Warning(s): violence, descriptions of illness and injuries/blood, death (no major characters*)
*I just want to put out there that I am not a fan of non-canonical major character death in fics (and even some of the canon ones, I'm not too happy about...).
Chapter 11 - Dead of Winter
After James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter left, Harry made sure to be on his absolute best behavior. Peter had tactlessly mentioned that the next day was the last Hogsmeade trip of the term and had gone on for a bit about how it was the best one of the year and how amazing the little town looks all dressed up for Yule before James had managed to stomp on his foot and shut him up. The other three had managed to logic out that Harry would most likely not be able to go which is why they were all glaring at the oblivious Peter as he babbled on, accidentally rubbing in all that Harry would have to miss. Harry, on the other hand, hadn't yet given up hope. He really was feeling a lot better and he just prayed that Madam Pomfrey might be in a giving mood, caught up in the holiday spirit.
That night, as Pomfrey came to clear away his dinner tray, Harry decided to broach the subject.
"Erh, Madam Pomfrey- I was wondering if I could ask you something?" Harry began hesitantly, not feeling quite so confident about his plan now that he was face-to face with the often unyielding matron. But what was the worst that could happen? He was already going to be trapped in the hospital wing all weekend, likely, anyway.
"Yes, dear?" She responded kindly, looking over at him.
"Well, you see, tomorrow is the last Hogsmeade trip of the term and well-"
"Absolutely not!" She snapped. "I will not have you catching your death out there tromping around that titchy village!"
"Please!" Harry was not above begging apparently. "I promise to dress properly and I won't stay too long and I'll even come right back here if you want. I just- It's the only place I can go, besides Hogwarts, and I'd really like to have a Christmas memory that is not just of school." It sounded a bit pathetic, even to his own ears. But nonetheless, Harry turned big, pleading eyes on her and just crossed his fingers that Madam Pomfrey shared the same kryptonite as Sirius. Was he being manipulative- of course. But Harry wasn't almost sorted into Slytherin for nothing.
Looking down into his sad eyes, Pomfrey felt her resolve waver. Could she really deny this boy such a simple and heart wrenching request? It wasn't like he was at death's door any longer- in truth, he was mostly recovered. She was still planning to keep him through the weekend for observation and to make sure his chest was completely cleared up before releasing him back to his own devices, but it likely won't do him too much harm to go out just for a bit… Pomfrey couldn't believe that she was even considering the request. What had come of her? But as she watched Harry's face slowly fall at her silence, crumbling from yearning hope to devastated acceptance, the last of her conviction did too.
"Oh, alright," she caved and Harry's eyes sparked to life once again- his face practically glowing with joy. "But you will dress properly and be right back in this wing within precisely three hours of your release or so help me I will march down there just to drag you back myself," she threatened. Harry nodded vigorously. "Good. Now, get some rest before I come to my senses and change my mind."
It was almost comical how quickly Harry closed his eyes- he hadn't even bothered to remove his glasses. Pomfrey chuckled lightly as she bussed the dinner tray. When she returned to check on him not ten minutes later, she found that Harry actually had fallen asleep, so she gently removed his glasses and placed them on the small table beside his bed for him.
The next morning, Harry was nearly bouncing with excitement as Madam Pomfrey gave him another quick check up before reminding him of her rules for the umteenth time, finally releasing him, and officially starting his countdown clock at three hours and ticking.
Harry would have run back to Gryffindor tower if his chest weren't still a little congested and tight, but even with that, he set out at a steady pace. Arriving in the dormitory, he didn't have time for subtlety, so he banged the door open, startling Remus, who was the only one up yet.
"Everybody up!" Harry declared, already making his way over to his trunk to get changed.
"Wha-?" Came Sirius' sleepy voice.
"Harry?!" James called, astonished.
"Pomfrey gave me three hours before she drags me back to the infirmary herself, so you lot have about five minutes to get up and get dressed before I leave your arses behind," Harry told them as he pulled off his uniform shirt to trade it out for his comfy cotton one.
"Blimey- you actually got her to agree to let you go to Hogsmeade? Now, I know you're a wizard, but that's some next-level sorcery right there," Sirius said, rather impressed, as he began dragging himself out of bed.
"And she actually did agree, right?" James asked carefully, shooting a slightly skeptical look over at Harry from where he had propped his head up on his pillow. "You didn't just- sneak out or run away or something?"
"No, James, I promise she actually agreed. She put a bloody timer on me and everything," Harry said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a ticking countdown spelled onto his forearm now reading '2:53:17'. Donning an offended expression, he scoffed, "You'd think she doesn't trust me or something. Now, hurry up!"
The others did their best to swallow their laughter- it wasn't quite clear if Harry had been serious or joking about taking offense that Pomfrey didn't trust him, but it was hilarious either way. They all scrambled to get ready quick enough to meet Harry's deadline as he stood there impatiently tapping his foot and watching his countdown tick by.
"Pads, you have thirty seconds before I leave your arse!" He shouted into the bathroom where Sirius stood at the sink with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth as he attempted to comb his hair.
"'M 'uming!" He called back indignantly. Peter was hopping around on one foot as he tried to pull his socks on and James was desperately searching for his second glove. Remus, who had already been mostly dressed when Harry had barged in was the only one actually ready when the allotted five minutes expired.
"Peter- just sit down and put your bloody shoes on! James- you're a fucking wizard. Act like it and summon the damn glove. And Sirius! I warned you! We are leaving in thirty seconds with or without you!" Harry snapped. Remus stifled a laugh. This was a new side of Harry that they had not yet seen and it was both frightening and bloody brilliant.
Once Peter and James got themselves together, the four of them left. Sirius caught up with them halfway down the hallway outside of Gryffindor tower.
"You arseholes! I said I was coming," he glared at them as he fell in step, panting slightly.
"And I was very clear about when we were leaving," Harry shot back before turning to address the group at large. "Despite that lackluster performance in the dormitory, I'm still feeling generous, so I will give you the choice of two minutes in the Great Hall to grab some food to eat on the way into town or to wait until we reach Hogsmeade and eat there." He raised an eyebrow at the others as they walked.
The four of them leaned in to discuss for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught sight of Sirius jerking his chin towards him and making little devil horns on his head with his fingers and Harry couldn't help but smirk. After a minute, the group broke apart and James said, "We'll wait and eat in town."
"Good choice," Harry told them, flashing his devilish smile.
Harry ensured that they made good time and got down to the village before his timer hit the 2:00:00 mark. Perfect. That gave him well over an hour in town before he needed to head back to the infirmary. Harry considered it a minor miracle that all four boys had managed to make it out of the castle so quickly. While he had been fully prepared to leave anyone behind who wasn't ready, Harry knew the trip wouldn't be as fun without some of them.
Pulling back his sleeve to check one more time, Harry turned to the others and said briskly, "Right. I have an hour, so let's hit the highlights. Christmas in Hogsmeade- where to first?"
The others leaned in again to deliberate. Harry saw a couple of adamant gestures and vigorous head shakes and what looked like one threat to knock the sense into someone, but eventually they straightened up once again. "We suggest Zonko's, Honeydukes, a stroll up High Street to the Post Office- which always has a fun display for the holidays and you can see all of the mainstreet décor- and then the Three Broomsticks before heading back," James presented.
With a curt nod, Harry made a motion and said, "Lead the way."
While Zonko's and Honeydukes were Hogsmeade classics, they were particularly breathtaking during the holidays. Each store had specialty displays set up in every nook and cranny showing charmed little scenes playing out or showing off special new products for the holiday season. As they made their way up High Street, Harry couldn't help but ogle the houses. The residents of Hogsmeade really had gone all out with lights and spelled icicles and snow and holiday decor- it really looked like a picture perfect muggle holiday card and Harry couldn't hold back his smile. This was what he loved about the wizarding world. Hogsmeade was a little village pulled out of a snowglobe.
As they walked, James asked, "So how did you manage to get Pomfrey to let you go?"
