Nope not JK Rowling and I am not making any money from this story.

Chapter Forty-six

Deep is the Hurt

Harry slowly came to his feet as anger heated his veins and his voice turned cold "I'd be very careful what you say Hunter. Your mouth is going to get you in one hell of a lot of trouble very soon!"

"Enough!" Madame Pomfrey snapped. "Mr. Hunter, not another word or I will escort you out! Mr. Potter, sit down!" Madame Pomfrey glared at the two young wizards letting them know she meant business. "Now, tell me what happened in the summer. Did Miss Porter come in contact with a cursed object do you think?"

Harry glared at the Hufflepuff for a moment before he sat down picking up his sister's cold hand again, then with an effort to calm down he explained about going to Godric's Hollow and to his parent's house. It was there that Taylor had her first nightmare after all. Only he knew how much of what had actually happened he left out.

"So it is very likely that she was cursed there. I suppose something could have been cursed and left there hoping that you would find it…" Madame Pomfrey pondered aloud. "What happened? Did Miss Porter succumb to the curse immediately?"

Harry shook his head, telling about how she had just started to scream in the middle of the night, and how he had slapped her to bring her out of it. He then told them some of what Taylor had said about the snake curling up inside of her.

When he finished he looked from his sister, where he had been staring, to the nurse who had her hand over her mouth and a horrified look on her face.

"Dear Merlin above. I… I've never heard of such a curse. This is very dark, dark magic… "

Harry glanced back down at his sister as his stomach knotted. He knew in his heart that this thing with Taylor had to be Dark Magic, but hearing it said aloud… He could feel Taylor start to tremble and knew she was slowly coming back to herself. Looking down into her eyes he saw that she at least recognized him now.

"You're going to be alright now…" Harry whispered as he brushed her soaked hair off her forehead with one hand, as he continued to hold her hand with his other.

"There was another episode? When was this?" Madame Pomfrey asked after a few minutes.

"The night the two Gryffindor girls fought, Jeanie and Clare. Hermione found her… in the night…" Harry answered, as a lump formed in his throat, wondering fearfully what would have happened if his best friend hadn't found his sister.

"Miss Granger? She was able to wake Taylor? Using the method you used?" The nurse asked, as her voice returned to her normal professional briskness.

"Yeah, once she touched her lit wand to… Taylor stopped… She started to come around."

"I see, and why wasn't this reported to me? I believe I had just released Miss Porter from a lengthy hospital stay earlier that day?" Pomfrey asked with a disapproving glare.

"Taylor wouldn't let Hermione go get anyone. She… she didn't tell me about it for several weeks." Harry said as he met the nurse's glare.

"I see… on both these occasions, Miss Porter recovered from these episodes without any medical intervention?"

"Yeah, she was okay by the next day." Harry said despondently as he looked down at his trembling sister again.

Madame Pomfrey was silent for a minute while she thought before saying slowly, "I must admit I hesitate to use anything on Miss Porter for fear of having a relapse. I am going to have to consult someone much better acquainted with dark curses before I can even hope to try to break this curse. However in the meantime…" Madame Pomfrey said as she raised her wand and performed a quick drying spell. "I will allow Miss Porter's body to repair itself, while I monitor her closely."

Taylor became aware of the voices around her slowly, as her body shook. It was a struggle at first to recognize who was speaking, though she knew instinctively her brother was holding her hand. All was quiet for a long while. She could make out a lamp and the blurry outlines of Greg and the nurse but without her glasses she couldn't see much of anything else.

She wasn't even truly sure what had happened to her. Everything was very fuzzy. She felt like she had just had one of her nightmares but she couldn't really seem to remember it, not like the other times anyway. It was a long while before she was able to put her thoughts into words and her voice trembled as she spoke.

"W-what happened?"

"Hey, you scared me." Harry said softly. "Don't you remember?"

Taylor shook her head and she saw her brother frown.

"I… I think you had another…" Harry hesitated. He couldn't understand why his sister didn't remember unless… the Dreamless Sleep potion, it must have saved his sister from remembering. "You're going to be okay now. How do you feel?"

"Like I… I had another one of my nightmares but I can't remember… why can't I remember?" Taylor's voice was confused.

"Miss Porter, I believe that would be my fault." Madame Pomfrey said gently and she explained to Taylor about giving her the Dreamless Sleep potion, not knowing what kind of effect it could have.

The clock chimed four.

Taylor wasn't sad that she couldn't remember the nightmare. She could remember the two previous ones well enough. However she did notice that she felt incredibly weak, as well as the trembling that didn't seem to want to stop. Taylor wasn't sure how she felt about Harry telling Pomfrey about her… nightmare, but when she realized that Greg was still there and had heard the whole thing, well she would be having a word with her brother about that when she was feeling better!

The rest of the night crept slowly by. Taylor knew that she wouldn't be able to go to sleep, whether she could remember the details of that nightmare or not, her body was still suffering from the aftereffects and refusing to let her sleep.

She glanced over to where Greg sat silently a few different times, but he was never looking at her, and she couldn't make out any of his features very well, let alone read his expression without her glasses. Taylor felt her heart constrict painfully as she wondered if this was what would finally drive the Hufflepuff away from her. She couldn't expect him to like someone as obviously broken as she was. She supposed that he didn't leave because he thought that she was watching him, or maybe he felt he had to stay because he had promised to stay with her all night. Once Taylor wished she were brave enough to tell him that it was okay if he left, but she knew deep inside that it would hurt terribly if he did.

It was a relief to see the sky finally start to lighten. Though Taylor felt bad for the two wizards who had stayed awake with her, knowing that they must be exhausted.

"Alright you two, off you go. It's time for you to get ready for your morning classes." Madame Pomfrey said briskly as she came out of her office a short time later.

Taylor knew her brother was going to protest. He'd been very quiet and she knew he was beating himself up inside. "Harry, I am fine." Even without her glasses she could read his look of disbelief, "Well, I will be and you know it. There is nothing you can do here. Go. Get something to eat and go to class. I'll be here at lunch break."

She smiled as her brother searched her eyes before he nodded reluctantly. "Okay, I'll go, but if you need me…"

"Go, before Ginny thinks that you don't care about her anymore!" Taylor teased gently and her brother bent down and kissed her on the forehead before he said "I'll see you at lunch." And left.

Greg's goodbye was stiff as he stood and followed Harry out of the hospital doors. Taylor was glad that Madame Pomfrey had returned to her office so there wasn't anyone left to see the tear as it escaped from her eye and slid down the side of her face.

Greg followed the Gryffindor as he went up through the empty castle, probably on his way to the Gryffindor tower. He was starting to think that he was going to have to alter his plans a bit when the Gryffindor headed into one of the boy's lavatories. Hurrying he caught the door before it closed all the way and shoved it open barreling into the bathroom. Catching the Gryffindor by the front of the robes, he almost lifted the shorter wizard off his feet as he pinned him against the wall.

"You bloody bastard!" Greg snarled, "How could you let her live with that? You knew she was cursed in the summer and you did nothing!"

Harry struggled and almost had his hand free when the Hufflepuff caught it and pinned it to the wall too. "What do you think I could have done? You think you have all the answers!"

"You should have got her help! She could have died in there this morning!"

"Don't you think I know that!" Harry yelled as his heart constricted with pain. He knew, probably better than the Head Boy, just how close his sister had come. "I did try you bloody git!" For a moment Harry thought the Head Boy was going to hit him. A part of him would have welcomed the physical confrontation.

Greg shoved away from the Gryffindor in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. "You knew! You knew that she…"

"Of course I know! I know Taylor better than probably anybody! But there wasn't anything that could help. If there was don't you think I would have made sure she got it?" Harry demanded as he pushed away from the wall glaring at the Hufflepuff.

"No, because you are using her! Using her in your cracked up plan to get You-Know-Who!" Greg yelled.

"It's Voldemort! You can't even say his name and yet you accuse me of using Taylor! You know NOTHING! You just see what you want to see! Do you think I want to see my two best friends lying in the Hospital Wing? That if I could, I wouldn't switch places with them? Voldemort did that to them! Voldemort is who is hurting Taylor! Yet you accuse me of using her to get rid of him! Do you think she would stand idly by and watch me? Heaven knows I've tried to protect her! Tried to keep her away!" Harry wheeled away from the Head Boy breathing hard.

Hunter watched the Gryffindor as he leaned on the sink for a few seconds before he asked quietly, "So she does have a dark magic curse from Vol…Voldemort?"

Harry didn't look at the Hufflepuff as he answered. "I should never have said anything. It was a mistake."

"No, Potter, it wasn't." Greg said more calmly. "I think Pomfrey had to know, and I… need to also. I'm not turning tail and running. She's going to need all the help she can get."

Harry turned slowly to look at the taller wizard, taking note of the set of his jaw and the steely expression in the blue eyes. "I am not going to tell you any more if that is what you are hoping for." The Hufflepuff just shook his head. "She's likely going to jinx me for saying what I have. Her secrets are not mine to tell."

"I can understand that, but I am glad to know what little I do. Someday I hope to earn her trust and yours. Until then I will try to understand and be there for her." The Head Boy said quietly as he turned to leave.

Harry had seen the confusion and hurt still in the other wizard's eyes. Just before the Hufflepuff opened the door he called. "Taylor… she is going to need you, but if you ever hurt her… nothing on this earth will stop me from finding you!"

