Disclaimer: I own none of the characters except for Joe, Andrea, Mike,
Bruce, Louis, Anna and Jacob. Oh, also note that the letters Harry sent
are completely stupid but I had nothing to do for a chapter and I thought
we would check back out in the waiting room. Oh well.Please R/R!! Thanks.
When the world finally turned light again, he sat up startled as he glanced around at his surroundings.
'Right, the hospital.' Harry breathed out a sigh of relief; glad he was no longer trapped in his memories. His stomach gave a jerk as he realized what he saw, what the Aurors would see. They would watch Voldemort brand him with the Dark Mark. He could just remove the memory, he reasoned as he felt the wet path of tears that was on his face. But if he did that, then he would have to enter the pensieve again to see the new memory he had placed in it. No, he decided after a while, he couldn't go back in and live it a third time. Everyone would just have to know the truth. He just hoped they'd accept him.
That afternoon Harry studied. Normally the only time he did this was for exams or tests but as of recently he thought it essential to his life. He was tired of being unprepared; tired of letting other people die while he escaped with luck.
The little rule of no magic over the summer seemed insignificant in light of recent activities. Besides, he's just love to have a word alone with Fudge. Right now, he wasn't so sure the minister wouldn't expel him. After all, he had used an Unforgivable Curse, which led him to the other thought that was preoccupying his mind.
He had preformed wandless magic, a fact he had not been aware of until going in to the pensieve, as he was kind of out of it at the time. Which brought up another question-how did he survive? He had a sneaking suspicion that maybe it was the wandless magic that kept him from dying. Maybe some sort of 'don't die spell'. Harry shook his head-that sounded stupid even in his head. He pushed all thoughts out of his head and picked up his transfiguration book and tried to turn his lamp into a dog.
After fifteen minutes, he had managed to get a dog shape but instead of wagging it's tail when it was happy, it's eyes glowed a golden color, which was kind of scary in a way-like it was possessed. Changing it back, he slumped against the pillow in his bed and tapped the wand against his head trying to figure it out.
'Why do I even need this? If I want a dog, I'll just go to the pet store.' He fumed as he muttered the words one more time. To his surprise, a golden retriever sat in the place the lamp was and barked happily. Perfect. Harry smiled happily and turned the dog back into a lamp before grabbing a pencil and writing 'Max' on the lamp.
'All dogs should have a name.' He thought cheerily as he hummed a tune in his head. He vaguely thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do that cheering charm on himself but paid no heed to his inner voice. Instead, he threw aside his transfiguration book and grabbed his Potions one.
Contrary to most of the Gryffindors' beliefs, he actually liked potions. The skills of being a potion master were probably more important that if you were a transfiguration master, if there was such a thing. Seriously, what good would it be if you were up against Voldemort and you learned how to transfigure a rock into a bird? 'If only Snape wasn't the teacher.' Harry thought with a sigh as he began studying the uses of a griffin's blood.
An hour later, he was still reading, pausing every once in a while to think, 'Ha! Snape's not going to get me with this!' before reading again. A knock barely disrupted him from his book, as he simply called out 'Come in.' still not taking his eyes away from the text.
"Hey Harry." Dr. Joe said as he peered around the door.
"Hi Joe." He muttered, still looking at his book.
"How are you feeling today?" He asked, stepping into the room.
"Sickened." He said as he scrunched up his face.
Looking concerned, he rushed over to Harry's bed all ready to perform a spell. "How? What's wrong?"
"They use animals in fizzing wiz-bees. I don't think I could ever eat another." Harry said, oblivious to the doctor's concern.
Sighing in relief, Joe settled himself on the end of his bed. "Geez. Don't say that-I thought you were hurt." Harry looked up apologetically. "Anyway, I just came to tell you that I'll be leaving for a couple of days." This got Harry's attention as he snapped the book shut and looked up.
"Why?"
"I have a doctor's convention." He said, smiling at the disappointment the young man showed about his news.
"Now who will I talk to?" Harry pouted.
"I bet there are twenty people outside just dying to talk to you." He said, gesturing towards the door.
"I don't want to. Oh!" Harry jumped out of his bed and ran across the room and grabbed a couple of objects. "Can you give this to Arabella Figg?" He gave the doctor the pensieve. "And.could you wait a minute? I'm going to write a couple of notes." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his pencil and began writing away.
Dr. Joe just nodded as he glanced around the room. His eyes landed on the lamp with the name Max on it.
"Harry? Why does that lamp have a name?" He asked, not taking his eyes off it.
Harry rolled his eyes and laughed. "Every dog needs a name." He said as he reached for a new sheet of paper to continue writing on.
"I'm not going to comment on that and just hope it's not a hallucination."
"It's not. I'm not crazy-I think." Harry said as he folded up a piece of paper and scribbled a name on it. "All done. Give these to the people's whose names are on it." He handed the doctor about ten pieces of paper. "When are you leaving on your trip?"
"Three days. And I will deliver these notes. Get some sleep-and try not to give anymore names to inanimate objects."
"Aww. Ruin my fun." Harry said as he opened his Potions book again and began reading. "Have fun on your trip." The doctor nodded and left the room.
Outside in the waiting room, around twenty people all sat talking. It was the same group from a couple of days ago but now everyone seemed so much more alive.
"Excuse me." Joe said as he entered the room. "Arabella Figg?" The same woman from before stood up and crossed over to where the doctor was.
"Yes?"
"This is from Harry." He gave her the pensieve and immediately her eyes darkened and filled with sorrow.
"Thank you." She whispered quietly as she sat back down next to Sirius who gave her shoulder a brief squeeze before turning back to the doctor.
"Oh, and Harry also wants me to give these notes to.Ron." Ron immediately came up and grabbed the note. "Hermione." She did the same. "Sirius, Ari, Hagrid, this one's addressed to the Weasley family, Dumbledore and the Hogwarts staff, and Neville." After a few minutes, everybody was seated with a note. The doctor walked away, simply wondering how he had written all these notes in less than ten minutes.
"Should we read them aloud?" Hermione asked, glancing up from her note.
"I suppose. Unless it's too personal." Mrs. Weasley said as she glanced at Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore-the only four who would get the personal notes. The first three murmured 'no'.
Dumbledore commented that he would keep some parts to himself and gestured for the others to commence reading.
"I'll go first." Hagrid said as he opened the note. "Dear Hagrid, I wanted to say thanks for everything-saving me from the Dursleys," A couple people laughed at this, "being my friend, Hedwig-she was my first birthday gift you know-and for being so supportive as a friend and a teacher. I hope you had a good summer doing the 'secret business'-which I think I figured out where you went." Here, the half-giant blushed and continued reading, "I just want everybody to know that me being locked in my room was my choice and not done to hurt any of you. Thanks for everything." Hagrid wiped away a tear and held his note to him, like it was a precious object.
"I'll read ours." Mrs. Weasley said as she opened hers up and cleared her throat.
"Dear all the Weasleys (except Ron 'cause he has his own letter) I wanted to thank you all for everything. Since the second year, you all have been the closest thing I've had to a family-with the exception of the Figgs and Sirius. I can't tell you how it felt to be welcomed into your family. For the first time ever, I had brothers and sisters and the closest things to parents I'll ever have. I just wanted to say thanks for making me feel loved and needed-and not needed in the way that the wizarding world thinks of me-but like a family does. I love you all. Harry."
