The Potter Timeline
Chapter 26 - A Disturbing Development
When Harry hit the third step toward the girls' dormitories, his feet flew completely out from under him. He fell hard against the stone slope and slid to the bottom. Gazing up the stairwell in shock, Harry had forgotten about the enchantment on the stairs protecting the girls' section of the tower. But he was desperate and jumped back up, trying to find some way past the charm. He had to get to Hermione!
"Hang on, Harry!" a voice shouted from behind.
Harry turned to find Percy arrive pale-faced. As the slope morphed back into stairs, the prefect pulled his wand, pointed them at the steps, and muttered something under his breath. A blue light sparked from the tip and flashed across the stairwell.
"Get the others out of there!" Percy said in a near panic, "but don't do anything stupid! I'll get help and be right back!"
Harry nodded. Percy flew back to the common room, Harry dashed up the stairs.
Smoke billowed into the corridor as he neared the second-year girls' dorm. Before he reached the landing, Lavender and Parvati burst out of the room, coughing. Harry ran to the girls.
"Are you alright? Where's Hermione?" he asked desperately.
"We're okay, Harry," Lavender uttered with a shaky voice.
"Hermione's still...inside!" Parvati exclaimed through heavy coughs.
"Head to the common room!" Harry told them, guiding them down to the lower stairs, "others should be here shortly!"
They descended the stairs out of sight. Harry leapt back to the landing and bolted inside the room. The heat nearly took his breath away. Outside of a raging fire centered around one of the four-posters and the table next to it, smoke curled around the ceiling, poured out both opened windows, and spread into the stairwell.
"HERMIONE!" Harry shouted, hoping against hope she was okay.
"HARRY!" the girl replied from somewhere on the other side of the room. Relief swept through him. Placing a sleeve over his nose and mouth, he inched forward.
"Where are you?" he yelled out.
"Back here!" she replied, her voice coming from behind a chest of drawers that had fallen and was on fire. It blocked the path by the side of the four-poster.
"Hang on!" Harry shouted, looking for some way to get to her.
"WAIT!" she cried out, "CATCH THIS!"
Hermione's brown book satchel flew over the chest of drawers and Harry snatched it, though nearly dropping it due to its heaviness. Puzzled, Harry glanced back to see what she was doing.
"Move back!" she yelled.
Harry dashed behind Parvati's bed.
"CONFRIGO!" the girl shouted.
The chest of drawers burst in half and burning pieces flew around the room. Harry turned his back to avoid the flying shards. But the path was now clear. Spinning back around, he saw Hermione bolt through the gap in the destroyed furniture toward the doorway wearing a cloth over her mouth and a blanket over her back. Harry joined her and they exited the room just as Percy arrived.
"Get downstairs, you two! We'll take care of this!" the prefect told the second-years. Two seventh-years, Michael Billings and William Hereford, appeared from below.
"In here, guys!" Percy informed them.
Harry and Hermione watched as the three entered the room full of smoke and flame.
"AGUAMENTI!" they uttered in unison.
Jets of water spewed from their wands and dowsed the flaming furniture and pieces scattered along the floor. Harry and Hermione went downstairs to the common room which was now full of Gryffindors of every year. Lavender and the twins sat on the sofa, still coughing. A couple of fourth-years were sitting on either side, with arms around the girls' shoulders. Hermione threw off the blanket and cloth from her face, coughing while putting her wand into her pajama pocket. Harry led her to one of the sofa chairs as Dean, Seamus, Neville, and several gawking first-years watched all this in astonishment. Hermione sat down and Harry placed her satchel on the floor, squatting down and taking both her hands in his.
"You're okay?" he asked with concern.
She nodded at him.
"I'm fine. But...my things!" she uttered brokenly. Tears came to the girl's eyes as she threw her arms around the boy. Harry embraced her as she sniffled in distress.
"Things can be replaced," he told her, "I'm just glad you and the others are alright."
After a moment, she sat back. Harry threw her a sad look and brushed some of her fluffy hair away from her face.
"What happened?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head.
