DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all other characters and locations belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 17 – A Game of Sardine
Harry grinned from his place on one of the red draped beds, trying to disguise his laugh as a cough. Ron glared at him unhappily; blue eyes narrowed as both his hands rested atop his head as if to hide the black hair he was now sporting.
"It's really not that bad, Ron." He tried to assure his friend, reaching forward and twitching the Hufflepuff robe the other wizard wore back into place. Chuckling, he stood up and grabbed his bag, tossing Ron's to the former redhead as an after thought.
"Why, Harry?" Ron moaned, hands still clutching his hair. His bag struck him in the chest and slid to the floor, spilling its contents across the stone.
Harry tipped his head as he heard Hermione bellow their names from the Common Room. Kneeling, he shoveled the dropped parchment and texts back into the bag and rose, shoving it against the groaning Ron's chest. "Gryffindor House wore Slytherin colours, Draco, Pansy, and Blaise wore Gryffindor. It just didn't seem sporting for you to have to do something you've already done. Besides, Hufflepuffs not that bad and it could be worse; you could be the one with yellow hair." Ron accepted his bag and gave one last glare at the mirror before trailing after Harry.
Hermione stood impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, one hand resting on the railing and the other holding a stack of brightly colored papers. She rolled her eyes when Ron trudged down the stairs, head hanging in mortification as Dean and Seamus playfully badgered him. "You look adorable, Ron." Hermione said loudly, glaring at the joking pair of sixth years.
"Really?" Ron asked, eyes wide as he peered at the Gryffindor witch for reassurance. Hermione bit her lip and nodded. Puffing his chest out, he swung his bag over his shoulder and marched from the Common Room, leaving Harry snorting with laughter.
Cuffing him lightly in the back of the head, Hermione glared at the raven-haired wizard. "I don't know what you've got on him but anything more then this and next time I blackmail you you'll be going to class in nothing more then your boxers." She hissed, slapping him in the chest with the pile of papers and stalking from the room.
Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced at the startled looks on the faces of Dean and Seamus. "Early morning?" He suggested, nodding at the portal that Hermione had just vanished through. The other wizards nodded quickly in agreement, grabbing their bags and falling into step beside Harry.
"What's on tonight's agenda, Harry?" Dean asked, gesturing at the thick stack of papers the dark haired wizard held. Smirking, Harry handed him a sheet and waited for him to read the announcement. "Gryffindor House invites all Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws out for a game of Sardine. Begins shortly after six o'clock, everyone is to gather in the front entrance hall for a reading of the rules." Dean and Seamus exchanged a look of delight, handing the paper back to Harry who tucked it neatly back into the pile.
"Snape is going to kill you." Seamus predicted as they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry shrugged again and glanced over at the Slytherin table, winking at a smirking Draco. The blond tipped his head in acknowledgment and slapped Blaise on the back, the currently yellowed haired wizard shaking the hand off and burying his face in his arms.
"That's a good one." Dean remarked, sitting down at the table and digging through his bag. He pulled out his divination diary and a quill. "Can I use it?" He questioned Seamus, waving the small book so the other wizard would understand what he meant.
"I would be honoured." Seamus replied, laying a hand over his heart dramatically. He leaned over and watched carefully as Dean wrote the prediction down, murmuring and pointing at a word every now and then. Shaking his head in amusement, Harry looked across the table at Ron who was practically glowing with renewed enthusiasm.
"It's tonight right?" Hermione asked around her book, not bothering to lower the tome to see the face he made in response to her question.
Harry glanced over his shoulder at the Slytherin table before turning back to his plate. "Yah," he mumbled, face reddening in mortification.
"I still have no idea why you agreed to that addition." The bushy haired witch murmured, blowing on a spoonful of steaming oatmeal. "A date with Draco in Hogsmeade after hours. If the teachers find out the pair of you will never see the light of day."
"It's a good thing we're coming with you." Ron grumbled around the spoon that was sticking out of his mouth. Harry raised an eyebrow at his friends statement and glanced at Hermione. Shifting behind her propped up book, she shrugged.
