# # #
Walking in to the infirmary, Harry saw Hermione was awake and was sitting between the beds of her parents. Fawkes was sitting on her shoulder with a somewhat dazed expression on her face. Fawkes was, for want of a better term, preening her.
The other two heirs, were looking between what Fawkes was doing, and Harry. Hermione was staring off into space with a gentle smile on her face. The two Granger adults were still unconscious. Poppy and the auror's healer were working upon the two of them.
"Lady Ravenclaw?" called Harry. "Lady Ravenclaw? Hermione!"
"Huh?" exclaimed the girl as her focus finally alighted on Harry. Even Fawkes looked back. Harry had the sense the bird was feeling ineffably pleased.
"Hermione," he asked, "Why is Fawkes... pretty much... grooming you?"
"Oh!" replied Hermione. "His name's not Fawkes; it's Polaris. He told me so. He also told me he's mine. But not like he's property, or anything."
Harry, already suspecting, only raised his eyebrows in surprise. Madam Pomfrey, Neville, Susan, Madam Bones, Sirius - who had turned up - and Remus gasped with shock. Barely anyone wasn't staring back at Hermione.
Harry grinned at his friend and said, "He's bonded with you, Hermione."
"Oh!" she said still distracted.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Harry called out with a grin. "Presenting, Hermione Jean Granger, Lady Ravenclaw, the true Leader of the Light!"
Fawkes... or, rather, Polaris... assumed a posture of eagle displayed with one wing behind Hermione's head while still holding on to her shoulder with his claws. And trilled away quite happily. Hermione just sat there stunned.
Harry was surprised no one even clapped.
When he looked about the room a bit, he saw Severus lying in a bed off to one side.
Frowning, Harry turned to Poppy and asked, "Madam Pomfrey, what happened to Professor Snape?"
He was in class and one of the students said he suddenly grabbed his right forearm. Then he grimaced before collapsing to the floor unconscious. I had a house elf bring him directly here. His magical core's been drained and he's suffering from magical exhaustion. However, he's going to recover.
While wondering what had happened to the man, an auror entered the room and approached Amelia. He whispered a few things to her and her face took on an expression of consternation.
As the auror headed back out, Amelia approached the rest and said, "You'll need to excuse me. It appears all the marked Death Eaters we had captured in the Hall have all died. We've also received a report from Azkaban infirming us the ones in there are also dead."
Harry frowned but nodded his head. He was still thinking hard as Amelia went over to Susan, gave her a kiss on her forehead, and headed out.
Thinking a bit, Harry had a feeling he knew what had happened.
"Harry?" called Neville.
Harry looked up at his friend.
"What's got you obviously thinking so hard?" Neville asked.
"I think I should know what's going on," replied Harry, still thinking furiously. "Professor Snape clearly grasped his dark mark before he passed out, marked Death Eaters are turning up dead, Riddle..."
With sudden realisation, Harry stared back at Neville in shock.
"Harry?" asked his friend.
"Riddle..." said Harry. "I think I know what happened."
"Well, don't leave the rest of us guessing," said Susan a bit tartly. "What do you think happened?"
"When I was pulling the magic out of ghost-Riddle," replied Harry, "I was wondering how there happened to be so much of it. It seemed, for a while there, it was never-ending. I thought Riddle had used dark rituals to greatly enlarge his magical core."
Frowning back, Susan asked, "But, that's not what you now... suspect... is it?"
Shaking his head in wonder, Harry replied, "The dark mark. When I was pulling the magic out of Riddle to strip him of it, I think Riddle was pulling the magic out of his marked followers - through the dark mark - to replace what I took."
Neville, in surprise, said, "And, you think he didn't stop until he drained them dry."
"Yes," replied Harry in shock himself. "As I said to ghost-Riddle, if he had been alive when I did that, it would have killed him. I think that's what killed all the Death Eaters."
"Good, God, Harry!" exclaimed Neville. "You know there's about fifty of them, don't you?"
"Was, Nev," said Susan.
"But, why is Snape still alive?" asked Neville.
Susan frowned, spun on her heel and walked over to Severus's bed. She reached out, picked up his arm and drew the sleeve back. She held it up to show the others and said, "No more dark mark."
Still stunned, Harry gasped and said, "I killed about fifty people! I'm a mass-murderer!" He collapsed to the floor. Not passed out, but no longer able to stand. He just sat in the middle of the floor.
Neville and Sirius both hurried over. Sirius gently said to Harry, "Pup? Come on, mate. You didn't kill them; Riddle did."
"I drained them dry, Sirius!" said Harry.
"No," replied Neville, "Riddle did. You were only pulling the magic out of Riddle."
Neville and Sirius helped Harry back to his feet. He was in quite a bit of shock and felt nauseous.
"Come on, Harry," said Sirius, soothingly. "Let's get you back to your common room."
"I need all of you to leave," snapped the auror's healer. "Both of these two have significantly drained magical cores and it's taking us a fair bit of effort to stabilise them."
Hermione's head snapped to look directly at the healer. "Huh?" she asked, "What do you mean 'their magical cores'. My parents are non-magicals!"
The healer looked back at her and scoffed, "Don't play games with me, little missy! I've been a healer for twenty years. I know what a magical core looks like, and these two are quite drained and fluctuating. Now get out while I do my job!"
Hermione stood in a daze and headed over to Harry where he was being supported by Sirius and Neville. Susan came back with Remus, who had also gone over to see Severus's dark mark was gone.
Fawkes... Polaris... hopped off Hermione's shoulder and flew back to perch on the back of the chair Hermione was sitting upon. He was trilling gently to both of the Grangers.
As one completely stunned group, the four heirs, Sirius and Remus walked out of the infirmary and headed back to owners' common room.
# # #
In the suite, Remus called a house elf to serve them a late morning tea. He also asked the elf to lace it with a mild calming draught. The elf was back a few moments later with two serving sets and a half dozen cups. As a group they were sitting on the couches around the coffee table.
"I'm a mass-murderer, Sirius," moaned Harry.
Sirius, while watching Remus make a cup of tea and adding extra calming potion to it, said, "No, Pup. Riddle's the mass-murderer. You just made it so Riddle can't come back."
Remus offered the cup and saucer to Harry who took it without a thought. He started to sip from it.
Harry suddenly looked up and, with determination, said to Susan, "Susan. You'll need to call your aunt! Tell her to send two aurors around to arrest me! I'll go quietly." Then he reached into his pocket and drew both of his wands. He put them on the coffee table in front of himself for a moment before picking them back up again.
He offered them to Sirius, who was sitting next to him, and said, "Sirius; you're an auror. I hereby surrender myself to your custody. I'll go quietly."
Sirius gravely reached out, took the two wands, and placed them on the coffee table. "Pup?" he said. "I'm a Professor, not an auror. I haven't been an auror for ten years. I've been in Azkaban, remember?"
Thinking furiously again, Harry brightened and said, "Yes. But you were never dismissed from your job; and you didn't quit. So, you're still an auror and the DMLE owes you back pay."
Reeling back a little in surprise, Sirius said, "You know, you might be right about that, Pup. But, I still don't feel right about arresting you. It would be a... conflict of interest. You are my godson, after all."
Frowning back down at his cup and taking a mouthful of tea again, Harry then looked up at Susan and said, "How's that call to your aunt coming along, Susan? She's going to need to send a couple of aurors, after all."
Susan glanced at Sirius for a moment before saying, "Sorry, Harry; but, Aunt 'Melia's a little busy, at the moment. If you promise not to go anywhere, she'll send someone along when she can."
"Yeah, I can do that," replied Harry frowning back down at his cup again. "I'll stay here, then. House arrest."
"That sounds like a good idea, Cub," said Remus gently. "How about some more of that delicious tea."
"Yeah. I can do that," said Harry, offering his cup for a refill. He didn't even notice Remus dropping almost the entire contents of a sedative into it before topping it back up. He just continued to sip it when he brought it back. He couldn't even taste the tea, let alone the sedative.
With a dawning realisation, Harry fixed his eyes of Hermione's with a look of horror, "'Mione! I... I hurt your parents! I... could have killed them! They're in the infirmary because of me!" Then he broke into tears and wailed, "I'm soooo sorry! You must hate me now!"
Hermione put down her own cup, walked around the coffee table, took Harry's cup out of his hand and offered it to Sirius, before sitting in Harry's lap and cuddling him. "It's alright, Harry," she said. "They're going to be fine."
Harry just hugged her tightly and wailed into her chest. "I'm a killer and I nearly killed your parents!"
Hermione just sat in his lap and rocked them both back and forth. Before long, Harry stopped crying and fell asleep as the potion he'd been doped with took effect.
Gently, so as not to wake him, she climbed off. Sirius carried him into his room and put him to bed.
Hermione returned to sitting next to Susan and cried for both her parents and the pain of her first, ever, friend.
Polaris flashed into the room and landed on the back of the couch behind Hermione. The phoenix softly crooned to his new companion.
# # #
Harry didn't awaken until early the next morning. However, he felt much better.
Rising, he took a shower and changed into fresh robes. Then he headed for the infirmary. He needed to know the Grangers were going to be alright.
Walking in, he saw Madam Pomfrey hovering over Professor Snape while the healer from the aurors was joined by two other healers and was hovering over the Grangers from between their beds.
Softly, so as not to disturb anyone, Harry softly asked, "Madam Pomfrey?"
The medi-witch looked up and saw Harry quietly standing there. "Yes, Lord Slytherin?" she asked.
"Are they going to be okay?" asked Harry softly.
"Yes, Lord Slytherin," she replied with a smile. Professor Snape is well on his way towards a full recovery and will be waking soon. Lady Ravenclaw's parents have been kept, for now, in an induced sleep while their cores stabilised. They're about to be woken up."
Frowning, Harry shook his head a little and said, "Hermione's parents are non-magicals. They're dentists." Thinking a bit more, he said, "Well, Hermione's mum, Emma Granger, is still a dentist. But, Her Majesty reactivated her dad's, Major Granger's, commission. He's now serving in the Diplomatic Protective Detail."
One of the healers hovering over Hermione's parents had looked up when Harry started talking about 'the Grangers'. He walked over to Harry.
"Excuse me, Lord Slytherin?" he asked. "You're the one that caused the wave of pure magic to strike these folks, yes?"
Harry was about to burst into tears again when he forced it down, straightened himself up, and said, "Yes, Sir. I'm the one that nearly killed them."
The healer merely cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Would you mind lifting up your wand arm, please, My Lord?"
Harry dutifully raised his right arm. The healer then passed a healer's diagnostic wand all over it, including at the back of Harry's shoulder.
"Amazing," he said, before looking directly at Harry and saying. "Do you realise you practically burned out the magical channels throughout the length of your arm. But, that they are now completely healed?"
Harry replied, "I remember it hurt a bit."
Hesitating a moment, the healer said, "I can imagine. You have fresh skin where the skin on your hand received second to third degree magical burns, the deep tissue damage that, apparently, has repaired itself deep within and along your arm, and the third degree magical burn about three inches across at the back of your right shoulder. This, also, appears to have healed itself. Fresh skin and deep tissue now covers that area, too."
"That happened when I was drawing the magic out of Tom Riddle's... Voldemort's... soul," said a sorrowful Harry. "It's what then hit the Grangers. But, I didn't know at the time that, while I was also drawing the magic out of Riddle, he was drawing it out of his marked Death Eaters. I've been told there were about fifty of them.
"Except for Severus, here," said Harry pointing at the Professor, "all the others are dead. I killed them."
"No, you didn't," said Amelia's voice from behind him. Harry hadn't even heard her coming in. The sound of her voice, though, caused Harry to spin about in shock. She was standing with Headmistress McGonagall and facing him about ten feet away.
Waving the shock off, Harry stood up and held himself up as a Lord should, and said to her, "Madam Bones. I regret to inform you that I am a mass-murderer. Through my actions, I killed approximately fifty people. I also caused grievous bodily harm to Major Daniel and Doctor Emma Granger, and Professor Severus Snape. I stand ready to be arrested and face justice."
While he was looking straight into the confused eyes of the Head of the DMLE, a male voice called out, "Well, that was a bit melodramatic, don't you think?"
Recognising the voice, Harry spun back to face the Grangers. Both were now propped up in their beds. Dan was looking at him with a slight, but painful, smile on his face.
"Dad!" yelled Harry before he was beside the man's bedside in an instant. Then he hugged Dan tightly around the chest. "I'm sorry!" he wailed, "I'm soooo sooo sorry!"
After a few moments to wrap his own arms around Harry, Dan said, "I'm not."
Harry flinched back from Dan a bit and, looking the man in the eyes, said, "Huh?"
Dan, with a gentle smile on his face, said, "Two things, lad. First, there is no way you could have known what was going to happen. It was a complete accident, and neither of us hold you in any blame. Second, it appears you've given Emma and I an amazing gift as a result of that accident."
"Huh?" said Harry, again, still stunned.
Turning to look at his wife, Dan said, "Honey, I think I broke him."
"Huh?" said Harry, again.
Emma just grinned back at them both.
"Harry," said Emma softly.
"Huh?" said Harry snapping his eyes to Emma, before giving himself a bit of a shake and saying, "Mum?"
With her eyes shining brightly, Emma softly said, "Harry, you've made Dan and me 'Magicals'."
Harry blinked at her in confusion. "But... but... no. That can't happen. No. It's impossible," he stammered.
"Lord Slytherin," called another male voice from near the foot of the beds.
"Huh?" said Harry, snapping his head and locking eyes with another of the healers.
"No matter how much we believe it to be impossible; nevertheless, you, Sir, have managed to do the impossible," the healer said.
"But... how?" asked Harry.
"We do not yet have an answer to that question, Lord Slytherin," replied the healer. "We have seen a few pensieve memories of the event from those who witnessed it, and have analysed what we could of it. However, be assured we will be trying to figure out just how it was done. We have a few educated guesses, but it's going to take time to analyse everything."
Thinking for a few moments, Harry then stood back up straight and glared at the medico. "You will not be using the Grangers as guinea pigs!" said Harry flatly.
The healer looked back at Harry in confusion. "Guinea pigs, Lord Slytherin?" he asked. "What does a small rodent of the caviidae family have to do with anything?"
Dan snorted and said to the healer, "It's a mundane expression; those you call 'muggles'. It means to use someone as a test animal and run experiments on them."
The healer nearly reeled back in shock. "I assure you, Lord Slytherin, we will do nothing of the sort!" he exclaimed. "We will only ask that we monitor their health over the next few days, and they come and see us every couple of weeks for a while, so we can again monitor how they're doing!"
"Okay," said Harry, still glaring at the healer. "Because, if you tried anything like that, I'd place them both under the protection of both the House of Slytherin and the House of Potter. Not to mention, 'Mione would... 'Mione!"
Harry suddenly bolted from the infirmary. A couple of seconds later, he bolted back in, skidded to a halt in front of Amelia and said, "Sorry! You can arrest me in a little bit!" before bolting back out of the infirmary yelling back, "Gotta get 'Mione!"
"Chock full of nervous energy, this morning, isn't he?" said a worried, but amused, Dan.
Concerned, Emma looked at Amelia and asked, "Just how much trouble is Harry in, anyway?"
Amused, but turning to look at Emma, she said, "None. Her Majesty wants to see him... all of us, actually... in a couple of days. But, as for all the Death Eaters dying, there is no criminal charges pending against him."
Frowning, Emma asked, "But, why does Harry believe you're arresting him?"
"Because no one's has been able to get it through that thick head of his yet that he's done nothing wrong," replied Amelia. "He firmly believes, for the moment anyway, that he's committed mass-murder; as well as the assault causing grievous harm to the parents of his best friend."
"He needs to be sat down and made to talk to a shrink," said Dan with feeling. "The lad's suffering from a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder."
"A... shrink?" asked Amelia.
"A psychologist," replied Emma. "Someone skilled in dealing with people who have suffered a traumatic mental event leading to emotional problems and worse."
One of the healers asked, "Errr... do you mean a mind healer?"
Emma shrugged and said, "If that's what you call someone capable of helping another who has a mental problem, yes. The taking of a life by someone with a high moral and ethical viewpoint as Harry, will be traumatic to the person who does it. Harry believes he's killed, in one fell swoop, about fifty people. That
would cause a major shock in even the most hardened warrior."
Harry came bolting back into the room and exclaimed to the Grangers, "'Mione's coming! She screamed at me, though, when I woke her up. I think she hurt my ears. Wow, she's loud!"
"Stupefy!"
Harry dropped to the ground as if he was pole-axed. One of the healers, with his wand drawn, walked over and, using the Mobilicorpus Charm, levitated Harry up and put him on the bed on the other side of Emma.
Then she uncorked a potion and, using a minor cantrip to make him swallow, poured the potion down Harry's throat.
Looking up and seeing the Grangers looks of surprise, she said, "A stunning spell, followed by a potion to keep him asleep and thinking pleasant thoughts. We'll call for a mind healer for him, shortly."
Amelia said, "Make sure the mind healer you bring in is aware Harry is, pretty much, a Master Occlumens with formidable mental defences. Delving into his mind without permission may get him, or her, hurt."
The healer looked back in surprise. "At his age?" she asked.
Amelia simply nodded. "He is Lord Slytherin, after all."
Hermione entered just in time to see Harry secured into bed in pyjamas.
"Mum! Dad!" she exclaimed, slightly out of breath with her clothes slightly askew. "Harry said you were awake! At least, that's what I think he said."
"And, as you can see, Pumpkin, we are," said Dan as his daughter speed-walked across to hug him.
"I was so worried," she said with tears in her eyes. And walked around her father's bed to give her Mum a hug, as well.
"What's wrong with Harry?" she asked.
"Stress, honey," said her Mum. "The doctors are going to deal with that soon."
"I was asleep," said Hermione. "Next thing I know, someone's jumped on top of me and was shaking me by my shoulders, yelling at me that you were awake. I think I screamed at him before he ran back out the door. He scared the life out of me!"
Smiling, Dan said, "We got that - well, most of it, really - from Harry, a few seconds ago."
Interrupting, one of the healers said, "Well, it looks like your magical cores have stabilised at about one-fifty on the Merlin scale. But, we're not going to know for sure until they've finished recharging back to peak level. Whatever that happens to be"
Frowning, Hermione said, "But, Healer, my parents aren't magicals. They don't have magical cores."
Sighing, the healer replied, "And yet another child trying to tell me my job. I assure you, Miss; both of your parents have magical cores. I can only fathom that both of your parents probably had existing magical cores, but that both have been boosted when Lord Slytherin hit them with a continuous stream of highly charged pure magic. Their levels now register them as a true witch and wizard."
"But," stuttered Hermione, "We had them tested! There was nothing there!"
"Tested, Miss?" asked one of the healers, frowning.
"Lady Hermione Jean Granger. Lady Ravenclaw," replied Hermione, off-handedly. "We had them both tested at Saint Mungo's less than a month ago. I was trying to work out how I came to be Lady Ravenclaw when both of my parents were supposed to be non-magicals. Neither registered as having a magical core."
Now very interested, one of the healers asked, "And they were tested at Saint Mungo's? Who ran the tests?"
Hermione distractedly shook her head. "I don't remember. But, it was a Thursday afternoon. About three to four weeks ago."
The healer jotted it down and said, "Thank you. We'll check their files. If what you say is true, then we've found the first ever case of a muggle turning into a magical."
"Non-magical!" snapped Hermione. "Her Majesty doesn't like the term 'muggle'. It's offensive."
Not knowing what else to say, the healer replied, "Errr... my apologies. Non-magical it is, then,... My Lady."
"Miss Granger... Lady Ravenclaw," scolded Headmistress McGonagall. "Please show the healers some modicum of respect. After all, it's apparent this is the first time they've ever seen anything like this. Clearly, they're as shocked as everyone else."
Suitably abashed, Hermione said to the healers, "Sorry. I was just worried about my parents."
"Understandable," said the healer. "However, it now gives us the opportunity to find their baseline in their files at Saint Mungo's. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to the hospital and collect those files."
With that, he turned on his heel and made his way to the main fireplace before floo-ing away.
Turning to the Grangers, another healer asked, "I take it we'll be able to find you two here if we need to talk to you again?"
Looking at their daughter, who nodded, Dan replied, "We have other business we also need to attend - our own dental practice - but it looks like we'll be spending time here as well."
"Well, we need to make sure your... new... magical cores are stabilised..." he said before giving a shrug. "We're on new ground here. We have no idea what's going to happen. All we can suggest is you don't go anywhere without an emergency portkey to Saint Mungo'sor here, and a witch or wizard capable of side-along apparating. Frankly, we're completely stumped."
Dan just snorted and said, "Don't feel so bad about it, though. Even Her Majesty is... astonished... by what young Harry over there does."
"Once we're finally able to figure out what happened... and I don't intend to stop until I do... this'll make the lead story in 'Magical Medicine'," said the healer. "We're all going to be famous."
Emma snorted and said, "Knowing someone as famous young Harry over there..." she gestured towards Harry... "I'd really rather not have my name bandied about in a medical magazine or journal."
Confused, the healer said, "Yes. Lord Slytherin. I understand he'd be famous being the heir of one of the four founders but... I don't understand."
Hermione said, "Harry is Lord Harry James Potter, Earl of Slytherin; Peer of the Realm; Head of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Slytherin; Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter; apparently, Head of the Most Ancient House of Gaunt; Scion of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black; the Boy-Who-Lived; and, now, the Boy-Who-Destroyed-Voldemort. He utterly hates his fame, and wishes people would just like to get to know the boy named Harry, and be just Harry."
"Sweet Merlin!" the healer exclaimed.
"Indeed," said Amelia. "So, it would be appreciated by him if you bowed to his wishes, got over the whole Boy-Who-Lived attitude, and just called him 'Harry'."
"I... think I can do that," said the healer. The other one simply nodded.
# # #
An hour later, the Grangers were allowed out of bed and were escorted to the owners' suites by Hermione just before lunchtime. They left Harry in the infirmary asleep with Professor Snape. However, when the Potions Master awoke, and very quickly saw Harry lying in a bed of his own, demanded to be released immediately.
With imprecations from Poppy and the other healers about using any magic until his core built up again, Severus snarled he was more likely to hex 'the Potter boy' if forced to remain in the infirmary rather than be released. Besides, he reminded her, the heirs had said adults could not be forced to remain in the infirmary if they chose to leave.
Knowing the Potions Master's... discomfort... around Harry, Poppy allowed him to leave. However, she insisted he return if he felt even the slightest discomfort.
Rising from the bed, he frowned and looked down at his arm where the dark mark was. Drawing up the sleeve he found nothing more than unblemished skin. He hadn't realised, until then, he was finally free of the Mark. It left him sitting on the edge of the bed, speechless.
It wasn't until Poppy looked over towards him for a moment, and noticed him still sitting on the edge of the bed looking at his bare arm, that she ordered him out. She didn't know he'd once had the mark and had proceeded to chivvy the man out of the infirmary.
Severus knew Harry was probably the one responsible for it disappearing and was decidedly unhappy he had yet another debt he owed the boy.
He stomped out of the infirmary and returned to his private quarters off his potions lab.
# # #
In the owners' common room, over a private late breakfast early lunch, brunch, Sirius was telling the Grangers with enthusiasm how much fun it was to be a wizard or witch.
Offering Dan his own wand, Sirius suggested, "See if you can feel anything from it."
Frowning, Dan said, "There's a tingle. Almost, but not quite, like a thrum."
"That's good," said Sirius with some surprise. "Now, hold it aloft a little with the tip pointing straight up. Feel if you can push a little of your magic into it, and say 'Lumos'."
As instructed, Dan held the wand with the tip pointing up, tried to feel his magic being pushed into it, and said, "Lumos!"
The wand tip glowed quite brightly.
Sirius, quite pleased, then instructed, "Now, allow your magic to relax, and say 'Nox'."
"Nox!" said Dan in wonder. The tip extinguished.
Hermione was looking at her father quite pleased. "Well done, Daddy!" she squealed.
Offering the wand to Emma, Dan said, "Here, honey. You try."
Emma, remembering what Sirius had told her husband, frowned when it was in her hand. "I don't feel much of anything at all," she said. "Definitely no thrumming or something like that."
Nodding, Sirius said, "Try the Lumos Charm, anyway, Mrs Granger. Wand tip pointing straight up. Try to push with your magic. And say, "Lumos'."
Emma did as instructed but only saw the tip glow just a little.
Emma sighed and passed the wand back to her husband, who passed it back to Sirius.
Thinking, Sirius looked about the room. With the flash of an idea, he turned to Hermione and said, "Perhaps we may see an improvement if she tries your wand, Miss Granger." Sirius was in full Professor mode.
Hermione drew her wand out of her sleeve and offered it, handle first, to her mother.
Taking it in her hand, Emma's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Oh! Now I know what you meant by a thrum."
Sirius instructed, "Try the Lumos Charm again, please, Mrs Granger."
This time, the wand tip lit up even brighter than Dan's attempt. Emma almost forgot the cancelling Charm, 'Nox'.
Remus said, "Well, if there was ever a test to see if you were Magicals, that was it. You're definitely a wizard and a witch."
Hermione came over and gave both of her parents a hug. "Oh, wow! This is so great!" she said.
"We'll need to take you both to Ollivander's to get your own wands," said Sirius. "I'd be honoured if you'd allow me to escort you both, when you're of a mind to go."
"Actually," said Dan, "Emma's going to need to get in to the surgery before we do anything else, to let them know she's safe. She was supposed to be at work, this morning."
Sitting forward, Emma exclaimed, "Oh, bugger!"
"Mum!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Sorry, dear," said Emma distractedly. "Someone's going to need to take Dan and I home, first. I need to get changed."
"I can do that," said Hermione, thinking. "Professors Black and Lupin have classes until this afternoon. And, besides, I'm the only one to have experience of the mundane world and can dress and act, appropriately. I also know where the dental surgery is and can side-along apparate Mum to the laneway just around the corner, to speed things up a bit."
"You do realise," said Remus to the Grangers. "Now that you're a witch and wizard, you can fully integrate yourself into our society. You really no longer need your dental business."
Shaking his head, Dan said, "I don't want to give up the practice. We've worked too hard to walk away from it."
"Well," said Remus. "You're going to need to develop at least some skill in using magic. If you don't, you're going to have periods of accidental magic, and that places you at risk of breaking the Statute of Secrecy, to which you're now bound."
Taking the conversation from there, Sirius said, "For at least a couple of months, you're going to need some intensive training in using your magic. I know it's short notice, but can you find a replacement for the both of you for that period of time?"
Thinking hard, Hermione asked, "What about after hours schooling?"
Frowning, Sirius asked her, "What do you mean?"
"Well," replied Hermione. "In the mundane world, when someone wants to better themselves, or learn a new skill, they often take classes after work. Some call it Night School."
"That means," said Dan, "We maintain our existing, non-magical, lives as dentists during the day. Then, in the evenings, we study magic." Laughing, he said, "It would be like having a secret identity like a comic book hero!"
"And you call this 'Night School'?" asked Remus.
"Uh-hmm," nodded Emma.
Neville leaned forward and asked, "May I offer some suggestions?"
"Sure!" replied Dan, first in.
"Okay," said Neville holding up his hand and beginning to tick things off on his fingers. "Now that the entire Granger family are Magicals, they can now get the Granger home connected to the floo. That means they can have instant access through to here once it's connected," he gestured at the fireplace. "We have plenty of teaching staff, and will soon have more. So, I think at least one or two of them would leap at the chance of teaching magic, in the evenings, to the world's first people who were... converted... from non-magicals to magicals. This will also be the perfect place to do it, as those healers you two have made all excited will have access to the infirmary, and direct access to Saint Mungo's."
Leaning forward herself, from where she'd returned to her seat, Hermione said, "It also means you can spend the evenings here and have dinner with us. As it's our castle, no one can whinge about how you're getting a 'free feed'."
"And," said Susan, putting her own views in, "We're not going to be able to keep what happened secret for very long. We can't even tell people you were magicals all along because, when the truth does come out - and we know it will - they're going to know we lied. And we need people to trust us.
"Those healers are also going to want to write papers on what happened to you two. When they get published, Master Healers from around the world are going to want to come and see you. Here, in the castle, we can protect you from much of it."
Sirius sighed and said, "Harry despises being known as the Boy-Who-Lived. That's going to be nothing compared to being the 'Muggles-Who-Became-Magicals'."
Susan said, "And we still don't know... no one knows... if this is going to be permanent, or not. If we can convince one of the Master Healers who has already seen you to come and visit each night and on weekends for at least a little while, just to check on you, we'll be prepared and have you close by if something starts to go wrong."
"And, it shouldn't interfere with you and your dental surgery," said Hermione. "Though, you may need to cut back on the number of patients you see in the afternoons."
Dan sighed and said, "As a medical professional, I can see the wisdom in what you're saying. But, as a business owner and operator, I can see this is going to cause a sizable... dent... in our financial state of affairs. Plus, we also have social lives and a network of friends... non-magical friends... who are going to start asking questions about why our routine has suddenly drastically altered. I'm already getting a lot of grief from them about how I took a sudden two month vacation from our practice and didn't go anywhere."
Hermione said, "That's why magicals and non-magicals don't normally mix. And, it's why magical-born tend to despise mundane-borns. They think mundane-borns are far more likely than they to break the Statute of Secrecy. The problem is, they're right.
"For example, a mundane-born witch or wizard is in the mundane world walking down a street. They see a small child run out into the road and just about to be hit by a car. Out of instinct, the mundane-born witch or wizard summons the child to them. How do they then explain that to the witnesses?
"That's where the Ministry's Obliviation Squad comes in. They have no choice but to obliviate all the non-magicals of the event, and serve the mundane-born witch or wizard with a notice of the breach of the Statute. Any further incidences will likely see the mundane-born serve time in prison."
"So, that's why most mundane-borns, when they can't secure employment in Magical Britain, head overseas!" mused Susan. "I couldn't understand or figure out why so many did that."
Neville, who had been thinking, was frowning at the rings Harry had made and Emma and Dan were still wearing. "Mr and Mrs Granger?" he asked.
"Hmmm?" asked Dan.
"Were you wearing those rings your whole time in the infirmary?" asked Neville.
Dan looked down at his ring and twisted it with his off hand. "I guess so, why?"
"I think it's what may have been... confusing the healer's scans," mused Neville. "Take them off, please."
Dan, followed by Emma, removed the rings and placed them on the coffee table, frowning in confusion.
"Do you still see the castle?" asked Neville.
"Of course," replied Dan.
Neville shook his head and said, "There is no, 'of course' here, Sir. Before the... accident, those rings were the only thing allowing you to see the castle. That you can still see it, even from inside it, means your magical cores are definitely still in place. Magic would not have allowed you to see it if you weren't magicals. From what I understand, you would now think you were sitting on something inside the ruins of an old castle."
Remus sat back forward and said, "I think we need to get you two back to the infirmary and have a healer rescan your cores. Neville is probably right in that the rings may have been affecting the scans they've done on you."
"That sounds like a wise course of action, to me," said Susan.
"Right, then," said Dan standing up. "We should do that now."
The entire group then made their way out of the owner's common room and back to the infirmary.
