A/N: Strap yourselves in, because as the title suggests, shit is about to hit the fan.
Also, kudos to Ciel_of_the_Night on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) for helping me with scenes and scenarios, and for letting me ramble about all my ideas for future books in the series.
CHAPTER 9: The Darkest Hour
Warning: Bullying, excessive violence towards the end of the chapter, severe mental breakdown (b/c why not) and lots of cursing.
Sunday breakfast began with Neville nervously thanking her again for saving him during Flying. He hastily retreated before any of her Slytherin brethren could eat him alive—and before she could reply.
"Nervous, that one," said Draco. "Wonder how he got sorted into Gryffindor."
Because he valued bravery above all else, was Henry's guess. That's usually how the Sorting went.
Parvati also sought her out, discreetly asking if she could join their afternoon class next Saturday. Henry wasn't about to reject her. Anyone could come as long as they had something to contribute. If more people joined, she was thinking of assigning people different roles, for example Harry on Transfiguration (since he was a genius at it), Hermione on Herbology, herself for Charms and Draco for Potions.
While they ate, Blaise quietly told them the person he contacted regarding Occlumency lessons had replied. They were willing to help and would be waiting for them in the library after breakfast.
Henry couldn't wait and wolfed down her food. She rushed over to Harry's table to get him, too. Fred and George noticed and waved. The twins returned it with bright smiles. Henry hadn't talked to them for what felt like years, so she decided to visit them soon. If she caught Hermione before the end of the day, she would have her deliver the message.
Their little core group (Harry, Henry, Blaise and Draco) walked into the library not too long after, nodding politely at Madam Pince.
"I don't think she likes me," whispered Harry.
"Maybe because you charmed her hair blue," giggled Henry. She hadn't personally seen it, but Theo couldn't stop laughing about it two days ago.
"Fred and George dared me."
"They're corrupting you after less than a week?" She shook her head, smiling. "What am I to do with you?"
"That's mean." His gentle smile said otherwise. "How are you feeling?"
They rounded a bookshelf and went deeper into the library.
"Good. I slept well yesterday." And she'd taken another dose of Calming Draught. That potion was a godsend. If it made her this calm, then how would it feel drinking the Draught of Peace? Didn't Madam Pomfrey hand it out to the fifth-years sometime in the books? She couldn't remember if it was Harry's peers or not.
"Fabulous. It's great to see you smile again."
"We're here," said Blaise.
A black girl with sand coloured hair and radiating green eyes greeted them with a polite smile. She was wearing Slytherin robes, but Henry didn't remember her from the Sorting, so she had to be a second or third-year. She looked too young to be a fourth-year.
"Luciana of the Raging Roses," breathed Draco before he caught himself. "Uh, I mean… Ignore me."
Luciana giggled. Henry wondered how anyone could have such a cute laugh. "I had no idea my reputation would reach the Malfoy scion. I'm honoured."
Draco blushed. "I apologise, Miss Roserage."
Henry frowned.
Luciana's green (moss green, Henry realised) eyes landed on her. "And you must be Henrietta Potter, the Princess."
"The what?"
Harry snorted. "Henry's not a princess. She has no elegance."
"Rude." He wasn't wrong though, she begrudgingly admitted. "Are you our teacher, Miss Roserage?"
"For the time being, yes."
"Miss Roserage is a born Legilimens," Blaise explained. "She was taught Occlumency at an early age and is considered a Mistress at both."
Harry whistled, impressed. "What year are you?"
"Second."
"Twelve and already a Mistress? Wow."
She bowed politely. "Then, shall we start?" She showed them to a hidden nook with two couches and armchairs. Books about Occlumency and Legilimency lay on top of a wooden table.
Before they delved into the practical aspects, Luciana was adamant in explaining the differences between Occlumency and Legilimency.
The mind was a complicated thing, with many layers of mental barriers. Legilimency was the art of penetrating the mind and navigating it. No one's mind landscapes looked the same, since no one was the same, so one part of Legilimency was also to interpret what you saw.
To explain it simply, Muggles called it "mind-reading". As a Legilimens, she assured them they weren't reading thoughts, because Legilimency wasn't about that at all. The term was incorrectly coined centuries ago by a Muggle that misunderstood the art. Of course, they could see thoughts, emotions and memories, but it wasn't as Muggles made it out to be.
"It's important to know you should never have direct eye-contact with a known Legilimens," Luciana said gravely, pointing at a paragraph in her book. "It's much easier to invade the mind if they do."
There was also a spell accompanied with the ability. The incantation was "Legilimens", and only less experienced Legilimens needed it. More advanced Legilimens could throw the spell wandlessly and nonverbally.
"Which can you do?" Henry asked.
"Both," she grinned in reply. "I'm a Mistress, after all."
Occlumency was Legilimency's opposite. It protected the mind against it. The most important aspect of Occlumency was its ability to stop Legilimens from influencing people. Those practicing the art were known as Occlumens, Luciana told them.
"The easiest way to learn it, according to some, is to use Legilimency," she said, a fierce scowl deforming her face. "Which is utter bollocks, of course." According to Luciana, meditating deeply got you where you needed to be. She herself had constructed a mental landscape where she stored her memories and could lock up her emotions.
When Henry asked why that was necessary, Luciana gladly explained children of powerful families were often targeted for assassinations and kidnappings. Politics was a ruthless practice, especially since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named appeared. Exploiting the children wasn't uncommon, not at all, so it was for the best that they knew how to protect at least their minds.
Harry and Henry were glad they weren't in Luciana's shoes.
Luciana, in an attempt to steer away from the topic, mentioned that creating layer upon layer of one's mind required much more willpower than simply forcing them to do it (i.e. using Legilimency). It was the same for resisting the Imperius Curse and Veritaserum.
"What's that?" asked Harry.
"Which of them?"
"Both."
Luciana smiled. "The Imperius Curse is one of the Unforgivables, it's a mind-controlling cure of sorts, and is hard to detect. The one it's cast upon mostly doesn't even know."
"Many Death Eaters blamed the curse when Voldemort disappeared," Henry supplied, completely forgetting Lucius Malfoy was one of them.
Draco froze. "Yeah…" he said awkwardly.
Henry didn't hear. "I read somewhere that the Dark Mark cannot be given under false pretenses. It makes sense though; why would Voldemort create such a faulty loyalty test? Of course it has to be willingly given."
