8. The Path of Pain

As dinner approached, Harry believed he had reached a decision. He would wait until Dumbledore left and then take Snape's Portkey. According to Snape, the Order would leave a little before eight o'clock. He shrunk his Lightning Strike into his pocket, incase he needed to flee rapidly. If that didn't work, he could always turn into a lion and run for it, at least until he ran past the anti-Portkey wards. His new wand was strapped to his right forearm and his old wand was in his pocket.

He walked into the Great Hall, quietly picking at a bit of roast chicken and potatoes. Eating wasn't possible when one was thinking of the plethora of things that could go wrong.

As dinner was coming to a close, Harry noticed that Dumbledore was no longer sitting at his seat in the center of the staff table. Shit, he probably took off early, Harry thought as he gave Ginny a quick kiss and proceeded out of the Great Hall. Snape's dungeon door was open but he wasn't there. Instead Harry found a note on his desk.

Potter

The mission's off. The captives never had a chance; their corpses lie in the graveyard. I… I'm sorry.

Stay at school. I was under the belief that there would be an attack at Little Hangleton, but Voldemort used that to lure the Order away from his other targets. I wasn't told; I took it from Lucius's mind. While Dumbledore is taking the Order to guard the various possibilities for an attack, the Dark Lord has summoned me to his side. Please, do nothing rash. We now have the situation under control. I have deactivated the Portkey, please do not try to activate it.

S.S.

Harry mulled the letter over in his mind. He fought down the stab of revulsion that ripped into his stomach as he read about the fate of his neighbors. Voldemort's plan was to draw the Order to the graveyard, while he caused havoc elsewhere.

Other targets… what could those be? Madam Bones and the Weasleys were his prime targets as far as Harry knew. The Weasleys would be safe in Grimmauld Place; his Family Key grew warm when there was a change in the status of the property, so he knew that as long as the Weasleys were inside of Grimmauld Place, they would be okay. Madam Bones on the other hand…

Another thought shook Harry; Remus and Tonks were guarding Bones. He had to get there right now; they could be hurt or worse. Unfortunately there was no Portkey for him to take. Damn… I suppose I'll have to sit out and be Dumbledore's goody-goody boy… Harry clenched his fist in anger; he couldn't do that, staying behind wasn't an option, especially if Remus and Tonks were in danger. He supposed he could transport himself to Grimmauld Place and fly on his broomstick to Bones's house, but he had no idea where that was, or if Remus and Tonks were even on guard duty there.

Then another thought struck his mind and he cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. His phoenix transformation was nearly complete. If he could just transform now and flame to Bones's house… but he still didn't know where it was. Harry thought back to when Fawkes had appeared in the Chamber of Secrets and wondered how the magical bird had done that, since supposedly no one knew where the chamber was located. The answer was simple; the phoneix hadn't been looking for the chamber at all; it used its ability to flame to find to Harry.

Harry calmed himself, slipping into a familiar state of meditation. After a few minutes had passed, he stood up and pictured his beautiful, fiery, green-eyed phoenix in his mind, willing every human attribute of his to morph into that of the phoenix. He felt the invigorating burn of magic flowing through his blood. He did not have to see himself to know that the transformation had worked; he could feel it. With a beat of his wings he surged into the air.

He thought of Lupin and willed himself to enter the flaming vortex. He shot through the fiery inferno, until the colors got brighter and brighter. Finally he found himself behind a large tree. He gasped at what he saw and quickly transformed back into a human. Lupin was cradling Tonks's body, which was covered in nasty scrapes and cuts. Lupin's wand was working furiously to mend the many bleeding wounds, but there were so many of them…

A blast from the other side of the tree jolted Harry's mind back into gear. He risked a peak around the tree, seeing seven masked figures in black robes slowly walking towards them. Behind them stood three Death Eaters who were blasting their way inside a large home that looked like a Victorian manor. Harry cursed, realizing the seven Death Eaters would soon be face to face with him.

"Moony!" Harry said, getting the man's attention. "I'll go from the right side of the tree. You take left." Harry quickly cast a spell on Tonks that caused her body to be wrapped in a soft linen cloth. "She'll be ok, GO!"

Harry strafed sideways, casting a Concusssion Curse on the closest Death Eater. He ducked, watching a violent yellow curse fly over his head. He responded by sending a powerful Blasting Hex towards the center of the group.

He heard Lupin shout "Stupefy!", taking down the left-most Death Eater who had ran to the left to avoid Harry's Blasting Hex.

"Protego!" Harry said, using his shield to deflect a "Diffindo" aimed at his neck.

"GET THE BOY!" Harry heard the rough voice of a Death Eater shout angrily. Before he could react, he saw three jets of green light rocket towards him, as well as one sickly orange curse. Harry dived immediately, aiming for refuge behind the tree. Unfortunately, a familiar curse hit him in the air, causing him to change his trajectory and fall to the ground writhing in pain.

While every synapse in is body was burning in pain, he tried to force himself to think clearly. He struggled to open an eye and saw that one Death Eater was holding him under the Cruciatus Curse, while the others were training their wands on him. As soon as the effects of the curse wore off, Harry saw three red jets of light and two green ones arching towards his head. He rapidly rolled away from the two green ones and prepared for the impact of the Stunning Spells. There was nothing he could do to stop them, but luckily for Harry someone nearby was thinking quickly.

"Contego", Tonks muttered, creating a blue, shimmering shield around Harry, which blocked the spells.

From the other side of the tree, Lupin ran towards the Death Eaters furiously, yelling, "Lacerus!", which caused a red slash to rip through the chest of one Death Eater. Lupin kept his wand trained on the Death Eater, causing the large wound to deepen slowly.

Lupin grimaced in disgust, hating what he was doing, but didn't raise his wand until the Death Eater lay still.

Harry's mind was kicked back in gear, remembering he had three more Death Eaters still standing. The Death Eaters were going for the kill; he had to let his killer instinct loose; he had to slip into the mind state where all that existed was the enemy and the surroundings.

