Part IV:
A Strange Encounter
After assuring Hermione that he was feeling well enough to fly, Harry walked out to the darkening Quidditch pitch and took off on his Firebolt. The cold wind rushed past his face, lifting all the fear and tension he had been feeling for days.
Circling the goal posts, he dove and spun, waiting for the rest of his team to show up, which they did quite quickly.
Ron, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Fred and George Weasley, and the new Chaser (in place of Angelina Johnson) fourth year Alex Prelling. She was and exchange student from America and Ginny Weasley's best friend. Alex stared at Harry in amazement.
'Dude, that was, like, so cool!' she exclaimed. 'Totally awesome! Ginny wasn't kidding when she said you can fly!'
'Thanks,' Harry said, unperturbed by Alex's American slang. 'So what kind of brooms do they sell in the States?'
The girl with long dark hair held up her broomstick. It was made of mahogany with shimmering purple and orange stripes that ran down the handle, curling up at the ends.
'Check it out,' Alex said proudly. 'PhoenixFlyer400. Fastest line in the U.S.' She gestured toward the silver writing emblazoned on the handle.
'Very cool,' said Ron. There was a pink tinge around his ears. It seemed that he was very taken with this new girl. 'So, Captain,' he said mockingly to Harry, 'what's the game plan?'
As Harry went over the new strategy he had formulated, Alex's eyes wandered. Harry's lectures never held her exactly spellbound. Through the tall grass on the other side of the fence, near the Forbidden Forest, she saw a glimmer of silvery light. Whatever it was was moving extremely quickly, and was very small.
'Hey, Harry,' she blurted out.
'What?' he replied, looking slightly annoyed at the interruption.
'There's something over there, in the grass,' she said, pointing to where she saw the flash.
Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses.
'What did it look like?' he pressed on.
'Something shiny. I don't know, it might've been nothing.'
'And on the contrary, it might've been something.' Ron said, visibly alarmed. 'C'mon, let's go have a look.'
The team trooped into the Forbidden Forest and split up, most with confused looks on their faces, wondering what they were supposed to be looking for.
Alex wandered around aimlessly, though her eyes and ears were sharp. Suddenly, the rustling of leaves caught her attention. She walked forward cautiously, not knowing what to expect. The tiny glistening light was made visible to her eyes by a shaft of the dimming sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves. She followed it for some time, not understanding why she didn't call for Harry. She was a little scared of him; Ginny had told her exactly how powerful he was. His startling green eyes made Alex melt. That lightning bolt scar made her shiver. And his warm smile made her feel accepted in this new country. She liked him a lot. Hell, she loved him.
The shimmering light led Alex to a small, enclosed clump of trees and bushes. Then it suddenly disappeared. She inched closer curiously, desperate to solve this mystery.
Holding her breath, she took a step closer. All of a sudden, the rustling grew louder, and a large, silvery hand poked out of a nearby bush. It looked almost exactly like the shiny object she had been following. The fingers drew out and pointed at her.
'Stupefy!' said a raspy voice.
Alex let out a long, blood-curdling scream as a jet of red light burst forth from the shining fingers. All at once, she was swallowed into darkness.
*********
Harry's eyes scanned the ground. He pushed bushes aside as he looked for some sign pointing the way. He was almost positive that the flashing light that Alex had seen had been Pettigrew.
Just then, something on the ground caught his eye. On closer inspection, he realised what they were. Footprints. Rat footprints.
'Hey Ron!' he hollered. 'Come and look at this!' Ron scrambled over to Harry, who pointed down at the ground. Ron stooped down to look at the prints in the soft earth. Then he looked up at Harry.
'Pettigrew,' they said together. And they followed the tiny marks deeper into the forest
They led the boys to a large clump of trees. A rustling sound told them they were right on target. Suddenly, the silence was shattered by an ear-splitting scream.
'Alex?' Harry called. He was sure it had been her. He cast a sideways glance at Ron, who nodded, and they barrelled through the undergrowth.
Without warning, Harry's scar burned sharply. He moaned and covered his face with his hands. Eyes watering, he peered through his fingers. There, lying in a clearing, was Alex. And she wasn't alone. Pettigrew was crouched over her, doing something with her hair. Harry and Ron stood their ground just as Pettigrew looked up. His face blanched.
'Run, Harry Potter,' he whispered. 'Run,'
Harry didn't know what to do: run or attack. He then recalled something Dumbledore had once said. '…the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life.' Ron gaped at him, then whipped out his wand.
'Stupefy!' he roared, but at that very second, Wormtail turned back into a rat, the curse missing him by inches. The rat scampered through the underbrush and out of sight.
'Damn it!' Ron howled. 'I almost got him!'
Panting, Harry dashed towards Alex. He bent down and lifted her off the ground, amazed at his own strength.
'Ron,' he said, 'get the rest of the team and meet me back at the pitch.' Ron dashed away, calling everyone back to the field. Harry got there first and laid Alex down in the grass. Kneeling next to her, he fumbled with his wand.
'Ennervate,' he muttered, pointing it at her. Her brown eyes fluttered open, looking dazed and confused. She moaned and raised a hand.
'Harry…' she murmured.
'Shh…' said Harry, moving away from her awkwardly. 'It's all going to be okay…'
Soon sudden footsteps could be heard. Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor team had rushed back to the field.
'What happened?' they all asked as one. Harry glanced at Alex, who was extremely pale. She sat up.
'I saw—'
'Nothing,' Harry said firmly. 'She just took a bad fall.' His scar was still stinging.
Alex looked up at him curiously. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but at the look on Harry's face stopped, thought quickly, and said, 'Hey, Alex, if you're feeling well enough, I'll race you around the pitch.'
Her face broke into a grin.
'You're on,' she said, standing up and grabbing her broomstick.
'What's wrong with your hair?' Katie Bell asked suddenly.
'Huh?'
Katie pointed to a lock of Alex's hair. It was shorter than the rest and appeared to have been singed off; it was a strange black colour.
'Omigod!' she said, feeling her hair. 'I am so going to kill whoever did that!'
'Relax, Alex, it's only hair,' Ron said, grinning at her. 'It'll grow back. But if you want, I could to an Engorgement Charm to make it grow right now.'
'Ooo…thanks,' she said as it grew back to its original length.
'Shall we, then?' Ron asked, pocketing his wand and picking up his broomstick.
'Sure,' said Alex, rocketing away. There was no denying that her broom was the fastest in the United States. Harry started yelling at them to get back on the ground, finally kicking off on his Firebolt and chasing them around the stadium until they landed, laughing. Surprisingly enough, Alex's PhoenixFlyer400 outstripped Harry's Firebolt by about two miles per hour.
At the end of practise, when everyone was walking back up to the castle and Harry and Ron were putting the balls away, Alex hung back. She wanted an explanation for why Harry had stopped her from telling the team what she saw.
'Hey, Harry?' she said.
'Mm?' he answered, lifting the heavy box in his strong arms and walking with Ron to the broom shed.
'Can I ask you something?'
Harry smiled. 'Well, you already have, but I guess you can.'
'Remember what happened in the forest? Why didn't you let me tell everyone what I saw?'
Harry and Ron stopped dead in their tracks. They looked uncomfortably at each other before answering.
'I'm sorry, but we can't really tell,' Ron said. 'The thing is, it's a long story, and no one would believe you.'
'Try me,' she insisted.
'I'm sorry, but if you knew the truth, it would only confuse you more and get you in trouble.'
'I won't tell anyone.'
'No.'
'Fine.' She stalked away. Ron gave Harry a pleading look, and Harry sighed and nodded, bowing to the inevitable. 'Alright, alright, go ahead.' Ron grinned, and called ahead.
'Okay, Alex, you win.' Alex spun around and walked back over to them, a satisfied gleam in her eyes. Ron took a deep breath. 'You promise not to tell anyone? Even Ginny, or any teacher?'
'Yes.'
'Seriously, because there are some things that you really shouldn't know.'
'Yes.'
'Alright. Harry, maybe you should tell her…'
Harry sighed, and began telling her the whole story, starting from fourteen years ago, to two years ago, and to just last year.
'…and to fool all of mankind, he cut off his finger after blasting apart a dozen Muggles, framing Sirius Black, and getting him sent to Azkaban, and then I found out that Sirius Black was innocent, and he was my dad's best friend, his best man, my godfather, and that Pettigrew was the real traitor. Then last year, he cut off his hand for Voldemort, and Voldemort gave his that new shiny one. Oh, yeah, then I made the really stupid mistake two years ago in saving Pettigrew's life, so Sirius is still on the run since then when he managed to escape. And Pettigrew can turn into a rat, and his nickname's Wormtail.' He drew breath at last. Alex's mouth was hanging open.
