Making the Best of a Bad Situation
Chapter 20
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
Harry opened his eyes and to his relief there were no house elves in his face. The sun was bright outside, so he knew he hadn't been asleep very long. He felt immensely better than he had at lunch.
"Dobby?" he called and with a pop the loyal house elf was by his side.
"Harry Potter is waking too soon," said Dobby with as stern an expression as a house elf can muster. "Harry Potter is needing more rest."
"I'm fine, Dobby," Harry grumbled. "Is Remus back?"
"No, Harry Potter, sir. Mr. Lupin is going to the home the most gracious Harry Potter is giving him. Shall I be summoning him for you, Harry Potter, sir?"
"No," replied Harry. "Is Hermione here?"
"Miss is going to St Mungo's to help Harry Potter get better. Is Harry Potter needing Miss? Or Dobby can helps you. Everyone is to be taking care of things while Harry Potter is resting."
Harry got a wicked smile on his face as he took inventory of his situation. He was home alone; he desperately needed to relieve his bladder. "Can you help me onto my broom?"
"Dobby is thinking Harry Potter is getting Dobby into trouble with Miss." The house elf looked around to find something to hit himself with.
"Dobby, don't even think of punishing yourself. I'm only going to the loo. I'll need your help if something happens. I need to be able to do things for myself. Please, Dobby?"
"Dobby can get Harry Potter's loo cup. It would be much better."
"Dobby, please… I'll take all of the blame, if anything happens….please?"
"Miss is being scary when she is angry, Harry Potter. Dobby was hearing Miss shouting at Harry Potter's Wheezy, sir."
"I won't let her shout at you. If anything, she can shout at me. I'll take all blame."
Dobby reluctantly assisted Harry onto his Firebolt, and then Harry flew slowly and cautiously to the loo.
Harry was reading on the sofa when Hermione returned.
"Hi," he said with a smile upon seeing her.
"Hi, yourself," she returned. "I didn't mean to be gone so long. How long have you been awake?"
"About an hour," he answered. "Dobby kept me company." He waved at the remains of a snack on the table before him.
"I see that," she said with a smile. "You are looking rather proud of yourself. What did you do?"
Harry felt embarrassed at the pride he couldn't conceal. "I used the loo," he stated evenly. Hermione looked around for the urinal. "No, I used the loo," he repeated with emphasis.
Hermione's eyes grew wide. "How? How did…" she stammered. "How did you manage that?"
"Don't look so surprised," he scowled, looking like a petulant child. "Until recently, I've been going to the bathroom by myself for many years."
Hermione laughed. She spotted the broom servicing kit on the floor and deduced what he had done. "My, aren't we resourceful," she stated.
Harry smiled broadly. "It felt so good to able to do things on my own. I feel more in control than I have in a while," he admitted.
She sat next to him on the couch and gave him a hug. "Good!" she stated giving him a quick kiss.
"I even brushed my teeth…" he said smugly. "I reckoned, since I was in there, I'd see what all I might be able to accomplish on my own."
"That's really good, Harry," she praised. "I don't mean to bring you down, but what if you had fallen…"
"I thought of that. I told Dobby what I was going to do. He stayed right outside the door, in case I needed any help. He's afraid you are going to be angry with him. He wasn't about to let me hurt myself."
"I'll talk to him. I'm really proud of your cleverness. Did you want to drink tonight? You know… to help?" Hermione leaned her head against his chest.
"No, it wasn't really helpful last night."
"Alright, then. Mrs. Weasley will be stopping by after dinner to see you. Are you up for it?"
Harry smirked. "I'll meet her on my broom. She'll be so surprised."
"Just don't overdo like this morning, promise?"
"I promise," Harry returned making a cross gesture over his heart.
Later that evening, Harry flew cautiously up to his room followed by Hermione walking.
"I could've given you a ride," he said.
"Another time, perhaps," she stated.
Harry hovered his broom near the bed and pulled himself off of it.
"Need any help?" Hermione asked.
"No" he grunted in exertion. "I've got it." He worm-crawled across the bed and into place.
She carefully removed another set of bones from his leg and gave him a dose of the potion, which he choked down, sputtering in distaste. "Want me to leave you alone?" she asked.
"No, please stay for a bit," he answered. He patted the place next to him and she edged up next to him.
