(A/N: Wow, so many reviews!!! I wish to thank you all for taking the time of reading my story, especially thoose who have left a comment, like LadyLara_001, HermionePotter14, Destroyerdrt, DjjClub. I also need to thank my wonderful BETA reader IronChefOr for his great job! Now, relax and enjoy the reading. Bye for now, Petronilla.)
Chapter 12. THE MIRRORS OF THE SOUL
The sun was setting behind the hill. The shadows of the evening began to stretch out along the deserted street, casting grotesque images on the worn out asphalt. A short figure covered by a dark cloak sped up, looking around warily. The buildings lining the street were so dirty and decrepit that they had to have been uninhabited, and yet behind the ramshackle windows, the presence of curious eyes could be felt.
The small girl knew she had to get home before dark, lest the worst should happen. She had, however, dwelled too long in the fields. Under her cloak, she was jealously guarding a bag containing a few mandrake roots that she had found with great effort.
Suddenly she stopped, jumping in place in fear. She felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest; her forehead was starting to sweat. Someone was following her.
"Stop where you are!" an insolent voice echoed from the silence as a group of boys slowly came from behind a corner and stood around her in semi-circle. They wore dark cloaks and were grinning in amusement "It's a little late to be walking around, don't you think?"
The boy who had just spoken was standing in front of the others. He was the only one holding a wand. Locks of blond hair fell from under his hood; his glare was cold.
The small girl lowered her gaze, tightening the grip on the bag in her hands.
"I'm talking to you, you filthy little mudblood!" Speaking with arrogance, the blond boy moved toward her and lifted her chin with the tip of his wand, to better watch her reaction. The girl stared at him without showing any fear. Her eyes were emerald green and filled with pride.
The boy recognized her; his face lit with an devilish smile.
"Look at who we've got here. I thought I already told you that people like you aren't allowed out after curfew. I don't like mudbloods who don't follow the rules."
"Let's teach her a lesson, Chris!" suggested one of them, flexing his fingers in eagerness. He was short and fat, and his face was all covered with freckles.
"Yeah, let's have some fun."
"We haven't done anything in such a long time. Come on, Chris!"
All of the others were getting excited as well. They all seemed eager to teach the unlucky girl a lesson.
The blond boy, Chris, glared at the girl from head to toe, still pointing his wand at her. "I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you a chance. As you can see, my friends would really like to enjoy themselves with you, but if you choose to kneel down in front of me and beg for mercy, then I could consider the possibility of letting you go."
The girl remained in silence, still staring directly into the boy's eyes as if challenging him.
"What do you think? You need only kneel in front of me and beg me to let you go. It really isn't that difficult, after all." Chris laughed cruelly as his friends did the same.
"I'd rather die than beg for my life!" The girl spoke with deep disgust. Suddenly the boys stopped laughing. The street fell again into an icy silence.
Chris narrowed his eyes, looking furiously at her. "How dare you, insolent mudblood! I'll teach you how to behave."
The blond boy had just raised his wand to cast a spell at her when a ray of red light flew in from between the other boys and hit him square in the back, throwing him against one of the buildings.
The small girl looked up, searching for her rescuer. A boy, the same age as the others, was standing at the corner of a dark alley, his wand pointed at them. He was tall and slim, with long hair. His eyes, which the small girl recognized easily, were filled with anger as they glared at Chris, who was still lying on the ground unconscious.
"If you want to have fun with someone, then have fun with me!" His challenge spoken with such energy, none of the other boys had the courage to act. The new arrival turned his eyes toward the girl. He gestured for her to quickly come over to him. Both disappeared into the alley as the others stood there speechless.
KABOOM!
The rumble of thunder woke Harry up, cutting him off from his dreams. He propped himself up on his elbows on his pillow, then sat up on the bed. Outside the window, it was raining furiously, the crash of thunder and lightning non-stop.
In a now automatic move, Harry raised a hand to his forehead, brushing his scar which curiously wasn't hurting this time. Forcing himself to remember as many details as possible about the dream, he wondered who was that little girl with the green eyes. Why had he been having these strange dreams since the beginning of the school year?
Each time, it was like diving inside a Pensieve, witnessing someone else's memories as a helpless bystander. Scenes of everyday life from this little girl, about ten years old, played out in front of his eyes. They weren't happy or carefree memories. From what Harry had seen, this girl was living in some sort of ghetto. She had to endure every kind of teasing and humiliation from the older boys, who evidently were more fortunate than her for some reason.
