Chapter 13

Penchant

"I…cannot…believe…you…" Hermione banged her head against her knees. "How…?"

"It's a really cool story," Ron assured her.

"I'll bet," Harry said dryly.

"Are you two all right?" Ron said, looking concerned.

"Are YOU? What happened? What was that thing?"

"I have no idea."

"To what?"

"All three," Ron said. "But I saved you." He looked quite happy about this.

"Yes, thanks, Ron, but WHAT HAPPENED?" Hermione exploded.

"Well, okay…So, when I was leaning against the wall, these black hands reached out and pulled me into this room and I was face to face with this black thing which hissed something…but I just started cursing it like crazy, because it was hurting me and it dropped me, but then these two Inferi came out of nowhere and held me down. The thing was moaning all pathetically and I kept cursing it and it was getting weaker, but the Inferi finally took my wand away and threw it across the room. Then it shoved its hand in my forehead and it became I part /I of me."

"What?"

"It was weird…I can't describe it, but it went into my soul…and could feel it, everything it had ever felt, hate and stuff…. I can't really remember it now, but it was odd…anyway, I got the feeling it was, you know, absorbing my soul or something mad like that…I knew everything it had ever known…it said this curse "Recriem Modre!"And then, it became really really painful…. and it took over my body and began to destroy my mind…and I wanted to die. It was sort of like the Imperius Curse mixed with the Cruciatus curse, because next thing I knew, I had my wand back and I was putting it up to my head…and I was about to kill myself, and the thing had gotten it's hand out of my head, and was separate from me now, but it's power was still working on me, but then I thought of something…"

"Thought of what?" Harry was listening intently.

"Well, all these images were spinning around in my mind…and I could hardly make sense of any of it, because that thing was sucking all of the…ME out of me…it was destroying everything…but I only remembered one thing…remember fourth year when fake Moody told us that if we tried to do a Killing Curse on him he probably wouldn't get a nosebleed?

"Er…yeah…" Harry said.

"Well, I got really confused when I remembered this, because how was I supposed to kill myself if I don't know how to do a Killing Curse…and then the thing in my head was telling me I was worthless and stupid and it was laughing, so I was all nervous I wouldn't be able to do it, but I tried anyway, but I was so flustered, all that happened was a bunch of green sparks, but I didn't want to get in trouble with Moody ('cuz I couldn't remember anything, so I thought I was in class) so I PRETENDED to be dead. And then the thing went away and so did all the Inferi," he said proudly, beaming at them.

"Er…" Harry said.

"All right, but how did you defeat it?" Hermione said.

"Wait, you understood that?" Harry asked her.

"Well, you know how that thing knew everything I knew?"

"Yes."

"Well, it worked in reverse as well. I knew everything it knew once it had been inside me. So I knew that that curse it had used "Recriem Modre" was a curse to suck my essence out of me and I knew if I wanted to get my essence BACK I had to say the curse backward. So I followed it, but it took a while because I was all dazed and couldn't figure out why I was here, but eventually I got to it, said the spell backwards and got my mind back!"

There was a stunned silence as Harry and Hermione took this in. Harry turned to Hermione looking lost.

"So, what you're saying, is this creature we faced, sucked your essence away and tried to get you to kill yourself, but as the memories were rushing past and you were resisting, you remembered you couldn't do a Killing Curse, got nervous and botched it, then just pretended to be dead so nobody would be mad at you?" Hermione said

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But that when the creature took your mind away, it put some of it's essence in you, so you knew how to defeat it and get your mind back?"

"Yeah!"

"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to any of us," Harry sighed.

"But…how did you get it to explode?" Hermione asked.

"That was fluke-sort of- when I did Protego, it's tentacle of doom thing backfired and it destroyed it's own mind, I guess," Ron said.

"That's such a simple way to defeat it though!" Hermione exclaimed.

"But Voldemort would never think of anything that simple," Harry reminded her. "And neither would most people."

"So what was that creature, then, and why would Volde…You Know…He…um, you know, choose it as a challenge?" Ron asked.

"Well, it seemed pretty challenging to me, if it hadn't been for your penchant for insecurity and quick thinking, we'd all be dead now. I think I read something somewhere about mind destroying demons…when we get out of here, I'll have to look it up," Hermione mused. "Well, I'm really glad you're all right, Ron." She hugged him briefly, making the tips of his ears go red.

"Yeah, me too. Good one," Harry smiled. He looked around. "So, um, where are we?"

Hermione looked at her surroundings for the first time. They were in a dark passageway again.

"I don't know, but we'd best get going."

They stumbled up and set off down the passageway.

"We'd better find the bloody Horcrux soon," Ron grumbled as Harry mopped his sweaty hair out of his face. "I mean it this time."

"We can't be far, we've been through two obstacles," Hermione said.

"Stop!" Harry held out a hand and they halted at the end of the passage.

In the distance that saw a rickety wood platform that ran between two crevices…Hermione could make out something fuzzy and gold just beyond it.

"A bridge?" She asked.

"No," Harry said. "A test."

"Look, cat, there are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who've got the plot and those who haven't."- Malicia Grim, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, by Terri Prattchet