Broken Wings
This story is based on a song from "Goethes Erben" (Goethe's heirs) called "Koma" (coma) and the story is about Harry's long recovery after he fell into a coma. Nobody knows what happened or why Harry is in a coma. To the surprise of all (except of us, of course) it is Snape who uncovers the truths.
As you realized the song is of course in German, but I tried to translate it into English.
This is a translation from German into English. The German version of this story is posted under my older User-ID TinaHewen (s/3093247/1/Broken_Wings)
Prologue
I feel the touch
Hear the words
See the change of situation
Can think, quite clearly
The gray veil had already raised.
The neon light hurts day and night
the change nearly imperceptible.
The attempt to form a word failed miserably
The lips cannot obey, they don't get a command.
- the threshold to nothingness
bound to the now, it's awaiting you
Coma - the threshold to nothingness
bound to the now, it's awaiting you
No fibre of my body gives a signal.
No word leaves my lips.
No gesture shows my existence;
the intent locked in my body's grave.
A grave that lives
with a soul that dies.
Buried alive in my own flesh
with full consciousness
The machines are working well
keeping me alive
Helping me to breath
BUT NOT TO DIE
the light remains
THE PAIN TOO
Because nobody knows about the pain
JUST ME
But I cannot scream, I cannot cry
JUST FEEL
The drilling or the burning
The hammering or the cutting
The drilling or the burning
The hammering or the cutting
NO I must not cry
JUST SUFFER
- the threshold to nothingness
bound to the now, it's awaiting you
Coma - the threshold to nothingness
bound to the now, it's awaiting you
.oOo.
With broken wings
It was night and the birds were already sleeping with their heads under their wings, while the owls were out hunting for mice. The stars blinked and the moon gave his best to light up the landscape below. So the castle was bathed in glittering silver. Majestically, it poked out of its surroundings and defied the darkness solid as a rock. Most of the lights in the castle were out but in one of the rooms it was still on, visible through the windows.
The windows belonged to the office of Albus Dumbledore. The headmaster of Hogwarts had no quiet moment at this late hour and he wasn't alone. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Mr. Weasley stood around Albus' desk.
"How can we be sure that it is not a cry for attention again? Arthur informed us, that Potter wrote regularly and Mrs. Figg also didn't notice something out of order. It would be typical Potter, and if I recall correctly not the first time that Potter missed the train. The boy probably will arrive on a magic carpet, or something else."
"I really want to believe that, Severus, but I doubt Harry would do something like that. Not in a time of war. He is no longer the little uninformed boy. He knows what is going on out there. I cannot believe he would risk his life in such a way."
"The death of Sirius Black distressed him a great deal. Maybe he doesn't want to come back to school?"
"I had the same idea, Minerva. But it's not Harry to give up that fast. He was also distressed after Cedric Diggory's death but he came around, like he always did and always shall. So I also doubt that this is the reason of his absence."
"I read all the letters he sent to Ron. They were pretty much all the same. I found nothing suspicious in them, accept that he didn't want to see someone and it was clear he was grieving. Ron told me that Sirius offered Harry to come and live with him, as soon as he was cleared. So… maybe Harry is more hurt that he gave away to be. On the other hand, in his last letter he seemed to be eager to come back to Hogwarts."
"Do you have the letters here, Arthur?"
"Yes. I thought you may want to have a look."
Albus took the package and browsed through the letters. Severus grabbed the last of Harry's letters. It was only three days old.
"Hi Ron, GOod thaT the summer is nearly over. It's Boring herE. I'm looking forward to meet you AT Kings Cross. thEN you can tell me about you brothers' shop AGAIN. your Harry"
Severus frowned at the letter. This was really odd. "Didn't you say there was nothing suspicious about the letters?"
All eyes wandered to Severus. "Did you find something?" Albus asked.
"Well, I would say," then he looked at Arthur, "Did you never wonder about Potter's orthography?"
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Severus rolled his eyes, but then he shows Arthur the letter in his hand. "I mean the odd arrangement of capital letters."
Severus put the letter down on the desk and borrowed one of Albus' quills. Then he wrote down all the capital letters at the bottom of Harry's message. As he was finished it grew very silent in the room.
Minerva gasped horrified.
"Merlin," whispered Arthur, and Albus looked mournful at the words 'Got beaten again'
.oOo.
"Did you find something helpful?" Albus asked hopefully as Severus entered the office again a few hours later. But Severus didn't answer immediately. His eyes had a dark and angry look.
"Severus?" Albus asked halting.
