An Unwelcome Diagnosis

Durmstrang, Hospital Wing, April 19th

"I'm sorry," Lady Shluga said sincerely, "but there has been no change. These new potions have had no noticeable effect either."

"Is there nothing else we can try?"

Lady Shulga looked at her patient in pity before turning to her father. "You know how extensive the damage was, Romulus. I always said it would take time to see if she made a full recovery. Perhaps in another few years there will be some signs of improvement."

"Please give my daughter and I a moment."

"Of course," Lady Shulga said, bowing herself out of the room.

"Calypso–"

"You know," she said quietly, a far away look in her eyes. "a part of me is glad nothing's changed."

Romulus glared angrily at his daughter. "You will have to tell him."

"Eventually. And by then he won't care."

"You don't know that. Has he even agreed to consider a contract?"

"No. No, he hasn't, and it doesn't matter anymore."

"So confident that you've won," Romulus mocked. "Planning on Imperiusing him? Or perhaps a subtle drugging with love potion?"

"No." While Calypso kept her voice respectful, her eyes gave away the rage she felt at her father's words.

The anger exchanged between father and daughter were tangible. "Rosemburg mentioned that he is interested in the Triwizard Tournament," Romulus remarked. "You will need to go to Hogwarts, and his family will find out about your relationship."

The first look of doubt appeared on Calypso's face. "It won't matter. Not anymore."

"Don't be stupid." Romulus snapped. "Do you truly think he cares about you more than them?"

"No," Calypso replied, "but, he does care about me."

Romulus curled his lip as if tasting something unpleasant. "Sometimes that just isn't enough, daughter."

"In this case, it will be, father."

"I've had enough, do as you wish, daughter. You obviously made your choice when you stopped coming to our meetings. There will be consequences for that, I can assure you," Romulus saw uncertainty pass through his daughter's eyes before she seemingly made a decision.

"Then consider this my last report on Harry Potter. You want to know why he's different? Why did he stop holding back?" Seeing that she had her father's undisguised attention, Calypso said, "I can't prove it, but I suspect Ivan embedded a false memory into Harry's mind during their detention. Harry said Ivan used Legilimency extensively on him during his detention – that Ivan managed to break into his mind – but I remember seeing Harry afterwards, and he was fine. It wasn't until almost a week after the detention that he started using Occlumency more."

"A false memory?" Romulus asked curiously. "One that would eventually take the place of the actual detention?"

Calypso nodded.

"That... is very intricate magic," Romulus mused. "Ivan would have had to plant the memory deep into Mr. Potter's subconscious – though if he were distracted at the time it could be done. It would have had to gradually take the place of the real memory through dreams and recollections."

"Does the oath cover Legilimency?" Calypso asked bluntly.

"I'm unsure. Ivan has very strict limits as to what he can subject a student to physically, and his potion usage is highly restricted, but..." Romulus trailed off.

"But?" Calypso pressed.

Romulus looked at his daughter seriously. "I don't have to tell you how useful Legilimency can be, especially against those who don't suspect you know it. After two years of working here, I was not aware that Ivan was capable of Legilimency, and if I wasn't aware of it..."

"Then the Highmaster might not have placed it into his oath," Calypso realized. "So it's possible then? Harry's memory of his detention, it's not real?"

"To him? It would be as real as any other memory he's ever had. In fact, the memory would be more detailed, clearer, than any other." Romulus frowned in thought. "However, if Ivan had used extensive Legilimency against Mr. Potter – to the point of breaking into his mind – it would have been a very traumatic ordeal. That is the problem with false memories. If you do not catch them quickly, if you give them the time to seep in, they become harder to detect as the mind begins to accept them as true. Ironically, Mr. Potter's use of Occlumency likely stopped us from realizing if his memories were altered or not, perhaps Ivan counted on that to get away with it. Have you spoken to Mr. Potter about the possibility of the memory not being real?"

Calypso shook her head. "No, I'm not sure telling Harry would be a good idea. If the memory is fake, it's just another way Ivan bested him. I won't do that to him, especially since we can't tell him for certain."

"I suppose we shall just live with this new Harry Potter then."

A large smile worked its way across Calypso's face before she could stop herself.

"Something you wish to add, daughter?"

Cursing herself, Calypso shook her head. "No, sir."

The Legilimency probe came immediately, as Calypso knew it would. Using every trick she knew, Calypso just managed to keep her father out.

"Something has happened." Romulus' eyes were hard as he continued to probe his daughter's mind, frustrated slightly at her improvement. "What aren't you telling me?"

Her eyes shining in triumph at keeping her father out, Calypso decided a partial truth wouldn't hurt. "Harry's moved on from it." Calypso couldn't keep her pride from her voice. "There was, well something happened a few days ago, he found a way to make peace with what happened. Regardless of whether the memory is real or not, Harry's better off now than he was before."

Eventually Romulus pulled his Legilimency back, recognizing the futility of continued probing. Unable to hide his displeasure, Romulus said, "So I should expect his progress to regress next year."

Calypso was already up and walking out of the Hospital wing – she seriously doubted she'd be able to keep her father out of her mind again. Just before exiting the door, she turned around and simply smiled in a knowing fashion. "Oh, I think Harry will surprise you a great deal father."

As the door closed behind Calypso, Romulus couldn't help but admit, "He already has, my dear, as have you."