A Helping Hand by Moon-Ying
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Um…This is such a cool scene…I loved writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it! Sorry it took so long to upload. ^^'
Chapter 4
Your nightmare
When Harry finally awoke, exhaustion still made his bones as weak as syrup. His mind was slowly drifting awake but for an oblivious second he just laid there, wherever he was. Questioning reality he asked himself where he was. But he vowed to himself if he were still at the Dursely's he would leave as quietly as possible. Times were getting rough and men were called to perform difficult tasks, but Harry told himself that he would stay with Hagrid or his godfather. Anywhere seemed perfectly safe compared to life on Privet drive.
He remained where he was, his breath shallow, soaring somewhere between, sleep and dream. Where was he? How did you get here? What happened last night? Slowly the events of last night slowly unfolded in his mind like morning mist in a valley. Gradually the mist cleared and Harry was left with pale fragments of memory.
He remembered what his magic had done to the living room and he remembered himself getting his wand at night to heal a wound at his temple. He's uncle had caught him and Harry suddenly remembered his fury as clear as day. It was enough to send chills throughout his body. Then he recalled Snape appearing out of the blue in his doorway as though he had been summoned. He remembered the horrible graveyard where dementers roamed in packs like wolves, devouring the flesh of dead corpses. He remembered the stench in the air and the sound of the wind, screaming like the souls of the damned. He remembered his parents' graves, The Door to Worlds, the sphinx, and finally Snape's castle-like home.
The parts in between where still foggy if not entirely there. Harry frowned. His mind was still too sleepy. What time was it?
When Harry finally opened his eyes, he was surprised to find the room completely dark. The sky shining through the windows was completely black, like marble carved from ebony. The moon was gone and not a silent star shined in the heavens. A cold chill ran through his body. If he could describe what the sky looked like Harry would have picked 'Ominous'.
Icy dread quickly spilled throughout Harry's nerves, poisoning his veins and muscles. Before long it felt as though he had eaten a Bubotuber. He dwelt in the unpleasant fear before forcibly pulling himself it. He sat up with a groan and tiredly ran his hands through his hair and then rubbed his eyes. He felt like he had been asleep for years. Every inch in his body was sore and stiff.
Harry opened his eyes slowly and turned his head to the left and then to the right. He squinted through the darkness; his eyes dry and sore like the rest of him. On his right side, by the head of his bed, he could make out a table table. On the table laid his glasses, wand, a cup of water, and a cup of green liquid. The liquid had an unpleasant malodor and looked as thick as honey Harry quickly decided that he wouldn't have to take it, a look of disgust written on his face. It looked like it was moving, whatever it was.
Harry licked his parched lips and reached for the water. He drank it gratefully, the cool glass feeling like heaven against his warm fingers. He drained the water quickly and sat the back where it belonged. When he had straightened up, he felt even more tired than before. Almost woozy like he had been drinking, or drugged but something.
Before he knew it, his mind suddenly cleared and his heart beat slowly stopped pounding so wildly. His eyes drooped and his head fell to his chest before completely falling back into the pillows in a dead sleep.
"Harry..."
"Hmm..."
"Harry...Potter...." The voice was so far away.
"Wha..."
"Wake up..."
"No...tired..."
"Harry…wake up!" the voice demanded, louder this time.
Harry rolled over on the bed and pulled the blanket over his head, shivering at how the room was suddenly so cold. It felt like the Arctic in here. Harry heard himself shiver as beads of sweat wetted his brow. He curled up in a ball for warmth but it didn't help much. Warmth quickly fled from his body and he too felt like the Arctic.
"Harry, you can't run anymore...No...my precious Harry....you can't..."
"Go away..." Harry muttered through clinched teeth. he shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around his form. When a cold hand touched the top of his head, Harry stopped shaking and he was still. The hand was long and body, easily covering the top of his head. It was very cold too, like ice.
No, God, it can't be...Harry's mind slowly pleaded, suddenly alert. He painfully bit his lip and began to shudder again. But this time it was from fear. He knew those hands from anywhere.
"I wouldn't go away, until I feel your bones crush under my fingertips..."
…No....
"Until I drink you blood…until a rip your heart out…." The fingers slowly began to squeeze Harry's skull. He gave a weak whimper.
"Wake up. I want you to see the greatest wizard of all times right before you die...just like your parents..."
"...No...."
"What?!" the voice was suddenly high-pitched and shaking with anger.
"No!"
A terrible piercing wail suddenly filled the room. It was so loud that Harry wanted to cover his ears and hide. It sounded like something was dying, or bloody pissed off. Suddenly the covers where thrown back from his form and he was thrown from his bed with such a force he collided into a wall in midair and dropped heavy to the floor. He was awake now but the attack had numbed him for a moment.
Harry was lying face down on the cold floor, his warm breath turning white has it hit the floor. Slowly he opened his eyes, his brow moist with sweat and knotted in pain, and saw a great black figure. The thing was hovering over the bed like a ghost, its flowing robes twisting and turning like fog.
Harry shook his head, tears springing into his eyes. "No," he softly cried. "You can't be here."
Voldemort slowly drew back his hood to reveal his smiling face. It looked almost human, except for his eyes. They were a vivid red the color of blood. Harry's heart dropped into his stomach.
"I *am* here, Potter. I am not a dream, but flesh and blood!" he hissed. "Thanks to my faithful servants I have returned…Thanks to your own blood, Harry, I have come back. I am fully returned to my original state, and finally ready to kill you like I should have 14 bloody years ago."
Harry shook his head. He couldn't speak. His tears fell down his face and dropped to the wooden floor, forming a small puddle. His body was on fire with pain and horror. If he could stand up at all, he would have gotten his wand to show the Dark Lord something painful, a moment of terrible pain and then death. But his pain and fear was his own body-bind. He couldn't move.
Voldemort's laugh filled the air, his eyes glowing as he looked over his motionless victim. "You won't believe how easy it was to find you once again. But you maybe asking yourself how I found you, as there was no portkey involved to bewitch…It was a very good friend of mine, of course. But who would ever betray you, my famous boy? Everyone is in love you with! Everyone, that it, who has a wish of death. Pity that. The ones who hate you, whose every motivation is to kill you, have made the correct choice in following me." Voldemort nodded deeply. "Yes, everyone one who wishes to protect you will die and I will make sure that every last on of them will meet a painful death."
"I don't believe you!" Harry weakly cried. "You're a lair!"
Voldemort shook his head. "You don't think anyone would rat you out, you stupid boy? Who would believe at Severus Snape was still on my side all these years. The almighty Dumbledore didn't even know! Old age has riddled his mind, boy! He doesn't know who is on whose side anymore. I'm afraid his stupidity and blind trust will lead to his downfall. Yes, it was Snape that betrayed you! After you had fallen asleep, he drugged you, then came directly to me. How does betrayal feel, hmm? Does it rip at your soul; does it leave you numb as a bleeding hold in your heart grows like a devouring cancer? You feel the same betrayal as your parents. And it's high time too!"
It felt as Harry had been thrown into a freezing lake. He gasped, eyes widening.
"LAIR!" He bellowed as loudly as he could. "YOU BLOODY LAIR! He wouldn't do that! I won't believe you! NEVER!"
The Dark Lord hissed, bearing his pointed teeth. "Those are brave words for a person about to die!" he snarled like a demon. "Ever since I have been reborn, that tattoo on his arm has been poisoning his mind and soul just like it intended too! During the times when I was half-dead the spell around that glorious emblem burnt into my followers' arms did very little. Now that I am completely alive again, the spell is working its intended corruption and beauty. THAT'S HOW THEY ALL RETURN TO ME," Voldemort screamed out, bellowing loud enough to shake the floor and the windows.
Voldemort's blaring chuckle suddenly filled the room. Grinding his teeth against the shrill sound, Harry watched while the Dark Lord raised his wand. It was so lustrous like it gleamed in the night like silver. Voldemort pointed the end at Harry, but he suddenly paused.
"No...No. I have something much worse to do." With that, Voldemort pulled his wand in his robes and summoned Harry's. It flew to him immediately. "I wonder how it would feel to die at the hands of your own wand...such irony...but I shall enjoy it for more than you ever will, Potter."
Harry bit his lower lip, glaring at Voldemort, letting his own hatred and fury fill his veins like blood. Inside, he felt totally numb as his heart began to pound unbearably painful in his ears. He felt cold and hot at the same time, his blood fueling his body with warmth but the coldness of the Dark Lord was sipping into his bones like water.
"What?" Voldemort's sarcastically care-worn voice spoke up. "No lost words? No plea for mercy? No fight for your own life? Are you going to die cowering like that? How pathetic...Your parents would be so ashamed of you! Stand up and facing your death just like your parents did!"
Harry didn't move. But he did want to spit right in Death's damn face.
"Stand up!" Voldemort screamed, clearly scowling as Harry continued to lie on the floor like a piece of stone. "I never liked killing a person who cowered. It's simply no fun at all! Imperio!"
Harry closed his eyes as he slowly felt himself being lifted from the floor.
...No....
He felt himself stand up, hovering inches above the floor.
..No, please...
He hands where at his side, completely still, and his head was held up by invisible hand.
…Oh God…Stop it...
He eyes were wide open suddenly, and he saw the grinning face of Voldemort.
...I won't...give in...I…I…don't want to die….
"..No!..." Harry screamed. or at least tried to do his best through clench teeth. "No!"
Voldemort's cold laughter filled the room. Harry watched him raise his wand, pointing at harry. "It's to late, boy! I have won and you will finally die just like your parents! Good-bye, Harry Potter."
"NO!!!"
"Avada Kedavra!!!"
"Ah!!" His scream tore throughout his body like white-hot pain. "Ah!"
"HARRY!"
"AH!!!"
A firm pair of hands suddenly began to shake him, pulling his mind from the pain and back to reality. "Harry! Wake up! Harry!"
Harry woke up with a start and a sharp gasp. His eyes flew open as he shot up into a sitting position, as ridged as stone. For a moment everything was hazy, then it was painfully clear. Even without his glasses, he saw the room, the bed, and the face of Professor Snape hovering above him. There was a strange look of alarm lining his face and his skin seemed even whiter than before. Snape had him about the shoulders and Harry's hands were clinging to the professor's arms that looked almost painful.
Harry swallowed hard and parted his lips, cold shock surging through his body. "Voldemort..." he whispered softly, hot tears blurring his vision. "I...I saw him..."
Snape regarded him for a silent moment, his hands still had a biting grip. Harry stared back at him, slowly shaking his head before looking down, trembling, as his tears began to fall.
"It was horrible..." he told Snape, slowly shaking his dark head. Even to himself, it sounded like he going mad. "He killed me...I saw him do it and with my own wand!"
Harry pulled his cold hands up and covered his face entirely. Dry sobs soon escaped his lips to rack his body and fill the air with the sad sound. He felt Snape's hands squeeze his shoulders before slowly pulling him closer. Soundlessly, Snape wrapped his arms around Harry, not minding a tormented boy in his arms.
"Voldemort has terrible powers," Snape told him, his voice hard. "I can't tell you what you saw was a dream or a vision he forced into your mind…But I can tell you that he is longer here." He paused then slowly told Harry, "It's safe here. He won't dare come here in person, Harry. He has too much to risk."
Harry softly cried for another moment, lost in the terrors of his unimaginably vivid dream. He could remember everything. Snape didn't say anything for a while. Harry closed his eyes, forcing his dream away from his mind.
"It felt so real," he murmured. "I never thought it was just a dream."
"I have nothing to fault you with, Harry," Snape murmured after a moment. "Times are terrible once again. But it is my duty to protect you now. Everyone will who is on our side. You're in safe hands."
"He told me that you were the one who betrayed me," Harry whispered. He didn't know if he should have told him that. "I didn't believe it but...it was so..."
"Ridiculous," Snape filled in and then he sighed. "Dumbledore has never questioned my confidence and neither should you. To tell you the truth I fear him far more than I will ever fear Voldemort. You're safe here," Snape told him once more.
Harry believed him. He pulled back to look at Snape square in the eye and said, "I'm sorry that I'm so much trouble."
Snape shook his dark head. "I don't mind it at all," he told Harry. even though his eyes were as hard as black marble. "But you look even worse than before. Once you get some more sleep, we will talk more." He released Harry and slowly stood up. "I'll make you some sleeping potion. I'll be back."
Harry watched him leave. He sighed heavily as the door closed and carefully lay back done on the bed, pulling the warm covers over him again. He pulled the cover up to his chin and allowed his eyes to roam the room as if looking for Voldemort to show himself in reality. The he sighed. Voldemort wasn't there, wasn't even close. Silence soon returned and Harry counted in his head so that he wouldn't fall asleep until Snape reappeared again with the potion.
The door opened again after a wait and Snape walked in carried a cup. He moved to the bed and handed the cup to Harry. "It's foul but it's best to drink it at once."
Harry nodded, wrinkling his nose as the bitter smell floated up to him from the cup. He glanced that the green liquid before counting to three and drinking it all in two large gulps.
"Gaw," Harry exclaimed, wiping his mouth with his hand. "That *is* foul." He quickly handed the empty cup back to Snape. He almost dropped it. He quickly felt very sleepy, and his head felt light. His eyes closed and he swayed a bit. But a pair of hands slowly laid him down on the bed and placed the covers over him. After another moment, Harry was a sleep.
~*~*~*~
Snape sighed as he looked down at Harry. The poor boy was already fast asleep. Quietly, he placed the empty cup on the table with Harry's glasses and wand. Then he quietly turned away and walked to the hearth by the foot of the bed. He sat down in the aged armchair, his black eyes watching the younger wizard sleep, just in case Voldemort appeared once more in his dreams.
Author's Note…. I didn't really like the ending but it's the best I could come up with. Sorry. **cries** I dunno it sounded dumb to me…. What do you think? Well there is more to come! ^_^ Ready for some angst? **evil smile**