The Savior Chronicles: Changing Colors

Chapter 12: Anything is Possible (You Never Know)

Harry just stared in utter amazement at what was now lying in his hands. It was like a miracle. The one object in the entire world that he needed was now before him. But with crushing reality, he was forced to realize who in fact possessed the book when he saw her reach her hand out for it.

"Thanks Harry," she said a little distracted for she was trying to prevent the gifts in her arms from falling. Harry just stared at her outstretched hand, not willing to pass the book over. It took a couple seconds for Jenna to notice and when she did, she turned her eyes to him questioningly. "Uh....Harry, I can take the book now if you would give it to me please." He didn't blink or even acknowledge that she had spoken. He was too busy trying to decipher the many questions that were now bombarding his brain. Finally Jenna got a little fed up so she reached forward and tried to remove it from Harry's grasp, lightly at first then with more roughness as he was not letting go.

"Come on, Harry! Give me my book! Did you accidentally superglue it to your palm or something cause if you did I won't laugh. Okay, yes I will, but after I'm done I'll help you get it off."

Harry then took his eyes off the book and raised them to her expectant face. He knew he was asking for trouble, but there was something he had to ask. "Where did you get this book?"

Jenna's confusion then wore away to suspicion. Knowing that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon she placed her pile of presents on the floor gently before standing erect and answering his question. "I got it from a little green space alien who said it was their religious text and if I studied it word for word and offered a virgin sacrifice to their overlord they'd make me the feces collector at their alien space parties!," she responded mockingly, " The library, where do you think Harry?"

Harry ignored her playful outburst and continued his onslaught. "But this is in the restricted section. You can't get in there without teacher permission."

"Maybe I had teacher permission."

"I highly doubt that any teacher would purposely allow you to take such a dangerous book out whether it was for pleasure or school work."

"Are you calling me a liar?" she said resentfully. Her patience was wearing thin and her polite demeanor was fading. Harry watched as the all too familiar annoyance wrinkles formed around her eyes as she began to narrow them.

"Well, you've never been the most trustworthy person in the world."

"When have I ever lied to you? I tell you exactly how I feel at all moments. I mean you can't say I keep my feelings hidden." She had her hands on her hips.

"What about the time I caught you gawking at me when I told my friends about my dream?" He saw her falter for a moment, unable to reply, but she rapidly regained her pompous attitude.

"I never lied, I just never gave you an answer," she said knowing full well that he would have nothing plausible to say in return. She was now in complete defense mode. Harry sighed with defeat and gave up that line of questioning, but fired out a new one instead.

"Do you know what is in that book?" he asked, now becoming very suspicious as to why she would have the book that could possibly contain the answers to the mystery that plagued him. He saw right away that this must be the book he was looking for Jenna's face twisted with guilt and discomfort though she tried to remain cool.

"How would I know? I just took it out yesterday. I haven't had time to read it front to back as you can see it's about 700 pages long!" But her voice was unsteady and her eyes, which had returned to the usual hard gray, were shifting under his gaze. Harry stood proud and assured while furthering his assault.

"But why did you take it out?"

"How is that any business of yours?"

"It's my business when the book that I am talking about is rumored to be holding information about the notorious animal that attacked Seamus." The blind panic was immediate in her face. She opened her mouth then shut it then opened it again and still no words came out. Her hands, which had fallen off her hips and dropped limply to her sides, were now tugging at the bottom of her pyjama shirt.

"Well, h-how was I-I su-supposed to know that was in there? It was pa-part of my assignment," she stuttered nervously, now avoiding his eyes.

"How come I don't believe you?" He stared at her intently, the heat rising in his face. He had become incredibly angry for he suddenly had the sinking feeling that everyone had been right about her, that she was nothing but trouble. He was angry because she was lying to him. He was angry because all signs were now pointing that she was part of this whole conspiracy, that she really was evil. He was angry for everything she had ever done, but mostly he was angry because he had been wrong. She had tricked him into believing in her. And he didn't bother to hide his anger as he bore his eyes into her body. She obviously felt it because her head shot straight up, her eyes wide with surprise at his fury.

"Just give me the book."

"No I think I'll keep it," Harry said resolutely, not once softening his eyes.

"Look, if you want to accuse me of something, just say it and stop playing your stupid games," she screamed, now incredibly mad herself. Harry heard a slight cracking of glass behind him, but ignored it.

"I don't think you need to hear me say it."

Jenna stepped closer to him, all fear and nerves obviously diminished. She breathed heavily, trying to remain calm and rational. "I'm telling you the truth when I say that I do not have any knowledgably harmful links to what happened to your roommate, but I do have my reasons for obtaining this book."

Not buying a word of it, Harry said, "And so do I."

Jenna gave a look of pure fury knowing she was not getting the book back. She shook her head with disbelief and disgust before shouting, "That's the last time I ever do anything nice for you Potter!!" Harry's face screwed up in confusion at this statement and he watched as she raised her hand. She lashed it out violently and he vaguely saw an object sail across the room and hit the wall with an piercing smash. Jenna stormed out of the room, leaving all her gifts scattered on the floor and a stupefied Harry.

Harry waited until she was completely out of sight before making any sort of movement. He spun around not really knowing what had just happened. He thought he had the situation pin pointed and under control and then all of a sudden Jenna just found new ways to screw with his mind. And if he wasn't mistaken, hadn't she been calling him Harry the whole time, except for the last sentence. She never called him Harry unless using his whole name.

But he pushed that thought out of his head as he decided to go investigate the object that Jenna had obliterated. He crept over to the wall near the window and searched the floor. Immediately he saw broken glass everywhere. Some was colorful and some was clear. Apparently her last outburst had also shattered the nearby window. He stared at it for a moment then bent down to get a closer look. Harry figured out quickly that the colorful glass had once been in the shape of a square due to the four large pieces that were still mainly intact with just frayed edges and missing chunks. It look like a Christmas ornament. He picked up on of the scarlet pieces and was surprised to find that it contained the name Harry written in gold. He put it down for a second to ponder whether or not there was another Harry in Gryffindor and then continued to examine the rest of the pieces. The second one revealed a glowing, blinking Golden Snitch and the third was of a Firebolt that sped around its piece. Harry was taken aback when he laid his eyes on the final piece. There was a neatly decorated frame surrounding a picture of himself with his arms around Hermione and Ron. He felt something tug in his heart when he realized that someone made this ornament for him, knowing that he didn't have one. And that person was Jenna.

* * *

Four eyed little bastard, Jenna thought. I was trying to be nice and he decides to pull his badass, suspicious investigator routine on me. Jenna didn't think he had any right to just assume things about her. She had never done anything truly evil in her mind. Sure, she was a first class, grade A bitch, but that hardly suggests evil. Some people might view her that way because she disrespected their all mighty King Harry by striking him down in Quidditch, but that hadn't been evil compelling her to do it. It was anger, anxiety, jealousy, suspiciousness, paranoia, fear...and that uncontrollable force within her own skin. But that feeling was not something she often acknowledged and wasn't about to start.

Jenna knew what had set off his suspiciousness though. It wasn't that Jenna was being tolerable or that he just had a sudden spark of curiosity about her intentions; it was that damned book. A stupid book had caused Harry to have an epilepsy fit on her. Okay, not quite a fit, but a really annoying bit of conversation in which he had made her feel like a conspirator in the murder of Julius Caesar or something. Somehow he had known the contents of that book and knew that that information was why she had the book. Jenna figured he had been looking for it in the library, but didn't see how he knew why she wanted it. It was like during that confrontation he had become telepathic and could read her thoughts. He knew she was lying.

But she had not lied to him, not completely. She fibbed about how she got the book, but she was being truthful when she said she had no connection to Seamus' attack which she was in any way intentionally trying to harm him. She had the dream, yes, but that was not her fault. Maybe she should have told someone, told Harry, but that hardly seemed like it would have helped any considering not even Harry knew how to interpret the dream until it was too late. So...Jenna had not really done anything wrong. None of this was her fault in the slightest. But just the way Harry had looked like he was trying to peel back her skin and reveal the evil monster underneath was enough to make her feel guilty.

