Father Christmas' Gift
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.
'Hmmm,' Harry heard a small voice speaking straight into his mind. 'You'd do well in Slytherin.'
'No, please put me into Hufflepuff together with Neville,' Harry begged the Hat, feeling utterly relieved, when the Hat suddenly shouted into the Great Hall.
"Hufflepuff!"
Smiling broadly, Harry handed the Hat back to Professor McGonagall, who cast him an encouraging smile. He glanced at the high table, as he made his way to his house table, noticing that Madam Pomfrey equally smiled, while Harry had the impression as if the headmaster looked slightly disappointed.
Harry happily slipped into the seat next to Neville, thinking 'I must write to Aunt Rose right after dinner. She'll be so happy for us.'
The other first-years as well as the older students at the Hufflepuff table seemed very nice, and if Harry had felt slightly self-conscious because he had not travelled on the Hogwarts Express, the feeling subsided very quickly.
Dinner was almost finished, when Professor Sprout, whom one of the older students had pointed out to be their head of house, came to the Hufflepuff table.
"Please gather in the common room for a short house meeting when you arrive." Turning to Harry, she added in a small voice, "Madam Pomfrey wishes to speak with you for a moment. Afterwards, I'll take you with me to the common room."
"All right," Harry replied and stood from his seat, noticing from the corner of his eyes that Neville followed his example. However, Madam Pomfrey was not sitting at the high table anymore, and Harry looked around in confusion.
"Over there," Neville whispered, pointing to a spot a little bit away from where the teachers were still sitting.
HP
Pomfrey led Harry into a small side chamber, gently allowing Neville to accompany her patient. "Congratulations for being sorted together," she said, smiling at the excited boys, who thanked her, simultaneously.
"Harry, are you feeling all right?" she queried in apparent concern. "You didn't eat much."
"It's all right," Harry lied, not wanting the healer to take him with her to the hospital wing."
"I don't think so, and normally I'd take you with me," Pomfrey contradicted, "however, knowing that you have these problems about once a week, I'll let you go to your dormitory. I'll come and check on you and give you more potions later tonight," she promised, while carefully applying the salve to Harry's ears.
Harry profusely thanked the healer, feeling very relieved when she let them go, pointing out that Professor Sprout was waiting for them at the high table.
"Thanks Neville for coming with me," Harry whispered to his friend, who returned a comforting smile.
"Always Harry," his friend reassured him. "That's what friends are for."
HP
Together, they followed Professor Sprout to the Hufflepuff common room, looking in amazement at the moving paintings in the halls. 'Like at Longbottom Manor,' Harry thought. 'But here they're even more impressive.'
"My office is here right opposite of the common room," their head of house informed them, before she instructed Harry to come to her whenever he was not feeling all right or when one of them had any other problems.
"Thank you Professor," Harry replied, gratefully, listening with interest when the professor informed them that the current password to enter the common room was 'Welcome to Hufflepuff' but that she usually changed it once a week.
HP
Harry and Neville quickly lowered themselves onto the floor in the corner, where their classmates were sitting and waved them over, as soon as they entered the common room. Sprout began with the house meeting right away and during the following thirty minutes explained what she expected from the students in her house.
"In contrary to the other houses, for us Hufflepuffs, house unity is important. The other houses tend to ridicule us, so its upon ourselves to look after each other," she explained and pointed to the white board at one side of the room. "I wish to have two sixth years every evening, who stay in the common room and help younger students with their homework or any other problems," she informed the older students. "I'd also like to ask the third years to be ready to run small errands for the fifth and seventh year students, who are busy studying for the OWLs and NEWTs. Please put your names under the respective date on the board if you're willing to help your housemates."
The professor still continued to talk, however, Harry tuned out her voice. Somehow, he was not feeling well at all and rather wanted to go to bed. However, under no circumstances would he let anyone know about it, deciding that he was not going to miss classes from the first day onwards.
'Sprout seems really nice,' he thought, feeling very happy for Neville upon realising that their head of house was the Herbology teacher. Even if he was interested in Herbology too, Harry's main interest and abilities lay in Potions, while Neville was much better caring for plants and herbs than him.
He was brought out of his musings when everyone suddenly rose from the floor. 'Thank Merlin it's over,' he thought and turned to Neville. "I'm going to bed." Glad that the professor had explained where the first year dormitories were, he climbed up the staircase right away, without even waiting for his friend, who closely followed him.
"Harry, are you not feeling well?" Neville asked in apparent concern.
"Not really," Harry admitted in a small voice. "But don't tell anyone. Pomfrey said she'd give me more potions later on. I just hope I'll feel better in the morning."
"I hope so too," Neville replied, soothingly. "Look, there's Blizzard's perch right next to the window."
Harry smiled at his familiar who greeted them with a series of happy trills. 'I've got the bed that's right next to the window,' he realised, happily. 'And thank Merlin Neville's is right next to mine.' "Good night Neville," he said, sleepily.
"Good night, Harry," Neville replied, sounding very happy. "Get well quickly. I'll see you in the morning."