# # #
Back in the infirmary, Harry was at the back of the room with an elderly looking witch. Both were sitting in large-sized matching armchairs with a small occasional table between them and sipping on tea. The elderly witch had a dicta-quill running close by.
The elderly witch was the mind healer the healer who had left, and since returned, had sent back to talk to Harry. He was going over how he felt and why he needed to be arrested. She was not telling him anything; rather, she was simply asking questions. Harry felt some of them were inconsequential, but he couldn't help but answer her questions. He found her to be quite the nice lady.
What Harry didn't know was that she had laced his tea with a very mild form of Veritaserum and a mild Compulsion potion and Calming Draught.
When the Granger-party walked back in they headed to talk to the three healers. The one who had left had returned and brought another pair of medical files with him. Both Minerva and Amelia had already left.
"Ah!" asked the first healer, "Has something happened?"
Dan shook his head and replied, "No. However, young Neville, here, pointed out how we were wearing... enchanted... rings that allowed us to see that which is normally hidden to non-magicals by magic. He thinks it may have been interfering with your scans."
With a slight frown, the healer asked, "Do you have the rings with you?"
Dan pulled them out of his coat pocket and handed them over. The healer passed his wand over them and frowned. "It's possible," he mused. "Would you mind lying back down on the beds again? I think we should do another scan."
As the Grangers were climbing back onto the beds again, the healer explained to his colleagues what he'd been told. The three of them rescanned both Grangers and moved slightly away to discuss their findings.
On their return, the first healer said, "Well, it seems the rings have confused our readings. As of right now, your much more stable cores are showing a Merlin scale reading of a little over 200 points. And, they're still slowly, but steadily, rising."
"Do you know when it's going to stop?" asked Dan.
"No," replied another healer. "So, we'd like you to come back this evening and we'll perform another scan. And we'll keep doing them until it steadies at whatever level it reaches. As we said earlier, this is all new to us."
The third healer said, "We've also had a chance to peruse your files from when you attended Saint Mungo's. And we apologise for disbelieving you, Lady Ravenclaw, when you said they didn't have a magical core. The files show they clearly didn't."
Hermione bobbed her head in acceptance.
The second healer said, "At some time, we'd really like you to come to Saint Mungo'sso we can put you through our MMRI machine so we can perform a full body scan on each of you. As you were both mug... errr... non-magicals until this happened, we'd like to see how the magical pathways have established throughout your bodies."
Dan looked at Emma before turning back and saying, "We can do that. However, it would probably be somewhat pointless until our.. cores... settle down, anyway. Right?"
"Correct, Sir," said the healer.
"In that case," said Dan sitting up and swinging his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed, "as long as there isn't any imminent likelihood of us dying or anything, we'll come back after dinner this evening. If that's okay?"
"Yes, Sir," replied the healer.
Dan nodded and said, "We need to get home and visit our own practice to let them know we've not simply disappeared off the face of the Earth. And to cancel our appointments for the next few days."
"Plus," said Emma, also now sitting on the edge of the bed, "I've been told we should go and get ourselves a wand each."
Surprised, the healer replied, "That's probably a good idea. But, please, make sure someone accompanies you at all times. At least for the next twenty four hours, or so."
Both Dan and Emma nodded. Dan said, "Thank you."
As the party were walking back out the doors, Emma noticed Hermione was not with them. Turning back she saw her daughter looking to the back of the room at Harry with a look of worry on her face.
"Hermione?" she called.
Turning, Hermione just looked at her mother.
"The healer will take care of him, dear," said Emma. "You're going to need to trust in them to do right by Harry. Now, come on. You need to take us home."
Hermione sighed a little and followed her mother out of the infirmary.
# # #
After shuttling her parents home, apparating right into the living room, the Granger adults had a quick shower, changed into non-magical clothes and packed a small travel case each, and giving their owl, Mir Curie, a feed before sending it on to Hogwarts.
Hermione then took them to a quiet laneway near their dental practice where they walked the short distance. They organised for their patients to be told they wouldn't be able to see them for a few days, claiming a mild strain of Rubella for their staff to give as an excuse. Hermione waited outside in the laneway with their bags.
They headed back into the lane where they arrived, and Hermione apparated them directly back to the castle to drop off their bags in the owners' common room before they floo'ed to Diagon Alley. It was still a secret the four heirs could apparate and they didn't want other magicals to see them arrive that way.
In Ollivander's both received their first wands, without the trace, and Hermione paid for them using her ring. They left Ollivander in a great deal of shock as he vividly remembered the two adults from when they came in with Hermione to pick up hers. He was stumped how he couldn't sense them having a magical core each then, but could now.
A quick bite to eat in the Leaky Cauldron of a wonderful thick soup and crusty bread, they chatted over a few inconsequential things.
As they'd been able to move through their business so fast, Hermione suggested they go in to the Ministry to the Department of Magical Transportation to have their home connected to the floo network. They also organised for the fireplace in their home to be magically enlarged and charmed to appear as it normally was when not in use. Again, Hermione paid for it using her ring.
The Grangers left with a small bag of floo powder and the promise the floo would be connected in a couple of days. They had been quite amused with the various people in the Ministry, and what they'd seen, when they left.
They arrived back at the castle in plenty of time before the last classes were dismissed.
Back in the owners' common room, Hermione found Neville and Susan talking animatedly with Sirius, Remus and Professor Vector. "Professor Vector?" asked Hermione. "What brings you here?"
"Lady Hufflepuff asked me to stop by and go over some notes she and Professor Lupin have been writing," the dark skinned witch replied. "They've been trying to go through the arithmancy to see if they can find the answer to how your parents became magicals."
"And, what did you find?" asked Hermione.
"We've found we've little idea," she replied, shaking her head. "And we're not likely to, either."
Susan said, "The only facts we have is that Harry stripped Riddle of all his magic and, through him, drained all the magic out of about fifty Death Eaters. We also know that all that magic sprayed out of the back of his shoulder, and that most of it struck the Grangers full-on. From what we can conceive, no one has ever been hit with that much pure magic before.
"To measure it, we'd need to know how big on the Merlin scale each of the Death Eaters and Riddle rated. However, if we were to use the mean average with Riddle sitting at about 950 - and we got that from records - then your parents were hit with a significant portion of what would rate at about 33,500 Merlin points of magic. Of that, we think about two thirds didn't hit them directly, or was bounced off. That still leaves about 11,000 points of magic power hitting them full-on."
"In other words," said the Professor. "We think your parents were directly struck with about the same amount of magic as the entire magical core's worth of seventeen individual magic users. And that doesn't include whether or not what missed them and hit the wall didn't also contribute. The numbers are staggering in their enormity.
"As they were not covered with the... crystallised magic... like the wall was, the only thing we can surmise is that their bodies simply absorbed it. The pure magical energy then... changed... their bodies to become magical." Professor Vector then leaned back, still quite astonished by what they'd been able to surmise from their arithmancy and summations. "If Lord Slytherin had tried to absorb the magic he pulled out of Tom Riddle, it would have consumed him."
Neville frowned and said, "I wonder..."
Susan asked, "'I wonder'... what?"
"Harry knew that Hermione wished that her parents were also magicals," he explained. "He also knew that they couldn't... shouldn't... have wards up about their home to protect them from magical attack. We also know that magic is inherently intent-based. If, when pulling the magic out through his own body, he had in the back of his mind he wished for her parents to be magical to make Hermione happy..."
"... Then the magic coming out of the back of his shoulder that hit the Grangers possibly held that intent," continued Susan. "So, when the pure magical energy struck them, it acted with that intent from Harry. And, set to work."
"Dear Merlin!" said a clearly shocked Professor Vector. "It's quite possible."
Susan stood up and said, "I'm going to go talk to the healers. Care to join me, Professor?"
"Yes... yes..." said the Professor standing, straightening her robes and heading out the door. "Excuse us, please." And they were gone.
Hermione, about to follow them, heard Neville call her name. "Huh?" she asked.
"How did it go at your dental practice and Diagon Alley?" he asked.
"Good," said Hermione. "They've informed their practice they're going to be unavailable for the next few days, and Ollivander fitted them both for wands. We also went into the Ministry and put into motion getting the fireplace at home connected to the floo network. How's it been here?"
Shrugging, Neville replied, "Don't know. Sirius and I went to Black Manor and found the book Harry got Riddle to tell us probably had the spell Lestrange used to put my parents into a coma after torturing them. He's looking through it now."
"And I think I've found it," replied Sirius. "We, too, need to speak with the healers." And he rose from where he was sitting. "Coming, Neville?"
This time Hermione was just starting to follow them when her father called to her, "Pumpkin?"
"Yes, Dad?" she asked hesitating to talk to him. "I know you want to go and see how Harry and your friends are doing; but, would you mind showing us where we're going to sleep tonight, first?"
"Oh!" said Hermione a bit embarrassed. "Hang on." And she asked the castle to arrange a married persons' suite near where they were.
*Pop* "Yes, Missy Claw?" asked the house elf that had just popped in.
Hermione looked down at it and said, "I've just asked Lady Hogwarts to prepare a married persons' suite near where we are. Do you know where it is?"
"Yes, Missy Claw!" replied the house elf. "We's just making place ready now."
Nodding, Hermione asked, "Can you please show us the way?"
"Yes, Missy Claw!" replied the house elf. "You'se follow Fizzy. Fizzy takes you."
And the little elf dashed across to the door. Hermione followed but was stopped by her father asking, "Ummm... Pumpkin? Where did our bags go?"
Hermione just smiled and said, "Follow me, and I'll show you."
Only about fifty metres down the passage there was a painting with an older couple waiting in it. "Ah!" said the man in it. "I take it you're to be our new guests?"
Without answering, Hermione turned to her father and said, "These are my parents, Dan and Emma Granger, they will be your guests for the next few days at least. I also want the room to be set aside for them on a permanent basis."
Both images in the paintings nodded and the woman said, "Then, welcome, dears. You can set the password for your suite barring entry to others by giving it to the painting of Colonel Thruppence inside the sitting room."
Though, Hermione and Dan were now used to talking paintings, Emma wasn't as much. "Ummm... thank you," she said with a bit of a stutter.
"You're welcome, dear," said the painted woman. The painting clicked and swung open into the passageway a little.
Hermione grabbed the edge of the frame and pulled it wide open. She then ushered her parents inside.
Pulling the door behind her she indicated the portrait of the Colonel, "You'll need to tell him the password you want for the door. You'll need a password to stop the Weasley twins from coming in, at least. Those two consider themselves the resident castle pranksters, and would consider coming in here a challenge that they simply cannot ignore."
"Shall we have a look around while you consider a password?" she asked.
The suite had the small living room they were in, a bathroom, a toilet off the bathroom, a large bedroom with a small walk-in robe and direct access to the bathroom, a kitchen cum dining room and a small study. It was all tastefully furnished but, as with the owner's suites, the furniture was all antiquated.
The first one into the bathroom, Emma saw what was tastefully arranged on the vanity. "Dan?" she called.
"Yes, dear?" he replied having a look into the bedroom from the door between the living room and the bedroom. "All our bathroom things are already here."
Dan walked into the bathroom from the door between the bedroom and bathroom and said, "Then you'll probably want to come and have a look at this."
Leading her into the bedroom he showed her their night clothes laid on the bed and the rest of their clothing in the walk in wardrobe.
"But, how?" asked Emma.
"The house elves, dear," he replied with a smile. "They tend to anticipate your every need." With a bit of a chuckle he said, "No more housework for you, my darling, while there are house elves around."
While Hermione waited for them near the portrait hole, the Grangers finished their exploration.
"Decided on your password yet?" she asked her father.
"Yes," Dan simply replied. He walked up to the portrait and said, "Colonel, we have the password for you."
"Oh, jolly good, old boy," it replied.
"The password is Gingivitis," said Dan.
"Gingivitis!" said the Colonel. "Excellent!"
Hermione smiled and said, "I really want to go and visit with Harry for a little while. Do you want to come along? I think we've still got about two hours before the evening meal in the Great Hall. Or, would you prefer to explore for a bit?"
"I think we'd like to explore for a bit, sweetheart," replied Dan. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course, not, Dad," replied Hermione. "I understand you've spent enough time in the infirmary for your stay here. Just call for a house elf if you get lost while you're exploring. They'll show you the way."
"Thank you, Pumpkin," said Dan, as Hermione opened the portrait main door, stepped out and closed it behind herself.
Just standing there, Dan turned to Emma and asked, "Ummm...how do you feel, Darling?"
Looking back at her husband, she replied, "I'm happy. Except for being poked and prodded in the infirmary by those... healers... I've managed to see the school where my daughter is learning magic."
"No," replied Dan. "Well, yeah; I guess I'm happy, too. I mean... how do you feel... physically, I mean."
Frowning a bit, Emma said, "Now that you mention it, I feel... alive." With that she grinned a little and said, "I feel like I used to feel when I was in my early twenties. You know, when we were... just getting to know each other." And a wide smile broke out on her face.
"Me, too!" said Dan happily. "I feel I like I could run to the moon or back. Or, you know... do something else!"
With a sly grin, Emma asked, "Are you feeling... frisky, husband mine?"
"Hell, yes!" he replied.
"Me too!" she replied with a gleeful squeal, before running into the bedroom.
Dan charged after her and slammed the door shut behind himself.
# # #
Down in the infirmary Harry had only recently finished talking with the mind healer. He was surprised with how much time she spent with him. They even had lunch together.
What Harry didn't know was that the mind healer had returned to Saint Mungo's to write up her report for Madam Bones, and a copy for Harry's near-new medical file kept at Saint Mungo's.
When Hermione came in she hurried over to where Harry was gathering a few things preparing to leave the infirmary. Together, they walked over to talk to the healers, who had set up a wide table in the middle of the room and were sitting around it with various sheets of parchment. Susan and Professor Vector had recently left and they were now talking to Neville and Sirius.
Neville was nearly bouncing out of his seat in nervous excitement, while Sirius and the healers were going over a particular curse in the large book Sirius had opened in front of them.
Conjuring two chairs for he and Hermione at the table, Harry said, "Hi, everyone." And sat down.
"Good to see you feeling better, Harry," said Sirius. "Have a nice time talking to the nice lady?"
"Yeah, she was actually pretty easy to talk to," replied Harry. "She explained how I couldn't be at fault for what happened to the Death Eaters because there was no way I could have known. Except, I think I should have known considering how much power I drew out of Tom. We're at a bit of an impasse there.
"But I'm not responsible, mentally, for what happened to the Grangers because that was just my body and my magic trying to protect me by not trying to hold on to all that magic to myself. If I had tried then it would have killed me way before I was done. And Riddle would have escaped, and found a willing host.
"However, I hurt them. I think I should have asked the castle to put up a ward to protect them. But, she said any ward I put up would have failed anyway," he sighed.
Shaking his head, one of the healers said, "We just had Lady Hufflepuff - and I'm still trying to get used to that, by the way - and Professor Vector in here with a theory about what happened, Lord Slytherin. However, while we recognised the flaw in their thoughts surrounding the subject, it gave us a lead as to what actually happened."
"Oh?" asked Harry.
Nodding, the healer replied, "They believed you had unconsciously had the magic turn them into magicals. The flaw in that was that you were already casting a spell, drawing the magic out of V... Riddle, at the time. So, you couldn't also have been casting a second spell turning the Grangers into magicals. Besides, the magic that struck the Grangers wasn't spell magic; it was core magic, unchanged into spell magic. Lady Hufflepuff's and Professor Vector's calculations led us to a different theory.
"Instead, what we believe happened, is the magic struck them and entered their bodies still as core magic. As core magic can only exist in a human body in a magical core, a part of the magic created a new core in each of them so that it could remain within them. It built the cores where none existed, then probably all the relevant magical pathways - but, we won't be able to properly determine that until we get them into our MMRI machine at Saint Mungo's - and settled in as if it was home. Our surface scans, however, show all the relevant pathways to be there.
"So, how are they doing?" asked Harry a bit nervously.
"As far as we can tell, they're fine," replied the healer. "Their bodies are showing no sign of the core magic dissipating. Instead, it appears their cores are getting stronger. Now their cores are drawing the magic from the ley lines and ambient magic just as other magicals do. The only thing we don't know, at this time, is just how big their magical cores actually are because they're still recharging; or, charging up for the first time. We'll have a better idea when they stop charging up."
Frowning, Harry asked, "So, they're going to stay magicals then?"
"It definitely appears that way," said the healer, firmly.
Harry sagged back in relief. Before he then sat forward again. "A...And how do they feel about that? Are they upset with me about it?"
Hermione snorted and said, "Hell, no! I think they're over the moon, actually. They're definitely not unhappy."
"Where are they now?" asked Harry. "I really should apologise to them for placing them in harm's way like that."
"You apologised to them, this morning, Harry," replied Hermione. "I also had Hogwarts open a small apartment for them just down the corridor from ours. They're going to stay with us for a few days as the healers want them close by to monitor the... growth... the filling of their new magical cores."
"And... ummm... where did Madam Bones go?" asked Harry. "I really need..."
Interrupting, one of the other healers said, "She said that if you still believed you should be under arrest, then you should consider yourself under house arrest and remain here in the castle until you're called for."
"Besides," said the third healer, "you should be here for if Healer Smethwyck, the nice lady you talked to, returns tomorrow. She enjoys talking with you."
"Oh," said Harry. "Good, then."
"Now that that's out of the way," said Neville. "Sirius and I went to Black Manor and found the book Riddle told you about."
"Book?" asked Harry. "Oh, the one you asked Tom about that related to what's going on with your parents."
"Yep!" said Neville. "And, we found it! It was in the Black library where he thought it was. Sirius brought it back with us!"
"So, there's a chance we can wake your parents up?" asked Harry, hopefully.
"Not you, Lord Slytherin," replied the third healer before Neville could say anything. "That will be handled carefully by those of us at Saint Mungo's who are experienced with long term coma patients waking up.
"If we can reverse the effects of the curse, it'll take us at least three days to get them fully awake. And, even then, it will take careful handling of both patients to get them back to health."
"No... no..." said Harry. "Of course not us. You know this better than us. I should have thought of that myself."
The healer just sighed in exasperation. "Really, Lord Slytherin. You keep wanting people to not believe all the stories written about you; and then, you go and behave like this."
"Which reminds me," said one of the healers. "You should also let us have a look at all those injuries you've suffered you related in your book. We may be able to do something about healing the injuries."
Harry firmly shook his head. "Too much to do; too little time to do it in. Besides, Her Majesty has given me a task to do and I'm on a mission to get it done."
"Need I remind you, Lord Slytherin," the healer pointed out, "You're currently under house arrest; for, at least, the next few days."
Harry grumbled a bit and grouched, "Fine! But I'm going to have the evening meal in the Great Hall first! The students need to see that I'm healthy and alive. After what happened yesterday, rumours are going to be flying..."
#BOOM!#