CHAPTER 11: WARNING BELLS
Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Time frame: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the night of the Yule Ball
"You know, you keep that up, your robes are going to be absolutely soaked."
O'Bannon looked over his shoulder as he descended the steps from Gryffindor Tower. The source of the statement, Katie Bell, gave him a sympathetic smile and reached under her flowing green gown for her wand.
"Here. Let me see your hands," she ordered.
"Um, okay." He stopped near the bottom of the steps. So did the rest of the group; Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson, George Weasley and Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan.
O'Bannon winced as he saw sweat glistening on his palms. They'd been sweating for the last hour.
Katie waved her wand and uttered a quick incantation. Instantly his palms felt dry. O'Bannon held his hands in front of his face, studying them with wide eyes. "Whoa."
"Just a handy little charm Alicia taught me. Rather useful on first dates." Katie waggled her thin eyebrows at him.
"Thanks. You rock, Bell."
"My pleasure."
With a smile, O'Bannon resumed his pace, relieved that his palms no longer sweat.
He then wondered if Katie knew any charms to get rid of the butterflies that battered his stomach.
Oh God, please don't let me puke.
He gazed at the stone floor beneath him as he and his friends made their way through the corridors. The Brits chatted excitedly around him, but he pretty much ignored them. He could only concentrate on one thing.
Mireet Miradeaux. Specifically, his date with Mireet Miradeaux.
His heart slammed into his chest. The butterflies threatened to burst through his stomach.
A cacophony of voices filled the corridors as they neared the entrance hall. Students from the other Hogwarts houses, along with those from the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang contingents, filed toward the closed doors of the Great Hall. Most of the boys sported dark dress robes while the girls wore gowns of various designs and colors. He did a double-take when he came across Susan Bones. A bit of a plain jane, she looked absolutely stunning with her hair done up and wearing a pink and white gown. O'Bannon flashed a grin at Susan's date, Justin Finch-Fletchley. Best of luck, dude.
"Jimmy! Over here!"
He stopped when he heard the silky French accent. Swallowing, he stared across the hall and spotted her. His knees buckled.
Oh . . . my . . . God.
Mireet wore a sparkling silver gown that perfectly hugged her taut, athletic frame. Her flowing blond hair had been done up, though loose strands cascaded down each cheek.
He continued to stare at her. Was he really going to the Yule Ball with her? How the hell did he end up with a witch so mind-blowingly gorgeous without downing an entire jug of Luck Potion?
His brain told him to move. Fear glued him to the floor. Fear he'd do something to screw this up. Fear Mireet didn't feel the same way about him he did about her.
I don't know. She seems to really like me.
Or am I misreading her signals.
"Um, hey mate?"
Fred's voice cut through O'Bannon's fear-filled brain. He spun around to face the tall redhead.
"I think she wants you to go over to her." He tacked on a supportive smile.
"Oh. Um, yeah, right."
"Go on." Katie patted him on the shoulder. "You'll do fine."
O'Bannon nodded. He drew a deep breath, trying to ignore his pounding heart and churning stomach. Shoulders squared, he strode across the corridor, weaving his way around several students.
Mireet's smile grew as he approached. His eyes roamed up and down her body. He noticed she appeared even taller than usual. She had to be wearing heels. Not too high, though, thankfully. Mireet was already taller than him without heels.
He chewed on his lip. Ever since he asked Mireet to the Yule Ball he had this scene pictured in his head. It always looked so cool in the world of his imagination. But would it fly in real life? Would she think it tacky? Would she think he was forcing himself on her?
He drew a deep breath and decided to go for it.
"Mireet. You, um . . . you look beautiful . . . Mademoiselle." He took her right hand, raised it to his lips and lightly kissed her knuckles. He tensed, praying she appreciated the gesture.
When he raised his eyes, he was rewarded with a huge smile.
"Merci, Monsieur O'Bannon. May I say you look very handsome tonight."
"Thanks." The smile threatened to consume his face.
He caught movement out the corner of his eye. Fred, George and Lee started making their way over to them. They only managed a few steps before Angelina, Alicia and Katie steered them in the opposite direction.
Thanks, girls. I owe you.
O'Bannon turned back to Mireet. "So, um, looking forward to this?"
