After lunch, Rosie decided she would spent the rest of the afternoon in the Library doing her homework, and if she had time, she would do some more reading on healing magic. While she she often found studying to be more comfortable in the Ravenclaw common room, she was also more likely to come across Harry in the library, on the off chance that he decided to leave the Gryffindor Tower. Luna and wandered off after lunch, saying something about Blibbering Humdingers, and Romulus, of course, had no interest in studying in the Library with her. Dealing with Ravenclaws was enough for Romulus - he had no interesting in being around other students more than he needed to. Rosie shook her head - Romulus was probably the most unsocial person she had ever met. Of course, anyone who was less social was probably living in a cave off in the mountains.

As Rosie walked along the corridor towards the library, she noticed Luthais, Mathilda and Harper Harris up ahead. Wanting to speak to the Slytherins, she broke into a jog and caught up to the trio.

"Hi Mathilda, Hi Luthais, Hey Harper," she said, giving them a weak smile. Considering recent events, most of the students were on edge, and the Slytherins were certainly no exception.

"Primrose," Mathilda greet her with a graceful tilt of her head.

"Let me guess, you want to talk about yesterday evening," Luthais said with a slight sardonic edge to his voice. Harper's expression was inscrutable as he looked at Rosie. She did not speak to him as often as she spoke to Mathilda or Luthais. Harper could often be difficult to read.

"Huh," Rosie's ears pinkened. "I'm pretty obvious, aren't I?"

Mathilda gave a light laugh. "A Ravenclaw seeking information? We'd expect nothing less of you."

"I'm surprised you haven't started throwing accusations yet," Harper said darkly. "Everyone else is." Rosie looked at Harper with surprise.

"I don't think you guys did this," Rosie said.

"But you think it's the Slytherins?" Harper spat out accusingly.

"I'm - Look, I'm not jumping to any conclusions, Harper. I just want to know what's going on," Rosie replied defensively.

"Don't we all," Mathilda sighed ruefully.

"Harper's just on edge," Luthais added. "I'm sure you've noticed how people are looking at us."

"I - What? People are looking?" Rosie looked around the corridor, and indeed, the other students were giving the Slytherin first years nasty glares. She was so used to getting angry glares herself from the Ravenclaws that it had escaped her notice.

"Were you always this oblivious, Primrose?" Luthais asked, his voice tinged with amusement. "You wouldn't make a very good Slytherin - not enough of a self-preservation instinct."

"My self preservation instincts are just fine, Luthais. I mean, I've been dodging hexes all month," Rosie retorted.

"Who's hexing you?" Mathilda asked curiously.

"Oh - the other Ravenclaws. Not all of them! But there's a few that really hate me," Rosie told her.

Luthais's expression was somewhere between disbelieving and admiration. "You haven't even been here for half a year, and you already have enemies in your own house? What have you been up to Primrose?"

"Ha - well - it's stupid." Rosie looked away, embarrassed.

"Telling us it's stupid only makes us more intrigued," Mathilda replied. "Though if it's stupidity of your own doing, I can see why you'd want to keep quiet."

"It kind of was," Rosie muttered. "Do you three know Toby Woodbridge? He's a fourth year."

"Smart? Glasses?" Luthais asked.

"Smart and glasses would describe many Ravenclaws, but yes," Rosie responded.

"A respectable pureblood family," Mathilda murmured. "Intelligence runs Woodbridge line. It's rumoured that his father works as an unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries. But of course, no one has ever been able to confirm it."

"Really? An unspeakable? It'd be amazing to work there," Rosie sighed wistfully.

"You're getting off-track," Luthais said. "I want to hear about your enemies."

"I wouldn't go so far as to call them enemies," Rosie equivocated, staring down at the floor. When she looked up again, all three pairs of Slytherin eyes were looking at her expectantly. Rosie gave an exaggerate sigh.

"Fine! I'll tell you. But then you have to tell me what you know about yesterday. Fair?" Rosie asked.

The three Slytherins looked at one another before looking back at Rosie. "This better be interesting," Harper said, darkly, but the boy seemed to have relaxed the slightest bit.

"I'm sure it will be," Mathilda responded, looking at Rosie expectantly.

"Hm. Where do I begin. You recall how a while back, people were making fun of my friend Luna?" The three Slytherins nodded, but said nothing. People were still making fun of Luna, considering that half the school thought her name actually was 'Loony.'

"Well it started with Toby Woodbridge. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but a lot of the Ravenclaws look up to him. Actually, I should say idolize him." Rosie continued.

