for Pig and threw out its legs, and grabbed the parcel, a foot above Ron's head and flew upwards with it, the great gray owl was attacking Malfoy's owl, with such viciousness, that Harry though that Malfoy's bird wouldn't survive. Harry looked at Malfoy's on the Slytherin table and saw his face drop. The great gray owl push Hedwig towards Harry and finally Malfoy's bird let go. Hedwig fell about three feet, above Harry head before he caught her. She was badly cut, and severely bleeding. But the great gray owl didn't stop attack, and the golden eagle flew underneath them and stopped before just in front of the top table full of teacher and Ministry personnel, and threw Pig, and the parcel, into the air. Ron screamed, but the golden eagle flipped backwards and transformed, in a large black figure, with long, dark red hair and yellow eyes, which caught the parcel, and tied Pigwigen from his burden, and threw him into the air. He began to fly, but fell a foot, every so often, through sheer tiredness.
But, the gray owl kept attacking Malfoy's owl, until him to the ground near to the main doors of the Great Hall, and mangle of dark brown feathers and legs, dead. The great gray owl, rounded in midair, and plummeted straight towards Malfoy, himself, dive bombing him, claw at the ready, forcing Malfoy to through up his arms. Sam ran forwards, down the table, and put two figures in her mouth, producing one of the highest pitched whistles Harry had ever heard.
"Arcomedies!" She called, "Man, what is wrong with you, you stupid bird!" Her tempter flared. Arcomedies stopped attacking Malfoy and flow round to land on the Gryffindor table, and began to nip at Hedwig.
"Hey, shoo!" Harry told Arcomedies, waving his hand at the bird, protecting Hedwig, her white feathers now bloodstained. Until Hedwig began nipping Harry rather sharply, causing him to drop her on the table.
"Ouch" what was that for? Oh!" Harry looked at Hedwig and she hobbled over to Arcomedies, and the two owls nipped and embraced one another. Sam looked over to the table and laughed.
"Just a man protecting the woman he loves. Man, you kept that quiet!" She bent over the table and stoked Arcomedies, who nipped her back affectionately. Hedwig almost collapsed. Harry grabbed her, she looked weak.
"We need to take her to Hagrid!" Harry said sounding worried.
"Fine, I'll come with you, Arcomedies go! She will be all right, Go!" The looked at the owl, and he flew up, with one stoke of his powerful and was out of the Great Hall.
"Come on, Harry!" Sam said walking out of the Great Hall, and past Draco Malfoy, picking up what was left of his bird and mouthing to Harry, with extreme detest.
"My father!" Sam gave a look back at him, which Harry saw clearly said,
'like to see him try anything'
Sam had given the parcel to Ron Weasley, which turned out to be presents from Fred and George, their sweet shop business flourishing.
Harry, Ron, Herimone and Sam, walked down to Hagrids hut, the rest of the class following, they had Care of Magical Creatures, this morning anyway. Hagrid was outside his hut, tending to the pumpkin patch.
"Hagrid, Hedwig's been injured, Sam's bird helped her!" Harry turned round to Sam had been and she was gone.
"Sam? Sam!" Harry called along with Ron and Herimone.
"Harry, you alrigh'? Give me Hedwig and tell the class to the paddock!"
Harry nodded, and gave the bird over, but Hagrid was acting very strange, as he turned and entered his hut, without another word and shut the door behind him.
"Weird. Is he alright?" Herimone asked, sounding confused walking the nearby paddock.
"I don't know!" Said Harry, but he was cut off by an angry voice, behind him. It was Malfoy.
"You won't get away with this, Potter, you or your cousin. My father will here about this and you will be thrown in Askaban, and those Dementors, will play your mind, torture you and send fear though you and drive you insane!" Malfoy smirked with both angry, and pleasure at the thought of Harry being tortured.
"Oh, Dementors do far worse then that! I worked in Askaban for eight years during my time at school, for the simple reason that I had nowhere else to go, and some of the things I saw in there will make you heart stop and your blood run cold. If you want Dementors, I can arrange meeting face to face if you like!" Sam voice was cold again and made them all spin round. Malfoy fell silent and Harry smiled. She was leaning against a tree standing behind them, her arms folded, a cold smile on her face.
"Where's Hagrid? Can't he teach his own classes now?" Malfoy snapped back at Harry's cousin. "What had the old oaf lost he touch!" He squirmed. The temperature in Sam voice didn't change.
"Well," She said walking to Malfoy and looking into his eyes. "There are certain monsters that Dumbledore wants you to know about, that Hagrid will go nowhere near, no matter how much you pay him!" She smiled at her own sarcasm.
