Pieces of Truth

The dormitory was dark when Harry awoke; looking at his watch, he was amazed that he had slept so long. His stomach aching with hunger, he rolled out of bed and put on his slippers; perhaps there'd be some house elves in the kitchen willing to rustle something up for him.

The wind whistled through the deserted corridors and Harry shuffled along feeling weak from hunger. The walk seemed to take an eternity and Harry wished he'd brought a robe to cover himself from the cool wind. Finally reaching the kitchens, he found a couple of house elves dozing by the fireplace. He tip toed towards the nearby cupboards and found them empty. Where was the food? Loathing waking the house elves up, he reluctantly stamped towards them making as much noise as possible.

The youngest looking house elf cracked open an eye and Harry frowned at himself. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. It's just that I missed dinner today and I woke up really hungry. I was going to help myself, but there doesn't seem to be anything."

The elf studied Harry and nudged the house elf next to her awake. "Harry Potter isn't it?" Harry nodded. "I'm Fidget and this is Shinny, sir; pleased to meet you. Well, we conjure up the ingredients sir. We don't have enough space to store so much food. What would you like to eat sir?" The two house elves jumped off the sofa and the older house elf now fully awake, made his way over to the counter.

"I don't mind. Anything, as long as it fills me up."

"Is pizza to your liking sir?"

"Sure, that'll be great. Thanks. Do you want some help?"

Fidget gasped and her voice became squeakier. "Please do not insult us Mr Harry Potter. We house elves serve wizards; it is our duty."

"Sorry." Harry slumped onto the sofa, and yawned, growing guilt gnawing at him. He looked over to the counter where Fidget was muttering and seemed to be picking tomatoes out of thin air; meanwhile Shinny was already mixing dough. It had barely been ten minutes, when Shinny bought over a steaming hot pizza and Harry drank in the delicious smell, his mouth already watering as he thanked the smiling house elves.

Harry didn't think he should stay any longer; the house elves must be tired. "Is it alright if I took it with me?"

"Sure, let me get you a tray," said Shinny.

Within minutes Harry was heading back towards the Gryffindor common room, his lighted wand propped in his back pocket, and wolfing down slices of pizza as he went. Scrambling into the common room with his tray proved awkward and it was a while before he noticed a redhead seated in the armchair by the fire, deep in thought.

"Ginny?"

She snapped her head towards him, surprised. "Harry? What are you doing up?"

Harry walked towards her and offered her some pizza, which she declined. "I was hungry; anyway I could ask you the same thing." He sat down next to her and noticed that she looked troubled.

She smiled at him "Oh, I – I couldn't sleep, so I came down here."

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I just had things on my mind, you know. Earlier on, Ron told me what happened Harry." She looked him in the eye.

"He told you everything?" Ginny nodded, "And, let me guess, you think I should forget all about it," Harry said accusingly.

Not exactly, Harry. I just don't think you should hate him for what happened. It wasn't really his fault – the same thing would probably happen to you if you were in his shoes."

"I wouldn't say I hate him…Hate's a strong word." Harry thought hard about how he felt about Ron. "I guess it's not his fault, but I still resent him for it. This morning at breakfast, just the sight of him made my blood boil, I just had to get away or I'd have hit him." Harry suddenly realised the Temperoira spell might have accounted for the anger, and wondered why he had not realised at the time. He supposed he had thought it was natural that he should behave that way towards Ron.

"I don't know what's happened to you three…" Ginny sounded vexed and somewhat let-down. "You used to be so close. Even before the incident yesterday, I mean I kept bumping into Ron or you, or Hermione on you're own. Last year you always hung out with each other. Is it because of the heir or is there something else I'm missing?"

Harry frowned at the truth in her words and then figured something didn't make sense. "You know about the heir?"

Ginny gave an exasperated gasp. "Of course I do! All the order and their children know, we've been told to be on the look out for strange happenings and you three drifting apart is quite strange."

"People change; they grow in different ways. It's got nothing to do with the heir. In fact looking back I didn't think we'd grow so close and it couldn't have lasted for forever, so I'm grateful for what we had." Harry scooped up his last pizza slice.

Ginny gave a reluctant smile. "I suppose so…" She seemed to be searching for a counter argument. Setting his tray down on the table, Harry felt incapable of reassuring her, as she was unaware of the worst part of the story, the Temperoira spell. However upon reflection, Harry didn't think the Temperoira spell had anything to do with the Hermione, Ron and him drifting apart.

"Listen Ginny, don't worry about it - we aren't. I admit people have changed this year, and I even felt like something weird was going on when term started, but really it was just me." Harry paused realising there was more truth in this then he'd thought. Reality had been so obscured by the Temperoira spell that he'd thought everyone was behaving weird, when it was actually himself that had changed.

Ginny looked up, expecting an elaboration on this confession, but Harry chose to skirt around the bulk of the truth. "I've changed a lot. Ron's changed, Hermione's changed…it was bound to happen, there's nothing weird about it…"

She smiled. "Right, well I'm going to try and get some sleep, maybe you should get some shut eye too."

Harry shrugged and shuffled his chair towards the fire. "Yeah maybe, in a while, I'm not that tired…"

"Goodnight then."

"Night..." Harry plumped the cushions, and fell back on them. Half formed ideas that seemed to be so straightforward before had suddenly become complicated. They'd been so sure before that the spell was cast on Harry, because he'd be ideal to…well, kill important people, but he hadn't. As yet, all he'd done was shout at a whole lot of people. So what was the point of the spell?

Ginny thought they'd drifted apart all of a sudden, but there was nothing weird about that was there? He was pretty certain there was no connection between the spell and the fact that the three of them were hanging out together a lot less. How would being angry result in the three of them not being as close? Well, okay, he'd been a bit aggressive towards them, and abandoned them at breakfast, but that was to be expected after he found out about Ron and Cho, it might have not been just the spell. And, even if it had been the spell that had made him so aggressive, that they weren't so close anymore, what would be the advantage of that to the heir? Was that the big plan; to make sure Harry had no close friends? How would that harm anybody? No, it didn't make sense, he was right when he told Ginny, they were just drifting apart because they were changing in different ways, and not by way of spells. The Temperoira spell had another purpose and Harry felt a lump form in his throat as he realised he'd just have to wait and see what it was; it seemed impossible to try and work it out.

~*~

"I talked to Ginny this morning."

"Oh right, okay…"

"She said you don't hate me…"

Harry looked to his plate, feeling awkward "Well she's right, I don't hate you. I just don't like what you did"

"Harry, I really am, so sorry, if there was any way of going back and undoing it, I would."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…it's not your fault. I would have probably ended up in the same position if I were in your shoes."

"Right, okay…so what, are we on good terms now?" Ron swelled, jealousy creeping into his thoughts again; the boy who lived was so easy to persuade and yet destiny chose him to fight for the light side and kill You-know-who. Gee, he was so easy to fool. If Ron had been working for the dark side, he could've so easily gotten away with it.

Harry's voice turned cold all of a sudden and he suddenly felt like shoving Ron off he bench, but he restrained himself "Better terms, you can't expect me to act all pally around you straightaway, can you?"

Ron grimaced, as the envy cleared from his mind; he still wanted to be mates with Harry. "No, I can't."

"So are you planning to date Cho now, or was that like a really late goodbye kiss from last time?"

Ron gave a weak smile; he didn't understand when he'd become so two faced. He felt so sick with himself at times, he couldn't count on his fingers the number of times he'd actually congratulated himself on kissing Cho. Sometimes Ron'd actually been glad that Harry had found out; that his huge balloon of an ego had been dented. On other occasions he felt no punishment would sate his guiltiness at having betrayed Harry, and the idea of Harry having an inflated ego was laughable. How could his thoughts be so horrible at times, when at others it was plain to him that his friendship with Harry was precious? Ron wished he could leave Harry's presence, but looking at his profile, it was clear that he thought he deserved an answer, and so he does, thought Ron.

Ron shifted uncomfortably under his glare. "I don't really know. Probably a late goodbye…would you mind if it wasn't?"

"I probably would, but its up to you isn't it. I don't think I was ever in the equation, do you?"

Ron didn't really know what to say to this, he settled with a thoughtful "Hmmm"

A shadow cast onto the table "Harry Potter?"

Harry turned to see a girl, palpably attempting hard to stop staring at him. She held an envelope in her fingers.

"Yeah, that's me…" The girl seemed to have frozen "Is that a note for me?"

She seemed to come to her senses and shoved the envelope at Harry.

"Thanks…" but she'd already scurried away, her pigtails flying.

Harry heaved a sigh and let his eyes fall on the unmarked envelope as Ron shuffled closer. Harry resisted the temptation to tell him to get lost and instead opened the envelope.

To Harry,

Kindly come to my office at your earliest convenience. I have news that may be of interest to you.

The Headmaster

"Whoa! Sounds important mate," commented Ron, eager to inject some casualness to the tension that seemed to currently represent their friendship.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out, believe it or not," spoke Harry, annoyed, wishing Ron would shut up and let him think.

"Do you think it's about the heir" Ron whispered.

"Probably…I'm going to go see him now." Harry gathered his stuff together and ate some more of his toast. "See you around…" Harry practically ran away from Ron, feeling irritated, and his mind buzzing.