"I don't know! I woke up and there were flames at the foot of my bed. I jumped out to warn the others. My bed, trunk, and chest of drawers were all on fire! All my textbooks and parchments are...gone!"
Harry's face scrunched up in puzzlement.
"Was it just your things on fire?" he asked now.
She nodded at him, wiping a few tears from her eyes. The boy had a bad feeling about this and for some reason Dobby's words back at the Leaky Cauldron came to mind.
"...dark things are planned...bad things...against her!"
Harry frowned then gazed at her satchel.
"Well, at least you were able to save some things."
Hermione nodded again.
"I had to. They mean a lot to me," she replied brokenly.
Just then, the common room door opened. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall rushed inside, still in their bed robes. The Gryffindors quieted.
"Is everyone alright?" the headmaster asked. The students nodded.
"Whose room was the fire in?" he continued.
Several pointed at the second-year girls.
"Oh dear!" McGonagall said while moving to the sofa to check on Lavender and the twins. Dumbledore moved to Harry and Hermione, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Are you alright, Miss Granger?" he asked kindly.
"Yes, sir," she answered meekly while gazing up at the man.
"Any idea how the fire started?"
She shook her head.
"No, sir."
"Very well. We're thankful you and your fellow pupils are safe. However, we'll have Madam Pomfrey examine you just in case."
McGonagall rose.
"The four of you come with me," she said, "I'll escort you to the hospital wing. You'll spend the night there and possible a few more until we get all this sorted out."
The three Gryffindors on the couch got up to follow the professor. Hermione rose from the chair and Harry with her. She threw him a sad look.
"I'll come visit you in the morning," he told her while placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay. You'll hold on to my satchel, won't you?"
He smiled.
"Of course."
She smiled softly at him then moved to join the other second-years. The four exited the common room behind McGonagall. Just then, Percy and the two seventh-years arrived from the girls' dormitories. Seeing this, Dumbledore turned to the rest of the students.
"Everyone please return to your dorms. The excitement is over. Thank you," he said.
The Gryffindors complied, slowly moving up the stairs to their respective rooms, many whispering about the incident. Among the group heading back to bed, Harry noticed Ginny Weasley was absent. After her curious behavior earlier, he wondered where she went off to.
"Harry, if you wouldn't mind staying behind," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, sir," the boy answered, curious what he intended.
Once the room was cleared of all except the headmaster, Harry, Percy, and the two seventh-years, Dumbledore looked at the prefect. Percy cleared his throat.
"We put the fire out and used Evanesco to remove the smoke, professor. The floor and ceiling are blackened around one bed, a chest of drawers, and someone's trunk which were burned pretty badly. It appears someone used a blasting spell on the chest of drawers."
"That was Hermione," Harry spoke up, "she used it to get out from the back of the room."
Dumbledore nodded and Percy continued.
"The other furniture and belongings seem unharmed, though they might have smoke damage. One of the girls had the mind to open the windows to the room, which helped."
Harry was certain it was Hermione.
"Excellent, Percy. Thank you. And thank you too, Michael, William, for your wand work!" the man said to the three, "any clue as to how it might have started?"
"Maybe, professor. We found this at the foot of the burned bed."
Percy handed Dumbledore a single, partially-melted candlestick with a burned end. Harry wondered at this. He and his dorm mates never used the emergency candles supplied to each room. But perhaps the girls did, and someone was careless. Or perhaps, Harry thought as that bad feeling came over him again, someone did it on purpose...
"Thank you, Percy. I'll view the room myself and assess what needs to be done. You three may return to bed," Dumbledore told them.
"Yes, sir. Goodnight," the prefect said as he joined the other two on the stairwell to the boys section.
When they were out of sight, the old wizard turned to Harry.
"If you'll accompany me, let's take a look together."
"Yes, sir."
Harry placed Hermione's satchel on the floor and the pair moved toward the stairwell. Before they took the first step, the headmaster pointed his finger at the steps and a blue light flashed across just like Percy's wand. Dumbledore leaned toward Harry.
