The Megara Mystery

Hospital Wing, Durmstrang, (Feb. 1 st )...

Noise.

At some-point, Harry's senses became aware of it, and, slowly, he began to wake up. While he was groggy, the sounds around him became progressively clearer. There was a man and a woman, and it sounded like they were arguing.

"...can not send out that letter!"

"I am following your policy ... no choice in the matter."

"... was something else ... bone breaking curse ... like someone was actually trying to harm the boy."

"... what other purpose for using a bone-breaking curse ... wanted Mr. Potter hurt!"

At the mention of his name, Harry opened his eyes. He was laying face down on an uncomfortable bed with white sheets. Turning his head to the side, he saw numerous other beds lining the room. He was in the infirmary.

Slowly, the memory of what had happened in the library returned, and Harry became acutely aware of a horrible stabbing pain in his back. It felt like his back was covered in splinters and someone was periodically ripping them out, only to immediately replace them again. He grimaced and let out a slight whimper of pain, which quickly alerted the other occupants of the room of his consciousness.

"Mr. Potter? Mr. Potter, can you hear me?"

Harry saw a large woman looking down at him in concern.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good," the woman replied happily, "I am Lady Shluga, the matron of the hospital wing. Now, Mr. Potter, you were hit with a bone breaking curse, and the damage was severe. I spent most of last night carefully vanishing all traces of the destroyed bone, and I dosed you with Skele-grow to replace your scapula. I'm sorry to say that you're going to be in for an uncomfortable few hours."

"Did you catch who did it?" Harry asked. He sincerely hoped that whoever cursed him was feeling just as much pain as he was at the moment.

"No," the Highmaster said, stepping forward. "We tried to find the person responsible, but the situation quickly drew the attention of many students, and it's likely that your attacker slipped in amongst them to pose as a merely curious onlooker."

Harry felt his temper flair. Here he was getting his back rebuilt, and they hadn't even caught the person responsible. Did they even try? When he told his parents...

His parents!

If they found out that he was attacked within his first month of school, they'd have him out of Durmstrang within an hour. Biting his lip, Harry asked, "Do my parents know what happened?"

A worried expression appeared on Lady Shluga's face. "I was just about to send out the notice to your parents, Mr. Potter. I was too busy last night making sure that the various bone shards were not threatening any of your organs. However, now that you are out of danger and conscious, I will let them know of your condition."

"No," Harry said quickly, "please don't!"

"What?" Lady Shluga asked in confusion before turning to glare at the Highmaster. "Did you threaten the poor boy?"

"I have done no such thing," Karkaroff said dangerously, "and you should remember your place, Yvanna."

Lady Shluga immediately paled. "My, my apologies, Highmaster. I-I simply get worked up over the health of my patients."

Turning to look at Harry, Karkaroff smiled slightly, showing his yellow teeth. "Why don't you want a notice to be sent out, Mr. Potter?"

"My parents will withdraw me from Durmstrang if they find out, sir. They, well, it took Professor Dumbledore convincing them that I would be safe here to even let me attend. I really do like it here, sir, and I don't want to leave."

Karkaroff flinched slightly at the mention of Dumbledore. Most of the world saw Albus Dumbledore as a gentle and kind-hearted old man; however, Igor saw the other side of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

He saw the man who could casually appear inside of Durmstrang's wards by means of that filthy Phoenix companion of his. He saw the man who had once effortlessly set him on fire during a duel in Hogsmeade. He saw the man with more political connections than anyone in the world. Finally, he saw the man who had a lifetime's worth of blackmail on him, and had no qualms about using it to get his way.

Igor did his best to force the memory of Dumbledore threatening to turn him over to the Russians for the role he played in the Leningrad Massacre of 1980. The old man had given him a simple quid pro quo. Keep Harry Potter safe...or be prepared to spend the rest of his life slaving away in a warded gulag.

Knowing he had no choice and that it was too late to rescind Potter's acceptance, Igor increased the restrictions on performing magic in the halls. It was typically tradition for all first years to undergo a hazing of sorts during their time at Durmstrang. The professors would turn a blind eye towards any student who sent a spell at a first year, provided they kept it within reason.

That could not be allowed with Harry Potter. If a student took it too far and Potter was hurt.... Naturally, Igor had tightened the restrictions about casting spells in the hallway, and he made certain to make an example out of the first brat to break his rule. He had also explained to the faculty that Harry Potter was to be monitored carefully.

Now Potter was in the infirmary with a broken scapula, and the matron wanted to inform the boy's parents. That simply could not happen. "Yvanna, clearly, Mr. Potter doesn't want his parents to know what happened. Surely you can make an exception in this one case."

Lady Shluga looked between the Headmaster's decidedly dangerous stare and the Potter boy's pleading eyes. She had been prepared to cross Karkaroff if he attempted to force her to not send the letter out. It would have probably cost her position, but she was a good healer, and she would find another job. However, if the Potter boy didn't want his parents to know that someone had viciously cursed him... well, she couldn't justify losing her job for someone that didn't even want her help. "Very well Highmaster, it will be as you wish. Now, Mr. Potter, I believe you have a visitor."

"Really?" Harry glanced over at a clock and saw that it was almost ten in the morning. Viktor would be at Quidditch practice, so who would bother visiting him? "Who?"

"A Ms Megara. I shall tell her that you are awake. She's just doing some homework in my office right now."

As Lady Shluga walked away, Karkaroff grinned down at Harry. "I'm glad that we don't need to let anyone know about this unfortunate situation, Mr. Potter, and I'm pleased that you are so far enjoying your time at Durmstrang."

"Um, thank you, sir," Harry replied as he tried to figure out who Ms. Megara was, and why she would be visiting him.

"My best on your recovery, Harry," the Highmaster said before leaving the infirmary.

The door to Lady Shluga's office opening directed Harry's attention away from the retreating Highmaster, and he noticed the matron of the infirmary walking towards him; however, when Harry got his first look at this visitor, he felt his heart skip a beat. His visitor was a very attractive third or fourth year girl with olive skin, shoulder length brown hair, and hazel eyes. She was carrying a book on Spell Creation under her arm, and appeared to be annoyed about something.

"As you can see Ms. Megara, Mr. Potter is awake. Now, I've got some paperwork to take care of, so why don't I just leave you two here to talk."

"Thank you Lady Shluga," the girl said sweetly.

"Who are you?" Harry asked curiously.

The girl waited until Lady Shluga was back in her office before replying, "Shut up Potter. I doubt you want to be here, but I really don't want to waste my time babysitting you. So, don't speak to me. In fact, don't even look at me."

Harry simply stared at the girl in disbelief. "W-What?"

Sighing, the girl sat down in a chair near Harry's bed and took out her wand. "Silencio."

Harry tried to scream for help, but nothing would come out of his mouth. He looked up at the girl in horror, thoughts of being cursed in his own hospital bed raced through his mind. Was this girl the person who cursed him in the library? Was she here to finish him off?

Noticing his wand on the end table next to him, Harry was about to make a desperate drive for it when the girl said, "By Zeus, Potter, would you stop fidgeting? I'm trying to study!"

Stunned, Harry stopped moving and looked back at the girl. She was just sitting there, not even paying him the slightest bit of attention. After a few tense moments where the girl didn't even lift her eyes from the book she was reading, Harry realized that the girl was not a threat to him, but why was she here? And why had she silenced him?

The two sat together in complete silence, the only sound coming from the girl turning the pages of her book. Harry continued to observe the girl, unsure of what to think about her.

"I told you to not look at me."

Harry simply raised an eyebrow and continued to look at the rapidly bothered girl.

"Do you want me to curse you Potter?"

Frustrated and annoyed at the girl's attitude, Harry was about to throw an extra pillow at her when the door to the infirmary opened, and Viktor walked inside.

He was still wearing his Quidditch uniform, and was sweating slightly; however, Harry was never happier to see a familiar face. Viktor, likewise, appeared pleased to see him. "Harry, you're awake!"

Harry was about to motion to his throat, signaling that he couldn't talk, when he heard the girl mutter a quiet "finite," removing the silencing spell.

With his voice returned and confident that Viktor would help him if she started throwing spells, Harry turned to face the girl. "What the hell is your problem!"

The girl simply ignored Harry's outburst before standing up and walking over to Viktor. "You smell, and shouldn't you be at practice for another hour?"

"A few of my teammates will be joining Harry in the infirmary shortly." Viktor grinned. "Maybe the next time I ask for a practice to be rescheduled they will listen to me."

"You two know each other?" Harry asked his friend in surprise.

Viktor laughed. "Kira is my girlfriend Harry. I thought it would be a good idea for you to have a friendly face around when you wake up. Since I had to go to practice, I asked her to stay here."

"Yeah, she's real friendly," Harry muttered under his breath.

Kira glanced at Harry with disdain. "Better than you deserve half-blood."

"Kira," Viktor scowled, "apologize."

For a second, Harry thought Kira was going to laugh at the suggestion, but then she saw the serious expression on Viktor's face. "Sorry Potter," she said unconvincingly. "Happy Viktor? Now, I'm leaving." Without a second glance, Kira swiftly grabbed her book and walked out of the infirmary.

"So," Harry said uncomfortably, "how long have you been dating her?"

"Since October." Viktor replied. "She's normally not like that."

"Is she a fourth year as well?"

"No, although she is in fourth year spell creation, she is in her third year. She and I have been good friends ever since I stopped some students in our second year spell creation class from picking on her. I had hoped that you two would have gotten along better."

"Yeah, what did I ever do to make her so upset with me? I haven't even seen her before."

"Kira," Viktor said slowly as if deciding how much to tell his new friend, "is very competitive. She has constantly ranked among the best students in Spell Creation, and she is one of the better duelists in her Dark Arts class. I believe she is slightly jealous of your placement into two third year classes. And, well, I had hoped that she would keep her opinions on blood to herself, but she strongly disapproves of anyone who is not a pureblood being accepted at Durmstrang."

"Why?"

"Kira's family is from Greece, and they have one of the oldest pureblood lineages in Europe; however, her family is unique in many ways."

"Unique how?"

"It is not my place to say, Harry." Viktor said with finality.

Harry wondered exactly what kind of family situation would make Kira dislike him. He had never even heard of the Megara family, and he didn't think they were death eaters. "Well, as long as you like her, and she is...well, what I mean to say is, ugh, well, you know."

"Yes?" Viktor grinned. "She is what?"

Feeling his face heat up slightly, Harry muttered, "She is kind of pretty."

Viktor smiled. "Yes, yes she is, but enough about Kira. How long are you going to be in the hospital wing for and did they catch the person responsible?"

Before Harry could answer, the doors to the hospital wing burst open and three dirty and bruised boys began levitating three other boys into beds. Harry noticed that all the boys were wearing the same Quidditch uniform as Viktor, who was smirking at the scene.

"Did you do all that?"

"Yes," Viktor said proudly, "I'm actually surprised that they were able to get Lucas out of the ground so fast. I had thought he would've been buried for at least an hour."

Harry's eyes widened. How did someone get buried during Quidditch practice?

Seeing his friend's curious expression, Viktor said, "Trust me, Harry, you don't want to know."