Chương 18: Possessed

There were 108 house-elves working at Hogwarts, according to Washy. I only introduced myself to ten for now. That was intentional. Being an annoyance or getting in the way would only cause issues in the long term. I wasn't interested in uselessly campaigning while accomplishing nothing. Hermione might've been justified in her feelings, but her methods were a joke born of childish impatience and lack of even trying to understand the situation. Change begins with understanding. Washy served as my contact.

She identified elves between tasks and facilitated quick exchanges. They were happy enough to indulge the strange human asking their names and saying hi, but small talk was quite obviously not a favorite pastime for the elves. 108 names and individuals would take a while to learn, but I had time. I managed to find the Entrance Hall without any issues, it was only a single staircase and a short walk away. As I emerged, I spotted a red-headed girl nearing the doors to the outside.

Seems I was running into all the Weasleys today. Good; we didn't really get to talk during DADA. I still had time till curfew, I could spare a bit of it to reaffirm I wanted to be friends despite being in another house.

"Ginny! Hi! Where are you headed?" She whirled to face me.

"Oh, you. I was just headed to talk to Hagrid, the gamekeeper." I hesitated. There was something off about how she said that. The tone was distant. Cold. Her posture was slightly different too. Riddle? Was he going to kill the roosters this early? I couldn't remember when exactly they died, but I thought it was at least a little later. The basilisk was first heard during Harry's detention. It was Wednesday today, and I was pretty sure he would serve that detention over the weekend.

Ron's wand backfiring—and him puking slugs—didn't happen until a quidditch practice, and that needed to happen before the detention so that he could throw up on Riddle's trophy. Also it just made more sense to punish someone during free time. Maybe Riddle was using her to scout them out before committing to any action. How much control did he have while possessing her? It couldn't be complete, could it? Was she even being possessed right now? I could just be jumping to conclusions. Best to gather more information.

"Can I come! I want to thank him for helping me out of the lake and lending me his coat." I explicitly didn't phrase it as a question as I bounced my way up to her, angled slightly to the doors.

"Ahh, sure." She looked like she didn't want to bring me.

"We should hurry though, we don't want to get in trouble."

"Of course!" I set off slightly behind her as we left the castle, letting her lead. I didn't actually know the way, after all. She apparently did; despite being at the castle for just as long as I had.

"I decided what I want you to do," I said after a bit of silence.

"What?"

"For the bet. Meet me after Astronomy, we'll discuss it then." She glanced back at me with a neutral expression.

"Okay, sure." Definitely acting weird. I quietly fell another step behind her. I decided to stay quiet the rest of the way. If I was talking to Riddle, I'd rather he not pull out Ginny's wand and attack. I could barely cast a levitation charm; I had no chance against one of the most dangerous wizards in the world. Not that he would need a wand, Ginny was bigger and more athletic than me.

I knew emergency self-defence, but punching her in the throat or poking her eye out wouldn't be great for our long-term friendship. Not that it would be that easy. Nothing in canon explicitly said Voldemort could fight without magic, but he had fought in what was considered a War. I couldn't be the only person who realized he had the advantage in magic and tried to throw a sucker punch. I once again cursed mind magic and control spells.

There were plenty of valid reasons to resort to lethal force; I couldn't think of any for overriding someone's agency in such a way. It was slavery all over again. Hagrid's hut came into view and I didn't miss that out of all the moderately interesting sights around, Ginny was eyeing the chickens. Yeah… I was more than glad I paid Fred and George for express delivery now.

"Those are some big pumpkins," I said pointing at the patch just next to the coop.

"You think he's using magic to grow them? Or just some magical fertilizer?"

"Magic. Engorgio probably, but not cast very well. Interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Hagrid was expelled from school; he had his wand snapped." And why would you know that, 'Ginny'? Was Riddle trying to raise suspicions, or was he just so confident that I wouldn't notice anything wrong? How much did he pick up on from his surroundings as a book? If it was only through Ginny's writings, then I should've only been mentioned within the last few entries at most. I guess it'd be reasonable to assume I wouldn't pick up on strange behavior after such minimal contact.