"Harry!" Hermione frowned as Harry brushed past her, looking furious and not noticing her. Her eyes stung, how could he not notice her? She wandered over to Ron, who looked how she felt.

"What happened? He looked furious and he didn't even notice me! Was it about Cho?"

"Well, we kinda made up. Then, I dunno, the very presence of me seemed to annoy him. He got a letter from Dumbledore, and he practically ran off." Ron got up off his bench, having lost his appetite, he just wanted to curl up and die, but he still had a whole day of lessons ahead of him. "See you in potions."

"Yeah bye…" Hermione half heartedly poured herself a drink. Why was everything so wrong? Why were Ron and Harry on bad terms? Why was Hermione jealous of Cho? Why hadn't Harry returned Hermione's feelings? And why on earth did Harry, not talk to her anymore? She knew they'd all been more distant this year as friends– that was bound to happen – but Hermione loved Harry! Why didn't their occasional get-togethers erupt with moments of awkwardness and secret longing? Why did he not talk to her about how he was feeling? Of all the years they'd known each other, it was this year that Harry needed the most emotional support, but he didn't seemed to want to get it from Hermione and that hurt.

~*~

"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes Harry, sit down. How are you feeling?"

"Okay. I suppose." Harry felt a sudden sense of dread, he'd not yet told Dumbledore about the spell. He'd meant it as revenge, but perhaps Dumbledore could help? "Sir you were right….About someone controlling me – the heir's put a Temperoira spell on me…" Harry launched into an explanation of how they'd figured it out

"Well, I'm impressed. I, too, have been playing detective. We have still not found out who the heir is, but it's not as we first thought…the heir is not in Slytherin house."

"Draco Malfoy…? Are you sure it's not him?"

"No, it's not young Mr Malfoy. His tale is quite different this year, but that is not for me to tell…"

"What do you mean?" latched on Harry. Memories of his various encounters with the boy swam into mind. "More people than usual seem to hate him and he looks really sick. What's the story?"

"As I said, that is not for me to tell."

Harry clenched his fists. "Surprise, Surprise! You're keeping things from me again."

Dumbledore disregarded Harry's anger and cleared his throat. "If you remember, I called you here because I had some news for you."

"Well go on then, I'm surprised that you'll tell me anything at all. I mean, it's not like I'm involved, is it?"

"I'm going to attribute your rudeness to the spell. The Harry I know is very different, but I suppose it will be a while till we get him back – the spell seems to have a firm grip – it's too strong for you."

"Maybe, maybe not… Well are you going to tell me or are we just going to chit chat some more?" Harry wasn't sure where the spell ended and his own anger began. Dumbledore was right, the spell was too strong, but Harry was still sure that he really was angry, or was that just the spell taking control?

Dumbledore seemed saddened at Harry's state. "The heir is planning to seize control of Hogwarts. We think it may be turned over to death eaters who'll turn the school into a dark arts school of some sort."

All anger forgotten, Harry gasped, "What?"

"We had a tip off from a reliable source. As of yet, we don't know how the spell fits into the whole plan. We thought you may be used as a weapon, but there seems to be no evidence so far."

"When will it happen?"

"Why Harry, it could be anytime, from when you leave this office, to maybe a few years."

Harry was astonished; Dumbledore could usually pull any information he wanted out of the bag. "But haven't you, like, got any spies on the inside?"

"That would make things so much easier wouldn't it? No, we have been unable to procure a spy, and be that as it may the passage of this information from person to person has been very selective. Only a handful of people know."

"So then, er….what's the plan?"

"There isn't much of a plan; it is more of a defence mechanism that we're hoping to set up." Dumbledore gave a weak smile. "I know it's not much, and by no means, foolproof, but how can we hope to protect Hogwarts from someone already within the castle?"

Harry felt a lump form in his throat; there was a good chance the heir could find their way around the defence and take over Hogwarts at any moment. "What exactly is this defence mechanism?"

"Ah Harry, I was afraid that you might ask that," Dumbledore told him soberly. Harry knew what was coming. "At this moment I am obliged to keep that private, but rest assured that if you were to know I'm certain that you would fully approve".

"For Merlin's sake… Why won't you tell me?" Harry erupted. "I'm as much a part of this as anyone is!"

"I'm aware of that, H-"

"You don't know! How would you like it if someone put the people around you in danger, and didn't tell you why?" Harry was on his feet now, his hands itching to throw something "I've had enough of this. I didn't ask to be involved and even now that I am, everyone's being secretive. I'm leaving!" Harry ran to the door and threw it open. Wanting to escape the headmaster's presence as fast as was possible, Harry sprinted down the revolving stairs, bursting into the corridor shaking with suppressed anger.

