Chapter 17
To be Whole Again
Last Time
"Yeah, it's a giant mirror that when you look into it, you see your greatest desire...Erised is desire backwards. It had an inscription on the top that when it was read backwards was something like, I do not show your face, I show your heart's desire, or something like that. But he was looking in the mirror, which was the final obstacle, Dumbledore's. He said it was one if his more ingenious ideas. The person who looked into it, had to want to find the stone, but not use it or do something with it. Quirrell wanted to give it to Voldemort, so he could not get it, but when he had me look into it, I found it in my pocket a moment later. Voldemort, who was possessing Quirrell, told him to kill me and when he touched me it burned him. I figured this out, so I reached up and grabbed his face and held on till I passed out. The next day I found out Quirrell was dead and Voldemort gone. The stone was going to be destroyed and Flamel and his wife would finally die."
He looked at the Pensive and pulled his wand out and started putting memories into the bowl.
"I guess we can all go in and watch it, it shouldn't take more than about an hour."
Hogwarts Grounds, Hogwarts, 26th September 1995
The next day found Harry walking on the grounds near the Black Lake thinking on what he was going to show to Susan and Daphne.
'They are taking this surprisingly well. I did guess Daphne might be able to process it better, with her prowess in the mind arts, but even Susan seems to be holding on much better. They both truly are a gem. And as promised, I will have to give the whole Ron and Hermione situation a thought. Maybe…'
Before Harry could continue with that train of thought, he noticed a familiar looking red head, sitting near the Black Lake, sitting with her back against the giant tree supporting her as she closed her eyes and looked as if she was in deep thought. Knowing what it might be about harry proceeded to walk towards her.
As he neared her, he once again could not help but marvel at the beauty his girlfriend seemed to radiate naturally without even trying. The sun shining brightly, bathing her face in sunlight. It was angelic, her red lips, her cute button nose, her eyes shut and a frown on her face as if she was in deep thought, but that did nothing but to enhance her beauty. The light shinning off of her silky red hair.
She truly was a sight to behold.
Sighing, Harry sat down besides her and put an arm over Susan's shoulder, pulling her in. Susan, did not even need to open her eyes to see who it was, seemingly knowing that this was her boyfriend pulling her in. Afterall, she could feel his magic calming her down and comforting her and making her feel safe and secured like it always seemed to do whenever he was near her, or whenever she was in his arms.
The frown on her face being replaced with a smile and a happy sigh left her lips, before she shuffled to cuddle more into the secure embrace of her boyfriend, the man who in such short amount of time had come to mean so much to her.
"Are you sure you are fine? With what I told you yesterday, I mean?" Harry asked her, his expression changing to one of concern.
Susan lifted her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes before nodding. "I will admit, some of it is quite scary. I have no idea what you will tell me today, but I know I will not like it, especially since I know you would have been in danger in many of those situations, and also hearing about how I…" Susan trailed off before recovering. "I do not know, I am nervous, but I know I will be alright because you are here with me. I feel safe with you, for some reason." Susan confessed.
He smiled at her softly and gave her a gentle kiss. "If you need something, Susie, please let me know. You are dealing with this better than I expected, but parts of what I have to tell you will be hard, and I want to make both of you as comfortable as possible." Harry said.
"Both." Harry repeated, but this time speaking over his shoulder, looking at Daphne who was smiling down at them, not wanting to interrupt the moment that they were having.
"So, how would you like to do this?" Harry asked. "I have everything prepared for our talk downstairs. I suggest we go to breakfast first, the maybe take a quick walk, complete our classes, and then we can go down to the Chamber?"
"I can agree to that." Susan replied while Daphne nodded. Harry rose from his seat and offered Susan his hand to help her get up, which she took gladly.
The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts, 26th September 1995
Harry spent the first few minutes retelling the first few weeks of his second year. The summer before it, Dobby's visit, the Weasley flying rescue, the locked platform gateway, and the flying journey into the Willow tree.
Harry left out the part of the story where he was attacked during the quidditch match as both of them were there to witness it, but he did share the details of his encounter with Dobby in the hospital wing.
"The elf really is quite obsessed with you." Daphne shuddered.
"You have no idea." Harry muttered under his breath.
Before continuing the story and helping them understand why he and Ron had gone into the Forbidden Forrest yet again. After he was done explaining the pre-forest story, he put the memories into the Pensive.
"I am starting to think that you have more than a few screws lose. What part of 'Forbidden' do you not understand in the name 'Forbidden Forest'". Surprisingly it was Susan who said this, really not impressed with Harry putting his life in danger yet again.
"You have been spending way too much girl time with Daph." Harry muttered, his was only saved from the stinging hex as both the girls had already entered the pensive.
After entering the pensive after the girls, he found them standing around the outside of Hagrid's house and hearing a younger version of Harry and Ron having a conversation. They followed memory harry, Ron and Fang into the Forbidden Forest for a long while. Finally, Fang let loose a loud echoing bark that caused both the girls to jump madly and hang onto Harry's arm.
While Harry himself was chuckling, one could tell it was forced and a drop of sweat was sliding down the side of his head, afterall he himself had not remembered this detail of Fang barking and was similarly surprised by it.
"There's something moving over there." memory Harry said very quietly. "Listen… sounds like something big…"
The trio stopped moving and listened only to hear the loud snapping of branches and underbrush suggesting a very large thing travelling their way.
"Oh, bloody hell, why… Oh Merlin!" Daphne muttered in distress looking around wildly, before latching herself to Harry's side.
Harry was particularly looking forward to this part. Afterall the only thing that could scare his future Unspeakable wife was big, giant, man-eating spiders.
"Daph?" Susan questioned.
"She hates spiders." Harry replied, with a grin on his face that annoyed Daphne the most, but not enough to leave his arm.
"Shut up Harry, I can stand the normal spiders. But these are Acromantula!" Daphne said with a hint of panic. She was breathing deeply trying to calm herself when the light showed through the trees. She screamed and tried to jump behind Harry to hide herself. This caused Harry to chuckle and tell her that it was just a car.
And sure enough when Daphne peeked out from behind Harry, she saw the car Harry and Ron had taken to get to Hogwarts.
"Look! The forest turned it wild! Dad will have my behind for this." Memory Ron said.
While Daphne composed herself, she glanced up just in time to see memory Ron's face drain of all color, and staring at something above them. She paused and followed his gaze. The shriek she let out at seeing the memory harry being grabbed around the middle by a giant spider soon brought Harry and Susan's attention back to the memory. Even Susan was horrified into shouting a bit at the sight of the Acromantulas and latched onto Harry's other arm.
The memory dragged the trio all along with the pace of the spiders carrying Harry, so they were quickly in Aragog's clearing. Seeing Aragog in person caused Daphne to almost have a panic attack. She was now firmly attached to Harry to the hip, while Susan also had a tight hold on his arm.
"Kill them. I was sleeping..."
"We're friends of Hagrid's," shouted the memory Harry which caused Aragog to pause.
"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before."
"Hagrid's in trouble, that's why we've come."
The conversation went on for several minutes more.
"We'll just go, then," memory Harry said.
"Go? I think not... My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friend of Hagrid."
Both the girls shouted out as they watched memory Harry twist away from a virtual wall of spiders in his attempt to flee.
Suddenly, the blue Ford Anglia arrived in a blaze of light and horn, driving through the sea of spiders, stopping with a jolt right in front of Harry and Ron. They watched as the two small boys jumped in and the car drove away.
The trio floated along with the car until it halted abruptly at the edge of the forest. The memory faded after Harry and Ron had a short conversation and headed back up to the school. As another memory came into focus around them, Daphne sighed in relief at seeing a calm, dark dorm room. Atleast the spiders would not return. Hopefully
"Ron," hissed the memory Harry through the dark. "Ron-"
She heard Ron wake up with a yelp.
"Ron-that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom. What if she never left the bathroom? What if she is still there?"
"You don't think-not Moaning Myrtle?" asked a sleepy Ron. Daphne and Susan gasped.
"So, was it Moaning Myrtle?" Daphne asked.
"Yes" Harry replied. He went on to explain his and Ron's visit to Hermione in the hospital and finding the paper in her fist that described a Basilisk and then Pipes scribbled in the margin. He went on to explain how he and Ron went to the teacher's lounge to tell a teacher but instead found out Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets.
The trio watched as Harry pulled the piece of paper out of Hermione's hand and read it out loud. Daphne was sporting a shocked expression on her face as memory Harry and Ron made their conclusions and the decision to run to the staff room to tell McGonagall.
"I cannot believe that you both did not just go to find the Basilisk yourselves and instead went to the teacher first." Daphne said, looking at Harry.
"Contrary to popular belief, we are not complete dunderheads." Harry replied with a roll of his eyes, which turned into a deadpanned look and Susan to laugh when they heard Daphne mutter, "Could have fooled me."
As they followed the boys through the halls and into the staff room, they stopped as they heard the Transfiguration teacher's magnified voice.
"All students return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please."
The memory proceeded through the impromptu staff meeting and Lockhart's entrance and exit before fading out and rushing back in, this time in the hallway outside the Defense room.
"Please do not tell me you went to ask that peacock for help!" Daphne begged. "Second year me could have helped you more than that peacock."
As the memory proceeded, they saw the memory Harry, Ron, and Lockhart in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom talking to her about her death.
"No idea. I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body seized up, and then I was floating away…"
The memory continued as the trio found themselves in the tunnel leading towards the giant snake skin.
"Harry- there's something up there- "
"Maybe it's asleep." Memory Harry whispered hopefully.
"What a bloody wanker." Susan said, staring at Lockhart, who had his hands over his eyes. This caused both Daphne and Harry to laugh and Susan to blush.
They walked forward with the memory and saw that the giant thing was just a snake skin.
"Get up." They heard the memory Ron shout in disgust. Looking in that direction they saw Lockhart had fallen to the ground as his knees gave out. But Harry knew it was just a ruse.
Both, Susan, and Daphne jumped a bit when Lockhart jumped up and tackled Ron, wrestling him to the ground and snatching his broken wand.
"The adventure ends here, boys! I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you two tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body – say goodbye to your memories!"
"Fucking coward!" Susan exclaimed.
"Obliviate!" Lockhart shouted, who was then flung backwards into a wall of stone from the blast of the broken wand. Harry had ran desperately in the other direction of the blast, while Ron had been flung back as well, just not as far or as hard.
"Wait there. Wait with Lockhart. I will go on… If I am not back in an hour…" they heard Harry trail off while talking to Ron through the wall of rocks and boulders.
"I'll try and shift some of these rocks, so you can get back through." They heard Ron reply from other side of the wall.
"See you in a bit" they heard memory Harry call out.
"And you said you were not a complete dunderhead." Daphne said while staring at Harry, who just sheepishly grinned at her and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ginny!" they heard memory Harry yell as he ran towards the small, still figure at the base of the monstrous statue. The trio rushed forward, along with the memory and ended up surrounding the smaller Ginny.
Susan gasped loudly at the sight of the younger redhead, pale and unmoving on the hard, cold floor.
"Ginny-don't be dead-please don't be dead-Ginny, please wake up." Ginny held onto Harry's hand tightly and buried her head into his shoulder for a moment, but then looked back up with a fierce gaze looking behind Harry where seconds later they heard a voice.
"She won't wake."
Everyone spun around, startled by the new voice.
"Tom-Tom Riddle?" memory Harry asked, making Susan, and Daphne gasp.
"That's Voldemort?" Susan asked and Harry nodded.
"What do you mean, she won't wake up? She is not-she is not-?"
"She's still alive, but only just."
"Is he a ghost?" Daphne asked at the same time as the memory Harry.
"A memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years." They looked to where Tom pointed and saw a small black book.
They watched as memory Harry tried to get Tom to help him bring Ginny back up to the girl's bathroom for help. Harry watched himself, thinking about how young he was. He still had the high pitch voice of a child before puberty.
For several long minutes they listened to Tom tell Harry why Ginny was dying and how it was her fault, how she let loose the Basilisk, killed the roosters, and daubed the messages on the walls. How it was her fault Hermione and all the others were petrified.
"… and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."
"Well, you have not finished it. No one has died this time, not even Filch's cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again – "memory Harry said, but was interrupted before he could finish.
"Killing Mudbloods do not matter to me anymore. For many months now, my new target has been – you." Tom Riddle interrupted.
"How is it that a boy, with no extraordinary magical talent managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's power were destroyed?" Riddle asked.
"Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time..."
"Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter…"
Daphne and Susan watched as Voldemort used Harry's wand to write his full name in the air and slash the wand in front of it, making the alphabets rearrange them to spell out, 'I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
'Surely you did not think I was going to keep my filthy muggle father's name? No, Harry – I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!'
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a half blood. And pureblood wizards bending over backwards to please the man and kiss the ground he walks on thinking that he was the heir to Slytherin." Daphne said while shaking her head.
"Harry. We could share this memory to the media outlets, this should atleast cause some of the purebloods to move away from his service." Susan suggested, to which Harry shook his head before continuing.
"It will only cause the death eaters to get more agitated. Voldemort has brainwashed those fools and they would never believe it even if I share my memory. It will only cause them to grow more agitated and become unpredictable and start attacking the public." Harry replied. Afterall, he did reveal Tom's truth during their duel in the graveyard in front of all of Tom's inner circle, and yet, they were still working for Tom.
They were brought out of their discussion when the memory Harry said "You are not." In a quiet voice full of hatred.
"Not what?"
"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world. Sorry to disappoint you, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you did not dare try to take over Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw right through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you are hiding these days-"
"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!"
"He's not as gone as you might think!"
The trio heard the melodious tune of Fawkes arriving. Harry let the song fill him up. He closed his eyes and listened with all his heart, listening to this beautiful, inspiring, hopeful song again.
Just hearing it, combined with the memory he had been watching, reminded him of the respect and awe he had for Dumbledore and his eyes watered. He had not realized how hurt he had been by his past mentor's deception but it hit him full force at that moment. The pain of being lied to for so long, the abuse he suffered from the Dursleys when it all could have been avoided, and the agony of thinking Sirius was dead because of his mistake. All of it hitting him at once nearly doubled him over.
"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender? A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?" Riddle mocked.
The memory went on for several more minutes until Riddle turned and walked to the statue.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
"Talk about the ego." Daphne muttered.
Harry and Susan glanced towards Daphne for a brief second but the sound of scraping stone drew her attention back to what was happening.
"Uh, do you guys think that the Basilisk eyes can affect us through the memory?" Susan asked slowly.
"I don't think so, the memory would only include the Basilisk eyes if Harry had seen them, and if he had then…" Daphne explained, before grasping Harry's hand in her while thinking of the what ifs.
