Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Dangers in the past:
Harry had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but he immediately knew he was no longer in his room. He also noticed someone was holding his hand tightly. Harry opened his eyes, careful not to move too much. The first thing he saw was that he was once again in the hospital wing. Turning his head to his side, he saw a sleeping Dumbledore sitting in a chair next to him. Harry squeezed the old wizard's hand and saw his headmaster wake up with a start. Dumbledore quickly stood up and placed a hand on his ward's forehead. With a frown, the old man conjured a washcloth and carefully wiped Harry's face. "How are you feeling, child?"
Harry thought about it for a while, knowing that his usual answer of fine would not be accepted. He suddenly realised he felt warm, but at the same time, he had to concentrate on his body to stop it's shivering. There was also a slight pounding in his head, and from the way his body was feeling, he was sure that if he tried to move, the pain he had felt last time would come back. After the quick assessment of his condition, he looked up at the concerned wizard hovering over him and tried to smile a little. "I feel hot, and my head hurts."
Dumbledore nodded. "That's no wonder child, you've got quite a high fever and your body is still in shock. Jumping in the way of the killing curse wasn't a very smart move."
Harry closed his eyes tiredly. "I didn't have a choice, I couldn't let my parents die." With a somewhat subdued voice, he asked. "Are you angry, sir?"
Dumbledore's face softened and he brushed some hair out of Harry's eyes, causing the boy to look at him again. "Of course I'm not angry, Harry. You did the right thing. Sometimes I just wish there were other ways of doing this than to put yourself in danger like that."
Harry nodded and yawned tiredly. Dumbledore, seeing the child was about to fall asleep again, picked up a goblet that Madam Pomfrey had prepared.
"Drink this, Harry, then you can go back to sleep."
The old headmaster placed an arm around Harry's shoulders and began to slowly lift him up, causing the boy to moan in pain.
"I'm sorry, child, but you really need to drink this."
He placed the goblet against Harry's lips and made him drink the potion. After swallowing it all, Harry allowed his body to relax and was sleeping before Dumbledore even had a chance to lower him back into the pillows.
Dumbledore tucked him in. A soft voice startled him.
"You should have called me when he woke up, headmaster."
Dumbledore half turned around and saw Madam Pomfrey approaching the bed from her office.
"I'm sorry, Poppy. I didn't know you had returned from Hogsmeade."
The nurse shook her head with a small smile, and began to check on Harry while Dumbledore returned to his chair. The old man picked up the book he had been reading before falling asleep.
Harry had only been sleeping for a few hours, when Minerva entered the hospital wing. "Headmaster?"
Dumbledore looked up, a little startled. His deputy headmistress was looking quite angry and he wondered what could have happened to get her worked up into this state. "Is there something wrong, Minerva?"
"Minister Fudge is here to see you, and he demands to see Harry, too."
Dumbledore frowned, a dark look settling in his eyes. He looked down at the sleeping child. "Harry is ill, Minerva, I doubt he is up to a confrontation with Fudge."
McGonagall nodded. "I told the Minister the same thing, but he didn't want to believe me. He said you were either hiding Harry from the Ministry, or that you had sent him away somewhere."
An angry look crossed Dumbledore's features. "Bring him in here."
Madam Pomfrey, who had come out of her office to see what was going on, looked at him sharply. "Headmaster! Harry needs his rest! The Minister is probably going to start another shouting contest, just as he did last time. He wasn't happy when Harry refused to make a statement to press."
"I know Poppy, but there's nothing I can do about it without creating a larger rift between the Ministry and the school. Things are getting out of hand as it is. But you could help me by summoning all of the teachers."
The nurse nodded, still looking displeased, but doing as asked, she went to her office.
"Go now, Minerva, but try to take it slowly so the other teachers have the chance to get here."
McGonagall nodded and also left the room, leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone once more.
With a heavy sigh, the headmaster bent over Harry and shook him, gently calling his name. The boy moaned and groggily opened his eyes. "Headmaster? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry for waking you up, Harry, but the Minister insists to see you."
Harry groaned loudly. "Not him. Why can't he just leave me alone?"
Dumbledore stroked the boy's hair gently. "I don't know, child, I really don't know. But not to worry; I won't be letting him get away with any rude comments this time. Just one word out of place and I'll curse him."
