Swept From the Past

Chapter 11: Hallowe'en's events

Two days before Hallowe'en, Dumbledore made an announcement in the Great Hall at dinner.

"May I have your attention, please?" said the Headmaster.

Everyone fell silent. Harry wondered if it was about a new rule. These days, there were always teachers wandering in the corridors by day or night. It was rather disturbing.

"At the beginning of the year," Dumbledore continued, "I told you the Hogsmeade outings would be cancelled until further notice. I am sure you appreciated the alternative arrangements we made. I, myself, enjoyed watching my favourite movies in your company. Although that was pleasant, I thought you would like to leave the school for a few hours. That is why I decided, with the approval of your teachers, to allow one Hogsmeade outing."

Everyone cheered. The Great Hall was filled with the voices of the happy students. Dumbledore smiled. Professor McGonagall looked sceptical. Maybe she thought it was too risky. Anyway, Harry was delighted. Unfortunately, the Hogsmeade outing was set for after Halloween! Harry would be pleased to go to Zonko's. And going to Honeydukes wouldn't be that bad either!

Dumbledore motioned for order.

"A few teachers expressed the opinion that this outing could be dangerous. I assure you that I have obtained the best protection for you. So every student from Third Year will be obliged to go. No exceptions. I also would ask you to stay within the confines of the village and not wander off. Any students who break these rules will be punished and points taken from their houses. But I'm sure that you will follow the rules," the Headmaster added with a soft smile.

"That's great!" Ron said, when Dumbledore finished.

"I wonder why Dumbledore wants every student from Third Year to go to Hogsmeade," said Ginny.

"Well," replied Hermione, "that's clever! He knows the Death Eaters won't attack Hogsmeade, if their children go there! That's for our safety!"

Harry felt happy and relieved.

"I'm glad to go to Zonko's," Ron said, "but I would have preferred to see Fred and George's joke shop!"

"We saw them during summer holidays," Ginny replied, "but they've expanded the premises since. George said they have become rich enough to afford several modifications! I wonder what it looks like now!"

"They wrote that they've got new tricks!" exclaimed Ron. "If only I could go to Diagon Alley! I would try them all!" Ron looked really excited at this idea.

"I don't think that they all would interest you, Ron," Ginny laughed.

"And why not?" Ron asked with a grimace.

"Do you want to try their Kissing Lipstick?" she responded.

"Kissing Lipstick?" asked Harry. "What's that?"

"Something I suggested to Fred and George," Ginny replied. She blushed. "They wanted something really innovative. Special tricks for boys and girls. So they asked for my opinion, and I... well, I gave it to them."

"What's Kissing Lipstick used for?" demanded Harry.

"Well," Ginny responded, "when a girl uses the Kissing Lipstick and kisses a guy, he treats her very well for hours."

"Do you mean he obeys her?" asked Harry.

"Sort of," Ginny replied. "The boy doesn't really act against his will. He just... wants to please the girl..."

"Did Fred and George really make that?" questioned Harry.

"They also created Anti-Kissing Lipstick pills, "Ginny retorted. "For the moment, they just use those pills on themselves, but soon they'll sell them in their shop! I think that will be very popular!"

Ron looked disgusted. Harry wondered what it would be like to be some girl's slave for a few hours. Was the boy aware of what he was doing? Did it change the way he felt about the girl? That was surely a strange experiment. That might be fine for a while, but what happened when the potion wore off? How humiliating! He wouldn't have liked it, if Cho had used that on him last year!

"The boy becomes very kind," Ginny said. "He carries your bag. He holds the door for you. He treats you like a princess! That's so romantic!"

"Romantic?" Ron asked with a smirk.

Harry repressed a laugh. Ginny had a strange definition of the word 'romantic.'

"Ron, you're acting like a three year-old," Ginny continued, "I knew you would react that way! There's nothing bad in it! The Kissing Lipstick is only a dose of gallantry! Something boys usually don't have!"

Harry didn't agree. All right, he didn't carry girls' bags, didn't open doors for them either, but he was rather polite. More than Ron, anyway!

"Girls!" Ron replied disdainfully. "Knowing you, I'm sure you'll use it as quick as possible!"

"In fact," retorted his sister, "I've already used it several times this year."

"What?!" exclaimed Ron.

"Fred and George sent me a sample," added Ginny. "It's rather effective!" She chortled.

Ron grumbled.

