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His hands started pulling his shirt. Snape screamed something at him and grabbed his arm. Dumbledore looked worried whispering something to him. |
The heat wore off eventually. |
"Potter, can you hear me?", Snape said and touched his forehead that still burned. |
Words finally reached Harry and he came back to his senses. And he knew, he just knew – |
"He burns her from the inside", he finally said, meeting their eyes with horror. |
Cedric Diggory was dead. Voldemort was back. The new year had begun. Life continued for Harry Potter even though he knew everything had changed. Somewhere in the universe a clock that counted down his remaining days in peace had started to count them down. |
Hagrid wanted to see him, Ron and Hermione. They were waiting for him at his place and tea was already served. All of them seemed concerned about something and went quiet when he entered. It wasn’t hard to figure out it was him they discussed with worry. Harry hated that, the way everyone now talked and looked at him. |
"It’s good to see you, Hagrid!", Harry said and smiled. The big man opened his arms and hugged him tightly then messed up his hair. |
"You too, Harry. You seem older, I can’t believe it", he laughed and gave him a cup. |
Ron patted him on the back. It was for encouragement. He was very supportive after what happened at the Tournament, probably regretting his jealousy from before. Just like Harry regretted being the champion. He had to explain himself to the Ministry and in front of judges. That’s when it became apparent how much influence had Voldemort and how quickly he restored it. His spies were everywhere – in the ministry, in court, in the streets of the wizarding world. |
The school was also shaken. Lucius Malfoy was pushing his connections against Dumbledore to remove him from the school. Everything seemed to change from that night. |
"Harry, you might want to relax", Ron said as he felt how tense his friend was. |
"Dumbledore told me a secret", Hagrid blurt out and grabbed their attention. "I called you here because I need your help. It’s a secret mission". |
"Alright", Ron examined with excitement. |
"Your Slytherin friend", Hagrid said as Harry’s face when pale. |
"Astoria", he said her name immediately and then added the unpleasant part to it that brought all that trouble. "Elroy". |
"Yes, the girl. She’s awake", Hagrid said but lifted his hand to stop them from interrupting him. Everyone had mixed reactions. "Dumbledore worries after what you told him Harry. He asked me to look out for her, to watch her if she does something... ya’know. Odd. " |
"Odd?", Ron asked. |
"Yes, something unusual". |
"I know what "odd" means", Ron sighted with irritation and Hermione rolled her eyes. |
"He’s afraid she’s not herself?", Hermione asked as if it was an obvious conclusion. |
They all stayed quiet for a bit. Harry was thinking about the last time he saw her. How hurt she was. But Astoria looked determined and angry. She also managed to stay alive for months before he could reach her. And she was awake now. Somehow this felt like another anomaly in his reality. |
"I shouldn’t have left her alone", Harry finally said, breaking the silence in the room. |
They all looked at him. Pity – he hated that reaction. Even Ron now acted a bit cautiously around him. |
"We will watch her for you", Hermione answered to Hagrid and he smiled back at her. |
"You are doing me a great favor", he said as he sipped tea. |
"Everything is going to change now", Harry replied only he didn’t say it regarding something specific. In fact, his statement was a great description of everything in their lives now, even the air that they breathed felt different. |
They chatted some more and then left Hagrid’s. Harry didn’t want to talk about it, not yet at least, and he leapt forward, trying to run away. Where – that wasn’t exactly clear to him now. While returning to the castle Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him. |
"Harry", she called out to him. "You have to consider the possibility". |
"I can’t", he snapped back and turned to free himself from her grasp. |
"Just think about it for a second", Hermione pleaded. |
And he did, in fact that’s all there was in his mind. The was he saw her grow physicly thin and pale, how cold she felt and how odd it was in comparison to the burning heat in her mind. Or how warm her body was the last night they talked. That’s when he kissed her but Harry tried to think the least about that now. |
