A Series of Very Weird Events
Part 6:
Harry looked himself in the mirror, discontent with what he saw. His head no longer looked like a chess-board, but had turned much whiter than before. In addition, it was smoother than before, even though most of it still stood up. It was like his hair was being torn between two styles and two colours, and he still wasn't sure which would win. He couldn't explain it. No one could explain it. He splashed some water on his face, and stood with his eyes closed as it dried. After a while, he turned away from the mirror and left the bathroom, still in his nightwear.
It was Saturday, and nothing was happening today. Well...he suspected something would happen. Marcus had returned to Slytherin House the night before, and Keegs had immediately pulled him into a room where they could talk in private, away from Harry and everyone else. When they had emerged from the room later, both Keegs and Marcus had nodded at him, and Harry had understood. Marcus had returned to Dumbledore's office this morning to change his story to fit Harry's. It wasn't the best story, but he'd have to believe it when it came right from the horse's mouth.
He came into the common-room; he didn't bother to change clothes. No one would comment on it; everyone was too afraid of him to make any comments. He was getting used to it, now, and was finding fear to be a very efficient tool. Of course, loyalty amongst his followers was favoured. Fear should not have to drive them; loyalty should.
He sat down in his usual chair, which hadn't been sat in by anyone but him since he became a Slytherin, and he stared into the fireplace. He'd have to go up to the owlery, later on. Hedwig had stopped bringing his mail to breakfast. Apparently, so had Draco's. Odd occurrences were happening all over school, but only to him and Draco, it seemed... He didn't feel like thinking of it, and so he instead looked around the common-room for something to occupy his time. It was nearly deserted, and the people who were there weren't making their presence known enough for him to be annoyed by them, and so he decided to ignore them. Luckily, Pansy and some of her friends soon emerged from the girls' dormitory and entered the common-room. Pansy, his alibi after the Longbottom incident. If anyone asked where he was, he'd tell them he was with Pansy in the common-room. It was the middle of the night, but it was believable. They were supposed to be a couple, after all, and Harry had felt that seemed like the kind of thing a couple would do. And if someone asked Pansy about Harry's whereabouts, she would tell them the same. They had the perfect relationship, right now. Distanced, yet it was useful.
The second she saw him, she rushed to his side and sat down on the floor beside his chair and smiled lovingly up at him. Of all the people in Slytherin, Pansy and Keegs seemed to be the two people who were least afraid of him, and so neither Keegs nor Pansy hesitated to approach him. Of course, Keegs was the only one of the two who was actually welcome by Harry. At least he sometimes had something useful to tell him.
"Good morning, Harry!" she said and stretched her neck up towards him to give him a kiss. He turned away, but made it look coincidental.
"Pansy," he said bluntly as a hello, but realized that he couldn't stop there, "Did you sleep well?"
Of course he didn't want to know if she'd slept well, he had no interest in getting that information, but he had to ask. Immediately, Pansy started on a long speech, describing every second she'd spent sleeping that night. She'd only said a few sentences when Harry was overcome by boredom. He would have loved to cut her off, to stop her and tell her exactly how boring he found this tale, but he didn't. She was too useful, despite her obvious stupidity. She worked wonders on his alibi, for instance. He couldn't risk offending her until this business with Longbottom was over. He knew Longbottom wouldn't tell them who had been involved; he had seen to it before they left Gryffindor House that night, when he'd cast a curse on him that would remove his memory for at least five hours prior to the incident. He'd cast the same curse on the Fat Lady before they left. There were no ties back to him, if only he could keep Pansy on his side. And that meant listening to her excruciatingly boring stories. And so he kept listening to her, wishing that something would happen to cut her off...
"Harry," a voice from behind his chair said, and he turned to see Keegs standing there.
"Keegs," Harry answered, "Good. Do you have any news for me?"
Keegs nodded, and Harry smiled. He smiled, because this meant he would be able to get away from Pansy and her mindless blabbering, and that was all he had wanted. As long as he didn't have to stay in the same room as her for too long, they could be a couple. Pansy was his alibi when he needed it, but his interest in her ended there. She was someone to make a statement in his favour whenever he should need one, someone who could get him out of trouble without having the faintest idea about what kind of trouble he was in. A stupid girl who would stand by him no matter what he did, because she was too dim-witted to find out. She was the perfect girlfriend.
