Spider's Blood

Chapter Three

There was no spider, no monster, no life threatening creature out to keep the students from getting to the banquet on time, but what Harry did see made him stop dead in his dragging tracks so that not even Ron could pull him any further.

It was Neville Longbottom, the awkward looking boy Harry had shared a dormitory with for five years. But Neville looked greatly different when he had his arms around a certain red headed young girl. Even with the dark school robes that matched everyone else, Ginny was still recognizable. Harry wondered if he could pick her out of a crowd without her laming hair. He was sure he could.

Harry's thoughts weighed the situation. Had Ginny fallen and Neville was simply helping her up? Was she cold and he was just trying to keep her warm?

"He sent her an owl over the summer," Ron explained, not knowing what else to do or say as he stood awkwardly at Harry's side. "They're dating now I guess."

Harry felt his turning stomach stop its excited somersaults and dip into numbness. He recognized the feeling from being turned down by Cho Chang, the girl he'd had a crush on before. But this was different, he was sure Ginny liked him...or at least she seemed to be able to pretend very well if she didn't.

"Oh?" he began, trying his hardest to sound unscathed, "why didn't anyone tell me?"

"We...didn't really know how to," Ron replied truthfully.

"Well...good for her," Harry continued bravely, "So...tell me more about Pansy Parkinson being thrown out of school."

Of course the rumors about Pansy were only half true. She had left, yes...but left. Her parents had given her permission to study abroad at Beauxbaton's for the year before returning for her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. In the mean time there was a vacant space in the Slytherin dormitory and, since Hogwarts was a particularly difficult school to be accepted into, there was no point in wasting the vacancy.

That was of course the truth, but no one really bothered to pay attention to it, only kept in the back of theirs minds while listening to wild tales about Pansy. This was the main discussion at the Gryffindor table while the little first year students were being placed under the old and dingy sorting hat.

"So...after she burned it down, Dumbledore threw her out immediately!" George explained to the eager new Gryffindors that joined the long table.

Harry hid his laughter from the wide-eyed children as he glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco was there, looking smug and superior, amongst his fellow hated members of the school. However, Harry saw no sign of the strange black haired girl he had only met a few hours before. If it hadn't been for his friends' confirmations, he would have sworn she were a figment of his imagination. But he knew she wasn't, everyone had seen her too. She had spoken, she had told Draco off, she had smiled and been pleasant, and kept herself a mystery.

"Looking for what's her name again?" Hermione asked, interrupting Harry's wondering thoughts.

"No...just looking around," Harry replied with a defensive sneer that he quickly regretted and began to make up for by being a pleasant conversationalist. "So, Ginny, how long have you and Neville been dating?"

Hermione dropped her fork immediately with a sharp sound in Harry's ears. Ron merely protected his face with his hand from his sister's possibly wicked glare while the other hand held his fork and scrapped the food on his plate. Neville looked at Ginny from across the table, judging her face while she sat and stared at her plate. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but she only took in a deep breath and the color subsided.

"One month in a week," Ginny smiled, raising her eyes to Neville.

"Ron just told me earlier...congratulations...it's good to hear," Harry managed to mutter out as he noted the smile she used to give him nearly everyday.

"I'm glad you think so," Ginny smiled, playing with her uneaten mashed potatoes.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

Harry sat under his usual tree down the path by lake. It was now fall and all the leaves had turned their vibrant color variations and were days away from falling, covering the green grass with their decaying bodies.

Harry leaned his head against the trunk of the sturdy wood at his back, closed his eyes and began to think. The year had not been the best so far. Ginny truly was dating Neville, Ron and Hermione were constantly sneaking away to secluded closets, Snape was being extra greasy during Potions, and his grades overall weren't very impressive. One of the few uplifts was that Professor Lupin had returned as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for this year. They had just finished learning more in depth about unicorns and centaurs earlier that morning. Next Harry was doomed to the dungeons with Snape and his fellow Gryffindors and hated Slytherins. Well, that is all accept Zora.

