Mindgames

Chapter 5 -- Spells Old and Dangerous

That evening, they studied the woodcut and the garbled old text. Harry had the mouse globe with him just in case they got brave.

"Most of this sounds like fluff," Hermione complained. "'Belly button skin insides out.' What does that mean?"

"He is definitely opening it," Harry observed. "We'll just have to work it out." He stood up and held the globe as the man in the woodcut did. He pretended to unscrew it a little, very gently. Nothing happened. He held it to the light. It was seemless. "Heart of dark star," Harry quoted. "The thing inside could be too small to see, right, if it were really, really compressed. The globe is just to hold the lifeforce."

"That must be it. 'Insides out.' The very center of the globe holds the figure. You have to release it somehow and let it expand into itself."

"But the guy is unscrewing it, like a jar." Harry took that position again and thought about the inside of the globe. His mind caught on something this time. Something very heavy, or just very dense. His heart started beating rapidly.

"It is your spell, Harry. You should have the power to reverse it," Hermione commented, flipping the pages of the book to look for the hundredth time to make sure there weren't any more notes or anything about the spell added by someone later.

"Hang on," Harry said. He found the catch again and twisted with his hands. A soft 'pop' sounded and Harry jumped back as blood and mouse guts dropped into his hands. "Yuck," he grimaced and looked around for something to wipe his hands on.

"Wait a second." She jumped up and looked at the scattered bloody remains in his hand. "But Harry, you've almost got it. You have a mouse back, just a dead one. And a very recently dead one."

"Great, McGonagall will be pleased."

She handed Harry a towel. "I already told her crookshanks ate it when I wasn't looking. Make another one, I think I know what to try next."

"We don't have the other mouse--you gave it back." Harry tossed the towel on the floor. "I am going to go to the bathroom to wash up."

When he came back in, Hermione had her hands cupped around something. "Spider," she said.

"Well, I won't feel so bad about that, at least." He made another box and dropped the spider in. That was much easier to time since it tried to lower itself on a thread of silk and Harry could leisurely close the box. Another globe settled into a crack between the stones of the floor.

"Wow, same size again," Hermione said as she picked it up. "Or maybe just a little smaller."
She held it out to Harry.

"I don't know what went wrong last time."

"I think. . ." she faded out and walked around him. "Not knowing exactly what you did, spell-wise, it is hard to say. But, I am thinking that you enforced your vision of the mouse onto the mouse itself. As it is expanding, it is maybe vulnerable to that. The mouse was inside out, sort of. Did you notice that?"

"I wasn't looking at it that closely, really," Harry said, feeling queesy just remembering.

"You either inverted it, or failed to re-invert it."

"I am tired, Hermione. Let's do this tomorrow and let me think about it. Ron is going to be bonkers trying to do essays by himself."

Harry tossed the globe into his bag and they went out.

As they wrote their history essays, Harry started thinking about his switch with Selene and Snape's very unSnape behavior.

"Ron, you are from an old pure-blood wizard family. Sirius told me that cousins often marry in your lines."

"Those who want to keep it pure, don't have a choice," Ron said apparently undisturbed by the notion.

"What about brother and sister."

Ron looked up at him. "That isn't done anymore."

"From how long ago?"

"Harry why are you asking this?" Hermione said, staring at her essay and trying to see how that might work in.

"You both don't want to know. It could be one of those puking things."

Hermione stared at him. "Harry, you aren't a pure-blood, no offense, so how does this impact you?"

"I really, really don't want to go into it. I just want to know how deep I've gotten into something, that's all." He said the last too quickly.

"About two-hundred years ago, I think. Siblings would still marry if they had to. Right Ron?"

"Sounds about right," Ron commented, deep in his essay.

"That thought doesn't bother you, does it?" Harry asked him.

"I can't imagine doing it, but some families take blood very, very seriously. The Muggle Eqyptians used to do it." He shrugged. Harry and Hermione shared a look.