He turned towards her, putting on his best disappointed face, and stood up.
"Excuse me, Pansy. I have to go talk to Keegs. It's important."
Pansy nodded vigorously, remembering the last time she had interrupted one of his important conversations. She didn't really understand this with Keegs, however. He was a silly fourth year, and Harry had never spoken to him before in his life; in fact, she had never actually noticed Keegs before, and especially not around Harry. It was like he had been invisible for the past four years, and only now had come into the light. She couldn't for the life of her remember ever having seen him around school, before...
Harry left her and walked into the boys' dormitory with Keegs, wearing a content smirk across his face.
"Your timing is impeccable, Keegs," Harry said as they entered his room and sat down, "One more minute, and I would have had to endure listening to everything that twit had to tell me."
"Yes..." Keegs replied, hesitating for a moment before he continued. Keegs had a strange way about him; some annoying personality traits Harry didn't much care for. Actually, he didn't care for them at all.
"I've been in touch with Marcus. He's told Dumbledore about his alleged crush on Parvati Patil, and how the painting of Gryffindor common-room was revenge for her having turned him down. Apparently, Dumbledore believes it, but that is according to Marcus. I expect they'll want to talk to you about it, and Pansy as well, since she's the one providing you with an alibi."
"Don't you think I know that? It was my plan, after all; I've already thought of all of this."
Keegs didn't answer. Instead, he just sat there, staring at Harry. Suddenly, Harry felt extremely uncomfortable, but he didn't have time to comment on it, as the door suddenly burst open, and Nott ran pale-faced into the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"You'd better get out there, Harry. Snape's here, asking for you. He doesn't look happy, Harry. He doesn't look happy at all."
Harry furrowed his brow, but got up and moved out the door with Keegs and Nott following right behind. True enough, when he reached the common-room, there was Snape, wearing one of his sour expressions. This time, however, Harry felt he looked angrier than he usually did.
"Follow me, Potter," he said once he saw Harry standing in the doorway, "You and I are going to have a little chat."
Snape slammed the door to his office shut behind him as Harry walked to the chair in front of his desk and sat down.
"I did not tell you to sit down, Potter." Snape said, and Harry shrugged.
"No, but I did it anyway," Harry answered, smirking.
"I don't appreciate your cheek, Potter," Snape replied and walked to the fireplace, turning his back to Harry, and stared into the fire.
"Which one? The left or the right?" Harry grinned smartly, and Snape turned quickly towards him.
"You will not talk back to me, and you will refer to me as 'sir' or 'professor'."
Harry turned to him, cocking a defiant brow at him as he looked him in the eye.
"Or perhaps it should be you who refer to me as 'sir', Professor."
The anger in Snape's eyes faded, and he regained his cool demeanour as he walked slowly to behind the desk and sat down, never taking his eyes off Harry.
"Your arrogance will be your downfall, Potter; the same arrogance you practiced in Gryffindor House two days ago."
"I wasn't in Gryffindor House two days ago," Harry replied, meeting Snape's frosty gaze with an almost equally cool one, as they attempted to stare each other down.
"Did you think yourself clever when you left that message? 'Greetings from an old friend'? Did you really think I would be fooled by it?" Harry cocked a brow, and his answer echoed inside his mind. Yes... Snape lifted his chin; apparently, Harry's expression said the answer his vocals did not.
"I didn't leave that message," Harry said, leaning back in his seat and making himself comfortable. This could take a while.
"No, of course, Marcus Glist did. The 'old friend' of Gryffindor House. Tell me, where exactly were you while he was leaving this message?"
Harry smirked and cocked his chin towards his teacher, knowing now that he had the upper hand. He had an answer, he had an alibi. He wouldn't be expecting this.
"I was in the Slytherin common-room."
"Prove it," Snape answered with his lips bordering on a smirk.
"Ask Pansy. She was with me."
Snape was quiet as he leaned back in his seat, studying Harry for a moment while he considered his answer.
"Is she willing to give this story to the headmaster?" he asked after a short pause, and Harry nodded in reply, "Very well. Leave."
"What?" Harry asked, staring at Snape in disbelief.
