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.
16 – Diaries
Harry swallowed hard, while he looked at his guardian in shock. 'Doesn't he want to be my guardian anymore?' he thought, terrified. However, he did not voice his thoughts and quietly followed the two professors into the fireplace to take the Floo back to Hogwarts.
Professor Lupin told the Headmistress what they had found out, and Harry showed her the diary.
"Mr. Black is innocent," she said in obvious relief as she leaned back in her chair. "I could never understand how she should have betrayed Lily and James. He was James' best friend."
"Indeed," Severus growled.
"The problem is," Professor Dumbledore threw in from his portrait, "that he is not only accused of having betrayed the Potters, but also of the murder of thirteen Muggles and Peter Pettigrew. Even if he didn't kill the Muggles, he won't be able to prove it if he consumed Pettigrew. The Ministry would still send the Dementors to kiss him if he showed up. Without a living Peter Pettigrew, there is nothing that you can do to prove his innocence."
"For once, I have to agree with your earlier Headmaster," Godric Gryffindor voiced from his portrait. "I suggest that you do nothing for the time being. If you want to clear him from the accusation of betrayal, the Ministry will confiscate the only evidence, which is Lily's diary. However, I don't know if that would be in Harry's best interests."
"That's true, sir," Harry replied, throwing Godric a grateful look. 'I can't wait to read mum's diary. I especially want to know what happened between her and Severus.'
McGonagall let out a long sigh. "Am I correct to assume that you all agree with Professor Gryffindor?" she asked, looking at her two younger colleagues.
Severus slightly inclined his head, while Professor Lupin sighed and said, "I'm very sorry for Sirius, but I'm afraid that there is nothing we can do for him. The only positive aspect of our findings is that we don't have to worry about him trying to harm Harry."
"That's true. Harry, from now on you'll be allowed to go to Hogsmeade without a teacher's company," Professor McGonagall said gently, smiling at the boy.
"Thank you, Professor. I can't wait to go together with my friends. When are we going to have the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Harry queried, grinning happily.
The Headmistress glanced on the calendar on her desk, before she smiled at the excited boy and replied, "On the second Saturday after school begins again."
~ Severus' quarters ~
"Harry, what are we going to do about the Weasleys' invitation for Christmas Eve dinner?" Severus asked in a soft voice, motioning for Harry to make himself comfortable on the sofa, while he sat in his favourite armchair by the fireplace.
Harry remained thoughtful for a moment, before he replied truthfully, "I'm not sure. I'd love to see the twins and Ginny, but I'm uncertain how I feel about meeting Ron."
"I understand only too well," Severus said gently. "It is your decision. We don't have to go. Even if you don't want to refuse the invitation, we could still tell them that you didn't feel well." He raised an eyebrow at the boy, who squirmed in his seat.
"In fact, I don't feel too well today," Harry admitted in a quiet voice. "Maybe it's only because I'm tired though." Like Salazar had predicted in the summer, the basilisk poison had damaged his immune system, and he fell sick every other week.
"Why don't you lie down and rest for a while then? It's still early enough to post the reply tonight," Severus said in understanding. He fetched a cushion and a woollen blanket from another chair and made Harry lie down on the sofa, before he headed into his Potions lab.
Harry seemingly relaxed when his achy head came to lie on the cushion, but instead of trying to sleep, he engrossed himself in the diary. It began on Lily's first day at Hogwarts.
'So many months, Sev and I have been looking forward to come to Hogwarts, but tonight, I wished there was a magical school, which we could attend from home. The Sorting Hat placed Sev in Slytherin and me in Gryffindor. Bad luck really. According to the prefects, we'll have classes together, but apart from that we won't be able to study together, as everyone has to either study in the library, where we mustn't talk, or in their respective common rooms. I just hope we'll still be able to remain best friends.'
Noticing that his headache became worse, Harry quietly laid the book aside, pondering his mother's and Severus' situation as first years, before his thoughts travelled to Ron and the perspective of having his former friend back at Hogwarts. 'Maybe I should ask to be re-sorted,' he mused. 'The Hat will surely place me in Slytherin, so that it'll be easier for me to keep some distance to Ron instead of having to pretend being his best friend all the time.' Unaware of the fact that his guardian looked at him in concern, he let out a long sigh.
