Chapter Three – The Recovery Begins

"Harry," said Dumbledore jovially as he entered the private room Harry was staying in. "I understand that you are feeling better this evening."

Harry didn't answer, but looked at him from his bed and pulled the covers up tighter around him.

However, Dumbledore didn't act like he noticed this, conjured a squishy chair for him to sit in and continued; "Now I would like to continue our conversation from earlier this afternoon. I really do need you to tell me where you've been these past three weeks."

Harry didn't want to answer him, he no longer trusted the ancient wizard and started to turn his back to the Headmaster as he had done earlier when he suddenly felt the tender intrusion into this thoughts. Harry knew that he was being probed and he remembered the same thing happening to him when he was being held captive by those bad men. As he had done before, Harry immediately responded with his Occlumency defenses and pushed him out of his thoughts.

Dumbledore was stunned for a moment when Harry had done this. He had actually pushed him out of his mind. "Very good Harry, you've been practicing your Occlumency. Now I really need to see what happened to you Harry, you must let me into your mind."

Harry just shot daggers from his eyes at the Headmaster and said nothing and prepared himself for a mental assault. As Harry predicted Dumbledore once again attempted to probe his mind using Legimency. This time he reacted differently. This time Harry screamed.

POP!

"What's is you's doing to Harry Potter?" Dobby demanded of his employer.

"I'm only trying to help him Dobby, I promise you. Now if you'd be so kind as to leave us, so I can help Harry here get over the beating and curses he received."

Dobby didn't look convinced and looked to Harry, "Harry Potter? Is you's wanting to be alone?"

Harry nodded his head 'yes.'

Then the little house elf turned back to the Headmaster and asked, "Is you's going to makes this hard or is you's going to makes this easy?"

Dumbledore looked oddly at the elf, "Dobby, I really must be allowed to talk to Harry."

The elf looked up at the Headmaster and with an evil looking grin on his face, he said, "Dobby is thinking you's wants to be making this hard."

Dumbledore got up out of the chair he had conjured and left the room. Dobby was also about to pop away when he heard Harry say…

"Thank you Dobby," Harry said in a small horse whisper.

"You's is welcome Harry Potter."

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On his way out of the infirmary, Dumbledore stopped by Poppy's office and said, "You know Poppy, I think maybe that Dobby may end up hindering Harry's recovery."

Poppy stiffened and asked, "What makes you say such a thing Albus?"

Dumbledore chuckled and said, "He has threatened to eject me from Harry's room again."

"The only reason Dobby would have done that is if you were upsetting my patient again. You weren't doing that now were you Albus?" she asked pointedly, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Of course I was not. Good evening Poppy."

"Good evening, Headmaster."

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Early the next morning Molly Weasley entered the infirmary with Harry's trunk and all of his new school supplies that he would need for the upcoming year. She had purchased these things for him before his birthday and he was supposed to collect them from Grimmauld Place after he received his license. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Not seeing Harry anywhere in the ward, Molly went over to the office of the school nurse and asked, "Madame Pomfrey? Where is Harry, I don't see him anywhere."

"I put him into one of the private rooms, so that he would feel safer."

"Is that wise, after being held captive all that time? He needs to be out in the open right now," Molly insisted.

Madame Pomfrey looked at her sadly and said, "Mrs. Weasley that is the last thing Potter needs right now. Right now he needs to be in a room where I can control the amount of light that is in it until his eyes heal completely. After spending three solid weeks in the dark, he is sensitive to light."

"Oh dear," Molly said, "I had forgotten about his eyesight being diminished." Then she hurried off the room that the school nurse indicated he was in.

Sitting back in her chair, Poppy thought, 'What he really needs is to feel safe and for him that is a room where he has control over the lock on the door.'

Moments later Molly walked into Harry's room with his trunk floating behind her. "Harry dear, I see you're awake. You must be feeling better," she said as she beamed at him.

Harry didn't respond other than to nod at her, though really he wasn't feeling better.

"I've brought your trunk so that you can put something else on besides those pajamas. Can't have you lying about like a man of leisure can we?" she said with a chuckle, trying her best to cheer him up. She then brought out a plate full of the mince pies that he likes so much. "Here you go, I'll bet you'd like something else in your stomach than those potions that you are forced to take all day long."

In truth Harry was delighted to see the plate of pies and started to take one, but stopped himself and looked down instead, not taking any.

Molly was confused for a moment and then said, "It's alright Harry, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey won't mind for you to have one."

Harry sadly shook his head no and muttered a weak "Thank you."

"It's alright dear, I'll leave the plate her for you and you can eat them whenever you like. Now I'll leave the room and you can go through your things and pick out something that you'd like to wear. It'll help you feel more like your old self again."

After she left the room, Harry went over to his trunk and began to look around in it. He pulled out some Muggle clothes that he had bought earlier that summer and put them on and left the pajamas in a chair in the corner and got back into bed. Every few seconds he looked over to the plate of mince pies and wanted one very much, but didn't dare touch one.

Molly went back to the nurse's office to give Harry some time to change his clothes and asked Madame Pomfrey, "How well has Harry been eating since he's been back?"

Poppy sighed and said, "It's been an ongoing battle at every meal to get him to eat. It's my theory that his captors would torture him whenever food was brought near him, probably with the Cruciatus curse, and now he simply doesn't want to eat anymore."

Molly's eyes became very wet with fear, anger and heartbreak. "Why would anyone want to do this to him? He's just a boy for Merlin's sake."

"I wish I understood also."

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Later in the afternoon, after Harry had asked Dobby to tell Madame Pomfrey he didn't want any more visitors again, he was visited by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Harry was not happy to see Snape.

"Potter?" McGonagall asked gently, "How are you feeling today?" She wasn't sure what to ask, but felt the need to visit him. He wasn't her favorite student, but he did hold a special place in her heart.

Other than shrugging Harry didn't respond or even look at her in the eye.

"Potter, your head of house just asked you a question, don't you feel you owe her an answer?" sneered Snape in his greasy way.

Harry just stared coldly at the potions master and still refused to speak.

"Severus!" McGonagall snapped, "Harry has been through enough without you adding to it."

"You're coddling him too much; Potter is weak and needs to be toughened up." However, before anyone said anything else, Snape whipped out his wand and enchanted, "Legimens."

Once again Harry felt himself being mentally attacked and fought to keep up his mental barriers. Unfortunately, he was unprepared for this attack and Snape got a glimpse of something before Harry had his wand in his hand and sent a stinging hex at Snape.

"Well Severus," McGonagall said with a smirk, "Harry looks like he can fend you off even in his 'weak' condition."

Snape ignored the deputy Headmistress and demanded to know, "What did I just see Potter? Why are you afraid to eat?"

Harry again said nothing and rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up over his head.

"Potter! I asked you a question and you will answer me!" bellowed Snape and started to advance on the boy and a faint popping noise appeared in the room.

However, before Snape could get his third step completed he found himself being flung through the air, out the door and against the far wall of the infirmary.

"Dobby is wondering if you's is also needing help leaving Harry Potter's room?" the house elf asked McGonagall.

"No, I think I can manage it all on my own," she replied. Turning to the whimpering young man under the covers she added, "Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger would also like to see you. Do you think you're up to another visit today?"

Dobby answered for him, "Harry Potter is not wanting any visitors at all. You's is leaving him be," and began to push the transfiguration teacher out of the room.

After he had the door closed, Dobby ran over to Harry and taking a mince pie in hand, broke off a piece of it and fed it to him. Harry ate the pie gratefully and without complaint and kept on doing so as long as Dobby kept feeding pieces of them.

Out in the infirmary Poppy came up to the crumpled potions master and said, "I take it you tried something with Potter and found that Dobby is very protective of him."

"Yes Poppy, he did," said an amused McGonagall. However, she turned into a more business like manner and asked, "Severus what did you see in his mind?"

"Being in complete darkness, I'm not sure, but I got the impression that they used food and water and a torture device against him. If he tried to take it when offered, they beat and cursed him severely and starving him after," replied Snape. Then with a pointed look towards the school nurse he added, "They did other things to him as well, didn't they Madame Pomfrey?"

"That is none of your business Professor Snape!" she snapped and turned to return to her office.

To Be Continued … Please Read and Review