A/N well, I gave a shot at the second chapter. please read and review because I would relly appreciate the feedback. Thank you so much, Leenniepeennie, for your review. It was much appreciated. I hope that do not dissapoint you or anyone else who may read my story. please enjoy!
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it belongs to Jk Rowling or Jane Austen.
Diagnosis!
Knock! Knock!
Sirius rocked back and forth from his toes to his heals while stood occupying himself by admiring the flower beds that were no doubt kept up by Harry.
Immediately upon arrival of Hermione's letter the two guardians had decided to come and check on the boy for themselves. They were disguised as customers of Vernon Dursley's company and were carrying briefcases with fake documents.
Tiring of waiting Sirius knocked on the door even harder this time, sure they were being ignored.
Remus let out a sigh. "Their car is not here, Sirius. I believe they are out."
Sirius pouted. "Harry said they don't usually take him with them."
"He said not on special occasions, perhaps they are only at the grocery…" Remus' voice died down as he noticed the odd objects that the foot of the driveway. Newspapers?
"There are two." He said aloud. They haven't been here for a few days.
"What?" Sirius asked, confused.
Remus' brow furrowed. "There are two newspapers at the end of the driveway. They haven't been home to pick them up in a few days."
Sirius' eyes widened, and he walked over to check the dates on the front of the papers. Remus heard him gasp. He had found more than dates. There in the headline was the name of a Museum in London and a picture of Dudley Dursley digging through rubble.
As he read, Sirius felt a sickening dread climbing from the pit of his stomach to his throat.
Explosive at the Museum
11:00am on Saturday Families came to the Museum of London expecting an exciting educational experience. However they had not been expecting for an entire hallway to be blown to pieces. One of the displays was apparently knocked over by two cousins who were roughhousing next to it, Dudley Durlsley and Harry Potter. Potter was knocked into the item and it crashed to floor. The Museum goers in the vicinity ran away from the blast, but according to his cousin, Potter could not get away in time and was caught in the blast. The fourteen year old was dug out of the rubble by his distraught cousin just in time and is now at Bethnal Green Hospital in stable condition this morning after being in critical condition all of yesterday and last night.
Sirius looked desperately to Remus, who had read from next to him. Remus glanced at Sirius with a look of fear and grabbed his arm with a pop.
The Doctor stared at the poor boy in the bed. He was so small for a fourteen year old. He gave an angry look down the hallway at the door to the room that held the boy's "family". They had only been in here once since they arrived. They had only checked on the boy when his cousin demanded to know if he was okay. The doctor did see the look of pure relief grace the aunt's face. He briefly wondered if she had not checked because of her husband rather than lack of care. They had been overly obsessed with their relatively unharmed son but had paid next to no attention to their nephew who had very nearly died and still could if the surgeries didn't hold up. The mere fact that the boy had survived was amazing in the first place.
"How is he?" Came the quiet voice of a woman who had come with the boy in the ambulance. She wore a museum uniform and a sad expression. Her dirty blonde hair fell loosely below her shoulders where it began to form curls and her eyes sparkled a chocolaty brown.
The doctor was grateful to the girl for being there for a boy she barely knew. She could give them no information on him other than he was bad liar with a horrible family, but she was there. The Doctor had seen far too many young men and women coming in with no one to care for them.
"We think he'll be alright. He is not yet out of the water, but he is strong." He smiled encouragingly.
She returned the smile and turned back to the boy concernedly as the Doctor began to check him over again, and was about to get a nurse to change his bandages, when he heard a commotion in the hallway.
"Where is he?" A booming voice came.
The Doctor being quite a large man decided he had better see what was going on.
In the hallway he found a man angrily demanding that a nurse tell him where his Godson was while another man was standing behind him trying to calm him down. They looked like they were brothers. Both men had light brown hair and worried expressions.
"Dr. Knight, I could use your help!" The nurse, Bethany, called.
He stepped into action immediately. "What seems to be the trouble?" He asked in his most helpful voice that still held some form of authority.
"My Godson!" The frantic man cried. "Please tell me where he is."
The man looked devastated. He stared at Dr. Knight pleadingly, and the compassionate Doctor gave in. "What is his name?"
Both men breathed a sigh of relief, telling Dr. Knight the calm exterior of the second man was only a Façade. "Harry Potter." The first man answered.
Dr. Knight felt a small surge of happiness and let himself smile. "I hoped someone would come for him, goodness knows his aunt and uncle are rubbish. Come with me. He is my patient."
