The Black of Night

Chapter 1

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, poking Harry sharply in his ribs.

Harry looked up from his notes, then realized that Snape was hovering over him, his greasy black hair falling over his hooked nose, and everyone in the class was staring at him.

"Harry Potter, I asked you a question!" Snape snapped.

Harry was dumbfounded. He scratched his head, wondering what on earth Snape could have asked, since Harry had been too deep within his thoughts to have heard him. "Umm, could you repeat the question please?" Harry asked meekly.

A malicious smiled slowly spread across Snape's face. "Not paying attention, were we, Mr. Potter? It will be a wonder if you pass this class, since you do not even have the dignity to listen when a teacher is talking," Snape continued, "A zero for the day, Mr. Potter. And let's hope you do exceptional on the potions quiz tomorrow, or you will be looking at a failing grade for the semester."

Several people snickered. Harry's face grew hot, and his hate for Snape seemed to inflate inside of himself, and Harry wanted nothing more at the moment than to be able to hit Snape, to hurt him, to wipe that smirk off his face. Snape swept back to the front of the room, and began his lecture again.

Finally, Potions class was over, and Harry sulked out of the dungeons accompanied by Ron and Hermione.

"I hate that git!" Ron said, balling his fists.

"Ron!" Hermione warned, "Even if Snape is a git, you shouldn't go around demeaning teachers! You could get a detention, you know."

"Come off it, Hermione. You know Snape is a git, and he deserves to be called one for what he does to Harry." Ron replied, glancing sideways at Harry, who had not spoken one word since class.

"Harry?" Hermione said carefully, just in case Harry exploded unexpectantly, "Are you ok?"

But Harry didn't answer. He glared ahead of him, irritated. How he hated Snape! Why Dumbledore even hired him was beyond Harry's imagination. Realizing that both Ron and Hermione were looking at him, he said hastily, "I'll be fine. I'm used to Snape's insults and taunts. Don't worry. Besides, we've got Care for Magical Creatures next. I'll be glad to see Hagrid. Do you know what he plans on doing today?"

They both shook their heads. Ever since Umbridge left, Hagrid had been teaching them about creatures even more dangerous than usual. Most animals he kept tethered or caged, and wouldn't let any of the students within ten feet of the beasts. And knowing Hagrid, those animals had to be pretty dangerous for him to take such precautions.

They made their way down to Hagrid's cabin passing by the shimmering blue lake, where the giant squid was frolicking on the surface. It was such a lovely day, clear and sunny with a slight breeze, that even Harry brightened up a bit. As they joined the rest of their class, Hagrid greeted them.

"'Ello, class. Guess yer wonderin' why there's no animals around today. Now now, Lavender, don't look so scared, we're not going into the Forbidden Forest. Yet. The creatures we're gonna be studying don't live in there, as far as I know." Hagrid paused, and scratched his chin. "In fact, I'm not sure where they live. Hmm. Oh well. Anyways, the creatures we'll be learnin' about for the next week or so are so dangerous that we won't be able to actually have them here to study."

Several worried, even scared, faces turned to each other to whisper. Hagrid, oblivious to the terrified murmurs, continued. "And I'm talking about vampires. Vile creatures. Wouldn't bring them here if I could." The whole class was now chattering excitedly, but hushed as Hagrid prepared to speak again.

"Now, I'm gonna squash all those rumors you've heard about how to kill vampires. Now listen carefully, because this is important. If you ever come across a vampire, you gotta be prepared to either fight it properly, or to flee. If yer gonna try to fight 'em using a wooden stake 'n cross, yer as good as dead. Yea, if you plunge a stake in their heart, they'll die, but it's not the best and most efficient way to get rid of 'em. If you do that to anyone, the results'll be the same. And crosses and holy things don't have any effect on them, either."

They listened intently for the entire class while Hagrid instructed them on what to do in a hazardous situation. "Not that it's likely you'll run into one, but ya never know. Always better to be prepared, I always say," Hagrid told them as they strolled ack to the castle for their next lesson.

"Settle down, class, " Professor Trelawney said in a hushed voice. Harry groaned as he slumped into a cushiony chair, choking on the strong rose-scented perfume. Today they had a double class with the Slytherins, and Harry just knew that Trelawney was going to make another death prediction for Harry, in front of Draco Malfoy and his gang. Ron plopped into a chair beside Harry. Professor Trelawney began to talk about the day's lesson, but she was abruptly interrupted by the creaking of the trap door opening again. She turned to glare at the intruder, but softened her frown when she saw it was a student.

A girl, about Harry's age, climbed through the trap door, and quietly closed it before standing up to get a look around. She had long, dark hair, and fair skin. Harry couldn't see that well through the haze that clouded the room, but he could tell that she was pretty. Realizing that the whole class was watching her, she blushed and gave a small smile. She glanced around the smoky room, and spying Draco, walked over and sat beside him. Figures, Harry thought. Just like Malfoy to snare a pretty girl like that.

"Umm, class, I believe we have a new student," hummed Trelawney.

"I'm Sara," announced the girl, "and I'm in the Slytherin House. I went to a different school, but my family moved. My parents decided that it would be easier just to let me go here instead of travelling halfway around the world."

Trelawney nodded. "Thank you, Sara. Now, today we will be studying the rare angles of when..."