'Holy crud,' she whispered dazedly. 'Well, I promise I won't tell anyone…that's way more complicated than I thought it would be…'
'Right, well, it's not very safe out here,' Ron said, ''Cos if Wormtail's here, so is You-Know-Who…' He shivered, then took Alex's hand. 'C'mon.'
By the time night fell, Alex had to admit that there was someone she liked even more than Harry Potter—Ron Weasley.
********
'You wanted to see me, Professor?' Harry said, walking into Dumbledore's beautiful circular office. Fawkes the phoenix was standing on his golden perch, watching him peacefully.
'Yes, I did, Harry,' he answered, gesturing at the empty seat in front of his desk. Harry sat down.
'Do you have anything you need to talk to me about?' Dumbledore asked after a moment of silence.
'Yes, sir,' Harry answered at once. He went on to explain all about the incident during Quidditch practise last Monday, from when Alex first spotted Wormtail to when he and Ron discovered her lying on the ground with Wormtail standing over her, doing something with her hair.
'You said it looked as if it had been burned off?' asked Dumbledore. Harry nodded. He considered for a moment telling Dumbledore about the dream in the graveyard, but decided against it. Dumbledore stared at him intently for a moment, then sighed.
'That is all, Harry, you may go.' Harry got to his feet and walked out of the office. As he left, he saw Dumbledore go to the large black cabinet that held the Pensieve. A sudden shiver ran up his spine. He had the strange feeling that Dumbledore could read his mind, and knew all about the dream in the graveyard.
Not wanting to be discovered spying on Dumbledore, he descended down the revolving staircase. He had the feeling that Dumbledore wasn't telling him something. But maybe he was better off not knowing, if he chose to disclose that information.
********
On Thursday morning, which was also Halloween, the three friends sat next to each other at the table, chatting dismissively about nothing in particular. Ron was in the middle of stuffing down another piece of bacon into his mouth when the owls flew in. Hermione received her usual copy of the Daily Prophet, and Ron a letter from his mother. Taking a large swig of pumpkin juice, Hermione opened her paper and looked at the headline. Instantly, she made a strangled choking noise and spat out the pumpkin juice all over the table—and Harry.
'What's the matter, Herm?' Ron asked, leaning over and looking at the paper in her hand. Immediately, he began choking on his bacon.
'What is it?' Harry asked, alarmed. 'Is this a choking contest, or did some other sick-minded reporter find more dirt on me? Oh, and by the way, thanks for that shower of pumpkin juice, Hermione, I really needed—' But he stopped short, goggling at the headline:
AZKABAN VOID OF DEMENTORSBELIEVED TO BE THE WORK OF
HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
A sudden hush swept the Hall as everyone saw the banner headline. People exchanged looks of shock, disbelief, and panic, some glancing over at Harry. Up at the High Table, Professor McGonagall stood up and whispered something in Dumbledore's ear. Dumbledore frowned, and, seeing nearly every face in the Hall turned to his, he stood up and spoke to the school.
'I am sure you are all aware of Lord Voldemort's return,' he began calmly. 'I can assure you that none of you will fall into harm's way, as long as you are within these school grounds. To ensure your safety, please do not leave this castle after dark. Remember that the Dementors are able to see—or rather, sense—through disguises or Invisibility Cloaks. You have all been warned.'
He resumed his seat. The students all sat, stunned, for a few minutes, then those who had finished breakfast went off to their first lessons.
The classes seemed to shoot by. Harry felt like he was walking in a dream.
The Dementors left Azkaban? Why? How? Harry thought as he sat, staring at the blazing common room fire before him.
Shut up, Potter…came a drawling, annoyed voice that sounded groggy. I'm ATTEMPTING to sleep here.
In the middle of the day?
Yeah…today is Halloween, everyone is going to be up all night!
Well, I'm sorry. I just assumed that most people slept at night, and you of all people worried about sleep…
Where do you think I get all that energy from?
*Cough cough*
Can it, Four-Eyes.
Fine, Blondie.
*********
At last it was time for the Halloween feast. The three friends sat at the Gryffindor table, laughing as they ate and drank, forgetting all their troubles for the sake of the event.
