Chapter 18: Morning Announcements
By: Chronos the Fallen Angel
Author's Note: Okay, I'm posting again, this chapter will be short, since I need to work on other things. Hopefully, I can get more then one chapter out over break. Maybe, maybe not. TimGold, thanks for being loyal, and reviewing. And for anyone else. Red Death, i did proof read, but probably not to your likes.
Again, J.K. Rowlings owns Harry and the gang, DC owns Supergirl and the Specter (Hal Jordan), and I own Roland Childe and the plot. God bless copyright laws.
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Harry woke up covered in sweat, breathing hard. He looked around, seeing that the sun hadn't broken the horizon yet. Scanning the room, he saw that Ron was snoring as loud as ever, but Roland's bed was surprisingly empty. The sheets were gone as were the pillows, but no one had even touched it other then that.
Sleep tried to take Harry, but he refused to return to that dream. He didn't want to hear those who suffered because of Voldemort, those who died. He didn't want to hear the screams.
Sighing, Harry sat up and took one final look around the room. He decided that he might as well get up and dressed. He tried to lift his arms, but they felt so tired and weak. His body ached like he just had a ten-hour Quidditch match. With much effort, Harry got up off his bed, and walked down to the foot of it. He grabbed his cloths that he needed for the day, and headed to the bathroom, limping as he goes. He noticed the sheets on the floor next to Roland's bed, but didn't care.
After a nice, long hot shower, Harry's body was loosened up; almost at its normal. He paused right next to Roland's bed, confused at the pile. It moved slightly, and he saw that it was Roland, or at least Harry thought it was. He didn't recognize him with all the scars on his back.
He decided against waking Roland, he had seen what he does when he was coherent state. Now, the man was just asleep, though not in a peaceful state. He was thrashing about, and twisting, murmuring something that Harry couldn't understand.
Sighing, Harry grabbed his books, walked carefully out the door and down to the common room. There was a single person up as early as him, and her bushy head of brown hair sat on the couch, right in front of the fire. By the way his heart skipped, Harry knew who it was. Hermione.
He walked up to her slowly, and as he got closer, his suspicions were only confirmed. He placed a hand on her shoulder, standing right behind the couch. She jumped, turning around to face him. A smile was on her face when she saw that it was Harry. Hermione hugged him tightly around the neck. "Morning, beautiful," Harry said softly. A soft kiss to her forehead when she pulled away slightly only brought a smile and a giggle from his girlfriend.
"Mornin' Harry," she replied. Harry rested his forehead on hers, smiling at her. He wrapped her in a tight hug, holding on to her as if he let go, she'd disappear. And he couldn't handle that. "I missed you."
"And I you." Harry moved his hands down to Hermione's and took one. They walked together over to one of the couches, Hermione slid onto his lap, her hands around his neck. A book was next to them, opened up half way through. Harry brushed her hair with his fingers, bringing a smile to her face. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," Hermione said, smiling. "You'd be surprised what you can learn just listening to them talk."
"Who?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her, but continued to smile.
"Lavender, Heather, and Parviti," Hermione smiled. "Even they thought that I had some interesting things to say." A deep red color appeared on her cheeks, but Harry could only laugh. He rubbed her hair gently and kissed her forehead again. "I'd thought you'd say something like that." The red turned even deeper and Harry just laughed even harder. "Thanks for your support," Hermione added, then laughed along with him.
"Mornin, Harry," Ron came down stairs smiling. "I take it you slept well." He was still smiling when he looked at Hermione. "Hello Hermione."
"Morning, Ron," Hermione replied. She had a confused look on her face, and looked at Harry. "How are you today?"
"Great!" he stretched, and walked over to them. Ron took a seat cross from Harry and Hermione. Both of them has perplexed looks towards Ron. "What?"
"You aren't upset by this?" Hermione was the one to ask. she slowly slid off of Harry's lap, much to Harry's disappointment. "By us?"
"Nope," Ron replied with a grin. To Harry it seemed truthfully, but he still didn't know. "I thought it over for a while, and even before you guys came this summer, I thought about." He sighed and that smile disappeared. "I enjoyed the time that we had together, herms." She cringed at the nickname Ron had for her, but he didn't stop. "I really did, it's just that."
"What, Ron?" Harry asked. He wanted to put an arm around Hermione, but fought the urge.
"That I knew it would never work out between us," He finally said, "you and I fought way too often, and I noticed how you went to Harry every time." Hermione blushed slightly. "You two were literally made for each other. That was why it surprised me, Hermione, when you went to Steven after me." A smile was slowly growing on Hermione's face, but it quickly disappeared. "Did something happen over the summer that I should know?" it was Ron's turn to raise a questioning look.
Harry's heart went out to Hermione. He knew that she was on the verge of tears by the look in her eyes. "Excuse me," she said, her voice quivering, "I-I forgot something." Hermione raced up stairs, and Harry saw her fighting the urge to cry.
"What?" Ron asked. Harry wished that he could be angry, but he didn't have the heart to be mad. He was just tired, tired of it all. But no matter how tired he was, Harry loved Hermione more, and could wait out any storm for her.
