Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Finding True Happiness	By : CeliaEquus Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 19445 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I have no claim on the Harry Potter franchise, and am making no money from any of my fan fiction.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
“Heartbreak”

More tales poured in. The Head Girl was unhappy and disinterested; the staff and students were becoming paranoid over the poltergeist’s supposed absence; Professor Snape was having to brew more Calming Draughts, among other potions; a strange man had been seen a few times. Why wasn’t the headmaster doing anything?

“I’m sorry about all of this,” Peeves said, his knuckles turning white as he clenched the arms of the chair, his eyes darting around the room. “I know that this is all my fault. Don’t you think that I would turn back time if I could? It’s just…”

He slumped back in defeat. Dumbledore eyed him from the other side of the desk.

“You did bring about a terrible predicament,” he said. “Yet I feel that there is much you are holding back from me. One of the most troubling aspects was that our Head Girl – Hermione Granger, for Merlin’s sake! – allowed herself to be led on, seduced beyond the point of reason. Had I known that she could be this irresponsible and weak she never would have been given such a position of authority. Now she has lost all life, so it seems.” His frown deepened, his eyebrows lowering further over his half-moon spectacles. “Peeves, I knew that you were made to misbehave, but to be so callous… This is unspeakable.”

“I know!” he shouted. “Everything night I torture myself with the knowledge that I have hurt her so badly. You know, for someone who has worked so hard these last few months to obtain a body,” he tilted his head to look out the window, “I’m certainly most eager to get rid of it. No doubt my presence in Hogwarts is the cause of Hermione’s grief.”

“No,” Dumbledore said. “You are the cause of her initial grief; your presence is what is causing it to linger. But,” he sighed, “it would be risky to see if you could leave the castle. You owe your existence to Hogwarts.”

“I owe it to Hermione,” Peeves said softly. They both knew what the other meant.

“Nevertheless, until I am certain that it is safe for you to leave, you must remain. Please keep the wandering to a minimum.”

“Your headship,” he said, “I’m used to having the run of the castle. It’s always been like that. Do you expect me to stay caged in until I can seek my liberty in a more complete way, perhaps in foreign lands? Anything to avoid… her.” He was back to scrunching up where he sat, maintaining eye contact with his hands. “Gods, I’ve made a mess of things, over and over.”

Dumbledore tapped his lips with one finger.

“What do you plan to do about them?” he asked. Peeves shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe Fred and George Weasley have a place for me in their joke shop?”

Dumbledore chuckled. “I don’t think that any school or workplace in the wizarding world is quite ready for that yet,” he said. The despondent man opposite merely half-smiled briefly.

“I should go,” he said, standing. “Maybe I’ll go to the library. She’ll be going to Hogsmeade with her friends today.”

It was now two weeks since their argument. School life had continued; yet it felt as though his life – his so very short life – was crumbling around him. With each passing second, he noted as he left the headmaster’s office, another piece of his small world broke away or broke down. He had lost Hermione long ago, more than three hundred and thirty-six hours ago. Yep. Just over a fortnight ago.

Hogwarts was in a slump; literally. Hagrid observed this one day as he walked up to the castle. As soon as he got into the Great Hall for breakfast his voice boomed down the staff table to Professor Dumbledore.

“Did yeh notice tha’ the school’s bent out o’ shape?” he asked. Dumbledore’s eyebrows shot up.

“What do you mean, Hagrid?” he said, just loud enough for the half-giant to hear.

“The building’s sort o’… well, p’raps it’s best if yeh `ave a look fer yerself. It jus’ seems shorter, an’ less straight than it used teh be.”

By now most of the students were listening. The rest were discussing what Hagrid had just said. Even Hermione and Ginny were paying attention.

“How did we only just hear about this?” the headmaster asked. “We will examine the situation after breakfast.”

Sure enough, the castle was a bit bent in at the side, curving as though… well, really as though it were a person slumping over in defeat. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. At least The Burrow was meant to look the way it did, and at least it was angular. None of this melancholy air.

“I wonder if Hogwarts is sad,” Luna said. Harry slid his arm around her waist.

“It wasn’t even like this during or after the war. Even in the last battle the school just took each hit,” he said. “Hermione?”

“Yes, Harry?”

“Have you ever read about something like this happening?”

“There’s nothing in Hogwarts: a History about this,” she said, sweeping her hand to indicate the whole castle. “There are no recorded events of the structure behaving like this.”

“Maybe this was the big prank that Peeves was planning!” someone suggested.

“Nah,” another replied. “It isn’t spectacular enough. Wouldn’t he do something flashy?”

“Hogwarts could be retaliating.” Yet more people joined the argument.

“Maybe he ran out of new material…”

“Could be sick of playing jokes…”

“What? Peeves? You’ve gotta be kidding…”

Hermione, sick of hearing about him, hurried back into the castle. She had Charms in less than twenty minutes; and, despite the fact that everyone else would probably be late, she just… wasn’t in the mood.

Though this was probably the closest to being involved in her schoolwork that she had been for over two weeks.

“I’m getting a sense of déjà vu,” Peeves said, smiling half-heartedly. Dumbledore’s head was resting on his steepled fingertips.

“I am not angry with you,” he said. “I am concerned. You have so long been a part of Hogwarts that I fear that your emotions are affecting it. Yet never, until today, have I seen anything of this magnitude. Even when you were apparently contemplating suicide.” Peeves just shrugged, looking at the floor. “My son, what has brought you to so low a point as this?”

He looked up at the headmaster, eyes wide. “Oh, Albus.” His voice was hoarse. Dumbledore’s heart ached for the man. “If you’d seen what I saw last night…” He placed his head in his hands. “I… I…”

“What is it? What happened?”

Peeves moved his hands away. “I have not told you the full story, have I?”

“Then tell me.”

“It… it all started when I realised that my life – well, my existence – had no meaning. You see, I was about to dump a vat of dishwater on some seventh year Ravenclaws who were having a loud conversation in one of the second floor corridors. But imagine when, to my surprise, I was beaten to the punch by some fourth year Hufflepuffs. They used a Weasley product to create a mini-swamp around the Ravenclaws. D’you remember that?”

“Vaguely,” he said. “Filius spoke to me about it.”

“That day I decided to become human, using a method that had been successful in the past. Ghouls have tried it before,” he added, but Dumbledore didn’t comment. “Uh, it didn’t work.”

“Continue.”

“With…? Oh, yes. Hermione seemed to be the perfect solution: powerful, single, a virgin and with her own room. I began with seduction, primarily so that I could find out if she really was pure. Then I knew that I would have to woo her. And yet… as time went on, I began to forget my original goal, or at least my original motive. As… as time went on,” his voice broke, “I only wanted to be alive to be with her properly. I wanted to give her a human to l-love, and I wanted a real heart so that I could r-return that… that love.” He ended on a whisper, sinking back into the seat. Dumbledore was glad that he had summoned the former poltergeist to his office after dinner.

“Has it only just hit you?” he asked quietly. Peeves shook his head slowly, and then nodded.

“Yes and no. It… it was last night that everything crashed down around me. You see,” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clutching his trembling hands together as he composed himself, “Hermione had told me to stay away from her. But I couldn’t help myself. I went to her rooms – invisible, of course – and saw that she was alone in the head common room. I could hear MacMillan practising incantations in his room.”

“Well?” Dumbledore prompted when Peeves didn’t show signs of continuing. He seemed to shake himself.

“Right,” he murmured. “Well, I moved closer. Hermione was by the… the fireplace. And beside her, she had…” He blinked back threatening tears. “Everything I had made for her. The quill, the paper sculptures, the drawings… everything!” he shouted, standing up. “She just burnt it all, as if I’d meant nothing to her!” He waved his arms, kicking back the chair as he paced. “The only gifts that I could give to her. She had even kept a flower from each bouquet, and… and she burnt those, too.”

“Oh, Peeves. I am so sorry.”

“How can people do this?” he asked, turning to the headmaster, his expression one of confusion. “How can they live? How can… how can couples have children, thus condemning them to… existence?”

He shook his head violently and threw himself back into the chair. He drew his knees up and hugged them to his body. He had never been so vulnerable.

“I… don’t know what to suggest,” the headmaster said. He watched as Peeves finally broke down, sobbing silently into the robes covering his legs.

The headmaster’s office wasn’t the only place in Hogwarts witnessing drama at that moment…

Where else shall we go to see angst? Just wait and see, dear readers! By the way, thank you for being so supportive, considering that public opinion swayed in quite a different direction, so to speak.

[And please review.]

Two more points, while I think about it. One, more delay in them getting back together means more story for you (though things will move quite swiftly now), and two… I’ve forgotten. I’ll get back to you on that one.

Oh! That’s right. What should the name of this ship be called? I’ve got an interesting little one-shot in mind for this pair, assuming that I get around to writing it, so please vote, or add in your own suggestions. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

Hereeves

Permione

Greeves

Please, no suggestions of ‘herpes’, if at all possible…
- 16
- 17
- 18
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Finding True Happiness