Chapter 13
With those words out, he looked back to the faces in front of him. Ginny let out a small shriek and clamped her hands over her mouth with tears running unchecked down her cheeks.
Hermione looked stunned, as though she couldn't process what had just been said, and Ron wore an identical expression as his best friend.
Arthur had his arms around his wife who was sobbing into his robes muttering incoherently. Arthur was the first to get his voice back and he spoke quietly.
"Do you think he will recover Albus?"
"I don't know Arthur, but I do know that he is in a terrible psychological state right now. He has closed himself up completely and is terrified of being hurt again. He doesn't know who or what to trust and until he does, I must limit his contact to the staff of the school and his godfather. Could I have a private word with you Arthur, before I leave?"
"Certainly Albus, let's go to the living room."
He slowly unwrapped himself from his wife's embrace and followed the old man into the other room.
"Arthur, there is now no doubt in my mind that Harry has become even more powerful these past months, and I am worried about what he will do with these new found powers. I don't think he would intentionally harm his friends, but he could only too easily injure them without meaning to if he were startled or angry. Please try your hardest to explain to them that I am not doing this out of spite, but for their own protection. I must return to the castle now, I'll keep in touch."
With that, he disappeared from the living room with a pop and Arthur returned to the kitchen to try to calm his family as much as possible.
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The next several weeks were tiring on all involved. Sirius was by Harry's bed all but a few hours a day when he would get a quick nap and freshen up, to be replaced by Remus. The hospital wing remained relatively silent for the most part, interrupted by only the hushed conversations between Madame Pomfrey and the various members of the staff who came to check on Harry.
His injuries were slowly healing, and there were some that were still very obvious and painful looking to the observer, especially those on his face. Harry continued to remain in his tightly sealed shell, never speaking and only occasionally meeting anyone's eyes.
He obeyed whatever Sirius or Madame Pomfrey told him to do, eating any food that was placed before him, but he never ate much more than the most necessary amounts which had done nothing to add much needed weight to his too thin frame, but at least he was eating.
His strength had slowly returned, and he was now able to stay awake throughout the entire day instead of only being awake for a few hours at a time before becoming exhausted again and falling asleep.
His increase in energy prompted Sirius to approach Madame Pomfrey about letting Harry take a slow walk about the castle, which she had agreed would do the boy good if she were able to find some sort of brace for his mangled arm and leg so he could walk unassisted by others since he refused to let them aid him any more than was absolutely necessary.
She had designed a brace similar to those muggles used to support injured legs, but had added a few magical alterations, making it light as a feather and thin enough to be hidden under his robes while still being strong enough to help him walk around as long as he was wearing it.
His arm was held close to his body in a sling to prevent it jostling the shattered bones as much as possible.
From that day forward, Harry had taken walks of increasing lengths through the vast castle, always in the company of Sirius. Even though his energy levels had slowly increased over the past several weeks, it was still incredibly painful for him to walk for very long before he was gasping for breath and white as a sheet because his broken bones were taking far longer than the external wounds to heal.
Sirius hated to see his godson in so much pain, but Harry would refuse to allow him help him back to the hospital wing, shrugging off his gentle hand and stubbornly going back to the infirmary unaided and Sirius remembered all to well what had happened the one time he had tried to force Harry to let him help.
No matter how trying the walks were though, they appeared to be doing him some good and by the end of the second week of daily walks, he reached the end of the massive hallway that the hospital wing was on before turning back to return, the furthest he had made it yet, and by the end of the summer he could walk to the entrance of the tower before he turned back, completely exhausted but looking proud of himself nonetheless.
His seventeenth birthday passed unnoticed by Harry himself, and the cards and gifts that had been sent for him were being kept by Sirius until such time he was ready to receive them, on the advice of Poppy and Albus who both thought it best since Harry didn't even seem to realize there was a small pile of gifts on the table by his bed.
Those staying at the Weasley's were anxious for September the first to arrive so they could return to Hogwarts and see their friend at last and try to figure out what had happened to him since his disappearance.
Near the end of the summer, Dumbledore came to the hospital wing to speak to Harry privately, much to the irritation of Sirius, who was forced to wait in the hallway until they were through.
He approached a chair that was sitting next to one of the expansive windows and contained a slight figure with thick black hair hanging to his shoulders. He smiled slightly as he remembered the look on Sirius' face as he tried to wash the boy's hair the day after he had arrived at the castle.
He had walked in to speak with Madame Pomfrey and had seen Sirius leaning over the bed with Harry's head soaked and himself as well. He was trying to figure out what the best course of action was to rinse Harry's head without making a massive mess and incurring the wrath of Madame Pomfrey.
He had been oblivious to the headmaster watching him, and was about to just pour an entire bowl of water over the boy's head when Dumbledore had suggested putting some towels on the floor first to catch the water before he flooded the entire infirmary.
He still smiled at the shocked expression on Sirius' face as he realized someone was watching him, but he had obliged with the recommendation and finished without making too much of a mess.
These days though, much to Sirius' delight, Harry was able to care for himself completely, doing everything on his own, including washing his own hair and dressing himself, though he still had problems buttoning his shirts.
The only reason that he was still being kept in the hospital wing was so that he would always have someone nearby, and this was what Dumbledore wished to speak to him about tonight.
"Harry, how are you feeling tonight?" he hadn't really expected an answer so he wasn't surprised when he didn't receive one. He just moved until he was standing in front of the boy who continued to look out the window beside him.
"Harry, there are a few questions I need you to answer for me. As you know, the students will be returning to Hogwarts in three days, and it won't be possible for you to remain in the hospital wing once they arrive. The ministry is still unaware of your return and I will keep it that way if you wish, but that would require you to remain in Sirius' quarters. The other option is that you could remain to your dormitory or stay with Sirius once the students arrive, you will not be required to attend classes if you don't wish until you are ready to do so. This is your decision and I will support whatever you decide to do."
He was walking toward the hospital wing door to go when he heard the chair behind him scrape the ground. Turning around, he was shocked to see Harry standing with his weight supported by the chair back. Harry was looking right at him without blinking and remained that way for what felt like an eternity, his green eyes penetrating blue ones. What happened next shocked Albus beyond words.
"I want to be treated like everyone else" his words were barley audible, but they were there and made perfect sense. Harry wished to return to his dormitory and attend classes like every other seventeen year old wizard in the world.
Albus continued to stare at the boy for several more moments before he spoke again, in a tone much steadier than the boys had been.
"Very well Harry, you shall be at the start of term banquet three days from now, but there is one more question I must ask of you, would you like me to bring your wand down, it has been in my office since the day you left"
His words caused the boy's face to pale suddenly, and Albus was afraid he had caused him to retreat back into his protective shell. His worries were alleviated as soon as he spoke again though.
"No professor, I don't need it, but please keep it for me, I might want it later"
Albus decided not to press the issue any further by asking how it was possible Harry didn't need his wand, so he changed the topic.
"Very well, I will ask one of the staff members to gather your things form Diagon Alley for you for the new term. Would you like me to send Sirius back in?"
He looked back at Harry and was disappointed to see that his eyes had lost their focus once again and he was starring blankly at the floor, locked up inside his own thoughts and feelings. Sighing heavily, he left the hospital wing and was met with an irritated looking Sirius.
"Can I go be with my godson now Albus?" he asked impatiently
"One moment Sirius, I asked Harry if he would like to remain in your quarters once the students arrived or if he wanted to return to the tower, and his answer was most surprising, he told me he wanted to be treated like everyone else, which meant he wanted to return to his dormitory and attend classes, he also told me that he wouldn't need his wand for his classes"
"What do you mean he told you this? Harry has been here for ten weeks and hasn't said a word to anyone, but he answered you tonight"
"Yes, Sirius, he did answer my questions, but that is all, when I tried to continue the conversation, he closed back up again and the hollow look was back in his eyes. I have no idea why he answered these questions and not all the others we have asked him, but the fact remains that he did answer me tonight and we must respect his decisions on this matter and allow him to return to classes and his house dormitory"
Sirius looked furious at these words and his fury was released in his voice.
"What do you mean he is going back to classes! And going back to the tower! He won't speak to anybody and he is still terribly hurt, those wounds have barley healed and he gets out of breath after climbing one flight of stairs! How in heavens name is he supposed to make it from the dungeons to the astronomy tower? He's not ready to be burdened with all of this yet, he's not ready!"
Sirius was pacing the hallway during his entire speech and with his last words he sank to the floor.
"Sirius, I know how tough these past months have been for you, but think about Harry, he just wants to be a normal student now and we should respect his wishes. Sure, this means you won't be able to be by his side constantly, but he will have his friends and you will still be in the castle. No one will be able to hurt him anymore, I promise you"
His eyes flickered with understanding at the headmasters words and he nodded in understanding before getting to his feet again and going back into the infirmary.
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Dumbledore decided to keep Harry's return from the ministry until the night of the welcome feast in case Harry changed his mind about what he wanted to do, but by late afternoon on September first, it became obvious he was sticking to his original decision.
He had gone to the hospital wing to deliver Harry's new robes to him so he would have time to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the student body and had found Harry carefully packing his new school books into his trunk from his place on the bed.
He was wearing a pair of plain black pants, over which his leg brace was in place, and a long sleeved and collared black shirt, which effectively hid the worst of his injuries which had now become scars as well as the tattoo on his arm. His right arm was still heavily bandaged and held close to his chest in the sling, making packing quite difficult it appeared. His face looked quite a bit better than it had when he had first arrived, having color on his cheeks helped him to look more healthy Dumbledore noted with satisfaction, but the boys face still bore evidence of the ordeal he had been through. There were still a dark bruise on one cheek and an evil looking scar stretching down the other cheek and another one over his left eye. The scars on his face served as a harsh reminder of just what he had incurred at the hands of his enemies, and they, combined with his dark attire made him look slightly foreboding.
His hair which now reached a couple inches below his thin shoulders was hanging loose and served as a barrier around his face, hiding his eyes from view, though Dumbledore knew what he would see within them, a shield blocking all the pain and misery from the eyes of outsiders.
Harry didn't even lift his eyes as the headmaster approached him and sat on the bed beside him.
"Harry, I have brought you a new robe for the feast tonight, I do believe you have grown a couple of inches since last September making your old ones too short to wear this term" he laid the robes between himself and Harry before speaking again "The rest of the student body will be arriving in a few hours but I must warn you, none but Hermione and the Weasley's know that you have returned, so your presence may come as a bit of a shock to the others. I will make an announcement to the students before the feast to prevent you from being bombarded with questions, though I doubt many will recognize you at first glance, you have changed since they last saw you. Once you are done packing, you may move your belongings to the tower, the password is phoenix feather. Madame Pomfrey will expect you to come by every night before dinner for a check up, and Sirius will probably be waiting for you up here every night as well. I must be finishing up the plans for the feast, so I will see you there."
He stood and made his way to the door and looked over his shoulder at Harry who was still packing his trunk as though the headmaster were not even there, as he had done during their entire one sided conversation. Shaking his head wearily, he exited the infirmary and came fade to face with Sirius who was carrying the last of Harry's new supplies to his godson, including new parchment and quills as well as fresh potions ingredients. Smiling slightly at the younger man, Dumbledore continued on his way toward his office to put the final touches on his welcome back speech for that evening.
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A/N: Well, here is chapter 13, I hope you liked it! The next chapter is written and I'll try to post it tomorrow if I can. Please review this one though and let me know what you think, and just so you know, I'm not trying to be cruel or anything by making some people think Harry is evil, but look at the circumstances, he has the dark mark on his arm, he won't talk to anybody, and he won't deny anything so naturally people would jump to conclusions, after all, they haven't hesitated to judge Harry before now have they? Just a little thought to leave you with there! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
With those words out, he looked back to the faces in front of him. Ginny let out a small shriek and clamped her hands over her mouth with tears running unchecked down her cheeks.