He cast a strong Propelling Charm on a nearby rock, causing it to fly towards the Death Eaters. They stopped it by levitating it off to the side, but that was before they realized what was following behind the rock. The Bone Breaking Curse collided with the center Death Eater's shield, but didn't pass through. However, Harry had foreseen that happening and his gray, murky curse was followed by a jet of purple haze, which cannoned into the chest of the tall Death Eater.

Harry couldn't help but feel a grim sense of satisfaction as Dolohov got a dose of his own medicine. Harry jumped to the side, avoiding a Cruciatus Curse and put up a strong shield, which deflected a Severing Curse that looked rather nasty.

Harry noticed that Lupin's shoulders were sagging and he was breathing heavily. He had most likely been fighting for more time than Harry. Lupin was bleeding from a cut bicep in his left arm and Harry knew that Lupin, as well as Tonks, needed medical attention as soon as possible.

"Stupefy!" Harry snarled, attacking the Death Eater that was dueling Lupin. Lupin, even in his tired state, was still fully occupying the masked man, so he never saw Harry's spell arching towards him.

The remaining Death Eater seemed to have lost all desire to fight as Harry moved towards him, his wand pointing at his throat. He reached frantically into his robes, but Harry was too quick. Harry stunned him before he could grab his Portkey.

Harry surveyed the grounds around him, seeing seven robed bodies on the grass. One person was definitely dead; a deep, wide, diagonal slash violently burrowed into the man's chest. Harry looked away before he became sick, reminding himself that there were still things to do.

"Lupin! You need to take her to St. Mungo's right now. You could use the rest too," Harry said, grabbing the arm of the heavily-breathing man.

"But… what about you? You need-" Lupin asked.

"I'll be fine and I'll answer your questions later. GO!" Harry looked at Tonks pointedly, sending Lupin off in her direction.

"I'm not going without you, Harry. If you want to stay, we'll fight together--"

"No, Moony, please, trust me. You need to get Tonks to the hospital. I'll be back really soon."

"Harry, be safe. You don't know how proud I am of you," he said, nodding at Harry before he clutched Tonks and Disapparated.

Harry turned back to the bodies on the floor. Dolohov didn't seem to be moving, but Harry believed he would most likely survive. There was another body that wasn't moving, but this one had a deep diagonal slash, from the right shoulder to the left hip. For some reason, Harry didn't even think about blaming Lupin for killing the man. What he was bothered by was the fact that he felt no sympathy; no regret.

He was torn away from his thoughts by a blast that came out of the old-fashioned window on the third floor of the manor. The glass exploded outwards and rained onto the green lawn. Harry cursed; he had forgotten all about the three masked murders who had blasted their way in the house.

"Accio wands," Harry said, remembering Professor Flitwick using the Summoning Charm to collect multiple examinations. Sure enough, wands flew towards Harry, which he quickly snapped. "Incarcerous," Harry muttered; one by one tying up the robed figures.

He ran towards to house, using his ears to lead him to the battle. After climbing an elegant flight of stairs, Harry saw a portrait of a middle-aged man with black hair. Harry glanced at the name written on the portrait. Trevor Joshua Longbottom… Harry guessed that this must be the Longbottom's house. That meant Neville's grandmother…

Harry hastened up the stairs frantically, thinking that it would be over his dead body that his loyal friend Neville would be the last of his family. He burst into a large room, seeing the sleek, blonde hair of Lucius Malfoy tower over Augusta Longbottoms's body that was writhing on the floor. Harry saw Crabbe Sr. lying on the ground, either dead or unconscious, and Goyle off to the side, chuckling at the scene in front of him.

Harry quickly shot a Stunning Spell at Lucius Malfoy, hitting him in the back and knocking him over. He really wanted to do a lot more damage to the cruel man, but he knew that whatever would take the woman out from under the Cruciatus first would be best. On the other side of Malfoy he saw Goyle Sr. pointing his wand at Malfoy and muttering the spell that would revive him.

Harry reacted quickly, sending a Concussion Curse towards the large Death Eater, figuring that if he was a quarter-giant, he would still be dropped. However, Harry heard a scratchy voice from behind him say, "Ennervate"

Harry cursed and wheeled around, seeing Wormtail's sleazy face. That pesky, little coward

Sectumsempra! Harry thought, training his wand on Wormtail's infuriating rat-like face. Harry felt a surge of power as Wormtail's skin was cut and scraped. Wormtail's screams made Harry feel empowered and Harry poured more energy into his spell, hoping to finish the traitor and avenge his parents and Sirius.

However, just as scabs and dark red scrapes began to break out across Peter Pettigrew's face and upper body, Harry noticed a sizzling green spray hissing towards him from Lucius Malfoy's wand. Not knowing what was coming at him, he tried to dive out of the way, but he couldn't fully move out of the wide spray. He wandlessly cast a shield and turned his head away and angled his body to minimize the area that could be hurt if the spell wasn't stopped. The green liquid sizzled as it connected with his shield but most of it managed to continue through to Harry. His arms protected his head and neck, but the liquid clung to the side of his chest and left arm. With horror he realized that the green liquid was corrosively eating its way through his clothes. Harry grimaced in pain as it connected with his skin and began to burn painfully. A gray, sickly smoke wafted out from Harry's wounded arm. Harry bit his lip and clenched his fists tightly in pain, knowing he had to do something before the acid burned deeper. Harry bit his lip hard, forcing himself not to swoon and give into the pain. A few seconds later, Harry was screaming at the top of his voice in pain and horror at the acidic liquid did not stop once it had dissolved his skin. A sickening stench filled his nose as blood and flesh were charred. He had to do something now!

"Aguamenti," Harry muttered desperately, praying that the spell would have a positive effect. The water doused his left side and as it connected with the acid, the area seemed to boil. He screamed in pain once again as his wounds were scalded by the boiling water. The water was vaporizing as his skin seemed to be cauterizing, a sickly pink tissue forming over the tissue that was eaten away. It was no longer causing agonizing pain, but it did feel very unpleasant. Harry savagely told himself to not succumb to the pain, knowing Malfoy was liable to throw another curse at him as soon as he realized that Harry would survive the previous one.

"Potter… I was not expecting you. The Dark Lord was so sure that Muggle-loving fool would keep you confined with your filthy friends…" Lucius sneered coldly.

As much as Harry hated the sound of the senior Malfoy's voice, he was grateful for the chance to catch his breath. "Then I suppose there are many things the uppity half-blood doesn't tell his pure-blood servants," Harry said smirking, buying himself time. His arm was burning with discomfort, but he knew that if he moved his left side, the discomfort would turn into head-splitting pain.

"How dare you! I'll spit on your rotting corpse after I'm finished with you. You surprised me last time, brat, but this time, you have no chance."

"You just don't realize it, do you? You're doomed to always serve him and be tortured whenever he gets a headache… He has assumed control of the Malfoy bank; he doesn't tell you his plans even when you're the one leading a certain attack… and soon you'll be dead or in Azkaban along with your son. Your whole rotten, inbred, dark family will go extinct because of him. Now I know he gives you Muggles to torture once in a while, but is it really worth it? What are you gaining by licking the feet of that deranged half-blood?" Harry said angrily.

Malfoy apparently couldn't think of any words to respond with, so he instead pointed his wand and Harry's chest and yelled, "Avada Kedavra".

Harry had braced himself and was ready to dodge the spell before it came at him. He jumped to the side, landing on the balls of his feet, sending a Stunning Spell at the tall, blonde. More dangerous spells were at the tip of his tongue, but with Mrs. Longbottom's unconscious body lying near Malfoy, he didn't want to use anything too harmful.

"Protego," Malfoy muttered lazily, rendering Harry's Stunning Spell useless. "Crucio!"

Harry dropped to the floor as the curse flew over his head, hitting Wormtail, who was busy trying to bandage his scabs. Harry suddenly had a brilliant idea of how to neutralize Malfoy without the chance of Neville's grandmother getting hit by a spell. He used a Summoning Charm on Lucius Malfoy, putting as much raw magical energy as possible into the spell.

"Arresto Momentum," he heard Malfoy yell, but Harry was using his wand as well as his left hand to force the Death Eater towards him. His left side was screaming in pain as he moved it, but he forced himself not to faint. As Malfoy realized he couldn't overpower Harry's Summoning Charm, the man trained his wand on Harry, muttering the words for a Killing Curse. However, before Malfoy could finish his spell, Harry's left hand had stopped adding power to his Summoning Charm, shooting a wandless, nonverbal Concussion Curse at Malfoy. Malfoy, much to Harry's amazement, was able to duck the curse and was now only five feet away from Harry. Malfoy shot a Slicing Curse at Harry, which Harry dodged by rolling to the side. Unfortunately, this put pressure on his cauterized wounds and Harry tasted blood as he bit his lips to hold in a scream.

Malfoy towered over him now, sneering and laughing cruelly. "Goodbye, Harry Potter. I see I was right when I said you would meet the same sticky end as your parents. Avada--"

In pure desperation, Harry thrust his wand forward, willing his last reserves of energy to save him in his moment of need. A jet of red light thudded into Malfoy's head before he could finish his incantation.

Harry collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. After the adrenaline from the fight had stopped coursing through his veins, he realized that he was exhausted and couldn't move his left arm without messages of pain being sent to his brain. No! Potter, don't give in now. You've got to get back…

While his brain was screaming at him, his body seemed determined to allow him the rest he needed. His eyes were wide open, but black spots jaded his vision. He used every bit of energy he could muster to transform into a phoenix, telling himself that as soon as he flamed back to Hogwarts he could rest. He hobbled over to Augusta Longbottom, knowing she would need medical attention also. Unfortunately, he couldn't move his left wing without sharp pangs piercing the injured area. Finally he reached the woman's arm and clutched it with his talons. A few seconds later they were hurtling towards the Hogwarts infirmary and he plopped Neville's grandmother on one bed, transformed back into a human, and collapsed unceremoniously onto the next bed.

Ginny Weasley was beyond worried. He was supposed to be back by now… he promised… Her reasonable side was telling her that Harry could take care of himself, but she couldn't help but imagine horrible things happening to the man she loved. She was sure of it now; Harry Potter was the man she loved and no longer the boy who she liked. What would she do if she never got a chance to tell him… No Ginevra! Don't think like that. He will be fine! she told herself, but nothing would make her worries go away. She decided to sneak over to Harry's room and take his Marauder's Map so that she would know if he returned. She was restless and needed something to do so that she could feel as if she were being useful in some fashion. By scanning over the map repeatedly, she would ensure that if Harry returned to a different part of Hogwarts and needed help, she could be there immediately.

She curled up on in Harry's bed, drawing the curtains around her and began to read the map. Two minutes later, she was tearing off to the Hospital Wing with Harry's cloak draped over her body.

Dumbledore was waving his wand furiously, his piercing eyes squinted in concentration. Twelve unconscious Death Eaters lay next to him at Madam Bones's house, but he was still extremely angry, both towards himself and Tom Riddle. After the Order members had arrived at Little Hangleton, they had found the corpses of Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley. Then there was a large pit dug in the center of the graveyard filled with corpses… Dumbledore hadn't let the Order members see the bodies. He had conjured a mound of dirt and sealed the pit before anyone could look inside. He knew that they wouldn't be able to look at their faces without losing control of his emotions, even the grisly, scarred ones like Moody.