She hadn't been a dream or an illusion after all. She was real and alive and shared her classes with the Slytherins. Because Zora had missed her first five years of study, she was forced to remain in the back of every classroom and simply absorb the information and rarely participate. However, outside of the classroom, she was rarely seen at all...not at Quidditch Games, walks around the grounds, or even a meal...any meal ever. And when she was seen, she was on her way to class with the Slytherins, who rarely talked to her at all it seemed. Yes it was all very strange and whatnot, but then again who at Hogwarts wasn't a little strange.

Harry continued his gaze towards the lake reflecting the bright blue sky and scattered clouds. His eyes were growing increasingly heavy as he gazed lazily at the clam water. It was hard to imagine all the activity going on under the surface, an entire world he had witnessed first hand his fourth year.

He was now very close to lying down and taking a refreshing nap when a plop and ripple in the lake disrupted his peaceful view. This sudden interference alerted his eyes and his body jerked straight as his heart began to pound against his ribs.

"I always wake you up," Zora laughed as she sat on the grass next to Harry. She leaned back next to him against the tree and looked out to the lake.

Harry eased his startled expression enough to smile and look at her. She was dressed in her Hogwarts robes with a green and gray-stripped scarf around her neck to signify the house she was forced into. The one peculiar thing Harry noticed immediately was she still wore the dark sunglasses she had worn on the Hogwarts Express.

"Eyes bothering you?" Harry inquired.

"Sometimes," she replied, her eyes going to her hands folded in her lap, "but where I live we always wear sunglasses outside," she further explained.

"Yeah, I guess you do," Harry replied, not knowing much about the daily life of American folks.

"Did you know that you have a fan club here? I'm serious...there's one for you and one for Draco, although only the Slytherin girls belong to that one."

"Are you serious?" Harry laughed, it had never occurred to him that he might be popular...least of all worshipped, and what idiotic girl would do the same for Draco?

"Quite serious. Anyways, I had to get my questions about you answered since you wouldn't on the train. Although, finding out you prefer boxers to briefs was a bit too much."

"How do they know that?" Harry asked a little outraged. Was it possible girls had been digging through his clothes while he was away?

"By pretending to know and watching your reaction. So it's really boxers then?" Zora asked with a bright smile.

It took Harry a full second to register her joke and respond with an embarrassed laugh as his cheeks flushed a red similar to Ron's, but not nearly as scornful.

"Is there really a fan club?" he inquired with a laugh.

"Not exactly, just a lot of people who will talk. But I do think the Slytherin girls worship Draco...he's quite a charmer," she added, looking out to the lake.

"Well, I don't see it," Harry replied. "So..." he began, desperate again to change the subject, "you weren't at breakfast...or lunch...or any other meal since...ever," Harry continued his inquiry.

Zora scoffed and replied, "Tutoring...tutoring...and more tutoring. I didn't know there was so much to learn. You've all had six years; I've had six weeks. And if McGonagall tries to call me up to the front of the class and make me turn that damn turtle into a teapot again I think I'll shoot myself."

"The trick is to imagine what the turtle would look like as a teapot before you do it," Harry said, trying to sound helpful.

"You tell me that after I got a grade on it! The good news is I'm up to third year level they say...so that's good right?"

"I suppose it is," Harry said as he remembered his Divinations class and the 'Buckbeak' incident. Third year was significantly difficult, but productive nonetheless. He reasoned it was a good level to be at after only six weeks, "So are you always in class?"

"Pretty much...I do the regular sixth year classes and take notes...then I go to a few other in between...ya know, basics? I just dropped my first and second year courses, thank God! Do you know the strange looks you get when you're a full head and shoulders taller than the rest of the class?"

"So when will you be strictly sixth year?"

"Around Christmas Snape says," Zora replied with a sigh.

"Oh, you get tutored by Snape as well? What fun that must be," Harry smiled.

"Oh yes! He's bad enough during class...is he always that stuck up?"