Hermione looked stunned, as though she couldn't process what had just been said, and Ron wore an identical expression as his best friend.
Arthur had his arms around his wife who was sobbing into his robes muttering incoherently. Arthur was the first to get his voice back and he spoke quietly.
"Do you think he will recover Albus?"
"I don't know Arthur, but I do know that he is in a terrible psychological state right now. He has closed himself up completely and is terrified of being hurt again. He doesn't know who or what to trust and until he does, I must limit his contact to the staff of the school and his godfather. Could I have a private word with you Arthur, before I leave?"
"Certainly Albus, let's go to the living room."
He slowly unwrapped himself from his wife's embrace and followed the old man into the other room.
"Arthur, there is now no doubt in my mind that Harry has become even more powerful these past months, and I am worried about what he will do with these new found powers. I don't think he would intentionally harm his friends, but he could only too easily injure them without meaning to if he were startled or angry. Please try your hardest to explain to them that I am not doing this out of spite, but for their own protection. I must return to the castle now, I'll keep in touch."
With that, he disappeared from the living room with a pop and Arthur returned to the kitchen to try to calm his family as much as possible.
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The next several weeks were tiring on all involved. Sirius was by Harry's bed all but a few hours a day when he would get a quick nap and freshen up, to be replaced by Remus. The hospital wing remained relatively silent for the most part, interrupted by only the hushed conversations between Madame Pomfrey and the various members of the staff who came to check on Harry.
His injuries were slowly healing, and there were some that were still very obvious and painful looking to the observer, especially those on his face. Harry continued to remain in his tightly sealed shell, never speaking and only occasionally meeting anyone's eyes.
He obeyed whatever Sirius or Madame Pomfrey told him to do, eating any food that was placed before him, but he never ate much more than the most necessary amounts which had done nothing to add much needed weight to his too thin frame, but at least he was eating.
His strength had slowly returned, and he was now able to stay awake throughout the entire day instead of only being awake for a few hours at a time before becoming exhausted again and falling asleep.
His increase in energy prompted Sirius to approach Madame Pomfrey about letting Harry take a slow walk about the castle, which she had agreed would do the boy good if she were able to find some sort of brace for his mangled arm and leg so he could walk unassisted by others since he refused to let them aid him any more than was absolutely necessary.
She had designed a brace similar to those muggles used to support injured legs, but had added a few magical alterations, making it light as a feather and thin enough to be hidden under his robes while still being strong enough to help him walk around as long as he was wearing it.
His arm was held close to his body in a sling to prevent it jostling the shattered bones as much as possible.
From that day forward, Harry had taken walks of increasing lengths through the vast castle, always in the company of Sirius. Even though his energy levels had slowly increased over the past several weeks, it was still incredibly painful for him to walk for very long before he was gasping for breath and white as a sheet because his broken bones were taking far longer than the external wounds to heal.
Sirius hated to see his godson in so much pain, but Harry would refuse to allow him help him back to the hospital wing, shrugging off his gentle hand and stubbornly going back to the infirmary unaided and Sirius remembered all to well what had happened the one time he had tried to force Harry to let him help.
No matter how trying the walks were though, they appeared to be doing him some good and by the end of the second week of daily walks, he reached the end of the massive hallway that the hospital wing was on before turning back to return, the furthest he had made it yet, and by the end of the summer he could walk to the entrance of the tower before he turned back, completely exhausted but looking proud of himself nonetheless.
His seventeenth birthday passed unnoticed by Harry himself, and the cards and gifts that had been sent for him were being kept by Sirius until such time he was ready to receive them, on the advice of Poppy and Albus who both thought it best since Harry didn't even seem to realize there was a small pile of gifts on the table by his bed.
Those staying at the Weasley's were anxious for September the first to arrive so they could return to Hogwarts and see their friend at last and try to figure out what had happened to him since his disappearance.
Near the end of the summer, Dumbledore came to the hospital wing to speak to Harry privately, much to the irritation of Sirius, who was forced to wait in the hallway until they were through.
He approached a chair that was sitting next to one of the expansive windows and contained a slight figure with thick black hair hanging to his shoulders. He smiled slightly as he remembered the look on Sirius' face as he tried to wash the boy's hair the day after he had arrived at the castle.
He had walked in to speak with Madame Pomfrey and had seen Sirius leaning over the bed with Harry's head soaked and himself as well. He was trying to figure out what the best course of action was to rinse Harry's head without making a massive mess and incurring the wrath of Madame Pomfrey.
He had been oblivious to the headmaster watching him, and was about to just pour an entire bowl of water over the boy's head when Dumbledore had suggested putting some towels on the floor first to catch the water before he flooded the entire infirmary.
He still smiled at the shocked expression on Sirius' face as he realized someone was watching him, but he had obliged with the recommendation and finished without making too much of a mess.
These days though, much to Sirius' delight, Harry was able to care for himself completely, doing everything on his own, including washing his own hair and dressing himself, though he still had problems buttoning his shirts.
The only reason that he was still being kept in the hospital wing was so that he would always have someone nearby, and this was what Dumbledore wished to speak to him about tonight.
"Harry, how are you feeling tonight?" he hadn't really expected an answer so he wasn't surprised when he didn't receive one. He just moved until he was standing in front of the boy who continued to look out the window beside him.
"Harry, there are a few questions I need you to answer for me. As you know, the students will be returning to Hogwarts in three days, and it won't be possible for you to remain in the hospital wing once they arrive. The ministry is still unaware of your return and I will keep it that way if you wish, but that would require you to remain in Sirius' quarters. The other option is that you could remain to your dormitory or stay with Sirius once the students arrive, you will not be required to attend classes if you don't wish until you are ready to do so. This is your decision and I will support whatever you decide to do."
He was walking toward the hospital wing door to go when he heard the chair behind him scrape the ground. Turning around, he was shocked to see Harry standing with his weight supported by the chair back. Harry was looking right at him without blinking and remained that way for what felt like an eternity, his green eyes penetrating blue ones. What happened next shocked Albus beyond words.
"I want to be treated like everyone else" his words were barley audible, but they were there and made perfect sense. Harry wished to return to his dormitory and attend classes like every other seventeen year old wizard in the world.
Albus continued to stare at the boy for several more moments before he spoke again, in a tone much steadier than the boys had been.
"Very well Harry, you shall be at the start of term banquet three days from now, but there is one more question I must ask of you, would you like me to bring your wand down, it has been in my office since the day you left"
His words caused the boy's face to pale suddenly, and Albus was afraid he had caused him to retreat back into his protective shell. His worries were alleviated as soon as he spoke again though.
"No professor, I don't need it, but please keep it for me, I might want it later"
Albus decided not to press the issue any further by asking how it was possible Harry didn't need his wand, so he changed the topic.
"Very well, I will ask one of the staff members to gather your things form Diagon Alley for you for the new term. Would you like me to send Sirius back in?"
He looked back at Harry and was disappointed to see that his eyes had lost their focus once again and he was starring blankly at the floor, locked up inside his own thoughts and feelings. Sighing heavily, he left the hospital wing and was met with an irritated looking Sirius.
"Can I go be with my godson now Albus?" he asked impatiently
"One moment Sirius, I asked Harry if he would like to remain in your quarters once the students arrived or if he wanted to return to the tower, and his answer was most surprising, he told me he wanted to be treated like everyone else, which meant he wanted to return to his dormitory and attend classes, he also told me that he wouldn't need his wand for his classes"
"What do you mean he told you this? Harry has been here for ten weeks and hasn't said a word to anyone, but he answered you tonight"
"Yes, Sirius, he did answer my questions, but that is all, when I tried to continue the conversation, he closed back up again and the hollow look was back in his eyes. I have no idea why he answered these questions and not all the others we have asked him, but the fact remains that he did answer me tonight and we must respect his decisions on this matter and allow him to return to classes and his house dormitory"
Sirius looked furious at these words and his fury was released in his voice.
