Spider's Blood

Chapter Ten

"Then tell me who can! I can't give her to him. You now the prophecy...I can't let him do this...I just can't," she said as the tears flowed freely from her eyes.

Severus wanted to hold her and comfort her, but part of him wouldn't allow it. She had turned on him, abandoned him for power. She was suffering now for it, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve it. At least she had realized what was going on, what was happening to her, and what her future held; such realizations were oblivious to her mind years before.

"We must go to Dumbledore immediately," Severus replied awkwardly.

"So...what happened?" Harry asked Zora in a faint whisper.

Zora remained in her spot next to the window, staring at the paintings or the floor or at the tables, but never at Harry as the story went on.

"Dumbledore hid her...in this room actually, and she gave birth to the girl," Zora replied shortly.

"Did Voldemort...kill her?" Harry asked.

"No one knows for sure, but people don't just disappear without dying do they?" Zora replied coldly.

"I suppose not...so, the baby...it was you, wasn't it?" Harry said.

"You're a genius, Harry," Zora laughed, a layer of sarcasm deep in her throat. "Yes, yes...I am the devil child created to come and wreak havoc over the world and bring about your destruction."

"But...you're not trying to kill me right now...and Snape's got you, he never did."

"After I was born, Severus took me to an orphanage in America...he figured if the ex-best friend of the mother of 'the girl' showed up to teach with none other than a baby girl that it would set off suspicion. When I was there I was...not well liked. I had all these powers from when I was so young...how many people do you know could make their teacher go bald when they got angry...when you're five? I was...feared...and I liked it...that's the part of him in me. But then no one wanted to play with me or talk to me at all, no one wanted anything to do with me. I was alone a lot and when I got that letter, it all made sense. I thought something normal was going to happen for a change. But no, I found out not only am I different from Muggles, I'm different from wizards too. I've got a past and a future that I don't want any part of."

"What do you mean your future?"

"There's a prophecy, Harry," Zora said with a patient sigh. "You will destroy Voldemort, and his offspring will eventually destroy you. For the past six years, Severus has been trying to get the school to accept me, but the Ministry didn't want me in. They thought it would be better to just leave me without training because if I don't have the training I can't take the steps set out for me. But when Voldemort came to power, they panicked. He's been searching for me and they thought it better to train me here and risk having me go with him anyway or staying with Dumbledore and use me against him somehow."

"You're not going with him are you?" Harry asked, still not quite sure if this girl was the same he had made friends with or was the actually being she was created to be.

"No...I couldn't do that, I know too much to do that," Zora replied.

"So...this is why you turned the way you did in Potions class?" Harry asked curiously, thinking on all the strange observances he and his friends had made over the year.

"Of course, I was born evil...that makes nearly everything about me evil, including my personality. I can't help that, it's how I was made - it's my nature."

"And...Halloween night? That was you in the hallway wasn't it?" Harry asked as he thought of his slashed arm.

"Halloween?" Zora asked as she studied Harry. "I was...in my bedroom after the banquet. I remember I slept most of the night through."

"But you said you were studying with Draco," Harry commented.

"We were," Zora replied with finality.

She was darting around details, Harry could see that plainly. She knew more than she was letting on and wouldn't tell him, so Harry chose not to pester further.

"So...you're not a vampire then?" Harry asked with a laugh, desperate to lighten the air around them.

"A what? Is that what you three thought of me? A vampire!"

"Well...the whole not eating thing...and the blood missing...and seeing you stalk around at night...and the sunglasses..."

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty suspicious. I really was studying at the time...training mostly, I don't sleep that much, I don't know why - it's a natural thing, and the sunglasses I have to wear because that's where my center is, my eyes. They're very sensitive. If too much sunlight gets to them, I can't control it, and there's no telling what'll happen...the sunglasses help till I'm strong enough to control it on my own."

"So...you didn't steal the blood?"

"God, I could never do that! I'm such a chicken!"

"You're not a chicken, you stood up to Snape in front of the whole class...it took guts," Harry assured her.

"Yeah, but who wouldn't take a hit at him if they knew they couldn't get in trouble?" Zora smiled.

"You have a point," Harry chuckled.

"We pick on each other constantly, it's not a big deal...but in public he gets a little moody about it, I was angry with him the night before so...I just did it on a whim. Plus, I felt sorry for poor Neville, does he always have so much trouble?"

"Yes, actually he does...except when it comes to girls I suppose," Harry added with just a hint of bitterness.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Oh...nothing, don't worry about it."

"Ginny, right? You like her a lot don't you? Don't worry, she likes you too...but, there may be other things affecting her choices, I wouldn't take it personally. All I can say is...just keep things as they are for a while, things will work out."

