~A/N>Thanks for all the great reviews for the prologue you guys!!! I'm so glad you like what comes from my
warped and twisted mind! :) I want to say now that the chapters for this story are going to be shorter than I usually
write and I don't think it will go over ten chapters, max. Who knows, it may take on a life of its own like my
other stories have, but I doubt it. It's very hard to write a chapter without giving out too much information and
ruining the end of the story. Special thanks to my beta Spaz; thanks for taking the time out of your life to help me!
So without further ado, I give you chapter 1!
As soon as Harry lay down that night, he was asleep and deep into a dream. After a few detached moments of observation, Harry soon realized that he wasn't dreaming; he in fact was having a nightmare, a horrible one. He was walking down a corridor heading towards a bathroom; once inside he realized it was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As he looked around, in what seemed to be slow motion, he saw her; a brown haired girl, she was naked and tied to a chair. He couldn't see her face clearly because her head was down and in such a position where her chin was practically touching her chest. Fear and dread coursed through him as he realized that the girl looked a lot like Hermione. He tried to run to her, but his body felt weighed down with lead and he felt like a cartoon character, moving so slowly that someone watching could see every twitch and movement his body made. When he finally reached her he tried to call out her name, but no audible words came out of his mouth. Becoming frantic, he reached out and raised her head so that he could see her face; to his horror her head dropped all the way back, almost severed entirely from her neck. He watched as a brown wig floated to the floor and when he looked closely at her face he realized it was...
"Lavender!!" shouted Harry as he sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Shaking from the intensity of the dream, Harry grabbed his glasses, clumsily got out of bed and was making his way out of the dorm when Ron mumbled sleepily, "Where are you going mate, and why were you shouting Lavender's name?"
"No time to explain Ron, there's something I need to check on," Harry hastily replied, and then he ran out of the room and down the stairs. Trying not to let the revulsion of what he saw in the nightmare overpower him, he prayed that it was just another sick trick of Voldemort's and nothing more, but deep down he knew that wasn't true. He knew Lavender was dead, and he knew that someone had brutally murdered her; he just had to figure out why.
"Harry?" came a quiet feminine voice that Harry knew instantly. He turned towards the couch in the common room and saw Hermione sitting there looking at him with a questioning expression on her face. "Is everything okay?" she asked.
Without thinking, Harry rushed over to where she sat and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "You're okay," he said, relief evident in his voice.
"Of course I'm okay Harry, I've just been down here studying," Hermione replied, thoroughly confused by his caring demeanor. Harry was not one to show affection, even if that's what she secretly longed for, and this display was affecting her more than she cared to admit.
Unbeknownst to her, Harry was being affected in much the same way. Pulling back awkwardly, he looked at her and said, "I just had a bad dream about Lavender; I need to find her."
"What do you mean? Lavender is upstairs asleep in her bed." Hermione replied, really confused by his odd behavior and a little jealous about his concern for her dorm mate.
"No she's not." he answered matter-of-factly, "I don't have time to explain, I need to find her now."
Hermione watched as he stood up and started to walk towards the door; just as he was stepping through the portrait hole she called, "Harry, wait, I'll go with you."
"No," he replied, stopping quickly and turning to look at her. "I don't want you to go."
"I don't care what you want," she answered shortly, angered by his refusal, "If Filch catches you out at this hour you'll get into trouble. Being Head Girl, I can go with you and he won't be able to do anything about it. I can make something up if he spots us."
Harry stood there studying her for a moment and then said, "All right, come on, but you have to let me go in by myself."
"Go in where?" Hermione asked, following him into the corridor.
"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," he replied, quickening his steps so that Hermione almost had to run to keep up with him, unable to question him any further.
Harry stopped suddenly as they came to the door of the bathroom and turned to look at Hermione. "Stay out here, please don't ask why, just do it, okay?" Before she had a chance to answer, he walked inside and almost vomited at the sight in front of him.
It was just as it had been in his nightmare, but with one exception...the blood. There were lines of it from her throat, down her breasts and onto the floor, where it had pooled. Harry took a deep breath, and summoning all his courage he walked closer to the chair and tentatively reached out to lift the girls face up slightly, just enough so he could see whom it was. His chest constricted as he realized that it was, in fact, Lavender Brown.
Harry gently lowered her face again to the position it was in when he found her and turned to make his way to Dumbledore's office. When he turned he realized that Hermione was standing just inside the door, staring wide-eyed at Lavender's body. Her face was white and her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out; she looked as if she was going to pass out and Harry rushed over to where she stood.
