The Refiner's Fire
Chapter 13 - Threats Revealed
By Abraxan
Gryffindor’s Quidditch practice was going well. The Creevey brothers, after some initial problems with their timing, were becoming a pair almost as fun to watch as the Weasley twins. They hit the Bludgers with great glee, and apologized irreverently when the Bludger actually hit someone. Ginny and Seamus were now working as a team with Katie as Chasers, their passing seemingly effortless, thinking as a unit instead of three flyers. Ron and Harry watched the others play with great concentration, as well as playing their own positions. Harry had asked Professor Flitwick to show him how to charm Omnioculars so they would include a "record" function, then asked Dean and Neville to use his and Ron’s Omnioculars to record their practices so the team could see how they were doing. Using these recordings of their practices was resulting in much more fluid teamwork from everyone. With so many new players on the team, Harry had them practice every afternoon.
Harry was flying low, looking up at the Chasers above him, studying their moves, when he saw the Snitch above them. He zoomed upward at a sharp angle to intercept it, waved and grinned cheekily to Ginny as he approached her at about seventy feet above the pitch. She laughed and waved in return. As he turned back to look toward the Snitch again, the hairs on the back of Harry’s head stood up and he quickly looked around, glimpsing a spell flying toward him. As he sped up and gained altitude so the spell missed him, he looked at the ground and saw Malfoy with his wand aimed where Harry had just been.
"Team! Get Malfoy! STUN ONLY!" Harry cried at the same instant he heard a scream behind him. The spell had hit Ginny and she was falling, her broom spinning wildly as it fell to earth without her. Harry’s acceleration had already put him on the far end of the pitch and well over 150 feet high. From the goal posts at the other end, he heard Ron yell, "Ginny!" and saw him streaking toward his sister. Harry whipped his broom around and lay flat along the handle, kicking his broom to maximum speed, racing toward the girl’s falling body. His heart was in his throat — he was so far away from her. Ron was closer, but his broom was much slower than Harry’s. "Go! Go! Go!" he urged the Firebolt.
Ginny was screaming constantly as she tumbled through the air, her arms and legs flailing as if there was something to grab onto. Harry remembered such a fall of his own, then held out his hand and cried, "Aresto Momentum!" giving a moment’s gratitude to Dumbledore for teaching him the spell in case any of his team fell.
Ginny’s speed slowed somewhat and Harry came up beneath her, catching her in his arms. His speed was still so high that the impact of her body in his arms nearly knocked both of them off his broom. The Firebolt shuddered and tumbled a few feet before he could get it under control again. Harry’s heart was pounding with nerves as he struggled to get upright with Ginny in his arms and keep his broom under him. Ron came up alongside and steadied them as Harry finally straightened up with Ginny clinging tightly to his neck.
"Are you OK? Ginny? Ginny?" Ron asked anxiously.
She was shaking hard, her arms nearly strangling Harry as she held on around his neck. Her face was buried in his shoulder and she was crying with great, heartbreaking sobs.
Harry stopped his broom in midair and tried to rearrange her so he could fly more safely. "I need to move you a little," he told her. She clutched him tightly, too terrified to move. "You’re all right now, I’ve got you," he assured her gently. "Loosen your arms a bit, OK? Here, put them around my middle so I can see better." She was trembling hard and still would not move.
"Come on, Ginny, one arm at a time. I’m right here, too," said Ron as he put a steadying hand on her back beside Harry’s. Ginny reluctantly let go with one hand, quickly locking it around Harry’s back. Then she finally moved the other and held on to him as tightly as she could.
"I’m going to take my arm out from under your legs," Harry said quietly, keeping his voice calm to help relax her, hoping she wouldn’t notice his still-racing heart and think there was more reason to panic. "I need you to sit on the broom, so I can have a hand free to steer." Once she was sitting across the broom, with her arms around Harry’s chest instead of his neck, he was able to start spiralling slowly to the ground, Ron staying close beside him. He hovered near the edge of the pitch, where his team had Malfoy stunned on the ground.
"Who did the Stunning Spell?" Harry asked, looking around at his team, impressed that they’d been careful and Malfoy was still in one piece and alive.
"I did," Seamus, Katie and Dennis said at once.
"I did the ropes!" Colin cried eagerly.
"Nice job, you lot," said Harry. He looked at his team, thinking quickly. Colin was the fastest flier other than Ginny and Harry. "Colin, you go to the castle and get Professor McGonagall. Don’t run - fly up and knock on her window. Ginny may be hurt. We need to take her to the hospital wing to be checked."
"Right!" Colin cried, jumping on his broom and racing to the castle.
"Ron," Harry said as he landed gently and steadied his feet on the ground, "can you grab the Firebolt when I pick her up?" He slid his left arm under Ginny’s legs and raised her off the broom. As Harry lifted her, both boys heard her moan.
Ron pulled the Firebolt from under them and dropped it next to his broom, then patted his sister gingerly on the back as she lay shaking in Harry’s arms. "Ginny? Talk to me. Where does it hurt?"
"My side. My ribs. The broom may have hit me — or maybe it was the spell, I don’t know," she said, gasping with pain.