"I'll tell you later," Harry said, when Lavender came walking down the stairs. Ron was on his feet and wrapped his girlfriend in a hug, kissing her deeply. Harry sighed and looked back at the fire. It was burning slowly, since it wasn't cold enough for a full fire. He was worried about Hermione. She had rushed up to her room, and probably wouldn't come out until later. When ever something like this happened, the only people she would talk to were Harry and Heather. She would find his arms late at night or during the day, but if she couldn't find Harry, Hermione would find Heather. Those two were becoming fast friends. At the Weasley's, it was just Harry, but then again, there weren't any episodes. He watched as Ron and lavender went out of the room, talking and holding hands.
Harry heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and he turned around to see Hermione. Her eyes were a bit red, but other then that, nothing appeared to be wrong. "Hey," she said meekly. Harry stood up, and walked over to her slowly. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that." Hermione trailed off, and looked down at the ground.
Harry took her in his arms, and held her tightly. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay," he whispered and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be alright." All it would take is time, he thought, time and love. Hermione needed him and he refused to leave her alone.
"Thanks, Harry," she wiped that tears that were coming. The little make-up she had on was sheared on her face. "Excuse me again, Harry." A smile was back on her face. Harry laughed and so did Hermione.
"Go on," Harry replied, "I'll wait." Hermione ran up the stairs, smiling again. Heather came down the stairs just as Hermione left. "Hello Heather." She smiled at him, and replied with a soft hello. She didn't stop once she reached the bottom of the stairs, but continued on out the common room. Soon many more people came down, but still no Hermione. But even odder, no Roland.
After a few minutes of sitting alone in the common room, Hermione finally came down, smiling. She had fixed what little make-up she had on, and looked as beautiful as ever. "About time," he said, getting to go to Hermione. She hugged him quickly then dropped her hand to his. Harry gave a sweet smile. "Anything wrong?"
"Nope," Hermione replied, "Just took me longer then I would have thought." She giggled and pulled Harry toward the door. "c'mon, we'll be late for breakfast." Harry quickly caught up to her side, and Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. They talked about their plans for after their classes, the classes themselves, anything.
On their way to the Great hall, they heard the voice of Roland and Professor Jordan arguing. "I don't care who you are, Roland," Professor Jordan was yelling, "You have no rights."
"To do what, Spec," Roland replied. Hermione stopped Harry where he was standing. Both of the men were loud, meaning they were close. "What I did was perfectly with in my rights."
"You're wrong, Roland," Harry and Hermione inched forward a bit, trying to find out what was happening. "You have no rights, period. Scum like you deserve to burn in hell with the rest of your kind." A loud crack came from the hallway, and Harry looked around the corner to see Professor Jordan on the ground rubbing his jaw.
"I have no kind," Roland was standing over the body of Professor Jordan. "We met here on equal ground. Your words, not mine, Specter. If you continue to be blind, then so be it. I will protect them, even from you if I have to." The man's cloak danced in the wind as he walked away. Harry watched as Roland disappeared in to nothing, an act he commonly preformed.
"Damn that kid," Professor Jordan stood up. "You two." He pointed at Harry and Hermione. Both jumped back at the fact he noticed them. "Yes, come here." They walked over slowly, cautiously. "Did you see anything?" For a moment, Harry didn't know what to say. "No, you didn't." Professor Jordan wasn't asking, he was commanding. "Nothing happened in this corridor a few moments ago. Got that?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "If I hear any word that you accuse me or Roland of anything happening in this hallway." he trailed off and left it to their imagination. Professor Jordan stormed off, rubbing his jaw. "Damn daemon," he muttered, "should burn in hell with the rest of his kind."
For a moment, neither Harry nor Hermione said anything. They just stared forward. Harry didn't think there was a teacher who was scarier than Snape. He was wrong. Professor Jordan stared at him as if he was looking and judging them. His dark green eyes were piercing as Roland's black. "I think I might have nightmares for weeks," Harry whispered finally. They both couldn't help but laugh.
"Me too," Hermione replied. "There is finally a teacher who is more frightening then Snape."
"I wonder if he would be upset if he lost his title?" Harry looked down at Hermione. She laughed again, and Harry quickly joined her. "No, your right, he wouldn't be."
"On the contrary, Ms. Granger," They turned around to see Professor Dumbledore standing right behind them. "I think Severus would be overwhelmed if he no longer had that title."
"Professor," Harry said, "we didn't here you." Both of them tried to remain as professional as possible, just in case any other teachers were there too.
"Quite alright, Harry," the old man smiled, "I've learned a few tricks over my years." He looked back to where Professor Jordan was heading. "I take it you saw the confrontation between Professor Jordan and Roland, hmm?" Harry nodded. "We can talk about that later, if you wish." He smiled and winked at them. Dumbledore walked off, almost gliding on the ground and down the hallway. Again it left Harry and Hermione dumbfounded. Neither said a word, just stared forward.