"Professor Sprout is helping out then. Bet they'll be used for Halloween. Now come on Ginny, we don't have much time to introduce ourselves." I grabbed her hand and dragged her to the door. The roosters were mostly hidden right now; I saw no reason to give Riddle an accurate count. I knocked on Hagrid's door. Barking, and a loud call of "Comin'! Be righ' there." Preceded the ground-shaking thumps of the half-giant's footfalls.

The door opened and I caught a glimpse of Hagrid right before a massive dog knocked me backwards off my feet.

'Ginny' laughed as I tried to fight off Fang, not moving to help. I think Fang smelled the kitchens on me as he was definitely interested in licking my fingers.

"Fang! Let 'er up yeh great oaf. Come on, go, get!" With his help, I was able to climb to my feet. As Hagrid pulled a still very excited Fang back into the hut, Ginny turned to me.

"Umm, Lyra? What's going on, how'd we get here?" I examined her sharply. She was no longer using the cold controlled expression she had during our walk. Instead she was shifting nervously and looking confused. Possession fully confirmed then. Complete memory loss during it as well.

"Ginny? You ran into me in the Entrance Hall and invited me to visit Hagrid's. You feeling alright?"

"I… Yeah... Just a bit tired, you know, classes. I was doing homework," she muttered. That horcrux works fast. Full, if temporary, possession in less than three weeks. She would've gotten it at Lockhart's signing on August 19th and it's only Sept 2nd right now. At least there didn't seem to be any lasting pain or discomfort, just disorientation and memory loss during the act itself. That also fit with the books. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Hagrid returned with a massive smile.

"I was'n expectin' guests! Come in! Come in! You, I recognize tha' hair, you must be another Weasley. Got me hands full o' it with those twins of yer's, an' Ron's a good one, he is." He turned to me.

"An' you! You're the one who fell in the lake!"

"Thanks again for the coat Hagrid."

"Argh, it weren't nothin'. Yeh really ought to be thankin' Horace. He did all the work." I hesitated. The squid had tried to help—the pat on the head implied a level of intent and intellect—and if it was always hanging out around the boats to help drowning first-years that was to be commended. Only…

"How?"

"Eh?"

"How do I thank… Horace?" It might even be fun to have the option to swim again. I didn't bring a swimsuit though, so maybe not.

"OH, Tha's easy, just feed him a bit of toast, loves the stuff. Can't get enough of it. So, Wha' yeh two come down 'ere fer?" I glanced at Ginny, but she was still looking confused and a bit out of it.

"Nothing much, just wanted to say hi and thank you again." Then I slipped into a conspiratorial loud whisper.

"I think Ginny, though, was looking to meet with Harry. You two are friends, right?" Hagrid let out a massive, full belly laugh. Ginny turned beet red, finally coming out of her daze. I gave her my best mischievous grin and winked at her.

"Well, he hasn't visited yet. I'd try again on the weekend, if I were yeh. Want some tea? Mayhaps some rock cakes?"

"We just had dinner, Hagrid." I deflected, remembering the descriptions of those cakes. As for tea, I couldn't tell if he was talking about the drink or if he was one of those that called 'dinner' itself tea. I thought that was a northern thing and his accent came from the southwest or something. Dialects were strange sometimes, which was why I took care to translate internally for clarity. Meh, I'd get used to his way of speaking eventually.

"I'll try a rock cake, thank you." Poor naive Ginny. As she settled in and Hagrid ambled his way over to the kitchenette, I looked around. It was like waking from the coma all over again. Everything was too large. At least four of me could sit, side by side, on the armchair. The bed was a sea of blankets. If I ignored the size, it was a fairly cozy studio living space. A sleeping area, sitting area, kitchenette, fireplace, one door presumably leading to the… chamber pot? He didn't get plumbing out here, did he?

