I've noticed something. A lot of you seem to think because I don't update every other day, I'm on the verge of discontinuing this or something.
God damn it, don't you ever check an author's profile when you're wondering about their update speed? I state clearly in my profile: exams. Look, I don't have a lot of free time people.
Finally a chapter that is almost all LightningHunter- I wrote it, using Quatreastrophe's ideas for what would happen.
I go through the entire OWLS in this, they get skipped over, but really, you guys don't want to see turning animals into furniture and levitating random bits of junks.
Oh, and there's also a brief interval during the OWLs, a free day for Harry, except that he ends up having to spend the day with ...Sirius Black...and kids. Yes. You read that right.
Final Note: This is the first chapter in the fic to contain profanity. Well, my version of the fic is rated Teen. Oh, and there's some slight adult themes, thanks to Sirius.
Chapter X - Finding the Answers
A week had passed since Harry's breakdown. Since then, he had still been fearing that he was about to emotionally collapse.
The suspense was killing him, almost literally. Who was this person that they sought, this one who was being weakened by Harry's pain.
Harry could not even stand to be in the same room as his "family." James and Lily, although they wanted to find an alternative to Harry's pain, still felt that it was more important to weaken some other. Even though it was weakening Harry as well.
Hayden was still probably scared of Harry, and judging by the state Oriana found him in, she most likely was as well.
Harry had fallen into a simple routine. Wake. Work out. Shower. Breakfast. Read. Lunch. Read. Dinner. Read. Sleep. Wake- and it continued.
By waking at five, and turning in at eleven, and starting to spend far too many hours in the house, (there were sometimes a few half-hearted attempts by his siblings to get him outside to play a bit of Quidditch, but Harry always shot them down) Harry had developed dark circles around his eyes, plus paler skin.
Harry snorted to himself. In poor light, he'd probably look a bit like Mervin.
However, his breakdown had done one thing for him. That anger had been replaced with a cold maturity. Harry was fully aware shouting or screaming wouldn't do anything for him.
A sharp tapping at the door broke him out of his routine.
"Harry?" It was Lily. "Are you ready yet?"
The first day of OWL testing was already there. Harry didn't even know why he cared, studying for these pointless exams.
Ah yes, now he remembered. Studying was the only thing that had kept him busy, the only thing that had stopped going insane over the past few days.
Harry grabbed a coat, before opening the door and striding past his mother without sparing her a word or glance as he walked downstairs to the Floo, stopping only to adjust his bandana.
Moments later, Harry, James and Lily were in the Ministry of Magic, the latter two brushing ash off their robes, Harry neither caring nor wearing robes, opting for ordinary clothes.
After receiving a wand-check, and an elevator ride, Harry found himself in a fairly large room, with a few desks and chairs set up.
The examiner, a fairly bored-looking middle aged man, reminded Harry on his exam timetable.
"Muggle Studies and Charms today, Herbology and Transfiguration tomorrow. You will then be a given a free day, for you will have three exams the day after, Ancient Runes, Astronomy and Defence Against the Dark Arts," said the examiner dully. "The Muggle Studies exam composes of a written paper, while the Charms exam includes a practical portion will be supervised by another examiner."
The examiner placed down the paper in front of Harry. "You have ninety minutes for this exam. You may begin."
Harry wrote his name on his answer paper, before looking at his first question...
"Now, I'd like you to conjure a rock, levitate it and spin it around in the air," said the examiner.
Several gruelling hours later, Harry had completed both written papers, and was half-way through his Charms OWL, which seemed to be composed of the same pointless questions his tests at Hogwarts had been made up off.
Harry raised his wand, conjuring a rock wordlessly, as usual. And suddenly, a burst of pain shot up his arm, and he grabbed it, dropping the rock and his wand, wincing in pain.
"Is something the matter?" said the examiner, looking worriedly at Harry. "If you feel ill, Mr Potter, we can take a short break-"
"No, no, I'm fine," said Harry through gritted teeth, picking up his wand and levitating the rock, before starting to spin it.
The pain attacks were getting more and more frequent. It didn't matter, he told himself. All he had to do was wait till he got to Hogwarts, and there were bound to be either some book that could help him, or maybe a magical prodigy who had experience with the mind arts.
"Very well, now, change its colour and enlarge it..." continued the examiner, still looking curiously at Harry.
Fortunately, Harry's resolve forced away the pain for the moment, and he continued the rest of his Charms practical without any more incidents.
Harry had been expecting to see James and Lily, waiting for him. He didn't expect to see Hayden, who was still looking rather nervous.
"What are you doing here?" said Harry, not even bothering to hide his dislike.
"Oriana went to visit a friend, and mum and dad had some sort of meeting," said Hayden, not meeting Harry's eyes. "I've got a Portkey to take us back...do you want to go and get something to eat first?"
"And they trust me to go alone with you?" said Harry, genuinely surprised.
Hayden shook his head. "I wouldn't think so. I reckon we're being watched."
Harry scanned his environment, as discreet as possible. There were many people around, considering it was the Ministry of Magic, but Harry knew there was something out of place. He was actually surprised that Hayden had picked up on it.
"...Isn't this a bit much?" remarked Harry, as the two headed over to the Floo points.
Hayden shrugged. "Yeah, but there could be Dark wizards and all, you know..."
"There are?"
"Yeah," said Hayden, amazed that his brother apparently knew nothing about Voldemort. This confirmed Hayden's theory that Dumbledore was keeping Harry in the dark, as it were, but Harry could just be a good actor.
Hayden changed the subject, back to where they should get lunch. "So, Leaky Cauldron?"
Harry shook his head. "How about a Muggle place?" he said, not out of preference, but then it would be easier to tell if they were being watched by wizards.
Less than an hour later, the two were in Central London, sharing a Pizza Hut take-away, and Harry had confirmed to himself that they were being watched. By about four people. Not a problem to get away if all his magic was functioning correctly, but now, Harry knew he most likely was no match for them, and anyway, Harry wouldn't have run away, considering his Elumvian staff was still back at the 'old Potter house'.
He'd rather befriend Hayden than leave his staff behind.
"So, how were your OWLs?" said Hayden, as he finished a slice of pizza.
"Fine," said Harry, as he idly chewed at his slice.
"I heard that you weren't going to be taking an OWL in Potions."
"...So?"
"Well, you won't be escaping Snape that easily," said Hayden, and when Harry raised an eyebrow, Hayden continued. "Dad told me that Snape's going to be taking over DADA for the NEWT class, and I heard you're doing an OWL in that as well."
"Snape? You mean Mervin?"
"Mervin?"
"It's his middle name," said Harry, seeing no harm in informing Hayden of this.
Hayden sniggered. "Great, I finally have a way to get at that bastard for all those years of hell he gave me, not to mention those bastardly Occlumency lessons last year-"
"What?" said Harry. "Did you say Occlumency?"
"Er, yeah..." said Hayden. "Occlumency is stuff like-"
"Defending the mind, I know about it," said Harry hastily. "So, you say Mervin gave you lessons in it? What did he do?"
Hayden snorted. "Lessons my arse. All he did was shout at me, "Clear your mind," and then use that Legilmens spell on me. I don't even know why Dumbledore randomly decided I should have Occlumency lessons..."
"Clear your mind? Something to do with emotions, right?" Harry probed for more information.
"He didn't even explain what clearing your mind meant!" Hayden continued his rant. "Just would go, clear your mind before you go to sleep, hide your memories and emotions, and just repeated that on a regular basis..."
"Sounds terrible," Harry changed the subject, sensing he'd learn no more.
Hayden wolfed down the last slice of pizza. "What'd you reckon?" he managed after he swallowed the last bit of the crust. "Head home, or grab a drink first?"
Harry shrugged, before rubbing his arm. The pain was still there. "You pick," he said, still concerned with his arm.
"You okay?" said Hayden, watching Harry. "You've been rubbing your arm a lot." Apparently, after sharing a pizza, Hayden wasn't as scared of Harry as he had been. Probably would mean that Harry would have to go back to putting the fear into him.
"It's nothing," said Harry.
"Fine, let's find an alley or something," said Hayden, turning around.
"What?" said Harry, still cradling his arm.
"Well, you know," Hayden whispered. "We can't use a Portkey in front of all the Muggles!""Yeah, yeah..."
The two found an empty alley and Portkeyed away, back to the old Potter House.
Once they landed (Harry landing uncomfortably on his back), Harry climbed to his feet and headed to his room. He had already scoured the house for any books that could help him, and so decided he may as well go back to revising for his OWLs.
He picked up a book, but when he felt another jolt of pain surge through his arm, he fell onto his bed, opting to rest until the pain left... he felt tired so much easily nowadays, due to both his magic problem, and that he was catching so many little hours of sleep.
"Oriana, where's Harry?" asked Lily concernedly.
It was now evening, and the Potters were sitting down to Harry. It had fallen into a rota where Oriana was the one to fetch Harry down for meals, and although she had seen his breakdown several days ago, she did so without a word.
"He's asleep," said Oriana. "I..didn't want to wake him."
"I'll just put something in the fridge for him if he wakes and feels hungry," said Lily, as she sat at the table.
The Potters ate in silence. Usually they would talk about something, be it Quidditch, or maybe how their day was like. Now, since Harry was on their minds, none of them could speak up.
Hayden broke the ice. "...Mum, Dad, is Harry like, sick or something? He kept holding his arm like he was in pain or something..."
Lily and James exchanged looks. "I haven't noticed anything," said Lily. "...Oriana, have you noticed anything?"
Oriana squirmed under the gazes she was receiving. "W-Well, nothing much..."
"What's 'nothing much'?" asked James.
"Well..." Oriana gulped, before resolving herself to tell. "A couple of days ago, you know when you asked me to check on Harry to see if he still had concussion...I opened the door and I saw..."
"What happened?" asked Lily, curious to what seemed to have shaken up her daughter so.
"It was Harry...but at the same time...not him." Oriana knew from the faces staring at her, no one understood. "He just seemed so...angry. Insanely angry...he'd punched a dent in the wall."
No one spoke again for the rest of the dinner, wondering what it was that had brought Harry to such anger. However, it hit the parents when Oriana and Hayden had finished and gone upstairs.
"Lily..." said James. "You don't think Harry heard us talking with Pomfrey about-"
"He had concussion, remember?" said Lily, not looking at James, as she waved her wand at the dishes, which began magically cleaning themselves.
"Oh, any fool can fake concussion!" snorted James. "I used to do it all the time, like back in seventh year, you know with the accident and you- er...sorry..." James cut himself off as Lily furiously turned on him, and remembered he'd never told Lily that he'd faked his concussion.
"The point is, what if he did hear?" said James. "Sure, there are loads of other things that it could have been, but you heard Hayden, he's still in pain! Maybe we should just get Dumbledore to undo it-"
"James, you know what'd it mean!" said Lily. "Their attacks are already down by about eighty percent!"
"Yeah, but...I mean, Pomfrey's right. Look at the pain he's going through, it should be our duty as parents to look out for our kids, and-"
"Some of the Order assigned to it have already found something that could help! They're looking into something that'd stop the pain!"
There was a pause. "You're serious?" asked James.
Lily nodded furiously. "Do you think I enjoy Harry's pain, James? It's why I told Dumbledore to put as many on it as he could spare! You see, apparently, his pain looks like a symptom of-"
The two continued their talk in the kitchen, disagreeing on many things, before giving up their conversation.
Harry grabbed his arm, again. The pain seemed to be getting even worse...
"Something the matter?" Fortunately, there was a different examiner.
Harry shook his head and went back to Transfiguring the racoon in front of him. He had of course, already completed his Herbology tests and his Transfiguration written exam.
The pain was starting to become unbearable, and Harry was beginning to fear whether it would start to have more effects. What if the pain stopped his breathing? What if it affected his brain?
Couldn't tell anyone about it, could he?
And he couldn't run away to get help, in his state even the stupidest of wizards could track him down and forcibly bring him back.
Harry winced in pain again as he turned the racoon into a chair and then into a fox. He glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall.
'Only twenty minutes left...come on Harry, stay focused...'
"Will you just come out and say it?" snapped Harry irritably.
It was the morning of the free day. Harry had expected to stick with his routine, and for some reason, Lily and James had called him down and began making various small-talk.
James, the one in the relationship who had no idea of subtle, decided to just come out and say it. "Well, since Oriana and Hayden are going out to see friends, and me and your mother-"
"Your mother and I," corrected Harry.
"Whatever," said James, dismissing the correction. "So, we figured you best be with someone, because you're a teenager and no adult in their right mind would leave a teenager to their own devices."
Lily smacked her forehead with her palm, sighing at her husband's ...attitude.
"...So I'm going to go visit someone or something similar?" said Harry. Something told him it would most likely be a skilled wizard under Dumbledore's thumb, capable of fully tracking him and stealth, not to mention being subtle and intelligent-
"You're going to spend the day with Sirius and his kids."
Harry blinked. He had little memories of Sirius, but he knew the man was anything but subtle and intelligent. Then something James had said came back to him. "Wait...kids?"
"Oh yeah," said James. "I forgot you wouldn't know anything about that. Well, about a year after you uh, well, you know-"
"Vanished? Ran away? Get a move on," said Harry.
"Sirius got married. And a year after that, his wife gave birth to twins, but she died giving birth," said James, a pained expression coming over his face. Apparently this had stirred up sad memories.
"...Wait, twins? There are three of them?"
James nodded cheerfully. "The twins are eight. Orion and Lyra."
"...Please say they're not like Sirius."
James rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, I suppose I could, but then I'd be lying."
"Kill me!" screamed Harry. "Kill me now!"
"Harry! Get back here!" shouted the twins, and Harry continued running.
If he was given the option to stay with these twins, or have his magic stripped away by Dumbledore and becoming Mervin's potion assistant, then he'd say "better check my cauldron isn't rusty."
Sirius chuckled as he read through the Daily Prophet, or more precisely, drawing on the faces of people he didn't like. He'd given Fudge (the former Minister of Magic) a Hitler moustache, as they were now called, and the moving picture didn't seem to be very happy by the massive ink square affixed to its face. Lucius Malfoy had received an even worse treatment that could have him considered to be an Mr.T impersonator.
Sirius chuckled again as he heard another of Harry's cries. The teen was getting so well with Orion and Lyra.
The clock chimed twelve, and Sirius lifted himself out of his armchair. "Lunchtime!" he yelled, causing the twins to stop running after Harry, who sighed in relief, but not when the twins started dragging him to the kitchen.
Contrary to popular belief, Sirius was a reasonably good chef. He'd made it a goal to learn when he'd heard women love guys who can cook.
Within five minutes, Sirius had whipped up lunch, using magic to levitate it over to the dining table, where Orion and Lyra sat either side of Harry, who looked on the verge of having a seizure.
"Smile more Harry!" chirped Lyra, grabbing onto the loose cloth from Harry's bandana.
Angrily, the teen tugged it from her grasp. He could understand that they were children, and admittedly, Harry was more fond of children then he let on, it being his only goal for later life to one day have a family (and certainly not have favourites or neglect any of his kids), but Harry was sure of one thing, and that was no one touched his bandana.
For Harry, that simple navy-blue cloth that was tied around his forehead was sacred property.
Meanwhile, Lyra was busy looking as hurt as she could, trying to make her eyes as big as possible while she made a sad expression on her face.
Orion was doing the same thing, but clearly hadn't mastered it as well as Lyra.
And for some reason, Sirius had joined in, and that was just scary.
"Please Harry," said Lyra, as cutely as possible. "Pleeeeeaase?
"Fine!" growled Harry, as he untied his bandana and handed it to the little brat. "I want that back though."
"Oh, you can have it," said Lyra. "I only asked-"
"because we-" said Orion.
"wanted to-"
"see how-"
"resilient you were-"
"To the incredible persuading powers of the Black Twins!" the two cried out in unison, each thrusting a fist into the air.
Harry slowly took his bandana back, tying it around his forehead as he frantically tried to remain sane.
"So, Harry," said Sirius, now his entertainment had ended. He took a seat opposite of Harry, and the teen realised he was near surrounded. Twins on either side, and Sirius in front. "Do you have a girl?"
"What?" said Harry, unable to comprehend why Sirius was interested.
"Well, do you?" Sirius probed for more information that didn't concern him.
"No."
"...Well, ever got laid?" said Sirius, apparently unconcerned with talking about this in front of his eight-year old twins.
Harry's eyes practically burst from their sockets. "I just turned sixteen not too long ago!"
Sirius frowned. "So you didn't get a specific birthday present that consisted of a Veela, to which you responded with: 'A gift I'll even enjoy unwrapping'."
Harry closed his eyes, and covered his ears, attempting to block out everything. He was relying on nearly all his extensive meditation to remain sane in this situation, and it still wasn't working brilliantly.
Harry then felt something strange on his face. His eyes snapped open, and Orion and Lyra had been drawing on his face with a marker pen. Harry growled at them, baring his teeth, and the two "eeped" and jumped back, starting to eat their lunch as if nothing had happened.
And all of a sudden, Harry jerked his head back, narrowly avoiding a missile pass his nose...only to see it was some mashed potato, thrown by Orion.
The mash hit Lyra instead.
The girl furiously got to her feet. "Food fight!"
Instantly, Harry jumped out of the way, knocking over his chair as the Blacks began hurling food at one another. He was at the centre of attention, and he really did not want the indignity of being hit - suddenly a tomato smashed into his nose.
"Right, now that's crossing the line," said Harry, immediately grabbing the plate with boiled carrots and hurling the entire lot at Sirius.
Things really just degraded from there, but a few standard household spells were all it took to get the place (and people) cleaned up.
Harry was on the verge of running over to Sirius' liquor cabinet and drinking himself into a stupor, provided it would help him calm down. With the amount of crap he'd had to deal since he'd reappeared in England, it was a wonder he'd not snapped and just told his parents (and Dumbledore...and Mervin) to fuck off.
"Haaaaarrrrry?"
Not again. Not again!
"Something the matter, Harry?" said Sirius. The twins were happily somewhere else doing something that no doubt would cause Harry hell, but they were gone and that was the important thing.
Harry was currently leaning back in a large armchair, while Sirius had just entered the room.
"I've had to babysit the two demons that you call Orion and Lyra. I think that's a valid explanation."
Sirius only chuckled. "Can't deny that." The widower walked over, falling into another armchair. "They're not cruel though, they're just curious about you."
"...?" Harry only raised an eyebrow, and almost subconsciously went to cradle his arm, even though he felt no pain...yet.
"Well, yeah. The only kids they've ever met called Potter was Hayden and Oriana, and those two aren't all that fond of kids."
"And I am?"
Sirius snorted. "They can tell. They're better than I am at this. But seriously though...something on your mind? I mean, I'm a rubbish listener, and the worst person for all that feelings crap, but hey."
"...I'm thinking. Leave me alone."
Sirius only stayed silent, knowing Harry would continue.
"Did my parents put you up to this?" That was actually the first time Harry had ever referred to Lily and James as his parents since arriving in England. Even in his head, it had always seemed to be Lily and James.
Sirius blinked. He hadn't expected that. "No, why?"
"Was it Dumbledore?"
"No. You paranoid or something?"
Harry surveyed the Black. And then he remembered something. How many people truly knew about his magic problems? Dumbledore. James. Lily. Pomfrey. That was all he knew, but how many people would Dumbledore see necessary to inform of the altering of Harry's mind. And Sirius...would Dumbledore trust one of the most irresponsible morons in existence with something he might easily blurt out? Well...maybe, Sirius did seem to be capable of taking care of his kids on his own.
Well, he'd make a little hint, and see if Sirius reacted.
"I suppose...it's like my magic has been acting weird since I got here," said Harry, carefully observing Sirius for reaction.
"You serious?" said Sirius. "No Sirius/serious jokes, this is important. Haven't you told your parents about this? You might need a Healer or something. You can cast magic all right, or is it something else?"
It looked like Sirius was unaware, but he could be a good actor. Unlikely, but a possibility. So Harry continued making hints.
"Pomfrey made some diagnostic spells and showed there might be something weird, but Dumbledore said it was probably a mistake or accidental magic," said Harry. He was sure that if Sirius had been informed, he would agree to what Dumbledore said.
