Judge Not

Disclaimer: Dang. It's not mine. Ah, phooey.

Author's notes: I cannot wait for Harry Potter no. 5!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 6 days left! Party! Anyway, huge (well, kinda) revelation in this chapter--I hope you guys like it--don't forget to review!

Thud.

The sound echoed eerily throughout the library and was immediately followed by a chorus of grumbles and a loud "Shhhh" from Madame Pince.

Hermione looked down at her parchment sadly. There was now a large blot completely covering the last paragraph of her nearly finished essay. Removing the blot from the parchment was no problem, with a simple erado spell, but impossible to do without taking out the entire paragraph with it. Oh well. Better the paragraph than the entire essay, she supposed.

Hermione looked up towards the direction to which the disturbance had come from. The library consistedof three rows of twelve tables, most of which were occupied by students studying or writing like herself. Considering the fact that Hermione was situated at the last table on the first row, and that the disturbance had come from somewhere near the back, finding the source would be almost impossible.

Impossible, if not for the fact that half of the students were also staring at the guilty party.

Ginny Weasley was sitting at the second table in the third row, surrounded by an enormous stack of musty, yellowed books. Quite a few of them didn't seem to be anywhere nearthe weight of a feather either. Considering that Ginny was a small girl, and assuming that she had been carrying two or three of the bigger books, such a loud noise could be expected.

Ginny sat hunched over one of the bigger books and was slowly flipping through the pages, occasionally pausing to read a little.

Hermione shook her head sympathetically as she watched the redhead work. Poor girl must be working on one of the harsher assignments for her year. She appeared to be having a hard time of it.

Hermione decided to ask Ginny about it--later. She had to finish her own assignments first. Then, perhaps, she would be free to give out a tip or two to a friend in need. After casting one last look towards her friend, Hermione went back to her own work.

Ginny ran down a hallway, red hair tumbling behind her in a mass of fiery curls, her robes billowing behind her. She rounded a corner, nearly colliding with a group of third years. Not even bothering to pause or apologize, she ran down several flights of stairs deep into the school's dungeons, finally coming to a stop in front of Snape's classroom.

She pressed an ear against the door and sighed in relief as she heard Snape's slippery voice taking points away from Gryffindor, accompanied by a series of quiet groans. Class wasn't over yet. Ginny sat down on the floor beside the door. She pulled a letter out of her bag with trembling hands and began to read again.

Ginny,

I've found it. I described the symptoms our 'friend' has been showing to a friend of mine who's an auror. He couldn't think of anything that might be what I described, so he loaned me The Auror's Complete Guide to Dangerous Curses. Fascinating book. It had exactly what we were looking for. I've enclosed a copy in the parchment attached to this letter.

It mentions a twenty minute counterspell, and I had Jake (the auror) show me how to perform it. Apparently, it's a very handy charm for a number of other curses as well, and an essential part of auror training. If you can find a private fireplace somewhere, I'll connect it to the floo network just for tonight, and come over to teach you.

Owl me a response immediately.

Love,

Percy

The attached parchment contained Percy's findings:

Dominatus Cogitatus

Dominatus Cogitatus, a forgotten curse of the ancient times, is the terror that resulted in the Imperius Curse.

The Imperius Curse is widely known for its ability to grant the wizard control of their victim, much similar to that of a puppeteer with his puppet. The curse requires the handler's complete concentration; otherwise the victim may resemble an empty shell. If the curse is used for a long stretch of time, or reapplied numerous times, the victim may be able to overcome the curse.

Dominatus Cogitatus, like the ImperiusCurse, grants its handler power to control another. However, it is an extremely complex spell and requires an enormous amount of magic.

The wizard first chooses any personality he or she may desire and copies it into his or her wand. The personality may be altered to suit the handler. The handler then installs the alternate personality into a victim's mind and activates the curse. The alternate personality will take over and push the victim's own personality into the recesses of his or her mind. The victim has no choice but to play the role of an observer as the alternate controls the body.

The curse has, at times, been known to have been overpowered, but can never be removed unless the handler utters the counterspell. The curse may be taken off and reapplied an unlimited number of times.

There is one spell that frees the victim for approximately twenty minutes. It is called parumper eximo. When used, this spell will only affect victims of the curse--anyone not under the curse will not feel anything.