Now the dark orbs of Severus' eyes bored into the sparkling blue ones of the headmaster. "Did you know with what kind of Muggels Potter grew up?"
Now Albus frowned, "I don't understand."
"They are the worst kind of Muggles I ever met, including my own father!" Severus spat in disgust.
"I knew they had some reservation about wizards. But-"
"Some reservations?" Severus cut the headmaster furiously off, "That's the understatement of the century. How much time did you give yourself to consider, before you decided to stick Potter with these monsters?"
"I'm sure you are over-"
"I am not overreacting, Albus!"
After Severus' outburst it grew silent for a while. Severus tried to calm down again and Albus waited patiently until Severus sat down and spoke in a much calmer and clinical way, "Vernon Dursley told me, that he brought the boy to the train station. He dumped Potter out of the car and vanished without saying goodbye. After I informed him that Potter is missing, he just shrugged his shoulders and told me that it is our problem."
"That's all?" Albus asked unhappy.
Severus frowned again. "All I could find out. But I have the feeling that there was something off. I cannot pinpoint what exactly. Mr. Dursley didn't lie, but I'm sure he didn't tell me everything either. I'll go back and debrief him more closely."
"No. It's okay."
"Okay?" Severus roared again.
"Severus. Would you please calm down? We need to find out, if the muggle police know something."
Severus grid his teeth but nodded.
.oOo.
In the meantime the sun shoved itself above the horizon. The owls seek shelter from the light in dark corners of the forest, while the birds started with their morning tune to wake up the world. A lonely owl was still up. She glided over the hills towards the castle, landed on a windowsill and knocked her beak against the pane of glass. A newspaper clutched tightly in her claws.
On the other side of the glass a girl with bushy brown hairs rubbed tiredly at her eyes while she pushed off her blanket to stand up and let the owl in. The owl hopped into the room and dropped the paper into the girl's hands. Then it spread its wings and was off again.
Hermione closed the window and went back to her bed. There she set down and opened the newspaper. It was the muggle newspaper her parents always read and it was already flipped open on a side with a photo of an injured boy. Under the photo in the handwriting of Hermione's mother stood the words. "Isn't that Harry?"
Hermione dropped her jaw as she started to read the article. Tears started to pool in her eyes. As she was ready with the reading, her hands were shaking. Then she jumped up of her bed and run into the common room screaming "Ron!"
.oOo.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley? What brings you to me at this early hour?" Albus was tired from his sleepless night and he was worried that he still didn't know were Harry Potter was, or what happened. And he wasn't very eager to explain that to Harry's best friends, who obviously were worried also.
"This," Hermione said in a shaking voice and handed the muggle newspaper over.
"What's that?" Albus wondered.
"My mother sent this to me in the morning," the girl explained and then Albus started to read.
"A boy around the age of fifteen was found in the late evening of September the first in a toilet of London's train station Kings Cross. The body of the boy shows signs of heavy mistreat. The doctors of the St. Pancras Hospital worked several hours to stop the internal bleeding and finally stabilized the boy enough to start excessive treatment. He is still comatose, and the police are still looking for hints to identify the boy. Also, still unanswered is what exactly happened and who committed this vile act."
Next to the article was a picture of the boy. He looked awful, but it was clear that this boy was indeed Harry Potter.
The headmaster's hand, which held the paper sank down to the table. He starred in disbelief at the two students before him.
"We have to do something!" the girl whispered, fresh tears on her face.
The headmaster nodded slowly and then looked back at the photo in pure horror. What have the Durseys done? How can they be so cruel? Or was it someone else? But who? Surely, if it had been a Death Eater he wouldn't have left the body. So who could it have been?
"Professor?" the voice of the girl pulled Albus out of his musing.
"Yes. I will send someone to pick him up. You two better have breakfast now. There isn't much you can do at the moment. I will inform you as soon as there is news."
Hermione and Ron nodded and left the headmasters office supporting each other.
.oOo.
The sun was shining bright and children were laughing and playing around. Little birds battled over bread crumbs an old woman was feeding to them. It was one of the last warm days of autumn. The leaves started to change into bright reds and yellows and turned the world into a beautiful play of colors.
But nothing of that was seen inside the walls of St. Pancras Hospital which were painted in a sterile white and the windows were soundproof to guarantee perfect silence for the patients. In the intensive care everything was quiet too, except for the puffing and whistling of the machines which were providing the patients their vital needs.
Severus and Poppy were lucky that Harry was the only patient in the room, when they finally found the boy. Poppy gasped at the sight of the teenager. There were bruises everywhere, where not already thick bandages covered the skin from sight.