"We know the real Alastor Moody wasn’t training her. Maybe Voldemort took interest in her. If what she told you was true and she had the ability to pass down the potential of a new dark wizard to match Voldemort, she was a threat to him. It would make sense to send Crouch to push her to collapse". |
It was all absurd to him and Harry refused to listen. Though after speaking with Dumbledore, it did make sense why Draco Malfoy was interested in her. It was a strategic move for his family as he had done his father’s bidding before. |
It blinded him with rage. Maybe they just wanted to get her pregnant and when that didn’t happen, they’d tried to get rid of her. |
"And what do I do? Huh, Hermione? How do I prevent any of it? You want me to kill her?", Harry snapped. |
"No", she said softly as she pulled away from him. "You just need to look out for yourself more. Emotions could blind your judgment". |
That was such a Hermione-thing-to say. Harry rolled his eyes and it pained him how right she was now and almost every time she scolded him. He hissed in response but said nothing, didn’t protest. At this point he was used to her being right. |
"There is more", Hermione panted for breath, still running after him. |
"There is a possibility that her mind is invaded but her peers don’t know that. Like Draco Malfoy. He may have tried to use her but now it could be the opposite." |
"Are you mad?", Harry snapped at her. |
"If this is the case", she continued avoiding meeting his eyes, "You will have to warn him". |
A hysterical laugh pushed through him. |
"Why would I do that?" |
"Because it’s the right thing to do!", Hermione shouted behind him as Harry turned his back and started walking ahead. She managed to catch up, yet still behind him, "Because a dark wizard could use him to do more harm, all for you to die!". |
"I don’t care if I die", he snapped back at her. Bitterly, there was some truth in those words. |
Hermione was perfect with self-control. She didn’t flinch as his voice rose and neither when she looked at his face. It was Harry who was more disturbed. |
"We talked with Ron about it and even he agrees. Malfoy could be a potential threat that she could use against you, to form an army in Slytherin and infiltrate the castle. Dumbledore is losing his position of power in the school, this is the next step for the Death Eaters, let us try to limit their grasp." |
Harry felt betrayed and looked at Ron, but his friend refused to meet his eyes. The worst part about Ron was that when he wasn’t being selfish, he was completely backboneless. |
"Malfoy’s father is already a Death Eater. We know that. And that makes Draco a potential Death Eater too", Harry shouted as he lifter his arms in the air, the frustration he felt just by having this conversation was unbearable. "And goddamn it, almost all of Slytherin Is already somehow involved in Voldemort’s plot". |
"We don’t know that", Hermione sighed. "If Malfoy is a Death Eater, having him stay away from Astoria Elroy is the best we could do. But he has to know, he seemed sincere in his care for her". |
"Sincere in his care for her" echoed in his mind like a shockwave. Harry didn’t want to hear anymore of this as he turned on his heel and walked ahead, ignoring their voices behind them. |
The next day his eyes landed on a familiar figure. It was her long hair that caught him off guard. He was walking towards Gryffindor’s common room and it was the most unexpected part of the castle to see her, but he did. Finally. |
Their eyes didn’t meet. Astoria was walking ahead and he wasn’t sure if she even realized he was there. |
Different, he noticed a shift immediately. Something was unknown to him. Astoria walked with confidence now, there were no people around, yet Harry was sure that even if the corridor was crowded with students, she still wouldn’t care. Which was very unusual for Astoria Greengrass, only this didn’t feel like her anymore. |
Her hair was in a long braid that swung when she walked. Then he noticed she had something black on her face. An eyepatch, he realized with horror. Harry instantly recalled he saw her eye being hurt. But it was in her mind. |
When she was close to him, he turned to face her. |
Her fingers were hidden in fists. She looked angry as she walked past him as if he was part of the interior. There was always the explanation that she was too preoccupied in thoughts, a bit distracted maybe, or the fact that they weren’t exactly facing each other directly, but Harry stood rather in a corner. |
Dumbledore's office, he figured out what she was doing here, following her direction. He never saw her in class. The next day she remained absent as well. This only tortured him. |
