Chapter III: Two Roads
Two roads diverged in a woods, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost
The first thing Harry became aware of when he awoke
was that he couldn't see anything. The second thing he discovered
was that he was in pain. Tremendous pain. He let out a scream.
It was then that he opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Everything
was white. Is this Heaven? Harry asked himself. But
he couldn't be dead. If he was dead, why was he still in pain?
But then it occurred to him. A hospital? He thought to himself,
the
Dursleys would never take me to a hospital, there would be too much to
explain. But if it wasn't the Dursleys, how did he end up here?
He shook his head, confused. Nothing was making sense. With
these thoughts, the pain overtook him once more, and he again lost consciousness.
He awoke again awhile later. This awaking
was a bit more pleasant, he had to admit. He felt no pain, just a
small discomfort in his back. He also seemed a bit more alert.
There was no medical equipment around him, so he was either not at a hospital
or he was at a Wizarding one. He suddenly felt frightened.
Where
am I? He asked himself.
The door to the room suddenly opened and Harry was
relieved to see Dumbledore, followed by a great black dog, come through.
The Headmaster smiled at him and took a seat next to his bed. "So
Harry, are you feeling better?"
Harry nodded. "I don't know which one of you
two found me, but thank you for taking me away from there."
Dumbledore gave him a small frown, as if in thought.
"But Harry, it wasn't either of us that found you."
"What? Than who could it have been?"
Harry asked, looking confused.
At that moment, Draco Malfoy came through the door.
Harry was horrified. "What the HELL is he doing here?!" he yelled.
He immediately regretted it. It felt as if his vocal cords had been
set on fire.
Dumbledore looked distressed at Harry's words. "Harry,
Mr. Malfoy is the one who found you. He brought you here, to Hogwarts,
where he knew you would be safe. He contacted me and told me that
you had been beaten and I was able to get in contact with Snuffles," he
emphasized the hidden meaning behind them name, as to remind Harry.
"Malfoy found me?" Harry was shocked. "First,
what was he doing anywhere near Privet Drive, and second why didn't he
just kill me? Would've made Voldermort happy." Harry spat out,
sending Malfoy a glare, which was equally returned.
"Harry," Dumbledore began, "what I'm about to tell
you cannot leave this room. Much like Professor Snape, Draco has
become a spy, also at great personal risk. He approached me before
he left on the train at the end of term. He, unlike Professor Snape,
is not a Death Eater, but he does live with two of the highest-ranking
Death Eaters among Voldermort's inner circle. Also, he did not find
you on Privet Drive. Is that where this happened? Mr. Malfoy
found you in a field, while on a mission for me, several miles from there."
Dumbledore stopped for a moment to remove his glasses and rub his tired
eyes. "Harry," he said quietly, "we had assumed you had been mugged,
yet you had assumed you had been found at your aunt and uncle's home.
Is that where this happened?" Harry refused to meet any of the other
three's eyes, but all of them could see the fear on his face. "Harry,
did your aunt or uncle do this to you?" Harry met Dumbledore's eye
and nodded slowly. Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Harry.
I feel as if this is my fault. I sent you to that place because I
foolishly thought you would be safe there, even though I knew how they
felt about our people. I was so sure that you would be protected
there."
There was silence after that. Draco Malfoy
found himself looking at Harry in a whole new light. So Potter's life
isn't as perfect as I thought. Draco even found himself feeling
a little sorry for his enemy. We've got to stop this enemy bullshit,
he thought to himself. We're on the same side now.
The silence continued for several more minutes until
there was a POP and a man in black robes could be seen making his way to
the door, shaking with rage. "Sirius!" Dumbledore called to him.
"Come back and take a seat. Today is not the day you will have your
revenge."
Sirius looked outraged at even the notion he not
do anything right now, "Now Dumbledore, you can't honestly expect…" But
Harry cut him off.
"Please Sirius, can you please stay here."
The look on Harry's face was once again fear, fear that the closest thing
he had to a parent would again leave him when he needed him the most.
Leave him to deal with the pain alone. "Please, don't do this now.
I don't want to be alone again, like it was after Cedric." The other
three were shocked once more. Did Harry blame himself? Certainly
he couldn't feel he was at fault for Cedric's death. But, obviously,
he did. Sirius looked at him sadly.
"It's okay Harry, I won't leave. Not yet.
Get some rest, I'll be here when you wake up." Reassured, Harry let
his eyes slip close and drifted off to sleep once again.