I frowned. Another reminder that Dumbledore wasn't especially good at looking after the people most loyal to him. I wasn't searching his house or anything, but there was still plenty to take in. Hagrid was a bit of a hoarder it seemed. Animal parts hung from the open rafters, and even more bundles were visible tucked away up there. The kitchenette was loaded down with dishes, and he had a small mountain of food and ingredients. He kept the walking areas clean.

There was a window that gave me a direct line of sight to the chickens out back. Three roosters in a separate pen and about fifty hens. I got lost in a mental tangent for a moment, wondering how the school kitchens were kept stocked, but shook it off a second later. There was magic, and even if magic 'can't make food' it can help immensely with transportation and preservation.

"So, how're yeh two liking Hogwarts? Firs' full day, innit?"

"It was good, but Defence Against the Dark Arts was kind of a disappointment," Ginny said.

"Yeah, completely agree; Lockhart is a fraud." Ginny whirled to face me as if I'd said something insane.

"But you got full marks on that stupid quiz. I was there! Then you asked him for his autograph."

"Well, yeah. The books were good enough to read, but if he actually did anything he wrote—other than smile after all the action went down—I'll eat my shoes. I think he only became a teacher to try and boost the sales of his books." Hagrid let out a chuckle as he settled in, but didn't interrupt.

"But you were praising him the whole lesson."

"It's called being a suck-up, Ginny. Really helps your life if the teachers are on your side."

"That's horrible."

"That's smart! You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and complimenting people rarely backfires." She shook her head, looking exasperated.

"Besides, a lot of the information in those books are factually wrong. Yetis don't kidnap muggles for instance." In Year with the Yeti, Lockhart had described rescuing dozens of muggle children from a yeti that was holding them in polished bone cages. Not only did the logistics of that make no sense, I'd had time over the summer to look up public records in the area he claimed it occurred, and found only a single report of a kidnapping; that was eventually ruled as a parental dispute.

"Aye, tha's true. They get nervous around anythin' tha' walks on two legs."

"There's yetis in the forest?" Ginny asked.

"Don't 'ave any around 'ere, no. Would love ta meet one though."

"That's right, you're the gamekeeper, aren't you?" I asked.

"That means you take care of all the creatures around Hogwarts?"

"Aye, that I am. Yeh need help with a critter?" He leaned forward a bit with interest.

"Not so much. I was actually asking in a more broad sense. You see, I can't take Care of Magical Creatures until the third year, but I really want to learn more about them. I figure there isn't anyone more knowledgeable about the subject than you." Learning and interacting were two different things. I would absolutely like to learn about the creatures Hagrid considered the most interesting. Preferably before he gets permission to show them off to the students.

"Yeh wouldn't be interested in wha' I got ta say." Hagrid swelled a bit at my compliment, but still tried to dismiss me.

"Of course I would. I don't know anyone more knowledgeable about all the amazing things out there."

"Well, Professor Kettleburn really knows his stuff."

"Yeah, but he's busy with lessons. Please Hagrid? I really want to know more about magical creatures, I grew up in a city and never really had the chance to interact with them much.

""Well, I suppose, if'n yeh really want ta learn from me, I shouldn't refuse a student eager ta learn." He was acting shy, but also very clearly thrilled at the idea. I thought that might be the case. Becoming a teacher had meant a lot to him and that was only a few months from now. I looked over to Ginny. She was having trouble with the rock cake.

"Want to join in, Ginny?" She shrugged.

"If I'm not busy with other school work, sure?" Good enough. At least to start with. Riddle would learn the rooster situation, but that was already a lost cause in the long run. I wouldn't be able to interfere with him every time he tried to take a peek. I just needed to complete my rooster robbery before he could realize he missed one. I nodded.

"Once we get settled in somewhat, I'll come back and try to work something out. Maybe sometime on the weekends?"

