The following day was about as boring as the previous one. Madam Pomfrey allowed Rosie to use her office to study. She was also given a wider space behind the privacy curtains to do some physical exercises. Unfortunately, she had no access to a mirror at all. She really wanted to know what was on her face that was offensive enough that she was kept hidden away. Both Luna and Romulus had been disinclined to tell her, and she knew she wouldn't get a word out of Madam Pomfrey.
However, Rosie did discover one interesting thing that day. While she and Madam Pomfrey were having a conversation about the Christmas break, Rosie had proudly showed the matron the bracelet that Harry had given her. The bracelet consisted of seven shiny oval stones that had a bluish-milky colour on a golden chain. The matron had been surprisingly impressed.
"Where did your brother find such a thing?" Madam Pomfrey asked in surprise. "These are incredibly rare!"
"Really? Harry told me that it can enhance healing magic."
"More than that, dear. These stones can actually be infused and charged with magic. The charge on them seems to be fairly weak at the moment. The magical energy can then be used alongside healing spells to increase their effectiveness. If the charge is high enough, it can also be used to strengthen your patient's magic so that their own body recovers faster. It's unusual for such an item to be sold anywhere. Often, they are heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation." The matron smiled wistfully as she admired the bracelet.
"How do I infuse the bracelet with magic?" Rosie asked, looking at the bracelet with new eyes.
"It's not difficult, but since I've never owned one, I wouldn't be able to tell you. There is a book on it in the library. It's not specifically about healing stones, but it's about stones and gems that can be charged to hold and release magic. You can ask Madam Pince to help you find it - I don't know the title." Rosie thanked Madam Pomfrey for the information, and resolved to find the book once she was allowed to leave the infirmary.
In the afternoon, Luna visited again to tell her what she had missed in class. She also stayed and worked on more assignments with her friend, with their books sprawled out across the hospital bed. After Luna left, Rosie had returned to reading the book on magical interactions with the human body when she was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. She had looked up from her book, expecting to see Madam Pomfrey or even Professor Snape, and was instead greeted by Toby's friend, Samir Kapoor. Samir gave her a small smile.
Samir had light golden brown skin, and black hair. He also had the thickest and longest eyelashes she had ever seen on a boy, and had heard more than one girl sigh about it with envy. Rosie tried to keep the confusion from showing on her face. Samir was the last person she would have expected to see. Of the Triad of Brilliance, Samir had always seemed like the nicest, but aside from the occasional looks of sympathy that he gave her, he had never spoken to her before.
"Hello, Rosie," Samir said softly. Rosie didn't even realize that Samir knew her name. Toby always called her by irritating pet names.
"Hi Samir. What are you doing here?" Rosie wondered if Toby had sent him. It seemed like something that Toby wouldn't do - she couldn't imagine Toby showing any genuine concern. However, perhaps Toby had other motives.
"I heard that something had happened to you." Samir's gaze flicked quickly to the side of her face before returning to her eyes.
"From Toby?"
Samir gave a quick shake of his head. "No. I heard Marietta and Sarah bragging about it." Samir didn't look particularly pleased about this. If anything, his expression seemed troubled. Samir had a particularly expressive face, and unlike Toby, there wasn't any element of mockery. Rosie found herself wondering how the two boys came to be friends.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright. And - I wanted to explain a few things," Samir continued.
"Like what?" Rosie asked curiously. Was he here to justify Toby's behaviour? She couldn't imagine anything that Samir could say that would make her more kindly disposed towards Toby.
"First, I wanted to warn you. About Toby."
Rosie frowned. "I know Toby just sees this as a big game. I'm not going to be fooled by him."
Samir's chocolate brown eyes seem to glow with earnestness. "It's not that -" Samir sighed, and looked away. Then under his breath he added, "He's not going to be happy I told you this."
"Tell me what?"
"To be honest, Toby's been playing nice with you. I don't mean the game of friendliness that you two have going on. And I'm not trying to suggest that Toby is usually cruel - well - not overtly anyhow." Samir ran his hands through his medium-length hair, which cascaded gracefully through his fingers. It seemed to be a nervous gesture. Beyond his eyelashes, Rosie had heard a lot of girls sighing over Samir's lustrous hair. "The thing is - Toby is - how shall I say this - when he chooses a target, he like's to ensure that his dominance is complete." Samir looked back at Rosie, as though trying to ascertain whether or not she understood.
