Chapter 30: From Water to War
The lake was quiet. A serene place where one could think, could reflect on life's troubles and traumas in peace and solitude. Chaos and stress were redundant at the lakeside where only the twittering of birds and the lapping of the cool water against the shore punctured the silence and the air. The water stretched from the land into the horizon, through a gap in the dense, dark trees surrounding the tiny bay.
Harry liked the lake. It was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of his ordinary life. He wasn't entirely sure where it was, nor indeed how he had arrived there. He was only slightly curious to understand how he had come to be sitting on a small boat bobbing happily on the shimmering water, connected to the jetty thirty or so yards away by length of thick rope. He did wonder vaguely who lived in the small log cabin on the shore, though he had a strange feeling that he knew what was inside.
If he was honest, though, he didn't really care. He was happy to sit on his boat and watch the waves wash gently on the mud bank shore, tanning in the warm sunshine and listening to the sounds of silence. He had no interest in going back to the land and was more interested in what lay beyond the gap in the trees and where the water led beyond the horizon.
But neither the land nor the horizon provided him with as much contentment as sitting on his boat. He had half a mind to paddle into the shore and look for a fishing rod, not that he knew how to fish. It was something he'd always fancied doing. The problem was that the thought of leaving the water even for a minute was one that filled him with terror, a sensation he just couldn't explain.
Had it been days? Had it even been weeks? Harry couldn't tell; all he knew was that being on his boat was the happiest he had been in a long time. Apart from being with Hermione, the thought of which caused him a slight pang. He missed her, there was little doubt about it. It was the only thing that made him slightly want to reel his boat towards the jetty and go to find her, not that he was sure where to start. He had a suspicion that she was in the log cabin sometimes; he had seen her at the windows, white as a sheet and rubbing her eyes as if she had been weeping. Harry wondered why she was the only one who hadn't been to visit him.
For almost everyone else had, at one time or another. Oddly to Harry, they all seemed to just appear on the jetty, standing rigidly and vaguely like ghosts in chilly morning mist. Sometimes they just stood there, motionless while other times they were animated and threw their arms around like they were trying to get his attention. Not that they needed to, he could see them clear as day. He just had no interest in coming in.
All, to a man, shouted or called to him, though no sound came out, which Harry found slightly unusual. He could tell from the ways their mouths moved that they were calling his name but not once did he hear the words. Ron was his most frequent visitor, sometimes coming alone but on several occasions was accompanied by Ginny. When they jumped about, animatedly trying to provoke some kind of reaction from him their red hair looked like a flickering flame through the mist that seemed to descend whenever someone came to see him.
Dumbledore came a few times, too, often waving his wand as if trying to conjure him back to shore. Either that or he was trying to make the water disappear. Nothing worked, though, and Harry merely sat and watched them bemused but contented. Madame Pomfrey was frequently on the pier, strangely enough. She seemed able to send food and water out to him on his boat, though if truth be told he would have preferred a few chocolate frogs and a flagon of steaming Butterbeer if it was his choice. Professor McGonagall came once or twice as did, bizarre as it seemed, Professor Snape, who seemed that happiest of the lot that Harry was out at sea and not in his classroom.
But, most notable by her absence from the rickety wooden pier, was Hermione. She had dropped by on the first time Harry could remember being on the boat but he hadn't seen her since. He supposed she had her reasons; maybe whatever she was doing in the cabin was of great importance. But not seeing her hurt. It scared him too, almost as much as the thought of coming in from the lake. He didn't know why, he couldn't explain it. It was as if he knew terror and fear lived on the land, whilst freedom reigned on the water. But he did miss Hermione…
Harry was trying hard to remember how he had come to be on the lake in the first place. He always had these moments of brain-racking whenever Dumbledore came to visit. As the Headmaster stood on the edge of the pier, chanting silently into the sky Harry had the urge to think, to remember. But he couldn't, not clearly anyway. Occasionally, things would come back to him. In particular a flash of dull green light, but he didn't know what caused it. Then he heard people screaming, notably Hermione, her piercing cries scything to the very core of his heart.
But he still couldn't remember getting on the boat, nor coming to whatever lovely place this was. This was the first time he'd really thought about these things without Dumbledore being there. For although he was happy Harry was starting to feel slightly unsettled. He could see Hermione at the cabin window again, pottering around inside. He wanted to speak to her. He decided to call out. To his amazement, no sound came out.
Harry was afraid. For the first time on the lake, he felt anxious. Why couldn't he speak? He decided to get up, but found his arms felt as heavy as iron and were not going to move. His legs were no help either, only his head seemed unaffected by whatever was happening to his body. He nodded his head frantically from side to side, an unwise choice as it made him very dizzy and hurt his neck in the process. Still, he had to try something.
As if sensing that Harry needed help, Dumbledore had appeared on the pier. He was calling to Harry, who could still hear nothing. Dumbledore scratched his head and then, despite the fair distance between them, Harry saw the Headmaster's face light up as if he had a plan. Dumbledore had withdrawn his wand and was swishing it through the air, writing words in the sky in a swirling golden handwriting.
Harry, nod yes or no if you can hear my voice.
Harry shook his head.
Harry, its time for you to come back to us now. Would you like that?
Harry read the swirly golden words as they dissipated into the mist and thought. He shook his head again, he was happier on the lake, despite his growing anxiety.
Maybe the dragons in the water will change your mind.
