Chapter 2 ~ The Flora Attacks and Threats of Blood

-separater-

I stared blankly out the window as clouds seemed to pass by us.

"How much longer?" I asked the red head next to me.

"Shouldn't be more than about two hours." The Weasel said.

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

When I awoke it was to faint rays of light dancing accross my eyelids. Blinking I snapped open my eyes. Trees and mountains were nearly at eye level now.

"Where are we Ron?"

"I flew us down to see if I could find the train. I think I might have gotten us lost."

"Great," I said as I shook my head. The Weasel had effectively gotten us lost. Perfect.

As I looked outside I could see a hill near us. I opened the window slightly and then all the way.

"Is the invisibility still on?"

"I … I forgot about that …" the red head said nervously as he tapped the invisibility gear. A loud clank could be heard. In a flash the car was fully visible.

"That's just great," I muttered. Now the muggles would see us. This was bad enough already.

A few minutes later I could see the Hogwarts Express below us. Ron maneuvered us onto the train tracks.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked.

"I am making sure we don't get lost." The Weasley quipped.

"You do realize we could be seen.? Or …"

Before I could finish my sentence we heard a loud whistle.

"The … train … Bloody Hell!" Ron said as he grasped the wheel tightly. He forced the Anglea into the air and behind a cloud. Below the train passed along the tracks where we had just been.

"Never," I said as I adjusted my seat belt,

"do that again."

The rest of the way was silent for the most part. The Weasel kept whimpering and making sniffling noises. Probably worried about what his parents will do to him. I took out a book and began to read. I found a few charms that could change the appearance of an object. The book looked like a text on unicorns but was really a tome on dark curses.

-separater-

I tapped Ron's shoulder to get his attention. I could see the castle now in the distance.

"Yeah, what?"

"We need to go down soon."

"Really? … oh … I was just …" he said. He had been playing with his wand. The dashboard had small stars on it. Weirdo.

In about ten minutes he began to lower the car. Things were looking good until a shape lumbered in front of us. Had it been there before? It was too late to avoid it. We were going to crash right into it!

With a sickening crack something hit us. It was getting dark but I could see it had been a branch. A branch? Since when do trees attack? Apparently this one did.

The branches started attacking as I poked Ron.

"Get us out of here." I instructed.

"I can't. The breaks aren't working." He said fearfully. The tree kept slamming against the car. We weren't going to last much longer.

With a jerk I was slammed into the window to my right. I closed my eyes to try and shield from the glass that shattered around me. I avoided most of it but two pieces flew into my face and stuck there. With a crunch the windshield was shattered. The glass flew everywhere, showering both of us in the glittering shards. Ron screamed, I cursed under my breath. Thanks a lot Weasel.

I took out my wand and cast Protego around us. I made sure that the shield wasn't visible. Keeping spells from being seen by the naked eye was difficult, but necessary for me. The black shields I created for example, would be considered dark right away. I could cast a normal Protego but it was much harder. At least it would help, hopefully.

The tree thrashed about trying to hit us. When this failed it stopped. The car crashed to the ground, with nothing to keep it in the air. Ron's wand snapped as we were thrust forward by the momentum of the vehicle.

"My wand …" the red head lamented. It had been snapped nearly in half, with a small bit of material keeping both halves together. He would definitely need to get a new one. Even repaired, that wand would never work properly again.

As the car hit the ground a strange sound was heard. The doors were opened and we were thrown out of the car. Now cars can operate themselves?

"The car!" Ron cried as the Anglea sped off into the Forbidden Forest. I placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from following.

"It's no use. The car has a mind of its own now." I told him. He fumed for a moment before calming down.

"Harry your arm is bleeding."

I looked down to survey the damage. Several shards of glass were stuck in my right arm. There was quite a lot of blood. Even with Madam Pomphrey's help I would probably still have a scar. Another reason for people to stare at me. Wonderful. I really didn't need this much attention. Being possibly considered dark would be enough. I couldn't keep up the 'innocent' façade for much longer.

Ron tugged on my sleeve and pointed to the castle.

