Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit
Acknowledgments: Rpeh for the beta work.
Hospital
Katie screamed. It made his blood curdle. Harry sprinted toward the noise, through the falling snow. His boots slipped on the path and he tumbled forward. But it wasn't enough to stop him. He landed on his hands and pushed himself back up to his feet.
He kept running toward the source of the noise. It had to be just up the ridge, or just around the corner, or just ahead of him. He kept pushing himself forward, toward it. He had to help. There had to be something he could do to help. So he ran toward the scream.
He reached it just in time to see her raise up into the air. Her eyes were sunken and completely black. In moments the olive tone of her skin seemed to drain away to a ghostly white. Her hair fanned out around her, blowing in breeze he couldn't feel.
He watched as she shot to the left, the right, back to the left, and every which way. He saw her neck snap to and fro with each sharp motion. He felt himself flinch with each snap of her body as he imagined the pain that shot through her with each motion.
Harry ran toward her. But it was futile. Somehow, he knew that as he moved. It didn't prevent him from pressing onward, but with each step Katie moved further away from him. It was almost as if she was cursed to never be with him, never be in his arms again.
Harry fought through it. He fought against the crushing feeling pressing down against him. He fought against the unseen force that was keeping him away from Katie, that seemed to be trying to crush the life out of the both of them. Every step became more difficult as his muscles tensed against the magic.
A primal yell escaped from his lips as he forced himself onward. He fumbled in his pocket as he tried to move forward. He tripped on his own feet as he managed to wrap his hand around the wooden stick and he fell forward into the snow.
He stumbled again as he tried to get to his feet. He slammed his fists into the snow once, then twice as anger at himself filled his thoughts. He pushed himself up and continued, watching as Katie floated higher and higher.
Harry forced his wand toward her and tried to summon her down to him, to move her closer to him, to be able to do anything to protect her, to save her. In his mind, anything other than having her floating further and further away from him was a plus.
Except he was wrong.
As he leveled his wand once more she shot downward. He watched, helplessly, as her body smashed into the ground in front of him. Her head snapping into the snow as she hit. She convulsed on the ground, twitching away from him.
Katie's body arched on the ground as another shriek escaped her lips. It didn't end as it echoed through the path from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. When it did finally stop it was only because her throat or lungs gave out, as the scream stayed on her lips.
Harry stepped closer to her, but her body slid away in the snow. A red trail following her as he chased her. When he finally caught up, she convulsed once more, as if taking a breath to scream again, but all that came from her mouth was blood. And then she burst. Her arms, her neck, her face, blood started soaking through her clothing. And then she shrieked again, somehow the noise coming through the blood as Harry's entire world exploded in red.
He screamed right back, in fury, for loss, for his own helplessness. He screamed until his lungs hurt, until the fire of it all ripped through his throat.
And then he shot straight up in his darkness of his dormitory. He was breathing as if he'd just gone for a sprint around the lake. He spent a few moments trying to catch his breath and blink the world back into focus. The focus didn't come until he reached for his glasses.
Another nightmare, he sighed to himself. There were becoming an almost nightly occurrence. He lay back down against his pillow, annoyed by the damp, coolness of his sweat drenched bed. He shivered against it for a few moments, although he wondered why. He knew he wasn't going to fall back asleep. He hadn't on any of the nights he'd had a nightmare.
He pushed the curtains back and lifted himself from his bed. None of the other boys had stirred during his outburst which meant his muffling charm had held while he slept. Part of him felt bad for continually waking them during the night. But given that they seemed confused why he was still having issues with it over two months later, well, the less he said about it the better.
Still, he knew that the less attention he brought to it the better off he would be. They'd tried to understand for a few weeks after it happened. But they all seemed annoyed when he hadn't snapped out of it after a few weeks.
Ron and Hermione stuck by him. Although, when Ron started to date Lavender, that turned more into Hermione sticking by him. Which resulted in too much time in the library. So he'd tried to hold more Quidditch practices but that reminded him of the fact that he was missing his best player. Dean was filling in alright, and Demelza was improving rapidly with every practice.
Which would have thrilled him except that Ginny spent every practice trying to get him to notice her rather than playing Chaser. And the chemistry between the three of them hadn't developed. In fact, it grew progressively worse as Dean noticed that his girlfriend was paying considerably more attention to Harry Potter than she was to him.
So, all-in-all, extra practices to get his new Chasers up to speed backfired tremendously. He wondered if he should make a change. But they were three of the top four tryouts and no one else had really been close. Ginny had been far and away the second-best Chaser during the tryouts. And when she focused that was still the case. Demelza was solid and did everything he asked. And Dean continued to improve and work hard. He hoped the drama would blow over.
