Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling.
Thanks for all the wonderful encouraging reviews! I really am grateful to all of you. Here's the next chappie. Be warned, it's full of sappy scenes, Enjoy!!
Chapter Thirty Five
Harry managed to get to his feet, his knees threatening to buckle at any moment. James kept a tight grip on Harry, guiding him through the corridors until they arrived out in the atrium.
The first thing Harry saw was the large crowd of people, holding up posters and banners. Harry was struggling just to stay on his feet so the words written across the banners and posters didn't register in his mind at first. He saw that the Aurors were trying very hard to keep the mob of people away from the Minister who was surrounded by his bodyguard Aurors. That was when he noticed Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Lily standing near the front arguing with the Aurors guarding Fudge. Dumbledore was seemingly arguing with Fudge.
"I will not be pressurised into releasing him! You can't manipulate me, Dumbledore! You can arrange as many protests as you like! I will not release Potter until the investigation is complete!" Fudge roared at Dumbledore.
The word 'protest' hit Harry hard and he turned to look at the angry mob of people holding up the banners and posters, in surprise. They were here for him! They were fighting for his release. That was when the words written in bold letters made sense to him.
Harry didn't understand why a protest was being made for him. He didn't think anyone would care. That was when he recognised the faces in the crowd. Damien was arguing heatedly with one of the Aurors, Draco by his side. Lavender and Parvati were holding up a large banner with the words 'Free Harry Potter!' and were yelling the same thing at the Aurors. He spotted the long red hair belonging to Ginny and felt his heart leap in his chest. She was standing with Hermione and Neville and was arguing and shouting heatedly with the Aurors, trying to keep them away from the Minister.
He saw more and more people from Hogwarts and realised that his fellow students were all here fighting for his release. Never did he think that students from Hogwarts would come to his aid.
Harry saw Ron look towards them and as soon as their eyes met, Ron's face lost its colour. He was staring at Harry as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Harry knew that if he looked half as bad as he was feeling right now, then he probably looked awful. Ron caught Hermione's attention and pointed out Harry. She looked around at him and her face paled just as Ron's had. Harry saw her mouth form the words 'Oh God!'
Soon the students noticed Harry and James walking into the atrium. They quietened down and just stared at Harry's shaky form as he painfully made his way across the atrium.
Sirius looked in their direction and his argument was cut off in mid sentence. The arguing stopped as all of them saw James helping Harry.
At once, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Tonks ran to meet Harry and James. Lily had Harry in a tight embrace as soon as neared him. Harry would have objected to her very public display of emotion but he was still reeling from his close encounter with the Dementors. He knew he came awfully close to never seeing her again. So Harry let Lily embrace him and say comforting things in his ear. She pulled away and her concerned eyes took in her son's trembling form. She was shaking herself, her hand were trembling as she reached for Harry's face. She had been so nervous and worried about him.
Sirius, Remus and Tonks all were looking at Harry with wide concerned eyes. He looked awful, they had never seen him as pale as this. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat and he was shaking badly. They could see that Harry was trying very hard to compose himself, but he couldn't. James' tight grip on his arm was evidence enough that Harry couldn't keep on his feet by himself.
"Come on. Lets go." James said softly and they started walking towards the exit, completely ignoring the Minister and his army of Aurors.
Fudge was staring at James with barely hidden rage. He moved to stand before James and Harry, his Aurors standing behind him, wands drawn.
"Auror Potter! What are you doing?" he asked.
James didn't even bother looking at him to answer him.
"I'm taking my son home." He said, his voice giving away how much he was controlling himself.
"You can't take him. He's under arrest for the murder of…"
"No he's not! Harry has given you evidence of his innocence. The wand that was found next to Nott's body was not used to take his life. That was the only thing linking Harry to this murder. Harry's not done anything, he's going home." James said, cutting Fudge off in mid sentence.
"Now you listen…" Fudge started, his face red and angry.
"No, you listen!" James said from between clenched teeth. He let go of Harry and moved towards the Minister. "It would be in your best interest to stay out of my way! The only reason I'm not dealing with you right now is because I want to take my son home first."
"Your son is under arrest. You can't remove him from the building until the investigation is over." Fudge replied heatedly.
"The investigation is over. He gave you his proof. He cast the Priori Incantateum charm on his wand and gave you proof that he wasn't involved. He doesn't have anything more to do with this." James replied. He turned to guide Harry towards the doors again but was stopped by Fudge. Every eye was on the Minister and James.
"You don't have the authority to remove him from the Ministry." He said angrily.
"I have all the authority I need. I don't need to abide by any set of rules when you broke them yourself!" James said, his anger getting beyond his control.
"What do you mean? I haven't broken any rules. The arrest warrant issued was legitimate and with good reason." Fudge said at once, defending himself.
"The warrant may have been legitimate but your behaviour wasn't! You sent me away from the Ministry on purpose so I would be out of your way. You arrested Harry and used inappropriate methods to interrogate him. When you realised that Harry was in fact innocent and could prove it, you imprisoned him and had Dementors guard him! When you saw that you couldn't possibly win this, you gave the order to the Dementors to administer the Kiss!" James' voice grew with every word until he had shouted out the last part.
At the mention of the Kiss, everyone in the atrium took in sharp breaths. The students were staring at Fudge with venom. Harry's awful appearance made a lot of sense now. Even Dumbledore had turned to look at the Minister, severe anger showing in his eyes. Damien couldn't tear his eyes away from his brother. He never thought the Minister could stoop so low as to do something like that.
Fudge was shaking his head at the allegation.
"Rubbish! I didn't order the Dementors to administer the Kiss! Why would I do that! I only ordered them to guard him! You're making that up!" he shouted at James.
"If I hadn't reached Harry in time, your foul Dementors would have administered the Kiss!" James retorted, his fists clenched hard by his sides.
Lily looked at Fudge before turning to look at Harry. He was silent throughout all of this. She knew it wasn't out of choice. He was too exhausted to find his voice and argue. He was focusing all his energy to keep standing upright and it showed on his face.
She reached for his hand and grabbed onto it, squeezing it slightly, offering non verbal comfort. Harry looked up at her and gave her small squeeze back, showing her that he was okay.
"I will not stand for this! You are falsely accusing me of this! I did not give the Dementors any orders for administering the Kiss!" Fudge shouted, his face growing red from all the screaming.
"An hour ago your Aurors were denying that Dementors were even here at the Ministry. What are we supposed to believe?" Lily said with quiet venom.
Fudge looked at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He looked back at James as he walked towards Harry. The crowd of students were positively spitting in his direction. Their angry glares were directed at him. He knew he had to clear his name or else he would be in real trouble.
"Auror Potter, you can't accuse me of such a crime. I would never allow Dementors to do such a thing. They were here only to stand guard."
"The Dementors had no business being here in the first place." Sirius barked at him, his eyes narrowed in angry slits.
Fudge looked from him back to the crowd. Angry murmurs began amongst the crowd. Hateful words were heard against Fudge and the Minister was starting to break out in a cold sweat.
"I had to get the Dementors! I knew I couldn't hold him otherwise. I had to take the necessary precautions!" he started to explain, his voice cracking to show how nervous he had become.
James took no notice, he began leading Harry away again.
"Auror Potter, you can't just walk away!" Fudge said, he was so angry, his hands were shaking.
James stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. When he spoke, his voice was steady but the tones of hurt were clear for all to hear.
"I have given this Ministry twenty two years of my life and this is what I get in return! My own son falsely accused and nearly destroyed by the person who is supposed to be in charge! You planned all this out. You sent me away from the Ministry on purpose so I couldn't help him. You sent Aurors to my home and threatened to imprison my wife! You used improper methods to question Harry and unlawfully imprisoned him! After twenty two years service, this is how my family is treated!" He said, his anger barely controllable.
Without saying anymore he reached over to the badge that was pinned on his blue Auror robes. He pulled it off in one go and threw it at the Minister's feet. The gold badge skidded across the marble floors and stopped at Fudge's feet. "I quit." James said in an even voice.
Harry turned to look at is dad in shock. Lily, Sirius, Remus and Tonks all stared at James in stunned surprise. James didn't look at any of them, his eyes were fixed on Fudge. The Minister was gaping at him, not daring to believe that he was serious.
"I don't want to be an Auror anymore if it means I have to stand back and watch you abuse your power and mistreat others. I would rather devote my time to finding a way to professionally and personally destroy you until there is nothing left!" James added with so much rage it made Fudge take a step back.
Fudge was rendered speechless. Harry couldn't believe his dad had just quit his Auror job like that. James turned and started walking with the others, heading for the door.
"Potter! You can't take a suspect without…" Fudge tried again, in a shaky voice.
"I know my rights. After an accused has provided sufficient evidence to prove their innocence, they cannot be held. They have every right to leave." James answered.
"That's right!" Moody said, stepping forward. "I was there when Potter gave his evidence. He's proved his innocence." Moody said quickly before the Minster could say anymore.
Fudge was looking at Moody with wide disbelieving eyes. He didn't think Moody would have sided with Harry. When it was apparent that the Minister had nothing more to say, James started walking again.
Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at James and without saying anything, he moved way from him and started walking towards the Minister.
"Harry?" James called out, but Harry didn't answer him.
He walked as steadily as he could up to Fudge, his eyes fixed on the Minister and not on the surrounding Aurors who were pointing their wands at Harry. Fudge's face had suddenly lost all its colour. Harry stopped in front of him. Fudge's mouth had suddenly dried up. He couldn't find any words to say to Harry, not when he was standing this close.
James and the others watched, confused as to what Harry was doing. Without saying a single word, Harry reached towards the Minister's robes. Fudge flinched hard and nearly jumped a foot in the air. There were numerous wands pointed at Harry but no one fired any curses at him.
All Harry did was flick Fudge's robes open to pull out his wand from the inner pocket. Harry held up the wand to show Fudge that was all he was after and tucked it safely in his own pocket. Harry's hard glare never left Fudge's shaking form the whole time. The Minister could find nothing to say and let out a breath of relief when Harry moved away from him.
Without saying a word, Fudge turned and fled from the atrium, rushing to get away from everyone. Harry joined his dad again and the small group headed towards the door. The rest of the Aurors stood where they were, confused as to what they were supposed to do. They started ushering the protesters towards the exit. Now that everything was over, they all could leave.
Just before approaching the exit, Harry seemed to suddenly remember something and he stopped in his tracks. James looked at him, confused as to why he was stopping now.
"Harry? What's wrong?" he asked.
Before Harry could answer, Sirius spotted the bartra bracelet on Harry's wrist. He reached towards it but Harry quickly pulled his hand away. He didn't want Sirius to accidentally set it off. He didn't think he could deal with the pain again. Sirius looked at him, his eyes taking in the boy's trembling and he realised that the after effects of the bracelet were just as horrendous as the after effects of the crucio curse.
Sirius looked around at the Aurors, all still standing with their wands pointed at Harry, even when he looked ready collapse. A deep feeling of disgust and hate rose inside him.
"Whoever's put the bartra on Harry better come and take it off!" Sirius yelled.
After a few moments, Jeffrey stepped out from the crowd and moved towards Harry. Standing a good distance away, he flicked his wand and said the counter curse. The bracelet unwound from Harry and zoomed straight towards the Auror. Jeffrey caught it and pocketed the bracelet. He turned and quickly left before anyone could say, or do, anything to him.
The mass of students let out a cheer as Harry and his parents, along with Remus, Sirius and Tonks headed towards the exit and left the Ministry of Magic.
xxx
Harry apparated side along with his dad and arrived outside Potter Manor. His mum was waiting to find Damien amongst the crowd of students leaving the Ministry and was going to apparate back with him. Sirius, Remus and Tonks, while immensely worried about Harry, decided to leave him alone with his immediate family. Harry desperately needed rest.
Harry shakily walked inside the Manor and immediately collapsed onto the sofa in the living room. His whole body was aching and throbbing with pain. He closed his eyes in a bid to relive the pain in his head.
James headed towards the fireplace and made a fire call to Poppy. He was asking her to come over as soon as she could. Harry was too tired to argue and just let him call Poppy. He felt a hand soothe his burning forehead and he opened his eyes to see James standing over him. The look of pain and concern on his face was alarming. Harry suddenly felt very guilty for putting his dad through so much. He knew that his plan to catch the 'Dark Prince' was partly to blame for his arrest. He knew how much his dad loved being an Auror and because of what happened today, his dad had left that job. Harry thought that James had quit his job in a moment of rage and was certain he would regret his rash decision. He diverted his eyes from his dad and looked at his own hands.
"You're burning up. Take some fever relief potion, before it gets worse." James said, casting 'accio' on the said potion and handing it to Harry.
Harry wordlessly drank the potion as James sat down to face him. Both were silent for long minutes. The awkwardness stretched out the minutes so it felt like they were sitting in silence for hours. Finally the door opened and Lily and Damien came inside. Both James and Harry looked up at them, relieved that they were here.
Lily rushed to Harry and started examining him. Damien just stood at the door, staring at Harry, silently thanking all the Gods that his brother had survived. Harry looked over at Damien and quickly looked away.
The fireplace burst into green flames and Poppy came to stand in the room. She ushered Damien out, not wanting him to witness Harry's check up. Damien left, looking like he desperately wanted to stay. James and Lily told Poppy what had happened as she started attending to Harry at once. She was looking livid by the time they finished.
Harry was happy to just sit in silence while Poppy called Fudge all the names under the sun. Lily was doing most of the talking. James was sitting quietly, his eyes fixed to Harry.
"I can't believe he would do something like this! It's outrageous! I'm appalled at his behaviour!" Poppy continued to say as she ran her wand over Harry's body.
Her expression changed from angry to worry. She ran her wand repeatedly over Harry's chest, particularly the left side. Harry thought he knew what was bothering her.
"It was the bartra bracelet." He supplied before she could ask.
Poppy looked like flames could actually appear from her nostrils. She cursed under her breath and looked through her bag of medical supplies.
"Take off your shirt." She ordered Harry.
Harry gave a look of discomfort at his parents but neither noticed. With a resigned sigh, he painfully pulled off his shirt. James and Lily could only stare at the sight. Harry's left arm was horridly red and bruised. It looked like he had smashed it against something repeatedly. The bruised, sore, red skin started at Harry's wrist and went all the way up past his shoulder and across his chest. It was swollen as well. James could tell that it was because the bartra bracelet had been activated so many times. He stared at Harry as he diverted his eyes and didn't look in his direction at all.
Poppy took out the salve and started taking out copious amounts and as gently as she could, she started treating the bruises. Harry tried not to show how much it hurt but after a few minutes he pulled away from her.
"It's the only way it'll get better." Poppy told him, a little too sternly.
"I know. It's just…can you do it later?" he asked, hoping she would agree.
Poppy handed the slave to Lily, who took it silently. Poppy finished her examination and looked over at Harry, her expression softening.
"How long were you with the Dementors?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.
Harry looked uneasily at her but answered.
"I don't really know. I kind of lost track of time." he said without looking at his parents.
"That gives me my answer." Poppy said. She turned to Lily and started giving her instructions.
Harry could feel the potion James had given him rebel in his stomach. His stomach began to cramp and all he could do was sit up in time before he vomited violently. Lily spelled away the mess and started to rub Harry's back as he recovered.
James looked away and started pacing the floor. He was trying very hard to stop himself from going back to the Ministry and killing the Minister.
"How many doses of Vertiserum were you given?" Poppy asked, recognising the symptoms of overdosing.
"Four" Harry answered.
"Were they trying to poison you?" Poppy asked, outraged.
"No, they just didn't believe me." Harry answered dryly.
James had enough and turned to face Harry.
"This is exactly why I wanted you to stay out of the Ministry's way! I knew something like this would happen!" he erupted. Harry looked over at him but didn't say anything. "I tried so hard to keep you out of the Ministry's radar but you just had to make yourself known, didn't you!" James continued angrily. "Every time you pulled a stunt to distance yourself away from the Ministry, I feared it would result in something like this happening to you. Your little trick to catch the 'Dark Prince' was only asking for trouble!" he yelled.
"James" Lily exclaimed, shocked that he would speak to Harry like this when he was in pain.
James stopped and realised what he was doing. Harry had not been home for even an hour and he was already starting on his case. Harry was keeping his eyes diverted from him. James walked over to Harry and kneeled next to him.
"I can't lose you again." He said, speaking honestly, his voice cracking with grief at the thought. "When I saw you today, with the…those Dementors. I…I was certain that I was too late. I…I can't lose you, Harry." He said, barely holding back his emotions.
Harry met his dad's eyes and for the first time he saw beyond the anger and rage. He saw that his dad was scared, afraid of what could have happened if he hadn't arrived on time. Harry reached over and with a trembling hand, he held onto his dad's hand.
"You won't lose me." Harry assured him.
James reached over and kissed Harry's forehead before taking him into a strong embrace. Poppy had to pull Harry out of James' embrace.
"If you've finished trying to smother him, I would like to continue with my examination." She scolded, lightly. The atmosphere was so tense that she had to say something to lighten it.
James smiled weakly and rubbed his eyes dry.
"How did you find me?" Harry asked. He had been wondering that.
"I arrived at the Ministry and Kingsley told me what had happened. He told me that you gave evidence to prove your innocence but Fudge disregarded it. I snuck in through the back, like I did last year and tried looking for you. I don't know how but it felt like you were calling out to me. I swear it was almost like I could hear your voice in my head. I just followed my instinct and it led me to you." James explained.
Harry didn't tell him that he had in fact been calling out to him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't bring himself to tell him that.
"Where did Fudge send you? I was trying to get a hold of you using the mirror but I couldn't get you." Lily asked.
James' expression changed to one of pure rage.
"He sent me and the others to a magical lockdown area. We didn't realise until we got there that we were in a magical lockdown. I knew he sent all of us there for a reason. We couldn't apparate, use any portkeys and no magical item was working. That was probably why the mirror didn't work. Even our brooms didn't work. We had to travel out of there on foot. That's why it took us so long to get back." James answered.
It was only then that Harry saw the exhaustion on his face. He had been through so much today as well.
"I can't believe Fudge thought he would get away with this." Lily said.
James turned to look at Lily and Harry.
"I want you to know that I'm not letting Fudge get away with this! If I don't get Fudge thrown out of office then my name isn't James Potter!"
xxx
"That's enough. I can't eat anymore." Harry said, leaning away from his mum.
"Have a little more." Lily urged, handing him the extremely large block of chocolate.
Harry shook his head.
"I can't eat anymore. I'm stuffed." He said, feeling the vast amounts of chocolate inside him rebel.
"Harry, you've had prolonged exposure to Dementors. The more chocolate you eat, the better you'll recover." Lily explained and tried to push the large bar in his hand.
"Seriously mum, I can't eat anymore. You've already made me eat the amount a small sweet shop would sell." Harry responded.
Lily raised an eyebrow at him.
"That's a bit of an exaggeration." She said. "Fine, if you can't eat anymore chocolate then how about drinking some?" she got up and rushed to the kitchen before Harry could argue.
Harry looked around the empty living room. Poppy had left with strict instructions for Harry to eat as much chocolate as he could. He still couldn't get rid of the cold feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. His hands were still shaking but Harry knew that was more because of the memories he was forced to live through than the cold.
Damien was still upstairs. James had gone to check up on him. Harry was sure they would be coming back downstairs shortly.
Lily walked back into the room, carrying two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
"Here, finish that." She said, handing Harry a mug.
"I don't think I've ever had this much chocolate in my life." Harry joked as he took the mug from her.
"Well Poppy said that the excess vertiserum you consumed means your stomach can't handle any potions just yet. So we have to use other methods to heal you. Chocolate is the best thing to eat after a Dementor attack." Lily explained.
Harry nodded his head and drank the hot chocolate quietly.
"I'm going to get started with dinner soon. Is there anything in particular you want to eat?" Lily asked. She reckoned Harry needed some extra pampering after what had happened.
Harry shook his head.
"I'm really not hungry. I'm filled up on this stuff" Harry said holding up the mug.
"You have to eat something." Lily said.
"Maybe it's an idea not to fill me up with sweets before dinner then." Harry joked making Lily smile.
"When was the last time you ate something?" she asked him, losing her smile.
Harry threw her a look but Lily ignored it. She waited for his answer.
"Harry? I asked you something." She said.
"A few days ago." Harry mumbled the answer.
"So you didn't eat the food I left for you?" she asked, growing more annoyed with him.
Harry shook his head again.
"What have you been surviving on?" Lily said. She only meant it as a rhetorical question and so was very surprised when Harry answered her.
"Nutritional potions"
Lily was taken aback by that.
"Nutritional potions?" She asked, hiding her surprise. "You know, you could have just eaten the food I cooked instead." She said, trying to mask the hurt.
Harry didn't say anything and continued to look at his hands.
"Where did you get the nutritional potion from?" Lily asked.
"This morning, when I was in the potions lab, I was making up a batch of nutritional potion." Harry answered.
"So you went through the trouble of brewing a potion rather than just joining the rest of your family and having a proper meal?" Lily asked, pushing down the extreme anger she felt.
"I didn't want to cause any more fights." Harry said simply, not looking at Lily.
Lily felt her heart jump at his words.
"Harry, do you think it's acceptable to skip meal times and not eat anything just to avoid fights? You can't live on nutritional potions. They are a supplement to food not a replacement."
She couldn't help feel guilty at Harry's behaviour. She had been really hard on Harry and had said a lot of things to him the first day they had returned from Hogwarts. It must have made Harry want to avoid talking to everyone.
"I know what a nutritional potion is. It may be meant as only a supplement but you can easily live on it." Harry said a little quickly.
"How would you know that?" Lily asked annoyed.
Harry looked at her and Lily caught a sudden shift in his eyes. An emotion had flickered there momentarily but Harry was quick to hide it.
"It's something I learned." He mumbled and looked away.
Lily felt like someone had downed her in icy cold water. She suddenly understood how Harry knew that. She had seen it in Harry's eyes, before he hid it. The haunted look that always appeared in Harry's eyes, when someone mentioned his past, his childhood. Lily knew, without having to be told, that Harry must have been forced to survive on this potion when he was a child. She still remembered, from Harry's pensive memories, how Harry had looked when he was only three or four years old. She remembered his thin and malnourished form. Lily realised that Voldemort's abuse wasn't restricted to only physical beatings. He had pretended to be James and beat Harry but that wasn't enough to break him, so he starved him as well. The realisation made Lily physically sick.
Composing herself as best as she could she faced Harry, placing a hand on his.
"You're not taking this potion. Not when your mother is still alive. I don't ever want you take these as a substitute to food. You can take them as supplements if you want but never again are you to take this in the place of a meal. I don't care how many fights happen at the dinner table, from now on you are having every meal with us!" she said, barely holding back her tears.
Harry actually looked a little relived.
"I thought...you were angry with me so I just figured that you wouldn't want me to join you." Harry confessed.
"Just because I was angry with you doesn't mean that I don't want you around me. You could have taken your meal in your room if you were that mad at us." Lily told him. "And I wasn't that mad at you." She added.
"You said not to talk to you. That sounds pretty mad to me." Harry said, but he had a small smile on his face.
"Did you, I mean, when you were growing up, did you have to rely on nutritional potions?" Lily asked, her voice shaking.
"Not all the time. I used to steal these when I couldn't take the hunger anymore." Harry answered without really meaning to. It just slipped out.
Harry regretted telling her that. He quickly looked away. Why did he say that? Lily was looking awfully close to tears. Luckily at that point, the door opened and James walked in with Damien in tow.
Lily led James to the kitchen, no doubt as to tell him about the nutritional potion, leaving Harry alone with Damien. Harry was sitting up on the sofa, a blanket draped around him. Damien stood awkwardly near the door. Both boys looked awkwardly at each other. Their argument and fight came rushing back to both of them and it made the situation all that more awkward. Damien decided, being the youngest, that he had to take the first step.
"How…how are you feeling?" he asked, taking a step nearer to him. Harry had looked awful when he came back from the Ministry. He was looking a lot better now.
"I'm fine." Harry answered his usual answer.
Damien nodded his head and looked around the room so he wouldn't have to look at Harry. After a few minutes passed and Harry made no effort to talk, Damien gave up and turned to leave.
"If you need anything, let me know." he said and turned to the door.
"I need you to stop acting like a prat and come here!" Harry said.
Damien stared at him in surprise.
"What do you mean? How am I acting like a prat?" Damien asked, confused as to why Harry was speaking to him like that.
"You are acting like I'm a house guest or something. 'let me know if you need anything' what do you think I'll need that I can't get by myself?" Harry asked angrily.
"Oh, I get it. This is your macho act again, isn't it? Well, I'm sorry for saying that to you. I take it all back. You can just go to hell!" Damien said. He had thought Harry would have been nicer after what had happened but he was just the same.
"Get lost!" Harry hissed at him.
Damien left, slamming the door behind him. He was halfway up the stairs when he stopped and realised what he was doing. He had come so close to losing Harry today. He wasn't going to let a stupid falling out ruin his relationship with his only brother. He turned around and walked slowly back to the living room. He walked inside to see Harry sitting with his head in his hands. His face was hidden but Damien knew he was just as upset as he was.
Damien walked over to him and sat down on the chair that Lily had been sitting on. Harry looked up at the sound and glowered at Damien.
"I thought I told you to get lost!" he said.
"You did, but this is my house as well and I want to sit in my living room." Damien answered coolly.
Harry looked at Damien for a moment before throwing his blanket to the side.
"Fine, then I'll go." He said and got to his feet.
"Harry, wait." Damien said and reached over and grabbed him by his arm, in an effort to stop him from leaving.
Unfortunately, he grabbed a hold of Harry's left arm and pulled hard to stop him. Pain shot up through Harry's arm so fast it made him dizzy. His knees buckled and he fell back. Damien was on his feet in moments. He didn't understand what had happened. Surely he couldn't have hurt Harry, all he did was hold onto his arm.
Harry's eyes had watered with the pain. He tried hard to get his harsh breathing under control.
"Harry, what's wrong? What happened?" Damien asked, feeling panic rise at the look of pain on Harry's face.
Harry didn't answer and clutched onto his arm. Damien noticed and as gently as he could, he pulled the sleeve of Harry's shirt up. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the red, bruised skin.
"What? What happened? Harry, how did this happen?" Damien asked in concern.
"Bartra bracelet." Harry answered.
Damien knew that the bracelet was that fiery red band on Harry's wrist that he had seen the day the Daywalkers had first attacked. He had no idea it how it worked but knew it caused immense pain. His heart filled with anger at the thought if the Aurors hurting Harry with the bracelet.
"Those bastards!" he said angrily.
Harry looked over at him and even though he was in pain, Harry found a smile tug at his lips.
Damien saw the smile and looked at him.
"What? Why are you smiling like that?" he asked.
Harry shook his head.
"It's nothing. I just find it amusing that you hate me but still get angry when someone else tries to hurt me." Harry told him.
Damien looked appalled at the allegation.
"I don't hate you. When did I ever say that I hate you?" he said.
Harry tilted his head to the side and looked at Damien.
"You called me an inconsiderate jerk who uses everyone and doesn't care about anyone and you've told me to go to hell twice." Harry said in an even voice.
"You got hate from that?" Damien asked, wearing a sheepish grin, trying to mask the guilt.
Harry smiled and leaned back on the sofa. He knew Damien didn't hate him but he enjoyed making him feel guilty anyway. Damien sighed before running a hand through his dark locks, reminding Harry strongly of James.
"Look, Harry. I said a lot of stupid things to you but I didn't mean any of them. I only said them because I was angry with you and I was being hurtful." Damien said in a sincere tone. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I really am sorry." Damien added, looking at Harry.
"Okay" Harry responded.
"So, is there anything you said to me that you didn't mean and only said to be hurtful?" Damien asked after a few minutes.
Harry smirked and looked at Damien.
"No, can't think of anything." he said.
Damien gave Harry a mock glare making Harry laugh.
"Come on, Damy. You know I trust you. Hell, at times, you're the only one I can trust." Harry said making the younger boy feel at ease.
Damien smiled and felt the weight life away from him. It felt good to hear Harry say that. Damien leaned back in the chair and talked to Harry about what happened at the Ministry. Harry told him everything from how he was interrogated to how he took Blake's wand and defended himself against the Dementors. He finished by telling him how James had come at the right time and saved him.
Damien was looking quite pale by the end of it.
"So it was Blake that ordered the Kiss, not Fudge?" Damien asked.
"Yeah" Harry answered.
Damien thought about it. He couldn't understand how someone could do such a thing. Everyone knew that Charles Blake hated James Potter. It was like this since their days at Hogwarts but to actually try and kill Harry just to get back at James was extreme behaviour.
Damien could hear his mum and dad talking in the kitchen and the smell of dinner was making his stomach rumble. He hadn't eaten anything since the morning. He couldn't even think about food after Harry had been taken by Aurors.
"Can you believe dad's not an Auror anymore?" Damien asked after a few minutes.
Harry shook his head.
"I think he's going to regret that. I don't think he meant it." Harry said.
"Are you serious?" Damien asked, sitting up in the chair. "Merlin, Harry, didn't you see how angry dad was? There was no way he was going to continue as a Ministry Auror after the way they treated you. And having Dementors there…" Damien shuddered. He had never dealt with Dementors before but from what he had heard and learnt about them, he never wanted to deal with one.
"I just think dad quit his job without really thinking about it." Harry said.
"Is it true that to fight off a Dementor you have to think about something that makes you really happy?" Damien asked.
Harry nodded his head and leaned back his head. He was so tired, he needed to sleep.
"Can I ask you something?" Damien asked.
"You just did." Harry answered.
"Who did you think about?" Damien asked, ignoring Harry's remark. "When you were with the Dementors, what happy memory did you use to fight them? Who did you think about?"
"I don't want to say." Harry answered.
"Why?" Damien asked, confused.
"Because you already have a big enough head as it is and I don't want it getting any bigger." Harry said.
The look on Damien's face was priceless. He was gaping at Harry, his usual inane smile on his face.
"Me? Your happy memory was about me?" he asked with a laugh.
"Oh for Merlin's sake, wipe that smile off your face!" Harry playfully scolded.
Damien just laughed and continued to look very proud of himself. Just then James popped his head into the room.
"Dinner's ready. Harry, do you want your food out here?" he asked.
"No, the table will be fine." Harry replied getting to his feet.
He was still feeling exhausted beyond belief but the chocolate and talking with Damien, had gotten rid of the cold caused by the Dementors. Harry walked, albeit a little shakily, to the kitchen and sat down with the rest of his family.
"I still can't believe you thought of me." Damien whispered as he sat down next to him.
"Oh, for God's sake, get over it!" Harry told him.
"Did you think of anyone else?" Damien asked, as he started piling food onto his plate.
An image of Ginny flashed in Harry's mind, her red hair framing her smiling face.
"No, I didn't think of anyone else." Harry replied quietly, as he picked up his plate and slowly started on his dinner.
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I did tell you it was going to be sappy. Well after the last chapter, what did you expect? LOL!! Let me know what you all thought. Cheers!!