The Door to Chaos

Chapter 11 - A Letter with Consequences

Riddick was leaning in the doorway to the Hospital Wing and watching the school nurse, Poppy Pomfrey, tend to the pale, red-haired boy on the bed.

Efficient. I like that. Looks like that magic stuff has its ups too. Kid is already looking better. Could nearly make me like that woman.

He turned to leave. Madam Pomfrey's severe voice stopped him in his tracks, "Professor Riddick! Where are you going? You must tell me exactly what happened to Mr Weasley!"

Or not.

He answered without slowing his stride, "Bellatrix Lestrange. Cruciatus spell and some poison. That bad girl was laughing rather a lot, while she straddled him. Perhaps her spittle poisoned him, how should I know? Ask Slughorn, it's his specialty. I never use poison."

Poppy Pomfrey stared at his receding large back, "Lestrange? Isn't she one of these Death-Eaters that escaped Azkaban? The woman who murdered Black at the Ministry? I hope that you arrested her, Professor?"

Riddick's steps faltered a second before resuming their usual prowl. When his distant deep voice reached the Nurse, she had already turned back to her patient, "No. Got spirited away. But she crosses me again, she's gonna get what she's diggin' for."

* * *

Dear Remus,

Harry stared blankly at the bit of parchment before him. How do you tell a werewolf that you suspect that his best friend has somehow come back from the dead as a ghost or something and was now possessing a teacher? It had taken long enough for Harry himself to give in and face his suspicions. And he still had no proof. After all Riddick had never tried to contact Harry, and Sirius would certainly have done that... or would he?

Anyway, this time things had gone too far to keep his suspicions to himself. Harry needed to talk to somebody about this and Lupin was him.

But how? If he just wrote, "Dear Remus, I think my new Defence teacher is possessed by Sirius, but he doesn't seem to recognize me anymore," he could just imagine how Lupin would react.

He would probably sic Madam Pomfrey on him or think he, Harry, had gone mad with grief and was making things up. And he would be worried.

Hell, Harry himself was worried.

If Ron and Hermione weren't there and didn't share his suspicions he would be even more worried.

Harry sighed, picked the quill up and dipped it in the inkwell. He would just tell him what had happened and let him make up his own mind. Yeah, that would do.

I have talked with Hermione and Ron and they both agree with me that there is something going on here that you need to know about.

At the start of term, Kreacher showed up in the Great Hall right after the Sorting was over, though I hadn't told him to. He was spying on our new DADA teacher, Professor Riddick...

Harry paused, put the quill down and sighed. This was going to be a long letter. He should have asked Hermione to help him out and write it. He shrugged, picked the quill up again and resumed his writing. For a long time, the only noise to be heard in the Gryffindor common room was the dry scratching sound of his quill on parchment.

Today Hermione, Ron and I were attacked by Death Eaters at Hogsmeade. Professor Riddick was there and something just as strange happened.

He saved our lives today, so I guess he's not dark or anything, but he probably works for the Ministry. Can you check with Mr Weasley?

I've never seen somebody move that fast. It was amazing the way he took down all these Death Eaters. Do you know if he's an Auror?

I recognized some of the Death Eaters. Snape was there and Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange. It looks like Voldemort is tired of trying to take me down by himself because they tried to kill me, not kidnap me.

Ron was hit by a Cruciatus curse from Bellatrix Lestrange as he tried to help Hermione.

Harry had to put the quill down again. His hand was shaking too badly.

He stood up, walked to the fire and stared blindly into the flames. The Gryffindor common room was dark and empty at this time of the night; all his classmates were in their beds, sleeping. Harry couldn't sleep. Not with his best mate poisoned and in the Hospital Wing. If Madam Pomfrey hadn't thrown him out, he would be sitting at Ron's bed now and checking on him. So would Hermione, if Madam Pomfrey had not forced a draught of sleeping potion down her throat.

He remembered the expression in Hermione's eyes when Madam Pomfrey told them about the poison. It wasn't the first time that he had seen it either. He had seen that same fierce anger before, as he was trudging along her side through the Forbidden Forest, Umbridge at their heels. No, Hermione would not rest until she got even with Bellatrix Lestrange and Harry would be more than happy to help her.

Don't let me down, mate. Madam Pomfrey says you'll be ok. She'd better be right.

A burning log collapsed into two halves and a cloud of sparks before him and the crackle snapped him out of his thoughts. The letter. He better finish it now.

Harry returned to the table, sat down and scratched out the last few lines, which were illegible due to his shaking hand. The tiny sound of his quill scratching over the parchment and his own breathing suddenly seemed overly loud to him. And the room was somehow colder too. Madam Pomfrey had said Ron would be ok. But Madam Pomfrey had never been hit by the Cruciatus. He, Harry, knew what it was like. Voldemort had done it to him in his fourth year.

Ron was hit by the Cruciatus curse a couple of times when he tried to help Hermione. And he has been poisoned somehow. I couldn't get to him; I had to avoid Snape's killing curses. It was Bellatrix Lestrange! And it was Professor Riddick who saved him. Ron is in the Hospital Wing now. Madam Pomfrey says that he has to spend the night but that he should be okay, and she should know. Perhaps it's better if you don't tell his mum right away or she'll have a fit...Hermione was stunned but she's okay too, she's sleeping right now.

I don't know how to tell you this Remus and please believe me, I'm not crazy, but I really think that you should talk to Professor Riddick, and you don't want to be alone when you do. You'll need some people with you, because he will refuse to talk to you. He talks to nobody when he isn't teaching. Except perhaps Hagrid.

Kreacher called him Master, and today Professor Riddick recognized the Death Eater attacking me as well. He knew that it was Snape and he recognized Bellatrix as well. Remus, he called them "Snivellus" and "Bella" and he threatened that he would kill them!

Something else, about that fight today - Professor Riddick was really scary, I mean really scary. Not quiet Voldemort-scary, but close. Kind of like Moody when Tonks told him about his Muggle neighbour's house getting blown up by Death Eaters this summer with that young Muggle single mum and her baby still in it.

When the Death Eaters attacked us, he was still inside the Hog's Head and talking to somebody. He must have heard the sounds of the fight, because he jumped straight through the window of the pub, just so that he could get out faster.

Have you ever seen somebody do something like that?

And Ron told me the other day that he has seen a big dog in the castle.

Whoever or whatever Professor Riddick may be, I think he is hiding something really important about himself and he is dangerous.

There. That was clear enough. He felt a little bad, that he had not told Lupin that Professor Riddick had been talking to Hagrid in the pub; but Lupin didn't know about Grawp and it was up to Hagrid whom he told about his giant half-brother. It was bad enough that Professor Riddick apparently had found out about the giant in the forest, but at least he didn't seem to mind. Anyway, he, Harry, would not break his promise to Hagrid and tell somebody else. Not even Lupin.

...by the way thank you again for that neat Confundus charm for our letters, it works great, so far nobody in my dorm has even noticed when I'm writing one, they always think I'm doing homework.

Please say hello to all the Weasleys, Tonks and Moody and send me an answer with Hedwig. She can stay with you for a couple of days if necessary.

Harry

PS: Don't worry about me, I'm not hurt or anything.

Harry sanded the parchment so that the ink dried faster, and rolled it into a tight roll. He would take it to the Owlery at the top of the West Tower before breakfast. He yawned. It seemed that writing to Lupin had relaxed him enough, so that perhaps he could catch a couple of hours sleep yet.

Less than ten hours later, Riddick came out of a strange haze to find himself sitting on a flying broomstick.