Chapter 169: Hogsmeade And Katie Bell

Halfway through October came our first trip of the term to Hogsmeade. Harry and I had wondered whether these trips would still be allowed, given the increasingly tight security measures around the school, but was pleased to know that we were going ahead; it was always good to get out of the castle grounds for a few hours.

I was still having very vivid dreams about the man whose brain had attacked me. I had figured out that his name was Matthew. He was actually a half blood that had been adopted by a kind woman and her mother, and his adoptive mother had died when he was too young to remember her. All he knew was his grandmother.

In the midsts of these memories of Matthew's I would have, my usual dreams of Hermione would happen as well. They weren't always as explicit, much to my morning embarrassment, but they were brilliant, with us just lounging around with each other, me making her laugh, of her reading a book while I had my arms wrapped around her.

I had yet to open up to her about my emotions yet, as she was starting to become a bit distant ever since I had told her that the wanker Cormac had fancied her. She seemed very much uninterested and told me he was vile, which made me feel extremely good, however, she really wouldn't make conversation about relationships after that.

On the morning of the Hogsmeade visit, I was having one dream in particular about Hermione and I sitting in the common room after what must have been a brutal Quidditch practice because she was massaging my shoulders. Suddenly, I felt a great tug at my leg.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

I woke up dangling upside down in midair as though an invisible hook had hoisted me up by the ankle. I looked down to see Harry's shocked face.

"HARRY, WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Sorry!" yelled Harry, as Dean and Seamus roared with laughter, and Neville picked himself up from the floor, having fallen out of bed. "Hang on-I'll let you down-"

I watched as he scanned through his potion book in a panic, trying to find the right page. There was a flash of light, and I fell in a heap onto my mattress. Thank Merlin it wasn't the floor.

"Sorry," repeated Harry weakly, while Dean and Seamus continued to roar with laughter.

"Tomorrow," I said in a muffled voice, "I'd rather you set the alarm clock."

"I'm really sorry, mate." I heard Harry say as I peeled myself from my bed.

"What the bloody fuck did you do?"

"Some spell in the Prince's book. I didn't even say it actually, I had thought it. Didn't really believe it would work." said Harry.

"That was brilliant Harry!" said Dean as he got dresses. "Just don't wake me up like that."

I couldn't help but chuckle. I would have probably found it more funny if I had either expected it, or if the victim wasn't me.

By the time we had got dressed, padding ourselves out with several of Mum's hand-knitted sweaters and carrying cloaks, scarves, and gloves, my shock had subsided and I had decided that Harry's new spell was highly amusing; so amusing, in fact, that I lost no time in regaling Hermione with the story as we sat down for breakfast.

"... and then there was another flash of light and I landed on the bed again!" I grinned, helping myself to sausages.

Hermione had not cracked a smile during my story, and now turned an expression of disapproval upon Harry.

"Was this spell, by any chance, another one from that potion book of yours?" she asked.

Harry frowned at her.

"Always jump to the worst conclusion, don't you?"

"Was it?"

"Well... yeah, it was, but so what?"

I suddenly regretted telling Hermione.

"So you just decided to try out an unknown, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?"

"Why does it matter if it's handwritten?" said Harry, preferring not to answer the rest of the question.

"Because it's probably not Ministry of Magic approved," said Hermione. "And also," she added, as Harry and I rolled our eyes, "because I'm starting to think this Prince character was a bit dodgy."

Both Harry and I shouted her down at once.

"It was a laugh!" I said, upending a ketchup bottle over my sausages. "Just a laugh, Hermione, that's all!"

"Dangling people upside down by the ankle?" said Hermione. "Who puts their time and energy into making up spells like that?"

"Fred and George," I said with a shrug, "it's their kind of thing. And, er-"

"My dad," said Harry.

"What?" said Hermione and I together.

"My dad used this spell," said Harry. "I-Lupin told me."

"Maybe your dad did use it, Harry," said Hermione, "but he's not the only one. We've seen a whole bunch of people use it, in case you've forgotten. Dangling people in the air. Making them float along, asleep, helpless."

