Your touch,
still brushing my skin….
-Chapter Three-
Harry knew something was wrong as he, Ron, Hermione, and Amy entered the Great Hall for a rather early breakfast. Most of the Ravenclaw table was absent, and those few who were there looked emotionally drained, several with tear stains on their faces. Some of the other students were whispering to each other in fearful tones.
"Did something happen?" Harry said to Hermione, glancing around.
"I don't know," she replied.
It was not until Ginny came running into the Hall that they found out. She skidded to a stop beside them, her face flushed from her run. She grabbed Ron by his robes and pulled him up, gasping, "Come on! Come with me! Now!" They followed her to the hospital wing and inside, they found most of the missing Ravenclaw students. They were scattered everywhere, some laying on the beds and looking pale, some milling around with grave looks, a group of girls in the back were crying loudly, others were consoling their house mates, and the rest were crowded around a bed that had been pushed aside in order to fit the large number of people around it. All of them looked shaken.
Quietly, Harry made his way around until he reached the bed. craning his neck he glanced around a girl and saw the bed's occupant. It was a boy Harry recognized from his Herbology class. His skin was a deathly pale color, tinted blue. Bruises and burns covered his neck and wrists, oozing a strange goldish-black substance. His eyes were glazed over, staring blankly up at the ceiling unseeingly.
Harry stepped back, startled by the boy's appearance. He turned, seeing the others behind him, and whispered, "What's going on?"
Ginny answered. "The Ravenclaw dormitory was attacked last night. He's the worst case they have. He won't respond to anything. It's like he's been petrified but he can be moved and all. A few others were injured, but they won't say anything about it." She glanced around before leaning in and saying under her breath, "Doesn't this remind you of when the Chamber was opened?"
Memories of that year flashed through their heads, making them shudder. "But what could it be?" Hermione said.
"No one knows."
When they returned to the Great Hall, everyone was talking in low tones. Harry could hear some people wondering if the heir of Slytherin had returned. Malfoy heard this and smirked.
The post arrived and Harry caught a letter Hedwig nearly dropped in his eggs. It was from Hagrid, asking Harry if he, Ron, and Hermione could visit him as soon as possible. 'It's important,' the letter said, but nothing more than Hagrid's signature, which looked like a scribble.
The buzzing of the student's talk halted as a strange caw broke the air. All eyes looked up as a large, midnight black crow soared in through the high windows, clutching a letter in its beak. They watched as it swooped low over the Slytherin table and fluttered to a neat stop at the end. It now stood on Sarah's shoulder, who reached up to take the letter as she stroked the crow's feathers gently. She opened the letter and read it quickly.
Harry watched her intently and saw her eyes flickered up at the Head table where Professor Dumbledore sat. Harry thought he could hear her give a faint snarl before getting up, snatching a piece of bread and breaking off a piece to give to her crow, and stormed out, kicking the doors open with a loud 'bang.'
"Wonder what that was about," Ron thought aloud.
Harry looked at him, and the same thought passed through their minds.
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"Well, I don't think you should do it," Hermione said crossly, scowling at Harry and Ron. Or at least where she thought they were.
Harry's head appeared as he shifted the Invisibility Cloak. "You want to know more about her, don't you?" he said.
Hermione did not reply. She just crossed her arms and frowned her opinion of the situation. "Just hurry back, Hagrid still wants to see us."
Harry and Ron quickly left the near-empty Gryffindor Tower, heading towards the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office. They waited and before long heard footsteps coming their way. Sarah appeared, her crow still on her shoulder. At her feet, Dercesthai scuttled around, his black eyes darting around in every direction. She stood before the statue and said in a bored tone, "Pumpkin pie." The entrance opened and she stepped through, Harry and Ron close behind her.
She went all the way to Professor Dumbledore's desk without breaking stride. Once there, she slammed her fist on the table and said in a strongly blank tone, "An investigation? I thought we had a contract, Albus?"
Under the Cloak, Harry and Ron exchanged a surprised glance. Had she really just called Professor Dumbledore by his first name?
Professor Dumbledore calmly straightened his glasses and said, "Professor Williams, you know well enough--"
"No," Sarah said, holding up a hand, "do not say that."
"Surely you've adjusted to your role here?" Professor Dumbledore said.
"It's fine when the students say it," she said, studying the paintings around them to avoid his eyes, "but....just don't."
"Very well. You know well enough what is written in our contract. You enrolled here on your own accord. You agreed to teach the Care for Magical Creatures class do to your extensive knowledge and experience in payment for my services. You also agreed that you would not do what you did last night."
"Albus, you are perfectly aware of what I have to do. If I don't, I....." she trailed off as she glanced around the office. A slight frown flashed on her face but was gone before anyone really noticed it.
Professor Dumbledore saw this and said, "I assure you, no one is listening in on this conversation that is not welcomed." With her head turned away, she did not see Professor Dumbledore glance at Harry and Ron. The two boys froze, certain that he would reveal them. To their relief, he winked then turned back to Sarah.
"Words have double meanings, Albus," Sarah said, an accusing tone in her voice.
"Hm. So suspicious," Professor Dumbledore chuckled.
"I have reason to be," she said sharply, glancing over at Fawkes, who was asleep on his perch.
"Oh? And why is that? You assured me that you had Charmed everyone who would have found out you're here or looked for you so there would be no trouble."
"I missed one."
"And who would that be?"
Sarah was silent, absently stroking her crow. Then she sighed, shaking her head. "Harry Potter."
Ron's eyes snapped to Harry so quickly it might have been audible. Harry was staring at Sarah wide-eyed.
"Oh?"
"He remembers me, Albus. Six years ago, we went to a Muggle school together. I guess he thinks I'm a different Sarah Williams now," she shrugged.
"And you don't want him to find out otherwise?" Professor Dumbledore pressed.
"No," she said flatly.
A cry from Fawkes interrupted them. The Phoenix was awake, his eyes glaring at Sarah. He opened his wings and flew up, diving with his sharp beak pointed towards Sarah.
Professor Dumbledore frowned. "What on earth--"
Sarah suddenly pulled out her wand and shouted something Harry and Ron did not catch. It sent Fawkes across the room, striking the wall. The Phoenix crumpled to the floor, not moving. Professor Dumbledore went limp, eyes staring out unfocused.
"Bloody bird," Sarah muttered. She swiftly walked over to him and picked him up to place him back on the perch. She then turned to Dumbledore and sighed. She uttered something and motion with her wand at her own throat. "Albus Dumbledore," she said, her voice now echoing and hissing in a way. "You will forget everything you saw. You do not know anything about an investigation. You refuse to let the Ministry send anyone to Hogwarts for this year. You will forget." She ended with a strange word. Turning around, Sarah exited the room.
Ron pulled off the Cloak, kicking Dercesthai off his leg where the Puffbuggle had attached himself when Sarah had fired the first spell. "Blimey," he said, looking over at Professor Dumbledore still slumped in his chair. "What do you thi--Harry?"
Harry was standing still. His head was tipped to one side and his eyes were staring blankly ahead much like Professor Dumbledore.
"Harry!" Ron said loudly, slapping him hard enough to jar him out of his trance.
Harry jerked, his eyes clearing. "What? What happened?"
"You looked like you were in a trance. Do you remember what happened?"
Harry nodded, rubbing his head. Everything looked fuzzy and oddly felt it too yet he remembered all that had happened. "Do you think it was the spell?"
"Then why didn't I do that?" Ron said, looking curiously at Professor Dumbledore who was still as he had been when Sarah left.
As if in answer, Dercesthai popped up in front of them. "Fu! Fu!" he squeaked, waving one of his arms at them.
"Do you think Dumbledore's all right?" Harry said, looking the Headmaster over.
"I think so," Ron said, doing the same. "It was probably a Memory Charm. She did say something about forgetting. What I want to know is how could she have done this to him? I mean, this is Dumbledore we're talking about."
"She must be pretty powerful to be able to Charm the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Harry stated, picking up the Invisibility Cloak. "Let's get back to Hermione. Hagrid's still waiting for us."
They left Professor Dumbledore's office, Dercesthai following them. Periodically, the living puff-ball would jump on their shoulders. Hermione was waiting for them by the portrait, a book open in her lap. Once they had taken the cloak off, she said, "Well? Did you find out anything?"
"Did we ever!" Ron said before he and Harry recounted everything they had seen. They were on their way to Hagrid's hut when they finally finished.
"What do you think the investigation was about?" Hermione asked once she had digested all they told her.
"She said she had to do something," Harry said, thinking back carefully over the recent event. "And if she didn't do it something would happen to her, I think. She really didn't say."
