Chapter 26 - Patience
Harry was grateful to get off the street of Diagon Alley and through the doorway of Ollivander's. From the moment he and Sirius appeared in the Leaky Cauldron, quite a few of the constant stares that usually accompanied Harry's appearances in public were now clearly tinged with fear. The fact that it wasn't everyone was clearly a testament to how strong the public's opinion had been towards him of late, but there were several who just couldn't get over the brutality of his actions, no matter how much damage control those at the Daily Prophet had been trying to do for him.
A wave of nostalgia washed over Harry as he felt his skin tingle from the hidden ambient magics that permeated the wand-maker's shop.
"Ah, Lord Slytherin-Potter, I wondered when I'd be seeing you again after the letter I received from the Minister," called the shopkeeper from the back office in his misty, monotone voice before he appeared at its doorway and made his way towards them past the multitude of long, dusty boxes stacked high on the many shelves.
"Good to see you, Mister Ollivander," Harry replied courteously.
"And Lord Black as well," Ollivander said, "It seems like only yesterday you were in here for the first time. Mahogany and Dragon Heartstring, just like the late Lord James Potter. You really were brothers in arms, weren't you?"
"We were," Sirius said, smiling proudly, "In more ways than one."
"Well, we might as well get started," Garrick said, pulling out his long tape measure which began floating around Harry taking measurements. Meanwhile, the wandmaker began darting around his many shelves and pulling down an array of boxes.
"I've been thinking about what possibly might work for you since I received the Minister's letter, my Lord," said Ollivander as he pulled the last of the boxes down, "While I sometimes have to fit replacement wands, rarely do I get the opportunity to bestow a wand that should be complimentary to another, and with talk of your exploits in healing and your other actions of late, considering viable options has been interesting to say the least. All of these wands are well suited for charms-work, woods often used by healers and the cores are all dragon heartstring, the idea being that of all the core types, dragons are as close to snakes as we get."
Opening a box, Ollivander pulled out a long dark wand and handed it to Harry, saying "Ebony and Chinese Fireball". It felt cool and foreign in his hand and Harry didn't need to even wave it before Ollivander snatched it away before replacing it with another, saying "Hawthorn and Ukrainian Ironbelly, try."
This one felt a little bit better, but when he waved the wand three of the window panes cracked, making Sirius jump.
"Hmm," Ollivander said, "So lighter wood, but less of a beast more of the snake, how far can we push it?"
The wand master went to the bottom of the pile and pulled out a very old box that didn't look at all like the wand company's usual design.
"This one is Aspen and Azhdahak, eleven inches. It's an import from Iran my grandfather brought in many years ago."
The wand was nearly ivory in colour, with a swirling black grain. The moment it touched the palm of his hand, Harry knew that this was the one. His hair started fluttering and the wand itself erupted in a shower of white and black sparks.
"Ah yes, well done, very good, very good! That's the one, ah yes, well…t does make sense doesn't it?" Ollivander said to himself.
"Sorry, what makes sense?" Sirius asked, "What's special about it?"
"The wood, Aspen, has been used for many years for duelling but also allows for exceedingly intricate charms work. Aspen wand-wielders are typically of strong will and determination. These attributes alone give us a good start but the heartstring comes from the Azhdahak, a dragon that is considered a mythical creature from those in the Middle East. Many don't even consider the Azhdahak a dragon as it has no wings and spits acidic venom rather than breathes fire, but it is categorised as a Dragon as it is a large long-bodied reptile with the ability to fly.'
"So as close as you can get to a dragon, but still a snake. That's great." Sirius said with a smile.
"Exactly," said Ollivander.
Harry paid for his new wand and he and his Godfather left the shop. Walking through Diagon Alley was a breeze with many of its denizens clearing a path as they walked through, even though it seemed that many did so with looks of fear in their eyes that Harry detested. He wanted to say something but realised there was nothing he could do now, lest he make things worse. Maybe he should write a new column to go in the Prophet.
