Lethal Darkness

Lethal Darkness

By Snitch Builder

Chapter Six

A Chance to Dream

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past."

Thomas Jefferson - Third US President

Harry jumped up and clenched his fists. He was fuming at the thoughts that were flying around in his head.

'Sit down, Harry, please,' Hermione pleaded as she tugged at the sleeve of his robes. 'Let Dumbledore deal with it.'

'Get off me,' he snapped and yanked the cloth from her fingers, making her jump.

He shoved Ron out of the way and stomped down between the rows of students. All the while he never took his gaze off Malfoy, who was now looking quite worried. The people in front of him parted like water to let him through and when he reached the end of the table, he turned sharply to his right and stormed towards the Slytherin table. A few students got up to stand in his way, but he moved them out of his path with a Flipendo spell, making them fly through the air. Dumbledore saw what was going on and rushed towards where Harry was heading.

Harry reached Malfoy and after blasting Crabbe and Goyle out of the way, he put his wand against Malfoy's throat.

'You did it, didn't you?' Harry growled menacingly.

'Y-you've gone m-mad Potter!' Malfoy stuttered. 'P-put that thing away before you hurt someone.'

'Hurt someone?' Harry spat and clutched his wand tighter. 'Hurt someone? I'll bloody kill you, you bastard! It was you that woke that thing up, wasn't it? WASN'T IT! TELL THE TRUTH YOU PIECE OF SHIT! TELL THE PEOPLE ROUND HERE WHAT YOU DID BEFORE I KILL YOU!'

It was Malfoy's turn to do something in his trousers as Harry shoved the tip of the wand into his throat. He was fuming and with just one little push he would be rid of this piece of filth once and for all. He probably wouldn't even waste doing magic on him, just use his wand, physically.

'It wasn't me,' he squealed.

'I don't believe you!' Harry bellowed.

'I-it wasn't me,' Malfoy whimpered. 'H-honest!'

'Then who was it?' Harry was losing his patience.

'I-it was... I-it w-was,' Malfoy stammered and looked around the room.

'WHO?' Harry yelled, and realised the room had gone quiet.

Dumbledore arrived to stand beside Harry, but didn't do anything to help Malfoy. Harry wondered why Dumbledore didn't do anything to stop him, so he pressed his wand harder into Malfoy's neck.

'It was... It w-was her,' and he pointed at Pansy Parkinson.

'You grassing bastard, Malfoy!' Pansy yelled and she went to run.

Hermione caught Pansy with a leg-locker curse, causing her to fall over right in front of Snape as he entered the Great Hall. He grabbed the back of her robes and lifted the squirming girl right off the ground!

'So,' Snape whispered waspishly, 'Miss Parkinson. What have you been doing?'

'Severus,' Dumbledore said calmly, 'please put Miss Parkinson down. I have proof of what she has done. But I can't help thinking she had help in some things.'

Dumbledore looked at Malfoy over the top of his glasses and pulled a small yellow book from his robes.

'Do you know anything about this, Mr. Malfoy?' Dumbledore asked slowly.

Harry pushed the wand into Malfoy's throat a little harder and a drop of blood appeared, trickling from his skin at the tip of the wand.

'N-nothing, H-Headmaster,' he stammered.

'Are you sure?' Harry asked menacingly.

'P-Piss off, P-Potter,' Malfoy stuttered.

That was it! Over six years of taunting from Malfoy had evolved into a thin strand of elastic in his mind, and those three small words had caused it to snap.

'AVADA - ' Harry began to say, but was interrupted when his wand flew from his hand.

He looked round sharply and saw Hermione had her wand pointing straight at him.

'Sorry, Harry,' she said. 'I couldn't let you kill him. He's not worth it.' She moved to look at Malfoy who was cowering on the floor. 'Right. This little, now, what do you call me... oh yes, Mudblood, has just saved your neck. You owe me now, Malfoy. Big time! So what does that feel like?'

Malfoy looked around for some support as he stood up, but found that the sight of Hermione waving a wand around had cleared the area around him. He simply made to run off but Harry stood in front of him and stopped him.

'Just one more thing, Malfoy,' Harry asked as he clenched his fist tightly. 'Where did that book come from?'

'I-I don't know w-what you m-mean,' Malfoy stammered.

Harry lost his patience. He turned slightly away from Malfoy and in the blink of an eye he spun round and crashed his fist into the side of Malfoy's face. Malfoy went down like a sack of potatoes.

'That's ENOUGH!' Hermione yelled at Harry as she pointed her wand at him. 'Don't make me do something I will regret.'