Well, he hoped Katie would return, really. As he figured that, even if she wasn't healthy enough to play after being cursed, it would draw Ginny's attention away from him. Which would then hopefully put it back on Dean and then everything should, hopefully, return back to normal.
But there was no sign of Katie's return. He struggled to even get news about it. There was only a small blurb in the paper, on page four, of a student being cursed in Hogsmeade. They'd called it a random incident at the time. And since then there had been no other news.
He hadn't been allowed to leave school to visit her in the hospital. Part of him hadn't been surprised by that. Although he'd known some students had been able to visit family in the hospital on weekends. But, as he'd been told by a stern Professor McGonagall, he wasn't family.
It didn't matter that Penelope Bell wrote a letter asking to be allowed to escort him to St. Mungo's. They still hadn't allowed him to leave. If he was honest, it rubbed him the wrong way. He'd been allowed to leave to see Mr. Weasley in the hospital. Well, he'd been sent away to avoid questioning. And it had been on the cusp of their Christmas Holiday. But those details didn't seem that pertinent in his head.
All of his information on Katie came from her parents. He wrote them a letter a week inquiring on how everything was and how Katie was doing. He thought he must have annoyed them, but one or the other replied to him diligently. And he appreciated every bit of news they provided.
Harry knew stewing on it wouldn't do him any good. So instead he dug his invisibility cloak out of his trunk, threw a change of clothing into his bag, and wandered out of the dormitory.
The clock in the common room read three forty-six in the morning. He sighed as he saw it, knowing it would be a long and tedious day. He didn't see anyone in the dark halls as he wandered toward the Prefect's bathroom. He let himself in and moved to an empty tub toward the back of the room.
He flipped the faucets on and shrugged off his cloak and pulled off his shirt. He gauged the water with his hand before flicking a few of his favorite scented faucets and adding in some bubbles. He pulled his pajama pants and underwear off in one motion and stepped into the half-filled tub.
He let the warm water fill the tub around him as he relaxed. He closed his eyes and willed sleep to come again, hoping that the warm, scented bubbles would help lull him into slumber. His thoughts shifted to Katie. Part of him wished he'd been able to work up the nerve to invite her to join him for a bath once.
It was unlikely she would have taken him up on that offer, but thoughts of having her there with him helped warm him. He could feel her against him, warm, soft, and cinnamon-scented, as he relaxed into the nothingness.
His armed moved instinctively to wrap around her, only for him to realize she wasn't there. He knew that, of course, but sometimes his brain felt a bit slow. Even in the two months since she'd been gone, he wasn't sure how to process the fact that she was missing.
After their foray with the snidgets she'd always been there. She'd stayed with him at nearly every moment they weren't in class. She'd helped him plan lessons for Dumbledore's Army. She'd helped him with his homework when he needed it and he'd work on hers with her. Because of it, he felt like a great deal of the work he'd done this year had been review. In fact, they both seemed to advance as they worked together. To the point where magic seemed to come easier, quicker to him. He wondered if it was part of maturing or something. But power, he noticed the more he worked with Katie, came easy.
More happily, she'd been the one to describe, in detail, every shot, every goal, and every play of Gryffindor's Quidditch win over Ravenclaw to retain the Quidditch cup. A minor victory over Umbridge.
And she'd been one of the first to volunteer to come with him to save his Godfather when he'd stupidly thought the man had been in danger. She'd gotten to meet him then, briefly in the Ministry of Magic on that fateful night. Sirius had liked her. He could tell that from even their briefest of meetings. And she'd been the one who'd pulled him away after Sirius had fallen. And the one who'd held him and whispered to him until Dumbledore made them separate.
She'd wanted him to come over that summer. She'd joked that her parents wouldn't have even made him do chores. But when he thought about it, that seemed silly. He would have wanted to help out. It hadn't mattered, he hadn't been able to get anyone to tell him he could. And, when he'd brought it up to Dumbledore after they saw Professor Slughorn, the Headmaster shrugged it off. Better to be safe at the Burrow than out someplace more public like the Bell's Conservatory.
Dumbledore ended the conversation with a comment about how the more time he spent with Miss Bell, the greater the danger she would be in. Harry had retorted that the same could said of the Weasley family. Which Dumbledore merely stated they knew the dangers and had agreed to them.
He'd spent the rest of his summer writing apologetic letters to Katie. But she was too kind to get upset about it. Instead she'd swindled her way into a weekend at her friend Leanne's house in London and they'd managed a day in Diagon Alley out of it, thanks, in large part to Fred and George shooing them out the back of the joke shop.
