Happiness
Viopathartic
A/N: I can't believe I missed this! I forgot to post chapter five, the real one. No wonder people were getting confuzzled.
Thanks to SkyHighfan for the tip-off!
Chapter 5: Trapped
Harry found a surprise when he got to his table. Actually, three surprises. There stood Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Remus Lupin smiling up at him.
"Uh…"
"A man of many words." mused Moody
"Nice to see you to, Harry." said Lupin.
"Aw, come on, lighten up on the boy, Moody." chimed Tonks who winked at him.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We are your guards." Moody informed.
Harry groaned.
"Whining you are? We're your protection. You should be thankful." growled Moody.
"Now I have no freedom!" Harry took a seat and looked around. "Who else is here?"
Tonks sighed and said, 'Well, we are your only guard. Rufus Scrimgemour wanted at least six Aurors on the watch but convinced him that you're a grown man."
"Thank you!" said Harry glad someone undeestood how he feels.
"Tonks! Lupin and Moody? What are you guys doing here?" asked Hermione, pleasantly surprised as she and her boyfriend found Harry.
"Hermione, you look hot!" exclaimed Tonks as she gave her a hug.
"Thanks." It was okay for a girl to say that to Hermione.
"They're my guards." explained Harry, admitting that he was a bit happy to have people he actually knows and like protecting him.
"So…er…you two are an 'item' now, I hear. Compliments of Molly Weasley, of course." asked Lupin, uncomfortably.
"Yeah, we are." said Ron, vaguely looking at his girlfriend.
"Alright, we better get seated before Professor yells at us." said Harry, shortly. He felt his guards looking at him questionably. They still stood.
"We're going to sit at the Head Table, so people won't get suspicious." said Mad-Eye Moody, his magical eye swerving crazily around the room.
"What kind of guards are you?" asked Harry with mock incredulous.
"We sill have a social life, kid." Tonks told him as she grabbed Lupin's hand and pulled him towards the table where the staff sat. Mad-Eye moody eyed the two and smirked.
"Love birds, sheesh." and then looked at Harry, whispering, "Constant vigilance."
Harry shivered when he felt his ex-professor's breath breathing down his neck. Somehow he knew what he meant and nodded, surreptitiously.
"Even though we known for two years, that guy still freaks me out." whispered Ron, referring to Moody.
Constant vigilance, constant vigilance, constant vigilance, constant vigilance….something's gonna happen, I know it… Constant vigilance, constant vigilance, constant vigilance, constant vigilance
"…And I think that's about all, now enjoy the feast is all can say." finished Professor McGonagall. Harry looked up alarmed. He was too busy worrying on what's going to happen that he didn't even listen to a word she said.
As usual, the Hogwarts food appeared magically in front of every student and everyone dug in, starving from the journey.
"That was such an inspiring speech she gave!" exclaimed Hermione, lifting her knife.
"Uh-huh." agreed Ron, absentmindedly, with a mouthful of turkey.
Harry's hands shook and his heart raced. What's gonna happen? He looked up at Mad-Eye for help, but he was too deep in conservation with Hagrid. His appetite was ruined. Moody was right; something was going to happen. Harry didn't know how to explain it but that something was going to be bad.
"Harry, you haven't eaten a thing, mate!" said Ron, shocked that any human being would refuse food.
"I'm not very hungry." Harry mumbled, looking around the room once more. His hair at the ends raised and he was alert.
"HARRY POTTER WILL DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!"
Harry jumped up and turned his head towards the Slytherin table. His house was looking at him as if he was crazy. They didn't seem to notice anything besides Harry. But he didn't care. Who said that? Harry searched the faces and for some reason stopped on a boy who looked like he was only in fifth year. Nah, that can't be… In yet, the boy was eying him with strange interest. Harry saw him reach for something behind his back. Harry panicked for just a second. But right now, a second can be worth his life.
"HARRY POTTER WILL DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!" the boy screamed hysterically and he lifted his wand. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" A green light burst from his wand
Harry gasped and instantly spread his arms out like he was to fly. I'm going to die, I'm going to die…no, I can't…I'll die when I fight Voldemort. Right now, it's too early.
His arms began to tingle, and he felt heat rise inside his body. Everything was going in slow motion. He saw Tonks dashing at the boy, but she wasn't even close. Lupin lifted his wand, but it would be too late. Screams erupted almost everywhere in the room. The Slytherin boy cackled evilly, thinking Harry Potter would be dead in just a second. Yeah, right.
Suddenly, Harry was lifted into the air as if he was bewitched with a "Wingardium Leviosa" charm. His eyes shined dark, lustrous green and his whole body glowed. With his arms still spread, Harry muttered in Parseltongue. A green light exploded from his fingers and formed a shield around Harry and everyone behind him. The curse casted by the Slytherin hit the green screen and seemed to have been absorbed by the mysterious force field casted by Harry. The shield disintegrated. His eyes slowly tuned his normal color of green and he landed softly back on the ground. Harry closed his eyes and then opened them slowly. He felt dizzy but he realized what had happened and focused back on the boy…the enemy. Now the boy looked frightened. Harry wouldn't let him get away. He jumped over the Ravenclaw table that was between them and pounced on the boy. The boy tried to shoot a stupefy charm on Harry but he dodged with a back flip. Harry did a front flip and landed on the Slytherin. The boy struggled under his weight, but there wasn't going to be any mercy. Harry pointed his wand right at enemy's heart and whispered, "No luck, asshole."
