Chapter 4  The Protector

 

Harry wakes the next morning feeling pretty good considering the lack of sleep. He looks around the room and sees that he’s the first one to get up. He’s used to this, three full years of Quidditch practice with Oliver Wood can be rather damaging to any kind of sleep cycle, and he often finds himself up much earlier than the other boys in his dorm. Harry gathers his school things, and heads to the common room to wait for Hermione and Ron to go down for breakfast

 

Harry was waiting for about a half hour, watching other students head out through the portrait hole, before Hermione showed up... and then another fifteen minutes until a very groggy Ron nearly fell down the stairs to the common room. Apparently, Ron isn’t as used to late nights as Harry is... that’d have to be the first thing they work on when they begin team practices.

 

It’s a very quiet trip to the Great Hall, everybody is either too tired to talk, or they just can’t think of anything to say. Just as Harry turns the corner through the door to the Great Hall, he bumps hard into something... hard enough, in fact, that he lands with quite a thud on his back. Slightly dazed, he looks up to see just what had knocked him down, and looking back down at him is Ryan... and a very weary looking Ryan at that. His short brown hair was sticking up at odd angles all over his head, there were dark rings all the way around his very bloodshot eyes, and he was rather pale. Ryan rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, and offers the other to Harry to help him back to his feet. The Gryffindor’s stare as Ryan covers his mouth and yawns loudly. He looks down at Harry.

 

“Sorry Harry... we just seem to keep bumping into each other.” He yawns again. Hermione looks questionably at him.

 

“Mister Arrowny... are you feeling alright?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well... you look a little... sick.”

 

“Oh... that.” He yaws heavily again, and wipes a few tears from his eyes. “No... I’m not sick. See... I’m not what you would call a ‘morning person’... I don’t do well before... before...” another loud and long yawn... “... before noon.” Ron snickers slightly at Ryan’s odd state... Hermione elbows him in the ribs to make him stop. Ryan raises his eyebrows slightly at them, and then starts laughing himself.

 

“I guess I do look a little worn out, eh?”

 

A slight ruffling of feathers from above cause the four of them to look up towards the high windows of the Great Hall. Harry is surprised to see a snowy owl fluttering down at them. Even more surprising is the fact that it happens to be his snowy owl!

 

“Hedwig?!” Harry looks at her in shock... nobody has ever sent him mail this early on in the year. She lands on his shoulder and gives his ear an affectionate nip. He reaches up to untie the small parcel from her leg, but pulls his hand back quickly when she bats at it with her wing.

 

“What’s wrong Hedwig?” The owl hoots a couple of times, flaps its wings, and jumps off of Harry’s shoulder, right on to Ryan’s. Ryan reaches up and pets Hedwig on the head, gentling running his finger down the center of the owl’s head. He unties the package from its leg, and it flies off.

 

“Why is my owl bringing you your post?” Harry could feel his face getting hot... Hedwig does belong to him, after all! Why should she be flying around making deliveries for other people?

 

“That’s your owl? You know, she’s the best one at this school. I just forgot something, and I needed it to get here soon, so I borrowed what I assumed was a school owl. I’m impressed actually... I was expecting it to take a few days. But, here it is.” Hermione could see that Harry was rather mad at this apparent offence. She tries, with a small nudge of her elbow, to discreetly tell Harry to calm down... but it doesn’t seem to be working... so she pretty much gives up. After all, Harry isn’t childish enough to do something stupid in the middle of the Great Hall... right?

 

“Um... Ryan... what’s in the package?” She just couldn’t resist asking... Harry knows this... but still, he wishes she had just let it drop. Arrowny though, seems all too eager to answer her, as he pulls the brown paper from the outside of the small package. Wrapped in the paper is what appears to be a small jewel... jet black, on a silver chain. The crystal is about three inches long, and looks smooth to the touch.

 

“It’s just a trinket of mine... a piece of obsidian. Like I said, I forgot to pack it, and I just feel better when it’s around. Anyway...” Ryan nods in the direction of the Slytherin table, “I need some breakfast. See you guys later.”

 

He stagers off, apparently still not fully awake. Harry waits until Arrowny is out of earshot before turning to Ron and Hermione.

 

“He used MY owl to bring him a necklace that he FORGOT! Isn’t there some kind of wizarding law against things like that?”

 

Ron turns to Harry with a surprised look on his face.

 

“Actually... not too many people care about stuff like that. It’s not like you needed to use Hedwig for anything, and it’s not like he sent her out for a week and a half. It was just one evening... you wouldn’t have even known about it if she hadn’t brought the parcel to him here. It’s really not that big a deal, Harry.”

