"Nosce Te Ipsum"

Know Thyself

Chapter One: "Questions Follow Questions"

By: Shinga

Disclaimer: All the characters in this first chapter, excepting Harry and Dumbledore (who are only briefly mentioned) are mine.

Author's Note: I hope to keep these notes minimal, but I must explain myself before I delve too deeply into this story. This is a parody. But unlike most parodies it will be significantly less annoying, and it will have an actual storyline/plot. I am making fun of Mary-Sue's… if this offends you, I probably don't care. Take it as a lesson and go develop your character better. Cheers!

PS. No, I didn't get the title from The Matrix. I was entirely unaware of the connection until my brother brought it up. So there.

---------------------------

            Agnes was trying valiantly to not break the 'no running' rule by walking as quickly as possible, stumbling over her own feet a few times. Breathing erratically from lack of efficient exercise, her pale cheeks flushed and perspiration made her dark thick hair cling to her face. She had three books clutched haphazardly to her side by a thin arm, her robes bunched uncomfortable over her elbow. Once again, she was late for Potions. This happened every day of the week after vacation… it was amazing how easily her sleeping schedule was disrupted.

            The door to the Potions classroom was closed. Agnes came to a halt in front of it, panting and grimacing at her inevitable punishment. Inhaling deeply to calm her thundering heart, Agnes slowly opened the door.

            Though fully expecting the embarrassing silence that normally greeted her, along with a glare from Mrs. Robins, a mild murmur filled the space of the room and the teacher didn't seem to notice Agnes at all. Agnes, unnerved but relieved, rushed as quietly as possible to her desk.

            'As quietly as possible' ended up not being quiet at all. With her heavy backpack and her books nearly slipping from underneath her arm, Agnes toppled into her seat noisily. Mrs. Robins glared from her place by the blackboard. She scowled and waited for Agnes to settle down, tapping her wand on the board impatiently.

            "Now that we are all present," said Mrs. Robins heavily, giving Agnes a meaning look. "I'm afraid I've been given some unfortunate news to pass on to all of you, from the Principle of Enrichment Magic himself." Mrs. Robins glanced down at the manilla folder on her desk with a frown. "Some of you remember Laura Peters. She left here about six months ago when her father was transferred to Scotland."

            The girl beside Agnes gave a sharp gasp. Agnes glanced over and recognized the large student as Ursula Witherspoon, though she didn't know her very well.

            "Laura has been attending Hogwarts under Headmaster Dumbledore and had been faring very well there," Mrs. Robins pressed a hand against her chest and closed her eyes, taking a tense breath. "It is my grievous duty to inform you that she has passed from this world."

            A chorus of gasps filled Agnes' ears and a whimper from Ursula. Agnes didn't respond, but she felt her heart quicken.

            "It is a terrible tragedy, particularly for her family and other loved ones," said Mrs. Robins. "She was young and had a wonderful life ahead of her, but circumstance took her away from us too soon in a tragic accident. In her place in our hearts she leaves a gap, a deep hole which nothing will ever fill."

            Despite how guilty it made her feel, Agnes couldn't help but inwardly scoff. Though Mrs. Robins was a licensed Potions teacher, she would've made a better poet… or worse. It was hard to compare the horrendousness of both Mrs. Robins' passions.

            "We mourn our loss," Mrs. Robins said, but then sighed and tapped her wand meaningfully on her desk. "But, we must move on. We'll not be mixing potions today, which is why I announced yesterday not to bring your cauldrons. Instead we'll be reading up on a bit on the impact Potions has on literature!" The groans in the room were audible, but Mrs. Robins managed to blissfully ignore them. "First off, I'll hand over your essays you turned in before Spring Break."

            Beside Agnes, Ursula's round cheeks were glistening with unchecked tears. Her cool blue eyes were bloodshot and she sniffled loudly. She noticed Agnes staring and managed an offensive glare. Agnes smiled at her uncomfortably. "Are you okay?" she asked in a whisper as Mrs. Robins distracted herself by nagging some unfortunate student.

            "No," said Ursula angrily.

            "Oh… I'm sorry."

            "Miss Marshall!"

            Agnes jumped and sat up instantly, staring a stern Mrs. Robins square in the face. The teacher snorted and handed the three page-long essay back to Agnes. "Thank you," said Agnes, secretly proud of the sketchy red 'B' on the top.

