Harry looked up into the eyes of his family.
Mrs Figg and Silvie looked more concerned than angry. Sirius looked betrayed.
Harry looked at the children scattered around his entry way.
"Before you start, I think we should help this lot," he said while avoiding their gaze, suddenly extremely grateful for the buffer.
Mrs Figg rushed towards Luna and pulled her into a long hug.
Silvie looked unsure, and he reckoned she wanted to hug somebody but didn't know how well it would be received.
"Is there a healer we can call?" She asked the group. "These kids have all most likely been infected with lycanthropy."
Harry nodded and went to the floo to call Healer Juniper while Silvie led the group to the kitchen.
It took a long time for her to answer but she eventually came into the room. He was confused when she walked in, still in her pajamas, with messy hair, and then he remembered it was the middle of the night. She quickly agreed to come through once he explained what was going on.
Harry withdrew from the fireplace and waited. Healer Juniper came through shortly after.
"Lead the way," she said simply.
Harry led her to Silvie in the kitchen.
"He's got a nasty infection," she said as she led them to a young boy. Harry noticed the boy was sweating profusely and he barely held in his gasp when Silvie uncovered his lower half.
One of the boy's legs was red and inflamed. A nasty cut ran from just below his knee down to his ankle.
Harry looked down at the boy. "You're going to be okay," he said even though he didn't believe it.
The boy nodded as if he understood, but said something Harry didn't understand. He just smiled at him briefly and then excused himself.
He watched as Sirius walked around, bringing food and drink to all the children. Harry wanted to help but Sirius seemed to have it covered. He found Luna comforting a group of kids. Healer Juniper cast several spells as she worked and Silvie comforted the others as they waited. He felt awkward and useless here. He wasn't a healer or a medic and he was out of his depth.
Healer Juniper had finished her rounds and was gathering the children and Luna to take to the hospital.
Harry walked over to Luna and asked, "Are you okay?" He knew it was a dumb question but he didn't know what else to say.
"Yes and no," she answered with a shrug.
Harry put his arm around her and pulled her in close. "You smell really bad, you know," he said teasingly.
"I know," she answered with a chuckle. "Thanks for saving me."
"Anytime," he said. "But I couldn't have done it without your help. We'll have to talk about that soon."
She nodded. "Promise me you'll come visit later."
"Naturally," he replied and then pulled her into a hug. "Promise not to get kidnapped in the meantime."
She smacked him in the back of his head. "Idiot," she said.
"We need to go," Healer Juniper interrupted. "This one is in really bad shape," referring to the boy with the infected leg. "Some of these kids have already transformed at least once, but they still need looked over. There may still be time for the rest to be cured as long as the curse hasn't intermingled with their magical core."
Harry released Luna and waved goodbye. She walked over to Healer Juniper and Mrs Figg who was going with. They left with an emergency portkey.
"You need to get cleaned up, yourself," Silvie said gesturing at Harry.
"Yeah," Sirius said. "You smell like a wet dog that rolled around in his own…" Silvie smacked him before he could finish.
"Ouch!" Sirius shouted with a glare.
He looked seriously at Harry and added, "We'll have a talk later."
Harry nodded and excused himself. He did stink and he was very sore. A hot shower sounded wonderful on his aching body.
He walked into his bathroom and removed his filthy clothing. In the mirror he saw that his face was dirty and there were a few scratches scattered across his body that he hadn't realized he'd gotten.
He got in the shower and washed away the filth. As he stood under the water, he reflected on the day. It had been incredibly hard. He could barely believe all that he'd endured and accomplished.
He'd probably walked, hiked, climbed, and crawled several miles in the freezing cold. He'd broken into a very secure and very secret base and snuck past a large pack of werewolves.
And he'd done it all without anyone noticing. Not a single soul knew that he'd been there, aside from his family. 'Fenrir Greyback himself, probably hasn't even noticed that the kids he'd taken are gone yet.' He thought with satisfaction.
Harry opened his eyes slowly and screamed. Tabatha was standing to the side of his bed, staring at him. When he shouted, she jumped and then a small yelp escaped her mouth.
"Sorry," she said. "Mum asked me to come wake you for dinner."
"And you decided to stare me awake?" He asked incredulously.
"You just looked really peaceful and I didn't want to wake you," she answered quietly.
Harry's stomach grumbled loudly and he looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was mid evening. He'd slept the day away, which was no surprise really.