"Dominance? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, Toby likes to makes sure that people either love him, or fear him. Ever since I've known him, he's been this way. He doesn't always have a lot of respect for people - particularly if he doesn't respect their intelligence, and it's almost as if he thinks that entitles him to do what he wants. He seems to believe that if a person was smart enough, it wouldn't affect them," Samir explained. "With you, all he's really doing is keeping you a little off balance."
"Why?" Rosie couldn't seem to make sense of it. Either Toby's actions, or why Samir was even telling her this.
"Um - well, the thing is, Toby was warned off. He was told not to take things too far. But as to why Toby would listen to someone else's warning, well, I don't know. Toby rarely ever listens to anyone, unless he thinks -" Samir cut himself off, and bit his lower lip. A shadow seemed to have come over his expressive eyes.
"What?"
"Nevermind. I'm just speculating," Samir continued after a moment. "Anyway, I just thought you should know. Don't ever assume that you understand Toby. He - well, I think some childhood experiences made him the way he is."
"Alright - is that all? You just wanted to warn me about Toby?"
Samir shook his head. "Actually, there's something else. It's kind of related. It's about Marietta."
"What about her?" Rosie asked, with a chilly tone in her voice.
"You might not believe me, but in a lot of ways Marietta used to be a lot like you. I mean, you're quieter than her. Marietta was, and in a lot of ways still is, quite popular. I mean, she's pretty, smart, and a pureblood at that." Samir seemed lost in the memory for a moment. "The other thing is, she used to hate Toby. At least she did in her first year. We - Toby, Chris and I - were in second year at the time. She thought Toby was taking advantage of his position. Even then, Toby was insanely smart, and in Ravenclaw, that usually translates to being popular."
Samir smiled to himself. "I remember even then, there were fourth, and even fifth years asking Toby for help with their homework. Toby was pretty smug about it - well, around me and Chris, he was. With everyone else, he always had his humble act. But of course the act didn't fool everyone. Marietta was one of those people - she kept saying that Toby was a fake."
Rosie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She couldn't imagine the obsessive Marietta saying anything like that about Toby.
Samir's lip quirked with amusement. "Yeah, hard to believe, right? You can see why I would say that the two of you have similarities."
"What happened?" Rosie asked.
"Well, at first Toby didn't really care. First of all, she was just a first year, and second of all, Toby is used to people being jealous of him. Toby probably would have just left it alone. Especially if Marietta had just kept it between her and her friends. But - like you - she ended up confronting him in front of the whole common room. She didn't actually call him a fake, like you did. She was a lot more tactful. She just said that she didn't think that people knew the real him. She was right, of course, but it's one thing to think it, and another thing to say it to Toby's face."
Samir smiled ruefully. "Anyway, Toby said that he thought Marietta was being unfair, and that she wasn't even giving him the chance to show his real self. The real Toby is - honestly, really intense. If he's serious about dominating someone, he'll go all out. Not just with what he says - he sets up elaborate traps as well. He'll manipulate the ghosts, and sometimes even Peeves into doing what he wants. I wouldn't have believed it at first, but I've seen him trick Peeves into acting certain ways. And - well - Toby has certain, special - um - tools at his disposal because of his - uh - connections." Rosie looked curious, but Samir was unwilling to elaborate on his statement. He continued his story.
"Anyway, he'll find out everything he can about a person, and he doesn't hesitate to use it against them. And what's scarier is that people don't know that he's doing it. He created this situation where he ended up scaring Marietta out of her mind. He turned a lot of her friends and admirers against her. Never directly - sometimes he would just create a set-up where people seem to turn against her on their own accord. Marietta thought she had somehow been cursed - she never once suspected it was Toby. And somehow, Toby would end up 'saving' her - not all the time, of course. Sometimes, he likes to just let people suffer. The 'rescues' always seemed accidental too. Marietta hated it at first, but Toby ended up convincing her he was on her side. What was it he said?"
Samir pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling as he tried to recollect the words. "Oh, it was something like 'we both know that neither of us likes one another, but I can't just sit back and let this happen to you.' Then he went on to make up this story about how he had a childhood friend that had gotten cursed, and ended up in St. Mungo's - you know, one of those stories where the sole purpose is to create sympathy." Samir shook his head. "Toby always told those stories really well - he had a way of pretending as though he didn't want to reveal it, and then he would turn it into a big heartfelt confession. It wasn't exactly a lie though - Toby did actually know a kid who was cursed. It's just that - well, this is speculation, but it might have been Toby who cursed him in the first place. Anyway, anyone who has a heart tends to end up melting when they hear a story like that. Toby knows it too. Eventually, Toby won Marietta over. She became convinced that his demeanour was the result of being heartbroken as a kid, due to having his friend cursed. Toby doesn't try to convince people directly. He lets people convince themselves of things."
Samir sighed. "And I'm sure you can see the end result. The people who think they love Toby usually think they are the only ones who know the real him. And Toby just perpetuates that belief. And Marietta - well - I think she just thinks she's protecting Toby somehow."
Rosie felt completely bewildered by Samir's story. She could hardly believe that Marietta had ever hated Toby. "Why are you telling me this?" Rosie asked.
Samir shrugged. "I don't really know you that well, and I don't know if you're planning to get revenge on Marietta and Sarah."
Rosie shook her head. "I'm not," she said flatly, though she did feel angry about their actions.
"Well - I just thought you should know Marietta's history before doing anything you might regret. And honestly, I don't think the world needs more people like Marietta and Sarah. It's really annoying when Toby does that to people."
"Annoying?" Rosie couldn't believe that Samir would use such a mild adjective to describe Toby's twisted actions.
"Yeah. It's not as though Toby even likes the attention." Samir shrugged again. "He just does it because he can. It doesn't exactly make Ravenclaw Nest a pleasant place to be. Anyway - I guess I'll see you around."
"Wait!" Rosie called out, as he was turning to leave. "Erm - could you - well - tell me what's written on my face?"
Samir's eyes flicked to her forehead and cheek, and he frowned. "Your friend's didn't tell you?"
"No. No one is telling me. I'm guessing it's pretty bad if they won't even let me leave."
Samir smiled but it looked more like a grimace. He peeked out the curtain as though he wanted to make sure that no one would overhear. When he told her, her eyes widened with surprise.
"Wow - I guess I can understand why I'm stuck here. Well - thanks - I suppose."
Samir nodded, and left. After hearing what Samir had to say, Rosie couldn't seem to concentrate on her book, and she was thankful when Madam Pomfrey swept past the privacy curtain with the potion in hand. After gulping down the sour brew, Rosie's skin felt as though it was prickling with a strange coldness. The matron was nodding her head in satisfaction.
"That seems to have done it," Madam Pomfrey said with a smile. "Well, I'm sure you're eager to be off, Miss Potter."
"Yes!" Rosie exclaimed, unable to hide the relief in her voice.
"I'll see you on Friday then," the Matron said, with an indulgent smile.
Rosie was cautious when she exited the Hospital Wing. She had no desire to be the target of Marietta and Sarah again. However, there were several other students still in the corridors and Rosie knew that the pair of third years wouldn't attack if others were around. Rosie was about to head straight back for the Ravenclaw Nest but when the sparkle on her wrist caught her eye, she veered off towards the library instead. The idea of having a magical bracelet that could be infused with energy was exciting. She wanted to learn everything she could about it. After Madam Pince directed her to the appropriate book, Rosie returned to her room.
Over the coming days, Rosie started to charge up her bracelet. As Madam Pomfrey had said, the process was actually quite easy. She had to visualize her magic as a tidal flow, moving in and out as she breathed. Everytime she inhaled, she had to visualize the magic flowing into the bracelet. The milky-blue sheen of the stones would feel slightly cooler than normal if it worked. While it was indeed simple, it was also time consuming. The bracelet could only accept small amounts of magic at a time this way. The book had stated that it was possible to use one's wand to charge the stones, but it was a brute-force method, and more often than not, it would cause the stones to crack, which would permanently damage them. Whether the charge of the bracelet was full or not was determined by feel, but this was a subtle thing that had to be learned over time, and the book's description was vague.
