Disclaimer: Mind reading may seem like fun, but it is really an invasion of privacy. Someone, somewhere will finally prosecute you if you do so. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I don't.
Chapter 11: Legilim- What?
Hermione and Neville raced from the stands to the Quidditch pitch. Unfortunately it took them longer than they wanted, due to the stampede of students rushing out of the stands to get to the safety of the castle. Even though members of the staff had successfully used the Patronus charm to chase away the Dementors, most of the students were fearful that there maybe a repeat attack.
When Hermione finally made it to the pitch, the place was in chaos. Professors McGonagall and Burbage were levitating Harry on a stretcher off of the pitch. It looked like they were taking him to the Hospital Wing of the castle, but before Hermione and Neville could follow, they were stopped by the brutish captain of the Slytherin team, Marcus Flint.
"Here they are, Madam Hooch," Flint yelled to the flying instructor who was speaking with Oliver Wood on the other side of the pitch. "These are the two people who interfered with the match. I'll keep them here."
Flint tried to grab the shoulder of Hermione's robe, but she batted away the larger boy's hand.
"I don't know what this is about," Hermione began, "but I need to go. Harry may have been seriously injured."
From beside her, Hermione realized that Neville seemed to be shaking. Reaching for his arm, Hermione grabbed a hold of the scared boy, in an attempt to calm his nerves.
"You won't be going anywhere, cheaters," Flint sneered. "Thanks to the two of you, Slytherin will be winning this match by default. I wonder how all your little Gryffindor friends will react to that?"
Neville was trembling under Hermione's grip. But Hermione wasn't about to show any fear to a bully like Flint.
"I don't care," Hermione said defiantly. "Harry's safety is more important than the results of this stupid game."
At that moment Madam Hooch and Oliver Wood approached the trio. Madam Hooch looked shaken up while Wood looked graver and more serious then he had ever appeared before.
"Madam Hooch," Flint began flashing a condescending look to Wood. "Here are the two who interfered with the match. I witnessed them casting a spell on the Gryffindor Seeker. I guess that means Slytherin wins the match."
"Actually, Mr. Flint, the Snitch was already caught by Mr. Potter before Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom caught Mr. Potter." Madam Hooch replied. "The game was over before either of these first-years cast their spells."
Flint's face immediately dropped while Oliver Wood looked as though Madam Hooch announced Christmas would be celebrated twice a year. Hermione also noticed that Neville had stopped shaking and was now taking several calming breaths.
"So, that means Gryffindor won, right, Madam Hooch?" Wood asked rubbing the Gryffindor win in the face of Marcus Flint.
"That would be correct, Mr. Wood," Madam Hooch replied with a nod.
Hermione didn't waste anymore time. "May I please return to the castle now, Madam Hooch?" The young witch asked just before Flint began to rant.
"The Snitch was caught as he was falling!" Flint began to roar, sticking his finger in Madam Hooch's chest. "You're covering up for the Gryffindors! Everyone knows you favor their team and even go as far as to supervise their practices."
"Mr. Flint," the now furious Madam Hooch began. "How dare you accuse me of such misconduct!"
As Madam Hooch and Marcus Flint began to argue back and forth, Hermione quickly slipped away. If they really needed her for anything, they would eventually find her. Anyways, it didn't look like they would be noticing her absence anytime soon.
As fast as she could, Hermione dashed up the path from the Quidditch pitch to the castle. It wasn't until the witch was halfway to her destination that she realized Neville had followed her and was struggling to keep up with the pace she had set to the castle. Not for the first time, Hermione wondered on whether or not it was a good thing that Hogwarts did not have any form of physical education as a part of their curriculum.
While Hermione was not very gifted in the area of physical exercise, it was very useful in keeping the body lean and strong. Neville was not very chubby, and his legs were much longer than her own. Yet, he was struggling to keep up with Hermione since he most likely was never exposed to any form of physical training as a pureblood wizard who never attended a muggle primary school. Perhaps she should speak with Professor McGonagall about having a program added to encourage exercise?
Hermione's thoughts came to an end as she entered the corridor that lead to the Hospital Wing, dropping her brisk pace to that of a fast walk. Neville seemed to let out a sigh of relief once they reached the doors of the Hospital Wing. Not wanting to waste another moment, Hermione pushed through the doors, only to run into Professors McGonagall and Burbage.
