A/N: Hi all! Sorry about the long wait. Thanks a million to all who have reviewed the last chapter. Emma bugged me to post, so you have her to thank. Enjoy!
"Severus Snape! You are not to move from this bed again!" Well, that was familiar. Harry knew it was familiar. Madame Pomfrey. He was in the hospital wing again. The hospital wing? He needed to open his eyes. He needed to get up. Draco and Professor Snape…wait a minute. He opened his eyes and looked around. It was daytime. Ugh. Bright.
"Harry?" Tom's face appeared before his own. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Was it a dream?" He asked. Tom smiled and took one of Harry's hands in his own.
"No, it wasn't a dream. You did defeat Voldemort. I fear that you are now grounded for the rest of your life." Tom smiled at Harry.
"Sounds okay to me. I'm really tired." Tom smiled again. "I wonder how much school I'll get out of." He asked, trying to sit up. Tom helped him sit up the rest of the way and put pillows behind him.
"Oh, I'd say the rest of this week and next week. Dumbledore's declared a celebratory break for the students. Voldemort is really gone, for good. I'd say that you are the most popular boy in school, if not the world."
"Oh, no!" Harry groaned, throwing his hands up. "Ow." He cradled his injured arm to him. "This hurts." The curtains surrounding Harry's bed whipped open to reveal a rather cross-looking Madame Pomfrey.
"Of course it hurts, Mr. Potter. It's healing." Pomfrey cast a few spells and appeared satisfied. "Well, I cannot find a reason to drug you and keep you unconscious and safe, but you will be staying under my care with no arguments for the next few days until that arm heals a bit more." She told him, levitating a tray over to his bed. "I want you to eat everything, Mr. Potter." She stalked off, blatantly tracking another under her care. Harry stared after her, wondering what in the world had happened to that woman.
"She's been spending too much time with Snape." He mumbled. Tom heard him and smiled. "Hey, Tom. Hungry?" Harry asked. Tom raised an eyebrow, not even needing to say anything at all. "Alright, I'll eat. You don't need to yell." Tom blinked a few times.
"I said nothing." Tom answered.
"You had that look." Harry told him. Tom sighed. He hated when Harry gave him half-answers.
"What look?" He pressed.
"The look that says 'I'm not going to dignify that with an answer'. You also use it when I'm in deep trouble, like the time I had a nightmare and didn't wake you like you asked. Remember?" Tom smiled as the memory came back to him.
"Ah, yes. It was shortly after the three sleepless nights you spent pacing the sitting room. I nearly had to chain you to your bed." Harry laughed, remembering the indignant face Tom had given him when he had found Harry pacing at three in the morning. "You do realize that you snuck out and took on a Dark Lord all by yourself when there were people here to help you?" Harry paused. Ah. When Tom put it like that, it didn't sound very smart.
"I had a really good teacher." Harry said hopefully, looking up at Tom with the most adoring expression he could muster.
"Flattery will get you no where." Tom said, patting Harry's hand. "It's just as well that you're grounded, for I fear you are behind on your lessons. We can catch up." Harry stared at him in horror. Behind? He wasn't behind! He was ahead of the syllabi at Hogwarts and Tom couldn't…oh, it wasn't fair.
"Behind on your lesson plans?" Harry asked.
"Got it in one." Harry swallowed and buried his face in his hands. "Look at it this way. You're just a normal kid now." Harry raised his face and looked at Tom.
"True." He said. "I just don't know how ruthless you're going to be." Harry answered. "Hey! You can adopt me now." He told Tom. He missed the expression on Tom's face as he continued. "I saw Sirius right after Voldemort died. He likes you. He told me it was okay to want to live with you and be your son." Tom sat back and smiled.
"Well, that's good, as you can't really get out of it." Harry looked up, perplexed. "We share blood, Harry. When Voldemort left, I got the body." Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times.
"Oh!" He smiled at Tom. "Come here so I can hug you! Madame Pomfrey will kill me if I move." Tom leaned over and hugged him. "Harry Potter-Riddle." He said to himself. "Look out, world. New kid in town." Tom mussed Harry's hair and sat back down.
"You had a visitor last night." Tom told him, picking up the toy dog from where it had fallen on the floor sometime during Madame Pomfrey's examination. Harry looked at it and turned pale.
"Sirius." Harry said. Tom nodded and handed the toy to Harry. Harry petted it as though it was a real animal and smiled. "He said that he was watching over me." Harry told Tom.