As for making use of the bracelet's magic, that was more of a passive process. Whether or not the magic in the bracelet enhanced one's magic depended on the intensity of one's intent. So, if a healer desperately wanted to save a life, the bracelet would immediately offer up it's magic, whereas if a healer were to do a routine spell, the bracelet would retain its charge.
The attack by the third years had left Rosie more skittish than usual. She was tempted to tell Sirius about it when she mirror called him. However, she knew that if he suggested that she returned back to Grimmauld Place, the temptation would be too strong. As much as she longed to be safe at home, she didn't want to leave Harry by himself. So, she kept the attack to herself, like a jagged blade tossed into a dark lake, unseen but not forgotten. Instead, she threw herself back into school work with renewed fervour.
By late January, the students had settled down into the routine of school life. Rosie found that she had more time to think, which meant that her worries about Harry once again came to the forefront. Harry had seemed more distant than usual, but because of Rosie's preoccupied state of mind, she had not given it too much thought. She even forced herself to put the black outs in their link of out her mind. The black outs seemed so long and so frequent that it if she let it worry her, she would be worried all the time. Yet, she knew she could not avoid the issue forever. He was her brother, and she had to do something.
Rosie kept feeling as though she was missing something. She had the impression that the problem was more obvious than she realized, but because she was too close to the problem, she couldn't seem to see it. Somehow, she needed to change her perspective. She needed to step back from the problem and see it with new eyes.
'I'm a Ravenclaw!' she thought to herself. 'I should be able to figure this out.' She found herself wishing that she had taken notes from the time that she first noticed a problem, but there was no sense regretting the past. Furthermore, most people didn't usually take notes on their sibling's behaviour - that itself would have been regarded as odd.
She had just finished up the last of her homework in the Ravenclaw nest, so, taking out a scrap of parchment, Rosie began to write down the things she could remember in chronological order. He had behaved normally in the summer and in early September. By late September, she had started noticing changes in his behaviour, and that was also the same time she first noticed a darkness in their link. Then, after October, his behaviour drastically changed. That was when she started noticing black outs, but Harry had also seemed happier and more outgoing. She vaguely remembered that his positive demeanour had led her to set aside her worries. As time passed, the black outs became more frequent.
'What else has changed?' she asked herself. Harry had mentioned something about erratic sleep patterns, but Harry had always had random sleep patterns. Perhaps she should have asked him if his sleep patterns had changed since the first year of school. Just because he had a tendency to take naps back when he was living in Grimmauld Place, it didn't mean that he had continued the habit in his first year at Hogwarts.
The other thing was that Harry had become much more social, and more charismatic. Harry was her brother, and she had always seen him in a positive light. She knew most of his strengths, and tended to be blind to most of his faults, unless it was something that personally bothered her. But just because she always saw the best in Harry, it didn't mean that anyone else saw him the same way. When she had asked Hermione and Neville about it, they seemed to shrug off Harry's actions, but she had asked them back in the fall. She resolved to speak to the pair of them again, sometime soon. The last few times she went down to the library, she hadn't seen Harry, so she had been doing a lot of her homework in the Ravenclaw Nest with Romulus instead. If Harry wasn't in the library, where was he?
The most striking thing of all was her encounters with him during the black outs in their link. Most of the time, she would only see him briefly, and he would give her a smile. That seemed perfectly normal. But there was also the time she saw him talking to someone that looked a lot like Toby. There was also that brief flash during the diagnosis spell, and over Christmas, when she had given him Sephtis. And then there was the very strange encounter in the corridor where he had overwhelmed her with his intense gaze. On paper, the exchange hadn't seemed that strange - they had just said a few pleasantries. It was how the experience had made her feel that was truly odd. But if it had just been her feelings, couldn't it have all been in her head?
And finally, there was the matter of the curse. Just what did the curse do? How was the curse affecting him? What was 'Harry' and what was the curse? She thought back to the diagnosis book she had read. What had it said, precisely, about seeing black?
