Title: Haven
Rating: This is R – Do Not Read if you are NOT mature enough.
Pairing: Harry/Draco
WARNING: SLASH. This warning is here for a reason. If you don't like slash, please don't read this and do yourself and me a favour. Flames are not worth my time.
Summary: Harry gets Caught. Raped. Beaten. Abused. Goes insane…and gets rescued. How will his friends cope with Harry? How will Harry cope with Harry? Especially when he meets his old captors again…
Disclaimer: Technically I own everything, but I let others think differently for my own amusement…(I hope you realise that was my lame attempt at humour…)
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay…but I had no computer access all summer so I had to type up everything…enjoy!
REVIEWS: My deepest thanks to the people who kept reviewing throughout the summer…it means a lot to me that you keep reviewing, even when you know there's not going to be another chapter for a while. Thank you.
xxxxxxxxxx
Chapter Eight: The Deep End of the Ocean
Harry stared at his fingers. It was like they were part of him, but not really. Flexing them, he winced when they cracked and looked at the slumbering werewolf at the foot of his bed. Deep lines marred the young face of his former Defence professor and there was a tightening in Harry's stomach.
He coughed and winced at the harsh sound. A grimace stole across his face as the window reflected the bag of bones he currently inhabited. A finger stole upwards and pointed at the glass on the desk. Harry's eyes momentarily widened and then the glass had materialised in his hand. There was no noise, no movement to be seen, no words uttered. It was just there, and Harry took a slow sip.
At times the things he saw were hard to shut out. The colours he had gotten used to, but sometimes the brilliance still astounded him. The voices he heard occasionally were harder to deal with, and it had taken a lot of convincing to make sure they weren't in his head, but actually part of the real world. The strange creatures he caught sight of sometimes he hadn't dared to approach, he was too weak anyhow should they attack.
He tried to move a leg and glared in frustration at the offending appendage when it wouldn't move. Forcing his entire will towards it, he tried again, and looked grimly satisfied as he slowly moved off the bed. He wasn't a complete cripple, yet…and he had spent far too many days in a hospital bed for his liking.
"Harry…"
Harry whirled to look at the werewolf, whose yellow eyes were now regarding him with suspicion.
"Where are you going?"
Harry cocked his head.
"Out."
Remus looked as if he was going to protest, but suddenly clutched his throat in confusion.
"Sorry Moony."
And then Harry was gliding out the door and through the carefully warded house towards outside.
xxxxxxxxxx
"Sometimes, Molly, you really go to far, and I must honestly put my foot down this time."
Molly Weasley gave her husband an unimpressed look.
"Arthur, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Her husband blustered a little, and rubbed his hands together as his eyes cast about for an object to fix his attention on besides his wife.
"You can't...inviting that werewolf round now that he's been as good as kicked out of the Order just isn't done. I know you're fond of your charity cases but Dumbledore says-"
By the time Arthur had realised what he had said the damage was done, and Molly Weasley was giving him her most severe chastising glare.
"ARTHUR WEASLEY! Remus Lupin has always been welcome in this house, and he will remain welcome, irrelevant of whatever you and Albus think of it! Honestly!"
Her husband cowered and nodded silently.
"But Molly...what with Harry's disappearance and all..."
"Harry's disappearance? HARRY'S DISAPPEARANCE?"
Arthur shrank again.
"Not so loud, love. Very confidential this, Albus has only let me know this morning.
Apparently Harry has disappeared from his private ward in St. Mungo's. Lucius Malfoy was there that day with his son, and apparently Percy was there as well, visiting Oliver Wood. The healer says he can't remember anything special happening, but then again, it IS Harry." He trailed off with a worried look, and Molly's heart went out to him, but she remained strong.
"I think you're going to have to sit down and tell me everything, Arthur. I can't BELIEVE you've been hiding things from me..."
"Not...eh, hiding...holding back?"
His wife glanced at him sternly and pointed to the chair beside her.
"Begin."
xxxxxxxxxx
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, I demand you come out of your room AT ONCE."
The door stared back at her.