At this point, Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and hugged Arthur so hard it looked like he was going to snap in half. Ginny was hugging Bill and Charlie-all had watery smiles on their faces. Even Fred and George looked serious as they linked arms with Percy who was trying his best not to look as happy as he felt.
"Mine isn't really a note." Ari said as she opened her piece of paper. She flipped it around and showed a very realistic sketch of both the Figg women and Sirius, smiling brightly. "On the back it says: Ari-I did this sketch a while ago and thought you should have it. I put what happened into the pensieve and you may show it to the Aurors if you like but I would prefer if you saw it without them first to decide for yourself. Memories are very personal so don't share mine with the world. A word of advice-take someone with you, Sirius and Dumbledore would be best. Don't let Ron and Hermione look if you can help it, but knowing them it wouldn't do much good."
"That's all it says." She said as she folded the paper back up and placed the pensieve in her lap to keep it safe.
"I can read a little of mine." Sirius said next.
"Dear Sirius,
After this experience happened, a few words popped into my mind. They were 'Voldemort sucks.' I don't blame anyone for what happened except me-or Sarah Evans-though that isn't really nice so I'll just blame myself. My dad did an incredible job of picking a godfather-I couldn't ask for a better one. I love you like a father and don't worry about me staying in my room. If you were me and you heard all that stuff, would you want to face anybody? Give me a few days and I'll be better. Thank you for being there for me this summer. Harry." Sirius wiped a tear from his eye and rested his head on Ari's shoulder. If anybody had any comments on what Harry meant in the letter, they kept them quiet.
"My turn, I suppose." Ron said as he unfolded his letter.
"Dear Ron,
You know you're like a brother to me so I don't need to write down that stuff. You and Hermione have been two anchors in my life and I'd probably go crazy without you guys. Oh, and by the way, I heard you this morning and I must tell you that I did lock myself in my room and I just need some time by myself but it would mean a lot knowing you support my decisions. I miss you and Hermione a lot and I can't wait for school to start so I can get out of here and go back home. Which makes me wonder-have the doctors said I could use a broomstick yet? I haven't asked but I really want to fly again. I'll see you all soon. Harry."
"Now mine." Hermione began reading her note.
"Dear Hermy,
I have done something so incredible that it would make you proud. I studied! Let's see if Voldemort can catch me unprepared this time! Oh, just wondering, you know that Spew thing? Can we do something with that for Fudge? That imbecile-he lost my vote for re-election. Also, I have something really big to tell you and Ron but I'll wait for later. It involves the library and books that is if Professor Dumbledore says I can tell you. I don't really need to explain anything to you about my room barricading because I'm sure you'll understand. See you guys soon. Harry."
"Hermy?" Ron teased.
"Oh shut up Ronnikins!" He scowled at her before letting out a groan.
"Oh no. We have to go to the library again. This will be another Sorcerers Stone thing-won't it?"
"Probably. And it's S.P.E.W.!" she muttered as she glanced through the letter. "Professor Dumbledore-is it alright?"
"Yes, it's fine. Do I read mine now?" Everybody nodded. "Okay, but I warn you I may need to cut stuff out."
"Dear Headmaster and Professors (Lupin, if you're there, I'm counting you too),
First, I want to say that I'm very angry with you Professor for not telling me. Next, I need to figure out the-oops. Can't read that" Dumbledore muttered as he skipped ahead. "I have been studying for a little bit and I also need to talk to you about something in the pensieve so I need you to go check it. Professor Snape-if he's there, if not, tell him that I actually do pick up my book in the summer and I won't give him a chance to fail me. Professor McGonagall, really, what is the purpose of changing my lamp into a dog? How will I use that?" Dumbledore's eyes scanned the rest of the page before declaring it was too personal to read.
Both of the Professors mentioned were there but both had different expressions.
"That Potter boy! Just wait till he steps into my classroom." He said, eyes glowing with menace.
"Transfiguration is useful!" McGonagall declared, stopping Snape from his plans of torture.
"Of course it is Minerva." Snape said mockingly as she glared at him.
"Neville, would you like to read yours?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring two of his staff that were trying to blow each other up just by glaring.
"No sir. It's kind of personal. Mostly is says that he was glad I talked to him and that he felt really comfortable around me." He said shyly.
"Okay then. If we have no more business here, I think we," He gestured, meaning the other two teachers who were now cracking their knuckles at each other, "Should go. Good day." He swept past the others and grabbed Snape's and McGonagall's elbows and began to talk about licorice flavors.
Back in the hospital room, Harry was still reading, this time his charm book. A knock at the door brought him out of his reading-almost like déjà vu about half an hour ago with the doctor. Instead of the doctor poking his head in, a young teen, around Harry's age, poked her head through the door.
"Hi." She said cheerily as she entered fully. She was dressed in all white, much like the doctors and nurses.
"Um, hi." He said unsurely. No one else had entered his room besides the doctors and maybe a nurse or two. "Who are you?"
"Andrea, a volunteer for the hospital." She said as she grabbed a chair and maneuvered it so it was facing the bed and she was two feet away from him.
"Oh. What are you doing here?" He asked gesturing to the room.
"I'm here to see if you want anything to eat. No, correction, you can't eat anything unless you can slurp it through a straw." At his confused look she added, "You have a healing hole in your stomach-you need to have liquids for a couple days so they'll go down easier. Here." She passed him a menu with several types of drinks on it.
"So the next few day I can only have drinks?" He asked as he looked over the menu.
"Oh and Jell-o."
"Jell-o." He stared at her from over the top of the paper.
"Tricky substance Jell-o. Is it a liquid or a solid?" She smiled as she began picking up a couple of his schoolbooks that he threw to the floor a while ago.
"Is it good Jell-o? I heard hospital food was gross."
"Oh the food's good. It's just the Jell-o that's nasty."
"Just my luck." He muttered as she looked sympathetically at him. He stopped studying his menu a while ago and was now looking at her. She was actually pretty, Harry thought. She had black hair that ran to her shoulders and clear deep blue eyes that were sparkled with life. Her skin bordered on pale but with just a touch of peachiness that made her look friendly. She was probably only around five foot two he decided as she sat on the chair again. Despite her appearance, he only felt friendship for her and knew that was all that would ever be between them.
"Umm.Just out of curiosity, has Edna the nurse came into your room yet?" She asked, eyes shining with amusement. "Yesterday she's went on and on about how she wanted to give you a sponge bath."
Harry's eyes widened in horror as he felt his cheeks begin to burn. "Oh God." He buried his head in his pillow and felt like he should bang his head against the wall.
"Don't worry. I'll try and keep her out." She laughed at his expression of relief.
"Thanks, can I just have water?" He asked, handing her back the menu.
"Just water. You need something with substance.get pumpkin juice."
"What's wrong with water?"
"Nothing, it just looks like you haven't eaten in days." At his look she blushed slightly, "Oops, bad expression. Anyway, you can have both."
"Fine." He said as he threw his hands in the hair and leaned back against the pillow.
Pulling the tray forward she quickly shouted the request. Instantly, the two drinks appeared and she handed them to him. "It's a perk of staying in a wizard hospital."
"Sort of like Hogwarts." He said as he grabbed the water.
"I suppose. I've never been there myself."
"Really?" He asked, he hadn't noticed an accent.
"Yeah-Beauxbaton. Je parle francais et anglais."
"Oh. What's it like there?" He asked. He understood the words enough to guess the meaning.
For around fifteen minutes she began explaining everything she knew about it and he listened, enthralled.
