As I said at the end of last chapter, Hermione is a bit out of character. Let's just say that I think Hermione will change a lot as she becomes an adult in certain ways. She will start acting her feelings a little more, especially those for Ron, and become a little less stuck up as she slowly puts herself in a larger more adult perspective. This doesn't mean she will start disregarding rules and she will always be a bossy know-it-all but now in a more adult way… right I am rambling. I just feel a little guilty about what I did to her character in this chapter, now at least you have some of my pov on Hermione Granger.

This is a really long chapter or rather the first ones in this story has been short compared to the rest of it. The average chapter length is about five thousand words. ; D

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Chapter 6 Emotions

"Morning Harry" Hermione's voice said.

"You are not supposed to be in here" Harry replied sleepily, he wondered how Hermione had managed to sneak into his dormitory with four other boys in without being detected. Then he remembered they had all gone home for the summer holydays. Once his mind had solved that problem it fell into dream state again.

"Harry wake up" He heard Hermione's voice again.

Oh yeah he remembered, she was in his dormitory "What are you doing here" he muttered.

"Wake Up!" She said again then she lowered her voice "we need to decide what to do with Fleur"

He hadn't heard what Hermione said he just heard the name Fleur. At once, that made him wide-awake and when the feelings of being used returned to his mind he wished more then ever that he hadn't woken up. Ron was already up he didn't even wear his pyjamas.

"We have been talking to Remus" Ron whispered.

"Harry Remus doesn't know you suspect a thing about Fleur…" Hermione said but were interrupted.

"Why not?" Harry asked her sadly. Every time he heard her name, he could feel his insides breaking.

"Honestly Harry if you are going to be an auror I suggest you read a couple on books on the subject" Hermione said.

"You read auror books" Ron asked her.

"Only one or two" She said "But that's beside the point Harry, Remus didn't need to know in fact he'll act better if he don't think you know anything"

"So what did he say" Harry asked them.

"He told us you were down drinking tea with him last evening and told him pretty much what you told us" Hermione said.

"Oh" Harry muttered he didn't feel in the mood at all to get up so he pulled his covers over him and lay down.

"Harry you have to get up, its breakfast soon" Ron said.

"I'm not hungry" He replied shortly.

"Harry you have too" Hermione said Harry didn't really know why but this was too much for him.

"No, I won't" Harry snapped angrily through his bed covers.

"I'm sorry Harry but it is very important, Fleur…" Hermione said softly. This was too much for Harry.

"Unless Remus told you I loved her too, I feel" he cursed "miserable"

Harry turned his back at them and faced the wall but to no good he was too angry too sleep. Ron and Hermione didn't say anything for a long moment.

"Harry I'm sorry but you really have too. Fleur might get suspicious otherwise and you really need to find out more about her" Hermione said softly, Harry ignored her.

"Do you need a drink?" Hermione asked him. Harry inhaled some saliva in surprise and started to cough.

"What's the matter with you two?" She asked Ron had also started coughing violently.

"Hermione! Did you just suggest Harry drowns his troubles in the bottle" Ron asked hoarsely when he managed to stop coughing.

"No, I just said that maybe he needs something to numb his feelings a little" She replied.

"Numb his feelings?" Ron asked incredulously. To Harry it sounded great any thing that could make his feelings stop tearing his insides would be a blessing.

"Yes, Ron. Harry has to go down there and act as nothing. I think that some alcohol would be a good idea" Hermione said.

"Where are we going to get alcohol and won't anyone notice if he's been drinking" Ron asked incredulously.

"The alcohol is not a problem and no one will notice anything" Hermione said.

"Yeah well… if mum finds out" Ron said warningly.

"Don't worry Ron, Harry will have to brush he's teeth and then" she turned to Harry who had turned around and was facing them. Hermione continued "you can say you didn't sleep well, you got loads of excuses all from nightmares to new place to sleep. Actually I don't think she expects you to sleep too well your first night back in Black manor"

"Where do we get the alcohol?" Harry asked her.

