So, do you think this took me long enough to get out? I could take longer. Nah, I won't be mean. Sorry about the wait. I was away for a while, but I know that is no excuse. I have no idea when the next part will be out. I have to go back to school soon. My first day of high school is in two days. Ahh… Oh one last thing. I have this weird fixation with having Harry limp. That's why he was hurt so badly. Sorry if you think it is unrealistic. (I know there is something else I am supposed to say here, but I can't remember.)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters (J.K. Rowling does), I don't own the plot (Someone must have already done something like this), and anything else you can think of, I probably don't own it.
The part it dedicated to Aria* and Kelzery, who were extremely awesome, and took the time to beta-read this (If you notice there are less typo's than usual, that is why). Thanks guys.
Keeping Harry Sane
Of Protection Rings, Missed Hogsmeade Trips, and Popping Knees.
Part Six
He challenged to me to duel.
What was a supposed to do? I tried to refuse, but he called me a coward, said I shouldn't be in Gryffindor. I wanted to scream something about my parents, yell something about spending twelve years as a rat, something to show him what cowardliness was all about. But all that came out was some sarcastic remark about him being a Gryffindor. It wasn't as satisfying as it could have been.
I weighed my chances and figured that they would probably kill me eventually, so it was dying either way. Ginny supported me, so I decided to go the way I thought she would be safest.
I dueled.
I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not. At first, it didn't seem like I had made the right choice. I didn't know what half the curses that Wormtail shot were—and I had no desire at the moment to find out what they were. My big break came when he put the Imperious curse on me. You would think he would know better, I mean it's not exactly a secret that I can shake it off. But he did just the same, so, I pretended to be controlled. If he was going to make a mistake, I would take advantage of it.
It's like in Quidditch. If your opponent drops the quaffle, for no apparent reason, what do you want to do? Take the quaffle and score, or just watch it fall and let the other team pick it up? Not a hard choice.
When Wormtail told me to kill Ginny, I got this weird tingling feeling. It scared me. What if I could be controlled by the curse? I pushed that thought out of my head; I didn't even want to think about it.
I pretended again, but, secretly, I mouthed to Ginny to get out her wand. I hadn't wanted Ginny to get involved, but it seemed to be the only way to get Lisa back now. When I spun around and she stepped up next to me, our luck ran out, like it had to eventually. The quaffle had been intercepted. Not quite as frustrating as not picking it up, but ultimately, it had the same affect.
There were three Death Eaters against two not-even-fully-trained wizards, it wasn't hard to guess who had the advantage. I did the only thing that I could think of. I tried to disarm a random Death Eater. It just happened to be Wormtail. His wand shot out of his silver hand and right towards me. I caught it, and Ginny took advantage of the momentary lapse of concentration, as everyone watched the wand soar towards me, and stunned the Death Eater I didn't recognize.
The 'thump' of him falling to the ground seemed to trigger something in the brains of Voldemort's remaining servants. Wormtail, who was wandless, charged me. This was one of the few things I hadn't expected, so being unprepared, all I could do was watch as Ginny sent the Impediment Curse at him, then set to work on some sort of spell. I could see her muttering and waving her wand in what seemed like random patterns. But then again, I didn't have the best view as I was trying to watch Wormtail struggle towards me, and keep an eye on Malfoy, who seemed to pose the greatest threat, as he still had a wand and could move at full speed.
I didn't know what to do. I was totally lost. Should I deal with Malfoy? Or Wormtail? Or should I do nothing, and wait for them to attack? I had very little knowledge of Dark spells, none of which could decapitate them or anything. I thought about stunning Malfoy, but as he had his eyes fixed on me I figured he could dodge it. Then I thought I could stun Wormtail, but it would take about two seconds for Malfoy to say 'enervate.' I finally decided to let them make the first move. With Ginny doing whatever it was that she was doing, I was pretty much alone.
