I know it's not the case, but the constant presence of fantasies make me wonder whether the whole thing is an elaborate fantasy, that Harry is so sure he has none worth speaking of and that his only desire is to solve another case, and so a case has been presented to him, but his subconscious is fighting around the edges, giving him things like a Malfoy obsessed with him, and strange creature-people (one of whom could be a Harry, with his green eyes and lion nature exposed), like it's trying to break free of the rigidity that he's treated it with for so long...