"Oui. I'm anxious to see what this Yule Ball is like. Hopefully it isn't as, what is the term, straight-laced as the formal dances we have at Beauxbatons."
"Well if they're bringing in the Weird Sisters for this thing, I doubt there's gonna be anything straight-laced about it. I mean, if you like the Weird Sisters."
"You are not a fan of theirs?"
"They're okay." O'Bannon shrugged. "Actually, there's only a couple of Wizarding bands I really like, like Deadly Curses, probably 'cause they sound a lot like Iron Maiden. Then there's this one group from Canada called Frozen Aurora. The lead singer's a Muggle-born, and you can tell he's been seriously influenced by Rush."
Mireet canted her head. "Iron Maiden? Rush? I haven't heard of those bands."
"Oh. They're both Muggle bands. Two of the best Muggle bands ever, along with Led Zeppelin."
"You've piqued my curiosity. I'm going to have to find a way to listen to them."
"Actually, there's a way you can. Dean Thomas has this charm that lets Muggle CDs work inside Hogwarts. We'll have to get together and listen to 'em some time."
"I would like that."
O'Bannon's insides swelled. That was a good sign that there could be more to the two of them than just going to the Yule Ball.
At eight o'clock on the dot, the doors to the Great Hall opened.
"Well, shall we?" O'Bannon held out his arm.
"Oui." Mireet smiled and slipped her arm around his elbow.
Standing ramrod straight, chest puffed out, he escorted Mireet through the throng of students into the Great Hall. He barely took note of the numerous ice sculptures and the mistletoe and ivy that adorned the enchanted starry ceiling. He kept casting sideway glances at Mireet. Other times, he'd look at all the other couples in the Great Hall, wanting their gazes directed toward him, or rather, toward Mireet, to see he walked arm-in-arm with the most beautiful witch in the world.
His earlier fears and anxiety dissolved. He held his chin high. He knew deep down in his soul this would be the greatest Christmas of his life.
A loud ringing shattered the world.
O'Bannon's eyes flickered open. He moaned and slowly looked around. The Great Hall had been replaced by the Weasley twins' bedroom.
"George, shut off the bloody alarm," Fred muttered.
"When did it become my job to shut off the alarm?"
"I'm the oldest, so do what I say?"
"You're only the oldest by, what, two minutes?"
"Just shut it off."
"Make me."
"Merlin's sake!" Bill flung the blankets off his tall frame and threw his legs over the edge of his bed.
"Yay!" George cheered. "Bill's come to save the day."
"Like hell." Bill pushed himself off his bed and stomped toward the door. "I'm not your bloody house elf. Now decide which one of you is going to shut off the alarm clock and be quick about it."
Bill exited the room, slamming the door.
The twins looked at one another.
"Well I'm not turning it off," said Fred.
"Neither am I," George replied.
The twins then turned to O'Bannon.
"Jimmy Boy." Fred grinned at him. "How would you like to do the honors?"
He rolled his eyes. "This ain't my house."
"It's not our either, technically," said George. "We have our own place now. We're just guests here, like you."
The three of them continued to look at the alarm clock on the night stand, which still blared. None of them made a move to shut it off. It kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing.
"Aw, screw it." O'Bannon snatched his wand and jabbed it at the clock, which fell silent.
"Yay, Jimmy!" Fred and George clapped and whistled.
O'Bannon flipped them the bird and pushed himself off his cot. He padded down the hall to the bathroom, images of his dream drifting through his mind. He couldn't believe he'd dreamed about Mireet again. And Merlin's Beard, was it a vivid dream. He felt like he'd been dropped back in time two years ago, reliving the night of the Yule Ball. A night filled with so much hope, so much . . .
He groaned, trying to push down the memories of that night, instead thinking of Talia. How was she doing back in the States? Was she still pissed at him for leaving?
After getting dressed he headed downstairs into the kitchen. Harry and Ron had already sat down to eat breakfast. O'Bannon took a seat across from them. That's when he realized something.
"Yo, Ron. Where's your mom at?"
"Had to run out to the chicken coop," he answered through a mouthful of food. "Needed some more eggs."
