CHAPTER TWENTY TWO A FEW FAMILIAR FACES

The next morning brought many unhappy faces to the breakfast table as no one spoke over a hot bowl of porridge and coffee. When the cups were drained and the plates empty, five people got up to part their ways with not so much as a word to share between them. Harry and Ginny planned to spend the day at work, and as the plan still hadn't been finished, Hermione, Ron, and Draco had no intention of going home. Hermione, however, did plan to spend the day keeping Ron occupied and away from Draco. She was taking him into Diagon Alley to try to keep his mind off the night before and perhaps buy some new books at Flourish and Blotts in the process. Draco planned to have the house to himself today seeing as everyone would be gone and couldn't wait to get some well-needed sleep. He had been afraid to fall asleep again through the night but in the daylight hours, not even the dark soul of his father could overpower the light.

As Hermione and Ron tucked their winter robes close around them to leave, Hermione watched Draco walk sulkily down the stairs. The words had flown out of her mouth before she could catch them.

"Would you care to join us in Diagon Alley today, Draco?"

Ron's glare could have pierced metal as Draco turned to ponder the question. "I don't think I slept too well last night. I think I'll just catch up on a few z's and then do a bit of tidying up. Fred and George are not the cleanest company. Besides, I don't think Weasley's head could stand the strain if he keeps making that face. Thanks for the offer though, love."

Ron leapt forward as if to go beat the smirk of Malfoy's face as his final word of thanks sank into two sets of ears. Hermione restrained him easily with one firm stare and they parted, shouting at each other clear down the street. The last discernable phrase came from Hermione and Draco couldn't help but laugh as he lay on his bed at the wit of that strong beauty.

"Why do you even care that he kissed me? According to you he's gay!" Ron's mumbling could be heard until they apperated from the street corner.

Another scene was now playing itself out in the alcove of the doorway. Harry and Ginny had met there, almost by accident, and she firmly put down her satchel containing her lunch to straighten out the ceil blue work scrubs that Harry had thrown on.

"Honestly, Harry, did you sleep in these? I don't think I've ever seen a pair of scrubs that could get that wrinkled." She pulled out her wand and brushed them over the clothes until they lay flat and pressed against his body. "Now, did you pack a lunch? Wash your hair? Get milk money and clean underwear and all that other bullshit." She smiled as her mother channeled momentarily through her body. Why did women always baby their men? Cause we have to or they'd die. Ginny smiled up at Harry and even though she hadn't spoke, he knew she had just thought of how hopeless a case he was.

Harry leaned forward to kiss her good-bye, but Ginny stepped back as if she was being violated on her first date. "Harry, what are you doing?"

"I was just trying to kiss you good-bye, that's all. Isn't that OK?"

"I just, well, just don't kiss me unless you mean it, OK? I just want to feel something the next time you kiss me. That you can prove to me that it's all me. I'm sorry, Harry. Have a good day though." She did reach up and peck him on the cheek before turning to leave the house. As she hit the top step, she felt his hand clasp firmly around the top of her arm and spun her around. As her body spun nearly off the step, she was pulled firmly and pressed up against a firm, heaving chest. Her head was pushed furiously back until it rested on Harry's strong hand that ran through her hair as his lips pressed a tight seal against hers. He kissed her with such fury that she felt her knees buckle and was glad that he had her held so tightly. His head moved slowly but with purpose against hers and she felt him harden slightly against her leg. She broke away with a spark of hope but noticed that he wouldn't open his eyes to look at her.

"Look at me, Harry." She tried to get him to open his eyes but as they opened, she knew why he had kept them closed. The most passionate kiss they had shared in years and there was not a spark of anything in those eyes. Ginny tried to give him some words of encouragement, but nothing came to mind. She left for work, the taste of his lips still lingering on hers and she tried to wipe it off as it only caused her pain.

Harry slammed the door shut with so much force that the porch lamp broke off and hung by it's wiring. As he slammed the key into the lock with a reassuring click, a sheer black owl dropped a letter onto the porch in front of Harry's feet. On the envelope, which was addressed to himself, was a scrawl he hadn't seen since school. Inside, the note conveyed the same snobbiness that he had come to expect from the sender.

Today is fine. Be here by six, no later. If you can't arrive on time then perhaps it doesn't really matter to you after all. Meet me on the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, I'm sure you remember where that is, and I'll take you where we are to continue. I'm not promising results, but we'll see what we can work out. Do not be late.

Professor Severus S. Snape, potions master, RET

"Great. Let's top off this perfect day with a visit to Snape. Just what I've always wanted." He finally reached the corner behind all of the others and Apparated to his home for the day.

The entrance to St. Mungo's appeared in front of him before Harry realized that he'd forgotten to send a letter to Madam Pomfrey saying he'd be here today. "Keep it up, Harry. You're really gonna knock this day out of the park." He wandered into the busy lobby past the desk and didn't return the smile to the receptionist who he clearly overheard her turn a colorful phrase in his direction. He knocked on Madam Pomfrey's door and she was obviously not expecting him, but happy to see him all the same.

"I didn't expect to see you today, Harry. Things straightened up at home?" She was leading him down the hallway towards the locked doors of the closed ward where Harry would spend his day. She received a small nod in answer as she waved her wand to unlock the doors. "We keep it locked up for wanderers. You'll find that most of the time when the mind stops working properly, it doesn't slow down the body much. In a lot of cases, they're quicker and stronger than you would think they'd be. Don't let your guard down." As they stepped through the door, she immediately turned to lock it behind them again and turned to give him a smile.

"Now let's see, ah here he is. Dean? Do you have a moment, dear?"

Dean Thomas, lean and looking worn out, crossed the room as a smile of recognition crossed his face. "Well, if it isn't Harry Potter. Haven't seen you in ages, mate. What brings you here?"

Madam Pomfrey answered before Harry was able to open his mouth. "He's your new aide, Dean. He doesn't have any patient care experience so he'll need training up a bit, but I think he'll be a great choice to add to our team."

Dean smiled politely before motioning with his head for Madam Pomfrey to join him in the corner. "Oh Dean, they'll leave him alone." Harry overheard her say as she gave him a quick reassuring look over her shoulder before placing her head closer in to Dean. He finally nodded in agreement before rejoining Harry.

"Don't get the wrong idea, mate. I'm thrilled to have you here, it's just that there's a lot of people that are here because of you and they don't realize that the war's over you know? OK, not because of you directly, but you know what I mean." Dean added at the scowl on Harry's face. "Anyway, shall we get started? You've got a lot of people to meet."

Harry spent most of the morning in a back office filling out paperwork for the Ministry. He even came across a piece of paper that his signature said he would always alert the Department of Magical Deaths of any passing and directly above his name was the neat loops of Ginny's. His hand paused as he took in her name and wondered if she had made it safely to work. He thought of dropping her a letter to make sure but before he could even find a blank piece of parchment, Dean was calling for him to walk the hall with him.

"This is where we keep the most severe cases." Dean pointed out to his left passed a second set of closed doors, beyond which was a dimly lit chamber where screams could be heard constantly. "Incurable cases where the person is in pain. Some spells, especially unforgivable ones, can become a permanent state of consciousness if performed too long or by an amature that can't pull the spell. Once the mind has accepted it as a state of being, the body suffers until they die. All we can do is keep them from hurting others in their most advanced stages, but research shows that at that point, the mind isn't even aware of the state of the body, so at least they don't suffer through the worst of it." Harry's stomach clenched as he thought of the pain of Crucio which he himself had felt lasting more than the agonizing minutes he had been held. How would it be to have a constant pain that you could do nothing to releave? The mind was such a powerful force and Harry nearly vomited as he thought of his own situation being permanent.

"These are the more severe cases of dementia, caused by spells or old age, that while still not curable, are not a danger to anyone." Just as he finished speaking, a crazed looking woman stood and crossed the room, her hair ratted from months of not being brushed, and got directly in Harry's face nearly shoving him down backwards.