"If you're referring to the World Cup, that was different. They were abusing it. Harry and his dad were just having a laugh. You don't like the Prince, Hermione, because he's better than you at Potions." I said, pointing a sausage at her.

"It's got nothing to do with that!" said Hermione, her hair starting to frizz like it would when she was annoyed. "I just think it's very irresponsible to start performing spells when you don't even know what they're for, and stop talking about 'the Prince' as if it's his title, I bet it's just a stupid nickname, and it doesn't seem as though he was a very nice person to me!"

"I don't see where you get that from," said Harry heatedly. "If he'd been a budding Death Eater he wouldn't have been boasting about being 'half-blood,' would he?"

"The Death Eaters can't all be pure-blood, there aren't enough pure-blood wizards left," said Hermione stubbornly. "I expect most of them are half-bloods pretending to be pure. It's only Muggleborns they hate, they'd be quite happy to let you and Ron join up."

"There is no way they'd let me be a Death Eater!" I said indignantly, a bit of sausage flying off the fork I was now brandishing at Hermione and hitting Ernie on the head.

"SORRY, ERNIE! As I was saying, my whole family are blood traitors! That's as bad as Muggleborns to Death Eaters!"

"And they'd love to have me," said Harry sarcastically. "We'd be best pals if they didn't keep trying to do me in."

This made me laugh and even Hermione couldn't help but smile. We went back to our meals until my sister came over.

"Hey, Harry, I'm supposed to give you this." she said, handing him a scroll of parchment with his name written all fancy on it.

"Thanks, Ginny... It's Dumbledore's next lesson!" Harry told Hermione and I, pulling open the parchment and quickly reading its contents.

"Monday evening! Want to join us in Hogsmeade, Ginny?" he asked.

"I'm going with Dean. Might see you there," she replied, waving at us as she left.

Filch was standing at the oak front doors as usual, checking off the names of people who had permission to go into Hogsmeade. The process took even longer than normal as Filch was triple-checking everybody with his Secrecy Sensor.

"What does it matter if we're smuggling Dark stuff OUT?" I said impatiently, eyeing the long thin Secrecy Sensor. "Surely you ought to be checking what we bring back IN?"

My cheek earned me a few extra jabs with the Sensor, and I was still wincing as we stepped out into the wind and sleet.

The walk into Hogsmeade was not enjoyable. I had to wrap my scarf around my entire face with the exception of my eyes to keep the sleet from cutting into my skin. The road to the village was full of students bent double against the bitter wind. I was starting to think that maybe we should have skipped this visit.

When we finally reached Hogsmeade, we seen that Zonko's Joke Shop had been boarded up, thus all hope of filling my pockets with dungbombs had flown out the window.

Thankfully, Honeydukes was open, and Harry and Hermione staggered behind me and into the crowded shop.

"Thank Merlin," I shivered as we were enveloped by warm, toffee-scented air. "Let's stay here all afternoon."

"Harry, m'boy!" said a booming voice from behind them.

"Oh no," muttered Harry. The three of us turned to see Professor Slughorn, who was wearing an enormous furry hat and an overcoat with matching fur collar, clutching a large bag of crystallized pineapple, and occupying at least a quarter of the shop.

"Harry, that's three of my little suppers you've missed now!" said Slughorn, poking him genially in the chest. "It won't do, m'boy, I'm determined to have you! Miss Granger loves them, don't you?"

"Yes," said Hermione helplessly, "they're really -"

"So why don't you come along, Harry?" demanded Slughorn.

"Well, I've had Quidditch practice, Professor," said Harry, who had indeed been scheduling practices every time Slughorn had sent him a little, violet ribbon-adorned invitation.

"Well, I certainly expect you to win your first match after all the hard work!" said Slughorn. "But a little recreation never hurt any body. Now, how about Monday night, you can't possibly want to practice in this weather..."

"I can't, Professor, I've got - er-an appointment with Professor Dumbledore that evening."

