Two Hearts Are Better Than One Chapter 2
Harry woke up peacefully the next day. He stretched and looked around the dorm, noticing that it was empty. He wondered briefly how long he was asleep before the exact amount of time became aware to him.
Fifteen hours, seven minutes, forty five seconds.
It was odd for him to sleep that long. He was used to getting up early to make the Dursleys breakfast in the summer. At school he was accustomed to getting up for class on week days and being woken up by his year mates on weekends. The other boys must have let him sleep that day.
Harry got out of bed and looked down at his clothes. His shirt still had blood on it from the night before and his pants were ripped and dirty from his trek through the forest. He grabbed some clean clothes out of his trunk and went into the dorm bathroom to shower.
The shower was long and hot. When Harry got out he dried himself off and got dressed. He went over to the mirror, planning to try to do something with his hair, when he caught his reflection's eyes. He once again realized that he could see perfectly without his glasses.
Suddenly, the events of the previous night all came rushing back. Sirius, the rat, the werewolf. Hipogriffs, and time turners, and falling. He began once again panicking as he remembered what had happened to him.
Harry grabbed onto the sink to steady himself. His too fast pulse sped up even more. He needed to find out what had happened and why. First, however, he needed to check on Ron and Hermione.
Harry grabbed his bag and shoved his invisibility cloak inside before leaving the dorm.
Neville and Ginny were sitting in the common room playing exploding snap.
"Hi Harry," Ginny said quietly, barely looking up from her game.
"You're up!" Neville said with a smile. "Are you ok?"
Harry considered saying no, but changed his mind at the last moment.
"I'm fine," he finally answered. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"They're both still in the hospital wing," Ginny said. "I heard that Madam Pomfrey's upset that you didn't show up."
Harry nodded and continued on to the door of the common room.
"Thanks for the warning, Ginny," Harry said as the portrait of the fat lady swung open. "I'm actually going there now."
Harry heard whispers from the other students about what had happened last night. He gathered that Sirius' capture and innocence was on the front page of the daily prophet. Rumors were going all around the school. Some of the rumors about the capture and release of Sirius Black were amazingly wrong. One student was saying that he heard that Harry stabbed Sirius with a sword and Sirius ripped it out and swore on his magic that he was innocent in front of the aurors. Another one was swearing that she saw Sirius battle Professor Snape in an all out magic duel before the hated professor himself declared Black's innocence. Harry had only heard one rumor anywhere close to the truth, but it was considered one of the more insane ones.
As Harry neared the hospital wing, he slipped into a short empty corridor. He put on his invisibility cloak and made certain that he was completely hidden before coming back out. He then continued to the wing.
Hermione was arguing with Madam Pomfrey when Harry entered. She was insisting that she was fine and that finishing her homework was more important than staying in the hospital wing when she was completely fine for continued observation. Ron was just lying in his bed relaxing.
"I have to write my history of magic essay soon or I'll be off schedule," Hermione said. "Right, Ron?"
"Huh?" Ron looked up. "Hermione, we're done for this year. The summer homework was just assigned. Take a break."
"Ronald!" Hermione exclaimed.
Seeing that her young, female patient was too preoccupied bickering with her red headed patient to try to sneak in homework, Madame Pomfrey exited the room to go to her office.
"You always put your homework off until the last possible second!" Hermione continued to lecture.
"But you won't help me with it if I don't!" Ron made the fatal mistake of saying.
"Honestly!" Hermione threw up her arms into the air.
"Hi guys," Harry's disembodied voice interrupted Hermione before Ron could get himself into even more trouble.
"Harry, mate," Ron said, taking the excuse to change the subject. "Where were you?"
"Just had to sleep for a bit," Harry assured him as he pulled off his cloak. "I guess the sudden loss of adrenaline got to me."
Harry went and sat in a chair between his two friend's beds.
"Why are you two still in here?" he asked. "Madame Pomfrey can heal a broken bone overnight."
"She's keeping us for observation," Hermione said. "Both for our mental well being, but also our physical. She wants to make sure that we're still completely human after what happened last night."
"Completely human?" Harry began to fear that the mediwitch suspected something.
"She's making sure that we didn't get bit or infected by our wolfish professor," Ron explained.
Harry calmed down when he heard that. She was just checking for signs of lycanthropy. She wasn't checking for two hearts or new memories.
"And how does she do that?" Harry asked.
"There's no completely accurate way to find out until the next full moon, of course," Hermione said. "But she's able to check for bite and scratch marks that resemble that of a werewolf."
"She was worried about the bites Black gave me so she had to take some blood from them before she could heal them," Ron said.
Harry heard movement coming from the healers office. He quickly threw his cloak back on and disappeared before she came out.
"The results came back negative," Madame Pomfrey said. "You are both free to go. Stay off of your leg as much as possible Mr. Weasley. And if either of you see Mr. Potter, please inform him that he can either submit to an evaluation now, or be under observation during the next full moon."
"I'll go with the second option Madam Pomfrey," The invisible boy said as he ran through the door. "Thank you!"
"He runs away from here more than his father did," The healer chuckled.