"Well" Hermione said hesitantly looking nervously at Ron "Ginny and I bought some fire whiskey in the Hogshead"

"You did what?" Ron bellowed "but… but…Ginny is just a child!"

"She isn't Ron she'll be fifteen soon, and we haven't been drunk" Hermione said calmly.

"Why didn't you let me buy some?" Ron said angrily.

"Because at that moment that was a very bad idea" Hermione said "But I started to read up on alcohol and it's really fascinating did you know that fire whiskey is the oldest…"

"So you got curious" Ron said angrily "Why couldn't I be curious?"

"Harry?" Hermione asked ignoring Ron completely.

"Yes, I think I need some" He said.

"Good, I'll be right back" Hermione said and exited the room. A few minutes later, she came back with a book and a bottle.

"Have you ever been drunk Harry?" She asked him not taking here eyes from the book.

"No" He replied.

"How would you describe your tolerance to potions and poisons, below average, average or above average" She asked him still not looking up from the book.

"I don't know, average I suppose"

"How much do you weight?" She asked him.

"About 65 kg"

"When was the last time you ate?" She continued.

"Yesterday dinner" He told her.

"Right" Said Hermione and focused even harder on the book and after a few moments she put the book down.

"I think this will be enough" Hermione said pouring fire whiskey into a glass and handed it to Harry.

"Cheers" Harry muttered it was very strong and it burned his throat, though the taste of it wasn't too bad. After a few moments, he had emptied the glass.

"How does it taste?" Ron asked him eagerly.

"Strong" Harry said in a forced whisper, he hadn't realised that it had affected his voice this much.

"Hermione do you think I…" Ron asked.

"No you can't" Hermione snapped at him.

"So I'm the only one here who isn't allowed to drink?" Ron asked Hermione angrily.

"I'm not drinking either" Hermione said.

"You've already tasted it" Ron exclaimed.

"I didn't taste it before breakfast" Hermione said calmly and with a tone that said that she didn't want to discuss the matter any further.

"Right I'll just have to buy a bottle for myself then" Ron said angrily.

"Don't be stupid Ron, you can taste later" Hermione snapped at him.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Harry?" Hermione asked and Harry turned his head and faced her, he didn't know if he imagined it, but when he turned his head it felt odd he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Feel anything yet, magical alcohol works very fast" Hermione said.

"Maybe I don't know" Harry answered.

They waited a few moments more.

"According to 'A Beginners Guide to Magical Drinks' you should be intoxicated by now" Hermione stated. It was true, there were no mistake in it he felt that all his senses had gone numb.

"Harry stand up" Hermione commanded him, Harry did as he was told.

"How do you feel" She said and looked in to his eyes and examined him.

"Better" He admitted.

"Can you act as if nothing?" Hermione asked him.

"I think so" Harry said, it all felt so strange he didn't think anyone could tell any difference, but he didn't really trust his own judgment.

"Good, I don't think anyone will be able to tell anything as long as they don't look too closely at you." Hermione said.

"Hey, Harry can you walk in a strait line" Ron asked him happily.

"Of course he can" Hermione snapped she obviously didn't think it was a good time for jokes. "Now get dressed and brush your teeth you smell like Mundungus"

Harry did as she said, he didn't really feel any better, he realised he just didn't care as much as he did before. When he was done brushing his teeth there was knock on their door.

"Wake up boys, breakfasts ready" Mrs Weasley's motherly voice sounded through the door.

"Coming mum" Ron called.

"Ready, Harry?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah" Harry replied.

"Okay, let's wait for a moments so that Mrs Weasley have time to get back into the kitchen" Hermione said "I don't think she would notice anything, but better safe then sorry"

They did they waited for about a minute before they opened the door and walked down to the kitchen. Mr Weasley had already left for work, but he was the only one not present everyone else was there even Bill and Ginny. Fleur was seated on one side of Bill and Ginny on the other. They must have made up Harry thought bitterly for a moment before he remembered that he hated Fleur. He sat down as far as possible from everyone else, Ron and Hermione sat down at each side of his. He didn't look up from his toast, he ate in silence.

