Chapter Eight: Harry Potter…Sightings?
Even amidst all of the work that had suddenly piled onto the sixth years and DA meetings, Neville had still miraculously found time to visit with Hagrid. The half-giant was not overly friendly at first, since Neville had stopped taking his class, but things had smoothed out by the end of his visit.
On the other hand, things still had not smoothed out between him and Ron. Being in the same house, they saw each other often. When in the dormitory, neither boy acted like the other existed. The same went for when they passed in the corridors. In the few classes they had together, they chose to sit on opposite sides of the room, and when one boy was sitting in the common room and the other walked in, they would soon walk out again, wondering why they went in there in the first place.
In a way, it saddened Neville. Ron had been his first friend at Hogwarts, so he could not help but feel a slight loyalty to him. Then, in moments when Ron acted like his usual complacent self, Neville forgot his sorrow and remembered why he gave up on Ron in the first place.
One of these instances took place shortly before Halloween.
Ron had gone down to Quidditch try-outs, expecting to make the team again. Why shouldn't he, as he had been on the team last year? But Cormac McLaggen had beat him by one point. He had returned to the common room, fuming. Neville had simply shook his head and went to their dormitory to finish his work.
Now the first match of the season was upon them, and Neville was especially careful to steer clear of Ron, who had no qualms as to portraying how angry he was that he was not on the team. The match was Gryffindor against Slytherin, of course.
And this was the specific reason Neville chose not to go to the game.
Now having a good amount of extra time, Neville decided to go to the library to finish up an essay. On his way there, he glanced out the windows to see rain pouring down and wind blowing in strong gusts. Just as he had begun to wonder how the teams were faring in the unexpected storm, footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
He turned to see Draco, Hermione, and Ginny walking down the corridor.
"Draco! Ginny!" Neville exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Isn't the match Slytherin to Gryffindor?"
"No," Draco replied with a small smirk and a shake of his head. "We aren't playing because of Pucey. He was injured yesterday."
Neville shook his head. He could see straight through Draco's façade. He had no idea what happened to Pucey, but he was sure it had most likely been on purpose; the Slytherins undoubtedly knew better than to play in weather like that.
With a final shake of his head, he turned and went to th library as the three Slytherins went onto the corridor that housed the Room of Requirement.
LINE-BREAK
The next day was the first Hogsmeade trip of that year. It was still stormy. The torrential rain and howling wind from the day before had turned into sleet, that whirled about on the ever present draught. Everyone bundled up, padding themselves with sweaters, cloaks, scarves, and gloves. Then, as soon as they ate breakfast, the group of Slytherins left the Hall together and made their way to the village.
The walk into Hogsmeade was not enjoyable. Any skin that was left uncovered became raw and numb within seconds. The road to the village was full of students bent double against the bitter wind. More than once, the Slytherins each wondered if they should have stayed in the common room—they certainly would have been warmer. But they finally reached Hogsmeade and saw that Zonko's had been boarded up. Hermione pointed with a gloved hand toward Honeydukes, which was mercifully open, and she, Ginny, Draco, and Daphne staggered into the crowded shop.
"Thank goodness," Daphne shivered, removing her scarf from her pink face as they were enveloped by warm, toffee-scented air. "Let's stay here all afternoon."
They stood there for a minute, basking in the heat, before splitting up and buying large amounts of sweets. Then, when asked what to do next, Draco said, "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks. It will at least be warm."
So they bundled their scarves back over their faces and left the sweetshop. The bitter wind was like knives on their faces after the sugary warmth of Honeydukes. The street was bit very busy; no one was lingering to chat, just hurrying toward their destinations. The only exception was the old bartender that worked at the Hog's Head. He was loitering outside the Three Broomsticks, talking to Madam Rosmerta.
The four teenagers went into the Three Broomsticks and sat at a table together. Within minutes, Madam Rosmerta had re-entered her pub and brought four cups of steaming butterbeer. They sat sipping their drinks and talking quietly until every last one of them had finished all of their drink.
"Shall we just turn in now?" Ginny asked, feeling bored and disappointed with the weather.
The others nodded and they all stood and waited for a rather large group of Gryffindors clear the door. Then, they too left the pub. By the time they had exited the village and were on the road, it was only them and two girls, who were a little ways up ahead of them.
