Chapter 25:
"He's Back…"'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
At about dinnertime, Harry woke up to numerous faces around him. He couldn't make out the faces, his vision was still a bit fuzzy. The good news was that his head no longer hurt. He suspected it had something to do with a potion that she'd given him while he was unconscious.
Poppy Pomfrey was fluttering about, trying to dismiss all of them, Harry could tell.
He tried to blink the fuzziness away, and it got better slowly. The first thing Harry could make out was a long white beard, signifying that Dumbledore was one of them. Then he noticed one of the faces was abnormally pale, and Harry guessed that was Snape. He saw bushy hair, Hermione. He saw flaming red hair, Ron. He saw light blonde hair, Draco. And he guessed that the other was Vanella.
Harry began to sit up but let himself fall back again when his head began to hurt again with a sudden throb. Then he tried again.
Madame Pomfrey pushed through the other people and told him off. "Harry, don't you dare try sitting up now. You need to stay down," she said. As if to emphasize her point, she put her hand on his chest and pushed him back to the bed forcefully yet gently.
"What's wrong with me?" Harry asked.
Pomfrey 'tsk'-ed with her tongue and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong with you, you silly boy. You have a migraine, of sorts."
Harry blinked, still feeling fuzzy. He realized the lights of the hospital wing were dimmed. "Of sorts?"
Snape and Dumbledore made the students leave the room, telling them to return to their appropriate common rooms.
Dumbledore faced Harry solemnly. "Your headache is centered in your scar, right, Harry?"
Harry nodded.
Severus gave Harry a disapproving look. "You should have told one of us when it started hurting."
Dumbledore silenced him. "That… that scar is magical. It was put there by dark magic, so it senses dark magic whenever it is near—"
Harry stared. "I know all this, Professor."
"I know, but you need to be careful, now, Harry, until we locate and destroy the source of the dark magic that appears to be in this castle. Apparently, Quirrell's death postponed the inevitable for a few months, but Voldemort's back, and you need to be protected."
"Whoever it is is gonna go after the stone," Harry said.
Snape, "We know that, Harry. We're not as stupid as you may think."
Harry grimaced. "But the stone needs to be protected, otherwise Voldemort can return to full power."
Dumbledore shook his head. "The stone is protected. By numerous obstacles. You, however, are not."
"He's not going to go after me before the stone, sir. He'd get the stone first."
"Not necessarily. I assume, by now, that you've discovered he's possessing someone?"
Harry nodded.
"Well, that person, whoever it is, may have access to you somehow. And we don't know who, so we can't know how." Dumbledore looked at Snape. "That's why you need to be protected."
Harry frowned. "I don't like this."
Dumbledore shook his head. "You're lucky we're even telling you all this. It's not our custom to tell eleven-year-old boys that their lives are in danger."
"That's not what I don't like."
Dumbledore and Snape both furrowed their eyebrows.
"I don't like his mere threat ruling over my life. Where I have to be constantly looking over my shoulder and protected. If he's gonna kill me just let him do it. It'd be easier."
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
Snape was pacing in front of Albus's desk. "He's right. He doesn't deserve this." The Professor slammed his hands down on the dark mahogany desk. Dumbledore jumped. "He's an eleven-year-old boy, Albus," he hissed.
"I'm well aware of that, Severus," the Headmaster said, not looking up from a paper he was reading.
The younger man sat down heavily in one of the chairs. "Now we must protect a boy and a magical stone?"
Albus shook his head and 'tsk'-ed. "No, no, no, Severus. I will protect the stone, and you will protect the boy."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
"He's moving into your quarters for the next few months. Doesn't matter much, anyway, since he'll be in your house all summer. You're going to make sure he stays safe."
Again, the raised eyebrow. "Ah, Headmaster—"
"It's the only way it can be, Severus."
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
Snape strode into the Hospital Wing, robes billowing, scowl on his face. He stopped in front of Harry's bed, where the boy was reading the Potions book Severus had given him for Christmas. "Get all your things, you're coming with me."
Harry put the book down, thoroughly confused.
"Madame Pomfrey has released you. You're coming with me."
Harry and Snape grabbed all of the items Harry's friends had brought to keep him occupied while he was bed-ridden. Then Harry followed the Professor's billowing robes through the halls of Hogwarts.
