Harry Potter and the Serpent's Eye

Harry Potter and the Serpent's Eye

Chapter 7 -

Harry was woken up barely three hours later when Ron sluggishly called him. Harry would have given his Firebolt for a few more hours sleep as he pulled himself out of bed and changed in to his school robes.

Ron was very groggy and didn't say two words together as the two Gryffindors made their way down to the common room, and, when Hermione wasn't there, down to the Great hall for breakfast.

Harry directed Ron, who was still barely awake, in to the seat next to Hermione and then sat the other side of her.

"You weren't in the common room," he commented with a yawn. It seemed to be a tradition that they met Hermione in the common room and went down to breakfast with her.

"Well, if you had woken up a little earlier... I just got a bit impatient after watching everyone else leave through the portrait hole when there was still no sign of you," Hermione explained briskly with a slight roll of her eyes.

Harry frowned. "We aren't *that* late," he muttered, picking at his meal a little, but leaving most of it.

"I see Ron is still in a world of his own," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow at the redhead, who was currently asleep in his cereal bowl. Harry had the sense to pull him out of it before he drowned. Hermione started to giggle, seeing Ron's face covered in milk.

When he had come back to his senses a moment later, he made Harry and Hermione fall about laughing when he asked why his face felt so wet.

The arrival of owl post cut off their laughter as all three looked up for any sign of post for themselves. Harry did receive a letter. He recognised Genevieve's owl, Marta. The letter, however, was from Sirius, and asked Harry to explain why he had come to talk to him and then run off before telling him anything. He also said that he had told Genevieve about the whole business and she too was curious, not to mention a little worried.

Harry sighed, and put the letter in his bag for safekeeping. He then turned his attention to Hermione and Ron again. He was surprised to see that, not only had Ron obviously woken up, but both he and Hermione were looking at Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Harry asked, frowning. Ron swallowed a little, and Hermione hesitantly passed the paper to Harry. He read.

DEATH EATERS FOUND DEAD IN THEIR CELLS.

The Wizarding World was shocked to find that Peter Pettigrew was not only alive and well, but a Death Eater, and the true betrayer of Lily and James Potter, earlier this year. And shortly after that, the Wizarding community was further appalled to learn that Lucius Malfoy, and two other well-respected wizards, had been Death Eaters as well.

Since that time, all four had been kept in high security cells of Azkaban fortress. But it has been confirmed that all four were found dead in their cells, apparently after having committed suicide.

Harry stared blankly at the page. The rest of the article was detailed accounts of the Death Eater's lives. He put the paper down, and turned to his friends, who both looked rather shell-shocked.

But Harry knew he didn't look at all surprised. He knew none of those Death Eaters were dead. No, they were very much alive. And somehow, Voldemort had arranged all of this. Harry didn't know how the evil snake had done it. But he knew Wormtail, Malfoy, Nott and Avery were all really off somewhere serving Voldemort, and no matter how much he wished it were so, they were definitely not dead.

Throughout the hall there were murmurs and quiet exclamations of surprise. Ron and Hermione were watching Harry carefully, and were both very surprised when he looked nothing more than pensive.

Harry glanced over to the Slytherin table and caught sight of Malfoy making an effort to look shocked and crushed, while Harry could see that he was certainly in on the joke. Every time a sympathetic Slytherin turned away, an evil smirk threatened to cross the blond boy's face.

"Umm, Harry?" Hermione nervously asked.

"What?" Harry asked shortly, still glaring at Malfoy across the hall. Hermione looked anxiously at Ron, who gave her a clueless look in return.

"Uh, are you alright, Harry? I mean - the article-" but she was cut off when Harry interrupted her.

"Yeah, well, let me tell you this: That article is rubbish!" And Harry left his almost untouched breakfast and exited the hall without another word.

Ginny slid in to the seat on the other side of Ron, looking after Harry. "What's going on with him?" she whispered, worriedly.

"We don't know, but we have to find out," Hermione said quietly, her voice full of determination.

"Wonder why he called the article rubbish..." Ron pondered. "He really is acting strangely. I've never known Harry to storm out of a room - err - well, maybe once." Ron frowned at the memory, and bit his lip.

Ginny wore a confused look. "When was that then?"

"Just before the first task last year," Ron muttered uncomfortably. Ginny suddenly seemed to understand and looked a little guilty for bringing up the subject.

