All characters etc are the creations of JK. Rowling...

Chapter 4:

"Where were you?" Ron asked as Harry entered the room. "You completely blew off quidditch practice."

"I had some stuff I had to do?" Harry said opening the chest next to his bed.

"What? Extra potions homework?" Ron said in disbelief. "It could have waited. Someone said you were down near Slytherin. What were you doing there."

"Nothing," Harry snapped. He pulled out the magnet to place in his trunk.

"What's that," Ron asked, coming over.

"None of you business," Harry said. Why did Ron always have to ask so many irritating questions all the time. Didn't he have anything better to do? Harry shoved the magnet back in his pocket again. He didn't want Ron going through his stuff to try and find it.

"What's with you," Ron asked returning to his side of the room.

"I'm going to see if I can find Dobby." Harry said, needing to get out of the room. He grabbed his invisibility cloak. "I have a craving for peppermints."

"Peppermints?" Ron asked. He watched Harry until he pulled the invisibility cloak over his head and left the room.

Harry almost let out a sigh of relief. He needed some room to breath without everyone watching him and asking questions. He flicked Neville's pencil on his way past and laughed as a confused Neville blamed Hermione for taking it.

He found Dobby near the kitchen or Dobby found him rather.

"You must have some back there," Harry said, his craving for peppermints had grown in the short time it had taken to walk down there.

Dobby seemed to shake a little looking at him with strange eyes.

"I don't think peppermints are a good idea," Dobby said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"What does that mean," Harry snapped. Why was everyone being so irritating.

"Look," Dobby said, pushing him toward a mirror in the hall. Dobby's hands barely touched him as if he found Harry disgusting.

Harry peered into the mirror. His face looked pale with dark circles under his eyes and his eyelids looked rimmed in red. Harry pushed away from the mirror. So what. So he hadn't gotten a good night sleep lately. That was Professor Snape's fault and all the extra homework he kept loading on everyone.

Dobby was looking at him expectantly.

"Are you going to get me some peppermints or not?" Harry asked.

Dobby shook his head sadly and disappeared.

Harry kicked the wall. He decided to go to the kitchen himself but couldn't find it. Not sleepy, he wandered up and down the halls looking for someone to eavesdrop on. Near slytherin he spied the tall strange kid he'd seen earlier while in the hall outside the slytherin room. The kid stood at the end of the hall facing him as he talked to a prefect. Harry shivered, it was as if the kid was looking straight at him.

Impossible, thought Harry, poking at the invisibility cloak as if to make sure it was still there. The prefect and the kid moved past the corner and Harry crept down the hall. He turned the corner but they were no longer there. Harry continued to wander the halls. The sky was beginning to lighten by the time he fell into bed.