Seeking the Star

Ch.6.


After Occlumency, Harry headed up to the Hospital wing to talk to Madam Pomfrey. His scheduled Healing lesson had been postponed because a whole group of first year students had come in with some sort of horrible smelling boil curse that left them screaming in pain and unable to be touched. Apparently, it was communicable, because Madam Pomfrey was wearing dragonhide gloves and waved Harry out of the room as soon as he had entered.

The boil-ridden students were now resting quietly in a row of beds, and Madam Pomfrey had seemingly gone out of her absolutely-no-nonsense emergency mode.

\"Ah, Harry. I\'m sorry about earlier, but I think it might be a common problem with our lessons. Student emergencies aren\'t very respectful of class times.\" She looked appraisingly over the boy. He was small for his age, probably only five and a half feet tall, his hair was longer, but the length did little to keep it flat. The long fringe did help cover his scar, which was ivory white against his darker skin. His fingers seemed to have grown impossibly long and gained a good deal of grace. It was a subtle mark of one capable of manipulating the Schemata. His whole body, in fact, was different, although probably mostly in carriage. She had heard rumors that he had been at Hogwarts over the summer, but had never seen or heard a peep out of him. Something had happened to him that made him different.

\"Um...Madam Pomfrey?\" He startled her gently from her appraisal. Well, that, at least, hadn\'t changed. Harry was still a little uncomfortable under a closely appraising eye.

\"Well you\'ve certainly...matured, Harry. I had heard from Professor Dumbledore that you had learned a lot over the summer, but I must admit I wasn\'t expecting quite this much change. Nevertheless. Do come sit.\" She gestured him over to a plain table with two chairs, where they sat. \"You\'re here to learn basic healing methods, as well as more Sanos magic, correct?\" Harry nodded. \"Professor Dumbledore told me that you already have a fair base in Sanos.\" Harry nodded again. \"Could you tell me what you\'ve done?\" The boy definitely seemed to be preparing himself somehow. His hair ruffled in a breeze she didn\'t feel, and when he looked at her, his eyes seemed more vibrant.

\"I\'ve mended bones, including the femur, all the long bones of the arm, ribs, and the small bones of the hand and foot. I can repair both superficial and deep skin wounds, repair tendons and ligaments, and knit both muscle tears and deep muscle damage.\"

\"Who were your primary subjects?\"

\"Albus Dumbledore and myself.\" Madam Pomfrey restrained a gasp. This was disturbing, very disturbing, but she forced herself to go on with the interview.

\"Do you have any experience with organ damage, brain damage, or blunt trauma wounds?\" Harry shook his head. \"Very well, later in the year I\'ll try to arrange several trips to St. Mungo\'s so that you may have some experience, with a trained Sanos healer, on those kinds of things. They don\'t usually happen here at Hogwarts, and we don\'t have a Sanos healer strong enough to guide you through the procedures without allowing you to make any errors. But that will be later. In the meantime, you\'ll come and assist me with the basic care of patients and we\'ll go over the theory and history of Sanos healing. I think we\'re done for tonight. Come to your next class as scheduled.\"

\"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey.\" The healer watched him go with more than a little trepidation. This new Harry Potter made her simultaneously proud, jealous, and sad. He would make a great healer, but it seemed that the discovery of his talents had cost him, and the cost was not small.

Harry raced up to Gryffindor Tower, anxious to finally have the chance to talk to Hermione. He found her bent over her Arithmancy book on a couch by the fire. He sat down beside her, touching her shoulder to get her attention.

\"Oh, Harry! I was waiting for you, and I just brought this down here with me. It\'s terribly fascinating, you know...\" Harry smiled.

\"Hush, Einstein. I know.\" Harry had some small joy in making Muggle jokes with Hermione, and it reminded her pleasantly of home.

\"So...are you going to tell me?\" Her curiosity was plainly about to burst out of her eyes. Harry chuckled at her childish excitement, and then sobered.

What Hermione heard was the tame version of his summer experiences, without the pain, the blood, the nightmares, and the isolation. He talked almost exhaustively on Schema, the Schemata, and Sanos healing, spurred on by her questions. He explained what he knew of Voldemort\'s connection to it all, namely that the Dark Lord had enough experience reading Schema to be a Legilimens, but nothing more. The horrific battle in the graveyard after the Triwizard Tournament had been a visible manifestation of the Schemata, but it had shocked Voldemort, leading Dumbledore to believe that Voldemort was not a Schemata adept, despite his power. Further, Harry was slowly learning that Sanos was a valueable asset, both as a weapon and a tool, as using Sanos without the purest intentions could kill the one it was being used upon. Even with the editing, she understood that there had been profoundly difficult. And, frankly, she liked the change it had wrought in her friend. He was far more serious about his studies, and about Voldemort. His anger was gone, and though he was more distant than he ever had been, when he was there he was so vibrantly there that she could only imagine it to be an improvement. She hugged him fiercely, and was rewarded with a tight embrace in return.

\"Mionie, would it be okay if I \'read\' your Schema? It shouldn\'t hurt at all, and if it makes you uncomfortable at any point, I\'ll stop immediately. It\'s really hard for me to touch anyone and not feel their threads.\" He pulled away a little, so that he was looking into her eyes. \"If you let me do this, I\'ll know you, inside out. I\'ll know you to your very depths, to your soul if you believe in souls. So think for a minute, Mione, before you agree.\" She stared into his face as if his eyes could provide her with answers. After long moments, she nodded slightly.

\"I have nothing to hide from you, Harry.\" He leaned her lightly into him, her head cradled on his shoulder. He put his hands on her back, one cradling the base of her neck, the other in the small of her back.

As he hugged her, Harry gently explored her Schema. As he softly touched her strands, Hermione was filled with a profound calm. She put her head on his shoulder and relaxed. This was reading the Schema of someone who trusted you. It was leisurely, slow, and entirely without discomfort.

\"You\'re so much more comfortable than you were before, Harry Potter.\" She mumbled into his neck, and was rewarded with another chuckle.

\"Well that\'s because I care about you, silly, and I\'ve finally figured out that it\'s okay to show that you care about people. And besides, you don\'t have to worry about me hitting on you.\" Harry\'s voice was singsong and dreamy, and barely above a murmur. He moved his hands from her back and pushed gently on her shoulders, sitting her up. \"C\'mon, sleepy. Bedtime.\" Hermione smiled drowsily at him.

\"You know, I like this new Harry very much.\"

\"Well thank you, Hermione. Now go to sleep.\" He got up off the couch and headed towards the boy\'s dormitory, waiting a few steps out of sight until he knew she had stumbled up the staircase to her bed. Harry got into his own bed with a soft sense of regret. He had sent two people to bed, tonight, but there was no one to put him to bed. \'Ah, Potter, Potter,\' he thought. Self-pity isn\'t your thing anymore, remember?\' And he gave a wry half-smile into the darkness. We gave up pity. And for the best. Loneliness isn\'t so bad, anyway. At least there\'s progress. Progress is enough.\'


a/n
two of cups-friendship renewed, reciprocal affection. reunion or reconciliation follwoing a seperation. bonds of affinity, sympathy, understanding and empathy.
i\'m aware that this card is traditionally a lovers card. but it doesn\'t have to be.