Doppelganger
Part V: Meetings

by Krystiana
krissy@zahadum.com

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue. I mean no harm by playing around in JKR's universe. If you haven't read the HP books, why the hell are you reading this?

Archive: My site (), FanFiction.net, Noire Sensus (if they should get a hold of this), Schnoogle (eventually). All else, ask first, and ye shall probably recieve. ^_^

Emma Grant is my beta, and she rocks. Period.

Harry paced back and forth in front of the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey had shooed him out because he had been "hovering" too much, and getting in the way of her work.

Although the situation was serious, Draco couldn't help but smirk at Harry as Pomfrey literally shoved him outside.

"Harry? What are you doing here? We've got class soon." Harry turned to look at Pansy, who had a habit of showing up out of nowhere.

"Draco."

Pansy's eyes widened in alarm. "Draco? Is he okay? What's wrong with him?"

Harry sighed and sank down to the floor, leaning against the corridor wall. "I don't know what's going on. He collapsed on me."

"He's not eating right." Pansy narrowed her eyes at him. "Harry, when I handed him over to you, you promised to take care of him. It's your job to make sure he's eating what he's supposed to." She looked at the door to the hospital wing and back at Harry, and then sat on the floor beside him. When Harry raised an eyebrow at her, she merely smiled and shrugged. "It's more fun to worry with another person. Besides," she said lazily, stretching out her legs and lounging against the wall, "it's a great excuse to miss class."

* * *

Although Dumbledore could see many things within the halls of Hogwarts, he was not omniscent. He certainly could not forsee Hermione Granger with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy in tow ending up at the entrance to his office.

He watched for a few amusing minutes as Hermione listed off every Honeyduke's candy she could remember, with Harry putting in a few half-hearted suggestions. Finally, Dumbledore had mercy, and he descended the stairs to the entrance.

The boys backed up a few steps when Dumbeldore stepped out of the rotating phoenix staircase, although Hermione stood her ground. "What can I help you three with, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione simply stood with her arms crossed, looking between the headmaster and Harry with an expectant look on her face. Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, but did not speak. Standing behind both of them, Draco seemed to be inching farther and farther away.

Hermione sighed and looked at Dumbledore. "Headmaster, something very strange is happening. May we speak with you?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Hermione. Come right in." He turned around and ascended the staircase, the three teenagers following behind him.

As they entered the office, Hermione and Harry followed the headmaster to his desk, while Draco hung back and stood by the door. He had never been to Albus Dumbledore's office, and he wasn't a fan of the eccentric headmaster.

When Dumbledore sat at his desk, he saw that Draco was still dawdling by the doorway. "Please, sit down - all of you." He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk, and with a flick of his wand, a third chair appeared. Draco began walking very slowly towards the chairs as Harry and Hermione sat down.

"To what do I owe the honors?" Dumbledore asked, clasping his hands in front of him. "And Harry, where are your glasses?"

"In the library." Harry snuck a glare at Hermione, who shifted in her seat. Harry had complained about not being able to see all the way to Dumbledore's office, but Hermione refused to let them turn around.

Draco sat, glaring at Harry, then gave him a swift kick in the shin. Harry glared back before turning his head to Dumbledore, then to Hermione. "You're the one who wanted us to come here, 'Mione," he said softly.

Hermione sighed. "Headmaster, I've just been observing, but from what I've seen, Malfoy and Harry have been acting very strangely."

Dumbledore nodded, and then turned to peer at Harry and Draco over his half-moon spectacles. "Then perhaps one of you should begin."

Harry swallowed. He hadn't really wanted to come straight to Dumbledore, but Hermione was right - if anyone would know what was happening to him, it would be Dumbledore. "I'm not sure how to explain it, Headmaster," Harry began. "Malfoy and I… we've been… we've been seeing…"

"Oh, just spit it out, Potter! You're making it sound like we're having an affair!" Draco snapped.

Harry's face gained an angry blush before continuing. "We've been seeing very strange things. And we're both experiencing some memory loss."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. The savior of the wizarding world could not afford to have gaps in his memory, no matter what the cause. "What kinds of things are you two seeing? Start at the beginning, Harry."

Harry bit his lip, leaning back in his chair. "Yesterday morning, my reflection… it was me, but it wasn't me. He had an evil smile on his face, and he was holding a green towel. I was holding a red towel." He paused, glancing at Draco, who stared back at him with a surprisingly even expression. "Right before Potions, I somehow got lost on my way there. I shouldn't have, because I knew where I was going. I tried to find my way back, and then…" Harry took a deep breath. "I ran into Malfoy. Except it wasn't Malfoy. His hair was longer, and it was loose. He was also nice to me, and he kept calling me 'Harry,' instead of 'Potter.'"

Dumbledore nodded. "Anything else?"

Harry sighed. "Right after Potions, I started walking to Divination with Ron. Then, all of a sudden, I'm in the library, and Malfoy is in front of me, unconscious. I keep seeing visions of... the person who isn't me in the mirror."

"Harry..." Hermione began, knowing Harry was leaving something out. Harry turned his gaze towards her, and seeing the pleading look in his eyes, she dropped it.

The headmaster nodded once more. "And your story, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco narrowed his eyes and glared at Dumbledore for a few moments. "The Quidditch cup said something it shouldn't have, Potter was dressed in Slytherin colors, and my reflection was hanging out with Potter."

Dumbledore blinked at Draco's shortened answers. "I'm afraid I'll need more information than that, Draco."

Draco's lips curled into a sneer as he restated his story. "I saw the Quidditch cup inscribed with "Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, co-captains of Slytherin. Yesterday, I got dizzy in the library right after Potions, and somebody helped me to a seat. It was Potter, but he was wearing a Slytherin uniform. I woke up in the infirmary, and when I was leaving, I saw my reflection with Potter, but Potter wasn't anywhere near me. He was only in the mirror."

Dumbledore repressed a sigh. Why were all the Malfoys difficult? "And what brought you two here tonight?"

Neither Harry or Draco said anything.

Dumbledore did sigh now, unclasping his hands and leaning back in his chair. "I've been observing you two for six years, and I know you both well enough to realize that you wouldn't come to me because of a few strange sights."

Still, the boys said nothing.

"What happened to convince you to come here?" The two glared at each other, and Draco pointed at Hermione.

Dumbledore looked at Hermione. "Would you care to tell me, Miss Granger?"

Hermione glanced at Harry again, and then looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "Last night, Harry disappeared from the common room. I didn't hear him leave or go upstairs, so Ron and I decided to go look for him. When we found him, he was..."

Draco made a choking sound. "You SAW that, Granger?"

Hermione glared at Draco, but turned to the headmaster. "I don't think I should say."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair. This must be a strange situation. It was hard to get a clear picture from any of them, and none of them seemed willing to be completely honest. "Harry?" he asked, figuring he would most likely get it out of Harry than the other two.

Harry bit his lip, glancing at Draco. "We both had the memory loss last night, at the same time. When we were… aware again, we were together."

The headmaster peered at the two obviously uncomfortable boys over his spectacles. "Together how?"

"We… we were…"

"We were kissing! Bloody hell, Potter! You were the one who agreed to tell Dumbledore in the first place!" Draco stood up, turning, as if to leave.

"Please sit back down, Draco, if you want to hear my theory."

Draco glared at Dumbledore, and then collapsed in the chair, somehow still appearing graceful.

"It's only a theory, mind you."

"A theory. Great. So let's hear it."

"Malfoy!" Harry hissed. Malfoy looked at Harry, his glare positively burning. "Just shut up!"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair again, waiting for the two to calm down.

"Have either of you heard of alternate dimensions?"

"Only in Star Trek," Harry muttered. Draco gave him a strange look, and

Hermione's eyes widened.

