The following week saw things return to a sense of near normal as possible at Hogwarts. In between sleep occlumency naps, Ron and Hermione did their school work, which was sent to them from their professors, and Harry was instructed to, 'just rest,' as the occlumency was taking far more from him than from Ron and Hermione. If he had to hear, 'just rest,' one more time, he thought he would explode. He even begged Ron and Hermione to share their school work with him. Hermione was extremely surprised and curious when Harry somehow instinctively knew the answers to her transfiguration questions. She felt put to shame, but proud, when Harry answered every question, from every subject she and Ron had asked him. Her eyes narrowed as she finally burst out, "How did you know that!" when Harry answered a question that she did not know the answer to.
"I...er...I don't know...I just do." Harry was extremely impressed with himself, but at the same time, he was just as puzzled as they were about his sudden scholarly knowledge. He started to wonder what else he knew. He started to mentally go over his lessons of last year, including potions, his worst subject. Did he know and remember any of it? "Yes I do," he answered himself, amazed.
"I've read about this in medical journals. You've had trauma to your head, Harry. Sometimes a person can emerge from a head injury with some formerly hidden talents or knowledge very heightened. It's a form of brain damage," Hermione replied without thought
"Hermione!" snapped Harry indigently.
"You don't understand. Sometimes, the injury to one's brain, can unlock memories or spark different parts of the brain that we don't normally use to function. I have a cousin who had an injury to his brain. When he recovered, he discovered a talent that he didn't possess before. He is an accomplished artist now. His painting hang in fine galleries all over the world."
"Fascinating," Harry said dully. "Don't tell anyone, they'll only want to dissect me or something, or think I'm even more of a freak than they first thought."
"Or," piped in Ron, trying to put a positive spin on things, which Hermione already considered positive, "we could just keep it our little secret and freak Snape out when Harry gets straight O's in potions."
"This is all revision from last year. Let's see if you learn something new, if you can retain it. Hermione took out one of her early N.E.W.T. books Harry had never seen before. She nearly choked when Harry answered most of the questions she put to him. Still others he couldn't, so she figured that this new talent of his, must be largely retroactive. "Still, you're well on your way to getting top marks."
As Ron and Hermione returned to their study, Ginny popped in, having come to see Harry during a cancelled class. When Harry found out that the cancelled class had been Hagrid's he was a little apprehensive that Hagrid had been injured by Grawpy or something, but when Ginny informed him that Hagrid was writing his first exam already, toward his N.E.W.T.S, Harry was very proud.
Harry had to admit that he was glad for the company. He wasn't tired, and he'd been lonely. He hated to admit that, even to himself, though. George, who had spent the first week playing exploding snap with him during his own recovery, had now returned to classes. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what having brothers and sisters was like, someone to keep you keep you company in times like this. Ginny got him a glass of water, and when she saw him wince a bit, sitting up, she began to rub his back gently. Harry was just about to protest, but something stopped him. Her hair smelled wonderful, and he enjoyed the warmth of her hand on his shoulders. None of the potions had made a real difference in the tightness in his shoulders, but this did.
They talked about safe comfortable topics, and Harry felt his shoulder muscles relax to the point that he felt quite drowsy. Ginny smiled as Harry, who wouldn't admit he was falling asleep, pretended to keep up with the conversation, not very convincingly, though, as Ginny tested whether or not he was paying attention by saying that the Chudley Cannons had just won the world cup, and all Harry could say was, 'that's nice,' in a slurred voice. He didn't want the visit to end. When Harry had finally succumbed to sleep at her gentle touch and had slumped forward, Ginny reclined his bed and covered him up warmly. She could have sworn he'd smiled when she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. She would never have done this, had he been awake. She would have pecked him on the cheek, but couldn't resist something she may never get the chance to do while he was awake.
