Chapter 4

Since the first of December had fallen on a Thursday, Dumbledore gave the students a three day weekend which Harry was using to start on the OWL workbooks Hermione had given him. Looking through the subjects, Harry decided to start with Potions since it was his best subject and also his favorite.

"You're doing homework already?" Ron Weasley asked as he sat down at Harry's table and looked at the workbooks. "We don't need another Hermione Granger, mate. One is more than enough."

"She's just trying to prove herself, Ron," Harry replied as he wrote. He couldn't think of why he was defending Hermione, though… "I can relate to that."

"Still…" Ron said as he flipped through the Charms workbook. "She doesn't even try to be nice."

"Is she a pureblood or…?"

"Muggleborn," Ron replied, shaking his head.

"And she's in Slytherin?" Harry asked, astounded. "No wonder she's like that."

"Yeah… I guess…" Ron muttered, not wanting to think that just maybe Granger had an excuse for being bitchy. Watching how quickly Harry was going through the Potions workbook, Ron asked, "So you really like Potions, eh?"

"Ever since I was 7," Harry replied. "When I was 10 my mum gave me her old copy of Advanced Potions Making. She always thought it would be the safest class for me… and I'm good at it."

"Good morning, Harry," Fred Weasley said cheerfully as he as he came into the common room with his twin brother, George.

"Can we talk to you about something?" George asked, sitting at Harry's table across from fred.

Harry set his quill down and grinned.

Fred smiled as well, saying, "You got it, didn't you?"

"Upstairs in my trunk," Harry replied, wheeling back and heading for the stairs.

"Got what?" Ron asked, following Harry and his brothers upstairs. "Harry…? What's in your trunk?"

Harry didn't reply right away, but rather went to his trunk and dug down to the bottom , pulling out a large money bag. "Dad said he was always happy to help skilled pranksters."

"How much?" George asked, taking the bag of galleons.

"1,000," Harry replied. "Should be enough to get you guys going and secure premises in Diagon Alley."

"Thanks, Harry," Fred said, gratefully. "This is just what we needed to get the joke shop off the ground."

"Joke shop?" Ron asked, surprised. "Does Mum know about this?"

"She'd have our heads on a platter if she did," George replied.

"True," Ron nodded.

"We've been doing what we can—we've got some good premiere items but we haven't had enough funds to really get going on product development," Fred added.

"I told Dad about the joke shop idea," Harry said to Ron as they headed back to the common room. "He said he'd be happy to invest money in it."

"Tell him you and he will always get and investor's discount at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," George said. "Being endorsed by one of the original Marauders… That's wicked."

--

Sitting at the Gryffindor Table for dinner, Harry tried to focus on finishing his Charms workbook but couldn't help but notice the stares from the other students. Not that the looks were surprising… after all, disabled students at Hogwarts weren't all that common.

And admittedly that was one of the best parts about Waldron Academy, Harry thought as he ate and worked. No one stared at him… No questions about the wheelchair or leg braces…

Harry shifted in the wheelchair and sighed as he thought about the flying class and the accident.

Waldron Academy

7 months ago

"Flying lessons?" Harry said to Professor Nora Kessler, who taught the Advanced Potions class. "No way. My mum would go insane if she found out."

"I'm not suggesting you try out for a Quidditch team, Harry," Kessler said, smiling. "Just go and try it out."

Harry thought about if for the rest of the day. His parents would kill him if they found out he had been on a broom. Still… he'd never done anything really dangerous…and flying could be fun.

--

The next day when the students participating in the flying class gathered, Harry felt even better about his decision. For the first time he was going to do what he wanted and throw caution to the wind.

Nick Harper, one of Harry's dorm mates who also had Mattisons, was surprised that Harry had actually showed up to the lesson. "Wouldn't your parents kill you if they found out you were on a broom?" Nick asked as Harry mounted the broom.

"Yeah…" Harry replied, grinning. "But I deserve to have a little fun, don't I?"

10 minutes later, Harry was up in the air, soaring and having the best time of his life. This was freedom! No worrying about anything… Just him and the open sky…

Not paying attention to what he was doing, Harry didn't realize till it was too late that his broom was on a collision course with Nick. The two were then hit as they fell by three other students and before anyone could do anything, the group hit the ground.

Harry cried out in pain when he landed, his legs bent at unnatural angles.

Professor Kessler sent two of the students to the medical center for help before working on untangling the students and trying to stabilize injuries.

The doctors and healers came quickly and started to work on the students, healing injuries and loading everyone involved onto floating stretchers for transporting to the small hospital that stood nearby on the school campus.

Harry groaned when one of the doctors, Deana Nichols, touched his right knee.

"Harry, I think we may need to get you into surgery for that knee," Deana said, splinting Harry's legs.

"Do you have to tell my parents?" Harry said as he was levitated onto a stretcher.

Deana had seen enough kids with MMI to know that most of them didn't want their parents to know about injuries until absolutely necessary. "No… But you should tell them something."

Harry nodded and tried to breathe through the incredible pain in his legs.

--

Three days later, Harry was lying in a bed in the school's hospital wing, both legs in casts.

Nick was in the bed beside him and he was in a back and neck brace to stabilize the injury to his spine.

"Well… my parents are going to have a fit when they find out about this," Nick said, grimly. "I was doing well…" Feeling as though he wanted to cry, he added, "Now I can't even feel my damn legs."

In his own bed, Harry stared at his immobile legs. Dr. Nichols had said that the surgeons had been able to repair most of the damage but there was a lot of healing left.

"Harry… Nick…" Headmistress Gabrielle Davis said as she entered the room, looking at the two teenagers. "You other classmates are doing fine," She said with a smile. "Doesn't really look like there will be any severe permanent injuries. I've contacted your parents and since both of you are in the Advanced Potions class I've told them that there was an explosion."

"Thank you, Professor Davis," Harry said, gratefully. "When… Am I going to be able to leave on time or…?"

Davis nodded. "You will be, Harry." Looking at Nick she said, "Unfortunately, Mr. Harper, we'll have to transfer you to a local muggle hospital when school lets out." Looking at Harry again, she said, "Dr. Nichols wanted to talk to you. I'll send her in."

When the brunette doctor came into the room, Harry knew at once that it wasn't good news.

"Harry, I've looked at your x-rays and it's not good news," Deana said, simply. "The fractures are healing okay but that's only part of the problem. These injuries—combined with the old damage to your spine—will most likely leave you with very limited mobility. It could be… years before you're able to walk again."

Present Day

"Thinking about Hermione Granger?" Izzy asked in a crooning voice as she sat opposite Harry.

"What?" Harry said, looking up. "Did you want something, Iz?"

"Yeah, I wanted to use your invisibility cloak as a bath towel," Izzy said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure," Harry said, distractedly as he stared at his workbook. "It's up in my trunk."

Izzy sighed and reached across the table and flicked her brother's nose. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

Harry looked up. "What?"

"Okay… you're lost in thought," Izzy said, snatching Harry's roll off his plate. "What's up?"

"Just thinking about… Waldron Academy," Harry shrugged. "I… I miss it."

"Why?" Izzy asked, curious.

"When I ate in the cafeteria…" Harry said, looking at his sister. "No one stared at me… no one asked me a million questions… I was normal."

Izzy smiled as she considered this. "My… best friend… Luna Lovegood… she gave me this little bit of advice…" When Harry gave her a questioning look, she said, "Normal… is always a relative term."

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