Harry Potter: Don't touch

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Harry lay in the hospital wing for the rest of Sunday. Hogwarts' healer, Madam Pomfrey, had wanted to keep Potter for the whole week, but after a polite request, she relented and let him out on Monday morning in time for the start of breakfast. There were still twenty minutes until six fifty-two, so Harry decided to ask Madam Pomfrey about the specifics of treating phobias in magical medicine.

It turned out that magic was completely powerless against any mental brain damage. With the help of magic it is possible to treat all possible wounds, to restore parts of the skin, bones, as well as internal organs. Madame Pomfrey said that in the coming years there will be experiments to regrow limbs from scratch.

But the brain is a far more complex organ than any other in the human body. If you try to treat any brain injuries with magic, the person simply goes insane.

That's why all phobias and mental disorders are either treated by talking to psychologists or nothing at all. After learning this, Harry was very upset. He was beginning to think that magic could solve all problems, but the reality turned out to be much less fabulous.

Tonks's "ingenious" plan of shaking hands with everyone she met had not gone to waste for either Harry or herself. Nymphadora herself had a serious conversation with the Dean of Hufflepuff, Pomona Stable, and Tonks had also lost her faculty's hard-earned thirty points.

Harry, on the other hand, had become much more sensitive to touch. Even the very thought of a fleeting touch caused him psychological pain.

Harry now kept his hands in the pockets of his robes at all times. He took them out only during meals, lectures, and practical classes, of which there were more and more as time went on.

Monday was the first flying lesson, which Harry had been preparing for for a long time. This subject had become Harry's new favourite subject, beating both astronomy and spells by a huge margin.

Madam Trick, Hogwarts' school coach and Quidditch tournament referee, handed out a broomstick to everyone and showed them how to sit on it, and then allowed the students to try flying.

Harry was the best at this lesson; he felt as if he had been born to fly a broomstick. No one could compare to him. After uttering the command "Up" the broom jumped into Harry's hand faster than the others. While the Claw and Puffenduys were just getting on their brooms, Harry was already flying half a metre off the ground, when the rest of the students started the same exercise, he was already tumbling through the air.

Harry was delighted with his flying, he didn't think he could do any better than his classmates. But he wasn't the only one to notice his progress; Madam Trick had forgotten about the other students and was watching his antics with her mouth open. She only came to her senses when Harry climbed up ten metres and tried to do a dead loop.

Then Madame Trick caught him with some spell, brought him down to the ground, and with a stern face took off five points for dangerous flying. But the effect of the punishment was lost, because she immediately smiled and added twenty points to him for "admirable talent" and advised him to be sure to try out for the Quidditch team next year.

But Harry's enthusiasm faded considerably when he learnt that they would no longer be having flying lessons.

- What do you mean, no more? What do you mean? - Harry asked, watching Madam Trick's face carefully, hoping to see a sign that she was joking.

- The flying lesson is to teach the first year students how to fly, that's all. The rest of the tricks and skills the kids learn later on as they wish. My job as a teacher is to teach you the basics of flying, and forty-five minutes is enough time for that... Although two minutes was enough for you, if I'm not mistaken.

Justin joined in the frustration sweeping over Harry. He was not a bad flier, and like Harry, he had enjoyed the lesson and wanted to continue.

Potter and Finch-Fletchley had decided to try out for the Faculty Quidditch team together next year. Only they preferred different positions. Harry wanted to be the Seeker, the most important role in his opinion. The team's success depended on catching the snitch, which was worth a hundred and fifty points, so the result was almost entirely dependent on the Seeker's actions alone, which sounded very cool.

Justin, on the other hand, vacillated between the positions of hunter and trapper. He liked teamwork, but he couldn't decide whether his heart was more in the handing and throwing of the quaffle or the rough play and accurate hitting of bludgers with the bat.

With Tonks, Harry also had frequent interactions. After the handshake incident he was a little afraid of her and tried to avoid her, he even had a nightmare about her once. In it, he was in a Slytherin robe running all over Hogwarts from Nymphadora, who had horns growing out of her ears for some reason.

But all fears vanished when Tonks showed up in his bedroom at the end of the week with a present.