They'd had a lunch date and done their shopping together, holding hands and being close to each other, enjoying the moments and kisses they stole when no one was looking. Mrs. Weasley was livid when she'd found them.
Harry thought she'd seemed sour toward Katie in general, but nothing really came of it, past her attempting to needle information about the Bell's Conservatory out of Mr. Weasley at meals. But Mr. Weasley had nothing negative to say about it. And seemed to not pick up on his wife's intentions as he suggested they take the kids to see it.
Mrs. Weasley instantly vetoed that before Harry, Ron, or Ginny could express how much fun that would be, stating that she did not think Dumbledore would approve. And that was the end of that.
The summer ended without much fanfare and Harry wasn't the least bit surprised to find Penelope, Tom and Katie Bell waiting for him at the train station. Harry hugged Katie tightly to him and then kissed her in front of all of the adults. The Bells looked away while Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat in annoyance.
Katie and Harry went through the platform together and stood around as the Bells and Weasleys chatted for a few moments. It was a fairly stilted conversation and Harry got the distinct impression that none of the adults liked each other very much.
Katie seemed sense that as well and gave her farewells to her parents, allowing Harry to thank Mrs. Weasley for having him stay for a few weeks, before they boarded the train. He found an empty compartment, stored his and Katie's luggage, and sat with her.
When Ron and Hermione found them after their Prefect meeting Hermione had tutted at him, as if she didn't think cuddling on the train was altogether appropriate. But Harry didn't care.
That closeness, though, had ultimately been their undoing. They both ignored their other friends a bit. And when they realized they were doing it, instantly felt bad. So by the third week of September they were working on it.
It hadn't surprised him when she'd said Leanne wanted to go to Hogsmeade with her on the twelfth of October. He'd encouraged her to go. They could have their own little date the next Hogsmeade weekend. And Leanne absolutely needed Katie's opinion on some clothing she wanted to buy.
So Katie had gone to Hogsmeade with her friend. And he'd gone with Ron and Hermione. They'd had a good time wandering the streets and enjoying the first snowfall of the year.
They'd wound up at The Three Broomsticks around the same time. Due to the crowded nature of the pub, though, Harry hadn't noticed at the time. Had he, he would have insisted on putting some tables together or something. But instead he'd sipped his Butterbeer without a care in the world as he talked of school work and Quidditch.
He saw her as she was leaving. He'd met her eye, smiled and waved but, while her eyes met his, she hadn't acknowledged him at all. His stomach sank as she walked away from him. Had he done something wrong? Had he missed something obvious? What could that mean.
Even his friends could tell something was bothering him. They decided to walk back to the castle. And then, on the path, he'd heard the scream that shook him to his core. He'd sprinted off after it only to arrive too late.
He tried to stay by Hagrid's side as he carried her back to the castle. But Hagrid's legs were just so much longer than his and making the sprinting half-giant was impossible for him to keep up with.
Ron and Hermione came in later with Leanne. The slender Hufflepuff girl was distraught and it took Professor Sprout and McGonagall a few minutes to calm her down. Madame Pomfrey was too focused on Katie to help. Once she was calm, they gave the necklace Katie had been carrying to McGonagall. Harry didn't get a good look at it, and he only partially heard Leanne's story. Hermione would have to explain it all to him the next day.
Madame Pomfrey let him stay in the infirmary with her until the healers from St. Mungo's came. Sure, she made him stay back and out of the way, but she'd let him stay. And he'd stared at her empty face the entire time.
In a way, his mind was still there. Despite the time that passed, he still saw her face when his eyes closed, he still worried about her every day, and he grew progressively more furious that despite everything, no one could come up with anything resembling a lead on the case.
He opened his eyes, knowing full well that he was just going to grow more and more frustrated the more he thought about it. He must have lost himself in thought as the water was cold when he came back to. But a quick adjustment of the tub fixed that almost instantly.
Harry relaxed for another fifteen minutes before he checked the clock and saw it was just after five. There wouldn't be breakfast in the Great Hall for another hour, and he doubted many people, students or staff, would be wandering around so early on a classless morning. But he was sick of being in the water.
It only took him a couple of minutes to dry off, get dressed and throw the cloak over him once more. He wandered then, eventually finding himself outside and, as he saw smoking coming from that area, down to Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid was outside chopping wood. He jumped when Harry slid the cloak off and spoke to him. Thankfully Hagrid didn't give him any speech about how he should be in bed or anything. He did something far better. He asked for help.