But Trelawney's voice was lost amid Harry's thoughts. He couldn't keep his eyes off the new girl, Sara. She wasn't just pretty, she was gorgeous. She wasn't paying much attention to Trelawney, either. Her head was bent, hair spilling like a black waterfall over her face, and she was whispering to Malfoy, who had a smug expression on. Malfoy said something to her, his hand over his mouth to keep Trelawney from noticing, and Sara smiled, a wide, beaming smile. Good Lord she's got a great smile! Harry thought. But the perfume was beginning to make Harry's thoughts lag. He yawned, struggling to stay awake, but soon his eyelids were so heavy that Harry surrendered and closed his eyes. And then he was drifting, floating...

It was night. Harry was flying over a forest, high above the treetops. He was zooming through the air, but slowed as a clearing approached. In the middle of the clearing was an assembly of twenty or so people, all dressed in black robes. Their hoods were pulled low over their faces, making any recognition impossible. They stood in a circle, outlined by the silver moonlight. As Harry drew even closer, they leaned their heads up to look at Harry. Harry gasped. Red eyes glowed from under the hoods, and each figure raised their right arm up to point at Harry. Harry began to feel a lurching sensation in his stomach, and he knew he was falling towards them. Stop! Fly, you fool, fly! Harry screamed in his head. If they catch you they'll kill you! And at the very moment when Harry was one second from colliding with the ground...

Harry's eyelids flew open. He sat up, and looked around. None of the class seemed to have noticed that anything unusual had happened. Even Ron was making little snores next to him. But Harry had a peculiar feeling that someone was staring at him. He could feel eyes burning into the back of his head. Slowly turning his head to the side, he saw Sara. Though Malfoy was talking to Crabbe, Sara was staring at Harry as intently as if he had grown an extra head. She realized that Harry had spotted her, and she quickly looked away. Harry was suddenly aware that he had drooled in his sleep, and hastily wiped his cheek on his sleeve, feeling immensely embarrassed. Great, he thought miserably, now she probably thinks I'm some kind of geek. Sara ignored Harry for the rest of class.

When Divination was over, Sara hurried away with the rest of the Slytherins before Harry could stop her. Shrugging, Harry followed Ron down to the Great Hall. They found Hermione, who had just come from Advanced Arithmancy.

"Good afternoon!" Hermione greeted them.

"How's it going, 'Mione?" asked Ron, sitting on the bench beside her and grabbing a plateful of potatoes.

"Not bad," she replied, "How was Divination with the old bat?"

"Couldn't tell you," Ron grinned, "I was asleep the whole time."

Hermione frowned, but Ron continued. "It's the perfume that does it, I think. Ooh, yea, now I remember. Blimey, Harry, did you ever see a better looking babe in your life?"

Harry gave Ron an amused smile, and asked, "You're talking about Sara, right?"

Ron's eyes widened, a lopsided grin stretching across his face, and exclaimed, "Yea, that girl. Damn was she hot. Right when she walked in, you could tell. I mean, like BAM, you could see!"

Harry heard footsteps behind them, and turned to see who it was. To his surprise, Harry saw Sara walking up the aisle towards them. Ron, oblivious to this fact, continued to chatter about her.

"I mean, Hermione, you should have seen her! I think she could've been related to a Veela. But she's in Slytherin, and I think she likes Malfoy. Dammit. Oh well. Hey, why are you looking at me like tha..."

Following Hermione's wide-eyed gaze, Ron swiveled around in his chair and found Sara standing behind him, who had heard every word Ron said. Ron's face turned a bright red, which turned into a deep purple, then into green.

"Uh, you, uh, uh, I, uh," Ron stuttered. Sara gave Ron a questioning glance, then turned to Harry.

"Sorry for bothering you during Divination," she grinned, "it's just, I had heard so much about you, that it was hard to believe that I was, like, in the same room with you. I read that article you published last year. That must've taken a lot of courage. Any ways, I've heard from Draco"- Ron winced at the name-"that the school goes on trips to Hogsmead. Well, the next trip is this weekend, and I was wondering if you could go with me."

Harry gawked at her for a moment, too surprised to speak. Finally, he was able to gain control over his jaw, and said, "Sure. I'd love to."

Sara beamed at him. "Great! I'll see you later then!" She waved goodbye and made her way back to the Slytherin table. Ron gaped after her, his jaw nearly brushing the floor.

"Come off it, Ron!" Harry laughed, playfully punching Ron in the shoulder. Ron snapped back to reality, looked frantically around him, then buried his face in his hands. "Ooh, I am such a dork!" he moaned. Harry turned to Hermione, expecting her normal disapproving sigh and a wink. But she was still staring at the back of Sara's head, her fork in her lap.

"Umm, 'Mione?" Harry asked her. "I didn't know you felt that way about other girls. You should have told us. We're your friends, you know."

"That's not why I was looking at her!" Hermione said angrily. "Don't you see?" she hissed. Totally confused, Ron and Harry shook their heads. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, then jumped out of her seat. "I'll see you guys around. I have to go to the library," she said as she gathered up her bag and bustled out of the Great Hall.

Ron and Harry stared after her as she left. "She's off her rocker, that one," Ron sighed.

"Yea," Harry agreed, " but I wonder what she's up to?"

"Who knows?" said Ron, frowning. "But we've got Quidditch practice today, so we'd better get back to the common room to finish up that Herbology essay. Say, why is Hermione always in the library? You'd think by now she had read the books twice already and memorized all of them."