- Hello Harry, how are you? - Tonks smiled at him.

Harry looked up in surprise, setting aside the second year spellbook he had recently borrowed from Gryffindor Katie Bell. He then immediately tucked his hands into the pockets of his robes and only then replied:

- I'm doing well. Are you allowed in the boys' dormitory?

- I don't know," Tonks said cheerfully. - 'But the stairs didn't throw me off, so I'm allowed.

- All right, then. What are you here for?

- I was in Hogsmeade, and I looked in a shop there. Anyway, look what I brought you," Tonks handed him a small red bag.

Harry took it and shook it; his gut told him it would contain something like a handshake kit. But to his surprise, the bag contained a simple, but very useful gift: gloves.

It was like a hammer had been banged in Harry's head.

That's it! Gloves! They were the perfect way to solve all problems. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

- I picked them out myself. Hurry up and put them on and let me know how they feel.

Harry took the advice and pulled the thin purple coloured gloves over his hands. Making sure they fit comfortably, he listened to his inner senses. Silence.

- It doesn't seem to feel like anything," Harry said uncertainly.

- Hmmm. Try touching me," Tonks reached out her hand, which Harry instantly recoiled from.

- No, no, no. You don't have to do that. I'm not ready... Hmmm... Let me just walk around in these gloves for now, and then I'll test it out sometime, okay?

- Suit yourself, Harry," if Tonks was upset, she didn't show it.

- Thank you very much. It's a nice gift.

- You're welcome," Tonks dismissed it. - Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything.

Harry wiggled his fingers a little more, testing the fabric, then asked:

- 'And what date is this for?

- A present? Who cares! You don't need any holidays to give gifts. What do you think of the pen, by the way? Did you try it out?

Yes, Harry tested it and was delighted with this cool analogue to the usual fountain pens. Writing down any information with the pen was easy, quick and effortless. He simply swiped the pen across the parchment and an ink trail would magically appear on it.

But Tonks made his admiration fade, she informed him that pens could have mishaps too. They can break, stop writing, and leak. The last one was the most dangerous. Tonks said that once she had put a biro in her pocket and it had leaked and poured ink all over her robes, which she had had to throw away.

Hearing all this, Harry decided to use the pen very carefully, not wasting ink. He would only use it to write down very important things.

The next week went by without any particular oddities. Harry wore the purple gloves all day and night, only taking them off before he went to bed. And they helped. They gave him a sense of security. Harry didn't hide his hands in his pockets anymore, but he still tried not to wave them around too much.

Tonks had apparently explained to the Puffenduys that it wasn't his fault that he'd lost his faculty points. Harry had decided so because, as of Thursday, they had started sitting down with him in the Great Hall again.

Potter was glad that the Puffenduys had ended their peculiar boycott, and now they were all friendly and helpful again. But there was a bad side to this change. Harry definitely didn't like being too close to other students, so he started to sit at the edge of the table again.

The Puffenduys' nerves were about to be severely tested again as Tonks came up with a new 'brilliant' idea. Harry had agreed to try and annoy Snape and get some work-outs from him, but he thought he would do it himself and try and do it in a way that was... peaceful? But Tonks' suggestion was itself an antonym for several words at once: "peaceful," "kind," and, of course, "self-preservation instinct."

Harry refused to get involved for a long time, he said it was crazy, they would both be kicked out of school, but Tonks was relentless, she tried to persuade him in various ways....

First she tried to push his pride:

- Why are you like this? Are you afraid? Yes! Afraid! - Tonks laughed out loud. - You're such a scaredy-cat, aren't you?

- Of course I'm afraid! How can you not be? You'd have to walk up to Snape's place and- No, no. I'm definitely not doing that!

Then I'll go for the weakness:

- Harry, I bet you can't do it, can you? You can't! You can't do it, can you?

After failing and this attempt, Tonks tried to negotiate:

- Harry, remember when you said you wanted to learn how to use cool spells? Remember? Well, you know I'm going to go to the Auror Academy, right? An Auror is someone who knows a huge amount of combat spells. I might be taken on as an apprentice by Mad-Eye himself! I haven't passed my JAB yet, of course, but he'll have to come to me over the winter holidays and test my skills. So, I can teach you everything I know and what Mad-Eye will teach me. All you have to do is run a little errand, go to the teacher's desk and put your hand over Snape's goblet. That's all it takes. One action and you've got a huge bag of spells in your head.

- I... Ahem... I'd certainly like to know the spells, but I think if I do this little errand of yours, all I'll have to do is learn this 'abadu kedabra', or whatever it is, and let it go to my head to put me out of the long suffering Snape will no doubt provide.

Eventually Tonks decided on the standard blackmail:

- If you don't do it, I will. But when I'm asked who else was involved, I'll point the finger at you with certainty, so we'll get hit over the head together anyway. So you don't have much of a choice: either you participate and at least enjoy our antics, or you don't participate and still get punished. It's your choice.

And Harry agreed. He agreed to this incredibly crazy plan that he couldn't have made up even if he tried.Before putting the plan into action, he and Tonks had to agree on some details. Harry had told her about his experiments with the optimum time to come to the Great Hall for a meal, which Tonks had taken an indescribable delight in. She informed him that this was exactly the information she had been missing.

From then on, Harry and Nymphadora always went to eat at the same time. They watched the faculty table together, waiting for the moment when no one was sitting at it. Three days later, their luck smiled on them. After Professor McGonagall left the Great Hall, the faculty table was empty.

- Here, here's the dose you need," Tonks walked over to him and shoved a vial of amortentia into his hands. - Hurry up and pour it before someone comes in.

- Whose hair is that? - Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

- You'll see," Tonks smiled slyly.

Potter took away the trembling in his knees and quickly ran to the teacher's desk. He poured the entire vial into Snape's goblet of pumpkin juice and immediately hid the empty bottle in his pocket.

And just in time! Professor Flitwick appeared in the Great Hall just then. He gave Harry a surprised look, to which he lowered his head and hurried to take his seat.

The professor of spells gave Harry a wary look, but he didn't suspect a thing and sat down in his high chair and began to eat his lunch.

- Well done," Tonks praised Harry as he returned to his seat. - 'Now we wait and watch.

It didn't take long to wait. Ten minutes later, Severus Snape appeared in the Great Hall. He walked alongside Professor Sinistra, talking softly to her about something. He sat down in his chair and began putting food on his plate.

- Look! Look! It's about to start! - Tonks shook Potter by the shoulder and stared at Snape without hiding.

No, Harry couldn't look at that. He covered his eyes with his hands and prayed to all the gods he knew that Snape wouldn't be thirsty tonight.

But the gods didn't answer the prayers. Harry's hope for a happy outcome finally died when Tonks exclaimed loudly:

- He's drunk! He's drunk, Harry, don't hide, look!

Harry pulled his hands away and watched Snape with fear. All he could do was accept what was about to happen.

At first the Potions teacher was just calmly sipping his juice, then he apparently sensed something, sniffed the air, then his goblet, picked up the jug of pumpkin juice and began to examine its contents.

The emotions of incomprehension and suspicion vanished from Snape's face, replaced by a feeling of infinite bliss. The potion had begun to take effect.

Snape gazed dreamily into the distance, adjusted the collar of his robes and walked over to Professor Sinistra with a silly smile.

Harry's heart eased a little. Astronomy professor. No big deal. He was afraid it would be Dumbledore or Filch.

- 'Professor Sinistra,' Snape said so loudly that even Tonks and Harry heard him. - Do you happen to know where Filch is? I need to find him to tell him something important.

Harry stared in horror at a pleased Tonks. She didn't seem bothered at all about the implications of this joke.

- He's near the entrance to the Great Hall. Preparing a trap for Peeves," Aurora replied just as loudly, giving him a strange look.

Snape smiled lovingly and headed for the exit of the hall.

- Hey Harry, you're early today, you're usually late.

Potter jumped back in the chair next to him, but it was only Justin standing in front of him.

- Quiet, Finch-Fletchley, watch Snape," Tonks said, still watching the Potter's movements.

Snape stepped behind the door. There was silence for a while, interrupted by the many conversations of students and the clinking of spoons and plates against each other. Then some sounds resembling conversation came from behind the door.

As time went on, the volume of the voices increased. Harry could distinguish the words: love, heart, crazy, leave, help, feelings.

From behind the door came a loud meow and hissing, there was a sound like something soft hitting the wall. It seemed to be a cat.

Filch wasn't concerned for Mrs Norris, he had forgotten about his next plan to catch Peeves - he didn't have time for that, he had to save himself.

With great speed he ran into the Great Hall, with Snape chasing at his heels. Filch was faster than the Potions Master, apparently the instinct for self-preservation was kicking in. The Headmaster jumped onto the Ravenclaw table and ran across it to the faculty table.

- I LOVE YOU! - Snape dropped to his knees. - Stop! Don't go! My feelings...

All the few students who were in the Great Hall at this time never got to know Snape's feelings. Because the Potions teacher was attacked from behind by a cat, bravely defending its master.

Snape screamed and tried to unhook the cat from his robes, but failed miserably. Mrs Norris's claws stuck deep. Filch, who at first tried to run as far away as possible, ran to save his cat and with a battle cry of "Take that, you bastard!", picked up a fork from the table and tried to attack Severus.But he was prevented from doing so. Flitwick, who had first tried to calm Snape down, used Expelliarmus and knocked the cold weapon out of Filch's hand. Filch said something to Professor Sinistra and ran out of the Great Hall on his short legs.

Aurora Sinistra immobilised Filch, who had already managed to grab the knife, and tried to immobilise Snape as well, who by this time had already managed to throw a cat on the Slytherin table.

Seeing the flash of the spell, Severus immediately remembered that he was a wizard. He blocked the astronomy professor's spell and responded by disarming her himself and then putting her to sleep.

Filch is immobilised. Flitwick is gone. Sinistra is asleep. The students sit in their seats, afraid to intervene in the battle. Only Mrs Norris remains alone on the battlefield against Snape. She made a long leap, aiming her claws at the Potions Master's neck, but he gracefully swung his wand and a pink angel appeared in the cat's place, which immediately flew up to the immobilised Filch and began humming some kind of love song.

Snape looked triumphant as he approached the head clerk, his eyes darting back and forth in horror. Severus stared at him lewdly and exclaimed loudly:

- Well, you're mine now!

There's no telling what would have happened next if help hadn't come to Filch's door.

- Petrificus Totalus," Snape was hit in the back by a spell from where Flitwick had appeared.

The dwarf had come with reinforcements, and with him Professor Steble and two teachers whose last names Harry didn't know had entered the Great Hall. Snape dropped to the floor and there was silence.

And then Tonks burst through. She started laughing loudly, but noticing the stares the students were throwing at her, she tried to stifle her laughter by drinking pumpkin juice, but she couldn't help herself and spilled it on Justin's robes. He struggled to keep a serious expression on his face. He quickly moved away from Harry and Tonks, showing that he had nothing to do with them, and that he was seeing them for the first time.

Harry just kept his mouth shut. Reality had surpassed his expectations. And he knew perfectly well who was most to blame for this story. He watched in horror as Flitwick gave Snape something to drink, and after that drink, the potionist's stupid smile fell off his face and the amorous expression was replaced by an expression of horror.

And the kind of horror that Potter had probably never experienced. It felt as if he had realised in seconds all that he had done. Harry hadn't even realised Snape could feel such emotions.

Emotions continued to rise and fade on the professor's face. Horror gave way to anger. Snape clenched his fists and kicked the pink angel who was still trying to sing a love song to Filch. He shook off a lot of cat hair, walked over to the half-empty Gryffindor table and, after giving all the students a murderous look that made the laughter that was beginning to build up stop instantly, said slowly and deliberately:

- Who. Did. Did?

It seemed to Harry that Snape was struggling to keep from hitting the table with all his might. Potter began to think very quickly in a panic.

Flitwick had seen him moving away from Snape's seat. Also the other students might have noticed these movements as well. And Tonks herself had asked him very loudly to watch Snape, and yes she was the one who started laughing first.

He and Tonks would be easily declassified. They should confess while they still had the chance.

Harry slowly raised his hand.