"Now I want to go to that school." He whined as he reached for the pumpkin juice that was still sitting on the tray. She smiled that 'I told you so' smile and he glared.
"Yeah but now I want to transfer to Hogwarts. I think they have better teachers."
"I suppose. I never checked around about other teachers. All of them are okay. Except for Snape. He has it in for me." He said, setting the glass down.
A twinkle of amusement was in her eyes when he said the last statement. "Really? Why?"
"Oh." He waved his hand dismissively, "My father and him didn't like each other so now he's carrying an old grudge and hates me too. If you're volunteering, will you get in trouble for staying with me?"
"I don't think so. If anybody asks though, I left five minutes after I got here and then went to the third floor." Andrea said with a smile. Her eyes glanced around the room as she noticed a Potions book lying near the bed. "So, do you throw all your books on the floor, or just the ones you don't like?"
"Oops." He replied sheepishly as she propped it against his legs and sat back down on the chair.
"Let's go for a walk!" She suggested suddenly, springing to her feet.
"Now? How do I know you're not trying to kill me or something?" He asked suspiciously.
"Because I'm asking you to go for a walk with me in a crowded hospital not go into some back alley and hand over your wand." Andrea sighed exasperatedly.
"Fine, fine." He said, putting his hands up in defense. "Just let me get dressed." In a few minutes, he emerged, fully dressed in new muggles clothes that he bought with the Figgs and Sirius on his birthday.
"You clean up well, Potter." She said as she gripped his arm and dragged him out of the room. "I hate hospital rooms-they're yucky." She made a face and he laughed.
"Did you ever think that maybe working in a hospital was not your calling?" He joked as they walked down the hallway.
"Well I figured it out now. Maybe a teacher or something." She said thoughtfully.
"I hate to ruin this walk but can we steer clear of the waiting room?" He asked, glancing around nervously.
"Oh yeah.you're the person who requested no visitors. We just have to be careful." She said as she pulled him around the corner and peered over it at the open area where the waiting room was. "Okay, I say we cross at the nurses station, which is right across from the waiting room, then run quickly."
"Great plan." Harry muttered sarcastically as they crept cautiously to the nurses' station. Once it was a foot away, they both dived behind it.
Andrea was softly humming the Mission Impossible song and got louder each step.
"Will you cut that out?" He asked, smacking her on the back of the head gently.
"Sorry." She whispered, trying not to laugh. Finally, they dived across the open space and entered another corridor, safely out of view of the waiting room. "Whew. That was fun." Harry simply stared at her. "Let's go up two floors."
"What's two floors up?" Harry wondered out loud as they made their way towards the stairwell.
"The sixth floor."
"Very NOT funny. Seriously, though."
"It's a secret tradition that I accidentally stumbled upon." She quickly ran up the stairs, Harry following close behind her. When he reached the top, he glanced around the floor. It looked like his floor except there were more people in the waiting room-all looking like they had been hexed. He watched two guys with antlers start to compare whose were bigger before they started ramming their heads together.
"I know it's a little wild up here."Andrea said slowly as she glanced around the room.
"It's okay. Who needs the Discovery Channel when you have this going on two floors above you." She gave him a smile before motioning him to follow her down one of the corridors. They walked for a couple of minutes until she paused at one door and then knocked three times before swinging the door open.
Inside, Harry was greeted with a scene that reminded him vaguely of those old westerns or mob movies that Dudley used to watch. Five figures were sitting hunched over a table that Harry assumed had once been a bed. It was hard to make out the people's features as a hazy fog of cigarette and cigar smoke hovered in the air. As they approached, the shapes became more defined and he could just glimpse round disks scattered all over the table haphazardly and five hands fanning out cards in front of them.
"You brought me to a poker game?" He asked Andrea, turning towards her in disbelief.
"A famous poker game." She sighed as she waved to all the players and was rewarded with a chorus of 'hello-s'.
"Well? Are you going to sit down?" A man grunted out as he waved his wand creating two chairs. She strode forward casually, dragging Harry along with her. As they went deeper into the room, Harry was sure that the smoke would choke him. Instead, it smelled more of cinnamon, vanilla and strawberries-not the least bit unpleasant.
He quickly sat down next to Andrea who was starting a conversation with a man to her left.
"Come on, Louis! I just need five. Besides you owe me." She pleaded. While 'Louis' was silently thinking her request over, Harry took the moment to study him.
He was probably around fifty-five, as his dark hair had small flecks of gray. But that was the only clue to his age. His skin was a rich brown, smooth and flawless with laugh lines around his mouth etched into his skin. The only odd thing that struck Harry about his appearance was the dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. Louis sighed as he bent over to the side of his chair and straightened up with five of the circular objects in his hand.
"Fine. Here you go. Is he playing too?" Louis pointed at Harry who at the time had been studying the people around the table.
"Harry? Do you know how to play poker?" Andrea asked grabbing the disks Louis held out to her.
"No." He replied as he looked into her hand that grabbed the items. "Those are Oreos." He stated in disbelief. He glanced back at the center of the table where piles of Oreos were sitting. "You play with Oreos-the stakes must be high." He muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh shut it. You can't even play poker." She turned back to Louis and told him that Harry would be playing with her. Harry looked around at the other four members.
Two were women and two were men. The woman closet to Harry looked to be about twenty-five. She had curly blond hair that stopped right around her shoulders. She had hazel eyes that were now concentrating on her cards as she bit her bottom lip and moved a card around in her hand. When she noticed Harry looking at her, she smiled warmly, a gesture that Harry returned.
"Hi. I'm Anna." She held out a hand across the table for Harry to shake. He leaned over the table and gripped it briefly before sitting back down. "This is Mike," She pointed to a cheery man with slightly shaggy sandy blonde hair and pale green eyes. He waved back with one hand as he straightened a small pile of Oreos. "And this is Jacob." A man with gray hair with silver at the temples lifted a brushy eyebrow and focused his black eyes on Harry. His moustache twitched as he smiled hesitantly. "And last but not least, this is Bruce." Anna could barely stifle her laugh as Harry's eyes widened at the person named Bruce. He, or she by the looks of it, had beautiful blue eyes and creamy white skin. His/her blonde hair was long and straight but curled near the end. He/She would have been beautiful if his/her eyebrows weren't scrunched together and a pout wasn't held firmly on Bruce's lips.
"What are you looking at?" A gruff voice said from Bruce's mouth. A most definitely male voice.
"S-sorry." Harry stuttered as he dropped his gaze to the table.
"He's just a little grumpy because we all found out he's a closet cross dresser." Louis said, causing the others to burst out into laughter.
"More like he had a sex change. It's more then just clothes." Mike said as Bruce glared at him.
"You're just jealous because you want a piece of this." Bruce said to Louis, standing on his chair and smacking his ass before sitting down again. Harry's eyes widened as everybody else burst out laughing.
"You know you checked yourself out in a mirror before you came." Anna snorted as she laid a card down. "One, please." She said to Louis, which he promptly gave her.
"Let's not forget we have an innocent here." Jacob pointed out as he got two new cards.
"What? I'm not innocent?" Andrea asked with a pout.
"Ha! That's a laugh. Who's your friend, anyway?" Louis said before adding. "I can't see because of these," He gestured to his shades, "And the smoke."
"Why do you have the glasses?" Harry asked.
"I was trying an experimental charm for night vision and I ended up with these." He whipped the glasses off and bright yellow light flooded the room. Harry's jaw dropped as he stared at his eyes that looked as though flashlights had been placed in them. Louis quickly put his glasses on.