Dumbledore quickly surmised that Voldemort had planned to draw them away from his true target, which Severus had reported to be Bones. The Order had Apparated in, quickly defeated the twelve Death Eaters, and saved Madam Bones. However, when trying to exit the property, Dumbledore had realized that there were extremely powerful wards surrounding the property that would not allow the Order to leave, some of which were modeled after the wards protecting Hogwarts. Dumbledore once again cursed himself for falling so perfectly into Tom Riddle's trap. However, had they not gone to Madam Bones's rescue, the twelve Death Eaters, even if they were amateurs, would most likely have accomplished their goal. The complexity of the situation made him yearn for a lemon drop and a good night's sleep.

He wished he had brought Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin along with him; they would have perhaps given him the assistance he needed to overpower Tom's interwoven containment wards. Unfortunately, he had not taken those two along with him, knowing that they were liable to pass information on to Harry, and the last thing he wanted was for Harry to be drawn out of school like last year. Dumbledore sighed and refocused his mind on the wards that refused to go down. It was almost as if Voldemort was reinforcing them as Dumbledore penetrated them… Dumbledore felt a bit relieved at that thought. If Voldemort was here working on the wards, Harry most likely wasn't in danger.

Dumbledore was now muttering words at a rapid rate, his wand weaving intricate symbols. He was making progress now; the balance was tipping in his favor. He realized that this must mean Voldemort had left the battle. After negating enough of the wards so that Portkeys would be usable, he made two Portkeys. One was for St. Mungo's and one was for Hogwarts. Dumbledore feared that Voldemort's departure meant that he had been alerted to Harry's location, so he quickly took the Portkey to his office. He ordered the Order members to check individual areas for signs of battle and then he turned to Fawkes, asking that the phoenix transport him to Harry Potter.

He found himself in the Hospital Wing, seeing Harry lying in bed asleep, with Ginny gently washing his wounds; on a nearby bed lay Augusta Longbottom, who appeared to be unconscious.

"Miss Weasley, what are you and Mr. Potter doing here at this hour?" Dumbledore asked, thoroughly confused. He did notice that Ginny had removed Harry's shirt and that Harry's left arm and the left side of his body was covered in grotesque scars that contained swirls of red, white, and pink tissue.

Ginny whirled around nervously, surprised by the sound of a voice when she had not heard anyone approaching. She knew it wasn't a good idea to lie to Dumbledore, especially when her Occlumency wasn't nearly strong enough to combat his Legilimency. "Professor Dumbledore, I went looking for Harry earlier today but I couldn't find him. I used his map and saw that he was here."

Dumbledore frowned, looking between Ginny, Harry, and Augusta Longbottom. He quickly conjured his Patronus, sending the silvery phoenix with a message to the Order to check on the Longbottom's house. Dumbledore moved closer to Augusta Longbottom, using a gentle amount of Legilimency to view her earlier memories. He grimaced as he saw Lucius Malfoy threatening to put her in the same St. Mungo's ward as her son, but continued watching, keeping an eye out for any messy-haired teenagers. He caught a glimpse of a jet of red light shooting towards Lucius before the memory turned dark due to her loss of consciousness.

"Fawkes, please bring me Poppy immediately. We need Post-Cruciatus Potions." Dumbledore surveyed Harry, deciding that the boy's condition was more important than trying to get information. "Please bring Severus as well."

Ginny figured out what Dumbledore had done to Mrs. Longbottom, so she was standing over her boyfriend like a tiger protecting its cubs.

"Miss Weasley, where has Harry been tonight?" Dumbledore asked softly yet firmly, his ice blue eyes peering over his half-moon spectacles. He used a subtle form of Legilimency that would tell him if Miss Weasley was lying.

"Harry didn't tell us; he only said that he had to fight his war and do what was right instead of what was easy," said Ginny, hoping that would put an end to the questions.

Dumbledore grimaced at the barbed comments. "Very well, our skilled nurse should be here any moment to have a look at him. You should head to your dorm, Miss Weasley."

"I'm not leaving him alone with you and Snape," Ginny snapped. "Err… Professor Snape," she corrected sheepishly.

Dumbledore sighed; Ginny's loyalty to Harry was truly impressive. He only wished that it wasn't fueled from their shared distrust of their headmaster. "Miss Weasley, let us be frank. You can barely look at Harry's wounds without revulsion. Please, allow our wonderful nurse to do her work."

Ginny didn't move.

Pomfrey and Snape entered the Hospital Wing; Pomfrey looking bewildered by the appearance of two patients who were hurt by the Dark Arts and Snape looking exhausted and pale. The Dark Lord wasn't pleased when he realized that a few of his Death Eaters were dead, nearly ten were back in Azkaban, and both of their targets were still alive. Snape knew that the Dark Lord still trusted him, but that didn't stop him for using the Cruciatus Curse generously.

"Poppy, I need you to heal Augusta's physical wounds and administer Post-Cruciatus Potions. Severus, please inspect Mr. Potter's body; I cannot identify the curse that struck his left side," Dumbledore said commandingly.

After nearly two minutes of Snape peering over Harry's sickly scar tissue, Snape turned towards Dumbledore and said, "Potter needs a Blood-Replenishing Potion primarily. I have not seen this spell before, but I assume that the affects of it were to eat away at his flesh. From the hastily-built scar tissue, it would seem Potter used a form of cauterization, but I highly doubt that the boy would know how to use such a method, especially since I believe it is hardly ever used at St. Mungo's. Perhaps if we use Legilimency on the boy we can find out how to treat him."

Ginny looked between Snape and Harry uneasily.

Snape looked at her and said, "Listen Weasley, if we don't find out what hurt Potter he may be like this forever. Or if we apply the wrong treatment…"

Ginny gulped; no she did not like this at all. Suddenly, an idea came in to her brain. "I'll do it. He's been teaching me a little Legilimency. Plus, he may fight back if you try it. If I can't do it, I'll let you."

