Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!


Title: Heir to the Serpent King (Working Title)

Posted Date: August 19 2023

Tags: Manipulative Dumbledore, Bad Snape, Good Poppy Pomfrey, Harry having Eyes of Petrification, Harry as Heir of Slytherin by Conquest

Possible Challenges: Fake Prophecy, Bad Ronald Weasley / Hermione Granger, Harry becoming Healer

Possible Pairings: Harry x Katie, Harry x Patil Twins, Harry x small multi


Harry let out a groan as his head was giving the sensation of having a Bludger given free reign to bounce about inside, with the occasional knocks from a Beater's Bat. It was the morning after his adventures in the Chambers of Secrets and the near attack by Malfoy, and he woke up with a splitting headache along with eyes that were bloodshot and feeling like they wanted to pop. Thankfully it was the weekend and he had the feeling that the day would be freed up of lessons, so Harry had to go and visit Madam Pomfrey for help. He just knew that she was going to scold him a lot for not coming to her earlier but at least he had an excuse this time!

"Ah, so you have decided to grace me with your presence." Madam Poppy Pomfrey commented the moment he entered her domain. The petrified victims were still in their beds but moved in preparation for the administering of the antidote meant for them, supposedly later in the day if what Dumbledore said was true.

"I meant to come last night, but a lot happened and I got held up." Harry spoke while looking for Hermione, finding her within seconds and hoping that she would be fine from the attack even if she was the latest victim outside of Ginny Weasley.

"Well at least you are responsible enough to come forward. I was going to contact you if you were being stubborn." Poppy came forward to see him. "So what do you wish for me to check outside of the obvious?"

"I think my fight with the Basilisk got a little too crazy, because I woke up feeling like I went through one of Oliver's crazy Quidditch sessions for a few days straight without a break." Harry took off his spectacles and slightly pressed his eyes through closed lids. "And my eyes are feeling really painful."

"Let me see them." Poppy guided Harry to a chair and got him to look at her, making her frown at the bloodshot eyes. "Oh goodness, that is bad. And you have headaches. Is it getting stronger or staying even?" Harry paused to consider the feeling before using a finger. "Right, best to get to your bed. I will tend to you shortly once I get the potions."

Despite the situation, Harry snorted at that last bit. "I have my own bed here?"

"Given what has happened so far, I think it prudent to reserve a bed for you. I should just put up a plaque to make it official." Poppy replied as she steered him to the bed while handing him a potion. "Take this for your headaches. This has a mild sedative that might put you to sleep, but it will help me to scan you properly uninterrupted." Harry sighed at yet another potion to be introduced to his system but the pain pounding his head was enough to make him just drink it to hopefully get some relief. He let out a contented sigh as the pain was being soothed and he allowed himself to drift off to sleep within seconds.

"Hmm, he must be in a good amount of pain to just drink it and to fall asleep immediately." Poppy observed as her repeat visitor just clocked out. She took her wand out to examine his body and frowned at the readings. There were the old injuries that Albus kept insisting to leave it "to not pressure the poor boy", and there were the latest ones that definitely needed her work, and then…

Her eyes went upwards to his forehead where his signature scar was looking as fresh as it was the day he got it, looking inflamed and… leaking black blood?

She blinked before leaning forward to look closer at the scar in question. Yes, she was not imagining it, it was actually leaking black blood that smelled bad and gave off a very bad feeling. Poppy pursed her lips as she checked the door and then the clock by the wall. Normally the headmaster would tell her to leave his injuries alone, but her oath made it a tough one to follow along especially with the number of injuries she was getting from Mister Potter. At least she had some leeway to heal his most serious issues and able to use her expertise to insist on her personal elves to include potions to heal and cleanse the body for Mister Potter's meals while ensuring no one else tried to include their own batch of potions to prank or poison Mister Potter. If Dumbledore were here, he would likely tell her to patch him up a little before he would send him back to wherever the boy was hidden during the summer.

Thankfully, the old wizard was busy dealing with the minister and the board of directors over the handling of the situation, and probably found a way to sweep the incident under the rug, so he won't be around to interfere much. And with Severus busy preparing the last batch of Mandrakes for the petrified victims, she still has a few hours to do something for Mister Potter. She just needed one more thing.

"Fawkes, may I ask for your presence?" Poppy tried to ask out loud, uncertain if it would work. That got answered in the form of the phoenix song resounding in the hospital wing and the giant fireball that appeared next to her. The phoenix flapped his wings lightly before landing on the bedrest, a curious chirp came out of it while looking at her and the boy. "Fawkes, I need your assistance to help Mister Potter. Is that okay?" Fawkes turned to look at Harry once more before turning back to nod. Poppy smiled at the gesture.

Time to get to work.

~ooOOoo~

"Mister Potter, can you hear me?"

An intangible mumbling came out of his mouth while he tried to focus his mind. His mind felt very foggy and Harry was liking the sensation of being in a nice bed.

