Oh, My Sweet Lord Potter
With Dumbledore having escaped, McGonagall was quickly installed as Acting Headteacher of Hogwarts and life went on in the school. Both herself and Professor Sprout had attempted to place a bed in the boy's sleeping areas for Harry to move to, but Hogwarts had other ideas and kept putting the bed back into the shared room. Harry went to his 'lessons' along with Hannah and Susan and learnt the stuff he should have with the Dursleys – learning that what had happened to Hannah was perfectly normal and that it could be 'cured' with hot water bottles, close friends and, for some reason, lots of chocolate.
""Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too – never forget
Wizard Baruffio, who said "s instead of "f" and found himself lying on the floor with a buffalo on his chest" and Harry looked at both Hannah and Susan. All three of them had feathers in front of them in which to practice the art of levitation. It would be the friends' first piece of real magic since they'd started.
"Did that really happen?" he asked.
"Maybe… Flitwick is old, so maybe it happened in his childhood and he uses it to teach students the right speech patterns" Susan said.
"Or he could be making it up" said Hannah.
"I don't think he is old" commented Harry, "He doesn't smell of cats"
"Neither does Dumbledore, and he is billions of years old!"
"I presume" Flitwick said, casting a look at the trio, "That you have already mastered the spell and would like to demonstrate?" and the children blushed as their classmates laughed and giggled.
"Wingardium Leviosa" and Susan's feather rose half a foot into the air. And hovered there before it gently floated back down again.
"Miss Abbott?" Flitwick prompted. Hannah concentrated before doing the same swish and flick motion that Susan had and her feather did the same self thing.
"Mr Potter?"
""Wingardium Leviosa" and Harry's feather jumped high into the air and touched the ceiling, made several loops before settling to the ground.
"Well" said the Charms teacher, "I think we can call that a pass, but please pay attention in the future"
"Yes, professor" the three of them chanted together.
"Seeing as how you have already done it, you may talk amongst yourselves and make an early start on your homework. I want foot of parchment from everybody that finishes today detailing the charm, the way to cast and hold it as well as listing at least three useful applications"
"That was impressive" said Susan.
"I wasn't trying hard at all" Harry replied in confusion, "I was just trying hard to do what you both did"
"Maybe you shouldn't try as hard just yet… We've only just started to use magic really" Hannah suggested. Harry frowned in confusion and thought before nodding in agreement and promising to at least try and keep his magic under control.
#
As September turned into October, the weather grew colder and the trio went outside with their cloaks drawn up tightly together. Their lessons so far had been enjoyable, although Professor Snape, head of Slytherin House and their Potions teachers seemed to employ an unusual lesson plan of putting up the task and then not talking unless it was to bully Harry. Hannah and Susan had decided to talk to their Head of House if it got any worse.
"Harry?" Susan called out to him.
"Yeah?" he looked up from his homework.
"My bra's fallen out the door – can you pass it back?" she asked, and Harry put his quill down and looked at the door to the shower – spotting the offending item within seconds. He went over, picked it up and went in to the shower to hand it over.
"Yours?"
"Thanks" the red haired girl replied and promptly put it on. "Have you heard about Professor Flitwick?" she enquired.
"Isn't he a teacher here?"
"Prat" Susan giggled. "He's got a whole troop of dancing skeletons booked for Halloween"
"Yeah?" Harry shrugged. "Well you'll have to tell me about it" he said.
"Why aren't you going?"
"I don't want to celebrate the death of my parents"
"Oh Merlin…" Susan groaned. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Harry – I forgot"
"It's no problem" Harry said. "I'll just stay here in the room or the common room doing homework"
"All alone?" Susan asked as she put on her skirt. "What kind of friends would we be if we let that happen?"
"Bad ones" Hannah said. Harry looked behind him to see Hannah standing by the open door and he shrugged his head.
"I don't want you two to miss out because of me"
"We're Hufflepuffs, Harry, and we're friends and loyal to each other… I don't know about how it is done in the Muggle world, but in the Wizarding one we get the weekend off"
"Weekend?"
"Yeah" Susan chimed in, "Friday until Monday. We could always go home and spend it with our families"
"Mine have to go visit my Aunt in America" Hannah replied. "Can I come to yours?"