Harry shook his head, and grabbed Hermione's hand. She smiled up at him, and they walked down to the great Hall. They were didn't say a word about what happened or what they saw. Despite how much Harry wanted to, he kept away from the topic. He didn't want anything to happen to Hermione.
With in moments, they were at the doors of the great Hall. Harry smiled down at Hermione and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. He took a deep breath and opened the doors. Inside the room was quiet, no one was talking. There was a somber mood. Harry was shocked to see there, usually there wasn't a mood like this until the end of the first day. Ron was with lavender, but they weren't' talking. Heather was at the end of the table, a seat saved for Roland, if he came down. Harry remembered that Roland rarely got up before twelve over the summer.
The murmurs that were occurring the Great hall stopped when Harry and Hermione arrived. All eyes appeared on them. When they finally reached their table, the talking began, hushed as before. They took a seat across from Ron and Lavender. "What happened?" Hermione whispered, not wanting to talk louder then anyone else who was talking.
"There was an attack," Ron replied, just as softly. "At Durnstrung I believe." Lavender nodded. "It was in the Daily Prophet this morning."
"Did they admit it was Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"No, they didn't," Roland said behind Harry and Hermione. They turned around quickly to see him. He was wearing the school uniform, which was surprising to see him in a different color other than black. Even on their first day at the school, Roland wore his black shirt and pants. But he still wore his sunglasses. "And for once, they were right. It wasn't the act of the Dark Lord, not directly at least. Rather, some demons of working for him." Ron mouthed the word demon to Harry and raised a questioning look. Roland dropped a paper over Harry's head onto the table. "There was no dark mark, no Cruitus spells. Nothing that would give away that it was Voldemort." Some people winced at the man's name. "Sad, though. no survivors." Roland spoke with no remorse or pity. He just walked over next to Heather and took his seat next to her.
Harry looked at the paper. On the front page was a picture of the ruble that he assumed was Durnstrung. There were other wizards taking pictures of it. while others were looking around the ruins in the distance, trying to find survivors. He shook his head; Hermione on the other hand was near tears. She turned into Harry's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. She sobbed into him for while, with Harry's arm around her.
Dumbledore finally came up to the head table, and ready to talk. All other students grew quiet, and waited from him to begin. "Grave times have fallen upon us once again. As you all know, he-who-must-no-be-named has returned. And worse then before." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "There has been an attack on Durnstrung, with no survivors. It is believed that The Dark Lord himself was the one who lead the attack." Roland coughed, but said nothing. Dumbledore's attention turned fully on him. "As to the reason of no survivors." Harry looked back at Roland and saw the man nodding. He quickly noticed Harry looking at him, and Roland looked down at his plate. Harry's attention returned to Dumbledore as he began to speak. "Please let us have a moment of silence in respect to those who were at Durnstrung." Everyone nodded. No one talked for the next five minutes, the silence was almost disturbing. Hermione relaxed a bit, sitting back down on the chair. Harry took her hand, and smiled at her, squeezing it lightly. She returned the smile, and blushed slightly.
Finally after what seemed like forever, Dumbledore finally said, "now with that out of the way, we can continue on with other business. First off, this year is a beginning. New students arrive, like always. 'We must hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.' Ben Franklin said that during the American Revolution. That must hold true for this era. We can not be separated by mere prejudices and our problems to save our way of life. Here you are taught the ways of our life. Like the sorting hat said yesterday, this is a time of peril and we can not forget the bonds that we have created. Those bonds are our friendships, and we cannot forget them. We must no forget them, for those bonds are what will allow us to survive."
Harry looked down at Hermione, both of them wearing a confused look. It was unusually for Dumbledore to speak the day after their first day. But the wizarding world was in turmoil, and if they could not stand together, it would fall. Everyone was silent, most were looking down at their plates, trying not to make eyes contact with anyone. It was a grave subject to talk about in public. Harry took her hand and gave it a soft squeeze, Hermione smiled up at him. He knew that she would always be at his side.
"Now please, enjoy the meal, and then hurry to your classes," Dumbledore took his seat and the food appeared on their plates. The room slowly began to return to its normal, but the topic stayed on one thing, the attack. Ron had already filled his plate.
"So," Ron said, before shoveling is food into his mouth. "What do you think is going to happen?" Lavender slapped him upside the head, causing everyone to laugh around him.
"Some things don't change," Hermione said, taking the plate that Harry had filled for her. "Thank you, Harry." He smiled at her, and began to fill his own plate. Hermione slid her hand into his under the table, and looked up at him, smiling.
"Your welcome, 'Mione," Harry gave her hand a soft squeeze and filled his plate up with food. Though eating with only one hand was difficult, he survived. Both of them refused to let go of the other one.
"You know, Hermione," Lavender said, "I think there's something going on between you and Harry." She blushed a bright red, and did Harry.
"You didn't figure it out yet?" Hermione looked down at her plate.
"I knew it; you two are going aren't you?" Hermione's face turned even redder. "Oh, we must talk." Lavender had a excited look on her face.