"That can't be right," said Sirius, scratching his unshaven chin. "If it was something from accidental magic, it would be over. Say...does it cause you pain?"
It was Harry's turn to be surprised. He never would have thought Sirius to be the one to figure it out, but to be fair, he'd forgotten all about Sirius till now.
"In my right arm-"
"Sounds like magical overload," said Sirius grimly, actually reminiscing on a past event . "Most people get it from when they use potions or rituals to enhance their magic, and they start getting full of more magic they can handle."
"But why does it act up when I start casting magic?" argued Harry. "If that was the case, it wouldn't occur, seeing as I'm using magic."
Sirius closed his eyes. Obviously, he wasn't used to such thought. "Damn, I thought I wouldn't have to any more thinking when I left school..." he grumbled, continuing to think. "Harry, pass me a Firewhisky, I think better when I'm drunk."
"Can't do that, you have kids around," responded Harry.
Sirius continued grumbling as he thought over the problem. "...Hm...it sounds like your magic has been converted, or at least some of it."
"What?" said Harry.
"Maybe your magic is acting in a way your body don't-"
"Doesn't," interrupted Harry.
"No smart-ass comments or I'm not telling," said Sirius, before continuing. "Your magic, or some of it, has become unfamiliar to your body. You know, like in biology. When the body converts glucose into glucagon, or glycogen, one of them. And when it needs more glucose, it converts it back."
Harry stared amazed at Sirius. "When did you learn about Biology?"
"It's amazing what you pick up when your best friends include Remus Lupin and Lily Potter," said Sirius. "Problem is, learning that made me forget who won the Quidditch World Cup back in 1978."
"...Well? Continue with the magic thing."
Sirius cleared his throat. "So, when you start casting spells, your magic converts back. But because it's been converted, your body's already been regenerating magic, and now it means you've got a full tank of magic and even more appearing."
"...Go on," said Harry.
"I'm guessing your body only continues converting back magic when you continue casting spells. So, casting a single spell- you'll do that without pain, 'cause you'll stop regenerating. Casting a load of spells in a short time starts to gradually pump you up with magic, after all, it's unlikely you'll cast a really powerful spell. Considering the body is always regenerating magic, it means it's got a lot to convert, meaning when you reach a certain point, your body will start forcing as much magic out as possible, in usually painful ways to the user. That's a Sirius Orion Black theory."
Harry was actually speechless. Sirius Black of all people, had (maybe) correctly guessed what his condition was.
"Wait, how do you know anything about magical overloads?"
Sirius nervously scratched the back of his head. "I've done my part with Unspeakables, and besides, I did get good grades in school. Oh, and the fact my family was Dark and were the sort to use potions and rituals to enhance their magic."
"What about emotions influencing the body?" asked Harry. "What if the person under this overload goes into a heavily emotional state, and no longer feels this pain?"
Sirius shrugged. "Haven't a clue."
"Guess."
"You know, I did not sign up for this," complained Sirius, before working on his guess. A few minutes later, he came up with another theory.
"It sounds like this person definitely hasn't been affected through potions or rituals, such a thing is unheard off...but considering people tend to practically bleed magic in high emotion states, maybe you're losing magic fast enough to drain away excess magic."
Sirius looked curiously at Harry. "This is happening to you?"
Looking back, Harry had no idea why he did it, but he ended up telling Sirius everything about the affecting of his mind and magic by Dumbledore's manipulation.
Harry had never been away from people for too long during his time with the Elumvians, and although not being much of a "people-person", he still preferred having some trustworthy company.
Sirius however, was loyal enough to be considered trustworthy. And the man was stunned to think that Dumbledore was putting a person through such pain. And that Lily and James would let him.
The problem was, just because Sirius may have correctly diagnosed Harry's condition, didn't mean he knew how to cure it. Rather, he was dreaming up ways to maim Dumbledore, ways that seemed to involve putting Remus Lupin in a crate (with sherbet lemons delivery written on the side) and sending it to Dumbledore on the full moon.
Sirius however, was eager to confront Dumbledore, Lily and James about this, but Harry made him see otherwise. Dumbledore would realise Harry already knew, and things would most likely degrade from there.