While these thoughts were running through my head, the spell on Wormtail wore off. Now I was in trouble. Wormtail started towards me again. I looked hopelessly at Ginny, almost wishing she wasn't doing whatever she was doing. I figured that it probably would be helpful once she was done, but even the most helpful charm or countercharm, or whatever it was, would do no good if we were both dead. Re-fixing my eyes on Wormtail, I tried to send the Impediment Curse, but missed.
I had so much hatred in me for this man. The man who was the reason I didn't have any parents. And yet as he was charging at me, without a wand, all I could do was side step. He went barreling by, and tripped. Seeing him, laying face down on the floor, may have been considered comical in a different situation, but at that moment, I definitely didn't find it funny.
Malfoy, whose eyes were now staring at Ginny as he walked slowly towards her, yelled something at Wormtail about being stupid and told him to get up. Clumsily, he did manage to get to his feet, and lunged at me—or a foot to the left of me.
At first I thought he was disoriented from falling, then I realized he might just have really bad aim. But, just in time, I realized what I was holding in my left hand.
His wand.
I jerked my hand up and he ran past me. This time, however, he didn't trip. Instead, he whipped around and kicked me in the stomach. It hurt, but the worst was yet to come.
Ginny was still standing there waving her wand around and muttering things I couldn't hear. She seemed oblivious to everything that was going on around her, including Malfoy who was now only five feet from her. Finally, she seemed to finish whatever she was doing, as she stopped muttering and pointed her wand at her chest, then pointed the wand at me.
Then she shouted something that I completely missed, because I was too busy thinking about how good she looked, even in slimy robes. Light shot out the end of her wand and when it hit me, I forgot about her looks, but only for a moment.
White light exploded around me. For a moment I couldn't see anything except blinding light. Then almost as quickly as the light came, it disappeared. Nothing felt different, and I couldn't see any differences that had come from the spell, I was afraid that whatever she had done, hadn't worked. Doubts were erased from my mind, however, when I looked at her face. She was grinning at me, and when she saw that I was looking at her, she winked. This was when thoughts about her looks popped back into my head, but once again they were cut short. I guess facing Death Eaters, in a chamber miles below the school, isn't the best place for romantic thoughts.
I'm not sure if Malfoy realized what Ginny had done to me, but when he shot the first spell at me, he didn't seem surprised when the air around me glowed and the spell bounced off. That was how I found out what Ginny had done. She had put some sort of protection ring around me. What got me though, was the fact that she preformed it on me and not herself.
Malfoy then threw the Cruciatus curse at me. It too bounced off. This for some reason made Malfoy smile. "Well, well, well, little lady, you seem to have done your homework. Unforgivables will shatter most protection charms. I am very surprised, but not as surprised as I could have been, considering I have seen this spell used before. Of course I know what it is, and where it was used, but does Potter?" Ginny's face paled, which made Malfoy's smile broaden. "Ah, he doesn't. Would you like me to tell him?" Ginny shook her head. "Hmm…maybe I'll just give him a hint. Evil will always triumph over love." He winked at me, then turned to face Ginny. "Won't it, Weasley? Stupefy Betimus!" The curse hit Ginny, square in the stomach.
Stupefy Betimus…Stupefy Betimus…I racked my brain for what that was. I had a vague memory of learning about that in Defense Against the Dark Arts, which would mean it was a dark spell. It must be some relation of the stunning charm, because of the words said to produce it. Still nothing came to mind as to what it did to its victim.
Ginny didn't fall immediately. She sort of swayed for a moment, then toppled backwards. My stomach sank. It was my fault. My fault she was down here, facing memories that she must have shut away for so long. It was my fault if she got hurt, and if I hadn't brought her into this whole spying world, she would be warm in her bed.
