Chapter 50 remains of a ghost
Time passed and the snow grew taller outside. Meaning much to the fourth year's excitement, all of their outside classes; flying, herbology, and care of magical creatures had been canceled so the professors could focus on taking care of equipment, plants, and animals respectively. On their way down the stairs to attend what remained of their classes for the last week of school Luna took lead of the group. In an attempt to give Lirum and Percy more “alone time.”
The holes in Lirum’s schedule however left them far more preoccupied with Fred’s never ending quest to discover why they wouldn’t celebrate their birthday. As they made their way to breakfast with Percy and Luna they dreaded the second the door was open and they saw Fred was already facing the Ravenclaw table.
“Is there anything special about today?” Fred asked, looking up at lirum.
“We have classes canceled! But other than that, no.” Lirum said, setting their things down.
“Fred this is not how we taught you to behave. Me and Cedric are going on. I have to put a stop to your lessons if you can’t respect their decisions.” Luna said, crossing her arms.
“This is important.” Fred argued facing the first year.
“If you keep this up they're gonna end up with Percy.” Luna said casually, causing almost everyone at the table to choke.
“Luna! You can’t just say things like that!” Lirum said with their head in their hands.
“Why not, it’s true? You want someone stable, who cares about what you want, and how you feel.” Luna explains. “At the moment the two people who fit that description are Percy and George. And George won’t go for you because he doesn’t want conflict with his brothers. So that leaves Percy.”
“Luna!” Percy said, flushed. “That’s it, we should get to the library! Come along, Lirum.”
“Percy we’ve barely sat down!” They started, but he’d already taken off toward the door. Lirum grabbed some toast and jam and followed as quickly as they could.
“I’m sorry to drag you away from breakfast, but between Fred and Luna I wasn’t sure if we’d last.” Percy offered awkwardly as they made their way to the library.
“Unfortunately poor Luna seems to have set herself out to find me the perfect match.” Lirum said following behind him to their normal table.
“Well if she thinks she can train Fred up onto the perfect boy she’s daft.”
“He was doing well there for a moment.” Lirum joked but received a scowl in return.
“Don’t let him fool you. He’s full of tricks, but your far to smart to fall for it.” Percy grumbled opening a textbook only for the chatter from the other side of the bookcase to intensify.
“Justin’s been waiting for something like this to happen…let slip to Potter he was muggle born.”
“You definitely think it is Potter, then Ernie?” Hannah’s voice came a bit too loud through the book shelves. Lirum stood up only for Percy to attempt to pull them back down.
“Dark wizard…talk to snakes…Slytherin himself…” the voice came through the shelves again.
“I’m going to say something!” Lirum argued, pulling away from Percy.
“It’s just rumors, don’t get into a fight over this.” Percy argued in a hushed tone.
“You should have told Ernie that” Lirum snapped back under their breath standing from the table.
“I don’t know him! He’s not even in my house! I’m not his prefect!” Percy urged in a hushed tone.
“You’re still a prefect and have no problem correcting Malfoy or Ravenclaws? You should be putting an end to it, but since you won’t I will.”
“Why do you care? You don’t even like Harry!”
“That doesn’t mean he deserves to be ran through the mud by a bunch of brainless bozos who want to start rumors. If they want something to talk about I’ll give it to them!” Lirum said, coming around the bookshelf.
“No one knows how he survived that attack by You Know-Who. I mean to say-“ The Hufflepuff Boy lirum learned was Ernie through the bookcase got his words stuck in his face as Lirum marched toward the table.
“Have you lost the plot! All of you, making these rubbish accusations. He was only a baby when he was attacked! Did you all forget Harry is a half blood? That his mother and best friend are both muggle born? Anyone with half a brain could put together that he’s not the one after them!” Lirum snapped loudly, earning a glare from madam Pince who sat across the room shining a gilded spell book.
“Exactly he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a truly dark wizard could have survived a curse like that!” Ernie argued with the whole group looking at him. “That’s probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn’t want another Dark Lord competing with him! What other powers has Potter been hiding?”
“Oh, Helgas left tit! That’s completely baseless!” Lirum started again hearing someone clear their voice behind them. Every Hufflepuff at the table turned paler than Draco.
“Hello,” Lirum recognized Harry’s voice as he started. “I’m looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley.” The Hufflepuffs looked amongst themselves as if that was all the proof they’d needed.
“What do you want with him?” Ernie quavered.
“I wanted to tell him what really happened with that snake at the dueling club,” Harry finished, truly confirming his guilt to the other students.
“We were all there. We saw what happened.”
“Then you noticed after I spoke to it the snake backed off?”
“All I saw, was you speaking parseltongue and chasing the snake towards Justin.” Ernie argued, stubbornly.
Lirum felt a tug at their sleeve. They turned to find Percy pulling them back towards their table.
“Percy, are you not going to step in and out an end to this?” Lirum asked.
“It’s just rumors, they are entitled to their opinions.” Percy answered, attempting to drag them back to their spot.
“If it were any other Gryffindor you’d have stepped in. Face it you have hard feelings towards Harry for getting Ron into trouble.” Lirum said, pulling their arm back and crossed.
“I do not! I find it hard to see where your sudden sympathy for Harry’s come from.” Percy argued.
“It’s because he’s being treated unfairly and others are ignoring it!” Lirum explained.
“I am not ignoring it!” The prefect in him retorted, seriously.
“Then what was that!” Lirum argued, gesturing toward the boys who were arguing at the other side of the shelves.
“Let’s just-“ he started with a sigh.
“No! You can’t just keep pretending things aren’t happening! Since the day I met you, every time something happens you just pretend it never happened and that it doesn’t bother you!” The fourth year said angrily.
“Really? You were plenty happy to do that with Hogsmeade, and the snake attack, your birthday, or your parents! I’m sure there's more that I’m not aware of given you chose to just not tell me instead.” Percy listed angrily.
“That’s different!” Lirum snapped back.
“How? Because it’s you, and your feelings?” Percy argued.
“I don’t get a choice of pretending that away! I left Hogsmeade and my childhood home because my parents died there! All of that happened on my birthday! So forgive me for not wanting to celebrate on their anniversary! So no, I don’t tell people. Because it’s easier to say I don’t celebrate then why.” Lirum said, turning to rush out of the library.
“Lirum!” Percy called after them.
“Don’t you dare follow me Percy Weasley!” Lirum said as the door closed behind them.
Lirum stormed down the corridor and away from the library. They didn’t know where they were going just that it would be away from Percy and the nonsensical Hufflepuff. They looked back up only to see a large figure standing in front of Harry carrying a dead chicken. It wasn’t hard to guess even before they heard him speak it was hagrid.
“You to lirum? Yeh both look all hot an’ bothered?” Hagrid asked as the Ravenclaw approached.
“It’s nothing,” harry said. “We’d better get going, Hagrid, I’ve transfiguration next and I’ve still got to pick up my books.”
As Hagrid walked away Harry turned to Lirum.
“Thank you for earlier, I know we’re not close but I’m glad to know someone believed in me.” Harry said, turning to head up the staircase.
“You’re a good kid Harry, if you’d stop trying to get yourself killed that is.” Lirum joked following since they had charms after.
When the pair stepped off onto the next corridor it was noticeably colder and darker then the last had been. The torches extinguished by a strong icy draft blowing through a lose windowpane. Lirum pulled out their wand to repair the fitting only to notice a long trail of spiders scuttling out. Taking a step back they heard a thump behind them they turned to see Harry on the ground next to what appeared to be a second year boy and the charred remains of a ghost.
That was not good, but worse even was the door open to reveal peeves the school poltergeist.
“Why, it’s potty wee Potter!” Cackled the cursed clown as he bounced passed. “What’s Potter up to? Why’d Potter lurking-“
Peeve’s stoped midair halfway through a somersault when he noticed what lied beside Harry. “ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORGAL OT GHOST OS SAFE! RUN FOR YOU LIVES! ATTAAAACK!”
Doors began busting open all around them. Students and teachers flooded the halls. They crowded around pushing Lirum back towards the real stepping over the second year and through Nearly Headless Nick. McGonagall came running down the hall attempting to part the crowd. A loud bang came from her wand as she sent everyone back to their classes.
