The Missing Boy

Chapter One

Around the room no one spoke. Tears streamed down most faces, but not a sound was uttered. Lightning flashed overhead as if in tribute, and a moment later thunder boomed … or was it the doors outside opening? Hermione had her hands pressed tightly over her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs, as liquid ran over her fingers and down her hands. Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall sprang open as lightning once again flashed.

Hermione's gaze shot around, like everyone else's in the hall. Silhouetted against the stark white was a man- or a tall boy? He wore a robe that was tattered and clung to his almost skeletal frame. The light from the lightning died slowly to reveal the boy in the doorway in full. His greasy black hair, matted from rain, clung to his scalp in dark tendrils. His skin was white and stretched over his bones, scarred and bleeding in places. His eyes were shadowed and sunken, and the tiny red mark on his brow was standing out, angry and sore.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed, and as if on cue, the boy began to stumble forward. After only a few steps, he fell limply to the stone floor.

Harry Potter had returned.

-oOo-

Hermione was on her feet before he had hit the ground, as were Ron, Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall, and Albus Dumbledore. Hermione reached him before everyone else. She fell to her knees beside his prone form.

"Oh my!" she whispered as she saw him up close. His robes were the same ones he had worn on the day he had disappeared, and were a few inches too short, but that wasn't what caused her breath to hitch. The robes were torn and tattered and stained with grime, dirt and … blood? He had fallen face-down so she couldn't see his features, but what little she could see … What have they done to you? The tiny bit of cheek she could see was bruised, battered and bleeding. And tiny (and some not) scars rippled across his pale skin. With shaking hands she reached out to touch his brow.

"NO! Hermione! Do not touch him!" Dumbledore yelled as he reached them next. For someone so old, he could run very fast. He knelt beside Harry as Hermione had, and began muttering spells under his breath.

"Everyone please proceed to your common rooms! Quickly now!" McGonagall called, and almost instantly everyone rose to their feet and began to depart from the room. But only after they had passed Harry.

"HARRY!" Lupin exclaimed as he and Ron reached him.

Albus looked up from the battered form before him and said, "Get Poppy, Remus. Now!" Lupin nodded frantically, tears already shining in his amber eyes before he sprinted from the hall as well.

"Is he okay? What's wrong with him?" Hermione demanded as she looked from Harry to Dumbledore. Albus shook his head as he continued to mutter spells.

"Don't distract him, Hermione," McGonagall instructed, and Hermione instantly fell silent.

Ron stepped forward and helped Hermione to her feet. "Come on, give him some room," he said quietly as he pulled Hermione away.

"Pomona," McGonagall suddenly said. "Go and tend to the Hufflepuffs. Make sure they do not leave their dorm. Tell them only that Harry has returned; say nothing of his health. We do not want any rumours started," Minerva ordered, and Professor Sprout nodded firmly.

"Tell them that no owls are to be sent," Minerva added as Pomona reached the door. She nodded once again and disappeared from the room, but only after shooting a furtive glance at Harry before she shut the door behind her. "Filius, Severus, please do the same for your Ravenclaws and Slytherins." Both Professors did as they were bid, and followed the Herbology teacher's example.

McGonagall looked around at the rest of the staff, all of whom were watching Dumbledore and Harry with mixtures of fear, worry, and apprehension. "Please return to your quarters. Classes will continue as usual tomorrow. As I have said, tell no one anything but he is here, and he is being cared for. We do not want the press to get their greasy little paws on this just yet," the head of Gryffindor said. Hermione didn't even notice the rest of the professors leave the room.

A moment later the doors burst back open to reveal Madam Pomfrey carrying an armful of bottles, and a second later Lupin, close on her heels, carrying even more.

"Are there any spells on him I should know about?" Poppy demanded, her face hard and set as she approached Harry.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not anymore," he said, as he wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow.

"Take the children away. We don't know how badly he's been hurt. It might not be pretty," Poppy said, as she took Hermione's place beside Harry.

"You heard her," McGonagall said as she turned to face Ron and Hermione.

Neither of them moved. "We're not leaving," Ron said as he looked McGonagall in the eye. Hermione hadn't torn hers from Harry yet.

Madam Pomfrey began to set the bottles of potions around her. Once they were all out of her arms she drew her wand. Harry rose from the floor and turned over before settling back in his place.

Hermione took a startled step backwards. That can't be Harry! It can't be! Now facing the light she could see every gruesome detail of his face. His eyes were sunken in his head. His hair was plastered with blood to his scalp, and fresh crimson trickled from the corner of his mouth. Every inch of skin on his face was covered in small cuts, slashes and scars.

"Pass me the Fraygen," Poppy said as she held out her hand. Albus plucked a small, slender glass bottle from the ones surrounding her, and placed it in her waiting hand. She unstoppered it with a flick of her wand, and brought it towards Harry's mouth. She stopped before she touched his skin. "Are you sure, Albus?" she asked without taking her eyes from Harry's face.

The Headmaster nodded. "I am. Touch him without fear," he said, and Poppy quickly clasped Harry's jaw and eased it open. She quickly poured a fair amount of the purple liquid down his throat. Hermione watched in relief as Harry swallowed reflexively.

Fraygen. She remembered reading about it in Potions; it was a powerful restorative. She was glad Madam Pomfrey had had some. It was rare, but it would get Harry back to his original form more quickly. Healers used it for people who had been starved and needed to gain weight quickly, or for muscle development in an underused limb … it would work for Harry's case, too.

"Now," Poppy muttered as she ran her wand down Harry's chest. Where her wand touched the fabric of his robes, it parted aside to reveal his bare torso.

Hermione turned and buried her face in Ron's shoulder. But even with her eyes closed, and Ron's comforting (if hesitant) hands hugging her, the image was stuck in her mind. More cuts and slashes, more bruises and blood. But the burn! Hermione shivered, and Ron hugged her tighter. Harry had been branded.

"Get the children out of here!" Pomfrey hissed without lifting her gaze or stopping her work.

"No arguing. Out!" Minerva snapped as she ushered them out of the hall. Before she closed the Great Hall's doors behind them, she paused and said, "This is all hard enough already without you two having to witness it."

"Yes, Professor," Ron said, his arms still around a shaking Hermione.

"I'll come for you when you're able to see him … or if, if anything happens," she said, eyes downcast as she closed the doors.

As soon as the doors closed, Hermione raised her head. "Ron … was that, please say it wasn't," she said tearfully. She couldn't imagine Harry living with that branded on his chest.

Ron didn't say anything. Hermione slowly took her arms away from him, and leaned back against the wall. She slid down it, and sat at the bottom. Ron joined her.

"We'll wait here," he said, more to himself than Hermione. Hermione looked over to him and saw he was looking up at the ceiling. He didn't even know she was here.

The silence around them was oppressive. They couldn't hear a sound from inside the Great Hall. "Wouldn't happen to have a pair of your brothers' Extendable Ears, would you?" she asked, eyes staring sightlessly at her feet.

Ron turned to her, his blue eyes dead. "Do you really want to hear what's happening in there?" he asked.

Hermione bit her lip. "Maybe not," she admitted.

Please let Harry be okay. Please …

(revised May 2006 - Mali-caren)

(edited 20-May-2006 - td4)