Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Fusion of Destinies ❯ Infection ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Fusion of Destinies
a Harry Potter/??? crossover
Chapter 5: Infection
10-1-2005
by Grey

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and all of its characters are the creation and property of J. K. Rowling.

This fic is dedicated to Razor Knight and CubedCinder128, whose support gave me the confidence I needed to write this thing.

---

Hermione made her way to the hospital wing with Ron was following closely behind her. Both of them felt sore and tired, but their worry and confusion were more unbearable. It was now their lunch hour, but the two of them had only stopped in the Great Hall long enough to pick up a couple sandwiches, and then they left for the hospital wing. All morning, they had waited impatiently for a chance to visit Harry and find out what was going on.

The last twelve hours had not been pleasant for them. At around one o' clock, she and Ron had been awakened, along with the rest of the school's prefects. They were told that Samantha and Harry had just been attacked, and they were to help the staff search the entire grounds for strange, man-like mantis creatures or anything else unusual. Then Dumbledore went on to explain that their quarry were inhabited by strange, yellow-green blobs that were deadly to the touch. Then he added that everyone should cast Bubble Charms around themselves as they searched, and showed them how to alter the charm to make it spread out over their bodies like a skinsheath (Hermione had mastered it right away, but it took Ron a few tries) .

But when Hermione asked about Harry, Dumbledore's expression had suddenly turned disturbingly grave, and simply said they could visit him in the afternoon.

And so, the staff and the prefects searched every room and corridor on every level of the castle, while the rest of the students were moved to the Great Hall, just like that one night Sirius Black made his way into the castle. And when Hermione had mentioned the strange, blue monkey-like animal spotted by Hagrid's hut yesterday, the search was expanded to the Forbidden Forest as well.

However, no matter how long they searched, they were unable to find anything unusual. The only thing out of the ordinary was when Ron was searching the kitchens and Moaning Myrtle was inhabiting one of the sinks instead of her preferred toilet, and there were a few boggarts hiding in Professor Trelawney's classroom. It was as if whatever had attacked Harry had simply appeared out of thin air.

"But of course, this thing couldn't have Apparated," said Hermione. "It's impossible to...."

"Yeah yeah, I know," muttered Ron irritably. "You can't Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds, and there's loads of enchantments to keep people from getting in using stealth. So says Hogwarts, A History."

Hermione turned and glared at him for a moment, but decided to let the matter drop, knowing his rudeness could be chalked up to being worried about his best friend. Hermione was worried sick, too, and she had found it difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate on the search and (for the first time she could remember) pay attention in class.

"Malfoy and Parkinson looked like they were ready to wet themselves during the briefing, didn't they? At least now they'll see being prefects isn't all fun and games," said Hermione, trying to diffuse the tension with some levity.

"Yeah, that's true," admitted Ron, forcing himself to smile. Hermione knew Ron must be REALLY worried if even poking fun at Malfoy didn't cheer him up.

"Too bad THEY didn't stumble upon whatever we were supposed to find," said Hermione viciously.

"Any idea what those things we were looking for are? You must have read about creatures like that somewhere," asked Ron, still not wanting to talk about the Slytherins.

Hermione frowned, remembering how mystified she was during Dumbledore's briefing. "I'm afraid not," Hermione said at length. "There are many bug-like creatures in the magical world that have near-human intelligence and speech, such as the acromantulas (Ron shuddered, obviously recalling the run-in with Aragog). But I haven't read anything about giant mantises that shoot laser beams."

"And what about those blobs that were inside it? The things we were supposed to protect ourselves from by using those bloody Bubble Charms?" asked Ron.

Hermione shook her head again, frustrated by her cluelessness. "Again, I don't know. Hopefully we'll get some answers when we see Harry."

Finally, the two of them reached the doors of the hospital wing. They went in and looked around, and saw that at the far end, two beds were in use. Samantha was sitting up on one bed, wearing that strange outfit of teal rubber, and was as unmoving as a statue. And the bed next to her had curtains around it, completely hiding whoever its occupant was from view. Hermione gulped, having a fairly good idea who was in it.

