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As Harry stumbled down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, he found himself wishing strongly that he had researched glamour charms in more detail, as they would have allowed him to conceal at least some of his injuries. However, he had slacked off in the Charms lesson in which they had been covered, so every bruise and cut was glaringly obvious against his skin.
Harry was already fairly late for breakfast, and had no time to visit Madam Pomfrey before eating, so he kept his head down and attempted to reduce the severity of his limp. This was easy enough in the corridors, as he came across only two other students, whom were so deeply engaged in conversation that didn't even notice Harry's presence as he hurried past.
Harry reached the Great Hall at half past eight – only fifteen minutes of breakfast remained, but he was just relieved to have any time left to eat at all. The Hall was packed full of students, so Harry kept his gaze fixed firmly to the floor as he walked through the huge double doors and towards the Gryffindor table. He knew that the Golden Gang would be sat at the far end of the Great Hall near the Staff table, so Harry sat down at the end by the double doors, anxious to keep as far away from them as possible. 'If I keep my head down and stay quiet,' Harry thought, 'they don't need to know that I'm here at all.'
Unfortunately for the Boy Who Lived, any hope of that happening was made impossible as Colin Creevey, who was sat a few seat to Harry's left, uttered a huge gasp.
"Harry!" He exclaimed, "What happened to you?" As Harry turned to face Colin, more gasps began to erupt from all over the enormous room as more and more people caught a glimpse of the state of Harry's face. The Great Hall was suddenly filled with frantic whispering, and Harry felt his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment.
"Who do you think did that to him?"
"Why isn't he sat with his friends?"
"I bet the Slytherin's did it!"
Harry put his head in his hands, wincing slightly as one hand caught his broken nose. As he did so, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Harry cringed – this was not a good time to face the Golden Gang. As Harry turned around, however, he was relieved to find himself face to face with Pansy and Malfoy instead. Pansy looked shocked and worried, but the expression on Malfoy's face was one of cold fury.
"They did this, didn't they?" he hissed, gesturing towards the Golden Gang at the other end of the Great Hall. Harry nodded and looked up. All six members of the Golden Gang were sporting an obvious expression of having been caught red-handed doing something they shouldn't. A few seats away from them, Neville was looking nervous. Pansy tugged at Harry's arm.
"Come on, we're causing a scene. Lets get out of here" she said, and Harry realised that every student and most of the Professors were staring at them.
"Yeah, okay," he replied. He shifted in his seat and inhaled sharply as a fresh wave of pain shot through his body. The two Slytherin's looked at each other apprehensively.
"Which side hurts more?" asked Malfoy, looking concerned.
"My left," grimaced Harry, trying to move once more. Malfoy promptly stopped him by putting a hand on each of Harry's shoulders.
"Me and Pansy with help you. I'll go on your left, Pansy you go on his right," said Malfoy, moving over to Harry's left-hand side as he spoke. Pansy moved to the Gryffindor's right.
Harry reluctantly put an arm around each of his new friends, thinking to himself as he did so how much he hated feeling so weak. He was hauled to his feet, mostly due to Malfoy's efforts. Harry was vaguely surprised at the blonde boy's strength.
Once he was standing, Harry insisted that he didn't need help to walk out of the Great Hall, so he limped out of the vast room unassisted, all too aware that hundreds of pairs of eyes were following him as he did so.
When they got outside the huge double doors, Pansy eyed Harry worriedly.
"You really need to see Madam Pomfrey with those injuries," she said as her eyes came to rest on his bloody nose. Harry raised an eyebrow, then stopped and wished he hadn't as it had disturbed a cut on his forehead.
"I know, I was going to go straight after breakfast," he replied. Malfoy was walking in circles around him, frowning slightly.
"Do you think anything is broken?" Malfoy asked Harry. "Other than your nose," he added, trying to avert his gaze from Harry's crushed nose and bloody face.
"My arm definitely, and I think I might have a broken rib or two as well," Harry said, trying not to put too much weight on his left side. Malfoy looked shocked.
"Christ, you really do need to see Madam Pomfrey," he said.
"Oh really?" Harry asked sarcastically. Both Pansy and Malfoy ignored this comment, and a brief silence followed, which Pansy broke.
"So how did it happen?" she asked.
"Well they were waiting for me in the dormitory last night," Harry began, "As soon as I got in there they –" But at this point he was cut off as Professor McGonagall burst through the double doors of the Great Hall. She made a beeline for Harry immediately.
"What on earth has happened to you?" she asked, looking suspiciously at the Slytherins stood either side of Harry.
"I got in a fight," he replied pathetically. "It wasn't with these," he added hastily, gesturing at Pansy and Malfoy as he realised that the Transfiguration Professor thought that the problem was with them. McGonagall looked less suspicious, but only very slightly.
"In which case Potter, would you care to explain to me what as going on?" she asked. Harry gave a strained smile.
"I'll explain Professor, but it's a bit of a long story and I'm in a fair bit of pain right now…" Harry trailed off, looking pleadingly at his Head of House. She looked at him for a long few moments, and then sighed quietly.
"Alright. Go to the hospital wing, but come to me as soon as you're allowed out," she said with a nod. Harry was relieved; he really wasn't prepared to relieve the experiences of the night before whilst suffering so much pain.
"Thank you Professor," he said with a small smile. He started to limp towards the stairs, accompanied by Pansy and Malfoy. As they made their way upwards, Harry briefly wondered who had thought it to be a good idea to locate the Hospital Wing on the Third floor.
Although he was struggling a great deal more going up the stairs than he had coming down them, Harry still refused to ask for help. However, when Malfoy offered him a hand after the first flight of stairs, he took it without resisting. The pain had really set in all over his body, and all that Harry wanted to do was get to the Hospital Wing and lie down, even if it meant a fierce lecture from Madam Pomfrey.
Before the Fifth-Years went into the Hospital Wing itself, Harry left go of Malfoy's arm and muttered his thanks. He felt his cheeks flush slightly as he did so, as he felt pathetic, especially seeing as he had only just made friends with the Slytherins. 'They must think I'm a loser' he thought to himself.
When they did actually enter the Hospital Wing, the three students were met instantly by Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to have gotten word of Harry's injuries despite not having been at breakfast. She did not, however, seem to have heard how bad the wounds were. As soon as she laid eyes on Harry, the Healer exploded.
"What happened? How could you possibly get such extensive injuries, boy? Oh, I suspect it was that Quidditch playing that you love so much, do you have a death wish?" The healer ended her line of questions, only to realise who had accompanied Harry to the Hospital Wing. This resulted in a fresh outbreak of accusatory screeches as she pointed her finger sharply at Malfoy in particular.
"What did you do to him?" she all but shouted, "Merlin's beard, in all my years at Hogwarts…" at this point, the Healer lapsed into incomprehensible muttering whilst Harry, Pansy and Malfoy looked at each other awkwardly. Harry couldn't blame Madam Pomfrey for jumping to conclusions; his track record with the Slytherins was far from clean. When Madam Pomfrey finally calmed down, Harry set the record straight.
"I did get into a bit of a fight," he said tentatively, "But it wasn't with Pansy and Mal-Draco." He was finding it particularly difficult to think of the blonde boy as Draco, having known him solely as Malfoy for so long.
Madam Pomfrey stared at all three students for what felt, to Harry, like hours. She then shook her head slightly, as though she had come out of a trance, and spoke briskly.
"Right. Well then Mr Potter, lets get this all sorted out. You two will have to leave," she said, gesturing to Pansy and Malfoy. They both nodded reluctantly.
"We'll visit you after lessons, Harry" said Pansy, a reassuring smile on her face. Malfoy nodded and waved to Harry as the two Slytherins left the Hospital Wing.
"See you in a bit," said Malfoy.
