Chapter 2! I realized I couldn't just simply recap the movie… so here we are! This one was really hard to write because I came up with the twist to this story about halfway through this chapter. ;)
I don't own Harry Potter… I wish I did… but I don't.
I'd also like to thank my muse, Troy Bolton. ;)
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Dumbledore laid the trembling boy down on the nearest bed in the infirmary. The lights were bright here, and though the teens blinked at first, their eyes soon adjusted. "Madame Pomfrey," Dumbledore called, and in no time at all, the nurse was bustling about, wrapping Harry in warm blankets and dabbing a sweet smelling potion to his cuts.
"You'll all need to sit down too," she said sternly, though sympathy was clear on her lined face. Of course, none of the members of Dumbledore's Army moved to sit, as they were all staring down in horror at their friend's face.
Harry was pale, and wearing a grimace on his face. His scar was standing out in stark contrast to his almost deathly pallor. There were purple bags under his eyes, which made him look as if he had been awake for weeks. Perhaps most frightening were the red streaks running down his cheeks. Hermione gasped, the first to realize what they were.
"He clawed at himself," she whispered, eyes wide. Ron was sure she was about to burst into tears, so he put a gentle hand (as gentle as he could manage) on her arm. She turned suddenly and buried her face in his shoulder. Ginny squeezed Harry's hand, still not letting go.
"Unfortunately, yes," Dumbledore said in his wise, wispy voice. "As I told you, this is Voldemort's favorite form of torture. He makes it unbearable for one to be in one's own body."
"Poor child," Poppy clucked as she wrapped Harry's sprained wrist up. She then turned to the other children. "Sit, sit, sit!" Ron looked at Dumbledore, hoping to be allowed to stay closer to Harry.
"I'm afraid Madame Pomfrey is right. You all must rest, and I must return to the Ministry. I leave them in your capable hands, Poppy," Dumbledore said, moving to the door and exiting swiftly.
Madame Pomfrey gave them each a nightgown and then came to them to tend their hurts. Neville's nose was still bleeding sluggishly, so the healer cleaned him up with a wave of her wand, and handed him a small sweet. "Now, only eat the purple side, mind you," she clucked warningly. Ron's chin dropped and he fought the urge to laugh. He recognized the brightly wrapped candy as the good side of Nosebleed Nougat. He sniggered into his hand until Madame Pomfrey shot him a dark look, and said sharply, "I don't know what your brothers did, but they work well!"
Luna had a bad cut on her lip, which without magic would have required stitches. Madame Pomfrey, however, simply daubed the cut with a bit of the sweet smelling potion, and it healed quickly, leaving just a small mark. "It will be gone in a few days," Poppy assured her. She handed them all warmed mugs of cider, before continuing on her work.
"What is that stuff?" Ron asked, as Poppy used the same liquid on Hermione.
"I recognized it," Luna piped up dreamily. "It's essence of wrackspurt…" Poppy simply rolled her eyes and ignored her. "It's the breath from Professor Sprout's best Aura tree," she said shortly. Ron waited for Hermione to tell him about it, but Neville spoke up instead.
"I've read about them," he said proudly. "They look like just regular trees, but they do the process of photosynthesis much more quickly than any other plants do. Muggles don't notice them, but if you're near one, they make you feel happy because they produce more oxygen."
Ron and Ginny just stared at Neville, while Hermione looked proud and Luna leaned over to pat his knee. "Good job, Neville," she said. Even Madame Pomfrey smiled at him, and rewarded him five points to Gryffindor.
"Now, to bed with you all," she said to the children. "I'm dimming the lights, and I don't want to hear any whispering." With one last check over Harry, she went into her private office.
"That tree must really work, making people happy and all," Ron said thickly. "Why do you say that?" Hermione asked softly.
"I've never heard Madame Pomfrey award points to anyone…" and with that, he fell asleep, the other's following quickly.
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Harry awoke, a dull throbbing in the back of his brain. He raised a hand up to massage his temples, fighting against nausea. Blinking around to clear the sleep from his eyes, he saw he was in the hospital wing. He knew it must be early morning, because an orange glow had begun to peek through the windows. He moved to rise.
"Harry, no, you need to lay down," a soft voice said from his bedside. Harry was surprised to see Lupin, who looked uncomfortable to see Harry awake. Indeed, Remus had not been expecting Harry to wake for several hours. Dumbledore had promised to be there as well, as he feared the ill effects Voldemort's torture might have on the boy.
"Lupin…" Harry said weakly.
"Please, Harry, call me Remus," he said. With Sirius' death, it seemed appropriate for Harry to call him by his first name too. After all, before Harry was born, Lily and James offered to make Remus and Peter godfathers as well. Lupin had refused because of his lycanthropy. He hadn't wanted an innocent baby associated with a werewolf, however distant the connection was. Peter had refused because even before Harry's birth, he had been in contact with Voldemort. Remus had to shake his head to clear his thoughts.
"Remus," Harry corrected himself. "Where's Dumbledore? Where's Sirius?"
"W-what?" was all Remus could stammer.
"Is he at Grimmauld Place? Voldemort had him, I saw it… but Voldemort had just used it to get me to come to the Ministry. We tried to tell someone because I thought it was real but Snape wouldn't listen and McGonagall and Dumbledore were gone…" Harry said, rambling on, his green eyes clouded and almost glazed. "We went to the Ministry to find him anyway." He sat up and put his glasses on and could clearly see the aghast look on his former teacher's face. "Remus, why are you looking at me like that? Where's Sirius?" He looked around the foot of his bed, expecting to see Snuffles curled up.
"Harry… Sirius is gone," Lupin said gently, though it was hard for him to say the words himself.
"Gone, what are you talking about?" Harry asked fiercely. "Do you remember anything from the battle?" Lupin asked quietly.
"Yeah, I do!" Harry said. "We got there and the Death Eaters were there… Lucius Malfoy told me then that it wasn't true. I remember looking for the Prophecy. I heard it Remus, but then Voldemort got into my mind again. He showed me all these things, Lupin, but I knew they couldn't be true. He tried to make me think Sirius was dead… Where is he, Lupin?"
"Harry… That… Sirius fell through the veil… do you remember?" Lupin tried again. "No, well… I saw it, but Voldemort was only trying to show it to get to me! Where's Sirius, Remus?" Harry asked, more vehemently this time. His friends began to wake up slowly.
"Sirius is dead, Harry," Lupin said gently. "What are you talking about?" Harry said. "This isn't funny, where's Sirius?"
Lupin reached out to take Harry's hand, but the boy recoiled.
"Lupin!" he yelled. "Where is he? Where is Sirius?" He rose shakily and moved past his friends' beds, toward the door. He hadn't noticed they had risen as well. "Harry, you mustn't…" Hermione was saying gently. "Mate, lay back down," Ron added.
"No," Harry said sharply. "I've got to get to Sirius."
"What's all this yelling in my infirmary?" Madame Pomfrey asked, coming out from her office. "He must have some sort of amnesia, Poppy," Lupin said softly. "He can't remember-" "Yes I can!" Harry yelled. "What Voldemort showed me wasn't real! Where's Dumbledore?" Dumbledore, as if he had heard his name called, chose that very moment to stride in. "Professor!" Harry said loudly. "Where is Sirius? We've got to help him!"
"Harry," Dumbledore said softly, no hint of sparkle in his blue eyes. "Sirius is dead."
Harry looked at Dumbledore, and then shook his head. "You're wrong," he said, moving to walk past Dumbledore, but the old wizard reached his hands out to stop Harry, placing them on both his shoulders. "Let me go!" the boy yelled, fighting harder, and Dumbledore had no choice but to wrap his arms around Harry.
Harry struggled with all his might and yelled, "Sirius! Sirius! SIRIUS!" but Dumbledore held him tight. Harry's peers, watching in terrified silence, would have been amazed at the seemingly ancient wizard's ability to hold the thin Seeker back, had they not been concentrating on Harry's fevered struggles. Madame Pomfrey rushed over with a small vial of medicine, which she held up to Harry's arm. The silvery liquid seemed to disappear, though there was no hole in the glass. Harry slowly began to go limp, still wailing, though Dumbledore supported his weight until the boy was not moving at all.
No one said a word, though they could still hear Harry's cries echoing through the infirmary.
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How's that for a twist? ;) It, admittedly, was very hard to write. Let me know what you all thought.
By the way, if you want to smell the potion Madame Pomfrey used, it's the same smell those air purifiers make.