"Will you buy some, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Er... I don't think so," Hermione replied.

"Don't want to use it on Vicky?" Ron asked rudely.

Harry cast a reproachful glance at Ron. Ron and Hermione were about to squabble again.

"No, I don't want to use it on Viktor Krum," Hermione retorted with aggression. "But when Fred and George sell Intelligence Lipstick, I'll be sure to use it on you, Ronald Weasley!"

"To force me to kiss you, you'd have to use Kissing Lipstick!" Ron replied meanly. "And you'd have to do it when I was asleep!"

Now, Harry was really convinced he was more gallant than Ron. He would have never said that to a girl, except a Slytherin. Especially not to Hermione.

"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed, outraged.

"It doesn't matter," replied Hermione. "I'll never kiss you!"

She stood up and left.

"Ron!" shouted Ginny. "That was awful!"

***

Hermione wandered the corridors. Her steps brought her to Moaning Myrtle's toilets. Fortunately, Myrtle was not there. Maybe she had been spying on people in the castle. Harry had told Hermione that the ghost had very strange habits. When he had explained to her that Myrtle zoomed down the plumbing, Hermione hadn't wanted to know more.

The girl was agitated. She felt both furious and sad. She couldn't sort out her feelings and finally fell into tears. Ron Weasley was a cretin. She hated him! No... that wasn't entirely true, but the result was the same. Even if she didn't hate him, he was still a cretin. A red-headed cretin. Why on earth did she waste her time with him? After all, there was Viktor Krum.

Viktor Krum. The famous Quidditch player. The Viktor Krum. The gentle and clever Viktor Krum. But she didn't feel the same way about him. Just friendship. Nothing more. Not like...

"Cretin," Hermione swore. She looked at her watch. "God, I left the Great Hall almost two hours ago!"

She was about to leave, when she heard the voices of Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout. She hid inside one of the stalls and closed the door, hoping that her presence wouldn't be detected. Even if she had the right to be there, she didn't want the teachers to see her. No one comes in Myrtle's toilets; it would look strange. Moreover, her eyes were still red.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout entered.

"...I should have known it was Peeves. He'd better hope this dirt comes out!" Professor McGonagall said angrily.

"Don't worry, Minerva," replied Professor Sprout. "I know exactly how to make it disappear. All that I need is a mirror."

There was a pause. Hermione heard the rustle of the teacher's robes. Professor Sprout uttered a spell.

"It's gone, now," Professor Sprout said in a satisfied tone. "So, Minerva, what were we talking about before this unexpected interruption? Ah, yes... Professor Burns!"

"As I was saying," replied McGonagall, "Poppy told me how confused she had been when she found her in the corridor. She didn't know what to do! She thought Professor Burns would die!"

Hermione repressed a gasp.

"Was she alone?" asked Sprout.

"No, Severus was with her," replied McGonagall.

"Severus?" repeated Sprout.

"The poor man was completely agitated," said McGonagall.

"That's understandable," Sprout replied.

"Fortunately," continued McGonagall, "Albus came in time. You know it's not the first time he's encountered such a thing."

"Do you mean that...?" demanded Sprout.

"You know how it happened with Grindelwald," continued McGonagall. There was sadness in her voice. "When his wife was murdered, he... changed and turned to the Dark Arts. Albus tried to stop him, but Grindelwald's power finally consumed him. Albus still feels responsible for that. It's hard to forget, when your best friend dies in your arms."

"Do you think there is a treatment now?" Sprout asked.

"I don't think so," McGonagall replied. "Albus gave Professor Burns something powerful to drink, but that was just a temporary potion. It doesn't make the symptoms disappear. It worked this time, but if the crisis continues, it won't be effective anymore."

The two teachers opened the door and left.

Hermione hadn't moved.

"Grindelwald?" she repeated, deep in thought. Grindelwald was friends with Dumbledore? Hermione knew that the Mage died in 1945, defeated by the Headmaster, but she didn't remember having read anything about him. She would have never imagined he was friends with Dumbledore! She thought Grindelwald had always been a Dark Wizard, like Voldemort. But... Professor McGonagall said he changed when his wife was murdered, that his power consumed him, and that he died in Dumbledore's arms.