Harry grinned. "I walk a very fine line between irritating and pitiful. Plus, Sirius was so kind as to clue me into my secret superpower," he added.
"What?" Sirius asked, confused. Harry whipped off his glasses and looked right at Sirius with big, sad eyes and the boy stammered, "Wh- Wait- H-" And the others burst out laughing. Sirius flushed before looking at Harry with disbelief. "You actually flashed her puppy dog eyes and she just let you go?"
"I thought they were 'doe eyes'? And essentially, yeah," Harry said with a shrug.
"Merlin- you gotta teach me how to do that," Sirius breathed, shaking his head.
"Some things just can't be taught," Harry lamented. "Though, I would think 'puppy dog eyes' would be more up your alley than mine," he joked.
Sirius grinned. With a quick glance around, he quickly ducked into an alley and Padffot came trotting out before taking a seat right in front of Harry and looking up at him with big, blue-gray eyes. It was the first real look Harry had gotten of the teenaged Padfoot- but the truth was, he looked just the same. Still large, with shaggy back hair that almost curled, much like Sirius' own. Harry fell to his knees and reached out for him with a slightly shaky hand. Padfoot leaned into his touch and Harry curled his fingers in the coarse, familiar hair. Harry leaned forward and the dog snuffled up against his cheek and neck. Snuffles. It damn near broke Harry's heart. He took in a shuddering breath, burying his face in Padfoot's fur, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. Bringing up his other arm, Harry got to do the one thing he had wished for most in the past six months and hugged his godfather. He knew he was crying, but it didn't matter. All that mattered in that moment was the warm fur against his skin and wet nose tickling his ear. A sensation Harry had known that he would never feel again.
And then a scream tore through the air, high pitched and terrified. It came from further down the street, towards the Post Office. All of their heads whipped around towards the sound. And then, Harry was running, sprinting in the direction of the scream, the others following close behind. As they crested the small hill that the Post Office was nestled on, at the end of the street, where the mountain rose large behind it, their eyes settled on what for most of them would be the most terrifying sight of their young lives. There, in the middle of the holiday scene where snowmen and reindeer were charmed to be ice skating around a large, ornate Christmas tree, was one of the most horrifying beasts Harry had ever laid eyes on. It was the size of a polar bear, but it had no fur. Instead, it looked like it just had raw, exposed muscle and a menacing, wolf-like face with teeth resembling those of a saber tooth tiger and deadly claws to match. The thing had knocked over the tree and was now standing over it with some poor witch trapped underneath his massive paws.
Even from where he stood, Harry could tell it was too late for her- she was already gone. Bodies don't crush like that and then walk away. Her blood was slowly leaking out onto the ice, a small river flowing down to where it began to stain the snow at the edge of the display. As the boys stood there, staring in horror, it felt like a moment frozen in time. It could've lasted hours or half a second and none of them would've been able to tell you which. But then the beast turned its hellish gaze toward them and Harry saw that its eyes were solid black save for glowing red pupils. Even as Harry drew his wand, he was not so foolish as to think this was a fight that he could win- that they could win. He just prayed that it was one they could survive.
The beast snarled at them, pouncing one last time on the witch, before tossing her body aside as it began stalking towards them.
"Run," Harry choked out. He hoped that his yearmates were the type of Gryffindors to understand the difference between being brave and suicidal.
Thankfully, it appeared that they were as they all turned around and took off in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the beast gave chase. And its massive, powerful legs had it gaining on them at an alarming rate. As he ran, Harry sent up a few volleys of red sparks from his wand, hoping that someone would get the message and call for help- or better yet, start evacuating the town. He turned his head to look back and saw just how close the thing had gotten, even in the short time they'd been running.
Pointing his wand behind him, Harry yelled, "Impedimenta!" The spell hit its mark, but only froze the beast for a fraction of a second before it shook itself free and continued the pursuit. Harry tried a Tripping jinx, stunner, Leg-Locker curse, body bind, and even a Jelly-Leg jinx just to be thorough, but none of it lasted more than a second or two- though the Leg-Locker curse seemed to be most effective. Harry threw a blasting curse at it, but that just seemed to piss it off and the beast let out a roar as it poured on even more speed. The others were trying to help, but even with all four of them throwing curses, the beast barely slowed. Looking around frantically, Harry contemplated what their best option would be. They could try and hide in one of the shops, but the beast was likely to just tear through the storefront if its previous displays of strength were anything to go by. Plus, that would put anyone else already in the store in danger. But it was also clear that they could not simply outrun it- and certainly not all the way back to Hogwarts. But at the same time, they also couldn't fight it head on. Think!
Harry had another problem too- he could already feel his chest getting uncomfortably tight. Normally, he could run for hours if he needed to- his years fleeing from Dudley and his gang had been good cardio training. But with the congestion still rattling in his chest, Harry knew he could not keep up this pace for much longer- he'd be lucky to even make it to the edge of town. Harry's eyes swept the street as they reached the more commercial side of the village and landed on a caudron supply store on their right. Well, something is better than nothing, he shrugged before stopping abruptly and whirling to face the beast. With a quick, silent apology to the shop owner, Harry summoned a large stack of cauldrons right through the front window of the store and hurled them at the beast. And it worked! At least as a distraction. The cauldrons were not heavy enough to really do any damage, but the beast rounded on the new attack to try and swat the offending objects away. Harry took one of the cauldrons and bashed the thing right in the snout with it, earning yelp, before flipping it upside down and sending it to wedge on the beast's head. Harry summoned another stack to throw and then set the scattered cauldrons to tapdance in the street, hoping to maybe distract and trip the beast up while it struggled to free its face.
Harry was almost somewhat satisfied with his creative spellwork when Peter's shrill shriek echoed through the street behind him. Spinning around, Harry's heart felt like it had dropped right out of his body. Just a little farther down the street, there was a second one- and it was standing over Remus' crumpled form.
No. Not Remus. They can't have Remus- He was all that Harry had left. Harry saw red. Pure rage filled him, burning away anything else that may have been there. Taking a page out of Mulciber's book, Harry threw a Gouging curse at the second beast. And for the first time, he actually did some real damage. A large gash opened up on its side, spurting blood, so Harry threw another one and another one until the beast was howling and bleeding profusely. Good. With each hit, it fell back another step until it retreated far enough for James to rush to Remus' side. With one more curse, the second beast fell to the ground, writhing.
Harry's focus was so wrapped up in his task, in the all-consuming thought of protect Remus, that he completely forgot about his original opponent until a searing pain shot up his leg. It was like white-hot knives were being dug into his calf and Harry couldn't help the scream that tore through his throat as he collapsed to the ground. Desperate, he cast a nonverbal protego that thankfully threw the beast off. But as it advanced once again, it only took one swipe of its powerful paw to shatter Harry's shield and before he could get off another spell, the beast bit down on his arm. Harry dropped his wand as he lost control of the muscles in his hand while the vicious teeth tore through him. But then, the beast suddenly released him and toppled over. Rolling over the rest of the way and pushing up on his elbows, Harry saw that Padfoot had thrown himself at the beast, knocking it off of him. The large dog was now taking long swipes at the thing's exposed underbelly as the beast tried valiantly to shake him off. Scrambling for his wand with his left hand, Harry snatched it up and aimed a Cutting curse as carefully as he possibly could at the beast's eye. Thank Merlin the curse hit its mark and the beast let out a yowl of pain, thrashing its head from side to side. For good measure, Padfoot left over and clawed at the thing's other eye, blinding it.
Looking around, Harry saw that the second beast had gotten up and limped away. Harry just hoped that it was too injured to do too much more damage before someone could properly take it down.
Frantically, Harry asked, "Remus, is he-" but he couldn't finish the question. Okay? Dead?
"I'm okay," came his rough voice. Harry's head snapped around to take in the sight. Remus stood off to the side of the street with an arm slung around James for support, blood dripping down, literally coating his entire face. But he was up and talking and Harry almost collapsed in relief. Sirius had transformed back and ran over to crouch next to Harry. His shoulder was bleeding where the beast's claws had gotten him during their fight.
