Phoenix Tears

Chapter 18: Fillet of a fenny snake

"Ugh. Malfoy," Harry muttered. His back was toward Gemma and she didn't notice the slip of paper before it disappeared. He was glad and then remembered that she hadn't been there when he'd overheard Malfoy's disparaging remarks about her. He thought about inviting both Luna and Gemma to hide under the cloak with him, then rejected the idea almost as quickly as he had it at the memory of how quickly an empty compartment filled normally.

As Malfoy's voice grew closer, he wracked his brain for a spell that he could cast...anything that would make him skip their compartment. But then he caught onto what Malfoy was asking and he was too dumbfounded to think clearly.

Malfoy's lazy drawl drifted through the corridor, "Pardon me, but have you seen a runespoor? Mine have run off and I'm trying to find them."

Harry didn't know what was more unsettling... the parallel to Neville looking for his toad in first year or the news that Malfoy had a snake ... or rather snakes. Harry wondered if it was the runespoor he and Hermione had seen in the Magical Menagerie earlier in the summer.

"Nio, have you noticed a runespoor on the train?" Harry asked quietly in Parseltongue as he edged his way back into the compartment and found an empty spot on the bench next to Gemma.

She was signing enthusiastically with Luna and Harry was momentarily distracted, wondering what they were discussing.

"Nio?" he asked, feeling for the little snake around his neck and then his belly. He gasped as he realised that Nio wasn't there and stood up suddenly and then froze, afraid of stepping on his little friend.

Harry waved his hand in Gemma's direction hoping to get her attention. When she didn't respond, he remembered that he was completely invisible and pushed the hood back so that his face was exposed and tried again.

"I can't find Nio!" he stated, trying to control his panic.

Gemma tugged his hand forward until it was in contact with Nio's cool scales. The snake was contentedly weaving through Luna's fingers.

Gemma patted Harry's back as the car rocked with the movement of more people climbing on board and someone behind him let out a loud exasperated sigh.

"Oh, slippery Salazar! It's the leper and the loony bin!"

As Harry whirled around to face Malfoy, his wand snapped into his palm and he felt a satisfying surge of magic pulse through it.

Malfoy gasped a muffled shriek that had Harry wishing he could see his face. He was too angry to laugh, even though a part of him was aware that his floating face had to be alarming.

Gemma grasped his wand arm and slid in front of him.

"Oh! Potter's got a creepy little bodyguard! I suppose that's fitting now that you can't defend yourself!" Malfoy sneered.

Sparks crackled as Harry's rage manifested into uncontrolled magic driving Malfoy back out into the corridor. Gemma pulled on his arm and closed the compartment door with a resounding bang and the noise jolted him back from his roiling fury.

She was signing furiously into his free hand and he didn't need to understand the exact words to know that she was simultaneously alarmed and concerned with what had just happened. Of course, she didn't know his history with Malfoy. She probably had no idea what was going on... just that he had suddenly exploded with magic at someone.

Harry braced himself for Malfoy bursting back through the door, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to have vanished as a troupe of students lumbered by outside the closed compartment door.

Harry thought it was odd that Malfoy would give up so easily and then realized that Malfoy must have been on his own, without his cronies to defend him. He grinned to himself as it occurred to him that his uncontrolled magic must have frightened the bully off. Gemma had pulled him down to the seat while Luna seemed to be distracted... humming to herself in the corner.