Harriet Potter Year 1: Life, Death, and Rebirth
"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are".
~Bertolt Brecht
Hogwarts-April 19, 1992
Weeks passed, but there was no information on Quirrell. He seemed to grow paler over time, but he hadn't done anything particularly evil (save one very nasty pop-quiz, but Hermione said that this didn't count, much to Harriet's and Ron's chagrin).
It was difficult, though, to find time to watch Quirrell with the work piled on by their teachers. Exams were still several months away, but it didn't seem the teachers (or Hermione, for that matter) realized it with all the extra homework.
Harriet sighed as she climbed the stairs to her dorm. She, Ron, and Hermione were going to work on their Transfiguration essays, but she had left her book in her room. Opening the door, she found herself pleasantly surprised since neither Lavender or Parvati (whose giggling was annoying her more and more each day) were there.
"Where is that book?" she muttered to herself as she sifted through the paper and text-books in her book bag. "There you are," she said triumphantly, lifting the heavy text from its place towards the bottom. She went to leave, but a small hiss stopped her.
"Isaura!" she greeted, realizing that her snake had been waiting patiently for her on one of her bed posts. "I almost didn't...see..you..." she trailed off, a vague plan beginning to form in her head, assuming that Isaura was okay with it.
"Isaura," she said quickly, not giving her friend time to respond, "Are you doing anything particularly important?"
"I'm a sssnake, pequinina," she hissed, amused, but sounding a bit more agitated than normal. Harriet couldn't help but agree that it was a rather stupid question. "But listen, Pequinina, I wasss jusst down at the Big Man'ss hut, and he needss-"
"Can you do me a favor?" Harriet asked, cutting Isaura off. Admittedly, it was rather rude, and Harriet felt guilty after the fact, but for now she was too excited. "Ron, Hermione, and I have been trying to get information on Quirrell, but we haven't had much time. Could you follow him around and tell me what you find?"
Isaura hissed, not happy about being cut off, but unable to deny the urgency in her mistress's voice, hissed "Finee, rather snappishly, before slithering from the bed rather rapidly, not bothering to say goodbye, and heading for the door.
"Harriet?" Hermione asked, walking into the room. "Whats taking you so long?" Hermione smiled when she saw Isaura, whom she had come to like in the past few months. "Hello, Isaura."
Isaura just snapped and hissed angrily as she slunk through the door. Hermione frowned and looked at Harriet worried. "Did I do something to upset her? She seems annoyed."
Harriet shook her head absentmindedly. Hermione was right, Isaura had been very agitated when Harriet found her, even before she had rudely cut her off. What had she been trying to say earlier? Harriet's eyes widened and she looked at Hermione. Hermione frowned, worried, and asked, "Is everything alright?"
"I hope so," Harriet said slowly, swallowing. "Hermione, go get Ron. We need to see Hagrid."
Hermione nodded curtly, trusting her friend enough to know that Harriet wouldn't be asking them to abandon their essay, which was due tomorrow, for something that wasn't important. Harriet watched her friend leave then let out a puff of air. She hoped she wasn't wrong. She would feel immensely guilty if she dragged her friends across Hogwarts grounds for no reason at all.
They met up at the downstairs, then set off. They tried to understand why Harriet thought Hagrid was in trouble, but she couldn't really tell them anything without letting slip the fact that she was a Parselmouth, something that she wasn't sure she wanted to do just yet. What if they rejected her because of it? She remembered Moony mentioning some similar apprehensions during his school years regarding his friends and his lycanthropy, so she made a mental note to ask about it the next time she saw him.
"I told you, Isaura seemed really testy when she came back from Hagrid's hut. I'm worried that he is in trouble," she sighed, trying to not lie to them, while not trying simultaneously to lie to them. It was rather difficult to do.
"Yea," Ron said, "fine. But how did you know that Isaura had just come from Hagrid's-"
"Hagrid!" Harriet cut him off (she was doing that a lot lately) and began running quickly to his house, then banging loudly on the door. "Hagrid are you in there?" Harriet, Ron, and Hermione heard a loud bang coming from inside, followed by a muffled curse, and grew even more frantic than before.
"Hagrid!"
"Hagrid are you alright?
"Open up, Hagrid!"
They pounded hard on the door. All three jumped backwards when their hands met cloth instead of wood. They had been hitting Hagrid, who was wearing a very odd outfit.
"Hagrid," Ron asked, wrinkling his nose, "Why are you wearing a cooking apron and oven mitts?"
"Er, no real reason," he coughed trying to use his bulky frame to block their view of the door. Harriet narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Listen, now ain't a good time. Come back later, yeh hear?"
"Hagrid, Isaura just came to me and she seemed really upset." Harriet said, making her eyes wide, a trick she had learned from her short time with her parents. "We just wanted to make sure everything is alright," she told him, sniffing slightly for good measure.
"Oh, alright," he huffed, "get in 'ere." Ignoring the awestruck expressions of both Ron and Hermione, Harriet hopped over the threshold. After they had followed, Hagrid closed the door firmly shut behind him.
