A Harry Potter Anthology

PenPatronus

Author's Notes: This, as the title clearly states, is an anthology. Each chapter will be a different short story (it just seemed prudent to put these all together rather than have a dozen puny one-shots floating around this site). The stories will be based on the "Harry Potter" books and movies, characters and relationships of canon as well as of my own doing, and will include angst, adventure, drama, plot-what-plot, hurt/ comfort, what-ifs, SRS (scenes-re-scened), missing moments and mild romance (no slash). Please review. Stories ratings will vary from G to PG-13.

Main / common characters: Ron, Harry, Hermione, Remus.

Warning: Contains spoilers from all Harry Potter novels, movies and supplementary materials.

Disclaimer (for all chapters): These characters and places and foundation stories are not mine, though they live in me and in all who read about them.

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A Harry Potter Anthology

PenPatronus

Story #1: It Was You

Author's Note: This story is a missing moment from the HPOotP movie.

From his knees with his robes twisted around them and his hands visibly trembling, Albus Dumbledore shuffled through the sand and with the tenderness of a father he gathered Harry into his arms. Tense even in unconsciousness, Harry lay stiffly: glasses askew, blood below his nose, extremities twitching. Ron was dimly aware of Fudge sputtering, of the flashbulbs of cameras striking like lightning, of Percy's presence and the pressure of his hand held by Hermione's. He watched as Dumbledore passed his wand over Harry's body, especially along the scar, whispering incantations as he went. And then he seemed to be satisfied by something, and turned his attention to Ron.

"If you would please, Mr. Weasley?"

"Ron. Ron!" It took his name in Hermione's voice to make his numb body move. Ron obediently hurried forward and crouched next to Dumbledore. "He will be all right," the headmaster assured him when he saw the look on Ron's face. Ron could only gulp in response. Gently, Dumbledore unloaded Harry into Ron's arms before rising, a bit unsteadily, to his feet. With dignity, he adjusted his robes and went to intercept Fudge and the Aurors.

"Oh Harry," Hermione whispered as she knelt beside them. Hermione fixed his glasses on his nose, smoothed down his hair and wiped the sweat and blood off of his face. "Oh Harry," she continued to murmur. Ginny joined the efforts by pocketing Harry's wand and brushing the sand out of his clothes. Not knowing how else to help, Neville untied and retied Harry's shoelaces.

Standing over the group with her head tilted quizzically, Luna said in her dreamy voice, "He's quite lucky he wasn't brutally murdered. I expected to find him brutally murdered."

A sob exploded from Hermione and she burrowed her face against Harry's chest. His own eyes suspiciously reddening, Ron tightened one arm around Harry and the other around Hermione, hugging both of their faces to his. He tasted Hermione's tears and winced at the heat in Harry's skin. Ron wished an invisibility cloak the size of a house would drop from the ceiling and block out the rest of the world.

"Sirius…"

It was a whisper, barely a breath, but Ron started. He and Hermione raised their faces at the same speed, up to the same angle. Harry's lips flexed into the word and he exhaled again, "Sirius…"

Remus Lupin was suddenly there as if drawn by his best friend's name. He leaned over Hermione, pointed his wand above Harry and whispered "Ennervate."

He spoke the spell gently, and awakened Harry just as gently. After several moments of wincing, frowning, and struggling to hoist his eyelids, Harry blinked up at the six faces and whispered "Is he gone?"

"Sirius?" asked Lupin. "Yes."

"No. I mean Voldemort."

Half of the faces cringed, and then they all grew fearful when they realized that in order for Voldemort to be gone he had to have been there. Neville popped his face out of the group and looked around.

"He and Dumbledore…dueled…Dumbledore?"

"He's fine," said Ron.

Harry nodded. Suddenly he realized that Ron was holding him. Immediately he sat up and both boys inched away from each other. "Voldemort…went inside me, inside my body, inside my—" Harry swallowed, leaned back on his fanned palms, closed his eyes and said, primarily to himself, "It's over."

Remus looked manic. "Voldemort possessed you?"

"I told them it was a miracle that you were alive, Harry," said Luna matter-of-factly.

"I'll say!" spouted Remus. "How'd you get him out?"

Harry frowned. "I don't know, I had my wand…" He looked around for it then, and smiled at Ginny when she handed it to him. "I had it but couldn't use it. I couldn't control how I moved and could only see once in awhile…" Harry brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed his scar. His face paled as he muttered, "It hurt so much…"

Hermione squeaked, sniffed wetly and placed a kiss on Harry's forehead. When she leaned back, Ron saw Harry staring at her. Slowly his face creased into a frown. "It was you."

"What?"

"And you." Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged at Hermione.

"And Mum and Dad and Sirius and…" A look of weariness suddenly flooded Harry's face as the remaining color drained. All precautions of maintaining some macho act were thrust aside and Harry buried himself in Ron and Hermione's arms. "It was you, it was you…"

A flashbulb popped, and smoke floated around them. Immediately Tonks and Moody appeared and dragged the cameraman away none too gently.

Harry's voice was muffled by Ron's shirt. "Can we get out of here? Please?" Ron hugged him tighter.

"Here." Remus took off his own shoe and turned it into a Portkey. "Thirty seconds." Neville, Luna, Ginny and Hermione all stabbed a finger against it. Not wanting to move Harry, who seemed to have fallen into some sort of stupor, Ron unraveled a shoelace and wound it around Harry's thumb. And then he grabbed the heel, held onto Harry, and the group disappeared.

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