Dysfunctional

59 - Possessed... Or not?

Monday, October 13

Harry tied the boat to the pier and hoisted his rucksack. Bone-weary, he wanted nothing more than to crash on his bed and sleep for a few days at the least. He tapped the door with his wand and pushed it open. He was just shutting it behind him when he heard a scream and the weight of someone crushing the life out of him.

"Whoa!" said Harry, standing awkwardly. "What's going on?"

Demelza let go of him, staring him down with accusation in her higher than usual voice. "Where have you been? Why didn't you come back sooner like you said you would?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, bemused. "I've been gone for only a few hours."

Demelza drew back.

"In fact, I'd say I'm early," continued Harry, walking into the cabin, and unzipping his jacket. "It's not even dark out."

"What?" she whispered. Harry turned around to see Demelza frozen, gazing at him in shock.

It took Harry a few moments to put together what was going on. He threw his backpack onto the floor and slammed the wall with his fist, swearing. "Not again!"

He thought it had stopped. There had been no evidence his memory lapse had happened again for almost a month, since when he had been injured and immobile. And just after he had stepped foot out of this place for the first time, it had resurfaced.

Frustration, and not a small amount of anxiety, was overtaking him. Something was terribly wrong with him. There was no point trying to brush it off any more like he had the past instances.

He looked up at a confused-looking Demelza, and asked, "When did I leave?"

"Yesterday."

Harry swore under his breath again and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. No wonder he felt starved and incredibly tired.

What was wrong with him?

"Harry, you're scaring me."

Harry glanced back at her and was startled to see real fear in Demelza's eyes - she was usually either mad at him, upset or sympathizing at his misery that it was jarring to have her look at him like that.

He removed his glasses and rubbed his face, feeling light-headed with the lack of food. He called for Twitchet. The elf was ecstatic to have him back and reappeared promptly with plates of steak. Harry sat down on the couch to have a few mouthfuls before he wordlessly asked Demelza to sit down too.

"I think I'm losing time."

Demelza stared back at him like he was a nutter but Harry did not know how else to put it. He tried to explain as best as he could. "I reckon it happened once, just a week or so before I met you," he said. "I didn't think too much of it, but then it happened again when we were in the hospital. Remember you left to go in search for a place to stay?"

She nodded mutely.

"I swear it felt like only a few moments before you'd returned," said Harry. "I thought after we had arrived here, that it had stopped and I could just put it up to having been alone for too long. Now I realize that's definitely not what's happening."