The Time Travel Crew
Chapter 27: Harry steals the show
All Harry felt was pain.
He hurt so much, he wished he could enter that white place as he had done the previous time. Yes, he had hoped to be hit by the Avada Kedavra and probably meet his father this time instead of Dumbledore. Maybe he hoped he could die even, because Harry didn't know what he wanted.
The white place had taken the form of King's Cross, the first place he had found solace from everything that caused him unhappiness... The place he went to to run away from it all... The place that took him away to the Wizarding World, away from the Dursleys, away from his miserable little life and it was but little wonder that Harry found himself at King's Cross when he was hit by Voldemort's Avada Kedavra in the previous time.
Harry just wondered what form it would take in this time. Would it be the living room of the Cherished Heart? Would James and he be sitting in front of the fire discussing things? Would he be angry with Harry for not returning earlier to save him or would he be happy in his afterlife? Was he lonely? Harry didn't know what to think. All he wanted was to be held in Lily's comforting arms.
Truth to be told, he felt humiliated...disgraced beyond endurance... in front of his very own mother! Not to mention Sirius and Remus and the entire crew... Don't even start on all the people watching. Harry could practically see their faces of both sincere and fake sympathy once it was all over... He could almost here the pathetic tones of reassurance.
Harry wasn't afraid. He had mulled over the consequences of his meeting with Voldemort, before he agreed to Sprout's suggestion that he join them. They wanted him to enjoy his life but he just knew facing Voldemort again in this time couldn't be avoided, being a horcrux on no.
And then, when Harry suddenly realized that his wish for death or maybe even a few moments of unconsciousness was going to be fulfilled, the Avada Kedavra simply bounced off him, leaving him with nothing but terrible pain in his chest. So much was his pain, probably due to a broken rib or two, that Harry barely registered any surprise when Pettigrew fell to the floor, dead.
Why?
That was Harry's only thought. Why did it happen? Why was he not hit? Why was he still able to see those terrified, disgusted faces of the people? What about the gleeful faces of the Death Eaters? Why was Harry still in a position to see the anxious, frantic expressions of his close friends? Why could Harry still see that beautiful face of his mother now marred with terror and grave sadness for him?
Harry felt like bawling and if he gave in to it, he would be done with the last strand of his dignity and maybe all his pride... No, no, he would NOT cry, but he needed to think of something, he had to avert his mind...
Why did he survive back in eighty one? Because of his mother... So why did the curse bounce off him? Because of his mother's protection of course! Harry's eyes widened despite himself... The blood wards were still standing around his home! They kept him safe from anything dangerous... Crucios, though almost permanently injuring Harry, weren't 'dangerous' according to the protection, neither were the cutting hexes or anything else, because they kept him alive!
The blood protection's sole purpose was to keep Harry alive! Not safe or healthy or happy... It was a wonder they stood, despite all the trouble he'd been through in the previous time. And now, he was still alive, but painfully so.
Then Harry felt depression get hold of himself once more... It was clear then, he wouldn't get to meet his father. That was that... And he wouldn't get to apologize, for, even though his death wasn't Harry's fault, Harry still felt guilty for not being able to save him.
Harry sighed and looked around him. Voldemort was very amusingly making a brilliant impression of the actions of a fish when pulled out of the water... His mouth was hanging open as he stared between Pettigrew and Harry.
Should Harry kill him now, or should he wait for Voldemort to try and kill him again and maybe hit Junior in the process?
"Absolutely not!" screamed Harry's aching chest and so Harry decided to make history and maybe another public name for himself. The baby Potter killed Voldemort...so now as a preteen, maybe Voldemort could be defeated, according to the eyes of the public, by a little, well...
Harry gathered all his strength and said aloud, "You are a coward! A very selfish, stupid, idiotic fool! You have absolutely no sense! You are probably even less ignorant than an ass!" -At this point, Harry magically directed the poison he had in the second vile to make it's way into Voldemort system and he finished it off with a -"I hate you!"
As predicted, the Death Eaters sneered and jeered and even fleered, but Voldemort's face registered shock... then pain...and his hand went over to his heart... And he backed away a step or two...and then, he toppled over headfirst into that stone cauldron with a very ungraceful plop... his robes falling back revealing two white legs sticking out in a comical fashion.
Voldemort was dead.
Some people would say, being scolded so childishly gave him a heart attack... other's would say, he needed the word 'hate' to be thrown at his face...and there were still other's who would say, 'The-Boy-Who-Insulted' was the best thing have happened to the World... But Harry didn't care.
With as little time he had before both, the viewers and the remaining Death Eaters recovered from their shock and armed with the knowledge that the cages could be opened from the outside, as Nott informed Voldemort, Harry sent a powerful unlocking charm at his mother's cage and then a compelling charm at Tonks, getting her to immediately open Dumbledore's and the Crew's cages.
Then Harry vanished the fake prophecy orb and closed his eyes and waited for the familiar, blissful and welcoming sense of darkness to claim him, away from the pain... The rest of the crew would take care of him... Harry need not worry anymore... His deed was done.
