A/N: What's up HP fans? This is MrOakzzz reporting back for yet another chapter of Hidden Prodigy. For those of you who didn't notice, I have changed the name of this fic so it is named just "Hidden Prodigy", as opposed to its former title "Harry Potter: Hidden Prodigy", since I think it is pretty obvious that it's a Harry Potter fic, what with the fic pic and the fact that it is posted... well... in the Harry Potter part of the site.
As usual, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I know I probably didn't answer them all, but I got a lot to do in school and writing takes up time as it is. I'm sorry if that makes me out to be a jerk or selfish prat, but I really try to answer as many reviews as I can.
On a side note, I have published the first chapter of a new Harry Potter Fanfic named "Estranged". It is quite a bit different from this one, but if you haven't checked it out I recommend that you at least read it through.
On another note, I've begun making plans for the sequel to this story already. It will be named "Hidden Pain" and will be covering the second year at Hogwarts. Now don't freak out, we still got a few chapters on this one so don't worry.
Now, I have kept you from the story long enough. So here we got our standard disclaimer...
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe. All rights belong to JK Rowling and I just happen to like to play in her little sandbox.
... and here we got Chapter 15 of Hidden Prodigy!
Chapter Fifteen: The Innocent Mass-Murderer
Harry groaned as he tried to open his eyes again. The headache from before had come back and it felt even worse now that he was physically in his body again. As soon as he had managed to open his eyes to squint, they were met with an intense, white light which caused his headache to worsen tenfold. Quickly shutting them again, he instead tried to move his arms to try and ease away the sensation of being pinched by needles that came with sleeping limbs. However, he found that he could still not move his limbs. All he could do was making them twitch at best. He could hear movement around him and mutliple voices saying his name, but it all sounded as if he was underneath water, because he could barely make out any words other than that.
He didn't know how long he just lay there, but the longer it went, the more of the words, he could make out more and more of the conversations around him as the words became clearer. He could hear a woman's voice asking how he was doing, and a man's voice answering. He couldn't make out all the words, but he could figure out what they said by putting together the words he did hear. Slowly, he began to regain his normal feeling in his arms at least, and found that while one of them were just lying limp by his side like he had thought, but the other one was resting on his belly and... it felt like someone was holding his hand?
Slowly, driven by his curiosity of who was holding his hand, Harry began to force his eyelocks up again, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the small streams of light that sippered through them, as to not shock him again. As his field of vision increased slowly, he realized that he didn't have his glasses on, because of his overly blurry vision. But even with a blurry vision, he could make out a figure sitting above him. The lines were impossible to make out, but he did see that the person in question had long, red hair and looked quite small...
"Ginny?" he croaked when he realized who it was.
The girl, who had been facing away from him when he opened his eyes, gasped and looked down at him.
"Harry!" she exclaimed and threw herself down on him t give him a hug.
Still quite weak from his ordeal, Harry gasped under her weight and had to desperately gasp for air. He knew since Platform 9 3/4 that Ginny's hugs could be really hard, but right now it felt like she had gotten even stronger since he last saw her. For a moment, he began to worry that Ginny would kill him with her hug, as he couldn't get any air, but thankfully he was saved by Madam Pomfrey.
"Miss Weasley, I would appreciate it if you didn't try to strangle one of my patients." the school's head nurse said as her blurry figure came walking into Harry's line of sight.
Ginny quickly let go of him and apologized, if it was to him or Madam Pomfrey was unclear, but Harry didn't have time to think much more of it as his best friend put his swiftly helped him put his glasses on. They had apparently been on the bedside table. With his vision cleared, Harry blinked and looked up to find the unmistakable face of his best friend, Ginny Weasley, looking down on him with a bright smile. Her eyes were a little red, making Harry believe she had been crying a lot lately. Either that, or she hadn't slept very well the last few days or maybe both. Anyway, that didn't make him any less happy to see her.
"Ginny, what are you doing here?" he asked. While he was glad to see her, he couldn't help but wonder why she was here. From what he knew, children who didn't go to the school needed special persmission to visit the school grounds.
Before she could answer however, Madam Pomfrey came up to them again with a cup of some kind of thick, red liquid that fumed and gave off a smell that reminded Harry of Uncle Vernon's dirty old socks.
"Would you be so kind as to drink this, Mr Potter? It will help speed up your regeneration process." Madam Pomfrey said, as she handed the cup to Harry.
The smell of the liquid was enough to cause Ginny to shudder and back away slightly. Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust as he tried to be a good patient and just swallow it down, but the smell became too much when he brought it too close to his nose and he immediately brought it out at arm's lenght, causing Ginny to squeak and jump off the bed to get away from the terrible smell.
"Just what exactly is this stuff and how will it help me recover?" Harry asked, trying desperately to hold back his urge to puke at the terrible smell.
To his great annoyance, Madam Pomfrey chuckled at this. What was so funny?
"It's an extract made of pulverized backbone of a goat and dragon's blood. It will speed up the recovering of your magical reserves. You were almost completely drained of your magical energy when you were brought here." the nurse kindly answered, though Harry could detect an undertone of worry in her voice.
