The Eye of the Snake (OP)
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The Eye of the Snake is the twenty-first chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Contents |
Hermione and Hagrid
Hermione trudges down to Hagrid's cabin on Sunday morning. Harry and Ron plan to go with her but have too much homework. Unfortunately for the boys, Fred and George are bewitching snowballs to hit the windows of Gryffindor Tower, which irritates Ron no end. When Hermione returns she tells Harry and Ron that she is having trouble helping Hagrid plan his Care of Magical Creatures lessons. She informs the others that Hagrid has been visiting the Forbidden Forest regularly on secret business: Harry worries that he is hiding another of his dangerous creatures there. Hermione tried to convince Hagrid to teach the students about harmless creatures, such as Knarls, but Hagrid is more enthusiastic about more dangerous creatures such as Chimaeras (which, Hermione hastened to reassure, he hasn't acquired yet). Hagrid seems unwilling to follow Professor Grubbly-Plank's lesson plans, and will not tell Hermione how he got his mysterious injuries.
When Hagrid appears at breakfast the next day he is greeted with mixed feelings. Fred, George and Lee sprint up to wring his hand, while Parvati and Lavender are gloomy, preferring Professor Grubbly-Plank's classes. With mixed feelings, the class head to their Tuesday Care of Magical Creatures lesson, worried that High Inquisitor may be there.
Thestrals
Umbridge is nowhere to be seen at the lesson, but Hagrid's injuries are worsening: he seems to be bleeding. The Trio spot him waiting for the class with half a dead cow slung over his shoulder. Despite panicked comments on Draco Malfoy's part, Hagrid takes the class into the Forest, assuring them that they are safe and that it is a better idea to see the creatures he has lined up for them in their natural habitat. He claims to be the only person in Britain to have trained these wild beasts: this information is not received well by the class who do not believe him. Unconcerned, Hagrid takes the students to a densely wooded area of the Forest and deposits the meat. With an odd, shreiking cry he calls the creatures to them. Harry sees a great, black, winged horse with blank, white eyes, a dragonish face and a skeletal body. Apparently only Harry, Neville and a 'stringy Slytherin boy' can see the creatures. For the rest of the class, seeing bits of flesh being pulled from the carcass by inivisible creatures is most disconcerting. Hagrid tells his class that the creatures are Thestrals. Hermione adds to this that Thestrals are winged horses who can only be seen by those who have seen death. The class is then interrupted by Professor Umbridge who is inspecting the lesson. She frightens Hagrid and leaves him flustered. She then mercilessly mocks his worried incompetence and makes a show of writing cruel notes on him. Hermione is furious. Umbridge interrupts Hagrid again, telling him that Thestrals have been classified by the Ministry of Magic as 'dangerous'. When Hagrid laughs this off she again notes down false accusations of cruelty. Umbridge then quizzes the students about Hagrid: although Pansy Parkinson badmouths him, Neville stands up for him. Umbridge tells Hagrid that he will receive the results of his inspection ten days later and leaves. Hermione is fuming, not helped by Malfoy's cutting remarks to Ron, and the Trio head to Herbology.
Christmas
The scene moves to December and the fifth-years are subjected to even more homework. Ron and Hermione are forced to supervise Christmas decorations as part of their Prefect duties, not helped by Peeves and to watch first- and second-years, as well as patrolling the corridors with Argus Filch. Hermione is upset that all of this extra work has stopped her from knitting hats and socks for house-elves. Harry hasn't the heart to tell her that all of her hard work was going to Dobby anyway. Harry is maudlin, wishing that he could leave Hogwarts for Christmas, as it reminds him of his lifelong Quidditch ban. As few DA members are staying at Hogwarts, meetings have been stopped and, since Hermione is going skiing and Ron is going home, Harry worries that he will be lonely. He is surprised by Ron telling him that Molly had invited him to The Burrow. Harry's joy is marred only by the thought of not seeing Sirius at Christmas. He doubts that Molly, who is often at loggerheads with Sirius, would let him come, or that Dumbledore would allow him to leave number twelve, Grimmauld Place.
DA Meeting
Harry arrives early at the Room of Requirement for the final DA meeting before the holidays. It appears that Dobby has decorated the room, as a hundred gold baubles with Harry's face and the words: Have a very Harry Christmas! Just as Harry finishes removing these, Luna enters. She points out that there is mistletoe about the pair and Harry jumps from beneath it. Instead of being offended, Luna tells him she thinks it was a smart move: mistletoe is so often infected with Nargles. Before Harry has time to ask what Nargles are, Angelina, Katie and Alicia enter, bearing news that they have replaced Harry, Fred and George on the Quidditch team. [[Ginny Weasley] is to play Seeker and Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper are to play Beaters. Ron, Hermione and Neville arrive and soon the entire DA is there. When Harry informs them that he has no plans to start anything new that day Zacharias Smith remarks that, had he known, he wouldn't have bothered coming. Fred quips that he wishes Harry had told him and several start laughing including, Harry notices with a swooping sensation in his stomach, Cho. The group begin to practise the Impediment Jinx. They practise Stunning for a while, and it is clear that Neville in particular has improved. They disperse with Harry informing them that after the holidays they would start harder spells, including the Patronus Charm. Cho, however, stays behind to talk to Harry but finds it difficult and ends up crying over Cedric Diggory. She too notices the mistletoe about their head. She tells him that she really likes him, and they kiss.
Back in the Common Room
Harry returns to the common room where he finds Hermione writing a letter to an unknown person and Ron doing his Transfiguration homework. They notice that he looks shifty and soon discover that he kissed Cho. He has to admit that it was 'wet', because she was crying, which worries Harry that his kissing may simply be that bad, but Hermione consoles him by saying the Cho is constantly crying, due to the death of Cedric. She tries to explain Cho's feeling to the dense Ron who, flabbergasted, simply replies One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode. Hermione looks very ruffled and turns back to her letter. Ron asks her who is it to, but seems very disgruntled to find that she is writing to Viktor Krum. As soon as she goes off to bed Ron starts questioning Harry on Hermione's feelings for Krum, but Harry is distracted by thoughts of Cho. Ron and Harry say goodnight to Neville, Dean and Seamus, but Harry lies awake, thinking of Cho.
The Dream
When Harry finally drifts off to sleep, he finds himself dreaming that Cho is accusing him of luring her to the Room of Requirement under false pretences. She says he promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frog Cards. She shouts that Cedric gave her Cards and begins to throw fistfuls of them at him. Hermione appears and suggests that he gives Cho his Firebolt instead, but Harry protests that he cannot, because Umbridge has his broomstick and that anyway it's all ridiculous: he had only come to the DA room to put up some baubles shaped like Dobby's head. The dream then changes and Harry finds himself inside the head of a smooth, powerful snake. The Harry-snake sees Arthur Weasley and bites him. Harry is then awoken by Ron, who has heard his screams. Harry's scar is aching, but he is more worried about making sure that Mr Weasley is alright. Neville fetches Minerva McGonagall and Harry tells her what he has seen. McGonagall takes Harry and Ron to see Albus Dumbledore.
| Previous chapter | This chapter | Next chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Hagrid's Tale | The Eye of the Snake | St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries |
