Chapter 3
–Who am I?†Harry asked again.
–I’ll leave that for you to explain,†said the Healer, looking at the old man. Nodding his head, Dumbledore sighed and went back to his seat as the Healer left the room.
Harry watched the man and waited for him to explain who he was.
–Your name is Harry James Potter. You are a wizard and I am Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary,†Dumbledore said.
–I am a wizard? What is that?†Harry asked, confused.
–A wizard, Harry…you can do magic. You know, spells and stuff that Muggles cannot do.â€
–Muggles?†Harry enquired.
–People who cannot perform magic and do not know Hogwarts exists.â€
–Oh,†replied Harry, still unsure what to say. –What about my parents?â€
–I am afraid they both died when you were one year old. They were killed by a bad man named Vol—Voldemort, who tried to kill you. Somehow you survived his attack with nothing but a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on your forehead.â€
Frowning, Harry touched his head and indeed felt a scar. Bits and pieces of his memory came flooding back, but he still couldn’t remember what had happened to him when he got knocked unconscious, and that was starting to frustrate him.
–This bad man, Voldemort—why is he trying to kill me?†he asked, beginning to feel scared.
–Only one of you can live, and he wants it to be him. That’s why he is desperately trying to kill you,†Dumbledore said.
As he took in all of the information, Harry started to remember everything, from his parents’ deaths to killing Voldemort.
–Thanks for being honest, sir.â€
–No problem. Do you remember what knocked you unconscious?†Dumbledore said casually.
Harry racked through his memories but still couldn’t remember what had happened to him back at the Dursleys’ house.
–No, sir, I don’t know what happened. It’s all blank. Do you think it could have been Voldemort?â€
–I don’t know,†replied Dumbledore, worried that it could have been the Dark Lord. The hospital was not a safe place for Harry to be. –We must leave soon,†he added to Harry, who did not look well.
–This place is not safe.â€
Nodding in agreement, Harry pushed back the tight bed sheets as Dumbledore stood up and moved the chair away. When Harry stood up he felt slightly dizzy and steadied himself by holding on to the side of the bed.
–Are you all right?†Dumbledore asked, concerned.
–Yes. Just stood up too fast,†Harry assured him. –Where are we going?â€
–Back to Grimmauld Place,†replied Dumbledore, and he headed to the door. As Harry followed he noticed how busy the place was with all the ill patients, visitors, and Healers running about.
The woman who had spoken to them a few moments ago spotted them leaving and hurried over to them from a trolley full of medical equipment.
–And just where do you think you’re going, Mr Potter?â€
–Umm...home?â€
–You can’t leave as you haven’t been discharged yet,†she insisted.
–I feel fine,†replied Harry. –My memory has returned.â€
–It’s not safe for Harry to be here,†said Dumbledore, slightly annoyed.
–Well, as long as you don’t overdo it. If you feel dizzy or sick you must come back, as you have had a tremendous shock. And you must sign the discharge papers before you go.†They followed the Healer down the busy corridor to a desk at the far end. She stepped behind the desk and shuffled through some papers. –Ah, here we are, Mr Potter. If you just sign on the dotted line both here and here, then you are free to go.†She pulled a quill from her pocket and handed it to him.
Harry signed the papers and sighed with relief, glad to be going somewhere he knew.
Going back the way they came Dumbledore led Harry away from the crowded place, in the direction from which they’d come. When they reached the Apparation point he said,
–Take my hand, Harry.â€
Harry took his hand without thinking and immediately felt the horrible sensation of Apparation. Just as he started thinking he was going to throw up, they appeared in the hallway of Grimmauld Place. Harry sighed with relief.
Voices could be heard coming from the kitchen.
Following Dumbledore, Harry made his way through the gloomy hallway to the kitchen, where they found everyone having lunch at the table. Mrs Weasley was standing with a plate of food. Ron and Hermione were sitting at opposite sides of the table eating, Ginny was next to Hermione, and Mr Weasley was at the head of the table. Remus was there, too, sitting next to Ron.
They stopped talking at once when they saw Harry.
–Harry!†said Hermione.
She got up and hurried over and threw her arms around him, giving him a big hug. Ron came over and shook his hand; Ginny also gave him a hug, and then it was Mrs Weasley’s turn.
–Are you all right?†she asked. –We were worried about you!â€
–I’m fine, just a little memory loss. It’s all coming back except what happened at the Dursleys’ house, which is annoying as Dumbledore found me unconscious,†Harry explained.
–Is it The Dark Lord?†Mrs Weasley asked.
–Don’t know,†Dumbledore replied. –That’s why I have brought Harry here. It’s not safe at the Dursleys’ or at the hospital at the moment, so Harry can spend the remainder of the summer holidays here.â€
He sat down at the table.
–Right, then. Harry, you sit here,†said Mrs Weasley as she pulled out a chair, –and have some lunch.â€
Harry looked down as Mrs Weasley ladled some lentil soup into his bowl. Unsure whether or not he could keep it down, he took a spoonful and sighed when it tasted quite good.
After lunch he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went upstairs to a room that Harry would be sharing with Ron. There Harry found his stuff from the Dursleys’ waiting for him. He pulled his trunk off the bed with a sigh of relief. In it was everything he would need.
Harry spent the rest of the day catching up on the gossip. Unaware of how late it was, he found himself yawning, tired from the day’s events.
–I’m going to turn in,†he said. The others followed suit, Hermione and Ginny going to their room across the hall.
Harry retrieved his pajamas from his trunk and made his way to the bathroom. Turning on the light, he found it to be a small but tidy room with a shower, toilet, and sink. No bath tonight, he thought as he changed into his pajamas.
When he had just finished brushing his teeth, his vision suddenly became blurry. He put down his brush, wondering what was going on as he still had his glasses on. He closed his eyes and then opening them in an attempt to clear his vision, but he still couldn’t see anything but a fuzzy fog. He started to panic.
He was about to call someone for help when he felt the air around him become much colder. Harry closed his eyes again and collapsed in a heap to the floor.
When he opened his eyes again, Harry got a shock to find that he was sitting in the cold stone floor of the entrance hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
.
–What the hell!†he gasped.
A Different Sort of Magic by bite
Chapter Endnotes: Hope you enjoy chapter 3. Please review and let me know what you think of my story so far. Thanks.