He got up and the pair walked to the dining room. On the way there he asked, "Any word from Luna or Mrs Figg?"
Tabatha nodded and said, "Mrs Figg is back, but mum shooed me away so I don't know anything."
Harry nodded. "We'll find out together then," he said as they walked into the kitchen.
He saw Sirius, Silvie, and Mrs Figg standing together as they cleaned up dinner. He was hesitant to speak since he knew he'd have to answer for his actions.
Tabatha gave him an apologetic look and then announced their arrival.
Harry sighed as Sirius and Mrs Figg turned and looked at him. Harry could tell they were still angry with him.
He sat down at the table and watched in trepidation as Sirius and Mrs Figg walked over.
It was odd seeing Sirius acting so serious.
"You promised you weren't going to try and face Greyback," Sirius said with an accusing tone.
Harry sighed. "I shouldn't have tricked you, Sirius," he said. "But I didn't lie. I had no plans to face Greyback…" he hesitated. "I only planned on sneaking in and finding Luna."
"He shouldn't have been able to trick you so easily, "Mrs Figg interjected. "You need to be more responsible, Sirius."
Sirius' eyes tightened in anger. "He's ten years old," he said defensively. "How was I supposed to know he was so resourceful?"
Mrs Figg chuckled at that. "Fair enough."
Sirius looked back at Harry and took a deep breath. Harry thought Sirius looked rather old and weary and when he thought back on how worried he'd been when he'd been waiting for Luna and Remus, he'd remembered how much he hated the worrying and dark thoughts he'd experienced then, and he suddenly felt worse for doing the same thing to them.
"I am really sorry for worrying you, Sirius," he said finally.
Sirius nodded and offered a small smile. "Just don't let it happen again."
Mrs Figg glanced at Harry. "I'm still wrestling with my thoughts on the matter," she said. "I'm both impressed and incredibly concerned that you managed so much behind our backs."
She paused for a moment. "You're a talented young man, laddie," she said. "But this could have been a huge disaster and we'd have had no way of helping."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I was just so worried about Luna and I was tired of waiting for everyone else to handle it."
"That's not a very good excuse, Harry," Mrs Figg said. Harry noticed that Sirius didn't look like he agreed.
Mrs Figg noticed too and glared at him.
Sirius gulped and then said, "Silvie probably needs some help."
And then he walked away like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Harry was impressed at how Mrs Figg was able to scare Sirius with just a look.
Mrs Figg chuckled quietly, a distant look in her eyes. "Some things never change," she said. "I used to get after Sirius and your father in the summers for one thing or another."
Mrs Figg shook the memories away and continued her interrogation.
"How did you do it?" She asked. "How did you find Luna and who helped you get to Italy?"
Harry told her about finding the Guild Market and his deal with Henry.
"Foolish boy," she whispered and shook her head. "Of all the people in the Guild, he's the absolute worst."
"He seemed alright, honestly," Harry said. "A bit rough around the edges."
Mrs Figg just shook her head. "How he became a member, I'll never understand," she said. "He is as subtle and thoughtful as a brick to the face."
She opened her purse and removed a copy of this evening's Prophet. "This arrived tonight," she said with a pointed glance. "It has Henry written all over it."
Harry glanced at the headlines, noting that there didn't seem to be anything about werewolves or Greyback. And then a small article caught his attention.
'Murder in Diagon?' he read. 'Earlier today, Aurors were dispatched to an apartment in Diagon Alley after a concerned citizen complained about a terrible smell coming from a neighboring building. The Aurors reportedly found a dead body in one of the bedrooms. While there was no trace of foul play, the deceased was still quite young and was known to be healthy by friends and family...'
Harry wasn't able to read any longer.
"You need to be more careful who you deal with," Mrs Figg said sternly.
Harry thought about what Henry had said about taking care of the tenant. He had suspected that something bad had happened, but he'd never guessed that Henry had murdered anyone. He instantly felt guilty. A man was dead because of him.
Harry's thoughts reeled as he processed the information. He had no way of knowing that Henry would do something like this. He'd never asked Henry to kill anyone but he still felt guilty. "I'm sorry," he said numbly. "I didn't know."
"I know, laddie," she said while placing a consoling hand on his shoulder. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for not being more open with you. You shouldn't blame yourself for the thoughtless actions of others."
He felt better at her words but he doubted that he'd stop feeling guilty any time soon.
