Wanted: Love
Ch8: Freedom
Harry put the broomstick down. He missed the accuracy his Firebolt gave him but as he didn't know where it was the school's old ones were all he had. It got him where he needed to go, anyhow. He was sure no one would find him here. He could think all he wanted without being disturbed. Harry sat down on the edge of the flat surface he was on. He let one of his legs droop over the edge and held the other one up to his chest.
'I really ought to come here more often.' he thought to himself as he watched the sun begin to set behind the mountains.
The sunset had always been a comfort to him and he would have never thought it could look more majestic then it did when he was at Hogwarts. That is until he saw it from on top of Hogwarts. Harry leaned against the railing that lined the roof of the tower he was on. He knew that his friends and probably half the staff would be looking for him by now. It seemed only logical to go somewhere they would never look. But as he listened to the muffled voices of the students in the Great Hall Harry's mind drifted back to earlier that afternoon.
'What gave him the right to do that!?' he thought angrily.
It wouldn't be long now. He dreaded the arrival of the mail the next morning. Undoubtedly the Daily Prophet would be flooded with dozens of different little stories about his family's abuse of him. Harry let a bitter laugh escape his lips. It was ironic, really. Half the wizarding world expected him to defeat Voldemort for a second time and he couldn't even defend himself against ordinary, everyday Muggles.
He closed his eyes. How great it must feel to be free of all life's trials. Harry was tired of it all. He just wanted it to end.
'It could be easily done.' said a voice in his head, 'Just a few more feet and you'll be free forever.'
Harry opened his eyes and looked down. It was an awfully long drop. He sighed, he probably should. Now that it was almost a certainty that at least his uncle would be sent away forever there would no longer be anything there to punish him. He needed punishment, he needed pain, it was the only thing that kept him in line. He did deserve to die. He had just condemned his uncle's life to that of one of misery. No matter what he did he was always hurting someone, always punishing someone in some way. Harry looked down again. He could make it look like an accident. He went on a fly to clear his mind and fell off.
'Yeah right.' his mind retorted, 'Like they'd actually believe you accidentally fell off your broom, especially after what happened. Admit it, you're just too big of a wimp to do it right.' Harry shook his head.
"You're wrong." he said.
'Prove it.' said his mind.
Harry nodded, "Fine."
Standing up, Harry took a deep breath and was about to jump when he heard something behind him.
He turned around to see what it was and glared, "You!" Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew was standing there with his wand pointed at Harry's heart.
"Master has been quite upset at you. How did you manage to escape the Dementus Enhanent?" asked Wormtail.
"As if I'd tell you anything." Harry said glaring at him. He had had enough unpleasant experiences today to last a lifetime and he wasn't in the mood for anymore.
"Very well, I've been sent to bring you back to Master." said Wormtail walking towards him.
Harry backed up until he was on the very edge of the roof, "Like I'd go anywhere that slimy git is."
"You don't really have a choice. No one knows you're here and you don't have a way down." said Wormtail.
And it was true, too. Pettigrew was standing in front of the broom Harry had used to get up. The only way down was to jump. There was no hope of him apparating down as it wasn't possible within the Hogwarts grounds. Harry thought for a moment. If he was going to kill himself anyway why shouldn't he do it then? Wouldn't it be better for him to kill himself then to give Voldemort the chance? Harry glanced down; it was a long way down. Probably a good couple thousand meters. Harry shook his head. Whatever he did he wasn't going to Voldemort's.
"What exactly do you plan to do? I've been following you around the school. You don't really want to go on with everyone knowing, do you?" asked Wormtail in a sickly sweet voice.
"What would you know about it?" asked Harry glaring at him.
"Just come with me. Master will put you out of your misery before it starts." said Wormtail.
"Ha! The day Voldemort does anyone besides himself a favor is the day Snape gets a girlfriend!" spat Harry.
Wormtail scrunched up his face, "That will never happen, but I don't have time for this. I was supposed to have you already."
Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it at Wormtail and snorted, "That is not going to happen."
Then they both called out the same spell at the same time, "Expellairmus!"
Both wands flew from their owner's hands and off the roof. Harry watched them fall and noticed something else. Four people were walking out of the castle. He was up too far for him to make out who it was but one could be mistaken for none other than Dumbledore. Harry was distracted for less than a minute but it was all Wormtail needed. Harry felt himself slam, face first, onto the ground with the force of a small train. Wormtail was twisting his arm behind his back. Harry struggled against his grasp but couldn't move very much as the older man was sitting on him. He was sure that a little further and his arm would break, he could already feel the bones tensing.
Suddenly, right before it snapped, a flash of snowy white swooped down and knocked Wormtail off Harry. As he stood up, rubbing his arm, he saw Hedwig distracting him. Harry understood. He quickly crossed the roof and grabbed the broomstick. He was about to take off when Wormtail landed Hedwig a hard one and she fell to the floor, unconscious. Wormtail then tackled Harry who was caught off guard, as he was worrying about his owl. They both toppled off the roof. Harry struggled to get onto the broomstick but Wormtail seemed equally determined to get it for himself. He could hear a clamor of screams coming from below him and he presumed that it was the four he saw earlier. They were falling at an incredible speed and both knew that if they didn't get onto the broom soon it would be too late. Wormtail seemed to be panicking and was resorting to drastic measures. He brought his arm back and sent his fist flying into Harry's face. Harry knew his nose was bleeding, possibly broken but he didn't let go. He tried to maneuver himself so he was on top of the broom but found it difficult with Wormtail on board as well. He had never flown with another person on the same broom but he made a mental note to never try it again.
Hedwig, who seemed to have regained herself, was now back and pecking at Wormtail tirelessly. Forgetting he was on a broomstick, Wormtail swatted at the owl with both hands. Due to the laws of gravity, he fell off, leaving Harry the broom. He quickly pulled himself onto the broomstick then shot after Wormtail. Less than a hundred feet from the ground Harry caught him, but with the extra weight of the full grown wizard Harry was unable to pull out of dive completely. Harry tried to bring the broom to a stop on the ground but only succeeded and streaking across the grounds of Hogwarts spinning around and around. Harry felt as though he might throw up if he didn't get control of the broom soon. Just when Harry thought they were going to end up heading into Forbidden Forest, Wormtail's body caught on something Harry wasn't sure of(AN: You wouldn't be sure either if you were flying at 60mph!) and they were yanked off the broom and landed with a gigantic splash into the lake.
Harry came up gasping for air but something around his leg was pulling him back down. He used his free leg to try to push it off but something wrapped around his neck and started to pull him back under. Once under the water he opened his eyes and saw that the giant squid had wrapped one of it's tentacles around his leg and was pulling him slowly down. Wormtail had somehow managed to free himself and had punctured through to the surface and was now swimming frantically towards the shore. Harry struggled in an attempt to loosen the squid's grip but it was too powerful and Harry's energy was already being zapped by trying to maintain a decent body temperature in the frigid water. His lungs were now beginning to ache with yearning for air but the squid had now wrapped two more tentacles around him, pinning his arms to his sides and pulling him steadily downward. What he would give for some gillyweed. He couldn't take it anymore. Harry opened his mouth before he knew what he was doing and sucked in the water. He began to sputter it up and his mind started to cloud. His eyelids drooped and his head dropped to the side.
_~_~_~_~_~
Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Dumbledore, and Sirius (now human) made it to the water's edge just as Harry and Wormtail hit the water. They all called out to Harry and held with bated breath as the seconds ticked by. After what seemed an eternity they both resurfaced. Wormtail immediately started swimming back towards the shore but Harry seemed to be struggling with something. Suddenly a large slimy cylinder shaped object broke the surface of the water and wrapped around Harry's throat. He took in a sharp breath before disappearing under the water.
"Harry!" shrieked Hermione, Ron, and Lavender at the same time. The three all had a good mind to jump in and try to save him but Sirius beat them to it.
His body hit the water with a splash and drenched the four still on the dry land. Instantly Sirius started swimming towards where he had last seen Harry. Taking a deep breath he started to dive down. After a few moments he could see Harry still fighting against what he now recognized as the giant squid. The squid wrapped another one of it's tentacles around Harry's abdomen and Sirius noticed with horror that Harry stopped fighting and lost all motion. Swimming more fiercely now, he made his way towards his godson. Within minutes Sirius had reached Harry and was using all his strength to pull him free. His lungs were beginning to burn now but he didn't notice. After three minutes of struggling he finally freed Harry and began swimming like mad to the surface.
As they reached the air both needed, Sirius was tempted to stop and catch his breath but noticing that Harry wasn't breathing he denied himself the break. The four that had been left on the shore, now accompanied by Wormtail, bound and gagged, started going crazy. The Gryffindor students were jumping up and down, shouting and waving their arms. Dumbledore pulled Harry out of the water and laid him on the grass as Sirius pulled himself out and everyone gathered around Harry. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry then muttered a few choice words and a white light shot into Harry's chest. It took a few seconds but Harry suddenly started coughing up the water that he had ingested. His friends helped him into a sitting position as he coughed up the last of the water. He opened his eyes and looked around then smiled, acknowledging them.
"Harry what were you doing up there!?" shrieked Hermione, almost hysterical.
Harry smiled and gave a laugh, "Thinking."
"I've heard of extreme thinking but that was ridiculous." said Ron laughing.
"How's your nose, Harry?" asked Dumbledore. Harry brought a hand up to his nose. He had forgotten about that. Dumbledore cast a quick spell and it instantly felt better.
"Fine, I guess." said Harry then smiled, "God, this is turning out to be some year, huh?"
"And we haven't even reached the half way mark yet." said Ron. Harry laughed and stood up but quickly felt his happiness be replaced by anger at what he saw.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!" exclaimed Fudge hurrying over to them with several Aurors Harry didn't remember seeing before.
"Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black! I suppose what I saw was true then! I am indeed sorry, Mr. Black. You are free to go. All your assets will be sent to you as soon as possible. And I suppose as his godfather, you have legal custody of Harry." said Fudge. Harry felt a sudden rush of gratitude but reminded himself why he was mad in the first place and it quickly left.
"See, Harry, nothing but good could have come from it." said Fudge smiling as the Aurors, all looking shocked, took custody of Wormtail.
Harry glared at him, "It still doesn't give you the right to do what you did!" Fudge looked taken back and his friends looked interested but just a tad bit angry, though they weren't sure why. Harry glared at him again then stomped off back toward the castle, quickly followed by his friends.
"He's right you know, Cornelius." said Dumbledore, "You should have left it for him to tell on his own will."
"Oh, come now, Albus, he wasn't about to give me the answers I needed." said Fudge, brushing off his robes.
"Don't you think we wanted to know the truth, too!? You can't go forcing answers out of him! He's not used to talking to people!" said Sirius angrily.
"What's done is done. It worked out for you, didn't it, Black?" asked Fudge.
"That's not the point! Now Harry's going to close himself off even more than he was before! He's never going to be able to trust anyone again!" said Sirius.
"Hmm. . .I must get back to the Ministry. Albus, would you do me a favor and give this to Harry?" asked Fudge, handing a folded piece of parchment.
"What is it?" asked Dumbledore.
"Court date." said Fudge before walking off with his Aurors.
_~_~_~_~
"Come on, Harry. What'd Fudge do?" asked Ron.
It was late and there wasn't anyone in the common room besides Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Lavender. When they had gotten to the Gryffindor tower Harry had immediately said he was going to go dry off and after he promised to come back they had let him go. It was another half hour before Harry came back down and when he did he said nothing but just sat in the big armchair in front of the fire. He had been there for over fifteen minutes and had done nothing but stare into the flame.
"I don't want to talk about it." he said flatly.
"What could be so bad that gets Sirius set free?" asked Ron.
"I said I don't want to talk about it." Harry said turning his gaze to Ron.
"Why not?" asked Lavender.
Harry snorted bitterly, "You'll find out soon enough." He turned his eyes back to the fire as his friends looked at each other. Unsure of what to say next, the tension was lifted by Dumbledore and Sirius entering.
"Good evening. I thought you might still be awake." he said. Ron, Hermione, and Lavender greeted him but Harry made no recognition that he had noticed either come in.
"Harry, I have something for you from Cornelius." said Dumbledore handing Harry a piece of parchment. Harry took it dully then tossed it onto the table next to the chair he was in.
"Aren't you going to read it?" asked Hermione.
"What for? Nothing that man has to say can be good news." said Harry dryly.
"You better read it now, Harry." said Sirius. Harry sighed angrily and took back up the parchment. He unfolded it and read it:
Dear Mr. Potter,
The trial will take place on the first of November and your presence is required. You are free to bring any who might serve as a comfort to you.
Cordially,
Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic
Harry looked up from with paper with horror written all over his face.
"I don't really have to go, do I?" he asked incredibly.
"I'm afraid so, Harry. The entire thing is about you." said Dumbledore.
"B-but I can't go!" he said, his face contorting.
"You don't have a choice." said Dumbledore.
Harry crumpled the piece of parchment up and threw it into the fire, "God! That fucking good for nothing---I'm not going!" With that said he stormed upstairs.
"What was that about? Where does he have to go?" asked Ron. Sirius opened his mouth to explain but Dumbledore stopped him.
"It is up to Harry to decide when to tell you all about it. Though, I'm certain he'll want you to attend with him. You'll find out then." said Dumbledore, "Let's go find you a place to sleep, Sirius." Sirius nodded and followed Dumbledore out the portrait hole.
The next day, Harry had gone down to break fast before any of his friends were awake so they hurried down to the Great Hall in hopes of finding him and talking out whatever was going on.
"One more day, Hermione. You gonna ask him today?" asked Lavender smiling slyly. Hermione blushed but didn't answer.
"Come on, already, you said you were going to!" said Lavender.
"You did?" asked Ron smiling in a taunting fashion.
"You had to tell him." Hermione muttered to Lavender.
"Of course!" Lavender responded brightly as they entered the Great Hall. The Hall was already full of students but they easily spotted Harry was sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table pushing some food around on his plate, talking quietly with Sirius and. . . .Remus? Sirius, by the way, was receiving many fearful glances from the other students in the room, particularly the ones at the Gryffindor table. Sirius said something and Harry and Remus laughed.
"What are you doing here, Professor?" Hermione asked Remus as she sat down.
"I'm no longer your teacher, Hermione. Remus will do. And as for your question, I finished my mission for Dumbledore so I decided to come back for a visit." said Remus.
They all nodded in acceptance and Lavender turned to Harry, "How ya doin' Harry?"
Harry smiled, "Better."
"You left us this morning, Harry? What was so important?" asked Ron.
"Well it didn't look like you were going to get up anytime soon. Didn't want to make me late did you?" asked Harry.
Ron shrugged, "If I can deal so can you." The mail came soaring into the room and Hermione let out an excited squeal when she looked at the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"What?" asked Sirius.
"Listen to this," said Hermione clearing her throat, "Peter Pettigrew charged as a Death Eater, Sirius Black set free."
Sirius took the paper out of her hands and read, "Long since thought of second hand man of You-Know-Who, Sirius Black, is set free after Peter Pettigrew was caught on a daring attempt by Harry Potter."
Sirius laughed and handed the paper back to Hermione.
"Never actually thought I'd live to see my name cleared." he said.
Harry smiled weakly then went back to pushing his food around on his plate, though, luckily, no one noticed as they were busy reading the article.
After breakfast the four Gryffindors said goodbye to Sirius and Remus, who said he had something to show him, and made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Who's this new professor anyway?" asked Harry as they sat and waited for the professor to get there.
"Professor Whims. She's the first witch professor for this class we've had, very qualified, too." said Lavender excitedly.
"Yeah, a lot like Lupin. All hands on stuff." said Ron just as the door opened. Sirius and a witch about his age with long blond hair that reached to her bottom entered with Remus standing with a bemused expression on his face in the doorway.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to work here?" Sirius asked.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't know you were here. I always knew you were innocent!" said the witch hugging him. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan gave them some loud cat calls and they broke apart, both blushing. Apparently she hadn't noticed that she was late to class and neither had noticed the students.
"Erm. . .well. . .I guess I'll leave you to your class. Meet me you-know- where as soon as your class lets out, okay?" asked Sirius.
The witch, whom Harry now guess was Professor Whims, nodded, "Of course."
Sirius smiled broadly and kissed her on the cheek, "See you later, Tali."
Professor Whims hugged him again, "It's so good to see you again." Dean and Seamus, this time with a few others, started up again.
The two broke apart and Sirius nodded to Harry, "Keep a close eye on this one, Harry. She's liable to do anything." With that he winked at Whims who promptly smacked his shoulder then pushed him out the door before smiling to herself and walking to the front of the class room.
"What was that about? How do they know each other?" Ron whispered to his friends.
"Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?" asked Lavender. Ron shrugged.
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione and Lavender said at the same time. Ron looked at Harry who shrugged.
Hermione opened her mouth to tell them but it was then that Professor Whims started talking, "Alright, class, today just study quietly chapter ten with a partner and take notes. I'll be back."
Dean and Seamus smiled at each other and simultaneously started cracking up. Whims sent them a death glare before leaving the room. Ron and Lavender immediately paired up again, though, Harry doubted that they would actually be doing very much reading.
"So. . ." said Hermione looking up from her book, "Who are you going to the Ball with?"
Harry turned the page of his book and didn't even bother to look up, "I'm not going."
"What? Why not?" asked Hermione, completely forgetting about their assignment.
Harry shrugged, "I just don't feel like it. Why? Who are you going with?"
Hermione blushed and looked down, "Oh, no one." Harry looked up from his book and seemed to be thinking about something carefully.
For a split second Hermione thought that he might be pondering whether or not to ask her. Her heart was inflating with such force that she thought it might erupt from her chest. She bit her lip nervously, waiting for Harry to say something.
It took few minutes but eventually he spoke again, "Making a statement, are you?"
Despite the feeling of her heart breaking in two, Hermione smiled at him and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Author's Note: Awwww, poor Hermione. She should've just asked Harry. Oh well, what do you think? Is Harry going to make it to the end of the school year with all these things happening to him? Only I, all knowing, all seeing, authoress know the answer to that but I'll let you in on it too if you write a review! And quick note: I know I promised to put this up yesterday but I couldn't get on the computer. . .my sis was hogging it! But I'm back! And you know what? Tomorrow you get 2, count 'em, 2 chapters!
Kristi: Thanks for your support!
Purple Water: Yep, Harry seems to keep diggin' himself down deeper and deeper, doesn't he? Don't worry, he's a lot stronger than some people take him for!
Lady of the Moon: Okay, I think I explain it in this chapter or the next but just to be safe I tell you here. Harry doesn't want to go to the Ball b/c of a lot of things. I mean think about it. If you knew that in less than 24 hours the entire world would know that you were beaten by your uncle you wouldn't be in any mood to go to a party either, would you? And I know this isn't said at all but he's also feeling guilty about his parents' death which is on Halloween. And yes, Fudge is a big doody head, isn't he?
Carrierk818: What am I, your servant? Oh yes, wise exalted one, I write for you and you alone. Lol, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
LittleEar BigEar's sis: Thanky, I appreciate your opinion!
Ch8: Freedom
Harry put the broomstick down. He missed the accuracy his Firebolt gave him but as he didn't know where it was the school's old ones were all he had. It got him where he needed to go, anyhow. He was sure no one would find him here. He could think all he wanted without being disturbed. Harry sat down on the edge of the flat surface he was on. He let one of his legs droop over the edge and held the other one up to his chest.
'I really ought to come here more often.' he thought to himself as he watched the sun begin to set behind the mountains.
The sunset had always been a comfort to him and he would have never thought it could look more majestic then it did when he was at Hogwarts. That is until he saw it from on top of Hogwarts. Harry leaned against the railing that lined the roof of the tower he was on. He knew that his friends and probably half the staff would be looking for him by now. It seemed only logical to go somewhere they would never look. But as he listened to the muffled voices of the students in the Great Hall Harry's mind drifted back to earlier that afternoon.
'What gave him the right to do that!?' he thought angrily.
It wouldn't be long now. He dreaded the arrival of the mail the next morning. Undoubtedly the Daily Prophet would be flooded with dozens of different little stories about his family's abuse of him. Harry let a bitter laugh escape his lips. It was ironic, really. Half the wizarding world expected him to defeat Voldemort for a second time and he couldn't even defend himself against ordinary, everyday Muggles.
He closed his eyes. How great it must feel to be free of all life's trials. Harry was tired of it all. He just wanted it to end.
'It could be easily done.' said a voice in his head, 'Just a few more feet and you'll be free forever.'
Harry opened his eyes and looked down. It was an awfully long drop. He sighed, he probably should. Now that it was almost a certainty that at least his uncle would be sent away forever there would no longer be anything there to punish him. He needed punishment, he needed pain, it was the only thing that kept him in line. He did deserve to die. He had just condemned his uncle's life to that of one of misery. No matter what he did he was always hurting someone, always punishing someone in some way. Harry looked down again. He could make it look like an accident. He went on a fly to clear his mind and fell off.
'Yeah right.' his mind retorted, 'Like they'd actually believe you accidentally fell off your broom, especially after what happened. Admit it, you're just too big of a wimp to do it right.' Harry shook his head.
"You're wrong." he said.
'Prove it.' said his mind.
Harry nodded, "Fine."
Standing up, Harry took a deep breath and was about to jump when he heard something behind him.
He turned around to see what it was and glared, "You!" Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew was standing there with his wand pointed at Harry's heart.
"Master has been quite upset at you. How did you manage to escape the Dementus Enhanent?" asked Wormtail.
"As if I'd tell you anything." Harry said glaring at him. He had had enough unpleasant experiences today to last a lifetime and he wasn't in the mood for anymore.
"Very well, I've been sent to bring you back to Master." said Wormtail walking towards him.
Harry backed up until he was on the very edge of the roof, "Like I'd go anywhere that slimy git is."
"You don't really have a choice. No one knows you're here and you don't have a way down." said Wormtail.
And it was true, too. Pettigrew was standing in front of the broom Harry had used to get up. The only way down was to jump. There was no hope of him apparating down as it wasn't possible within the Hogwarts grounds. Harry thought for a moment. If he was going to kill himself anyway why shouldn't he do it then? Wouldn't it be better for him to kill himself then to give Voldemort the chance? Harry glanced down; it was a long way down. Probably a good couple thousand meters. Harry shook his head. Whatever he did he wasn't going to Voldemort's.
"What exactly do you plan to do? I've been following you around the school. You don't really want to go on with everyone knowing, do you?" asked Wormtail in a sickly sweet voice.
"What would you know about it?" asked Harry glaring at him.
"Just come with me. Master will put you out of your misery before it starts." said Wormtail.
"Ha! The day Voldemort does anyone besides himself a favor is the day Snape gets a girlfriend!" spat Harry.
Wormtail scrunched up his face, "That will never happen, but I don't have time for this. I was supposed to have you already."
Harry pulled his wand out and pointed it at Wormtail and snorted, "That is not going to happen."
Then they both called out the same spell at the same time, "Expellairmus!"
Both wands flew from their owner's hands and off the roof. Harry watched them fall and noticed something else. Four people were walking out of the castle. He was up too far for him to make out who it was but one could be mistaken for none other than Dumbledore. Harry was distracted for less than a minute but it was all Wormtail needed. Harry felt himself slam, face first, onto the ground with the force of a small train. Wormtail was twisting his arm behind his back. Harry struggled against his grasp but couldn't move very much as the older man was sitting on him. He was sure that a little further and his arm would break, he could already feel the bones tensing.
Suddenly, right before it snapped, a flash of snowy white swooped down and knocked Wormtail off Harry. As he stood up, rubbing his arm, he saw Hedwig distracting him. Harry understood. He quickly crossed the roof and grabbed the broomstick. He was about to take off when Wormtail landed Hedwig a hard one and she fell to the floor, unconscious. Wormtail then tackled Harry who was caught off guard, as he was worrying about his owl. They both toppled off the roof. Harry struggled to get onto the broomstick but Wormtail seemed equally determined to get it for himself. He could hear a clamor of screams coming from below him and he presumed that it was the four he saw earlier. They were falling at an incredible speed and both knew that if they didn't get onto the broom soon it would be too late. Wormtail seemed to be panicking and was resorting to drastic measures. He brought his arm back and sent his fist flying into Harry's face. Harry knew his nose was bleeding, possibly broken but he didn't let go. He tried to maneuver himself so he was on top of the broom but found it difficult with Wormtail on board as well. He had never flown with another person on the same broom but he made a mental note to never try it again.
Hedwig, who seemed to have regained herself, was now back and pecking at Wormtail tirelessly. Forgetting he was on a broomstick, Wormtail swatted at the owl with both hands. Due to the laws of gravity, he fell off, leaving Harry the broom. He quickly pulled himself onto the broomstick then shot after Wormtail. Less than a hundred feet from the ground Harry caught him, but with the extra weight of the full grown wizard Harry was unable to pull out of dive completely. Harry tried to bring the broom to a stop on the ground but only succeeded and streaking across the grounds of Hogwarts spinning around and around. Harry felt as though he might throw up if he didn't get control of the broom soon. Just when Harry thought they were going to end up heading into Forbidden Forest, Wormtail's body caught on something Harry wasn't sure of(AN: You wouldn't be sure either if you were flying at 60mph!) and they were yanked off the broom and landed with a gigantic splash into the lake.
Harry came up gasping for air but something around his leg was pulling him back down. He used his free leg to try to push it off but something wrapped around his neck and started to pull him back under. Once under the water he opened his eyes and saw that the giant squid had wrapped one of it's tentacles around his leg and was pulling him slowly down. Wormtail had somehow managed to free himself and had punctured through to the surface and was now swimming frantically towards the shore. Harry struggled in an attempt to loosen the squid's grip but it was too powerful and Harry's energy was already being zapped by trying to maintain a decent body temperature in the frigid water. His lungs were now beginning to ache with yearning for air but the squid had now wrapped two more tentacles around him, pinning his arms to his sides and pulling him steadily downward. What he would give for some gillyweed. He couldn't take it anymore. Harry opened his mouth before he knew what he was doing and sucked in the water. He began to sputter it up and his mind started to cloud. His eyelids drooped and his head dropped to the side.
_~_~_~_~_~
Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Dumbledore, and Sirius (now human) made it to the water's edge just as Harry and Wormtail hit the water. They all called out to Harry and held with bated breath as the seconds ticked by. After what seemed an eternity they both resurfaced. Wormtail immediately started swimming back towards the shore but Harry seemed to be struggling with something. Suddenly a large slimy cylinder shaped object broke the surface of the water and wrapped around Harry's throat. He took in a sharp breath before disappearing under the water.
"Harry!" shrieked Hermione, Ron, and Lavender at the same time. The three all had a good mind to jump in and try to save him but Sirius beat them to it.
His body hit the water with a splash and drenched the four still on the dry land. Instantly Sirius started swimming towards where he had last seen Harry. Taking a deep breath he started to dive down. After a few moments he could see Harry still fighting against what he now recognized as the giant squid. The squid wrapped another one of it's tentacles around Harry's abdomen and Sirius noticed with horror that Harry stopped fighting and lost all motion. Swimming more fiercely now, he made his way towards his godson. Within minutes Sirius had reached Harry and was using all his strength to pull him free. His lungs were beginning to burn now but he didn't notice. After three minutes of struggling he finally freed Harry and began swimming like mad to the surface.
As they reached the air both needed, Sirius was tempted to stop and catch his breath but noticing that Harry wasn't breathing he denied himself the break. The four that had been left on the shore, now accompanied by Wormtail, bound and gagged, started going crazy. The Gryffindor students were jumping up and down, shouting and waving their arms. Dumbledore pulled Harry out of the water and laid him on the grass as Sirius pulled himself out and everyone gathered around Harry. Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry then muttered a few choice words and a white light shot into Harry's chest. It took a few seconds but Harry suddenly started coughing up the water that he had ingested. His friends helped him into a sitting position as he coughed up the last of the water. He opened his eyes and looked around then smiled, acknowledging them.
"Harry what were you doing up there!?" shrieked Hermione, almost hysterical.
Harry smiled and gave a laugh, "Thinking."
"I've heard of extreme thinking but that was ridiculous." said Ron laughing.
"How's your nose, Harry?" asked Dumbledore. Harry brought a hand up to his nose. He had forgotten about that. Dumbledore cast a quick spell and it instantly felt better.
"Fine, I guess." said Harry then smiled, "God, this is turning out to be some year, huh?"