"Yeah, see you," Harry replied. He couldn't help but doubt them coming back – the Golden Gang had always claimed that they would visit him when he was ill or injured, but Harry couldn't think of a single occasion when this had actually happened.
Before he had chance to dwell on this anymore, Harry found himself being half dragged towards an empty bed, where a pair of pyjamas were lay waiting.
"Now Mr Potter, take two capfuls of this," said Madam Pomfrey, thrusting yet another large bottle into Harry's right hand.
"Erm…What is it?" he asked, eyeing the potion inside the bottle suspiciously.
"It's just like watered down Skelegrow. It'll fix your arm and ribs up a treat," the Healer replied. Harry couldn't help but cringe - his experience with Skelegrow in his second year hadn't been a good one. Nevertheless, he gulped down two capfuls of the vile potion, shuddering a little as he did so; it was like swallowing powdered chalk.
When he had changed into his pyjamas, Madam Pomfrey had given Harry a full body scan with her wand, and he had been as shocked as she had to find out just how extensive his injuries actually were. The scan had showed that Harry had a broken nose, three broken ribs, a fractured left arm and countless cuts and bruises all over his body.
Thankfully the Healer had managed to fix his nose almost instantly, as the cartilage was only broken in one place. She had also managed to seal all of the cuts from where the Golden Gang's shoes had so harshly made contact with Harry's skin. Many of the bruises had simply evaporated when a simple spell was cast on them, but nothing could be done about Harry's black eye.
"It's just too close to your eye, and I don't want to risk you losing your sight over something so small" Madam Pomfrey had explained. This didn't bother Harry in the slightest, as after all, it was only a black eye, and it would heal in a few days.
Now that Harry had taken the Skelegrow-like potion, he was sure that he would be able to leave the Hospital Wing later that day, as all of his injuries had been taken care of, and he could already feel the sharp, unpleasant tingling in his left arm as the potion began to take effect. As he opened his mouth to speak, Madam Pomfrey spoke.
"I want to keep you in here at least until tonight, just to make sure that those bones fix themselves properly," she said as she packed away numerous potions. Harry suppressed a groan; he hated the Hospital Wing. He couldn't help but get bored in there, especially when he didn't even feel particularly ill. The nurse didn't seem to notice his discontent, and she walked off, presumably to tend to another patient.
Harry looked at his watch, which was lying on his bedside table. It was half past two. Harry sighed; it was going to be a very long day. He didn't even bother to get his hopes up about the Slytherins coming to visit him. Why should they? They'd only been speaking with him as friends rather than enemies for a day.
There was only one other item other than Harry's watch on the bedside table. It was a small yellow bottle. Harry picked up the bottle and examined it. It was a sleeping potion. As he knew how painful it was to grow and mend bones, Harry took the recommended 4 drops of the potion without a second thought. It was best to sleep before the pain set in properly. The potion was very fast acting, causing Harry to feel drowsy within seconds. Only minutes later, he was fast asleep.
When Harry awoke, it was not, as he had expected, to a quiet and empty hospital wing. Instead, he found Pansy, Malfoy and Blaise sat on wooden chairs beside his bed. Harry couldn't help but grin as he realised that Pansy and Malfoy had kept their promise. His grin extended further when he tried to move his previously broken arm, and managed to do so without any trouble.
Malfoy suddenly noticed that Harry was awake and smiled. He held out a small package to Harry.
"Chocolate frog?" asked the blonde.
"Thanks," replied Harry as he took it. He was starving, having not eaten all day. Pansy was eyeing Harry worriedly, her gaze focussed on his black eye.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm much better," Harry smiled. "Madam Pomfrey's fixed everything up now. I had three broken ribs, no wonder my side was hurting earlier." Upon hearing this, Pansy gasped quietly. Blaise raised his eyebrows in shock and Malfoy looked furious.
"They won't get away with this," seethed the blonde.
"Calm down Draco," muttered Blaise, and then turning towards Harry, "So what actually happened?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak but for the second time that day, he was interrupted before he had chance to give a full explanation. This time it was Madam Pomfrey, who had a rather distasteful look on her face as though she had been force-fed an entire bottle of Skele-Grow.
"The Headmaster wants to see you in his office," she told Harry. "I told him that you were still recovering but he was very persistent about it" Harry knew how much the Healer despised other staff meddling with her patients, so he tried not to look too thrilled at the prospect of leaving the Hospital Wing early.
"Right…Thanks Madam Pomfrey," he said as he got out of bed. The three Slytherins left the Hospital Wing whilst Harry changed out of his Hospital Wing Pyjamas and back into his Gryffindor robes. The red and gold trim on the robes made Harry's stomach lurch and he suddenly felt a bit sick.
Once he had changed, Harry met his new friends outside the Hospital Wing.
"What are you going to tell Dumbledore?" asked Malfoy.
"The truth," replied Harry. Pansy nodded in approval at this.
"Come and meet us in the abandoned classroom when you're done okay?" she asked.
"Alright then," replied Harry. "I'm off then, I'll see you in a bit."
The Slytherins parted company with Harry now; they headed down the stairs towards the first floor, whereas Harry began to climb a different flight of stairs as he began the walk to the Headmasters office.
As Harry reached the seventh floor, he realised that Madam Pomfrey had not mentioned a password to Dumbledore's office, and he began to wonder how he was going to get in. However, when Harry reached the gargoyle that usually guarded the entrance to the Headmasters office, he saw that it was already standing to one side, and the spiral staircase was free for him to climb.
He walked up the staircase and knocked on the wooden door at the top. Dumbledore's voice sounded from within the room as he told Harry that the door was unlocked. The Boy-Who-Lived opened the door and entered the office. Dumbledore was sat behind his large wooden desk, smiling slightly at Harry.
"Harry, do take a seat," the Headmaster offered, gesturing to a comfortable looking pink armchair opposite his desk. Harry sat down, feeling more like he was attending a tea party rather than explaining the terrible violence he had suffered from the Gryffindors.
The Headmaster made small talk for several minutes, asking Harry how he was doing with his studies and so on, before finally asking what had happened the night before. Harry began to speak, first explaining what had happened in Charms during that day.
"Ah, the old house rivalry," said Dumbledore sadly, shaking his head before asking Harry to continue with his explanation.
He didn't hesitate, and went on to explain how he had spent the afternoon with the Slytherins, but when it came to describing the savage attack the he had suffered at the hands of the Headmasters favourite students, Harry found himself lost for words. There was no way of explaining the events accurately without making himself look pathetic. Eventually he pointed to the Pensieve.
"Can I show you the memory instead, sir?" he asked. For a moment the Headmaster frowned slightly, clearly confused as to why Harry couldn't just explain. After a few seconds, however, he nodded and led Harry over to the Pensieve.
Harry concentrated very hard on the memory of the previous night, and tapped his wand to his temple. When he pulled it away, there was a long silvery string attached to the end: his memory. Harry then lowered his wand into the Pensieve and watched the silvery strand detach itself.
Dumbledore then leaned into the Pensieve, falling into Harry's memory. Harry didn't want to re-live the experience, so he walked back over to the pink armchair and sat down. He couldn't help but feel slightly vulnerable knowing that the Headmaster was watching the memory.
After a little while, Dumbledore leaned back from the Pensieve with a grave expression. He slowly walked back over to his desk and sat down, staring intently at Harry.
"You say that you are quite sure that you did nothing to bring on this attack other than befriend the Slytherins?" asked the old wizard. Harry noticed that the usual twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had dimmed somewhat.
"I'm certain," Harry replied. The Headmaster nodded slowly, and it was well over a minute before he spoke again.