"Hurry up then. We have to distribute these before class begins." Harry replied, poking the flyers with his fork. Hermione swatted the dirty utensil away and sighed at the smudge it left on the paper. "It's the perfect distraction. No one will notice us missing in the chaos of this game."
XxXxX
Harry grinned as he leaned against the railing of the stairs leading down into the entrance hall. Students were already milling around and chatting as they waited for Harry to begin the game. He turned his head slightly as something scuffed the floor behind him. A pair of hands settled themselves gently on his shoulders and he leaned into them without thought.
"It's set?" Draco murmured into his ear, hands tensing on the Gryffindors shoulders. He leaned closer and inhaled deeply, breathing in the sweet smell of strawberries and chocolate. Shooting Ron a killing look when the redhead gagged in disgust.
"Of course." Replied Harry, grinning as Hermione cuffed Ron in the back of the head in warning. "We get the game started and in the madness we flee." He muttered, stretching his arms out and rolling his shoulders.
"Excellent. We'll meet you at the edge of the forest." Draco breathed quietly. With a whispered goodbye, the Slytherin gave him a nip on the ear before vanishing down the hall behind him. Running his fingers through his hair, Harry began to descend the stairs to where it seemed most of the schools population had gathered.
"Tonight's game is called Sardine." He announced with a grin. Chuckling, he waved down the cheers and the questions. Holding his hands up as House cheers were chanted and challenges bandied about in reckless disregard for House respect, he waited for silence. "It's a lot like hide and seek, only better. Two people go and hide together somewhere in the castle, everyone else has to first find them then hide with them. We suggest you travel in pairs or trios while searching for the people who are hiding."
"No magic is to be used and you can't hide in the Houses. If you want to hide in a bathroom, feel free too. Just remember that it will be very hard to fit sixty some students in a single stall." Hermione instructed, she glanced at Harry who nodded in agreement. "That's it. Now who wants to go and hide first?"
Harry carefully scanned the crowd, eyes resting on each individual who was waving their hand above their head wildly. Conferring quietly with Hermione, he nodded in agreement and glanced at the group of students waiting with bated breath. "Theodore Nott and Susan Bones." He stated, seeing the pair widen their eyes and glance through the group at each other. "You have twenty minutes to hide, everyone else is to return to their Common Rooms until that time period is up."
"That went well." Ron murmured as students fled in all directions. Susan and Theodore stood silently next to each other in the middle of the entrance hall, glaring up at the three Gryffindors. Harry gave them a small smile before leading the way back to Gryffindor Tower. Moving quickly, he waved Hermione and Ron into the sixth year boys dorm before wedging the door closed. When he turned around Ron held his broom and Hermione his Invisibility Cloak, both had doubtful looks on their faces.
"Are you sure this is going to work, Harry?" Hermione wondered out loud, moving to open the window. Peering down she shuddered before raising an eyebrow at the boys laughter. Harry gestured for Ron to mount the broom and waited as the redhead offered his hand to Hermione to help her on. He winced when the broom, tilted sharply sending Hermione scrambling off the wooden shaft. Ron's face was red with restrained laughter as he dropped his head onto the hands he had holding the broom steady.
"We're both good fliers, Hermione. Nothing to worry about." Harry reassured, assisting her back onto the broom. Harry had the cloak over his head and one leg over the broom when the door came flying open, desk chair skittering across the floor.
Dean stood in the doorway, a hand resting on the knob and one eyebrow raised. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask." He said, holding his hands out as he backed slowly from the room, closing the door as an after thought. Harry settled himself on the broom and draped the cloak over them.
"We're good?" Ron asked, pointing the broom in the direction of the window and taking off.
"We're good." Harry answered, legs locked around brooms length. He planted his hands on Hermione's hips and shook his head as he felt her shaking in fear. "Let's just get this over with." He murmured, grinning as they floated out the window and swept out over the Forbidden Forest.