"At least we know one thing," Ron said. "She's the same Sarah you knew, Harry."
Harry nodded as they reached Hagrid's house. They knocked and he let them in. "What did you want to see us about, Hagrid?" Ron said, cutting to the chase.
"About what happened last night," the large gamekeeper said, glancing out the window before drawing the curtains.
"The attack at Ravenclaw?" Hermione said as they sat down around the table.
Hagrid nodded. "Oh, and yeh can let Derci out."
The three exchanged confused looks. Then, Dercesthai popped out of Ron's pocket, spinning around and chirping his one word vocabulary. Fang barked then cowered in a corner, his eyes staying on the Puffbuggle.
"Little stow-away," Ron snorted as the sky blue ball of fluff twirled around on the table.
Hagrid chuckled. "Be glad he like yeh. Fang tried to eat 'em when I was keepin' him for Professor Williams last week. Might'a thought he was a bit o' cotton candy. Anyway, Derci let him know he was not food, an' now Fang won't go near 'em." Hagrid looked nervous as he continued, "Have yeh...noticed anything strange about the students attacked, did yeh? I haven't gotten a chance to look myself."
"They were rather pale," Ron said.
"And one boy had weird burns on his neck and wrists," Harry added.
At this, Hagrid's eyes flashed with fear. "Was anythin' comin' out o' the burns?" he asked.
"Yes, some kind of fluid, or pus," Hermione answered. "It was a dark gold, some of it was black."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Hagrid fell into his chair, almost breaking it. His eyes were wide within his large face.
The three friends knew that Hagrid had knowledge of the wound they did not instantly. "Do you know what did this Hagrid?" Hermione said before Ron or Harry could.
Instead of answering, Hagrid quickly said with such seriousness the three did not ask questions, "If anythin' strange or unusual happens to any of yeh, like you see something you know it not normal--even for a wizard--or if someone threatens yeh, I want yeh to come straight to me. And if yeh can't find me, go to Professor Williams."
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"Why would he want us to go to her?" Ron said as they crossed the school grounds to head back to the castle. "She doesn't seem very trust worthy to me."
"Maybe Hagrid knows something we don't," Hermione said.
"Hagrid also told us to follow the spiders, once," Harry pointed out, noticing Ron turning a bit green at the memory, "and that did not turn out as we hoped."
"Do you really think it could be the Chamber again?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. "That boy, he's from our Herbology class. I remember he said something about being from a wizard family, so whoever's behind this is probably did it at random. Besides, he was just the worst case and there were others that were attacked." He sighed, looking up at the sky. "Let's just hope the rest of the year goes by smoothly."
----------
Things did go smoothly, or as much as one could hope. There were no further attacks on anyone and those in Ravenclaw got better over time. The only notable thing that did not get better, in Harry's eyes at least, was Sarah. If she had been distant and cold before, he did not know what she was now. What little expression she had was now gone, a blank stare and even blanker eyes was all she had left on her face. She never spoke to anyone outside of the class she taught and, from what they had heard, she never talked in any of her other classes.
If the students had been asked who was the most popular in school the answers in either category would be almost equally divided. For the boy, it was either Harry or Malfoy. Though most of the credit went to his famous past, the rest would say that Harry was simply one of the nicest guys at the school. Malfoy had probably indirectly scared the other half of the school into submission by his bad reputation.
For the girls, it was also divided. Half said that Amy was. She was a natural beauty and had a charming personality that won her several admirers. Her heart problem somehow got around and it spawned the desire in several people to assist her in any way they could if she had just suffered one--which her friends noticed were getting more and more frequent. The attention, however, did not go to her head and she was rarely around anyone if Harry, Ron, or Hermione was not with her.
Yet the other one was a shocker. It was none other than Sarah. Though she was almost the living embodiment of the term 'anti-social,' several students could be heard saying that they idolized her. She was certainly one of a kind. Not only did she rival Hermione in marks, but she taught one of the most popular classes in the whole school. Every time they covered a new animal, she always had a living subject that she allow the class to interact with. And, though no one could explain it, the vast majority of the boys found her attractive.
"Don't know why," Fred was saying to Harry and Ron one day at lunch, "but you've got to admit, she is pretty sexy."
"Yeah," Ron agreed.
Harry simply nodded, watching her as she eat at the end of her house table. On his other side, Hermione scowled, something flashing through her eyes momentarily.
Most thought it to be her simple features that attracted the boys, others something else. Hermione believed the latter. "She's not normal," she told Ron and Harry as they sat in the Gryffindor Common Room. Amy had just gotten over another attack and was sleeping up in her dormitory. That evening was the Halloween feast and she wanted to be well rested.
"Why do you believe that?" Harry asked, looking up from his Transfiguration homework.
"It's just a feeling," she said, her eyes moving to Dercesthai who was hopping around on her lap, happily singing a song in this own language--if he had one. Ever since they had finished studying Puffbuggles, Dercesthai was always accompanying them. They had grown used to his presence and sometimes forgot he was there until he jumped onto one of their shoulders or shouted surprisingly loudly for his small size.
"Just because she's more popular than you doesn't mean--" Ron started to say.
"It has nothing to do with that," Hermione snapped. "I mean, how can someone as cold as her get so many people to like her?"
"You mean how can someone so plain and ordinary looking have so many guys falling for her," Ron translated.
"Well, if you want to put it that way, yes," Hermione huffed. "But there's also the fact that--" she paused, looking around to make sure no one was listening then leaned in, "she Charmed Professor Dumbledore. It takes a wizard of great power to accomplish that. If she's so strong, then why is she attending school?"
"Why don't you ask her?" Harry suggested.
Hermione changed the subject before anything else could be said. The rest of the night they spent at the feast, enjoying themselves. Harry noticed that Sarah was not present through the whole feast.
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On the morning of November first, it seemed that Hermione's thoughts were true. At least that was the way she looked at it.
As they sat, eating a late breakfast since it was a Sunday, Harry and his friends were surprised when Ginny came in. She was walking rather slowly and had a dreamy expression on her face.
"Looks like you slept well," Ron said as she sank down beside him.
"Yeah," she said, her voice soft.
Ron glanced at his friends, then said, "Did something happen, Ginny?"
She nodded, still smiling.
As one, they stood and took her out of the Great Hall. They quickly got into an empty classroom and locked the door behind them. Hermione checked Ginny over then said, "She's been Charmed. At least, I think so," she added.
"You're not sure?" Ron asked, looking worried.
"Well, she has symptoms and all, but it doesn't look like any of the Charms I've seen." She waved her wand at Ginny and said something, a blue spark shooting out of her wand's tip.
Ginny jerked, her eyes clearing. "Whoa!" she gasped, blinking several times before looking up at them. "That was amazing!"
"What was? What happened?" Ron said, relieved that his sister was okay.
"Something...it's hard to describe it," Ginny said, a large smile on her face.
"Just try."
"Well, last night, after the feast, I was heading towards the Tower when I saw Professor Williams hurrying down the hall. She was heading towards the entrance hall. I wasn't going to follow her but then I saw Derci," she said, pointing to the Puffbuggle which was taking a nap on Harry's shoulder. "He grabbed my robes and started to pull towards where she had gone. I was curious, so I followed him.
"He lead me to Hagrid's house and I saw Professor Williams again. She looked nervous or angry, I couldn't tell. She entered the Forbidden Forest before I knew it." Ginny stopped, frowning a bit as she scratched her head. "I can't exactly remember what happened after that, but Derci lead me to another section, further away. Then..." she trailed off, the smile returning. "I saw someone in the trees of the forest. It was such a beautiful sight."
"What was it?" Amy pressed, looking about as anxious as the others.
"It was a girl, I think," Ginny went on. "I couldn't see her face clearly, but she looked young. She was standing in a clearing and there was light all around her, like the stars were all shining down on her. She was singing...." The dreamy looked came onto her face again. "It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard...."
"Did you think you've seen her before?" Ron asked after a moment of silence, where everyone looked at each other in confusion and wonder.
"No," Ginny said, still grinning. "She had lovely turquoise hair, though. So long..."
Snapping his fingers in front of her face to get her attention, Ron said, "Do you remember how you got back?"
"I can recall seeing Derci leading me back to the dorm rooms," she said with a shrug.
They said nothing else as they went back into the Great Hall. Hermione kept quiet until they were up in the Gryffindor Common Room, which was for the most part empty. "It had to have been Sarah," she said.
"What?" Ron and Harry said at the same time.
"That girl Ginny saw, it must have been Sarah," Hermione repeated.
"Come on, Hermione," Ron said. "You heard Ginny. Whoever it was, she had turquoise hair."