"Do you want to go to the hospital wing now, or can you wait so we can tell McGonagall what happened?" Harry asked.
"Can you take me in, please, Harry?" she said in a small, pained voice. "It hurts."
"All right," he agreed. "Do you want me to levitate you? Or can you walk?"
"NO! No levitation! I can’t . . . . Please, please just carry me," she pleaded.
"No problem," he replied, getting a more secure hold on her and being grateful she was so petite.
"D’you want to fly?" Ron asked, holding out Harry’s Firebolt.
"No, it’s easier to carry her," Harry replied.
Carrying his own broom as well as Harry’s, Ron matched his best mate stride for stride as he walked quickly toward the castle. They met Professor McGonagall as she hurried out.
"Potter! What happened? Miss Weasley, are you injured?" Professor McGonagall cried as she hurried toward them.
"Malfoy shot a spell at me while we were practicing. He missed and hit Ginny and she fell," Harry growled, suppressed rage in his voice.
"She fell probably fifty feet before Harry caught her," Ron added in a rush.
"Who witnessed this?" McGonagall asked, her face worried as she tried to look at the injured girl. Ginny kept her face buried in Harry’s neck, still clinging to him tightly.
"I saw the spell coming at me and sped up to get away from it. I didn’t realize it would hit Ginny if it missed me. She was above me and going the other way, so she just ran into its path, I suppose," said Harry.
"You saw the spell coming? What kind of spell was it? Did anyone else see it? Mr. Weasley?"
"I just saw Ginny falling and Harry racing to catch her," Ron replied.
Harry looked down at the miserable girl in his arms. He was angry that she was hurt, angry that Malfoy had attacked them with no provocation, but he was doing his best to stifle his anger. "I don’t know what kind of spell it was, but her broom stopped flying and she says her side hurts. She doesn’t know if the broom hit her or the spell caused the pain. We’re taking her to the hospital wing to be looked at. I told the team to Stun Malfoy, and Colin tied him up as well. They did a good job. They’re still guarding him." He shifted Ginny in his arms a bit. His back was starting to hurt, and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold her, but he was determined to finish what he’d started. He’d put her down when she had a soft bed in the hospital wing prepared for her and not before. A sudden thought hit him. "Professor, I had Dean and Neville recording our practice on Omnioculars. Maybe they caught something that will be useful."
"Well done, Mr. Potter. Thank you for telling me that. You boys go ahead and take her in. I’ll see to Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said, her lips very thin and her nose very white. "We’ll get this sorted out. I’ll be there to check on Miss Weasley as soon as I can." She started to walk away, then turned back. "Potter, how high were you when you caught her?"
"About 20 feet, I think," he replied.
"And how fast were you going?"
"I was flying at the Firebolt’s top speed — 150 — to reach her, then slowed down when I got near her. Probably still over 100 miles per hour, I guess." Harry didn’t understand why she was asking these questions.
"And are you in any pain yourself?"
"I don’t know. My back is a bit sore. I tried to do a Cushioning Charm so I wouldn’t hurt her when I caught her, but everything happened so fast. We collided at such high speed, it nearly knocked me off the broom. It could be that part of the pain she’s feeling is from the impact when I caught her."
"You get yourself checked by Madam Pomfrey as well, Potter. Mr. Weasley, I’m holding you responsible. You make sure Mr. Potter stays and allows Madam Pomfrey to examine and treat him." She gave Ron her sternest look.
Ron gulped. "Yes, Professor," he agreed. "Harry, why didn’t you tell me you hurt your back? Do you want me to carry her?" he offered.
"I’m OK. And shifting her now might be more painful for her," Harry replied as he started to walk again. "Thanks, though."
"I’m right here. You’re talking about me as if I’m not," Ginny grumbled, her face still pressed tightly into the hollow of Harry’s neck.
Harry stopped walking. "Am I hurting you?" His stomach clenched nervously. He was trying so hard to be careful, not to jostle her, but he was hurrying, too, and he knew she was in pain.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, looking up at him in concern.
"No, I’m fine, just a little sore. I’ll get checked on to keep McGonagall happy, but I don’t think I’m actually injured," he assured her, hoping he was right.
"Then if it’s all the same to you, I’ll just stay right where I am. I’m afraid to move," she replied, her voice sounding tired.
"Yeah, I got that," he said, chuckling as he hefted her more securely into his arms. "Let me know if I hurt you, OK?"
"OK," she sighed.
As he and Ron walked toward the hospital wing, Harry could feel her soft breath against his skin. It reminded him of the long hours Ginny had spent taking care of him when he’d been sick, of her courage and trust that he wouldn’t hurt her when she released his bonds and threw herself into his arms to try to calm him so he could recover. No, it didn’t matter that his back hurt. He owed her a tremendous debt. He’d carry her all the way to London if he had to. He leaned his cheek on her hair a moment and sighed, remembering his fear as he watched her fall.
Ginny lifted her face to look at him. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Just relieved you got down safely," he replied. "That was scary." He glanced down into her deep brown eyes and felt butterflies in his stomach. Just nerves, that’s all, he told himself.
"Yeah," she murmured, and rested her cheek against his shoulder, relaxing into his arms again.
* * * * *
Madam Pomfrey was tutting as she examined Ginny. "Spell burns, yes, and a few cracked ribs," she called to the boys through the curtains around Ginny’s bed.
Harry’s face fell. "Did I break her ribs when I caught her?"
"No, Potter, the injury is in the same spot as the spell burn. I’m sure the spell caused the broken ribs," Madam Pomfrey assured him. "How fast were you going?"
"Around 150, but I slowed down a bit when I got under her," he replied.
"They shouldn’t allow brooms to go so fast," she fussed.
"If his broom wasn’t that fast, Ginny would be dead," Ron snapped. "I was a lot closer to her and I still got there after him."
"Well. . ." Madam Pomfrey said, "I suppose you have a point." She finished putting the dressing on Ginny’s side and opened the curtains. "Drink that potion right down, Miss Weasley. You’ll be fine in two days’ time." She turned to Harry. "All right, Mr. Potter, take your robes off. Let’s see what damage you’ve done to yourself this time."
Harry removed his uniform shirt, trying to ignore the aches in his back as he did so, and sat still on the side of the bed as the nurse fussed around him. She poked and prodded and suddenly evinced a yelp from him.
"Aha!" she said. "You’ve injured your back. I thought as much. You’ll be here for a few days as well."
"Injured my back? How?"
"From the impact of catching Miss Weasley and decelerating quickly at the same time, I suspect. You’re lucky you didn’t fall off your broom or get more seriously injured. I’ll give you a potion that will make you sleep and allow you to heal." She walked away for a moment, then came back and told him to lie on his stomach.
Harry heard her opening some kind of jar. Then her hands were on his back again. "Ow, that’s cold!" he cried, flinching away from the contact.
"I’m sorry it’s cold, but it’s good for you. I’m applying some ointment that will help relax the muscles, and tomorrow I’ll start massaging your back to restore the muscle to full usefulness. It will take several massages to put you right. You’ll be here a few days, that’s all."
"A few days? But. . ."
"No arguments, Mr. Potter. You have displaced some vertebrae in your back. I can put them right, but it will take some time for the ligaments and muscles to recover. Your injury is much less serious than it could be, but if you don’t take care of it properly now, it will become serious and may trouble you for your entire life. Put these pyjamas on and get in bed." She bustled off to get Harry’s potion.
"I’m sick and tired of spending so much time in here," Harry grumbled.
"Yeah, you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired," Ron teased. "Hey, mate, at least you’re not alone this time. Ginny’s stuck here too. Hermione and I will come and visit you loads."
"Speaking of Hermione," Harry said, glancing over Ron’s shoulder and seeing Hermione racing into the room along with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Hi," he said, grinning at his friends, who called various enthusiastic greetings to him and Ginny. He saw Hermione blush at catching him with his shirt off. He blushed too, but grinned cheekily at her.
"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey called from across the room. "Pyjamas!"
Harry sighed. "Pull the screen round, would you, Ron, so I can change?"
"Sure, mate. We’ll go and visit Ginny while you get settled in. Or do you need help?"
"I’ll be fine," Harry assured him, and Ron left to visit his sister. Harry started to put on the pyjama top and yelped. "Ahhh!"
"What’s wrong?" Ron said as he rushed past the curtain, his face white in reaction to Harry’s cry. "What happened?"
"I’m getting stiff. I can’t do this by myself." He winced as he tried to lift his arm to put it in the sleeve.
"Hang on, I’ve got it," Ron said, coming over to help him.
"Harry!" "Harry, are you all right?" Hermione’s and Ginny’s worried voices came through the curtains.
"Yeah, I’m fine," he assured them, disgust in his voice. "Stupid hospital pyjamas," he grumbled.
Ron chuckled at his friend’s frown.
"What?" Harry demanded.
"You save a girl from certain death. You get the team to stop Malfoy without killing or injuring him! You get hurt yourself in the process of saving Ginny. And now your biggest complaint is about the pyjamas you have to wear? You need to sort out your priorities!" Ron was laughing out loud now.
"Well, when you put it that way, it is sort of funny," Harry acknowledged with a smile as he lowered himself carefully into bed. "If I have to be stuck in here, could you make sure I get loads of chocolate frogs to maintain my sanity?"
"You have a free lifetime supply of them coming from every Weasley in the family, mate," Ron said with a grin. "Mum will go spare when she hears what happened. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a huge cake coming by next post."
"Cool!" Harry said, lying back with a grin on his face.
Ron removed the curtains from around Harry’s and Ginny’s beds so the team could visit both of them at once.
"Wow, Harry! That was some catch!" Colin enthused.
"Yeah, and I got it all on the Omnioculars!" said Neville, a proud grin on his face.
"Really?" Harry said eagerly, lifting his hand toward Neville. "Let’s see. Does it show the spell coming?"
"Sorry," Neville said, hanging his head mournfully. "McGonagall took both Omnioculars away from us, and everything happened so fast, I don’t know if the spell shows or not."