"You are killing me with curiosity, Harry," Hermione said, but she went back to writing.

############

The next morning during their break between classes, Harry stood with the spider ball in his hands in the Room of Requirement.

"Don't enforce your notions on it, Harry," Hermione reminded him.

"Insides out," Harry chanted. "Heart of dark star." The hook was much harder to find this time. Harry wondered if it was because it was so small to start with that it occupied very little of the sphere. "Insides out," he repeated and found the hook. "Insides are outside," he said in a sing-song, mostly just to play with the words. He looked at his hands and the spider dashed off his fingers, rode a thread to the floor and scuttled off to the wall.

"Harry, you are amazing!" Hermione breathed. "I bet no one knows how to do that!"

"One person does," Harry commented. "I have to go. Tell Sprout I might not make it to class." He picked up his books. Hermione grabbed him by the hand.

"You are not going to go show that off without me!"

"I am pretty sure I can't take you along. I'll be sure to give you all of the credit. Please Hermione." He peeled off her fingers. "This is really very important to someone."

She released him and gave him a dirty look. "Go on then," she said with a frown.

They always met at every available moment and second class of the morning wasn't very loaded so they were around somewhere. Harry stalked through the now empty corridors. He had been wandering around the school for quite a while. He was really looking for detention at this point. He passed the Defense Agasint the Dark Arts classroom which was closed. If he were picking a place to try this spell out, it would have been there.

He knocked on the door. McGonagall opened it. "Potter," she said. Harry walked in and set the Grimoire down. Hagrid, Dumbledore, and Snape were sitting on the other side of the room, talking with their heads close together. Harry's heart started racing.

"I want to show you something, Professor."

"We are a little busy right now, Mr. Potter."

"It's important," he said.

She gave him a small smile. He was probably the only student who could get real attention with that phrase. Harry walked over to Hagrid. "Can I borrow a mouse?" he asked him.

Hagrid looked a little surprised and felt around in his pockets. Snape and Dumbledore had quieted down as Harry stood there. "Here ya' go." Hagrid dropped a brown mouse into Harry's hand. It snuffled around on his fingers almost with affection.

"Thanks."

Harry carried it back over to the clear space where McGonagall stood. "Hold this please," he said to her and held the mouse out. She humored him. Harry hitched up his sleeve and started the box spell. "Hickory, dickory, dock. . ." Harry chanted quietly. The box began that strange sizzle.

"What is that noise?" McGonagall asked.

Harry didn't stop. "It is the sound of atoms jumping from one side of the barrier to the other," Harry said loudly over the racket. Out of the side of his vision he could see the other teachers turning toward him, standing up to see better. He stayed focused totally on his spell. The noise leveled off.

"Mouse," Harry said. McGongall handed it to him. Harry concentrated hard and dropped it, flicking his wand to close the box at precisely the right moment. A clear globe rolled away on the floor and stopped.

"Harry!" McGonagall gasped. The teachers stood up and came over.

Harry picked it up and handed it to her almost casually. "You have been looking in the wrong place," he said. He caught Snape's gaze and found it rather satisfyingly shocked.
"By taking all of the obvious books out of the library, you forced Hermione to dig a lot more than she would have otherwise, I expect."

Harry picked the Grimoire up and set it down on the larger table and pried it open. Snape pulled it over to himself and sat down to study it, mouse globe in hand. Harry's eyes then met Dumbledore's and he almost yelped at the look he found there. He swallowed hard and remembered Hermione and his long conversations about the interface between the magical world and the Muggle one. They had argued for hours about which dominated and what spells like this would do to the energy in one space or the other.

"How many times have you done this spell, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry backed up a small step. "I've made the box a lot of times, but I've only compressed one other mouse and spider."

Dumbledore relaxed a little. Harry bolstered himself and looked around at the other teachers and then at Dumbledore. With a not completely stable voice, Harry said. "So, Mage-Wizard Albus Dumbledore, which way am I pushing it?"

"Harry!" McGonagall said to him sharply at his break in protocol.

Dumbledore held out his hand to silence her. "I don't know, Harry. It would take some study to figure it out. It is more dangerous to try than the knowledge is worth." His eyes were very intense. "Did Ms. Granger think of that?"

"Yes. But she doesn't matter, does she?" Harry asked, realizing in a rush why pure-bloods hated mud-bloods so much. Their dangerous ideas could destroy everything.

"Everyone matters, Harry."

"But some more than others. Like gas lamps."

After a pause in which he studied Harry's face very closely, Dumbledore replied, "Yes."

"This spell doesn't make any sense," Snape commented. He began to flip through some other pages.

Harry's gaze snapped over to him as he remembered Herimione's comment about that book being filled with all kinds of spells that operated on the interface. "Pure-bloods more than others, for example" Harry commented. "Accio Grimiore," Harry shouted and pointed his wand. The large book, even without the lead backing it probably once had, was heavy. Harry couldn't catch it and it fell to the floor with a loud crack!. Snape jumped after it. "Potter!" he spat at him in blazing anger.

Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Why did you keep it then!" Harry shouted at the headmaster, suddenly terrified.

Dumbledore brought his wand down in an arc and with a whoosh the book was reduced to ashes. Snape stared at the headmaster in shock now.

Harry relaxed a little.

"Harry, release the mouse and calm Professor Snape, please," Dumbledore said in an even voice.

Harry made the mistake of looking around at the stunned and maybe even scared expressions of his teachers. "You are tipping the balance aren't you?" Harry asked as Dumbledore stepped away. "By having students like Hermione here."

"Open the globe." Dumbledore said in a tone that had gone very hard. He stepped slowly back toward him. Harry saw his wand twitching.

Harry swallowed and with a deadly calm voice he said, "Mage-Wizard Albus Dumbledore, if you use a memory charm on me, I cannot open the other globe." The teachers shuffled at that and Harry was sure they thought that this boy had cracked.

Dumbledore gave himself away by putting his hands behind his back and locking them together.

"Headmaster?" McGonagall said quietly, strained.

Dumbledore settled for waiting Harry out.

Harry frowned to himself and put his wand away. He wrapped his hands around the globe and blanked his mind. The hook was easy to find. "Heart of dark star." Harry chanted to himself. "Inside becomes the outside." He twisted and then immediately cupped his hands around the brown mouse as it moved to escape. Harry set it down on the table near Hagrid. He wasn't feeling very well all of a sudden. A sickly fear for this world's existance was pounding him down.

Harry looked up with saddened eyes at Dumbledore.

"We should try the spell on something larger," Snape said. When he looked at Harry now, his face was in complete conflict.

"We could use Fang," Hagrid offered.

"Only if Ma-. . .the Headmaster says it is okay," Harry said.

Dumbledore shook his head once. Not taking his eyes off Harry.

"No!" Snape said sharply and stood up. "You will not let this spell be cast one more round?"

"I said, no, Severus. And the boy agrees with me." Dumbledore met Professor Snape's look with an equal one of his own. "I don't exert my will here very often but I am going to do it now. You release the young woman and then you never cast it again." Dumbledore said to Harry.

"I won't, sir," Harry said, fearfully obedient.

"You are a good, boy, Harry. It is just that you and Ms. Granger together are a little too smart." He said this as though he were saying they were very troublesome.

Harry shook his head. "They all know," Harry said quietly. "They just forget most of the time."

The teachers had frozen again in confused expressions as they looked between Harry and the Dumbledore. "I did not realize it was quite so. . .prevalent. But I must say that is actually heartening since it went unnoticed."

Harry gave him a look of confusion now as well. Dumbledore stepped over to him and touched Harry's scar. "You know Harry, I think I know now why Voldemort couldn't destroy you."

Harry's face fell through fear into a kind of stark desolation. He ran from the room. "Someone get him." Dumbledore said.

Snape and McGongall took a moment to recover, then chased after Harry. Harry was leaning out the window at the far end of the corridor. As they approached him they saw he was gripping the stones of the sill very hard and staring out into the distance.

"Potter?"

Harry gasped and turned around to face Professors McGongall and Snape. He still looked crushed. Hermione came up at that moment. "Harry?" she said as well.

"It's a bad spell, Hermione," Harry whispered.

"It worked," McGonagall said.

Hermione ignored her. "I knew that, Harry, but you said it was important."

Harry turned around a little more but still clutched the edge of the castle wall as though he were drowning, or it might disappear. "Oh, Harry. It isn't that bad," she said.

Snape spoke up. "Potter, if you get too distressed, Voldemort will get in."

Harry laughed at him. "He is good though. You don't get it; I'm the evil one."

Snape and McGonagall stepped back and smoothly pulled their wands out.

"Harry!" Hermione put herself between the teachers and Harry. "He's okay. I know what he is saying and it isn't what you think." She turned and grabbed his shoulders. "Harry drop it for the moment. A few days of classes will pass and you will feel much better."

"I'll forget?"

"Forget what?" Snape asked.

Hermione looked at him and winced. Then ignored him. "Don't make it worse, Harry. Please. They are pure-bloods. No ideas, remember?"

Harry's shoulders fell. "Dumbledore said that he thought he knew why Voldemort couldn't destroy me."

Hermione's face went shocked a moment and then she said. "I think he's wrong."

"Let's hope so." Harry said quietly. He didn't want to be the crux of wizard existance. Voldemort was nothing compared to that kind of damage.

Hermione turned to the teachers. "You aren't getting any of this, right?"

Mcgonagall shook her head slowly, clearly confused.

"Good," Hermione said and took Harry by the hand back down the corridor. She handed him off to Dumbledore. "You shouldn't have said that," she chastised the headmaster.

McGonagall and Snape, who followed her, didn't even bother to point out that she was out of line.

"I made a mistake, Ms. Granger. Feeling better, Harry? A few more rounds with Voldemort will have you feeling yourself again soon." Dumbledore said cheerfully. Snape and McGonagall gave each other wide-eyed expressions.

Harry rubbed his hair back. "I think you're right, Professor."

Professor McGonagall breathed out. "I cannot wait for this day to be over."

"When can we do the other globe?" Snape asked, trying to return to the present.

Dumbledore looked down at Harry. "I think Mr. Potter is probably in need of a little rest right now."

Harry nodded.

"I would like to excuse you from class, but I don't think that's a good idea."

Harry shook his head that he agreed. "Go on then, Harry. It is lunch time," Dumbledore said gently and gave Harry a little shove. "You too Ms. Granger."

Hermione looked like she wanted to ask a question or two. Dumbledore shook his head at her. She frowned and turned away, taking Harry by the hand again.

McGonagall squeezed the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses. "Are we all right here, Albus? The boy said that he was the evil one."

"We are all right at the moment," Dumbledore replied. "As to Harry's status, I am not certain. But lets be optomistic. That cannot hurt us." He turned to Snape and said in a very kind voice, "Severus?"

"Nothing, Albus." Snape said then walked away.

The castle felt quiescent and Dumbledore stepped lightly towards the Great Hall.

#################

After dinner, Harry followed Dumbledore up to the hospital wing. He was loath to point out that if the spell went awry Pomfrey wasn't going to be able to help. If it made everyone else feel better, what did he care?

Dumbledore, Pomfrey, Snape, Flitwick, and Hagrid stood around the room, giving the cart with the globe a little space. Harry walked over to it and picked it up.

"Are there too many people here watching, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head like he couldn't imagine it mattering. He positioned his hands on the globe and took a deep breath and held it before releasing it slowly. He cleared his mind and felt for the hook. This time his mind seemed to hook on something very large and Harry wondered if maybe he needed to actually find the center of it.

"Heart of dark star," Harry said out of habit, feeling his way around the dense well inside the globe. "Heart of dark star," Harry repeated. It did seem to have a center. He fished around until, like a teeter-toter, there seemed to be a balance to what he was hooked on. His hands regripped on the globe. "Inside becomes outside." Just release it, Harry. Don't enforce your vision. He blanked his mind again just in case and tugged outward on the center of the mass as he twisted lightly.

"Oof," Harry grunted as one muscular woman fell onto him. She pushed up off him but kept her hands on his shoulders. "You must be Harry Potter," she said brightly. Harry straightened his glasses and looked at her. The Snape looks were better on her than his Professor. "Thank you," she said plainly, then looked up and easily found Snape. She went over to him and hugged him. Harry gulped at that, imagining himself there. He stood up with the aid of the cart.

As Snape hugged Selene back for an instant, she said, "Clearly you don't loath this version of me," she teased.

Harry frowned and moved away toward the door. He sighed and exited, opening the door just enough to get through it so it wouldn't close too loudly.

Ron and Hermione were buried in research in the library for an essay. Harry felt a little miffed but he shook it off and pulled out his parchments and joined them, writing fast to catch up. It is not about you, Harry, he reminded himself.

Back in the hospital wing, Dumbledore said, "Well, you probably have catching up to do. Ms. Snape you may stay as long as you like although we may have to find something for you to do." The headmaster watched as Professor Snape glanced around, undoubtedly looking for Potter.

"I am certain he didn't expect any thanks," Dumbledore said in a strangly kind tone before he walked away.

################

As Harry walked into Potions the next morning he had no idea what to expect. He decided to just pretend it was an ordinary day. He couldn't go wrong with that--at least, he hoped he couldn't. Snape stalked in with his normal rapid stride. "Hyporimus potion today. I want you all to pay particularly careful attention to step five unless you wish to changed into a lizard. A gila monster to be specific." The instructions appeared on the board behind him.

Malfoy looked thoughtfully over at Potter at that moment as if dreaming of that possiblity.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, "to what other potion we have done this year is this most related?"

Malfoy thought for a long moment. "It has some of the ingredients of the Wisensoth Elixir," he said, unhopefully.

"Ingredients are misleading in this case. Potter?" Snape turned to Harry.

"The Medaea Potion," Harry responded, knowing it only because he had just heard Hermione breath it out.

Snape stalked closer to him with a quick glance at Hermione. "And why would that be?"

Harry didn't have the slightest idea. Snape's eyes were back to their old viciousness which hit him hard. He dropped his gaze with a sad expression and had just opened his mouth to admit he didn't know when Snape cut him off. "Never mind, Potter."

Harry shirked back at that, but Snape was striding back to the front of the room. "It is similar because the delivery in this potion is also encapsulated for slow release. Otherwise the injester would disolve from the middle before the potion spread through them and diluted to a safe concentration."

Since Harry had his wand back he had to prepare and mix and heat and cool and dropper and filter and pipette himself. Herimone finished a half-hour early without an assistant.
"Harry?" she whispered, leaning over her notes as though to read them. "Why are you suddenly so down?"

"I don't know," Harry said as he stirred once for every droplet of fly blood. He did know but hell if he was going to admit it. As well he was angry with himself for this feeling. Snape was a stupid git who wasn't ever going to change.

"Well, Harry Potter, you are in this class?" Selene's voice pulled Harry out of his reverie and almost made him drop an entire bottle of wolf's spit onto his work area.

Harry breathed out and set the bottle down, then remembered he needed to add three drops. He did this quickly and stirred three times then turned off the burner. The entire room was staring at the newcomer.

"Got a little bored," she said to Snape and took a stool at Hermione and Harry's bench.
"Done already?" she said to Hermione. "I always hated this class. I like you better, Harry, you don't look like you like this class either." Professor Snape turned away from them and went over to a farther table to observe.

Harry was trying hard to control whatever emotion was going to burst out of him first.

