Petunia reacted immediately. "How long can his treatment take, and when can you do it?"
The healer turned to the others to consult for a moment before answering. "The ritual to remove that entity may take between half an hour and a full day. It's impossible to find the duration in advance. Judging by what we found, I estimate it would take more than six hours and probably less than eight, but that's mostly a guess. Our ritual room is free today, so we can start as soon as you like."
"And how much will it cost?" Petunia asked.
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Sharpclaw didn't let the healer reply. "Gringotts will cover the cost. It's in our interest to keep our major clients healthy."
Petunia barely held her gasp. She would also keep this secret. While it didn't matter much for a few more years, she didn't trust Vernon not to become greedy once he got to know the full extent of Harry's inheritance. She didn't want the boy to be pressured to give his money to Vernon. While Vernon's salary was not very high, it was good enough for all their needs, and he'd been receiving nice raises each year. Petunia suspected that even the money Dumbledore was giving them for vacations was no longer needed. Vernon would never admit it, though.
"We can start immediately, then," the healer said. He turned to Harry. "Mr Potter, please come with us to the hospital wing. We shall then run a more detailed diagnosis to fine-tune the ritual. You'll be given a potion to sleep through the ritual. It's very boring and you may want to move, which is inadvisable. Extracting the dark entity may also be painful, and sleeping will spare you the pain."
Discover moreglassesStudy PlantsTrack SleepRead BestsellersBooksHarry didn't like what he heard, but he could understand the logic. "Can my aunt stay with me?" he asked.
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The grey-clad goblin shook his head. "Only well-trained personnel are allowed into the ritual room, and such a ritual may also prove dangerous to bystanders. She may stay with you until you fall asleep."
Harry turned his eyes to Petunia. She smiled and grabbed his hand, following him out of the office. Sharpclaw also joined them.
–..–
When Harry woke up after the ritual, he was in the same bed where he had fallen asleep, but the goblins around him looked much more tired. Petunia, who was sitting at his side, also looked much more tired. He yawned and asked, "How long did it take?"
She pointed at the wall-mounted clock. "More than six hours, closer to seven, I think. How do you feel?"
Discover morebedShop Bed FramesSeek Injury CareFan fiction booksWriting softwareHe seemed to check himself mentally. "I'm alright. A bit groggy, probably due to the ritual or the potions. I can't feel my scar. I'm also hungry, and I think I need the loo first."
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She smiled at him. "The toilet room is at that corner." She pointed at a clear sign that marked that door. "You should then get dressed. By then, I hope they'll have some food for you, as promised. I had to call Mrs Figg to also make dinner for Vernon. You know how missing a meal may affect him."
Harry grimaced. A hungry Vernon was not something anybody could like. He quickly left the bed, noticing that he was wearing only his underwear, and went to the loo. He looked more at peace when he returned. He smiled at his aunt. "I also checked my forehead in the mirror. I could barely see any sign of my scar."
She smiled back. "They said you'll have no sign at all in a day or two. Refrain from staying in the sun until then."
Harry chuckled. "We're in England. Where will I find any sun?"
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Both knew it was only a joke, but too close to reality.
Even before Harry got fully dressed, some goblins brought him a tray with various foods. It wasn't quite lunch nor dinner, but good enough for his hunger.
He still asked Petunia, "Don't you need to eat too?"
She smiled at his concern. "Sharpclaw made sure to send me to eat lunch and even for tea and biscuits, some time later, but you couldn't come along."
He nodded while eating quite ravenously. He was still unable to finish all that was brought for him. Petunia thought that a few years back, Dudley would have finished it all and then whined he was hungry. Dudley had also changed since becoming aware of his magic, or maybe since getting to know Hermione. He was still eating more than Harry, but not three times as much.
Discover moreCreative writing coursesOnline writing communityFan fiction merchandiseAuthor collaboration toolsDigital book publishingThe healer who talked to them earlier came to give the conclusion of the treatment. "The ritual to remove that entity from your scar went as expected. It was quite tenacious and even powerful, which lengthened the ritual, but it was fully removed and captured in a crystal to be studied by our experts before we destroy it completely. Your scar was then healed by a simple spell, and then some ointment was put on it. The ointment was absorbed into your skin and will hasten the full healing of that skin area. Your scar is already almost invisible, and even the remaining signs will disappear in a matter of days. Do you see any differently than before?"
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Harry noticed that he was not wearing his glasses. Looking around, he found them on the night table near the bed. He then tried to see things as far from him as the room allowed.
"I think I see much better than before. Do you think I still need eyeglasses?"
The goblin seemed content. "Come with me to the optical section. There, somebody will check your eyes and adjust your eyeglasses to fit. From what I see, you may find you can see well enough without glasses, but not perfectly."
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Indeed, ten minutes later, with his eyeglasses corrected, he didn't feel like there was any difference when using them or not. Well, he was indoors, where everything was quite close. He suspected he'd notice a bit more difference at larger distances.
Sharpclaw, who stayed nearby the whole time, came closer. "We still need to tackle your other concern, unless you prefer to come another day for that. I know you may need more than an hour to go back home."
She smiled, thankful for Harry's talents. "We have a way to make it much shorter, so we can spend a bit longer and finish that business too."
Discover moreStory writing promptsFan art commissionsShop Kids' BooksShop EyeglassesEyeglassesSharpclaw looked surprised but overcame his surprise in a moment.
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They returned to his office. Harry wasn't interested in the details. He was only looking around, glad to be able to see everything clearly without his glasses. He was surprised when his aunt stood up and thanked the goblin, adding, "I'll expect your team on Monday. Please make sure they look human enough not to attract attention."
Sharpclaw seemed to almost smile. "They will seem to be a public-works team doing some measurements in the area. Their leader will give you the report as soon as they finish."
"And what shall we do if they find the protection lacking?"
"They'll add wards as needed. It should make no difference in most cases, but would give you protection against burglars and thieves and some peddlers, too. The main differences, if needed, will be when dealing with magical people. The report will include all the information."
"And who will pay for that?"
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Sharpclaw really smiled this time. "As I said before, keeping our most prominent customers safe is in Gringotts' interest. You need to pay nothing."
With that, they parted. Harry also thanked the goblin and even shook his hand before leaving.
They walked back to the place where they had arrived, and Harry held Petunia's hand tighter. A second later, they were back in his room.
–..–
Dudley was quite content to see Harry's blemish-free forehead. "Without that scar, you look just like everybody. The girls will consider you cuter, I think."
Harry shrugged, not quite minding that. He was rid of the scar and the slight headache associated with it, and that was more important than what the girls might say.
Indeed, when he met Hermione the next day, she first hugged him as usual and asked about the treatment, only later taking a look at his forehead. "It looks like you've never had a scar there. Does it also feel that way?"
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Harry shrugged. "I suppose so. I can't remember how I felt before I got it, but now I no longer have even the slight ache I always had. Last night, I slept better than usual, probably because I no longer have that scar."
"Didn't they tell you what they took out of it?"
"I didn't ask, and I would have probably not understood the explanation, had I asked for one. That's probably high-level magic while we're barely starting."
Hermione wasn't so sure. "We're using magic in ways that are not taught at Hogwarts, as far as I can judge. We're doing things others consider impossible. I'm not sure that 'high level magic' is really too complex for us to understand."
Harry sighed. "Maybe not too complex, but we know very little about normal magic, so we probably lack any specific information to help us understand such explanations."
Hermione sighed, too. "You're probably right. It only means we have a lot to learn. Can you do any of the spells they cast on you?"
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Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. "They cast in a different language, although with no wands, and they explained nothing about that. I also slept throughout the ritual due to a potion."
Hermione pouted and then sighed as a new thought came to her. "It doesn't quite matter. We have enough to study and learn before we reach that level. We can start with…"
–..–
Monday morning, Harry saw no strangers near his home when he left for school.
Half an hour later, Petunia noticed a few men using tripods and some instruments to measure the street or something in it. It took her a moment to realise these were probably the goblin team that was checking her wards.
More than an hour later, someone rang the doorbell. A short man stood there with a large envelope in his hand. "Do you want me to go with you over what was done, or do you want to read that yourself?" he asked.
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"I'd rather get the explanations. I'm not magical, and I may not know all the words and ideas mentioned there," she said, adding, "Please come in."
The man stepped in. Petunia led him to the sitting room and sat at his side on the sofa. "Can you start with an overview?"
The man smiled. "Simply put, Dumbledore's wards are mostly useless. They're used mainly to inform him of any magical person nearby, and spells cast at the house and its occupants, and also monitor some other aspects. The only real protection is a ward to repel anybody with bad intentions. It's useful against thieves and burglars and very weak magical people. It also prevents apparition and portkey into the protected zone, but not very effectively. A powerful wizard may overcome it without a second thought."
"He mentioned something about blood wards. Didn't you find them?"
The man shook his head. "That's probably the repelling ward. It uses some blood to find the foes, but it's almost too weak to be of any use. We created a similar ward that's much more powerful. Any muggle with bad intentions will suddenly feel an urge to go back home. Magical people with bad intentions will be tossed to the channel, close to the middle."
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Petunia chuckled. "They should know how to swim or they may drown."
The man chuckled in response. "Indeed, that's the idea. Now, we added fire protection, flood protection, and strong anti-apparition, portkey, elf travel, and phoenix travel wards. Any uninvited guest will be tossed to the channel just the same."
The man turned serious. "As you may know, there's no shield or ward to protect against the killing curse and a few more, but our ward can detect such a spell and activate a physical shield around the house. It will put a three-foot-thick stone wall around the house. That should stop practically any such spell, although I doubt it would ever be necessary. The other wards will stop everyone and everything which can turn harmful way before such a ward needs to activate."
That sounded good enough, yet another idea nagged at Petunia. "My nephew is quite interested in apparition, and I believe he'll master it much sooner than expected. Will he be able to use it from his room, where he can't be seen, or will he be forced to go out and search for a place that's hidden well enough?"
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The man smiled. "We already know about the three children who use magic in unconventional ways. What they do is not apparition, although I don't know a name for that. Our wards won't stop that, I believe. If they do, we may need to study their way of magically moving and adjust the wards accordingly."
Petunia thanked him again and took the written report. She doubted she would ever need to read it, but she wanted to have it, just in case. She also hoped that the children's talent would not become known to too many people before they matured. She thought they needed to enjoy their childhood and then their teenage years like all others.