But more were soon to come.
During their fourth helpings of pumpkin pie was when it all started. All at once, Harry noticed something not out of the ordinary, but certainly odd. Gradually, very gradually, his scar began to burn. At first he didn't notice it, thinking of it as merely a spasm or a headache, but it grew hotter and hotter as the seconds passed. A convulsive shiver ran through his body as he raised a cold hand to his forehead. The pain began to get so intense that his eyes burned as well. Cold sweat was trickling down his forehead. He rested his head in his hands, trying to draw breath.
'What's up, Harry?' asked Ron, his eyes widening.
'Nothing, it's just that…' Instinctively, but not meaning to, he glanced across the Hall over to the Slytherin table. His watering eyes lingered on an empty seat—Malfoy's.
Er, Potter, we've got a bit of a problem here, came Malfoy's voice, sounding panicky.
Where are you? thought Harry distractedly.
Never mind that, Draco snapped. They're coming!
Who?
Not who, what! The De—
But what, Harry never found out. All the candles, even those which were in the carved pumpkins, were suddenly extinguished. An icy chill swept the Hall, and the buzz and chatter stopped instantly. Several people screamed. Then the great oak front doors burst open.
For a split second, Harry thought it was a giant black cloud, or some kind of mirage created by the Death Eaters. Then it hit him—it was thousands of twelve-foot-tall, hooded creatures. The Dementors had come.
Harry's strength was ebbing away. He stood up, but felt his knees hit the floor.
'Harry, stop!' screamed Hermione. 'Let Dumbledore handle it…' She stopped. She had fainted. Harry heard Ron hit the floor after her. Harry struggled to his feet. He had to save the school. He had to.
Well, maybe not the Slytherins, but it was kind of a package deal: all or nothing.
So anyway…
Soon he was the only student left standing. Most of the teachers had dropped as well. But then Harry's vision went blurry. He could no longer see. It was now or never.
Screwing up what was left of his energy, he raised his wand high.
'Expecto patronum!' he shouted. His silvery Patronus charged at the Dementors. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something else resembling a Patronus rush at them, but his eyelids were flickering, so he couldn't be sure. Those that had people by the neck dropped them back to the floor. But that wasn't all they did. The Dementors froze, unable to move, then burst into tiny wisps of smoke.
Harry stood still, amazed at what he had done. The candles were rekindling, and the warmth returning. People were standing up at last, some taking longer than others. Then he realised that he wasn't the only one who had sent a Patronus. Albus Dumbledore was standing quite steadily, holding his wand in the air.
Soon everyone was back in their seats, staring at Harry and Dumbledore. The scene swam strangely before his eyes. Nothing made sense. His wand dropped from his sweating fingers. Too much of his energy had been sucked out of him by the combined powers of the Dementors and his Patronus. The last thing he remembered seeing was Ron and Hermione dashing to his side. Then darkness closed itself around him, and he knew no more.
********
What felt like hours later, Harry heard something. But this time it wasn't the screaming. It was laughing. A high, cold, cruel cackle that sent a chill up his spine. Not that he didn't recognise it.
Suddenly, very suddenly, a blast of light hit his eyes. He yelled and fell backwards. Then the light dimmed slightly, and he saw a somewhat familiar scene.
He was back in the graveyard. But the weather was very different. It was a gorgeously sunny day. Right in front of him was a man and a woman.
The woman seemed to be crying. The man simply stood there. Harry got to his feet and moved closer to see the tombstone they were staring at.
Draco T. Malfoy
1980-1996
Eternally linked.
'There, there, Narcissa,' the man was saying. It was Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. 'You shouldn't waste your breath feeling sorry for the boy—he was quite worthless, and a traitor at that. To be frank, I must say, it's good that he's gone. He would have turned me in with Death Eater tattooed on my forehead if he survived. And think of it this way, the Potter boy is gone as well.' Narcissa nodded, probably deciding it best not to answer.
Harry then saw that Malfoy was buried next to his and the girl's graves. The two roses were still there, in perfect condition. Harry supposed that this dream Hermione had put some kind of Freezing Charm on them to make them last forever. But he was still confused. Now Malfoy was going to die as well?
'So, Potter, found my grave, have you?'
Harry spun around to find Draco Malfoy leaning against a nearby tree.
