Returning of the Parents

By: AutumnBreeze12

Chapter 25

Harry sliced almost desperately at the spiders. They just kept coming. Ginny was shooting spells at them, and had taken to staying behind Harry in case any tried to get him from behind. Ron was almost forgotten by the creatures, laying still a ways away.

Harry let loose a harsh pant as a spider got through his defense. One of its pincers clamped down on left arm, and Harry felt excruciating pain. Harry glanced down and winced at the sight of a bloody mess of an arm. He could hear Ginny yelling behind him, but Harry was focusing solely on the spiders, and the occasional Graphorn.

Harry snarled as a spider tried to go for Ginny. Harry killed that one, unlike the others that he was just wounding. He felt every instinct in his body react as more began to go for Ginny. Harry felt himself losing control… Harry quickly reclaimed his control and began to go after the spiders with renewed vigor.

Before long, the spiders began to lesson. He saw a sudden opening, and shouted at Ginny. "Come on!" he yelled, and before the spiders could react he had grabbed Ron and began to run, Ginny hot on his heels.

Harry could hear the spiders behind them. His arm was killing him, and he was feeling horribly dizzy from the blood loss, but he kept going. Ron was putting weight on his arm, and Harry could feel black spots coming into his vision. He ignored them, tried to push them away.

He could hear Ginny having a difficult time trying to keep up with his pace. For a wounded person, Harry thought, he could sure run fast. Maybe it was the adrenaline. He kept running, and the running, and running…

And then deep, dark blackness took over.

Ginny gave a strangled sob as Harry finally fell. She ran to his side immediately. She could hear spiders coming and advancing on them. She grabbed Harry and tried to pull him up, but unfortunately he was too heavy. She didn't even bother to try and lift Ron.

She looked up at the spiders. There were Graphorns among them, and it looked like the Graphorns and spiders had joined forces. She felt the beginnings of panic. She wouldn't be able to stop them from killing them.

A shield suddenly erected itself around her, Harry, and Ron. Ginny gaped at it. It was sparkling blue and when a spider tried to go through it, and was forced away. Ginny heard a hissing, and looked to see Ice slithering out of Harry's robes. Ice stared up at her.

"You did this?" she asked. Ice gave a slow nod. She wondered at him understanding English, but didn't brood on it. "You got to do something! It don't know any healing or anything!" she blurted out. She waited for a reaction of some kind, but Ice seemed content just to wait. She felt herself tear up in frustration.

"Why aren't you helping!" she shouted at him, hysteria coloring her voice. Ice gave her a glance that looked amused. She lunged for the snake, only to hear shouts.

"GINNY?! HARRY?! RON?! WHERE ARE YOU?" came a distant shout. Ginny felt her heart flutter in hope. They would be saved… that was why the snake was so relaxed.

"WE'RE OVER HERE! HELP US!" screamed Ginny with all her might. She heard more distant shouts, and heard them start to come closer.

"KEEP SHOUTING SO WE CAN LOCATE YOU!" came another shout.

"WE'RE OVER HERE! SPIDERS AND GRAPHORNS ARE ATTACKING US! HARRY AND RON ARE BOTH UNCONSCIOUS, HARRY IS HURT, AND ICE HAS A SHIELD UP!" she yelled. More shouts were coming closer. Ginny held her breath, then Dumbledore, James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius burst out of the trees.

The spiders ran away when they saw the furious headmaster. The Graphorns paused, and started trying to attack the headmaster. At once, several Graphorns fell. The others retreated, looking like they were going to regroup themselves. The shield around them fell, and the group rushed forward.

What happened next was all one big blur for Ginny. One moment they were standing there, staring at the wounded Harry who was slowly bleeding to death, another moment they were in the hospital wing, praying for Harry to wake up. Ice was dozing contentedly on a bed, the lazy git. Ginny felt like smacking him, but refrained in case they needed him.

Madam Pomfrey was beside herself, berating Dumbledore one minute for letting Harry get into this situation, then the next moment she was saving Harry's life, then the next moment she was forcing Hermione back into bed, and then she was pushing an annoyed Ice off the bed so she could get Ron onto a bed and look at him.

If the situation weren't so serious, Ginny would have laughed at the indignant look on Ice's face. He looked thoroughly put out, and Ginny felt that Ice really deserved it if the way Harry described him was true. Harry usually described him as a "horrible, sarcastic snake that doesn't know when to shut up and let me sleep".