Taking a deep breath and deciding to just get it over with, Harry lifted his free arm to cover his nose in an attempt to protect it from the foul stench, then quickly brought the cup to his lips and swallowed it down in one gulp. Big mistake. The thick liquid was even thicker than he had thought just by looking at it and so it got stuck in his throat when he tried to swallow. The extract was also burning at the inside of his mouth like he had tried to swallow pure fire and once he had managed to swallow it down, it left a sensation and taste as if he had tried to chew down a moutful of fresh garlic. Harry felt his eyes tear up at the sensation and broke out coughing.
"That was horrible." he managed to gasp when Madam Pomfrey came up to take the cup from him.
"The best medicines always taste bad, Mr Potter." she replied, as if that was a fact.
Harry shook his head and tried to take a deep breath, but that only resulted in another coughing fit. From her spot a few steps away from the bed, Ginny watched Harry with sympathy. She always hated it when her mother gave her medicine, like when she had caught a cold or something. It always tasted terribly.
"That may be, but that doesn't mean it have to smell like it taste." Harry said grumpily and shivered as he tried to get rid of the remaining taste in his mouth.
Chuckling at his dry comment, Madam Pomfrey left them alone again. Now that the stinking cup was out of the way, Ginny didn't hesitate to re-occupy her spot on his bed. Harry still had a grimace plastered over his face when she sat down and was swallowing rapidly, trying to get rid of the taste. Ginny looked at him cryptically, as if she was waiting for him to do something. When he didn't do anything but grimace and cough, Ginny nudged his arm to get his attention.
Feeling the nudge, Harry gave one last cough before he looked up and met her eyes. Wait, why was she looking at him like that? Since when could Ginny make that menacing look with her innocent face? He felt a shiver run down his spine as Ginny's eyes bore into his and he was reminded of how Ginny's mother had looked at them when she had caught up to Ginny on King's Cross. Why was she glaring at him like that? And then it clicked, as he realized where he was. Hospital wing... Seriously injured... Angry Ginny...
Slowly, it all fell into place. He was pretty sure he had promised her once or twice in his letters not to get himself injured again after the Troll Incident. And looking at himself now... well, he hadn't really made a good job of keeping that promise. He felt himself cower under the gaze of his best friend as Ginny leaned over him with a murderous glare and Harry sunk back into his pillows. Now he was in for it...
-Y-Y-Y-
The Azkaban prison. Some people claim it to be hell on earth. Completely surrounded by miles and miles of raging sea, the fortress-like building towered over the dark waters, containing thousands of prisoners. All of them were either insane by this point, or so drowned in their own despair, brought on by the draining effect by the Dementors that guarded the prison, that they barely knew their own name by now. All of those thousands of prisoners, lost in their own despair, locked up in their own minds where they were forced to relive the worst memories of their lives. All... but one.
In a lone cell in the northern tower, facing towards the british coast, sat one ragged man by the window bars, looking out over the sea. His clothes were as tattered as any of the other prisoners and his face and physique easily showed that he suffered malnutrition, but unlike the others he wasn't as affected by the foul creatures that guarded his cell. Sirius Black sighed as he looked in the direction where he knew Hogwarts was, the direction where he knew his home was. He hadn't been out of his cell for over 10 years now. He hadn't been able to count, but sometimes when a ministry representant came here, he could talk them into giving him a newspaper, so he could stay at least decently updated.
As a gust of wind blew in through the window bars, he felt himself shiver from the cold. Even after 10 winters out here, the cold still bit his skin like Fenrir Greyback bit children. Oh seriously, did he really just make that comparison? He had definetely spent too much time around dark creatures and wizards... even his humor was becoming dark...
'Perhaps I should transform? My fur as a dog will help me keep my warmth a little longer.' he thought as he stepped away from the window.
But just as he prepared to transform into his animagus form, he heard how someone opened the thick iron door at the end of the corridor that led up to his cell. He quickly sat down on the ground, trying to look like he was asleep. He wasn't in the mood to talk to someone right now. After realizing what year it was and that christmas had passed, Sirius had found himself in a bad mood. By now, his godson had gone 10 years without knowing him. His godson, whom he had sworn by his life to protect and care for in front of his brother in everything but blood, didn't even know him, perhaps he didn't even know he existed. Harry had been too small to remember the times when Sirius used to play with him as a baby.
He sighed as he imagined the little baby boy who used to crawl into his lap and pull at his tie when he was dressed formally. If he had just been smart enough to stay with Harry, instead of running after Wormtail, then perhaps he would have waved Harry off from Platform 9 3/4 this year. Perhaps, they would have grown up as a family.
"I know you are awake so you can quit pretending, Black." came a deep, powerful voice from the doorway.
Recognizing the voice, Sirius snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked up. To his surprise, he found that the door had been opened and that the person in question, a tall, dark skinned wizard with a broad build that spoke of confidence and strenght.
"Shacklebolt." Sirius said without emotion. "To what do I owe the honor?"
He knew this man. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been a new recruit to the Auror Department at the ministry by the end of the last war, having transfered from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Sirius himself had praised him as having a lot of potential within the Ministry at the time. Back then, Sirius had been working at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so they had worked together at one or two occasions.