"Wow. What happened to you guys?"
"Well," Mike began, "If I didn't have these legs restraints on, then I'd be bouncing off the walls-literally." Harry peered over the table and sure enough, his legs jittered under the ropes wrapped around his legs.
"I have wings." Anna declared as she stood up and stretched out white bird- like wings that reached to her knees. Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed them before.
Jacob cleared his throat before speaking, and said in a deep baritone voice that to Harry sounded a bit Russian, "I have three legs."
Mike snickered at this and when Jacob looked at him his laughing ceased but he quickly added. "Jake is a tripod." This set everybody off again.
"Better a 'tripod' then what Bruce is." He mumbled, earning a glare from Bruce and a howl of laughter from Mike.
"I guess I don't need to explain that I'm a man turned women." Bruce said as he threw a cookie at Mike, which he caught skillfully in his mouth. "We still don't know who you are."
"I'm Harry Potter."
All noises stopped: Mike nearly choked on his cookie, Anna sat with mouth agape, both Bruce and Jake were gaping like fish out of water and Louis, finding the whole situation funny, smiled as he glanced around the table. Harry felt a blush creeping up
Mike was the first to recover. "Holy Cricket! You must know my brother then. He's your dorm mate. The name Finnegan ring any bells?"
"You're Seamus' brother?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Half-brother, but yeah." Mike smiled back and then started to sort out his cards.
"Oh my God." Bruce whined, "Don't tell me I just slapped my ass in front of Harry Potter?" The last part came out slightly mumbled since he had placed his head in his arms and was now pressed up against the desk.
"Oh don't worry Bruce. It's not like he'd recognize you anyway when you changed back." Anna teased. Bruce looked up, his face cracking into a small smile.
"Let's just get back to playing. I don't fancy having to change everything back to normal when that nurse makes her rounds." Louis muttered. Everyone around the table nodded as the game began again. Two hours the game lasted and six hands that were dealt, and not one of the games played correctly or with out cheating. Mike would constantly use the tips of his toes to make the chair bounce so he could see over the cards, Anna tried using her wings to fly overhead, but was grounded by Jacob. Louis occasionally took off his sun-glasses, blinding everyone to try and peak at their cards and Bruce tried out his 'feminine' charms as a method of persuasion. Eventually the nurse came around and dragged everybody out, declaring it was a 'hospital, not a casino.'
"It was nice meeting you." Jacob said as he shook Harry's hand, nodded at Andrea before disappearing through a door down the hall.
Anna stepped up to him next, enveloping him into a big hug, before moving over to Andrea and doing the same. "See-ya later. Visit us if you're ever in the mood for more poker." She waved cheerily before going behind a corner.
"You play a mean game of poker." Mike said to both as Bruce strapped him to a wheel chair. Straightening up, Bruce shook both their hands, gave a brief nod and began to wheel Mike out of the hallway. "Tell Seamus I said hello!" Mike called right before they disappeared into a room.
Andrea grabbed Harry's hand and steered him back down the two flights of stairs back to his floor. When they ducked behind the nurses' station, Harry joined her in singing the Mission Impossible song. After only two hours, he felt his heart considerably lighten and the vibrant spark was returning to his eyes again.
"Well, I better go. I don't think the staff is going to buy my excuse that I was lost again. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest or else the doctor will have my neck." She joked lightly as she opened his door.
"I thought the expression was that they'll have your head." He asked.
"Well they already have that I suppose so one must move lower. I really do need to go now, but I'll see you later." With that, she turned and walked the opposite direction, her hair swishing behind her as she went farther and farther down the hallway. Harry felt his lips curve up into a grin as he went into his room and shut the door behind him. Peeling back the covers, he climbed back into his bed, grabbing a discarded charm book and propping it on his legs. He had just started reading about element shifting charms when the day's events played in his head. It had felt good to be out around people again, people who were carefree and didn't worry every moment of their life if Voldemort was plotting to kill someone close to them. People who didn't know him as intimately as his friends and surrogate family. People who were friends with Harry because of his light and darkness, not just the childhood innocence he possessed a millennium ago. Because Harry did have darkness stirring in him, waiting to bubble to the surface and control him by overpowering the light and forever blackening his soul. The last person who had known was Dorothy, and look what happened to her.
Thinking back to that night, the last image she had ever seen of him was him stabbing her in the leg-fighting for control of his body. A tear slid slowly down his cheek as he remembered the night again, how it felt when Voldemort had placed the curse on him. The sensation of peace still overpowered his mind, trying to regain that feeling again. Pushing the thoughts out of his head, he glanced at the scroll that he had unconsciously brought out of his trunk. The Defense Against the Dark Arts Summer Assignment. He vaguely recalled Dumbledore assigning it after Crouch had been...disposed of.
'How do mind control spells like the Imperious affect the target?'
How appropriate for the thoughts he had just been having. An idea struck Harry as his eyes widened as he reached his quill and ink. The quill flew furiously across the page, and then three more as his thoughts exceeded the mandatory amount. Setting the parchment down finally, he eased the cramps out of his hand, smearing the traces of ink left behind. Well that took care of his DADA essay, he thought as he placed it on the tray that was resting in front of him. He glanced at the clock resting on his side table: it was 5:30. Feeling his head begin to get fuzzy, he snuggled down under the covers, taking a brief rest before dinner. Harry missed the quiet sound of his door creaking open as Dr. Johansson stepped inside the dimming room.
The familiar golden light from his spell illuminated the room briefly, then disappearing when he flicked his wrist. Walking over, he capped the lid over his ink and rested the quill on top of a napkin so it wouldn't soak through his bed sheets. Noticing the parchment, he gingerly picked it up, whispering a lumos spell to give him some light.
'How do mind control spells like the Imperious affect the target?'
Curses like the Imperious are known to have control over the mind and body.
Dr. Joe skimmed ahead as the beginning was all theory and the use it has and cases it was used in. At the end of the second page, began reading again.
Many people have believed that this curse controls the mind, but my theory is that it is just the body reacting to the power of it. When placed under this curse, the target feels peace and happiness surrounding it so it persuades the mind into ignoring the fact that it is no longer in control of it's body. People suffering from exhaustion, physical and emotionally, are usually no longer able to counteract the curse and simply follow through with the caster's commands. It is also said that a strong will can pull the target out from under the curse's control. My theory also says that the body has to know there is something worth surviving or fighting for on the outside so it will stop itself from fighting the mind and let the targets mind gain control of it's body again. It has to feel that the peace it feels at that moment is artificial or insignificant compared to the emotions that their world has to offer. When the body finally agrees to let the body see through the haze it will notice the voice is not as soothing as before, the happiness and peace were just illusions and the heavenly like world they had drifted into is just Hell hiding behind a mask to lure it's unsuspecting victims.
In awe at what this young boy had written, he stared at him before skipping ahead some more and ending at the end of the last page.
The real question is not how much power it has or what happened in the past but it is what does the Imperious Curse's power limits it to. What if it isn't just solid things, like creatures and humans? What if it can control energy, manipulating it to the target's will instead of its master?
Dropping the paper quickly and then righting it on the tray again, Dr. Johansson ran out of the room. He had an owl to send.
********
A/N: That was actually two chapters combined so it is really long. I have finally decided on the pairing of Harry/Draco.as you could probably tell because my story is now in that section.
