"What if he doesn't wake up?"
"He'll wake up"
"Well what if he doesn't?"
"He will"
"But…"
"HE'LL WAKE UP!"
The harsh voice made him cringe. Just why did people insist on having their conversations around him when he was sleeping? When did he manage to get to sleep anyway? He couldn't say that he remembered the past few days. Sitting up he had opened his mouth to yell at those speaking, to be stopped by the overwhelming amount of blue around him. Either the Gryffindors had gotten tired of the typical red and gold or something was terribly wrong.
"Potter" The voice seemed to draw everyone's attention, not just his own as he came to realize there was a crowd near by. "Finally decided to grace us with your presence?" He recognized the boy as a Slytherin, fourth year if he wasn't mistaken, but the Hogwarts' robes showed no sign of it. Any insignia that had once sported the snake had been ripped from the black cloth, but from the look he was receiving the boy's house pride was not forgotten with the markings.
"Umm…" The raven-haired teen really couldn't think of anything to retort to that comment. For one he was still half asleep. Another thing was the attitude the Slytherin had toward him. Such contempt that was more fitting the Death Eaters or Voldemort then a fellow student, even if it was a Slytherin.
Speaking of fellow students, said group was currently scattered around him. Through his assessment he found himself sprawled out on a deep blue plush couch. Scattered randomly though the room was a small group of students. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all sat in their respective school robes though some were a bit worse for ware. He couldn't help but notice that there was only the single Slytherin who seemed very much out of place.
The image he was presented with upon exiting the tower was that of a nightmare. Once green grass and scattered trees was now a barren, scorched stretch of land. The lake looked dark, ready to be declared toxic sort of dirty. Even the forbidden forest had seen better days. From his perch on the high tower he could make out a large patch of deforested ground within the thick tangle of trees. Within that, the roof of a house could be made out, its top colored to blend into the dying trees around it.
"Harry!" The frantic voice behind him snapped him out of the horror that was beginning to weld up in his chest. A worried Hufflepuff was interrupted as a much less kind voice hissed from behind her.
"Get your scrawny ass back in here Potter!" It was kept intentionally quiet as though fearing that someone might over hear him. They kept fairly well hidden by the stairwell leading back down through the Astronomy tower. If he hadn't known that it was before hand there was no way you could tell. Not even the remains of the equipment survived what had befallen his beloved Hogwarts.
"What is this? What happened?" Escaping the grasp of the Slytherin he looked back on the heart-wrenching scene.
"Please" The girl sounded desperate, which caught his attention more then anything. With a last look at what used to be the most peaceful place he'd ever known, Harry allowed them to usher him back inside.
"So that's it then…" The group waiting anxiously inside watched him carefully. "You're just going to hide in here rather then try and get help." There was no question to it. It was very obvious that they had given into their self-imprisonment.
The echo of skin hitting skin was deafening in the silence of the tower as the back of a hand contacted with the side of Harry's face. "You… You have no right to reprimand us Potter!" His voice shook with the repressed rage that had tried and almost managed to surface. Even if the others were unwilling to say it the Slytherin had no issue with telling off their so-called savior. "You trap us in this death sentence and then have the nerve to get yourself knocked unconscious while that friend of yours goes insane!"
He paused before a retort could be formed. The comment trailed off as he caught what was more important within the anger of that statement.
Attention directed to the lump in the middle of the hall, he found the redhead right where the others had said he would be. By the looks of his friend they had been right in the fact that he didn't seem to leave that spot. The other boy's gaze was fixated on the wall opposite him and if not for the rhythmic breathing he would have swore the other was nothing more then a statue. The cold, almost dead look gave Harry the spooks, a shiver running down his spin as the image of Cedric flashed green before his eyes. Shaking his head he dropped down next to his friend, merely keeping up the silence the other boy had installed.
With nothing else to do but examine the hall around him he found himself glued to the empty picture frame. Even the images had managed to flee the castle so why hadn't they been able to manage it? The ones still stuck here had been disheartened to say the least when they learned that he had no memory of how the school came to such a state. If he was completely honest he could only vaguely remember a pair of bloodied eyes and sharp fangs. It was all muddled, like he was waking from a haze for the first time. That which he thought he'd known was now distant, unrecognizable, shapes, and for that the world he'd been reduced to within the ruins of the school despised him. Once again the world expected him to pull off some miraculous victory and save them from their fate. He was only human!
"They're gone" The voice broke him from the impending inner rant. It was dry from lack of water and use but the familiar sound, even as heartbreaking as it was, was the most comfort he'd been able to find in this new messed up world. "They left her" The name of their friend rang hallow through his mind.
"I know Ron," he said even as he pulled the other into him. He held the other boy as a lifeline. The name called out soundlessly between them filled with their despair, loss and choking guilt. Hermione.
Right well now that you've made me feel guilty bout my own lack of writing. I know! A lot of people have read it and said hu? It's meant to be ambiguous… next chapter should explain it a bit, I'm hoping. Otherwise… yeah, I own nothing but the deep dark desirer to watch Draco molest poor defenseless Harry…. And maybe help out a bit… That aside! Have fun with that; it shouldn't be too bad Lauren might be allowed to read this one.