Helen's tale

Trying to persuade Harry to arrange a meeting with his friends while locked up at his family's house in Muggle London was about as difficult as trying to persuade a hungry dragon not to eat you. I was insistent, though. Not only was I curious about Ron and Hermione, but I was also desperate to find out how I had ended up in Harry's body and if there was a possibility of returning to my own.

Harry patiently explained again and again that no, it just wasn't possible, because the Dursleys would certainly notice and then all hell would break lose.

We can do this the Muggle way, I argued. You can sneak out at night, and then meet Ron and Hermione somewhere in town. Hermione is muggleborn, she'll know how to be inconspicuous and she can teach Ron.

"It's too dangerous," Harry replied stubbornly.

Luckily, though, I am a lot more stubborn than he is, and I can be very annoying when I really want something. And even Harry's patience has its limits…

So in the end, we sent letters to Hermione and Ron, explaining the plan, and even though they thought it to be extremely risky, they were too concerned about Harry to turn him down.

We agreed to meet in a mall far enough away from Privet Drive to make certain that no one would recognize Harry, yet close enough to be reached by bus. There was a movie theater there, so the mall would be open until late at night and we would be able to meet there without causing suspicion. Or so I thought.

Harry was very nervous about the whole thing, so I offered to get us out of the house by magic. I was merely excited.

Calm down, I told Harry, who was fidgeting around. It'll be fine.

I felt his discomfort and I knew that he was worrying… about both of us. It was nice to know that he cared; really nice, in fact. I had never known anyone to care about me – well, no, there had been someone, my parents, my family, but that had been a very long time ago, I felt sure about that. Harry, however, was here right now, and he was concerned about my safety. I felt a surge of affection towards him, and of course, he caught that, too. And blushed. It was so cute. He actually blushed.

Obviously, I had to tease him about that mercilessly.

So, Harry… do you have a girlfriend? I asked, while he busied himself with the Invisibility Cloak.

"What? What kind of question is that to ask when we're about to sneak out of the house illegally using magic, which, by the way, is a really stupid idea…!" He seemed upset, though not upset enough to let it go.

A reasonable one, I think. I'm just curious. I couldn't find any memories or thoughts about a girlfriend while snooping around in your head, so I'm wondering if you're hiding something from me…

"That's really none of your business, Helen!"

Humor me. I've been locked up forever, and I've never had anyone to talk to. I didn't really live. Can you blame me for being curious?

"Well, do you have to be curious about my love-life?"

Absolutely. So? Girlfriend or no girlfriend?

"No girlfriend." His cheeks were a deep shade of pink now.

Aw… are you too shy, Harry? You probably are. You know, I could help you with that. Are there any girls you like?

"No!"

No, you don't want me to help or no, you don't like any girls?

"Both! No… I mean, of course I like Hermione, and Luna and Ginny, but they're friends. I'd never… well, I'm not in love with any of them, okay?"

Got it. But I bet there are a lot more girls in Hogwarts than just those three. Like any of them?

"Not particularly, no. Can we please stop having this conversation?"

You're either a pretty cold fish, Harry, or an insufferable prude. I'm guessing it's the latter.

"Helen! Please! I need to concentrate."

Excuses, excuses. After all it's me who's going to do the actual work. Here, let me take over. And no weird stunts this time, okay? If I trip on the stairs, the Dursleys will catch us, and I'd really like to avoid that, I hate Petunia's screeching when she's upset.

He stepped aside, probably glad that I'd finally changed the topic. I chuckled quietly to myself.

Helen! It's not funny!

"Yeah, yeah. Stop fussing. Now, let's do this. Should be fun."

And it was. Harry, of course, didn't stop fussing, but that actually only made it better. I got a kick out of the adrenaline rush as we slipped out of the room and down the stairs, all senses heightened, excitement cursing through my body – well, his body - like a drug. I'd never felt more alive than in those few minutes. When we were outside the house and far enough away from it, I laughed out loud as we rushed along the quiet street.

"This is great!"

You really are strange, Helen, Harry commented.

"Who, me?" And again I laughed.

We caught the bus and reached the mall in no time. No one was staring at us – or rather, at Harry – and in fact, no one even seemed to take notice of us. Which only confirmed my suspicions about Muggles – they really were ignorant to the point of blindness. No wonder that wizards had managed to keep their entire lifestyle a secret for so long.

Hermione and Ron, on the other hand, noticed Harry the moment he came in sight and came rushing towards him.

"You've got a surprisingly accurate memory," I commented.

Huh?

"Well, they look almost exactly as you pictured them in your mind… well, Hermione's hair is slightly less bushy and Ron's got a few more freckles, but other than that…"

Helen, if you don't want them to think that I've gone crazy, you better stop talking to yourself right now.

