Farbenfroh,colourful
"Blimey Harry!". Were the first things uttered this morning in the Bedroom of five Gryffindor boys.
Harry cracked his eyes open , blinded by the early brightness, streaming in through the arched windows. Ron stood open-mouthed at his bedside. Dean, Seamus and Neville trotted to see the gasp-worthy thing, that was Harry, apparently. The one in question, grabbed his glasses from his bedside table and began to sit up slowly. Still not ready to face ...well to face whatever that was. But Ron wouldn't let him wake up in peace it seemed.
"Mate your...your uhm thing, your 'aura'". He added quotation marks in the air. "Is...how should I say...". His face twisted in confusion.
" You have a white orb flying above your head Harry". Neville just bursts out next to him.
" Damn Harry, are you holy now too?" Seamus snickered. "You're already the chosen one...like, my god leave some ladies for the rest of us, will ya"?
Harry groaned at that. " Don't tell me it's still there"? He sighed. Pity faces stared back at him.
" Mate, you should probably go back to Pomfrey, and as much as it pains me, but also give Snape a visit".
" I mean it doesn't look to bad". Neville tried to be optimistic. Harry gave him a weak smile.
"You're positively glowing Harry!". Dean chimed in. Now, none of the boys could stop the laughter from breaking out.
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As much as it pained him to realise, he saw that Snape and Pomfrey, both were unsure of his illness. Maybe he would have to ask Hermione for help. She probably is already researching it Harry thought.
" Mr. Potter, I would like to do a try something". Snape suddenly piped up.
Harry refocused on the brooding teacher.
" I would like to test a theory of mine, as you know this potion is used for patients to tell their real unfiltered emotions to their respective healer. It lasts mostly for around 24 hours." Snape regarded him carefully.
"You, on the other hand, surprisingly weren't telling your classmates about your emotional states....at least not your words Mr. Potter."
Harry blanched white at the words of his least favourite teacher.
"Try to think of something which makes you angry". Snape instructed.
Harry obliged without much fuss. Voldemort was the first thing that came to his mind. Not surprising. The man, or well, the shell of a man, had killed his friend. Very easy to hate. Scenes from the Graveyard came flashing in. The way Voldy insulted him. His foot moving Cedric's face from side to side. Disgusting Prick.
Snape loudly breathed in. "Poppy, we have our first clue to Potter's condition". She looked exited at that. They both studied his head in concentration.
"Poppy, could you document the changes in the predicament please?"
"Of course Severus, I'm on it". She hurriedly took a notebook, out of her pockets, and immediately began scribbling.
"Mr. Potter, now please think of something sad". Snape regarded him once more.
The Cupboard. Moving pictures of his parents. Simultaneously beautiful and devastating. They never were granted the time they deserved with one another. The scream of his mom. Heard from time to time when he suffered from yet another hellish nightmare. The scribbling noise subdued. Harry's descent to sadness stopped abruptly.
"So?" He asked them. Not knowing if he even wanted to listen to their answer.
"Well, Mr. Potter, as I guessed correctly". He put a grim face on. Harry waited in anticipation.
"The colour of your orb changes according to your mood, simply put. It's white, when you're feeling, well, neutral or comfortable I assume. But that's just a theory for now. Do tell your little group of mischiefs, to look out for changes and to kindly write them down for the both of us". He gestured to himself and Pomfrey. "The more we know about your condition, the better". Pomfrey nodded along to his words.
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Sceptic faces stared back at him, while entering the great hall. It felt mean. Vicious even. Harry's orb unbeknownst to him turned to a dark greenish colour. Hermione began writing notes, just when Harry reached their table.
Ron spoke up first. "Harry you're not gonna like this". His face showed concern. The dark-haired Gryffindor pinched his eyes in annoyance.
"What is it this time?" Harry sighed. "The orb again?". Full knowing he would have to tell them what happened with Pomfrey and Snape, but nevertheless waiting for the next revelation coming his way.
Ron just shoved the prophet wordlessly over to him.
THE BOY WHO LIED. boldly written, stared back at him. He skimmed the article , anger already seeping in. Lies, lies, lies. All of it
"How dare they...after...Cedric". Harry stood up at once. Not wanting to face whatever people now thought of him.
"Harry?". Hermione tried to catch his arm. All eyes were on him. Whispers following him.
"-Yeah he and this fool Dumbledore-"
"-Think we are stupid-"
"yeah yeah, You-know-who's back, pff who are you kidding"
"-hope he's embarrassed now, this idiot-"
Bullshit
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Harry couldn't believe it. Sitting in .. well hell, it seemed. The room, painted in a soft,light pink. Picture frames roamed the over the entirety of the room. In it, cats.at least they are cute. But the sheer kitsch of the room was overwhelming. It was a sensory overload packed into one room.
Well it was his own fault for not shutting up, and landing in detention in the first week of the year. Umbridge waltzed into the room behind him. A crude smile on her face.