They didn't talk much, outside of Hagrid telling him what to do. Mostly they worked. And it kept his mind off things. They fed some of the various animals he was keeping for classes, they foraged for specific roots on the outskirts of the forest, and Harry enchanted the flobberworm burrows so they wouldn't freeze. It took them most of the morning to finish all of the chores and when they went into his hut for a pot of tea, Harry's mind felt clear for the first time in days.
In the afternoon Hagrid made him finish his Christmas gift for Katie. He'd been sneaking away to work on it most of the term, especially when they had alternating free periods. He frowned at the thought, not seeing much point in finishing it. But Hagrid told him that when she woke up, he'd want to give it to her. And he knew the gamekeeper was right.
Until he realized he had one final task he had to complete before he could resign himself to oblivion for the holidays.
Slughorn's stupid party. The insufferable potions master had strongly implied Harry needed to attend. He'd thrown every excuse in the arsenal at it. But Slughorn had countered all of them and implied that if Harry didn't show he'd find him and drag him to the party. And that he had better have a date.
Slughorn had handwaved his comments that the only person he wanted to go to anything wasn't available. He'd asked Hermione, figuring they both needed a date and, given that Ron was dating Lavender there didn't seem to be anyone she wanted to go with available either. But Hermione had told him she had plans.
Still, he thought as he walked back to the castle and showered and relaxed in the common room until it was time to throw on some black robes and walk down to the Great Hall to wait for his date.
He caught sight of her coming up from the Hufflepuff common room. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back into a bun and she wore a pine green dress.
"Hello Leanne," he said as she walked up to him.
"Hey Harry," she responded with a slight flush on her cheeks. "Thanks for asking me."
"That's for coming with me," Harry said with as warm of a smile as he could muster.
"I thought you'd be mad at me," she said in a small voice as they started to walk toward Slughorn's office.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Well, had I been a better friend, had I noticed more…I should have been able to tell she was cursed. I should have made a scene at the inn. I should have done more," Leanne said softly. It came out quicky and Harry knew it had been eating at her for as long as similar thoughts ate at him.
"I don't think that's true," Harry said after a few seconds of silence. Leanne didn't respond right away.
"How so?" Leanne asked.
"I mean I didn't notice," Harry said.
"You weren't there," Leanne snapped.
"I know," Harry said, holding up his hands, hoping that she would let him finish before getting angry at him. She paused with a deep breath and stared at him.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, I mean, we made eye contact when she got up to leave. And she stared at me for a moment and, well, there was nothing in her eyes. Normally she would smile, or something when she saw me. Any type of acknowledgement. And she didn't," Harry said.
"So?" Leanne asked.
"So, it was weird," Harry said. "And I didn't think that there was anything nefarious to her. I assumed that I'd screwed up. I thought she was mad at me. That she might be breaking up with me. That it was all my fault."
"Please, she adores you," Leanne said.
"Anyway, it still never occurred to me that it might be something else that bothered her. So why should anyone else?" Harry said.
"Because I'm her best friend," Leanne said.
"Sure. But people have bad days. Sometimes they seem a little off with little to no explanation. It doesn't have to be anything other than that," Harry said.
"But it was," Leanne said.
"It was," Harry agreed.
"And Katie doesn't have bad days. She doesn't get down. That's not her," Leanne said.
"No," Harry smiled. "She doesn't really, does she?"
"She doesn't," Leanne affirmed with a fond smile. After a moment, though, it curled into a frown as she continued to think about her friend.
"But still, people do. It's not…I….I don't think we should act like we failed her. I think she'd be upset with that," Harry said.
"I think you're right," Leanne said. "Have you received any more news? I feel like such a bother when I write to her parents."
"She's still in the same condition," Harry said. "Nothing has changed."
"I wish she was back," Leanne said.
"Me too," Harry said. "Not that I'm disappointed with my company tonight."
"You don't need to flirt with me," Leanne blushed as she spoke. "I think we both needed to get out."
"We do," Harry agreed as they approached Slughorn's party. Music came from the door as Harry let himself in. Slughorn noticed him immediately and dragged him around the room. He only barely managed to grab Leanne's hand to keep her with him.
Slughorn talked and talked and talked, his eyes growing wider with each person he introduced to Harry Potter. Harry wasn't interested in any of them, and grew progressively more dour as he spoke.
At least until he was introduced to the head of sales with the Comet Corporation. Who he'd conversed with over letters when getting Katie her new broom. The man inquired if Leanne was the benefactor of the Comet, and Harry explained the whole sad tale to him. The man seemed genuinely concerned for him. And left him with the impression that if Harry Potter ever needed help, the Comet Corporation and many like it would be willing to assist him. And the conversation had the added benefit of taking so long Slughorn moved on to something more interesting.
So, when it was over he was left with Leanne and only Leanne. They had some drinks and talked. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to Katie. And it wasn't long after that that the entire thing became rather cathartic.
Hermione joined them for a few moments, sharing a story or two as well as she hid from Cormac. But when he came over looking for her, she vanished and instead Cormac wanted to talk about Quidditch. Harry blew him off, citing that he needed to dance with his date.
So they moved to the corner of the room and swayed to Christmas music with a few other couples. And that was his night. It wasn't bad, he thought. It wasn't as fun as being out with Katie. It wasn't Leanne's fault though, he knew. They were both sad. And they were both contemplative. Moments of amusing conversation faded into a depressed silence. But they fought against it, hoping to have as good of a time as they possibly could.
It was interrupted briefly by Draco Malfoy attempting to crash the party. They both took to teasing him for it, because it was so easy to do. And for a moment, it felt normal. But something bothered Harry.
He excused himself from Leanne's company, citing the need to use the restroom and walked out after Snape and Malfoy. He heard them talking in whispers they obviously thought were quieter than they were. He heard them talking of vows and protections and helping and he heard Malfoy claim he was carrying out his assigned job without Snape's help.
Harry's blood went cold as a thought, a miserable, evil thought shot straight through his brain. His jaw set hard and he moved before he had any time to think about it.
"Hello," he said, his tone harsh as he stepped toward them. Draco and Snape both jumped. Snape immediately pushed Draco behind him.
"Potter," He drawled. "Just what are you doing out of the party?"
"Shut up," Harry said. The force of his words surprised him. There was an aura of command in them that he didn't quite understand how. But Snape obeyed him. "I just have one thing to say."
"What's that?" Draco sneered from behind his human shield.
"If I find out that either of you were involved in what happened to Katie, even in the slightest way, I will kill both of you," Harry said. He enunciated each word carefully. He never raised his voice and no anger came into his words.
"Mister Potter," Snape started.
"Both. Of. You," Harry said again. He turned to return to the date and his party. This time Snape sneered at his back.
"Threatening a teacher? I think that calls for detention every night—" Snape started. Harry turned slowly and took three steps toward Snape. He was surprised when the potions master stepped away from him.
"No," Harry said. Magic emanated out of him, it seemed to coat the hallway and neither Snape or Malfoy wanted to be anywhere near it. They both flinched. They didn't respond. Harry nodded, as if that was enough, and returned to the party. It took him until he asked Leanne for another dance to wonder just what he'd done.
They danced for another couple of songs and then mingled for the remainder of the night with a small group of Hufflepuff's Leanne knew. Once the students started filing out of the party Harry walked with them back to the Hufflepuff common room. He hugged her and she thanked him for asking her out and wished him a Merry Christmas. He returned the sentiment and walked slowly back to the Gryffindor common room.
He conned some wrapping paper from a second year girl who was frantically wrapping her presents for her parents and used it to wrap Katie's gift before helping the girl finish her wrapping. When that was finished, he went to bed.
Harry spent the next few days ignoring the holidays. He'd been invited to stay with the Weasleys and while his first thought had been to stay at Hogwarts, his second had been something more nefarious. So he agreed to go.
He woke early on the morning of Christmas Eve and gathered a few things from his supplies before sneaking downstairs. He took some floo powder from the basin by the fireplace and took himself to the Leaky Cauldron before anyone else in the house was even awake.
He wandered into Muggle London and walked around until he found a place to eat breakfast. He sat there for a while, sipping orange juice and poking at eggs while he waited. Part of him wondered if the Weasleys would even admit to losing him. Part of him didn't care. Worst case, he figured, he owned Grimmauld Place and could always spend the rest of the holiday there.
Eventually he paid and left the change on the counter before wandering out into London. It took him a half hour to make it over to the hospital. It was a pretty quiet morning compared to what he'd seen the last year with Mr. Weasley. He stopped in the small shop and bought a large bouquet of flowers. He overheard a group of healers gossiping about how they hoped the holiday would go as he checked out and then made his way to reception.
The Welcome Witch ignored him for a few moments, paging through a magazine rather than helping. She peered over at him after a few moments before she did a double-take. Her eyes quickly flashed to his forehead and then suddenly she decided to be incredibly helpful.
While Harry let his annoyance at her behavior slip into his voice. It took surprisingly little time to find that Katie was in room three on the ground floor in the Artefact Accidents ward. And he spent a rather long time trying to convince her that he should be allowed to see her, given that he wasn't family.