Harry shook his hand to stop the pain that had appeared in his knuckles after hitting Malfoy. When he turned back to Malfoy, he just caught sight of him hurrying out of the main doors. Dumbledore had now released Pansy from the leg-locker and was gripping the frightened girl's arm tightly.

'I regret what I have to do, Miss Parkinson,' Dumbledore said menacingly, 'but it is for your own good and for the protection of the other students.'

'W-what are you doing?' she cried. 'W-where are you taking me? Please! Tell me!'

He dragged Pansy through the doors and Harry followed. It was a sickening sight to see Pansy trying to pull Dumbledore's hand off her arm while she pleaded with him through her tears. Standing a little way down the main path were the remaining Dementors, patiently awaiting their captive.

'NOOOO!' she cried and her tears came thick and fast and struggled even harder to be released. 'PLEASE! NOT THAT! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE DON'T SEND ME THERE! PLEASE! PLEEEEEASE!'

Harry clutched his wand tighter, ready to hex her if she got away. But eventually, one of the Dementors took her, and with its six comrades, they dragged her kicking and screaming out of the front gate and away down the lane.

Dumbledore came back into the Great Hall and strode up to the teacher's table.

'Attention everyone,' he called and the muttering subsided. 'The nightmare is over.'

The students all cheered and some of them patted Harry on his back as he made his way back to his seat. When he sat down, he smiled at Parvati and her lower lip trembled a little.

'Come on,' Harry said. 'Let's go for a walk. It's still light outside and the rain has stopped.'

'I'll see you later then,' Hermione sighed.

Harry felt that he owed Hermione so much that he couldn't leave her out.

'No,' he added. 'You too.'

Ron and Lavender were more interested in each other, so Harry wandered out towards the lake with Parvati and Hermione. He conjured up a blanket and sat down on it. Parvati lay down and placed her head on Harry's lap. Her breathing started to speed up and she began to cry again. Harry was glad Hermione was with him as he had no idea what to do. The only thing he was sure of was that Parvati needed to be with people she could depend on, and Harry was willing to be that volunteer no matter what.

'What do you think was going on between Malfoy and Parkinson?' Hermione asked quietly after a few minutes.

'I have no idea, really,' Harry replied. 'You should have let me finish off Malfoy though.'

'What,' Hermione huffed, 'and allow me to be friends with a murderer?! I don't think so!'

'Why not?' Harry asked. 'He's done so many bad things over the years that he deserved it. Parkinson is now at Azkaban, and he's holed up in the toilet. How fair is that? I mean, I can't believe she did this all on her own.'

'Not very fair, I admit,' Hermione said, 'but murder is never a good way of solving anything. Even for a low-life such as Malfoy.'

Parvati stopped crying and Hermione put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

'You feeling any better?' Hermione asked her gently.

'Not really,' Parvati replied and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. 'I can't get over the fact that just one day ago I had a twin sister and now she's gone.'

'I'm sure she's watching us right now,' Harry added and looked towards the sky. 'I always think that even though they have gone forever, they are never far away as long as they are remembered in our hearts,' and he scanned the sky, looking for shapes in the clouds that could resemble his parents.

'That's so sweet, Harry,' Parvati whispered and gasped a little.

Parvati also looked skywards, and her lower lip trembled a little, but she was smiling slightly. Harry couldn't help but feel that even though Padma was gone, Parvati still could sense her twin's presence close by.

'If you need anything,' Hermione whispered, 'please don't hesitate to ask.'

'Thanks, Hermione,' Parvati replied. 'And thanks Harry.'

'What for?' Harry asked feeling a little bewildered.

'You were there for me when I needed you,' she replied.

'No problem,' he said and held her closer. 'You were there for me when I needed someone too. It's the least I can do.'

Hermione went off to find Ron and Lavender, leaving Harry alone with Parvati. She wept again, and then finally fell asleep across his lap. Harry's mind was racing. There were so many unanswered questions, and he had no idea who to direct them to.

The approaching night took Harry by surprise and he walked in silence with Parvati back to the Ravenclaw common room. He didn't feel like hanging around, so as soon as Lavender had escorted Parvati to the girls' dormitory, he slipped out to complete some unfinished business.

It didn't take long to get to where the hole in the wall was, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was completely blocked with fresh rock.

'Nothing will get out of there ever again,' a voice said from behind him.

Harry spun round to see the stranger. The man was dressed in his travelling cloak and had a large cloth bag next to him.

'Who are you?' Harry asked.

'Thomas Wickket,' the stranger announced. 'I work in the Department of Mysteries and specialise in ancient creatures. Dumbledore alerted us to this creature when you let on about your dreams. It's a pity you didn't let us know sooner, as we could have sorted it all out quicker.'