            "Next time I want a better conclusion," Mrs. Robins said, managing a quick smile before handing Ursula hers.

            Agnes' thoughts were occupied during the entirely pointless lesson Mrs. Robins had decided to teach. She almost felt bad for not having known Laura Peters. She faintly remembered the girl, with her frazzled brown hair and braces. She'd not been an overly social girl, and spent a lot of time reading for no reason. Agnes had always suspected her reason for not making more friends was the bad acne Laura seemed doomed to always bear. Agnes squirmed at remembering only negatively about the deceased. Forcing herself to remember more, she noted to herself that Laura had been good-humored, and didn't snort too much when she laughed.

            Ursula obviously wasn't paying much attention either, Agnes noted. She usually didn't, but this time she wasn't doodling flowers on her notes. Instead she had a dreamy look on her face. She wasn't crying anymore, and her frown was unnerving instead of sad.

            After class was over, Agnes put her books into her frail backpack and heaved it over her shoulders with a grunt. Ursula surprised her by setting a hand on her arm. She had an odd look in her eyes.

            "Can I…" Ursula blinked and frowned, changing her mind. "Want to hang out for lunch?"

            Agnes stared. Ursula met her astonished expression with blank determination, her wavy blonde hair framing her overly generous face nicely. Agnes shrugged. "Okay," she said. "I usually eat with my sister, but I think she has lunch a different hour today."

            Ursula forced a smile. "I'll see you then. I have Herbology next. Goodbye." She gathered her things and walked out of the classroom, head bowed.

            Agnes nearly followed, then paused and looked back at Mrs. Robins. "How did she die?" she asked, as soon as the other students were gone.

            The middle-aged woman looked up and blinked. "Who?" she asked, then sighed. "Oh, of course, Laura. It was an accident outside the castle, I think. I'm afraid the details were given to her family only."

            "Castle?" Agnes found herself asking, despite how disrespectful of Laura it sounded.

            Mrs. Robins grinned. "Terribly unfair, isn't it? Oh well, I hear the weather is pretty fickle. I'd go mad in a week." She shrugged. "Hurry on to your next class, Agnes, before you get yourself into more trouble."

---------------------------

            On the way to Transfiguration, Agnes' thoughts collected themselves without her permission. Something about the Laura's story nagged at her mind unpleasantly. It seemed like there was an element missing from it. While the faculty had no exact obligation to tell the students what exactly happened to Laura, Mrs. Robins had seemed a bit too vague about it. Agnes had a tendency to be insensitive without meaning to… but she did know that telling the class that Laura had, for example, been crushed by thousands of pounds of stones falling from a tower, it would've been met badly.

            Transfiguration was at least interesting. Agnes successfully turned a table leg into a rat, though unfortunately that hadn't been the assignment and gave the teacher quite a scare. Agnes had her wand confiscated for the remainder of the lesson. She slouched down into her seat and frowned. She hated that class.

            The next two classes were better, though Agnes couldn't focus properly. Every time she tried to recite History of Magic lessons in her head, or recall Runes, it seemed her mind poked around more about Laura Peters.

            Finally, lunch came around. Though it was only a short break from the day, Agnes approached the mess hall in good spirits. On instinct, she looked around for her sister, but she spotted Ursula sitting alone at one of the smaller tables and remembered her agreement. With a friendly smile, she went and sat across from her.

            Ursula looked up in surprise, and gave Agnes an odd look before blinking. "Oh… I didn't think you'd actually sit here."

            Agnes frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

            "No one ever does," said Ursula with a shrug. "I mean, Laura used to."

            "You were Laura's friend?" Agnes asked with a note of surprise. She set her heavy backpack down on the ground next to the bench. Something clattered in it.

            Ursula scowled, her blue eyes darkening in annoyance. "Yes," she said shortly. "We were roommates before she moved to Scotland. We were all we had… neither of us has ever been very good at making friends."

            Agnes nodded in what she hoped was a sympathetic manner. She had never been good at making friends either, though it didn't bother her as much as it probably should have.

            "Listen," said Ursula, wringing her hands. "I don't know who else to go with this… I know you're not the gossiping kind. I see those girls who spread notes with rude comments about other people written on them. Usually about me," she added with a snort. "Fat Ursula, monstrous Ursula… I bet they spell 'monstrous' wrong." Blinking, she shook her head. "But… you're not one of them. And… I need some one to talk to. The teachers probably won't listen to me."

