*Faith*
Chapter 7, "Anhrefn , Addoed , Aball"
By: RogueBHS
Author Notes: Curious as to what the title means? Well...if its any help,
its in Welsh...lol. Read the end A/N to know the title. Trust me, it fits
the chapter. Warning: Some of this was written at 4:30 AM when I couldn't
sleep. LOL. Hey, at least I did something productive!
Notice: Yahoo's Metric Converter calculated all metric values. Any values
that are wrong, I apologize ahead of time for. I will be posting the
American equivalent in parenthesis at all times.
Also: If you see a lowercase letter in double parenthesis like this: ((a)),
that means there is an Author note about that area of the chapter at the
bottom. This is primarily for spells and such. Numbers in a double
parenthesis are used to indicate songs when used in a chapter. Look at the
end of the chapter for listings of such things.
Main Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley,
Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Sabine Kington (OC), Minerva
McGonagall, Remus Lupin and others.like Voldemort for instance. ;)
Couples: Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Draco, Dumbledore/McGonagall (hinted mostly),
Harry/Hermione, Lavender/Ron/Luna and others.
Full Plot Summary: Most would think that with the OWLs over and done with,
and NEWTS not being taken until the next school year, that Harry Potter
would have an easy 6th year. But when you add up the loss of his godfather,
the weight of the prophecy, harder classes, girl trouble, and the
ever-looming threat of Voldemort and his followers.not to mention a changing
group of friends, Harry's 6th year may well be the hardest yet. Oh yes.did I
mention being ladies man???? (*giggle*)
________________________________________________________________________Chapter
7, "Anhrefn , Addoed , Aball"
October 29th, 1996 -
A thin slice of moon rose high over a decrepit old house, sending the room
it had previously helped light into shadow. Inside that room, a fire burned
brightly, now providing the only light to show the room's occupants. One
figure was buried deep in a black cloak, hiding his face and form from view,
but deep within the hood, two identical burning red snake-like eyes focused
on the second person. His chubby form was bent at the waist, bowing deeply
to the cloaked figure, a silver hand resting on the floor next to a
perfectly normal, if not slightly disgustingly unkempt hand. Watery eyes
lifted slightly to see if there was a motion of approval, and thin lips
quivered with the urge to whimper. It was highly obvious that this worm of
a man feared the other, and with good reason. Finally, an arm of the cloak
moved, and a thinly skinned, skeletal hand waved for the cowering servant to
rise.
"What news do you bring?" the figure asked, its voice high pitched and cold
as ice.
Slowly, the servant rose, glancing around furtively. "They are ready, my
Lord."
"All of them?"
"Yes, yes. The others were surprised you called for them already..." the
servant paused, swallowing the bile in his throat at the idea of what was to
happen very soon. "They responded quickly, though, my Lord."
"Good." Slowly, the cloaked figure turned, walking to the lone window in
the room that wasn't boarded up. "And what of him? Did you manage to keep
this from him?"
"Yes, my Lord. He knows nothing of our plans."
A smirk crossed snakelike features under the hood, and then the face turned
to look at the cowering form of his servant. "You've done as instructed,
Wormtail. I'm surprised."
"Thank you, my Lord." The man known as Wormtail bowed again in fear and
respect.
"Now go. Nagini needs to be fed again."
"Of course," Wormtail said, eyeing the turned back of his master. "I'll see
to it immediately, my Lord."
Moments later, the door of the room was pulled closed again behind Wormtail.
And upon hearing the sound, the cloaked man turned back from the window.
Slowly, a cackle built in his throat, and within seconds, it turned into a
high, cold laugh. Oh yes...Lord Voldemort was very pleased this night.
________________________________________________________________________
Hogwarts School, October 30th -
"Sir?"
Tentatively, Harry pushed open the door to Dumbledore's office, green eyes
scanning for the headmaster. It was Wednesday, and that meant he was to be
in this office at precisely 2:30 PM, after his last class for the day.
Seeing no one, Harry sighed and entered the room, pushing the door closed
behind him. Fawkes was seated upon his perch, his red and gold plumage
brightening as he came closer to his normal full-grown state. His burning
day had been on Saturday, and now, by tomorrow, the Phoenix would be at full
strength again. Smiling, Harry approached the magical bird, and stroked his
fingers over the feathers.
"How are you doin', eh Fawkes?" Harry asked, and got a tidbit of the
beautiful song of a phoenix in return.
As if able to understand, Harry nodded, and then gazed around the office again
before looking at the bird.
"I don't suppose you know where Professor Dumbledore went, do you?"
"I'm here, Harry."
Startled, Harry's eyes flew up to the upper level of the office.
"Oh...hello, sir."
Smiling, the old professor made his way down the stairs. "I'm sorry to have
kept you waiting, but there was other business to attend to first."
"Not a problem," Harry reassured his headmaster. "Fawkes kept me company."
The phoenix let out another quavering note, rubbing his head against Harry's
hand, causing the headmaster's smile to widen.
"He has taken a particular shine to you, hasn't he?"
"He's great," Harry said, smiling at the bird again. "I'd love to have a
phoenix like him some day."
"And you just might," Dumbledore answered, taking the seat behind his desk,
and motioning for Harry to join him. "But for today, I believe its time for
our weekly chat, is it not?"
"Yes sir," Harry responded, and after giving Fawkes one last stroke, took
the seat across from Dumbledore.
"Well then, I suppose the first thing I should show you, is this..."
Dumbledore reached into a pile on his desk, then pulled out a piece of
parchment, handing it to Harry.
His eyes scanned over the paper, growing wider as they read. "But sir, I
thought he didn't have the manpower!"
"As far as the Order knows, he doesn't. But we're lucky to even know
anything about this, Harry. It would seem that Severus was purposefully
kept out of the loop on this."
"Then Voldemort is learning he can't trust him with everything, right"
"Exactly. Which worries me greatly, I admit. If he doesn't trust Severus,
then any information he gives might be considered worthless."
"And if it's worthless, then Voldemort might..." Harry trailed off,
realizing what this meant. "But...there's got to be a way for him to prove
himself! I mean, we need the information he gets us, but, and mind you I
say this despite how much I despise the git...We can't have him trading
information when Voldemort could kill him! Its bad enough others are dying
when we can't prevent it!"
Dumbledore peered over his glasses at Harry, smiling. "I'm glad to see you
feel that way, Harry. And my own thoughts are running much on the same
line, I admit."
"Is there anything at all he could tell Voldemort? Something that would
regain his favor?"
"There is only one thing Tom wants so badly anymore, Harry."
"The prophecy."
It wasn't a question at all, and both knew it. Sighing, Harry hung his
head. Telling Voldemort the prophecy in entirety meant giving him power.
That, of course, was unthinkable.
"If he found out," Harry said slowly, thinking this over. "He'd start
training again, wouldn't he? Trying to find any power he's never used
before."
"Yes."
"Then...my own power, whatever it is..."
"You know the power, Harry. I've spoken to you of it many times."
Surprised, Harry's eyes shot up. "What?"
"I was expecting you'd realize it yourself."
Harry frowned, thinking of every conversation he'd ever had with Dumbledore,
and realized the theme. Always, always, there was a mention of love.
"But sir...I'm curious..." Brilliant green eyes rose, meeting twinkling
pale blue. "How on earth can love be harnessed as a power?"
"That, I'm afraid, is for you to learn on your own Harry. Until you
understand for yourself exactly what love means, you'll never understand its
power, no matter how much I talk to you about it."
Sighing, Harry placed his head in his hands for a moment. "Then I suppose
there's no harm in telling Snape the full Prophecy. If I can't understand
it," Harry's eyes raised, blazing now. "There's no way in hell that
Voldemort could."
Hiding a smile, the headmaster nodded. "You do have a point there, don't
you?"
Standing, Harry glanced at Dumbledore. "I want to be here when you tell
him."
"Of course," Dumbledore reassured him. "Now, on to another matter."
Dumbledore reached into a drawer on his desk, and took something from it,
holding it in his hand as he looked up at Harry. "Earlier today, Professor
McGonagall came across a prefect doing something they shouldn't have been."
"What? What does this have to do with me?"
"The prefect, Harry, was your friend, Mr. Weasley."
"Ron? But...what was he doing? Why are you telling me?"
