Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I wish I owned Charlie Weasley


And he opened his eyes to a whole new world.

Almost instantly an intense headache seized him and he slammed them shut again. The pain was so mindnumbingly bad that he couldn't begin to wonder why he was hurting. After a moment he opened his eyes again to see someone very out of place in his room at Privet Drive. Twenty-two year old Charlie Weasley was absolutely glaring down at the sixteen year old. When Harry realized who it was, he tried to react but sitting up silently, but fell back to the bed, as he did Charlie drew his wand.

"Ch- Charlie? What is this? Why can't I move?" His arms were tied down to the bed, but his legs on the other hand, weren't. "Who jinxed my legs?"

Charlie relaxed slowly and pocketed his wand. "So Dumbledore was right, you were possessed. Thank goodness it's you."

"Where's my wand, Charlie? What is this!?" He was getting more and more confused, more and more scared by the second. He was unaware he was breathing heavily and that his heartbeat was so incredibly fast.

Charlie waved his wand, and the restraints binding Harry to the bed disappeared. Harry rubbed his stinging wrists angrily. "Harry, pick up your wand." The boy reached over and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. "Priori Incantato." A ripple of invisible energy spread throughout the room, a curse Harry didn't recognize. When the spell was repeated, a green energy shot from his wand and flew around the room. "Deletrius."

"Wh- what was that?" asked a stunned Harry after moments of silence. He tossed the wand back onto the table. "Whose is that?" Charlie didn't answer, instead he pocketed his own wand and kneeled beside the bed. Harry grew confused when Charlie slipped an arm under his legs and under his neck.

"What are you doing?"

"You cannot use your legs," Charlie replied softly. "You need to see this." He turned and kicked open the door to the hallway. Charlie carefully brought him down stairs. From the kitchen, Harry heard a lot of voices he couldn't place, and it occurred to him to ask about how the Dursleys were taking Charlie being there. Charlie didn't answer.

The front door opened at Charlie's wand movement and Harry closed his eyes to the sunlight. He felt himself laid down on grass.

And he opened his eyes to a whole new world.

For about ten meters everything was normal, but after that nothing was as it should be. Past the ten meter mark, there was only rubble. Large sections of cement and the remnants of houses were the only thing he could see, save for the occasional visible corpse. And then he looked down. Directly beside him was the corpse of his aunt. Harry tried hard to jump to his feet but was unsuccessful and only managed to throw himself over on his other side.

"What happened?" He didn't know what he was feeling right now, he didn't love this place, nor the people in it, but it had been his summer home and he had known them for so long. This made no sense. "Who did this?"

"You."

Harry looked up into Charlie's eyes, and memories flew back to him, hurting all the while. After a brief second he knew there was no denying it. "I remember."

"Voldemort was possessing you."

Harry shook his head. "I don't remember that."

"What are you saying?" Charlie asked him, sounding shocked.

"All I remember is being so angry at Uncle Vernon for hitting me, and… erupting. I remember thinking that if Dumbledore or anyone cared about me, they wouldn't have made me come back here. I remember Voldemort speaking to me through the link in our head, and I remember agreeing to help him if he'd wipe the Dursleys out. I remember killing them… and… oh god, Ron!"

Harry suddenly sat up. "Ron is alive. Somehow he got hooked with a small degree of energy from the spell and it put him into some sort of… coma. Harry, you can't be serious, we all saw you. You were being possessed!"

"No. I don't think I was, I think I… I think I wanted to become Voldemort." Harry hung his head as he remembered destroying what must have be half of Surrey. Was he really about to cry?

"I know you didn't. I know you were being possessed." Harry desperately wanted to believe the man but he couldn't. There came the tears.

Harry didn't protest or in truth notice Charlie picking him back up and taking him inside. When he finally became aware of himself again he saw that someone had added a second bed to his bedroom. This particular bed contained Bill Weasley who was very obviously injured.

He sat up against his headboard trying to find something in his mind that would validate what Charlie said, that would prove to him he had been possessed and not just angry. He was hurting so badly at that moment that he didn't even notice Charlie leave the room. A brief second later, something collided with him, and Harry snapped back to reality. The front of his shirt was soaked almost instantly, and he realized that he was being pinned down by a person.

"Oh, Harry," Harry instinctively surrounded the girl atop him in his arms. "Oh Harry," Hermione exclaimed again, clutching him protectively. "I'm so sorry." Harry shook his head and sat numbly against the headboard. He listened as she sobbed, but no words came from his throat to comfort her. He couldn't even comfort himself.

The only thing he could do was sit there still as stone and hold the crying girl. He knew he was why she was crying, the horrible things he'd done to his friend and his neighborhood. "Harry, the Ministry wants to lock you away in Azkaban. Dumbledore is downstairs with the Minister right now. Oh Harry, I'm really sorry."

Harry slowly raised his head and looked at Hermione. Almost on cue he heard footsteps from the steps and raised his wand from his bedside table. There was no way he was going to Azkaban to have his soul sucked out by a bunch of Voldemort's Dementors. "S-stay back." When he saw the approaching face he was relaxed but kept his wand up all the same.

Albus Dumbledore. Harry looked down after a moment and lowered his wand. He didn't want to see this man after all of it. He was still angry, still hurting. "I do not believe you are a killer. I was just informed by Mr. Weasley that you insist Voldemort did not possess you at all. I do not believe that. However, the Ministry is attempting to gather sufficient evidence to put you on trial, and until that time, I've no choice but," he paused, "confine you to Hogwarts."

There was another pause in which Harry didn't react except to squeeze his eyes shut against the downpour of tears threatening to be released. But it didn't help. "Our new Quidditch referee this year will serve as your personal trainer and if you'll forgive the term, nurse, until you are able to use your legs again." Now Harry looked up. "You will not stay in Gryffindor common or dorms this year, as another Ministry enforced precaution. However, if you successfully regain most of the use of your legs, you will be aloud to continue playing Quidditch as the team captain."

"Your 'nurse' will be living with you in your private area too, it will have two bedrooms and a dorm area accessible only by means of a password. You will go to classes with two Aurors around you at all times. Now that the rules are down, let me bring in your new roommate." With a roll of eyes, Harry watched Charlie reappear in the doorway.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that," the man said. "Since I got fired from my job in Romania, I agreed. Besides, you came in one year after I left and were immediately declared a better seeker than I, so I have to make sure you're up and running to protect your title." Charlie smirked. Harry couldn't match his mirth.

"Thank you, Charlie."

"I hope to have you walking with a cane by the time school starts." Charlie once more leaned down to pick Harry up, and this time Harry lifted his head to help. Hermione moved away sadly, looking up at him with round, worried eyes which only hurt Harry more. He wasn't fit to have her worrying about him. He didn't deserve it.

"Let's get to our new home, alright Harry?"

"Alright."

Harry slowly closed his eyes, assuming he knew what was next. Side-along apparition. There came a loud snap from underneath him, as if the floor had broken under Charlie's feet. Then it felt as if they were suddenly constricted heavily, squashing, pushing in on him at all sides until he didn't know if he'd be able to breath properly. And then it was over, and they were back on solid ground.