Ron and Hermione slowly approached Samantha, and she didn't seem to notice them until they had walked up to the foot of her bed. "S-Samantha? Why are you here? You look alright," said Ron.

"I.... thought it'd be best to stay here so Madam Pomfrey can keep an eye on me," replied Samantha, her voice full of sorrow. "You two are prefects, right? You must've been told about what happened."

"Yeah. We spent most of the morning searching the castle," said Hermione. "Dumbledore told us something attacked you and Harry, and Harry was here in the hospital wing. Something about a giant mantis and big yellow-green blobs...."

"It's true," said Samantha, her tone sounding even more morbid. She kept looking down at her bed, as if she was unwilling to look the two of them in the eye.

"What happened exactly?" asked Ron, unable to cover up his impatience.

Samantha sighed, then started to explain. "That mantis creature was attacking a teacher, and I stepped in to fight it. For some reason, Harry was there too. Soon, other teachers arrived, and I held the thing down long enough for them to hex it; Snape used a spell called Avada.... something. But then its dead body reformed into these two blobs. Both Harry and I were touched by them. But for some reason, Harry's body was invaded by this thing, while mine was able to fight it off."

Hermione stared at Samantha, horrified by her story. She turned to Ron, and saw he looked aghast as well. But he was also staring at Samantha unblinking, in that same manner in which many male students had stared at Fleur Delacour last year. Hermione fought down a sudden surge of envy and turned back to Samantha. "Do you have any idea what attacked you?" she asked.

Samantha shook her head. "No," was all she said, but Hermione had a feeling there was something she didn't want to admit.

Apparently, Ron had the same feeling. "Somehow, I think you do," he said hotly.

Samantha lifted her head, meeting their gazes for the first time. Hermione looked into her eyes, and saw an expression of guilt mingled with the utmost sorrow. "You're right," Samantha said eventually. "There is something else, something I only told Dumbledore. I guess I should tell you too. You're his best friends, so you have a right to know."

And then, she told them about how she had somehow sensed the presence of the deadly blobs, and how she had reacted instinctively to the sight of the mantis creature that housed them. "I can't explain it, but.... I somehow recognized these things. Not only that, the mantis itself said it was looking for me! But, I still can't remember anything!" She hung her head again, and Hermione realized why Samantha felt so guilty: she was enraged about how she couldn't recall what could be crucial information about their attacker.

Hermione and Ron stared at Samantha for a moment, then turned to look at each other. Hermione couldn't think of anything else to say, but Ron was a different matter. After a moment, he turned back to Samantha and asked, "What about Harry? How is he now? What's that blobby thing done to him?"

Samantha slowly lifted her head up to look him in the eye, and Hermione could see that the last thing she wanted to do was show the two of them the awful truth. But after a while, Samantha let out a reluctant sigh and stood up, walking over to Harry's bed to pull back the curtains.

But before she could, a harsh, scolding voice rang out. "Absolutely not! If I hadn't been so busy with my research, mark my words I would've noticed you two walking in and I would've shooed you out!" Hermione turned to see Madam Pomfrey running towards them, pointing at them with a shaking, accusatory finger.

"They're his best friends, and they have a right to see what's happened," said Samantha sternly, stepping out in front of Pomfrey. She seemed to give off an aura of determination and strength, and Hermione noticed Pomfrey quiver slightly as Samantha stared her down.

"We might as well let them see," came another voice, this one cold and silky. "I've just finished brewing the next potion, and it should be administered without delay. They can stay to watch." Hermione and Ron peered behind Samantha and Pomfrey to see Snape sweeping toward them, holding what looked like a syringe.

"Snape? What are you doing here?" blurted out Ron, unable to contain his surprise.

Snape glared down at Ron, his black eyes as cold and malicious as ever. "The headmaster has assigned me to aid Madam Pomfrey in the effort to save Potter's useless life," he replied with a sneer. "It's been several years since I allowed a substitute to teach my classes, but given the circumstances...." Snape turned to look at Samantha, and she simply nodded. She then walked back over to Harry's bed and pulled back the curtains surrounding it.

