Birthday Surprises Chapter Seven
Usual disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Please. Wish it were mine though. Ah, if only… Lolly, xxx.
Harry was rather startled when Professor Dumbledore appeared from the other side of the hospital wing, followed by Professor McGonagall and finally Madam Pomfrey. He had assumed that they had left already. "Ah, Harry. If you could come up to my office later - let's say around midday - I was hoping to have a word with you."
"Ok." Harry said, looking mildly suspicious.
"In the meantime, Professor McGonagall will go down to the Great Hall with you for some breakfast."
"Erm…..I don't mean to be rude, but I know where the Great Hall is." Harry said.
"Of course you do - but would you go of your own inclination?" Harry smiled sheepishly and shook his head. The headmaster nodded.
"I didn't think so." With that, he swept from the room.
"Come along then, Potter." Professor McGonagall said sternly. Harry obediently followed, glancing backwards to see Madam Pomfrey watching the babies sleep.
The sleep didn't seem to last long. Harry and McGonagall hadn't even reached the Great Hall before Harry's wristband was off again. Harry rubbed his wrist, still getting used to the bizarre feeling. "What are you doing, Potter?"
"Erm…..nothing, Professor."
"Nice bracelet - where did you get it?"
"Erm…..I can't remember." Harry lied.
"Then perhaps someone should check it - it's covered with magic. In fact, it's almost as if it was made completely with magic."
"I know."
"You do? Then what does it do?"
"It's…..umm…..a baby monitor."
"A what?"
"A baby monitor - I needed it at the Dursleys."
"I see - and what does a baby monitor do, exactly?"
"It tells me when the triplets need attention - when they're crying, anything like that."
"I see. And you don't remember where you got it?"
"Erm…..well, I kind of..…erm…..made it."
"You made it? How?"
"Well, I was doing chores for the Dursleys, so I had to leave the babies - so I figured that Muggles used baby monitors when they were out of the room - I tried a magical version."
"Really? It works?"
"Yeah." Harry said.
"What spells did you use? How did you go about it?" Harry began explaining how he had spent ages searching for spells to combine to make the monitor, and how it worked.
"That table will need to be scoured." Professor McGonagall said with distaste. Dudley and Vernon were sitting at the Gryffindor table, stuffing their faces with as much food as they could get their hands on. It made both Harry and Minerva want to vomit.
"Several times - the tower too." Harry agreed. His eyes scanned the top table and fell on Snape, who looked both sour and revolted. "Ugh - I hate to say this, but I agree with Professor Snape on something." He said.
"Oh?"
"Yeah - he's disgusted by my 'family' as well."
"Harry, I think everyone is disgusted by your so called family - frankly, I'm amazed that you turned out all right."
"Thanks Professor." Harry said, shaking his head in silent laughter. "It must be killing them - in a castle with all of us 'freaks'."
"Yes, well, they would do well not to mention their views to anyone around here - although I must admit that it would be amusing to see Professor Snape hex them into next week."
"Wouldn't it? Then I'd know I was dreaming. Ah, I can live in hope." Harry sighed before saying goodbye to his teacher and sat as far away from Dudley and Vernon as he could, while still being on the Gryffindor table. Even the empty Slytherin table was beginning to look tempting to Harry, if only because it was the farthest possible table from where his Uncle and cousin seemed to have grown rooted to. Harry privately vowed never to sit in those seats ever again.
"Boy! Have you asked that freak of a headmaster when we get to go home?" Vernon roared. He didn't seem to remember that there were two fully trained wizards in the room.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry said, his voice ringing clearly in the silence. "I would suggest that you don't call him a freak - have you forgotten that I can use magic now? Oh, and by the way, did I mention that professor Dumbledore is probably the most powerful wizard in the world?" Harry asked, gazing placidly at his Uncle.
"Most…powerful?"
"Oh yeah - remember Voldemort? Kinda evil guy, seems to want me dead, killed mum and dad? Yeah, know who I mean? Well professor Dumbledore is the only person he's afraid of. Maybe you should be too." Dudley looked vaguely green at this - he had heard Harry speak of Voldemort, and even an intellectually challenged Muggle like him had gathered that Voldemort was someone to fear.
"Dudley, close your mouth." Harry said in disgust. He glanced up at Snape and McGonagall to see Snape looking torn between disgust and savage amusement. "Oh, and you might want to meet two of my Professors - Professor Snape, who teaches Potions, and Professor McGonagall, who teaches Transfiguration. You'd enjoy that class Dudley - it's where you change things into other things - like, boys into pigs, for instance. Of course, when it goes wrong, you can get some pretty nasty results - like partial transformation." Harry grinned as Dudley glowed crimson, cracking his knuckles ominously. Vernon swelled with rage.
"How DARE you! I'll have you for this you…you…ingrate!"
"Oh, I'm an ingrate now? Hmm. Well, at least I'm an ingrate that can use magic - you know, I've had six years training? Hagrid only had three."
"Hagrid?"
"Remember the rather large man who gave me my letter? I was thinking about visiting him later - fancy coming along, Dudley?"
"Potter!" Vernon yelled. Harry was having fun now, and was getting his own back for all the times he had wanted to yell back at his Uncle. They were in his world now, and they wouldn't make him feel like an outcast here. His green eyes narrowed dangerously, daring his Uncle to say something that would merit a hex, but his Uncle quailed under his glare, and moments later, he left the table. Dudley shoved as much food in his mouth as he could before waddling after his father.
Severus had never liked the Potter boy - no, he had loathed him with a passion for most of the six years he had attended Hogwarts, but at that moment, he felt like awarding Gryffindor a hundred points just for getting rid of those…..disgusting creatures. He shot a sideways glance at Minerva and saw that she was looking both shocked and proud. Severus had thought that at home, Potter would be treated like the over inflated celebrity that he seemed to be in the wizarding world. He had not expected him to live with such awful bigoted Muggles. Had he not hated the boy, he might have felt slightly sorry for him.