"Harry dear are you feeling all right?" Mrs Weasley's voice asked.

Harry looked up at her and met her gaze; she looked for a moment confused.

"Harry have you done something?" She asked him suspiciously. Harry looked down on his toast.

"Oh no, got some bad dreams" He said quietly, could she tell that he had been drinking he wondered.

"Oh" She said after a short moment and returned to her eggs.

He continued to eat in silence. When they were done and stood up, Mrs Weasley asked Ron and Hermione to help her to clean up. Harry got up and made to help them.

"Harry why don't you go and lie down for a moment you look ill" Mrs Weasley said softly.

"Oh, right" Harry said and left the room he walked slowly back towards his and Ron's room.

"Harry, wait a moment" He heard Remus say behind him.

"What is it" Harry asked trying to compose his posture and look sober.

"Can I have a moment?" Remus asked. Harry didn't want Remus to see that he was drunk, but he couldn't come up with a good reason not to.

"Sure" He replied and opened the door to his room Remus followed him. Remus closed the door behind him and Harry sat down on his bed.

"What do you want" Harry asked rather rudely but he didn't care.

"Harry when I where in your age, James, Sirius, Peter and I spent a lot of time together. I knew your father very well. I remember once when he and Sirius got a month of detentions from McGonagall and lost a hundred house points each. I can still remember their faces" Remus said and smiled sadly.

"What did they do" Harry asked curiously.

"They turned up drunk for Transfigurations and hoped that she wouldn't notice anything" Remus said and Harry felt his insides turn over. "It was always the risk that made it fun, and what could possible be more dangerous then turning up for Transfigurations drunk"

"You know" Harry stated.

"Yes, Harry and I must tell you that, alcohol can sometimes be a good thing in fact even ingenious. However it's not a suitable way to forget your sorrows" Remus said seriously.

"Can I have a memory charm then, please?" Harry asked; he didn't care how he got over Fleur he just wanted the paint to go away.

"No, I'm sorry Harry but that is a big emotional thing, you can forget your memories but not your emotions and even if I could I wouldn't" Remus explained.

"So alcohol isn't that bad after all" Harry said angrily.

"Harry alcohol won't make the pain go away, it's not a solution" Remus said firmly. "Trust me Harry I tried it thoroughly when Peter and Siri…"

Harry didn't say anything he undressed and went to bed "I hope I never wake up" He said.

"You'll change your mind one day, Harry" Remus said and left the room, a few minutes later Harry was fast asleep.

He was back at the cemetery and tied to Tom Riddles the elder's gravestone. He was very familiar with this place by now; he dreamed at least once a week that he was here though he never realised that he was dreaming. Fleur was standing in front of him she was laughing in a cold dead voice the voice of Lord Voldemort. Harry was crying he tried to get away to hide his tears from her he didn't want Fleur to see how bad she had hurt him.

"Tears of the enemy forcibly taken" She said in gleeful French voice and she looked strait at him. Harry tried desperately to stop crying because if she manages to take tears from him something terrible would happen but he couldn't stop. She laughed even more horrible and he cried even more.

"Oh, Harry you think you can stop crying? I have crushed your heart! You'll never stop crying, ever" Fleur said and laughed.

"And you know what the worst part is" Fleur asked him lowering her voice "You still have feelings for me, you still love me"

"NO" He yelled through his sobs.

She moved closer to him and bent down.

"Yes" She whispered in his ear. She held a vial under one of his eyes a few moments later when she pulled away from him he could se that the vial was full of his tears.

"How could you be so stupid Harry?" Fleur said looking at the vial. "To love a girl you don't know, to follow your foolish heart. Did you actually believe that I loved you? I didn't even have to kiss you"

"Stop it" Harry sobbed desperately.

