The Darkening of Your Soul

Chapter 56

Fuck.

Fuckfuckfuck.

Harry knew he was panicking and he also knew that the last thing he should be doing was panicking and that if he didn't get himself under control anytime soon he might just make matters much worse than they already were.

Fuck.

He couldn't leave Skeeter's body out in the open like that, for someone to discover. But what the hell was he supposed to do with a mangled corpse?

Harry could honestly say he'd never before given any thought to how to get rid of a body at Hogwarts. This was uncharted territory for him.

But not for Tom.

Harry slowed down and inhaled a few deep breaths, trying to get his erratic heartbeat under control. He stopped and leaned a hand against the wall around the corner from the entrance to the Slytherin common room. His soulmate had committed murder when he was even younger than Harry, and he'd gotten away with it. If anyone knew what to do with an unwelcome dead body, it was Tom Riddle.

Reaching for his bookbag, Harry meant to grab his mirror that he used to speak to Tom. But there was no bookbag hanging off his shoulder, and thus there was no mirror to use.

Slowly closing his eyes, Harry released a shuddering breath. He'd left his bookbag in the library, with the mirror inside of it. And the Marauder's Map. And his invisibility cloak. Which meant that at that moment, he was completely flying blind.

Think. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could. Don't panic, but think. Yes, he might just be the world's most impulsive fool, but he was also a Slytherin those days. He could be cunning if he put his mind to it.

There were several possible scenarios Harry could go with. The first one was the simplest one, with the most dire consequences if it went wrong. Harry could alert a teacher, perhaps Snape, that he'd stepped on a bug and much to his horror, that bug had turned into a dead woman. Which was the truth, after a fashion. No one would be able to prove that Harry had known all along who that particular bug truly was.

Unless they used Veritaserum on him. Then Harry would be shit out of luck. Did they use Veritaserum on children? Was that even allowed? And even if it wasn't, Harry knew all too well that the Ministry had no problems ignoring its own rules when it was advantageous for them.

So confessing the truth was out, because there was a very real risk that the Ministry would try to screw Harry over.

There was also the possibility of leaving Skeeter's corpse where it was. Hardly anyone ever went down that far into the dungeons, so it might be a while before it was found. Then again, a body would start to decompose sooner rather than later, which would cause a noticeable stench, Harry was sure. Someone would notice it, perhaps a diligent house-elf cleaning the corridors, and the body would be discovered before long.

And Harry didn't want the body to be discovered, least of all at Hogwarts.

There were magical ways to get rid of a dead body, Harry remembered that much from his previous life. In his fourth year, Barty as Moody had transfigured his father's corpse into a bone and buried it in the Forbidden Forest. No one had ever found it, as far as Harry knew, and the truth had only come out when Barty had confessed to it while he was under the effects of Veritaserum.

Transfiguring the corpse and smuggling it out of Hogwarts was a viable option. Of course, Harry had never transfigured an entire human being before, but how hard could it be?

No matter what decision Harry made, he'd better make it fast because Alastor Moody and his magical eye that could see through walls was currently teaching a class inside the castle. And Harry really didn't want that bastard to see Harry mess with a corpse.