Thanks to the two people who reviewed. I think I'll update more frequently now and more regularly. I can't think of anything else to say besides that this is going to be pre-slash for a while and Draco doesn't even enter for a couple of chapters. Keep reviewing!!
When the world finally turned light again, he sat up startled as he glanced around at his surroundings.
'Right, the hospital.' Harry breathed out a sigh of relief; glad he was no longer trapped in his memories. His stomach gave a jerk as he realized what he saw, what the Aurors would see. They would watch Voldemort brand him with the Dark Mark. He could just remove the memory, he reasoned as he felt the wet path of tears that was on his face. But if he did that, then he would have to enter the pensieve again to see the new memory he had placed in it. No, he decided after a while, he couldn't go back in and live it a third time. Everyone would just have to know the truth. He just hoped they'd accept him.
That afternoon Harry studied. Normally the only time he did this was for exams or tests but as of recently he thought it essential to his life. He was tired of being unprepared; tired of letting other people die while he escaped with luck.
The little rule of no magic over the summer seemed insignificant in light of recent activities. Besides, he's just love to have a word alone with Fudge. Right now, he wasn't so sure the minister wouldn't expel him. After all, he had used an Unforgivable Curse, which led him to the other thought that was preoccupying his mind.
He had preformed wandless magic, a fact he had not been aware of until going in to the pensieve, as he was kind of out of it at the time. Which brought up another question-how did he survive? He had a sneaking suspicion that maybe it was the wandless magic that kept him from dying. Maybe some sort of 'don't die spell'. Harry shook his head-that sounded stupid even in his head. He pushed all thoughts out of his head and picked up his transfiguration book and tried to turn his lamp into a dog.
After fifteen minutes, he had managed to get a dog shape but instead of wagging it's tail when it was happy, it's eyes glowed a golden color, which was kind of scary in a way-like it was possessed. Changing it back, he slumped against the pillow in his bed and tapped the wand against his head trying to figure it out.
'Why do I even need this? If I want a dog, I'll just go to the pet store.' He fumed as he muttered the words one more time. To his surprise, a golden retriever sat in the place the lamp was and barked happily. Perfect. Harry smiled happily and turned the dog back into a lamp before grabbing a pencil and writing 'Max' on the lamp.
'All dogs should have a name.' He thought cheerily as he hummed a tune in his head. He vaguely thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do that cheering charm on himself but paid no heed to his inner voice. Instead, he threw aside his transfiguration book and grabbed his Potions one.
Contrary to most of the Gryffindors' beliefs, he actually liked potions. The skills of being a potion master were probably more important that if you were a transfiguration master, if there was such a thing. Seriously, what good would it be if you were up against Voldemort and you learned how to transfigure a rock into a bird? 'If only Snape wasn't the teacher.' Harry thought with a sigh as he began studying the uses of a griffin's blood.
An hour later, he was still reading, pausing every once in a while to think, 'Ha! Snape's not going to get me with this!' before reading again. A knock barely disrupted him from his book, as he simply called out 'Come in.' still not taking his eyes away from the text.
"Hey Harry." Dr. Joe said as he peered around the door.
"Hi Joe." He muttered, still looking at his book.
"How are you feeling today?" He asked, stepping into the room.
"Sickened." He said as he scrunched up his face.
Looking concerned, he rushed over to Harry's bed all ready to perform a spell. "How? What's wrong?"
"They use animals in fizzing wiz-bees. I don't think I could ever eat another." Harry said, oblivious to the doctor's concern.
Sighing in relief, Joe settled himself on the end of his bed. "Geez. Don't say that-I thought you were hurt." Harry looked up apologetically. "Anyway, I just came to tell you that I'll be leaving for a couple of days." This got Harry's attention as he snapped the book shut and looked up.
"Why?"
"I have a doctor's convention." He said, smiling at the disappointment the young man showed about his news.
"Now who will I talk to?" Harry pouted.
"I bet there are twenty people outside just dying to talk to you." He said, gesturing towards the door.
"I don't want to. Oh!" Harry jumped out of his bed and ran across the room and grabbed a couple of objects. "Can you give this to Arabella Figg?" He gave the doctor the pensieve. "And.could you wait a minute? I'm going to write a couple of notes." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his pencil and began writing away.
Dr. Joe just nodded as he glanced around the room. His eyes landed on the lamp with the name Max on it.
"Harry? Why does that lamp have a name?" He asked, not taking his eyes off it.
Harry rolled his eyes and laughed. "Every dog needs a name." He said as he reached for a new sheet of paper to continue writing on.
"I'm not going to comment on that and just hope it's not a hallucination."
"It's not. I'm not crazy-I think." Harry said as he folded up a piece of paper and scribbled a name on it. "All done. Give these to the people's whose names are on it." He handed the doctor about ten pieces of paper. "When are you leaving on your trip?"
"Three days. And I will deliver these notes. Get some sleep-and try not to give anymore names to inanimate objects."
"Aww. Ruin my fun." Harry said as he opened his Potions book again and began reading. "Have fun on your trip." The doctor nodded and left the room.
Outside in the waiting room, around twenty people all sat talking. It was the same group from a couple of days ago but now everyone seemed so much more alive.
"Excuse me." Joe said as he entered the room. "Arabella Figg?" The same woman from before stood up and crossed over to where the doctor was.
"Yes?"
"This is from Harry." He gave her the pensieve and immediately her eyes darkened and filled with sorrow.
"Thank you." She whispered quietly as she sat back down next to Sirius who gave her shoulder a brief squeeze before turning back to the doctor.
"Oh, and Harry also wants me to give these notes to.Ron." Ron immediately came up and grabbed the note. "Hermione." She did the same. "Sirius, Ari, Hagrid, this one's addressed to the Weasley family, Dumbledore and the Hogwarts staff, and Neville." After a few minutes, everybody was seated with a note. The doctor walked away, simply wondering how he had written all these notes in less than ten minutes.
"Should we read them aloud?" Hermione asked, glancing up from her note.
"I suppose. Unless it's too personal." Mrs. Weasley said as she glanced at Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore-the only four who would get the personal notes. The first three murmured 'no'.
Dumbledore commented that he would keep some parts to himself and gestured for the others to commence reading.
"I'll go first." Hagrid said as he opened the note. "Dear Hagrid, I wanted to say thanks for everything-saving me from the Dursleys," A couple people laughed at this, "being my friend, Hedwig-she was my first birthday gift you know-and for being so supportive as a friend and a teacher. I hope you had a good summer doing the 'secret business'-which I think I figured out where you went." Here, the half-giant blushed and continued reading, "I just want everybody to know that me being locked in my room was my choice and not done to hurt any of you. Thanks for everything." Hagrid wiped away a tear and held his note to him, like it was a precious object.
"I'll read ours." Mrs. Weasley said as she opened hers up and cleared her throat.
"Dear all the Weasleys (except Ron 'cause he has his own letter) I wanted to thank you all for everything. Since the second year, you all have been the closest thing I've had to a family-with the exception of the Figgs and Sirius. I can't tell you how it felt to be welcomed into your family. For the first time ever, I had brothers and sisters and the closest things to parents I'll ever have. I just wanted to say thanks for making me feel loved and needed-and not needed in the way that the wizarding world thinks of me-but like a family does. I love you all. Harry."
At this point, Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and hugged Arthur so hard it looked like he was going to snap in half. Ginny was hugging Bill and Charlie-all had watery smiles on their faces. Even Fred and George looked serious as they linked arms with Percy who was trying his best not to look as happy as he felt.
