Chapter 43
It was just after nine that night when James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Lily had just left the library and were making their way toward the common room to meet Harry. They had decided to wait in the main hallway adjacent to the one that Gryffindor tower was located on to intercept him so they could go to their private and hidden meeting place, but they had yet to see the black haired boy.
"Are you sure he said he would be here?" asked Sirius as he paced up and down the hallway
"Yeah, he said he would, I wonder what's keeping him?" James asked as he checked his watch "He's fifteen minutes late, if we wait much longer, Filtch will catch us" he muttered. They had decided not to speak about what they had discovered about Harry and his godfather to anyone, and they hadn't even had an opportunity to speak about it amongst themselves since they had left the forest that afternoon.
"Well, I say we give him five more minutes and they give up" said Peter from his place on the floor
"Sounds good to me" said Lily "It's freezing out here"
The next five minutes passed in silence, and James was the next to speak "Oh well, it looks like he's not going to show, lets get back before we get caught" he said as he reached down and helped Lily to her feet.
They walked down the hallway as quietly as possible, Sirius in the lead, followed by Peter, Remus, Lily, and James brought up the rear in a single file line so they could keep a better eye out for professors. About halfway down the hall though, Lilly's bag, which was over her shoulder, gave way and all of her books fell to the ground, scattering parchment throughout the hallway and smashing bottles of ink.
"Great" she muttered as she fell to the floor and began to gather up her spilt belongings, James kneeling beside her and the other marauders who had all turned to see what the problem was returned to her side to help as well.
"Here you go Lily" said Sirius as he reached for a half completed essay that had drifted over next to a suit of armor that was hidden inside of a large alcove in the wall "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and looked to the others. When he had reached for the parchment, he had caught sight of a very familiar red cloak behind the suit of armor.
"What is it Sirius?" asked James as Sirius hurried forward and tried hopelessly to pull the suite of armor back to reveal what he had seen.
"Quick, help me move this!" Sirius exclaimed and without asking any questions, James and Remus were at his side helping him to pull the suite of armor out of the alcove and when they had moved it back enough, James saw what had scarred Sirius so much and gave a startled gasp of surprise.
It was Harry.
He was lying perfectly still against the wall, shoved into the corner as though he had been put there for a reason. If Sirius had not reached for the piece of parchment, they would never have seen his crumpled form.
"What happened to him?" James asked as he knelt beside the unmoving form, Lily's broken bag forgotten on the floor behind them
"He's breathing, I think someone stunned him" said Sirius as he pulled the cowl of the cloak down from Harry's face
"Why would someone stun him?" asked Lily in concern
"Apparently we're not the only ones who thought there was something strange about him" said Remus quietly "Look, whoever it was cut some of his hair" he said as he pointed to a section of hair that had been sheared off just above the shoulder
"Why would they cut his hair though?" asked James in a bewildered tone
"There are many potions that require it, like polyjuice" said Lily with a shudder
"Well, we should wake him up, don't you think?" asked Sirius, not wanting to think about the reasons Harry had been attacked
"Yeah" said James as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the boy "Ennervate" he said loudly, but his spell was deflected by a barrier of blue light that surrounded Harry as soon as the magic hit it and disappeared directly afterward
"What in the hell was that?" asked Remus in stunned surprise
"I don't know" muttered James as he looked first to his wand in confusion and then to Harry who was still stunned on the floor in front of them "Maybe we should get Joseph, or Sirius, or whoever he is" he suggested
"That might be a good idea" agreed Remus "I'll go, Padfoot, why don't you come with me" he said as he stood and Sirius nodded and the pair set off down the hall at a jog
It only took a couple minutes to reach the staff quarters and they knocked frantically on the door Harry had brought them to a couple nights prior. Almost immediately, the painting was flung open to reveal a very anxious looking Sirius Black.
"What's wrong?" he demanded as he looked between Remus and his younger self
"It's Harry, we found him in the hallway, we think someone stunned him and we can't wake him up" said Remus breathlessly
"Oh God, where is he?" he asked as set off down the hall at a run, the two students barley able to keep up with him
"In the hallway outside of Gryffindor tower" said the younger Sirius
The trio ran flat out all the way to the hallway, and when the arrived, James, Lily, and Peter looked to the older man anxiously
"Harry" he said softly as he knelt on the floor beside his godson, James and Lily backing away instantly to give him room "Who did this?" he demanded, never taking his eyes from his godson
"We don't know, we just found him" answered James "We tried to use ennervate, but it didn't work, some sort of shield deflected it" he explained and the older Sirius nodded his head and without another word, he gently gathered the unconscious body in his arms and stood "You can come down to our rooms until he wakes up if you would like" he said and the others all followed silently.
When they reached the room, Sirius laid Harry down on the couch and conjured chairs for the others to sit in "You can stay here, but I'm warning you, when he wakes up, don't say anything and don't approach him until I say it is ok" he said sternly
They sat in silence for nearly an hour, Harry giving no signs of awaking before there was a knock at the door. James opened it to reveal a worried looking headmaster. He took in the sight quickly "Joseph, what happened, when you didn't show up for our meeting I got concerned" he said quietly as he approached the man and boy
"Harry was attacked in the halls, I'm waiting for him to wake up" he said without looking at the old man
"Why don't you just use ennervate?" he asked curiously as he approached the side of the couch, and Sirius leaned back and began speaking.
"Harry has a gift, or a curse in instances like this" he began as he looked fondly at the boy and gently stroked his forehead, pausing to look at his scar "When he is unable to defend himself from magic for any reason, his powers put up a kind of barrier around him that won't allow any magic, weather it be good or bad, through it" he said the last part with grief in his voice
"How long has Harry had this gift?" asked Dumbledore curiously
"Since sometime during the last couple months of last term, we found it when he was injured and we couldn't heal him, it even protects him from potions" he said with a harsh laugh "Needless to say, lately it has done more harm than good, the only time it has ever dropped was when he was very close to death already" he said with a sigh "Because of this, we have to wait for him to come out of the stunning spell on his own, but it probably won't be a very pleasant experience for him" he warned
"I understand, this can be a curse at certain times, but it can also protect him if he ever got into trouble" said the headmaster, but before he could say more, he was interrupted by a shuffling of fabric from the couch.
Just then, Harry moaned softly and he began to flex his muscles, tightening his fists into white knuckled balls "I would recommend you back up sir" said Sirius in a stern voice as he too backed away from his godson to join the others at the other side of the room, the headmaster following his lead, but with a look of bewilderment on his face.
Without warning, Harry sat up with his back straight and looked frantically around the room, his face pale and his hands shaking terribly. An owl hooted from somewhere outside and Harry threw up his hand toward the window and it shattered instantly. He looked around the room again, his eyes wide and terrified like a cornered animal until they fell on the form of his godfather where they stayed, but they were still filled with a deep fear.
Sirius hesitantly took a step forward "Harry" he said quietly and the boy's eyes lost some of their terror "Harry, listen to me, you're safe, no one is going to hurt you" he said as he continued to walk toward the couch, and by the time he reached it, Harry no longer looked like a cornered animal, but more like the frightened and confused seventeen year old boy that he was.
"Oh, God" said Harry as he launched himself into his godfathers arms, seeking reassurance and comfort to overcome his demons
"Shh, everything is fine now Harry, relax" said Sirius quietly and after several minutes, Harry's tense muscles relaxed and he opened his eyes and blushed when he saw they weren't alone in the room and immediately released his godfather with a sheepish smile. Sirius sat back down in the chair next to the couch and Harry fell back into his previous position within the cushions "Harry, what happened?" asked Sirius quietly
"I'm not sure, I was waiting in the hallway for the others and I heard someone behind me say the stunning spell" he said
"Did you recognize the voice?" asked Sirius
"I don't think so, it was familiar, but I couldn't place it" he answered "What did he do?" he asked in worry
"Well, all I can tell is that he cut some of your hair off, but we don't know why" said Sirius with a chuckle "It was past due for you to get it cut anyway"
"Very funny" mumbled Harry as he fingered the section of hair that was shorter than the rest "Well, Ginny and Hermione should be happy, they were trying to make me cut it before I even went to the Dursley's" he said with a sly smile before another thought came to mind.
"Did you get my staff?" asked Harry and Sirius looked in shock to the marauders and Lily
"Did you guys find his staff?" he asked anxiously
"No, it wasn't there when we found him" said the younger Sirius
"What!" yelled Harry as he jumped to his feet suddenly and starred at the other occupants of the room "It wasn't there!?"
"No, we didn't see it anywhere in the hallway" answered James cautiously, afraid he would be hexed upon Harry hearing his words
"We have to find it!" said Harry frantically as he looked to his godfather "If the wrong person got a hold of it, I don't even want to think about what would happen" he said desperately as he looked between Sirius and Dumbledore
"Harry, calm down" said Sirius gently "We'll find it, it can't have gotten far" he reassured "Headmaster, could you please help me organize a search for the staff, Harry is right, if the wrong person got their hands on it, it would be bad"
"Certainly, Joseph, we'll find it Harry, you just get some rest" he said as he left the room with a small smile
"Harry, relax, we'll find your staff" said Sirius again "Guys, maybe you should get back to the tower, check and see if anyone there saw anything unusual" he suggested and the marauders and Lily nodded silently before leaving the room as well.
"Sirius, we have to find that staff" said Harry in a more desperate voice "If Voldemort gets it I don't even want to think about what he would do"
"It's all right Harry, well find it, but right now you need to get some rest" he said "Go on to your room, I'm going to help Albus. I'll wake you as soon as we find anything" he reassured.
Harry obediently went to his room, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow without even changing from his robes, but unfortunately, his dreams were far from peaceful.
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He was standing in a familiar looking room with a red chair and a roaring fire, and as he approached the chair, it turned to reveal Voldemort's skull like face and blood red eyes which Harry hadn't seen in over a year, since the day he attacked Hogwarts. Harry jumped back before he remembered this was just a dream and stood still to listen. There was a knock at the door before it swung opened to reveal two death eaters, both masked from his view.
"My Lord" they both said quietly as they bowed and kissed the hem of his black robes
"Rise" said the cold voice of Voldemort "What do you have to report?"
The smaller of the two began speaking and Harry recognized the voice, but he didn't know from where "My Lord, I have been watching the boy and he is very powerful, he is able to speak to phoenixes" he began "I stayed behind after we collected what was needed from him to see what occurred. His friends found him in the hallway and they were unable to awaken him using ennervate, so they went for his godfather who took him to his quarters. I wasn't able to hear what they said, but when they tried the spell, it was deflected somehow" he said with his head bowed
"Find out more about him, Severus, and what other powers he possesses, or you will regret it" said Voldemort before he turned to the other death eater.
'Severus Snape?' thought Harry as he looked at the smaller of the two men 'Dumbledore did say that he was a loyal death eater for sometime before he turned spy, but I didn't think he started while he was still at school' he thought, but his attention was drawn back to Voldemort who was speaking again
"What do you have to report?" he asked of the taller man
"My Lord, I succeeded in taking the required sample from him, and I brought you a token I thought you may find useful" he said as he rose and walked toward Voldemort, handing him a knot of black hair "With this, you will be able to use the polyjuice potion and get onto the castle grounds" he said
"Very good, you will be rewarded for your service" said Voldemort as he took the hair from the others hand "What is the item you spoke of?"
The death eater walked to the door and picked up something form the floor before returning to the room, holding an object covered in black velvet which he presented to Voldemort on a bended knee "My Lord, I thought you would find this useful" he said
Voldemort stood and took the object form his servants hand before he sat back down and untied the covering around it to reveal a hint of gold and wood "Where did you get this from?" he asked without taking his eyes from the thing in his hands
"My Lord, the boy had it when I stunned him" answered the other man
"I am pleased with your efforts, this is a very powerful magical object, you will be rewarded. Now, both of you, leave me" he said tersely as both obediently backed from the room. After they had left, Voldemort got to his feet and the black cloth fell to the floor, and Harry sucked in a breath of air, Voldemort was holding his staff in his white, skeletal hand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Harry awoke with a start and sat up straight in his bed, his hand clutched tightly to his forehead.
"Bloody hell" he moaned as he closed his eyes against the pain and lay back down, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by a figure in the corner of the room.
"Harry, what is it?" asked a voice from the shadows and Harry sat up again
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" he asked the older man who was walking over to the bed, but he didn't answer until he sat down next to Harry
"First, tell me what's wrong" demanded Sirius as he looked to Harry's hand which was still clamped over his forehead
"Voldemort" said Harry, and Sirius' brow furrowed in concern
"What do you mean?" he asked
"I was dreaming about Voldemort, and I woke up and my scar was throbbing" said Harry, who was thinking hard to try and remember the dream, and suddenly it came to him "Sirius! Voldemort has my staff!" he exclaimed as he sat up straighter and looked at Sirius' face which had gone suddenly pale.
"I was worried about that" he said eventually "We looked all over the castle, and didn't find anything and none of the paintings or ghosts saw anything either" he said as he massaged his temples
"What are we going to do Sirius?" asked Harry in concern "If he figures out how to use the staff, things could defiantly get much worse than they already are"
"Well just have to keep our eyes out and try to find a way to get it back, or find out who took it at least" answered Sirius
"There were two people with Voldemort in my dream, I don't know who the one who gave him the staff was, but the other was Snape" said Harry and he heard Sirius curse under his breath "But they said something about being able to use my hair for the polyjuice potion so they could get onto the grounds. Will the wards keep them out?" he asked in concern
"I'm not sure Harry, but don't worry about it just yet" reassured Sirius
"We have to find that staff Sirius" said Harry with conviction
"I know Harry, we will" said Sirius "Now, has your scar stopped hurting?" he asked
"Nearly, has Terres come back yet?"
"Don't change the subject Harry, let me see your scar" demanded the older man
Harry grudgingly obeyed and pulled his hand away from his forehead to let him see it.
"Good God, Harry!" he exclaimed as he gently brushed his hair from the offending scar "When was the last time it started bleeding like this?" he asked
"That day in defense" replied Harry "Don't worry about it, Sirius, it doesn't hurt anymore" he said as he tried to back away from Sirius
"Sit still, Harry, and let me close it up" said Sirius as he held Harry still with a firm hand on his shoulder. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry's head and muttered a spell under his breath and an instant later, the scar had stopped bleeding and just looked raw and red. "There, now that wasn't too bad, was it?" asked Sirius
"Thanks, now will you tell me where Terres is, and Sherlock?" asked Harry
"Sherlock is in the living room in front of the fire and I haven't seen Terres since she went out to hunt before you left tonight" he replied, but he was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door and the headmaster sticking his head in
"Ah, Harry, I'm glad to see you awake" he said with a kind smile "How are you feeling?" he asked
"Fine sir" replied Harry
"That is good, but I'm afraid I have some bad news for you about your staff, but I don't doubt that Joseph has already told you that we couldn't find it" he said wearily
"I know sir, Voldemort has it" replied Harry softly and the old man looked at him with a start upon hearing the name
"Are you sure?" he asked
"Yes, sir, I often have dreams about him, I see what he is doing and one of his death eaters presented him with my staff a couple of minutes ago" he said quietly
"What do you mean Harry, how can you see these things?" asked the headmaster speculatively
"I have a kind of a connection with him, but I would rather not speak of it right now, but I know he has the staff and we need to find a way to get it back before he learns how to use it" said Harry in a level tone, eyeing the headmaster
"Very well, Harry, I believe you. I will see what we can do to retrieve it, but I must warn you, it will not be easy" he said
"Thank you sir" replied Harry with a small smile as the man left the room
"Why don't you change out of those cloths and into some proper pajamas before you go back to sleep?" suggested Sirius and Harry realized how uncomfortable he was from sleeping in his everyday clothing and robes, including shoes.
"Good idea" he said as he got to his feet and knelt next to his trunk, withdrawing the needed cloths and walking into the bathroom, not bothering to light the torches in the room. Quickly removing his cloak, he draped it across the sink, thinking fondly of Ginny as he brushed his fingers over the golden phoenix clasp. He tiredly reached into the pockets of his robes to make sure there was nothing important in them before they were taken by the house elves to be washed, and his fingers brushed across a crumpled piece of parchment. Curious, he withdrew the parchment and surveyed it with his tired eyes.
'What is this?' he thought as he looked at it 'I don't remember putting anything in my pockets'
He cautiously unfolded the parchment and saw that it was a letter written in a hand he didn't recognize, but he was unable to read it in the dim light. With a wave of his hand, the bathroom was bathed in flickering firelight and he was able to read the words, and that he saw made his hands shake and his breaths come in quick gasps. In shock, he fell hard to his knees with the letter still clutched in his hands. Sirius heard him hit the floor and came running into the room and looked at him with worry in his eyes.
"Harry, what is it?" he asked as he knelt beside him on the floor for the second time that night
Without saying a word, Harry handed him the parchment and he read it with apprehension, his face going just a pale as Harry's when he read the words.
"Oh my" he muttered quietly "Harry, where did you get this from?" he asked
"I.It.it was in my pocket" he stuttered out "What if they do it Sirius?" he asked
"Harry, come back to the bedroom" said Sirius as he helped Harry to his feet and led him over to his bed where he collapsed onto the mattress "Harry, we won't let them get onto the grounds, don't worry. You helped me set up the wards, you know as well as I do that the castle and the village are safe against them" he said in a reassuring voice
"I know, but what if they still get through, Voldemort has my staff, he could bring the wards down" said Harry in a worried voice
"Don't worry about what if's, Harry, if something happens, then we will deal with it, until then, don't worry about it, this is just an empty threat. Why don't you go back to sleep" said Sirius as he stood up from the bed "The next couple of days are going to be pretty rough"
"All right, see you in the morning" said Harry, relenting to his godfathers reasoning as he lay back down, suddenly tired again
"Night Harry" whispered Sirius as he pulled the door closed, but the boy was already asleep, leaving the letter beside Harry on the nightstand, available for any eyes to see.
Dear Harry,
Our master thanks you for your gifts, he will defiantly find uses for both of them. Thanks to you, he will be even more powerful and he now has the means to get onto the grounds. Without your generous contributions, he would have never been able to take the castle, but now it is only a matter of time until he does. We found it quite surprising to stumble across the secret you were hiding, though, we would have never thought it possible for a death eater to be working so closely with a member of the ministry of magic, or to be allowed to set up protections around Hogwarts for Albus Dumbledore. The old man must be losing his touch to unknowingly hire a supporter of the dark lord. We wish to know your true identity, you bear the mark of our lord, but yet we do not recognize your name of face. You must certainly be a very powerful dark wizard though, for your mark shines the darkest black even when you are so far from the master. You are most certainly one of his most loyal servants. Again, thank you for your generous contributions to the cause, and we will undoubtedly meet again when the castle falls.
Until then, my brother in the army of the Dark Lord Voldemort
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While Harry was sleeping, Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with her brother, Draco, and Hermione, none of them able to fall asleep after the news they had received that morning at breakfast. Apparently, the death eaters who had never been apprehended were beginning to search for their master, but despite the best efforts of the ministry, none of them could be found, leaving behind only lifeless victims and the dark mark hovering in the sky.
"Where do you think they are?" asked Hermione finally
"Who knows" muttered Draco "Nobody has been able to find a trace of any of them or where they are hiding"
"Do you think they'll be able to find him?" asked Ginny in a worried voice as she looked into the fire
"I don't think so, Ginny" reassured Ron "Dumbledore said he and Sirius were safe wherever he sent them to"
"Don't worry about Harry, Ginny, he can take care of himself" said Draco with a grin. Earlier that day, Dumbledore and Remus had informed him about Harry's current problem, Voldemort inhabiting his body, and though the idea scarred him, he was positive that if anyone could fight this, Harry could.
"I know, but I just keep thinking about the last time I saw him" she said heavily "What if something happens to him and I never get the chance to tell him that I'm sorry. What if he still hates me?" she asked as tears fell down her face
"Gin, you know that he still loves you, Harry would never hate you, and you will see him again in just another couple months. Didn't Dumbledore say he would be back in time for the welcoming feast next term?" asked Hermione
"Yes" answered Ginny
"Well, summer break starts in two weeks and after that it's only two and a half months until you'll see him" she said reassuringly "You made it through three months not even knowing if he was alive, and now you know he is alive and safe, you just have to wait for him to come back"
"I know, but what am I supposed to say to him? He probably still thinks I cheated on him, how can I tell him what happened was nothing?" she asked
"Just tell him the truth Ginny, he'll believe you" said Ron
"Thanks guys" said Ginny with a smile "So, where do you think he is?" she asked.
This was a conversation they had been having on a continuous basis for the past several weeks, but no matter what they came up with, they could never figure out any place that sounded promising.
"I bet they're hiding out as Sirius' manor" said Ron
"Who knows" said Ginny with a shrug of her shoulders "But I feel better now that he is receiving our letters" she said with a smile
They had been sending Hedwig with letters nearly every day now, and she would always be back at the castle by breakfast the next morning, meaning that wherever Harry was, he couldn't be far away, but they still received no responses to their mail, much to their depression.
"Yeah, that is one good thing" agreed Hermione "Sorry guys, but I'm exhausted, I'm going to go to bed" she said as she got to her feet, dragging Ron up by his hand.
"Yeah, me too" agreed Draco "Are we meeting in the library to study tomorrow?" he asked the head girl and her boyfriend
"Defiantly, we don't have much time until the NEWTS" said Hermione "Do you want to meet us there at ten?" she asked
"Sounds good, see you then" said the Slytherin as he left the common room to go to the dungeons
"Are you going up too, Gin?" asked Hermione
"In a few minutes" she said with a smile as she watched her older brother wrap his arms around his girlfriend to say goodnight. She politely turned her attention back to the fire to give the two seventh years some privacy, and several minutes later heard them both go to their respective dormitories.
She sat before the fire for a long time, thinking about Harry and where he could be, and before she knew it, it was nearly two in the morning and she tiredly got to her feet and went to her dorm, silently saying a prayer for Harry to be safe and return home soon.
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A/N: Next chapter is here! Let me know what you think, I know it might be a little confusing, so if you have questions, leave them in a review. The next chapter should be up by Thursday or Friday. Please review and let me know how this one was!
It was just after nine that night when James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Lily had just left the library and were making their way toward the common room to meet Harry. They had decided to wait in the main hallway adjacent to the one that Gryffindor tower was located on to intercept him so they could go to their private and hidden meeting place, but they had yet to see the black haired boy.
"Are you sure he said he would be here?" asked Sirius as he paced up and down the hallway
"Yeah, he said he would, I wonder what's keeping him?" James asked as he checked his watch "He's fifteen minutes late, if we wait much longer, Filtch will catch us" he muttered. They had decided not to speak about what they had discovered about Harry and his godfather to anyone, and they hadn't even had an opportunity to speak about it amongst themselves since they had left the forest that afternoon.
"Well, I say we give him five more minutes and they give up" said Peter from his place on the floor
"Sounds good to me" said Lily "It's freezing out here"
The next five minutes passed in silence, and James was the next to speak "Oh well, it looks like he's not going to show, lets get back before we get caught" he said as he reached down and helped Lily to her feet.
They walked down the hallway as quietly as possible, Sirius in the lead, followed by Peter, Remus, Lily, and James brought up the rear in a single file line so they could keep a better eye out for professors. About halfway down the hall though, Lilly's bag, which was over her shoulder, gave way and all of her books fell to the ground, scattering parchment throughout the hallway and smashing bottles of ink.
"Great" she muttered as she fell to the floor and began to gather up her spilt belongings, James kneeling beside her and the other marauders who had all turned to see what the problem was returned to her side to help as well.
"Here you go Lily" said Sirius as he reached for a half completed essay that had drifted over next to a suit of armor that was hidden inside of a large alcove in the wall "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and looked to the others. When he had reached for the parchment, he had caught sight of a very familiar red cloak behind the suit of armor.
"What is it Sirius?" asked James as Sirius hurried forward and tried hopelessly to pull the suite of armor back to reveal what he had seen.
"Quick, help me move this!" Sirius exclaimed and without asking any questions, James and Remus were at his side helping him to pull the suite of armor out of the alcove and when they had moved it back enough, James saw what had scarred Sirius so much and gave a startled gasp of surprise.
It was Harry.
He was lying perfectly still against the wall, shoved into the corner as though he had been put there for a reason. If Sirius had not reached for the piece of parchment, they would never have seen his crumpled form.
"What happened to him?" James asked as he knelt beside the unmoving form, Lily's broken bag forgotten on the floor behind them
"He's breathing, I think someone stunned him" said Sirius as he pulled the cowl of the cloak down from Harry's face
"Why would someone stun him?" asked Lily in concern
"Apparently we're not the only ones who thought there was something strange about him" said Remus quietly "Look, whoever it was cut some of his hair" he said as he pointed to a section of hair that had been sheared off just above the shoulder
"Why would they cut his hair though?" asked James in a bewildered tone
"There are many potions that require it, like polyjuice" said Lily with a shudder
"Well, we should wake him up, don't you think?" asked Sirius, not wanting to think about the reasons Harry had been attacked
"Yeah" said James as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the boy "Ennervate" he said loudly, but his spell was deflected by a barrier of blue light that surrounded Harry as soon as the magic hit it and disappeared directly afterward
"What in the hell was that?" asked Remus in stunned surprise
"I don't know" muttered James as he looked first to his wand in confusion and then to Harry who was still stunned on the floor in front of them "Maybe we should get Joseph, or Sirius, or whoever he is" he suggested
"That might be a good idea" agreed Remus "I'll go, Padfoot, why don't you come with me" he said as he stood and Sirius nodded and the pair set off down the hall at a jog
It only took a couple minutes to reach the staff quarters and they knocked frantically on the door Harry had brought them to a couple nights prior. Almost immediately, the painting was flung open to reveal a very anxious looking Sirius Black.
"What's wrong?" he demanded as he looked between Remus and his younger self
"It's Harry, we found him in the hallway, we think someone stunned him and we can't wake him up" said Remus breathlessly
"Oh God, where is he?" he asked as set off down the hall at a run, the two students barley able to keep up with him
"In the hallway outside of Gryffindor tower" said the younger Sirius
The trio ran flat out all the way to the hallway, and when the arrived, James, Lily, and Peter looked to the older man anxiously
"Harry" he said softly as he knelt on the floor beside his godson, James and Lily backing away instantly to give him room "Who did this?" he demanded, never taking his eyes from his godson
"We don't know, we just found him" answered James "We tried to use ennervate, but it didn't work, some sort of shield deflected it" he explained and the older Sirius nodded his head and without another word, he gently gathered the unconscious body in his arms and stood "You can come down to our rooms until he wakes up if you would like" he said and the others all followed silently.
When they reached the room, Sirius laid Harry down on the couch and conjured chairs for the others to sit in "You can stay here, but I'm warning you, when he wakes up, don't say anything and don't approach him until I say it is ok" he said sternly
They sat in silence for nearly an hour, Harry giving no signs of awaking before there was a knock at the door. James opened it to reveal a worried looking headmaster. He took in the sight quickly "Joseph, what happened, when you didn't show up for our meeting I got concerned" he said quietly as he approached the man and boy
"Harry was attacked in the halls, I'm waiting for him to wake up" he said without looking at the old man
"Why don't you just use ennervate?" he asked curiously as he approached the side of the couch, and Sirius leaned back and began speaking.