"Due to his slipping grades and behavior this year, Professor McGonagall
decided to take his badge from him. He had already been given warnings, and
today's incident was the, what is it the muggle's say? Ah yes, the last
straw." Dumbledore peered over his glasses at Harry. "She discussed the
other options for a male 6th year Gryffindor prefect with me, and we agreed
that, should you be able to refrain from fighting as you have with Mr.
Weasley this year, you are most deserving of the position."
"But the others? I mean, surely Neville..."
"Professor McGonagall feels that Mr. Longbottom lacks the backbone, so to
speak, for this privilege." Dumbledore gave a hint of a smile as he
extended the prefect badge towards him, setting it on the edge of the desk.
"The position is yours if you're willing to keep up your grades and current
behavior."
Gulping, Harry reached out, taking the red and gold badge in his hand. Here
was his chance to really be different from what he'd seen of his father in
Snape's pensieve the year before. The question was, could he handle Ron's
likely rage over it? His hand closed over the badge slowly, and he raised
his eyes to Dumbledore's. "I'll do it."
A broad smile broke out on the headmaster's face, and Harry couldn't help
but feel a joy of his own, knowing the headmaster was so pleased with him.
Despite any quarrels the two had in the past, Harry still very much
respected the older wizard's opinion. And the idea that a wizard so
powerful as Dumbledore could be so proud of a student like him was
definitely a good feeling.
"I'm glad to hear that, Harry. I will, of course, be letting the other
heads of houses and professors know of this change."
Harry bit back a laugh, and looked up at Dumbledore as a thought occurred to
him.
"Snape...I mean, Professor Snape is not going to like this."
"Being as you're not in his house, this decision doesn't affect him. Any
anger he feels over the decision can be taken up with myself or Professor
McGonagall. Speaking of which, you should meet with her sometime today,
being as you've not been given the list of rules that a prefect must
follow."
"Yes, sir."
Still smiling, Dumbledore waved him out of the office. "Go on, I've taken
enough of your afternoon as it is, and it's a nice day at that."
Pausing to pin the badge to his robes, Harry picked up his book bag and
smiled at the headmaster. "Thanks sir...this..." he glanced down at the
badge, then back to Dumbledore. "I think he'd have liked to see me wearing
this..."
The smile on Dumbledore's face didn't lessen when he nodded once in
agreement. "I can say, with certainty, he would have indeed."
Enjoying the idea that Sirius would've been pleased with this development,
Harry hurried from Dumbledore's office and towards Gryffindor tower,
planning to write Remus a letter about this. But halfway there, he found
himself face to face with Ron. There was a tense moment in which Ron eyed
the badge that was now proudly displayed on his best friend's robes, and then
slowly, bright blue eyes met green.
"At least its you, I suppose," Ron said, fighting back a wave of jealousy.
"Sorry she took it away, though, mate," Harry responded honestly. "What on
earth did she catch you doing anyway?"
"She didn't tell you?"
"No...I saw Dumbledore today, and she had him give me the badge. He never
said what it was you did."
Blushing a little now, Ron glanced around, and then pushed Harry out of the main
line of traffic and into a shortcut towards Gryffindor tower. Now alone,
Ron answered.
"I was snogging this Hufflepuff girl," he admitted, glancing in Harry's
direction.
"What? She took your badge for that?"
"Well...we were doing it in the Transfiguration classroom..."
"OH!" Harry exclaimed, startled. "So...I guess that explains things then.
Reckon she was pretty livid about it."
"Livid? That doesn't begin to cover it, mate. I swear, you know how her
lips get real thin when she's mad?"
"Yeah..."
"Well...pretty much looked like she didn't have any lips at all when she saw
us in there."
"Ouch."
"Tell me 'bout it. I'm just glad she didn't kick me off the Quidditch team
or anything."
Harry couldn't help but laugh at that. Leave it to Ron to care more about
Quidditch than being a prefect. "Well...ya know...I was thinking...if I'm
supposed to be a prefect and all, I can't very well be Quidditch captain
too..."
"No, no way. You aren't giving that away!"
"I was thinking more of asking McGonagall if she'd let us share
it...literally. There's no way I can do my class stuff, be a prefect and
organize all of the Quidditch things too, as well as play in the games."
"What are you saying?"
"I dunno yet. I need to talk to Professor McGonagall first."
