Is this why Dumbledore won't look at me...? Megan wondered as they journeyed back to Grimmauld Place.

The idea of Voldemort possessing her made her feel sick and soiled. And she felt unfit to be around all these clean-minded, innocent people. But what Moody had said made sense... she had not just watched the scene from the snake's eyes, she had been the snake, felt like it, thought like it... and that was more sickening still. And she had given him all the information he could need. Where to find Sirius, the Order...! He could be reading her mind right now... she shuddered.

"Are you feeling all right, Megan, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked as they reached the house. "You don't look well. Are you sick?"

She shook her head.

"No, I'm okay, Mrs Weasley."

"But you look so pale..."

"I'm fine..." she said.

"Are you sure you slept this morning? Why don't you get some rest?"

When they went in, a familiar voice called:

"Megan!"

She looked towards the kitchen. Cedric, who had been leaning against the door frame, had hurried forwards when he had seen her. And when she saw his face, she found that nothing else could touch her. Not Voldemort, not anything. Megan hurtled forwards and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, it's so good that you're here..." she said into his shoulder.

"You okay? You had a rough night."

She looked up at him and was about to say she felt better with him there when a voice called out her name.

"Megan!"

Hermione and Harry hurried out the kitchen and hugged her too.

"We heard first thing this morning, but we had to wait for term to end, Umbridge's already furious about you guys getting out under her nose." Harry said.

Megan then noticed Hermione squeeze Fred and George. She wasn't sure, but she thought there was something different with the way she and Fred held each other. She didn't think now was the time to comment on that, however.

"How's your dad?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"He'll be okay, thanks." she smiled.

"I spoke to the healers, they think they may have a solution for his bleeding and say he should be home for Christmas." Molly told them.

"That's great!" George said.

Megan then felt something she hated feeling. Jealousy. Ginny, Ron and the others had great parents and both would be there for Christmas, as they always had. Megan's parents had always been described to her as great, yet she had no real memory of them, and the one Christmas they had shared would be the first and last. It just didn't seem fair, somehow. She had lost her parents without even realising what was going on, and she had never known them. She had been through hell and back. But she had never gotten her parents. All she had was a stupid fame. She bit her lip and tried to keep the tears out of her eyes, not wanting to sound selfish, even if she knew that she was.

"Excuse me..." she gasped and turned away before they could see her.

She hurtled up the stairs and into the room she shared with Ginny and soon, Hermione.

Once she was standing alone by the window looking out, Megan let the tears flow freely. Why was she so... petty? Getting annoyed that Ron had been picked prefect, snapping with her friends... seeing Voldemort in her reflection and then nearly killing Mr Weasley... and if Voldemort was possessing her, he knew far too much. She had to leave, she realised as she got to her feet. But just as she was thinking up how and where, hoping he wouldn't read it, the door opened.

"Megan...? Can I come in?"

It was Cedric. Not wanting him to see her tears, she hastily wiped them away.

"Hey, hey..." he said, drawing her close. "What's wrong?"

But she pulled away. Gently, but firmly.

"I don't want to hurt you... you should stay away..." she said miserably.

He stared at her aghast.

"Okay, you and I are going to sit down, and you'll tell me where the hell that's coming from. All right?"

She just nodded and sat nextto him, though not too close. Taking a deep breath, she told him all about the conversation they'd overheard at the hospital, the looks on the Weasleys' faces, and the pangs of jealousy she couldn't understand.

"And I feel terrible because I was basically thinking they should lose their dad when I'd give all the gold I have to get mine back... they're the kindest people I know and I hate myself for thinking like that..."

She looked up at him.

"I... I have no idea what to do... It's like I don't know who I am any more."

"Megan, it's normal to feel envious in that sort of situation..." he said, ignoring her protests and clutching her hands. "And I don't think Voldemort's possessing you."

Megan blinked, frowning ever so slightly.

"You... don't?"

"No, as a matter of fact."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because he could never feel as strongly as you are."

"He feels anger, and I've had plenty of that..." she said, averting her gaze.

"Anyone feels anger, it's human. You don't think every one of us has been angry once in their life?"

Megan shook her head as he spoke.

"Not this kind of anger, they don't... and I..."

She could barely get the words out.

"I... In the vision, I... was the snake that attacked Arthur, Cedric..." she replied, staring into his eyes, desperation and fear clawing at her heart. "How else can I interpret that?"

She waited for the horror, the fear to appear in Cedric's face... but they didn't come.