Even if Harry knew Dumbledore couldn't do that, it still helped him to relax. He felt even better when a booming voice agreed with the old man. "You won't be the only one, headmaster."
Dumbledore and Harry smiled at Hagrid when the huge man came in, followed by most of the other teachers. Professor Sprout took a seat at Harry's other side and grabbed the boy's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Since Cedric's death, the herbology professor had taken interest in him, helping him to get on good terms with the Hufflepuffs again. Hagrid's massive form took a place behind Dumbledore and next to Harry's bed, while the remaining teachers took defensive places around the room, ready to curse the Minister from all sides if necessary.
Five minutes later, they heard footsteps approaching. McGonagall opened the door and stepped inside, smiling slightly at the sight before her. Without a second thought, the witch went to join Professor Sprout at Harry's side and turned to see the Minister coming in. Fudge entered the hospital wing followed closely by Arthur and Percy Weasley. His confident smile faltered when he saw nearly all the Hogwarts staff standing there, glaring at him, with their wands casually drawn. Arthur and Percy smiled at the sight and then winked reassuringly at Harry, who was now lying propped up against some pillows.
Dumbledore was the first to talk. "What brings you here, Minister?"
"I demand to know where Mr. Potter has been."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow while some of the teachers gritted their teeth at the man's tone. "What makes you think he hasn't been here? Harry is still recovering from the fight with Voldemort and we didn't think moving him would be a good idea right now."
Fudge flushed red. He looked murderously at the boy lying in bed, but Harry wasn't even looking at him. Instead, his attention had been drawn to a little beetle that had come in with the three men and was now resting against a closed window.
"You're lying!" Harry's head snapped back to Fudge. "He wasn't here this week and he is perfectly fine!"
Madam Pomfrey went red and stood up, her wand firmly clasped in her hand, but the headmaster stopped her with a stern look. Calmly, as to not arouse the anger of the teachers again, he looked back to the Minister. Arthur and Percy had kept quiet until now, but both were also looking displeased with the man. Dumbledore relaxed in his seat and asked, "And may I ask, who has told you that lie, Cornelius?"
"It's not a lie. My information comes from a very reliable source."
Before the headmaster had the chance to reply, Harry's soft voice cut through the room. "I would hardly call Rita Skeeter reliable. She has told more lies in her life than all of us put together."
Fudge's face turned even redder, but Harry hadn't finished. "And you really disappoint me, Minister. I thought you were above this kind of behaviour, but I guess I was wrong."
Through clenched teeth the man asked, "What do you mean?"
All teachers were listening intently at the conversation.
"I mean, I though you were above using unregistered animagi to spy on people. I'm sure a lot of people would be very interested in your methods, Minister, don't you agree, Rita?"
Harry saw the beetle buzzing frantically around the window, trying to get out of the room. The teachers had followed Harry's gaze and now had a look of understanding on their faces. Fudge's face had paled.
Before anyone could say anything else, Harry's hand shot out and a blue light surrounded the beetle, returning it to its human form. Skeeter fell to the floor, landing in a rather undignified position. She looked venomously at Harry, who had tiredly slumped back into the pillows.
Arthur was the first one to speak. "I'm really appalled, Minister. What will the council think? If this gets out, everyone will turn against the Ministry." Arthur's voice was stern, but all the teachers could see his eyes were twinkling with joy. They had finally found something that could throw this pathetic man from his position.
"I… I… I didn't know."
"I'm sure you didn't."
Dumbledore's voice was ice cold. He'd had more than enough of having this idiot mulling around the school. Because of him and Skeeter, Harry had just exerted himself again. In his condition, that could not be good at all. "I think it's best that you leave now, Cornelius. Your presence is no longer appreciated nor welcomed in this school. Percy, please, can you escort Miss Skeeter? I'm sure you can see about arranging a trial."
"Of course, sir."
When they had left the room, led by McGonagall, Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry.
"Child?"
But the boy didn't answer; he was once again sleeping peacefully, a faint blush caused by his fever covering his pale checks.
To be continued…
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. Thanks to my beta readers, Tanya and Gates. Another thing, people have been asking me from the beginning to mail the updates to them. I don't mind doing that at all, but now I'm starting to get confused in who wants which story. So could you help me out and tell me exactly for which story you want me to warn you? If it's Free, Dangers in the past or both. Thanks.
