Harry Potter and the Creature Within
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 3
Harry awoke bright and early the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. He reached over to the small nightstand beside his bed and grabbed his glasses. He put them on and everything became clearer.
He looked around the room. He had grown to know the place pretty well since he had been there so many times before in his previous years at Hogwarts. About a dozen other beds lined the walls opposite eachother. Everything was stark white, there was hardly any color in the room which made it even less inviting than it already was, being a hospital and all. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight and the door to her private room was closed. Harry took this to mean either she was still sleeping or in another part of the castle.
Harry noticed that Hedwig's cage was still empty. He was waiting anxiously for Ron and Hermione's replies and hoped they would arrive soon. He couldn't help but wonder if they might think less of him now, seeing as though he had turned into a "monster". But then he thought, No, that's crazy. They're perfectly fine with Lupin.
But for the next few hours he laid in bed arguing silently with himself about what Ron and Hermione's reactions would be.
Finally, about halfway through the day, Hedwig flew in through the window with two letters attached to her leg. She landed on the edge of Harry's bed and stuck out her right leg. Harry reached out and untied the two letters. He gave her an owl treat and she flew over to her cage to rest.
Harry unfolded the first piece of parchment and immediately recognized Hermione's neat handwriting. The letter read:
Dear Harry,
Oh, I'm so glad you're alright! But you should never have left the Dursley's, Harry! You could have been killed! You could have written and told us what they were doing to you. We would have gotten you out of there.
But anyway, Ron and I will help you through this. I'll check out some more books about werewolves so we'll know exactly what you'll be going through.
Do you know how long you have to stay in the Hospital Wing? I'm going to Ron's tomorrow to stay for the rest of the summer holidays and I expect Ron will be asking you to come too. I guess now they will have to send an owl to Dumbledore first. I'm sure you'll be able to come though, Harry.
Hope to see you soon!
Love,
Hermione
He laid Hermione's letter on the stand and picked up Ron's. It read:
Harry,
Wow! I was in complete shock when I read your letter. It just doesn't seem real. It's really horrible that this had to happen. Don't worry though, mate. Hermione and I will help you through this. I'm sure she has already gotten a million books about werewolves to go through.
Harry had to laugh at that last sentence because she had indeed said she was going to read up on werewolves. He went back to Ron's letter.
Hermione is coming over tomorrow. Mum said you could come too, but we have to send an owl to Dumbledore to make sure it's okay. He should have gotten it by now if you're reading this. We sent both letters at the same time. I'll send you an owl when we get Dumbledore's reply.
You're Friend,
Ron
Harry smiled as he laid Ron's letter down on the stand by Hermione's. He knew he could always count on his two best friends.
The Hospital Wing door opened and Madam Pomfrey walked in.
"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office. The password is Lemon drop."
"Okay," Harry replied, and he got up from the bed and headed out the door. The pain in his shoulder seemed to have gone away. The place where he had been bitten was still bright red, but it had stopped bleeding. He supposed that it would never heal completely. Madam Pomfrey had told him it could not be healed my magic because werewolves were so powerful. She kept putting ointment on the bite but in the end, it would have to heal on its own.
Harry walked through the halls of Howarts. Never had he seen them so empty besides his few nighttime wanderings. But even then he had seen the occasional teacher patrolling the halls. Now there was no one. Finally he reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. It leapt aside as he said," Lemon drop" and he stepped into the moving staircase. It spiraled upward to a large oak door with a brass knocker. He stepped off the moving staircase and knocked.
"Come in," he heard Dumbledore say from inside.
Harry opened the door and walked into the room. It looked just like it always had with portraits of previous headmasters on the walls either snoring softly or off visiting other portraits. An assortment of odd objects were placed all around the room. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk looking at a piece of parchment.
"Hello, Harry," he said. "Have a seat."
Harry went over to a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk and sat down.
"How is your shoulder feeling today?" Dumebledore asked.
"It feels fine, Sir," Harry replied. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"That's good," Dumebledore said. "As you may know, the Weasley's have invited you to come stay with them for the rest of the summer holidays."
"Can I?" Harry asked.
"Are you sure you feel okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Then you can go. But the day before the next full moon you must come back here so you can go to the Shrieking Shack on the night of the full moon," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, Sir," Harry said. "Will I be able to go back then afterwards?"
"You will be weak for a few days after the full moon, but yes, after you rest up a bit you can go back," Dumbledore replied.
"Thank you, Sir," said Harry, relieved that the rest of the summer wouldn't be a complete waste.
"Now you better get back to the Hospital Wing and rest up, or Madam Pomfrey will demand you stay there the rest of the summer, said Dumebledore. "You're dismissed."
"Yes, Sir," Harry nodded and quickly exited the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He stepped back onto the moving staircase and slowly decended down to the bottom. Once he reached the stone gargoyle, he stepped off the staircase and made his way back to the Hospital Wing.
Reviews:
Freakstar: Yes, I see what you'r'e saying. I'll try to put some more emotion into it in future chapters. Thanks for the review!
Cyra Hakkai: No, there won't be a pairing of Harry and Lupin. And I see what you mean about the jumping around. I went through what I had already prewritten for this chapter and added some more details. Hopefully it flows a bit better now. Thanks for the review!
Please review!
Constructive criticism is appreciated!
sapphire015