"Well, whatever has happened, it's obviously troubling him. Oh, what on earth could it be?" Hermione sighed exasperatedly. Obviously not knowing the answer was bothering her.

"We'll find it," Ginny assured. "We know where to look - the library..." Ron interrupted her.

"Yeah but where do we look in the library? What if it was someone he met there? How would we work that out? If it was something to do with a book - well, then there are billions! How do we know which one he happened to read? I mean - it looks less and less possible to figure out by the minute," Ron finished hopelessly.

Hermione gasped barely a split-second after Ron finished speaking. "Oh! Oh, Ron - you're a genius! C'mon!" And she left the table and hurried out of the hall at a run.

Ron and Ginny didn't know what else to do and followed, trying to catch up as Hermione made a beeline for the library.

*~*~*

Harry let himself cool down as he walked, heading in the general direction of the North Tower, knowing that he would need to be there in roughly half an hour. He didn't really know why the article had bothered him so much - apart from the fact that Voldemort had more puppets to play with. Maybe he was just tired.

He was just passing the Charms corridor when he ran in to the person he wanted to see least in the entire world. Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it, Potter," Malfoy sneered. Harry just rolled his eyes, and brushed past the Slytherin to walk away. "What's the matter, Potter? No insults, no threats? Very disappointing."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry said vehemently, turning back to the blond boy.

"Much better," Malfoy said mockingly. "But you could get in trouble for saying things like that to a student in mourning, you know," he added, giving a pathetic show of looking sad and upset.

"I bet you think it's funny, don't you!" Harry cried. "I bet you think it's all a very good joke! A real laugh. But it isn't, Malfoy. And you might be able to fool some people in to thinking you believe he and the other Death Eaters are dead, like it says in the paper - but I know it's not true, and I bet Dumbledore won't buy it either. You must think this is all a game, but it's not as simple as that. In a game there are two sides. One will win, the other will lose, but in times like these - people are caught in the crossfire..." Harry trailed off, aware that Malfoy was looking at him a little oddly, and had raised an eyebrow.

"Very nice speech, Potter," he sneered sarcastically. "Do you do parties, by any chance?" Harry glared at him. "You need a sense of humour, Potter," he added. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said mockingly, "I need to go and do anything other than stand here in front of you."

Harry watched him go, frowning deeply. How he hated that slimy Slytherin. He shook his head slightly, and went on heading for Divination.

*~*~*

Ron and Ginny had been obliged to stop behind Hermione when she refused to go around a certain corner.

"It's Harry," she mouthed to them. And the other two soon realised what she was talking about. They could hear Harry tell Malfoy to shut up, and then heard the conversation unfold. A few times, the girls had to hold Ron back, but all of them fell still when Harry broke in to his impassioned speech.

A few moments later, Harry and Malfoy had both moved on and the three Gryffindors turned to each other.

"That was rather - surreal," Ron said quietly. Ginny nodded and Hermione just looked thoughtful.

"So Harry doesn't believe the Death Eaters are dead then," Ginny murmured. "I wonder why..."

Hermione sighed a little. "Isn't it obvious?" Ron and Ginny both looked at her blankly. "Obviously not," she muttered and continued to explain. "It must be - his dreams." Ron's eyes widened in understanding, Ginny just frowned.

"What do dreams have to do with anything?" she asked. Ron and Hermione both exchanged looks. They weren't sure if they ought to tell Ginny or not - they didn't know if Harry would want her to know.

"Well - we'll explain some other time, Gin," Ron said hurriedly. Ginny looked at them suspiciously, but let the matter drop.

"Alright," she sighed. "But what was the meaning of running out of the hall before, Hermione?" she asked the older girl.

"Oh! Yes, of course! But -" Hermione sighed. "We haven't got enough time to go now. We'll go later. Just leave it for now."

"We couldn't do anything else!" Ginny said exasperatedly. "We haven't got a clue what you're talking about!" Hermione smiled innocently.

"Come on, time for class," was all she said, and headed off back the way they'd come, Ginny following her after bidding Ron goodbye. When the girls were gone and it was just Ron, he shook his head a little and headed off to Divination, feeling altogether confused.

Thinking it was best not to let himself think about anything, Ron mindlessly counted suits of armour on the way to Trelawney's class.

When he arrived, he slid in to the seat next to Harry. Harry himself was trying to shrink in his seat, absolutely dreading what Professor Trelawney might start saying to him.

"Alright Harry?" Ron whispered, raising an eyebrow at his best friend. Harry nodded a little, looking around distractedly.

"Where is she?" he asked Ron, frowning.

"Who cares?" Ron shrugged, leaning back in his seat in a relaxed fashion.

"You would do well to have a care, Mr Weasley," the misty voice of Professor Trelawney stated, making Ron jump terribly, and almost fall backwards off his chair, "the answer to your troubled riddles lies right under your nose, and if you do not see it in time...you and those close to you will suffer most dreadfully."

After Ron had righted himself, he rolled his eyes expressively to Harry, who cracked a small smile, but couldn't help but wonder what Trelawney had meant...

The class was moving ever so slowly. Harry and Ron laboriously went over their text, looking at the predictions and trying to decipher their likely meanings.

Harry was bored out of his mind. Trelawney had thankfully not come anywhere near him that day, but the lesson itself was less than thrilling.

He had stopped reading his text a few moments before when he developed a headache owing to the heavily scented room.

Suddenly, Trelawney's voice reached his ears, sounding oddly echo-y. "Mr Longbottom, do be careful - if you drop that book many more times who knows what mystic consequences may befall you..."

Harry scoffed, turning to Ron, "Trelawney's mad, 'If you drop that book many more times who knows what mystical consequences may befall you...' I mean, if Neville really got mystically targeted every time he dropped a book - I doubt he'd be any more than a gibbering wreck by now," Harry chuckled slightly.

Ron, for his part, was very confused. What on earth was Harry on about? Trelawney - Neville - books - mystically targeted? Ron shook his head slightly and looked back at his text. Harry was in the middle of a very difficult prediction, and was trying to decide between three possible meanings and while he was engrossed in that...

Professor Trelawney passed behind where Ron was sitting, and said something quietly to Neville, who then knocked his book off the table. Ron turned and handed it back up just as Trelawney spoke again.

"Mr Longbottom, do be careful - if you drop that book many more times who knows what mystic consequences may befall you..." and she floated away towards Lavender and Parvati's table.

Ron turned open-mouthed to Harry, who was still deep in thought over the silly predictions.

"H-Harry," Ron breathed, stuttering a little in his complete amazement and confusion.

"Hmm? What?" Harry looked up to see Ron's odd expression. "What's the matter with you?" Harry asked.

"No, no - " Ron shook his head, "the question is - how on earth did you do that?"

Harry looked at his gaping friend, utterly baffled. "Uh - well, I followed the instructions Trelawney gave us, and read through the predictions -"

"No, you twit," Ron interrupted hastily. "I mean, how did you know she would say that?! How - how did - when she came - but you'd said -" Ron came to a halt, seemingly unable of completing a sentence.

Harry tried not to feel too insulted at being called a twit, and frowned frustrated. "For goodness sake, Ron, spit it out."

Ron was rubbing his forehead looking rather stunned. "You're a Diviner, Harry - You must be..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not - how many times must I tell you? And I thought you'd dropped it anyway. I didn't expect you to bring it up again..." he said, the ghost of a suspicion forming in his mind.

Ron leaned forward, his expression serious. "What you said with Neville - the book and what Trelawney said..." he began quietly.

"So? You heard it too," Harry said impatiently.

"No, Harry - I didn't have a clue what you were on about - but then Trelawney went by, and Neville knocked a book down, and she said that to him! What you told me, exactly. You're a Diviner, simple as that."

Harry scratched his head, thoughtfully. Trelawney's voice had sounded odd - he'd thought it was because of his headache. While Ron was still looking at him with a dead serious expression, he put a hand in his pocket and felt the Serpent's Eye inside.

"Uh - no, Ron, I don't think so. It's not possible," Harry shook his head. "I can't be a Diviner."

Ron looked like he was getting edgy. "Look Harry, I heard what you said - you told me exactly what she said moments later. You can't just call that a coincidence, can you?"

"No, but - I mean -" Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty much one hundred percent sure I am not a Diviner, leave it Ron."

"But Harry - open your eyes! You must be - there's no other explanation-" Ron was cut off when Harry denied it once again. Ron lost it a little. "Harry - I know what I'm talking about here!!" he cried, then shut his mouth with a snap, looking like he had definitely said too much.

Trelawney had just announced the end of class and Ron left hurriedly, leaving a rather bewildered Harry behind him.