Exactly where or when this was all happening was still a mystery to Harry. The one positive thing was that these strange dreams seemed to have nothing in common with his others nightmares about Voldemort, other than the fact that both were causing him on a daily basis to be tired during the day.
KABOOM!
Another deafening rumble brought him back to reality. Harry rested his head back on the pillow and stared at the nearby bed. It was empty; the bed was still made. It had to have been very late, and Theo had still not come back yet. This wasn't the first time this had happened. What the hell is he doing this late at night? Harry wondered.
A quiet noise outside the door attracted his attention. Harry closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He could hear someone enter the dormitory and close the door behind him. After a few footsteps and the rustling of blankets, there was silence again.
Harry slowly opened his eyes. A sudden lightning bolt lit the nearby bed, in which Theo was now lying, looking as though he was asleep and had been there all along.
***O***
When Harry reached the common room the following morning, the sun was already up and most of the students were out on the grounds. Last night's thunderstorm seemed to be just a distant nightmare, even though the ground was wet and muddy.
"Hey, I've been waiting for you for ages!" Ron exclaimed as he saw Harry descending the stairs. He was sitting by himself at a small square table with a chessboard in front of him. The game he was playing was almost at the end. "Ha! Checkmate!"
Ron's black queen smashed the white king, spreading broken pieces all over the board. Harry sat down in a large armchair in front of him. "It's easy to win when you play against the chessboard!"
"Are you kidding?! I've had to fight the entire time to defeat the white pieces. When you play alone, the chessboard gives everything it's got. You should know that by now," Ron explained, gathering the pieces.
Just then, the portrait hole opened and a boisterous group of third year girls entered the common room, chatting animatedly amongst themselves as they climbed to the girls' dormitories. Harry looked around nervously. "Have you seen Hermione?" he asked Ron.
"Sorry mate, she wasn't even at breakfast this morning. By the way, do you think that she'll get upset if we work on Sirius's motorbike later?"
"I don't know. She's been so nervous lately. Everything I do seems to be wrong for her."
Ron lowered his voice and whispered. "Well, I really hope that she isn't in a bad mood today, because here she comes."
Hermione had just entered the common room, her arms filled with several large, dusty books. When she saw the two boys, she frowned at them.
"Here you are, at last!" she exclaimed, dropping the books onto the table heavily. "I'm proud to see how busy you are with studying so early in the morning," she added, teasing them.
"Ha ha, very funny," Ron replied, slightly annoyed. "It seems you've tried to steal the entire library."
"I only checked out the bare essentials for the Potions essay and the Charms project, that's all. I suggest you do the same, if you don't want to fail the end of term examinations," ended Hermione, frowning at Harry.
"Please don't look at me like that. I just got here, and I have every intention of doing my homework," he replied, on the defensive. "Why don't you tell me where you were last night? I didn't see you at all."
"I was really tired and went to bed early," Hermione replied, swaying her gaze from him.
"Too bad. You missed a really good task, and the party wasn't that bad either," Ron pointed out, stretching his arms over his head, yawning.
"Are you feeling better today?" asked Harry in concern.
Hermione folded her arms and stared angrily at him, as if she was waiting for that question. "Why are you asking?"
Harry was puzzled. "Because... because I care about you."
"Well if you really did, why didn't you come and ask if I was okay?"
"Because I can't even get to the damned Head Girl's room! No one has permission to enter them except you, remember?" replied Harry, thinking Hermione's implications absurd.
"Maybe you had something, or someone, else on your mind? If you really wanted to find me, I'm sure you could've figured out a way!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" exclaimed Harry, feeling his temper rising. "What are you on about? I didn't have anything else on my mind."
"Don't lie to me, Harry James Potter!"
"Why don't you stop it for a second, guys?" shouted Ron, trying to stop them.
In reply, Hermione turned on her heel and rushed toward the staircase without adding a word.
Harry didn't want to let it drop there, as he had the previous day. He stood up and followed her. "You're being unfair, Hermione! I'm sorry if I didn't look for you yesterday, but I thought that maybe... well, maybe you wanted to be left alone, to think things over. I don't know, you've just been so nervous in the last few days."
Hermione remained in silence, keeping her back to him. Harry slowly moved toward her, softening his voice. "If you need to talk, if there's something that's hurting you, I'm always ready to listen. You know that, don't you?" He set his hand on her shoulder; she jumped in place, hurriedly wiping the tears from her face with her sleeves.