They left to go down Horizont Ally and make their way towards St Mungos. After a short while, as Harry took in the wares of a nearby market stall, Sirius whispered to him.
"We're being followed, keep walking, holsters ready."
Harry's stomach lurched with nerves.
"We are? How many?" Harry answered quietly.
"Two. There's a little side alley coming up on the left, we dip round the corner and turn to face them. Not too quick that they know we're onto them, but fast enough that they have to chase. Ready?"
"Ready," Harry breathed.
As they passed by the side alley, they sharply turned down it and quickly raised their wands. Sure enough two pairs of footsteps behind them quickened up and seconds later they rounded the corner. Two brown-haired wizards, both looking to be in their early thirties found themselves at eye level with Harry and Sirius' wands.
"Drop 'em," Sirius growled and not a moment later, the two wizards wands fell to the floor with a clatter.
"Woah, hold on, we were just," the one on the left started, clearly the older of the two as he held his palms towards them in surrender as Sirius interrupted.
"I know what you were doing, Lord Baggott," he hissed, "Thought you'd settle the Blood Oath for the Rookwoods and they'd let you off for the debt you owe them? Get the drop on us?"
Lord Baggott blanched beneath his freckles.
Harry snarled, his eye beginning to glow, "Why should we let you live? " he snapped.
"Lord S-Slytherin-P-potter, p-please, we aren't Death Eaters. We're just desperate, we-" said the other Baggott, wilting under Harry's glare.
"Desperate how?" Harry pressed.
"The Baggotts are under a line fealty oath until their debt is paid, Harry. A business deal gone wrong in the sixties, a hundred thousand galleons if I'm not mistaken," advised Sirius.
"That's right. Can you blame us? Every single daughter of ours is nothing but a broodmare until the debt is paid. They can mate with them without even needing to marry them on the off chance that they sire an heir. That's even if they are married to someone else! No one is willing to marry my sister and they won't entertain the thought of courting my daughter or my niece once they are out of Hogwarts with it hanging over our heads," said Lord Baggott irritably.
"So you thought that by killing me the Rookwoods would consider the debt settled? Are you that stupid? Why would they ever give up unlimited sex?" Harry replied with a sneer.
The younger Baggott looked down at his feet, "We figured it was worth a shot."
Harry didn't know why he didn't feel angrier at the situation. These young men literally just wanted their family to be free. They were desperate.
"What do you do for a living?" Harry asked evenly.
"I'm a Curse-breaker for Gringotts and Linus here is a clerk in the Department for Magical Transportation," Lord Baggott replied.
"Okay," Harry nodded, thinking quickly. These were two men who could be useful, "Show me your arms."
Without hesitation, the two bared their forearms to prove that they hadn't taken the Dark Mark.
"We don't follow along with any of the Dark Lord's bullshit, my Lord. Especially after we found out he was a half-blood," said Linus.
"Sirius," Harry asked, "If this debt were paid in full, today, would the Rookwoods have any way of refuting it?"
Sirius smirked at the idea. "The money couldn't come directly from an account the family was in a blood feud with, nor could you transfer the money to the Baggott's account, but I could, our houses aren't formally aligned. You could send me the money…but it might set a precedent. We can't pay off the debts of every family indebted to the Rookwoods."
"But a Cursebreaker though…" Harry said with an idealistic grin.
The Baggotts looked at them both in shock.
"If we transfer the money into your account and your oath is broken, we'll also require an oath," Harry said, "Nothing like what you have currently, but an oath of allyship. You come to our aid in battle if we request it and in your professional capacities, you help us to bring down Lord Voldemort.
"You…you would do this, for us?" Lord Baggott said, sputtering, "We were going to kill you!"
"You were going to try," Harry replied tartly, "And from what I'm hearing you're clearly not allied to the Rookwoods, but stuck with them. We can fix that and get eyes in the Ministry on who's travelling and it's always useful to have someone on hand who can break wards. As my house and the Blacks aren't formally aligned, you'll be allied with House Black."
The Baggotts practically snatched their hands off for their assistance and Harry and Sirius were happy to oblige. They'd foiled an assassination attempt and gained themselves two allies in less than fifteen minutes. It would become official later on today, Sirius would go to Gringotts after he'd dropped off Harry with Daphne and then meet with Lord Baggott in a private room in the Leaky Cauldron to ensure their new oath was sworn.
On the way to St Mungo's, Harry thanked Sirius for coming when he found out what had happened and thought aloud that he hated how much judgement there'd been, especially from Dumbledore. Sirius said that although Dumbledore had called for him, McGonagall had been the one to meet him at Hogwarts' main gates to escort him up to the school. He told Harry that the Deputy Headmistress herself was shocked by his actions, but certainly wasn't judging him and was impressed by what he'd done in the hospital wing. As the building of St Mungo's came into view, they discussed Dumbledore, and how McGonagall had actually told him that the old man had invited them up to his office to watch Lupin's memory of Harry's parents' wedding last night, but Sirius had declined, saying that Harry should probably be in a better mood before he saw it. Harry knew Sirius was right to make the decision. Though he didn't admit it to Sirius, Harry knew that he'd never meet his parents, what good would it do to dangle those who loved him but that he would never see again in front of him? Especially now when Daphne might never see him again either? If she didn't wake up, she'd be as good as dead anyway.
If it wasn't for the fact that he was going there to visit Daphne, Harry would've been immensely more interested to see what St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies had to offer as he strode up several stone steps, between square Roman Doric columns and through a wide open doorway into the hospital's atrium. Across from them, other visitors were arriving from a separate entrance, which was clearly from a muggle street, judging by the red double-decker bus that pulled up outside. Just like they did with the Leaky Cauldron, the muggles took no notice that the entrance was clearly right there under their noses.
The atrium of St Mungos was of a design and colour scheme that would be mirrored throughout the hospital. White walls, cream tile flooring in a variety of mosaic patterns, soft blue fabrics and coving and rich brown wooden seating. The only difference in the atrium was the ceiling. While in the rest of the hospital, the ceilings were high, on the ground floor they were mostly low and arched, with signage belying various directions to other departments.
Sirius guided Harry through the throng of patrons and towards a reception desk. The receptionist's eyes went wide in recognition at Harry's approach, and without him even opening his mouth, she said "You're…uh…here to see Miss Greengrass, right? She's in Spell Damage, First Floor. That's left out of the lift. Not right, or you'll end up in the 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn Ward for Serious Bites."
Harry nodded, smiled and said "Thanks," and he and Sirius turned away from the desk.
"Come on then, the lift is over here," his Godfather said before leading him to a large elevator. As the lift doors slid open a cool female voice said "Ground Floor, Reception, Admissions Department, Emergency Medicine and Artefact Accidents. Lift going up."
Harry and Sirius moved to the side to let some other visitors go past them out of the lift and stepped inside. Sirius pressed the number one and the doors slid to a close.
"Oh God, Sirius, she's in Spell Damage. How damaged is she?" Harry said, panic rising up in his chest.
"Relax, Harry, it's a good thing. Spell Damage is an acute ward. She's not in Janus Thickey, the long-term spell damage ward."
Harry nodded and exhaled, maybe Sirius was right and it wouldn't be too bad. They exited the lift and walked left into the ward where Daphne was sure to be found. After a quick look at the board behind the healers' station, they then made their way to where she was: side room 2B.
Harry was full of apprehension as he knocked on the door. There was no answer, reaching his hand out tentatively, he slowly pushed open the door and led Sirius inside. There she lay, unconscious, covered by white sheets atop a light blue hospital gown. Sleeping peacefully, she looked as beautiful as ever. One arm was laid on top of the sheets, a gold bracelet wrapped tightly around her wrist. From his reading, Harry knew that it was an observation bracelet, which would be showing a live display of her vital signs and recording them on her notes, wherever they were.
Harry sat next to her, a lone tear making its way down his face as he tentatively stroked the back of two fingers against her forehead. He looked back at Sirius, who simply had a mournful expression, but then it turned to one of surprise as the door opened behind them.
Cyrus and Ellanore walked in, followed by one of the healers, who was explaining that she was sure Daphne was still stable, but she'd have a look at her chart just in case.
Freezing as Daphne's parents walked in and their eyes locking, almost guiltily, Harry snatched a hand away from her head. He looked like a deer in headlights and had no clue what to say when the healer said "There can only be three visitors in here at a time. I'm afraid one of you will have to leave."
Harry got to his feet, but Sirius raised his hand to Harry, "I'll go, pup. You stay, I'll go meet with our new friends, just call Dobby if you need me," he said firmly and nodded to Harry while flashing his looks at Daphne's parents as if to impress upon them the need for Harry to have the upcoming conversation, no matter whether Harry wanted to or not.
The healer pulled out a large chart from a chest of drawers by Daphne's bedside while Sirius left the side room. Feeling awkward and with a whirlwind of emotions building up inside him, Harry clenched and unclenched his fists, completely at a loss as to what to say.
He managed to get out the word "I…" but words completely failed him. He looked down, his eyes stinging with tears before he felt Ellanore's arms wrap tightly around him. His immediate instinct was to move away from the hug, but he couldn't, he needed this. For a short while, he cried quietly into her shoulder before she pulled away, smiling sadly at him and using her thumbs to wipe Harry's face for him.
"You…you aren't mad?" Harry asked hesitantly.
Ellanore frowned and looked over at Cyrus, who held the same melancholy expression.
"Mad? Why would we be mad?"
"This wouldn't have happened if I'd have saved her. She's in this position because she's with me."
"That wasn't your choice, it was hers and ours. It's not like we really would've been able to stop her anyway after the party. You know what she's like when she sets her mind to something," Cyrus said with a sad smile, walking past the healer as she left the room to sit down at the chair at the other side of Daphne's bedside.
"But…what if she never wakes up?" Harry said, trying to stop his lip from trembling with almost overwhelming guilt.
"She will," Ellanore said, smiling at him, "The healers have told us so. If you hadn't got that cruciatus potion into her in time, her brain would've been starved of oxygen. You saved her twice that night. Without your quick thinking, it would've been a different story."
"So…" Harry frowned, his mind whirring, it almost being frightening to entertain the prospect of Daphne's recovery, "She's gonna be alright..."
"Yeah," Ellanore said with a nod, "Though it's not clear when she'll wake up, hopefully not too long, the healers think maybe a week. They have to wean her off some potions."
Harry looked back at Daphne's gently breathing form, admiring the length of her eyelashes before realising they wouldn't be stuck shut like that if he'd gotten there sooner, if Rookwood hadn't tricked him.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there quicker," Harry said, sitting down again.
"Don't be," said Ellanore, sitting on the bedside and taking Harry's hand in her own, "Dwelling on the past will drive you mad. You saved her life, we knew the risks. Merlin, mine is the only life you haven't saved in our family, though let's hope that doesn't need to happen. You need to not beat yourself up about this. There's nothing to forgive. You did your best, it was enough, she's alive. She loves you. My, Harry, the letters she's written me about you. We just need to see when she wakes up, that's all"
"I…" Harry started, chewing his lip, "I need to be here when she does. I need to know she remembers me."
"We don't know when that will be though, son," Cyrus said, "It could be weeks."
"I don't care, as long as you aren't against it, I'm a Lord, I'll stay and watch over her until she wakes up."
"What about Hogwarts?"
"I'll get my friend Hermione to send me any assignments."
Ellanore and Cyrus looked at each other pointedly, before Harry said, "Okay, if you're sure."