He was also a little worried that he'd somehow be linked to the floo and portkey manipulation if they investigated much further and said as much to Mrs Figg.
"I'll have 'Dung look into it," she said. "He'll fix any loose ends."
Harry nodded.
"Tell me the rest," she demanded.
Harry told her about everything he remembered, but left Hermes out of it. He couldn't tell if she noticed the many holes in his story, but she didn't call him out on it.
She did seem particularly interested in Luna's poem and telling Loki where to wait. "Divination is often written off as a fruitless branch of magic, but we shouldn't ignore this," she said. "Luna might be a prophetess…"
"What's a prophetess?" He asked.
"I'm no expert exactly because it's not very well understood, but a prophet or prophetess is essentially an agent of Fate," she said. "They get glimpses of information from the Fates and then work so that important events play out as they should."
Harry thought about how weird Luna's actions were surrounding her trip with Remus. Looking back, he realized that she had seemed almost desperate to go. It matched up with what else he'd found in the poem and drawing, as well as leaving Loki to guide him. He would need to ask Luna about it before he formed a proper opinion.
"Did Luna tell you anything about her abduction?" He asked.
Mrs Figg sighed and said, "She couldn't tell me much because the healers had to involve the Aurors. We had to invent a story to explain how she'd been rescued… the official story is that Luna escaped along with the other children thanks to a mysterious stranger."
Harry was relieved. He didn't want anyone to know he had been involved.
"She did tell me that some of those kids had been locked up for months and had already transformed," she said. "He was keeping them cashed until he could break their will to do anything but follow orders."
"What's going to happen to all those kids?" He asked.
Mrs Figg shrugged and said, "For the kids that haven't transformed, it'll depend on whether or not the healers are able to cure them. For the others, it'll depend on their families. Sometimes people infected with lycanthropy are exiled. They're as good as dead to their families."
Harry frowned. He thought that was wrong and he didn't understand how people could be so cruel to their families. He supposed the Dursleys were like that in some ways, even if they'd reluctantly let him live in their house.
He wondered if the werewolf pack that Silvie had traveled with would take them on but then he remembered how they'd looked the other way when Tabatha had been taken. Maybe somewhere else would be better. Somewhere far from Greyback's lair.
He checked back in, mentally, and noticed Mrs Figg giving him a knowing smile.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking," she said. "Then I support you 100 percent. It would be a good look for the Potter Scion… At least in the more progressive political circles."
Harry hummed at that. On the one hand it would certainly help improve his image to the general public, which could be useful for masking his more nefarious activities. The better he looked to the public, the less likely he'd be suspected of any alleged wrongdoing. But it would be a lot of work and it could be dangerous, not only for himself but to Mrs Figg and Sirius as well.
"We might not need to do anything," he said, reminding himself and hoping that the parents would do the right thing. "But if we do, we'll need to make sure we're all safe here."
Mrs Figg nodded. "We will at that. Fenrir won't take kindly to any interference."
Harry, who hadn't thought of that and was mostly thinking of the dangers of living with a bunch of werewolves, sighed deeply. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. He couldn't help but think that things would be much simpler if he was just a thief and not the only remaining Potter, and a famous one at that.
There was a silver lining in all this though, he realized. A grin began to spread on his face.
"What is it you're thinking, lad?" Mrs Figg asked warily with a worried frown on her face.
"We should move against Malfoy's investments," he replied, making his thoughts known. "Specifically the ones that supply potion ingredients. We're going to need a whole lot of Wolfsbane if we're going to do this."
Mrs Figg was quiet for a long time and he was starting to get uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn't have suggested it so soon after his latest adventure.
She continued to study him for some time before finally breaking the silence.
"I can see that I won't be able to talk you out of this," she said. "And now I know that if I don't help you, you'll just do it anyway…"
Mrs Figg shook her head in exasperation but the small smile she tried to hide told him it was all for show.
"I think Feona was working on something," she finally said. "I'll reach out and then you and I will work on something together. Maybe this way you'll learn not to rely on the likes of Henry."
Harry nodded solemnly at the reminder. It wasn't a mistake he'd ever want to make again.
He saw Silvie and Sirius heading their way and indicated to Mrs Figg that they should stop their conversation for now.
"Glad to see you're awake," Silvie said. "Hungry?"
Harry nodded and she got him a plate of food. He noticed Tabatha watching him from across the room with an apprehensive look on her face. He waved her over to join them.