"Uh, Hagrid," coughed Hermione, "maybe you should open a window or something. Its very stuffy in here." Indeed, the hut was filled with smoke and soot, making it hard to breath, or even see.
"I was gettin' chilly," Hagrid said evasively. Ron raised an eyebrow.
"In this weather?" he asked skeptically. Indeed, it was very warm outside and the sun was shining brightly. Hagrid shifted.
"I think I might be coming down with something," he muttered, giving a feeble cough. "You three should probably get out'a here 'afore you come down with I got!"
"Hang on, Hagrid," Hermione protested, moving to avoid one of Hagrid's hands, which were attempting to assure them out, knocking over a pan in the process. "We came to ask you about what other enchantments were guarding the Stone besides Fluffy!"
Hagrid drew in a deep breath, almost choking on the smoke. "Found out about that, did'ya?" He wheezed. He chuckled. "Should'a known yeh would," he nodded crossly, "too dang nosey, all three of yeh!"
"Well, I can't tell yeh," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts — I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.
Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."
Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harriet and Ron beamed at Hermione.
"I think we're a bad influence on her," muttered Harriet quietly to Ron, while Hagrid was gathering his thoughts.
"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that… let's see… he borrowed Fluffy from me… then some o' the teachers did enchantments… Professor Sprout — Professor Flitwick — Professor McGonagall —" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell — an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."
"Professor Quirrell?"
"Professor Snape?"
Harriet shot both of her friends a sour look. She understood their hesitance. It had been weeks and weeks and they had found nothing at all to prove that Quirrell was the one responsible for trying to steal the stone. Hopefully, she rationalized, Isaura would bring back some evidence to show them once and for all.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harriet anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.
"Well, that's something," Harriet mumbled to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."
"Can't, Harriet, sorry," said Hagrid. Harriet noticed him glance at the fire. Harriet looked at it, too.
"Hagrid — what's that?"
But she already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was the biggest and blackest egg Harriet had ever seen.
"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's — er…"
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "Its a dragon's egg! It must've cost you a fortune." Harriet took a deep breath when Ron said that it was a dragon's egg.
"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library —Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit — it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here — how ter recognize diff'rent eggs — what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."
"Hagrid," Harriet said doubtfully, "you live in a wooden house!" Hagrid waved away her concerns. He walked over to the fire and, using a poker, began to stoke it, humming a tuneless song while he worked.
"Now we know what Isaura was on about," Ron informed his friends after they had left the hut. "Besides that fact that Hagrid's trying to raise a Norwegian Ridgeback in house made of wood, dragons are highly illegal."
Harriet stopped short, as did Hermione. "Are you saying," Hermione asked fretfully, "that if somebody finds out about the dragon egg Hagrid could go to prison?"
Ron grimaced, "He'd have to pay a hefty fine, at the least."
"Malfoy's father is on the Board of Governors for the school," Harriet remembered suddenly. "If Draco gets a hold of this and it gets back to his father, he'll try and spin it and say that Hagrid has got the dragon really close to a bunch of kids and is putting us in danger."
"That'd definitely earn him a few years in Azkaban," Ron said, paling. Harriet sucked in a breath. She didn't know much about Azkaban, but she knew from Sirius's reactions to the place that it was awful.
"We can't let that happen!" Hermione said hysterically. Harriet wondered if she should hit her to snap her out of it, but didn't have time when Hermione threw her arms around Ron and hugged him fiercely, trying to calm herself down. Ron shot Harriet a panicked look and she had to hide her snickers as he placed a hesitant arm around her.
"We won't," Ron assured her, "we'll come up with something."
Hogwarts- April 29, 1992
Contrary to Ron's words, a week went by and none of them had any idea of what to do about the egg. In between classes, homework, additional studying and Quidditch, Harriet and her friends barely had time to sneeze, let alone figure out how to save Hagrid. Nor did they have time to follow Quirrell or Snape around. The one thing Harriet could take comfort in was the fact that Isaura had yet to report back on Quirrell, so she knew that nothing too major was going on.
One day, while eating breakfast, Hedwig delivered a small note. Harriet recognized the writing almost immediately.
It's hatching, was all the note said in Hagrid's familiar scratchy scrawl. Harriet took the note and quickly shoved it in her book bag before anybody else could see.
Ron wanted to skip Herbology so that they wouldn't miss it, but Hermione refused.
"C'mon, Hermione," he whined, annoyed. "How many times are you going to see a dragon hatch?"
"It doesn't matter," Hermione told him tartly, "if we miss class, the teachers will get suspicious!"
"Guys," Harriet hissed. Malfoy, who had been walking just a bit ahead of them, had stopped in his tracks. The three watched horrorstruck as he then walked quickly away.
"He couldn't have heard anything," Hermione said weakly. Ron nodded firmly. Harriet wasn't so sure. She didn't like the look on Malfoy's face.