 

“It’s a big deal to me Ron! I don’t even know him. For all we know, he could be working for Voldemort!”

 

Ron just shakes his head...

 

“I seriously doubt it.”

 

“Come on! We all thought that Quirrell was a good guy... same with the fake Moody. Our track record is not too hot when it comes to figuring out who’s on our side...”

 

“You’re right about that. We all thought that Snape was working for you-know-who... and we all thought that Sirius had betrayed your parents. It seems to me that the guys you start out hating are the ones we can count on... I’d actually be worried if you liked the guy.”

 

“You’re using Snape as an example of our good judgment!? He’d still rather skin me alive than anything else. Snape’s probably the reason that Ryan’s looks the way he does. Do you really buy this ‘not a morning person’ thing? They were probably up all night plotting ways to make my life hell! You do notice that Snape’s nowhere to be seen right now, right?”

 

“Actually Harry...” Ron tries to get his attention, but his emotions have gotten the best of him.

 

“I’m sure that they were up there just cooking up some nasty potions to slip into my food... or trying to figure out ways to put the unforgivable curses on me without anybody noticing. Yeah... I be that’s exactly what Snap’s up to. Stupid git. It’s almost too bad that he had to come back here to teach this year.”

”Um... Harry...” There is a small amount of urgency in Hermione’s voice.

 

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you think any differently about him? He’s evil! Sometimes I can’t help but think that Dumbledore made a mistake in trusting him. I swear he’s still in league with Voldemort. He’s evil... vile... dirty... rotten... and... and...”

 

Harry looks at Ron and Hermione’s faces, and realizes, all too late, what they’ve been trying to tell him.

 

“And... he’s behind me, isn’t he?”

 

“Why, yes, Mister Potter... I believe he is.” Harry slowly turns around to face a very smug looking Professor Snape. “This must be a new record... it’s only the second day of class. Oh, no wait... you once got detention on the night of the Sorting... didn’t you? Well... I guess it’s just another day to you, isn’t it?” The sadistic smile on Snape’s face did nothing to change Harry’s opinion about him being evil... but it did make the skin on the back of his neck crawl a bit.

 

“Professor Snape... I am... very sorry...”

 

“Yes, Potter... I’d quite imagine you are. Let’s see... shall we make it... twenty points from Gryffindor?”

 

“Sir... I understand that you don’t like me very much... but please don’t punish my entire house for my mistakes.”

 

The smile on Snape’s face fades a little. He nods his head in a thoughtful manner...

 

“You’re quite right Potter... I don’t like you very much. Thirty points from Gryffindor.”

 

“Thirty!”

 

“Okay, forty then! I can go higher if you wish.”

 

Harry just stares at him for a moment... and then shakes his head slowly.

 

“No, Sir... that’s fine.”

 

“Yes... I’m happy to hear that you agree. Also... I think that you should... perhaps... set your evening aside, Potter. I’m sure I can come up with a rousing event for your detention.”

 

“Detention as well? Aren’t the points enough?!”

 

“Oh no, dear boy... the points are just so your housemates give you a hard time. The detention is your actual punishment. Don’t look so shocked... after all, I am... evil... and dirty... and rotten... and vile. Good day to you.”

 

And then the black robed Professor just walks away, leaving a rather distraught Harry staring blankly at Ron and Hermione. He turns to his friends...

 

“Why didn’t you guys tell me that he was standing there?”

 

“We did... try to. You should know better than to say stuff like that though.”

 

Breakfast was a quick and quiet meal for the trio, and soon enough, they were off to their first class, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

“That... was one hell of a day!” Ron’s words pretty much summed up both Harry and Hermione’s feelings when they returned to the common room later that evening. The sixth year Gryffindors quickly rediscovered that their other professors did not share Mister Arrowny’s philosophy about ‘no work on the first day of class’. They had pretty much been run ragged by each and every one of their teachers.

 

Defence Against the Dark Arts started out okay, but soon enough Dumbledore had them all up practicing the very powerful Dispel charm, which will remove any protective spells that an enemy has cast on themselves. As that particular spell is quite physically draining, Harry and Ron found it very... very hard to stay awake through their next class... Divination. Although Professor Trelawney seemed rather hesitant to continue with their study of the crystal ball, she spent the entire class going over, in some great detail, the meaning of prophetic dreams. Since it’s kind of hard to do practical studies on dreams, they just went over the basic theories... which meant that there was a lot of thinking that had to be done, and given the fact that the room was in its usual heavily perfumed state, heavy thinking was very, very difficult. Lunch was quick, and then it was off to Care of Magical Creatures. Thankfully, Hagrid didn’t have any kind of killer, mountain sized creature for them to play around with. Instead, the half giant had them construct a giant animal pen. The fence was about three meters high, and it stretched from Hagrid’s cabin, all the way across the edge of the Forbidden Forest... come to think of it though... he never did tell them what was going in the pen...