"Don’t worry about it, Neville," Harry assured him. "I told her she might see what happened on them. If there’s anything useful on them, she’ll just show it to Dumbledore and whoever else needs to see it, then we’ll get them back."
"I hope so. I was enjoying helping the team out," Neville murmured sadly.
Harry reached out and punched Neville gently in the arm. "You’re doing a great job, too, mate. If she doesn’t give them back soon, I’ll order some more. It’s fantastic to see how the team works together. Your and Dean’s recordings are a real help."
Neville’s face lit up. "You’ll get more?"
"’Course. Find out how long she needs to keep them, and if it’s a long time, I’ll order more straight away," Harry assured him.
"You can use mine in the meantime, Neville," Hermione offered. "I watched Professor Flitwick show Harry the spell to make them record things. I think I can do it myself with no problem."
"Great, thanks!" Neville grinned, then turned to Ginny. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore, but I’m going to be fine in two days, Madam Pomfrey said. That’s not too bad," Ginny said with a smile. "She gave me some potion to take away the pain and heal me, but it’s making me. . .s-s-s-s-leepy," she finished with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Sorry," she said, blushing as she put her hands over her mouth. "Couldn’t help it."
"You lot need to say your goodbyes now," Madam Pomfrey said as she neared Harry’s bed, a flagon of potion in her hand. "Potter will be asleep in a few minutes, and it looks as though Miss Weasley is already dropping off. You can come back tomorrow morning. They should be awake again then."
The team said their goodbyes and left, leaving Ron and Hermione sitting between Harry and Ginny’s beds.
"You two don’t have to stay," Harry said as he handed the potion flagon back to Madam Pomfrey. "I mean, I’d love it if you did, but I know you h-h-h-have. . ." a huge yawn escaped him, "homew. . ." and he was asleep.
Hermione smoothed Harry’s covers and did whatever fussing over him she could think of, as Ron sat staring at his sister, his heart in his eyes, his shoulders slumped and tense. She knew Ron was at a complete loss, not knowing what to do now that the danger was over, and as realization of what almost happened sank in. As she gently removed Harry’s glasses and laid them on the bedside table, she glanced at Ron again. He was trembling, tears starting to course down his cheeks as he watched his sister sleep. Hermione moved in front of Ron and took him in her arms, holding him tightly as his shoulders shook with silent sobs. Finally he pulled back and looked at her.
"If. . .if it hadn’t b-been for H-H-Harry. . ." he stammered, then stopped. He took a deep breath and blew it out hard, then squared his shoulders, scrubbed his tear-streaked face with his hands and stood up. "C’mon, Hermione. You and I have an owl to send to Mum, and I have no idea what to write," he said as he took her hand and walked out of the hospital wing.
* * * * *
Hours later, Harry woke up to find Ginny awake and watching him. He reached for his glasses and smiled at her as he put them on. "All right there, Ginny?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah, I guess. Nothing hurts if I don’t move too much," he replied. "I’m still a bit stiff."
"Same here. I’m sorry I asked you to carry me in," she said with sad eyes. "Your back is probably worse because of that."
"Don’t worry about it. I thought it would hurt you more to move you to Ron’s arms than to just carry you myself. And honestly, my back wasn’t sore then. Or if it was, I hadn’t noticed it." He grinned at her. "At least you’re getting me out of double Potions tomorrow."
Ginny smiled back at him. "And I’m getting out of double Divination," she chuckled.
"I’ll help you with your Divination homework," he offered with a sly grin. "Let’s see now. You’re going to meet up with a dark haired speed demon on a broom and . . ."
Ginny laughed and threw her pillow at him.
"Oh, don’t start with me, young lady," Harry teased. "I’m a professional patient. I’ve been in this hospital wing so long, I have my own monogrammed sheets!" He waved his hand and a crooked "HP" showed up on the border of his top sheet, his pillowcase, and in the centre of the bedspread. Then he tossed her pillow back at her, much more gently than she’d thrown it at him.
Ginny was laughing so hard, tears were in her eyes. "How did you do that? Ow, I have to stop laughing. That hurts."
Harry sat up quickly, his eyes wide with worry. "I’m sorry, Gin, I didn’t mean. . .do you want me to call Madam Pomfrey?"
"No, I’m all right," she replied, settling back in the bed, tucking her pillow behind her. "I just have to laugh. . .carefully. . .I suppose," she concluded, smiling warmly at him. "How did you do that, anyway?"
"You know about the extra classes I’ve been taking with Dumbledore and Remus. This was a little trick of Dumbledore’s. Do you like the monograms? I could’ve done a fancier lettering, I suppose," he mused, pretending to be seriously considering the artistic qualities of his handiwork.
Ginny chuckled. "Oh, it’s lovely, truly," she said in the most posh voice she could muster.
"Shall I do some for you?" he offered, teasing her.
"Certainly, kind sir! That would be divine!"
Harry thought a minute, then gestured toward Ginny’s covers. A flowery "G.W." appeared, with vines and roses around the letters.
"That’s beautiful! Can you teach me how to do that?"
"Dunno," he said with a shrug. "I’m still figuring it out myself. This stuff is the ‘easy first step’ in a much more complex process. We can have a go if you want. But you should be resting, not playing with magic right now."