Ginny shivered in excitement as she listened to Snape faintly dismiss the class. She stood just as the door opened and watched the students leaving. They came out in groups, either Slytherin or Gryffindor. Hardly anyone noticed the redheaded sixth year. Most were either grumbling about Snape's unfairness, or making snide comments to their friends about the famous Trio's latest brush with the professor's bad temper. Draco Malfoy was one of the last Slytherins to leave, trailing slightly behind Crabbe and Goyle. He seemed to be distracted about something. His usual sneer was gone, replaced with a thoughtful frown, and his gaze seemed to be focused on his elbow. He glanced at Ginny as he walked by. She stared, fascinated by him, and thinking of the information Percy had sent her. He glared, but she continued to watch him.

"Stupid Weasel," Draco muttered, ignoring her and walking after his friends. Apparently he couldn't be bothered with making good insults today.

"Ginny?"

Ginny turned, smiling at Harry as he walked over to her, Ron not far behind.

"What are you doing here, Gin? Everything alright?" Ron asked.

"Everything's fine--is Hermione here? I need to talk with her." Ginny glanced back at the Potions room.

"She'll be along in a few minutes. She's just gathering her things. I told her it would be better to leave at least half of those cursed books in her dorm, but she insists on carrying them around to every class," Ron grumbled. "I even offered to help, but she got pigheaded for some reason."

"Probably because you offered to carry my spiral notebook, and not any of my textbooks, you idiot. You honestly think you were doing me a favour by carrying something that weighs maybe two ounces, while I carry at least thirty pounds?" Hermione emerged from Potions with an armload of textbooks and an angry scowl on her face. "If you're going to offer, do try to be a bit more generous. Oh, hello Ginny!"

Ginny didn't bother greeting Hermione back. She grabbed a few books out of the other girl's stack. "Can I have a talk with you? In private? It's important."

"Well, sure." Hermione cast a confused glance in Ron and Harry's direction. Both boys shrugged. Hermione turned back to Ginny, "Potions was my last class for the day, so is my room all right?"

"It's perfect. Come on, I really need to talk to you now." Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and began to drag her towards the stairs that led out of the dungeons.

Harry and Ron watched the girls go until they could no longer see them.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Harry asked, shifting his bookbagto a more comfortable position.

"I dunno. Girl problems?"Ron rubbed the back of his head. "I think Ginny would have told me if it was something serious. I'm not worried about it. Isn't Quidditch practice in thirty minutes?"

"Yeah. I don't think it'll be as much as a practice as a briefing, since we've got that game against Hufflepuff tomorrow, but..." Harry's voice faded away as the two boys walked towards the stairs to head to their dorms.

"Okay, we're here," Hermione stopped in the middle of a corridor on the fourth floor, in what Ginny had originally thought to be a deserted section of the castle.

"Here?" Ginny cast a curious glance at the wall in front of them, straining her eyes for any sort of crack or button that may suggest a door.

"Yes, here. Mind that you don't tell anyone about this--I certainly do not want a Slytherin setting a dungbombor curse in here." Hermione set her books down on the floor before reaching into the arm of her robe to pull out her wand. As Ginny watched, the other girl knelt in front of the wall, directly centered between two enormous pillars distanced about nine feet apart. She set the tip of her wand at the point where the wall met the floor.

After casting a glance around to be sure she had no unwanted onlookers, Hermione began to raise her wand, making sure to keep it touching the wall. At about five feet up, the wand sunk into the stone wall. Ginny jumped in surprise as a loud clank sounded. A section of the wall up to the point Hermione's wand had ended its path parted. It drew back behind the original wall in the shape of large rectangle, and parted where Hermione's wand had traced the path. The two sections then slid behind the main wall, leaving a doorway.

"Well, come on!" Hermione grunted as she picked up the books she'd set down and walked back to the door, pausing to wait for the shocked girl behind her. "Ginny, the minute I pull my wand out of the crevice, the doorway's going to go back as it was within five seconds, so I do suggest you get in before anyone happens to wander by."

The redhead blushed, closing her mouth with a snap and hurrying into the doorway. She made sure to bend down as she entered to avoid any nasty headaches from the low doorway.

She hurried down the tunnel, barely hearing the clank the door made behind her after Hermione removed her wand. She'd never seen Hermione's room before and was anxious to find out if the Head Girl's room was anything like the room her brothers Bill and Percy had described from the time they were Head Boy.

The tunnel wasn't long. Ginny stepped out into a massive room nearly twice the size of a dorm in Gryffindor tower. The ceiling was incredibly high, but never intimidating because it was magically lit with a soft yellow light to make the room seem quite cozy.

