Harry froze. Not only was he shocked by the news that his internal organs were damaged but how on earth was he supposed to explain being bitten by a bloody basilisk. It wasn't as if you could find them crawling around under every bush.
"Uhh, yes," he said. "I was bitten by a snake in my right arm. Around 3 years ago, I guess."
"Know what type of snake it was?" asked the doctor.
"Not really, no," lied Harry. "I had Phoenix tears poured on the bite and they seemed to...well, they healed the bite."
"I see," said the Doctor in a rather tight-lipped way. "You do seem to lead quite an interesting life. That must have been a particularly nasty snakebite. Phoenix tears aren't really the recommended course of treatment for most snakebites. Quite rare, you know, only used in the most life threatening of injuries. I suppose they couldn't find the specific anti-venom for the snake that bit you?"
"I guess," said Harry weakly. He really did not know what else to say.
Dr. Hancock waved his wand and the images vanished. He waved his wand again and another image formed. This was a complete ghost like image of Harry. Mostly transparent except for a ridiculous number of spots here and there that were glowing a deep red. Harry could see that they corresponded to places that he had been hurt in the past. There was the spot on his arm where Pettigrew had cut him. The basilisk bite, the Quidditch injuries, the wounds that he got while fighting the creatures in the maze. There were even faint, barely visible impressions of the cuts and bruises he had incurred in countless bouts of 'Harry Hunting'. Most troubling of all though was the dark crimson spot pulsating over where his scar was.
"Oh dear," said the doctor when he spotted that. He vanished the image and spent the next few minutes casting dozens of diagnostic spells upon Harry. Images of symbols and runes appeared and vanished around Harry's head at a dizzying pace. The doctors face getting grimmer and grimmer with each spell he cast.
Finally, he seemed to have finished. He waved his wand one last time and turned away. He pulled a chair out and sat down upon it before picking up the phone and speaking softly into it. Harry tried to get up but found that himself frozen to the examining table. He could not move. What the hell was happening? He tried to force himself free but found himself unable to move even a single muscle. He was just about to scream for Dobby to pop him out of there when the Doctor spoke -
"Please don't try to move, Mr. Dobbins," said the Doctor. "I'm afraid I've had to immobilise you for the time being. I'm sorry but it is the standard protocol we are instructed to follow when we come across cases like this."
"Cases like what?" shouted Harry.
"Well, the good news Jim, I can call you Jim, right? The good news is that it's nothing to worry about. We have a specialist here on our staff. He'll be able to fix you up in no time."
"Fix what?" asked a panicking Harry.
Doctor Hancock waved his wand and Harry felt the soothing pulse of a calming charm as it swept over him.
"You seem to be a victim of a possession. Tell me, have you ever spent any time in an area with a lot of ghosts?" asked Dr. Hancock.
"Possession! What? I can't be...Why can't I move?" asked Harry.
"I'm afraid that's standard protocol, Mr. Dobbins. You see, in most cases of possession the spirit will fight back if it feels threatened. We can't have it harming you, now can we. So it is best if we keep you immobilised. Now as I was asking you earlier - Have you ever been around spirits?"
"My old school. It had dozens of ghosts...but they never did anyone any harm that I ever heard of. I even went to a Deathday party once. But...but...there was this teacher...back in my first year at Hogwarts - he was possessed by the spirit of Vo…by the spirit of an evil wizard. He died. Is that...is that what's going to happen to me?"
"No, No Jim. Please stay calm. I've already sent a message to Doctor Patil. He's our resident specialist for dealing with cases like this. He'll have it out of you in no time, no time at all. We just need to get the authorisation from our Dean of Medicine. In cases like these, we feel that the patients permission is not required as in most cases the spirit inside them will not allow them to give permission. So we'll have it out of you as soon as we get the Dean to okay it. Come to think of it - I could probably just get your parents permission. Sorry, I should have thought of that. I've never had an underage possession case before. Well, the truth is I've never handled a possession case before myself but..."
"I'll give you my permission," shouted Harry frantically. "Just get it out. Get it out!"
....
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