"Oh, right." Ron seemed rather disappointed that the discussion couldn't
continue, and glanced up as they took a secret staircase leading to the hall
outside the Gryffindor Portrait hole. "Guess we'll find out later then."
"Yeah," Harry conceded. "But you do know the moves better than I do, so it's
not like you aren't qualified in that area." He glanced askance at his
friend. "I'm glad you're not raging at me for getting the badge though."
"Like I said, better you than someone else," Ron said honestly, then looked
to the Portrait of the Pink Lady. "Nosebleed Nougat," he told her, smiling
when the Portrait opened. "Oh, I got a letter from the twins by the way."
"What'd they have t' say?" Harry asked, entering the bustling common room
behind Ron.
"They said they wanted us to test out a couple of things for them...see if
it worked on the students around here. Have to send another owl with the
box though, said the thing was too big."
Raising an eyebrow, Harry smirked at his friend. "You were trying to make me
loose the badge too?"
"Oh don't go sounding like Hermione on me!"
"And what's wrong with that?" a familiar voice asked from just behind Ron.
Turning sharply, Ron came face to face with the very girl he'd just
mentioned. "Hermione! Nice to see you..." he said, faking innocence.
"Look," he pushed her forward towards Harry. "Harry's a prefect now!"
"What?" Hermione's eyes fixed on the badge, and then she looked at Harry in
surprise. "How'd you manage that?!"
"Umm...well...Dumbledore and McGonagall thought I deserved it..."
"Wait a second," she said, turning to face Ron, who was trying to sneak
away. "Ronald Weasley! You lost your badge didn't you?"
Caught, Ron turned back a guilty look on his face. "I didn't exactly mean
to, ya know."
"What on earth did you do to make them take it away in the first place
though?"
"His grades," Harry said, covering for Ron. The last thing he needed was
for Hermione to go off about Ron's snogging any girl who'd let him.
"Yeah," Ron agreed, catching on. "Guess my Divination and Care of Magical
Creature's grades just got too low..."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking between the two. She knows we're lying,
Harry thought. Which means the second Ron's gone she's gonna want the
truth. After a moment, Hermione sighed and shook her head before looking to
Harry.
"Well, congratulations on getting the badge, Harry," she said with a smile,
hugging him briefly before tugging him towards "the Trio's table," over near
the fireplace and tossing her book bag onto it. "But I need a little help
with something."
"Umm...what?" Harry asked, thoroughly confused.
"That assignment from Remus...on Dementors. I've never come face to face
with one like you have...well...other than on the train in third year,
but..."
Harry recalled the assignment and nodded. "Let me guess, you want me to
tell you how it was to me? Given that I've got a few memories that those
things love to make me remember and all..."
Ron snorted with laughter as he overheard Harry's comment, earning him a
deadly glare from Hermione.
"Umm...right...I'll just go wonder 'round a bit before dinner. See you two
later."
Hermione shook her head, then reached across the table, patting Harry's arm
as he watched his friend leave the common room. That drew his attention
back to her, and he smiled slightly before pulling her essay towards him and
scanning over what she had so he didn't repeat any information she already
knew.
"Don't know what you need me for; you've got a lot of stuff already."
"Yes, but there's still a few more inches I need to do."
Sighing, he dug his own essay from his bag, having completed it the day
before while helping Lavender, Pavarti and Padma with their essays. Setting
it on the table to compare to Hermione's, he leaned back in the chair a bit,
propping his feet up on an extra chair. "How about you ask me what you
wanna know ok?"
"Alright," Hermione agreed, and dipped her quill in ink. "Do you...well,
what do you remember when one is near?"
Harry smirked as he looked at her. "Straight to the question I was hoping
you'd avoid."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I just...you don't have to answer." Hermione said,
stumbling over the words in her haste to apologize.
"No no...I'll tell you, but only because Remus already knows."
Hermione nodded encouragingly, her hand poised to write again.
"I hear my mum and dad the night Voldemort killed them...hear his voice
too...telling my mum to get outta the way so he could kill me." Harry's
eyes took on a glazed look, and his vision went blurry as he thought about
it. "First time it was just my mum screaming my name...then it went into
more each time I was around a Dementor. I hear dad yelling for mum to get
me and run...the door breaking...Voldemort Asking my dad...my mum telling him
to not kill me..."