Harry lay on the bed, wearing nothing but a simple hospital robe. His eyes were wide open, staring lifelessly into space, and only by looking closely could one see the slow rising and falling of his chest. Otherwise, he looked as lifelessly still as a corpse....

But what caught Hermione and Ron's attention was that on several spots on Harry's body, a thick, yellow slime seemed to seep out of his skin. A large patch of slime was spread out over his right foot, and more splotches were seeping out of his right hand and upper arm, just above the elbow. There was even a small mass of yellow slime oozing up through his hair. Hermione couldn't help but to gasp at the sight of Harry, and she soon became aware that Ron was breathing heavily. "Wha-What's happening to him?" breathed Hermione.

Snape hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "This.... parasite has invaded Potter's body and infested his spine, then started spreading out into his entire nervous system. He's practically paralyzed, and this thing's beginning to consume him from the inside-out." He sounded totally impassionate as he explained Harry's condition, as if he were reciting a list of potion ingredients.

Ron let out a frightened gasp. "Can't you do anything to stop it!? Can't you Vanish it, or...."

"Not unless you want to Vanish his entire spine along with it," interrupted Pomfrey harshly. "This parasite has essentially bonded with Mr. Potter, and any such attempt would Vanish all the infected organs as well. The same applies to Transfiguring the parasite."

"Well, what about potions?" offered Ron. "There must be...."

"Don't you think we have already tried every curative potion available, Weasley!?" barked Snape. "The headmaster always has me brewing such healing potions in the event a student succumbs to some malady, but so far...."

"This parasite has proven itself resistant to every potion we've tried," finished Madam Pomfrey, cutting in. "The best I can say is that so far, our efforts have slowed the parasite down. Now we've wasted enough time; we must try our new treatment!" With that, Pomfrey raised her wand and said "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Harry levitated about a foot off of the bed, and then Pomfrey flicked her wand again, and his body turned over in midair. Then, Snape levitated the syringe over to Harry. The syringe plunged itself into Harry's back, emptying its contents; a clear, orange liquid.

"What is that stuff?" asked Ron, sounding disgusted.

"The Elixir of Cerberus," said Hermione. "It's supposed to strengthen the nervous system and fend off any parasites that feed on it. It's main use is to cure victims of the Sahara Sucker-Spider. But other cases involving the brains and nerves are too severe; people crippled by the Cruciatus Curse, for instance."

Ron shuddered as he turned to Hermione. "What's a Sahara Sucker-Spider?"

"Oh, they're tiny spiders that can turn invisible and hide in a person's hair. Then they suck on their victim's brain fluid, but their saliva means trouble if the spider sticks around for more than a day. This elixir is the best treatment, usually curing a victim within an hour," explained Hermione.

Ron gave another terrified shudder, which didn't surpise Hermione since she knew of his arachnophobia. Hermione also caught another glimpse of Samantha, staring intently at Harry as he was levitated back onto the bed. It almost looked as if she were on the verge of tears.

Suddenly, she heard Ron's questioning voice cry out again. "Wait a minute, Samantha said you used the Killing Curse! How could those blobs inside the mantis survive!?" Hermione looked back to see Ron staring fixedly at Snape.

Snape stared back at Ron for a moment. "Indeed, I felled the mantis using Avada Kedavra. However, it is obvious I only killed the mantis. The parasites it was hosting somehow escaped the curse altogether."

"There may be another explanation," spoke up Samantha, her voice sounding grave. Everyone turned to look at her. "Whatever's infected Harry.... it may be some sort of virus. Viruses aren't living things in biological terms. So if that spell was meant to kill something outright, then logically it would have no effect. It can't kill something that's not technically alive."

For a moment, no one else said anything. Hermione guessed they were all thinking about Samantha's theory, just as she was. But once again, Ron eventually broke the silence with another question. "Samantha, didn't you say that that mantis was LOOKING for you?" His tone was now accusatory. Samantha sat back down on her bed and stared at the floor, unwilling to look Ron in the eye.

