Harry's Head of House
by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Chapter 8
During the first week of the school year, Harry and Neville observed Hermione write in her black book with concern. However, the girl, who normally seemed to be very reasonable and careful, continued to ask the book questions, seemingly contented with the replies.
"Hermione, how can a book reply?" Harry asked in exasperation, fiercely rubbing his forehead against the headache that had been pestering the whole day.
Hermione chuckled. "It's not the book itself that replies but a wizard with the name Tom. He told me that he was a student at Hogwarts fifty years ago, which is why he knows all the answers to our second year assignments." She showed Harry and Neville the book, in which she had just written, "Can you name the Founders of Hogwarts?"
To Harry's and Neville's surprise, a neat handwriting appeared under her question. 'Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor. Hermione, I can show you to Salazar Slytherin's private quarters. Would you like to accompany me?'
The three friends stared at the writing in shock. While Hermione wrote back, 'I'd love that,' Harry let out a huge gasp, ending up in a coughing fit.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Neville asked in concern, giving him a sharp look.
"No, I think I'm sick," Harry grudgingly admitted, noticing that he felt hot and cold at the same time.
Hermione immediately laid her quill down and turned to Harry, placing an icy hand on his forehead. "Harry, you're burning up," she said worriedly and stood up from her seat. "Come Harry, let me take you to Professor Snape."
Feeling too miserable to protest, Harry agreed, and the trio made its way to their Head of House's office. The professor only had to look at the students in order to know what was wrong. He immediately dismissed Hermione and Neville and motioned for Harry to take a seat in his office.
"What exactly is ailing you, Harry?" he asked, before he pointed his wand at the boy's head to check his temperature.
"Everything hurts, head, eyes, throat, chest," Harry whispered back, unconsciously closing his achy eyes at his guardian's cold touch.
"Harry, you're running a high fever," Severus said in a soft voice. "I must take you to the hospital wing." Seeing that his ward was in no condition to walk all the way downstairs, he scooped him up in his arms and carried him through the Floo into Madam Pomfrey's office.
Instants later, Harry found himself in one of the crispy white beds, and he felt a tingly sensation run up and down his body, before the Healer's voice penetrated his ears.
"It was right that you brought him here, Severus. He caught pneumonia yet again. Please tell your students that I'm not allowing any visitors, except for you and Minerva of course, and no school work."
Harry groaned inwardly. 'I need to keep an eye on Hermione,' he thought; however, before he could voice his concerns to the professor, he succumbed to the potions that Pomfrey had spelled into his system and drifted off to sleep.
HP
During the following days, Harry felt so miserable that his concern about Hermione completely slipped his mind. Whenever he woke up, either Madam Pomfrey hurried to his side or his guardian was sitting on a chair next to his bed. They only exchanged a few words with him, before they spelled the next dose of his potion into his stomach and made him go back to sleep. Once he woke up in the middle of the night. Only a small torch was lit between two windows near Pomfrey's office. He glanced around, seeing that Professor Snape was fast asleep in the chair next to his bed. Suddenly, something caught his attention.
"I'm going to kill you, mugglebornsss," a hissing voice penetrated his ears, and he heard slithering sounds that seemed to come from the walls.
"Professor Snape," he called out to his guardian, realising in exasperation that his voice sounded very hoarse. However, it was loud enough for the professor to jerk awake.
"Harry," Severus said sleepily. "How are you feeling?"
"Severus, there was a strange voice that said it was going to kill the Muggle borns," Harry whispered, anxiously letting his eyes wander around the hospital wing.
"It's all right, Harry. You're delirious," Severus replied calmly, pointing his wand at Harry's head. "I'll give you the next dose now. Go back to sleep, Harry. I'll stay here with you."
"No sir; I'm fine. Please go back to your quarters," Harry replied, feeling very grateful when the professor shook his head.
"No Harry," he said, pointing to a device on Harry's night table that seemed to monitor his data. "I prefer to monitor this until Madam Pomfrey comes back in about two hours. Unfortunately, this is a Muggle device, so that I can't just charm it to alert me in my quarters if something is wrong."
Before Harry could question anything, he drifted back to sleep. He woke up again a few hours later by a huge commotion at the other end of the room. 'What's wrong?' he mused warily, feeling very reassured when his guardian returned to his side right away.
"What happened? Why is everyone here?" Harry croaked, seeing that many of the teachers were assembled around the last bed in his row.
"Mrs. Norris was killed last night, and Mr. Filch suffered a heart attack," Severus quietly informed him, before he asked, "Harry, do you remember the voice you told me about during the night?"
Harry sat up in excitement, only to feel himself being pushed back into a lying position. "I remember. It was a hissing voice, and it said something about killing..." He interrupted himself to let out a series of harsh coughs. "I also heard strange, slithering sounds."
"Harry," Severus said thoughtfully. "Have you ever heard of Legilimency?"
"No sir," Harry replied, looking curiously at his guardian.
