The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

36. The Poisoner of Hearts

December 1993

"You look sick," Hermione said for the hundredth time, looking up from her homework, all of which was spread over three tables. "Thea, you should go to Madam Pomfrey."

"I'm fine," Althea said again, not looking up from her book.

She had been reading the same page for ten minutes. She had not managed to fall asleep until sometime after three in the morning, only to wake around five. She hadn't been able to fall back asleep and felt exhausted.

"Harry, you - you look terrible," Ron said cautiously, looking up from the candy he had been eating.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked, taking a seat.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" Ron said, still watching him closely. "It's nearly lunchtime. I was going to come and wake you up in a minute. Thea only just woke up too."

This was not strictly true. She had, as previously stated, awoken at five, but she had not been able to bear facing everyone else until half an hour before Harry joined them.

"You really don't look well, you know," Hermione said nervously.

Privately, Harry thought she should be more worried about Althea who looked so pale he thought she might have died and come back a ghost. She was staring into the fire, a vacant look in her eye.

"I'm fine," he said finally.

"Harry, listen," Hermione said desperately. "You must be feeling really upset about what we heard yesterday, but the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid."

"Like what?" asked Harry dully.

"Like trying to go after Black," Ron said in a voice so sharp it startled Althea from her thoughts.

"You won't, will you, Harry?" Hermione said cautiously.

"Because Black's not worth dying for," Ron added.

Harry looked at the two of them, a look of irritation in his eye.

"D'you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me?" Harry asked suddenly. "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her-"

"There's nothing you can do!" Hermione cried indignantly. "The dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and - and serve him right!"

"You heard what Fudge said," Harry argued. "Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others."

"So what are you saying?" Ron asked, the blood draining from his face. "You want to - to kill Black or something?"

"Don't be silly," Hermione said quickly, anxiety riddling her tone. "Harry doesn't want to kill anyone, do you, Harry?"

The three of them were on their feet now.

"Harry, please," Hermione cried. "Please, be sensible! Black did a terrible thing, but d-don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants...Oh, Harry, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!"

"I'll never know what they would have wanted, because thanks to Black I've never spoken to them," Harry said shortly.

"Thea, please, talk some sense into him," Hermione said desperately, rounding on her.

Althea slowly looked at her, still looking rather pale and almost, although Harry wasn't quite sure, like she was shaking and trying to repress it.

"I need to go see my mother," she said quickly, jumping to her feet and leaving the room before anyone could say a word.

Althea ran down the corridor, desperate to find somewhere, anywhere she could get away from the pressure in her chest, the suffocating ache that never seemed to go away. She had gotten as far as the seventh floor before she suddenly heard footsteps echoing from the other direction. Her breathing had become laboured and harsh as she turned the other way, determined to rush away before she heard footsteps there too. Turning again, she began to make her way down the corridor before she suddenly caught sight of a door. Grabbing hold of the handle, she quickly dashed inside, shutting the door sharply behind her, leaning against it with her eyes closed as she tried to control her breathing.

As she sank to the ground, she found herself sitting on a large bean bag covered in a soft, fur-like material. It seemed impossibly big for having just been under her, but soon she was curled up on it, sobbing her heart out. She wished she could simply curl up into a ball and hide forever, but as she rolled over, she found a large blanket of the same material laying beside her. Curling up in it, Althea hid herself away before crying until her lingering exhaustion took over. Almost instantly, she was fast asleep.