Hermione's bed was enormous, a canopy bed decorated with scarlet drapes and silken sheets. She had mounds of pillows on top--Crookshanks rested on top of one. The orange cat raised his head lazily as the girls entered the room and yawned.

There was a dresser on the left of the bed, complete with a mirror, and a large desk on the right. The desk was, of course, covered with several books and neat stacks of parchment. On the wall opposite the bed, just besides the door, were two large scarlet chairs with a scarlet and gold rug in front. The chairs faced a fair-sized fireplace, which was lit--courtesy of the house elves.

"Hermione--it's wonderful!" Ginny breathed.

"Yeah, I like it a lot, but it does get a bit lonely sometimes. If you'd like to have a sleepover in here tonight, you're welcome to stay. Tomorrow is Saturday, after all."

"I'd love to!" Ginny grinned.

"Great! Now, what was the big secret you had to speak with me privately about?"

"I was...wondering if I could borrow your fireplace tonight?"

"Of course. But why?"

"It's...I...I can't tell you."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Well, if you're going to use my fireplace, I've got to know what's going on. Besides, how am I supposed to not be here when you use it?"

"I...was sort of hoping you were going to the library tonight."

"Ginny..."

Ginny's mind raced. She needed a good explanation, but her mind was blank. Maybe she could tell a half truth? "Percy's going to connect it to the Floo Network if you say I can use it. He wants to talk about some things with me."

"Like what?"

"How should I know?"

"Ginny..."

"It's the truth."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you. It's just that connecting a fireplace from Hogwarts to the Floo Network is against the rules, and for Percy to break a Wizard Law...the meeting must be pretty important and I want to know what's going on. It is my fireplace, after all. If anyone finds out, I'll be the first to be questioned."

Ginny sighed. Hermione did have a point. "I guess I can tell you. I didn't exactly promise anyone I wouldn't tell, and I've been wanting someone to talk with about it anyway," she paused, then took a deep breath and continued. "I think Draco Malfoy is under a control curse spell. Something called Dominatus Cogitatus."

Whatever news Hermione was expecting, it wasn't that. The two girls remained in silence for several minutes before Hermione crossed her arms and stared at Ginny, "Explain."

Ginny told Hermione everything from bumping into Draco on the train to the letter from Percy. Once she was done, it was a while before the brunette spoke again.

"I have noticed...he's been acting strangely..." Hermione muttered. "I've been watching him in class--every now and then he'll do something with his hands. He might pick up a quill and write like it's the hardest thing in the world to do, and I've seen him jerk a leg up just before his minions, Crabbe and Goyle, walk in front of his desk. They trip and he jerks his leg back before they notice and they end up blaming it on some Gryffinndorthree seats down. In fact...today he picked up his wand rather strangely, with his right arm instead of his left. Isn't he left-handed? He pointed the wand at Professor Snape and charmed the back of his robes to read, 'Kick me, I'm evil'.

"No one else saw but me. By the time class was over, it was an uproar. No one dared to kick Snape, but there was plenty of talking. Snape finally intimidated poor Neville into telling him what was going on, and when he found out, he blamed it on the Gryffindors. He couldn't give detention because he had no proof, but took twenty-five points away from us."

The girls stared at each other in disbelief.

"Do you think...he's always been like this? Controlled? I mean...if he is," Ginny stared at the fire with a far away look. "We've never known him to be anything other than a jerk, have we? It seems like he's been playing jokes as Fred and George would do...but he's never done that before either. He seems to be more the type to insult than play tricks."

"I really don't know. I suppose we'll have to find out from Malfoy himself. You say Percy's going to teach us how to lift the control curse for twenty minutes?"

"Yes," Ginny's hand shook as she traced a finger on the arm of the chair she was sitting in.

"Did you owl him yet?"

"Yes," Ginny laughed sheepishly. "I lost my head the minute I got the letter, and told him to floo your room because it was the only private fireplace I knew of. It didn't occur to me until after the owl had flown off that I should ask you."

Hermione chuckled, "I guess it's a good thing I said yes, then. By the way, I'm famished. I don't think Percy will come until he thinks everybody's asleep, so why don't we go and head to dinner? We can get your things for tonight as well."

Hermione and Ginny were curled up in the chairs beside the fireplace, both watching the flames dance as they waited. They were both exhausted, and it was hard to keep their tired eyes open while nestled in such a comfortable area. Every once in a while a girl would get up and walk around the room to stay awake.

Finally, around 12:30, the flames turned a brilliant green. Both girls shot up from their chairs, letting blankets fall to the floor, as a rapidly-spinning form appeared. Seconds later, Percy Weasley stumbled out of the fireplace. He sneezed from the soot and straightened his clothes before looking up.

"Where are your glasses?" Hermione asked after he made no effort to dig them out of any safe place he may have put them.

"At home. I've got contacts in," Percy blushed.

"I thought you told me once that you couldn't stand the thought of putting something in your eyes?" Ginny smiled. Percy did look a lot better without the glasses.

He shrugged, "Jake convinced me. Said glasses only get in the way and might endanger me in a serious situation. It took him a while to get me to try it."

"It looks great!" Hermione approved.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Er...I think I'm supposed to teach you girls a charm? I've got to hurry--the floo network opens again in two hours, and I'll only have sixty seconds to get through, so I'd better do it now. I guess Hermione's going to be my other student?"

"Yes, in exchange for using her fireplace," Ginny laughed.

"All right. Okay, it's actually a pretty simple charm to do. Take your wand and position it directly parallel to the floor. You want to sort of buck your wrist with each syllable, up at 'par' down with 'um', up with 'per', and so forth. Do the first up and down in the same place, then when you finish 'parumper,' your wand should be tilted up like so," Ginny and Hermione watched closely, trying to imitate Percy's demonstration. "As you say 'ex,' you want to move your wand slightly, not too much, to the left. Come up with the 'im', and you're going to take it down once more--remember, every time you take it down it's got to be parallel with the floor--you want to say 'o' in that last sweep. Make sure you're aiming at the object you're trying to charm."

"Is this right?" Hermione went through Percy's steps again.

"No, it's got to be more graceful, and not too much to the left. Here, let me show you..."

It took the girls nearly the entire two hours to perfect the charm. Percy left at two-thirty, and the girls sank into their chairs gratefully. Hermione meant to climb into her bed, and Ginny entirely intended to get into the sleeping bag Hermione had provided, but both fell asleep in the chairs before the fire. Neither noticed as the house elves silently crept into the room and covered them with warm blankets. They did not hear the hiss of the fire as the elves put it out, and they did not see the lights dim as an elf pointed at the ceiling, revealing three windows, which gave a view of the stars outside.

"Is there ever a time Draco Malfoy is alone?" Ginny grumbled as the two girls tried to look as if they were not following the blond slytherin down the corridors. He was flanked on either side by Crabbe and Goyle.

"I don't know--I'm tempted to stun the two blockheads..." Hermione muttered. Both girls were anxious to perform the charm Percy had taught them.

Just as the trio ahead of them reach the end of the hallway, they paused. Draco turned to talk with Crabbe and Goyle, forcing Ginny and Hermione to duck out of sight behind a statue of a knight.

They could hear his cold drawl echoing from down the hall, "I have research in the library. You are free to do whatever you like, but please, refrain from stuffing yourselves with food too much--it's hardly proper."

Nothing but mumbling could be heard next, and footsteps leading away signaled Draco's leave. Ginny peeked out in time to see Goyle disappear around a corner--supposedly to the Great Hall.

"It's clear. At least we know where he's going, so it doesn't matter if we lose him. I don't think the library will be too full today," Ginny whispered.

"Good. If we can get him to go to the back behind the shelves, it'll give us a chance to talk with him without any unwanted visitors. Provided it is the curse, that is."

The girls began walking down the corridor again, but were surprised by Justin Finch-Fletchey's sudden appearance as he nearly collided into them from the corridor Crabbe and Goyle had just disappeared down.

"Hermione! Thank goodness--we've got a prefect meeting," he huffed.

Hermione nearly growled in frustration, "Didn't we have one yesterday at lunch?"

"Yeah, but Brad remembered some things he left out. It's supposed to be brief."

"Those meetings never are! I swear, I made a big mistake letting the Head Boy dictate the meetings. He's such aincompetent....incompetent...nincompoop."

"Nincompoop?" Ginny giggled.

"I'll tell you when I come up with a better name that's not a swear word," Hermionegrumbled. She leaned forward and whispered in Ginny's ear, "You go ahead--this may be our only chance in a long time--I'll be along as soon as I can okay?"

