A/N 1: this has been floating around in my head for a while. It is not beta'd yet as I'm looking for one. But I was just excited to get the first chapter out. Let me know what you think.

A/N 2: if you notice certain character traits or similar plot lines from other fanfic's you may not be entirely wrong. Already I know of 2 in this first chapter that have been used in other stories. Off the top of my head, I can not recall their title or author but will look for them so I can link them in the a/n's so they are properly credited.

The happy and un-intended consequence of healing

Re-adjusting the bloodied handkerchief around his hand tightly he continued his ambling walk down one of the many corridors in the vast castle, his mind was on one singular destination. The hospital wing.

Tonight's detention with that toad who impersonated a professor had been especially brutal. Upon his arrival, he was coerced into drinking a particularly foul-tasting cup of tea. He suspected it was laced with something right away but couldn't justify a refusal without further angering the hateful women. He was then convinced of the tea's tampering after having only written a few lines with that hated quill. His hand bled more profusely than it had in the past when he used it and after 3 grueling hours, only when he began to feel lightheaded, did she finally release him from his 'detention'.

Luckily, it was his final day of the 14-day stint and a Friday to boot, so he had the weekend to nurse his hand and try to limit the damage and pain until classes started again Monday morning.

He was 3 corridors away from the salvation of Madam Pomfrey's 'tender care', which he usually tried to avoid being as stubborn as he was when he heard a melodic sound coming from one of the abandoned classrooms. The closer he got the more distinct he could make it out, singing. He slowed his already meager pace, trying to identify the song that suddenly captivated him but try as he might he couldn't. Primarily, he realized that it wasn't in English but in Gaelic.

Coming to a stop a few paces away from the classroom he leaned against the wall intent on listening for a few more minutes before he continued his journey to the hospital wing. Curfew was close, but worst case he could get a note from the Matron of the hospital wing excusing him for being out of bounds. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that Umbridge may not care and still assign him detention again for this, but a part of him didn't care. Right now, this seemed worth it.

Slowly Harry started to come to. His foggy brain registering the light tapping on the bottom of his foot. Head still bowed, he blinked a few times to clear his vision and immediately realized he was sitting on the stone floor of one of the corridors in the castle. Forgetting momentarily why he was even here, to begin with, and trying to get his bearings, his gaze traveled down the lengths of his legs towards his feet whereupon he saw a small foot in Mary Jane's tapping his shoe.

Slowly he started to raise his head. Seeing next, toned legs in stockings, followed by a black skirt that ended a few inches above the knees, a crisp, tucked-in white shirt adorned with a green trimmed tie, and finally a pale face, framed with blond hair. After a moment, emerald green eyes meet azure.

A few moments of silence followed before Harry finally broke it. "Err… Hello".

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she allowed a few more awkward seconds of silence to permeate the air before she replied in a tone that did not indicate friendship or danger "What are you doing" she asked.

Blushing slightly Harry looked down the corridor towards one of the final passages that would take him to the healer. Being semi-evasive he responded, "Just headed to the hospital wing."

"And you accomplish this by taking a kip in the hall?"

Realizing how silly he looked as he was still sitting on the floor looking up at her and not, in fact in motion to the hospital wing he arose off the floor only to immediately wobble on unsteady legs. Just as he felt like he was about to end back up on the cold stone but in a much less comfortable way he suddenly felt steady. Head still swimming and thanking Merlin he didn't embarrass himself he turned to look at the girl once more only to not see her. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had to look down a little.

With a still addled brain, he realized that the reason he didn't completely collapse into a heap was because the shorter girl had wrapped one of her arms around him to steady and support him. Paling a little and realizing he couldn't remember her name he muttered a quiet "Thanks Miss…"

"Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass. Alright then Potter, let us get you to Madam Pomfrey"

Not sure if it was due to his current medical condition, the proximity of the beautiful girl and her seeming willingness to help him, or the fact that she didn't seem to hold any contempt towards him despite his red and gold tie to her silver and green one he uttered, "Harry, please just call me Harry".

