It is the last class of the day. Your sucker has long since dissolved its ingredients released into your system.
You have been entertaining yourself for half a hour already in Charms class by charming a top hat to give you a rabbit when you put your hand into it and pull out.
Professor Flitwick had finished his lecture on small scale charms for clothing. He then assigned the class to charm pieces of their clothing to resist water. You manage to get the spell off first and it makes Professor Flitwick gleeful, rambling on about your mother and her legendary skills with charms. So impressed was he that he awarded your house points and allowed you to experiment further with other clothing related charms in your text..
The text you are reading describes how to charm pockets so you can pull rabbits out of them. Thinking of the potential amusement you could have, you charm the front pocket of your robes.
This morning, when you had awoke, it was raining. Outside, thunder and lightening battled against the windows of Hogwarts, trying to get in.
Your skin had tingled all morning, and most of the day, you could hear the roar of the rain outside, and you could hear it beating at the windows while you sat in class.
It called to you. You could hear your name with each torrent of water that washed against the windows, and your body ached to be out in it. To feel the cold wetness against your skin.
The bell ringing in the background signals the end of Charms for today. You managed to pull three rabbits out of your pocket by the time class let out, and they had been sitting there on your desk, just staring at the others in the room. Quickly, you stuff them back into the pocket, and they go back to wherever they came from.
You keep the charm on your pocket, this will be something amusing to share with Luna later. The thought of meeting up with her puts a smile on your face. She had become a great person to hang around with. Ron and Hermione had spent all their time since your free falling indecent trying to get you to go cold on the Morning Glory.
They'd become pestering and annoying. You hated annoying.
Making your exit from the class room, you ignore everyone. You need to be out in the rain, you cannot ignore its call any longer.
–
Harry made his way quickly through the hallways of Hogwarts, heading towards the giant doors that lead to the outside. Dodging students and faculty alike. Harry sighs a bit as Colin Creevy runs up behind you, camera around his neck.
"Hey, Harry! How about a picture?" he asks in a high pitched, breathless voice.
Harry reaches into his pocket, thinking about a jinx that would slow him down and allow you to escape, but instead of pulling out your want, you pull out a rabbit.
The soft fur of the rabbit rubs against his skin and makes Harry shiver, and causes him to stop. Colin keeps walking before he realizes that Harry isn't moving anymore and comes back to Harry, readying his camera, thinking that Harry was going to let him take a picture.
His hands fumbled quickly with the dials and knobs, trembling with excitement. His hero was going to let him take a picture, finally!
The new dose Harry is on had been potent. The lolly-pops had been an excellent idea for a delivery system. No one seemed to think twice about the stick hanging out the corner of his mouth as he walked about the school. They just thought it was some new thing Harry was trying.
Looking at the Rabbit in his hand, the goofy smile settles back onto Harry's tense face. He has
an escape now.
"Colin," he says sharply, drawing the boys attention, before throwing the rabbit at him.
Colin dropped the camera, letting it dangle around his neck on its strap, and caught the rabbit in his hands, his face a picture of confusion.
It quickly turned to fear when the rabbits features morphed due to silent magic on Harry's part.
The rabbit was a terrible site to look at. A vicious snarl, complete with sharp teeth and dripping saliva completed the image of a deranged animal that made Colin flailing backwards and falling onto his rear. The beastly rabbit trying to tear at his face, or so it appeared to Colin.
Those around him stopped to watch as Colin screamed like a little girl with a cute rabbit sitting on his chest.
Harry walked away quickly, leaving the screaming boy behind. He had things to do.
Harry made sure the spell terminated once he made it to the door, and headed outside into the rain.
–
Stepping foot out into the roaring sound startled Harry. The fury that was contained with the pelting rain was astounding.
The falling liquid pelted his skin, each drop that hit making his skin prickle with the coldness sending ripples of feeling through his body.
Harry felt the need from earlier soothed instantly. He let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't understand the why he had felt like he had all day. He'd fought it as best he could, but it was so much better not to fight it anymore.
He let out a joyful laugh and ran off into the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Leaving his bag on the steps leading into Hogwarts.
The darkened sky rumbled in response to his laughter, the rain picking up as he made his way through it. His clothes were pressed to his skin, growing heavier as they took on more water.
He'd made it about half way to the forest, when he stopped.
Staring straight up into the sky, he let the rain pour down onto his face. His body relaxed even more and a pain in his head that he hadn't been paying attention too seemed to release.
His body going lax, he fell to the ground. Staring up at the rain falling down on him, he could just make out a swirling pattern to the rain, watching as it shifted about and changed directions.
His senses were in overload. His body was going into shutdown. Harry could feel his chest pound in his chest, his entire body thumping along with it. Pulsing, feeling.
There was a smell to the air, a heavy, sweet smell that seemed to converge around him. It was like a large grassy field during the summer, with a richer undertone of thunder. It made the inside of his nose tickle, causing him to rub at it and giggle drunkenly.
Harry was aware dimly of heavy footsteps coming up beside him.
A large voice bellowed out his name, but he couldn't move his body to respond.
Large hands picked him up and placed him on his feet. The numbness of his body made it hard to stand steadily, so he leaned into the large bulk that was Hagrid.