"I have no doubts that he is." Tom told him. Harry placed the dog next to him and set about finishing his breakfast.
"Do Draco and Professor Snape know about the blood exchange?" He asked. Tom nodded.
"Father and son exchanged blood a while ago, much to Madame Pomfrey's exasperation. I believe you will be able to speak to them sooner or later." Tom sat back, content to watch Harry for the time being. "Finish eating. The sooner you eat, the sooner she'll release you." Harry gave Tom a look that told him Harry didn't believe that at all. Madame Pomfrey came over twenty minutes later and seemed satisfied, taking the tray away.
"Go back to sleep now, Mr. Potter. You still need to rest." Harry settled down and Tom tucked him in.
"Good night, Harry." Harry looked around at the windows, bright with daylight, and raised an eyebrow. "Go to sleep, you little brat. I'll be here."
"I'm not little." Harry complained, finding a comfortable position. Tom picked up the book of poetry he had been reading from earlier and flipped to a new one.
"That's my last duchess hanging there on the wall, looking as though she were alive…" Harry drifted off to the sound of Tom's voice.
"I will not allow it. He has been through enough! The Minister will only upset him." Tom's voice said from the other side of the Hospital Wing. He was angry. Whoa. Harry sat and peeked through the curtains surrounding his bed. Ton was arguing with Dumbledore. Go Tom!
"I understand your feelings, but like it or not, Harry is a celebrity, now more so than ever. If we keep the Minister from him much longer, he will use it to his political advantage. The man's political career is in a shambles, and he will do whatever it takes to turn things his way, including exploiting Harry." Harry scowled behind the curtains and sighed. Would it never end? He lowered his feet to the floor and paused. Okay so far. He wasn't going to pass out from standing. He actually felt fine. Tired, but fine. He pulled out the fresh clothes from under his bed and grinned. Adults were so slow to learn. If someone snuck out once with the help of fresh clothes, he could sneak out again with the help of fresh clothes. Tom usually wasn't this slow to learn. Tom would be angry. Harry briefly wondered how long Tom was willing to put up with him once he was grounded. At the rate Harry was going, he'd never see the Quidditch pitch again.
Harry crept down the aisle and into the bathroom. A quick shower later made him feel almost ninety percent better. He was still tired, but he could function. He pulled on his clothes, hissing when his shoulder pulled. It had healed quite a bit, but it was tender. It would not kill him, but Tom would. He was going to be in so much trouble. He checked himself in the mirror and decided that he looked like a mature and responsible sixteen year old who just went one on one with the Dark Lord. He looked exhausted. This interview/interrogation thing Fudge wanted was not a good idea. He could see that Fudge would take one look at him and consider Harry little threat. That was not the image Harry wanted. Pepper-Up. He needed Pepper-Up potion. Something to hide the dark circles under his eyes. Harry decided that while he was wishing, he would like world peace and a dog. He shrugged with one shoulder and returned to the hospital wing.
"Here it comes. Grounded for life without parole. I'll never see my friends again. Or the football field. Or the Quidditch pitch." Harry stopped and looked at Tom. Wow, he was ticked!
"I don't want that man anywhere near my son!" Harry paused and smiled. That was his dad yelling at Dumbledore. What a nice feeling.
"Tom, I'm sorry, but I fear that he – " Dumbledore stopped when he saw Harry standing there.
"Let's get him over with so I can go back to sleep." Harry said, leaning against a convenient chair. Phew, when did the hospital wing become so long?
"Harry, you should not be out of bed yet." Tom went over and pulled the boy against him. "Come on, back to bed." Tom tried to pull Harry back to his bed, strangely not noticing that Harry was fully dressed and he was pulling on Harry's bad arm.
"Let me meet with him and then I'll gladly go back to bed for a long while. I can't let Fudge do whatever he wants, and I refuse to let him ruin my life just when it's getting into order." Harry planted his feet and looked Tom in the eyes. "Please. I'll be happy to go back to bed when I'm done. I'm going to say how long it will last, not him. I want to keep it short." Tom looked around for help and found none. He reached down and pulled Harry against him.
"All right. I'm going with you. You're going to be sitting down the entire time." Harry nodded, more than willing to follow Tom's instructions at this point. Madame Pomfrey stormed over and glared.
"I do not agree with this." She told Harry and Tom. "I will allow it, but you will not leave that bed for the next twenty-four hours, at least, once you return to it." Harry nodded and smiled at her.
