The final chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6 - Listen and Learn

Harry and Ron had scarcely stepped into Noggin and Bonce when the sibilant whispering once again surrounded them. Harry stopped and picked out a head to focus on. That one seemed as lifeless as a basilisk's victim, but the whispers seemed to morph into a growing chorus of soft laughters. He jumped when Ron poked him and pointed to his side where the proprietor stood holding her arms crossed in front of her, her wand dangling from her right hand.

"Yer not like t' ot'er Aurors," she stated while staring at him.

"I try to keep an open mind," Harry replied, trying to ignore the distraction of the echoing whispers around him.

The proprietor turned her gaze to Ron who pulled his eyes from a head behind her that he would have sworn had mockingly stuck out its tongue. "Ye stopped t' boyos from breakin' t' storefront las' ni'."

Ron nodded. "That's our job. They were in the wrong."

The glare focused once again on Harry. "But ye didn't do aught until t'ey cast."

"They weren't doing anything wrong up until that point." Harry paused. "Were you watching us the whole time?"

"Nay," she cackled in response, "not all of us, anyway." Soft laughter filled the room once again.

Ron was bemused. "Were you just waiting for us to do something?"

From out of the gloom at the back of the shop, the boy stepped forward, his arms crossed. "We thought ye was goin' t' support them." Harry thought he saw the girl in the shadows, watching intently.

"Support … why would we do that?" Ron sputtered.

"Isn't that what ye outsiders do, support each other and leave us t' defend ourselves?" the boy responded as if it should be evident. "But ye didn't. Ye stopped them this time."

The whispering stopped and the room became very quiet.

Ron exhaled. "I know you don't believe it, but our job as Aurors is to protect all witches and wizards. Haven't we always tried to stop the violence?"

"Ye did t'is las' ni'," the proprietor reluctantly agreed.

Harry took a step forward. "We're just advising people here to let the Aurors handle it when disturbances like last night occur."

The girl stepped forward, putting her hands on her hips. "But what about when ye take so long to respond that people are getting hurt?"

"Of course you might have to defend yourselves and protect your property until we arrive. But when we were here last month, there was a running battle in the alleyways between two rival groups. That was more than just defense."

"Yer sayin' our boyos can defend t'emselves, but when t'ey do t'ey get arrested as Deat' Eaters. What happened to t' Di'gon boyos you caught las' ni'? Are t'ey on t' way to Azkaban?" the mother demanded to know.

The word Azkaban was repeated in whispers throughout the room.

Harry shook his head. "No," he said honestly. He heard long hisses of disapproval and glared at the heads around him until the ruckus died down. "They were just bored kids who hadn't been taught to respect others, not hardened thugs."

The woman stared at the left side of his face. "An' what if t' ones who gave you t'at were jus' kids t'emselves?"

Harry felt as though he held pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that didn't quite fit together. "Why would they have cursed me, though? They should have known better than to attack Aurors."

"Perhaps t'ey didn't realize you was Aurors. Perhaps t'ey were fightin' dem boyos from Di'gon. Maybe when t'ey saw yer in t' shadows t'ey t'ought ye was one of 'em."

The pieces suddenly fit together for Harry. He hadn't been targeted. He'd just been in the way. He took a deep breath. "If it was truly an accident and cast by someone defending their property," he said carefully, "I'm not going to arrest them. However, I need to know what the curse was so that St. Mungo's can apply the proper counter-curse to me and the other Aurors affected."

The proprietor stared at him for another moment and came to a decision. "Jus' as a guess, I'd say it were As' Car.' It's well known aroun' here." She looked at her son out of the corner of her eye. The boy gave a slight nod in confirmation.

Harry sighed. "Thank you for the info. I meant what I said earlier. I know trusting the Aurors is hard for you until we prove ourselves, but I don't want to see anyone, especially if they're young, ruin their life by overreacting. As we showed you last night, we are trying to make a difference."

Around him, the heads seemed to hold a discussion before making sounds of assent. The nod of the proprietor was slight, but it gave Harry hope.

IKAIKAIKA

Harry downed another Invigoration Drought as soon as they returned to M.L.E. headquarters.

"Whoa - That's the third one today, mate," Ron pointed out. "That's not normal. You should take some time off. You're not doing yourself any good."

Harry stretched, and wincing as pain radiated from his side. "Nah, I'm fine. I just need to be more patient. That's what the healers said."

"Well, I bet they said you should be more patient at home, not work."

Harry gave a guilty grin. "But I'll be fine."

Ron looked like he disbelieved Harry, but returned to his desk.

By Thursday, Harry had to admit that Ron was right. He received permission to take a couple of days off to recuperate.

When Hermione visited on Saturday she gasped. "Harry, are you sure the Healers used the correct counter-curse?" she asked.

Harry wearily put his feet up on an overstuffed ottoman. "They said they did. They said they were confident they knew what curse hit me, recognizing it from Ron's description. They said that for whatever reason not everyone responds to the counter-curse right away. Of course, I have to be one of them. They warned me it might take some time, months or more, to fully recover." He lay his head back. "But to be honest, I didn't think I would feel this much worse before feeling better."

"Months! That sounds like the counter-curse isn't working at all."

Harry gave a slight moan as he wriggled in the chair trying to become more comfortable. "Even worse," he whispered, as if saying it too loudly would make it come true, "they said cases from earlier this summer still haven't healed. What if I'm the same way? I'm sick and tired of being tired and of hurting!"

Hermione bit her lip. "And you're positive they know what curse was cast?"

Harry closed his eyes and leaned back. "Yeah. Ron was able to duplicate the wand movements for the Healers. Neither of us heard the incantation, but from the movement and red color, the Healers said it was Ast Caro. That matches with what witnesses in Knockturn Alley said it was." Shaking his head, he added, "Although they won't admit it, I'm sure the Healers are mystified as to why the counter-curse isn't fully working."

"Could you show me? I just want to be sure."

"Of course." Harry wearily stood up with a wince. "It was a widdershins oval starting at the bottom, a diagonal slash to the left, and then a rapid slice down," he narrated as he demonstrated the motion. He carefully sat back down.

Hermione set her mouth in a firm line. "Look, I know I'm not a Healer, but I know how to do research. I'll look into this curse and see what I can find."

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm sorry to be such a bother."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're not a bother. This is what friends are for."

IKAIKAIKA

When Hermione set her mind to doing something important, she refused to put it off. She thus made a brief visit to Ron to confirm his view of events, and then that night sent her otter Patronus to McGonagall to ask if she could visit the Hogwarts library the next day. In response, the Headmistress' cat told her she was welcome at any time.

Thus, Sunday morning found Hermione in her favorite corner of the Hogwarts library, happy that no one was occupying it. It was in a small alcove with a table just big enough for two normal students, though Hermione almost always was able to fill the tabletop with books, scrolls, parchment and quills. She was a bit annoyed to discover that the chair she thought of as hers had, at some time after she'd graduated, been either moved or banished; the replacement didn't mold to her body automatically. She cast a quick charm on it to make it more suitable for a long research session and set off in search of books about curses.

She had made her way through a half dozen of the books that she had found without finding much on Ast Caro when she was jolted out of her concentration by a gravelly voice. "Miss Granger? I assumed we'd seen the last of you. You do realize we don't offer courses past the N.E.W.T. level here."

"Professor Snape!" Hermione was suddenly conscious that one of her quills was tucked behind her ear and she had the horrible impression that she had ink stains on her face. "Professor McGonagall said I could be here! And once again I'm sorry we left you and …"

"Catch your breath, Miss Granger. You've already apologized for leaving me in the shack and as I told you then, doing so was a complement to my ability as a spy." Tilting his head, Snape studied her. "The Headmistress informed the staff that you would be in the castle. I am merely curious why you felt the need to return as she did not go into any details."

"Research on the Ast Caro curse, sir. You see, Harry was hit by it but the counter-curse isn't working. The Healers said it could take months or even longer to recover. Months! That's no better than the muggle timeframe it would take to recover severe burns. We have to be able to do better than that. But everything I've been able to find so far indicates there's only one counter-curse and that's the one St. Mungo's used. They did say it's not always successful but there has to be another cure …" she trailed off as she realized she was babbling on.

Snape waited until he was sure she wasn't going to continue. "I already knew that Potter had gotten himself into trouble again."

Hermione looked sharply at him. "That's not fair, sir! Trouble finds him. He was just doing his job as an Auror when he was attacked."

"So it said in The Prophet." Snape Accio'd a chair and sat down. "When I saw him the following week I noticed he still had the characteristic markings of the Ast Caro curse but I thought the Healers at St. Mungo's had just been incompetent. I suggested he return to St. Mungo's to receive another application of the counter-curse. I gather that was not successful?"

"No, sir." Hermione held up her hands. "I just don't know what to do. I'm not a Healer – I've been studying law for Merlin's sake. But I can't just let him suffer."

Snape ran his forefinger over his lips. "Are you sure you – and the Healers – correctly identified the curse that struck him?"

"Yes, sir." Hermione took out her wand to demonstrate. "Counter-clockwise oval, followed by a diagonal slash and then a downward stroke. What else could it be?"

Snape cocked his head. "And the color?"

"When I asked Ron, he said red – rusty red, the Healers called it."

Snape snorted. "And the Healers knew the color better than the witness?"

Hermione thought back. Ron had said the Healers knew the color as soon as he described the curse. "Well … the Healers knew the curse so of course they knew the color."

Snape pinched his nose as he remembered five frustrating years of teaching potions to the three friends, a know-it-all and two who never excelled. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Healers assumed what the curse was based on attacks they'd seen recently and the vague description of 'red.' I know you at least, Miss Granger, have looked at through the appendices of the Potions textbook and realize that 'red' is a vague description. Likewise, you of all people should remember how terrible Mr. Weasley is in identifying colors."

Hermione felt insulted. "Of course I know that, sir! But the motion and the color match the Ast Caro. What else could it be?"

Snape's tone took on the familiar cadence he reserved when lecturing. "You said the movement was an oval, but you demonstrated a circular shape."

"Ron demonstrated the wand movement to me; I assume his perceptions were slightly off in the heat of the moment."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "So you assumed both the exact movement and the exact color of the curse?"

Hermione started to respond but then stopped. She closed her mouth and started again. "I guess you're right. But if it's not Ast Caro, what else could it be?"

Snape drummed his fingers on the table deep in thought. "Ast Carnem, perhaps? As you can tell by the spell's incantation declination, it's closely related. It has a very similar wand movement, but the spell is cardinal red rather than rusty red in color."

Hermione deflated. "Ast … Carnem? Are the effects the same? And why are there two spells so close in execution?"

"As the Romans left the island, the knowledge of Latin began getting lost. As you know, magic is also about intent, and most of our spells today would be considered improper grammatically. Yes, the results are very similar, but of course a different counter-curse is needed. I suspect the Healers used Remedium Caro rather than Remedium Carnem. The latter is simple enough that you could cast it, saving your friend another trip to St. Mungo's."

Rubbing her eyes, Hermione shook her head. "But why wouldn't the Healers try Remedium Carnem when Remedium Caro didn't work?"

Snape put his elbows on the table, folded his hands together, and spoke in a lecturing tone. "Do you really have to ask? Most people, Miss Granger, like things to be simple. They don't like their assumptions challenged. Once the Healers identified the curse, there was no reason to look further. In any case, Remedium Caro will have kept the curse from spreading, and with enough time the body should eventually heal the injury."

Hermione was shaking her head. "Caro … Carnem … I can't believe it's so simple." Hermione looked up. "How do you happen to know about the two curses, sir?"

"Come now, Miss Granger. You know I was a Death Eater and that I'm qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Of course I know derivations of common curses."

"But why doesn't St. Mungo's keep you as a consultant or the wizarding equivalent?" Hermione asked bemusedly.

"That's two questions in a row for which the answer is self-evident, Miss Granger. I'm beginning to think your reputation is undeserved. Because I was Death Eater, of course. Do you really think patients are going to appreciate being treated by someone branded as I am?"

