Shampoo147: Okay, the quality of my work seems to be worse, but I've been better at first-person narrative, anyway.
Ayame: We decided to blame it on the stress of the ACT and ASVAD. She's taking them this year and is worrying about not getting a good enough score to continue academics.
Shampoo147: Enough about that, I got my report card! Straight A's with one B in Chemistry!
Ayame: She blames the B on the fact that she didn't turn in her homework.
Garfield: Who cares? GPA of 3.8571!
Ayame: Now that you're done bragging, get on with the story.
All Your Fault
'Shhhh'
The soothing drone of a steamy shower was music to young Teddy-Harry's ears as he allowed rivulets of the hot water to strike him in his face and stream down his prepubescent body.
The timer beeped and the shower turned off, leaving nothing but steam and cold-feeling air. Harry continued to stand as if the water was still running, with his head tilted and his mouth slightly open.
'Could it really be true? If not, then is Harry a liar? A fake? An illusion, hallucination? A delusion, a dream? I've already decided that I was just going to go along with it as if it was true From what I've read, even concentrating on an answerable question can lead to insanity in itself. So I should concentrate on something else . . .
Is he listening in now? Most likely, I'll never be alone again-'
(You were never alone. You spent every waking moment with your parents or your brother and then I was with you. It never bothered you before.)
'Before, I thought you were just a voice in my head, I wasn't aware that you were a complete person in my head.'
(Well, I'll try to be a bit quieter during the day and let you get ready.)
Harry sighed and got out of the shower stand; feeling an odd tightness in his chest, combined with a burning and a clenching in his throat.
(Deep breathes, little one.)
Harry took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.
(1890 plus 45?)
Harry sniffed as he tried to eat his cereal, but the Harry living in his head wouldn't stop quizzing him.
'Hold the five, add four to nine . . . 1935?'
(I won't stop making you practice until you can get these through your head almost-instantly.)
'Please let me eat breakfast.' Harry tried not to twitch as his vision managed to double, making him see two bowls of cereal in front of him.
(Double vision? That's not good! I'll have to make sure that your magic isn't badly affected by . . .)
The voice in his head went silent and Harry abandoned his breakfast, feeling queasy and weak. Sleep, sleep would make everything better . . .
'Is that the next stair or two stairs? When did the stairs become so uneven?' Harry squinted at the shifting stair steps. He raised his foot and stepped down, promptly falling forward.
'Okay, I have double vision and I'm trying to climb the stairs . . . why do I feel like this is a bad idea?' He dragged himself up and managed to pull up another foot.
He fell again, and a fuzzy, dark red carpet rushed up to meet his face. There was a stab of pain, then nothing.
(Harry?)
(Harry? Wake up, you're fine, okay, just wake up.)
(Wake up!)
Harry, slowly, felt himself slip back into consciousness; there was a terrible weakness throughout his body, it was . . .
'I can't move. Why-Why can't I move? I'm so tired.'
(Good you're capable of consciousness. I can't explain it to you, but you should sleep, now. I'll explain everything later.)
Harry said nothing, but he stopped exerting himself to stay awake and there was nothing again.
Harry felt sharp, needling pains all over his body, as if
(Your body was waking up?)
Teddy nodded, before gritting his teeth at the tightening pain in his neck muscles.
"Master Harry shouldn't be trying to move. He's in terrible condition right now and should sleep while Blinky takes care of him." said a squeaky, inarticulate voice from above. Teddy, who could see nothing but blackness, tried to open his eyes, but barely got them twitching before falling back into nothingness.
Teddy felt something warm between his legs and jerked up. Ah-Damn it! He'd peed in his pajamas! What was he?
(Awake and not in pain?)
Teddy stiffened, realizing that those words were very true. If his memory was serving him right, the last time he'd been awake, he couldn't even open his eyes and now he was sitting up in bed: a bit sore, but otherwise fine.
'Blinky fixed me?'
(I'm not sure if you were even broken, but I believe that the house-elf took care of you. Not that I'd know, you were out cold the whole time.)
Teddy frowned, remembering something before that; 'Didn't you say that you were going to explain it all?'
(Hmm? I did? Well, I did! Now, where to start?)