"Kill him" Riddle said. They watched as memory Harry backed away and hit the wall as the huge form of Basilisk hit the ground and uncoiled. It was very hazy image, a dark blur against the wall and it only moved when they could hear it shift the stones and water on the ground.
Susan screamed along with Daphne and grabbed onto Harry's arm as they watched memory Harry run blindly and trip and then get tossed by the snake's tail into the wall. Harry had curled up into a ball and lay there waiting for his inevitable death.
Suddenly, the scene before them was not as hazy as Harry had opened his eyes into a squint. The Basilisk grew from hazy, brownish-grey creature to a huge, bright green serpent. They also saw Fawkes distracting the snake from Harry by gouging its eyes out with his talons.
"NO! LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!"
"Why did Dumbledore just not flame in with Fawkes? As we can see that Fawkes was able to come down to the chamber, then why not come with him?" Daphne questioned suspiciously.
"I do not think Dumbledore knew Fawkes had come to save me. Fawkes had acted on his own accord. Atleast that what I think. But I know Dumbledore well enough to know that he would never endanger any child's life on purpose. He would not sit by and watch a twelve-year-old school boy fight a monster. Afterall, while he is misguided, he is a good man." Harry replied.
Turning back to the memory they watched as the Sorting hat hit Harry after a sweeping tail flung it his way. He jammed it on his head and them after a moment wrenched it off again and pulled out a sword.
The Sword of Godric Gryffindor.
They could see the confusion on memory Harry's face as he stared at the sword and then they heard Riddle scream again to 'sniff him.'
Susan and Daphne screamed when the snake lunged at Harry once, then twice. Susan was hiding her face behind Harry's shoulder peeking her eyes out over to watch. Daphne was beyond trying to not watch as the monster attempted to kill her boyfriend's memory self, she just stood there with her mouth gaping in horror, her fingernails tearing into Harry's arm.
Harry watched as his younger self positioned himself with both hands holding the hilt of the sword as the snake lunged one more time. Harry remembered thrusting the sword up and hitting his mark, yet feeling the pierce of the fang in his arm, the sting and searing pain, the dizziness, and the swirling surroundings.
Daphne screamed when she saw Harry slide down the wall and grip the fang and pull it out of his arm. Fawkes swooped down and perched next to Harry.
Even though they knew what had happened, it did not mean they were ready to watch the memory yet again. Knowing your boyfriend was on the edge of death was not something you can get accustomed to watching.
"You are dead, Harry Potter. Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. I am going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. It will give me immense pleasure as I see the life leave your eyes. Take you time. I am in no hurry." Riddle mocked.
Susan was watching this with tears in her eyes, while Daphne was shaking her head scowling at Riddle.
"So, end the tale of the famous Harry Potter. Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You will be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry… She bought you twelve years of borrowed time… but Lord Voldemort is inevitable."
"What a great, bloody bastard!" Daphne growled.
But in their emotion addled state, they missed the glowing pair of emerald green eyes that stared at something in the memory with such hate which would be enough to put Voldemort in the ground twice over.
"Get away bird! Get away from him – I said, get away!" they heard Riddle shout and point Harry's wand at Fawkes.
Looking over at Fawkes, they saw him cry into Harry's wound and stared at it with utter amazement as the wound healed up and color returned to Harry's face. Both the girls sighing in relief.
"But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter…"
The girls were surprised when Fawkes dropped the diary next to Harry. They watched as harry picked up the fang and stabbed the diary quicker than they imagined he could after being bitten by a Basilisk.
As they watch Harry stab the diary, a black liquid followed out of it, and slightly jumped when they heard Riddle scream and writhe and fade away in a burst of sparks.
The memory proceeded on as Ginny woke up and Harry tugged her along towards the tunnel from where he came, and their meet up with Ron who had by then just managed to clear some of the rocks to create enough space for Harry and Ginny to squeeze through.
"His memory's gone. The memory charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself." They heard memory Ron explain the state of Lockhart to the younger harry.
"Hello. Odd sort of place this, isn't it? Do you live here?" memory Lockhart asked. Daphne and Susan let out a giggle as they shook their head in amusement as the memory faded as continued on to show Harry's discussion with Dumbledore and the following encounter with Lucius Malfoy and Dobby.
"No wonder that elf worships the ground you walk on or is so obsessed with you." Daphne said looking at Harry with amusement in her eyes as Harry grumbled something about having enough fanatics.
The Great Hall, Hogwarts, 26th September 1995
That evening found Umbridge picking on her food, and looking everywhere but her plate. Acting as though some would attack her any second.
'This has all been a mistake! Why did I have to put that idea in the Minister's mind that I was the only one capable enough to curb any army that Dumbledore might be training! I need to find a way out of this castle before Potter kills me.' she thought.
The minister had denied her request to return to her desk job back at the Ministry, deeming it not so important, and that any plans Dumbledore had needed to be dealt with effectively and efficiently. She tried her level best to suggest replacements and tried to pursue the Minister that she was more valuable to him while on his side. But the Minister was not backing down an inch.
'After so many years of faithful service, I feel as though I am in your debt, and I would finally like to repay that by giving you the chance of a life time! Think about it Dolores, you, the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! We could make sure the next generation is brought up right!'
These were the words the Minister used before ushering her out of his office and ordering her to go back to Hogwarts.
'Next generation my ass! If I stay here for the whole year my own next generation would be in danger of not even getting the chance to exist!'
As that thought passed her mind, most of the Hogwarts students collectively let out a shudder.
As she looked up towards the students, she could see many of them looking at her with barely constrained amusement, diverting their gaze as soon as her eyes met theirs.
Afterall why would not they be amused, Dolores Umbridge, the woman that disrespected and insulted the Headmaster, the henchwoman sent here by the Ministry to take control of the school was shuffling every now and then trying to get closer to the man she was trying to bring down.
She could even see a few of the teachers trying to hide their smiles, while Dumbledore tried his best to not show the discomfort he was feeling.
Looking back towards the front of the hall where the students sat, she tried to search for the monster that attacked her, only to finding him sitting on the Ravenclaw house table with his friend laughing at a joke and the Longbottom boy turning crimson.
She saw as one of Potter girlfriend leaned over and kissed him.
'Such noble blood being tainted by associating themselves with Half-breed!' she thought as fear slowly started giving way to anger.
'It was all just an illusion, Potter caught me unprepared. He could not have done anything if I knew he was coming. I will just have to find some better ways to punish him. Maybe the Minister would not mind if I borrow a Dementor or two, I have heard they affect Potter particularly … well.' Umbridge thought, starting to plan her revenge.
Just then her eyes met another set of eyes. This time causing a shiver to run down her spine as she stared into the icy blue eyes of Daphne Greengrass. A smile on the girl's face, but the eyes told a different story. The eyes pulled her in, captivating her.
As she continued to stare into those eyes, she soon found her standing in an abandoned corridor. The corridor looked like she was just transported to Azkaban, and that caused her to shiver in fear.
"A… Another one of y… your illusions! I… I will not be scared this time, Potter! C… come out and face m… me!" Umbridge yelled, trying to sound confident.
"There, there Professor. Who said anything about illusions? You have been to Azkaban have you not? Does this not look away too familiar for it to be an illusion?" A voice cut through the silence, a feminine voice.
"W... who's there? C… come out now! I… I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister…" Umbridge blurted out before being interrupted.