"Mrs Figg was just saying that the kids are captured and kept in cages until a full moon so Greyback could infect them."
Silvie nodded. "Yeah, that's his MO. Once they're infected, he keeps them caged until they either transform or they die."
"You mean that Luna might still not make it?" Harry checked. Mrs Figg had said that not everyone that's infected with lycanthropy was able to survive but he'd forgotten.
Tabatha started to cry and Harry flinched. He went to apologize but Silvie waved him off.
"Yes," she said. "We won't know until the next full moon when she transforms. Apparently the healers think that Luna will make it, but some of the other kids are in a rough state."
Harry was relieved that Luna at least had a good chance and that she would have her family with her.
"Do we know where these kid's families are?" He asked. "Is there anyone we can reach out to?"
Mrs Figg answered, "The Healers and Aurors have already reached out to the Italian Ministry of Magic to coordinate all that. We'll just have to wait and see."
Harry let the rest of them know of his plans to open his home to the children if they wanted it. Silvie got a little emotional and then pulled him into a tight hug.
Tabatha looked the happiest he'd ever seen her. "I always wanted more brothers and sisters," she said with a bright smile.
Sirius was extremely supportive and offered to help in any way. "Remus will be so proud when I tell him," he said.
Harry was eager to hear if there had been any changes in Remus' condition. "Has Remus woken up yet?" He asked.
Sirius nodded and said, "Very briefly while you were asleep. I just had time to let him know that Luna had been rescued and was in the hospital and then he fell back asleep."
Harry noticed Sirius glancing apprehensively at Silvie. Harry guessed she was still struggling with everything.
"The Healers said that it looks like Remus will live but that he most likely will never walk again.
Harry grimaced. Greyback must have really done a number on Remus if even magical healing couldn't repair the damage. Dark thoughts of revenge and murder drifted into his mind and he'd suddenly wished he'd had the chance to face the wicked werewolf. Next time, he'd make sure Greyback paid for his transgressions.
Harry was reading in the library several days later. He'd been taking any free time he had to study and practice spells he thought might be useful.
Since Luna was still in the hospital, he had a lot of free time. One of the first spells he'd looked for was the color changing spell. It was still outside his capabilities, though. He'd also found a spell that would basically make the object or person invisible but it would probably be years before he'd achieve it.
It was frustrating having access to all this information but lacking the skill or power to perform more advanced spells. It was helpful to have goals though and he'd keep practicing.
He'd become more interested in enchanting objects since his visit to the Guild Market. He wanted to create objects that could perform magic autonomously like his robes, but enchanting required even more knowledge on magical theory and the main subjects.
It would probably be years before he could make anything, but he wanted to get started on the foundation now instead of waiting until third year for electives.
Today, like most days, he was attempting to study runes in the library. He'd brought Ratatoskr with him and the bowtruckle was very distracting since he kept pulling books off the shelf and rearranging them in a way that still made no sense to him, but was obviously meaningful to the stick creature.
Harry pulled out a rune set that he'd found with some of his grandparent's things and poured them onto the coffee table. As he sorted them all, Ratatoskr climbed down from the shelf and climbed up onto the coffee table.
True to form, the bowtruckle started picking up the runes and sorting them. Harry chuckled to himself and got back to reading while his little friend entertained himself.
The book he'd found was incredibly interesting as it not only explained what each rune meant, but also how they were used in several branches of magic. Objects could be enchanted, spells created, wards erected, potions enhanced, and even plants could benefit from a well placed runic sequence.
He was enthralled with thoughts of how he could start using runes right now before even starting Hogwarts. Potions and Herbology were the obvious place to start exploring how to incorporate runes, but maybe there were other ways as well.
He placed the book down and saw Ratatoskr placing a final rune down next to a book. He did a double take as he looked over the runes. He looked through the rune book and turned to the section on translation.
From his reading this week, he knew that some runes had a corresponding letter in the English alphabet. There were fewer runes than letters in the alphabet so some runes represented multiple letters and even abstract ideas, but you could decipher what was meant with a little context.
He glanced at the runes and could see that they translated to the word 'Book'.
He glanced at the table and found several other items that Ratatoskr had labeled correctly with the runes. "I can't believe it!" He shouted in excitement. "You can read and understand runes!?"
The bowtruckle shrugged and then nodded as if it was nothing. Harry just laughed. He'd read nothing about Bowtruckles understanding runes in any of the books on magical creatures.
