Redemption

Chapter Seventeen:

Harry sighed; he was comfortably wrapped in Wufei's arms. His boyfriend was stroking his nose. Odd that he should be doing that, really. Then again, his body was very comfortable, almost like a blanket... Harry felt nice and snug and warm and safe... and sore. Sore? Why sore?

Blearily, the boy's eyes opened, and he winced against the harsh light. It was bad enough that he wasn't wearing his glasses, but he felt as though he'd just stepped straight out of Snape's dungeons and onto the Quidditch pitch on a sunny day. The Quidditch pitch...

As if the memory suddenly cued his pain, Harry groaned. He began to remember what had happened: the chase for the snitch, seeing 'Fei in the stands, getting hit in the face by Cho's broom... His nose must have been broken, and he probably had some sort of a concussion, judging by how dizzy he was whilst he'd tried to catch the snitch. Had he caught the snitch? Yes... he'd just grasped it in his fingers... right before he fell off of his broom.

"Oh, Harry dear! You're awake! That's so good to see," Mrs. Weasley crooned. "Poppy! Harry's coming around!"

Harry knew that she meant well, but her high pitched voice did nothing for the dull ache in his head. Suddenly, he felt his pillow being raised and he was sitting up a little uncomfortably. His glasses were placed in his hands, and he fumbled a little before placing them over his eyes. Once they were secure, Harry blinked several times, trying to adjust his vision.

"Here you are, dear. Drink this. I'm sure you must have an awful headache. Not that it isn't your own fault. You kids, always racing around on brooms, falling off, getting hit by balls... and you! You're the worst, Harry! I don't think I've ever seen a student spend so much time in the infirmary!" Madame Pomfrey bustled about, checking his leg, which must have been injured or broken in the fall. She pressed on his nose, which ached a little, but at least it didn't feel broken.

Harry tried to drink down the potion she had given him and grimaced. It did seem to be helping his vision focus, though, so he drank the rest of it and just sat with his eyes closed for a moment.

"There, now. You should be all right. I'm giving your visitors only half an hour, and then you must rest. Did you hear me? Half an hour!" tThis time she addressed the people at his bedside and then left to attend to another patient a couple of beds down.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to try and dislodge the taste of that awful drink from his mouth, Harry opened his eyes once more, still a little fuzzy like his mind, but now he could discern specific figures. And he was so glad that he could. "Wufei... You're here."

"Yes. Molly asked the headmaster permission to bring me to the game. Interesting sport. Interesting and dangerous..." Wufei trailed off.

"Don't you frown at me like that. It was worth it," Harry smiled, forgetting Mrs. Weasley's presence for the time being. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Harry," Wufei said softly. He was smiling as well, and wished more than anything that he could take Harry into his arms and kiss him.

Harry's smile broke out into a grin, but soon dissipated with the sudden dizzy spell that came over him.

"Here, Harry, lie down. That's it... I'll get some chocolate for you." Mrs. Weasley eased him back down onto the bed and then stroked his hair back off of his forehead before leaving the two of them alone while she spoke to Madame Pomfrey.

"I'm so glad you're here, 'Fei. I've missed you." The injured boy felt a hand cover his own and looked up, surprised to see moisture in Wufei's eyes. "What is it?"

"I was so worried, Harry. When I saw you fall... I was sure that... that..." He took a deep breath and tried to rephrase. "I didn't think anyone could survive that fall."

Harry chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. "They don't call me 'The Boy Who Lived' for nothing." He caught Wufei's frown, but was thankful that his boyfriend didn't comment any further. Changing the subject, Harry asked, "How long will you be staying?"

"Professor Dumbledore said that so long as I don't cause too much trouble, I can stay in the spare dorm for as long as I like." He replied, smiling. "Arthur and Molly have been very kind to me, and as much as I love life at the Burrow, I think I would rather spend time here with you."

Harry chuckled. "That's good to hear."

"Here you are, Harry," Mrs. Weasley had come back with a massive bar of chocolate and was breaking it up into pieces. "Now, Poppy has said that you will be allowed out by tonight, as long as you eat all of that, and stay in bed for the rest of the day. I'm going to go visit Ron and Ginny, but I'll be back to say goodbye before I leave."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Um, Mrs. Weasley? Thanks for looking after 'Fei," he said with a blush.

The woman simply laughed and planted a kiss on Harry's cheek. "It was my pleasure, dear. You certainly have good taste in company!"

His blush deepened as the curtains around them were closed off, and Wufei grinned at him. "You really are too cute sometimes, you know that?"

Before he could reply, Wufei had leaned over and their lips were brushing together just slightly. After a moment or two, the Muggle pulled away and handed him a piece of chocolate. "Now, start eating. I don't want to see you in this infirmary a second longer than you need to be."

.................................................................................................................................

Zechs growled in frustration and rounded on the man who insisted on hovering over his shoulder as he marked the fourth year's essays. "Do you have nothing better to do than annoy me?"

"Not really, no. But I don't think of it so much as annoy, but rather... bug." Lupin seemed far too cheerful. More cheerful than any man rightfully should be.

"Why don't you go visit that half-pint trouble maker you're so attached to? I'm sure he's in need of some company right now. And after that fall of his, I would have thought you'd be fawning all over him," the professor suggested.

"Oh, I don't think my company would be welcome at the moment-"

"And it is here?" Zechs cut in.

Lupin ignored him and continued. "Let's just say he has all the company he needs. For quite a while. In fact, I think he'd be perfectly happy never to see another face again."

"I don't even want to know... Now, do you mind? I have work to do," Zechs pointedly turned back to the paper, and continued perusing the work of Dennis Creevey. "Those damn Creevey kids are obsessed with Harry Potter! Dennis has mentioned him three times in this essay so far!"

"Well, he is quite an extraordinary boy, you know." Lupin finally settled down a little, and pulled a chair over next to Zechs. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Harry."

"Can't it wait? I really have-"

"No. It can't. This is serious." Lupin waited a moment for the professor to put down the quill and face him. "Albus filled me in on most of your story, and I need to know anything you can tell me about those the Muggle's will send for his protection."

Zechs frowned. Remus was obviously concerned for Harry's safety. It always amazed him just how much the man truly cared. After everything he'd gone through, the only thing that seemed to help him was Harry, and there was no mistaking the fatherly devotion he showed towards the boy. He wished there was more he could do.

Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair and looked up. "There isn't much I can tell you, I'm afraid. All I know is that there are five of them who are highly trained in matters of political and underground warfare. All of them are ruthless, dedicated, and adept at almost any Muggle skill they aim to master."

"But how could Muggles protect him from a wizard? And if we don't know who they are, then how-"

"I don't know, Remus. I honestly don't know. But, we can use all the help we get. We're going to need it." His gaze softened, and he reached out to smooth back a lock of Lupin's hair. "The only advice I can give you is to wait and stop worrying about things you can't change. Now, here, make yourself useful and help me mark some of these essays, alright? Harry will be fine, and there is nothing further you can do to protect him at this point."