Ten - A Welcome Boon


Harry knew immediately where he was. He should be getting used to it at this point. Waking up in the hospital wing. The hard bed which smelt of clean linen and healing salves. The soft ticking of the clock hanging on the far wall and the slight rustle of curtains.

For a second, he wondered how he'd ended up here, before remembering the events of the first task.

'The girls are going to kill me…'

He could feel someone's presence. Opening his eyes, Harry noticed Fleur's silent form at his bedside. She was lost in thought, staring at nothing. It was strange, seeing her so sullen. She'd always appeared impeccable before. Especially with the way she could spend hours training alongside them, turning into a sweaty mess and be just as radiant as before. Now though, her hair had lost some of its lustre. Her blue eyes which were always so bright, were red and tired.

Tearing his eyes from her, he glanced around. Hermione was a few meters away, speaking softly to Madam Pomfrey while Ron napped on a nearby chair, the occasional snore sounding from him. Blinking twice, he returned his gaze to Fleur. It wasn't right, her being so down.

"You look like crap…" He tried to sound teasing, but his hoarse voice betrayed him. Fleur's gasp drew the attention of the others who immediately rushed over. Hermione moved so fast; he'd have sworn she apparated.

'Arr-"

"-Harry!"

"Don't smother him!" scolded Madam Pomfrey, forcing herself between them.

The Matron ran her wand over him, Harry recognized some of the spells, mostly basic health checks. Finding no issues, she relaxed. Harry could see the relief wash over her as her shoulders sagged ever so slightly. There was a gentleness in her eyes that spoke of how much she had come to care for him.

"Any pain...? Discomfort?" asked his teacher softly.

He tried clearing his throat. Being out cold for any length of time always left it feeling dry as sand. Fleur quickly conjured a glass, filling it with water and helping him lean forward.

Harry shook his head, taking a sip. "The room's a bit bright is all."

She waved her wand, dimming the lights slightly.

"Better?"

"Mhm, much better."

"I'd say you've recovered nicely Harry." There was an underlying hint of joy in her voice that only someone who had spent as much time as him with the woman would have noticed.

He smirked. "You're not getting rid of me that easily Ma'am."

"Hush you. I'll be commissioning a nameplate for one of these beds if you're not careful."

Watching him joke with the Matron proved too much for Hermione. Unable to hold herself back anymore, the bookworm threw her arms around him. He felt her trembling against his chest. Surprised by the intensity of her reaction. He tentatively wrapped his free arm around her.

Harry held her close, rubbing circles into her back. The young man looked at Fleur for an explanation and was stunned to find her eyes glistening.

"-Ze dragon almost killed you..." whispered Fleur, as she looked between him and Madam Pomfrey.

The Matron sighed before taking a seat. The teasing atmosphere that was between them was gone. With a deep breath, she began slowly.

"Harry... In the arena… Your performance was incredible. You were so much better than anyone could ever have expected from a fourth year. You had a good plan, you kept calm, assessed your situation, and acted to the best of your ability. When things took a turn for the worse, you healed yourself, and despite the insanity at the end. You succeeded."

Madam Pomfrey fixed him with a warm smile. "I haven't been as proud in years."

"Even if I could have done without the several near heart attacks…" she finished.

"I'm sorry I put you all through that." Guilt coloured his voice… his hand gripping the bed sheets tightly.

Fleur moved from her chair to take a seat on his bed. She ran her fingers through his hair, brushing the strands from his face.

"Non… Don't say sorry… It is not your fault 'Arry… Ze tournament… Zey were fools to include ze 'orntail."

"Fleur's right Harry, even the Prophet ripped them to shreds regarding their decision…" explained Hermione.

"How long was I out for?"

"Three." It was Ron who answered him, the gangly redhead rubbed the last bit of his nap from his eyes.

"About time too mate, any longer and these two would have moved in…"

Both girls had barely left the hospital wing during his stay. Professor Dumbledore had even exempted Hermione from attending classes. Her work ethic removed any worry of her falling behind. Madam Maxime visited along with the rest of the tournament committee, and upon seeing Fleur's worried state, couldn't muster the will to order her to return.

