Potioneer potter

Ch 3

Despite having just endured 2 hours of quality Snape time and Hogwarts' distinct lack of caffeinated drinks, Harry chose to swing by the library on his way to the common room and pick up at least one book on how to improve his potions work. He told Ron and Hermione as much and consequently was given a large stack of very complicated looking books on a variety of different subjects and instructions on precisely where to return them and how to do so.

"I don't want to be getting any angry post from Madame Pince saying that I haven't returned my books, she is a lovely lady, but I refuse to get on her bad side."

"Don't worry Mione I've got it all written down up here" Harry said, tapping the side of his head.

"Unless you have somehow discovered a hidden ability as a natural occlumens Harrison Potter, anything you have 'written down' can easily be skewed or forgotten and I don't want to risk that."

As a result, Hermione dug out a small piece of parchment, wrote down the instructions with a muggle pen that she always kept to hand, and put it in Harry's breast pocket before bidding him farewell and following Ron up the staircase.

Vehemently telling himself that he remembered the way from his first-year escapades and did not need to consult his marauders map, Harry set off on his journey to the hogwarts library, still partially hidden behind the huge stack of 'Summer reading'. After several instances of pretending that he had not heard a portrait mutter "the library is the other way" under its breath and was in fact going to turn around anyway, Harry eventually made it to the entrance and finally set down the books in the return box as Hermione had instructed. He then made his way to the potions section and began perusing the books available whilst attempting to regain mobility in his arm by moving it in a circular motion just as he would for a quidditch practice.

Around 45 minutes later, Harry had chosen 5 different books although only '10 recipes and fun facts to know by heart for the best results in school' and 'A to Z of common potions ingredients and all their uses'   were for potions. The other three were '12 ways to take your wand casting to the next level', 'the best charms for everyday practical use', and a book on past quidditch stars because why not. He wrote down the books and his name on Madame pince's list of borrowed books and walked briskly back to Gryffindor tower, eager to read his new books (not that he'd ever tell Hermione that though) but more importantly eager to go down to dinner and eventually to bed.

That evening, Harry sat on his bed with the curtains drawn so that nobody could see him. He had then cast a silencio charm as well as a lumos and began to read through his book, attempting any new spells that he came across. He very quickly came to the realisation that he would need to send an owl order to diagon alley and get himself a large notebook in which he could write down the most important parts of what he learnt. The potions books in particular contained a lot of information that Harry simply was not aware of, whether that was due to inattention in lessons or Snape's inability to teach, he didn't know, however it explained many areas of the subject that he didn't even realise he lacked knowledge in and although this now meant a lot more work and a lot more books were needed, Harry took small comfort in the fact that his grade was likely fixable and was not due to his own incompetence as Snape had so often theorised. The pages and pages of new information quickly tired Harry out and, after trying hard to soldier on and perhaps delay the inevitable nightmares that usually accompanied sleep, he soon gave in, noxed his wand out and let himself fall into the realm of Hypnos.

Harry dreamt of the door. He dreamt of the black corridor with the door he never reached. He wasn't exactly walking but somehow, he knew that walking wouldn't be right. He glided forward at a strangely consistent pace until he was within reaching distance of the doors handle. Finally, I can open the door and see what is behind it, see whatever strange thing is so important that I see it every night. The door opened. Harry hadn't touched it.
"Kill the spare" a voice hissed next to him, no, it wasn't next to Harry, it was Harry. He watched in horror as his field of vision flashed a bright sickly green and once it cleared Cedric was stood in the doorway. His eyes were lifeless, his cheeks were hollow, and his skin was a dull grey.

"You killed me Harry. Why would you kill me Harry? I thought we were friends Harry."

"Cedric- I-" Harry tried to speak but his voice wasn't there. Instead the same not quite human voice escaped along with a flash of red.
"Crucio" Harry sobbed with guilt as Diggory's screams filled the air, except it wasn't Cedric Diggory screaming, it was Amos Diggory's wails of grief being wrenched from his chest and soon Harry's own screams joined the accursed harmony.