"Sure. Harry?"
"Mmm?"
"What about you?"
"I don't think I'd be welcome back at my Aunt and Uncle's place" he said.
"Well you can come and spend it with my Aunt, me and Hannah" the red head said brightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah, of course. We'll have to be in different rooms, of course, but I don't see why she wouldn't want to have you for the weekend – I'll owl her this afternoon" and she finished getting dressed for the day ahead. Leaving Hufflepuff, the friends went down to Breakfast before returning to get their school bags for Transfiguration with McGonagall.
# # # # #
"I presume" the stern teacher said slowly, "That you feel you do not need to listen to my lesson plan, Mr Potter?" and Harry's thoughts were broken up and he looked up at McGonagall and blinked.
"Sorry, Professor, but I was thinking about Thursday"
"And why is that?"
"I was wondering what it was like to have parents to celebrate something with" and McGonagall grimaced and looked somewhat embarrassed to have spoken at all.
"Ah, I should have realised… Well, while I am here I might as well see your work" and she picked up the teacup and examined it closely. "Not bad for a first attempt, but you need to concentrate harder on making the edges of the cup smoother. Take a point for Hufflepuff" and she moved on to where some Ravenclaws were working. Harry cleared his mind and concentrated on the effort needed to change the wooden block to a cup. He had the basic shape correct, but he was still a little fuzzy on making the edges smooth and into something other than wood.
"Need help?" asked Hannah.
"I've got the shape roughly right, but I can't get the sides smooth enough or roundish" Harry sighed.
"Let's see what the books says" and the girl opened up the textbook and flicked through it for a moment before tapping a finger on a certain passage. "Here" and turned her book for Harry to see. "The book says that if you have trouble thinking about changing something, to try and think of what a transfigured object looks like as you cast the spell – your magic should do the rest"
"I'll give it a try" Harry positioned his wand and tried to transfigured the block into the cup once more. Tiny beads of sweat glistened on his forehead as he tried and tried and tried – but all he got was a round wooden block with a handle. "'s no good" he declared, dropping his wand onto the desk.
"Maybe you're exhausted" suggested Susan.
"But its only ten in the morning" Harry frowned, "And I got loads of sleep last night as well" and the girls shrugged.
"Perhaps" McGonagall said, having snuck up on them quietly whilst observing Harry's progress, "You should go and see Madam Pomfrey and have her check you out"
"But, Professor, how can I be exhausted if I've only just got up?" he asked.
"You may be physically alright, Mr Potter, but I believe your friends mean exhausted magically. Your magical core has not had the chance to develop during your childhood"
"What childhood?" asked Harry bitterly. McGonagall was about to speak out when she realised that Harry still had things to deal with over his life with the Dursleys. She imagined that being beaten badly most days and treated worse than a House Elf would really damage a young child's confidence and magical ability.
"Mr Potter, perhaps you should go to see Madam Pomfrey for an exam – you can take the rest of the class off afterwards" and the Acting Headmistress glanced at his friend. "Miss Bones. Miss Abbott. The pair of you appear to have already finished the class assignment for today, so you may go as well with Mr Potter. And" she lowered her voice "Know this is only because of the special bond you three have – something might affect it"
# # # # #
By the time the trio had reached the Hospital Wing, Harry was glad his friends had come with him as he'd dropped like a stone half way there and needed to be levitated the rest of the way – both girls casting the spell at the same time to counter Harry's weight. They put him on a bed as Pomfrey came hurrying out of her office with concern etched on her stern features.
"What has happened?" she asked.
"Harry's magic sort of stopped working" Hannah said. "Professor McGonagall told us to bring him to you, but he collapsed before we could get here"
"Stopped working?"
"Magical exhaustion" Susan said. "He seemed to struggle in Charms class with Professor Flitwick, but he recovered and sort of went over the top before today"
"Hmm" frowned the School Nurse. "If this is magical exhaustion, it would be the strangest case I have ever seen or heard of. Do you mind if I examine you, Mr Potter?" she asked.
"Not really" said Harry.
"Right then, if you two would step outside while I do my tests…"
"Why do they have to?" asked Harry.