'I always thought I knew how cruel your father is,' Harry said, 'but this just proves that he's ten times worse.'
'Stupid bastard,' sighed Draco, shaking his head.
Harry was goggling at him, first looking at him, then at his grave, where his parents were still standing.
'How—how did you manage to get in my dream?' he managed to ask, entirely bewildered.
Draco rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed.
'It's this stupid mind-link thing,' he muttered. 'If one of us passes out, so does the other. If one of us feels some kind of magical pain, so does the other. If one of us dies, so does the other.'
Harry stared.
'Which means I felt when your scar was hurting—what was it?—a few hours ago?'
Harry nodded, then spoke at last.
'What about Hermione?'
Draco shrugged. 'I suppose she's not as closely connected to us as you and I are,' he suggested. 'Her ability is probably more voluntary, meaning she can could probably read your thoughts at will.'
Harry scowled, irritated by the fact that Draco knew more about telepathy and ESP than he did, and kind of creeped out by thinking that Hermione knew what he was thinking without him knowing it.
'So, where were you?' he asked. Malfoy looked down, avoiding his gaze.
'Just taking a walk outside,' he said shiftily. Catching Harry's suspicious glare, he added, 'What?'
'How did you know about the Dementors?' Harry pressed on.
Malfoy rolled his eyes again.
'They aren't exactly difficult to see at a distance,' he drawled. 'Honestly, this dream world is really slowing you down, isn't it?'
Harry ignored him. But then he suddenly noticed something: Malfoy was fading like a morning mist. Malfoy must have seen it as well; soon he was shouting, 'Potter! What's going on?'
'I don't know! Maybe the dream is ending…' He was right, because the darkness was returning.
*********
'Harry! Harry! Wake up! Oh, come on…' Ron's voice pleaded.
'Patience, Mr Weasley, he will wake when he is ready.'
Harry snapped open his eyes. His glasses were off, and he was back in the hospital wing. Ron, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore were all gathered around him. Ron looked intensely relieved to see that he was awake.
'Oh, thank God!' he said. 'That was one heck of a Patronus…'
Dumbledore smiled down at Harry. 'You gave us quite a scare indeed, Mr Potter. All the energy that you put into your Patronus nearly killed you. For the longest time, were afraid it had. Though I must say it was quite an accomplishment…'
'How long have I been in here?' Harry asked, seeing that, through the window, the sun was setting.
'Only a day,' Hermione said quietly. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot, as if she had been up for hours.
'But I don't get it,' said Harry, trying to prop his elbow up on his pillows. 'Why—?'
'You are a very powerful wizard, Harry,' Dumbledore said, answering his unfinished question. 'Our two Patronuses combined destroyed every Dementor that entered the school. There are more out there, of course…I presume that Lord Voldemort sent those here, and is keeping the rest well hidden….'
There was a long, awkward silence as each person sat, lost in thought.
Hermione's voice suddenly came into Harry's head.
Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you're okay! We all thought you had died…
A rather annoyed voice protruded into Harry's and Hermione's thoughts.
While you two are having a happy little reunion, I'm lying out here on the cold WET ground…oh, yeah, AND I CAN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO MOVE!
Hang on a minute, Malfoy, I'm busy right now! Hermione snapped. And Harry can't move that well, either. We'll get you as soon as we can…
Gee, I feel so loved.
Dumbledore stood up.
'I wish for you to stay the weekend, Harry,' he said, drowning out Hermione's and Malfoy's voices. 'Perhaps some chocolate, and some sleep,' he added, noticing Harry's depressed expression.
At that moment, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over, bearing a tray of chocolate and Sleeping Potion. She set it down on his bedside table. 'Eat your chocolate, Potter, then drink the potion,' she said. 'Goodness knows you've had enough with dreams.'
Harry nodded, without it occurring to him what she meant. Then he sat bolt upright and broke into a cold sweat.
'Professor Dumbledore!' he said frantically. 'Draco Malfoy's out in the Forbidden Forest!'
Dumbledore looked mildly surprised.
'Really, now, what on earth would he be doing down there?'
'He—he said he was taking a walk…then the Dementors came…I passed out, and so did he…'
'I will go and find him,' said Dumbledore, striding out of the ward.
Ron's bewildered face almost made Harry laugh, but he was feeling too weak to even crack a smile.