"Why? You’re playing with magic," she said reasonably.
"Yeah, well, nobody told me not to!" he laughed, then ducked as she tossed her pillow at him again. It fell to the floor. "Accio pillow," he said, then caught the pillow and tossed it back to her. He lay back in his bed and lay looking at Ginny. "Hmmm. Accio," he said. Ginny’s bed slid over next to his. "Ah, that’s better. I was getting a cramp in my neck trying to see you over there." He rolled onto his side and smiled warmly at her.
"You’re silly," she said with a chuckle, then turned on her side so they were looking at each other. "Thank you, Harry," she said seriously.
"For moving your bed? You’re welcome," he said cheekily.
"No. Thank you for saving my life. Again. That’s two life debts I owe you."
Harry sobered. "Nope. You more than repaid me when you took care of me when I was sick. We’re even."
"But the Chamber of Secrets — I owe you for that too. And now this. . . ."
"I consider chocolate frogs to be good payment for most debts," he teased, but she wouldn’t be teased out of her sudden sombre mood. He sighed and glanced around the room, then returned her steady gaze. "You scared the absolute bloody hell out of me."
"Me too," she said, her eyes wide.
He reached out and gently stroked her cheek. "If . . . . I don’t know what. . . ." He stopped, and just lay there looking at her, his hand on her cheek. Finally he said, "I’m so glad you’re all right."
"Me too," she murmured. "Thanks."
"So you’re awake?" Madam Pomfrey called from her office. "Good, I’ve brought your supper. When you eat that, I’ll give you each another dose of potion so you’ll sleep through the night," she said as she bustled over to their beds. "What’s this?" she said, looking from one bed to the other, both of which were decorated with monogrammed sheets and covers and were far closer together than normal.
"Erm. . ." Harry began, blushing madly.
"We were just. . ." said Ginny, matching him blush for blush.
Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and separated the beds, then gave Harry and Ginny their suppers. When they’d eaten, she handed them their doses of potion. "Good night. Sleep well," she said. "Nice decorations, by the way. Your work, I suppose, Mr. Potter?"
Harry grinned sheepishly and nodded.
"Put them right when you two leave, then, will you, or all my patients will want them." Madam Pomfrey said with a smile.
"’K," he agreed. He and Ginny took their potions with no complaint other than making faces at the taste.
"It would be nice if potions tasted like ch-ch-chocolate," Harry mused, yawning hugely as he settled back into bed.
"Or strawberry," Ginny agreed. "G’night, Harry." Her eyes were drooping already.
"Night," he replied, then turned over and fell asleep.
* * * * *
"Mr. Malfoy says he was under Imperius," Professor McGonagall told Harry and Ginny the next morning. "Professor Dumbledore is reluctant to use Veritaserum on a student. We’re in a bit of a quandary. If he truly was under Imperius, then he cannot be punished for what he did, since he would have done it unwillingly."
Harry flew into a rage. "Imperius! He’s a liar!" The pitcher of pumpkin juice on his bedside table shattered, splashing juice everywhere. The stack of chocolate frogs from the Weasley family toppled off the table, and the boxed cake from Mrs. Weasley hit the floor with a crash.
McGonagall made placating gestures with her hands, her eyes worried as she murmured, "There, there, Harry, please. Calm yourself."
Harry was breathing hard, his temper still hot, but he was at least trying to control himself. "Sorry, Professor."
Ginny reached for her wand, pointed it at the professor and Harry and said, "Scourgify," cleaning the pumpkin juice off both of them and Harry’s bed, then levitated the frogs and the boxed cake back onto his bedside table.
"Thank you, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall said with a small smile, then she turned back to Harry. "The Omnioculars show the spell hitting Miss Weasley as well as her fall and you catching her. It’s a horrible thing to see. Well done, Harry. Twenty points to Gryffindor for your remarkable catch."
"Thank you, Professor," said Harry.
"And I’m giving ten points each to your team mates for their capture of Mr. Malfoy without injuring him. And I’m giving you another twenty-five points for your wisdom in telling them to Stun him only. Well done, all around."
Ginny said, "I’m glad something good came out of all this!"
Harry and Professor McGonagall smiled at her remark.
"We will continue investigating this matter, and we’ll let you know what we find out," she assured them. "And Slytherin is losing seventy-five points for what Mr. Malfoy did, Imperius or no Imperius."
"Before we came back to school, I was warned that Voldemort," he tried to ignore the flinches of Professor McGonagall and Ginny, "had a plan to attack me using someone who’s inside Hogwarts. Does Professor Dumbledore think Malfoy was the one sent to kill me?"
"It’s a possibility we’re looking into, Potter," McGonagall replied. "However, don’t let your guard down. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may have other assassins in place as well."
"Yeah, ‘constant vigilance.’ That’s one of the good things I learned from Barty Crouch when he was pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody," Harry muttered. "For a nutter, he was an amazingly good teacher."
* * * * *
On the third morning of his hospital stay, Harry awoke to find Ginny was gone. He gazed at her empty bed, missing her company. The hospital wing door opened and Ginny came in, smiling to see him awake.
