Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and (the rest of) The Beast Within ❯ Chapter (IDEFK): In the Heat of the Night ( Chapter 8 )

(NM)MNK: Beware the melodrama and out-of-character behavior, along with alien biology. Urk. Someone get me some wine.

 I don't own Harry Potter but if I did I would buy me a dog cuz I need a friend now. 

...oh. Right. I have cats. NVM.

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Chapter (IDEFK): In the Heat of the Night

“How could she do this to us?” Ron vented, slamming his fist down on the lunch table. Harry had skipped lunch again, spending all his spare time in Sapphire’s room, lying on her bed in the darkness, wishing for death to take him. “How could she do this to Harry?! He misses her like nothing else! He may have been worried about her, but his worry is much more forgivable than his heartbreak!” Hermione sought out Ron’s hand, looking sadly over at him. Just the day before, he had pulled her aside after lunch, when they were heading to class, and confessed that he felt more than friendship toward her. As she reciprocated those feelings, she was now his girlfriend, though they didn’t tell anyone, for fear that Harry might find out and be hurt even worse. Not long afterward, Ron caught Viktor and Ginny kissing in an empty classroom. Obviously they were taking great pains to keep their relationship a secret, too.

Suddenly, a very worried Peridot came up to the table. “Has anyone seen Sapphire?” she asked in a soft tone. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her for nigh on a week!” Suddenly, Hermione realized that no one had told anyone about Sapphire snapping and running away. She ushered Peridot out to the hall, and the gang followed them to Sapphire’s room. Thankfully, Harry wasn’t there, so Hermione picked up the letter, which had lain on the foot of the bed since the day Sapphire left. Peridot’s eyes widened in horror as she read over it, realizing what had occurred.

“Great Mother Lica!” she cried out. “It’s happened already?!” The others became confused.

“What’s happened?” Ginny asked. Peridot just raced out the door, beckoning for them to follow her.

“Someone get Harry and have him meet me at Hagrid’s!” she barked. Ron raced off to find him. As they ran across the field that lay between the castle and the Forbidden Forest, she explained the situation to them.

“Sapphire has never been attached to anyone like this before,” she began. “When a Salzain woman first becomes attracted to someone, a chemical change occurs in her body. You know that cats go into heat, and Human females have what is known as the menstrual cycle, yes?” The others nodded, ignoring their aching legs and the stitches in their sides, wondering what the hell she was getting at. “We go into heat, and our first heat starts after our first attachment. Usually it takes a year or so, but clearly it’s come early for Sapphire.”

“What’s that got to do with her trying to kill Malfoy and running off?” Ginny panted.

“During a heat, Salzain women tend to get cranky and aggressive. The first heat is always the worst, because the violent urges are exponentially stronger. And Sapphire was raised to be a killer, so it’s going to be even worse. In other words...” she slowed to a walk as they reached Hagrid’s hut. “..if we don’t find her soon, she may kill again. And even if it’s only a rat, it would kill her from the inside out.” She stopped at the door.

“RUBEUS HAGRID!!!” she bellowed as Ron and Harry came racing toward her. “GET YOUR COWARDLY ASS OUT HERE!!!” Hagrid shakily opened the door and squeaked when he saw the enraged Salzain standing before him. “I hear you were telling Sapphire’s friends that she was a monster!” she hissed in his face.

“I...I...”

“SILENCE!” He shut up. “Now do you know what’s happened?” she growled. “She’s gone into her first heat, and her hormones are screaming at her to kill everything that moves! If she hadn’t heard about your little speech, then she would have come to ME about this! Instead, she has SUPPRESSED HER CHI, and RUN AWAY to GOD ONLY KNOWS WHERE!” She grabbed Hagrid by the front of his shirt. “MY SISTER COULD DIE BECAUSE OF YOUR MEDDLING!!!”  she shrieked in his face causing him to turn sheet white. “Now YOU are going to help us find her, or so help me, I will rip every one of your internal organs out ONE...BY...ONE!” He nodded rapidly and she released him. Suddenly, Peridot turned toward the lake, to see Crystal and Blaise racing toward her.

“Crystal,” Peridot said firmly, holding her by the shoulders. “Sapphire’s in grave danger. I beg you to put aside your differences just long enough to help us get her back.” Crystal glared suspiciously at her older sister. “There’s no catch, Crystal. You know I’m stronger than both of you put together...If you don’t help us now, you WILL regret it! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” she growled. Crystal nodded, still glaring. “Good. You and Blaise go back to the castle and gather the others...Remus, Iris, Sirius, Severus, Azalea, and if you can get him, the headmaster, and have Madame Pomfrey prepare a place in the hospital wing.” Peridot released Crystal’s shoulders, surprised at how quickly the specks in the girl’s eyes had turned yellow...the color of fear. “I’ve got a feeling your sister’s going to need it.” Crystal nodded, a serious look on her face and turned around.