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Harry woke up to whispering so soft, he couldn't comprehend and he felt too heavy and comfortable to care. Something had happened and was probably happening and his dormmates were probably excited about it. But why was it odd that Harry couldn't remember when he pulled the curtains of his four-poster bed shut? Why was his bed more comfortable than usual?
Was he even on his bed? Or in Gryffindor Tower for that matter? Had he entered another year's dorm and flopped himself on the first bed he got and passed out? Why couldn't he remember entering his tower?
Oh! Because he hadn't entered it, because his attention was called for by Draco! No! It was the fake Draco...And the reality of all the happenings of the evening rushed to Harry. He gasped out loud and opened his eyes wide only to notice a blurry figure. Harry tried to sit up, but he couldn't even feel his arms.
"Just a minute, Harry." Snape's voice said gently, "You will see them in a moment."
Harry stared at Snape. See whom? What was he talking about?
Slowly some other blurry figures appeared out of nowhere and Harry's glasses were gently eased onto his face.
His vision cleared reveal the very badly suppressed excited faces of the rest of the crew!
Harry was torn between relief and disappointment. Relief that it was all over and that he was now surrounded by those who understood his plight and didn't underestimate him. The disappointment was caused by Harry's childish desire of having him mother by his bed, holding his hand and comforting him.
"She's currently asleep, Harry." Snape said, sounding slightly reproachful. He looked pale and tired, but other than that, there was no other sign to tip Harry off on anything.
"How did you know?" Harry said.
"It's very easy to read your expression when you don't have your shields up."
"Oh."
Harry put up his shields, just in case and turned back to them.
"What time is it?"
"Twelve in the afternoon, Harry." said Neville.
"I've been out the whole night?" Harry said incredulously.
"Not a night, dear." Sprout said gently. "You've been out for five days."
"Five days!" Harry exclaimed in shock, noticing no one reprimanding him for being loud... So wards had been put up around the bed.
"Yes." Snape said, "And your mother sat by your side day and night without a rest until she passed out at dawn today."
"Passed out?" Harry asked suddenly worried for his mother.
"Passed out with exhaustion, yes." Snape said. "She'll be alright after she's made up for her sleep. That particular day wasn't easy for her, it wasn't easy for any on us and mind you, if there was a reason Black could get away from his piling load of work, I or rather we would never have been allowed in here... You did very well, Harry."
The others hastened to add in a few praises of their own.
Harry acknowledged them with a modest "Thanks" and then said, "What about Remus?"
"It's a full moon tonight, he's a bit weary." Neville said quietly. "He decided to spend the night in the shrieking shack."
"Oh, what about Joyce?"
"She's sleeping besides her mother there." McGonagall said, her voice filled with emotion.
She moved aside to let Harry take a look at her mother and sister fast asleep in the next bed. Harry could simply lie there and drink in that scene for hours together, but he needed answers.
"How are you, Harry?" Snape said.
"I feel quite numb actually, no pain at all, but forget about me." Harry said rather impatiently. "How's our Draco?"
"Right here, Harry." said Draco's voice from behind him, too dull for Harry's liking.
Harry turned his head around as best as he could to stare at his very pale friend, who refuses to look at him in the eye.
Justin huffed from his position at the foot of Harry's bed, "He's been blaming himself for what happened to you, Harry and so has Filius. Do us all a favour and put their minds at ease."
Justin sounded deliberately tactless and Harry simply shook his head at the flushed two mentioned.
"Exactly what do you have to blame yourselves over?" Harry asked them severely.
Both remained silent. Harry began ticking off his fingers.
"Did you drag me to this time? No. I came on my own accord. If I didn't want to come, I wouldn't have listened to your reasoning no matter what."
"Harry -" Filius began only to be interrupted.
"Did you give me that galleon? No. That was Junior's doing. He did so by using the hair of a probably restrained twelve year old, who had, most certainly, been tortured. So, get the hint. I'm not going to repeat it. I do not blame you. No one does. Besides, the idea of using a portkey -"
"Harry -" Filius began unconvinced, but Draco did look relieved. Harry interrupted the former.
"No no, listen to me. Did you torture me? No. That was Junior's and Voldemort's doing. Did you know they would pull such a huge stunt? No. Blame that on the fact that Voldemort's an idiot. If you wish to blame someone, blame me. I could have easily killed Voldemort after finishing the snake, but I wanted him to believe that he had one over us."
"You would have been killed by Junior within the minute had you not done what you did." Neville said quietly.
Harry's eyes widened, "Hey! What's happened to Junior?"
"He's dead." Sprout said simply.
"How?"
"All thanks to Severus."
Harry gasped, "You killed him!"
"No, I didn't." Severus growled giving Sprout a dark look.
Luna said, speaking for the first time, "Severus hid behind Dumbledore and summoned his wand from that huge pile, then he began disarming the Death Eaters... It all happened very quickly... and Junior, who was already disarmed, moved towards you, Harry - to do what who knows - but at the same time Avery cast the spell at you and Junior came in it's way...Well, end of story."
"Too short." Harry commented. Then he let out a frustrated huff, "Why can't I feel my hands...or legs for that matter?"
The crew exchanged troubled glances.