Rosie looked down at the notes she had written about Harry. She couldn't seem to recall anything else at the moment, and she wanted to take a look at the diagnosis book again. Folding up the parchment, she went up to the dorm room and opened her trunk, pulling out the thick tome. She sat down her bed, and flipped through the pages until she found the introduction. Scanning over the paragraph, she read something that caught her eye: '...encompasses your typical curse, but can also cover attacks by Dark magic that have effects beyond physical damage, as well as possession.'
Possession? Initially the idea hadn't even crossed her mind, but now she saw it as a distinct possibility. After all, Harry's behaviour had changed so much. How many times had she thought of Harry as 'her Harry' versus the 'black out Harry'? But if in fact he was possessed, was it related to his cursed scar, or was it something else? Perhaps she should convince him to see Madam Pomfrey, since the matron would surely have more expertise. When Rosie had done the diagnosis spell on Harry, she did remember that the blackness did not seem localized around the scar. In fact, she saw it throughout his head, and also there seemed to be a touch of blackness around his heart.
If it was possession, this was bad - very bad indeed. Surely, with a possession, it needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. The black outs in the empathic link were growing more and more - what if the curse completely took over? She had to find Harry as soon as possible, and she needed to ensure she found him when it was 'her Harry' - the one that she had known all her life. She also needed to go down to the library to find out all she could about possession and the methods of removing the possessing entity.
There was plenty of time before curfew, so Rosie put the thick tome back and shut her trunk. Even if it were close to curfew, she had recently made it a habit to keep the invisibility cloak stuffed in the bottom her of bookbag, and she could afford to risk staying out late. She found herself wishing that Luna was with her. Her friend had made a few statements about Harry that always seemed rather insightful, and she wished she could bounce her thoughts off Luna's unconventional mind. Speaking to Luna always seemed to clarify things for her.
Romulus, whom she had been doing homework with earlier gave her a curious look as she rushed out of the common room, but he did not follow. While he did worry a great deal, he knew that the incident with the older Ravenclaw girls had made Rosie more alert and cautious. Furthermore, he made an effort to protect Rosie from the third year girls. He did this from the shadows, of course. He didn't want to draw Marietta or Sarah's ire, but he also didn't want to leave Rosie on her own. Usually, he would use mild jinxes, like the tripping or impediment jinx to keep them away from Rosie. Thus far it seemed to work. Even though he did not admit it openly, it had been a relief that she had been spending more time in the Ravenclaw Nest. He didn't exactly want to spend all his free time following her around to make sure she was safe. Well, that's what he told himself.
As for Rosie, she flew down the stairs, and rushed off to the library. While there, she did not see Harry or Neville, but she did spot Hermione. The bushy haired girl was sitting by herself at one of the tables, with her books placed neatly around her. It was almost as if she was so used to studying with Harry and Neville, that it was hard for her to spread her things out and make use of the rest of the table.
"Hi Hermione," Rosie said, sitting in the chair next to her. She wanted to ask Hermione about Harry, but didn't want to seem strange or suspicious about it.
"Oh! Hi Rosie. I didn't see you," Hermione replied. "How have you been?"
"Oh - alright, I suppose. There's always so much to do. How about you?"
"Struggling with this potions essay. Professor Snape asked for sixteen inches, and I have more than twenty. Last time I submitted an essay that was too long, I lost marks, so now I have to decide what to take out," Hermione replied, with a disgruntled expression. She hated the idea of not being able to include all her interesting research in her assignments.
"Yeah, the Ravenclaws generally find Professor Snape to be maddening. I hear that complaint a lot."
"Really?" Hermione sighed. "The hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw. Sometimes I think I would have been better off there."
Rosie gave her a small smile. "Yeah, you would have done well in Ravenclaw. Intelligence is a matter of pride in our House. Anyway, I was wondering, have you seen Harry? It seems like he's rarely in the library these days. I haven't even been able to find him on days when I make calls to Sirius."
"Harry?" Hermione echoed. "I suppose Harry has changed his personal schedule this term. We come into the library in the early mornings now, and often between our classes. He and Neville have been spending a lot more time with the others in the afternoons and evenings."
