Author notes: I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, I was so lost in creating the whole universe that I had a writing block for the story. But now, I'm back 'giggles a bit' mwahahahahahahahahaha! 'looks at readers' Erm… you saw nothing… -.-'
Chapter 2: Slow healing
Harry opened his eyes slowly to find himself blinded by the whiteness surrounding him. He closed his eyes, wincing.
All that happened yesterday came back to him with great detail. Fear gripped his heart tightly. What happened to him? For it had to be bad for Madam Pomfrey to be this upset.
He clenched his eyes hard. He would not cry. He would not cry. A lone tear made its way down his cheek. He wiped it angrily.
"Ah, you're awake!" Harry's eyes opened briefly to look at Madam Pomfrey. Her face was a mix of guilt, horror and a bit of relief.
"Hello, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said quietly, closing his eyes.
"Harry, look at me…" Madam Pomfrey's voice was soft. "Harry… please… sigh … alright. If you don't want to look at me, it's OK. I will say what I have to say either way. Don't pay any attention to what Severus said. It was cruel and unnecessary, especially after all you've been through already. As for why I didn't want to tell you what I will tell you now, it's because I wanted you to have a worry free night of sleep, although it didn't really work. I'm truly sorry if I disturbed you, child. Now, what I have to say is that some of your wounds may hot heal fully because they're either too severe or too old. The lashes on your back will leave marks and probably be painful for a long while. The fractures in your kneecap are too old and multiple for me to heal them completely. I'm sorry to say that to you after all you've been through but you will probably have to walk with a cane for the rest of your life."
Harry, who was silently keeping his sobs in check, collapsed into tears. Pomfrey sat him up slowly and gave him a motherly hug, making shushing sounds while rocking him. A few tears of her own escaped her eyes. Her heart was crying out for this poor child. "It'll be OK… shhhh… everything's going to be alright… I promise… shhhh…" Eventually, his sobs slowed down to a few hiccups, then to nothing. She continued to pass her fingers through his unruly hair until he calmed down completely.
"I'm sorry, I soaked your uniform…" Harry said in a small voice.
"Don't worry, it doesn't bother me at all. You looked like you needed it. Now, I will apply some healing salve on your back to help with those lashes." Pomfrey said in a caring voice.
"But I thought you said you could not heal them…" Harry asked, frowning.
"This healing salve will help keep the infections away until they are fully closed." She helped him putting off his pyjamas top. Then, she carefully applied the salve, working it in the skin. After she was done, she helped him putting his top back on. "There are some persons very eager to see you." Madam Pomfrey said in a cheerful voice. She went to open the wooden doors leading outside the ward. "Come in, you two, he's ready."
Ron and Hermione almost ran to Harry's bedside in their haste to see him alive and well. Madam Pomfrey had a smile at their eagerness to see him. "Are you alright? What happened? Was it the Dursleys? What did they do to you?"
A barrage of questions assaulted him from both mouths, sometimes in sync, sometimes not. He made a stop gesture to slow the onslaught of frantic questions. When they paid no mind to his gesture, he tried to scream "Stop!" but his voice refused to cooperate. He held his hand up and to his surprise, their voices stopped to be heard.
Harry looked at his hand, flabberghasted. His friends held their throats and were glaring at him. He tried to put the Silencio off them but it didn't work. Now their mouths were rapidly moving though not a sound was heard.
"I don't know how I did that, sorry. All I know is that I wanted both of you to shut up, and you did. I didn't know I could do wandless magic unless in desperate situations, honest. And the worse is that I can't seem to get it off." Harry said in a sheepish voice.
They glared a bit more at Harry and then went to see Madam Pomfrey who had meanwhile gone into her office to complete Harry's file (I believe that the Infirmary should have a sort of registry on which medical acts she performed, a bit like that of an hospital's archives (I studied for a year and a half in medical archieves program, so I'm a bit familiar with the whole system)).
Hermione knocked on the door, only to find that the Silencing Charm affected her whole body. Turning towards Harry, she glared at him once again. She looked about to find a metal cane that had been placed on the wall beside the door. She used it to knock on Madam Pomfrey's office's door, succeeding this time to produce enough noise to force the nurse to open the door.
"Why do you have Ha… this cane in your possession?" she asked in a puzzled voice, quickly recovering her near slip of the tongue by hardening her tone near the end. Hermione gestured towards her throat to signify she had been Silenced. Madam Pomfrey nodded her head in understanding of the situation. She waved her wand and suddenly Hermione's voice was back. Ron was right behind her, gesturing towards his throat. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand again and Ron could talk.
"Now, what happened? Why were you Silenced and by whom?" Harry's embarrassed voice interrupted both students.
"It was me. I don't know how I did but I did."
"What exactly did you do, Harry?" Dumbledore's voice surprised him so bad, he had the impression to have jumped out of his skin.
"Harry, I suspect that you did wandless magic." Said Dumbledore. "And willingly, even though you did not know how. You willed it to happen and it happened. This kind of magic hasn't been seen since Merlin himself and some of his descendants. It was believed to have disappeared centuries ago! It consumes a great deal of magic and only someone with lots of magic that only a descendant of Merlin or one of the Founders could possess to do that simple spell." Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, in shock. Harry himself had a look of complete surprise.
Then his brain began to process the information. . "So, this means I'm even more special. When am I ever going to be normal? When will I stop being famous?"
By the end of this tirade, his eyes had begun to sparkle with unshed tears. "I'm so sick and tired of all this. I just want to be normal. Is that so much to ask?" One tear had made its way down his face. He wiped it angrily. "Dammit, why am I so pathetically weak? No wonder I couldn't stand up to my uncle." Dumbledore tried to say something but Harry interrupted him before he could say a single word. "No, just don't say anything. I don't want to hear it. Can I be alone, please?"
Ron tried to protest but Hermione shoved her elbow into his ribs, effectively shutting him up. All three reluctantly got out of the Infirmary Ward, Ron casting one last glance to his best mate. When he was finally all alone, his thoughts took on the speed of a rollercoaster.
'WHY? So fucking tired of all this! Why is it always me? I never wanted any of this. Most people would give anything to have that much power. Why would Dumbledore know about this 'descendants' shit? Does he know more than he let on, as fucking usual?" Harry closed his eyes against the tears that already traveled down his face. He fully gave in to the tears as he rolled over on his side.
Ron and Hermione, after being shoved out of the Infirmary, went by the lake to calm down and enjoy the view the sunrays playing upon the little waves on the surface of the lake offered. Both of them were silently gazing at the scenery when Hermione whispered:
"I hope he'll be okay. I had no idea about him being a descendant of some of the most powerful wizards of all times. It must be hard to take especially after all that happened to him. I sure wished I hadn't that little bit of empathy because if what I sensed coming from him was just a fragment of what he's feeling right now….."
Hermione couldn't finish her sentence as the sobs took over her body. Ron looked awkwardly at Hermione, wondering what to do. He did as her mother did with Ginny sometimes, he hugged her close to him and passed his fingers through her bushy hair, whispering sweet nothings as he did so. Frankly, there was nothing else he could do…
Author notes: Hope it was to your expectations…. Sorry it wasn't longer… I promise to update before 2005 finishes…