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Chapter 23

Nightmare Before Christmas

She had no idea where he was taking her. It was a 'Surprise'. She scoffed. She couldn't, for the world, understand how he conned her in to accepting this. She hated surprises! She only accepted this because of his dangerous puppy dog eyes and all the time he spent cajoling and sweet-talking her in to this. Her only condition was no blindfolds. Of course, being the Marauder he was, he got around it too.

"Sirius, I can't see!"

"Well Kitten, that is the purpose of the mists after all." She could almost hear the smirking in his voice. Moron.

As soon they had gotten out of Grimmauld Place, he had taken her hand and apparated them to a deserted grassland. Before she could get her bearings and look around, he had cast a spell that made thick mist curl in the air around them. They clouded the air, and gave everything around them a surreal, intangible look. They twisted and spun, in a slight, barely noticeable current beside them. Though she could barely discern anything, she felt safe with her hand clasped in Sirius'.

"Is it far?" Hermione tried prodding, only for Sirius to laugh at her. She sighed. They walked for what seemed eons to her, but in reality were only a few minutes. Suddenly Sirius stopped, and the mists started to dissolve. It was his towering silhouette that first became visible to her, then his eager eyes that sparked like his namesake and finally his lopsided grin. He leaned towards her, brushed a few strands that hid her ears, and whispered, his breath caressing her skin.

"Ready for your Christmas present?" Hermione closed her eyes and smiled.

"You mean another one?"

"You caught me."

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Open your eyes. They are here."

"They?" Her eyes flew open, and leaned around him to see what he was talking about. The sight that greeted her took her breath away. Sirius moved behind her silently; she barely noticed. They were in a small enclosure in an unfamiliar forest, far from the city light and masses. It was small, grassy plateau ringed by Deodars. The sky was littered with stars and the starlight made everything look magical. But that was not what captured her attention. The whole area was covered with dazzling yellow flowers of St John's Wort. It resembled a wild rose, often known in Ireland as the Rose of Sharon. They were reputed to possess certain magical and curative properties. But their most enticing aspect was that they were home to fairies, or rather it was believed that these flowers died and got reincarnated as fairies. Right now, her eyes beheld a sight few were ever lucky to. Fairies. Live, flittering fairies. Tiny, luminous creatures with translucent wings that caught the starlight just right.

"How?" She whispered in awe.

"You find many things when you're on the run."

"You're unbelievably lucky!"

"I know. I find it hard to believe too."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"But it crossed your mind, Poppet"

"Sirius!"

She turned around and glared at him. He smirked at her, laughing when she huffed. Reluctantly, her scowl faded, replaced by a fond smile. It was always comforting to her to hear him laugh.

Suddenly, Sirius gasped. He was looking at something behind her. A shiver went through her; she could feel someone's eyes on her. She turned and screamed, only for her voice to get caught in her throat. Lord Voldemort. The ground was peppered with fairies, their broken wings bringing forth a surge of tears. The pale face seemed to gleam in the starlight, an eerie smile gracing his lips. He slowly raised his wand, his lips forming those cursed words. She could see the green light surging towards her, and closed her eyes, accepting her fate. But her eyes flew open when she heard the thud behind her. She screamed.

"You didn't think I was going to let you go that easily, did you mudblood? You, who tried to deceive me with your petty lies!"

"I…"

"Silence!" He came, no, glided towards her. She could feel her resolve shaking, her legs failing. He caught her, his vice-like fingers almost bruising her. He used his wand to tip her face towards him and as she looked, his face morphed from Lord Voldemort's to that of Riddles'. He smirked at her and whispered.

"I know your secrets, Ms. Sparks."

She screamed, thrashing in his grip.

"Mia NO! It's me, HARRY! Wake up!"

"No…NO…Please no.."

"MIA! Wake UP!"

"NOOOO"

"Wake up Mia…It's Harry!"

Her eyes flew open. Her nightgown was drenched in sweat. Tears were streaming across her cheeks and she was whimpering. She tried to crawl away from Harry's grip but he soothed her with his words.

"Just a nightmare, Mia. Its ok… It's going to be ok." He cradled her like a baby and swayed her back and forth. Realizing it was just Harry, she clung to him and started sobbing. He patted her back and murmured nonsensical words. Gradually, her breath calmed down and she shakily drank the water he offered her. As though suddenly realizing who was in her bed she reared back.

"Harry! What are you doing here?!"

"You are welcome." He replied sarcastically. Hermione swatted him.

"Quit joking! What if you were caught?"

"As a matter of fact, we should head down. Septimus must be going bonkers."

"Septimus?"

"Yeah… He was the one who called for me. He heard you. You were screaming in your sleep and with all the girls gone, he couldn't do anything. He even thought of calling Dumbledore, it seems."

"Shoot! What will we do?"

"We will just give him the edited version." She started to speak but he raised a hand and said sternly.