"Because you have to undress and it is not the done thing for young witches and wizards to see each other like that"
"But we share a room together" Harry reminded her. "They've seen me in the shower and I have seen them in it – I have nothing to hide"
"As you wish" and she waved her wand in a maze of complicated patterns. Once she was finished, a roll of parchment flew out of her wand which the Nurse caught and read intently. By the time she was finished, her face was a shade of red normally only seen on nuclear reactor about to go into meltdown. "Mr Potter, according to this list you are the most luckiest person alive"
"Why?" he asked.
"Because of the amount of injuries you have sustained – I would advise you getting them fully checked out and start a case against the people that did this to you"
"My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin" Harry said bitterly. "They beat me for the slightest thing that went wrong… Sometimes they'd do it just for fun"
"If they find Dumbledore, I'll rip that man to pieces with my bare hands" the witch fumed.
"Can you do anything for Harry?" asked Susan. Both she and Hannah could see that Harry was getting very upset by the talk of his relatives and wanted to get him out of the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible.
"You mean his magical core?" Pomfrey asked.
"Yes"
"Not fully" the older witch admitted, "But I can certainly give him a potion that will counteract some of the effects"
"So I have had it locked up?" Harry asked.
"Well its more of a bind" Hannah replied. "It's a common thing to have done to small children if they have great bursts of accidental magic"
"Indeed so" Pomfrey interjoined, "However, you will need to visit St Mungos for it to be fully done"
"We can go when we stay at your place on Thursday" Harry said to Susan.
"You are not taking part in the celebrations?" asked Pomfrey with surprise. She crossed over to a cabinet and retrieved several vials of many coloured liquids which looked disgusting.
"Why would I want to celebrate the death of my parents, Miss?" Harry said flatly. Pomfrey paled and stuttered as Harry struggled to his feet.
"You should stay here" Hannah said.
"I want to go home" Harry said quietly. Both girls knew he didn't mean to his nasty relatives and helped out of the hospital to their common room.
"Something is wrong with her" Susan said.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.
"Because of my Aunt, I have met Pomfrey a fair few times… I know for a fact that she can remove a bound magicial core within a couple of minutes"
"Maybe its because Harry is powerful" suggested Hannah.
"You think she works for Dumbledore?"
"Maybe" Susan replied.
"What should we do?" asked Hannah. "Do you think that the teachers know about this?"
"McGonagall might be okay, but I don't know about the rest of the staff" Harry hissed through the migraine he was starting to have.
"We can't trust Snape" said Susan. "My Aunt has always said that she wanted to bring him to justice but Dumbledore had vouched for him"
"Why?"
"She'll never say to me" and the red head looked at Harry. "She might tell you, Harry, as both the last of the Potter family alive and the Head of your Family. As Lord Potter, you'd be entitled to all of the papers on anybody that was up in court"
"Everybody?"
"Yeah – why?"
"Because I'd like to read the paperwork of Sirius Orion Black"
"Whoops"
"I think" Hannah said dryly, "That sums it up nicely. Well, Harry, I'm cool with whatever you decide to do"
"With friends like you two, I could take on the world" Harry said. "Although" he added with a laugh, "We might have to put off the world until next week" and he flopped onto his bed and lay down. He felt tired and could really do with a nap – something he hadn't done since the age of seven when he'd been beaten by the Dursleys.
"I'll write a letter to my Aunt and see if she can help" Susan said. "At the very least, she can take you to Gringotts and get you to take the tests and see what they can do"
"Are you going to be able to…" Hannah broke off as she saw Harry had dropped off to sleep. The girl shrugged and slipped his shoes off and the pair crept slowly out and closed the door before going to the common room and sitting on a sofa near a window.
"Do you think that Harry is going to be alright?" asked Susan.
"I don't know" shrugged Hannah. "I mean, my mother is a Healer but she never really talks about her work. But" the girl added quietly, "If Harry was strong enough to live through all of that at the hands of his evil and nasty relatives, he should get over this"
"I'll write a letter to my Aunt" Susan dug around her bag for parchment and quill before frowning as she started her task. Once she was finished, Hannah read it before the girls departed for the Owlry to get it moving towards London. "I still don't understand how somebody could be that mean to a child" she said.