Dangers in the past:
Harry had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but he immediately knew he was no longer in his room. He also noticed someone was holding his hand tightly. Harry opened his eyes, careful not to move too much. The first thing he saw was that he was once again in the hospital wing. Turning his head to his side, he saw a sleeping Dumbledore sitting in a chair next to him. Harry squeezed the old wizard's hand and saw his headmaster wake up with a start. Dumbledore quickly stood up and placed a hand on his ward's forehead. With a frown, the old man conjured a washcloth and carefully wiped Harry's face. "How are you feeling, child?"
Harry thought about it for a while, knowing that his usual answer of fine would not be accepted. He suddenly realised he felt warm, but at the same time, he had to concentrate on his body to stop it's shivering. There was also a slight pounding in his head, and from the way his body was feeling, he was sure that if he tried to move, the pain he had felt last time would come back. After the quick assessment of his condition, he looked up at the concerned wizard hovering over him and tried to smile a little. "I feel hot, and my head hurts."
Dumbledore nodded. "That's no wonder child, you've got quite a high fever and your body is still in shock. Jumping in the way of the killing curse wasn't a very smart move."
Harry closed his eyes tiredly. "I didn't have a choice, I couldn't let my parents die." With a somewhat subdued voice, he asked. "Are you angry, sir?"
Dumbledore's face softened and he brushed some hair out of Harry's eyes, causing the boy to look at him again. "Of course I'm not angry, Harry. You did the right thing. Sometimes I just wish there were other ways of doing this than to put yourself in danger like that."
Harry nodded and yawned tiredly. Dumbledore, seeing the child was about to fall asleep again, picked up a goblet that Madam Pomfrey had prepared.
"Drink this, Harry, then you can go back to sleep."
The old headmaster placed an arm around Harry's shoulders and began to slowly lift him up, causing the boy to moan in pain.
"I'm sorry, child, but you really need to drink this."
He placed the goblet against Harry's lips and made him drink the potion. After swallowing it all, Harry allowed his body to relax and was sleeping before Dumbledore even had a chance to lower him back into the pillows.
Dumbledore tucked him in. A soft voice startled him.
"You should have called me when he woke up, headmaster."
Dumbledore half turned around and saw Madam Pomfrey approaching the bed from her office.
"I'm sorry, Poppy. I didn't know you had returned from Hogsmeade."
The nurse shook her head with a small smile, and began to check on Harry while Dumbledore returned to his chair. The old man picked up the book he had been reading before falling asleep.
Harry had only been sleeping for a few hours, when Minerva entered the hospital wing. "Headmaster?"
Dumbledore looked up, a little startled. His deputy headmistress was looking quite angry and he wondered what could have happened to get her worked up into this state. "Is there something wrong, Minerva?"
"Minister Fudge is here to see you, and he demands to see Harry, too."
Dumbledore frowned, a dark look settling in his eyes. He looked down at the sleeping child. "Harry is ill, Minerva, I doubt he is up to a confrontation with Fudge."
McGonagall nodded. "I told the Minister the same thing, but he didn't want to believe me. He said you were either hiding Harry from the Ministry, or that you had sent him away somewhere."
An angry look crossed Dumbledore's features. "Bring him in here."
Madam Pomfrey, who had come out of her office to see what was going on, looked at him sharply. "Headmaster! Harry needs his rest! The Minister is probably going to start another shouting contest, just as he did last time. He wasn't happy when Harry refused to make a statement to press."
"I know Poppy, but there's nothing I can do about it without creating a larger rift between the Ministry and the school. Things are getting out of hand as it is. But you could help me by summoning all of the teachers."
The nurse nodded, still looking displeased, but doing as asked, she went to her office.
"Go now, Minerva, but try to take it slowly so the other teachers have the chance to get here."
McGonagall nodded and also left the room, leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone once more.
With a heavy sigh, the headmaster bent over Harry and shook him, gently calling his name. The boy moaned and groggily opened his eyes. "Headmaster? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry for waking you up, Harry, but the Minister insists to see you."
Harry groaned loudly. "Not him. Why can't he just leave me alone?"
Dumbledore stroked the boy's hair gently. "I don't know, child, I really don't know. But not to worry; I won't be letting him get away with any rude comments this time. Just one word out of place and I'll curse him."
