Read my new story :
American Fast & Furious NSFW
America's #1 Scumbag NSFW
The Quidditch pitch was in chaos.
"Immediately! At once! Get him to the Hospital Wing!" Madam Pomfrey roared as she levitated a stretcher over with her wand. "And you, Professor Lockhart, if you dare come one step closer to my patient, I'll pour this Skele-Gro up your nose!"
Lockhart slunk away into the crowd, muttering something about "unappreciative" and other oddities.
Harry was lifted onto the stretcher, his face contorted in pain. Rove followed closely beside the stretcher, still gripping his wand tightly.
"I have to go with him," Rove said to Professor McGonagall, who was trying to stop him. "The Fellowship cannot be separated. Especially after this..."
He pointed at Harry's boneless arm. "...this obvious Dark Arts attack."
"Baggins, Harry needs rest, and you are not injured." Professor McGonagall was very strict, eyeing Ron and Hermione, who also looked eager to follow. "Go back to the common room; it's safer there. And Ron, Hermione, you too!"
Not injured?
Rove's brain whirred. System notifications flashed before his eyes:
> [Warning: Key NPC (Harry) entering High-Risk Area (Defenseless State)]
> [Suggestion: Maintain Close Protection]
Rove calculated rapidly. If he were sent back to the Hufflepuff common room, Harry would have to face the "Gollum" (Dobby) lurking in the shadows alone tonight.
So, Rove made a decision that would have his ancestors rolling in their graves.
"Urgh..." Rove suddenly clutched his chest, letting out a painful groan. "Ah! My... my mind can't focus..."
He swayed twice, dangerously dodging a mud puddle on the ground in the process, then conveniently collapsed right next to Harry's stretcher.
"Rove?!" Susan screamed in terror.
"I... I feel it..." Rove pointed weakly at the sky, his eyes unfocused (acting skills exploding). "The aftershock of dark power. Lockhart's spell just now... it didn't just melt bones, it assaulted my mental defenses... I need long-term... bed observation..."
With that, his head lolled to the side, tongue half-out, and he began to play dead.
Professor McGonagall: "..."
Madam Pomfrey: "..."
Although everyone could see the acting was as clumsy as a troll who hadn't graduated yet, given Rove's earlier stance of wanting to fight Lockhart to the death, Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"Take him too," she said resignedly. "At least there he won't go blow up Lockhart's office."
---
Several hours later.
The Hospital Wing was quiet deep in the night, save for the tireless rain outside.
Harry lay in bed. Although regrowing bones was agonizing, he still closed his eyes in a drowsy stupor. He was too tired!
In the bed next to him lay another figure. It was Rove-da!
Rove pretended to rest his eyes, but in reality, he wasn't sleepy at all.
"Must stay vigilant," Rove told himself. "The hospital is the weakest link in the defense. That Bludger was just the vanguard; the enemy's assassin could strike the killing blow at any moment."
Time ticked by.
Suddenly, Rove's eyelid twitched.
> [Warning: Spatial Fluctuation Detected]
> [Hostile Unit Approaching]
Harry woke up groggily. In the darkness, he saw a pair of bloodshot green eyes staring at him.
"Harry Potter..." a high-pitched voice spoke.
Under Rove's System filter, the small creature standing by Harry's bed was a pale-skinned, skeletal, twisted thing wearing only a ragged loincloth. Its eyes held a mix of madness and adoration, looking exactly like the wretch tortured by the Ring for five hundred years.
> [Target Identification: Sméagol / Gollum]
> [Status: Schizophrenic / Extremely Dangerous]
> [Threat Level: Yellow (Unpredictable)]
"Dobby?" Harry sat up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Harry Potter must go home!" Dobby squeaked, pulling hard on his own large ears. "Dobby wants to save Harry Potter! Dobby closed the barrier at the station! Dobby made the Bludger chase Harry Potter..."
"What?" Harry sat up straight in anger. "It was you? You nearly killed me!"
"Dobby only wanted to hurt you a little, seriously enough so you'd have to go home!" Dobby banged his head painfully against the bed frame. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
Rove, eyes slitted, saw everything clearly.
"Mad, as expected," Rove thought. "Logic corrupted by dark power is chaotic. To 'protect' the Ring-bearer, he breaks his arm. This is a replay of Gollum in the Emyn Muil. Would I break Harry's legs just to keep him from running around to protect him?!"
Dobby continued: "Harry Potter is too precious, too important... the darkness is approaching, history is about to repeat itself..."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.
"Harry Potter must go!" Dobby suddenly reached for Harry, seeming to want to drag him out of bed by force. "Go now! You cannot stay here!"
"FOR THE SHIRE!!!"
From the next bed, Rove leaped. His wand thrust out like a short sword, aiming straight for Dobby's throat.
"Step away from the Ring-bearer! You two-faced thief!" Rove roared. "I knew you were following us! Since King's Cross Station!"
Dobby was terrified. He stared wide-eyed at this person who had suddenly popped up, jumped in fright, and let out a scream.
"Gotcha!" Rove lunged, trying to subdue "Gollum" with a grappling move.
But the moment his fingers touched it, Dobby snapped his fingers and vanished.
POP!
A loud crack echoed in the air.
Rove missed and flew forward due to inertia, crashing into the ward doors which happened to be pushed open at that moment.
"Ouch!"
Rove rubbed his shoulder and scrambled up to find Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall standing outside. They were levitating something stiff as a statue.
It was Colin Creevey.
The Gryffindor first-year who always held a camera was now frozen in a pose of raising it, an expression of extreme terror solidified on his face.
"What happened?" Professor McGonagall looked in surprise at Rove, who was in pajamas, holding a wand in a combat stance. "Baggins? Why are you on the floor?"
"I... I was on night patrol, Professor." Rove quickly hid his embarrassment, his gaze landing on Colin, pupils constricting instantly. "Wait, him again?!"
Ignoring the need to explain why he was rolling on the floor, he rushed to Colin in two steps, looking at the familiar posture.
"Didn't I warn him?!" Rove grabbed his hair in frustration. "Just two weeks ago! I told him, in these times, holding a camera makes him a prime target for dark creatures! Because lens reflection attracts monsters! Did this kid take my tactical warning as a joke?!"