Harry Potter and the Dementors Unleashed: Harry's Sixth Year

     "OH MY GOODNESS!" screamed Hermione. "You can't be serious, this can't be happening, - "

     "It is," said Harry weakly. "Detentions with Snape for a month."

     Hermione sat down, her head in her hands. "Oh, no, a detention, this cannot be possible...."

     "Well, we were late for his class, and he's Snape, what do you expect?"

     They were sitting in the library, discussing the Potions class Harry and Ron had just endured. Harry, trying not to think about his and Snape's argument, had not told either Ron or Hermione about it. Hermione had Jinxes and Counterjinxes: A Guide for Those Who Don't Pay Attention in her lap, opened so that the Let-Down Jinx showed. There were two very sad looking men that kept performing the spell on each other. One of them suddenly burst into violent, racking sobs and Hermione snapped the book shut. Ron sat there, not saying anything. He seemed to think he could not offer them sympathy or join in the conversation; he alone had not been assigned detention of any kind. Harry felt miserable. He had no idea how he could manage gettting to Snape's and Professor McGonagall's detentions on time.

     Ernie Macmillan suddenly walked by their section. Spotting them, he turned and headed for their table, looking extremely suprised, and not in a good way, to see Harry and Ron.

     "Hermione, what are you doing sitting with this pair? Didn't they make you cry? Come with me, I can help you with the Let-Down Jinx," he offered casually. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

     "Neither of them made me cry, Ernie, so - "

     "So if you don't mind we would like to finish our conversation!" Ron exclaimed, standing. Hermione, rather than looking grateful for their interruptions, looked indignant.

     "Exactly what I was going to say!" Harry said furiously. Ernie took a step back but tried to look just as confident.

     "Everyone knows you did something, there's no need to lie about it!"

     "They've not done anything, Ernie, if you must know it was my boyfr - "

     "Yeah, like I'm going to believe that, really Hermione, they can make up - "

     "Let me talk!" Hermione shouted, and they all jumped. "Ernie, if you don't stop falsely accusing Harry and Ron, I am going to have to let them loose on you. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

     Ernie looked taken aback, then mumbled a feeble, "I'm not afraid of them."

     Hermione opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Madame Pince, the librarian.

     "OUT! OUT! NO SHOUTING! PEOPLE ARE WORKING! OUT!"

     They snatched up their books and hurried outside. Ernie followed them.

     "So - you and him - didn't write that letter?" he asked Ron, looking sort of embarassed. Hermione rolled her eyes.

     "That's what I've been telling you," she answered exasperatedly. "Er, Harry, by the way, what was the potion you learned?"

     Harry rolled his eyes, knowing Hermione would be angry that she had missed something else important. "The Draught of Living Death."

     Hermione acted exactly as Harry had predicted: she dropped her books in suprise, then blamed Ron for getting them kicked out of the library.

     "Oh, no, I have to learn it - I'm sure it will come up in the exams!" she said fretfully. Ernie looked at her hopefully.

     "I would love to help you out with that, Hermione, I've got some notes on it - "

     "Oh, would you, Ernie? It would be absolutely wonderful - "

     "Don't mention it," replied Ernie, waving his hand casually as he opened his bag. "Now, do you want to go study in private? Oh, I'm sure they won't mind," he added, looking Harry and Ron up and down. Harry of course didn't mind much; he did not like Ernie's attitude but had been worried that Hermione would have expected them to recount exactly how the potion was made. Ron, however, definitely minded, and very much so, it appeared.

     "I think me and Harry can help her fine, Ernie, thanks, - "

     "Really?" asked Enie bemusedly. "Where are your notes on it, let's compare them, shall we?"

     Ron's ears went red. Harry knew he had taken no such notes of any kind and Ernie knew it too. Linking arms with Hermione (much to Ron's anger and disgust), he strode off.

     "Bye Harry, Ron, see you later!" she called over her shoulder. As soon as they rounded the corner, Ron took off in the opposite direction, headed straight for Gryfffindor Tower. Harry stood there for a moment, stunned, then followed right behind him. It didn't matter that Ron had a head start, because Harry could hear him running about forty feet ahead of him. He rounded the corner, seeing the portrait of the Fat Lady shut, then ran up to her.

     "Furrinata!" he exclaimed, wanting to see what Ron was up to, but the Fat Lady didn't move.

     "The password's changed, m'dear," she said, and Harry blinked.

