Chapter 11
"What…ppened?"
"…on't… he suddenly…"
"This… ad…"
The voices wouldn't stop. He just wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep, just in case Aunt Petunia came and forced him to get up and cook breakfast. But those voices just wouldn't let him! Who were those people talking? Their voices sounded familiar. Where had he heard it?
Harry…
Look! James! He's standing!
Harry, over here! Come to daddy!
Hello, sweetheart!
Smile, Harry!
Come to mommy, Harry!
"Harry!"
Harry opened his eyes fully and he shot straight up. He instantly regretted that decision though. His head hurt and he felt nauseated. Someone tried to get him to lie back down and he was all too eager to comply. What had he been doing? Why was he so dizzy?
His head was about to burst - he could feel it. He felt a pair of hands running along the side of his face and up to his forehead to move some hair out of the way. 'Wait. What?'
"Harry... Harry can you hear me? Harry?"
Harry groaned loudly and put a hand up to his head. The pain was slowly receding but it did not go away entirely. "W-Where... Where am I?"
He tried to get up and search for his glasses but another pair of hands had come to secure him to his spot on the bed.
"Easy there, fella. You don't want to collapse all over again." said a deep voice to his right. His voice sounded familiar too. It was almost like... like the one he heard inside his head. Harry didn't try too hard to dwell on it and resigned himself to resting as he was told.
"Can I just... have my... my glasses... please?" he croaked, instantly feeling his dry throat.
A blur of red and black to his left moved and gently placed his round glasses on his face. Harry mumbled his thanks to the person and was surprised to see that it was Lily Potter. His gaze went over to the other side of his bed and he was again, surprised to see Lily's husband standing there. The both of them had worried looks on their faces.
"Do you need anything else, Harry?" Lily asked as she reached over to adjust the glasses on his face.
Harry couldn't speak. How in the world did he end up in - his eyes scanned the area - the Hospital Wing? Of all places to be at, why the Hospital Wing? He was just in Lily Potter's office a few minutes ago. What happened?
An uncomfortable squirm on James' part made Harry move his gaze to the man on his right. He and his wife had those faces that looked like they expected him to do something. Oh... right. They had asked him a question. Harry didn't want to impose but his throat was burning with both thirst and questions. Both of which won't be met if he didn't get what he sorely needed right now. "Some... some water, please?"
James nodded and he set off to get him a glass, mentally cursing the Hospital Wing for not placing a pitcher of water on Harry's bedside table beforehand. But then again, he was only brought in half an hour ago. They wouldn't have had time to prepare anything.
As James walked away to the far end of the Hospital Wing, Lily took this moment to turn her attention back to Harry. She grabbed hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze. She had so many questions inside her head right now. The only problem was how she would phrase them correctly without setting off the boy laid out on hospital bed before her. Lily decided to ask the first thing that had been bothering her ever since his small spasm in her office. Clearing her throat, she said, "Harry... the thing that happened in my office... Do they happen frequently?"
"Er... I guess so..." Harry answered.
Lily nodded slowly and patted Harry's hand once. "Okay... well, do you remember when the first... attack happened?"
Harry looked deep in thought after Lily asked him that question. "I... I guess after I..." he said, searching his memories of his previous episodes of headaches. "Maybe after I got home from Diagon Alley..."
"I see... and you didn't take anything from anyone there, did you?" Lily asked. Maybe somebody gave Harry a sample potion or something that made him get the headaches. One can never trust the free samples people handed out in Diagon Alley.
Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You mean, like steal?"
"What?" Lily asked confused. And then it dawned on her. She gave a small laugh and said, "No, Harry. What I meant when I said 'take' was did you receive anyone's offers there? Like take a free sample or...?"
"What? No. No. We went directly to Gringotts and then we got my supplies and then I went home to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."
Lily, who had been nodding along as Harry listed off things, suddenly jerked her head up at the mention of her sister's name and her husband. How could Harry know them? She remembered Harry's reaction to her old picture of Petunia moments before his headache and she couldn't help but feel like there was something up.
