The Eye of the Snake
Chrys ploughed her way back to Hagrid's cabin through two feet of snow on Sunday morning. Arthur and David decided to focus on what homework they had at the moment and remained in the common room, ignoring the gleeful shouts drifting up from the grounds outside, where students were enjoying themselves with skating on the frozen lake, tobogganing, and the most annoying, bewitching snowballs to zoom up to Gryffindor Tower and rap hard on the windows.
"HEY!" David bellowed out, having lost his patience and stuck his head out the window. "I'm a Prefect and if one more snowball hits the window - OI!"
He withdrew his head sharply as his face was covered in snow.
"It's Jack and Kevin." He said bitterly as he slammed the window shut behind him. "Twats…."
Chrys came back from Hagrid's just before lunch and she was shivering slightly, her robes damp to the knees.
"Well?" David said, looking up as she entered. "Did you plan his lessons out?"
"I tried." She said dully, sinking into a chair beside Arthur. She then pulled out her wand and gave it a complicated wave so that hot air could stream out from the tip; she then pointed it at her robes, which started to steam as they dried out. "He wasn't there when I arrived. I knocked for at least half an hour. Then he came stumping out from the Forest -"
Arthur groaned at this fact. The Forbidden Forest was teeming the kinds of creatures that could get Hagrid sacked. "Did he say anything about what he's keeping in there?"
"He didn't." Chrys shook her head miserably. "He said he wants them to be a surprise. I tried explaining about Umbridge, but he just wouldn't listen and understand. He keeps saying no one in their right mind would rather study Knarls than Chimeras… oh, crud, I hope he didn't get a Chimera." She added with the horrified looks on the boys' faces. "Thing is, from what he said, it's hard to get eggs. I've told him non stop to follow Grubbly-Plank's plan. I think he didn't listen to half of what I said. And he's been in an odd mood. He still won't say how he got all those injuries."
Arthur was thinking of various possibilities of how he got those injuries and there was one thought that he hoped wasn't the case because why would Hagrid do something that stupid?
Hagrid's reappearance at the staff table at breakfast the next day wasn't greeted with enthusiasm from all students. Some, like the twins, Lee and Mike roared with delight, the first three even sprinting up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to wring Hagrid's enormous hand; others like Parvati and Lavender exchanged gloomy looks and shook their heads.
Arthur was aware that many preferred Grubbly-Plank as their teacher, and Arthur felt some guilt as he acknowledged that even he preferred her lessons over Hagrid's. He may be friends with him, but at least Grubbly-Plank's lessons were still interesting with the lack of creatures that could rip someone's head off.
The trio were all apprehensive as they headed down Hagrid's cabin on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold.
Arthur was just worried about what Hagrid decided to teach them, but also about how the rest of the class, especially Draco and his cronies, would behave if Umbridge shows up to watch them.
So far, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the Forest.
He wasn't a reassuring sight since the bruises that were purple on Saturday were now tinged with green and yellow with some of his cuts still bleeding.
This further confirmed Arthur's worry about what caused his injuries, that he must've brought a giant with him and kept it in the Forest, going in to check on it regularly. It would also explain why he took so long to come back to Hogwarts.
Hagrid also seemed to be carrying what looked like half of a dead cow over his shoulder. Arthur remembered Hagrid mentioning having the only domesticated herd in Britain, and he remembered Grubbly-Plank mentioning that Hagrid had a herd of Thestrals, so he must be showing them off this lesson.
"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark."
"What prefers the dark?" Arthur heard Draco ask sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark - did you hear?"
Arthur remembered the only other time Draco entered the Forest, a time where he showed his true colours. Arthur smiled to himself, seeing that Draco was in discomfort.
"Ready?" Hagrid said cheerfully, looking around at the class. "Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em."
"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" Draco said, the panic in his voice now being more pronounced. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to the class, would it?"
All the Slytherins murmured in agreement, even a few Gryffindors thought he made a fair point.
"Course they're trained." Hagrid scowled as he hoisted the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.
"So what happened to your face, then?" Draco demanded.
"Mind yer own business!" Hagrid said angrily. "Now, if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!"
He turned and strode right into the Forest.
No one wanted to follow, so the trio all followed after him, leading the rest of the class.
They all walked for around ten minutes until they reached where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and no snow was on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid deposited his half a cow on the ground, stepped back and turned to face the class, most all creeping from tree to tree towards him, peering around nervously as though they expected to be set upon at any moment.
"Gather roun', gather roun'." He encouraged. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me."
He then turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like some call from a monstrous bird.
No one laughed as most of them looked too scared to make a sound.
Hagrid then made the shrieking cry again.
A minute had passed with the class continuing to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of what's to come.
Then, as Hagrid shook his hair to make the call a third time, Arthur looked into the black space between two gnarled yew trees and saw them.
There were a pair of blank, white, shining eyes that grew larger through the gloom and then a moment later, the dragonish head of a Thestral appeared, along with its neck and then its skeletal body from out of the darkness.
It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail before bowing its head and tore flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.
"Why didn't Hagrid call again?" David whispered to Arthur.
"Because they're here." He whispered back.
Most of the class wore confused expressions as wall nervous expectancy as they gazed everywhere but at the Thestral that stood feet from them.
There were only three others that seemed as though they saw them: a stringy Slytherin boy who stood just behind Goyle and watched the Thestral eat with distaste on his face; and both Neville and Mike, the former watching its swishing black tail and the latter at its wings.
"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid said proudly, as a second Thestral appeared from the dark trees, folding its leathery wings closer to its body and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. "Now… put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"
Arthur instantly put his hand up in the air.
"Yeah… yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Arthur." Hagrid said seriously. "An' you too, Neville, Mike, eh? An' -"
"Excuse me…" Draco said in his sneering voice. "...but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"
To answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds until several people gasped and Parvati squealed. It's easy for Arthur to understand why. To see bits of flesh stripping themselves away from bone and vanishing into thin air would look both odd and scary.
"What's doing it?" Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. "What's eating it?"
"Thestrals." Hagrid said proudly, making Chrys make a soft "Oh" in comprehension. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows -?"
"But they're really, really unlucky!" Parvati interrupted, looking alarmed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once -"
"No, no, no…" Hagrid chuckled. "...tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate, an' here's another couple, look -"
Two more Thestrals came out quietly from the trees, one even passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"
"Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh." Hagrid said patiently. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?"
Chrys raised her hand.
"Go on then." Hagrid beamed at her.
"Because the only people who can see them are people who've witnessed and processed death."
"Tha's exactly right…" Hagrid said solemnly. "...ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals -"
"Hem hem."
Umbridge had arrived. She stood a few feet away from Arthur, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagri, who hadn't heard her fake cough before, gazed with some concern at the closest Thestral, under the impression that it made the sound.
"Hem hem."
"Oh, hello!" Hagrid smiled, now finding the source of the noise.
"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" Umbridge said in the same loud, slow voice that she used with him earlier, like she addressed someone both foreign and very slow. "Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"
"Oh, yeah." Hagrid said brightly. "Glad yeh found the place alrigh'! Well, as you can see - or, I dunno - can you? We're doin' Thestrals today -"
"I'm sorry?" Umbridge said loudly, cupping her hand around her ear with a frown. "What did you say.
Hagrid looked confused.
"Er - Thestrals!" He said loudly. "Big - er - winged horses, yeh know!" He flapped his giant arms hopefully, which Arthur cringed, knowing how Umbridge would make it seem. She raised her eyebrows at him muttering as she made a note on her clipboard: "Has… to… resort… to… crude… sign… language."
"Well… anyway…" Hagrid said, turning back to the class and looked slightly flustered. "...erm… what was I sayin'?"
"Appears… to… have… poor… short… term… memory." Umbridge muttered loud enough for everyone to hear her. Draco looked like Christmas arrived early; both Arthur and Chrys were scarlet with suppressed rage.
"Oh, yeah." Hagrid said, throwing an uneasy glance towards Umbridge's clipboard, but ploughing on valiantly. "Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so we started off with a male an' five females. This one…" He patted the first Thestral that appeared. "...name o' Tenbrus, he's my special favourite, firs' one born here in the Forest -"
"Are you away…" Umbridge said loudly, rudely interrupting him. "...that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as 'dangerous'?"
Arthur's heart sank as Hagrid chuckled.
"Thestrals aren' dangerous! Alrigh', they might take a bite outta yeh if yeh really annoy them -"
"Shows… signs… of… pleasure… at… idea… of… violence." She muttered, scribbling on her clipboard again.
"No - come on!" Hagrid said, looking anxious. "I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it - Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing - people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"
Umbridge didn't answer as she just finished writing her last note. She then looked up at Hagrid, still speaking loudly and slowly "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk…" She mimed walking (making Draco and Pansy have silent fits of laughter). "...among the students…" (she then pointed around at individual members of the class) "...and ask them questions." She then pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.
Hagrid stared at her at a complete loss of words to understand why she acted as though he didn't understand normal English.
Chrys now had tears of fury in her eyes as Arthur's clenched fists shook.
"That evil hag!" Chrys whispered as Umbridge walked to Pansy. "You twisted, disgusting -"
"Erm… anyway…" Hagrid said, struggling to regain the flow of his lesson. "...so - Thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads o' good stuff abou' them…."
"Do you find…" Umbridge asked Pansy in a ringing voice. "...that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"
Like Chrys, there were tears in Pansy's eyes, but they were of laughter and her answer was nearly incoherent from her trying to suppress her giggles.
"No… because… well… it sounds… like grunting a lot of the time…."
Umbridge scribbled down on her clipboard. The few unbruised parts of Hagrid's face flushed, but tried to act like he didn't hear that.
"Er… yeah… good stuff abou' Thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' sense o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go -"
"Assuming they can understand you, of course." Draco said loudly, making Pansy now collapse in a fit of renewed giggles. Umbridge smiled indulgently at them before turning to Mike.
"You can see the Thestrals, McGonagall, can you?"
"Yes." Mike nodded.
"Who did you see die?" She then asked, her tone indifferent.
"My aunt when I was five." Mike answered.
"And what do you think of them?" Umbridge then asked, waving her stubby hand at the Thestrals, who now stripped a great deal of the carcass down to the bone.
"I honestly don't understand how they can be considered dangerous. They seem perfectly loyal to me." Mike answered casually, not showing a hint of fear or hesitancy, which clearly disappointed Umbridge, so she turned to Neville.
"Who did you see die?"
"My… my grandad."
"And how do you feel about them?"
"Erm." Neville said nervously, making a glance at Hagrid. "Well, they're… er… okay…."
"Students… are… too… intimidated… to… admit… they… are… frightened." She muttered, making her notes on the clipboard again.
"No!" Neville said, looking upset. "No, I'm not scared of them!"
"It's quite alright." Umbridge said, patting his shoulder with what is supposed to be an understanding smile, though it was clearly a leer.
"Well, Hagrid…" She then said, turning back to look up at him again, speaking again in that loud and slow voice. "..."I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive…" (she mimed taking something from the air in front of her) "...the results of your inspection…" (she pointed at the clipboard) "...in ten days' time." She held up ten stubby little fingers before smiling wider and more toad-like than ever beneath her green hat before bustling from their midst, leaving both Draco and Pansy in fits of laughter.
Both Arthur and Chrys fully shook with fury as both Mike and Neville looked upset.
"That foul, twisting gargoyle!" Chrys stormed half an hour later when making their way back up to the castle through the channels they made earlier in the snow. "She did it all because he's a half-breed! She tried to make Hagrid out to be some dimwitted troll, all because of his mother. It's not fair! And it wasn't even a bad lesson. If it was the Blast Ended Skrewts again, maybe, but the Thestrals are actually pretty good. Like Hagrid said, they're not dangerous!"
"Well, if they've been pulling the school carriages, then that must be the case." David said.
"I'm sure that someone Grubbly-Plank would've shown them before N.E.W.T. level. The way that some people could see them and some can't… I wish I could."
"Would you say the same after seeing someone die in front of your eyes?" Arthur said grimly with a glare, making Chrys realise what she said and looked horror struck.
"Oh… I'm so sorry, Arthur. That was stupid of me."
This left a tense and awkward air among the trio as they continued on.
December finally arrived, bringing more snow and a real avalanche of homework for the fifth years.
David and Chrys' Prefect duties became more and more onerous as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle, to watch over first and second years spending their break times inside thanks to the bitter cold and patrolling the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels.
Arthur didn't really want to think about Christmas. For the first time since coming to Hogwarts, he actually wanted to spend the holidays away from the castle. From worrying about the high chance of Hagrid facing probation and the fact that Umbridge is present, he just felt all kinds of resentful.
All that he looked forward to were Quidditch practices and the DA meetings, which had to stop over the holidays, since nearly everyone in the DA would spend the time with their families.
Chrys said she'll be going skiing with her parents and David would be going to Merlon Manor. Arthur didn't know whether to go to the Dentleys or to Merlon Manor, even though Martha wrote to David, saying that Arthur was invited.
A part of him considered spending the holiday at Grimmauld Place, just so that his godfather could have someone to be with other than Kreacher.
Arthur arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last DA meeting before the holidays and was glad about that because when the torches burst into flame, he saw that Dobby took it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas.
He knew it was the house elf that did it because no else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Arthur's face and bore the legend: HAVE A VERY ARTHUR CHRISTMAS!
He had managed to get the last of them down before the door creaked open and Luna entered, looking as dreamy as usual.
"Hello." She said vaguely, looking around at what remained of the decorations. "These are nice, did you put them up?"
"It was Dobby the house elf."
"Mistletoe." Luna said dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries that were almost over Arthur's head. He jumped away from under it, hoping he didn't get under any, especially around Cho.
"Good thinking." Luna said seriously. "It's often infested with Nargles."
Arthur was thankful that Angelina, Katie and Alicia arrived, because he didn't want to ask what Nargles were. The three looked breathless and looked very cold.
"You three alright?" He asked as they pulled off their cloaks and threw them into a corner.
"Yeah, had to rush over from the stadium." Angelina said as she pulled out her wand and flexed her arm.
David, Chrys, Mike and Neville soon arrived and then within five minutes, the room was full.
"Okay, then." Arthur said, calling everyone to order. "This evening, we'll just go over what we've done so far since this is our last meeting before the holidays. There would be no point to start something new right before a three week break -"
"We're not doing anything new?" Zacharias Smith rudely cut off with a disgruntled whisper that was loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come."
"I think it's time you stopped being nothing but a rude pisspot, Smith!" Arthur barked back at him. "You're giving your house a bad name!"
This made all the Hufflepuffs glare at Zacharias, as well as many others.
"Now, as I was saying, before the rude interruption…" He glared back at Zacharias. "...we'll be practising in pairs. The first thing will be the Impediment Jinx before we get out the cushions and try Stunning again."
Everyone divided up obediently, Arthur partnering up with Neville as usual.
The whole room was soon full of intermittent cries of "Impedimenta!". People would freeze for a minute or so, during which their partners would stare around the room and see how the other pairs were doing before they'd unfreeze and take their turn to try out the jinx.
Neville was actually the one to have improved the most beyond all recognition, which shocked Arthur a lot. After a while, after Arthur had unfrozen three times in a row, he had Neville join David and Chrys again so that he could walk around the room and watch everyone else.
When passing Mike, he felt chills up his spine when seeing him do well. But as he passed Cho, she beamed at him, making him cringe internally.
After ten minutes with the Impediment Jinx, they all laid out cushions all over the floor and started practising Stunning again.
Space was too confined to allow all of them to work this spell at once, so Arthur had half the group observe the others before swapping.
Arthur felt pride with the results. Yeah, Neville Stunned Padma instead of Dean, who he was aiming for, but it was much closer compared to his previous misses, and everyone else had made real progress.
By the end of the hour, Arthur called a halt.
"You've all done really good." He said, beaming at everyone. "When we get back from the holidays, we'll start doing some more big stuff… even the Patronus Charm."
This caused a great murmur of excitement.
The room then started clearing out in the usual twos and threes, most people wishing Arthur a 'Happy Christmas' as they went. Feeling cheerful now, he collected the cushions with David and Chrys, stacking them neatly away.
The two left before Arthur did as he hung back to see that Cho was still there.
"No, you go on." He heard her say to Marietta.
He pretended to make sure that the pile of cushions wouldn't fall as Marietta left and then he heard a hearty sniff.
He looked and saw that Cho was standing in the middle of the room with tears pouring down her face.
"Hey… are you alright?" He asked, concerned for her as he walked up to her.
She shook her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
"I'm - sorry." She said thickly. "I suppose… it's just… learning all this stuff… it just makes me… wonder whether… if he'd known it all… he'd still be alive."
Arthur felt so sorry for her, knowing she was talking about Cedric, deciding to try and comfort her.
"I'm sure that he did know all this stuff." He said, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "He was really good at it, otherwise he wouldn't have made it to the maze. It's just that… when you're facing Voldemort, you don't have much of a chance."
She hiccoughed at the mention of Voldemort's name, though she stared at Arthur without flinching.
"You survived when you were just a baby." She said quietly.
"Yeah, well… I still don't know how that happened." Arthur said. "And I'm not exactly proud of it, considering it reminds me of what I've lost."
The two were silent for a short while.
"I don't know if this will help, but I'm sure that when me and Cedric were in the graveyard, he was thinking about you. I know I would think about those I loved. And he was really lucky to have you as his girlfriend."
His words made her cry some more but she smiled back at him.
"Thanks." She hiccoughed. "That means a lot. "I'm really sorry to get all upset like this… I didn't mean to…."
"It's okay." Arthur said softly. "I mean… you lost someone you cared for in the snap of a finger and you have idiots disrespecting his death by saying it was an accident. And you probably don't have anyone to talk about this with… you were bound to be like this… but if you do want someone to talk to… I'm here for you." Arthur said, which lifted Cho's spirits up.
"Thank you." She said with a watery smile. "You're a r-really good teacher, you know. I've never really been able to Stun anything before."
"Thanks." Arthur said, feeling proud of himself.
"Mistletoe." Cho then said quietly, making Arthur's insides turn to lead as he looked up and saw some hanging over them from the ceiling.
He realised that he has to let her down gently and that he isn't interested in her romantically for certain reasons. He was scared to do it, but he had no other choice.
"I really like you, Arthur." Cho then said.
"Look, Cho…" Arthur said, trying to keep calm as sweat was now pouring down his forehead. "I… I… think you're pretty and all, but… I'm not interested in you. Not because of you yourself…" He hastily added when Cho looked devastated. "...it's just that… I'm only interested in boys."
There was nothing but awkward silence in the room as they stood, Arthur closing his eyes, ready for Cho to be disgusted by this revelation.
After several seconds of silence, Arthur steeled his nerves and opened his eyes to see a shocked expression on Cho's face, not one of disgust.
"You are?" She asked, sounding like she needed clarification.
"Yeah… I've known this since before the Yule Ball." He admitted.
"Then why did you go with a girl to the Ball?"