The halls were quiet with only the distinct voices of lessons to be heard. Harry knew he'd feel better if he told Ron and Hermione, but they were currently in Defence against the Dark Arts and the idea of arriving late to have Professor Hackbee, the new professor, who was as nice as Snape, have a go at him wasn't very inviting. Nevertheless, Ron and Hermione weren't nearly as comforting as they used to be. No matter how hard he tried not to, Harry still resented Ron for the incident with Cho, and Hermione seemed to be almost intrusive at times. Feeling suddenly lonely Harry took his time to reach the Gryffindor common room; there was a pile of homework that suddenly seemed inviting.

~*~

"Where were you in Defence against the Dark Arts, Harry? We were worried…Professor Hackbee said he's going to report your absence…"

"I went to see Dumbledore – it took a long time." Harry didn't seem to be in the mood for elaboration.

"Why, what did he want?" Hermione prodded.

Harry signed resignedly; he'd have to tell them sooner or later, and he told them what Dumbledore had said.

"He wouldn't tell you anything about the defence mechanism?" Ron confirmed.

"No, I already told you didn't I?" Ron looked like he'd been kicked. "But I mean, the stuff he did tell me makes things a lot clearer," Harry babbled trying to sound friendlier.

"Yeah it did, but so, you'd been thinking along the same lines as well had you?"

"Well yeah, I mean what's the point of the spell? Then something Ginny said got me thinking," and he repeated their conversation. An air of awkwardness descended upon them.

"Nonsense…! We've not drifted apart…"

"I think you'll find we have, Hermione. When's the last time we just sat and joked around? I've forgotten when Ron and I last played chess. All we do is talk about lessons and do homework together."

"But we have a lot of homework this year, so we're bound to be doing homework together a lot more…" Ron griped.

Harry wasn't in the mood for trying to convince them and instead ran through what he'd been thinking after Ginny had gone to bed.

Hermione was the first to speak. "So, we've got the temperoira, the takeover and us three apparently drifting part – and you think they could be linked?" Harry nodded here.

It was a minute before Hermione spoke again, the boys could almost see the cogs whirring in her head "You don't think that all this was manufactured do you? All this arguing, because Harry being angry made it so much worse and now we're not so close. Perhaps they want Harry to be alone so he's more vulnerable hence its easier to take over Hogwarts."

"Do you know how far fetched that sounds?" Ron criticised.

Hermione's expression was that of frustration. "Well in case you hadn't noticed Ron, Harry happens to be the only person who's ever survived Avada Kedavra and every school year without fail, Voldemort seems to be plotting to kill him. Do you think that's far fetched Ronald? Well it just so happens to be reality."

"I was only saying…" Ron dragged his shoe on the floor nervously "No need to have a go…"

Harry felt the need to lighten the mood. "So, do you still think we're as good mates as we used to be?" Harry meant it as a light-hearted way to reaffirm what he thought was so plain, but Ron and Hermione exchanged ominous looks at his words.

~*~

Draco turned the page to find his eyes met with a new chapter title. His back was beginning to ache from an evening pouring over large books, while sitting on an uncomfortable library chair. It'd been a refreshing change from his usual evening format. Today, finally fed up with teachers bearing down on him in lessons, chasing him up for homework and trying to subtly gather clues as to what was wrong with him, Draco had decided to distract himself with school work. Having finished the essay he was most recently berated for 'Discuss Undetectable Potions', Draco was now reading ahead; an act he'd once dubbed as 'something worthy of that jumped up Granger mudblood'. Draco could vividly remember how he and his 'friends' had guffawed at that comment, stomachs aching long after they'd pelted Granger, who was sitting in the corner, with spare bits of parchment. He could also remember the look she'd thrown his way just before she'd left. It was funny, because at the time, Draco had waved it away, but recently Draco had become accustomed to it, and after quite some thought, he'd decided it must convey an emotion somewhere between hatred and pity, but leaning slightly more on the hatred. These days Draco could barely walk down a corridor without catching this look.

Draco squinted in the dim light; he was finding it hard to make out the words on the page. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him it was still too early to head back to the common room, but yet he couldn't bring himself to start reading the new chapter before him; The Use of Important Defensive Spells in Wizarding History.

He leant back on his chair; tomorrow he'd have to find something else to do; something else to fill in the time between sleep, lessons and mealtimes. The lack of news from his father had Draco worried; the year had started off with several letters a week advising Draco to keep his mouth shut or else there'd be dire consequences, but all of a sudden the letters stopped arriving and Draco had brooded long over the reason, tip toeing the most obvious reason, until he concluded that it must be how he feared it was; his father must know that Draco had told all he could. Why else would he feel that writing letters of threat were a lost cause? This sudden lack of correspondence was foreboding; it was almost like Lucius was torturing Draco; letting Draco reflect on the numerous punishments that may be waiting.