Chapter 40: Harry Potter (3)
The next day, I sat with my Gryffindor friends, eating breakfast. We were still exhausted due to the long train journey yesterday.
I noticed that some older students read a newspaper called the Daily Prophet at the table. I did not take heed at first, but then Granger shoved it to me. Saying I've got to read it. It mentioned our sorting ceremony yesterday. I figured she subscribed to the paper then.
Oh well.
It turned out my name got cited along with three other students: "the wrong sort" Malfoy, Susan Bones, and Svetlana Vautour. I noticed we all got sorted into different houses. It was weird that they mentioned my name, saying I'm an heir of a Lord. I wonder what that meant? The others were quite the news too. Some people even talked openly about it. But I was too distracted by my thought.
Professor McGonagall brought us our schedule for this year not long after that. We would start the class after lunch as we had a physical exam after breakfast. She said we needed to be in the infirmary for it at 10.00 AM after the Ravenclaw.
Professor McGonagall told us the infirmary's location, then encouraged us to go there early lest we get lost on the way. We had to go there ourselves as the prefects had classes this morning, and so had she.
And sure thing, we lost.
We got caught up at the moving stairs for 15 minutes. Then Weasley decided to be a hero and instead led us back to the great hall again. How such a thing could happen, I had no idea. Remind me not to depend on him for direction next time.
After circling for 30 minutes, we finally arrived at the infirmary with 5 minutes to spare. On the way in, we passed by the Ravenclaws. I noticed the Vautour girl and others but didn't stop to greet her. I wouldn't want to seem nosey. But some Gryffindors stopped to talk to them, especially the Patil twins.
Soon, Madam Pomfrey told us about the technicality of the physical exams. She told us all to read and sign a confidential contract before starting. She said she hated to stop in the middle of exams only to fetch the damn contracts. I wonder how that comes to be.
After we all signed it, the boys followed Mr. Ian Bole to the other room. We all entered each section by ourselves. I chose the last one.
I did not expect anything, honestly. Indeed, the Dursley did not care for me well, but I believed I was healthy.
Mr. Bole started the exam on me when the other boys had finished their exams. They waited on the other side of the room. He then cast three different spells, which had three different colors. Though, each color turned black after some time. For each black color that appeared, Mr. Bole became more and more agitated. He kept looking at me in alarm. I was nervous.
After the third spell that changed to black, he told me to stay put in the section while he fetched for Madam Pomfrey. I didn't know what to think. I figured it didn't look normal. I supposed the other boys didn't elicit this sort of response from the older man.
Not even five minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came barreling into my section, followed by Mr. Bole. She cast the three spells again, and each of them turned black. She looked at me in pity and kept muttering, "oh dear, oh dear, what poor child."
I was alarmed, but before I could question her, she was gone together with Mr. Bole. Could anyone explain to me what happened?
These seemed to be a common occurrence. *sigh*
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That day, I had to stay in the infirmary for treatment. Madam Pomfrey told me that my physical exams turned out horribly. I didn't know where she had gone previously, but I had to wait for at least half an hour. Nobody other than Madam Pomfrey came, not even Professor McGonagall, the Gryffindor Head of House.
They found multiple old broken bones, some incorrectly adjusted, old scars, and severe malnutrition. Madam Pomfrey said I was too short, and my magic circulated at a too frantic pace as well. In summary, my body was in a shoddy condition.
Due to my incorrect bones, Madam Pomfrey had to re-break and adjust them again lest they become deformed in the future. She also treated my old scars that were still visible due to infection.
I don't wish this upon anyone, let me tell you. The process was excruciating. I felt like my body was on fire. I had to bite into my robe to silence my screams. I didn't know how long the bone re-breaking and adjusting process was. In the end, I just passed out. Madam Pomfrey gave me a pain-relieving potion beforehand, yet it still hurt very much.
My healing process took some time. I stayed in the infirmary for five days. Thankfully, the most painful process was only on the first day. The remaining days were the follow-up phase when Madam Pomfrey (or Mr. Bole sometimes) gave me potions to take and observe my condition.
There were three different potions I had to take daily for the next few months. Two of them worked by healing my physical and magical sides. While the other one was to help me process my thought, a mind soothing potion they said. I was assigned a mind healer too. He came to talk to me every day during my stay there. I was very grateful for the help and attention.
I couldn't help but wonder if these were the things magical schools usually offer their students. I've never had any medical care at muggle school before. The school would usually entrust the outside school medical care to parents or guardians at home. Sure, there was medical aid at school, but not to this degree. I believe this was unusual.
At some point, I asked my mind healer about it. His name was Mr. Tiberius Judgens. He said that this medical care collaboration between Hogwarts and St. Mungos' was usually non-existence. But due to some vast donations earlier this year, both institutions decided to work together. Everyone was glad for the outcome.
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Weeks passed after my discharge from the infirmary. I still took my potion diligently and talked to Mr. Judgens three times a week. They've been a tremendous help. My body had never felt better, and my mind was sharper than ever. I could think clearly, too. I was usually not a hot-tempered person, but sometimes I could explode in a high-strung situation. Now, I could reign them in much better.
I made sure to focus on my study during classes. I also read additional books for each of them. I was progressing well. I also made time to talk to others in different houses, mainly Ravenclaw. They are some of the most studious and hardworking people at school.
Days passed by at a slow pace. Sometimes, I would visit Hagrid in between. On one of my visits, I saw a newspaper in Hagrid's Hut. It posted an article about a theft at Gringotts on the day of my visit to my vault. But thankfully, the vault in question was emptied before it was committed. I couldn't help but wonder what it was that the thieves wanted. It must be very precious for them to attack Gringotts like that. Nevertheless, I was grateful they didn't get it.
Soon, Halloween came, and we all feasted at the Great Hall. We all ate much food provided on the table. I tried to eat a bit of everything, as I've never celebrated Halloween. But then Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall, shouting that there was a troll in the dungeon.
We were all panicked. Some people screamed bloody murder.
Professor Dumbledore then calmed us down and ordered us to go to our dorm. I was confused. Weren't the Slytherin and Hufflepuff dorms in the dungeon? But people seemed not to notice it and proceeded as instructed. So, I did just that.
Soon, we were all in our dorm room. Everybody was whispering about trolls and what happened in the dungeon. There were speculations about how it got through the Hogwarts ward, but nothing made sense. Also, how could a DADA professor just run away and not deal with it? I thought a professor should be capable of at least dealing with a troll?
Just before 11 PM, Professor McGonagall arrived to inform us that the troll had been dealt with and everyone could return to their room to sleep. We did not think much of it, as the staff had deemed it secure enough for us to sleep. We were all tired, so we did just that.
In the morning, the girls told us they hadn't seen Hermione since yesterday afternoon after charms class. They didn't think much of it since they were too excited at the feast and then too tired after that to notice. There, we realized that Hermione was missing.
We told Professor McGonagall about it after breakfast. But she looked like she already knew. She then informed us that Hermione was being taken care of after getting into an accident yesterday. But she did not elaborate. We were curious, but she won't tell us more. Though, Professor McGonagall said that Hermione would probably come back soon.
Hermione did not come back.
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Weeks passed, and Christmas was here. I was very excited to spend my first Christmas away from the Dursley.
On Christmas morning, I noticed that I actually got some presents. They were placed at the foot of my bed. I counted there were four of them.
The first present was from Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother. She gave me a maroon sweater with an H letter in front of it. Although I was never close enough to Ron, I appreciate the gift.
The second gift was from Hagrid. He sent me a picture of my parents when they were young. They looked absolutely joyful in the picture. I feel conflicted. I was happy to see them, yet I was sad too. I would never see them in person. It was such a bittersweet gift. Though, I was really grateful to Hagrid.
The third gift was from Lana. I suddenly felt awful, as I did not send her anything. We've talked and played chess once in a while. She and Parvati were good friends.
Lana's gift was wrapped in a glittery white paper. I was careful not to tear it. I was sure it cost some gazillion gold. Maybe I could sell it? Lana's gifts were two books and an expensive-looking assorted chocolate box. The books were 'British Wizarding Families Through the Ages' and 'Introduction to the British Wizarding World.' I wonder why she gifted them to me. Well, I could read them later.
The last one was from an unknown person. It was wrapped in fragile silver paper. The content was a light silvery cloak. There was a note inside the wrapper. It said that the cloak used to belong to my father and that I should use it well. Huh?
I tried to use it, and to my surprise, parts of my body were invisible where the cloak covered them. *Woah* It's an invisibility cloak.
I definitely will use it.
*grin*
:)
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Breakfast at Christmas was a cheerful affair. At the Gryffindor table, I sat with Ron and others. We ate while talking about our Christmas gifts.
I thanked Ron for the sweater his mother had sent. Ron also got one from his mother, but with an R letter. Ron also got a gift from Lana. He said they were a box of chocolates and two books: a book about wizarding family rules and a book about motivation. I guess she practically gave us the same type of gifts, though different in titles.
Sometime later, owls came bringing us letters and newspapers. There was not much, as only about 30 students stayed. The students then opened their letters and newspaper. I did not get any, though. I believed the Dursley would never send me one, anyway.
The hall was suddenly quiet. Then murmurs came. I wonder what happened? I figured it was something from the newspaper. So I borrowed it from the third-year Gryffindor named Garreth Wilbur after he had completed his reading.
While I was reading it, I was getting more and more surprised.
No kidding! Just how rich the Vautour was. It turned out they've been the ones giving donations to Hogwarts and St. Mungos all this time. And yesterday, they supposedly cleared the decades-long of student loan debts since the 40s. The family also paid for the orphans' Hogwarts school fees starting this year, plus scholarship opportunities for other years. It was simply unthinkable!
On top of that, I realized that Lana basically paid for my medical care all these months. I did not know what to think. I was very grateful for her. Without her, I would still be the broken freak with many scars and frantic magic. To top it all, I did not even know it.
I decided then and there that I would thank her later and help her in any way I could.
Half an hour later, tens of owls came to the Great Hall, bringing letters to the Ravenclaw table. They were only circling it at first as if looking for someone but (s)he was not there. But Professor Dumbledore cast a spell. Then the letters started to drop and formed a stack on his table. I bet they were for Lana. News of her family's donations must have spread, and people would want to thank her.
She was not at the table, though. I knew she did not come home for Christmas. She was unusually late. I hope she was alright.
Thirty minutes later when I was about to go back to my room, Lana came into the Hall. She was in a rush, it seemed.
When she came in, the students stared at her. And they became silent. Although, she didn't seem to notice it. She hastily got some food and started to eat it. It looked like she was famished.
Then, Professor Dumbledore approached her. We all could hear them as it was silent in the Hall. I couldn't believe it. Lana was actually pretty calm about it. She did not even deny the donations too. So it was indeed her family who made the serial donations. I'd love it when she did not throw her money into our faces like some people seemed to do. She used the money to help others in her own way.
After Professor Dumbledore left her, we all smiled at her when she looked at us. We were all grateful for her and her family. We all got help in one way or another.
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Nothing really happened during the Christmas holiday, except that I found a mirror in one of the empty classrooms during my exploration one day. It was called ERISED. Though when spelled backward, it became DESIRE. It made sense, I guess. I saw my parents smiling down at me from the mirror, which was impossible. They were dead.
I knew that it was only an illusion after I realized it was called the mirror of DESIRE. But I couldn't help myself. I missed my parents terribly. I always wanted to meet them.
So I came to see the mirror every day during the holiday until it was suddenly moved somewhere. I was pretty upset that day but couldn't really do anything about it.
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After the holiday, I busied myself with classes and homework. With the exams nearing, we all started to study more diligently. I made sure to accompany Lana in the library when she would read alone. I also made sure to walk her to her classes if she was alone sometimes.
I knew she loved being solitary, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to repay her somehow.
I also read the books Lana gifted, though I haven't completed them yet. They were surprisingly very informative. They contained things I should have known before going to Hogwarts, including my position as the last of the Potter family members. Things that Hagrid was supposed to tell me that day. The very information I was looking for all year long in Hogwarts.
I did not know how she knew, but I was very grateful for her. It would only strengthen my resolve to be near her. I would happily lend her help when she needed it.
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