"They could have simply sent him away to some other people who could look after him" Hannah agreed and threw an arm around her best friend. "Harry has us now – we'll look after him and be the best friends he could ever want in the whole world"
"Right" Susan nodded firmly.
# # # # #
Amelia Bones, Director of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, knew the handwriting of her niece very well and she opened the envelope and read the parchment that was inside.
Dear Auntie,
Harry went a bit mad today – he nearly drained his magical core. McGonagall let me and Hans take him see the Nurse, but I think she's mad because she said he just needed rest. She didn't seem that interested in his other injuries, but she wanted to send people into his mind without him really knowing about it – that's why I am letting you know so you can arrest her. I was hoping he could come home with me and Hannah to spend the weekend with us. Harry has never ever, ever, ever, ever had a holiday, so I think its time he has one!
Oh, but the way, someone has been stealing from Harry – can you arrest them too?
Love
Susan
PS: Can Hannah's mum look at him?
"Susan…" Madam Bones shook her head at the way her niece had written her letter, rubbed the bridge of her nose before calling for an Auror to make an appointment for her to see whichever Goblin that dealt with the Potter Accounts. Once that was underway, the woman walked to the Hall of Records and did some research because her gut feeling was telling her that the still on the run Albus Dumbledore was somehow all involved in this affair.
#
"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice" Madam Bones said as she sat in the office of the Chief Healer for St Mungos.
"Perfectly alright" replied Chief Healer Smythe. Smythe was a short man with cropped black hair in what seemed to be the newest fashion. He wore a Muggle style lab coat with a number of deep pockets and his office was filled with knick knacks as well as certificates, pictures and books on shelves and bookcases. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
"There is a young child staying with me for the short Halloween break, a boy, and I need him to have a complete medical exam. He has recently been removed from rather an abusive family, from what I have been told, and I am not entirely sure about the care he is getting at Hogwarts" and Smythe raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I see…" he said carefully. "Is there anything that I should know about to be ready?"
"Yes… The first is that I want you to search for signs of any core binding, torturing spells, magical healing and I want it all recorded both on paper and via pensieve. The young boy concerned is very important and we can not afford to take any chances with his health"
"Would I be right in assuming that this may go to trial?" and Madam Bones nodded.
"From what I can tell from just casual mentions and things, it appears as if it might very well do. The second thing is a bit odd"
"Odder than having the DMLE head themselves coming to speak to me?"
"Perhaps not. However, the young lad has asked for a certain Healer to do the examinations"
"Does he know the Healer?" Smythe's expression darkened. He knew very well that requests like this meant the child had been very badly abused physically and maybe even sexually.
"No, but she is the mother to one of his friends – so, by childish logic, he trusts her" and Madam Bones retrieved a file from her robes and handed it over. This was obtained at Hogwarts this morning by one of my Agents and it shows the level of care that I am worried about" and Smythe looked through it quickly and paled.
"MIND RAPE AT THAT AGE?" he thundered so loudly that a window pane broke.
"You'll realise why when I tell you the name of the Healer"
"Who?"
"Jennifer Abbot"
"Ah…" Smythe saw where this was going. "Our one and only specialist child mind reader. Am I to assume" he started as she rose from his desk and started to pace around, "That you want this carried out in upmost secrecy?"
"Yes, although it is more for the sake of the boy then the press" Madam Bones looked at the time on the clock in the corner of the room. "If you excuse me, I have urgent business with the Goblins on something to do with the same boy"
"Sounds important"
"He is" Madam Bones said as she opened the door, "He is the most important person to have done greatness in over a decade. We have all let him done… I intend not to do that again"
#
"Your request raises some concerns and a great many questions" said the goblin sat behind the desk. "Whilst it is disturbing that fraud may have taken place inside this bank, it is impossible to give you the details due to the rules regarding the privacy of our clients"
"Even if I have just told you who that person is?" asked Madam Bones.
"Even so"
"I would have got Mr Potter to come with me, but he is suffering the effects of almost depleting his magical core and is resting at Hogwarts"
"Hmm…" the Goblin said carefully. "Seeing as it is you, Madam Bones, I will get somebody to make copies for you to take away and to hand to the young Lord Potter"
"So he is the only heir?"
"You expected a previously unknown family member to suddenly appear?" the goblin shook his head. "That sort of thing is only in poorly written pieces of fiction… He will need to come to the bank to undertake the tests, of course, but I think we can go about calling him by his title already… Now, tell me, what is Mr Potter's condition?"
"There is the exhaustion I have already spoken about, badly healed bones from multiple physical assaults by his muggle relatives and I think he has trouble forming friendships apart from my niece and her friend"
"Why would Harry be near his relatives? They were certainly never written down on the list of people to look after him in the event of the deaths of Lord and Lady Potter"
"And how do you that?" Madam Bones blinked in surprise.
"Who do you think wrote their will and testaments?" the goblin chuckled.
"You are getting to be one hell of a crank bugger in your old age, Ragnock" Madam Bones shook her head with a wye smile.
"As you humans would say, 'Pot calling kettle black'. I have always known about the true will and testaments, but due to our treaties with your kind, I have never been in a position to do anything about it because of Dumbledore. If, when he first came to the bank, Mr Potter had asked about his parents, I would been able to tell him everything because it would be covered by Goblin Law. One day, Amelia, when I stand in judgement in front of the Great Accountant himself, I know that I shall have to pay for all of my sins. I should like that day to be with as many as possible" Ragnock, leader of the Goblin nation, slipped off his seat and started pacing behind his desk. "Dumbledore was always meddling in the affairs of Goblins because he knew we feared an attack by Witches and Wizards. We allowed ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security and I have failed him by not giving the right orders when I had the chance" he stopped pacing and looked at Amelia Bones with as tired an expression as she had ever seen him wear. "Rumours have reached us, Amelia, that dark times are coming. As you know, we have many contacts with many people over the world and they tell us that war is coming soon. I can not say when, for I do not know myself, but I know it is coming… Bring Lord Potter to me and I will conduct all the tests and paperwork myself. I failed him once, I failed the Potters twice and I will not do that to Lord Potter again" and the pair of them started to make plans.
#
Harry slept for most of the day until he woke up after dinner and saw Hannah working on some homework in their shared room. He reached for his glasses and put them on and the world became a lot less fuzzier to him and he stretched out his arms and legs which felt like huge weights.
"What time is it?" he asked, swinging his legs up and round so he was sitting off the edge of the bed.
"Evening, sleepy head" Hannah looked over her shoulder at Harry's slightly rumpled state. "Its about eight I think"
"I've missed dinner" Harry groaned. "Well… I'm used to that I suppose"
"Not any more, Harry, you know that" Hannah smiled at him. "It isn't very much, I'm afraid, but we put some bread, cheese and ham into a basket – me and Susan thought you could make a sandwich. Managed to grab you some pumpkin juice somewhere as well" and she handed him a basket as he sat at the small table that was in their room. Seating just the three of them, it had not been there when the trio had first moved in and they suspected some sort of magic that could tell they wanted one and so made one appear.
"Where is Susan then?" Harry asked as he started to put together some sandwiches.
"Oh, she had to go and see Madam Pomfrey" Hannah said as she returned to her homework.
"Why?" Harry's voice was full of concern for his other friend.
"She broke a few fingers when Peeves dropped some sort of small red stone on her. She managed to not get too badly hurt – just a couple of fingers"
"That's going to hurt"
"Harry!" Hannah giggled, "We have something called magic you know… One potion and instant cure"
"Sorry" he muttered as he looked down.
"Not to worry" the blonde said lightly, "I guess you are still having trouble adjusting to everything. Mind you" she added, "She should b–"
"Right here" the red head came into the room and had heard the last part of the discussion.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, Pomfrey was able to fix me up alright" and sat down on her bed and removed her shoes and put on slippers instead.
"Maybe you should write a letter of complaint to Professor McGonagall about Peeves" Harry suggested, taking a sip of his drink before attacking the ham and cheese sandwiches he had made up.
