Revelation

REVELATION

CHAPTER EIGHT-RON'S APOLOGY

We sat in Professor Dumbledore's office. Amy was pale white and shaking. Harry had to comfort her. Crabbe and Goyle's bodies were taken to Madam Pomfrey.

"You didn't see anything?" Professor Dumbledore asked gently.

The three of us shook our heads.

"We just heard a yell and glass breaking," Amy said shakily.

"Professor Snape? Please give Miss Davis an Iluminus Potion for her nerves," Professor Dumbledore said kindly.

Professor Snape had been standing in the back of Dumbledore's office along with Professor McGonagall.

Professor Snape nodded and backed out of the office.

"I want to end this," I said miserably. "How do I make the ghosts go away?"

Professor Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm afraid not," he said slowly. "But the best thing to do is try and help them. Maybe then they will go away."

"How can I help them when this ghost wanted to kill me?" I asked stunned.

"I know it's hard. Right now we've got to find out what's killing my students," Professor Dumbledore said quietly. "Parents are going to be worried and so is the Ministry."

"All I saw was glowing red eyes," I replied.

Professor Snape returned with the potion and Amy took a few sips. After a while she seemed to calm down.

"I want you three to go to classes and act like the others," Professor Dumbledore said. "We don't want anyone knowing that you were the ones who found Crabbe and Goyle as more suspicions would go around."

We nodded and left his office.

Our first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Professor Solaris seemed a bit more cheerful, but every once and a while a students would lean close to one another and whisper.

"No doubt figuring that she killed Pansy even though Dumbledore told them what happened," Harry said bitterly.

"We really don't know the whole story. Neither does Professor Solaris herself," I said reasonably.

"Why are you so quick to blame her?" Harry demanded.

"And why are you so quick to stick up for her?" I retorted back.

"Because I seriously doubt a teacher would willingly hurt a student," he replied.

"Riiight. So I guess Professor Quirrel would've loved to have tea in a lovely garden followed by white fluffy bunnies with bows," I snorted.

"You know dam well he wasn't acting on his own will," Harry replied narrowing his eyes.

"I know that time was different. This time, there is more solid evidence! Tell me. How in the world could someone kill Pansy and Professor Solaris just happened to be walking along the corridor? And how'd they plant blood on her?" I demanded.

Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry. We shouldn't be arguing. We really need to pull together and find out what's killing the students,"

"Oh no...I may have forgiven you a little faster than what I would've liked. This time, buster, it's really going to take some time," I said.

Harry looked at me tremulously. "That's okay,"

"We need more evidence," I said rubbing my hands together.

"What are you suggesting?" Harry asked tilting his head.

"I say we hide in a closet and watch to see if we see this thing in the corridor," I said turning to him.

Harry's lip twitched. "And what if it sees us?"

"I doubt it very much. Let's do it tonight," I said.

Harry nodded.

We told Amy what we were up to. She had wanted to come along and help, but we told her it was too dangerous and that we would need her later on.

So, after our classes and dinner, we found a closet in the corridor and then waited.

I made the key hole big enough so we could clearly see put into the corridor.

Harry was sitting on an over turned bucket.

Harry let out a snort.

"Imagine they pronounce this 'boo-ket?'"

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly,"

Then Harry got a hold of a mop. "Doesn't this sort of look like Malfoy's Dad? Dingy, and dirty? Not to mention the long hair,"

At that, I managed to laugh.

Suddenly, I heard something in the corridor and put a finger to my lips to silence him.

I crouched down and peered out of the key hole. Harry got up off the bucket and crouched down beside me.

We both watched. A figure appeared with red hair.

"It's Ron," I whispered stunned.

"What on earth is he doing out at this hour?" Harry whispered beside me.

"I doubt the same thing we're doing," I muttered.

Harry smothered a snort.

Suddenly, Ron looked up at something.

"Oh hello! What are you doing out in the corridor at this hour?" he asked someone.

"There's someone else in the corridor with him, but I can't see," I said straining to get a glimpse of the person.

I couldn't hear the person, but apparently Ron did because he talked again.

"I know. There are times I can't sleep either but thinking of Quidditch really helps," Ron said smiling.

The person said something else that we couldn't hear and Ron spoke once more.

"Really? I had no idea you liked those," Ron said stunned.

"I wish I had Fred and George's Extendable Ears right about now," Harry muttered.

"I know. We could hear what's going on," I said sighing too.

"I'll see you in class then," Ron said eagerly and turned around to walk away but froze suddenly and had the strangest look on his face...fear.

"Wait a minute. Ron looks terrified," I whispered to Harry and turned my face toward him.

He turned his face toward mine at the same time. I cleared my throat and returned my eye onto the keyhole.

Something dark, hairy and tall suddenly stepped into my line of vision.

I pulled my head back.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"S-something tall, hairy and dark just stepped in front of the key hole," I replied.

RON.

I had my back turned to the person when suddenly I felt something behind me. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and low, steady breathing that was impossible for someone to breathe like that.

I stood, shaking. I also felt a clear liquid dripping onto my shoulder. I raised a hand to my left shoulder and wiped it off. When I looked at it, it was saliva.

I wiped it on my robe and slowly turned around.

I stood, shaking with fear.

HERMIONE.

I could clearly see now. Ron was standing in front of this huge animal or creature. It had glowing red eyes, a long wolfish snout, thin, erect ears that had long fur on the tips and it was over 7 feet tall. It was also covered in long, black hair. The feet looked human, but were stretched out longer and it was standing on the ball of its feet, almost on its toes. It had long claws on its feet and its hand resembled that of a human but was covered in fur as well. The shoulders were broad and wide and the neck of the creature was thick and met the shoulders easily. It had momentarily bent down as we were able to get a good look at it and then it grabbed a hold of Ron's throat with one of its hand like paws and lifted him several inches off the floor.