"Didn't we talk about it last night?" Hermione moaned. Harry smirked at her, and she shot a look at him. Harry quickly turned back to his food, holding back a laugh. "Later, okay?" Lavender nodded. "We've got to get to class." Hermione pulled Harry up with her as she stood up. "C'mon Harry." He waved good-bye as they walked away.
"Why do we have to go?" he asked, walking in stride with her. "I wasn't even finished with breakfast, and you barely touched yours."
"I know, Harry." Hermione sighed. "I just wanted to get out of there before- " Hermione didn't another word out when they heard a girl scream. Both of them quickly ran down the hallway to see a boy hit the ground. He pushed himself up with a grunt, and Harry saw that it was Roland. His hollow eyes looked at Harry for only a moment, before turning into a glare. Quickly, Roland pushed himself off the ground and ran over to where the boy was. Harry recognized it as one of Steven's lackeys.
The boy had a hand on Heather and was dragging her away. She screamed again, only to receive a kick. Roland grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him off of heather. Helping her up off the ground, Roland turned his back and tried to help Heather over to where Harry and Hermione were. "Reducto!" the boy yelled. The spell hit Roland in the back, and threw them down to the ground. Immediately Roland was off the ground, and growled at the boy. What looked like a sword was beginning to form in his hand, but it quickly disappeared. The boy shouted again, this time "Incendio!" a jet of flames flew to Roland, but never reached him. A shield had stopped the flames from moving any further.
Slowly Roland made his way over to the boy. A few feet away, Roland made a grab for the boy, and wrapped him in a bear hug. Squeezing tightly, the Ravenclaw dropped his wand and was staying at the ceiling. Roland head- butted the kid and knocked him out. He dropped the boy at the ground and stared at him for a moment. Roland turned around and began to walk over to Heather, but fell on the ground.
Hermione ran over to heather and helped her you, Harry got to Roland's side. The man laid on the ground, for a moment before pushing himself up off the ground with one hand, the other covering his side. Teachers came around the corner, the first two being Snape and Jordan. Students also began to find this little corridor.
"Roland Childe!" Jordan yelled, "What in God's holy name did you do?"
"Protected a friend." Roland coughed for a moment, and pulled a handkerchief from his coat. He coughed into it fro a few more minutes before stopping. Heather had gotten up and took Harry's place at Roland's side. She had an arm around his waist and was clearly the only reason why he was standing. "That boy there attacked me and Heather; he was even trying to drag Heather away." With his free arm, Roland pointed at boy, but began to cough again. Heather shook her head and patted his back with her arm.
"You two," Jordan pointed at Harry, "what happened?" Roland coughed, but this time it was out of disgust. Harry looked back and saw Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall working they're way through the crowd.
"We heard a scream," Harry replied, "and we came running only to find Roland on the ground, and Heather being dragged. Roland tried to stop him, pulling his hand away from her." Harry pointed at the boy, who was helped up by some fellow Ravenclaw. "He then used casted Reducto on Roland, followed by a fire spell." Snape looked at Harry then Hermione. She nodded in agreement.
"Well," Jordan replied, "I'm surprised to see you still standing Roland." The man coughed again, and glared at Jordan. "Ten points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for fighting in the hall ways."
"Thanks teach," Roland replied, suppressing a growl.
"While I on the other had," Snape replied, smiling, "will award Gryffindor fifteen points for Roland protecting his fellow students." This caused every student standing around them to stop talking. It was rare for Snape to award Gryffindor with points, and never that much. Even McGonagall dropped her jaw.
"I believe that we need to talk with them," McGonagall came walking up, and stared at Roland and Heather. They nodded, and followed the teacher, down to Deputy Headmistress. Professor Dumbledore stood and looked between Harry and Hermione and the boy.
"Well, it appears that there had been an accident," the headmaster said calmly. The students nodded in response as if accepting what had happened, but Harry knew, everyone would be asking Roland what happened later. Hell, they would be asking him. The crowd dispersed, leaving the teachers and those who were in involved the fight. Dumbledore was smiling when he looked at Harry and Hermione. "well, I must congratulate you Roland, for finding another Neo-Death Eater." Roland snorted a response, but quickly received a hit upside the head by Heather. "Professor Snape would you go prepare the boy for the true serum." The potions master nodded and picked the boy up by his collar, dragging him off. Dumbledore turned to Roland and Heather. "Heather, please help Roland down to Madame Pomfrey, and make sure he drinks that potion for his condition." The girl nodded and helped Roland limp down in the direction of the infirmary.
Harry didn't notice that Hermione had moved beneath his arm. He had his arm around her. Looking down at her, Harry smiled at how cute she looked, standing their in awe. Everything was happening so fast. Just hope the rest of the year isn't like this, Harry thought.
"Professor Jordan, we will talk in my office when you have free time," Dumbledore said toward to the DADA teacher. He turned to Harry and Hermione. "you two better head along to class." Harry nodded, and Hermione was already pulling down the hallway. Apparently, she didn't want to miss class that much. Harry sighed as they ran. He just wanted this year to calm and peacefully, but now he was beginning to doubt that.
