Hush, Sweet Harry

"spells"

[telepathy]

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Chapter Two: Look Out For The Mockingbird

Finally, that evening, Dumbledore came to see him with some news. "Harry, my boy, we may finally have figured it out. This is a very unique situation, that rarely ever happens. It appears that when the spells of Misters Malfoy, Weasley, and Longbottom connected, they somehow combined to make a completely new spell. Magic being as unpredictable as it is, the fourth spell apparently has some qualities of the three 'parent' spells, but not all."

Dumbledore paused and looked at Harry, who merely raised an eyebrow for him to continue. "'Silencio' obviously acts as a magical muffler, if you will. Words and sounds are unable to come out of a person's mouth for the duration of the spell. 'Petrificus Totalus' is a binding spell, the full body bind to be exact; and 'Confundus' is a mind spell, that temporarily causes confusion by making the person's mind take in more information than they can process in a short amount of time."

Professor Dumbledore hesitated again briefly, before continuing. "The latter two spells have created, as well as we can theorize, a mind-binding. Your mind is now bound, for an unknown length of time, with the person who first touched you after the curses hit-- Professor Snape. The two of you may find yourselves sharing a psychic link for the duration of the spell. We have no way of knowing when the spell will play itself out, and the traditional method of 'Finite Incantatem' has proved fruitless. You must simply... wait it out. Professor Snape will be by later to discuss the situation further with you."

Dumbledore looked relieved to have gotten it all out quickly, and even more relieved that Harry couldn't make his normal vocal protests. He patted Harry reassuringly on the shoulder. "Be patient, my boy." He swept out of the infirmary and made his hasty escape. Harry was left staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed after him. Harry had the feeling that even if he wasn't mute at the moment, he'd be speechless.

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After Harry got over his utter shock and horror, he moved on to anger. He revised his plans of revenge to include shaving cream, razors, pink spray paint, and Malfoy, Ron, and Neville suspended naked from the ceiling of the Great Hall. Yes, his vengeance would be total and complete. Maybe he'd throw something in there about supportive undergarments and army boots. It would really depend on how quick he was with the stunning charms, and whether or not one of the three boys had an allergy to shellfish...

Anger quickly faded into panic and horror. Snape and he were linked mentally! Could Snape be reading his mind right now? There were things he *really* didn't want one of his professors knowing about the inside of his head. Especially Snape. Why did it have to be Snape? Not that this situation would be any less uncomfortable with say, McGonagall. Harry mentally shuddered. He didn't even want to contemplate his Head of House's reaction to the mind of a teenage boy. Speaking of which, Harry's... confusion... of late wouldn't make this any easier. He could just imaging the sarcastic Potion Master's reaction to a fantasy like the one he'd had last night...

**"A shower scene, Mister Potter? How unimaginative. 50 points from Gryffindor for lack of originality, and an additional 100 points for including me in your sick delusions!"**

If he were to survive this, he'd need more dumb luck than he'd even used up before. Maybe he could manage to keep most of his thoughts blocked from Snape. Did the mind link only work when they were close to one another? He hoped so. Maybe if he avoided contact with Snape totally, he'd be home free. On the other hand, Snape would likely be his only means of human communication. Telepathy was better than nothing. But did he dare risk revealing too much?

Harry let his head fall back against the pillow wearily. He wished nothing more at the moment than the ability to scream with frustration. He hoped, for his own sanity's sake, that this spell wore off quickly.

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