Disclaimer - JK Rowling and various publishers own the world of Harry Potter. I make no claim to ownership.
A/N: Thanks to my beta Vettesr, and those kind enough to review.
Chapter 7: Whisperings in a Foreign Tongue
Emily and Luna, had discovered a diary tucked in amongst Emily's books. They had showed it to Ginny several weeks ago and the trio went about investigating it.
"Luna, what gives? Every time I try writing in it, the ink disappears. You try it," Emily said exasperatedly.
"Emily, where did this come from? I see some initials on the cover. Who is TMR?" Ginny asked.
Luna tried writing in it, but nothing happened. The ink just disappeared into the parchment. The diary, it seemed, didn't want to be written in.
"I don't know where it came from Ginny. Luna and I found it one day while we were unpacking my trunk. It fell out of a DADA book. I have no idea who TMR is… presumably the proper owner of the book. The initials don't sound familiar though."
"You don't suppose it was accidentally left in the book by someone browsing through Flourish and Blotts, do you?" Luna asked.
Emily pondered this and conceded that could have happened.
"You try it Ginny, maybe it needs a certain touch," Luna suggested.
The book didn't respond to Ginny either. They tried tapping the book with their wands, but that didn't seem to work either.
"Oooh, this is so frustrating!" Emily said, frowning. "There must be a way to discover what this diary is all about! Think, you two, we should be able to figure this out. TMR must have charmed it to respond only to him.
Then one of them tried something else…
***
After Hermione's party, they settled down once again to their studies.
Herbology introduced them to the Mandrake plant. A nasty plant that could kill when full grown, but Professor Sprout had them transplanting young plants.
"Be sure to have your earmuffs tightly fixed to your ears. Their screech could knock you out, even though they're young."
Snape was his usual nasty self, but couldn't find fault with Harry's or Hermione's work. That didn't stop him from deducting points from Gryffindor however. His new targets were Ron and Neville. Draco knew well enough to leave Harry and Hermione alone, but Neville seemed to be his new target.
`Accidentally' knocking Neville's cauldron over, Draco smirked and said "whoops" as Snape deducted points yet again from Neville.
Ron was fuming, but knew better than to cause a scene. Muttering under his breath, he swore to make Draco pay for that. Neville blinked and turned red.
"You did that on purpose, Malfoy!" Neville complained.
"Silence, Mr. Longbottom, you've always been clumsy, so quit trying to blame it on someone else," Snape sneered.
Harry and Hermione vowed to make Draco pay for that, and an idea formed in their heads.
Do you think Draco might ruin his own potion… with a little help Miss Granger? Harry thought.
Why I think that might be arranged Mr. Potter, she smirked.
When the class was finished, Snape asked for the results to be bottled and brought to his desk. Neville had tried to recover his potion, but didn't have time to finish.
"Zero then, Mr. Longbottom, you really are pathetic," Snape sneered.
As Draco was bringing his potion to the front, Hermione, unseen by anyone, whispered a spell, and the potion turned a nasty green.
"Draco! What have you done to your potion? It's supposed to be a golden amber," Snape asked.
Draco, horrified, looked at Snape and complained, "But Professor, it was perfect just a few minutes ago."
"Mr. Weasley, did you tamper with Mr. Malfoy's work? You were closest to him. Twenty points from Gryffindor and Mr. Malfoy will use your potion instead."
"But… but… I didn't do anything sir," Ron complained.
"Liar, detention Mr. Weasley. Tomorrow night with Mr. Filch.
Bugger, Harry, we only made it worse! Poor Ron and Neville. Snape knows he can't mess with us, so he takes it out on others.
He makes me so mad, I could hex him, Hermione. He's so unfair.
Joining hands they turned their work in and left the classroom. Unfortunately, they didn't notice the devastation they caused in Snape's storeroom, as bottles shattered and shelves collapsed.
Professor Snape was left wondering what had just happened.
Upstairs in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore felt the shock travel through the school, and decided to investigate. Moving quickly to his silver instruments, he quickly determined that Severus's classroom was the source of the disturbance.
Quickly making his way to the Potion Master's classroom, he viewed the devastation inside. It looked like a storm had destroyed the storeroom.
"Severus, what happened?"
"Headmaster, I don't know. I had just finished teaching a double potions class with the second year Slytherins and Gryffindors. After they left, the storeroom just seemed to explode! What a mess, it'll take quite a while to replace all this.
`Hmm,' the Headmaster thought. `Second year Gryffindors and Slytherins. I wonder if our two bonded students had anything to do with this?'