"I'd like to enter your mind in order to see the memory," Severus said in a soft voice. "However, this might hurt your head, and I'm not sure if it would be good, considering that you're still very ill. On the other hand, your memory could help us save other lives."
"Please go ahead, sir. I will survive it, even if it hurts," Harry replied matter-of-factly. "What do I have to do?"
"Just look into my eyes and think of the voice you heard last night," Severus instructed him and stared into the boy's half-open glassy, green eyes. Instants later, he heard the voice that Harry had told him about and immediately knew that it had not been a fantasy coming from the boy's fevered mind. "Harry, do you understand Parseltongue, snake language?" he queried.
"I can speak with snakes, but all wizards and witches can do that, right?" Harry whispered back, rubbing his forehead against the headache that had worsened immensely.
"No Harry, it is not a common ability," Severus replied carefully. "Never mind though. We'll speak about this at a later time. However, I need to show the memory to my colleagues. This is very helpful in order to find out what is happening. Please try to go back to sleep."
"Pfessor," Harry whispered, terrified, reaching for his guardian's cold hand. "Please stay. What if the voice comes back and kills others? Hermione is muggleborn. I don't want..."
He interrupted himself when Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore approached them. "Severus..."
"It was a snake," Severus interrupted the Headmaster. "Harry heard it hiss that it was going to kill the muggleborns. I was just going to show you the memory."
"Albus," McGonagall asked, sounding horrified, "does that mean that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore said gravely. "Slytherin's monster must be a snake, maybe even a basilisk, considering that a glance into a basilisk's yellow eyes is deadly."
'Slytherin's Chamber?' Harry mused, tuning out the professors' further conversation. 'The Tom person in Hermione's book promised her to take her to Slytherin's quarters, didn't he? I must tell them about her book. It could be dangerous for her.' He was just about to speak, when Pomfrey strode towards his bed and began to scold her colleagues.
"Mr. Potter is very ill and needs his rest. Leave now," she demanded, glaring at the professors.
"One moment," Harry said, coughing. "I need to tell them something."
"What is it, Harry?" Dumbledore asked kindly, slowly sucking on a lemon drop.
"Hermione has a book, which replies when she writes in it, and a Tom told her he could take her to Salazar Slytherin's personal quarters," Harry croaked, looking unsurely at Severus.
The three professors exchanged horrified looks. Severus was the first to find words. "I will go and fetch Ms. Granger," he said and rose from his seat.
"Bring her to my office," Dumbledore instructed him and left the room behind the Potions Master, who strode ahead with billowing robes.
McGonagall leaned over to Harry and said calmingly, "Don't worry, Harry. I'm sure that your friend will be all right. Twenty points to Gryffindor for informing us about the matter."
"Kay," Harry mumbled, closing his eyes in exhaustion. 'Feels good,' he thought as he drifted off to sleep when the teacher gently bathed his flushed face with a cool cloth.
HP
Only when Harry's condition considerably improved a few days later, Severus informed him about Hermione's book. "It belonged to the Dark Lord, and he tried to possess her in order to get back to life. It was only thanks to you that we noticed what was wrong and were able to destroy his diary."
"Is Hermione all right?" Harry asked worriedly. 'I hope she won't be upset with me because I told the teachers about the book,' he thought.
"Ms. Granger is all right, apart from the fact that she is pestering me twice a day asking when she could visit you," Severus replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
Well able to imagine how Hermione would be able to annoy the professor if she insisted on a matter, Harry chuckled. "Professor, I'm feeling much better today. Can't Hermione visit me please?"
"I'll see what I can do to convince Madam Pomfrey," Severus promised and stepped away to fetch the Mediwitch.
HP
Harry looked at Hermione in concern, when she entered the hospital wing and sat on the edge of his bed. "Hi Harry," she said in a soft voice, smiling at the boy.
However, Harry noticed that her smile did not really reach her eyes. 'She looks as if she was still under shock,' he mused.
"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked, giving him a piercing look.
"I'm all right, but what about you, Mione? Snape told me what happened. That must have been quite an ordeal," Harry replied, raising an eyebrow in a very Snape-ish manner.
Hermione let out a long sigh. At first, I was very angry that you told Professor Snape about it. I liked communicating with Tom. He knew so much and..." She slowly trailed off, her voice tear-stricken.
"He was Voldemort," Harry whispered, terrified, gently reaching for the girl's hand.
"I know. When Professors Snape and Dumbledore told me that it was his diary, I knew that you did the right thing to tell them. You probably saved my life," Hermione said quietly. She unobtrusively wiped a tear from her cheek. "Thank you, Harry."
HP
The following months passed uneventful. Hermione still seemed to be shocked by the events for quite a while; however, not only Harry and Neville, but also their Head of House spent much time to speak with the girl, so that she was sooner or later back to her usual self.
"Harry, Neville, I really have a problem," she told her friends a few weeks before the end of the school year.
tbc...