"It's not just Ravenclaws," Mathilda informed her. "I've heard Slytherins speaking well of him."

Rosie nodded. "Well, in Ravenclaw, I'd say it goes farther than just speaking well. He seems to have a following." Rosie's face scrunched up in distaste. "Which doesn't exactly do credit to the Ravenclaw House. You'd think they'd be smarter than that."

"It's natural to want to gravitate towards a leader," Luthais informed her. "Power is desirable."

Rosie looked doubtful, but she continued. She told the three Slytherins about Toby's 'territory' in the common room (though none of the Slytherins found the idea strange), and she explained how Luna had unwittingly entered that 'territory.' She then went further and told them about her confrontation with Toby.

"He was so - weird about it! I thought he'd just try and cut me down with an insult and a cold look, but instead, he treats me like - like -" Rosie tried to find the words to describe Toby's behaviour. The Slytherins looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know! Like I'm some sort of pet or something," Rosie pouted with irritation. The Slytherins burst out laughing.

"Like a pet?" Luthais repeated. "Does he go around, ruffling your hair too?"

Rosie frowned. "Actually -"

Mathilda grinned. "Oh dear, Primrose. Well, if the other Eagles idolize him as much as you say, I can see how that would make you a few enemies. But - I think it's kind of cute."

Rosie glared at the girl. "It's not cute, believe me."

"I always thought a pet snake would be nice and exotic, but maybe I should consider a pet human instead," Harper added, unhelpfully.

"Forget about it! Just -" Rosie huffed. "Why don't you tell me what you know about yesterday?"

The change in topic caused the Slytherin's expressions to darken.

"Okay, but not here," Luthais said, looking around the corridor cautiously. The group walked up a flight of stairs and found an empty classroom. Luthais swept his gaze up and down the hallway before shutting the classroom door.

"So?" Rosie asked. The Slytherins looked at one another, as though not sure of who should speak.

"This is mostly hearsay, but if you speak of this to anyone - let's just say that your next six years here will be a living hell," Luthais forewarned.

"I would never!" Rosie exclaimed. "I'm not like that."

"Even if it's something you wouldn't want to hear? Even if it's something dangerous?" Harper asked.

Rosie frowned. "Is it something dangerous?"

The Slytherins were silent as they considered how to answer. "Look, none of this is certain. It's just our suspicions," Luthais told her. "So we'd really appreciate it if you didn't spread the word around."

"Alright. I'll keep it to myself," Rosie agreed. She found herself feeling slightly troubled. She was used to sharing things with her friends, and it didn't sit to well to know that she was about to hear something that could not be shared. At the same time, she knew she had to find out.

"We think it's Draco," Luthais said softly.

"Draco Malfoy? The second year?" Rosie asked. The Slytherins nodded. Their suspicions seemed to coincide with what Romulus had told her.

"Did he come up with it himself?" Rosie asked hopefully. If the prank could be laid entirely at Draco's doorstep, then that would acquit Harry entirely.

"No, we don't believe so," Mathilda replied. She looked at the other two Slytherins before looking back at Rosie.

"A couple weeks ago, he got a package in the Great Hall. Draco is always getting packages from his parents, so we usually recognize his eagle owl, but in this case, the owl that dropped off the package was a barn owl. It isn't that unusual for us to get packages that aren't from our parents. I think we all would have forgotten it soon after, but then, he started acting incredibly self-satisfied and smug," Mathilda explained.

"What's that word that Snape always uses? Oh, insufferable," Luthais said. "He started talking about how he had been chosen by the Heir, and how important the Malfoys were-"

"Wait - Chosen by the Heir?" Rosie asked, wide-eyed. "As if in, the Chamber of Secrets Heir?"

Mathilda and Luthais nodded. "Yes. He kept implying that he had been given an important mission by the Heir, but he wouldn't tell us what it was."

"He told Crabbe and Goyle," Harper said.

"And I believe Astrid as well. She's been following Draco around like a love-sick crup," Mathilda added. "And some of the third and fourth years - the ones who are willing to defer to him because of his family name."

"Did any of you see what was in the package?" Rosie asked.

"No," Mathilda replied, while Luthais and Harper shook their heads.

"And you're quite certain that Draco didn't come up with the prank himself?" said Rosie.

"If Draco had come up with it, he wouldn't have been able to resist bragging," Luthais responded, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes. "Draco isn't one to keep his accomplishments to himself."