"Well, Severus, I'll see if we can get this replaced quickly. Potions classes mustn't be interrupted."
Leaving Snape scratching his head; Albus made his way to the Great Hall where lunch was in progress. Approaching the Gryffindor table, he greeted Harry and Hermione. "May I see you two in my office after you've finished lunch, please?"
"Um… Is something wrong Professor?" the two asked together.
"No, no, I'd like to discuss a little incident with you, if you don't mind."
Now what do you suppose that's about Hermione? I don't like the sound of this.
I don't know Harry, did you notice a loud noise just after we left Potions?
Now that you mention it, I do remember something. I thought it was just Ron slamming the classroom door. Best we go and find out.
Ron and Neville were still grumbling about how unfair Snape was.
"That git knew that Malfoy was the cause of all the problems, but of course he wouldn't take points from his own house, would he!" Ron complained.
"So we both got zero and he deducted points and you got detention! We have to do something about Malfoy," Neville fumed.
Hurrying upstairs to the Headmaster's office, Harry and Hermione were admitted at once.
"You wished to see us, Headmaster?" Hermione queried.
"Yes Harry, Hermione. I felt a shock go through the school a little while ago. Investigating, I found Professor Snape's storeroom destroyed. Do you know anything about it?"
"Destroyed, Professor? I'm not sure how that happened. Professor Snape was being grossly unfair to Ron and Neville, for something that wasn't their fault. We were angry, but we didn't do anything that we know of," Harry replied.
"I think your magic may have broken loose. Were you holding hands while you were angry?"
Harry and Hermione blushed. "I-I think we were Professor," Hermione answered. "You don't think that we caused that, do you?"
"Indeed, that's exactly what I suspect. You were warned to be careful, as you could cause a great deal of damage without thinking. Just be thankful no one was in that storeroom at the time, it could have been tragic," the Headmaster scolded.
"Yes sir," the pair replied with downcast looks.
"Very well, I see you have a spare period now. I suggest you return to your common room until your next class," Dumbledore replied severely.
Heads down, the pair left the office and made their way to the common room. Walking a now deserted corridor, Harry suddenly heard a voice.
"Let me rip you, let me kill you. Kill, KILL."
Harry, what was that I heard in your head? It sounded odd, like a very angry hissing, but I could understand it. It sounded like it wanted to kill someone! Hermione was shaking with fear.
Harry, also shaking, took her hand and began to follow the sound. It sounded as if it came from in the walls. I don't know Hermione, it seemed to be going this way. Quickly.
Rounding a corner in the corridor, they paused. In front of them was Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris hanging from a bracket.
The floor was wet and slick with water, and at that moment Mr. Filch rounded the corner spotting Mrs. Norris.
"What have you two done to my cat?" he screeched. "You've killed her! You'll pay for this!"
"Argus!" The Headmaster appeared. "They just left my office, they couldn't have done this, although, I'm not just sure what has been done to her," he mused. "She appears to be petrified, but how, I have no idea.
"We'll be able to restore her I think, but it'll have to wait until the Mandrakes have matured in the greenhouse."
Harry, do you think that voice you heard had anything to do with this? It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think?
I don't know love. And what's with all this water on the floor?
***
The next day the whole school was alive with talk of Mrs. Norris. Nobody was too upset that she was petrified, although an undercurrent of fear swept through the school. Nobody wanted to be petrified, especially if the Headmaster couldn't figure out how it was done.
Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher claimed to have figured it out. Since most people figured him for a blowhard and a fraud, nobody believed him. He had set a cage full of Cornish Pixies loose on the Gryffindor second year class and then retreated as the pixies flew everywhere, causing mayhem. It took Hermione and a tricky freezing charm to corral them, assisted by Harry, Ron and Neville. The DADA classroom was a mess afterwards as the class finally retreated.
"Stupid git!" Ron complained. "Didn't even stick around to clean up the mess."
After that, even Hermione's opinion of the teacher was unflattering. "Honestly, where did the Headmaster find him anyway?" she fumed. "Does he even know anything about the subject he teaches? Quirrell was bad enough, last year, but at least we learned something."
"Yeah," Harry noted, "although he did have a Dark Lord in the back of his head. I'd rather have not dealt with that!"
Everyone shuddered at that. Voldemort had come close to resurrection last year.
As the weeks passed, and no further incidents occurred, the school settled into a normal routine. Harry and Hermione were studying hard, pushing Ron and Neville to keep up and keeping an eye open for trouble.
