(A/N: Dear friends, I wish to thank all of you who are reading this story. As you can see, I'm posting one chapter each day, since I've already written them until chapter 12. I wish to thank my wonderful BETA reader IronChefOr for his great job, especially because my mother tongue is italian and without his help this story would have remained for italian readers only. Here is chapter 4, I hope you'll enjoy it and leave a review. Thanks!)
SECRETS FROM THE FUTURE
By Petronilla
Chapter 4. CLUES AND PREMONITIONS
"As you very well know, Kelpies are treacherous Scottish water demons. They can assume different forms, however they normally look like horses," explained Magnus Erudio, standing in front of the stable with his sightless stare fixed on the horizon. That morning he was wearing a long dark green robe and his usual horn-like hat of the same color; his body still looked healthy and strong despite the fact he needed a twisted wooden staff for support.
It was exactly eight o'clock and the day looked as though it would be warm and humid; the sky was covered by clouds and the sun's rays were barely filtering through. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just arrived, after having run past several greenhouses surrounding the castle. They were now standing in front of Erudio, carefully listening to his words.
"There is nothing to trust about these magical creatures. They lurk in lakes and rivers and after attracting an imprudent wizard, they drag him down into the deep, devouring him with no mercy."
Ron made a grimace of disgust as Harry tried to sneak a look inside the stable, curious.
"The correct way to control a Kelpie is... yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione had just raised her hand; once again, Erudio noticed it despite his blindness.
"It's necessary to put a bridle on them with a Placement Charm. That makes the Kelpie docile and harmless."
"Very good, Miss Granger! Nevertheless, we aren't at school here and there aren't points to assign or to take off. However, I appreciate your hard effort."
Embarrassed, Hermione lowered her gaze, trying not to catch Harry's eyes, since he had just turned to her to listen to the explanation.
"The kelpies living in these stalls have all been bridled with the Placement Charm, and for this reason, you won't have anything to fear. The only thing to avoid is giving them the chance to change form, which in my opinion could be rather... annoying, believe me. Your duties will be to groom them each morning and feed them. Anything to ask?"
The three friends looked at each other for a second in silence.
"You can start straight away then. At lunch time, Wizzy will bring you something to eat," Erudio ended, pointing to the stable entrance with his finger.
Harry, Ron and Hermione hesitated for a brief moment, and then moved closer. Once inside, they saw something very surprising: although from the outside it looked like a common stable, inside it was huge. There were several different areas, separated by invisible barriers. The resting area was furnished with soft couches made of perfumed and motley straw. In the feeding area was a long manger made of clean white ceramic china, while in the cleaning area there was a round, large swimming pool surrounded by aquatic plants.
At that time of day, the magical creatures were already pawing inside their enclosures which were made impassable by a repelling spell. The five adults were very tall, while the two little ones didn't even reach halfway up. They looked like horses; the only difference was that their mane was made of rushes and their eyes were as red as fire. The creatures were scratching the ground with their hooves, making an odd sound resembling the cry of a duck.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" exhorted Erudio, since the three young wizards were still standing by the entrance. "Are you, maybe, scared?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other nervously. Then, Harry moved first toward one of the first creatures on his right.
"Mr. Harry Potter," Erudio suddenly called him back; he froze with his right leg forward. "I've got a different task for you. Please, follow me."
Harry glanced quickly at his friends, who were staring at him, puzzled. Then, seeing that Erudio was already leaving, he waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione and ran off following the warlock.
They walked through a wide prairie, which was still green and luxuriant despite the summer heat. Erudio was walking extremely fast, even while using his stick for support, and Harry had to hasten behind him.
After a good half hour, they reached a large forest. During the entire journey, Harry kept wondering what absurd reason Erudio had for asking only him for this other task. Suddenly, Harry's attention was stolen by something moving in the sky; he lifted his head and saw a large convocation of Hippogriffs quietly flying over the forest in the direction of the castle.
Not noticing that Erudio had just stopped, Harry smashed his nose directly into the ancient wizard's back. "Whoops! I-I'm sorry. I didn't..."
"Shhhh, silence," warned Erudio, lifting a finger to his mouth. Harry looked around warily, but didn't see anything strange.
The forest in front of them seemed dark and tenebrous, just like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Then Magnus Erudio stretched out his arm, closed his eyes in concentration, and whispered a few unknown words. After his calling, Harry heard noises in the forest and to his great surprise, he saw a group of magical creatures coming out from there, creatures he knew very well.