"Leave her alone, Ron. She's not to blame for this," admonished Hermione as she glared at Ron. Then she turned to Samantha. "But Samantha, you said you resisted the parasite. Maybe you're the key to curing...."

"Do you honestly believe we had not already considered that?" said Snape brusquely, cutting her off. "We have been studying her blood for the last few hours!"

"In fact, we could use some more," said Madam Pomfrey.

Samantha held out her right arm. "Take as much as you need," she said nonchalantly. Pomfrey then conjured up a syringe, with which she used to extract more of Samantha's blood. Samantha didn't flinch at all.

After collecting her blood sample, she turned to Hermione and Ron. "I must ask you to leave now. If there is any change in Mr. Potter's condition, I shall let you know at once."

Ron looked like he was ready to protest, but Hermione grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out. She was ashamed of it, but she didn't want to look at Harry's parasite-ridden body a second longer. The mere sight of him almost made her cry, and she was certain she would have nightmares about deadly parasitic blobs.

As Hermione shut the hospital wing's door, she caught a glimpse of Samantha pulling Harry's curtains back into place. Maybe Hermione had imagined it, but it looked as if she were saying, "I'm sorry."

---

It felt as if something was crawling around inside him, gnawing away at him from within. Slowly his eyes fluttered open, and he found himself staring up at what had become all too familiar over the past four years: the ceiling of the hospital wing. Harry tried to move, but found that the effort made every nerve in his body scream with pain. He tried to remember what had happened, and then it came back to him: that green slime had bored into his body and made him pass out.

His mind still in a haze, Harry turned his head to look around, but saw nothing but white cloth. He tried to sit up and reach out to grab it, but again, the effort caused a sharp pain to engulf his entire body. "Urgh," he groaned, frustrated and annoyed.

Then he heard a familiar voice cry out. "Harry!? You're awake!?" Then he saw the white cloth in front of him being pulled away, revealing Samantha standing over him. She had a look of grave concern, and looked as if she hadn't slept for a long time.

Harry tried to speak, but his throat felt sore and dry, and even moving his jaw took a lot of effort. "Don't overexert yourself," said Samantha. "Save your energy. You'll need to rest to let your immune system stave off whatever's infected you."

Harry finally found the strength to utter a few words. "Wha.... happened?" he groaned.

"Whatever was in that big bug.... it's now in you," said Samantha, her voice filled with sadness. "The staff has done their best, but they can't figure out how to get rid of it."

After taking a second to take in what Samantha said, Harry spoke up again. "How long...."

Samantha gazed at him sadly again. "It's been almost twenty-four hours since you were attacked. Your school physician and your Potions professor.... they've been working round the clock, but so far, all their treatments have done is slow it down. That one potion, one that strengthens the nerves.... obviously that one had some effect if you've come out of that coma...." Samantha's voice trailed off as she reached out to touch Harry's head. He felt her fingers brush against his forehead.

It was then that Harry also became aware that some sort of liquid was spread out over his forehead, and he found he could feel this same sensation on other parts of his body. It felt as if his body was secreting some noxious ooze. Samantha lifted her hand over his head, and Harry saw that her fingers were covered in yellow slime. But an instant later, the slime was absorbed into her skin, and her hand glowed. Samantha stared at her hand for a moment, then her face contorted in rage. She seemed guilt-ridden.

She sat down on a bed next to his, then turned back to face him. "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't know why you've been infected while I'm not. I'm sure if my memory came back, I'd have the answers." Then she turned away, as if she couldn't bear to look at him anymore. But somehow, the sight of her filled Harry with hope, and made him feel protected. She made Harry think of a hawk, watching over her children.

Harry struggled to speak again, but all that came out of his mouth was a raspy cough. Samantha turned to face him again, looking frustrated and sorrowful. "Personally, I think we're going about this the wrong way," she said, a bite of anger in her voice. "Magic is hardly working in this case. If I had my way, I'd have you rushed to the nearest med lab and have you pumped full of every antibiotic and antiviral agent known. I'd have a full DNA and protein analysis run on that parasite, and myself. Maybe that way we'd find out why I wasn't...."