"That will be all, Potter. You may leave."
Harry cocked a brow, and slowly rose from his seat.
"You could have asked me this in Slytherin House, instead of dragging me all the way down here. Next time you decide to waste my time for no apparent reason, you can..."
"Mind the arrogance, Potter," Snape interrupted, and Harry immediately stopped talking, "It will be your undoing."
Harry stared at Snape for a moment, while he turned to some papers on his desk and started ploughing through them, paying him no heed as he stood there. Finally, he turned away and left, slamming the door behind him as he exited the office.
"Undoing," he muttered as he walked down the hall, glaring at the empty corridor that stretched out ahead of him, "Insolence will be his undoing."
"There is something seriously wrong with this," Ron said to Hermione as they arrived for dinner in the Great Hall and sat down. She turned towards him, and then followed his eyes to Slytherin table, where Harry now sat alone. People were shying away from him, sitting at least three chairs away from him. Crabbe and Goyle were those sitting closest to him, and they were half turned away from him, almost like they were afraid of looking at him. Harry glared from side to side, diverting stares with each glance. Some people still had the audacity to look at him, it seemed. Ron turned back to the table just as food appeared, and he started eating right away.
"I know," Hermione answered, still looking in Harry's direction, "He's turned against his own, now. He's getting worse. Ron, we have to find out who's doing this now, before..." suddenly, her voice faded as she stared in Harry's direction with a confused look in her eyes. Ron glanced at her, and decided from her expression that it was time for a small break from his eating.
"What?" he asked, and turned around to see what she was looking at.
"That boy," she said and pointed at Keegs, who had entered the room a moment earlier and was now taking a seat across the table from Harry, "I've seen him with Harry before. Who is he?"
Ron thought about it for a moment before he answered, somewhat hesitantly at first.
"I think...James, that's it, James...Keegs. He's a fourth year."
Hermione furrowed her brow and studied the pair. Keegs was sitting on the chair across the table to Harry's right and leaning halfway over the table while he said something to him. Although Hermione was too far away to hear them, she knew they were whispering, she could tell from the way Harry was listening. She hadn't seen him pay this much attention to anything other people had to say in a long time.
"He wasn't one of Draco's..."
Again, Hermione's voice wouldn't carry her query, and she was instead left sitting with her brow furrowed. Ron, who had already turned back to his food, now found that he had to stop eating once more to find out what was troubling her this time.
"Hermione, can't you just..."
"Shush," Hermione quickly interrupted and held up a hand to stop him as she kept staring at Harry. Rolling his eyes, Ron turned around and saw...Harry and Keegs, still sitting there alone.
"Hermione, what..." he started, but she cut him off again.
"Dobby!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Ron asked, confused, but she didn't answer. Instead, she gasped while looking in Harry's direction, before getting up and leaping forth. Ron swirled around in confusion, watching her as she sprinted towards Harry, who was lifting a piece of chicken towards his mouth. He didn't notice her until she was nothing but a few steps away, and he dropped the piece of chicken in surprise as he quickly got up. Ron rose from his seat, as did just about everyone else in the Great Hall, and watched the sight in amazement as Hermione threw herself halfway over the Slytherin table, grabbed the piece of chicken Harry had just been holding and darted out of the room, through the mass of hysterically laughing students. Harry was left in confusion, staring at the retreating form of Hermione Granger until she had left the room, at which time he barked some orders at Crabbe and Goyle, who immediately got up and ran towards the door.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, before he also set after Hermione and the two goons, who he suspected had been sent to catch her. Just as he was about to leave the room, he glanced back at Harry, who was now sitting down with an angered expression in his face, and at Keegs, who was looking frantically to both sides. When his eyes met Ron's, however, the frantic expression faded, and was replaced with a glare, before he sat back down and turned back to Harry. Furrowing his brow, Ron sprinted out of the Great Hall, setting after Hermione and her two pursuers.
Wheezing, he ran down the hallway, on the brink of giving up his search for Hermione. He had lost Crabbe and Goyle a few halls back; they had given up the search long before Ron had. Now he stopped, leaning forth and steadying himself by grabbing his knees as he desperately tried to regain his breath. He had not had time to draw even two breaths before hasty footsteps coming towards him caught his attention.
"Ron!" Hermione's voice said, and he looked up to see her walking towards him with quick steps, "There you are! I've looked everywhere for you!"
"You've looked?" Ron exclaimed and stood up straight, "You've had me running up and down hallways after Crabbe and Goyle for the past half hour!"
"Crabbe and Goyle?" she asked, seeming confused, but suddenly the confusion left her face, "Oh, them! I lost them before they'd even started chasing me. Now, come on, I have something to tell you!"
She grabbed his hand and started pulling forward, but he shook himself free of her grasp and stood his ground determinedly.
"Not until you tell me why you behaved like a total lunatic in a Great Hall," he said firmly, and she tilted her head to the side and studied him for a moment, "I mean...if you were that hungry for chicken, there was more than enough at our table!"
"Oh, Ron!" she exclaimed in an annoyed fashion, "I wasn't going to eat it! I just wanted to keep Harry from eating it. Come on, I'll explain on the way."
Again, she grabbed his hand and started tugging, but he didn't move.
"What? You wanted to... What?"
Hermione sighed and stopped moving, turning to him again.
"It's Dobby!" she exclaimed, but Ron only furrowed his brow in reply, and so she sighed again and continued, "Dobby put that piece of chicken on Harry's plate, I saw him do it! Don't you see? The chicken was poisoned! That's why he's behaving like this; it's the chicken! That's where the Personovo Potion is, and Dobby's the one giving it to him."
"What!" Ron exclaimed, "Dobby would never do that to Harry! Hermione, you know he wouldn't!"
Again, Hermione sighed and shook her head at him.
"He wouldn't do it on his own, no. But maybe under the influence of the Imperius Curse..."
"Someone's making Dobby poison Harry!" Ron shouted, and Hermione shushed wildly at him.
"Ron, keep your voice down! We don't know who is behind all this, it could be anyone! Whoever it is could be right here in Hogwarts; they could even be listening to our conversation!"
Ron quickly covered his mouth with his hand and stared at Hermione with a terrified look in his eyes. When he removed his hand, his voice was lowered to a whisper.
"Do you think it could be Vol...Vol...You Know Who?" he asked, lowering his voice even more as he spoke the last three words.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was," she immediately answered, and Ron nodded, raising his eyes from Hermione to a point behind her. Suddenly, he issued a loud squeak and stared right ahead. Hermione didn't turn to see who it was, but she knew soon enough.
"Mister Weasley, Miss Granger," the voice of Professor McGonagall sounded from behind her, and Hermione slowly turned and faced her, "I believe this a matter to address the headmaster with, don't you?"
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, Ron panic-stricken, but Hermione calm, and Hermione was the first to turn back to the Professor.
"Yes, Professor."
Professor McGonagall led them up the stairs to Dumbledore's office and towards the door. From inside the office, they heard loud, angered arguing in a man's voice. They could tell it wasn't Dumbledore's, however. The second McGonagall heard the voice, she picked up speed and nearly leapt forth to knock on the door. The arguing came to an abrupt halt as soon as the knocking sounded, and was replaced by the sound of quick footsteps approaching the door. It opened quickly and revealed that Dumbledore was the opener, while Professor Snape stood in the background. He started moving, pushing past Dumbledore and McGonagall, and casting Hermione and Ron an angry glance before he left the office. Ron and Hermione turned and followed him with their eyes as he walked out the door, and their eyes remained on the door after he was gone.
"Ah," Dumbledore said, shifting their attention from the door to him, "Miss Hermione Granger and Mister Ronald Weasley. I was wondering when you two would pay me a visit. Alas, it seems you did not come to this conclusion on your own."
He glanced at Professor McGonagall before he looked back at the two students, and they both turned their gazes away in a slightly embarrassed way.
"Come in, come in," Dumbledore continued, as McGonagall ushered them both through the door, closing it behind them before Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and kept talking, "I take it you have something to tell me?"
Hermione and Ron turned to each other, and Ron shrugged. Hesitantly, Hermione turned back to the headmaster.
"Well...yes, Professor," she answered, "It's about Harry."
"I thought so," Dumbledore interrupted and helped himself to some Lemon Drops in a bowl on his desk, "Please, have some Lemon Drops. They're delicious. And sit down, you don't have to stay on your feet."
