Harry lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He could hear Ron's loud snoring, and Neville's soft whimpers, and felt somewhat comforted by the familiar noises. Possessed. It didn't make sense in one way, but in another, it did. Dumbledore didn't even believe him. He had been possessed before, through his dreams, and Ginny had also been possessed through body. He remembered what Ginny had said before, I couldn't remember anything, and I just woke up not knowing what I had been doing all day. He couldn't be possessed through body, he remembered everything! His mind went on a speedy rewind, right to the conversation where Professor Trelawny was standing, fear in her face. He was just standing there, with h-his wood, and his scar. What was his wood? Harry must have dozed off eventually because he fell into a soft sleep.
The door slowly opened, and a dim light blew into his face and a smell…a strong smell…
Harry sat up suddenly, his scar feeling as though it would burst out of his head, searing pains quivering down his spine. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he suddenly realised what had woken him. Hermione was standing over his bed, beaming, notebooks and quills balanced in her arms.
"Hermione?" Harry mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Wake up! I thought we could do some research…you know, about possession. If we hurry we can get the early toast for breakfast," she said bossily, using her spare fingers to pull back the curtains. He had Ron wake up with a disgruntled snort.
"Oi, 'Ermione, what are you playing at?" he called sleepily. Hermione nodded.
"Yes, you'd better come too, you are an insensitive twit, but it's times like these that we need all hands on deck!" she insisted, enthusiastically. Harry slowly got out of bed.
"Come on Harry, this is for your benefit!" she said, as she trooped downstairs.
"Doubt it," Harry muttered. Hermione poked her head round the door.
"Five minutes!"
Harry stacked some toast onto his plate, and poured orange juice into his cup. Hermione was hurriedly eating her porridge, and talking enthusiastically. Ron was slowly smearing butter with his spoon on to his plate; Hermione stopped talking and glanced at him.
"Ron?" she snapped, he raised his red head.
"Mm?" he grunted.
"Would you like some toast with your butter?" she offered sweetly. He shrugged, and began pouring milk into his orange juice.
"Honestly, you'd think it was the middle of the night the way he's carrying on… ANYWAY, as I was saying, I think that if we check out some books and stuff, maybe we could find out what's going on?" she said. Harry nibbled his toast, smearing greasy crumbs down his cloak. He nodded slowly.
"So, what are we looking for?" he mumbled.
"Oh, just general information about possession," she said. Ron suddenly shot his head up.
"Possession? Hermione, who's being possessed?" he gabbled dopily. Hermione simply shook her head and continued.
"I think that if we hurry, we can get the first pick of the best books,"
"Yes, because everyone will be looking for books on possession," Harry muttered. Hermione was so hyped up that she didn't notice.
Hermione thumbed through a book, a frown on her face. Harry glanced at Ron, who was opening and closing a book, his eyes drooping. Harry himself picked up the next book from Hermione's pile. Possession: all you need to know. Harry looked at the introduction.
Professor L.L Brehmin introduces his book on Possession. Are you being possessed? If you said no, then how do you know? There are over one hundred types of possession, so which one is yours? Harry scanned down half heartedly, until he got to chapter one. The list of Possession types. Dream possession, mind possession, thought possession, physical possession…Harry came back to reality with a bump when Hermione slammed her book shut.
"This is useless!" she said angrily. Ron looked up.
"I know," he muttered glumly. Hermione looked at him sharply.
"I meant this book, not my idea!" she snapped.
"Yeah, well it is useless, not all answers come from books you know!" he shouted, Madam Pince shushed them, glared and hobbled on.
"Just because you haven't got enough brains to fill a piece of parchment with!" she hissed witheringly.
Harry went and got out the book and when he got back to their table they were still arguing.
"Hermione, you don't know everything you know!" Ron said, his freckles glowing in the dim light. Hermione tossed her bushy hair.
"I do know ONE thing Ron, and that's that I am smarter than you!" she whispered. Ron opened his mouth to complain, but was stopped by Harry.
"Will you two just cut it out? You're always arguing, just get a life!" Harry yelled. Madam Pince chased him out of the library.
Harry was reading the book when Hermione and Ron walked into the common room. Ron looked bashful but Hermione stared at him with what looked like anger in her eyes. She sat down with a thump on the next chair, her arms folded on the table. Harry looked up at her.
"Yes?" he asked rudely.
"You were very rude earlier Harry," she said, not taking her eyes off him. He continued to read the book and shrugged, He noticed Ron sit next to Hermione, and he seemed uncomfortable and stared at a spot on the wall behind him.
