Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, TBH if it's cannon Harry I don't want him.

Slytherins Secret

AN: I think I may be writing Dobby as if he were Smeagol…

Chapter 4: Misdirection

After about two hours of continuous reading Harry heard footsteps in the hallway and put down his book. He'd read almost without pause, except for a light snack about half an hour previously and was just finishing reading the first chapter of Runes, having read the introductions and first chapters for all of the other subjects. I'm not going to be Ron's favourite person sadly, he thought a little apprehensive about the discussion he was going to have to have, with his best friends, about the electives, in the next few days.

He looked up and caught Madam Pomfrey's eye mouthing "they allowed in?" as he jerked his head towards the door. She nodded smiling and went to greet his friends "Miss Ganger, Mr Weasley, Miss Weasley, you may come in but for one hour only, you are to divest yourselves of all magical items, save your wands, and are not to perform ANY magic whilst in my infirmary are we clear?" She pinned his friends with a severe look.

"Yes Madam Pomfrey" came the replies and Ron dumped a few magical prank items on the table near the door, whilst Hermione shrugged of her book-bag.

As the matronly woman smiled and wandered back towards her office, Harry's friends rushed over, dragging the now blushing Ginny with them, "Harry mate, how are you?" Ron began before he was interrupted by a flying brunette frantically hugging Harry.

"Harry, you did it, you figured it out! Oh I knew you would." With that Hermione finished her tackle hug and kissed him on the cheek, then smacked him on the arm and started crying "But don't you EVER do anything that stupid again, how do you think I felt waking up only to find you unconscious in a hospital bed AGAIN!"

Harry chuckled warmly and hugged her back, awkwardly patting her on the back "it's OK Hermione, I will be fine, just can't do magic for a while, it's not like I can in hols anyway."

"But that's not the point, you could have died" she wailed and squeezed him tighter in her hug burying her head in his chest.

Harry had no idea how to deal with an emotionally overwrought Hermione, but the hug was creating a warm feeling in his chest so he just went with his gut and kissed the top of her head squeezing back "Well we did go to a teacher first…honestly Hermione, I'm OK, Ron mate your hands are healed?" he questioned causing Ron to hold them up and nod. "See Ron's fine, everyone that was petrified is fine, however " his face took on a solemn look despite the smile hidden in his eyes "I DO promise not to fight any more gigantic, magical, snakes, in previously, secret, chambers under the school, armed with only a sword, hat and magical bird, ok?"

This facetiousness seemed to do the trick and Hermione disengaged, sniffed twice, then hit his shoulder again muttering "prat, boys honestly" but she smiled and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Ow! " Harry whined "honestly here I am defenceless, already in the Hospital wing and she's beating me up" He grinned wickedly.

"Yeah well you asked for it, honestly though you are ok, right mate?" Ron replied and patted him awkwardly on the shoulder before sitting down.

"Yup!" Harry replied happily "I'm stuck here for at least 2 more days but Madam Pomfrey got me some stuff to do, so I'm good, I don't feel ill just a bit weak and achy and y'know the magic thingy."

"Ummm Harry?" Ginny piped up from where she had been standing, the three friends having forgotten about her completely "ummm I just wanted to say thankyouforsavingme, eventhoughtIwasreallystupid, andyouaremyhero, thankyou" then ran out of the Hospital wing blushing furiously.

The three friends just blinked at her departure then shrugged as Ron muttered "girls, honestly there's just no understanding them!" and Harry said bemusedly "still a fan girl then, shame." He then continued "it's good to see you guys, it's not the same without you Hermione, and Ron, I just want to say thanks mate."

"What for?" Ron looked confused.

"I know how your hands got like that mate, and I appreciate it; you must have been digging through rock with you bare hands for over an hour, so thanks, if it wasn't for you I'd have been trapped."

Ron looked embarrassed now "yeah, well you would have done it for me right? Plus it was my little sister too, so don't mention it, 'sides Madam Pomfrey fixed me up."

Harry looked at Ron sternly "Well yeah I would have, but the Dursleys have made me work till my hands were like that before and I know how hard it is to force yourself to keep moving, and we both know that neither of us were expecting to find Ginny alive. There wasn't much chance of me coming back either, so you will take the damn thank you, since the only reason I was able to leave that stupid Chamber was you digging me out, and you will let me buy you a new wand!" Harry held up his hand "ah, ah, no arguments, my crazy elf friend was the root cause of the damage, and my crazy plan let Lockhart near us, and you saved my life, sort of, I don't think I would have been safe for Fawkes to flame out with my magic like this, so I will buy you a new wand to make up for some of it , got it?" Harry attempted to look stern.

"Harry, you don't have to, but I guess if you can convince Mum, then I would really like you to, can it maybe be my birthday present?" Ron looked like he was having his usual 'charity case' issues but had realised how badly he needed a new wand.

"Sure thing, and last year's birthday to, hopefully that will let me convince your parents" Harry grinned "plus, how can you watch my back without a wand?"

"Alright I surrender! Thanks mate." Ron smiled gratefully.

The three friends proceeded to chat amiably for the remaining fifty minutes, catching Hermione up on everything interesting that she had missed. In return Ron and Hermione filled Harry in on Dumbeldore's announcement at dinner, that internal exams were cancelled and that students who wanted too could go home a week early on a special run of the express. They chatted about the sudden turnaround in public opinion regarding Harry (which got his mind rolling) and how the story of the chamber was being reported (completely inaccurately), the electives were briefly mentioned with Harry saying that he needed to research and gesturing at his books which granted him an approving look from Hermione and a disbelieving one from Ron. Then Madam Pomfrey chased Harry's friends out for the evening as it was nearly seven and they left promising to see him the next day.

"Now Harry," she said a few minutes later "if you want, we can start that discussion of the electives whilst you eat dinner, I know you won't want much what with it being so close to lunch…"

"Actually I'm starving for some reason" Harry interjected.

"Really? Oh well then, we can talk whilst you and I eat dinner, I often eat here rather than the great hall, the student body can be so…rambunctious."

Harry grinned, "That's a nice way of putting it; that sounds great if you don't mind?" he trailed of questioningly.

"Not at all Mr Potter," she continued more briskly, "now I shall order something nourishing from the elves, and find you a tray then we can talk".

After Madam Pomfrey had bustled and fidgeted with Harry's eating arrangements to her satisfaction, the two of them ate in silence for a few minutes before beginning their conversation.

"Now Mr Potter, before we begin, I just need to check that you aren't feeling any sensitivity, no magic that is making your ears hum or anything?" Madam Pomfrey asked looking downright furtive.

What? Harry thought, why ask now, unless...there are no portraits here, I thought of that, but listening spells…"I can't sense anything, I think I felt a little uncomfortable when Ginny was in here though, perhaps she had some passive magic on her?"

"Good Harry, that's good," Pomfrey's manner suddenly became much warmer and more relaxed; "you are supposed to have a careers talk, with you head of house, before choosing your electives, as well as discussions with your…guardians. " She wrinkled her nose as she said this. "I expect, however, that given your guardians' general level of interest in your schooling, the discussion may 'accidentally' be overlooked, especially with you in here. If Professor McGonagall," Pomfrey looked quite irritated with the head of Gryffindor "should happen to remember then you will just have the benefit of two peoples opinions and experience, which should merely cover for the lack of input from your guardians, so there is no need to mention that we've discussed things. After all I'm sure as Deputy Head and a teacher she is more qualified to help the students than I am." She held his gaze intently as she said this until Harry sharply nodded to indicate that he understood her meaning.

"Thank you for taking time, out of your busy end of year schedule, to talk to me about this, after all it is likely to be 'unintentionally' overlooked. We are just lucky that there are no students in the wing, or you might not have the …time to help me." Harry responded keeping his tone casual, but trying to convey that he knew not to mention this to anyone.

"Well then I shall try not to influence you unduly, so, could I have your opinions of the subjects offered Harry," she sat back an interested look on her face.

Harry's face took on a contemplative look rather than the mask he had been wearing as he began to think aloud. "Well since I live in the muggle world, the only way that Muggle Studies would be useful, is if it were a continuation of core muggle subjects, you know the GCSEs, however it isn't. The only material in the book that I didn't know, was because it was so out of date that I'm not sure if it was correct, allot of the detail in the first chapter is wrong and it's all hopelessly, hopelessly dated."

Madam Pomfrey grimaced, "indeed, whilst not muggleborn I have studied muggle healing as a hobby and I keep abreast of the muggle world, so sadly I cannot disagree with you."

"The only way it could be useful is if the mirror image were offered for muggle borns, I'd love to take a wizarding customs, home-life and laws class." Harry agreed "Divination doesn't look appealing, Ron seemed to think it would be easy, but I don't really see the point; do you need a seer ability to use that stuff, and does it actually work?" Harry looked at the Mediwitch questioningly.

"You can have some minor success without the true seer gift in a few branches, but most of those involved druidic sacrifice and are now considered dark. Sadly at least some of the sight is required for any degree of success in divination and I can think of very few careers where the knowledge but inability to use it would be beneficial. Furthermore if you do have a weak seer gift, and trust me we would all know if you had a strong one, it would only cooperate with one or two mediums, so you would just need a tutor in scrying or omens etc."

"Thank you, the book was very vague about allot of the detail, and as I said, I couldn't really see the point." Harry nodded once before continuing "So next we have Care of Magical Creatures, that gets a maybe from me. I think I have an affinity for animals, I've been able to understand Hedwig to the point that lately I hear words from her and something akin to words from other post owls, and of course I have Parseltoungue, and then Norbert liked me more than Hermione and Ron and so does Fluffy."

"Norbert? Fluffy? What are they and how do they relate to Care Mr Potter" asked Madam Pomfrey looking concerned and angry at eh same time.

"Ummm pets of Hagrid's?" Harry evasively answered trying to squirm backwards through the pillows, oops.

"Yes, I guessed that much by the names, specifics Mr Potter specifics" she looked like she was losing patience.

"Well, Fluffy is the Cerberus that was guarding the 3rd floor corridor in first year, and Norbert is the dragon that Hagrid hatched in his hut." Harry answered in a rush.