"HARRY WAKE UP!" Hermione's voice yelled all of a sudden and the graveyard dissolved instead he saw Hermione's concerned face right above him.

"Harry, are you awake?" She asked him he nodded in reply

"You were scary mate" Ron's voice said "Wouldn't wake up and you were…" He trailed off as Hermione looked at him reprovingly. Harry figured out what Ron was about to say because he felt his wet pillow under him and realised that he must have been crying in his sleep. He didn't care much at the moment though, he was happy that he was awake.

"Did you have a vision Harry" Hermione asked him urgently.

Harry shock his head, he didn't think his voice could support him.

"Only a bad dream?" Hermione asked.

He nodded and as he did so he realised that he had tears on his cheeks and hurriedly wiped them off.

"Your scar didn't hurt?" Ron asked.

"No" He whispered.

They were silent for a moment. Harry didn't look at his best friends, he was too ashamed.

"What time is it?" Harry finally asked hoping to take attention away from him.

"About eleven thirty" Hermione said and he sighted, for how long was he going to feel like this, and for how long could he stand it.

"It's not certain that she is a spy Harry" Hermione said.

"Not certain?" Harry snapped "Of course she is! She's too good to be true!" It hurt badly to say this "What other girl would say that she loves me and not even kiss me"

"She didn't even kiss you?" Ron asked.

"No, told you yesterday she didn't do anything" Harry exclaimed angrily. Hermione looked puzzled.

"Harry what did you two talk about?" She asked him after a short moment.

"I gave her a tour" Harry said angrily.

"She didn't ask anything?" Ron asked.

"No, she was mostly quiet. I thought that she was sad because of her family" Harry said still very angrily "Can we just drop this"

No one said anything for several minutes.

"Mrs Weasley expects me and Ron to help her with lunch" Hermione told him "We'll you be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah" Harry said.

"We'll come and get you for lunch then" Ron said as they walked out the door.

Harry felt a little bit better then when he just had woken up, he got up from his be and walked around in the room. He was trying to push the thoughts of Fleur away from his mind. There was a tap on the window at the far end of the room. He walked over to the window and saw Hedwig outside. His heart leapt, he hurriedly opened the window and extended his arm for Hedwig to sit on.

"Hello Hedwig, I've missed you" He said and patted her. He was in a strange mood and felt a huge need of caring for Hedwig. He found some feathers that stuck out in a way she didn't like and striated them for her. She hooted happily.

"Been out hunting have you?" He asked her.

Hedwig hooted a 'Yes'.

"I've been pretty sad Hedwig" He confessed and felt tears filling up in his eyes.

"What do I do?" He said and sighted she hooted sadly in response.

"Do you think Tonks will take me back to Privet drive if I ask her? It could be worth a try wouldn't it? I guess I could ask Remus or Mrs Weasley but I don't think I could, you know what I mean?" He told his owl as if he hoped that she could understand him.

"Are you feeling up to a letter?" He asked her she hooted another 'Yes'.

"Good hold on a moment" he said and put her down in her cage.

He found some parchment and a quill in the desk that stood in the room and sat down in the chair Ron and Hermione had slept in.7

Dear Tonks

How are you doing? Hope that you aren't too busy. I'm writing to ask you if there is any chance that you can take me back. No I am not joking, things are terrible here and I don't know how much more I can stand. Please answer soon.

Harry

He put the letter in an envelope and sealed it. He hoped that she would be able to reply soon.

"Here you go Hedwig, It's for Tonks okay?" He said as he tied the letter to her leg.

There was a quick knock on the door and it swung open Ron entered.

"Ready Harry?" Ron asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute you go ahead" Harry said there was now way what so ever that he was attending lunch. He had to figure out a way to skive off. That's it some 'nose bleed nougat' should do the trick he thought and rummaged around in his trunk until he found his 'skiving snack box'. There were loads of different illnesses he could use but he had already settled for the 'nose bleed nougat'. He read the instructions carefully the red part will make you bleed and the yellow will stop it he found out after a moment of reading. He decided to walk down to the kitchen and take it just before he entered. He slipped out of the room and down the stairs and soon he was standing outside the kitchen door. Right he thought this is it. He took a deep breath and put the red part of the nosebleed nougat in his mouth, it tasted fairly well considering what it was. He swung the door open and swallowed.

"Hello Harry your just in time" Mrs Weasley said. He looked around in the room everyone was there and looking at him. He caught Fleur's eyes she made a really good job pretending she had some feelings for him.

"Harry you're bleeding" Ginny shrieked and sure enough Harry was bleeding heavily from his nose.

"Oh, Sorry" He muttered. Mrs Weasley conjured a towel for him and walked him up to his room.

"Sit here on your bed" She commanded and pushed him down. "Now lean forward slightly and pinch it" Harry did as she said. Mrs Weasley smiled and said "That's it Harry dear will you be alright by yourself?"

"Yeah" Harry replied.

"Good, now don't move around even if it stops. I'll have Ron to bring your food later" She said and exited the room.

Harry quickly found the yellow piece of the nose bleed nougat and swallowed it. His nose stopped bleeding that very instant. He knew that if he would just sit there his thoughts would fall back on Fleur. He had to do something, he thought for a moment of his homework but he had already finished all of it the two first weeks of the holyday. He glanced for a moment on his Foe Glass, nothing but distant black figures. As he watched the black figures moving slowly around in the back of the foe glass he remembered his birthday, everything had been so good that day. He had been so proud when he got 'Dueling for Masters' from all the DA. That was it he though he had not read a word in 'Dueling for Masters' that would surly occupy his thoughts. He rummaged around in his trunk for a moment before he found it.

Harry again noticed how very expensive it looked. The cover material seemed to be of dragon scale, probably from a Horntail because of the black colour. He opened the book and saw the inscription from the DA again it made him smile. On the second page where a table of contents and on the page after that a short introduction to the book. The book was divided in three sections Defensive and offensive dueling and finally battle. As Harry read, he saw to his horror that he could learn the unforgivables from this book. He looked up Avada Kedavra to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, but he hadn't. It was macabre to see a large colour picture featuring two wizards demonstrating the curse. There were tips on how to perform the curse as if it was a cheering charm, what kind of wand motion that was preferable, how you could tell if the curse was successful and that it was unblockable. To his relief the book didn't mention him but then he found out why the book was written 1979 by Edgar Bones. Not a good sign Harry thought bitterly if the author of the book was killed in a duel. He thought for a moment more and realized that it wasn't strange at all that the book covered the unforgivables they were perfectly legal for aurors to use at the time the book was written.

There was a knock on the door and Ron and Hermione entered. Hermione was carrying a tray with Harry's lunch on.

"You didn't tell us you got nose bleed nougat" Ron said when he'd closed the door.

"Got it for my birth day" Harry said to Ron then he turned to Hermione "You do realise you have given my a book that teaches the unforgivables"

Ron looked horror-struck but Hermione's expression didn't change.

"So?" She said as she put his tray with food down on the desk.

"What you mean so?" Ron asked her.

"It's not that unusual, they were legal for almost five years you know" Hermione stated calmly.

"You mean you read about them in several books?" Ron asked utterly bewildered.

"You just have to enter the library in Diagon Alley and look for advanced Defence against the dark art books that was printed around 1980" Hermione said as if this was the plainest thing in the world.

"Hermione you are a bit scary sometimes" Ron told her.

"Why?" She said her voice rising slightly.

"Knowing how to perform the unforgivables is scary" Ron answered firmly.

"So I should just close my eyes and pretend they don't exists" Hermione said her temper visibly rising.

"Yes" Ron said forcefully.

"Harry" Hermione said in a deadly calm voice "Do you also find me scary for not closing my eyes for the unforgivables"

Harry agreed with Ron sometimes Hermione's extreme knowledge of everything was a bit scary. He didn't dare to tell her so and besides had he just not read about the killing curse and a couple of weeks ago had he not actually performed the cruciatus curse.

"No" Harry said looking down he regretted that he used the cruciatus curse very much.

"See" Said Hermione gleefully to Ron. Harry expected Ron to reply but when he didn't Harry looked up at him. Ron looked at Hermione with the same expression he had in 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. Harry understood that Ron had a very strong urge to kiss Hermione but that he held it back because of Harry. He noticed that Hermione was returning Ron's expression.

"I'll go and feed Buckbeak" He muttered and got up from his bed still holding the book, got his tray with food from the desk and made for the door.

"Oh all right" Hermione said and begun to follow him.

"No it's all right I would like to be alone" He lied, and left. When the door behind him closed, he sighted deeply. They would always be his best friends but this made everything so much harder for him at least at the moment. He walked slowly up the final stair to the top floor and down a corridor to Buckbeak's room. He opened the door with much trouble since he was carrying a tray full of food and a huge book. Buckbeak looked at him expectantly with his orange eyes

"Don't know if you like this but why don't you help yourself" Harry said placing the tray in front of the hippogriff, Harry wasn't hungry at all. The thought of food made him feel ill, however, he saved the glass of pumpkin juice for himself. Harry watched Buckbeak eat for a moment before he sat down at the huge desk that stood in a corner of the room. He opened the book and begun to read the first part of the book Defensive Dueling. The first chapter was about not being hit to begin with, to doge curses by getting out of the way. Harry found it surprising that the author could find so much interesting to write about jumping out of the way, Edgar Bones clearly was a very good writer. Even though the book was mainly written for people who had passed their NEWTs, Harry understood most of it. The second chapter was even more interesting it was about how you use magic to help you get out of the way. It covered agility charms, which if performed correctly let you boost your reflex several times the normal. Harry imagined how it would be like to fly on his Firebolt with reflexes several times more agile then usual. After that, he read about different ways of hiding, the book covered everything from creating an image of yourself to lure your opponent to attack it instead to become completely invisible.

'Though not many wizards manage to become completely invisible with out a cloak' Harry read 'it is a rare ability. One of the few of our time that knows the art of invisibility is none other then Albus Dumbledore'

The following chapter were about animagi. It didn't go into any greater detail about the transformation process it focused on the dueling and jump out of the way part.

There was a knock on the door and it swung open, Ron stood there.

"Still here Harry?" Ron asked when he saw him.

"Yeah been reading" Harry said gesturing towards the book.

"Harry" Ron said seriously, too seriously Harry was sure Ron was about to joke. "I forbid you to see Hermione. She has a very bad influence on you"

Harry smiled "Who's talking about influence" he teased.

Ron blushed and said "Thanks for feeding Buckbeak"

"No problem" Harry replied moderately surprised that Ron knew that he left them on purpose.

"So you are looking for me?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, dinner is ready" Ron said.

Harry didn't reply he couldn't face Fleur and much less eat dinner with her at the same table.

"Listen mate, I brought some Fever Fudge from your snack box" Ron said when Harry didn't reply.

"You better turn up down there and go 'Oh, I feel so hot' mum will send you to bed faster then Snape take house points" Ron said.

"No one is that fast" Harry joked. He was very happy to have Ron as a friend. Ron knew exactly how to cheer him up.

"You'll be surprised" Said Ron with a smile "You better bring that lunch tray too. Mum will have a fit if she finds out that you didn't eat it"

"Right" Harry said and got up from the chair he felt that his back didn't like the way he had been sitting. "How does Hermione do it" Harry asked as he stretched his back painfully.

"No idea" Ron stated.

"You know what? I'll carry the tray you just focus on your fever" Ron said and handed him the fever fudge.

"Red side first" Ron said and picked up Harry's tray "Better eat it at once it'll take a minute to affect you"

"Thanks" He replied and ate the red part it too tasted surprisingly good considering what it did.

They left the room and walked all the stairs down to the kitchen. By now, Harry really felt sick he could tell he had a high fever.

"Ready" Ron asked him a moment before he opened the kitchen door. He was the last one to enter everyone one else was already seated he only just noticed Fleur before he looked down on the floor.

"Hello dears" Mrs Weasley exclaimed when they entered. But then when she looked a bit closer at Harry she added "Harry you're looking ill"

"Yeah I feel a little hot" He said innocently, a little hot was the understatement of the decade.

Mrs Weasley practically ran over to him and put her hand on his forehead "You have a fever!" She said accusingly. She put her arm around him and pulled him all the way to his bed.

"Don't worry Harry dear it's probably just a nasty cold judging by your nose bleeds. Charley always have nose bleeds when he is ill"

Harry pulled the covers over him he was freezing.

"Do you need anything? A pain reducing potion?" She asked him gently.

"No" He said quickly hoping not to worry her too much.

"You have to drink anyway" She said "I'll send Ron with something"

"Thanks" Harry said and Mrs Weasley walked out of the room.

Harry quickly swallowed the Blue part of the Fever fudge. It was wonderful he felt a freezing sensation spreading through his body and the fever was gone almost immediately. He felt guilty about tricking Mrs Weasley that he was ill, but it couldn't be helped.

He picked up his book and continued to read. He read about different shielding charms from curse deflection to physical damage reduction to Flame freezing charms. This was a very long chapter and he had only read about one tenth of it when Ron entered the room.

"Told you she was faster then Snape" Ron said.

"Yeah, yeah whatever" Harry said.

"Brought you some food" Ron said as he placed a tray on his bed.

"Thanks"

"Reading again?" Ron asked him.

"Yeah" Harry said.

"I'll have to talk about this with the twins maybe they can help you" Ron said as if Harry was dying of an incurable illness.

Harry smiled "They won't do any good they are series businessmen now remember?"

"I didn't think it would come to this point Harry but I may have to relive you from your misery" Ron joked.

"Do you think that's necessary?" Harry asked as if they were talking about a nasty medicine.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is Harry" Ron said seriously in a perfect doctor imitation "Normally in cases such as yours, we recommend the imperius curse but you seem to have developed an immunity against it…"

"Right" Harry said gloomily, as if he knew that it was all for his own good.

"I'll send for Nurse Granger, to have you ex…" Ron said but got interrupted by Harry

"Do you think Fleur is under the Imperius Curse" Harry said urgently. Maybe Fleur wasn't really evil after all, maybe she was being used too. Harry's heart rate doubled in an instant, he hoped so badly that this was the case.

"Maybe" Ron said "Let's ask Hermione"

"Yeah where is she?" Harry asked him.

"Helping mum, she doesn't really approve of you skiving off" Ron replied "Says it will be very hard to find out anything about Fleur without you"

Harry couldn't believe how insensitive Hermione was, he had expected her rather then Ron to understand his feelings.

"Let's look it up in your book" Ron said as he saw Harry s furious expression.

"Yeah" Harry agreed and flipped to the index.

"Impedimenta… Imperius Offensive spell Page 643, 150, 1067, 872" He read aloud and tapped '643' with his wand. It was rather common that more expensive books had searching charms in them he hoped that this book was one of those. Sure enough, the number '643' glow bright gold for a moment and then the pages started to flip as if a strong wind blew them over. They stopped flipping a few moments later and Harry could see the page number on the current page glowing slightly it was page '643'.

"How expensive was this book anyway" Harry asked Ron.

"Don't know, quite expensive, every one was really generous especially the OWL takers they all felt that they had done great on the exams. And I guess that it was proven that you-know-who was back helped too." Ron said thoughtfully.

"Hope not all of them expect birthday gifts now" Harry joked.

"No, we got you that book as payback" Ron said and then added jokingly "But you better get me a nice present"

"Right" Said Harry smiling slightly, he looked down from Ron into the book. Mostly the book described how to cast the curse; it also suggested that you train to overcome it since there is no way of blocking it magically. 'Se page 150 for further details about throwing off the imperius curse' he read at the end of the page.