Now however, they hadn't seen each other since Sirius had been thrown in Azkaban. Shacklebolt had been one of the 10 aurors that had escorted him out to the island.
"There's no need to be sarcastic Sirius. I'm here to get you off this rock." Kingsley answered as he made his way over to Sirius and pulled him to his feet.
Saying that Sirius was shocked by that statement would be an understatement. As he felt himself being pulled to his feet, Sirius regained his understanding and turned to look at Shacklebolt with a disbelieving look written all over his face. As if he had read Sirius' mind, Kingsley answered the unasked question.
"Dumbledore claims to have found the real culprit behind the crime you was framed for. After presenting the ministry with sufficent evidence, he have managed to get them to release you on trial while they investigate the circumstances aroung your imprisonment."
Dumbledore? He was behind this? But Dumbledore, if anyone, had reason to actually believe that he was guilty. After all, it had been Dumbledore who cast the Fidelius Charm to make Sirius the Potters' Secret Keeper. He if anyone had reason to believe that Sirius really had betrayed James, no matter how crazy it sounded.
"What kind of 'sufficent evidence' are we talking about here?" Sirius asked as Kingsley led him out of his cell and past the Dementors that had stood guard outside. The foul creatures didn't look too happy to see their prisoner being taken away, but they didn't move to stop it.
Kingsley held his answer until they had closed the iron door that led to the empty corridor behind them. In front of them was an elevator, that Sirius for some reason didn't recognize. He was pretty sure there had been a spiral staircase here when he had been taken to his cell all those years ago.
"They have captured Peter Pettigrew. He was found at Hogwarts, posing as a boy's pet rat. I guess you knew that he was an animagus all along?"
As the elevator began to move downwards, Sirius took a deep breath. Even though he was still inside Azkaban, the air outside of his cell was so much fresher. So Peter had been found at Hogwarts? That sounded just like him. Fool someone into believing he was a harmless rat and then just live out his life, slacking in a cage.
"Yeah, I did have my suspiscions." Sirius said.
He was not stupid. 10 years of imprisonment may have caused his physical shape to go flying out the window, but his mind were still almost as sharp as it had been during the war, when one step in the wrong direction could be the last step you took or one misplaced word could spill an important secret to the enemy. Sirius knew that Shacklebolt had been able to put two and two together. Pettigrew and Sirius had been best friends, they rarely did anything without the other. Of course, that also included Remus and James but James was dead and Remus was a werewolf, so he couldn't become an animagus. Sirius however...
"Who caught him?" Sirius asked to try and steer the conversation away from the deep waters. It was bad enough that Shacklebolt suspected that Sirius was also an unregistered animagus. He didn't feel like confirming the man's suspicions and risk getting thrown back into Azkaban as soon as he got out.
"No one knows the details, except a select few, but there have been rumors that it was a student who captured him."
It took a moment for this to sink into Sirius' head, but when it did he burst out laughing. Shacklebolt gave no indication to having noticed the laughing man at his side and simply held his gaze on the wall in front of him.
"A student? I doubt it! Peter might have been the weakest out of the four of us, but he wasn't that bad."
He had to swallow down another fit of laughter. He hadn't laughed for 10 years and now that he wasn't affected by the dementors any longer it almost felt like 10 years of laughs were trying to force its way out of him. He looked over at Shacklebolt to find that he still hadn't reacted to the laughter. Sirius wondered if maybe he was trying to pull his leg, but what Shacklebolt said next almost caused the last hier of Black to fall onto the ground in shock.
"It's true. The rumors say that Harry Potter captured Peter Pettigrew."
-Y-Y-Y-
As the door to the Potions Master's office closed, Severus gave a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. Harry had woken up, he was ok. Those news finally allowed him to relax and let his tense muscles ease up. He had been tense ever since the Pettigrew Incident and that had been 5 days ago. He had barely slept during that time and after 2 days without leaving the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had driven him out by force. Angry nurses could really be scary sometimes, even to someone like him...
But now he knew. Harry had made it and he had woken up. Knowing that his surrogate nephew, or son if one wanted to go that far, was ok Severus was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and relax. Now, there was only one thing left that was troubling. Or rather, someone.
With Pettigrew captured and sufficent evidence to prove that he had been the one guilty of killing the muggles 10 years ago, that meant only one thing... Sirius Black would be released from Azkaban. While he doubted that Fudge would willingly let a prisoner go free and make a fool out of himself in public by admitting that his ministry had made a mistake and imprisoned an innocent man for 10 years, he also knew that if Fudge refused to release Black then Dumbledore would give away the news anyway and he would be in even greater trouble.
And as expected, Albus had come down to his office yesterday and told him that Sirius would be released today. Pettigrew had been handed over to the ministry and put in a guarded temporary cell at the Aurors Office while he was being questioned. And as soon as they had gotten enough out of him to use in a trial, they would call both possible culprits to stand trial and decide who the real culprit was. It was a stupid way to go at it, since it was pretty obvious that Pettigrew was the culprit, but the ministry wanted to keep things formal and put up a good public image, by making this whole thing look bigger and more complicated than it actually was.
