Book Two: Snape's Memories

Chapter Twenty-one

Harry sat on the wing chair in his study regarding his injured wand hand with a mixture irritation and chagrin.

The hour was late, but Ginny had insisted that they call in some kind of help. It was clear that none of the healing spells she knew would work. She was worried enough that rather than send an owl, she'd sent a Patronus. She was putting the children to bed now, after assuring them that Harry hadn't done any permanent damage to himself.

He contemplated taking himself to Saint Mungo's but, quite apart from the fact that he didn't want to explain what he had been doing for security purposes, he really was more than a trifle embarrassed at the accident.

"Bloody thing." he muttered darkly. The pain potion Ginny had given him had reduced the pain to a dull roar, fortunately.

The front door opened and shut. Someone spoke softly to Kreacher. Harry realized he didn't know who Ginny had sent for.

Harry heard footsteps up the stairs and a soft knock at the study door.

"Come in." he gritted.

The door opened slowly and the face of Luna Lovegood peeped around the door, looking concerned, "Harry?" she said slowly, "Ginny said you'd had a wand accident?"

She looked like she'd come directly from her workshop. Rather than robes, she wore a pair of jeans and an old oversized "Weird Sisters" t-shirt. a leather apron with pockets bulging with tools hung from her waist. Her dirty blond hair was caught up in a ponytail on top of her head.

In answer, he held his blistered hand out to her, gritting his teeth against the still considerable pain. Too swollen for him to close his fingers, it seemed that the skin of the palm was beginning to wetly slough off in white and grey patches.

Her blond eyebrows shot up, "Oh, my. Did your wand do that? Did it explode?" She came into his study, walking carefully around the parchments and books that were stacked around the room.

Harry shook his head, "No. Not my wand." he said, "Professor Snape's. Bloody thing was booby trapped."

As always, Luna seemed to take that information in stride. Without missing a beat, Luna knelt down on the floor in front of him. Holding his wrist, she examined the palm closely. She turned it over to look at the back and turned it palm up again. She held her fingers close to, but not touching the skin of his palm. She let go of his wrist and looked around.

"Can I see the wand?" asked Luna, looking around. Harry nodded at his desk.

She picked it up, delicately. She gave it a little wave. Sullen grey smoke issued from the end in a thin stream.

"It wasn't booby trapped." she said gently, "It just really didn't like you. What are you doing with Professor Snape's wand?" As she asked him this she pulled out her own wand and tapped his wrist, then waved the wand across his palm a couple of times.

"Trying to get into his bloody journals." Harry jerked his chin at the stacks of parchment. What Luna was doing dampened the pain more completely, but the skin was still raw, "I think I have the password, but it got so hot I thought it was going to explode."

Luna nodded as though that made sense to her "I've got something for wand bites back at the shop. Could Kreacher go fetch it?" she asked.

Kreacher was apparently listening, "Yes, Miss Luna." he croaked from the doorway, "Just tell Kreacher where to find it and what it looks like."

"It's in the workshop, on the wall, in a case marked with a red healer's symbol. You can't miss it. There's a bottle marked 'wand bites'"

"This happen often then?" asked Harry, more to distract himself than anything else.