"As much as I like the fact you are enjoying the comforts of the hospital bed, I really do need you to wake up a little and open your eyes for me to examine."

The words were clearer in his head now, along with the trilling tune that was familiar to him. That got Harry to put in a bit more effort to push himself up and forced his eyes open, wincing slightly from the glare of the lighting charm currently on the nurse's wand tip.

"Well, it looks like your eyes are functioning in regard to sensitivity." The nurse hummed as she moved her wand to check the other eye. "Can you please follow the light?" Harry forced his eyes to open wider to follow the wand tip as she moved it. After a while, she dimmed it and lowered the wand to give a nod. "Good, your eyes are well." Harry hummed as he reached to rub his eye to remove the crust only to pause and looked about in surprise. "Mister Potter?"

"I can see properly now." Harry turned to where the cabinet was and saw the old uneven spectacles he had since 7 years old. "I don't even need the specs." Poppy blinked before coming back to him.

"Are you sure?" Harry nodded lightly as he looked around with, pardon the pun, new eyes. "We still have some time, I wish to run a few tests just to make sure your eyes are truly fixed and not a one-off." For this Harry was willing to help her out as he too would like to make sure he no longer needed to wear spectacles ever again. It was one of those things outside of his scar that made him stand out for others to identify him. Idly he noted Fawkes the phoenix perched near him.

They spent another half-hour running a few tests and testing his hand-eye coordination to make sure he was physically fine, with Poppy making plenty of notes about his reactions and his descriptions of how he felt with his eyes. After all of that, Poppy lowered her quill and hummed thoughtfully.

"So what's the verdict?" Harry could not help the slight trepidation in his voice while his hand reached out to stroke Fawkes's neck.

"I would say that your eyes are completely repaired from whatever degeneration that had occurred previously, and you should have perfect vision from now on as long as you keep good habits in maintaining your eyes." Poppy answered as she turned to him. "I have a hypothesis on this, though it is weak."

"Whatever works for this, I can take it." Harry leaned back in his chair now relaxing from the tension.

"You described to me the feeling of the venom going around your body when the basilisk bit you." It was her professionalism that managed to restrict what would have been a full body shudder to a mere twitch. "And then you talked about this morning's pain. I would need to explain a bit more of what is going on with your body before I get to the verdict." Harry nodded while pulling out a small notebook for himself to write in case this was important.

"Basilisk venom is one of the magical world's, if not The most toxic, of all substances around. It stands out among other venoms and poisons with its strength and its corrosiveness, even when compared to something like a Nundu. Just one drop of it in a well would be enough to poison and kill the entire population of Hogsmeade within minutes of drinking." Harry gulped at that image and unconsciously rubbed the arm where the fang had punctured while Fawkes shook his head at the memory. "The corrosiveness is also known for the sheer speed it can wreak havoc on the flesh of its intended target. A drop of it is enough to break down the body tissue and flesh to the point that they will become slush after a while." Harry clamped his hand to his mouth to control the urge to puke despite the woman providing him the bin to let it out.

"With such a potent poison, the only antidote for this will be phoenix tears." The nurse kept talking to partly keep his mind off the gruesome description. "Phoenix Tears can cure all poisons and repair the body of wounds or heavy injuries from near death. You can imagine how much of a commodity that would be for hospitals." Harry nodded before turning to Fawkes.

"As soon as I find out what food phoenixes love to eat, I am so getting you a big gift basket for your help." Fawkes gave out a sound that made it seemed he was laughing in amusement at this.

Poppy lightly cleared her throat to get back their attention before continuing. "Now here is what I have found and what I think happened."

"Your blood test has shown that you have practically lethal amounts of basilisk venom injected into you from the loose fang that I had gathered from your story. To be honest, I was surprised that you were able to fall asleep with the potion I granted you earlier because by all accounts, the potion would have been broken down in an instant." Harry blinked at that.

"Why do you say it like the venom is still inside me?" Poppy looked him in the eye and nodded.

"Yes, that is what I am saying. Your blood is still holding traces of basilisk venom." Harry felt his heart sink to his stomach at that bit of news. "Now before you panic, let me continue explaining." Harry took a moment to breathe deeply to control himself while Fawkes lightly ruffled his hair to calm him down.

"As I said, you have that venom coursing through your body and breaking down, but you also have Fawkes granting you his tears to counter it. With the amount of damage, you needed roughly the same amount to counter the damage." Poppy took the moment to take a sip. "As a result, your blood is in a complete flux, cycling between destruction and repair. That also means your body is getting broken and repaired at the same time." Harry took a while to consider that bit of information.

"Won't that mean my lifespan could be shortened?"

"Normally, yes." Poppy waved her hand at Fawkes, "that is why I called for him to check on something while I fixed you up. He was willing to spare me a few more tear drops to heal you." The phoenix trilled at that. "On a more positive note, I was finally able to heal the scar on your forehead."