Blaise coughed loudly. "How about Luciana explains what Veritaserum is?" he said a bit too pointedly, nodding in Draco's direction.
Oh shit. "Draco… I'm sorry. I didn't… I wasn't thinking."
"Sure."
Luciana looked between them and sighed. "The fact is that we don't know how the Mark works. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. About Veritaserum though, it's a truth serum, a potion, and a strong one at that. It's said it's impossible to withstand, but if you're a good enough Occlumens, you have the willpower and ability to withstand it."
The second-year Slytherin had them all sit comfortably before she instructed how to create a mental landscape.
Henry took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her magic pulsated through her body in time with her heartbeat. Curious, she followed the stream until an icy feeling grabbed her. It pulled her down down down deep into the darkness, and she could no longer feel her body.
Was the dark void her landscape?
Light. She needed to see.
"Lumos." The world came into view. A giant ball of white light hung above her head. "Note to self, don't imagine suns while casting spells," she muttered, impressed with the result.
Her landscape was mesmerising but empty. The ground, or rather floor, was milky white and rock solid. It shone like glass in a mirror against the sunlight. She could barely see her distorted reflection.
The sky above was a mix of blues and whites, it looked like someone dumped a whole lot of paint and randomly stirred it.
She was in the middle of wondering how to create different layers when a tug at her centre forced her up into the air, through the sky and back into her body. She reeled backwards and into the couch.
"Seems like you found your way in," mused Luciana. "How was it?"
"Odd." And wonderful. Her landscape was beautiful. She wanted to protect it.
"That's the general consensus. Please tell the others what you did."
She tried, to the best of her ability, to retell how she ended up inside her own mind. Harry was the most sceptical one. He didn't think it logical that magic allowed her to find her way, but then again, it was magic, and there was no logic to it.
"Of course it's logical," said Luciana with that polite smile of hers. "Magic is a part of you and branches out to all parts of your body, even your mind. You said you made a sun with Lumos—doesn't spells require magic? Guys, let's try it again. Not you Miss Potter, you need to rest."
Henry leaned back against the couch and watched her friends close their eyes and meditate. She mimed thank you to Luciana. She couldn't fathom why the girl even considered helping them. She was the first upperclassman to willingly speak to her, let alone teach her something.
In the end, only Henry experienced the landscape phenomenon. Before leaving, Luciana gave strict orders not to try this alone. The first few times had to be overseen, because people rarely knew how they got to their landscapes, let alone how to get out of them.
"Thank you for getting me back," Henry said. "And for helping us."
"Of course," replied Luciana. "It's an honour to be of help to the famous Potter twins. I'll see you all next Sunday."
That night, Henry was surprised to see Fred and George outside the Room of Requirement. They were pacing not too far away from where the door usually appeared, but stopped at the sight of her.
"Finally!" Fred exclaimed. "We've been waiting for hours."
"Thirty minutes," corrected George sheepishly. "But it felt like hours."
Henry rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "What are you doing here, guys?"
All the humour evaporated from them.
"We're worried about you," Fred confessed.
"Yeah," said George. "What have you been doing out here?"
Ah. They had seen her on the map, hadn't they? Her name must have been stuck between walls or something, and they had worried.
Warmed by their compassion, she smiled. "It's a secret, sorry."
"Henry, you'll get in massive trouble if you're caught," warned George.
"Take it from someone that knows their stuff," Fred said with a nod. "You might be expelled, you know. Is it really worth the trouble?"
She bit her lip. Would it hurt to tell them the truth?
You haven't even told Harry, she reminded herself. True, but he was Harry, he didn't need to know. She wanted him to have a carefree life, and he had enough to deal with without knowing about Pansy. Except when Boot put a hand on him, Harry hadn't had a single panic attack. She suspected he held everything in because she was acting out. So no, she wasn't telling him. He already knew the girl kicked her out of the room; he didn't need to know more.
Which made it more important that someone outside of Slytherin knew of Pansy's behaviour.
"Pansy doesn't let me inside the room," she whispered. "And… she does other things too." She still wasn't over what the girl had done to her things. It was a miracle the house-elves found her uniform.
Fred and George inhaled sharply. Their eyes flashed dangerously.
"She's bullying you?"
When Henry didn't even look at them, George snapped. "Henry!"
"Yes… I guess she is." Because she was worried Henry was going to steal Draco. Merlin's beard, they were eleven. Pansy had to calm down.
"So where exactly are you sleeping?" asked Fred. "In a random classroom?"
"Kind of…" She didn't want to reveal the Room of Requirement yet. It was thus far her only true safe haven.
"Oh Henry. You can't keep living like this," said George. "Let's go talk to… Snape won't work, how about Professor McGonagall?"
"You really think that will solve anything? There's no proof Pansy has done anything." And most likely, she had people ready to back her up should Henry try to blame her. "Draco is going to talk to her. She's crushing on him, so she'll listen." I hope.
"In that case, we'll prepare them a surprise." The grin on Fred's face was going to haunt her dreams.
"Until then, you can sleep in Gryffindor Tower."
"I— Pardon?"
They laughed.
"Yeah, well, we're not leaving you out here," said Fred. "We're not monsters."
But all her things were in the Room of Requirement! Her pajamas! Her toothbrush.
"You're friends with a first-year Gryffindor, right? Just ask her to borrow a shirt or something."
"And— And where am I supposed to sleep?"
The answer, in the common room, wasn't to her liking. But the twins were relentless and George even threatened to carry her if she refused.
Hermione was surprised when the twins knocked on her door, even more so to see Henry behind them. Thankfully, she was an angel and happily lent the girl her spare pajamas.
"You can share my bed," she offered shyly, "if that's okay."
A shiver went down Henry's back. The beds weren't wide enough so that they wouldn't touch.
But Hermione went out of her way to help her, so she accepted the offer. They bid Fred and George goodnight, and Hermione pointed at her bed.
"Thanks," Henry said quietly so she didn't wake the others. "I really appreciate it."
It was too dark to see, but it looked like Hermione blushed. "It's nothing. You've been kind to me so far, and it's not right that I don't do anything for you."
Henry grinned and snuggled deeper into the warm bed.
Gryffindor Tower went into an uproar the next day. It began with Hermione's roommates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, finding Henry next to the girl. Parvati calmed down almost immediately, realising something had to be seriously wrong if Henry went to Gryffindor before her own brother.