Hesitantly, Ron and Hermione's eyes met again, as two chairs moved across the floor and stopped behind them. They both sat down and took some of the candy. Dumbledore smiled at them, putting one of the Lemon Drops into his mouth before he kept talking.
"Now, what have you found out about Harry Potter?" he asked, and Hermione drew a deep breath.
"Well, Professor... I think there might be a possibility that someone has, maybe, been feeding him, and Draco Malfoy, food containing Personovo Potion."
When she was done talking, Professor Dumbledore nodded understandingly, and brought his hand to his face, obviously turning the information around in his head.
"I see," he soon said, "And what makes you say this?"
"I've suspected it ever since Professor Snape mentioned the potion in one of his classes..."
"Professor Snape, you say?" Professor Dumbledore interrupted, suddenly sounding surprised, and Hermione nodded.
"Yes, Professor. However, he didn't finish the class, it was very odd... But I decided to learn more about it, and I've discovered that Harry and Draco have all the symptoms. They've switched roles, they won't face the people that used to be their friends, sometimes they act odd, almost confused, like they don't really know where they are, and it seems that their behaviour is awfully coloured by their opinions about one another."
"I see," Dumbledore repeated after she'd said her part, "And do you have any evidence other than that?"
Hermione nodded, eagerly.
"Yes, Professor. Today I saw...someone...put a piece of chicken on Harry's plate while he wasn't looking, and I've read that if you want to achieve optimal results when using Personovo Potion, it should be inserted into food of poultry before it is ingested. I took the chicken from him before he could eat it, however, and hid it in a safe place."
"Really?" Dumbledore interrupted, "And where would this safe place be?"
Hermione hesitated, but gave him the answer.
"The Room of Requirements."
Dumbledore nodded quickly to Professor McGonagall, and she left the room without complaint. Dumbledore turned back to Hermione and Ron, focusing mostly on Hermione.
"When you say you saw someone put the piece of chicken on Harry's plate, Hermione, who would that someone be?"
Hermione hesitated, but shook her head after a short pause.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I can't really tell. I couldn't see his face properly," she answered, and Ron turned to her with a confused look in his face.
"Hermione, why don't you just tell him it was..." he started, but Hermione turned to him with a shocked expression in her face, "Oh," he continued, "never mind."
"It was who, Mister Weasley?" Dumbledore asked, and under the querying gaze of Albus Dumbledore, Ron faltered.
"Dobby," he answered in a disappointed manner, and turned his eyes to the ground.
"I see..." Dumbledore replied, and Hermione suddenly rose from her chair.
"It wasn't Dobby's fault, Professor! Someone was making him do it, I just know it! I could tell it wasn't him. His eyes...they were completely blank. He looked right at me, but it was as though he didn't see me at all. Dobby would never hurt Harry, Professor, I promise!"
"It's quite alright, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said after her voice had died away, "I am sure Dobby wasn't the evildoer behind all this. It is, however, better that I remove him from his duties until we can, at least, determine whether Harry and Draco are truly under the influence of Personovo Potion, and from there determine who is behind the poisoning. Until then, I believe you two would be safer back at Gryffindor House. I will notify you once we have come to a conclusion."
Ron and Hermione nodded, and they both rose from their seats and turned to leave. For a moment, Hermione hesitated, and turned back to Dumbledore.
"Sir," she started, "do you think it might be...You Know Who behind all of this?"
"I really couldn't say, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded and turned away from him, joining Ron at the door and leaving the office. Once outside, Ron turned smiling to Hermione.
"See? Dumbledore has it all under control. We'll have our good old Harry back in no time, and Draco back where he belongs."
He picked up his pace, leaving Hermione a few steps behind as he hurried to get back to Gryffindor House. Hermione furrowed her brow as she walked down the hall, looking worriedly after him.
"Let's hope so," she answered, and picked up her pace to catch up with him.
...to be continued
A/N: So, that's the last part I've actually written of this story, and to warn all of you who follow it, it might be a while until I post the next part, because I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block in these horrible days. But I WILL post more of it! I know exactly how it's going to end. And I would also like to say thank you for the reviews! I love reading reviews, so keep 'em coming! I want lots and lots! grin