"Umm...pretty much, a true Slytherin at heart."

"Oh! Don't even get me started on them! I think they've actually started a hate club against me!"

"What'd you do?"

"Nothing! I didn't do a thing! God, I don't think hell can be much worse than this!" Zora exploded.

"It's not all bad...just different," Harry replied defensively. Although Zora was against the Slytherins it didn't excuse her from putting down his home.

"I suppose you're right...do you ever get homesick?" Zora asked with a twinge in her voice that to Harry resembled some sort of loss or wanting.

"You have to have a home you're not sick of first for that...are you homesick yet?"

"Same problem," Zora smiled. "So, I'll see you in the dungeons, fifteen minutes? I'll be the one outside of the circle of snot nosed greenies."

Zora laughed at her own joke for a moment before standing and turning back towards the castle. Harry watched her trot off, her scarf blowing frantically in the cool breeze. He turned back to the lake with a smile and continued his relaxing gaze until the absolute last minute possible before the humiliation of the day began.

"Wolfsbane...powdered root of asphodel...and five drops of spiders blood...no more, Longbottom...we don't want another explosion on our hands, do we?" Snape said as he paced between the aisles of bubbling cauldrons.

Neville's hands shook as he held the small vile of blood in his hands. Hermione was kind enough to be his partner for the year and all in the class recognized and appreciated her sacrifice. She smiled calmly as she took the vile from his nervous hands and dropped in the blood while Snape was examining Draco's cauldron.

Harry sighed as Ron shoved the vile into Harry's hand and backed as far away as possible without knocking someone over.

"Ron...it's spider's blood...they're dead," Harry sighed.

"Just to be sure, I don't want anything to do with it...blood, liver, legs...nothing!" Ron replied with a stern, almost frightened, face.

Harry nodded his head and rolled his eyes as he dropped in the blood. "Put in the root," he said as he corked the bottle and carefully placed it aside. The potion turned from its green composure to bright silver and began to smell like a mixture of sausage and blood.

"Is that what it's supposed to look like?" Ron inquired as he studied the mixture.

"I'm not sure, we've never made this before," Harry replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What does it do?"

"Not a clue...but don't drink it until we know if it'll kill you or not."

"Potter! Stop jabbering and get to work!" Snape hissed loudly as he passed.

"Did you put in the root?" Harry asked as he tried to ignore his professor's remarks.

"Not yet," Ron replied as he sprinkled the powder into the cauldron. It turned to a thick purple and slowly faded back to silver.

"Good enough for me," Ron said as he continued studying it.

Crash sounded from the table behind Harry and Ron, making both jump a little along with the rest of the class. They quickly turned to find Neville and Hermione were quickly mopping up what remained of their spider's blood.

"What in the name of all that is holy are you doing, Longbottom," Snape hissed as he clicked his way over to their table.

"I'm sorry, Professor, it slipped from my hands," Neville explained as he scrubbed the stone floor, Hermione on her hands and knees next to him.

They watched as the remainder of the blood began to rise and form into tiny black forms that crawled into the cracks of the floor. Harry saw out of the corner of his eye, a panicky Ron seat himself on the table and sit next to their burning cauldron and raise his legs as high as he could until the tiny black spiders had disappeared.

"My God, Longbottom, I believe you truly are completely useless!" Snape continued on as Neville and Hermione rose to their feet.

"Maybe if you wouldn't yell at him constantly, his hands wouldn't shake and he wouldn't drop things," a voice sounded from the back of the dungeon.

Snape whipped around to face the rest of the classroom, his cape fluttering behind him. He peered at each student as he spoke, "Who said that?"

A girl with long black hair and piercing eyes stood from her spot in the back where she had been reading a summary on the affects of Wolfsbane instead of participating in the experiment.

"I did," Zora said proudly, her head high and unashamed.

Snape merely looked at her, he was probably astonished someone had answered him. He judged her for a moment, his eyes shifting indecisively, before continuing, "See me after class, Ms. Birk."