"To the Minister of Dunderheads?" The voice mocked, but this time, Umbridge could see an outline of a person walking towards her through the darkness in the corridor. Umbridge raised her wand, ready to attack as soon as the person was visible, but the person that walked out of there caused her to pause.
The woman that walked out was Daphne Greengrass.
But her cause of her shock was that the Daphne Greengrass that walked out of the shadows was much older, taller, mature, and beautiful than the Greengrass Heiress she had seen just two days ago.
'These are just illusions. Pallor tricks! I just need to teach this girl a lesson Pureblood or not! She will know who Dolores Umbridge is!'She thought as she aimed her wand at Daphne.
That was until a midnight black Lion jumped out of the girl's shadow and pounced on her. It is paws pinning her arms, and its fang at her throat. Its claws dug into the flesh of her wand arm and drew blood. Dolores screamed out, but refused to drop her wand. She knew it was her only hope of surviving. She looked into the malicious emerald eyes, and they bore into her very sole. She was being judged, and was found guilty. The beast roared with such intensity that she lost control of her bladder and bowels at once. The lion stepped off her and snatched her wand in its mouth. She heard her wand snap, and then the beast started to circle her. Dolores whimpered as she curled up into the fetal position.
"So, you like torturing children, is it?" she heard, the voice cold as the artic, causing her to shiver as if she was in the middle of the artic ocean.
"Look at me when I am speaking to you!" The voice commanded, and caused her to whimper, as she chanced a peek, she saw the older Greengrass petting the beast that had just attacked her, running her hand through the beast's mane, causing the beast to growl in satisfaction.
The growling caused her to pull in her legs into her chest even more and divert her gaze. Terrified of the beast.
"I SAID LOOK AT ME!"
As Dolores turned her head yet again to do as commanded, her eyes met that of the lion, though something was different, the eyes, they were the same terrifying eyes she had witnessed when Potter had attacked her in her class. The bright shinning golden symbol of the mythical Deathly Hallows in a sea of Black.
Dolores was frozen in fear, transfixed in those eyes, not moving an inch. But when the need to blink became necessary, she momentarily closed her eyes and when she opened them the beast was in her face causing her to scream bloody murder.
Suddenly Dolores fell back on a hard stone floor. Crawling back towards the back wall, looking around wildly for the beast that had attacked her only to find herself in a deserted Great Hall where the Elves had started cleaning up after the meal.
AN
So, that was the chapter.
So, this was the second year
Next up
Third year.
Chapter 18
To be Whole Again
Last Time
"I SAID LOOK AT ME!"
As Dolores turned her head yet again to do as commanded, her eyes met that of the lion, though something was different, the eyes, they were the same terrifying eyes she had witnessed when Potter had attacked her in her class. The bright shining golden symbol of the mythical Deathly Hallows in a sea of Black.
Dolores was frozen in fear, transfixed in those eyes, not moving an inch. But when the need to blink became necessary, she momentarily closed her eyes and when she opened them the beast was in her face causing her to scream bloody murder.
Suddenly Dolores fell back on a hard stone floor. Crawling back towards the back wall, looking around wildly for the beast that had attacked her only to find herself in a deserted Great Hall where the Elves had started cleaning up after the meal.
The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts, 29th September 1995
"So let me get this straight, you blew up your aunt like a balloon, thought the Ministry was after you so you ran away from your home, saw Sirius in his Animagus form, tripped and nearly got run over by the Knight Bus?" Daphne asked, with amusement in her eyes.
"You do know that the Ministry cannot punish you for accidental magic, right?" Susan asked, sharing equal amount of amusement with Daphne.
"How was I supposed to know that?!" Harry exclaimed, before continuing with the tale. "Anyways, so I got on the bus and introduced myself as Neville and hitched a ride to Diagon Alley where I met Fudge who was waiting for me to get there. For a second I though the Ministry was after me and then got caught by the Minister himself. Before reminding myself of really how competent our Minister really was." Harry chuckled at the end.
"It turns out that they were so worried about Sirius having escaped, finding me alive was enough for them to forgive me for my accidental magic at the Dursleys,' but I later realized that there was nothing to forgive. Though, they sent in the obliviators and I got to spend the rest of my summer living out of the Leaky Cauldron on the Ministry money."
"Glad to see my family's tax money was being utilized well for once." Daphne said this, but the most shocking thing was that she said that without any sarcasm, because she really thought it was a 'better' use of the money than just to fill politician pockets or useless campaigns.
This caused Harry and Susan to chuckle. "Glad to hear that any money used on me is a good use of money. I will remember this the next time I put the next Firebolt 2.0 in my Christmas wish list that I give you." Harry teased.
"You can write whatever you want, does not mean I will give it to you." Daphne said haughtily and turned her nose up.
"So, continuing on, I will mostly skip the things as not much interesting happened during the end of the year with Sirius, other things you both are already aware of. The dementors being stationed at Hogwarts, Remus being the DADA Professor, the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff Quidditch match. Though there is one thing that you both might pay good money to see, and I think I will keep that memory to myself for now." Harry teased, and chuckled at remembering the memory.
Daphne hearing this rushed to his side, giving him his most innocent look while pressing herself against his body almost sensually.
"Oh, come on Harry, will you really keep something like that from us?"
Seeing what Daphne was up to prompted Susan to join in as she pressed herself against Harry's other side. Both girls having hit puberty and grown over the summer were putting a tough fit for Harry, afterall, even if he had the knowledge of 60 years, he was a 16 year of boy at the end of the day, hormones going haywire, he fought hard to keep himself from blushing and showing his discomfort.
"Th... this is not fair." Harry complained.
"And you keeping something you know we would enjoy the most is fair?" Daphne asked huskily into Harry's ear.
Before Harry could lose control, he rushed away from the girls. "This is not fair, but I will tell you one thing, and I might show you the memory of it, if you win in the next practicing duel between us." Harry offered.
Both girls glanced at each other after giving the offer a thought before simultaneous replying. "Deal!"
Harry sighed in relief, before describing the memory as promised.
"Hermione knocked Malfoy on his ass with a punch to his face." Harry said with a smirk on his face.
The jaws dropped for both Daphne and Susan at once, looking wide eyed at Harry disbelievingly.
"WHAT?!"
Harry chuckled at this. "Yeah, the ferret said something he should not have obviously."
Susan grumbled under her breath. "I know I should not have accepted the deal. Damn!"
"Oh, you are soo going down the next time we duel!" Daphne promised, causing Harry to chuckle, and sweat drop at the determination in her voice.
"So, in third year Hermione had opted for all the electives, and I am not sure how the staff thought it a good idea to give her a Time Turner in order to attend pretty much every class available."
After the expected discussion of favoritism and how the staff might have safe guarded the fabric of Space and Time after giving the power to turn back time to a third year, Harry continued explaining to the girls all about meeting Sirius for the first time, Remus's change after they left the tunnel, Pettigrew's escape, and Sirius's howl of pain that drew Harry into following him to the lake where a hundred Dementors closed in on them. He told them all about trying so hard to conjure a Patronus and failing, seeing the face of a dementor, and nearly getting kissed himself.
"So glad that did not happen, otherwise no chance my lips or any part of my body is ever touching your lips." Daphne shuddered, but both Susan and Harry could tell it was not for the reason she pointed out, it was the fear of hearing her boyfriend nearly being kissed by soul sucking demons. They both understood this was her way to dealing with that fear, and did not comment on it.
