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Harry Potter and the Secrets Within

Chapter 5 – Healing Spells and Nightmares

"And then the snake attacked Remus!" Sirius said excitedly, shoveling food into his mouth. James stared at him, his plate empty and fork in hand.

"What?" he asked disbelievingly. Sirius nodded.

"It's true! Then Harry did the coolest thing with his wand and this huge rock come out of nowhere and landed on top of the Runespoor. Then it tried to get at Harry, but you wouldn't believe how fast he is!" Sirius went on. Peter was biting his lip and Lily looked like she'd faint.

"A Runespoor? Kettleburn got a real Runespoor?" she asked. Sirius nodded enthusiastically.

"It was huge! Seven feet long!" he said. Remus and Harry came in, dropping their bags heavily to the ground as they took their seats. James clapped Harry on the back, pulling away quickly when the boy winced.

"Heard what you did for Remus," James said, "Bloody brilliant!"

"Yeah, well," he flushed slightly. "I'm sure he would've done the same for me. And even if he wouldn't, oh well."

"Thanks again," Remus said, placing dainty portions of food on his plate. Harry smiled, shaking his head. Lily frowned at him.

"Harry," she whispered, trying not to draw attention. "Why aren't you eating?" Harry looked down at his empty plate and shrugged.

"My stomach isn't feeling up to food right now. I think I'm just going to head up to the dormitory," Harry said. He stood up and took his bag from the floor, slinging it over his shoulder. James gave him a concerned look and started to stand.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. Harry shook his head.

"No, thanks though," Harry smiled gratefully and exited the hall. Sirius gave James an odd look and leaned in.

"What happened today, Prongs?" he asked. James looked over at the Slytherin table, scowling darkly at Malfoy and his cronies.

"The Slytherins," he muttered, picking at his food.

"What did they do?" Remus asked quietly.

"They ganged up on Harry in the hall. Poor guy was probably lost and they took advantage of him. They were beating him up when I got there. He says he's okay but I don't know, he's still limping and his stomach hurts," James said, frowning down at his plate as though expecting it to solve his problems.

"Maybe we should have gone with him," Remus said, lowering his fork. Sirius stood up and headed to the doors.

"I'll go, no worries," he said as he went. It didn't take long for him to catch up with Harry, who was walking aimlessly down the corridors, not really paying attention to his surroundings.

"Hey Harry," he greeted, snapping the messy haired boy out of his thoughts. He studied Harry's face for a few minutes, taking in the boy's features. His left cheek was slightly swollen, but it was almost unnoticeable. His eyes rested on Harry's forehead and his eyes widened.

"Wicked," he breathed, parting Harry's bangs to take a closer look. "Where did you get that?" he asked, staring intently at the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Harry backed away, smoothing his bangs back down to his face to cover the scar.

"In the accident that killed my parents," he said shortly. Sirius winced.

"Sorry," he said. Harry shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, it happened a long time ago," Harry said. "I don't remember them."

"Who were they?" Sirius asked after a while.

"I don't even know. No one ever told me," Harry lied.

"Harry, let me take you to the hospital wing," Sirius said. Harry looked up at him in confusion.

"Why would I need the hospital wing? I haven't even done anything dangerous yet," he laughed. Sirius frowned in confusion but shook his head.

"Harry, you're trying to hide it but it's obvious you're hurting," Sirius said. "Look at you. You're limping, you're barely standing up straight, and your face is swollen." He brushed his fingers over Harry's cheek and the other boy pulled back, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair and looked over at Sirius, his eyes soft.

"I probably should," Harry sighed. "But I don't want to. If I go, it'll just prove to those slimy Slytherins that I can't take it. Which I can by the way," he added. He sighed at Sirius's expression, "Look, it doesn't hurt that much. I'll get over it, I always get over it."

"Then at least let me heal you," Sirius said. Harry frowned at him.

"You know how to heal? That's really advanced magic," he said. Sirius shrugged modestly.

"Yeah well, if you live with my parents you need to know a few healing spells," he said. Harry stopped walking, staring at Sirius in shock. The Sirius in his time had never said anything about this.

"You mean – they –?" he couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth.

"It isn't that big of a deal. But being the abomination of the Black family, you need to know a few things," he said with a small smile. They started walking again, this time in silence. When they reached the portrait, Sirius told it the password, which was simply, Quaffle.

"Come on," Sirius beckoned him to follow him as he went up the stairs. Harry followed as Sirius entered one of the rooms and plopped down on a bed, rummaging around in his trunk. Harry recognized the dorm as the one he stayed in when he was at Hogwarts in the future. He recognized Sirius's bed as Ron's and the bed next to it he presumed was James's, for Harry could see the faintest glimmer of silver trying to hide under the comforter. The Invisibility Cloak.

"You don't have to do this," Harry said as Sirius pulled out a vial of green potion and handed it to him. Sirius shrugged.

"You need it more than I do. Drink that, it'll get rid of the pain, and then I'll heal the bruises. Healing bruises without a painkiller is more painful than getting the bruises. Drink up," he said. Harry downed the potion quickly, ignoring the vile taste in his mouth. He shifted uncomfortably as Sirius got out his wand and told him to remove his shirt.

"I don't think –," Sirius cut him off.

"Harry its okay. You're skinny, that's fine. I'm not here to judge, just to help. I won't tell anyone," Sirius promised. Harry hesitantly shrugged off his robe and unbuttoned his shirt. Sirius lowered his eyes to Harry's thin stomach, eyeing the angry bruises with a frown. He sat next to Harry and lifted his wand, tapping the bruises gently and whispering healing words. The bruises faded one by one, leaving Harry as his normal, skinny self.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, looking Sirius in the eyes.

"What are friends for?" Sirius said with a smile. Harry smiled back.

James, Remus and Peter came in a little while later. Harry had already changed into his pajamas from his trunk, which was lying at the foot of a bed that was to be Seamus's in just twenty years. The curtains were drawn around his bed, topped off with a silencing charm. Sirius was up, sitting on his bed with a Quidditch book in his lap.

"How is he doing?" James asked quietly.

"He's fine," Sirius said. "And you don't need to whisper, he's got a silencing charm on his bed."

"A silencing charm? Whatever for?" Remus asked curiously. Sirius shrugged.

"After I healed him he just got into bed and put on the charm. He's probably sleeping," Sirius said.

"Why would he need a silencing charm?" Peter wondered aloud.

"I don't know, talks in his sleep, sleeps with his eyes open," James suggested.

"Nightmares actually," Harry said, peeking through his curtain. They looked over, surprised. He slid off of the bed and padded across the floor to the bathroom, locking himself in.

"Nightmares? Well there's something I didn't think of," Sirius said.

"How bad could his nightmares be, honestly?" Peter scoffed. Harry came out of the bathroom moments later and crawled back into his bed, closing the curtain and replacing the silencing charm. They all looked at each other, agreeing that they needed to know more about Harry Parker.


Harry buried his face in his pillow, breathing deeply. He was exhausted. It was all too overwhelming, being with his parents and his godfather at once. He soon slipped into a restless sleep, only to be woken up a few hours later.


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