"What! I cannot believe….I don't know how you manage to ever leave this infirmary Harry, it's like you're a walking disaster zone." Madam Pomfrey deflated and settled for just looking worriedly at Harry.

"I guess that's true, anyway I seem to be good with animals, like they understand me when I need them to? But I've only ever worked with Mrs Figg's cats, and well cats listen to nobody, the post owls, Fawkes and a few snakes. It's not much to go by, and I'm not sure which careers Care is needed for?" Harry decided to continue and sidestep the issue of Cerberuses and dragons.

"Well I can see your point, if you do indeed have an affinity then it is a talent worth cultivating, we can go over careers latter, but there are quite a few where it is a useful supplemental although not required, in addition to the few specialists that need the skill." Pomfrey responded allowing him to change the topic back.

"Arithmancy and Runes are both definite as long as nothing you say makes me rethink," Harry continued. "Arithmancy looked like a foundation in muggle math would really help, and my math was always way better than my literacy, I've nicked my cousins discarded books too so I'm actually a few years into the secondary school system. Mind you I bet it gets boring and has absolutely tons of homework, but I think I might be good at it, Runes and Arithmancy seem to complement each other, so I figure I want to at least try it. Runes looks…amazing, I dunno, I guess it might be a Potter thing? When I looked a the text book it just felt right, again so much work, but it's magic I can do at home! I could get a muggle repelling ward on my room and then Uncle Vernon won't be abel to come in and hit me, and Hedwig will be safe, and I could hide my school stuff so they don't lock it up." Harry was smiling happily and hadn't notice the livid look on Madam Pomfrey's face when he mentioned the Dursleys' standard treatment.

"Well," she cleared her throat, "well you're right dear, you could do those things, although probably not immediately, and I agree than Runes and Arithmancy complement nicely, they are the skills that are most useful from a generalised career route. Of course many careers just require a certain number of OWLs and NEWTs above a specific grade, or only specify a few subjects. Healing for instance, requires 8 OWLs at Acceptable level and 5 NEWTS at at least A level, including an E and an O in Charms and Potions, with the minimum level depending on the speciality. The difficulty in getting into NEWT level potions in recent years is one of the reasons Healer trainees are dropping in numbers." Madam Pomfrey blushed as she realised she was starting to ramble.

"OK, so if I want to go into healing I need to get potions tuition or learn to brew on my own at home, I really don't understand how I can be so bad at it, I'm a good cook and have excellent hand eye coordination." Harry muttered resentfully, and Madam Pomfrey looked though full.

"You, you're considering Healing?" Pomfrey asked.

"Well sure, it's one of the most amazing things wizards do, and after all the times you've patched me up? I can't say it wouldn't be a job that helps people. It's hardly the only choice, but it is one of the few I've heard of that sounds good." Harry replied surprised that she was surprised.

"Well I like that thought process, let's see what I can come up with careers wise, I think I'll just list a few favourites then give you this" she pulled a book from behind her back.

"101 wizarding careers and how to get there?" Harry read aloud.

"It's a good start, it's a bit early to be worrying to much about carers but this will get you started and help you get an idea of the grade profile and subject numbers needed. The general break down is that the most competitive or well thought of careers need straight As as the minimum at OWL level and 5 NEWTS ,which usually means at least 5 Exceeds expectations in the OWLs to qualify, although Severus requires an Outstanding for his class, and some of the less popular courses like Divination, Muggle studies and Astronomy only require a pass to continue."

"Thanks so much for helping me with this Madam Pomfrey, I think I'll read this for a bit then sleep if that's OK?" Harry asked.

"Of course Harry dear, be sure not to overtire yourself, and do your teeth and change into your pyjamas now please." She chided

Harry laughed and did as he was told, shortly he was engrossed in his book, but set himself a time limit so that he would go to sleep early turning to the first section he read 'Artificer/Artist: wizarding art is, sadly, a declining field…

Five hours later and Harry was using his Dursley honed skills to wake up and sneak out, he had called Dobby to get his cloak, its passive magic not seeming to cause him any problems, although he could sense it as a sort of hum against his own. He kept as low as he could and avoided routes with portraits where possible remembering how conveniently Dumbledore had turned up after his midnight wanderings in the past.

When he reached Myrtle's bathroom he snuck in, thankful that the door was ajar and realised that Myrtle wasn't anywhere to be seen. Unwilling to question his good fortune, he walked towards the sink and hissed ~open silently~ when this worked he thought for a second and added ~staircase?~ and emboldened by his success ~lights~ . Quickly Harry ran down the first few steps, turned around and hissed ~close silently~ and was delighted to see the entrance sealed but the stairs remained, lit and descending along the same route as the pipe had. Thankful that everyone seemed to have bought his tired and aching act, (well mostly act) he was glad that normally he escaped from the hospital wing by any means necessary, since it diverted suspicion. He was a little worried about his magical sensitivity, but figured it was out of his control, and was a decent cover anyway. Happy in the thought that he had managed to evade his various watchers, both benevolent and malign he skipped down the steps towards the meeting with his ancestor.