Harry finished the last of his water and handed it to Hermione, who took the glass from him and set it on the bedside table. Seeing the relief in the younger girl's eyes. Fleur smiled gently. Even though they weren't actually doing much, it had been a mentally exhausting three days. The first of which they were barely able to even see him since he'd been restricted to an intensive care room at St. Mungos. The Ministry demanded he be treated there.

They were allowed to visit the next day. Professor Dumbledore along with Madam Pomfrey escorted them from the school grounds, and it was only on the third day that he was brought back to Hogwarts and left in the care of the Matron.

The impact with the boulder when he was thrown backwards had broken his shoulder blade and cracked the ribs beneath it. A piece of the bone fragments was causing havoc in the area. Had he exerted himself any further during the task, it might have pierced his lung.

Madam Pomfrey relayed this to Harry.

"The bones in your shoulder were a mess, thankfully your ribs were only cracked, the petrification on your shoulder really helped keep everything in place. Luckily they could be easily repaired." Harry grimaced at that, memories of his previous run in with Skele-Gro came to mind.

"Your eardrums were ruptured," she continued, "and your eyes needed to be regrown. Other than that, several cuts and burns, none too extensive."

A sudden realization had him feel for his glasses.

"I can see clearly…" he whispered in shock. His eyes wide as he stared at his hand, able to make out every detail.

"The procedure can be used for correcting vision as well. Both eyes need to be done simultaneously, or the remaining eye would interfere with the potions," continued the Matron.

"But… Madam Pomfrey. If my eyes could have been fixed, why didn't you offer it sooner? I always assumed it couldn't be done…" asked Harry confusedly, as he thought of all the times when he'd either lost or broken his glasses.

The Matron gestured with her wand, summoning a book he didn't recognize. Hermione shifted excitedly at the sight of it. She had taken to reading some of his healer's books as a bit of light reading. It helped her understand exactly how intelligent Harry really was. The books were complicated, extremely complicated... And he blasted through them as if every word simply made sense. Personally, while she had no interest in pursuing healing as a profession. The work was still fascinating.

"You can peruse this in your spare time Harry, it details the procedure," said the kindly woman, handing him the book, "but to summarise, there were two reasons."

Harry made to sit up with the girls helping him, eager to learn what had prevented him from getting rid of the glasses sooner. Some discomfort from being immobile for days left him feeling stiff.

"First was the cost. The ingredients to produce the potions needed are extremely expensive… The headmaster had to use your position as a Hogwarts champion to petition the board for the funding. Even then it wasn't enough… Miss Delacour's father covered the difference," explained Madam Pomfrey gesturing towards the blonde.

Harry looked at Fleur surprised; he remembered the man who he had briefly encountered before.

"I don't know what to say… I have to thank him…"

"Non 'Arry, 'e was glad to 'elp," replied the older girl, smiling down at him gently. "Mon père wanted to pay ze full amount, but ze 'eadmaster said non… 'E said it was time for ze board members to stop being stingy."

Hermione giggled. "The board looked pretty put out when we saw them at St. Mungos. The only one who was serious about helping was Mr. Abbot."

"Oui, zat Malfoy man looked like he was sucking ze lemon," laughed Fleur.

Madam Pomfrey hid her smile, before clarifying. "The board is notoriously difficult with authorizing spending outside the usual. In your second year, they refused to order mandrakes instead of waiting for our own. The headmaster was actually going to pay for them himself, but having thought about it, I convinced him otherwise."

Hermione was surprised at this, and rather hurt.

"Don't misunderstand Miss Granger, what most don't know is that the hospital wing is among the safest areas within the school."

"When those doors are closed," she pointed towards the entrance," there are more protections cast these walls than you could imagine. You could tear down the entire castle, and this wing would remain standing. It would be incredibly difficult for anyone who intended harm to make it through there. A leftover from the founding days when Hogwarts was at constant risk."

"Though petrified, it was far safer to have you remain here than to risk you being targeted again…"

Hermione still a bit upset, was at least mollified by Madam Pomfrey's reasoning.

"I understand Ma'am, you had our safety in mind," she sighed. "I just wish it wasn't needed…"

"Don't we all Miss Granger," replied Madam Pomfrey wistfully.

Ron stood and moved to Hermione's empty chair in order to be closer. "Here's to next year being the quiet one."

Harry chuckled. "I doubt it…"

"Gotta have hope though," replied Ron teasingly with a shrug. "At least there are no giant spiders this time."

"None yet Ron, the year's not over and I still have two tasks left. Don't jinx it."

"You said there were two reasons Ma'am," cut in Hermione.

"Yes, sorry, that's right Miss Granger. The second is the procedure itself. Regrowing eyes in the socket is a very tricky and arduous process with at least a one out of three chance of failing…"

Harry's mouth dropped open at those odds, magical healing procedures generally had much higher success rates.

"In such cases, we would need to begin again…"

"It's the reason Professor Dumbledore hasn't bothered to have his done. He doesn't want to risk being without his eyesight for days."

"What about enchanted eyes? Like Professor Moody's?" asked Harry.

"Good question Harry. An enchanted eye is expensive as well, but far simpler to implement as they're not actually connected to the body. The eye is still grown, but it's done so outside of the body. It's the optic nerve which is difficult when dealing with eye replacements. Enchanted eyes don't form that physical connection with it.

"If I recall, I believe Alastor treated his lost eye as an opportunity to get all of those enchantments. He's not a man who cares much for appearance."

"You'd have had to wait though, since they're made to order. And to be entirely honest Harry, they're ghastly things."

"Oui 'Arry, your eyes are much nicer zis way."

"I'm glad it worked the first time around. I'd have freaked if I woke up blind…" he added. "I think we were due a bit of good luck ma'am."

"That we were Harry," replied the Matron, glad to see her protégé well again.

Harry was amused to find that since the python had regurgitated the golden egg right next to his bed before escaping the tent. And the requirements for completion were that he, along with the egg had to arrive at the tent in one piece, without outside interference. Because the snake was something he had summoned, it still counted as him carrying it himself.

The Durmstrang champion had lost points on account of two of the dragons three real eggs being crushed. Though he would be glad to never see another damn lizard again, he was saddened to hear of the loss. The dragon wasn't there by choice, it didn't deserve to lose its eggs. In the end it all added to the public backlash. Dragons were an important part of the wizarding world, on top of the unnecessary loss of life, they weren't exactly the most abundant of magical creatures.

While walking through one of the many hallways, he passed of Ravenclaw girls who smiled at him, and giggled as he turned the corner. Quite the contrast to their behaviour prior to the task. Seems he had somehow painted quite the attractive figure, standing there covered in his own blood with an electrocuted dragon in front of him… The lack of glasses really brought out his eyes as well, if Hermione and Fleur were to be believed.

He'd also gained a few more scars, thankfully none that were visible while wearing his robes, except for one which would be if he rolled up his sleeves. The electricity from the last spell, had left some faint scaring on his forearm. It looked almost like the roots of a plant. Hermione had mentioned they were commonly seen in people who were victims of a lightning strike.

He had also gained another on his shoulder, where his wound had torn open. Fleur really liked that scar. Luckily the burns he'd suffered on his back weren't directly caused by the dragon fire, so they'd been healed without any scarring whatsoever. He really hoped he didn't end up like Moody by the end of the tournament…

The young Potter sighed, when news of his consciousness had spread. It was only a matter of moments before the entire school knew. The Hogwarts rumour was a well-oiled machine.

He'd barely finished his breakfast before the hospital wing was swarmed with well-wishers to Madam Pomfrey's ire. The first group through the door were the twins along with Ginny, Neville, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia. It wasn't the first time his entire quidditch team was present around his hospital bed. And like the previous occurrences, the resident healer was not happy with the size of the contingent. Thankfully, Gryffindors were a rather thick-skinned bunch, and soldiered through her half-hearted attempts at shooing them.

