Chapter Fifteen - Cursed

On Tuesday the 10th, I waited for Harry outside the Gryffindor Tower entrance. I wasn't waiting for him to come out. I was waiting for him to come in. I'd come to the realization that Harry's detentions were likely the reason he hadn't sought me out yet.

The Gryffindors I followed here regarded me with suspicion. I had awkwardly explained I was waiting for someone. They let me be. At least I wasn't a Slytherin. The later it got, the more anxious I became. It was well past curfew, and no one else was entering or exiting.

I realized there was no way I'd find my way back to Ravenclaw Tower. I was definitely going to be caught, so I might as well try to achieve my objective.

When Harry came running, his hand covered by a scarf, I nearly fainted in my relief. When he saw me, he looked surprised. "What are you doing here?", he asked. He hid his hand under his robe in an effort to hide it from me.

"I've been waiting for you. We have things we need to talk about.", I answered honestly. Harry's attempts at bravado quickly failed, and he grimaced. "You don't need to hide that from me. We should see to your hand first. May I come in? Ron and Hermione are waiting up for you." He looked like he wanted to object.

"If I stay out here, I'll definitely be caught." I'm going to be caught anyways, I thought. Harry likely decided he didn't want to see me in trouble and ushered me through the portrait's opening. Either the Fat Lady didn't notice I was at the wrong house, or she didn't care. No objections were raised from the portrait.

Inside, Ron and Hermione were indeed waiting up. They looked at me briefly but didn't immediately question my presence. Instead, they quickly got to work tending to their friend.

"Here, soak your hand in that. It's a solution of strained and pickled murtlap tentacles." Hermione pushed a small bowl of yellow liquid towards him. "It should help." She definitely didn't look like Emma Watson, but her signature big, bushy, dark hair and brown eyes still made her recognizable to me.

Harry did as instructed and looked instantly relieved. "Thanks.", he said gratefully.

"I still reckon you should complain about this." Ron spoke up in a quiet voice.

Harry quickly interjected, "No."

"McGonagall would go nuts if she knew…", Ron added, his voice getting louder. Ron towered over his friends. He looked very much like his siblings with his short ginger hair.

"He's right, you know.", I added. Suddenly the trio turned to address the elephant, or rather Ravenclaw, in the room.

I suddenly felt very vulnerable. "I'm Tracy.", I supplied, my voice barely above a whisper.

"So this is the girl that freaked you out on the train." Ron spoke to Harry who nodded sheepishly.

"What could she possibly know that we don't already?", Hermione questioned as my ears began to ring.

"It's not necessarily what you don't know. It's what I shouldn't know." I was going to begin with what I shouldn't have knowledge of in order to gain credibility. My ears continued to ring, indicating Tracy was privy to this conversation. Why now? I cursed my luck.

I rubbed my ears and continued. "A certain organization has been reformed after You-Know-Who brewed himself a new body at the end of the Triwizard Tournament…" I gasped when I felt a sting like a slap on my left arm. What are you doing?, yelled Tracy. I ignored her. "This organization is being hidden at the home of a certain innocent fugitive." I found myself unable to share the actual location despite knowing it. The fidelius charm prevented me from doing so.

You've gone bonkers! Tracy materialized in front of me. She slapped her hand to her arm and rubbed it rapidly back and forth.

"Not now.", I begged as the friction grew hot and uncomfortable. I didn't understand how she could be transmitting these sensations when it was her that was dreaming.

Hermione reached for me worriedly. I looked to her and tried to remember what I was going to say next when a sharp pain radiated off my arm. I couldn't hold back my yelp, and my hand moved to the location automatically.

Hermione jumped back alarmed and drew her wand. I brought my arm up to my chest, my hand still clutching it.

"Blimey, she's a Death Eater!", cried Ron, who stepped in between Harry and me.

Thoomp Thoomp Thoomp Thoomp

"No, I… I'm not.", I said, panicking. I realized what this looked like. Tracy floated in front of me, pinched herself again, and commanded, Leave! Now!

If I left now, I wouldn't be able to prove my innocence. Think, I told myself. How do I prove I'm not a Death Eater? The obvious answer came quickly.

Thoomp Thoomp Thoomp

The wand in Hermione's hand trembled nearly as much as I did. I pulled back my sleeve as my ears rang and Tracy screamed. I held out my arm to them to reveal red, irritated skin and deep fingernail marks with blood seeping from the latest one as it appeared before their eyes.

Tracy began to flicker in front of me.

"I'm not a Death Eater. I'm cursed." I looked to Tracy's flickering form and smiled as if to say, nice try.

The group visibly relaxed. With Tracy gone, the pain started to fade. Hermione cast a spell that stopped the bleeding.

The idea to say I was cursed had many positive side effects. Telling them the curse was to ensure my silence and I was fighting it would allow me to audit everything I said. If they pestered me for more, I could use the curse to avoid revealing what I didn't want to.

Tracy trying to stop me tonight had actually given me a new advantage. Over the next hour or so I slowly revealed more information that I shouldn't know. Private things that would make for great answers to Moody's quick, so I know you're not an imposter questions.

Periodically I'd stop feigning pain or discomfort to sell the illusion.

I insisted I needed to stop for a bit, and the group used that time to switch focus to Umbridge and their lack of DADA education.

Harry was put off when it was suggested he should teach. He declined almost immediately. When they pushed back, he exploded, stating that his continued survival had little to do with his Defense knowledge and that we had no idea what it was like.

"We weren't saying anything like that, mate.", Ron defended. "We weren't having a go at Diggory. We didn't… you've got the wrong end of the…"

Seeing Ron stumbling, Hermione picked up where he left off. "Harry, don't you see? This… this is exactly why we need you… We need to know what it's really like… facing him… facing Voldemort." Her voice quivered on the delivery, but Harry looked at her with respect. He visibly deflated.

I chose this moment to wrap up my side of things. "She's braver than I am." I recalled how I cowered while Williams fought for me. I wondered if I'd ever be able to fight for myself. "I wish to learn how to fight for myself some day…" With the group's attention on me again, I felt an urgency to continue. "For now, knowledge is my weapon. Voldemort… he's trying to get Harry to get him the prophecy. I've been seeing the future. He sends you visions, lures you to the Department of Mysteries. There's a battle between the Order and the Death Eaters sent to collect the prophecy from you. You survive. Sirius dies."

Harry jumps up at that. I put my hands on his shoulders. "Look at me." His panicked eyes find mine. "That won't happen. All you have to do to avoid that is ignore it. He's manipulating you. Don't trust the visions."

I hear the door we came through opening.

"Harry, think about what Hermione said. Keep what we talked about to yourself. And for Merlin's sake, don't go to the Ministry."

Professors Flitwick and McGonagall enter the Gryffindor common room.

I'm in so much trouble.