Harry Potter and the Secrets from the Past

...

I dream of hugging a true friend

who doesn't want to avenge himself on me

for one

Of his bitter moments....

"A boring day" by Lucio Battisti

Harry was shocked! He rushed over Hermione to check how she was, then he turned to the door, but Malfoy was already gone.

Hermione was all red in face and she was gasping for breath, still keeping her hands around her throat.

"HERMIONE, WHAT'S WRONG?"

He shouted at her, and she gasped out a few words.

"I.... CANNOT.... BREATH.... PLEASE HELP ME...."

Hermione started to cough and with her trambling hand, she grabbed Harry's sleeve.

Without hesitation and with his heart beating like mad, he helped his friend to get up. Then Hermione looked for support leaning her head on his shoulder, and he lifted her up bodily.

Harry was terrified: Hermione was choking and the only thing he could do was to bring her immediately to the hospital wing.

He sprinted out of the classroom and he headed to the opposite part of the corridor, still holding Hermione tight in his arms.

He rushed down the stairs and finally he reached the hospital wing, calling out for Madame Pomfrey at the top of his voice.

Madame Pomfrey immediately opened the door and she understood the emergency, because she let him in without asking questions.

"Lay her on this bed ..."

Harry laid Hermione on one of the first beds on his right, but she was still grabbing his sleeve, forcing him to lean closer. Harry looked at his friend and he felt a chill going up his spine: now Hermione was almost not breathing any more, her face was purple, her forehead sweaty, her eyes closed and the mouth wide open.

Madame Pomfrey didn't lose time: she took out her wand and pointed it to Hermione's throat saying the magic words aloud.

"OESOPHAGUS RELASCIO!"

Suddenly Hermione gave a deep sigh, widening her eyes and she started breathing normally; she

let herself completely down on the bed, with her head on the pillow, even if she was still grabbing Harry's sleeve. Harry gave a deep sigh of relief too.

"Blessed girl! You brought her here just on time... we were nearly going to lose her... I wonder who could have done such a thing to her!!"

"Malfoy.... he did it!"

Harry just regained his speaking skills.

"You said Malfoy? Well, tomorrow morning I will go directly to Professor Snape and I will complain to him about that horrible boy!!" commented Madame Pomfrey sharply before heading to her office, leaving them alone for a moment.

Harry turned to Hermione, who was now feeling better, even if she still had her forehead sweaty and her face red.

"How are you, Hermione? Are you feeling better?"

"Better.... yes, much better, thanks... this time...... this time Malfoy nearly did it to me..."

"Wait until tomorrow, and I will give a lesson to that SNAKE.... you will see..."

But on hearing those angry words from Harry, Hermione grabbed again his sleeve, forcing him to lean closer, and then she stared at him worriedly.

"NO, Harry... swear to me that you are not going to do anything.... swear to me that you are not going to get yourself into trouble, just for Malfoy... promise that to me.... "

She was talking in a low voice, but Harry didn't know what to answer: he didn't want to worry her even more, but he could not promise her something he wasn't willing to keep.

Luckily, in that moment Madame Pomfrey came to bring a healing potion to Hermione, who drank it immediately.

"I think that it would be better for you to spend the night here in the hospital wing, Miss Granger."

"No, please.... I assure you that now I am fine.... there is no need to remain here for the night; I can easily go to sleep in my dormitory.... I am serious... "

Like every other student, first of all Harry, she did not want to spend the night in the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey stared at her for a moment, and she spoke again, with a resigned voice.

"All right, then... you may go back to your dormitory Miss Granger..."

Then she turned to Harry.

"But you have to escort her until the last stair, Mr Potter... and you have to promise me, that if you notice something strange, you will bring Miss Granger immediately to me, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand.... thank you for everything Madame Pomfrey," answered Harry with a big smile. Then he grabbed Harmione's arm to help her get off the bed, but she rejected him softly.

"No, Harry, I do not need any help... I am able to do it by myself."

"You know what, Hermione? I just didn't want you to get tired..." Harry answered back, a little bit flustered: He just wanted to be nice, and he did not expect a reaction like that.

Then he and Hermione exited the hospital wing and headed to the Gryffindor tower.