XxXxX
Professor Snape stalked down one of the upper halls, several dozen students following in his wake. Glaring over his shoulder, he shook his head in disgust when one of the Hufflepuffs whimpered and wormed his way to the back of the pack, leaving a pair of Slytherins to take the brunt of his gaze. He'd rousted the entire group from a broom closet on the second floor. Twenty students all sitting practically on top of each other in the little space quietly. Pondering the sanity of the bunch, he glanced out one of the windows and froze. Stumbling to a stop, he narrowed his eyes and leaned against the sill, ignoring the whispered apology as one of his house members bumped into him.
Standing just outside the cover of the Forbidden Forest was a massive stag. It's coat was black as soot and the crown it carried was sprawling and well tined. The animal lowered it's head and nibbled on the grass at its feet. Severus sucked a breath in when the bushes to the animals fore shook. With a quick pounce, a wolf with a red coat dragged itself from the brush. The animal danced nimbly around the stag, tongue hanging out of its jaw as it barked happily. A smaller form crept from the shadows slowly, puffy tail held straight out. The small vixen greeted the stag with a nip on the hock, pacing a few feet off before lying in the grass.
"Professor Snape!"
His gaze jerked around and he raised an eyebrow as Professor McGonagall swept towards him, a gaggle of students following behind her like lost ducklings. "Professor McGongall." He greeted, turning his gaze back to the strange forest scene. His eyes widened when a blur of white slammed into the red wolf, fingers tightening on the stone of the sill as he pressed his face closer to the glass. He watched in shock as the two wolves rolled around in the grass under the stags nose, yapping and nipping in play. A second white form dropped from the tree above the stag, landing neatly on the dark animals back. Rather then scream in fear and bolt, the dark animal turned its head and peered up at the cat.
"The students seem to be quite active tonight." Minerva murmured, drawing to a halt and eyeing the group fidgeting behind the other professor. She smiled as several Gryffindors waved at her and rolled their eyes as they gestured at Snape.
"Indeed." Snape replied absently, black eyes still fastened on the tableau playing out before him. He shook his head as the tiger slid off the stags back and leapt onto the tumbling wolves, placing a quick bite before vanishing into the forest. In a strange parade they trailed after him, two wolves, a vixen, and a stag. "I can only wonder who began this atrocity."
"Oh, its all in fun Severus." Minerva scolded, shaking a finger at him as the students all nodded and shuffled nervously. The pounding of feet had both professor's whirling about and pointing their wands at the approaching figure.
Drawing to a halt before them, Filch placed his hands on his knees and panted heavily. "Hogsmeade's been attacked by Death Eaters. All students are to be brought to the Great Hall." He puffed, standing slowly and glaring at the students snickering at him from behind the professors. "Dumbledore's orders."
"Oh dear." Minerva whispered, reaching around and grabbing one of the students who was trying to inch away without being noticed. "I'll take these students to the Great Hall, Severus. You should continue to look for any other wanderers."
Nodding in agreement, he looked out the window once more before giving several straggling students a push onwards. Shaking his head, he started the hunt for the wayward students.
XxXxX
Odin trailed along after Beau, his tail twitching back and forth as he listened to the wolves scrambling around in the brush around them. He snorted in surprise when Frost came whipping through some vines and darted under his nose, Ember close on his heels. The white tiger growled loudly in warning, tail flicking as he led the way towards the brightly lit village ahead of the group. Around them the forest was strangely quiet. No night birds called shrilly from the treetops, no predators bayed their hunger at the moon. Halting, Odin swung his head back and forth, nose sifting through the various forest smells in search of something that seemed always just beyond his grasp.
"Something is wrong. The night is too still." He murmured, expressing his concerns to the rest of his herd. He sighed and shook his antlered when the pair of wolves came dashing out of the bushes again, Frost's jaws reaching for Ember's back leg.
Beau turned his head and ran his tongue over his nose, head bobbing agreement. "I feel it." He whispered, tail lashing the air as he glanced back at the vixen and mink following slowly behind the emerald eyed stag. Growling, he turned and continued his slow prowl, senses searching for danger. The small group paused at the edge of Hogsmeade, eyes and ears searching the village carefully.
