A.N. Thanks to reviewers! And thanks to DaniPotterLovesGod for betaing!
…
Harry woke the next morning feeling…eager. He couldn't help a little vicious grin from twisting his lips when he thought of how he was about to circumvent the vow and take his revenge on the Slytherins.
He managed to push his glasses on, and then noticed Madame Pomfrey busily moving vials around in the potions cupboard. She hadn't noticed that Harry had woken, but he was eager to take the Skele-grow and begin his plotting.
He slid off the cot and padded over to her. He got within a yard of her before she noticed his presence with a start.
"Oh, Harry! I didn't hear you coming," she said, standing. He smiled wanly. I guess everything about me is quiet now.
"You'll be wanting some breakfast, I assume?" she asked. Harry nodded even though what he really wanted was skele-grow. She steered him back to the bed, where she then called a house-elf and asked for a tray of breakfast to be brought.
"The skele-grow will be ready in one hour, which gives you time to eat. Your friends will be here soon, I imagine, and I'm sure they'll keep you company for the day. You do realize that you won't be healed until dinnertime, correct?" Harry again nodded.
"I also realize that you have scheduled your team's Quidditch try-outs for tomorrow morning. You can hover in the air to observe the players, but you may not participate in any exercises. Understood?" Harry, again, nodded. Then he was saved from further head-bobbing by the appearance of a house-elf with his breakfast.
Ron and Hermione arrived soon after, to his delight. Unfortunately, Madame Pomfrey shooed them away so that she could take advantage of Harry's presence in the Infirmary to examine his neck.
The scans produced the expected results: nothing had changed. Harry didn't possess a single vocal cord. The medical reports seemed to remind Madame Pomfrey of the time when she discovered the terrible news. Her face softened, and she seemed to lose a little of her stern edge.
"I again want to say how sorry I am that I couldn't do anything for you, Mr. Potter. You really should have been sent to St. Mungo's as soon as I realized how severe the damage was, but there wouldn't have been anything they could have done to save your voice, either." Harry just nodded, his eyes downcast.
She then had him take a dose of the Skele-grow, and settled him back on the cot.
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna came in. Apparently, Ron and Hermione had been joined by the other three while waiting to come back in.
"Sorry we didn't talk to you yesterday, Harry. I was so busy with homework that I didn't even know what had happened until dinner," Ginny apologized, giving him a gentle hug. He smiled, happy that she had come.
"Yeah. I can't believe how much homework there is. It's only a few days into the term!" Neville exclaimed.
"We have our N.E.W.T.S. this year. Of course we have lots of homework," Hermione huffed.
"Seems ridiculous." Ron grumbled.
"Well, when you leave it till the last minute of course it will be difficult, Ronald!" Hermione admonished. Ron rolled his eyes and shot back another retort. Harry smiled at his friends' bantering. At least he'd be entertained for the day.
Harry listened to his friends converse for most of the day. During this, he tried to ignore the pain in his arms from the Skele-grow. Lunch was brought to them, and Ginny helped Harry to eat, much to his embarrassment. But he admitted that he probably, at that point, wouldn't have been able to feed himself. His arms felt as if they were on fire.
By mid-afternoon, the pain was beginning to lessen. Harry began to take part in the conversation as much as he could, nodding or shaking his head when asked a question, or making dramatic facial expressions to convey his own emotion on some matter. They laughed together at Harry's expressions, and giggled behind their hands at Luna's strange comments.
Despite the fact that he was in the Hospital Wing, again, Harry loved those few hours. It was just him and his friends, laughing together, forgetting about everything that was wrong with the world.
Finally dinnertime rolled around, and Madame Pomfrey shooed all his friends away from Harry's cot so that she could remove the splints.
Cool air brushed Harry's clammy skin. His arms suddenly felt very fragile without the stabilizing splints.
"Now, even though you may not feel it, the skele-grow is still working at the deeper parts of your bones, so be careful not to go banging into anything. They could break quite easily, and will be a bit tender until the morning. Remember what I said about the Quidditch," Madame Pomfrey said, her wand meanwhile busy running magical scans on Harry's arms to determine that they were, in fact, ready to face the outside world once more.
Harry nodded, as usual.
"Hermione, ask her if I can go now." he signed, carefully. His fingers still felt as if they could snap.
Hermione grinned and translated happily.
"Yes, you may go. But be careful!" the medi-witch admonished. Harry was already on his feet and headed out the door, busily signing the words he had kept inside all day.
"Thank goodness those things are off. I felt like I was becoming mute for the second time in my life!" Harry signed emphatically.
"It was strange not being able to have a proper conversation with you. I wanted your opinion on the likelihood of nargles allying with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Luna said, surprising him by signing her words at the same time. She had obviously only been learning the basic signs, as she made a few mistakes, and her syntax was completely wrong, but it was understandable.
"You're signing!" Harry said, his arms jerking with surprise.