During morning break, Hermione, Ron, and Harriet rushed as fast as they could down to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid greeted them, looking excited and very pleased. He beamed at them and ushered them inside. He told them that it was almost out and quickly ushered them inside.
The egg was lying on the small table. Harriet could see that, unlike the previous time they had visited, there were large cracks in it. It was rocking back and forth and there were some funny noises in it, as though something was moving from the inside.
Hagrid nudged them closer, so they all moved to stand around it, watching it eagerly.
All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harriet thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
She couldn't imagine such a little animal doing very much damage, but then it sneezed, forcing a small stream of fire from its nose. Hagrid, who had been standing too close, had to quickly put out some stray sparks in his beard.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid said thickly, although whether that was from love or pain, Harriet couldn't tell. Hagrid reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head, but apparently it wasn't in the mood. It gave his finger a good chomp, holding on tightly.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid, tears falling from his eyes as he gently tried to loosen the dragon's hold.
"Hagrid," said Hermione cautiously, watching the small creature apprehensively, as though it might suddenly decide to have a go at her, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid shrugged and mumbled some incomprehensible answer. The trio exchanged glances. Harriet was about to ask Hagrid what he planned on doing when the dragon got larger, but she was started by Ron darting from his place and to the window, knocking over a cup in the process.
The dragon gave a frightened cry and Hagrid glared at Ron, who was looking pale-faced out the small window. "Watch it, Ron! Yeh scared 'im!"
"Never mind that!" said Ron, turning around to face them. "Someone was looking through the gap in the curtains! I think it was Malfoy!"
Harriet bolted to the door and looked out. She hadn't doubted Ron to begin with, but if what he said was true... Harriet squinted in the darkness. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.
Malfoy had seen the dragon.
Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harriet, Ron, and Hermione very nervous.
Hogwarts-May 8, 1992
Harriet, Ron, and Hermione did not think that it would be too difficult to convince Hagrid to get rid of the dragon, but they were wrong. They tried reason, blackmail, bribery, and plain old begging, but he wouldn't bend.
"I can't," said Hagrid, when Hermione pleaded with him to just let Norbert go. "He's too little. He'd die."
Harriet cast a skeptical eye at the dragon. It had grown much since they had last seen it and was now the size of a large dog. Fang stood huddled in the corner, watching it through weary eyes. Because of its large size and even larger appetite, Hagrid had been neglecting his gamekeeping duties, meaning that the grounds of Hogwarts were not up to their usual standards of elegance. She wondered how long it would take before Dumbledore realized that something was wrong. If he didn't already, Harriet rationalized.
"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon proudly. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"
"He's gone mental," Ron muttered into Harriet's ear. She couldn't help but agree. Hermione, however, stayed focused on the task at hand, reminding Hagrid that Norbert would soon by larger than the house, so, even if Malfoy did keep his mouth shut, it would be unlikely that he would be able to keep his secret for long.
Hagrid looked as though he was going to have to swallow a particularly disgusting potion. "But he's just a baby," he whined. Harriet's eyes lit up and she turned to Ron.
"Charlie." she said.
"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No — Charlie — your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"
"Brilliant!" said Hermione, beaming at the rare insight her friend had shown (not that Harriet was unintelligent, of course, but Hermione had already learned that she could be rather oblivious at times). "How about it, Hagrid?"
It took a bit more prodding, along with plenty assurances from Ron that Norbert would be well looked after, but Hagrid finally agreed. Of course, all they had to do now was get Ron's brother to agree to smuggle an illegal dragon out of Hogwarts.
"He will," Ron assured them, as they tied the note to Hedwig's leg. "He loves Hagrid as much as we do! They became really close when he was at Hogwarts, since they both liked dragons so much."
The next night found Hermione and Harriet sitting alone in the common room during dinner, alone. They were waiting for Ron, who was down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate. The common room door opened and they ran up to meet him.
"Ron!" Hermione blanched at the sight of him. "You're hand! Indeed, Ron's hand was wrapped tightly in a handkerchief, which was slowly growing darker and darker with the color of blood.
"It bit me!" he scowled. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."
There was a tap on the dark window.
"It's Hedwig!" said Harriet, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"
The three of them put their heads together to read the note.
Dear Ron,
How are you? Thanks for the letter — I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love,
Charlie
They looked at one another.
"How are we going to get to the top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight?" wailed Hermione. "We'll be seen for sure!"
"Not if we use my invisibility cloak," Harriet said without thinking. Both Ron and Hermione gaped at her. Ron scowled accusingly.
"We've been sneaking around the castle all this time," he began angrily, "and you've got an invisibility cloak-"
"My parents told me not to misuse it!"
"Oh," retorted Ron, crossing his arms over his chest, making sure not to hurt his injured hand, "and you've been listening to everything else they've told you not to do!" Harriet's eyes flashed and Ron immediately knew that he had gone too far. He sighed and dropped his arms, holding the handkerchief firmly around his injury.
"I think they'd be okay with this," Harriet said quietly, still hurt by her friend's words. Hermione watched their interaction cautiously, not knowing what to do. "They love Hagrid, too."