"You! You were supposed to save us, but could you? Noooo....I told them you wouldn't do it and no one believed me."

Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Professor Trelawny?" He looked to Dean for a nod of affirmation which he received.

"You'll be surprised how many people you'll recognize. The Dark Lord used her to try to find out what you where up to in your seventh year and she fought him off for quiet awhile. This is what happens when you try to defy 'You-Know-Who' of information. Oh by the way, we can't use his name. Just trust me on that one. Excuse us, Sibyl, we have more to see. Why don't you go find your crystal ball and I'll be back to find out about tomorrow's game in just a minute."

"I'll tell you, but I'm not going to talk to him. He's clouding my inner eye, keep him away." Trelawny walked away snapping her fingers as she whistled as if for a lost pet, hoping her crystal ball would come to her.

"She not the worst of it Harry. I'd be prepared to fight off a few attacks like that one. Hope you've got some thick skin. You're a popular entity around here."

Harry spent the next part of the day doing just that as one after another the entire floor took their turn to mock or praise him. He recognized most of the people that spit on his feet or tried to attack him as former Death Eaters and even the ones that he didn't recognize didn't hesitate to pledge their allegiance to their now gone master. Every now and then, he would get some relief as the person was too far gone to even know who they were let alone who he was. Some would scream when he would go to help them as if his touch would burn them and others would come up repeatedly just to shake his hand and thank him for what he was willing to do for them. Luckily, neither of these attacks got to him and he would just wait until they had finished before continuing on with his work. He cleaned out drawers and tidied up beds of those that would let him come near them for nearly three hours, coming across only a few other recognizable people. Professor Trelawny and Professor Lockhart where now sharing a pad of paper as he would sign her an autograph and she would try to decipher his handwriting.

Harry was just about to pack up for the day, when he crossed a curtain that he wished he had kept closed. Sitting on their beds in a little cubby of the floor, sat Frank and Alice Longbottom, slowly unwrapping a piece of candy each before handing the wrappers across to each other. Harry watched the touching scene for nearly five minutes before leaping back to avoid embarrassment as Neville joined them from under the bed, holding a wrapper of his own to hand to his mother. Harry stood clutching the curtain before he was startled by a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw the understanding face of Dean.

"Don't worry about hiding, he doesn't know you're here anymore than he knows he is. He's been here for nearly six years, after the war. Nearly a perfect ending, huh? He gets to be with his parents again anyways. They've become a favorite around here. They mostly keep to themselves only needing refills on their candy dishes when necessary and just watch to make sure that they sleep. Sometimes they just sit up all night sharing that damn candy. I finally switched it to sugar free when Neville started putting back on his baby fat." Harry tried to break away from the scene before Dean had to finally drag him down the hall to pick up his bag.

As Harry hit the cooling night air of outside he breathed a sigh of relief. One day down. He would only have to return five days a week, perhaps for the rest of his life. That couldn't be so bad, right? He readjusted his bag against his shoulder as he set off to return home. As he hit the corner, however, he uttered a loud curse as his memory clicked back on and he remembered he didn't get to go home. He had to meet Snape at Hogwarts, he checked his watch, in five minutes. Damn it!

After Apparating to the wrong location twice after not being able to concentrate he finally arrived on the crisp green lawns just outside of Hogsmeade. He looked over the rolling hills of the grounds, located the edge of the forbidden forest, took in Hagrid's hut and the towers of the school, and knew at once that this was it. He was home.

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Chapter 23 Teaser

When Harry reached the gate of the pitch, he noticed that unlike the school itself, it was padlocked with a huge "No Trespassing" sign. Harry looked for another entrance, or perhaps the hooked nose of a certain professor, but neither was in sight. Another quick look at his wrist showed him that he was not only late, but becoming very much so as the seconds ticked by. He began to panic before he noticed the shimmer of something light green from the no trespassing sign. He ran his finger over the sign and found that the green wiped off onto his fingers and began to spread up his hand until it began to form words across his lower arm. "You're late."