Chapter 5

I looked around curiously at my unfamiliar surroundings. The bedside table on my left was covered with extremely odd looking instruments, bandages and bottles. There was also a glass of water perched precariously at the edge. The window on my left was open, letting in a stream of sunlight. A gentle breeze played with the soft yellow curtains that framed the window. The floor was carpeted, with several toy blocks and cars strewn about. This room must belong to a child.

An odd looking contraption that looked like a huge black box rested on the spot directly opposite the bed. I saw that my broomstick (looking very battered and waterlogged) and trunk were neatly placed in a corner. At the sight of them, last night's incidents began to come slowly back to me. Snape… the Philosopher's Stone… Voldemort…Potter…My head throbbed painfully, and the last thing that I remembered was this flash of brilliant light amidst a torrent of rain.

I wondered what had happened to Snape's invisibility cloak. No doubt it got blown away during the storm and was now gone without any hope of recovery. I was filled with embarrassment because I had promised Snape that I would return it to him. My shame was doubled even further as I remembered that it was only a short time since we had parted. I felt really pathetic, I could not even keep just that small promise. I buried my head in my hands. One might wonder why I was taking this so hard, but I thought that I could at least do something right with this second chance of mine. Not only have I failed to reach my destination, but I have also lost my friend's invisibility cloak within an hour. I felt like a total failure. 

While thinking about it, I suddenly remembered. The news of me being evil and a host to the Dark Lord must have already been printed in the news! I can't let whoever that rescued me recognize me! It would raise uproar! I decided that I had better sneak out of this place while I still had the chance. But as I tried to lift myself from the bed, I felt an intense searing sharp pain rip through my body. I fell back with a cry of pain. "Aaaahhhh!" The pain was almost as intense as the moment Voldemort entered my body.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to get my wand out to perform a spell to help me. But, to my horror, I found that someone had changed my robes into a pair of striped pajamas. At this moment, a middle-aged lady with golden-brown hair and astonishingly sparkling blue eyes quickly bustled in with a bowl of water and a towel. "Ah, good. You are finally awake. We were afraid that you may not have made it through your injury or had gone into a coma." She sat down on a chair beside the bed.

"You are certainly lucky to be alive, because it is rare for a person to get struck by lightning and still live." She dipped the towel into the bowl and wringed it. As she sponged my head with it, I felt a comforting cooling sensation spread from my head to my toes and the pain eased quite a bit. "Thank you, er…Madam," I said awkwardly. The elderly woman chuckled and her eyes twinkled merrily. "My name is Linda. Linda Barrymore. But you can call me Mrs Barrymore if you like."

"Er…yes. Mrs Barrymore, could you please tell me how I got here? I would really like to know." I said earnestly.

"Well, it was really stormy when we found you. Henry and I were having a late night cup of tea when we heard a loud thump outside. Henry reckoned that it was probably a tree uprooted by the storm and we shouldn't bother. But I insisted on checking what that sound was and Henry finally gave in. We opened the door, and lo and behold, there you were, lying spread eagled on the ground with that broomstick next to you." She pointed to my Comet Two-Sixty.

"Don't know what you were doing with a broomstick, but I'm not going to ask you yet. We'll save the 'interrogation' bit for later, seeing that you've just woken up and not ready for questions." Her eyes twinkled merrily again, which indicated that she was joking, but I did not feel reassured at all. I knew at once that Linda was a Muggle as she did not know what a broomstick was used for.  My mind immediately scanned for excuses.

"Henry carried you in while I tried to telephone an ambulance. Unfortunately, all the telephone services were down. We also guessed that an ambulance would not be able to get here on time because of the rain. We live quite some distance away from the city. It was lucky for you that I am a doctor, and so knew how to treat your wounds." She frowned suddenly. "What I find odd is that, most people, when struck by lightning, usually have very severe burns. Yours were quite superficial and not that serious."

