Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: I logged on to the internet the morning after I posted this story, and found in twelve hours I had FIVE reviews. So I pushed this chapter out and I'll post it as a massive thank you to those who thought my story was worth their time to review.

The room was dark, lit only by two torches, one on either side of a huge stone throne. A massive snake stirred restlessly on the flagstones nearby, her mottled coils giving off a dry hiss as they rubbed together. Other than the throne, the room was void of furniture or decoration.

Seated on the throne, his head held high and his expression one of cold disdain, was Voldemort. Arrayed in a loose semi circle around him were four Death Eaters.

Voldemort surveyed the Death Eaters as they stood silently before him. Finally he spoke, his emotionless voice almost perfectly matching the hiss of a snake.

'Where is he?'

The Death Eaters glanced at one another, their eyes diluted with fear behind their stark white masks. Finally one said, 'My Lord, he has joined with Dumbledore.'

Voldemort hissed, and the Death Eaters flinched as he brought his arm sharply down on the arm of the throne.

'You have failed me yet again,' he said in a deceptively quiet tone. The Death Eater let out a small whimper as Voldemort raised his wand.

'Crucio.'

The Death Eater screamed, falling to the floor and writhing with agony. Voldemort raised his wand after a short time and stood, his face a cold mask of fury.

'It would appear that if I want this done right, then I shall have to do it myself.' He stepped over the Death Eater now panting on the floor and made his way from the room, followed by the other three Death Eaters.

Across the country, Harry Potter awoke with a scream.

Harry sat up in bed, his hands pressed to his scar, which was burning in agony. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to bite back another scream when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

'Harry?' Ginny asked uncertainly, sitting on the edge of his bed. Harry flinched back from her brief touch, doubling over and rocking back and forth. Undeterred, Ginny began to rub his back, whispering soothing words into his ear. Gradually the pain subsided and Harry opened his eyes to stare into Ginny's brown ones, filled with concern.

'Nightmare?' Ginny asked quietly, shifting away from him a little. Harry was almost disappointed when she removed her hand from his back, although he couldn't quite pinpoint why.

'Not quite,' Harry looked down. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, illuminating his hand and Ginny's legs where they rested on the bed. When he met Ginny's gaze again, she hadn't moved.

Harry steeled himself. He knew he had to tell his friends about the Prophecy sooner or later, he had just thought it would be the later, rather than the sooner. But they had a right to know what they were in for if they continued to be his friends.

He briefly toyed with the notion of distancing himself from his friends to protect them, but quickly discarded the idea. Both Ron and Hermione were far too stubborn to let him get away with something like that, so the least he could do was warn them what to expect.

He briefly wondered who he should tell. Ron and Hermione, of course, and Ginny, Neville and Luna deserved to know what they had risked their lives for in the Department of Mysteries, too.

'Hey! Earth to Harry?'

Harry blushed, realising he had been silent for over a minute and Ginny was still waiting. 'Sorry,' he said, his eyes on his bed spread. 'Just thinking.'

'Well, I could see that,' Ginny said with a smile as her cheeks turned pink.

Harry nodded to himself, then sighed. 'Alright, I'll start from the beginning.'

And so he started talking. He told her of the Prophecy, he told her of his latest dream and his fears that he would be incapable of the task ahead of him. Once he began, it was as if the floodgates had opened. He eventually found himself talking about Sirius, how he had offered Harry a home when his name was cleared, and how Harry had spent most of his fourth year waiting for the all too infrequent letters from his Godfather. The memories hurt, but they seemed to loose some of their bite when he was sharing them with someone else. He knew he could always talk to Ron or Hermione, but they were a little too close to him. It was nice to have a friend to talk to that could be a little more objective.

Throughout his rambling dissertation, Ginny's expression ranged from shock, to horror, to thoughtfulness. Finally, nearly an hour later, when Harry had talked himself out and the sun had slipped high into the sky, she slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

'Oh Harry,' she sighed as he blinked in surprise, before his arms tentatively went around her. 'It all seems to happen to you, doesn't it? It doesn't seem fair that you're always the one people expect to do the really nasty jobs.'

Harry laughed hollowly. 'Yeah, that's me. "Boy-Who-Lived, roving hero". Bring me your problems, and I'll solve them for you.'

'Oh Harry, don't say that,' Ginny said, pulling away from him. She looked thoughtful. 'Still, you've survived against him so many times, there's no reason you can't do it again.'

Harry sighed, running his hand through his messy hair. 'Yeah, well, one day I'm going to run out of luck, and Voldemort will kill me.'

'You don't know that,' Ginny said calmly. 'You heard the Prophecy, "the Dark Lord will mark him as equal". Obviously you're a threat, or Voldemort wouldn't have attacked you, would he?' He made to reply, but Ginny pressed one finger to his lips, her blush becoming even more pronounced. 'Don't answer, just think about it.'