It was Odin who took the first step forward, black coat concealing him in the shadows of a shop. He threw his head up, ears flattening against his skull at the appearance of a figure before him. Standing perfectly still, he eyed the robed figure. Death Eater. The word rolled through his mind hard and fast, bringing with it the urge to attack. To protect his family without any thoughts to his own safety. Upon seeing him, the figure jerked back and raised a hand crafted of silver. Clutched within the metal fingers was a piece of wood which was shakily leveled at the stags head.
"Calm down Wormtail. It's just a deer." A cool voice hissed, a second cloaked figure reaching out to grab the shaking wizard by the back of his shirt. Acting the inquisitive beast, he stretched out his neck and sniffed the wand, allowing his tongue to flick out and taste the wood.
"Of course my lord. What was I thinking?" Wormtail muttered, moving to tuck the wand away.
"Hurry up. We don't have much time left." Voldemort grumbled, snake like eyes locked on the silent stag. Flicking his tail, Odin shuffled in place before dropping his head and nibbling the heads off several flowers growing in the shops small garden. The sudden narrowing of those eyes had Odin raising his head, nostrils flaring and a single hoof scuffing the dirt in warning. His antlers raked the wall of the shop, a thin line of paint pealing away beneath the sharp point.
"Animagus." Voldemort hissed loudly, his words bringing several Death Eaters to his side almost immediately. Shifting proudly, Odin arched his neck and rolled his eyes. Bellowing, he stomped one hoof and shook his crown in warning.
XxXxX
Hogwarts glowed brightly as hundreds of candles lit the Great Hall. Students were still reluctantly being dragged into the room and pointed in the direction of their house. A large board above the doors flicked and kept tally, adding to itself as three more students were escorted into the large room by Professor Snape. Shaking his head in disgust, Severus pointed to the far corner where the Ravenclaws had slowly been gathering. Making his way towards the Head Table, he nodded at Minerva before glancing at Dumbledore.
"I can't find anymore." He reported, narrowing his eyes when several rambunctious students began yelling at each other. Turning to descend the dais, he paused when a hand caught his arm and a finger pointed at the glowing board. The flickering numbers were wrong.
"Six students are missing." Albus murmured quietly, his gaze traveling around the crowded hall. He rubbed his forehead as the Professors began to settle the students, passing out pillows and sleeping bags.
"Potter." Snape hissed, fingers drumming the wood of the table as he began to search for the trio.
Minerva nodded solemnly, her fingers clenched in the folds of her cloak as she slowly directed his attention to the corner occupied by the Slytherin house. "I'm afraid Mister Malfoy is missing as well."
Swearing under his breath, his mind went back to the strange animals who had been romping together on the lawn beside the forest. The black stag. The red wolf. The overly fluffy brown vixen. The white tiger, and the white wolf. "They're in the forest." He muttered, eyes closed tightly in anger. The behaviour of the two groups over the last few weeks had definitely been off. Hell, even he had caught Draco and Harry in several awkward positions which they had waved off easily.
"Surely you're jesting, Severus." Minerva whispered in shock, face paling as she looked back and forth between the Headmaster and the Potions Professor.
Shaking his head slowly, he pulled out a chair and sat down in it gracelessly, hands locking themselves around the wooden arms. "Remember the night when you received several reports of a tiger in the school? A wolf as well? Put two and two together and who do you get?" He questioned, smirking as Minerva flopped down into a chair.
"Oh dear."
A/N: Surprise! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review. Hope everyone had an exciting Halloween.
NinjaoftheDarkness - lol, I was worried too. I didn't think anyone was reading my updates.
MAnny2003 - lol, and the addition appears.
websurffer - Adapted the idea slightly, figured it was after all only fair considering what they'd already done.
karenelaine - It was one of the send-them-out-into-the-woods-and-let-them-learn-a-valuable-lesson type of things. Fear is sometimes the best method to teach, not that I'm suggesting you use it.
Iredesent - lol, Pirate Draco is adorable isn't he?
Sapphire-wolf1 - Glad you're enjoying it.
LandUnderWave - I know it was kind of confusing cause I spent 10 minutes sorting through the ones I'd already read.