Quillian: Thanks for the complement. Now it gets dark.
T-person: Thanks for the complement. I'm sadly not to familiar with the war of 1812, I'll have to look into the tactics used to defeat a more powerful force. Were you referring to a specific battle? And if so could you send me the name of the battle: Thanks.
Froggie2: Me too, but I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this. I'll try and finish as soon as possible. Take care.
AntiBush: You're well versed in History, but the Battle of Britton was a great example of the smaller less powerful force beating the more powerful force. The Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF five planes to one. I agree that the Germans turning on London was a luck break for the British, but, that wasn't the only thing that saved them. It was skill, Intel, and courage. Yes, Marietta has all the knowledge, and Harry is clueless, because he's thinking that it's Draco, working with You-Know-Who. As I recall there was a lot of strategy used at Roark's Drift, and maybe they were not facing as many Zulu, but still about two hundred men against several thousand is quite an achievement. Have you been to the mission station? Did they preserve it as a museum station or something like that?
Well, this is my new chapter. It takes place the night of the last one. I'll try to finish. If I don't then try to imagine that Harry and Cho have a happy ending. Thanks again for posting.
Chapter 40: Torment in Room #473
That Night: One o'clock in the morning
Marietta and Seamus walked carefully and quietly down the sixth story corridor of the North Tower, until they came to the fourth door down. They gently and slowly pushed open the door and slipped into a room of sixth year Ravenclaw girls, who were fast asleep in their beds. There were four beds, like in all the other common rooms, each with their curtains drawn. One of the figures moved up to the first bed, and moved the curtain away with one hand as they pointed their wand at the sleeping girl with the other.
"Quiesco Profundus," Marietta said quietly. A white beam shot out of the wand and into the sleeping girl. She twitched for a moment, but was then very still. The flash started to awaken a second girl across from her, and she sat up quickly, but Seamus softly repeated the same spell, and the girl fell back lightly in her bed. Then they moved independently to the last two beds in the room and repeated the spell on the last two girls. When they had finished they pulled the curtains back on the last four post bed, pulled the sheets down and looked down at the unconscious figure of Padma Patel. The female used a stiffening spell to straiten her body like a board, and then a levitation spell to raise it from her bed. Marietta then moved to open the door, and look into the corridor, as Seamus pushed the unconscious body of Padma by the shoulders up to the door.
"Okay, it's clear, let's go. Marietta whispered, as she stepped quietly down the hall, and moved to the top of the stairs. She waited for Seamus to catch up to her. "Wait here." She said softly.
"Where are you going?" Seamus asked. Marietta spun around, and put a finger to her lips.
"Shuuuu. Look I've got to go cover up the evidence as we leave. The masters are sure to do the same thing that they did yesterday, and try to find out how she got out of her room, after they find her. There can be no trace of what really happened here. Now take her down stairs, I'll be along in a few minutes." Marietta said in the softest whisper. She then went back into the room that they had just left and began casting spells, to erase the memory of what had occurred there.
Seamus stood down stairs for the next several minutes, waiting for Marietta to finish, the body of Padma hovering beside him. He looked at the unmoving paintings that she had zapped with her wand to freeze them, just like she had done with the painting of the soldier and his lady outside the common room. Finally Marietta came back down the stairs zapping the walls, ceiling and floor behind her as she did. Marietta continued this process as Seamus pushed Padma out the secret common room passage. When they were both out in the hall Seamus turned to Marietta.
"Now what? You can't zap everything while we go down the halls, it would take to much time!" He said anxiously.
"Not to worry love. Just catch Patel as I get rid of the levitation spell." Marietta said as she pulled out her wand and dispelled the levitation charm. Padma started to fall, as her legs hit the ground with a light thud, but Seamus was able to keep her upper body from hitting the floor. "Hold her up." Marietta said to Seamus to make sure that the coast was clear. Seamus held her up by hooking his arms under her, as Marietta also dispelled the sleep charm that Padma was under. Marietta lightly slapped her to wake her up, and Padma groggily opened her eyes. Marietta then pulled out her wand and held it too her head.
"What… what's going on?" Padma asked sleepily, just before she was hit by a memory charm that made her quite for a minute.
"Now you think that were heading to a party and that Allen Miller is waiting for you. You will be quite because it's after curfew, and you don't want to get caught." Marietta said in an authoritive tone.
"Yes, I'm going to see Allen." Padma said sleepily. Marietta then produced her invisibility cloak, and motioned Seamus to get next to Padma. Marietta then began zapping the surrounding area with her wand, blue sparks flashing out. When she was done she moved herself under the invisibility cloak on the other side of Padma. They moved through several corridors and stairways down into the dungeons, at a slow pace. Padma was slowing them up, as she was still "drunk" from the memory charm. They kept a steady pace however, stopping only once when the Bloody Barron, the ghost of Slytheren house floated by. After what seemed an eternity they finally arrived at their destination; storage room number four seven three. They all moved inside, and Marietta closed the door behind them.
"Luminous, Marietta said, and her wand lit up a room full of boxes, old desk, and file cabinets. In the center of the room sat a single wooden chair. Marietta guided Padma over to it, and sat her down. Padma looked around at the room, everything had dust on it, and it looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time. Marietta lit two torches hanging next to the door with her wand to bring additional light into the room.
"What's going on Marietta? Where is the party?" Marietta raised her wand again and magical ropes appeared around Padma, and bound her to the chair. A second spell caused a gag to appear in her mouth, to keep her quite. Padma's eyes showed the fear that her voice could not convey, she struggled in vain to free herself from the ropes, and tried uselessly to cry for help. Marietta now turned to Seamus.
"Now love, lets start looking for that Bogart." Marietta said as they both started looking around the boxes, and other clutter in the room. They had been searching for ten minutes when finally Seamus saw a file cabinet shaking in a corner.
"There!" he said pointing to the object. Marietta levitated it around the room, and brought it down to ground next to the wall that Padma was facing. Seamus held his wand up, and looked at Marietta. "Open it now?" Seamus asked. Marietta scoffed.
"Of coarse not… Padma and I have some chatting to do first." Marietta said as she pulled a chair over to where Padma sat. Marietta sat down in front of the girl that she had tied up. "Now Padma, I just wanted to say that I have absolutely nothing against you. You're a pureblood and I highly respect you for that. I would have loved to have you in our organization, but alas it wasn't meant to be. But don't worry in the future your family will be taken care of, and might even be leaders in a grand new society that excludes all but our own kind. Now, I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth, but I need you to be very quite. If you scream I'll have to hit you with a jinx, do you understand?" Marietta said casually. Padma nodded. "Good!" Marietta said happily as she took off the gag. Instantly Padma erupted into a fit of anger.
"What the hell do you think your doing Marietta? Have you lost your mind, you can't keep me tied up here, and what's all this crap you're babbling about new societies, and our own kind?" Padma said loudly. Marietta held up a finger to Padma's lips.
"Shuuu, don't bother with it. I'm going to tell you a story now about Bogart's. Now Bogart's are amazing creatures. They become your worst nightmare when you encounter them, but they are no danger to older children, or adults, because they are simple to get rid of you just flick your wand, imagine it looking silly in some way, and say Ridiculous, and they are completely harmless, and any children not old enough to have a wand are simply taught to avoid them. Bogart's also don't bother people too much anyway, because their ability to become the worst nightmare of the person is merely an evolved defense mechanism. You see I've been doing some reading of late, and I found that out. Now a Bogart will attack something right in front of it because it may feel threatened. But like I said any witch or wizard with a wand can get rid of it, just by a wave of a wand and a simple incantation…" Marietta explained, but was cut off.
"Marietta I don't give a shit about Bogarts', we learned that in my third year, so what? You want to see if I can perform the spell? Is that why you tied me up?" Padma screamed. Marietta slapped her hard across the face. Padma was quite, but had a pissed look on her face.
"Two things, first I told you to keep your voice down, and second I don't like being interrupted. Now where was I… oh yes, as I was saying, Bogarts are hardly a threat if you have even the most basic training in Defense against Dark Arts… and a wand. But what if you didn't have one, and then what would you do Padma?" Marietta asked her voice becoming more sinister.
"I would just avoid it; they leave you alone if you don't bother them. They only attack if you crowd them in." Padma said. "Now untie me now Marietta and I won't kick your arse. I have to meet my boyfriend at a party." Padma said angrily. Marietta sighed.
"Yea, I don't think that you're going to make that party. You see that file cabinet? There's a Bogart in there, and someone is going to kill you with it tonight." Marietta said. A look of terror came over Padma's face.
"What? Marietta… please let me go." Padma said her voice changing to one of nervous pleading. Marietta smiled at her, and walked around behind the chair. She then turned around facing the back of Padma's head. Marietta leaned in close to Padma's ear, and whispered softly.
"It's going to be a really horrible, tragic death too. Your probably going to be the first person in five years to be killed by a Bogart. Imagine that… to be killed by your worst nightmare. Padma started breathing heavily, as she looked back at Marietta and struggled again to free herself. She pleaded to be let go, still not believing that Marietta was serious, but genuinely being creeped out by Marietta's scary tone and behavior. Padma started to cry.
"Marietta please let me go, I won't tell anyone that you tied me down in here, and I just want to go back to my room. Marietta suddenly gave Padma a tight hug from behind that made Padma think that she intended to let her go.
"Ooooh Padma, you don't know how sorry I am that this has to happen. Your family is pureblood, and we need people like you, but… but we need Potter out of school, and sacrifices must be made. Sort of like wizard chest you know. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the important pieces to put the king in check. I will miss you, even though we didn't talk much I will miss having any pureblood in my house." Marietta said softly, and then kissed Padma on the cheek.
"Marietta, we don't have time for this, you haven't ghost proofed this room yet, do it now or one of them could float by at any moment and discover us." Seamus said agitated. Marietta rolled her eyes.
"Oh, alright love. Oh! You did zap everyone in Potter's dorm room with the sleeping spell tonight right?" Marietta asked concerned.
"Yes of coarse, just like we did with her and her friends. They'll still be out by the time I get back with Potter's wand." Padma noticed for the first time that is was Seamus Finnegan in the room with Marietta.
"Finnegan, please, you're a friend of my sister, you wouldn't do anything to harm me right? Please make her let me go! I'm scared." Padma pleaded. Seamus seemed not to hear her, or not to care. Marietta looked around the room one last time.
"Alright, let me take care of something first." Marietta said as she walked over to the wall adjacent to the corridor. Marietta waved her wand and cast a spell removing a single black brick from the middle of the wall. She grabbed it and set it on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Seamus said visibly upset. Marietta turned her head, tossing her hair.
"Well I want to watch this from outside. I've never seen anyone killed by their worst nightmare before. Should be fun." Marietta said casually.
"What are you talking about! Oh god!" Padma started screaming… "Help, help, their going to kill me!" Marietta ran over to Padma, and covered her mouth with her hand. I thought that I told you to be quite! Marietta said through gritted teeth. Padma mumbled something incoherent through Marietta's hand.
"What was that Padma?" Marietta asked. Padma repeated something but because Marietta had her hand over her mouth she could not be understood.
"Ha, opps, forgot. Now if you promise not to scream, I'll remove my hand, if you do scream, I'll take away your voice… understand?" Marietta asked. Padma nodded tears streaming from her eyes.
"Good then are we agreed that you won't scream?" Marietta asked. Padma again nodded her head, and Marietta lifted her hand.
"Marietta please don't kill me, you said you liked purebloods, I'm a pure blood, you'll be killing one of your own, look I'll join your society thingy, please I want to live, please don't kill me!" Padma pleaded for her life.
"Oh, but dear… I'm not going to lay a finger on you, neither is Seamus, you're going to be killed by Harry Potter." Marietta said with a sadistic smile.
"What, are you kidding me? Harry would never do that." Padma said.
"Oh, I'm afraid that he would, he already almost killed Cindy Miggins, and threatened you and Miller. I'm afraid that he's gone quite insane. But you'll have a chance to talk with him yourself; after all… he brought you down here." Marietta finished her voice light and cheerful. Padma looked up at her with disbelief.
"Marietta… you two brought me here." Padma said still crying. Marietta smiled and ran her hand through Padma's dark hair, while raising her wand with the other.
"No dear, Harry Potter brought you here. Let me help you remember." Marietta finished. She recited a memory charm, and a yellow beam emitted from her wand, and covered Padma's head. "Now, your last memory was that Harry Potter convinced you that he had apologized to Allen Miller for threatening you, and had invited you to a party down here where Allen Miller was waiting for you, but when he brought you down here he tied you up, and left you for a moment. Do you understand?" Marietta asked.
"Yes, Potter invited me down here, and tied me up." Padma said in a slurred voice. Marietta smiled.
"Good girl and you don't remember ever meeting Seamus or myself tonight at all. You met Harry after you snuck out… got it?" Marietta finished. Padma nodded. Marietta then proceeded to clear up any evidence in the room, with the spell to cover up evidence that she had used so often. She shot sparks over the ceiling, walls, and floor. Finally she went to the wall where she had removed the brick, and added a glass pain to it.
"How long do we have before the spell wears off, and they would be able to see things that happen in the room again Marietta?" Seamus asked concerned.
"Only moments, so, get under the invisibility cloak with me now!" Marietta, said. Seamus did so and they moved out of the room, and over to the outside wall to where the window made by Marietta was positioned. Seamus looked at Marietta under the cloak.
"How much evidence will be erased? Everything?" He asked.
"Everything for about two to three hours before, but it doesn't matter, because nothing much happens in the room anyway. The time we were in there will be erased." Marietta replied.
"But it will not show that Potter tied her up. If the Masters look at her in there with their magic, it will show Potter walking in and finding her in there, but not going in with her." Seamus said. Marietta rolled her eyes. It would have cost too much time, and we don't have that. Besides if you explain everything as Potter, then they won't worry about it. Just be convincing. Now we should wait about ten minutes to make sure that when the masters eventually find her that they see Potter enter the room. Now turn into him, and get ready." Marietta finished. Seamus dissolved into a clear blob, for a moment, and then reformed into a naked Harry Potter, his clothes had fallen through his blob form, but he was still under the cloak. He carefully put the clothes back on underneath it, but it was hard to do, his legs stuck out several times. After he had finally been able to get dressed under the invisibility cloak, Marietta had decided that enough time had passed. The figure that was now Harry Potter lifted off the cloak so that only Marietta was concealed, and entered the room. As before Padma was tied to the chair, and struggling to get out, with no effect. She looked up, not surprised to see him, after all in her mind it was Harry Potter who had tied her up.
"Harry, let me out of here! Why did you tie me up? Why have you brought me here? This isn't the party, and I'm scared." Padma said with a quivering voice.
"I tied you up Bitch… because, I hate purebloods like you. You people act like your better than everyone else, and I take a lot of flack from the Slytherins about not being completely pure. That's why I zapped that Slytheren boy on the train, and that's why I'm going to hurt you. You and Miller think that you can yell at me and get away with it? Do you know how angry I was? That was insulting, arguing with me like that. I'm going to make all you purebloods pay; I'm going to make sure that there is no place in the wizarding world for any of you. One by one, I'm going to take you all out." Harry said angrily to a sobbing Padma. She looked up at him.
"Harry what are you talking about? Your best friend is a pureblood. You don't have anything against us! Why are you doing this?" Padma pleaded, her face turning pale. Harry gave her a sinister smile.
"You see though Padma, that's just it. If my best friend is a pureblood, then no one will suspect that I'm the one who's about to start killing the other purebloods, and lead the non purebloods against everyone. Of course, there are a few other Muggleborn and half bloods working with me, but it's my grand design to get rid of you people. It's partial revenge for all the crap I've taken from Slytheren all these years. My revenge will be getting rid of all of you." Harry boasted. Padma looked at Harry with disbelief.
"Harry, you and Ron, and my sister and me… we all went to the Yule ball together the year before last, you're not yourself. What's going on?" Padma pleaded.
"You made me look bad in the Yule ball committee, that's what's going on! And you have to be punished for that. That's what's going on. Do you really think that you can do that to me and I wouldn't do anything about it?" Harry said angrily.
"Harry I'm sorry, I didn't know… that it upset you so much, I'll apologize in front of… the whole committee, I promise, just please let me out of here." Padma pleaded again with tears flowing down her eyes.
"Too little, too late!" Harry replied with rage. He took the chair across from Padma. "Now I'm going to tell you why I really brought you down here, why I lied to you about apologizing to Allen Miller, and how I'm going to kill you Padma. Harry went into a brief summary about Bogart's, which was almost word for word what Marietta said before she erased the memory from Padma's mind. Marietta looked at them through the window, and then glanced at her watch. It was getting very late.
"Hurry up you fool!" she whispered to herself. Finally Harry walked behind Padma, and pushed her chair up closer to the shaking file cabinet. Everyone could imagine the Bogart getting nervous. Padma still struggled to get out of her chair, crying hysterically at knowing her intended fate. She begged for her life, but Harry said nothing. Harry used his wand to levitate the chair even closer to the cabinet. Marietta watched with a smile, she felt excited, and a little guilty because of it, Padma being a pureblood and all. But she was almost drooling at the mouth with anticipation. Harry raised his wand a final time and backed away from Padma.
"What's your biggest fear Padma?" He asked. Padma said nothing, but looked up in horror at the file cabinet in front of her. Harry pointed his wand at the cabinet. "Alohomora!" Harry shouted and in the same instant the drawer to the cabinet opened and, the deadly swarm came out. The initial scream, and those that followed it, sent chills up Marietta's lovers spine, and he left the room swatting away the objects of Padma's torment. He closed the door behind him, and felt around for the invisibility cloak. He found it quickly by the window. Marietta hadn't moved from her spot. She looked transfixed at the spot where Padma sat dieing a horrible death. Finally she looked down. Harry had turned into the blob, as soon as he was under the cloak, and then reformed into Seamus.
"Disgusting! Poor girl. I didn't know it would be that bad." Seamus said genuinely horrified. Marietta looked back through the window one last time, and turned to Seamus with a look of euphoria on her face.
"Fascinating creatures Bogarts… Fascinating!" she said overjoyed. Seamus looked at her as if she were a stranger to him, it was one of the worst deaths that he had encountered in his long life, but Marietta seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Suddenly her lover felt slightly afraid of Marietta.
"Come on, we have to get back to our respective common rooms. I have to pretend to sleep, and you have to change the paintings back." He said. Marietta nodded.
"Very well love. I'll leave you now, and take the cloak. After I've gone turn into Potter, and go back to your dorm. Don't try to keep to the shadows this time. If someone catches you out, just run back to your dorm room where the real Potter is, and they can deal with you, err him then." The two murders went their separate ways, the shape shifter once again having to redress after transitioning to his blob form and back to Potter. Finally he made it to the Portrait of the fat lady and gave the pass word. From there he made his way to his dorm room, and made sure that everyone was asleep. He looked at Harry for a moment; he was tossing in his sleep and telling Allen Miller that he didn't mean what he was saying.
"Poor bastard; The nightmare you'll have in great detail tomorrow." The fake Harry said to the real Harry. Fake Harry took out Harry's wand and placed it on the nightstand next to the one that he had planted on Harry the last time that he was in filches office. Harry than took the fake wand and walked over to the window. He opened the window, and threw the wand out. Harry then melted to a blob, and then reformed as Seamus Finnigan, and crawled into bed, and pretended to sleep. Meanwhile Marietta had unfrozen all the pictures in the Ravenclaw common room, and stuffed the invisibility cloak under her bed. She slept well.