Harry Potter's Dark Descent Into Rebellion

Harry Potter and the Burden of Becoming

Chapter 21 - Protecting the Snake
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Outside, the rain continued to pour down as Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this much rain. The conditions were miserable, and Harry had to sneer, thinking of Malfoy and what he'd have to do to return to the castle. By now, the Slytherin would be up and about in Hogsmeade. What would he try to do? Harry stopped to look down through a window to the Hogwarts grounds below. Through the glass he could see large puddles forming everywhere, and the lake burgeoning. He leaned his head against the cold glass and thought back to Dumbledore's words of forgiveness, but then quickly shoved them aside. "If they can't help her, Malfoy," he whispered, his words fogging the pane before him, "you'll join her there. I promise you that." A hand touched his shoulder.

"Hey, Harry," he whispered. "Got a minute?" Harry spun ready to fight, and found that it was only Anthony Goldstein, the Ravenclaw's eyes darting up and down the corridor. "We've made a plan if you want in." A smile broke out on his face, and for a moment Harry thought he was looking at the smirk of Lucius Malfoy.

"Plan?" Harry asked. "Really, Anthony you've got to..."

"Great!" Goldstein jumped in not listening to a word. He held Harry's arm and walked over by one of the pillars lining the corridor. "Franklin tells me that every night there's a group of Slytherins that sneak out to one of the classrooms on the second floor for a bit of dueling practice. One of them is Malfoy. But, he seems to have disappeared... somehow," he winked at Harry. "That conveniently drops their best duelist out of the group." Again his eyes shot back and forth scanning the corridor. "I've got six, maybe seven Ravenclaws. We'll be waiting for them tonight at ten. Once they're down, we're taking them into the forest and leaving them there."

"The forest!" Harry exclaimed. "You can't go in there. Do you have any idea..."

"You've been in there loads of times, Harry, and you're fine. We're just going to scare 'em a bit. A night's sleep under the trees will do 'em some good." Goldstein's face was sinister and full of malice. "They'll pay for what they did to Cho. They'll all pay!"

"Anthony, listen," Harry was searching for the words, "it wasn't all of Slytherin. It was Malfoy. You can't just assume..."

"They're all the same, Potter!" he choked. "Luna told us how you fought them off last year. I didn't believe it, not until today in class. And we know their dad's are Death Eaters. We need to get them out... eliminate every... last... ONE!" Harry saw a picture of Vernon flash before him as a bit of foam formed on the corner of Anthony's mouth. "It was a Slytherin that killed your parents, Harry. It was a Slytherin that killed your godfather. Are you in with us, or out?" Harry suddenly found his compass spinning again. The need for revenge was deep and dropping Malfoy in Hogsmeade for a walk home in the rain had not quenched his thirst. "Well?" Goldstein pressed.

"In," Harry breathed. A broad smile broke out on Goldstein's face. It was not a smile Harry shared. Then, quite suddenly, Harry's forehead split open in a searing pain. His hand shot up to his scar. It was on fire. It was the first time he'd felt like this since... since..."

"Harry? Are you okay?" Goldstein asked as Harry bent over in agony.

"What? Are you daft?" Harry yelled. "No, I'm not okay!" He was rubbing his forehead, and as quickly as it had come, the pain receded. He straightened and took a deep breath. Then looking at Goldstein with a scowl he snapped, "Well?"

"Okay... nine-thirty then," he whispered to Harry, "outside the Ravenclaw common room. If you don't show, Harry, we won't wait for you." He slapped Harry on the shoulder. "Tonight we begin to take back Hogwarts."

His head pounding, Harry made it back to common room and he began a feeble attempt at working on what homework he could. Throughout, he was wondering what might have caused the pain in his scar again. Throughout, he knew that, somewhere, something bad was about to happen, if it hadn't already. He went to put his things away as students were making their way in from the last class of the day. When he entered his room, he found Neville lying in bed, his pillow over his head. "Hey, Neville, everything okay?" he asked. Neville pulled the pillow down to reveal a smile on his face.

"Perfect," he said with an uncharacteristic grin. It was an unusual look for Neville, and an even more unusual response. Harry started to change for dinner and noticed the dragonhead in his trunk. He pulled it out and set it by his bed. "Whoa!" Neville exclaimed. "Cool! Where'd you get it?"

"A friend," Harry said simply. "For my birthday." He handed the dragonhead to Neville.

"It's a Hungarian Horntail, isn't it?" asked Neville. Harry nodded. "Look at the teeth! Does it move?"

"Nope, just a statue." He paused. "A Muggle made it." He was wondering what Neville's response would be.

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed. The acceptance seemed to warm Harry's heart which had been so cold of late. "But... a horntail? How?"

"She saw the statuette I had from the Tri-Wizard tournament." The explanation satisfied Neville, as it had Harry before, but this time the words coming from Harry's own mouth were troubling; something wasn't quite right. Still, not everything slipped passed Neville.