A warm hand settled onto his knee, drawing him from his daze and back to
reality. As his vision cleared, he saw Hermione leaning towards him, her
quill forgotten as it dripped ink onto the last few inches of her parchment
the assignment was on. Her cinnamon eyes were filled with worry and
sadness, both, he knew, for him. He forced a mild smile, laying his hand
over hers.
"I'm ok," he said, earning him a doubtful look. "Really. I mean, I've had
since third year to deal with this, right? Since that's the first time I
heard it."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione sighed, turning her hand and squeezing his lightly.
Then, she pulled it back reluctantly, knowing that if left in that position
any longer, they'd draw unwanted attention. "So...ummm..."
"Yeah..." He glanced at her essay. "Was that what you wanted or...?"
"Hmm?" She followed his gaze to her essay, and sighed when she saw the
growing ink spot from her dropped quill. A wave of her wand later had the
spot gone, and she looked up at him. "I'll find a way to wrap it up," she
answers, trying to smile. "Thank you though...for telling me..."
"Not a problem, Mione. But er...if you don't need my help anymore..."
Understanding, Hermione nodded. "Its fine, Harry. Go do whatever."
"I do want to talk to you later, ok? There's something I need to tell you."
"Alright then..." She spared a glance at the assignment, and then asked, "The
room, after dinner then? I'll be a while longer with this, I think."
Harry glanced at his watch. It was only 3:45, and that left him plenty of
time for what he had in mind to go do. "Sure. That'll work best I think
anyway..."
Now she managed a real smile for him again. "After dinner then," she said
with finality, and dipped her quill into the inkwell and started scratching
out a rough draft of an ending for her essay while Harry turned, exiting the
common room. The trek down to the forth floor was easy enough, but as he
had once already that year, he found himself knocking into someone head
first. But this time, he was the one to cast a spell to keep the other from
falling, having asked Hermione what it was Sabine would have used. Much to
his surprise, yet again, it was the Head Girl he'd literally bumped into.
When he had set her on her feet, she laughed softly at the roll reversal.
"It seems we're just destined to run into each other like this, doesn't it?"
she asked, blue eyes sparkling with her laughter.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, a smile forming. "Sorry 'bout that, by the way. I
wasn't watching where I was going again."
"Me either, really."
"Umm...where you headed?" Harry asked, reaching up to run a hand through his
hair as he did when nervous.
"Well, I was going to try and catch Professor McGonagall after her last
class."
"Oh!" Harry smacked a hand to his forehead. "I was supposed to go see
her!"
"What about?"
"Oh...well...I er..." He gestured lamely at the prefect badge, a shy grin
on his face.
Sabine smiled brightly at him upon seeing the badge. "That's cool," she
said, then glanced at her watch. "But McGonagall's probably gone by now.
She leaves that classroom at exactly 4 PM, and its three past now."
Laughing, he raised an eyebrow. "Learned her schedule have you?"
"This is the third time in five days I've tried to catch her after classes,
so I rather picked up on that fact. I don't have a class with her until
tomorrow, unfortunately."
"Well, can't you ask her after dinner or something?" He titled his head to
the side a bit in his curiosity. "Can't be that odd for the Head Girl to
ask to speak with Professor McGonagall is it?"
"Hi Harry," a voice broke in, and Harry nearly groaned in annoyance when he
saw who it was.
"Hi Cho," he responded coldly, earning him a surprised look from Sabine.
Cho glared at Sabine as she approached, only to smile at Harry moments later
as her eyes returned to him. She took in his form slowly, appraisingly, and
upon spotting the prefect badge, the smile became a smirk.
"Looks like you finally got what you deserved last year, Harry," she said,
gesturing towards the badge.
"Er...suppose so," he said grudgingly, glancing to Sabine momentarily.
"McGonagall decided to give it to me."
"Then that means your friend," she said the word callously, clearly
indicating what she thought of Ron, "lost it then, didn't he?"
Harry's eyes narrowed at the way she said friend.
"So what if he did?"
Cho laughed, the smirk still in place.
"I never did understand what on earth he did to deserve it. I mean, even
that Longbottom character would've done better."
"Shut up, Cho," Harry said softly, glaring at her.
