Thank you to the beta of this chapter- Born-of-Elven-Blood
Chapter Twenty Nine - The Visit with Ron and Hermione
Four days passed in a hellish sort of limbo as Ron and Hermione waited for Saturday to come. Life returned to normal around them, but by some unspoken agreement the two of them seemed to be exempt. The professors permitted them to sit silently at the back of the class without calling on them; Professor Snape would not even glance in their direction. Their classmates gave them uncertain smiles and occasional words of encouragement, but otherwise let them be. No one in the DA bothered Hermione with questions as she continued to teach from Harry's notes. Even the Slytherins gave them a wide berth. Only Luna seemed unaffected, approaching Hermione after Charms on Friday with her customary serene smile and vacant eyes to proffer a large purple crystal bound with a cord to make a pendant.
"For Harry," she explained with the same chipper lilt her voice always held. "The nargles want him to have it."
Hermione fought not to roll her eyes, in no mood for Luna's eccentricity, and took the crystal with a skeptical expression.
"Er… what does it do?"
"That's a good question," she replied dreamily. "Personally, I don't really think it does anything. I think maybe it's more about what Harry can do with it."
Hermione frowned. "...alright, Luna," she muttered, stuffing it in her pocket. "I will make sure to give it to him."
She scowled at the Ravenclaw's back in annoyance as the girl skipped away and decided she was grateful that for once the rest of the school had the decency to mind their own business.
Determined not to tempt fate, she woke Ron long before anyone else was up Saturday morning to herd him, yawning and grumbling, to the Headmaster's office where they'd floo to the Burrow.
...
Hedwig didn't know what was upsetting her human. She had done everything she could think of to cheer him up. Every morning she went out and found a plump, juicy mouse to bring back for him. She would spend hours preening the wooly mop of fur atop his head while he sat asleep in his bed or chair. She noticed that it calmed him to stroke her feathers when he became anxious, so she never left his side when he was awake. Nothing made much difference. The worst was when the woman that belonged to the Hospital Wing would come by in the mornings. That was when Harry needed her most.
...
Harry hadn't had a pleasant four days. For the first two he hadn't been able to comprehend most of what was happening, and everything was just a series of swimmy, disjointed jumble of sights and sounds and thoughts, each more disturbing than the last, but whenever the fog cleared from his mind, and he remembered that he was at the Burrow, he would inevitably cry himself to sleep.
He felt like a fool. Because he'd felt safe in Snape's chambers, had stupidly believed that the professor cared, that he understood, that they had become… not friends, but…
... it didn't matter. Snape had pawned him off to be another's problem.
On the third day Harry was furious to discover that all the sharp and dangerous objects had been removed from the house, and he screamed himself raw once he realized he wasn't allowed to go anywhere, not even to the bathroom, without Bill or Arthur accompanying him. The men stood silently by until he wore himself out, and Molly only smiled sympathetically and made him tea with a few drops of honey to soothe his throat. No one seemed at all shocked by his behavior, which only pissed him off more.
After a second blow up, Madam Pomfrey simply added a low dose of Calming Draught to the long list of potions that he needed to take.
Harry raged, but underneath that he despaired. It felt like no one was taking him seriously at all.
...
Saturday morning Harry woke up late, letting out a low moan when he stretched his sore muscles. Bill met him at his bedroom door.
"Morning, warden," he sneered half-heartedly. He scowled at the floor when Bill only smirked sadly and ushered him to the bathroom. After a token effort to wash up, he climbed reluctantly into an old worn pair of jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, pulling the hood up to hide his bald spot. He felt like he was moving in slow motion. His body had mostly healed over the past few days; he had regained his color, the ringing in his ears had stopped and he was no longer crying blood, but a deep, persistent ache still dogged his every move. Madam Pomfrey had said that full recovery was simply a long and unpleasant process, but Harry was tempted to believe she was watering the pain potions to punish him.
Bill, annoyingly patient, allowed him to take his time, following as he took the stairs one at a time, went downstairs, taking one step at a time as he still felt like his balance was off. He froze, swaying on the last step, to see Ron and Hermione sitting side by side on the couch.
Blinking, he looked away, refusing to make eye contact as he trudged into the living room and lowered himself into a chair across from them. Hedwig perched protectively on the chairback, glaring at the newcomers with open suspicion. Harry wanted to be happy to see them, but all he felt was a nauseating swoop of dread and humiliation in his stomach as his heart constricted and his shoulders tensed. He didn't feel comforted, he felt cornered. His only relief that Bill had the decency to leave the room.
"Call if you need anything," he said lightly, but he shot Ron a pointed look before ambling out the door.