Before anyone could reply, Ginny looked at Harry and muttered, "Legilimens". Harry's mind had nearly no defenses left; it was obvious that he was magically drained. Ginny browsed his memories until she saw him hurt. She gasped in horror as the bright green acid began to dissolve Harry's flesh. She noted that he dowsed his body in water, which seemed to create a very hot steam that came off of his body, burning his skin and forming the layer of tissue over the areas that had the acid on them. She hated to think what would have happened had Harry not doused his body in water.

She pulled out of his memories and turned to Snape and Dumbledore. "He was hit by a spray of green acid. It clung to his skin and… ate through his skin. It began to dissolve his flesh, but he dumped water over the area, which caused hot water vapor to rise off of his body. It removed the acid and burned his bleeding areas, which caused this tissue to form." Ginny had to struggle to recount what had happened to Harry's body, but she made herself get through it.

"Thank you, Weasley, now if you would please allow those with experience to handle the situation…" Severus snapped.

"I believe Ms. Weasley's account will do, Severus. Who was his attacker?" Dumbledore asked, although he was pretty sure of the answer.

"Lucius Malfoy," Ginny spat angrily. "Like father like son."

"Hmm… Severus, have you seen this spell performed before?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, I have never seen it. It must be a Malfoy specialty, most likely passed on from father to son-"

"Severus!" Dumbledore said firmly. "Fawkes tells me his tears cannot heal the wound. He says it is remarkable that Harry survived at all. Poppy, do you have any ideas?"

"Well… I think that if we peel off the outer layer, the boy will bleed horribly, so I would prefer not to do that. If we did that, we would have to rapidly construct a tissue layer that would only be marginally better than the first. I'm guessing that it must pain the boy horribly to even move."

Snape muttered something to himself, waved him wand over Harry, and then said, "What if we peeled off the tissue, petrified Potter so that he cannot lose his blood, and then applied phoenix tears? Underneath his outer layer there are traces of Dark Magic, which I believe phoenix tears can remove, much like basilisk venom."

Dumbledore and Pomfrey thought it over and finally Fawkes trilled softly. The magnificent bird turned its head towards Harry and gave a quick nod. Dumbledore took this as a positive sign and proceeded to ask Snape to prepare several Anesthetic Potions.

"I believe that it is best that we perform this operation now while Mr. Potter is unconscious. Miss Weasley, please return to your dormitory. I assure you that we will take care of Harry and do our best to heal his wounds. You can visit him tomorrow, although I suspect he will still be unconscious," Dumbledore said authoritatively.

Ginny didn't like it, but she knew she didn't have a choice. "Fine," she said glacially. "If I find that you've harmed a single hair on his head…" Ginny exited the room after her threatening statement, taking her cloak and the map with her. She had a lot to think about and mull over.

Fawkes hovered over Harry's petrified body, crying magical tears into his angry flesh. Fawkes was a sharp bird; he had put the signs together. He could see the invisible aura of flames around Harry and the magical power in Harry's blood. Fawkes had heard of the acid that Harry was hit with and he knew that the real reason that Harry survived that battle was because his body had some attributes of a phoenix. Fawkes was reluctant to believe that this young human had mastered the transformation, but all the signs were there. Fawkes meant to watch this one carefully from now on. For now, all he could do was shed tears into the mysterious boy's wounds, watching them heal ever so slowly.

Nearly two hours later, he was finally done cleansing Harry's wounds. He was no longer petrified, but he still lay unconscious due to magical exhaustion.

Dumbledore had left the Hostipal Wing and was now at Headquarters listening to Remus Lupin give an explanation of the events that had passed at the Longbottom's. He was grateful that the Order hadn't lost any members, but he was alarmed at how Voldemort had given them false information and very nearly accomplished his two missions. However, Dumbledore was most alarmed by Mr. Potter's rebelliousness.

"We were about 10 yards away from the door of their house," Lupin recounted gravely. "Ten Death Eaters Apparated in between us and the house. Seven of them began to duel with us while three were trying to break down the door. Things got rough; there were too many of them and they were all firing serious curses. Tonks got hit by a rather nasty curse and I had to grab her and retreat to behind a large tree. I did what I could for Tonks, but I'm no healer. Just as they were about to surround us, Harry came-"

"How? I believe you said that the Death Eaters had warded the house?" Dumbledore asked, hoping he would figure out something about Harry's strange method of travel.

"I don't know, but I would guess that he used his broom. I didn't see him come in because I was patching up Tonks. Anyway, Harry starts yelling out orders and we came out from behind the tree. Harry was unbelievable; he took down four or five of them whereas I only got two. And, come to think about it, I was out of breath and Harry seemed fine, even after suffering through a Cruciatus. After that he told us to go to St. Mungo's, but I tried to stay with him. He basically forced me to leave," Lupin concluded. He meant to have a chat with his mysterious honorary nephew as soon as he could.

"And you left him? Remus, how could you leave the boy alone with Death Eaters? He was obviously lying when he said he was fine. Why didn't you make him come with you?" Molly shouted.

"Tonks needed immediate medical attention. And do you really think that I was in any state to force my will upon Harry? More powerful wizards than I have tried and failed," Lupin said grimly.

Auror Shacklebolt picked up where Lupin left off. "We have surveyed the house and it appears that Lucius Malfoy, two junior Death Eaters, and Peter Pettigrew cornered Augusta in a hall on the third floor. They overpowered her after she killed one and Malfoy began to torture her, which is when it would seem that Potter came in. Potter took them all out; Malfoy lay on the side with a concussion and Pettigrew was unconscious, covered in angry scars. Pettigrew also had traces of the… Cruciatus on him."

There were a few gasps echoing through the room. "Continue, Kingsley, we cannot assume that Harry cast that curse," Dumbledore said comfortingly to the Order, calming them. Dumbledore sighed internally; he knew Harry had indeed used the Cruciatus on Bellatrix Lestrange… it was possible that he had been the one to leave Pettigrew barely alive, covered with bloody scrapes, and unconscious. The Order, however, did not have to know that.

"We found a green, corrosive substance around where we believe Potter was standing. What puzzles me the most is that we can find no trace of Potter leaving the building, Apparating, or taking a Portkey," Kingsley said, looking to Dumbledore for an explanation.

Dumbledore's face grew dark and wrinkled. "We have to find a way of keeping Harry safe in Hogwarts; he almost died tonight, and frankly, I believe it was pure luck that he survived at all. I put up with his summer rebelliousness because I believed that it would be dangerous to his mental health for him to stay alone in Privet Drive. However, now he is spiraling out of control, using dangerous spells, rushing into the war recklessly, and worst of all, risking his life. We cannot allow his rebelliousness to grow."

"You do realize that if Harry had been a 'good' boy, three people, at the very least, would be dead tonight?" Lupin countered solemnly. While he was scared by how close Harry had come to dying, he was angry that Dumbledore was trying to convince the whole Order that Harry was a small child who needed minding. For five years Dumbledore had been calling the shots and look where it had gotten them. Lupin wasn't going to encourage Harry, but he was determined to work with him, not against him.

"That was an error on my part, one which I shall not make again," Dumbledore concluded solemnly.

"May I ask why the Weasleys, Tonks, or I were not informed of the fact that Voldemort would be leading a large scale attack tonight?" Lupin asked angrily. "You thought that by excluding us, you would further exclude Harry? Look where your secrecy and cunning plans have got you! I'm telling you, Albus, you need to work with Harry and build up trust. If he trusted you, then he may listen to you the next time a situation arises. Look, I agree that Harry's safety is of the utmost importance, but there are better methods than confinement."

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their twinkle. "Yes, well, be that as it may, this meeting is dismissed. Kingsley, please stay behind."

After the Order had cleared out, Kingsley asked what Dumbledore wished to talk about.

"Kingsley, I would feel better if you were to stay at Hogwarts for two reasons. The first of which is that you are reported to be one of Voldemort's targets. The second of which is that I want you to follow Harry. You may keep your distance while he is in class, but during his morning exercises and evening exercises, I need you to watch him from under an Invisibility Cloak and figure out what his group of teenagers gets up to. Also, if you believe he is trying to leave the castle, I want you to contact me immediately."

Kingsley digested the assignment slowly. "This seems to be more of Tonk's cup of tea; she's one of our best in the Stealth and Tracking Department, why do you want me to do it?"

"Because I am not quite sure that Tonks will be able to mind Harry without letting Harry see her. You are also an ideal candidate for the job because Voldemort is trying to rid the Ministry of any competent workers. Will you take this assignment?" Dumbledore asked, although his voice made it clear that he was not really 'asking'. "Kingsley, I am not asking you to spy on him. I am asking you to protect him."

"Yeah, I will, but I got a bad feeling about this," Kingsley said grimly.

"When was the last time you had a good feeling about something?"

Two days had passed since Harry's injury and the four Gryffindors and Luna were getting worried. Neville was immensely relieved when he heard that his grandmother would make a full recovery, but Harry was still unconscious. His wounds had healed and Fawkes had taken to spending time near him when his five friends couldn't, so Harry was always guarded. Ginny had been keeping an eye out for a certain blonde haired git on the Marauder's Map, but so far she hadn't seen him, which meant that he either was expelled or he'd been smuggled out. She meant to question Dumbledore as soon as she got a chance to.

Dumbledore wasn't the only one the group meant to question, but they had decided that when Harry woke up they would not question him immediately. Well, the truth was that Ginny had decided that and made Hermione promise not to pester him with questions.

Today was a Saturday and Ginny was curled up in a chair next to his bed writing her Potions essay. Suddenly she heard a very faint groan, which she chalked up to her imagination. It came again a few seconds later.

"G-gin…ny," she heard someone say in a dry, pained voice. She immediately jumped up, dislodging her Potions essay, and stood over Harry. The first thing that she noticed was that she could see two twin orbs of emerald green.

"Harry!" she squealed in delight, ready to smother him in a hug. She stopped when she realized that he might not want a reminder of his injuries. "How are you feeling?" she asked kindly, quickly fetching a glass of water.

"Fine," he muttered softly. As Ginny gently helped him drink the water, he murmured a 'thank you'. Harry saw Ginny's disbelieving expression and added, "Well, it hurts to talk and I feel weak. OWW! And, uh, my arm hurts when I move it, but it's not as bad as it was… how long have I been here?"

"Two and a half days," Ginny responded simply. "They said your arm would stop aching in a few days. Snape came up with a plan to mend it, which seems to be working. I guess I can't hug you until then."

"You can kiss me though… wait, what? Snape?" Harry said disbelievingly.

"Uh, yeah, do you remember what you looked like when you came here?" Ginny asked carefully.

Harry groaned, lost in memories of having his flesh eaten away. "Yeah."

"Well, no one knew what to do, but Snape, who has a lot of experience with Dark Arts, said that they needed to petrify you, peel of your, erm, outer layer, put some smelly potion directly on to the exposed wound, and then use phoenix tears to rebuild the skin of that area. They wouldn't let me watch, but it seems to have worked. Fawkes took almost a whole night to fully heal the area," Ginny informed him.

Harry made a mental note to thank Fawkes. That was twice the bird had healed him. "Well, I guess I ought to give Snape a thank-you card…" he muttered. "You smell good, Ginny," he said with a grin on his face.

"And you smell like the Hospital Wing, but I suppose I can kiss you regardless," Ginny replied impishly, moving her lips closer to his face. She slowly connected them with Harry's and kissed them gently. He responded by kissing her back passionately and Ginny couldn't help herself; she deepened the kiss, tasting his mouth with her tongue, basking in the person who she thought she had lost. Suddenly she pulled back, breathing heavily, a tear in her eye.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked gently.