"The others?"
"The other Gryffindors. Harry and Neville seem to have gotten close to a lot of the third years, and even some of the fourth years." Hermione scrunched up her face. "Even Lavender and Parvarti have been hovering around them, though I wouldn't say that those two are close to Harry or Neville."
"That's odd. Harry has gotten a lot more social, hasn't he," Rosie commented.
"He has! It's quite the change from last year. If you had told me in first year that Harry Potter would end up popular, I would have struggled to believe it. He used to be so - shy," Hermione continued thoughtfully.
"Yeah - even before coming to Hogwarts, Harry was usually pretty quiet. He didn't even really like going out to public places. What do you make of it? Have you noticed anything strange about Harry?" Rosie asked.
"Strange? Well, my current hypothesis is that once he gained more confidence in classes, he was able to let his personality finally shine through. After all, Professor Snape was so cruel to him last year. Anyone's confidence would be crushed by that kind of treatment. But now that that's no longer an issue, Harry has been a lot happier. I'm so proud of him, and happy for him." Hermione paused for a moment. "The other thing is, well, after that horrible prank last year, a lot of Gryffindors ended up being pulled out of school. And after Christmas break, we had a couple more students that didn't come back. There's just less of us now, and Harry and Neville have really managed to pull the House together."
"So - you don't think he's being - well - not himself?"
"I've only known him since first year, Rosie. You're his sister. Are you saying you've noticed something odd? Should I be worried?" Hermione's expression was instantly concerned.
"Oh - well - It's just that I rarely see him. Being in different Houses and different years makes it difficult. So it's hard to say."
Hermione considered her words and nodded. "I imagine it's harder for you than for most. You've been with him for ten years, and then suddenly, you're separated. It must have come as a shock. I'm an only child, so I can't begin to guess what it's like."
Rosie nodded. "Does it bother you that Harry is spending more time with the other Gryffindors? I used to see you three together all the time."
"Hm? Well, we share almost all the same classes, and we study together in the mornings. Plus, he always eats with Neville and me in the Great Hall. It doesn't really bother me that he wants to spend time with our housemates. Besides -" Hermione smiled broadly, "he says that after spending time with the others, he appreciates my intelligence more than ever." There was a sparkle of pride in Hermione's eyes.
"But then, why would he spend time with them, if you're so much more intelligent?"
"Well, I can't be everything for Harry, you know. He has his own interests that I don't share, like Quidditch. And it's quite remarkable, but all his new friendships has really brought the Gryffindors together. It feels like more of a big family now." Hermione smiled warmly. "It's actually quite nice being around everyone - but - you know" Hermione gestured to her books and parchment, "sometimes homework has to come first."
Rosie gave a weak laugh. "As a Ravenclaw, I definitely understand."
"Are you alright, Rosie?" Hermione asked, noticing Rosie's expression.
Rosie sighed. "I've just been worried about Harry a lot. Especially since he's changed. It feels like I don't really know him anymore."
"Oh Rosie," Hermione said sympathetically, taking one of her hands in a gesture of friendship. "I'll speak to Harry about it. He can get so caught up in what he's doing that things get forgotten. I know he would never forget about his own sister. Harry just tries to do too much at once."
"Thanks Hermione," Rosie said weakly. "I've got to go find some books. I'll talk to you later." Hermione smiled and nodded.
As Rosie searched through the aisles of books, she was only able to find one book related to possessions. She discovered that most of the other books were in the restricted section, which made sense, considering that to possess someone was a type of dark magic. She didn't want to have to explain her interest in possessions to her teachers, so she decided it would be an opportune time to make use of her invisibility cloak. The library closed at 8 o'clock which was in half an hour.
Taking the single book that she found, she sat down at one of the quiet corners of the library where she wasn't likely to be disturbed. The publication she had found wasn't specifically focused on possessions. It was more of an overview of various spectral occurrences and dark creatures, and how one could protect oneself from them. It described hauntings from malignant ghosts, violent poltergeists, dementors, lethifolds as well as possessions. Rosie flipped ahead to the chapter on possessions.
