Soul of the Enemy

By Willow Spirit

Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Everything else belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling.

A/N: Thanks to all you reviewers and people who are interested in my story! I appreciate the encouragement. And now...on with the show!

Chapter 3: The Perfect Excuse

As it turned out, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't have to wait long to make any new discoveries. Like any good detective, they went straight to the source. They returned to the hospital wing the very next day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new girl.

Hermione carefully opened up the door and stuck her head inside. After confirming that the coast was clear, the three curious teenagers slipped inside the infirmary. They carefully tip-toed past Pomfrey's office area and made their way to the girl's bed. When they approached it, they could only see a big lump lying underneath the sheets. The girl had completely covered herself.

"Uh," Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, shrugging his shoulders. "Hello? Anyone home in there?"

Suddenly, a set of fingers curled around the edge of the sheet. They slowly pulled the sheet down to reveal two vivid green eyes. Once again, Harry found it hard to look away. "Hi there," he said softly. "My name's Harry. This is Ron and that's Hermione. We're students here."

"This is a school," Hermione explained. "It's called Hogwarts."

"But this part is the hospital wing," Ron added. "Uh…just in case you didn't notice."

"What's your name?" Harry asked. The girl lowered the sheet down to her chin.

"WHAT are you three DOING here!"

"Uh-oh," Ron said.

Madam Pomfrey came rushing out of her office, wagging her finger at them. The new girl looked at Pomfrey like she had been caught doing something wrong. She quickly glanced at the others before she dove back down underneath her sheet. Harry didn't want to see her go. If only they had had more time to talk to her.

"You three shouldn't be bothering the poor girl," Pomfrey continued to scold them. "She's still recuperating. She also doesn't like to be around other people."

"But she was just…"

"I don't care what she was doing. All of you should leave immediately. I will not have you bothering my patient. Now out you go! Out! Out! OUT!"

-----

"I really can't believe her!" Ron exclaimed. "It's not like we were doing anything wrong. All we wanted to do was talk to the girl."

"I agree," Hermione nodded as they stormed away from the hospital wing. "It was completely uncalled for. And we're Head Boy and Girl for goodness sake. If we aren't allowed into the infirmary, then who is?"

"Someone with Dumbledore's permission," Harry said. "If Dumbledore says it's okay, then Pomfrey would have to let us in."

"Do you think he'd really let us go see the girl?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"I think so," Harry thought about it. "Just give me some time and I'll think of something. I could always find some reason to go see him and then I could ask him about it. It'll have to be convincing, though. Dumbledore would see right through any lame excuse."

"Hold on a second," Hermione stopped in the middle of the hallway. Harry and Ron came to a screeching, less graceful stop. "Why in the world are we so interested in this girl? Don't you think it's a bit obsessive?"

The boys couldn't find an answer to that one. Why were they so interested in her?

"Well…" Harry started. "We did save her, after all. Shouldn't we be allowed to know who she is?"

"Yeah, and we're known for being curious too," Ron added. "'Cause we're always sticking our noses into every mystery that comes our way. That's a good thing though. Aurors need to be good at solving mysteries."

"Alright," Hermione eyed them suspiciously. "I suppose it has nothing to do with the fact that she is a girl."

"Well it doesn't hurt that she's a girl," Ron shrugged casually.

"But that doesn't really matter to us," Harry tried to be convincing. Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm actually buying that. Just so we're clear, I'm only doing this for you guys. I know the both of you must be dying to meet her properly and all."

"Thanks, Hermione!" Ron beamed.

"Whatever," Hermione let out a huge sigh. She opened her mouth to say something else, but she shook her head instead and took off walking. "The things I help you with…"

Harry and Ron had to run to catch up with her. As they walked together, Ron whispered, "Hey, Harry? Is it just me or is there something wrong with Hermione?"

"I don't know Ron," Harry lied.

Truthfully, Harry did see that something was amiss, but he wasn't saying a word. He had finally learned to keep his mouth firmly shut when it came to 'Ron and Hermione'.

-----

Harry thought long and hard about an excuse to go see Dumbledore. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of anything believable. You'd think that after six years of dealing with a Dark wizard, he'd be able to come up with something. As luck would have it, though, the perfect opportunity fell into his lap. Two days later, Professor McGonagall asked Harry to stay behind after Transfiguration.

"Is something the matter, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, that is why I wanted to speak with you," McGonagall looked at little stressed and tired. Harry wasn't used to seeing her like this, and it worried him. "Professor Dumbledore and I had a talk this morning. The situation with the girl in hospital wing is not getting any better."

"What's wrong with her?" Harry suddenly felt very uneasy. "Did something bad happen? Is she alright?"

"I'd rather not discuss any specifics right now. Dumbledore can explain everything to you himself. He would like to speak with you as soon as you can manage to see him."

"I have a short break before lunch time," Harry said in a rush. "I could go talk to him right now."

"That sounds good to me," McGonagall nodded. "The sooner the better in my opinion. And if you need the password to Dumbledore's office, it's Licorice Wands."

"Thanks Professor!" Harry called over his shoulder as he ran from the classroom. He nearly flew through the hallways, narrowly missing other students along the way. At one point, he even ran by Hermione and Ron, who were waiting for him to join them. "Can't stop! Must see Dumbledore!" Harry waved in their general direction but didn't slow down.

"Well that was odd," Hermione said.

"I'd say," Ron just stared after Harry with his mouth open. "I wonder what's so important. Hey, maybe it has something to do with the girl!"

Hermione could only sigh in exasperation.