"This thing has Ron!" I whispered terrified.

Harry got closer to me and also peered out the keyhole. We both could watch what was going on.

"Holy shit," Harry whispered beside me.

"Harry...Hermione...I just want to say I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me," Ron said as his eyes filled with tears. "I should've believed in you all along, Hermione."

The next thing we knew, It opened its jaws and clamped gleaming white canines and incisors around Ron's neck. We heard the sickening crack.

I almost screamed if Harry hadn't clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle it.

I was shaking violently as tears streamed down my cheeks. Harry had pulled me against him.

The creature dropped Ron's body to the floor. Blood began pooling around Ron's shoulders as his head turned toward us. His neck had been broken. It dropped to all fours and clamped its jaws around one of Ron's arms. It tugged the arm violently off and out of its socket. I shut my eyes and struggled not to scream and throw up.

I forced myself to open my eyes. The creature was gone, but Ron's body remained.

Harry took his hand away.

"I think it's safe to go," he replied his voice wobbly and I knew he was just as sick as I was.

I just nodded numbly and carefully unlocked the door. We easily crept out into the corridor. I forced myself not to look at Ron's body. Harry put a hand on my shoulder and we began walking up the corridor, when we suddenly heard a low snarl.

We stopped walking.

I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and the smell was the same as the one I smelt in Gryffindor tower before Neville was killed.

Harry and I slowly turned around.

The creature was standing there and it snarled.

"RUN!" Harry yelled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me.

We began running up the corridor and turned left. The creature followed us on all four, breaking through the corners of the walls as if it were glass.

I looked over my shoulder as we ran. It was galloping fast and gaining on us.

We turned another corridor and bumped into Amy.

"GO BACK TO GRYFFINDOR TOWER!" I yelled.

"Why? What's going on?" she asked confused.

Harry grabbed her arm and we continued running.

We finally reached the common room and the portrait swung closed.

We could hear it outside snarling.

The Fat Lady was screaming as well.

After a while, there was silence.

"What happened?" Amy asked looking from me to Harry.

I was too sick to talk.

"It got Ron," Harry choked out. "There's a creature running around."

"What sort of creature?" Amy asked.

"It looks like a werewolf, but I'm not sure," I said, finally speaking and swallowing down nausea at the same time. "Werewolves don't have glowing red eyes."

"We have to tell Dumbledore in the morning," Harry said. "Right now we need to try and get some sleep."

"I feel less like sleeping now then ever," I replied.

Harry looked at my sympathetically.

Harry, Amy and I sat on the couch.

Shortly, Amy had dozed off.

I curled up next to Harry. Harry draped his arm around me and pulled me against him.

I rested my head on his chest. After a few minutes, I had dozed off not realizing just how tired I was.

The next morning, I awoke to find Harry already awake. Amy was still sleeping. Morning sunshine poured in through one of the tower windows.

We could hear other Gryffindors talking in their dorms and they were getting ready to head down to breakfast.

"Let's go tell Dumbledore before someone..." Harry's voice trailed off.

I nodded feeling sick to my stomach.

"I'll come too," Amy offered kindly.

We began heading to Dumbledore's office.

Professor Dumbledore looked up from a scroll he was reading.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately interpreting our looks.

"Ron's dead," Harry choked out.

Professor Dumbledore stood up behind his desk.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We hid in a closet in the south corridor to see if we could get a glimpse of whatever is killing the students. We saw it. It looks like a werewolf, but yet it didn't. It had glowing red eyes and Ron was talking to someone before this thing appeared," Harry said.

Professor Dumbledore waited for him to go on because I couldn't speak.

"It was over seven feet tall and covered in dark hair. It broke Ron's neck, then," Harry swallowed. "It tore his arm completely off. There should be two bodies in the corridor but we only saw Ron's."

At that moment, my stomach heaved. I bent over and vomited. Harry held my hair back. He looked like he would like to do the same thing.

Amy was rubbing my back.

"Oh dear," Professor Dumbledore said softly. "Amy? Would you please go get Professor Snape to give Miss Granger a Rotnor Potion for her stomach."

Amy nodded eagerly and hurried out of the office.

"Please sit down," Professor Dumbledore said kindly to me as he put a hand on my shoulder and I sat in one of the comfortable chairs in front of his desk.

I was shaking and felt on the verge of barfing again. I hugged myself and was rocking back and forth.

"Hermione saw most of it," Harry explained looking pale. "I only saw bits of it."

"That would explain her reaction," Professor Dumbledore said gently.

A few minutes later, Professor Snape arrived with Amy. He handed me a smoking goblet. I took a sip. It tasted like cherry soda.

Almost immediately, the potion began working on my stomach.

"Feeling better?" Professor Dumbledore asked kindly.

I nodded, taking some more sips of the potion.

"Now, you said you only saw Mr. Weasley's body in the corridor?"

Harry and I nodded.

"What makes you think there should be two?" Dumbledore prodded gently.

"Well he was talking to someone. It sounded like he new the person or recognized him or her," I said frowning. Then, remembered something Ron said.

"Wait...he said something before it attacked him," I said swallowing.

Professor Dumbledore waited patiently.

"He said 'I'll see you in class then'," I replied.

Harry nodded. "That's right. I heard him too,"

Professor Dumbledore frowned. "That could be a student...or teacher,"

Harry and I looked at each other.

Just then, Dean came bursting into the office looking scared and sick.

"What's wrong, Mr. Thomas?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"I-it's Alex. H-he's got blood all over him and his mouth,"