There's more to your guilt and you know it, spoke the little voice in her head, the one that always gave rhyme to reason, the one who had the explanations to her unexplainable attitudes, the one that didn't accept her excuses, the one that made her feel like worthless crap everyday of her life. But the voice was always right. It never lied to her. There was more to her guilt and it stemmed from what she had read in that book. She remember every word her eyes had taken in like it had been cut out and pasted into her brain for further consultation. And now that she was calm she let her mind reiterate what she had read.

Semestinasia: a creature of pure selfishness and envy

always after the belongs of others. Never materialistic is this

beast, not in the conventional sense. Power is it's heart's desire,

pure raging power from the body and soul of any witch or

wizard it crosses. It comes upon its prey, floating above the

ground, and covers it's victims mouth with its own and sucks

out both the magical strength and the defining qualities of the organism, much in the same fashion of the kiss of the dementor

as they are cousins. This creature which is thin and bony with

blue, wrinkled skin, black eyes, and a smile that has drove

men to madness, has also been said to have similar powers

of the dementors in that they can terrify to the very core and

leave someone feeling hollow. Though it is powerful it is not

very bright as it will drain the closest source of power, not the

strongest, sometimes only gaining the power of the nearest

spider. Another distinguishing quality is that this beast, unlike a

dementor, is usually human for most of their life, only changing

when needing strength or power to sustain them, or when

feeling overly selfish. Exceptions have existed where they

have remained in beast form at all times or when they never

change at all, but instead harbor the animal inside and lash

out and take from others on a regular basis. This creatures

can be made, meaning someone who was once entirely

human can become one through potions and spells, whether

it be by choice or force, or they can be born. It has also

been found that sometimes people don't know that they

become this creature.

Jenna was pretty sure that there had been more on the subject, but she had stopped at that point for she felt a driving force surge a nail into her heart causing the air to drain from her lungs and lodge a cork in her throat. The worst thoughts of her overactive imagination had tackled her at that moment for they were proved plausible and mostly likely truthful.

She couldn't face it, she didn't want to. It just couldn't be true. She was no monster, not literally. I am not a Semestinasia.

But there are clues that say differently, chimed the little, pain in the ass of a voice. Jenna felt herself raise her hand and strike herself in the temple as if trying to knock the voice unconscious; all she managed to do was blur her vision and give herself an even worse headache. But she knew that the voice spoke the truth, like she said, it always did. All the clues did point to her.

For one, no one at Hogwarts had been attacked by one of these things until she arrived at school. True, that it had only happened once, but the book said that some creatures didn't feed often. Plus, there was always the chance that it would happen again; actually it was very probable. Number two was that she had been out of her bed that night. She remembered going flying out on the Quidditch pitch to hit some Bludgers around. She remembered being so over tired, both physically and emotionally, that she had wobbled back into the school. But she did not remember making it to her dorm. She had just figured that she had been too tired to remember. The third thing was the dream. There was no reason for her to dream of this creature expect if she was one. Harry would dream it as a prophecy because, well that's what he does, figures things out and saves the world. She probably dreamt it because she wished that she could use her powers against him, maybe it was the beast inside her fantasy. Or maybe it was hers. Or maybe there was no difference between her and the Semestinasia. She didn't know.

But it was the fourth clue that startled her the most: that feeling that had suddenly overcome her entire being. She had mistaken it for homesickness at first, then assumed it was a mixture of frustration and dislike for her surroundings, only to recently realize that she couldn't put her finger on what it was. All she knew was how it felt. The way it plagued her thoughts every waking second, the way it caused her to act irrationally and against her nature, how it made her bitter and begrudging, and how, when she got angry enough, she would lose all control and drown herself in the pure rage that would run through her blood. A feeling so dark that it covered her eyes and she couldn't see what she was doing until it was too late. It was the feeling she got that night when she duelled with Draco and when playing Quidditch. But mostly it struck her when around Harry, whenever she was around Harry, and sometimes when she just thought of Harry. Maybe she was one of those people who didn't know they were a Semestinasia and who hid the beast inside them, but then that night she couldn't hold it in any longer and she attacked Seamus. It was entirely possible. Which meant that everyone was right about her; she was the spawn of the devil himself.