"Yes, I am," Luna said. She looked at her arms as if just realizing that she had signed as well as spoken.
"Harry…what happened? You haven't been able to tell us, and I've seen something in your eyes…" Hermione said, trailing off. They all stopped and turned to stare at him.
"I…I honestly cannot say."
"You don't know?" Ron asked, confused.
"I know, but I can't tell you."
"Why?" Neville asked.
"I can't say."
"This has to do with that classroom you showed us earlier, correct?" Hermione said.
"What classroom?" Ginny asked. Ron began to explain to her in hushed tones as Hermione continued her questioning.
"Yes, it does."
"Well, we already figured out that you didn't fall down the stairs…" Hermione said, pondering the information she had.
"Let's get to the common room, and I'll show you there."
"Show us? How? I thought you wouldn't tell us?" Ron asked.
"No, I can't tell you. It's not that I will not. There's a difference. Come on, I need to explain. I've wanted to since yesterday."
"Let's go to the Room of Requirement, since Luna can't come in the common room," Neville suggested.
They walked to the Come-and-Go room without much more talk, all curious about the strange puzzle Harry had offered them. Ginny tried to get more information from him, but because of the vow, he couldn't answer her questions.
When they reached the room, Harry opened it. They entered to find a seating area, along with a small stack of parchment and a Muggle pencil resting on a table. Harry smiled and gestured towards the supplies. He started drawing the Slytherin crest immediately. His friends stood around where he had sat, watching what he was doing with interest.
He finished the Slytherin crest and gave it to Hermione. He began to draw a wand with a sort of mist coming out of it, aimed at a bolt of lightning meant to represent himself. It was meant to represent a spell cast at him, but Harry was afraid that he had inherited his father's inability to draw.
He handed that also to Hermione, and then attempted to draw two hands clasped together with a wand hovering over them, a tendril of magic wrapping around the hands. Again, it certainly wasn't a masterpiece, but he hoped that his friends would be able to recognize the scene of the making of an Unbreakable Vow.
He drew a question mark by the wand and one of the hands, and a lightning bolt by the other hand. He also drew a miniature Slytherin crest under the hands, as well as a question mark, a scribble meant to represent handwriting, a hand for sign language, and a bowl with some mist coming out of it for a pensieve. He hoped that those symbols would allow his friends to understand what the vow had been about.
He handed this last drawing to Hermione and then stared at her, hoping she would be able to figure out what had happened from the crude drawings.
Hermione frowned and laid the sketches out on the table. Harry arranged them so the picture of the Slytherin crest was positioned next to the picture of the wand, so that it was clear that the Slytherins had been the ones casting spells. He put the picture of the vow after those two, to make it clear that the vow had been made after he had been ambushed.
No one spoke, instead staring at Harry's drawings and trying to make sense of them. Predictably, it was Hermione who began to understand first.
"Harry…this represents Slytherins hexing you." Hermione concluded, pointing to the first two pictures. Harry nodded; after all, he was confirming what she said, not telling her what happened.
"In that classroom…the chairs were arranged around the spots of blood. That's where it happened?" Hermione asked. Harry again nodded.
"So there were six of them because there were six chairs…" she muttered. "What does that last one mean?" she wondered.
"That's what two people making an Unbreakable Vow look like," Luna said. Everyone turned to look at her.
"It's true. When someone makes an Unbreakable Vow, they clasp their hand with the person they are making the vow to, like this. See?" she said, grasping Ron's hand to demonstrate.
"Then, another person called the bonder uses his magic to make the vow. He has his wand pointed at the hands, and little tendrils of magic come out and wrap around the hands." Luna explained.
"Those symbols must mean the Slytherins, and the other two people were involved in the vow…"Ginny said, pointing at the miniature Slytherin crest and the question marks.
"That one's a pensive," Neville said, pointing to the bowl. "My gran has one."
"And the hand must mean sign language…" Hermione murmured.
"And that scribble is writing." Ron said.
"So…the Slytherins ambushed you, and then someone unidentified got Harry to make an Unbreakable vow that he wouldn't sign, write, or share memories about any of it," Hermione said, frowning. "But how could you make a vow, Harry?"
"I used Parseltongue."He hissed. They didn't understand the words, of course, but the meaning was clear enough.
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "But…how did they know you could still speak Parseltongue?" Harry shrugged.
"This is serious, Harry. Why did you make the vow in the first place?" Ginny asked. Harry took the picture of the wand and pointed it at each of his friends in turn. Ginny's eyes widened.
"They threatened to hurt us if you didn't make it?" she murmured. Her face was pale as fury-filled eyes gazed into his. Harry nodded.
"I'm so glad you found a way around it, Harry…we need to tell McGonagall," Hermione decided. Harry shook his head vehemently. At first, he had only wanted to tell the teachers. But now, he wanted to craft his own form of revenge.
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
"I want more than just getting them a suspension," Harry signed reluctantly. How could he tell his friends that he wanted to make them hurt, wanted to make them feel the kind of pain and helplessness he had felt?