As the summer waned and the weather changed to cool and blustery, Quidditch practices became more hectic. Hermione continued to improve at chaser and regularly substituted when one of the other girls needed a break. She also traded off with Harry on occasion.
The first match of the season was again against Slytherin and Harry and Hermione were looking forward to it.
***
Hermione, we've got to grab a quick breakfast and run. The team has already left for the lockers.
I'm coming Harry, I couldn't find my trainers this morning. I think Lavender tried to hide them. I finally found them under the bed.
Have you seen Emily, Luna or Ginny this morning?
No, they're probably in the stands already. They've been acting a little strange lately, don't you think?
I hadn't noticed. What do you mean, strange?
I don't know, Harry, they've been very quiet and have kept to themselves. Emily seems to be avoiding us, and Ginny has disappeared for hours, it seems. Luna seems to wander aimlessly by herself, and hasn't said two words to me for quite awhile.
Well, we should talk to them and see if anything's wrong. Meanwhile, let's get going, or we'll be late.
Rushing to the locker room, the quickly changed into their Quidditch robes. Wood was beside himself. "What took you so long? The game is about to start!"
"Sorry Oliver," Hermione replied. "I had a bit of trouble finding things this morning."
"Never mind, Harry, I want you to keep a close eye on Malfoy this morning. I hear he plays dirty. Watch out for Marcus Flint too. Last year he fouled the Ravenclaw seeker deliberately, causing her to crash. The whole Slytherin team plays a dirty game. Hermione, you're going to have to take the place of Alicia today. She's come down with a case of Dragon Pox. Think you're up to it?"
Hermione grinned. "Sure Oliver, I can handle it."
Harry, be careful, Draco is sure to try something.
I'll watch him, you watch out for the rest of their team. They might try to pick on you, especially since we humiliated Malfoy.
The teams took to the pitch. It was a windy day, with clouds and a threat of rain. The stands were full of cheering students and professors. Even a few parents had come to watch.
Harry spotted Hagrid high in the stands, keeping an eye on them.
There was no sign of the trio of girls.
Madam Hootch blew the whistle and the game was on. As the teams sprang into the air, Harry rocketed straight up and leveled out about a hundred feet up, scanning the pitch for the Snitch. Katie, Angelina and Hermione formed a well oiled team, passing the Quaffle back and forth until Katie fired it at the left hoop. A cheer went up as she scored.
Draco, meanwhile, was trying to mark Harry, with little success, as Harry toyed with him. Darting toward the stands, he faked Draco into following him, only to dive straight at the ground with Malfoy right behind. Pulling up at the last second, Harry reversed in front of Malfoy, forcing him into the stands. Draco just barely recovered in time, grazing Professor Snape in the process. Harry smiled, as Snape picked himself up from the floor of the stands.
Hermione had the Quaffle, after Fred had hammered a Bludger at one of the Sytherin Chasers, causing the Chaser to drop the Quaffle to protect himself. Flying fast with the Quaffle, Hermione deeked left and scored though the middle hoop.
The score quickly escalated, with Gryffindor leading 90 to 20. Draco was still marking Harry closely, but more cautiously now.
Hermione, watch out! Flint just grabbed a Beater bat and hit a Bludger at you on your blind side!
Thanks Harry, I see it.
George intercepted the Bludger and returned it back to Flint, who was not expecting it. The ball caught Flint in the right arm, and a loud CRACK was heard. The Slytherin Captain called a quick time out, and landed. Madam Pomfrey reset his arm, but you could see the pain on the Slytherin's face.
Furious at what the Gryffindors were able to accomplish, Flint gathered his team for a quick conference before play resumed. When they finally resumed play, the game quickly degenerated into a very dirty free for all. Numerous penalties were assessed against the Slytherins, and boos could be heard in the stands. The score now stood at 120 to 30 and the Slytherins were getting desperate.
Suddenly, Harry and Draco spotted the Snitch at the same time. Draco was slightly in the lead and made a grab for the snitch, but it suddenly changed direction, shooting straight down. Harry quickly followed it, with Draco fumbling to change direction. As the Snitch neared the ground, it leveled out, inches above the turf. Harry was barely able to avoid crashing and was within inches of catching the Snitch when a Bludger shattered his right arm. In pain, he still managed to capture the Golden Snitch with his left hand, but landed hard on the turf, rolling over and over, before loosing consciousness.
Gryffindor had won, but Hermione was in tears, as pain like she never felt before hit her. Landing wobbly, she ran to Harry. As she touched him, a powerful white aura surrounded them. Harry blinked his eyes open as the pain faded. His arm felt a bit numb, but seemed to be fine. As the aura quickly faded, the crowd gasped. They had never seen anything like this before.