'From the place that you know I can follow? Wait, let me get comfortable.' Teddy stood and managed to stumble into the bathroom and run himself a hot bubble bath {oils and the like seemed to be automatic in the taps, he'd never tried to change or investigate it.}
When he entered it and settled himself into a position that he wouldn't drown from {even if he fell asleep} he mentally asked Harry to continue.
(*Huff* Well, I suppose I should say that you collapsing like that was from sheer exhaustion, both mental and magical, which would heavily impact your physical health. Then, I suppose I should tell you that it was completely my fault.)
Teddy frowned, 'How is that news?'
(Okay, that one really hurt. Anyway, it was my fault because I was the one who kept summoning you to your own mind to talk to me.)
Teddy nodded as he dipped his head underwater, for a few moments.
(Okay, now you won't drown. Well, those meetings were taking place in a subspace of mental power and magical power. Both of our mental strength was being used, of course, but only your magical power was being used to be there. I am already a being completely inside of your mind, but you weren't supposed to enter your entire force into one small subspace of your mind like that. Your magical abilities were already trying to recover from the stunner I made you send, but this just pushed you to your limit, and passed it. Thus, you fainted and remained unconscious until your magical core could sustain itself again.)
Harry frowned, 'But, wouldn't I have died if it couldn't sustain itself at all?'
(Yes, let me explain this first . . . ah, we'll work that one out later. Now, the reason your magical core didn't collapse when it should've is very simple. I pushed some of my own magic into it.)
Teddy, who had just laid back down, shot up, lost his balance and spent a couple of minutes sputtering out bath water that had gone up his nose. 'I-isn't that incredibly dangerous?'
(Extraordinarily. However, if I didn't do anything, you would've died anyway, and I couldn't let that happen. So I, very carefully, mind you, began to stream some of my own magic into yours. It worked, sort of.)
'That "sort of" doesn't sound very good.'
(It's not. Well, Harry, my magic was compatible with your own, but, well, it was different enough to trigger a change.)
Teddy stared at the bubbles in front of him, feeling that dreadful tightness in his throat, 'What change?'
(Well, when my magic began to mingle with yours, it triggered a chain reaction that kind of, well, broke down your natural magical immunities.)
Teddy frowned, a new burning sensation building his chest, 'What does that mean, exactly?'
(It means that your own magical core became susceptible to reform from the external magic pressing around you in your environment. Quite frankly, Harry, our magic is no longer compatible as you now have house-elf magic.)
'-!-?-'
(Silence of mind, only happens when-)
'House elf magic! You mean I'm not a wizard anymore?'
(Well, the term wizard is really just a-)
'AM I!?'
( . . . No, you're not a wizard anymore. You're a magic user, so you'll still get into Hogwarts and they won't really tell, but you can't use a wand-)
"GET OUT OF MY MIND" So angry, red red red
"You screw everything up for me! You're the reason I went into London! You're the reason I passed out! And now you're the reason I'm not a WIZARD ANYMORE! Get out of my head!" Teddy felt a burning sensation in his eyes and realized that he was crying. 'Just get out, just leave, just go away . . .'
*Pop* "Is Master Harry awake- Master Harry shouldn't be walking around so soon!"
Teddy jerked up, having not realized that he had gotten out of the tub. He looked around and there was Winky, the house elf.
House elf magic
(Well, she was the only concentrated magic around you, so naturally-)
"Shut up!"
Winky jumped and started crying, "Oh, Master Harry tell Winky to shut up! Winky is bad elf, harassing her master! Bad Winky, bad Winky!"
While the elf began to wail, Teddy began to feel a throbbing headache. 'Get out of my head.'
Get out of my head
All your fault
Get out of my head
Get away from me!
"And Winky will iron her own hands, Bad Winky!"
Get out, get out get out get out get out get out
"Winky will go now and-"
"Winky, Shut Up!" Teddy snarled, not feeling very well and Winky's squealish voice was making his head pound.
Winky sniffed, but obediently fell silent.
'Will I become so obedient? Will I become so pathetic?'
Teddy stood and saw his vision go momentarily black, as well as a dizzy spinning feeling in his head. He stumbled and allowed the black to take over completely.