"After I hear the full version, that is." She sighed. She knew from past experiences that he won't take no for answer. Of course, she had no right to complain. She was the same when it came to him. They shouldn't have to bear their burdens alone. She sighed again and started telling him. Snippets of the dream floated in the space between their minds. Hermione tried occluding as much as possible. No need to traumatize Harry more than necessary. He was silent for a moment, then leaned forward and took his wand from her desk. Waving his wand over her nightgown, he siphoned the sweat and then summoned a robe for her to wear.

They headed down to the common room where Septimus was nervously waiting. He fidgeted seeing Hermione's sunken eyes, and looked at Harry, hoping for an explanation. Harry nodded towards Hermione and silently led Hermione to the couch in front of the fireplace. He sat with her, only for her to lean and cuddle him. Septimus sat in the nearby armchair and waited patiently. Now that he knew Amelia was safe, he was willing to wait. Slowly the cracking of the fire and Harry hand in her hair made drift off to sleep. Confirming that she was sound asleep, Harry summoned a quilt and rearranged her so that she was lying in his lap. Septimus could see they had been doing this for a long time from the easy familiarity they had with each other.

"Thank You for calling me. I know it wouldn't have been easy for you." Damn right! Septimus thought. Lurking in front of the Slytherin common room, waiting for the least intimidating snake to ask for help and then waiting for Bolt to come down. No, it wasn't easy. It was nerve wracking.

"Will she be alright?"

"Yes. This is not new."

He had never thought the effect war had on the people, the victims. To him, it was something that happened to others. But now to have someone, his friend suffering from its aftermath…. He felt ashamed for not giving it a thought before.

"What was it about?" He didn't want to hear. Not really. He was surprised her screams hadn't woken up the castle. It was still haunting him. But he was like a moth to a flame. He knew he wouldn't come out of the confrontation unscathed, but he still had to know.

"Her… Friend. She saw him dying." From the way Bolt tripped over the word friend, Septimus knew the person was much closer to her. Maybe even to Bolt.

"I'm sorry." He didn't know what else to say. He knew those two words were useless.

"Don't be. You had nothing to do with it." Bolt's face had gone darker, and Septimus suddenly realized why the soft spoken boy was considered formidable in the Slytherin house.

"You can stay here…" Septimus was not pleased to utter those words to a Slytherin. His housemates were gonna kill him for willingly allowing a snake in to their Den. But Amelia looked like she needed his presence right now and he should be able to put away his prejudices for a night.

"Thank you. I know it's painful." Bolt slightly smirked at him, trying to lighten the situation. Septimus softly laughed, grateful for the reprieve.

"It's a one-time offer."

"I know."

Septimus once again nodded to Bolt and walked towards his dormitory. He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back. Bolt was looking at the fire, deep in thought. His hands, though; his hands were still combing through Amelia's hair, tracing what seemed like achingly familiar paths.

"Leglimens."

He saw the stream of memories. All the way from when the screams had first reached him, to when Bolt was accompanying a shaken Sparks down the stairs. He noted their easy familiarity with each other and the way the girl clung to Bolt, and was curious about that far-fetched look on Bolt's face. Had he seen the same somewhere? It seemed familiar.

He withdrew from his mind. Somehow the memories had made his usually unruffled emotions angry. Septimus was unconscious, his body drained from the intense struggle it just went through to fight the foreign presence. Tom looked at him distastefully and waved his wand over him. Instantly, Septimus shirt and tie straightened from their previously askew positions. His pale cheeks regained their glow and his eyes started fluttering.

"Obliviate"

Tom whispered and walked away, leaving Septimus to gather his bearings.

Hermione could feel Septimus' eyes on her. She sighed. All day he had treated her as if she would break. She didn't know if it was better to confront him and alleviate his fears about her mental health or just to sulk. They were walking around the lakes. Snow had fallen the night before and grounds were blanketed in white. The Giant Squid was lazing in the sun, the lake being frosted over. They had decided to take a stroll after lunch, since Septimus complained of a headache. Harry had gone to the common room to freshen up.

"Septimus, I'm perfectly fine, you know." He blushed at being caught.

"Err…"

"This is nothing new. I have learned to cope."

"But… it's not fair!"

"Life never is."

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"Does bitching about it make it any less nightmarish?"

"I didn't…" His words were cut off by a huge snowball hitting him from behind. He whipped around trying to find culprit, only to get a face full of snow. Hermione started laughing and caught a mouthful. She snarled playfully, knowing who it was and grabbed a handful of snow, throwing it at Harry, who was standing a few feet away grinning at them. Soon it escalated in to a full blown snowball fight, with the students from all the houses, who stayed back for holidays joining in. Septimus and Harry each assumed the captainship of two teams, with mounds of snows created as barricades. Hermione was sneaking behind Harry and preparing to throw a huge snowball at him but Harry turned on time and caught her red handed. He proceeded on to take his revenge and started tickling her.

"Oooh Harry Stop! Ah that tickles…Harry!"

"Serves you right, Mia." He winked at her and continued. "Using Slytherin tactics on a Slytherin, are we?"

"Harry! Come on…Please! Ow! Harry!"