-----

Harry reached Dumbledore's office in record time. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, then opened his mouth and said, "Licorice Wands!" As always, the gargoyle leapt aside and Harry was able to ascend the spiral staircase. He wasted no time as he knocked firmly on the office door.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice said from the other side. Harry entered and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk with his hands fingertips to fingertips. It looked like he had been deep in thought. But now Dumbledore's eyes turned to Harry, who was anxiously standing in the doorway. "Hello, Harry! Please have a seat."

Harry approached the desk and sat down in a small, cozy armchair. His eyes never left Dumbledore's, as he waited for the elder wizard to continue.

"I can see that you are very concerned about what I have to say," Dumbledore said, smiling softly. "Therefore, I shall not keep you in suspense. I do want to talk about our new guest in the infirmary. And as I said before, I would let you know if we needed help. Well, I believe we may need your help in order to communicate with her."

"But why?" Harry was so confused. "Can't you talk to her? Won't she listen to you?"

"Apparently not," Dumbledore shrugged. "You see, Harry, after you left with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, Madam Pomfrey finished cleaning the girl's new injuries. When Madam Pomfrey had finished, the girl immediately pulled the sheets up over her head. She disappeared into her bed and refused to do anything else."

"That's the way we found her too," Harry spoke before he realized what he was saying. He instantly flushed with embarrassment. "I…uh…I mean that we…"

"That's quite alright, Harry," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Madame Pomfrey told me about your unannounced visit."

"We didn't mean to cause any trouble," Harry tried to defend what he and his friends had done. "We only wanted to talk to her. That's all we were doing too. It's not like we were going to disturb her or anything."

"I understand. In fact, I thank you once again for taking the initiative in going to see her."

"Huh," Harry tried to understand. Sometimes Dumbledore was hard to figure out.

"Madam Pomfrey also told me that you three were talking to her," Dumbledore explained. "She was surprised to see the girl actually looking at you. You were able to bring her out from beneath her sheets. That is not something we were able to accomplish."

"You mean she wouldn't even look at you!" Harry couldn't believe it.

"That is true. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and I tried everything we could to get her attention. But the girl simply refused to remove the bed sheets. We've been discussing the situation for several days now. I'm afraid we've run out of ideas. That is why we need your help."

"So you want me to go talk to her?" Harry could hardly believe his luck. Here was the perfect opportunity for him to find out more about the girl.

"Yes, you, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "If you will agree to help, I'd like you all to take turns in visiting her. You may go see her alone, but I think it would be wise to send Mr. Weasley with Miss Granger."

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Ron might tell her some really bad jokes or something. That would only make things worse."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore gave a little chuckle. "But I have much faith in all three of you. I'm sure that with your help, our guest will become better."

"So you really think we can make a difference?"

"I believe you can make a huge difference. You are, after all, much younger than the rest of the professors. The rest of us are old fuddy-duddies. It will be easier for our guest to make connections with people her own age. And if I'm not mistaken, you may have already begun a connection."

"Hardly," Harry sounded very much annoyed. "We weren't even in there for three minutes before we were kicked out. That wasn't a lot of time."

"But it may have been enough," Dumbledore said significantly. "A connection only needs a moment. One mere moment can mean everything, Harry. Do not underestimate yourself. You alone could help this girl and bring her back to the world. All that you have been through will make you better at this task, if you choose to accept it."

Harry sat quietly in thought. Part of him knew that this was the truth. And if there was anything he could do to help this girl, he would give her everything she needed. "Alright," Harry looked Dumbledore straight in the eye. "I'll do it. When do you want me to start?"

"Whenever you are ready."

"Okay," Harry mentally went over his calendar. "Since tomorrow is Friday I can go visit her after classes. That way we can have a longer time to talk but it won't have to tire her out either."

"That sounds like a great plan," Dumbledore agreed. "Then Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger can visit her on Saturday and you could take Sunday, if you wanted to."

"Oh, I'm sure I can manage it," Harry tried to suppress a huge smile. This was too awesome! Free, authorized time with the new girl!

Ron will piss himself when he hears about it.

-----

Harry found Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Lunch had already started by the time Harry sat down to join them. He didn't say a word, but there was a small, secretive smile on his face. It drove Hermione and Ron insane!

"Well!" Hermione asked.

"Well what?" Harry tried his best to look innocent.

"Oh, no you don't," Ron waved his fork menacingly at Harry. "We know you went to see Dumbledore. You told us yourself as you raced past us earlier. Now you'd better spill, or else!"

"Or else what?" Harry grinned.

"Or else…or else I'll purposely let a few Quaffles through the hoops in our next game!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," Harry raised his hands in surrender. "Looks like we're in. Dumbledore wants us to visit the girl on a regular basis. We have to get her talking to us."

"Really!" apparently Ron was getting a belated Christmas gift.

"So is this some kind of therapy?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure," Harry admitted. "I think it kind of is like therapy, except we're not really professionals. But Dumbledore seems to think that we'd do a better job than anyone else. And this girl does need some help. We all saw for ourselves what she was like."

"Absolutely," Hermione said. "Then that settles it. If we're her only hope, then we'll do our best won't we? I suppose I should do some research on different therapeutic techniques."

"Thera-what?" Ron gave Hermione a strange look. "Come on, Hermione. We just have to talk to her. After everything that we've been through, this should be easy as pumpkin pie."

Hum…the truth, or the biggest understatement of the year.

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A/N: If you've made it down here, please take a moment to review!

Next chapter: Harry's first official visit to the infirmary…the mystery girl gets a new name.