"Miss Granger," the stern head of house began, "what is the meaning of this?"
"How is Harry, Professor?" Hermione asked, ignoring Professor McGonagall's original question.
"He is going to be just fine, Miss Granger," Professor Burbage said with a smile on her face. "Actually it is due to you two that he is doing so well. If Mr. Potter actually fell from that height and hit the ground it is very likely he would no longer be with us."
"Professor Burbage!" Professor McGonagall's cry of outrage could be heard throughout the Hospital Wing. "Why on earth would you tell the children that?"
"Honestly, Deputy Headmistress," the younger professor quickly replied. "These children need to know the results of their actions. Without their courageous, quick thinking it is very likely that their friend would no longer be with us. They have the right to know they saved their friend's life."
"They are only children," was Professor McGonagall's stern reply.
"This is a school, Professor McGonagall," Professor Burbage replied in a very respectful tone. "They are here to learn things on their journey to adulthood. Consider today a lesson they have learned. All actions have consequences. Sometimes they are bad, but other times, like today the results of an individual's actions are good."
Hermione was speechless. She did not know how to process what she was witnessing. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever suspect that she would see someone telling her stern transfiguration professor off. From the look on Neville's face, it was very likely he was thinking something similar.
"Mr. Longbottom, Miss Granger," Professor Burbage once again focused the students' attention on herself. "I will walk you both back to your dormitory. Mr. Potter will be completely fine but he is still currently unconscious. He merely had a bad reaction to being so close to a Dementor. After a night in the Hospital Wing, he should be as good as new."
Hermione merely nodded her head, and followed the muggle studies professor out of the room. While she would have preferred to have seen Harry, at least she knew how her friend was doing.
"Oh, and before I forget," Professor Burbage said after stopping in the corridor in front of the Hospital Wing. "Thirty points to Gryffindor for each of you, for your practical use of a levitating charm."
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Neville's face light up. It suddenly dawned on the bushy-haired witch that this was probably the first time Neville ever gained points for Gryffindor.
~*~
Harry skidded across the stone corridor of the Entrance Hall looking for Madam Hooch. He needed to speak with her as soon as possible. Upon waking in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had informed him about what happened on the conclusion of the Quidditch match. Including the inquest the Slytherin team was invoking in regards to the result of the match.
Harry needed to find Madam Hooch immediately to tell her what had happened to him and what he thought should happen in terms of the result of the match.
As if thinking about her made her appear, Madam Hooch rounded the corner and entered the Entrance Hall.
"Mr. Potter!" Madam Hooch cried. "I was unaware that you had woken up. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your amazing catch of the Snitch."
"You saw that?" Harry asked momentarily distracted. Due to all the confusion that occurred at the end of the match, Harry did not think anyone actually saw him catch the Snitch.
"Of course I did, Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch replied. "I think nearly everyone was watching what happened to you on your broom. Anyone still watching you once the Dementors attacked could see that you clearly caught the Snitch, even though your broom was acting up. You did some mighty fine flying yesterday. I can't believe the nerve of the Slytherin team for calling an inquest when it was so obvious to anyone watching you as to what happened." Madam Hooch's anger at the Slytherin team was clear in her tone.
"Thank you, Madam Hooch," Harry replied, blushing at her compliment. "I actually wanted to talk to you about yesterday's match." Madam Hooch made a gesture indicating she was listening and Harry continued, "I was wondering if we could do a redo on the entire match."
"By Merlin, Mr. Potter!" Madam Hooch cried. "What would possess you to want to negate Gryffindor's win to replay the match?"
"I just don't think it was very fair," Harry honestly replied. "I mean the whole Dementor attack thing, it just isn't right."
"Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch said while placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "While it is very noble of you to want to replay the game, due to the unfortunate Dementor attack at the end, we just can't do it. Quidditch only ends once the Snitch is caught; you caught the Snitch. The game is over and the results are official. We can't change that."
"But-"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter," Madam Hooch continued, without giving Harry a chance to speak. "If I were even to entertain the idea of a rematch, because you requested it, I would be giving support to some of the Slytherin claims."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, genuinely confused as to what the flying instructor was referring to.