"Mine isn't really a note." Ari said as she opened her piece of paper. She flipped it around and showed a very realistic sketch of both the Figg women and Sirius, smiling brightly. "On the back it says: Ari-I did this sketch a while ago and thought you should have it. I put what happened into the pensieve and you may show it to the Aurors if you like but I would prefer if you saw it without them first to decide for yourself. Memories are very personal so don't share mine with the world. A word of advice-take someone with you, Sirius and Dumbledore would be best. Don't let Ron and Hermione look if you can help it, but knowing them it wouldn't do much good."
"That's all it says." She said as she folded the paper back up and placed the pensieve in her lap to keep it safe.
"I can read a little of mine." Sirius said next.
"Dear Sirius,
After this experience happened, a few words popped into my mind. They were 'Voldemort sucks.' I don't blame anyone for what happened except me-or Sarah Evans-though that isn't really nice so I'll just blame myself. My dad did an incredible job of picking a godfather-I couldn't ask for a better one. I love you like a father and don't worry about me staying in my room. If you were me and you heard all that stuff, would you want to face anybody? Give me a few days and I'll be better. Thank you for being there for me this summer. Harry." Sirius wiped a tear from his eye and rested his head on Ari's shoulder. If anybody had any comments on what Harry meant in the letter, they kept them quiet.
"My turn, I suppose." Ron said as he unfolded his letter.
"Dear Ron,
You know you're like a brother to me so I don't need to write down that stuff. You and Hermione have been two anchors in my life and I'd probably go crazy without you guys. Oh, and by the way, I heard you this morning and I must tell you that I did lock myself in my room and I just need some time by myself but it would mean a lot knowing you support my decisions. I miss you and Hermione a lot and I can't wait for school to start so I can get out of here and go back home. Which makes me wonder-have the doctors said I could use a broomstick yet? I haven't asked but I really want to fly again. I'll see you all soon. Harry."
"Now mine." Hermione began reading her note.
"Dear Hermy,
I have done something so incredible that it would make you proud. I studied! Let's see if Voldemort can catch me unprepared this time! Oh, just wondering, you know that Spew thing? Can we do something with that for Fudge? That imbecile-he lost my vote for re-election. Also, I have something really big to tell you and Ron but I'll wait for later. It involves the library and books that is if Professor Dumbledore says I can tell you. I don't really need to explain anything to you about my room barricading because I'm sure you'll understand. See you guys soon. Harry."
"Hermy?" Ron teased.
"Oh shut up Ronnikins!" He scowled at her before letting out a groan.
"Oh no. We have to go to the library again. This will be another Sorcerers Stone thing-won't it?"
"Probably. And it's S.P.E.W.!" she muttered as she glanced through the letter. "Professor Dumbledore-is it alright?"
"Yes, it's fine. Do I read mine now?" Everybody nodded. "Okay, but I warn you I may need to cut stuff out."
"Dear Headmaster and Professors (Lupin, if you're there, I'm counting you too),
First, I want to say that I'm very angry with you Professor for not telling me. Next, I need to figure out the-oops. Can't read that" Dumbledore muttered as he skipped ahead. "I have been studying for a little bit and I also need to talk to you about something in the pensieve so I need you to go check it. Professor Snape-if he's there, if not, tell him that I actually do pick up my book in the summer and I won't give him a chance to fail me. Professor McGonagall, really, what is the purpose of changing my lamp into a dog? How will I use that?" Dumbledore's eyes scanned the rest of the page before declaring it was too personal to read.
Both of the Professors mentioned were there but both had different expressions.
"That Potter boy! Just wait till he steps into my classroom." He said, eyes glowing with menace.
"Transfiguration is useful!" McGonagall declared, stopping Snape from his plans of torture.
"Of course it is Minerva." Snape said mockingly as she glared at him.
"Neville, would you like to read yours?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring two of his staff that were trying to blow each other up just by glaring.
"No sir. It's kind of personal. Mostly is says that he was glad I talked to him and that he felt really comfortable around me." He said shyly.
"Okay then. If we have no more business here, I think we," He gestured, meaning the other two teachers who were now cracking their knuckles at each other, "Should go. Good day." He swept past the others and grabbed Snape's and McGonagall's elbows and began to talk about licorice flavors.
Back in the hospital room, Harry was still reading, this time his charm book. A knock at the door brought him out of his reading-almost like déjà vu about half an hour ago with the doctor. Instead of the doctor poking his head in, a young teen, around Harry's age, poked her head through the door.
"Hi." She said cheerily as she entered fully. She was dressed in all white, much like the doctors and nurses.
"Um, hi." He said unsurely. No one else had entered his room besides the doctors and maybe a nurse or two. "Who are you?"
"Andrea, a volunteer for the hospital." She said as she grabbed a chair and maneuvered it so it was facing the bed and she was two feet away from him.
"Oh. What are you doing here?" He asked gesturing to the room.
"I'm here to see if you want anything to eat. No, correction, you can't eat anything unless you can slurp it through a straw." At his confused look she added, "You have a healing hole in your stomach-you need to have liquids for a couple days so they'll go down easier. Here." She passed him a menu with several types of drinks on it.
"So the next few day I can only have drinks?" He asked as he looked over the menu.
"Oh and Jell-o."
"Jell-o." He stared at her from over the top of the paper.
"Tricky substance Jell-o. Is it a liquid or a solid?" She smiled as she began picking up a couple of his schoolbooks that he threw to the floor a while ago.
"Is it good Jell-o? I heard hospital food was gross."
"Oh the food's good. It's just the Jell-o that's nasty."
"Just my luck." He muttered as she looked sympathetically at him. He stopped studying his menu a while ago and was now looking at her. She was actually pretty, Harry thought. She had black hair that ran to her shoulders and clear deep blue eyes that were sparkled with life. Her skin bordered on pale but with just a touch of peachiness that made her look friendly. She was probably only around five foot two he decided as she sat on the chair again. Despite her appearance, he only felt friendship for her and knew that was all that would ever be between them.
"Umm.Just out of curiosity, has Edna the nurse came into your room yet?" She asked, eyes shining with amusement. "Yesterday she's went on and on about how she wanted to give you a sponge bath."
Harry's eyes widened in horror as he felt his cheeks begin to burn. "Oh God." He buried his head in his pillow and felt like he should bang his head against the wall.
"Don't worry. I'll try and keep her out." She laughed at his expression of relief.
"Thanks, can I just have water?" He asked, handing her back the menu.
"Just water. You need something with substance.get pumpkin juice."
"What's wrong with water?"
"Nothing, it just looks like you haven't eaten in days." At his look she blushed slightly, "Oops, bad expression. Anyway, you can have both."
"Fine." He said as he threw his hands in the hair and leaned back against the pillow.
Pulling the tray forward she quickly shouted the request. Instantly, the two drinks appeared and she handed them to him. "It's a perk of staying in a wizard hospital."
"Sort of like Hogwarts." He said as he grabbed the water.
"I suppose. I've never been there myself."
"Really?" He asked, he hadn't noticed an accent.
"Yeah-Beauxbaton. Je parle francais et anglais."
"Oh. What's it like there?" He asked. He understood the words enough to guess the meaning.
For around fifteen minutes she began explaining everything she knew about it and he listened, enthralled.
"Now I want to go to that school." He whined as he reached for the pumpkin juice that was still sitting on the tray. She smiled that 'I told you so' smile and he glared.