"Harry? Who did you say your aunt's name was?" Lily asked as she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. If there was one thing she learned at their failed attempt at a conversation after the feast on the first day, it was that Harry's aunt and uncle were named Julie and David. Not Petunia and Vernon.
Harry knitted his eyebrows as though he was confused. It wasn't because of Lily's sudden interest in his aunt. It was because of something that's been nagging inside his head. His head wasn't even in the conversation he was having with the professor anymore. He was trying to push down that weird nagging feeling to the depths of his mind and at least formulate some sort of response to the red-haired professor beside him but the voices just kept getting louder.
Harry!
Harry, sweetheart! Over here!
Harry, darling, where on earth did you put your broomstick?
Harry shut his eyes to try and push them back farther away. He could feel another headache coming on inside his head. His original purpose of shutting out the voices didn't work out. Instead, there were now blurred images moving around inside his head. The voices had gotten louder that it drowned out Lily Potter's frantic calls for him. Her voice sounded like faint whispers now as new voices boomed all around him. The images still played themselves all over his head.
I think he wants his toy.
The blurry outline of a man said as he reached out toward him. Harry shut his eyes tighter, feeling the pain of his headache increasing. He felt like he knew this man. It wasn't like those feelings that you could just shrug off. It made him desperate. It made him want to tear out his hair just to clear the image and find out who it was.
Here. I got it. Silly baby. He left it on the floor.
Another outline moved into his line of vision only this one had a distinct feature on her. Harry could tell it was a female judging by her voice. What stood out from her was an insane color of red on what was supposed to be her head. Was that her hair? Red hair?
Wait...
Red... hair?
A woman with... red... hair...
Will you fetch his formula for me, dear? Harry needs to eat soon.
Were these people his parents? Were these... memories? That couldn't be possible... could it? He was supposed to be a muggleborn... why did these people mention him losing a broomstick? Why was everything so different? Something was off yet... not. He felt comfortable with these memories of these people but he felt kind of awkward. It made him feel something in between staying and leaving. He wasn't sure which one he should follow.
Did his mother have red hair? Aunt Petunia said that - aunt Petunia... aunt Petunia? His aunt's name was... Petunia, right? Why couldn't he remember?! Aunt Petunia... Uncle Vernon... Aunt Julie... Uncle David... Petunia. Julie. Petunia.
Petunia.
Petunia Dursley.
Vernon Dursley.
Dudley Dursley.
His mother's sister... was... Petunia Dursley...
Harry writhed in pain as he tried to clear his head. Everything just didn't make sense. Nothing made sense!
"James! James! Call Madam Pomfrey! James!" Lily yelled as she jumped up and tried to soothe Harry. So far, she wasn't having much luck but she kept rubbing his back anyway. She didn't know why. She just felt like it was natural.
Harry began rocking himself back and forth on the bed as he groaned in pain every once in a while. Lily pulled herself down towards Harry and tried to talk to him but Harry was already sprouting off words from his mouth in hushed whispers.
"Doesn't make sense... doesn't make sense..." he kept saying over and over as he continued rocking himself.
Lily didn't know what he meant by that and truth be told she was curious. Well, mostly worried for the child's wellbeing. "What Harry? What doesn't make sense?" she asked gently. She still needed an explanation as to how Harry knew her sister but Harry's current state was more important.
Harry shook his head and for a moment, Lily's heart sank when she thought he wouldn't answer her.
"Harry, come on... tell me. What doesn't make sense?" she tried again, hoping Harry would respond this time.
Harry let out a child-like whimper and said, "I... my... my aunt... I..."
Lily felt like her heart stopped beating for that moment. Was he going to answer? "Aunt? What about your aunt?" she asked all-too eagerly.
"She... she... her name..."
"Yes? Her name?" Lily said, hoping that whatever she was doing was helping Harry in any way. He seemed less pained now. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
"Aunt... Aunt Petunia..." Harry finally answered.
Lily felt her breath hitch when she heard the name. Petunia? She stopped rubbing circles on Harry's back for a moment and just stared at him. "Aunt Petunia? You have an aunt Petunia? But... she... you said her name was Julie?"
Harry shook his head. "No. No. No. No aunt Julie. Hagrid... give...drink. My aunt... she's... aunt Petunia."