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong… when you left and didn't come back until nearly midnight, do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought I would never get to hold you again. And then, when you do get back, you go unconscious for two bloody days," she said angrily, jabbing her finger into Harry's chest. Her face then grew sad and tears trickled down her cheeks. "And what's worse is that I know you will go off and do it again sooner or later. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"I'm sorry, Ginny, I really am. I wish it could be different; I wish that I could just concentrate on you all day long. But that's not possible and you know why. How about this, I promise not to leave you behind again? I think that by Christmas we will have trained enough for our group to work together," Harry said, his hand gripping hers tightly. "And you won't ever lose me. Ever. You mean the world to me; nothing is more important to me," Harry said affectionately, his thumb rubbing circles on Ginny's palm.

Ginny sighed; a furious debate raging in her mind. You need to tell him, Ginevra Molly Weasley! said one voice. Another voice countered, Well what if he doesn't fell the same way, then you will have ruined everything! You need to wait until he tells you! Ginny looked at him, his words echoing in her mind. You mean the world to me; nothing is more important to me. Ginny looked down; she just wouldn't be able to handle it if Harry didn't reciprocate her statement. She thought that Harry may love her, but that wasn't enough. She calmed herself, telling herself that there would always be another time to tell him, perhaps after his feelings became clearer to her. She wanted desperately to tell him how much she felt for him at the top of her voice, but a nagging feeling in her stomach was telling her that what she had right now was not worth risking.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You're awake," she said.

"Not for much longer. Sorry, but my eyes are getting droopy."

"Go back to sleep, Harry. I'll stay here with you," she said.

Ginny lay down next to him and snuggled into him, loosing herself in the reassuring warmth of his body. She gently stroked his hair, careful not to put pressure on his left side, and hummed softly and soothingly.

Harry wrapped his good arm around her and pulled her closer, so that her head was resting on his shoulder. His last thought before falling into the comfortable realm of sleep was that her red hair felt like a soft silky blanket and smelt like wildflowers.

Nearly two hours later he was woken up by a familiar voice shouting "Oi!" Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Bugger," he muttered, waking up Ginny.

Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna burst into the Hospital Wing, observing Harry and Ginny lying together in the same bed. Ginny turned red and sat up but did not move away from Harry.

"Umm glad to see you're ok, mate, you had us worried. You two, ah, had better split apart now," Ron said uneasily.

Ginny glared at her brother, not believing that he chose this moment to be an overprotective git. She had thought that problem was solved over the summer.

"No, no… it's not that. Mum's coming to visit."

"Bugger," Ginny mumbled, getting up and quickly straightening her hair. Her mum was horribly old fashioned about this type of thing. During their last 'talk' Ginny had barely persuaded her to allow them to kiss, let alone be in the same bed.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Hermione asked concernedly.

"I've been better, but they say I'll be fine in a few days. The left side of my body hurts when I move it or when something touches it." Harry heard footsteps and quickly added, "Listen, I'll tell you guys about it after-"

"Harry-dear!" beamed Mrs. Weasley, who was followed in by the twins, Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks. "We're so glad you're better." Luckily for Harry, she didn't give him a bone-crushing "Weasley hug".

Lupin ruffled Harry's hair. "Thank you, Harry, you don't know how grateful we are to have you."

"Yeah, you got us out of a right pickle that day-"

"Tonks!" Mrs. Weasley scolded, looking around at the children as if she didn't want them to here a word of "Order business".

Tonks winked at Harry and continued, "Glad to have you back with us."

After they all chatted a bit about light events, Harry decided that he had a few questions to get out. "So was anyone else hurt? What happened?"

Lupin took the initiative, saying, "What happened was that Dumbledore took twenty-four Order of the Phoenix members-"

Mrs. Weasley sparked up, yelling, "Remus! They are children, they must not be told-"

Harry groaned, muttering an obscenity under his breath that Mrs. Weasley luckily didn't hear. "We can talk about it later, Moony."

"That we will do, Harry," Lupin said firmly. "However, the general gist was that your relatives were killed before Dumbledore arrived at the graveyard. Dumbledore knew then that the graveyard was just a hoax to get the Order out of the way so he could attack the Madam Bones and Mrs. Longbottom. Dumbledore led the Order into Madam Bones's house and saved her, but Voldemort clamped them inside of the property. Dumbledore dismantled his wards, but Voldemort kept putting them up as Dumbledore fought them. While the Order was stuck there, the Death Eaters led an attack on the Longbottom House, which you saw, and various other attacks on Muggles. I'm telling you this because I no longer believe that following Dumbledore will win the war."

Mrs. Weasley looked shocked, but then Harry had an idea. "What about Malfoy? I haven't seen him on the map."

"You mean Draco Malfoy? What about him?" Mrs. Weasley said, confusedly.

Harry guessed that Dumbledore hadn't told them, but it still shocked him nonetheless. Her daughter had been assaulted and he didn't see fit to inform her mother? Harry wasn't feeling very charitable to the headmaster and he figured that setting Mrs. Weasley on him would be a fair punishment. "Well, you see, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny was assaulted by Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle about two weeks ago and he tried to… make an advance." Harry ignored the gasps all around the room and he plowed on, "I got to Malfoy before he could go through with it and erm, well, I stopped him. When we told Dumbledore about this, do you know what he did?"

Harry shot Ginny a look, asking her to play along and let her mother squeeze her extremely tightly. "He refused to expel Malfoy and he very nearly punished me for saving Ginny. I got angry and let it slip that he was a Death-Eater-in-training and the other professors tried to make him see reason, but instead he swore them to secrecy and he swept the whole thing under the rug."

"He WHAT?" shouted Mr. Weasley, who Harry noticed was rather scary when he was mad. "Are you serious, Harry? Is all of this true? I believe you, it's just that if you are correct, I am one step away from leaving the Order of the Phoenix."

"He's telling the truth, Dad," Ginny said simply.

"Ginny, you mean he really tried to…"

Ginny nodded solemnly.

"And he has just disappeared from Hogwarts?" Lupin asked concernedly.

"Yeah, he isn't on the map," Harry said. "We need to ask Dumbledore about it as soon as he comes. Something isn't right."

