Harry Potter and the Memories of a Sociopath, Ch 8: Planning Ahead

Here's how it is:

During his second year at Hogwarts, Harry is still concerned about the fate of the world, but has made significant progress: Hermione has obtained a phoenix and destroyed Azkaban's dementors, and Bones is grudgingly taking his cues on national policy. Progress toward a functional Philosopher's Stone based hospital at Hogwarts has stalled due to ward incompatibilities and a temporary solution is being set up in the now-abandoned Azkaban tower. Harry has built up a relatively long list of things he needs to investigate, including big picture items like Merlin's Interdict, prophecy, magic-technology interactions, and helping Dumbledore, as well as smaller scale things like revisiting his conclusions about comed-tea, looking into Ravenclaw's Diadem, and looking into whether the potion liquid luck is a real thing or a cover story. Magical interferences with technology are proving more difficult to pin down than he had hoped. Moody, Bones, McGonagall, and Hermione were all concerned when Harry advocated releasing Voldemort from the ring in order to question him about the mirror and help rescue Dumbledore.

Sprout has mysteriously received a gift: the long-lost and apparently cursed Hufflepuff Cup and has displayed uncharacteristically aggressive behavior. She had requested Hermione's help with research of a vaguely defined nature. Draco, after having found the Riddle Diary, is showing some very Voldemort-like thoughts and behaviors, working to amass power and followers for himself, and brutally knocking down anyone who gets in his way.

Luna demonstrates uncanny knowledge even though she's obviously not a real seer. Moody has hypothesized that Defense professor Gilderoy Lockhart is incompetent and relying on liquid luck for his accomplishments. Bellatrix is still at large and able to appear in public despite being Magical Britain's most wanted. The inmate assumed to be Pettigrew has disappeared, leaving questions about his true identity and possible crimes.

"I checked Sprout for evidence of recent legilimency or memory charms and came up empty", Moody began. "Nothing indicating a confundus either, though you wouldn't expect it after several hours. I did see a trace of dark magic, but it wasn't from an imperius. It looked more like an after-effect of possession."

The others stared in silence for a moment, processing the ramifications.

McGonagall spoke first, "So Voldemort isn't defeated after all?"

Moody replied, "He's not the only one in the world who could've made a horcrux and there may be other ways to possess someone with dark magic. But Voldemort is the only one I know for certain has that ability and, of the dark wizards who may be capable of such things, he's the most likely to want to infiltrate Hogwarts." He stared at Harry, "Ring on the table. Now."

While Harry complied. Moody snapped, "We all heard you talk about wanting to let him out. Is there anything you want to tell us?"

Harry sighed, "I know how dangerous Voldemort is and I'm not reckless or insane. I still think we should consider waking him and trying to learn what Interdicted magic he's acquired, but I won't do it unless it's in a heavily-warded area with lots of aurors (and probably trained snipers) ready to act. And unless at least one of you agrees that it was worth the risk."

Moody grunted and ignored everyone for a few minutes while he checked the wards on the ring. Eventually he concluded, "There's no indication that the transfiguration was interrupted or that the wards were tampered with." He turned to Harry, handing back the ring, "How sure are you that Voldie couldn't possess someone with a horcrux while still being trapped in there?"

Harry shook his head, "I don't know exactly how his horcruxen work or what he can do with them. He claimed that they were connected together and kept up-to-date copies of his memories. They should have all been obliviated along with him, but I suppose it's possible he had some safeguard to prevent that. But he also claimed he had the Resurrection Stone, that it would allow him to project a spirit wherever he wished, and that he'd torture everyone I care about. It's been months, so either he's trapped, he lied about his abilities, or he lied about his intentions. How sure are you that Sprout was possessed, rather than exposed to some other dark magic? And more simply, if you scanned a thousand people, how many would you expect to show some trace of dark magic? Is it a perfect indicator that someone's either done something wrong or been victimized, or are there more mundane explanations as well? And if it's a good indicator, why isn't it more common to check for it?"

Bones answered, "You're right; it's not a perfect test. I'll get someone to do some research and try to find a better charm for detecting whether someone has been possessed."

"A spell for locating a disembodied dark wizard or object imbued with dark magic would also be helpful. Unless you already know of one?" Harry asked.

