The Hunt
Chapter 28
Hopes and Dreams
As Harry lay motionless the dream of his hopes crept into his minds eye this time working backwards. He could see the man that he needed to take care of. He knew in his heart that he would have to kill this man but he did not want to. "There are worse things than death Tom." Dumbledore's remarks to Tom Riddle, so many years past flooded into his mind. He had wanted to kill Voldemort and when he had him in his hands, he could not do it, instead he turned him over to the few remaining Dementors that were still loyal and still used by the Ministry. Thinking back to that day he admitted that Dumbledore was right. After seeing what remained of Voldemort, there are things that are worse than death. The only thing that remained of Voldemort was the shell of his body. The fire of life had been removed, not even a spark remained just dullness in the eyes dead yet not dead, functional yet not functional, still very much alive yet something of life was missing from him. Harry remembered how he felt after the kiss had been performed. It was something nauseating, something like…, Harry pitied him. He actually felt pity for a man that had killed so many people. He pitied the man that killed his father, his mother, and…, Ginny.
That man was here, very near him and Harry could feel it. Harry kept pushing the unbidden dream back trying to concentrate on what he had to do but who was this man? Why was he here, and why could he feel him? Snape was the one that he was after. This man was going to interfere somehow. Harry tried to reach out with his feelings but felt only the evil that he had been tracking for all of these years; there was nothing different to it. A sliver of pain had flashed its way through his body and almost as quickly it was replaced by a warm and soothing hand and a wash of gentleness flowed through him. "You will know the truth of it when the time comes my son." It was not his mother this time but his father who had appeared. Harry's dream of Ginny, the lake, the house, and the children laughing and playing in that magical meadow filled his vision and he slept. "You shall have all that and more my boy, and more."
Harry awoke to the sounds of shifting feet and muffled voices outside of his tent. A man and a woman stood outside talking. He wondered how long he had been asleep, it was still daylight outside but he could not tell what the time was but he was sure that it was sometime after the noon hour. The shadows raised by the two told him as much. He tried to turn an eye towards the opening of the tent as it was pulled open. "Ah, Remus is that you and Madame Pomfrey?" Remus moved to where Harry could see him and before he knew it the body binder had been lifted. Harry started to move his arms when a gentle but very restraining hand stopped his movements. "Now lad, don't be moving around just because you can. Let me see what the damage is first." Harry nearly frowned when he heard her voice. Harry had become accustomed to hearing the curt admonishments of Madame Pomfrey's from his many experiences while in her care but this, well this voice was…, it was a voice trying to hide fear. He had heard the subtle tremble in her voice and she had never sounded warm before.
Poppy Pomfrey knelt down beside Harry and began to examine him carefully murmuring to herself all the while. Opening her bag she took out a large needle and began pricking Harry on various areas of his arms and each time asking him what he felt and how badly he felt the prick any at all which Harry readily yelped each time. She was working from his blind side so he would not know when or if she did prick him and at times she did not. Once satisfied that he held feeling in his hands and arms she began pricking his back again she seemed satisfied though she did frown twice when she pricked the two areas of his spine that Remus suspected he had broken. Poppy finished her inspection using her large needle and placed it back into the bag and then removed something that resembled a small divining rod that measured barely twelve inches in length and less than four inched between its forks and began to pass it several times up and down his spine.
The look on her face told Remus his worst fear had been confirmed as she snapped her bag closed. Harry could see the look on Remus's face and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what was obviously written across his friends face. Madame Pomfrey broke the gloom by saying that she could do nothing to help. She explained that Harry was actually in a precarious situation, he could be healed, but he would have to be moved to either St. Mungo's or to Hogwarts but the bad side of it was that if he was moved he could never be healed. She let out a stiff snort when she admitted that Muggle Healers would have to take Harry down off of the mountains and his chances of walking were slim to none if they did it that way and absolutely not at all if they did it magically. "But before we make any decisions, I want to try a few things though I can hardly dare for any success."
Harry tried for a brave face as he envisioned the potions that he would be forced to drink and he hoped that Remus couldn't see the grimace he made when the thought of drinking skelegrow flashed his mind. He remembered how it tasted when he had to drink a bottle of it when Gilderoy Lockheart had made the bones in his arm completely disappear while trying to mend his broken arm in his second year at Hogwarts. "Madame Pomfrey?" Harry managed to make the statement into a question. He could not see her as she knelt behind him. "Yes, Mr. Potter?" Her usual tart and strict features smooth themselves over in to a soft and yet concerned look as she oriented herself so that he could see her. "There won't be any skelegrow in this treatment will there?" his wry smile took her back for only a moment before she smoothed his hair down "Perhaps two, maybe three bottles worth Mr. Potter. It shan't be more than that, I should think." Harry grimaced at the thought but her own smile told him that she had caught his joking. Harry was truly willing to try anything at the moment though some of the potions that she had given him in the past left tastes in his mouth that would not be easily forgotten and with a gulp he thought of some that would never be forgotten.
Poppy continued on with her assessment of Harry praising The work of Remus's smaller attentions to Harry's cuts and bruises as well as his mending of the broken arm. Poppy normally spoke to her patients as she did this but this time she feared that what she had to say would not benefit Harry's healing and she assured herself that Remus had perhaps spoken to Harry of the worst of it. The largest portion of Poppy's comments and concerns where of how to get Harry off of the mountain side without causing more damage if not permanent paralysis. Harry had firmly denied wanting the use of muggle rescuers to remove him and Remus only nodded in assent to his vehemence against the idea. Harry had taken on this task alone and because of the loss that he had left in his wake, he wanted no others involved though Remus had tried to convince him that he could not be held personally responsible and certainly no one did but Harry himself held Harry accountable. It was his mistake to involve so many in a war that was his alone.
Suddenly Poppy Pomfrey rocked back onto her heels with a finality that suggested there was nothing more that she could. "Unless we remove him Remus, there is nothing more that I can do here and I have yet to see how we can safely remove him now that our Mr. Potter refuses the help of those that are trained in this matter." Madame Pomfrey was of course, referring to the muggle's "Mountain Rescue Teams," which were thoroughly trained for such events and perhaps were better equipped though she inwardly cringed to admit that to others. Remus frowned for a moment and then asked the very question that Harry had wanted to ask himself, "Is it necessary to continue to keep our patiently…," and he smiled warmly towards Harry, "still wrapped in the body bind?" Poppy pursed her lips in thought and then said, "If we could find a stiff board and cushion his neck I see no reason why we cannot fix him so that we could at least turn him over and perhaps fit the bind to his neck and below the shoulders." Harry looked hopefully as the small pebble that had buried itself into his chest was becoming increasing annoying though he could barely feel its pressure through the bind that Lupin had cast on him. "Mr. Potter, Remus, I must return back to the school but I shall return here tomorrow night, and I will bring what items that will be needed so that our young charge here can be more comfortable at least until I can think of something that we can do for him." Harry could only smile at the thought that she had not given up hope even though she has said that there was nothing more that she could do to help.
Madame Pomfrey was already crawling out from inside the small tent when Remus patted Harry's hand and whispered that he would be right back. Outside Lupin asked Madame Pomfrey if she could wait for a few more moments and then he would be delighted to escort her back to Hogwarts explaining that he needed to keep the Weasley's apprised of how Harry was fairing. Nodding Poppy agreed to wait for him as he slipped back inside of the tent. "Harry, Molly and the rest all know of your…, situation and they will want to come I'm afraid." He took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing to speak, "I know that you do not want them here to see you like this…," Harry stopped him from saying anything further by saying, "Tell them that I am fine and not to worry for me. Tell them that I appreciate their concern, I really do…, but…, Remus I don't want them to see me like this, not now, not while there is still hope." There was a pleading look in his eyes now and Remus only nodded that he understood. "I will try, but that is all that I can do son. I'll not lead them here if that is what you are asking of me." The look of concern was set deep in his eyes and Harry noticed that Remus had taken to calling him his son and something felt right about that. He was saying it to show the difference in their ages, it was, it sounded, possessive and it warmed his spirit. Remus would not give up and he would try to do as he asked. Remus slid from the tent and was gone before Harry noticed.
Dobby was in a pitched fervor when he arrived at the Burrow in search of Winky. Ron tried to catch a hold of him to question Dobby as to where Harry was but Dobby merely snapped his finger as he squealed and popped out of sight only to re-appear at number twelve Grimmauld Place. In a near panic he searched throughout the house only to find Winky was not there either. Standing in the kitchen, Dobby was swaying in time with his mournful moans wringing his hands as if to dry them, he was in a near panic. The thought that his master never being able to walk again, had him in a state of near hysteria. His large bulbous eye glistened with a wetness as he had been crying nearly the whole time that he had left Harry's side.
He realized that he needed to stop and to think where Winky might be. When he last left her she was watching over Missy Molly as she slept. But now it was daytime and she should have been at the Burrow, but when he arrived no one seemed to know where she was and Master Ron was trying to hold on to him to tell where Harry was, if she was there she would have come out to see what all the noise and commotion was about. He did not know where else she could be other than shopping or with Grandma Molly, or one of the other Wheezy's. His head was spinning and he felt dizzy just trying to figure out what he should do. Dobby sat on the floor of the kitchen and began to rock himself as his panic began to fill him to the point of bursting.
Night had fallen and the kitchen was cold and dark when Hermione stopped in to change her clothes and to get Ron a fresh pair for the next day when she found Dobby still setting in the middle of the floor rocking himself and muttering hysterically over and over, "Dobby is needing the Circle, Dobby is needing the Circle." Gingerly, she reached out to touch his arm and he jumped with a start and shrieked "Dobby is needing the Circle." She had seen him upset before but she had never seen him like this and it scared her. She tried to touch him again but he only continued to hold himself and rock more vigorously bemoaning the words "Dobby is needing the Circle." She sat down cross legged beside him and wrapped an arm about his tiny shoulders and each time he rocked she drew him closer to her until she was able to hold him tightly and rocked with him until he stopped moaning.
She sat with him, holding him almost the entire night until he had calmed down enough so that she could talk with him. She asked what he was saying but he refused to answer saying that only elves were supposed to know about the Circle and he could not say what it was to her which she accepted. Dobby pulled a rather large handkerchief from one of his pockets and blew his nose loudly into it and then replaced it just as Hermione asked him what she could do to help him. Dobby looked gratefully at her and said "If missus Wheezy could help Dobby find Winky, Winky could help Dobby." Hermione frowned and her brows creased into thought and replied, "Dobby come to think of it, I haven't seen Winky since yesterday. Do you need Winky to help with Harry?" Dobby only nodded as he took out his handkerchief once again to blow his nose in it. They sat together with Hermione still holding him and talked for several more hours but in the end Dobby refused to tell her what the Circle meant and where Harry was. Each time she asked it was in a different way but Dobby's answers were always the same. The Circle is elves business and Master Harry did not want anyone to know where he was. But she was able to get Dobby to agree to rest if only for a short time by convincing him that Remus would be there to watch over him and after a good rest Dobby would be able to think more clearly where Winky might be if she had not already returned to the Burrow, and if she did Hermione would send a message to him in the secret way. Once she said that Dobby seemed willing to try to sleep if only to help clear his mind so that he could think much more clearly. Dobby made her promise that if Remus sent any message that concerned Harry she would send a message straight away.
Hermione released her hold on Dobby, who bowed and scraped as he backed away from her and then left for his apartments that were in the attic of the house. Hermione remained setting on the floored trying to figure out what Dobby had been saying. "Dobby is needing the Circle." "What did he mean by that?" He had kept saying that over and over "What did that mean?" she wondered. It had to have something to do with Harry, that much she was able to puzzle out. She wondered if it were something that Harry wanted, or something that Harry needed, something that he could use? The possibilities flooded her mind, but what ever it was it obviously distressed Dobby so much that he had gone into a fit of hysteria. She knew of Dobby's propensity for self abasements and punishments and it was probably a good thing that she arrived.
Gathering herself together she rose from the floor imagining the various things that Dobby might have done to himself had she not arrived. Taking herself upstairs to hers and Ron's room, she tried to think of anything that might be called a circle that might have had some value for Harry or to Harry but after living here in the house for the last three years she couldn't think of anything that would fit the description of a circle other than a ring. A thought came to her that perhaps Harry had bought a ring for Ginny and in his pain; he wanted it for some comfort. Nodding to herself she accepted that as a possible idea that had come to her mind. Stopping just at her bedroom door she listened in the silence of the house to satisfy herself that Dobby was in the attic. She was about to go higher up after a moment of not hearing a sound when she heard Dobby mumblings two floors higher. Satisfied she opened the door to her room and packed a few sets of clothes for herself and Ron and left.
Dobby did as he was told to do and he settled himself down onto his bed. He had changed into his night clothes, which it seemed to Hermione to take a lifetime to convince him of their purpose and they were not to be worn as everyday clothes on his one day off each weekend. He had calmed down enough to where he could puzzle out for himself where Winky might have gone. Dobby was counting on his fingers the places that he knew she could be though he had to take back the idea that she might have gone back to Hogwarts for any reason. Rogent had expelled her from there and admonished never to return. Winky being a truly obedient House Elf would never disobey so she couldn't possibly be there. He was truly trying to work this out as he had seen Harry and the Wheezy's do so often in the past, and they always came up with the answers so this method had to work for him also.
It was late in the night when Dobby jumped up in his bed shouting with glee and hugging himself. Jumping and jumping in circles, he had figured it out. Winky had gone to Master Harry's side to help. It could be the only place she could be, she was at Master Harry's side and she was helping him. It was all he could do not to leave the house to be with his Master while Winky performed the magic, but he promised that he would sleep and he couldn't break his promise. Master Harry made him promise to take care of his Wheezy's and to follow their instructions and he was not about to disobey. Calming himself, Dobby forced himself to nestle down in his bed. To excited to sleep, he looked about his room at all the things that he had. His furniture, an excellent rug on the floor, a bed on his own that was large enough for several elves to sleep on and still not touch each other, cabinets for his clothes, a Wardrobe to hang his uniforms in so they would not crease, and tables, and chairs, and lamps. "Master Harry is truly good to Dobby, he is too good." His voice was mixed with squeaks and squeals of awe and delight and as his eyes closed he swore that he would be the best House Elf that ever existed as long as he belonged to the greatest wizard in the world, Master Harry Potter.