"Mr. Potter I want you to write lines". She reached into her desk's cupboard. Roaming for a few seconds. The glee in her face was apparent. "There". A black feather quill stuck between her fingers. She reached and put it next to Harry.
"And what do you want me to write?". Harry asked resigning his fate.
Her mocking smile widened. "I must not tell lies, is the sentence you must write."
Of-fucking.course. Harry pursed his lips. "And how often?".
"As long as it needs, for the message to fully sink in". She giggled.
He sighed. "Ok". And began writing. A sudden pain in his left hand appeared. But Harry kept going. It wasn't stopping. What the-. Harry's mouth popped open in shock. There on his left hand he could see red lines, like someone, or something, was cutting into his skin. He looked up sharply at Umbridge.
"Is there a problem Mr. Potter?" Her smiling face looking down at his hands, and back at his face. No concern showing.
The proud Gryffindor wouldn't back down." No, everything's fine". He pressed out. don't think about the pain.
He started writing again. The pain was getting worse. He profusely didn't look at his left hand. She wouldn't break him.
It felt like an eternity of writing. Harry started flinching. His writing turned agonizingly slow. Giggling stopped him.
"Do you think the message has sunk in Mr. Potter?".
"Yes Professor". He gritted through his teeth.
"Then of you go" She shooed him out. "Oh no how inconvenient!" Umbridge looked at her watch. "it's after hours, I sure hope not a different teacher or prefect finds you Mr. Potter". She said while closing the door behind him.
There he stood now. After hours. Round about 8 min away from the common room. With a sharp pain throbbing in his hand. It felt like the hand was swelling pretty bad. He couldn't look at it. He didn't want to.
Making his way down, he walked as slow and quiet as possible, to not draw any attention. He sadly hadn't brought his map. Scared, Umbridge would search through his bag. The pain now, was unbearable. He hoped Hermione would have some sort of healing paste to put on, later.
As the last days had proven, Harry has had a streak of bad luck. He heard footsteps. Just around the next corner. It was a shortcut. Harry would need much more time if he avoided the next turn, and went back the other way. The pain made the decision for him. Slowly creeping around the corner he creeped further in, staying close to the right wall. Not far away was a blueish light bulb, just floating in the middle of the hall. He prayed, the person would just turn the other way.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" A snobbish voice ripped through the silence of the hall.
Harry closed his eyes at the impending doom, coming his way. He couldn't run away in this condition.
The light became larger at last. In his shining light, a hair that shined as much as the lumos itselfShiny. Malfoy smirking face laid upon him.
"Of course you would roam the halls at night Potter, nothing surprising. How many points should I take off of you... mhhhh" He grinned.
"I don't care, just do it fast". Harry grabbed turned his left arm around, to hide it from the blonde boy. He didn't need his mockery too.
"Oh, oh 'do it fast', you think you can order me around huh?". His face had a calculating look on his face. He looked up, above Harry's head.
"What did you do this time Potter". The Slytherin eyes narrowed. "You're ..orb is brown suddenly, like very dark brown....Why?" He asked confused. "You're scared of points getting taken away?" He laughed. Harry kept quiet.
Malfoy eyes roamed over him, catching on his left arm. "What's with your arm, Potter. What are you hiding in your hand behind your back? Show it to me!" He demanded. Harry didn't oblige. Still thinking on how to get out of this situation.
"Potter if you don't show me your Arm, then I will take 200 points away". He looked determined.
"What". Harry burst out. "You can't do that"
"The colour changed!" Malfoy whispered suddenly. "And yes! I can... for good reason. They already despise you enough at the moment, do you want to make yourself more of a target Potter or just show me the damn arm!"
Harry knew he was right. After the prophet, people, even his own Gryffindor's sneered at him from almost every angle. Taking away over a 100 points would anger them even more. "Don't tell anyone". Harry started.
Malfoy raised his eyebrows at that.
Harry reluctantly brought his arm around. Showing him his injured hand.
Malfoy gasped, seeing it." What the fuck, Potter". Malfoys wand along with his lumos came closer to Harry's hand. Inspecting it. "I must not tell lies" He read aloud. He looked back up at him. His grey eyes wide."Potter- I - what, how did this happen?"
Harry looked down at the ground, ashamed that his enemy saw him vulnerable like this. "Detention with Umbride".
Malfoy breathed in affront. "Thats.... thats surely not allowed." "What's up with this woman". Malfoy muttered to himself quietly.
They both stood quietly beside each other. Not really knowing what to do next. Malfoy again looking up at Harry's orb.
Harry hadn't expected Malfoy to be shocked on the behalf of him. What a pleasant surprise for once. He almost looked well with pity instead of the mockery Harry had assumed would come.
Malfoy seemed to have made a decision for the both of them. "Come on, go" His eyes darted around the hall. " You were in detention, so... I can't take points for...that." He finished staring at the wall beside Harry.
"Uhm ...thanks..I guess. Bye then." Harry rushed out and hurried away. Not lingering around any longer. Malfoy letting him go. That was even weirder than Umbridge torture methods. Getting empathy from the biggest git, should be written in future history books.