Ginny took in a deep breath and got up from the bed she was sitting on. She made her way over to Remus who looked to be the calmest of everyone (not including the Headmaster). "Do you know how they're doing?" she asked.

"Not a clue," he said. The way he said it reminded Ginny strongly of Ice, as Remus was very relaxed and didn't seem to be concerned. Ginny huffed and turned away, walking over to where James and Sirius sat.

"Do you know how everyone's doing?" she asked. They shook their heads, and Ginny began to go towards a distraught Lily, before rethinking her actions and veering off towards the Headmaster. He seemed to know what she was going to ask before she even opened her mouth.

"They'll be alright. Harry won't be able to use his arm fully for a while, and Ron will require much bed rest, but they will come out of this fine," he said serenely. Ginny gave the Headmaster a grateful smile.

"How's Hermione?" she asked.

"She'll be fine. She'll be spending a while in bed too, but will recover," he said. Ginny frowned.

"Didn't the others get injured from the Graphorns too?" asked Ginny.

"Madam Pomfrey patched them up right away. They suffer from no side effects, and Lily's baby is fine," said Dumbledore. Ginny nodded and sighed a little in relief.

As she made her way over to a chair to sit in, the events started to catch up to her. Harry was now a hawk animagus. He had completed the entire transformation. She smiled as she remembered his form. He had looked just like she thought she would, with messy feathers and a small bolt of lightening on his forehead that was nearly impossible to see.

And then there was him fighting. He had looked so heroic, cutting down the spiders and Graphorns like that. Then there was that sword. Graphorn hide was tough, it was said that it was resistant to nearly any spell and curse. How could have the Sword gone through it so easy? She had heard the legends and stuff behind the Sword of Merlin, but she had never thought that they were true!

Ginny scanned the hospital wing and her eyes landed on the bed that Harry was lying in. His face was pale, but the color was slowly coming back. Her eyes found themselves traveling down to his lips. Ginny blushed and forced her eyes away from Harry, instead she found herself looking at an amused Ice who was watching her.

She gave a startled squeak and fell off her chair. Ice gave what could be taken as a laugh. She glared at the snake and wished that it would slither off and die. It gave her one more amused glance before slithering off to Harry. Ginny watched as the snake curled up on Harry's chest, giving a hiss of contentment. Until, of course, Madam Pomfrey pushed the snake off Harry and onto the floor. Ginny stifled her laugh as Ice gave a glare at the Healer.

"Um, Ginny, is there a reason that you're on the floor and laughing?" asked a concerned Remus. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Ice," she muttered.

"You need ice?" asked a now confused Remus. Ginny shook her head.

"Never mind," she said as she got up from the floor and began to exit the hospital wing, still giggling at the antics of the snake. She stopped as she found the Headmaster blocking her way.

"Now, Miss Weasley, if you could tell us what happened?" asked Dumbledore. Ginny gulped and avoided the Headmaster's piercing gaze.

"I think it's Harry's story to tell, not mine," she muttered.

"But there might be something we need to know…" started Dumbledore, but Ginny cut him off.

"Yeah, ask Harry, he knows more," she snapped and dodged around the Headmaster to get to the door.

"Ginny!" said her mother. Ginny gave a jump. When did her parents get here? From the looks on their faces, as soon as she had said that to the Headmaster. Her mother looked quite furious at her rudeness.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ginny, only to feel immediately stupid. They had come for Ron, of course, as he was injured!

"Ron and Harry. Professor Dumbledore said that they were injured! And Hermione too," said Mrs. Weasley. Ginny nodded and attempted to slip out of the hospital wing unnoticed. No such luck. "Don't you dare leave until you apologize to the Headmaster, Ginny!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"No," said Ginny simply. "It's Harry's story to tell, and I just informed the Headmaster that. Since he didn't seem to comprehend that, I just told him a bit harsher than I should have," Ginny winced a little when she saw the look on her mother's face. Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say, but she was tired and all she wanted to do was go lie down and sleep for a couple of days.

"Ginny, how dare you-," her sentence trailed of when she realized her daughter was already out the door and hurrying to her dorm room.

James couldn't stop looking at his son. Every time he looked at his son's pale face guilt began to eat at him, telling him that he should have been with his son and prevented this from happening.

But he hadn't been with his son, and his son had handled the situation quite well in his opinion.

James couldn't really deny it anymore. Harry was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and until Harry made a stupid decision or needed his help James would treat him like the adult he was.

Of course, James was still going to prank him and tease him, but he wasn't going to keep too many Order things from him. He just wouldn't tell him everything.

Now, if only he could convince Albus to tell Harry the prophecy then everything would be fine. James set his eyes on said person as he talked to Ginny. James frowned as he saw Ginny seemingly insult the Headmaster and Molly grow angry with her daughter. He would have to find out from the Headmaster or Ginny what had happened.

James was suddenly aware of a soft hissing at his feet. He looked down to see Ice. The snake was hissing at him, looking like he wanted to tell him something. He found out a second later as he heard a moan from Harry's bed. James was over there in a flash, calling for Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey was instantly by his side as she began to look over a confused and groggy Harry.

"Ugh… go away Ice… lemme sleep…" he muttered as he tried to push away Madam Pomfrey. James stifled a laugh.

"Mr. Potter, I assure you that I am no snake," she snapped. Harry seemed to come fully awake and looked at her.

"Of course you're not, why would you think that?" asked Harry, not seeming to realize that he had been addressing her as Ice. The snake in question slithered onto Harry's lap, only to be pushed off again by Pomfrey. Ice gave a very irritated hiss. Harry began to laugh.

"Nice job, Madam Pomfrey," said Harry.

"What?" she asked quizzically as she waved her wand over Harry.

"You did a good job in irritating Ice. I don't think I've ever heard him swear so colorfully except for the time I threw him into the lake," said Harry.

"You threw your familiar into the lake?" yelped James.

"Yeah, well, he made sure I came in with him," said Harry sourly.

James just shook his head at his son. Maybe he wasn't as grown up as he seemed. Dumbledore chose that moment to come by Harry's bed.

"Ah, good, you are up," said Dumbledore with his customary twinkle. "I was wondering if you could tell me what happened in the forest? Miss Weasley wouldn't tell me anything,"

"Yeah, went to the forest, found Ron, killed a couple of spider and Graphorns, wounded some, grabbed Ron who had gotten himself knocked unconscious and ran. You found me there," said Harry while looking morosely down at his arm, which looked very torn up.

"Could you be more specific?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, what do you want to know?" asked Harry.

"How you wounded the Graphorns and spiders?"

"Magic," replied Harry vaguely. The questioning went on like this for quite a while. Ice was lying on Harry's lap. He hadn't hissed once during the entire time, but as Dumbledore looked like he was about to end the completely useless questioning Ice gave a sudden hiss. A startled Harry began to hiss rapidly back. Madam Pomfrey, who had been checking over Harry while all this was happening gave a surprised start and poked Harry very hard with her wand. Harry gave her an annoyed glance before resuming his conversation with his snake.

Dumbledore looked interested, but was obviously lost at the conversation in parseltongue. Harry stopped hissing and looked up at the Headmaster coolly.

"Ice would like you to stop trying to break into my mind, as it is tiring for him to keep you out with his shields," Harry said. James froze and stared at the Headmaster. He couldn't be using Legilimency, could he? But by the paling of the Headmaster's face, it was obvious that he had.

"Harry, I was just-,"

"Save it," groaned Harry. "I'm not in the mood for this," he said as he got up. Madam Pomfrey gave a fierce glare.

"Back into bed, Mr. Potter. You're still hurt…" she said as she pushed him forcefully back into the bed. Harry winced as she jolted his hurt arm.

James grabbed the snake before he could strike out at the Healer. Ice gave a furious hiss, and Harry began to hiss rapidly in parseltongue. Ice seemed to calm down, so James let him go. Ice glared at Pomfrey but settled down next to Harry, and when Madam Pomfrey made a motion to push him off the bed he gave a hiss and she reluctantly backed away.

James wondered what Harry had said to Ice. It was one of the first times that he really wanted to understand parseltongue. His curiosity knew no bounds, so he had to ask.

"What were you saying?" asked James.

"Nothing important," said Harry. James felt a stab of disappointment, but sighed and began to walk away after nodded and bidding Harry a goodbye.

Harry glared at Madam Pomfrey as she proceeded to force potions down his throat. "I don't really need all this crap in me, do I?" he spat out as she tried to make him take another potion. She glared at him.

"Of course you do! Your arm was severely injured and it needs these potions to heal!" she said as she made him drink a slimy gray potion. Harry gagged as it slowly went down his throat.

"My arm will be fine!" he protested. She ignored him and forcefully made him drink another foul potion. Ice was lounging on his lap, but gave a hiss as Madam Pomfrey succeeded in pushing him off again.

/THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME! I swear, I will kill her for that!/ hissed Ice as he began to go for the Healer. Harry grabbed the murderous snake and put him in his lap.

/You're just in her way. Just let her do her job/

/Like you let her do her job, with all your complaining and moaning/

/At least she doesn't push me off beds/

/Impudent boy. I should bite you for that/

/It's true/ hissed Harry. Harry laughed as Ice began to mutter swears as Madam Pomfrey pushed him off the bed again, this time on accident.

/That's it, I see I'm not wanted/ muttered Ice as he began to slither out of the hospital wing. Harry smirked. Harry knew he had won. Harry lounged in the hospital wing bed, feeling satisified, even though Madam Pomfrey was still stuffing him full of potions. He remained that way for five minutes. Until he felt a sudden burst of pain. It seemed to spread slowly throughout his entire body, and he knew instinctively that Ice was hurt. Harry ignored Madam Pomfrey's shouts as he jumped up and began to run out of the hospital wing.

He was still in his bloody robes, but he ran down the corridor anyways. Everyone was at dinner so no one was in the halls. All he could think about was that Ice was hurt… he supposed it was because of the bond they had that he was able to know this.

Harry followed his senses and turned down a barely ever used corrider. He hurried down it and came to sight that made him very, very angry.

Malfoy had somehow gotten to Ice, and was holding his wand to the snake's head.

Harry held his breath for one moment before charging forward. Ice wasn't unconscious, just hurt. He was hissing horribly and looked very angry with the boy who dared try to hurt him. He had succeeded in placing a wound on his body, but that was all. Malfoy had merely taken him by surprise.

Harry did the first thing he could think of; punch Malfoy. His fist slammed into Malfoy's nose and judging by the crack had broken it. Harry didn't stop there. He proceeded to pummel every inch that he could reach. By the time he stopped, Malfoy was unconscious.

/What did he do to you?/ asked Harry.

/The damn boy took me by surprise. I was taking a shortcut to the common room, one that really isn't known when the boy came across me. He had a spell on him to make him pretty much undetectable, so was able to cut me. After that he tried to curse me, but I put up a shield. You came along after that, and beat him up. Good job with that, by the way. Can I poison him?/

/No. Hey, wait a minute; I thought that no one knew about you other than my friends, my parents and me? Why wasn't Pomfrey surprised when she saw you?/

/Oh, that. Remus explained everything to them while you were saving Ron/

/You were with me then, how do you know that the discussed it?/

/Because I know everything/

/That makes me laugh/

/Can I bite you instead?/

James chose this time to come running around the corner. "Harry, what happened?!" he asked, his eyes taking in Malfoy, lying on the floor looking very bloody and Ice's cut.

"Malfoy attacked Ice. Because he was able to wound Ice I was alerted to this, and came running. I… knocked him unconscious and here we are!" said Harry, trying to gloss things over.

"So Malfoy just happened to be bleeding when you arrived?"

"Uh… yes?"

"Right. Come on, then," said James as he waved his wand to levitate Malfoy to the hospital wing. Harry followed him. Ice healed himself on the way, the cut vanishing and replacing itself with flawless white scales.

As they entered the hospital wing, they found Madam Pomfrey panicking, along with a hysterical Lily and a Dumbledore who looked disappointed. When they saw them Madam Pomfrey instantly ushered him into a bed.

"Don't you dare go running off like that again! WHAT HAPPENED?!" she screeched as she suddenly saw Draco Malfoy behind James.

"He attacked Ice," muttered Harry darkly. Lily seemed to be calming down enough to set furious eyes onto her son.

"Harry, you can't just beat up students-," she started but was soon cut off by Harry.

"SHUT UP!" he roared. "HE ATTACKED ICE!"

"That's enough, Lily, Harry. Lily, Harry had a good reason to attack Mr. Malfoy. Harry, don't shout at Lily," said James calmly. Harry quieted, but glared at his mother. Lily just looked upset.

"If you could tell us what happened, Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore gravely. Harry sighed and avoided Dumbledore's eyes. He didn't want an attack on his mind right now.

"Sure. Madam Pomfrey was giving me a whole ton of potions when I felt a pain all over my body. I realized that Ice was being attacked, and I acted. I ran out of the hospital wing and I soon found Ice. Malfoy here had attacked him and I, of course, defended him. I was able to knock him unconscious and then my father came along. And now here we are," said Harry. Dumbledore frowned.

"Now, Harry, you can't attack a student without a good reason…" he began. He never got to finish.

"A GOOD REASON? A GOOD REASON? DID I NOT JUST SAY THAT HE ATTACKED MY BONDED FAMILIAR?! ARE YOU DEAF? ICE HAS SAVED MY LIFE, HERMIONE'S LIFE, MY SANITY, AND HAS DONE SO MANY THINGS TO HELP US! BUT, OF COURSE, THAT ISN'T A GOOD REASON! TELL ME, PROFESSOR, WHAT A GOOD REASON WOULD BE!" Harry bellowed. Professor Dumbledore looked shocked, as did everyone else in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was so stunned that she even forgot to reprimand him for yelling around her patients.

"Harry, that's enough! You can't shout at the Headmaster!" said Lily in a strained voice. Harry glared at her.

"I already did," he stated as though it was common sense. Lily glared at him.

"Harry James Potter, you apolo-,"

"If you think for one moment that I'm going to apologize to a man who just insulted Ice and indirectly insulted me, then you are insane," said Harry rudely. "I've had enough of this. I'm leaving," he said as he got up. Ice gave a hiss and curled around his leg. Harry gave a comforting hiss back.

He could feel the emotions coming from Ice. Their bond was very strong lately, it was almost as if being in all these situations had strengthened their relationship. Ice was very angry right now, very angry indeed. After angrily stalking down the halls, Harry made his way to the Chamber of Secrets without caring that someone might be watching him do it. He jumped in and prepared for a harsh training session. Both him and Ice needed it.

Harry came out of the Chamber the next day in horrible pain. His arm throbbed and had started bleeding badly again. Maybe a training session hadn't been the best solution, but it sure relieved some of the stress. Harry clutched his arm to his chest as he hurried out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Harry walked down the corroder sedately, like he had nothing in the world to be worried or concerned about. Of course, his arm was throbbing worse than ever, and he hadn't slept at all the last night. It was already seven in the morning. And the fight with Hermione hadn't been completely settled. And his small argument with his mother. And the Graphorns were still in the forest. Not to mention that he didn't know whom the Death Eater was.

Harry shrugged, but winced when it moved his arm. He held his arm tighter, cradling it in his embrace. He quickly stopped holding it tighter. It hurt worse with more pressure on it.

Harry slowly made his way to the infirmary. He might as well get this fixed. He didn't fancy having his arm fall off because of his pride. He just hoped that no one would be there.

Of course, with his luck, everyone was bustling around the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was checking over her patients, Lily was talking with Remus in a corner, Hermione was being force fed a nasty looking potion, James and Sirius were also in a corner looking suspiciously like they were planning a prank, Ron and Ginny were both dozing on two different beds, Dumbledore was discussing something with Cornelius Fudge and an irate looking Lucius Malfoy, and Molly Weasley was sitting in a chair… hold on, what were they doing here? Harry quickly looked back at Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge. His eyes narrowed.

Harry strode quickly over to Madam Pomfrey, who had straightened upon seeing him. "Mr. Potter!" she exclaimed. She had a large frown on her face, and when she saw his arm her frown intensified. "Come here this instant!"

He did not need to follow her command, as she was by his side in an instant and ushering him into bed. She began to bustle around for more potions while most the people in the hospital wing perked up at hearing he was back.

"Harry!" said Hermione, but she was cut off from further comment when the spoon that Madam Pomfrey had enchanted to feed her stuffed another spoonful of potion into her mouth. She gagged. Harry resisted smirking at her disgusted expression. It felt nice to have that done to someone other than him.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, care to tell us where you went last night?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes, I do care," said Harry simply. Fudge's eyes widened.

"Now, you can't talk to the Headmaster like that!" he blustered. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I just did," he said. Fudge began to blabber on about something, but it was clear that no one was listening, because talk had exploded out over the hospital wing. No one could believe how uncivil Harry was being to the Headmaster. It was only after a couple of fireworks from Dumbledore's wand (which Madam Pomfrey looked very irritated at, as it had quickly woken up any patients that were sleeping) that silence was restored.

"That's enough," said Professor Dumbledore. He gave Harry a stern look before turning back to the minister. "Now, what were you here for again, Cornelius?"

"Here to tell you that the new Defense teacher should be coming by sometime today. I told her to meet me here around this time. Also, I'm here on a complaint against one Harry James Potter for releasing a dangerous animal inside the school-,"

"Hold on, I didn't release a dangerous animal. That was a Death Eater," Harry interjected. Fudge raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean the Graphorns. I meant a snake," he said snottily. Harry's eyes widened.

"Dangerous animal? I don't know what crap Draco Malfoy has been feeding you, but Ice is no dangerous animal. Malfoy attacked him first, Ice had a right to self defense," snarled Harry. Unknown to him, potion bottles were shaking slightly on the shelves.

"Potter, you will not talk about my son like that," snarled Lucius Malfoy.

"Malfoy, you will not talk about my snake like that," shot Harry right back at him. Lily groaned and put her face in her hands. She groaned something that sounded along the lines of 'we're doomed'. James and Sirius were both snickering at Malfoy's expression.

"How dare you speak to me like you're my equal!" he nearly shouted, his face losing his usually cold expression.

"How dare you speak to me like I'm under you," Harry shouted right back. A glass nearby shattered. Harry felt his control slipping again… but quickly regained it when Ice gave a comforting hiss. Malfoy narrowed his eyes. Fudge, seeing it was about to get out of hand, intervened.

"Now, now, calm down. Mr. Potter, everything will be fine. Draco Malfoy will heal, and we will kill the snake-,"

"HOW THE HELL IS THAT COMFORTING?!" Harry shouted. Fudge looked uncomfortable.

"Well, it is a snake, Mr. Potter," he muttered. Harry, ignoring Madam Pomfrey stood up from the bed he was on. He began to hiss very loudly in parseltongue. Okay, so he was swearing in parseltongue, but all the same it was loud hissing. Ice was giving what could be described as a laugh underneath his robes at his foul language.

"Mr. Potter, you will stop that dark magic immediately!" said Fudge who looked positively alarmed. Harry didn't listen.

/YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, LITTLE WORM WHO CAN'T PICK OUT GOOD CLOTHES IN THE MORNING, LET ALONE LEAD A COUNTRY…/

"Mr. Potter!" said Fudge, looking scandalized. Harry finally stopped hissing.

"I'm so sorry, Minister, did you say something?" he asked politely. Fudge looked almost sick for a moment.

"W-we will have to kill that snake…"

"Like hell you will. He's my familiar, Minister," said Harry. "And if you kill him then I will withdraw completely from the war and let you lay blame for every single death in Britain when their hero leaves," Now Fudge seriously looked sick.

"Alright, I guess you can keep the snake, but something has to be done…" muttered Fudge.

"Something can be done. Do your work at the Ministry, don't meddle here anymore," said Harry. Fudge looked shocked at the audacity that Harry was showing.

"Mr. Potter, I am trying to improve the education here-,"

"You're trying to control Hogwarts. Anyone can see it. Leave now Minister," commanded Harry. To everyone's surprise, the Minster left, taking Lucius Malfoy with him. There was silence for a few moments before James spoke up.

"Wow. That was brilliant," said James. Harry blushed a little.

"Thank you," he said. Harry looked around to see the reactions of the others. Both James and Sirius were impressed. Hermione and Ron looked unsure of what to think while Ginny looked at him with a supporting expression, indication that no matter what she would stick with him. Remus looked halfway between amusement and exasperation. Lily and Dumbledore, however, both looked disapproving.

"Now, Harry, that wasn't the best way to handle the Minister," started Dumbledore. Harry snorted.

"I don't care. As long as he leaves me alone I'll be happy," said Harry.

No one noticed Harry's eyes suddenly flick to the window, because he did it so quickly that no one even realized that he had.

"This will just make things worse!" said Lily.

"They were already getting bad," snapped Harry. "At least this says that I won't be completely pushed around anymore.

"Excuse me?" came a feminine voice in the doorway. "Is the Minister here?"

Harry froze.

"No, he just left. I suspect you are my new defense teacher?" asked Dumbledore. The woman nodded.

Harry slowly turned towards her.

"Yes. My name is Donna Umbridge. I am very sorry for my sister's actions, they were uncalled for," she said. Harry stared.

He had found who the Death Eater was.

Harry studied her. She had long black hair that went down to her hips. Her eyes were a beautiful violet color. Her lips were in a smile, and her voice was like velvet. But it didn't fool him. Underneath it was a small coating of the cold voice he had heard when confronting the Death Eater. It was enough to tell him exactly who she was.

Harry didn't listen to what Dumbledore and Umbridge were saying. Something about a trial for Umbridge. He was concentrating too hard on her to care. Ice hissed from his shoulders, /Be careful around her. She's the one who was the Death Eater/

/I know/ murmured Harry. Harry knew that he had to inform the others. But as he looked around, Harry realized that he had lost without even trying. Everyone was drawn to her, and it seemed like they were already friends with her.

Harry took a deep breath.

Damn.

Donna smiled indulgently as Sirius Black attempted to flirt with her. Pathetic. She could already tell that they very nearly trusted her. The fools. They were much too trusting, easily swayed by good looks and kind words.

Her eyes traveled to the Potter brat. He was staring at her. His eyes seemed to pierce through her, like he was reading her, judging her. He seemed to communicate with his eyes, telling her that he would never trust her so easily.

She smiled at him. He didn't smiled back, merely narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down on the bed. His arm had started bleeding through that bandages that Madam Pomfrey had managed to put on him.

"Oh, are you okay?" Donna asked. Instantly all attention was turned to the brat. Donna felt like puking. He had so much attention, he would never know what it was like to be neglected and have your brother killed in front of your very eyes.

But she could at least give him some pain, even if it would take a while. She hated to be around the man who had murdered her brother, but it had to be done.

He panted. The man kept coming after him, mocking him. His blood was everywhere. He knew he would catch up. He always did. Any escape from this hell was futile.

The man yanked on his arm, finally catching up. He looked up fearfully.

"Thought you could get away?"

"Hoping to," he panted. "Never thought running was your strong suit, Lanish,"

"Oh, it's not, but after looking after you for so long has its merits," said Lanish. "I don't know why the Dark Lord keeps you. You're pretty much useless, only really good for torturing,"

"Yes, yes, we all know that you love torture," he snapped. He was struggling to get out of his grip. Lanish's eyes looked insane.

"Now, now, we can't have you escaping. That would ruin everything that the Dark Lord has planned," smirked Lanish. Slowly he dragged the man back into the dungeons.

At Hogwart's, Harry's scar twitched in sudden pain, but Harry didn't notice because of the potions he was being forced to drink. After a while, the attention left him. Madam Pomfrey declared that he needed rest, and shooed most of the people out of the hospital wing. The rest of the people there were quick in falling asleep.

Harry got up and made his way wearily to the window when he was sure no one was either awake or paying attention to him. Harry leaned towards the windowsill.

"Hello, Rita. Hear anything interesting?"

And at the Riddle House where Lord Voldemort resides, the Lord looked out of his window and plotted.

Bellatrix smiled. She would get her revenge on those petty fools that dared call themselves faithful Death Eaters when all they did was leave the Dark Lord. She would get them back. A few of her plans were already in play.

She smiled. Her Lord would be pleased. Hopefully.

Her smiled widened. She would kill those muggle loving fools. Then her Lord would rule over everything. She couldn't wait.

Her smile got even wider.

A/N: Whew, talk about long chapter! Nearly 6,000 words instead of my usual 4,000. On to another thing… what happened to all the reviews? I get around twenty-eight one chapter, the next I don't even get fifteen? That really upsets me.

Donna has taken a larger role in this story than I would have liked. Already her character is more important to the plot than many others, which I'm sure you'll soon find out. And Lanish is back! For those of you who don't recognize him, refer to the chapter where they all go to Diagon Alley. He makes an appearance there. I couldn't just mention him once and never talk about him again, could I?

Okay, tell me what you think: who is the mysterious man that Lanish is keeping hidden away for Voldemort? This won't be answered for a really long time, but it's fun to guess, right?

Oh, and Dumbledore isn't super manipulative in this story, he just does the things that he thinks are right, even though they're wrong. That means he needs to be involved in Harry's life, and Harry's obviously been frustrating him with his vagueness and stuff.

Oh, make sure that you note a lot of stuff that happens in this chapter. This has to be one of the most important chapters that I've written so far.

Take note: I can be really mean sometimes. ANY LESS THAN THIRTY REVIEWS AND I'LL UPDATE IN THREE WEEKS INSTEAD OF TWO! Please don't make me go through with this threat!

So... REVIEW!