Harry-Dementor

7- Hurting

Harry sighed as he dabbed at the shallow cuts on his face with the handkerchief he had borrowed from Neville. "I don't want to talk about it," he shrugged awkwardly and avoided eye contact with the vampire.

"It seems you are as abysmal at Care of Magical Creatures as Mr. Longbottom is at Potions," Snape remarked with a question in there somewhere. Harry recognized what he was asking. He wanted to know if his 'accidents' in CoMC had something to do with whatever creature he was.

"Yes, sir, I think I'm just as bad as Neville," Harry rolled his eyes as he continued to try to stop the bleeding. "I still have some Essence of Murtlap, may I go back to my dorm now, sir?" Harry asked with a sneer at the end.

"Not until you tell me what happened," the Potions Professor glared at him warningly, promising point deductions if he didn't cut the attitude.

Harry shuffled his feet in embarrassment. This time it was his fault. Well...it was the dementor's fault really, but he was the dementor so...He gave a long-suffering sigh. "I got into a fight with a niffler, sir," he finally ground out, looking at the floor.

Harry glanced up in surprise at the emotion rolling off Snape. He expected to see the man rolling in laughter, but his face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. "It's not funny," Harry glared at the man, answering the emotion instead of the expression. "It tried to take my locket...It's mine," the dementor sneered darkly at the end, touching the locket hanging from his neck protectively.

The humor continued to roll off Snape with a little confusion as well, probably because the teen had detected the emotion when he was so good at hiding them. "Much as I feel it's important to protect priceless artifacts, I'm certain Professor Grubbly-Plank could have retrieved the necklace for you without a fight ensuring," Snape remarked dryly, but Harry recognized the repressed laughter. "May I ask after the health of the niffler?"

The teen sneered at the thought of that evil, furry gremlin. "Sadly, he's still alive," Harry remarked dangerously. "He'll think twice about taking other people's shiny things though."

Snape raised a surprised eyebrow. "You must watch yourself or people will begin to ask questions," he warned. "Harry Potter is the noble Gryffindor. He would never attack a small, defenseless creature."

Harry motioned to the scratches still bleeding on his face. "Defenseless my arse!" He exclaimed unrepentantly.

"Language. 5 points from Gryffindor," Snape sighed in exasperation. "My point still stands, and you need to see Madam Pomfrey; nifflers aren't known to be very hygienic."

Harry shook his head frantically. "No!" He hissed out lowly so only someone with vampire hearing could hear him. "She'll find out!"

Snape rolled his eyes and physically turned the teen towards the hospital wing. "How do you think we find the members for Remedial Potions?" The vampire remarked. "Madam Pomfrey is an alumna. She may find out, but if you mention you're in Remedial Potions, she'll keep your secret as she does everyone in the society."

"Really?" Harry sighed in relief. He inevitably ended up in the hospital wing every year. He figured his luck would run out eventually and he would have to see her before the end of the year at some point.

"I have permission to tell all society members that she is a high elf, like Neville is," Snape assured him sternly. "And Potter...for the sake of secrecy and my sanity, drop Care of Magical Creatures after OWLs."

"Yes sir! Happily!" Harry beamed at him before rushing up the stairs before the professor could stop him again. Even with Snape's assurances, Harry dodged into a secret passage, up another set of stairs, and through another passage that put him out at Gryffindor Tower. He wasn't going to chance Madam Pomfrey just yet. Finding out there was a fairy or a vampire in the school was one thing, but a dementor was a whole other story. He wasn't ready to have that conversation with anyone besides Ginny.