CH 32

"Thank you, Professor," she said. "I'm sure that's going to greatly help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can get an update on the health of young Mister Potter."

"Certainly," he replied. "But, do you mind if I revive Albus and Minerva?"

Hesitating for only a moment she said, "Wake them. However, I don't want to see them getting into another argument, either. And tell them both I want to have words with them after I talk to the healers."

"Certainly," the professor, again, replied.

With the students now sitting back down, and the centre passageway cleared, Madam Bones was able to walk back down to where Madam Pomfrey and the other healer were still working on who she now knew to be Harry Potter.

Calmly stepping up to them she asked, "How is he?" Without looking around, Pomfrey replied, "His magic is still unstable but we're getting a handle on it. We think it was an unreleased infant lock that shattered."

Madam Bones hissed in shock.

The second healer took it up from there. "As for his forehead it appears there was a soul fragment buried behind it."

On hearing that Madam Bones hissed in shock, again. "It's gone?" she asked.

The healer replied, "We think the release of the lock on his magic forcefully expelled it. There was residual dark energy emanating from it, but I think I've now cleared it away. As you can see, his scar is now practically gone. We've placed him in an induced somnulus state while we get his magic stabilised.

"After that, we'll get him to Saint Mungo's to work on the rest of his injuries." "There's more?" asked Madam Bones, shocked.

The two healers glanced up at each other for a few moments before Pomfrey replied, "A great deal more, I'm afraid. Too much to list here. And not for younger ears to hear."

Madam Bones knew she was referring to the children nearby.

"Right," said Pomfrey, suddenly. Calling out, she barked, "We need a stretcher over here ready to transport the patient directly to Saint Mungo's."

One of the other nearby healers was just packing up from applying Essence of Dittany to the cut on the forehead of a young witch. He looked up and said, "I've one in my bag. Just a moment."

Vanishing the remains of the swabs he was using on the young witch he reached into his bag, drew forth a shrunken wizarding stretcher and unshrunk it. The stretcher hovered about four feet above the floor.

Pomfrey and the other healer working on Harry then backed away, before she levitated the boy off the table and onto the stretcher. He was quickly strapped to it.

Knowing they were about to whiz the boy away, Madam Bones turned to another auror and commanded, "I want statements from at least a half dozen of those students calm enough to give one, plus one from each of the staff that were here when what happened - happened.

"I've also secured a memory from Professor Flitwick but I also want one from a student from the opposite end of the hall who's over the age of consent. This happened in the middle of the sorting so I want the children taken to their common rooms as soon as possible. They need to eat and this Hall is still a crime scene."

"What about the unsorted First Years?" one of the aurors asked.

Thinking for a moment, Madam Bones replied, "Ask Professor Flitwick and Sprout to spread them out amongst the Houses for tonight. They can be properly sorted later. I'll be at Saint Mungo's - and tell Professor Flitwick that, too. If Mister Potter wakes up I want to be there when he does."

"Yes, Ma'am!" the auror responded.

Madam Bones then chased after the stretcher bearing Harry. It was already out the door and on the way up the stairs to the second floor and the Infirmary.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey and the other healer had Harry stabilised enough to move, he was floo'ed through the fireplace in the Hogwarts Infirmary directly to Casualty at Saint Mungo's. Madam Bones, joined by one of her aurors, stepped through immediately after.

With young Harry still unconscious, she and her auror followed the floating gurney directly into the treatment room.

When one of the medi-witches saw her, she turned to the monocle-wearing Head of the DMLE and said, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, you cannot be in here."

Glaring back, Madam Bones said, "Too bad. I'm not letting that boy out of my sight until I have answers as to what happened in the Hogwarts Great Hall tonight."

Madam Pomfrey was relaying medical information and conditions about her young patient to the others who had now joined them in the treatment room and ignored the presence of the two senior aurors now in the room.

When she wrapped up her snappish report to the other healers she backed away to let them get to work.

Madam Bones saw that the medi-witch was done and caught her attention.

"Madam Pomfrey," she called. "A word, if I may?"

The medi-witch looked back and gave her head a short nod. "Outside, please," and gestured to the hallway outside the door.

Madam Bones turned to her auror and said, "Stay with the boy," before following the medi-witch outside.

In the hallway, she asked, "Okay, Poppy; in the words of an experienced healer, what the hell happened tonight?" The medi-witch sighed and said, "The sorting was going as per usual..."

"Skip that," interrupted Madam Bones, "Just pick it up from when Mister Potter stepped up onto the Hufflepuff table."

Nodding, the medi-witch replied, "He was angry. No, he was livid. I've never seen a young man of his age in a rage like that before, and I've seen a lot. Amongst other things, he was ranting about how Dumbledore and Minerva apparently ruined his life by abandoning him on a doorstep immediately after thatfateful night.

"That's when he stepped up onto the table and ripped off his robes baring his torso to the entire school. We were all completely shocked with what we were witnessing what we saw. He was also flaring his magic, though I don't think he was aware of it. He was practically glowing. "Suddenly he looked like he was struggling to breathe. He threw his head back and screamed. That's when he emitted an almighty pulse of magic. It was a visible wave of magical energy that knocked people and items over within close proximity to him. It also caused, for example, the failure of the enchantments that keep the candles floating above the tables. And it blew out the windows in the Hall.

"He collapsed onto the table on his back and, amongst the screams of the students, there was a much more feral scream that came from him. It appeared that whatever happened - caused a partial possession to be forced out of his head. By that time, the boy appeared to be unconscious; thank goodness!

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