Harry Potter and the Creature Within
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 2
The next day Harry woke with a start. He was laying on a bed that had plain white sheets and a white curtain drawn around it. Right beside his bed was a nightstand that held a clock which read 12:45PM.
Where am I? Then it hit him. He was in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. The memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. I'm a- a werewolf now! Oh, no...this can't be happening! Why does everything have to happen to me?
His thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey pulling back the curtains around his bed.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, you're awake," she said.
"I'm a werewolf now, aren't I?" he said. "I'm going to transform on the nights of full moons, like Lupin.
"Yes, I'm afriad so," she replied sadly. "The Headmaster wishes to talk to you now that you're awake."
"Okay," Harry said.
With all the new things on his mind, he completely forgot about his talk with Dumbledore at the end of the previous school year. Right now he was glad to see his headmaster again.
"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said. He had sat down on a chair beside Harry's bed.
"What's so good about it?" Harry said before he could stop himself.
"Ah, I see your memories of last night have come back," said Dumbledore.
"Yes, Sir," Harry replied glumly.
"As you may already know, it was Remus Lupin who bit you last night. Right before he transformed, I placed a spell over the house. It was supposed to keep everyone out, including those who knew how to enter," said Dumbledore.
"So that's why I didn't see anyone," Harry said. "But then how come I was able to get inside? I mean, you're the most powerful wizard, so nobody should have been able to break the charm."
"Unless I'm much mistaken, Harry, I'm not the most powerful. You are," Dumbledore replied. "You must have been wanting entrance to the house very much to have broken the charm."
Harry sat in silence. He didn't know what to think. How could he, Harry, be the most powerful wizard? Dumbledore was the one that Voldemort feared. He was the one that came up with all the clever plans on what to do and ways to get Harry out of trouble. And yet, he, Harry was able to break the charm that Dumbledore had put on Grimmauld Place.
Dumbledore began to speak, breaking Harry of his thoughts.
"Yes, believe it or not Harry, but your even more powerful than me," said Dumbledore with a small laugh. "When you stood in front of where Grimmauld Place would be and thought about your destination, your thoughts were so powerful that it broke the spell. Even I could never have done that.
Harry didn't know what to say. Seeing the look on Harry's face, Dumbledore continued.
"Later this evening Remus is going to come and talk to you. Now lay back down and get some rest."
After Dumbledore left Madam Pomfrey came over and gave him a goblet of potion for the pain in Harry's shoulder. After he drank the potion, which tasted sort of like the kind she had given him in his 2nd year to regrow his bones, he fell into a deep sleep.
Harry awoke only when he felt a hand on his uninjured shoulder and heard the scraping of a chair. He opened his eyes to see Remus Lupin sitting beside his bed. He didn't look his usual self. He was very pale. It must be from his transformation last night, Harry thought.
"Hi Moony," Harry said, smiling.
"Hello Harry," Lupin replied, with a sad tone of voice.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Well I don't feel too good. It takes a couple of days for me to feel my usual self again after the full moon," Lupin said.
"Yeah, I remember Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts when you weren't feeling well. That was horrible," said Harry, smiling.
Lupin gave a small laugh and said, "Yeah, well I guess we should get on to what I really came to talk to you about. The saddened look came back as he said this.
"Okay," Harry said with a sigh.
"Well on nights of the full moon, you will go down to the Shrieking Shack about an hour before the moon starts to rise. You will stay there until the sun rises. Then someone will come to get you, but I'm not really sure who that will be yet. Whoever it is will take you up to the Hospital Wing since you'll be very weak afterwards for a few days."
"Okay," Harry said with dread.
"Oh, and there's one more thing. On the full moon closest to your 16th birthday, you will be pulled towards your mate. It will be someone you already know and it could be a boy or girl. They don't have to be a werewolf. You have to spend time with that person often. If you don't, you'll die," Lupin said.
"Why does everything have to happen to me? Now I have to worry about this in addition to everything else," Harry said. All he wanted to be able to do was have a normal life, where all he had to worry about was homework and normal teenage problems. But he knew he would never be able to enjoy that luxury.
"Harry, I'm really sorry about what happened last night. I feel horrible. It's all my fault that you now have this to worry about. You have enough to worry about right now as it is," said Lupin sadly.
"No, it's not your fault. You couldn't help it. I shouldn't have even been at Grimmauld Place. I was stupid to have forgotten about the full moon," Harry said.
"You forgive too easily, Harry," Lupin said, smiling.
"How could I be mad at you? You're like a second dad to me, besides Sirius," Harry said.
After a few minutes of silence, Lupin said, "I miss him too, Harry. He was one of my best friends."
"I guess it must be pretty hard to have two of your best friends dead and the other serving Voldemort," Harry said.
"Yes, it is. You're lucky to have two best friends that care about you the way Ron and Hermione do," Lupin said.
"Ron and Hermione!" said Harry suddenly. "Can I send them an owl and tell them what happened?"
"Yes, of course. Just don't tell them anything about finding your mate," Lupin said.
Harry was a bit confused about why he couldn't tell them about that part, but he was too glad he could tell them about what happened to care much.
"Well, I have to get going, Harry," Lupin said. "I'll see you later. Don't worry too much about the next full moon. I'll be with you at the Shrieking Shack. You won't have to go through it alone."
"Thanks, Lupin!" Harry said.
"No problem, Harry," he said. "It's the least I could do."
Once Harry heard the door close shut, he slowly got up from the bed and went over to his trunk that someone must have picked up for him. Hedwig's empty cage was hanging on a stand next to it. He supposed she was off hunting.
He opened up his trunk. The contents inside were placed neatly so everything fit quite nicely. This of course, wasn't his doing. Whoever brought his trunk must have repacked it so that it didn't look like the things inside had just been thrown in, which actually, they had.
He found two pieces of parchment, and quill, and a bottle of ink. Then he went over to the small table by the window and sat down. He first wrote a letter to Ron which read:
Dear Ron,
Right now I'm at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing. I know, you're probably thinking, "Already? School hasn't even started yet!" Well, I don't know if you noticed, but last night was the full moon. The Dursley's were being their usual selves. I decided I had had enough, so I snuck out of the house and went to Grimmauld Place. When I got inside, I couldn't find anyone, which I thought was odd. I now know why nobody was there. Lupin was using the house for when he transformed. I couldn't get out the door fast enough. I think you can guess what happened. I got bitten. I'll talk to you later about what Dumbledore told me. Don't worry about me though. I'm fine, my shoulder just hurts a bit.
Hope to see you soon,
Harry
Harry folded the piece of parchment and laid it on the desk. Then he wote a similar letter to Hermione. He wondered how they would react when they read their letters. He then folded the second piece of parchment and went over to Hedwig's cage. The snowy white owl was now resting peacefully inside. He tied both letters to her leg.
"Take one to Ron and the other to Hermione, okay," Harry whispered to the owl.
She gave a small hoot and was off, out the window again.
Not sure what to do, Harry sat on his bed and laid back. He was surprised Madam Pomfrey hadn't come over and ordered him back to bed while he had been writing the letters. That was unlike her. Oh, well. Why am I worrying about something like that anyway? he though and drifted into a light sleep.
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