Ghostly White Midnight (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Hedwig

The young wizard could feel the cold stone against his bare feet as he carried the injured owl down the stairs from the dorm room where she crash landed and out through the portrait of the Fat Lady. His lips pushed together as his throat tightened as the worry of losing Hedwig brushed across his mind. Harry wondered how the owl could have become injured like she was within the area under Hogwarts protection.

A deep and dark fear ate at the back of his mind only to be amplified upon seeing Ms. Norris. Harry felt his throat tighten up knowing that Filch would soon be upon him. "I don't have time to go a different route."

The man in question came out of the dark corridor to the side, and his lantern. "Students are not supposed to be out of bed Mr. Potter." Harry Potter swallowed as Filch's mouth twisted into a deeper frown as he saw Hedwig. "Follow me to the infirmary Mr. Potter. This needs to be reported to the head master as soon as possible."

The young Gryffindor's stomach churned at the idea of Filch ever over looking the breaking of rules. Taking a deep breath caused two green eyes to look down at the snowy owl in his arms before clamping his mouth shut. "Better to worry about getting Hedwig help."

The two arrived at the doors to the medical wing and Harry stepped forward to knock on the doors. A creaking sound was heard as Pomfrey opened the doors. The woman took one look at the poor animal in Harry's arms and quickly opened the door. "Bring her inside. I can't promise anything. It might be best to send for Hagrid as he has more knowledge on these matters. Mr. Filch... if you could go ahead and get a message to the headmaster and Hagrid as quick as possible."

Potter carried Hedwig into the room and set her on the table Pomfrey indicated. She looked over the owl as her mouth pushed together. "It will take time for her to heal. Hagrid will likely know the best medicine. I'm more concerned with what caused this injury."

"What caused it?" Harry leaned forward, but the woman motioned for him to take a seat.

"Wait until Dumbledore gets here as well as Hagrid."

Harry looked at the ground. The deep and dark fear lessened for a short period of time when he'd placed the owl onto the table. Then the feeling worsened as the young Gryffindor waited for the headmaster to arrive. "Mr. Potter?"

The boy looked up at the man as he entered the room. "I wouldn't have been out of the dorm if it weren't for the fact Hedwig was injured. She simply crashed through the window."

"I doubt you would have been out of the dorm for only that reason Mr. Potter, but you aren't in trouble." Dumbledore looked at Pomfrey for an answer.

"This poor creature's been hit by some shrapnel from a Muggle gun."

Harry's eyes widened at the answer. "Wait... I thought..." The youth swallowed. "Hermione said something about Muggles not being able to come into the area."

"It is true there are measures to keep Muggles away from the school. To the eyes of a Muggle the school looks like ruins. These ruins they see are also unchartable so they can't be placed on a chart for other Muggles to explore. Sometimes though a Muggle does wander in. Unlike other places Hogwarts doesn't have a charm which will redirect the Muggle's eye. The school is simply to big. I will have the teachers go out and look for information."

Harry's hand clenched the seat of his pants as his teeth gritted together. His mind fogged over as he waited for more answers. "How?"

He didn't notice Hagrid come in to help with Hedwig's treatment. The sunlight soon replaced the moonlight coming through the infirmary windows. A hand touched Harry's shoulder and he looked up to see Hermione with Ron. "Hi. You should probably come to eat breakfast."

"No thanks. I want to see how Hedwig's doing and whether the teachers have any further news about the Muggle."

"Muggle."

"It was a Muggle gun."

"What's..." Ron cut off the question as Hermione shook her head.

"I'll answer your question at breakfast Ron. Let's go."

Harry let out a sigh.

"Mr. Potter?" The young Gryfindor looked up to see Snape looking at him. The young Wizard's eyes widened. "The Muggle which shot at your owl as a hunting illegally. Thus they were willing to go into places not traveled much and saw your owl in a place it's not usually seen."

"That doesn't justify what happened to her."

"I never said it did. The Muggle's memory of this place has been erased and arrangement has been made to turn them into the Muggle authorities to handle the situation." Snape left then.

Pomfrey placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "In positive news Hedwig will make it. Hagrid's treatment went well. She simply needs to rest."

"That doesn't change the fact this shouldn't have happened."