Chapter 17 - Lies in water

As the cold north winds blew in, so did the month of February. It brought lots of ice and very cold rain. After a very long and cold winter the students and teachers where not very welcoming to the bad weather. They were all wishing the winter to pass and the spring to come. Many of the classrooms had constant blazing fires to keep not only the students happy but also the staff as well. One teacher who was not as generous had ordered the fires not to be lit down in the dungeons. Snape had answered to the angry questions from his class, that the warmer it is in a classroom the less amount of concentration was applied to the lesson.
After a particularly horrible potions lesson Harry and Ron climbed up the stairs to the common room.
He is such an ars-, started Ron but he was stopped as Rae ran up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. Rons cheeks went red. Harry remembering that he had Quidditch Practice straight after his lessons broke into a run to dump his books and change into his robes.
Where you off to? called Ron after him
Quidditch! replied Harry.
Once dressed in his robes Harry headed downstairs into the common room. Fred and George were there dressed in their robes.
Ready for an absolutely spiffing game of Quidditch? asked Fred in a posh English voice
Oh how I hate Wood, said George He is a right slug for making us play in this icy wind,
Well lets not delay it any longer, the sooner it is over the better, said Fred
Too true my bro, said George
The twins and Harry exited the common room and headed down to the pitch. Alicia and Angelina where already waiting. There was no sign of Katie or Wood.
Typical! said George he organises this sodding practice and he is late!
No I am not, said a voice from behind them
Harry looked round to see Wood and Katie walking over to them carrying the Quidditch box between them.
Now shall we continue or is there anything else you would like to complain about George?
The practice was miserable. The wind howled and was so strong on occasions blew them off course. But normally when there is wind there is rain and it was not long before rain and hail followed. The hail balls stuck the team hard in the face. There faces raw with cold they decided to end the practice for today. The team trudged back up to the castle and sat huddled by the fire trying to get sensation back into their bodies. Harry looked around the common room looking for Ron and Hermione. He found Ron quickly. He was sat in the corner of a room with Rae, kissing. Hermione however was not in sight. As the team warmed up they slowly began to walk of either to be with their friends or go down to dinner. Once Wood had walked of leaving Harry by himself, Maya walked over to him.
Hiya, she said Um how are you?
Fine. You? replied Harry
Very well, said Maya How was practice?
Oh it was lousy, said Harry
Oh, said Maya
Neither of them spoke for a while. It was an awkward silence. Maya and Harry seamed to have grown further apart since they had returned to Hogwarts. They had their different friends although both Maya and Rae still spent a lot of time with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry hadnt quite figured out his feelings for Maya. He really liked her and he felt differently to her than he did for many of the other girls in his year, but he was shy of saying anything. Whenever Harry was around Maya a hot bubbling feeling came over him, and a lot of the time he could feel himself blushing. He wanted to be more comfortable around her and a part of him wanted her to be his girlfriend, the only thing that was stopping him was the guts and he was unsure of how she felt towards him.
Um how has your day um been? asked Harry
Great, and yourself, said Maya
Good, said Harry Have you seen Hermione?
Um not lately, said Maya I heard Ron arguing with her but I chose to ignore it. I have not seen her since then,
Do you think she might have gone down to dinner? asked Harry
I am not sure, said Maya We could go down and check,
Yeah, said Harry  Why not,
The two of them stood up and walked out of the common room. They did not walk very far before Hermione walked straight into to Harry. She was looking at the floor so had not seen Harry coming.
Sorry, she said looking up Harry!
She looked shocked. Harry could see that she had been crying. Hermione quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robes.
Sorry I did not s&s...see you, she stuttered
Hey & hey, said Harry Whats up?
Its nothing, said Hermione
Its obviously not nothing Hermione, said Harry Whats the matter, whats upset you, is it Ron,
Hermione nodded and burst into tears. She hugged Harry and sobbed into his shoulder. Harry returned the hug.
What has he done? asked Harry
He has accused me of lying, said Hermione He said that I have spread a nasty rumour about him and Rae. But I have not, I wouldnt. But he does not believe me. He said that he was told be Seamus who got it from Parvati who got it from someone else who got it from me. But I have never said anything bad about him and Rae, but he wont believe me,
Well just ignore him, said Harry We all know that you would not say anything of the sort, and he will eventually come round. Dont worry about it,
Yeah just ignore him, Ron has always been awkward, said Maya Why dont you come and have supper with us?Ok, said Hermione Thank you,
Its alright, said Harry Come on, lets go and eat before all the good food is taken,
They walked down stairs into the hall and began to eat a supper of pasta and meatballs in a tomato sauce.