Of course there was no point in regretting. My life had taken a definite upswing since I talked to her about everything. I had been hesitant at first, not because I didn't trust her, but I just didn't know if she would understand. Well, she either understood, or did a damn good job of pretending to. She had basically put my life back on track. That's why even though she was under this Dark spell, I couldn't regret letting her join. Most people just don't understand how selfish I am. I see her in pain, and yet I can't regret it. It's enough to make a person go crazy all over again.
Now, she screamed in pain as she hit the ground. I ran to her, not really knowing what to do (except maybe rip Malfoy into a trillion pieces). She was lying spread eagle where she had fallen. Once again the thought of how cute she looked struck me, but I pushed it aside. As I dropped to my knees and placed her head in my lap, her eyes fluttered open and focused on me. How could she not be unconscious? Stunning charms usually work instantly. But then, I realized, she had screamed when she fell.
That's when I remembered. Stupefy Betimus, was the Dark Art's version of the stunning charm. The victim doesn't lose consciousness instantly, but very slowly (and painfully) goes out. If I remembered right, it depends on the individual how seriously the victim is injured. She could die, or nothing at all could happen. There is no way to wake a person under this spell, the victim wakes at a random time. This newly remembered information was not comforting.
"Oh God…Gin…" What was I supposed to say? 'Oh hello, Ginny. How are you? Aside from the fact that you are under a very bad spell, and it's all my fault. Don't worry though. It will be ok.' That definitely wouldn't do. I settled for a nice 'thank you', and 'I'm sorry'.
Her eyes widened and she gave a small cough. "You can do it, Harry. Go and show them…" And she lost consciousness.
If Ginny said I could do it, then I could, or I would die trying. From where I stood, next to Ginny's unmoving body, I assessed my situation. My stomach still stung from where Wormtail had kicked me, but I'd survive. (Ginny was another matter, but I tried not to think about that). I still had Wormtail's wand, but that didn't really matter, because of Ginny's spell. I still wasn't sure about this spell. Exactly how powerful was it? Could it repel the killing curse? Could they enter the ring around me? Or was I untouchable? If they could touch me I was in trouble. I knew nothing about hand-to-hand combat. I supposed that I wouldn't find out if they could hurt me, until they tried.
Speaking of 'them', they were standing a ways away. Wormtail was still panting slightly, and Malfoy was standing there, obviously having enjoyed watching Ginny fall into unconsciousness.
Then he smiled. This seemed to be some kind of cue, for Wormtail rushed forward. I quickly pocketed my own wand, and tossed Wormtail's aside. Later it occurred to me that this might not have been the best idea. Avada Kedavra was still a possibility. I wasn't sure if this spell deflected it, as Avada Kedavra was supposed to be unblockable, but then again, I had survived it once. Anyway, I tossed aside his wand, and raised my fists in, what I hoped, was an intimidating position; the kind that kids do when being attacked by bullies.
As soon as he got close enough, yet before he could do anything, I threw a feeble punch at Wormtail's head. More out of surprise than defense, he jerked his head away, causing me to only graze his head. This threw me off balance; I was expecting to connect with something. He took advantage and whipped his leg around, hitting me in the back of the knees. I toppled. Two thoughts ran through my head as I fell: I guess I can be touched, and, where did Wormtail learn hand-to-hand fighting?
As I fell, I landed hard on my left leg, and was rewarded with a sickening crunch, followed by a burst of pain. Wormtail must have noticed too, for he jumped on it.
God, it hurt.
I heard a few crunches and tears came to my eyes. Wormtail walked away, picked up his wand, and stood back to admire his handiwork.
"Get up, Potter, we are not done."
I didn't move.
"Come on, face me like a man."
Like a man… I wasn't a man, I was a teenager. Last time I checked, teenagers weren't supposed to fight evil wizards and face them like 'men' (or women), and yet, that is exactly what Ginny and I were doing. What happened to the all night parties and hangovers? I still didn't move.
"Oh, does it hurt bad, Potter? Would you like me to jump on it again?" Of course I didn't want him to jump on it again, but I wasn't about to say that. "Maybe you're wondering how I learned to street fight?"