Harry spent the rest of the day in the library. He started his search by looking for medical books and books on time turners. He only found a few that weren't in the restricted section. Harry considered going to Professor Lupin for a note, but didn't want to bother the man the day after a full moon. He also figured that the books he had were fairly lengthy and he might as well read them first. When Harry opened the book to the first page, however, he realized that his reading may not take nearly as long as he had anticipated.
With only a look at the first page, Harry had already taken in all of the words on it. He was surprised at his new discovery, to say the least, and tried again on the next page with the same results. Harry slowly flipped through the book page by page. When he got to the end, he found that he could quote it from memory. He then flipped through the second book at an even faster speed and found that his memory of it was the same as the first. Harry finished all of the books that he had available in around ten minutes. None of them contained any information that he was looking for.
Harry was putting the books back in their proper places when he ran into Professor Lupin.
"Professor," Harry was surprised to see the man out of his quarters. "How are you?"
"As well as can be expected," the tired professor answered. "I just have a few books to return before leaving. Would you like to come into my office for some tea?"
Harry accepted Lupin's offer and the two walked to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The classroom was different than it had been even a few days prior. Many personal items that Professor Lupin had brought with him were taken down and the classroom looked empty and bare.
"Are you going to redecorate for next year?" Harry asked, although deep down he already knew the answer.
"I'm afraid that I won't be coming back next year," Lupin said as he made his way through the door to his office. "Our dear Professor Snape may have let it slip out that I'm a werewolf. There are some parents that aren't very fond of the idea that their children are being taught by a monster."
"But you aren't a monster!" Harry insisted. "You're the best defence teacher that I've ever had. So what if you turn into a wolf once a month? Out of our last two teachers, one was a scam who tried to obliviate me and Ron, and the other one was possessed and tried to kill me."
Lupin finished packing his case with a flick of his wand before retrieving a familiar piece of parchment.
"Thank you Harry," Remus said. "But I'm afraid that some parents, especially the ones on the board, don't feel the same way that you do."
"I guess that people just don't like anything that's different," Harry said. "It's kind of hypocritical from a bunch of people who wave wands around and say the right string of words as converters and channels for psychic energy." Harry trailed off as he realized that although he knew that he had said them, he didn't know where his words were coming from.
"Pardon?" Professor Lupin asked.
"Sorry, sir," Harry shook his head and tried to shrug off what he had said. "I guess I'm still just a bit out of it from last night."
"That's all right," Lupin said. He then held out the piece of parchment. "Since I'm no longer your teacher, I don't feel as guilty about letting you keep this. I would tell you not to get into trouble with it, but Sirius will probably tell you the opposite anyway."
Harry took the marauder's map from his old professor and put it into his pocket. The two said their goodbyes and Harry headed up to the dorm to pack for his departure from Hogwarts.
All too soon, it was time to board the train. Harry had been informed before boarding that he would have to spend a couple of weeks with his relatives until Sirius was released from St. Mungo's. The healers wanted to keep Sirius for longer, but one can only argue with the lord of an ancient house and notorious prankster for so long before giving up.
Dumbledore tried to insist that Harry had to stay with the Dursleys all summer. Sirius was hearing none of that so even the great Albus Dumbledore couldn't win an argument with the Black Lord. Sirius was given custody of Harry without much fuss due to Sirius being Harry's godfather. That meant that he had full control of where Harry would live and he swore that it wouldn't be with the Dursleys.
Harry spent his train ride talking with Hermione. Ron soon realized that what Harry and Hermione were talking about was both boring and over his head. He instructed Harry what he wanted from the trolley and fell asleep.
Harry tried to question Hermione about time turners but she didn't know much. Almost all that she had been told was a strict warning about how to properly use it. She knew that they were only used for school and work and that nothing important could be changed with them, partially because they could only go back a day. She said that only the highest level unspeakables might know how they were created.
They then began talking about magically changing species.
"Why do you ask?" was of course Hermione's first response after Harry asked.
"I'm just curious after Professor Lupin," Harry tried to explain. "It seems a bit weird that just a bite can permanently affect someone like that."
"Oh," Hermione said, delighted that her friend had finally shown interest in something academical instead of just quidditch. "Well, it doesn't really change a person's species. They're still human, which is something the ministry tends to forget. It's kind of just like a different branch of humans. Almost like muggles and wizards. They still have the same basic biology even though they're slightly different."
"So," Harry said. "Almost like different blood types?"
"Exactly!" Hermione agreed. "People have different blood types, but their blood is still pumped by the same heart."
"Oh," Harry said without as much enthusiasm a his friend.
"And it isn't actually caused by the bite itself," Hermione continued to explain how the bite only served to open the skin and let the saliva,which actually carried the disease, into the body. "I think that it's horrible that it's classified as a disease, but I also can't think of anything better to call it. What do you think Harry?"
"I agree," Harry nodded. He honestly was only putting forth part of his thoughts to listening. The rest of his mind was deep in thought.
"I'll be back in a bit," Harry said as soon as he found an opening in Hermione's speech.