Burns probably had the same disease as Grindelwald. But why? Hermione had looked up her symptoms, but hadn't found anything. And according to what McGonagall said, Madam Pomfrey didn't know anything either. That meant that was a rare affliction. There was probably a link between Professor Burns and Grindelwald. Hermione remembered what Harry had told her, that Burns was different when she was at school. Maybe she had lost someone, like the Mage with his wife! Maybe Burns had had some kind of shock? Hermione had to find out about Grindelwald.

***

Hermione returned to her common room. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were waiting for her.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed when he saw her. "Where have you been?

"In the library," Hermione replied coldly.

"You weren't in the library! It's the first place we checked!" replied Harry, accusingly.

"So what?" she retorted sharply. "Don't I have the right to go wherever I want?"

She knew Harry hadn't done anything, but it didn't matter. She was still mad, and didn't want her friends to know where she had been.

"But," responded Harry, surprised at her reaction. "We worried about you!"

"There's no need to worry," Hermione retorted. "I'm fine!"

"Hermione," said Ron, "er..."

"Go to hell, Ron!" Hermione shouted. She went to the girl's dormitory, where she knew he wouldn't be able to follow her.

"Do you see what you've done!" Ginny exclaimed to Ron.

"Hey, I tried to apologise!" justified Ron.

***

The following day, when she woke up, Hermione decided not to speak to Ron anymore. She also decided to search for Grindelwald in the library. She spent hours opening books, but she didn't find anything on him. How on earth could so little be written about someone so famous? Maybe the information that she needed was in the Restricted Section? She opened her last book and tried to focus on the text. However, she couldn't pay attention to her reading anymore.

Chattering from a nearby table disturbed her. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode and Pancy Parkinson were laughing hard. And unfortunately, there was no one watching the library.

Hermione felt angry. She knew she couldn't do anything to make them stop. Even if she was a prefect, Malfoy was too. She couldn't give him orders, and things would turn bad, as usual. She tried to concentrate on her book. The words seemed empty; the lines didn't make sense anymore. Hermione caught a few words of the Slytherins' conversation. She heard something strange and frowned. What were they planning to do?

"You'll see," Malfoy continued to his friends in a whisper. "She'll have the biggest scare of her life!"

They laughed again.

"I can't wait to see what will happen!" added Malfoy. "She'll pay for what she told me!"

Hermione listened attentively. However, Madam Pince, the Librarian, came back and the Slytherins stopped speaking.

Who were they talking about? Was it about a student... or a teacher? Hermione immediately thought of Professor Burns. No, Malfoy couldn't be that stupid. Maybe he had planned a Hallowe'en trick on one of the Gryffindors. Hermione had thought of herself, but since she had only been a few meters from them, it was highly improbable.

Anyway, she had to focus on Grindelwald.

One hour later, Hermione left the library to go to Transfiguration. She saw Harry at the other end of the corridor. Fortunately, Ron wasn't with him. That was the occasion she wanted. She ran to him.

"Harry," Hermione asked, "could you please lend me your invisibility cloak?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Hermione," he responded. "What's it for?"

"Nothing important," Hermione replied evasively. "Just something I want to know. The cloak would be useful. And..." she added, "could you please be in the common room around midnight? I need to get back in the dormitory and I don't want the Fat Lady to see me."

Harry nodded.

***

In the evening, Hermione left the Gryffindor common room silently. She walked along the cold corridors as discreetly as possible. When she crossed one of her teacher's paths, she stopped and calmed her breathing. She entered the library. There was nobody in there. She went to the Restricted Section and looked all around. When she was sure there was no danger, she raised her wand and whispered "Lumos."

Now, she had to find the right book. She knew the books in the Restricted Section had strange powers. She didn't want to open a yelling book, or a tornado one. She shivered.

She searched for the card catalogue. She tried to open a few drawers, but they were locked. The girl uttered several spells, but nothing happened. After a few tries, Hermione realised she wasted her time. She abandoned the card catalogue and turned back to the big shelves. She inspected the titles of the books. Nothing that mentioned the name of Grindelwald. She sighed. It would be more difficult than she thought.

It was better to start with the first book of the row. "Dangerous Magical Beasts Through the Ages," she read on the cover. "Definitely not that one," she thought. She inspected the second one, "The Tale of Homph the Ogre." Since she had read Homph used to dismember children before eating their dead bodies, she abandoned that one too. She spent a few hours reading titles like "The Memories of the King Troll, the Hungriest of all", "Dracula's Best Tortures," "The Pleasure of Decapitation, or How to cut off a Head properly," "How to produce a good Bubonic Plague?"

