Chapter 20
Dumbledore turned towards Harry. "Come, Harry. Let's go to my office."
Harry was about to speak when all of a sudden, he coughed violently. It was a bloodied cough, just like before. However this time around, he felt his head spinning as well. He swayed. His hands flayed around as he tried to grab anything that could be use as a support.
Dumbledore raced to his side and grabbed under his arm in an attempt to support him. "Harry! What happened? Did any of Barty's curses hit you?"
Harry just shook his head. He continued to cough.
"Poppy!" called out Dumbledore.
Madame Pomfrey came hurriedly from the private ward. "What is it, Albus?" Then she saw Harry. "Potter!"
She ran towards him.
By this time around, blood had completely drenched the front of Harry's shirt.
"My goodness," cried Madame Pomfrey. "Help me, Albus!"
With Dumbledore holding Harry on the other side, the two of them brought Harry towards the emergency ward. They laid Harry onto the bed and Madame Pomfrey immediately set to work.
Dumbledore stood beside Harry. He ran his fingers through Harry's hair.
"Everything will be fine, my boy. Just hold on."
Bottles and beakers clang as Madam Pomfrey hastily and desperately prepare a potion that could help to stop what appeared to be a massive hemorrhage Harry currently suffered.
In the mean time, Harry continued to cough out blood. Lots of blood. His shirt and part of the bed he was lying on was completely drenched in it. His chest heaved heavily as he gasped for air. The blood had appeared to disrupt his air passage, he was choking on it.
Dumbledore stayed beside him all the time. He held Harry's hand tightly as he continued to whisper words of encouragement into Harry's ears.
"Harry, please hold on. Madam Pomfrey is doing everything she can."
But even the best word of encouragement anyone can come up with could not help Harry at that time. The headmaster knew he needed more.
"Poppy."
"It's not easy to conjure up the potion that can stop massive hemorrhage, Albus!" said Madam Pomfrey as she cuts, measure and weighed various ingredients before mixing it all within a glass beaker at high speed. "One tiny mistake and he could bleed to dry within seconds! Nothing could stop it if that happens! Blast! I knew I should have prepared every potion in advance before anyone really needs it!"
"In which case, you're doing a fine job, Poppy," said Dumbledore upon realizing the gravity of the situation. He turned to look at Harry. "We can wait a little bit longer."
It was a lie. He knew that Harry did not have much time. The boy was getting extremely pale as his blood continued to drain out of him. His breathing while still labored, began to weaken. Dumbledore knew he had no choice but to make sure Madam Pomfrey remained calm as she prepared the potion. All he could do now was pray.
Madam Pomfrey poured the smoking content of the beaker into a steel goblet. She grabbed a small bottle of Blood Replenishing Potion from a nearby cabinet and together with the smoking goblet, rushed towards Harry's bed. She handed the small bottle to Dumbledore. Stepping over to Harry's side, she pinched Harry's nose and immediately began pouring the content of the goblet slowly and carefully into his mouth, making sure that the boy swallowed every single drop of the potion. It was not easy. Harry's incessant coughing means that some of the potion, mixed with his own blood, spilled out and his nearly blocked airway means that it was difficult for him to swallow anything, let alone the potion.
"Potter, please! You have to swallow the potion! Please try!" said Madam Pomfrey.
He tried. Slowly and painfully at first. He held his breath momentarily and took small gulps, one at a time until the potion finally successfully administered.
The effect was immediate. Harry's bloodied cough immediately ceased to exist. His breathing while still heavy, began to stabilize. He was still extremely pale however, no doubt the result of his massive blood lost. His eyes were closed as his body began to relax.
Madam Pomfrey breathed the sigh of relief and so did Dumbledore. The venerable headmaster knew that Harry survived.
"Didn't realize I am sweating this much. In all these long years I've been here I never had this kind of emergency before," said Madam Pomfrey as she wiped her sweaty forehead with her apron. She then took out her wand and began to wave it up and down Harry's body. "Nearly all of his major blood vessels were ruptured. His main organs are still intact though. Lucky for him that the blood vessels within his brain were spared. He could have suffered a major stroke if the rupture pattern follows through to his head. We were lucky, Albus."
"Lucky isn't the word I would use to describe it, Poppy," said Dumbledore. "I credit it all to you."
Madam Pomfrey did not answer. Instead, she continued to wave her wand up and down Harry's body. She suddenly paused moments later. "Wait! I'll be damned!" she said in astonishment. She stared at Harry in disbelieve.