"But you weren't! You were on our side! Harry told everyone so during the battle, at your trial, and in interviews afterwards!" Hermione exclaimed hotly. "It's not right."

Snape snorted. "Thank you for that vote of confidence, Miss Granger. I suggest you accept reality and concentrate on getting your friend cured."

Hermione smirked. "Just as you have always accepted reality and let things be?"

Snape stood up and gave a small bow. "Touche, Miss Granger. Don't forget to replace the books you have out. Surely you still recall the spell?"

IKAIKAIKA

When Hermione returned to Grimmauld Place that evening, Ron and Ginny were already there. She excitedly relayed what she had learned. To her surprise, Harry didn't share her excitement.

Dejected, Harry sighed. "I wish you were right, Hermione. But as I already told you, the Healers and person we think cast the curse confirmed it was Ast Caro." He absentmindedly scratched his nose and grimaced at the pain.

"Oh." Hermione slumped down in her chair as Ginny took Harry's right hand.

After a minute of silence, Ron spoke up. "Wait a minute, mate," he said slowly. "Neither he nor his mum specifically said Ast Caro, remember? They said As' Car', and the way they spoke it sounded like they swallowed the rest of the word. Maybe they weren't saying Ast Caro, but Ast Carnem."

"If that's the case, Remedium Carnem is the appropriate remedy. You don't even have to go to St. Mungo's," Hermione pleaded, "I practiced the wand movement before coming over. If it doesn't work, you haven't lost anything."

"Harry, please say yes," Ginny begged in agreement.

With resignation, Harry sighed. "Go ahead. It won't hurt any more than I already do." With Ginny's help, he sat up.

Hermione stood up and closed her eyes a moment to concentrate. She bit her lip in determination, directed her wand, and spoke firmly. "Remedium Carnem!"

Nothing happened.

Harry leaned back again. "Thank you for trying, Hermione. You're the best."

Ginny folded her arms. "Don't be like that, Harry! Give it some time. Even magic doesn't necessarily cure you immediately!"

"She's right, mate. Let's see how you feel in a few hours. Should I call Kreacher for some snacks while we wait?"

IKAIKAIKA

A week later, Harry sent another Patronus to the Potions Master asking if he could visit at a convenient time. Once again, the doe Patronus returned suggesting a Sunday evening.

"You look much better, Potter," Snape greeted him.

"Yes, sir. I just wanted to thank you. The Healers were impressed with themselves by my miraculous recovery, until Hermione explained the appropriate counter-curse. They were a bit cautious at using it for the other two victims but decided to give it a chance. Thanks to you, I believe they've now added it to their repertoire."

Snape motioned for Harry to take a seat. "And did you catch the one who attacked you?"

"We – Ron and I – think we've narrowed it down to one of two people, but we decided not to bring them in. They're barely adults. They need guidance, not punishment."

"Says the one who is barely out of his teens himself," Snape snorted.

"True, but I feel a lot older. These kids, despite living in Knockturn Alley, somehow seemed … so much younger, perhaps. Maybe because they were young enough not to fight in the war. They wanted to protect their mother's store, but I didn't sense any viciousness. I'll keep an eye on them, and have convinced my boss to conduct more patrols to try to prevent the repetitive cycle of violence caused by people of Knockturn Alley being attacked and responding in kind. Hopefully my method of approach has brought a measure of good faith to both sides."

Snape Accio'd a bottle of firewhiskey and poured a small shot for each of them. "As I said before, Potter, you have the makings of an … adequate … Auror."

Harry grinned and held up his glass. "I believe last time you said I'd make a fine one, sir."

Snape held up his own glass. "Hmm, I believe I just made an incorrect assumption about your memory."

"If I didn't know you better, sir, I'd believe you just gave me another complement," Harry remarked and took a gulp of his firewhiskey. He immediately choked as his throat began to burn.

Snape chuckled as he sipped from his own glass. "Perhaps I did, Potter, but you still have a bit to learn."

Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a comment whether or not you did.

And again, thank you to my husband, who both provided ideas for and beta'd this story. All the mistakes are mine.