"Just making sure the enchantment is still turned off. During first term of my very first year, a couple of girls decided to play a prank on me and asked me to retrieve a book from their dorm."
"And you slipped on the slope?"
"Yes. And I spent a night in the hospital wing with a broken nose!"
Harry chuckled. The two ascended the stairs, opened the closed door to Hermione's room, and entered. The smell of smoke lingered in the air despite being evaporated by Percy's spell. The burned bed, chest of drawers, and Hermione's trunk were frayed, blackened, and soaked. The sight looked horrible, and Harry felt sick just gazing at her things - she could have been killed in that awful mess!
Dumbledore headed to the common drawers beneath the large room mirror. Opening one, he pulled out six candlesticks just like the ones in Harry's dorm. The headmaster showed the candles to Harry.
"Each dorm room in each House is given six candles for emergency purposes, as you know, Harry."
A realization hit the boy and that sickening feeling grew.
"That means..." Harry said with trepidation, "...someone entered the room and...set Hermione's bed on fire...on purpose."
The headmaster nodded.
"An excellent deduction. And?"
Harry thought for a moment and the answer, which seemed so obvious, made his stomach churn.
"It could only be a Gryffindor, as no one else has a password to enter the tower. And...it has to be someone in the girls' dorms, as none of the guys can get past the enchantment except for Percy, who came down after."
"Quite right, Harry," Dumbledore said.
The twelve-year-old swallowed hard. His thoughts turned to Ginny Weasley - the ugly looks she had given Hermione and her frightened manner in the common room. But Harry couldn't believe she'd do something so horrible. There had to be another explanation.
The old wizard gazed around the room.
"I'll have Mr. Filch replace Miss Granger's furniture and clean up the room. It will be like new in short order and your friend and her dorm mates should be able to return to it in a day or two."
Harry smiled at the man, though not feeling it at all. The headmaster motioned to leave, and he sealed the door off after they exited. Once in the common room, Harry retrieved Hermione's satchel and started for the stairs to his dorm. But before Dumbledore moved through the Fat Lady's portrait, he turned.
"Harry, please see me in my office tomorrow afternoon, if you will. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you concerning a certain House Elf and...your future. Let's say, two o'clock?"
This piqued the boy's interest and he nodded.
"Yes, sir. I'll be there."
"Very well. The password, by the way, is 'lemon drop'. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, professor."
The wizard disappeared through the hole. Harry glanced around the room and frowned. That bad feeling left him with a deep sorrow as he thought about his friend and the idea someone in Hogwarts was attempting to hurt or worse...kill her. But he hoped this incident was somehow all a mistake and would be easily explained in the end. He hoped...
After arriving in his dorm to the sound of Seamus' snoring, Harry placed the satchel next to his trunk and started to crawl into bed. But he paused. Turning back, he knelt down by the brown sack. While he didn't want to pry into Hermione's personal space, something she said concerning her satchel made him curious.
The twelve-year-old popped it open. Surprisingly, in addition to Hermione's green diary, there were only two books inside. When he glanced at their titles, Harry grinned: the Magical Theory book she read during their shifts in the Hall of Reflection and...Oddlum's Oddities of the Wizarding World. But Harry's smile grew larger when he noticed the girl had also saved the engraved cauldron and quills he had given her last Christmas as well as...her bunny rabbit slippers, one ear of which was singed from the fire. Harry felt warm inside seeing these things that meant so much to her - things Harry had given her, or she associated with him. This good feeling and the thought of Hermione pushed the sorrow from his mind. Harry closed her satchel, got into bed, and fell into a deep, pleasant sleep.
~HP~
The following morning, after checking on Lavender and the Patils, Harry sat down in a chair next to Hermione's bed in the hospital wing.
"Feeling okay?" he asked.
"Yes, thanks," she replied with a warm smile, "Madam Pomfrey treated us for smoke inhalation and told us to rest. And McGonagall said we're to spend the next two nights here, until our room is fixed."
Harry's face became downcast.
"I saw it, Hermione, after. It looked...awful."