When they passed the Slytherin Common Room entrance, Harry decided to ask, "Er, where am I going, Professor?"
"With me."
What a way to be vague.
Snape led him past the potions classroom and down another hallway, stopping at a statue of a spy. Snape said "libertatis" to it and to Harry's surprise, it moved away, revealing a passageway into the Professor's personal chambers. He recognized them from the weeks before the fall term started.
"Professor… what am I doing here?"
Snape moved into the room and placed Harry's things on a table. "Dumbledore said this was the easiest way to protect you."
Harry gaped. "Where will everyone think I am?"
"The other three houses will think you're in the Slytherin House Room. And I don't know what to tell the Slytherins yet." He pointed to the room Harry stayed in last time. "All your clothes and such are already in there. Saliza will be happy to see you."
Harry smiled at the mention of Saliza Slytherin, the woman in the picture above the bed he had slept in. Vitesse hissed in reaction to the name. Not friendly. She remembered Saliza, too. They never really did get along.
Harry glanced around, taking in the room again. It looked no different than last time. Green and silver were the dominant colors, intertwined with black, giving the room a mysterious, darker appeal to it. The fire was lit, glowing, lighting the room. The walls were still covered with books, though it appeared that more had been added, to Harry's visible delight.
Severus's voice cut through his thoughts: "You may want to get settled. You have classes tomorrow. I have a potion for your headache; you'll be taking it every morning."
Harry nodded and retreated to his new bedroom.
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
The man walked down the hallway casually. He belonged. Nothing unusual. He passed by a couple Slytherins kissing in the hallway.
He cleared his throat and rasped, "Detention for both of you for being out after curfew, plus twenty points each will be taken from Slytherin for your actions."
They gave him panicked looks and scrambled back to their common room. He recognized them as a couple of Draco Malfoy's lackeys.
He shook his head and moved on, headed towards the 'locked' door on this corridor. He put his hand to the knob, and it wasn't locked. He had made sure of that earlier. He opened it slowly and came face to face with three heads. It growled at him, but he pulled a harmonica out of his robes and began to play. The huge creature fell asleep almost instantly.
He stopped playing and gently pet one of the animal's heads, between the eyes. "Good dog, good dog." He stepped away and through the door, quickly before the animal woke up. "I'll be back to see you Wednesday night, I promise."
He turned around and saw Mrs. Norris turning the corner. She was on the prowl for disobedient students. He nodded to her, and she kept walking.
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
He decided not to eat breakfast in the Great Hall on Tuesday morning, to avoid a scene. And he wanted to take full advantage of his own personal house elf. A snap of the fingers and the grotesque-looking creature appeared with a rather loud 'pop!'.
"Can Pinky help you, sir?" the thing asked, bowing.
Harry nodded. His eating habits had improved since the first time he was in this room, so he asked for his favorite, "A cheese omelette and orange juice with a piece of toast on the side."
Pinky nodded. "Of course, sir." And it disappeared with yet another 'pop!'.
Harry sat at the table. After a minute, Pinky reappeared. She—he assumed it was a she—set the plate down in front of him, bowed and disappeared.
He assumed Snape had already gone to the Potions classroom, so Harry wouldn't see him until Potions this afternoon. Harry had double Defense Against the Dark Arts first, with the Gryffindors. He still didn't understand why they always put those two together for double-periods, but he cared less than he did before he became friendly with Ron and Hermione. They weren't good friends, but they weren't enemies, which was a start.
Harry ate breakfast quickly and headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He had extra of Snape's headache potion in his pocket in case his head began to hurt again. He still suspected the DADA substitute, and he just wanted to be prepared for a double-period with her.
He slid into the classroom when it was nearly empty, Professor Grise sitting at her desk, and a few scattered students around the classroom. He sat down at his typical seat at the front of the right side of the classroom and sat, studying his professor until Vanella and Draco arrived, followed closely by Ron and Hermione.
They were somewhat shocked to see him.
"Harry!" Vanella squealed.
Everyone else let out similar exclamations of surprise.
Harry nodded and gave a weak smile. "Hi."
Vanella sat down next to him, setting down her book-bag. "I didn't know they released you. You should have told me this morning."
"I didn't see you this morning."
She frowned. "Did she release you this morning?"
He shook his head. "No, last night."