"Not much here" Harry said "Only the dueling part"

"Look at the other pages" Ron suggested.

"Yeah all right" Harry said and flicked over to page 872. The chapter was called 'Recognize your friends and foes in battle' and at the top of the page it said 'Recognizing the imperius curse'

"This is it" Harry said triumphantly. He had for a moment thought that the book couldn't help him.

"The imperius curse is one of the most feared and most useful curses in battle. Often the winning side is decided by how many warlocks that can withstand the imperius curse. Commonly the imperius curse is used rather then the killing curse in battle since it is more useful. The caster usually commands the subject to recast the curse on his friends and give them the same objectives, there by starting a chain effect. Huge battles have been lost and won by the imperius curse especially when it was newly created. The fall of Egypt is perhaps the most widely known tragedy of the imperius curse." Harry read aloud. "It is hard to recognize the imperius curse, especially in battle before it is too late. However it is not impossible the most common way of discovering it is by recasting the curse on the subject and command them to throw it off, this is a foolproof way. If you are unable to perform the imperius, you can if you know the subject in question often recognize differences in their behaviour. Victims of the imperius curse tend to lose focus on the present as they try to fight it. The stronger the subject in question is the longer they tend to 'drift off'. If this happens, look the subject in his or hers eyes and check if they are focusing on anything if not try to determine if they move their eyes. Subjects of the imperius curse tend to move their eyes rapidly followed by periods of stillness. A final way of determining the imperius curse is to perform the True Soul Charm (see page 417) which is most commonly used to detect if a person is being possessed (see page 574 for how to posses people). This is a very complex charm as it involves soul reading and should not be performed by anyone except by healers as the subject leaps a great risk of going mad or worse"

They sat in silence for a moment.

"That's it" Ron asked "We can't find out unless perform the imperius curse?"

"Unless I manage to see her fight it" Harry said sadly. He might have a chance to see Fleur fight the imperius if he spends time with her.

The door handle squeaked slightly and the door opened. Hermione entered the room.

"Hello Darling" Harry called to Hermione. He felt a sudden need to be nasty.

"Cut it out Harry" Ron said angrily.

Hermione blushed slightly.

"We have been reading about the imperius curse" Ron informed her "We think that Fleur might be controlled"

"Yes why do you think I said that Harry needs to spend time with her" Hermione replied.

"You could have told us" Harry said crossly.

"I thought it was obvious" Hermione said irritably.

"You should have told us anyway" Harry said accusingly in a loud voice, it would have saved him a lot of heartache if she had.

"Why so you can call me a know it all again that got eleven Os? You even told me that any one who gets eleven Os can't be sane" Hermione replied tears filling up in her eyes.

"Sorry" Harry muttered he had forgotten that he had yelled at her the previous night and figured that he had more things to apologize for "I'm sorry about what I said about your parents too"

She smiled sadly at him "I'm sorry I used Lying Liquorice on you"

"You already said that" Harry replied hoping to raise the mood.

Ron's eyes grew wide "Why don't we use it on her" He exclaimed.

"On Fleur?" Harry asked.

"It's no good Ron" Hermione said "It's too risky, we would blow our cover and there is no guarantee that we get any answers from her and if she is under the imperius I don't think it would work at all. Besides Bill is leaving first thing tomorrow so you'll have a clear field"

Harry agreed with her but didn't say so; any other way then to spend time with Fleur would be a good way to find out about any eventual imperius curse. However, if he had to spend time with Fleur it would be nice if Bill left the house.

"How can we be sure that she doesn't do anything?" Asked Ron "I mean it might be dangerous"

"Yeah" Agreed Harry quickly he wasn't really scared of Fleur but he was going to take every reason out of this.

"Don't be silly Harry, she'd had several chances on killing you already besides we will be watching you" Hermione said calmly "and Remus knows, he won't let anything happen"

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Thanks for all the wonderful reviews; next chapter is called "Another Sorrow"!