Harry was exhausted. He didn't remember how long it would take to show Alice the ins-and-outs of Hogwarts, and she wanted to see EVERYTHING. Every bathroom, classroom, and hallway was like a new world for her and Harry didn't like it. The entire time they were there, Alice was asking questions. Some of them were legitimate, but others he was sure he had already told her about since they'd started dating. Harry shook his head and sighed. He was probably just hungry and tired from the busy day. A little food should clear up his head.

"So this is the dining hall," Harry said with a flourish of his hand, like he was on a game show. Alice stood at the door motionless. Harry thought something was wrong, as she didn't say anything for a full two minutes. "It's nice," Alice said, in a voice that wasn't quite hers. Harry could swear something was off about her, but he didn't exactly have the proof to back it up with. "Yeah, well let's get something to eat. Afterwards we need to go see Kingsley again." Harry was anxious to get back to Kingsley and find out what was so important earlier. He worried that something was wrong at Hogwarts and maybe Kingsley needed his help. But all of that would have to wait until later. Harry and Alice sat down at the table closest to the door, the end of a Griffyndor table. No matter how long Harry had been gone from Hogwarts, these tables would always feel like home. Harry sat with his head down, trying to remain anonymous. Not that he was ashamed to be who he was, he just wanted to get through dinner and get back to Kingsley without everyone in the dining hall noticing who he was and making a scene. They shoveled food into their mouths in silence and slid out the door, thankfully going unnoticed. Alice clung to Harry's arm as they walked down the hallway towards Kingsley's office, which Harry found a bit odd. She seemed to be shaking, like she was cold. Harry stopped outside the office door and put his hand on Alice's shoulder. "Hey, is everything okay? You seem off." "Yes. Everything is fine, Harry." Alice stated, almost robotically. Harry wasn't so sure, but he let it go again. He would sit down and talk with Alice about all of this later. It was probably just a shock to her system, a new environment so different from what she was used to that she couldn't take it all in. "Wait out here, I'll be back soon." Alice dropped to the floor against the wall and sat cross-legged style staring at the door. That was a little more than creepy, Harry thought as he backed into Kingsley's office and shut the door.

"Harry, good. I was just about to come hunt you down in the dining hall but I had a feeling you'd be on your way here soon enough." Kingsley was sitting behind his desk with a pile of books almost completely blocking his face. There were always books piled on his desk though. Always something to learn, read, do, study. Kingsley wanted to be on top of it all. He stood up from his desk chair and moved to a plush lounge chair across the room in front of a fireplace. He motioned for Harry to sit in the matching chair across from them, a small end table situated next to each chair. Harry sat down, nervous. He imagined that whatever this was, it was something that he would need to be sitting down for, otherwise Kingsley wouldn't have offered. He was the kind of man who didn't beat around the bush, so to speak. Kingsley cleared his throat before he began:

"Harry, I'm afraid all is not well at Hogwarts. The broken mirror from earlier was one of six that has broken in that hallway in the past month. I cannot explain why this keeps happening. Also, we have had six new people show up without notice, Alice and you included. This corresponds with the broken mirrors exactly, but I have no idea why. I also feel that there is something wrong…..with Alice." Kingsley got up and paced around the room. Harry had never seen him this agitated before. "Alice is exhibiting all the signs of possession, Harry. And not just by any random thing. I believe that a dementor has taken over her body and is using her to get to you and Hogwarts." Harry flew out of his seat, almost losing his footing and banging his knee on the end table. "Excuse me?! That's insane! I have been with her the whole time, Kingsley. I would know if there was something wrong with my own girlfriend. I can't believe that you would say something like that. What gives you the right?" Harry was furious. Kingsley didn't know what he was talking about. He was just jealous of what he and Alice had. He wanted to keep Alice all to himself, and make her stay at Hogwarts and away from Harry. Yeah! That must be it! Harry's mind was spinning, trying to figure out what to do with this new information. Meanwhile, Kingsley just stood near the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for Harry's reply. "I don't have time for this, I have to go be with Alice!" Harry stormed out of the room and found Alice sitting in exactly the same position that he had left her in. How long had be in the meeting with Kingsley? Surely not as long as it felt if she was still sitting like that. "Come on, baby. Let's go find a free dorm room for us to sleep in. We can work on getting back to ASU in the morning. Harry didn't know what time it was, but suddenly he was feeling very tired.