"You saw it, didn't you?" asked Dumbledore.
Once again, Madam Pomfrey failed to answer. She held out her hand to Dumbledore. "Albus, the bottle if you will."
Dumbledore handed over the Blood Replenishing Potion to Madam Pomfrey.
Madam Pomfrey patted Harry's shoulder gently. "Potter?"
Harry opened his eyes. There were senses of fatigue in it. He looked directly at Madam Pomfrey.
"There's another potion that I need you to take," she showed the bottle to Harry. "Then I'll let you rest."
Harry, knowing what the potion is for, nodded weakly.
This time unlike before, the potion was successfully administered without any difficulties. Color immediately returned to Harry's face as the potion set to work.
Madam Pomfrey cocked her eyebrows. "That was fast," she muttered. "Rest, Potter. I'll give you something to help you sleep later."
Except that he did not.
His eyes might be closed but his sensitivity to his surrounding heightened with each second passing by. From where he laid, he could sense where Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore were standing within the hospital wing, just outside the emergency ward.
"Normally a wizard's or a witch's magical core grows in tandem with his or her physical growth. This is to ensure that the physical body could safely contain the power and that one's magic won't end up killing its own master. While there were few examples where a wizard had his magical core outgrew him, they usually don't survive for long. Potter's magical core Albus, is not normal for a fourteen year old," said Madam Pomfrey. "It's too powerful, too advance and too well developed. He must have been utilizing it to the fullest when he fought the impostor. It put quite a massive strain to his physical body. That's why he bled. It nearly killed him. It's a miracle that he survived."
Even from where he laid and with his eyes closed, he could sense that Dumbledore was busy scrutinizing him from the entrance into the emergency ward. So Dumbledore told Madam Pomfrey the incident within the Defense of the Dark Arts class.
Dumbledore sighed. "I know of one whom his magical core outgrows him. He survived but not without… undesirable circumstances. Yes, I was made aware of his – changes - during the Welcoming Feast but I was too busy with the preparation for the Triwizard Tournament that I had the matter on a back-burner. The incident within Moody's living quarters will speed up things apparently."
"Yes. You should explain to him how important it is for him to be careful with his own magic. I could arrange for some tests with my colleagues at St. Mungos, see if there is a way to tone down his magical core a bit," said Madam Pomfrey. "Prevent it from hurting him again. Maybe find the reason behind his changes."
Dumbledore however shook his head. "I wish it would be that simple, Poppy. You and I, we both know that it's virtually impossible to tone down one's magical power. It will either stay in the same state or grows. The only way to ensure that Harry won't overuse his magic is to deprive him from his wand. I don't want to do that in all honesty. As for the reason, I think we could simply ask him."
"If it helps him to survive, I see why not," argued Madam Pomfrey. "At least until we can determine a way to put it under control."
"My dear Poppy, I fear that by simply depriving Harry from his wand won't change a thing. It is possible that he may not need it," stated Dumbledore. "Until the matter had been thoroughly investigated, everything will chug along as usual. I am sure that Mr. Potter will know his limit the next time he tries to do magic. I have a hunch that Harry was merely scratching the surface when he fought Barty. He may had yet tapped fully into, I dare say, his talent."
Madam Pomfrey stared at Dumbledore, wide eyed. "You can't be serious, Albus."
"I'm afraid I am, Poppy. His latent power could prove to be his own undoing if he's not careful," said Dumbledore. "Harry and I will have a long talk tonight. Now if you will excuse me, there's a Death Eater needs taken care of. I will come back to check on Harry later."
Dumbledore then turned and left for the hospital wing's entrance.
He took a peek through his half opened eyelids.
Dumbledore had gone. He must be on his way to Moody's living quarters. He was not sure on how Dumbledore will handle the Death Eater. Earlier on, he had made a request to Dumbledore to not to handover Barty to the Ministry. He was pretty sure the headmaster will keep to his promise. Guess he will have to wait until tonight to know what Dumbledore will do.
He closed his eyes when he saw Madam Pomfrey approached him.
The resident nurse began to check on him, placing his hand on his forehead and inspecting the various part of his body, most likely to see if he suffered wounds elsewhere. Once she satisfied that there was no wound, she took out her wand and began to siphon Harry's blood that wetted his shirt and the bed. She then went away and returned with a jug of pumpkin juice and a goblet. She put them on the bedside table together with a small bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion. She then once again exited the room. This time, she did not return.