"Just what in blue hell are you doing out here, Harry?" Asked Hagrid in a rough voice. He lead Harry in what he assumed was the direction of his cabin. Harry's awareness of his surroundings were still heavily overshadowed by the rain.
–
Hagrid and Harry made it back to his cabin. Hagrid threw open the door wide, and stopped right where he was. The fire in his hut was roaring, and there was a steaming kettle of tea on the fire, which had just started to whistle as they walked in.
It was Luna that shocked Hagrid the most.
The seriousness of the moment was suspended when they saw that Luna was dancing with Fang. There was no music, but their timing was really good. Harry had half a thought to applaud, but he couldn't get his hands to move at all. He had been surprised that he'd been able to walk as far as he had with Hagrid.
Luna spotted Hagrid and Harry in the doorway, she had a goofy smile on her face as she let go of Fang, and he fell back onto all fours. She bowed slightly, to her canine dance partner, and then went to get the tea off the fire.
"Hagrid," she said in a breathy manner,"You never told me that Fang was such a good dancer."
Harry, who was somewhat recovered from being outside, chuckled a bit with Luna.
"I think you have him stumped, Luna," said Harry.
Harry broke off from Hagrid's side and walked into the room heading towards the fire. The heat from the fire was coming out in waves, and he could feel it across his skin. The coldness of the rain had numbed his skin to the point that now with the heat hitting it, everything started to prickle.
It was an interesting combination, to experience both shocking cold of the rain and the outside, and the confusing spiral that his mind was going through right now.
As Harry moved further into Hagrid's house, and from the outside, more of his energy seemed to return.
Already, there was a smile on his face as he watched Luna take Fang up for another dance again, and this time she had a flower in her mouth that she conjured with a flick of her wand. The large dog did not seem to understand what was going on, but he did spend his time trying to lick her face.
Harry and Luna spent another hour in Hagrid's hut, before Harry felt that he was well enough to walk back to Hogwarts. The rain outside had stopped, and the call that he felt earlier wasn't there anymore.
Hagrid had tried to ask Harry why he had found him outside on the ground, but Harry evaded by not even talking to him.
He did thank him for the photo album like had thought to do a long time ago. This sidetracked Hagrid from his concern for Harry as he struck up on a new conversation filled with how proud his mother and father would be of him.
They passed up several rock cakes, and Harry had watched several dances between Luna and Fang. At that time he was just content to let the fog that was in his mind take over.
Conversation faded out around the room, as Hagrid was lost in thought staring at the fire, and Luna was humming softly in time with the crackling flames.
The moment was ruined when Hagrid snapped out of whatever moment he was in, and exclaimed, "Harry, you and Luna best be heading back up to the school. Curfew starts soon, and I wouldn't want you to get detention or anything like that."
Harry nodded his head, and waited for Luna as she gave a final bow to her dance partner, and they made their way back to the school.
–
The grassy trail they walked along glistened in the moonlight night. The clouds had broken up from earlier, and the moon now shown brightly in the night sky.
Harry had his hands in his robe pockets as he walked along side of Luna, their breath coming out in unison, as they walked. He made it a game to see if he could keep the same breathing pattern as hers, as they walked, and he wondered when she would catch on.
It was a game Harry liked to do sometimes when he was around others. It gave him something to break the silence up with, along with something to fight of the roar that was no going through his head at the moment.
Earlier, when he'd fallen to the ground, he had felt something give loose. At the time, he wasn't sure what it was, but now, things seemed to to be very clear, for the first time in ages. Even with the effects of the narcotic floating through his system. He felt hyper aware of everything.
He could see the individual blades of grass on the ground, and he could feel the ground give as he walked, and he felt the impact of Luna's feet on the ground as she walked with him.
His eyes widened a bit as they came upon the grand doors to Hogwarts. Harry and Luna hadn't said a word to one another, not even when they had been at Hagrids'. There was nothing they could say to one another, other than the common trivialities. This moment seemed to extend far past anything common for Harry.
His body felt alive for the first time in ages, and he wanted to do something.
–
They made it into Hogwarts and Harry walked Luna back to her house. At the doors, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rabbit. This one the size of a kitten, and handed it to her.
"For you," he said. Before walking off.
He'd made it halfway down the passageway when he heard her call out, "Thank you."
He smiled a bit and headed back to the dorms. Crookshanks really was in for an earful tonight.
–
That night, as he sat around the fire, Crookshanks on his lap, Harry talked about everything and anything that came to mind. The common room was empty already, the students having already gone up to bed, and Harry was just relaxing, coming down off his high.
His eye were locked on the fire in the hearth of the fireplace, the crackling flames hopping about. Each one waging a small war of its own, one of survival.
It was only now, in these moments of silence and aloneness that Harry let any of the worries of real life catch up with him.
He knew that he had the prophecy to contend with, and he also knew that he needed answers for what happened earlier today.
Sighing to himself, Harry slipped the lethargic Crookshanks from his lap and made his way up into the boys dorm.
Everyone was already asleep, and Ron's steady snore set the tone for the rest of the night. Things would be like they always were, and Harry would figure out what he needed to do, all in due time.