Harry spent the morning enjoying his time with the rest of his team, plus Ginny and Fleur. The twins had waggled their eyebrows in perfect synchrony when they noticed how close the older veela sat to him. When the three older quidditch chasers had teased him about how good he looked without his glasses. Angelina always one to take things a step further, threw a wink towards Fleur to make sure the French girl knew it was a joke. Proceeded to feign flirting with him, much to Fred's horror.

Harry knew her well enough to know she was kidding. But two could play this game. So, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and "stared soulfully" into her eyes, as his hand came up to touch her cheek. The furious blush and sputtered step back had the twins in tatters. Were this the Harry of last year, he'd have been an incoherent mess, but constant exposure to an affectionate veela who enjoyed teasing, helped him build a resistance.

When Katie had asked what happened to their shy junior. He'd simply turned to the side and placed a quick kiss on Fleur's lips, who smiled smugly at the group. The stunned Gryffindors were quick to congratulate them, some clearly suspected the turn of events. It was a shock to see that betting was involved. Ginny had reluctantly handed over two sickles to Fred. Turns out she didn't think they'd get together until at least after Christmas.

They were still there when Luna came to see him. The girl was a walking contradiction. She was incredibly unimposing, enough so, that nobody noticed her entrance. She'd somehow just appeared in the middle of them all. But the moment she'd begin speaking. The others would quiet down for her.

Madam Pomfrey was impressed when Harry showed her the tea that Luna had gifted him. Seems it was a far more appropriate get well soon gift, than the sweets he always received. When he brought up Luna's description of the tea, the Matron said she didn't know anything about chasing away dabberblimps. But the tea leaves were all medicinal, promoting the body's natural recovery, and that it was perfectly safe for him to drink. It was apparently a blend you'd often find in old households. She even recommended he have it twice a day.

Eventually, those he'd previously considered to be good friends had showed up with their tails tucked between their legs, offering mostly half-hearted apologies. Though there were the couple sincere ones who truly regretted their actions mixed in.

Harry, wanting to put the negativity behind him, accepted their apologies, but made a mental note regarding the speed at which public opinion of him could shift, as well as who was heartfelt and who was not. It wouldn't be smart to put his trust in someone who could be swayed so easily.

A few girls had dropped off chocolates, which Fleur had tearfully incinerated. They weren't going to risk him consuming a love potion right as he'd recovered. One girl, a Gryffindor from Ginny's year who he'd never even spoken to before had brought him a heart shaped box and kept fluttering her eyes at him. Fleur had glared the girl from the room, while Hermione hid her snigger at the older girl's possessiveness.

Amusingly, a small contingent of Hufflepuffs had arrived, dragged there by Cedric. His fellow champion was apparently outraged to learn how ineffective his previous reprimands had been. Harry could almost see the metaphoric ear pulling, as the Hufflepuff poster boy "led" them to him. By the time they'd left, the group looked like a bunch of wounded puppies.

Of the staff, outside of Hagrid, who had left him a tin of rock cakes. Professor's Dumbledore, and McGonagall had visited. The old man professed how proud he was of him, and his "surprise" at Harry's "discovery" of rather rare spells. He'd also mentioned that he'd been begged into teaching the lightning charm to the dragon tamers, and was tempted to send them his way… When it came to how Harry could have learnt it, the headmaster had thought simply said. "The Hogwarts library certainly is a well of information…" with his usual twinkling eyes.

Harry could only smile and nod along. Professor Dumbledore was about as subtle as a brick to the face.

'Don't mention the book.'

Shortly after the old man had left, his head of house had walked in. The stern woman seemed torn between praising him, fussing over him, and berating him. She'd also admitted to having still had some misgivings regarding his healer training on account of the sheer workload he'd been under. But his proficiency with the arts had left her speechless. Poppy had been a close friend of hers for years, and she knew exactly how talented Harry must be to already be at the stage he'd exhibited.