"Thestrals!" he exclaimed, smiling and noticing that there were a dozen of the creatures, a sort of odd reptilian-like horse with solid white eyes, completely fleshless with black coats that clung perfectly to their skeletons and a pair of large black wings that resembled those of bats.
An ordinary person would surely have feared these creatures, but this wasn't Harry's case. Thestrals had helped him on more than one occasion in the past.
"Exactly, boy. These are among the smartest magical creatures in the world, and with a strong sense of direction too. But you know already what I'm talking about, don't you?
"Y-yes Sir," replied Harry, not expecting such a direct question.
"Surely you understand now the reason why I asked only you to follow me here?"
"Because... because I'm the only one able to see them," replied Harry, with a note of resignation in the voice.
"You see? We understand each other perfectly. Unfortunately, thestrals have the particular characteristic to be visible only to those wizards who have witnessed a death. Your life has been very difficult, and I can say the same regarding my own personal life. The only difference is that I'm not able to physically see these incredible creatures, but I can feel their presence anyway."
A couple of thestrals meekly moved closer to Erudio; he caressed their scaly heads with affection. Then the warlock spoke again, weighing each word.
"It often seems that life is against us, especially when the most terrible events happen. But we must always walk with our heads held high, proud of our battles and of our internal and external wounds. We can't allow those events to destroy us. The wisest thing to do is to accept all the good and the bad things that happen to us, and take the best out of each experience."
Harry listened in silence. Even though Erudio was speaking generally, it seemed that his words were addressed solely to him. Once again, Harry had the impression that this wizard was able to read deep inside of his soul.
Erudio then shifted from his quiet attitude and spoke with sternness. "Your job will be to attend to the thestrals. Each day you'll come here, feed them, and exercise them. These creatures are extremely important to me. That's why I'm expecting you to take particular care of them."
"Right, sir," replied Harry, puzzled by this sudden change in attitude.
"Very well. Now, follow me. There are still several other things you need to see."
Magnus Erudio moved away from the forest and Harry followed him readily, without questioning him further.
***O***
Following Magnus Erudio, Harry visited a large portion of the estate. They went to the shore of a wide and dark lake, where the wizard called a surly Merchieftainess named Storm, the chief of the merpeople there. Such creatures also lived in the lake at Hogwarts, but this one in particular looked extremely worrying with its long green hair, yellow eyes, fin tail, and a sharp lance held tight in its right hand.
The Merchieftainess emerged in front of them and spoke with Erudio in Mermish, a language that sounded like a horrible screeching noise above water. Harry had a strong feeling that they were talking about him, since Storm often turned in his direction, frowning. Then Erudio explained to Harry that starting the next morning, he was in charge of the several Ramoras living in the lake. Harry didn't remember exactly what a Ramora was, but he agreed anyway, not wanting to disappoint the warlock.
Leaving the lake, they headed back to the castle and visited a huge aviary, displaying a varied selection of magical flying creatures. Harry had never seen so many of them: there were funny Diricawls, also known in the Muggle world as the dodo, colored Fwoopers, and even rare Snidgets, once used in Quidditch games before Golden Snitches replaced the live birds.
A group of house elves were busy attending the creatures, running from one cage to another with different kinds of food in their hands.
Finally, Erudio showed Harry to the greenhouses; there were almost fifty all together. In each one, a particular sort of magical plant was grown. There were Mandrakes, Bubotubers, poisonous mushrooms, and even Mimbulus mimbletonias.
Erudio explained that the house elves in charge of the greenhouses had to take care of all the magical plants, watering, pruning, or replanting them, depending on the need and season. Their fruits and seeds were collected and stored in large wooden barrels kept in the cellars.
It was almost midday when Harry reached the Whomping Willows' greenhouse with the task of pruning the newly planted seedlings. Inside, he found an old house elf who was continuously jumping from one plant to another to avoid the strong blows each one of them was throwing at him. Even though the plants were as small as Bonsai, their long branches were already very sharp and very strong.
Harry needed to use the Full Body Bind spell on them several times to keep from getting hurt. At lunch time, Wizzy appeared by the entrance with a tray full with sandwiches and pumpkin juice. Harry smiled at him, thankful, but the house elf didn't seem to appreciate it. Once he set the tray on a small table nearby, he disappeared without even saying goodbye.