"We have to get inside Mate,"

"I know that. Oh, and I'm not your mate Weasel." I said as I started off toward the darkening castle grounds. Huffing the Weasel followed me. We were going to be in trouble and I wouldn't be able to explain why. At least this would lose Gryffindor some house points. They were way too 'proud' of their perfect little 'lions den.'

-separater-

As we made our way to the castle doors I could feel a glare on me. Professor Severus Snape stood at the top of the steps.

"You two are to report to my office at once." He hissed. Beside me Ron visibly flinched and I shrugged. This would be worse for the Weasel anyway. After all he was afraid of the potions professor. I on the other hand, found him intuitive but annoying at times.

We followed the irate potions master to his office. He shoved us in and then slammed his door. He placed a few locking and warding charms on it before turning to us.

"Do you realize what you've done?" he asked. Shaking Ron spoke up,

"We got to school didn't we professor."

"Yes … you were seen by no less than eleven muggles. Do you realize how grave this situation is Mr. Weasley? You could have exposed the wizarding world to the muggles!" Snape said angrily.

Ron shook harder and stepped back from the irritated man.

"Would either of you care to tell me why you weren't on the train?" Snape asked.

"We couldn't get through the barrier." I said softly but still loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Couldn't get through the barrier? Am I supposed to believe that Mr. Potter?"

"If I was lying wouldn't you be able to tell?" I asked with a smirk. Sighing Snape gestured for me to sit down.

"I am sure this may take a while to explain." He said as he sunk into a chair himself.

"When I tried to go through the pillar between platforms nine and ten something stopped me. The Weasel just so happened to be next to me. He decided it would be a great idea to take his parents' flying car and dragged me along with him. I didn't have any other ideas so I went with it."

That are legal I added silently.

"You followed along? Mr. Potter you are surely smarter than that."

"What else could I have done? How was I supposed to contact a teacher or the headmaster?"

"Alright, continue." Snape said with a wave of his hand. I let my fringe fall over my eyes to hide the sparkle of mischief that I am sure was swirling in the green depths. A little exaggeration wouldn't hurt anybody right?

"He drove the car until he believed we were lost. He flew us onto the train tracks below to try and figure out where the train was. Soon we found out." I said with a wicked grin in Ron's direction. The red head blushed but didn't say anything to defend himself.

"he flipped out and flew us into the air. Then, we made it to the castle. Due to his horrible driving we ran into a tree that attacked us." I finished.

"Attacked you? Was this tree near Hagrid's hut?"

"yes," I said nodding.

"That was the Whomping Willow. Mr. Weasley do yu know how old that tree is?" Snape asked.

"No sir,"

"That tree has been on the grounds since before you were born." The professor said. His voice was calm but I noticed barely concealed anger. We were going to get a hefty punishment for this. I smirked as Ron's ears went pink and he turned his face away from Snape. His face darkened even more as he spared a glance at me.

"You two shall have detention on Halloween. I shall speak with the Headmaster to discuss which form of punishment will suffice. You are dismissed." He said. I got up and walked to the doorway. I pulled open the door and glared at Ron.

"Mr. Weasley I suggest you get out of this office before I decide to give you another detention." The greasy haired man said. The red head squeaked and ran out the open door.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor," Snape said after him.

"Why are you still here Mr. Potter?"

"I wanted to ask you something Professor."

"Yes?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it 'normal' for cars to throw out their passengers and drive off by themselves?"

"No, Mr. Potter. Why?" the man said. I sat down again and turned my gaze on Snape.

"I was just wondering sir,"

"Here," he said handing me a newspaper.

"I would have shown Mr. Weasley but I don't have confidence in his intelligence."

Chuckling I unfolded the paper and gaped.

'Flying Car? What will Wizarding Britain Do Now?'

I scanned the article and broke into laughter.

"This is no laughing matter Mr. Potter."

I closed my eyes and got myself under control.

"I know sir, the writer amuses me." I said.

"It is rather fabricated isn't it?" Snape said with a smirk. I gave him a smirk of my own and got up.

"I have dinner to get to. I am going to be late for sure though." I said as I placed a hand on the door handle.

"Stay here Mr. Potter. How did you get glass in your arm and face?"

"The windows of the car shattered." I said simply. He grasped my good arm and ushered me to another room. He indicated for me to sit and then went into another room. I sighed and closed my eyes. I had almost forgotten about the blood. Now, it made me want to lick myself. What?

Snape came back a few minutes later with items in his arms. I could see bandages, ointments, and a few vials that contained a green liquid.

"Hold still," he said as he started pulling the glass from my arm. I winced and then stared at the grey stone wall across the room. After the glass had been removed blood flowed steadily from the gash. It was about eight inches long and moderately deep. I hissed through my teeth as he placed a white cloth over the wound.

"I am trying to stop the blood from flowing so fast. Relax, I am not going to hurt you any more than you already are." Snape said as he applied pressure to the wound.

Five minutes later the cloth was removed. The bleeding had slowed to a tricle by now. He opened a jar with an orange paste in it and dipped a finger inside. He rubbed the substance along the cut andI fought back a scream. The substance –whatever it was—burned like hell.

"What is this?" I asked. He smirked and replied,

"I am not going to tell yu that. It is something you need to figure out on your own. Only know that it will help heal this. You are to come to me if you get injured like this again."

"The nurse-"

"You heard what I said Mr. potter. You will understand in time." The man said. I nodded and stared down at the cut.

The orange paste completely covered it. Snape unrolled some bandages and dressed the wound. When he was finished he handed me one of the vials.

"Make sure you take half of this potion tonight. Take the rest tomorrow night. Let no one know you have it."

"Sir-"

"I know what I'm doing Mr. Potter. If you haven't figured it out by the end of the year I may tell you next year." He said. I nodded and left his rooms.

-separater-

Slipping the potion into my pocket I made my way toward the Great Hall. I stopped in a secluded alcove and transfigured my muggle clothing into black dragon hide boots, black jeans, and a black muscle shirt. I conjured a black jacket made out of a thin material to hide the injury. Hopefully this would draw less attention to my injury and more to the fact I was late for dinner.

As I entered the hall Dumbledore was just about to announce the beginning of the meal. Whispers followed me to the Slytherin table. Once the student body caught sight of my clothing the rumors started. What they were didn't matter to me. They could stick their wands up their asses for all I cared. They could certainly keep their bleedin opinions to themselves.

I glared at anyone who tried to ask me why I was late. This did not effect Draco however. How had I become friends with him again? Right. After the incident with Neville the year before he had offered to teach me how to fly. My control was lacking and I had trouble keeping a certain distance off the ground at times.

After a few lessons I was just as good as he was. The fact that I had made the team angered him at first, but he thought I deserved it. Even he couldn't deny that I was good at being a Seeker. We got closer after that and have been pretty inseperable since.

Damn, I really wasn't looking forward to explaining what had happened.

"So, Harry, why were you late?" asked the blonde.

"I'll tell you later Draco. I really don't feel like giving these idiots any more ideas right now." I replied. Chuckling he patted my arm.

"I am sure that they will figure something out either way." He said. I hissed and pulled my arm back. He gave me a quizzical look.

"I was injured on the way to Hogwarts," I said in a low voice.

"Can I see?" Draco asked, interested.

"Not now," I said. I glared around the room and continued,

"I made it here with the Weasel. Do you think I want to talk about it?"

"Not really, tell me later then." He said.

Dinner was quiet after that. I put some food on my plate and sighed. I began to eat. When I came to the bread and potatos I had to fight not to throw up. The meat tasted fine. What was wrong with me? I glanced at Snape to see him smirking at me descretely. Infuriating man, Snape.

The headmaster stood up half an hour later and clapped his hands. The whispers about me hadn't ceased since I arrived. He cast a voice amplifying charm and said,

"Silence … Now I would like you all to have a nice school year. Please Welcome our newest addition to the staff the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year: Gilderoy Lockheart."

The blonde man from Flourish and Blotts stood up from the staff table. He grinned at everyone and then stared at me.

"I see our very own 'boy who lived' has decided to arrive with a bang. I give my hat to you Harry!"

I groaned and slapped myself across the face. With a low hiss I reminded myself that I had to take the shards out of my face.