"Harry, I am in quite a predicament," Dumbledore began. "I can see that it is not safe for you to be sleeping in the Gryffindor dormitory, or even enter the Gryffindor tower for that matter. However, I am not quite sure what can be done to separate you from your housemates."
"Is there no way that I could change house, sir?" Harry asked, looking hopefully at the Headmaster. Dumbledore responded with a slight shake of his head.
"If that choice was up to me, of course I would allow you to move to a different house…however, these matters can be complicated, not to mention out of my hands." Harry's heart sank at hearing this. Was he really going to be stuck with the Gryffindors for the next three years?
"Who can decide whether to let me change house or not?" He asked, silently praying that Dumbledore would not tell him that it was decided by the Ministry Of Magic. "Maybe if I explain what happened…" Harry trailed off, realising that Dumbledore was waiting to speak.
"An explanation wouldn't be necessary Harry, but all aspects of your personality would be considered. The Sorting Hat is the only authority when it comes to sorting students into houses. For it to move you, it would suggest that every part of your personality has changed, which is quite unheard of."
Harry's heart suddenly leapt. The Sorting Hat had originally wanted him to be in Slytherin, and only because he had begged had he ended up in Gryffindor. 'I guess the Sorting Hat really knows what it's talking about then,' Harry thought as he considered how unhappy he had been in Gryffindor.
"Can I try it on, sir? Just in case?" He asked, looking wistfully at the battered old hat sitting on a high shelf behind the Headmaster's desk.
"Well, alright then. But I would advise you not to raise your hopes too high, Harry." Said Dumbledore as he levitated the Sorting Hat down onto his desk. Harry immediately picked up the hat and put it on. He was surprised at how much better it fitted him now. In his first year the rim of the hat had rested on Harry's nose, but now it sat, almost as a normal hat should, only partially covering his ears.
The hat spoke immediately, quietly in Harry's ear.
"So you regret not taking my judgement, eh?" it asked in a gloating voice.
'Yeah, I do. You were right; I would have been much better off in Slytherin. I'm not happy in Gryffindor, please let me move?' Thought Harry hurriedly. He didn't want a long conversation if the hat was going to revel in how it had been correct when it had judged him to be a Slytherin. The hat was silent for a little while.
"I did say that you'd accomplish great things in Slytherin. I see no reason why you can't change house." The hat spoke the last sentence aloud so that Dumbledore could hear as well as Harry.
"Thank you," He said to the hat as he felt gratitude wash over him. Harry knew that he was beaming; he was so relieved that he wouldn't have to stay with the Gryffindors. He knew that he couldn't have faced them if the hat had told him he had to stay; they would have simply repeated the beating on a nightly basis.
The Headmaster looked completely shocked that the Sorting Hat had given Harry permission to move houses. He wasn't sure how the Boy-Who-Lived could have possibly convinced the old hat. Nevertheless, the matter was out of his hands, and he knew that Harry's safety was at a much lower risk if he moved.
"Well then Harry, I think you should go and find your Slytherin friends, you need to find out the password to your new common room. The entrance is-" Harry cut the Headmaster off before he finished speaking.
"-down in the dungeons, behind a blank stone wall," said Harry, finishing the Headmaster's sentence. Dumbledore didn't ask how Harry knew this, but simply nodded.
"You are aware that this change of events means that you can no longer compete on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team?" the Headmaster asked, knowing that this would be most important to Harry. Surprisingly, Harry found that he didn't care at this, and nodded.
"Good luck in Slytherin, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly, gesturing to the door of his office. Harry took the hint to leave, and stood up. He reached out a hand, which the Headmaster then shook.
"Thank you, sir. " Harry said, and then left the office. He felt light-headed and giddy with relief about having escaped the wrath of the Gryffindors, but also a little nervous about telling the Slytherins. They had only been friends for a couple of days, what if they didn't want Harry around all the time?
Despite these worries, Harry couldn't help but feel the urge to shout out in victory and happiness as he rushed down towards the first floor to tell his new friends.
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