By sunset, the work in the greenhouse was finished. Before exiting, Harry turned one last time to the little plants, which were neatly set in three rows, and felt proud of himself even though his hands were wounded and his back ached. He ran as fast as he could to the castle, entered inside and climbed the stairs at two at a time, eager to see his friends again.
On the third floor, Harry reached his bedroom door, but hearing voices inside, he stopped to listen. It sounded like Ron and Hermione were bickering once again. Harry rolled his eyes and slowly opened the door.
Ron and Hermione were standing in front of each other and were shouting furiously. They were so involved that they didn't realize Harry was there.
"It's all your fault. How many times did I tell you to be careful?" shouted Hermione angrily.
"I've been careful. It's not my fault if those stupid creatures get scared by everything." Ron tried to justify himself, waving his arms.
"My kelpie didn't react the same way. Why do you always have to ruin everything?" replied Hermione.
"I didn't ruin anything at all. If you want to know the truth, that warlock just wanted an excuse to punish us, that's all," affirmed Ron.
"Hey, could you please stop it for a moment?" Harry intruded in the conversation; Ron and Hermione turned to him, surprised to see him there.
"Finally you're here. Why don't you try to make her come to her senses before I use a Silencing Charm on her," shouted Ron.
"Ha, ha, ha! Very funny." Hermione mocked him, folding her arms.
"Please, STOP IT!" shouted Harry, irritated. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?" Harry raised the tone of his voice and frowned at both of them.
Ron sat on his bed and turned to face in the opposite direction of Hermione, as she did the same, sitting on Harry's bed.
"Well?" exhorted Harry, after a few minutes of silence.
"We got detention," began Hermione, turning and frowning at Ron.
"Detention? B-but why?" asked Harry, puzzled.
Hermione sighed deeply before speaking. "Everything was going perfectly. We managed to get closer to the kelpies. We let them out of their enclosures, and washed them. Then at lunch time..."
Hermione stopped for a second, as if remembering the events of that morning was the most painful thing she had to do. "When Wizzy came with a tray full of sandwiches, Ron rushed to him like a madman. Doing so, he knocked down a little kelpie, just because it was in his way. Scared, the poor creature changed its form into an otter and ran away."
"I tried to follow it, but..." started Ron, but Hermione cut him off.
"It was horrible. The little kelpie entered the castle, headed upstairs, and started running right into the west wing. Without even knowing it, Ron found himself chasing the creature along the corridors of the forbidden area until he ran into Magnus Erudio himself."
"I didn't run into him, he apparated right in front of me, that's the truth." clarified Ron.
"After a good half hour, Ron came back to the stable with Erudio, who harshly scolded both of us. Tomorrow morning, he's meeting us in his office to assign an appropriate detention."
"Yeah..." commented Ron sadly, lowering his gaze to the floor. "I bet he'll give his house elves a long holiday and let us clean the whole castle without using magic."
"It could be worst than that, believe me," judged Hermione, resigned.
Harry slowly moved toward Hermione and sat by her side. "Hey, Ron didn't do anything bad. I mean, he didn't even enter Erudio's private rooms."
"That's exactly what I told him, but he insisted, saying that it was extremely serious to have even entered the west wing. I didn't even do it on purpose."
Silence fell between them. "Erudio doesn't seem to be too vindictive. After all, he's a good friend of Dumbledore, isn't he?" said Harry, trying his best to render the situation less dramatic, but Ron and Hermione frowned at him.
"Harry's right," replied Hermione, after a deep sigh. "It's useless crying over spilled potion. I'm going upstairs to get ready for dinner," she ended, standing up and slowly moving to the door.
Gloomily, Ron turned to Harry. "How was your day? Better than mine, I hope."
"Not so bad. As far as what I could see, Erudio isn't just a great collector of rare objects, but also of plants and magical creatures. Half an hour from here there is a huge forest where thestrals and hippogriffs live freely. Then, there is a lake with merpeople, and in the greenhouses there are all kinds of magical plants. I can't believe that this place is so similar to Hogwarts."
"Am I wrong, or have you changed your mind about Erudio? Just last night you were saying that there was something odd about him."
"Well, yeah... but after everything, I think that..." Harry didn't finish the sentence. He had just turned to Hermione, realizing that she was crouching down near on the floor. "Hermione, is everything all right?"
Puzzled, Harry stood up abruptly and went over to his girlfriend who was staring intensely at something on the floor.