I smiled uncomfortably. "I-I was just…lucky, I suppose." I guessed at once that my wizard powers had something to do with it. "We wanted to bring you to the hospital later this morning but since you now look fine to me, I don't think it's necessary," Linda said, feeling my pulse. "But if you want to be certain about your condition, I mean, with proper facilities and reports and everything, Henry can always drive you to hospital, no problem at all."

I quickly refused. I was afraid that less-than-friendly people might recognize me. "No, thank you. I really appreciate your offer but I don't want to trouble you." Linda laughed heartily. "Didn't you hear what I said? I said that it was no trouble at all."

"No, it's really all right. In fact, I feel better now," I hastily replied.

"Well, all right, if you're sure," Linda answered. "Oh, by the way, would you like to contact your family members? I'm sure they must be very worried about you."

I gulped. What should I say? "Er… I don't have any parents or siblings. I am just an orphan," I said with a rush. I thought about my father and immediately felt guiltily. I tried to shrug off the feeling. "Oh, I see. That must be really hard on you," Linda said sympathetically. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

Linda then proceeded to check her watch. "Ah, I nearly forgot. It has been two hours already. It's time for your medicine." "Medicine?" I repeated blankly. Linda laughed and said reproachfully, "You don't really expect to recover completely without taking some medicine, do you? I've been pouring that mixture down your throat every two hours while you were unconscious." She grinned, flashing pearly white teeth. "That medicine has to be taken every two hourly for maximum effect."

I frowned. "Every two hours? But…but…that means that you didn't sleep at all last night!"

Linda waved a hand dismissively. "That's all right. Other people's health is my primary concern. I'm fine." I was quite touched and grateful for her kindness. I was no kin of hers, and yet she sacrificed her sleep for me. She also looked warm, loving and very motherly…

Linda began pouring out a sickly looking green mixture from one of the bottles on the table beside me into a tablespoon. "This medicine will help you recover your health quickly," she said, holding the spoon before me. I stared at it, trying, but failing, to disguise my disgust. That green goop just looked gross. It looked even worse than the potion Snape fed me. I sighed inwardly. Why do all the helpful liquids in the world look so horrible?

I opened my mouth and gulped down the thick liquid. I instantly felt my face twist in revulsion. It tasted like bile. Gasping, I grabbed the glass of water beside me and started to drink hurriedly in great gulps. The cool water ran down my throat, carrying the medicine that got stuck in my gullet along with it to the dark depths of my stomach. However, an unpleasant taste still lingered in my tongue.

I placed the glass back on the table beside me and decided to ask Linda about my robes. "Er…Mrs Barrymore, may I know where my ro- I mean, clothes are?" She smiled. "Oh, we had them washed and dry cleaned. You were soaked through last night and I don't think you would expect us to allow you to remain in those wet clothes, do you?"

I gave a very forced smile. I knew that Linda meant well, but… if she didn't turn out the pockets when she washed them…

Trying to keep my voice light and casual, I asked her whether she checked through the pockets first. "Oh, I told my daughter to do it as I didn't have time, considering that you had to be treated for the burns," she said. Looking at the anxiousness etched over my face, she reassured me smoothly, "And don't worry, she has done it dozens of time and has never missed a pocket before."

"Those clothes you were wearing, very unorthodox they were indeed… They looked like those long robes thought to be worn by wizards…" She frowned slightly.  I coughed nervously.

Linda laughed at the sight of my face and said, "I'm not accusing you of witchcraft, young man. After all, I don't believe they exist in reality. It's just some figment of people's fantasy and imagination." I smiled weakly. Muggles are certainly very mundane. I suppose I was lucky that she did not suspect my true identity. Linda continued, "Were you returning from a fancy dress party?"

Before I could reply, a young girl of about eight burst into the room, her hand clutching a long black stick. With horror, I recognized the 'long stick'. It was my wand. The little girl was giggling, and she showed Linda my wand, saying, "Look what I found mum! Look what I found!" She thrust the wand towards Linda. I flinched as I noticed a faint wisp of…of a substance I didn't recognize shoot out from the tip of my wand. Luckily, Linda and the girl did not notice it.

