Lost

Chapter 4: Ron, Hermione and Cho

"Finally we've got you, Harry."

Harry, who was standing next to and staring into the lake, was startled. He immediately thought about the Crows again, although he had been thinking about something entirely different. "

What was that? Were those the...?"

But no, when he turned around, he saw that it was the voice of the girl he had been thinking about. Hermione. Yeah, and Ron, of course. So they had found him. He had been hiding from them since yesterday, afraid that he would have to explain. Wait, he could explain it to them now! He looked around him, but there was really nobody to be seen. He couldn't think of a safer place, and he had to tell them at some time. He couldn't hide it forever. Good, he would do it right now; they had to know.

"I have an answer to your questions," he said tonelessly, still afraid of the consequences, but knowing that he couldn't walk away from it. Again, he looked around him slowly to check that there was nobody was around. If the Crows had told him the truth, it would be the death of Ron and Hermione if somebody heard him.

"Why was there blood on your hand, Harry?" asked Hermione quietly, and she took his fist and opened it, so she could see the cut. It didn't bleed anymore, and it was already less visible, but one could still see it very clearly.

Harry sighed. "That's a long and difficult story, but I think you should know. It could be dangerous for me to tell you, but it could also be dangerous for me not to tell you, because you might be surprised then. Do you want to hear it?"

Hermione and Ron looked uncertainly at each other, and while they were thinking, Harry waited, outwardly seeming calm, but inwardly he kept doubting and changing his thoughts. Yes, no, do, don't, what was better? It wasn't his choice any more.

"I want to hear it, otherwise, I'll keep wondering what's wrong. I already suspect something," said Hermione slowly. Ron nodded, so Harry prepared himself for telling his story.

"Like you probably already thought, this is all about the Crows."

***

"Then she took her knife and said: 'Not a Dark Mark, not now, but another one,' and she cut it into my hand. Luckily, I heard one of you call my name, and then she disappeared through a door, just in time so you two wouldn't see her. Well, you know the rest of the story. I didn't dare to tell you before, b-because your lives are in danger. But I think that you two are already in danger, just because you're my friends and I care about you. I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about everything."

Emotions of surprise and fear crossed Ron and Hermione´s faces, yet no words had come out of their mouths just yet. But now, Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and said: "It's not your fault, Harry, and you don't have to be sorry. You shouldn't be."

"But it will be my fault if you... if you..."

"Are killed?" She shivered. "But Harry, remember that we've chosen you as our friend. We've always known that it can be dangerous. Remember the Philosopher's Stone, or the time we were with Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack? During all those events we could also have been killed, but we just want to be your friends."

"The idea. Yenne... and I thought you two liked each other! Or Mary-Jane, she seemed to be such a nice girl. But of course we want to be your friends!" Ron said, and he blushed a bit. "So, You-Know-Who's after you again?"

"I think so," said Harry softly, and he looked at his two friends. He had known, somehow, that they would react like this. They were really good friends. He never wanted to lose them, and that was the reason why he was still so scared - why he kept looking around him. If somebody was around, even if it wasn't a Crow, they could tell others about it.

"We did think that Yenne and you would be a nice couple, and I think Cho also liked you two together. Wait, is Cho also a Crow? Is she one of them?" asked Hermione thoughtfully. For a moment, Harry stared surprised at her, and suddenly realized that he hadn't thought about Cho at all. No, she wasn't a Crow, he was sure. But if she wasn't one of them, and she knew a Crow quite well, and she was somebody he cared about, that meant...

"No, Cho's in danger! How could I have forgotten?" He jumped up and began to walk in circles, while Ron looked surprised and Hermione seemed to understand him immediately.

"She doesn't know?"

"No, she doesn't know," sighed Harry. "I hardly dared to tell you two, and I only told you because you're already in danger, because you're my best friends and because you've got at least two Crows around you. Of course, it's also dangerous to know, when the Crows find out that I've told you, I'm afraid... and of course, that could happen also to Cho. But she has to get rid of Yenne as soon as possible. Can't we just tell her that she has to look out when she's around Yenne?"

"But then she'll surely ask you why, or she'll think that you want her back and doesn't care about it, or she'll ask Yenne about it. Or you should tell her everything, or nothing, in my opinion. What a horrible choice. I might start to understand what kind of choices you have to make, Harry," said Hermione shocked.

Harry knew that she could try to understand, but she would never fully understand how difficult and awful it was when the lives of others depended on your choices. And why him again? Why not somebody else? No, he shouldn't think like this. Why not just nobody? The Crows shouldn't exist, Voldemort shouldn't exist. That would make life so much easier. Why was everything so difficult?

"I... I think you should tell her," said Ron hesitating. "She has to know the danger of the situation. I'm happy that you've told me, because I know now how dangerous it is. I don't know Cho very well, but..."

"I think Cho is more the kind of girl that doesn't want to know how dangerous her life is she is wholly content with being oblivious to the danger she´s in. She might not be thankful, but I think you should tell her."

"But it'll be another reason for the Crows to..."

"Yeah, another reason, a new one. But they already have their reasons for this murder, why else would Yenne have become Cho's friend? I think they'll kill her, even if you don't write a letter to Cho. Well, íf they really want to kill somebody and it's not just boasting to scare you."

"No, I'm sure it isn't," said Harry, and he shivered. The Crows carried enough conviction, he wouldn't even doubt that they were very serious about the killing thing.

"But you think I should tell her? How?"

"Tell her that you have found out that Yenne wants to kill her, and that Yenne also said this to you. I think that's the best way, although it still sounds strange."

"Wait, we'd better write that letter here and now," said Harry, and he rummaged his pockets. Finally he found a little piece of parchment and a Muggle pencil. That was enough, he wanted to do it now so that it would be done and he couldn't hesitate any more. Because... what if Yenne saw the letter before Cho? What if Cho was already dead? What if she just didn't believe him? Why should she believe her ex-boyfriend?

"Harry, you're doubting again, aren't you?" said Hermione kindly. He looked at her, surprised that she knew him so well that she knew this. But she was right and he should stop it now.

"Right. What should I write down exactly?"

"This," said Hermione, and she dictated him the letter.

Dear Cho,

I'm writing in a hurry, to warn you. I heard from trustworthy sources that Yenne is a danger to your life. She's a Death Eater and I'm afraid for you. Please, be careful and try to avoid her. I know this sounds strange, but I'm begging you, because I don't want you to die.

Stay away from Yenne.

Love,
Harry

He read the letter again. Wouldn't she think that he was crazy? Well, she could think all she wanted if she just stayed away from Yenne. He didn't want her to die, and he didn't want to be responsible for her death. And he would be just that, not very much, but still a bit.

Without talking, they went to the Owlery to find Hedwig. It was as if she felt that he wanted to send a letter, because Hedwig came flying down to him just when they entered the Owlery. He had hardly noticed her after she had brought that first letter from Voldemort, but now he looked at her closely. He saw that she wasn't really all right. She looked thin and shabby, now she had lost all those feathers, but her wounds were healed and she did look happy, although you can't really say that about an owl.

"Are you ready to deliver a letter again?" he asked kindly, and he stroked her head with his finger. She made a soft, good-natured sound and extended her claw, so he could tie the letter to it. He hesitated for a second, but then he released her claw and whispered: "Take that letter to Cho Chang, as fast as you can. It's very important. But be careful."

She looked at him, and for a few moments Harry stared into those wise-owl eyes. It seemed like she knew something he didn't, but it was a reassuring thing. It seemed like she wanted to tell him that everything would end up all right. That he and the people around him would be safe for Voldemort. Then she flew away, but Harry still saw her gaze, and he still felt safe. So safe, that for a moment he wondered what Hermione's soft words meant.

"In good faith."

***

"In good faith."

With these words in his head, Harry woke up the next morning. But he couldn't remember whether he had dreamt about it or not. If he had dreamt something terrible, he couldn't remember it anymore. He still had the same feeling of safety as the day before, and silently he thanked Hedwig for that. He didn't know whether he had just imagined it, or whether she really had wanted to send him a message, but it made him feel more calm.