And while they waited for that to happen, Fudge had decided to release Sirius on trial to show a "tender and respectful side". Severus almost laughed as he thought about it. That overgrown pear would not last 5 more years at his post anyway. He didn't know what it meant to lead a contry, he didn't even know what it meant to work for his money. But regardless of how useless a minister Cornelius Fudge really was, it didn't change the fact that Black would without a doubt be standing in Hogwarts' Entry Hall within just a few hours. Knowing him and his connection to the Potters, he would want to meet Harry first thing and that's where it got tricky. Unlike Severus, Sirius could rightfully take up the position of being Harry's official guardian, as he had been named so in the Potters' will.
While Severus wasn't particularly against getting Harry away from the Dursleys, he was a little bit worried about what that would mean for his connection to Harry. Last time he and Black met, they definetely hadn't been on the best of terms and nothing spoke for it being different this time.
'Get a grip, Severus. If James could swallow his pride enough to thank you and apologize, then surely Black could do the same thing?' he tried to tell himself. That had been completely unsexpected on his part. He had never expected to ever have to face James Potter again, but something he had expected even less was to get an apology from said person's spirit. He had asked Albus about the projections, but surprisingly the old wizard had been as shocked and curious about the nature of these projections as Severus himself. They had seemed to be real, actual spirits. According to the little information that existed on Priori Incantatem, what appears through the connection is not supposed to be the real thing. It is supposed to be an echo or illusion, but not the real thing and for all other spells that had been shown through Pettigrew's wand, that had seemed to be the case but for some reason, those two only, the curses that had claimed Harry's parents' lives, had seemed to be more realistic than mere echoes...
'Lily...' he swallowed as he thought back to the scene.
Lily had accepted his apology. She had actually accepted that he was truly sorry for all that had happened because of his actions. He could hardly believe that he had been lucky enough to get that one chance he had dreamt of but thought to be impossible. And she had accepted his apology. Sure, she hadn't forgiven him for telling Voldemort about the prophecy, but he had not been out to get that. He knew that she would never be able to forgive that. He hadn't even forgiven himself for that and he knew that somewhere deep inside, he would always regret that. It would always be there as an edge in his side. But he would keep going and do the best he could to redeem himself at least somewhat for what he did. Speaking of which...
"Well, I better go check on Harry, to make sure he is still alive." he said out loud to himself as he rose from his chair and began walking over towards the door to make his way towards the Hospital Wing. If Ginny had even a ounce of Molly's temper, then Harry risked losing his hearing if no one else was there to keep her in check. He had been on the receiving end of Molly's wrath more than once since Arthur introduced them and it had never been a very nice experience. He had actually been quite surprised to find both the adult Weasleys at the doorstep to the Hospital Wing, with their daughter standing between them and twisting nervously. Of course, she was Harry's friend so it was only natural that she was worried about him, but to find that she had gotten herself permission to visit the grounds before she actually enrolled in the school had been a surprise.
As he made his way through the corridors, Severus found himself thinking about Harry's so called "best friend". When he saw the two of them together, he couldn't help but being reminded of himself and Lily when they were young. It was almost scary. He just hoped that Harry wouldn't do the same mistakes as he did and take Ginny for granted...
-Y-Y-Y-
Harry didn't know how long Ginny was shouting at him for being so reckless and almost getting himself killed. She was actually pretty scary when she was this angry. If someone had told him when he first met the little girl by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Bar that she could be this threatening when she was angry, then he would have laughed at them. But now here he was, trying to hide himself in his own pillows to not have to meet Ginny's gaze. It was piercing him to his core with its upset glare, but at the same time the tears that had formed in them made him want to try and comfort her.
"Ginny, I truly am sorry! I tried not to get myself into more trouble!" he drowned out her voice.
"Well, try HARDER!" she raised her voice yet another step when she shouted the last word. "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"
Those words stung. Had he really been that close to slipping away? He shivered at the thought. He might want to see his parents again, but he didn't want to die. But had he really been that close to dying? He usually had more magical energy than he could use up in an entire day, so why had they dropped so suddenly? Could it have something to do with what Voldemort's soulpiece had told him? Or perhaps it had been that contact between them that had caused Harry's magical reserves to drop? He would need to try and figure that one out before he told someone about it. He didn't want people to worry about him and he wasn't too keen on telling someone that he had a piece of Voldemort inside his head.
He stopped his trail of thought there, thinking he could worry about that at a later time. Now he needed to calm down Ginny... wait, when had she become so silent? He looked up to find that she had burried her face in her hands, her shoulders twitching with sobs. Had she really been that worried about him? He had to remind himself that Ginny was still a year younger than him. They might not have spent much time together, but he knew that he truly cared for her so it was only natural that she would care for him too. How would he feel if it had been the other way around?
Shuddering as he imagined coming to the Hospital Wing and finding Ginny unconcious in one of the beds, he tried to sit up so that he could reach her. He had deliberately dug himself into his bed so deep that he would be out of arm's reach from her. When she didn't react to him moving, he reached over and put it on her shoulder. He felt a shiver run through Ginny's body at his touch and when she didn't do anything to keep him away or snap at him again, Harry pulled her down into a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Gin. I didn't mean to make you worry." he whispered in her ear as he felt her head rest on his chest as his nose was assaulted by the scent of wild flowers. For a moment, he felt himself lost in the unexpected scent that seemed to be coming from Ginny's hair, but he was soon brought out of his thoughts as Ginny returned his hug by throwing her arms around his neck.
"I was so scared..." she whimpered against his chest as Harry awkwardly patted her back. She seemed to be more affected by this than he was himself, and she only knew part of what had happened. At least he thought she did... would someone have told her that his parents had appeared through some kind of unbelievable magic that no one was able to understand? No, probably not and even if they had, he doubted that Ginny would have listened in the first place, since she would only be worried about him.
As they sat there, the doors to the Hospital Wing opened and a group of people entered. Harry looked up in surprise to see Uncle Sev enter the room, followed by Hermione, Susan, Hannah and even Blaise. When they saw Harry, the girls were not shy of shouting his name and rushed over to the bedside. Ginny jumped in his arms when she heard the sudden shouts and looked up. Seeing the new arrivals, she paled and quickly tried to untangle herself from Harry's embrace but Harry gave her a slight squeaze to let her know that it was ok to remain. He wouldn't feel ashamed for hugging his best friend.
"Harry! You're awake! We have been so worried!" Hermione exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of the bed.
The two Hufflepuff girls were not far behind and greeted him in a similar manner, though Hannah didn't exactly exclaim it the same way but rather squeaked it out in a lower voice.
"I'm fine. I just got to taste the worst medicine I have ever tasted so according to Madam Pomfrey's logic, it should be the best medicine I have ever tasted. I will be fine." he said with a smile.
As soon as they had been assured that Harry was ok, both Susan and Hannah shifted their focus to the red-haired girl that was resting her head on Harry's chest. Ginny shifted uncomfortably in his arms under their gazes, so Harry just let go of her so she could at least sit up, which she did as soon as she was allowed but she didn't leave the bed. She kept her hand reasting on his, as to show that she wouldn't just leave him.
Hermione also looked at Ginny with a curious glance. She had already guessed who the girl was, considering that Harry had said that Ron's little sister was his best friend and the fact that Ginny had red hair. It wasn't that hard to piece together once you knew that. And as soon as Blaise had made his way over, Harry patted Ginny on the back and said:
"Hey guys, I want you all to meet Ginny Weasley, my best friend."
Ginny smiled shyly and waved at them.
"Uhm, hi." she said.
After taking a second to register that Harry had actually dubbed this strange girl his "best friend", both Susan and Hannah were quicky to introduce themselves. Blaise just gave his trademark nod and said his name as an introduction. However when it was Hermione's turn to introduce herself, something hit Harry.
"Uh, I don't want to sound rude Hermione, but when did you get here? Didn't you go skiing with your parents?" he asked, frowning.
Hermione chuckled slightly while Ginny, Susan, Hannah and Blaise frowned, making Harry believe that they didn't know what Skiing was.
"Well, I was but then one day an owl arrived from Ron, saying that you had fallen into a coma. I was so worried I couldn't even stand straight in the ski slope so I decided to come back here. Neville is also on his way back. Ron, Daphne and Tracey are waiting for him at the entry hall." she said with a smile.
Harry frowned. That definetely didn't sound like Ron. He generally hated hanging out with Slytherins, no matter their gender. Or well, that had been the case when Harry had fallen into a coma. Considering that Blaise was here to greet him, things might be a little different now. Still, there was just something...
"Why would Daphne and Tracey stay with Ron and wait for Neville?" he asked, turning to Blaise.
Blaise snorted with amusement.
"Because otherwise Ron wouldn't be able to find his way back to the Hospital Wing." the slytherin boy stated simply.
This caused laughter to break out amongst the group of friends. Harry was glad to see that even Ginny seemed amused and a little more relaxed now than she had when his other friends had entered the wing.
Severus watched Harry interact with his friends with a rising sense of relief in his chest. Harry really looked ok. Seeing him laugh and talk to his friends, it looked almost as if he had never really been in the mortal peril he had been. Severus found himself smiling at the scene in front of him, with Harry sitting up in his hospital bed and talking to his friends that surrounded him and with Ginny still sitting in his lap. But there was still something he needed to talk to Harry about...
"Harry." he said as he stepped forward. All conversation stopped and all attention were directed towards him. "I would like to speak with you about a few things in private. Do you think you can catch up with your friends later?"
Harry frowned at the serious tone in Severus' voice, but meeting the eyes of his surrogate uncle, he relented. He cast a glance at his friends, who all had turned their attention to him once Severus had asked if they could talk in private.
"We'll just be waiting outside." Hermione offered and stood up.
One after another, Harry's friends left the Hospital wing until only one was left. She sighed and hesistantly rose from her spot. Looking up at Severus, who seemed to wait for her to leave the wing, Ginny began to walk towards the entrance without a word.
"I'll se you out there!" Harry called after her, to which Ginny turned around and gave him a smile before exiting.
