Chapter 14

Harry became aware of the fact that there were people surrounding him long before he actually realized he was awake. Through a thick, buzzing headache, bits of consciousness started to work their way through to his brain. His body felt absolutely numb, and he didn't much feel like fighting the numbness. All he wanted was to go back to sleep.

Gradually, the buzzing began to fade away, and several voices met his ears, although they seemed muffled and slurred together. One of them sounded like Dumbledore, but that made no sense. Why would Dumbledore be in Gryffindor tower? Was something wrong? Had he overslept? He couldn't be late for class on the first day of school!

Still, the numbness in his body was trying to pull him back to sleep. He needed more sleep. He hadn't rested well all night, being plagued by the strangest dream, almost like that other one from a few weeks ago. So strange . . . but he couldn't think about that now. First thing after breakfast, was double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, then Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon. He had to get up...

However, as soon as Harry tried to move, he wished he hadn't. The attempt caused his head to explode with pain. He tried to moan, anything to ease the tension, but he couldn't seem to move his lips. His mouth felt like cotton, and none of his muscles seemed to be responding.

One of the muffled voices spoke louder, just over his head it seemed. "Madam Pomfrey! I think he's waking up."

Madam Pomfrey? What was he doing in the infirmary? Somewhere, his mind registered that there was a hand on his arm, squeezing gently.

"Harry? Come on, Harry. Give me a sign here." The tone of voice was even, but laced with definite anxiety.

Harry tried to reply to the voice, to ask what the hell was going on, but all he could get past his cottony tongue was a completely unintelligible moan.

The hand moved to his shoulder. "Harry, it's Sirius. Please, snap out of it."

"Mr. Black," came Madam Pomfrey's unmistakable clipped tone. "Rushing him will do no good."

Harry would have loved to tell her that he also had all intent of rushing. However, his body had other plans. Slowly, painfully, he forced his eyelids open to see the blurry features of his godfather.

"Merlin's beard, thank god," Sirius breathed.

"Relax, Sirius," Dumbledore spoke from somewhere in the background. "No need to excite him any more than necessary."

Sirius was paying no attention. "Can you hear me, Harry? Please, say something."

"Siri . . ."

Sirius looked as though he were about to burst. He grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed hard enough that the pressure actually broke through the numbness encasing Harry's limbs. "Harry, god, don't ever scare me like that again! When we found you, I didn't know if you were alive."

Something solid finally filtered through faint buzz still surrounding Harry's brain. The events of the previous night hadn't been a dream. He tried to roll onto his side, but his body still wasn't responding to his demands. He blinked twice, forced as deep a breath as he could take, and said, "What happened?" The words were terribly slurred.

"Magical shock," Madam Pomfrey's impatient voice called out from somewhere. "And just about the worse cases of it I've seen in all my days. You're fortunate your eyes didn't pop out of their sockets," she ranted. "Of course, I should know by now to expect no less from a Potter. Someday, I declare, I'll figure out how to keep you away from my infirmary."

That hadn't been what Harry had meant. "No . . . Siri . . . what happened?" he forced the question between weak breaths.

Sirius twisted his lips and glanced up as though asking someone's permission to give an answer. His head came back down, but he didn't look at Harry's face. "We probably should have told you weeks ago, but there was already so much going on, we didn't want to make it any harder on you..."

"Holly."

Sirius finally looked Harry in the eye. Slowly, he nodded.

"Where is she?"

Dumbledore answered him. "She's here, Harry."

"Is she okay?" He tried to twist around, but only succeeded in causing his ears to ring. He sank back into the pillow and closed his eyes. A cool cloth pressed against his forehead, and gradually, the ringing subsided.

"I had a dream about her," he said quietly, not opening his eyes, concentrating on forming the words. "It was a couple of weeks ago."

"I am not surprised, Harry," Dumbledore replied. "Not surprised at all."

Harry mused at the peculiar reply. "Who is she?"

This time, a new voice from the across the room answered him. "She's your cousin."

Harry's eyes popped open. "But I thought I had no other relatives." He was beginning to feel a hot flash of resentment pushing away the remnants of the numbness. Why would they keep something like this from him?

Sirius released his hand - he'd forgotten he'd been holding it in the first place - and touched him lightly on the shoulder. "We didn't know either, Harry. Nobody knew."

"How could you not?" That didn't make sense. He made a desperate attempt to sit up, but was hit by a wave of nausea and dizziness. He fell back, coughing breathlessly.

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey came bustling over. "Will you please just lie back down?"

"I already am," he said weakly.

Sirius choked back a laugh, and Madam Pomfrey glowered. "Think it's funny, do you? You don't want me to have to sedate your godson, Mr. Black?"

Harry mentally balked. He had just woken up. "You wouldn't . . .?" he begged.

"Oh, just watch me!" she snapped irritably, brandishing something that, even without his glasses, Harry recognized as a needle.

The nausea twisted into a solid knot in Harry's stomach. "Okay," he conceded, "I'll lie still. Just don't stick that thing anywhere near me. I hate needles."

Madam Pomfrey folded her arms, waggling the syringe menacingly. "Potter, for someone who has battled dragons, done swan-dives from broomsticks, fought maverick bludgers, and gone head-to-head with You-Know-Who, you're NOT going to tell me you're afraid of needles."

Harry nodded meekly.

Madam Pomfrey grinned like a gambler about to reveal a royal flush. "Well, don't worry about this one, Mr. Potter. All I'd have to do is put it in the line that's already in your arm. Now, maybe you'll think twice before you land yourself in my infirmary again." She nodded in satisfaction at the horrified look on Harry's face, then turned away to go about her work.

Harry would have preferred not to look, but he couldn't help it. Even without his glasses, he could just see something shiny hanging above his head, and a clear tube running down from it and disappearing behind the edge of the blankets. He turned away quickly. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he moaned to Sirius.

"Well, that's what happens when you go getting yourself into situations like this, young man," said the unknown voice from across the room. "If you had stayed in Gryffindor tower like you were supposed to, you wouldn't be in the infirmary right now with a needle in your arm." The person speaking walked into the edge of Harry's peripheral vision, dragging a chair. "While you were out cold, we couldn't get you to swallow any potions to treat the shock, and believe me, you needed it."

He swung the chair next to Harry's bed. "You were in a pretty miserable state when we found you." Finally, the person sat down and leaned forward so that Harry could make out the face of Remus Lupin. The face softened into a smile. "How're you feeling, Harry?"

"Fine," he lied. "Can you just get that thing out of my arm?"

Lupin shook his head and ruffled Harry's hair patronizingly. "Oh, it's not that bad, Harry."

"Speak for yourself," he mumbled, trying to bury the queasiness. "Is Holly okay?"

Sirius sighed and leaned against the edge of the bed. "We just can't get you to relax, can we? She's fine."

"Is she awake?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure she'll come around soon."

Harry accepted that answer for meantime. He had other questions pulling at the edge of his thoughts. "How did . . . what . . . why did all that happen last night, Sirius?

"I think," Dumbledore cut in, "that this would best be thoroughly explained when you have recovered more.

Harry felt his heart sink. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

However, Dumbledore wasn't finished speaking. "For now, here is a basic explanation. Do you remember when I told you that Voldemort had been looking for a spy with the Mind touch?"

Harry nodded.

"And he traced it, mistakenly, to your grandfather?"

Harry nodded again, now becoming decidedly uneasy.

Dumbledore was too far away for Harry to see his face, but he supposed it must be very solemn right now, as the Headmaster's voice dropped a notch. "Voldemort was closer to the truth than we could have imagined. You and Holly have the same grandfather on your father's side of the family. However, her grandmother was the spy Voldemort was seeking. Holly saved some love letters between your grandfather and her grandmother, and there is no questioning it. Her mother must have been conceived just before the war separated them, and her grandmother went into hiding. This whole mystery surrounding you seems to be more of a family affair then we had ever expected."

Perhaps Dumbledore had been right, thought Harry as his head began to buzz again. Maybe he should have waited; this was a lot to absorb. Still, he had another question. "But what . . .?"

"You and Holly have a sort of magical bond that was formed when you were quite young. I will explain it more thoroughly later, but suffice it to say, as of this summer, she knew about you. You being her only remaining family, she was determined to meet you, but for several reasons, we decided it was best to keep you apart until you were safe at Hogwarts, and we could introduce you under more cautious conditions."

Harry grumbled as he realized, yet again, his life was being toyed with like a marionette, and everyone else seemed to be pulling the strings.

Dumbledore continued, "The closer in distance you and she were, the stronger the bond became. That is why you seemed to be 'picking up' things from her this summer. When you touched her hand, you experienced an uncontrolled magical power surge, and it threw you into shock."

Harry closed his eyes. "That's it, huh?"

"In a nutshell," Sirius replied.

"So wait," he opened his eyes, squinting at Sirius. "I'm her last remaining relative? What happened to her mum and dad?"

Sirius pressed his lips together and met Harry's eyes with a pained expression. All he could do was shake his head.

Harry didn't need the full story, nor did he want it just then. His godfather's gesture was enough to confirm that it could only be one thing. "Voldemort," he hissed. Sirius reached for his hand, but Harry pushed it away. He was absolutely fuming.

"Harry . . ." Sirius started, before the glare in Harry's eye cut him off.

Turning his eyes to the ceiling, Harry let ghastly images of the only memories he had of his parents flood through his mind. He relished in the fury they elicited. The anger felt hot and real, coursing through his body and pushing aside the last traces of haziness from him. Voldemort, ruining people's lives. He couldn't be satisfied with just Harry's parents, but apparently also an aunt and uncle he had never known. Destroyed not only his life, but the lives of countless others, and the life of his cousin. Harry's rage grew to the breaking point. His fists formed tight balls, his eyes squeezed shut. Like a wounded animal, a pained yell ripped from his throat...

Immediately, his outburst was followed by a complete resurgence of the buzzing headache he'd had upon awakening. He recoiled, trying to shrink away from the pain.

Sirius was on his feet, but he wasn't looking at Harry. "Pomfrey! She's awake!"

Sirius stayed by Harry's side, but Remus rushed across the room. Harry forced the headache back and followed Lupin with his eyes. He was able to make out the image of someone tossing about on a nearby cot. "Sirius, give me my glasses," Harry demanded.

"Harry, I don't think . . ."

"Damn it, Sirius, just give me my bloody glasses!"

His glasses were placed softly on his face. The scene came into focus at the same moment as a wave of confusion and panic hit him. A split second later, he came to the shocking realization that the emotion wasn't his, but belonged to Holly.

Eyes wide open, she was moving about chaotically, although obviously weak, refusing to lie still, even as Remus was trying desperately to her calm down. She appeared to be trying to say something, but still didn't have the motor control. Harry's gut wrenched as he watched it, wanting to be able to do something.

"Holly, please!" Remus was saying, trying to hold her down at the shoulders. "You'll only make it worse! Lie still!" He looked up. "Poppy, she's not listening."

Harry, in the meantime, was playing with a faint thread of thought running through the back of his mind. Something about Voldemort. As out-of- control as she appeared, Holly was trying to tell them something about Voldemort. "Sirius," he said slowly, but his godfather was paying no attention. "Siri . . ." he was cut off as the sense of panic from Holly magnified at least tenfold.

Madam Pomfrey had gone to Holly's bedside and was now standing over her, checking the measurement of the sedative she was about to administer. Holly was looking terrified and only began to writhe more desperately, and Harry knew why. She was disoriented, couldn't see clearly, was in pain, and to top it off, here was an unidentified person standing over her with a needle. Not the most comfortable of situations. Suddenly, Holly's head whipped towards Harry, and even though Harry was sure she could barely see him, he was just as certain that she knew exactly who he was, and she was begging for help.

Harry forced himself up on one elbow and yelled, "Stop that!"

The room came to a dead silence. Madam Pomfrey lowered her hands slowly and stared at Harry in surprise. "Potter, if she keeps thrashing about, she'll aggravate her condition. You, of all people, should care enough . . ."

"She doesn't want you to!" he interrupted staunchly, but he wasn't looking at Pomfrey as he spoke. He was staring straight at Holly. "She was just scared. Give her a minute. She has a question . . . about Voldemort."

Remus took a cautious step towards Harry, whose eyes were still locked on his cousin. "Harry . . .?"

"Yes, she told me," he replied, before Remus had even asked the question. He closed his eyes and sank back into the pillows, but his body remained alert. Holly, for her part, mirrored Harry; body tense, eyes closed, not moving save for her ribcage shaking in shallow, rapid breaths. Gradually, her breathing slowed as well.

"Harry?" Sirius rested a cautious hand on Harry's arm.

"She was panicking because she was having a dream about Voldemort. It was about the night my parents died, the same thing I was thinking about a moment ago. It woke her up, and she remembered what happened last night." Harry's voice was soft and distanced, almost trance-like. "Before we met last night, she was talking to . . . " He gasped sharply and whispered, "She's a Parselmouth!" before resuming his neutral monologue. "Talking to Seymore, and realized you were worried that if we met, the Mind Touch would bleed over to Voldemort. She wants to know if that's true. She's worried about me."

Harry opened his eyes, his glasses slightly askew against the pillow, and caught Dumbledore with a piercing stare. "Is that true? That Voldemort would get the Mind Touch through me?"

Dumbledore sighed. "It appears we should never underestimate the resourcefulness of a Potter. Yes, that was a great concern. Within the walls of Hogwarts, however, there are enough magical barriers between you and Voldemort that it is unlikely."

"I can't stay in Hogwarts forever," Harry said flatly.

"We know that, Harry. That is why we were planning to spend time training you specifically in how to control the Mind Touch, and how to guard you, and that power, against Voldemort."

With a sharp sigh of apparent relief, Holly finally relaxed under the blankets. Speaking very slowly, her words slurred as Harry's had been earlier, she said, "Thank you."

Her eyes were still closed, but Harry felt certain she was aware of him smiling a silent, "You're welcome." It was then that a strange thought struck him. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, how would Voldemort get the Mind Touch through me? I don't have it, she does."

"Harry, Harry," Dumbledore laughed softly. "You do. Well, in a sense. You no more have the Mind Touch than Holly is a Parselmouth, yet she spoke to her pet snake, did she not?"

Harry's mouth fell open as he processed that new piece of information. "Through the bond."

"Yes, Harry."

Nuzzling against his pillow, Harry nodded, more to himself than to Dumbledore. Now that the room was silent, he became much more vividly aware of the soft voice speaking in the back of his mind, laced with a distinct tone of platonic affection.

/You're pretty sharp, you know./ Holly's eyes came open, and she smiled softly.

Without pausing to consider how foreign the whole experience was to him, Harry replied silently, /Not really. You were the one who figured it out./

/Actually, Seymore did. Outwitted by a snake. Go figure./

/Are you okay?/

Holly rolled her eyes. /I'm fine. Don't worry about me./

/Ha. Not likely./ Harry snorted.

/You're as stubborn as a mule, aren't you?/ she smirked.

/I can already tell that you're no better./ Harry laughed quietly at her.

/You know, they're looking at us like we have two heads. Each./

Harry glanced up at the adults standing around the room, all looking somewhat dumbfounded, except for Dumbledore, who was smiling in satisfaction.

"I . . . er . . ." Harry stammered.

"No, Harry," Dumbledore raised a hand, silencing him. "It's quite alright."

Harry nodded, then, barely realizing the question wasn't his, asked, "Can she have her glasses, please?"

"Certainly, she may," Dumbledore said softly, then nodded to Remus.

Remus reached across and settled the glasses on her face, but Holly only briefly peered through them at Harry before again closing her eyes. /I'm tired./

Harry nodded. He wasn't feeling particularly energetic himself, but perhaps he might be able to catch the end of Herbology if he could convince Madam Pomfrey he was well enough to attend. He couldn't start the year behind everyone else on the first day. "Professor, did Herbology class already start? I'm sure missing that once won't be too terrible, but I really can't miss Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon and . . ."

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey hollered from her working area. "Don't you even think about going anywhere until tomorrow! Believe me, I'll be just as happy to see you out of here as you will be to leave, but NOT until you've fully recovered!"

"Besides, Harry," Dumbledore said, "Herbology is over, as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts. In fact, it is nearly supper time."

Harry felt his stomach lurch. He'd been unconscious for that long? Did his friends know where he was? "Ron! Hermione! They'll be worried sick!"

He tried again to sit up, but Sirius held him down softly. "Harry, they know you're ok."

"Did they come up here? What did you tell them?"

Dumbledore answered. "Professor McGonagall informed them that you had taken ill after an episode with your scar, that you needed rest, and we would tell them when you were well enough for visitors."

Harry wasn't sure what to argue with first. "I AM well enough for visitors! And you lied to my two best friends! Why did you do that?"

Next to him, Sirius sighed deeply. "Harry, you didn't see yourself last night. I did. You were barely breathing. At first, I couldn't find a heartbeat. You've been pale as a ghost all night, and you've been unconscious for nearly sixteen hours. You have no real idea of how much of a jolt you took last night. I know you think you're fine, but for me, please, get some rest."

Harry wanted to argue, but something in Sirius's voice stopped him. "Then why lie to my friends?"

Sirius glanced upwards, and once again, Dumbledore supplied the response. "I know you trust your friends, Harry . . ."

"Without a doubt," Harry said crossly.

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded. "However, at the moment, I fear that not even Hogwarts is safe. Telling Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger would be perfectly acceptable, if I could be completely certain that such information would stop with them. However, there are always risks when one releases information."

"Ron and Hermione would never tell my secrets!" Harry protested.

"Not willingly, Harry. However, there are other ways of extracting information from people, and in these desperate times, there may even be people within these walls who would resort to such tactics. I will be able to explain more tomorrow, but please understand that the truth about both you and Holly is valuable and dangerous information. To expose that information to the wrong people could put both of you, and many others, in danger." He peered over his half-moon spectacles. "You do understand that, Harry?"

Harry closed his eyes. "I understand it. I can even accept it. That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"For now, that is all I ask. Well, that, and one other thing. Get some sleep. You need it."

"Yes, professor," he said absently.

"Good. Sirius, perhaps you should best leave your godson to rest and come get a spot of supper."

Harry could feel Sirius shift beside him. "Yes, Professor, er, Dumbledore." His hand once again clasped Harry's arm. "I'll come back as soon as I can, Harry. Get some rest, please."

Harry nodded, his eyes still closed. The hand on his arm squeezed once, and he heard footsteps retreating from the room.

/I don't feel much like sleeping./ said the voice in the back of his mind.

Harry opened one eye and grinned at the pair of dark eyes peeking back at him. /Neither do I./

/I can't quite believe this./ Holly told him.

/I know. I mean, you're here. You're real, not just some figment of my overactive imagination./

/Who knows? I might be./ She winked.

/Please. I spent the last month figuring I was just crazy. Don't make it any worse./ He blew out through pursed lips.

/Oh, there's nothing wrong with a little insanity. I make it a point to put just a little craziness in everything I do. It keeps people guessing./ She laughed.

Harry found himself laughing despite himself. /Oh my./

"You two had best be getting some rest in there!" Madam Pomfrey called out to them. "Harry, don't make me bring in that sedative. Merlin help me, I will."

"Yes Madam Pomfrey," they both answered her.

Holly leaned back and closed her eyes. /I think I can at least pretend to sleep here. Last thing I want is to have her come back in here with that bloody sedative. I hate needles./

Harry peered over at her in mild amusement. /Really now? Well, just don't look at your arm, then./

/What?/ Her eyes snapped open, then squeezed shut almost as quickly. /Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick./

Harry sent her as comforting of a thought as he could, then settled against his own pillow and closed his eyes. As strange as the day had been, there was now one thing that had come of it, and nobody could take it away from him. Sirius was back, Holly was here. For the first time in his life, Harry had a family.

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A/N: Welcome back everyone! To everyone who has now read Order of the Phoenix, you all know why this story has now become somewhat awkward. It had been my intent to write a story that would be completely different from anything JKR would write, yet would be fully believable based on the first four books. Well, looks like I read minds or something, because there are some startling similarities between TPL and OotP which I had never expected. The similarities only become more apparent in later chapters. I've had this story outlined for months, and I do not wish to change the premises that I used to create this story. I had considered stopping, but I've had too many demands that I not quit on this story, and too many faithful readers. So, looks like I'm going to continue!

Also, this last chapter here was written before the release of OotP, and had been posted on HP.com, but I decided not to post it here until after the book release. So, what you're reading here was written before I had read the real book. Everything that comes after this is written post-OotP, and I will be trying very hard not to mix things up. Go back through and see what's the same.

Also, if you have only been reading the updates, you should probably also know that a lot of earlier chapters were revised over the past two months, as I had gotten a temporary beta-reader and touched up a few things. Some stuff in the prologue, particularly, had been improved. So, thank you to everyone who is still reading this, and the next piece will come soon!