Chapter 33 - A Stay in the Hospital
"Hurry, Madam Pomfrey! Harry Potter's been attacked!" At these completely unexpected words from Nearly-Headless Nick, the school nurse grabbed her wand and started immediately for the doorway at the other end of the room, followed close at her heels by Hermione. Poppy looked back at her and said sharply, "Miss Granger, you should stay here! I don't think you want to be seen in the halls wearing as little as you are right now."
"I don't care about that! Harry's in trouble...and I'm going with you!" Hermione answered with fierce determination.
But, just as they were about to open the doors, Miss Puckle came through them with an obviously unconscious Harry floating closely behind her on a stretcher. Though he had apparently come out the loser in this attack, Hermione immediately noticed the fierce look on his face. She then saw that his glasses were slightly askew and one lens was cracked. Also, his shoulder was dipped as if he were trying to duck a spell and he had a death grip on his wand based on the whiteness of the knuckles on that hand.
"What…Harmony, what happened?" Hermione looked imploringly at her friend. "Is he…petrified? How did it happen? Where did you find him? Who could have done this?" she said, the anger building in her voice as she spoke.
"Hermione, as you already know there is more than one way to petrify someone, and you know about one of them first-hand. In answer to your questions, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will be able to tell us soon what happened, and I was just lucky to be walking not too far from Gryffindor Tower when I found him in a side corridor, just like you see him. I sent Nicholas ahead to alert you, and now he's notifying Albus. I hope that he will be able to investigate and find out the answer to your last question. It will help, though, if we can reconstruct who he was with last. When was the last time you saw him, Hermione?"
As Madam Pomfrey floated Harry's frozen form into the bed next to the one Hermione had already chosen and began evaluating his condition, Hermione answered, "Well, it was right before I came here. He was asking Ron Weasley to show him the way to the tower entrance. Ron was positively drooling about the thousand-galleon prize for the tournament, but he said he would show Harry the way. Speaking of which, just where IS Ron? He must have been one of the last to see Harry tonight - besides whoever attacked him, that is! Wait a minute…you don't think…?
"Actually, Hermione, that is the curious thing - I had gone to Gryffindor Tower in the first place to talk to Ron about a few things, but he wasn't there. Strangely, no one had seen him after the feast. His roommates were looking forward to having Harry in their room and were expecting Ron to have brought him round already. But, I doubt that Ron has anything to do with Harry being attacked - I know him better than that, I dare say."
Just then, the Headmaster came through the door, looking quite concerned. He hurried quickly to Harry's side and looked him over carefully. He watched quietly as the nurse performed a spell similar to the one she had done on Hermione earlier to reveal her aura, muttering to herself over what she was seeing. Finally, he cleared his throat softly before he spoke. "Poppy, what is it? Can you tell how Harry came to be petrified? Do I need to ask Professor Sprout to start growing some Mandrakes?"
"No, Albus, it's fortunately nothing that serious. From what I can tell, Mr. Potter has been hit by multiple Petrificus Totalus spells, obviously cast by a number of people simultaneously. One person didn't do this to him - it took a large group, probably sneaking up on him in the halls. I am confident that he should be coming out of it before morning, so I'd like to keep him here for the night to make sure nothing else is wrong with him. Some of the indications I see now are…well, interesting, to say the least. Oh, Hermione, it looks like you'll have to share the hospital wing after all! Normally, I'd recommend that you change into something a little more modest and I'd put up a barrier between your beds, but tonight I doubt he'll notice anything even if you were laying next to him starkers!" she said with a wink.
Both Harmony and Hermione blushed at her flippant comment, but fortunately only Albus noticed Miss Puckle's reaction before he spoke to Hermione. "Miss Granger, that reminds me of something I need to discuss with you. I promised Harry tonight that I would do so, and this is as good of a time as any."
"What is it, sir?" Hermione asked quickly. "What did Harry want you to talk to me about?"
. . . . .
"…so I'd really appreciate it if you would do this difficult thing, for both yours and Harry's sake. Harry has already agreed to the restrictions, but he asked me to explain this to you so you wouldn't misinterpret his actions." As Albus finished describing his earlier conversation with Harry, and asked Hermione to support him by "cooling" her relationship with Harry, it became more and more obvious that his words were having the opposite effect. Having Miss Puckle there, apparently agreeing with all Dumbledore was asking of her and seemingly encouraging her to give in quietly was almost too much for her to bear. As he spoke, her body began shaking slightly, but it wasn't caused by the coldness of the stone floors or the thinness of her nightgown.
As the last words left his mouth, it was with great effort that she controlled her anger. "How…DARE… you!" she finally said to them through clenched teeth. "And YOU especially, Harmony! After all these years of you encouraging me to first even notice Harry, then to start considering him as a possible friend while he was in Slytherin House, culminating in all the 'assistance' you gave me to overcome my fears to not only go out with him, but to set us up with that scene from Romeo and Juliet, and with him in Gryffindor with me now…how could you do this to me? I thought you were on my side!", and a tiny sob escaped from her lips. "Now that I am really starting to…well, enjoy being around him, you have the NERVE to ask me to abandon him?"
"Now, Miss Granger," Albus started to say with a placating tone, "I never asked you to abandon him, I just…"
The fact that Hermione cut her Headmaster off quite abruptly showed just how upset she was. "YES YOU DID! Because, truth be told, that's probably the only way I'll be able to do what you ask. Now that I am getting to know him better, I am finding that I …well, I'm not sure quite what I feel for Harry, but I want to see where this takes me…takes us. It's not like we're doing anything inappropriate, you know! And, before you bring it up, my feelings for him are not just because we enjoy kissing each other. I'll have you know that earlier today on the Hogwarts Express, we actually had a long conversation with no snogging whatsoever, and it was wonderful! But, I don't know that I can promise to do that all year, based only on your claim that it may put Harry and me in danger? Just look at him - he's in danger already, and I wasn't even there! Who knows, if I had been there maybe they wouldn't have attacked him in the first place…or possibly together, we would have been able to fight them off? I have a certain amount of talent in both Charms and Defense against the Dark Arts, you know!"
Knowing full well that she might not be able to sway her once the younger girl's mind was made up, Harmony still gave it one more try. "Hermione, I am sure you are understandably angry with both of us; and that you feel I especially have betrayed your trust." Hermione nodded angrily at this as she turned away quickly, not wanting to look her teacher in the eye. "For that, I am sorrier than you can imagine…because I KNOW how important trust is to you. But, I ask you, to please trust the headmaster and me one more time on this. We are very worried about the two of you this year, especially with the dangers we fear you are facing. And, as you would have heard if you hadn't interrupted him so rudely, Professor Dumbledore was trying to tell you that he has no intention of 'splitting you up' this year. In fact, he very much wants you to be Harry's friend, because we both feel that Harry will need you badly this year and in the future. Please, Hermione, we just want you both to be safe. If I could only get you to understand how important that is to me personally, and to all of us!"
Hermione was obviously deep in thought for quite some time. Then, with her eyes still flashing, she finally broke the silence. "Okay, I've thought of a way to resolve this," she said, "Let me talk this over with Harry and TOGETHER we'll make a decision as to what WE want to do. Since Harry will be incapacitated until tomorrow morning, and my presence is required here also, I don't see that much will happen until then. Now, however, it is getting late, and I have classes tomorrow, so I would ask that you all leave so I can get some rest. Good night!" With that, she walked briskly over to the bed next to the one where Poppy had placed Harry, climbed in, and deliberately turned her back on the others while facing Harry's frozen form.
The three adults looked at each other, stunned. Madam Pomfrey was the first to recover. "She's absolutely right, you know. My patients need their rest, and it is WELL past visiting hours on this ward! Now, you two get out of here!"
As the others left, Poppy said under her breath, "Yes, a natural healer's aura if I ever saw one. She'd make a great Head Nurse some day!" Out loud, she said, "Good night, Hermione. I'll see you in the morning with the results of my test. Have a good night's rest, now. Remember, I trust you to not do anything…well, let's just say inappropriate with Mr. Potter in his current unaware state. Please don't disturb him or touch him in any way, or else I will have to separate you! He'll be back to normal by the morning." She herself then left the room, extinguishing the lights with a wave of her wand.
As soon as the door closed behind the nurse, Hermione uttered a quick "Lumos!" She played the light from her wand over her boyfriend's stiff body, examining him carefully from head to toe. After convincing herself that he was still alive, she took advantage of the opportunity to really look at his face without interruption or embarrassment. <My Harry is really growing to be quite handsome, isn't he? Wait a minute…my Harry? Where did that thought come from, Hermione? *sigh*…if only I knew what was going to happen with us…I wonder why they are so concerned for our safety?> Tentatively, she reached for his wand hand and held it gently, grateful to feel his warmth. Finally, she began to talk, even though she knew Harry couldn't hear her. "Well, Harry, I guess we're going to spend our first night sleeping together…wasn't quite how I pictured it, honestly! Not all that romantic, although I'm definitely dressed more appropriately than you are."
She realized that her face was noticeably warmer as she talked to Harry about her sleeping apparel, so she decided to switch topics. "Can you imagine the NERVE of Harmony and Professor Dumbledore, asking us that? When I figured out just what it was they were talking about, something inside me just snapped and I let them both have it. But, I am upset with you, too, you know. Why, Harry? Why did you agree to such a thing? Did you do it because you were trying to protect me? While I do appreciate your concern, Harry, please check with me first next time, okay? I have an interest in anything to do with our relationship, you know! I just don't see how our kissing and hugging like we have done so far is all that dangerous…besides, if you tried anything more than that right now, that WOULD be dangerous - for you!", she grinned wickedly.
"Ginny showed me a few 'interesting' hexes she's learned from her older brothers that are rather cruel. Older brothers looking out for their only sister, you know. Let's just say that if, oh, Draco ever tried to do anything along those lines, well, the Malfoy's pureblood line would not extend beyond his generation, if you get my meaning. Not that I'd do anything like that to you, of course…" and as she continued that thought, she was sure her blush extended a lot further than it ever had before. "I'm sure glad you aren't awake to see me like this, Harry…I'm sure I'd die of embarrassment! Wow…is it getting warm in here? I won't need a blanket for a while tonight, I dare say!" After another pause while she looked lovingly at him, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Harry, I know you can't hear me, but…I wanted you to know that I think I'm…well, anyway…good night, Harry."
Releasing his hand, she gently removed his glasses and put them on the nightstand next to his bed. Pointing her wand at the broken lens, she muttered "Reparo!" and smiled at the successful results. "I just saved you a trip to the shop! Oh, don't mention it, Harry!" she chuckled. Then, tenderly, she leaned over and started to give him a loving kiss on his scar. As she touched the lightning-shaped mark, she could have sworn that Harry moaned slightly. Hermione jumped back, her lips burning painfully where they had touched the damaged skin on his forehead. Immediately, in her mind she thought she saw…a familiar corridor, not too far from Gryffindor tower. Then, her view shifted as she looked down in the vision, and she was wearing…Harry's robes…and holding Harry's wand in a defensive stance. She looked around, and saw Ron Weasley looking around nervously. <I must be tapping into Harry's memories!> she realized quickly. <Maybe I can see who did this to him…and where Ron is.>
The Ron in her mind's eye spoke in an unsteady voice. "Ha…Harry…what was that noise? I've lived with a ghoul over my head for my whole life, and I've never heard anything moan like that! I'm going to go find some help!" Then, she heard Harry's voice whispering forcefully to a rapidly retreating redhead, "Wait up, Weasley! Do you think I want to be here by myself…with whatever it is we just heard? I don't even know where we are, you git!"
He started walking in the direction that Ron headed, but he came to a crossing passageway and knew he could go no further alone. "Ahhhh…that's just great!" the Harry in her vision muttered to himself. "What a great way to start out my first night as a brave Gryffindor…lost and a bit…well, cautious…maybe? Wonder where Hermione is? Probably safe in her bed already...I wish she were here right now…or I were there! No, I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't think about those kind of things this year…get a grip, Potter!" Then, Hermione heard a horrible moaning sound through Harry's ears as he gripped his wand tighter. "There it is again…who's there? What…?" and she saw Harry turn around with his wand extended. She caught a glimpse of a group of darkly robed and hooded shapes drawing their wands, and then Harry ducked his shoulder…. Hermione sat back onto her own bed and blinked her eyes. She vaguely remembered seeing Harry in his bed before she, too, was unconscious. Thus, she was quite unaware of Harry's wand dropping to the floor and his face relaxing into a peaceful sleep.