From what he'd read about Norse mythology, it made some sense that Bowtruckles might have an affinity for Norse runes. Odin had been gifted the knowledge of Runes while hanging from the World Tree after all. Harry reckoned that Bowtruckles could have played a part in that and it got left out of the story. How it remained undiscovered all this time was a complete mystery, but maybe Ratatoskr's ability was simply unique.
Harry wanted to check with Sirius if he knew anything about Bowtruckles affinity for runes, but his godfather was applying for the Aurors Corp and was spending a lot of time with Amelia Bones.
Harry had started several letters to Susan, but he kept throwing them away. Words were hard, he decided, and he struggled to know where to start apologizing. He knew he needed to, but it just seemed impossible. Luna would probably know exactly what to say, but she wasn't here.
Maybe he should just call Susan and invite her over so he could apologize in person. But did he get her a gift first or was his apology enough? Was he making this into a bigger deal than it was? Not really having friends before made it hard for him to know what to do. Friendship was hard and he didn't want to mess it up now that he finally had friends.
He probably needed to go visit Luna again soon anyways and he could ask her. Silvie and Tabatha went to the hospital regularly to sit with Remus or visit Luna, and Harry had gone with them a couple times, but he just wanted to talk to Luna alone about the whole prophetess thing and couldn't really do that. At least he could bring up his conundrum with Susan.
He decided to go and find Silvie or Tabatha to see if they wanted to go to the hospital. The bowtruckle screeched in protest as Harry packed up the runes and picked up Ratatoskr.
"Calm down," he said. "I'll leave you my rune set so you can keep playing while I'm gone.
Ratatoskr calmed down after that.
Harry, Silvie, and Tabatha arrived at the hospital. Rather than floo, Silvie side along apperated them ask into the lobby. He still wasn't sure which method of travel he preferred. Both made him feel ill from spinning and contorting body parts. There had to be a better way.
They waved to the welcome witch as they walked to their destination. They'd been there often enough that they knew their way.
When they entered the floor that both Luna and Remus were on, Harry had a very good feeling. Something just felt right and he couldn't explain it.
As they walked by the nurses station, they were stopped.
"Oh good, you're here!" A man said. "Mr Lupin is awake and just finished talking to the healers. I was just about to floo call."
He followed them to Remus' room and let them in. Harry stood behind Silvie and to the side a bit. Tabatha was on the opposite side. He watched the smile grow on Remus' face as he took them all in.
"Mr Lupin, you have visitors," the nurse said.
Remus nodded his thanks and the nurse went to leave. "Please let me know if you need anything," he said as he closed the door.
Harry felt awkward and he felt heat travel to his face as Silvie rushed to Remus and jumped onto the bed, straddling the man. They started passionately kissing and he shared a look with Tabatha, expecting the girl to be embarrassed like he was, but she seemed unphased. Happy even.
He supposed she might be more used to seeing affection than he was, but this seemed a bit extreme.
Harry continued to watch quietly as Tabatha approached Remus and gave him a big hug.
"Harry!" Silvie said once she realized that Harry was still standing away from the group. "Please, come join us."
Harry was kind of surprised at the invitation. He was happy that Remus had found and built a little family of his own but he wasn't quite sure where or if he fit into it. He felt like an outsider peering in on something that didn't quite belong to him.
He walked over beside the man's bed and then Tabatha pulled him in as if it were nothing. He was surprised at her strength, but supposed it probably came from the wolf within.
All doubts surrounding his place in the family were being squished out of him by the collective werewolves' strong embrace.
Their hug was interrupted by a voice in the doorway. "This is why we heal, lass," the voice said.
Harry turned and saw two witches in Healer Robes standing in the doorway. The one who spoke was much older than the young witch that looked like she was fresh out of Hogwarts. He guessed that maybe she was in training.
"We're sorry to interrupt," the healer said. "We've brought you a wheelchair, Mr Lupin, so you can start getting used to it."
Harry frowned. "Does that mean…" He trailed off, not able to complete his question.
Remus nodded. "I can't feel my legs and the healers can't repair the damage fully, though they did their best. I am at least not in any pain."
"Mr Lupin has a very good attitude about the whole thing and that will take him very far in his recovery." The older healer said to Harry. "Do you mind if I explain everything to your family, Mr Lupin?"
Remus shook his head and gestured for them to go ahead.