"Yeah but now I want to transfer to Hogwarts. I think they have better teachers."
"I suppose. I never checked around about other teachers. All of them are okay. Except for Snape. He has it in for me." He said, setting the glass down.
A twinkle of amusement was in her eyes when he said the last statement. "Really? Why?"
"Oh." He waved his hand dismissively, "My father and him didn't like each other so now he's carrying an old grudge and hates me too. If you're volunteering, will you get in trouble for staying with me?"
"I don't think so. If anybody asks though, I left five minutes after I got here and then went to the third floor." Andrea said with a smile. Her eyes glanced around the room as she noticed a Potions book lying near the bed. "So, do you throw all your books on the floor, or just the ones you don't like?"
"Oops." He replied sheepishly as she propped it against his legs and sat back down on the chair.
"Let's go for a walk!" She suggested suddenly, springing to her feet.
"Now? How do I know you're not trying to kill me or something?" He asked suspiciously.
"Because I'm asking you to go for a walk with me in a crowded hospital not go into some back alley and hand over your wand." Andrea sighed exasperatedly.
"Fine, fine." He said, putting his hands up in defense. "Just let me get dressed." In a few minutes, he emerged, fully dressed in new muggles clothes that he bought with the Figgs and Sirius on his birthday.
"You clean up well, Potter." She said as she gripped his arm and dragged him out of the room. "I hate hospital rooms-they're yucky." She made a face and he laughed.
"Did you ever think that maybe working in a hospital was not your calling?" He joked as they walked down the hallway.
"Well I figured it out now. Maybe a teacher or something." She said thoughtfully.
"I hate to ruin this walk but can we steer clear of the waiting room?" He asked, glancing around nervously.
"Oh yeah.you're the person who requested no visitors. We just have to be careful." She said as she pulled him around the corner and peered over it at the open area where the waiting room was. "Okay, I say we cross at the nurses station, which is right across from the waiting room, then run quickly."
"Great plan." Harry muttered sarcastically as they crept cautiously to the nurses' station. Once it was a foot away, they both dived behind it.
Andrea was softly humming the Mission Impossible song and got louder each step.
"Will you cut that out?" He asked, smacking her on the back of the head gently.
"Sorry." She whispered, trying not to laugh. Finally, they dived across the open space and entered another corridor, safely out of view of the waiting room. "Whew. That was fun." Harry simply stared at her. "Let's go up two floors."
"What's two floors up?" Harry wondered out loud as they made their way towards the stairwell.
"The sixth floor."
"Very NOT funny. Seriously, though."
"It's a secret tradition that I accidentally stumbled upon." She quickly ran up the stairs, Harry following close behind her. When he reached the top, he glanced around the floor. It looked like his floor except there were more people in the waiting room-all looking like they had been hexed. He watched two guys with antlers start to compare whose were bigger before they started ramming their heads together.
"I know it's a little wild up here."Andrea said slowly as she glanced around the room.
"It's okay. Who needs the Discovery Channel when you have this going on two floors above you." She gave him a smile before motioning him to follow her down one of the corridors. They walked for a couple of minutes until she paused at one door and then knocked three times before swinging the door open.
Inside, Harry was greeted with a scene that reminded him vaguely of those old westerns or mob movies that Dudley used to watch. Five figures were sitting hunched over a table that Harry assumed had once been a bed. It was hard to make out the people's features as a hazy fog of cigarette and cigar smoke hovered in the air. As they approached, the shapes became more defined and he could just glimpse round disks scattered all over the table haphazardly and five hands fanning out cards in front of them.
"You brought me to a poker game?" He asked Andrea, turning towards her in disbelief.
"A famous poker game." She sighed as she waved to all the players and was rewarded with a chorus of 'hello-s'.
"Well? Are you going to sit down?" A man grunted out as he waved his wand creating two chairs. She strode forward casually, dragging Harry along with her. As they went deeper into the room, Harry was sure that the smoke would choke him. Instead, it smelled more of cinnamon, vanilla and strawberries-not the least bit unpleasant.
He quickly sat down next to Andrea who was starting a conversation with a man to her left.
"Come on, Louis! I just need five. Besides you owe me." She pleaded. While 'Louis' was silently thinking her request over, Harry took the moment to study him.
He was probably around fifty-five, as his dark hair had small flecks of gray. But that was the only clue to his age. His skin was a rich brown, smooth and flawless with laugh lines around his mouth etched into his skin. The only odd thing that struck Harry about his appearance was the dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. Louis sighed as he bent over to the side of his chair and straightened up with five of the circular objects in his hand.
"Fine. Here you go. Is he playing too?" Louis pointed at Harry who at the time had been studying the people around the table.
"Harry? Do you know how to play poker?" Andrea asked grabbing the disks Louis held out to her.
"No." He replied as he looked into her hand that grabbed the items. "Those are Oreos." He stated in disbelief. He glanced back at the center of the table where piles of Oreos were sitting. "You play with Oreos-the stakes must be high." He muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh shut it. You can't even play poker." She turned back to Louis and told him that Harry would be playing with her. Harry looked around at the other four members.
Two were women and two were men. The woman closet to Harry looked to be about twenty-five. She had curly blond hair that stopped right around her shoulders. She had hazel eyes that were now concentrating on her cards as she bit her bottom lip and moved a card around in her hand. When she noticed Harry looking at her, she smiled warmly, a gesture that Harry returned.
"Hi. I'm Anna." She held out a hand across the table for Harry to shake. He leaned over the table and gripped it briefly before sitting back down. "This is Mike," She pointed to a cheery man with slightly shaggy sandy blonde hair and pale green eyes. He waved back with one hand as he straightened a small pile of Oreos. "And this is Jacob." A man with gray hair with silver at the temples lifted a brushy eyebrow and focused his black eyes on Harry. His moustache twitched as he smiled hesitantly. "And last but not least, this is Bruce." Anna could barely stifle her laugh as Harry's eyes widened at the person named Bruce. He, or she by the looks of it, had beautiful blue eyes and creamy white skin. His/her blonde hair was long and straight but curled near the end. He/She would have been beautiful if his/her eyebrows weren't scrunched together and a pout wasn't held firmly on Bruce's lips.
"What are you looking at?" A gruff voice said from Bruce's mouth. A most definitely male voice.
"S-sorry." Harry stuttered as he dropped his gaze to the table.
"He's just a little grumpy because we all found out he's a closet cross dresser." Louis said, causing the others to burst out into laughter.
"More like he had a sex change. It's more then just clothes." Mike said as Bruce glared at him.
"You're just jealous because you want a piece of this." Bruce said to Louis, standing on his chair and smacking his ass before sitting down again. Harry's eyes widened as everybody else burst out laughing.
"You know you checked yourself out in a mirror before you came." Anna snorted as she laid a card down. "One, please." She said to Louis, which he promptly gave her.
"Let's not forget we have an innocent here." Jacob pointed out as he got two new cards.
"What? I'm not innocent?" Andrea asked with a pout.
"Ha! That's a laugh. Who's your friend, anyway?" Louis said before adding. "I can't see because of these," He gestured to his shades, "And the smoke."
"Why do you have the glasses?" Harry asked.
"I was trying an experimental charm for night vision and I ended up with these." He whipped the glasses off and bright yellow light flooded the room. Harry's jaw dropped as he stared at his eyes that looked as though flashlights had been placed in them. Louis quickly put his glasses on.
"Wow. What happened to you guys?"