Harry settled into his seat, taking Daphne by the hand as he talked to Cyrus and Ellanore for a while. After what had happened, Cyrus had declared a blood feud between the Rookwoods and the Greengrasses as well and so Harry felt that it was appropriate to let him know what had happened with the Baggotts earlier. Ellanore was impressed and said it was a shame such an act of diplomacy couldn't be discussed and that the rest of the populace needed to know that Harry was capable of more than violence. Unfortunately, it seemed that even though Harry had proved himself time and time again in the Wizengamot, barely any of the information regarding him but not written by Harry himself that had been shown to the public this year had involved violence in one way or another, even if his skills in diplomacy and politics were also involved.
A little while later, Cyrus and Ellanore left, promising to come back tomorrow. It was another five or so hours before Sirius returned.
"Ready to go, pup?" Sirius asked, poking his head around the door.
Harry shook his head. "No, I'm gonna stay here until she wakes up. We aren't sure how long it will be, but the healers have said she will and it won't be too long. I want to be there when she wakes up." He added "No, you won't change my mind," when Sirius opened his mouth to argue.
Smiling sadly, Sirius relented and said he'd go and fetch Harry a change of clothes and some food. Forty minutes or so later, Sirius returned, with a filled duffel bag, a takeaway pizza and some Honeydukes chocolate. Harry smiled, ever since Tonks had introduced him to it, Sirius had eaten Domino's pizza at least four nights a week. Stuffed crust, obviously. They ate in companionable silence before Sirius left, taking the empty pizza box and empty bottle of Coca-Cola with him, telling Harry to send Dobby if he needed anything and promising he'd write to Narcissa Malfoy about rescheduling their meeting that was planned for tomorrow.
Long into the night, Harry simply sat and watched Daphne sleep. Now and again a healer would come in, to check on her observations, shine a Lumos into her vacant pupils and administer potions. When it got to one a.m., one of the healers looked at him as if to ask while he was still there, but his response was silent and glaring. He'd decided he wouldn't be moving from that spot until she woke up. He yawned, got up and sat on the edge of the bed, he just wanted to hug her, shake her, scream at her sleeping form. He'd do anything to wake her up. He wondered if she could hear him, what should he say to her? He'd only ever seen one other person in hospital before and that had been Dudley in the summer when Harry was only nine. He'd had an awful bout of abdominal pain while his uncle was at work and so when the paramedics had arrived they'd said his aunt couldn't just leave him at home on his own. He'd travelled with them in the ambulance to the nearby hospital and they were quickly admitted onto a ward where Dudley was diagnosed with appendicitis.
Harry had smirked at Dudley's bedside while Petunia sang the theme tune from her favourite TV Show to her son while stroking his hair, trying to calm him from the panic at being told he'd need surgery. In reality, though, it had become a core memory for Harry, jealous at viewing a mother's love and care for her son, the words, while cheesy due to their origins, were something he'd wished even Petunia might sing to him at some point when he was younger. The words filling his mind as Harry sat next to Daphne in the near darkness, he stroked her hair and softly sang::
"You and I belong together,
You and I forever and ever,
No matter where you are,
You're my guiding star.
And from the very first moment I saw you,
There was such emotion,
I'm walking on air,
Just to know,
You are there,
Hold me in your arms,
Don't let me go,
I want to stay forever,
Closer each day
Home and away"
He always thought the end of the song was cheesy, but it felt right in the moment, and he wiped his tears away before sitting back on the chair and falling into a deep sleep.
For the next five days, he stayed there non-stop and got to know a few of the healers who worked on the Spell Damage ward. They were wary of him at first because of what had happened but soon came to warm to him. When one of the healers named Abigail had learned that he too wanted to heal for a career, she explained in detail what had happened to Daphne and the processes of her care and then brought him a stack of books from the hospital's library for him to read through. With not much to do at Daphne's bedside apart from watching her sleep, he delved into the books with gusto, making sure to ask the different healers that came in the room any questions that had come up. Every day in the evening, Cyrus and Ellanore came to visit, bringing him food. They chatted about life and politics, Cyrus especially bringing him up to speed with what was expected to happen at the next Wizengamot session, to be held in two weeks.