 

Transfiguration was... strange. Professor McGonagall had them practicing the same transfiguration that she used to protect the Philosophers Stone in Harry’s first year. They spent the entire class trying to turn regular muggle chess pieces into living wizard chess pieces. After Transfiguration was supper, and then they made their way back to the common room.

 

In fact... every single thing that they had to do for classes today was physically exhausting... and each of the sixth years was feeling very... very tired. Ron had collapsed into one of the couches, with Hermione beside him, and Harry very nearly falls asleep on one of the chairs.

 

“I don’t think we’ve ever been worked that hard in one day!” Ron was right, but there was only a quiet murmur of response from the other sixth years, as Hermione had actually fallen asleep with her head on Ron’s shoulder and Dean Tomas had pretty much given up on his prefect duties for the evening... but, unfortunately for Harry... Ginny Weasley had not. The little redheaded girl had this annoying habit of actually following the rules... which, Harry supposes, is why she was selected as a prefect in the first place.

 

“Harry...,” her voice is calm, and sort of soothing, but the look on her face is one of amusement... Harry’s pretty sure he knows what she wants. “Professor Snape wanted me to remind you about your detention tonight... actually,” she glances down at her wristwatch, “I should say your detention right now.”

 

“Ginny... couldn’t you just pretend that you didn’t find me to remind me? Tell Snape that I went to bed or something... maybe... please?” He knew what her answer would be, but he just felt too tired not to try. She just looks at him and smirks.

 

“Now... what kind of example would I be setting for the new first years if I went and did that? Go on... the Professor is waiting for you at the front door.”

 

And with that, a very weary Harry stands, suddenly surprised at just how much strength it takes to stand... and heads out the portrait hole and down the marble staircase to the entrance hall. Sure enough, Professor Snape is standing right at the bottom of the stairs, talking to Filch... and Snape looked none to happy. The greasy professor turns to Harry when he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Well, Potter... it would appear as though you’re in luck. I may have been mistaken when I made your detention for tonight... as the only teacher who needs anything done is that oaf Hagrid.” This was not exactly good news for Harry, seeing as how anything Hagrid got him to do usually ended up with him standing out in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with some kind of monster right in front of him... but at least he wouldn’t be scrubbing slugs from the potions room. “Mister Filch will take you to Hagrid’s hut, and Hagrid will bring you back to the castle when you’ve finished your duties. Am I clear?”

 

Harry nods, and Snape turns back down the hallway toward the dungeons. Harry followed Filch across the lawn... wishing that the old man would spare him the usual lecture about being hung up by the thumbs in his office... but luck, it would seem, was not on Harry’s side tonight... and Filch just kept going on and on about how much he misses the screaming. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they arrived at Hagrid’s hut, and after a short conversation with the giant, Filch headed back to the castle.

 

“Alrigh’ then, ‘Arry. ‘Ere’s what you’ll be doing tonight.” Hagrid gave a small explanation of how he wanted Harry to check over the fence that the sixth years had constructed earlier in the day. “You’ve got to push on it with all yur might... these things are strong, an’ we don’ want ‘em gettin’ out. I’ll be o’re tending my garden... got some nice Phasana Greens growing that’ll help ta tame these things... once we get ‘em ‘ere.” And that was that! Hagrid left Harry to his task of checking the fence around the pen.

 

And... what a lot of fence there seemed to be! Far more than Harry remembered his class building. It had been a full three hours, and he was just over half done his work. He’d thrown his robes on the ground long ago... even in the cool night the heavy material acted like a furnace around him. Even now, in only jeans and a t-shirt, Harry felt quiet warm, and little droplets of sweat blurred his vision as they fell from his forehead onto his glasses.

 

And then he saw it.

 

At first, Harry thought it was a trick of the light... that the liquid on the lenses of his glasses had made him see it... but it was still there after he had wiped them off on his shirt. There was somebody standing in the Forbidden Forest... just beyond the Hogwarts grounds. Normally, it would be hard to spot a person in the forest during the night... but the strange thing was, this particular person was wearing blood red robes that covered their entire body, and a hood that completely hid their face from view. Harry was not more than three meters from them, and he couldn’t make out a single distinguishing feature on their face through the shadows of the hood. But he could hear the thing’s voice loud and clear.