"So, we were saved obviously, otherwise I would not be here." Harry continued and tried to joke. The key word here being tried and both Daphne and Susan were not amused with his joke of him being dead, sending him unimpressed looks caused him to chuckle and continue on, this time without any jokes.
"I thought at that moment that it was a mystery Patronus and it was my dad that saved me, but a little while later I woke up in the hospital wing. That is when we found out they had captured Sirius and had called for the Dementors to come and perform the Kiss on him. Dumbledore came in and told Hermione a bunch of nonsense at the time and then locked us in the hospital wing room. Almost immediately after that Hermione showed the time turner to me, that was the first time I even got to know such a thing existed. So, we went back three hours in time to before Buckbeak was executed."
"Long story short, we ended up saving Buckbeak and taking him into the forest with us, and I wanted to see what happened at the lake and who the mystery savior was, so I headed down there while Hermione waited in Hagrid's empty house. I later waited the whole time to see who the mystery savior was, but when one did not come, I took the matters into my own hands and conjured my first corporeal patronus. It was then I realized that it was me all along. Later it was just me and Hermione saving Sirius and running out from there back to the Hospital Wing." Harry shrugged at the end of it, third year was nothing special that we would have to use the pensive for, most of the things happened in the view of the entire school, dementors, quidditch match and everything, and he did not want to show the memories because, truthfully it was kind of boring and emotional, he did see his soul almost leave his body, which he was not keen on showing to the girls, yet.
He said yet because he knew he would have to show it to Daphne down the line if she still decided to pursue a future in research at the Department of Mysteries. She was working on finding out what exactly makes a dementor tick and how, if at all possible, to kill, harm, or eradicate them. Afterall, they played a large part in enabling the Greatest Dark Lord the world had ever seen, awaking the ancient in her.
"So, I think this is where the similarities end? Between the old timeline and the current one?" Susan questioned.
"Not exactly, I mean I came back in time AFTER the selection of champions, so the night of the Champions selection, the Quidditch World Cup, and its aftermath were exactly the same as what happened in the previous timeline. But the similarities do end there. The differences begin with how I handled the first task of the tournament, and the aftermath." Harry answered.
"What did you do the first time?" Susan asked, very curious to hear how differently things might have gone.
Harry looked slightly embarrassed and a bit proud as he said "I tried to outfly the dragon on my broom." Rubbing the back of his head, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
"What could possibly possess you to do something that stupid?" Susan hissed, almost rising to her feet. Daphne had it more under control, almost expecting something like this to be the case, and just shaking her head when the level of stupidity was confirmed.
"I did it differently this time though. After the year of knowledge, I have it was a bigger task on how to NOT show my true potential." Harry started, thinking that could calm Susan down somewhat. "I also had a much better sense of self-preservation this time around." He added.
"You could've fooled me." Daphne mumbled, but loud enough for both Harry and Susan to hear. And if Harry's explanation did not calm Susan down, this certainly did, chuckling at the blonde's words.
"Oh, how I wish I could also share the stories and memories of the previous timeline." Harry head Selena hiss.
"Alright, that's it! Enough of making fun of Harry! As a punishment, no memory night for the both of you tonight! I am going to go fly with my one true friend and companion, Hedwig." Harry shouted out with a pout on his face, before angrily stomping and leaving the Chamber.
Susan and Daphne just looked at his retreating back with amused eyes, shared a glance and chuckled at the antics of their boyfriend. Though they both knew it, they would not have him any other way.
Unknown Location, 5th October 1995
"What do you mean you've failed to obtain the Prophecy?" demanded Voldemort as the Death Eater cowered right at his feet.
"I thought I could use one of the Unspeakables, Bode, to get inside the Department of Mysteries, to grab it, my Lord," pleaded Avery. "The moment he touched the shelf, it appeared as if he was having a seizure, and collapsed, I just barely got away."
"Fool, your bumbling could have gotten you seen, there must be some security measure that you overlooked and now if Bode recovers, he may be able to inform the wrong people that you were there," said Voldemort coldly as he stared down the cowering fool. "Now I must deal with Bode as well and have him eliminated. You are to find out what went wrong."
"Y-yes, my Lord," stammered Avery as he closed his eyes fearing the worse.
"Leave me now or I may change my mind about punishing you," said Voldemort and Avery nearly tripped over his feet. Normally, Voldemort would be amused at the cowardly antics of his Death Eaters but he was just merely indifferent to the entire ordeal.
The botched ritual that returned him to power still had its consequences nearly six months after it occurred. The potion that Severus prepared for him had stopped the fits of pain he suffered, but at a cost of it using his magical power to sustain the cure. Granted, the remaining amount of Lord Voldemort's power was far greater than the average pathetic wizard, but the Dark Lord was absolutely disgusted that he was depowered by this mere act of incompetence by Wormtail. Wormtail rotted in Azkaban at this moment and Voldemort was seriously considering making plans to break him out, to punish him for his incompetence. The lack of power had bothered Voldemort greatly and he poured through every tomb he could get his hands on to find the knowledge to rectify the solution immediately.
The solution appeared to be a rare and obtuse one, but given the unique connection that he shared with Harry Potter caused it to be a plausible one. One of the few pieces of useful information that Severus managed to share with him was that connection, perhaps a plan could be put in motion to use Potter to retrieve the prophecy, once he figured out exactly how the connection between the two worked. It was an area of interest for Voldemort, even beyond retrieving the prophecy and his most fanatical followers from inside the walls of Azkaban. Those short-term goals were directly tied into his long-term ambitions in being the most powerful wizard in the world and the ruler of all magical people.
Soon, all would bow down to the feet of Lord Voldemort like the vermin they were
The Room of Requirements, Hogwarts, 8th October 1995
The evening found the trio of Daphne, Susan, and Harry lazing around in the Room of Requirements, the last few days had been tiring, it seemed that the professors thought that one month was enough time for students to start accommodating to being back in school, and hence they had started assigning heaps of homework on top of the course work they already had, trying their best to prepare them for their OWLs.
While this certainly will help the students clear their OWLs and make them more competent wizards, it did mean that the trio's private time did get cut short drastically, now today being a nice Friday evening, they had the weekend to themselves.
It was also a Hogsmeade Weekend, which meant that the club Professor Flitwick had initiated with the help of the Headmaster was also not in session tomorrow. The club was basically a way to help the students understand and practice the practical of Defensive spells.
One might think why the resident bitch was not trying to stop it, that was because she was extremely busy looking over her back all the time. While the fear sessions were done once in a blue moon as a way to prolong her stay and prolong her suffering that much more, unless she decided to run away just one month into her punishment. But that did not mean her life could not be made any less difficult.
Pranks were a constant, long with a few cases of public humiliation, while some had started to gain sympathy for her, Harry was not giving up. He just could not remember the number of lives she had ruined, the number of innocent children she had killed just in the name of blood purity. He particularly remembered her punishing an innocent eleven-year-old girl, a muggleborn, a girl so pure of heart, imaginations filled with the wonder of magic, a girl such as that was tried for being a muggleborn, and her jailer was none other than Greyback.
Just thinking of those incidents made Harry's blood boil with rage, he wished to make all what the bitch was seeing and imagining come true, he truly wished to have the bitch's blood drip down Shadow's fangs. Shadow's demand for blood was increasing by the day.
"Do you think we have enough time to go through the memories of fourth year today?" a voice called out from above him, interrupting his train of thought, and he was grateful for it.