"Like Mr Lupin said, he can no longer feel or move his legs. The damage to his spine was very extensive and we aren't able to reverse the damage," she said. "However, we will keep looking for ways to heal him. I don't want to give false hope so we are promising nothing except that we won't give up."
"Thank you, Healer Rosemary," Remus said. "In the meantime, I'll make good use of the wheelchair you brought me.
Harry saw the younger healer smile. "You and I will be getting to know each other very well then," she said. "I'll be helping you with your physical therapy.
"I look forward to it, Healer Goldstein," Remus said.
Harry saw Silvie frown and he guessed she might be feeling a little jealous. He knew she shouldn't worry because Remus was absolutely smitten by her. He doubted very much that anything would change that.
The two healers left and Remus looked sharply at Harry. "I'm sorry about Luna," he said. "We'll find her soon."
Harry went to reply but Silvie snorted and said, "Sooner than you think. Harry already rescued her."
Remus' eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Harry did?" He asked surprised. "How-"
"The kid is very resourceful but I don't think he's actually told us in detail how he managed it." Silvie interrupted.
Harry began to panic. Somehow, no one had actually asked for details except for Mrs Figg. He hadn't actually come up with a good cover story.
Desperate for a way out of this, he said, "The official story is that a mysterious stranger rescued Luna and the other kids and I'd like to keep it that way so let's hold off until we're home and can talk freely."
That should at least buy him some time. Remus looked like he was processing a whole lot. He started and stopped talking several times before finally asking, "Other kids?"
Tabatha explained that there were several kids kept in cages in Greyback's lair and that they'd been saved alongside Luna. She then added that Harry has offered sanctuary to any that needed it, which caused Remus to get all teary eyed.
"You're a very good person, Harry," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Your parents would be very proud of you. I know I am."
He avoided Remus' eyes and looked away.
Harry thought of the man he'd basically sentenced to death in Diagon Alley. He doubted they'd be very proud of that.
"It's nothing compared to what you tried to do for Luna," Harry said. "I'm sorry that it cost you so much."
"I'm not," Remus said. "It's my fault she was there and I shouldn't have let her out of my sight."
Harry shook his head. He suspected that Luna's actions were more premeditated than anyone realized. He just needed to confirm it.
"Luna is actually a few rooms over," he said, changing the subject. "We are going to visit her next if you want to join us?"
If Remus noticed the change of subject, he didn't say anything. Harry hoped that Remus would assume Harry just felt awkward receiving praise.
"Help me into the wheelchair?" Remus asked Silvie. "Let's go see our Luna."
Harry smiled brightly at Remus' words. He led them out into the hallway and then over to Luna's room. Remus had little trouble with the wheelchair and even tried racing ahead of Harry.
He thought it was a little out of character for Remus, but figured the man was trying to make light of the situation so that no one would feel bad for him.
Harry fell behind as the others raced ahead. He heard voices down a short hallway to the side and he didn't like what he heard.
He waited at the end of the corridor before it turned so he could listen in.
"-the mutts should just be put down. Why are we keeping them alive?"
Harry saw red as he understood what he was hearing and who they were talking about.
"We'd be doing the world a favor by slipping a bit of poison into their food," a second voice said.
The first voice chuckled and said, "Where would you get poison, ya dummy? They don't just give out keys to the potions closet to people like us."
"No, but that dickhead, Stevens, is a lazy waste of space and he gives me his keys so I can fetch him stuff every now and then."
Harry heard a gasp after some silence.
"Forget the poison, I bet they've got some good stuff in that closet that we could put to better use."
Harry peaked around the corner and saw two men in sanitation robes cleaning up one of the rooms.
He turned the corner and acted as if he hadn't heard them. "Excuse me, I'm looking for-"
"What do we look like?" The pimple riddled man with greasy black hair interrupted. "An information desk?"
"Yeah, get lost ya runt," the other man said.
Harry ignored them and walked into the room. He acted as if he was interested in what they were doing. "How did you get jobs at the hospital?" He asked. "It looks interesting."
"If cleaning up people's shit and puke seems interesting to you then why don't you come over here and give us a hand?" The black haired guy asked with a smug smile. His companion chuckled. He noticed that one of them had a badge and a key ring full of keys and an idea formed in his head.
"Sure!" Harry said in a cheerful demeanor, ignoring their obvious disrespect. He walked over to them.