The information seemed to be fairly broad. Possessions could be highly varied, and the book described numerous ways that one could protect oneself from being possessed, from certain plants that repelled dark spirits, to special talismens. However, what Rosie wanted to know was what could be done after someone had potentially been possessed. The symptoms of possession were varied, and not all possessions had the same symptoms. In some cases, those who were possessed could end up repelling many animals and creatures, but it could also result in attracting other creatures. Possessions could be relatively benign. The book mentioned situations where children died, and in their fright, they ended up possessing a person nearby, not wanting to move on to the next realm. However, many possessions had a more sinister quality.
A person who was possessed could potentially be one place at one moment, and then in the next, be somewhere else, and have no idea how they got there. People who were possessed were also prone to strange dreams, which were often related to the memories of the one who was doing the possessing. A person's personality could change, often in a very rapid and drastic way. It was also possible that the possessed person could seem to have multiple personalities. There had even been multiple incidences in the past where a person's magical alignment changed, from light to dark, or in unusual cases, from dark to light. However, changes of magical alignment generally only occurred if the possessing spirit was extremely powerful.
As Rosie read through the various symptoms, she felt a chill creeping down her spine. Many of the symptoms could fit Harry's situation. She flipped through more pages, and found the section that described the removal of possessing spirits.
There is no single method for removing possessing spirits, the book stated. While muggles believe that all possessions are the result of evil spirits and demons, those in the wizarding world know better.
First, it is important to discover the type of spirit that is doing the possessing. There are various methods for discovering this, which are described below. It is of vital importance to know what kind of spirit one is dealing with. For example, if a witch or wizard were possessed by a child, then performing a ritual to remove dark spirits could potentially damage the child's spirit, and prevent them from being able to move to the next world.
Related to the first point is discovering whether the possessing spirit is that of a human, or whether it is the spirit of another creature or even an animal. Generally, human spirits are drawn to other humans, but there have been recorded cases of witches and wizards being possessed by creatures. Possessions by creatures can be obvious, if the victim displays beastial behaviours, but in some cases, the witch's or wizard's own magic and spirit will dominate the possessing spirit. If this is the case, then the animalistic behaviours will only appear when the victim falls unconscious, such as in their sleep.
Next, it is important to discover the strength of the possessing spirit. For weak possessing spirits, almost no symptoms will manifest at all. In these scenarios, the witch or wizard often only discovers they are possessed by accident, since it has almost no impact on their lives. Fortunately, weak spirits are easy to dispel. Powerful possessing spirits will have a much greater impact on the witch or wizard. If a spirit is particularly powerful, they can potentially completely dominate their victim, and take over their body entirely. This will not kill the possessed witch or wizard's spirit, but their spirit will be trapped in a corner of their own consciousness, and will not be able to free themselves of their own efforts. Rituals to remove powerful spirits are not difficult to perform, but they are difficult to carry out because of the resistance of the possessing spirit. Furthermore, if the possessing spirit is powerful enough, they can overpower the ritual, and it is unlikely that such a spirit can be removed except by an even more powerful witch or wizard performing the ritual.
Another significant factor is the length of time that the witch or wizard has been possessed. Unless the spirit is extremely weak, then the longer the possession, the more difficult it will be to remove the possessing spirit. If a spirit is powerful enough to subdue the witch or wizard's own spirit, they can put that spirit in a sleep-like state, and even if the possessing spirit is removed, the victims may not ever wake.
Finally, it is important to find out the alignment of the spirit that is doing the possessing. Many spirits are neutral. Light spirits require a completely different method of removal than dark spirits. There have even been cases where Light spirits have been convinced to removed themselves from the witch or wizard, after being given compelling enough reasons. Dark spirits are much more difficult to remove. They are also potentially very dangerous to remove, because they may cause the witch or wizard to physically harm themselves, in an effort to resist removal.
The next section will detail the various methods for identifying possessing spirits. This book only gives a general overview of spirit removal rituals. It is highly recommended that one learns about various runic protection frameworks, which provide aegis by preventing spirits from passing through the runic barriers. These runic frameworks do not dispel spirits, but they can aid the ritual by preventing the spirit from escaping.
A/N: Still haven't been working on this story (sorry). I do have more to post after this
