Harry Potter and the Dream of Fate

Chapter Ten

*Expulsions*

"...and I will not tolerate any misbehaviors," Snape added, "by anyone," He finished his annual speech, and he made sure to give Harry a loathing stare while he said 'anyone'. However, Harry was simply not paying attention. Potions was the farthest thing in his mind right now. All he was thinking about was explanations to questions, questions that concerned a certain someone sitting right beside him. A certain someone who was drawing little owls in her notebook.

"Misbehavior such as this, Ms. Blair," Persephone snapped up and saw Snape towering in front of her. "I am sorry to say I do not see the fascination in owls, however, I'm sure you can tell me what it is in detention,"

"I, uh, really want an owl," she responded, tucking the notebook away under her desk. "So, you see, I told you, now I don't need detention," she smiled up at him.

"I suppose you don't," Snape muttered, "10 points deducted from Gryffindor for acting up!" he said this and smiled deeply, then turned back to the class. Persephone mumbled something under her breath that sounded like 'loser'.

"I suppose most of you have already heard of something called 'Polyjuice Potion', some more than others," he glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "and for those who have, you realize that it is a very complicated and tedious potion to perform. Its purpose is to change the drinker into the person, or animal," at this Hermione blushed profoundly, "desired. We do not have enough time, nor ingredients to perform this potion; however, we will be experimenting with similar potions. Today we will be concocting the Vociferous Potion."

A whole lot of ooh's and aah's swept through the dungeons, but quickly ceased as Snape opened his mouth to continue.

"The purpose of this potion, to change your voice into the voice of another. Since we are using merely samples, the change will last for only a few minutes, then your original voice will be restored. The ingredients," everyone took out their parchments and was ready to write, "Unicorn Hair, asphodel, and the leaves of a Sassafras plant. And of course, something belonging to the person you are trying to imitate. In this case, one strand of hair will do." Everyone began shuffling about, but Snape raised his hand to indicate silence.

"Remember this, for it is extremely important. Unless you want to be expelled from this school, I suggest you remember this. The Unicorn Hair is added absolutely last, after every single ingredient is dissolved. If you add the Unicorn Hair before any ingredient, even second to last, your potion, along with your closest surroundings will explode, and I will be left with a very ugly mess to clean." he stole an ugly look at Neville, "You will be sorted to pairs, Blair with Granger, Malfoy with Parkinson, Potter with Finnigan, Weasley with Longbottom," Ron let out a very loud groan, "and Goyle with Crabbe." with that he smiled and sat at his table. "You may begin."

Everyone changed seats, and went to sit with their partners. Harry wasn't too unhappy, Seamus was okay at potions, and anyone beat Malfoy. However, he was hoping to work with Persephone, he really wanted to ask her about the scar, and it seemed as though now would be perfect. But his chance was lost, since he had to move almost across the room to meet Seamus. Working with Seamus was fair, after a while of chopping and adding and stirring, their potion turned a pale blue, such as the book said. Harry looked over to Hermione and Persephone, who were giggling, and of course, their potion was perfect. But Ron looked most uncomfortable. It must have been to work with Neville. He looked very frustrated, and Neville, very, well, determined.

"Neville," Ron began, trying to be patient, "maybe I should take care of this,"

"No, Ron, I am going to turn a new leaf, Snape will see I'm not the screw up he thinks I am!" Neville said, adding the asphodel to the cauldron.

"But Neville, if we get this wrong, we're expelled," Ron was sweating bullets, trying to control Neville's very sudden, and odd moves.

"It's perfect, Ron, don't worry, here we go, there goes the Unicorn Hair," Neville dropped the silvery white strands of hair into the potion. However, instead of turning pale blue, the potion turned a murky brown. Ron stared into it, puzzled.

"Hey Neville, this looks wrong," he looked around the desk and spotted the Sassafras leaves piled on Neville's books, "Because it is wrong!" he shouted and shoved him and Neville under the desk. A sudden explosion took place, and when they got up most of the Slytherins around them were covered in a thick black goop. As well as his books, and the desks, and the once pewter cauldron was now a melted bit of gunk sticking to the top of the charcoal desk. Ron gulped hard.

In no time at all, Snape glided to their spot, yelled something at them, (Ron couldn't hear him due to the harsh pounding in his ears,) and took both of them roughly and led them out of the room. The last thing he said, that both of them heard very clearly was, "No one is to try any of their potion until I return, if one voice is heard in this dungeon, the one responsible for it will be in more trouble than they could ever imagine!"

Snape left the room, and quickly taking advantage of the situation, Malfoy decided to be himself. He took a small vile off Snape's desk, scooped up some of his potion, and drank it. After a while, he coughed a bit, then he spoke, with Hermione's voice.

