larreatridentatalarreatridentataLARREA TRIDENTATA... CREOSOTE CHAPARRAL... "CREOSOTE LARREA TRIDENTATA!"
"Ron? –Madame! He's finally awake!", the first years' voice pierced Ron's eardrums.
Waking up had never been so difficult. The haziness surrounded his entire being and not a thousand horses could have dragged Ron from the dangers he was experiencing. The larrea tridentata was prominent in Ron's mind. If only he could keep his faith in the oldest living plant on earth everything would be fine.
Pain crushed his heart and hopes then, and the ginger haired boy knew he would not survive on his own. Desperately clinging to thoughts of deserts and plants and platinum blonde and raven black and spades and his dad and love and hope and faith...
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Up in the circular room, which has featured before but has not been thoroughly discussed until this dreadful event came to pass, Dumbledore once again sat worriedly. This time his anxiety was not soothed by the comings of a portrait. No.
This time no one could bring salvation to the situation.
Also present in this office, or as some called it; 'the lounge', were Glorfindel and Draco Malfoy.
"Dumbledore, I ask of you no mere favor. I ask for forgiveness.", Glorfindel said. "For I have failed so epically that no sword could cut me enough. No fire could burn me to the black coal I deserve. Hermione has slipped through my grasp and has grown even mightier!"
Dumbledore sat up in shock. "You don't mean---"
"Yes, I am afraid so. Hermione has consumed my horse, one of Bendelwany's tribe." Glorfindel looked as if he rather wished the earth would swallow him whole. Hand and foot.
It wasn't like Draco didn't like being here, he was enjoying this more than he'd like to admit. Gossip was one of the many guilty pleasures the young Malfoy relished in and he listened as intently as he could. But couldn't they cut to the chase? GOD, they just sat there discussing some HORSE. Who cared if Granger had a different taste in meat? Harry was gone!
Dumbledore turned so quickly his beard caught the round book holder standing on his circular desk. It was as if the old wizard had listened in on the boy's thoughts.
"Harry is gone?!"
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"Hermione, where are you taking me?", a certain emo-boy asked his bushy-haired friend.
"Oh shh, Harry!", she cooed. "We'll be there soon!".
When Harry had been walking around the school corridors, anxiously looking for Ron, he instead ran into Hermione, who was out of breath and had twigs and leaves sticking out of her hair.
"Oh Harry!", she had exclaimed, and took his hand. "You have to come with me!".
That's why they were now going through the Forbidden Forest, which has been strictly strictly strictly forbidden since last year, when a student had been caught performing illegal actions with a hippogriff.
"Hermio-", Harry started, but was stopped when they had suddenly come into a large clearing, dimly lit by the moonlight. In the middle stood a large kettle, softly brewing on green fire. "We're here, Harry!", Hermione said, letting go of his hand and quickly approaching the kettle. She got a few things out of the bag she was carrying – Harry couldn't see what exactly – and chucked them in. She softly muttered while stirring the potion.
Harry didn't know what was going on. He knew Hermione could get a little mental, but the look she had in her eyes was beyond crazy. Wicked, dangerous. He gulped, and slowly approached her. When he got close enough to the kettle he could see a reddish liquid, with a small touch of purple in it.
Hermione quickly turned around, catching Harry off guard. He grabbed his wand tightly, which Hermione noticed.
"Oh, there's no need for wands, Harry!", she brightly smiled. "I just need a bit of your hair".
Before she had even finished her sentence, she had flicked her wand and was now holding a strand of jet black hair in her hand.
"What? No! Why?", Harry said a little sluggish, touching his hair. "What are you going to do with it?"
But it was too late for questions. Hermione had already put it in the potion, and was stirring ferociously. She put some of it in a flacon, and again stood before Harry, all within a few seconds. "Hermione, what are you doing?", he said, involuntary shaking his hips. Damn those hips. They always did that when he was scared.
Without saying a word she grabbed hold of Harry's face, forcing his mouth to open, and poured the content of the flacon in his mouth. Harry tried to get away, but she was simply too strong for him. She must have been working out a lot over the summer holidays, Harry wondered.
"Now we will be together forever!", Hermione shrieked, as Harry fell to the ground, clutching his chest. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the remains of the potion's ingredients on the ground. Hephadaris lexiconus, a broken salamander leg, larrea tridentata and something that looked like a strand of fiery, flaming red hair... He also randomly noticed that the end of Hermione's robe was covered in sand. Then everything turned black.
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"Harry is gone?", Albus asked the pointy, platinum blond student in front of him, again. Draco looked at him bewilderedly. "But how can you... I didn't say a word!".
Glorfindel laughed loudly.
"You mean he does not know?", he asked Dumbledore.
"Doesnt know? What don't I know?!"
"Surely your family must have told you by now?", Glorfindel answered him.
"Glorfindel!", Albus said threateningly. "These matters are none of your business. But let's just say I can, indeed, read... certain minds. Now please, young Draco,", he said, turning to the boy. "Please tell me more of Harry's disappearance".
Draco looked at the two older men, the wizard and the elf, eyeing them suspiciously for a moment. He noticed the latter was smirking, and wondered if this was just an example of freakishly Elven humour.
"I don't know where Harry is", Draco said finally. "All I know is that I saw him leaving with that Granger girl, the one you're talking about. Do you think something has happened to him?", he asked suddenly, unable to hide the worry in his voice.
"My dear boy", Albus told him gravely. "I'm afraid that's precisely the case".