"What?"
"I said, shut up." His hand flexed over the pocket he kept his wand in,
despite his usual dislike of harming a female. "Ron deserved the badge when
he got it. I didn't. Now it's the other way around. So don't talk about
things you don't understand."
Before Cho could speak again, Sabine stepped between the two, facing Cho.
"He obviously doesn't want to speak with you, Cho. Leave it be." She
glanced over her shoulder at Harry. "I'll see you around Harry," she said,
smiling at him briefly. "Oh, and I'll let Professor McGonagall know you
need to speak with her."
"Right," Harry answered, returning her smile, much to Cho's obvious
displeasure. "Thanks, Sabine. I'll see you, I guess."
And with that, he left the Head Girl to deal with Cho, while he headed out
to the Quidditch Pitch to blow off some steam.
________________________________________________________________________
Dinner went smoothly, much as the rest of the day had, which in itself
should have been an indication. For that matter, the entire month had been
fairly quiet within the walls of Hogwarts...eerily so. But Harry thought
nothing of it for once and instead reveled in being the teenager he was.
That, of course, meant stealing glances at the girl he was
sort-of-but-not-really involved with, blushing when he was caught. And
talking sports with the other boys his own age that sat nearby, enjoying the
camaraderie he now shared with them, since Dean and Seamus had joined the
Gryffindor team. All in all, the night was quite enjoyable, right up to the
point in which Ron asked him if he'd like to join in a game of chess after
dinner. That, of course, brought a reminder of his promise to meet Hermione
in the Room of Requirement...which there was no way in Hades he could tell
Ron about.
"Er, would if I could, mate," Harry said, coming up with a quick lie to get
him out of the game. "But I've gotta see McGonagall and what not. She
wasn't in her office earlier, so I was gonna catch her after dinner."
"Rotten luck," Ron answered, but took it in stride, turning his gaze to
Neville. "What about you, Nev? You up for a game?"
Neville swallowed a bite of potatoes, and then shook his head. "Got an extra
credit thing to do for Herbology. Professor Sprout wanted it in by the end
of the week."
Ron frowned. "What on earth you doing extra credit for? You do nearly as
well as Hermione in that class!"
Neville blushed vividly, shrugging. "Just asked her if there was something
I could do extra."
Hermione leaned forward now, laying aside the Defense book she'd been
skimming through. "Leave him be, Ron. I do extra credit for classes to,
you know."
"Yeah," Ron said plainly. "But you're you, Hermione. If you didn't do
extra credit we'd wonder what the bloody hell happened to you. This is
Neville we're talking about here!"
"Watch it, Ron," Harry said warningly, shooting his friend a look. At Ron's
less than amused look of 'What the hell?,' he elaborated. "Look, Hermione
does extra credit in a good many of her classes because she enjoys them.
Neville does extra in Herbology because that's his favorite. I do extra for
Defense. You, instead of doing extra for classes, do extra for Quidditch.
How on earth is it different?"
Ron frowned over this, thinking it out now. "So," he said slowly, "What
you're saying is that I should drop it because it's just something he likes?"
"Exactly," Harry said, a slight smile curving his lips.
Ron gave him a highly agitated look. "And you couldn't have just said that
in plain bloody English, mate? Instead you went and made me concentrate!"
Harry burst into laughter, surprising a few sitting nearby who hadn't been
paying attention to the conversation. "You make it sound like that's the
end of the world!"
"Well we aren't in classes now are we?" Ron grumbled, lowering his face as
he returned to his supper, ears a burning red with his embarrassment.
________________________________________________________________________
Not even an hour later found Harry in the Room of Requirement with Hermione,
curled up on a comfy sofa the room had created for them. But instead of
talking of his news as planned, the visit had turned into an impromptu snog
session. Now, with their hormones satisfied for the time being, Harry
snuggled Hermione closer as he prepared to tell her about his earlier
conversation with Professor Dumbledore. But first he had to wait for her to
quit talking about the perks of them both being prefects now...though her
list was certainly interesting.
"And of course as prefects, that means less having to sneak around with the
Invisibility cloak you know, even after hours. All we have to do is claim
prefect business."
Harry couldn't resist a laugh. "Seems Ron was right in first year..."