“Blaise...” she said firmly, wrapping her arms around him. “Hang on.” With that, she shot off toward the school. “You get Dumbledore, Lupin, and Pomfrey...” she told him as they lit on the ground. “I’ll get Iris, Azalea, and their men. HURRY!” With that, she shot into the air to fly up to Iris’ room in the tower. Iris and Sirius were on their way out the door when they heard Crystal climbing over the windowsill.

“Crystal!” Iris gasped as the younger girl raced toward them. “What’s--”

“Sapphire’s in trouble and I need to get Azalea and Snape now MOVE YOUR ASSES!” she barked, jumping over them and landing on the next landing. From there, she streaked down to the dungeon, toward where she could sense the professor’s chi.

~*~

Blaise threw open the doors to the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom, and raced toward the front, where Professor Remus Lupin stood staring at him, along with the fifth year Hufflepuffs. “Zabini, what on Earth---”

“Sapphire’s in...trouble...” he panted, leaning on a table. “Peridot...needs help...” Remus’ pale blue eyes widened in fear.

“Class dismissed!” he croaked, throwing his jacket on, and racing out the door, leaving the class silent as the grave.

~*~

It took a moment, but Crystal finally found the Potions classroom in the dungeon. The door clanged loudly against the wall as she threw it open. Snape looked up at her in shock, as did the rest of the seventh year Slytherin class. “Crystal, what’s gotten into--”

“No time for chitchat, teach!” she snapped, dragging him out the door. “Sapphire’s in trouble!” Draco’s eyes widened in horror, but Azalea, who had been sitting in the corner, watching the class, smiled inwardly as she raced after them. It appeared that Severus’ potion had done the trick after all.

~*~

Finally, everyone was out by the Forbidden Forest. “Her trail ends at the edge of the woods, but her chi is too weak to track, so we have to search every inch of the forest! Harry, Blaise, you and Crystal go Northeast,” Peridot called out wildly, sending everyone in different directions. “Viktor, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, you go Northwest.” Without waiting for further instructions, Crystal darted into the woods, followed by the others, who had waited just long enough to hear Peridot say, “If you find her, don’t move her. Just send up red sparks with your wand.” Peridot stared after her youngest sister in confusion. “What’s gotten into her?” she asked in bewilderment.

Azalea smiled. “She’s finally starting to remember the life she once had.”

~*~

It was over an hour and over a mile into the forest when Harry and Blaise heard Crystal scream. They raced toward her, only to find her standing horrified over the body of her older twin, a strange, brown, badger-sized rodent with a broken neck dangling from her hand. The two boys were unable to move as the sparks in Crystal’s eyes grew red. What they didn’t know was that she was being assaulted by a memory. Yes, the memories she’d lost, of her life before the war, had been coming back intermittently for some time. This particular memory, however, was different.

~*~

Beryl was strapped to a steel table in the abandoned mine shaft that had been converted into a torture chamber. She was in great pain, but managed to look over at her assailant, only to see him jabbing a hypodermic needle full of some clear liquid into her tail. Her scream echoed through the air, even after the needle was removed. She could feel the poison beginning to attack her mind, when she saw a bright blonde figure streaking past. She strained to look around, though her vision was dimming and she was groggy. Still, nothing could keep her from recognizing the blood smeared young woman who un-strapped her and pulled her into her arms. “Saff…fee...” Beryl whimpered. She could see it in her sister’s eyes just before her vision went black. Something in Sapphire’s mind had snapped.

~*~

The boys both lunged forward as Crystal raised her right arm, as though she were about to smash in the unconscious girl’s face. Instead, however, a ball of flaming red and silver light burst from her palm and rocketed toward the sky, exploding just as they landed about a foot away from her. Tears began to fall from Crystal’s eyes as their flecks turned blue, and as the tears grew more, she knelt sobbing by her twin and pulled her into her arms.

“Sapphie!” she cried into her sister’ hair, still oblivious that she was being watched. “What have I DONE?!”

Realizing that Crystal wasn’t about to finish off her weakened sister, the boys crawled to their feet. Blaise did his best to comfort her, while Harry tried to assess the damage, only to have to give up. She obviously hadn’t been eating, and had lost weight. She also appeared to have been attacked by something. Harry glanced over at the rodent, which had fallen from Crystal’s hand. It had purplish blood all over it. Clearly it had attacked while she was unconscious. Harry stood, holding the animal by its long, furry tail as the others came racing over. Dumbledore magicked her onto a stretcher, and they carried her to the castle. Harry was about to follow after them, still carrying the rodent, when he felt a hand light on his shoulder. He turned around to see Crystal wiping her eyes on the handkerchief that Blaise had handed her.