            Agnes felt a sudden twinge of uneasiness… she'd never been a very good listener. "Well," she said slowly, glancing around nervously. "If it'll make you feel better, okay."

            Ursula smiled mirthlessly. "It's nothing as quaint as melodramatic whining, if you're wondering," she said. "It's something more." Her smile turned to an uncomfortable frown. "You see… Laura had been sending me owls constantly when she had to move away. We were best friends, and the move killed us. I sent her letters, she replied, and we stayed close. Sometimes we even talked in the fire." She glanced around her. "She started school at Hogwarts in September this year. At first her letters were simple, telling me about the teachers and the students. There were other things… she told me her acne had gotten significantly better, and laughingly blamed it on Britain's weather. But..." Ursula's eyes watered sadly. "Then it started to worry me. She told me her hair was changing after that, and that was okay… but then she told me her nose was smaller. She was starting to sound… unsure about the changes. She even panicked some. I was uneasy too, and told her to consult some one. She did, but no one at Hogwarts seemed bothered by it. I continued to urge her to tell the Headmaster, but soon she began shrugging the changes off and telling me they were for the better anyway. She made friends easier, and even had a couple of boys vying for her affections. Soon it got to the point where she… forgot she had changed at all. She acted puzzled when I brought it up."

            "Didn't her parents notice?" Agnes asked, fascinated.

            "She didn't see them… she stayed at Hogwarts over vacation. Which is odd, if you knew Laura… her and her parents were really close. She would do anything to spend more time with them," Ursula shook her head. "It got weirder. She owled me, telling me she had a new boyfriend named Harry. She went on and on about him… apparently he's famous over there. I looked it up, he's in some of our textbooks, but I guess they make a bigger deal about it there. It seemed to change her… all she ever focused on was this Harry idiot. I asked her if she was even studying anymore… she said no, but she still excelled in everything. That was when I started worrying a lot… Laura was never really good in school." Ursula had tears streaming down her face now. She sniffed, embarrassed, and dried her cheeks with her sleeve. "Then one day she sent an owl… and it sounded much more like she'd sounded when she first started changing. It was panicked, and I could tell she was scared. But something was off about it. It seemed… flat."

            "Flat…" Agnes interjected. "Like it almost wasn't the same person?"

            "Like there was no person at all!" Ursula said urgently. "It was like she'd become some… some stupid book character with no personality. The owl was… melodramatic, almost. Laura isn't like that. But I gave her a benefit of a doubt… she said Harry was in trouble at Hogwarts and a lot of evil things were happening. I know things are bad in Britain… my dad says some of what happens there affects America's magic system too. Harry is apparently a big aspect. Laura vowed in her owl to me that she'd stay by his side no matter what." Ursula sighed. "Laura isn't the type to go so silly over some guy, no matter how brave and noble and all the other traits she tittered on about."

            "Was that… before the accident?"

            Ursula snorted. "It obviously wasn't after it," she said scathingly, then shook her head. "Not right before, no. After that, she didn't owl anymore. I was worried, but the teachers here checked Hogwarts and said she was, in fact, doing all right. I tried owling her parents to ask why Laura wasn't sending letters, but they didn't reply either. Finally I sent her an owl…" she gulped and tightened the grip on her own hands. "She sent one back… and acted like she didn't even know me. She claimed she was friends with no one here… and she called the school a 'dreadful, awful place'. She said she was leaving all the abuse she received here and moving on. I tried another owl to reason with her… she sent a Howler after that. Half the hall heard it, but no one bothered to ask why I got it."

            Agnes stared for a while. "And… then?"

            "That was it. I figured maybe I'd done something to make her mad… but I decided it wasn't worth it to make her angrier. I wouldn't want her to send worse than a Howler…" Ursula sighed.

            "Sometimes…" Agnes said uneasily, shifting in her seat. "Sometimes people just change for… for the worst. Maybe she was just so distraught about everything in her life changing that she just took on a whole new life and, er… created allusions about her past so she could somehow comfort herself…?"

            Ursula burst into unexpected laughter, slapping the wooden table loudly. "Yeah, I looked for a crap psychological answer first too," she said. "Which is just dandy, but what about her physical changes? Psychology can't explain away that nose."

            Agnes blinked. "Maybe she exaggerated?"