Smirking slightly she replied "Okay Harry, then call me Daphne" and with that they slowly started walking, well, in Harry's case it was more shuffling while still being supported towards the hospital wing.

"You never answered my question, Harry"

"I'm sorry?"

"What were you doing?"

"Oh…" He grew quiet for a moment and she allowed him to gather his thoughts.

"I was on my way from detention to the hospital wing when I… heard singing"

Stiffening slightly she just let out a hum in acknowledgment.

"It was… one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, so, I stopped to listen. I guess at some point I sat down and fell asleep"

She remained quiet after that and he was thankful, as even speech was now becoming more difficult as he was becoming increasingly groggy the further along they got. If he hadn't been in such a state he may have seen even in the dim lighting of a night time corridor in Hogwarts a deep blush accentuating her pale neck, cheeks, and ears.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Daphne exclaimed as they finally entered the hospital wing, Harry's weight being increasingly supported by the now struggling smaller Slytherin as he was near fainting again.

"What in Merlin's name is… Miss Greengrass! Over here, to his usual bed," She directed as she swopped in to help the diminutive girl none too soon as Harry finally lost the battle and succumbed to unconsciousness quickly becoming dead weight.

Once they settled him into 'his' bed the Matron briskly asked "What happened".

"I'm not sure." Daphne began, "I found him propped up against the wall in the corridor, sleeping. When I was finally able to wake him up he said he was on his way here from his detention". Upon her explanation, she noticed the matron pale a little.

"Right then," the healer seemed to think for a moment, "run the diagnostics".

With no small amount of fear In Daphne's voice she asked, "But… am I ready".

"I believe so, at least for this, you've apprenticed under me for close to a year now and have practical experience from even before that, now hurry time maybe of the essence".

With that Daphne got to work waving her wand in intricate patterns over Harry, after a few minutes she completed her scans and gasped at the results.

Brow furrowed Madam Pomfrey nodded her head in a get-on-with-it gesture.

Taking a deep breath Daphne began, "Initial results show he's lost a lot of blood. Close to 20 percent. He'll need a blood replenisher, I'd say a quarter dose should be good to stabilize him, maybe more to get him to normal levels but we can see after the initial dose if it is necessary. He has a cursed scar on the back of his hand that is the cause of the blood loss. The rag he's wrapped it in did little to stem further loss, but enough until the wounds closed, which should be relativity easy if we don't care about scaring, but could get tricky otherwise. But there are older..." Here Daphne stalled.

"Older what" Madam Pomfrey gently prompted.

Sighing Daphne continued, "Older issues. That is to say, untreated. He has several improperly healed fractures on just about every bone in his legs and arms, not to mention the rib cage. Heavy scar tissue on his back. The scar on his… head"

"Treatment recommendations?" the matron now even quieter than before inquired.

Wracking her brain for a moment while she readied the dose of blood replenisher to administer to Harry. She wasn't rushed to respond, knowing the matron would appreciate a thought-out answer as opposed to a knee-jerk one.

"The bones and scar tissue on his back could be dealt with easily enough, though it would cause no small amount of discomfort to the patient and take several months to accomplish as you wouldn't want to do too much at once, else you risk hurting him more then you would help. It would require bed rest for some but not all, thankfully. However, the results may not be worth it at this point based on their age either, but that's debatable as the patient is in mid stages of puberty and early stages of magical maturity. Treatment could just as easily see an increase to overall health or it could just as easily have no discernable benefit other than maybe not being sore in certain weather conditions"

The matron gave her a sad smile and nodded, silently confirming her diagnosis so far without further input or inquiries. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't ask about the scar that made him famous, knowing after exhaustive research there was nothing she or anyone could do for it. She knew Daphne noted something odd about it earlier and hoped the often shy-natured pupil wouldn't ask about it, at least not yet, not so early into her healer training, if ever. She hated not having answers as it was, her vanity in being known as a miracle worker amongst her patients notwithstanding.

Daphne too fell silent. Walking over to his bed now, she took the measured dose in the small phial and poured it down his throat manually massaging it so that it could enter his system as she found this method when time wasn't as vital and to more gentle on the patient.

Not removing her hand from him she slowing traced the back of it up his cheek, and finally towards his head. Brushing his fringe back she lightly caressed his lightning bolt-shaped scar with her fingers. Taking a breath she didn't realize she held back she once more addressed the matron.

"Lastly…" Daphne began in an almost whisper never taking her eyes off his scar, "His scar. It's… Cursed. Badly. The darkest magical signature I think I'll ever see as a healer".

Madam Pomfrey nodded sadly, what she feared, had come to pass. "Theirs nothing we can do for it. I've… I've researched it since I gave him an exam after… that night, theirs no way to cure or remove it as far as I've found".

Uncharacteristically for the usually shy Slytherin she turned her eyes towards her mentor and pressed, "And what are the long-term effects".

Sighing Madam Pomfrey slumped into a chair beside Harry's bed and simply looked out one of the tall windows in the wing.

"Oh." was all Daphne said. She knew that look in a healer's eyes after years of seeing similar looks from healers trying to cure her sister.

Daphne once more looked at Harry. Color returned to his features now that the potion had had some time to take effect, giving him the appearance of someone who was now peacefully sleeping instead of injured. Despite his condition, he looked so content.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she also noted, handsome.

She blankly stared at him for some minutes as her mind began to race thinking if there was anything she could do to help him. She didn't know him from Morgana. Everything the majority of her housemates said about him, idiots that they were, was less than flattering. They claimed he was an attention-seeking arsehole. But in her limited interaction with him this night, he was nothing but kind to her despite noting her house tie earlier. Blushing slightly she even briefly remembered he said he liked her singing. Not that she was certain he was even aware it was her voice he heard, to begin with.

But more importantly, in her mind, no one deserved to have a shorted life due to some nefarious magics. Her family suffered from such an affliction for generations. It was one of the driving factors in her training to become a healer like so many Greengrass women before her.

Then it came to her, generations of Greengrass women had been healers and helped develop the art over the years. Most of their work was well known and published, however, some weren't, as they were considered to obscure or important enough for their family to horde and be kept from the rest of the wizarding public. Like a good future heiress, she had studied and learned such spells over the years. There was one spell she knew of that may help, but it was considered family magic and could be dangerous. It was a spell invented some generations ago by a Greengrass trying to cure their family of the malediction it suffered from but saw little use afterward. It hadn't worked for their purposes then, but it might for this situation now. The only two questions in her mind were if Madam Pomfrey would allow her to attempt it, and if she could keep her parents from finding out that she used it outside of their home.

So deep in thought was Daphne that she Didn't notice Madam Pomfrey rise from her seat and make her way over to the other side of his bed where his injured hand lay until she cleared her throat.

"You okay dear? You spaced out a bit there and were not quite done with our treatment of young Mr. Potter here."

"Yea… I mean Yes, Madam."

"Well then, let us get on with it, it is already getting into the late hours".

As gently as she dared Madam Pomfrey removed the now crusting makeshift bandage from Harry's hand. When it finally gave way and the injury was fully revealed to the world both women gasped.

"Sweet Merlin!" Daphne proclaimed almost at the same time as Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, "Mother Magic help me."

Both stood still in shock as the message etched into Harry's skin sunk into their minds. I Must Not Tell Lies was carved so deep they could see some of the bone structure beneath.

Madam Pomfrey was shaking so much with rage and despair at the injury that her wand hand was shaking as tried to recast another diagnostic charm to confirm what caused such an injury. Though there was little doubt in her mind about what kind of instrument could cause such while leaving the traces of a curse, a blood quill had been used. He would be scared for life and there was nothing she could do.

Meanwhile, Daphne was lent over with the sudden urge to vomit strongly in her stomach. Her mind refused to believe for a moment the horror of the sight.

How by Merlin was he even able to make any small talk earlier with this… this thing etched into his skin causing him to damn near bleed out! And the fool stopped to listen to me sing of all things! Just then she noted the flash from the magical camera Healers used to document severe injuries. With her report, it could at least be later admissible in court, though both doubted it would see the inside of such a room any time soon considering how it was a ministry employee who was likely the culprit.

