Hiding at Hogwarts

~ by Healer Pomfrey ~

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

4 – Classes

To Harry's surprise, the Founders seemed to take his classes very seriously. While one of them was teaching Harry, the others left to visit other portraits, so that he always found himself alone with one of the professors. Rowena taught him Charms and useful spells, Godric tried to instruct him in wandless magic, Helga told him much about herbs that were used in Healing potions, before she began to teach him easy diagnostic spells, and Salazar gave him a solid knowledge about potions ingredients and potions brewing.

"I'd love to take you to my personal lab and have you brew potions, but since I'm not able to rescue you in case you make a mistake, it would be too dangerous," Salazar told him, sounding very sad about the matter. "Maybe once in the near future you'll manage to get along with your Uncle Severus, so that I can train you together.

'Uncle Severus,' Harry mused, rolling his eyes at the thought of Snape being his cousin. 'I can imagine how pleased he would be if he knew.'

During his second class with Godric, the professor suddenly transformed into a phoenix like Fawkes. #Can you understand me, Leo?# he trilled, causing Harry to nod hesitantly.

"Yes sir, just like I can understand Fawkes. You're a beautiful phoenix," he replied in amazement.

Godric transformed back and laughed. "Well, the fact that you're able to understand Fawkes and me means that you will be a phoenix Animagus as well, provided that you manage the Animagus transformation..."

"Really?" Harry interrupted the wizard in excitement. "Oh please, can you teach me how to become an Animagus?"

Godric agreed and instructed Harry to imagine the bird he wanted to become and simply try to change his left hand. From that instant onwards, Harry used every free second to try transforming his hand into a wing, even while he was translating potions recipes for Salazar. It took him two weeks until he finally managed to change his left hand. He stared in amazement at the white feathers. When he looked up, he found the four Founders staring at him with proud expressions.

"Congratulations Harry. You'll be a wonderful ice phoenix," Rowena was the first to speak up.

"Thank you," Harry replied and changed his hand back, eager to complete the recipe he was just translating. 'These are the best holidays I ever had so far,' he thought as he absentmindedly rubbed his forehead in a faint attempt to get rid of the headache that was slowing becoming unbearable. 'I hope I won't get sick,' he thought, noticing that his whole body was beginning to feel very heavy. However, by the end of the week, he felt even worse. When he woke up on Friday morning, he felt cold although it was the middle of the summer, and his throat began to ache so much that he could hardly swallow. He pulled one of his warm Weasley jumpers under his robes and dragged himself into the living room. "Good morning," he greeted the Founders, trying to set up a small smile.

"Harry," Helga gasped. "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," Harry said wearily, causing the Healer to roll her eyes.

"Harry, how stupid do you think I am? I am not a Healer for nothing," Helga replied, sounding slightly angry.

"Ah Helga, leave Leo in piece. If he says he's fine, he'll be all right," Godric threw in, smiling at Harry.

"Harry, did your relatives forbid you to complain when you were feeling unwell?" Rowena queried in a soft voice, motioning for her husband to be quiet.

"They just locked me into my cupboard and ignored me when I was sick," Harry admitted in a small voice, unaware of the pointed look the two witches exchanged.

"Harry, come here and let me look at you," Helga instructed him firmly.

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance but complied, feeling his cheeks turn red at the unwanted attention. The Healer motioned for him to lit the tip of his wand and open his mouth, so that she could closely examine his throat, eyes and ears. Finally, she called Dobby. "Please fetch me a thermometer and a Pepperup potion from the hospital wing, but don't tell anyone," she instructed the elf, who brought the requested items mere seconds later.

"Harry, please take your temperature," Helga demanded, causing Harry to groan inwardly.

"No, I'm fine," he said firmly and returned to his favourite seat, pulling Salazar's book and his translation close.

"My, aren't you naughty today?" Salazar sneered. "If you don't want to get to know the bad side of your grandmother, you better at least take the Pepperup potion."

Seeing that the three of the Founders were glaring at him, while Godric was grinning in amusement, Harry gulped down the potion, noticing that it didn't really help.

"If you feel better now," Helga shot him a questioning look, "I suggest that you take my small portrait and go for a walk to the herb garden. The fresh air might be good for you."

Really not wanting to make the Founder angry, Harry complied and took the small picture from the bookshelf, where he always placed it when he returned home.

"Don't forget to pull your invisibility cloak over," Helga reminded him, "even though the Headmaster can't access the garden. There are two staircases leading onto that part of the roof. One begins in Professor Snape's quarters and the other in the small lab behind Madam Pomfrey's office. We'll take the second one of course."

'We need to cross Madam Pomfrey's office?' Harry thought, terrified, but obediently followed Helga's instructions, glad that Madam Pomfrey seemed to be absent as he crossed the hospital wing. 'How many steps are these?' he wondered, groaning inwardly as he dragged his heavy body upstairs for an infinite time, before he finally found himself in a huge garden on top of the roof of Hogwarts.

"Wow, this is too cool," he blurted out, carefully holding the small portrait so that Helga could take a good look around.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here, my boy," the Founder said gratefully. "I haven't been here for nearly four hundred years. At that time, an heir of Sal and myself lived in my quarters for many years, and he often brought me here."

"Excuse me, grandmother, but what exactly is this garden for?" Harry asked curiously. "I thought all the herbs and plants were being planted in the green houses."

"Well, on this roof, the Potions professor and the Healer grow all the potions ingredients that don't afford much work. They only seed the herbs and then come to harvest them whenever they need them. In the green houses, you find everything, which needs more care, for example plants that have to be re-potted and such. I think the Potions Master also takes some kind of magical moss from the roofs, but I'm not sure about that. You need to ask Salazar. He can tell you more about potions ingredients than I."

"I believe that," Harry said thoughtfully. "His potions recipes are absolutely amazing, even if I'm a complete dunderhead in Potions like Professor Snape likes to point out. This garden is huge though, and I'm surprised that I never noticed it from the grounds."

The portrait chuckled. "The garden is – of course – charmed, so that no one can see it. Even if someone was flying over the garden, he or she wouldn't be able to recognise it as a garden. Only those can see it, who have been brought here by a Healer or Potions Master."

'Cool,' Harry mused. 'So if Snape saw me here, he'd probably get the shock of his life.'

During the following two hours, Helga taught him about the herbs, which they found in the first quarter of the garden. However, realising that Harry still seemed to be under the weather, she decided to finish their lesson earlier and instructed him to return to her quarters. Harry readily agreed and just walked back towards the staircase when all of a sudden, the Potions professor appeared out of a door just a few metres to his side.

'Snape!' Harry thought in shock and observed as the professor shut the door and stepped out into the garden. He seemed to be in a very bad mood and angrily hissed to himself. Although the man was relatively close by, Harry's ears were strangely clogged up and he could only understand small bits of the teacher's rant.

"Slytherin going nuts... wolfscure... behave... Potter... not like Lily... stupid portrait... talk to Albus..."

'What is he going on about?' Harry wondered, noticing with surprise that Helga began to chuckle.

tbc...

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