"Yea," Ron said slowly, looking at Harriet cautiously, wondering if she was still angry. "I reckon they would."
Harriet gave him a small smile, which he eagerly returned. Hermione rolled her eyes. Those two, she thought affectionately. They couldn't stay angry at each other for anything!
Harriet had gone to bed that night feeling much better knowing that there was a plan in place. The next morning, though, on her way to breakfast, she thought she felt her heart fall straight through her stomach and to the floor: she could see Ron, sitting next to Hermione, struggling to eat his breakfast with one hand, his other under the table. Judging by the grim expressions on their faces, things were not good. When the three of them escaped the breakfast hall (Harriet not even caring that she hadn't eaten anything), Harriet finally saw that Ron's hand had swollen to twice its usual size.
The three debated as to whether or not they should go to Madam Pomfrey. Would she recognize a dragon bite? By the end of the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.
Harriet and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed. At first, they assumed that it was only his hand that was bothering, but he denied it.
"Mafloy was here earlier," he groaned softly.
"How did he get in?" Hermione frowned. Harriet was wondering the same thing. It had taken quite a bit of begging to get Madam Pomfrey to let them in. The only reason she had finally relented was because she knew how close the three had become in the recent months.
"He lied and fed her some nonsense about needing to borrow a book for class," Ron rolled his eyes and Harriet snickered.
"I didn't know Malfoy could read," she said, eyebrows raised to her hairline. Hermione thought this was funny, but Ron still looked worried.
"He threatened to tell Madam Pomfrey about what really bit me."
"What did you tell her it was?" Harriet asked.
"A dog bite," Ron admitted. Harriet cast his hand a doubtful look. Harriet had been bit by dogs several times in her short life, thanks to Aunt Marge and her bull dogs (in fact, bitting her seemed to be the favorite hobby of Ripper, one of the stupider and larger dogs), and Ron's green hand looked nothing like a dog bite.
"I don't thinks he believed me," Ron said, "but she didn't say anything."
"Of course she didn't," Hermione soothed. "What was she going to do? Turn you away? And don't worry about Malfoy. This entire thing will be behind us by midnight on Saturday."
Contrary to Hermione's intention, this didn't assure Ron at all. Instead, he seemed to grow even more green (Harriet wondered if she should get him a bucket) and he looked as though the world was going to end. "Malfoy's got my book!" He wailed.
"Don't worry," Harriet said, totally flabbergasted, "I'm sure you'll get it back eventually. And you can borrow mine until then."
"No," scowled Ron, "thats not what I meant! Charlie's letter was in that book!"
Hermione and Harriet's eyes widened, realizing the implications of Malfoy's actions. He would know about Norbert. They didn't have a chance to discuss things further, though, because Madam Pomfrey shushed them out, saying that Ron was looking too pale and needed to sleep. Harriet doubted that the pallor of Ron's skin had anything to do with a lack of sleep.
"We can't change our plans now," said Harriet to Hermione as they walked the (thankfully) deserted hallway. "Who knows if we are going to have another chance to get rid of Norbert? And, at the rate he's growing, he'll be as big as that troll in a few more weeks!"
"At least we have the cloak," said Hermione, biting strongly on her lip. She gave a weak smile. "Malfoy doesn't know about that, at least."
In order to run through their plan one more time, Harriet and Hermione headed to Hagrid's hut. They weren't surprised to see Fang (Hagrid's boarhound) outside. He hadn't really taken to Norbert like his master had. Judging by his newly bandaged foot, he had good reason to keep his distance.
They tried knocking on Hagrid's door, but he didn't answer. Instead, both Harriet and Hermione received a large shock when Hagrid's head poked out the window. Judging by the banging from inside his hut, Norbert was in a very testy mood.
Harriet explained Charlie's letter as fast as she could, hoping to keep their visit short. Hagrid seemed very happy with the development, although it was rather hard to tell due to the fact that his beard had once again caught on fire. Harriet, thinking quickly, grabbed the plate of water that Hagrid had set out for Fang and flung the contents on Hagrid's face. He sputtered, thanked her, then disappeared back inside.
Harriet and Hermione left, both knowing that Saturday would not come fast enough.
When Saturday did come, however, both Harriet and Hermione were worried sick about what they had to do. Hermione in particular kept rambling about how they were sure to get expelled if they were caught. Harriet pointed out that being expelled was the least of their worries, considering how many many laws they were breaking. Suffice to say, this did not calm Hermione down in the slightest, which meant that Harriet's nerves were even more on edge due to her friend's chattering.
Hagrid was very sad to see Norbert go, and while Harriet felt a bit bad for him, she couldn't help but feel complete longing for the moment when Norbert would be gone and Harriet would never have to worry about him again. Hermione seemed to be feeling similarly, judging by her lack of compassion towards Hagrid.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice, as Harriet and Hermione picked up the crate that held Norbert. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harriet as though the teddy was having his head torn off.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harriet and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"
Harriet firmly believed that carrying Norbert back up to the castle and along the staircases and through the hallways was one of the most impossible feats every accomplished in the history of Hogwarts. Smirking at the thought of the reactions of her father and Remus and Sirius (knowing full well all the things that they had done), she directed Hermione towards one of the several shortcuts she knew, not that it helped much.