"We need to move- before that thing decides it's not done with us," he said hastily. Looking around at them, his brow creased in concern. "Where's Peter?" He asked in a shaky, panicked voice.
"Transformed," James grunted. "He should be fine- he'll just hide and then make his way back up to the castle. You know Wormy can take care of himself," he tried to reassure both Sirius and himself.
Sirius helped Harry to stand, taking most of his weight off of his injured leg. Just as they were turning to continue their flight out of town, there was a bright flash, and a rippled of magic could be felt across the entire village. Looking up towards the source of the flash, Harry's blood froze. There, in the sky above Hogsmeade, looming a sickly killing-curse green, was the Dark Mark. The skull's eerie eyes seemed to bore into him as the great snake began to writhe, twisting lazily. The Mark seemed to blot out the very sun, casting an unsettling green tint over the whole town.
"Go." The word came out a little dazed. "We need to go. Now," Harry got out a little more firmly.
And they set off as fast as they possibly could with both Remus and Harry being practically carried. As they made their way through the center of town, it became clear that the second beast had started on this side. There were streaks of blood on the cobblestones, one of the storefronts was smashed. As they moved past the Three Broomsticks, Harry could see the terrified faces of students peeking out over the windowsills from their hunkered down positions. They were so young. Harry just prayed that no one else had been hurt. He knew it was a fantasy- he could see the blood in the streets- but it was all he could do to keep himself together as the image of a couple of 3rd years getting torn apart by one of those beasts flashed through his mind. Please let them be okay. Please let there have only been one casualty today.
Just as they reached the end of High Street and the turn off for the path back to the castle, Harry heard the crack of apparition. About damn time somebody showed up. The aurors had finally arrived. Red robed figures soon flooded the street, wands drawn. Some ran off in search of the beasts while others went to aid the cowering students and residents of Hogsmeade. If the bloody footprints on the path in front of them were any indication, at least some of the injured had already fled from the lower town towards the castle on their own. Just like the bloody Ministry- too little, too late. I guess some things never change.
About halfway back, the adrenaline started to fade and the boys felt safe enough to pause for a moment in their retreat. James shed his robe so that they could use it to wipe away some of the blood covering Remus' face. It was getting to the point where he couldn't really see through the sluggish bleeding and now slowly drying blood. With a quick aguamenti, James dampened a swatch of fabric and began trying to gently remove some of the build up and after a minute or two Remus' face became much more recognizable, though still rather pale and pinched. James offered to do the same for Harry and Sirius, but they both declined. The blood on Sirius's shoulder was already clotting and rubbing at it would likely just make things worse for the time being. And while Harry knew he was still bleeding- and probably a lot more than he would care to acknowledge- poking at the injuries felt like a good way to make him pass out before they made it to the relative safety of Hogwarts and he did not want to leave his friends vulnerable like that. While Harry hoped that the aurors actually had everything handled now, he was never going to fully trust them. Hogsmeade was supposed to be safe and look where that got them. For all he knew there was a third beast out here just waiting to pick them off on their way back to the castle. Harry just couldn't risk it, so he grit his teeth and pushed away the slight dizziness that had started to set in while they were standing there as the four set off on their trek once again.
At the gates to the school, they were met with an overwrought Slughorn.
"Oh, dear Merlin boys!" He gasped as they approached. Scrambling with the scroll in his hands, he looked down at it and then back up at them. "Black, Doe, Potter, and- is that Lupin?" He asked with great concern.
"Yes, sir," James confirmed. "We lost Peter though- has he-?"
"Yes. Pettigrew has already returned. And, dare I say, in a much better state than you boys. Will you be able to make it up to the infirmary or should I summon help?" He asked, nervously twiddling his wand in his hand as he looked at the bloody boys before him.
"We can make it," James told him. "Made it this far, after all," he shrugged.
Slughorn looked at them sadly, but motioned them through quickly, saying, "Off you go then. I take it you boys know the way?" They gave him nods as they passed and continued their limping progress towards the castle. Harry breathed a long sigh of relief as they crossed officially onto school grounds.
Inside, the Entrance Hall and Great Hall were bustling with activity. Students were scattered around in small groups- some were crying, some were freaking out, and others were just staring off into space. Harry spotted a few professors here and there trying to comfort the distraught students while others attempted to maintain order. Most of them, Harry didn't recognize beyond their general presence at the staff table most days. He saw who he thought were the Muggle Studies and Divination teachers trying desperately to keep the 1st and 2nd years together and calm towards the back of the Hall and Professor Kerner awkwardly trying to comfort and reign in an older student who was frantically looking for their sibling in the crowd.
Harry and his friends received a number of frightened and slightly sickened looks as they trudged through the cleared pathway up to the main stairs. Harry wasn't quite sure how they looked, but judging by some of the onlooker's faces, they didn't make a very pretty sight. As they reached the stairs, Harry strongly considered drafting a petition to do away with the blasted things entirely in the damned castle. Muggle enginuity had come up with numerous ways to never need to climb a flight of stairs ever again, so why hadn't the wizarding world gotten onboard with such revolutionary advancements? Stairs had officially just made Harry's list of mortal enemies- right below Voldemort and above Potions as a concept.
Harry felt both bad and grateful for Sirius as the other boy was essentially lifting him up each individual step. His clawed leg was basically useless and the blood loss was starting to get to him a bit- Harry felt nauseous and his congested breathing had picked up a little as he huffed his way up the stairs. On the third floor, he needed to pause as the coughing fit that had been threatening since he first took off running back in Hogsmeade finally overtook him. If Sirius hadn't had such a firm grip on him, Harry was pretty sure he would have ended up on the floor. When he finally regained control over his lungs, Harry was utterly exhausted. Their group then made their way up the final flight of stairs and down the long corridor that led to the infirmary.
The hospital wing was in chaos. Every bed was filled with students, overflowing into the visitors chairs and isles. Poor Madam Pomfrey was running around with her wand in constant motion as she diligently moved from student to student, assessing and prioritizing and treating as she went. Harry saw Professor Barlow helping out as well- perhaps as a flying coach or in her work with dangerous creatures she had picked up some healing skills as well. There were a couple of older students here and there that seemed to be pitching in too, following behind Pomfrey and taking care of smaller treatments at her instruction. Looking around, Harry came to the conclusion that, thankfully, it appeared that most of the injuries were likely a result of people getting trampled by the fleeing crowds rather than from the beasts themselves. It looked like a lot of bruises and hurt ankles and nasty scrapes rather than diseblowelments and savage tooth and claw marks. There were a few more heavily bandaged students towards the back of the wing, one of which Harry assumed was the source of the bloody footprints they had followed back to the school. Barlow was working with those students while Pomfrey was taking care of all the rest.
Not wanting to make worse what was already a clearly overwhelming situation, the boys stood off to the side of the door and waited their turn, just glad to have finally made it. After a minute, Harry leaned back against the wall to give Sirius a break from holding him up. He flashed Harry a weak smile as he pulled gently away, taking a half step forward to stretch a little.
"Pads- your back!" James gasped.
Sirius ended up doing what amounted to an impression of a dog chasing its tail as he spun around in a circle trying to get a look at what James was talking about. "What?" He asked, eventually giving up.
"There's blood all over it! Did that thing get you?" James asked, torn between going to check over Sirius and not wanting to leave Remus.
Sirius twisted his good arm around to feel his back, as if making sure he hadn't missed something. "What? No. Not on my back- I- It's-" His face turned a little green. "It's not my blood," he said in a horrified whisper.
Both of their eyes immediately snapped down to Harry who, in the meantime, had lost his battle with gravity and slipped down the wall and was now sitting on the floor in a small pool of blood.
"Harry!" They both shouted, gaining the attention of some of the nearby students who looked over and gasped. Whispering immediately broke out and soon enough reached Madam Pomfrey.
