Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: Greetings all! Yet another glance into the weird and wacky world of my imagination combined with the genius of J. K. Rowling. I think we may need a fallout shelter…

Apologies in advance for any…shall we say, weirdness in this chapter. My only excuse is that I just re-read the entire Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (all five books). Blame Marvin, or possibly Fenchurch. Maybe Zaphod. Bah!

athenakitty: They already knew about the Marauders, James told them. But if you look in one of the books Fred and George say exactly the same thing when they supply the foodstuffs for a party (PoA, I think, after one of the Quidditch matches and after Harry gets the map). Sorry, it was supposed to be obviously the Weasley twins.

Blue/Whimsical Firefly: (stalks off muttering about insane FEMALE reviewers)

To everyone else in regards to above: Don't ask. Please.

The following weekend was the promised Hogsmeade trip. An hour before the students were scheduled to leave the castle, Professor Milton gathered a group of students in the Entrance Hall. They had all received a badge in the Owl Post that morning that reminded Harry of a policeman's badge, which was exactly what it was supposed to remind people of.

'All right,' James said without preamble when the fifteen students were all present. 'You lot are going to be in charge of things today, alright?' Fifteen nods later, he continued. 'Keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, and the instant something happens send up red sparks. The teachers will be waiting for that signal. The other students will be instructed to find one of you if they happen across anything.' He looked sternly around at the group. 'Got it?'

'Yes sir,' Harry assured him for the group. The letters accompanying the badges had already gone into detail, and Harry himself knew the plans backwards, having had a large hand in their formulation three days ago after several hours closeted with James and Dumbledore. Taking the idea from Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad the previous year, they had decided that the best students from Harry's Advanced Defense classes would form a sort of elite force that would answer directly to Harry. Harry himself had objected to the idea until Dumbledore pointed out that the students already looked up to him and would be much more likely to bring any problems they came across to him, rather than to a teacher.

'Good,' James smiled. 'Knew I could count on you lot. Alright, head on down now. The other students won't be far behind.'

The group making their way out of the castle had been hand picked by Harry and James, and were some of the best students currently attending Hogwarts. Jokingly called Dumbledore's Army after the fiasco last year, they were also almost exclusively ex-DA members. The only exception was Isabelle Lestrange, who had been included at Harry's prompting. Her solitary green trimmed robes contrasted starkly against the sea of red, blue and yellow. Over the last couple of weeks, the fifth year Slytherin had shown that she was almost a match for Hermione's intelligence, and she had an intimate knowledge of the Dark Arts, probably a legacy from her family. She seemed to be out to prove something, and although she usually tended to keep herself aloof from other people, she seemed to be going out of her way to befriend Harry.

Ron, of course, had immediately become suspicious. He had started sprouting wild theories about Isabelle's motives until Hermione had told him to stop being silly. Then he had gone very red in the face and stalked off, muttering to himself.

All that was forgotten now as the group walked to Hogsmeade. Almost automatically, the students had formed up around Harry, who found himself walking right at the middle of the group with Ginny on one side and Isabelle on the other. Ron and Hermione were walking a little apart from the rest, their heads close together. As Harry looked around at the grim expressions that even the Milton twins wore, he realised that without exception this group would defend him to the death, and the thought both relieved and sickened him.

'What's wrong, Harry?' Ginny asked quietly, noticing his faraway look.

'Nothing,' Harry said quickly, hauling his thought back into the present. 'Just…thinking.'

Ginny was shrewd enough not to press him into speaking, so settled for linking her hand with his. On his other side, Isabelle leaned in close and whispered into his ear as they passed through the main gates.

'Do you think the Dark Lord will attack?' she asked as if she were inquiring about the weather. She obviously feared Voldemort not at all.

'No idea,' Harry answered honestly. 'I suppose it would make sense, but I hope he doesn't.'

'Approaching the wards,' Ernie Macmillan's voice came from the front of the group. Looking around cautiously, the students crossed the invisible line and stood tensely, their wands out and trained on the surrounding trees.

'He's not going to attack here!' Harry said loudly, causing several people near him to jump. 'Come on, we have to keep going. I want to check the village first.' The teachers had already done a sweep of Hogsmeade that morning, but where the student's safety was concerned Harry didn't want to take any chances.

A thorough search turned up nothing. They met again in the village square as the rest of the Hogwarts students began to arrive in small groups.

'Alright,' Harry said tersely. 'Split up into pairs. Each pair can take an area or a shop, so we have everywhere covered. I'll stay around here, so if anyone needs me they'll know where to look. Okay?' Everyone nodded. 'Come on then, we have a village to protect.'

In pairs, the members of "Dumbledore's Army" split up and scattered through the village, leaving Harry, Ginny and Isabelle alone in the square. The Slytherin shrugged at Harry's inquiring look.

'There's an odd number of students,' she explained, and Harry nodded.

'Okay, you're with us,' he motioned to Ginny, who was looking less than pleased at the third member of their party.

'It's alright, Weasley,' Isabelle said with a half smile. 'I'm not out to steal your boyfriend, so stop glaring at me.' Ginny immediately blushed bright red.

'Don't you forget, my boyfriend,' she growled, linking her arm firmly through Harry's, who stared at her blankly. She had never been that possessive before. He shook his head wryly; he'd never understand women. Everything else aside, it still felt very odd to be referred to as a "boyfriend", and his mind was still having trouble with "girlfriend" being a label that could be applied to Ginny.

Isabelle shook her head in amusement. 'Gryffindors,' she muttered. 'I'll take the other side of the square, then. Younger Slytherins will come to me when they wouldn't come to you, anyway.'

'Okay,' Harry consented. 'Be careful.'

'I'm always careful,' Isabelle's pale features formed a smirk that reminded Harry sharply of her mother. The Slytherin turned and walked over to the other side of the square, where she sat on a bench and rested her back against a wall, watching the milling crowds of students with a watchful eye.

'Do you really think she can be trusted?' Ginny asked uncertainly as she and Harry sat on a similar bench.

'Absolutely,' he said firmly. 'She's about as like her mother as you are to Draco Malfoy. I spoke to Professor Dumbledore about it, and he agreed.'

Ginny nodded resolutely. 'If you and Dumbledore say she can be trusted, she can be trusted,' she said, laying her head down on Harry's shoulder. He tilted his head slightly so it rested on top of hers.

'Don't know why I'm trusting Dumbledore's opinion,' Harry said with a sudden trace of bitterness in his voice. 'He trusts Snape.'

Ginny growled softly under her breath. 'Greasy git,' she said darkly.

Suddenly she tensed, her body going rigid against his. Her head snapped up, colliding painfully with his chin, but she didn't seem to notice.

'Ginny!' Harry rubbed his chin. 'What are you doing?' She didn't answer. He stood and faced her, and was surprised to see her eyes closed and her lips moving. He immediately remembered the morning during the holidays when she had been "talking" in her sleep, and decided to wait her out.

After a moment, she stood and began to walk across the square, her eyes closed and her mouth still silently forming words. For a brief moment as he hurried after her, Harry wished he could lip read. People seemed to melt out of their path as Ginny walked towards the edge of the village.

'Ginny!' Harry yelled, grabbing her arm. She hissed at him, her hand suddenly swiping at his arm, leaving long bloody gashes where her fingernails dug in. Harry completely ignored the pain, twisting her around so she was facing away from him and tightly pinning her arms to her sides. She kicked him sharply in the shins and he winced, almost letting her go.

'Harry?' Isabelle came running up from the other side of the square. One look at Ginny's face and she immediately sent up red sparks.

'Keep her there!' Isabelle commanded, as other DA members came sprinting from all directions. Students were beginning to gather, trying to see what was happening. 'It's a possession spell,' Isabelle continued in a hushed voice that only Harry could hear. Ginny was still fighting him, trying to get away. 'It's very hard to cast, and it takes a long time to implement. You have to talk to her! Snap her out of it!'

'Ginny!' Harry said sharply, shaking the struggling girl in his arms. 'Listen to me!' She hissed at him again, and Harry was astonished to find that he understood her. She was speaking Parseltounge! Suddenly it all clicked into place.

'Voldemort!' Harry hissed. 'I know you can hear me! Let her go, NOW!' Harry was only vaguely aware of Isabelle trying to keep Ron and Hermione from reaching them.

Ginny stopped struggling, and her eyes finally opened. They were no longer the chocolate brown Harry knew, but red slits. 'Potter…so nice to see you again.'

'Let her go!' Harry shouted in English as Dumbledore, James, Professor McGonagall and Snape appeared nearby.

'I don't think so, Potter,' Ginny smiled thinly. 'I think I might have a little fun with yourgirlfriend first.'

And suddenly Ginny screamed, her body writhing in Harry's arms. There was nothing he could do, only watch helplessly as her eyes, back to their normal brown, pleaded with him to stop the pain.

'NO! GET OUT!' Harry screamed, and was driven to his knees as a massive burst of power surged out of him and into Ginny. Instantly she sagged down against him, panting heavily. There was a disembodied scream that echoed loudly around the square, and quite a few students fainted as a wave of magical energy engulfed them. The scream faded slowly, and Ginny sank into unconsciousness.

He could have used magic. Any number of the people surrounding him could have done it. But Harry chose not to. Instead, he tenderly picked Ginny up, snarling at Dumbledore as he tried to approach, and carried the girl up to the castle the old fashioned way, totally unaware of a platinum haired boy smirking in the crowd.

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All through the day and the following night, Harry sat with Ginny in the Hospital wing. She had yet to move an inch, and he was desperately worried. When Dumbledore tried to talk with him he had pulled his wand on the older wizard, who had wisely chosen to continue the discussion at a later date. Some hours ago Ron and Hermione had entered the Hospital wing and without saying a word had stationed themselves on the opposite side of Ginny to where Harry sat. They had yet to speak, for which Harry was terribly grateful, and were doing a good job of keeping the unwelcome visitors away.

Isabelle had stopped by briefly, not at all fazed when Ron told her to piss off. 'I just wanted to tell Harry that what he did today was amazing,' she said calmly. 'I don't think he realises that. If he hadn't done whatever he did, Ginny would have died.'

With that she had turned and left the room, leaving a flabbergasted Ron staring after her.

And all the while, Harry sat and held Ginny's hand, waiting for her to wake.

A/N: Okay, the DA (as in Dumbledore's Army) will be an ongoing thing, so I'll list the members here. Kind of an Anti-Inquisitorial Squad. ;) Sorry I didn't explain it better in the story itself, but I had brain freeze. Oh well. (Ducks the rotten fruit suddenly pelting his way, running for the fallout shelter and slamming the door) It's Firefly's fault, I tells ya! Her fault!

Bloody hell I need sleep.

The DA consists of: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginevra Weasley, Isabelle Lestrange, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, Alexander Milton, Cassandra Milton, Dean Thomas, Zacharias Smith, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstien. Cho was offered a position, but refused, hence the odd number.

Is it just my imagination, or did the Fanfiction logo used to be green?