"I was trying to help you Harry," she said, slightly more softly.
"Oh yes? How was that?" Harry asked, reading a bit of the book over and over again without taking it in properly. He could feel Hermione's bright eyes scorching into him.
"I tried to help by reading up on the subject. And it obviously worked, you have a book out on it," she pointed out triumphantly. Ron half turned round, but swivelled back to the wall when Harry's head jerked up.
"Hermione, I was angry earlier and to be honest, I was aiming my comment at Ron rather than you," he said. A smile crept from his lips. Hermione beamed warmly. Ron's face turned beetroot.
Harry sat in the great Hall, shovelling forkfuls of pie into his mouth, while Hermione neatly ate hers, and Ron had already demolished three platefuls.
"So, Harry, is there anything interesting in that book?" Hermione asked eagerly. Harry paused from putting another forkful into his mouth when he heard a voice from behind him.
"What book's this then, Mudblood? A hundred Reasons why YOU Should Love Potter?" Malfoy drawled. A few other Slytherins guffawed with laughter. Hermione swivelled round to face him.
"Frankly, Malfoy, it has nothing to do with you!" she said carelessly, turning back to her food.
"Shove off Malfoy," Ron said threateningly. Hermione looked at him.
"Don't," she said simply. Malfoy acted as though they weren't there and squeezed in between Hermione and Harry.
"Harry," he said in a stage whisper, "I was wondering if you could answer me a question,"
"Malfoy, would you GO AWAY?" Harry said, his voice rising with his temper.
"OK, OK, just answer my question first. I have been hearing rumours, Potter, and apparently you're not quite the Saint you act to be are you?" he said, trying his best not to smirk, he heard Pansy Parkinson shriek with laughter.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked quickly, his stomach curling up like a snail. Malfoy ignored him, and carried on.
"Do you like Divination Potter? I don't, that bat Trelawny makes me so angry," he said, his voice slow and barely a whisper, but everyone still managed to hear, "I sometimes want to quit her classes, call her names, maybe even CURSE her." Harry glared, Ron sprung up from his seat, swearing at Malfoy, and Hermione calmly tugged and pulled on his cloak until he sat back down. She may have acted calm, but Hermione was fuming with anger.
"I know things Potter," Malfoy said, finally letting his smirk out. Harry raised one eyebrow.
"Well then, you'll know that you are a complete git with brains the size of pea," Harry said, people surrounding him laughed, though they didn't quite understand what was going on. Malfoy frowned.
"This is no time for games, Potter. I know everything about Trelawny and you," he said softly, "I know that you," his voice dropped so low that only Harry, Ron and Hermione could hear him, "I know that you attacked her." Harry stared, too angry and shocked to say anything.
"Push off Malfoy," he ended up saying. Malfoy smirked again.
"Too scared of the truth Harry? I wouldn't be surprised. You never tell the truth, you haven't told the truth about your parents' right from the start," he said, Harry put his hand inside his robes and gripped his wand, "As if I would believe that Voldermort killed your parents for his own benefit! Voldermort didn't kill them Potter, you did! You should never have been born Harry, you were a mistake! If it wasn't for you, then your parents would be alive, your precious Sirius Black would never have gone to Azkaban, Dumbledore would be a lot stronger, everyone would be a lot happier," Harry clenched his wand so hard he thought it would snap, all his anger was bubbling inside him, "Of course, you're not all to blame, if it wasn't for your stupid Mum getting herself pregnant like a complete slag with your lousy father-
Harry jumped up, all his anger for his arch enemy building up inside him, anger that Sirius was dead, anger that his parents were dead, anger that even Dumbledore had turned against him. He pressed his wand fiercely to Malfoy's throat. He turned a milky white, but still managed to let out a hollow laugh.
"And yet you still deny attacking Trelawny," he said. Harry pressed it in even further. Hermione was screaming at him to stop, trying to tug him away from Malfoy, he viciously whipped his hand out and felt it come into contact with something smooth, there was a gasp, but the rest was drowned out by Ron's shouts. Malfoy was no longer white, but was turning slightly pink; he was frowning at Harry, his breathing rough and uncontrolled.
"You take after Voldermort, maybe I will hail you next," Malfoy croaked, barely audibly. Harry had never felt so angry. He said the first spell that came into his head, saw a blinding flash of green light, screams, a yell, and then everything swam before him and went black.
Again thanks to Karen, who read and reviewed, please keep reading! If you read, but don't know what to put, please just say that you read it and if you like it or not!
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