Harry opened his eyes. He knew that Madam Pomfrey had gone back to her office.
As he lay on the bed, that day's event and the conversation between Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey flew through his mind. Lucky enough for him, everything that happened managed to be contained just in time. He was not sure for how long but still, he knew that he needed to keep it that way for as long as possible. Beside a chosen few, no one else must know what transpired.
And that, in his mind, could cause some problems.
His friends especially Hermione will definitely be curious and threw difficult questions at him if they failed to see him at dinner. They were already a little bit jittery back at the DADA class. And he also needed to attend the Quidditch meeting after that. He knew that he needed to make his appearance on both occasions.
If only Madam Pomfrey would be lenient enough to grant him temporary leave.
That would be just his wishful thinking. The resident nurse will definitely won't allow him to leave the hospital wing. His only option is to sneak out unnoticed, straightened out his affair and return that night to the hospital wing. He had a hunch that the meeting with Dumbledore will happen there anyway instead of the headmaster's own office.
He glanced at the emergency ward's clock. It was already 5.30pm. It will be another hour before dinnertime.
Madam Pomfrey came to check on him at five minutes after six. She asked him a few questions. He answered truthfully. Once she satisfied that all was well, she took leave but not before reminding Harry to take the potion before he sleeps. She also told him that he will have his dinner within the ward and it shall be sent to him in half an hour.
Harry slowly got off his bed. His legs felt wobbly, a sure sign that his full strength had yet to return. He tip-toed towards the emergency wards entrance and took a peek into the hall of the hospital wing. No one was there. Madam Pomfrey must have been inside her office.
Thinking fast, he took out his wand and conjured up a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write:-
Dear Madam Pomfrey,
I must apologize for my absence. I need to take a temporary leave from the ward. I will be having my dinner at the Great Hall and I will return to the ward later I promise. Please tell Professor Dumbledore that I will be meeting him here tonight at 11.00pm.
I'm sorry I can't explain to you right now. Please don't worry about me. I will be fine.
Yours sincerely,
Harry James Potter.
After re-reading the letter a couple of times, he folded it and placed it on top of his bed. He then made his way towards the entrance into the hospital wing.
The Great Hall, a few minutes later…
He arrived early despite the fact that he was not able to walk as fast as he would have like. He suspected that he might over estimated his current strength. He was in fact feeling more tired than usual. He knew why. While the Blood Replenishing Potion did a fine job in replenishing his blood, the amount that was lost was quite huge. Harry could still feel the potion is still doing its job at that time.
Besides him, only a few Slytherin boys occupied the Great Hall. The long tables were still devoid of food. Dinner won't begin for another ten minutes. Ignoring the Slytherins, he walked towards the Gryffindor table and sat down at his usual spot.
Minutes pass by. Students began to trickle into the Great Hall and at exactly 6.30pm, the night dinner magically appeared on the tables. Harry helped himself to treacle tart as he watched students pouring into the hall, he waited for his friends.
He saw the Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff, the Ravenclaw, the Slytherin, few of the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton coming in. He saw Daphne, who strangely enough bore a surprise look on her face when she saw him. But no Ron and Hermione.
Questions began to creep up into his mind. They were not usually this late. He knew Ron well enough to know that the gingerhead would not miss food for the whole world. He had a mind to search for them right after dinner but given his condition at that time, that may not be a smart move. He did not want to give any excuse for Madam Pomfrey to be mad at him further should anything happened to him. With that in mind, he decided to wait.
He found out that he did not need to wait long.
He saw Ron, Hermione and the rest of his dorm mate entering the hall. They saw him. He was about to wave to them when he saw Viktor, who pointed at him just as he arrived at the entrance. Then he saw Fleur and the rest of her squad. They were gesturing towards him. Then he saw Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff. Both of them were staring at him.
The whole group then began to march towards him.
"Aw hell! What did I do this time?"
To be continued..
A/n: I'm back!
Sorry for the late update. While I indeed became too busy with StarCraft last month, I blame it on me binge watching Elementary for causing me to delay updating the fic this month. And before you guys ask, this chapter is less than half of what it supposed to be. I decided to post early just to indicate that this fic is not dead. Next chapter will come within this month I can assure you that and it will be longer.
Anyway, enjoy.