Lily didn't get how Hagrid had been thrown into the mix. Why was Hagrid in this? The sound of fast approaching footsteps echoed all around the empty Hospital Wing and she turned around in time to see her husband arriving with Madam Pomfrey in tow. James immediately went over to Lily and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. Lily wanted to lean in to his touch but she was still unsettled about the things she learned about the boy.
Harry kept switching between nodding and shaking his head while mumbling something under his breath. Lily could still hear him chanting 'Petunia' a few times and it did nothing to ease her worries and suspicions.
Madam Pomfrey pulled something out from her pocket and faced the Potters. "I'm going to give him a few drops of Sleeping Potion. Poor lad needs an escape. Something's troubling him. I found traces of a serum in his system. I'm afraid it's been causing some damage to his brain. We'll need to get an expert on this. But other than that... whatever happens now depends on Harry's determination to remember the things this serum had altered. If he does, then he'll be fine. If he won't... then he'll need to be looked at in St. Mungo's."
She gave a sigh and opened the bottle of Sleeping Potion but Lily stopped her before she could even pour out a teaspoon.
"Wait. Please, I think... I think Harry remembers something. I... I talked to him earlier and... and... Please, just, wait." Lily begged as her grip on Harry's hand tightened.
James wore a confused expression on his face. "Honey, what are you talking about?"
"Trust me, James. Something is up and I am going to find out what." Lily insisted.
"But... Harry needs to rest up. Clear his head of everything. He needs that right now. Can't it wait until later?" James didn't understand how important this was to her.
"No! I need to know right here, right now. He needs to tell me."
"Tell you what, exactly?!"
Madam Pomfrey decided to interrupt their argument. "Alright, that's enough! Lily, I will allow you to wait for him to answer you but the moment he's aggravated or in extreme pain, I'm knocking him out."
A soft whimper from Harry made all three adults turn their attention to the eleven-year old on the bed. Lily immediately pulled herself closer to Harry and listened intently to anything he might say. She just needed to know why Harry knew her sister. AS AN AUNT!
Harry felt numb. His mind was far away from the present. He was still watching the blurred couple in front of him. He still couldn't figure out who they were and the longer it became, the more frustrated he grew. Their voices… their appearance… it made him want to tear his hair out. It was like the answer was at the tip of his tongue. He knew these people were his parents but who were they exactly?
Aw… look at him, he's so cute.
I wish Padfoot could see him. He loves that stuffed dog he brought him.
Yes… he does, doesn't he?
Harry could really feel the answer at the tip of his tongue. It was just right there.
Will you be teaching him charms when he grows up?
Maybe… if he has a knack to it. I don't see why not.
Harry kept wracking his brains for the answer. He knew who they were. Why couldn't he just remember their names?!
Maybe Transfiguration if he's eager?
I'll teach him potions, definitely.
Really? I was worried you might hand him over to Snivellus
Please… please…
Oh, grow up, James Potter!
Never, my dear Lily…
The moment those names were uttered, Harry's heart stopped and his eyes widened.
Did he just… Did he just hear that right? Were those… were those… their… names…? No… His parents… his parents were…
The blurred image slowly cleared up and sure enough, Lily and James Potter stood there with bright smiling faces looking down at what probably was a baby Harry.
"My parents... are… Lily and James Potter?" Harry whispered hoarsely. His voice echoed throughout the empty room and its three other occupants were left with their mouths hanging open.
A/N: Not exactly my best chapter. I rushed through this. I really did. It's been months and I'm back now and… this chapter just sucked. Wow, I've lost my touch. Well, I've never really had one to begin with and well… gosh, here I am talking like I wasn't even gone. Wow.
Alright. I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY! A THOUSAND APOLOGIES!
You've waited for months for this chapter and I gave an unclear and sucky one. I'm a despicable human being…
(I'll prob'ly edit this once school's out or something but I just wanted to give you guys something. You've all been so patient and well… not so sweet at times but did ya see da reviews? 200+ baby!)
Well, this is it for now I guess… my eyelids are dropping as I am typing this and….. …..dyugjutbsrt…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