Lavender, however, had zero chill. She screamed bloody murder and rushed to get a Prefect, screaming about breakins and evil Slytherins. The only reason the annoyed Prefects didn't throw her out immediately was because Fred, George and Hermione came to Henry's defence.
She caught sight of Ron amidst the chaos of students, glaring at her in suspicion. She cringed. She really wasn't painted in the best of light whenever she met him, was she?
"Let's go," Hermione told her and led her out of the common room. Fred and George were hot on their tail.
For the first time ever, she didn't eat with either Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Her Gryffindor friends refused to leave her alone and insisted she eat with them. So she and Hermione sat with the third-years, Henry sandwiched between Fred and George and Hermione on the other side with Lee Jordan.
She didn't remember much of the rest of the day. Slytherin had Herbology and Charms with Ravenclaw, and she might have scored her House a few points in both classes. Draco and Harry definitely inquired about her eating with Gryffindor, but she sure as hell wasn't telling them about that.
That day's History of Magic was her most productive one yet. She ignored everything Binns said and read straight from the book instead. Finally she had notes of her own.
During dinner (that she ate with Slytherin), Hedwig delivered a letter from Hagrid. It was another tea invite. The owl was rewarded a bit of bacon before she flew off.
That Wednesday, the twins knocked on Hagrid's door a few minutes before the designated time. He was happy to see them, especially when Henry showed him the basket of sweets they'd brought. She had asked Fred and George to help her find the kitchen so she could bake. She'd go mad if she had to pretend to eat another rock cake.
"How's life been since I las' saw yeh?"
Cue Harry going on and on about Quirrell's incompetence (his favourite subject) and all the things he had learned (his second favourite subject).
Hagrid laughed merrily at the boy's enthusiasm. Henry chimed in a few times, about how fun Charms and Herbology was and how Snape definitely had it out for her.
"Bah, rubbish," said Hagrid. "Snape's a good teacher."
They smiled and pretended he had showered them in wisdom. Henry asked about Fang, which set Hagrid off about the creatures he had ever cared for, including the spiders. When he mentioned the Bowtruckles, Henry begged to see them.
The Bowtruckles' tree was unassuming, except the green twig-like creatures slowly climbing up and down it. One of them stopped to peer curiously at the twins. With a nod from Hagrid, Henry reached out to pet it. The Bowtruckle poked her finger and, when she didn't do anything, climbed it.
"He likes yeh," Hagrid said, looking like a proud mum. "Loyal too. Yeh jus' got a friend, Henry!"
She thanked the tiny creature for entertaining her and helped it back to the tree. Hagrid showed them a few other creatures when Daycrusher slid out from the Forest. Harry noticed him first and tugged at Henry's sleeve.
"Distract him," she whispered, nodding at Hagrid. She walked closer to the treeline and hid from the gatekeeper. "Hello Daycrusssher. How have you been?"
"Fine, thank you, ssspeaker," he replied. "I have finissshed my obssservation of the teachersss."
Truthfully, she had forgotten about the request. It felt like months since she asked him to spy on them.
"What did you find?"
"The man in all black doesss not like the professsor with the turban. They bicker all the time," Daycrusher told her. "The turban man talksss to himssself a lot. I followed him the mossst. He wasss sssussspisssciousss."
She murmured her praises. He hadn't told her anything new, but it was good to know Quirrell was still on track with the plot.
"Can you keep an eye on him? He'sss dangerousss."
"I will."
"Henrietta?" called Hagrid. Henry bid the snake goodbye and hurried back, saying something about more Bowtruckles.
Henry gaped at the students waiting for her outside their unofficial classroom. It was Saturday again, and time for their afternoon lessons. For some reason, It wasn't just Harry's friends and Draco, Blaise, Theo and Hermione. Now Parvati was here, as well as Fred and George—and Neville.
Harry! She gave him a worried look, but he grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. Not helping.
"Good day," she greeted them and entered the room. They followed like baby ducks. The newcomers followed the others' example and stood a meter away from each other in a straight line.
Henry went to close the door. Making sure no one was looking, she downed a dose of Calming Draught to ease her anxieties.
"Alright, seeing as we have newcomers here, how about we separate into two groups? Harry, can you go over the exercises with them?" He nodded and gathered the strays, moving to the side. "So, I've planned a few new exercises for us," she said to the rest of the group. They help with concentration, and it's something you should do every day from now on. The first one is a breathing exercise." The only thing they had to do for one to three minutes was to keep track of their breathing. They were meant to focus on it and now breathing felt.
As for the other one, they were supposed to feel their bodies. How did the legs feel? Stomach? Arms and head? From what she'd read, you not only learned concentration, but also to listen to what the body wanted or needed.
Henry's group repeated this for thirty minutes, before she asked them to repeat Flipendo, using what they just learned to better control the magic. She wasn't expecting a big difference, but was happy nonetheless when Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein told her their control was much better.
"Fabulous. Now, let's try learning Reparo. Miss Padma, do you know its effect?"
"Uh, it repairs broken things, right?"
"Excellent answer, five points to Ravenclaw." Everyone giggled. "Who of you knows what it can't repair?"
Draco waved his hand, and she nodded at him. "Powerful curses like Fiendfyre," he replied.
"Correct. Five points to Slytherin."
"I wish," Theo whispered under his breath.
The movement she showed them was an unfinished triangle, where the upper half of the left wall was bent inwards. It vaguely reminded her of the Atlantean alphabet from Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. She let them break chairs with Flipendo (repelling the poor furniture against the stone walls) and then repair them with Reparo.
Harry's group joined about two hours later, and Henry happily had them do the same exercise. Fred and George, who already knew the spells, sat back and surveyed the situation.
"You're both really good teachers," Fred commented. "Have you ever thought of teaching here after graduation?"
"With the likes of Snape and Quirrell?" Harry shuddered at the thought. "I'd rather travel the world and learn as much magic as possible."
Henry grinned at him before shrugging at Fred's question. "I haven't given my future much thought." Besides surviving past the age of seventeen, of course. Other than that, she didn't know what she wanted to do. Teaching might be fun, but so was traveling with Harry, if he allowed it.
"Well, you have six more years, so it's not something you have to decide immediately," George said, and Fred nodded. "What compelled you to do this, by the way?"
"I'm learning the spells ahead of schedule, and Harry and Draco asked me to teach them too. It kind of grew into this," Henry replied and gestured to the first-years.