"Out of the way!" She called as she made her quick way over towards the source of the commotion. The first thing she saw was Sirius' bloody back as he was crouched down over Harry. Then her eye swept over James and then Remus' mangled face before coming back and catching sight of the small, bloody shoe poking out from behind Sirius. "What happened?" She demanded, causing Sirius to jump and turn around to face her, giving Pomfrey her first proper look at Harry. He was sweaty and pale, slumped against the wall, arm and leg both still steadily bleeding.
"That thing clawed his leg and bit his arm- he's bleeding like crazy!" Sirius supplied.
"The Hellhound bit him?!" Pomfrey gasped, shocked. The boy was lucky to be alive, let alone still have his arm- even if it was a bit maimed.
Sirius nodded. "And the other one swiped Remus in the face," he told her.
Pomfrey turned to look properly at Remus and then James before asking, "Any other injuries Mr, Lupin, or just the ones on your face?"
When Remus didn't readily answer, James jumped in, "I think it was just the one swipe, but he landed pretty hard on the ground- might've hit his head or something too. He's been a bit out of it."
"And are you injured at all, Mr. Potter?"
"No, ma'am," James told her.
"Good. Then please take Mr. Lupin back to see Professor Barlow. Tell her I sent you and exactly what you just told me," she instructed before refocusing on Harry and Sirius. She was already waving her wand over Harry as she asked, "And are you injured, Mr. Black?"
"I just got clawed in the shoulder, but I think it's stopped bleeding already," he shrugged. Sirius definitely had bigger concerns at that moment- namely, the kid currently trying to bleed out all over his shoes.
Pomfrey nodded in acknowledgement and after casting him a cursory look, she agreed with the boy's assessment that his injury could wait until Harry was stabilized. Pausing briefly in her work, Pomfrey turned and her eyes darted around the wing before settling on a 7th year Hufflepuff girl. "Ms. Whallor!" She called out commandingly. "Free me up a bed!" The girl looked over, taking in the scene, before giving the matron a quick nod and rushing off to evict a less injured student. Satisfied that her orders were being followed, she returned to her work on Harry. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his slightly clammy face, tilting it up so that she could look into his dazed eyes. "Harry, can you hear me?"
Harry gave her a small smile. "Promised I'd be back."
Pomfrey couldn't help but let out a small, broken laugh.
He continued with a frown, "Sorry I'm late though. Would you believe me if I told you that a demon dog ate my timer?" He raised his eyebrows hopefully and gave a small shake to his mangled arm.
"Stop moving!" Pomfrey cried, exasperated. This boy was going to be the end of her. "Anything I should know about besides the arm and leg?" She gave him an appraising look.
"No," Harry said before letting out a series of coughs with a grimace, bringing his good hand up to rest against his sternum. "Well, maybe my chest is a little tight from the running," he amended, blinking a few times to clear his vision. "And maybe I'm a little dizzy."
Madam Pomfrey tutted as the Hufflepuff girl came up and said, "Bed 17 is now free." Pomfrey thanked her and then sent her off to gather some potions and meet them over at the bed. Sighing, she said, "Okay Harry, you know the drill. Body bind and then levitate. But this time if you promise not to move around, I'll release the body bind once we are at the bed, deal?" Resigned to the fact that he didn't actually have a choice, Harry agreed. He just really wished that she hadn't needed to float him past half of the hospital wing, who all stared and whispered and pointed. Harry would've rolled his eyes and maybe thrown in a choice gesture or two if he could've.
Pomfrey settled him onto a bed, released the body bind, and then lowered him down so that he was lying flat. Sirius had followed close behind them and now wedged himself into the gap on the other side of the bed, elbowing his way past the students gathered around the next bed over. The Hufflepuff girl soon arrived with the requested potions and Pomfrey grabbed one, helping Harry sit up enough to drink it.
"Blood Replenisher first," she told him and Harry dutifully swallowed down the nasty potion. She gently laid him back down as she turned to sort through the rest of the potions. That meant that it was only Sirius who got the pleasure of watching the last of the color drain from Harry's face before he suddenly rolled to the side and promptly vomited all over the floor.
"Sorry," he said hoarsely, bringing a shaky hand up to wipe at his face and looking a little too tired to be properly embarrassed.
Pomfrey didn't even bat an eye as she vanished the sick and gave Harry a kind smile. "Not to worry, dear. Perhaps we should start with a Stomach Soother and then maybe the Blood Replenisher, hmm?" And she sent the girl off for the additional potion. While they waited for her return, Pomfrey got a better look at Harry's wounds. Thankfully, she had gotten most of the bleeding stopped at this point, so she just needed to clear away the old smeared and drying blood so that she could properly assess what she was working with. Pomfrey vanished his trousers- or more accurately, Remus' trousers that he'd made the mistake of letting Harry barrow. Harry made a mental note to apologize to the other boy when he got the chance.
"Uh- Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked unsteadily. "Could you maybe not vanish my jacket and stuff? It's actually James' and the jumper is Sirius' and I'd really rather see if I could repair them…"
"Bambi- don't worry about that. You know we don't care," Sirius told him quietly, looking at him with a furrowed brow.
"I care," Harry insisted.
"We'll see," is all Pomfrey said after giving Harry an appraising look. The Hufflepuff girl returned once again and Pomfrey told her, "Watch the door and come get me if anything else high priority comes in. Mediums send back to Barlow and lows, just find them a place to sit and wait." The girl nodded and disappeared into the wing.
Once Harry had taken the Stomach Soother, he became aware of just how nauseous he'd actually been and let out a little sigh of relief. After giving the potion a few minutes to do its work, they tried again with the Blood Replenisher and this time Harry managed to keep it down. Once Pomfrey was certain that that one wasn't about to make a reappearance, she had him take a Decongestant draft as well and Harry was soon breathing a little easier. "Now, tell me if at any point you're starting to feel nauseous or like you are going to be sick again, okay?" Harry gave her a nod. "Now, let's see if we can salvage this jacket."
Between Pomfrey, Sirius, and copious amounts of warm water to help loosen up the dried blood sticking the fabrics together and to Harry's arm, they did manage to negotiate the jacket and sweater off in one piece each. When it came to his shirt, Harry cast a nervous look around the crowded hospital wing before asking quietly, "Uhh- Do you think maybe I could keep the shirt on and just roll up the sleeve or even just cut it at the shoulder if you have to?" Pomfrey gave him a sad, but understanding look before agreeing. It was bad enough that she hadn't had a choice about the trousers with how the leg wound was placed, so that Harry was forced to sit there in his boxers. The least she could do was spare him the small kindness of not putting all of the rest of his scars on full display and allowing him to retain a bit of his dignity in such a nonideal situation. Fortunately or unfortunately, his shirt sleeve was already so tattered that it could be easily pushed up past the wound and out of the way.
Of Harry's two injuries, the one on his arm was definitely the nastier one. While the gouges in his leg were long and deep, they were also made with razor sharp claws that cut pretty cleanly through. His arm, however, was a different story. The beast's- or apparently, the Hellhound's- teeth had been long and sharp, and the bite force combined with how the thing shook it head with Harry's arm clenched tightly in it's mouth, led to two large puncture wounds that looked like they went clean through his arm and a general shredding of the skin and muscles around them. You could actually see the entire bite mark going all the way around the arm if you could stand to look at the mauled limb. With a wave of her wand, Pomfrey cleaned up the excess blood, but it did little to improve the sight of the injury.
"Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you boys, but Hellhound claws are cursed, which means that magical healing does not work on the injuries inflicted by them. While I cannot say that I've ever personally heard of someone with a Hellhound bite, but I'm inclined to believe that their teeth might be well the same. Of course, I will try, and perhaps it may work, but I need you to know that these injuries will likely have to heal the old fashioned way," Pomfrey warned them.
Harry looked some combination of put out, angry, and resigned. Of bloody course the wounds were cursed- why wouldn't they be? That seemed to fit right in with just how peachy Harry's life was going at the moment. I mean, what sixteen-year-old wizard wants to be able to walk and use their wand arm? Such things are frivolous! Why would Harry want to waste his precious time with them? Uggh!