The entire class whipped back and stared at Zora's piercing eyes as they starred at Snape's. Neither moved for a long moment until finally Snape whipped his long cape behind him and continued to the front of the classroom, leaving the students to themselves for the remainder of the hour.

There were quite a few quiet mutterings from the Slytherin half of the dungeon. Harry stepped a little closer to the edge of his workplace to hear only a few spotted words including "stupid", "points", "losing", and "randy"...which he was sure got in the mix by mistake.

"Maybe we should wait for her," Harry suggested as he and Ron exited the dungeon, just a few steps behind Hermione. "She did take up for Neville and all."

"No...she talked back to a professor! If we associate her, he might hold it against us and give us bad marks as well," Hermione replied.

"Hermione, he's already against us...what's one more person on our side?"

"Fine, fine!" she burst out, "we'll wait. But we can't be late for the banquet tonight!"

"Geez, is it Halloween already?" Harry said with a surprised look on his face.

"Yes, of course! Honestly, Harry where is your head lately?" Hermione replied.

"Shh!" Ron hissed quietly.

Harry turned to find his best friend's red head practically attached to the large wooden door of the classroom.

"I can almost hear what they're saying," he explained as he strained to listen more closely.

Hermione and Harry quickly and quietly walked over to the smooth wooden door and pressed their own ears against it.

"I don't hear anything," Hermione whispered after a moment.

"Cause he's torturing her with silence..." Ron commented.

"Ron...let me stand on your back," Harry commanded as he gazed at the small iron barred window just above their heads.

"Why not I stand on your back?" Ron asked.

"Cause he can see your hair a Quidditch field away in the fog," Harry explained as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not Hermione then?" Ron pestered, peering at Harry's size.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not getting myself expelled this year!" Hermione said as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking equally defiant as poised.

"That's why," Harry smiled.

Ron let out a frustrated sigh and got down on his hands and knees, letting Harry stand on his back. Ron's knees and hands felt the cold stone beneath them and the weight on his back surprised him.

"Geez, Harry! What've you been eating?" Ron burst out a little louder than he had intended.

"Shh!" Harry and Hermione hissed at once.

Harry strained up and could just barely see into the window.

The room was filled with smoke from the steaming caldrons and the smell of sausage invaded Harry's nostrils, making his stomach growl as he remember the banquet that night. He felt a solemn relief that his cauldron wasn't the only one that smelled and looked that particular way. Zora was leaning against a table, her arms folded. She looked almost bored... reminding him very much of Draco as she stared at the floor. Snape was at his desk, scratching away very harshly at some parchment with his quill. They stood in their spots for a very long time, neither looking at each other or make any attempt at speech. Zora began to pick at her nails and chew her lip as she continued staring at the hard stone floor.

Suddenly Snape stopped mid scratch and looked up at her.

"Ms. Birk," he began, his voice booming in the hollow dungeon, "I don't appreciate your behavior in my class."

"And I...professor, do not appreciate yours either," Zora said very calmly, not taking her eyes from the floor.

"What's going on," Hermione pestered at Harry's waist.

"Shh!" he replied, waving a hand at her to be quiet.

"This is my class...my pupils...and I will treat them as I see just without your interrupting," Snape replied angrily, putting forth an effort to control his temper.

"And I will defend anyone from whatever bullies they have here in your class...because that's what you are...just a bully! You stalk over everyone's every Gryffindor's every move and still manage to ignore each and every miscalculation, faulty ingredient, and...dare I say...I counted five explosions so far this year from the Slytherin side alone! You glare at each and every mistake from Gryffindor and turn your back at the Slytherins'. It isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, child!" Snape raised his voice, becoming agitated at the student.

"Really? I didn't know that! Bottom line, professor, is that I don't care who any of you are, I won't keep quiet and I won't fade into the background. If you insist on picking on my friends, that's your superiority complex, not mine. But if I see you do it...I will speak out. You of all people should know that by now."