'Well, I'm glad it's all over,' Harry said. 'But I still don't understand about how the Alien came to be under the castle.'

'Well, Harry,' Thomas said, smiling slightly, 'you might as well know it all. About three hundred years ago, two explorer wizards stumbled across two specimens buried beep in an ice flow in the Arctic. When they bought them back to England, they really didn't know what they had found. It looks like the Aliens were in some sort of suspended state and the warmth woke them up. The Aliens tried to attack them, but the wizards were able to subdue the monsters with some special spells.'

'But I can't understand why,' Harry continued, 'when we tried to hex it, nothing happened. Even Flitwick didn't know anything to stop it, and he was an expert.'

Thomas gave a chuckle. 'Harry,' he said quietly, 'do you think that you learn all the spells and curses that have been discovered and developed over thousands of years in just seven years at school? Well, there are thousands of them that have been outlawed over the centuries, and some that have been lost in the midst of time. The curses that held the Alien in check are so deadly to humans that they make Avada Kedavra seem like a charm to give you a gentle tickle. The Alien is tough. We have seen that for ourselves. But there are some ancient killer curses that should never be used on humans that simply forced the Aliens into some sort of natural hibernation. We believe the explorers had a problem containing the creatures when they thawed them out, forcing them to try something stronger than the Killing Curse. All it did was put the bloody thing to sleep, so rather than destroying their find, they decided to hide them, and where better than under Hogwarts, far away from prying government eyes, and in a place that is protected both naturally and magically. To be doubly sure, they had one shipped out to a military installation in Brazil. It was that creature we had been studying before it too was killed.'

'But when I went into the tunnel, the walls were covered in something. If the explorers just made it go to sleep, who put all that lot down there?'

'When the creature came out of hibernation, it produced a nest, and that is what you stumbled across. You see, the creature is a survivor and will do the first thing it needs to proliferate the species and that is reproduce. We don't know what produced the eggs, but the creature needed a host and it wanted you due to your strength of mind.'

'But why did it pick on me?' Harry asked, even more confused.

'Wherever the creature came from, it is far more evolved than we are. We chose the path of civilisation with all the baggage that has, and it chose the path of survival. We have no idea how they became entombed in ice that is millions of years old, but from studies we made of the Brazilian Alien, we found it is highly developed and has a telepathic capability that preys on our darkest fears. It can be selective, and it chose you because of your talent to block out external thought influences.'

That explanation didn't make Harry feel any better for knowing that he had been the main target.

'But how come the monster didn't come straight out?' Harry asked. 'I mean, I had been having the dreams for a month, so why didn't it just leave the tunnel?'

'The tunnel is at least six miles long and pitch black, and the entrance was blocked by a very thick wall. It was released from its hibernation, but it couldn't get out of the tunnel. It was just blind luck that Dumbledore insisted that we locate the tunnel and open it. It was just bad luck that Snape got involved.'

'That's a point. What is going to become of Snape?' Harry asked.

'We will take him to St Mungo's and do some studies. It is interesting that some how Severus Snape has developed some extra talents that could only be attributable to being implanted by the Alien. Possibly something to do with his magical aura and some waste product given out by the Alien baby as it grows, we just don't know yet. From what I have seen, his reactions are like lightning, he has become incredibly strong, and he has developed a strange sense enabling him to, well, not so much see through walls, but he can sense somehow what is going on behind them.'

Harry shuddered at the thought of a Super Snape.

'How did you find out that Malfoy was involved?' Harry pressed.

'We know the ancient spell book came from Malfoy Manor, but we have no actual proof. That's why Dumbledore confronted him about it in the Great Hall to see if he would crack. The problem is that Malfoy is a cunning little sod. If we had twigged that the book belonged to his father, then it would have been a simple task to link him to the creature's escape. He had to use someone else to do the hot work, and it looks like he had bribed Miss Parkinson into doing it.'

'Bribed her!' Harry said, amazed at such an idea.

Thomas chuckled again. 'Yes, bribed her. I don't know why, because I have also found out that...' and he leaned in close to Harry to speak in a hushed voice. 'They have been having an intimate affair for about four months anyway.' He straightened up again. 'But we think it was a one way thing, and that Malfoy wanted a stooge to execute the spells, and who better than an impressionable young girl. She was infatuated by Malfoy, and Malfoy was able to exploit that infatuation. I think her conscience got the better of her though when he asked her to perform the spells, but six galleons seemed to be her price. We found an envelope in her trunk during a search of the dungeons this afternoon just before supper. The envelope had a message on it in his hand, and the money was inside.' He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out six galleons. 'Here. You can have them.' He handed the coins to Harry. 'Give them to someone who needs them.'

Harry smiled, but then he had to ask another question: 'what's going to happen to Parkinson?'

'Miss Parkinson will spend a few days in Azkaban, then they will let her go.'

'Where's the justice in that? Because of her stupidity, her greed, she killed lots of people, damaged a lot of property, and almost sent me over the edge.'

'There is no justice, I agree. She should be thrown out of the school and banned from doing spells for at least twenty years. But she was only a pawn in a greater game that we have no proof existed. She will be used as an example to everyone, that's all. But, if you think of the situation like this: if the creature had been released in a few years time, someone with less talents such as yourself would have been a target. Perhaps the result would be more dire than it is now.'

Harry looked at the old man who seemed to force a smile for Harry's benefit. Another thought crept through his racing mind.

'Are there any more Aliens anywhere?' Harry asked cautiously.

'No. These are the only two ever found. Anyway. I have to go. Nice to have met you, Mr Potter.'

He shook Harry's hand, and then touched his hat before heaving his large bag over his shoulder. Harry watched him wander out onto the school grounds, and then he had a sickening feeling about the size of the bag he was carrying. Before Harry could run after him, he Disapparated with a pop.

Harry made his way back to the Ravenclaw common room and looked anxiously round the now crowded room, finally spotting Lavender walking down the girls' dormitory stairs.

'Where's Parvati?' he asked.

'Upstairs now and tucked up in Padma's bed,' she whispered. 'She's going to be okay, though. Trust me.'

'Yeah,' Harry chuckled. 'You said trust me a few days ago, and then looked what happened.'

Lavender smiled slightly. 'What I can't understand is why the Alien attacked the Ravenclaws,' she asked as she looked around the room.

'There's no reason for it,' Harry replied. 'It could have been any house. We just have to be thankful that the thing was killed when it was.'

'I suppose so,' Lavender sighed and Ron put his arm around her when he walked over to her.

'Okay,' Ron said loudly. 'I know we've lost some close friends, but look on the bright side. If Harry hadn't had his teeth smashed out and gone on a walkabout, we would probably still be holed up in here like frightened rabbits.'

Harry had to smile. Ron's face was a picture, all pale and sweaty, but with a big smile across it. The room was crowded, and a little fusty given the amount of people that was crammed into it, but Harry had to agree with the strange statement. Ron was always prone to outbursts of complete crap, but this was at least something right for once. Bad events can end up starting something good, and in this overcrowded room, Harry felt like they had achieved something for once.

Harry looked around at the other people and wondered how long they would have to camp out with the Ravenclaws. It could be a while until the Gryffindor common room had a floor and he hoped the good will between them all would hold out. Reports from the other students indicated that the Ravenclaw squatters in the other houses were enjoying themselves, even with the Slytherins since, Malfoy had temporarily lost his grip over them.

Ron spent the rest of the evening trying to teach Lavender and Hermione Wizard Chess. Hermione had teamed up with Lavender and they were now slowly beating him. Harry watched them for a while, but he kept glancing up the stairs to the girls' dormitory to see if Parvati was going to come down. Then he remembered something. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the six galleons just as Parvati came down the stairs.

'I keep asking this,' he said as she sat down next to him, 'but how are you now?'

'Not too bad,' she replied dreamily. 'What have you got there?'

'Six galleons,' he replied. 'Thomas, that strange man from the Ministry, said Malfoy had bribed Parkinson with them to execute the spells to release the Alien. Apparently, she didn't know what she was doing. But Thomas said I should give them to someone who needs them right now.'

He placed them in a pocket on the side of her skirt.

'Why do you want to give them to me?' she asked quietly.

'Why not? Think of them as a gift. Get yourself something that Padma would have liked you to have - something to remind you of her.'

She sighed deeply and kissed him. Harry yawned widely and glanced at the clock above the mantelpiece. Even though it was only nine o'clock, he felt so exhausted that he just could not keep his eyes open a second longer. Parvati saw him yawn and made a suggestion.

'Why don't you go to bed?' she whispered. 'You never know, you might not dream now.'

Harry stared at her and gave her a gentle kiss.

'I'll see you in the morning,' he said and got up.

The climb to the boys' dormitory seemed to take forever, but soon he was ready for bed. Well, he called it a bed. It was just a small mattress forced between the four-poster beds of the Ravenclaws, but at least it was comfortable. He stared up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. Shapes appeared and danced across his vision. Another squeal from Lavender drifted up the stairs and then echoed away down a tunnel. But this tunnel was bright with all his friends in it, cheering him on.

The tunnel came to an end and opened up into a Quidditch stadium. He mounted his broom and soared into the air.