Samantha's voice trailed off again, and once more she looked burdened by unbearable guilt. Don't be, Harry thought. You're not to blame for this. It's not your fault I got infected and you didn't.

"Some of your friends came over after dinner," said Samantha, sounding eager to change the subject. "A boy called Neville Longbottom, he wanted you to have this, whatever it is." Samantha then held up what Harry recognized to be Neville's Mimbulus mimbletonia. Harry was touched; he knew how Neville prized that odd plant, though he couldn't fathom why. "Oh, and Ron brought you something from his brothers. Had to sneak it in while Pomfrey was out of the hospital wing. He said you'd know what it meant." She bent down, and it sounded as if she were reaching for something hidden under her bed. When Samantha stood up, she was holding a toilet seat. Harry couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt.

After a few moments, though, Harry's cheeriness died away as he felt that odd creeping sensation in his spine again. This thing.... whatever it is, there's no cure, otherwise Madam Pomfrey and Snape would've found it, he thought morbidly. I've been in here loads of times before, but this might be it for me....

His thoughts trailed off as he looked to Samantha again, who was still standing by the bed holding Fred and George's toilet seat. It still seemed like she was watching over him and guarding him. He mustered the strength to speak again. "Samantha.... why are you.... still here?"

Samantha eyed him warily, and said. "I told Madam Pomfrey that she should keep me here, in case that thing is still inside me, so I don't spread it. They've found no trace of it in me whatsoever, but...."

"But what?" asked Harry.

"I'm not leaving, not until I've seen that you're cured," Samantha said with a tone of finality.

Harry managed a smile, then relaxed his body and lay face-up again. Despite the direness of his condition, the fact that Samantha was standing watch over him, was genuinely worried about him, alleviated his dread.

After a while, he turned his head again and sat up slightly. Across the hospital wing, Harry could see Madam Pomfrey in her office, feverishly flipping through some old books. Obviously doing research about parasites, thought Harry. But didn't Samantha say Snape was supposed to be working with her? Where is he?

Harry felt a surge of indignation at the thought of Snape possibly saving his life again. But then, he felt a rush of cold that sliced into the marrow of his bones, and his very soul. He knew of only one thing that could cause this....

WHAT!? thought Harry panickingly, who sat up despite the pain it caused. It can't be! Not again, not HERE!!

"Harry, what's going on? What's with this sudden cold?" he heard Samantha asked. He turned to look at her; she was standing and looked as if she were rooted to the spot. Harry swore he could see her shivering, too.

And then, it made its appearance. The door to the hospital wing swung open, and a single dementor swooped in. Its head immediately turned toward Harry and Samantha. The dementors are after me again. But HOW did it get into Hogwarts!? Harry wondered, icy fear clutching at his heart. He was completely defenseless this time, without his wand and weakened by a parasite....

"Harry, what IS that?!" asked Samantha, her voice betraying a sense of panic as well. Harry noticed that she was looking right at it.

"Samantha, you.... you can SEE it!?" cried Harry, remembering how Muggles couldn't see dementors.

"Of course I can see it! It's right there!" Samantha shouted, pointing at the Dark creature and sounding as if she thought Harry's question was stupid. Over in Pomfrey's office, Harry could hear a scream. Looking past the dementor, he saw the Healer on her knees and clutching her head; the dementor's appearance had taken her completely unawares.

The dementor lurched upward, almost touching the ceiling. It glided along the ceiling, edging closer and closer toward Harry and Samantha. Harry, his mind still foggy and dazed, tried to think of some way out of their predicament. But Samantha, on the other hand, was ready for action. When the dementor made a motion to swoop down, Samantha made a spinning jump, soaring over twelve feet upward. When she reached the ceiling, she grabbed the dementor around what could be considered its torso. Then she fell to the floor, bringing down the dementor with her.

Harry swore that Samantha looked ready to pass out from cold, but she struggled to hold onto the dementor. However, within seconds it slipped out of her arms as if it were a giant, slimy eel. It glided over to the wall opposite from Harry. Samantha quickly got up and grabbed the edge of her bed with one hand, then chucked it at the dementor with all the strength she could muster. But the dementor swiftly flew to the side, and the bed smashed into the wall, flying to pieces.

"Samantha, no! You can't fight it! Go get help!" screamed Harry, now more fearful for Samantha's life than his own. This was one enemy her strength was useless against.

But Samantha wasn't listening. All she knew was that Harry's life was in danger, and she wouldn't stop until the dementor was brought down. She didn't care if it induced a cold so intense it froze her soul as well as her body.

Samantha charged forward and threw at punch at what it had for a head, but the dementor grabbed her wrist with its diseased-looking hand. The touch of its hand made Samantha feel as if her entire arm had turned into a block of ice, and she felt her strength ebbing away....

Harry watched, horror-struck, as the dementor's power continued to drain Samantha's strength. And then, the lingering chill got worse.... MUCH worse. Turning back to the door, Harry saw that ANOTHER dementor had just entered, and Madam Pomfrey screamed again, even louder this time....

Samantha sank to her knees, getting weaker by the second. She heard a swooping noise behind her, then felt the filthy hands of a second dementor grasp her shoulders, holding her in place. The first dementor let go of her wrist, and slowly edged closer. The chill in her soul became even more unbearable, and she started to hear faint, indistinct sounds. But after a few seconds, the sounds became clearer: they were explosions.

---

Explosions.... going off everywhere....

The wails of the dying, the survivors fleeing in terror.... their screams pierced her ears as she was being carried away....

Weapons fire echoed throughout the streets. Some of the colonists were trying to put up a fight. But it was no use. They had had no warning.... the enemy had taken them completely by surprise. The most feared enemy of all....

Buildings crumbled to the ground, clouds of debris spread out everywhere, and bombs continued to rain down from the sky, a sky as red as blood.... Her home, the only life she knew, was slowly being razed to the ground....

And she hung on tighter, closer to her mother as she carried her tiny body in one arm, and clutched a pistol with her free hand. Her mother occasionally looked behind her as she continued running through the streets, checking to see if the man behind her needed backup....

The man trailing behind them.... her father. He carried an assault rifle and cut down any enemy troopers following them, to keep them away from his wife and daughter....

She screamed again as another bomb went off nearby, filling the air with the stench of scorched bodies. She was never meant to witness such horror.... she was barely two years old....

A screech from high above made her look up. High above, she could see the silhouette of a huge, flying creature. It looked like a cross between the pterodactyls she saw in science programs and the dragons she saw in story books. Now, fireballs rained down, drawing dangerously near....

And the screams of her mother and father were so loud, she thought she would go deaf....

---

Harry watched in shock and Samantha sat on her knees, completely motionless and with a vacant look on her face. Never before had he more desperately wished to have his wand in hand. But even if he did, could be possibly conjure a Patronus with this parasite eating away at him?

"What the.... argh!" A sudden cry of confusion made Harry glance over at the hospital wing's entrance. Snape stood in the doorway, clutching a box full of what looked like shriveled, kidneylike stones. He stared at the pair of dementors, a stunned look on his face as he slumped down against the wall. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the Dark creatures. "Ex... Ex-p-pecto," he spluttered, trying to say the incantation to conjure a Patronus. But it was evident that their presence had completely taken him by surprise, and the delay had cost him.

Harry looked back at the dementors; they were ignoring Snape, and apparently him as well. He saw the dementor in front of Samantha reach up to pull back its hood. Sudden realization hit Harry like a knife through the heart. These dementors weren't after him, they were after SAMANTHA.

If Snape and Pomfrey were out of action, then it was up to him. Fighting past the deathly chill in his soul and the pain, he looked at the nightstand to the right of his bed. On it was Neville's prized plant, his folded-up Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map, and lastly, his wand. Harry reached for it, his entire body screaming in pain. But he ignored it and pushed past it, struggling to reach his wand in time.

Once he had it, he turned to face the dementors. The first one had almost completely removed its hood, and was inching closer to Samantha....

