Sharlen spent the next couple weeks trying to trail Draco with the help of Harry and his Marauder's Map; she couldn't get Snape to tell her what Malfoy was up to or even to admit he knew anything about it, and how dismissive he was with her just made her suspicions stronger. She knew his goal, and Dumbledore hadn't seemed concerned—but one attempt had already been thwarted and a student nearly killed, so she recognized that it was time to step in. When the two of them weren't pouring over the Marauder's Map and musing over why he was disappearing into the Room of Requirement, Harry was reading through the Half-Blood Prince's potion book—something Sharlen hadn't noticed. Snape had insisted the Gryffindors be transferred into Slughorn's Potions class, most likely to keep Sharlen and Harry apart for slightly longer during the day, and the switch had been made in the third week of classes. He also cited that Harry and Ron hadn't gotten an O.W.L. level high enough to make it into Snape's sixth year Potions, which was likely how he got the change approved.

She simply thought he was interested in Potions now that he had classes with Slughorn, and that Hermione tutted with disapproval because he was excelling in it past her. With Quidditch practices and midterms, Sharlen noted that the trio spent all hours together and started feeling strange intruding on them, even when studying. What was worse was she knew Harry had been meeting with Dumbledore but hadn't told her why—and Dumbledore hadn't called on her again, either.

On the day of the first match, Harry had let Sharlen know it wouldn't bother him for her to sit in the Slytherin stands, and she told him that was preposterous. "I'm on your team," she said softly, reaching up to kiss him. Harry watched her carefully as they pulled away and her eyes stayed closed, waiting for the vision to pass. She never shared what she saw with him unless he specifically asked.

Harry was dressed for the match and they were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall early, hoping to get some alone time before everyone else showed up. The halls were already buzzing with excitement; the rivalry of these two houses brought the whole castle to life. Leaning on the table, Harry smirked at her. "I know you are, but the Slytherins will actually lose it if you don't at least sit over there."

"I'll sit wherever I want," she huffed jokingly.

"Keep Stacey company," he said softly near her ear. It made her shiver.

"Stacey will sit with us, of course," Sharlen sneered playfully.

Soon Hermione joined them, then Luna and Neville, and eventually Ron, pale as a sheet, tinged practically green with anxiety. A black cloud billowed about him, his aura completely overtaken with nervousness. He met Harry's eyes briefly, closed his, and shook his head with lips pursed.

"This will be a disaster," he muttered forebodingly. Harry shook his head defiantly.

"You'll be brilliant."

"I'm resigning," Ron said sickly. "After today, McClaggen can have my spot."

"Fair enough," Harry said, setting a cup before Ron heavily and purposefully. Sharlen eyed him warily. "Juice."

Ron looked at the cup with disdain as Luna poked her head across the table, shadowed by her giant Gryffindor lion head. "Is it a tonic?" she asked Harry airily, always seconds from floating off the ground. Everyone looked at Luna with confusion—it was clearly pumpkin juice. "Is that what you put in his cup?"

Nostrils flared and eyebrows narrowed, Hermione's head turned toward Harry so quickly Sharlen was sure it would keep turning and fly off her shoulders into the ether. They saw Harry putting away a small, glinting glass vial and Hermione gasped. "You didn't! You could be expelled for that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said quickly to her, eyebrows raised. Sharlen was completely lost.

"What was that?"

"Don't drink it, Ron! It's cheating!" Hermione exclaimed in a loud whisper, but he already had the cup to his lips and was drinking deeply.

"I feel good," Ron said after a few seconds, grinning stupidly. "I feel excellent." The two boys grasped hands, stood from the table, and set off toward the Quidditch pitch. Hermione was beside herself.

"Hermione," Sharlen hissed, sliding down toward the girl to further demand her attention. Out the corner of her eye, Sharlen noticed Stacey heading her way. "What the hell is going on?"

"Felix Felicis," Hermione growled, glancing around to ensure no one heard her. She was fuming. "Oh I know Ron is rubbish when he gets too into his own head but I never thought Harry would cheat to win a stupid game!"

"Where in the world would Harry have gotten his hands on a bottle of that?" Sharlen asked quietly, not understanding.