Snape stood there, starring at her. Not moving or speaking. Harry had a horrible feeling that he was about to turn her into something dreadful with only a few words and a flick of his wand, set on the desk before him. Harry would have to be a witness to it. But he didn't see a thing, Snape just sat there...starring.

"Now," Zora began, "if we're finished here...there's a banquet tonight and I don't want to miss it."

"We're finished," Snape replied quietly.

Zora turned on her heel and stalked loudly towards the door.

"She's coming!" Harry let out as he jumped off Ron's back. Ron fell to his stomach before Harry and Hermione could finally scramble him to his feet.

The door creaked open and Zora walked out, the smell of sausage became stronger with the breeze from the opened door.

"Oh!" she said surprised to see them, "I didn't expect you to be here."

"We waited for you," Hermione said quickly.

Zora peered at Ron's flushed face and heavy breathing.

"Is he alright?" Zora asked Hermione.

"Oh...Ron! He's fine. Been running up and down the stairs. Boys...no telling what they'll do next!" Hermione continued, holding Ron up by the arm.

Zora studied Ron with her deep eyes before erasing the look from her face and spreading a smile.

"Thanks for waiting for me," she smiled brightly, her pearly teeth gleaming pleasantly.

"Oh, it was nothing," Hermione replied, "right Harry?"

But Harry was a million miles away, processing his new thoughts. He swore he had just seen a student say one or two extremely rude things to a professor in a way he had never seen before and she lived to tell the tale. Not only that, but she hadn't been reprimanded in any way. No detention, no essays, nothing! And Snape of all people had allowed this! It wasn't possible...something very strange was going on and the Gryffindor hidden inside Harry was begging him to find out.

"So...what do you have to do?" Harry said very shortly and suddenly.

"Oh...scrub the cauldrons from now until the end of next week," Zora replied with a short laugh.

"Wow! That seems like a lot for only one outburst," Harry replied, studying her eyes closely.

"Well, you know Snape...doesn't take rebellion too lightly," Zora laughed, her eyes shifting a little...obviously nervous about something.

"No...he doesn't," Harry replied, not breaking his glare on Zora. What was she hiding?

"Well, the banquet's starting soon," Hermione broke in, "better start moving."

"Ladies first," Harry continued to glare at Zora, who was now avoiding his eyes.

Zora quickly moved in front of the group and made her way up the stairs, barley going slow enough to wait for the rest of them. She disappeared around a sharp corner not far from the dungeons while the trio continued to their common room, Harry explaining what he saw along the way.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Hermione pestered again as she piled a helping of pumpkin pudding onto her plate.

"I'm telling you...she was two seconds from telling him to kiss a dementor," Harry replied, pushing his food around with his fork. Even with all the wonderful things to eat around him, Harry wasn't in the mood for the big feast.

"Maybe that's what they do in America," Ron suggested as he set his goblet full of pumpkin juice down on the table.

"Tell their teachers to go screw themselves? I don't think anyone does that without being expelled," Hermione replied, shaking her bushy hair around her head.

"No, there's a reason. Maybe she's got something on them that no one knows about," Harry suggested, pouring a glass of pumpkin juice into his goblet.

"What...like blackmail? On Snape?" Ron asked.

"Not just Snape...maybe all of them," Harry went on, pondering out loud as he occasionally did.

"Dumbledore too? What could any of them have done that is so bad they take beatings from a sixteen year old girl?"

"Well...what do we really know about her? That Pansy Parkinson happened to take a year in France to study, then they bring in a girl from America to practice advanced magic without any training...that's all we really know. She could be anyone really...anything," Hermione interjected as Harry starred at his plate, deep in thought.

"You two are getting all worked up over nothing," Ron finally chimed in, as he shook his shaggy red head from side to side. "Dumbledore would never agree to anything like that...there's no way!"

"Maybe he doesn't know about it," Harry suggested, thinking out loud again. "Maybe Snape's the one keeping her safe...she said 'you of all people should know by now,' what did that mean anyway?"