Revelation

REVELATION

CHAPTER FIVE-THE SECOND KILL

"Would you like me to take care of any headaches you might have?" he laughed.

My breathing began sawing in and out

"What's wrong?" Harry asked alarmed.

"Run," I replied.

"What?"

"RUN!"

I grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him.

We began running down the corridor. A blast of blue light nearly missed my head as we turned the corner. It had ricocheted off the wall.

"What on earth was that?" Harry yelled as we skidded around another corridor's corner.

"Remember the ghost with part of a missing skull?"

"Yeah?"

"WELL HE'S AFTER US,"

"I thought he wanted help!" Harry cried.

"Apparently not," I replied as I grabbed Harry and yanked him into a closet. I closed the door and locked it.

I backed away from it still breathing rapidly.

"Um, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes?"

"Ghosts can go through walls,"

"Not if an Anerit Charm is put on the door," I replied and pulled out my wand. "ANERIT!"

Anerit Charms were put on houses back in the medieval times to ward off evil spirits.

"That should do it," I replied as I leaned against the wall and slumped down against it, bringing my knees up to my chest.

Harry sat down beside me. "How long do we have to wait in here?"

"Just for a few minutes until I'm sure the ghost is gone," I replied.

"So...has Victor written to you lately?" Harry asked casually, but I caught a hint of jealously in his voice.

I pretended not to notice.

"No. Actually, I told him I wasn't interested anymore and that we should remain friends," I said toying with the hem of my gray skirt.

"Really?" Harry asked clearing his throat. "How come?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. It just wasn't working out,"

He was silent for a moment.

"How do you reckon we get rid of that ghost? Or find out how to help him?"

"I don't know that either," I said. "This is all new to me."

Just then, I heard something outside the door.

"Shh," I whispered.

We sat, huddled together listening sharply. Just then, the closet door burst open. I screamed.

"It's just me!" Ron's voice cried.

My breathing returned to normal as Harry and I got to our feet.

"How'd you find us in here?" I asked casually as we stepped out of the closet.

"I could hear you talking as I passed," Ron asked looking from me to Harry with a raised eyebrow. "What were you two doing in there?"

Knowing that Ron wouldn't believe us about the ghosts, I had to come up with an idea.

"We were planning on doing a surprise for you! Thank God you didn't overhear anything!" Harry said quickly.

Ron looked satisfied.

I looked around. There was no sign of the ghost.

"Come on. We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts now," Ron said.

We followed him to the classroom.

Professor Solaris looked up at us and smiled as we entered her classroom.

"Good Morning," she said brightly.

"Morning," I said as Harry, Ron and I took our seats.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle snickered at us as we passed them.

I was sitting on the end of the table in the aisle. Harry was next to me, Ron on his right.

"Today we'll be learning the Gelermon Charm," Professor Solaris said smiling. "Now this charm was used during the medieval times to destroy evil and those that thought evil spirits walked among them. Knowing that it was hard to see the actual spirit, they used to twirl once in a circle and then say the charm."

"This might just be what we're looking for," I whispered to Harry.

"It might work. Worth a shot," he replied.

"Worth a shot for what?" Ron asked.

"Erm, to ward off Malfoy," Harry said thinking quickly.

Ron laughed. "I doubt it. He needs something stronger,"

"Raise your wands and say, "Gelermon!"" Professor Solaris said.

"Gelermon!" the class chorused together.

Just then, the windows in the classroom blew out. Several girls screamed. The room felt like an earthquake was happening.

"What on earth..." Professor Solaris said looking terrified.

Several of the students looked terrified as well. Alex was sitting behind Ron, Harry and I.

A loud wailing began rising up. Students clamped their hands over their ears. So did I.

"WHAT IS THAT?" Ron shouted over the wailing.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Harry shouted back.

Finally, after several moments, it stopped. The wailing and the rumbling of the room. Everyone was looking at each other stunned.

"Okay...remain calm everyone. It's over," Professor Solaris said calmly but she looked spooked as well.