Rosie frowned as she considered their words. Rather than feeling reassured, she felt worse than ever. Even if the Slytherins had been the ones to administer the prank, they weren't ultimately responsible for creating the tattoo. Yet, never in a million years could she imagine that Harry would give the tattoo potion over to the Slytherins - especially not for the purpose of terrifying the students.

"Well, thank you for telling me all this," Rosie told the three Slytherins.

"Just remember, not a word," Luthais called out as Rosie headed towards the door.

Rosie nodded. "See you in class."

After spending an hour in the Library, Rosie decided to give Sirius a call. Harry had not come down from the Gryffindor Tower at all, and she figured that Sirius would probably be awake. Finding a secluded alcove to sit in, Rosie called her Godfather's name in the mirror. After a few minutes, his face appeared.

"Pup!" He exclaimed. "I read the Prophet. Are you two okay? Where's Harry?"

"Hi Padfoot. I'm alright. I think Harry's alright, but I haven't seen him all day. He's probably in Gryffindor Tower with his friends."

"What happened? The Prophet made it sound like things were really bad. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that photo. It - It -"

Rosie sighed. "Yeah." Rosie could understand what Sirius didn't want to voice: that the prank was far too similar to his tattoo project.

Though Rosie didn't want to ask, she knew she had to. It would have haunted her to not know. "Padfoot - Did you -"

"No!" Sirius exclaimed, understanding her unspoken question. "No, I didn't create the snake version of the tattoo prank. Only the kitten, puppies and spiders. I would never -" Sirius shook his head. "I would never create something so malicious."

Rosie nodded. "I'm sorry - I shouldn't have doubted you. It's just been kind of stressful lately."

Sirius's expression was sympathetic. "Are you sure you don't want to come home, pup?"

"Yeah," Rosie replied. In truth, she was very, very tempted to go home. But she felt like this was something she couldn't run away from. In some way that she didn't understand, she had a feeling that Harry was tied up in everything that was happening. Unless Harry decided to go home, she would stay put.

"Listen, if you and Harry ever do want to come home, just let me know. I'll pick you both up right away."

Rosie felt a tightness in her throat. "Thank you Padfoot. I - I miss you."

"Aww - I miss you too pup."

Rosie ended the call early. She wasn't in the state of mind to talk about trivialities, and she desperately wanted to speak to Harry. However, her chance did not come until the evening at supper.

Since it was Tuesday, Rosie headed to the Hospital wing in the late afternoon to help Madam Pomfrey. There were more students in the infirmary than Rosie had ever seen before, and the matron seemed happy to have Rosie's help. The vast majority of the students were marked by the snakebite tattoo, which had not yet faded.

"Most of them are physically fine," the matron told Rosie in a spare moment. "But they're emotionally distraught. Do a quick diagnosis spell on the students that come in. If they're upset, give them a Calming Draught. If you are uncertain about anything, ask me first. If you detect any colours at all, fetch me immediately. Short-term distress should not result in any noticeable colours in the charm." Rosie nodded.

Throughout the early evening, Rosie cast multiple diagnosis charms, mostly on Gryffindors, though there were a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Just like the incident with Miss Pocklington when Rosie had first tried the diagnosis spell, she seemed to be able to feel the student's emotions in the back of her head and neck.

Her heart went out to the poor students, who were shaken down to the core over the horrible prank. The malicious attack of the previous night was simply so targeted, and so terrible, that Rosie could understand how the students' sense of safety could be undermined. Even if there was no physical damage, the students were deeply upset. As Rosie handed out Calming Draught after Calming Draught, she wondered if Madam Pomfrey's store would run out. Did Madam Pomfrey even brew these draughts? Or could it be Professor Snape? If it were Professor Snape, she imagined that he would have a lot of brewing to do, to replenish the store of Calming Draughts.

After a couple of hours of steady work, Rosie made her way to the Great Hall for supper. As she had predicted, the bloody snake tattoos had worn off by the evening, and a large number of the Gryffindors were in the Great Hall for supper, though they had arrived later than the rest of the Houses. The atmosphere was still subdued, and Rosie noticed several gaps at the Gryffindor table. She wondered if some of the students had decided to return home. Rosie looked up at the Head Table. The teacher's expressions were still grim. Professor McGonagall looked particularly worn out and unhappy.

As soon as Harry and his friends entered the Great Hall, Rosie stood up and rushed towards them. Behind the trio, she could see Nearly Headless Nick waving to Harry before departing.

"Hi, Hermione, Hi Neville," she said in a hurry. "Harry - I need to speak to you. Can we meet later?"