The girl's face mirrored his. He continued.
"And from what Percy and Professor Dumbledore gather, it appears someone did it on purpose."
Hermione expressed both surprise and fright.
"But who? And...why?" she asked in distress.
Harry took her hand.
"We're not sure yet. But it was most likely a girl from Gryffindor."
Hermione's eyes flashed back and forth as she thought over this. Harry didn't have the heart to mention his suspicions about Ginny Weasley, however. And thus far, there was no proof she had done it. He figured it was best to leave it be for the moment.
"You were brilliant, by the way," he said, changing the subject, "keeping your cool and using the blasting spell. But perhaps we should have learned the water spell first."
Hermione chuckled.
"Perhaps. But I wouldn't have wanted to ruin my things with water either."
Harry nodded.
"True. What are you going to do about clothes and personal items?"
"Lavender and Mandy offered to let me borrow some of their outfits until I can owl my parents for new ones. But I'll still have to buy some of the more specific items."
"Well, as for your textbooks," Harry said, "until you get replacements, we can share my charms, potions, transfiguration, and herbology books. And I'll gladly donate all my Gilderoy Lockhart books to the cause."
Hermione laughed and lightly slapped him on the shoulder. Harry laughed with her. He then produced a gift-wrapped package from his satchel.
"I was going to give this to you for your birthday. But it looks like you'll need it sooner."
Hermione's face turned to surprise as she took the package and unwrapped it. It was the pack of parchments he bought her in Diagon Alley - the ones that gave off a rose scent when written upon. She beamed at the boy.
"Thank you, Harry!"
He smiled.
"You're welcome. Happy birthday, in advance."
Hermione gazed down at the parchments she held in both hands. A sad look came over her. She then threw this look at Harry.
"You're so good to me," she said softly. Harry's cheeks burned as he shrugged his shoulders.
"You're my best friend. And I...care about you," he told her meekly.
Hermione's cheeks went flush as they both stared at one another in silence. But Harry snapped them out of it.
"Anyway!" he said cheerfully, "I also brought you some toast and a bit of jam from the Hall."
He pulled out a cloth-covered plate and handed it to her. Hermione's face brightened as she took it.
"And," he continued, "I brought some books for you to read. But I have to apologize first."
"Why?" she asked puzzled.
"I...opened your satchel to retrieve them."
Harry reached into his satchel and held up Oddlum's Oddities. Hermione laughed. She threw the boy a soft gaze. She then pulled the bed blanket up to her waist and uncovered the plate.
"Will you read it to me?" she asked as she picked up some toast.
Harry smiled.
"Sure," he answered while cracking it open.
"Now, where did we leave off last term?..."
~HP~
When Harry stepped through the portrait hole into the common room, he immediately noticed the girl sitting in the chair by the window. He couldn't help but notice her, in fact.
Luna Lovegood sat with her feet propped on the small table in front of her. She wore a misshapen green sweater which looked like some furry creature was wrapped around her. Her skirt was striped red and white, and she wore no shoes or socks. Topping it off, the girl sported a pair of large sunglasses, indoors. Harry's face scrunched up as it appeared she was reading a wizarding paper...upside down! He walked over to her.
"Hi, Luna."
The blond smiled at him.
"Hello, Harry!" she uttered in that dreamy, high-pitched tone of hers.
"How did things go your first week?"
She put the paper down and turned to face him.
"Fine. But my classes are really strange."
"How is that?" he asked puzzled.
"Professor McNickels in our Transformation class turned a poor mouse into an hourglass. Professor Snark made us brew a potion to turn a person's skin green. And Professor Flickstick twirled some dinner plates in the air. I didn't know we were learning tricks for a wizarding circus," she said very sincerely.
Harry laughed.
"Um...yeah, Luna. Don't worry. It'll make better sense as you go along."
Lovegood's face brightened.
"Oh! Okay!"
The twelve-year-old glanced around the room and noticed only two others who were sitting at the study table. He leaned closer to Luna.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, Harry."
"You share a room with Ginny Weasley, right?"
"Yes."
