Interesting Times
Chapter One: Arrival
Harry Potter lay in his hospital bed, glaring balefully at the neatly wrapped bandage around his hand. The enclosed appendage throbbed in pain every so often, but was otherwise unobtrusive. Spiny quills from a Northern Spike Cone had been extracted but had left their poison behind. And so Madam Pomfrey had wrapped him up with a warning to stay in bed so she could keep him for observation. The poison caused severe reactions in a small number of people and he might just be one.
Grand. One more thing to add to my messed up existence. An allergic reaction to a bloody plant!
He breathed deeply, forcing himself to calm down. This will be over soon. A few more hours and I can go down to dinner.
"Pomfrey!" The voice boomed through the door, followed quickly by Hagrid, arms cradling a small bundle lost in the half-giant's grasp.
On the other hand, maybe calm was overrated. Besides, whatever the grounds keeper was carrying spilled a fall of blond hair, tangled with leaves and sticks, over one arm.
Interesting. A student?
His musings were interrupted when Pomfrey burst back in the infirmary from her office, pink cap bobbing as she darted across the room.
"Hagrid, how dare you shout like that in a place of – oh my!" So she did notice.
Harry strained for a better look when the nurse ordered Hagrid to lay the person on an empty bed. Then she shoved him out of the way and whisked the curtains around. But Harry had seen most of a bare leg before the view was interrupted. A very shapely bare leg.
And, as with any adolescent male, he immediately assumed that this was some hot, foreign witch without a word of English who needed to be rescued by a strong, handsome, and powerful, wizard. And of course she would be so grateful that...well... you know. Stuff. Would just happen.
Hey, it gets kind of boring when all the girls you see are dressed in throat to floor robes all day. You tend to grow an advanced imagination.
Hagrid stood off to the side, wringing his hands and pacing, er, stomping across the infirmary floor. He kept mumbling to himself, tears trickling down his face to disappear in the tangled mess that was his beard.
Harry watched, interested in the proceedings as it was a damn fine bit of entertainment. Probably the best all day. Because Malfoy throwing a Spike Cone at him in Herbology, not entertaining. Maybe to Slytherins, but not to him. This was interesting.
Within a few minutes, Dumbledore swept through the door, managed to offer both Hagrid and Harry sweets without missing a breath or step and slipped into the curtained space with Pomfrey. This was getting even more interesting. Harry struggled upright and watched shadows sway to and fro behind the sheer curtains. Voices murmured and babbled and complained without giving anything away.
Several minutes more, Dumbledore emerged and, without even a nod to Harry, bustled Hagrid away.
Harry sulked. Neat things happening all around and not a clue of what's going on. Some entertainment. He winced as a new splinter of pain shot through his hand and then settled back into the bed with a sigh. Now that things weren't happening to him, he really wanted to know. Bloody hell.
Chapter Two: Conversations
She woke to whiteness. White walls, white floors, white ceiling. Ceilings of caves are not that uniform, she mused. Looking down, she noted that she was tucked into a white bed. White sheets lay folded neatly over her chest. Her arm itched; it was covered in white bandages.
Humans, she thought. I'm with humans. She grimaced slightly and then tried to lift her wrapped arm. Muscles in her back twinged and her shoulders screamed in protest. Her neck was sore, her legs ached and the tenderness of bruises echoed along her body. She relaxed against the pillows, silently bemoaning her injuries.
"Lemon drop?"
Her head whipped around fast enough to start up a whole new cacophony of agony. Shutting her eyes tight against it, she had to take several deep breaths before she could find out just who was with her.
An old man, older than she'd thought humans lived, sat in a low chair by her feet. He had bright blue eyes behind ridiculous spectacles and was smiling faintly at her. One hand was outstretched with a bright yellow sphere resting in it.
"What do you want?" she croaked, voice harsh from disuse.
"Only your safety, child," he assured, withdrawing his hand.
She chuckled. Child. It had been ages since someone had called her 'child'. Then abruptly she sobered.
"Where am I?"
"Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry."
Ah, wizards. That was better than mortals. What did they call them? Oh yes, muggles. Such strange words. Hogwarts, muggles. Sounded like a bad case of something complete with oozy sores.
"And do you know how I got here?" she asked, hoping that he did. Because she certainly didn't.
"Ah, I only know that you were found on school grounds by our gamekeeper. Hagrid brought you here but he does not know how you arrived within the school grounds either."
She frowned, irritated with the answer. It was not what she had been hoping for. She tried to sit up again but fell back with a hiss of pain. The old man watched her curiously, slight pity in his eyes.
"What is your name, young lady?" he asked.
The girl thought a moment. A name. She had a name. An obvious name.
"Kenna." That was not it.
The man nodded, content with the answer he knew was false.
"For some reason, Kenna," he continued. "We were unable to heal your injuries. Magically." The unspoken question hung in the air. Why?
She only smiled and cursed her luck. Now that she had managed to injure herself t the point of bed rest, her own flesh and blood held back assistance. How aggravating.
"Magic is useless," she said ruefully. "Only time will help now."
The man nodded, his gaze now contemplative as if he searched a long memory for the answers he sought. After a moment he nodded.
"Very well. You may stay as long as you wish." He stood. "My name is Dumbledore. Your nurse is Madam Pomfrey. Call for her if you need anything."
"I will," said Kenna.
And he left. Leaving her alone with her pain and her thoughts.
Authors notes: So? What did you think? This has been lounging on my computer for ages and I just now decided to do something with it. So any and all feedback will be appreciated. Oh, and don't worry, Kenna and Harry aren't hooking up. Definitely not that kind of story.