Deep down, he knew that these emotions probably stemmed from his connection with Voldemort, but he wanted them. They felt…right.
He noticed that Ginny narrowed her eyes, probably knowing what he had left unsaid but not mentioning it.
"Can we talk about it later? I'm hungry," Ron complained. Harry cast a tempus charm and saw to his surprise that dinner had started fifteen minutes ago.
"Well, we'd better get to the Great Hall quickly, then," Harry joked. There were a few half-hearted chuckles as they all got up and made their way out into the halls, but Harry could see the anger in his friends' eyes. They were furious with what the Slytherins had done to Harry, and, even though they and Harry wanted it in different forms, they wanted revenge too.
"Look, don't go and tell the teachers, okay?"Harry signed over dinner as Hermione made yet another whispered comment about telling the teachers what had happened.
"But McGonagall is right there…" she protested.
"I don't want to tell them." Harry signed, his hands jerking angrily.
"Alright, alright, I won't tell. But Harry, they have to know eventually," Hermione conceded.
"What are we going to do? I could ask Fred and George for some prank ideas…" Ron said.
"No…I don't know what we'll do yet. I'll think of something."
"Harry, can I talk to you privately after dinner?" Ginny asked.
"Sure."
"Thanks." Harry could see the suppressed emotion in her eyes. While Ron was eager to devise payback, and Hermione concerned that the staff hadn't been informed, Ginny was suspicious. She suspected the thoughts that were streaming through his mind, the ones that he should tuck away in some corner of his brain and never think of again, were finding a special place in Harry's heart. She could tell he wanted blood, and he wasn't at all rejecting that train of thought.
Harry finished his dinner with apprehension. He didn't want to talk about his thoughts with Ginny; he knew she would be horrified. But…if he couldn't trust her, he may as well not trust a soul for the rest of his life.
Finally, he and Ginny were both finished, and the two of them left the Great Hall silently. Ginny led him into an unused classroom a few corridors away, with dust-covered desks and a blackboard still marked with chalk.
She erected a privacy ward, and then met Harry's stare dead on.
"What are your plans for the Slytherins? I know that you must have some idea of what you want to do to them." Ginny said. Harry hesitated.
"I want to hurt them."He finally admitted. Ginny was unsurprised.
"That's what I thought. You must realize, Harry, that you can't let these emotions get a hold on you."
"I think they have already, Ginny. I've been brooding on this for two days now. And besides that, I…" Harry trailed off.
"You agree with your thoughts."
"I don't want them, but at the same time, I want to accept them with open arms," Harry signed, avoiding Ginny's stare. She sighed.
"I can't say I blame you. I can't imagine what you've been going through, losing your voice…and it must have been horrible not even to be able to sign. If someone purposely prevented me from communicating, even temporarily…I guess I would want to make them hurt too," Ginny said. "But, keep in mind that even though they may deserve it, taking your own revenge is not the best thing to do." Harry cocked his head inquisitively.
"You have a better idea?"
"Yes. Tell McGonagall, Harry. If you go after them, hex them, make their life at Hogwarts a misery…it will all be temporary. You will never be satisfied, because once it's all said and done, they will still graduate, they will move on with their lives and forget all about their last year at Hogwarts. But, McGonagall can expel them. If that happens, they're going to have really hard time getting jobs in the magical world. It will affect their whole lives." Ginny suggested, a cunning gleam in her eyes.
"You're right. You could be a Slytherin."Harry joked, a smile tugging gently at his lips.
"I thought that that was you." Ginny replied, smiling. Her eyes glinted playfully, and she took a step towards Harry. He stepped towards her. And they were very suddenly, unexpectedly, kissing.
"Harry? Ginny?" Hermione called, opening the classroom door. The two in question broke apart quickly, blushing.
"Uh…we were just talking about the Slytherins." Ginny explained.
"I see," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.
"Ginny says that if we tell McGonagall, the Slytherins could be expelled."
"More than that, I should think. I'd imagine that the specific Slytherins who were involved would be sentenced to Azkaban for a while, as long as they are of age." Hermione mused.
"Azkaban?" Ginny asked, shocked.
"Well, yes. For a few months at least. I mean, they committed assault, and on Harry Potter, no less. That's a crime against one of the most famous wizards in England," Hermione explained. "If we can figure out a way for Harry to communicate their names, then the ones who are of age will be in a huge amount of trouble. The others will have their wands broken, I'd imagine."
Harry's eyes were bugging out of his head. He had never thought about it all this way before…he hadn't realized just how serious the actions of the Slytherins were, viewing them as a violent sort of school bullying. But now that Hermione had explained it…he realized that he had indeed been the victim of crime.
"That puts a new perspective on things," Harry mused.
"Still one problem. Harry has to communicate the names of those involved," Ginny pointed out.
"I'll look for something." Hermione assured. "There has to be some way he can do it without breaking the vow."