In the end, she didn't let him out of reception. He found himself fuming in reception, debating using his invisibility cloak to infiltrate the hospital. But that wouldn't be necessary. A few moments later a lime-robed healer walked out from the Artefact wing and led Penelope Bell straight to Harry.
Katie's mom hugged him immediately, seeming to squeeze him harder than Molly ever did. She held him for a few moments before breaking away.
"It's so good to see you, Harry," she said.
"You too," Harry said, he couldn't help but smile. "Although I wish it was under better circumstances."
"I do too. Come now, Katie is this way," she said. She led him down a couple of hallways and finally into a room with a golden three on the door.
Harry's breath hitched as he entered. It was a small room, a hospital bed similar to those in the Hogwarts infirmary. Katie was in the bed, the blankets pulled up over her chest. A stuffed snidget joined her in the bed. Her face looked sunken, her dark hair lank around her. She looked thinner. A variety of empty potion vials littered the bedside table, as well as some letters, flowers, and other get well cards.
Penelope took the flowers from him and conjured a vase next to the bed. She filled it with water and put the flowers into it, adjusting them a little bit as Harry took in his first sight of Katie in months.
"Is there any news?" Harry asked as he sat in a chair on the side of the bed. He reached out and placed his hand over hers on the bed. He let his gaze alternate between Katie and Penelope. She sat in a chair on the other side of Katie's bed. He noticed a couch in the corner of the room, with a worn pillow and blanket, and luggage next to it.
"No," Penelope said. Harry took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"That sucks," he said.
"It does," Penelope agreed. She looked exhausted, with large bags under her eyes. Harry wondered if she'd even left the hospital in the last three months. He knew she must have. He knew the Dursleys would have gladly left him to rot in a hospital. But he wondered if he could possibly do the same for his child.
"I'm so sorry," Harry said. He had to fight back tears as he spoke.
"It's not your fault, Harry," Thomas Bell said from the doorway. He was carrying two mugs of steaming liquid. He offered one to his wife and sipped from the other one.
"I should have…done something," Harry said. Thomas walked over and put a hand on his back.
"We all think that. You did all you could. You were there. From what Rubeus said, she might not be here without you," Thomas said.
"I don't know how true that is," Harry said.
"I do," Thomas said. Harry turned his face back to Katie's. She looked almost peaceful. He squeezed her hand, wishing she'd squeeze his back. But it was just cool, too cold really.
"Did the healer have any update?" Penelope asked.
"No," Thomas said. "They still won't let them see the necklace for long enough to determine what it did."
"What?" Harry said. "That seems absurd."
"It is," Thomas said. "But it's too dangerous. Or so they claim. The slightest touch could incapacitate anyone."
"Healer Patel is willing to take that chance," Penelope sighed.
"But the ministry won't give her that choice," Thomas said. Harry's jaw clenched as the words hit him. But he didn't have anything more to say. He squeezed Katie's hand more and stared at her, willing anything to help her.
At some point a stern looking matron of a Healer came in and checked on Katie. She performed a series of spells that took about a half hour, forced some various potions into Katie, and then stepped outside with Penelope Bell for a few minutes.
Thomas talked to him when they were gone. They exchanged mundane pleasantries to fill the time. Harry asked about the conservatory and Thomas asked about school and Quidditch. But they lapsed into a comfortable silence after not too long.
It was near lunch when an excited bustle from outside the doorway drew Harry's attention. The noise seemed to be growing closer to them with each moment. And, judging from the glance they exchanged, the Bells noticed it as well. Harry tensed as it approached, until finally the door to the infirmary room opened and the Minister for Magic entered the room.
"Harry Potter!" Rufus Scrimgeour exclaimed as the stern, lime-robed healer from before followed him into the room. She looked furious, her jaw set tightly as she glared at the minister. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."
"Hello," Harry responded. He turned his eyes toward the minister and otherwise kept his expression blank. Whatever Scrimgeour had expected his response to be, this wasn't it. He paused, confusion evident on his face.
"I was hoping we could have an open discussion," Scrimgeour said. Harry kept looking at him, finding himself rather annoyed by the fact that the man was completely ignoring all three Bells in the room.
"And this is your ideal spot for that discussion?" Harry asked.
"We can go for a walk if you would prefer," Scrimgeour offered.
"No thank you," Harry said. He noticed the stern healer behind Scrimgeour smirk, her eyes flashing with amusement.
"Mister Potter I must insist," Scrimgeour said.
"I've got three months of stories to tell my girlfriend," Harry said. "I'm busy."
"Mister Potter," Scrimgeour said. Harry looked away from him and back at Katie. Somewhere in his mind he knew that dismissing the minister was not the best course of action. He could feel the man fuming as he stood in the doorway.