By: Chronos the Fallen Angel
Author's Note: Okay, I'm posting again, this chapter will be short, since I need to work on other things. Hopefully, I can get more then one chapter out over break. Maybe, maybe not. TimGold, thanks for being loyal, and reviewing. And for anyone else. Red Death, i did proof read, but probably not to your likes.
Again, J.K. Rowlings owns Harry and the gang, DC owns Supergirl and the Specter (Hal Jordan), and I own Roland Childe and the plot. God bless copyright laws.
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Harry woke up covered in sweat, breathing hard. He looked around, seeing that the sun hadn't broken the horizon yet. Scanning the room, he saw that Ron was snoring as loud as ever, but Roland's bed was surprisingly empty. The sheets were gone as were the pillows, but no one had even touched it other then that.
Sleep tried to take Harry, but he refused to return to that dream. He didn't want to hear those who suffered because of Voldemort, those who died. He didn't want to hear the screams.
Sighing, Harry sat up and took one final look around the room. He decided that he might as well get up and dressed. He tried to lift his arms, but they felt so tired and weak. His body ached like he just had a ten-hour Quidditch match. With much effort, Harry got up off his bed, and walked down to the foot of it. He grabbed his cloths that he needed for the day, and headed to the bathroom, limping as he goes. He noticed the sheets on the floor next to Roland's bed, but didn't care.
After a nice, long hot shower, Harry's body was loosened up; almost at its normal. He paused right next to Roland's bed, confused at the pile. It moved slightly, and he saw that it was Roland, or at least Harry thought it was. He didn't recognize him with all the scars on his back.
He decided against waking Roland, he had seen what he does when he was coherent state. Now, the man was just asleep, though not in a peaceful state. He was thrashing about, and twisting, murmuring something that Harry couldn't understand.
Sighing, Harry grabbed his books, walked carefully out the door and down to the common room. There was a single person up as early as him, and her bushy head of brown hair sat on the couch, right in front of the fire. By the way his heart skipped, Harry knew who it was. Hermione.
He walked up to her slowly, and as he got closer, his suspicions were only confirmed. He placed a hand on her shoulder, standing right behind the couch. She jumped, turning around to face him. A smile was on her face when she saw that it was Harry. Hermione hugged him tightly around the neck. "Morning, beautiful," Harry said softly. A soft kiss to her forehead when she pulled away slightly only brought a smile and a giggle from his girlfriend.
"Mornin' Harry," she replied. Harry rested his forehead on hers, smiling at her. He wrapped her in a tight hug, holding on to her as if he let go, she'd disappear. And he couldn't handle that. "I missed you."
"And I you." Harry moved his hands down to Hermione's and took one. They walked together over to one of the couches, Hermione slid onto his lap, her hands around his neck. A book was next to them, opened up half way through. Harry brushed her hair with his fingers, bringing a smile to her face. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," Hermione said, smiling. "You'd be surprised what you can learn just listening to them talk."
"Who?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her, but continued to smile.
"Lavender, Heather, and Parviti," Hermione smiled. "Even they thought that I had some interesting things to say." A deep red color appeared on her cheeks, but Harry could only laugh. He rubbed her hair gently and kissed her forehead again. "I'd thought you'd say something like that." The red turned even deeper and Harry just laughed even harder. "Thanks for your support," Hermione added, then laughed along with him.
"Mornin, Harry," Ron came down stairs smiling. "I take it you slept well." He was still smiling when he looked at Hermione. "Hello Hermione."
"Morning, Ron," Hermione replied. She had a confused look on her face, and looked at Harry. "How are you today?"
"Great!" he stretched, and walked over to them. Ron took a seat cross from Harry and Hermione. Both of them has perplexed looks towards Ron. "What?"
"You aren't upset by this?" Hermione was the one to ask. she slowly slid off of Harry's lap, much to Harry's disappointment. "By us?"
"Nope," Ron replied with a grin. To Harry it seemed truthfully, but he still didn't know. "I thought it over for a while, and even before you guys came this summer, I thought about." He sighed and that smile disappeared. "I enjoyed the time that we had together, herms." She cringed at the nickname Ron had for her, but he didn't stop. "I really did, it's just that."
"What, Ron?" Harry asked. He wanted to put an arm around Hermione, but fought the urge.
"That I knew it would never work out between us," He finally said, "you and I fought way too often, and I noticed how you went to Harry every time." Hermione blushed slightly. "You two were literally made for each other. That was why it surprised me, Hermione, when you went to Steven after me." A smile was slowly growing on Hermione's face, but it quickly disappeared. "Did something happen over the summer that I should know?" it was Ron's turn to raise a questioning look.
Harry's heart went out to Hermione. He knew that she was on the verge of tears by the look in her eyes. "Excuse me," she said, her voice quivering, "I-I forgot something." Hermione raced up stairs, and Harry saw her fighting the urge to cry.
"What?" Ron asked. Harry wished that he could be angry, but he didn't have the heart to be mad. He was just tired, tired of it all. But no matter how tired he was, Harry loved Hermione more, and could wait out any storm for her.
"I'll tell you later," Harry said, when Lavender came walking down the stairs. Ron was on his feet and wrapped his girlfriend in a hug, kissing her deeply. Harry sighed and looked back at the fire. It was burning slowly, since it wasn't cold enough for a full fire. He was worried about Hermione. She had rushed up to her room, and probably wouldn't come out until later. When ever something like this happened, the only people she would talk to were Harry and Heather. She would find his arms late at night or during the day, but if she couldn't find Harry, Hermione would find Heather. Those two were becoming fast friends. At the Weasley's, it was just Harry, but then again, there weren't any episodes. He watched as Ron and lavender went out of the room, talking and holding hands.
Harry heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and he turned around to see Hermione. Her eyes were a bit red, but other then that, nothing appeared to be wrong. "Hey," she said meekly. Harry stood up, and walked over to her slowly. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that." Hermione trailed off, and looked down at the ground.
Harry took her in his arms, and held her tightly. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay," he whispered and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be alright." All it would take is time, he thought, time and love. Hermione needed him and he refused to leave her alone.
"Thanks, Harry," she wiped that tears that were coming. The little make-up she had on was sheared on her face. "Excuse me again, Harry." A smile was back on her face. Harry laughed and so did Hermione.
"Go on," Harry replied, "I'll wait." Hermione ran up the stairs, smiling again. Heather came down the stairs just as Hermione left. "Hello Heather." She smiled at him, and replied with a soft hello. She didn't stop once she reached the bottom of the stairs, but continued on out the common room. Soon many more people came down, but still no Hermione. But even odder, no Roland.
After a few minutes of sitting alone in the common room, Hermione finally came down, smiling. She had fixed what little make-up she had on, and looked as beautiful as ever. "About time," he said, getting to go to Hermione. She hugged him quickly then dropped her hand to his. Harry gave a sweet smile. "Anything wrong?"
"Nope," Hermione replied, "Just took me longer then I would have thought." She giggled and pulled Harry toward the door. "c'mon, we'll be late for breakfast." Harry quickly caught up to her side, and Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. They talked about their plans for after their classes, the classes themselves, anything.
On their way to the Great hall, they heard the voice of Roland and Professor Jordan arguing. "I don't care who you are, Roland," Professor Jordan was yelling, "You have no rights."
"To do what, Spec," Roland replied. Hermione stopped Harry where he was standing. Both of the men were loud, meaning they were close. "What I did was perfectly with in my rights."
"You're wrong, Roland," Harry and Hermione inched forward a bit, trying to find out what was happening. "You have no rights, period. Scum like you deserve to burn in hell with the rest of your kind." A loud crack came from the hallway, and Harry looked around the corner to see Professor Jordan on the ground rubbing his jaw.
"I have no kind," Roland was standing over the body of Professor Jordan. "We met here on equal ground. Your words, not mine, Specter. If you continue to be blind, then so be it. I will protect them, even from you if I have to." The man's cloak danced in the wind as he walked away. Harry watched as Roland disappeared in to nothing, an act he commonly preformed.
"Damn that kid," Professor Jordan stood up. "You two." He pointed at Harry and Hermione. Both jumped back at the fact he noticed them. "Yes, come here." They walked over slowly, cautiously. "Did you see anything?" For a moment, Harry didn't know what to say. "No, you didn't." Professor Jordan wasn't asking, he was commanding. "Nothing happened in this corridor a few moments ago. Got that?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "If I hear any word that you accuse me or Roland of anything happening in this hallway." he trailed off and left it to their imagination. Professor Jordan stormed off, rubbing his jaw. "Damn daemon," he muttered, "should burn in hell with the rest of his kind."
For a moment, neither Harry nor Hermione said anything. They just stared forward. Harry didn't think there was a teacher who was scarier than Snape. He was wrong. Professor Jordan stared at him as if he was looking and judging them. His dark green eyes were piercing as Roland's black. "I think I might have nightmares for weeks," Harry whispered finally. They both couldn't help but laugh.
"Me too," Hermione replied. "There is finally a teacher who is more frightening then Snape."
"I wonder if he would be upset if he lost his title?" Harry looked down at Hermione. She laughed again, and Harry quickly joined her. "No, your right, he wouldn't be."
"On the contrary, Ms. Granger," They turned around to see Professor Dumbledore standing right behind them. "I think Severus would be overwhelmed if he no longer had that title."
"Professor," Harry said, "we didn't here you." Both of them tried to remain as professional as possible, just in case any other teachers were there too.
"Quite alright, Harry," the old man smiled, "I've learned a few tricks over my years." He looked back to where Professor Jordan was heading. "I take it you saw the confrontation between Professor Jordan and Roland, hmm?" Harry nodded. "We can talk about that later, if you wish." He smiled and winked at them. Dumbledore walked off, almost gliding on the ground and down the hallway. Again it left Harry and Hermione dumbfounded. Neither said a word, just stared forward.
Harry shook his head, and grabbed Hermione's hand. She smiled up at him, and they walked down to the great Hall. They were didn't say a word about what happened or what they saw. Despite how much Harry wanted to, he kept away from the topic. He didn't want anything to happen to Hermione.
With in moments, they were at the doors of the great Hall. Harry smiled down at Hermione and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. He took a deep breath and opened the doors. Inside the room was quiet, no one was talking. There was a somber mood. Harry was shocked to see there, usually there wasn't a mood like this until the end of the first day. Ron was with lavender, but they weren't' talking. Heather was at the end of the table, a seat saved for Roland, if he came down. Harry remembered that Roland rarely got up before twelve over the summer.
The murmurs that were occurring the Great hall stopped when Harry and Hermione arrived. All eyes appeared on them. When they finally reached their table, the talking began, hushed as before. They took a seat across from Ron and Lavender. "What happened?" Hermione whispered, not wanting to talk louder then anyone else who was talking.
"There was an attack," Ron replied, just as softly. "At Durnstrung I believe." Lavender nodded. "It was in the Daily Prophet this morning."
"Did they admit it was Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"No, they didn't," Roland said behind Harry and Hermione. They turned around quickly to see him. He was wearing the school uniform, which was surprising to see him in a different color other than black. Even on their first day at the school, Roland wore his black shirt and pants. But he still wore his sunglasses. "And for once, they were right. It wasn't the act of the Dark Lord, not directly at least. Rather, some demons of working for him." Ron mouthed the word demon to Harry and raised a questioning look. Roland dropped a paper over Harry's head onto the table. "There was no dark mark, no Cruitus spells. Nothing that would give away that it was Voldemort." Some people winced at the man's name. "Sad, though. no survivors." Roland spoke with no remorse or pity. He just walked over next to Heather and took his seat next to her.
Harry looked at the paper. On the front page was a picture of the ruble that he assumed was Durnstrung. There were other wizards taking pictures of it. while others were looking around the ruins in the distance, trying to find survivors. He shook his head; Hermione on the other hand was near tears. She turned into Harry's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. She sobbed into him for while, with Harry's arm around her.
Dumbledore finally came up to the head table, and ready to talk. All other students grew quiet, and waited from him to begin. "Grave times have fallen upon us once again. As you all know, he-who-must-no-be-named has returned. And worse then before." Dumbledore paused for a moment. "There has been an attack on Durnstrung, with no survivors. It is believed that The Dark Lord himself was the one who lead the attack." Roland coughed, but said nothing. Dumbledore's attention turned fully on him. "As to the reason of no survivors." Harry looked back at Roland and saw the man nodding. He quickly noticed Harry looking at him, and Roland looked down at his plate. Harry's attention returned to Dumbledore as he began to speak. "Please let us have a moment of silence in respect to those who were at Durnstrung." Everyone nodded. No one talked for the next five minutes, the silence was almost disturbing. Hermione relaxed a bit, sitting back down on the chair. Harry took her hand, and smiled at her, squeezing it lightly. She returned the smile, and blushed slightly.
Finally after what seemed like forever, Dumbledore finally said, "now with that out of the way, we can continue on with other business. First off, this year is a beginning. New students arrive, like always. 'We must hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.' Ben Franklin said that during the American Revolution. That must hold true for this era. We can not be separated by mere prejudices and our problems to save our way of life. Here you are taught the ways of our life. Like the sorting hat said yesterday, this is a time of peril and we can not forget the bonds that we have created. Those bonds are our friendships, and we cannot forget them. We must no forget them, for those bonds are what will allow us to survive."
Harry looked down at Hermione, both of them wearing a confused look. It was unusually for Dumbledore to speak the day after their first day. But the wizarding world was in turmoil, and if they could not stand together, it would fall. Everyone was silent, most were looking down at their plates, trying not to make eyes contact with anyone. It was a grave subject to talk about in public. Harry took her hand and gave it a soft squeeze, Hermione smiled up at him. He knew that she would always be at his side.
"Now please, enjoy the meal, and then hurry to your classes," Dumbledore took his seat and the food appeared on their plates. The room slowly began to return to its normal, but the topic stayed on one thing, the attack. Ron had already filled his plate.
"So," Ron said, before shoveling is food into his mouth. "What do you think is going to happen?" Lavender slapped him upside the head, causing everyone to laugh around him.
"Some things don't change," Hermione said, taking the plate that Harry had filled for her. "Thank you, Harry." He smiled at her, and began to fill his own plate. Hermione slid her hand into his under the table, and looked up at him, smiling.
"Your welcome, 'Mione," Harry gave her hand a soft squeeze and filled his plate up with food. Though eating with only one hand was difficult, he survived. Both of them refused to let go of the other one.
"You know, Hermione," Lavender said, "I think there's something going on between you and Harry." She blushed a bright red, and did Harry.
"You didn't figure it out yet?" Hermione looked down at her plate.
"I knew it; you two are going aren't you?" Hermione's face turned even redder. "Oh, we must talk." Lavender had a excited look on her face.