The first man practically beat him to the room even without knowing where he was going. He immediately ran to the boy's side and was visibly keeping himself from scooping him into a hug.
The second man checked over the boy from where he stood a few feet away with Dr. Knight. "What is his condition?"
Dr. Knight turned to his attention to the second man. "Well I'd ask if you were family but at the moment I really don't care." He glanced toward the cousin's room. "He is suffering from severe internal injuries and a blow to the head, though we cannot tell what has caused the blow other than part of the debris of the explosion. He may suffer from brain damage we cannot know for sure until he is awake. Even we'll need tests to learn the extent of the damage. Somehow, and this amazes me, there are no burns. I don't understand. The police said it was an explosion, but nothing was burned, only destroyed. Usually at least the area has scorch marks. Strange."
The man gave a curious look and seemed to be concentrating very hard. His thoughts were broken by the other man's terrified voice.
"Moony, we need to get him to Poppy." He said without taking his eyes off the boy.
"Wait till we are sure he will stay in stable condition, Padfoot."
Dr. Knight raised an eyebrow at the nicknames but said nothing.
"Poppy is his primary physician. How soon do you believe we can transfer him?" the second man asked politely so as not offensive.
"I'd like to keep him over night before I'll be confident that he'll remain stable during a move." Dr. Knight answered.
The man nodded. "My name is Remus Lupin, by the way. Please tell no one we are here. It is for Harry's protection."
This seemed odd to the Doctor but at the moment he didn't care. These men cared about his patient. "Doctor-Patient confidentiality." Was all he said.
The Man, Remus, smiled. "The crazed Godfather over there is Sirius."
Dr. Knight nodded with a smile. "I'm Dr. Knight, and this lady here is Christine Wood. She came in with Harry."
The woman who had gone unnoticed in the men's concern for the boy nodded her greeting. Remus gave her a curious glance while Sirius paid her no mind at all.
"Does he know you?" Remus asked, politely as he could.
The woman shook her head sadly and looked back toward Harry. "I work at the ticket counter at the museum. He tried to convince me he didn't want to go in but I forced him to because I could tell it was his family who didn't want him to. I thought it was just wrong to deprive a boy of such a good experience while allowing everyone else to." She smiled at Remus. "He is a very bad liar. I saw him admiring the few artifacts we keep in the lobby. He caught my fancy the moment he tried to be a brat."
Remus couldn't help the smile on his face as he remembered Harry's attempts to lie. "Yes, he is too honest for his own good. Something he inherited from his mother. Thank you for coming with him."
With that Remus could control himself no longer and walked over to Harry.
Harry lay helplessly on the hospital bed. He had scrapes covering him from head to toes, even a few that had made it through his clothes. There was a large strip of gauze wrapped around his head that made Remus wonder how bad the injury to the head was. Remus stared at the peaceful face of his boy and wanted nothing more than to fix him. The small form lying on the bed looked normal on the outside, other than scraps, but Remus knew that the inside was not that promising. He ran his finger across Harry's cheek. It was as if it only affected him internally. Other than debris scrapes. The doctor was right, there weren't even scorch marks.
"How is it possible that he is alive?" Remus choked. "Shouldn't that blast- Shouldn't it have-" Remus couldn't finish and looked helplessly at the doctor.
Dr. Knight nodded slowly in understanding. "He should have been destroyed. It is very odd how the initial blast only caused internal harm. I've never seen this before. It is a mystery to everyone involved."
Remus nodded. He knew that nothing physical could have done this. It had to have been magic. The questions shot through his head as he watched Sirius study his godson worriedly. How had he been attacked? Had Voldemort somehow found him? Had the death eaters attacked him? How could this have happened?
Remus' thoughts were interrupted by a barely audible moan. Remus' attention snapped to the form lying in the bed. Sirius gasped leaned over Harry, running his fingers across his cheek. "Harry?"
Harry moaned again and turned toward Sirius' voice.
"That's right, wake up, kid." Sirius whispered softly.
Harry's eyes fluttered open, and Sirius smiled. "How are you feeling?"
Harry looked confusedly at his godfather.
Sirius stared back confusedly. Why didn't Harry speak? The disguise! "Hey kiddo. You answer your godfather." He smiled, hoping he would get the message.
Harry's eyes lit with understanding for a split second before becoming confused again. "How are you here?"
