Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy
A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.
A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.
Rating is M for later chapters
Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.
Chapter 14: The Grangers Reaction
Hedwig flew in the open window of the Granger residence in Marseilles. Nobody was home, so she waited patiently. Two hours later, Jane and Dan came home from their new practise and were surprised to see Hedwig waiting for them with a note.
"Hedwig," Jane smiled. "You've a note from Harry or Hermione?"
The Snowy Owl let out a soft squawk and held out her leg. Dan took the note and Hedwig returned to her perch, waiting to see if there was an answer to deliver.
Dan read the note, a scowl slowly forming on his face. "Jane, something's happened to Harry. Hermione wants Minerva to pick us up as soon as possible. Hedwig will deliver our note back to them."
Jane grabbed the note and read it. It didn't say much, but she could see tear stains on the page. "Harry's unconscious at Beauxbatons and they don't know why. It seems that he ran away. Why, I wonder?"
Jane wrote the note telling Minerva that she could pick them up directly. They'd wait at home until she arrived. Tying the note to Hedwig's leg, they sent her off. She gave a sorrowful bark and headed back to Beauxbatons.
An hour later, Minerva arrived and wasted no time in explaining what had happened. "Jane, Dan, he's unconscious at the moment. I won't hide the seriousness of his condition. He Apparated directly to Hermione's bed from somewhere. We suspect he somehow got into the cave system. The caves are heavily warded and he shouldn't have been able to get in there. In any case, his magical core is almost depleted. We're not sure if he'll survive. I'll take you there and we'll continue this discussion then."
Dan and Jane glanced at each other, fearful that they may lose Harry. "Minerva, why did he run away?" Jane asked.
"We don't know for certain. He tried to enchant a rock into a dagger and it knocked him out. When he came to, we explained he shouldn't be experimenting without supervision. Apparently, he took it badly and ran off. Grab hold of this rope; it's a Portkey. It'll take us to just outside the Academy wards and we can walk the rest of the way."
"He took it badly?" Dan asked as they arrived. "Just what was said?"
"That was my fault, I'm afraid," Minerva replied. "I admonished him for using a spell from his old book without proper supervision. I'm afraid I was a little harsh and mentioned I'd have to tell you. I may have also mentioned that I was disappointed in him."
"Oh dear. That can't have gone well. He's so used to being punished and degraded for what he's done while he was at the Dursley's, that he must have panicked," Jane groaned quietly.
Quickly walking up to the school, Minerva brought them to the Headmistress' office.
"Hello Olympe, how is he?"
"Still unconscious, Minerva. Hello Jane, Dan. I'm afraid the news is not good. He went into convulsions an hour ago and Madame Suzette had a devil of a time stabilising him. He seems to be resting now, but he's not out of the woods yet."
"Can we see him?" Jane asked, sounding as worried as she felt.
"I'd prefer to wait a bit to see if he settles down. Madame Suzette is very worried. We don't know if his magic will survive this. It was almost completely drained. Professor Brabant suspects the caves may have absorbed his magic every time he used it. If he hadn't been able to get out, he would have died in there."
"B-but h-how did he get out?"
"We think he somehow made an enchanted Portkey and Portkeyed out. That's the most logical explanation, but he must have seen something horrific in there. His nightmares, while he was unconscious, left him screaming."
Madame Suzette entered the office and quickly whispered something to Madame Maxime. Olympe smiled and dismissed the healer.
"He seems to be sleeping normally now. His temperature has returned to normal and he's stopped thrashing about in bed."
"May we see him now?" Dan was a bit more forceful than his wife: he didn't like his new son suffering any more than he already had.
"Yes, he's still unconscious, but your daughter and Miss Delacour are with him, waiting for him to wake up."
Dan and Jane entered the hospital wing and immediately spotted Hermione. She was holding Harry's hand, caressing it and speaking softly. Gabrielle was on the other side of his bed, watching him closely.
They both turned as her parents entered the room.
"Mum, Dad! When did you get here? Harry's…" but her voice trailed of in a choked sob.
"Hermione," Jane softly admonished her daughter, "Harry will be fine. The nurse said he's resting now."
"Miss Delacour, I see you've taken an interest in Harry as well."
"Hello Mrs. Granger. Yes, Harry and Hermione are good friends. We do everything together."
"We've got most of the story from Minerva and the Headmistress," Dan explained. "We'd like to hear from you two what really happened. Hermione? No secrets, remember."
Gathering herself, Hermione explained as best she could. "It's my fault, Dad. I asked him to show Gabrielle the book. He tried to do what we thought was a simple enchantment and it went wrong, somehow and knocked him unconscious. Gaby and I took him to the infirmary and when he awoke, the Headmistress and professors questioned him. I think he was afraid that if Minerva told you, you'd be angry with him, so he ran. We chased him and Gaby saw him just disappear near the caves…"
Gabrielle continued the story. "He was about thirty metres in front of me and I yelled at him to stop, and he just… vanished. We searched everywhere, thinking he might have Apparated back to our dorm. You can't Apparate anywhere on the grounds or in the school, you know, but apparently Harry can. In any case, the school was searched and Harry wasn't found."
Hermione took over the account again. "H-he just suddenly appeared on my bed earlier today, unconscious. He was filthy and had blood from several cuts and scrapes on his face. We took him to the Hospital wing where we found he had a broken arm and a big bump on his head. H-he scared us, Mum. He screamed and thrashed about, still unconscious. We were chased out at that point and only just allowed back."
"Mmmhh!" A weak groan came from Harry.
"Harry! Can you hear me?" Hermione cried. "Gaby, get Madame Suzette. I think Harry's waking up."
Gabrielle ran to get the nurse and quickly returned with Madame Suzette in tow.
"Move aside Miss Granger, I need to examine him. Did he say something?"
"He just groaned, but I think he's starting to wake up."
The nurse quickly ran her wand over him, checking various readings that were popping up around the wand. She sighed with relief. "I think the worst is over. His magical core seems to be rebuilding. He's still very weak, but I think he'll be fine. I'll want to keep him here under observation for a few more days, possibly longer.
"Harry, can you hear me?" she asked.
A weak groan issued from Harry and his eyes fluttered open briefly.
"Too bright," he groaned, trying to shield his eyes. He gave up when his arms wouldn't obey him, so he turned his head away.
"I think that's all for now. He'll need to rest. You can visit him again later," the stern medi-witch admonished.
Reluctantly, the Grangers and Gabrielle left. "We'll be back, Harry," Hermione and Gabrielle both pledged.
Harry lay still, trying to remember what happened. Had somebody been here a minute ago? The harder he tried, the less he could remember. One thing seemed to be clear; Hermione had been here with him. He smiled inwardly at that. At least Hermione cared. But what had happened? Why was he here? Where was here? The more he concentrated, the slipperier the memory seemed to be. It was like water, slipping though his fingers. Finally he drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
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Albus Dumbledore was not having a very nice day. Getting into the prison was more difficult than he had imagined. Inside, he felt a change in his magic: subtle, but real. As if he couldn't quite grasp it anymore. This frightened him more than anything else ever had. 'Get a grip,' he told himself. 'Find Severus and get out of this hellhole!'
He'd been sneaking through the corridors, careful not to be seen. Unknown to him, the Warden already knew exactly where he was, and more importantly, who he was.
The Warden, chucking to himself, reached for a coffee and settled down to enjoy the predicament the fool had now placed himself in. 'When he realises he can't use his magic, he'll panic. Then we'll have him where we want him. Snape will have company soon.'
…………..
Harry slept for three days straight. Hermione and Gabrielle maintained a vigil by his bedside when not attending classes. The Grangers, seeing that Harry was recovering, returned to Marseille and their new dental practice, making sure that Minerva kept them up to date on Harry's condition. They would return when Harry was fully recovered. They wanted answers and needed to reassure him that they loved him, no matter what.
On the fourth day, Harry awoke and suddenly sat up. The room spun crazily around him, before he lay down and closed his eyes until the vertigo passed.
Madame Suzette, who had been checking him at the time, sternly told him, "Mr. Potter-Granger, you can't make any sudden moves. You're still very weak."
"Mmm hungry," Harry mumbled. "Thirsty, too. What happened?"
"We'd like to know that too, I'll fetch the Headmistress when you've eaten. Do you feel up to sitting up? Slowly, Mr. Potter-Granger."
Harry slowly managed to sit up and the medi-witch propped pillows behind him, supporting his back. Levitating a simple breakfast to him, she watched as he ate. "Can you eat more? You've been unconscious or asleep for four days now. There's only so much potions can do to keep your strength up."
"Yes, please. Actually, I'm starving."
Madame Suzette cautioned Harry to eat slowly and had a house elf bring a substantial breakfast to him.
Hermione and Gabrielle stopped in on their way to class and found Harry eating ravenously.
"Harry! You're awake!" they chorused.
"Grmmfld," he replied, his mouth stuffed with French toast.
"Harry! Manners! Don't try to talk with your mouth full."
Gulping the last bit down, he exclaimed, "Hermione, Gabrielle, what happened? Why am I here?"
"You don't remember, Harry?" Hermione gaped.
"Not a bit of it. Last thing I remember, I was running outside."
"Why did you run, Harry," Hermione asked, afraid of the answer.
"I-I… Everyone was angry with me. They were going to tell Mum and Dad…"
"Harry, you know that we all love you. Mum and Dad wouldn't hurt you. You should know that by now."
Umm… I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly. I was remembering my Uncle and Aunt. They would have beat me…"
"Harry, those days are over," Hermione reassured him as Dan and Jane Granger had listened to Harry's story in awe from the next room.
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