"He won it in Potions," Hermione answered simply, practically pouting. "Thanks to the Half-Blood Prince."

Sharlen knew Harry used to hate Potions and hated Snape even more, and that Dumbledore wanted him to become closer to Slughorn, so she hadn't thought much of it that he hardly ever talked about that class.

"I'm going to need that explained really soon," Sharlen muttered to her just as Stacey sat down beside her. The other Gryffindors had become used to the two Slytherin girls being at their table, but Sharlen always felt self-conscious about it without Harry around. Hermione never seemed to notice. Offering a brief greeting to Stacey, Sharlen tried to shake herself out of whatever weirdness had just occurred right in front of her.

"I have banners!" Stacey exclaimed loudly, "but I wasn't sure which ones you'd want…" She held up self-slithering Slytherin silver-and-emerald felt banners and quivering lion gold-and-scarlet felt banners that actually roared.

"I'm going to pass, actually," Sharlen said with a grimace she hoped could pass a as a smile. Stacey saw through her knowingly, but accepted her rejection with a small smile and a sticker to the cheek. "I don't even know if I'll be able to handle being around so many excited people."

"Oh, you have to be there," Neville exclaimed, "Harry will love it!" Sharlen gave him a good-natured smile, knowing he was right but feeling anxious all the same.

"Those are wonderful," Luna told Stacey dreamily. Stacey grinned and handed the girl a Gryffindor banner and a matching lion sticker. Luna stuck the sticker to her palm and thanked her.

"These really are good…" Hermione said, giggling at the snakes. "You must be very skilled with charms."

"It's my favorite class!" Stacey gushed. "Sharlen, where are we sitting?"

Sharlen was feeling dizzy and stressed out. This was such a menial detail in her life and somehow everyone needed an answer to it. Neville's pitiful smile was breaking her heart, but she really didn't know if she'd be able to make it through an actual Quidditch match and stay conscious. "I don't know, Stacey… Where do you usually sit?"

"Oh, I'll sit anywhere," she said earnestly. "Usually with the Ravenclaws." Sharlen nodded. Most of her friends were in Ravenclaw.

"Well of course you can sit with us, if you like," Hermione said with an accepting smile. Stacey happily distributed the rest of the Gryffindor banners to Hermione and Neville and left to hand the Slytherin ones to her and Sharlen's roommates, saying she'd see them all at the match.

With some persuasion, Hermione, Luna, and Neville were able to get her out into the stands on the Quidditch pitch. With the other two distracted by the start of the game, Sharlen wanted to get to the bottom of the potion business before she very surely passed out. "What the hell is a Half-Blood Prince?" Sharlen said beside her, more of a command than a question.

"Harry and Ron didn't have the right Potions books for Slughorn's class," Hermione explained, eyes on Ron. "Slughorn had them get extras, and Harry got this really beat-up text with all these extra scrawled instructions in them and he was following those rather than the real, printed instructions. You know, it was really unsafe," she said matter-of-factly, pausing to cheer as Ginny intercepted the Quaffle. Sharlen silently urged her to hurry; she was fading fast. "Anyway, the book belongs to the 'Half-Blood Prince' and I haven't been able to find anything about him at all in anything I've read. Harry won the Felix Felicis following alternative directions from that book."

"I see," Sharlen said, looking around her for a quick getaway. "Sounds like cheating."

"That's what I thought!" Hermione exclaimed loudly as a bell rang, signaling a point for Gryffindor. "But I never expected him to use it during a game. That's completely awful."

"I have to go," Sharlen said, swaying. Hermione and Neville looked at her suddenly, frightened.

"Are you okay?" Neville asked.

Sharlen was starting to panic. Everywhere she looked there wasn't a single empty seat. She felt her limbs getting lighter…

"Transform!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "Sharlen, transform! That might make it easier!"

Without a word, Sharlen transformed into an owl and took off, momentarily distracting the other Gryffindors around them. Careful to keep out of the defined match area, Sharlen soared around the outskirts of the pitch, trying to calm down. She settled finally at the highest point of the pitch, above Dumbledore's section, and continued to watch the game from there. Hermione had been right, this made things much easier. The potion crossed her mind and she made a mental note to drink some when she felt able to get back into her body. Dumbledore turned at one point and tipped his head to her in greeting before returning to the game. She silently scowled at him, wanting him to tell her what to do or what to say, what to reveal, how to help. His silence was maddening.

She had to admit, Ron was brilliant. He didn't let the Quaffle in once, and by the time Harry caught the Snitch, Slytherin didn't stand a chance anyway. Sharlen hooted happily in support of Harry, who she knew was looking toward Hermione and the others for her. Glancing that way, Sharlen noted Lavender Brown shouting far too enthusiastically in Ron's direction, much to Hermione's annoyance. As Harry met his teammates on the pitch below and they swarmed Ron for hugs and plenty of cheering, Sharlen swooped down and landed on his shoulder. Harry ran his fingers along the feathers of her back and she nuzzled behind his ear with her beak, hooting softly.

Next to her brother, Ginny watched Sharlen and Harry with a blank look on her face.

After the game, Sharlen promised Harry she would meet up with them in the Gryffindor Common Room. She spent the afternoon with Stacey, as promised, working on Charms homework and occasionally recapping the game. Sharlen left out the part about Ron taking the potion; she didn't care either way, but certainly all the other students would.

"You're so distant lately," Stacey remarked as Sharlen stared out the window. Truthfully, she was exhausted; it felt like she had been running a low-grade illness since she came to Hogwarts, which was so much different than anything she'd ever experienced. She was still trying to process what Dumbledore had talked to her about… and the knowledge of what she'd been drinking from Snape all these years. That and keeping up with her classes…

"I'm sorry," Sharlen said, honestly, fishing around in her school bag. With gloved hands, she placed a sticker against Stacey's knuckles: a tiny rainbow. "I've never been in a real school … and I haven't really ever been around people, at all." Stacey sat up straighter and watched her with pity growing on her face. "Stop," Sharlen warned, one eyebrow arched. "Don't look at me like that. Everyone looks at me like that; I almost miss the fearful looks. I'm adjusting fine."

"It's not that," Stacey assured her, sighing longingly. "You just must have been so lonely! That kind of isolation can make someone insane."

"Well yes," Sharlen agreed, thinking back on all those afternoons she'd spent waiting for Master Severus, who was horrible company, to get home—the happiness she felt to see him because she was at least seeing someone. "But if you're driven toward something, it can also make you more focused."

"I guess so…" Stacey put down her quill and grabbed a bottle of nail polish. "You look a little pale. Let's take a break."

Reluctantly Sharlen removed her gloves and allowed Stacey to paint her nails dark gray while they gossiped about the girls in their classes, and the boys; Stacey asked her about Harry and when she'd see him again while their nails dried. Sharlen couldn't stop staring at them; she loved the way it looked. "I'm heading over to the Gryffindor dorms in a little while."

"Ooh, he will be in such a good mood. They were amazing today!" Stacey gushed. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she finished with a wink.

Sharlen rolled her eyes playfully. This entire life was surreal—she couldn't bring herself to have expectations about any of it. It was all she could do to keep up with what got thrown at her next. And in the back of her mind, a nagging guilt that she still hadn't been honest with Harry. As she left Stacey, she couldn't shake the feeling that he still wasn't ready to know who she was.

When Sharlen found herself in front of the Fat Lady, she muttered the password and was let in reluctantly. The portrait knew, of course, that she wasn't a Gryffindor, but considering the party inside, she could hardly protest. As she walked through the porthole, loud cheers met her and she quickly found Harry talking to Dean and Ginny. Ron was being thumped on the back and chorused with what sounded like "Weasley is our king," in various different phrasing. Sharlen walked up behind Harry and linked hands with his; the feel of her gloves alerted him and he turned around with a grin, quickly kissing her and lifting her by the waist. Sharlen couldn't help but laugh; she pointedly realized Ginny looking away. Harry told her to follow him and led her up to the boys' dorms by the hand; Ginny met Hermione's eyes as the two disappeared, and Hermione shook her head with a smirk.

"Dean, I think Ginny and I could use some drinks," she said playfully.

Harry fumbled with the door behind Sharlen, holding her up around her lower back when it fell open behind them. She could see his contentment all around him, and as he led her to his bed and fell down onto her, kissing her, she couldn't help but let herself relax into him. It delighted her to see him so happy.

"I want to feel your skin…" Harry muttered against her neck, running his hands down her arms. She was beginning to see further and further into Harry's future each time they touched; now she saw him asleep in an arm-chair in an old house, Hermione on the opposite couch, holding hands with Ron who was asleep on the floor. She instinctively tried to shake the vision away as he kissed her neck, following up her jaw line.

"I know," she said honestly, smiling up at him as he pulled back. She ran her gloved hands down his chest and watched the longing in his eyes. She liked the weight of him on her. "But I don't know how this works," she admitted, grinning up at him. "I've never had prolonged skin-to-skin contact."

"I leave it to you," he said with a grin, lacing their fingers. Locking eyes with him, Sharlen removed her gloves one at a time. She ran her hands up his sides, taking his shirt over his head along the way, and tried to see him despite the vision of him training students in the Room of Requirement. She hoped that with enough constant contact, the visions would stop. "This seems like such a small thing," he breathed, grinning down at her, "but your hands against my skin just feels amazing right now."

Sharlen leaned up to kiss him and tried to leave behind all that had come to light since she first came to the castle, but as his hands slid over her sides and up her shirt, the visions just became stronger; Harry and Dudley running from Dementors, Harry and Ron watching a chocolate frog jump out the window, Harry submerged in the Pensieve. She was finding it extremely hard to concentrate and eventually broke free. "I'm sorry," she said breathlessly. She hoped he wasn't too disappointed. "I thought the visions would stop after a while but they're just getting worse."

Harry laughed a little and ran a hand through his hair. "It's okay, Sharlen," he assured her, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "We should probably research this condition of yours a little bit, yes?"

She giggled and nodded, replacing her shirt and gloves. "It was nice while it lasted."

"Let's head back down," Harry said, taking her hand. The two walked down the winding staircase with their arms around each other's waists, smiling despite themselves, and they walked up to meet Hermione. She, like everyone else, was watching Ron beam down at everyone from a coffee table. Harry clapped and shouted for his best friend.

"You shouldn't have done it you know," Hermione said, smirking without wanting to.

Straight-faced, Harry held up the vile of Felix Felicis, which was full. Sharlen laughed out loud. "You didn't give it to him!" she exclaimed.

Hermione stared and muttered, "Ron only thought you did." Harry nodded and folded his arms, smug.

"He just needed a confidence boost," Sharlen purred, hugging Harry around the middle. At that moment, Lavender Brown joined Ron on the coffee table, latched onto him, and the two began kissing eagerly in front of everyone.

In unison, Harry and Sharlen turned with horror to see Hermione's reaction, but she was already heading for the door. "I have to go after her," Harry said apologetically. Sharlen gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I know. It's okay." She watched him go and said, "I'll be in the library researching my condition." Harry winked and then was gone.

Pushing past the celebrating Gryffindors, Sharlen felt her limbs lightening again. She put one hand to her head as she made her way to the porthole and out into the hallway, breathing harder than she intended to. Trying to shake off the feeling, she made her way to the library and tried to focus on which books may have answers for how to make her contact visions to stop. Sitting down with a few large tomes that seemed promising, she thought briefly that Trelawney may actually be of some assistance.

After turning a few pages, she brought her fingertips to her lips—they were numb. Eyes fluttering, she searched her bag for her flask, but it wasn't with her. Vision finally tunneling, her head fell heavily onto the pages in front of her.

Shaken awake in Hagrid's cabin, Sharlen's eyes opened to the lit gas lamps along the faraway ceiling. As her eyes adjusted, it came a little closer. Groaning, she brought one hand to her aching head. The sound of Harry's sigh brought her closer to consciousness.

"Harry… where?" was all she could manage. Hagrid tipped a flagon of hot Butterbeer into her mouth. She sputtered for a second and let the heat wash over her, teeth chattering wildly.

"You're in Hagrid's cabin," he said softly, kissing her forehead. A quick flash of Harry pinned to her grandfather's grave made her flinch and sharply exhale. Hagrid and Ron exchanged a look, but Harry didn't seem to notice her reacting to his touch anymore. "Ron and I just found you by the lake in the rain. You've been gone for a day and a half."

"How did you find me?" she asked, breathless and somehow parched for water.

"I'm able to do a locator spell on my book, which leads me to yours," Harry said, brushing her damp hair away from her eyes.

"That's very clever," she said quietly. The boys chuckled.

"What were you doing out in the rain like that?" Ron asked carefully. "You didn't… fall asleep out there in the snow…?"

"I don't even recall going out there," she said finally, finding her voice. "I was gone how long?"

"More than a day," Harry repeated, one hand gripping hers. His green eyes were clouded with both worry and relief. "I had no idea where you were. You really scared me."

Sharlen sat up, despite the men's protests, and accepted a towel draped over her shoulders by Ron. "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice a little fearful. "I would never mean to scare you like that. I promise not to disappear on you again." She held his face in her hands and he smiled at her affectionately, relieved. Sharlen sighed again and tried not to shake too visibly; she hadn't told Harry about the ghost, and she was afraid it might be time. "I don't know how I got there. I didn't know I was missing."

"You were last seen in the library," Ron offered. "Then one of the second-years said you got up and walked out without putting any books away as if you had no idea where you were."

"I see," she said shakily.

A loud rapping on the door perked them up before Snape let himself in.

"So here you are," Snape sneered quietly from the doorway. His hair and robes were wet and Sharlen saw his aura dark, muddy blue fading into the soft blue of relief. The black of his inner band was a constant as ever. Long-term unforgiveness. "Where have you been?"

"I don't know," she said earnestly. She stared at Snape meaningfully and his eyes met hers blankly in return. Harry stood up between her and Snape protectively.

"And of course you just have to be involved, Potter," Snape sneered.

"Harry an' Ron found her by the lake, professor," Hagrid submitted, trying to diffuse the ample tension between Snape and Harry that now permeated his small home. "She'll catch 'er death if she don' get warm and dry soon."

Snape reached forward, snatched Sharlen by the shoulder of her robes, and pulled her from the table. "Back to the castle, all of you," is all he said.

"Harry-" Sharlen called behind her, frightened. The reality of her not being herself for an extended period of time was sinking in, and she wanted the protective enclosure of Harry around her.

"Where are you taking her?" Ron called after her as Snape pulled the door back open.

"That's really none of your concern, Weasley," he called back, hoisting Sharlen out into the darkness. Harry clenched and unclenched his fists, knowing he was her guardian and he couldn't object.

"If he hurts her again, I'll kill him," Harry said firmly, turning back to Ron and Hagrid.

"Blimey Harry, what're you talkin' abou'?" Hagrid exclaimed loudly. "He's a Hogwarts teacher! And part of the Order—"

"She didn't confirm it but near the start of term I know he hurt her. She limped for a week." Harry shook himself, disgusted. "Thank you for letting us bring her here, Hagrid."

Hagrid watched the two stand to go, feeling sheepish. "Well o'course, Harry," he mumbled. "I have my 'ang-ups abou' 'er, but I know she's special ter ya and Dumbledore seems to trust 'er." Harry put a reassuring hand on Hagrid's arm and left with Ron close behind him.

"I can manage," Sharlen muttered as Snape dragged her down to the dungeons. She was practically convulsing from the chill inside her. He only let go of her drenched robes when they entered the threshold of his office. He instructed her to shut the door and she heard it swing closed behind her. "Look, before you start, I don't know where I was."

"You haven't been taking the potion consistently," Snape said quietly.

Sharlen blanched. "I never have!"

"You really are a stupid girl," Snape hissed at her, pacing. Afraid she was about to be punished again, Sharlen felt her legs begin to give way; she was so afraid of what she'd done, and who she'd been, during her blackout. She didn't think she could bear a lashing tonight.

"You never told me—" she said, flinching hard as Snape descended on her. He pulled away after securing a blanket around her shoulders and shoved her toward the fire where it was warm. "What… is this?"

"Everyone was worried sick about you," Snape shouted angrily. Sharlen stared, wide-eyed, into this uncharted territory. "Professor McGonagall said even Potter didn't know where you were and I thought…"

He stopped and never finished.

"You didn't tell me a regimen for that potion," Sharlen said cautiously, after several extremely long moments. "I've always just taken it when I started to feel light-headed or overwhelmed. But I have been drinking it."

"You will need at least three ounces every day. Consecutively," he said, drawing out the word to nail in the importance. "You can't allow Merope to take over because you may not come back to the surface."

"Why?" was all Sharlen could ask, a waver in her voice.

"Because she would need to drink the potion herself for you to take back over."

Sharlen put her head in her hands and focused on her breathing. After a minute or two, Snape set down a glass of the potion before her and she drank heavily. It practically burned her throat and she traced the heat down to her stomach, shuddering as she felt it quickly permeating through her. She tried to steady her breathing and tell herself nothing had changed just because she was now aware of the "why;" she needed perspective that her life was really not any different now. "Can you please tell me who she is? Or at least why my father put her inside of me?"

"You can ask him yourself," he said dismissively, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her to the door, "but now, bed."

Sharlen silently let him steer her all the way to the Slytherin dorms. Before he departed, he said, "If I find you're not diligent about this again, I will personally see to it that you take it daily."

Stacey was beside herself when Sharlen opened the door of their room, rushing up and hugging her. Sharlen craned her neck away, saying she was weak and couldn't handle a vision just then. "Where were you?" the girl asked desperately, dramatically. Their roommates were already asleep under the protection of their earmuffs.

"I don't know, I don't know," Sharlen muttered, running a hand through her hair. "They only just found me outside."

Stacey frowned at her. "Did you blackout again?"

Sharlen nodded. Stacey sat on her bed. "But last time you just remained unconscious. Were you in some kind of trance or something?"

"I have no memory of what happened," Sharlen told her darkly. "I'm sorry I worried you. I'm just so tired. I want to wash up."

Stacey nodded and stood to lead her friend by the shoulders to the bathroom.

After showering under the hottest water she could stand and gulping down half the potion she had remaining just to be safe, Sharlen sat up in bed while the other girls slept, staring wide-eyed into the darkness and rocking herself lightly to try and calm down. She stared out the window into the snowy whiteness and couldn't believe she'd been unconscious out by the lake; if Harry hadn't thought to try the locator spell, would she have died out there? Was Merope trying to kill her so she could be free from her body? Sharlen tried to shake the thoughts out of her head and flipped open her little black book to tell Harry she was okay and in bed.

He responded quickly despite the late hour. I'm with Ron and Hermione. Sort of—she's across the room. What happened with Snape?

Sharlen sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to tell Harry. It's a long story. I need to talk to you, she started, pausing as the text dried into the page. He was very scared, I think.

After a minute or two, Harry wrote, Me too. We're studying, come over.

Glancing around the room, Sharlen located her boots, long sweater, and cloak and threw them on, not hesitating to go to Harry. Before sneaking out of her dorm, she left a note in Stacey's hand in case she woke up before Sharlen returned; she was sure her friend would be even more worried to see she was gone again. She stuck to the shadows as she walked through the abandoned common room and out through the dungeon hallways, quick on the staircases both because the halls were drafty and Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, was always on the prowl.

Sharlen's first run-in with Mrs. Norris was extremely unpleasant, as she had hissed for a solid five minutes while she explained to Filch that Snape had summoned her. It may have been because Sharlen's animal form was a bird, but she had never liked cats.

Silencing several portraits with a look as she approached the Fat Lady, Sharlen gave the password and her best pitiful look in hopes it would allow her to enter. As she came through the porthole, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up and stood. Hermione wouldn't acknowledge Ron and stayed on the opposite side of Harry from him, but they must have told her what happened.

"You look awful," Ron said bluntly, handing her a blanket. She realized her teeth were chattering and took it gratefully.

"I feel pretty awful," Sharlen admitted through her shivers. Harry led her to the couch and wrapped her up in his arms while Hermione sat on the other arm and Ron took the floor in front of them, leaving a respectful distance.

"Did Snape punish you?" Harry asked sternly.

Sharlen shook her head. "I thought he would, but he really did seem worried. It was bizarre." Hermione's ginger cat Crookshanks lept onto the cushion beside her and tentatively stepped onto her lap, staring blankly at her before settling down against her. Sharlen cautiously reached out to stroke his head.

"I'll be amazed if you haven't caught cold," Hermione added, watching her shiver. She made a mental note that Crookshanks seemed to approve of her, which held weight after his incessant pursuit of Scabbers (Peter Pettigrew) in their third year.

"I just can't calm down," Sharlen exclaimed, distressed. "I was walking around unconscious all that time? Where did I go? What did I do?"

The trio was silent. Hermione's brows were furrowed, thinking hard. "Have you taken the potion since you woke up?' she finally asked.

Sharlen nodded, then turned to Harry. "I have to tell you something," she said, suddenly serious. "I'm not a ghost, like I said, but Hermione was right about that potion. Snape hadn't been lying. There is a ghost inside of me."

"Inside?!" Ron and Harry exclaimed in unison, with Ron continuing, "Like, possessing you?"

"No, not at all," Sharlen said, frustrated and scared. "This potion I take anchors a ghost inside of me so it can't be out and about bothering people. As long as I take it, I'm me and it just… is in there somewhere, doing who knows what, possibly conscious but possibly in a total blackout, I have no idea. But apparently when I'm overwhelmed or haven't taken a certain amount of that potion consistently, she can surface, which is what happened with this blackout." Harry and Ron couldn't keep the horror off their faces. "And Snape said if she 'gets out' for lack of better words, she would need to drink the potion in order for me to come back to the surface."

"So, how did you come back this time?" Hermione asked. "Did she drink it?"

"I have no idea," Sharlen admitted. "My flask was missing in the library that night. She must have found it and drank it."

"Who is she?" Ron asked, as fascinated as he was bewildered.

"Snape won't tell me," Sharlen said with a sigh. "I only just found out about this a couple weeks ago."

"What I'm hearing," Harry interrupted, "is that it's imperative you drink that potion every day. And maybe we do some research about who she might be." Sharlen settled in closer to him, scrunched up in his arms, leeching warmth from him. Crookshanks didn't move from her lap. "Who would have anchored a ghost inside you?"

"My creator," she said simply, staring at the fire. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged a look.

"Your 'creator'?" the latter two asked.

"I don't have a mother or father," she admitted, staring straight ahead. She sat up and ran both hands through her still-damp hair. "I was created."

"By who?" Hermione pressed, although Harry seemed more eager to know.

"A powerful wizard," was all she gave them. They all sat in silence, digesting this news, for quite some time. Eventually Sharlen moved to get up and go. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all of this sooner," Sharlen said to Harry, avoiding his eyes and his aura. She didn't want to see how much of his trust she'd lost, or how suspicious he was of her. "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to understand."

"Where are you going?" he asked, genuinely confused. "Aren't you still cold?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "You don't want me to leave now?"

"Why would we want you to leave?" Hermione asked, equally confused. "Those are both circumstances beyond your control. Fascinating, for sure, but not damning by any means…"

"Besides, who can study after hearing all that?" Ron said smartly, closing his books. Hermione rolled her eyes and went back across the room, away from him, gathering her own books and heading up the stairs. Ron sighed and followed not long after her, giving the couple some time alone.

"Stay," Harry said, pulling her back down. "I'll walk you back when you get feeling back in your bones."

"It was hard enough to sneak just me down here without being caught," she said with a laugh, settling back in with him under the blanket. "Do you know what would happen if the two of us got caught together?"

"I have the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map," he said mischievously. "Let me worry about that." Sharlen laid her head on his chest, relieved to have let him in on a few of her secrets. "Regarding this ghost," he started again, holding her tight, "We have to make sure you're taking the potion right. I don't want to lose you again."

Sharlen nodded, staring back into the fire. "Hermione and I will start another batch."

"Please don't think there's anything you can't tell me," Harry whispered against her temple. His lips jolted her in and out of visions as he moved, too fast to be clear. She stared straight ahead, unwavering. "I want to know you."

Oh Harry, she thought sadly, allowing her face to hide against the skin of his neck just long enough to warm before the visions made her pull away, You don't even know what you're asking.