"I came to check on you, and you weren't there. I saw it in the paper." Sirius explained while Dr. Knight came over and began to check Harry over.
"You shouldn't have come." Harry mumbled tiredly. "You are supposed to be hiding."
Sirius shook his head still smiling at Harry. "You really think that matters right now? You are your father's son."
"Alright, Harry," Dr. Knight began. "I need you to tell me what happened. It is completely classified."
Harry glanced up nervously. "Er…I was looking at an amulet and tripped into it. I don't know what happened. It just exploded." He stared at the bed in front of him.
"I see. You're right, Mr. Lupin, Ms. Wood, he is a bad liar." Dr. Knight said with a twinkle in his eye and a smile.
Harry glanced up at Sirius and Remus guiltily. His attention was then caught by the woman he had only seen once. "You work in the ticket booth." He stated.
She smiled and nodded.
"Thanks for getting them to let me in." He said sincerely, Christy's heart ached. She knew her instincts were right.
"I sort of wish I hadn't now." She replied in a strangled tone.
Harry shook his head and gave a wince. "It wasn't your fault. I really wanted to go."
Remus smiled at Harry. "Don't move your head, Harry, it isn't healed."
Turning to Sirius, he added. "I will contact Albus"
Sirius nodded as Remus left and turned his attention back to his godson.
The Headmaster looked up from his parchments when he heard the floo flare. He stood up quickly at the sight that greeted him. "Remus, my boy, what's happened."
The man who had entered looked distraught. He was shaking his eyes bore the unmistakable swollen redness of tears.
"Albus, it's Harry." The old wizard's heart dropped. "We went to check on him and we found him in the hospital. He was caught in an explosion. He is alright, but it almost killed him."
Dumbledore transfigured his robes into muggle clothes and rounded his desk. "Where?"
Remus started for the fireplace but stopped wiping at his eyes.
Dumbledore studied the younger man. No doubt he was having to be the strong one. The man always was the sensible one. It must have been too hard. He knew that there was a boy in a hospital who needed him, but there was also one standing right in front of him. He had time. Remus wouldn't have stopped if they did not.
Dumbledore reached his hand out and put it on Remus' shoulder. Remus looked up gratefully.
"Calm yourself, my dear boy. Harry will be alright. Now let's get him to Poppy."
Remus nodded, taking a deep breath. "He was caught in the museum explosion in London. We didn't know. He had said his aunt and uncle wouldn't let him go. I do not understand, headmaster. Internally he was torn apart. He should not be alive, but on the outside he appears as though he was only hit by debris. The only explanation there is is that magic caused it, but how could a death eater have gotten to him in muggle London with his aunt present."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "Has Harry been able to shed any light the situation?"
Remus shook his head. "Harry hasn't given us much information other than an artifact from the museum exploded when it fell. Harry even lied about how it fell."
Dumbledore sighed. "Come now, I would like to check on my student."
Remus nodded and led the way through the floo.
The pain was dull but nearly overwhelming. It was constant and over every part of his body. He could even feel it in his toes. There was something else. Something about him didn't seem right. He pondered on what that something was as he listened to his godfather talking to him. He gave a few quiet responses, but knew that Sirius understood that he was only partially aware of what they were talking about.
It was during one of these moments that Remus walked into the room followed by none other than Headmaster Dumbledore. With one look at the older man Harry knew instantly that the man had sensed the change in him. Dumbledore's eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise before growing curious. Then the man seemed to brush off the thought and stepped over the Harry.
"How are you feeling, my boy." The old man asked. Visibly studying Harry in that way that made him think he was seeing everything in him.
In Pain
"Fine, Sir." Harry answered. Dumbledore's eyes gave no twinkle, only an understanding nod.
Harry watched Dumbledore as he turned his attention to the other occupants of the room. "I see you have been taking good care of my students?"
Dr. Knight looked confused. "Only Harry."
Dumbledore smiled at him. "These two were once my students as well." He gestured to Remus and Sirius. "I am sure they were a handful upon arrival."
Dr. Knight nodded with a grin. "Only until I told them I could bring them to Harry."
Dumbledore's twinkle returned. "Yes that sounds about right."
Dumbledore then turned to Christy. "Ah, and what might your name be?"
"Christine Wood, Sir. I work at the ticket booth of the museum. I came with Harry when no one else did."
Dumbledore nodded a little more knowingly than Harry would have liked. "I'm quite sure he appreciated that."