'Alright, this mojo thing of yours is really starting to freak me out,' Ron muttered as Harry picked up a chunk of chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth. 'And now Malfoy can do it, too?'
Harry nearly choked.
'How did you know about that?' he spluttered. Ron grinned awkwardly.
'You talk in your sleep,' he explained. 'How may times have I told you that these five years? Anyway, we could tell that Malfoy was there. That's why Dumbledore didn't ask how you knew where he was.' Once Ron had fallen silent and Harry closed his mouth because he couldn't think of anything to say, Harry finished eating his chocolate. Hermione was just handing him the goblet of Sleeping Potion when the door burst open.
There was Albus Dumbledore, standing in the doorway. He walked into the dormitory and Harry, Ron, and Hermione all saw a stretcher trailing behind him, which held a limp figure. Malfoy.
Malfoy was lifted off the stretcher and set down on the bed next to Harry's.
Damn, Malfoy, thought Harry, you look like you got hit by a train.
No answer.
Oh, well, maybe he's mad at me and Hermione for ignoring him…
He sighed and took the goblet of smoking purple potion.
He had just lifted it to his lips when a weary voice echoed in his ears.
I wouldn't drink that if I were you, Potter.
Harry lowered the cup.
Oh, so now you're speaking to me? he thought irritably. How convenient.
Give me a break, Malfoy replied. Poor old me, lying on the cold, hard ground for about a day before anyone decided to come and look for me. Hey, I've got to admit, Pansy's probably pretty worried about me, which will add a bonus for when I get back to my dorm, and yeah, you did save me from certain fate. I guess you're no longer in my debt…
Shut it, Harry snapped. Now if you don't mind, I'm going in for a dreamless sleep.
Fine, have it your way.
Malfoy finally opened his eyes. Harry glared at him.
'What?' said Malfoy. Harry rolled his eyes and nodded pointedly at Ron and Hermione, who were watching them curiously.
'Oh, right,' he said, catching on. 'Er, Potter, I hate your guts—'
'Cut the crap, Malfoy,' Ron interrupted loudly, 'and drop the act. Okay, so you two are friends now, so what? Yeah, we could kind of tell, when you saved him from being reduced to nothing but pulp.'
Harry and Draco stared at him in amazement.
'Right, well, I'm going to sleep now,' said Harry, breaking the awkward silence. He reached for the silver goblet once more.
'Didn't I say not to drink that?' said Malfoy.
Harry ignored him, tilting his head back and swallowing the sweet liquid. He vaguely heard Malfoy screaming at him, 'Don't, Harry! Harry, no!' The back of his throat tingled strangely, and he coughed. Then, without warning, his eyelids were forced to close and he fell into a heavy sleep. It wasn't the warm, sleepy feeling he remembered, either.
*******
Draco watched Harry uneasily as Harry slumped against his pillows, dropping the silver goblet to the floor with a clatter. Draco glanced at Ron and Hermione, who were looking at him strangely.
'I told him not to,' he said softly, 'I'm sorry.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' Ron asked sharply.
Draco lowered his gaze.
'That wasn't just any Sleeping Potion,' he murmured to his hands, 'It wasn't really a Sleeping Potion, anyway.' Still not looking up, he took a shuddering breath so he could have the strength to continue. 'That,' he said slowly, 'was Draught of the Living Death.'
********
A/N: AAHAA! It's a cliff-hanger! Don't ya just love em? I know, you're all probably about to kill me, and if you aren't because you think this fic totally sucks, that's okay, too. You probably think I'm being really mean to Harry, don't you? Doesn't the poor guy have enough to deal with without ending up as Malfoy's friend? Heh, heh, just joking. But in any case, please don't chuck rotten veggies at me…EEEEK!!! *runs and hides behind Crissy, who blinks confusedly as a large apple that resembles a tomato, or maybe it's a tomato that's supposed to be an apple (sorry, inside joke—OUCH! Crissy just hit me) hits her full in the face while I laugh hysterically, narrowly avoiding being smacked by her.* Again, I'd like to thank Crissy for her help with this chapter. (I never would have found out about all that telepathy stuff without her!) And as she would say: "Bum, bum, buuuuuuuuuum…" Hey, I just realised something—without noticing it, I made Alex almost just like me! Huh, go figure…