Along the way, Harry kept staring at his friend, a little bit worried: as Madame Pimfrey had told him, he wanted to carefully notice if she had any strange reactions.

But even if Hermione was doing her best not showing any sign of suffering, she couldn't help walking slowly and sometimes staggering.

Harry was the first to speak.

"May I know what happened before I arrived? Shouldn't you have been at the prefects'meeting with Ron?"

"Yes, in fact we went to the meeting together, but when it finished, Ernie McMillan asked Ron if he wanted to see his new broomstick, and I told him that I could very well come back to the common room alone...... I was nearly there when I found Malfoy and his cronies waiting for me. They pushed me in an empty classroom and then they tried to put me out of action."

Harry was carefully listening to her story, and he was starting to feel his blood boiling inside of his veins in anger. He could not stop thinking that Malfoy was going to curse his friend, but Hermione continued quietly, as if she wasn't talking about her, but about someone else.

"At the beginning Crabbe and Goyle were both holding me tight, but when Malfoy tried to curse me with the "FURNUNCULUS" spell, I was faster than him: I threw myself on the side, and the curse hit Crabbe instead, filling his face with horrible pimples. Then Goyle took both my arms and held them tight behind my back, and then.... you arrived, thank God!" finished Hermione smiling at him thankfully.

"Do you realize what Malfoy was nearly doing to you? He was going to curse you with the CRUCIATUS Curse!!!"

"No, he never would have done it.... Malfoy isn't that stupid... he knows very well that the Ministry is able to find immediately whoever casts an unforgivable curse."

"And if he would have done it, Hermione? You talk like that because you do not know how it feels like!"

Harry ended the sentence bitterly, and Hermione turned to face the floor mortified. Then Harry realized that his friend was suffering for him and he was sorry for that. He tried to to change the topic.

"Would you like to know how my Occlumency lesson with Snape was?"

"Yes, I would love to..." answered Hermione with warmth, turning to face him again.

"You will be happy to know that it went really well.... much better than last year. I am sure that Snape was really impressed by my performance!" said Harry with pride.

"That's great Harry! You couldn't give me better news."

But suddenly Hermione stopped talking and walking. She raised a hand to her head, closed her eyes and with the other hand she held on for support on Harry's shoulder. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and he stared at her worriedly.

"Hermione, what is it? Are you feeling bad?"

"NO... NO.... I AM FINE..."

"I am taking you to the hospital wing, let's go!" Harry told her determinedly and he turned back, but Hermione stopped him.

"No, Harry, I am fine... I just felt dizzy, but now I am fine..."

Hermione was looking at him imploringly.

"Harry, please believe me, I just need a good night sleep, that's all! Tomorrow morning everything will be fine."

Harry rolled his eyes and then he gave up. His friend was really stubborn and he was sure that insisting on going would have been useless.

"All right, then, but only on one condition. You will have to lean on me for support until we arrive at the common room..."

Then Harry put her right arm around his shoulder and his left arm around her waist and they started to walk. Hermione didn't offer any resistance to him, and that meant she was really exhausted.

They walked like that until the Fat Lady portrait. Hermione was a little bit lower than him, and both their heads nearly touched; Harry was feeling the light weight of his friend leaning on him at every step and he started to feel a little embarrassed about it. If someone would have seen them in that very moment, the following day everybody would have thought that they were dating.

Even if in the last five years he and Hermione had shared many adventures together, it was the first time for them to be so close to each other and for such a long time. Everything was so odd and he wanted to reach the common room as soon as possible.

Finally they arrived, finding the common room empty, excepted for Ron, who was waiting for them on the sofa. When Ron saw them, he got up worried.

"What happened to you? I was here the whole evening waiting for you!"

"Is it hard to guess?" asked Harry, sounding upset, while he was gently laying Hermione on the sofa. Then he faced Ron: Harry was really angry with him, because it was also Ron's fault that Hermione had fallen into Malfoy's trap.

"What do you mean about that, Harry? Speak more clearly to me !"

Ron didn't like Harry's tone of voice, and put himself on the defensive.

"I mean that you left Hermine alone, and Malfoy took advantage of that!"

Ron turned to Hermione worriedly.

"What? What has happened? What has that bastard done to you?"

"Nothing... Ron, please stay calm, everything is fine..."

Hermione did not want to alarm her friend, but Harry was not satisfied and he turned to face Ron.

"Yes, just because I happened to be near and I rescued her, otherwise, Hermione wouldn't have been here with us now!"

Ron started to glare at his friend, who was challenging him.

"Are you saying that it is my fault that Malfoy attacked Hermione?"

"Yes, exactly!" Harry spoke with a reproaching glare, and Ron was getting even more upset.

"Let's say that, if YOU didn't provoke Malfoy the other day before Potion class, then maybe Malfoy wouldn't have been angry with US too!!"

"If you haven't left Hermione alone to go away with Ernie McMillan, then.... "

"Boys, let's stop it, OK? There is no reason to argue... "

Hermione tried to shout at them, while still sitting on the sofa looking shocked: she did not understand what was happening to those two. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were frowing at each other, as if Hermione hadn't spoken at all.

"How could I imagine that Malfoy was preparing a trap for her? I didn't...."

"Nevertheless, I told you to be careful this morning! But as usual, YOU didn't pay attention to what I said! If something bad happened to Hermione, then I would have never forgiven you!"

"Let me say that being YOUR friend is a continuous source of trouble, Harry..."

This last sentence hit Harry directly in the heart. He had always thought that it was dangerous for Ron and Hermione to be his friends and share his troubles, but it was the first time that Ron had said that to him, and the sound of those words was so bitter. Anyway, Harry swallowed that bitter pill and answered back without thinking about it.

"Look, you don't have to be my friend against your will, Ron Weasley... Nobody is forcing you to do so!"

A long moment full of silence and tension passed, while the two boys were facing at each other in anger and Hermione was looking at them, shocked. Then she got up and broke the silence.

"May I know what is happening to you two? You are behaving like little children!

I don't know what to think! Come on, shake hands... COME ON!"

But it seemed as if neither of them wanted to put an end to the quarrel. The first to move was Harry, who reached the stairs in a fury. But before he climbed to his dormitory, he turned to Ron one last time.

"From now on, never speak to me again Ron Weasley... I'm done with you!"

"It's about time! Finally I won't have to live in the famous HARRY POTTER's shadow anymore!"

Ron remained there, frowing at Harry, who climbed the stairs two at a time and exited the common room slamming the door.

***O***

Harry entered the dormitory, where all his other friends were already sleeping, and rushed to his bed, throwing himself on top of it without taking his clothes off. He started to stare at the ceiling, grabbing strongly at the bed linens with his fingers. He had so much anger inside that he would have gladly relieved himself by punching the pillow, and imagining that it was Ron's face.

He was still thinking about what his friend had told him, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the chest. He argued with Ron many times in the past, mostly for silly things, but this time it was different. This time Ron had told him clearly that he feared being his friend, for his safety and for Hermione's, and Harry was not going to forgive him so easily.

But he could not blame Ron, because his life was really full of danger.

After about half an hour, he heard Ron entering the dormitory and throwing himself heavily on the bed. Harry thought that Ron and Hermione had spent that time talking about him and about what had just happened, and his anger grew stronger. He felt really disappointed because his best friends had joined against him... he was feeling lonely now.

Then he heard a little voice in his head, saying that he was wrong, and that their friendship could never end like that, and that at least he had Hermione on his side, and that he was going to make peace with Ron soon. And if this little voice was wrong?

He turned on his side and stared at the moonlight coming from the window. The following day they had planned to go to Hogsmeade together, but now, they would have changed their minds.

At least Harry wasn't going to join them.

But there was something else which was troubling him: now that he was starting to calm down, he could not figure out the true reason why he started to argue with Ron.

"I started, because Ron had left Hermione alone," he thought, but he still couldn't understand why such a thing had made him loose his temper like that. He felt that there was something more, even if he could not explain what. Then he heard that little voice inside his brain again.

"Isn't it maybe that I am starting to see Ron as a rival? Yes, but rival against what?"

Then a name started to float in his brain, and when he understood the meaning of it, he shuddered all over: HERMIONE.

They had argued over Hermione.... it wasn't possible!! Finally he became aware that he had treated his best friend so badly, and it was all Hermione's fault!!

