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Author: Robert Owen Story: Invictus Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 1 Words: 146,488
The silence in the car on the way home had been a welcome pleasure to Harry. He was already missing Ginny, and had no desire to talk to Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon. He should have known it wouldn't last. As soon as they'd reached Privet Drive, Uncle Vernon had turned to Harry and issued his usual orders for the summer. "You're home now, boy, so there will be ABSOLUTELY none of your funny business this summer! You'll do the chores, take care of the garden, stay in your room unless told otherwise and keep your bloody mouth shut about that…that…stuff you do! Also, any letters you get, or send, have to be cleared by me! I don't want you inviting any of your freaky friends over behind my back! If you step out of line, I guarantee you'll wish you'd never been born! Is that clear?" Harry could only nod his head in miserable acceptance of his situation. "Good. Now get up to your room and stay there until I call for you, boy." The first few days passed uneventfully. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all wrote letters which Uncle Vernon insisted on reading. Fortunately, all three had been short and to the point, saying how they missed him and asking how was his summer going. His uncle hadn't found fault with that but had given Harry a sharp look at Ginny's "I love you." "So you fancy yourself a ladies man do you, boy? Well, don't go getting any ideas about bringing trash of that sort to this house. I'll have none of it! Do you understand me? NONE OF IT!" Harry bristled at the slight to his girlfriend, but then bit his tongue and nodded as he replied, "Yes, Uncle Vernon." He quickly wrote back using the code words he'd set up with them, for just such a situation, to let them know that his mail was compromised and to be careful what they wrote. All three did, but Ginny continued to sign hers with "I love you" to his uncle's displeasure. Harry found it hard to keep from writing what he really wanted to say, but with Uncle Vernon reading all his letters, Harry had to be careful what he wrote. It was particularly difficult when Ginny would ask a pointed question, which Harry knew would arouse his uncle's wrath if answered. He dodged the issues as best he could and hoped for the best. The worst part however, was that Harry couldn't tell them how bad things had really become, for two days after arriving home Dudley had extracted his revenge for the twins Ton-Tongue Toffee joke two years previous. Harry had just opened the back door to work in the yard when he was walloped in the right side of the face by a cricket ball. He fell to the ground as the pain surged through his jaw. Dudley walked over and smiled evilly, "Oops, sorry about that, freak. Next time watch where you're going!" Harry got up slowly and gingerly felt his face. He knew there'd be an ugly bruise but as he ran his tongue over his teeth, he felt two teeth physically shift at the touch. However, he didn't realize how significant that movement was until three days later when his jaw began to hurt. Within another two days, his gums had become painfully infected and swollen to the point where he couldn't eat any solid foods and the pain had made sleep virtually impossible. His relatives merely laughed at his condition and ignored his request for medical attention. Uncle Vernon summed it up nicely when he spat out, "I bloody well will not spend a single penny on helping that boy!" in response to a surprising request by Petunia. To his aunt's credit, and Harry hated to give her any, Petunia did take pity on him and gave him several large bottles of aspirin to take for the pain. They were all past their expiration dates, and Harry doubted whether they would help, but, seeing that he had no choice, he accepted the gift and went upstairs to swallow a handful of the pills. Surprisingly, the aspirin, when taken in large doses, did alleviate the pain, but by the end of the third week, the bottles were empty and the pain had returned full- force. The Dursleys continued to ignore the swelling and Harry's obviously deteriorating condition. Finally, after two weeks of suppressed pain, followed by several days of increasing agony with virtually no sleep, and unable to eat anything more than juice or water, Harry staggered down to the kitchen in response to his uncle's bellows. Uncle Vernon thrust the morning paper at Harry. "There's a free dental clinic set up at your old school today. Its being run by a group of do-gooders called Dentists on Wheels. Seems they want to bring free medical care to the poor! What rubbish! Give 'em free medical care and the scum haven't got a reason to get a job like honest folk do." Vernon jabbed his finger at Harry and continued. "You've done nothing but moan and mope around this house since we returned from the train station, and I am sick of it! Get down there and have them fix your blasted teeth and get back here so you can finally get some work done and earn your keep. Why we even make the effort to provide for an abomination like you is beyond me! Now get out!" Grateful for the possibility of relief, Harry slowly made his way down the several streets to his old school where the free dental clinic was supposed to be. Much to his surprise, he found that it wasn't in the school itself, but rather on board a converted London Double-decker bus. He noted that only a few people were there and so he prayed that meant he'd get treated quickly. However, as he approached the reception desk at the rear of the bus, he got the first huge surprise of the day. Sitting at the desk was Hermione Granger! Intent on filling out a form, Hermione simply handed a clipboard and some papers to Harry and pointed to a seat against the wall. "Please fill out the attached forms so that a doctor can see you." Harry stood mute, despite the pain, and stared at his friend. Hermione sensed something was amiss and looked up. Her eyes flew open wide and she jumped up to run around the desk and hug Harry. "Mum! Dad! Come here! It's Harry!" She then turned to look at him and for the first time realized that something was wrong. "Harry, are you alright? Why do you look so bad? What's wrong with your mouth?" Harry could only point at his teeth and pray she'd understand. Hermione took one close look at his teeth and shifted into what Ron and Harry had taken to calling "Granger Overdrive." She turned to speak to a tall, dignified man in a doctor's coat. "Dad, you remember Harry Potter, my friend from school. Something's wrong with his jaw. Its swollen and infected and Harry can't even speak." The man, obviously Mr. Granger, gently pulled Harry's mouth open, took one quick look, uttered a curse which caused Hermione to raise an eyebrow in shock, and immediately took hold of Harry's arm and said, "Come with me." Turning to Hermione, her face full of worry and concern, Mr. Granger said, "Go and tell Andrew and David that I'm going to be tied up for a few hours. Also, let your Mum know what's going on." "Yes, sir. Dad, will Harry be all right?" "I don't know yet. I'll have a better idea after I consult with Tally." Mr. Granger then led Harry to a small but fully equipped dental suite in a partitioned section at the front of the converted bus. Motioning for Harry to sit in the dental chair, Mr. Granger picked up what Harry recognized as a mobile cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Tally? I've got a special case that requires your talents. Could you pop over for a bit? Ten minutes? Fine, I'll have the patient sedated and ready when you get here." Hanging up, he turned back to Harry and started talking even as he reached for a small vial and a syringe. "Now, I'm going to give you a shot for the pain and then I'm going to give you another one that will knock you out for approximately two hours. I'm not going to lie to you, Harry. Your mouth is in very bad shape and I've had to summon a specialist for help. However, I expect that we'll have you as good as new in a couple of hours." Harry could only nod his grateful thanks as the medicine took effect and he drifted off into the first real sleep he'd had in several weeks. When he awoke two hours later, it was to the blessed feeling of no pain in his jaw. In fact, as he ran his tongue over the teeth, he realized he couldn't feel any dental work at all. Puzzled, he opened his eyes to the second great shock of the day. He found himself looking up at the smiling faces of Mr. Granger and an unknown woman in Mediwitch robes from St Mungo's. He looked from one to the other in utter confusion. Mr. Granger spoke first. "Harry, I'd like you to meet Healer Tally Wright from St Mungo's. She's the hospital liaison who was assigned to keep us informed about Hermione's condition when she was petrified." Tally offered her hand, which Harry automatically took. "Pleased to meet you at last, Mr. Potter. Madame Pomfrey is an old friend of mine and I've heard many a tale about your frequent stays in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. In fact, I think she's planning on giving a lecture next month on dealing with recalcitrant patients based on her dealings with you and a Miss Weasley." Harry gave a slight groan and found he couldn't speak. Mr. Granger handed him a cup of water, which Harry gratefully swallowed. Finding his cotton mouth gone, Harry muttered "Oh, great!" and then asked, "But that still doesn't explain why you're here." The short heavyset woman repositioned her glasses as she swept a stray lock of long dark hair aside and smiled reassuringly. "The Grangers and I became good friends while Hermione was petrified. We have an arrangement where they guest lecture to our new Healer interns at St Mungo's on certain aspects of Muggle medicine and, in return, I help out on difficult cases to prevent patients such as yourself from loosing some or most of their teeth." "What do you mean loose most of my teeth?" "Whatever cracked your tooth, also cracked your jaw. A nasty infection had set in and under normal Muggle circumstances, we'd have had to remove several teeth. As it is, I was able to apply several potions and charms, which healed the damage, and you're good as new. I also gave you a restorative potion to help counteract the stress your body's been under." Tally turned to Mr. Granger. "Well, Ted, it was a pleasure seeing you again, but I've really got to be going. Please give my regards to Cordelia and do stop in and see me when you get a chance." Then she glanced over at Harry and added, "Give my regards to Poppy when you see her next." then she Disapparated. Mr. Granger looked at Harry with an expectant expression. "Harry, I've been a dentist long enough to know that your jaw and tooth weren't fractured in an accident. What happened?" The feeling of elation, which Harry had felt at being cured, evaporated in an instant. He hung his head and mumbled a reply. "I didn't hear that, Harry." This time Harry looked up. "It was Dudley. He hit me with a cricket ball." "When did this happen?" The tone in his voice was neutral. "Two days after I got home." Mr. Granger's face froze at Harry's admission. "Right then, get your things and take me to your uncle's house." Harry took one look at the cold fury in the older man's eyes and decided not to argue. He grabbed his jumper and followed him out of the compartment and back down the corridor to the reception desk where Hermione and two other dentists were. Hermione looked up in surprise at her father's approach. "Go and fetch your mother. We have some matters pertaining to Harry to deal with." Hermione threw Harry a puzzled look and ran up the stairwell to the upper level. She returned a moment later with Mrs. Granger in tow. "What's going on dear? I was about to do a tooth extraction when Hermione barges in and tells me to come downstairs immediately." "I'll explain everything on the car." Then turning to the other two dentists, he asked, "Andrew and David? Can you handle the rest of the day? I'm afraid a rather important personal matter has come up and my wife and I won't be back for the rest of the day." The taller of the two men, Andrew, gave Mr. Granger a shrewd look. "Going to see the guardians of the boy, right?" "I never said…" The other man, David, waved his hand to indicate that no excuse was needed. "The boy is a friend of Hermione's and even an idiot first year medical student can recognize that his infected gums should have been dealt with weeks ago." David then wagged a finger at Mr. Granger. "Just remember to let the authorities handle the bastard. I don't want to have to come and bail you out tonight. I can't even afford Rumpole right now and besides, Sarah is cooking steak for dinner." Mr. Granger smiled as he replied, 'You gentlemen are true princes, and no, David, you won't have to bail me out. I simply intend to remedy a problem, which should have been taken care of ages ago. Now, if you will excuse us," and he pointed towards the door, "Harry, please take me to your uncle." The four quickly climbed into Mr. Granger's Ford Mondeo and drove the few streets to Privet Drive. Once there, he turned to the others and spoke quietly. "Now, I don't want any of you to say a word to Mr. Dursley. Let me do the talking as I intend for this to be a short and one-sided conversation. Is that understood?" Both Mrs. Granger and Hermione nodded their heads although Harry thought he detected a hint of rebellion in his friend's acknowledgement of her father's instructions. "Good. Come on, Harry. Let's get this over with," and they all headed for the door, with Harry and Mr. Granger in front, followed by the two women. Mr. Granger rang the bell and stepped back to await results. It proved a sensible precaution. Having looked through the spy hole mounted in the door, and seeing Harry with a group of strangers, Uncle Vernon threw open the door and reached a beefy hand out to grasp Harry's collar. To his surprise, however, Mr. Granger reached out and knocked his arm down and away from Harry. Then, before Vernon could react, Mr. Granger pointed to the staircase. "Harry, go upstairs and pack an overnight bag while your uncle and I have a little chat." Harry took one look at the expression in Mr. Granger's eyes, and suddenly knew which side of the family Hermione got her temper from. He then looked at Uncle Vernon's cherry red face, decided it would be prudent to clear the battlefield, and headed for the closet under the stairs to get a bag and then hustled up to his room. Mr. Granger calmly waited until Harry was out of earshot, turned to the sputtering Vernon, and let fly. "Make no mistake sir, I intend to contact Social Services in the morning and file a formal complaint of child abuse and endangerment against you for your treatment of Harry." He began to tick off points with his fingers, emphasizing each one as he spoke. "Malnourished, inadequate sleeping arrangements, filthy and decrepit clothes, trainers which don't fit AND have holes in them!" Both Hermione and Mrs. Granger stood in shocked silence. Neither had ever seen Mr. Granger in such a state of fury. "Failure to provide adequate or needed medical care! It took me two hours of surgery, plus the services of a specialist, to correct something that could have been dealt with in ten minutes had he been brought to any proper dentist weeks ago!" "Furthermore, I can assure you that I will be logging a formal complaint with "certain" other officials as well, who will probably take an even dimmer view of your treatment of Harry." Caught off guard by Mr. Granger's actions, Harry's uncle at first bristled at the charges being leveled until he heard the words "certain other officials," and then Vernon paled as he realized just who those "certain other officials" might be. Mr. Granger continued, "If it were in my power, I would remove Harry from your guardianship permanently! My wife and I know full well the dangers involved in such a move and I would not hesitate for a second to do so! No amount of magical protection around this house is worth Harry suffering the way he has at your hands!" Despite Mr. Granger's anger, Uncle Vernon hackles arose at the words "magical protection." Just then, Harry came back down stairs with a small gym bag stuffed full of clothes and other things, and his wand in his back pocket. "As it stands, however, Harry will be spending the next day or two with us so that I can check the filling and make sure there are no additional complications." "If I were you Mr. Dursley, I would give very serious thought to your actions in this matter. You may be assured that if the authorities decide that Harry must come back here, I promise you that I will make it my personal business to check up on him every day until he returns to school with my daughter in September! Good day, sir!" and Mr. Granger pulled the front door closed in Vernon Dursley's face. Turning to the others, he smiled and said, "That felt so good! Now, dear, I want you to drop me off at the Leaky Cauldron so I can owl Arthur Weasley about the situation. He'll know whom best to contact on this. Then take the children home and come back for me afterwards. That'll give me time to think things through before I send the owl." Both Hermione and Harry were too shocked at the sudden turn of events to say much on the way home, even with the detour by the Leaky Cauldron. Mrs. Granger parked the car and turned to Hermione. "Now, I've got to go back and pick up your father and then run to the store and get some things. You take Harry inside and make yourselves comfortable until I get back, then you can help me with supper." "Alright, Mum." The two watched as she drove off and then went into the house. Harry was immediately struck by how clean and organized the place was. In a way it reminded him of Privet Drive, except that this house exuded warmth that the sterile environment of the Dursley's would never have. The foyer opened into a large living room/dining room, which filled most of the downstairs. A hallway led off to the right where a staircase led to the upper level of the house. "Mum said you'll stay in the guest room while this all gets sorted out." "Hermione, your parents really don't…" "DON"T EVEN TRY THAT ROUTINE WITH ME, HARRY JAMES POTTER!" The look in Hermione's eye made it clear just how angry she was over the Dursley's treatment of him. "It was absolutely criminal of them to allow you to suffer with an inflamed root! My mum told me that another day like that and you would have lost all the teeth on the right side of your lower jaw! If I could, I'd send them to Azkaban Prison for child abuse today!" Despite his own dread of Azkaban and its Dementors, Harry smiled briefly at the thought of his relatives stuck there for a few years, forced to deal with their worst nightmares, including Harry actually practicing magic. Then he realized that such thoughts made him no better than them and he looked around the room for a way to divert Hermione. Glancing towards the stairs, he smiled and asked "So, when do I get to see the Sanctum Sanctorum of the great Hermione Granger?" "I'll show you only if you promise not to steal any of my socks." Harry laughed, "Not me. The sock stealing is strictly a Ginny Weasley function." Then his face became more somber and he asked, "Hermione, are you sure she's alright? I know you told me so in your letters, but since we had to edit them because of my uncle, I would understand if you held something back. But now we're alone, so please tell me the truth. Is she really all right?" Hermione gave him a look of exasperation. "Harry, I told you she's fine! What will it take to convince you of that?" "Ginny in my arms." Harry's serious tone and expression caught Hermione off guard and it was several seconds before she nodded in agreement and continued. "Well, you'll get to do that soon enough. I told you before that Mrs. Weasley's been watching over her like a hawk. Ginny can't turn around without stumbling over someone keeping an eye on her, and heaven help her if she sneezes! Mrs. Weasley has her in bed, bundled up, and stuffed full of chicken soup faster than you can catch a Snitch! So don't worry about her. She's fine and you'll see her soon enough." "That's just it Hermione, I can't stop worrying about her. She almost died because of me." Hermione shot him a look of disgust, tinged with anger. "NO, SHE DID NOT!" and she emphasized her point with a sharp finger jab to his chest. "She almost died because of Voldemort! She lived because of you, Harry! Don't you ever think otherwise!" She paused and locked her brown eyes with Harry's green eyes. "Harry, one of the things which is so special and, quite frankly, maddening about you is that you have a conscience which holds you accountable for everything. Ginny made her choice because she loves you and she's alive today because you love her. One of these days you're going to realize that." She paused and then, more quietly, she added, "I also hope that someday you'll learn to forgive yourself." Then grinning to soften the words just spoken, Hermione asked, "So, shall I take you where no man, including my thickheaded but loveable boyfriend, has gone?" Harry laughed. "All right, Hermione, lead on." Hermione led Harry upstairs to her room, pausing by another door first, "This is the guest room, you'll sleep here tonight." Then she showed him her room. Harry was impressed. Two of the four walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, one set neatly framing a large window with an owl perch mounted to the frame. He noted that most of the books were on magical topics, although two shelves contained what he recognized as romance novels, most by his Aunt Petunia's favorite author, Barbara Cartland. The third wall held her bed, neatly made up with a red and gold Gryffindor bedspread, and a wooden chest marked KEEPSAKES, which Crookshanks apparently used as a bed, judging from the fur covered pillow atop it. Harry grinned at the sight of Hogwarts: A History lying on the nightstand. He was also a little surprised to see a box full of Quidditch Monthly magazines since he knew she didn't normally read that magazine. The fourth wall had her Hogwarts trunk, a double sized dresser with a mirror positioned on one side, a door, which he assumed led to a closet, and a desk with built in shelves with what looked like a miniature telly set. He walked over to the dresser and saw that the part not covered with hair products and other "girlie" things was covered with framed photographs of her parents and herself as a child. He was quickly struck by the absence of other people, especially other children, in any of the photos. Then he noticed the collage hanging on the wall behind the dresser. It contained wizarding photos--apparently taken by Colin--of Hogwarts, and their classmates; the Daily Prophet shot of the Weasleys in Egypt; one of her and Viktor at the Yule Ball; as well as one of Ron and her at last year's ball. There were also shots of various professors including, to Harry's surprise, one of a smiling Snape who immediately scowled at the sight of Harry, and in the middle, a single big picture of Ron and a separate shot of the trio, with Ginny, laughing as socks rained all around them. He smiled at the memory of her expression that day. Hermione noticed his expression and smiled herself. Then she grabbed Harry and pulled him over to the bed. "So, were you able to get any of your summer homework assignments done? "What do you bloody think?" "Fine, then we've some time to start now." "HERMIONE! You have got to be kidding!" "No I'm not, unless you really want to explain to Professor Snape why you failed to complete your assignments." Harry
turned the thought over in his mind and then threw his hands up in mock
surrender, "Fine, you won't get any more arguments from me," and with
that the two settled in to go over their summer homework assignments
until Mrs. Granger called them to dinner. A/N A big thank you to Bart, Kathy, and Sherry for the beta job this time round..
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