     "But you let Ron in," he said, folding his arms rather childishly. The Fat Lady raised an eyebrow.

     "'Ron' must have known the password."

     "Listen, can you just tell me, and I swear I won't say a word - "

     "No password, no entry," she said firmly. Harry sighed, but at that very moment the portrait door opened and out came -

     Absolutely no one. Harry stared, waiting for Ron. It appeared that the Common Room was empty.

     Suddenly, a hand appeared out of nowhere and dragged Harry around the corner. Harry instinctively reached for his wand and pointed it at the person who had grabbed him. His heart almost stopped when he saw who it was, and he had to stuff a fist in his mouth to keep from screaming. Ron's head was floating in midair, looking frightened beyond belief at the wand in Harry's hand. Harry slowly lowered it, and Ron cracked a mischievious smile.

     "Harry, I know what Ernie's up to. I say we spy on them!" Ron whispered excitedly, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak and holding it so that it looked like he had no left arm. Harry, clutching his chest, shook his head.

     "Imagine if Hermione found out, Ron. She would kill us. Whatever her and Ernie - do - it's none of our business - "

     "When have we ever not meddled in things that weren't our business?" asked Ron, his eyes flashing. "Listen, I always go on your adventures, now it's my turn. How often does this kind of opportunity come around, Harry?"

     "Well, I dunno Ron, don't you think - "

     But Ron had a manic glint in his eye, and as he had Harry's prized posession, given to him by his father, Harry had no choice but to follow him.

     They walked down the corridor, Ron so tall that he had to hunch over so that the Cloak didn't fall off. They stopped in the middle of an intersection. Ron looked at Harry uneasily.

     "What?" asked Harry, stopping in his tracks. Ron heaved a sigh.

     "Look, I'll stay right here, but you go up to the Common Room. I honestly have no idea where they went, so we're going to - "

     "You need the map, right?"

     "Yeah, I think they went to the library, but . . .. "

     Harry sighed. "Okay, but stay here, alright? You keep the cloak, and I'll be right back."

     Ron nodded and sat down, pulling the cloak over him like a blanket, and Harry bolted back to the Common Room just in time to see Euan Abercrombie lighting some Filibuster Fireworks in the Great Hall. Darting up the hallway, he stopped in front of the Fat Lady. He could not believe he had forgotten to ask Ron for the password again. He heaved a sigh and stared at her.

     "Please just tell me the password, you know I'm in Gryffindor, it won't hurt anyone, just tell me," pleaded Harry. The Fat Lady glared down at him. He stared at her determinedly.

     "I'm afraid I can't do that, dear boy, you will have to - "

    But once again Harry's problem was solved as she swung open and Ginny came out, talking over her shoulder to one of her friends. Harry could only assume it was her current boyfriend, because Dean Thomas' voice answered back lovingly.

     "I'll see you later, then, Ginny," he said, and Ginny turned around to see Harry standing there, staring at her.

     "Oh, hi," she laughed, beaming at him. "Er - what are you doing?"

     "Waiting for someone to tell me the password."

     "Mireppersi, but it won't last long. People keep forgetting it because they can't pronounce it."

     "Mireppersi!" Harry shouted triumphantly at the Fat Lady, and she swung open the door huffliy. Harry crawled through to see Dean Thomas sitting at a table with no shirt on and lipstick all around his mouth. He went red when he saw Harry.

     "Oh, hi," he said, hurriedly putting on his shirt, his face going the color of a beet. "I'll go now," he said, and darted out the portait hole, his shirt only halfway on. He wasn't wearing any shoes, either, and Harry waited for his inevitably coming back throught the portrait hole. He did, his face so red one could mistake it for a strawberry, then ran back out. Harry rolled his eyes and climbed the staircase that led to the boys' dormitory. Suddenly he stopped. There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach that he could not explain. He rubbed his stomach, surely he would not feel this way . . . for when he had seen Ginny grinning at him, answering to Dean so casually, he had wished - for one second - that it were he who was covered in Ginny's crimson lipstick - but, surely, that - well, that was unsensible. He didn't like Ginny, he couldn't - they had only just last year started actually being friends . . . . Rubbing his stomach distractedly, he made his way to his trunk. He was distracted by a tinny whistling coming from his trunk. Opening it, he pulled out his Pocket Sneakoscope that Ron had given him what seemed like many years ago. It balanced on his palm, whistling and spinning. A voice from behind Harry made him jump out of his skin, dropping the Sneakoscope.