"How do you know?"

"I have the dark curse, dear Harry, and everything that goes with it," Zora replied with a smile.

Harry smiled and nodded his head. She really wasn't the creature he thought at all. She was what her first impressions told him: a kind girl and a dear friend. He pondered for a moment how he was going to explain everything to Hermione and Ron without telling her secrets.

"Don't worry about the other two," Zora replied to his thoughts, "they will discover something that I'm sure will avert her attention away from the 'vampire' scenario. They will be too busy investigating Ginny's attack I'm sure to worry about little ole me. And by the way, she's feeling fine and thinking of you."

Harry stepped closer and sat next to Zora at the window. He had been standing away from her, the shock of her sorties on his mind forcing him at bay, but now she was saying something he needed to hear and he couldn't resist.

"How...what's she thinking?" Harry asked as he settled on the cold floor.

"She's worried...you should send her an owl. It doesn't have to be anything romantic, just ask her how she's feeling and that sort of thing."

"You're powers let you do all this...read minds...see the future and things like that?"

"It's all I can do...I only have dark power, things that are banned or difficult come naturally to me. The downfall is without it I can't do a thing...not even a simple Wingardium Leviosa will work. And don't even get me started on DADA...it's like a rat using poison on itself."

"Well, I guess you have to take it and control it the best you can," Harry said, trying to be helpful.

"It's getting late," Zora smiled, "Better get to bed...ah! Bed! I haven't really slept in almost three weeks!"

Harry smiled as he pressed his hands against the stone floor and pushed himself up. As he began to stand, a sharp pain dug into his palm, forcing him to withdraw his hand and sit back down.

"Ouch!" He and Zora both rang in unison.

Harry looked over at her in surprise as he looked to her own hand she was holding in front of her face.

"You cut yourself too?" she asked as she looked over to his hand.

Harry looked and saw a stream of blood sliding across his palm and then he looked over to her stream at the tip of her finger.

"Yeah, glass," he replied as he eyed a few pieces under the windowsill.

"I'm so sorry...I thought I got it all. I can heal it of you like," she added helpfully.

"I won't...burst into flames or anything, right?" Harry asked a little nervous.

"They're small," she smiled, "I can do small cuts pretty good."

Harry rested his hand in his lap and allowed her to take it in her own. She closed her eyes and touched the tip of his cut with her bleeding finger. A small white light exited her cut and she carefully dragged her finger across his palm, the cut sealing at it went. Harry looked in awe as she healed both wounds at the same time.

Suddenly, a pang of heat surrounded his palm and a pain Harry could not remember ever feeling before entered his whole body. Harry looked down and saw a bolt of red light was now oozing from Zora's finger. Harry raised his eyes to Zora's face and saw she was as equally surprised as he was. Her face was tinted red against the light, but he could tell she was becoming paler and paler and she too watched her finger.

Just as quickly as the pain and light had come, they departed. Harry looked at Zora and judged her. What was she doing to him? Did she mean for that to happen? But she was just as shocked as he, sitting in the cold dark and staring at her hands.

"Does that usually happen?" Harry muttered out finally.

"No, I don't know what just happened," she replied with complete honesty in her eyes. "Our cuts touched," Zora went on. "Maybe you're not supposed to do that...or only heal one at a time," Zora added with an assuring smile.

Harry nodded his head and peered at his palm. The blood was gone but a shiny scar nearly glowed in the candlelight.

"That's odd," Zora commented as she looked at his palm and then to her finger. "I'm sorry, I don't usually leave scars."

"It's alright," Harry smiled, easing her expression. "What's one more?" he added as he rubbed his forehead.

Harry lie in his bed, staring at his canopy as it seemed he always did when unable to sleep or reluctant to leave bed. How had he managed to fall asleep at all? He remembered not feeling tired at all as he came to bed from his night with Zora but fell immediately into his dream world. He was reminded that it was Christmas morning, but felt no joy in that he would have no one to share it with. There was no Ron snoring in the bed next to his and no Hermione rushing in and waking them to open presents. There was nothing but a dead silence, making Harry want to roll over and fall back to sleep.

After about an hour or two of silence and tossing around, Harry finally decided to leave his bed and go to his lonely Christmas morning.

Harry slowly walked from his bed and to the common room. A great green tree stood not far from the roaring fireplace. Despite Harry's lonely heart, the sight made him smile and feel comforted. He kneeled next to the fire and peered at his presents, neatly piled in one corner. Harry guessed from the ample space around the rest of the tree, the remainder of the Gryffindor house staying over the holidays had already collected their share of presents.