It took Harry a much longer time to find the dorm rooms than it should have. A path that he once walked several times a day now seemed like it was brand new. He ran into doors, walked down the wrong hallways, and even ended up in a classroom when he was sure it was the bathroom. Eventually, he found the dorms he was looking for when they happened to run into a first year that was more than happy to show the Great Harry Potter to a suitable room. The room had two beds and not much else. After all, they were unoccupied rooms, and Harry and Alice didn't need anything but the beds for the night. Alice lay down and was sleeping soundly within a few minutes, but Harry just couldn't fall asleep. What was Kingsley's problem? He had no idea what he was talking about, and had no right to judge Alice like that. He didn't even know her! Kingsley was just a crotchety old man who needed to get his nose out of everyone's business. Harry finally fell asleep, his mind still playing out possible ways to make Kingsley pay for what he had said.

Harry woke up with a splitting headache and a bad taste in his mouth. He got up and took a shower and got dressed, making sure to be quiet since Alice was still asleep. When he was ready for the day, Harry checked his cell phone. No service, but that wasn't really surprising. It was just now 9:00am. Harry rubbed his eyes and tried to remember what all had happened last night. He couldn't remember anything after going to dinner with Alice. Something about Kingsley and books. Had Kingsley been at dinner? He would ask Alice about it when she woke up. Fifteen minutes passed before Alice stirred. She sat up in bed and stretched. "Ugh. What happened?" "Alice, what was going on with you last night?" Harry questioned, sitting on the edge of her bed. She had just woken up, so maybe this wasn't the best time for questioning, but Harry figured that any time would work. Being at Hogwarts meant that you didn't always have time to do things at your own pace, and something could happen any minute around here. "I don't really remember anything from last night….or yesterday." Alice rubbed her head like it hurt. That was a little alarming. "What do you mean, you don't remember?"

"Well, the last thing I remember doing was standing in Josh's room talking and then I just sort of go blank." "What on Earth were you doing in Josh's room, you know he's trouble!" Harry felt like he was acting like her parent, not her boyfriend. But she should know better! "I remembered that Josh was acting kind of different from usual so I went to talk to him and when I got there, he was doing some pretty weird stuff." Alice was up now, pacing around the room. Harry let her finish talking.

"So I went to his room and the door was open a little bit and so I just kinda walked in and he had a whole bunch of those people from his church group in his room and they were talking. Josh was saying something about the 'greater purpose' and how 'Potter must pay.' They were chanting that, 'Potter must pay.' It was really creepy. I was gonna leave but one of them saw me and they all quit and left really quickly. I tried to leave too but Josh grabbed my arm and made me stay. When everyone left he started telling me that what I saw wasn't anything and I should just forget about it. Then I guess I ended up here." Alice flopped down in a chair and sighed. Harry sat next to her and put his hand on her knee. "You were acting really weird yesterday and it worried me, Alice." He was glad that she seemed to be alright now, but that didn't explain last night. "Kingsley was trying to tell me something last night, but I was really mad at him." Harry remembered. "Maybe I should go see him and find out what he wanted to tell me."

Harry knocked on Kingsley's office door and waited. He wasn't sure how Kingsley would react to seeing him after his outburst last night. What was up with that? Harry thought. The door opened and Kingsley smiled. "Harry, come in. I've been expecting you." Harry walked in and sat in the same chair from last night and looked at Kingsley. "I'm sorry about last night, sir, really. I don't know what came over me. I was just so…angry." "Befuddlement Draught." Kingsley answered. "I'm sorry, what?" Harry didn't understand. "Yes, I believe that someone put Befuddlement Draught in your food or drink yesterday and that caused you to become so angry. It's a strong potion that causes the taker to become confused and reckless. " That would explain why Harry couldn't even find his old dormitory last night, and why he was so reckless with his emotions. "I had no idea. The only person I was with was Alice." Harry replied. "Ah yes, Alice. That's the reason I wanted to talk to you. Has she been acting odd lately, different than usual?" Kingsley questioned, and Harry nodded. "Just as I feared." Kingsley answered. "What's going on, Kingsley?"

"I'm afraid the signs are all too clear, Mr. Potter. The odd behavior, the broken mirrors, the information I've ascertained from the events at your college, it all adds up to one thing: Dementors."

Please r&r! You're all super amazing and I will definitely update soon!

Until next time,

Eridium Blight