Draco noticed my discomfort and stared at me. Seeing the glass shards in my face his eyes widened.

"Harry, you should get your face looked at. Those could be permanently wedged in your face."

"I'll be fine Draco." I said. I glared at the table and put my plate down. I wasn't going to be able to eat anything other than meat tonight. I glared up at the blonde boy and turned to glare at Lockheart as well. He seemed unaffected and grinned at me. A sickeningly perfect smile nearly blinded me and the rest of the students in the hall. Goddamned celebrity.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you all in my classes. The classes where we will discuss how I tamed werewolves and slew great monsters."

He said more but I wasn't paying attention. I glanced around the room before I caught Snape's eyes. I nodded and pointed to my face, where the glass shards still made their home. He nodded and I looked away.

When the blonde professor finally finished his 'speech' the headmaster stood up.

"Now you can all go to your dormitories." He said. His eyes slid to me and he grinned. I made eye contact with him and felt a pressure tugging at my mind. Closing my eyes I growled under my breath. Trying to read my mind are you Dumbledore? I will have to start learning Oclemency this year. Who would have thought the icon of the light would stoop so low.

-separater-

Snape told me to stay after our potions lesson the next day.

"Professor?"

"I would like to look at your face Mr. Potter. I had some other matters to attend to last night after dinner."

"Alright, I was beginning to wonder if these pieces of glass would become a permanent resident to my face." I said. He chuckled and gestured me into a room off to the right side of his classroom.

He stopped walking suddenly, and I almost ran into him.

"You may want to watch your step Mr. Potter." He said. He whirled around and grasped my face with one hand. His fingers caressed the skin lightly and he pressed down gently on the shard that was impounded to the right side of my face. There was one on the left side in the same position. What was he doing?

"These can be extracted Mr. Potter. It will be quite painful however," he informed me. I removed his hand from my face and felt a slight blush creep up my neck.

"I will need to break the glass down before I can remove it." He said. I sighed and nodded.

He pointed his wand at some shelves next to his desk. A bottle with a purple potion floated into his hand and he put it on the desk.

"I want you to take this potion Mr. Potter." He said as he handed it to me.

"It will break down the glass. To be exact it will melt the glass. Once it turns into sand you can brush it off." He said. I uncorked the potion and sniffed it. It smelled putrid and probably would taste worse than it smelled.

"I-"

"I cannot give you a normal potion Mr. Potter. If you can't handle it then you can keep that glass in your face."

"Alright," I said. Taking a deep breath I let the liquid slide down my throat. I was tempted to gag but I held that action back. It burned as it went down but I could feel the effects immediately.

The glass melted into a fine powder that I brushed off my face.

"I told you." He said with a ghost of a smile on his face. A smile? Is Snape alright?

"Yes," I responded as I watched the dust fall to the floor. I closed my eyes and then opened them again. I brushed a little bit of dust from my face and stared at it.

It was orange in color. In fact it was a color similar to the paste he had used on my arm. What was going on? First he kept me from being seen by Madam Pomphrey and now this. Am I even human?

"You're not insane Mr. Potter." Snape said. I must have had a confused expression on my face.

"Take this potion tonight and the cuts will be healed tomorrow." He said, holding out a blue colored potion. I placed a hand on my face and noticed that one of the cuts had sscabbed over. A quick examination of the other one showed the same result. Whatever this stuff was it was working.

"Thank you Professor," I said as I pocketed the potion.

"Make sure you take both the potion I gave you and that one when you return to your dormitory. Draco and the others should not see either of them."

"yes sir," I said, as I exited his rooms.

What was happening to me? This year was definitely proving to be interesting. Was Dobby right? Even if he was what about? What kind of 'bad things' were going to happen this year?

-separater-

A/N:

I was going to keep writing on this chapter originally. It started to get too long though. So I split the chapter in half. I hope you [the readers] aren't too annoyed by this.

I know you will all have questions. This chapter left a lot to be answered. I am not going to tell you what is wrong with Harry. I will say this though:

This is a Harry creature fic.

PM me if you have questions or guesses. I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible.

R and R