Fred looked at his mother and mumbled, "Oh, some of us will do more than asking…"

George looked at his father and mumbled, "More like pound him until he answers…"

"Boys!" Mr. Weasley said sternly. "Well, Harry, I offer you my thanks for assisting my daughter. She couldn't possibly do any better."

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley. There is no better than your daughter."

Mr. Weasley glared at the twins, silencing their retching noises. "We should probably give you and your friends some time alone. Plus I believe we all have a lot to think about."

Mrs. Weasley kissed Harry on the cheek and left. The twins hung back. "When you see Malfoy, shove one of these down his throat, okay? We won't let the fact that we no longer go to Hogwarts stop us from doing our brotherly duty," they said with evil grins across their faces. "Seriously, Harry… give that git two extra thrashings from each of us."

Harry nodded to them and congratulated them on their acceptance into the Order. After they left, Lupin told him and his friends the full story of what had gone on during the Order meeting.

"Thanks Moony, it really means a lot to me that you're not siding with Dumbledore on this," Harry said in response to hearing about Lupin arguing with Dumbledore.

"Harry, when you told me about your plans for the summer, you gave me a tough decision. I decided to trust you and I have not once regretted my decision. My only advice to you is to keep your friends close, they bring out the best in you and you bring out the best in them. Last year, after the fiasco in the Department of Mysteries, I knew then that the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore did not have the ability to win the war. I believe that you, Harry, and your friends, with the assistance of the Order, will win the war. This is where Dumbledore and I disagree and will continue to disagree until he decides to see reason," Lupin said loyally and strongly.

Harry gave Lupin a hug, truly touched by the man's words. "Thanks Moony. Can I call you Uncle Moony?" Harry asked with a light smile.

"Of course, Harry," he beamed, ruffling Harry's messy hair. "Just make sure to get to work on you Animagus training, so that we can have a nickname for you."

"I'll make sure to do that," Harry lied, feeling a little bit guilty about his white lie, but he didn't want to tell his friends about that yet.

Tonks gave him a hug, thanking him for saving their arses, and was about to leave. However, Harry had something he had been meaning to ask.

"Hey, Tonks, you know how you taught me Martial Arts over the summer?" Harry asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well, we were wondering if you could, uh, teach us here at Hogwarts once in a while. I've been teaching them, but it's hard to teach and I've only had a summer of it. We've gotten some of the basic moves and sparring techniques down, but I don't know how to progress from there."

Tonks thought it over for about a minute and then replied, "Yeah, I can do that. How about on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?"

"Perfect," Harry said happily. "Uh… I was thinking we could do it in the Room of Requirement and you could take a Portkey there. That way Dumbledore shouldn't find out. I'll make a Portkey and leave it in You-Know-Where, okay?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Tonks replied before she left. "Well, I'm off to go see Remus."

Harry sighed and lay back in bed. So far he had ticked off the Weasleys towards Dumbledore, told Ginny he loved her, grown closer to one of his parent's best friends, and was now arranging to train right under Dumbledore's nose. Not to mention he still had to tell his friends about what happened. On the other hand, his arm was throbbing painfully and he knew that as soon as his friends left him alone, nothing would be there to distract him from dealing with his thoughts about the attack.

"Harry, I wanted to thank you for saving Gran," Neville said kindly. "If you hadn't been there… Merlin, I owe you so much…"

"No problem, Neville. Listen, you don't owe me anything; you would have done the same for me if you could," Harry said sincerely. Neville looked very unconvinced, so Harry continued, "Believe me, Neville, you've already done a lot for me, since last year. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Th-Thanks," he stammered.

"So… I guess I'll explain what happened then, like I promised…"

Harry explained about how he thought the Order would be attacked at the graveyard and how Snape had been given the wrong information. Leaving his flame travel, he launched into a brief description of the fight, mainly to show them how dangerous fighting can be and why they needed to train hard. "…and I think that by Christmas you lot will be trained enough to come with me if you want. I'm sorry for shutting you guys out, but I believe it was the right thing to do and not to let you guys come."

Hermione spoke up first. "Thanks for explaining, Harry, I know that was hard to do. I know I have been kind of, well, nosy about what you were up to over the summer-"

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't annoyed you did things like try to persuade Ginny to force me to talk about Sirius, but looking back on it, you did it for the right reasons. There's nothing to forgive. However, you have probably guessed that I'm still holdings things back…"

"It's okay… really it is. Over the summer, we just didn't… well, we didn't trust that you were thinking straight. Now we know how serious the situation is and we understand that you have to do some things in secret. How about you just tell us as much as you can and we'll take it from there?" She was still curious about Harry, but she felt bad for concocting various schemes to try to get information from him.

Harry looked around the room, employing just a smidgeon of Legilimency to gauge everyone's moods. He was astounded by the feelings of loyalty, friendship, and understanding that flooded his mind. Harry couldn't help but break out in a smile. He had missed his friends over the summer and he had expected their relationships to be rocky and awkward once school started. What he hadn't expected was for his friends to grow up just like he had and accept the 'new Harry'. "You know, you guys are the best friends a bloke could ask for," he mumbled emotionally.

"What can I say… I guess we just got tired of being prats?" Ron said jokingly.

"No you're still a prat," Harry mumbled. "That won't ever change."

&Q&$Q(#&&$(&Q#&$(Q&#Q&#$&Q#

A/N: So… sorry about the long update time, but I had some issues at work, blah blah blah. Anyway, tell me what you think, did you like the action? How about do you think Snape should be trusted? Someone told me not to respond to reviews in my chapter, can anyone confirm if that gets your chapter deleted, or is simply frowned upon? Anyway, I'll just try to respond to you in a PM if you ask a question or leave a comment. To all those who reviewed so far, a huge thank you. I'll try and get another chapter to you soon, hopefully before New Years. Have a great holiday break, blah blah blah.