Oh… right. Sorry about that.

"Harry!" Hermione flung her arms around us and I caught Harry flinching.

Jeez, you really are a prude. Calm down, Harry! It's just a friendly hug.

"Hello Hermione," I greeted her. "Ron."

Should I hug him, too? I mean, do you usually –

DON'T!

Okay, now that was pretty clear. I opted for grinning at Ron instead. He didn't know why I was grinning, but he took it as a sign of friendship, so no harm done…

"What happened?" Hermione asked, her voice almost down to a whisper. "You gave us a right scare, Harry! What's wrong? There is something wrong, is there?"

Depends on your definition of wrong, I guess, I said to Harry.

Having people in your head definitely counts as "there is something wrong".

Hey, it wasn't my idea, okay? Besides, you said it was nice to have someone to talk to.

Helen, you should probably say something. Hermione's looking at you oddly.

"I… er… well, you know, I've been hearing this voice in my head…"

HELEN! Are you deliberately trying to make me sound like a lunatic?

No, but how do you want me to explain this?

Both Hermione and Ron were staring at us, disbelief and concern mingling on their faces.

"Okay, look guys, it's not as weird as it sounds… I mean, I haven't gone crazy or anything."

"No, of course not," Hermione quickly said. She didn't look entirely convinced, though. "Why don't you try to explain it to us. In detail. And from the beginning."

"Right." I smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see…"

Wait – am I going to be explaining this from your point of perspective or mine?

They think you're me. We don't want to confuse them too much, do we?

"Okay… so… I just woke up a few days ago, and someone was talking to me… though not out loud. In my head. I know this sounds crazy, but I really herd her… I still hear her – damn, I can't do this!"

I stamped my foot in frustration and received confused looks from Ron and Hermione and an exasperated groan from Harry.

You already ruined it, Helen!

"Shut up, Harry! You think you can do this better? Fine! Go ahead! I'm not stopping you!"

I mentally shoved him back in place, the retreated to a corner of his mind, sulking. I still noticed Ron and Hermione exchanging an alarmed look, though.

"Harry, I think you need help," Hermione carefully suggested.

"Seriously," Ron added. "Look, we'll talk to my parents and then we can get you to St. Mungo's…"

"I'm not crazy!" Harry repeated. "Look… the voice I'm hearing… well, it's a girl. Her name is Helen. Just now, that was her. We're sort of sharing my body right now and I let her take over, which wasn't such a good idea, apparently. But it's still me, okay? And I'm completely sane, even if I'm not making much sense right now…"

"So… you've got a girl named Helen inside your body…," Ron slowly said, "How'd she get there?" He sounded pretty incredulous.

"I have no idea! Helen?"

Me neither, stupid.

"She says she doesn't know either."

"Harry… this is a joke, right?" Ron asked.

"No!"

"How long have you been hearing this voice?" Hermione cut in.

"A few days. But I've felt a little odd for quite some time."

"Hey, maybe it's demonic possession!" Ron blurted out, his eyes lighting up.

Did he just call me a demon?

"Ron! Be serious!" Hermione chastised. "You've obviously been reading the wrong books, there's no such thing as demons. It's just a common muggle misconception." She looked at Harry. "So… if you haven't gone crazy and you're not sick – and let's just assumed that for the moment – what else could it be? You don't think… Harry, what if it's Voldemort behind this?"

Okay, this is getting silly. First a demon, and now I'm supposed to be Voldemort? Let me talk to them again, Harry!

Absolutely not!

"It's not Voldemort, Hermione. It's Helen. I mean… I don't exactly know who she is, but she seems pretty human to me. And we'd both really like to get her out of my head and back to her body. Which is why I need your help. I need figure out what exactly happened to Helen and how she ended up in my head in the first place."

They don't seem convinced, I remarked, looking through his eyes at their faces.

Would you be?

Probably not, no.

"We should inform Dumbledore," Hermione said.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "we should. But I need you two to believe me."

"Harry… that's a pretty weird story you're telling. And we've got no proof, so…" Ron looked at him unhappily.

"I'd take Veritaserum, but we'd have to get some first, so I don't think I can prove that Helen's really there until we get back to school. But if Dumbledore would confirm it… would you believe me?"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione assured him. "We'll contact him immediately, and I promise you to try and find an explanation for this… I'll do research… and I think that Ron should tell his parents, maybe they have any idea…"

"I'll ask them as soon as I get back," Ron promised.

Harry nodded. Just like me, he wasn't entirely satisfied with this outcome, but it was better than nothing.

"I should probably get back before the Dursleys notice I'm gone."

Absolutely, I agreed with him.