Harry finally let go of her and together they collapsed in the ground. Looking at the clear blue sky, they tried to bring their breaths back to normal. After a few moments, students stopped their game, good-naturedly ribbing at Harry for abandoning his team, which had nevertheless held its own and the game was concluded to be a draw. The fighters started going back to the castle in two's and three's. Septimus came and gave them a hand, even Harry, and together they started walking back. Suddenly Hermione frowned seeing Septimus rubbing his head yet again.

"Your headaches not gone yet?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Nah… Stupid thing is still there. I don't know why I feel like this suddenly. I was alright in the morning."

"Where does it hurt? May be we should visit the Hospital wing."

"It's like my brain's pulsating. It's so maddening! When I try to concentrate on the last few days, the pain just spikes!" He suddenly winced.

"Aargh! See! Definitely shouldn't have done that."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

Leglimency?

I think so too.

Before they could say anything, Septimus suddenly came to a stop in front of them. They had to slow down to avoid a collision. A large fir tree was blocking their path; the large face poking around it could only belong to Hagrid. Both of them smiled widely, remembering their first ever Christmas at Hogwarts.

"Need a hand, Hagrid?"

"Naw… I got't."

"We could levitate it for you. It looks huge."

"Careful there Bolt, you don't want to anger him. He might unleash the beast on you." Said a pompous voice. Loud raucous laughter followed this comment. They whipped around to see Ursula smirking at them. A few other Students accompanied her.

"Cut it out, Brown. Hagrid didn't do anything." Hermione replied angrily.

"Oh yes, Myrtle died on her own." Harry winced hearing Myrtle's name. Hagrid's smile drooped and he started quietly walking away. Hermione was held back by Septimus from pulling Eileen's hair out. Eileen scoffed at her and walked away. Suddenly Hermione stiffened. She could feel old magicks pulling at her. Her eyes bulged, horrified at the realization. She looked at Harry and could see he had come to the same realization.

The Chamber of Secrets was being opened, again.

"He's been quiet all this while and now he opens it?"

"It's unprecedented. Basically every muggle-born is away. What's he trying to accomplish?"

They looked at each other as they were sprinting down the hallway. They'd been watching him for the past month, wondering what he'll be up to next. Since the chamber of secrets was out of the question, they were expecting more of a horcrux-oriented approach from him, and were ready to stop him before he even thought of doing something of that sort. But, to their dismay, or delight, he was normal. Maybe a bit too normal, but normal. He was attending all his classes and doing all his prefect duties. He was an active presence in the Slytherin common room and often could be found just sifting through the daily prophet. They had toned down their watch over the days, but were constantly on the vigil.

Something's off. Have we missed something?

I don't think so. We'd pinned him down. We'd have known.

Maybe. It's just your dream and Septimus… And now this.

Hey! Since when are you a mad believer in divination?

Oi! That's not what I meant, Mia! I've got this funny feeling.

It's called 'Uncertainty', as you had quite eloquently pointed out a while back. Take it in while it lasts.

At least one thing's certain.

What?

It's time that we closed that chamber once and for all.

Now that's more like the Harry I know.

… And admire!

Pft.

They rounded the corner leading to the Girls' lavatory and immediately, both came to a screeching halt. Lo and behold, at the entrance to the lavatory stood Tom Riddle, staring at them intently. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, eyes wide with bewilderment. Tom nodded his head and spoke.

"Surprised?"

Both of them stood, frozen. Tom grinned and then turned around. He proceeded to walk towards the center of the lavatory. A hiss echoed through the corridor.

"OPEN!" He parselmouthed.

The tap that he was facing glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. The sink began to move and then, it sank into the floor, revealing a huge pipe a person could easily fit into. Tom arched his head back and let out another psychopathic smile and jumped into the pipe. The duo were taken aback. Even in their wildest dreams, they could not have pictured such a scenario.

What… just happened?

He's inviting us in.

Harry, he was expecting us. Hermione's face grew rigid.

Looks like we grossly underestimated him, Mia.

But how could he? Our story was perfect. We never let up… Yet…

This doesn't mean he knows EVERYTHING about us, Mia. Don't flip out.

"I know your secrets, Ms. Sparks"

Huh?

That's what he said to me in my…. Um, nightmare.

And you blamed me for 'being a mad believer in divination'?

Get serious, moron.

All right, all right. Shall we stop wasting time and go down the rabbit hole then?

Lead on, Alice.

Harry chuckled and moved towards the pipe. A small laugh always did good to ease the mind, especially when things were about to get serious. He clenched his hands close to his body and jumped into the pipe. Hermione followed suit. Afterwards, the sink slowly rose from the floor and returned to its initial state. The pipe bearing the serpent insignia turned ninety degrees, producing an audible clank. The lavatory returned to its dormant state, keeping the secret hidden as it had done for hundreds of years.

A/N : Read and Review. You know we're hungry :P . Oh, and on a side note, the fairy hill mentioned here is actually based on a place in Northern India called 'Pari Tibba' :D .