"Because I wanted to go there with a friend."
"Oh… so… has anyone caught your eye yet?"
After a few seconds of silence, Arthur gulped and nodded.
"Yeah, Michael McGonagall."
A look of understanding came across Cho's face.
"So that's why he suggested the name Dumbledore's Army?"
"Yes." Arthur nodded.
"Please, Cho, please do not tell anyone about this… I beg you. I don't want anyone to know until I feel ready to come out to everyone." Arthur then demanded from Cho.
"I promise. I just hope you get to tell Mike how you feel about him." Cho promised reassuringly.
Half an hour later, Arthur returned to the common room, finding David and Chrys by the couch in front of the fire; nearly everyone had gone to bed.
Chrys was writing a very long letter; having already filled half a roll of parchment, which dangled from the edge of the table.
David lay on the heathrug, finishing off his Transfiguration homework.
"What kept you?" He asked when Arthur joined them.
"I was just talking with Cho." He told them, knowing that he'll have to come to them, since they'll ask if they've kissed or not, so he mentally prepared for his best friends' reactions.
The two looked at each other as though they got a piece of gossip.
"And… how did it go?" David asked in a mock casual voice.
"Fine… I comforted her because she was crying about Cedric."
"Poor girl, she spends half her time crying these days, whether it's at mealtimes, in the loo, just all over the place." Chrys said.
"And… did anything else happen?" David asked, hinting at a kiss.
"No, we just talked before we left." Arthur replied truthfully, making the pair frown at each other.
"So… you two didn't kiss?"
"No." Arthur shook his head.
"Why?" Chrys asked in confusion. "She seemed to like you, we thought you liked her."
"That last part is completely inaccurate." Arthur said, his hands feeling sweaty.
"So then you like some other girl?" David asked, making Arthur look away before he decided now was the time.
"There is someone… but… it's actually a boy." He said quietly, looking at the looks on David and Chrys' faces as they slowly realised what he's implying.
"So, that means….?"
"Yes… I'm gay." Arthur confessed, ready for what they have to say.
Like with Cho, there was an awkward silence.
"How long have you known?" Chrys asked, sounding like she was being careful with how she spoke.
"Since before the Yule Ball." Arthur replied.
"Then why haven't you told us?" Chrys then asked.
"Because I was scared that you'd think I was disgusting." Arthur admitted.
"Arthur…" David said, looking like he was insulted. "...how could you ever think that? We would've accepted you being gay without question."
"Really?" Arthur asked, shocked in the best way.
"Yeah, and besides, the wizarding world is actually very accepting of different sexualities." Chrys said.
"Is it?" Arthur asked, finding himself filled with some form of joy.
"Yeah." David nodded. "We're very accepting and tolerant of gays and bisexuals, actually, even allowing same sex marrages. The only kind of prejudice is about blood purity."
Arthur couldn't believe what he was hearing. The wizarding world ultimately accepts gays and bisexuals… it's like he was being granted the Quidditch Cup or winning the Inter-House Championship, the amount of euphoria Arthur was now feeling inside of him.
"So… is there anyone that has caught your eye yet?" David asked teasingly.
"Yes. It's Mike." Arthur revealed, making their jaws drop.
"Really? Is that why he gives you Christmas presents?" David asked.
"Yeah…" Arthur replied, now realising what that crestfallen look meant when Arthur had that Valentine read to him in second year. "...and he was the one who sent my Valentine."
"Of course…" Chrys said, looking like the final piece of the puzzle was in front of her. "It all makes sense now."
"So… will you tell him how you feel?" David asked.
"I will… as to when, it'll depend." Arthur shrugged.
The trio all sat together for the next half an hour, chatting as David finished his homework and Chrys with her letter, which was to be sent to Krum.
They parted ways, going into their dormitories.
Both Arthur and David change out of their uniforms and into their pyjamas in silence; Mike, Dean, Seamus and Neville have already fallen asleep.
