Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 31: Questions, Answers & Unexpected Profanity

At first, the light was so bright, Harry was afraid he had died and gone to heaven. Then, his vision cleared and he realized it was just the infirmary. "Good morning, Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Madame Pomfrey, the painfully cheerful school nurse. The last time he'd seen the woman, she'd harangued him for being so foolish as to blow out his eardrums by casting a sonic curse at his own head, but she seemed much friendlier today. Perhaps it was because this time his wounds weren't self-inflicted.

Harry slowly sat up and noticed his glasses and his wand on the bedside table. Donning the former, he saw that there were a surprising number of gifts and get-well cards on the table both from various Slytherins and his friends from other houses. Then, he saw that Jim was in the next bed over, still asleep (or possibly comatose – Harry had no way of knowing) and with an equally large assortment of gifts from his own fan club. Harry reached over for a Cauldron Cake and said, "Good morning to you as well, Madame Pomfrey. I don't suppose you can tell me how I got here. Last thing I recall, I was being choked to death by the animated corpse of my Defense instructor."

The nurse stared at him. "That's a rather ... lurid description, Mr. Potter. You and your brother were brought in early Friday morning, along with several of your friends." He looked concerned at that, but she was quick to reassure him. "Everyone else only suffered from some minor cuts and bruises and was right as rain and sent back to their dorms within the hour. You and your twin, however, were comatose for several days. Some strange form of magical shock. Your vital signs were fine, and you both came out of your comas last night, but as bed rest was still prescribed, you were both left to sleep until you woke up on your own. Incidentally, today is Monday, June 8th. Now, any other questions you have should best be answered by the Headmaster or your parents, all of whom I have summoned."

Harry frowned at that but figured it would be unavoidable. He briefly considered whether he should insist that Snape be present as well, as was his right under the injunction his solicitor had filed. Then, he remembered what Voldemort had revealed. That Snape had been a Death Eater. That Snape was the one who told Voldemort about the Prophecy. That Snape, as much as Dumbledore, the Potters, or the Dark Lord, had inflicted 4 Privet Drive on him.

"One last question, please? Do you happen to know the outcome of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match that was scheduled for last Friday?" he asked.

She shook her head sadly as she looked over at Jim. "The Gryffindors had to move a Chaser to cover Jim's spot and played a man down the whole game. It was the worst defeat for the Gryffindors in 300 years, they say."

Harry smiled. "I'm sorry I missed it," he said softly as Madame Pomfrey returned to her office.

"I'll bet you are," Jim sighed from the next bed, as he struggled to sit up.

"Oh, cheer up, Little Brother. There's always next year. Maybe I'll make the Slytherin team, and we'll have a whole new arena in which to hate each other." As he spoke, he reached over for a small box with a card that read "You'll probably be needing this. B.Z." Inside, he found a small mirror and a fresh tube of Sleekeazy. Delighted, he immediately started primping his rat's nest of a head into something more presentable.

Jim didn't rise to Harry's taunts. Instead, he stayed quiet for a while before finally asking, "Was there ever a moment when you were actually considering joining ... You-Know-Who?"

"What, Voldemort?" said Harry, enjoying the sight of Jim flinching at the name as he carefully adjusted some stray hairs. "Heh. Some Boy-Who-Lived you are. You can't even say your arch-enemy's name. And no, I would never join Voldemort. If anything, I want to destroy him more than you do. He's one of five people responsible for ensuring that I spent ten years of absolute misery with the Dursleys, and of those five, he's the only one I'd be legally allowed to kill."