A Ghoul's Warning

Hear Me Cry

Last Time:

A second, yet pale, Harry Potter without eyes. A fact that was completely missed by the enraged dog ...

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Eileen flooed home just in time to see Severus running through the door with Harry in his arms, "Did something happen? Are you both right?" She exclaimed as she rushed over to check them.

Harry was still in shock and only barely felt himself being set on the couch, "A dog ... No, Sirius Black ... ripped my throat out."

"WHAT!" Eileen hurried to sit next to Harry and checked his throat. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Black?!" Severus exclaimed, looking away from the window. "He's supposed to be in Azkaban. How did he get here?" He asked no one in particular as he turned back to the window to see if the dog was anywhere in sight.

Harry started tearing up, "It's my fault. I let him in ... I just felt so mad ..." Harry's sentence was cut off by a knot in his throat and not knowing how to explain why he did what he did. He felt his grandma hold his hand and Severus hug him. Harry leaned in and sobbed into the potion master's chest. "I'm ... sorry." He whimpered between sobs.

Severus rubbed circles in Harry's back to try and comfort him, "I know and we both understand. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to let such an opportunity just slip by." Severus commented, reassuring Harry that some revenge is what they all want. "I'm still going to restrict your control on the wards." He said with a slight juking tone getting a soft sad laugh from the boy.

During this moment Dobby popped out of the house. With a very grim air about him, he reappeared next to the scene. Despite everything, not much time passed. In fact, Sirius was still in the process of thrashing the Harry ghoul in a blind rage.

"Fool." Dobby huffed while snapping his fingers.

An invisible force wrapped around Sirius and sent the mad dog flying out of the bounds of the runes. Despite the yelp of pain caused by a nasty landing, a bone snapping sound and nosy angry attempts from the dog to get back in, Dobby ignored him. Instead the house elf turned his attention to the eyeless Harry.

"The master was terrified." Dobby said sounding like he was actually scolding the being whose throat was flayed open and gushing blood.

The ghoul sighed, making his neck gurgle as air escaped through the new opening, and nodded, "Not ... enough ... time." He croaked painfully.

Dobby sighed, "Can't be helped."

Without another word Dobby snapped his fingers again. In an instant the ghoul was gone. With one more snap Dobby appeared back in the house without anyone noticing.

"It's safe now, master Harry. Dobby threw the dog out. Should Dobby still bring dinner outside?" The house elf asked cheerfully, trying to brighten the mood.

Harry sniffed and pulled his face out of Severus' shirt, "Did you see it, Dobby? That other me, I mean."

The corner of Dobby's lip twitched as if he really didn't want to answer, but he nodded nonetheless, "Dobby did, but Dobby doesn't think it's a danger."

"I agree." Severus said and Harry's eyes looked up at the potion master in confusion. "Remember when I said there were two reasons I came to my senses?"

Harry nodded, "One was the basilisk incident , right?"

"That did help, but what really shook me was the ghoul you just saw." Severus explained, trying to pick his words carefully. "I wish it used a different method of getting its message across, but as terrifying as the haunting was, I know anything less wouldn't have gotten through to me. Yes, it definitely made its point that you were in danger ... I'm positive it's only goal is to protect you and me as well considering it swapped places with me before Black got me." He explained revealing that it could have been him if the ghoul didn't help.