Over by the entranceway to the classroom, I saw Malfoy. He had blood soaked robes, his throat was torn, and it looked like part of his arm was chewed.

For a fleeting moment, it looked as though Professor Solaris could see him too.

I nudged Harry.

"I see Malfoy over by the entranceway to the classroom," I whispered leaning close.

"Is he wounded or anything?" Harry asked.

I nodded.

"Okay. We'll wait and see what happens next," he said.

I nodded again.

Shortly the bell rang ending Defense Against the Dark Arts. I gathered my things and went to leave the classroom, when Professor Solaris looked up.

"Miss Granger? May I speak to you for a moment?" she asked gently.

Not knowing what I could've possibly done wrong, I swallowed.

"Sure,"

"We'll wait for you outside," Ron said as he and Harry left the classroom. Harry gave me a small wink before leaving.

I approached Professor Solaris' desk and hugged my book bag to my chest with my arms wrapped tightly around it.

"You wanted to speak to me, Professor?" I asked tentatively.

"Relax, Miss Granger. You aren't in trouble," she said smiling pleasantly.

She reminded me of Professor Sprout but with a different and kinder, calmer personality.

I relaxed.

"I assume you saw Mr. Malfoy in the entranceway when he was sitting in his seat as well?" she asked.

I looked at her stunned. She did see him!

"Yes Professor," I said still shocked.

"And I heard about your accident earlier with the lake. You see, the same thing happened to me when I was your age. I was in a terrible Muggle car accident. The doctors thought I was a goner and didn't have long to live. One night, they told me my heart monitor flat lined. They tried to revive me for 15 minutes with no luck...then, I came back. They were baffled and couldn't understand what had just happened. So I began seeing spirits too. They asked me for help. I can guess you have been seeing spirits as well?"

I nodded. A feeling of relief and suspicion flooded over me. Was she pulling my leg?

"I assure you, I'm not pulling your leg," Professor Solaris said, as if reading my mind. She was smiling. She rolled up the sleeve of her robe and exposed a large scar that went from the bottom of her elbow to almost her wrist.

"My arm had gone through the window and the glass had cut several arteries," she explained rolling her sleeve down again. "It took 33 stitches to fix that, plus I had a few internal injuries."

I nodded now feeling better that someone else could see spirits as well.

"Did you tell your friends?" she asked.

"Just Harry. Ron doesn't believe me," I muttered.

"Ah. That's understandable. But give him some time. He'll come around. Don't worry," Professor Solaris said. "If you need help or need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thank you Professor," I said gratefully and left her classroom.

I met up with Ron and Harry and we began walking to Transfiguration.

"What did Professor Solaris want?" Ron asked.

"Oh...just to tell me I did a good job on the charm today," I replied glancing sideways at Harry.

He cottoned on.

"She could've told you in front of us!" Ron said scandalized. "That's not exactly secretive."

I just shrugged.

We arrived at Transfiguration class. Malfoy and Alex had excused themselves to use the restroom.

"What's wrong with Malfoy?" Amy asked Crabbe.

I've never heard her speak to a Slytherin before. She appeared to be terrified of them and here she was asking Goyle where Malfoy was. I was amazed. She certainly was courageous.

"He went to the bathroom, you Mudblood," Goyle said snickering.

Amy was muggleborn? I had no idea. How did Goyle know?

Apparently, everyone else was stunned as well.

"How do you know I'm muggleborn?" Amy demanded angrily.

"My father has a way of knowing these things," Goyle snickered.

"Meaning what?" Amy demanded raged.

"Meaning that you are dirty and disgusting," Crabbe chimed in.

"Leave her alone," Ron snapped at them.

"Shut up, Weasel," Crabbe grinned.

Malfoy hadn't returned 20 minutes later.

"All of you...knock it off!" Professor McGonagall scolded irritably. "Mr. Goyle. Go and find Mr. Malfoy."

Amy was sitting in front of us. She looked like she was on the verge of tears and like she wanted to strangle Goyle.

Goyle got up and gave Amy a light shove before leaving the classroom.