"NOW. DO YOU HEAR ME? IF I HAVE TO WRITE TO YOUR FATHER SO HELP ME MERLIN-"
"Pans..."
Blaise flinched as Pansy turned on her heel and glared at him.
"What?"
"He's not in there."
The blonde Slytherin put her hands on her hips.
"What do you mean, not in there, he's been hiding out in his room all week. Ever since he came back from that blasted hospital trip..."
"Well he's not in there now," Blaise reiterated and Pansy nodded.
"I'm just worried."
Blaise nodded and faded back into the shadows, Pansy slowly following.
xxxxxxxxxx
Draco, as it happened, was in the library, eyes fixed on the small group huddled around a table in the darkest corner of the dimly lit room. He craned his neck, scanning the titles of the dusty tomes piled high. A frown crossed his face.
'101 on Psychology'
'A foray into the Human Mind'
Draco smoothed his face over, but behind his eyes, wheels were turning. Psychology, study of the psyche. That seemed to fit exactly with the memories Draco had been uncovering the entire week. He didn't understand why everything was so blurry, but he'd been at the hospital, so something must have happened to him there. His feet had carried him out of his room this evening, and now they seemed insistent on moving him towards the small group.
Grinding his teeth, he back-pedalled out of the room, forcing himself to walk towards the Great Hall for dinner. As the doors opened, he paused, a king regarding his subjects with the intensity of a chess-player. The queen was missing.
Potter had been a buffer for him, a subject to focus his attention on. Now, the buffer gone, the queen toppled, Draco felt as if he had been check-mated.
Why he cast Harry as the queen instead of the opposing king wasn't something he wanted to examine further at this time. Realising he was starting to garner funny looks, he sneered once for good measure and strode towards the Slytherin table.
Things didn't feel quite right…but he refused to entertain the thought that Harry Potter was such an integral part of his life. It was ridiculous. It wasn't like he missed Potter. Especially the condition he'd last seen him in, covered in snot and blood and speaking like his…Draco bit down on his lip. Hard.
And yet…and yet…there was something rotten in Hogwarts without Harry Potter. The Hufflepuffs stared morosely at their food, the bolder ones glancing down the lengths of the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw tables.
Gryffindor looked dead. It was disconcerting to see the liveliest table looking so desolate. Usually anything that took the wind out of the lions' sails made Draco happy but he found no real joy in looking at the stony faces of the former favourites. There was not one smile amongst them, not even anguish or despair. Just blank looks, staring into space. It gave him chills.
When Ron and Hermione entered with Hannah dragging her feet behind them, a few of the people looked up and alternately drew comfort from seeing Harry's friends, or despair from seeing them without Harry Potter.
Draco stared at them indifferently, only raising an eyebrow when he saw the actual space between the mud blood and the weasel. He moved his tongue as if tasting something bitter before righting his back and focusing on his food.
xxxxxxxxxx
Harry sat cross-legged in front of a large brown oak. His back was ram rod straight. Breathing in deeply, his eyes closed, various expressions chased across his face. He clenched his hands and relaxed them instantly, trying to gain some rhythm.
"Mudblood!"
"Look at you - you're pathetic!"
"Your parents would roll over in their graves! Death Eater whore!"
Tears leaked out from beneath closed eye-lids. The voices of his captors resounded in his head, assaulting him from all sides, sinking their fangs into him, ripping him apart.
The boy swayed with the cold wind that came through the trees announcing the end of Summer. He splayed his hands on the bark, moulding his palm to the rough surface.
"Little acorn…your roots have been torn from the earth. You must find your anchor."
Remus and Percy bit back screams as they saw Harry's body almost meld into the tree, his black strands fading into brown leaves, the pieces swirling around him as branches curled themselves out to lift him up.
"DO something!", Percy shrieked, "his stitches!"
Remus drew his wand but hesitated. Harry's leg was dangling down, resting his back against a thick branch, the oak cradling him.