Harry's eyes shot to the water where the scaly black skin of what must have been fifty Norwegian Ridgebacks rippled just beneath the surface of the water, their evil eyes fixed upon Harry's boat, which he now recognised as small and flimsy and flammable. Panic now set in; he tried to move his arms, it was time to go to shore. But his arms were still too heavy and though he tried with all his might they wouldn't budge. He mouthed words of his predicament to Dumbledore who didn't respond. Fat lot of help you are, Harry thought. Then, like a ray of sunshine, salvation arrived.
It was Hermione, she was suddenly at Dumbledore's side looking nervous and afraid as she surveyed Harry's predicament. Then she spoke.
'Harry!' she said anxiously, 'Harry come back to us. Please.'
The sound of her voice was a powerful tool, the sound of speech giving Harry renewed hope as the dragons stirred beneath him. The boat was beginning to rock. Light collisions with the hull was causing the small craft to rock and bob dangerously on the water, its serenity replaced by violent waves and murky depths. Harry tried to move and felt his arms lighter, to heavy still to move but definitely not as heavy.
'Harry please,' moaned Hermione, 'we need you. I need you, you have to come in now. Please try.'
The desperation now seeping into Hermione's voice gave Harryanother surge of determination and his arms moved slightly. They still felt heavy but they could be moved. Harry focused on Hermione's voice and flung himself towards the rope on the front of the boat. His body was stiff, his limbs felt as if they hadn't moved for ages. The was an ear-piercing almighty screech high above and Harry looked up at the shadow of a Ridgeback, rearing up in the water and swinging its claws for him.
The fear coursing through Harry's veins made his arms come more to life. Hermione's terrified expression helped also as Harry grabbed hold of the rope and started to heave the beat towards the pier. Dumbledore and Hermione just stood on the jetty, Harry feeling slightly put out that neither would give him a hand.
Another splitting roar and Harry tugged hard on the rope, pulling the boat forward as another dragon smashed into the water, narrowly missing the end of the boat. There was barely a few metres to go, a few more pulls should do it. Harry yanked hard and the boat shuddered forwards. He tried again when…
SMASH!
The powerful wings of one of the dragons had crashed into the back of the boat, decimating it and forcing the rear of the boat under the water. Harry slipped back, his feet grazing the glass-like surface of the lake beneath. The scrambled up the rope and in good time too; a blaze of fire swept past him, missing his ankles by inches and dying in the cold water.
Harry found he had regained the strength in his arms and clambered up the rope and onto the jetty, hoping Dumbledore knew a good spell to subdue fifty dragons. But he was gone, and Hermione was gone with him. Harry heard her voice though, calling him from in the cabin. He hurried to it, the dragons were now on the land. He reached the door, the dragons were hurtling towards him. Harry turned the handle of the door, his heart awash with fear, and strode through as dragon flame lit up the woods around him.
Harry had barely a second to open his eyes and register being in a room that bore uncanny resemblance to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing before his face was engulfed by a rather expansive quantity of bushy hair, the texture of which he recognised but which also had a strange musky, pungent sort of smell that came with lack of washing. Harry could barely make out Hermione's words through her sobs and her quavering arms around his neck but he did suddenly realise he was lying down. How odd.
There were several other voice in the background, muffled by Hermione's hair and tearful sobs, but those of Snape and Dumbledore sliced through the rest. Madame Pomfrey's harsh tones scalded Hermione and she let go of her vice-like grip on Harry's neck. The Matron then forced some foul-tasting potion down Harry's throat, making him choke and spluttered as he struggled to swallow it. He looked up at Dumbledore who smiled back at him.
'Welcome back, Mr Potter,' Dumbledore beamed, 'we were starting to think you would never return to us.'
Harry saw Snape's lip curl, clearly his greatest wish hadn't been granted today.
'What am I doing here?' Harry asked.
'You don't remember?' said Hermione quietly, 'You don't remember being cursed?'
Harry thought back. Suddenly, the flashing green light, the screams, the witch.
'LUNA!' Harry yelled, 'Where is she? Have you got her?'
'Calm yourself, Harry,' said Dumbledore, 'don't worry about that now.'
'But she cursed me! She tried to kill me! Hang on…why didn't it work?'
'Because she doesn't have enough power,' replied Dumbledore, 'In order for the Unforgivable Curses to work properly you have to really mean them and have a level of power to make it happen. Luna Lovegood has neither. Though she did have a surprising enough amount of power to put you into a deep unconscious state.'
'For how long?' Harry asked apprehensively.
'Three weeks.'
'THREE WEEKS!'
'And two days,' added Hermione.
'But what…but why…' Harry couldn't find the right question.
'Your questions will all be answered when the time is right,' said Dumbledore sternly, 'but now we have to get you up and get you to safety.'
'What do you mean? We are in Hogwarts. There's no place safer.'
'Things have happened in your leave of absence, Potter,' snarled Snape, 'Pretty bad things.'
'Things to do with Hogwarts and Hogsmeade,' said Ron earnestly, who Harry hadn't noticed on his other side.
'Like what?'
'Well…' Hermione started, 'Its sort of gone crazy.'
'What do you mean crazy?' said Harry.
'Its part of Lord Voldemort's plan,' said Dumbledore.
'What plan!' yelled Harry, now starting to get frustrated.
'Civil War, Harry,' said Hermione quietly.
-->