“I’m...so sorry, Harry,” she whimpered. “Now I know...how Sapphire felt when she decided...to be a Wanderer...” She cried even harder, leaning into Blaise’s shoulder. “Tell Sapphire...I’m sorry...” With that, she stepped away and struggled to compose herself. “Blaise...” she whispered, closing her eyes. “I...love you...but it’s better if I leave.”

Harry shoved her, so hard she fell into a nearby tree. Crystal rolled over and stared bewildered up at him. “What the HELL is WRONG with you?” Harry glared at her. “You think that Sapphire would have you run away rather than own up to your fears and face her?! She still loves you, Crystal, whether you believe it or not. If you think it upset her to find you in the mines, how do you think she’ll react when she finds out that you left without saying goodbye?!” He finally noticed the look on her face. “Uh...Crystal?”

“She told YOU,” she muttered. “...but she didn’t tell ME?”

“Would you have believed her had she told you?” Blaise asked in a “Be-honest-with-yourself-or-I’ll-break--both-your-legs” tone. “Or would you have just hated her more?” Her shoulders slumped as she let out a heavy sigh, beginning the trek to the castle.

“I’d have thought she was trying to manipulate me into not hating her,” she confessed. “Enough. Running away is stupid, and I’ve been stupid long enough. Let’s just get back to the castle.”

~*~

It was about six days after the almost fatal occurence in the Forbidden Forest, and Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Viktor, and Blaise had just gotten out of class for the day. Together, they raced down the hall to the Hospital Wing, where Peridot, Iris, and Azalea were already waiting. Crystal had never left Sapphire’s bedside except to clean up ever since Sapphire was brought in. Sirius had just come back from a walk around the grounds, and Professors Lupin and Snape, were waiting for dinner to start. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had been waiting in the infirmary for a few hours, and Hagrid had come in only a moment ago. In other words, everyone was there. Well, almost everyone. Harry was nowhere to be seen. They were beginning to wonder where he was, as he’d also never left her side except for classes, taking his meals in the infirmary, when they all heard a soft groan. Everyone looked at Sapphire, who still lay plastered to the sheets of one of the bunks, bandaged up till she looked like a mummy. Her head tilted to one side as she took a gentle sniff at the air, not opening her eyes.

“Crystal?” she asked softly, after trying to figure out who was sitting on the floor, beside her. “I...Is that you?” She finally opened her eyes. It was, indeed, her twin sister, looking overjoyed, and yet pathetic. “What are you doing here?” Crystal burst into tears.

“Sapphire I am SO SORRY!” she bawled into the sheets. “If I hadn’t been such a whiny-ass little brat none of this would’ve happened!” Sapphire braced her weight on her healthy right arm, and gently ran her fingers through Crystal’s hair, trying to calm her.

“Shh.” She smiled sadly. “This had nothing to do with you. The fault is mine, and mine alone. If I’d gone to Peridot when I felt my temper flaring up so frequently, she could’ve helped me.”

“But if I hadn’t been so...so...cruel and demeaning to you...” Hagrid stared at the floor. “...you wouldn’t have been afraid of what was going on.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, too, Miss Gemasia.” Hermione could’ve sworn she’d seen a slight lavender blush cross her cheeks when Hagrid called her “Miss” Gemasia, but if she had, then it was gone sooner than it came.

“Please, Hagrid.” She smiled up at him. “Just call me Sapphire.” He nodded, smiling back.

“It’s time to change the bandage on your right arm, sweetie,” Madame Pomfrey said, bustling over with a basket of bandages, bottles, and herbs.

“UGH!” The whole room said in unison as she began pulling back the gauze.

“Mother LICA!” Sapphire squeaked when she saw the huge chunks of flesh missing from her arm. “What HAPPENED to me?!” Hagrid pointed at the skin and skull of the rodent, lying on the table next to her. “I wondered what that smell was...” she mumbled.

“That whatever-it-is was eating your arm when Crystal found you,” he answered. “I never seen one of them before, so I offered to let her name it. She wanted to name it the ‘Filthy, Stinky, Nasty Little Bastard’ rat, but the ministry didn’t like the idea, so we just shortened it to the ‘Nasty’ rat.”

“Go figure,” Crystal snorted, having gotten control of herself. Finally, Madame Pomfrey was finished changing Sapphire’s dressings. Sapphire shakily sat up and looked around, trying to find someone.

“Harry?” she asked quietly. No answer. “I could’ve sworn I smelled him in here...” Her face fell. Hermione sat on the edge of Sapphire’s bed for a moment, looking deep into her eyes.