She was getting sick. When she looked at her watch, it was about midnight. She hadn't found anything, but she knew she would come back. It took time to search for something, but she had one less shelf to consult. The best way to find out was to proceed by elimination.

She put on her cloak and left the library. When she went to the first floor, something caught her attention. A blue shade of light lit the other end of the corridor.

Hermione was intrigued, but she also couldn't dawdle in the corridors at that hour of the night. She cast a quick glance to her left, toward the stairs that led to her common room. Then she cast a quick glance to her right, where the strange light was. What would she choose?

She turned to the stairs, but she stopped after a few steps. Then, she turned back and went in the opposite direction.

She moved fast. Her curiosity had been stronger. When she approached, she heard the sound of a feminine voice, softly humming a song. The sound was low, but it echoed in the empty corridors like a murmur or a lullaby. Hermione looked discreetly above the stairs.

There, in the middle of the floor, stood Professor Burns. The blue light emerged from her and diffused around. When Hermione looked closer, she saw that Professor Burns was dancing, her eyes shut. Her body swayed slowly from right to left. Her arms were lifted in a strange position, as if she danced with an invisible partner. She seemed to be in a sort of trance.

The song sounded familiar to Hermione. Then, she remembered. It was Something Stupid, by Frank and Nancy Sinatra. A tear fell from the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's cheek and dropped to the floor.

Hermione gasped.

The drop had turned into ice. It burst when it reached the floor.

Professor Burns stopped dancing. The blue light progressively faded. Hermione quickly ran away.

She would have never expected to see Burns that way. Hermione's theories confirmed. If Grindelwald lost his wife, Burns probably lost someone too. After all, she danced to a love song with someone who wasn't there, and she cried. Probably Sirius. Hermione knew Burns went with him to the Spring Ball. Maybe being at Hogwarts again had reawakened ancient memories. But why did her tears turn into ice?

Hermione returned to her dormitories. The door was opened, Harry in its frame.

"You're late," Harry said.

"I know," Hermione replied, "Sorry." She entered the Gryffindor common room. She was about to explain everything to Harry, when she heard Ron's voice.

"Where have you been?" the red-haired boy asked.

Hermione snorted. "Mind your own business, Ron!" she replied and left.

***

The following day, Hermione was on the way to her Defence Against the Dark Arts class, deep in thought. As always, there would be the Hallowe'en Feast in the evening. For once, she wouldn't be obliged to listen to Ron's stupid jokes! That was good news! However, Hermione felt sad. But she had made up her mind. No more Ronald Weasley. Ever. After all, what she felt for him was probably caused by the events in the Ministry last June. She had been very agitated. That was it. Nothing more. Probably just shock.

She entered the class. Ron stared at her, but she didn't cast him a glance. She sat near Neville. As usual, Snape was seated at his place. Soon, the Slytherins came in. They had strange expressions on their faces, expressions of delight.

Hermione suddenly remembered that they had planned something against someone. She was so busy researching Grindelwald that she had completely forgotten them! She felt worried. Was it really something against Professor Burns?

The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor entered the class. But she didn't sit. She just stared at her chair.

"What is it?" she asked. She lifted a package that leaned against her chair. It moved when she touched it. There was something alive in there. Burns looked at the package suspiciously. It was very well packed and there was a green ribbon around it. There was a little card with it.

"Happy Hallowe'en, Professor Burns," she read loud.

Hermione saw that Snape looked intrigued too. The girl shivered. She was sure it was something nasty.

Burns turned to the class.

"I repeat my question, does anyone know what it is?"

No one replied.

"So, since no one knows," Burns continued, "I guess that there is no need to open it. I have had enough good Hallowe'en surprises to last my whole life."

Hermione noticed that Snape had blanched.

Professor Burns put the package where she had found it.

"It was leant on the chair," she said. "Then it will stay there." She sat on the edge of her desk. "Ok, class," she said. "Today, we will speak about zombies. So, what are the similarities and differences between a zombie and a vampire?"

Hermione raised her hand. Professor Burns nodded.

"Zombies and vampires are dead creatures," responded Hermione. "But contrary to a vampire, a zombie doesn't act by himself. He's just a dead body controlled by his creator. The vampire doesn't have a soul either, but he has his own mind."

"Anything else?" asked Professor Burns.

Draco Malfoy raised his hand.

"Yes? Master Malfoy?" questioned Burns.