HP
In the morning, Harry woke up when he felt a tingling sensation running up and down his body. 'Mum,' he thought, knowing that it felt that way when his aunt used to check on him. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, he remembered that he was at Hogwarts and saw that it was no other than Madam Pomfrey who was waving her wand over him.
"I'm not very happy," she told him. "I'd prefer to keep you in bed, but I suppose that you want to attend classes?"
"Excuse me, Madame, what did you say? I think I can't hear very well today," Harry whispered back, horrified, causing the healer to spell a few potions into his system.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. This is much better," Harry said, gratefully, and this time, he was able to understand when the healer repeated what she had told him earlier.
"Yes, please let me attend classes," Harry replied, immediately.
"Only if you promise that you come to me or return here and send your phoenix or Mr. Longbottom to me if you feel worse," the healer informed him in a no-nonsense voice, which Harry knew all too well from Rose.
"All right," he promised in a small voice.
Seeing that he still had time before breakfast, he quickly scribbled a short letter to his aunt.
'Dear Aunt Rose,
Neville and I are both in Hufflepuff. I like it here. Everyone is very nice, the students and our head of house too. She is the Herbology teacher, so Neville must be thrilled. I hope we'll have Potions today. I can't wait. I just hope the professor is as nice as our head of house.
I miss you.
Love
Harry'
"Blizzard, can you please take my letter to Aunt Rose?" Harry then turned to the phoenix, who let out a comforting melody in return and flashed away, as soon as Harry had handed him the parchment.
HP
At breakfast, Professor Sprout handed out the timetables. Harry looked at the parchment in his hands in enthusiasm. "We've Potions first thing in the morning," he whispered to Neville, feeling extremely excited.
"Does anyone know where the Potions classroom is?" Susan, one of the other first years, suddenly spoke up, causing Harry's classmates to shake their heads.
"I'll take you there," one of the third years offered, casting Professor Sprout a questioning look.
"Please do so, Mr. Diggory," the Hufflepuff head replied in a gentle voice. "What's your first morning class?"
"Charms," Cedric Diggory replied after consulting his timetable.
"Very well, I'll excuse you with Professor Flitwick then," Sprout promised and made her way back to the high table.
"We better go now, if you want to be at the Potions classroom on time," the third year student announced, before he made a quick detour to the Ravenclaw table to invite the first years to follow them to the Potions classroom.
HP
Harry entered the Potions classroom with excitement. On the way to the dungeons, he had exchanged a few words with one of the Ravenclaw students, who seemed to be very nice. She told him that she was muggleborn and asked him several questions about the brewing of potions, which Harry happily answered.
Harry slipped into the empty seat next to the girl, and Neville immediately sat on his other side.
"I'm sorry," the girl suddenly spoke up again. "I didn't even introduce myself before bombarding you with questions. I'm Hermione."
Harry smiled. "This is my best friend Neville," he replied, pointing to his neighbour, "and I'm Harry."
HP
Suddenly, the door shut with a loud bang, and the Potions professor swept to the front of the classroom - at least to Harry's slightly foggy mind it seemed as if the teacher swept with his robes billowing behind him.
Harry eagerly listened to the professor's long monologue about Potions, however, he noticed soon that the potions had only helped so much with his hearing. He could barely understand the professor, who spoke in a very monotone and even way.
'I hope Mum will eventually find something that'll really help my ears,' he thought, sadly, knowing that Rose had been doing research on this area for years and had already managed to improve his ear salve for him.
"Mr. Potter," the professor suddenly bellowed, "our new celebrity."
Harry looked up in confusion. He could sense that the professor was still speaking at him, however, he could not make out a word.
"What would he get if he added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Neville repeated for his friend in a very loud voice, causing the professor to see red.
"Longbottom, twenty points from Hufflepuff for disturbing my class," he bellowed, before he turned back to Harry. "You don't know?" he sneered. "Pity."
"I'm sorry sir, I can't hear well today, but it's a sleeping potion, also called the Draught of Living Death," Harry replied in a small voice, causing the professor to bombard him with more questions, fortunately speaking loud enough to penetrate Harry's clogged up ears.
To Harry's relief, he was able to answer all the questions, which the professor threw at him, however, after listing the ingredients for a seventh year potion correctly, Snape suddenly glared at him and hissed, "Directly after lunch, you will accompany me to the headmaster. One hundred points from Hufflepuff for your insolence and detention with me after dinner."
Harry did not understand everything the professor said, however, Hermione, who had obviously noticed his predicament, suddenly told him in a louder voice, "Don't say anything now. We'll tell you after the class."
"Ten points from Ravenclaw for disturbing my class," the professor bellowed, before he began to dive into a monologue about magical and non magical ingredients.
To his chagrin, Harry was unable to understand anything of the explanation, however, after the class, Neville explained that Harry already knew everything that the first years had learned during their first Potions class.
"I wonder what upset him so much," Harry spoke up, when he walked through the dungeon corridor to head to his next class together with Neville and Hermione.
"Harry, I have no idea what upset Professor Snape," Hermione was the first to reply. "It was amazing how much you know about Potions though."
"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling.
"I'll accompany you to the headmaster's office," Neville reassured his best friend, who cast him a relieved smile.
tbc...
Thank you very much for your kind comments!