Pomfrey did a little more wand waving around Harry's arm before asking him, "Can you move your fingers at all?" Harry was able to make them twitch a little. "Okay. And can you make a fist?" Again, Harry's fingers just twitched and didn't listen to his brian's command. Harry's face was screwed up in deep concentration as he stared down at the uncooperative limb, his expression taking on a slightly panicked edge when his hand gave no more response than a tremble and a twitch. "Not to worry, dear. I would've been surprised if you could've done that. Not only is your arm broken, but there are a lot of torn muscles and probably a little nerve damage too. It will heal, but it will just take some time, so you are going to need to be patient." She gave Harry a mildly doubtful look, knowing very well that for all of his good qualities, 'patience' was really not one of them. "Now, the good news is that I should be able to heal the break just fine since it was an indirect injury from the force of the bite, rather than the teeth themselves." Harry pulled a disgusted face once again and Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "I know no one likes Skele-Gro, but would you really prefer a broken arm? If you keep making that face, young man, one day it just might stick."
She moved down to examine Harry's leg and had him roll onto his side in order to get a proper look at it. Three long, deep slices ran the entire length of his calf. Pomfrey removed his right shoe and sock and had him run through all the same tests she had done when he had hurt his knee. Thankfully his foot was a little more responsive than his hand, though it was still incredibly weak and painful to move. Pomfrey then proceeded to clean out both of the wounds and wrap them in clean dressings before giving Harry an Antibiotic potion
Then she set her sights on Sirius. The boy gulped slightly when the focus was shifted to him, but he complied with her orders to remove his jacket and shirt so that she could take a look at his shoulder now. It took a minute to pry his shirt free from the dried blood, but eventually they managed it and Pomfrey spelled the area clean and inspected the injury. Thankfully, none of the gashes looked too deep, though one or two of them might warrant a few stitches. Really, it was just going to suck that he can't move his shoulder while the cuts heal and they probably stung like a bitch. Pomfrey disinfected Sirius' wounds too before spelling a bandage on and putting his arm in a sling so that he wouldn't be able to move his shoulder too much.
Pomfrey knew that the stitches would have to wait until later when more of the students had been cleared out of the wing. It would be a time consuming process and one better suited to less chaotic conditions. It would also make the most sense to wait and heal Harry's broken arm later that night so that he could sleep off the worst of the Skele-Gro's mending process. But the boys were both stable now, and in no immediate danger, so Pomfrey reluctantly had to move on to other patients. She turned to Sirius before she left and said, "Your job until I come back is to make sure he doesn't move," she jerked a thumb over at Harry, who looked affronted at being talked about as if he weren't listening or quite capable of maintaining his own autonomy. "You have my permission to put him in a body bind if you have to- but only if you have to. And if it does come to that, be sure to release him once every half hour for a status update on how he is feeling, if anything is wrong, or if he needs to use the restroom. Am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sirius replied immediately.
Pomfrey gave him a firm nod and shot Harry a warning look before moving away to her other patients.
Sirius grinned at Harry, twirling his wand in his free hand menacingly.
"Don't you even think about it," Harry warned.
In reality, Sirius wouldn't do that to Harry unless he thought it genuinely necessary for his safety, but it was fun to pretend. And honestly, he was just relieved that Harry was already looking so much better. His color had mostly returned and he had lost that ill look he's had about him since they began climbing the stairs earlier. They were both still in some pain, but as they were just sitting there, it was manageable.
"Can you see where Remus and James ended up?" Harry asked, craning his neck a little, but not daring to move any more than that with the looming threat of a body bind.
Sirius turned around and did a quick scan of the back of the hospital wing, searching for either Remus' tall figure or James' unruly black hair. Eventually, he spotted a black mop in the far back corner. "Looks like James is over by the restrooms and since he wasn't actually injured I'd guess he's still with Remus," Sirius told him.
Harry shivered slightly remembering Remus' injuries. When Harry had seen him on the ground like that, it was like something within him had snapped. It was quite literally one of his worst nightmares come true when he thought the other boy was dead for a minute. And then seeing his face, all covered in blood- Harry knew that was going to be fresh nightmare fuel now too. It was just awful. And now, knowing that the cuts can't be magically healed- he was going to have to walk around with slashes across his face for Merlin knows how long until they heal, and even then, it will probably scar if the scratches were deep enough. Wait- they were definitely going to scar. Harry knew that they were. The Remus who;d taught him Defense in 3rd year bore the very scars that young Remus had just acquired that very day. It hadn't really occurred to Harry that the Remus he was sharing a dorm with didn't have those faint facial scars just yet because he never really considered them a defining feature of the Remus he knew. Maybe it was just because Harry was a little touchy about scars, but he didn't think that they should define people, so he tended just to gloss over them when looking at a person.
But now that he thought about it, Harry had always assumed that the scars on his former professor's face had been werewolf-related. But now he knew- they weren't some remnant of the night he got bit or perhaps some self-inflicted wound from a dark full moon. It was a bloody Hellhound that swiped him across the face and left him visibly scarred for life. It seemed like some kind of sad irony or cruel joke that the boy who spent so much time and energy trying to be as normal as possible so as not to attract any attention to his lycanthropy was now marked in such a condemning way and not even by that which he feared most. It was yet another act of senseless violence that Voldemort and his followers had wrought to ruin lives for nothing more than kicks and to inspire fear. It made Harry sick and angry all over again.
"Uh- You okay, Bambi?" Sirius asked tentatively.
Harry blinked himself back into the present moment. "What? Uh, yeah. Why?" He looked over at Sirius with a confused expression.
"You just, got this weird look on your face… Are you sure you're okay? Should I go get Pomfrey?" Sirius asked with concern.
"Yes, I'm sure. I was just thinking… And- Well- I'm sorry about today," Harry said.
Sirius looked surprised by that. "Harry, we all probably would have died today if it weren't for you," he said emphatically.
Harry shook his head. "You all probably wouldn't have even been there if it weren't for me," he corrected. "I literally dragged you out of bed probably hours before you would've made your way down otherwise."
"Harry- there is absolutely no way you could've known that something like this was going to happen. And what would've been the alternative? You went alone? Well, that's no fun and you still would've been in danger. We went without you? Well, that's no fun either. None of us went? Well, who's to say that things wouldn't have turned out so much worse if that were the case? For all you know, we distracted the Hellhounds long enough for others to get away instead of having them free to go on a killing spree," Sirius pointed out. "Now, of course I would rather none of us got hurt. But this is honestly probably one of the better possible outcomes of today. The best of many shitty options. Sometimes life's not fair- but that doesn't make any of this your fault!" Sirius looked Harry right in the eye to make sure he was hearing what he was saying. Harry bit his lip but gave a small nod. "Good."
Over the next many hours, the population of the hospital wing slowly thinned as students with more minor injuries were healed or sent back to their dormitories to rest and recover with strict instructions from the matron. There simply weren't enough beds to keep everyone overnight for observation how Madam Pomfrey normally would've done after something like this, so she had to trust in the students to keep an eye on and take care of their housemates and summon her if there were any problems. And she had faith that they would come through on this.
As the last of the Bruise salve was handed out- Pomfrey had actually had to stop treating people and wait earlier in the afternoon for Slughorn to brew more when they had run out earlier in the day- an exhausted Pomfrey turned back towards the few remaining students. Along with Harry, Sirius, Remus, and James, there was a small 3rd year boy with a broken leg, a 4th year girl with a fractured wrist, and a 5th year girl and two 7th year boys who had gotten clawed trying to fend off the second Hellhound in the lower town. All of the injured students present were going to be staying the night and James had just refused to leave Remus.