Christy smiled. "I suppose since there are people here with him now I should go." She said a bit awkwardly, confirming to Harry that she was a shy woman. Harry's heart sank. He had liked having a woman there with him and did not want her to leave.
"Only if you must. We are quite grateful and would love your company if you so wish to stay." Dumbledore replied with a glance at Harry.
Harry hoped she would accept.
"Really, I would like to stay with him, but I do not want to be in the way." She glanced between the men in the room.
Sirius who had caught the look in his godson's eyes when she had mentioned leaving, spoke to her for the first time. "Not at all." He said. "We would appreciate you staying." The last part was pointed in a way that let all but Harry know that it would be helpful to Harry especially. How he had managed that was a feat in itself.
She nodded gratefully to Sirius, smiling.
Harry missed this exchange but was relieved when he heard Sirius insist she stay.
Dr. Knight excused himself to check on other patients as everyone else found spots in the room to sit with Harry. Christy delighted everyone by producing a muggle book called Pride and Prejudice and reading it aloud to them. Harry relaxed and ignored his pain as best he could in favor of listening.
The woman spoke softly, and her voice soothed him. He soon found himself relaxed.
The next morning, Dr. Knight brought the news that Harry would be allowed to travel to his Primary Care Physician as soon as they were ready for him there. Remus and Sirius were relieved at the news. They were hoping against hope that Madam Pomfrey would have an explanation for the weird injuries Harry had received. It had to be something to do with magic, but what, Remus wasn't sure.
Remus peeked into the room where he had left Sirius with Harry so that he could go fire call Dumbledore with the news. The headmaster was at that very moment preparing a bed for Harry and assisting Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape in gathering as many potions as they could think of that they may need. Now they were just waiting for their transportation.
Harry awoke to the sound of muffled voices. His body complained miserably at the thought of waking up. The last thing he remembered was Christy reading to him about Elizabeth Benet. He must have fallen asleep. Instead of opening his eyes, Harry settled for listening to the voices around him, trying to force himself to wake enough so that he could hear the voices more clearly.
"So…he is not responding to the potions?" Remus's worried voices finally broke through the fog.
Snape's sullen voice carried a hint of curiosity as he replied. "He is responding to a few but not all. I haven't yet discovered the pattern in the specific potions that is causing his lack of response. Give me time. I believe that we can sustain him on what has worked so far until we know more. The new information may well give us insight on what has happened to him."
Remus sighed, wearily. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No. As much as I would like to, I cannot deny your competence in potions. However, this requires a mastery beyond what many have achieved, yourself included." Snape said, though his voice seemed a slight bit less biting than usual.
"You'll be of more help to myself and Poppy, Remus." Dumbledore's voice broke in, sounding quiet and worried. We need you to bring in the doctor and the witnesses of the explosion. They may have to be told of the wizarding world. That may be the only way to discover what has harmed the boy and what the repercussions will be."
"Is that wise?" Remus asked, though it sounded as though it was only a half hearted question.
"Who cares?" Came Sirius's voice, sounding to Harry as though he was on the verge of punching someone. "We have to figure out what is wrong with Harry."
"I know, Padfoot." Remus said soothingly. "I was only being logical. That didn't mean I had any intention of heeding Albus's answer."
There was a soft chuckle from the headmaster. "No, I did not believe you did. I also see no harm in informing our witnesses. They seem to have proven themselves trustworthy from what you tell me." The last part of Dumbledore's answer seemed to be expecting confirmation.
Remus must have nodded because Harry heard no words.
"I don't believe we could have asked for Harry to end up with better assistance than Dr. Knight and Ms. Wood. I'm absolutely sure we can trust them." Remus replied after a long moment.
"In that case please go and retrieve them." Dumbledore instructed. "Bring his family as well. We may need what little information they can give us."
There was the shuffling of feet and the sound of the floo.
The pain was too much. Harry was finding it impossible to concentrate on the voices that continue to speak. The constant flow of pain had been tolerable for a bit but had finally grown too much was slowly causing him to retreat back into his mind where it didn't hurt. Before Harry knew it, he was asleep again.
Harry had started to moan just after Remus had left. Before Sirius could panick, Madam Pomfrey had bustled in carrying another bottle of potion and pouring it down Harry's throat. Harry immediately went limp.
Sirius paced, trying to calm himself. He ignored the headmaster who only watched him, knowing that there was no use trying to calm the man. It would be a vain attempt. After giving Sirius a reassuring nod, the head master left the hospital wing.