"Stitches!", Percy urged again but Remus was rooted to the spot as Harry stood and walked down the branches, which formed a wooden staircase to the ground. When the forest prince's feet touched the earth, Percy rushed forward, fussing over him and ushering him back into the house. Harry let himself be lead, whilst Remus gazed around before following them, bolting the door behind him.
xxxxxxxxxx
"You may go Mr. Wood", the nurse batted her eyelashes at him. He rolled his eyes and his lip curled. He gave a curt nod and hobbled out the door on his crutches, knowing that it would take at
least four to six weeks of physiotherapy.
As he hobbled towards the port key point, he thought he ought to pay Percy Weasley a visit one of these days, to thank him for stopping by. He picked up the Evening Hex on his way out, staring at the headline.
"HARRY POTTER DISAPPEARED FROM ST. MUNGO'S!"
Oliver quickly skimmed the article, picking out sentences here and there.
'Captured by Death Eaters'
'Top secret St. Mungo's ward'
'Mystery concerning disappearance'
'Ministry investigation into Healers'
The keeper's mind went back to the screaming, the medi-witch who had pushed him away, Remus Lupin tagging along with Percy, Malfoy's strange visit…and his strategic mind slotted everything into place.
Determined, he hobbled even faster, anxious to get to somewhere where he could get answers.
xxxxxxxxxx
"How did this get out!", a furious Dumbledore shook the paper in the faces of his staff. A few looked at the wizard uneasily, no one had seen him lose his temper that spectacularly before.
"Rita Skeeter…"
"Rita Skeeter is no longer a problem for us! This must have been leaked from the inside!"
His eyes bored into all the teachers who squirmed in their seats. Rubbing his face wearily, Dumbledore sagged down. Minerva McGonagall narrowed her eyes.
"Albus why does it matter so much that the information has leaked out? Isn't it beneficial to us? This way the public is on the look out for Harry, and we should be able to locate him all the quicker--"
"--if he isn't dead"
Everyone glared at the Potion's Master, who sneered.
"It's a possibility!"
"That would depend on who would have him, Severus", Albus interjected with his once again calm tones. "We can only hope that Harry is safe, and left the hospital on his own accord, something which was undoubtedly foolish, but would set my mind at ease."
Everybody shifted and muttered. Harry Potter had been in no condition to walk out of the room by himself. He must have been taken by someone. Glances were traded, and words were mouthed. Remus kept himself to himself in the corner, hoping his expression of utmost anxiety would allow him to pass through the scrutiny of Albus Dumbledore's laser eyes.
Feeling someone staring at him insistently he turned to find Arthur Weasley gazing over suspiciously. He didn't linger, but turned his back to the wizard, swallowing. The distrust was radiating off the red haired man…his werewolf senses were on high alert.
Physically, Harry was recovering well. His eating patterns had regulated, and whilst he didn't take in nearly as much as Percy and Remus desired, they could hardly see his ribs anymore.
His mind, however, was a different story. Remus was clueless where to start trying to heal all the broken links in Harry's mind. Harry remembered, for the most part, everything that had occurred, but at the same time, he could be someone completely different than the Harry they knew. It was confusing, and scary, and Remus was at his wit's end.
The suspicion of a few of the Order members didn't help either, and Remus cursed himself for his rash words at the beginning…yet he knew he would do exactly the same thing again, if need be. Albus was not infallible, but now with Harry 'gone' people were looking even more to a strong leader figure.
Remus' eyes rested on the old wizard and snorted. He would pick Harry, broken as he was, over Albus Dumbledore any day.
Glancing at his watch, he growled, seeing there was no time for him to intercept Hermione and Ron and speak to them without Arthur getting even more suspicious. Lagging behind as the headmaster dismissed the group, he tried to head off to the Great Hall, when a shadow fell across his path.
Sybill Trelawney studied him for a moment, before glancing around. Many people had already apparate away, but in the distance Arthur Weasley was waiting for Remus to catch up with him.
"Remus Lupin", her misty voice came out, "I have seen great trouble ahead in the coming days…would you like to discuss it in my classroom?"
The werewolf could only stare at her, as it seemed the Divination professor had just gotten stranger. However, there was a steely look in her eyes that made Remus wonder whether there wasn't something more going on. Besides, with an irate Arthur Weasley waiting to interrogate him on one end, and a crazy wannabe seer on the other, he'd go with Sybill. In a heartbeat.
"Sure! I'd be happy to…"
She nodded and lead him past the Minister, who could only glare as Remus threw him a sweet
smile.
As they neared the classroom, Remus grew apprehensive. What was it exactly that Sybill had 'seen', if anything? Had she heard something? Had someone approached her about Harry? What on earth could possess her to approach him and shy away from her hermit-like existence up in the North Tower?
Mystified, he followed her up the ladder, and stood at the edge of the benches, whilst she strode over to another door. Turning, she motioned him over, and Remus Lupin found himself passing through to a spacious apartment, that appeared a whole lot cleaner and less…Sybill, then the classroom.
There was no incense burning here, and a window was open to let in lots of sunlight, which really brightened up the place. A couch with many cushions was in the middle of the room, with a black marble coffee table, and to his surprise there was an easel with a half-finished painting on it in one corner. The biggest shock however, was when Remus Lupin spotted a Montrose Magpies poster on the wall, and he gaped at it openly.
Sybill came in from the kitchen at the back, carrying two mugs of tea. She giggled as she saw Remus Lupin with his mouth open.
"My favourite team. Oliver Wood is a good boy, one of my best. I thought it was only fair."
He turned to her now, and had to stop his eyes from popping out of his head. Gone were the glasses that gave her the bug-like appearance, gone was the shawl and the voluminous skirts. Instead, Sybill Trelawney was wearing jeans and a sweater, her bushy hair tied in a bun, a friendly smile on her face.
"Not quite what you were expecting, Lupin?"
Her voice seemed a good deal less misty as well, and the werewolf sat down in shock.
"Y…you…but…what…how…I…you…"
The Divination teacher laughed, a pleasant sound and came forward, sitting down on the other side of the couch.
"You of all people, Lupin, should know that one isn't always what they seem."
Her face darkened and the easy smile she had given him disappeared. Her eyes were focused on her mug, which was clutched tightly between both hands.
"I'm not lying though…", her sharp eyes focused on him, "…I really have seen trouble coming in the next few weeks."
Remus took a slow sip.
"Sybill…may I call you Sybill? I must admit…I AM surprised…how…why maintain the air of a fraud then if you really have the gift? Why pretend and wear all the clothes and act all…misty?"
A flash of anger shot across her face but she calmed herself by inhaling deeply.
"I don't have the gift…well…it's complicated. You know my great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney?"
Remus nodded, Minerva had always remarked what a pity it was Sybill was not more like her ancestor.
"She was a genuine seer, a pure blood witch, stunning, brilliant, gifted. But although I don't support You-Know-Who at all, he does have a point about pure bloods. A true seer is rare, and although the gift has been in our family for many generations, my great-grandmother married a muggle, and the gift weakened. My mother in turn, married a muggleborn wizard and the gift weakened again. I have three older brothers, and because of that, the blood has diluted…our gift is lost to us now. Only sometimes do I get snatches of visions, or manage to make prophecies, but it is very rare. The techniques I teach the children are the correct ones…if any of them has true seer potential, it WILL work for them and appear during the lessons. However, I can't control what little bit of the Trelawney gift I have. Sometimes I hear things, glance at a mirror, or look at a rain puddle…"
She trailed off and hesitantly gazed at the surface of her tea, as if afraid to see something, but desperately wanting to.
Remus stared at her in fascination. Never had he thought that Sybill Trelawney was anything other than the crazy fraud who taught Divinations…but it seemed she was much more than that.
"What…why the act, though?"
Sybill glanced at him, as if weighing her options.
"I may not have much of a gift, but like I said, I HAVE made two prophecies…of which both have come true…and both have to do with the Dark Lord. It would not do for me to be captured, because of what I know…or could know. I don't remember making the prophecies, but I have heard them since…and they frighten me, Remus."
Remus felt sorry for the girl sitting at the other end of the couch. He barely knew her, couldn't remember at all whether she had ever been at Hogwarts with him, but he knew what it was like to carry a burden.
"Hey," he said softly, "it'll be all right."
She gave him a tremulous smile, and both sat in silence, lost in thought. Remus drained his cup and put it on the table, rubbing his hands on his trousers.
"Well, I…"
"Oh!" Sybill interrupted, holding out her hand as if to stop him. "I completely forgot why I brought you up here…I have recently seen something…" her voice grew misty, and Remus raised and eyebrow.
She grinned sheepishly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then her face turned serious again.
"I was scrying in the hope to find something, ANYTHING to aid us in the war, ever since I heard about Harry and his injuries."
Remus growled slightly, but Sybill shook her head.
"No, you misunderstand. I was not looking for a replacement or way to pass over Harry…I was trying to find a solution…help, or anything that could bring us closer to You-Know-Who's plans."
Remus waited with bated breath.
"Well," he said eventually, when it seemed Sybill had lost herself in her memories, "what did you see?"
"I…I don't see concrete things…just -"
"Yes yes, flashes", Remus gestured impatiently, "you've said, but what about HARRY?"
"His…his pain isn't going away. He is not healing. He will not heal, either…maybe not ever. Inside of him…it's dark…he's changing. There are things in his head no mortal should know…he holds the power to become the best the world has ever seen…or the worst…"
"Best? Worst?" Remus was leaning forward, intent on catching every detail.
The Divination professor shrugged.
"I…I didn't see much. It was more a feeling…of…despair. A scream that called to me. I knew it was Harry…I know his magical signature. He does…he does exceptionally well in class. Shows a real talent for the subject, no matter how much he detests it."
Remus settled back in his seat and ruminated on the information.
"You think Harry has potential as a seer?" he asked finally, looking at her.
She shrugged.
"What doesn't Harry have potential as? He has always been powerful, but now that his mind is broken, his power is wild, free…he…he doesn't need a wand, because wands act as channels for wizards to focus their magic through. Harry doesn't need to channel his magic…Harry is magic. But he is a boy, with a broken mind…who knows what he may do."
It was silent for a long time.
"I fear for him, Remus. Someone needs to get through to him, before he fades away even more…before he BECOMES part of the magic that encompasses him."
The werewolf stared at her, his face a mask of horror. His shoulders sagged and his hands trembled
on his knees.
"No…no, Merlin, not my Harry…not my Harry", he whispered softly to himself. Sybill quietly left him there, returning moments later with a steaming mug of tea. Remus looked at her gratefully.
"Thank you."
She smiled.
"Tea takes away most troubles."
Remus have her a smile, but both knew his heart wasn't in it. Raising his amber eyes to the teacher, he put the mug on the table and took her hands in his.
"Sybill…please, please help me. Help me help Harry…I…I don't know what to do anymore. We…we were the one who took him. He couldn't stay in that hospital, it was killing him, but…he doesn't seem to be getting better. His wounds are healing, but he himself is not, and Percy and I…can I
trust you with this, Sybill?"
His amber eyes glowed and see could see the werewolf in their depths. Quickly she nodded, but he squeezed her hands, almost painfully so.
"Can I? Because I cannot trust Dumbledore, who wants to send Harry to an orphanage if he doesn't recover -"
"NO!" Sybill leapt backwards and clasped her hands over her mouth, shaking her head so furiously that many strands of her hair came undone.
"That…that would kill him. He cannot live in isolation now…though he craves it. It would destroy him."
"Tell your beloved headmaster that", Remus snarled as he stood up. She glared at him.
"Don't speak ill about Albus Dumbledore! He took me in when he didn't have to, he SAVED me from a life of begging and reading cheap fortunes…he saved me from myself! Do you know what he goes through? The decisions he makes? Could you make them, in his place? The things necessary to save the wizarding world? The things necessary to keep the peace? Could you?"
She got right up in his face and he stepped back, staring at her.
"At the price of an innocent child? No…no I don't think I'd be that great, or omnipotent…or arrogant. I would rather fight for Harry, than for the rest of this miserable world who expect a mere child do to miraculous feats. No, I am no Albus Dumbledore. And thank god for that. Thank god for that…"
He nodded stiffly at her, and strode out of the room, down the trapdoor, ignoring her calling his name.
xxxxxxxxxx