Bones shook her head, "I'll put it on the list. Is there anything else we need to discuss today?"

Moody answered, "There's some good news: the first terminal patients have been treated with the stone. You've probably noticed the new building just outside the wards; it's not being used for anything. I had floo connections set up in a couple abandoned buildings in Muggle London to be the arrival and departure rooms. For now, I'm planning to change the floo code once per week, and the physical location once per month. So far, a few doctors at St. Mungo's and the largest hospitals in France and Ireland are being kept up to date on the floo code for the arrival room. I'm recommending the other hospitals in each region transfer their hardest cases to the largest hospitals to minimize the number of people who need to know there's a secret hospital or how to get to the arrival room.

"And finally, we should really consider meeting somewhere else. Scanning this place for magical traps or listening devices takes forever with all the random magic crap in this office."

Harry smiled, "I recommend my office. You're already scanning it regularly, and this gives me an excuse to get a floo connection installed."

After the meeting, even though Harry didn't believe it probable that Voldemort had returned to Hogwarts, he couldn't stop thinking about ways Voldemort may have escaped or what he would be doing if he had. He didn't sleep well that week.

Robert Jugson, who had avoided the infirmary for most of his years at Hogwarts, had returned for the third time in a single week. "What do you mean you don't have anything for this? You're supposed to have potions for everything. And it itches all the time. I need something."

"I told you: there's nothing physically wrong, so there's nothing I can treat. But I can give you a potion for anxiety."

"I'm not crazy! It's real- what about this rash?" He pulls back his sleeve, showing red marks across his upper arm. "It's even started bleeding."

"It looks like you did that to yourself by scratching. I can give you a skin repairing salve but you should start taking a calming potion."

"What about these things coming out of the cuts?"

She waves here wand and mutters an analytic charm, "They're fabric fibers. From your robes or bedsheets or something."

Jugson cursed under his breath and left the hospital wing. Draco, who had been in the hallway nearby, started walking alongside him, "I've heard about your recent problems. I assume you've started planning revenge on him."

"What?! Who? Not Sloper, he's just as bad off."

"You were with Sloper after hours. And you apparently weren't fighting each other. How many interests do you have in common with him? It's not hard to guess what you were doing."

Jugson stopped and faced Draco, scowling and crossing his arms menacingly.

Draco ignored this and continued, "So ask yourself: of all the people you know, who would have fought you, especially with such an unconventional attack? Who's famous for doing whatever the hell he feels like and getting away with it?"

Jugson's eyes widened, "Potter! ...Wait, I thought he was your friend."

Draco shrugged, "There were hints from the beginning that he's going to be a powerful dark lord. I was prepared to support him. I intended to ride that power to the top. I'm sure you understand. But he's always used my offers of friendship to manipulate me when it's in his interest and ignored me when I suppose I'm not providing enough value or amusement. If he acts this way as a 12 year old...", Draco shuddered, "some day, this country will be covered with mass graves, containing his former enemies and former allies alike."

"Someone should stop him before it's too late."

Draco nodded. "I intend to do what I can, but it's going to take some time to build support and devise a plan. Can I count on your support when it's time?"

"...so it's not that Lockhart didn't make some good points, I'm just not looking forward to learning pointless minutia about things that aren't dangerous to anyone with a quantum of common sense", Harry concluded.

Penelope Clearwater nodded, "It's not surprising you feel that way. Those of us who have been at Hogwarts longer remember some of the truly incompetent Defense professors. You've not only been spoiled by a having a good one, he also kind of wanted to be a dark lord, much like yourself, so it's pretty unlikely you'll have another Defense professor that you like as well as Professor Quirrell."

Harry shrugged, "Whatever. Anyway, I'll find a way to make the class educational even if I have to teach Professor Lockhart the true meaning of chaos. Especially if."

Suddenly distracted, Harry opened his notebook and sighed. He turned it toward Hermione and quietly said, "I've forgotten to do most of my comed-tea tests this week. Could you start reminding me at dinner? I'll find another memory aid too. That should provide enough redundancy to perform the experiment."

Hermione just shrugged.

After a pause, Padma said, "Speaking of chaos in the Defense class, the first year class must have been pretty entertaining. I heard Luna tried to convince the professor that people can use the killing curse without hating the target."