"Tha' should work nicely. I'll try ta see if I can come up wit summat good." I decided to call it after that. Ginny hadn't actually intended to come here, it was starting to get dark, and my earlier thoughts about souring initial meetings by extending them too long were still on my mind.

"We should probably get going. Thanks again for hosting us, Hagrid."

"No– no, It were wonderful to meet you two. Enjoy yer lessons, and don't get in too much trouble." We rose—Ginny slipped her almost untouched rockcake to Fang—and we set off back to the castle. All in all, it went pretty well. Ginny's situation was worrying, but being closer to her would help me monitor her health. I suspected mental health was more important in this matter, and being a friend would take priority. Would a friend leave the diary in her possession though?

That question absorbed me all the way back to the castle. It was more complicated than the good option and the bad option. Taking it away from her had the clearest, most obvious benefits. Leaving it with her—at least for now—would avoid agitating Fate magic until I could research potential issues with interfering. If Fate magic isn't that strong, then there were still the considerations about butterflies.

If I could hold off on early intervention, I would have more accurate knowledge about the events where people actually die and could prevent those. I didn't like it. Armchair philosophy was so much easier than being faced with the potential consequences of following through. My thinking was cut off by a hiss. I jumped, and—stupidly—looked in the direction of the sound. Thankfully, it was just a thin cat sitting in the Entrance Hall. Not a massive snake that would kill you if you met its eyes.

It was still glaring at us with an aggressive posture.

"Is that Mrs Norris?" I asked.

"Mrs Norris?"

"Filch's cat. She informs him when she sees anyone breaking a rule." Ginny's brothers really didn't share much about the place with her, did they?

"Why's it hissing at us? We still have a few minutes before curfew, and we're allowed to walk the grounds."

"No idea." Running interrupted us as Filch arrived, panting lightly and wearing a massive snarl.

"You! What have you been up to, you sneaking brat?" He was glaring directly at Ginny, who clearly had no idea why she was being targeted.

"You're just like those other Weasleys, I won't have it! Those blasted twins, that brat with the famous friend. I won't have it!"

"Excuse me," Ginny said heatedly, "I did nothing wrong, and don't talk that way about my brothers!"

"Did nothing wrong, did you? And what were you doing out of the castle your first day here? Classes are over and first-years like you aren't allowed a broomstick." He spoke as if he was uncovering a great conspiracy; looked like it too, with a slightly mad gleam in his eyes.

"I was just visiting Hagrid!" She was escalating into something nearing a shout.

"Getting defensive, are you? I ought to take you to my office and have you pull out your pockets, girl." I saw Ginny clutch at a book-shaped object in said pocket defensively. For a moment she looked ready to kill. Was I even capable of taking the book from her in her unpossessed form? That was not the look of someone who'd let it go easily. Then, there was the possibility of Riddle taking over. Failing could quickly become death in that case. My thoughts from yesterday about doing so at night came back.

I should secure a way into the Gryffindor Tower to keep the option open. I decided to speak up. De-escalating seemed like a very good idea at the moment.

"Sir, we really were just visiting Hagrid—you could ask him yourself—but if you want to hold us up could you provide us with a note for being out past curfew?" Filch turned on me, clearly incensed at the idea that he would provide such a thing to a student.

"I'll be having words with the gamekeeper, and if he doesn't back your story, you'll be in trouble. The Professors are on the warpath after what happened with that flying car. ONE foot out of line, and I'll make you regret ever coming to this castle." He turned violently back to Ginny.

"And you, Weasley. I'll be watching you." He stomped past us and out into the fading light of twilight.

"What an unpleasant person," I commented idly.

"All vinegar, you can see why no student wants to work with him." Ginny snorted. A nearby meow alerted us to Mrs Norris, still watching Ginny without blinking. Ginny, not me.

"You know, I think I really hate that cat," she muttered.

"Yeah. Better get going though, Filch specifically refused to give us a note, which means he will give us detention if he catches us on his return still outside our common rooms."