"It's a good idea. Tell us if you need any help." Now it was George's turn to nod in agreement.
"Fabulous! How about helping me teach them Aparecium?" The older twins agreed, and the four of them oversaw the others for a while more, before Henry thought they had figured Reparo out. She gathered her students and clapped her hands together.
"Alright, time for some spells," she grinned. "Today I have prepared a few spells for you, the first one being Aparecium. Fred, George, do you know it?"
"Yeah, it's the Revealing Charm," replied Fred. "It reveals hidden messages and stuff."
"Can you perform it?"
"Of course," said George. "Wanna see?" She handed him a notebook she had filled with sentences written in hidden ink. He bowed playfully and held it up in front of Fred.
"Aparecium," the boy said and did the movement. Slowly, the text appeared. "Impressive."
"I say the same thing to you." She took it back and began ripping out pages. "Here, take one each. Fred, do the wand movement again, but slowly. Everyone, repeat after him."
A few hours later, everyone, even Neville, had learned Alarte Ascendare, Aparecium and Ascendio. The only ones she hadn't fully taught were Fred and George, since they were third-years. She had half a mind to read through their curriculum. If she had time, she'd do it. Right now though, she watched everyone leave, even the Weasley twins, after a satisfying lesson.
Theo and Blaise excused themselves as well. They had promised some fifth-year to play Exploding Snap with them. That left Harry, Henry and Draco alone.
"Wanna go for a walk?" Henry suggested. "I need some fresh air."
They trekked down to the shore of the Black Lake and slowly made their way around it. The creatures living in the waters poked their heads up, even the giant squid. It didn't take long for Sirius to join them. Harry nearly cried seeing the big black dog. Sirius was all too happy letting Harry pet and hug him.
"Did you sneak it up here too?" asked Draco. Sirius was currently sniffing his hand. "Henry recognised it last time too."
"His name is Sirius, after the star," Harry explained. "We met in Privet Drive."
"And he followed you all the way to Hogwarts?"
"I always figured he was a magical dog." Harry shrugged. He didn't really care as long as Sirius was here. The dog was part of their family too.
Sirius stuck next to them for the rest of the walk, licking and nibbling on their fingers.
"Feeling better?" Draco asked, having noticed how at peace the twins looked.
Being out in nature and doing nothing in particular calmed them down. Out here, there was no Vernon to shout at them, no Petunia with her frying pan and no Dudley to run away from. It was only the two of them, a quiet place and peace.
"We should come here more often," the Pureblood decided. "Once a week isn't enough. How about two? We can invite the others as well."
"Nah, it's fine with just the four of us." Harry agreed. Sometimes not being surrounded was nice too. Preferable, even.
Draco grinned. "That makes me happy to hear. Come, let's skip rocks."
After the satisfying walk, Harry and Henry left Draco in the library with Hermione and hid themselves deep within its walls.
Appare Vestigium revealed recent magical activity and highlighted it. According to the book, the spell showed itself through a cloud of gold dust and stuck to magical traces. It was a bit overboard, but useful. For when, Henry didn't know, but it was a tracking spell and they needed those.
The second spell they had left was Capacious Extremis, the Expansion Charm. Knowing that spell saved them quite a bit of money. Though they were filthy rich now, it was better to save the money for later than spend it unnecessarily. Who knew when they'd need a huge amount of money next?
Draco and Hermione looked up from their Potions homework when the twins returned. They both rolled their eyes before returning their attention to their tasks. The twins were still amazed Draco was civil with Hermione even when no one else was around.
"What's the homework?" asked Henry, who frankly hadn't bothered to look at it yet.
"The Sleeping Draught." Hermione sighed. "Twenty inches too. Fred Weasley was sure we'd be spared the harsh homework because we're with Slytherin, but he was wrong."
"Probably because of me. Snape can't stand me."
"Or Harry," Draco added. "I'm surprised, actually. I've never seen Uncle Severus that angry. Did you do something to him?"
"I don't think he liked our parents," Henry mumbled and told them about her detention.
Later that night, when she and Harry lay in bed in the Room of Requirement, she elaborated on what she had said.
"You mean to tell me, he's a creep?"
"Not really," cringed Henry. "He's just upset mum chose dad instead of him."
Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed. So what if she chose their father? It was Snape's own fault, joining a terror organisation hellbent on eradicating Muggleborns like their mother because of heartbreak.
"To be fair, dad did bully him."
"And you told me he tried to change after Lily rejected him for it," Harry pointed out. "And what's Snape doing as a teacher anyway? He's horrible to us and he scares the living daylights out of Neville Longbottom. He told me during last afternoon class. Let's not also forget he favours Slytherin to the absurd and discriminates against Gryffindor." He paused, having realised something else. "Did Snape seriously join an organisation that wanted one of his parents dead?" Because Snape was a Halfblood, it meant that either one of his parents were Muggleborn, or his grandparents were.
"Oh." Henry didn't have anything to say to that. Besides, she had never been one of his fans even before she came here, so why bother defending him? "Let's change topics. Can you please help me next Saturday?"
"Of course, what do you need?"
"I was thinking of Transfiguration. I'm shite at it, but you're really good, can't you take over the practical aspects?"
"I can," said with a firm nod. "Anything you need."
She kissed his cheek and asked the Room to go dark.
"Good night, Harry."
"Love you."
Friday started with double Potions. The students had barely sat down before Snape informed them they were brewing the Sleeping Draught. With a smirk, he said he expected a lot from them, seeing as how they handed in their homework on the potion mere seconds ago.
Draco once again left to get the ingredients while Henry prepped the station. She could feel Snape's heavy gaze on her as she moved around. It was stressful, having the full weight of his attention for so long, and she wished someone made a mistake so he could leave her alone.
"Here," said Draco, spilling the ingredients onto the table. "Are you alright? Your hair's turning pale."
"Drat." She willed it to turn back to normal. She saw Snape's satisfied expression and wished he'd fall down the enchanted stairs. With him behaving like he did, how had people ever taken pity on him? Poor him for not respecting the choice of his best friend. Poor him definitely had the right to turn to the Death Eaters in retaliation.
Arse. I wish it was you. James and Lily never got to see her and Harry grow up. Instead the twins were stuck with Snape. Why couldn't it have been you? Not that it was possible, but she wanted to switch Snape with her parents. At least one of them. So much would change if only they were alive. I wouldn't have to fight for my life.
She shook her head to listen to Draco reading the recipe. There was no use thinking about that. What's done cannot be undone, regardless of how much she wished the opposite.
"Did you hear a word I just said?" sighed Draco.
"You'll add the crushed wormwood while I chop the valerian. When I put it inside, you'll apply the correct amount of heat."
Draco nodded as she rambled on the instructions. "Great."
Henry pulled up her long sleeves and began heating the cauldron. Draco crushed the woodworm and threw it in. Henry added the valerian and moved directly to the Flobberworm (to juice it) while Draco controlled the heat. While he did, she chopped the Sopophorous bean. Without missing a beat, Draco dropped it in the potion. He stirred it as per the recipe and Henry added the last ingredients, 'a sprinkle of powdered asphodel petals and a dash of essence of nettle', as the book said.
"A good sample," was Snape's only comment. "Go read chapter 3 on common potion ingredients and write fifteen inches on why they are so. And one point from Slytherin, Miss Potter, for your insolent staring."
"Excuse you—" Draco covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed her hateful words and let him drag her back to their bench. "I hate him."
"Here, let's finish this."
They did, and handed their essays to Snape five minutes before the lesson ended. He gave Henry a last glare before releasing them all for lunch.
"You and I need to talk," Henry said and threw herself in Harry's arms. They waved temporary goodbye to Draco, Blaise and Theo before sitting down at their usual place with Ravenclaw.
"Now?" asked Harry. She told him to hurry up and finish eating. "But it's food! Wizarding food!"
"We've cooked half of these on Number Four, it's not like you'll never taste it again."
He pouted throughout eating and gave a last, pitiful glance at it before letting her drag him all the way to the Room of Requirement.
"This better be worth abandoning the food for," he grumbled and placed himself to the far right of the newly conjured sofa.
Henry took a seat as well and put her feet in his lap. "We need to decide what to do with Quirrell and the Stone," she said. "We've been here almost two weeks now, and I'm pretty sure Quirrell tried to get it before New Year. No, I'm 100% sure of that."
"Really?"
"Alright, I'm not, but I'm very sure."
He snorted. "Fine. So, what do we know so far?"
"The stone is protected by enchantments created by certain teachers." There was Hagrid, Professor Sprout, maybe Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Quirrell and Dumbledore, if she remembered correctly. She wasn't sure about the enchantments though. Again, it had been thirteen years since she read the Deathly Hallows last, the seventh book in the series.
"Tell me about the ones you do remember," said Harry.
Of course, there was Fluffy, who guarded the entrance. Then there was Devil's Snare that Henry really didn't want to fight, something about flying keys if she remembered correctly, followed by the biggest set of Wizarding Chess in existence, Snape's potions (that were omitted from the movie, right?) and… what was Quirrell's challenge? Whatever, it had been omitted as well. Lastly, the Stone was hidden in the mirror of Erised.
"And I'm supposed to get it how?"
"You kind of… wish for it." She shrugged. "There was something about getting it only if you… if you… what was it?… Right, if you don't want it for yourself. Or similarly."
Harry groaned into his hands. First the Dursleys, and now this. Couldn't he get a quiet and peaceful life once? Pretty please with sugar on top? He didn't care about being a hero, he wanted his books and he wanted peace and quiet.
"Can't you go get it?"
"Me?" Henry shook her head. "I'm not stealing your fame!"
"I'm not him, Henry. That Harry doesn't exist. Go take it, I don't care."
"Alright, but you're coming with me!"
That, he could agree to. As long as he didn't get roped into something unnecessary. "When do we do this, then?"
"I dunno. Give me a day or so to read through my journal."
Of course she kept a journal. Though he was cynical, it was good she did. Otherwise they might be more in the dark than they already were.
Lunch neared its end, and with that, their conversation concluded. They'd meet up again on Sunday after Luciana's Occlumency lesson, they decided before departing.
"Oh, and Henry?"
"Yeah?"
"The reason why Snape hates you so much might be because you keep thinking horrible stuff about him in class…"
"Oh for fu— Come on!" she growled.
Harry laughed and ran off before she could put him under a spell.
"Again," Luciana said, looking at Harry. "You're almost there, Mr Potter."
Harry groaned and collapsed to the ground. "I have a headache," he announced, putting his head in Henry's lap. "Feel sorry for me."
Blaise hid a laugh while Draco openly made fun of him. Luciana gave a small, amused smile before once again instructing Harry on how to enter his mental landscape. They were an hour into the lesson and thus far, Blaise was the only one besides Henry to manage it.
"I need a break," Harry decided and refused to move from Henry.
She shook her head and buried her hand in his tousled hair. "See you soon," she said before closing her eyes, sorting out the noise and following her magic down the dark void. Her feet landed soundlessly on the white surface.
Now, she was by no means an architect, but she could experiment until Luciana taught them how to layer their protections. First, she needed somewhere to store her memories. It couldn't be something obvious… and where was she to find them in the first place?
Well, I don't need them to make a place for them. But… What did memories look like? Could she reshape them into looking like something else? Glass balls, shogi pieces, books?
No, too obvious. Everyone that knew her even a little knew how much she loved to read and study. Books were the first thing an intruder was going to look for. Shogi pieces were too vulnerable as well. Glass balls felt too cliché, like something an intruder would expect.
This was harder than it looked.
It couldn't be something she liked. Then, if they were memories, why not store them in someone? There was a fanfic she read once where Harry created a shell in his mind. It looked like him and was supposed to defend his mind should it be breached. Henry could try something similar. If she got the doll to move, it could run off and hide if someone invaded.
And who would ever guess the memories were stored like that?
Here's to hoping.
This place was made from magic, created by her own mind. All she had to do was to picture a person taking form in front of her. But what should they look like? Her current self? Or should she design it a little, to throw off potential invaders?
She closed her eyes and imagined a girl her age, with sand coloured straight hair and a pale complexion, with almond-shaped eyes the colour of amber.
Taller. The girl should be half a head taller than Henry, with a thin body, slender fingers and a huge birthmark on her right thigh.
She opened her eyes to inspect the result. A girl that looked remarkably human stood unblinking in front of her, stark naked. Right. Henry wished for a t-shirt and skirt to cover the girl before taking a look. She was pretty. Not a model by any means, but then, conventionally beautiful people had never suited her taste.