"If you're thinking about getting into trouble," Hermione's stern warning was loud enough to rouse Ron.
"He's probably just going to the loo," Ron mumbled before going back to sleep.
Harry did, in fact, go to the bathroom on the train. He wanted to try out some of the diagnosis charms he had found from the healing books before he wasn't allowed to use magic for the rest of the summer.
Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket. He hadn't used it since the fall. Harry had a brief panic laced thought go through his mind. What if he couldn't use it anymore? The wand, seemingly sensing the boy's line of thought, heated up in his hand as if it were encouraging him to try.
Harry cast a core temperature revealing spell first. It's results were troubling. His internal temperature was now at around fifteen degrees Celsius in comparison to average human core temperature at thirty seven degrees.
The rest of his results from other spells that he tried were just as troubling. His spells revealed that he had two hearts along with other major internal changes. He also thought that he had an extra set of ribs, but wasn't entirely sure.
Harry leaned against the bathroom wall. He tried to steady his breathing as he took it all in. It's one thing to have suspicions about something being wrong, but another thing entirely to have them confirmed.
Once Harry was able to compose himself, he returned to the compartment where his friends were. Ron had woken up and was arguing with Hermione about something. Harry just wondered how long it would be before they'd admit that they fancied one another.
When the train finally arrived at King's Cross, the students disembarked and said their goodbyes.
"I know you're going to be living with Sirius this summer," Ron said. But if you still want to come over, you can anytime. I mean, you should probably let mum know first. She's scary when company comes over unannounced"
"Sounds brilliant," Harry assured his best mate. "We'll have to talk about it later."
When Harry had finished saying his goodbyes, he walked through the wall to the muggle part of the station. His uncle was waiting on him. The car ride back was nearly silent and Harry took that as a sign that he would be left alone that summer.
When they arrived at Privet Drive, Harry was allowed to take his trunk with all of his books up to his small room. Harry's suspicion that he would be left alone that month was proven true within the first day. The only time that any of the Dursleys even talked to him was when Petunia called him to supper. That was an occurrence that continued throughout his time at Privet Drive. Harry was for the most part left alone with his thoughts.
Harry was gaining more and more information and memories almost constantly. He had never been interested in science in primary school and once he arrived at Hogwarts, there was no need to study science as he thought that everything was done with magic. He now realized that magic was just an advanced form of science. Just psychic energy that certain people could chanel.
Harry found himself itching to learn as much as he could. His search for knowledge led him to the public library on the second day of his summer vacation. The librarians were helpful to any guest that they received and were especially thrilled to see "such a bright young man" interested in learning. They gave him access to the ancient computers and pointed him in the direction of the most advanced textbooks they had.
Harry read every text book on the shelves. The librarians offered to order more for him, but he didn't want the library to spend money on information that he could probably find elsewhere.
Harry moved on to the computers. They were as slow as they were outdated. Harry spent the first day that he used one of them just trying to figure out how it worked. Some of the memories that he was having included computers, but they were all far more advanced than what he currently had to work with, and less earthly. Harry chose to focus on a computer tucked away in the back of the library. He tampered with it and upgraded it until it would work well enough to do some research on it.
Harry visited the library nearly every day. He looked up different things on what he had come to call "his computer". He searched for legitimate information on aliens, randomly receiving memories, and any other research that he thought would pertain to his changes. His search led him to very little credible information. The only thing that he found that might give him any answers were some top-secret files filed under a place called Torchwood. Harry wasn't yet confident enough in his hacking abilities to try and break into their security system, no matter how desperate he was for answers. What Harry didn't realize was that just by stumbling into the files, he'd gotten the attention of someone from it.
Harry had temporarily given up his internet search by a week before he was supposed to leave to live with Sirius. He was instead slowly perusing a book on Latin grammatical form near the back of the library to pass time. He was sitting in the middle of a large pile of books so he didn't see the man who entered through the front of the library. He just heard the man ask the librarians in an American accent if there was anyone who regularly used the computers. The ever helpful librarians, who knew Harry quite well by that point, happily told the random man his name and pointed him in Harry's general direction.
Harry looked up from his pile of books when he heard the man get close. The man was tall, with a broad athletic build. His short dark hair contrasted his bright blue eyes. He wore a military coat, which Harry thought was from World War Two, in spite of the summer heat. Harry barely had to look at the man before he got an inherent, visceral sense of wrongness about him. It was if every nerve and muscle in Harry's body was screaming at him to get away. Harry pushed the feeling away the best that he could and met the man's eyes.
"Hi," the man said with a lopsided smile, holding out his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."
Author's Note: Well, that wraps up chapter two! This is also the end of the rewriting that I'm doing from the original story. From this point forward it will be all me. There is one thing that I need to establish soon that I haven't completely decided on. Would you all be ok if I moved the Harry Potter timeline to around 2008. That's the year that the Master was elected as Prime Minister.
As always, please don't forget to follow and review! I absolutely love getting reviews and I'm honestly not above begging for them!
Thank you all for reading (and reviewing)!
-Aniala (catz4444)
(Chapter was posted on April 17, 2018)