Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, my friends and I would all be walking through the streets of Tokyo right now, buying whatever we wanted. Instead I am sitting at home on the computer, praying that JKR won't sue. Does that cover it?
Chapter Three
Snape moved forward and caught Harry as he fell then lifted him, astounded at how light he was. Under the circumstances, he decided, he would take the Knight Bus the couple of kilometres to the house with the fire he had come through. He was about to leave, when he noticed Vernon pinned against the wall. He had turned an interesting shade of blue and was making strange gurgling noises.
"I didn't use a Choking Charm, and Harry didn't have his wand…" Snape thought, and made a mental note to tell Dumbledore about it. He released Vernon from the spell and turned him into a beetle before shoving him into his pocket. He almost bumped into the woman and boy whom he presumed were Petunia and Dudley, the family Harry was staying with. Severus irritably motioned for them to follow as he stalked up to the corner of the street. He shoved Harry at Petunia and pulled out his wand, holding it out in his right hand. Dudley and Petunia paled as the Knight Bus pulled up, but got on quietly.
"Hedge St." Severus told the bus driver, Stan Turnpike curtly.
As the bus took off, Petunia timidly asked what happened to Vernon.
"He's in my pocket."
"You shrunk him?" Petunia asked, her eyes growing wide.
Snape glared at her. "Don't be stupid. I turned him into a beetle."
Seconds later, Stan announced that they had arrived. Snape strode into a house and grabbed some floo powder. Giving some to the woman and boy, he told them to throw it in the fire then step in it and say Hogwarts. The boy could only just fit. Once they were through he picked up Harry from the chair he had placed him in and followed.
At Hogwarts the festivities were in full swing. The first years had been sorted, and no one else was due to arrive. You can imagine the Gryffindor's surprise, therefore, when a horse-necked woman and a whale-like boy, obviously muggles, stumbled out of the fireplace. A soot-smudged Snape came soon after, holding a dirty bundle in his arms. Severus strode over to the Gryffindor end of the table, ignoring the muggles, and cleared it with a sweep of his arm. Ignoring the complaints and cries of dismay from a few hapless students who had gotten covered in food and drink, he laid the bundle on the cleared space. Gasps of shock and horror filled the Gryffindor's area as a part of the bundle shifted slightly, revealing Harry's bruised and battered face.
Snape drew in a breath then said quietly, "Headmaster, we need Poppy."
McGonagall hurried off to fetch her immediately. As students began to fire questions at Severus, he seemed to remember something. He pulled a beetle out of his pocket and placed it on the floor just as the spell wore off. Suddenly Vernon was standing in the beetle's place. He took one look around the hall and paled. Then he noticed Harry's inert body. He charged at the table and hit him hard, sending him flying onto the Slytherin end of the table.
"Stupefy!" Snape yelled, pointing his wand at Vernon. He fell to the floor, and the Potions Master gradually realised that he had not been the only one to call out the spell. The rest of the teachers and all of Gryffindor except for the first years, as well as a few Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws were all on their feet, brandishing their wands.
Just then Poppy entered, and muttering to herself darkly, bore Harry away on a stretcher. Dumbledore cleared his throat, and told all the students to go to their common rooms, then told Professor Snape to come with him to the Hospital Wing.
"How is he, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked the plump matron.
"Not too good, I'm afraid. He has severe bruising on the majority of his body, as well as being dehydrated and severely underweight. He also has a broken arm and leg, as well as severe lacerations on his chest and back. Most of his wounds are too old to heal with magic."
Dumbledore nodded, his face serious. "Is he awake?"
"No, but you can go and see him if you like," Madam Pomfrey indicated to a room. The two teachers walked into the room and were greeted by a horrible sight. Harry lay in one of the beds, his face bruised and swollen, his chest bound tightly in white bandages that were already stained with blood. His right arm and left leg were in plaster, and a crystal orb with black and red swirling in it beeped quietly. Just then yells and cries sounded from the hall outside, and slowly became distinguishable.
"Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, get back here!" McGonagall's voice echoed into the room.
"No way! Harry never received his toilet seat!" The unmistakable voices of the Weasley twins cried back. The group of children burst into the room with McGonagall close behind them. The group froze in shock as their gazes fell on Harry.
Hermione slowly sank into one of the seats by the beds.
"Harry…" she whispered quietly.
Ron turned towards Snape with a suspicious look in his eyes.
"What happened to him?" he demanded.
"I think perhaps it would be better if we all saw," Dumbledore interjected gently.
Snape glanced at Dumbledore for a moment, then nodded, sighing.
"All right, if we have to." He sat down in one of the chairs.
"Are you sure, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, concern flickering in his eyes.
Snape smiled bitterly and nodded.
"What are you doing?" asked Hermione, slight interest sneaking into her voice.
"I'm going to put a simple spell on Professor Snape that will show us exactly what happened to Harry."
"Oh."
Dumbledore turned and, pointing his wand at Severus muttered Memorius Animatus.
Snape stiffened, and then images shot out of his forehead, hitting the wall in front of him.
"Wizard! You're a wizard!" … "Have you learnt you're lesson yet, boy?" …
"What lesson? I wasn't aware you were teaching one, Vernon" …"You're gone, boy."
The images played out on the wall, and the horror inside of them all grew with each picture. Dumbledore removed the spell from Snape and he slumped forward, his face grey.
Ron looked at Harry for a moment, then whispered, "Will he be okay?"
Just as Ron finished the question, Harry stiffened, then arched his back, and began to scream. As he did so each wizard and witch in the room felt something pass through them, as if searching, then move on. The orb that was beside Harry began to glow white and shriek with him. Madam Pomfrey rushed into the room, took one look at the orb, and ran over to Harry, holding him down on the bed.
"Poppy, what's going on?" Dumbledore asked, his voice concerned.
"He's having a magical surge. It's very rare, and this is the worst possible time for it to happen," The Doctor ground out as she struggled against Harry. Just then the orb burst, sending crystal shards flying and Harry slumped back, eyes tightly closed and his chest heaving.
"He's going to have to be watched. There is no way of telling when he will have another, but he will, and someone needs to be there." Poppy sighed.
Dumbledore nodded, his face grave.
"Severus, could you please inform the Ministry of Magic of what has happened and request a trial for Vernon Dursley? It would also be helpful if they would grant permission for Harry's Aunt and Cousin to stay here, at least until the trial. They may be needed as witnesses. I will inform the staff, of what has happened, then come back to watch him." He ushered the students out of the room, despite their protests, Snape and McGonagall following slowly. They hadn't gotten Fred and George out in time though. They had already placed the toilet seat by Harry's bed, and Madam Pomfrey's cry of rage echoed throughout the castle when she found it.
