Harry Potter and the Mind Mage
By James Milamber
As it was wont to do, the news of Isabelle's encounter traveled like wildfire through the student body of Hogwarts. Reactions were mixed, and the following day alternated between people asking her if she was all right and practically spitting on her.
'If one more stuck up son of a bitch looks down their nose at me, I'm going to start hexing people,' she muttered darkly to Alex after a particularly unpleasant encounter with a group of third year Hufflepuffs; the only reason they had escaped unscathed was because of the timely intervention of Professor Sinistra.
'I might just join in,' Alex glared so intensely at a group of approaching Ravenclaws that they quailed and dashed up the nearest staircase. 'You'd think a war would help everyone get over their differences for once, but no, they're all too bloody self absorbed to even notice.' He scowled at the flagstones for a moment. 'I think we'd better tell Dad about this,' he said finally. 'He might be able to do something about it.'
'I doubt it,' Isabelle said resignedly, but allowed him to lead her to James' office. The Professor listened to their story, maintaining a stony silence all the while.
'I'll deal with it,' he said curtly when they had finished, ushering them out of his office.
'That was productive,' Isabelle muttered to Alex as they made their way back through the halls towards Gryffindor Tower.
'Don't dismiss him too quickly,' Alex cautioned. 'If he says he's taking care of it, he's taking care of it. Give him some time.'
They rounded a corner to the sight of a furious Harry Potter charging down the corridor towards them.
'Who?' Harry asked Isabelle in a tightly controlled voice when he reached her.
She blinked. 'Who what?'
'Who did it?' Harry's voice grew perceptibly louder.
'Settle down, Harry,' Alex said soothingly. 'It's okay, Dad's already taking care of it.'
'I just got his owl,' Harry said through clenched teeth, raising his fist. A crumpled piece of parchment was barely visible between his white knuckles.
'Oh.' Alex's eyes widened in understanding. 'I see.' Thanks, Dad.
'Who did it?' Harry repeated.
'It doesn't matter,' Isabelle sighed. 'I've been expecting it to crop up at some point. I'm actually surprised it took this long. I can take care of myself, Harry.'
'Maybe you can,' Harry granted, 'but this is Gryffindor. We don't treat people like that in this House, and certainly not our own.' He thought a moment. 'I'm going to McGonagall,' he said decisively.
'No!' Isabelle caught his arm as he turned to leave. 'She's already not that fond of me,' she explained. 'If we take this to her, she'll think I'm just trying to cause trouble or something.'
'McGonagall's not like that,' Harry objected. 'She's fair.'
'And if McGonagall doesn't do anything about it, I might just have to take things into my own hands,' Alex added grimly, cracking his knuckles dramatically.
'That's enough, both of you,' Isabelle said sharply, and both boys turned to stare at her. 'I can take care of myself, thankyou. I don't need you two to protect me, so bloody well stop it!' And with that she turned on her heel and stalked away.
Alex blinked, a bewildered look crossing his face. 'I don't think I'll ever understand her,' he muttered, shaking his head ruefully.
'So that's it?' Harry demanded. 'We just leave it at that?'
'Not bloody likely,' Alex grinned viciously. 'I reckon this is a job for the Marauders, don't you?'
Harry grinned back. 'I'll find Gin, you find Cass, and we'll meet in the Room of Requirement in fifteen minutes.'
Dinner that evening was a fairly quiet affair. Most of the students were too busy speculating on the following day's matches to pay attention to much that was happening around them. There were, of course, exceptions.
When Hayden entered the Hall and sat with his friends, the stocky fourth year quite obviously suspected nothing. Harry, Ginny, Cassie and Alex shared a knowing grin – the poor sod would never know what hit him.
Unfortunately, Isabelle caught the grin.
'What have to done now?' She glared at Alex, smacking him in the back of the head with her palm.
'Ouch!' he yelped, shying away from the irate ex-Slytherin. 'Nothing!'
'Why do I not believe you?' Isabelle sighed. 'If you've done anything stupid…'
The rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud scream from the other end of the Gryffindor table. Hayden had leapt to his feet and was now running around in mad circles, desperately trying to extinguish the flames that had replaced his hair. Most of the Hall burst out laughing as he tripped and skidded across the flagstones, still yelling hoarsely.
Slowly, almost excruciatingly so, Isabelle turned to face an innocently smiling Alex. The look dropped when he saw the look of raw fury on her face.
'Watch,' was all he said, nodding towards where Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape had descended from the Staff table to aid the stricken boy.
A wave of Dumbledore's wand, and the flames detached themselves from Hayden's head, taking with them all traces they had ever been there. They rose into the air, now burning on nothing, and began to form letters about ten feet from the ceiling.
Isabelle Lestrange is under the protection of the Marauders. Touch her, and suffer the consequences.
A few seconds later, underneath the original lettering, blue flames sprang into existence, spelling out a second message.
You'd make an excellent goat, Mister Hayden.
Harry was fairly sure he saw Dumbledore's beard twitch as the second message completed itself. The Headmaster glanced around the room, seemingly searching out the perpetrators, but when he was facing Harry he gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval.
Isabelle's expression of rage had been replaced by one of disbelief. As Alex watched her carefully, ready for any eruption, her lips twitched slightly. Quite suddenly she broke down, laughing so hard tears started streaming down her face as McGonagall led a terrified looking Hayden from the Great Hall.
'Nice one,' Ron whispered aside to Alex as noise erupted from the Hall – from what Harry could hear, most of it seemed centred around who these "Marauders" were. Harry hid his grin behind his hand.
'I rather thought so,' Alex said modestly, glancing sideways at the still laughing Isabelle. 'The fire was only an illusion, so it didn't really hurt him, but it might just teach him keep his fat mouth shut.'
'I'll pretend I can't hear what you're talking about,' Hermione said from her place next to Ron. 'You're supposed to be a Prefect, Ron, maybe you should start to act like one.' She paused a moment. 'Even if it was rather amusing, and he did deserve it,' she said with a slight smile.
'Why, thankyou, Hermy!' Cassie said brightly.
Hermione turned away, muttering to herself. Ron patted her shoulder comfortingly and flashed Cassie a grin.
'Alright, I admit it,' Isabelle said later, when they had retired to the seats before the fire in the Common Room. Ron and Hermione had disappeared after the meal – Harry had a feeling he really didn't want to know what they were up to. 'That was pretty good, and I'd imagine rather effective.'
'Of course it was,' Alex said loftily. 'It was my idea, after all.'
Isabelle smiled faintly. 'Of course it was, only you would think of setting someone's hair on fire to teach them a lesson.'
'Did you see Dumbledore's reaction to the goat comment?' Ginny laughed. 'I swear, he was smiling under his beard.'
'Handy thing to have, I reckon,' Alex mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
'Don't even think it,' Isabelle said flatly.
'But…' Alex started to object.
Isabelle cut him off by leaning over and kissing him. 'No more of that if there's a beard to contend with,' she warned.
'Right, forget I said anything,' Alex said immediately.
'I'll do that,' Isabelle purred. Harry cleared his throat loudly, and both nearly leapt out of their seats. They had clearly forgotten they had an audience.
'Moving on,' Harry said, managing to keep a straight face. 'What'd you reckon they'll do for tomorrow's matches?'
'I'm guessing either a grand melee or one on one matches,' Alex shrugged. 'That's usually the way they end these things.'
'Yeah, but it's Dumbledore,' Harry objected. 'Which means it could be literally anything.'
'I suppose,' Alex frowned.
'Not like it matters for us, anyway,' Ginny said, indicating herself and Alex. 'We've already been eliminated, remember?'
'I don't fancy going up against Hermione,' Isabelle said with a shudder. 'I've never even heard of half the spells she was using yesterday.'
'Tell me about it,' Ginny rolled her eyes. 'I'm the one who was on the receiving end, remember?'
'At least Malfoy is still in, which means that chances are, one of you will get to pound the little shite,' Alex said with grim satisfaction.
'Oh yes,' Isabelle smiled wickedly. 'I'm very much looking forward to teaching my dear cousin a lesson, and I'll be most put out if anyone else gets to him before I do.'
'I have every confidence in your Malfoy-flattening skills,' Alex grinned at her.
'So you should,' she said loftily.
'In any case, I suppose there isn't much we can do about it now,' Harry said, getting to his feet. 'I reckon I'll head up to bed, so I'll see you both in the morning.'
'Yeah, later Harry,' Alex smirked up at him. 'Go get your rest. You'll need it, if you want to beat this little hellion.' Isabelle smacked him in the back of the head. 'Ouch! Would you stop doing that already?'
'G'night Harry, Ginny,' Isabelle smiled sweetly at them as the couple stood. As had become fairly standard practice, Ginny had Harry's Invisibility cloak hidden in her school bag, and she discretely donned it for the trip up to the boy's dorms.
'Bloody hell!' Dean nearly tripped over his trunk when Ginny's head suddenly appeared in the middle of the dorm. 'I wish you'd cough or something before you did that!'
'But it's so much more fun this way,' Ginny smiled at him. Dean rolled his eyes good-naturedly before climbing into bed. Harry couldn't help but chuckle. It was really quite surprising how well Dean, Seamus and Neville had become adjusted to having Ginny around – they all seemed perfectly willing to take it in stride, and none had ever complained about it being unfair. They all knew what it was for.
Ron, on the other hand, while perfectly able to accept his sister's presence, continued to shoot suspicious looks at Harry, as if wondering what really went on behind the privacy of the Silencing Charm around Harry's bed. He really needn't have worried, Harry mused idly as he opened his trunk and began to rummage through it, looking for pajamas. Nothing…untoward had happened yet, although if he was honest with himself, he had been tempted many times.
He withdrew an article of clothing from his trunk and stared at it for a good five seconds before he realised what he was holding. With a yelp he flicked the knickers across the room – just as Seamus opened the door and stepped through.
The Irish boy blinked as the frilly things landed on the floor at his feet. Slowly his gaze traveled upwards to where Harry still knelt at the end of his bed, wide eyed.
'I'd ask, but I think I already know,' Seamus said with a sly grin, nudging the underwear with his foot. Blushing furiously, Harry quickly Summoned the offending garment, stuffing them back into his trunk and slamming it closed. He changed into his pajamas as quickly as he could, all the while painfully aware of Seamus' smirk, and dove into bed to find Ginny on her back, already in her nightdress, and her hand pressed tightly over her mouth to stop her giggles.
'I'm sorry, Harry,' she finally gasped, raising her head to look at him. 'I came up here earlier and moved some of my stuff into your trunk, to save me going back to my dorm every day. I hope you don't mind.'
'Not at all,' Harry said in a strained voice.
'Good,' she smiled impishly at him. 'Then you won't mind that I gave all your stuff that didn't fit in anymore to Dobby.' She burst out laughing at his incredulous look. 'I'm kidding! Everything's there, you can check if you like.' A thoughtful look crossed her brow. 'Although you really, really need to get rid of some of those muggle clothes. Honestly, how you even keep them on is beyond me.'
'With a lot of twine,' Harry said dryly.
'Well, we can't have the Boy-Who-Lived dressed in Dudley bloody Dursley's cast offs, now can we?' She smiled at him. 'Next opportunity we get, I'm taking you shopping, Mister Potter.'
'But…' Harry started to object.
'No buts,' she said adamantly. 'You're going to get some nice clothes if it kills me.'
Harry bit back a sigh. 'Yes, dear.'
'Good, now that's all settled,' she patted the bed beside her, 'why don't you come over here for a while?'
'Gladly,' Harry smiled at her, moving over until he sat next to her. With a well practiced flip he reinforced the Silencing Charm, stopping only to remove his glasses and place them on the bedside table.
A/N: Argh…awkward ending, I know. Still, it more or less says what I want it to…so I suppose I can't really complain too much.
Next chapter will be out tomorrow, and contains Malfoy getting his snotty arse kicked. Huzzah!
Review Responses:
PS: There are spelling mistakes in SC because WF has a bad habit of posting chapters before I get the chance to Beta them…
doubleOducky: You'll just have to read and find out, now won't you?
Bibliophile: Actually, my adoptive little sister is from Singapore…
MsMissProngs: BACKWARD?!? Okay…now I'm insulted. Also…is Pig Latin really the best you can do? Shame on you…I've studied Chaucer, my dear…
Cleo Starre: YES!!! Someone else with eyes! Huzzah! Of course, it had to be another Victorian…cause we're the best, everyone should know that by now. ;) Most of the spelling mistakes I already knew about, I'm just far too lazy to be bothered going back to fix them. Snape…is an interesting character. He'll be involved more in the seventh book, I think. I'm not going to go so far as to make him entirely good – but he's not completely evil, either. Shades of grey and all that. I don't have the rest of 6th year just mapped out…I actually have the climax to the story written, and according to my Beta, it's some of my best stuff (shameless ego flattery, I know, but hey). Should only take me about another ten chapters before I get that far…if, of course, my thrice damned Muses decide to co-operate…
rosepetal13: Glad you're enjoying it! I think having likable OC's is my crowning achievement…there are so few in fanfiction that aren't either self insertion or Mary Sues. I more or less went out of my way to make OC's that were real people, as JK does introduce new characters every book. As for H/G's relationship, theirs is a little deeper than just snogging in broom closets. It annoys me when some authors have that as the ONLY way they show affection…that's just shallow.
Romulus4: There is nothing wrong with bourbon…although Wild Turkey is my preferred poison.
Saerry Snape: LOL…I doubt anyone could actually pronounce that…ahh well, it's all good. And anytime you need a Beta, you know where to find me. NM is the reason I'm addicted to fanfiction…so I owe you. :)
MrsSakuraPotter: …you had me worried there for a minute…I'm actually surprised that no-one really did yell at me for that.
Ashling Vision: Ooookay…
Larna Mandrea: I couldn't help myself…I've been wanting to write that scene for MONTHS! Oh yes…I'm sorry, but I can't help myself…I just have to rub it in. I love being CQ's Beta…I get to read Shades of Grey before anyone else. I'll tell you right up, it's BRILLIANT. Ask very nicely, and I might send you a few chapters in advance…or I might just let you stew. Muahahahaha!!!
dress-without-sleeves: You really are weird, you know that? Not that I'm complaining, of course…
Merusa: LOL…I suppose it's testament to my character creating abilities, if nothing else. And yes…Malfoy gets his arse kicked. Next chapter. Squee!
Lourdes: Yes, I know, the same laws apply here…but they are ignored fairly regularly.