"Nearly there!" Harriet panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
The sudden sound of footsteps made Harriet and Hermione stop short. Hermione gave a frightened squeak and Harriet had to surpress the urge to drop her side of the crate and slap her hand over Hermione's mouth. The invisibility cloak kept people from seeing them, but they could still be heard. Harriet could make out the outline of two different people. For a moment, she struggled to see who they were, but then a lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you —"
"You don't understand, Professor. Harriet Potter's coming — she's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on — I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"
"Don't," Harriet advised her, earning a glare for her trouble.
Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert trying desperately to escape in his crate. After about ten minutes, Hermione nudged Harriet and pointed eagerly. Harriet could just make out four broomsticks swooping down out of the darkness.
Charlie's friends were very happy, despite the fact that what they were doing was highly illegal. They showed Harriet and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harriet and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.
At last, Norbert was going… going… gone.
They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon — Malfoy in detention — what could spoil their happiness?
"Pequinina," Harriet stopped short, along with Hermione. Isaura had been slithering quietly toward them. Harriet and Hermione grinned widely, despite the fact that Isaura's expression was very grave. "I must tell you something important, pequinina! The double-speak man was crying earlier today. He sounded very anxious."
"Thats not good," Harriet muttered to herself, making sure to speak quietly in English, knowing that if Quirrell was crying, something must have changed. She spoke hoping that Hermione would not hear her, but thankfully she was still on a Norbert-free induced high. "We were just-" Harriet stopped short and sucked in a deep breath.
"What?" pressed Hermione. Harriet shot her a panicked look.
"Isaura can see us!" she hissed, trying to pull Hermione along the corridor and back up to the tower. Hermione still seemed a bit perplexed.
"So?" It took her another second to realize what Harriet had already learned. "The cloak!"
The turned around to head back to the tower, but found themselves face to face with none other than Snape himself. He held his wand up to their faces, lighting up their guilty expressions. He tutted softly.
"Well, well, well," he hissed, "we are in trouble."
Snape's Office-May 9, 1992
It was past midnight and both Harriet and Hermione found themselves being lead into Snape's office. They followed, neither daring to say a word. He opened the door and they saw both McGonagall and Draco, but they were surprised to see Neville there as well. He was pale faced and anxious.
"Harriet! Hermione!" Neville said, not caring how much trouble he was in. "What's going on? I've heard you've got a dragon-"
Harriet didn't have to worry about quieting Neville, as Snape did it for her with a deep glare. Neville gulped. Harriet turned her eyes back to Snape.
Beside her, Hermione seemed beside herself, sniffling occasionally, but Harriet's mind was racing: she had known that she was breaking the rules and that her parents would not be happy, but she assumed that if she explained everything to them, they would understand. Snape was a different story. First off, she had no idea how close he was to Hagrid. Second, even if he did understand where she was coming from, his obligation to play the role of a bad guy would dictate that he turn Hagrid in. This left her with one option.
She had to lie through her teeth. Hopefully, all of her practice with the Dursleys would pay off. Granted, Snape was much smarter than her relatives and could read her like a book, but it was worth a shot.
"Well," sneered Snape, leaning forward and clasping his hands together, "do either one of you wish to tell me what you were doing?"
Hermione opened her mouth to defend herself, but Harriet nudged her, quieting her. Harriet didn't say anything, just watching Snape, waiting to here what he would say. If she could figure out how much he knew, she and Hermione might be able to talk their way out of the hole they had dug themselves into.
"No?" Snape quirked an eyebrow. He stood up quickly and moved to stand in front of them, his face close to their own. His eyes, as always, were like dark and endless tunnels. "They're have been some interesting rumors floating around these halls," he whispered, "and now is the time to figure out the truth. We will stay here all night if we have to."
"With all due respect, sir," Harriet said boldly, in a tone that garnered no respect at all, "Isn't this outside of you're jurisdiction? Professor McGonagall is our Head of House." Harriet met Snape's gaze evenly. She might be able to get off on a technicality. Granted, McGonagall wouldn't be too happy about their behavior either, but she might be a little bit more fair . Harriet snuck a glance at said Professor. She didn't look too happy.
"Trying to weasel your way out of punishment, Potter," Snape said, sounding highly amused in a twisted way. "Well, your Head of House and I have discussed that, as this seems to concern both Slytherin and Gryffindor students, we shall both handle the task of assigning punishments."
He straightened. "Since neither of you wish to divulge what has happened here this night, perhaps I should guess?"
Hermione raised her head defiantly and grabbed Harriet's hand. Harriet gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble." Snape said, speaking slowly. "Professor McGonagall has already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"
Harriet caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville — Harriet knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them. Snape noticed her look and he had had plenty of practice in reading her expressions.
