Holy Crap. I'm getting reviews. And good ones. THANKS, GUYS! EEEKK!!! Wow…I think I've become drunk with power…I…must…WRITE! hic! ~8]
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For Disclaimers, see Chapter 3. Oh, and The Police and said properties aren't mine, and neither is Hugh Jackman…not that he appears, I'm just making a statement. A very…very sad statement…sniff sniff
Chapter 4: Every Step I Take, I'll Be Watching You…
When Harry didn't answer for some time, lost in thought, Hermione leaned in closer to him.
"Harry," she asked softly, "what's going on?"
He began hesitantly. "You remember that student today, the one who nearly bowled me over?" Hermione nodded. "Right, the one Ron threatened to beat up." She side-glanced the other boy. "Say, that's two in one day. Quite a streak you've got going there, Ron," she smiled. Ron blushed lightly, then nodded at Harry to continue.
"Well, I looked over my shoulder to see who it was, and…" He closed his eyes as he paused, shaking his head slightly in disbelief, "…and it was me." Slowly opening his eyes, he scanned the faces of his bemused friends. "Are you certain?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded his head vigorously. "I'm positive. He had the same robes as me, the same books, the same glasses," he pointed to his forehead, "and the same scar."
By now Ron was wide-eyed with incredulity. "Good Gods, Harry, you've gotta tell someone about this. Sirius, Dumbledore, anyone." Harry shook his head. "No, Ron. No one else but us is to know about this for now. It was a one time occurrence, nothing more. Besides, it'll only worry Dumbledore, and I don't want to compromise Sirius' position in any way while he gets things sorted out and finalized with the Ministry. For all we know, someone could have just taken a Polyjuice potion in my honor, or Glamour themselves to look like me."
Hermione was the first to object.
"Harry, we've been your friends long enough to know that nothing is simply a 'one time occurrence' where you're concerned. I'll do some research in the library later on, and if I don't find anything, then we're all going straight to Dumble--" "Please, Hermione. Everyone thinks that I'm a right fruity nutter as it is. Let's just sit this one out for awhile, alright?" Ron and Hermione nodded their heads dejectedly, but firmly. "Alright, Harry, we promise. And speaking of later on," Ron paused, listening to the distant sounds of a chattering crowd, "do you realize that we've only got five minutes to get to Transfiguration?"
* * * * * *
After hauling themselves to Transfiguration (where Draco and a few Slytherins were surprising no shows) and the rest of their classes, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally had time to contemplate Harry's dilemma during the nightly dinner banquet. Their preoccupation prevented them from seeing the obscene gestures being thrown in their direction by the oddly subdued lot of Slytherins nearest the Gryffindors. Had they taken the time to look they would have noticed that Draco's presence was, once again, absent.
Brow furrowed, Harry absently poked at the lone grape occupying his plate with a fork, clanking the metal prongs against the china every so often when he missed. Ron simply stared at a spot on the table as he thought hard, chewing his food ever so slowly. An idea suddenly struck Hermione, however, whose eyes brightened at the dawning realization. She leaned into the table, startling her friends.
"Guys! I've just thought of something. Meet in the library in about twenty minutes or so, alright?" Harry looked at her quizzically as she got up from the table and hurriedly shoved her chair in. "Why twenty minutes?" Ron asked. He only saw Hermione smile slightly before feeling two hands clamp down on his shoulders, shaking him roughly.
"Ron!"
"You crazy git!"
"How dare you not get us ringside tickets to the main event?"
"Really, Ron, you'd think we'd have been invited, of all people."
Harry saw a huge grin light up Ron's face as he spun around to greet the three beaming Weasleys.
"Ginny, Fred, George! How did you find out?"
George scoffed. "What, are you kidding me? We're not telling you. We've got our sources' names to protect--Ow!" He rubbed his arm where Ginny had smacked him. "Goof. I overheard Pansy telling another Slytherin girl last class how 'that red-headed bastard who's always hanging around with that Potter nutter' had told Malfoy he was going to 'rip him a new one,' whatever that means." She paused as George and Fred snickered. Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Anyway, I figured that the 'red-headed bastard' had to be one of you three, but Ron's the only one stupid enough to actually go through with such a thing."
Fred cried out. "That is an outrage! How dare you doubt our stupidity!?" He pretended to shove Ginny away as he grabbed the chair closest to Ron. "Well, enough of that silly girl, tell us what really happened." Faces alight, they listened intently as Ron recounted his tale of going head-to-head with Malfoy. Harry had begun to listen in, curious as to how Ron would choose to present himself, when he felt the urge to look across the room. He wasn't quite sure why his eyes had been drawn to the entranceway of the Great Hall, until he saw it, peeking out from behind the shadows.
His Other Self.
Harry gasped in trepidation at the sight of the otherworldly thing staring back at him. He shot out of his seat quickly, nearly knocking it back onto the floor.
"Harry?" Ron cautioned, pausing from his tale. Harry then noticed that the Weasleys were all staring at him questioningly. "Hermione," he lied with a smile, "I forgot she was waiting for us in the library." Ron nodded. "Right, then. I'll catch up with you later?" "Yeah, I'd better find her before she gets…lost…or something…" Ron simply shrugged at his friend's momentary lapse and continued on with his narrative. "So then I says to Malfoy…"
Harry fought the urge to run to the Hall's entranceway, lest he draw more than the usual number of stares he was accustomed to, especially from the Slytherins. Though he had his head tilted down a bit in a casual manner, his eyes stared straight into those of his twin image. It remained unmoving in the shadows even as Harry drew closer to it. When at the table, Harry had nonchalantly slid his wand up his right sleeve, now at the ready if it was needed. With less than five feet now closing the distance between them, Harry's breathing became even more rapid than his pace.
The Other, however, quickly turned heel and sprinted off into the darkness.
Before Harry could even grasp onto his wand to halt the fleeting figure, two large shadows merged into one on the floor in front of him. The young wizard slowly turned his head, realizing now why the thing had suddenly bolted. Although he and Ron had been preoccupied, his twin self was attentive enough to notice that Crabbe and Goyle had gotten up from their table, followed Harry, and were now standing directly behind him.
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Alright, if you've noticed, I write 'em short. Not that I want to, but my clock says I have to. Evil clock, I say, Evviillll…anyhoo, off to Chapter 5! Woo-hoo!