AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm trying to work on the personalities for the Potter kids and maybe it's just because I'm currently fixated on the show 'Supernatural' but I figured that Dean Winchester would be a good base for writing Dominic Potter.
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Isabelle finds a friend in Professor Snape and Harry finally succumbs to the family curse.
Chapter 3
The next morning before breakfast, Dumbledore summoned Isabelle Potter and Severus Snape to his office. After talking with Snape the previous evening, Dumbledore had spent several long hours contemplating the youngest Potter's situation. While he always strived to ensure that every student who entered the school was treated equally, he had to admit that in the case of Isabelle and Dominic Potter certain special arrangements were necessitated.
But while Dominic's disability presented only a potential danger, when it came to Potions classes, Isabelle could be endangered simply by sitting in the classroom.
Before Isabelle arrived at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had done some research on muggle tracheostomies not only to satisfy his own curiosities but also to ensure that Madame Pomfrey would be able to handle any potential crises. The whole notion was somewhat unsettling, he had to admit, but given that magic had been useless in helping Isabelle, apparently there hadn't been much choice for James and Lily.
When the door to the office opened, Dumbledore looked up to see Snape and Isabelle Potter coming into the room. "Ahh, Severus. And Miss Potter. So glad you could come this early."
Once they were all seated, Dumbledore looked at Isabelle who looked incredibly nervous. "There's no need to be nervous, my dear. Professor Snape and I simply wish to ensure that—given your disability—you are not placed in any potentially dangerous situations while at Hogwarts."
Izzy nodded, although in all honesty, she'd never liked people referring to the tracheostomy as a disability. To her, it was something she'd lived with almost her whole life. In fact it was only when someone called attention to the tube in her throat that she felt self-conscious about it. "So what do we do about my classes?" Izzy wanted to know. She'd been up half the night last night wondering how she'd be able to do Potions classes after her talk with Snape the previous day.
"For the time being, you will come to class to receive your homework and study material for the day and to hand in your finished assignments," Snape replied, an idea forming in the back of his mind. "You will be allowed to use the class time as a study period."
"Is this an agreeable situation for you, Miss Potter?" Dumbledore asked, kindly.
"Yes, sir," Izzy replied. Once she and Snape departed the office, she was surprised when Snape pulled her aside. "Did you want something else, Professor?"
"Merely to ask you a question," Snape replied, simply. "I was wondering if you were versed in sign language."
Isabelle looked a bit surprised at the question but she nodded, set her bookbag down on a window ledge, and raised her hands to reply, 'I learned in my muggle primary school. But I never use sign language much at home.'
Snape nodded, carefully, as he thought. "Two things, Miss Potter. First, I would like you to join me in my office for weekly Potions tutorials to ensure you do not fall behind in your studies." When Izzy nodded in agreement, Snape added, "Second, I believe it would be beneficial for you to use sign language rather than speaking in casual situations."
Izzy looked surprised at that and after a while, she said aloud, "Why?"
Snape thought for a moment about how best to explain and he finally replied, "Doing some research last night on your condition, I discovered that prolonged speech with the tracheostomy tube can cause further scarring of your vocal cords. Eventually you may become completely mute. It would be best if you preserved your voice for spell work."
Izzy nodded in understanding. 'Understood, Professor.' As she headed down the hall towards the Great Hall, she wondered why her brothers and sister had always told her horror stories about Snape. He seemed perfectly nice to her…
For a long time Harry felt like he was always being ignored by his family.
All his parents' attention was focused on his sisters and later his brother. As a result, he always just flew under the radar of interest and concern.
But once he'd started at Hogwarts, James and Lily had become more attentive to Harry and while Harry didn't mind getting the attention for once, there were times he wished that his parents could just go back to ignoring him again.
But now that Harry knew about the curse on his family he understood why his parents had been so worried about him. Why they had always been concerned when he started playing Quidditch and why every injury was fussed over as though it were life-threatening.
But it was just over a month into the school year and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Izzy was showing a real talent for potions and to everyone's surprise, Snape had practically taken her under his wing, showing her some of the potions usually reserved for Ordinary Wizarding Level students.
Harry found it interesting that his youngest sister and his least liked professor got along so well. Even more interesting was the fact that Snape seemed quite well versed in sign language and would usually 'talk' with Isabelle that way during their private lessons. The Potters all knew how to sign—Isabelle's therapist had insisted on it—but for the most part, everyone pretty much just stuck with speaking out loud.
Harry stopped walking suddenly as he headed towards Charms class. He felt suddenly lightheaded and dizzy and it was if his entire body was tingling. It also felt like his previous thoughts were going fuzzy, like lost reception on a radio or something. Harry tried to take a step and then another, finally managing to stagger towards the wall. Harry wasn't sure what was happening and even though he tried to call for help, it was if his voice wouldn't work.
His vision started burring and the last thing he remembered was falling to the floor.
xxxxxxxxxx
"Harry! Harry, wake up! Come on, wake up, Harry."
It seemed to take forever for Harry to wake up. He could hear voices talking to him but he couldn't focus on them. He didn't want to wake up, really. He just wanted to sleep. He felt so weak. Feeling the pull of slumber, Harry gave in and fell back into the blissful darkness.
x
"Harry!" Addie tried one more time, shaking her brother's shoulder with her good hand as he lay unconscious in his bed in the Hospital Wing. "Come on, Harry," she pleaded, anxiously. Looking up at Madame Pomfrey, she asked, "What's wrong with my brother?"
Pomfrey sighed as she finished yet another magical scan. "He's had a seizure. As yet I haven't been able to pinpoint a cause."
Addie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "He is going to wake up, though, right?" she asked, hopefully.
"He should," Pomfrey replied, optimistically. "He just needs rest right now."
Adele nodded and reluctantly headed out of the room where Isabelle, Jessica, and Dominic were waiting anxiously.
"It Harry okay?"
"What happened?"
Shushing his younger sisters, Dominic waited for Adele to reply.
"Harry had a seizure," Addie explained. "He's asleep right now but Madame Pomfrey thinks he should be fine."
"But Harry's never had a seizure before," Jessica replied, still looking upset. "What caused it?"
"Pomfrey couldn't find a cause," Adele replied. Seeing that her siblings needed reassurance, she tried to look positive. "Let's let Harry rest tonight and we can check on him in the morning. If he wakes up I'm sure that Madame Pomfrey will let us know."
"Adele's right," Dom agreed, picking up on the forced cheerfulness in his twin's voice. He knew Adele was trying to stay in good spirits for the sake of Isabelle and Jessica but he could tell that she was also seriously worried. "Let's go down to dinner and let Harry get his rest."
Adele let Jess and Izzy head away first and she took her brother's arm in hers and they headed down the hallway. After a moment, she asked, "What do you think?"
Dom shook his head, still worried about his little brother. "Harry has never had a seizure before. And if Madame Pomfrey can't find what caused it…"
"It might happen again," Adele finished, nodding thoughtfully. "So… what? One of us follows Harry around everywhere? A-and what about Quidditch? I mean, is it safe for Harry to be on a broom right now? What?" she added, not sure what Dom was finding funny.
Dom chuckled and patted his sister's arm. "Ad, for all we know, Harry skipped breakfast and seized because of low blood sugar."
"Right," Adele sighed, something about the whole thing making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. "I just don't like it."
Dom stopped and turned to pull her into a hug. "None of us like it, Addie," he said, softly, patting his sister's back as she hugged him. He wished he could give her a comforting look but without being able to see his expressions always seemed to be neutral. "But Harry's a tough kid. I'm sure he'll be fine."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
But when Adele, Dom, Jess, and Izzy went to see Harry the following morning, they were surprised to see their parents in the Hospital Wing as well.
"Mom, what's going on?" Adele asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she looked from her parents to Harry who seemed uncomfortable looking at the rest of his family.
"I'm afraid what happened yesterday happened again last night," Madame Pomfrey explained. "Harry had two more seizures last night. I'm going to have Harry start taking an anticonvulsant potion daily. Hopefully that will help the seizures subside." She turned to Harry and added, "You're condition is manageable, Potter."
"But not curable," Lily clarified, not sure what she was feeling at the moment.
"I'm afraid not," Pomfrey replied, sadly. "But with treatment, Harry should be able to resume an almost normal life."
While Pomfrey discussed Harry's condition with James and Lily in her office, Adele, Dominic, Jessica, and Isabelle gathered around their brother's bed. "How're you feeling, Harry?" Dom asked, cautiously.
"Tired," Harry replied, simply. Looking at his siblings, he shrugged. "I'm sorry I scared you all."
But Adele waved off the apology. "Harry, we're your family and we love you. Don't worry about scaring us, or anything like that."
Harry just nodded, still feeling embarrassed about his seizure the previous day. And in all honesty, he'd been relieved that his family hadn't been in the hospital wing when he'd had the two other episodes last night. He just wanted to pretend nothing had happened and move on with his life. Was this the disability he was doomed to live with? Why couldn't it be something fixed and permanent like Dom's blindness? Why did Harry's have to be something unpredictable?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Harry was finally released from the hospital wing the following day, he was surprised to see that while Dom, Jess, and Izzy were there to greet him when he got to the Gryffindor common room, Adele was missing. "Where's Addie?" he asked, curiously.
"Rowena Medical Complex," Jessica replied. "Mom took her over this morning to get the cast taken off her arm."
"That's good news," Harry replied, thinking that it was nice that one of his sisters finally caught a break. But after a moment, he wordlessly headed upstairs to his dormitory and started getting changed for the Quidditch try-outs later that afternoon. When he came back down the stairs, he saw Jess and Izzy looking shocked. "What?" Harry asked, not sure what was so surprising.
"Harry, you just got out of the hospital wing after having multiple seizures!" Jess replied, not sure what her brother was trying to prove. "And now you're going to play Quidditch? Are you mental?"
"What am I supposed to do?" Harry protested, angrily. "Just give up everything I love? I'm okay right now, aren't I? Might as well make the most of it."
'And what happens if you have another seizure while you're on your broom?' Izzy signed, giving her brother her best 'are you an idiot?' look.
"If I feel like something's wrong, I'll land straight away," Harry promised, wishing he'd just made a run for the door instead of stopping. He just wanted his life to get back to normal. Without another word or waiting for his brother and sisters to say anything else, he strode quickly for the door and was through the portrait hole.
Dominic sighed, knowing that this was not going to end well. He knew full well how stubborn his little brother was, and right now that was beyond dangerous. They had no way of knowing if Harry's recent epilepsy was a result of the curse or a prelude to something far worse.
"Okay, we're not just letting Harry go, are we?" Jessica asked, looking at her big brother and little sister.
"No bloody way," Izzy rasped, shaking her head, resolvedly.
"Good," Jess replied, heading for the door. "Then let's go save our git of a brother from himself."
For all that he'd complained about his younger sisters growing up, Dom had to smile as he, Izzy, and Jess made their way out of the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch, taking seats near the middle of the stadium on the lower level—the better to get down to the field in case something happened to Harry, which it would.
Dominic and Adele had been only 6 the night Voldemort had tried to kill Harry. Addie had been too scared to move and Dom had finally grabbed his sister's hand and headed for the closet, telling her to sit tight and keep the door closed before running for the room Harry and Izzy shared. Stopping in the hallway as he heard crashing downstairs, Dom wondered just what he was doing when he heard Harry start to cry. Without another thought, Dom ran for Harry's room just as his mother came in.
Lily didn't ask her oldest son what he was doing. Instead, she grabbed Harry from his crib and handed him to Dominic and said, quickly, "Take your brother and hide up in the attic! Don't look back! Now, Dom! Go!"
Dom didn't need telling twice and held his little brother tight as the two headed upstairs.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Dom hated the fact that he couldn't see. Ever since Harry was born, Dom had always felt it was his responsibility to look out for his baby brother.
Adele never needed anyone to watch her back. If anyone tried anything with her, they'd find her a force to be reckoned with.
Because of their respective birth defects, Isabelle and Jessica were usually the focus of Mum and Dad's attention.
And that had left Dom to always keep an eye on Harry.
Something that Dom hadn't been able to do for the past 5 years.
He was sharply pulled from his thoughts when he felt someone—was it Izzy or Jess?—grab his arm in panic.
Dom heard the bludgers whistling through the air. Heard a thud as it collided with someone—judging by the loud gasps from his sisters the someone had been Harry. Taking one of the girls' arms, he went with them down to the field just as he heard something hit the ground, hard. "Harry!" Dom shouted, cane held out in front of him.
When Dom finally stopped where Harry lay unmoving on the ground, he fell to his knees, reaching out a hand towards his brother. "Harry, you bloody idiot," he muttered. But when he heard Harry groan, he sighed with relief. At least his brother was alive. "You alright?" Dom asked, hopefully. But when Harry didn't respond, he felt a rising sense of panic. "Harry?"
"Someone get Madame Pomfrey!" one of the Weasley twins shouted.
"He just stopped in midair," Katie Bell said, worry thick in her voice. "Then he started shaking."
Another seizure. Dom shakily stood up, backing away from his brother. He hated being blind! He couldn't see how bad Harry was hurt and he hadn't seen him having yet another seizure while on his broom. Backing up until he felt the wood of the walls of the Quidditch pitch, Dom felt hot tears sting his eyes. He wiped them away furiously as he listened to everyone clamoring over Harry.
He felt like the worst big brother in the world.