"Unless," he muttered, "you wish to tell me that there actually was a dragon?" Hermione sucked in a deep breath and looked to Harriet, who had never felt more conflicted in her life. If she admitted that Hagrid had a dragon, he would probably go to prison. Dumbledore might be able to protect him, but it would not be worth the risk. Neville, however, would know that Harriet and Hermione had not been trying to trick him. If Harriet said that there was no dragon, Hagrid would be safe, but Neville would be hurt.
"Well, Potter?" he sneered. Harriet made her decision.
"There wasn't a dragon, sir," she told him. "We made it up, but we never meant-" Snape cut her off. Harriet prayed that she would have another chance to explain everything to Neville.
"I should have known," Snape sneered, speaking only to Harriet. She braced herself for whatever he was about to throw at her, reminding herself that he didn't mean it. "You're just like you're father. He and his friends used to strut about this castle as if they owned it. Its plain to see that you are just as vain and arrogant-"
"Professor Snape!" Professor McGonagall cut off, looking aghast. Harriet was barely holding herself together. There was something different, this time, about how he had insulted her. She had seen it in his eyes. He meant it this time.
"Fifty points," Snape said curtly, "will be taken from Gryffindor house."
"Fifty," gasped Hermione. Harriet looked desperately at her Head of House. Surely McGonagall wouldn't let Snape do that? They would lose the lead she had in won in their last Quidditch match.
"Fifty each," she breathed, through her long pointed nose. "And all four of you shall receive detention."
"I'm sorry, Professor," said Malfoy, speaking up for the first time. He looked a bit confused. "I thought you said four-"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall snapped, "that means you, too!"
"Surely," Snape said silkily, "it isn't right to punish Mr. Malfoy, when he was only the victim of a cruel-"
"I don't want to hear it," McGonagall snapped. The glare she gave silenced even Snape. "If Mr. Malfoy was so convinced that there was dragon, he could have gone to a teacher, could he have not?" Snape glowered, knowing that she was right. "Nothing gives a student the right to be wandering the corridors at night!"
With that, they were each ushered to their respective dorms, Neville ignoring the pleas of Harriet and Hermione trying to get him to listen. Harriet and Hermione both went to sleep with heavy hearts that night.
Hogwarts-May 13, 1992
Dear Harriet,
Severus wrote to us explaining you're rather interesting adventure around the castle, love. What did we say about roaming the corridors at night? We told you it was dangerous. Granted, we understand that asking you to completely follow all of the rules at Hogwarts is unlikely and there are certain things that all students at Hogwarts do at one point or another (lord knows you're father did his fair share of rule breaking and pranking at school).
While he and Sirius applaud you on your first attempt at a prank (I'm going to look the other way for a moment), we can't help but be a bit disappointed that you had to involve Neville in your trickery.
We thought you were friends?
Regardless, we hope that you apologize to him, especially as (at least to our knowledge) he has never done anything other than be nice to you.
We love and miss you,
Your parents.
Harriet scowled at the letter and resisted the urge to chuck it into the fire of the common room. Although she had originally planned on telling her parents the truth, she had not planned on being caught by Snape. In fact, she hadn't planned on being caught by anybody. If she told her parents, though, Snape would know that she had lied to his face and he would be even more angry with her.
And he was very angry with her. She couldn't even see him in the halls without garnering some sort of biting remark or sharp insult. To make matters worse, it was only Ron and Hermione who felt bad for her. The rest of Gryffindor house, so angry with her and her friends for losing them so many points, had taken to either completely ignoring her or verbally (and even physically, on a few occasions, which were, thankfully, more shoving rather than any physical blows) attacking her in the halls.
Fred and George even pretended that they didn't know Harriet or Hermione. That was nothing compared to Percy, though, who had greeted them the morning after their adventure with a stern lecture on "troublemaking" and "failed expectations." Hermione was left close to tears, as she had gotten on quite well with Percy, but Harriet, having received much sterner dressing downs in her life, just shrugged it off.
Ron, whose hand had finally healed, wasn't as understanding when Percy suggested that he break his friendship with the two "hooligans." Percy was unable to stop laughing for hours because of the vicious Tickling Charm Ron had cast (one of the few spells in his repertoire) and Flitwick, although obligated to give him detention for doing magic in the hall, seemed very reluctant in having to punish such excellent Charms work.
To top it all, Harriet hadn't seen hide nor hair of Isaura since their encounter in the hallway a few nights prior. She was starting to get worried, especially as she had no more information about why Quirrell had been crying.
"Hey," Harriet jumped. Ron and Hermione had both snuck up on her. Hermione had been trying to tutor Ron in History of Magic in hopes to prep him for the exam and it seemed that they had just returned back from the library.
"Hey," Harriet said, sitting up from her position on the couch. It startled her to realize that she was now alone in the common room. In fact, it was rather late. She could already see the stars. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her letter. Hermione noticed.
"Whats that?" she asked curiously. Harriet said, "A letter from my parents."