"Maybe it was a spell. You know, to disguise herself." A sudden gleeful light came into her eyes as she said, "The way Ginny was acting, she was probably casting some spell and it affected Ginny. That's why she was acting so strange!" Without saying another thing, she jumped up and ran out.
Harry shook his head. "She sure is acting strange lately."
"Being jealous will do that," Ron said.
Harry blinked. "'Jealous?' What does Hermione have to be jealous about?"
Before Ron could answer, Amy got up and pulled Ron after her. "Amy! What are you--" Ron tried to protest.
"Shh!" she hissed, glancing back at Harry, who looked utterly confused. "In case you don't know," she said in a whisper, "Harry can't tell."
Ron gaped at her. "What? But they've been--"
"I know, friends for all these years so he should see it," Amy said. "And no offense, but it's typical of guys to be dense about things like this. And I think Hermione would prefer if neither of us let it slip. All right?" Once he nodded, she let him go.
When he was gone, Amy sighed, a frown crossing her pretty face. "Besides," she said softly, walking up the stairs to her dormitory, "I have my own reason for why he can't know." She paused by a large mirror hanging in the hall. She lightly ran a hand just inches about the glass, then retracted her hand. She stared into her own eyes. "It would....complicate things..."
Amy walked off, missing a small, round shaped object darting off from behind the mirror and heading to the library.
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Harry did not have much time to wonder where Hermione had run off to. He and Ron where playing a game of chess in the Great Hall since the Common Room had become too noisy. Ron was attempting the chess trick Amy had pulled on him.
"It's just a simple mathematic thing," he was saying to Harry. "I can't believe I didn't see it when she first showed me."
They were interrupted by someone slamming a large book on the table beside them. Hermione pushed her bushy hair out of her eyes as she declared, "She's a Siren!"
The boys did not know how to respond to this, so Hermione simply opened the book and flipped the pages until she found what she was looking for. "Read this," she ordered, shoving the book closer to them. On the page, it said:
SIRENS:
These creatures are mainly known for their voice, which can bewitch whoever hears it and forces them to completely obey by simply speaking one word. Some races of Sirens are also extremely attractive while others are hideous and have driven people insane just at the sight of them.
"Sarah has to be a Siren," Hermione said.
"But she doesn't have chicken legs," Ron said. His friends gave him a strange look. "What?"
"That's a harpy," Hermione said.
"Oh."
"But she's not 'extremely attractive,'" Harry said, rereading the passage. "And we don't follow her every whim when she speaks."
"Then...she must be a rare one," Hermione said quickly, obviously not liking the idea of being wrong--especially on this. Sarah just had to be a Siren! "And you said so yourself, she altered Dumbledore's memory. She was using her voice. It would also explain why Ginny was acting like she was. She must be using a spell or potion to make her voice normal most of the time."
"Well, there's one way to prove that," Harry said as he stood. "We'll see if Hagrid noticed anything last night. She entered the forest by his hut, after all."
----------
When they got to Hagrid's hut, they found no one there. Searching the area, they also found that Fang and Hagrid's crossbow was gone.
"Where could he be?" Harry said as they circled the hut one more time.
"In the forest?" Ron suggested.
They came around to the front and nearly ran into someone blocking their way. It was Sarah. "What're you three doing?" she said.
"C-coming to see Hagrid," Ron stuttered.
"Really?" she said slowly, as if she doubted them.
Before they could sop her, Hermione stepped up and said boldly, "Where were you last night, Professor Williams?"
As Harry and Ron stared at her for her bluntness, Sarah replied, "I was discussing lesson plans for class with Hagrid. And," she went on when Hermione was about to challenge that, "Professor Dumbledore told us that there was something in the Forest we needed to check on. I went back to my dorm and retrieved my wand before joining Hagrid later in the Forest." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Does that answer your question, Miss Granger?"
Wordlessly, Hermione nodded.
"Now get back to the castle, I have other business here," she said coldly, brushing past them and heading towards the Forest.
"What was in the Forest?" Harry found himself calling after her.
Sarah paused, not turning around. "Just the wind," she said in a strangely monotone voice. She glanced at him over her shoulder, then said in a sneering tone, "Good luck on your Quidditch match. You'll need it, Potter." She was swallowed in the shadows of the Forest before he could reply.
"What was that about?" Ron said.
~~~~~
R&R please!!!!
==Seishin no Maigo==