"Vampires and zombies have a different appearance," Draco replied. He chortled.

Burns raised an eyebrow. Draco continued. "Zombies look like dead people; vampires can look like humans if they want to." He sniggered under his breath. The other Slytherins acted the same way as Draco.

"That is correct," replied Burns. "Ten points to Gryffindor and five points to Slytherin. A voodoo ritual can turn the dead into zomb... Master Malfoy!" Burns stopped in mid-sentence. "Cease laughing right now or I'll give you detention! And believe me, you'd better not force me to do so! You wouldn't be able to survive it!"

Pancy Parkinson raised her hand.

"Yes? Miss Parkinson?" asked Burns.

"Since this is Hallowe'en, could we see what vampires and zombies look like?"

"You have some illustrations in your books," retorted Burns.

Blaise Zabini raised his hand.

"Yes?" demanded Burns, frowning.

Hermione wondered why the Slytherins were so talkative. They never used to participate in class that much. She looked at Professor Burns. The teacher seemed to have noticed something was strange. Snape, himself, looked perplexed.

"Could you please just describe them?" demanded Zabini.

"Yes!!!" Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode, and Pancy Parkinson asked nearly at the same time.

"No!" Professor Burns responded coldly.

"Please!" Crabbe said.

"I said no!" Burns replied.

"But it's Hallowe'en!" complained Millicent Bulstrode.

"I don't celebrate Hallowe'en," Burns retorted sharply.

"But Hallowe'en is almost as important as Christmas, and--"Goyle added.

"I don't celebrate Christmas either," Burns interrupted with irritation.

"But Christmas is a symbol of joy!" replied Draco.

Was Malfoy really suicidal? What had he planned?

Professor Burns stood up and went to his desk. She leant on it.

"Master Malfoy," she retorted, "do you really want me to share my impressions on Christmas?"

Draco didn't reply. Professor Burns straightened up. She turned back to him and made a few steps towards her desk.

Draco looked at his watch. "No, Professor," he replied, with a defiant voice. "I'd prefer you shared your impressions on Hallowe'en!"

Burns turned back.

"Malfoy!" hissed Snape.

But at that moment, something burst behind the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Hermione gasped. Professor Burns turned back. She blanched.

When Professor Burns saw what was in front of her, all the windows and the glass objects exploded in the class. The students screamed from surprise. Many of them left the room. Draco's snigger disappeared. He looked as terrified as the other students. He escaped with the other Slytherins.

In front of Burns, about two meters away, stood someone who looked exactly like her. However, the person was younger. She was probably in her early twenties, dressed in a bridal gown, covered with blood. There were large gashes on her wrists, splattering blood on her white dress. Her left cheek was marked by a bleeding scar in the shape of a cross. She looked insane. Her eyes were full of tears and she laughed devilishly. Flames surrounded her and singed her bridal robes.

"A Boggart!" Hermione exclaimed. And then, it hit her. That was why Malfoy had spoken about 'the biggest scare of her life.' Of course, Burns wasn't prepared to confront the creature! Malfoy had timed the package to explode at a certain hour and let the Boggart escape.

Hermione cast Snape a quick glance. Maybe he would do something for her? But the Potions master didn't react. He was as livid as Burns and stared at her younger reflection. He looked shocked. So shocked that he let go of his wand.

Professor Burns fell on her knees, her head bent. She breathed hard. She took a little bottle from her robes and drank its contents. Suddenly, she caught fire exactly like her reflection. She laughed as devilishly as the Boggart. Then she stood up slowly. She took her sword out of her robes, made a few steps, and plunged it into the figure before her. The image faded into the air. The Boggart had been destroyed.

Hermione stared at the scene a few meters away, motionless. She looked sometimes at Burns, sometimes at Snape.

Snape realised that the cloak of the real Professor Burns was still on fire. He quickly picked up his wand, uttered a spell, and the fire disappeared.

Professor Burns fell on her knees again. Snape went close to her and knelt beside her. Hermione saw he didn't know how to approach her. He seemed to fear to hurt her.

"Are you all right?" he said finally. His voice quavered. He looked pained and worried.

"Slytherins will always be Slytherins," Professor Burns said after a few minutes. "I guess the lesson is over." She looked exhausted. She snapped her fingers and Disapparated.

Hermione was shocked by what she saw. She didn't know what had happened to Burns at the time, but she understood why the woman had changed that much.

***

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