Harry realized that she was crying and was deeply affected by this. He hadn't expected such a reaction from her.
"Please, Harry, leave me alone," she whispered. "Just leave me alone," she repeated, before rushing upstairs and disappearing behind the girls' dormitory door.
***O***
For the entire next week, Harry kept wondering the reason for Hermione's odd behavior. She stubbornly avoided him during classes. Afterwards even, she rushed to close herself up in her room.
Harry had taken to the habit of stopping Ginny in the corridors and asking her a barrage of questions. Unfortunately, she also did not seem to know what was bothering Hermione.
Friday morning just before classes, Harry and Ron were waiting for Ginny in front of the Defense classroom. The previous evening, she had promised them that she would try to talk to Hermione to find out what was the matter.
"Why isn't she coming?" asked Harry, nervously staring at his watch. "She should've been here half an hour ago."
"Why don't you just talk to Hermione?" Ron suggested as he took a bite of the large red apple he was holding in his right hand.
"I've already tried to talk to her," Harry replied, annoyed. "But every time I go up to her, she does everything she can to disappear into the crowd. My only hope is Ginny. Oh, here she comes."
Ginny ran toward them, and then stopped to catch her breath. "Sorry, I'm late... Is Hermione already in there?" she asked, looking around.
"Yeah, she went in five minutes ago, with Lavender. Those two have become inseparable like twins lately!" Harry complained, frowning as he looked inside the classroom. "Any news?"
"Nothing, I'm afraid," she replied, sincerely sorry. "I saw her early this morning, right outside the girls' bathroom and tried to ask what was wrong. She was quite evasive and told me that everything was fine. She didn't look fine at all, if you ask me."
"I agree," said Harry, unhappily.
"I'm sorry, but I need to run to the dungeons now. I've got Potions first today, and you know how horrible Snape becomes when someone is late. See you later." Ginny rushed downstairs as the two boys entered the class.
All the desks and chairs had been removed. About twenty house elves were standing along one wall, side by side. All of them had large baskets by their sides, filled with different objects. All of the students were standing there, casting puzzled stares from the house elves to Magnus Erudio in turn, while he sat quietly at his desk, waiting for the lesson to start.
Harry scanned the room, searching for Hermione. He found her on the other side of the room from him. She was doing her best to not look in his direction. When the bell rang, Erudio began a long and detailed explanation on that day's lesson.
"Professor McGonagall has told me that you should all be pretty good with Vanishing Spells by now. As such, I'm sure you won't have any problem with today's lesson. During a magical duel, we may want to use a Vanishing spell instead of a Shield spell. This is particularly true when the enemy has shot one or several dangerous physical objects at you and you need to make them vanish."
Erudio paused for a short moment. Most all of the students were listening carefully to him, not wanting to miss a word. Most, that is, except for Draco Malfoy and the others from Slytherin, who looked extremely bored.
"Our dear house elves have kindly agreed to help us with today's practice. Their job is to throw objects at you. Your job is to vanish them, using the Vanishing Spell." Erudio then turned to Theo. "Mr. Mustle, would you please monitor each student's exact execution? Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to do it myself. I remind you all that there is no need for you to say a word."
Obediently, the students took out their wands and lined up side by side, across from the house elves.
Harry stood on his toes to see where Hermione was standing. Finally, he spotted her near the end of the line between Lavender and Dean. Her house elf began to throw at her a bowling ball and then a rapid succession of bowling pins, which she easily vanished one by one with a light flick of her wand.
Next to Harry, Ron seemed to be in trouble. With great effort, he managed to vanish a small tomato, but when his elf threw at him several oranges one after the other, he panicked and they hit him in the forehead.
"Harry Potter, sir." The squeaking voice of Dobby grabbed Harry's attention. The small house elf was standing in front of him, his large green eyes open wide. A large smile brightened his pale face. "Dobby is very happy to see you again, sir."
"Hi Dobby, I'm happy too." Harry smiled, sincerely glad.
"Is Harry Potter ready?"
"W-what? Oh, yeah..." Harry suddenly realized what he was supposed to be doing, and pointed his wand at Dobby. "All right, then. I'm ready."
During the hour that followed, the house elves kept throwing all different kinds of objects; the students did their best to make them vanish. Theo Mustle had been very helpful to his classmates, suggesting a better way of directing a wand or the most effective distance from which to cast the spell.
"Evanesco!" Ron whispered, successfully vanishing a bouquet of flowers before they reached him. "Did you see that, Harry? All those flowers with a single spell!"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Weasley, but you're not allowed to speak the incantation verbally," Theo pointed out, taking seriously his role of teacher's assistant. "Besides, if I were you, I wouldn't congratulate myself too much for being able to vanish an innocent bunch of flowers," he added in a whisper before moving away to help Millicent Bulstrode at the opposite side of the room who had just received a face full of cucumber.
Ron frowned at him. "I can't stand him! Who does he think he is? Just because Erudio likes him, it doesn't mean that he's the best student in the school!"
Harry nodded absentmindedly, taking a quick look toward the end of the line where Hermione's house elf had just thrown the last of the objects in his basket. After a deep bow, he disappeared with a resounding POP!
At the end of the lesson, everyone put away their wands and quietly exited the room to head to Professor Flitwick's class. During the next two hours, the situation with Hermione didn't change much. She spent the lesson sitting with Lavender in a desk in the first row, while Harry and Ron took their usual desk in the back, still confused by her odd behavior.
"Look at her. Maybe she thinks I'm wearing my invisibility cloak!" Harry commented with a certain amount of anger in his voice.
"Yeah..." replied Ron distracted as he skimmed through Charms & Co. by Rose McBall. "And in the meantime, since she's mad at you, she doesn't speak to me either. Tell me, how are we supposed to manage with our homework now? We absolutely need for you two to make up soon, or we'll fail our N.E.W.T.s. Mum'll kill me!"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the help! Do you have any ideas?"
Ron stared at the front row for a moment, then suddenly sat straight in his chair as if struck by an idea. "Why don't you ask Lavender? Surely she knows what the hell is going on with Hermione."
Harry realized that Ron was actually right. The hard part would be to stop Lavender without Hermione noticing. When the bell rang, the two boys were the first to leave the classroom. They rushed to the Great Hall for lunch and quietly waited in front of the entrance of the hall, hidden behind a column.
Finally, Hermione and Lavender entered and took a seat at the Gryffindor table.
"Now what?" Ron asked nervously.
"Now, it's my turn." Harry closed his eyes and tried very hard to concentrate. With great effort, he tried to visualize Lavender in his mind, until finally her face appeared in his inner sight. Two brown eyes, long blond hair, a spattering of freckles on her nose. He then attempted to send a message to her through his mind. Go to the common room as soon as you can. The boy you've been waiting for, for so long, is there...
"Would you be kind enough to tell me what you're doing?" Ron's annoyed voice brought him back to the Great Hall again.
"You'll see, don't worry."
Lavender quickly stood up and rushed to the entrance of the Hall, passing close by the boys. Harry stepped up to her. "Lavender? I need to talk to you."
"Hi Harry. Ron. What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised.
"Erm... we're going to have lunch in a minute..." Harry replied vaguely. "It seems that you and Hermione have become great friends lately."
Lavender frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Yeah... and it usually happens when you two have a row."
"Well... anyway, this time it isn't my fault. She keeps avoiding me and I don't even know why. Maybe you could...?"
Lavender rolled her eyes, deeply annoyed.
"Why don't you please just tell me what the hell I did!" shouted Harry.
"You boys are all the same!" Lavender replied, almost in resignation. "Merlin's beard, Harry! Haven't you been reading the Daily Prophet?"
Harry shook his head. What with homework and Erudio's lessons and worrying about Hermione, he hadn't had time to read the newspaper.
"The Prophet is full of articles about attacks on Muggle cities. There have been five in the last month near where she lives. She's worried for her parents! She hasn't got anything else on her mind, and you haven't seemed to be able to understand that."
Harry stood there speechless. How could he have been so thick, so insensitive, so selfish?
Without saying a word, he returned to the Great Hall and hurried to Gryffindor table where Hermione was finishing her solitary lunch. She raised her head and their eyes met for a second, a second that seemed to last forever.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Harry, almost as if scolding her. Hermione didn't reply. She lowered her gaze and started gathering her belongings.
"I'm talking to you!" shouted Harry; the nearby students turned to look them.
"Would you please stop shouting like that?" she admonished, looking around worriedly. "What are you talking about?"
"Your parents. Why didn't you tell me about the attacks near your house?"
Hermione looked away and returned to putting her books back into her bag. "This is neither the time nor the place to talk about this." Finishing her sentence, she closed her school bag, stood up, and quickly headed toward the entrance.
Harry felt his blood boiling inside and had a strong desire to cast a Summoning Charm on her. He looked around and saw nearly every pair of eyes in the Great Hall looking at him. Everyone certainly must have been enjoying the spectacle he was making of himself right now. Tightening his fists in anger, he followed her out to the entrance hall, right in front at the large house point hourglasses.
"Hermione, please wait! You're going to listen to me this time. You can't always run away!" Harry grabbed her right arm, forcing her to spin around. As she did, her bag broke and all of her books and notes fell, spilling across the floor.
"Perfect! Are you happy now?!" she shouted furiously, bending down to gather her things.
Harry kneeled close to her and grabbed her hands. They were again eye to eye. "Why won't you let me help you?"
Hermione sighed deeply before replying. "Because I don't want to be a distraction... to distract you from...
"You don't want to distract me from what, tell me!" Harry cut her off, angrily. "Do you think that it's fun for me, waiting for death, while I'm attending my final year at school? Do you think that it's exciting for me, knowing that he's out there, waiting for me? I didn't ask Voldemort to kill my parents and leave me this bloody scar!"
"Don't you understand?" Hermione replied. "This is exactly why I've done what I have. Your life is already too complicated. You don't need to be adding my troubles to yours!"
"Do you mean that I'm supposed to thank you for this?" asked Harry sarcastically. "That I'm supposed to feel better for you pushing me away?"
Hermione wasn't able to reply. She slowly stood up and moved a few steps toward the window. The sky was filled with large, gray clouds that threatened rain.
Harry stood up as well. "I thought we were a couple."
"We are!"
"Then don't be afraid to ask for my help when you need it. You can't always be strong, always invincible," Harry whispered, moving closer to her. "I need you, and you need me."
Hermione stared intensely into his eyes. When he held out his arms, she rushed over and buried herself in his chest, hugging him tightly, finally feeling safe at last.
"We'll ask Dumbledore. He'll know what to do. Your parents will be moved to a safer place," he whispered, softly brushing her ruffled hair.
"You don't know my dad like I do." Hermione replied, brushing away the tears. "He'll never leave home."
"We'll find another way, then. Dumbledore will send wizards from the Order to guard your house. We'll protect them another way, I promise."
"Thank you, Harry. It means so much to me."
"Shhh..." he hushed her, pressing his finger to her lips. He then moved closer and sealed his promise with a long, deep kiss.
***O***
That night, Harry and Hermione went to speak with Dumbledore. However, Professor McGonagall told them that the Headmaster was unfortunately away from school. They explained to her Hermione's concerns; she assured them that someone from the Order would guard the Grangers' house.
A week passed by. The days had become cold and rainy; November was at their door. That Saturday, students had no other alternative other than to remain inside, doing their homework or playing chess.
Ron decided to brave the rain and join Luna for a romantic walk in the gardens. Harry and Hermione, their earlier strife resolved, quietly spent the morning in the overcrowded common room. They were sitting at a long table with a bunch of fifth years who were busy with their O.W.L. lessons.
Harry raised his head from his Transfiguration essay, "Main Principles of Human Transfiguration" and rubbed his weary eyes. With all that was happening in the wizarding world, the war and the attacks, it was extremely difficult for him to concentrate on his studies. Hermione was sitting across from him. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else as well for she had been staring at the same page for a very long time.
"Hey, are you all right?" asked Harry, grabbing her hand.
Hermione turned toward him abruptly, as if she had been interrupted from a daydream.
"I think so. I can't stop thinking about my parents. Maybe I should be with them now?"
Harry frowned in worry. "Would you feel more comfortable at home?"
"Actually, I'd rather have my parents here with me at Hogwarts. There's no safer place at the moment. Besides, I don't think I'd be able to leave you alone here. You know that, don't you?"
Harry smiled. If Hermione had gone back home, he would have followed her.
"Did you hear what happened to Hannah Abbott's parents?" Hermione whispered. "They were kidnapped two days ago without any trace. Hannah's aunt just informed her today. She left school immediately. Many of the other students have lost relatives and friends in the last weeks. Remember what happened to the Creeveys' father? And Neville's grandmother, of course..."
"If only I knew how to stop all this," commented Harry bitterly. Even though he was an important part to this fight against evil, it wasn't yet clear to him how he was going to succeed. Dumbledore always told him to remain at Hogwarts and continue his studies. They had never openly talked about the subject in any sort of practical manner, however.
Just then, portrait hole door opened and Ron entered the common room. He was completely soaked from head to toe.
"Awful idea, going out in such rain!" he exclaimed, taking a seat near Harry and Hermione. He then took out his wand and pointed it at his hair and clothes. A burst of hot air started to come from his wand. "Luna wanted to look for wild Knarls. She says they prefer to leave their dens during the rain. Unfortunately, the only creatures we found out there were giant slugs!"
Harry smiled, shaking his head. "You must be seriously smitten if you agreed to follow her on her little adventure."
"Yeah, I think so," Ron admitted, now directing the flow of hot air toward his shoes. "You want to know the interesting part? Coming back to the castle, we ran into Filch. He was talking to Professor McGonagall in front of the main entrance. It seems they've found Mrs. Norris finally. Someone turned her into a marble statue and set her on top of the highest tower to be company for the other gargoyles."
Ron laughed, amused, but Hermione frowned at him. "This is nothing to laugh at, Ronald. I'm sure that whoever did this to Mrs. Norris is the same person who is responsible for killing the school owls in the Owlery. And if you ask me, they aren't going to stop there."
"Let's keep our eyes open, then. It seems that someone with a dark sense of humor is hanging about the school," said Harry, looking at the other students suspiciously.
Around lunch time, it had stopped raining and the sun had come out. In the afternoon, most of the students went out onto the grounds, happy to take in a bit of fresh air. Ron suggested that they go to Hagrid's, motivated more from his desire to try Sirius's motorbike than to pay a visit to an old friend. Hermione politely declined the invitation, since she really wanted to finish McGonagall's essay. She insisted though that Harry should go.
"You need to do something different from time to time," she said when he suggested that he would remain with her. "I'm happy if you go and have a nice visit with Hagrid."
Harry and Ron spent the whole afternoon with their half-giant friend. Together, they washed and polished the old motorbike. Afterwards, they even tried to ride it, taking turns making low, easy flights near the forest, above the amused stares of a small group of curious students. For those few hours, Harry managed to enjoy his time and, for a change, didn't once think about his own troubles.
The sun beginning to set behind the hills as the two boys walked through the gardens to go back to the castle.
"Think about it for a moment, Harry. When you get your magical driving license from the Ministry, you'll be able to visit the entire world on your motorbike!" Ron looked more excited than Harry at the idea. "How many countries are you going to visit? Besides, traveling on a flying motorbike is certainly more comfortable than flying on a broom. And that doesn't even count the fact that you can bring as many people as you want with you since the back seat enlarges as much as you need."
During their walk back, Ron kept listing all the advantages of owning a flying motorbike. The lake was sparkling with a brilliant golden color, lit by the last rays of sunlight reflecting off the water. The grounds were deserted since it was nearly dinner time. Everything was quiet. Then, off in the distance, Harry saw someone pop out from Greenhouse Seven and run toward them.
"Harry, HARRY!" Jane Porter was shouting his name as she got closer. Her clothes were untidy, her cheeks were red and sweaty, and her long black hair thoroughly disheveled. She stopped in front of them and placed her hand on her heart and tried to catch her breath. "Quick! Follow me, before it's too late!"
"W-why? What's happening?" asked Harry, frowning at her.
"Theo and Draco Malfoy! They're fighting each other. You need to stop them immediately."
Ron laughed sarcastically. "It'd be fun to see who wins, between those two arrogant..."
"Oh, shut up!" Harry scolded him. He then turned to Jane, who was looking at him worriedly. "Where are they?"
Jane nodded without saying a word and quickly moved toward the greenhouse she had come from as Harry and Ron followed her. After a few moments, they reached a semi-hidden garden, surrounded by vegetation. In the center, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were pointing their wands at Theo, who was standing motionless with his wand out, ready to fight.
Not wasting a second, Harry stepped forward, took out his wand, and stood on Theo's right side. "Three against one. Exactly your style, Malfoy!"
"There you go, Mustle. Your girlfriend has returned with the savior of the world," Draco sneered, still pointing his wand at Theo. "You're safe now. Potter will protect you." The young Slytherin boy grinned an evil smile, one that his companions imitated.
"She's not my girlfriend, Malfoy!" Theo retorted. "What the hell are you doing here?" he then whispered to Harry, without taking away his eyes from Malfoy. He looked rather annoyed by their arrival. "I could've handled the situation."
"We've come to save your skin, you idiot!" shouted Ron, standing on Theo's left side.
"It's three against three now." Harry pointed out. "You're going to have to fight fair now. That's something unusual for a Slytherin, wouldn't you agree?"
"I hope you don't mind, Mustle, if I start with Saint Potter over there! IMMANITAS!" A jet of red light shot out from Draco's wand, but Harry reacted quickly with a Shield Charm.
"PROTEGO!"
Without losing his cool, Draco pointed his wand at Ron and suddenly a series of sharp arrows materialized in the air and flew at him.
Ron was caught by surprise. The arrows would certainly have reached him if Theo hadn't intervened, vanishing the arrows with a quick flick of his wand, saving Ron's life.
"You owe me one, Ron!" Theo whispered, replying to his puzzled expression.
Unexpectedly, a cloud of black bats appeared out of nowhere. Obeying some unspoken command, the magical creatures swarmed toward Malfoy and his cronies, attacking them with their clawed wings.
"Damn!" Draco cursed, waving his arms to chase away the bats. He pointed his wand toward Jane, the source of the distraction, and shouted in anger. "CONJUNCTIVITIS!"
Everything happened as if in slow motion. A beam of what essentially looked like black light hit Jane directly in the face. She shouted in pain, raising her hands to her eyes as she fell to her knees.
"You're going to pay for that, Malfoy!" Theo yelled as he ran to Jane to help her.
Harry felt his anger grow inside. Full of resentment, he pointed his wand at Draco, desiring to cause him as much pain as possible.
"What is going on here?" The sharp voice of Professor McGonagall made everyone jump. She had just arrived and was glaring at them all sternly. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Weasley. I'm deeply disappointed with you two. A prefect and a Head Boy fighting with each other like two first years!"
The boys remained in silence and lowered their wands. She then turned to Theo, kneeling next to Jane who was brushing the tears from her eyes. "I want to know who started this."
"It was Mustle, Professor." Draco quickly spoke up. "He insulted us for no reason."
"Yeah, it's true!" Crabbe agreed, while Goyle just nodded.
"Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall addressed Ron, asking for confirmation.
"When me and Harry got here, those three were threatening Theo. That's why we got involved, to stop them," Ron explained.
The professor sighed deeply, as if forcing herself to remain calm and controlled. "Mr. Potter, please show Miss Porter to the hospital wing. The rest of you will follow me to my office where we shall clear up this situation."
Harry nodded in silence and obediently moved closer to Jane. Theo stared at him intensely. "Take care of her," he whispered, then joined the others who were already following Professor McGonagall. Harry stood over Jane, who still kept her eyes closed. He put his arm around her shoulders to help her stand up.
"You can hold onto me. I'll guide you to the hospital wing. Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix you up," he said, doing his best to comfort her.
"Th-thank you, Harry. Thank you so much," she replied, sobbing.
Jane remained in silence the entire way, while Harry only spoke a few comforting words from time to time.
In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey helped her to one of the beds near to the entrance. She carefully examined the girl, then went into her office to prepare a remedy.
Harry had done what he had been told to, but he didn't know if he should leave then or wait for Madam Pomfrey's return. While he thought about it, he stared at her. She didn't look at all like the smart, almost arrogant, girl from the previous week when she won the Transfiguration task. She now appeared completely defenseless, lying on the small bed, her eyes closed and her cheeks streaked by tears.
"Harry? Are you still there?" Jane stretched her hand out toward him. "Harry?"
"Y-yeah... I'm here," he replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "How are you?"
Jane lowered her hand, sobbing. "How do you think? Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be like Magnus Erudio, and not be able to see anything at all?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, almost resigned.
A sad smile appeared on Harry's face. He moved closer and sat on the bed, near to her. "Malfoy is a bastard. A stupid coward... that's what he is."
"I can't say that I disagree! I hope Professor McGonagall turns him into a worm."
"Well, not too original, but it surely gives an idea of how much we hate him." Harry laughed, and Jane looked relieved.
"Here we are then." Madam Pomfrey had returned, carrying a tiny, violet bottle. "Two drops of this potion and the Conjunctivitis curse will lose its power." She then put the liquid on Jane's eyes.
"You need to wait a few minutes, and then you can try to open your eyes. Not before," the nurse warned. She then moved away, taking the bottle with her.
Jane made a grimace of pain.
"Does it hurt?" asked Harry politely.
"Just a little," she replied, smiling slightly. "I need to thank you for being so kind to me. I really appreciate it."
"It's no problem!"
"Surely you had more interesting things to do tonight instead of being forced to remain here with me."
"Not at all!" Harry quickly added. "Let me tell you. If I wasn't here with you tonight, I'd have been going crazy with McGonagall's essay. You saved me, really."
"Of course," Jane exclaimed, disbelievingly.
"It's true. I think we should do this more often."
"What are you talking about?" asked Jane, bewildered.
"Well, you could end in the hospital wing on a more regular basis and ask me to come with you. This way, we could both skip our homework. Oh, actually, this was one of the Weasley twins' specialties, but I'm sure we could easily take over from where they left off."
Suddenly, Jane burst into laugher. It appeared to be contagious for Harry too was soon laughing. "What are you laughing at?" he asked, doing his best to remain serious.
"I'm laughing at the silly things you're saying, just to lift my spirits."
"Do you think so? Yeah, you're probably right," he replied, feeling uncomfortable again. Silence fell between them. Harry forced himself to look anywhere except at Jane.
"Shall I open my eyes now?"
Harry stared at her carefully. "Go on, try it!"
Jane's eyelids fluttered slightly and after a moment of hesitation, they finally opened. The smile on Harry's face quickly disappeared.
"Hey, what's with that face?" Jane asked, staring at Harry with amusement. "You look as if you've just seen a Muggle flying."
Harry wasn't able to say a word. His throat had become suddenly dry and his brain was in shock. For a fraction of a second, he had the impression that Jane's eyes were emerald green. He had seen those eyes before... in his dreams. Those beautiful eyes, that were brilliant and deep. Harry rubbed his eyes with his hands, then stared at her again, but Jane's eyes were now brown again.
"Are you all right, Harry?"
"Your eyes... your eyes looked... different."
Jane covered her eyes with her hands, looking deeply alarmed. "What's wrong with my eyes?"
"No, nothing bad... it's just that..." Harry felt more confused than ever, but he didn't want to alarm her. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. Everything is fine with your eyes, don't worry."
"Oh, all right, then," Jane sighed in relief. "You scared me. Don't you dare do that again!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Harry replied, feeling uneasy. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain about what he had just seen. Jane's eyes were green, but then they turned brown. Still confused, he stood up, eager to leave. "It's really late. I should go back to the common room now."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay any longer?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. Hermione is probably waiting for me. I hope you get well soon." Without adding anything more, Harry headed to the door and left the hospital wing with a weird feeling inside.
***O***
Human transfiguration is a very complex process. Changing your own body parts at will requires extreme concentration and skill.
Sitting on his bed with his curtains closed tight around him, Harry was deeply absorbed in his reading of The Practical Handbook of Advanced Transfiguration.
In the nearby beds, his dorm mates were asleep; he was doing his best to keep the light of his wand as low as possible. During his walk back from the hospital wing to Gryffindor Tower, he thought about the connection between Jane Porter and the little girl he had been dreaming of each night. In his mind, the two figures beginning to resemble each other more and more.
Harry nervously skimmed through the book one more time. He had been looking through it randomly for almost an hour trying to find something useful. There was nothing listed in the table of contents about transfiguring any specific part of the body. He looked again at the index, and finally found it.
At the bottom of the page where he though he might find "Transfiguring the Eyes" or "Transfiguring the Face" (but didn't), he finally happened to notice "Transfiguring the Head." Listed under it were specific examples.
"Here it is!" Harry whispered to himself, nearly shouting loudly in eagerness. "Hair, ears, nose, teeth... eyes!" He turned to the exact page number, then read greedily.
The eyes, also known as the Mirrors of the Soul, are quite possibly the most difficult body part to transfigure. They are considered to be the revealing mirror of your own emotions and intentions. If you think that someone is lying to you, look into his or her eyes, and you will know if they are speaking the truth.
You can change the shape and color of your eyes, however it is extremely difficult to mask what your eyes truly reveal without using Occlumency. For those interested in this subject, a broad explanation of Occlumency can be found in the book How to Protect your Mind from Prying Eyes, by Pablo Secrecy.
Harry finally closed the book, feeling exhausted. He read every detail in there on how to change the color of the eyes, but nothing on how to unmask someone who had transfigured his or her eyes. He absolutely needed to know more, and he had no time to read all the books in the library.
With Transfiguration this advanced, the only person who could be able to help him was Professor McGonagall. The following day, he would have to look for her. Harry set the book on his bedside table, extinguished the light on his wand, and lay down. It wasn't clear to him why, but he began to feel a tremendous urgency to know more about Jane Porter and what she was hiding.
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