Both wizards looked up at the boy's forehead to see the lightning bolt shaped scar, to reassure themselves that this boy was indeed Harry Potter. There were many cables that ran from the boy's body to the machines next to the boy.
"What are we going to do? We cannot simply disconnect him from those without putting him in mortal danger." Severus said in a low voice. He was shocked to discover how hard it was to talk with this suddenly thick lump in his throat.
"We have to be very quick. I have the right potions already waiting in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, but yes, it will still be a risk. But with all the Death Eaters running around there is not much choice, is there?"
Severus gulped. "No" he croaked, and then he tried to clear his throat, "Guess you are right. But still… is there a chance he will be able to breathe by himself?"
Poppy looked deep into the troubled eyes of the potions master. "I can't guarantee anything as long as I don't check myself how damaged his body is. But he has a chance, if you help me. As soon as we are back at Hogwarts, you give him the red and the blue potion, while I will try some healing spells. The faster we are, the better his chances to survive."
Severus nodded, and then looked back down at the battered body.
"Are you ready?" Poppy asked and Severus nodded once again and pulled out the portkey, which would take them directly into the hospital wing. Poppy's hands started moving. First she disconnected the breathing machine, which gave the sound of a balloon loosing air, and then Poppy pulled the tube out of the boy's mouth very carefully.
Harry's limp body didn't react in any way. After Severus removed the sensor which monitored Harry's heartbeat, the beeping noise changed to a continuing whistling sound. Then Severus carefully picked up the far too light boy and placed his and Harry's hand on the portkey. As soon as Poppy's finger also touched the red handkerchief they span away.
"Hurry! Over there!" Poppy said. Harry was laid down and Poppy's wand snapped into her hand. She was working frantically while Severus tried to instill the necessary potions into the boy. After an eternity, which probably wasn't longer than two minutes, Harry took some gulps of air, coughed violently and then sank back against the pillow. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing on his own now.
Poppy sighed deeply, and then she said. "His pulse is weak, but constant. With some strengthening potions we can keep him alive for a while, but if he doesn't wake up soon there may be permanent brain damage."
Severus cringed inwardly as he realized that not twenty four hours ago he probably would have answered dryly, that there will not be much difference to the boy, as he had no brain to start with. But now Severus was shocked to the bone at what he had learned in the last few hours. His world view was suddenly upside down.
He didn't understand how he could have been so blinded by his hatred. He saw it, hadn't he? He saw it in Harry's memories during Occlumency lessons. He just didn't realized what he was seeing exactly, because he was so sure that the precious boy would be pampered by everyone. And now the truth was flung back at his face.
As far as Severus could remember there was not a single happy memory of Harry with his family and Severus was angry with himself now. He probably could have prevented that, but once again he destroyed the boy's live. First with this stupid prophesy he overheard and brought to the Dark Lord and this time because of his blind hate.
How could he have failed this boy, Lily's boy, so much? Hogwarts was the same save heaven to the boy, as it was to the potion master himself. Hogwarts was the only place where Harry could be free. Now Severus could understand the boy's tendency to break rules, and it had nothing to do with arrogance, as Severus believed for so long.
The boy was just spreading his wings a bit and Albus let him, he never told the boy how far he could go. This was one of the reasons why Severus was so determined to stop the boy, but he just made things worse. He should have paid more attention to the reasons why Harry felt the need to spread his wings. He should have known, he should have seen it, he was the same when he came here, but with him, Albus never was so lenient.
"You are right" the sudden near voice startled Severus out of his musing. Albus was standing next to him looking sadly at Harry's injured body.
"We both should have paid more attention. I should have paid more attention to Minerva who warned me not to leave Harry with his relatives, and I should have paid more attention to the boy himself, as he asked me if he could stay at Hogwarts during the summer. I knew he was not happy with his family, but I thought for the protection the blood warts provided it was a small price to pay. I never thought that Harry would need protection from his own family." Albus confessed.
Severus was surprised at the headmaster's words. He never knew Harry asked to stay over the summer. On the other hand who was he to blame anybody? "I shouldn't have mistaken him for his father. I took out my revenge on him. I clipped his wings where I could."
"Well, but it was me, who put him back in his cage every summer, just to be hunted by a raptor. Now we don't know if he ever will be able to spread his wings again."
After that silence filled to room. Both men starred, affected by the small teenager. The boy's chest moved, barely noticeable up and down, to indicate that the boy was still breathing. His eyes were closed and his disheveled hair stood up in all directions. On his forehead the famous lightning bolt scar, which marked the boy as the victim he is, a victim of fear and hate.