"I told you to wait outside," he said, trying not to sound angry.
"Harry, what...who is...what's going on?" she asked, sounding scared and frantic.
Harry managed to pull her back out into the corridor and cast a locking charm on the door so that no one could accidentally, or purposefully for that matter, stumble into or alter the scene. Taking her by the hand, he said, "I need to get Dumbledore and then I'll explain everything to the both of you, okay?"
Hermione nodded numbly, her mind full of visions of the dead girl making a permanent etching in her memory. She wondered how it was possible that Harry knew where to find the body… `Lavendar!' her mind screamed, at the sudden and terrible realization that the dead girl was Lavendar Brown.
Tears pooled in her eyes at the thought that someone she knew had died by what appeared to be a torturous death. When she continued to cry silently, Harry looked back at her and noticed the tears streaming down her face. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. She was trembling and clinging to him for dear life and all he wanted to do was comfort her, but he knew he had to tell Dumbledore as soon as possible.
Reluctantly pulling away slightly, he cupped her cheek with his hand and wiped some of the tears away with his thumb. "Are you going to be okay? Would you rather I take you back to the dorms first?" he asked.
"No...no, I'll be okay." she said quietly as she sniffled and wiped the tears off her face.
Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close to his side as they continued walking to Dumbledore's office. The only thought occupying Harry's thoughts was the image of Lavender's lifeless body and the crippling fear he felt when he thought it had been Hermione and the guilty relief that washed over him when he realized that it wasn't her; unconsciously he pulled Hermione closer to his side, glad that she was okay.
When they finally arrived at the gargoyle marking the entrance to Dumbledore's office, Harry looked at Hermione expectantly and she said, "Fizzing Whizbees". They watched as the gargoyle moved to the side and then proceeded up the stairs to the inner office door. Harry knocked on the door and called to the Headmaster; finally after a few ticks the knob turned and the door opened. With a surprised look on his face Professor Dumbledore said, "Harry, Miss Granger, I am surprised to see the two of you up at this hour; is something wrong, has something happened?"
"Yes Sir." Harry answered, "We need you to come with us, there's something we need to show you."
"What is it Harry?" the Headmaster asked, noticing his two students' wide eyes and scared demeanors.
"It's Lavender Brown Sir," Harry answered, "We just found her in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom...she's dead Sir. Murdered."
~*~
When he woke up the next morning the school was abuzz with the news of Lavender Brown's death. He acted concerned and expressed his shock at such a heinous crime, but inside he couldn't help feeling proud. His plan had been flawless and no one had any idea that he had been the one to take her life; everything had gone perfectly.
He stood in the crowd that had gathered in the corridor outside the bathroom and listened to all the gossip and fabrications that were being voiced around him. 'Stupid fools,' he thought, 'they're as clueless as the sodding wankers that run this school."
He watched as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger came from inside the bathroom and couldn't help the small smile that broke out on his face; he had known that the do-gooders would be the ones to find her. He knew about Potters 'dream' because that had also been a part of the plan; not only would he get to take Potter's precious Mudblood away from him, but she would get to watch her precious hero die first. After that he would show the bitch what a real Wizard could do and then he'd kill her too, only he would take his time with her. He was going to make her beg and plead for her life first and then he was going to torture her until she screamed his name as she drew out her last breath.
Getting aroused at the mere thought of Granger's death, he took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what pathetic nonsense Dumbledore was spouting at the minute. After basically telling them to make their way to the Great Hall immediately, he turned to follow the group of students and that's when he saw her; she looked a lot like the Mudblood and even had brown hair, which would make things a great deal easier for him. He had just found his next plaything.
He walked up to her and turned on the charm, flirting with her incessantly. He noticed the blush on her cheeks and knew it was from his attention; she was going to be easier to fool than the last one was, and as he took in her strong resemblance he also planned on having some fun with this one first. From what he could gather in their short discussion she was a sixth year Hufflepuff who didn't have many friends; saying his goodbyes so he could make his way to his house table, he watched her walk away and felt his excitement start to grow. In about a week she would be his and he'd get to practice again; he'd be ready for Granger sooner than they expected and that thought alone almost drove him over the edge with need. He smiled as he sat down next to his friends and as he looked towards the Hufflepuff table he saw the girl wave at him tentatively; he waved back and as he started to eat he couldn't help thinking how pleased his Master was going to be with his progress.