It was a little while before the four slowly became aware that the voices of the two girls, which were being carried back to them on the wind, had become shriller and louder. Draco, who was at the front of the group, squinted at their indistinct figures. The two girls were having an argument about something Katie was holding in her hand. "It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" The one holding the package said.
They rounded a corner in the lane, sleet coming thick and fast. Just as Draco raised a hand to shield his eyes, Leanne made to grab the package the other girl was holding; the other girl tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.
At once, the girl rose into the air, not comically as a product of a regular spell or jinx, but gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something that wreaked of Dark Magic…Her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. The other five halted in their tracks, watching.
Then, six feet above the ground, the girl let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed. Leanne started to scream too, seized her friend's ankles, and tried to tug her to the ground.
As the Slytherins took a wary step back, the girl fell on top of her friend, writhing, thrashing, and screaming. Just as the Slytherins wondered whether they wanted to turn back and not be caught at this scene, or whether they wanted to get closer and investigate, a rough voice reached them, carried on the howling wind.
"Stay back!" They turned to see the enormous form of Hagrid lumbering towards them. "Get back! Lemme see her!"
"Something's happened to her!" Leanne sobbed. "I don't know what—"
Hagrid stared at the girl for a second, then without a word, bent down, scooped her into his arms, and ran up to the castle with her. Within seconds, the girl's piercing screams had faded away and were replaced by the roar of the wind.
Hermione made her way over to Leanne and asked, "Did it just happen all of a sudden or—?"
"It was when that package tore," the girl sobbed, pointing at the now sodden brown-paper package on the ground, which had split to reveal a greenish glitter. Ginny bent down, her arm outstretched, but Draco seized her arm and pulled it back, tugging her to his side.
"Do not touch it!"
He crouched down. An ornate opal necklace was visible, poking out of the paper.
"This has been on display at Borgin and Burkes for years," he told them. "The label said it was cursed. I didn't realize it had been sold…." He trailed off into silence before casting his eyes on Leanne, who had begun to shake uncontrollably. "How did your friend get a hold of this?"
"Well, that's why we were arguing. We were coming out of the Three Broomsticks in a large group and got separated. When I found her again, she had the package. She said it was a surprise for someone at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it…Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize!"
And the girl shook with renewed sobs.
"Did she say who the surprise was for?" Draco interrogated further.
"Someone named Daphne Greengrass."
Naturally, the first thing Draco did when he got back to the common room was throw floo powder into the fireplace, shout "The Bachelor Flat!", and stick his head in the green flames.
"Harish!" he called. "Harish! It's urgent!"
Harish appeared a minute later with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth and his hair was wet from a recent shower.
"What's going on?"
And the tale of the girl's cursing spilled out of Draco's mouth. By the time he was done, Harish's face was inscrutable. He was torn between anger, confusion, and curiosity. Was this something to do with Jugson's employer? Why Daphne specifically? Was it to get to Harish? Was this the end of it, or would there be more attempts on someone's life?
Finally, Harish spoke.
"Get me inside the castle as soon as possible."
A week later, Harish grabbed his old school bag and stuffed it with his school robes and his pair of glasses. Then, he and the twins went down into the Alley. They took the small turn into Knockturn Alley and went into Borgin and Burkes. Borgin bowed and muttered niceties to Voldemort's son as he went through the shop and headed for the Vanishing Cabinet at the back of the shop.
"Leave me," he said shortly to Borgin.
Borgin bowed and backed out of the main portion of the shop.
"All right," Harish said, turning to the twins. "I'm ready."
Fred cast the spell and Harish once again felt like he was melting. He put on his glasses and climbed into the Vanishing Cabinet. Inside, he changed into his old school robes. Then, when he opened the cabinet door, he found himself standing in the Room of Requirement.
Excited that it worked, the young man quickly made his way out of the room and into the hallway. He breathed deeply, and looked around with a smile on his face. It felt like it had been so long since he had been in Hogwarts.
LINE-BREAK
Professor McGonagall stood outside her classroom, waiting for students to come in. While she did so, she watched the corridor to ensure there was no goofing off between classes. She was just contemplating how peaceful and quiet it had been since the twins and their ringleader, Harish Blake, had left school.
Then, suddenly her eyes caught on a student that had been blending in with the mass of his peers. He had emerald green eyes, messy black hair, and large round glasses that seemed to drown his pale face.
McGonagall jumped and clutched her heart, leaning against the wall with her eyes clamped shut. When she opened them again, the boy that looked like a sixteen-year-old version of the late Harry Potter had disappeared.