Harry managed to not choke, but frowned at Luna, "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true, of course. Although I suppose you meant to ask why I would give that information to anyone. I didn't really think of that at the time; it was just so peculiar that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor didn't know better."

Across the Great Hall, Draco decided to spend more time observing Harry Potter's activities. He slowly drew his wand and subtly cast a directional hearing charm. He kept his head down and pretended to focus on his meal while trying to keep his ear correctly angled to overhear Potter's conversation.

"...be surprising. Anyone can teach the material in a textbook. Professor Lockhart may have been on some cool adventures, but that doesn't mean he knows much about the Dark Arts. It's been suggested that he's been relying on a supply of Felix Felicis to do everything he's..."

Draco winced and canceled the charm as some yelling idiot walked into his line-of-hearing. No matter; that had been surprisingly informative for what was probably a generic conversation about coursework. He resolved to be extremely careful around Lockhart, and finalized his potion-brewing plans. Several useful potions take quite a while to brew, and any intelligent person starts preparing such things well before one needs them...

"So you think you're better at flying than me?", Ron yelled, interrupting the Ravenclaws' discussion. Harry calmly took a bite of food without looking up. "Hey, I'm talking to you, Potter!"

Harry swallowed the food and slowly turned, "Am I just supposed to assume you're talking to me whenever you yell something?" He deliberately looked down at his watch, "I really don't have the time for that; I'm a busy person, you know."

"You think you're better at flying than me!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "I was last year, but it's not like I've spent much time practicing. So now, who knows."

Ginny, who had followed her brother from the Gryffindor table, helpfully added, "Ron's about to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team. A group of Slytherins keep telling everyone that if he makes the team, then with you, Gregory, and Cedric on the other teams, Gryffindor will come in last place."

Harry glared at Ron, "That doesn't explain why he's yelling at me instead of at them."

Ron clarified, "Are you going to race me or not?"

Harry replied, "Why not? Just write out all the rules, like what brooms we have to use, the course you want to follow, any areas that are out of bounds, how the start of the race will be indicated, who will judge or otherwise how we determine the winner, etc. and get it to me at least a week before the actual race so I can go over it."

"Rules? Why can't we just race?"

"If there aren't written rules, then if I win, you'll accuse me of cheating. You'll claim that some random thing or another was obviously against the unspecified rules and demand a rematch. I'm skipping that part and requiring the rules to be specified in advance."

Ron stared at Harry and muttered, "I challenge him to a race and he gives me bloody homework."

Harry turned his back on Ron, "Hermione, do you want to work on another electronics experiment? I'm thinking about walking around just inside the Hogwarts wards to see if my watch or calculator will turn on anywhere."

Hermione replied, "I'm really busy; there are some things I really need to work on. And do you really think that's a two person job?"

Harry shrugged, "Honestly, I just can't remember the last time you went outside. And today might be the last time the weather is this nice until spring."

Ginny interjected, "I can help!"

"Hermione's right; it really isn't a two person job. And I don't think it has a high likelihood of producing novel data anyway." Harry pushed his plate away and stood up.

"But that's the same reason why we should race now!", Ron argued.

Harry smirked as he walked away.

"... And that's why you should always wear gloves and eye protection when working with acid slugs", Lockhart concluded. Read and summarize chapter two from the standard text and begin reading my Guide to Household Pests by next week.

While everyone was leaving , Harry walked to the professor's desk. "I need to borrow a target drone."

"What?"

"The spheres stored in the ceiling that are charmed to float around and absorb spells for people practicing dueling. I need to borrow one for... a project in another class."

Lockhart glanced at the ceiling, noticing the hatch for the first time, then looked at Harry and smiled, "Let me guess: after Professor Quirrell's class, you're disappointed that you haven't gotten to shoot anyone or anything in Defense class this year, and you want to practice on your own?"

"It really is for another class... but you're not wrong."

Lockhart cast a levitation charm and pulled at the hatch in the ceiling while talking, "Well, you can take a target if you like, but you should know, I do have some ideas for more... hands-on activities for class." The hatch finally fell open and Lockhart cast a quick accio, pulling out one of the spheres.

"Such as?"

He smiled wider, "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." He handed Harry the sphere.

Harry nodded, put the target drone in his pouch, and walked away.