"Harry, you haven't introduced us," Hermione pointed out with careful enunciation.

Harry stirred three times then counted to ten and then three times the other way. If he got this potion to work out, it would be a miracle.

"Hermione Granger, this is Selene Snape." Harry said giving Hermione a very meaningful look.

The rest of the room was spending too much time looking at them and not enough on their potions. A bang and gurgle sounded and everyone spun around to see that Malfoy had disappeared. His tablemate Parkinson screamed and pointed at the lizard as it scuffled away across the floor.

"Oh dear," Hermione said in a strangled voice and then had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"You don't like Slytherins?" Selene asked her.

"Not that one," Hermione replied.

"I was one, you know."

"I believe it," Hermione quipped.

Harry counted and stirred and dropped in an eel scale. His mind clearing exercises were turning out to be bloody useful. Snape left with Malfoy under his arm and returned a few minutes later, unburdened.

Selene crossed her arms and leaned across the table. She wore the same robes she had first appeared in. They had blocks of silvery fabric sewn down the front in a style Harry had never seen. Conspiratorially, she asked Harry, "Have you been thanked properly?"

Harry shook his head. She nudged him and started to get up. "Don't," Harry hissed harshly at her. He glanced over at Snape's back on the other side of the room. "Don't bother," Harry repeated angrily.

She looked at him closely. "Seen Voldemort today?" she asked in a normal voice and leaned back as though they were all out having butterbeers.

Harry ignored the hisses from the room and answered also conversationally. "No, but we can't get lucky every day." He turned the burner back on and dropped in a fig leaf. His hands seemed to be moving on automatic. For a moment he feared that Voldemort had taken him over and was brewing for him. But a quick close of the eyes proved his was alone. Maybe this Potions thing was finally sinking in.

"I think I owe you at least a box of chocolates, Harry. I promise not to poison all of them," she said as she examined her nails.

Harry stirred three times again. The fig leaf had dissolved, leaving the skeleton of its veins which Harry fished out.

"So where did you meet our charming visitor?" Hermione asked with an odd sweetness.

Harry scowled at her. "Jealousy doesn't become you, Hermione," Harry said quietly.

"I think it becomes her very well," Selene said in a flattering tone. "Goes well with her hair.
I'm sorry, is he yours?" she asked Hermione.

Harry counted and stirred and counted again. He gave his friend a look that said, Well?

"No," she admitted and blushed a little.

It took Harry a moment to realize he had reached the end of the instructions. He stared at the cauldron as though it could explain something to him. The rest of the room was whispering about them like a beehive.

"Finished, Potter?" Snape asked in a sharp voice.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. He took the funnel and jar Hermione handed him and poured it out.
As he stoppered it, Snape took it from him and held it up.

"Amazing, Potter. I didn't think you had it in you. Especially not with such a distraction at your table," Snape said and glared at Selene. She gave him a challenging look in return.

"It was okay," Harry said. "I expect to be underestimated at this point."

Snape, who had started to walk away, turned back around at that and crossed his arms and glared at them. "They underestimate you? You poor dear," Selene said to Harry. "And after such complicated lost spells you managed to figure out." She glanced up at Snape with a dark look.

Harry pointed across the table. "That was Hermione."

Hermione's eyes went wide and she looked at Selene in shock.

"Hey," Harry said to her. "What did you think that look earlier meant?"

"Not that. I was thinking of the other conversation."

"Well, that applies as well in a different way," Harry continued carefully.

"Oh." Hermione replied and Harry could see her trying hard not to look at either the teacher or their visitor until a decent moment had passed. To Selene, she said. "Happy to be out your globe then?"

"Very much so," Selene replied in a perky voice.

Snape glared at Harry, who shrugged. "I needed help with it," he admitted. "All I told her, you just heard," he further insisted.

"That is true, Professor," Hermione added, feeling emboldened by the attitude of their visitor.

