[HP] Dearest Enemy

"What?" Harry's eyes widened in bewilderment, and he put his hand behind his neck.

"Turn around, Harry." Alex threw the towel aside. "Keep your head down."

Harry felt a little baffled, but he turned around obediently and lowered his head to show his neck. Alex leaned over to take a closer look.He was right, there was indeed something on Harry's neck, that piece of skin was slightly darker than the surrounding area, and it would be hard to spot unless it was close.Alex leaned over and found that the imprint was not only the part that exposed the neckline, but the part he saw was more like the end of something.

"Do you have a birthmark or something on your neck?" Alex asked.

"No." Harry replied, he rarely even saw moles on his body, and he had never heard Ron say that he had any marks on his back before.

"Take off your clothes." Alex frowned.

"What?" Harry turned his head in surprise.

"What I see is only part of it, and you should still have it."

Harry froze for a moment, then began to unbutton his pajamas.Alex watched as Harry rolled down one sleeve and pulled his pajamas aside for him.Then he froze.

"Aaron?" Harry asked nervously, "How is it?"

"No, what the hell is this?" Alex whispered in horror.

The darker skin on Harry's neck is not so obvious, and the unsun-sunned skin on his back is extraordinarily fair, which also makes the mark stand out clearly.Indeed, only a small part of the neckline was exposed, and a snake-like thing with many legs extended along his spine to his waist, like a tattoo printed on the skin.What he saw on Harry's collar was a scorpion-like thing, there were two in total, and countless long legs; the thing had a triangular head, which was very similar to a snake, but obviously It's not a snake; its long body is covered with tiny patterns, which are all in the shape of open eyes.Although the imprint was very faint, Alex instinctively felt that the pattern was very ominous.

"Aaron?" Seeing the expression on his friend's face, Harry also became serious.

"No, don't move," said Alex dryly, grabbing Harry by the shoulders to turn him around, and then leaning closer to see what was on his back.

"Is that big?" Harry asked, feeling more and more anxious.

"It's not small, it looks like some kind of animal... no, some kind of creature," Alex said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Where is it?" Harry asked again.

"Up your spine, all the way down to your waist," Alex replied in a low voice.

Harry froze immediately: "What did you say?"

"Start here." Alex pressed his fingers onto the curve of Harry's neck, then moved directly to the first lumbar vertebra. "End here."

Harry felt as if the part of his back that Alex was pointing at was as cold as ice, which made him shiver involuntarily.

"Is it a snake?" Harry asked.

"No, it's not a snake." Alex's voice was almost whispered, as if he was afraid of alarming the weird creature on his back, "I don't know what it is, I've never seen it before."

"What does it look like?" Harry asked stiffly.

Alex hesitated, grabbed the wand on the table and drew that eerie figure with smoke in the air.

Harry squinted his eyes and stared at that thing for a full half a minute before regaining his ability to speak: "What is this?"

"I don't know." Alex frowned, and with a flick of his wand, the smoke dissipated. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Harry felt as though someone had grabbed his throat, but Alex pressed his fingertips against his skin again.

"The pattern is not obvious, but the temperature on it is higher than elsewhere." Alex said after comparing the imprint with the skin next to it, "Harry, do you feel nothing at all?"

Harry shook his head.His recent feeling is that he is indescribably tired, as if he has just gone through an exhausting long-distance run, exhausted physically and mentally.What Alex discovered deepened the exhaustion and filled him with an uncontrollable dread.What exactly is that?Why did it appear on my back?When exactly did it appear?What kind of harm would it do to himself... Harry unconsciously clenched his fists, and reached out to touch the glasses he had put aside as if asking for help.The glasses were quickly found, Harry put them on with some trepidation, and the world began to become clear.

"Harry, Harry, are you okay?" Alex asked, rubbing his shoulders.

Harry looked up slowly, and met Alex's beautiful gray eyes.The friend's face was full of concern, and the temperature of the other's palm could be clearly heard from his shoulder. Harry felt that the deep anxiety and fear in his heart suddenly faded a lot.

"I'm... ok." Harry finally swallowed the word "okay." "I'm ok, Aaron."

"No, you're not okay." Alex reached out and stroked his cheek. "You're not. Nobody ever feels okay after that happens to you. I'm going to a therapist and I have to tell him about it right away. "

Harry nodded, and Alex watched him worriedly for a while before going out.Harry pushed the pajamas back on his shoulders, feeling that the thing with many legs on the spine seemed to be twisting, as if it would tear his spine and crawl into his body in the next second.Terrified and anxious, he subconsciously reached out and held his shoulder.There was still warmth and tactile sensation in the place touched by Alex's palm just now, but fear seemed to sweep over again following his departure, leaving Harry cold from head to toe.

Alex and the therapist came in quickly.Harry jumped when the door was pushed open, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"Merlin!" The therapist took a step back in shock when he saw the shallow mark, "What is this?"

"Mr. Bryan." Alex reminded, with a hint of reproach in his voice, "Does the gentleman you mentioned earlier have similar symptoms to Harry?"

The therapist shook his head vigorously: "No, no, I have never encountered such a situation before."

After the initial shock, the therapist regained his composure and began to carefully examine Harry's back for any apparent suddenness.The imprint was like it was painted on, only a little darker than the color of the skin.The therapist tried several spells, but to no avail.

"It must be caused by something else," said the healer. "Perhaps Professor Dumbledore is right. It's probably the imprint of some kind of dark magic curse."

Harry's eyebrows twitched, and he slipped his pajamas back on without a word.

"The pattern should have only appeared in the past few days." The therapist said after thinking for a while, "Mr. Potter, before Mr. Palampion found out, did you feel any obvious discomfort in your body?"

Harry shook his head, he didn't feel anything other than getting tired easily.

Alex gave Harry a worried look, as if about to say something, but didn't say anything until the therapist left.

"It's too late, Harry." Alex said to his friend, "You should rest."

Harry looked at him: "Can you stay with me a little longer today? I can't sleep."

"I'll stay here today until you fall asleep." Alex said casually, patting his friend on the shoulder, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you." Harry muttered, drank the potion left by the healer and lay down, staring at the ceiling with a pair of green eyes.

Alex thought for a while, and walked to Harry's bedside: "Shall I sing you a lullaby?"

Harry frowned, but saw that the corner of his friend's mouth was curled into an extremely flat smile, so he couldn't help punching him: "I'm not a child."

Alex laughed softly, then put his hands on Harry's eyelids: "I'm by your side."

I'm by your side, I'm by your side.Harry said it silently a few times in his mind, feeling a lump in his throat for no reason, and then held the hand.

"Aaron," Harry said in a low voice, his voice trembling slightly, "I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid," Alex said softly, squeezing Harry's hand tightly.

"I'm not afraid of dying," said Harry, "I just... think of that... thing on my back and I feel like I'm in an ice cellar."

"Anyone will feel scared." Alex said, his steady voice miraculously made Harry gradually relax, "Dumbledore will always find a way, as long as it is dawn, I will go find him."

"Thank you, Aaron," Harry said gratefully, and Alex had a very soft look on his face.

"When you are discharged from the hospital, you have to treat me to dinner." Alex said as lightly as possible, "Bake it for me yourself. I haven't tasted your cooking for a long time."

"Okay." Harry finally relaxed.Alex helped him put the glasses on the bedside table beside him, hesitated for a moment, and leaned down to press a soft kiss on Harry's forehead.

"Go to sleep, Harry, and have a sweet dream."

Harry squeezed his hand in answer.The magic potion worked quickly, and Harry's breathing became even after less than 5 minutes.Alex withdrew his hand, stared at Harry's sleeping face for a while, and then walked quietly to the window.

The moment Harry held his hand, there seemed to be an electric current that quickly spread through his body from the place where the two touched, making him tremble almost at that moment.Harry wasn't looking for a bed partner just to vent his lust, and Alex knew exactly what it meant to him.

Alex is five years younger than Harry, but he is much more experienced in emotional experience than Harry.When he met this man for the first time when he was 19 years old, he inexplicably liked this stranger and talked to him a lot, but at that time he didn't find the fatal charm in Harry.It wasn't until he entered Hogwarts and worked with Harry that he gradually discovered all the advantages and disadvantages of Harry, and also understood why Tom was attracted by his godfather.Alex provoked Tom because he was bored. He knew that the good-tempered Harry would not care about his little actions, but Tom was different.Harry, however, was even more dull than he'd imagined, completely considering himself his closest friend.So Alex drew a line for himself and always stood on the other side of the line.Harry was also a very important friend to him, a friend he didn't want to lose.

However, this boundary had been broken a few minutes ago, because of a small, completely meaningless movement by Harry.It was the first time in years that Alex really had a crush on someone, wanted to kiss him on the eyes and lips, wanted to hug him and tell him I was in love with you, and that person was his best friend.

You shouldn't be thinking that, Alex's mind is ordering him to calm down.He was very clear about Harry's preferences, so he also knew that he would not have the chance to be favored by him.Although Harry didn't say anything, and Tom had no way to ask, but Alex almost instinctively believed that it was definitely Tom who had feelings for Harry other than father and son, and Harry discovered that, which made the two People become distant.This is not an opportunity to get close to Harry, all he can do is to do what a friend should do, and then continue to stay by his side as a friend.

Whatever else he wanted to do, at least not right now.Harry needed to rest in peace, and he couldn't add a single bit of burden to him.

Alex smiled faintly, but that smile had a hint of weeping.

Dumbledore had received a letter from Alex early in the morning.Alex explained Harry's situation and his guess in detail in the letter, and Dumbledore immediately revised his itinerary.If Harry was just an ordinary professor, Dumbledore would not be so enthusiastic even as a close colleague with him.But Harry's value was immeasurable. Dumbledore would not allow Harry to make the slightest mistake in his own hands. This was a great loss to him and Hogwarts.

"This is indeed a curse." Dumbledore said after carefully observing the mark on Harry's back, "but even I have never seen a similar or similar curse."

"The imprint appeared after Harry had a fever last time." Alex said, "I guess Harry has been getting tired recently, is it related to this imprint?"

"If so..." Dumbledore didn't say the last part.Alex couldn't help but look at him, and seeing his colleague's serious face, he swallowed the words that came to his lips.

Harry straightened his clothes and stood up with a calm expression on his face.He has completely recovered his usual composure, at least on the surface no one can tell.

"I'm just a little worried about the curse being able to keep me teaching for another year," said Harry. "I hope it doesn't affect me too much."

"My knowledge is far from enough," said Dumbledore. "This is a very rare curse, and I hope I am lucky enough to let me know what it is."

Dumbledore was very busy, promised to help Harry check the information, and then left.Alex motioned for Harry to stay in the ward, and he went to see Dumbledore off.

"You must always stay by Harry's side to ensure his safety." Dumbledore ordered Alex in a low voice, "It's best not to leave him for half a step, and notify me immediately if there is anything unusual."

"I will." Alex said, nodding. "Albus, what would you like to say to me over tea? I don't think I have time for that right now."

"Some things over there in Germany," said Dumbledore succinctly, "but Harry takes precedence now."

"With all due respect, you take Harry very seriously." Alex asked sharply. "Why?"

"This is between me and Harry, and I cannot answer your question," said Dumbledore, "but it would be great if he would tell you himself. You should go back, Alex. "

Alex nodded and watched the wise man leave.Dumbledore was obviously hiding something, but before delving into the matter, he needed to go back to Palampion Manor first.Maybe in that huge library, he could find clues to the curse on Harry's back.