"Maybe" Susan shrugged. "Anyway, my Aunt has said that she is going to pick us up from Platform 9 ¾ on Friday"
"What time do we leave?" asked Hannah.
"Don't know, but I suspect that mean old Sprouty will tell us later on tonight or tomorrow"
"Mean Old Sprouty?" and Susan little out a terrified squeak and dived under the bed.
"Has she gone?" she asked
"No" Professor Sprout said. "Mr Potter, Miss Abbott – would you mind waiting outside whilst this mean old witch eats a very naughty girl?"
"You are not going to hurt my friend" Harry said, getting up and putting himself between Susan and Sprout.
"Harry!" Hannah hissed, "She is only joking"
"Ah…" Sprout cringed. After the scale of the abuse suffered by Harry had been made known to her, McGonagall had given Sprout a book to read which dealt with handling abused children. She'd not read all of it owing to the fact she had a lot of work to do, but it said that abused children often had trouble telling was a joke and what wasn't. "I'm not really going to eat Susan" and poked her head out from under the bed as Harry frowned.
"Its not nice to joke about hurting children" he said, "I should know" and he left the room.
"I'll go and talk to him" Hannah said. "Harry's almost never like this unless somebody mentions bullying and then he goes into a mood"
"That not to be unexpected" Sprout said and watched as the girl left the room. "Now, Miss Bones, are you coming out of there?"
"Not by the hairs of my chinny chin chin"
"Then I'll huffle and puffle and blow your bed over" and Susan giggled as she slid out and stood up – dusting herself off with a wipe of her hands. "I have been informed that you and Miss Abbott are going home for the Halloween celebrations"
"Yeah, me and Hannah are going to stay at home together" Susan replied, picking up a cardigan and putting it on. "Harry is coming with us as well"
"I'm afraid that, in the absence of any guardians for him, he is going to have to stay at Hogwarts"
"But… But I promised him" the red haired girl stated and tears formed in her eyes.
"It's the law" Sprout said. "I am sure your Aunt would agree" but Susan shook her head.
"Harry'll think I'm a horrible liar when he finds out" she sobbed. "He'll not want to be friends with me ever again for ever and ever and ever and EVER!" she stomped her feet. Seconds later, Harry had returned with his wand pointing directly at Sprout. The Professor looked at him with a stunned expression – never had a student drawn their wand on her in all the years she'd been teaching.
"You upset Susan" he said – flames dancing in his eyes.
"Yes, but it was unintentional. I told her that, until you are emancipated, you must have a guardian to look after you. In the event that you do not have one, you have to stay at the school for all the breaks and holidays" Sprout watched as Harry thought this over and his anger dissipated.
"Sorry, Miss" he said quietly. "I just wanted to protect Susan from what I thought was a bully"
"You were only looking out for your friend, Mr Potter" Sprout said. "Why do I not have some hot chocolate delivered here and you have an early night or something? I will speak to professor McGonagall and see if we can not arrange something. I am sure that Susan's Aunt is just as good a stand-in as a guardian, and I am certain that her house is very secure" and she was suddenly engulfed in a threeway hug that threatened to tip them all over.
"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you" they chanted then hurried away to send another letter to Susan's Aunt Amelia.
"Phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" Sprout blew out the breath she had been holding in. "I'm going to give up teaching and become a lumberjack" she shook her head and headed to speak to McGonagall.
A/N:
Well everybody, there it is – another chapter of this story.
I'd like to apologise for not updating as much as you all know I normally do, but I was writing part of another story when I suddenly had a kind of seizure and ended up in hospital – waking two days later. According to the nurses, my first action was to try and type away on the bedside computer monitor thinking it was a keyboard! I'm more or less alright now, except for a headache for a couple of weeks and my sight is a little dimmer then it used to be. Mind you,m they say girls go for guys in glasses, so maybe I'll get lucky *sniggers* Therefore, chapters might be a little bit more apart then normal – a basis of two per week – but I'm still going to be writing until the day I stop breathing… And maybe a few more days after that!
Well, not much to say now but I hope you'll leave a review and if you have any questions, then please note them down in your reviews or even a PM if you want to keep the questions separate – I will answer as many as possible.
Regards
Pixel and Stephanie Forever