"She?" he asked, handing the dragonhead back. The tone in his voice was obvious and the flush of Harry's skin, and grin on his face gave Neville the answer before Harry said a word. "That makes us two for two, Harry! After Professor Sprout's N.E.W.T. today, Helen Hedera from Hufflepuff pulled me aside. She wondered if I'd like to help her pot some plants tonight."

"She's pretty, Neville," Harry winked, noticing for the first time that Neville seemed to be growing more handsome himself. "Always wears a flower in her hair, right?"

"Yeah," Neville sighed, flopping back on his bed and smiling at the ceiling. Ron and Goyle walked in. Goyle was laughing about something as he entered, but stopped abruptly when he saw Harry.

Harry set the dragonhead down next to his bed, but when he pulled his hand away his finger caught on one of the creature's sharp teeth. "Ow!" he yelped. A small red bead of blood began to prickle to the surface. Harry sucked his finger. When he looked back at its tip, the wound was gone. When he stood up, he saw that Ron had noticed, but no one else.

"Hey, Neville," Harry called. "How 'bout dinner."

"Sure!" Neville said. "I want to hear more about this girl of yours." Harry watched Ron's eyes widen a bit, but he ignored him. "See you guys at dinner," Neville said brightly.

When he and Harry sat to eat, the sky above was still dark and foreboding. The sound of rain filled the Great Hall. His heart growing lighter with the telling, Harry actually opened up about Gabriella in the broadest of terms. It was nice to share with someone else, in a small way at least. Neville seemed to be perfectly accepting.

"You know," Neville said, munching on a dinner roll, "Seamus' dad's a Muggle. You ought to ask him how his folks met." Harry nodded looking over at the Ravenclaw table. Seamus was sitting with a group of Ravenclaws, one of which was Anthony Goldstein. They were huddling together.

"How obvious can you get," thought Harry. He looked up to the head table. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention. Dumbledore was gone, and Professor Snape was actually discussing something with Hagrid. Harry walked over to the group of Ravenclaws.

"Why don't you tell the whole bloody school you're planning something," he hissed. "Break it up." Then, in a louder voice to give a reason for his visit he asked, "Seamus, can I have a word?"

"Sure, Harry!" Seamus stood up and walked over with Harry against a side wall.

"You're not in on this are you?" Harry whispered.

"Why not?" Seamus snapped back under his breath. "Goldstein says you're in. Are you?" Harry looked around the hall. He really wanted to be having the conversation Neville suggested.

"It's not safe Seamus," Harry pleaded. "Just stay out of it."

"They figure the one thing I got bein' from Gryffindor is guts, an' you wan' me teh chicken out?" It was Seamus who was turning scarlet. "I don' back down from a battle, Harry, never. Besides... she's yer girlfriend, ain't she?"

"Yes... I mean, no. It's just that...."

"Yeh better figure it out, Harry, 'cuz we're doin' it tonight, with or witho' yeh." Seamus patted Harry on the chest and walked back to the Ravenclaw table. Harry took off his glasses with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. He was suddenly very tired, and still had Astronomy. The cluster of Ravenclaws broke up and began to leave the hall in twos.

There was a clap of thunder that shuddered through the Great Hall, and Harry walked over and said his goodbyes to Neville. He was on his way to the tower when two students burst through the front doors soaked to the bone. Through the opening he saw Dean and Ginny on the steps. He walked over for a closer look.

"Really, Ginny," said Dean smiling, water dripping down his face, "I've got to go. Astronomy will start any minute." The two kissed. The rain was splashing down on them.

"Stay," Ginny teased. "You can't see any stars tonight." Dean caught a glimpse of Harry in the doorway.

"Look," he pointed, "Harry's headed there now. If Professor Sinistra cancels, I'll be right back. I swear." They kissed again, and he pulled himself away. Together, Dean and Harry made their way to the astronomy tower, Dean's shoes squeaking at every step.

As the pair entered the tower a bit late, Professor Sinistra directed them each take a seat. "I'm afraid viewing the stars will be quite out of the question," she said. "I thought we..." and as if someone had turned off the spout, the rain stopped. Suddenly, silence filled the air, and the class gave out a small round of applause. Professor Sinistra walked out onto the parapet and looked up to the sky. "Hmm." She stroked her chin.

For the first half of class, they reviewed planetary information from last year. This year, they were to examine the major gaseous clusters and galaxies. Professor Sinistra kept walking out onto the parapet to check the sky. Finally, she said, "Yes, I think we can have a go." Each student conjured up a telescope and began to examine the stars. For quite some time they compared their charts with their observations. Dean and Harry were working side by side comparing notes and helping each other out with their charts.

"So, Dean," Harry asked, "any more trouble from Ron?" He tried to keep his voice as light as possible.

"Tell you what, Harry," Dean replied, "when Ron stops being an ass, that will be news. Believe me, I'll let you know when it happens." He took his quill and scribbled a note on his star chart. "I've been thinking about what you said though, and you're right." He looked up from his telescope to Harry. "I've got his parents on my side, right?" Harry nodded. "Ginny told Fred and George last year when we were first going out and they've been cool about it." He shook his head. "What am I doing looking for Ron's approval? I don't need it, and neither does she." His voice had been resolute throughout, but wavered at

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THE END