Harry had dark circles under his eyes and looked paler than usual. He nodded in response.

"Are you guys okay?" Rosie asked Hermione and Neville.

"We're fine," Hermione replied. "The prank was ghastly, but ultimately harmless. Well physically harmless. I think it was extremely psychologically damaging for the victims, and the perpetrators ought to be expelled." Hermione shot a furious glare towards the Slytherin table. Rosie looked towards the Slytherins. She could have sworn that the second year Draco was smirking at them.

"Well, I'll talk to you later, okay? I'm glad you're alright." The trio casually waved her off as she returned back to the Ravenclaw table. Supper seemed to last an indeterminate amount of time. Even after she had finished her dessert, Harry and his friends were still eating, and she had no inclination to rush them through their meal. Noticing Rosie's squirming impatience, Luna put a small handful of grapes on Rosie's plate. Rosie gave Luna a half smile, and began to pop the fruit into her mouth. Finally, Harry and his friends appeared to be finished eating. She stood up, and walked towards the trio.

"Where do you want to go?" Rosie asked Harry, once his friends departed.

"Let's go to the alcove close by the stairs leading up to the owlery," Harry replied. The siblings walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the alcove, they sat, and shared nervous glances. Through the empathic link, Rosie could feel Harry's unhappiness and confusion.

"What do you think happened, Harry?" Rosie asked softly in parseltongue.

"I don't know. I think someone stole that tattoo potion from me." Harry replied, troubled.

"Stole? Where did you keep it? When did it go missing?"

"I'm not sure. Padfoot leaves me so many of his prototypes that I just kind of throw them in my trunk. You know how it is." In fact, Rosie did know, seeing as she had a whole section of her trunk dedicated to Sirius's projects, that he insisted she 'try' on her fellow classmates. She had never been able to bring herself to use them on any of the students, but she admitted that the idea of using them on Toby was tempting. Or perhaps she could try them on Marietta and Sarah.

"I didn't even bother to check whether it was missing or not until - well - yesterday night, after all that stuff happened," Harry told her.

"Who could have stolen it? If it was stolen, then - wouldn't that mean one of the Gryffindors did it?"

"I don't know what to think. Malfoy was looking pretty damned pleased with himself. If he is responsible for all this, I don't know how he could have gotten the potion. I can't imagine any Gryffindor being willing to collaborate on such a sickening prank. A few of the Gryffindors ended up going home. People don't feel safe anymore." Harry's expression was pained, as though he blamed himself. Through the link, Rosie could feel Harry's guilt, which made her heart ache since she knew it wasn't his fault.

"I spoke to Sirius earlier." Rosie said.

"What did he say?"

"He asked if we wanted to go home. And he confirmed that he never made a snake version of the tattoo prank," Rosie told him.

"I'm almost tempted to go home," Harry replied. "And Sirius would never make a prank like the snake bite prank."

Rosie looked away guiltily. "I know. I shouldn't have questioned him. It was a stone I couldn't leave unturned."

That brought a weak smile to Harry's face. "Ravenclaw."

"Gryffindor." Rosie replied. The siblings both smiled at that, and relaxed slightly.

"So how have you been lately, Harry? Is your sleep any better?" Rosie asked, no longer speaking in parseltongue.

"I'm still falling asleep randomly throughout the day. But I'm getting used to it," he told her.

"Have you gone to Madam Pomfrey about it?" Rosie asked. "I know that sleep has always been difficult for you, but maybe she can help. She's really knowledgeable!"

"Heh. I can see you still have a lot of enthusiasm for healing. You do know that if you want to be a healer, you need at least an E on your Potions N.E.W.T.? That means five more years with Snape for company."

"Of course I know!" Rosie replied. "But you still haven't answered my question."

Harry sighed. "No, I haven't gone to the infirmary. It's not that bad. I mean, if my grades start slipping, I'll go, but that hasn't been an issue at all. I think I'm just a bad sleeper."

Rosie couldn't help giving Harry a look of concern. "Could I try the diagnosis charm on you? I've been practicing it whenever I'm in the Hospital wing. In fact, I just spent a big part of my afternoon casting diagnosis charms. I think I'm quite good at it now. I might not be able to read everything it's telling me, but at least, it'll tell me if something is wrong."

Harry shrugged. "Alright. Do your thing, student nurse Potter." Rosie giggled in amusement.

"Maybe I should ask Madam Pomfrey for a new uniform," she said. Harry grinned.

