Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.
Harry followed Dumbledore and the head healer through St. Mungo's. Somehow, the situation was strange. 'Why did Dumbledore search me out in the halls instead of contacting me through Dad?' he wondered. 'I really don't trust him. On the other hand, I really should help people if I can.'
He followed the older wizards into a hospital room, glad when the healer immediately lit the torches, so that he could see his patients.
'Malfoy,' he recognised the wizard in the bed in front of him, sensing that the man was evil, independently of the Dark Mark he still seemed to be wearing. 'Dad, Dumbledore brought me to St. Mungo's to heal Malfoy. Should I heal him? I can sense evil magic from him.'
'No, son, please don't heal him, and don't heal Umbridge either. I already told Dumbledore as much.'
'Thanks Dad. I won't.'
Turning to the healer and the headmaster, he shook his head. "I am sorry, but I can sense evil magic, and I will not help people who in return kill others. I am sorry." With that, he simply popped away, not caring that the two wizards would wonder what he had done to vanish from the spot.
HP
When he returned home, his parents were sitting in the living room, and he had the impression as if they had been waiting for him.
"Harry, please tell me exactly what happened." Severus looked at him in apparent concern.
"I met Dumbledore in the halls, and he asked if I was willing to heal someone at St. Mungo's."
"That's what I thought." Regina cast him a loving smile. "And of course, kind as you are, you went with him."
Harry returned a sheepish look. "I'm sorry, I should have asked Dad beforehand."
Severus nodded, grimly. "Yes, you should. In any case, you willingly went with him." Seeing Harry nod, he added, "Otherwise, we could accuse him of child abduction."
Harry shook his head. "No, Dad, I was so stupid as to go with him."
"What are we going to do? Harry, you know that you could fire him at any time." Severus quirked an eyebrow.
Harry let out a deep sigh. "No, Dad. Leave him be. I won't do as much as speak with him the next time I meet him in the halls."
"He shouldn't be the headmaster any longer." Regina shook her head in apparent annoyance.
"Do you know anyone who wants to be headmaster or headmistress?" Harry looked at his mother in expectation.
His parents exchanged a look. "No, not really."
Harry shrugged. "Well, that's it then. Nothing happened, anyway."
Severus shook his head. "Harry, you're too nice for your own good."
Harry looked up, startled, when Lucy suddenly nudged him. "What is it, sweetie? Do you want to go to bed?"
He smiled seeing the canine waggle her tail in apparent consent. "Oh well, good night, Mum and Dad."
"Good night, Harry, Lucy."
Ten minutes later, Lucy was already snoring and Harry was waiting for Regina to come and tuck them in like every evening. He reflected the evening's occurrences, unaware of the consequences his refusal was going to have in the future.
HP
A few days later, Marcus Flint, a fifth-year Slytherin and Quidditch captain of the house team approached Harry, when he was having dinner together with Draco at the Gryffindor table.
"Harry, would you be willing to play for Slytherin tomorrow morning?"
Harry's eyes lit in excitement. "Of course. Is Balthazar sick?"
Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain and equally fifth-year, glared at his classmate. "Balthazar looked very healthy to me during Transfiguration this afternoon."
"Yeah, but now he's in the hospital wing with a high fever, and Pomfrey said that he would most likely be unable to play tomorrow."
'A prank potion by the twins?' Harry thought to Marcus, who returned an unobtrusive nod. 'No wonder,' Harry thought, 'if Slytherin wins the match, they're going to win the Quidditch cup, but if Hufflepuff wins, the Gryffindors get the cup.'
"Well, Lucy and I will be happy to play."
"Thanks." With that, Marcus all but fled from the Gryffindor table, causing Harry to inwardly shake his head. 'I thought everyone would get along better now that we have the study rooms for each year,' he thought, wondering what else could be done to improve the older students' interhouse relationships. 'Perhaps, I should ask Hogwarts or the founders if they have an advice,' he resolved.
HP
Later in Severus' private lab, the twins informed Harry that Slytherin had to get one hundred points more than Hufflepuff to win the Quidditch cup.
"Please be careful…"
"… to catch the Snitch on time."
Harry shrugged. "I'll do my best." 'I hope neither Minerva nor Severus will be upset if their house loses due to my catching or not catching the Snitch.'
"That's all we can hope for." Severus smirked.
HP
Saturday morning was bright and sunny, and the air already felt warm, when the Quidditch teams gathered on the pitch.
Rolanda Hooch announced the players, listing Harry as the reserve Seeker for the Slytherin team.
With Lucy perched in front of him as usual, Harry took into the air. He did not bother following the game further down but concentrated on finding the Snitch. From time to time, he glanced at the scores, realising that he was not in a hurry, considering that Slytherin only needed one hundred points more than Hufflepuff. He knew, however, that Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker, was a good flier, although he had the impression as if the other boy followed his every move.
It was in the fifty-second minute that Harry suddenly spotted the Snitch behind one of the goal posts near the Gryffindor stands. He immediately went into a big dive and, shortly before he would have crashed into the grounds, caught the Snitch only to pull up again immediately. He had just turned his broom upwards again, when he heard something sounding like brooms crashing into each other, quickly followed by shouts and screams.
Horrified, he looked around, only to realise in shock that Cedric and one of the twins were lying on the ground just beside the spot, where he had caught the Snitch. In a blink, he was on the ground, pressing the Snitch into Lucy's snout, before he let his broom fall down onto the ground and knelt next to Fred, sensing that he was much worse off than Cedric.
"What happened?" he hissed at George, already laying both hands on his friend's stomach. He absentmindedly listened, when George explained how Cedric had suddenly come from further up and crashed into Fred.
"Will he be all right?"
Harry nodded, concentrating on the many injuries of his friend.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione's irate voice caught his attention, causing Lucy to bark and growl to give him and the twins space.
He concentrated on slowly mending the injuries, tuning out all sounds and other possible distractions from behind Lucy. He did not know how long it took him, but after what seemed an infinite time, he released Fred, allowing him to sit up. Before he knew what happened, George pulled him into a bear hug.
"Thank you so much for saving Fred." George seemed close to sobbing. "I can't imagine what I'd do if something happened to him."
"I'm glad I could help." Harry smiled, before he turned around, seeing Poppy stand next to Cedric.
"Harry, are you feeling up to mending a broken leg and a concussion?"
Harry nodded, knowing that it did not afford much magic to heal the listed injuries. Two minutes later, Cedric was up and about and profusely apologized to Fred.
"Neither of the three of you will continue playing now." The healer's voice was strict.
Harry was just about to protest, when he recalled the earlier happenings. "Oh, right, I caught the Snitch. Lucy has it."
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter.