Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry Potter and all the characters are not mine blah blah blah. The only things/people I own are Wendy Potter, Tea Mason, Esmeralda Carney, Kimberly Gellar, the spell creation course, the mermaid language course, the broom making course, the blue magic flower ball, and "The Secret Lives of Spirits". Please do not use them in a story without asking me.

As always, big thanks to reviewers: The Sweetest Things, KypDurron, Shawnpickett, marvybelle, and nekolupin. You guys rock!! :)

Please read and review. It totally makes my day! Thanks!

That night, the prefects, George and Professor McGonagall slept in shifts. McGonagall had told the students it was a precautionary measure, but had refused to say any more on the matter. This left the students to try and figure out what was happening on their own, which led to one wild idea after another. By the time McGonagall announced 'lights out' most of the students were sure something was going to attack them in their sleep.

Harry laid awake in his bed, thinking to himself. He was almost certain the new ghosts had something to do with that barrier. "I wish I knew how to find Esmeralda." he thought in frustration. He hated not knowing what was going on. McGonagall's silence wasn't helping to ease his anxiety either. "She seems to be on our side."

Harry heard a sound like water splashing. He looked upward to see a female ghost with wavy hair hovering above him. She was holding a small silver jar and her face was twisted into a cruel grin. "What do you want?" he asked with apprehension.

"To hear you scream," the ghost replied, her voice dripping with malice. She flicked her right index finger in the liquid contained in the jar. A single, quarter sized drop of the jar's silvery contents landed on the back of Harry's right hand.

Harry cried out in pain as the liquid, which he realized must have been some kind of acid, burned a nasty hole in his skin. His yell had woken up the rest of the boy's dormitory, who were now stumbling out of bed and heading in Harry's direction. He rolled onto the floor just in time to avoid the entire jar of acid being emptied onto his mattress. Unfortunately the acid splashed and a fair amount still hit him.

The ghost screeched in anger at her failure and vanished, letting the jar fall to the floor with a loud crash as it shattered.

Professor McGonagall pushed her way through the crowd of boys. Somehow, she simply knew who had screamed. Upon seeing Harry her breath caught in her throat. He was very pale and his breathing was labored. "Harry," she said with concern once she had reached him, "Are you alright?" She pulled his left hand from the top of his right and winced at the sight of the burn. "Dear Merlin. Are there anymore?"

"Yeah. On my arm," he said as he began to perspire. "And I think there's one on my ba...ck," he replied, passing out as he finished.

Hermione arrived just in time to see her beloved fall to the floor. "Harry!" she screeched in fright as she knelt down beside him. There was a small pool of blood forming at Harry's side.

"Everyone clear back!" McGonagall commanded to the growing mass of Gryffindors.

Hermione was reluctant to leave Harry's side, but she began to move, deciding McGonagall felt a need to asses the situation without distraction.

McGonagall put a hand on Hermione's shoulder to keep her from leaving. "Not you, Miss Granger." She turned to George. "Run and fetch Madam Pomfrey!"

George didn't even waste time relaying his understanding to his former professor, before turning and running at full speed out the door and down the hallways.

"Madam Pomfrey has been teaching you medicine?" McGonagall asked Hermione. Though it sounded more like a statement than a question. Hermione nodded. "I may need your help," she said as she began to turn over Harry's unconscious form. In the middle of his back she quickly found a three-inch diameter hole in his robes and carefully peeled away the stiffened fabric.

Hermione made a sound that was somewhere between a barely stifled scream, and sucking in a breath. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of Harry's back. The hole in his skin was almost as large as the one in his robe, and it was nearly an inch deep. The edges of the wound were jagged and white. It was bleeding and his ribs were just visible through the muscles. She forced herself to stay focused and immediately went to work. "Signum vulnus." Her wand began to glow blue and emit a soft hum. She moved it over Harry's wound in a circular motion and the wound slowly began to close.

She was fighting to keep herself from falling to pieces. Hermione knew getting hysterical would not help Harry, but controlling her emotions was very difficult. The work seem to go in slow motion to her. Every second felt like an eternity. As soon as the wound had closed enough to stop the bleeding she collapsed into tears, dropping her wand, which clattered as it hit the floor.

Madam Pomfrey arrived just as Hermione finished her work. "What happened here Minerva?" she asked, wincing as she saw Harry's wound.

"I discovered Harry on the floor with a large hole in his back. Miss Granger repaired it as best she could. I have no idea how he was wounded," McGonagall answered immediately.

"It was a ghost," Ron said quickly as he glanced at Harry in great concern. "It tried to pour acid on him," he finished, looking like he was going to be sick.

"What?!" McGonagall exclaimed.

"He got out of the way, but some of it still hit him," Seamus added, wincing.

McGonagall looked confused. "What kind of acid could cause that much damage so quickly?"

Madam Pomfrey, who had been studying the still open wound on Harry's hand, suddenly looked to Seamus. "Mr Finnigan."

"Yes," Seamus answered quickly.

"Go tell Professor Snape to meet me in the infirmary at once!" she ordered. Seamus nodded and left. Madam Pomfrey turned back to McGonagall. "It was dragon acid, Minerva," Madam Pomfrey said softly. McGonagall visibly stiffened. "I should think that you, of all people, would recognize the effects of..." she began.

McGonagall held up a slender hand. "Poppy, this is not the time to bring that up," she said sharply.

Madam Pomfrey, Wendy, George and McGonagall loaded Harry onto the stretcher that Madam Pomfrey had had George bring with them to the dormitory. They left Gryffindor tower with Harry's stretcher floating roughly three feet off the ground in the middle of the group.

As they walked alongside the stretcher Madam Pomfrey turned to Hermione. "It would have been too late by the time I arrived." Hermione's walking speed slowed a bit. "You saved his life Hermione. Well done," she said as she gave a congradulatory smile.

"I did it to save Harry. As long as Harry's alright, that's all that matters," Hermione replied with conviction.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and smiled. "Of course," she replied. She then jogged ahead to get back in step with the stretcher.

Hermione walked on behind the stretcher, staring at Harry's sleeping face. She spoke to herself in a soft whisper. "As long as Harry's alright....I can breath."

"Poppy! Calm down," Snape said with annoyance.

"Calm down?!" Madam Pomfrey retorted with outrage. "Because you did not properly secure your ingredients case Harry Potter is in my infirmary....AGAIN!" she yelled as she pointed in Harry's general direction.

"You say that as if I intended his injury!" Snape replied angrily as he rose from his chair.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Ron muttered under his breath.

Snape snapped his head around to face Ron. "What was that, Mister Weasley?" he hissed.

Ron cleared his throat. "Nothing Sir," he said quickly.

Snape glared at Ron in suspicion, but didn't press the inquiry any further. He returned his attention to Madam Pomfrey. "I had that case secured. If that ghost got in, then she picked the lock."

Madam Pomfrey shot Snape a withering look before harrumphing and heading over to her desk to complete some paperwork.

Snape turned to Ron. "Despite my dislike for Mister Potter, I am not now, nor have I ever been, out for his life. You would do well to remember that next time, before you loose ten points from your house," he said icily.

"Ten points?!" Ron said with indignation.

"Yes....ten," Snape repeated. He then turned and left the room.

Hermione shook her head. "You must learn to hold your tongue Ron," Hermione said in disappointed sort of way.

Ron pursed his lips in annoyance. "Oh c'mon. Don't even try to tell me you weren't thinking the exact same thing," he said as he pointed at her.

"Yes, I did think that. But at least I had the presence of mind to keep my thoughts to myself," she said haughtily.

Ron sighed angrily. He was about to say something back to Hermione when Madam Pomfrey strode over from her desk.

"Alright everyone, I need to tend to Harry and you are all in the way. Scat," she said, gesturing toward the door.

Amid much grumbling the group stood and began to walk out the door. Wendy was the second to the last person to go. She looked back at the last person, who was Hermione. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"Madam Pomfrey, couldn't I stay?" Hermione asked with a hopeful look.

"Of course dear. I could use your help anyway," Madam Pomfrey replied with a smile.

Wendy grinned. "I'll see ya later then," she said as she walked out the door.

Hermione grabbed a wet towel from the bowl of ice water next to her, wrung it out, folded it, and placed it on Harry's forehead. "You really need to stop scaring me like that," she said softly as she ran her index finger along his cheek. "I'm going turn gray early."

"I'll try," came a weak sounding reply.

Hermione smiled. "Harry," she breathed with relief.

"I'd better be careful. I'm going to wind up paying rent here," Harry said with a light chuckle.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" Hermione asked, sounding a little upset.

Harry smiled and touched her forehead. "Because I need you to smile. I hate seeing this little crease in between your eyebrows," he said lovingly.

Hermione smiled and gave him a brief kiss on the lips. "You are too sweet."

"Eh. What can I say? It's a talent," Harry replied sleepily.

Madam Pomfrey, who had been watching the entire scene, decided to interrupt. "It seems like he's going to be just fine," she said with a smile. She put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Go get some sleep. You can come back in the morning."

Hermione nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said just before she kissed him. "I love you so much."

"Good. As long as that never changes, I can be happy," he said with a yawn.

Hermione smiled warmly. "You don't have to worry about that," she said, then kissed him again. She got up, turned around and walked to the door, smiling at him one more time before leaving the room.

"Night, love," Harry said. Then he rolled onto his side and fell into a contented sleep.

.........TO BE CONTINUED

Signum vulnus literally means "Seal wound" in latin.