"I predict that your remedy will be - bed rest!" Rosie added, her expression teasing.

"Oh Merlin - Madam Pomfrey's a dragon when it comes to bedrest. If she really wanted us to rest so much, she should really install more comfortable hospital beds," Harry complained.

"I'll be sure to tell her that next time I see her. Now sit still. I'm going to do the charm." Rosie pulled out her wand. "Egritudo."

Rosie could feel the familiar sensation of the spell. She was not surprised to perceive the faint redness throughout his body that suggested fatigue, though it was light enough that it was barely perceptible. What did trouble her was the blackness in their empathic link. She had always described the feeling as blackness, but admittedly, she never actually 'saw' it. Even the black outs were more metaphorical, than actually being black. However, after casting the diagnosis spell, the blackness seemed to take on a greater clarity. What had previously just felt black now actually looked black.

Most of the blackness was centered in Harry's head, but worryingly, she could also detect a trace of blackness around Harry's heart. With her magical senses, she tried to examine the blackness more closely. It was not a static, stable thing - in fact, it's outer edges seemed to have a mist-like quality, and the mist appeared to diffuse outwards, spreading into the rest of Harry. What had Madam Pomfrey said about the colour black? Rosie couldn't remember. Whatever it was, Rosie knew for certain that it wasn't right. If Harry were healthy, she shouldn't be detecting any colours from him. That could only mean that the blackness was some sort of illness, something that was wrong.

Acting on impulse, rather than thinking about what she was doing, Rosie found herself reaching towards the blackness - not physically, but mentally and magically. From the depths of her heart, she wanted Harry to be well, and wanted to heal whatever it was that had afflicted him. He was her brother after all, and she cared about him more than she cared about anyone else.

As Rosie's magic touched the blackness, it recoiled and dispersed. In that split second, the misty edges appeared to frantically avoid contact with her magic, and the blackness seemed to sizzle and hum, reminding her of an irate swarm of wasps. Before she could examine it more closely, Harry jolted in his seat.

"Bloody hell!" Harry swore. "What are you doing Rosie? That bloody hurt!" Harry's eyes were startled and accusing, and Rosie flinched away from him.

"What? But - You weren't supposed to feel anything! Madam Pomfrey said!"

Harry had raised both hands to the sides of his head and his eyes were squeezed shut.

"I don't know what you just did but don't do it again," Harry growled. Rosie felt stung by the harshness in his voice.

"I didn't mean to hurt you Harry. I'm really sorry! It was just a diagnosis charm. You shouldn't have even felt anything!"

Harry opened his eyes, and his emerald gaze met hers. Rosie felt pinned in place by the animosity of his glare. Though the feeling of the diagnosis spell was fast fading, the blackness in their empathic link remained. In that moment, she felt like she was looking at a stranger. As quick as it came, the blackness faded back into the background, and Harry seemed to return to being Harry.

"Rosie?" Harry was saying. "Oww - my head hurts. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Harry?" Rosie replied. Harry looked at her oddly.

"What happened? I've got a splitting headache," Harry groaned.

"We should go to the infirmary Harry. Madam Pomfrey can get you a potion."

Harry shook his head. "I'll be okay." He winced as he stood up. "I should get back. I feel like I could sleep for a million years."

Rosie frowned and held on to the edge of Harry's robe before he could depart.

"I really think you should go to the infirmary, Harry," she said firmly.

Harry smiled weakly. "I really appreciate your concern Rosie. But I'm fine. I feel a lot better now. I think I just need a good sleep." Rosie's expression was doubtful.

"Look, if I'm still feeling bad tomorrow, I'll go to the infirmary straight away, alright? I just want to get into my own bed, and lie down," Harry said, trying to placate Rosie. Rosie pursed her lips, and then nodded, letting go of Harry's sleeve.

"Promise?"

"I promise," Harry replied.

That night, Rosie struggled to fall asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Harry's expression, and about the blackness that she had seen. Could it have all be in her imagination? Not the blackness - she was quite certain about the blackness. What she desperately wanted to repudiate was the enmity she had seen in Harry's eyes for that brief moment. She had never seen an expression like that on Harry's face before. It didn't even look like him at all.

The blackness itself had been troubling as well. She supposed that she could ask Madam Pomfrey about it tomorrow, but she suddenly remembered that the matron had lent her that book on diagnostic spells. Pulling the book out of her schoolbag, Rosie drew the curtains shut around her four-poster bed, and used the lumos spell to illuminate the darkness. The book was a rather thick tome - Rosie had barely even gotten past the first chapter. It was a rather technical book that was more of a reference, than it was a light read.

Rosie flipped through the pages, trying to find information about what the colour black would mean in a diagnosis spell. It turned out that there was an entire lengthy chapter dedicated to the matter, and what she read made her blood run cold.

Overview of Diagnosis Colours: Black she read.

Many of the colours in a diagnosis spell recognize variants of both muggle and magical ailments. However, if one should see the colour black in a diagnosis spell, the cause is always magical. Seeing black in your patient is generally indicative of curses. Curse is used in the broadest sense of the word. This encompasses your typical curse, but can also cover attacks by Dark magic that have effects beyond physical damage, as well as possession. Diagnosis charms can also detect if the patient is wearing a cursed item, though the effects will be shown in the patient's body, and not in the item itself. Not all cursed items can be easily detected. In many cases, the item, such as a ring, may affect another part of the patient's body, such as their mind, and the healer will only see the effects on the patient's mind, not the cursed ring on the patient's finger.

Though serious in nature, it is important to realize that not all curses are fatal the patient, and not all curses can be cured. In many cases, the subject may not even realize they are under a curse. A curse can appear at any spot on the patient's body. In some cases, the curse is localized, and in other cases, the curse is widespread. There was a curious case in 1698 where a Messrs. R. Doge had a curse in the index finger of his left hand. Only amputation of the finger was effective in removing the curse. Whether localized or extensive, curses are usually difficult to remove. Even localized curses are not guaranteed to be removed by the amputation of the offending member. There are numerous cases where localized curses have transferred from one point to another in the patient's body. In many cases, the older the curse, less likely it is that the curse can be lifted.

There is no standard remedy for the removal of curses. The sheer variation in types curses means that for each curse, there may only be one counter-curse or cure, assuming a counter-curse or cure even exists. As it stands, a significant number of dark spells - and in particularly, experimental dark spells - have no remedy. This is complicated by the fact that many curses are one-of-a-kind in nature.

The shape of the curse is also an important component in understanding the curse itself. This is an extremely complex matter and is further discussed in section XIV of this chapter.

Only the most experienced specialists should deal with rare or unknown curses. Curses are not a thing to be treated lightly, and the ignorance of many healers has led to far too many fatalities.

One final thing to note is that if a curse is non-fatal, it may be safer to allow the patient to live under the curse. There are innumerable cases where the attempted removal of the curse has done more damage to the patient than the curse itself. Often times, the removal of a curse can lead to the patient's death. There is a strong bias against allowing witches or wizard to remain living in cursed states, and this author hopes to clear up the numerous misconceptions about curses.

The next sections will give an overview of the most common curse-types and their possible remedies (if remedies exist); the interaction of curses with the individual witch or wizard; the implications of living with a curse and methods of easing curse symptoms; a general overview of cursed objects and their possible removal; and the ethical considerations of living with a curse include the views of the world's most renowned curse-specialists.

Curses are a highly complex and varied subject. This book can only give a general overview and it is recommended that interested scholars do further research.

Rosie flipped through the pages, trying to determine where the chapter ended. The chapter on curses was over two hundred pages long, containing numerous diagrams and accounts of individual cases. She hoped that the chapter would be able to give her a sense of what was affecting Harry, but the author's words did not leave her feeling optimistic. What if Harry's curse was incurable? What if it was one-of-a-kind? She considered the implication of Harry having to live with a curse for the rest of his life. Would it truly be so bad? He seemed to be doing relatively well, but with Harry, it could be hard to gauge. And if Harry was indeed cursed, when did it occur? Was it in late September when she felt the darkness in their link? Or could it have gone further back? Harry had lived through so many frightening experiences - for all she knew, he could have been cursed since childhood. Rather than starting to feel tired, Rosie felt more awake than ever, and she turned the page of the thick tome, intent on discovering all she could about curses.


A/N: I appreciate the reviews :) I'm starting another story with Severus as the main character. I kinda have a soft spot for a lot of the mean characters or villains. I think in this story, there are only two characters I actually dislike (and one of them won't be introduced until late, late in the story)

If anyone is interested, it's called "Callidus Prince and the Unseen Adversary". It's another friendship/adventure story. It's also a first year story. I didn't mean to write another first year story - I was trying to mentally plot a sequel to this one. But the idea got stuck in my head and I had to run with it. This story is more adventurous. I think the other one will deal more with interpersonal conflicts (friendships/rivalries)