Why did this always happen to Harry? Why always HIS godson?
Sirius stared back at the boy in the bed. The boy was his entire life. Why did things always have to happen to the boy he loved more than anything? Harry looked peaceful now at least. He had looked as though he was in extreme pain only seconds ago. The pain medicine had worn off before they had thought it would.
Sirius was increasingly becoming more worried. He had hoped that once they had gotten Harry to Madam Pomfrey, she would know exactly how to fix his godson. When he had found that she couldn't explain what was wrong with Harry, Sirius had been terrified. His terror did not seem to want to leave. He had been driving the School nurse crazy with his constant panicking. She had one threatened to force a sleeping draught down his throat if he didn't control himself. The thought of being asleep when Harry woke was enough to shut the man up.
Sirius resumed his pacing.
Severus Snape studied the ingredients from each of the potions he had given the Potter brat intently again for the third time. The lacewing flies were perfect. Then why aren't the potions working? There was absolutely nothing wrong with the ingredients. Neither was there anything wrong with the manufacturing. He had gone over the brewing of each step by step in his mind. He knew exactly how each was supposed to turn out. They all looked perfectly, smelled perfectly, and worked perfectly. He had even tested them on himself after deliberately slicing his own finger. Severus was bewildered. There could only be one thing causing the problem. The Brat.
Severus placed the lest jar of ingredients back into his private stores and sat at his desk to gruel over the characteristics of each potion, trying to find a pattern in the potions that would shed light on Potter's problem. Could the boy be allergic to an ingredient? No, Madam Pomfrey had used each of these potions on the boy many times after one of his brainless injuries. Severus made a note of that on one of the parchments.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Severus did not bother to look up as he instructed Albus to enter. No one else ever ventured down to his private labs during the summer, or at all for that matter.
Sure enough his suspicions were confirmed as the old wizard's voice drifted to his ears. "Have you had any progress, Severus?"
The old man's voice did not sound hopeful. It held a despairing tone that startled the potions master into looking up at him to study his face. Did he know more than he had let on?
"No," Severus replied, deciding that if the headmaster thought he should know of something he would tell him. "I've checked the ingredients, I've gone through the steps of brewing the potion, and even tested the very same ones on myself. There is just nothing wrong with them. It must be something wrong with Potter, but I've no idea what."
Albus nodded and seemed to become even more doleful. "I see."
Severus placed his quill gently on the desk next to his parchment. He had never prided himself in being patient. "Perhaps you can shed some light on the situation?"
Severus looked the man straight in the face expectantly.
Ablus's gaze met Severus's as he began to speak. "The moment I stepped into his muggle hospital room I could feel the change. Tell me Severus how does each of these potions work?"
It was only a partial question. Severus wondered if Albus already knew and was only trying to disprove his theory in vain.
Severus looked down at his potion lists. One list had written all of the potions that had worked for Potter. Another had all of the potions that hadn't. The third was all of the ones that had only partially worked. He started with the ones that worked.
"Well, the cytotnarellecca quickens the cells in the body to create more cells faster to replace the damaged cells, healing the wound. The Leukotonic boosts the immune system so that the body can heal itself quicker and more efficiently without tiring out as quickly. Neurokcolb blocks nerves impulses from specific areas so that the drinker cannot feel pain."
Dumbledore nodded. "And the ones that do not work?"
Severus glanced at the list. "cytoetsah causes your magic to restore the cells in the body. Leukodia binds to the drinker's magic and completely obliterates any foreign offender. Neurosserpus uses the drinker's magic to filter the nerve pulses to stop any pain from entering the brain."
Albus closed his eyes. "Severus do you see the pattern?"
Severus knew he should by the way the headmaster was waiting for him patiently to piece it together. He pondered what the pattern was in the way that the potions worked. He pulled out another piece of parchment and scrawled three categories cellular, immune, and nervous. He stared back and forth from each category. He drew lines and made his lists into a grid. Staring at the drawing, he caught it with a start. "They use magic." He mumbled to the headmaster. "All of the ones that don't work use the drinker's magic."
Dumbledore nodded, slowly. "Yes, they are each known for having no effect on muggles."
Severus nodded staring back at the old wizard apprehensively.
Dumbledore met Severus's gaze and for the first time that visit, Severus truely feared the old wizard's response. "Severus, Harry's magic is gone."
A/N: okay honest opinions please. no need to sugar coat if you do not wish to. I promise I will not hate you forever and ever. :)