She stood quickly, her face flaming now almost the same colour as her hair. She gathered up some clothes and quickly left the room. Harry stared after her for a few moments, lot in thought, then quickly climbed out of bed and dressed. He was buttoning up his shirt when she returned, and as he looked up he caught her staring at him. He was about to ask her what was wrong when the doorbell rang.

'I'll get it!' Harry shouted, brushing past Ginny and out into the hall.

He opened the door to find an unfamiliar young man standing there, about twenty five years of age. He was tall, much taller than Harry, who wasn't exactly short. He wore Muggle clothes, and seemed very much at ease in the jeans and loose shirt. He smiled, a quirky smile that made Harry feel immediately at ease.

'Harry Potter, I presume?' he asked, extending his hand which Harry grasped. 'Name's James Milton. Can I come in?'

Harry was immediately on his guard. He cursed himself for being lulled by the stranger's easy manner. 'Who sent you?'

James laughed, his eyes twinkling. There was something strange about them, but Harry couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

'Dumbledore, of course,' James answered his question, taking a step back and pointing to a spot about twenty feet from the front door. 'I couldn't have crossed that line without Dumbledore's express permission.'

This was news to Harry, but he was still wary. 'Yeah, well Dumbledore trust's Snape, too.'

James chuckled. 'Fair enough,' he said in good humour. 'Alright, devise a test for me then.'

Harry thought a moment. 'At the place, there's a large animal. What's it's name?'

James raised an eyebrow. 'Now that's cryptic,' he remarked, 'but I'm assuming you mean Buckbeak.'

'Potter!' A voice came from nearby, and Mad-Eye Moody's face suddenly appeared out of thin air. 'Will you let him in, already?'

'Thanks Alastor,' James said as Harry opened the door wider to allow James in. Moody grunted and disappeared under his invisibility cloak again.

'Sorry about that,' Harry said, quickly checking the lounge room and kitchen for signs of the Dursleys and, finding none, he led James up the stairs.

'Perfectly all right,' James assured him. 'In these troubled times, a bit of caution might just keep you alive.'

They entered Harry's room, and he quickly shut the door as he heard heavy footsteps in the hall. 'Brace yourself,' Harry muttered to James, who smiled tightly in reply.

The door crashed open, and again Vernon stood looking into the room. Harry noticed Ginny flinch, and he felt a surge of hot anger towards his uncle.

'Who the ruddy hell are you?' Vernon demanded, looking James up and down contemptuously. 'Another freak, I suppose?'

James' eyes flashed, but his reply was calm. 'I am James Milton,' he said, 'come to check on Harry and Ginny, that is all.'

'Vernon? Who was at the door?' Petunia appeared in the doorway behind her husband. She frowned at James, but refrained from commenting.

'Just another…one of them,' Vernon said through clenched teeth, before turning and storming down the stairs, shaking the house with every step. Petunia followed, and Harry quickly shut the door.

'Sorry about that,' he apologised, flopping down on his bed.

James shook his head. 'It's alright, Harry,' he said. 'The Muggles aren't your fault.'

Ginny looked hopefully at James. 'Do you…' she trailed off, unable to put her question into words.

'Your brother should be fine,' James assured her, and she let out a long sigh of relief. 'They'll be keeping him in St. Mungo's for a while, though. He's pretty badly messed up. Your mother's there with him now.'

His face turned serious. 'Now,' he said crisply, 'Dumbledore has agreed to let you and your friends come back to Hogwarts early this year, but not yet. Most of the teachers are away, and Dumbledore wants at least most of them to be back at the castle before any students arrive. It'll probably be sometime in mid-August, and I'll be back then to pick you up, along with every Order member we can spare.'

Harry nodded slowly. While this meant less time with the Dursleys, it still meant another few weeks at least.

'Don't look so glum!' James said lightly. 'It's not as bad as it sounds. An Order member will be around every other day to check up on you, and Molly said she'll keep sending food if you need it.' Harry nodded quickly. 'Okay, I'll tell her. I'm sure she'll be pleased to be doing her bit to save you from those Muggles.'

'Thank you,' Harry said quietly.

James waved the thanks aside. 'No need to thank me. Just doing my part to help.' He grimaced slightly, then continued. 'Alright, I've got to get going. I'll see you both in a few weeks, alright?'

He waved, a lopsided grin on his face, and Disapparated with a sharp crack.

A/N: Brownie points to whoever can tell me why Ginny and not Ron was sent to Harry's.

And before you ask, you can Disapparate from inside Privet Drive, but not Apparate into it.

All comments welcome (this chapter seemed a little stilted to me, but I couldn't really think of any way to make it better.)