Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.

The Healing Touch

Harry swam back to consciousness, rain falling in his face and his arm in terrible pain, to see a much-despised face grinning down at him.

"Had a bit of trouble, there, Harry, but we can get you fixed up in no time," said Gilderoy Lockhart. He drew his wand and pointed it at Harry's arm.

"No...not you." Harry struggled to get up, but the movement caused his broken arm to flare in pain. He grimaced, and collapsed back into the mud.

"Poor boy doesn't know what he's saying," chuckled Lockhart. "Who better to mend your arm than me?"

"I think I'll keep it as it is," said Harry. He glanced around the Quidditch pitch. "Where's Hotaru?"

"Sorry, whom?"

"Hotaru Tomoe, she's a Ravenclaw in my year—"

Lockhart chuckled. "Harry, Harry, Harry...Why would you leave your health and well-being in the hands of a twelve-year-old girl, when I'm right here?"

Harry didn't think that pointing out that Hotaru was only eleven would help his case. "She's done okay so far. Or at least take me to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey deal with it."

"No need for that, Harry. I'm right here, and more than capable." Lockhart raised his wand, and before Harry could further argue, twirled it and then jabbed it at Harry's arm.

It didn't feel right. In fact, it felt cold and sickly, like his arm was collapsing. It no longer hurt, but when he tried to lift it, he discovered that he couldn't.

"What did you do to me?"

"Harry!" Hotaru burst through the crowd and dropped to her knees, heedless of what the mud would do to her tights. She pulled off her gloves, and gently placed her hands on Harry's arm. But when nothing happened, she turned to Lockhart.

"What did you do?"

"Well..." Lockhart looked a bit confused. "It was a simple bone-mending spell. And as you can see, he's no longer in pain."

"That's because you vanished all the bones in his arm!"

It had been a rough and confusing night for Harry. Skele-gro tasted a lot like battery acid, except without the pleasant aftertaste, and it burned about as badly going down. Then there was the pain of the bone re-forming in his arm. He wasn't sure of the mechanics of the potion—Snape had never so much as mentioned it before—but Madam Pomfrey had warned him that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Then he'd been awakened by the arrival of Dobby the House-Elf, who had admitted to sending the rogue bludger after him. But before Harry could extract the full story from the House-Elf, he had vanished, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had rushed in.

They had carried in a petrified Colin Creevey. And Dumbledore had confirmed to Harry—albeit unwittingly—that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before.

He'd managed to get back to sleep after that, to be awakened by the sounds of conversation just outside the door of the Hospital Wing.

"—quite aware of your particular talents, Miss Tomoe, but Mr Potter is still asleep, and I don't want to wake him."

"It's all right," called out Harry. "I'm awake."

"Oh?" Madam Pomfrey bustled in, followed closely by Hotaru. "Let me see that arm."

Harry held it out, and Madam Pomfrey began squeezing it.

"Humerus...radius and ulna...metacarpals...proximal phalanges...medial and distal phalanges. Seems they're all back in place. Bend your arm at the elbow, please."

Harry did so, but found that it was quite stiff, and resisted bending. He winced. "It hurts a bit."

"Yes, well, that's to be expected," said Madam Pomfrey. "It will take some time for you to recover all of the range of motion in that arm. If that bloody idiot had simply brought you to me in the first place..." She shook her head. Harry chuckled.

"Good to know there's a second female in this place that isn't taken with him."

"The boy was mediocre at best when he attended school here, and I see no reason to believe that he's gotten any better," snapped Pomfrey. "I apologize, Miss Tomoe, but he is in no way a credit to your House."

"He was a Ravenclaw?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"Not every member of our House is clever," said Hotaru, with a bit of a grin. "I'm sorry I didn't get there in time, Harry." She hung her head. "I couldn't get down the stairs from the stands before Lockhart cast that spell."

"It's not your fault," said Harry. "I told him to wait for you, and he wouldn't listen."

"What spell did he cast?" asked Pomfrey.

"I don't know," said Harry. "He didn't actually use an incantation."