They had taken up their usual positions, Daphne sat there with her back against the wall, Harry laid down with his head in Daphne's lap, while Susan had her head on Harry's stomach while Harry had his right arm curling around Susan just under her breasts.
Looking up into the eyes of his beautiful girlfriend, he saw understanding and concern in them. He did not know how, but Daphne and Susan always knew when his mind took him down dark thoughts, maybe his magic was agitated which clued them in? But he just did not know as this was not the case in the previous timeline, yet he was grateful for it. He could make out that this question from Daphne was indeed a way to distract him, as he could feel her hand going through his hair. Her finger nail slightly scrapping his scalp, sending tingling sensations down his entire body, while Susan had started playing with his fingers.
"Not sure if we can go through all of them today, but we can certainly do it tomorrow if you guys do not want to go to Hogsmeade that is." Harry asked.
"We already have all the supplies with us, and it's been a long time since we have been able to spend time like this, if we do decide to visit tomorrow, we are sure to be surrounded and I kind of like the peace and quiet that this room provides." Daphne replied, continuing to run her fingers through his hair, before leaning down and capturing his lips in a quick kiss.
"I agree with Daphne. It has been way too long we have been able to spend time like this together. Let's skip Hogsmeade this week, we can always go there anytime we want using those secret routes whenever we wish. Let us use this weekend to relax and go through fourth year memories. Afterall, I want to know just whom you had taken to the Ball with you last time around, and if I should start finding ways to make them disappear this time around." Susan teased.
"My my, Ms. Bones, I wonder what your aunt would think about you trying to make a fellow classmate 'disappear' and sneaking out of the castle with her boyfriend." Harry retorted.
AN
So, that was the chapter.
So, this was the third year
I know it was a lot shorter than the others, but fourth year is kind of big and if I included that in this chapter then it would be become huge, so… a smaller chapter for a change
And guys, I did read some reviewers point out that Harry is getting a leeway of casting Unforgivables and all, but if you read the aftermath, it is clear that Umbridge did not have any after effects of the curse, and I think reading the previous chapter should maybe clue you in to the fact that the things have not really happened in REAL LIFE.
Next up
Fourth year.
Chapter 19
To be Whole Again
Last Time
"We already have all the supplies with us, and it's been a long time since we have been able to spend time like this, if we do decide to visit tomorrow, we are sure to be surrounded and I kind of like the peace and quiet that this room provides," Daphne replied, continuing to run her fingers through his hair, before leaning down and capturing his lips in a quick kiss.
"I agree with Daphne. It has been way too long since we have been able to spend time like this together. Let's skip Hogsmeade this week, we can always go there anytime we want using those secret routes whenever we wish. Let us use this weekend to relax and go through fourth-year memories. After all, I want to know just whom you had taken to the Ball with you last time around, and if I should start finding ways to make them disappear this time around." Susan teased.
"My my, Ms. Bones, I wonder what your aunt would think about you trying to make a fellow classmate 'disappear' and sneaking out of the castle with her boyfriend." Harry retorted.
The Chamber of Secrets, Hogwarts, 9th October 1995
"Okay, so before my fourth year, the Weasley's invited me to join them at the 94 Quidditch World Cup, and you both are well aware of what happened after the match," Harry said and continued after getting nods from the two girls. "Mr. Weasley told us to run into the woods and stay there until he, Bill, Percy, or Charlie came to get us. As we ran into the forest, I realized my wand was missing."
"I had last seen it in the top box during the game and was kind of freaking out, hoping it had fallen out in the tent. After a while we all split up and lost each other, it was just Ron, Hermione, and I in one group and Fred, George, and Ginny in another. We found a clearing and decided to stay there when all of a sudden, we heard an incantation, and this green cloud shot into the air above us. We heard Apparition pops all around us and I realized a large group of Ministry workers were all pointing their wands at the three of us. I yelled 'Duck!', and about a couple dozen Stunners flew within inches of our heads. That is when Arthur realized it was us. Soon Bartemius Crouch Sr. was accusing us of sending off the Dark Mark-"
"Dark Mark? You said it was a green cloud." Susan asked.
"Well at the time I didn't know what a Dark Mark was; Anyways, Mr. Crouch was accusing us of setting it off and when we explained that it had come from the woods beyond the clearing, a couple of people went off and found Mr. Crouch's house elf Winky Stunned in the forest holding a wand. My wand," Harry added for emphasis. Daphne and Susan both had wide eyes.
"How did a bloody house elf get your wand?" Daphne asked, shocked that a house elf had stolen a wand.
"I didn't find out until the end of my fourth year, but I'll explain it now. Winky was supposed to keep someone hidden and that person was under the Imperius Curse but had been throwing it off easier and easier, so while I initially met Winky in the top box, she told us she was saving a seat for Mr. Crouch and she was afraid of heights; she kept her hands over her eyes the whole time. The mystery person was sitting in the empty spot next to her under an Invisibility Cloak."
"My wand was taken by this mystery person, not Winky. When she heard the Death Eaters attacking, she bound herself to this person and dragged him into the woods not knowing he had a wand. He sent off the Dark Mark with my wand, and because I am Harry Potter no one would listen to Mr. Crouch when he tried to accuse me of throwing it into the woods after conjuring it. Instead, when he realized it was his elf in the woods, the man she was guarding was probably there too and he gave her clothes and fired her. He said it was for disobeying him and leaving the tent, but we found out the real reason was for allowing the mystery man to escape their tent," Harry said.
"After we got back to the Burrow after the fiasco in the woods, a couple of days later we started school. We were introduced to our new Defense Professor retired Auror Mad-Eye Moody. One of the first things we saw him do was turn Draco Malfoy into a blonde ferret after he tried to curse me when my back was turned." Harry said, knowing full well that he might have escaped showing the memory of Malfoy getting punched, but he was not going to be able to continue without showing this particular memory.
"That was him?!" Both the girls shouted.
"Of course, where did you think I got the idea to turn him into a ferret from?" Harry replied.
"Harry, dear. We are not moving forward until you SHOW that memory. You are not getting away with just describing it to us." Daphne said sweetly while gliding towards Harry and latching onto his arm.
Harry laughed at this while he extracted the memory. Despite it being the fake Moody, it was still a cherished memory for Harry. It's not every day that your school rival gets turned into a white ferret and bounced around the hallway.
As they entered the memory, they got right to the interesting part.
"You know your mother, Malfoy? That expression she's got like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?" They heard a little snarky Harry say.
"Oh, that's gold!" Daphne exclaimed while laughing.
"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter?"
"Keep your fat mouth shut, then."
They watched as Harry turned and Malfoy got a mad gleam in his eyes as he drew his wand and a sickly brownish light flew towards Harry.
"Oh no you don't, laddie!" Moody shouted. Both the girls jumped at the sudden shout. After looking over at the fake Moody rush over, they saw he had his wand pointed at someone, moving to see who was at the wand end of Moody, they saw nothing but a ferret.
"Leave it!" Moody shouted again and they could all see Crabbe who had tried to pick up Malfoy. Daphne was grinning as she watched Moody, who blasted the ferret into the air and let it fall to the ground.
"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's backs turn. The stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do. Never-Do-That-Again-" he said as he bounced Malfoy with each word as an emphasis. Susan winced to some degree during each bounce and consequent squeak of pain from the little ferret. But she also was a bit disappointed when she heard McGonagall shriek and change Malfoy back.
"Teach—Moody, is that a student?"
"Yep."
"No!"