Once more Daphne's gaze fell upon the peacefully sleeping face of Harry Potter.

In that moment her mind was made up. Finally looking up she noticed Madam Pomfrey putting down the camera to once more bring up her wand to begin what little healing of the cursed wound she could.

"Wait…"

The matron stopped mid-wand movement and looked at her apprentice inquisitively.

"What if… What if I could heal that wound, with no scaring… and maybe. More", she finished lamely.

"And how, pray tell, would you be able to do that" her nerves getting the better of her as the question came across as more combative than necessary. She noted long ago that some students of hers, from time to time, even taught her a thing or two. Like that one muggle-born student a few years back that performed the, what was it called, hem a lick she thinks, on a chocking student before she could respond with magic.

"Sorry Miss Greengrass, that came out rude. In which way could you accomplish that? And more?"

Daphne suddenly looked around nervously. Her anxiety rising, if she gambled this and lost. The results could be disastrous. Not to mention her parents would be furious she used family magic on a non-family member.

Thinking quickly, she started, "There's a spell… a… well, it's a family spell." She said in a small voice, looking up and chancing a glance at the matron only to see wide eyes she continued on a little louder now, emboldened by the not outright refusal. "It's not named, but basically what it does is remove curses embedded in living tissue. Once the curse is lifted, in theory, the skin can be healed without scaring."

"Are there any side effects or special requirements?" the matron calmly asked not daring to get her hopes up just yet.

"None that have been documented, and the only thing we would need is a container to place the cursed energy in, say for example a glass jar. The spell excises the curse but doesn't destroy it. And" here Daphne blushed, "for the patient to be devoid of any articles of clothing. but.."

"go on," she said taking a seat again.

"Once I start the spell I can't stop. I have to complete it. And… it wouldn't just be limited to his hand." Daphne muttered, both women slowly looking at Harry's famous scar. "It's a whole-body spell. Meaning…" She was cut off by the healer, "That its all or nothing, if you start the spell it will work on every affected, cursed area until it's completed. But should you stop or fail the cursed areas will become permanently embedded." she finished.

Daphne nodded. "yes that's correct"

Both sat in silence for a few minutes gathering their thoughts.

Head hanging low, eventually the healer sighed. "Miss Greengrass… Every bone in my body is screaming at me to not permit this treatment. Every. One. I have looked for so long to find a solution to that accursed scar that, that monster gifted him when he was a baby. I've asked colleagues all over the world to no avail." Sighing once more, she stood "You're one of the most gifted pupils I've ever had Daphne." She said using her first name, for the first time and gifting her a rare smile, "if you say you can pull this off, I'll trust you in that."

Daphne took a moment to collect herself, looking once more upon the sleeping form of the black-haired, green-eyed, damaged boy. He had a grimace on his face now and for a reason she couldn't explain it tugged on her heart more than any other patient she'd been involved in treating.

Turning back to Madam Pomfrey with a resolute look in her eyes she nodded once.

It wasn't long after that that they both quickly got to work. Daphne grabbed a large, empty jar from the stock room while Madam Pomfrey had the honor of giving Harry a dreamless sleep potion to ensure he wouldn't awake during the spell, thereby disrupting it and lastly removing his clothing.

"I'll start on the hand" Daphne stated avoiding looking anywhere else after having an unintentional peak at the now nude boy, no she thought momentarily, the man shaking her head a little at the intrusive thought, "Once I move on from it to other affected areas it'll be okay to close up the wound with the standard skin nit charm." Madam Pomfrey simply nodded and quietly said, "let's begin".

Daphne held her wand over his hand and closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm her nerves and center her mind. Strengthening her occulmency to drown out any outside distractions and to focus on the spell she began chanting "Mentem Purifica, Corpus Purifica, Animam Purifica" while waving her wand over the hand area in a figure 8 pattern.

Slowly a grey-ish mist started to pull from Harry's hand and coalesce inside the jar sitting in the crook of Harry's bare shoulder. It took a few more minutes while she chanted the spell till her magic told her the area was now clean. The Glass jar looking slightly cloudy now.