For the first time in many months, Harry's dream was a good one. Ginny had occupied his every thought. He wouldn't be going anywhere in his dreams today. He dreamed that Ginny was still rubbing his shoulders, and she had kissed him. He could almost feel her soft lips on his, and they lingered there for awhile after she had stopped...
After a week and a half of sleep occlumency lessons, Harry, who had secretly been trying to shut out Hermione and Ron from entering the dreams, at least managed to send Snape, Tyler, and Ron back to their beds. He and Hermione were now alone. "Wow, impressive. Your will sent them back, I wonder how long it will be before you can throw Voldemort off, or better yet, not answer the summons at all," Hermione challenged, sounding very impressed. Harry made no reply. He wanted to send Hermione back as well. It was his plan to send them all back, should they ever be summoned to his side in times of danger ever again. After the two hours were up, Hermione floated down voluntarily to her own room, tauntingly wishing Harry better luck next time. He shook his head and smiled, in spite of the failure.
Before Harry went to bed the next night, Fred and George presented him with a music tape, instructing him to listen to it when he had free sleep time, which was pretty often, since people pushed sleep on him. Ginny had come in halfway through their visit. She had been rubbing his shoulders almost every day now. She insisted that since he looked so very tired, he should put the music on and fall asleep while she rubbed his shoulders. He considered this very rude, but as she reminded him with a forgiving smile, "You didn't seem to mind the first time," and with thoughts of that kiss from his dream, he drifted off to sleep immediately. Ron and Hermione had been given permission to visit the Griffindor common room. They felt it was time they made their first public appearance alone since it had been revealed that Harry was still alive.
Ginny kissed Harry gently again, as she had started to do as soon as he had fallen asleep on every visit. She left quietly, whispering to Harry that she was going to the common room as well, which was not at all true. She didn't know why she had bothered to lie to the sleeping boy, as she caught herself staring at his chest rising and falling gently and saw peace in his face for the first time in a long while as he slept. She was glad of this, as even in sleep, she knew Harry was finding no respite from his new reality lately.
Sure enough, as Ron and Hermione made their way nervously to their common room, they ran into a gang of Slytherins in the corridor. "Oh look, it's Weasley and his mudblood girlfriend," Pansy Parkinson shrieked. "You know, the stunningly pretty one!" she laughed, recalling Rita Skeeter's article about Harry. "What's the matter, Granger, Harry not interesting enough for you now that he's half dead?" Hermione could not believe how callous they were being.
Hermione was usually so full of grace, that she would usually have walked away from this before, but now, she just had no patience. She withdrew her wand from her robe and trained it on Pansy, causing the rest of the gang to scatter. Just like all bullies, Pansy was just no good without her companions backing her up. She turned and ran. Hermione seriously considered a behind enlarging curse, but Ron reminded her that they would be unpopular as it was, without losing Griffindor points for duelling in the halls. Hermione had a sudden new sense of respect for Ron, who would normally have lost his head hearing these insults hurled at her.
"Well, okay, but don't be too proud of my self control just yet," Ron admitted. "I don't think Pansy's going to like her new pets."
"What did you do?" Hermione half scolded, half coaxed the information out of him. He had stood up for her after all. She hated feeling good about this, but she did.
"Nothing dangerous," was all he would tell her through a crooked smile.
They made their way to the portrait of the fat lady and realized that they didn't know the password. As they stood there, unable to gain entry, they felt they didn't belong anymore, especially without Harry. It felt like they didn't belong anywhere. It suddenly didn't matter to them if they got in or not, or if they were greeted with welcome or disdain. The fat lady finally broke their thoughts by asking again, "password?"
"The fact is, we don't know," Hermione admitted.
"Might be just as well, dearies," the fat lady advised.
"Why's that?" Ron demanded.
"Don't you get snippy with me, young man," the fat lady said indignantly.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"If I were you, I'd wait another week before returning, until the hurt sentiments subside. Your house mates are already beginning to accept that the lie was necessary," the fat lady informed them. Ron and Hermione were not at all surprised that the fat lady knew all about Harry's near death. Ron was just about to open his mouth in angry retort, when the fat lady soothed, "It is a strange thing with young people. They need to sort things out for themselves, even when they have been told the whole truth. Trust me, things will be better in a week's time." The fat lady had never given advice before and they didn't know what to make of it. There was nothing for it, they had to leave. As they were leaving, Neville Longbottom emerged from inside the common room. The portrait swung shut as he caught up to them.
"How's Harry? Anything wrong?" Neville asked nervously.
"He's feeling better all the time, Neville, it's okay," Hermione assured him quickly.
"When I saw the two of you, I thought something must have gone wrong, Whew!" Neville was so relieved, he sat down heavily on a carved bench. The three of them had pleasant conversation, despite the tensions in the school. The fat lady had received company. Her friend Violet had flitted quickly into her frame. They caught snippets of conversation, but paid little attention. Violet seemed upset about something, but than, she was always ranting about something or spreading gossip.
"Well naturally I called after them to show more respect," Violet related indigently. "Seven of them in all, flying on brooms in the hallway no less. Slytherins no doubt, though I couldn't swear to it. They were masked, the hoodlums. I've a good mind to inform the headmaster, the foul mouthed ill tempered little hoodlums! why in my day..."
"Well Vi, you know I would if I were you I'd report the little ruffians," the Fat Lady replied sympathetically.
"I'll just calm my nerves with a little sherry and than I'll do just that." This was the point where Ron and Hermione became a little nervous.
Harry lay, having a really restful sleep, still feeling the kiss on his lips, which suddenly became a smothering hand. He could not cry out. He felt spellotape wound around his head and mouth, and four sets of hands roughly dragged him in agony from his bed. Pain seized his chest and legs when he was thrown roughly into the wheelchair, which only last week, he'd looked forward to using. Fear gripped him as he reached out to grab something stationary to hold onto. His hand hit the walk socks Dobby had given him and he stowed them deftly into his shirt. His heart was racing, his eyes scanning Madame Pomfrey's empty desk. No one was around. Someone was rummaging in his belongings. Someone was removing Harry from the hospital wing!
"Stop! Scoundrels! Filthy thieving hoodlums! Bad form!" Sir Cadogan, who had shown Ron, Harry, and Hermione to their first divination lesson, chased the kidnappers through every portrait, waking their occupants, some of whom joined the chase, raising the alarm. There were calls of "Stop! These awful ritual of abusing first years must stop!" some of the portraits felt that this was merely an initiation of sorts of a new student. Hermione and Ron had convinced themselves that this must be the case too, and still being prefects, they set off to put a stop to it.
Sir Cadogan was the only one who knew all too well that Harry had been taken for real, and this was no joke. By the time Ron, Neville and Hermione had heard Sir Cadogan yelling after the brutes to drop their prey, he was so agitated, he was screaming toward the great oak doors of the front entrance. "Come back! I will champion for him!"
"Sir Cadogan!" Ron shouted, "what's going on?"
"They've taken young Mr. Potter, the filthy rotten scoundrels! I chased them valiantly, but alas, my canvases end here," he related sadly.
"Which way did they go? Did you see?" Hermione demanded, grabbing the portrait Sir Cadogan was standing in right down off the wall.
"Just enough to see that they went toward the giant's hut, my lady," he bowed. "I could see no further.
"Neville, get Professor Dumbledore and anyone else you can find, quick!" Ron ordered, as he and Hermione drew their wands and raced outside into the cool damp fall night. They burst into Hagrid's hut without knocking as Hagrid dropped a large steaming cauldron full of boiling soup stock of some kind. Large bones hit the floor, and Hagrid leapt out of the way of the hot broth now covering almost the entire floor.
"What the ruddy h..." Hagrid bellowed.
"Harry's been kidnapped!" Hermione blurted out, to stop the tirade they were surely going to get if this had been unimportant. Hagrid grabbed his crossbow, not bothering to change his wet socks, and stepped into his large boots as quickly as they had ever seen him do.
"Let's go. Did you alert Dumbledore?"
"Yes," replied Ron, running three strides to Hagrid's one. Tracks showed where Harry's chair had bumped along the ground in unsteady forced flight. This was the only trail and it led into the Forbidden Forest. There was no apprehension about entering the Forbidden Forest this time. They had to save Harry. Fang and Max plunged into the Forbidden Forest on a scent.
Following as best they could, it did not take them long to find trouble. The Centaurs had heard the ruckus the kidnappers had made, but had failed to catch them. "Hagrid!" an angry voice boomed out from a place they could not see. It seemed to echo around them.
"We warned you not to enter these woods again, especially with the foals, they are destructful. Bane stepped slowly out into the light of Hagrid's lantern. Blood trickled slowly from a fresh wound in his shoulder. "You will not plead the case successfully for these wreched little beings this time, Hagrid. The rest of them brought trouble, marching right through bold as moonlight on leafless trees!" Bane thundered, rearing up to trample them down. Hagrid tried to be as diplomatic as one could be a dire situation like this. He explained that Harry had been kidnapped, but Bane merely looked skyward, acting as bored and impatient with the explanation as he could be.
"I'm warnin' yeh, Bane, I'll shoot yeh sure as look at yeh, if you harm either of these "foals," Hagrid informed him forcefully, seeming larger to Hermione and Ron than he'd ever been. The Centaur seemed to consider this. "I want the one who gave me this wound," Bane growled. "I will permit you to search for the lost foal, but the one who gave me this wound will not leave the forest." The tone of the Centaur's voice made no room for bargaining. "You will barter him to me for the safe return of these foals you seem so fond of." There was the sound of many hooves drawing near. They were encircled. "We will keep you foals until Hagrid brings us the one who did this. We will have a trial here.These two foals will be our collateral that you will return with the guilty one. We will give you two sunsets to bring us the guilty or we will serve justice on these foals!"
Hagrid pleaded uselessly for their freedom, but Hermione and Ron were now being held captive as well. "Two sunsets Hagrid!"
"Don' worry, I won't let you down." Hagrid promised the new prisoners. Even with wands, they were outnumbered and mismatched.
"Please, Mr Bane!" pleaded Hermione. "My friend would die at the hands of those kidnappers. You see Harry's really, really sick, he's not supposed to be—"
"Speak not of you trivialities!" Bane dismissed, as Hagrid gave them one last look and set off to search for Harry.
Harry was bumped around so harshly, he slipped in and out of consciousness as he was jabbed and taunted with wands. The voices were muffled behind the masks of his attackers and he could not discern who was speaking. SMACK! A backhand across his face came from one of the masked thugs. "Think you can just have our fathers locked up and just get away with it, DO YOU POTTER?" Harry tasted blood but he could not spit it out. He had to swallow it because of the spellotape binding his mouth.
"We've just conjured the Dark Mark. I 'd not be surprised if Voldemort himself showed up for the party, not just Death Eaters who are on the way to get you now!" taunted a husky voice that sounded too old to be a student.
Harry was not able to fight off these people, and a cold fear swept over him, waiting for the Dark Lord to come finish his task. The spellotape made it impossible to breathe, and it was only minutes before Harry passed out cold, making the intense pain in his battered body cease. His last hope at this hopeless point, was that Voldemort would not wake him up to kill him.
As he left his pain wracked body behind, he felt a new great strength awaken in him. His giant wingspan unfolded, and his nails elongated as his face distended. He was a Griffin, and yet, quite himself. Harry reasoned that the Dark Lord knew nothing of this intended sacrifice, or else he felt sure that he would appear, at least in this dream. Then he realized that this was not rational, since Ron and Hermione were not here either. It had to be an ordinary dream. If they were here, he would have told them where they would most likely find his lifeless body. Harry wondered why Ron and Hermione had not responded to his fear. Maybe he had finally thrown them off, like he'd wanted to all along for their safety. Now, he almost selfishly wished he hadn't, but than again, they wouldn't be sleeping right now anyway. Maybe they didn't even know what had happened. Maybe no one did.
Ron and Hermione were forced to sit against a large tree. Hermione forcefully quieted Ron. "Don't make any sudden movements. I'm going to pass you a vial of sleep inducement potion. I had my two naps worth in my pocket. Good thing the house- elves didn't put this jumper in the wash. Ieft them a note to tell them I'd deliver my own laundry to the laundry room, to save them some work, and I never got around to taking this because it wasn't dirty anyway.
The Centaurs who had been left to guard the foals as they called them, feared no escape, or indeed paid them any attention, but when they had tried to sneak away, they had been met with a frightening challenge. "We need to get to sleep! Harry will have passed out by now, or maybe he's already d..."
"Hermione, don't say it," Ron begged, gulping down the potion. They felt the tug of fear instantly, as they dropped into immediate sleep, and they knew now that all the hard work had paid off somewhat. They had turned to their animagus forms unwillingly, and were drawn to Harry immediately. Here, he was a Griffin, unhurt and magnificent.
"Ron! Hermione! Over Here!" Harry had been alone there for how long he did not know. He came right to the point, panicking. "You're here, but how can that help any of us? I'm down there. This is only good for Telephotus dreams, not face to face confrontation. They're going to kill me!"
Hermione knew that what she was about to say, would not comfort him, but she blurted it out anyway. "No they can't, remember? Voldemort's got to do it himself."
Harry's body lay on the soft floor of the Forbidden Forest, dying. He heard voices all around him as he faded between his body and his dream animagus form. "My father says that whatever we do, don't kill him," drawled a thickly accented voice.
"Well, he's not breathing the greatest. Take the spellotape off his mouth," said a scared voice. Harry's wings vanished as he reappeared. He stood before Ron and Hermione as a lion.
"Oh man, you guys," said the same scared voice on the ground that Harry now could not hear. "He's not gonna make it until the pickup."
"Enervate!" a commanding voice spoke. The lion before Hermione and Ron, turned into the boy, and with a desperate look, Harry fell out of their sight, and into his own body once more. Ron and Hermione were alone, animagus forms still intact.
"We've got to find his body soon. He mentioned seeing the giant spider webs near Aragog's lair." Hermione said, trying to stay calm enough to think.
"How are we going to find him? We're not going to wake up for hours. We shouldn't have both taken the potion!" Ron scolded himself. "What were we thinking?" The situation seemed hopeless until Tyler's voice broke in on their thoughts. He appeared before them.
"Did you find him?"
"Oh thank goodness you're here, Tyler! How did you get here?"
"Well, my friend," Tyler replied gesturing significantly, not being able to mention Snape's name, lest anyone from the dark side be listening. "Is going to wake me up in a few minutes. Did he come here?" Tyler asked, yet again unable to identify the person he was enquiring after.
"He was here, Tyler, as a Griffin, and than he turned into a lion, and than a human, and than he just...fell." They gave Tyler the clues that Harry had given them about having seen Aragog's webs, and Tyler took this information back to Snape, but could not help them get back to their own bodies, as their potion was still in effect.
Seconds after Tyler had left, Ron and Hermione felt a tug, and Harry appeared before them, just as himself. "You must just not know what's happening anymore when you awake now, because there's very little fear now, and you haven't transformed this time," Hermione said, tears welling up in her eyes. She was smart enough to know what this must mean. Harry had only regained just enough consciousness to be considered awake, as he began to fade from them.
Even on this plain, Harry did not look good. All of the visible injuries now showed vividly. His tone was barely audible. 'Ron, Hermione, I...I think I might be dying. I don't wake up down there, and I'm having a really hard time staying here..."
"Harry don't go!" Hermione sobbed, feeling her feathers leave and her body return to her own. The summons had been broken.
"Hold on, Harry, they know where you are. They're coming for you. I promise you, I will get the ones that did this to you. Harry!" Ron screamed as Harry vanished, staring helplessly into their eyes.
Looking at one another in their own bodies now, Hermione said tearfully, "at least he's not scared anymore, otherwise we'd have stayed in our animagus forms since we're still stuck here for some reason." They had tried to grab Harry back, but they just couldn't pull him back. They hadn't seen Sirius fall through that veil, but now they knew what it was to experience the fear Harry had felt upon witnessing the terrible death. They were as hopeless as they'd ever been.
Tyler ran fearlessly through the Forbidden Forest, following Professor's Dumbledore, McGonagall, Moody, and Lupin, who ran headlong into a large white Centaur.
"Excuse us, we're in a hurry," Tyler apologized to the astounded creature. The Centaur surveyed him warily. "Surely, we are not detaining a foal this young?" the female voice reasoned, until the teachers had all come into full view. Even Bane did not question Professor Dumbledore, although he had shown no outward fear of him.
"Let them pass," Bane instructed, but the bargain stands headmaster of human school. You will leave the one who has spilled my blood to us and will pass out of here, and never come back."
"I do not do as you say, surely, old Centaur. Show some sense, but yes, I will leave the one who spilled your blood to you. Justice will not be served on him in the current climate in our courts, and in this case, I will agree to an eye for an eye, so to speak." Dumbledore spoke firmly, but everyone had to wonder if he had really intended to leave the attackers to Centaur trial. Upon seeing Ron and Hermione slumped against a tree, Dumbledore clapped his hands twice, and uttered an incantation. They awoke immediately, and ran to the teachers, talking very fast.
Professor Dumbledore did not need to leave a chattel as Hagrid had. His word was good enough for the Centaurs present who wanted to be civilized to the old Headmaster. Some, on the other hand, spoke of betrayal, kicking up the dirt under their hooves. Hermione and Ron were very glad to be out of the Centaur's watch.
Ron was quickly leading them all toward Aragog's lair. Harry could hear himself moaning and felt a kick in his side, before he started floating slowly back upward, feeling his wings sweep out of his sides. If he could, he'd dive onto his captors, and rip them apart with his claws. He had been looking forward to seeing Ron and Hermione, perhaps for the last time, figuring that they would still be here waiting for him. He called out to them, feeling panicked, but he could not stay for long, as the tug of life that still remained in his body, called him back to bare consciousness. He opened his eyes blearily, someone calling out, "Enervate filth! You're not getting us into trouble! He's not for us, Crabbe!"
"No names, moron!" shouted a panicked voice towering above Harry's prone form.
"Well don't worry about it. It's not like he can hear us!"
The drawling voice from before, sounded very scared. "No, not him, you idiot, but remember where you are. There's strange things in these woods!"
"Oh, does somebody need baby Death Eater camp? Honestly, you'd think you'd never been in here before, after all your bragging about it all these years!" A huge fight broke out among Harry's captors. Whoever was supposed to pick him up, was late, and nerves were raw. They were terrified Harry would die before he could be presented to the Dark Lord, and he was hit with the enervate charm numerous times.
"If Potter dies, he, and I mean the big HE, will kill us at best! We weren't supposed to kill him!" By the panicked voices, Harry guessed that he had appeared dead. He certainly didn't feel alive. His dreams took him from the rough shaking that one of the captors was doing to him, while slapping him hard in the face.
"Harry Potter, Dobby had made these for you, sir." Dobby's voice floated out of his memories, as he opened one eye. No one seemed to be paying him much attention. He didn't know what they had done to him, but he managed to sneak the walk socks from his pyjamas. He did his best to ignore the pain in his legs as he curled himself into a fetal position and put them on with numb fingers. His captors had seen him curl up, and they took pleasure from it, figuring he had done so out of pain, which wasn't really far off. The night had grown bitterly cold in the forest, especially since all he had on, was his pyjamas, while his captors were dressed in warm cloaks and gloves. The forest areas were much colder than the tame grounds of Hogwarts. His teeth chattered, but the socks at least provided his feet with a little warmth and energy.
The shouting match between Crabbe, and probably Goyle, Harry couldn't tell, grew louder with every minute the pick up was delayed. Harry tried hard to focus on his desire for freedom. He pushed himself up onto his knees, willing himself not to cry out in agony from the effort. He began to crawl pathetically away, to anywhere, as quietly as he could manage, with the crunching of the leaves under him as he slithered along. He got only as far as the tall grasses on the edge of the clearing, when the inky blackness once again enveloped him. He had at least managed to get out of range of their lamplights. However much this would hinder a search for him, he would also be blind now in the dark.
From this position, he glimpsed his captors the minute he came to. They were still fighting. They would notice his disappearance any time now, and sure enough, Gregory Goyle could be heard shouting, "He must have apparated!"
"He doesn't have his wand, you buffoon! I've got it right here." Harry knew no matter what he did, he was outmatched six to one, and even so, his weakened physical state would have made it impossible for him to take even one of these goons on fairly. He thought of using the accio charm to summon his wand, or try expelliarmus without his wand, but than the kidnappers would surely follow the wand's destination and find him immediately. He knew he must have the worst luck in the world, when the moon became unobscured by the clouds, and all the captors had to do, was look a hundred and twenty feet away to see his feeble attempt at freedom. He stood weakly and painfully, and his legs did not obey him, but the socks did. He limped into a vast overgrown thicket and veered left. Once again they could not see him, and he could not see them. Misdirected curses whizzed in all directions, mercifully missing him completely.
The walk socks could only take Harry so far. He was fading. He was not ready to walk, though he had thought to try it, against everyone's advice and even though he had been warned seriously against it. He sunk to the ground, breathing heavily, and clutching his side, where he was sure, the attacker's last kick had done real damage. He felt himself passing out. He was cold, tired, and could take no more. Harry's eyes felt strangely large, and warmth crept back into his body. His assailants caught up to him without problem, taunting him about his failure to escape. Harry felt a ripping sound and figured he had just been hit with a spell of some kind, or he was dreaming. The hooded figures stumbled back in terror, as Harry stood shakily again, turning around behind him to see what had frightened his captors. He let slip and audible cry of despair. He had imagined he would see Dumbledore and a rescue party, but no one was there. He thought his captors were playing with his mind now, just to be cruel. It would be just like them. He looked down at his feet, tears in his eyes, and was shocked when he saw Dobby's socks shredded by his fiercely sharp claws, hanging, cuffs only on his ankles. When his captors turned and ran, Harry was staring after them, wondering how they had joined his dreams, but when he looked around, he was still in the thicket in the Forbidden Forest. He had no pain and he felt powerfully strong. All other thoughts left him as he felt he almost grinned over his elongated eye teeth. A furious growl escaped his mouth, and he tore off through the forest, with a lust for revenge.
Harry became instantly aware of his heightened senses. He could smell their fear. He charged at his attackers relentlessly, feeling only stings from full Cruciatus curses. He crashed into a large body that he figured must be one of Malfoy's henchmen, Gregory Goyle from Slytherin. Harry opened his mouth, revealing deadly sharp teeth as the person fell down under the enormous weight of his massive paws. Harry was losing himself to instinct. He opened his mouth to the screams of terror of his prey. He was distracted when he saw a flash of green light emanate from somewhere behind him. Screams, followed by a sucking silence chorused through the clearing. Harry could see the red slit pupils of the eyes standing over two of his captors, who had clearly displeased him. There was no mistaking it, they were dead. Harry got his mind back, gave a final growl at the quaking figure under his massive paws, and ran into the thicket once more. Voldemort was here! Harry could feel the cold fear zapping his new found strength. The panic that ran through him, caused him to fall to the ground, crawling on all fours. As he became himself again, he could feel the sharp rocks and branches on the forest floor cutting into his knees and hands. The last of strength was zapped from his body as he was plunged into agony beyond his wildest imagination when his scar exploded the moment he had taken human form again so close in the presense of the Dark Lord. He was plunged into his own self imposed darkness as he blacked out, writhing on the ground, wishing for it to stop.
When he came to,Harry could no longer feel the intense pain in his scar that had began when he had looked into those pitiless red eyes, and had ended when he took human form, taking the full brunt of the intent of the Dark Lord, who had for some reason, fled. He knew that Voldemort had been very desperate to risk appearing here with Dumbledore so close. One last jolt of pain seared into his scar, as Harry could tell that someone else was being punished. Clearly, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, and Voldemort's Death Eaters were late in meeting the kidnappers, which is why the Dark Lord had come closer to Hogwarts than he'd intended in the first place.
Harry lay on the ground, eyes staring listlessly up into the night sky, unable to call out. He knew he was just having wishful thinking when he heard Hermione's desperate voice call out, "Oh where is he?" Harry's mouth opened to call to that voice, but nothing audible came out. Harry had felt physically drained many times in his life, but this transformation had left him feeling almost senseless and void of even the most minute functions. He was utterly spent.
"Harry's tough, he's gonna be okay...he has to be," assured the unmistakable voice of Ron. Harry wanted so much to get up...to call to them. They could not risk light, not knowing that the captors had fled in sheer terror. Something that he could not explain made Harry crawl pitifully to his knees. His voice would not raise higher than a whisper. "I'm here!" before he sank to the ground, feeling that he'd wasted his last effort on an mirage of his friend's protection. He knew it had been false hope, when a hooded figure rose between he and rescuers in the pitch dark, only visible because of the proximity.
"I'm not going down without a memory attached to my name! I'm taking you out, Potter!" a voice rang out clearly through the haze of the night's shadows. Harry did not know this voice as he stared in the sunken eye holes behind the mask of the approaching wand armed menace. This wizard clearly did not know the prophecy, as he aimed his wand with the unmistakable intent to kill Harry. Hooves sounded in the darkness, as Bane, the Centaur leapt full speed into the postured attacker's midriff, driving him onto his back and disappearing with the kidnapper on his back screaming.
A Centaur, who looked very old, arrived on the scene just as Harry's rescuers arrived. "If blood is to be spilled on our land this night, it will be by us, on our terms. We do not permit the slaughter of foals. Offenses have been committed here against our kind. Your conflicts have drawn a great evil onto our land. We will not return those that we apprehend to your inadequate justice system. Already one of their number have been judged and have no doubt faced expedient trial. He will die for his trespasses this night." The old Centaur related that several humans had been apprehended around the perimeter of the forest, no doubt standing watch. Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh of relief when the old Centaur related that those already killed were not 'foals.'
Hermione was kneeling beside Harry, and even she did not object that this time, the jurisdiction of justice delivery inflicted on the person responsible for Bane's injuries among other crimes. She did however, take offense when the Centaur called the criminal a part of their party. To him, they were all trespassers, and they could take their conflicts elsewhere, though for some reason, he seemed pleased that the 'foal' had not died. Harry's eyes fluttered open and closed several times, as the voices around him argued and negotiated Harry's passage from the Dark Forest unimpeded by the Centaurs. Professor Lupin held Harry's head in his hands and spoke softly to him. For a person who had witnessed so much pain in his life, Remus Lupin still had tears in the corners of his eyes. "It's going to be okay now Harry. It's over."