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Harry Potter: The Artisan's Path Chapter 66
🕑 Added 2024-04-12 09:51:42 +0000 UTCHi all, Here’s the next chapter. Harry returns to St Mungos to help Parvati, but discovers a dangerous secret by accident.
Chapter 66
Harry and Pravid returned to St Mungo's after he discovered the spell that would lift the curse on Parvati. Her father and sister greeted them as they entered her private room, their expressions filled with hope that Parvati would recover from her illness. her affliction.
After leaving Slyherin's chamber, Harry returned to the common room to show Pravid the spell. As there was little time to waste, they both started practising the spell to master it right away. Given that the spell was parsel magic, one of them would have to cast it on Parvati. Pravid suggested Harry should do it because he was the one who discovered it, but he would step in if Harry was unable to cast it.
"Are you certain this is going to work? Padma asked.
Harry shrugged. "There is always the possibility that I am using the wrong counter curse, but I don’t believe I am."
"I also studied the spell," Pravid said. “I believe it to be the right spell. Besides, even if it isn’t the right spell, counter curses aren’t designed to harm the victim, so Parvati should be fine even if it fails.”
Ramesh nodded. “Then please proceed.”
Harry stepped onto the bed and raised his wand. He hissed an incantation in parseltongue, and performed the wand movement. A white beam emerged from the tip of his wand, striking Parvati in the torso. At first, nothing happened, and Harry wondered if he had done something wrong. But then there was a reaction, but it wasn’t what he expected.
Parvati's mouth opened involuntarily, and black smoke began pouring out, before transforming into the form of a snake.
“What the hell is that?” Ramesh exclaimed.
Harry took a step back. He wasn’t expecting this to happen.
"Were you the one who removed my curse?" the snake hissed. “Fool. Don’t think that it will be so easy to get rid of me. You may have saved the girl, but the curse will now be transferred to you.
"Be careful, Harry!" Pravid warned him, raising his wand to banish the snake, but it was too late.
The snake lunged at Harry, who was unable to respond in time. However, as the snake was about to touch Harry, a flash occurred, and the snake was instantly obliterated. He heard it say something before disappearing, but it was cut short before it could finish.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Padma asked, rushing to his side.
“I’m fine,” Harry replied. “That thing didn’t even touch me. There was no mention of this in the spell description. It would have been helpful information to have on hand.”
Had the Source protected him? It was hard to know what really happened, but he was glad nothing happened.
"What was that thing?" Ramesh asked once more.
"I believe it was a trap set by Asuri Nag to attack anyone who successfully dispelled the curse," Pravid explained. "It manifested the curse into a physical form to attack the spellcaster. I’m not sure why it disappeared so suddenly. I thought Harry would be cursed for sure.”
"Maybe it ran out of magic?" Harry suggested it because he didn’t want them to think it had something to do with him. “It probably used it all up when it cursed Parvati.”
Since they didn’t have a better explanation, they readily accepted that explanation.
Padma reached out and placed a hand on Parvati. “Does that mean my sister is going to get better.”
“That should be the case,” Pravid said. “Let's grab a healer and have them examine her. Hopefully, she wakes up soon.”
The healer arrived and performed an examination of her. The woman’s eyes widened after casting one of her diagnostic spells.
“Is everything alright?” Ramesh questioned.
Healer Thatcher smiled. “Yes, she is fine. Her magical conduit is returning to normal size, and magic is once again flooding her body. Her body may take some time to recover from the shock, but I don’t expect any problems."
Ramesh slumped into his chair, visibly relieved. He buried his face in his hands, not wanting others to see him so emotional. Padma was more open about her feelings, and she hugged Harry tightly.
“Thank you,” Padma said, her tears dampening his shirt. “If it weren’t for you, Parvati would have died.”
Harry patted her on the back. "Nagini deserves more credit than I do. If she hadn’t recognised the curse, I might not have discovered the solution."
“I will buy her a lifetime supply of rats,” Padma promised.
“She likes belly rubs as well.”
Ramesh also approached him to thank him after he had composed himself, and Harry attempted to dismiss it, but the man insisted on keeping his promise. If he needed something, he would do everything he could to get it.
Padma and her father sat at Parvati's bedside, waiting for her to awaken. Now that Harry had achieved his goal, he felt slightly awkward standing there, as if he were intruding on a family matter.
"You did a good thing," Pravid told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Would you be interested in moving to India? We need all the parselmouths we can get, considering how many remnant curses are left behind by parselmouths. The ability has been in decline, and only a dozen people, including myself, still have it."
"Throughout all of India?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Isn't India's population approaching one billion people?"
"That is correct. We have more wizards and witches than any other country, including China, but our generation has a limited number of parselmouths.
"Well, if I ever get sick of France, I might consider moving to India," Harry told him. He cast a glance at the family of three. “I have been meaning to ask Padma, but why isn’t her mother here?”
Pravid grimaced. “That’s not my story to tell. It’s really tragic, though.”
"She's dead? I shouldn’t have asked.”
"No, I think that would have been easier to handle. Because Ramesh lost his wife, his girls are his entire world, and vice versa.”
Harry wanted to know the details but felt like it was rude to ask. Maybe Padma would tell him when she was ready.
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to Hogwarts?” Pravid asked.
Harry grimaced. He had hoped he could stay for a few hours. If he returned now, he would have to attend the History of Magic class, which he found tedious. He could learn the same information from the book in half the time.
“I want to wait until Parvati wakes up.”
“That could take hours, or even days,” Pravid pointed out. "Your grandmother allowed me to accompany you here alone because she is busy with her class, so I feel responsible for you. Let me escort you back to Hogwarts.”
"Just give me a few hours," Harry pleaded. “I will return after lunch.”
Pravid sighed, exasperated. “Fine. But if I get into trouble with your grandmother, I will not forgive you."
“You're the best!” Harry said, grinning. "I want to give the family some time alone, so I will explore the hospital a little. I need to head to the fourth floor anyway.”
Neville asked that he deliver a plant to his parents that he had grown in his greenhouse. It was supposed to emit a fragrance that improved clarity. Neville had forgotten to give it to them over the summer holidays, and now he couldn’t get away from Hogwarts.
“Stay out of trouble.”
His grandmother must have told Pravid about his proclivity for getting into crazy situations. It was embarrassing that she was warning someone he had only known for a short time.
Harry exited the room and headed to the lift. He wanted to explore the other floors, except for the second floor, which housed the Magical Bugs Ward. He was slightly paranoid that he would catch a magical disease if he visited the floor, so he skipped it.
The third floor was designated for potion-related accidents and poisonings. Daphne had mentioned she had visited the floor with Snape during the summer and witnessed some unsettling sights. To test her skills, he asked her to prepare an antidote for a poisoned patient, which left her feeling extremely anxious. Luckily, she managed to successfully create the antidote without any issues. Although the potion wasn’t actually used on the patient, she hadn’t known that beforehand.
Harry thought that Snape’s teaching style was a little extreme, but he wasn’t going to say anything as long as Daphne was happy. Harry was still occasionally supplying him with unicorn ingredients, which incentivised the man to treat his apprentice well. Blaise had tried to become his apprentice as well, but Snape had told him that he couldn’t handle more than one dunderhead at a time.
He explored the floor but quickly realised that he didn’t want to see any of the patients suffering from their ailments. When he heard a scream from one of the rooms, he cursed his own curiosity and moved on. Perhaps he should go straight to the fourth floor.
“It’s Harry Potter!”
Harry looked ahead and saw a trio of witches approaching him. They all appeared to be in their early twenties, and their predatory gazes were fixed on him.
He didn't want to deal with them, so he turned around and fled, ignoring their voices telling him to stop. He expected them to give up, but they persisted, chasing him across the entire floor, catching the attention of both staff and patients.
When he rounded a corner and saw a supply closet, he quickly opened the door and entered, closing it behind him. He immediately transformed into a demiguise and became invisible. Soon, he heard the witches' voices as they turned the corner.
"Do you think he is hiding in the supply closet?"
"If he is, there is nowhere to go."
Harry shuddered. What the hell was wrong with these women?
The door opened, and they looked inside. When they didn’t see him, they sighed with disappointment and closed the door.
“Let’s keep looking along the corridor.”
He waited a few moments after hearing them walk away. When he decided it was safe, he jumped up and pulled the handle to open the door. When he left the supply closet, he noticed a small boy standing in the corridor, staring at the open door.
“It’s a ghost!” The kid ran away, screaming.
After traumatising the kid, he decided to move to the next floor. He remained in his demiguise form to avoid attracting more attention. When he arrived at the elevators, he waited for someone to enter before following them inside. Fortunately, they were headed for the same destination, and he exited onto the fourth floor.
He started exploring the floor. This was both the busiest and quietest floor. Because spell damage was the most common medical condition among wizards, the ward was extremely busy. However, there was also a ward for long-term residents, who received fewer visitors due to the permanence of their stay, as they usually didn’t have any hope of recovery.
Harry had to pass through the physical trauma ward, which was notably smaller than the other wards. While most physical injuries could be healed with magic, brain injuries posed a unique challenge. It seemed strange to have the ward on the floor designated for spell damage, but maybe it was a matter of allocating space.
This was also the ward where Madam Longbottom was being looked after, so she was staying on the same floor as her son and daughter-in-law. As he walked, he slowed down to look into the rooms, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Neville had shared that his grandmother was in a coma due to the head injury she had suffered.
He found her, but was surprised to see her awake and speaking quietly with an elderly man sitting by her bedside. Did Neville know she was awake? The two of them looked suspicious, as they kept looking at the door, as if they were afraid of being overheard.
Curious, he crept into the room and approached the bed.
"You must do something, Elphias," Madam Longbottom whispered urgently. "Healer Sprout is becoming suspicious about Alice's condition. She needs to be taken care of before it’s discovered that her current state isn’t due to being tortured.”
Harry let out a squeak and he promptly covered his mouth. The two adults were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't seem to hear it, which made him breathe a sigh of relief. He continued to listen as Madam Longbottom revealed her crimes.
Doge twisted the bowler hat in his hand. “This won’t end well for you, Augusta. I understand Dumbledore wanted control of Neville on the off chance that he was the one mentioned in the prophecy, but did you have to go so far? He would have been raised by his mother.”
"Alice would never have allowed me to raise Neville to become the next Head of House Longbottom. She has never liked me, and I expected she would distance herself from me. I did what was necessary to shape him into a proper wizard, but it's been a challenge. It’s unfortunate that Neville takes more after his mother than his father.``
"I was always curious," Doge admitted, leaning closer to the bed. "What actually happened that night. How did you subdue Bellatrix Lestrange and the other Death Eaters?”
“It wasn’t hard,” Augusta snorted. "Those bastards were so into torturing my boy that they didn’t even notice me sneaking up on them. They were completely unaware that I was in the house. I stunned them and contacted the authorities.”
“What happened next?”
Augusta sniffled and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. "Frank was already beyond help. They focused primarily on torturing Frank with the Cruciatus Curse, so he was the worst off. He didn’t even recognise me, so I knew he would never be the same.”
“What about Alice?”
"She was still coherent," Augusta explained. "She was pleading with me to get Neville. It was then that I realised what would happen in the future if she was allowed to recover. Without Frank around, she would become the interim head of the house until Neville reached his majority. She would push me out of the family.”
“So, you cursed her with something that replicates Frank’s condition?” Elphias asked. “Where did you find such a spell?”
“It wasn’t me,” Augusta said. “I didn’t know what to do, so I floo called Dumbledore, and told him about the situation. He was the one who cast the spell on her. I was busy taking care of Neville.”
“It would have been kinder if you just killed her,” Elphias sighed.
“No, I had to make the woman suffer,” Augusta said, giggling. “That woman dared look down on me. She didn’t deserve Frank. Every time Neville visits her, I imagine that she is screaming inside, unable to reach out or say anything to let him know that she loves him. Dumbledore did say that the spell had that kind of effect, which gives me great pleasure.”
Harry felt sick to his stomach. Madam Longbottom was an evil woman. He knew this already because she had been abusing Neville, but he had no idea she would go so far as to deprive him of his mother. She may not have cast the spell herself, but the intent was clear, and she was fully complicit in the crime. The woman should be locked up in Azkaban, not lying in a hospital room.
"I’m not sure what you want me to do, Augusta," Elphias said. "We were once allies, but that doesn’t mean I am going to risk my position to help you. You should be grateful that I will not repeat what you have told me today.”
“You scoundrel,” Augusta scowled. “You are not even willing to take care of one healer for me? What do you think Dumbledore will say when he returns? He isn’t one to forgive so easily.”
“You are delusional if you think that man has any place in our society ever again. He has already lost his family name, along with his influence. Ever since Dumbledore was outed for his crimes, my star has waned in the ministry. I’m feeling particularly charitable towards him at the moment. If I had been aware of what he was truly capable of, then I wouldn’t have followed the man.”
“Don’t try to act all innocent now,” Madam Longbottom growled. "You have your own list of crimes committed in the name of Dumbledore. What if I revealed them to the authorities?"
Elphias laughed. "Then I will do the same to you. It will result in mutual self-destruction. I am old, Augusta. If I have to atone for my sins before I die, then so be it. Have a good day, Madam.”
After saying that, Doge put his hat on and walked out of the room.
Madam Longbottom leaned back in her bed. “Curse my weakened body. If I could move freely, then I would get rid of Healer Sprout myself. Who else should I contact to get rid of her?"
Harry quickly exited the room, his mind in turmoil. He needed to tell someone about what he had overheard. Not only was Neville's mother potentially curable, but the healer's life was also in danger. He wanted to get in contact with Croaker, but he didn’t know how to. Instead, he would have to call his grandfather.
Harry returned to his human form after finding a bathroom. He locked himself in one of the stalls, and pulled out the two way mirror. “Charlus Potter.”
His grandfather's face appeared in the mirror a few moments later. “Harry? Why are you calling me? Where are you?”
Harry quickly revealed what he had overheard, causing Charlus' expression to darken. "How are you getting yourself into these situations?"
Harry shrugged, not knowing how to answer.
“I will take care of it,” Charlus instructed. "Return to the Patils and remain with them. If I find out that you disobeyed my instructions, you will be sorry."
Harry did not want to upset his grandfather, so he returned to Parvati's room. He was debating with himself whether he should tell Neville about the situation. If he were in the same situation, he would want to know immediately. But if he was not careful, he could give Neville false hope. He didn’t know what Albus did to Alice, and it’s possible they wouldn’t find a way to reverse it.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Several hours later, Charlus knocked on the door and entered the hospital room.
“Charlus?” Ramesh looked up. “What are you doing here?”
"I had something to take care of," Charlus explained, looking at his grandson. "I have heard your daughter is recovering from her illness, so congratulations. If I hadn’t been so busy, I would have come to visit you sooner."
Ramesh waved it off. “It’s fine. I wasn’t in the mood for visitors anyway. Without your grandson, my daughter might not have been saved. He is a credit to you.”
"Yes, I am very proud of his accomplishments," Charlus admitted, but then smiled wryly. "But sometimes he frustrates me so much that I want to wring his neck."
“It’s the same for my daughters,” Ramesh replied. “I am both blessed and cursed with twins. You don’t want to be in my situation, my friend.”
"I’m not sure how I would handle having a daughter," Charlus confessed. "Boys are difficult enough."
“I love how they are discussing us as if we aren’t even here,” Harry whispered to Padma. “Adults are so annoying.”
Padma nodded in agreement. “They can be extremely rude.”
“I need to borrow my grandson,” Charlus said, grabbing Harry by the shoulder. “I will explain the situation to you later, Ramesh.”
They left the room and went somewhere private to talk.
“What’s going on?” Harry asked. “Did you arrest Madam Longbottom?”
Charlus shook his head. “She’s not even aware that we are onto her. We cannot arrest her simply because you overheard her discussing committing a crime. Furthermore, she is currently a patient, so we cannot remove her.”
“So, what have you been doing?”
"Alice is being examined by Croaker and his coworkers to see if her condition was caused by exposure to the Cruciatus Curse. Until we determine that, we can’t do anything else.”
“What about Healer Sprout? Did you warn her about the situation?”
Charlus nodded. “She has an Auror detail protecting her until the situation is resolved.”
“Is she related to Professor Sprout by chance?”
“I have no idea.”
Harry noticed Croaker walking down the corridor towards them, and he didn’t appear happy.
“Harry,” Croaker greeted him. “I want to thank you for exposing Augusta’s crimes. If you hadn't, Alice may never have stood a chance of recovering from her condition.”
“So, it’s been confirmed?” Charlus asked.
“Yes. It is thanks to the information Harry provided. She has been suffering from a dreadful spell that was seen during the Grindelwald era. It traps the individual within their own mind, giving the impression that they are mentally deficient. We managed to dispel the curse, and she has finally been freed from her prison."
Harry smiled. “That’s good news. So, she is fine now?”
"I am afraid it’s not that simple," Croaker told him. "Alice has been trapped in her mind for so long that she has experienced a great deal of trauma. She will need a mind healer to help her return to some semblance of normalcy."
“What about Neville? Are you going to tell him?”
"I cannot keep it from him because the matter is too important," Croaker explained. "Would you like to do the honours? It’s thanks to you that he will have a mother again.”
"I suppose so," Harry said, imagining Neville's reaction when he found out. That was going to come as a surprise. “What’s going to happen with Madam Longbottom?”
Croaker grunted. "She will be guarded until she has recovered sufficiently to stand trial. I will ensure that she is held accountable for her actions. That goes for Albus, as well.”
He imagined that a few people shared Croaker's feelings about Albus, including himself.
Charlus looked at his pocket watch. "Let us get moving, Harry. If I don’t return you to Hogwarts soon, I am going to get a scolding from your grandmother.”
Harry smirked. “I would love to see that.”
“I’m sure you would.”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Harry returned to Hogwarts, accompanied by his grandfather and Croaker. The latter told him that he would be waiting here for Neville to accompany him to St. Mungo's. Harry wasted no time and set out to find Neville. Knowing that classes had ended, he assumed Neville would be with his friends. He first checked the Gryffindor Tower, expecting to find them in the common room. When he arrived, he found his friends gathered around a table, conversing.
“Harry!” Daphne saw him first. “You’re finally back. How did it go?”
Harry gave her a thumbs up. “Was there any doubt? Parvati is going to be fine.”
His friends congratulated him and made space at the table for him to join them. Their enthusiastic expressions suggested that they had something to tell him. He looked around but didn’t see Neville anywhere in the common room.
“Harry, we made a discovery in the library,” Hermione exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.
“I would love to hear about it,” Harry said. “But I need to speak to Neville first. Do you know where he is?”
“He’s getting something from his dormitory room,” Susan said. “He shouldn’t be too long.’
That was perfect. He would have some privacy to tell Neville about his mother. "I will be back in a moment."
Harry climbed the stairs to his room, but paused at the door, when he heard a commotion coming from inside. He pulled out his wand before opening the door, only to be met with an unexpected scene.
Neville and Ron were grappling on the floor, both vying for dominance. There was a lot of grunting and yelling, and some punches were thrown, but it appeared to be an even fight up until that point.
“What the hell is going on?” Harry shouted.
In the midst of their fight, the two paused and looked up. Ron had a black eye, and Neville had a bloodied lip. Harry thought he saw something wrong with Ron's eyes, but the boy blinked and his eyes cleared up. Perhaps he was imagining things.
“Why are you fighting?” Harry asked.
They released each other and stood up. They exchanged angry glances, but Harry cleared his throat, and the two of them stopped.
“Harry, I saw Ron rummaging through your dresser,” Neville said. “When I told him to stop, he ignored me completely.”
“I don’t know what came over me, Harry,” Ron cried, waving his arms wildly. "It was as if I were being compelled. I don’t even remember approaching your dresser.”
Harry examined Ron closely. He didn’t think Ron was lying because the teen was absolutely terrible at it. Ron wasn’t good at concealing his emotions, so you knew what you were getting with him. He was direct and lacked tact, which some perceived as rude. Aside from that, Ron had never given him any reason to doubt him.
“I believe you, Ron,” Harry said, and Ron sagged with relief. “There may be something dangerous in my dresser that may have influenced him. I will have my grandmother check it out later.”
Ron glanced at Neville. “See, I told you. There was no need to be violent.”
“How was I supposed to know?” Neville defended himself, wiping blood from his lip. "Besides, it has yet to be established that you are innocent."
Ron opened his mouth, but Harry interrupted him. “Enough. It’s already finished. Ron, could you please give us some privacy? There is something I need to discuss with Neville.”
Ron nodded and left the room.
Neville sat down on the bed with a sheepish expression. “I don’t know what came over me. I just lashed out at him.”
"It’s always the quiet ones," Harry quipped. "Don’t get into a fight next time. If you suspect him of doing something, come and tell me. There’s no need to spill blood over it.”
“Okay. So, what would you like to talk about?”
Harry took a deep breath. "Neville, I found out something about your mother while I was at St Mungo's."
Neville's eyebrows furrowed. “What is it?”
"Your mother is fine. She wasn’t suffering from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse. Your grandmother and Dumbledore did something to her to make her that way."
Neville froze, as if he had been struck with the Petrificus Totalus curse. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but no sound emerged.
Harry approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Neville, are you alright?"
"You are not having me on, are you?" Neville whispered. "Because that would be a terrible joke to make if you were.”
"I am completely serious," Harry said. "Your great uncle is waiting for you in my grandmother's office to take you to the hospital. I suggest you get moving. Maybe smarten up a little to make a good impression on your mother."
Neville nodded stiffly, making his way towards the bathroom. Harry watched him leave, genuinely happy for his friend but unable to ignore a twinge of jealousy creeping up inside him. How wonderful it would be if his mother was also still alive, but he knew that was wishful thinking.
He supposed he couldn’t complain too much. He had his grandparents, who loved him, while all Neville had up to this point was an abusive grandmother, and a great-uncle who was too busy with his work to make time for him.
Harry approached his dresser cautiously. He wanted to know if there was really something that had been affecting Ron, and he almost expected to feel the same sensation, but nothing happened. He didn’t want to push his luck, though, so he didn’t open the dresser.
He heard a bark, and looked over to the window, where Hedwig was perched on her stand.
“Did you see what happened?” Harry asked.
Hedwig nodded.
He approached her and stroked her feathers. “Do you think he was lying?”
Hedwig shook her head.
“Me either,” Harry said. “Where is Nagini?”
Hedwig pointed a wing at the window, and he looked out to see her lying on the grass next to Gabrielle. She was chatting with Luna, who had Cuddles nestled in her lap.
"I wonder what they are talking about," Harry mused. "Perhaps they are planning to write another magizoologist article.”
Hedwig made a derisive noise.
“You think it’s about Nagini?” Harry asked, knowing her disdain for the snake. “I guess that may be the case. Do you want to join me in the common room?”
Hedwig barked and flew off her perch, landing on his outstretched arm.
Harry headed back downstairs and sat down with his friends at the table.
“Where’s Nevile?” Susan asked.
Harry looked around the table. "Neville just received shocking news, so he will be leaving to visit St Mungo's. When he comes down the stairs, don’t pester him with questions.”
“What’s going on?” Terry asked.
"It’s not my place to say," Harry replied. “If Neville wants to tell you, then he will.”
The friends exchanged glances, curious about what was going on. Hermione didn’t dwell on it for long because she was eager to share what the group had discovered.
“Harry, look at this,” Hermione said, handing him a book. “We found the spell used to search for phrases in this book, and we thought there was nothing else there at first.”
“But then Hermione’s obsessive personality kicked in,” Daphne said dryly. “She searched through the book with a fine tooth comb until she found something.”
“What am I looking for?” Harry asked, flipping through the pages.
"There is writing on the back cover," Hermione explained. "It was written in invisible ink. Nobody was more surprised than me when I used a Revealer on it and words appeared."
Harry found the words, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom of the text, where a name was written. He gasped, unable to believe his eyes.
Lewis Rosier.
What the hell? Was this the same Lewis who ran a junk shop? The same Lewis, who was a squib and had no business being at Hogwarts. The same Lewis that sent him the pocket watch crafted by Galahad, whom they were currently investigating.
Lewis, who exactly are you?
So, what do you think? Has Lewis been lying to Harry all this time? What is his relationship to Galahad?
Thanks for reading.
Comments
GamerFiction
Cheers.
Salvage48
Awesome!