"Are the angry with you?" Ron asked quietly. Harriet grimaced and clenched the letter in her first, rumpling it even more.
"No," she told her friends bitterly, "they are disappointed in me." Both Ron and Hermione gave their friend sympathetic glances, knowing how difficult it must be for her to displease her parents.
"Well cheer up," Ron said, "At least we've got detention with Hagrid!" Harriet raised her head and looked at him curiously.
"You've got detention?"
"For the Tickling Charm, remember?" He prodded. "I convinced Flitwick to let me have detention with you guys."
"Speaking of which," Hermione urged, trying to pull her friend from her seat, "we have to be there soon! We can't be late to detention!" Laughing at Hermione, Harriet got up off her seat and, after placing the letter back in her room, the three made their way to Hagrid's hut, speculating as to what he would have them do. When they got there, Neville was already waiting and Filch had already brought Draco outside. Filch sneered at them.
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "Oh yes… hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me… It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out… hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed… Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."
"Leave 'em alone, Filch," came Hagrid's voice from the Hut. They could here him rummaging around as he prepared.
"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf?" Filch snapped, noting the curious looks on their faces. "Well, think again, girl — it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."
At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.
"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night — there's all sorts of things in there — werewolves, I heard."
Both Hermione and Ron grimaced. They were unsure of why, but they knew that Harriet had a soft-spot for werewolves and wouldn't hear a bad word said about them. One of the Gryffindor students had learnt this the hard way a few months back when he had let slip his distaste for the creatures. He had gone to bed that night to find a very angry snake waiting for him.
Needless to say, nobody in Gryffindor said a word against werewolves with Harriet around. Malfoy wasn't a Gryffindor, though.
"Oh, shove it, Malfoy," she scowled, not really in the mood to chew him out.
Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, the moonlight barely giving them enough light to see Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
"Alright," he said, "ready ter go? You be needin' anything else, Filch?" The caretaker aimed a caustic glare at the giant.
"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.
Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.
"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harriet was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it." Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.
"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."
"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Neville Ron, an' Hermione'll go one way,-"
"Okay," Ron said weakly.
"-Draco, Harriet, an' Fang'll go the other." Both Harriet and Draco gave each other disgusted glances, but Harriet nodded nevertheless. "Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now — that's it — an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh — so, be careful — let's go."
They wandered through the woods for a while until they came to a fork in the path. Giving a reassuring smile to Ron and Hermione, Harriet and Draco began making their way down one side on their own. Fang followed them. As they walked and kept their eyes open, Draco continued to complain.
"This is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this-!" Draco apparently couldn't think of any words to describe his father's wrath. Harriet huffed and rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, Malfoy," she told him tartly, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared!" Draco frowned at her stopping short.
"I'm not scared, Potter," he told her indignantly, "I just-" A rustling in the bushes cut him off. Harriet whipped her lantern around. For a moment, she thought she saw a hooded figure move through the woods, but when she blinked, it was gone.
"Did you hear that?" Draco gulped, momentarily forgetting himself and grabbing the sleeve of her robe. "Was it a werewolf?"
"Quit it with the werewolves," she hissed. "It isn't even the full moon!" Then Harriet realized that Malfoy still had a firm grip on her sleeve. "And let go of me," she roughly shoved him off and Malfoy scowled.
"Excuse me for trying to comfort you," he said, trying to retain the last of his dignity. Harriet's mouth dropped and she snorted.
"Yea," she said dryly, moving forward and calling Fang with a click of her tongue. "I really needed comforting from the likes of you."
Harriet noticed that splashes of silver were becoming for frequent: there on a bush, on the roots of a tree. It was as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harriet could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look —" she murmured, holding out her arm to stop Malfoy.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.
It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harriet had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.
Harriet and Draco stood transfixed for a moment, but the snap of a branch snapped them both out of it. Some bushes quivered slightly and then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure, the same one she thought she had seen earlier, came crawling across the ground like some stalking time, Harriet was the one to reach for Malfoy's sleeve, clutching it tightly in a white knuckled grip. She felt Fang press his head to her stomach as the cloaked figure finally reached the unicorn. Harriet hadn't been sure what to expect, but she was not expecting to see it bend down and lower its head over the gaping wound in its side and begin to drink. Harriet's breath began to come in short, weak, gasps. She couldn't breathe for fear. Malfoy, however, didn't seem to have that problem and let out a terrible scream.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
He turned and bolted, Fang following. Harriet, having still held his sleeve in her hand, stumbled and was pulled backwards, tripping over a root. Draco's scream had caught the attention of the hooded figure (Of course it had, Harriet thought wryly, heart pounding. It probably caught the attention of every creature in the Forbidden Forest). The figure stood up shakily, its head turning to scan the woods. Harriet prayed that it wouldn't see her, as she was slightly concealed by a bush, but it was pointless. It looked right at her and began to walk towards her.
Move. Move. Move. Harriet tried to get her feet or hands or anything to work, but they didn't seem in the mood to listen. The thing took another step towards her and finally her legs decided that that would be a good moment to run.