Now that they were alone, Severus walked up to Harry's bedside and transfigured an overly fluffy and pompous armchair to sit in, a habit he had unwillingly picked up from Albus. It was definetely a very weird habit, but he couldn't deny that the soft fodder of the armchair was very comfortable to sit in. Harry just chuckled at his habit, having gotten used to it many years ago, almost before Severus himself had gotten used to it.
"My apologies for stealing you from your friends Harry, but this is very important. I got two things that I would like to discuss with you." he said as he leaned back into his armchair.
Harry just nodded, having understood something serious was coming when Severus asked his friends to leave the room.
"First, both me and Albus have found ourselves a little curious about this magical exhaution you suffered. As you already know, your magical reserves are developed way beyond your year and considering that, you shouldn't have been that exhausted by the Priori Incantatem as you obviously became, no matter how long you held it."
For a moment, he made a pause to allow Harry to consider this. So far, Harry hadn't had time to consider what had really happened. But now that Uncle Sev mentioned it, that did sound quite strange. Uncle Al had told him that by meassurement, Harry's magical reserves were equal to what most adults would have whent they were in their early twenties. His control of them wasn't as good and his body was not naturally meant to hold so much power, that's why he had been unable to control it completely before. But still, with that much magical energy to spare, it made no sense that he would suffer magical exhaution for casting a simple Disarming Charm.
"So if we look at it that way, that must mean that something linked to your magical reserves was either damaged or altered during or after your fight with Pettigrew. And the only thing we can think of that would make sense as of now is the wand you faced off against. Pettigrew was using Voldemort's wand."
Hearing this, Harry's eyes widened in shock. Voldemort's wand? That strange, white wand was the same wand that had given him his scar? That had killed his parents?! Maybe that was why it had been able to call their souls back temporarily?
Severus looked sadly at Harry as the boy took in the implications of what he was being told. It must be quite a shock to know that he had faced off against the wand that had taken the life of your parents.
"While normally going up against a particular wand might not have triggered such a thing to occur, there is something that you don't know about your connection to Voldemort, Harry. It is not merely in protocol that you two are linked together. That scar on your forehead..." Severus pointed towards Harry's face. "...is imbued with a part of Voldemort's magic. Going up against the wand that is atuned to Voldemort's magical signature could possibly have caused this reaction. You see Harry, a wand can not turn against its chosen wielder because of the connection it shares with that person's magical signature. But since you got both your own and Voldemort's signature in you because of your scar, it is possible that the wand began to somehow cut off the flow of Voldemort's magic because it could not be used against it, but at the same time it could still be used against your own. So when you did cast that spell against Voldemort's wand, the reserves that was emptied were only your own."
Once more, Severus paused to let Harry consider this. He knew that despite the complexity of it all, Harry would be able to make sense of it. He was a bright kid and had it not been for his trouble controlling his magic completely, he might even have been offered the possibility to move up one year. But regardless of Harry's possibilities to move up a year or not, he was pretty sure that the boy would be able to put together enough of the information he had been given to at least understand it at a basic level.
As Severus waited for Harry to process the information, the boy in question had his mind racing with different thoughts. What Severus was telling him did make sense, especially considering that it wasn't just Voldemort's magic that was locked up in Harry, but actually a shard of his soul. Did Severus know that? Should Harry tell him? It could help solve the mystery... but then again, what if it caused more trouble than it solved? Other than the fact that it existed, Harry didn't know anything about this connection. The soulshard had told him that their magic were interwined, so that much was clear, but it had also made clear that they did not share the same magical core. They were two separate cores, with Harry's core only naturally absorbing the small amount of magic that leaked through the bars.
Harry shook his head. He would need to think about that later. Right now, he should listen to Severus before jumping to any conclussions. Nodding towards the man who patiently had waited for Harry to process the information, Harry refocused onto the discussion at hand.
"I guess that makes sense." he said.
Severus nodded in thought.
"So what I want to try out now, Harry, is if this extra flow of magic is still being blocked or if it have been released again. If it have somehow been stopped, you should have an easier time controlling your magic." he reached inside his robes and pulled out something that Harry recognized as his own wand. "Here, try levitating that vase off the bedside table."
Harry accepted the Hollywand from Severus and immediately felt a rush of warmth spread up his right arm as he grabbed its handle, as if the wand had missed him during the time he had been unconcious. He smiled as he looked down on the wand fondly, before turning towards the vase. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed. This was the charm he had always had the most trouble with. Well, what was there to lose?
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he said as he tried to calm his magic enough to allow him to cast the spell. This was the only spell he still had real trouble casting. His face contorted into a frown of concetration as he willed his magic to work.
And then it did. For the first time using a wand, Harry's magic bent exactly like it was supposed to and levitated the vase into the air. Harry yelped in surprise, not having expected it to work and almost fell out of the bed. Severus smiled triumphantly and chuckled at Harry's expense. Swallowing again, Harry began to move the vase around the room and he found that it followed his will without hesitation. He didn't even feel tired from doing it, like he usually did when he cast a spell that required low magical energy and much concentration. He tried relaxing a little, half expecting the vase to fall to the floor, but it didn't. It was still hanging in the air. What was going on?