***O***

Harry was flying on the back of a giant owl. The darkness of the night was lighted by a tiny, faraway light, which was slowly becoming larger and larger. Then the owl brought Harry directly to the source of that light: it came from an ancient and dilapidated mansion, with broken windows and an unkept garden. Harry landed in front of the main gate, which was half open; he slowly pushed it and entered the big garden. He went through it and reached the main door, which was huge and black.

The main door was also half open, and Harry went in: the entrance was empty and dark, just lit by the moonlight coming from the huge windows. On his right and on his left, two large marble stairways led to the upper floors.

Suddenly he heard a desperate scream coming from one of the rooms at the end of the corridor on the first floor: it was a woman's scream and it made Harry's blood freeze. He felt that he should absolutely do something to help her, and he started to run upstairs. He ran and ran, but it seemed as if the corridor was endless and at each step, he was feeling his panic and his fright growing; he was afraid of not being there on time, he was afraid of coming too late....

Suddenly his scar started to throb and the pain was becoming even more unbearable, until it forced him to wake up abruptly.

Harry found himself on his bed at Hogwarts: as he overheard the voices of his friends he realized that they were going to get ready to go out, but he remained still, pretending to sleep. He was still shocked at the dream, and he didn't want Ron to see him in that condition.

Harry waited until everybody exited the dormitory, and then he got up and prepared himself to have breakfast in the Great Hall.

When he went down to the common room, he was happy to see that it was empty, because he didn't want to meet anyone, especially not Ron.

Then he headed to the Geat Hall, when he noticed that all the students were already in front of the main entrance, waiting to go out and visit the village of Hogsmeade.

Ron and Hermione were waiting in the crowd, and when Harry saw them, he hid himself behind a column: Hermione kept raising herself on tiptoe, looking back from the crowd, and Harry thought that for sure she was looking for him, hoping that he was going to reach them. On the contrary, Ron was staring at the floor, frowning, maybe hoping that Harry wouldn't have come.

Harry surely didn't want to disappoint his expectations.

When Mr Filch gave the permission to go and opened the main door to let the students out, Ron and Hermione disappeared outside.

Harry felt a sharp pain in his heart, but he didn't want to impose his presence, when it wasn't welcome. He sighed deeply and then entered the Great Hall, which was half empty: there were just a few students from 1^st and 2^nd year, who did not have permission to go to Hogsmeade.

He had his breakfast completely alone, and then he looked outside the window: the morning was gorgeous, the sun was shining and there were no clouds; he knew that it was one of the last sunny days of October, and he really wished to go out on the grounds with his Firebolt and fly away in the blue sky.

Excited by the idea, he rushed up to his room and got his broomstick, then went outside: the air was warm and the sky bright blue. He smiled happily and mounted the Firebolt and then, giving a little kick to the ground, in a flash he was already flying high, freely and with the fresh air disarranging his hair: the castle seemed so far away and now he could see everything from above, the lake, the forest, the grounds.

He realized that flying was the only thing which made him really happy, without comparison. Finally he was free, like a bird. Then he did a few stunts: he dropped himself down to the ground, and then he raised his broomstick at the very last moment, heading toward the sun. Every shadow of sadness disappeared from his heart and a large smile came back on his face.

He wished he could stay the rest of his life up there, flying all the time.

He made a light turn backwards and he headed to one of the hills surrounding the castle; he landed softly and sat on a rock. From there the view was breathtaking, like a beautiful picture; he remained there the whole morning, tasting that newly gained quietness.

***O***

After lunch Harry had the idea to pay a visit to Hagrid: since he didn't have Care of Magical Creatures classes any more, he had the chance to see Hagrid just during his weekends.

He left the castle and headed to Hagrid's hut, noticing that lots of smoke was coming out from the chimney. He knocked at the door and heard Fang barking.

"I am coming, I am coming.... be quiet Fang! Oh, Harry... what a surprise... come in, I was just preparing tea."

"Thanks, Hagrid," answered Harry with a large smile, and he thought that his friend Hagrid would always be there for him.