* * *

Harry didn't have the heart to open the book, not right away. He felt so guilty about making all those accusations about Jenna and then finding out that she had done something so amazingly nice and amazingly selfless for him. When he saw that ornament and the time she put into it all questions about her intentions had dissipated. It would have been enough for him if she had taken a ripped piece of paper, wrote Harry on it, and stuck it on the tree, but she had done so much more. She made it glass and used spells to enchant it with his name, the snitch, and the broom. She made it the house colors of gold and maroon. She decorated it nicely. But what was more, she had looked at who he was and tried to capture what she thought was most important to him and she had done a really good job. The snitch stood for his passion for Quidditch and competition. The Firebolt for the pure adrenaline and freeness he got from flying. And the picture...well that had just touched him. She had spent the most time on that decorating the frame with the words best friends and little shapes including stars, spirals, and hearts. She had known that there was nothing more special to him than his friends, nothing he loved more. Harry had always thought that Jenna saw him as a spineless creep who thought of nothing but fame and popularity. But obviously not.

You walk around like maybe there's something your missing

Hallucinations happen in you head

The look your giving me is not a look for kissing

Something I did or something I said

You never know, baby, you never know

You never know, baby, you never know

You judge a soul by lies that were told baby

You never know baby you never know

I speak these words but you don't seem to listen

Words seem like they just go right through your head

I've got my gun but I'm low on ammunition

You're like a book that's waiting to be read

You never know, baby, you never know

You never know, baby, you never know

You judge a soul by lies that were told baby

You never know baby you never know

You ever wonder baby, don't you ever wonder baby

Whose spell your under, don't you ever wonder maybe

You ever wonder baby, don't you ever wonder baby

Whose got your number, don't you ever wonder baby

What is the source of all this pain that you've been dishing

Could they be lies that maybe you've been fed?

Consider well the kind of stream where you've been fishing

I'm like a book that's waiting to be read

You never know, baby, you never know

You never know, baby, you never know

You judge a soul by lies that were told baby

You never know baby you never know

So Harry had not read one word it the book. He had stared at the cover for several minutes, but then placed it upstairs, next to his bed. He could not look at it till he made amends with her. He had to give her some time so she could cool off so for now the book would just have to wait. Besides, he didn't want to put any plans into action until Ron and Hermione got back in a couple days.

Harry was getting very lonely, being stranded at school with no one to talk to. His thoughts immediately went to Hagrid then paused. Hagrid was always so busy now...with Professor Croft. It just didn't make any sense to Harry, but yet they were always together and seemed to truly enjoy each others company. Harry didn't feel like walking to Hagrid's hut just to find him flirting with Croft. But Harry couldn't be alone so he scribbled a quick note to Hagrid asking if he could come visit him in an hour and tied it to Hedwig's leg. Hedwig hooted, happy to finally have something to do and sailed gracefully towards Hagrid's. She returned to him about ten minutes later with a short note that read "You are always welcome Harry!!" in very sloppy handwriting. Feeling satisfied, Harry tucked the letter in his pocket and decided to take a little stroll before heading over.

The halls of Hogwarts were disturbingly quiet. Harry was used to the overbearing noise of the bustling and chatter of large numbers of students filling the corridors. Now it was empty. The only thing that surround Harry were the faces of the paintings, many who were sleeping, and the red and green of Christmas decorum. Silence was thick in the air and left an eerie feeling hard in is throat. That's when he heard it. A revolting scream.

Harry suddenly became tense with fear and whipped out his wand ready to fight. The scream sounded out again. A girl's voice. Harry tried to follow its noise. It was coming from his right so he broke into a run. In his haste, he knocked over a table with a a display of flowers. He didn't bother to pick them up causing the portrait of a Medevil servant to shake her fist at him and mumble something about were chivalry had gone.

Harry could tell he was getting closer due to the rise in volume. It hit its maximum and Harry stopped. When he looked around he saw that he was outside the girls bathroom. Immediately he was reminded of his first year when he and Ron had fought off the mountain troll that had attacked Hermione. Harry pushed the thought away as he swung the door open hoping he wasn't too late.