"Megan, how would he have gotten you to London and back in less that five minutes? Besides, you're not an Animagus. And you can't Apparate or Disapparate within or out of Hogwarts, you know that."

"Maybe he is and when he controls me, I turn too."

"It's not possible. It's a matter of body preparation as much as mental. Even the Imperius Curse can't force you to change if you're not Animagus."

"... Okay, then why does Dumbledore refuse to look at me?"

"I don't know. He must have his reasons. But he did ask me to tell you this: you have to remember you're not alone, and whatever you do, stay where you are."

Megan sighed. More grounding? Really?

"I think you're just overtired, love," he said, touching her face. "You should try and get some sleep."

"I can't..." Megan whispered. "If I become the snake again..."

"Then I'll stay with you, okay? I'll be right here when you wake up."

"But if I hurt you, I'd die!" Megan said.

"I'll have my wand out. Deal?"

Megan hated him being the guinea pig, but he lay down on the bed and Megan hesitated a second before lying down beside him. She was more exhausted than she'd realised, because she was out in minutes... out and hurrying down the stone steps before reaching the black corridor. Hurtling towards it she tried to open the door. But she couldn't. She glared at it, desperate to enter, to reach the treasure inside. A prize beyond her dreams, something priceless. If only she could get in...

Megan opened her eyes. Cedric lay beside her, his eyes closed. For a split second, she was scared her fear had come true and scrambled off the bed.

"What, what's wrong?" Cedric asked, sitting up abruptly.

He was unharmed. Sighing with relief, Megan said:

"Nothing... I just..."

The door opened behind her.

"Mum said dinner's ready, but she'll save you something if you want to stay in bed," said Ginny.

"Okay, thanks, Ginny," Cedric said.

And she left.

"Doesn't want to be alone with me..." Megan said. "Not after what Moody said."

"Megan, I was alone with you for the past ..." he checked his watch. "Three hours and a half, asleep half the time and I'm still fine. So stop worrying."

But she still preferred to remain up in the room. So Cedric went down alone.

A little later, Megan was lying on her back in the dark, thinking, when a faint knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Megan?" Hermione called. "Can we come in? We want to talk to you."

She got up and opened the door. Hermione, flicking the light on, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Cedric came in, the prior carrying a platter of sandwiches.

"Mrs Weasley thought you'd be hungry," he explained.

A loud rumble answered her, making them all laugh. Even Megan managed a small half smile and took a sandwich while they sat down, Cedric sitting beside her.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.

"Fine." she said.

"Oh, come on, you've always been a terrible liar." she said impatiently. "You've been avoiding everyone since you came back from St Mungo's. They told us about what you'd heard with the Extendable Ears..."

"Yeah? Talking about me again? I'm getting used to that."

"We wanted to talk to you," Ginny said. "It's you who've been hiding up here ever since we got back..."

"... I didn't think I should be around you..."

"Well, that was stupid." Ginny said. "Because as the only person we know who was ever truly possessed by Voldemort, I could tell you what it's like."

Megan's head snapped up. There was a silence. Ginny was right, of course. Three years ago, Voldemort had used a part of him in his old diary to possess the person who was writing into it, which had been Ginny.

"Sorry..." she said, earnestly. "So... what d'you think, then?"

"D'you have black-outs? Blank periods where you can't remember what you did?"

Megan thought about it carefully.

"No," she said finally.

"Then you aren't and haven't been possessed." Ginny said simply. "I couldn't remember what I had done for hours, when he controlled me. I'd find myself somewhere without knowing how I'd ended up there."

Hardly daring to believe it, Megan hesitated. But then, the memory of her conversation with the Tom Riddle of the diary, quoting Ginny, who was scared because of strange blanks in her memory... she thought for a second, then said:

"But... the dream of your dad and the snake..."

"You've had this sort of dream before," Hermione said. "You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year, remember?"

"It was different... I was the snake... "

"You thrashed around on the floor for about a minute before we could wake you up," Harry said. "There's no possible way you could have been there."

It was both comforting and it made sense, Megan realised as she thought about it. It was silly to think he had used her to go to London, how would he have had her Disapparate when you couldn't in or out of Hogwarts? And anyway if he could do that, he would have done it long before.

I'm not the weapon... she thought. And I guess it was a bit silly to think so... Voldemort wants me dead, why would he use me as a weapon? He used my blood to return, but that was because it would make him resistant to Mum's magic...

Her heart swelling, she gave them the first real smile they'd seen in three days.