Harry ignored him. He focused on Katie's face, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her sunken cheeks. He heard the healer say something to the Bells, and the three of them left the room. Scrimgeour remained quiet for a few moments.
"I need your help, Mister Potter," he said.
"With what?" Harry asked.
"People are frightened. We need to appear to be doing something. To help calm everyone down," Scrimgeour said. Harry snorted. Again, it was obviously not the reaction the minister expected.
"Appear to be doing something?" Harry said with a laugh. "Not do something. Appear to be doing something."
"We are working quite diligently against You-Know-Who! You have no idea the gains we've made!" Scrimgeour said.
"Not enough gains that it appears you're doing anything, though," Harry said. Scrimgeour's mouth shut hard as he looked at Harry. Harry looked back. He remembered a furious Katie charging at Umbridge, screaming at her. He remembered the fury on her face, the confidence in her voice. He felt confidence flow into him. Strengthening him as he felt the Minister grow more desperate.
"I'm only asking that you and I appear together. Shake hands, smile for the cameras. Have it look like we're on the same side," Scrimgeour said.
"But minister," Harry started, holding up his left hand, the hand Umbridge had made him scar. "I must not tell lies."
"Boy," Scrimgeour started. The Minister's face flushed a deep crimson but all Harry did was tilt his head and keep looking at him. "This isn't the time to be childish."
"Enough," Harry said. Again, as with Snape, power flashed out of him and the Minister froze. "You are not my ally."
"I am trying to help you," Scrimgeour said.
"You've done a fantastic job of explaining how helping your government helps me," Harry said.
"I know you wish to be an Auror, we can certainly make sure," Scrimgeour started. But Harry's glare stopped him mid-sentence.
"I do not need a handout," Harry said. "I am not going to help you. You have given me no reason to."
"That's what I'm trying to do now!" Scrimgeour shouted.
"You still employ Dolores Umbridge, a woman who tortured myself and other students in the name of the government. You are still holding Stan Shunpike as a Death Eater with no indication of a trial coming," Harry said. Scrimgeour's jaw tightened before he spoke.
"I can't get rid of the senior undersecretary on a whim," he said.
"I also found out today that the Healers attempting to save this girl are not being granted access to the artifact that hurt her. I think there's only two people likely to have that much pull," Harry said. He looked at Katie again for a few moments before leveling his gaze on Scrimgeour.
"Yet you're not arguing with Dumbledore about that. You are his man through and through, aren't you," Scrimgeour accused. Harry paused to think about it. At one point he might have been. But now, after he'd had to sneak out to even get where he was.
"I play the man I am," Harry quoted. Scrimgeour looked ready to argue. But it didn't come. The room was silent for a few moments before he spoke.
"I'll get the necklace to Healer Patel no later than this afternoon. Getting Dolores off my staff will take more time. And there isn't anything I can do about Shunpike until the Aurors say he can go," Scrimgeour said. "If you come with me and talk to the Prophet."
"Not good enough," Harry said. Scrimgeour's eyes narrowed.
"What are your terms?" Scrimgeour asked.
"It doesn't matter. I'm never going to pose for photographs with you. Or say a kind word about your administration," Harry said.
"Then why are we even talking?" Scrimgeour spat.
"You wanted to," Harry countered. The man threw his arms up in frustration.
"Merlin's Beard boy. We're trying to fight a war here, can't you get that through your head."
"I've been fighting it since I turned eleven," Harry countered. "With no help from you. I prevented Lord Voldemort from getting the Elixir of Life. I killed his basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. I revealed the traitor who got my parents killed. I fought him after he came back, twice now. You have done nothing but hinder me. And now I find out you've spent three months preventing my girlfriend from getting the help she needs," Harry said.
"We only want to help," Scrimgeour said.
"Your actions suggest otherwise. Prove me wrong," Harry said. Scrimgeour's eyes narrowed.
"For no guarantee of anything?" the Minister asked.
"You don't get it. I've been in his head. You have two options. If he wins, he will kill all of you. If I win, I may not," Harry said.
"I wouldn't threaten me," Scrimgeour said.
"I wouldn't dream of it," Harry said. "I'm sharing my post war plans with you. Once the one madman who wants me dead is gone. It'll be time to get rid of the group of them. If I have to I will tell them everything. Everything you said, every detail of what you did to me, every sordid bit. I will throw so much dirt on you specifically you'll be cited as the worst Minister of all time. You'll be a joke, a pun used for centuries."
"No one will believe you," Scrimgeour said.
"If you thought that," Harry sighed and shook his head. "Then you wouldn't be here now."
"Boy," Scrimgeour growled.
"Leave," Harry said. "If Umbridge replaces Shunpike in Azkaban I'd consider it a pleasant Christmas gift. And I might let it slip that I don't think you're an incompetent buffoon."
"I need to check on the patient," the stern healer said from the now open door to the room. Scrimgeour looked and then spun on his heel and left.
"You shouldn't talk to him like that," Penelope Bell said, following the Healer into the room.
"Nonsense," the healer said. She held out her wand and started another round of diagnostics on Katie. "More people should talk to him like that."
"You heard all that?" Harry said.
"We weren't going to leave you alone with him," Thomas Bell said. "How much of it was true? Katie told us some things but a lot of them felt far-fetched."
"All of it," Harry said.
"And that's what you want, reform?" Thomas asked.
"I don't care," Harry said. "I want to be left alone. I want to be able to live my own life."
"You are mature for your age," Penelope said. The healer agreed as she finished her diagnostic and told the Bells she would be back in a few hours. Penelope picked up his bag from where he shrugged it over a chair and moved it to a small table in the corner. It fell open and Penelope pulled out the wrapped package.
"Is that what Hagrid was working on with you?" Thomas said.
"Yes," Harry said. He blinked then, as he certainly hadn't mentioned it in any of his correspondences with the Bells. "How did you know?"
"Hagrid loves to talk," Thomas said.
"May we see it?" Penelope asked.
"Go ahead," Harry said. She gently unwrapped the box, doing so without damaging any of the wrapping paper. Once she got it unwrapped she opened the box.
Inside was a silver charm bracelet. Thin silver links looped around each other. Harry had crafted each of them, by hand, with Hagrid's help. He'd had no idea the giant was a metallurgist. Hagrid never brought it up, until Harry was thinking aloud about possible gifts and Hagrid advised him to make her something. Harry liked the thought but he wasn't sure how it would work, or what he could even make. Hagrid volunteered to help right away.
It had taken a large amount of his free time. Hagrid made him pound out each link until they were all perfect and uniform. He'd made probably twenty times the total that were actually used in the piece. And that had been the easy part.
Once the bracelet was done, he'd sculpted. He'd drawn them all first. He started out easy with an ashwinder curled into a near ball. And then a snidget. And he'd continued on, redoing the rejects countless times until he'd finally put the finishing touches on the kelpie just days before the break. All-in-all, every creature at the Bell Conservatory was represented on the bracelet.
"It's beautiful," Penelope said. Harry saw tears in her eyes and looked away. He didn't want to be responsible for more tears. Thomas walked over toward her and she offered it to him. He held it carefully in his hand and nodded, tears also forming in his eyes.
"Very detailed," the man nodded. "This is good work."
"Thanks," Harry said. Thomas offered it back to Harry.
"Put it on her," he said. "Maybe the charms will help her."
"Maybe," Harry said. If he was honest he wanted to see it on her. He thought it was better served there than hiding in a box. He'd been so nervous as to whether she'd actually wear it that he'd lost sleep over it.
He took it from Thomas and slowly lifted Katie's left hand. He put it on her wrist and then let her hand down, looking at the silver charms and they gleamed in the light of the room. The three of them sat in silence for a moment. Thomas broke it by saying he and his wife should head to the cafeteria to pick up some lunch. It would take about a half hour, he said.
Harry knew what he was doing. He was giving Harry some time alone with Katie. And he was grateful to it. As soon as they left he took her hand once more and then the words came. He didn't know why he talked to her. But he did. He talked to her about everything she missed, every Quidditch play, every stupid joke, every interesting class. He talked to her about life, about all she missed.
In his head he could hear her replies. He could hear her jokes. He could see her amused smile as they shared an inside joke. For a moment, it felt real. It was enough to distract him. But it was only for a moment.
He talked until there was only one thing left to say. The one thing he hadn't been able to say to her when she was around to hear it. He squeezed her hand, feeling nervous about the upcoming confession.
He fought with himself about it. The timing felt so wrong. It wasn't the same thing as if she'd been there. But, in the end, he knew he had to say it. He had to imagine she heard it. He squeezed her hand tightly as he finally managed the courage to say the words.
"I love you, Katie," he whispered. She didn't acknowledge the words at all. But he felt better for saying them. So, he repeated them. And then once more. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.
He whispered it once more while he waited for her parents to return. When they came back with three trays of food he thanked them. There wasn't much more of a need to talk. He spent the rest of the day at her side. Content in the thought that he'd expressed his feelings for her and giddy for the chance to do it once she was able to reply.