Rushing inside, Harry's eyes searched the bathroom. He saw nothing. He bent to look under the sinks and then walked and peered into each stall. Empty. Harry scratched his head in confusion causing wild strands of his midnight black hair to fall over his eyes. He shoved it away, annoyed, and then heard someone call his name from above. Harry snapped his head upward in a wild manner and caught sight of the victim and her attacker.

Moaning Myrtle was huddled in corner of the ceiling, crying ferociously. Peeves floated in front of her, making awful faces and no doubt calling her even more awful names. Harry's shoulders slumped with relief, at least no one was getting attacked. Harry let his arms cross as he stared up at the two ghosts, one pathetically clingy and easy to upset, and the other supremely annoying and hard to be rid of. But Harry was willing to try.

"Peeves, will you just leave Myrtle alone!"

Peeves backed away from her a little and turned to Harry. "Aww does ickle Harrykins have an ickle crush on old bubble butt face!" He cackled disgustingly and twisted his transparent face into a not to friendly gesture.

"Aww does Peeves have no pride to pick on someone who isn't so emotionally unstable?" Harry responded, not at all in the mood for games.

"Ooo Harry Potter is a little fiesty, isn't he?" Peeves joked and floated his way down to Harry.

"Yeah, and so is the Bloody Baron, who I will summon if you don't get out of here." Peeves scowled and then sputtered some foul words that Harry doubt had been around when Peeves was alive, and then he left. Harry saw Myrtle moving towards him, readying to thank him profusely, but he held his hand up and exited the room, not really feeling like having Myrtle gush all over him and cry some more.

Harry was barely out of the bathroom when he felt something hard crash into him. He stumbled backwards and began to rub his shoulder which was pounding with pain. He cursed under his breath before looking up. When he did he stumbled back some more. Before him stood a beautiful girl in all her glory; raven hair swept back, looking wind blown, and chestnut eyes sparkling in the light of the torches that hung on the wall, robes complimenting every bend in her body. It was Cho.

She was rubbing her arm as well, but did not look at all annoyed by the disturbance. When she raised her eyes to his she even smiled. "Oh hi Harry! I am very sorry to have knocked in to you!" Harry was now exploring the different shades of red his face could turn.

"Oh no it was my fault. I was walking to hastily," he replied a little shaky.

She just continued to smile that wide, bright smile of hers.

"Why were you in the girls' bathroom anyway?" she asked implying something he did not want her thinking. Her smile curved playfully at the corners as she asked.

"Oh no I wasn't....I was just... I," Harry was fumbling through his words so bad that he had to stop and take a breath before continuing. "I heard a scream and came to check it out. I was just Peeves torturing Moaning Myrtle"

Cho nodded in understanding. "That poor ghost. That was very brave of you to try to help her."

Harry knew his cheeks must have been as bright as the red M&M. "Not really," he replied shyly. "But why do you come to this bathroom? Doesn't Myrtle bother you?"

Cho giggled a little. "No, not really. She's really nice if you know how to handle her. Plus I feel bad for her, stuck here all alone with no one to talk to." Harry marveled at her kindness. Harry didn't think any one really had the patience to talk to Myrtle, but apparently he had been wrong. He suddenly became more attached to Cho.

"So Harry I was wondering if maybe you could help me with something," Cho said sweetly, which snapped him back to reality. Harry who was willing to so anything for her at this moment quickly agreed.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want." Cho giggled again and Harry wanted to kick himself for being so eager.

"Well, I know this probably a lot to ask, but I was hoping you could help me with my flying skills and stuff. I mean, I'm not asking you to show you any of your secrets because obviously that wouldn't be fair, but you know help he sharpen up the basics."

Cho looked at him hopefully, biting her lower lip in anticipation of the answer. Harry wanted so much to just lean over and...no! He shook his head quickly and answered, "Yeah, that's no problem. Um, I have some stuff to do over the next couple of days, but how about sometime next week?"

She nodded happily. "That's great Harry. Thanks. Well I've got to go now. Hope to talk to you soon!" She waved enthusiastically and bounced off to the bathroom. Harry watched her go with a rueful smile playing on his lips.