Mara's Magic

i - harry saves the school

To say that I shouldn't have told the kids about Nicolas Flamel would be an understatement. 

Harry killed Professor Quirrell.

Not only did he kill Professor Quirrell, but he did it without me! All three of them nearly died and all I did was sleep while they battled flying keys, Devil's Snare, giant wizard's chess, and Lord Voldemort who was stuck to the back of Quirrell's head. When I woke up that morning with the news that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the Hospital Wing, I immediately went to check up on them. Hermione and Ron were okay, though Ron had been beaten up pretty good, and Harry was in a coma. 

I stayed next to him for as long as I could, only leaving for finals and to console Oliver over not being able to play the last game against Ravenclaw for the Quidditch Cup. Slytherin did end up winning after all.

After a day or two, Professor Dumbledore caught me passed out on my chair next to Harry's bed. Madam Pomfrey had given me a blanket and a pillow since I refused to leave and I had taken it gratefully. 

Dumbledore sat on a chair next to mine and I blinked a couple times before sitting up fully. I stared at him for a few moments as my vision cleared, confused. 

"Professor!" I exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

He waved a hand dismissively. "No worries, Mara. Has he made any improvements?"

"Yes. Madam Pomfrey anticipates that he'll wake up later this evening," I answered, looking back at the young boy. His scar seemed a bit redder and deeper than before he went looking for the Stone and he was wearing his Weasley sweater. It made me smile. 

"Thank you," Dumbledore said softly. I turned my attention to him once more.

"I'm sorry?"

"Thank you for taking care of him. I'm sure this year would've looked very different for him if you hadn't been here," he replied with a warm smile. I nodded, but furrowed my brows after a few moments. 

"Professor, if you don't mind my asking... why did you ask me to watch over Harry?" I asked carefully. "I mean, I understand that you want all of your students taken care of, but the way you asked me just seemed a bit odd."

His smile stooped a touch and he stared straight ahead of him with cloudy eyes, almost as if he were remembering something from a long, long time ago. "Everybody needs somebody, Mara," he said, his voice rough. His eyes flashed to me. "Especially Harry. And you."

I cleared my throat awkwardly, scouring the room before finally resting my eyes back on my headmaster. "I have people. I have my family and my friends, I've got Oliver. And Harry's got friends, like Ronald and Hermione." 

He hummed in response. "Yes, yes. But, I think you'll find an astounding amount of common ground with Harry. I get the feeling that the two of you will become very important in one another's lives, in one way or the other."

His eyes clouded over again and left me confused.

"What do you mean by that, Sir?" I asked, studying the grey-blue orbs that were his eyes. 

"I just believe that you'll be a powerful asset to Harry, and you to him," he promised with a twinkling smile. My eyebrows furrowed again, but before I could question him further, Harry began to sit up.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, reaching forward and helping him sit up. He nodded at me gratefully. I handed him his glasses and he slid them onto his nose, blinking a few times to adjust to his clearing vision. He spotted the endless amounts of sweets sitting at the table near the end of his bed and he smiled in awe. 

"Tokens from your admirers," Dumbledore said with a smile. 

"Admirers?" Harry questioned.

"What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows," Dumbledore replied. Harry looked at me and I winked at him. He smiled, glancing at the get-well cards at his bedside table. Dumbledore held up an empty chocolate frog box and smiled. "I see your friend Ron saved you the trouble of opening your chocolate frogs."