Harry came out of his and Ron's bedroom feeling much better about the whole "I think I'm being possessed and attacking people theory." He really hadn't wanted to talk about it with anyone, but now he felt immensely better about it. He decided to go down and enjoy the good moods of everyone while they still were.
As he entered and sat down, with Ron and Hermione trailing him the whole time, he consciously pulled the edge of his sleeve down to hide the marks on his hands. He may have been able to tell Ron and Hermione, but he had a bad feeling about the reactions the Order would give if they knew what he had been forced to do during his detentions with Umbridge. Second, he didn't want to get sympathetic looks, that just wasn't the type of person he was, and he wasn't the type to complain.
He sat down with Ron to his left and Hermione on his right. While Remus sat across from Harry and Sirius beside him at the end of the table. He could feel the looks he got from everyone as he had entered and sat down, but didn't even look towards them as he was used to being stared at, but he knew he must look horrible.
At the beginning of the summer he had look thinner that usual for him, with circles beginning to form under his eyes from the constant nightmares he had about Cedric and the graveyard. At least that hadn't earned him stares. But now everyone looked at him like he was about to fall over or something. He knew he had to look worse for wear, when he had went to wash up before he came down he had looked at himself in the mirror for the first time in a while and had been a little shocked at his appearance, but he knew if it was anything like he had been feeling lately he should have expected it.
When he had looked in the mirror the first thing he noticed was the huge dark, purple, almost bruise like shadows that encased his eyes all the way down to the top of his cheek bones. His skin had been pale to the extreme under his ever if more possible strikingly darker jet black hair, while his lips had a tinged blue look to them almost as if he had been sucking on an ice cube. His eyes, which still were bright green, had a look of a person who has seen too much for his age, or in a lifetime for that matter. He had a sickly pallor look to his skin which made him look ill on top of the fact the he know almost constantly felt feverish and had a cool sweat on the tip of his brow.
What they must think of him? He probably looked like the living dead, no wonder that they were staring, they probably thought he would pass out any minute.
He snapped back into reality when he heard a voice calling his name though they seemed far off. His eyes had glazed over and Lupin and Sirius were now getting extremely worried until they finally gave him a little shake to get his attention. Harry had looked up and flinched at the same time, trying to not show his embarrassment at flinching, he looked down at the table. He couldn't really help it, all the years at the Dursley's had taught him not to expect a gentle touch, especially when you weren't expecting it. Sirius and Lupin both looked at each other, thought they both thought the same thing, "those muggle's…why I 'otta..."
"What?" he said to Sirius, pulling him out of his reverie.
"What is the worst detention you've ever gotten?" asked Tonks who had just entered the room and seemed to have picked up the conversation she had left off with Mad-Eye Moody in the hallway.
"I don't know …probably the time me, James, and Remus all got in trouble for sneaking out in our seventh year and down to the quidditch pitch to practice for the upcoming game against Ravenclaw we had that year, though Moony just flew around to try to get in our way so that at least we had someone to play against. We had detention with McGonagall for a solid month straight! I've never written so many lines in my life!"
Harry just smirked at this. He loved to hear stories about his mom and dad, especially from Sirius and Remus' point of view. Though he had to admit, he would have taken a month of detention with McGonagall any day over Umbridge's detentions any day. As this thought crossed his mind a grimace came over his face from remembering the pain she had caused him when he was forced to carve the words, "I must not tell lies" into the back of his hand. He knew that he would have a scar for the rest of his life, but with all the hate and revenge he wanted against her, he absolutely refused to tell anyone, only Ron and Hermione knew.
Lupin caught the look in Harry's eyes after Sirius had finished talking, and it had made him nervous. First Harry had looked happy at the prospect of hearing about his parents, but then a look of pain and hatred crossed his face, followed by a look of fierce determination. What scared him the most was the reason he had showed these emotions, they had only been talking about detentions, hmmmm…detentions, he thought.
"Harry?" he said "what is the worst detention you've ever had, because I know you have had plenty I'm sure."
At first he looked shocked then followed by a little smile, only then to be followed by a look of total horror and helplessness.
Harry had been startled at being asked this specific question by Lupin, but then thought 'well of course, after the look I probably had on my face he must have thought I was in pain or something. And he would be the only one to put the topic we were on and the look on my face together,' then remembering what Lupin had said about having a lot of detention he smiled ' well' he thought 'he's got one thing right', but it was soon followed by a deep feeling of dread, 'what should he tell them'!
Lupin could see Harry was reluctant to tell the truth, and that he was at an alarming speed coming up with a lie. He also noticed fleetingly the looks Ron and Hermione were giving Harry, they looked like 'TELL HIM HARRY, OR WE WILL'.
Harry looked to them for support but looked away again at the look on their faces. He knew that they just wanted to help him, but he knew they weren't going to tell, they would wait for him to tell the truth on his own.
"Ummm… I'm not sure" he said, though he knew exactly the detentions that came to his mind.
"Oh come on Harry, you've been in more detentions than any of us, especially with that Umbridge women this year, can't you think of just one?" said Fred, or George, nope defiantly Fred.
"Yeah Harry, Fred's right and that's saying something, when you've got detention more than we do!" said George.
Harry was starting to panic now, what should he say, but before he could answer Sirius said "Umbridge, you've had detention with her, what did she make you do?"
Not good, not good, not good, not good, kept replaying itself in Harry's head. So he decided to tell the truth, well at least partially anyway.
"She made me right lines" he said hoping the discussion would end here end now!
But Sirius wasn't having any of this, he was just starting to get some answers from his godson who had been locked away from everyone since his arrival. He knew nothing about his time at Hogwarts this year, because he couldn't even write letters. He was going to find out everything he could.
"What did she make you write?" said Sirius, hopeful for some extra facts from his godson, but not expecting any, he knew Harry wasn't enjoying this conversation and he wanted to find out why, since apparently only Ron and Hermione knew what was upsetting him.
"I must not tell lies" said Harry
"Well then don't lie what did she make you write?" said Sirius.
"No Sirius, that's what she made him write." said Lupin.
"Ohhh..." he said, confused at first, then "why?"
" Because… well, because I kind of told her that Voldemort was back and she thought I was lying, but I told he I wasn't then it sort of escalated and she gave me detention." Harry rambled out his explanation as fast as he could.
"How many times have you had detentions with her?" asked Lupin
"A couple" truth be known, more like five a week.
"More like you practically live in there." said Ginny, who had came in soon after Tonks, along with her parents who were now listening intently to the conversation
Harry was seriously starting to panic now his, breathing had hitched and he had broken into a cold sweat. He looked over at Ron and Hermione, who both looked like they were trying to get Harry out of this. He looked back over to Lupin who was now giving him a calculating look, when all of a sudden he asked
"How long does she keep you there?"
Harry paused, now he was in his extreme panic mode, trying to come up with a suitable answer.
Then Ginny said "practically forever, he leaves after his last class, misses' dinner, and doesn't get back into the common room until around midnight, where he stays up all night doing his homework or working on the DA."
Sirius and Remus looked at each other, now they knew something was wrong, Harry was hiding something…but what?
"Harry, when you say she makes you write lines, what you mean?" asked Lupin
"I mean that she makes me write lines." replied Harry, hoping that this would suffice, but he knew it wouldn't.
"Harry…" but Sirius was cut off by Hermione.
"Harry just tell them their going to find out anyway, and they might be able help you." said Hermione.
"NO" replied Harry, there was no way he was going to tell them.
"Tell us what Harry, come on, like Hermione said we'll find out eventually" said Sirius
"Not if I can help it" mumbled Harry.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER, you tell us right now what she's been doing to you or I will personally take you to Dumbledore, and make him get it out of you!"
Harry gulped, he knew wasn't kidding, she would really do it, and the last person he wanted to see right know was Dumbledore, especially since he wouldn't even do the honor of looking at him or even explain why he was ignoring him. He decided he better come up with a good lie that they would believe so that they wouldn't take him to Dumbledore. Thinking quickly, he came up with something.
"She just really mean too me, and I'm overreacting, it's not that bad, just lines!" said Harry.
"Harry you never complain when it comes to yourself, I mean look at you, you look like you haven't slept in ages, and I think your sick, yet you won't even complain that you feel horrible, if you say she is mean then that's saying something." said Mrs. Weasley.
He looked over to Ron and Hermione one last time to see if they had come up with anything, he really didn't think Ron would have come up with anything and wasn't surprised when he saw that Ron looked just as helpless as he felt, but he was hopefull that Hermione might have something, but when he looked her way, he knew that she wanted Harry to tell them and he knew she was just trying to protect him, but still mad at the same time, he new she could have come up with a solution.
"Harry." said in a stern voice.
"I…I can't tell" he finally concluded.
"And why not?" said Sirius, who now looked at Harry almost pleadingly, wanting to know what she could have possible done to his godson to cause his reaction.
"If I tell you it will only make things worse, everyone would make a big deal about it then she would just put through another decree that say's whoever goes against the high inquisitor will be sacked or…or arrested, and make things worse for the whole school, if it comes out into the open she might start doing it to punish other students as well and I can't let that happen!" Harry finally burst out.
"Harry, what did she do to you?" Sirius said in a menacing voice that made him sound ready to kill.
He saw no other option out; he was going to have to tell them. What worried him was the reaction they might have. Sirius would probably apparate right into her quarters and kill her, Lupin may be a little more rational, but he would probably have a murderous glare, he didn't want to even think about reaction, or anyone else's for that matter. But how would he tell them, he couldn't possible say what had happened when he couldn't even think about it without remembering the pain and then anger he would feel afterwards. So he turned to Lupin and Sirius, trying to block out all the other reaction, because he wanted to be able to stop Sirius from doing what he was bound to do and wanted to have eye contact with Lupin, because he kept Harry calm in tense situations like this. Then he began speaking, he wanted this over with as quickly as possible.
"I'm not sure what you call it but, she made me use a special quill to write my lines in", he looked up at Lupin and Sirius who both looked utterly confused, then continued "well the quill uses a persons blood as ink.……"