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey." She muttered to herself about barmy old codgers who encouraged such behavior in a boy as she placed Harry's arm in a sling. No one needed to guess who she was talking about. Dumbledore just twinkled at her. Harry wanted to tell her he didn't need the sling, but one look at her silenced him. She looked ready to restrain him to the bed if he said one word. "Madame Pomfrey, may I have some Pepper-Up potion, please?" Harry took a deep breath at her glare. "I don't want him to see me looking so exhausted." He explained. She stared at him for a minute before whisking off, soundly cursing aforementioned barmy old codger. Harry tried not to laugh.
"It's been a long time since I was the subject of a woman's curses." Dumbledore said, coming over to the bed.
"Lucky for you she isn't using her wand." Tom told him, obviously upset with Dumbledore. Harry smiled and looked down at the floor. Those were new shoes. When did Tom buy him new shoes? This buying new clothing every other month thing needed to stop. Harry had far too many clothes.
"Take these, Mr. Potter. One complaint about the taste will land you back in that bed." Harry kept a stone face as he dutifully swallowed the potions she gave him. "I will give you one hour, Mr. Potter. If you have not returned by then, I will hunt you down personally." She swept off again, leaving Harry making faces about the potions he had just taken.
"Yuck!" he said softly, causing Tom to chuckle. "Maybe we should introduce her to the flavored bases we made over the summer." Harry told Tom. Tom chuckled and helped Harry to his feet.
"You made potions bases and did not blow the house sky high?" A curious voice said. "Amazing." Professor Snape was standing there, fully dressed and looking at Harry with a new light in his eye. Draco came up behind him and smiled at Harry.
"Yes!" Harry said, a little affronted. Professor Snape knew he was pretty good at Potions now. The man had said as much himself!
"Mr. Potter, it amazes me that you can defeat the Dark Lord, single-handedly, I might add, and still not know when I am joking with you." Harry stopped and looked at him.
"Are you supposed to be out of your beds?" He questioned.
"Shh! We are making our escape." Draco hissed at him. "While she's busy looking for us, you can do your interview thing in piece." Harry smiled.
"Headmaster, you remember what we discussed?" Snape asked. Dumbledore nodded and shooed them away.
"Leave quickly. I'll distract her for as long as I can. I'm sure you'll feel the repercussions when you return." Dumbledore gave Snape a quick, one – armed embrace.
"I'll gladly face them. For now, I do believe there is a beach somewhere with our names on it." Draco smiled, winked at Harry, and rushed from the hospital wing with his father.
"You'll explain that later, I'm sure." Harry told Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave him the oddest look.
"Explain what?" He asked. "Come along now, Harry. The Minister is very anxious to see you." Harry followed Dumbledore through the hallways, glad to see that it was during classes. He didn't want to deal with his classmates' questions as well as Fudge's questions. Dumbledore led him to a small door down the Defense hallway. Harry squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. Time to get this over with.
He stepped through the doorway and felt a hand come down on his bad shoulder. A strange hand. His wand appeared in his hand and he spun around, ready to face this person. Poling. It was Poling. He stepped back and replaced his wand. "Sorry. I'm a little jumpy right now." He apologized. Poling simply nodded.
"Minister Fudge is not due to arrive for another five minutes." Poling told him, looking him over as though searching for injuries. "I heard you did quite well, Mr. Potter. You even managed to give your bodyguards the slip." Harry smiled up at the man. "The one time we think, 'oh, he's sleeping. He won't wake up. We can take five minutes.' is the one time you decide to go for a stroll and look for the Dark Lord." Poling tried to make it sound like a rebuke, but couldn't quite pull it off.
"Thanks." Harry said, seeing a look of approval in the seasoned Auror's eyes. Harry was grabbed from behind and swung around a few times. "Winfield, put me down! Ow, arm!" Winfield set Harry on his feet and looked at him, a false teary expression on his face.
"Oh, Poling! Our little baby is all grown up and saving the world!" Winfield promptly collapsed against his partner and wailed. Poling rolled his eyes and sighed, looking as though he wanted to say, "see what I have to put up with?". Winfield straightened up and took on a more serious pose. "If I do not see an application to the Aurors' program with your name on it, I shall be greatly disappointed." Harry nodded and the two men moved to the side of the room.
Harry jumped as the door opened and Fudge came in with his whole entourage. Strangely enough, Percy Weasley was missing. "Mr. Potter. There are some things we need to discuss."
A/N: Next chapter is soon, I promise! I will warn you, however, I have two papers due the first, one ten page and one eight page. Let's shoot for next weekend.