"Like what?" Malfoy smirked.
"Like that!" Sam said pointing over his shoulder and Malfoy turned round, as they all did. Malfoy screamed and he wasn't the only one, apart from Harry, who by the looks of it was the only person apart from Sam, who had seen this creature before. In the presence of Voldamort. It was a 20 foot snake tithed by the neck the fence, its body sliding in the grass, its a head held high, watching them, intently. It had a dark green and brown diamond pattern, down its back and a pale underside. Its mouth fell open, baring his fangs. Malfoy screamed again and ran for it, Harry would have smiled, if it wasn't for the fear of the snake. He partially reconised it. The whole class was now standing huddled behind Sam.
"It's Nagini!" Harry said, his voice quiet, but loud enough to carry.
"Almost!" Sam said, smiling at Harry, "I'm impressed you remembered. It's Max, actually, a male of the same species, an Asgard, and equally as dangerous. They are called Asgard Snakes and their venom and blood have high magical properties."
"Who's Nagini?" Malfoy whimpered, quietly.
"Voldamort's pet snake! Would you like to be the first to say hello, Malfoy?" It wasn't a question. She was telling him, and the look if fear in Malfoy's told Harry, why Hagrid didn't like snakes either. Malfoy was terrified.
"You will all learn how to handle Max, expertly, but first, we will start on something smaller, like these!" Sam pulled a large wooden box towards them and opened it. Everyone screamed again as they saw the contents. Inside were about twenty to thirty normal snakes, winding over each other, their bodies entangled. There was enough for one per student and most of the girls would have done anything then go near them. Sam saw the fear in their eyes.
"Oh, come on, you lot are worse then the muggles when it comes to snakes, and I see why Hagrid doesn't them either. These are harmless, they are normal muggle grass snakes, non venomous, and quite playful, actually. What I want to you to do, is in that box, I have put together all sorts of different foods, ranging from fruit and vegetables, and insects to dead mice and rodents. I haven't fed these guys in a week, to they are ravenous!" Some people gulped, "Don't worry, not for your hands. I want you to find out, what they eat, by trying on varying different things, how they eat it, and how they catch their food, and the first student to tell me during this lesson gets, what, fifty points for their house!" She paused, "and by the way, if you decide not to the work..." She said turning to Malfoy, who was just about to leave. "Me and Hagrid have both decided to fail anyone who does not cooperate!" Malfoy stopped and turned to her.
"You can go first!" She said, pulling a snake out of the box, and handing it to Malfoy. Harry laughed, in fact most of the Gryffindors did, as Malfoy squirmed again. Harry never had a problem with snakes, he liked them if anything and spent most of the time looking at Max, who looked as though he would have like to explore the grounds of Hogwarts, then be tied up. Sam handed a snake to everyone who then crowded around the box of food and then settled in small groups about the paddock, until all that was left was Harry.
"I've got something special for you!" She hissed. Harry gulped, he didn't really know his cousin that well. She made an indication to follow him, and Harry did, to a small box in the centre of the groups. She put her hand on the box, and threw Harry a pair of clear muggle goggles. He frowned
"We could play guessing games? But we might be here all day" Sam said smiling at him. Harry would have rather have played guessing games then to find out what was in the box. Sam saw this and opened the box away.
There was a vicious hissing and spitting coming from the box, from a creature eager to get free. Sam took a metal pole from the side of the box and lifted the creature out of the box, it tried to bite her, Sam backed away very fast.
"Easy, tiger. Do you know what this, Harry?"
Harry had seen enough nature programs at the Dursleys to fill a lifetime, and knew instantly. He gulped, as he finally understood knew what the goggles were for.
"It's a black spitting cobra!" Harry stammered, fearful. He didn't like the sound of what Sam could ask him to do. She placed the snake on the ground which propped its jet black head to face Harry, fanning its neck, menacingly. He noticed it had a key on a piece of string tied to its tail. He frowned again.
"Yep and impressive, Harry, I like your knowledge of snakes." She walked about Harry and spoke into his ear.
"Right, You see that key on the cobra's tail, it is the key to unlock Max" indicating to the Asgard, "and I want you to get it!" Harry looked at her, as though she was asking him to commit suicide. "Without a wand!" She added to Harry's horror, the whole class now watching.
"How?" Harry asked panicking. Sam smiled.
"Well, what skill to you have when it comes to handling snakes? Oh! and by the way, that cobra is a lot like an Asgard, as stubborn as they come, and have to gain their trust before they will do what you ask!"
It was at this point did Harry realise what she meant.
"But I haven't used Parseltongue in ages!" Harry complained. Sam stared at him, her eyes fierce, and then she spoke, hissing and spitting as she did, in a way that only Harry understood.
"I can speak Parseltongue in the same way you can, developed from my encounters with Voldamort, but now is your chance to practice, and besides what have you got to lose. I'm not like Hagrid, if a creature in my care, starts getting dangerous I will kill it, before it kills a student."
She was right, but it wasn't much source of comfort, as Harry put on the goggles, not wanting to take any risks, as cobras spit venom into the eyes of attackers. He began to speak to the snake in Parseltongue. Not easy at first, but with a little practice, a message finally got through to the snake. The snake itself wasn't a bad conversationalist as it happens, having a lot of opinions of Harry's cousin in particular, not liking her very much, and none of the other snakes either. Harry had never sat down and talked to a snake before, no matter had dangerous, and it felt very strange. But Sam was also right in saying that he was stubborn. Harry tried to sweet talking the snake, into giving him the key, which didn't work, and Harry was learning how a snake's mind worked and as the lesson went on, he understood why Sam had set him this task. If he could persuade Nagini to turn against Lord Voldamort, her master, that would give him a great advantage, in a battle situation. Max had watched Harry with the cobra, making him feel uneasy, and by the end of the lesson, the cobra hadn't spat venom at him, but he was no closer to getting that key either, after trying everything he could think of.
Herimone had correctly guessed that the grass snakes, hunt insects, fed by dislocating their jaws and stoke and ambush their prey, winning a well deserved fifty points for Gryffindor. After being banned from playing matches in Quidditch, but not from Quidditch training, due to unfair advantage because of his powers, it was boost that Harry needed, to lift his spirits, and he wanted to stay behind and talk to his cousin, as she tidied the snakes away.
"Can I talk to you?" He asked, after telling Ron and Herimone to leave him alone, to which they agreed to meet him later.
"Sure, Harry, What's on your mind?" Sam turned to face him, a tired look in those yellow eyes.
"Everything!" Harry signed sitting down next to her. Sam stopped what packing the snakes and turned to look at him, with a frown on her face.
"Meaning?" She said with a slight grin, sarcasm ripe in her voice. Harry wasn't to impressed with this.
"Look! I'm being serious here!" He spat, before he broke out and told his cousin everything, more then he had told anyone else, for he had left out certain details from Herimone and Ron, such as how painful it had been, or the fear it has struck in him. He didn't want sympathy votes from them, for that was the last thing he wanted. Sam sat and listened, not speaking but had a look of understanding on her face, that Harry was greatful for, as it was though she seemed to know what he was going through. Harry was talking for the best part of half an hour. When he had finished, she looked at him.
"Believe it, or not, Harry, you got the good end of the deal, living with the Dursleys!"
"How?" Harry growled at her, how could she make such a statement. He hated the Dursleys. He got to his feet. Sam continued to look at him, unphased.
"Because, you, aunt Lily and uncle James, were not the only people who was in that house when Voldamort attacked!" Sam smiled, a tear in her eye.
"What!" Harry gasped, as he sat back on the grass. "Who?"
"Me!" Sam said blankly, "I was there, I saw what happened!"
Harry stared in silent shock, not believing his eyes. He looked into Sam's hawk like eyes, which seemed for a strangely hollow, for a brief moment. She spoke, her voice, toneless.
"Yes, I was there, Harry, Hallowe'en, fifteen years ago. I had been staying with James and Lily, since my father died, less then six months before, my mother dying giving birth to me and I had literally nowhere else to go. You see, the Dursleys may be your blood relatives, but they are not mine. Your related to them by your mother's side of the family and I'm related to you by your father's side, and wizarding law states that if a child is parent-less to be taken to their blood relative if one is available. For me, that was James and Lily despite the fact that they both knew they were in danger."
Sam looked up at sky as she paused for a moment.
"It was dangerous, Voldamort had singled them out, and they knew it, and life was rough at the best of times. Then had a new baby to care for as well as me, through I tried to help, but at four and a half years old, what could I do. But I was either risk staying with them or be out on the streets."
Harry gasped in shock, Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you know that is no such thing as a orphanage in the wizarding world?"
Harry shock his head. Sam signed.
"It is a side of the Ministry of Magic that they don't tell you about, they refuse to fund orphanages, saying that they don't believe that a child can not have a family, as it is said that wizarding families are some of the biggest in the world. But not all, I have seen children on the streets of Hogmeade, not many but victims of the Ministry's insolence. What do all the students in Hogwarts have in common. They all have families. Even you, despite the fact they are muggles. As for me, I have no one else, if you, James and Lily vanished. But for the meantime, we thought we were safe, we had a secret keeper, who was the only person who knew our location!"
"Peter Pettigrew!" Harry spat out, suddenly. Sam frowned.
"Peter? I thought it was Serius?" Sam said confused.
"I was going to be, Dumbledore told me, but they changed it to Peter at the last moment." Sam got to her feet, full of instant anger.
"You have no idea how much sense, that makes. It explains why I have seen Peter Pettigrew at the side of Lord Voldamort. Yes, Dumbledore was one of the people who tried to persuade James and Lily to move out of Godric's Hollow, when they were singled out, but James wouldn't have any of it. His arrogance getting the better of him." Sam stopped as she saw the look on Harry's face as being on of disbelieve. She placed a hand on his shoulder. She continued on.
"Look! James was just trying to do the best for his family, he had just lost his brother, Kevin, in horrific circumstances, six months before, and was still in shock. He was a very trusting man, and believed, that he would never be betrayed. Maybe foolishly, I don't know. But he was willing to take that chance, where others would have failed. But as Hallowe'en was arriving, one of my favourite times of the year, trick or treating wizarding style." Sam grinned, with the memory. She gave Harry a sideways glance.
"Never done that!" She asked him. Harry shock his head.
"It's brilliant, it's like Christmas has come early, with the amount of stuff you get. The idea was that James would take us both out and show you the sights of Godric's Hollow, a risky business, as they never left the house, but he thought we would be alright for one night, as there was no indication that anything was to happen that night. You and I played in the garden, that morning, the sun, on a beautiful day, was blazing down on us, you has just learned to roll around, loving my company, and I burned the back of my neck."
Harry smiled to himself, he could visualise in his mind's eye, what Sam had said, and saw the tranquility of the day. He looked back at Sam, she had stared at him.
"I remember my costume, one of those old fastened muggle witch costumes, you had a tiny monster costume, that Lily has made, and even James decided to pitch in, getting dressed up." Harry laughed, that sounded more like his father, from what he had been told before now.
"But it was after the sun went down that things started going wrong!" Harry gulped, he knew what was coming.
"James and Lily were having a mild disagreement, about how to best take us around the village that night, when a noise outside from the house and an unusually cold draft, icy, came from the front door, silenced them. James and I, wandered to it, as you and Lily were upstairs. But the door was blasted off its hinges, with a huge bang, narrowly missing James and Voldamort himself standing in the doorway. 'Lily, It's Him!' was all I remember James screaming, as he grabbed me and dived out of the way of a death curse, aimed straight towards him, as the electricity went out."
Harry felt tears in his eyes. Sam knelt down in front on him.
"I couldn't make much out in the darkness but James was fighting with his wand in one hand and me in the other. There may have been green light flying everywhere but James was an expert and to this day, I have never seen anyone fight Voldamort like James, almost fought him off too. Almost would have succeeded if Voldamort hadn't, by pure chance, outwitted James, by aiming for me instead of him. James instinctively protected me, and the Avada Kedavra, hit him on the shoulder, the side he was carrying me. It blasted us apart, as the curse rebounded off James and hit me, as I flew through the air and smack again the wall, breaking every bone in my body. Harry, at five years old, that curse was powerful enough to kill me too!"
She pointed to the folk right-angled lighting scar on the side of her face, "This is an backlash scar, where the curse hit me and even though it was a rebound, I should be dead. James had been blasted the other direction and into the darkness and I didn't see him again. James, your father was, and in many ways still is, a man to be proud of, Harry" Sam smiled. Harry looked at the floor.
"But how did Dad almost fight Voldamort off?" Harry gasped, his voice barely heard. Sam laughed.
"Do you honestly think that uncle James, your Dad, was just a pretty face as school!" Harry looked up.
"He was an animagi, a stag, if that's what you mean?" He asked.
"Well, yeah!" she smiled, "But do you know what his ambition was at school, apart from having a family?" Harry thought for a moment, and then realised that no one had ever told him. He shook his head.
"He wanted to be an Auror!" Sam laughed, Harry jaw dropped. "Except hanging around with Peter, Serius and Remus, it wasn't the 'in fashion' thing to do, the average life expectancy of a Auror, in James's time, was about three months, fearing that he might disowned, by his friends, he trained in secret, and became fully qualified at the age of twenty one. To this day, no one knows this, except us, even Dumbledore doesn't know."
Harry laughed.