###############

"I heard Potions was entertaining today," Ron said at dinner. "Someone said Snape's sister showed up?" he asked in disbelief. "Hard to imagine this castle with two Snapes," he added, disturbed.

Hermione nodded. "Harry's known all along," she said quietly.

"You have!" Ron said accusingly.

Harry shrugged. He took out his wand and hovered his glass of pumpkin juice over to himself, for no good reason really beyond using magic. The glass' blind obedience to the wave of his wand made him feel much better.

Ron watched as Harry Accioed blobs of butter from the block farther away and caught them with a torn-open roll. "Do I want to ask what this is about?"

Hermione laughed. "No, Mr. Pure-blood, you don't," she said reassuringly.

"All right, then," Ron said in an easy to please tone, and took up his knife to attack his own roll.

##################

Harry knocked on Snape's door for his lesson that evening with some trepidation that Selene would be there and then with some that she wouldn't. He shook himself and opened the door when Snape said to come in. His professor was alone. Harry sat in the chair opposite and looked down at his hands.

"You have been doing well the last few days. Reinforce your Chinese wall; I want see how strong it is," Snape said, leaned back and watched Harry over his steepled fingers.

Uh, oh, Harry thought. This wasn't going to be very much fun. A quick knock on the door and it opening immediately gave him a reprieve.

"Dumbledore really is very sweet. I never realized that before," Selene said as she came in. "Harry," she said in a kind of greeting. "Did you get detention?" she asked, perplexedly, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Harry shook his head, but Snape answered. "The boy receives private lessons in Occlumency, otherwise he simply channels Voldemort through to the school." Snape said this as though it could be considered quaint. "So if you would like to speak to the Dark Lord, you should most definitely hang around."

Selene jerked her hand off of Harry and stared at her brother. She then turned to Harry. "Is that true?"

"Yes. How do you think I found out where you were?" Harry asked her, hurt a little by her sudden fear.

"You figured that out?" Selene asked in surprise. Clearly this wasn't what she had assumed.

"I ravaged the Dark Lord's mind when he had invaded mine one time to many." Harry said this with a dark composure. "He has left me alone since then. If he does it again I'm going after the names and addresses of the Death Eaters, vault numbers at Gringotts, anything else that seems useful."

"Next time it will be a trap," Snape commented.

Harry regarded him levelly. "The first time it was too," he said. "Are we going to do this exercise or not, Professor?" Harry realized that he was mimicking Draco's mode of speaking and that it had a certain power to it, not just obnoxiousness.

"Yes. I think it is imperative that, if the Dark Lord doesn't realize how dangerous the globe spell is, he not find out."

"Oh. You don't have to worry about that," Harry commented.

"That is what the headmaster said. Then refused to explain himself."

Harry sighed. "Since you are just going to dive into my mind and find it anyway. . .Voldemort won't abuse that spell because it would be the end of his power."

"How?" Snape asked, leaning forward, interested as though to consider it a plan.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Because it would be the end of magic."

Snape stared at him as though Harry were disturbed, then narrowed his eyes. "Dumbledore believes that as well," he stated, clearly mystified.

"You should stop thinking about it. It is dangerous for you to," Harry said. "Your belief in magic is what holds the magical world together."

"The headmaster really was considering using a memory spell on you," Snape said as he leaned back again.

Selene looked at Harry. "That mudblood friend of yours came up with that right? They were always whispering about that at the beginning of the year."

Harry stood up to face her with balled fists. Snape crossed his arms and spoke, "Selene, that is a very perjorative word now. Do not use it."

"You have got to be kidding. What else would you call them?" She glanced back at Harry and stepped back a little at his dangerous look.

"Hermione is my friend," Harry said in a low voice. "Don't say that about her again."

Selene looked unimpressed. "Or what?"

Snape held up his hand to stem Harry's response. "Sit down, Potter."

"Oh yes, that's right. How is your dad?" Selene asked Harry.

Harry stared at her as though she had suddenly sprouted batwings. "A little slow on filling people in, eh?" Harry said to Snape when he recovered.