He's a mind reader…
"Well, I'll tell you," he continued giving me an evil smirk. "Two words. James and Lily." He paused for effect, obviously not having realized this was three words. I wasn't about to point it out though, as this statement made it feel as though he had punched me again. "Yes, they were excellent at it. But it didn't really help them, did it? No, it didn't matter in the end. I was nowhere near as good as them, and yet, I am still alive. They could whip my butt, but I just whipped yours. I suppose that you might have been good if they had been here to teach you."
This hurt even more than my leg. Whoever said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but word will never hurt me,' lied.
Out of rage, I managed to pull myself up to a standing position. The words 'he insulted my parents' kept running threw my head. Boy, this guy had nerve.
"Well," I said, trying, but not really succeeding, to sound cool. "We all know why that is." Wormtail looked puzzled. "You, it's because of you. Because of you, two of your friends are dead, one is an outlaw, and the other went twelve years friendless. Do you not feel guilt? I am curious, how did you manage to live all these years without killing yourself?"
He turned his head away, and began talking in a slow, even voice. "They weren't my friends. They were my protectors. The reason I made it through Hogwarts. They didn't help me because I was their friend. They only did it because they considered themselves 'good'. How little they knew about good and evil. You see, I was never in their league. When I was younger, I fooled myself into thinking that they really cared for me. But as I grew up I could see the disgust in their eyes when they looked at me. I could hear the annoyance in their voices when they answered a question of mine. So, in my seventh year I had to do something. I had to go over. I had to kill them. They had hurt me more than any enemy ever could or would. And the worst part was, they didn't know it. I hated them, and still do. Do you see? I could say I had no choice, but that would be a lie." He looked up, and met my eyes. "I had a choice, but I don't regret it. I'm still alive, your parents aren't. I have power, Sirius and Remus don't. You see? It was the obvious choice, to kill them, actually Sirius would have died too if my master hadn't lost his power. And now, I would have killed you, Harry Potter, but my master wants to do that." He began to walk towards me. "He will show that he is more powerful." Without batting an eye, he kicked out his leg and hit my stomach, and as he returned it to the ground, he took a small detour, by kicking my left kneecap. He was obviously living the motto 'find your opponents weakness and use it.'
The pain became almost unbearable. I was now just standing on my right leg. My left was sort of hanging there useless. I wasn't going to yell out. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction on seeing that I was hurting. But, I couldn't help leaning over to catch my breath. As I was bent over, Malfoy did a very un-sportsmanlike thing.
He knocked me out.
There I was trying to catch my breath, and he comes over. I look up to see what he wants (I had almost forgotten he was there, with Wormtail pouring his heart out to me), but all I see are knuckles coming at my face. Then I blacked out.
When I came too, the only thing that indicated the passage of time was that I was hurting in a few new places. They had beaten me while I was unconscious. I had thought that even Death Eaters wouldn't sink that low.
Actually, I just wanted to lay there on the cold stone floor forever. I was hurting, and didn't want to fight anymore. But, I knew that I couldn't do that. It would just be another selfish thing to add to my list of selfish things. If I couldn't get up for myself, I had to do it for Ginny.
I stuck my good leg under my butt, and pushed my upper body up with my arms, trying to ignore the crunching in my chest. I could see Malfoy and Wormtail standing about ten feet away, deep in conversation; they hadn't noticed me yet.
Using my arms, and good leg, I managed to slowly work my way up into a squatting position, and then into a standing one. This was when they noticed me, the pain made it difficult not to make noise.
I engaged Malfoy in a kind of staring contest, while listening to my raged breathing echoing around the chamber. Then, suddenly, as if by magic (actually it was magic) a blue ribbon of light shot between us, and just as suddenly it exploded into a wall.
I almost cautiously looked to my right. Afraid that it wasn't who I thought it was. Afraid the person was here to hurt, rather than help me. But he wasn't here to hurt me.
It was Dumbledore.
Harry looked up at Dumbledore. "And you know what happened from there."
He had just finished telling Dumbledore his story. Of course, he had left out certain parts, especially his thoughts on Ginny.
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "That is a very interesting story. What I am really curious to know about though, is what spell it was that Ginny cast."
"I don't know what it was. But it saved my life," he said glancing at the thin curtains that separated him from Ginny. "You have no idea when she will be okay?"
"No, she will wake when she's ready." Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "And when she does, there is no telling what the complications will be."
"Dammit!" Harry yelled angrily, and slammed his fist into the bedside table. Dumbledore looked alarmed. Harry buried his face in his hands. "It's all my fault," he sobbed, all the anger gone from his voice. "My fault…"
Dumbledore placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. "You mustn't blame yourself. Maybe she was already set on helping against Voldemort. Maybe she would have come to me anyway."
Harry shook his head. "No, I brought her into this."
"Harry Potter, it was her choice to join, not yours, it is no one except Voldemort's fault. Because of him so many people have died, and some many lives have been ruined. Always remember, it is Voldemort's fault, Harry, not yours." Dumbledore stood up, and moved as if to leave, but stopped. "I'll send in Mr. Weasley." And then he left.
Ron was pacing back and forth outside all three rooms. He wanted to see Harry, and yet he didn't. What could he say? The last things that had been spoken between them were angry words, but Ron didn't feel the least bit angry. The thing was, he didn't know if Harry was. He felt ashamed. Ashamed of what he had said to Hermione. He wasn't sure if he believed that, or if he was just trying to convince himself that Harry was doing sneaky things, for the sole reason of showing that Harry Potter wasn't perfect, that he wasn't even nice.
At long last, or maybe too soon, Dumbledore came out and said he could go in and see Harry. Ron sort of shuffled around the curtains into the area with Harry. Harry was sitting up on his bed, fiddling with his fingers. Apparently, Madame Pomfrey hadn't treated him, as under the blanket that covered him, Ron could see his leg sticking out in a funny position.
Ron stuck both his hands into his pockets, as a way to avoid his first instinct: to run. He moved closer to the bed, and Harry looked up. Ron had no idea what to say. What could you say to a friend that had just been injured so badly, and had so many things broken, that he could have died? Neither said anything for a while; Harry stared at Ron's face, and Ron did anything he could to avoid Harry's eyes.
"Look Harry," he finally said after the long silence. "Dumbledore is being really secretive about everything, and, well, so, I don't really have any idea what happened to you, or Ginny. And while I feel like it might be wrong to probe into your private life, I mean, I'd just really like to know…." He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. "You're my best friend, and she's my sister…"
Harry looked at him for a while. Finally he said, "We were attacked by Death Eaters. Ginny is under Stupefy Betimus, you can look it up. I'd tell you more if I could, but I can't. It's nothing personal, but I just can't."
Ron raised his eyebrows, and although he believed Harry about not being able to say more, he wanted to know. "I see," he said, after pausing a moment. He looked around the room, trying to come up with some interesting topic of conversation. Finally he decided on the story about asking Hermione to Hogsmeade. "We were going to go to Hogsmeade today, you know?" he said, taking a seat in the chair next to Harry's bed. "Me, you, and Hermione." Ron watched, amused, as Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, actually what happened was I asked Hermione to go with me, but she wouldn't go without you."
Harry's eyebrows raised even more. "You asked her on a date?"
"I guess you could call it a date."
"So, you asked her out, and she said no?" Harry had begun to snicker.
Ron nodded sadly. "In a theoretical sense, yes." Harry started to laugh harder, but it soon turned into a hacking cough. He put his hand to his chest, wincing. The smile disappeared from Ron's face. "You okay, Harry? Should I get Madame Pomfrey?"
Harry held up his hand to indicate 'no, he shouldn't' and when he stopped coughing said, "No, that's okay. Speaking of Hermione, where is she?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "Hogsmeade."
"Hogsmeade?"
"It's a very long story."
Harry pretended to look at his watch. "Well, considering that my best bet of leaving this hospital wing is about next year, I guess we don't have much time. You better not tell it." He kept his face straight as he said this, and Ron wondered for a moment if he was serious.
After deciding that he wasn't serious, Ron launched into the story. "You see I got here about 4:30 in the morning," he tried to ignore Harry's amazed expression. "Hermione arrived an hour later, right in the middle of an argument I was having with Madame Pomfrey, about when I could see you and Ginny. She sort of heard the last part, and anyway, burst into tears right away. She seemed to think our friendship was in ruins. And after that for the next, oh I don't know, three to four hours, she didn't stop crying. So, then, at around nine, Seamus and Pavarti dropped by to ask if we were going to Hogsmeade. This set Hermione off again. Something like 'how could you expect us to leave.' And anyway, that was enough for me. I made her go with them."
"What did you have to do to her?"
Ron grinned. "Threaten to curse her."
Madame Pomfrey was once again riffling through papers on her desk, and Dumbledore was once again waiting patiently.
Finally, when Madame Pomfrey seemed to have found her misplaced papers, she said, "Now, we need to discuss what to do about Harry. The ribs and skull we can take care of, but it's his leg." She gave Dumbledore a pained look. "It must have been terribly painful. There are two fractures down near the ankle. Then one ankle bone is totally crushed." She pressed her hands together to illustrate this. "It must have been jumped on, or something, because that can't happen with most falls. The kneecap, it's slightly dislocated. Above the knee are two breaks."
"And yet he wanted to walk up here," Dumbledore muttered.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, never mind. Continue please."
"Right," said Madame Pomfrey, a bit annoyed that she had been interrupted. "I'm afraid to use a spell to repair his ankle. When it is crumbled, there are so many things that can go wrong. If just one piece goes to the wrong spot, the result can be disastrous."
"So what do you propose?" Dumbledore's hands were pressed together, with his chit resting on his fingertips. A slight smile on his face. If someone walked in they wouldn't thing that the Headmaster and school nurse were discussing treatment. They looked like they were planning some kind of murder.
"A potion. This potion is much more accurate than the spell, and it also serves as a painkiller. I don't normally use it because it takes several weeks to be effective. Almost as long as the muggle method. Harry is lucky he isn't a muggle, his ankle may never be fixed. Muggles just aren't very good when it comes to crushed bones. He will have to keep his leg straight for a few weeks. I figure I'll just fix the rest of leg with this potion, as it is more accurate. The only thing now is his knee cap."
"What are you doing about that?"
Madame Pomfrey smiled, as if she was looking forward to dealing with this. "Ah, well, there is nothing magical I can do about that, except painkiller. I'll just have to pop it back in."
Dumbledore flinched, then nodded. "That sounds fine to me. You might just want to run it by Harry, so he knows what's going on. Although, I'm not sure he will be so fond of hobbling around for a few weeks. He'll probably want to start moving around as soon as he leaves the hospital wing."
Something was stinging her eyes. She tried to lift her hands to rub them, but she discovered they had turned to lead. She tried to open her eyes, but they were stuck, she tried to scream, but her mouth was sewn closed. Something was soft beneath her, but she couldn't quiet reach it. Above her she could hear noise, although, she couldn't tell what it was. The noise was getting farther and farther away. It was almost as though she was trapped between worlds.
%%%
So, next we find out what happened to Ginny, and a little more about the spell she used. I decided to save the 'maybe kiss' until next time. Anyway, I know I said I'd do a thank you section, but I'm too lazy, and I didn't get that many reviews, and I think I have already taken long enough to get this part out. Adios. So long till next time.