Harry excitedly picked up the top present of his stack and tore it open, a box of brownies from Mrs. Weasley wrapped in a newly knit red sweater with a golden Gryffindor lion on the front. Next came a box of a dozen creepy crawling chocolate spiders from the twins. Harry felt obliged to dive into the treats and had eaten three before he reached the next gift. It was a camera from both Ron and Hermione with special film that moved when developed. Harry guessed that the two had done their shopping together and was not offended by the joint gift; it was obviously an expensive one from what his eyes could judge.

Harry looked further at his pile and saw another small box. It was a shiny red paper with white ribbon, the identical wrapping of his birthday gift from earlier in the year. He guessed immediately that it must be from Ginny. Harry smiled brightly as he carefully tore off the paper and opened the box. Just below the lid lay a small bottle and a carefully folded yellow piece of parchment. Harry unfolded it as he realized it was indeed from Ginny.

"Dear Harry,

Greetings from everyone at the Burrow. We all miss you and wish you were here for the holiday. Hope you're enjoying your time off. As for the bottle with this, it's a potion I whipped up for you. It's very hard to make, so use it wisely. When the time is right, it will help you decide in a situation when you must. I know you were thinking about what you want to do with your life after Hogwarts and I was hoping this would help.

Sincerely,

Ginny

PS - Don't mention the potion to anyone, it's not exactly something mum wanted me brewing up if you know what I mean."

Harry read the paper several more times. He imagined Ginny sitting at her desk as the potion was brewing next to her. Harry noticed her careful writing differed from that of her Herbology notes she would study in the common room. She had been careful and precise in her penmanship and tone.

Then there was the post script message. Harry got the sinking feeling that Ginny might have dabbed into some advanced magic or even dark if need be to make such a potion as this. Harry felt a stab of pride as he thought of Ginny looking through all those mysterious books to find the exact potion to brew especially for him with rare ingredients she needed to hunt for and an especially difficult brewing method. Harry shook his head and the thoughts that he was special and different in the eyes of Ginny; it was probably a potion she had learned in her fourth or fifth year...it wasn't a big deal.

Harry closed his fingers over the fragile bottle of dark purple elixir and slid it into his pocket, reasoning he would find a more secure and permanent space for it some time later. He grazed his eyes over the carefully written letter and placed it too into his pocket next to the bottle.

He peered around the room to be sure he did not miss any gifts from his friends before stacking his gifts carefully and bringing the up to his bed. After stowing away his new sweater and other gifts carefully into his trunk and placed his candies and brownies on his night table, Harry found the room around him unpleasantly quiet and deserted. The feeling of loneliness that had momentarily been eased by the holiday had returned.

Harry lay back on his bed and gazed once again to his canopy, thinking about the previous night. About everything Zora had told him.

"Well, that was a bit confusing," Harry thought to himself. "Zora was born from a girl...who had a pregnancy spell cast on her...by the Dark Lord? And now...she's got dark powers, which she can't really control yet, and she and a boy like her are destined to kill me somehow... I suppose it's possible," he concluded. "But not very likely to happen again I hope."

However, his mind was set at ease with the fact that the intimidating creature stalking the halls late at night was only Zora...there was no vampire or evil demon loose in the castle. Although...she did deny being out on Halloween. If it wasn't her, then what was that thing following him in the halls? What had slashed his arm? What was it that had stolen the blood on Halloween night?

Harry pushed his thoughts aside, it was no good to dwell on them when the answers were hidden from his realizations. Instead, he turned to his night table and opened the small drawer. Inside, he placed the yellow parchment with Ginny's delicate handwriting scratched into it. He held the small purple tinted bottle in his hand, he thought of Ginny's note and the power he was holding. He returned the bottle to his pant pocket where it would remain each day until it was finally used.

He looked to his night table and saw a stack of parchment held underneath the brownies Mrs. Weasley had sent him. He reached over to the stack and dug through his bag momentarily for a quill and ink well. He thought of Ginny's care in her letter and set out to equal her own style.

"Dear Ginny,

Thank you so much for the gift, it's very thoughtful of you and I know I will use it wisely. I hope your Christmas is going well and that you are having a good time, tell the family I say hello. I wanted to write sooner, but could not find the time, and ask how you are feeling. Since you made this potion, I would think you are doing much better than the last time we spoke. Enjoy the rest of your holiday and I look forward to seeing you all again.

Harry"

Harry read over the letter several more times. Would she notice that he wasn't always this formal and unemotional when he was writing letters? Before Harry had another urge to rip up the letter and re-write another filled with secrets and emotions, he quickly tied the letter with a blue ribbon and sent it off with Hedwig straight to the Burrow.