"Okay," Pomfrey started as she made her way towards the back of the wing where most of the remaining students were. She was addressing the whole group of them. "I appreciate everyone's patience today as I know nothing about this was ideal. But now that things have calmed down, I think perhaps we can rearrange a little, have some dinner, and then finish up with everyone's treatments. For those of you with broken bones, that means a dose of Skele-Gro followed by a Sleeping potion and for those of you with injuries from the Hellhounds, that means stitches, another Antibiotic potion, and then a Sleeping potion. Now, stitches, for those of you who are not familiar with the concept, is a muggle healing technique used for deep cuts and wounds to help hold them closed as they heal naturally. As I explained to you all earlier, Hellhounds inflict cursed injuries that cannot be healed by magic, so the natural way is the only way for them to heal. The 'stitches' will be much like the stitches one would use when mending a torn piece of clothing. Now, I know to those raised by wizards such methods may seem barbaric, but I assure you that it has a long and proven track record of success for both muggle and magical injuries alike," she assured the rather dubious looking students.
Harry almost laughed at the looks on their faces. Wizards were absolutely ridiculous sometimes. The scar across Harry's back had taken close to a hundred stitches to close up, so he was confident that they would all survive the procedure.
Pomfrey allowed them all to move beds so that everyone was a little more comfortable. Although, she still forced Harry into a body bind in order to be levitated over to the bed next to Remus' while Sirius just got to stroll over. Now, Harry knew he was being absurd because he couldn't actually walk, but such logic was not applicable to his feelings right in that moment. Then they were served dinner, which Harry and Sirius were made to eat clumsily with their left hands. If anything good may come from this shit show, perhaps it would be ambidexterity by the time Harry's dominant hand finally healed, he mused. But until that skill emerged, this was going to suck.
Harry and Sirius finally got to talk to Remus and James- though, it turned out Remus had indeed hit his head when he fell and was suffering from a mild concussion, so he wasn't much for conversation that night. Mostly James and Sirius prattled on to one another about the most random topics that seemed to drift into their minds. It was kind of fascinating to watch. Must be some kind of advanced coping mechanism, Harry thought because they seemed to literally be talking about anything except what had happened that day.
At one point, James stopped, literally in the middle of his own sentence, and turned to Harry and said excitedly, "Oh yeah! Harry- I totally forgot to mention it to you earlier, but my parents wrote back and said that they would be more than happy to have you join us for the holidays. It's going to be great!"
"Erh- James- I'm not sure that's going to be a very good idea. I mean, I'm going to be pretty useless for the vast majority of the break. I don't even know if I'll be able to walk yet, let alone do anything. I don't wanna come be a burden on your family…" Harry trailed off.
"Nonsense! Harry, we want you to come. It doesn't matter if you just sit like a lump on the couch all break and don't move a muscle. We can still hang out and chat and play games and have Christmas dinner. I don't know if I can go back to just being alone with Sirius…" James said pleadingly.
"But I don't even know if Pomfrey's willing to let me leave…" Harry tried.
"Psh!" James dismissed. "Pomfrey knows my parents. If she's really that worried about you then she can come over and check up on you herself."
Harry was running out of excuses and looking between James and Sirius' eager faces, he was struggling to remember why he was grasping for one in the first place. "Oh, alright then. If you're sure they won't mind me being useless the whole time."
"Harry, you're a guest- you're supposed to be useless," James assured him.
Just as they were finishing up dinner, Peter came clamoring into the infirmary. His eyes quickly landed on his friends and he shot towards them.
"I'm so sorry guys! It was just when James pulled Remus out of the way, I just panicked and accidentally, you know, and I didn't wanna get stepped on, so I went and hid, but by the time I came back you guys were gone and when I got back to the castle you weren't here yet, but they wouldn't let me leave and-"
"Breathe Pete- It's okay. We're not mad at you. We're just glad you're safe," James tried to calm him down.
"Scared the shite out of us when we turned around and you were gone," Sirius told him.
Peter flushed. "Are you guys okay?" He asked, looking them over with concern. "Everyone else is back in the dormitories already…"
"They will be," James told him. "Apparently Hellhound inflicted wounds are cursed, so they can't be magically healed, so it will take a bit longer than normal, but everyone should be fine- eventually. Pads just got clawed in the shoulder. Remus, in the face, but he also hit his head and got a bit of a concussion. Harry got the worst of it- clawed in the leg and bit on the arm. But I'm fine. Are you good?" He gave Peter a slightly searching look.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quietly as he stared at his friends, taking in their injuries as James pointed them out.
"So what is happening in the rest of the school? We've been stuck in here since we got back this morning," James pressed. "Are Lily and the girls okay?"
"Yeah- they're fine. Hadn't even left for Hogsmeade yet when people started showing up screaming about Hellhounds. As for the rest of the school, well, Dumbledore canceled exams and they're just going to end the term on Monday. Gives everyone a day to pack and contact their parents. I guess they figured that the attack was going to hit the papers sooner rather than later and wanted to head off the flood of owls from concerned parents. Dumbledore encouraged everyone to write home tonight and tell their families that they're safe. Luckily no students died or anything in the attack, so at least the school has that going for them… By the sound of it, you lot were the worst injured, I think. But everyone's just kind of freaking out. I mean- did you guys see the- you-know-what?" Peter said it they way most people whisper 'You-Know-Who', like even the alias is somehow taboo.
"Yeah, we did," James said dejectedly, with a shiver.
"You should really just say 'Dark Mark'," Harry insisted, making everyone jump. Harry rolled his eyes. "If you don't call it like it is, then you are letting Voldemort get away without taking the blame and he shouldn't be able to get away with shit like this," Harry said adamantly.
The others stared at him in open-mouthed shock.
"Bloody hell Harry," Sirius hissed. "You need to be careful about how you talk. Going around saying things like that will get you cursed- or worse," Sirius warned him grimly.
"No," Harry said calmly. "I refuse to let some power-hungry prat with delusions of grandeur tell me what I can and can't say and what I should and shouldn't be afraid of. If someone wants to attack me for my opinions, let them. It won't make me change my mind- that's their damage, not mine. And people have attacked me for far less, so why would I go caving on something that I think is actually important?"
His friends all looked pale after Harry's mini speech. In that moment, they all knew that Harry was going to get himself killed. It was only a matter of time before the wrong person heard him say the wrong thing and avada-kedavraed him right on the spot just to prove a point. And it made them all extremely nervous.
Pomfrey bustled over to take their dinner trays and broke the tense silence that had settled over the boys. "Once I get these out of the way, I think it will be best to start with Mr. Lupin so that he may rest. Harry, I hope you don't mind if we save you for last, as yours will likely take the longest?" Harry just gave her an understanding nod- after all, it was not like he was going anywhere.
Barlow was still there assisting Madam Pomfrey, gathering supplies and holding things for her and whatever else she needed. The two made quick work of Remus' face. Fortunately, it was only the middle slash that required stitches- the rest should heal up just fine on their own. They had already dosed the 3rd and 4th years with broken bones, so that just left the 5th year girl, two 7th year boys, and then Harry. One of the 7th years was next, who just had a couple of cuts across his chest. Then it was Sirius' turn, and his shoulder was closed up. Then the other 7th year, who had claw marks all down his arm and side. Lastly, the 5th year girl had some nasty gashes across her back that caused Harry to wince in empathy. He knew how much that sucked. And then it was Harry's turn. They started with his leg, since it was much more straightforward, and then finally they set to work on his arm. It was a mess and Madam Pomfrey won even more of Harry's respect for how good she managed to make it look in the end. It was actually recognizable as an 'arm' once again, which Harry was infinitely grateful for. Once his wounds were properly dressed, she put his arm in a partial body bind before handing him a dose of Skele-Gro. Harry reluctantly downed it in a single gulp before shuddering and handing her the empty vial back which she traded out for a Sleeping potion which Harry also dutifully drank. He fell asleep so fast that the second empty vial was still in his hand and his glasses were still on his face when he succumbed to the potion.
Chuckling, James reached over and pulled off Harry's glasses and placed them on the side table near his bed before extracting the empty vial from his lax grip and handing it back to Madam Pomfrey, who gave him a small smile.
"Mr. Black, I want you in bed and drinking that potion too," she told Sirius sternly, indicating the Sleeping draft that he was still holding in his hand.