Somehow seeing her like this only made it worse. Harry would find himself waking up from nightmares with her next to Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets, both staring at him and smiling. Vicious smiles. |
He finally got himself to do it and approached Draco Malfoy. Slytherin had the field for the afternoon to train and prepare for the upcoming Quidditch match. Harry felt out of place on this field for the first time, now surrounded by dark-green figures that turned and stared at him. Someone coughed. Malfoy turned and already looked angry when his eyes landed on Harry’s face. Often Harry wondered what Astoria liked about this guy, to him – his whole face was punchable. |
"I need to talk to you", Harry hurried to speak first. |
"Fuck off, Potter", Draco replied coldly, always looking like he was bored. |
"Worried you’ll lose? Maybe if you beg, we’ll spare you", Theo Nott grinned and his eyes flashed. |
"It’s about Astoria". |
"We heard she’s back, yet she hasn’t graced us with her presence", Zabini laughed. |
"She’s not back", Harry finally forced himself to say and Draco turned to him. They stared down at each other for a few seconds that felt like forever in Harry’s mind. |
"What do you mean she’s not back? Nott saw her walking down the corridors". |
"Last thing I want to do is waste my afternoon here, but I am, because I need to tell you this. In private", Harry said, trying to keep the anger at a distance. |
"Fine", Draco finally agreed. He didn’t bother to look at him again. |
They walked away and Harry took him in a near empty classroom. Ron and Hermione were already there. |
"Is this an ambush? Pretty pathetic", Malfoy said to them as he looked around. His manner was always arrogant and he had the natural talent to piss people off. |
"Do we really need to do this?", Ron snapped at Hermione, visibly irritated. |
"I will take you down first, Weasley", Draco pronounced his name always when speaking to him as if it was an insult with a smirk. "Now or next week at the pitch." |
"Tell him, Harry", Hermione urged him as she saw the look on Ron’s face. |
"I don’t think it’s Astoria in her body", he finally said. |
"Thank you for sharing this with me. If you don’t mind, I will fuck off now", Draco laughed at him as he turned away. |
"I didn’t just make it up". |
Draco was at the door but he stopped himself and turned towards them. He was waiting for more. Arrogant bastard, just needed to make a show first. |
"When the incident happened", Harry began, watching Draco tightened his jaw in anger, "They tried to force her to infiltrate my mind. She did it once in fear." |
"I think I even know when", Draco growled. |
Harry took a deep breath, trying to ignore him as he looked down at the floor. It was a horrible inconvenience Astoria shared that with him. |
"Dumbledore asked me to try to infiltrate her mind when she was in a comma. With Snape’s help I did. And I saw her. She wasn’t alone in there". |
Malfoy remained expressionless but his whole body tensed. He froze when he heard those words. And Harry saw how his blue eyes wondered, starring into the nothingness, probably searching for an answer to the same question that haunted him in nightmares. |
"Who did you see?". |
"I don’t know, he was far away, but I saw his silhouette. It was a man and he spoke to her. She looked hurt. Badly hurt". |
"And you did nothing?", he hissed. |
"She pushed me away. Broke the connection. But she told me she’d have to win to wake up". |
"Maybe she won", Draco said and Hermione was quick to counter that. |
"Maybe she didn’t". |
"Do you think it’s him?" |
"I was hoping you would tell us", Harry said daringly, but that got no reaction out of Draco. |
"It couldn’t be." |
"I want you to know, so if you noticed anything odd in her behavior, to tell us". |
"So you can rat her out to Dumbledore and he can get her killed", Draco hissed. They all looked at him with surprise. |
"I don’t know why you would ever think that, but Dumbledore cares for her deeply. He is her guardian", Herminie said. That made him laugh. |
"Granger", he said her name and chuckled. "Dumbledore Is not the man he sells himself to be to you. And he doesn’t care for her." |
"Oh, please", Herminie rolled her eyes, "How would you know?" |
"I know a lot about her family that you don’t. It’s only natural, considering your blood status", he spat back at her as his eyes looked her up and down with superiority. |
That just did it for Ron who knew how upset it always made Hermione. He screamed something, but it was unclear what it was as he charged at Malfoy. No wand, just straight up fists. And his opponent was quick about it with his wand already in his hand. |
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