"You watch Star Trek?" she hissed, and giggle rising in her throat.

"Never mind," he said, sliding down in his chair.

Dumbledore gave a small smile, and continued. "Supposedly, there are an infinite amount of dimensions, all populated with the same people, places, and things. However, from dimension to dimension, there are very small differences. Every time you make a decision, you create two dimensions. For instance, earlier, I invited you both to sit down. Here, you sat down, however, perhaps there is another dimension where you did not sit down, and you carried on the rest of your life as if you had not sat in that chair."

"What difference would that make?" Harry asked, confused.

"It obviously applies to much more important decisions, as well, Potter," Draco snapped.

"Like what?"

"Remember your second year, Harry?" Dumbledore continued, ignoring Draco's quip. "You came to me, wondering if the sorting hat had made a mistake. You told me that the hat had wanted to put you in Slytherin."

"What?!" Hermione exclaimed, her mouth falling open.

"The hat wanted to put POTTER in Slytherin?" Draco scoffed, looking back at Harry. "You wouldn't have survived a week. That can't possibly be true."

Harry slid even farther down in the chair.

"However, it is true, Draco," Dumbledore said. "My exact theory is this: somehow, a dimension where Harry WAS sorted into Slytherin is somehow crossing into this one. Why or how I can't possibly fathom." "Great. So how do we stop it from happening?"

Dumbledore stared at the two boys for a few moments before answering. "I'm afraid I don't know, Draco. Until I can figure out how it's happening, there's nothing I can do."

"NOTHING?!" Draco snarled, bursting to his feet, clenching his fists. "I want this fixed NOW! I'd rather not wake up to be kissing HIM again, or worse, with my cock in Potter's ass!"

Hermione flushed red, and Harry made a strangled sound. "You're DISGUSTING, Malfoy! Why the hell are you thinking about that, anyway?"

"Screw you, Potter!"

"No, thanks!"

"GENTLEMEN!!" Dumbledore's normally quiet voice was suddenly quite stern, and loud. "I will inform the heads of house and the teachers of this situation. I will discuss this with Professors Snape and McGonagall, and if they see fit, I will also inform the prefects of Slytherin and Gryffindor. If anyone sees either of you behaving strangely, I will know immediately." As both boys opened their mouths to voice their last concerns, the headmaster raised a hand. "You two will both go to class now." Hermione moved to stand, but Dumbledore held a hand out. "I'd like you to stay, Miss Granger. There's something unrelated that I'd like to discuss with you."

Harry and Draco both stood, heading towards the door. They both moved to fit through the doorway at the same time, and they glared at each other for the umpteenth time that day.

"Get off me, Potter."

"I'm not on you, Malfoy."

"I was here first."

"Screw you, Malfoy."

"I'd rather not. That's why we came here, you bloody idiot."

"Would you stop with your disgusting -"

Dumbledore watched them, amused. "If you two would stop bickering like first years, perhaps your lives would be a bit simpler." He waved his wand, and the doorway widened slightly, letting both boys fall forward ungracefully. Unsurprisingly, the two turned their glares on him as they stood to head down the staircase.

"And Draco?" Dumbledore called behind them, the usual twinkling in his eyes starting up again. "Try and lighten up."

As Harry headed down the stairs, Draco glared at the headmaster of Hogwarts, a muscle under his eye beginning to twitch involuntarily. Draco Malfoy most definitely did not like Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

"No, Mr. Weasley, you may NOT attend Quidditch practice tonight. I'm releasing you under the condition that you will get some rest!"

Harry froze when he opened the door to the hospital wing. He had completely forgotten about Quidditch practice. What if he changed during practice? Or worse, what if he changed during the match?

"The GAME is this Saturday! I can't miss this match, Madame Pomfrey." Ron's voice was growing louder as he became more and more excited. "It's the Slytherin-Gryffindor match! That's always the biggest match of the year!"

"You won't miss the game, Mr. Weasley."

"But I can't miss practice!"