"Is there something new to talk about? Why are Ron and Hermione not with you?" asked Hagrid while filling a giant cup of very black tea; Harry took a seat and stared at the floor, embarrassed by the question.

"They.... em... they went to Hogsmeade today..."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

Hagrid asked the question so naturally, that Harry gazed at him in the eyes and realized that his friend could have never guessed that they were not talking to each other.

Harry didn't want to lie and he decided to tell him all the truth: he spoke about Malfoy's trap for Hermione and about his argument with Ron the evening before; he was sure that Hagrid was on his side.

"I cannot believe it, Harry! Why did you blame everything on Ron?"

Harry was really surprised by that question, because he was totally sure that he was right.

"But Hagrid, he left her alone, and Malfoy took advantage of that. Do you realize what was going to happen to Hermione if I didn't arrive on time?"

"Yes, Harry, I understand what you mean, but, it isn't right to give Ron all the blame ...."

Harry thought about that for a moment, but he could not believe that Ron had no fault for what had happened. Then Hagrid spoke again.

"Your friendship is really special, Harry, please don't spoil all that for a silly argument."

Then Harry thought what Ron had told him, that being his friend was a constant danger.

"Ron also told me that he is afraid to be my friend, because my life is full of danger.... and I understand him when he says this. In the past years he and Hermione put themselves into so many troubles for me, that I don't blame him if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore."

"But, Harry, it is not you who goes out looking for trouble!"

"NO, in fact I don't need it, because troubles always have a way of finding me first!" said Harry gloomy, and Hagrid spoke again.

"Listen to me, Harry. Your life is really complicated, but you cannot do anything to avoid it, and even if Ron and Hermione know it, they still love you and they will always help you, of their own free will!! You could ask them anything and they wouldn't hesitate a moment whenever you are in danger."

Hagrid was right: Ron and Hermione had always helped him, in several occasions during the past 5 years. There was such a strong bond between them, and that entire situation made him feel so bad... but he didn't want to be the first one to apologize.

"Now, promise me that when tonight you see Ron, you will apologize to him."

"No, I will never do it! He has insulted me and he has to make the first step... until that moment, I am sorry, but both of us will remain on opposite sides."

Harry spoke with a determined voice tone, and Hagrid glanced at him, deeply sorry.

"Well, if you are sure about that... then, I really hope that you are going to change your mind..."

Hagrid turned to the other side, pretending to rearrange the cups on the cupboard. Harry was sure he had hurt him and he was really sorry about that, so he got up and thought he would leave him alone.

"Em, Hagrid... see you soon.... thanks for the tea."

"Yes, Harry, I'll see you soon," answered Hagrid, slightly embarrassed, giving him a quick glance and then turning again to his cups. When Harry exited the hut, he realized that he had made a mistake talking to him like that.

While walking toward the castle, he was thinking that even that time he didn't manage to check his emotions, and that he just managed to hurt Hagrid. He asked himself, why he wasn't able to keep a friend, why was he always making mistakes?

It was already sunset when he arrived in the Great Hall for dinner. From the door, he saw Ron and Hermione already seated at the Gryffindor table, but he didn't want to meet them, so he turned to the stairway to go back to the common room when he heard Hermione calling for him. Harry realized that it was too late to slip away, so he turned to face her with a serious look in his eyes.

"Harry, wait... aren't you coming for dinner?" asked Hermione staring at him hopefully, but Harry remained serious and answered in a grave tone.

"No, I am not hungry tonight."

"Come on, Harry! You cannot keep missing your meals, just because you don't want to see Ron.

Today we went to Hogsmeade, and it was a real torture! Ron and I were completely silent most of the time, and I was dying to go back to the castle... We were waiting for you this morning, but you never arrived.... why?"

Harry realized that his friend was doing all her best to pretend that everything was as usual between him and Ron, and that all the misunderstandings were now cleared. Harry gazed at the Gryffindor table, and he saw Ron who was forcing himself to look on the opposite side, trying with all his strength not to look on Harry's way. This attitude raised Harry's temper so much that he thought that he would not talk to Ron for the rest of his life.

"I didn't want to go to Hogsmeade today, that's all. And then... I didn't want to spoil your trip."

"You spoiled our trip not coming with us, anyway. Listen, why don't you make peace with Ron?"

"You should ask this question to him... he should come to me first..... he offended me.."

Hermione stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Listen, Hermione, I am not in the right mood for talking to Ron, and that's it.... now, I am sorry, but I have something very important to do..."

Harry ended the conversaiton like that, leaving her in the main entrance without saying goodbye.

With two jumps he was already on the stairway and in a few minutes he reached the common room, angrier than he was that very morning.

***O***

It was Harry's worst sunday: he and Ron were pretending to ignore each other obstinately, while Hermione kept running once to him and then to Ron, to persuade them to make peace.

At the end, Harry decided to spend the rest of the day on his Firebolt, flying far away from everything and from anyone.

Monday morning Harry woke up really early, and he exited the dormitory while his friends were still sleeping so he wouldn't have to see them. He went downstairs to the Great Hall to have breakfast and then headed to the dungeons for his Potions class. He saw that all the other students were slowly arriving and were starting to make the usual queue outside Snape's classroom. Harry was waiting in a corner, arms crossed, leaning on the cold stone wall, a very angry expression on his face.

After a few minutes, Hermione came down as well panting heavily and Harry realized that she was holding the Daily Prophet with a really shocked expression on her face. He understood immediately that something bad had just happened, and he came closer to her.

Hermione looked really worried. Harry signalled her to come closer and then he spoke in a very low voice.

"Has something happened?"

Hermione nodded and gave him the main page of the Daily Prophet. Harry took the newspaper in his hands, and he saw a huge picture of all the Death Eaters who Dumbledore had arrested last June.

The main title was "SENSATIONAL ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN PRISON".

Harry jumped for the surprise, and then he read the article in disbelief:

"Last night, ten dangerous Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban prison, considered until now a place of maximum security. According to the survivors, the Dementors had helped them escape and then left with them. The Ministry of Magic has already provided the prison with all the best Aurors, to guard all the remaining criminals before they try to escape as the Death Eaters have already done.

The new Minister of Magic, Madame Amelia Bones, assured all in the wizarding community that the Ministry will take the needed measures to keep the security in the magical world and in the Muggle world. Madame Amelia Bones asks everyone to remain calm and to take all the security measure, in case someone encounters a Death Eater or a Dementor.

In order to guarantee the safety of all the wizards and Muggles, the Minister had ordered all the Auror, to check the entire country. The Department of International Magical Contacts has already informed all the other nations of the world about this startling escape."

Harry was still looking at the article in shock, his hands trembling with anger. Suddenly he understood the meaning of his vision about Voldemort's plans: the Death Eaters escape and the joining of the Dementors to the dark side. Then Hermione stopped his thoughts:

"See? It is just like we had thought... Voldemort was planning this, in the vision you had..."

Harry stared at her worriedly and then spoke, very disappointed.

"When I tried to tell Dumbledore, he just sent me away talking about my Occlumency lessons...

I am curious to hear what he would tell me now!"

"Hey, are you talking about the escape from Azkaban?" Ernie McMillan came closer, really worried as well.

"I cannot imagine what Death Eaters and Dementors can do together... this is a terrible news for all of us!"

"Yes, you are right Ernie..." answered Hermione sadly, but their conversation was interrupted by Snape, who had just slammed the door and was ordering everybody to get in.

Harry and Hermione took a seat in one of the last desks, as usual, and noticed that Snape was in a very bad mood, more than ever.

He was taking points off of the Gryffindor students for the most silly reasons, and he even took a few points off Malfoy, when he turned to Harry looking satisfied, throwing a little paper ball at him which said, "AND IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING...."

Harry was already starting to lose his temper, but Hermione put her hand on his, signalling him not to answer to Malfoy's challenges. Harry forced himself to keep calm and he burnt the paper ball to ashes with his wand. Then he took his hand away from Hermione's, slightly embarrassed, and started skimming through the textbook, without knowing what he was looking for.

He realized that Hermione was gazing at him oddly, but then she turned away, starting to skim through her textbook as well.

Harry couldn't understand what was happening to him. It wasn't the first time that Hermione had held his hand, but now there was something different. It was really becoming difficult for him to be near her. He was sure that something had changed, but he couldn't figure out what.