Hunter paused and turned to look at the Gryffindor, the warning clearly written in the shorter wizard's eyes. With a nod the Head Boy pushed the door open and left.

Deep in thought, Greg made his way down through the castle using hidden staircases and little used corridors. It wasn't until he entered his Common Room that he saw another. With just a nod to the second year, he headed for his room still unable to get the look of absolute terror that he had seen in his witch's eye out of his head. Opening the door to his seventh year dorm, he nearly ran into one of his roommates.

"Greg! Hey man, you look like shit! You spend another night at the hospital with Porter?" Asked Justin as he took in the crumpled robe and generally disheveled appearance of the Head Boy.

Greg just pushed by on his way to his trunk.

"Hey, you know there are easier skirts to chase! I always thought Porter was one of Potter's anyway! Guy keeps a couple close…" Another seventh year catcalled until he got a look at the murderous look on the Head Boy's face and clammed up.

"Greg, you know Derek doesn't mean anything. Words just run out of his mouth before they pass by his brain!" Justin said in a placating tone.

Greg didn't answer. He just grabbed his things and headed for the showers, hoping that a good hot shower would help calm his worries and rid him of the foul mood he could feel settling in.

As the door started to swing closed, the Hufflepuff seventh year boys' dorm room erupted in talk.

"You git! What did you go and say that for?"

"Man, you had better watch yourself! I thought Greg was going to hex you right in your bed!"

"Boys, our Head Boy is in a foul mood. I think it best if we lay off of him for today…"

Greg rolled his eyes as the door closed cutting off anything else Ernie McMillan was going to say. The guy could be a pompous ass at times, but right then he was glad to have Ernie telling the other guys to back off. He didn't need to go and lose his temper with one of them.

By the time Greg was back from his shower, the room had emptied as the Hufflepuffs headed for the Great Hall for breakfast.

With a sigh Greg sat down on his bed. His fellow roommates thought he was crazy to go after Porter, not that they didn't think she was pretty, but because of her close relationship with Potter and Weasley. Some of the speculation about that ran on the vulgar side and that had caused more than one argument in their dorm. The guys were a lot more careful what they said about the Gryffindor witch ever since it was discovered that he liked her.

Still, though some of the talk, usually whispers, always had the words Dark Magic and Taylor's name in them, he had always adamantly denied it. Shooting down any such talk by pointing out the witch's close relationship to Potter and the fact that he was the Chosen One, even before he really realized that he liked her. However after last night…?

His father had always grilled into him the dangers of the Dark Arts. How they led to a life of misery. The Dark Arts were something to be feared and mistrusted and anyone who dealt in them was also to be feared and mistrusted.

Angrily Greg ran his hands through his damp hair. His mind told him that what had happened to the witch last night was more then a Dark Magic curse. He knew Potter had left out much of the truth, telling only the bare minimum of facts. Again he remembered the fight in the corridor with the Slytherins. Just before he had been hit in the back with that stunner, he knew that they were using darker and darker spells. Over the holidays, once his memory fully returned, he had thought long and hard about how the lone Gryffindor witch had been able to best the three remaining Slytherins. Loyally he had chalked it up to skill, but what if she too had used Dark Magic?

Questions he didn't have the answers to assailed him.

He knew his father would be very disappointed if he ever found out that Taylor was indeed a dark witch and he didn't stay away from her. The lessons against the Dark Arts that his father taught him resounded loudly in his ears.

Greg leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands, as his heart pounded.

Could the girl he loved be a dark witch?

In his heart he knew the answer. Felt it every time he was with her. Saw it in her compassion for her friends. His heart though didn't have the proof that his mind was stacking up.

In the end he knew which one he would follow. Right now he just wasn't sure if it was the correct one.

After she ate some breakfast Taylor levitated Hermione's bed over to hers again. She could feel the exhaustion catching up to her and with the sun pouring in through the windows, she thought she might try to get some sleep.

With a sigh Taylor picked up her friend's hand, looking closely at the other witch, noting that her face wasn't nearly as drawn and looked better, almost like she was just sleeping.

"Hermione, I really need you to come back. Ron misses you something terrible. Harry is worrying himself sick, and Ginny misses you too!" Taylor wasn't sure if her friend could hear her but… It couldn't hurt.

A little while later Taylor joined Hermione in the dream world.

Madame Pomfrey was keeping a close eye on the two witches. She had reported to the Headmistress what had happened during the night with Miss Porter and with McGonagall's permission had been in contact with one of the top Curse Healers at St. Mungo's. The Healer wasn't able to tell her anything very useful, but had been incredibly interested in helping Miss Porter and asked about bringing the young witch to see her at St. Mungo's.

Madame Pomfrey knew that Porter had no family, and as she was of age, the young witch would be left to decide whether she would go see the other healer or not. The school nurse doubted that Porter would. The Gryffindor was too proud and too committed to Potter to take the time it would require to cure her of the dark curse, until it was too late. With a sigh Madame Pomfrey went back to her charts.

It was late afternoon when Taylor woke up still holding Hermione's hand, but when Taylor shifted in the bed she noticed her friend's brown eyes watching her.

"Hey, Hermione." Taylor said softly as she smiled. "I'm glad that you finally decided to join me!"

"Hey," Hermione said, her voice scratchy. "How long have we been back?"

"Two days, well almost." Taylor said as her grin grew.

"Oh,"

"How are you feeling?" Taylor asked gently as she met her friend's eyes and saw the fear flicker in them. "We're going to be alright Hermione. If we can live through that hell then we sure as hell can recover from it!"

Hermione smiled a little and Taylor squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Hey, Taylor? You awake yet?" a muffled voice called from under Taylor's pillow.

With a grin Taylor reached under and pulled the mirror out. Ron's face was grinning back at her.

"Hey Ron, what's up?" Taylor asked as she glanced over at Hermione.

"Just checking to see if you are awake yet! Man you sure have turned into a bed hog!" Ron teased.

"Just catching up on all those times when you kept me up with your snoring!" Taylor quipped in a saucy voice. She could see Hermione's eyes shining brightly as she looked eagerly at the mirror. With a wink Taylor passed her friend the mirror.

Hermione's hand trembled a little as she took the mirror and turned it so that she was looking into it. "Hi Ron," she whispered.

"Hermione! Oh wow! You're awake!" Ron said excitedly. "Harry! Oi! Harry!"

The two witches could see the redhead turn away from the mirror to yell, and the grumbling from the background, then Harry's voice asking what was up. Harry wasn't long getting to the mirror though, when he heard Hermione was awake.

"Hey Hermione! Merlin it's so good to see you awake!" Harry's voice was a little thick as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey when did you wake up? Taylor was supposed to let me know right away!" Ron asked as he glared at Taylor.

"I just woke up a few minutes ago." Hermione said as her voice wavered a little and Taylor squeezed her hand again as she took the mirror back

"So you guys have a study period now? Well you better get back to studying. Hermione and I want all your neat, carefully kept notes to copy so that we can catch up in a hurry!" Taylor said in a serious tone but the grin at the end ruined the effect.

"We'll be down as soon as the bell rings. See you in a bit." Harry said with a smile at his sister, as Ron tried to get the mirror back from him. Taylor could hear them arguing as she put the mirror back under her pillow.

"The boys have really missed you." Taylor said with a smile. "Wanna take bets on who will be down here first?"

Taylor could see that her friend was trying hard to act normal, so she softened her voice and smiled gently. "Hey it's okay. We are safe now. No one expects anything from us. We'll get through this together." A sob shook Hermione's shoulders as Taylor pulled her friend towards her and held her tight, fighting the pain that Hermione's sobs were causing.

Taylor held Hermione until she cried herself out, crying herself as she kept repeating that they would get through this together.

Madame Pomfrey watched unobtrusively from her office, knowing that sometimes the best medicine was a shoulder to cry on.

Outside the Hospital Wing doors, Greg paused as he heard crying coming from inside the hospital. As he listened, he knew that it was two people crying, two girls… He peeked into the hospital and saw Pomfrey peering out of her office and he took the hint. The two witches needed sometime alone to try to come to grips with what had happened to them.

Turning he walked back down the empty hallway.

A/N Wow... another emotion packed chapter! One thing I do want to say is to remember that while Harry and Taylor use the term Dark Magic and Dark Arts so that they are different that most others don't... like Greg when he was thinking in his dorm room... I am sorry if this causes some confusion... in a way it is supposed to as the wizarding world on the whole clumps the two terms together so the charactors that don't know the difference intermingle the two words. Hopefully it isn't too confusing! As for the fight, or slmost fight between Harry and Greg... well I could see two teenage guys getting a little physical in those circumstances... hopefully it is believable! And now that Hermione is finaly awake the two can start to heal.

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Son of Whitebeard, Liza Cobbler, Miss R.E. Mulvey and emmiebunnie for reviewing! Your reviews made this chapter be posted today! Though I can't do that every time the more reviews I get the faster I will post! Though I am sad to say I won't get the time to post another chapter this weekend but I will try for Monday! Thank you to those who Alerted or Favorited this story! And Thank You to those who are reading! I want to also say thank you to my beta;) barbc! Without her help these chapters wouldn't be ready to be posted! So until next time, cytpotter.