Ginny swallowed hard and nodded. Hermione gave her a comforting smile before running down the hall with Justin. Ginny sighed, wiping a hand over her brow. She was sweating. If she had butterflies before, they'd increased tenfold after Hermione left. She walked slowly into the library and found Draco sitting in a corner table on the last row, as far away as possible from any other student. Ginny grabbed a book and nervously walked to the table in front of him and sat down.

He didn't look up. Ginny nearly breathed a sigh of relief and studied Draco for a moment from the top of her textbook. He was flipping through a skinny book and scowling.

Well...as long as he was distracted....

Ginny took her wand out and looked around. No one was watching. She hid the wand under the table just to be safe, "Parumper eximo!" she whispered, waving the wand as Percy had taught her.

Nothing happened at first. Ginny was about to try again when Draco's body went rigid. His hands flew up to clutch his head and he groaned. Luckily, no one noticed. It didn't last long, anyway. His body relaxed and he raised his head to look at his hands with stunned eyes. Ginny almost gasped from behind her textbook. His eyes--they'd turned a brilliant blue again, instead of the normal greyish blue. She watched, transfixed, as he clenched and unclenched his hands and moved his head around a little. He then looked under the table as he lifted both legs and rotated each foot. To anyone else watching, his behaviour would have been comical.

"What in the world..." Draco muttered, standing up. Ginny felt a sudden wave of fear rush over her. She was supposed to talk to him, but now that she knew it was confirmed, now that she saw the real boy in front of her, she was terrified. She didn't know why, but she was.

Ginny stood abruptly, keeping her head down, and acted as though she were picking up her books. She nearly shrieked as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She told herself to calm down and turn to meet a pair of clear blue eyes.

"Er...I was wondering..." Draco smiled sheepishly at her. "Do you...would you know where Dumbledore's office is?"

Ginny's butterflies raged in her stomach and she trembled from head to toe. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a squeak.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded her head violently and stumbled over the benches as she clambered out. She nearly fell, but was caught by Draco's hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" he asked. Ginny didn't raise her head to look at him--she couldn't. Instead, she ran, leaving him behind.

Ginny was oblivious to the protests of Madame Pince, and the stares of the students in the library. She ran out and down the corridor. Just as she turned a corner to go to the Gryffindor tower, she ran straight into Hermione.

Hermione stumbled, but didn't fall. "Ginny! What...?"

Ginny gasped for breath before stuttering, "Draco...he...curse...oh my goodness..."

"Ginny calm down...come with me to my room again--I've got a stack of chocolate frogs. They'll make you feel better."

The girls walked off, one supporting the other.

Back in the library, Draco was trying to get information from Madame Pince.

"I'm telling you I don't remember where Dumbledore'soffice is! Can you just give me directions? It's not that hard, lady!"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that Mr. Malfoy. You're to call me Madame Pince."

"Whatever--can you please tell me where Dumbledore is?"

"Why?"

"I want to see him."

"And why is that?"

"I just need to see him! It's urgent!"

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm not going to tell you if you keep that attitude. If you want to see the headmaster, you need to tell me the reason."

Draco fumed. As if she would believe the reason! Every minute she wasted arguing with him was precious--who knew how long he had before the double took over again?

"Well, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco snapped, "None of your business, you old busy-body. Tell me where the man is!"

If anyone in the library had been paying attention to the hushed argument, they would have described Madame Pince's reaction as a hen ruffling its feathers in anger. Her face had turned bright red, and it didn't take a good imagination to see the danger sign above her head. "Mr. Malfoy, you've just lost 30 points for Slytherin. Keep this up and you'll receive detention as well."

"You wouldn't be so flustered if you'd just tell me where the dang headmaster is!"

"Young man, I'm tired of putting up with you--get out of my sight--here, your detention slip. I'll be telling Filch to expect you. Now go!"

Five minutes later, a very confused Draco stood outside the library doors, wondering how he had earned such hostility from the librarian, and how a detention slip had gotten into his hands. As far as he knew--only two sentences had been finished for the essay he'd come to write.

Author's Notes: Yea! It took me a while, but I've updated, and I've got to say, I am extremely satisfied with this chapter. In fact, I held off updating to plan a sort of outline for this fic--I know where it's going now! I think it'll be exciting and I'm looking forward to writing it. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do! Please review.

Below is a list of the spells used and their meanings...

Parumper eximo: free for a short time

Dominatus cogitatus: rule thought

Erado: erase