Watching him in the arena, she couldn't help but see both James and Lily in Harry. His performance was every bit the recklessness and daring of his father but tempered with the brilliance of his mother. Though she did ask where he had learnt the spells used. He'd gone along with the headmasters hinted advice and claimed Fleur had found it in a book from the library. He couldn't recall the title and doubted she could as well, since they'd gone through so many. He felt bad about lying, but it wasn't as if he could admit to having taken a book belonging to the headmaster. At the end of her visit, they'd agreed to meet up for tea again soon.

Through most his visitations, either Fleur, or Hermione and often both had been at his side. The news of their relationship hadn't made its rounds yet. Thankfully his fellow team members plus Ginny, were keeping tight lipped, and neither Cedric nor Viktor were the gossiping sort.

Harry was not someone who basked in attention, rather, he disliked being the centre of it. This meant he'd tried avoiding public appearances once he'd finally been discharged. Though he loved the company of both Fleur and Hermione, and if they were being a bit more affectionate, he wasn't going to complain. But he still wanted some alone time, and he knew just where to go.

Harry was currently floating a few hundred meters above the astronomy tower. He'd never realized just how bad his eyesight truly was. It was a testament to how good of a seeker he must be, that he was able to catch the snitch with such a handicap.

Now though, he marvelled at all the detail he could see in the distance as he breathed in the cool air. Harry spent most of his early years in what amounted to a cage. Flying was the polar opposite. Here he was freer than anyone could be. People assumed that he loved quidditch, which was mostly true. He enjoyed the sport, but it was the flying that he really loved.

A flap of wings broke his trail of thoughts, he turned, spotting the tell-tale white feathers of his owl familiar.

'Hedwig' he thought fondly. She flew right by his face, almost buffeting him with her feathers, before pulling ahead to circle around.

He met her eyes; she was taunting him. Harry laughed, and leaned forward, flying after her. An owl would never be able to outrace a Firebolt, but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy themselves. They flew together for the greater part of an hour. When Harry would close the gap, she'd spread her wings, dropping her speed and breaking away. She'd even hoot as he'd go past. Eventually they simply fell into a companiable side by side flight around the school grounds. Where he went, Hedwig followed. He felt bad about the lack of time he spent with her at Hogwarts. During the Summer, it was up to the two of them to keep the other company, but once on school grounds. He barely saw her.

Harry had to wonder why they'd flown together before and endeavoured to do so regularly in the future.

With a tug to the side, he entered a downward arch directly in Hedwig's flight path. The pair had an uncanny intuition of the other's movements. Harry could almost sense when she'd change direction. They seemed to predict each other. Eventually their flight had brought them lower and into the line of sight of some of the other students.

They climbed once more before levelling out. Harry held out his arm having felt Hedwig's exhaustion. The beautiful snowy owl spread her wings, slowing down. Harry caught her weight as she landed on him. Bringing her closer, he scratched her head as she leaned into his hand. She preened at his attention, before nipping his finger and fixing her gaze on the lakeshore in the distance.

Harry followed her line of sight, noticing Fleur and Hermione sitting at their spot. He chuckled.

"I know girl, I know…"

"I'll join them soon."

Hedwig fixed him with a stare.

"Yes girl, you still come first. I promise."

Seemingly satisfied, Hedwig bobbed her head once and took off. He began a slow flight over to the girls as he thought of how Hermione had joined them in taking the next step in their relationship.

Harry still had trouble believing they were interested in him romantically. They'd collectively moved forward into full relationship status on the night prior to his discharge from the hospital wing. Though it was spurred on by Fleur. The beautiful veela was, as it turned out, a straightforward person, who preferred the "rip the band-aid off" approach to things.


The three of them had just finished having dinner together in the hospital wing. Ron had opted for the wider selection of the Great Hall, leaving them alone. Constantly hungry since waking, Harry was snacking some fudge that Mrs. Weasley had sent him.

He was absorbed with the new book, eager to learn of the procedure that allowed him to forego his glasses. Madam Pomfrey wasn't joking around when she'd said it was expensive. Ramora skin, Kelpie liver… and those were just two of the ingredients needed for one of the potions. And there were multiple. The timing for their administration had to be perfect as well, with a window between each in seconds.