Eventually, Harry went back "home", Sirius still disgusted at what "parents" that two of his best friends had turned into.
"Harry?" asked Lily, as the two stepped through the Floo, Harry having completed his last day of OWLs. "Are you all right?"
'Like you would care,' Harry grumbled in his head, before saying: "I'm fine." According to Sirius' theories, that meant the best things to do would be to stay away from magic- fat chance of that in a wizarding household- maybe rest until his magic naturally drained away, or go into a state of high emotion, which would be the most effective, but was a bit hard to willingly do.
Harry gritted his teeth, still cradling his arm. The pain was worse than the past two days combined.
"Harry? Are you sure you're-"
"Shut up!" shouted Harry, his anger coming through, the pain temporarily fading, before coming in even more.
The teen hobbled to the stairs, climbing one slowly at a time, and just reached his room before he collapsed, his body frenzying in spasms, while his mouth emitted pain-filled screams.Hayden, meanwhile, had been in his room, writing a letter to a friend of his who did not have Floo. Keyword, "had", as he suddenly heard a loud noise, and screaming.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet, before running out the door, and saw Harry lying on the floor, barely conscious, screaming, while his mother was attempting to levitate him.
"Mum, what the hell's going on!?" he demanded.
"I need some space Hayden!" shouted Lily, pushing open the door. "Floo-call Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore!"
Lily levitated Harry into the room, while Harry continued screaming, and if Hayden didn't know any better, worse...
"Wait a minute!" shouted Hayden, breaking Lily's concentration, and she dropped Harry.
"Hayden!" she scolded. "Look what you-"
"It was hurting him!" protested Hayden, and surely enough Harry's screams were nowhere as painful as they had been while Lily had levitated him.
Seeing as he had little choice, Hayden lifted his brother, slinging him over his back, wincing at both having to hold Harry still, and Harry's weight.
'You'd think after all that time he spends in his room, he'd be a bit lighter,' thought Hayden. 'Or maybe I need to work out a bit more...' Mentally, Hayden slapped himself for having such pointless thoughts in such a situation.
Harry's eyes snapped open. He was in his room, the curtains closed, but by the sunlight still visible, it was still daytime.
The door pushed open, and Harry flung himself out of bed, subconsciously assuming it was a danger.
But it was Hayden.
The shorter boy nervously cleared his throat. "Er...yeah...Dumbledore's here...he wants to see you about something..."
Hayden made to leave, but Harry's voice stopped him. "What happened?"
"You just sort of went crazy," said Hayden. "I carried you onto your bed since levitating spells just seemed to hurt you more..."
Harry contemplated that. Yes, that made sense. More magic would only increase his pain. And then he remembered the entirety of Hayden's words. "You carried me?"
Hayden nodded, before heading for the door.
"...Thanks."
"What?" said Hayden, turning around.
"I'm thanking you. It means nothing more," said Harry.
"Yeah well...you're welcome," replied Hayden, finally leaving.
Harry sighed, and sat back on his bed. Great, now it seemed Hayden was warming up to him. First sharing a pizza, now carrying him-
The door was pushed open again, revealing Albus Dumbledore, in purple robed glory.
"I heard about your state, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Let me assure you I feel the greatest sympathy for you."
Harry snorted.
"I have a few questions to ask you, Harry, and I will require your answers to be truthful." Dumbledore looked piercingly over his half-moon spectacles at Harry. "Are you in league with Lord Voldemort?"
"...Who?"
AN: Finally, the massive confrontation between Dumbledore and Harry.
As for Sirius, well, maybe he seemed a bit OOC. But in canon PoA, Remus refers to Sirius and James as being the smartest kids in the school- maybe a bit overdoing it, but most likely in their year- and that'd include Lily and Snape. And back in OotP, in Snape's Penseive, James and Sirius discuss how easy their paper was. Besides, if Sirius can enchant a motorbike to fly, that says he must have something in his head.
What else do I have to talk about...ah yes, the people talking about Harry should go to some other country...later. Can't be bothered, and I haven't got much knowledge about most countries, apart from a lot of stereotypes, and a bit about current events.