"Look at this!" she said, slowly standing up with a small piece of parchment in her hands.
It seemed to be a piece of a poster, rather worn-out and crushed. It was impossible to really understand the words printed on it, since the sentences and words were incomplete. There were only a few things that were even legible.
"alf-blood ghet
202
Council, nobod
-blood will be allowed to exit
Army will check
Judged by the High Cour"
Ron had just moved closer. "There wasn't anything like that on the floor when we came in."
"We probably didn't notice it since we were bickering," said Hermione.
"Maybe one of the house elves in charge of room cleaning left it here by mistake," insisted Ron.
"Highly unlikely." Hermione decided.
"Can I have a closer look?" asked Harry, frowning.
As soon as he had grasped the piece of parchment in his hands, something really strange happened. Suddenly, everything around him disappeared and he had the feeling of travel at great speed. Abstract figures and indistinct faces darted in front of him as he was started to feel sick. Then everything stopped and finally Harry was able to look around him.
The scenery had changed. It seemed not only that the place was different, but also that the time was different somehow. He didn't know where he was, but... he had this feeling that it just didn't look the way it was supposed to. It was almost the same, but different still. He realized that the differences were those resulting from the passage of time. It was as if he was seeing it many years before or many years after what he thought it should be. However, since he didn't actually know how it was supposed to look, he didn't know whether he was in the past or in the future. In the sky, gray clouds and sudden red lightning bolts, followed by frightful claps of thunder, made the place extremely menacing. The houses at the edge of the street were dirty and rundown.
All of the people around him were rushing in different directions, as if something terrible was about to happen. They surely were all wizards, as they were wearing long dark cloaks and pointed hats. In their eyes, Harry could see fear and indifference. None of them noticed Harry's presence there; as they got close, they bumped into him and then walked on.
The young wizard started to feel a sharp cold inside him. The wind buffeted him violently and he shivered in his T-shirt. A sudden loneliness caught him in the depth of his heart. With all his strength, he wished to be with his friends again.
As the wind became stronger, Harry covered his face with his arms. Hearing someone shouting, he lifted his gaze to the horizon; what he saw left him without words. A black cloud was approaching, getting closer and closer at great speed.
Off in the distance, it seemed to be a flock of birds, even though there was something unnatural about it. The closer the flock got, the more noticeable the details of it were: a crowd of filthy creatures, presages of death, wicked beings wearing long, dark robes. Their faces were hooded, their hands emerging from their robes like long, twisted, putrescent tree branches. Thousands of dementors were flying together, patrolling the area, possibly searching for something or someone.
"No, no," said Harry in a whisper. He stepped backwards, shocked, and then felt his strength wane. He stretched out a hand looking for support. Losing balance, he fell to his knees and closed his eyes.
He again had the feeling of traveling at great speed, through time and space, not even realizing it until was able to hear the alarmed voices of Ron and Hermione, calling for him. "Harry, Harry. Wake up!"
Harry opened his eyes and realized he was in his bedroom again. Panting heavily, he looked around, then raised an hand to his heart, which was beating furiously.
"Did you have another vision? How are you feeling?" Hermione wrapped her arm around his waist, as Ron grabbed him by the shoulders, both helping him stand up. "Why don't you lie on your bed for a moment?" she said worriedly, though Harry didn't seem to want to follow her suggestion, even though he still felt exhausted.
"I-I don't need to... I-I'm fine." Harry stuttered, doing his best to calm down. His forehead was hot and his hands were sweaty.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, puzzled, uncertain about what to do.
"I said that I'm fine!" affirmed Harry with renewed strength, starting to feel slightly better. When he was sure he was able to stand alone on his feet, he released himself from his friends' grasp.
Harry immediately thought about what he had just seen; was it the past, present, or future? With deep attention, he studied the piece of parchment in his hands and felt a strong sense of discomfort.
"H-harry?" Shyly, Hermione brought him back to reality. "Why don't you tell us what just happened?"
Raising his stare, the young wizard noticed his friends' dismayed expressions. "We absolutely need to find out who left this piece of parchment in our room," he began with vigor. "I'm sure that whoever it was had a specific reason for us to find it. I didn't... I didn't like at all what I just saw."
"W-why's that?" asked Ron, with a trembling voice.
Harry tried his best to gather his thoughts and then spoke, forcing himself to be as clear as possible, even though what had just happened wasn't clear to him either.
"It was... it was a horrible place. I was standing in the middle of a street and everybody was running away." He stopped for a second to think about it, then started again. "It was cold, extremely cold. Then, I saw thousands of dementors flying in the sky, over my head. They were terrifying."
"Are you sure that this place is real? I mean, maybe it was just a dream, or something similar," proposed Hermione, trying to find a logical explanation.
"It wasn't a dream!" Harry countered firmly. "When I was there, I was able to feel the cold, to hear someone screaming. Some people even pushed into me. It was as real as me talking to you right now."
"D-do you think that somewhere at this moment, thousands of dementors are flying freely, spreading terror and fear?" asked Ron, unbelievingly.
"Listen, we don't know about anything similar happening in the past. And if it isn't happening now, then the only explanation is that... it's going to happen in the future," Harry whispered the last word, almost with fear. The thought of finding such a future waiting for them wasn't at all comforting. "We need to find the owner of this parchment."
"We could try with Prior Incantato," suggested Ron, but Hermione contradicted him readily.
"You use Prior Incantato to reveal the last spell cast by a wand. We need something different here. Let me think about it for a second." She started pacing the room, desperately trying to remember the right spell to use in this situation. "I've got it!" she suddenly stopped, with a large smile pasted on her face.
Without an explanation, Hermione took her wand out from her jeans pocket and pointed it directly at the parchment, still in Harry's hands. She then said the incantation with a firm voice. "PRIOR DOMINUS!"
A ray of golden light shot out from the wand and hit the piece of parchment, which took on a life of its own, releasing itself from Harry's tight grasp. It hovered in the air and then darted to the door and slipped under it at great speed.
"Quick! It'll lead us to its owner," Hermione exhorted the other two. Together, they rushed out in the corridor.
"Damn it, It's gone!" exclaimed Ron, angrily.
"No, it's there. Let's go!" Harry pointed at the stairs. The parchment had already reached the lower floor, but running downstairs, the three friends managed to catch up.
The little piece of paper seemed possessed by an uncontrollable force and kept flying through the corridors and halls of the castle. Along the way, the three friends came upon the ghosts of ladies and knights, but preoccupied with their chase, they ran through them without stopping to apologize.
"How rude they are," commented a gentlewoman dressed in crinoline, giving them a disgusted stare.
The crazy chase continued without rest and brought them underground. Then, suddenly, the parchment stopped in the middle of one of the stone corridors and remained there in midair, pointing straight like the tail of a hound that had found its prey.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived after a few minutes and stopped there as well, exhausted. Panting heavily, they leaned against the stone walls for support while the parchment remained pointed at the wall in front of it, as if it was waiting for something.
"Can you tell me what's going on now?" asked Ron when he managed to catch his breath.
Harry and Hermione were also studying the scene, puzzled. Maybe the whole thing had been useless and they needed to try another spell. Harry cautiously moved toward the parchment. Just as he was about to touch it with his fingers, they heard a resounding POP!
"Good evening young masters. May I help you?" A small house elf had just appeared in front of them, making them jump in surprise. The magical creature had a very long nose and pointed ears, two large brown eyes, and wore an old pillowcase tied at the waist.
The three friends looked at each other for a second, and then Harry spoke first. "Yes, thanks. We... we were looking for the kitchens," he started determinedly, a specific plan in mind. "We'd like to have another slice of that wonderful rhubarb cake from this morning."
"Of course, young master. If you'd like to go upstairs to the dining room, we'll be very happy to serve you the cake after dinner," replied the elf, with a helpful tone.
That wasn't exactly what Harry had in mind. "Thanks, but... well, we'd prefer to have the cake right now."
The elf eyed them suspiciously but then made a deep bow. "Please, follow me."
Harry smiled, triumphant, and then turned to Ron and Hermione giving them the thumbs up sign in victory.
When the little house elf turned to face the wall behind him, the stone wall unexpectedly moved to the side like a sliding door, revealing a secret passage.
As if it wasn't waiting for a better moment, the piece of parchment again started its frantic flight inside the passage, which was narrow and dark. Harry and the other two lit their wands, doing their best not to lose the parchment.
At the end of the corridor, a second sliding door opened and they finally entered in the kitchen, a huge room with stone walls, lit only by torches and the fireplace. There were low, wooden tables surrounding the entire perimeter of the room and on top of them, several large copper cauldrons covered with their lids. About twenty house elves were busy cleaning and cooking here and there. Even though the kitchen was fairly large, the elves were using only a small part of it, seeing as to the small number of guests living in the castle at that time.