The two said "Goodnight" before they both started dozing off.
Arthur first dreamed of being in the Room of Requirement, finding nothing but Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby's head, being surrounded by Nifflers, all of which were circling him in some coordinated dance, which was very amusing.
However, the dream suddenly changed….
His body now felt smooth, powerful and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone… he was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly.
It was dark yet he could see various objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colours. He was a snake….
He then turned his head… at first, the corridor seemed empty… but there was a man walking down, his back facing him, his outline gleaming in the dark….
Arthur put his tongue out… he tasted the man's scent on the air… he was alive yet tired… still walking down at the end of the corridor….
Arthur found himself longing to bite the man… but he had to master his impulses… he had more important work to do….
But then the man stopped… he turned around and shouted. Arthur saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, a wand was withdrawn from a belt… he had no choice… he reared high above the floor and struck three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood.
The man yelled in pain… he then fell silent… he fell to the floor… blood splattered on the floor….
His forehead hurt horribly… it was aching to burst.
"ARTHUR! ARTHUR, WAKE UP!"
He opened his eyes.
Every inch of him was covered in icy sweat; his bed covers were all twisted around him like some straightjacket; he felt like a white hot poker was pressed against his forehead.
"Arthur!"
Both David and Mike stood over him, looking extremely terrified.
There were more figures at the foot of Arthur's bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was now blinding him… he ended up rolling over the edge of the mattress.
"He's really ill." A scared voice said. "Should we call someone?"
"Arthur!"
He had to tell David, it was important that he knew… he took great gulps of air as he pushed himself up and sat on the bed, willing himself to throw up, the pain half blinding him.
"Your dad." He panted heavily, his chest heaving. "Your dad has… been attacked…."
"What?" David asked in horrified shock.
"Your dad! He was attacked! Blood everywhere…."
"I'm going for help." The same scared voice said, Arthur hearing footsteps running out of the dormitory.
"Arthur… you were just dreaming…." Miek tried to calm him down.
"NO!" Arthur said furiously, he had to make David, as well as Mike, understand. "It wasn't a dream… I saw it… I did it…."
He heard Seamus and Dean muttering, but he didn't give a damn.
The pain in his forehead was now subsiding slightly, but he was still sweating and shivering furiously. He retched again and both David and Mike leapt backwards out of the way.
"Arthur, you're not feeling well." David said shakily. "Neville's gone to get help."
"I'm fine!" Arthur choked as he wiped his mouth on his pyjamas and shook uncontrollably. "There's nothing wrong with me, your dad is seriously attacked by a giant snake."
He tried to leave but both David and Mike held him back; Dean and Seamus still whispered nearby.
Arthur didn't know how much time passed, he just sat there shaking with the pain receding very slowly from his scar.
Then came hurried footsteps up the stairs and Neville's voice spoke.
"Over here, Professor."
McGonagall hurried into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her nose.
"What is it, Pendergast? Where does it hurt?"
A member of the Order of the Phoenix He had to tell her.
"It's Ben Merlon." He said. "He's been attacked by a large snake and is seriously injured. I saw it happen."
"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" McGonagall asked, her dark eyebrows contracting.
"I don't know… I fell asleep and then I was there…."
"You mean you dreamed this?"
"NO!" He said furiously. Why can't anyone just understand him? "I dreamt at first about something different, something stupid… then it was interrupted. It was real. I couldn't have imagined it. Ben Merlon was walking down a corridor and was attacked by a large snake. There was so much blood, he collapsed, someone must find him…."
McGonagall gazed at him through her spectacles like she was horrified by what she was seeing.
"I'M NOT LYING! AND I'M NOT MAD!" He told her. "I'M TELLING YOU! I SAW IT HAPPEN!"
"I believe you, Pendergast." McGonagall said curtly. "Put on your dressing gown, we're going to see the Headmaster."
Well... Arthur has finally come out to his friends. If only what happened afterwards didn't happen.