Madam Hooch seemed reluctant to answer Harry's question, which was a first for Harry in is relationship with her. Madam Hooch was always open with Harry, sharing information with him when she could, especially when telling Harry stories about his father.
"The headmaster will be announcing the results of the inquiry at breakfast this morning," Madam Hooch began. "Why don't you head to breakfast? Your question should be addressed by the headmaster during his speech."
Reluctantly Harry accepted Madam Hooch's request and entered the Great Hall, pondering what his flying instructor truly meant. He never noticed the twin pair of eyes who had witnessed his entire conversation with Madam Hooch.
~*~
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione cried while flinging herself into his arms. Harry embraced the excited witch in front of him. "I'm so relieved that you are alright," Hermione continued to ramble. "I was so worried, even though Professor Burbage said you would be alright."
"I'm fine, Hermione," Harry replied, while sitting down next to the bushy-haired witch. "Thank you for what you did." Looking across the table, Harry saw Neville sitting across from him and Hermione. "You too, Neville," Harry amended. "Madam Pomfrey told me I owe my life to the two of you."
"Think nothing of it," Hermione replied a bit dismissively. "You're our friend, and we were merely doing what we could to help you."
"Yeah," Neville quietly agreed with a kind smile on his face.
Harry's face broke out into a smile as well; one that threatened to split the boy's face in half. Perhaps he had another friend at Hogwarts.
"May I have your attention please?" the ancient voice of Professor Dumbledore broke Harry from his thoughts. Immediately silence fell over the Great Hall. "As many of you know, the result of yesterday's Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin has been greatly contested due to events surrounding the Dementor attack at the end of the match. Using Pensieve evidence supplied by several staff members, I can safely call the game for Gryffindor."
Immediately a large amount of booing could be heard coming from the Slytherin table. Harry could understand their sentiment since he too had protested to Madam Hooch, that it wasn't a fair end to the game due to the Dementor attack.
"I know many of you may be disgruntled by the recent decision," the headmaster continued, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. "However, Mr. Potter caught the Snitch prior to the Dementor attack."
"Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione whispered from next to him. "Aren't you so excited?"
Harry smiled at Hermione's infectious attitude. "Yeah, it's great to have won my first Quidditch match," Harry quietly agreed.
"As for the other matter of the inquest," Professor Dumbledore said after a small pause, "I have found that there have been no improper acts between our flying instructor, Madam Hooch and the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
Harry's eyebrows immediately shot towards the sky. This was completely surprising.
"Madam Hooch has also volunteered to supervise any team's Quidditch practice that requests her presence." Professor Dumbledore said while his eyes scanned the hall. "However, she will only supervise the practice in the manner in which she does currently for the Gryffindor team. Thank you for your time, and please feel free to continue your breakfast."
Harry immediately loaded his plate to eat a large breakfast. Until the headmaster had said something, Harry wasn't even aware of how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous morning.
"Do you know what happened to your broom?" Hermione asked after giving Harry a few minutes to settle into his meal.
"Nope, no idea," Harry replied between mouthfuls of eggs. "But I did get a strange headache like the one on Halloween."
"Let's go to the library," Hermione nearly jumped out of her chair. "We still haven't figured out what caused that strange headache, and now it happened again."
"Can I at least finish my breakfast?" Harry asked the impatient witch.
"Of course," Hermione replied. "But make it fast."
After shoveling the rest of his breakfast in his mouth, Harry gave Neville a quick wave goodbye before following Hermione to the library. He once again never noticed the twin eyes following his progression out of the room.
~*~
"Very good, Lexi," Sirius said as he watched the young witch relax her face as her hair changed a few shades back to her usual black hair. This was the second time that Lexi had enough time to work with Sirius on her newly found skills. What Sirius would give to just wave his wand and do all of Lexi's chores for her around the Dursley household so the poor child could have some time to herself.
The young girl had been using one particular look for so long, that it was difficult for her to easily change her appearance. Every Metamorphmagus had to work hard to develop their skills, but usually it was easy for them to change their hair or a particular feature of their face when under extreme emotional duress.
Lexi, for whatever reason, had to put a lot of concentration into changing any aspect of her appearance. Sirius personally believed it was due to the nature of her upbringing in the Dursley household, but he had no proof of it. Oh, what Sirius would give to be able to contact his cousin Andromeda and her daughter Nymphadora.
Sirius knew from before he was incarcerated that Nymphadora Tonks was a Metamorphmagus. She would be able to help Lexi, and give her better advice on how to change her appearance than Sirius could. The only thing Sirius knew about appearance changing was what he had learned in Transfiguration class. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if it was the exact same as what Lexi would need to learn to do.
Sirius knew he wasn't the best teacher for the young witch, but he was the only teacher she had right now. At least until things changed for them, but who knew when that would be?
"Sirius," Lexi started while staring at her reflection in the small broken mirror she used for practice. "How long do I have to practice this for?"
"Until it is natural for you to change your entire appearance in a matter of seconds," Sirius said in his 'teacher' voice.
Lexi's eyes grew wide as she contemplated what her godfather had said. "That is going to take a very long time. I can barely change my hair a couple of shades now, what else do I need to learn?"
"By the time you master your skills, you will be able to change your entire body shape. You can change the size and color of your eyes," Sirius began to list. "Your hair color, length, and thickness could change as well as your nose and its size and shape. The general appearance of your face, the size of your chin, the position of you cheek bones could also be altered, not to mention all of the other areas of your body."
"What do you mean by the other areas of my body?" Lexi just had to ask.
"Well, you could change your height, your weight and any distinguishing marks on your body," Sirius replied, before being overcome with embarrassment. "As well as your chest size," he tried to sneak past the small witch.
"Chest size?" Lexi asked with wide eyes. "You mean the size of my boobs?"
"Yes," Sirius said after clearing his throat. "Eventually you could change your, well you know."
Lexi continued to stare at Sirius with wide eyes. She held that look for so long, Sirius was beginning to fear that her eyes were going to be stuck that way. Eventually she seemed to relax a little as her face took on a more natural expression.
"Padfoot, I don't think I ever want to mess around with my chest size," the small girl replied in a scandalized tone of voice. "Why in the world would any girl want huge boobs?"
Sirius desperately wanted to break down laughing, knowing in three to four years the girl in front of him would most likely have an entirely different opinion. However, the animagus kept his composure as he gave a serious reply to the young witch:
"Lexi, I'm going to hold you to that statement."
This was going to be fun. There was nothing more thrilling for Sirius Black, then setting up a joke, even if it would take quite a bit of time for the said joke to come to fruition.
~*~
Harry and Hermione sat at their table in the library. They had been working on the mystery of the source of Harry's odd headaches for nearly two weeks without any luck. Harry was a bit discouraged by their lack of progress, while Hermione was taking it as a challenge. His friend was determined to find the answer in one of her precious library books.
Since the Quidditch match, Neville had taken to occasionally hanging out with Harry and Hermione while they were in the library. While their new friend was painfully shy, he was an excellent addition to their study group. Even Hermione was impressed with his extensive knowledge of Herbology, a subject that neither Harry nor Hermione were exceptionally skilled at.
Harry sighed as he closed the latest book he was looking at. When they weren't doing homework, he and Hermione were constantly researching the headache thing, and quite frankly, Harry was getting sick of doing so. Perhaps it was time for him to start researching something different.
Once he put away his book, Harry began looking for books on magical transportation. Term would be over in a couple of weeks, and Harry would need to figure out an easier way of returning to the Dursleys, than by muggle bus. Harry knew it wasn't a good idea to ride his broom from Kings Cross Station to Privet Drive, so he would have to discover an alternative magical means of travel.
After walking up and down several rows of shelves, Harry finally found a book that may be promising, The Secret Traveling Methods of Wizards. Grabbing the book, Harry went back to his seat at their table. Hopefully this would be more of an interesting read than his last book.
"What do you have there?" Hermione asked soon after Harry sat down.
"Just a book about magical travel," Harry said absently reading a section on flying carpets.
"Why are you interested in that?" Hermione asked in a snippy tone. While many people may have taken offense at her question and the way it was worded, Harry knew she meant no offense.
"I'm trying to find an easy way home from the Hogwarts' Express," Harry said finally looking up from his book. "I know the Dursleys will not be picking me up from the station, and I want to find something easier than the muggle bus."
Hermione bit her lip. Harry knew she was dying to say something about the Dursleys. Hermione did not like the way Harry's relatives treated Harry and Lexi, but it wasn't like anyone could do anything about it. Mr. Donaldson, their social worker, said the Dursleys were their only family. Harry and Lexi were stuck with them.
"Have you thought about using the Knight Bus?" Neville asked, breaking Harry's train of thoughts.
"Knight Bus?" Harry and Hermione asked in unison.
Neville gave a small chuckle. Whether it was due to the strange look of confusion on Hermione's face or the fact that Harry was slowly becoming more and more inquisitive like Hermione, Harry would never know.
"It's a special bus for wizards and witches to use." Neville began to explain. "The Knight Bus is typically used by stranded witches and wizards; however some people book rides on the Knight Bus in advance. They can take you anywhere, so long as it isn't underwater."
"How would someone find a stop to get on the Knight Bus?" Hermione asked completely interested in finding out more about this mode of transportation.
"A stop?" Neville asked completely bewildered.
"Hermione is referring to a bus stop." Harry replied, hoping to solve Neville's confusion. "It's a place where a muggle bus is scheduled to stop to pick up people interested in riding the bus."
"Oh, we don't have those," Neville replied. "All you have to do is stand on a curb and stick out your wand to flag down the Knight Bus. It comes rather quickly after you do that."
"So technically," Harry began attempting to puzzle out his way home to Lexi. "All I would have to do is stand on the curb at Kings Cross Station and stick out my wand, and this bus will pick me up and take me where I want to go?"
"Yep," Neville simply replied.
"Excellent," Harry said as he shut the book in front of him. "Guess I now know how I'm getting home, so I won't need to keep looking at this."
"What if you have a problem, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Shouldn't you have a backup plan?"
"I'll just use my broom," Harry nonchalantly replied. "It's not like I have any muggle money to use to get a bus ticket."
Hermione had a frown on her face, but she wisely chose not to comment on her friend's current plan. However, Harry knew she was disappointed in him for not researching magical transportation more thoroughly.
~*~
Hermione was calmly waiting for Harry in the common room to go to breakfast once again. Since the Quidditch match against Slytherin, there had been several odd pranks played on her friend, typically over night. Hermione had wanted Harry to go forward to Professor McGonagall once they all started nearly three weeks ago, but he was adamant not to. It seemed that Harry felt if he went forward with the information, it would only make things worse for him.
Neville came lumbering down the boys' stairs and sat across from Hermione giving her a small smile. Since the Quidditch match, the shy boy had been a bit less reserved with her and Harry. However, he wasn't exactly a friend like Harry was.
"He's going to be a little bit," Neville quietly said in response to Hermione's unasked question.
"What was it this morning?" The bushy-haired witch sighed.
"His skin was green when he woke up," the shy boy replied. "Harry told me he was going to wash it off, but I doubt that it will work."
"Perhaps he'll tell Professor McGonagall now," Hermione muttered to herself, still disappointed in her friend's original decision.
"I doubt it," the round-faced boy replied in his low tone.
After another ten minutes, a very green Harry Potter snuck down the boys' staircase. His skin was green, and his hair was silver with streaks of green in it. Hermione had to cover her mouth with her hand, while Neville choked back a laugh. Harry Potter, the Gryffindor star Quidditch player sure looked completely odd dressed in all Slytherin colors.
"They even changed the crest on my school robes to that of the Slytherin house." Harry grumpily stated as he threw himself down on the couch next to Hermione. "I have no idea how to change it all back."
Hermione bit her lip before she uttered her reply. "Harry, are you sure a Gryffindor is doing this to you?" At Harry's questioning look Hermione continued, "What I mean is, why would anyone from Gryffindor attempt to turn you, Harry Potter, into a Slytherin supporter?"
"Because they don't want me to be a part of their house," Harry replied, still in his foul mood. "I'm going to have to get a professor to fix this for me."
"I told you to tell Professor McGonagall," Hermione stated in a sing-song voice. "But you wouldn't listen and look how far it has gone."
"I'm not telling, Hermione," Harry said in a fierce tone. "To tell a professor would be to give in, to let these bullies know that they are getting to me. I'm just going to see a professor to help me get back to normal. I won't tell them how I got this way."
"Harry," Hermione replied in a warning tone, "I don't think a professor would just help you without finding out what happened. They would want to know what was going on."
"I'll find someone who will help me without asking any questions." Harry said with finality in his tone, before he got up and walked out the portrait hole.
Hermione just sighed as she and Neville rose to their feet and headed to breakfast. It may be Friday, their least busy day, but Hermione had a load of things to look up in the library after potions. Harry would hopefully snap out of his funk by the end of potions, and help her in researching the cause of his strange headaches, again.
~*~
Harry began to calm down as he marched through the halls of Hogwarts, hoping he was still early enough to avoid most of the other students. Harry knew Hermione was correct, and that any professor he went to would want to know who was causing this, especially his head of house, Professor McGonagall. However, Harry didn't want to divulge the information that he was being harassed to the stern professor simply because he was used to handling his problems on his own.
As Harry walked aimlessly along the corridor, lost in his thoughts, he nearly bumped into someone else: Professor Burbage.
"Harry, what happened to you?" Professor Burbage asked with obvious concern in her voice. Harry found this a bit odd since she had never used his first name before.
"Just a joke gone wrong," Harry said instinctively. "Could you possibly help me fix this?" Harry asked while gesturing towards his clothing.
"Of course, Harry," Professor Burbage quickly replied pulling him into a classroom.
Looking around the room Harry realized this must be the muggle studies classroom. There were several things around the room Harry hadn't seen since he arrived at Hogwarts. There was a shelving unit in the back corner of the room that immediately caught Harry's eye. On the shelves there was a small, old looking telly on the top-shelf. The middle shelf had several odd objects such as a rubber duck, an unplugged digital clock, and an old styled lamp.
Professor Burbage waved her wand over Harry several times as she muttered spells he wasn't able to catch. After a few minutes, the professor stopped and went to her desk to grab a small hand-held mirror.
"Well, here you go," Professor Burbage said after handing Harry the mirror so he could inspect his reflection. The face looking at Harry in the mirror was clearly his own.
"Thanks, Professor Burbage," Harry said quickly backing out of the room.
"Harry, those spells were pretty advanced color-change charms," Professor Burbage began before he could leave the room. "Spells that are far beyond the first-year curriculum, so I know you didn't cast these spells. Is there anything you wish to tell me?"
"No, Professor," Harry replied automatically.
"If you ever decide that you do want to talk about it, my door is always opened to you." Professor Burbage said.
"Thank you again, Professor," Harry said as the warning bell rang and he dashed out of the room. He had to run to potions or he was going to be late; Professor Burbage would understand that.
As Harry ran out of the classroom, he never noticed the concerned look on Professor Burbage's face.
~*~
Later that afternoon before dinner, Professor McGonagall called together all of the Gryffindors into the common room. This was a rare occurrence, but occasionally there would be important announcements Professor McGonagall had to share with the whole house.
"As you upperclassmen know," the stern professor began, "it is time for any students staying at Hogwarts this holiday season to sign-up to do so." Scanning around the room, Professor McGonagall continued, "is there anyone who currently knows they will be staying?"
The only people who raised their hands were the four Weasley brothers. Professor McGonagall had a look of dismay on her face as she continued to scan the room, looking to see if anyone else would be staying as well.
"Anyone else?" Professor McGonagall desperately asked. "Mr. Potter, perhaps?"
Harry looked at Professor McGonagall with a look of shock on his face. Why would she possibly think he would want to stay at school for the holidays?
"No, Professor," Harry respectfully replied, even though he was bewildered at Professor McGonagall's disappointed face.
Hermione sent Harry a questioning look, but all he could do was shrug in reply. He had no idea what that was about. Perhaps Professor McGonagall didn't like the prospect of spending all of holiday with just the Weasleys as company.
~*~
On a snowy Saturday morning, Harry sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, reading the latest book Hermione had recommended for him to read for 'some light reading'. Hermione was once again in the library, searching answers to Harry's headache problem with Neville. Harry just had no desire to go to the library on this day. Many of the other students were playing in a large snow fight outside, which left the common room quite empty and noiseless.
Just as Harry was reaching an interesting point in his book, the portrait-hole flew open.