"And we haven't even reached the half way mark yet." said Ron. Harry laughed and stood up but quickly felt his happiness be replaced by anger at what he saw.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!" exclaimed Fudge hurrying over to them with several Aurors Harry didn't remember seeing before.
"Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black! I suppose what I saw was true then! I am indeed sorry, Mr. Black. You are free to go. All your assets will be sent to you as soon as possible. And I suppose as his godfather, you have legal custody of Harry." said Fudge. Harry felt a sudden rush of gratitude but reminded himself why he was mad in the first place and it quickly left.
"See, Harry, nothing but good could have come from it." said Fudge smiling as the Aurors, all looking shocked, took custody of Wormtail.
Harry glared at him, "It still doesn't give you the right to do what you did!" Fudge looked taken back and his friends looked interested but just a tad bit angry, though they weren't sure why. Harry glared at him again then stomped off back toward the castle, quickly followed by his friends.
"He's right you know, Cornelius." said Dumbledore, "You should have left it for him to tell on his own will."
"Oh, come now, Albus, he wasn't about to give me the answers I needed." said Fudge, brushing off his robes.
"Don't you think we wanted to know the truth, too!? You can't go forcing answers out of him! He's not used to talking to people!" said Sirius angrily.
"What's done is done. It worked out for you, didn't it, Black?" asked Fudge.
"That's not the point! Now Harry's going to close himself off even more than he was before! He's never going to be able to trust anyone again!" said Sirius.
"Hmm. . .I must get back to the Ministry. Albus, would you do me a favor and give this to Harry?" asked Fudge, handing a folded piece of parchment.
"What is it?" asked Dumbledore.
"Court date." said Fudge before walking off with his Aurors.
_~_~_~_~
"Come on, Harry. What'd Fudge do?" asked Ron.
It was late and there wasn't anyone in the common room besides Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Lavender. When they had gotten to the Gryffindor tower Harry had immediately said he was going to go dry off and after he promised to come back they had let him go. It was another half hour before Harry came back down and when he did he said nothing but just sat in the big armchair in front of the fire. He had been there for over fifteen minutes and had done nothing but stare into the flame.
"I don't want to talk about it." he said flatly.
"What could be so bad that gets Sirius set free?" asked Ron.
"I said I don't want to talk about it." Harry said turning his gaze to Ron.
"Why not?" asked Lavender.
Harry snorted bitterly, "You'll find out soon enough." He turned his eyes back to the fire as his friends looked at each other. Unsure of what to say next, the tension was lifted by Dumbledore and Sirius entering.
"Good evening. I thought you might still be awake." he said. Ron, Hermione, and Lavender greeted him but Harry made no recognition that he had noticed either come in.
"Harry, I have something for you from Cornelius." said Dumbledore handing Harry a piece of parchment. Harry took it dully then tossed it onto the table next to the chair he was in.
"Aren't you going to read it?" asked Hermione.
"What for? Nothing that man has to say can be good news." said Harry dryly.
"You better read it now, Harry." said Sirius. Harry sighed angrily and took back up the parchment. He unfolded it and read it:
Dear Mr. Potter,
The trial will take place on the first of November and your presence is required. You are free to bring any who might serve as a comfort to you.
Cordially,
Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic
Harry looked up from with paper with horror written all over his face.
"I don't really have to go, do I?" he asked incredibly.
"I'm afraid so, Harry. The entire thing is about you." said Dumbledore.
"B-but I can't go!" he said, his face contorting.
"You don't have a choice." said Dumbledore.
Harry crumpled the piece of parchment up and threw it into the fire, "God! That fucking good for nothing---I'm not going!" With that said he stormed upstairs.
"What was that about? Where does he have to go?" asked Ron. Sirius opened his mouth to explain but Dumbledore stopped him.
"It is up to Harry to decide when to tell you all about it. Though, I'm certain he'll want you to attend with him. You'll find out then." said Dumbledore, "Let's go find you a place to sleep, Sirius." Sirius nodded and followed Dumbledore out the portrait hole.
The next day, Harry had gone down to break fast before any of his friends were awake so they hurried down to the Great Hall in hopes of finding him and talking out whatever was going on.
"One more day, Hermione. You gonna ask him today?" asked Lavender smiling slyly. Hermione blushed but didn't answer.
"Come on, already, you said you were going to!" said Lavender.
"You did?" asked Ron smiling in a taunting fashion.
"You had to tell him." Hermione muttered to Lavender.
"Of course!" Lavender responded brightly as they entered the Great Hall. The Hall was already full of students but they easily spotted Harry was sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table pushing some food around on his plate, talking quietly with Sirius and. . . .Remus? Sirius, by the way, was receiving many fearful glances from the other students in the room, particularly the ones at the Gryffindor table. Sirius said something and Harry and Remus laughed.
"What are you doing here, Professor?" Hermione asked Remus as she sat down.
"I'm no longer your teacher, Hermione. Remus will do. And as for your question, I finished my mission for Dumbledore so I decided to come back for a visit." said Remus.
They all nodded in acceptance and Lavender turned to Harry, "How ya doin' Harry?"
Harry smiled, "Better."
"You left us this morning, Harry? What was so important?" asked Ron.
"Well it didn't look like you were going to get up anytime soon. Didn't want to make me late did you?" asked Harry.
Ron shrugged, "If I can deal so can you." The mail came soaring into the room and Hermione let out an excited squeal when she looked at the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"What?" asked Sirius.
"Listen to this," said Hermione clearing her throat, "Peter Pettigrew charged as a Death Eater, Sirius Black set free."
Sirius took the paper out of her hands and read, "Long since thought of second hand man of You-Know-Who, Sirius Black, is set free after Peter Pettigrew was caught on a daring attempt by Harry Potter."
Sirius laughed and handed the paper back to Hermione.
"Never actually thought I'd live to see my name cleared." he said.
Harry smiled weakly then went back to pushing his food around on his plate, though, luckily, no one noticed as they were busy reading the article.
After breakfast the four Gryffindors said goodbye to Sirius and Remus, who said he had something to show him, and made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Who's this new professor anyway?" asked Harry as they sat and waited for the professor to get there.
"Professor Whims. She's the first witch professor for this class we've had, very qualified, too." said Lavender excitedly.
"Yeah, a lot like Lupin. All hands on stuff." said Ron just as the door opened. Sirius and a witch about his age with long blond hair that reached to her bottom entered with Remus standing with a bemused expression on his face in the doorway.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to work here?" Sirius asked.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't know you were here. I always knew you were innocent!" said the witch hugging him. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan gave them some loud cat calls and they broke apart, both blushing. Apparently she hadn't noticed that she was late to class and neither had noticed the students.
"Erm. . .well. . .I guess I'll leave you to your class. Meet me you-know- where as soon as your class lets out, okay?" asked Sirius.
The witch, whom Harry now guess was Professor Whims, nodded, "Of course."
Sirius smiled broadly and kissed her on the cheek, "See you later, Tali."
Professor Whims hugged him again, "It's so good to see you again." Dean and Seamus, this time with a few others, started up again.
The two broke apart and Sirius nodded to Harry, "Keep a close eye on this one, Harry. She's liable to do anything." With that he winked at Whims who promptly smacked his shoulder then pushed him out the door before smiling to herself and walking to the front of the class room.
"What was that about? How do they know each other?" Ron whispered to his friends.
"Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?" asked Lavender. Ron shrugged.
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione and Lavender said at the same time. Ron looked at Harry who shrugged.
Hermione opened her mouth to tell them but it was then that Professor Whims started talking, "Alright, class, today just study quietly chapter ten with a partner and take notes. I'll be back."
Dean and Seamus smiled at each other and simultaneously started cracking up. Whims sent them a death glare before leaving the room. Ron and Lavender immediately paired up again, though, Harry doubted that they would actually be doing very much reading.
"So. . ." said Hermione looking up from her book, "Who are you going to the Ball with?"
Harry turned the page of his book and didn't even bother to look up, "I'm not going."
"What? Why not?" asked Hermione, completely forgetting about their assignment.
Harry shrugged, "I just don't feel like it. Why? Who are you going with?"
Hermione blushed and looked down, "Oh, no one." Harry looked up from his book and seemed to be thinking about something carefully.
For a split second Hermione thought that he might be pondering whether or not to ask her. Her heart was inflating with such force that she thought it might erupt from her chest. She bit her lip nervously, waiting for Harry to say something.
It took few minutes but eventually he spoke again, "Making a statement, are you?"
Despite the feeling of her heart breaking in two, Hermione smiled at him and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Author's Note: Awwww, poor Hermione. She should've just asked Harry. Oh well, what do you think? Is Harry going to make it to the end of the school year with all these things happening to him? Only I, all knowing, all seeing, authoress know the answer to that but I'll let you in on it too if you write a review! And quick note: I know I promised to put this up yesterday but I couldn't get on the computer. . .my sis was hogging it! But I'm back! And you know what? Tomorrow you get 2, count 'em, 2 chapters!
Kristi: Thanks for your support!
Purple Water: Yep, Harry seems to keep diggin' himself down deeper and deeper, doesn't he? Don't worry, he's a lot stronger than some people take him for!
Lady of the Moon: Okay, I think I explain it in this chapter or the next but just to be safe I tell you here. Harry doesn't want to go to the Ball b/c of a lot of things. I mean think about it. If you knew that in less than 24 hours the entire world would know that you were beaten by your uncle you wouldn't be in any mood to go to a party either, would you? And I know this isn't said at all but he's also feeling guilty about his parents' death which is on Halloween. And yes, Fudge is a big doody head, isn't he?
Carrierk818: What am I, your servant? Oh yes, wise exalted one, I write for you and you alone. Lol, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
LittleEar BigEar's sis: Thanky, I appreciate your opinion!