"Unlucky again!" cried Slughorn dramatically. "Ah, well... you can't evade me forever, Harry!"

And with a regal wave, he waddled out of the shop, once again not noticing me, as if I were background noise.

"I can't believe you've wriggled out of another one," said Hermione, shaking her head. "They're not that bad, you know... they're even quite fun sometimes, and-"

I glared at her and she cut off her sentence. "Oh, look! They've got Deluxe Sugar Quills. Those would last hours!" she said.

I was glad that Hermione had changed the subject, however, I had no interest in fucking sugar quills, and I continued to look moody and merely shrugged when Hermione asked me where I wanted to go next.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," said Harry. "It'll be warm."

We bundled our scarves back over our faces and left the sweetshop. The bitter wind was like a knife to the face after the sugary warmth of Honeydukes. The street was not very busy; nobody was lingering to chat, just hurrying toward their destinations. The exceptions were two men a little ahead of us, standing just outside the Three Broomsticks. One was very tall and thin and I recognized him as the bartender for Hog's Head. As we drew closer, the barman drew his cloak more tightly around his neck and walked away, leaving the shorter man to fumble with something in his arms. We were barely feet from him when Harry realized who the man was.

"Mundungus!" he sounded.

The squat, bandy-legged man with long, straggly, ginger hair jumped and dropped an ancient suitcase, which burst open, releasing what looked like the entire contents of a junk shop window.

"Oh, 'ello, 'Arry," said Mundungus Fletcher, with a most unconvincing stab at airiness. "Well, don't let me keep ya."

And he began scrabbling on the ground to retrieve the contents of his suitcase with every appearance of a man eager to be gone.

"Are you selling this stuff?" asked Harry, as we watched Mundungus grab an assortment of grubby-looking objects from the ground.

"Oh, well, gotta scrape a living," said Mundungus.

I stooped down and picked up something silver.

"Gimme that!" snapped Mundungus, reaching out for me.

"Hang on," I said slowly. "This looks familiar.."

"Thank you!" said Mundungus, snatching the goblet out of my hand and stuffing it back into the case. "Well, I'll see you all-OUCH!"

Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, he pulled out his wand.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione.

"You took that from Sirius's house," said Harry, who was almost nose to nose with Mundungus. "That had the Black family crest on it."

"I-no-what-?" spluttered Mundungus, who was slowly turning purple.

"What did you do, go back the night he died and strip the place?" snarled Harry.

"I-no-"

"Give it to me!"

"Harry, you mustn't!" shrieked Hermione, as Mundungus started to turn blue.

There was a bang, and Harry felt his hands fly off Mundungus throat. Gasping and spluttering, Mundungus seized his fallen case, then-CRACK- he Disapparated.

Harry swore at the top of his voice, spinning on the spot to see where Mundungus had gone.

"COME BACK, YOU THIEVING BITCH!"

"There's no point, Harry." Tonks had appeared out of nowhere, her mousy hair wet with sleet. "Mundungus will probably be in London by now. There's no point yelling."

"He's nicked Sirius's stuff! Nicked it!"

"Yes, but still," said Tonks, who seemed perfectly untroubled by this piece of information. "You should get out of the cold."

She watched us go through the door of the Three Broomsticks. The moment he was inside, Harry burst out, "He was nicking Sirius's stuff!"

"I know, Harry, but please don't shout, people are staring," whispered Hermione. "Go and sit down, I'll get you a drink."

Harry was still fuming when Hermione returned to our table a few minutes later holding three bottles of Butterbeer.

"Can't the Order control Mundungus?" Harry demanded of Hermione and I in a furious whisper. "Can't they at least stop him stealing everything that's not fixed down when he's at headquarters?"

"Shh!" said Hermione desperately, looking around to make sure nobody was listening; there were a couple of warlocks sitting close by who were staring at Harry with great interest, and Zabini was lolling against a pillar not far away. "Harry, I'd be annoyed too, I know it's your things he's stealing-"

Harry gagged on his Butterbeer; he must have forgotten that he owned number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Yeah, it's my stuff!" he said. "No wonder he wasn't pleased to see me! Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore what's going on, he's the only one who scares Mundungus."

"Good idea," whispered Hermione.

I looked over and happened to see Madam Rosmerta and all her beauty serving customers. As I stared at her, I wondered if Lavender would grow up to look like her. She really wasn't too far away from her in the tits department.

"Ron, what are you staring at?" I heard Hermione whisper.

"Nothing," I said, hastily looking away from the bar.

"I expect 'nothing's' in the back getting more firewhiskey," said Hermione waspishly.

I ignored this jibe, sipping my drink in silence. So what if I was looking at her. Hermione wasn't acting like she was fancying me. I could look at whoever I wanted.

"Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?" asked Harry.

Hermione and I nodded; it had not been a fun trip and the weather was getting worse the longer we stayed. Once again we drew our cloaks tightly around us, rearranged our scarves, pulled on our gloves, then followed Katie Bell and a friend out of the pub and back up the High Street.

We walked in silence with Hermione glaring at me every now and then. I pretended as if I didn't even notice. What had her knickers in a twist? Did I not have eyes? Maybe if she showed some kind of interest in me, I wouldn't be looking at other women. It wasn't like looking was doing any harm, especially to Rosmerta, as she was much older than Bill.

As we walked on, I felt Hermione's arm go around my shoulders. At first I thought it wonderful, and I put my arm around her back. However, I looked over and seen that she had done the same thing to Harry, which meant her gesture was merely friendly. I didn't want to appear disappointed, so I didn't move my arm.

Instead, I focused on the voices of Katie and her annoying firmed in front of us, as the wind was sending their loud conversation back to us. They seemed to be arguing.

"It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" I heard Katie say.

We rounded a corner in the lane, sleet coming thick and fast. Leanne made to grab hold of the package Katie was holding; Katie tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.

At once, Katie rose into the air, not as I had done, suspended comically by the ankle, but gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie... Her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. The three of us and Leanne had all halted in our tracks, watching.

Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed; Leanne started to scream too and seized Katie's ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. We rushed forward to help, but even as we grabbed Katie's legs, she fell on top of us. Harry and I managed to catch her but she was writhing so much we could hardly hold her. Instead we lowered her to the ground where she thrashed and screamed, apparently unable to recognize any of us.

"Stay there!" Harry shouted at the us over the howling wind. "I'm going for help!"

He sprinted toward the school and disappeared into the wind.

"Leanne? Whats going on?" asked Hermione in a shaky voice.

"I...I don't know! I told her! I told her not to!" said Leanne crying, as we helplessly watched Katie scream and twitch.

Soon, a crowd was forming around us. Everyone was mumbling, wondering what had happened. I rubbed Leanne's back while Hermione tried to say positive things to her to try to calm her down.

A moment later, Harry hurried back with Hagrid.

"Get back!" shouted Hagrid. "Lemme see her!"

"Something's happened to her!" sobbed Leanne. "I don't know what -"

Hagrid stared at Katie for a second, then without a word, bent down, scooped her into his arms, and ran off toward the castle with her. Within seconds, Katie's piercing screams had died away and the only sound was the roar of the wind.

Hermione hurried back over to Leanne and put an arm around her.

"Did it just happen all of a sudden, or-?"

"It was when that package tore," sobbed Leanne, pointing at the now sodden brown-paper package on the ground, which had split open to reveal a greenish glitter. I bent down to pick it up, but Harry seized my arm and pulled me back.

"Don't touch it!"

He crouched down. An ornate opal necklace was visible, poking out of the paper.

"I've seen that before," said Harry, staring at the thing. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it." He looked up at Leanne, who had started to shake uncontrollably. "How did Katie get hold of this?"

"Well, that's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it... Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize!"

Leanne shook with renewed sobs. Hermione patted her shoulder gently.

"She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?"