"Wh…wha…what happened? Where am I?" Harry said early the next morning as he awoke with a start in the still-dark hospital wing. "Where's my wand? "LUMOS!" he shouted instinctively, hoping that his wand was close enough to respond to his command. He was very surprised to see the ghostly light from not one, but two, glowing wand tips in the darkness around him. One came from the floor next to his bed, and one was on the nightstand of the bed next to his…which had someone sleeping in it! He reached unsteadily to the floor, grabbed his wand shakily, and looked around wildly for his glasses.
When he found them on the nightstand, he put them on hurriedly and then tried to focus his still-muddled senses on the bed next to his. "Hermione…what are YOU doing in my room?" As his head cleared, he looked around more carefully. "Wait, this isn't my room…it's the Hospital wing…Hermione, wake up!" and he shook her gently. She moaned and rolled over on her back, her arms falling loosely to her side. Harry immediately blushed as he saw what she was wearing…and a little bit more than that, besides. "HERMIONE! W…wow!" he stammered, having just been reminded once again that his girlfriend had matured considerably over the summer. "Well, if I intend to keep my promise to Dumbledore, I'd better do something quick!" He grabbed the blanket at the foot of her bed and pulled it over her.
"There, that's…well, not better, maybe, but definitely safer…Hermione, please wake up! I've just had the strangest dream." He shook her a little harder this time, and her eyes fluttered open groggily. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked toward him.
"H…Harry? Oh, you're awake! Are you okay now?" She shook her throbbing head gingerly." OW! My head feels like it's going to explode…"and she slumped back onto her pillow, trying to rub her temples. Before Harry knew what he was doing, he was standing behind her at the head of her bed, gently pushing her hands away as he took over for her. "Here, let me…"
She immediately relaxed at his cool touch. It was as if his fingers were absorbing the pain from her head wherever they touched. She felt a shudder pass through her entire body as he continued his skillful massage. 'Oooh…Harry…that feels so nice…where did you ever learn how to…do that so well?" she purred.
"You know, Hermione, I have no idea," he quickly admitted. "It's almost as if…I knew just what you needed, and my hands had a mind of their own. I'm glad I could help." He intentionally failed to mention the intense pain that he had felt from when he first touched her. Now that the pain was rapidly dissipating, he decided there was no need to bring that up as he slowed, and then stopped, his massage. A strange weakness came over him, and he almost fell back into his bed, drained.
Hermione, however, didn't notice his discomfort as she was still remembering his ministrations. "Thanks, Harry…that was wonderful. You're quite the masseur! You'll have to do that for me again sometime!"
"Uh…Hermione, well, I need to talk to you …about that. I guess you haven't talked to the Headmaster yet, have you?"
"Actually, Harry, I have. He came to check on you when Miss Puckle brought you in, frozen like a statue. And yes, I agree, WE need to talk about what he said. But first, I need to let Madam Pomfrey know you are awake." As she stood up quickly, the blanket that Harry had used to cover her fell to the floor. She bent over to pick it up, which once again made Harry blush and turn his head away quickly.
"Oh…sorry about that, Harry. I forgot for a second just how revealing this gown can be when I bend over." She quickly wrapped the blanket around her upper body like a shawl, but Harry was still looking away guiltily. "Oh, honestly, Harry, don't act so silly…it's just me, you know, don't you remember…your girlfriend? I suppose I'm the one that should be embarrassed. But, I'm not fussed in the least, seeing as it's you that saw me just now. It was obviously an accident, wasn't it? Just don't go expecting a repeat showing any time soon…but, as I said, we'll talk about that later. Let me go get the nurse."
She returned quickly with Madam Pomfrey and sat next to him on his bed. Poppy waved her wand as she looked into Harry's eyes. The lights quickly came up very brightly in the room, causing his eyes to water and blink rapidly. "Good…normal reflex reactions have returned. Well, Potter, I wasn't expecting to see you come around for a few more hours under the circumstances. You must recover very quickly - you were hit with a lot of magical energy, and it's difficult for your body to dissipate it that rapidly without help of some kind." She tapped her finger on her chin in thought for a minute, and then turned towards Hermione. "Now, Miss Granger…you didn't have anything to do with this, did you? I told you not to bother him!"
Hermione started to rise to her own defense. "All I did was take his glasses and put them on the nightstand. I even fixed his broken lens for him, see? And then…" Hermione realized that she really didn't want to confess what happened next.
"Yes, Miss Granger…I'm waiting…" Poppy said, impatiently.
"Well, all I did was…talk to him for a while, and then I gave him a good night kiss…on his scar, by the way. And then, it was as if I were in his mind, seeing what he saw up until he was attacked…and then next thing I knew, Harry was shaking me awake." She thought it was best not to mention her headache and how Harry had instinctively relieved her pain.
Madam Pomfrey was grinning widely. "Well, in the Muggle stories, it was the Prince who woke up the Princess with a kiss, but I suppose it works the other way, too!" Both Harry and Hermione blushed a little, but they found each other's hands and squeezed them lovingly. This slight motion didn't go unobserved by the nurse. However, she didn't notice two sets of eyes who were watching from the shadows as she spoke her mind. "You know, my dears, it's really not my place to say anything against Albus. I'm sure he has his reasons, but I just don't think his request of you is either fair or completely necessary. In all my years at Hogwarts, I've seen my share of student relationships come and go. Truthfully, the last couples I saw here that had anything close to what I see in the two of you were… James and Lilly Potter, and Frank Longbottom and his Alice. Now that I think about it I think you may just represent the best of both of them. From what you just told me about your connection with Harry, Hermione, you appear to have the spiritual bond that the Longbottoms were known for. And, from what I've observed and heard rumors about, you also have the combined magical skills and the passion for each other of the Potters…that is quite a powerful combination! You both have quite a mature outlook on life...which fits in with what I need to discuss with the two of you. I have the results of your diagnoses…and you both have very strange symptoms. Let me start with Miss Granger. What I saw in your aura is actually understandable, considering your unauthorized over-use of the time-turner last year. Let me ask, Hermione. How old are you… chronologically, that is?"
"Well, my 15th birthday is coming up in a few weeks…on September 19th. I turned twelve right after I started here, you know, so I'm probably one of the oldest fourth-year students at the school."
"Miss Granger, let me assure you that 'probably' is an understatement. You are surely no longer 'one of' the oldest fourth year students, in fact, you are biologically older than some of our sixth-years. The data I have gathered indicates that you are 17 years, 23 days, and 5 hours old, which means you repeated over 2 years and 1 month of subjective time during your third year. This explains a number of things, including the rapid maturing of your body. In fact, the obvious physical changes in both your upper and lower body are some of the indicators I noticed right away when I saw you change into your nightgown earlier. Let's just say you are truly a young woman now, my dear, as I'm sure Harry is quite aware of from the look I see on his face. Didn't Minerva and Albus warn you about the side effects? Surely you didn't forget such an important fact?"
"No, they warned me…regularly. But, I was so busy helping Hagrid with Buckbeak's defense, since no one else was helping (she glared at Harry as she said this) and I was taking so many classes, and I thought just a few more hours would be okay…" her voice trailed off sadly. "So, what's the prognosis, Madam Pomfrey?"
"Actually, considering that the lifespan of Wizarding folk is so much longer than Muggles, in the long-term scheme of things it's not too bad. You appear to have sustained no damage at all from the time stress to your system. But once in a while the effects are latent. Eventually they could catch up with you. It isn't anything to worry about, and it isn't even very likely. But it is something to be aware of."
"What kind of effects?" Hermione said, startled. Harry, too, was listening very intently sitting next to her and appeared to be holding his breath.
"Heart problems, mostly. The 'extra' pumping may cause additional wear on the valves. So you should be sure not to let more than six years pass between checkups after age 140 or so."
"I'll try to remember that." Hermione said, thinking with relief, <A few years? Over a century from now seems an immeasurably long time.> Harry whistled slowly as he started to breath again. "Really, Madame Pomfrey? She can live to be that old?"
"Of course, my dear. And, if she takes care of herself, even older. For example, I know of one witch by the name of Griselda Marchbanks. She's the head of the Wizarding Examination Authority, and she must be well over 160 if she's a day. She personally administered our Headmaster's N.E.W.T. exams, and he's no spring chicken himself. You'll meet her at the end of next year. Don't tell her I said anything, though. She's a bit sensitive about it sometimes. And, wizards can live just as long, so if you two are interested and keep each other alive, you can be together for a long, long, time. Assuming you don't get tired of each other, that is! But, that leads me to my next report. Harry, when I examined you after you were brought in, I saw similar aging indicators as I saw with Hermione before. In fact, I thought for a second I was getting an echo of her results as I examined you and I was going to have to have my wand repaired. But, after checking things carefully, I saw that the data was clear. Harry, you appear to be…well, approximately FIVE years older biologically than you are chronologically, but only in certain indicators. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd been exposed to a …but that's impossible. You've never even been to the Ministry offices, have you?"
Harry was stunned. "FIVE years, you said? But, how can that be? I've only used the time-turner once, and it was for only a few hours when Hermione and I went back to rescue Buckbeak and…" Harry quickly stopped talking as he realized what he was about to say. Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrow for a second, but chose to ignore it.
"Be that as it may, I stand by both diagnoses. I will be providing this information to the Headmaster, and possibly he can come up with a reasonable explanation. Just to let you know, Harry, your prognosis is the same as Miss Granger's…in about 125 years or so, please make an initial appointment with a Healer specializing in time-related illnesses. The two of you could go together, you know, and make a date of it!"
Harry smiled and turned to his girlfriend. "How about it, Miss Granger? Would you go with me to visit the healer 125 years from today? I'll fly us there on the fastest broom I can still ride!"
Hermione's eyes glistened as she gave Harry a big hug and looked deeply into his green eyes. "Yes, of course, Mr. Potter. I'm holding you to this, you know. Don't be late to pick me up." <Although, I hope he just has to remind me when we get out of bed that morning!> she thought as she pictured the scene in her mind.
"Hermione, did you just think what I thought you did?" Harry blushed at what he had heard and seen so clearly in his mind. "Something about…reminding you when we get out of bed that morning? And, besides, how would you know if I'll be bald or not by then…or what I usually wear to bed?"
Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. "Yes, something like that DID cross my mind, Harry. Is that okay with you?" she asked cautiously, turning away from him slightly.
Harry put his hands tenderly on each side of her face, turned her head gently toward his, and stared deeply into her brown eyes. "Oh, it's more than okay…it's what I want, too."
They were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Madam Pomfrey sniffling and blowing her nose. "Young love…there's nothing like it."
"Nothing indeed, Poppy."
"Yes…of course you're right." another voice said, overcome with emotion.
"Albus…Harmony! I didn't hear you come in. How long have you been listening?"
"Long enough to realize that we may have to reconsider my request of our two…more mature students. I have been unable to sleep after I considered Miss Granger's harsh but appropriate words last night, and Miss Puckle and I have been busy considering alternative solutions. From what we've heard just now, I doubt that there is anything that can be done to prevent the inevitable. I was hoping that I could delay having this conversation with you two, but under the circumstances, I must let you both know something that will be of great importance to your safety. I implore you that you do not consummate your relationship until after you are married. You are both chronologically eligible for marriage under the customs of the Wizarding World after Harry's 17th birthday, which will be in just under three more years. In case you think I am just being old-fashioned, I assure you that there is a reason for you to remain chaste until after the ceremony. As part of a Wizarding World marriage, certain powers are available to those who "wait", and I am certain that you two will need all the help you can get to face the challenges ahead. But, now, you two need to get back to your rooms, get dressed, and get to breakfast. You've got to pick up your class schedules, you know. You've got quite the interesting year ahead of you, I'm sure. Harry, I'll show you the way to your room, and Harmony, why don't you walk with Miss Granger? We can talk more while we walk."
(A/N - There is a section in this chapter that is a "borrow" from a relatively obscure science fiction novel, based in another well-known fandom universe. If anybody here catches it, I'll be very surprised! However, I'll tell you the details in my next author's note.)