She blinked. How long had she been staring? Shaking her head, she put her hand on the girl's forehead. Magic surged into the empty doll, filling it with commands. Protect the memories. If threatened, hide. Move like a human. Speak.
Nothing happened.
"Maybe it's too vague…?" Henry mumbled to herself. Since there were no memories to protect, the doll couldn't fulfill the commands anyway. And what was the definition of hiding when there was nowhere to go?
She turned away from the doll. She didn't want to destroy the landscape, so instead she created more shells to host her memories. Hopefully they could hold more than one memory each, otherwise she had a problem.
By the time Luciana dragged her back to reality, Henry had about a dozen of them.
"Alright, for those of you who can enter your minds, let's move on," the second-year said. She pulled out a black wand and waved it. "Silencio. There, now we won't disturb Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy."
Blaise and Henry moved closer to each other.
"Do you remember the feeling of being dragged down?" She waited for them to nod. "Good. Now, do you remember what it feels like to wake up?"
"Yes," Blaise said slowly, "it's like… I'm being pulled, here, in my chest."
"Correct. That is your magic dragging you back up, figuratively speaking. Or, well, it's me forcing your magic, but either way." She gave them a bright but polite smile.
What they had to do was to pull themselves up. Luciana could do it like the back of her hand, but Blaise and Henry struggled to understand. It was easy to explain it like that, but the reality was that neither of them could force that feeling when they were in their landscapes.
"Try it," Luciana suggested. "I'll give you half an hour."
This time, when Henry closed her eyes, falling into her landscape was almost too easy. The dolls stood where she left them, reminding her a bit of a horror movie.
Alright. She looked up at the sky. Since concentration and intent was the key, she should focus on a particular point to pull herself up. She assumed. Up!
Nothing happened.
She giggled. "Of course… Would be too easy otherwise."
Without anything else to do, she lay down on the ground to look at the sky of swirling colours. She focused on a particularly big swirl and relaxed, as if hypnotized. That vague pulling feeling interrupted her and she gasped, returning to her body.
"Wha— What?" For a brief moment, she thought she did it.
"Your thirty minutes are up," said Luciana gently. "Let's stop here for now."
They gathered their things, thanked her and left to take a walk around the lake. Harry pulled Henry behind the boys.
"I think I can do it," he whispered. "Next time, I mean."
"The landscape thing?" He nodded. "Brilliant! But how?"
"I was still leaning against you when you dove, or whatever I should call it. I felt your magic do something weird. I can probably mimic it."
She sighed. Of course he could, he was Harry Potter, magical genius. He was good at everything, even Transfiguration.
"Don't forget who's the afternoon teacher," he reminded her.
Yeah, because she had had the foresight to learn the spells beforehand. And he was going to help her from now on.
"Jealous? That's a first."
"Just shut up." Her smile took the edge of her words.
Sirius joined them on the walk and the twins introduced him to Blaise. The boy fell in love immediately and couldn't stop showering Sirius with pats and hugs. It was adorable how the usually distant boy melted in front of a grown adult in a dog's body.
The mers began singing when they saw the group. Henry rolled her eyes. Luckily they stayed under water. Otherwise she'd go deaf.
Harry and Henry excused themselves from the boys when they came back to the castle. They needed some alone time, but would see them for dinner, they promised. Draco and Blaise were used to it by now, so they left without complaint.
"Alright," said Harry. They were now in the Room of Requirement. "How about a plan? When does Quirrell go for the Stone in the book?"
"I thought it was in December," said Henry, "but looking through my notes, it seems it's more like right before the end of the year."
"Wow, you were off by… a lot." She threw a conjured pillow at him. "Hey! Be nice. I'm your favourite brother."
She grinned evilly. "You're my only brother, dork."
"So? I'm automatically your favourite."
She snorted. "Whatever feeds your ego. Now, how about we steal the Stone on Christmas break? There won't be many students here."
"True, but at the same time, the teachers will have it easier checking up on us." He had a point. However, they hadn't followed the original plot, meaning the teachers had no reason to suspect them of anything. They wouldn't be looking for someone trying to break in.
"How about we do it on the last day?"
"I don't know… But alright, if you think it's the best choice." He nodded, determination clear in his eyes. "We need a plan for the enchantments too."
"Devil's Snare doesn't like heat or light, so we just have to cast a strong Lumos on it," Henry brainstormed, jotting down her thoughts in the journal. "Fluffy falls asleep listening to music—Quirrell enchanted a harp to play, we need to learn that spell—and… you take care of the keys."
"The keys?" Harry repeated. "Alright, but why?"
Because Henry absolutely refused to fly around on a broom trying to catch the right one. He was one in love with flying, not she.
"There's also a giant chess board… Ron took care of it in the series, and I can't play to save a life. How about you?"
"Jesus, no," laughed Harry. "I've never played. Do you think we can fly over it, using that broom?"
Henry really didn't want to, but admitted it might work. These people didn't have common sense, they probably didn't think anyone would fly over any of the tasks.
"We can try," she said faintly. "But if you drop me, know I will haunt you forever."
He grinned. "I'll be careful. Just don't let go."
They moved on to Snape's task.
"If it's a riddle, I'll take care of it," Harry volunteered. "I'm still surprised you got into Ravenclaw Tower without help." Another pillow went for his head. "Has anyone told you how violent you are?"
"Be glad it's not a book."
In the end, they came up with half a plan, which relied on Quirrell not reading their minds during class (could he do that?) and for the tasks to remain the same as in the series. Otherwise they had to improvise.
"You have to do something about Pansy," said Fred the next day after school. It was Monday, meaning Henry was in an incredibly good mood. Mondays were the best, because she had two lessons in a row with Harry.
Fred and George had kidnapped her to a secret passageway where they could talk in peace. Since she finally slept during the nights, it meant their nightly adventures had come to a stop.
"I thought you planned some epic prank to avenge me."
"We are, but you have to learn to stand up for yourself," said George, sitting down and leaning against the wall. Fred and Henry did the same.
"I don't know what to do." They'd already gone over this once. There was no evidence, the majority of Slytherin would back Pansy and Snape hated Henry.
Should have gone to Ravenclaw, she grumbled.
"How about getting your own revenge? Or scare her into stop harassing you?"
"Fred…" She sighed. "I don't want people to fear me. And I don't like revenge. Hate only brings more hate." And she wasn't keen on Pansy's retaliation, because she definitely would try it.
