DZ2's Den of Delights

Hi to all my loyal readers and those who enjoy my stories: The Den of Delights is open once more and I'm both grateful and amazed by everyone that has enjoyed my previous previews. I have to admit myself impressed; six previews and the Den seems to be gaining popularity; now, for the next one, I decided to take things back to early-years Hogwarts and bring about a new idea altogether: or one for me, anyway.

So, enjoy…

Voices

It started, rather strangely, with a headache;

A headache that, no matter what he did to try and soothe the pain, Harry found that he just couldn't help but wince, groan and even lose his focus in lessons. He didn't know where it was coming from, but the pain had bothered him and kept him awake at night ever since the encounter with Quirrell and Voldemort down in the forbidden corridor.

Ron and Hermione, much to Harry's surprise, weren't much help either: Hermione just told him over and over again to see Madam Pomfrey about it and Ron just made remarks about Harry suffering from headaches all throughout the year, so it was no surprise to him.

The noise and hustle and bustle of Hogwarts didn't help much either: even the combined conversations of the Great Hall seemed to drive Harry insane as the pain sought to increase its torment on him. None of the coping methods that were so helpfully suggested seemed to help either: Harry went for walks to get some fresh air; he put a cold compress on his forehead; he tried getting somewhere quiet and having a sleep and he even went as far as to have a proper feed at dinner as Hermione explained that lack of food and nutrients could have been the reason.

Nothing worked…

One week after the pains started, Harry decided that he'd had enough: he needed to be somewhere that was quiet, solitary and out of the way of helpful suggestions and idiotic questions about whether or not he was okay. Most of all, Harry just wanted to be away from the noise and so, following his explorations of Hogwarts in the past, the young Gryffindor made for the Astronomy Tower's viewing platform, the soft lull of the breeze wafting over his face did little to calm Harry, but at least it was quiet here.

Sitting against the wall, Harry looked out over the scenery of Hogwarts outside and let himself drift off into a sense of calmness and sanctuary that he'd never really known before.

Finally, now that he was alone and there wasn't anyone around to question him, finally Harry could ask the question that no-one seemed too eager to answer, "What could have caused this headache? Nothing really special happened that night…did it?"

The last thing that Harry expected to happen was exactly what happened next…

'Hello Harry…'

With a start, Harry looked around, his eyes wide with shock as he tried to find the source of the voice, but all he saw was the overcast sky outside and the scenery from the viewing platform.

Tentatively, Harry asked, "Who…who's there?"

'Don't you know?' asked the voice, almost mocking him with its words, 'I've been trying so very hard to get in touch with you…Harry Potter.'

Harry's blood suddenly ran cold: the drawl in the voice's tone sounded very familiar to him, but…it was impossible.

He was gone, wasn't he?

"It…it can't be," he whispered, before groaning as a familiar pain now shot through his scar, the voice returning with a snigger.

'It is…hello again, Harry Potter.'

"Voldemort…" Harry whispered, earning another cold chuckle from the voice as he asked, "But…where…how…where are you?"

'In the one place you cannot escape from me,' sneered the Dark Lord's tone, the words being followed by yet another burst of pain as he laughed, 'Inside you, Harry…I am inside your mind…and there's nothing you can do to force me out.'

Another short snippet of a potential idea, but an interesting one, right?

By the way, I'm going to say it now: I've had a few reviews stating that some of my previews aren't for certain readers; that's fine, but you don't HAVE to say so: for example, if you don't like my Pkmn XOver ideas, then there's no need to say so; if you don't like that I wrote a Creature-Harry sample, then don't say so; if you don't like what I write, then that's fine: just PLEASE keep it to yourself, okay?

All right then…next Preview coming soon…