That night Harry slept very, very badly. After lying down on his bed his thoughts slipped into dream&
Harry stood on the edge of the forest. A huge dark lake lay before him but Harry could not make the person out. The person was pointing at something in the lake. Harry walked down and stood next to the figure in front of him. Something confused Harry; he could still not make out the figure. He looked at where the figure was pointing. They were pointing out to something in the water. Harry looked out in the direction of the persons finger. At first Harry could not see anything, but then he looked again. There was a person, lying face down in the water and hardly moving apart from bobbing up and down. Harry walked forward so as to go into the water to save the person, but as soon as his shoe touched the waters edge he was thrown backwards against a tree. The breath knocked out of him, Harry sat there for a moment. He looked around. On a rock on the other side of the lake was a hooded and cloaked figure. Harry looked to the body floating in the lake, it was so limp now and Harry was very surprised that if that person was dragged out of the water the likely hood of them surviving were very slim. Harry looked back at the rock the hooded figure was standing on. They were no longer there. Harry stood up and looked around, he could not see the figure anywhere. He walked over to the person standing by the river. He was looking down now.
You need to save them, said Harry looking towards the person floating in the water.
I cant, whispered the person
You have too, I cant get in the water, said Harry That hooded person wont let me,
Its too late, said the person
What do you mean its too late? asked Harry
Shes dead, said the figure
How do you know? asked Harry
She just is, said the person shes been there for a while now,
No, said Harry You cant just stand there! How do you know its too late and how come you wont help her?
Shes dead, said the person
No, no, said Harry She cant be?
Harry ran towards the water again, this time he managed to wade into the water. It was freezing cold. But he did not manage to get very far. Some invisible force suddenly stopped him. Harry turned round to see who was holding him back. He was shocked to see that no one was there, but the hooded figure had moved and was now standing next to the person, which Harry had been standing next to previously. Harry tried to move forwards towards the girl, but he could not move. He turned round to the hooded figure.
Let me go, he said loudly Let me help her,
No, said an icy cold voice, which echoed around Harry No she is to die like I have planned,
Harry was suddenly pulled from the water and thrown very hard against a tree. Harry couldnt breathe properly, the breath had been knocked out of him, he gasped for breath &
Harry awoke gasping for breath. He felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach and winded. Harry tried to catch his breath, and when eventually had he sat up wiping the cold sweat of his forehead. There were distant snores coming from the other beds in the dormitory. Obviously he was the only one awake. The moon shone through the window lighting up the various objects in the room. Harry sat up and pulled back the hangings around his four-poster bed. He stood up and quietly got dressed into his school robes and crept across the room and out of the dormitory. He headed downstairs into the Gryffindor common room and walked towards the exit. Harry climbed out of the portrait hole and walked down the corridor, he was going to go and see Dumbledore. He walked for what felt like ages, just dwelling in his thoughts. When he looked up he found himself outside the gargoyle leading into Dumbledores office.
Sherbot Lemon Harry said to the gargoyle.
This had been the password to Dumbledores office in his first year of Hogwarts. The Gargoyle did not move. It did not spring into life leaving a staircase leading into the office of Dumbledore. Harry stared at the gargoyle.
Pear drop he said
Nothing happened
Liquorice wand. Fizzing whizzbee. Drouble Best Blowing Gum. Chocolate frog. The gargoyle just stared at Harry.
Sugar quill. Said Harry
Again the gargoyle did not move.
Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans
The gargoyle leapt into life. It turned slowly showing a large staircase. Harry jumped onto the revolving staircase. The staircase came to a halt outside Dumbledores office. He knocked on the door and entered. The office was dark and the sound of Snores was coming from around him. Harry looked at the walls the portraits of the other heads of the school were all sleeping. The still risen moon shone through the top most windows, letting a tiny bit of light into the room. How early in the morning was it.
Professor Dumbledore, Harry called.
Harry was a bit nervous at how angry Dumbledore would be as it was the early hours of the morning.
Professor Dumbledore, he called again
Hey boy! said a voice Have you got any idea what time it is. It is very very early. Dumbledore will not want to be woken,
It is important that I see professor Dumbledore. Said Harry
Cant it wait till morning, asked the picture
No. said Harry it is really important that I see him-
Harry? said a voice
Harry looked round. Standing in front of him was professor Dumbledore. He was dressed in a very elegant maroon dressing gown that trailed on the floor behind him.