            "She sent pictures," said Ursula, squinting. "I looked into this deeply, Agnes. Something weird happened to Laura. Personality changes, memory loss, physical makeover… she became a stupid girly-girl, all gaga over 'Harry', going on about her problems with jealous boys and something about her 'weird powers'." Ursula frowned. "I don't even know what that was about the weird powers. She seemed to be less bothered by that than by whoever 'Draco' was."

            "What do you think it was then?" asked Agnes.

            "I don't know," said Ursula. "I really don't. I don't know much about Hogwarts, maybe everyone over there is a giggly moron."

            Agnes cocked her head, her heavy braids almost weighing her over to one side. "It's the death you're bothered by."

            Ursula gave her a scrupulous look. "Aren't you?"

            After an uncomfortable pause, Agnes admitted quietly, "I didn't know her as well as you did… so, I'm not as bothered."

            Ursula seethed shortly before shrugging. "I shouldn't expect much more, I guess," she said coolly. "But, I don't think it was an accident. I think it's somehow connected to all these changes that happened in her."

            "I agree."

            Shocked, Ursula gaped at the calm Agnes for a minute before speaking. "Do you?"

            "Yes," Agnes said with a quick nod. "Something's been bothering me about the story ever since Mrs. Robins told it this morning… like there's something important hidden."

            "They told me more," Ursula said. "Before classes. They said she'd been out on the lake when she drowned. I asked questions, but they refused to answer them. I know they're hiding something."

            "Why would they hide something though?" Agnes asked.

            "Because it has to do with her changes!" said Ursula impatiently. "Something went weird over there that changed Laura and possibly affected more than her. Her death is connected, and whatever happened, they don't want it out."

            Agnes considered this for a long time while staring down at her twiddling thumbs. It seemed insane… why should the faculty hide anything? Things were indeed bad over in England… and rumor had it that whatever was going on could spread overseas. At first Agnes saw Laura's changes as nothing too harmful… she went from an unattractive friendless girl to being lovely and popular. Agnes didn't care, personally, for the idea of popularity… and the idea of having more than one male after her certainly put her in a state of uneasiness. Even one boy would freak her out.

            But once she reconsidered her opinions about Laura, she saw more of Ursula's side. Becoming a drone of society's images of beauty and deprived suddenly of every aspect of your original personality was, probably, wrong somehow.

            "I don't understand," she said, still frowning down at her hands. "It does sound like a curse… to be something you're not and eventually leading to some mysterious death and all that. Memory loss is a pretty common curse… but all those other things make no sense. Why curse some one to be prettier? Why curse her so boys would like her, or that she become really good in school? It seems pointless."

            "You can't know suffering without knowing happiness first," said Ursula coldly. "Whoever came up with this curse is a real sadistic bastard."

            "But it's pointless!" Agnes insisted. "Why Laura? She wasn't that much of a target… I don't know much about her, but I knew her dad wasn't all that important of a wizard, and wasn't her mom a Muggle?"

            Ursula leaned back a bit from the table and frowned. "I don't know why. I want to find out…"

            "It won't be easy," said Agnes.

            "No, it won't," said Ursula.

            "In fact," Agnes continued thoughtfully. "I'd say near impossible. Your chances are pretty slim… next to nothing, I bet."

            Ursula scowled.

            "Well, think about it," said Agnes. "If some one wanted to go through that much trouble in a curse, they'd do it to some one who was a bigger deal. Like whomever Jerry is."

            "Harry," Ursula corrected. "Harry Potter."

            Agnes frowned. "Oh… sounds familiar. I think my sister mentioned him once. I may've read about him…" Agnes snapped her fingers and her brown eyes lit up with an idea. "Margaret!"

            "Ursula," said the bigger girl through clenched teeth.

            "No, no," said Agnes, shaking her hands. "My sister, Margaret! She reads too much, she may know something about what happened to Laura."

            Ursula gave her a dubious look. "You really think she would?"

            "Why not? She knows countless other useless things."

            "This is not--" Ursula stopped, and then nodded shortly. "Okay, we'll ask your sister. I hope she knows something."

            "Me too," said Agnes, and meant it.

---------------------------

            The day passed with Agnes almost itching with anticipation. She'd never been involved in anything so mysterious, and despite how she knew it bothered Ursula, she couldn't help but be a little excited. Mr. McNeil never spoke about curses that much in Charms, but he'd mentioned quite a few of the smaller ones. Agnes herself had learned quite a few hexes, though she'd never been given any reason to use them. But now she could likely be in on one of the weirdest curses ever known. Or maybe it was simply a lot of weird coincidences and psychology, like she thought originally. Which would be, in her mind, a great pity.

