Harry Potter: The Making of a Dark Lord

October 1st, 1995 – Hogwarts, Gryffindor Girls' Dorm

Parvati Patil rolled over in her bed and stared into the darkness. It was now almost 4AM, and she hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep. The argument that she and Padma had overheard repeated on an endless loop in her mind. She simply couldn't believe her ears. Parvati liked to gossip and had more than once picked up some juicy rumors while eavesdropping.

But this was not gossip. This was something else entirely.

Harry Potter was going to die?! And this would somehow save the world? His best friends and the Headmaster knew about it but he didn't? And Ron was giving him love potions? Just what in the bloody hell was going on?

None of this made sense to Parvati. The whole thing seemed absurd. How could Hermione Granger be involved in a plot to kill Harry Potter? she wondered.

Parvati looked over at Hermione's still, sleeping form and then closed her eyes again. She couldn't reconcile the swotty little bookworm sleeping next to her with the girl she had overheard last night.

She and Padma had been using an empty classroom to finish some reading and just talk. Padma insisted that the two of them set aside Sunday evenings every week to spend time together, as they didn't see each other very much otherwise. Parvati liked to call this "twin time," and they moved the location of their meetings around frequently. It was usually an empty classroom near one of their respective towers.

Last night they were using an empty classroom near Ravenclaw Tower when Ron and Hermione had burst into the room and begun shouting at each other. Since the room was L-shaped and fairly dark, someone entering from the main door would not have noticed that the other side of the room was occupied. At first she had thought to reveal herself to the arguing pair, but after a few seconds of listening to their words she and Padma had looked at each other with wide eyes and then listened more attentively.

Once Ron and Hermione had departed, the two girls sat in shocked silence for a whole minute. Parvati's first thought was that it had to be a joke of some sort, or that Ron and Hermione were aware of them and were acting. But Padma had disabused her of this notion, and Parvati didn't really think the two of them were capable of such a performance.

So the girls had discussed what they heard for almost an hour before deciding it was safe to leave. They were willing to risk missing curfew to avoid being seen coming out of this room. If the conversation they had overheard was authentic, and it certainly seemed to be so, then they had to be very careful.

Their plan was to talk to Harry alone in the morning, as they both wanted an evening to think things over and digest this terrible new revelation. Padma had made her swear not to tell Lavender, but Parvati hadn't planned on it anyway. She was smart enough to know that Lavender couldn't keep her mouth shut, and knowing this information put them both in grave danger.

Parvati hugged her pillow tightly and wished that she had remained blissfully ignorant of their discovery. She was convinced, upon further reflection, that this was no prank. This was real. As real as it gets.

The more she thought about it, the more scared she became.

October 1st, 1995 – Hogwarts, Gryffindor Boys' Dorm

Despite it being a Monday morning, Harry Potter awoke in a fine mood. The previous evening had given him a nice break from worrying, and he didn't have to face Snape or Umbridge today. Last night he had spent a couple hours in the library helping Ginny with her transfiguration homework, in the process getting more comfortable around her. He had not yet worked up the nerve to ask her to accompany him to Hogsmeade on the approaching weekend, but he would soon.

Last night he had even coaxed a description of the mythical crumple-horned snorkack out of Luna Lovegood. Luna claimed both that no one had ever seen one and that she knew what they looked like. Harry had weighed the consequences of pointing out that contradiction, but decided to keep his mouth shut. Luna was a nice person, even if she more than earned her nickname.

According to Luna, a snorkack was a small monkey-like creature with a horn and a long tail. It had a hard shell on its back, but it too was covered with fur. Harry thought it sounded like the result of a mating between a miniature rhinoceros and a lemur, and reflected that it might actually be fun to go hunting for them with Luna. It would certainly be an experience he'd never forget.

After showering and waiting for Ron to get his act together, Harry and Ron joined Hermione in the common room to start their day. They walked together to the Great Hall for breakfast, Ron and Hermione flanking Harry. Harry noticed that they did not speak to each other, but did not question them about it. They had probably rowed while on prefect duty, as was happening often lately, and he didn't want to take sides in any dispute.

The silence between Ron and Hermione continued throughout breakfast. Harry decided to ignore them and concentrated on reading the latest Daily Prophet. For once he wasn't being lampooned; some poor sod had allowed his family's griffin to escape its enclosure, and it had slaughtered most of the big cats in a nearby muggle zoo. It had made the muggle news, and the Ministry obliviators were apparently in a quandary over how much needed to be covered up, if anything.

Hermione finished her breakfast first and left the table alone after wishing Harry a good day. Ron watched her go a little wistfully. He gave Harry only a brief nod before taking off to follow her. Deciding he would spend his free time until divination in the Come-and-Go Room, Harry too rose to go.

He was nearly at the exit to the Great Hall when he was stopped.

"Harry?" came a hesitant voice from behind.

Harry turned to see Parvati Patil looking at him very intently, while her sister was a few steps behind, giving him the same look.

"Er, hi Parvati," Harry said, a little unnerved at the looks they were giving him. "What can I do for you?"

"We, um, that is, Padma and I, we need to talk to you about something. As soon as possible. It's important."

.....

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