Harry watched as Malfoy gingerly sat up after being changed back, groaning in pain, with his face bright red and a part of him felt a little bad for him.
"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"
"I'll do that then." Harry watched Moody's face as he heard Malfoy say the inevitable "my father" catchphrase.
Moody looked incredibly menacing as he said, "Oh yeah? Well, I know your father of old, boy... You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son...you tell him that from me...Now, your Head of House will be Snape, will it? Another old friend," the disfigured old man growled with an evil glint to his eye.
Everyone watched as the trio started walking away and Harry chuckled.
"Don't talk to me," the memory Ron said. The girls looked at him strangely.
"Why not?"
"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever. Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..." The trio laughed as the memory ended and they returned to the Chamber.
A whistle blew and they saw Harry as he entered, they also saw the Hungarian Horntail crouched by her nest. Her wings were half furled, her evil yellow eyes staring at Harry, a monstrous scaly black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail leaving yard-long gouge marks on the hard ground.
They watched Harry stand there and raise his wand and shout, "Accio Firebolt!"
"The youngest contestant, Mr. Harry Potter, has entered the enclosure! Why is he just standing there? Harry, do something! Oh! He has raised his wand and... Summoned a broom. I wonder if he realizes Dragons can fly too!"
The green, yellow, and blue parts of the crowd along with the foreign groups all laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement. All of Gryffindor and several other Quidditch fans of Hogwarts cheered, realizing that Harry was going to try and outfly a dragon. The other contestants were interesting, but Harry was an excellent flier and they were excited to see how he would do.
"Either you are insane or...nope, flying around a nesting mother dragon is pretty insane. There is no 'or' about it. My boyfriend is bloody insane!" Daphne said while shaking her head.
Susan despite her worry, was getting caught up in the excitement as well.
"And there's the broom, I sure hope the boy can fly or this could turn out bad! Medi wizards and Dragon Keepers keep a sharp watch on this one," cried Bagman.
They watched Harry swoop and swerve, and dart back and forth in front of the dragon's face.
"Whoa! She just missed him with her flames! Great Scott, he can fly! Are you watching this Mr. Krum?"
Harry flew higher and higher and then tried to dive but was blocked by a horned tail slapping him in the shoulder. The girls gasped loudly and in unison.
"Merlin! That looked like it hurt! That could lose Mr. Potter some points for that move, there. Oh! He is trying it again! Careful Mr. Potter, it did not work the first time, do not make the same mistake twice!"
Harry continued his annoying fly imitation and finally, the great, black lizard spread her wings and shot into the air at him. But, as the girls gasped, Harry dove, and faster than they imagined he grabbed the egg, and veered off over the crowd while the dragon was subdued.
"Look at that! Will you look at that? Our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds in Mr. Potter!" Bagman cried.
"Did that wound leave a scar?" Susan asked as the memory ended.
"No, Madam Pomfrey would never allow a scar to remain. She put Dittany on it right away," replied Harry.
"Good. I am going to have to apprentice under her I think, with the number of times you get hurt, and the trouble to attract day in and day out." Susan said, giving him an exasperated look, but a small smile did play on her lips.
"So, you said there was a difference in the aftermath as well?" Daphne prompted.
"I forgave the Gryffindors and went back to their tower," he replied, and Daphne just stared open-mouthed at him.
"No, I'm not joking. I wish I was, but I really was that stupid."
Daphne did not bother commenting, as her expression spoke for itself.
"Time passed, and I ended up somewhat reconciling with Hermione and Ron, even if our relationship would never be like it was before. I was once again hailed as a hero by Gryffindor, and I made peace with Cedric and the rest of the duffers, mainly because I warned him about the dragons a couple of days before the task."
Susan nodded approvingly but that nod lasted half a moment before she was throwing stinging hexes like it was no one's business.
"Duffers, are we? You were not saying that when your tongue was down my throat." Susan exclaimed, her words so crass, that they managed to get Daphne go speechless, before bending over laughing.
"Ok, ok, sorry! But you can not fault me for it! You remember how Hufflepuff treated me during the Champions selection night and the second year!" Harry defended as he continued dodging the hexes sent his way by an angry redhead.
Hearing this, Susan did calm down considerably and did in fact look guilty, because while she may not have taken part in any of the nonsense her housemates did, she did not discourage it back in their second year. Seeing this, Harry just walked up to her and pulled her in by her waist before continuing.
"I didn't get a date to the Yule Ball until the very last minute, mostly because I was too scared to approach anyone until it was almost too late. I finally ended up going with Patil, the Gryffindor one, and it was a complete disaster," he told her, cringing at the memory.
"At the end of the night, Cedric came up to me and gave me a hint about the egg, as a thanks for warning him about the dragon. I used his hint, but I figured out the poem myself."
"So, you already knew how to solve the egg before we figured it out together? Why didn't you, then?" Daphne asked, confused.
"I... I do not know. I just wanted both of your help, even if I did not need it. I wanted you both to be a part of it, and I wanted both of you to test yourself, to see that look in your eye when you have a brilliant idea, I just wanted to spend some time with the both of you."
Susan gave him a shy smile before refocusing.
"Fine, moving on..." she said, and Harry nodded.
"Stop poking me—"
"Dobby must poke Harry Potter, sir, he must wake up!"
"Harry Potter needs to hurry! The second task starts in ten minutes, and Harry Potter-"
"Ten minutes? Ten minutes?"
"Hurry, Harry Potter! You are supposed to be down by the lake with the other champions, sir!"
"Perky little elf, isn't he?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He may have been perky, and sometimes a pest, but he saved mine, Ron, and Hermione's lives. Gave his life to save several lives in fact," Harry said sadly as he bowed his head.
Daphne and Susan stared at Harry and saw a tear roll down his cheek and drip onto the floor.
"He saved your lives?" Susan asked.
Harry nodded, "And Luna, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander, and a goblin named Griphook who had been held captive in Malfoy Manor's dungeons with us."
"I dug his little grave in Bill's garden with my bare hands," Harry said, though that will not be happening this time around, that is for sure.
Susan held his hand as she saw the determination in her boyfriend's eyes.
"Dobby-what've I got to do?"
"You have to eat this, sir! Right before you go into the lake, sir-Gillyweed!"
"What does it do?"
"It will make Harry Potter breathe underwater, sir!"
"Dobby, listen you sure about this?"
"Dobby is quite sure, sir! Dobby hears things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors. Dobby heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staffroom, talking about the next task... Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his Wheezy!"
"Wheezy?" Susan questioned.
"It was Ron."
That was all Daphne and Susan needed before bursting out laughing, Harry did not even try to stop them; he just sighed and rubbed his forehead.
They watched Harry jump up and begin sprinting out of the library and down to the lake as the memory faded and they arrived in front of the lake.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One... two...three!"
Daphne laughed as the other three champions took off into the water while Harry took a few seconds to remove his socks and shoes before finally shoving the wad of Gillyweed tentacles into his mouth and chewing wildly.
"Bet that tasted great," sniggered Daphne.
"Oh, it was amazing...like chewing octopus' legs," Harry replied while Daphne laughed loudly and Susan grimaced at the thought.
"Whoa!" Susan gasped as they were plunged into the lake with Harry's memory. "Now this is something you don't see every day."
"Agreed," Daphne mumbled as she stared around and took a deep breath. "It's strange to look and feel like we're underwater, but still be able to breathe and move freely."
For a long while they simply watched Harry swim around.
