What Voldemort Left Behind

Chapter 43 - The End of September

AUTHORS NOTE: Tbh this chapter was shorter than i expected it to be before wattpad counted the words, but maybe that's just bc it took me so long to write, i kept adding things in and then taking them away and changing the chapter. This is the last chapter for a while that's not really relevant to the story, afterwards it gets more important but i hope you like this one. To clear up any confusion in the last chapter, i imagined Victoire to be around 2 months pregnant when the conversation where Teddy tells Harry he's having a child took place so it will probably be a while in the story before the child is born. Please read and review, it makes me so happy and i'm so glad people are liking the story so far 💖

Harry woke up alone for the first time as far as he could remember. He hated being stuck in the one place for any length of time and if it wasn't for Ginny he probably would've gone mad. He had to rely on others for anything, he was on strict orders not to do magic, even the most simple of spells could set back his recovery for ages. Kingsley sent letters every day to inform Harry of everything happening in the Ministry and Dark wizard searches, it helped give Harry the peace of mind that his family was safe when he was unable to protect them. Molly and Arthur also wrote most days, mainly little stories about life at home at the Burrow which helped Harry to take his mind off things. Ginny would read him these letters every day as it took so much of his energy to read himself and he would dictate to her exactly what to write back. If anyone else tried that he would probably slap them if he could find the energy, but hearing Ginny's voice was almost better than being able to read the notes himself, she brought everything to life with her soft, sweet storytelling voice. He wished she would hurry up and get here, he really didn't want to cause a fuss but he could barely think through the pain and he wanted her to get back before he needed to sleep again.

"Harry, I missed you!" He saw a flash of red hair and grabbed his glasses so he could see her better.

"I came over earlier but you were asleep. You woke up when Lily and James were here."

"I don't remember, how long did they stay?"

"Half an hour I think. You don't remember anything? That's a bit worrying."

"Can't remember much but I'm sure it'll come back to me soon."
He reached out to grab her hand. "Let's not waste the time we have together thinking about that."

Ginny checked her watch. "I'll be right back, you're due a few more potions."

Harry glanced at his own wrist, the watch said 3:00. He had tried to memorize the schedule on his own but it was difficult to block out enough of the negative thoughts and pain that came with them to concentrate on minor things like times of the day. He was determined to get better enough to leave this horribly boring place soon, if he could get home then he could begin his crucial search for every criminal still out there, everyone who Voldemort left behind that dared threaten the people Harry loved. Ginny didn't know that he'd be leaving, no one did, but Harry needed to, if he was going to die he would find any possible threat to his family and take it away first.

Ginny handed Harry a vial of potion, it was a bright red and instantly gave him more energy. The rest of the potions weren't quite as effective but he felt stronger than he had before, he just wished that something could be done with the scar pain or the ache in his chest.

"I can help you move into the chair if you'd like, it would give you a change from that bed."

Harry eagerly rushed towards the chair before Ginny would help him, it was only a few steps away, he could do it himself, he needed to prove to everyone that he didn't need their fussing.

The next thing Harry knew he was back in his bed with Ginny and Poppy both standing over him looking worried.

"You tried to stand up but collapsed and couldn't breathe, I'm sorry."

Harry wished he could tell her that she didn't need to be sorry, but all he could manage was to focus on staying conscious. He was glad Ginny didn't leave.

Poppy waved her wand over him and looked at Ginny with a worried expression.

"Stay beside him, I'll go down to Penny and see if she has anything that might help, just keep him breathing as deeply as he can."

Ginny knelt beside her husband, the last thing Harry saw that day was her beautiful red hair.

-

Another stressful week went by and Ginny was getting very worried, it was nearly the end of September and she was in her usual seat at Harry's bedside. He'd just taken a Dreamless Sleep Potion, quite a lot of a very strong dose because over the years they'd become less and less effective with use, but they worked miracles when he took enough. She also needed stronger doses than average of that potion for the days where her nightmares were bad, but her's were less and less frequent as the years went by, whereas Harry still could barely get a night of uninterrupted sleep.
When the kids were young, especially as babies, he would always be the one to get up with them in the night as he couldn't sleep anyway, Ginny knew he missed those years of having a companion when the nightmares were worst.

"Ginny, can I see you in my office?" She followed Poppy away from Harry's room.

"I wanted to talk to you about getting him out of here and also inform you of everything I can work out about his... condition. He won't be honest with you about how he's feeling, you know that, always trying to "protect" you and all that nonsense, but I do think he's better off at home at this point because there's nothing else I can do, it's best to make him as comfortable as possible until Ms Haywood finishes his potion."

Ginny nodded, she agreed, Harry would be much more likely to get better at home when he was free, he had always been very independent and he hadn't said so but she could tell he was desperate to get out of this confinement.

"Before he goes however, I'd like to make sure you know everything that I and Hermione have learned."

She led Ginny back into Harry's room.

"There's not many outward signs of damage apart from the marks Voldemort left on him but there are a few charms that allow me to check for physical problems that cannot be seen."

She waved her wand and a black smoke like substance seemed to appear on Harry's skin.

"This is a basic outline of how the curse is spreading."

The smoke appeared thin and see through on his arms and legs but seemed to gradually increase across his torso, and his chest and head were startlingly black, the smoke so thick it was impossible to see through, apart from where his scar was, which was even darker and still stood out.

"You can see that it's all over him, there's no part of him that isn't affected by the curse, but it's alarmingly strong in certain places. I can guess what it could do to harm his heart and lungs, you see where the curse is very strong, but I'm much more concerned about the effect on his mind. He'll probably not be able to do much exercise again, I know Ginny that'll be devastating for him, just hope that Penny's potion can do something for that, and he'll tire easily so make sure he rests, he'll probably need to stop to catch his breath a lot too."

Ginny wanted to yell and scream until someone did something to fix her husband, she knew they were trying their best but it wasn't working.

"As for the effect on his mind... it will probably play on the traits he has already. I don't know exactly what it would do but possibly make him easily upset, his tendency to blame himself for things out of his control could become more extreme and he could develop significant anger issues." Poppy listed everything matter of factly, but Ginny could sense the worry behind it, both Poppy and Minerva had grown very attached to Harry after the war. Ginny's own mother treated Harry the same way, but no amount of fussing or care could repair the damage of his messed up life.

"Hermione has kept him up to date on all of our information but I thought it would be best to make sure that you're informed because it would be just like him to keep it all a secret."

The excitement Ginny felt when Poppy had finally agreed to let Harry home was gone, but she was determined to help him.