"The crucios?" Harry supplied as understanding dawned on him.
Draco nodded, "It will last for a couple of days at most. Then Madam Pomfrey said she'd keep you for a week more."
Harry simply nodded.
"What became of the Prophecy, Harry?" Neville said. "We couldn't find it anywhere.
"Oh, Voldemort was a bit to impatient actually. He told Crouch to break it for him and was he mad when he heard me blowing the raspberry. He used the Cruciatus on me, but his face was totally worth it." Harry kept silent for a while and then he smiled, "So, given me the full story then."
Draco said, "There's nothing much. After Tonks opened us, or - if we guessed correctly - after you got Tonks to open us, Severus jumped down and summoned his wand and began disarming those seven. He finished with Nott and Junior the first, I guess, then you know what happened to the latter."
Harry nodded and Justin continued, "Well, Severus single handedly disarmed the rest and got them all tied and secured to each other."
"You deserve the Order of Merlin." Harry said to Snape with conviction, who was trying to hide the flush that crept up his cheeks. "You deserved it in the previous time too."
"It's already being issued." Snape said modestly.
"First class?" Harry said perking up.
"Second." Snape said. "They're reserving the first."
"Whoever for?"
Snape said teasingly, "For the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Live-Again, or the Boy-With-The-Deadly-Tongue, or the Boy-Who-Kills-With-His-Insults, or whatever they're coming up with these days."
Neville sniggered, "Blimey, Harry," he said amongst chuckles, "I've known to to come up with more creative insults. The Prophet can't help putting out an article on you on every page, everyday! And I think Sirius Black has actually made a collection of all those clippings." Then he sobered as Draco, Justin and Luna nodded vigorously, "But those childish taunts, I suppose, were fitting for a twelve year old."
"I'm flattered, Nev." Harry said drily. "So, if it went well, the witnesses would believe Voldemort to have died of heart failure... Did they test his blood and Nagini's or something?"
Sprout said, "Severus vanished Nagini."
Harry beamed, "Another reason to issue the first class. You really deserve it Severus."
"Never mind that." Snape said with slight irritation, "Voldemort wasn't tested. They just buried him in Little Hangleton again, with the yew wand above and Junior and Pettigrew on either side. Crouch senior didn't want his son's body anywhere around his wife's grave. And yes, the world now believes angering you to be another method of committing suicide."
Harry rolled his eyes, "What's happened to Senior?"
"He's been demoted again." Luna said, "Well, there was no proof that he had anything to do with his son's actions. I suppose he ordered his elf to lie too. And besides he had strongly spoken against Voldemort under the effects of Veritaserum, you know, when Umbridge yelled out the names of a few followers at the Ministry."
"Didn't Avery work at the Ministry?"
"We're not sure, Harry." Flitwick said, speaking a full sentence for the first time. "When that raid took place many workers left their jobs, taking up ones in Knockturn Alley or elsewhere."
"So what happened after the Death Eaters were tied together?" Harry said going back to the topic.
"Madam Pomfrey made a dash for you and she reached there a second after Lily who took off after her." McGonagall said. "You're in the infirmary by the way. Did you know that?"
Harry nodded impatiently and McGonagall went on.
"Anyway, Amelia Bones had all the viewers settle down, but she refused to open their cages because of the resulting chaos, so Ollivander began to pick out one wand at a time and present it to it's owner, who in turn, would give his name and address to Tonks who would jot it down and disappearate off or maybe wait in the corner for a friend or relative and then disapperate.
"It was very organised, but it went well into the night and the Hogwarts elves were asked to make sure everyone was well fed. We were on a plateau that the Death Eaters enlarged and kept from view of Muggles. Every Death Eater was sent back to Azkaban and the ones who weren't arrested before are awaiting trials. Sirius Black is currently busy trying to locate Nott who succeeded in attacking the Minister herself and escaping with her wand-"
"What!" Harry exclaimed.
"You heard me right." McGonagall said grimly. "Amelia's otherwise unharmed, but she was quite livid. I don't believe her fairness will reach out to Nott when he's found. Theodore Nott and his family are living under strict supervision and I don't believe Nott senior will be able to contact them anytime soon. But he's too cunning, so I better not speak too fast."
"What about Lucius Malfoy?"
Flitwick who seemed more like his usual self smiled and said, , "Dumbledore had arranged for his trial to be the first on the list... And with cunning that I could associate with Salazar Slytherin, he got Lucius off the hook. And Lockhart has been locked away at Saint Mungo's until the Healers consider him fit to be transferred to Azkaban."
At Harry's shocked look, he added smugly, "Dumbledore requested to interrogate Lockhart under Veritaserum."
They talked a little longer and soon, Madam Pomfrey arrived who scolded Snape for not informing her about Harry waking up. The other crew members, invisible to her, hurried out of the infirmary leaving Snape and Harry to watch in silence as the annoyed matron bustled about muttering under her breath.
But when Lily woke up several hours later and coddled and hugged and literally pampered him to the extent of promising him that she would have Ollivander make another wand for him, that would resemble his first in wood, core and length, Harry believed his day couldn't get better.
To be continued...