"Harry?" Severus queried, quirking an eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry, sir," Harry replied, casting his guardian an apologetic look. "I was just thinking that if Ron wants to come back, they should allow him to do so, no matter if I have a problem with it. It's not as if he did anything to me, apart from sending me the Howler and such." He remained quiet for a few seconds, before he added, "In that case, I'd like to be re-sorted if that's possible. I don't think he'll ever change. He'd always be jealous if I continued to be his best friend, so I think it'll be easier if we're in different Houses. Will that be possible, and if so, will I still be able to remain best friends with Hermione?"
Severus cast the boy a surprised look. "Why would you believe that the Sorting Hat would place you in a different House now?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.
Harry smiled. "Because it wanted to sort me into Slytherin in the first place. I only talked it into Gryffindor because of Ron. He was the first friend I ever had and..." Harry slowly trailed off, unobtrusively wiping a small tear from his cheek.
"I understand," Severus said, thoughtfully. "And yes, I believe that you're right. Most likely nothing will cure Mr. Weasley's jealousy." He slowly ran a hand through his long, silky hair. "Considering your friendship with Ms. Granger, I can't imagine that it would end just because of you being sorted into Slytherin. As you'll probably get to know when you read your mother's diary, your mother and I have been best friends in spite of being in different Houses, at least until our fifth year."
'What happened?' Harry wondered, giving the professor an enquiring look; however, Severus did not further elaborate.
"Have you decided if you want to accept the Weasleys' invitation for dinner?" the older wizard asked.
Harry sighed. "I think I shouldn't go, because I don't want to spoil Christmas Eve for anyone," he said slowly, unconsciously rubbing his forehead in a faint attempt to soothe the headache that was still bothering him.
This did not go unnoticed by his observing guardian. "Very well," Severus agreed, nodding. "I'll just write to Mrs. Weasley and inform her that you'd like to come but are not feeling well enough at the moment. Would that be all right with you?" he suggested.
"Yes please, thank you sir," Harry replied, feeling very relieved at the thought that Severus was willing to lie for him.
~ Harry's Rooms ~
Only during the night did Harry realise that it had not even been a lie. When he woke up, he could barely open his eyes, his chest hurt, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. 'No way I could go to the Weasleys tonight,' he thought, feeling utterly miserable. For a few minutes, he pondered if he should wait for Severus to come in order to fetch him for breakfast or if he should go to the living room and speak with Helga, but a glance at the time display on the ceiling told him that it was only 2:30 and it would take several more hours before his guardian would come looking for him. He slowly got up, holding on to his night table for a few seconds, noticing that his ears seemed to be clogged with cotton wool making him feel very dizzy. When he dragged himself into the living room, the four Founders looked at him in surprise.
"My aren't you early, Leo. So excited what Father Christmas might bring you tomorrow?" Godric joked, causing Rowena and Helga to glare at the Gryffindor.
"Isn't it obvious that Harry looks ill?" Rowena asked sternly, shooing Godric and Salazar out of the portrait.
"Harry, dear, come here to me for a moment," Helga instructed the boy, who complied immediately. "Now I hope this is going to work, I practised a lot," the Healer continued and waved her hand at the child, casting a diagnostic spell. When she finally let her hand sink, a small parchment appeared right in front of her. She quickly studied the parchment and sighed. "Harry, please go back to bed immediately and take my portrait with you into your bedroom. You caught lung infection, probably from playing Quidditch in the snow the other day. I'll call Misty, Madam Pomfrey's elf and ask her for the necessary potions. Please do exactly as she tells you, until Madam Pomfrey will come to check on you in the morning."
Unfortunately, Harry had to spend not only Christmas in bed but also most of the holidays. However, whenever he could, he read his mother's diary, and his guardian, his Head of House, the Headmistress and Madam Pomfrey spent much time keeping him company, using the opportunity to speak with the four Founders.
One day, when Minerva and Severus were visiting Harry, who was resting on the sofa in the living room, Salazar suddenly spoke up. "I have something to discuss with you. It's about Tom's diary, which was involved when Harry murdered my familiar. We believe that the diary was a Horcrux, and as far as I heard Harry destroyed it at that time. However, Rowena has seen several visions about other Horcruxes that Riddle has made, splitting his soul. Have you already decided on any plans to get rid of the other Horcruxes?"
Severus turned to Minerva, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know anything about Horcruxes?" he queried, barely able to hide his surprise.
The Headmistress shock her head. "No, but I'll ask Albus. He might have some information."
"No need," Salazar replied, shaking his head in apparent annoyance.
tbc...
Thank you so much for your many kind reviews and sorry for the delay!