"Hello everyone," he mocked, "I'm a filthy little Mudblood, ooh, I'm so scared! It seems as though my boyfriend Weasel, has decided to leave school early!" Everyone laughed and Hermione turned a bright scarlet.

"How is that possible? You don't have a strand of my hair!" she shouted at him, her face like a cherry between two thick layers of hair.

"Well, I have to know the answer to this question, since I'm a nosy know-it-all I suppose. Hmm, let's see..." Malfoy tapped his index finger against his chin and squinted to make it look like he was thinking. Harry had had enough. He got out of his seat, wand clenched in his hands, and walked over to Malfoy.

"You cut it out, Malfoy," he spat, rage running through his veins.

"Oh, please don't hurt me, Harr, Harr, " Malfoy couldn't finish his sentence since his potion was wearing out, and he couldn't stop coughing. Once he regained a steady breath he smiled. "I suppose I am back to being me, well, that's all well, being a Mudblood is degrading, especially to me." Hermione sandwiched herself between Harry and Malfoy.

"Harry, don't. If Snape comes back you'll be in a lot of trouble, he's not worth it," Hermione pleaded with Harry, trying to break his eye contact with Malfoy. "And Malfoy," she hissed at him, utter hate in her eyes, "how did you get a strand of my hair!" Malfoy smiled his sneer smile.

"You're shedding, Mudblood, you really should watch out where," he laughed haughtily and Harry stepped forward, but was blocked by Hermione.

"Harry. Let's. Go." she said to him, but was too late, Snape had already returned.

"I heard voices," he said merrily, as if it was his birthday, "of Granger, Potter, and Malfoy," he said 'Malfoy' rather softly, as not to rub it in. Hermione looked as if she had been petrified, and Harry was just muttering "damn" in his brain. Malfoy, however, looked fine. "Potter," Snape began, "I do believe this means expulsion.."

"No!" A voice cried from the other end of the room. Snape pivoted to see who it was.

"Blair, do you have anything to add to this? Perhaps, you have broken the rules as well?"

"Yes," she said slowly and stared him in the eyes, "you see, Malfoy drank his potion and spoke in Hermione's voice, that's why Hermione got up, she didn't understand why," she said.

"Is this true, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape questioned. Malfoy was about to lie, but thought twice. He would be in even more trouble, and he didn't want to regard himself as a liar.

"Yes," he replied genuinely, " I spoke in Hermione's voice."

"Granger, sit." Was all Snape could manage, he didn't let people slipping away. But Persephone wasn't going to leave it at that.

"And Harry's innocent too," she said, now a bit of perspiration collecting on her forehead. But she casually wiped it away so her nervousness wouldn't be known. "I was the one who was talking, I spoke using my potion, using Harry's voice."

Harry looked at her shocked. All expressions cleared his face and he was left looking dumbfounded. Snape managed a twisted smile. "You?" he said sarcastically, "then why, may I ask, are you all the way over there, and Potter here?"

She gulped. She glanced around trying not to look too suspicious, and fortunately her chair was directly opposite the door. "I kept watch," she said, her voice a bit higher than normal, "I wanted to make sure you weren't coming. Harry was up there because Malfoy was taunting Hermione and he didn't like it. But he got up there like 2 seconds ago, Professor, he didn't have a chance to do anything."

"She's lying!" Draco shouted pointing a finger at her, "she's lying, Professor, that girl's a liar!"

"Is that so? How can you prove to us that you're telling the truth, Blair?"

"My potion," she said flatly, "here, see, this is the vile I used." Truthfully, she was holding a vile with a small blue ring around the bottom.

"Drink it." Snape commanded, walking towards her.

"What?" she said, he couldn't be serious.

"Drink it, drink your potion and speak, if you sound like Potter, you and everyone else is innocent, if you lie," Snape chuckled, "both you and Potter are expelled."She choked out what sounded like 'ok' and took a bit more potion out of their cauldron. Hermione turned even more pale, if that's possible, because she knew that they had put a strand of Ron's hair in the potion, not Harry's.

"Oh please," she mumbled to the potion before taking it, "please let me sound like Harry," she took it in, in one gulp, like a shot. She had a fit of coughs and then caught her breath.

"Speak," Snape ordered and she opened her mouth.

* * * * * * * * * *

"That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed as he, Harry, Hermione, and Persephone walked to the common room. "You put in a sample of my hair, yet you sounded exactly like Harry? How did you do it!"

"Um," Persephone said, trying to explain her success, "I didn't drink the potion, first off, and I guess I really wished that I would sound like Harry,"

"You should have seen Snape's face when she sounded exactly like me!" Harry said exited, "He was practically gaping at her, trying to take away points or detention or something,"

"But she did get detention," Hermione reminded them, "you know, for being too ambitious and questioning the authority of a teacher."

"He made that up, I swear!" Persephone said, "So now I have to spend my first Saturday night here, pickling eyes and adding preserves to body parts, ugh, it's so gross!"

They walked to the common room to start on their homework. Hermione had Arithmancy, Ron and Harry divination, and Persephone, an extra essay for potions. They all scribbled down answers and sentences and in Persephone's case, essays for an hour and a half. Then Collin Creevey decided to make an appearance.

"Hullo, Harry!" he said excitedly as he sat with them, "You must be the new student, what's your name again, uh.." he tried to read her name off her homework, "Percyfone?" Persephone stared at him hard.

"No, " she said calmly, "Persephone, you pronounce it, Per-sef-oh-knee."

"Oh, sorry about that!" Collin said smiling, "I have to be going though, see you later Harry!"

"Later, Collin," Harry said dully, "sorry about him," he said to Persephone, "he's a bit eccentric,"

"No problem," she said, "Hey Hermione, how do you calm a werewolf?"

(Okay, I did that bit just so all of you would know how to properly pronounce Persephone's name, I just realized that some people may have a problem with it, and I don't want anyone calling her "Percyfone" 'cause her name becomes a bit important in the future, and it only makes sense to say it right, ^^)

* * * * * * * * * *

Harry wanted to dream again. He wanted to be whisked off on his broom and to hear her voice again. And sure enough her heard it. But something was wrong. He wasn't dreaming.

"I waited till I saw the sun,

I don't know why I didn't come,

I left you by the house of fun,

Don't know why I didn't come,

Don't know why I didn't come..

When I saw the break of day,

Wish that I could fly away,

Standing near the endless sand,

Catching teardrops in my hand,

My heart is drenched in white,

If you'll be on my mind,

for

ever.

I will the cross the endless sea,

I would die in ecstasy,

But I'll be a bag of bones,

Driving down the road alone,

My heart is drenched in white,

If you'll be on my mind,

for

ever...."

Harry jumped out of his four poster, and flew down the stairs. When he reached the landing he walked slowly, as not to scare away whomever was singing. He hid behind a couch and glanced toward the flaming fire. Persephone was sitting down there tossing bits of parchment in the fire and watching the flames rise and fall.

"Something has to make you run,

Don't know why I didn't come,

I,

Feel as empty as a drum,

Don't know why I didn't come,

I,

Don't know why I didn't come..."

He breathed in deeply and took it in. No way it could be her voice. He glanced around her and surely enough he saw a small tape player next to her feet, emitting the wonderful music. But her mouth was moving and her head nodding. "She's lip-syncing," he thought, and decided to confront her.

"Persephone," he breathed behind her. She jumped and quickly shut off the player.

"Harry," she said surprised, "what are you doing here?"

"I believe the question is what you're doing here, you woke me, well the music did anyway,"

"Oh," she said tapping her foot, "I had it down low, I don't know, I couldn't sleep, so I listened to music. You didn't hear me singing did you?"

"Singing? I thought you were lip-syncing. I.."

"Yes," she said pointing at him, "that was exactly what I was doing, that's why I asked you if you heard me singing, cause I wasn't," she laughed nervously.

"Right," Harry said, wishing he could take the tape, the voice was exactly like the one in his dream. "Who sings that?"

"Norah Jones," she answered, "she's got a lovely voice, much better than mine,"

"You sing?"

"No," she responded idly, she then removed herself from in front of the fire place and sat in one of the couches.

"So you are up because.."

"Because I have this scar.." she quickly stopped herself, "scarred conscience, I feel horrible for lying like that,"

"Lying about Malfoy?" he said eyeing her and taking a seat as well. Then he remembered about her scar, perfect moment to ask her, "Persephone?"

"Yeah,"

"I saw something today I need to ask you about," he began.

"What is it?"

"You have something on your neck, there, behind your hair, I believe it's a scar,"

"Oh," she said rubbing the exact spot, "yeah,"

"Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know," she said, "I've had it my whole life, but I don't remember how, and now it,"

"What?"

"It burns," she said thickly, as if it was something she's been dying to tell someone.

"You have a lot to learn about," he said to her, somehow feeling sympathy for her. She had no idea how she may have gotten it. And as preposterous as it sounds, deep down, Harry did know how she got it, it must have been no one other than Voldemort.

"You should get to bed, it's late, we've got more classes and everything,"

"Right," she said and gathered her things and went upstairs, "Good night, Harry"

"Goodnight," he said and he made it a point to tell her everything she needed to know about the danger that may have even destroyed her life.