The title for chapter fifteen is from…Cats. Congrats to Easterly Winds, Green Eyes, Vicster200, and CardboardCreative.
I didn't like this chapter too much, and I didn't want to wait for Mara to beta before posting, since she's sick and you'll have to wait for Oz-knows-how-long.
Ah well. It'll have to do. I wrote almost the whole chapter in a car ride coming back from Vancouver. That's my excuse.
And…we've passed the halfway mark. Including this chapter, there are fifteen chapters to go.
For lack of anything better to say…WOOT! Sorry, random, I know. I should be working on my history essay, not fanfiction.
There's been some sort of problem with it won't let me upload. So...I exported a chaper and copied/pasted chapter 16 into that chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.
Chapter 16: The Winner Takes It All
"Okay," Elphaba clarified. "So…we have proof that a secret weapon does actually exist."
"Yes," Dumbledore said patiently. "McNair confirmed that in the interrogation. However, he did not say what the weapon actually was."
"So, we're basically back where we began," Elphaba sighed. "Wonderful." She paused. She, Dumbledore, Harry, and Snape had just spent the last ten minutes discussing the information that they had been able to procure from McNair, most of which was not useful at all. "Harry, have you had any luck in reading the Grimmerie?" she asked as the thought came to her.
"Sometimes," Harry replied uncertainly. "I can read the 'words' on some days, but on others, the scribbles don't look like anything that is even remotely legible."
"Figures," Snape said. "Potter can't even read, Fae."
"Snape!" Elphaba snapped. "On the days that you can't read it, are you usually stressed or unable to concentrate for some reason?" Elphaba looked back at Harry.
Harry frowned in concentration, trying to remember back. "I…think so," he said hesitantly. "Probably. Usually, after I've received bad new about Death Eater activity, then I can't read the Grimmerie at all."
"That's it, then." Elphaba reverted back into teacher mode. "You need intense concentration to read the spells. If your mind wanders for even a moment, you won't be able to discern the words."
"Clear my mind, concentrate…this sounds like Occlumentary all over again," Harry said. "At least you're not Snape, though." He grinned. Snape scowled and looked like he was itching to curse Harry.
"Sure," Elphaba agreed, letting the Snape comment slide. "This could be like Occlumentary in a way- except that you have to open your mind instead of close it."
"Speaking about Occlumentary," Dumbledore interrupted, "have you received any visions from Voldemort, Harry?"
"Not really," Harry answered. "Should I be? I'm Occluding my mind every night- Voldemort shouldn't be able to invade my mind at all."
"Well, it's just that-" Dumbledore paused. "Never mind. It's not fair for me to ask that of you."
"What?" Harry asked, curious. "What do you want me to do?"
"It's just that…with Severus out of the Inner Circle…" Elphaba had never seen Dumbledore as nervous as he was now. "…we need information about the Death Eaters, information that we don't have a way to get."
"Oh," Harry sighed. "I see. You want me to let Voldemort invade my mind, so that we can find out his plans."
"I'm sorry Harry," Dumbledore finally said after a long silence. "Forget I ever mentioned it."
"No," Harry interrupted. "I'll do it. Like you said, there's no other way."
"Are you crazy, Dumbledore?" Snape snapped. "Potter can't take any visions- with the amount of Dark energy surrounding the Dark Lord, it would drive him crazy within a week."
"Oh, so you do care for me?" Harry teased.
"Of course not," Snape fired at his ex-student. "I merely wish to keep you alive for the Final Battle."
"Severus!" Dumbledore admonished. "That was uncalled for. And Harry, as I said, you don't have to do it."
"No," Harry said stubbornly. "I will. Once a week?"
"Or even twice a week," Dumbledore replied. "You'll need to be supervised, though, incase the pain in your scar gets too bad. Perhaps Poppy-"
Before Harry could object to being under the care of the overbearing Hogwarts nurse (as Elphaba knew would be the case), the door of the office opened with a loud bang and Fiyero came racing in, out of breath.
"Dumbledore!" he gasped, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. "Dementors! Outside! By the lake!"
"What?" Elphaba demanded, standing up. "How many? How did they get onto the grounds?"
"I don't know. And there are a fair few. Twenty, at least. But Elphaba…Glinda's outside. I saw her-" Elphaba blanched. Not even waiting for Fiyero to finish his sentence, she bolted out the door and down the hallways, hoping that she wouldn't be too late.
The words 'Dementors' and 'Glinda' echoed over and over in her head, and her heart pounded wildly inside her chest. Finally, she reached the front doors of Hogwarts. She dashed out onto the grounds, holding her wand out in front of her. She could feel the beginnings of the cold that accompanied the Dementors' arrival.
As she reached the lake, Elphaba heard Glinda's shriek. "Hold on!" she gasped, looking for where Glinda might be. Seeing a huddled lump by the edge of the lake, Elphaba took off towards it. Without warning, a Dementor swooped in between her and Glinda.
"Expecto Patronum!" Elphaba yelled, sending a silver panther towards the offending dark and cloaked figure. The Dementor glided away and Elphaba breathed a sigh of relief. She ran toward the shivering figure of her girlfriend and knelt down besides her. Suddenly, she herself was assaulted by her own memories as the Dementor arrived back with reinforcements.
Elphaba gritted her teeth, trying her best to push these unwelcome memories out. Pulling out her wand, she roared, "Expecto Patronum!" Once again, the panther chased the Dementors away, this time for good.
"Glinda," Elphaba breathed, noting how pale Glinda looked. She took off her cloak and covered the still form of the good witch. "Glinda, are you alright?"
"So cold," Glinda whimpered, not quite recovered from the effects of the dementors.
"I know, I know," Elphaba tried to warm Glinda up a bit by drawing the good witch closer to herself. "We should get you to Madame Pomphrey. Chocolate really helps the after-effects of dementors. Can you stand?" Taking Glinda's silence as a 'no', Elphaba bent down and scooped the blonde into her arms.
Glinda whimpered and buried her face in Elphaba's arms. She was slightly aware that she was acting terribly childish, but at this point, she didn't really care. She let Elphaba's familiar scent permeate her mind, soothing and reassuring her. She desperately needed the assurance that Elphaba wasn't dead, that she was right there next to her.
Elphaba looked down at the still form of Glinda as she carried her through the echoing halls of Hogwarts. She wondered what memories the Dementors had evoked in Glinda to make her react this severely. Elphaba hugged Glinda closer to her, hoping to transfer some form of comfort to the other her.
Finally, the green witch arrived at the Hospital Wing. "Madame Pomphrey!" she called urgently, setting Glinda on a vacant bed. Glinda immediately curled into a ball. She felt clammy and slightly dizzy, as if she had a fever. "Madame Pomphrey!" Elphaba yelled again.
"Yes, yes, Thropp," the nurse replied from inside her office. "I'm coming. What did you do now?"
"Dementors!" Elphaba snapped. "There were dementors outside. And Glinda was severely affected."
"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Pomphrey asked, bustling out of her office, a piece of chocolate in her hand. Elphaba slipped a hand under Glinda's back and eased her up.
"Here, Glin," she said. "Eat this. It'll help. Trust me." Glinda frowned, but took the offered chocolate. Immediately, she felt the effects of the dementors give way to the relaxing warmth that the chocolate brought.
"Thanks," Glinda whispered.
"Now, Thropp, where were you during all this?" Pomphrey demanded, breaking off another piece from the chocolate bar.
"Well, I-" Elphaba began.
"Fighting the dementors, perhaps?" Pomphrey hinted. "Sit down. Here." She held out another piece of chocolate. "And why were there dementors on school grounds, anyhow?"
"I'm fine," Elphaba insisted. However, she took the nurse's advice and pulled up a chair next to Glinda. "And I don't know why there were dementors. But I intend to find out."
"Miss Upland," Pomphrey turned to Glinda. "Do you think you'll need to stay here tonight? In my professional opinion, it would be best if you did, seeing that this was your first time encountering dementors- I would like to observe you to make sure that they didn't have any lasting effects on you."
"I-I think I'll be fine," Glinda said hesitantly.
"You're sure, Glinda?" Elphaba pressed.
"Yes," Glinda replied steadily.
Madame Pomphrey began to say something, but Elphaba beat her to it. "Look, Madame Pomphrey," she bargained, "if Glinda begins to feel bad, we'll come right back."
"We'll?" the nurse asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Well…you don't expect me to leave Glinda alone now, do you?" Elphaba quickly covered.
"Good point," Pomphrey agreed. "Still, I'd like you both to stay here for the rest of the afternoon."
"Alright," Elphaba sighed, knowing that she was going to get a lot more trouble if she disagreed. With this assurance from the green woman, Pomphrey shot her a warning glance before turning to leave.
"I'm sorry, Elphaba," Glinda finally whispered.
"Sorry?" Elphaba looked at her girlfriend and furrowed her brow in confusion. "Sorry for what?"
"For dragging you into this," Glinda explained. "For making you face those dementors. For not being strong enough to fight them."
"What?" Elphaba asked, truly perplexed now. "Glinda, dementors hardly effect me anymore. But…what memories did they stir up for you? It's just that, well, I've never seen anyone become so affected by those creatures before. Except for Harry, of course. When she noticed Glinda's hesitation, Elphaba quickly added, "If you don't want to, you don't have to tell me, of course."
Glinda bit her lip, unsure of whether she wanted to burden Elphaba with her worst memories. To stall for time, she asked Elphaba, "Do you know what Harry's worst memory is?"
"Yes," Elphaba admitted. "It's the night when his parents were killed by Voldemort. He sees his mother begging Voldemort to spare him."
"That explains it, then," Glinda sighed.
"What explains what?" Elphaba questioned.
"Well, one of my memories is-is your-" Glinda broke off, unable to continue her thought.
Elphaba immediately understood. "Oh Glinda." Elphaba tried to comfort the distraught blonde. "I should apologize, then. For not letting you know about the true nature of my 'death.'"
"It felt so real," Glinda didn't meet Elphaba's gaze. "I was back there in Kiamo Ko all over again. I could hear your scream so clearly."
"Glinda, look at me," Elphaba commanded. When Glinda continued to stare at her blankets, Elphaba put a hand under Glinda's chin and gently pushed her face up. "Glinda, that's what dementors do. They make you relieve your memories. You are not weak. Dementors feed off your happy thoughts, leaving you with nothing but your worst memories."
"Elphaba, w-what do you see when the dementors are near?" Glinda asked.
Elphaba thought for a moment. "Well, it's generally a mishmash of several different events, but…the most prominent one, I suppose, is when I first realized that the Wizard was a fraud. I remember that I had had such high hopes for a life working with the Wizard and finally being accepted by Oz, and then, to have those hopes ripped out from under me…Well, anyway, enough about me. You were the one that was affected today."
There was another silence. Without realizing it, both witches leaned into each other for a kiss. However, just before their lips met, the door slammed behind them. Elphaba and Glinda separated, but not quickly enough.
"What was that?" Harry asked, a smirk on his face.
"What was…what?" Elphaba asked innocently.
"You know perfectly well what I was talking about," Harry continued to smirk.
"Oh, that," Glinda said with a nervous laugh. "Well, you see, um…Elphie had…had something in her eye."
Harry laughed. "Of course." He grinned. "Hey Fae, could I talk to you for a few minutes?"
"Okay," Elphaba agreed, standing up and following Harry out of the Hospital Wing.
"You're alright, right?" Harry said as soon as the door closed.
Elphaba sighed. "Honestly why does everyone insist on asking me that all the time?"
"Because you sure don't stop to ask yourself that." Harry was quick to offer an explanation. "But seriously. Are you?"
"Yeah," Elphaba reassured the Boy-Who-Lived. "Glinda was the only one affected by those dementors. Speaking of dementors, why were they on school grounds?"
"Voldemort's getting bolder, I suppose," Harry answered. "That's the best answer I can give you now, anyway."
"Oh, that's just the news I wanted to hear," Elphaba said sarcastically, turning to go back into the Hospital Wing.
"Hold it, Fae." Harry put a hand on Elphaba's shoulder, stopping her. "Don't think you're getting off so easily. What's the deal with you and Glinda?"
"Harry, I have no idea what you're talking about," Elphaba started.
"Sure you don't." Harry rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I don't mind if you two are in a relationship."
"You don't?" Elphaba asked before clapping a hand over her mouth.
"So…you are in a relationship?" Harry said in triumph. Elphaba didn't say anything, but the look on her face gave it all away. "Ha!" Harry grinned. "I knew it! It was only too obvious at that Christmas party, when Glinda kissed you. You looked like you were enjoying yourself a bit too much."
"I…what?" Elphaba asked. "I was not. Incase you have short term memory loss, Harry, I was the one that pulled away."
"Yes, but you were also the one that let the kiss go on for about ten seconds before pulling away," Harry laughed.
"I was…in shock," Elphaba snapped. "Do you normally have girls come and kiss you on the mouth all the time? But…Harry, don't tell anyone, alright? I'm scared that Voldemort is going to somehow attempt to use Glinda to capture me if he hears about this."
"Don't worry," Harry reassured her. "Your secret is safe with me. Although…Hermione owes me five galleons!"
Then, he took off, with Elphaba right behind him. "Harry James Potter! Don't you dare!"
Coming up: The Dueling Club and another report about our favorite green witch for our favorite Dark Lord.
-Wolfie