The roaring fireplace filled almost the entire wall in front of the entrance. At least ten house elves were roasting a huge animal carcass, with long, sharp fangs and a pair of twisted horns.
"That thing will be our dinner?" asked Ron, with a certain note of disgust.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why don't you look for the parchment instead? You've distracted me and now I've lost it."
At that moment, Harry laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned abruptly to him.
"There it is," whispered Harry, without taking his gaze off something in front of him.
Widening her eyes, Hermione nudged Ron with her elbow.
"Hey, what the bloody hell..." But when Ron turned as well, he stood there in silence, his mouth open in surprise.
In a corner of the kitchen, Magnus Erudio's personal house elf Wizzy was busy drying dishes and glasses. Unexpectedly, the piece of parchment had stopped on the floor, right in front of his feet.
***O***
That night, Harry wasn't able to fall asleep. The day had been very eventful, ending with a sort of premonition that had contributed to drag down his morale. What was the meaning of all those dementors in his vision? When was all of this going to happen? Would the forces of evil take over in the future? The most pressing question, however, was something else. Had that little piece of parchment been the cause of his premonition?
Even more curious was the reaction of Wizzy when he, Ron, and Hermione had questioned him that evening. Why had the house elf denied it with such insistence? Why had he told them that it was the first time he had seen that piece of parchment? Harry was sure that Wizzy was lying.
"What were you expecting him to say, the poor thing? At that moment, all of the others house elves were staring at him." Those were Hermione's words.
Ron had suggested forcing him to confess, but Hermione had been opposed to that idea. "Why don't we leave threatening and torture to someone else?" Hermione said sarcastically, referring to the Death Eaters' methods.
Thinking about it, Harry would've even tried a few drops of Veritaserum on Wizzy just to clear things up.
Finally, they decided to take a softer approach and wait until Wizzy was completely alone and then push him to confess.
In that moment, Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a loud snore from Ron, who was peacefully sleeping on the nearby bed. The night sky outside the window was lit by a gorgeous full moon and by thousands of stars.
In a couple of days he was going to turn seventeen. Harry smiled. This time, he would spend his birthday together with his girlfriend and his best friend. He couldn't have wished for anything better than this. If it wasn't for the magical war, for his terrible nightmares, and for the prophecy which was weighing on his heart like a boulder, maybe he would have fully enjoyed those few happy events in his life. A normal life: that was the gift he wanted for his birthday.
Harry felt his eyelids becoming more and more heavy until it was impossible for him to keep his eyes open. Confusing images and colored lights swirled in front of him. Finally, the face of Magnus Erudio appeared in his mind. The wizard was standing by the forest, a thestral at his side.
"See Harry, thestrals have the particular characteristic to be visible only to those people who have witnessed someone else's death. Please, don't be offended if I say that you can see them because you are more unlucky than normal people."
Erudio's words were still echoing in Harry's mind when the scene changed. Now, it was Ron and Hermione bickering. Ron had eaten all the roast meat without leaving a piece of it for the others.
"You're always the same, Ron. I'm really happy to be in love with Harry, and not with you." Hermione said angrily.
"I'm not sure you made the right choice. Harry doesn't know anything about girls. I, on the other hand, have more experience than him," replied Ron, readily.
Harry was deeply offended by Ron words and was going to respond, but unfortunately didn't get the chance as the scene around him changed again.
Now he was standing in a crowded street, several run-down houses around him, just like in his vision. The only difference this time was that among the wizards passing by, there was Wizzy. The house elf was standing there, staring at him with his large green eyes.
"Tell me the truth. You dragged me to this place, didn't you?" Harry asked; the house elf nodded, staring at him seriously. "B-but why? Is this the future that is waiting for us?"
"On guard, Harry Potter!.You need to stay on guard," replied Wizzy, emphasizing each word.
"On guard? Against what... against who? Are you talking about Voldemort?" But Harry's question didn't get any reply.
"Wake up you lazy boys. Get up or we're going to be late!" Hermione was calling from outside the door and Harry woke up abruptly. He looked around and felt very disappointed to find himself again in his room. Wizzy was going to tell him something important... he was sure of that.
Harry put his glasses on absentmindedly and turned to the window. The sun had just risen in the sky.
12
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