"Harry!" Hermione frantically called out, as she ran into the room. "I found it!" Harry immediately put a bookmarker in his tome to mark his place as he jumped up to meet Hermione.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked.
"As sure as I can be," Hermione replied while biting her bottom lip.
"Well, what is it?" Harry asked a bit excited to be learning the cause of the mysterious headaches.
Hermione pulled a small thin book out from under her cloak, as Harry lead her to a small secluded table in the far corner of the room.
"Alright," Hermione began in her 'professor tone', "It looks like the pain you would feel is the direct cause of Legilimency: which is the process of someone trying to access your thoughts."
"Legilim- what?" Harry asked, a bit confused about what the bushy-haired witch had said.
"Legilimency," Hermione said a bit slower this time. "It is the process of reading a person's mind. If a person shields their thoughts, the process of Legilimency may result in pain. Out of everything I've read, this makes the most sense as to the source of your headache."
"But, you are still unsure about something," Harry quickly replied. "I can tell."
"While it is the best fit to be source of your headache pain," Hermione began, "there are still a few inconstancies."
"Like?" Harry prompted.
"Well, a person usually needs to maintain eye contact with the person they are performing Legilimency on," Hermione explained. "During the Quidditch match, there was no way that could have happened. The only reason I still think this is Legilimency is due to the fact that someone cursed your broom. Perhaps the person who hexed you is the person who has been trying to read your thoughts, and there was some crossover." Hermione finally finished her rambling point. "It's a bit confusing but something we should investigate further."
"But this is what you think it is?" Harry asked Hermione once more.
"Yes," Hermione replied with confidence. "It's the only thing that makes sense."
"Then that's good enough for me," Harry responded, picking up the book Hermione checked out of the library for him. "So Legilimency is the process of reading a person's mind," Harry restated before receiving a confirming nod from Hermione. "That would mean that someone was trying to read my memories?"
"That's correct," Hermione replied.
"Why would someone want to read my mind?" Harry asked a bit bewildered at the concept. "It's not like I know anything important."
"Well," Hermione began a bit hesitantly, "I thought about that. When this first happened we were being questioned by the professors after our run in with the troll. Perhaps one of them was attempting to read your thoughts to figure out what had really happened."
Harry's face took on a disgusted look. "But we told them what happened. Why would anyone do that?"
"Maybe they didn't believe us," Hermione said with a shrug. "I'm not entirely sure. But if someone is using Legilimency on you, a good suspect would be one of the teachers who were there that night."
Harry raised his eyebrows at Hermione's last statement. As far as Harry knew, Hermione seemed to think that their professors could walk on water if they wanted to, which they might actually be able to do with magic, Harry conceded. The point was as far as Harry knew Hermione felt the professors could do no wrong. Now she was openly accusing one of them of reading his mind. Something was off.
"Why do you think it was a professor?" Harry asked, genuinely concerned.
"Who else could it be?" Hermione replied in a snippy tone. "There wasn't anyone else there after we encountered the troll, and Legilimency is very advanced magic. A student shouldn't be able to perform it. That would only leave a professor as the possible culprit."
"Do you have a theory on who it could be?" Harry asked since it appeared that Hermione had spent a lot of time thinking this all through.
"Well, out of all the professors there the night of the troll attack, there is only one person I have crossed off the list," Hermione replied. "I don't think it was Professor McGonagall since the headache stopped once we left with her. However it could be Professors Snape, Flitwick, Quirrell, or Dumbledore. I just don't know who."
"It probably wasn't Dumbledore," Harry responded. "According to Madam Pomfrey he wasn't at the Quidditch match. That just leaves us with Snape, Flitwick and Quirrell."
"How positively awful!" Hermione said with disgust. "To think, people can just read another person's mind when they see fit. It's just criminal!"
Harry couldn't prevent the smile threatening to escape his lips. Leave it to his best friend to be more upset with the fact that someone could read their minds, then with the idea that someone tried to harm him with a jinxed broom.
~*~
A/N: Alright next chapter is Harry's return home. Are you as excited as I am? Anyways, a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You guys rock. Also, thank you zephy for being an awesome beta. See you all next week, same bat time, same bat channel.
Next Chapter: There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays