Disclaimer: all characters belong to J K Rowling and Warner brothers.
a/n I'm an idiot. I was trying to fix this glitch, and it turned out my computer loved cookies a little too much. #&^#*%@* Thanks Moppet for the 300th review! This chapter's dedicated to you!
Cheating Death
By neutral
Chapter thirteen - cheating complications
Sirius landed abruptly, his feet slipping over the slippery surface of the rocks. He caught the edge of a large projectile to steady himself, looking around him wearily. He was a bit surprised at the sight that met his eyes. He had imagined the place to be full of trees, just as Harry described, but all he saw was a tall cliff, almost vertically stretching upward, and a ground littered with rocks.
Dumbledore said that the charm would transport him directly to Harry, but looking around, all he saw was some dead trees and rocks. Sirius scowled angrily. He was going to give that old man a piece of his mind the moment he returned.
Sirius glanced around, searching for a navigable path off the cliffs, wondering how in the world he was ever going to find Harry in a forest that size. A path of off colored rocks caught his eye. Sirius stared at it, making out some brown tinted rocks that looked suspiciously like they were caked with dried blood. Sirius approached it slowly, fingering his wand. But the sight that met his eyes completely drove all thoughts of caution from his mind.
A large splatter of rapidly drying blood spread like fingers over rocks. Splashes of brown tinted the grass in patches, and streaked the cliff face. It was like someone had thrown paint all over the floors, and let angry splotches over the area.
The sound of something crunching beneath his foot made Sirius stop. He looked down, surprised to see a pair of round rimmed glasses, lens cracked, and frames completely brown in half. His throat constricted sharply when his mind clicked in recognition. Those were Harry's glasses.
"Harry?" Sirius called out tentatively, looking around.
Only the whispers of wind met his ears. A steady streak of blood ran, almost as if whoever laid there had somehow dragged himself away. Sirius desperately prayed that the whoever the person was, it wasn't Harry, as he ran across the rocky surface, searching for any sign of his godson.
There was a soft whimper; Sirius jerked to a stop, scanning the area. A patch of red caught his eye.
A small boy lay in a tangled heap of limbs and rocks, his body slumped against the cliff face like it was the only thing keeping him up. Scratches covered his tattered clothes, dyed red. His body was raked with strained, uneven breaths, his face lined with pain.
"Harry!" Sirius gasped out. He sank to his knees beside the boy, breath caught in his throat as he reached out to pull some bloodied bangs from his face. "No…"
How could this happen?
Harry struggled through the thick fog that seemed to possess his mind. His body felt heavy; every inch of his skin burned like someone had branded the cruicatus curse into him. There was a tightness in his chest, each breath sent streaks of pain in his body. Distantly, he could feel a cool hand on his brow.
"Dad?" he asked, but his voice came out in a strangled croak
There was a soft rustle beside him and a pause, as if the person beside him was afraid to speak.
"Harry?" a voice finally said close to his ear.
It was familiar, but not his father; Harry was too tired to think much about it.
There was a soft rustle of cloth. Harry had a vague idea of the person shifting beside him, and a hand pulling him away from the cold, jagged surface. But the movement jostled his ribs and sent flashes of pain through his body. Harry cried out in protest.
"No, stop…" his voice came out in a choked whimper.
The hands released him quickly. "Harry, it's Sirius."
Sirius?
That caught Harry's attention as he tried to open his eyes. Everything was a wild smear of colors, and it seemed to cost too much energy. Harry closed his eyes again wearily.
Smiling, Harry tried to find his voice. "Sirius?" he finally whispered, his voice thick and hoarse.
Harry could feel an answering hand running through his hair, but the action seemed mostly to aimed at trying him awake. There was a lingering touch on his cheek, and when Sirius spoke again, his tone was seething. "Who did this to you?"
Harry struggled through foggy memories to put his thoughts into words. But all he managed was a soft "Them."
"Who?"
Harry shook his head weakly. He wished Sirius would stop asking questions. He was too tired. He just wanted to rest. But an abrupt thought cut his way into the front of his head, and Harry shivered.
Why was Sirius here? Was he in the room again? But the ground was too rough. That didn't make any sense at all…
"Where?" Harry choked urgently, trying to open his eyes again.
"The mountain," Sirius murmured. He smoothed out the messy hair soothingly. "But I'm going to get out of here, Harry. I'm going to bring you home."
Those words came to him thickly.
Sirius was here to bring him home? But his home was here. His parents were here… he didn't want to go back to the Dursleys.
Harry tried to shake his head in protest.
"No…" he croaked.
"No?" Sirius sounded concerned. A hand cupped the side of his face, "What are you talking about?"
"Not them… Dursleys….," Harry whispered, trying to shake his head.
There was a soft sigh. "Harry, you're not going back to them again. You're going to stay with Remus and I, okay?"
Harry frowned, trying to make sense of his words. How could he stay with Sirius? He was still on the run. It was easier if he just stayed here with his parents, out of the way, not causing any trouble. How could he explain? How could he make him understand?
Harry shook his head, feeling a bit numb. Sirius' voice was sounding more and more distant and muffled to his ears. "No… don't understand," he mumbled, words beginning to slur.
There was a stunned silence; Harry could barely feel Sirius stiffening beside him. The heaviness in his body was slowly turning into numbness. His eyelids felt like solid weights, begging to fall down, and his body felt devoid of muscle. His body was screaming for rest; more than anything, he just wanted to lie back on the bed and sleep. Too weary to fight, he simply submitted to the darkness at the corners of his vision.
When Harry fell limp again, Sirius could just stare at him dumbly in shock. Harry's words replayed in his head like a broken record, over and over again
No… don't understand…
He didn't want to go back. Harry didn't want to go back!
Through the past few days, Sirius always imagined it as being a simple task. All he needed to do was find Harry and lead him home. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that Harry actually wanted to die.
"Harry, Do you have any idea how miserable you're making us all? People are counting on you. They need you," Sirius whispered angrily.
Harry made no sign of having heard him at all, leaning weakly against the jagged wall.
But perhaps that was why Harry wanted to get away. With all those impossible expectations, Harry was crushed against a corner. His life was hung on strings; he couldn't go anywhere without people either hating or admiring him. This place was a relief, free from worries and concerns. But Sirius couldn't bring himself to let Harry go.
Slowly, he gathered the boy into his arms, wincing when he brushed the stiff, blood caked clothes. Harry needed medical care, but there was no way he could give it to him. He need to get him out, or find help quickly.
A small shower of dirt and rocks caught Sirius' attention. Looking up, a shadow of a man came into view. Instinctively, Sirius pulled into the shadows, trying to keep his godson hidden, but that obviously wasn't enough.
There was a sharp gasp, and then "Harry!"
The voice was familiar; but Sirius couldn't place it. It stirred thickly in his memories. There was a loud thump, as if he had just jumped down from some distance above, and rapid footsteps approaching.
"Harry!" the man called desperately, running towards the large patch of dried blood.
Sirius tried to back away out of sight, but Harry made a small moan of pain. The man spun around, face hidden by the overhang of dead branches that partially hid Sirius from view. From the angry stance of the man, Sirius didn't need any more convincing to draw his wand. Harry made a small sound of protest as his body was jostled, and the man echoed it with a cry of fury.
"Put him down!" the man hissed angrily.
Instinctively, Sirius pulled Harry closer, wrapping him with a fold of his cloak.
Without warning, a streak of white light brushed his hair and sent strands of razor sharp rocks raining through the air. Sirius bent over the unconscious boy , trying to shield him as best as possible. He was fuming by the time the dust cleared. What was he thinking? The man could have hurt Harry.
Sirius pointed his wand, ignorant of the stones that cut into his skin, throwing a couple of well aimed hexes his way. But the man was surprisingly nimble as he dodged.
Grabbing the distraction, Sirius trudged deeper between the thin row of dead trees, growing flush against the cliff face. The terrain was rough and his movements slow. Sirius inwardly winced as his jerky steps wretched a whimper of pain from Harry.
"Stupefy!"
Sirius ducked out of the way just as a burning red streak ripped a shallow cut in his cheek. He didn't stop to retaliate. It was too dangerous with Harry as a burden and the enemy following so close behind. He scrambled through the small crevasses between gnarled trucks and brittle branches. A hidden root snagged his foot. With a muffled groan, Sirius slammed into the ground, Harry landing limply beside him.
The footsteps echoed from the rocks, pounding loudly on the rough floor.
"You… you bastard….," the stranger snarled.
Sirius was surprised by the anger it seemed to convey. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around Harry, shifting in front of the unconscious boy defensively.
"Stop right there or I'll hex you!" Sirius shouted warningly, raising his wand.
The man stopped abruptly. Sirius could hear deep, raspy breaths as if he was trying hard to suppress fury.
"He's… he's just a boy! I can't believe you all. Don't you have any morals?" the man hissed.
Sirius blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Don't hurt him. I don't care what you do, just don't hurt him." there was a odd pleading tone in the man's voice that threw Sirius off completely.
The man was afraid to approach because he thought he was using Harry as a hostage? All this time, Sirius was running away from someone who meant no harm. But he couldn't hide the surge of indignation at even the suggestion he meant to hurt Harry.
"I not going to hurt Harry. I'll never do that!" Sirius growled defensively.
"Well then I suggest you better give my son back…"
But Sirius had stopped listening after that.
Son…?
"James?" Sirius choked out.
*
Ack, it's probably not very clear but Harry fell over the cliff and went smack, but crawled away from his original location. Donnuo why I made him do that though...
Wah! A cliffe! Tilly and MercS are going to kill me!! And so will Shayla and Keara and Evie and... wah!! *hides* Oh, I was mean to Harry huh. That means I have to delete chapter 18. He gets beaten up again. But that was such a waste of my 3 hours!! Urg! Oh well, it was a little too much though. But... what do you think?
oh no, googoo4you is going to kill me! I have... uhh... a LOT more cliffies to come. As for your suggestions, well, to tell you the truth, I don't know why I made James guess. It was suppose to show something about his personality. It didn't work out very well did it *hides* As for the Death Eaters, remember, they're in Voldermort's wand. There hadn't been any new Death Eaters for 13 years. The old ones are pretty much scattered already. I have a full explination in chapter 18 about why the Death Eaters hate Harry so much, but I might delete it because Harry gets beaten again there (it's getting old, I mean, 5 chapters... really too much). You're free to vote on that though, since I already took the effort of writing it.
This is the ultimate contradiction to Murphy's law. You know, these events are so nicely placed together, ack. I wasn't planning to reveal James and Lily until the very end, but then I realized Sirius would be completely lost. So I had three options, give them Diggle again who Sirius doesn't even trust (I hate creating new characters though), give them Cedric who would probably try to kill Sirius with Harry out cold, or give them James who if I didn't incorporate, I'd have to describe what happened to him. Urg.
You know, I didn't plan the story past this point. Everything after this chapter is a bunch of hit and misses, really stupid, isn't it? Ack…
Which also means, the next chapter is going to break the code of 1 chapter per 2 days. It's being held back until everything runs smoothly. I'm sorry!!
Thanks for all those wonderful reviews!! Everyone likes James - Harry bonding better, humm… what about Sirius - Harry bonding? I can't do Lily - Harry bonding, that becomes overkill (also, I have a hard time doing it psychologically. Little boys like their dads, right? I mean, little boys always look up to their dads. So I think Harry will work better with his father, Lily is like this huge block for me, although I can still try. But then, that means, no sequel *cackle* I'm evil arent i? I'm making everyone choose sequel over Lily 'cause I like that better. Muhahaha!!). First his godfather, then the father, then the mother? Ack! This story will be… at least 40 chapters then! I've already lengthened it to 28, and I haven't even started on the epilogue. Oh crud.
a/n I'm an idiot. I was trying to fix this glitch, and it turned out my computer loved cookies a little too much. #&^#*%@* Thanks Moppet for the 300th review! This chapter's dedicated to you!
Cheating Death
By neutral
Chapter thirteen - cheating complications
Sirius landed abruptly, his feet slipping over the slippery surface of the rocks. He caught the edge of a large projectile to steady himself, looking around him wearily. He was a bit surprised at the sight that met his eyes. He had imagined the place to be full of trees, just as Harry described, but all he saw was a tall cliff, almost vertically stretching upward, and a ground littered with rocks.
Dumbledore said that the charm would transport him directly to Harry, but looking around, all he saw was some dead trees and rocks. Sirius scowled angrily. He was going to give that old man a piece of his mind the moment he returned.
Sirius glanced around, searching for a navigable path off the cliffs, wondering how in the world he was ever going to find Harry in a forest that size. A path of off colored rocks caught his eye. Sirius stared at it, making out some brown tinted rocks that looked suspiciously like they were caked with dried blood. Sirius approached it slowly, fingering his wand. But the sight that met his eyes completely drove all thoughts of caution from his mind.
A large splatter of rapidly drying blood spread like fingers over rocks. Splashes of brown tinted the grass in patches, and streaked the cliff face. It was like someone had thrown paint all over the floors, and let angry splotches over the area.
The sound of something crunching beneath his foot made Sirius stop. He looked down, surprised to see a pair of round rimmed glasses, lens cracked, and frames completely brown in half. His throat constricted sharply when his mind clicked in recognition. Those were Harry's glasses.
"Harry?" Sirius called out tentatively, looking around.
Only the whispers of wind met his ears. A steady streak of blood ran, almost as if whoever laid there had somehow dragged himself away. Sirius desperately prayed that the whoever the person was, it wasn't Harry, as he ran across the rocky surface, searching for any sign of his godson.
There was a soft whimper; Sirius jerked to a stop, scanning the area. A patch of red caught his eye.
A small boy lay in a tangled heap of limbs and rocks, his body slumped against the cliff face like it was the only thing keeping him up. Scratches covered his tattered clothes, dyed red. His body was raked with strained, uneven breaths, his face lined with pain.
"Harry!" Sirius gasped out. He sank to his knees beside the boy, breath caught in his throat as he reached out to pull some bloodied bangs from his face. "No…"
How could this happen?
Harry struggled through the thick fog that seemed to possess his mind. His body felt heavy; every inch of his skin burned like someone had branded the cruicatus curse into him. There was a tightness in his chest, each breath sent streaks of pain in his body. Distantly, he could feel a cool hand on his brow.
"Dad?" he asked, but his voice came out in a strangled croak
There was a soft rustle beside him and a pause, as if the person beside him was afraid to speak.
"Harry?" a voice finally said close to his ear.
It was familiar, but not his father; Harry was too tired to think much about it.
There was a soft rustle of cloth. Harry had a vague idea of the person shifting beside him, and a hand pulling him away from the cold, jagged surface. But the movement jostled his ribs and sent flashes of pain through his body. Harry cried out in protest.
"No, stop…" his voice came out in a choked whimper.
The hands released him quickly. "Harry, it's Sirius."
Sirius?
That caught Harry's attention as he tried to open his eyes. Everything was a wild smear of colors, and it seemed to cost too much energy. Harry closed his eyes again wearily.
Smiling, Harry tried to find his voice. "Sirius?" he finally whispered, his voice thick and hoarse.
Harry could feel an answering hand running through his hair, but the action seemed mostly to aimed at trying him awake. There was a lingering touch on his cheek, and when Sirius spoke again, his tone was seething. "Who did this to you?"
Harry struggled through foggy memories to put his thoughts into words. But all he managed was a soft "Them."
"Who?"
Harry shook his head weakly. He wished Sirius would stop asking questions. He was too tired. He just wanted to rest. But an abrupt thought cut his way into the front of his head, and Harry shivered.
Why was Sirius here? Was he in the room again? But the ground was too rough. That didn't make any sense at all…
"Where?" Harry choked urgently, trying to open his eyes again.
"The mountain," Sirius murmured. He smoothed out the messy hair soothingly. "But I'm going to get out of here, Harry. I'm going to bring you home."
Those words came to him thickly.
Sirius was here to bring him home? But his home was here. His parents were here… he didn't want to go back to the Dursleys.
Harry tried to shake his head in protest.
"No…" he croaked.
"No?" Sirius sounded concerned. A hand cupped the side of his face, "What are you talking about?"
"Not them… Dursleys….," Harry whispered, trying to shake his head.
There was a soft sigh. "Harry, you're not going back to them again. You're going to stay with Remus and I, okay?"
Harry frowned, trying to make sense of his words. How could he stay with Sirius? He was still on the run. It was easier if he just stayed here with his parents, out of the way, not causing any trouble. How could he explain? How could he make him understand?
Harry shook his head, feeling a bit numb. Sirius' voice was sounding more and more distant and muffled to his ears. "No… don't understand," he mumbled, words beginning to slur.
There was a stunned silence; Harry could barely feel Sirius stiffening beside him. The heaviness in his body was slowly turning into numbness. His eyelids felt like solid weights, begging to fall down, and his body felt devoid of muscle. His body was screaming for rest; more than anything, he just wanted to lie back on the bed and sleep. Too weary to fight, he simply submitted to the darkness at the corners of his vision.
When Harry fell limp again, Sirius could just stare at him dumbly in shock. Harry's words replayed in his head like a broken record, over and over again
No… don't understand…
He didn't want to go back. Harry didn't want to go back!
Through the past few days, Sirius always imagined it as being a simple task. All he needed to do was find Harry and lead him home. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that Harry actually wanted to die.
"Harry, Do you have any idea how miserable you're making us all? People are counting on you. They need you," Sirius whispered angrily.
Harry made no sign of having heard him at all, leaning weakly against the jagged wall.
But perhaps that was why Harry wanted to get away. With all those impossible expectations, Harry was crushed against a corner. His life was hung on strings; he couldn't go anywhere without people either hating or admiring him. This place was a relief, free from worries and concerns. But Sirius couldn't bring himself to let Harry go.
Slowly, he gathered the boy into his arms, wincing when he brushed the stiff, blood caked clothes. Harry needed medical care, but there was no way he could give it to him. He need to get him out, or find help quickly.
A small shower of dirt and rocks caught Sirius' attention. Looking up, a shadow of a man came into view. Instinctively, Sirius pulled into the shadows, trying to keep his godson hidden, but that obviously wasn't enough.
There was a sharp gasp, and then "Harry!"
The voice was familiar; but Sirius couldn't place it. It stirred thickly in his memories. There was a loud thump, as if he had just jumped down from some distance above, and rapid footsteps approaching.
"Harry!" the man called desperately, running towards the large patch of dried blood.
Sirius tried to back away out of sight, but Harry made a small moan of pain. The man spun around, face hidden by the overhang of dead branches that partially hid Sirius from view. From the angry stance of the man, Sirius didn't need any more convincing to draw his wand. Harry made a small sound of protest as his body was jostled, and the man echoed it with a cry of fury.
"Put him down!" the man hissed angrily.
Instinctively, Sirius pulled Harry closer, wrapping him with a fold of his cloak.
Without warning, a streak of white light brushed his hair and sent strands of razor sharp rocks raining through the air. Sirius bent over the unconscious boy , trying to shield him as best as possible. He was fuming by the time the dust cleared. What was he thinking? The man could have hurt Harry.
Sirius pointed his wand, ignorant of the stones that cut into his skin, throwing a couple of well aimed hexes his way. But the man was surprisingly nimble as he dodged.
Grabbing the distraction, Sirius trudged deeper between the thin row of dead trees, growing flush against the cliff face. The terrain was rough and his movements slow. Sirius inwardly winced as his jerky steps wretched a whimper of pain from Harry.
"Stupefy!"
Sirius ducked out of the way just as a burning red streak ripped a shallow cut in his cheek. He didn't stop to retaliate. It was too dangerous with Harry as a burden and the enemy following so close behind. He scrambled through the small crevasses between gnarled trucks and brittle branches. A hidden root snagged his foot. With a muffled groan, Sirius slammed into the ground, Harry landing limply beside him.
The footsteps echoed from the rocks, pounding loudly on the rough floor.
"You… you bastard….," the stranger snarled.
Sirius was surprised by the anger it seemed to convey. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around Harry, shifting in front of the unconscious boy defensively.
"Stop right there or I'll hex you!" Sirius shouted warningly, raising his wand.
The man stopped abruptly. Sirius could hear deep, raspy breaths as if he was trying hard to suppress fury.
"He's… he's just a boy! I can't believe you all. Don't you have any morals?" the man hissed.
Sirius blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Don't hurt him. I don't care what you do, just don't hurt him." there was a odd pleading tone in the man's voice that threw Sirius off completely.
The man was afraid to approach because he thought he was using Harry as a hostage? All this time, Sirius was running away from someone who meant no harm. But he couldn't hide the surge of indignation at even the suggestion he meant to hurt Harry.
"I not going to hurt Harry. I'll never do that!" Sirius growled defensively.
"Well then I suggest you better give my son back…"
But Sirius had stopped listening after that.
Son…?
"James?" Sirius choked out.
*
Ack, it's probably not very clear but Harry fell over the cliff and went smack, but crawled away from his original location. Donnuo why I made him do that though...
Wah! A cliffe! Tilly and MercS are going to kill me!! And so will Shayla and Keara and Evie and... wah!! *hides* Oh, I was mean to Harry huh. That means I have to delete chapter 18. He gets beaten up again. But that was such a waste of my 3 hours!! Urg! Oh well, it was a little too much though. But... what do you think?
oh no, googoo4you is going to kill me! I have... uhh... a LOT more cliffies to come. As for your suggestions, well, to tell you the truth, I don't know why I made James guess. It was suppose to show something about his personality. It didn't work out very well did it *hides* As for the Death Eaters, remember, they're in Voldermort's wand. There hadn't been any new Death Eaters for 13 years. The old ones are pretty much scattered already. I have a full explination in chapter 18 about why the Death Eaters hate Harry so much, but I might delete it because Harry gets beaten again there (it's getting old, I mean, 5 chapters... really too much). You're free to vote on that though, since I already took the effort of writing it.
This is the ultimate contradiction to Murphy's law. You know, these events are so nicely placed together, ack. I wasn't planning to reveal James and Lily until the very end, but then I realized Sirius would be completely lost. So I had three options, give them Diggle again who Sirius doesn't even trust (I hate creating new characters though), give them Cedric who would probably try to kill Sirius with Harry out cold, or give them James who if I didn't incorporate, I'd have to describe what happened to him. Urg.
You know, I didn't plan the story past this point. Everything after this chapter is a bunch of hit and misses, really stupid, isn't it? Ack…
Which also means, the next chapter is going to break the code of 1 chapter per 2 days. It's being held back until everything runs smoothly. I'm sorry!!
Thanks for all those wonderful reviews!! Everyone likes James - Harry bonding better, humm… what about Sirius - Harry bonding? I can't do Lily - Harry bonding, that becomes overkill (also, I have a hard time doing it psychologically. Little boys like their dads, right? I mean, little boys always look up to their dads. So I think Harry will work better with his father, Lily is like this huge block for me, although I can still try. But then, that means, no sequel *cackle* I'm evil arent i? I'm making everyone choose sequel over Lily 'cause I like that better. Muhahaha!!). First his godfather, then the father, then the mother? Ack! This story will be… at least 40 chapters then! I've already lengthened it to 28, and I haven't even started on the epilogue. Oh crud.