He turned around, because his alarm clock hadn't gone off and he didn't have to get up yet. Just staying in his nice, warm bed for a few seconds, before he had to get up and into the cold. Well, it wasn't really cold now, September had just started, but the temperature in the dorm wasn't really warm when you were just wearing a pair of pyjamas. And the alarm clock still hadn't gone off, so he turned around again and... hey, what was that? He felt something prickling his back.

Immediately, he was fully awake, and for some reason or another he had lost the feeling of safety. Safe? He was never safe. But what did he feel now? For a moment he was afraid that it would be a knife, but then his logical side had the upperhand again, and he realized that it was parchment.

Not like that was a nice thought, not when your name was Harry Potter and you sometimes got letters from the most powerful, evil wizard in the world. Well, whatever it was, he would have to read it. It wouldn't be about... please, don't let it be about Ron, Hermione or Cho!

He looked around, but everybody in his dorm still slept, he was the only one awake. And then he finally dared to take the parchment from below his body. How had it gotten there? Maybe he had fallen asleep yesterday while he was writing something. It was a nice, calming thought, but as soon as he saw the parchment, this thought disappeared, because he would never write on a black piece of parchment.

Quickly, his eyes went through the white letters, and he felt suddenly sick.

Ah, so Mr. Potter thinks that he can secretly write letters? Or secretly tell his friends something? There are no secrets for the Crows... but Mr. Potter knows very well what his punishment will be, unless he has already forgotten what I told him.

The Power of the Crows

So they had found out somehow. How could they have eavesdropped? He had been so sure that nobody had been around when he had talked to Ron and Hermione. Ah, no, he couldn't have been sure! Unregistrated Animagi, Invisibility Cloaks, Invisibility Potions, Length Reducing Spells, and surely loads of ways he didn't even know. In the magical world, there was no way to make sure that there was nobody around. Or maybe there wás a way. He thought about the Marauder's Map, and he knew that this map would tell him about everybody around, as long as he stayed on Hogwarts. He decided to always bring the Marauder's Map with him, wherever he went, to make sure that there were no Crows around when he discussed important things. But for Cho, Hermione and Ron, this decision was already too late.

It would be his fault. He kept repeating it in his mind, that he would be the guilty one, that they might die because he hadn't thought about the Marauder's Map before. Oh, they wouldn't already... they wouldn't, would they? Harry inhaled deeply and didn't think about guilt for a short time. He couldn't control whether Cho was still alive and whether she'd read his letter, but he had to know how Ron and Hermione were doing. If they already... if he would find them after... slowly, he got up. His whole body was stiffened with fear, but he was able to walk towards Ron's bed. And then he stood before the curtains, and he tried to not think about what might be behind those curtains.

He opened the curtains with a jerk, and was relieved when he saw the light blue blankets moving up and down in the rhythm of Ron's breathing. His red hair was in contrast with the white pillow, and for a second Harry looked at him, thinking about their six years of friendship. It would be horrible to lose Ron, but it hadn't happened yet.

Drunk with sleep, Ron lifted his head, awakened by the light. But Harry, who didn't want to wake up his friend, quickly closed the curtains. Ron was alive. But how would Hermione be doing? He felt a little bit less scared, because he thought that when the Crows had wanted them to die, they would have killed both his friends, not just Hermione. But of course he wasn't sure of that, and he still wanted to check on how Hermione was.

Slowly, he opened the door of their dorm, and he walked down the stairs to the common room. Of course there was nobody to be seen there, it was far too early. Now Harry took the other stairs, which led towards the girls' dorms, without thinking about how they would react when he would walk into a girls' dorm only wearing his pyjamas.

After walking up five staircases, he finally reached the dorm of the seventh years. Without knocking he went in, but then he only saw five beds with dark red curtains. He had really no idea who slept where, and he didn't dare to just open the curtains. Maybe Aga and Maria wouldn't take offence, but he knew for sure that Parvati and Lavender would kill him. No, there had to be a way to find Hermione's bed. Ah, of course, that one over there, with the bulging bookbag next to it. Where else?

Carefully, he opened the curtains, and he saw brown, curly hair and a regular breathing. She was also all right, and again he sighed with relief. Both his friends were alive. It was only Cho he wasn't sure about. Nothing was his fault at the moment. But he would do anything possible to protect his friends, and he would make sure that there was nobody around when he decided to tell anyone else. Everything to avoid a murder. And he still knew for sure that it had been a good thing to tell Ron and Hermione, so there wasn't anything to feel guilty about, was there?

"Harry, what are you doing here?" asked suddenly a soft voice behind him. He jumped up and turned around quickly, closing the curtains behind him. It was Maria, a small, pretty girl with blonde curls who had come to Hogwarts in their fifth year, from Poland, with her twin Aga. She didn't seem to be surprised or shocked, but she had an understanding expression on her face.

"Er... I had to... er..." stammered Harry. Actually, there was no excuse for him coming to look at Hermione in her dorm.

"You like her, don't you?" asked Maria grinning, and Harry blushed. Him, like Hermione? Of course not! But he understood that it was the perfect excuse.

"Ehm, yes. Don't tell anyone, please."

"Of course not," answered Maria, and she walked towards her own bed again, but she did turn around and sent him a dazzling smile before she disappeared behind her curtains. She was really a nice girl, and Harry had thought the year before that she liked him, but it had never been mutual. Well, he guessed it was over now, when she liked the idea that he was in love with Hermione.

Quickly, he snuck down the stairs, but when he reached the common room, he saw Mary-Jane sitting there with a book in her hands. She sat with her back to him, but she seemed to have heard him, because she asked: "Who's there?"

Without answering, Harry ran up the staircases towards the boys' dorms.

When he opened the door, he saw Ron standing in the middle of the dorm, with a surprised and scared expression on his face. As soon as he saw Harry, he looked relieved.

"Oh, I thought..."

"Sssh," interrupted Harry. Without looking at Ron's surprised expression, he walked to his trunk and looked for the Marauder's Map. When there was somebody in their dorm now... he didn't want to do anymore stupid things. And although the Crows knew that Ron and Hermione knew, it wouldn't be smart to provoke them.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," muttered Harry, and he tapped on the parchment with his wand. Immediately, the map of Hogwarts started to appear, but Harry wasn't interested in the other rooms, just in his dorm. As soon as he saw the dorm, he saw that only he, Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean were there. Mary-Jane was down in the common room, and she seemed to have good ears, but letting Ron read the letter would be okay.

"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Ron surprised.

Quickly, Harry took the letter and pointed at it, and he motioned for Ron to stay quiet. Hopefully Ron would understand. Yes, he did, he nodded and read the letter quickly. He stared at Harry with big eyes. Surprised, Harry noticed that there was no fear in those eyes, just shock. Well, the fear would come later, when he fully understood what this meant.

Harry wanted to put away the Marauder's Map, but realized that the map was still visible. And actually, he wanted to see where the Crows really were.

Mary-Jane was still in the common room, but now Ginny was with her. Yenne was of course nowhere to be seen, because she wasn't at Hogwarts as far as he knew. And Keemi, where was Keemi? He couldn't find her. Well, maybe she wasn't at Hogwarts at the moment. Hermione had told him that Keemi had some other things to do as well, probably outside school.

***

"Potions. Ah, I really like to have that the first two hours," said Ron sadly while they walked towards the dungeons. The other two weren't really happier, and this time it had nothing to do with the Crows. But, s much as they detested the class, Hermione constantly reminded them that Potions was a necessary element in passing the N.E.W.T exams.

"No comments, Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape loud and clearly through the corridor, and this caused lots of laughing and smirking under the Slytherins. Especially from Malfoy. And like countless other times, Harry wanted to hit him. But not with Snape around.

"Yeah right, don't nag," muttered Ron. But to his and Gryffindors luck, Snape didn't hear that, because he was walking towards the door to open it. Ron, Hermione and Harry quickly took seats in the back row, so they would be as far away from Snape as possible. Like always, the other Gryffindors were next to them or in the rows immediately in front of theirs, while the Slytherins were all in the front rows.