Even if Harry knew Dumbledore couldn't do that, it still helped him to relax. He felt even better when a booming voice agreed with the old man. "You won't be the only one, headmaster."
Dumbledore and Harry smiled at Hagrid when the huge man came in, followed by most of the other teachers. Professor Sprout took a seat at Harry's other side and grabbed the boy's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Since Cedric's death, the herbology professor had taken interest in him, helping him to get on good terms with the Hufflepuffs again. Hagrid's massive form took a place behind Dumbledore and next to Harry's bed, while the remaining teachers took defensive places around the room, ready to curse the Minister from all sides if necessary.
Five minutes later, they heard footsteps approaching. McGonagall opened the door and stepped inside, smiling slightly at the sight before her. Without a second thought, the witch went to join Professor Sprout at Harry's side and turned to see the Minister coming in. Fudge entered the hospital wing followed closely by Arthur and Percy Weasley. His confident smile faltered when he saw nearly all the Hogwarts staff standing there, glaring at him, with their wands casually drawn. Arthur and Percy smiled at the sight and then winked reassuringly at Harry, who was now lying propped up against some pillows.
Dumbledore was the first to talk. "What brings you here, Minister?"
"I demand to know where Mr. Potter has been."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow while some of the teachers gritted their teeth at the man's tone. "What makes you think he hasn't been here? Harry is still recovering from the fight with Voldemort and we didn't think moving him would be a good idea right now."
Fudge flushed red. He looked murderously at the boy lying in bed, but Harry wasn't even looking at him. Instead, his attention had been drawn to a little beetle that had come in with the three men and was now resting against a closed window.
"You're lying!" Harry's head snapped back to Fudge. "He wasn't here this week and he is perfectly fine!"
Madam Pomfrey went red and stood up, her wand firmly clasped in her hand, but the headmaster stopped her with a stern look. Calmly, as to not arouse the anger of the teachers again, he looked back to the Minister. Arthur and Percy had kept quiet until now, but both were also looking displeased with the man. Dumbledore relaxed in his seat and asked, "And may I ask, who has told you that lie, Cornelius?"
"It's not a lie. My information comes from a very reliable source."
Before the headmaster had the chance to reply, Harry's soft voice cut through the room. "I would hardly call Rita Skeeter reliable. She has told more lies in her life than all of us put together."
Fudge's face turned even redder, but Harry hadn't finished. "And you really disappoint me, Minister. I thought you were above this kind of behaviour, but I guess I was wrong."
Through clenched teeth the man asked, "What do you mean?"
All teachers were listening intently at the conversation.
"I mean, I though you were above using unregistered animagi to spy on people. I'm sure a lot of people would be very interested in your methods, Minister, don't you agree, Rita?"
Harry saw the beetle buzzing frantically around the window, trying to get out of the room. The teachers had followed Harry's gaze and now had a look of understanding on their faces. Fudge's face had paled.
Before anyone could say anything else, Harry's hand shot out and a blue light surrounded the beetle, returning it to its human form. Skeeter fell to the floor, landing in a rather undignified position. She looked venomously at Harry, who had tiredly slumped back into the pillows.
Arthur was the first one to speak. "I'm really appalled, Minister. What will the council think? If this gets out, everyone will turn against the Ministry." Arthur's voice was stern, but all the teachers could see his eyes were twinkling with joy. They had finally found something that could throw this pathetic man from his position.
"I… I… I didn't know."
"I'm sure you didn't."
Dumbledore's voice was ice cold. He'd had more than enough of having this idiot mulling around the school. Because of him and Skeeter, Harry had just exerted himself again. In his condition, that could not be good at all. "I think it's best that you leave now, Cornelius. Your presence is no longer appreciated nor welcomed in this school. Percy, please, can you escort Miss Skeeter? I'm sure you can see about arranging a trial."
"Of course, sir."
When they had left the room, led by McGonagall, Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry.
"Child?"
But the boy didn't answer; he was once again sleeping peacefully, a faint blush caused by his fever covering his pale checks.
To be continued…
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. Thanks to my beta readers, Tanya and Gates. Another thing, people have been asking me from the beginning to mail the updates to them. I don't mind doing that at all, but now I'm starting to get confused in who wants which story. So could you help me out and tell me exactly for which story you want me to warn you? If it's Free, Dangers in the past or both. Thanks.