Next, Daphne's wand ghosted over his scar. At first, nothing happened, then after the 7th of "Mentem Purifica, Corpus Purifica, Animam Purifica" his scar violently burst open. The air started to smell of burned ozone as a cloud darker than can be accurately described started to seep out of his scar and drift to the jar. It was odd, she noted, that the cloud of dark magic seemed to struggle to return to the scar, wiggled and writhed on its journey to the jar seeking alternative outs. Daphne's own magic was being pushed to its limit to contain whatever this was. Slowly she was starting to shake, becoming increasingly exhausted with every incantation. Then suddenly, almost as violent as it started, it stopped. No more excrement was coming from his famous scar, she gave it another few incantations just to be sure and was about to finish the spell when she felt another pull.

Letting her magic guide her, and while continuing to chant the spell she almost gasped in surprise she was already exhausted beyond words, she assumed that based on their scans the scar on his head would have been it. But there was apparently something they hadn't found before. She knew she couldn't stop. Not now, not that they were so close to the end. Instead, her wand ghosted over his chest. Frowning slightly, not knowing what curse this was going to remove but realizing she had no choice she continued.

Thankfully the last curse wasn't as malevolent as the first two. Coming out seemingly easy by comparison. Its color was a mix of fiery red and gold it went easily into the jar.

Almost at her breaking point, she continued to chant for a few more moments to ensure the spell had run its course. Finally after what felt like an eternity and her magic no longer guiding her to any additionally affected areas she exhaustedly pointed her wand at Harry and intoned "Sanus Esse", turning to the jar she proclaimed "Esto in pace"

Taking one look at Madam Pomfrey who was now standing by Harry's blemish-free head she said, "it is done" before promptly fainting atop the nude boy who lived.

Light filtering through the windows slowly started to disturb his slumber. Which, in his opinion was entirely too rude of it on this particular morning. He could not remember ever having slept so well in all his life and he desperately wanted to keep it going for as long as he could. But the insistent light shining into his eyes slowly started to force his brain to engage no matter how reluctant it was to do so. His first thought was a vague remembrance of going to the hospital wing with the assistance of a pretty Slytherin girl last night, Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass was her name he recalled, he'd have to thank her for her assistance. Then he remembered, nothing. Huh. What happened? Slowly he opened his eyes to see the ever-familiar ceiling of the hospital wing. He was taking further stock of his current situation when he finally realized he felt an odd weight on his chest. Looking down he audibly gulped when he saw a head of golden blond hair resting there. under a blanket that covered them both. Panicked he looked around to see if there was anyone else around when he looked over to the visitor's chair and noticed a smiling Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh bother".

Silently chuckling she motioned for Harry to wake his bed partner. Harry, embarrassedly used his free hand as the other was pinned under the girl to gently shake her shoulder. He was greeted with a mumbled "5 more minutes", to which he responded with a clearing of the throat and another more forceful shake. Slowly, the head of blond hair turned and Daphne let out a little eep when she saw emerald green eyes look down upon her.

In an almost comical fashion, Daphne shot up in bed to look down at a still-naked Harry and proceeded to look down at herself in wide doe-like eyes as she realized that she wasn't too far away from being in the nude herself. The sole blanket that had at one point covered both of them slid down. She flailed around for a few moments before grabbing the sheet and torn between covering Harry or herself finally settled with pulling it up to cover herself completely and only covering Harry's more intimate area before she did a similar inspection of her surroundings.

Seeing Madam Pomfrey her already flushed face turned into a full-blown blush as her neck, face, and ears turned a bright red accentuated by the morning light.

"Good morning Daphne, Mr. Potter…" She stated with no small amount of amusement in her voice, that amusement however, didn't last long as the matron looked into Daphne's eyes and simply stated, "I'm not entirely sure if it was because of the spell that you performed, or there were other factors and we may never know, but there may have been a side effect after all. Tell me, Daphne, what do you know of soul bonds?"

A/N: There you have it Chapter 1. This fic may follow very commonly used plotlines, but I hope to interject some new ideas into it more often than not. Any comments would be appreciated.