"Harry!" screamed Tonks as she rushed toward him and pulled him off the boy. "Are you alright? Are you okay?" Harry swayed a bit but stood his ground and nodded, slowly. His two other guards came and apprehended the fifth year. The boy looked confused.
"My back hurts." he muttered and looked at Lupin and Moody who gripped his arm. "What are you guys doing?"
"Imperius Curse." Harry said out loud, staring at his attacker. "One of his death eaters must have down it." he added quickly. Harry sighed and suddenly remembered he didn't eat anything yet. He was getting hungry. He turned and approached the Gryffindor table.
"Harry!" Lupin called him back. Oh, yeah. Now I remember.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Harry nodded and let out another sigh. "Can we talk about it tomorrow, right now I'm hungry." Before Lupin could answer, he already continued towards the Gryffindor.
"Harry! Are you okay?" asked Hermione, hysterically.
"Yeah, please could everyone stop asking that!" said Harry, getting annoyed.
"Well, after what you just did, we should be a bit worried!" said Ron, staring wide-eyed at his mate.
"Yeah…um, what exactly happened?" Harry asked vaguely. He didn't really remember anything
"You…you literally flew into the air…expect I don't think you were yourself. Your eyes were glazed over and it was like the time Katie Bell had been cursed back in Hogsmeade except you weren't screaming like you were being tortured. And then you must have created a magical force field which could have stopped the progress of the "Avada Kedavra" Curse being effective. It was a phenomenon, Harry! You should have seen it! Well…I suppose you couldn't since you were the one who did it. And where did you learn how to do back flips and all of those gymnastic, defense moves? And isn't strange…I thought the Killing Curse can't be avoided. Not that I'm not glad you lived! It's just it's a mystery isn't it? But honestly, are you really okay?"
Harry choked on his steak. Well, that's the longest Hermione have spoken…132 words in about-he checked his watch-twenty seconds.
"Um…I did back flips?"
"Yeah and it was just- like whoa!" added Ron, to Harry, sounding like a girl.
"Harry, you honestly don't remember anything that happened?" asked Hermione curiously.
'Some parts I do remember, distinctly, I should say…for example when I tackled that boy…but you guys listen…I think he was put under the Imperius Curse, by I don't know, Voldemort's death eaters.
"His Death eaters? But why would he put a regular boy under the curse?" asked a dumbfounded Ron.
Harry rolled his eyes in a perfect imitation of Hermione when she gets frustrated with her two cute but sometimes not so smart best friends. But this he was impatient.
"Ronald, the reason why Voldemort put an Imperius curse on a random person to kill Harry Potter is because it won't raise suspicions." explained Hermione.
"And then the person can just attack me and possibly kill me like that." interjected Harry, snapping his fingers to emphasize his point.
"But how would You-Know-Who" began Ron until he noticed a lot of the students were eavesdropping on his, Harry, and Hermione's conversation. Harry noticed and called Lupin.
"Can you cast some sort of Memory Charm…I just want this to be over with." said Harry, wearily keeping an eye on the students around him. His former third year professor winked and stuck his hand in his pocket, slyly as if he was reaching for a pocket watch. In another second, all the students went back to eating and chatting with their friends.
"Harry, how the bloody hell did you do that?" asked Ron, incredulously once they headed toward their common room, surrounded by a crowd of eager and staring (at Harry Potter, the boy who lived) first years and other years. Lupin and Tonks was walking ahead of them. Moody however was yelling and scowling at the first years which pretty much scared the shit out of them.
"My room." told Harry, pushing with his elbow through the crowded corridor. Once they said the password (Cigam) the Fat Lady opened the door for them and Harry ran upstairs to his familiar dormitory where he had lived ever year at Hogwarts. About a minute later, Hermione and Ron appeared through the door.
"Okay Harry, explain." commanded Hermione.
"I'm not sure what exactly happened back there. I can't really remember anything except for…" How could I have heard the boy before it even happened?
"For what?" urged Ron, anxiously. Harry shook his head. He couldn't tell them. Not right now at least. Only until he himself knew what had happened.
"You spoke something in Parseltongue." said Hermione, looking at him with strange impression. "That's how you…created that force field that kept the "Avada Kedavra" curse away from us. It seemed as if the curse itself dissolved in the protective shield." She walked over and sat herself down on the edge of his bed, next to him. She exhaled noisily.
"Geez 'Mione (did I just call Hermione 'Mione?), I should be stressed about this, not you." Harry smiled. Hermione smiled back and he continued.