     "It's been doing that for an hour now," Neville whined from his bed. "Can't you turn it off?"

     Harry turned to look at him. The Sneakoscope had landed on the ground, balancing, still whistling.

     "No, but - how long have you been in here?"

     "Since - " Neville checked his watch, "two hours ago. That's when Professor Sprout let us out. What about you?"

     "Oh," said Harry casually, "you know, studying at the library, that sort of thing." Harry dug through his trunk, looking for the map. He found it under his winter cloak. "Well, bye Neville, I'll see you later, and - I think I'll take this with me, sorry," he said, snatching up the Sneakoscope. He waved at Neville then darted down the stairs to see Colin Creevey.

     "Hey Colin," he said nervously. Colin ignored him. "Er - why aren't you speaking to me?"

     Colin did not look at him. "Why did you make Hermione cry like that? She passed me in the hall right after you sent her that letter. She was real upset."

     "That wasn't my fault!" Harry said indignantly. ""It was Krum! He broke up with her!"

     Colin's head swiveled around. "You mean you didn't do it?" he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

     "No!" Harry repeated, and Colin jumped up, grinning.

     "I told Ernie it wasn't your fault! I'm really sorry I was so mean to you!" Harry beamed. Then he looked at his watch. He had spent twenty minutes in Gryffindor Tower.

     "Gotta go, Colin!" he yelled over his shoulder, swinging the portrait open so violently that it bounced back off the wall and the Fat Lady's cursing followed him until he had rounded the corner. Ron was ahead, leaning against the wall impatiently. Harry called to him and he whirled around.

     "Took you long enough," Ron said as Harry handed him the map. Ron stared at it. "Er - how does it work again?"

     Pulling out his wand, Harry snatched the Map out of Ron's hands.

     "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Harry said monotonously, and a map of Hogwarts appeared as he tapped the parchment with his wand. His eyes roved over the paper, looking for Ernie. He found him.

     "It says he's in the Hufflepuff Common Room," said Ron blankly, looking over Harry's shoulder. "But Hermione is nowhere near him. She's - " his eyes alit with with dawning horror, "she's right next to us! Go, hurry, run!" Ron urged, pulling Harry into a broom closet. Almost as soon as they shut the door, they heard Hermione, apparently in a rage, storm past their hididng place, muttering to herself furiously.

     "How dare he try to kiss me! That disgusting, rude - ugh - urgh!" They heard her stop almost directly outside their hiding spot and Harry heard Ron stop breathing next to him. Hermione took a deep breath, then strode quietly back to the Common Room. Ron swung open the door, speechless.

     "I - I cannot believe - of all the things - "

     Harry shook his head. They started back toward Gryffindor Tower, Ron still stuttering incoherently.

     "Ron, I refuse to let you tell Hermione about this. If she ever finds out - "

     "Yeah, yeah," replied Ron. "Mirrepersi, come on, open up." The Fat Lady swung the door open, glowering at Harry, and they walked in together to see Hermione, apparently confiding in Ginny.

     "So then he asks me if I need his help stirring the cauldron, right? And I tell him no, I've got it. Then he says I'm doing it wrong and grabs my hand, and for a second I don't say anything but then he leans in to kiss me, kiss ME, Ginny! And I pulled away and he says - "

     She stopped in mid-sentence, apparently noticing Ron. "What do you want?" she snapped, and Ron clenched his teeth.

     "I was going to tell you that this is a stupid idea. I knew you shouldn't have gone anywhere with Ernie. Did you not see the way he was looking at you? Or are you just pretending to be mad - "

     "I can't believe you can say such a thing," Hermione hissed, so venemously that Ron actually took a step back. "You of all people should know I have no intentions of ever, ever being more than Ernie's friend, especially since I just got over - after - after what - what happened," and she pulled out a tissue and blew her nose loudly. Ginny put a comforting arm around her shoulder and shooed them away. Harry, however, stayed.

     "Hermione, we've detentions with Snape, don't you remember?" Hermione looked up, her face blotchy. She blew her nose again and stood, leaving Ron with Ginny and shooting him a dirty look as they exited the Common Room.

     "Oh, what a perfect way to end the first day back," muttered Hermione, dabbing at her eyes, as they climbed down the stairs leading to the dungeons. "Detentions with Snape for a month."

     "Yep," said Harry gloomily. He swung open the door to Snape's classroom cautiously to see Snape poring over something on his desk. When he noticed them he looked up.