"Hi, Harry! How are you feeling?"
"Lonely, just now. When did she let you go?" He put on his glasses and sat up in the bed, wincing as he did so.
"Careful, you’re not healed yet!" Ginny scolded. "She let me go me a couple of hours ago. It’s time for your massage, and she’s going to show me how to do it. I’m going to know loads about being a healer before I ever go for my training!" Her delight was obvious.
"So you’re taking care of me again?" He smiled, leaning back against his pillow. "Thanks."
"Unbutton your shirt. I’ll help you get it off. Then I’ll need you to roll over," Ginny said, opening the jar of ointment and setting it close at hand on the bedside table. "Madam Pomfrey is coming now to get started."
Madam Pomfrey soon had Ginny trained to do the massage Harry needed. She left the girl to finish the job.
"How am I doing? Are you comfortable? Is it too hard or too soft?" she asked after a few minutes.
"Mmmmm," Harry replied contentedly.
She chuckled. "And how do you translate that?"
"You’re doing really well," he said softly. He opened one eye and glanced around, then whispered, "Where’s Madam Pomfrey?"
"Back in her office. Do you need her? Have I hurt you?" she asked in sudden concern.
"No. I just wanted to tell you — you’re doing a much better job than she does. You’re gentler than she is, and your hands are softer."
Ginny beamed. "Thanks! Let me know if anything hurts."
"Mmmm. Just keep doing what you’re doing," he murmured, sounding sleepy.
Ginny finished his massage by rubbing his back gently with more ointment. By the time she was done, he was fast asleep again. She draped his pyjama top over his back and pulled up his covers. "Madam Pomfrey?" she called softly as she entered the office door. "I’m finished. He’s asleep."
"Excellent," Madam Pomfrey replied with an approving smile. "If the massage is done correctly, it relaxes the patient. If it puts him to sleep, you’ve done a wonderful job. Well done. Full marks, Miss Weasley."
"I wish I could have a grade for this!" Ginny said with a grin.
"I’ll speak to Professor Dumbledore. With all the work you’ve been doing toward your career goal, both now and during the summer, you should have some extra credit. You will certainly have no trouble getting into the healer training programme. You have a natural talent for this work." Madam Pomfrey was quite pleased with Ginny’s interest. Not many students cared about the hospital wing beyond trying to stay out of it as much as possible, except for those who liked to skive off the occasional class.
A short time later, Ginny sat by Harry’s bed doing her homework. Madam Pomfrey had pulled screens around his bed to give him privacy from the other students who came to get remedies for their various small ailments. Ginny heard occasional movement in the rest of the room, but ignored it and concentrated on her studies. Ron and Hermione came round at one point, bringing Harry’s homework.
"Do you want us to sit with him for a bit, Ginny?" Ron asked. "Do you need a break?"
"No, I’m fine. I don’t have any classes this afternoon, and I’m learning things from Madam Pomfrey. She says she’s going to talk to Dumbledore about giving me extra credit for what I’ve been doing here and during the summer. Isn’t that fantastic?"
"Wow, that’s brilliant!" Hermione agreed. "Good for you!"
"Well, if you don’t need us," Ron said, reaching out for Hermione’s hand.
"You two go on. I’ll tell him you were here. Madam Pomfrey said she may let him go this evening if he keeps progressing the way he has been."
"We’ll call in after our afternoon classes, then, in case she lets him out," Ron said. "See you later."
* * * * *
By late afternoon, Ginny was dozing in her chair. Harry still slept on. The sound of hurried footsteps outside the curtain roused Ginny a bit, but then she heard a student talking with Madam Pomfrey in her office and thought that someone wasn’t feeling well and needed a remedy. She looked at her watch and realized it was time to massage Harry’s back again, so she pulled his covers down and lifted the shirt from his back. Her movements barely disturbed him. She started the massage and he woke just enough to smile in contentment at her, then closed his eyes again and relaxed under her hands. Madam Pomfrey bustled in, a flagon of potion in her hand.
"What do you think you’re doing, Miss Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.
"Erm. . .you told me to give him another massage at 4 PM," Ginny said, startled. She was sure she’d heard the instructions correctly. "What are you giving him? I thought you said he didn’t need any more potion?"
"This will fix him up," Madam Pomfrey said. "Turn over, Potter. Take this," she said, pulling Harry’s shoulder roughly.
"Madam Pomfrey, what. . .?" Ginny began. Something wasn’t right.
Still partly asleep, Harry rolled over and sat up a bit, taking the flagon and starting to drink it. "Eauw, what is this?" he yelped hoarsely. "It burns."
"Drink it down," Madam Pomfrey insisted, quickly lifting the bottom of the flagon to force the fluid down Harry’s throat.
"Stupify!" Ginny cried, pointing her wand at Madam Pomfrey and grabbing the flagon from Harry’s hand. "Harry, spit it out! Do you feel all right? This can’t be Madam Pomfrey!"
"No," he groaned. "It burns." He was writhing in pain, curled in foetal position, holding his stomach.