Soon enough they saw Harry twist suddenly when a Grindylow grabbed his leg. Two more of the water creatures showed up while he fumbled in his billowing robes and he finally pulled out his wand and pointed it. He opened his mouth and a large bubble escaped while a stream of boiling water hit the water demon.
They all floated along with him.
"How are you getting on?" asked a voice behind them. Hearing a human voice so far underwater made Daphne and Susan jump slightly and swivel around to find Myrtle.
Susan giggled when she saw the memory of Harry try and shout the ghost's name resulting in a large bubble again.
"You want to try over there! I will not come with you...I do not like them much; they always chase me when I get too close..."
"Finally," said Susan as they all saw the Mer-Village.
They saw that Harry was headed towards what was probably the village square and they could see four people tied to the tail of a large stone merperson. As Harry neared the square, he was slowly followed by a large group of merpeople carrying spears.
"Oh, that is so eerie!" Susan said as she saw the captives and a steady stream of bubbles escaping their mouth as they breathed in and out. She kept imagining herself in their place.
"We do not help," said a very large merman with a laugh at Harry when he shouted bubbles again.
They watched as Harry found a sharp rock and hacked the weed ropes away from Ron. Finally, Ron floated serenely, drifting a tiny bit in the flow of the water.
They saw Harry turn around and start to hack at Hermione's bindings as well.
"You take your hostage. Leave the others..."
Harry shouted another bubble with a look of anger on his face.
"Your task is to retrieve your friend...leave the others..."
"Harry, do you recall what you were saying? It is a little confusing when we cannot understand you," Susan said.
"Ah, I believe right at that point I was saying, 'She's my friend too!' and 'I don't want them to die either'," Harry replied.
"Ah, even when fourteen you just had to have the noble Gryffindor save people thing going on for you," Daphne mumbled.
They saw Cedric swim up with a Bubble Head charm on his head and shout, "Got lost! Fleur and Krum are coming now!"
Soon after they all noticed the merpeople panicking and darting out of the path of a part shark part man swimming towards the group of hostages. Susan shrieked and gasped as they watched the shark's head start, attacking Hermione's bindings. Harry swam forward punched the shark man's shoulder and handed him a rock.
A few more moments of waiting before they watched Harry swim forward, and snatch up the rock Krum had dropped. The mermen surrounded Ron and Gabrielle and Harry shouted at them as he pulled out his wand.
"I just said, 'Get out of the way! You've got until three! One...two," Harry stopped talking when they all scattered and he was able to swim forward to retrieve Gabrielle and Ron.
The memory faded away as they saw the memory Harry pull Gabrielle and Ron with him to the top.
After filling the Pensive once again, the trio filed up to the bowl and entered the memory.
There was a quick clip where the four champions were told that Professors McGonagall, Moody, Flitwick, and Hagrid would be patrolling the edge of the maze in case they needed assistance. The next part faded in and they could see the full stands around the maze while Ludo Bagman spoke to the crowd.
"Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter of Hogwarts School! In second place with eighty points. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! And in third place Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons Academy!"
A whistle sounded and Harry and Cedric entered the maze together.
"See you," Harry said to Cedric. They all followed along with Harry for several minutes until Cedric ran into the scene. Susan and Daphne chuckled at Cedric's description of the Blast-Ended Skrewts before running away again.
Unexpectedly, the memory of Harry turned a corner and was facing a Dementor. He shouted the Patronus charm and then realized that it was not a real Dementor. After casting the Boggart repelling spell he continued onwards.
Soon they watched as he came to a golden mist.
There was a scream from the other side and Harry shouted, "Fleur?" When he stepped into it the world around them turned topsy-turvy.
"Whoa!" Susan shouted. Both the girls screamed and grabbed hold of Harry. Several moments after the world had turned it was back to normal and Harry was on the ground panting.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Daphne asked.
For several minutes they followed Harry through turn after wrong turn. Finally, he found a new path and began to trot along it. Rounding a turn, they all came face to face with a menacing scorpion-like creature. The girls jumped as they had not seen the Skrewt before.
"That...is a Skrewt," Harry said casually.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" shouted Harry, just as the beast halted inches from him. Susan and Daphne let out the breath they had been holding as they watched Harry run in the opposite direction.
"At least, you had SOME sense of self-preservation." Daphne teased.
"What are you doing? What the hell d'you think you are doing?" shouted Cedric in the distance.
"Crucio!" they heard.
They floated along while Harry ran through several paths before he blasted a hole in the maze wall. They saw Krum holding Cedric under the torture curse.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted. "Are you alright?" he asked as he helped Cedric up off the ground.
Soon enough the two Hogwarts champions went their separate ways. Harry wandered and they all followed him,
"A live sphinx," Susan breathed, her fascination for magical creatures showing.
"Yeah, this part wasn't so scary," Harry said with a small grin.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me," said the sphinx.
"Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess let you pass. Answer wrongly attack. Remain silent will let you walk away from me unscathed."
"Okay, can I hear the riddle?"
They listened to the riddle and then listened to it repeated. They were all silent as they watched Harry loudly try to work through the riddle on his own.
"A creature I wouldn't want to kiss...a spider!"
They watched as the sphinx stepped to the side and allowed Harry to pass with a smile.
The younger Harry ran through the maze with the large group floating along behind him. Suddenly, they all spotted the Tri-Wizard Cup gleaming in the distance at the end of the path they were on.
Just as suddenly, Cedric came into view running full tilt to the cup. They all gasped as a giant figure loomed over the path heading straight for the oblivious Cedric. "Cedric! On your left!"
The battle with the giant spider only lasted several moments. Harry remembered feeling it lasted much longer, but when the two boys shouted "Stupefy!" at the same time he realized that only about thirty seconds had passed.
"You're hurt," Susan said, worriedly.
"Yeah, but this isn't the end yet," Harry said quietly. She gave him an odd look before returning her eyes to the scene playing out in front of her.
"Take it then. Go on, take it. You're there."
"You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."
The argument went on for several more moments before Cedric physically walked away from the Cup towards Harry.
"Both of us."
"You did not do it this time around. Why is that?" Daphne questioned, her Slytherin side not agreeing with sharing the trophy.
"You will see." Daphne frowned as she watched Harry sigh.
"We'll take it at the same time. It is still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."
"You-you sure?"
"You're on. Come here."
"On three, right? One-two-three-"
The girls gasped as the two boys disappeared and the memory changed abruptly to that of an old, overgrown graveyard. "Is this the graveyard where you were portkeyed off to?"
"Little Hangleton. The graveyard where Voldemort's father is buried, and where...well, you will see," Harry finished ominously.
"Someone's coming," Memory Harry said.
The trio's attention was quickly drawn to the memory of Harry who cried out in pain as he grasped his forehead and dropped his wand when he fell to his knees. Harry closed his eyes to avoid seeing what he knew was going to happen.
"Kill the spare," they all heard a high, cold, and horribly familiar voice say.
"Avada Kedavra!" was the response and everyone gasped as Cedric's body slumped to the ground. Harry slowly opened his eyes and stared at his old comrade's body, his dull, lifeless eyes staring up at nothing. The previous panic he had been feeling was gone and a sense of finality settled about him. He watched with a steely glare as Pettigrew yanked Harry to his feet and dragged him away to the gravestone.
AN
So, that was the chapter.
I was in the mood for another cliffhanger.
Next up
The remaining graveyard scene and fifth year.