"It seems that being Auror, is a family tradition, then!" Harry smiled as Sam got to her feet, her voice unusually cold.
"It would seem so!" Her voice emotionless, her back to him. Harry stared.
"Your father may have been a hero, but so to was your mother, Lily. She tried to got out back door with you, as Voldamort arrive. It was a case of grab a kid and run, Harry. She didn't have a wand but was willing the cast the most powerful spell known to wizarding kind, giving you her life force, and sacrificing herself, saving your life. I didn't see much of what happened, trying to hard not to pass out but I did see her die to protect you and eventually the curse hitting you." Harry stood up turned Sam round to face him, placing a hand on her shoulder, she was crying. Harry was desperate to hear how he survived the Avada Kedavra curse. Her voice was cracked.
"I couldn't see hardly anything, but I saw the curse hit you, on the forehead, and then some kind of shield was created forcing the curse to rebound on Voldamort, who vapourised, into thin air, the house collapsing." She paused.
"Then what happened?" Harry said very fast, desperate to find out more.
"I don't know, I passed out at that point!" Harry sighed, laughed and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting an anticlimax to the story, he thought, but he was greatful for the immense detail anyway. When you have witnessed a horrible event like that, it would be difficult to forget the detail.
"So what happened to you then?" Harry asked curiously. Sam smiled weakly.
"I was found by a muggle American couple who took me in, taking me to America and brought me back to health. But they decided they didn't like me, for some reason, and I was tossed out onto streets, of New York, at the age of just six. I wandered round, surviving on my own, for three years, until I met a witch who found me, cared for me, cleaned me up and got me a place at Kosworth's, providing that found somewhere to stay during the school holidays, as she couldn't help me here."
"Who was it?" Harry wondered, and feeling greatful for the first time in his life to be living at the Dursleys. Sam smiled.
"Turnbull!" She laughed, so did Harry. This made sense. He had seen Professor Turnbull and Sam talk to each other as though they were old friends. As though they has known each other for years.
"So where did you stay during the holidays, then?" Harry asked.
"Askaban!" Sam said. Harry stared.
"Askaban?!" Harry gasped.
"Yeah, They were a vacancy there for a cook. Well, the prisoners have got to eat, and at eleven, I applied for the job, unable to find anywhere else. The job included board, food, shelter and a very good salary."
"And Dementors!" Said Harry, sarcastically.
"Well, the only reason I got the job at such a young age, was because I was the only one who applied for it. You get used to them after a while, and they get used to you, and they make great conversion, which you figure out how they speak. I called the head Dementor, Bob, because I couldn't think of what else to call him."
They both laughed as the Harry heard his name being called, from behind him, as Herimone and Ron, were coming towards them. He hadn't realised that, he and Sam, had talked all the way through their free lesson of an hour and a half. Sam spotted them too and pulled Harry to one side, and spoke in a low, cold voice, water in her dull yellow eyes.
"Spending so long among the Dementors, has made me highly sensitive to them. I can feel them heading our way, to Hogwarts, but I don't know why. You may have noticed to large amount of adults at the school. This is because the Ministry thinks that the school will be attacked by Voldamort!" Harry's jaw dropped. "But it isn't confirmed, so don't tell anyone, the last thing we want is a panic." She was asking discretion on Harry's part, but it did explain a lot. Sam looked around "Please promise me!" Harry nodded, as Sam patted him on the shoulder and finished with the tiding up.
Minutes later, Herimone and Ron, and Harry left Sam, with the snakes, and walked towards the castle.
"See you at dinner!" Harry called, very greatful, to Sam, sharing her experiences with him as it must have been so difficult to talk about. She replied Harry to keep up the practice with his powers, which he promised to do. So his father was a hero, and he was the only one who knew. Harry liked that idea, as he told Ron and Herimone what Sam had said, leaving out what she had said about the night his parents had died, as far as he was concerned, it had nothing to do with Ron or Herimone. It was his family. They agreed not to tell anyone about what Sam had just told Harry about Voldamort attacking Hogwarts, but it freaked them all out. But they had no time to dwell on it as exams started on Monday, and began to worry about them instead, as Herimone bored them both stupid, telling them the contents of Hogwarts, a History, and how an attack was unlikely, as they walked to their last Transfiguration lesson, before the exams.
They practiced with the snakes, during their last Care of Magical Creatures lessons, Harry succeeded with the cobra, on the third lesson and got introduced to Max, a large Asgard snake. Hagrid successfully healed Hedwig to full strength, but she refused to take any more post and the hardest exams they had ever sat, were on them.