56 The Godfather Part One

Bokuboy

Filch and Harry only managed to clean the bathrooms on the first two floors. There were eighty toilets on each floor and they took a long time to scrub and clean. Filch was genuinely surprised that Harry never complained about it. What he didn't know about was the horrible state of the toilet at Harry's home that his cousin and uncle left it in all the time. The toilets in the school were a hell of a lot cleaner and didn't smell anywhere near as bad.

The next day, Harry was up early and dressed in normal, aka muggle clothing, and he was very tempted to take his trunk. He didn't know what Bertha had planned and he felt nervous about leaving it behind and not being prepared. After a healthy mental debate over the merits of having access to everything, he chose to take it. There was nothing for him to pack, since he kept everything inside the trunk anyway, and he carried it out of the dorm and down the stairs.

“Don't tell me they kicked you out again!” An older Griffindor boy said loudly to general laughter.

“You wish.” Harry said without looking at him and left the common room. He took the shortcut Filch had shown him and was at the Entrance Hall after only two staircases with a trick door in between. He laughed because the trick was that you had to knock and answer a knock knock joke. When the door laughed, it opened for you. It didn't care if it was the same joke or not. It was a door. There weren't a lot of brains there.

Harry ignored people going into the Great Hall for breakfast and went out through the large oak front doors. He walked at a steady pace, his thin jacket just warm enough for fall weather, and he walked all the way down to the school's wrought iron gates. He smiled widely when he saw Bertha was already standing there.

To his surprise, she wore beige pants and a thick red sweater with a button up white blouse underneath. It offset her pinned back brown hair nicely and she carried a large handbag. Her eyes almost danced as she caught sight of him in his new jeans and jacket.

“Hi, Bertha!” Harry said and waved.

Bertha tapped the gates with her wand and they opened for her. “Hello, Harry.” She said and gave him a hug. He was still nearly a foot shorter than her and she just adored hugging the young man. “You just couldn't convince yourself to leave the trunk behind, could you?”

“I tried.” Harry gave her a grin and she laughed. He tucked his arm around her waist to hold on and she pet his head.

“We won't be apparating today.” Bertha said and kept one arm over his shoulders as she turned them towards Hogsmeade and started walking. “I bought tickets for The Knight Bus and it should be here in a few minutes to pick us up.”

Harry nodded as they walked down the road together. “Did you get my letter?”

“I did, and I don't know if I can help.” Bertha said and he looked up at her face. “The professors at the school are the ones that need to follow the course material and also have to use their judgment to assess the student's capabilities in their subjects.”

Harry sighed. “He took the vial and it wasn't even opened, even though he gave me the bottom mark.”

“I've already had a few words with some of the school governors about it.” Bertha said. “That's why I know what the rules say.” She hugged him a little tighter. “I've sent a letter to the headmaster...”

“That's not going to help much.” Harry said, a little angrily. “Amelia told me that he was the one that got Professor Snape off when he should have been sent to prison.”

Bertha sighed this time. “Well, I've brought it to his attention. I just hope he doesn't ignore it.”

“I'm going to fail the class if he keeps giving me Troll for my marks.” Harry said.

“To be fair, Poor and Dreadful would be failures, too.” Bertha said with a sad smile. “At least if you get too many Trolls in a row, the other teachers and the school governors will have to take notice.”

Harry nodded. “I actually like potions. Some of the things in the beginner's book are great and I want to make them.”

Bertha smiled and gave him another squeeze. “Professor Snape isn't a very good teacher, is he? He should be encouraging and supportive...”

“He is for the Slytherins.” Harry said. “I'm glad I chose not to be sorted there, even if they do treat their members better than the other houses.”

Bertha held in her sigh. She couldn't deny what he said. She had heard some things, especially from Amelia's niece Susan, about how the Griffindors treat Harry and how her own Hufflepuffs treat her because she made friends with him. She shook her head mentally.

Kids can be so irrational and then they grow up and become irrational adults. Bertha thought. What are these people thinking? When Harry grows up and becomes a powerful wizard, what will they do then? Pretend that they didn't treat him like they did? Do they think he is going to forget about it when he's older?

They arrived at the edge of the village and stopped walking. Just as they did, there was a soft bang in the distance. The Knight Bus appeared and swerved down the road, for no reason, and skidded to a stop right in front of them. The door opened and Bertha handed Stan the two tickets. She and Harry climbed aboard and immediately cast Spongify on everything. Two other wizards were on the bus and stared at them as they did it.

As soon as Bertha and Harry sat down, the bus took off at full speed and they tumbled and bounced around. Harry couldn't help but laugh, because it was the most fun he'd had since his last flying lesson. It was over before he knew it and the bus came to a stop on a side street in London. He and Bertha stepped off the bus and walked down the street.

Bertha came to a stop in front of an old clothing shop called Purge and Dowse, Ltd. It had 'new' and 'coming soon' signs on it with fashions from the fifties in the window. A large 'condemned' sign hung on the door and Harry wondered what they were doing there.

Bertha put her arm back over his shoulders. “This is a fake storefront for St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.” She whispered and pointed to the large picture window. “It works just like the barrier at Platform Nine and Three Quarters in King's Cross station.”

Harry stared at her with wide eyes and she hugged him close.

“Ready? One, two, three.” Bertha said and they stepped through the window together.

Harry gasped, because they were now standing inside what looked like a normal hospital lobby. It had several people waiting in chairs and some were standing in a line as they waited to talk to the receptionist. Bertha led him over to the reception desk and stood in line. They waited for their turn and when it came, Bertha was a little cryptic and only asked for the patient in room 303.

The plump Welcome Witch pointed to the stairs and waved them away. “You're wasting my time if you already know where to go.”

“Oh! I'm terribly sorry.” Bertha said. “I forgot. I thought I had to check with you every time.”

The Welcome Witch gave her an odd look. “I told you that before, haven't I?”

“Maybe?” Bertha said with a smile and walked away with Harry under her arm.

“You don't remember that, do you?” Harry asked as they entered the stairwell.

“No. I guess it wasn't that important aaaand whoop.” Bertha made a fluttering hand motion from her ear and out to the side. “In one ear and out the other.”

Harry chuckled and then he stopped. “It's not funny to forget things.”

“It's all right, Harry. I've always been a little forgetful.” Bertha said as they went up a flight of stairs. “I may forget some little things; but, I never forget anything important.”

“I'd ask you what, except if you forgot about it, how would you know?” Harry asked and she laughed.

“True, true.” Bertha said and they fell silent as they walked all the way up to the third floor. She opened the door for him and they walked past the first door named 301 and over to the second door marked 303. The funny thing was, there was no door across the hall with 302 on it.

“Who are we here to see?” Harry asked.

“You'll find out in a minute.” Bertha said. “I just need to explain something first.” She turned him to face her and she put her hands on his shoulders. “By all rights, this patient should be on the fourth floor and in the long term care ward. Unfortunately, they are out of beds and instead he's here on the potion and poison effects floor and are treating him for those symptoms. On the plus side, he has his own healer that attends him here, instead of one or two for the entire ward on the next floor.”

Harry nodded.

“Also, try and stay calm, even if he rants and raves at you.” Bertha said and let him go, opened the door and walked into the room.

“Ugh! Not YOU again!” A raspy man's voice spat. “Haven't you tormented me enough, woman?” He asked and missed the trunk being put down just inside the door.

Bertha laughed and walked over to his bedside. “Don't be mad, Sirius. I came bearing a gift.”

“It better not be a goddamn Snargaluff or I'll brain you with it!” Sirius said.

“Of course not, you nincompoop! I came with this!” Bertha stepped aside and waved at Harry.

The mean looking man with long mangy black hair and a thick black beard, withered looking skin and was barely more than bones, gasped as he sprung out of the bed with inhuman strength and threw off the blanket. He stood in front of Harry in a hospital gown and stared at him with what looked like a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

“Harry.” Sirius said, his raspy voice quiet and subdued as tears came to his eyes. He took a careful step forward and put his spindly arms around Harry and hugged him.

Harry felt wet drops on the top of his head and for some reason, his eyes teared up, too. He wasn't sure why he lifted his own arms up to put them around this strange and yet oddly familiar man, then the tears rolling down his cheeks matched that of his godfather and he hugged him tightly.