"No... she wouldn't tell me... and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and... and then I tried to grab it from her... and - and -"

Leanne let out a wail of despair.

"We'd better get up to school," said Hermione, her arm still around Leanne. "We'll be able to find out how she is. Come on..."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then pulled his scarf from around his face and, ignoring my gasp, carefully covered the necklace in it and picked it up.

"We'll need to show this to Madam Pomfrey," he said.

As we followed Hermione and Leanne up the road, Harry began ranting about Ferret Bollocks.

"Malfoy knows about this necklace. It was in a case at Borgin and Burkes four years ago, I saw him having a good look at it while I was hiding from him and his dad. This is what he was buying that day when we followed him! He remembered it and he went back for it!"

"I-I dunno, Harry," I said hesitantly. "Loads of people go to Borgin and Burke... and didn't that girl say Katie got it in the girls' bathroom?"

"She said she came back from the bathroom with it, she didn't necessarily get it in the bathroom itself-"

"McGonagall!" I warned.

Professor McGonagall was hurrying down the stone steps through swirling sleet to meet us.

"Hagrid says you four saw what happened to Katie Bell-upstairs to my office at once, please! What's that you're holding, Potter?"

"It's the thing she touched," said Harry.

"Good Lord," said Professor McGonagall, looking alarmed as she took the necklace from Harry. "No, no, Filch, they're with me!" she added hastily, as Filch came shuffling eagerly across the entrance hall holding his Secrecy Sensor aloft. "Take this necklace to Professor Snape at once, but be sure not to touch it, keep it wrapped in the scarf!"

Harry and the rest of us followed Professor McGonagall upstairs and into her office. The room was chilly despite the fire crackling in the grate. Professor McGonagall closed the door and swept around her desk to face the three of us, and the still sobbing Leanne.

"Well?" she said sharply. "What happened?"

Haltingly, and with many pauses while she attempted to control her crying, Leanne told Professor McGonagall how Katie had gone to the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks and returned holding the unmarked package, how Katie had seemed a little odd, and how they had argued about the advisability of agreeing to deliver unknown objects, the argument culminating in the tussle over the parcel, which tore open. At this point, Leanne was so overcome, there was no getting another word out of her.

"All right," said Professor McGonagall, not unkindly, "go up to the hospital wing, please, Leanne, and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for shock."

When she had left the room, Professor McGonagall turned back to Harry, Hermione, and I.

"What happened when Katie touched the necklace?"

"She rose up in the air," said Harry, before Hermione and I could speak, "and then began to scream, and collapsed. Professor, can I see Professor Dumbledore, please?"

"The Headmaster is away until Monday, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, looking surprised.

"Away?" Harry repeated angrily.

"Yes, Potter, away!" said Professor McGonagall sharply. "But anything you have to say about this horrible business can be said to me, I'm sure!"

For a split second, it looked as if Harry was hesitating. I was sure that even though he trusted McGonagall, he still didn't want her to know everything. However, she was a member of the Order, and this was a life-and-death matter, so he decided to open up.

"I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor." said Harry in a low voice.

I rubbed my nose in apparent embarrassment. Of all the things to say, he had actually said that. Hermione shuffled her feet as though quite keen to put a bit of distance between herself and Harry.

"That is a very serious accusation, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, after a shocked pause. "Do you have any proof?"

"No," said Harry, "but..." and he told her about following Malfoy to Borgin and Burkes and the conversation we had overheard between him and Mr. Borgin.

When he had finished speaking, Professor McGonagall looked slightly confused.

"Malfoy took something to Borgin and Burkes for repair?"

"No, Professor, he just wanted Borgin to tell him how to mend something, he didn't have it with him. But that's not the point, the thing is that he bought something at the same time, and I think it was that necklace -"

"You saw Malfoy leaving the shop with a similar package?"

"No, Professor, he told Borgin to keep it in the shop for him -"

"But Harry," Hermione interrupted, "Borgin asked him if he wanted to take it with him, and Malfoy said no -"

"Because he didn't want to touch it, obviously!" said Harry angrily.