At lunch on the fifth day though, Sirius reappeared and after much convincing he persuaded Harry to come back to Grimmauld Place to take a shower, saying that at the moment the first thing Daphne sensed when she woke up wouldn't be the sight of him, but the smell. It was a very short trip though and after he'd tolerated Mrs Weasleys fussing he went into his room to take a shower. It was very relaxing and it turned out to be just what he needed at the time, but he didn't dilly-dally, washing thoroughly before getting ready to leave again.
Another night passed and still nothing. She was still fast asleep and Harry was starting to worry. They said she'd wake up soon, right? But still nothing, then as he drifted asleep on the sixth night of his residence at Daphne's bedside, he heard a croaky, but divinely familiar voice next to him, say "Harry?"
His eyes shot wide open to see Daphne looking over at him, smiling tiredly.
"Hi sweetheart," Harry said, reaching out to hold her hand, "You're in St. Mungos, I want to talk to you and everything, but I need to go grab a healer, okay?"
Daphne nodded while Harry dashed out of the room. Shortly after, a healer accompanied him back into the room while Harry called for Mitsy to let Daphne's parents know that she was awake. The little house elf was positively bouncing at the news, regardless of the early hour. Harry waited patiently while the healers finished their work before leaving.
"What happened?" Daphne asked, "I was fighting Rookwood and then I think you turned up didn't you and then? Was I falling?"
"Yeah," Harry said, his eyes filling with tears. "He knocked you off the tower and I managed to fly down and catch you, but you hit your head off this gargoyle as you fell, we nearly lost you."
"You flew? Like at the Manor?" Daphne croaked, astonished.
"Yeah. I can do it properly now."
"Then what happened?"
"McGonagall. Pomfrey and I managed to heal you mostly but you'd hurt your brain so they took you here. I've been so worried you wouldn't wake up…or remember me." Harry finished.
"Well I have, and I do, so don't worry," Daphne replied with a tired smile.
"Sweetheart, I don't think I will ever not worry about you."
Daphne smiled and said "Same," before frowning and said, "What about Rookwood?"
"I declared a blood feud on his house and I…er…I hurt him Daph," Harry said, biting his lip, Surely she wouldn't judge him.
"I thought you woulda killed him."
"I…er…I did worse." Harry replied.
"How?" Daphne asked.
"I…took off his limbs and his bits and took out his eyes and tongue while keeping him alive, then I carved a lightning bolt in his chest and stuck him to the statue in Hogsmeade," Harry said hesitantly.
Daphne laughed, "Yeah well he deserved to suffer. Has my Dad declared a blood feud as well? We'll have to be careful, you know," she added.
"He has, and I know," Harry nodded, thinking he would tell Daphne about the Baggotts later.
"When did you get here? And what time is it? Lucky timing for you to visit when I wake up," Daphne said with a smile.
"It's just after four in the morning and I've er…I've been here for six days." Harry said sheepishly
"You moron, I'm fine," Daphne said, laughing softly, "Oh Merlin, you've been beating yourself up haven't you?"
Harry blushed and looked at his feet.
"You're an idiot. This wasn't your fault," Daphne said.
"But if you weren't with me. If we weren't together, then this wouldn't have happened. I love you Daph, but I can't have you be in danger just from being with me." Harry said. He'd been preparing for this conversation for nearly a week.
"No bloody way, Harry James Slytherin-Potter, you are not breaking up with me, you can fuck right off with that idea. I am not going to find the love of my life and have him run away from me just because he is bloody noble. If you ever suggest such a thing again what happened to Rookwood will seem like nothing compared to what I will do to you, got it?" Daphne glared, speaking with much more strength than she felt.
It put Harry in his place though and he knew there was no point arguing. He would just have to endure keeping the feisty, beautiful and intelligent young Slytherin in his life. How awful.