"Well, that definetely will make things easier in the future." Severus commented. "Now put it down and try growing the flower in the vase with the Herbivicus Charm." Severus instructed.
Harry did as he was told and put the vase down on the floor. He stood up from the bed and walked closer to it. He was still a little bit shocked. How could it suddenly feel so easy to cast the levitation charm? Would it be the same with the Herbivicus Charm? Well, only one way to find out, he thought as he aimed his wand at the white flower in the vase and incanted:
"Herbivicus!"
-Y-Y-Y-
Despite being asked to leave Harry for the moment, Ginny found that she quite enjoyed herself. Harry's friends were all very nice to her and Hermione especially was very forthcoming and asked about all kinds of stuff: if she was excited to begin Hogwarts next semester, how she felt regarding Harry's current situation, how it was growing up with siblings (she aparently was an only child) and what she liked to do on her spare time. The other two girls, Susan and Hannah, also participated in the conversation and seemed to be very kind as well, but it was Hermione who really drove the conversation forward and showed interest in what Ginny thought. But, just as Harry had told her in his letters, when Hermione was driving a conversation there was always a very particular topic that was unavoidable.
"So how do you stand with your study motivation, Ginny? I mean, do you want to learn everything possible or do you prefer to just do the absolutely nescesary?"
When she asked that question, both the other two girls turned to give Hermione a very strange expression. Both Susan and Hannah took their studies seriously, but even for them Hermione was sometimes a little too extreme in her studying. And something told them that the fact that Harry could match her in knowledge did nothing to contribute to her laying down that habit.
"For Merlin's sake Hermione. Ginny haven't even started school yet and you are already pressuring her about study motivation? Let her pick that up in her own way when she gets here." Susan said with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione blinked, as if she didn't understand what could possibly be wrong with asking about study motivation. And surprisingly, Ginny didn't seem to think it was anything strange because she answered right off the bat.
"Well, I first I want to catch up to Harry, so he won't be able to rub it in my face, then we'll see."
All three of the other girls turned to look at her with big eyes. Catch up to Harry? That would technically mean that Ginny would need to catch up to a star student that on top of that was one year above her. Even if Harry couldn't recite every little word in their study books like Hermione, he seemed to know a lot of other stuff around what was written in the books and that was something even Hermione couldn't flaunt herself with.
"Really? Catch up to Potter? Well, that's gonna be interesting to see." Blaise said from his spot over by one of the walls.
Hearing the unnexpected voice, all four girls jumped. They had almost forgot that Blaise was still there. The slytherin boy grinned as his three classmates turned towards him with scowls on their faces. He raised an eyebrow towards them, but they just shook their heads in exasperation. Deciding that it wasn't worth teasing them about it, Blaise's gaze instead settled on the youngest of them.
"Well, at least that means that you are more study motivated than your brother. You should hear some of the excuses he come up with to try and cover up for when he have just ignored his homework and done something else. It's hilarious!" he said with a grin, causing both Hannah and Susan to giggle as they knew just what excuses Blaise was referring to, while Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly at being reminded of Ron's sloppy attitude.
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" came a shout from further down the corridor.
All 5 of them turned to see Ron Weasley in the flesh walking towards them, along with Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis and the newly arrived Neville Longbottom. Judging by the way Daphne and Tracey were snickering, they too thought that Ron's "excuses" could be quite entertaining. Neville didn't snicker, but that was more out of respect for Ron than out of not understanding what was so funny.
"Really? Well, you better prove it, Weasley, or you might just find yourself outmatched by your little sister here." Blaise said with a grin.
Ron scowled at Blaise, as he came to a stop in front of the group. Ginny grinned cheekishly towards her older brother and Ron almost gave her a snappy reply. Almost. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he had promised Harry and himself to be a better big brother. And on second thought, this was hardly worth getting worked up over. He knew that he wasn't the most studious student in their class.
After the already present group had updated the new arrivals of Harry having woken up and that Severus had asked for them to wait outside while they had an "important" discussion, Ginny was introduced to Daphne, Tracey and Neville. Both older girls smiled towards the short redhead and Neville shook her hand as he said his name. Ginny smiled happily at being introduced to more of Harry's friends. He had really made great friends. When he had told her on the station that he had never had any friends before he met her, Ginny had been worried that he wouldn't get any real friends here on Hogwarts either. But it would seem that he really had managed to make some great friends. All the girls seemed to be nice, even though Daphne and Tracey were a little less talk active than they other three, and Blaise and Ron seemed to be good friends, as evident from them constant making fun of each other. And Neville... well, Neville had broken off his own christmas holiday to come back here to make sure that Harry was ok. If that wasn't a good friend, then Ginny didn't know what was...
-Y-Y-Y-
While Harry was trying out his new limits with his wand and Ginny was getting aqcuinted with his friends, a lone carriage was rolling up the path towards the Hogwarts gates. Pulled by two thestrals, it would seem to be rolling on its own to an outsider, but both the two men that was sitting within it were experienced war veterans and had seen death more than enough times to be able to make out the black, winged horse-like creatures.