            After dinner, Agnes rushed to her room that she shared with Margaret. Her first five years in Enrichment Magic had been spent with a girl named Jennifer, but they'd never gotten along and finally Jennifer requested to be moved. Margaret was Jennifer's replacement by her own request, and Agnes enjoyed every minute shared with her sister.

            Margaret was waiting on her bed with a large book propped on her small lap. She smiled when Agnes entered, her short face bright in the orange sunlight streaming through the small windows. Margaret was only younger than Agnes by a year, but looked more like a 6th grader than a 9th grader. She was smaller than Agnes by a foot, and as tiny as most the new students.

            "Hi," she said. "You sounded pretty urgent in the hall earlier. What is it you wanted to ask me?"

            "It'll sound pretty crazy," said Agnes, sitting on the bed. "I guess I can tell you before Ursula gets here."

            "Ursula?" Margaret's face lit up. "Agnes, have you actually made a friend?"

            Agnes paused and reflected on Ursula's obvious irritation with her earlier. "I guess…?" she said uncertainly.

            Margaret grinned happily. "That's wonderful! So, why is she coming?"

            "It has to do with that girl who died at Hogwarts."

            "Laura Peters," said Margaret, nodding and frowning in confusion at this connection. "I heard in Defense class. Pretty sad, I talked to her a few times while she still went here. I heard it was a bad accident."

            "They say she drowned," said Agnes dramatically.

            Margaret cocked her head. "They say? You don't believe that?"

            "Uh…" Agnes chewed on her lip. "We think… uh, Ursula thinks… that Laura had been cursed with things like popularity and good grades and stuff since she got there and it eventually led to her death, which may have been more serious than an accidental drowning."

            Margaret merely stared.

            "It made a lot more sense at lunch," Agnes assured.

            "Maybe… Ursula can explain," said Margaret patiently.

            Only a few minutes passed in silence before a firm knock interrupted it. Margaret called an invitation and Ursula stepped heavily through the door, wearing her casual clothes. Agnes shifted in her skirt… she hadn't changed from her uniform yet, and only now realized she was the only one who hadn't. Margaret was in sweats.

            "Hello, Ursula," said Margaret in a sweet tone. "It's nice to meet you. You can sit on my bed if you like."

            Ursula accepted the offer and once she sat on the end of the bed, the mattress leaned over to her favor, and Margaret nearly toppled. She steadied herself and smiled politely.

            "So. Did you tell her everything?" Ursula asked Agnes.

            "No," said Agnes. "All I did was confuse her… you'll have to tell her."

            Ursula snorted and rolled her eyes, but turned her head towards Margaret and began to retell the story of Laura's transformation. Margaret listened with rapt attention, her eyebrows furrowed and her face contorted with concentration. Once the story was completed Margaret hummed to herself, which she often did when she was thinking heavily on something.

            "So… what do you think?" Ursula asked slowly. "Agnes said you might have an idea."

            "I… do," said Margaret, and shocked Agnes by sounding very unsure… Margaret was always sure of herself. "But it's crazy!"

            "What is it?" Ursula urged her.

            "I read something along the lines…" said Margaret."It wasn't much information, but then again I wasn't looking for that. I remember being puzzled by it, but not thinking much more. And I think I remember the book I found it in."

            Agnes and Ursula both stared at her. "You mean… there's a curse that makes you pretty and then kills you?" Agnes demanded, her plain brown eyes wide.

            "Not so simple as that," said Margaret, shaking her head. "But that's a very basic element of it, I think."

            "Why did some one cast it on Laura?" Ursula asked, her cheeks reddening.

            "I don't know," said Margaret. "I'll have to read it again and see if that gives us any sort of hint." She frowned at her watch. "I'll have to wait until tomorrow night before we can look into it. The book is in the restricted section of the library, and I'll need Mr. Carmen's permission."

            "That excuse for a 'warrior against the evils of wizardry'," said Ursula with a derisive snort, using the term the Defense teacher often used on himself. "I've never met anyone who goes to bed that early."

            "I'll have the book by this time tomorrow night," said Margaret evenly. "And likely I'll have found and read into the curse, and I can tell you both about it. Then maybe what all happened to Laura will make a little more sense."

            "Or less," said Ursula.

            Agnes quietly agreed.

---------------------------