DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I do not gain any profit from this fan-fiction. It is strictly for my entertainment and anyone who enjoys reading it! Song is from Harry Potter.
CLAIMER: I own my OMC Senya Ruikov.
WARNING: This is a Slash-Male/Male relationship fan-fiction. If you do not like same-sex relationships, then this story is not for you. Fast-paced. Violence. AU-verse.
BETA READER: None, so there will be some mistakes that I miss.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Deviates from books/movies…guess that would fall under AU huh? Well, can't say that I didn't mention it in my last author's note. Uh, cliffhanger-ish ending? Hope you all enjoyed. Might include an epilogue later on, just not right now.
P.S.: Bold is characters speaking Russian. Italics are for thoughts.
.:Chapter Four:.
Senya stood with Viktor, Harry, Ron and Hermione as they waited for everyone attending to watch the final tournament get settled in the bleachers. There was twenty minutes left before the third task was set to start, soon all of the champions would be called to the entrance of the maze.
"Be prepared for anything," Senya told Viktor, his grin mirroring on his friend's face as they bumped their forearms together.
"I have been preparing for this all year. I will win this for not only Durmstrang, but for myself," Viktor stated and Senya nodded in understanding, clasping a hand on Viktor's shoulder and giving a brief squeeze of support before letting his hand fall.
The main reason Viktor had even entered his name in the tournament was to make a name for himself outside of being one of the best Seekers in quidditch.
"You are more than a great flyer, Viktor, and tonight you will show the magical word," Senya voiced with certainty. "And you, Little Raven, you vill take your time and not rush in danger."
Harry looked up at Senya and actually rolled his eyes.
"Senya…the entire maze is dangerous. I can walk as slow or run as fast as I can and I doubt it would make much difference," Harry said with forced indifference.
Underneath it all, Senya still caught the wavering in Harry's voice. Taking Harry's hand in his larger one, Senya led Harry a few feet away from their group of friends for a semblance of privacy. Senya then pulled Harry into a hug, ducking his head to press a kiss to the crown of messy raven locks. In turn, Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Senya and buried his face against the blonde's warm chest.
"Here," Senya whispered, slipping something cool to the touch inside Harry's trouser pocket.
"What is it?" Harry asked, leaning back to meet Senya's eyes.
"Good luck charm," Senya answered, pulling away when the champions were called forward.
Harry glanced back at Senya when the blonde stopped to stand with Hermione and Ron, the three moving to the bleachers to sit with the other students. Taking a deep breath, Harry drowned out the short speech being given by Headmaster Dumbledore; not seeing to care where Crough Sr or Bagman had disappeared to. Harry could feel the weight inside his pocket and refrained from bringing attention to his new addition. The horn starting the third task sounded loudly and the champions stepped inside the maze.
.:oOo:.
Harry pressed his side firmly against Prongs as his patronus walked diligently beside him. The light emitting from Prongs lit the way and kept some of the more darkness-oriented creatures away from Harry. With one hand clutching his wand, Harry's free hand strayed to the item Senya had given him. It had turned out to be a silver necklace featuring a small raven charm. Harry had slipped it over his head just after he entered the maze.
Harry could feel a pulse of magic coming from the charm, the feeling of Senya's own magic interwoven with whatever spell-work the blonde had used. Harry could not help himself from smiling despite the dangerous situation he soon found himself in. Creeping out of the shadows of a tall hedge was the largest blast-ended skrewt Harry had ever seen. Harry's eyes widened; his body frozen at the approaching creature.
Prongs' ethereal glow flickered, but Harry maintained focus an his patronus grew strong once more. This only seemed to agitate the blast-ended skrewt, a ball of fire quickly growing at the center of it's stinger. Harry turned on his heel and ran, the blast of fire missing him by inches. Harry yelped as embers landed on his cheek from where the fire smashed into the hedge maze near his head. Diving around the corner of another portion of the maze, Harry barely caught himself from slamming into Cedric who was running in the opposite direction.
"Blast-ended skrewt!" Harry and Cedric shouted at each other.
Both changed direction, Harry quickly following Cedric as they ran away from the rustling hedges. Losing sight of the Hufflepuff, Harry turned another corner and felt his feet lift off of the ground. A startled sound escaped him as a strange golden mist surrounded him, the effects causing the gravity around him to shift. Harry's stomach churned as a sense of hanging upside down disoriented him.
Fighting back the lump forming in his throat at his sense of balance was reversed, Harry struggled to continue walking. He groaned in unease as he carefully stepped clear of the golden mist and everything shifted back into place. Harry fell down to his knees, sucking in long deep breaths in order to settle the nauseous feeling the mist caused. Damp grass tangled in his fingers, Harry having dug his hands into the grass in a means to ground himself.
As the nausea dissipated, Harry stumbled back to his feet to continue forward. Harry tensed as he walked, the consuming darkness reaching out to him from all sides and he realized that Prongs was no longer with him. Experiencing the limbo mist interrupted Harry's concentration on maintaining Prongs and his patronus vanished. Something brushed along the back of his leg, causing Harry to jerk around on his heels.
Harry gapped as eight hairy legs emerged from beneath a hedge, each hair catching the little bit of moonlight filtering through the darkness. Eight pitch black eyes glinting in moonlight locked onto Harry and he took a cautious step backwards. The acromantual standing before him was a baby, but Harry knew exactly how dangers those spiders were. When Harry moved, the acromantual leaped.
"Confundo!" Harry shouted the first spell to come to mind, the stream of magic hitting the acromantual in its center mass.
The acromantual fumbled around, seemingly confused on what it had been doing seconds ago.
"Incarcerous," Harry cast a second spell at the acromantual, only waiting around long enough to be sure the acromantual was no longer able to move because of the ropes securing all of its legs together.
Harry ran.
.:oOo:.
Screams and shouts of pain echoed throughout the hedge maze. Knowing the sounds could only be from the other champions had Harry's heart racing in fear. If the more experienced champions were having so much trouble this long into the third task, Harry did not wish to know what awaited him deeper inside. A flare of red light shot into the air nearby, casting an ominous glow as the caster sought help, most likely forfeiting due to an injury of some kind.
Fighting to control his panting breaths, Harry pushed through the growing cramp on his side. His legs felt as though he were carrying lead, Harry having lost track of how long he had been running through the maze. Minor cuts and scrapes marred his bare skin, some oozing blood while others burned. Harry's jaw ached, a bruise already darkening the side of his face where swipe of a blast-ended skrewt's tail caught him by surprise.
Harry could swear there was fairy dust in his vision, occasionally shaking his head in an effort to clear the dancing stars. He stumbled over a root, tripping and falling to his knees in a jar. Harry muffled a cry of pain as something sharp pierced the palm of his hand as he tried to catch himself. Cradling his stinging hand to his chest protectively, Harry cast a small lumos. Green eyes widened with fright at the sight of an unconscious Viktor entangled by Devil's Snare, his usual brown eyes milky and unseeing.
"Inflomora," Harry whispered, only wanting to make the deadly vines recede and not catch Viktor on fire.
The vines hissed and screamed at the heat and light of Harry's spell, abandoning its catch long enough for Harry to grab hold of Viktor's arms and pull.
"Leave him, Harry. He tried to kill me!" Cedric shouted, his body still twitching uncontrollably from Viktor's earlier attack.
Harry looked up at Cedric, brows furrowed.
"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, not stopping until Viktor was out from under the hedge.
Cedric groaned in pain, clutching his wand arm.
"He used an unforgivable on me," Cedric told him, his words shaky as though he still could not believe it himself.
Harry licked his dry lips, staring down at Viktor again.
"But…Cedric, he wouldn't," Harry stated and pointed at his friend's eyes. "Look."
Cedric glared down at Viktor, stumbling as he stepped in for a closure look. Cedric's eyes widened at the milky gaze of Viktor's eyes, remembering all that was taught on the three unforgivable curses.
"He was imperioed," Cedric breathed, quickly looking around them. "But by who?"
Harry shook his head, raising his wand and shooting a red flare into the sky so that help would come to Viktor. Standing up, Harry watched Cedric.
"We should get going. The third task is still on," Cedric finally murmured, struggling in his steps as he left Harry to do whatever.
Frowning, Harry cast one more glance down at Viktor, hoping nothing go the older male before help arrived. Hurrying off, Harry picked a random direction to walk. A growl reached Harry's ears, the creature spotting Harry first. Slowing to a stop, Harry watched as a large lioness stood tall in front of an entrance. He could barely make out a soft blue glow coming from inside. Harry's breath caught as he realized he had found the Goblet of Fire.
Moving his eyes back to the unmoving creature, Harry noticed that he was staring into the eyes of a woman. He barely withheld his groan. If this was what he thought it was, and recalling Hermione's research on magical creatures, Harry contemplated turning around and going back to Viktor.
"Greetings, young champion. I will speak your three options. One; you may not speak and return in the direction you came unharmed. Two; you may hear my riddle and answer correctly to advance forward. Three; you may hear my riddle, answer incorrectly and receive punishment," the Spinx guarding the entrance informed him.
Harry mulled over what he was just told, contemplating his choices.
"I would like to hear your riddle," Harry finally answered, swallowing in order to alleviate his dry throat.
"First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard,
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
Harry felt his stomach drop, nothing coming to mind as a possible answer. With each passing second, the Spinx remained patient and left Harry to his thoughts. As long as he remained silent, he could not give the wrong answer. However, in order to reach the Goblet and end the third task, he would need to say something. Biting his lip, Harry repeated the Spinx's riddle to himself.
"A spider?" Harry whispered, peering through thick lashes at the giant lioness with a woman's head.
For a moment, when the Spinx remained still, Harry feared his answer was wrong. Then, after another heart retching moment, the Spinx bowed their head and stepped aside. Harry exhaled loudly, having not realized that he had been holding his breath. He carefully took a step forward, and then another, and another until he had made it past the Spinx. Nestled at the top of a stone pillar was the Goblet of Fire emitting the only light within the center of a small clearing.
'Victor and assumingly Fleur are both out of the running. That leaves only Cedric, but…he isn't here yet,' Harry thought to himself.
Harry never wanted to win this tournament…he never wanted to compete. Staring at the blue flames that radiated a soft heat, Harry felt the need to get a closer look. He walked closer until his entire body glowed from the blue flames. Raising a hand to touch the metal, Harry absently wondered if the metal would be cool to the touch or as hot as the fire threatened to be.
Wide green orbs stared into the blue coaxing flames. Unable to help himself, Harry's slim fingers wrapped around one of the Goblet's handles and was violently jerked off of his feet. There was a harsh hook-like tug behind Harry's navel, knocking the breath right out of him. Cedric entered the clearing just in time to see Harry vanish by way of portkey.
.:oOo:.
Harry slammed into the ground with a thud, quickly followed by a grunt of pain as he landed on the Goblet of Fire. Rolling off of the Goblet, Harry gasped for the breath that had been knocked out of him while clutching his chest. Wheezing, Harry moved to his hands and knees, struggling to stand. He used a nearby headstone as a means of steadying himself.
His surroundings were blurry without his glasses, most likely having lost them sometime during the unexpected magical travel. Harry was unsure if they were with him in his current location or back in the maze at Hogwarts. Before he could attempt to find them with a summoning charm, shuffling feet caught his attention. Harry dove down behind a headstone, pressing his back firmly against the aged stone.
"The boy…?"
Harry gritted his teeth at the hoarse voice carrying a hint of a slurred hiss. It sounded weak with exhaustion, but Harry would never forget the sound of the man seeking his death if it was the last thing he heard.
"Nearby. He couldn't have gone far, Master."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists at hearing Peter Pettigrew speak. Suddenly, there were echoes of others arriving by apparition.
"Barrier the area. Summon the boy," Voldemort's weakened voice ordered and Harry crawled as fast as he could towards a much larger stone structure.
Before he reached the halfway mark, a shimmering done draped over the graveyard and he felt what appeared to be magical ropes wrapping around him. Harry froze right before those ropes of magic yanked him off of the ground and through the air. Harry gave a startled cry, unable to see much of anything with the darkness and his limited vision. He fell none-to-gently on the ground at someone's feet. Looking up and seeing Pettigrew only made Harry flinch back while raising his wand.
"Expelliarmus," Someone from the crowd uttered and Harry's wand flew out of his hand towards the caster. "Not so tough now are you, Potter?"
Laughter followed, but all Harry could do was try to focus on getting away any way he could. Leaping to his feet in an effort to run, Harry's attempt only got him a curse to the back. He screamed, his back arching in pain that felt as though a thousand tiny knives were slowly peeling away at his nerves.
The spell ended and Harry collapsed on the ground, his chest moving up and down in quick rattling gasps. On an exhale, Harry was struck again with the same spell. He choked on a scream, unable to do more than ride out the excruciating fire burning throughout his entire body as he struggled not to pass out from the lack of oxygen.
"Enough! I need him alive!" Voldemort shouted, although his voice could barely be heard over Harry's screams. "Secure him to the statue."
Pettigrew flicked his wand and Harry rose from the ground. Sobs broke from Harry's cracked lips, the taste of blood heavy in his mouth and coating his tongue. His body was then pressed up against a nearby statue that was quickly animated into bounding him. Harry hung limply, his body a couple of feet off of the ground. He tried to muffle his sobs, not wanting them to hear how much pain he was in, but taking two crucios one right after the other for the first time was unlike any pain he had ever experienced.
A rough hand snatched ahold of Harry's left wrist and Harry attempted to jerk back, but found that he could not move a muscle. Dull green orbs filled with spilling tears watched helplessly as Pettigrew brandished a sharp blade. Without a moment's hesitation, Pettigrew stabbed the tip of the blade into Harry's forearm and dragged the sharp edge downward. Harry's screams started anew.
.:oOo:.
"You cut too deep; you fool!"
Harry could hear shouting, but it sounded muffled…as though the person was underwater.
"Harry Potter is mine to kill. You believe that right goes to you?" Voldemort hissed and there was a scream of pain as someone was tortured close by.
Heavy lids rose and bleary green orbs tried to take in their surroundings. Harry found himself no longer trapped against a statue, but was now stretched out on the damp ground of the graveyard.
"My lord, the boy is awake," A different voice spoke up, causing everyone's attention to shift to Harry's prone form.
A foot nudged Harry's twitching body, the action causing more pain to his over-stimulated nerves. A broken sob bubbled up from Harry's sore throat, but he could do nothing else as a tall, pale figure stood over him.
"Get up, Harry Potter and I shall allow you a chance to defend yourself," Voldemort ordered, tossing down Harry's holly wand.
Harry remained where he was, unable to close his fingers around his wand that had landed on the palm of his blood-coated hand. Voldemort's crimson orbs glared down at him, before twisting on his heels to face someone Harry could not see.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted, the poison green glow of the killing spell flashed behind Harry's now closed eyes and there was the sound of a body falling and hitting the ground. "Let this be a reminder that Harry Potter's death belongs to me and me alone! I shall not have any of you take that privilege away from me!"
Fading into unconsciousness from blood loss and the pain of being tortured, Harry missed what happened next.
"Luciusss," Voldemort hissed and one of the black cloaked figures quickly stepped forward and knelled down.
Voldemort held out a hand and Lucius Malfoy did not hesitate in baring his dark mark to the Dark Lord. Lucius winced behind his Death Eater mask as pain radiated from his dark mark when Voldemort touched his wand against it. There was a moment's pause before someone new appeared amongst the followers.
"Ssseverusss, heal the boy immediately," Voldemort ordered with an impatient wave in Harry's direction.
Severus Snape kept his expression blank, masking the sheer terror wanting to leap out at the sight of Harry's bruised and bloodied body. Harry Potter looked to be already dead. Fearing so, Severus walked over and knelt down at the Gryffindor's side. Severus narrowed his eyes at the slash cutting down the expanse of Harry's left forearm and the uncontrollable tremors coursing through the raven's body every few seconds.
Drawing his wand, Severus aimed it at the still bleeding cut. When the wound did not close, Severus conjured a bandage that wrapped around Harry's entire arm. He silently cursed the lack of time that would have afforded him in grabbing his potions bag from his rooms within Hogwarts, the summons from Voldemort demanding his immediate attention.
"My Lord, I am unable to stop the bleeding without the proper potions to combat the cursed blade used on the boy. He will also need a blood replenisher potion and a nerve blocker to deal with the crucio he endured," Severus informed the Dark Lord who was standing vigilantly at his back.
It made Severus want to stand up and turn around, hating having the dangerous man behind him and out of his line of sight. Voldemort hissed and someone shouted in pain as the Dark Lord held some unlucky follower under the torture curse. Voldemort stopped the curse and glared down at Harry, watching as red quickly stained the clean bandages.
"HIS DEATH WILL BE BY MY HANDS!" Voldemort screamed, furious that the boy that had caused so much trouble for him was dying by another. "HEAL HIM, SEVERUS, OR YOU'LL JOIN HIM IN DEATH!"
Severus nodded, secretly casting a status charm on Harry along with a feather-weight charm. With another hidden flick of his wand, Severus summoned a few vials of potions hidden inside his dark robes. Slashing his wand in a downward arch, the motion sent the vials careening to the ground around him where they exploded and released a thick gaseous cloud. Scooping Harry into his arms, Severus turned on his heels and apparated out.
Reappearing outside of Hogwarts' gates, Severus hurried down the path leading to the castle. Nearing the castle doors, Severus was met by Headmaster Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, and those who were friends with the brat in his arms. Severus ignored Hermione's scream at the sight of Harry, actually running through the corridors to the Hospital Wing.
"What happened? What happened to Harry?" Ron shouted from behind the group, trying to keep up with Hermione's frantic pace.
Barging into the Hospital Wing, Severus startled two of the three occupants within the room. Madame Pomfrey opened her mouth to chastise Severus for being loud when she paled at the sight of Harry's broken form in his arms. Senya, who had been sitting beside Viktor and waiting for his friend to wake up, leaped to his feet with a look of horror etched on his face.
"Little Raven! What happened? Who did this?!" Senya demanded, moving to where Severus was placing Harry on an unoccupied bed.
"Out! Out with all of you, so I can work!" Madame Pomfrey demanded, shooing everyone away from Harry as she began waving her wand over her new patient to start a diagnostic of his injuries. "Severus, I need—."
Severus was already retrieving the necessary potions Harry needed, his dark gaze meeting sky blues that lacked their usual twinkle.
"He knows," Severus stated vaguely to Dumbledore, ignoring the stern but resigned expression on the headmaster's face at Severus' revealed status as a spy.
.:oOo:.
Senya shifted in his chair beside Harry's side, watching over the comatose raven. The third task was a week ago and tomorrow signified the last day of term for all Hogwarts students. This also meant that both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be leaving for their home countries. Senya held Harry's limp hand in his, occasionally rubbing soothing motions across the back of Harry's hand with his thumb.
Across from Senya were Hermione and Ron, the two refusing to leave their friend's side since he was first brought into the Hospital Wing. Not even Madame Pomfrey's threat of charming the doors to refuse their entry kept the two Gryffindors away. Eventually, Madame Pomfrey just sighed and gave up. A new arrival had the three of them glance in the direction to see who it was.
"How is he?" Viktor asked quietly as he handed each of them a wrapped sandwich he had made during lunch, calmly sitting down beside Hermione to eat his own.
Already knowing how the two Durmstrang students' conversation would go, Hermione casts a translation spell on herself and Ron so that they could keep up. She never faulted the two speaking in their mother tongue, especially when she was a very capable witch and had the means of understanding them.
"The tremors have finally subsided," Senya responded, his voice hoarse from disuse. "Madame Pomfrey changed his bandages again this morning."
"She had to re-suture Harry's forearm…," Hermione trailed off, remembering how Harry had experienced a night-terror in the wee morning hours.
The thrashing had caused a couple of his stitches to tear. She frowned, hating that the cursed blade prevented magic from helping in healing her friend. Professor Snape was the one who recommended Madame Pomfrey in using the muggle method of sealing wounds as a last resort to stopping Harry from bleeding out.
"This never should have happened," Senya whispered, his hazel orbs dark and enhanced by the equally dark circles around his eyes. "Why did this happen?"
Viktor nudged Senya's foot with his own.
"Eat," Viktor ordered gently, adding even if you are not hungry to his statement when Senya opened his mouth to refuse.
"Cedric said that he saw Harry disappear, because the Goblet was a portkey. He thought it strange and told the first person he saw when exiting the maze," Hermione murmured, swallowing a bite of her sandwich. "I hate that it was Fake-Moody."
Ron scoffed, having inhaled his own food.
"He always gave me the creeps. I knew there was something wrong with that guy. How did he manage to stay under Headmaster Dumbledore's nose this whole time?" Ron asked, glaring down at his lap. "Because of Fake-Moody, Harry suffered."
It was Severus who had uncovered Alastor Moody inside of a trunk located in Moody's designated office. He had been suspicious of the auror since the man's arrival and had been keeping an eye on him. Severus took great pleasure in hexing the fake-Moody, allowing everyone to discover the man's identity as Barty Crouch Jr, the disappeared Crouch Sr's long thought dead son.
"I can't believe Snape was a spy for the Light," Ron murmured, wincing when Hermione smacked his arm.
"Professor Snape, Ronald," Hermione hissed, before turning to Senya and Viktor. "Everyone will be leaving tomorrow."
Senya nodded, already dreading it. There was nothing he could do to remain at Hogwarts longer. This was supposed to be his last year and his graduation was set to commence once all Durmstrang students returned. His parents were also demanding his swift return. They had wanted Senya to go to the Headmaster of Hogwarts and ask to use his floo system, but he had convinced his parents that he was needed here at the school.
Mikhail and Elizaveta Rurikov had not been pleased with his decision to stay, expressing their displeasure by coming to Hogwarts themselves that very morning to see exactly why their son opted into not obeying their concerned demands of his return. To say that they were surprised in discovering their son was in a relationship with the British Magical Community's Boy-Who-Lived and said boy was currently healing in a magical coma due to being torture was an understatement.
As of this very moment, Senya's parents were planning to return with the Durmstrang students and Senya was to go with them without argument. Senya will have to go, but he had every plan to come back soon after his graduation. He needed to come back. Harry tilted his head in his sleep, but otherwise remained still. Senya only wished for Harry to wake up before he left, if only for a moment to see those green, green eyes.
.:oOo:.
Harry was floating in between consciousness. There were people speaking, but no matter which direction he turned, he could not find the source of the noise. All around him was an emptiness, neither dark nor completely lit. It reminded him of twilight when the light in the sky is at its weakest, moments before true darkness takes over and falls over the land.
Numb…that is how Harry currently felt. Numb to pain, numb to fear…numb to everything. He wanted to find his friends, but he could not push himself to hurry. Somehow, he knew that he could find everyone when the time was right. Harry did not understand much of what was going on around him. There was a parting of darkness and light in front of him, causing him to wait and see what was about to happen. Two figures appeared, both with smiles and sadness in their eyes.
"Hello, son."
Harry felt sadness creep in and glanced over his shoulder as if to see the direction in which he came. He turned back to his parents.
"Hello, Dad…Mom," He greeted in return, his eyes lowering to see the hands they held out for him to take.
Harry hesitated, unsure of himself.
"It's okay, Harry, you don't have to be in pain anymore," Lily, his mother promised with love shining in her still-saddened gaze.
"I…," Harry cut himself off, lowing his arm back to his side, having been reaching out for them as well.
James and Lily Potter stayed where they were, not moving closer or backing away. They stood patiently and waited for Harry. Thoughts of Hermione and Ron filled Harry's mind; the Weasley family, coming to Hogwarts, learning about magic, meeting his godfather…meeting Senya.
"I want…I've wanted to meet you both for so long," Harry finally spoke, meeting their gazes head-on. "And I still want to know about you both, but…not right now. I don't want it to end like this. I want to be with my friends, spend time with them…learn to live."
James and Lily Potter smiled, lowering their arms back to their sides. James slipped an around his wife's shoulders.
"That's perfectly okay, son. We'll be here, but only when you are ready," James told him sincerely.
"We love you very much, Harry. Now, you must go," Lily stated, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. "Everyone is waiting for you."
Harry's eyes fluttered open as he inhaled a shaky breath.
"Harry!"
Exclaims of his name caused Harry to wince, but he found that he was no longer numb to everything around him. He could smell the scent of alcohol and medicinal potions, aged parchment, peppermint toothpaste, and the forest. Someone slipped something onto his face and Harry's eyes focused, clearing up so he was able to see.
The entire Weasley family stood around him with his professors standing just behind them. A warm weight shifted at the end of his bed and Harry caught sight of a large black dog quivering with happiness. Remus Lupin stood just behind Padfoot. Madame Pomfrey let herself be known as she pressed the opening of a potion to his lips.
"Drink up, Mister Potter, you've given us all a right scare."
.:oOo:.
Hermione and Ron lay squeezed in beside Harry, crowding him from both sides. Everyone else, on orders of Madame Pomfrey, had left the Hospital Wing. Harry had been fed warm broth and soft rolls, easing his way into proper meals from being in a healing coma. Taking it upon themselves, Hermione and Ron filled Harry in on all that had happened while he slept.
"Senya?" Harry questioned, his voice cracking slightly and he accepted the juice Hermione handed him.
"He had to leave," Hermione answered.
"Yeah, his parents showed up," Ron stated, grinning at the memory of Senya stunned and embarrassed face. "His mother put mine to shame with her worried shouting."
Harry frowned, twisting the blanket's edge in his hands.
"He wanted to stay, but his parents were worried about You-Know-Who's reawakening," Hermione explained, easing one of Harry's hands into hers. "Senya said he was coming back though."
Harry looked at her, his eyes hopeful.
"Really?"
"Yeah, mate, as soon as he…well, he's already graduated. You've been asleep for a month now," Ron stated, yelping when Hermione leaned over Harry and smacked the redhead's shoulder.
"What? A month?" Harry breathed in disbelief.
Harry knew that he had been in a coma, but this was the first time someone said for how long.
"Yes," Hermione confirmed softly. "Headmaster Dumbledore and all of the professors have remained here at Hogwarts with Madame Pomfrey. This is the safest place for you right now, especially since you've been hurt."
Harry's brows furrowed.
"How did you know about Vol—You-Know-Who?" Harry asked quietly, staring up at the ceiling.
Hermione and Ron were silent for a moment.
"Professor Snape told us," Ron whispered, catching Harry by surprise. "He saved you."
Harry inhaled shakily, squeezing his eyes shut.
"But he ha-hates me," Harry whispered brokenly, missing the new arrival.
"How wrong you are, Mister Potter," Severus droned as he refilled Madame Pomfrey's potion supplies with fresh brews.
Severus cast Harry a flat look, raising a single pitch brow as Harry just stared at him.
"I thought it was a dream," Harry breathed, recalling a moment when felt himself being carried and the scent of potions and wood smoke feeling his nose.
"Unfortunately, not," Severus answered, his tone just as blank as the expression on his face.
It was his eyes that held Harry's attention. There was a flicker of emotion that Harry was unable to identify inside his professor's obsidian pools. For some reason…it reminded him of when he first met his godfather after being apart for so long. Harry bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes growing moist.
"Th-thank you, sir."
Severus gave a nod, before leaving the Hospital Wing. He had more important things to see to, other than standing watch over a boy who had two guards already at his sides. Severus sighed tiredly, refraining from running a hand over his face. He needed some sleep.
.:oOo:.
Harry settled down on the Weasley Family and was immediately tucked in at the waist by Molly Weasley.
"Ah, thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry voiced, not used to being treated this way by adults.
"Oh, nonsense, Harry. Now, you rest here while I go make everyone snacks and get started on supper," Mrs. Weasley stated and bustled out of the room towards the kitchen.
Ron and Hermione sat down on the couch with him. Across on another couch were the twins and Ginny setting up a game of exploding snaps. The newly graduated Percy was speaking with his father about working at the Ministry, hoping to get a job in assisting the Minister. The only ones missing were the two oldest, Bill and Charlie; both having to get back to work and thus sent out of the country on assignment by Gringotts and the Romanian Dragon Refuge respectfully.
A knock sounded at the front door, getting everyone's attention and Molly to leave the kitchen with a smile on her face. She shared a knowing look with Arthur as the man joined his wife in answering the door. Harry glanced at Hermione, who seemed to avoid his gaze while Ron looked as out-of-the-loop as the rest of the Weasley siblings.
"Sorry, I am late," A familiar voice spoke up from the other side of the door.
Harry almost tripped standing up, only Ron and Hermione balancing him kept him from falling down. Hermione taking the blanket off of Harry's lap went unnoticed by the raven, his eyes too busy taking in Senya who was finishing exchanging a hug with Molly and handshake with Arthur. Hazel eyes locked onto green and Senya smiled.
"Hello, Little Raven."
.:END:.