"Well," Mike began, "If I didn't have these legs restraints on, then I'd be bouncing off the walls-literally." Harry peered over the table and sure enough, his legs jittered under the ropes wrapped around his legs.
"I have wings." Anna declared as she stood up and stretched out white bird- like wings that reached to her knees. Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed them before.
Jacob cleared his throat before speaking, and said in a deep baritone voice that to Harry sounded a bit Russian, "I have three legs."
Mike snickered at this and when Jacob looked at him his laughing ceased but he quickly added. "Jake is a tripod." This set everybody off again.
"Better a 'tripod' then what Bruce is." He mumbled, earning a glare from Bruce and a howl of laughter from Mike.
"I guess I don't need to explain that I'm a man turned women." Bruce said as he threw a cookie at Mike, which he caught skillfully in his mouth. "We still don't know who you are."
"I'm Harry Potter."
All noises stopped: Mike nearly choked on his cookie, Anna sat with mouth agape, both Bruce and Jake were gaping like fish out of water and Louis, finding the whole situation funny, smiled as he glanced around the table. Harry felt a blush creeping up
Mike was the first to recover. "Holy Cricket! You must know my brother then. He's your dorm mate. The name Finnegan ring any bells?"
"You're Seamus' brother?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Half-brother, but yeah." Mike smiled back and then started to sort out his cards.
"Oh my God." Bruce whined, "Don't tell me I just slapped my ass in front of Harry Potter?" The last part came out slightly mumbled since he had placed his head in his arms and was now pressed up against the desk.
"Oh don't worry Bruce. It's not like he'd recognize you anyway when you changed back." Anna teased. Bruce looked up, his face cracking into a small smile.
"Let's just get back to playing. I don't fancy having to change everything back to normal when that nurse makes her rounds." Louis muttered. Everyone around the table nodded as the game began again. Two hours the game lasted and six hands that were dealt, and not one of the games played correctly or with out cheating. Mike would constantly use the tips of his toes to make the chair bounce so he could see over the cards, Anna tried using her wings to fly overhead, but was grounded by Jacob. Louis occasionally took off his sun-glasses, blinding everyone to try and peak at their cards and Bruce tried out his 'feminine' charms as a method of persuasion. Eventually the nurse came around and dragged everybody out, declaring it was a 'hospital, not a casino.'
"It was nice meeting you." Jacob said as he shook Harry's hand, nodded at Andrea before disappearing through a door down the hall.
Anna stepped up to him next, enveloping him into a big hug, before moving over to Andrea and doing the same. "See-ya later. Visit us if you're ever in the mood for more poker." She waved cheerily before going behind a corner.
"You play a mean game of poker." Mike said to both as Bruce strapped him to a wheel chair. Straightening up, Bruce shook both their hands, gave a brief nod and began to wheel Mike out of the hallway. "Tell Seamus I said hello!" Mike called right before they disappeared into a room.
Andrea grabbed Harry's hand and steered him back down the two flights of stairs back to his floor. When they ducked behind the nurses' station, Harry joined her in singing the Mission Impossible song. After only two hours, he felt his heart considerably lighten and the vibrant spark was returning to his eyes again.
"Well, I better go. I don't think the staff is going to buy my excuse that I was lost again. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest or else the doctor will have my neck." She joked lightly as she opened his door.
"I thought the expression was that they'll have your head." He asked.
"Well they already have that I suppose so one must move lower. I really do need to go now, but I'll see you later." With that, she turned and walked the opposite direction, her hair swishing behind her as she went farther and farther down the hallway. Harry felt his lips curve up into a grin as he went into his room and shut the door behind him. Peeling back the covers, he climbed back into his bed, grabbing a discarded charm book and propping it on his legs. He had just started reading about element shifting charms when the day's events played in his head. It had felt good to be out around people again, people who were carefree and didn't worry every moment of their life if Voldemort was plotting to kill someone close to them. People who didn't know him as intimately as his friends and surrogate family. People who were friends with Harry because of his light and darkness, not just the childhood innocence he possessed a millennium ago. Because Harry did have darkness stirring in him, waiting to bubble to the surface and control him by overpowering the light and forever blackening his soul. The last person who had known was Dorothy, and look what happened to her.
Thinking back to that night, the last image she had ever seen of him was him stabbing her in the leg-fighting for control of his body. A tear slid slowly down his cheek as he remembered the night again, how it felt when Voldemort had placed the curse on him. The sensation of peace still overpowered his mind, trying to regain that feeling again. Pushing the thoughts out of his head, he glanced at the scroll that he had unconsciously brought out of his trunk. The Defense Against the Dark Arts Summer Assignment. He vaguely recalled Dumbledore assigning it after Crouch had been...disposed of.
'How do mind control spells like the Imperious affect the target?'
How appropriate for the thoughts he had just been having. An idea struck Harry as his eyes widened as he reached his quill and ink. The quill flew furiously across the page, and then three more as his thoughts exceeded the mandatory amount. Setting the parchment down finally, he eased the cramps out of his hand, smearing the traces of ink left behind. Well that took care of his DADA essay, he thought as he placed it on the tray that was resting in front of him. He glanced at the clock resting on his side table: it was 5:30. Feeling his head begin to get fuzzy, he snuggled down under the covers, taking a brief rest before dinner. Harry missed the quiet sound of his door creaking open as Dr. Johansson stepped inside the dimming room.
The familiar golden light from his spell illuminated the room briefly, then disappearing when he flicked his wrist. Walking over, he capped the lid over his ink and rested the quill on top of a napkin so it wouldn't soak through his bed sheets. Noticing the parchment, he gingerly picked it up, whispering a lumos spell to give him some light.
'How do mind control spells like the Imperious affect the target?'
Curses like the Imperious are known to have control over the mind and body.
Dr. Joe skimmed ahead as the beginning was all theory and the use it has and cases it was used in. At the end of the second page, began reading again.
Many people have believed that this curse controls the mind, but my theory is that it is just the body reacting to the power of it. When placed under this curse, the target feels peace and happiness surrounding it so it persuades the mind into ignoring the fact that it is no longer in control of it's body. People suffering from exhaustion, physical and emotionally, are usually no longer able to counteract the curse and simply follow through with the caster's commands. It is also said that a strong will can pull the target out from under the curse's control. My theory also says that the body has to know there is something worth surviving or fighting for on the outside so it will stop itself from fighting the mind and let the targets mind gain control of it's body again. It has to feel that the peace it feels at that moment is artificial or insignificant compared to the emotions that their world has to offer. When the body finally agrees to let the body see through the haze it will notice the voice is not as soothing as before, the happiness and peace were just illusions and the heavenly like world they had drifted into is just Hell hiding behind a mask to lure it's unsuspecting victims.
In awe at what this young boy had written, he stared at him before skipping ahead some more and ending at the end of the last page.
The real question is not how much power it has or what happened in the past but it is what does the Imperious Curse's power limits it to. What if it isn't just solid things, like creatures and humans? What if it can control energy, manipulating it to the target's will instead of its master?
Dropping the paper quickly and then righting it on the tray again, Dr. Johansson ran out of the room. He had an owl to send.
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A/N: That was actually two chapters combined so it is really long. I have finally decided on the pairing of Harry/Draco.as you could probably tell because my story is now in that section.
Thanks to the two people who reviewed. I think I'll update more frequently now and more regularly. I can't think of anything else to say besides that this is going to be pre-slash for a while and Draco doesn't even enter for a couple of chapters. Keep reviewing!!