"It hadn't come up. And it is 'sir' or 'professor,'" Snape stated.

Harry turned to Selene and in a tightly controlled voice said, "He's dead, thank you. So's my mum. They both died trying to protect me from Voldemort."

"Well, apparently they succeeded."

"Apparently," Harry snapped back.

"This happened when you were a baby?" Selene asked in confusion.

"Yes," Harry said in the same harsh tone.

Selene turned to Snape and said. "Let me get this straight. You despise this boy for something done by someone he never met?"

"He is identical to James Potter," Snape stated.

"He probably had that lightening bolt too, right?" Selene asked with false innocence.

Snape's look went rather dark.

"Hey! Stop," Harry said. "I'll just leave. For Merlin's sake, don't fight over me." Harry picked up his stuff and went to the door. "Can I go, sir?" Harry asked, worried about the retribution later if he just stalked out.

"Yes, Potter," Snape said in a low voice.

Harry paused in the doorway. The corridor was empty. "People who actually have a family should appreciate them more," Harry breathed out as though talking to himself before he let the door fall closed. As he shuffled to the staircase he realized that was the reason for his hurry to figure out the spell; he couldn't stand the thought of being kept separate from a family member who actually could be retrieved from Voldemort.

He sighed and stomped loudly up the steps out of the dungeon.

################

Harry sat alone outside by the fountain, his friends had grown cold, even though it wasn't too bad, and had gone inside. He was finding the sound of the water very relaxing and didn't want to give it up. Ostensibly he was studying, but he hadn't turned the page of his Astronomy book in half an hour.

He let himself relax farther. Voldemort had been leaving him well alone, for which he was almost tearfully grateful, if he let himself think about it that hard.

Footsteps approached along the stone path. Harry looked up as Selene sat on the end of his bench. She was bundled in a cloak that was much too long and Harry could only assume belonged to his professor.

"Hi," she said, almost shyly for her.

"Hi," Harry replied.

She adjusted the cloak and looked at the fountain. "Do you really channel Voldemort?" she asked, sounding as though she wished it didn't bother her so much.

"I haven't today," Harry said, upbeat and reassuring.

She blinked at him, befuddled. It didn't seem to have reassured her at all. Harry sighed, "I can't wait 'til this is all over. I can't wait to have a normal life for once." He said the second a little angry.

"I suppose since you were an infant, you can't be blamed for not finishing the job," she stated.

"I suppose," Harry echoed. "Doesn't stop me from wishing I had."

They sat in silence for a while. The sun had moved and now the tower shaded them. Harry wished he had a cloak as well.

Selene broke the quiet by saying, "Dumbledore insists it's safe here from Voldemort. He said to talk to you if I didn't believe him."

"It seems safe here," Harry said. "Just don't run off when Voldemort tries to lure you out. That can really bite," he added in a falsely helpful tone, then frowned and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

"I didn't mean to upset you," she said.

Harry sighed yet again. "It's all right. This kind of emotion makes Voldemort crazy."

"What kind?" she asked, sincerely interested.

"The missing people kind," Harry said and stood up. The wind had picked up and he had to wrap his arms around himself for warmth.

"Do you want my cloak?" she asked, moving to unhook it.

He waved her off. "No, I'll just go inside." He stepped away toward the archway to the castle.

In a rush she said, "I'm sorry for what my brother said to you."

Harry stopped and turned. Dryly, he replied, "If you are going to apologize for him, you are going to be very busy." He shrugged. "Don't bother."

"I keep reminding him that he owes you."

"Oh, that will improve his attitude," Harry said sarcastically.

She laughed, a very whole-hearted laugh. Smiling broadly at Harry, she said, "I'll work on him."

"Don't sacrifice yourself on my account," Harry said, thinking he really wanted to get inside. He made a move to leave again.

"I hear that is what you are supposed to do for us," she said suggestively.

"That's a dangerous thing to think about," Harry commented darkly. "Try not to."