Chapter 7
Dr. Jacobs had to agree with them as he examined the boy yet again. Even after two weeks of being in the hospital he still looked the same as he had when he came stumbling through the doors of the emergency room. The only improvement that the boy had made since that day was that he had regained consciousness to a certain degree.
The morning of the third day he had been there he had opened his eyes mysteriously, but that was all.
He would lay in the bed unmoving for hours on end as he starred up at the white ceiling of the hospital, occasionally falling into a restless sleep and only then did he stir or utter a sound.
He would toss back and forth on the bed, muttering strange and incoherent sentences as he did so, as though he were having a very vivid dream, but it would all stop as soon as he awoke.
His eyes would snap open without warning and he would be back to the same as before.
The doctor and the nurse had tried repeatedly to get him to at least tell them his name, but thus far they had been unsuccessful.
Other than his opening his eyes though, everything remained almost the same.
The boys' entire body was still covered in the horrendous dark bruises and deep gashes that he had come in with, but some of the smaller bruises had begun to fade slightly and the smaller cuts had begun to close, but these small improvements were easily overlooked when one saw the much worse injuries that had yet to heal.
As the doctor began his exam, his once again took stock of his extensive injuries, wondering not for the first time how the boy was alive.
His right arm bore a cast to support the shattered bones and his chest and abdomen were wrapped tightly to allow the broken ribs to heal. His open wounds though were left open, too old to stitch up and left to close on their own where there was no doubt they would leave terrible scars.
As he was listening to the bruised heart and lungs of his patient at the end of the exam, he almost jumped back in shock as he noticed the boys eyes were open and starring right at him instead of at the ceiling.
He had of course seen the boys eyes before, and even examined them, but this time was different. The eyes were focused on him and he knew the boy was coherent enough to know what he was looking at.
The eyes were unnaturally green, almost the color of shining emeralds within the battered face and the doctor almost faltered under their intensity.
It was almost as though the boy were not just looking at him, but through his body and into his soul, judging him and seeing his weaknesses.
The doctor broke the gaze almost immediately and was even more shocked to find the boys eyes never leaving him as he made his way toward the nurse, giving her his stethoscope before returning back to the boys bedside.
"Can you tell me your name boy?" he spoke gently to the child who was still looking into his soul.
But the boy didn't answer him, he just continued to gaze into his face unflinching.
The doctor repeated his question, but when it became obvious that he would receive no answer, he stood and proceeded toward the door, motioning for the nurse to accompany him.
When they reached the end of the hallway, Dr. Jacobs began to whisper to the nurse frantically.
"Has he ever done that before today?"
"What?"
"Looked at you like that? I know he has had his eyes opened for a while, but has he ever actually seen you? Like he did with me, following me around with his eyes like that?"
"No, never or I would have told you. Are you alright Chris? You look as though you have just seen a ghost or something."
The doctor was so distracted that he didn't even realize that Mary had just called him by his given name instead of his proper title.
"I don't know Mary, there was something about his eyes, they were strange, like he was looking inside me or something. That boy in there is not like normal people, he's different." He said as he ran his hand through his short blonde hair in frustration.
"What do you mean Chris?"
"I don't know, but his eyes are so intense. Too intense for a boy his age, like he's seen and experienced more than anyone should. I don't know, he seems different, but not like anyone I have ever met. I can't help but feel like I could trust him with my life. Does this sound strange? Has this case driven me to insanity?" he asked, looking into her face with a grim smile on his face.
"Not at all Chris, I happen to agree with you, about everything. I almost feel safe around him, safer than if I were surrounded by a dozen police. I wonder who this boy is to have been through so much when he is so young."
"Well, the authorities have found no record of a missing child fitting his description in the past fifteen years, since he was an infant, so it's on to the next step."
"What's that?"
"His description was published in all of the local papers this morning. It's taken this long just to get the authorities to agree to publish the article since we have no idea who did this.
They're worried that he escaped and whoever did this will come and try to get him back, but what other choice do we have now?
Somebody knows him and what happened to him, we just have to pray that whoever comes is not the one who did this.
Go on back in with him, and page me if he speaks or if anything in his condition changes." He concluded as he turned to go and check on his other patients, and the nurse obeyed and went back into the room with the boy.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Since the school term had ended at the close of the memorial service two weeks earlier, Albus Dumbledore was sitting at the head table in the great hall eating breakfast with a few of the other teachers.
He turned to the man sitting on his left and was not surprised to see the man pushing his food around on his plate, lost in his own thoughts.
"Sirius, you will be no help to the search if you don't take care of yourself."
The younger man looked up at his former headmaster with desperation written over his normally kind features.
"I'm sorry Albus, but I'm just not hungry. All I can think about is Harry and why he would be willing to risk his life for all of us. Why wouldn't he just take that portkey and come to Remus and I, we would have protected him no matter what the cost."
"I think that is the reason he decided not to take it. He was worried about you two being hurt or killed for him."
"It's not his place to worry about us Albus. He's just a boy, he shouldn't have such a weight placed on his shoulders. It should have been the other way around. I'm his godfather and I should have been protecting him!" he said furiously, slamming his fist into the table top, rattling all the other goblets and getting the attention of the others present.
"Calm down Padfoot, we'll find him, we've just been looking in the wrong places" said the brown haired man beside him.
"How do you know we'll find him Moony! How can you be so sure he's even alive! He vanished with Voldemort and about fifty death eaters and dementors! Wherever they are, they probably tortured and killed him instantly if he wasn't already dead. It's been three and a half bloody months! He's just a boy, he's not immortal, there is no way he could have survived that curse again without Lily's protection, and Ginny and Draco said the curse did hit him." he yelled frantically at his best friend.
"PADFOOT WOULD YOU LISTEN TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" screamed Remus at his face before composing himself again "This is Harry we're talking about here. He's faced this maniac four different times and survived. He's stronger than any of us and I believe that he's still alive out there somewhere, we just don't know where yet. All we can do is be optimistic and keep searching for him until we find him."
Sirius was shocked at the amount of raw emotion his friend was showing. Remus was never much on speeches and he was usually so reserved and calm, but he had just yelled at Sirius at the top of his lungs, and as hard as it was for him to admit it, Remus was right. They had to keep searching, they couldn't just give up hope because everyone else in the wizarding world had.
"Remus is right Black, just because the rest of the world has given up hope, you need to keep looking for your godson" said a voice from the other side of the headmaster.
The words that the other person had spoken shocked every person at the table into silence. It was common knowledge that Severus Snape detested the two marauders, and disliked the son of prongs even more, but something had happened to him the day Harry had disappeared. He ceased to be the cold and heartless potions master they had all known for so many years, but only when he was away from the prying eyes of the students.
Deep down, he pitied Black, though he would never admit it to the man. Black had had his name cleared only two weeks before Harry had disappeared when Pettigrew was spotted in Diagon Alley by several wizards who had all spoken in Black's defense.
He had just begun to assist Remus with the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to spend more time with Harry when this had all happened. He and Remus had been searching endlessly all over the wizarding world for any sign of the boy or the dark lord, but so far they hadn't turned up anything.
Since term had ended, the potions master had begun to help with the search as well, and he had been just as unsuccessful.
Just then, a handful of owls swooped into the room and headed for the table they were all sitting at, most of the laden with various newspapers for the professors.
Remus and Sirius each removed a copy of the Daily Prophet from the owls that had come to them, hurriedly skimming the headlines for anything relevant to their search.
Dumbledore had received his usual stack of about eight different newspapers, not only the Daily Prophet, but several muggle papers as well, but instead of reading them there at the table, he rose and said his farewells to the other staff members and retired to his office.
Once he arrived at his office, the aged headmaster sat behind his antique desk and began to sift through the stack of newspapers before him.
Many members of the staff wondered why the powerful wizard was interested in the news from the muggle word, but as he repeatedly told them, the muggles were quite remarkable people and one never knew when something the muggles had to say might be of value to the wizarding world.
As his eyes scanned the various headlines on the first several papers, his mind began to drift to the issue of where Harry might have sent himself and Voldemort, and how they were going to find that place.
As his thoughts wandered to these and other things, he continued to skim the headlines of the paper in his hand, and his eyes fell on a small article on the second page of the main London paper that caused his mind to focus instantly. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Unidentified Child in Serious Condition at Local Hospital
On June 4th a severely injured boy entered the emergency room of St. Josephs Hospital in downtown London, sources at the hospital report. The unidentified boy is reported to have sustained life threatening injuries before wandering into the emergency room of the hospital around ten pm on June 4th. The local authorities have been unable to match the boy to any children reported missing and are asking that anyone who may know anything about the boy or about those who injured him contact the hospital or their local authorities. The boy appears to be fourteen to fifteen years of age with shoulder length black hair and green eyes. He has a pale complexion and slim build, standing five foot 7 inches in height. He was wearing what appeared to be black robes with a school crest emblazoned over the right breast pocket. Anyone with any information regarding the boy or the attackers should contact the police immediately.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Well, there's another chapter finished! I hope you all enjoy it and don't worry, the next chapter is written already and I'll post it later today so the cliffy won't last that long! Now I am going to thank you all by name. Thank you: Murgatroyd Hyper Max Nicky Starry eyed girl Kodee Charlie girl Maxennce Grey AgiVega Radiant Moon Wolf Jessika Organa Solo Shiann Visbond Evil spapple pie x2 Mandy x2 Martini Sk8reagle Usakoesm Lauren Bucky x2 PR Lucken
Thank you all for your kind words, they really boost my ego ya know! The next chapter will be posted later today and if I get busy, I may be able to get two more chapters up today since I am the worst procrastinator in the world and I have three exams this week and I really need something to convince myself not to study lol! Hope you like this.
Dr. Jacobs had to agree with them as he examined the boy yet again. Even after two weeks of being in the hospital he still looked the same as he had when he came stumbling through the doors of the emergency room. The only improvement that the boy had made since that day was that he had regained consciousness to a certain degree.
The morning of the third day he had been there he had opened his eyes mysteriously, but that was all.
He would lay in the bed unmoving for hours on end as he starred up at the white ceiling of the hospital, occasionally falling into a restless sleep and only then did he stir or utter a sound.
He would toss back and forth on the bed, muttering strange and incoherent sentences as he did so, as though he were having a very vivid dream, but it would all stop as soon as he awoke.
His eyes would snap open without warning and he would be back to the same as before.
The doctor and the nurse had tried repeatedly to get him to at least tell them his name, but thus far they had been unsuccessful.
Other than his opening his eyes though, everything remained almost the same.
The boys' entire body was still covered in the horrendous dark bruises and deep gashes that he had come in with, but some of the smaller bruises had begun to fade slightly and the smaller cuts had begun to close, but these small improvements were easily overlooked when one saw the much worse injuries that had yet to heal.
As the doctor began his exam, his once again took stock of his extensive injuries, wondering not for the first time how the boy was alive.
His right arm bore a cast to support the shattered bones and his chest and abdomen were wrapped tightly to allow the broken ribs to heal. His open wounds though were left open, too old to stitch up and left to close on their own where there was no doubt they would leave terrible scars.
As he was listening to the bruised heart and lungs of his patient at the end of the exam, he almost jumped back in shock as he noticed the boys eyes were open and starring right at him instead of at the ceiling.
He had of course seen the boys eyes before, and even examined them, but this time was different. The eyes were focused on him and he knew the boy was coherent enough to know what he was looking at.
The eyes were unnaturally green, almost the color of shining emeralds within the battered face and the doctor almost faltered under their intensity.
It was almost as though the boy were not just looking at him, but through his body and into his soul, judging him and seeing his weaknesses.
The doctor broke the gaze almost immediately and was even more shocked to find the boys eyes never leaving him as he made his way toward the nurse, giving her his stethoscope before returning back to the boys bedside.
"Can you tell me your name boy?" he spoke gently to the child who was still looking into his soul.
But the boy didn't answer him, he just continued to gaze into his face unflinching.
The doctor repeated his question, but when it became obvious that he would receive no answer, he stood and proceeded toward the door, motioning for the nurse to accompany him.
When they reached the end of the hallway, Dr. Jacobs began to whisper to the nurse frantically.
"Has he ever done that before today?"
"What?"
"Looked at you like that? I know he has had his eyes opened for a while, but has he ever actually seen you? Like he did with me, following me around with his eyes like that?"
"No, never or I would have told you. Are you alright Chris? You look as though you have just seen a ghost or something."
The doctor was so distracted that he didn't even realize that Mary had just called him by his given name instead of his proper title.
"I don't know Mary, there was something about his eyes, they were strange, like he was looking inside me or something. That boy in there is not like normal people, he's different." He said as he ran his hand through his short blonde hair in frustration.
"What do you mean Chris?"
"I don't know, but his eyes are so intense. Too intense for a boy his age, like he's seen and experienced more than anyone should. I don't know, he seems different, but not like anyone I have ever met. I can't help but feel like I could trust him with my life. Does this sound strange? Has this case driven me to insanity?" he asked, looking into her face with a grim smile on his face.
"Not at all Chris, I happen to agree with you, about everything. I almost feel safe around him, safer than if I were surrounded by a dozen police. I wonder who this boy is to have been through so much when he is so young."
"Well, the authorities have found no record of a missing child fitting his description in the past fifteen years, since he was an infant, so it's on to the next step."
"What's that?"
"His description was published in all of the local papers this morning. It's taken this long just to get the authorities to agree to publish the article since we have no idea who did this.
They're worried that he escaped and whoever did this will come and try to get him back, but what other choice do we have now?
Somebody knows him and what happened to him, we just have to pray that whoever comes is not the one who did this.
Go on back in with him, and page me if he speaks or if anything in his condition changes." He concluded as he turned to go and check on his other patients, and the nurse obeyed and went back into the room with the boy.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Since the school term had ended at the close of the memorial service two weeks earlier, Albus Dumbledore was sitting at the head table in the great hall eating breakfast with a few of the other teachers.
He turned to the man sitting on his left and was not surprised to see the man pushing his food around on his plate, lost in his own thoughts.
"Sirius, you will be no help to the search if you don't take care of yourself."
The younger man looked up at his former headmaster with desperation written over his normally kind features.
"I'm sorry Albus, but I'm just not hungry. All I can think about is Harry and why he would be willing to risk his life for all of us. Why wouldn't he just take that portkey and come to Remus and I, we would have protected him no matter what the cost."
"I think that is the reason he decided not to take it. He was worried about you two being hurt or killed for him."
"It's not his place to worry about us Albus. He's just a boy, he shouldn't have such a weight placed on his shoulders. It should have been the other way around. I'm his godfather and I should have been protecting him!" he said furiously, slamming his fist into the table top, rattling all the other goblets and getting the attention of the others present.
"Calm down Padfoot, we'll find him, we've just been looking in the wrong places" said the brown haired man beside him.
"How do you know we'll find him Moony! How can you be so sure he's even alive! He vanished with Voldemort and about fifty death eaters and dementors! Wherever they are, they probably tortured and killed him instantly if he wasn't already dead. It's been three and a half bloody months! He's just a boy, he's not immortal, there is no way he could have survived that curse again without Lily's protection, and Ginny and Draco said the curse did hit him." he yelled frantically at his best friend.
"PADFOOT WOULD YOU LISTEN TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" screamed Remus at his face before composing himself again "This is Harry we're talking about here. He's faced this maniac four different times and survived. He's stronger than any of us and I believe that he's still alive out there somewhere, we just don't know where yet. All we can do is be optimistic and keep searching for him until we find him."
Sirius was shocked at the amount of raw emotion his friend was showing. Remus was never much on speeches and he was usually so reserved and calm, but he had just yelled at Sirius at the top of his lungs, and as hard as it was for him to admit it, Remus was right. They had to keep searching, they couldn't just give up hope because everyone else in the wizarding world had.
"Remus is right Black, just because the rest of the world has given up hope, you need to keep looking for your godson" said a voice from the other side of the headmaster.
The words that the other person had spoken shocked every person at the table into silence. It was common knowledge that Severus Snape detested the two marauders, and disliked the son of prongs even more, but something had happened to him the day Harry had disappeared. He ceased to be the cold and heartless potions master they had all known for so many years, but only when he was away from the prying eyes of the students.
Deep down, he pitied Black, though he would never admit it to the man. Black had had his name cleared only two weeks before Harry had disappeared when Pettigrew was spotted in Diagon Alley by several wizards who had all spoken in Black's defense.
He had just begun to assist Remus with the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to spend more time with Harry when this had all happened. He and Remus had been searching endlessly all over the wizarding world for any sign of the boy or the dark lord, but so far they hadn't turned up anything.
Since term had ended, the potions master had begun to help with the search as well, and he had been just as unsuccessful.
Just then, a handful of owls swooped into the room and headed for the table they were all sitting at, most of the laden with various newspapers for the professors.
Remus and Sirius each removed a copy of the Daily Prophet from the owls that had come to them, hurriedly skimming the headlines for anything relevant to their search.
Dumbledore had received his usual stack of about eight different newspapers, not only the Daily Prophet, but several muggle papers as well, but instead of reading them there at the table, he rose and said his farewells to the other staff members and retired to his office.
Once he arrived at his office, the aged headmaster sat behind his antique desk and began to sift through the stack of newspapers before him.
Many members of the staff wondered why the powerful wizard was interested in the news from the muggle word, but as he repeatedly told them, the muggles were quite remarkable people and one never knew when something the muggles had to say might be of value to the wizarding world.
As his eyes scanned the various headlines on the first several papers, his mind began to drift to the issue of where Harry might have sent himself and Voldemort, and how they were going to find that place.
As his thoughts wandered to these and other things, he continued to skim the headlines of the paper in his hand, and his eyes fell on a small article on the second page of the main London paper that caused his mind to focus instantly. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Unidentified Child in Serious Condition at Local Hospital
On June 4th a severely injured boy entered the emergency room of St. Josephs Hospital in downtown London, sources at the hospital report. The unidentified boy is reported to have sustained life threatening injuries before wandering into the emergency room of the hospital around ten pm on June 4th. The local authorities have been unable to match the boy to any children reported missing and are asking that anyone who may know anything about the boy or about those who injured him contact the hospital or their local authorities. The boy appears to be fourteen to fifteen years of age with shoulder length black hair and green eyes. He has a pale complexion and slim build, standing five foot 7 inches in height. He was wearing what appeared to be black robes with a school crest emblazoned over the right breast pocket. Anyone with any information regarding the boy or the attackers should contact the police immediately.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Well, there's another chapter finished! I hope you all enjoy it and don't worry, the next chapter is written already and I'll post it later today so the cliffy won't last that long! Now I am going to thank you all by name. Thank you: Murgatroyd Hyper Max Nicky Starry eyed girl Kodee Charlie girl Maxennce Grey AgiVega Radiant Moon Wolf Jessika Organa Solo Shiann Visbond Evil spapple pie x2 Mandy x2 Martini Sk8reagle Usakoesm Lauren Bucky x2 PR Lucken
Thank you all for your kind words, they really boost my ego ya know! The next chapter will be posted later today and if I get busy, I may be able to get two more chapters up today since I am the worst procrastinator in the world and I have three exams this week and I really need something to convince myself not to study lol! Hope you like this.