Ernie came running from the stairs. “Caught in the act!” He shouted at Harry. “No defending it this time!”
Percy dashed out behind him and straight to Lirum’s side. “Are you alright?” He asked, looking over them.
“That will be enough MacMillan!” McGonagall snapped quieting those who were left in the hall. She then ordered Justin be taken to the hospital wing by professor Flitwick and Sinistra and he fan Nearly Headless Nick their.
“Oh Potter, you Rotter, oh what have you done, your killing off students you think it’s good fun.” Peeves sang mockingly.
“That’s enough, peeves” she barked as he zipped away.
“This way, Potter,” she said.
Professor,” the pair said together.
“I swear I didn’t-“ Harry started.
“I was right here Professor! Harry didn’t do it!” Lirum called out from the
“This is out of my hands.” Professor McGonagall spoke curtly. Before leading him away.
“But I was-“ Lirum started, being pulled away by Percy. “What are you doing!”
“It’s to dangerous to stay here! You need to go back to your common room!” Percy argued pulling them in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower.
“I still have classes!” Lirum shouted, attempting to pull themself back.
“A student was just attacked in broad daylight, and you discovered it! Your teacher is carrying him to the hospital wing! You were absent from the shock! I escorted you back to your common room, easy! Flitwick saw you and I was there” Percy ranted as he drug Lirum down the hall.
“I’m fine! And I told you not to follow me!” Lirum planted their feet, refusing to move.
“Not to follow you? You could have been petrified, or worse, Lirum!” Percy argued, attempting to pull his friend behind him.
“And Harry could be expelled!” The ravenclaw pulled back.
“That’s exactly why you need to be as far away from this as possible.” The sixth year snapped, turning back to face Lirum.
“So you’d let them punish the wrong person! How is that fair, what about that is right.” Lirum insisted, fighting to get their arm back from Percy’s grip.
“If it truly wasn’t him they’ll be able to see that. Now let’s go!” Percy ordered, attempting to start their march back down the hall.
“I was there, Percy! I know it wasn’t him! He couldn’t have done it!” Lirum pleaded, attempting to go back in the direction they’d came.
“The professors will handle it, they’ll investigate and come to the right conclusion! That’s their job! They’re here to keep us safe! You’re in danger being out here!” Percy argued not giving an inch or releasing his hold.
“What about anything that’s happened makes you believe that any of our professors are actually watching out for us and not just the school?” Lirum said finally breaking free.
“I am a school prefect! We work together to achieve these goals! That’s what they’re meant to do, and what I’m doing now! Their adults they’re responsible and fair! You need to go back to Ravenclaw Tower where you’ll be safe!” He grabbed their arm again only for them to pull it back away.
“Stop dragging me around like a toddler! What makes you think Ravenclaw tower is any safer than right here? Because there will be other students? That boy and Nearly Headless Nick were together! Their will be people in the next room? There are people in all of these classrooms! It changed nothing!” Lirum snapped as they took another few steps back and away from Percy. “And besides what did you say about that Ernie kid earlier? You’re not his prefect, your gryffindors! If that’s the case you're not mine either! Go get Penelope, or any of the other ravenclaw prefects. Let’s see what they say about you telling me to skip class!”
“It’s a chance that you’ll be safe!” He argued again, stepping closer.
“Do I look like I need saving! Don’t you dare take another step, Percy” They both stopped for a second looking at each other before Lirum sighed. “So, your solution is to lock me up in the tower then! How long will I be kept up there? For the rest of the year? Will you let me down for Christmas? Or will you start having Luna bring me my food and school work so I’m safe? Will I be taking my OWLs from my dorm next year?”
“Lirum!” Percy seemed stunned, staring wide eyed at Lirum.
“I’ve told you twice now, Stop following me!” Lirum snapped back, storming away. They’d barely taken a few steps when they heard the footsteps behind them.
“You’re being unreasonable!” Percy shouted after them, running to catch up. Lirum could feel the buzzing in their wand as they grabbed it, it was as angry as they were when they turned back.
“Petrificus Totalus!” They shot back, hitting Percy square. He fell frozen to the floor. Spells charged with emotion were far stronger; they'd have plenty of time to make it to the Ravenclaw tower before he could move again.