Harry snuggled into her as she placed her arms around him. "This is much better," he sighed, ignoring the stabbing pains in his legs. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. He raised his head and met her lips with his own.
Hermione slid down on the bed and deepened the kiss. Harry maneuvered them until she was almost lying on top of him.
"I don't want to hurt you…" she said.
"I'm fine," he answered. "This is good." He began kissing her again. She parted his lips in exploration. He moved his hands over her back, rubbing and squeezing in almost a massaging manner. She pulled her shirt over her head to give him better access to her skin. His kneading circles expanded to cover her entire back. Her fingers combing through his unkempt hair, she softly whimpered in delight at his touch.
She began undoing the buttons on his nightshirt. He lifted his torso from the bed slightly to allow her to remove it, almost never relinquishing her lips. She ran her hands over his scarred, yet smooth torso. Hermione smiled against his mouth. Harry opened his eyes and pulled away.
"What?' he asked softly.
"We can cancel that other experiment…" she giggled.
"Noticed that, did you?" Harry said his face turning red in embarrassment.
"Yes," she replied as she slid her body toward the end of the bed, kissing his chest on her way. It was time to conduct a different type of experiment. Remembering Ginny's words, she felt it was time to see if she could believe what she had read.
Harry awoke early and summoned his broom from the floor. He struggled to mount it and flew to the balcony where his tea and scones awaited him.
He slid off the broom and onto his chaise looking out at the sunrise across the field. He felt more hope than he'd had in months. He found a way to get about and do things on his own, plus he'd even had sex with Hermione!
His heart dropped to the vicinity of his knees as he was reminded of the previous night's activities. Trying to sort it out logically in his mind, he thought back on how it had transpired.
"You are pensive this morning…" she deduced from the hidden table in the corner.
He smiled at her. "Good morning," he greeted her warmly.
"I love to watch you when you think you are alone," she stated. "You are always so inexpressive, but in unguarded moments, I can almost read your mind."
"Oh, yeah?" he queried. "What am I thinking?"
"Let's see…when you first came out, you were thinking of how nice it is to be fairly mobile again. Then, you remembered what occurred between us last night and were flooded with second thoughts."
"Not second thoughts exactly…" he corrected. "Disbelief, yes…astonishment, absolutely. The rest of your pronouncement was spot on." He spread jam on his scone and ate it in a single bite.
"How do your legs feel? Any different?" she asked.
"Not really," he said reaching for another scone. "I mean, you've got that binding charm on them, so I can't move them."
"That's just until we are finished replacing the skeletal structure. I've arranged for us to go to St Mungo's on Friday to test them without risking the breakage we had before. We can get a reading on how much stress your legs can handle before we have you stand. Then, we can determine… "
"Merlin, you are so sexy when you talk all medical," Harry interrupted her.
Hermione rose and cuffed him on the back of his head and returned to her seat.
"What the devil was that for?" he asked uneasily.
"Don't be patronizing, Harry. It is unbecoming."
"I wasn't! I meant it!" he said in a defensive tone. Hermione sniffed in skepticism.
Ron approached the balcony on his broom. "Hiya, Harry!" he said in greeting. He soared over the railing and dismounted.
Harry watched as Ron dropped into the opposite lounger and reached for the scones. Dobby appeared carrying a tray laden with bacon, orange juice, eggs, toast and kippers and placed it in front of Harry before disappearing again. Ron's eyes grew wide at the selection.
"Luna made me a bowl of porridge before I left," Ron explained filling his plate high with breakfast.
Harry and Hermione shared an amused look. Harry served himself a bit of breakfast. Hermione came over and poured three glasses of orange juice, one of which she took back to her seat along with a couple slices of toast.
"How did it go last night, Harry?" asked Ron before tucking into his plate.
"Just fine…" Harry answered vaguely. "I managed to sleep a bit."
Hermione stifled a giggle at Harry's indistinct answers.
"Did Hermione stay with you to keep you company?"
It was Harry's turn to suppress laughter. "Yes," he answered. "She stayed the whole night."
Ron looked from one friend to the other attuned to their pretended innocence.
"Er…." Ron stammered. "Is there anything I should know about?"
"No…er…nothing that I care to discuss…" mumbled Harry.
"What Harry is trying not to say is that we've decide to see if there's anything between us," declared Hermione with a glare at Harry.
Ron spat orange juice all over Harry. "You mean you and her…." Ron moved his finger back and forth pointing at each in turn. "…are going to make a go of it?"
"Yes," answered Harry with a sheepish look on his face. "We talked at length last night and we are going to try it out."
"Fred and George will be crushed. They've been a bit put out at you for getting hurt and spoiling their fun," declared Ron.
"After the capture, the hospital and all, I think I'd rather wake in my own bed, thanks," countered Harry.
"Well, in any event," Ron declared, lifting his glass to them, "a toast to you. May you be as happy as Luna and me."
Harry and Hermione mutually winked at the other with raised glasses and drank to their new relationship.
After a quick soar across the field, Harry flew down to the drawing room to rest, followed by Ron.
"Luna would kill me if I flew about the house," Ron said in awe.
Harry chuckled and stated, "Yeah, well, I make do"
Ron understood what Harry wasn't saying aloud. He was proud of his friend's strength and ability to adjust to his new limitations. After a few games of Exploding Snap, Ron took his leave stating that he needed to get to practice. Harry pushed the charred edged cards away and relaxed.
Hermione joined him on the couch and cuddled him close. Harry began kissing his way down her neck.
"Is this going to be a usual occurrence?" asked Lupin from in front of the fireplace. "Because if it is, you should consider a sign on the floo that says: 'Caution, Snogging in Progress'. That way I'll know to avert my eyes."
"It will be quite a common sight, I believe," stated Harry." And speaking of snogging how was your date, by the way?"
"Fine…fine," Remus answered hoping desperately to change the subject. "Shall we get you ready to face the day?" he asked.
"Not much to be done, I'm afraid," replied Harry. "I just need a bit of help getting dressed, that's all."
The older man gave Harry a suspicious look, and then understanding dawned on him.
"Show him…" Hermione challenged.
Harry grinned and summoned his trusted broom, climbed ungracefully aboard and flew carefully up the stairs.
After sharing a pleased smile with Hermione, Lupin followed.
"That is clever, Harry," Lupin praised. "So, tell me, what can you all do from your broom?"
"Let's see," started Harry. "Aside from the obvious mobility, I've found I can almost take care of myself! There are a few things, I'll need help with, like putting on my jeans, but for the most part I can do most things."
Lupin's eyes shined with pride. "How is your treatment going?" he asked.
"Good…good," Harry responded. "I've got two more nights of Skele-gro, then on Friday, it's off to St Mungo's to see if it was worth the trouble. Ron and Luna are working on a plan of enchanting muggle leg braces, just in case things don't work out."
"Excellent, Harry!" Lupin applauded.
"Hermione is going back to work next week," added Harry.
"I'll need to work out a schedule with her. Not that you need minding..." he added at Harry's scowl. "…just so that if you need help, you won't be stranded for hours."
Harry nodded in acceptance. "I'll be glad when this is all over," he admitted.
"I know," consoled Lupin. "Look how far you've come, though. You should be pleased with your progress. I know it isn't enough, not nearly enough. Try to look more at what you've accomplished. Don't worry so much about what you've failed. It'll come."
Harry always felt better after talking to his former Professor. After the pep talk, they discussed various household matters; afterwards Harry flew down to sleep in his usual spot.
Friday dawned a beautiful sunny summer's day. Harry apparated to his balcony to sip his tea.
"Just don't push him, please," Hermione argued with Winky. "He may be nervous and you know he won't eat if he's nervous."
"Harry Potter must eat, Miss. Harry Potter is needing strength to get better," the house elf countered.
"Harry Potter is right here and can decide for himself if he wants to eat," Harry retorted.
Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. "Good morning," she said with a smile.
"Morning…" Harry returned. "What time do we go?"
Hermione laughed at his impatience. "The appointment isn't until after lunch," she told him. "I thought maybe after I gave you your check up, we could take a nice long bath."
"I've already washed. Lupin helped me before he left."
"That's not the kind of bath I was referring to…" she said in a husky tone. "I plan to give you a…thorough… inspection"
Harry smiled at her. "You are trying to distract me."
"Is it working?" she purred.
"This is a new side to you," he said with a chuckle. "I like it."