"Have you noticed any...strange behavior out of her?"
"You mean like talking to an invisible person and writing in her diary all the time?"
Harry's eyes went wide.
"Um...yeah...something like that," he answered. His brow furrowed.
"She does?"
"Oh, yes. She talks to a boy a lot, although I can't see him. But that doesn't mean he isn't there. I see lots of things others can't."
"Right. Did she ever mention this boy's name?"
"Let's see..." the girl said dreamily while twirling a lock of her hair, "...oh yes! His name is Tom."
"Tom."
Luna nodded.
"Okay, thanks."
"No problem, Harry."
Harry was about to leave, but then another idea came to mind.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure!"
"In one of the main drawers in your room, there should be some candles."
"Oh yes," she answered.
"Could you...run up there quickly and tell me how many there are?"
"Sure, Harry."
The girl jumped up from her seat and traipsed across the room, disappearing up the stairwell. Harry hoped the girl would report "six", meaning that the fire was merely some kind of accident. After a minute, Luna popped back into the common room and stepped up to him.
"Four candles."
His face scrunched up.
"Four?"
"Yes. There were six, but I used one the other night to relight the fire in our fireplace. It doesn't work very well. And where the other one went I couldn't tell."
A chill went down Harry's spine. Five candles before last night. The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach suddenly returned. Hermione had been targeted and it seemed beyond question by whom: Ginny Weasley. Something was dreadfully wrong with the first-year. He didn't know her that well, though the Weasley family all seemed good-natured and pleasant even if they were a bit eccentric. But would jealousy over Hermione really drive Ginny to do something that dangerous and risk not just expulsion, but injuring or even...killing someone in the process? He couldn't believe it. Her behavior - talking to an invisible boy named Tom, her crying in the common room - all suggested something really bad was going on with the girl. But what?
Harry smiled weakly at Luna.
"Okay, thanks."
She smiled back. Harry had another idea.
"By the way, could you do one more thing for me?"
"Sure."
"Would you mind telling me if Ginny does anything else strange or out of sorts?"
"Oh. Did she do something wrong?"
Harry froze.
"Um...not necessarily. I'm just...worried about her," he fudged. But Luna didn't notice.
"Sure, Harry!" she said cheerily.
"Great, thanks!" he replied, "I'll let you get back to your reading."
"Okay. By the way, Harry, if you see Neville, please remind him he promised to go hunting for Purple Wurp eggs with me in the pine forest."
Harry snickered.
"I most definitely will do that, Luna," he said with a mischievous grin, looking forward to telling Dean and Seamus.
The girl smiled, picked up her paper, and went back to reading. Harry headed back to his dorm room, shaking his head in amusement. Luna was certainly dotty and some around the House called her crazy. Yet Harry couldn't help but like the first-year. And upon thinking about her words to him, despite some strange notions, there was simple, honest observation in the girl that suggested she was actually quite smart...and perceptive. Whatever the case, Harry was glad she was a fellow Gryffindor.
~HP~
Harry stood before an enormous, ugly gargoyle statue which seemed to gaze upon him threateningly. The boy swallowed hard.
"Lemon...drop," he said hesitantly.
The gargoyle sprang to life and stepped toward Harry, causing his heart to jump with fright. The twelve-year-old leapt back out of instinct fearful he had somehow misheard the headmaster and this fearsome, living statue would dispatch him accordingly. Instead, the gargoyle leapt to one side just as the wall behind it split apart revealing a spiral staircase. He glanced once more at the gargoyle which went perfectly still. Harry then proceeded to the stairs.
Looking up, he frowned at the thought of having to climb the spiral case which seemed to stretch upwards some four floors at least. But to his surprise, when he took the first step, the stairwell began spiraling upwards on its own. Harry smiled and watched the floor recede below him.
The stairwell finally came to a stop before a large oak door with a gold knocker in the shape of a griffin. Harry gave the knocker a couple of raps and the door slowly creaked open of its own accord. He took a deep breath and entered.
When Harry stepped through the doorway, his jaw dropped at the sight before him...