"We'll be fine, Ron," Harry said as he finally entered the hospital wing. "You can miss tonight's practice. You and I will just do some extra warm-ups before the match."

"But-"

"That's an order from me, Mr. Weasley. And your captain."

Ron was sputtering. "Harry didn't order me-"

"I am now." Ron glowered at Harry while another student in a bed nearby was trying to hold in laughter.

Madame Pomfrey turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, would you be able to escort Mr. Weasley back to your dorm?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey."

Ron threw his legs over to the side of the bed, still glaring at Harry. He stood, stumbled, and brushed Harry's offered arm away. "Traitor," he muttered playfully.

Harry shook his head and grinned. "At least you get out of class tomorrow. No Potions."

"Yeah, but I have to miss Defense Against the Dark Arts. Carter is the best professor we've had since Lupin."

"I'll take good notes for you, Ron."

"Thanks," Ron replied sarcastically.

As Harry and Ron passed by the mirror at the end of the wing, Harry couldn't help but glance at the reflection.

There was that blasted twisted version of himself. His reflection hadn't noticed him, and seemed to be talking to someone out of the picture. Harry quickly followed Ron out the door.

The visions seemed to be getting more frequent...

Something big was going to happen soon.

* * *

"I can't find a single thing wrong with him, Harry. My only recommendation is for him to get some rest."

"Will I be okay for the Quidditch match?" Draco asked, sitting up and cracking his neck.

"You should be fine, Draco. For right now, let Harry and Miss Parkinson take you down to the Slytherin rooms." Madame Pomfrey scribbled something on a piece of paper. "You're excused from the rest of your classes today, and all the classes you have until lunch tomorrow. I expect you to be sleeping during your free time, not rough housing." The nurse handed Harry some sleeping potions and Draco's pass. "I think I can trust you to take care of him, Harry." Madame Pomfrey actually winked at Harry, and she turned away from them with a smile.

"Come on, Drackey-poo," Pansy said teasingly. "Let's go."

Draco made a face at Pansy. "Only if you promise to never call me that again."

"I've made that promise at least a hundred times, and I never keep it."

"I'll never speak to you again if you call me that."

"And you've made that promise at least five hundred times," Harry added, holding a hand out to Draco. "You never keep that promise, either."

"Let me help him, please?" Pansy said playfully, putting Draco's arm over her shoulders. "You always get to be the knight in shining armor."

Harry laughed. "Fine." He began walking out of the hospital wing, stopping at the very end to turn and wait for them. He grinned, watching Draco lean on Pansy, who was continuously poking him in the stomach.

"Pansy, help him, don't torture him."

Pansy looked at Harry to grin at him, when she suddenly froze. "Harry... what kind of mirror is that?"

Harry turned to look at the mirror, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. To his relief, he only saw himself staring back at him.

"What did you see, Pansy?" Draco asked quietly, eyes narrowing at the mirror.

Pansy bit her lip, walking with Draco towards Harry and the mirror. "I saw Harry... but he was wearing glasses. And the idiot Weasel was with him." She quickly wiped the shock of of her face, and smiled weakly. "I was probably imagining things. Never mind."

Harry's eyes widened, and he clenched his fist. Draco studied Harry's expression as Pansy and he passed by. He stopped Pansy, and stumbled over to Harry to whisper something in his ear. "Don't worry, Harry. I'm sure even if you were in Gryffindor, you would have been able to tell what an ass Weasley was." Harry nodded, and Pansy pulled Draco along again, but Harry didn't move for a few seconds.

~Weasley. Idiot Gryffindor.~

Harry narrowed his eyes, and then turned to follow.

to be continued...

Review Responses:

Silvrei - Voldemort thinks he's being smart, but he's really being very, very stupid. You'll find out more about what he's up to in the future. I don't have any plans to resort either Harry. Dumbledore kinda knows what's up (as you've found from this chapter), but he doesn't know why or how it's happening.

Snale - Who says Voldemort is gonna lose?