The procedure was a fascinating mix of a potion regiment, and transfiguration which induced and controlled the development of an eye. The potion had to be keyed to the individual as well. And unlike Polyjuice, the keying step was early in the brewing process. Instead of at the end. This meant you couldn't make one large batch and then just portion it.

There was even a potion similar to conventional aging potions in ingredients, which accelerated the eyes growth. Since eye formation began around the fourth week of pregnancy. The procedure had to create it isolated from the rest of the body until it was formed enough for the nervous system and vascular connections.

The 'from the ground up' nature of the procedure, is what enabled it to be used for vision correction. Miniscule adjustments to the eyes are made during their formation. This way also seemed to overcome the body's natural resistance to change. It's why potions which physically altered the body always wore off, and why self-transfiguration wasn't taught until the NEWT level. Magic and body are linked, trying to force a change in the body, led to resistance.

He just wished the light sensitivity would go away already. Bright lights gave him a serious migraine currently, and he wasn't allowed any pain potions outside of the mild kind yet.

A gasp from the side had him look over to where the girls were. They were across each other, seated on a nearby bed. Their shoes set aside neatly on the floor while they sat with their legs tucked beneath them. An ancient runes book laid open between them, clearly forgotten as the pair laughed. Hermione's blush, and Fleur's teasing smirk, coupled with the quick glances in his direction made the topic obvious. He suspected she'd brought up the events in the tent prior to the first task. Well, they were originally planning to speak to Hermione that same day anyway.

He'd found it amusing, how Fleur could be very impatient at times, almost in the way a kid would ask "Are we there yet?" With the first task behind them and his health in the clear, she was done waiting.

Harry was distracted by a piece of fudge falling down his shirt. Quickly retrieving it. He returned his attention to the pair, and nearly sent his tin flying when he found them with their arms around each other, making out furiously.

'What the hell did I miss!?'

They separated moments later, their expressions providing a hint as to who kissed who, if Fleur's rendition of a fish out of water and Hermione's smug grin was any indication. Harry's jaw dropped when Fleur, never one to back down, dove straight in, eliciting a startled yelp from Hermione. Her hand lost in the younger girl's hair. When their lips parted, Fleur motioned towards Harry with her eyes. Hermione catching the hint, stood, and with a confidence and purpose in her step that had him gulping, arrived at his bedside.

Harry looked up, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly. She grabbed his shirt and yanked him out of his stupor towards her, tossing his pudding onto the bed. Before he could react, her lips were on his.

Too shocked by the turn of events, he failed to respond to her kiss. He felt the frown form before she made to pull away, believing she'd make a mistake. Quickly correcting the misunderstanding, he put his arms around her, pulling her towards him and deepened the kiss.

Spurred on and overjoyed by his acceptance, Hermione moaned, slipping her tongue into his mouth. Harry's heart skipped a beat. This was Hermione. His best friend Hermione. And he was kissing her.

Eventually the need to breathe forced them to let go. Harry peered up at her flushed face; her lips slightly swollen from the kiss. She was so beautiful. He planted a soft kiss on her lips. It was chaste and lingered, conveying far more of his feelings for her than the previous.

His hands held her sides. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his and smiled.

"So…" he breathed, "does this mean I have two girlfriends?"

"Hm, I'm going to have fun explaining to my parents how I have both a boyfriend and a girlfriend," she laughed, as Fleur came up behind her, wrapping her arms around Hermione's neck whilst pecking her on the cheek.

Harry suddenly paled at seeing the blonde.

"Quoi? What is the matter 'Arry?" asked Fleur. Both girls looked at him confusedly, wondering what could have possible scared him at a time like this.

He began with a stutter.

"Your fathers are going to kill me…"

They stared at him before bursting out in laughter. Despite the terrifying realization, Harry couldn't help but join them, their joy was contagious. The trio didn't notice Madam Pomfrey peaking from her office door before silently closing it.


END CHAPTER TEN


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