"Harry has a gift, or a curse in instances like this" he began as he looked fondly at the boy and gently stroked his forehead, pausing to look at his scar "When he is unable to defend himself from magic for any reason, his powers put up a kind of barrier around him that won't allow any magic, weather it be good or bad, through it" he said the last part with grief in his voice
"How long has Harry had this gift?" asked Dumbledore curiously
"Since sometime during the last couple months of last term, we found it when he was injured and we couldn't heal him, it even protects him from potions" he said with a harsh laugh "Needless to say, lately it has done more harm than good, the only time it has ever dropped was when he was very close to death already" he said with a sigh "Because of this, we have to wait for him to come out of the stunning spell on his own, but it probably won't be a very pleasant experience for him" he warned
"I understand, this can be a curse at certain times, but it can also protect him if he ever got into trouble" said the headmaster, but before he could say more, he was interrupted by a shuffling of fabric from the couch.
Just then, Harry moaned softly and he began to flex his muscles, tightening his fists into white knuckled balls "I would recommend you back up sir" said Sirius in a stern voice as he too backed away from his godson to join the others at the other side of the room, the headmaster following his lead, but with a look of bewilderment on his face.
Without warning, Harry sat up with his back straight and looked frantically around the room, his face pale and his hands shaking terribly. An owl hooted from somewhere outside and Harry threw up his hand toward the window and it shattered instantly. He looked around the room again, his eyes wide and terrified like a cornered animal until they fell on the form of his godfather where they stayed, but they were still filled with a deep fear.
Sirius hesitantly took a step forward "Harry" he said quietly and the boy's eyes lost some of their terror "Harry, listen to me, you're safe, no one is going to hurt you" he said as he continued to walk toward the couch, and by the time he reached it, Harry no longer looked like a cornered animal, but more like the frightened and confused seventeen year old boy that he was.
"Oh, God" said Harry as he launched himself into his godfathers arms, seeking reassurance and comfort to overcome his demons
"Shh, everything is fine now Harry, relax" said Sirius quietly and after several minutes, Harry's tense muscles relaxed and he opened his eyes and blushed when he saw they weren't alone in the room and immediately released his godfather with a sheepish smile. Sirius sat back down in the chair next to the couch and Harry fell back into his previous position within the cushions "Harry, what happened?" asked Sirius quietly
"I'm not sure, I was waiting in the hallway for the others and I heard someone behind me say the stunning spell" he said
"Did you recognize the voice?" asked Sirius
"I don't think so, it was familiar, but I couldn't place it" he answered "What did he do?" he asked in worry
"Well, all I can tell is that he cut some of your hair off, but we don't know why" said Sirius with a chuckle "It was past due for you to get it cut anyway"
"Very funny" mumbled Harry as he fingered the section of hair that was shorter than the rest "Well, Ginny and Hermione should be happy, they were trying to make me cut it before I even went to the Dursley's" he said with a sly smile before another thought came to mind.
"Did you get my staff?" asked Harry and Sirius looked in shock to the marauders and Lily
"Did you guys find his staff?" he asked anxiously
"No, it wasn't there when we found him" said the younger Sirius
"What!" yelled Harry as he jumped to his feet suddenly and starred at the other occupants of the room "It wasn't there!?"
"No, we didn't see it anywhere in the hallway" answered James cautiously, afraid he would be hexed upon Harry hearing his words
"We have to find it!" said Harry frantically as he looked to his godfather "If the wrong person got a hold of it, I don't even want to think about what would happen" he said desperately as he looked between Sirius and Dumbledore
"Harry, calm down" said Sirius gently "We'll find it, it can't have gotten far" he reassured "Headmaster, could you please help me organize a search for the staff, Harry is right, if the wrong person got their hands on it, it would be bad"
"Certainly, Joseph, we'll find it Harry, you just get some rest" he said as he left the room with a small smile
"Harry, relax, we'll find your staff" said Sirius again "Guys, maybe you should get back to the tower, check and see if anyone there saw anything unusual" he suggested and the marauders and Lily nodded silently before leaving the room as well.
"Sirius, we have to find that staff" said Harry in a more desperate voice "If Voldemort gets it I don't even want to think about what he would do"
"It's all right Harry, well find it, but right now you need to get some rest" he said "Go on to your room, I'm going to help Albus. I'll wake you as soon as we find anything" he reassured.
Harry obediently went to his room, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow without even changing from his robes, but unfortunately, his dreams were far from peaceful.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He was standing in a familiar looking room with a red chair and a roaring fire, and as he approached the chair, it turned to reveal Voldemort's skull like face and blood red eyes which Harry hadn't seen in over a year, since the day he attacked Hogwarts. Harry jumped back before he remembered this was just a dream and stood still to listen. There was a knock at the door before it swung opened to reveal two death eaters, both masked from his view.
"My Lord" they both said quietly as they bowed and kissed the hem of his black robes
"Rise" said the cold voice of Voldemort "What do you have to report?"
The smaller of the two began speaking and Harry recognized the voice, but he didn't know from where "My Lord, I have been watching the boy and he is very powerful, he is able to speak to phoenixes" he began "I stayed behind after we collected what was needed from him to see what occurred. His friends found him in the hallway and they were unable to awaken him using ennervate, so they went for his godfather who took him to his quarters. I wasn't able to hear what they said, but when they tried the spell, it was deflected somehow" he said with his head bowed
"Find out more about him, Severus, and what other powers he possesses, or you will regret it" said Voldemort before he turned to the other death eater.
'Severus Snape?' thought Harry as he looked at the smaller of the two men 'Dumbledore did say that he was a loyal death eater for sometime before he turned spy, but I didn't think he started while he was still at school' he thought, but his attention was drawn back to Voldemort who was speaking again
"What do you have to report?" he asked of the taller man
"My Lord, I succeeded in taking the required sample from him, and I brought you a token I thought you may find useful" he said as he rose and walked toward Voldemort, handing him a knot of black hair "With this, you will be able to use the polyjuice potion and get onto the castle grounds" he said
"Very good, you will be rewarded for your service" said Voldemort as he took the hair from the others hand "What is the item you spoke of?"
The death eater walked to the door and picked up something form the floor before returning to the room, holding an object covered in black velvet which he presented to Voldemort on a bended knee "My Lord, I thought you would find this useful" he said
Voldemort stood and took the object form his servants hand before he sat back down and untied the covering around it to reveal a hint of gold and wood "Where did you get this from?" he asked without taking his eyes from the thing in his hands
"My Lord, the boy had it when I stunned him" answered the other man
"I am pleased with your efforts, this is a very powerful magical object, you will be rewarded. Now, both of you, leave me" he said tersely as both obediently backed from the room. After they had left, Voldemort got to his feet and the black cloth fell to the floor, and Harry sucked in a breath of air, Voldemort was holding his staff in his white, skeletal hand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Harry awoke with a start and sat up straight in his bed, his hand clutched tightly to his forehead.
"Bloody hell" he moaned as he closed his eyes against the pain and lay back down, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by a figure in the corner of the room.
"Harry, what is it?" asked a voice from the shadows and Harry sat up again
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" he asked the older man who was walking over to the bed, but he didn't answer until he sat down next to Harry
"First, tell me what's wrong" demanded Sirius as he looked to Harry's hand which was still clamped over his forehead
"Voldemort" said Harry, and Sirius' brow furrowed in concern
"What do you mean?" he asked
"I was dreaming about Voldemort, and I woke up and my scar was throbbing" said Harry, who was thinking hard to try and remember the dream, and suddenly it came to him "Sirius! Voldemort has my staff!" he exclaimed as he sat up straighter and looked at Sirius' face which had gone suddenly pale.
"I was worried about that" he said eventually "We looked all over the castle, and didn't find anything and none of the paintings or ghosts saw anything either" he said as he massaged his temples
"What are we going to do Sirius?" asked Harry in concern "If he figures out how to use the staff, things could defiantly get much worse than they already are"
"Well just have to keep our eyes out and try to find a way to get it back, or find out who took it at least" answered Sirius
"There were two people with Voldemort in my dream, I don't know who the one who gave him the staff was, but the other was Snape" said Harry and he heard Sirius curse under his breath "But they said something about being able to use my hair for the polyjuice potion so they could get onto the grounds. Will the wards keep them out?" he asked in concern
"I'm not sure Harry, but don't worry about it just yet" reassured Sirius
"We have to find that staff Sirius" said Harry with conviction
"I know Harry, we will" said Sirius "Now, has your scar stopped hurting?" he asked
"Nearly, has Terres come back yet?"
"Don't change the subject Harry, let me see your scar" demanded the older man
Harry grudgingly obeyed and pulled his hand away from his forehead to let him see it.
"Good God, Harry!" he exclaimed as he gently brushed his hair from the offending scar "When was the last time it started bleeding like this?" he asked
"That day in defense" replied Harry "Don't worry about it, Sirius, it doesn't hurt anymore" he said as he tried to back away from Sirius
"Sit still, Harry, and let me close it up" said Sirius as he held Harry still with a firm hand on his shoulder. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry's head and muttered a spell under his breath and an instant later, the scar had stopped bleeding and just looked raw and red. "There, now that wasn't too bad, was it?" asked Sirius
"Thanks, now will you tell me where Terres is, and Sherlock?" asked Harry
"Sherlock is in the living room in front of the fire and I haven't seen Terres since she went out to hunt before you left tonight" he replied, but he was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door and the headmaster sticking his head in
"Ah, Harry, I'm glad to see you awake" he said with a kind smile "How are you feeling?" he asked
"Fine sir" replied Harry
"That is good, but I'm afraid I have some bad news for you about your staff, but I don't doubt that Joseph has already told you that we couldn't find it" he said wearily
"I know sir, Voldemort has it" replied Harry softly and the old man looked at him with a start upon hearing the name
"Are you sure?" he asked
"Yes, sir, I often have dreams about him, I see what he is doing and one of his death eaters presented him with my staff a couple of minutes ago" he said quietly
"What do you mean Harry, how can you see these things?" asked the headmaster speculatively
"I have a kind of a connection with him, but I would rather not speak of it right now, but I know he has the staff and we need to find a way to get it back before he learns how to use it" said Harry in a level tone, eyeing the headmaster
"Very well, Harry, I believe you. I will see what we can do to retrieve it, but I must warn you, it will not be easy" he said
"Thank you sir" replied Harry with a small smile as the man left the room
"Why don't you change out of those cloths and into some proper pajamas before you go back to sleep?" suggested Sirius and Harry realized how uncomfortable he was from sleeping in his everyday clothing and robes, including shoes.
"Good idea" he said as he got to his feet and knelt next to his trunk, withdrawing the needed cloths and walking into the bathroom, not bothering to light the torches in the room. Quickly removing his cloak, he draped it across the sink, thinking fondly of Ginny as he brushed his fingers over the golden phoenix clasp. He tiredly reached into the pockets of his robes to make sure there was nothing important in them before they were taken by the house elves to be washed, and his fingers brushed across a crumpled piece of parchment. Curious, he withdrew the parchment and surveyed it with his tired eyes.
'What is this?' he thought as he looked at it 'I don't remember putting anything in my pockets'
He cautiously unfolded the parchment and saw that it was a letter written in a hand he didn't recognize, but he was unable to read it in the dim light. With a wave of his hand, the bathroom was bathed in flickering firelight and he was able to read the words, and that he saw made his hands shake and his breaths come in quick gasps. In shock, he fell hard to his knees with the letter still clutched in his hands. Sirius heard him hit the floor and came running into the room and looked at him with worry in his eyes.
"Harry, what is it?" he asked as he knelt beside him on the floor for the second time that night
Without saying a word, Harry handed him the parchment and he read it with apprehension, his face going just a pale as Harry's when he read the words.
"Oh my" he muttered quietly "Harry, where did you get this from?" he asked
"I.It.it was in my pocket" he stuttered out "What if they do it Sirius?" he asked
"Harry, come back to the bedroom" said Sirius as he helped Harry to his feet and led him over to his bed where he collapsed onto the mattress "Harry, we won't let them get onto the grounds, don't worry. You helped me set up the wards, you know as well as I do that the castle and the village are safe against them" he said in a reassuring voice
"I know, but what if they still get through, Voldemort has my staff, he could bring the wards down" said Harry in a worried voice
"Don't worry about what if's, Harry, if something happens, then we will deal with it, until then, don't worry about it, this is just an empty threat. Why don't you go back to sleep" said Sirius as he stood up from the bed "The next couple of days are going to be pretty rough"
"All right, see you in the morning" said Harry, relenting to his godfathers reasoning as he lay back down, suddenly tired again
"Night Harry" whispered Sirius as he pulled the door closed, but the boy was already asleep, leaving the letter beside Harry on the nightstand, available for any eyes to see.
Dear Harry,
Our master thanks you for your gifts, he will defiantly find uses for both of them. Thanks to you, he will be even more powerful and he now has the means to get onto the grounds. Without your generous contributions, he would have never been able to take the castle, but now it is only a matter of time until he does. We found it quite surprising to stumble across the secret you were hiding, though, we would have never thought it possible for a death eater to be working so closely with a member of the ministry of magic, or to be allowed to set up protections around Hogwarts for Albus Dumbledore. The old man must be losing his touch to unknowingly hire a supporter of the dark lord. We wish to know your true identity, you bear the mark of our lord, but yet we do not recognize your name of face. You must certainly be a very powerful dark wizard though, for your mark shines the darkest black even when you are so far from the master. You are most certainly one of his most loyal servants. Again, thank you for your generous contributions to the cause, and we will undoubtedly meet again when the castle falls.
Until then, my brother in the army of the Dark Lord Voldemort
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
While Harry was sleeping, Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with her brother, Draco, and Hermione, none of them able to fall asleep after the news they had received that morning at breakfast. Apparently, the death eaters who had never been apprehended were beginning to search for their master, but despite the best efforts of the ministry, none of them could be found, leaving behind only lifeless victims and the dark mark hovering in the sky.
"Where do you think they are?" asked Hermione finally
"Who knows" muttered Draco "Nobody has been able to find a trace of any of them or where they are hiding"
"Do you think they'll be able to find him?" asked Ginny in a worried voice as she looked into the fire
"I don't think so, Ginny" reassured Ron "Dumbledore said he and Sirius were safe wherever he sent them to"
"Don't worry about Harry, Ginny, he can take care of himself" said Draco with a grin. Earlier that day, Dumbledore and Remus had informed him about Harry's current problem, Voldemort inhabiting his body, and though the idea scarred him, he was positive that if anyone could fight this, Harry could.
"I know, but I just keep thinking about the last time I saw him" she said heavily "What if something happens to him and I never get the chance to tell him that I'm sorry. What if he still hates me?" she asked as tears fell down her face
"Gin, you know that he still loves you, Harry would never hate you, and you will see him again in just another couple months. Didn't Dumbledore say he would be back in time for the welcoming feast next term?" asked Hermione
"Yes" answered Ginny
"Well, summer break starts in two weeks and after that it's only two and a half months until you'll see him" she said reassuringly "You made it through three months not even knowing if he was alive, and now you know he is alive and safe, you just have to wait for him to come back"
"I know, but what am I supposed to say to him? He probably still thinks I cheated on him, how can I tell him what happened was nothing?" she asked
"Just tell him the truth Ginny, he'll believe you" said Ron
"Thanks guys" said Ginny with a smile "So, where do you think he is?" she asked.
This was a conversation they had been having on a continuous basis for the past several weeks, but no matter what they came up with, they could never figure out any place that sounded promising.
"I bet they're hiding out as Sirius' manor" said Ron
"Who knows" said Ginny with a shrug of her shoulders "But I feel better now that he is receiving our letters" she said with a smile
They had been sending Hedwig with letters nearly every day now, and she would always be back at the castle by breakfast the next morning, meaning that wherever Harry was, he couldn't be far away, but they still received no responses to their mail, much to their depression.
"Yeah, that is one good thing" agreed Hermione "Sorry guys, but I'm exhausted, I'm going to go to bed" she said as she got to her feet, dragging Ron up by his hand.
"Yeah, me too" agreed Draco "Are we meeting in the library to study tomorrow?" he asked the head girl and her boyfriend
"Defiantly, we don't have much time until the NEWTS" said Hermione "Do you want to meet us there at ten?" she asked
"Sounds good, see you then" said the Slytherin as he left the common room to go to the dungeons
"Are you going up too, Gin?" asked Hermione
"In a few minutes" she said with a smile as she watched her older brother wrap his arms around his girlfriend to say goodnight. She politely turned her attention back to the fire to give the two seventh years some privacy, and several minutes later heard them both go to their respective dormitories.
She sat before the fire for a long time, thinking about Harry and where he could be, and before she knew it, it was nearly two in the morning and she tiredly got to her feet and went to her dorm, silently saying a prayer for Harry to be safe and return home soon.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Next chapter is here! Let me know what you think, I know it might be a little confusing, so if you have questions, leave them in a review. The next chapter should be up by Thursday or Friday. Please review and let me know how this one was!