"But…just to make sure, I think I should go speak to Dumbledore-" He stopped and felt tears build up behind his eyes. His two best friends' expressions changed as well.
"I keep on forgetting." Harry whispered quietly at them and forced a smile but he couldn't hold back the waterworks. He turned around quickly and fidgeted with his bed threading.
"Hey, roommates!" yelled a voice behind them. It was Seamus with Dean and Neville behind him.
"Hey Seamus!" greeted a too cheerful Ron. Hermione seemed to become a bit shy and moved closer to Harry.
"Heard 'bout you and Hermione. Congrats, mate!" said Dean, enthusiastically, slapping him five.
"Heard she's HOT!" Seamus snickered, punching Ron playfully on the shoulder.
"I'm still here." announced Hermione who was smiling forcibly. Harry couldn't help but chuckle, amused. Boy, this must be uncomfortable.
"Whoa, rumors are true." exclaimed Dean.
"Much, much better!" added Seamus with thumbs up. Hermione grew pink and shrank into herself.
"Hey, hey! Shows over, Finnegan." growled Harry as he got up and angrily approached the boys.
"Whoa…sorry Harry. Didn't mean to offend." said Seamus, sounding sincere.
"It's getting a bit late…we should all head to bed." Harry turned and smiled at Hermione. She mouthed "thank you" and went up to Ron. She hesitated a bit and then stood on the tip of her toes, planting a quick kiss on his lips. Immediately when her mission was done, she said to Harry, "Meet you in our room." Then she dashed out of the room. Ron grinned mischievously and changed into his pajamas. Apparently he didn't mind that Harry was Head Boy.
Harry turned around and found Neville, looking melancholically at the ground.
"Hey, Neville!" greeted Harry, happily. Neville jumped five feet and shuddered. Then he ran over to his bed post. Harry, who raised his hand for a high-five, blinked and looked at the others for an explanation. They shrugged.
At ten past eight, Harry went downstairs to the Commons for some alone time. No luck. Tonks, Moody, and Lupin were sitting at the study table, playing poker. Poker. That's odd. They were betting on bubble gum and licorice.
"Child's play! Let's bet with real galleons." interrupted Harry. Tonks, who was in her nightgown, smiled and shook her head, "You're not at the right age."
"Age, smage. I'm in."
Lupin conjured an extra chair for him with a lazy flick of the wand. Harry played Poker before. He was force to by Dudley and his gang. He learned the basics and won every round…except all he won was a beating from his cousin and his friends.
Oh, its over, it's over. Harry had a full house. Lupin was staring at his hand in concentration. Moody was scowling which was a giveaway and Tonks was trying her best not to look defeated. They all laid down their cards and waited for Harry. He smiled, wickedly and put his hand down.
"Your father always won too. He had cavities every month from all the candy he ate." said Lupin after they finished.
"Really? What did my mum think of that?" asked Harry. Lupin laughed. "She won once she got into the game and ran down your father. Amazing woman, your mum." Harry grinned, shuffling his card absently. He shuffled faster.
"He's just like his father. Head Boy, who would have expected that?"
"I lost my bubble gum. Can't believe I lost against a sixteen year old."
"If Harry a spitting image of his father…I wonder what Lily was like."
Harry stopped shuffling and yawned while rising from his seat. "I get that a lot. And don't worry was just as suprised when I got Head Boy." he said, "and Moody, I'm seventeen, you should know that." He turned to Tonks and said, "My mom was a smart witch. That's what I hear. Good-night, my guards." Harry turned and walked upstairs.
"Harry…"started Lupin, gaping at the young boy in front of him. Harry cocked his head.
"How'd you do that…?"
"Do what?" Harry was getting impatient, so without answering, he headed upstairs. And there, he found a surprise. The boys were in the showers but Ginny was in his dormitory, sitting in the chair behind the desk next to Neville's bed. They were in deep conversation, but stopped at once when he entered.
"Oh, come on! Why does that always happen to me? Every time I come in, it goes quiet. It's no secret!" Harry joked with mock annoyance. He flung himself down on the bed and looked over at the two. "What's up?" Neville suddenly pulled the covers over his head and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Nev…come on."
"He's gonna kill me! He's gonna kill me, I tell you." said Neville's muffled voice.
"Who's gonna kill you?" asked Harry, confusingly.
"Me and Neville are dating." blurted Ginny. Harry's eyebrows rose and he smiled widely.
"Congrats, you two." And he meant it. Ever since last year, his love for Ginny had faded and all there was left was brotherly love.
Neville's head poked out from under the sheets. "You're not mad?"
"Why would I be?" Harry asked, truly perplexed.
"Er…never mind." Neville wished not to discuss. The other boys walked in, so Ginny left. Harry bet a million dollars that Ron has no clue about his little sister dating someone new. It made him laugh out loud at how his reaction might be when he finds out…if he finds out that is.
"What are you laughing about, mate?" asked Ron, dubiously. "Nothing, Ron. I'm tired. Time for bed." answered a trying-not-to-laugh Harry Potter.