Not Your Usual Veela Mate

Don't Hate Me

"Mr. Potter! What happened this time?" Poppy asked, swooping down on them the moment they entered the hospital wing.

"A Bludger hex. I didn't think the idiot was going to hurt me, so I wasn't prepared. This is the only shot he gets though. Next time I will retaliate and I don't think he'll like what I plan to do," Harry replied darkly.

"What I want to know is why you stopped me from hexing that little twit! He had no right to do what he did! Besides, it is my right as your mate to defend you when you are attacked, and you, my friend, were attacked! You're lucky he didn't do worse damage than breaking your bloody nose! He could have killed you!" Draco seethed, halfway out of the ward to find the little Weasel, not caring much about the danger he himself had been in.

"Draco, calm down. If you hex him to a slug, the blame will find its way to us. If we do nothing, the blame cannot be put on us. If there is a next time, however, I promise you may do with him what you wish," Harry said tiredly, accepting the smoking goblet Poppy handed to him. "Besides, with half the school watching that deplorable scene, the entire school will know about this before the end of the day. Ten to one, this will end up in the Daily Prophet. This way, no blame can be placed on us; instead, we should earn a lot of sympathy if Skeeter, for once in her miserable life, does the right thing, that is," Harry allowed, looking down into the goblet and shuddered.

"I want you to lie down and get some rest. Your nose was indeed broken, and there is a hairline fracture to the cheekbone. I want to keep an eye on you to make sure it heals properly. I also want to make sure there is no damage to your eyes. You were extremely fortunate that none of the glass ended up in your eyes, or that the frame didn't do worse damage than it did when it were destroyed," Pomfrey said, eyeing the bloody scratches his smashed glasses had left behind. "Well, what are you waiting for? Drink up before it gets cold," Poppy scolded gently.

"How is he, Poppy?" Lucius asked, sweeping through the doors and heading to where Harry was standing.

"I'm fine, sir, just a bit dizzy. That Bludger didn't do too much damage," Harry replied tiredly. He swirled the goblet between his fingers before sighing deeply once more. There was no way in hell he dared to drink this down. But knowing the nurse as well as he did, he knew there was no way around her. Snapping his fingers, he summoned a house-elf and asked it to go and get Severus Snape.

"Didn't do too much damage?" Poppy repeated, swelling up very much like a bullfrog. "Didn't do too much damage? That hex broke your nose, young man, and was powerful enough to cause a hairline fracture of your right cheekbone! You're damned lucky your eyes weren't affected! A bit more power behind that hex and you could have ended up blind! Now get into that bed and drink that potion before it gets cold!" Poppy demanded, hands on her hips, the picture of stubborn righteousness.

Lucius had been watching Harry while Poppy argued with him. The boy looked exhausted and extremely ill, but what really had him worried was the 'sir'. It was clear this whole episode had affected the boy severely. It made him even more furious with the youngest male Weasley. The boy was supposed to be a friend, for Salazar's sake! Why had he done this? Why had he attacked Harry like that? He almost wished he had stayed to listen to their explanations, but his need to be near his son and his mate had been stronger than his need to find out what was going on. Besides, he trusted Severus to manage filtering out the details.

Returning his focus on Harry, he was concerned to see that he wasn't taking his potion. The pain he was in had to be bad. Casting about his mind for an explanation, he suddenly remembered his reactions to the Calming Draught that idiot of a Healer had forced on him yesterday. Did the boy know more than he let on about his magical inheritance? He really needed to get Mercury started on researching the Evans' magical background.