"About what?" she asked, cinnamon eyes watching him.
"We have been a bad influence on you," he answered, smiling.
"Yes you have," Hermione said, feigning a pout over it. "Before you two, I
was a very sensible girl...never did anything wrong. Now look at me!" she
exclaimed, gesturing to their position. "Curled up with my best friend
after snogging for a good half an hour or more, and talking about how to use
his newly acquired prefect position to break rules!"
Harry snickered, nuzzling her neck in the process. "Ahh...but you can't lie
and tell me it isn't fun..." He raised his head to meet her eyes, a
mischievous twinkle in the emerald depths. "Especially the snogging..."
Hermione blushed lightly and gently smacked his arm. "You certainly sound
full of yourself when you put it like that."
"What? This coming from the very witch who not ten minutes ago was begging
me not to stop?" he asked, eyebrows shooting towards his hairline.
"How about you tell me why you wanted me to join you here after dinner in
the first place, hmm?"
"You're avoiding the question, but alright...for now." Sighing, he reclined
further into the plush corner of the sofa, pulling her with him. "You know
I saw Professor Dumbledore today, right?"
"Of course."
"Well...you also remember when I told you about the prophecy, and how it
mentioned a power Voldemort knows not?"
Hermione gave him a "get real" look, and he chuckled.
"Right then...He told me what it is."
"WHAT?!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. "And you waited till
after dinner to tell me?"
Harry ducked his head. "I just wanted a little time to think about it for
myself first, you know?"
Sighing, she nodded, curling back into his side. "I can understand that, I
think. But...what is it?"
"Love..."
Hermione nearly choked on the word as she repeated, "Love?"
"Yeah. He wouldn't explain though. He said until I knew what love really
was, there was no point in him talking about it with me as I'd not get it
anyway."
Something in Hermione's eyes flashed when he mentioned Dumbledore saying he
didn't know what love really was, and Harry sighed, rubbing a hand up and
down her back. "But on top of that, I've gotta let Snape know the damned
prophecy...all of it."
"What? Why?"
"Old Voldie is getting really sick of Snape not having any really good
information, and the thing he wants to know the most is the prophecy.
Without it, Snape could end up dead. And while I don't like the greasy git,
he's important to the Order." Harry glanced at her. "So its gotta be
done."
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hermione pressed a soft kiss to his
forehead, right over his scar, sending shivers coursing up and down his
spine. "I know you hate the idea of doing something to help him,
Harry...but maybe one day he'll be willing to return the favor..."
Recovering from the shock of having someone touch his scar in such a way,
Harry snorted in amusement. "I don't see him bending over backwards to do
anything for me of all people, Mione...but maybe you're right."
Smiling, she raised an eyebrow. "When am I not?"
"Shush," he warned her teasingly. "I know where you're ticklish, remember?"
Grumbling, she laid her head against his shoulder. "Not fair to bring that
up."
Returning the favor, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know." He
chanced a glance at his watch. "We should probably head back to the Common
Room though, or Ron is gonna have our asses. The longer we take, the less
he believes you were talking to McGonagall with me."
Sighing, Hermione pushed back up into a sitting position, then standing. "I
wish he wouldn't blow up if we told him the truth..."
Harry smirked a little. "As do I, but to him, you're still 'his,' and
nothing is gonna change his mind until he find someone else." Harry
conveniently forgot to say that he wasn't even sure what the truth about him
and Hermione was at this point. Well, other than that they were best
friends who snuck off for a make-out session now and then.
You know it's more than that, a voice told him. But what is it? he asked in
response, not noticing that Hermione had turned to look at him after pulling
her school robes back on, and was currently getting more worried by the
second. You know what it is...you just won't admit it...it puts her in too
much danger, you think. Damn it, I hate riddles...in more ways than one, he
thought, standing abruptly and pulling on his robes with more force than was
really necessary.
"Harry?"
He turned at the concerned voice of Hermione, and upon catching her
expression, gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Mione. Just thinking
is all."
"Isn't that my job?" she asked teasingly.
"That's right," he said, as if remembering suddenly, and pressed a soft kiss
to her lips. "Must've forgotten."
"Mmm..." she murmured, then sighed. "You sure Ron will miss us if we stay a
bit longer?"