"What do you mean he is going back to classes! And going back to the tower! He won't speak to anybody and he is still terribly hurt, those wounds have barley healed and he gets out of breath after climbing one flight of stairs! How in heavens name is he supposed to make it from the dungeons to the astronomy tower? He's not ready to be burdened with all of this yet, he's not ready!"
Sirius was pacing the hallway during his entire speech and with his last words he sank to the floor.
"Sirius, I know how tough these past months have been for you, but think about Harry, he just wants to be a normal student now and we should respect his wishes. Sure, this means you won't be able to be by his side constantly, but he will have his friends and you will still be in the castle. No one will be able to hurt him anymore, I promise you"
His eyes flickered with understanding at the headmasters words and he nodded in understanding before getting to his feet again and going back into the infirmary.
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Dumbledore decided to keep Harry's return from the ministry until the night of the welcome feast in case Harry changed his mind about what he wanted to do, but by late afternoon on September first, it became obvious he was sticking to his original decision.
He had gone to the hospital wing to deliver Harry's new robes to him so he would have time to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the student body and had found Harry carefully packing his new school books into his trunk from his place on the bed.
He was wearing a pair of plain black pants, over which his leg brace was in place, and a long sleeved and collared black shirt, which effectively hid the worst of his injuries which had now become scars as well as the tattoo on his arm. His right arm was still heavily bandaged and held close to his chest in the sling, making packing quite difficult it appeared. His face looked quite a bit better than it had when he had first arrived, having color on his cheeks helped him to look more healthy Dumbledore noted with satisfaction, but the boys face still bore evidence of the ordeal he had been through. There were still a dark bruise on one cheek and an evil looking scar stretching down the other cheek and another one over his left eye. The scars on his face served as a harsh reminder of just what he had incurred at the hands of his enemies, and they, combined with his dark attire made him look slightly foreboding.
His hair which now reached a couple inches below his thin shoulders was hanging loose and served as a barrier around his face, hiding his eyes from view, though Dumbledore knew what he would see within them, a shield blocking all the pain and misery from the eyes of outsiders.
Harry didn't even lift his eyes as the headmaster approached him and sat on the bed beside him.
"Harry, I have brought you a new robe for the feast tonight, I do believe you have grown a couple of inches since last September making your old ones too short to wear this term" he laid the robes between himself and Harry before speaking again "The rest of the student body will be arriving in a few hours but I must warn you, none but Hermione and the Weasley's know that you have returned, so your presence may come as a bit of a shock to the others. I will make an announcement to the students before the feast to prevent you from being bombarded with questions, though I doubt many will recognize you at first glance, you have changed since they last saw you. Once you are done packing, you may move your belongings to the tower, the password is phoenix feather. Madame Pomfrey will expect you to come by every night before dinner for a check up, and Sirius will probably be waiting for you up here every night as well. I must be finishing up the plans for the feast, so I will see you there."
He stood and made his way to the door and looked over his shoulder at Harry who was still packing his trunk as though the headmaster were not even there, as he had done during their entire one sided conversation. Shaking his head wearily, he exited the infirmary and came fade to face with Sirius who was carrying the last of Harry's new supplies to his godson, including new parchment and quills as well as fresh potions ingredients. Smiling slightly at the younger man, Dumbledore continued on his way toward his office to put the final touches on his welcome back speech for that evening.
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A/N: Well, here is chapter 13, I hope you liked it! The next chapter is written and I'll try to post it tomorrow if I can. Please review this one though and let me know what you think, and just so you know, I'm not trying to be cruel or anything by making some people think Harry is evil, but look at the circumstances, he has the dark mark on his arm, he won't talk to anybody, and he won't deny anything so naturally people would jump to conclusions, after all, they haven't hesitated to judge Harry before now have they? Just a little thought to leave you with there! Thanks for reading and reviewing!