Professor Dumbledore said Harry quietly.
Harry, this is quite and early call, said Dumbledore eyeing Harry up and down.
Told you he would not be happy. I told you. Said the picture on the wall that had spoken to Harry just before Dumbledore said his name
Thats enough Boris. If Harry came then he obviously needed to talk. He knows he always welcome to come to me, whatever time of the day it is. Said Dumbledore sternly to the picture. Now why dont you go back to sleep. Now Harry what has bothered you to come to see me this early?
Harry looked around. The pictures had stopped snoring. He knew they were planning on listening in on the convocation. Dumbledore also seemed to notice that the snores had stopped.
Why dont we go somewhere quieter, he suggested.
Dumbledore lead Harry up a short flight of stairs. Harry followed Dumbledore into a dimly lit room. Taking up most of the room was a huge bed. The bed cover was covered in emerald stars on a dark blue background. Dumbledore sat down into a big blue armchair. He beckoned to Harry, and pointed to a similar armchair but this time it was magenta. Harry accepted the offer and sat down. Immediately he sank into indescribable comfort.
Professor Dumbledore, I did not mean to wake you so early, said Harry
Quite alright, my sleep has been troubled so I was pretty much awake anyway. I am guessing that you have not had a solid nights sleep either? said Dumbledore looking over the top of his glasses.
Harry shook his head
Whats been bothering you Harry? asked Dumbledore
Harry looked up into his headmasters eyes. Dumbledore looked right back.
You seam troubled and frightened, said Dumbledore gazing into Harrys eyes. Am I right in guessing that you have had another dream?
Harry nodded. Dumbledore looked more concerned at Harry
Tell me about it Harry, he said
Harry looked around nervously
Go on Harry, its ok nothing or no one is going to bother us, said Dumbledore comfortingly
So Harry told Dumbledore all about the dream, everything from the dead girl to him being prevented from helping. Once he had finished Dumbledore sat staring at Harry. Harry found this slightly uncomfortable so looked down into his lap. After minutes of complete silence, apart from the ticking of a clock somewhere in the bedroom, Dumbledore spoke.
Harry you seam scared? he said suddenly
Harry looked up. He was scared and worried.
Tell me what concerns you, said Dumbledore
Sir, many of my other dreams have come true or have injured me in some way, and I am worried that this dream will come true as well, said Harry
I thought you might say that, said Dumbledore Well I will be honest with you Harry, in light of all your other dreams there is a possibility this dream will occur at some point,
But then someone is going to die, said Harry
Maybe, but maybe not, said Dumbledore In light of this I am going to take precautions, which may help prevent the dream from coming true. But we also need to concentrate on you. I am becoming increasingly worried of the effect of these dreams on you. I worry of how it affects you and your studies. I am going to talk with you teachers and with Madame Pomfrey to see if there is anything we can do to help you. Harry you are not alone in all of this and you can turn to people, and they will help,
Harry did not answer and continued to look at the floor. There was something else that was troubling him and he was very concerned that his suspicions may be true.
Harry, there is something else bothering you isnt there? asked Dumbledore
Harry nodded.
Professor, I am really concerned that the girl in the water, maybe & maybe & Hermione, he said
Harry what on earth made you think that, said Dumbledore
Well the hooded figure I think was Voldamort and if he is trying to hurt me then he would probably go for someone close to me like a friend. Plus the girl in the water had bushy brown hair, the same length as Hermiones said Harry
Harry, I think it is unwise to dwell on that image. Its only going to cause you upset and problems. I would like you to forget about this dream, it may not come true, but I do not want you worrying about it until, if it does, happen. Said Dumbledore sternly.
Harry did not say anything. How could he expect Harry just to forget about this dream? Its not something you easily put out of you mind.
Now Harry I think you should head back to the common room and get some more sleep, or at least snooze by the fire in the common room, said Dumbledore standing up and leading Harry downstairs and to the door of his office.
Remember, this door is always open and you are always free to come and talk no matter what time in the day it may be, said Dumbledore smiling
Harry smiled back and left the office. He headed back to the common room and sat by an armchair near the fire. The moon was still up and was shinning through one of the windows. Harry sat looking at the fire his head buzzing with questions and concerns. He felt sick with worry that something was going to happen to Hermione and he was not going to do anything to stop it. Harry closed his eyes and allowed his body to soak in the heat that the fire was producing. He was so worried, but there was nothing he could do about it.

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