Happy thought, happy thought, Harry repeated in his mind, probing his memory. He chose the first joyous thing he could recall: Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The shining, sliver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand and shot towards the two dementors. Its antlers impaled both of them, and they immediately exploded.

In an instant, the icy dread clutching at his insides lifted. Harry saw Samantha slowly stand up, now freed of the dementor's power, and he guessed Snape and Pomfrey were starting to recover as well. But his mind was instead dwelling on the oddness of what just happened: dementors don't EXPLODE....

As the smoke and flames from the explosions faded away, Harry saw that something was now floating around in the same spots were the dementors had been. Once the smoke completely faded away, Harry could clearly see what they were, and the sight made his insides freeze up all over again.

Four of those yellow-green blobs now hovered around Samantha, idly floating around. Harry dropped his wand, now completely paralyzed by fear....

But Samantha had recovered from the dementors' attack, mostly because that same prickly feeling from the previous night was running through her body, making her alert again. She saw the parasitic blobs floating around her, and raw instinct took over. She spun on one foot with her arm outstretched, scooping up all four blobs with her hand. Once again, she felt invigorated as they were absorbed into her skin, and could see a bright glow emanating from her body.

Harry watched as Samantha absorbed the strange parasites. And then, his strength drained from conjuring a Patronus, he passed out from exhaustion.

Samantha stared at Harry, unsure of what to do next. Those strange parasites had appeared again, this time in other creatures.... creatures that seemed to have the power to jar memories.... Were those my own memories I just saw? she wondered, remembering the vividly horrific scenes she had witnessed in her mind. But concern about Harry overpowered her curiosity, and she continued to warily watch Harry.

"Samantha!" came a cold, barking voice. Samantha turned to see Snape, now fully recovered, walking up to her, with Madam Pomfrey at his side.

"I don't believe it! Dementors! Dementors, in the school!" cried Madam Pomfrey. "Even when they were searching for Sirius Black, they never got past Professor Dumbledore's barriers! This is impossible!"

"So those are dementors," muttered Samantha, finally remembering what Harry had told her about them yesterday. But she wasn't concerned about those vile creatures; what frightened her was that they hosted those strange parasites as well. "These dementors, they also had those...." she started to say.

"I saw," said Snape. "Despite searching all morning, it appears these parasites are still at large in the castle. I must inform the headmaster immediately. But for now, you must go to your new quarters and rest. You will need it after surviving a dementor attack."

"I don't think I'll need to," said Samantha sternly. "I feel...." But her words trailed off and she began to sag to the floor, having been hit by a dizzy spell. Snape reached out and grabbed her, but because of her muscle mass, it was difficult to hoist her back up.

"I told you," said Snape matter-of-factly. "Go to the house-elves and get some chocolate, then immediately head for your new quarters on the seventh floor," he ordered.

"No," said Samantha sharply. "Whatever these things are, they're after me. I've got to get away from the castle. I'm endangering the students."

"You will be safe in your new quarters. There, even these creatures will not be able to reach you," said Snape. "Besides, the headmaster has already discussed this with you, and has insisted you remain here. He believes you may yet be the key to Potter's salvation, and unraveling the mystery of these parasites. I suggest you follow his advice."

Samantha tried to think of something else to say, but she felt exhausted, and desperately wanted to get some sleep. She turned to look at Harry, who was still lying unconscious on his bed. "What about Harry?" she muttered breathlessly.

"He's dangerously overexerted himself by working such powerful magic," said Pomfrey. "Even with another dose of the Elixir of Cerberus, he won't regain consciousness again. Not unless the parasite is destroyed."

"Let us worry about Potter. You can't do anything else here," said Snape icily.

Seeing there was no point in arguing any further, Samantha headed for the door. She took one last glance at Harry before she left, and felt another surge of guilt. Please Harry, fight this thing, she thought. Do it for me.

---

For everyone, who's expressed interest in this story, thank you. I'm doing my best to try and keep things intriguing and exciting, and it's good to see that so far, my efforts are paying off.

All I have left to say is that next chapter, the mystery surrounding Samantha will finally start to unravel....

So long,
Grey