     "You're late," he said, staring at them.

     "Sorry," Harry said, not meaning it at all. Snape walked over to them.

     "I'm sure you will be. You can come with me now," he snapped, and they strode out the door. Harry started to get worried. What awful thing would Snape make them do?

     "Tomorrow we are making a very difficult potion," Snape said, swinging open a door to what looked like an empty classroom, except there was a large barrel in the center. Harry felt a sense of foreboding.

     "Your wands?" he asked, not really giving them a choice because he had his hand held out to accept them. Harry did not much feel like handing his wand to Snape. He didn't trust him at all.

     "What are you going to do with them?" he asked suspiciously, and Snape sneered.

     "The task I am assigning you is a hands-on project. You won't need any wands." Harry's worry increased. He looked over at Hermione, and she gave the tiniest of nods. He pulled out his wand. Snape looked as though he were thoroughly enjoying the situation. He pocketed their wands.

     "As I was saying, tomorrow we are making a very difficult potion. I am going to need those puffskeins de-bladdered. You may leave when you are completely finished. Come to my office to retrieve your wands." And with that, he swung open the dungeon door and strode out, his cloak swishing away into the darkness.

     Harry sighed and sat down at a stool. The puffskeins croaked and wriggled around inside the barrel, looking at Harry with pleading eyes. He stared at them. He didn't realize they were still alive; de-bladdering them dead was bad enough, but when they were alive. . . and how was he, Harry, to know about de-bladdering anything at all? He had never done it before, how was he to know what to do? He looked over at Hermione for support to find that she wasn't there. She was standing with her ear at the door, listening hard. She turned to Harry.

     "I can't tell if he's gone yet," she whispered, and Harry dug around in his pocket. The Marauder's Map was still there, along with the Sneakoscope. Hermione rushed over to him eagerly.

    "Oh, you have the map? Excellent!" He handed it over with a feeling of glee as he realised he had not wiped it clean. "Now, Snape is in his office, and no one's by the door so I think I can do it!"

    "Do what?" Harry asked, not for the first time feeling frustrated with Hermione and her unexplained ideas.

     "Wandless magic! Only really advanced wizards or witches could do it, because it takes brains and skills. You also have to free your mind, which is why we never use it in the midst of battle because you can't free your mind with Lord Voldemort standing right next to you. Now," she said, with the air of a teacher talkng to a student, "the spell we have to use is obviously the Louggretas Spell, so - "

     "What's a Louggretas Spell?" he asked, eyebow raised.

     "Weren't you listening in Charms? It's a good thing Seamus gave me his notes then, I suppose. Didn't you hear Professor Flitwick mention it at all?"

     Harry sighed. He was glad to have Hermione around but Harry felt a little left out when she brought up things she had learned from one of the many books that she had read. He rolled up his sleeves.

     "Now," she started, also rolling up her sleeves, "free your mind." She closed her eyes and raised her face to the ceiling. Harry stared.

     "What do you - do, exactly?"

     "Just clear your mind and think of nothing but the incantation: louggretas, louggretas . . . " Her voice trailed off.

     Ok, Harry could do this. Shaking his head to clear it of everything, he took a deep breath and thought monotonously, 'Louggretas, lougrettas, lougrettas...' he was hearing noises from inside the cauldron, squeals of pain, but he had to keep chanting . . . more noises, then silence. He opened hs eyes cautiously. He had done a spell without his wand! The puffskeins lay motionless in the cauldron, and their bladders lay on the floor in a heap.

     Hermione clapped and jumped up and down. "We did it! We did it! This is the most advanced of magic . . . I personally have no idea how we could have even managed to have successfully cut them open . . . " She stared at the puffskeins. "Well, I think this is deserving of a self-congratulatory evening's sleep, don't you think?"

     Harry beamed. "Hear, hear!"

     "Come on, we just left Snape alone with our wands for twenty minutes, no imagining what he's done to them," Hermione said rather grimly, and she walked across the room and swung open the door. Harry followed suit.

     "Erm, do - do we just leave them lying there, or - " He stopped, looking uncertainly at the puffskeins. Hermione frowned.

     "Well, he can't expect us to clean them up, as he didn't give us water or anything, so - yes, I suppose we just leave them there." She looked at them awkwardly, then turned around and left. Harry followed her down the hall to Snape's office, slipping the map back into his pocket.