 

“Come closer, young Harry Potter.” It was a deep, raspy voice... it sounded almost like a forced whisper, only louder. Harry was nervous... for some reason, this just didn’t feel right... everything was too calm. There was no wind... no sound from the forest... nothing. Even the light from the flames in the window of Hagrid’s hut seemed to have stopped flickering. Harry didn’t like it... at all... but still... his curiosity is just too strong.

 

He steps forward. Just a few feet... but close enough that he should be able to make out some kind of facial feature... but he still can’t. He stops, just outside the boundary of the forest, hoping that he’s still far enough away from the mysterious person to run if he’s attacked.

 

“W-who... who are you?” His voice was shaky...

 

“What I am called is not important... What I am, and what I am here for is what you should be concerned with.” It hadn’t moved an inch! The red robed figure had not moved at all. Usually, when people talk, they move their arms, or their heads... or something... but this thing wasn’t. It wasn’t moving at all.

 

“Um... okay then. What are you?”

 

“I... young Harry Potter... am a Protector.”

 

“A Protector... okay... what are you here for?”

 

“Obviously, I am here to protect something.”

 

“I’m sorry... but I’ve never heard of anything called a Protector. I guess I’m just curious. But... what are you here to protect?”

 

“I can’t reveal that to you now. You need only know that what I seek can be found at Hogwarts.”

 

“Then... what are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn’t you be closer to the school?”

 

“Alas... I cannot pass beyond the boundary of the Forbidden Forest.” It steps forward... and raises its arm. The sleeve of its robe is long enough to completely cover his hand. As he reaches out to the boundary between the school grounds and the forest, the very air around his hand starts to distort. It was as though the air was bending itself, forcing the things hand to stay within the dark forest. Harry had never seen anything like it.

 

“You see, Harry... my enemies knew of my mission, and they have taken steps to prevent my entering the school... a binding spell to be exact. I fear that, even as we speak, one of their agents has made his way into a position of power within the school. Harry... I know of you, and your past... and I trust you. I need your help... I must find a way to enter the school grounds. Can I count on you?”

 

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Another agent of evil might be at Hogwarts! But, all the same, he knows nothing of this creature that stands before him. He shakes his head...

 

“I don’t know if I can help you... I don’t even know if I should. Can you... can you wait... while I do some checking... some research?”

 

“Of course. I understand your apprehension, and I would have been surprised if you did not have your doubts. I will be here, in the forest, until I have access to the school. Whenever you wish to speak to me, just call out, and I will appear. And now, I will take my leave of you for tonight, young mister Potter.”

 

And then, it just disappeared. Not like apparation disappearing... it was different... but none the less, it wasn’t there any more. Harry just stares ahead... so deep in thought about the conversation he just had that he didn’t notice Hagrid walking up behind him.

 

“All righ’ there ‘Arry?” Harry jumps slightly in surprise... he tries to compose himself as he turns to face Hagrid.

 

“Yeah, I’m good... just tired, I guess. Look, Hagrid, the fence is sturdy... I’ve been out here for hours... do you think that maybe I could go home?”

 

“Sure, sure... you’re done fer tonight. Gather yur things, and I’ll take ye back ter the castle.” Harry nods, and picks his robes up from the ground. They head back to the castle, silently. Hagrid says a quick good bye when they reach the front doors, and then turns back toward his hut. Harry however, does not go back to Gryffindor Tower. He spent the walk back to the castle thinking about the Protector... and he decided that he needed somebody with a little more knowledge on the subject. He could ask Hermione if she’d ever read anything about the Protector... but if there really was a dark agent at the school, involving more students, or anybody else at Hogwarts, would probably be dangerous. He had come to the conclusion that he needed a full grown wizard who wasn’t at the school... and he only knew one such person.

 

Sirius.

 

Harry headed for the owlery. After making sure that he was alone in the room, he takes out some spare parchment from his robe, and a muggle pen from his jeans pocket, and writes a letter.

 

‘Dear Sirius,

 

I need some help, and I can’t ask anybody at the school. I ran into somebody calling themselves a Protector. Do you know anything about them? I’m not sure what I should do. Can you help me?

 

Harry’

 

Satisfied, he chooses one of the school owls, remembering the warning that Sirius had given him about not using Hedwig. As soon as the owl is safely out the window, Harry decides that he should get some sleep for his classes the next day.