"Whatever, we're still teaching you how to protect yourself," said George. "We know a few good spells. Just in case she tries to hex you."
The spells they were thinking of were Impedimenta and Locomotor Wibbly, also known as the Impediment Jinx and Jelly-Legs Curse. According to Fred, Impedimenta either stopped or slowed down the target. It was a necessary spell for duelling, and one Henry was eager to learn.
Locomotor Wibbly was a dark charm, which was why the Charms book didn't cover it. Dark charms, explained George, were spells created with malicious or harmful intent. Since Dark magic was taboo, the books didn't cover it or the spells associated with it.
The Jelly-Legs Curse's effect was, as the name suggested, to collapse the legs of the victim, as if they were jelly.
"If you use it with the Pimple Jinx, tentacles pop up on your face instead!" laughed Fred. "Amazing, isn't it? We tried it on Lee when we first heard of it."
She felt sorry for the boy.
"But are you alright with learning Dark spells?" George asked before showing her the wand movement for Locomotor Wibbly. "I mean… after You-Know-Who…"
"Know thy enemy," Henry quoted. She had no idea who'd said it first or if she'd got it right though. "If I want to protect myself from Voldemort's followers, I need to research the spells they use, and learn the counterspells at the very least. I'm not picky, but thanks for worrying."
He ruffled her hair. "Good. Let's start. And please, stop saying his name."
She got the hang of Impedimenta almost immediately. Proud, she grinned at the twins, who gave her more pats. She felt a bit like a dog, but she found she liked the affection it brought, so it was fine.
Locomotor Wibbly was trickier. She couldn't figure out why, maybe because she kept thinking of not wanting to harm the boys. They stopped after a while and promised to resume the training the next day.
"I'm starving," said Fred. "Let's go!"
They passed the third floor on their way to the Great Hall. All three of them shivered and walked faster down the moving staircase. They still hadn't gotten over Fluffy.
"Now that I think about it," said George. "That Hellhound must be Hagrid's."
"Yeah, he's the only one with enough knowledge to keep something that big," Fred agreed. "Why even guard something precious here to begin with?"
"Isn't Hogwarts almost as safe as Gringots?" Henry asked. Though that was bollocks to her, honestly. In the series, both Hogwarts and the bank had been laughably easy to sneak into. Or at least it felt like it. But she wasn't about to let Harry run head first into the Ministry because of Voldemort's visions. She wasn't losing Sirius this time.
"Ah, true," the boys agreed.
"Let's… let's not talk about this anymore." George shivered again. "I feel like the dog will come running after us if we keep mentioning it."
Fred froze for a moment. "Nope, I want to live. There's so many pranks I haven't done yet."
They entered the Hall, filled to the brim with students. Henry made a move to join her friends, but Fred grabbed her sleeve and steered her to their table. Frowning, she let him. A few minutes later, she understood why. Someone from her table screamed in rage. The shouts escalated until most of Slytherin stood up. Their faces were turning green with silver dots.
"Poor Draco and Blaise," said Henry, having a hard time trying not to laugh. She saw Pansy raging about her appearance to Draco, who looked away, bothered.
"You like it?" whispered Fred.
"Very much. I appreciate it a lot. Thanks." She had to apologise to Draco, Blaise and Theo though. They didn't deserve the wrath of the Weasley twins.
As she suspected, when she followed them to the dungeons, not one student was happy. Pansy was the angriest, throwing insults Henry's way because she hadn't eaten with them. She was sure she had asked the Weasley twins to prank them. Many Slytherins nodded, admitting it was suspicious and knew for a fact Henry almost never stayed in the common room. Most of them only saw her during class.
"If I was allowed to sleep in my own room, this wouldn't have happened," Henry whispered under her breath.
"You what?" Draco pulled her to a stop. "You're not allowed in your room?"
"Uh." She hadn't meant for him to hear that. "Oops?"
"Oops?" He turned red with anger. "Pansy Parkinson!" He stomped over to the pale girl. Surrounded by their Housemates, his explosion was on display for everyone to see. It wasn't pretty, seeing him shouting at Pansy, but Henry didn't feel sorry at all, not even when the girl began to cry. She ran off, bumping into Henry as she did. Henry reeled from the pain. Her whole arm shook from disgust.
That wasn't the end of Pansy, though. The girl had a heart of stone. She quickly pulled herself together, and for the next week, Henry made sure to evade her even more. It ended with Draco and Blaise sitting with Ravenclaw all the time, since Henry refused to sit with Slytherin and the boys wanted to see her even after class.
Being protected by Draco and Blaise (and occasionally Theo), as well as Fred and George and Harry, it was hard for Pansy to retaliate against Henry. She tried following the girl once, wanting to know where she slept at night, but instead of going to the Room of Requirement, she took a few hidden passages to lose her and went to sleep with Hermione.
Where were all the teachers during this? They didn't suspect a thing. During lessons, everyone acted like Slytherin wasn't in the middle of a civil war. Hufflepuff knew nothing about it, of course. Most of Gryffindor were in the dark as well. She wasn't sure about Ravenclaw, but at least the first-years had to suspect something was off, seeing as Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini suddenly ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with them.
"Is there anything wrong, Miss Potter?" asked Snape that Friday during double Potions. "It seems you refuse to eat with your House."
"I apologise, Professor," she said politely, without taking her eyes off her cauldron. "It's just that I miss Harry something terrible. Having only two lessons a week with him is too little."
"Is that why you invited Mr Malfoy and Mr Zabini as well?"
"No, they are simply loyal friends." He looked ready to sneer at her, so she added, "I hope mum and dad had friends like that." He promptly excused himself.
"Should I ask him to talk to Pansy?" asked Draco.
"No, I don't think he'll help me, even if it's for your sake. But thanks anyway."
Their progress in Occlumency stagnated as well. Harry and Draco finally reached their mental landscapes, but no one could figure out how to leave without Luciana's help. Instead they focused on layering their protections. They had to literally build things around their memories, places where they could hide their thoughts and emotions. Like a maze or a skyscraper. Henry worked on digging underground, creating a maze of tunnels, before deciding what to do about above ground. She still hadn't found her memories though. Luciana's words of wisdom, "They're there, you just have to call for them," went over her head.
Classes and the afternoon class were the only things that went mostly fine. She was still slow in Transfiguration, but with Harry's help, she made progress.
The afternoon class grew a little bigger, with Lee Jordan joining them at the end of September. When October 1st arrived, Henry couldn't believe it had only been a month. She felt at least fifty years older. How was she to wait two months more until Christmas break?
She spent a lot of her spare time playing games with her friends. They spent most of their time in the library, teaching her and Harry and Hermione several wizarding games, including chess. Henry quickly gave that up, because she couldn't read the board or her opponent.
Harry began spending more time with Fred, George and Lee. Somehow they had roped him in with talks of pranks. He now spent a lot of time researching funny spells, on top of helping her with the afternoon class and their own research. How he managed, Henry had no idea.
"You should talk to Pansy," said Draco one day in the middle of October. "Maybe you can agree on a truce?"
Not likely, but she entertained him by promising she would. She strode into her dorm room that very afternoon, determined to get it over and done with.
"Truce?" Pansy said with a laugh. "Why would I do that?"
"Because Draco wants it."
She glared at her. "You stole him from me, what makes you think I'll agree to a truce with you?"
This was why Henry didn't want to confront her. "You don't own him, Pansy, he's not a slave. He decides who he wants to be friends with, not you."
"Filthy attention seeker."
"Says the girl that's been trying to get Draco's since the first day of school."
Pansy shrieked and threw a pillow at her. Henry caught it and threw it back, hitting Pansy in the face.
"You're pathetic," she told the girl. "How Draco became your friend, I can't understand. If this is how you've always acted, I feel sorry for him." She turned to leave.
"Colloshoo!"
Henry cursed colourfully. Her feet were firmly stuck to the floor. Had she actually fallen, her wrists would have snapped.
"Colloportus," Pansy said, locking the door.
Henry was beginning to worry.
"What are you doing?" she asked the girl, unable to look over her shoulder.
"Teaching you a lesson. Confundo."
The world spun, Henry feeling something akin to a velvet blanket falling over her consciousness. Confused, she shook her head. This wasn't good, she had to get out of the room before Pansy did something worse, but she couldn't think straight.
"What are you mumbling about?" Pansy sneered, taking a step closer. "You're pathetic, Potter, just look at you!"
"Ut, måste ut… Måste till Harry… Rehnholm… Så det var mitt namn?" What was she saying? "Stop talking."
Pansy grinned. "You're mad, you know that, right?"
"Not mad," Henry mumbled, trying to set her thoughts straight. She had to do something, what was it? Oh, right, get out of here.
Did Colloshoo have a counterspell? What was it?
"Collo… collo… to stick together…"
Dimittas? Dimi…
"Dimishoo?" By some miracle, her feet let go of the floor and she crashed into the door. "Alo… Alohomora." The door opened and she staggered out.
"Where do you think you're going?" Pansy shouted after her.
"Colloportus."
Something hard slammed into the door, probably Pansy's face. Henry didn't stay to figure it out. She walked like a drunk through the corridor and down the stairs, careful not to fall, because everything moved and her legs felt like jelly.
"Henry?" Draco's voice drifted over to her. "How'd it go? Henry? Henry, what's wrong?"
She said something, but she didn't know what. It didn't matter though, because Pansy was coming down the stairs, hissing about Henry being rude and that someone should get Professor Snape.
"Pansy, is this your doing?" Draco practically growled.
Pansy didn't reply. She stalked past him to Henry, who was held upright by Blaise. "You nasty wench! How dare you?"
"Sluta," Henry whispered, feeling seasick. Note to self, Confundo was a powerful spell. Better learn it.
Pansy was stopped in her tracks by Theo and Draco. They grabbed her arms, but she stomped on their feet. The closer she got, the worse Henry felt. She ripped herself from Blaise and moved backwards.
"Stay away."
"You're leaving," said Pansy. "Get out. You're not a Slytherin. We're noble, pure, and you're tainting us. How dare you waltz in here like you own the place?"
Henry squinted her eyes. Pansy had three heads now. "When…? When did I…" She couldn't think straight. Thoughts left before they could fully form.
Pansy reached her. Raised her hand. A tiny, slender hand that at most would twinge if it hit. But that wasn't what Henry saw. She saw Dudley slapping Harry's cheek, saw Vernon hit her over the head. She saw him punch her so hard her nose broke.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Henry fell to the ground, her body now heavy. People screamed. Why were they screaming?
"Call Professor Snape!"
"Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"
"DUMBLEDORE, GET DUMBLEDORE!"
She blinked. The stone floor was getting wet. Water pooled around her, soaking her stockings, her shoes, her skirt. Where did the water come from?
She didn't want to look up. If she did, she'd see something terrible, something she couldn't unsee. But she had to. So she did.
Someone screamed again. Draco? Was it Draco? Her? Oh. It was her. Then others joined in. They screamed and screamed and screamed because there was blood blood blood blood everywhere and the glass wall was broken and water was coming in and someone lay on the ground beneath was that Pansy oh it was and she wasn't moving and people were still g could they just STOP IT she was tired of hearing them scream.
"Someone," a person shouted, "does someone know a healing spell?"
Henry did. Episkey only healed minor injuries but maybe the bleeding would stop. She found herself beside Pansy, mumbling "Episkey Episkey Episkey" over and over, forcing her magic to comply even though she didn't use her wand.
There was so much blood. On her hands and in her skin and soaking into her clothes and her hair turned blood red and probably her eyes as well and wow did she do that how did she do that if only Pansy stopped COMING CLOSER then this wouldn't have happened and Harry she wanted Harry where was Harry.
"Vulnera Sanentur, can someone perform it?!"
Henry blinked. What was that? A healing spell?
Do it, she ordered her magic. Just do it.
Suddenly, she was jerked away from the dying girl. Her body convulsed and shivered and did other strange things and she was screaming herself hoarse again because DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME and then that someone was gone gone gone and she kept screaming and crying and Draco was talking to her but she couldn't hear because WHY DID PEOPLE KEEP TOUCHING HER.
A hand on her head.
"Sleep," was the order.
She fell.
A/N: Sorry, I'm not translating the Swedish for you. It contains mild spoilers for something that won't be relevant until much later. Like, so late I don't know when. See you in the next chapter!
And Daycrusher is useful and necessary, I promise! It's not just because I wanted Harry and Henry to have a pet snake... *Cough* All right, that's one reason, but not the biggest!