Raising an eyebrow, Harry grinned. "Talk about an ego boost there..."
"What?" she asked as her head cleared, and then smacked him on the arm. "You
did that on purpose."
"Eh...and if I did?"
Shaking her head, Hermione laced her arm through his as they headed towards
the door together. "I was simply stating a fact," she answered.
"Now...lets get out of here before Ron comes looking for us." She paused a
moment as they let the door close behind them, then glanced at Harry.
"Merlin knows he'd tear the entire castle apart..."
________________________________________________________________________
Halloween Morning, 1996 -
The sunrise on Halloween morning was breathtaking, what with the way it sent
light scattering over a small smattering of clouds and glimmered off of the
huge lake. But as the early morning hours progressed, clouds closed ranks
over Hogwarts and the bordering town of Hogsmeade, plunging them into a
foreboding shadow. Lightning sizzled and thunder cracked, with a suspicious
lack of rainfall. But breakfast in the Great Hall retained its cheerful
atmosphere as people looked forward to a rare mid-week game of Quidditch.
As if trying to defy the darkness outside of the hall, candles burned
brightly both within and outside of the huge pumpkins floating around in
celebration. At the Gryffindor table, Harry and Hermione kept sneaking
glances at each other and smiling, unaware of an observing pair of brown
eyes that watched with amusement. Next to them, Ron shoveled in a huge
amount of pancakes in a hurried pace, as if expecting Harry to suddenly tell
him to drop his fork and head to the Quidditch pitch at that very moment.
There was a soft sound of rustling feathers only seconds before owls of all
shapes and sizes came flying into the Great Hall, dropping packages at their
owners' places. Much to Harry's surprise, he found himself with a note in
his plate, having barely missed being dropped on top of his jelly-smeared
toast. Curious, he plucked it from his eggs, wiping off the few bits that
had stuck to the note, looking for some indication as to who the sender was.
Surely Remus didn't already know about him being a prefect, being as
Hedwig had left late yesterday afternoon with the note for him. After
wiping his own hands off, Harry pried the letter open carefully, only to
receive a surprise as the head of the bartender of the Hogs Head suddenly
popped from the letter rather like a muggle holograph. Harry didn't even
notice the look he was getting from the headmaster and staff when they saw
this apparition.
The bartender gave a crooked smile, then said simply, "Happy Halloween,
Harry Potter."
By now, this letter was attracting a good deal of attention, and its next
surprise had even the Gryffindors scrambling from the table.
Slowly, the head of the bartender started to leak real blood onto the table
as it repeated its message, until it seemed as if the blood was coming from
every available orifice. Then, it became distorted, changing into something
far more sinister. Skin became thin and pale as paste; the nose flattened
into the face, with only slits for nostrils; mouth lost any humorous curve
it might've had as lips faded into near nothing. And perhaps most
horrifyingly, as the blood stopped flowing, eyes narrowed, going from pale
blue to glowing red. Voldemort had found a way to enter Hogwarts
undetected.
The thin lips of the Dark Lord curved into a evil smile as his eyes bored
into Harry who was watching this with horror written all over his face.
"I've left you a little present in Hogsmeade, Potter..." There was a brief
cold laugh. "Enjoy your Halloween..."
When the letter burst into flames over the table, no one even moved as they
stared. A loud bang of heavy wood hitting stone had eyes finally moving to
the door of the Great Hall, where they found the half-giant Groundskeeper
standing, panting heavily. His beard and hair were scattered with ash, and
he had the appearance of someone who had perhaps been through hell and back.
Dumbledore stood from the head table abruptly as he waited for the dreaded
words to leave Hagrid's mouth.
"Hogsmeade's und'r attack," Hagrid said, taking in deep gulps of air.
"Death Eaters 're burnin' it down!"
It took all of half a second for the Great Hall to erupt in chaos.
________________________________________________________________________
A/N: The title? Chaos, Death, Destruction. And yes, I'm evil ending it
like that, but its been like a month since I updated, and I've had a LOT
more requests for me to continue DF than this, so sorry! Review if you want
me to feel like updating this more than once a month. Because right now, DF
is getting a good deal more attention from reviewers. Anyway, hope you
liked, and I will work on this the same day I finish DF's next chapter more
than likely. :)
Songs: Er...none.