Madam Pomfrey quickly examined Harry, puzzling over the fact that his arm seemed to be perfectly fine, with no sign of injury.
"Mr. Potter, I want to see you in the hospital room right now!" she stated forcefully. "I want to know what happened. You should, by all rights, have a shattered arm. I want to examine that arm closely."
"But it's fine, Madam Pomfrey," Harry protested.
"Be that as it may, I'll have some questions, and I still want to examine it!"
Making their way to the Hospital wing, Harry and Hermione were stared at by those students who had seen the remarkable events. Whispers were heard discussing the duo.
"Did you see the aura?"
"That Bludger must have broken his arm, but he's okay?"
"What did Hermione do?"
"When it hit him, did you see the look on her face?"
"What did Madam Pomfrey say to them?"
Arriving in the examining room, Madam Pomfrey proceeded to run diagnostic spells on his arm. Nothing seemed to be amiss, which puzzled the mediwitch.
"Mr. Potter, how is it that you appear uninjured, when everyone clearly saw your arm hit with that Bludger with enough force to shatter it? In addition, what was that aura that surrounded you and Miss Granger?"
At that moment, the Headmaster entered the room. Quickly seeing that awkward questions were being asked, he motioned the mediwitch over.
"I'm afraid we haven't kept you informed about our two students um… special abilities. Sorry, I should have brought you in at once."
"Albus, I had heard rumours that there was something odd with these two. It appears that there is some substance to them. Anything that affects the health of my students must be brought to my attention!"
"Poppy, again I am sorry for being remiss. Young Harry and Miss Granger have Soul Bonded."
Poppy gasped. "Albus! How could you keep this from me! This is a very serious matter. Do they have any special abilities? How did it happen and when did it happen?"
The Headmaster quickly filled the mediwitch in with all that they knew. Madam Pomfrey scowled at the Headmaster. "Albus, surely you're exaggerating! One's so young to have this happen to them is unheard of, much less be as powerful as they seem to be. Have they completed the bond," she asked warily.
"I'm afraid it's true Poppy," McGonagall said, entering. "Harry and Hermione have been keeping quiet about this, only a few close friends and Hermione's family know anything about it. Arthur and Molly, as well. We didn't want the whole school to know, but I don't see how we can keep it secret anymore. And no, the bond is not complete yet."
"Well, thank Merlin for that. They can't be mature enough to handle that!"
Albus replied. "We're still researching the bond Poppy. It seems to have originated within the castle somewhere, but we can't pinpoint it. Maybe something the Founders invoked when they were here would be my best guess, but for what purpose, and how they were selected I have no idea."
"Well, you'd best keep me informed," Poppy replied.
"We certainly will. I should have brought you in right away. It seems our two young students have added yet another ability to their repertoire. I've never seen such a strong healing spell before."
"Hermione appeared to have been affected by the Bludger strike as well," Minerva observed. "Did you notice the intense look of pain on her face when Harry was struck?"
"Oh, indeed?" the mediwitch asked. "So they share pain as well?"
"It would seem so Poppy," Albus answered.
Harry and Hermione were comforting each other, both feeling the numbness that the healing had produced, although it was quickly fading.
"May we go now, Madam Pomfrey?" they asked.
Startled out of their conference, the mediwitch answered, "Yes, yes, of course. But I want you two to rest for the day. This has taken quite a bit of your magic to accomplish and your reserves will be low. It'll take a day to rebuild your magical reserves."
***
Leaving the Hospital room, the pair made their way to their common room, only to be greeted by a jubilant crowd. A party was in progress, with the twins supplying the food and noisemakers. A brief silence ensued when they entered and then cheers went up. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to Harry and Hermione: about the bright aura and his arm.
Pleading exhaustion, the pair tried to bypass the crowd to their dorms. Finally Professor McGonagall entered and quieted the room. "I'm sure there are many questions that you all will have, but now is not the time for them. Let them rest and I'll arrange a time to answer some of the questions. You are not to pester Harry or Hermione for answers! The Headmaster has taken this matter under his personal attention and will deal with it when things are sorted out. Until then, if I hear about any harassment toward these two, you'll find yourself in detention. Do I make myself clear?"
There were many nods and a general acceptance by the students.
Meanwhile, the Headmaster had approached the other heads of house and instructed them to voice similar instructions to their students.
***
In another part of the castle, an evil presence was preparing to strike again.
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