"He's not a healer, and so has no business trying to repair bones in the first place," said Madam Pomfrey. "And to try to cast a spell that complex wordlessly, when he can't even cast it normally?" She shook her head.

"You ought to sue him, or even have him charged," observed Hotaru. "What he did could be considered assault."

"You're Muggle-born, dear, aren't you?" Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Unfortunately, Hogwarts' Charter makes it impossible to sue a teacher who honestly believes that he is rendering aid, even if that aid is refused. And while you could have him charged criminally, the Headmaster would actually have to be the one to file the charges on your behalf."

"He might do," said Harry.

Pomfrey shook her head. "I find it unlikely that he would do so. This school has a very hard time hanging on to its Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, and Dumbledore would have to try to find a replacement on very short notice.

"But regardless. On to your arm. I want you to drink at least four cups of milk today. I'll have one of the castle Elves bring up a breakfast tray—it'll be a Full English, and I want you to finish it all before you leave. Also, I have a list of physiotherapy exercises I want you to do. Stick to them, and you'll have your arm fully functional again within a week."

"I might be able to help with that," said Hotaru. She stepped forward, and laid a hand on Harry's arm.

It was a completely different feeling from the chilly, deflating feeling when Lockhart had de-boned his arm. Her touch was very warm, and he felt like creepers of fire were working their way up and down his arm.

"Whoa." He shook his head. "That was intense." He suddenly realized that Hotaru looked a bit unsteady on her feet. "Hotaru! Are you okay?"

"Yes." She straightened up. "It can take a lot out of me, sometimes. Minor cuts and scrapes don't affect me. If I'd healed your broken arm yesterday, it might have made me a bit weak. But whatever was still wrong with your arm...well, there was a lot still wrong."

"That's because the Skele-gro is still working," said Madam Pomfrey. "His bone marrow still needed to re-form, and there were nerve connections still not repaired. Those are always the last things." She pulled out her wand, and waved it over his arm. "Yes...she completely healed all the remaining damage. Ten points to Ravenclaw, Miss Tomoe."

Hotaru shook her head. "It's completely unconscious...I can't even control it. I shouldn't get points for something I can't control."

"You can control it," said Harry. "You wear gloves, so it doesn't happen automatically. You told me that. But you chose to heal me, and it hurt you to do it."

"It didn't really hurt me—"

"Well, it knocked you for a loop," said Harry. "And...I'm grateful." He flexed his arm. "I can't imagine that the exercises would have been fun. So, thank you, Hotaru, and you should take the points."

"All right, Harry." She smiled. "If you insist."

They'd chatted as he ate breakfast; she'd told him that Ron and Hermione were anxious to hear from him, and he'd told her about Dobby's midnight visit, and Colin Creevey's subsequent arrival.

"...and then Professor Dumbledore said that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened again. Again." He stressed the word. "So it's been opened before. But even Dumbledore doesn't know how."

"And the camera film was all melted?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Stunk pretty badly, too."

"So whatever is behind this attack can petrify a person, can melt plastic through a camera lens, and can also write on walls." She shook her head. "I hope it isn't a gorgon."

"Can a gorgon live for a thousand years?" asked Harry. "Because Professor Binns says that's when the Chamber of Secrets was built."

"No, they can't," mused Hotaru. "At least, it's not mentioned in any of the books that I've read." Her eyes drifted over to Colin. "You know...Colin would have seen what attacked him."

"Yes, but he's not very talkative right now."

"I could heal him." She moved to get up, but Harry put a hand on her arm.

"Hotaru, wait."

She paused, looking at him, confused.

"Hermione told me that you're not the best at Transfiguration." Harry nodded towards Colin. "Whatever is causing this, it seems to be some sort of Transfiguration. Professor Dumbledore mentioned that it can be reversed with Mandrake Draught, and according to Professor Sprout, that's used to undo Transfigurations."

"But it can't hurt to try, can it?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "But you were nearly knocked over healing my arm. To try to fix something that bad..." He shook his head. "It might really hurt you. And I don't want to see you hurt."

She blushed at that. And Harry was starting to like seeing her blush.