Invisible (I)

TWELVE

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE
chapter thirteen

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H E   M I G H T   C R Y

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"I'd strangle him with my bare hands."

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Lily, against her conflicted feelings, had checked on her brother without him knowing. She had followed him in the corridors and heard his conversation with Ron about nightmares, but didn't approach him or say anything to him. For the rest of the winter holidays, it seemed as if Lily Potter had disappeared.

Harry wanted to see how she was doing after the fiasco during the Christmas dinner, where he'd acted like a terrible brother once again, but couldn't find her no matter where he looked. He even asked some Slytherins but most of them wouldn't answer him and those who did, didn't know where she was.

Harry feels bad about everyone laughing at her, about the way he'd reacted to it, about seeing their parents in the Mirror of Erised, and about his nightmares of them disappearing in a bright green light. He really wants to tell all about it to Lily, but she's nowhere to be seen.

The look on her face as he shook his head at her still haunts him. Her appearance in general had seemed different. Her eyes had been darker than usual as if she wasn't happy. There were dark bags under her eyes, indicating that she hadn't slept well in a while. Her face looked sunken, meaning that she hadn't eaten a lot during the time he spent with his friends while she was probably alone.

Lily is his little sister, yet this whole time she's been looking out for him. The only thing Harry has done is hurt her.

When Hermione, who comes back the day before term starts, finds out, she's disappointed that they haven't found out who Nicolas Flamel is.

They have almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry is still sure he's read the name somewhere. Once term has started, they're back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry has even less time than the other two because Quidditch practice has started again.

Wood is working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that has replaced the snow can't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complain that Wood is becoming a fanatic, but Harry is on Wood's side. If they win their next match, against Hufflepuff, they will overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry finds that he has fewer nightmares when he's tired out after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Harry suddenly spots Lily in the stands. He hasn't seen her since the Christmas dinner and she hasn't come to the Great Hall to eat or attended any of their library breaks. He can't see her well through the rain, but there's something different about her. Something unsettling. She looks healthier than ever yet the air around her feels wrong.

Although Harry doesn't want to in case she disappears again, he turns his attention back to the team captain. Wood gives the team a bit of bad news. He just got very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.

"Will you stop messing around!" he yells.

"That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"