O'Bannon nodded, then got up and walked over to the simmering pot on the stove, where he helped himself to some oatmeal. He'd just filled his bowl when Fred and George sauntered into the kitchen. As O'Bannon made his way back to the table, a tapping sound caught his attention. He looked to the window above the sink, where an owl sat outside, a pink envelope in its beak. Upon closer examination, he discovered the name RON written on the front.
"Yo, Ron. Mail call." He opened the window. The owl hopped inside. That's when a strong, flowery smell assaulted his nostrils.
"Whoa!" He turned to Ron. "Dude, whoever sent this letter musta drowned it in perfume first."
Ron froze before he rounded the table. His eyes widened and the veins in his neck stuck out.
What's up with him?
"Well if Ickle Ronniekins doesn't want his letter . . ." Fred reached out and snatched the envelope from the owl's beak. The bird jumped and hooted in protest.
"Fred! No! Give it!"
O'Bannon leaned back against the kitchen sink as Ron charged past him.
"George! Catch!" Fred tossed the envelope to his twin before Ron could snatch it.
"Give it, you gits!" Ron tried to launch himself at George, only to have Fred block his path.
O'Bannon shook his head. "I'm so glad Mom and Dad decided not to have any other children."
Harry just glanced around at the three Weasley siblings, looking unsure whether he should help Ron or let things play out.
"Who's it from, George?" Fred hopped back and forth, keeping Ron at bay. "What does it say?"
"I'll tell you, provided I don't choke to death on this perfume. Bloody hell, it'll take all day to air out the house."
George opened the envelope, took out the letter and unfolded it. Ron stopped trying to get around Fred and just stared at the other twin with a mortified expression.
George gazed at the letter for a couple silent seconds, then snickered. "'My Dearest Won Won.'"
O'Bannon choked off a laugh. He swung his head toward Ron. "Won Won? What the heck is that about?"
With a Cheshire Cat grin, George continued to read. "'I hope you are well. I miss you so very, very much. I am counting the days and the hours and the minutes until we return to Hogwarts. I can't wait to see you walk into Gryffindor Tower so I can hug you to pieces and shower you with kisses.'"
Despite his best efforts not to, O'Bannon convulsed with laughter. Harry, meanwhile, scrunched up his face in a rather ill look.
"'Or, my dearest, perhaps we could meet in Diagon Alley before we head back to Hogwarts. There's a wonderful little tea room just past Gringotts where we could spend all day, just the two of us.'"
"Oh my." Fred held his hand over his heart, his voice high-pitched. "How romantic."
Ron glared at his brother. O'Bannon wasn't sure if the younger Weasley wanted to deck Fred or just crawl into a hole.
"What's going on?"
All eyes turned to Ginny Weasley, who'd walked into the kitchen, followed by Rosa.
"Oh, it's a lovely moment, it is, my dear sweet sister." Fred blinked in an exaggerated manner. "George is regaling us with a reading of Ickle Ronniekins' love letter. Please, dear brother, read on."
Ginny's face twisted as George continued. "'Please owl me back to let me know if we can meet sometime this week. Till then, Take care, my sweet, sweet Won Won. Hugs and kisses and all my love, Lavender.'"
O'Bannon drew his head back in disbelief. Lavender? As in . . .
"Dude!" He whipped his head toward Ron. "You and Lavender Brown!"
Ron responded with a grunt. He pushed past Fred and grabbed the letter from George. "You're both arseholes!"
He stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. The slamming of his door shook the entire Burrow.
O'Bannon raised an eyebrow. Okay, it was a little embarrassing to have your older brothers read your love letter aloud, but he didn't think it warranted that sort of reaction. Heck, Ron didn't even seem thrilled when the owl arrived with that letter.
Trouble in paradise? Sappy as Lavender's letter was, it sounded like she couldn't wait to see him and "shower him with kisses." Which, considering the girl's hotness factor, was not a bad thing.
He stared at the floor, wondering about Artimus. How would he take this news, considering he'd been crushing on Lavender during their brief time in England several months ago?
"This is just getting ridiculous." Ginny scowled.
"What's ridiculous?" O'Bannon asked.
"This whole thing with Lavender Brown," Ginny snapped. "You should've seen those two this past term. In the hallways, in the middle of the Common Room, practically eating one another's faces. It was disgusting."
"I bet you don't think that sort of thing is disgusting when it's you and Dean Thomas doing it." Fred waggled his eyebrows at his sister.
"Sod off!" Ginny punched her brother in the arm, causing him to wince. "At least Dean and I have the decency to do that sort of thing away from the rest of the world."
Harry, O'Bannon noticed, took a sudden interest in something in his cereal bowl.
"To be honest," O'Bannon looked around the room. "I'd always felt Lavender was a bit of a snob, but she's still a babe. I say if Ron's getting some from her, more power to him."
Ginny aimed her blazing red face at him. "Typical male! Fine and well to go off and snog the living daylights out of some tart. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks? Who cares how it might hurt someone else?"
A perplexed look fell over O'Bannon's face. "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? Has anyone stopped to think how this . . . relationship between Ron and Lavender is affecting Hermione?"
That just made O'Bannon more perplexed. "What does Hermione have to do with this?"
Ginny let loose a frustrated breath. "Isn't it obvious?"
O'Bannon shrugged, wondering what she was getting at.
Ginny shook her head and looked to the ceiling. "Ron and Hermione fancy one another!"
O'Bannon did a double-take. "Ron and Hermione?"
Ginny nodded.
"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger?"
Again, Ginny nodded.
"Your brother, Ron, and the bushy-haired know-it-all?"
"Yes!" Ginny flung her arms out to her side. "You spent a whole year at Hogwarts, as a Gryffindor. How could you not see it?"
"Um, probably because every time I turned around they were arguing."
"She only yells at him because she cares about him!"
O'Bannon canted his head. "Are you serious?"
"Argh!" Ginny spun around and stalked back into the living room. "Why are boys so bloody thick?"
Rosa shot him a disapproving look, shook her head, and followed Ginny out.
After several seconds of silence, O'Bannon looked around at Harry and the Weasley twins. "Dude, is this for real? Ron and Hermione?"
"I don't know." Harry muttered and grabbed a piece of toast.
"Well, they do say men want to marry a woman just like their mum," Fred chimed in. "Our mum yells at Ron all the time, Hermione yells at Ron all the time. So . . ."
"I don't buy it."
"I wouldn't be so quick to judge, Jimmy Boy." George smirked at him. "There were a couple D.A. meetings where I noticed Ickle Ronniekins shooting an admiring glance or two Hermione's way."
"Bullcrap." O'Bannon gave him a dismissive wave. "You know what? If Ron and Hermione ever get married, I swear, I'll put on a New York Yankees jersey, stand in the middle of Kenmore Square, and shout at the top of my lungs how much I love Derek Friggin' Jeter."
"I'm gonna hold you to that, Jimmy Boy." Fred pointed at him.
He shrugged, knowing that would never, ever, happen.
XXXXX
After another day of searching for the Chupacabra and/or whatever the hell attacked those cows, O'Bannon and the others returned to the Burrow for dinner, followed by a meeting running down everyone's progress.
Progress. O'Bannon shook his head at the word. They hadn't made a damn bit of progress. Yeah, in a few areas they found some broken branches and disturbed leaves on the ground, though they could have been caused by anything. He'd hoped for something from Hagrid's end, but Lupin informed them that the footprint sample he'd recovered had the half-giant completely stumped. The news stunned O'Bannon. Hagrid may not be the world's greatest teacher, but the guy knew his magical creatures. And if Hagrid couldn't tell what made that print . . .
When the meeting broke up, Rosa, the twins and Lupin headed out for their night reconnaissance. O'Bannon would have the second patrol in three hours with Artimus, Mr. Weasley and Tonks. Meantime he chilled in Ron's room, where he, Jared, Harry and Ginny watched Ron engage Artimus in a game of wizard chess.
"I still can't believe you haven't found those Chupacabra, or whatever killed those cows yet," Ron said before ordering one of his rooks to move down the board and threaten Art's remaining bishop.
O'Bannon shrugged. "Hey, gimmie a break. England's a bigger country than what it looks like on a map."
"Still, you got wards set up around a bunch of the grazing lands in Glastonbury." Ron's gaze stayed on the board as Artimus moved a pawn. "You'd think those things would have set off one of them by now."
"Yeah, you'd think," Jared grumbled.
O'Bannon sighed. "I'm starting to think we're gonna be in this country forever trying to find these friggin' Chupacabra and this other thing." He quickly scanned the Brits. "I mean, no offense to England or anything, but it'd be nice if we found some clues where these monsters are. Then we can deal with 'em and move on to more important things."
"I'd say stopping these creatures from killing every farm animal in Britain is important," Ginny noted.
"You-Know-Who would need a lot of Chupacabra for that. Even still, it'd take a long time for them to do that kind of damage. We'd get 'em easily before that ever came close to happening."
Harry folded his arms as Ron's knight reduced one of Artimus' pawns to rubble. "I don't like this."
O'Bannon's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"This whole thing with Voldemort and the Chupacabra. The way you guys are talking, it seems whatever plan he has involving those creatures is doomed to fail. Voldemort's not the sort invest time and effort into something that ultimately won't work."
"Well, maybe the Chupacabra are just a distraction." Artimus grinned as his knight jammed its sword into Ron's bishop. "Maybe You-Know-Who's hoping we'll concentrate so much on them we'll ignore something more important."
"Like the creature that killed those cows," said Ginny.
"After yesterday we're not ignoring it any more." Jared turned to her. "So much for the Chupacabra being a distraction."
"Well, let's just be glad whatever it is, is just killing cows and not people." As soon as O'Bannon said it, something niggled the back of his mind. He thought of the comments by Mad-Eye Moody and Luna Lovegood, how they felt there had to be more to Voldemort going through all the trouble of importing Chupacabra to Britain than just letting them loose to suck blood from cows and goats and sheep. But he'd be damned if he could think of how the little monsters could be such a menace to wizarding folk.
Maybe Voldemort needs them as ingredients for some sort of potion.
If there was a potion that used Chupacabra parts, he couldn't think of it. During his seven years of schooling he couldn't recall a single potion that required so much as a Chupacabra toenail clipping.
He wondered if he should even waste time thinking about the Chupacabra with this new creature lurking somewhere out there. Should he even be worried about it? For all any of them knew it could be like the Chupacabra. Killing farm animals but going out of its way to avoid people.
"Aww!" Jared's moan broke O'Bannon's reverie. He noticed Artimus' king kneeling in defeat before Ron's rook.
"So, who's next?" Ron gazed at them with a triumphant smile.
"No way." O'Bannon held up his hands. "You've kicked my ass enough at this game."
"Dude, everyone in the world's kicked your ass at this game." Jared grinned at him.
"All right, dipstick. You take him on."
"Well, I would but . . . see, the problem is, um . . ."
"The problem is you're as pathetic at wizard chess as I am."
"Oh blimey, but you're both a couple of wimps." Ginny slid across the floor and shooed Artimus aside. "Here, I'll play."
"You, Gin?" Ron sniggered. "When have you ever lasted more than thirty moves against me?"
Ginny scowled at her brother.
"Oh, I think the gauntlet has been thrown down." Jared leaned forward, rubbing his hands.
"Good luck, Ginny," Harry said.
"Why thank you, Harry." Ginny smiled at him.
O'Bannon noticed Harry's Adam's apple bob up and down.
"Well, since you have never come close to beating me before," Ron stated, "I'll be nice and let you move first."
"Oh don't do me any favors because -"
A loud hum filled the room. Everyone snapped their heads in all directions.
"What the bloody hell?" blurted Ron.
O'Bannon froze, his entire body tingling. He held his breath and lowered his eyes to his waistband, where he kept his wand. The thing vibrated like mad.
He then noticed Jared and Artimus staring at their wands.
"Man, something just set off a ward somewhere."
A split-second after Jared's statement, white mist sprang from the Americans' wands. It swirled above them and took the shape of a house. O'Bannon's chest tightened when he recognized it. It was a house he'd been to only a few days ago.
It was the Diggory house.
TO BE CONTINUED
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2/26/09: My apologies for another longer than expected delay on this. Just as I appeared to be getting over my bronchitis, I got hit with a nasty cold that floored me for several days. I'm feeling better now, and hopefully in a few more days all of this crap will be completely out of my system. Being sick sucks ass!