"I promise, I'm going," Sirius said, putting his arm up in surrender. "Just let me see James and Peter off and then I swear- nothing but dreamland for me!"
Pomfrey let out a huffy breath, but didn't outright protest as she turned and walked away to deal with the used supplies, so Sirius assumed that was an agreement. He, James, and Peter spent a long moment looking down at their two sleeping friends.
"They both look so different when they're asleep," James said quietly. "Young."
"Harry looks like a kindergartener who got put through a shredder," Peter said bluntly, but not inaccurately.
And hearing that description sparked something in Sirius' memory of another time that day that Harry had seemed woefully unlike his usual, strong self. Swallowing a small lump, Sirius said throatily, "Guys- he- he was crying. When- when he hugged me as Padfoot earlier today, Harry was actually crying…" It seemed like such a small thing to be hung up on, given all that had happened that day, but Sirius knew, deep down, that it was important.
James and Peter looked up at him, brows furrowed. They all shared Sirius' sense for the weight of such a thing, but none of them quite had the words to describe it or the proper context to understand just what it actually meant.
After being officially kicked out of the hospital wing by an exhausted Madam Pomfrey, James and Peter made their way slowly back towards Gryffindor tower.
Peter had his eyes dedicatedly trained on his shoes as he walked. He cleared his throat a little before hesitantly asking, "Was it- was it bad, after I left?"
"Yeah," James said softly. "Not that it wasn't bad before you left too," he added dryly.
"When you guys didn't turn up in the Great Hall, I- I thought that maybe you hadn't-" Peter's voice broke.
"We're fine, Pete. They're going to be okay," James reiterated, tilting his head to glance at the nervous boy beside him. "But I know how you must've felt. Watching Remus go down and then seeing that thing take a bite out of Harry… It looked like it was just going to swallow him whole." His voice was weirdly devoid of emotion. "I thought they were dead. Really- I thought we all were going to be. And all I could do was fucking stand there!" His voice took on an edge of anger as James ran clawed hands harshly through his messy hair.
"At least you didn't run away," Peter said quietly, still not looking at his friend.
"Yeah, well, at least you did something," James said desperately. "I just patiently waited my turn to get eaten," he spat bitterly.
"They can't expect us to fight off Hellhounds. We're not trained-" But James cut him off.
"This isn't about what's expected of us!" He stopped walking and rounded on Peter. "Clearly we can't expect for someone to always swoop in and save the day! By the time the bloody aurors got there, it would've been a recovery effort, not a rescue party!"
Peter stared at James, floundering, shocked by the bite in his words.
"I don't know about you, but I never want to feel that way ever again," James said resolutely before turning on his heel and picking back up on his journey to the tower. Peter swallowed firmly before skittering after him.
The two of them soon climbed through the portrait hole, ready to be done for the day. It had all just been too much. Too much to see. Too much to feel. Too much to handle. Just- too much.
"James!"
James snapped his head up at hearing his name called in such an unfamiliar tone. His gaze locked onto the glistening, green eyes of Lily Evans. She rushed forward and before James could process what was happening, she was hugging him.
"Thank God, you're alive!" Pulling her head slightly back from where she'd buried it in his chest, she looked at his face, taking in the bits of blood streaked across his forehead and chin, before looking around and seeing Peter. She released her hold on him to bring a shaky hand up to cover her mouth as her eyes grew wide with horror. "Where- where are the others?" She choked out.
James' eyes widened too as he realized what she must've been thinking and he hastened to alleviate her fears. "They're fine- just in the hospital wing. Well, then, I guess they're not 'fine', per say, but they will be fine, in a matter of time," he rambled.
By the time he'd finished, the rest of the 6th year girls had elbowed their way through the crowd to join them.
"What on earth happened?" Gasped Gretta.
"You're gonna need to be more specific," James said wearily, rubbing at his face with the hand not still resting on Lily.
"Okay- whose blood is that?" Milli asked bluntly, nodding her chin towards James' face.
James sighed, "Probably Remus'."
"Probably?" Gretta choked.
"Yeah," he said as Lily conjured a damp cloth and helped him to wipe the dried blood off. Realizing that it would be much faster just to bite the bullet and get this over with, James gave the girls the very abbreviated version of what had happened to them in Hogsmeade.
"Two Hellhounds!?" Gretta shouted, earning many curious looks from those nearby.
"Shut up!" James hissed at her. "I don't need half the house coming over here, demanding all of the gorey details!" He shuddered slightly at the thought.
"Sorry," she told him, more subdued.
"Sorry-" He said too, with a sigh. "It's just- been a long day." Gretta nodded understandingly- she could only imagine.
"James!" Another voice called out, drawing everyone's attention to a distraught looking Beth as she made her way over to their little group. "Is it true?" She looked on the verge of tears.
"Is what true?" He asked, concerned.
"Is Harry-?" She couldn't finish her question, but she didn't need to for everyone to understand.
"No! Merlin. He's just in the hospital wing. And probably won't be riding a broom for a few weeks- but he's going to be fine." James watched the relief crash over Beth. "Wait- what did you hear?" He asked, now concerned for a different reason.
"Someone's been saying that they saw his-" Even knowing that it wasn't true, she still couldn't force the words out. "In the hospital wing…"
James let out a slightly hysterical laugh that earned him a series of odd and concerned looks. Bringing up a hand to wipe at his eyes, he said, "Nobody can tell him that there's another rumor going 'round that he died- the kid might just lose it. Please, tell me, at least, that this time they aren't blaming Sirius?" James looked at Beth expectantly.
"I don't think so…" She said hesitantly.
"Well, at least there's one good thing for today," James said over another giggle.
"I think maybe we should let you and Peter head up to bed," Lily decided after giving James a searching look. She reached out and squeezed his arm one last time, adding, "But I'm glad you're okay."
James just gave her a smile and a tired nod as he allowed Peter to start leading him over to the dormitory stairs. With another small laugh, James threw over his shoulder, "Feel free to reassure the people that Harry, Remi, and Sirius are all very much alive!" As they disappeared up the boys' stairs.
The next morning, everyone in the hospital wing got another round of check ups. The 3rd and 4th years were officially released after breakfast, bones fully mended, so that they could go pack and see their friends once more before the holidays. Thankfully, Harry's arm bones had mended as well, so it was not just a matter of all of the torn muscles and damaged nerves and whatnot. Easy-peasy. Everyone's stitches were deemed to be looking good. A little after breakfast, Madam Pomfrey gave them all a lecture on proper wound care over the break and a warning that she was going to be checking in on them once a week to monitor their healing and then to remove the stitches when appropriate. All of their families had already been contacted to arrange this except for Sirius' and Harry's. Poppy had decided to just speak directly with the Potters later- and there was no need to involve the Blacks in any of this. Technically, the headmaster had been required to send a notification letter home to Sirius' legal guardian of record, which was still his mother, but Poppy wouldn't be at all surprised if any envelope that entered the Black's home with Sirius' name on it was immediately set on fire without being opened. As for Harry- there was simply no one to notify. Professor McGonagall was technically listed as his guardian currently and she was already well aware of the incident.
Once she was confident that her instructions had been memorized by all, she allowed most of her remaining patients to get up and walk around the wing for a bit. She wanted them to get used to their new, more limited mobility while still under her supervision. There were a lot of grimaces going around as the students felt the stitches pull uncomfortably as they tested their range of motion and moved about. She told them that they could take an over-the-counter, low-level Pain potion if they needed as they healed and Harry thought it very similar to a doctor just telling you to take ibuprofen for whatever ails you. Once Pomfrey was again satisfied that those moving about knew their limits and were going to take care not to exceed them, they too were released.