"This year will be harder than all of the other years," said Snape, nearly whispering. "You'll have to study very hard to not stay behind, and I'm already sure that some of you..." He was now looking at Neville Longbottom, who turned scarlet but looked also a bit annoyed. "... won't get their N.E.W.T.'s. You all know what that means: when those people leave the school, they won't have a certificate for Potions, and it will be hard for them to get a job. Those who are planning to get their N.E.W.T.'s, will have to work very hard. Those who can't, or don't want to, can leave now."

He pointed at the door of the dungeon, and meanwhile he looked at every single student, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike. Even Snape's pupil, Draco, looked uneasy around him, although most of the Gryffindors couldn't imagine Snape letting Draco fail.

"So I take it that everybody here will do his or her best. If you don't, I'll ask you to leave, because I'm not going to waste any of my time."

Harry thought that it would be an awful year when Snape was right. To have to work hard for Potions was one of the worst things that could happen at Hogwarts. Of course except Voldemort-related stuff. But, well, he already knew that this would probably be an awful year. Harry shivered, and tried to stop thinking about it and listen to Snape again.

"This year's first subject is the Salazar potion."

Shocked, Harry looked at Snape, and he knew he wasn't the only one. Salazarpotion? Like in 'Salazar Slytherin', one of the Hogwarts' founders? The man who gave Slytherin its name? That couldn't be coincidence. With a bitter smile, Harry thought that it was probably something dark and illegal. Or no, of course not, they wouldn't teach anything about Dark magic in Potions class.

"I take it that everybody knows what this potion does. Basic knowledge. But for those who don't have this knowledge, would somebody repeat it... Potter?"

"Well, eh... Salazar potion comes, of course, from Salazar Slytherin and... euh..." he stammered, underwhile hoping for a miracle which would distract Snape. Even Hermione hadn't put up her hand, so how would he know? Salazar Slytherin had been a Parselmouth, so it was probably something with snakes or so, but what exactly?

Fortunately, there did happen a miracle: Neville Longbottom put up his hand.

Snape looked at him as though he had grown a second head All the students looked surprised and shocked at Neville, who blushed a bit from all the attention, but kept looking straight forward.

"But it's not in the book, how can Neville know?" Harry heard Hermione muttering.

Finally, Snape said coldly: "Longbottom?"

"Salazar potion is a very complicated potion, invented by Salazar Slytherin. When somebody drinks this potion and uses the right spell, this person will change into a snake for fifteen minutes. So it's something between an Animagus and Polyjuice Potion."

Snape nodded shortly, but didn't give Gryffindor any points. Instead of that he looked at Harry, who had the feeling that Snape was in a bad mood and would take that out on him. And he was right.

"Five points from Gryffindor, Potter, because you didn't know the answer. Apparently you have already started with your not-interested attitude. You don't prepare for lessons, etc. The rest of the year, you'll sit right in front of me, next to Miss Lista here and I want you to be able to answer all of my questions!"

Dumbfounded, Harry stared at Snape. It seemed that he was in a really, really bad mood, for immediately being so angry. Sitting right in front of Snape, next to a horrible Slytherin, for the whole year?! Not sitting with Ron and Hermione anymore?! For a moment, he considered really going away, but he really had to get his N.E.W.T.'s. So he packed his books, walked over to the front row, and threw his books on the table Snape pointed at a seat next to a girl who had her back to him. The only thing he could see, was her long, blonde hair.

"The next month we will work on the Salazar potion. And although I don't expect any of you blockheads to make a real good Salazar potion, those who produce an excellent one will have already a headstart for the N.E.W.T.'s. The ingredients for the Salazar potion are..."

Suddenly, Harry heard somebody next to him whispering: "The Crows follow you everywhere, Potter."

Surprised, he turned around, and immediately he was caught in two big, emerald green eyes. Nearly the same color as his, but with a coolness he only knew from Voldemort and the other Crows. Yeah, the other Crows, because this was of course another Crow. He recognized her, but that was about the last normal thought he had. He felt his head emptying under the mesmerizing force of her eyes, which held him prisoned, and slowly, very slowly, sent him a message.

"I'm Eve Lista," she whispered, dangerously soft. "Eve Lista. The fourth Crow. Eve. Will you be a Death Eater, Harry Potter?"

The question seemed to bounce through his head, again and again. Will you be a Death Eater? Should he become a Death Eater? He can't refuse... he can't say 'No' to those eyes, those mesmerizing eyes. But he can't say 'Yes' either. No 'No', no 'Yes', will you be a Death Eater? Death Eater...

"Potter! Which ingredient did I just mention?" said Snape piercing, cutting through his own vague thoughts, and at once the hypnotis was gone and he could move again, could think his own thoughts, could say what he had to say.

"No!" he said clearly.

"What do you mean, Potter?! You don't know again? Go, Potter, I don't want to see you again today. Twenty points from Gryffindor and tomorrow morning I want a list with all the ingredients of Salazar potion!"

Shocked, Harry looked at Snape. What did Snape mean? What was he talking about? But slowly he realized what had happened - that he had been hypnotized by Eve and saved by Snape, and that the latter had just told him that he could leave. But he didn't feel sorry for saying it.

Quickly, he took his stuff and he walked to the door of the dungeon, and the whole, long way, he felt two emerald green eyes burning him. He didn't look back.

***

"And, you had a nice free hour?" asked Ron when Harry saw his friends again, nearly two hours later. He shrugged. He hadn't really had a free hour, because looking up the ingredients wasn't really easy. For some strange reason (and Harry supposed that Snape was guilty of this) the ingredients of the Salazar potion were given as riddles. And not just easy riddles, but riddles which looked like a sphinx had made them, very difficult. He had found the whole answer of three of them, and was halfway done with two, so fifteen to go before tomorrow morning.

Not like that was the most important thing now, for him. First he had to tell his friends about Eve, about this new danger. But even before that he had to do something very important. He took the Marauder's Map and tapped on it with his wand, under the table of course, although the teacher hadn't arrived yet. After saying the spell, he saw the lines wiggling, and finally they had reached the Charms classroom. Relieved, he saw that there was nobody around who shouldn't be here, but he also saw that the teacher was coming.

As soon as the man came in, Parvati and Lavender giggled, and also Hermione looked very interested. Harry sighed and wished that Flitwick was still teaching Charms. Seth Far was a good teacher, nice and patient, but the problem was that a lot of girls agreed that he was the hottest guy in school. Even that wouldn't be really bad, but they shouldn't make it so clear.

"Hello class," he started. "Today we'll talk about the Fidelius Charm, like yesterday. Who can tell me..."

Harry looked quickly at professor Far, who luckily wasn't looking at him, and decided that it was safe to tell Ron and Hermione.

"Well, you remember that girl next to me?"

***

A/N:

So, liked this chapter? I did, it's one of my favourites so far, together with chapter seven (which is already written in Dutch, but not yet translated) and I hope you do as well. If you do, please leave a review. If you don't, please review as well, because I'd like to know what you don't like, so I can improve my writing. I just love reviews J

I have actually no idea when chapter five will be out. I have holiday now, but I have to translate about four more pages and I have a very busy holiday. But I'll try to do it as soon as possible, and hopefully I won't have any problems with my beta-readers.

All my reviewers, thanks a lot & hugs from Holland!

Lender (Aga):

Bloody Mary? *lol* I thought of it myself as well but I didn't want to look like an alcoholist ::giggles:: I'm writing the slash story at the moment and I hope you'll like it... and I so want to see more of your pictures!

Denise:

Wow, reviewing three chapters in a row! And yes, he explained... sorry... ;-)

Flavored Sugar (Erin):

Thanks for the review! School is a bad, bad thing sometimes, and I'm really missing your comments.

Aleena Malfoy:

Thanks! I'm happy that you think it's original, it's always one of my greatest fears to write clichés...

Dado HV:

You're strange... saying that you can't write and translate at the same time, when that's just what I'm doing... but thanks again & good luck with You-Know-Who (and no, I did not mean Voldemort this time) ::giggles::

Rain:

Thank you so much! I like writing those dark stories.

Eye...:

Thanks! And this one will not be as Mary Sue-ish as the one we're writing together ::sticks out tongue::