In the other bed, Harry bolted up and reached for his glasses.
'Malfoy, what-'
He broke off. Draco wasn't sure if Harry had seen the dark shape, and didn't much care either. Still on his knees, he fumbled for the lid of his trunk and wrenched it open. He plunged his hand inside, and then remembered, with a sickening lurch in his stomach, that he had given his sword to Lupin that afternoon. His wand, where was his wand-
'Lumos,' said Harry.
Light blossomed out of the tip of the wand Harry was holding, and lit the room with a bluish glow. It illuminated Harry, sitting up in bed, Draco, crouched on the floor, and the creature, whatever it was, which gave a shrill scream and cowered away from the light.
'Don't hurt me!' it shouted, in perfectly recognizable English, although its voice sounded less like a human voice and more like a bonfire crackling words. 'Please don't hurt me!'
Harry looked at Draco. Draco looked back. Neither of them spoke, but they were both obviously thinking the same thing: it couldn't be that horrible a monster if it was afraid of two boys in pajamas.
'What is it?' said Draco, looking at Harry in astonishment.
'No idea,' replied Harry, getting out of bed. Draco got to his feet and stood next to Harry as they both stared, Harry holding his wand ready.
The whatever-it-was was about the size of a dog, with gray, scaled skin and a perfectly round, earless head. It had no nose either, and its mouth was a long slit. It was holding up two gray, long-fingered hands in entreaty.
'Okay,' said Harry, staring at it, 'We won't hurt you. Just…calm down.'
'The hell we won't,' said Draco, who was still very shaken. 'What d'you mean jumping on me in the middle of the night like that?
What do you want?'
The creature said, in the same crackling voice, 'Hurt me if you will. I have come here only for what is mine.'
Harry and Draco looked at each other in bewilderment.
'Come again?' said Harry politely.
'I have come for what is mine,' repeated the creature. 'My other half!' It fetched up a dry sob and looked pitifully at Draco and Harry. 'For many years, it was hidden from me. And then I began to sense it had returned to the world. I sought it over land and ocean.
And found it here. It is mine!' screamed the creature, 'and it has been lost these thousand years!'
'What is it, exactly, this other half of yours?' asked Draco. 'I mean, you look pretty complete to me, not missing any bits or parts, unless you count that you don't have any ears, I suppose. Is it an ear you're looking for?'
The creature glared at him with contempt. 'You are a very stupid mortal boy,' it said, 'and if I had my other half and my full powers, I would eat you.'
Draco looked furious. Harry put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
'Nobody's eating anyone here,' he said. 'Can you tell us a bit more about this, um, other half that you've misplaced?'
The creature looked livid. 'I did not misplace it! It was taken from me by force by an evil wizard, and hidden from me; I have sought everywhere and it is HERE!'
Harry was looking at the creature with his head cocked thoughtfully to one side. 'You're a demon, aren't you?'
The creature looked shifty. 'I am not,' it said.
'Oh, yes you are,' said Harry, gaining conviction. 'We did demons last year in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I know how to banish them, too.' He pointed at the creature with his hand. 'Dispelle-'
'Nooooo!' the demon shouted, banging its fists into Draco's pillow like an angry toddler, and Harry broke off. 'I tell you, it is mine! You have no right to keep it from me! Thousands of years I have searched-'
'Well, did you try looking under the sofa in HELL?' yelled Draco, who was looking fed up.
The demon made a low, mournful, growling noise. 'I do not search as you mortals might,' it said. 'I sense what is mine; it calls out to me and I hear it. For a thousand years it has been silent. Then, again, I heard the call and was summoned. And now-' It broke off, and looked around fretfully. 'Now it is silent again. But it was here, I am sure of it!'
Harry looked sideways at Draco. 'You do know what it's looking for, don't you?' he whispered. 'That sword-'
'Shush!' said Draco warningly, and turned back to the demon.
'There are no otherworldly or demonic objects in this room,' he told it, which was true enough. 'Unless you count Potter, I've always had my suspicions about him, but you're welcome to him if you want him.'
The demon glanced at Harry without much interest. 'The Potter boy is of no concern to me,' he said.
'Hey!' yelled Harry, who was used to being the focal point of world events, and felt slighted. 'Look,' he said to the demon, 'go on and have a look if you don't believe Draco that we haven't got any, um, demonic objects in here. You haven't, have you?' he hissed in Draco's ear.
Draco rolled his eyes.
But the demon, not waiting for further permission, had begun tearing through the room, overturning chairs, raking through the ashes in the fireplace, and ripping apart both boys' school bags before turning on Harry's trunk. Harry watched in shock while his personal possessions flew everywhere. Draco ducked as Harry's clothes flew over his head and hit the opposite wall.