"Ten points from Slytherin," Professor McGonagall snapped.

I leaned forward and gently tapped Amy on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I get that all the time," I said gently.

"How do you stand it?" Amy asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"I don't. I hate it. But we take it from where it comes from...spoiled, rich gits," I replied.

Amy still looked upset.

"Hey, how about you sit with us today at lunch?" Ron offered hoping to cheer her up a bit.

"Okay," she said sniffling. "I've heard of Harry Potter. My mom was talking about him. It's an honor to meet you."

She seemed to cheer up immensely.

Harry seemed flattered. "Thanks. You'd be more than welcomed to hang out with us as well,"

She beamed.

Just then, Goyle came back into the classroom looking pale and sick. He had blood all over the front of his robe.

"Mr. Goyle! What happened? Are you alright?" Professor McGonagall demanded rushing over to him.

"M-Malfoy...hallway..." he stammered.

Everyone stood up and headed out into the hallway. I skidded to a halt.

Malfoy was sitting on the floor, his back pressed against the wall and his legs stretched out. His throat had been torn, he had long deep scratch marks on his chest and his arm looked as though it had been eaten.

Amy looked like she was about to faint if Ron hadn't caught her.

"Go get the Headmaster," Professor McGonagall said to Dean.

He hurried down the corridor.

Alex appeared beside me.

I glanced at him. He had a red liquid in the corner of his mouth.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "There's blood in the corner of your mouth."

"Oh. I accidentally bit my lip," he replied quickly wiping it with the sleeve of his robe.

I just nodded.

Professor Dumbledore arrived shortly and had everyone go to their common rooms. There was a killer on the loose.

Amy sat with us in front of the fire place next to Harry. Ron was sitting next to me.

"You know, I wonder if it's a Boggart," Ron mused.

"Don't be stupid, Ron. Boggarts don't kill. They just scare," I said scornfully rolling my eyes.

"Maybe this is a rogue one," Ron argued back.

"Maybe," Harry said quickly, obviously wanting to change the subject.

"It just seems odd that no one sees what's killing, just the smell," Ron continued.

"Yeah. I'm sure Dumbledore will find out what's going on," Amy said.

"So, what does your dad do?" Harry asked Amy brightly forcing Ron to change the subject finally.

"Oh. He's in shoe repair," Amy said blushing. "We don't really have a lot of money."

Ron looked at her sympathetically. He knew where she was coming from.

"My grandmother lent me money to get books and stuff," Amy continued.

"My dad works in the Ministry of Magic," Ron said gently. "He works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts."

Amy beamed. "Really? That must be so cool to have a dad working in the Ministry,"

Ron blushed and shrugged.

"He's a bit Muggle obsessed though,"

"That's cool! I'd love to tell your dad all about Muggles," Amy said grinning. "I have lots of Muggle stuff at home...a stereo, a Sony Playstation and a CD player."

"He'd love her!" Harry said laughing.

"Maybe you can come over?" Ron asked. "You can meet him and tell him all about that."

"Really? You're inviting me to your house?" Amy said stunned.

"Yeah. Harry and Hermione might spend the holiday there too," Ron said.

"Great!"

Amy was absolutely thrilled and excited. We continued to talk.

Classes were once again suspended for that day until we found out what happened to Malfoy. There were two murders now and no one knew how they happened.

We all went to bed curious, scared and tired. During the night, Amy woke me up to say she had to use the restroom but was scared to go alone because of what happened with Malfoy.

I tossed off my covers and walked with her out of the dorm and through the portrait entrance.

On the way back, I just happened to glance down one of the particularly dark corridors and saw glowing red eyes. I grabbed Amy's hand.

"What is it?" Amy asked frightenedly as she stared at those glowing red eyes.

"I don't know. It's not the house ghosts I know that. They can't do that," I said terrified.

My heart began pounding. I got a whiff of the horrible smell.

The next thing I knew, it began coming closer.

"RUN!" I screamed.

Amy and I tore down the corridor and it was close behind.