“Sapphire,” she asked quietly. “Why did you leave Harry?” A look of intense sorrow founds its place upon her visage.

“I didn’t want to hurt him,” she answered, trying not to cry. “I’ve never felt that way or that strongly about anyone before, and I didn’t want to take the chance. What if I lost my temper and did or said something to hurt him? I nearly died from pain when I left, so don’t go thinking that it was easy. Only about a day or two after I left did I realize that I was probably going into my first heat, and that Peridot could’ve helped me...But by then, it was too late. I wish I had gone to Peridot.” She sighed, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I hope he’s at least happy, now that he doesn’t have to worry about me.” She sniffed. “Cho would make a wonderful girlfriend for him.”

“How did you know about Cho Chang?” Viktor asked in shock.

“We fell asleep in each other's arms sometime after Christmas, after sitting in my tower room talking about the future, and I awoke with a start. He’d been dreaming of a past crush, named Cho Chang, and for some reason, I picked it up.”

“Didn’t that upset you?”

“Not really. You can’t help your dreams, and besides...at the end, I had come in and...oh, never mind. It’s pointless to dwell on the past. It’s over, and she’s probably got him wrapped around her finger again.” She truly began to cry, burying her face in her hands.

“Sapphire?” Hermione asked slowly, noticing Harry standing in the doorway, looking shaken. “If he asked you, would you take him back?”

“OF COURSE I WOULD!!” Sapphire cried. “I LOVE him, Hermione!” she sobbed. “More than Life itself.” That was enough for Harry.

“Sapphire...” Harry asked, sitting down on her cot. “Can we start over?” She looked up, her eyes shining with tears of joy and despair.

“Harry...” she whispered, forcing herself to keep her hands off him. “Why would you want me back after what I did?” Harry gave her a rueful smile, and lay a hand on her knee.

“Does anyone ever need a reason for following their heart?” he asked softly, handing her a tissue from the bedside table. She dried her eyes, not answering. “Tell me one thing, though...Why didn’t you at least try to get out of the forest when you realized what was going on?”

“How could I have faced you, Harry?” she sniffled. “I knew I could never go back after what I’d done, so I no longer wished to live. I gave up, Harry. I would never have been able to look you in the eye again, knowing that I’d hurt you so badly. Believe me, Harry...” She finally looked up at him. “...that’s the LAST thing I wanted to do! If death was the only way out...” She sighed, tears still trickling down her face. “...then I was willing to take it.” Suddenly, Peridot’s eyes widened in fear.

“Tell me you didn’t do anything stupid!” Everyone sighed in relief as she shook her head, blushing.

“Nothing stupider than running away. I lost the will to live, I didn’t gain the will to die.” Sapphire answered. “After what happened to Father, I wouldn’t want to inflict that on anyone else.” Peridot gasped softly.

“How did you find out?” she asked in a shaky voice. “WHEN did you find out?”

“I heard the servants whispering the day that Crystal nearly left us.”

“Damn them...” Peridot growled. “I TOLD them not to--”

“Would you rather that I lived a lie, believing that he was murdered in his sleep and there was nothing I could do because his killer was never found?” Sapphire glared. “I was fully grown by then, Peridot, and while not fully mature, I could’ve handled it. It was harder to hear it from them...” she murmured, staring at her hands folded in her lap. “...than it would’ve been to hear it from you.”

“I’m sorry, Sapphire,” Peridot whispered. “I was afraid that we’d lose Crystal. I was afraid it would be too much for you to know that your sister was poisoned to death...” Crystal flinched. “...after our mother died in the war, and our step-father committed suicide because of it.”

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(NM)MNK – This chapter was unfinished and will remain unfinished, but I can give you the gist of it.

Crystal, Sapphire, and Peridot have a long-awaited heart-to-heart, each acknowledging their faults and failures and promising to do better in the future. When it’s over, Peridot and Crystal leave Sapphire and Harry to talk things over. They finish the chat with plans to meet up after Harry graduates and give living together a trial run.

During this time, Azalea keeps Snape company while he brews Salzain-strength potions for Sapphire’s treatment. They’re both lost in thought, each thinking about how different things are from when they first met, and each wondering what will happen when the term is over. Finally, Snape says, “I’m pleased that Crystal’s treatment was successful. She may never be back to who she was, but given enough time, she should continue to grow stronger and healthier. I’d be happy to help with that.” Azalea says, “my family is crazy…but I fit right in. Thanks.” (I’m not sure how that made any sense, but that’s what was in my notes. I probably plotted that while sleep-deprived or something.) Insert some contrary-to-Snape’s-personality smooches, etc, and Azalea telling him, “I think I’ll go home this year…and when I do, I hope to see you there.”