When he got close, he saw that the keys were barely secured by a loose lanyard hanging out of his pocket. 'Too easy,' he thought as he bent down to look at the mess while gently lifting the keys from the greasy haired goon. Neither noticed and Harry smirked as he grabbed a towel and cleaned up a spill on the ground.
He righted himself and said, "Thanks, that was easy."
He left quickly while they were still looking at each other in confusion.
Back in the corridor, he rushed over to a closet labeled 'Potions - Restricted Access". He tried a few keys with no success. He'd need to hurry or else someone might show up. Remus and the others probably realized he wasn't with them by now.
Finally, a key worked and he slipped in.
There were several shelves full of random items. Everything was labeled.
A glass cabinet in the corner was locked. 'Restricted - Healer Use Only', he read. Inside were several interesting potions.
He swiped a couple labeled 'High Strength Pain Reliever - Hallucinogenic' as well as some 'Draught of Living Death'. He was about to inspect a few other bottles, but he heard footsteps outside the door.
A moment later, the door knob jiggled and Harry tensed. There were not a lot of hiding places. He quickly scanned the room for a spot and the only viable option was a cabinet and he would really have to contort his body in order to fit. It was a gamble at best, but he was out of options. He opened the door and crammed himself into the tight space before closing the door behind him.
He held his breath and listened as someone walked into the Potion's closet. He willed that they wouldn't need to access his cabinet. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears as he waited for them to leave. The tight space made it difficult to breathe and he was beginning to panic a bit. 'Come on!' he thought. Then he began to have doubts that he'd remembered to close the restricted potion cabinet and he worried it would give him away. Finally, after what felt like ages, he heard the closet door shut and he opened the cabinet door and slid out. He took several deep calming breaths. 'That was too close,' he thought.
He went back to the restricted cabinet and took several doses of Wolfsbane and some other potions that looked interesting. Next to the cabinet was a bookshelf with some books on advanced potions that included some recent discoveries that obviously weren't covered in the outdated Potter Library. He grabbed them too and slid them into his expandable bag.
He felt a little bad for stealing from a hospital, but it was for a good cause. He didn't have enough Wolfsbane for everyone and he didn't know where else to get some on short notice. Besides, who knew who else at the Hospital was thinking thoughts like the two sanitation wizards he'd run into openly talking about killing patients. He'd prefer not to take those chances.
He listened at the door to make sure no one was outside the room. When he was sure no one was there, he opened the door and snuck out.
As he walked down the hall, he formulated his excuse for his disappearance.
When he made it back to the room the two men had been in, he peeked inside and found them still there. He quickly removed his wand and cast two quick stunners. He watched them fall to the floor and then walked into the room.
He uncorked two pain reliever potions and poured a little bit out of both before putting one in the hand of each man. He then put the keys back in the one man's pocket and quickly left the room.
With any luck they'd be discovered by a nurse or a healer and then dealt with.
He made his way to Luna's room and walked in.
"Hey, sorry I got separated, but I had to use the restroom," he said as he walked in while thinking that he ought to start coming up with better excuses.
"You were gone for ages," Silvie said. "Did you fall in?" She asked with a wink.
Everyone laughed at that, including Harry.
Harry looked over at Luna and saw her raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged subtly and smiled at her.
The unsaid conversation went unnoticed by the group and the conversation picked up to where it was before he'd interrupted.
"So what did you think of Corbin?" Tabatha asked Luna while wiggling her eyebrows. "All the girls at camp think he's the cutest."
Luna laughed. "Honestly, I didn't really notice," she said. "I did meet a rather handsome owl while I was there, though."
Tabatha scoffed and Silvie chuckled.
When there was a lull in the conversation, Harry interrupted and asked, "When do you get to come home? They're not keeping you here until the full moon are they?"
Luna laughed and said, "No, I get to come home soon. They've determined that I have lycanthropy and it can't be reversed."
Harry frowned. He has still been hoping that Luna might escape being a werewolf even though he knew it was unlikely.
"It'll be okay," Tabatha said. "It hurts to transform, but you get used to it. Plus, with the potion it's not so bad as long as we're all still careful."
Remus nodded. "Part of the reason we visit the pack is so we don't have to transform alone. It's better to have other werewolves with you so it's a good thing you'll have us."
Harry could tell that their words of encouragement were helping, and the fact they were leaving out that Luna might not even survive her first transformation did not go unnoticed to him. Naturally, he kept it to himself. She was going to survive.