"Really?" Harry sat straight up at that. In reply, Poppy pulled a mirror from the desk to let him see the results for himself. Harry took the mirror and looked at his reflection, and for a moment, he wondered if Poppy was trying to prank him as the one looking back did not look like him at all. For one, that reflection showed someone with a bit more "meat" on their face with more defined cheekbones and a bit more tanned. Then he noted the emerald green eyes which appeared brighter than normal, and the very faint marking of a lightning bolt where the scar would be.

"Yes, Mister Potter. That is really you." Poppy noted his expression and answered the question on his tongue. "Given your body was being repaired in the process, your scar was also being cleansed of some dark residue that had persisted over the years. With Fawkes's aid, I got that part cleaned up and healed. With some skin cream, the scar will be virtually unrecognisable." Harry slowly nodded as he raised a hand to his face and saw his reflection doing the same.

"I also managed to add extra potions to heal some of the more stubborn parts that persisted after your fight, along with the existing issues that you have." Her eyes narrowed at this point. "Including the other marks you had before coming to Hogwarts." That stopped Harry from admiring his new appearance and made him panic. She held up a hand to stop any potential excuses.

"Mister Potter, I have been trained to detect abuse, and in most cases, I would be writing up reports to send to the DMLE to get them to check on the children and hopefully get them out of the environment they were in." Poppy then sighed. "Your case is one that I had hoped to get through to the DMLE, but certain people have certain ideas to keep you where you are." Her choice of words and her eyes were enough to help Harry focus and at the same time get a sense of what was happening with his life. "And while I would have wanted to do more, a certain someone is stopping me from getting your case done further. While not appropriate and certainly not how I wanted it to be, your blood containing the basilisk venom and phoenix tears have granted me the chance to properly patch you up the way you should be." Poppy bowed her head towards him. "That said, I must apologise for not doing what I was supposed to do for you."

"Madam Pomfrey." Harry stretched his arms out but hesitated to touch her, uncertain of what to do and what to feel at her words. She had admitted that she was being prevented from getting him away from the Dursleys and was forced to hold back on healing him properly, but at the same time she took the chance to do the right thing. He was not sure how to feel.

Fawkes crooned to get his attention, and briefly Harry had the sense that Fawkes was trying to tell him that Poppy was genuine with her actions and guilt. Harry took a breath and let it out. "Madam Pomfrey, please lift your head, it is fine. You actually did what you could to help me out, that is a lot more than what other adults in my life have done." The nurse sniffed lightly as she lifted her head. "Again, thank you." Harry smiled to assure her with the phoenix nodding. The elder woman took a moment to contain herself before nodding.

"Thank you, Mister Potter." The woman turned to look at the clock and frowned. "I'm afraid time is running short. Professor Snape is coming with the potion to revive the victims, and that is around the time Albus would be returning. I would rather we keep what we talked about private." Harry nodded as he considered all that was said, and confirmed slightly what he had been thinking for the past year about Dumbledore and the Dursleys. "First and foremost, you need to take these with your meals." Poppy reached behind her to grab what looked like a rack of potions of different colours. "These are charmed to be self-filling until the designated time you would have completed the regime that I will be handing you."

"Oh, don't give me that look. They are for your own good." Poppy huffed at the expression Harry had looking at the rack, before glaring at Fawkes who was giving out honking sounds to show his laughter. "And you stop that." Poppy shook her head at their immaturity before continuing. "While you are still here, please make sure to take these based on the instructions I will hand you. I do not know if you are able to do the same wherever you will be going during summer, unless you have a house-elf that can do that. I would need to find out about this." Harry hummed as he considered that last bit, he might know someone but would ask in private.

"Understood, Madam Pomfrey." After a few more details and handing over the instructions, Harry waved goodbye to her and Fawkes before exiting the hospital wing, his mind going through all that was discussed.

Poppy waited for the doors to close before she slumped with a bit of deep breathing, Fawkes crooning in concern for her. "I am fine, thank you Fawkes." Poppy wiped the sweat that broke out from her forehead and leaned back to control her breathing. Her healer oath was clashing with the contract she had with Dumbledore, and she was thankful for her Occlumency to contain herself during the discussion with Mister Potter. She looked to Fawkes while pointing to the stack of files and a small bundle placed on the other table, deliberately placed for this very reason.

"Fawkes, I need a favour. Please send this to my friend, he needs to know." Poppy winced slightly from her oaths reacting, using her mind to give out reasons to appease both oaths. "Mister Potter needs a lot of help. And I'm bloody sure Albus will not do it properly." The phoenix looked at her, giving her the feeling that he was looking into her soul, before letting out a song that calmed both her and her magic down. The oaths were no longer clashing, as though they agreed that the phoenix was right. With a flutter of the wings, Fawkes landed on the package and flamed away with the package, letting her finally sigh in relief from accomplishing her task and Fawkes removing the source of the contradiction even with the oaths pacified. She looked to the clock and readied herself for Snape and Dumbledore to come along to check on the petrified victims.

She just hoped her efforts were worth it.