In one seat, Sirius Black sat looking expectantly in the direction where he knew that the Hogwarts castle would soon be visible. It felt almost unreal to him that he was actually coming back to this place again. Just this morning, he had woken up in his cell in Azkaban, and now he was going back to the first place he ever saw as a true home, to meet his godson that he hadn't seen for 10 years. He sighed as he felt excitement bubble in his chest. How should he introduce himself? Would Harry have any distand memory of him? Unlikely, but it wouldn't hurt to keep his hopes up. After all, hope had been one of the few things that had kept him sane during these 10 years of constant exposure to the dementors.
Opposite to the man sat the headmaster of the school they were going to and the official caretaker of Harry Potter in the magical world: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. His eyes studied Sirius from behind the crescent-moon spectacles. This man... this man had probably had to deal with more than any other person he currently knew, even if a few others came close.
"I'm glad to know that you didn't really betray the Potters, Sirius. The thought of it was just too bizarre when I thought back to when you were still in school." Dumbledore said.
Sirius didn't give any sign that he had heard the headmaster. His eyes were still locked on the turn, behind which Hogwarts was hiding from view.
"I'm sure it was." he said without turning towards the person he was talking to.
Dumbledore heard the reluctance to talk in the Black Hier's voice and decided that conversation could wait until later. This was, after all, a very emotional moment for Sirius and if someone deserved to have these moments to themselves, it was the man in front of him, after all he had been through. So without asking any more questions, he turned towards the castle that just became visible.
Sirius swallowed as he saw the castle. There she was, still standing as tall and proud as he remembered. He felt a lone tear roll down his cheek. He could barely believe it. He was free again. The implications of what his release really meant hadn't hit him before now, but now that he was coming home, it all came down on him. It was just like the first time he had come here and travelled over the Black Lake with Hagrid and his soon to be best friends. He hadn't really realized that he was free from Grimauld Place and from his dark and possessive family until he had glided over the lake in a boat together with James, Remus and Peter.
"How is Harry doing in school?" he asked as he thought was reminded of his own school days. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered all the pranks he and the other marauders had pulled, all the times Remus had reprimanded him and James for not paying attention in class, all the times Peter had wet his... never mind, and all the times James had attempted to get Lily's attention. James had always said that Sirius also should just decide on someone he wanted and then stick with it. Sirius had thought he was mental and hadn't taken the tip. Perhaps he should have?
Dumbledore looked over again towards Sirius, as the gates that led onto the Hogwarts Grounds opened to let them through, then closed just behind them again.
"He is doing very good. He have certainly inherited his parents talents, both good and bad. He have Lily's genius intellect and will to always keep learning more, and he have James ability to think outside the lines of the coursebook." Dumbledore smiled as he thought of the results Harry had gotten so far on tests. Full marks almost all through. Only he and Hermione Granger had managed that. "He does however also appears to have some of James'... disrespect for rules and tendency to prank those he don't like." Dumbledore added as he thought back to an incident just before christmas, when Draco Malfoy had run out of the Great Hall with a huge wart growing from his nose.
At this, Sirius gave off a barking laugh.
"Lily's intelligence and James' prankishness? Now that is a scary combination..." he commented as the carriage came to a stop in front of the great oak doors that led into Hogwarts Entrance Hall.
As soon as the carriage had stopped, Sirius rose from his seat and jumped out onto the ground. He felt his heart beat in his chest as he looked up at the majestic castle. This was it. This was where he would be reunited with his godson. Taking a deep breath, he began walking up the stairs to enter his former school.
Dumbledore, who had exited shortly after Sirius had, followed the man up the steps. They didn't say anything. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in their characteristic way as he glanced at the man beside him. He knew that this would be a very emotional day for both Sirius and Harry. When they reached the top of the steps, the door swung open.
Sirius almost shivered when he walked through the gates to Hogwarts again. This was where he belonged.
"Harry is currently in the Hospital Wing. Do you need me to follow you there?" Dumbledore asked as he entered and the gates closed behind him.
"No thanks. I still remember the way." Sirius said and with that, he bid Dumbledore farewell for the time being and began to make his way through the castle, turning around familiar corners and slipping through walls at certain places where he remembered secret passageways to be. For a few minutes, he was just enjoying the feeling of being back, like a child who had just been given back his favourite toy after having lent it to someone else. But soon, he lost focus on his happiness of being out of Azkaban and back at Hogwarts. He was here for a reason. He was here... to see his grown up godson. And with that, Sirius Orion Black set his sights towards the Hospital wing, to search out a certain Harry James Potter.
A/N: That was, in my opinion, a pretty good chapter. Not sure if the title is the most fitting, since the chapter is just as much about Harry, Sev and Gin as it is about Sirius, but I think that Sirius being released is the most important part. Now as usual, don't be shy to leave a review to tell me what you think, but note that flames will be ignored. And if you haven't checked out my new story "Estranged", I encourage you to at least check it out. It is a bit different, yes, but I still think I did a decent job with the first chapter. It won't be my priority of course with Hidden Prodigy still running, but it is a nice little side project. =)