"We have to get Dumbledore and Snape here right away," Ginny exclaimed.
Harry glanced at her, nodded, then sat up long enough to send a shaky Adfero before collapsing back in the bed. Ginny ran to the fireplace and threw floo powder into it, calling Snape and then Remus and telling them what had happened. She had guessed that the Adfero Harry sent was for Dumbledore. Dumbledore arrived in a few moments, quickly followed by Snape and Remus.
"Harry’s been poisoned," Ginny said as she handed the flagon of potion to Snape.
"Severus, do you recognize it?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes. I have the antidote here. Miss Weasley described the poison and Potter’s symptoms to me when she contacted me." Snape reached in is pocket and took out a small vial of purple fluid. As he lifted Harry’s head to give him the antidote, Harry’s eyes flew open.
"No!" Harry said weakly, struggling to get away from Snape. "Who are you?"
"I’m Professor Snape," Snape snapped. "Who do you think I am?"
"Tell me something only you and I would know," Harry demanded faintly.
Snape sighed, thinking hard. He leaned down and whispered in the boy’s ear, "Your father once saved my life."
Harry looked at him and nodded, then opened his mouth willingly.
Snape put three drops of the antidote on Harry’s tongue. "Swallow that. In five minutes, I’ll give you three more drops. That should do it."
Harry swallowed and lay back weakly on the bed. He closed his eyes, his face and body contorted in pain.
"Harry?" said Remus, his face creased with worry. "Where does it hurt? Is there anything else we can do for you?"
"Mouth. Throat. Stomach. Burns all the way down," the boy said, his voice whispery.
"We can’t give him anything else until the antidote takes effect," Snape commented.
"Hang on, Harry. We’ll get you better in no time," Remus assured him, hoping he was right.
Dumbledore looked at the stunned Madam Pomfrey and said, "Well done, Miss Weasley. Come and tell me everything you remember, so we can sort out what happened here." He and Ginny went outside the curtained area to talk. A few moments later, Dumbledore strode off toward Madam Pomfrey’s office. Ginny went back inside the curtain and took Harry’s hand in hers as she sat by his bed. Within minutes, Dumbledore returned, with Madam Pomfrey beside him, wringing her hands and looking anguished.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Ginny cried. "I knew that wasn’t you. Are you all right?"
"She Stunned me, then tied me up," the nurse replied, still wringing her hands, tears on her face. "I can’t believe she did that to me. Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry!"
Harry opened one eye, glanced up at her and murmured, "’K." He closed his eyes and lay there moaning.
Remus moved to stand over the body on the floor and shot ropes out of his wand, tying her tightly. "Who is it?" he demanded, looking up at the real Madam Pomfrey.
"Millicent Bullstrode," she replied, shuddering at the memory. "She came in saying she had a headache, and when I went to get the headache powder for her, she Stunned me as I came back toward her. I had my hands full, never had a chance to get my wand out. I can’t believe . . ."
"There, there, Poppy, no one blames you," Dumbledore said, patting her back gently. "It could have happened to anyone."
Snape looked at the stunned woman on the floor. "Millicent Bullstrode is not capable of brewing either Polyjuice potion or this poison. She must have had help making them, or someone gave them to her," he mused.
"Hopefully, we’ll find out when we question her," Dumbledore replied, glancing at the fake Madam Pomfrey, then back at Harry. He put his hand on the boy’s forehead, wiping the pain-induced sweat from his face. "There, there, Harry," he said kindly as the boy’s eyes fluttered open to see who was touching him, relaxing as soon as he saw it was Dumbledore.
"Poor Harry. I was going to let him go this afternoon. He was so happy about it," Madam Pomfrey said, tears still in her eyes, rubbing her hands together as if she were trying to wash off some stubborn stain. "Tell me what you’ve done for him, Severus. Maybe there’s something else I can do."
As she and Snape discussed the poison given and the antidote Snape had administered, Ron and Hermione entered.
"What’s all this then?" Ron said, seeing the gathering of professors around Harry’s bed. Then he saw Harry, white as a ghost with red blotches on his cheeks, drenched in sweat, curled up moaning in pain, and Ron gasped. "Bloody hell! What happened?"
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and ran to the bed, bending over her friend. "What. . .?" Tears welled up in her eyes. She rounded on the professors. "What happened to him? He was getting better!"
"He’s been poisoned," Remus began miserably, then told them the whole story. Hermione was in tears, Ron was white with shock, and Ginny still sat by Harry, holding his hand with both of hers, her face tight with worry.
"Ginny, you probably saved his life," Ron said.
"I bloody well hope so. I’m going to kill Millicent when she wakes up," Ginny said through gritted teeth.
"I’ll help," Ron and Hermione said together.
"Now, now, nobody’s going to kill Millicent," Dumbledore said calmly. "We will get to the bottom of this and she will be dealt with."
"Yeah, like you lot dealt with Malfoy?" Ron snarled. "He got house points taken away and that was all, and he nearly killed my sister and tried to kill Harry!"
"We have to find out why she did it," Dumbledore insisted. "If she was under Imperius, she is not to blame."