"What are you doing here?" Harry muttered after a long moment of unconformable silence.
"We told you we were coming to see you on Saturday," Hermione said. "Remember?"
"Oh… I don't… I don't remember a lot of stuff..." he muttered, still not looking at either of them. The last thing he remembered clearly was swallowing a potion that tasted of tinned asparagus and old feet, before waking up in Ron's room to discover that days had passed.
"That's alright," she said, giving him a small smile. "How are you feeling? You look much better..."
Harry was saved from having to answer the question when Molly bustled into the room with a fully laden tray.
"Here we are! Some piping hot tea and biscuits fresh from the oven! And your morning potions, Harry," she added with an overly cheerful smile. "Be sure to swallow them all before you tuck in to your treats! You have a nice visit, dears, and call if you need anything at all!" She shot Ron the same pointed look the Bill had before once more leaving the three alone.
Harry grimaced as his friends' eyes went to the colorful array of bottles laid out on a tray.
"What are those for?" Ron asked, earning himself an elbow to his ribs from Hermione.
"Ummm… calming, healing, pain, inflammation, to stop the bleeding while I am healing…" He ticked them off on his fingers one by one, then stopped and shrugged defensively. "I don't know what the others do, but they taste disgusting." Hedwig nipped at the hood of his sweatshirt.
"So... how are things here at the Burrow?" Hermione asked, trying to move the conversation along.
Harry ignored the question. Slowly he turned his head to look squarely at his friends for the first time. "Where's Snape?"
Ron and Hermione glanced at each other. "Professor Snape is at Hogwarts. We don't see him much except for classes," Hermione explained. "Do you… want to see him?"
"...I want out of here," Harry muttered.
Hedwig, sensing her human's distress, jumped down to the armrest and nipped at his hand until he began to pat her.
"Harry… it really is for the best right now that..."
"No…" he interrupted. "I'm not allowed to go anywhere alone. The potions make me sleepy. I can't think straight half the time..." He managed to leave out the part about not feeling safe.
"No offense, but what did you expect, mate?" Ron asked gently. Hermione glared at him, but Harry only shook his head.
"I'm being smothered here…" he told them plainly. "I want to go back to Hogwarts."
Ron and Hermione shared a guilty look, grateful that Harry didn't seem to know they were the ones that had gotten him sent to the Burrow in the first place. It had seemed like the obvious solution, but the misery now in Harry's expression clearly said otherwise. Hermione wished there was a book that could tell her the right thing to do. Despite the best of intentions, it felt like everyone was doing Harry wrong.
"We'll talk to Dumbledore for you but..."
"No, Snape," Harry insisted
"...alright, Snape," she reluctantly agreed.
The rest of the visit didn't go any more to plan than anything else had. Once Harry took his potions, he wasn't able to hold a conversion for long without his mind wandering off. They took turns telling him anecdotes and gossip from school, but it soon became clear that there wasn't much more they could do to draw him out today.
Dejected as she stared at his unfocused expression, Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat, then frowned to feel something jabbing her hip. Digging into her pocket, she removed the offending item.
"Oh… Luna wanted you to have this," she said, holding the purple crystal out to Harry. "She...she said that…" She scrunched up her nose, feeling ridiculous. "She said that the nargles wanted you to have it."
Harry took the pendant from her, staring at it thoughtfully.
"Luna?" For just a moment, his eyes cleared and focused. "And… how is the DA?" he asked, curling his fingers around the crystal and setting it in his lap.
"The DA is doing great. Everyone is doing great. We've been..." Hermione started to explain, only to stop short as Harry's eyes fell closed. He slumped against the arm of the chair and promptly fell asleep.
"Well that went well," Ron murmured sarcastically as he stood up to go find his dad - the only one who hadn't been shooting him pointed looks all morning.
"You know, I think maybe it did," Hermione said softly, staring at the crystal still clutched loosely in Harry's fist. "He asked about the DA," she elaborated at Ron's skeptical expression. "It's the first interest he's taken in anything other than his own situation since he's been back in his right mind. And even when he wasn't, he still had enough wherewithal to remind us to keep it up."
Ron scratched his head, mulling it over. "What do you think it means?"
"I think perhaps… perhaps it's time we stopped trying to think of solutions on our own, and start listening to Harry."
"He can't exactly say much right now," Ron shrugged. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"He's already said plenty. We just haven't been listening hard enough," she replied. "Hurry up and find your dad and then let's get going."
"It's Saturday, there's nothing going on. And mom'll be making lunch soon. What's the rush?"
"We have to get back to Hogwarts," she told him decisively. "We have to go find Professor Snape."