She shot up and turned around, ready to sprint towards the safety of Hogwarts, but the figure was too close. She felt a hand close on the back of her cloak and, suddenly, she was hit with a pain she had never felt before.
Half-blinded, she tried to move forward, away from the figure, but its grip was too strong. Just as she felt as if her scar was going to split in half, she heard hooves behind her, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harriet, coming between her and the hooded figure.
Falling to her knees, Harriet took several shuddering breaths, waiting for the pain to pass. A few minutes later, once she finally felt as though she was no longer going to throw up, she looked up. The figure had gone. Another creature was standing over her but she could not tell if it was a man or a horse. A centaur, she realized. He had white-blond hair and a palomino body.
"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harriet to her feet.
"Yes — thank you — what was that?"
The centaur opened his mouth to answer, but then thought better of it. Harriet watched as his bright blue eyes scanned her face and then, after a moment, made the customary flick up to Harriet's scar. Harriet couldn't help but reach up and press the heel of her palm against her still burning scar.
"The forest is not safe, now," he said finally, "especially not for you. My name is Firenze. Can you ride? I must get you back to Hagrid as soon as possible." As he spoke, he moved to lower himself so that she could clamber onto his back
Harriet had never ridden a horse before, but, contrary to what some might think, she was positive that it was nothing like riding a centaur. She couldn't seem to find an appropriate place to hold on and, at the pace they were galloping, Harriet was positive she would fall off. Thankfully, Firenze soon slowed to a walk.
Even after her near death experience, Harriet once again found her insatiable curiosity raging. Firenze didn't seem to notice, though. All he told her was to keep her head low in case of low hanging branches. Unless this was a code of some sorts among the centaurs, he left Harriet's mind up to its own devices to attempt and work out what had were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped. Harriet let out a light squeak as she struggled to hang on from the jolt. Firenze paid it no mind.
"Harriet Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
"No," said Harriet, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
Harriet found that her mouth was suddenly very dry. She cleared her throat. "But who would choose such a life?" she whispered, although she had a feeling she already knew the answer. Firenze answered her with another question.
"Can you not think of something that is hidden in this very school? Something that would bring you back to full strength and power?"
"The Philosopher's Stone!" Harriet exclaimed. Firenze hissed and she lowered her voice. "But who would go through all this trouble?"
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"
It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harriet's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Sirius had told him on the day they had met: "Some say that he died that night. Others aren't so sure. Some think that he didn't have enough human left in him to die, and that he is out there, waiting, biding his time."
"Do you mean," Harriet croaked, "that was Vol- "
"Harriet! Harriet, are you all right?"
Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her, Ron following.
"I'm fine," said Harriet, hardly knowing what she was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."
"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."
Harriet slid off his back and Firenze looked up at the sky. He sighed.
"Mars is bright tonight," he murmured. He looked back at Harriet, blue eyes bright in the darkness. "Good luck, Harriet Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. For your sake, and that of your friends, I hope this is one of those times."
He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harriet, Ron, and Hermione shivering and confused in the dark forest.
The three friends were sitting in the common room. Harriet had finished explaining to Ron and Hermione what had happened and now all three were wide awake.
Harriet couldn't sit down. She paced up and down in front of the fire. She was still shaking.
"Somebody wants the stone for Voldemort… and Voldemort's waiting in the forest… and all this time we thought somebody just wanted to get rich…"
"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.
Harriet wasn't listening.
"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so… he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen… They must show that Voldemort's coming back… I suppose that it written in the stars that Voldemort is going to kill me..."
"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.
"Quirrell was crying earlier, which means that he's probably snapped at this point-"
"So admit that Snape is pressuring him to steal the Stone!" Ron said triumphantly.
"Did you not hear a word I've been saying?" Harriet demanded. "Voldemort," Ron flinched, "is waiting in the Forbidden Forest! He's the one making Quirrell do all this stuff, not Snape! It makes sense!"
"How did you know that Quirrell was crying earlier?" Hermione asked suddenly. "We didn't have Defense today." Harriet blinked.
"Oh, er," she said, "I heard some other students talking about it in the hall." Hermione nodded, satisfied, and Harriet continued feverishly. "So all I've got to wait for now is Quirrell to steal the Stone, then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off…"
Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.
"Harriet, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of, with Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."
The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.
When Harriet pulled back her sheets, she found her invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:
Just in case.
AN: Alright, so I really am sorry for the wait, but I've been really busy studying AP Exams and writing papers and...yea. I know: not the greatest excuse. I figure that I'll probably end up updating more like this (that is, once a month) instead of as frequently as I used to, although I will definitely do my best to get new chapters up as fast as I can. I could write shorter chapters with more frequent updates, if you'd like, so let me know and I might give it a try.
Thanks again for all the love you guys have shown this story. It makes me feel really... well, happy (although "happy" doesn't seem to cover it. "Elated" might be a bit better). Keep reviewing, adding to your favorites, and subscribing, please! And let me know what you think about the whole update situation.
tinyrose65