Midnight Protector | Harry Potter FanFiction

EIGHT

The destruction of the Hufflepuff Cup Horcrux had gone about as smoothly as it possibly could. Hermione had asked question after question, wanting to know everything about what they were doing and what they had done to reach the final stages. Harry had to admire her persistence but couldn't help feeling grateful when Tonks had discretely stunned her. Everyone was tired, aching and nearly out of patience. Questions could be answered tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

Returning to Hogwarts hadn't gone as smoothly. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey had been waiting for them, not approving of the condition they were all in. Harry's bruised back was the most severe injury but it seemed that no one had escaped the night without some sort of souvenir from the abandoned orphanage. Cuts and bruises were easily healed. Harry's back, on the other hand, wasn't fixed so easily. In addition to the severe bruising, damage had been done to Harry's spine, forcing him to spend the night in the Hospital Wing in a full body-bind while potions coursed through his body.

Needless to say, it was a very long night for Harry. The position he had been forced to remain in wasn't very comfortable and any sort of sleeping potion would have countered the potions he needed to heal his back. Everyone else had been given a sleeping potion and forced into bed. Harry suspected that Madam Pomfrey knew that they would stay at his bedside the entire night for support if she hadn't done something so drastic.

When morning finally arrived, Harry was released from his body-bind and immediately given a vial of Dreamless Sleeping Potion. Much to his annoyance, he would be spending the entire day in the hospital wing sleeping. Deep down, Harry knew Madam Pomfrey was in the right. He was sore and tired but he was also desperate to begin working on locating the next Horcrux. They needed to...they needed...he needed...

...sleep. Sleep sounded too good to pass up at the moment. He would worry about it all later.

Harry didn't wake until the sun was vanishing under the horizon to the sound of mumbled voices whispering across the room. Grudgingly, Harry grabbed his glasses off the bedside table and shoved them on as he slowly sat up to see who the voices belonged to. He wasn't surprised to see Sirius, Remus and Tonks but he was surprised to see them evidently arguing with Professor McGonagall.

"It's not like we planned for a Phoenix to arrive and bloody whisk us away!" Sirius protested in a hushed voice. "We'll talk to the Aurors, all right? If they have a problem then we'll talk to Scrimgeour. He understands more than anyone that what we're doing is important."

"You know we can't do that, Sirius," Remus countered quietly. "Scrimgeour may have agreed to let Harry do his own thing but I have no doubt Scrimgeour's curiosity is getting the better of him. He wants to know exactly what we're doing so he can either claim to have some part in it or take credit for it."

Tonks stared at Remus in disbelief. "You can't honestly think that—"

"—Scrimgeour would sell Harry out to make himself and the Ministry look like the heroes?" Remus interrupted. "You better believe it. Why do you think there is so much focus on werewolves at the moment? If the public is worried about the 'werewolf problem' then they're not criticizing the Ministry. The Ministry has mastered the art of pushing bad publicity on someone else. The best thing we can do for Harry is to keep Scrimgeour out of this until the last possible moment."

"No boy should be under this much pressure," Professor McGonagall said gravely.

"Is this a private conversation or can anyone join in?" Harry asked as he pulled the bed covers away as slowly moved towards the edge of the bed. His back still was a little sore but he had experienced worse.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed as he hurried over to Harry's side. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving yet, at least until Poppy takes a look at you."