"Didn't we talk about it last night?" Hermione moaned. Harry smirked at her, and she shot a look at him. Harry quickly turned back to his food, holding back a laugh. "Later, okay?" Lavender nodded. "We've got to get to class." Hermione pulled Harry up with her as she stood up. "C'mon Harry." He waved good-bye as they walked away.
"Why do we have to go?" he asked, walking in stride with her. "I wasn't even finished with breakfast, and you barely touched yours."
"I know, Harry." Hermione sighed. "I just wanted to get out of there before- " Hermione didn't another word out when they heard a girl scream. Both of them quickly ran down the hallway to see a boy hit the ground. He pushed himself up with a grunt, and Harry saw that it was Roland. His hollow eyes looked at Harry for only a moment, before turning into a glare. Quickly, Roland pushed himself off the ground and ran over to where the boy was. Harry recognized it as one of Steven's lackeys.
The boy had a hand on Heather and was dragging her away. She screamed again, only to receive a kick. Roland grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him off of heather. Helping her up off the ground, Roland turned his back and tried to help Heather over to where Harry and Hermione were. "Reducto!" the boy yelled. The spell hit Roland in the back, and threw them down to the ground. Immediately Roland was off the ground, and growled at the boy. What looked like a sword was beginning to form in his hand, but it quickly disappeared. The boy shouted again, this time "Incendio!" a jet of flames flew to Roland, but never reached him. A shield had stopped the flames from moving any further.
Slowly Roland made his way over to the boy. A few feet away, Roland made a grab for the boy, and wrapped him in a bear hug. Squeezing tightly, the Ravenclaw dropped his wand and was staying at the ceiling. Roland head- butted the kid and knocked him out. He dropped the boy at the ground and stared at him for a moment. Roland turned around and began to walk over to Heather, but fell on the ground.
Hermione ran over to heather and helped her you, Harry got to Roland's side. The man laid on the ground, for a moment before pushing himself up off the ground with one hand, the other covering his side. Teachers came around the corner, the first two being Snape and Jordan. Students also began to find this little corridor.
"Roland Childe!" Jordan yelled, "What in God's holy name did you do?"
"Protected a friend." Roland coughed for a moment, and pulled a handkerchief from his coat. He coughed into it fro a few more minutes before stopping. Heather had gotten up and took Harry's place at Roland's side. She had an arm around his waist and was clearly the only reason why he was standing. "That boy there attacked me and Heather; he was even trying to drag Heather away." With his free arm, Roland pointed at boy, but began to cough again. Heather shook her head and patted his back with her arm.
"You two," Jordan pointed at Harry, "what happened?" Roland coughed, but this time it was out of disgust. Harry looked back and saw Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall working they're way through the crowd.
"We heard a scream," Harry replied, "and we came running only to find Roland on the ground, and Heather being dragged. Roland tried to stop him, pulling his hand away from her." Harry pointed at the boy, who was helped up by some fellow Ravenclaw. "He then used casted Reducto on Roland, followed by a fire spell." Snape looked at Harry then Hermione. She nodded in agreement.
"Well," Jordan replied, "I'm surprised to see you still standing Roland." The man coughed again, and glared at Jordan. "Ten points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for fighting in the hall ways."
"Thanks teach," Roland replied, suppressing a growl.
"While I on the other had," Snape replied, smiling, "will award Gryffindor fifteen points for Roland protecting his fellow students." This caused every student standing around them to stop talking. It was rare for Snape to award Gryffindor with points, and never that much. Even McGonagall dropped her jaw.
"I believe that we need to talk with them," McGonagall came walking up, and stared at Roland and Heather. They nodded, and followed the teacher, down to Deputy Headmistress. Professor Dumbledore stood and looked between Harry and Hermione and the boy.
"Well, it appears that there had been an accident," the headmaster said calmly. The students nodded in response as if accepting what had happened, but Harry knew, everyone would be asking Roland what happened later. Hell, they would be asking him. The crowd dispersed, leaving the teachers and those who were in involved the fight. Dumbledore was smiling when he looked at Harry and Hermione. "well, I must congratulate you Roland, for finding another Neo-Death Eater." Roland snorted a response, but quickly received a hit upside the head by Heather. "Professor Snape would you go prepare the boy for the true serum." The potions master nodded and picked the boy up by his collar, dragging him off. Dumbledore turned to Roland and Heather. "Heather, please help Roland down to Madame Pomfrey, and make sure he drinks that potion for his condition." The girl nodded and helped Roland limp down in the direction of the infirmary.
Harry didn't notice that Hermione had moved beneath his arm. He had his arm around her. Looking down at her, Harry smiled at how cute she looked, standing their in awe. Everything was happening so fast. Just hope the rest of the year isn't like this, Harry thought.
"Professor Jordan, we will talk in my office when you have free time," Dumbledore said toward to the DADA teacher. He turned to Harry and Hermione. "you two better head along to class." Harry nodded, and Hermione was already pulling down the hallway. Apparently, she didn't want to miss class that much. Harry sighed as they ran. He just wanted this year to calm and peacefully, but now he was beginning to doubt that.