That just left Harry and Remus as the remaining official patients, though Sirius hadn't actually left when he was discharged. Remus was still fighting a bit of discomfort and a headache from the concussion, but Pomfrey was optimistic that he would be essentially recovered from that by the following day, in time to catch the train home. Harry, on the other hand, was more still there for logistical, rather than strictly health-related, concerns. Simply put, Harry couldn't walk. And he couldn't even go back to using crutches because now one of his arms was out of commission as well. Soon enough, Harry would likely be able to get by using just one crutch to take some of the weight off his healing leg, but for the first week or so, Pomfrey really didn't want him putting any weight onto his injured leg. Of course, some sort of wheelchair was an option, but she knew how not-well received that suggestion would be by the stubbornly independent boy, in addition to the fact that he would still not actually be mobile without help with only the one arm. Unfortunately, there really wasn't going to be a way out of this one that didn't involve Harry having to rely on someone's assistance to get around for that first period.
As Pomfrey was thinking all of this over, James and Peter burst through the hospital wing doors.
"Boys!" She reprimanded. "I know it is almost the holiday, but that does not mean you suddenly do not need to treat my infirmary with the proper respect!"
Both boys looked cowed as they made their way more sedately over to Harry, Sirius, and Remus. But when they arrived, their manic grins were back in place.
"We made the paper!" James exclaimed with glee, throwing a copy of the Daily Prophet into Harry's lap.
A little warily, Harry picked it up. Making the papers was kind of the last thing he wanted to be doing with his time here in the past. Looking down, the first thing he noted was the headline, Hell Unleashed in Hogsmeade and the subheader beneath that, You-Know-Who's Bold Statement: Even Hogwarts Isn't Safe. Below that was an ominous photo of the aurors flooding the streets of Hogsmeade with the Dark Mark burning in the sky above them. Harry quickly read through the article. It mostly just described the attack and the Hellhounds, got a few personal statements from shop owners and residents who were there and theorized about Voldemort's motivations for such an attack. Nothing all that special or scandalizing. Towards the button of the page, Harry found what James was referring to:
'Thankfully, a handful of unnamed Hogsmeade residents took up the fight and valiantly defended the students against the brutal attack- actually managing to seriously injure both Hellhounds before the aurors arrived on the scene. The Ministry, as I am sure along with the families of every student present yesterday, extend their most heartfelt thankyous to the brave souls who stepped up to protect the innocents so cruelly and scurrilously targeted by the Dark Lord and his followers.'
Huh. Harry looked up at James' excited face with a slightly bemused expression.
"Well, they got their facts wrong, but they were talking about us! Well, you and Sirius at least!"
Since when had the Prophet ever concerned itself with fact checking? Well, clearly the answer predates 1976, Harry thought. "Hey- we all played our part in that yesterday. If you hadn't helped Remus and Sirius hadn't helped me, I'm pretty sure we'd be dead," Harry told him and James beamed. Harry passed the paper over to Remus so that he could take a look. "What are you guys planning on doing today?" Harry asked.
"Well, we wanted to know when you guys were getting sprung?" James answered.
"Technically Sirius is already free, and I think Pomfrey said Remus could probably leave tomorrow morning, but she hasn't really told me yet…"
"Actually, Harry, that is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about," Pomfrey said as she made her way over to them. "The main issue is your mobility- or, more accurately, your lack thereof. Since both your arm and leg are both injured, you can't just go back to using crutches like before. This leaves us with a few options. Now, before you outright reject any of them, I want you to hear me out and remember that this situation is only temporary. In about a week's time, I think your leg will be healed enough that you can start putting a little weight on it and from then on you should be able to manage on your own with one crutch, okay?" Harry was not liking how much set up the matron giving this. It didn't bode well for his 'options'. Harry preemptively bit his tongue in preparation for what she was about to say. "So, option number one would be using a wheelchair, but with your arm injury, you would still need someone to help push. Option two would be just to have someone carry you or levitate you wherever you needed to go- though, bare in mind that over the holidays, you and your friends cannot use magic and Sirius is also injured, so it would be James or Mr. Potter carrying you or Mrs. or Mr. Potter levitating you. The third option is what I am going to call 'the human crutch'. This is where someone would simply walk beside you, supporting you from your right shoulder and taking half your weight without you needing to put any stress on your injured arm. Now, you can use any combination of these for the next week, but I want you to practice here today before I release you tomorrow morning. I will not let you go until I am confident that you can get in and out of bed, up and down from a chair, around the room, and up and down stairs without causing any further injury. Am I understood?" She looked at him strictly. Harry just nodded tiredly.
This was yet another instance of Harry having to face the shitty reality of a situation. No matter how much he didn't want it, he was going to need help for the next week. Mulling over the sparse options, he came to the quick conclusion that the last one would likely be the least humiliating.
Releasing his tongue from where he'd had it clamped between his teeth, Harry said, "I think I'd like to use option three, if you're okay with that?" Harry looked hesitantly over at James. Really, it probably should have been his decision, along with his parents, since they were going to be the ones doing all of the work. Harry received an encouraging nod in reply.
"Very well. But I want to make sure James can carry you properly just in case of emergency as well." Harry wrinkled his nose at that.
"Awe, come on Bambi- it won't be that bad. I promise to be careful," James said teasingly. Hearing the nickname come out of James' mouth felt somewhat odd in Harry's ears. No one but Sirius had ever called him that. He couldn't tell if he liked it or not- not that he loved it when Sirius used the stupid nickname either.
"Okay! James, if you're willing to play the role of 'human crutch', we can give this a go," Pomfrey declared, motioning him over to the side of the bed while she went and grabbed another actual crutch for Harry.
Harry carefully scooted and dragged his legs to dangle over the edge. Accepting the crutch in his left hand and placing it firmly on the floor, Harry slowly eased his good leg down. James slid in next to him and reached out to hook his left hand underneath Harry's right shoulder, bringing his right hand to nestle around Harry's upper arm to steady him. Making sure to keep his injured leg slightly bent so that he wasn't tempted to put any weight on it, Harry pushed himself the rest of the way up until he was standing. It was definitely awkward- particularly since James was almost a quarter of a meter taller than him. It would've been a lot easier if the other boy could just put his shoulder under Harry's and take his weight that way, but James would have to walk basically doubled over for that to be possible, which just- wasn't practical. At least the trade off for his height was that Harry also didn't weigh very much, so even though James had a lot less leverage with this hold, he was still able to take enough of Harry's weight for it to work out.
When Harry tried to take a step, it was very hard to coordinate the one crutch with James with the rest of himself. It was like having a body part that just wasn't listening to your brain. So when he thought, 'step', the crutch moved and his momentum moved, but James was lagging behind the rest of it making the motion very halting and clunky. But after almost ten minute of tromping around, they eventually fell into a more consistent rhythm that they could actually use to get somewhere. Once they found this, Pomfrey conjured a chair for them to practice with as well. At least that motion was still very similar to when the others had helped Harry stand up when he'd had the knee brace, so they got that down a lot faster. Then Pomfrey conjured a small set of stairs- Harry's newest official nemesis- for them to climb. Stairs were definitely the hardest to conquer. In order to hop from one step to the next, it required Harry to put basically all of his weight back on James below and behind him, which was just a little nerve-racking. It wasn't like he didn't trust James, but it was hard to convince his lower, lizard brain that there was going to be something there to support him even if his higher, human brain knew it to be true. But eventually, they figured that one out too. Going down was a lot easier to handle as at least then Harry could see James in front of him as he hopped down the steps.
Once Pomfrey had deemed herself satisfied, Harry settled back into bed. It had been surprisingly exhausting to walk around like that, so Harry was rather happy to be done for the moment as he relaxed back into the pillows. But the next second, Harry let out a yelp as James had scooped him up without warning and started walking away with him.
"James! Put me down!" Harry said indignantly.
"What? Here?" James asked, glancing down where he stood. "I don't know, mate. The floor is awfully cold…"
Harry could hear Sirius laughing behind them.
"Okay, Mr. Potter. You've made your point, if you will kindly return my patient to his bed," Pomfrey called after them.
James reluctantly turned around and redeposited Harry on the bed where he scowled up at him. James just smiled smugly.
"Prat," Harry muttered.
"No- Prongs, Harry," James corrected. "You really should be getting that right by now…"