Linda picked up the girl, balanced her on her knee and said to me, "This is Sharon, my youngest…"

I wasn't listening. My mind was only focused on the wand in Sharon's hand. I hoped that the girl would not think to wave it around. As every wand possessed the core of a powerfully magical ingredient, I shuddered to think what would have happened if the girl had used more force when pointing the wand at Linda. No doubt something more dangerous than a faint wisp would have struck her. This would also have brought the Ministry wizards here to investigate.

Trying to slow down the hammering beating of my heart, I asked Sharon to return me my wand. She stared at me with defiant brown eyes and refused. "I found it. It's mine!" She clasped my wand close to her heart protectively.

I tried again, my voice becoming more urgent. "It's dangerous. It may not look so, but it is. Please return it to me. You don't know what you're doing!"

Linda then intervened, her voice stern. "Sharon, give it back to him now, it's not nice to take other people's things." Sharon turned to her mother, her eyes filling with tears. "Do I have to?" She looked as though she was about to throw a tantrum. Linda looked at her warningly. I held my breath.

Sullenly, Sharon handed me my wand. I heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks," I said, addressing Linda. Linda smiled. Sharon sat back on her mother's lap, arms folded, tears streaming silently down her face. I felt very uncomfortable. I do not know why, but I instantly felt very guilty and bad. I made a mental note to myself to give her something before I leave this place.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a doorbell ringing. Linda stood up, a puzzled frown on her face. "I wonder who that is. I'm not expecting visitors today." She deposited Sharon on the chair she was sitting on and told me, "I'll be right back." She then left the room. Sharon immediately turned away from me, sitting in such a way that I could not see her face. Her shoulders were heaving and I could tell that she was sobbing.

I felt even worse. In a split second, I decided to do something that was very, very risky. Looking at the doorway to make sure that Linda was really gone, I pulled out a button from my pajamas. Taking my wand, I pointed it at the button and muttered a few words. Focusing on an image of a toy elephant formed in my mind, I began transfiguring the button into a miniature elephant. I was a bit worried that Sharon might turn around suddenly or Linda may come back. But thankfully, none of those things happened.

When I finished transfiguring the button, I placed it on the palm of my hand and inspected it. The elephant had the same silvery white colours of the button and was very beautiful indeed. I was sure that Sharon would like it.

"Sharon?" I said tentatively. She didn't reply. I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about taking away the wan-I mean the stick from you as it was dangerous." Sharon turned around and looked at me, her mouth in a downward turn. "What do you mean by dangerous? It was just a plain old stick."

I paused, thinking. How could I explain why my wand was dangerous without giving away the fact that I was a wizard? "Y-You could have poked someone with it," I said lamely. Sharon just stared at me. I hurriedly held out the elephant. "I'm sorry for taking the stick from you and as payment for that, you can have this."

"Y-You mean that's for me?" Sharon asked, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. I nodded. She slowly stretched out her hand and took the elephant from me.

It is interesting how fast a child's emotion and expression can change, for that dismal and sad face before me instantly split into a beautiful smile and she began dancing around the room holding the elephant aloof. I smiled at her antics. Suddenly, she whirled on me and hugged me around the neck in a grip so tight that I nearly choked. "Thank you! Thank you! It's so beautiful and pretty! I'm going to show it to all my friends!"

After what seemed like ages she finally let go of my neck and began playing with the toy, her eyes alight with happiness. I rubbed my neck and as I looked at that happy girl, I felt stirring within me a certain joy and happiness that I had not felt for a very long time.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of several feet climbing up a staircase, and the next moment, Linda's beaming face appeared in the doorway. "You've got visitors," she told me. "They've heard about your accident and wish to see you." 

I was astonished. Linda stepped aside and gestured to someone hidden behind the half-open door to come in. With apprehension on my face and my fingers tightened around my wand, I waited with bated breath. Were they friend or foe?

The first person to step into the room was one whom I did not expect, nor wanted to see. My jaw parachuted to the floor and my heart began pounding wildly.

Author's notes: I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to complete as I was busy with schoolwork and in the midst of writing another fic. Any comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated