Following his collapse, Harry was immediately placed in the spare bedroom of Shell Cottage. His vital signs were reasonably stable but he was showing no immediate signs of waking up. Bill had contacted the Order's resident healer, Andromeda Tonks. The teens knew that she was Tonks's mother but they had never met the woman before. Bill told them that she was one of the best healers at St. Mungo's and she would be over as soon as possible.
In the master bedroom, Ginny was having her wounds attended to by Cho. The pink ranger couldn't help but grimace at the lattice effect of scars that now ran up the length of her friend's arms. It was amazing that Ginny hadn't bled out based on the sheer number of separate wounds. She could only put it down to a cursed dagger that the now deceased Bellatrix had used, "Alright this is going to sting", the pink ranger said as gently as she could. She had a bowl of warm water on the bed and a couple of towels ready.
The second the warm water touched her skin, Ginny winced in pain. Only once had she looked down at her wounds since leaving Malfoy Manor but that was enough. Instead she focused on the blank wall immediately in front of her. The next few splashes of water didn't sting quite as much as she gradually became used to the sensation. After a few minutes she finally asked Cho for an assessment, "Be honest", she said with a hoarse voice, "how do they look?"
There was silence for a few moments as the pink ranger placed the damp towel on the bed. "Not great", she sighed, "I've never seen anything like this". The water in the bowl had been stained with blood and was now a light pink colour, "We'll wait until Healer Tonks gets here for a proper assessment".
The two girls then heard some raised voices from the other side of the closed door. At first they thought something was wrong with Harry but they soon realised that Andromeda Tonks had arrived. Didn't know what the shouting was about but they could tell that Hermione and Ron were involved. The noise died down and there was a knock at the door, "Can I come in", Fleur asked through the door.
"It's your bedroom", Ginny answered with a strained voice.
The door opened and the French woman stepped inside, "Ginny, Andromeda's going to look at your arms", there was a momentary pause, "but I think there's something I should warn you about first".
Fleur didn't get a chance to continue as the aforementioned healer stepped into the room. Ginny looked at her and she immediately stiffened, other than a softer, more friendly looking expression, Andromeda Tonks was a dead ringer for her tormentor, "Hello Ginny", Andromeda said with a soft voice, "I appreciate this will be difficult for you but I'll try and make this as quick as possible".
"Did you want me to stay?" Fleur asked her Sister-in-Law.
The white ranger shook her head, "It's fine, I've got Cho with me". Fleur nodded and left the professional healer to her assessment.
"You've done a good job here", Andromeda said to the pink ranger, "have you done some basic healer training?"
"Yeah my Uncle thought it would be best", Cho replied, "considering he was training me to be a Power Ranger". Cho couldn't help but stare at the woman, if Harry hadn't killed her a few minutes ago, she could've sworn that Bellatrix Lestrange was sitting in front of her.
"I know what you're thinking", Andromeda said without looking in Cho's direction, "you wouldn't be the first person to mistake me for my older sister".
The moment the words rolled out of her mouth, several thoughts started rolling through both ranger's heads. The most prominent one was voiced by the white ranger, "Mrs Tonks, you do know what Harry just did, right?" she asked nervously.
Andromeda nodded slowly, "I'm not sure if I should be angry that he killed my sister or rejoice with the rest of the magical community that a dangerous psychopath won't threaten them anymore". She continued to work on the wounds, cleaning them up as best as she could, "The Bella I choose to remember is the protective older sister that she was until she was about fourteen".
"What happened then?" Cho asked in fascination.
"I'm not really sure", Andromeda sighed, "she was never the most stable person, always teetering on the edge of madness. One day I guess she finally lost her mental balance and became the mad woman we all know". She dropped the towel on to her lap and lifted up her top, revealing a faded scar on her stomach, "I was acutely aware of what a psychopath she was, I got this on the day I left home to marry Ted". She lowered her top and snorted, "I guess she got her revenge when one of her Death Eater friends killed him a few months ago".
Ginny swallowed and gasped, "I'm sorry, we didn't know".
"Not your fault dear", Andromeda conjured some bandages, "this will prevent any infection but you will have to endure a rigorous potion and healing balm regimes for a while".
The white ranger paused for a moment, she wanted to ask another question but she was afraid of the answer. She summoned up all of her courage, "Will they ever fade?"
"I won't lie, you'll probably be scarred for the rest of your life", Andromeda began, "glamours should be able to hide the damage and the balm will help but they'll definitely be noticeable I'm afraid".
Ginny nodded, it was the answer she was expecting but it still didn't make it any easier to hear, "Can we see Harry now?"
"I don't see why not", Andromeda gave her a small smile and helped the teen to her feet. The trio left the master bedroom and crossed the narrow hall towards the spare room.
Inside the room, Harry lay completely motionless on the bed. There was no colour in his cheeks and his scar was an angry shade of red. Ron kept a silent vigil over his best friend's bed but Hermione was talking into her communicator, "Great if you could send him as soon as possible", she said into the device, "it might not help but it's worth a try". She turned off the device and turned around, "Oh Mrs Tonks, you scared me".
"Andromeda please", she replied, "I'm not one for formalities", she eyed the device in the yellow ranger's hand, "Is that a mobile telephone?"
Hermione was surprised that a Pureblood witch would even know what a mobile phone was but she guessed that her late husband had rubbed off on her. Andromeda busied herself with some diagnostic spells as she waited for a response, "It's many things", she replied, "a telephone, video phone, personal computer-"
"Don't forget that wicked game it plays too", Ron added.
"Not the most important feature Ron", Hermione hissed, "it was designed by a friend of ours to work in any magical environment".
"This friend of yours must be a genius", Andromeda stated and there was a general murmuring of agreement. The healer cancelled her spells and took a deep breath, "I can't find anything wrong with Mr Potter", she began, "his magical core is slightly depleted and he's a little banged up but that doesn't explain his unresponsiveness".
"There must be something?" Ron asked in desperation.
Andromeda shook her head, "Whatever this is, it's never been encountered in the magical world before", she looked down at her patient, "we'll just have to hope that he comes out of it".
As his friends kept their vigil, Harry groaned and shifted uncomfortably on the hard floor underneath him. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Oh this isn't good", he sighed. All the surfaces around him were completely blank and a stark white colour, "Well it finally happened, I'm dead aren't I", he added.
"Oh I wouldn't say that", a familiar voice replied.
The red ranger knew the voice but he didn't want to believe it. He turned around and caught sight of a familiar set of purple robes, "Professor Dumbledore", he gasped. His former Headmaster smiled and nodded slowly, "But you're dead, how can I see you if I'm not dead myself?"
"That's a very long story", Dumbledore began, "shall we take this discussion somewhere a little more comfortable".
Harry frowned, "How do we do that?"
Dumbledore chuckled, "This is your reality Harry". The red ranger was confused by the statement but moments later, the pair found themselves in a darkened room with small lights on the walls. There was a central computer bank and a huge, glowing tube in the centre of the room. Based on pictures showed to him by the original Ranger team, Harry slowly realised that this place was the Command Centre before it had been destroyed, "Ah the place hasn't changed one bit?"
"You met Zordon?" Harry gasped.
"Oh yes but that was a long time ago", Dumbledore looked up at the empty energy tube where the wise sage from Eltar usually resided, "it was Zordon that first alerted me to the power of Chi". He paused and chuckled, "I never did find out how he came upon that information".
"From another world apparently", Harry added, "The Mystic Mother told me during our meeting".
"Fascinating, I never would have guessed", Dumbledore paused and smiled again, "but I'm you're you don't want to discuss the history of Chi with me, therefore, I've brought along a few guests".
The former Headmaster indicated for Harry to turn around and the red ranger did as instructed. For the second time in a matter of minutes, he couldn't believe his eyes, "Mum, Dad, Sirius", he ran over to the trio and threw his arms around them.
"Hey there son", James Potter smiled, "you've grown since the last time I saw you".
"Yeah it's been a while hasn't it", the red ranger sniffed, "Hey Sirius, I got her for you".
"I know I saw", his godfather smiled, "couldn't have happened to a nicer person". He then began to laugh, "Oh and thank that friend of yours Keira for us, I never in a million years thought to smash a hole through my mother's portrait".
"Well you were never the sharpest tool in the box were you Sirius", Lily Potter chuckled, to which the dog Animagus responded by poking his tongue out, "even in death you're still an immature prat".
"And that's why you love me", Sirius wiggled his eyebrows.
"Hey go flirt with someone who isn't my wife", James scolded his best friend with good humour.
Harry stood back and watched the scene in front of him with a smile on his face. He often wondered what his life would've been like if his parents had lived and he was getting a taste of that now. There were a few more good natured comments between the trio before Harry decided to interject, "Sorry to interrupt but I still don't understand how I can be here but not be dead. I mean the last time I checked, all four of you were most definitely dead".
"Oh we're definitely dead", Sirius replied, "I'm definitely pushing up daisies".
"At least I left a youthful corpse Padfoot", James chuckled.
"Technically I didn't leave a corpse", Sirius shot back.
"Boys", Lily scolded the pair of them, "I would like to enjoy this precious time I have with my son, not listen to the pair of you bicker". The two men grumbled an apology, "I think we can all help explain that Harry but we'll need to take you somewhere else".
"Indeed", Dumbledore added, "I believe it will solve a number of mysteries about the Gormal and will ultimately prove useful in your final battles".
Harry nodded slowly, "Alright, lead the way". Dumbledore waived his arms and the Command Centre faded away, followed quickly by the rest of the group.