Arc 3, Part 2, Ch 1
Two days had passed since Harry had arrived in the Hospital Wing. He'd spent most of the time sleeping. This time when he woke up, he felt like staying up longer. But first, he needed a shower desperately. By the time he returned, his bed had been changed, breakfast was waiting for him and so was Sirius. Once they'd finished, Madam Pomfrey came over and gave her wand a wave over him.
"Your magic levels are recovering nicely. You'll still need to take it easy for a few more days, but there shouldn't be any further damage to your core," she said.
"Does that mean I can go?" Harry asked expectantly.
He didn't see the look that passed between his godfather and the mediwitch.
"No, it does not. We have a lot more work to do before you're ready to leave here." She reached into her robe and pulled out a parchment roll that expanded to be about 3 feet in length. "We are going to discuss the findings of your health scan and then develop a treatment plan."
Harry looked down, "Oh."
"Oh is right young man. Why didn't you ever see me about any of these injuries?" she asked gently.
Harry hemmed and hawed a bit, "I thought you'd seen them on your scans and decided nothing else needed to be done."
"Well you thought wrong! About the only thing that doesn't need work is your right arm and hand and that's only because Lockhart removed all of the bones last year! You've got several ribs that haven't healed properly, your left wrist, right ankle, and a few other smaller bones. Once that's done, I need to do a more in-depth scan of your head. You've had several concussions and I need to be sure there isn't any permanent damage. Then there's your eyesight! How you're seeing anything with those glasses I'll never know. Whomever prescribed them for you needs to go back to school! They're completely wrong for you. Then once that's done, I need to remove the bind on your magical core."
"I have a what on my core?" Harry asked.
"A bind. It is restricting your access to your magic. I was surprised that your core had returned so quickly after the dementors, but that's because it's only filling up half-way. Once it's removed, you're going to need to visit Ollivander's again and have him check your wand. It's possible it's not right for you once you have access to your full potential. Or it's possible you might burn it out the first time you use it after I release the bind."
"Why would someone bind my magic? That doesn't make sense!" queried Harry.
"That's something I'm going to find out, pup. I know your dad put one on you when you were just a baby because you kept doing accidental magic. If you wanted something, you just held out your hand towards it and it would come right over. The cat didn't appreciate it very much so your dad put a 'baby bind' on it. It should have dissipated before your tenth birthday to let your core settle before coming to Hogwarts. This one was put on you after you arrived at Hogwarts," said Sirius. "There are some other things that aren't exactly right about your core, but we've got to do a little more research about them. It's like something's siphoning off some of your magic."
"Tonight, I'm going to vanish the bones in your right ankle and then give you a dose of Skele-Grow. We'll do one area every two days so that you aren't overwhelmed. I know you are familiar with the process," said Madam Pomfrey.
Harry made a face, "Can't you just do it all at once?"
"No, Mr. Potter. For one thing, I'd have to put you in a full-body bind for 24 hours. Secondly, you wouldn't be able to stand the pain of so many areas being done at the same time. Thirdly, I need to reevaluate your status after each dose. Depending on how your system reacts, I may have to have two or three days between doses. I want to heal your body with the least amount of pain."
Harry nodded his understanding.
"Harry; tomorrow Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody are coming back to interview you. I know that it's going to be hard on you, but I want you to tell them everything they ask. They're going to ask you about the Dursleys. Don't sugarcoat anything. Can you do that, pup?" Asked Sirius.
Harry knew that he had to do that. He'd let too many people know about the problems there and could no longer hide it. Hopefully, people were finally going to listen to him.
"Tomorrow afternoon, a mind healer is going to come and talk to you too. And don't worry about anything you say getting out to the public. All healers are under strict vows of confidentiality. The only question we have is whether you think you'd prefer a male or a female mind healer," said Sirius.
Harry just shrugged. He didn't think it made that much difference.
"Mr. Potter, some people relate better to a healer of the same gender while others relate better to healers of the opposite gender. We want you to be comfortable talking to this person," said Poppy.
"I don't know. I've never given it much thought. Just find someone who doesn't go gaga over the Boy-Who-Lived nonsense."
Sirius and Poppy looked at each other and agreed. They'd gone through the list of available mind healers and had picked out someone who was male and relatively young – mid-thirties. He was both a fully trained healer and had a degree in muggle psychology as well. He was a half-blood who had spent considerable time in the muggle world and understood it. The young man's name was Jacob Bowlby.
Harry took another of his many naps and was awakened at lunchtime. Missing meals was no longer an option. Harry and Sirius ate together in companionable silence. They'd barely finished when the doors to the Hospital Wing opened and Hermione and Ron entered.
"Harry! It's so good to see you awake! The last couple of times we've been by you've been sleeping," cried Hermione as she gave him a great big hug.
"Yeah, mate, how can you sleep so much? I'd be right bored if that's all I was doing," said Ron.
"Getting rid of all of those dementors took a lot out of me. Madam Pomfrey says the best way to heal is to get lots of sleep. She's right. I'll be up for an hour and then pass right back out again. You came at a good time," said Harry.
Hermione handed him a sheaf of parchment, "I collected all of your summer homework for you in case you got bored while you were here."
"Thanks, Hermione. Next time you visit, could you bring my book bag? It looks like I'm going to be here a while so I might as well have something to keep me busy."
"You're mental, Harry! Why would you want to work on homework when we just finished exams?" asked Ron.
"Well, it's all still fresh in my mind and I can't do much else here other than sleep. I might as well get it over with now. You know the Dursleys won't let me do it."
Sirius scowled, "I don't think you'll have to worry about them, Harry. I'm sure we'll find you a place before you're ready to leave. I'm sure my cousin Andromeda would be more than happy to take you in. She's the only sane one of the Blacks left."
"You can always come to the Burrow, Harry. Mum and Dad think of you like another Weasley anyway," said Ron.
"Thanks, but I've got plenty of time to worry about where I'm going next. I've still got to speak to Madam Bones and Madam Pomfrey's going to fix some other problems she found while she was checking me out. She said something about maybe getting my eyes fixed too! I'd sure be glad not to have to wear glasses anymore!" Harry said, trying to divert some of the discussion.
The discussion soon wound down and when Harry gave a big yawn, Hermione and Ron were ushered out of the Hospital Wing.
When he next woke up, Harry noticed his book bag next to the bed.