"What he actually said was, 'How would I look carrying that down the street?'" said Hermione.

"Well, he would look a bit of a prat carrying a necklace,"I interjected.

"Oh, Ron," said Hermione dismally, "it would be all wrapped up, so he wouldn't have to touch it, and quite easy to hide inside a cloak, so nobody would see it! I think whatever he reserved at Borgin and Burkes was noisy or bulky, something he knew would draw attention to him if he carried it down the street-and in any case," she pressed on loudly, before Harry could interrupt, "I asked Borgin about the necklace, don't you remember? When I went in to try and find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there. And Borgin just told me the price, he didn't say it was already sold or anything -"

"Well, you were being really obvious, he realized what you were up to within about five seconds, of course he wasn't going to tell you!" snapped Harry at Hermione. "Anyway, Malfoy could've sent off for it since -"

"That's enough!" said Professor McGonagall, as Hermione opened her mouth to retort, looking furious. "Potter, I appreciate you telling me this, but we cannot point the finger of blame at Mr. Malfoy purely because he visited the shop where this necklace might have been purchased. The same is probably true of hundreds of people -"

"- that's what I said -" I muttered.

"- and in any case, we have put stringent security measures in place this year. I do not believe that necklace can possibly have entered this school without our knowledge -"

"But -"

"- and what is more," said Professor McGonagall, with an air of awful finality, "Mr. Malfoy was not in Hogsmeade today."

Harry gaped at her, deflating.

"How do you know, Professor?"

"Because he was doing detention with me. He has now failed to complete his Transfiguration homework twice in a row. So, thank you for telling me your suspicions, Potter," she said as she marched past us, "but I need to go up to the hospital wing now to check on Katie Bell. Good day to you all."

She held open her office door. We had no choice but to file past her without another word.

Harry seemed to be angry with us, but I knew he wouldn't stay quiet if we talked about what had happened.

"So who do you reckon Katie was supposed to give the necklace to?" I asked, as we climbed the stairs to the common room.

"Goodness only knows," said Hermione. "But whoever it was has had a narrow escape. No one could have opened that package without touching the necklace."

"It could've been meant for loads of people," said Harry. "Dumbledore-the Death Eaters would love to get rid of him, he must be one of their top targets. Or Slughorn - Dumbledore reckons Voldemort really wanted him and they can't be pleased that he's sided with Dumbledore. Or -"

"Or you," said Hermione, looking troubled.

"Couldn't have been," said Harry, "or Katie would've just turned around in the lane and given it to me, wouldn't she? I was behind her all the way out of the Three Broomsticks. It would have made much more sense to deliver the parcel outside Hogwarts, what with Filch searching everyone who goes in and out. I wonder why Malfoy told her to take it into the castle?"

"Harry, Malfoy wasn't in Hogsmeade!" said Hermione, actually stamping her foot in frustration.

"He must have used an accomplice, then," said Harry. "Crabbe or Goyle-or, come to think of it, another Death Eater, he'll have loads better cronies than Crabbe and Goyle now he's joined up -"

Hermione and I exchanged looks that plainly said, "There's no point arguing with him."

"Dilligrout," said Hermione firmly as we reached the Fat Lady.

The portrait swung open to admit them to the common room. It was quite full and smelled of damp clothing; many people seemed to have returned from Hogsmeade early because of the bad weather. There was no buzz of fear or speculation, however: clearly, the news of Katie's fate had not yet spread.

"It wasn't a very slick attack, really, when you stop and think about it," I said, casually shooing a first year out of one of the good armchairs by the fire so that I could sit down. "The curse didn't even make it into the castle. Not what you'd call foolproof."

"You're right," said Hermione, prodding me out of the chair with her foot and offering it to the first year again. "It wasn't very well thought-out at all."

"But since when has Malfoy been one of the world's great thinkers?" asked Harry.

Neither Hermione nor I answered him. He wasn't going to let it go and frankly, the both of us were over it.