Previous Chapters:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003768423
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003769317
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003770117
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003771789
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003772695
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003774876
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003775746
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003776170
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003776958
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003777821
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003778655
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003779874
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003781975
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003784137
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003786670
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003788477
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003788958
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003789922
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003790766
Tags:
@Teddy.J.B @Pervaza972 @CatsAndRoblox @Missy Clara Oswald
Chapter Twenty: Elf Tails
‘I should have taken her to the kitchen for our date, we would have had food, we would have been warm, and we wouldn’t have left early, and she wouldn’t be lying here,’ said Terence miserably.
It was the next morning; the hospital wing was quiet, the windows closest to Tracey’s bed had yet to be drawn open. Harry, Terence, Allison, Theodore, and Canini were sitting around her, Terence holding her hand; they had spent all night waiting outside the double doors, trying to see inside whenever somebody went in or out. Madam Pomfrey had only let them enter at eight o’clock in the morning. It had been a long sleepless night.
‘It’s not your fault,’ protested Theodore. ‘If anything it’s mine because if I had been in the dormitory or common room I could have cured her and Harry wouldn’t have had to take her to Slughorn.’
‘Theo, don’t say that, it was clearly none of our faults,’ expressed Canini.
‘She’s right, Trace would not want us to blame ourselves and tear ourselves apart. She’d want us to stick together,’ said Allison in a matter-of-fact way while standing next to Harry.
‘I still don’t understand how this happened?’ said Terence, who for the first few hours after Tracey was poisoned had been in shock and hadn’t really processed what Harry had said the first time.
Harry retold the story he had already recounted, it felt like a hundred times, to Dumbledore, to McGonagall, to Madam Pomfrey, to his friends, and then to Canini. In each of his accounts to his friends he had left out who the love potion had been from, as while what Romilda Vane had done was wrong, she didn’t deserve to be blamed for Tracey nearly dying.
‘…and then I got the bezoar down her throat and her breathing eased up a bit, Slughorn ran for help, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey turned up, and they brought Tracey up here. They reckon she’ll be all right. Madam Pomfrey says she’ll have to stay here a week or so...keep taking essence of rue...'
'I'm just glad you thought of the bezoar, if you hadn't pulled that stunt in Potions class Tracey would be dead, so while I was mad at the time, I'm glad you did it now,' said Theodore solemnly.
'Thank you, although I'm just lucky there was one in the room,' said Harry, who kept turning cold at the thought of what would have happened if he had not been able to lay hands on the little stone.
'Don't dwell on the "what-if's", Harry, you saved her, focus on that,' said Allison, taking his hand in hers. It felt nice, and comforting, although he couldn't help noticing Theodore now looking at them.
'Does Tracey's family know what happened yet?' asked Canini who had only found out what happened when she woke up this morning.
'Yeah, her parents and brother arrived just after midnight, they were with her most of the night and are now talking with Dumbledore,' said Terence. 'I don't think this is how Liano or her father wished to first see Hogwarts.
There was a pause while they all watched Tracey mumble a little in her sleep.
'Do you know what poison it was?' asked Theodore.
'No, just that it was in the mead and that thankfully it was not the kind that kills instantly,' said Harry at once; he could think of nothing else and was glad for the opportunity to start discussing it again.
'Could Slughorn have been the one who poisoned the mead, or even Tracey's glass specifically?' asked Terence.
'Possibly,' said Harry, 'but why would Slughorn want to poison Tracey?'
'I'm just trying to think of what possibly happened,' answered Terence.
'What if Slughorn did poison a cup, but meant to give it to Harry but got them mixed up,' speculated Canini.
'But why would he try to poison Harry?' asked Allison.
'I'm not sure, but a lot of people want to hurt Harry now, and Harry has told me he doesn't fully trust Slughorn, that and Slughorn is from an older generation of Slytherins.'
'I said that back in July, you are making him sound like a Death Eater, I thought you'd like him alright since he makes you Wolfbane potions every month,' said Harry, not expecting this from his sister.
'Slughorn doesn't make me my potions, I still get mine from Snape. He insisted on still being on Wolfbane making duty this year, probably to help D-er, to help keep himself in a similar routine.'
'But do you think he is a Death Eater, it wouldn't be the most surprising thing,' asked Allison to the group.
'If he poisoned the glass, to be clear though I think the poison was in the bottle not the glass, it is more likely that he's under the Imperius Curse,' said Harry, but then thinking about the memory Slughorn contained and how Voldemort might see it as a threat he continued. 'I think its more likely the the poison was meant for Slughorn himself. He was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way, maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore.'
'However you told us Harry that Slughorn had originally planned to gift the bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas,' Theodore reminded him. 'That leaves the possibility that the poisoner could have intended it to be for Dumbledore.'
'Well then the would be assassin does not know Slughorn very well,' responded Harry. 'If they spent even ten minutes with him outside of his classroom duties they'd know Slughorn would rather keep a good drink to himself then gift it to Dumbledore as his relationship with him is still rocky.'
The infirmary doors flew open, making them all jump: Hagrid came striding toward them, his hair rain-flecked, his bearskin coat flapping behind him, a crossbow in his hand, leaving a trail of muddy dolphin-sized footprints all over the floor.
'Bin in the forest all night!' he panted. 'Aragog’s worse, I bin protecting him from night threats—didn’ get up ter breakfast till jus’ now an’ then Professor Sprout told me abou’ Tracey! How is she?'
'Not bad,' said Harry. 'They say she’ll be okay.'
'No more than six visitors at a time!' said Madam Pomfrey, hurrying out of her office.
'But with Hagrid there is only six?' Terence pointed out.
'Oh...yes...' said Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to have been counting Hagrid as several people due to his vastness. To cover her confusion, she hurried off to clear up his muddy footprints with her wand.
'I don’ believe this,' said Hagrid hoarsely, shaking his great shaggy head as he stared down at Tracey. 'Jus’ don’ believe it...Look at her lyin’ there...Who’d want ter hurt her, eh?'
'That’s just what we were discussing,' said Harry. 'We don’t know.'
'Someone couldn’ have a grudge against certain Quidditch teams, could they?' said Hagrid anxiously. 'Firs’ Katie who's a Captain, now Tracey who's a Captain's girlfriend...'
Terence let out a low whimper, he evidently didn't need more speculation that Tracey's current state was his fault.
'If they were trying to weaken rival Quidditch teams, then that would imply Summerby or Duncan Inglebee was behind the attacks and I just don't see them stooping anywhere close to murder,' said Harry.
'Maybe Cho Chang is trying to get revenge,' said Theodore in a joking way, and Harry could guess what he meant.
'Why would ya say dat, Theodore,' said Hagrid in shock.
Harry looked at Allison, who gave him a little nod. They then raised their intertwined hands.
'Theodore is joking. He said that because I turned her down and I am now dating Allison,' answered Harry.
‘I knew it,’ said Theodore smugly.
‘Wait, is this true?’ asked Canini, with her first smile since she arrived.
‘Yes, it is true,’ said Allison with a small smile.
‘Congrats,’ said Terence, though he wasn’t smiling.
Hagrid seemed to lighten up, even if just for a second, 'Ah, well, at least a little good news came from all a dis.'
They stayed silent for another second, then Allison got them back on track.
'While I agree with Harry that this likely wasn't Quidditch based, I think its possible the to attacks may have been by the same person or group.'
‘I’m not sure that it is the same person,’ said Terence.
‘No, let’s hear out Allison’s logic on this one,’ said Harry, making good on his promise he had given her about helping her get recognized for more than just her Beater skills. Allison smiled slightly.
‘The reason I think they might be connected is while on the surface the two attacks look nothing alike, when you think about them more there are some significant similarities,’ said Allison, very serious. ‘They both should have been deadly, but both the curse and the poison were a type where there was a possibility to survive, even if only slight. Then in both cases the attack did not reach who it was supposed to. Katie Bell was Imperiused to take it to some in the castle but never got that far, and then no offence to Tracey but she was not the target, it was most likely for Slughorn or Dumbledore. Then finally let’s discuss the methods, both times the person or people responsible tried to use another person to deliver the attack, but the chances of the people chosen reaching their target were slim, I think whoever is responsible either doesn’t have their heart in the act or don’t care that people other than their target get hurt or killed along the way.’
Before anybody could respond to this ominous pronouncement, the infirmary doors opened again and the Davis’ hurried up the ward. They quickly joined the group surrounding Tracey as she silently slept; now Mr Davis firmly grasped Harry’s shoulder so that they were now face to face.
‘Professor Dumbledore explained that it was you who gave my daughter the bezoar that saved her life. As a doctor I can not be more grateful that someone who knew emergency lifesaving knowledge was with her when she had her medical emergency. I wanted to thank you in person, Harry Potter, for being Tracey’s friend, and for helping her,’ said Dr Nigel Davis, holding his hand out to Harry, and while wished they were shaking hands under better circumstances, he did take Tracey’s father’s hand and gave it a firm shake.
‘Yes, while we are not members of the Order we are loyal to its cause, but now we also owe you a debt, Mr Potter,’ said Jahzara Davis. ‘And as a Legislator at the Ministry I don’t say that lightly.’
‘You don’t owe me, Mrs Davis, last year you helped organize a ruling that prevented my sister here from being expelled because she’s a werewolf—‘
Tracey’s older brother, Liano, was still only wearing his St. George University green and gold pajamas, and while he had looked worried up until now, his face lit up with curiosity and looked straight at Canini.
‘—wait? You’re an actual werewolf?—‘
Mrs Davis shot her son a look that clearly meant “that’s rude” and then Harry finished.
‘—my family owed you a debt, and now I’ve repaid it…not that I wouldn’t have saved Tracey if we didn’t owe you,’ added Harry.
‘Very well,’ said Mrs Davis, ‘but should you need us for anything, in the magical or muggle world, know that you only need to ask.’
Harry was starting to feel very uncomfortable and being praised for something hopefully anyone would do for a friend, and was almost glad when Madam Pomfrey reminded them that there were only supposed to be six visitors around Tracey’s bed; he, Allison, Theodore, and Canini rose at once to leave and Hagrid decided to go with them, leaving Tracey with her family and Terence.
‘It’s terrible,’ growled Hagrid into his beard, as the five of them walked back along the corridor to the marble staircase. ‘All this new security, an’ kids are still gettin’ hurt…Dumbledore’s worried sick…He don’ say much, but I can tell…’
‘Has he not got any theories as to what’s happening?’ asked Theodore desperately.
‘I ’spect he’s got hundreds of theories, brain like his,’ said Hagrid. ‘But he doesn’ know who sent that necklace nor put poison in that wine, or they’d’ve bin caught, wouldn’ they? Wha’ worries me,’ said Hagrid, lowering his voice and glancing over his shoulder (Harry, for good measure, checked the ceiling for Peeves), ‘is how long Hogwarts can stay open if kids are bein’ attacked. Chamber o’ Secrets all over again, isn’ it? There’ll be panic, more parents takin’ their kids outta school, an’ nex’ thing yeh know the board o’ governors…’
Hagrid stopped talking as the ghost of a long-haired woman drifted serenely past, then resumed in a hoarse whisper, ‘…the board o’ governors’ll be talkin’ about shuttin’ us up fer good.’
‘They wouldn’t?!’ said Canini, a little scared.
‘Gotta see it from their point o’ view,’ said Hagrid heavily. ‘I mean, it’s always bin a bit of a risk sendin’ a kid ter Hogwarts, hasn’ it? Yer expect accidents, don’ yeh, with hundreds of underage wizards all locked up tergether, but attempted murder, tha’s diff ’rent. ’S’no wonder Dumbledore’s angry with Sn—‘
Hagrid stopped in his tracks, a familiar, guilty expression on what was visible of his face above his tangled black beard.
‘What?’ said Harry quickly. ‘Dumbledore’s angry with Snape?’
‘I never said tha’,’ said Hagrid, though his look of panic could not have been a bigger giveaway. ‘Look we’ve all been up all night, but it’s Saturday so maybe we should all be gettin’ some rest—‘
‘Hagrid, why is Dumbledore angry with Snape?’ Harry asked loudly.
‘Shhhh!’ said Hagrid, looking both nervous and angry. ‘Don’ shout stuff like that, Harry, d’yeh wan’ me ter lose me job? Mind, I don’ suppose yeh’d care, would yeh, not now yeh’ve given up Care of Mag—‘
‘Don’t try and make me feel guilty, it won’t work!’ said Harry forcefully. ‘What’s Snape done?’
'I dunno, Harry, I shouldn’ta heard it at all! I—well, I was comin’ outta the forest the other evenin’ an’ I overheard ’em talking—well, arguin’. Didn’t like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an’ tried not ter listen, but it was a—well, a heated discussion an’ it wasn’ easy ter block it out.'
'Well?' Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily.
'Well—I jus’ heard Snape sayin’ Dumbledore took too much fer granted an’ maybe he—Snape—didn’ wan’ ter do it anymore—'
'Do what?'
'I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin’ a bit overworked, tha’s all—anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An’ then he said summat abou’ Snape makin’ investigations in his House, in yer House Harry,' said Hagrid, though Harry couldn't remember seeing Snape lurking in the common room or dormitories, only his talk with Draco came to mind. 'An its not just Slytherin, all the Heads o’ Houses were asked ter look inter that necklace business—'
'Yeah, but Dumbledore’s not having rows with the rest of them, is he?' said Harry.
'Look,' Hagrid twisted his crossbow uncomfortably in his hands; there was a loud splintering sound and it snapped in two. 'I know what yeh’re like abou’ Snape, Harry, an’ I don’ want yeh ter go readin’ more inter this than there is.'
'Fine,' said Harry, but all parties involved knew Harry was not going to forget this.
'We're all exhausted, ya all should get goin' to breakfast or to ya dormitories ter rest,' said Hagrid. 'I'm goin' ta stick back and watch over Tracey a little longer.'
Harry did not need telling twice; he, Theodore, Allison, and Canini all hurried off; they practically ran. When they reached the Entrance Hall Canini went one way towards the Hufflepuff common room and the others headed towards the Slytherin Dungeon. When Harry, Allison, and Theodore reached the common room, they were greeted by a nervous Daphne.
'Allison, how is she? I've been worried all night?' she asked, her brown eyes filled with panic.
'Tracey'll be ok, but she's not going to be in our dormitory for a while,' answered Allison, and the two roommates went off to talk.
Harry however wanted to put Tracey out of his mind for just a minute, and so so he went up to his dormitory and lay down on his bed to think about what Hagrid had said. So Dumbledore had argued with Snape. In spite of all he had told Harry, in spite of his insistence that he trusted Snape completely, he had lost his temper with him...Dumbledore did not think that Snape had tried hard enough to investigate the Slytherins, and considering Harry had not seen this investigation of the whole House perhaps this was true...or, perhaps Snape was investigating a single Slytherin: Malfoy?
Was it because Dumbledore did not want Harry to do anything foolish, to take matters into his own hands, that he had pretended there was nothing in Harry’s suspicions? That seemed likely. It might even be that Dumbledore did not want anything to distract Harry from their lessons, or from procuring that memory from Slughorn. Perhaps Dumbledore did not think it right to confide suspicions about his staff to sixteen-year-olds...this was the thought Harry was thinking about before he fell asleep and didn't wake up until past noon.
The news that Tracey had been poisoned spread over the rest of the day, but it did not cause the sensation that Katie’s attack had done. Most people seemed to think that it might have been an accident, given that he had been in the Potions master’s room at the time, and that as he had been given an antidote immediately there was no real harm done. In fact, the Slytherins were generally much more interested in the upcoming Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, some were worried that Terence's head wasn't in the game as days slowly passed and Tracey still hadn't fully woken up.
Harry, however, had never been less interested in Quidditch; he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy. And over the course of the week following Tracey's poisoning, Harry started checking the Marauder’s Map whenever possible. Despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all in his endevours. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious. Admittedly, he spotted Goyle or Blaise moving around the castle on their own more often than usual, sometimes remaining stationary in deserted corridors, but at these times Malfoy was not only nowhere near them, but impossible to locate on the map at all. This was most mysterious. Harry toyed with the possibility that Malfoy was actually leaving the school grounds, but could not see how he could be doing it, given the very high level of security now operating within the castle and him not knowing about the Honeydukes tunnel. He could only suppose that he was missing Malfoy amongst the hundreds of tiny black dots upon the map. As for the fact that Malfoy, Goyle, and Blaise appeared to be going their different ways when they were usually inseparable, these things happened as people got older.
Harry couldn't ignore Quidditch much longer however as the Thursday afternoon after Tracey's accident, which was only a couple days before Slytherin's next match, Terence approached him in the common room. He looked a mess as he had not sleep much the past week as he had most evenings by Tracey's side.
'Harry, can I talk to you quickly.'
'Of course,' answered Harry, who was now worried Terence was going to cancel or post-pone the match.
'I know the rumours that have been going around about me, but they aren't true, Slytherin's going to play on Saturday and I'm going to be our Chaser, but I don't know if I am in the right head space to lead. All week I've been worried about Tracey as she has yet to fully wake up, the few times she's opened her eyes she's been disoriented and confused, but you seem to have been handling what happened better than I have. If Tracey doesn't get better by Saturday morning, will you lead the team in the match against Ravenclaw?'
It took Harry a few seconds to realize what Terence was asking?
'Wait? You mean as acting Captain?' he said after he finally figured out what Terence meant.
'Yes, I saw last year how good of a leader you were with the D.A. I think you would make an excellent substitute if I'm not on the top of my game. Will you accept?'
'Yes,' said Harry. 'But only if Tracey doesn't get better.'
This was a really nice gesture from Terence, but it turned out not to be necessary as Tracey finally became fully conscious that night. They all to tell her how happy they were that she was ok, what they believed to have happened, Terence apologized for not choosing a better date location and Tracey apologized for how she acted while under the effects of the love potion. What Tracey truly was focused on however was the last thing she remembered before the poison took effect.
'So, Harry, what you said to Slughorn right before I drank the mead, was that just meant to lighten the mood further, or was it true?' she asked, choosing her words carefully incase she was wrong.
'It is all true, me and Allison are now dating,' said Harry with a soft smile.
'Eeee! I'm so happy for you two. You got to tell me every detail,' she said Happily, and now with the mood much lighter everyone got to celebrate the good news.
More good news was to come as that evening Harry received a letter from Tonks saying she had gone on a Valentine's Day date with Tulip, that it had gone well, and that she had just got a new letter from Tulip asking to go on another date. She thanked Harry for helping her work up the courage to pursue her happiness.
Not everything was sunshine and rainbows however, as Harry was still checking the Marauder’s Map whenever he got a chance, he sometimes made detours to wherever Malfoy happened to be, but had not yet detected him doing anything out of the ordinary. And still there were those inexplicable times when Malfoy simply vanished from the map...
But Harry did not get a lot of time to consider the problem, what with all the weeks homework, Friday's pre-game Quidditch practice, and visiting Tracey whenever he got the chance as she still was not allowed to leave the hospital wing.