"She’s a Slytherin. They all want Harry dead," Ron growled. He jumped as Hermione poked him in the ribs and pointed with her chin at Snape. "Sorry, Professor," he said to Snape, not entirely convincingly.
Snape merely curled his lip at Ron, then checked Harry’s vital signs. "It’s time for the second dose, and for that other potion, Poppy," he said. "Weasley, make yourself useful. Lift Potter’s head and shoulders so I can give these to him without choking him."
Ron sat on the bed and put his arm under Harry’s shoulders, lifting him to an almost sitting position. He gently pressed his friend’s head into his shoulder, trying to hold him upright and still. "Harry? Mate? You need to wake up a bit. You’re going to get more medicine. Harry? Wake up, mate."
Harry’s head lolled on Ron’s shoulder, then he opened his eyes and looked up at his friend. "Gerrof."
Ron smiled fondly at his friend. "I’m not going to ‘gerrof.’ You have to take your medicine. Open your mouth."
"It’s OK, it really is Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey. You already checked, remember?" Remus prompted.
"Didn’t," Harry muttered, shaking his head.
"Didn’t what?" Ron asked, astonished.
"Pomfrey."
"Oh." Ron looked up at Dumbledore. "What do we do now?"
Dumbledore looked at Madam Pomfrey. "Tell him something only the two of you would know. Whisper it in his ear so it’s private. It will be your password with him."
She leaned down and whispered in Harry’s ear, "You have a crescent-shaped scar on your right buttock, but I don’t know what caused it. You had it the first time I treated you in here."
Harry looked up at her in surprise. "You looked at. . .?"
She straightened up and chuckled. "Somebody has to bathe you when you’re ill, Potter, or didn’t that occur to you?"
"No," he said shortly. He looked at Snape, who was waiting with a vial in his hand, and opened his mouth obediently.
Snape administered the extra dose of antidote, then looked at Ron again. "Hold him like that a bit longer, Weasley."
Madam Pomfrey took the top off of the vial in her hand and said, "Open up, Mr. Potter."
"Whassat?" Harry groaned weakly.
"This will help heal you inside," she said. "The pain you feel is because your mouth, throat and stomach were burned by the poison. I believe the antidote got to it before it hit your intestines, so they should be all right. I’ll have to give you several doses of this now that the antidote seems to be working."
"How can you tell it’s working?" Ginny demanded. "He looks awful."
"Thanks," Harry whispered tartly with a frown at her.
"Well, you do. I’m sorry," Ginny snapped. "How can you tell?" she demanded again.
Snape straightened up and arranged his robes around him haughtily. "He’s not dead. That means it’s working. That’s a very fast-acting poison. If you hadn’t contacted me straight away and described it to me as you did so I could bring the proper antidote, he’d be gone now. He seems to have some kind of resistance to poisons. Most people would have died with the first swallow."
Harry looked blearily from Ginny to Snape and back to Ginny, then up at Madam Pomfrey. "’K," he muttered, and opened his mouth for his potion. When he’d finished swallowing, Ron laid him gently back in the bed and Hermione fussed with his covers, while Ginny sat mutely by his side, still holding his hand, tears streaming down her face as realization of how close a call Harry had had hit her.
All of them stood quietly watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed rapidly, as he had done since being poisoned. His breathing at long last slowed as his muscles visibly relaxed and he finally seemed to be past the worst of the pain.
Hermione was the first to move. She got up and calmly walked over to where Millicent Bullstrode lay, the Polyjuice potion having worn off, her heavy body bursting the seams of Madam Pomfrey’s extra set of robes, the ropes Remus had put around Pomfrey’s slender body cutting cruelly into Millicent’s. Hermione stood for a moment looking down at the stunned girl, then started kicking her as hard as she could.
Ron rushed to her side. "Hermione! Stop, you’ll get in trouble."
"I don’t care! This great . . ." kick "fat. . ." kick "ugly. . ." kick "cow. . ." kick "nearly killed Harry!" kick, kick, kick.
Ron grabbed Hermione and lifted her, squirming and fighting, off her feet. She suddenly collapsed in tears, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing.
"Blimey, Hermione, you do have a temper sometimes!" he said with a chuckle. "Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you."
"Don’t get on the wrong side of me," she murmured against his neck, with a small chuckle coming through the tears. "That felt good."
"Kicking her, or being picked up?"
"Both."
"Ah. Just needed to know for future reference," Ron said, giving her a squeeze and setting her back on her feet.
"Harry!" Ginny cried. He’d just opened his eyes. "Are you feeling better?"
Harry took his hand out of hers and rubbed the tears from her eyes with shaking fingers. "Don’t cry."
"Sometimes I just have to," she said with a tremulous smile. "Redhead, you know. Temperamental." She leaned her cheek into his hand and asked again, "Are you feeling better?"
"I don’t. . .feel like. . . playing Quidditch today," he replied softly.
"Huh?"
"Tired." He dropped his hand and fell asleep.
Author Notes:
Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my beta readers, Blakevich, Starfox and Pilar! The "Aresto Momentum" spell used in this chapter came from the movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and I got the spelling for it from the subtitles on the PoA DVD.