Draco, "Then how did we miss you? I sit in the common room every morning, and I see everybody go by."
Harry shrugged. "I—"
"Alright, let's begin." It was Professor Grise, standing quickly. Grise was more of a hands-off teacher, preferring bookwork to any real defense training. "Pages two-forty-five through two-fifty-nine are on curses and how to defend yourself against them. Read it, then answer the questions on technique and counter-curses found on two-sixty and two-sixty-one, please. Silently, unless you want detention with Filch." And with that, she glanced around the room at the students scurrying to their seats, then sat down and went back to grading papers.
Harry expected his head to begin hurting again during the two-hours he sat in her class, but to his surprise, it didn't. He leaned over to Vanella. "It's not her. I don't hurt at all."
Vanella discreetly shook her head. "I don't sense anything with her, either."
She looked up and went a little pale.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Shh!"
Harry followed her gaze to Professor Grise, who was watching them with disapproving green eyes.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Incendie, I'm afraid both of you will be serving detention with Filch tonight. Seven o'clock at the doors to the Great Hall, don't be late."
Harry contemplated that for a minute then turned back to Vanella, who wasn't looking too happy. "No malice in her tone either. I don't think he'd be nice right about now, do you?"
Vanella shot him a look and went back to her work. "Shut up, Harry," she said under her breath.
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
Harry and Vanella met up in front of the Great Hall a little before seven. Filch showed up a little after them. He had kindly decided they should be scrubbing toilets. The muggle way, while he watched over them. It wasn't any better that Harry's head was pounding again, and extra doses of the potion weren't helping. By the end of the night, it had gotten so bad Harry could barely see straight, and he had to follow the wall back to Severus's chambers.
He knocked, unable to remember the password through the haze, and fell unconscious into waiting arms when the statue jumped away.
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
"Uh… this is somewhat of a surprise…Severus! A hand here? I can't reach my wand!"
Snape stood from the couch to help Dumbledore get the boy to the couch without magic.
The Potions Master grimaced. "Not again. I gave him a potion for it. And, it…" Severus reached into the pocket of Harry's robes and pulled out a medium-sized vial, "…looks like he tried the potion."
Albus furrowed his eyebrows. "Hmm," the old man sat down in a lounge chair, "maybe this is more serious than we thought."
'squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line, star, squiggly line'
Author's Note: Alright, I'm almost completely back in the swing of things here. I would have had this up last night, but I went out to see a movie. Sorry. Anyway…
The squiggly line, star, thingy still isn't working. I don't know if you even know what I'm talking about, but they are literally squiggly lines and stars. (Shift 8, Shift that key next to the 1. On a standard keyboard.)
Um… "libertatis" is Latin for 'freedom.' I don't know why I put it there, it just kind of served the password purpose.
Review answers:
Shadowface: Yea, a little ironic… Thanks for the reviews!
Rasgara: Yea, poor Harry. Things'll get better soon, though. Who's he possessing? Hmm… Good question…
Alligator335: There are worse obsessions, I imagine. Ah, maybe I should start updating faster?
BlackSparrow: Yep, Vanella's birthday is Valentine's Day. I know, a headache like that would not be fun.
athenakitty: Severus does understand where Harry's coming from. He's complaining because some people don't like getting what's coming to them, if that makes sense. Harry won't check to see if Voldemort's in his snake, I think he's busy with other things. I don't think we'll be hearing from the Dursleys in a long, long time, but no, I don't think they'll die. Harry is spoiling Vitesse quite a bit, I would think. Harry will eventually learn to protect his mind. No, I don't think so, but it's still a possibility.
starangel2106: Thanks! No, he wasn't too happy when he woke up, nor was Severus that Harry didn't come to him sooner. Given the circumstances, though, he didn't get wicked angry. Hope this was a little faster! Sorry about the lapse between 22 and 23.
Hakkai – Gojyo – Goku – Sanzo: Oh… sorry about that. Thanks, though! I'll try to type the next chapter faster. It's already partway done, anyhow.
Kayla Summers: I don't know when he'll be adopted. Maybe after the summer? Thank you! Trying to update faster…
leggylover03: Oh, yea, sorry about that. Thanks for the review anyway, though!
Okay. Next Chapter: "The Obstacles". Be up either today or tomorrow. Scout's honor.