A/N: Finally! Here's one of the chapters that I envisioned when I first thought of this story. Basically, everything that happened to this point I wrote simply to get to this very chapter (well, the part in Hogsmeade, at least). I hope you enjoy!
25. Attack on Hogsmeade
Harry lay on the ground, the roar of the crowd washing over him. He felt like one great bruise, and his vast experience of falling off brooms told him that he had broken at least one rib, but that was the extent of any major injuries. The dive had been thrilling, but he had misjudged his broom. He had only remembered at the last second, the Snitch in hand, that he wasn't on his old Firebolt. He reacted instinctively, pulling up hard, harder than he would have on his old broom. But he underestimated the Comet 260, and it responded too well; instead of leveling out, he pointed it upward, and the tail scraped the ground, flinging him from the broom. It was a painful landing, but he's had worse, and the important thing was that the Snitch was caught and the Slytherins had lost again. Madam Pomfrey's face appeared in his field of vision. She heard him tut over him and murmur something that sounded like, "just like Harry Potter." He felt a warm blast of air hit his face, and he was sure that Madam Pomfrey cast a spell. Harry began to feel sleepy and his vision started to fade. The last thing he saw was Hermione's worried face above his own.
Harry sat in the hospital wing, surrounded by his Quidditch teammates, eating Chocolate Frogs. It was just like old times, and Harry was pleased. Hermione even gave him her standard speech ("that was foolish! You could have been killed!"), and he smiled warmly at her…no victory would be complete without it. Finally, Madam Pomfrey shooed everyone out so Harry could rest.
"Hurry up and get better soon!" Ginny said with a smile.
"Yeah, we'll save you some butterbeers at the party later," said Jack Sloper.
Harry waved as the team left, and he reflected on the past three months. To be honest, they were probably the best three months he'd ever had at Hogwarts. True, there were some bad things. He had more homework then ever, trying to catch up in Potions as well as studying for NEWTs. It was also tough at first with Hermione ignoring him. But all the bad points were more than made up for by the fact that he wasn't being stared at, whispered about, or noticed in any way; he was able to walk the halls in peace. And best of all, he had his best friends back now, even if he couldn't truly be himself with them. He knew some of anonymity would disappear after the Quidditch victory, and he'd probably have Malfoy harassing him again, but it was worth it to play again. Harry turned over to get some rest and allow his ribs to heal. As he fell asleep, he noticed with a smile that he wasn't in his usual bed; this bed was much nicer.
******************************
Winter break came and went without any drama. Harry was supremely worried that Voldemort had restored the Orb of Tomsduval and would attack at any moment, but Dumbledore received intelligence that the wizard in charge of the restoration was killed, indicating that a severe setback had occurred. Dumbledore figured that they had at least another six months before Voldemort could attempt another attack, and in the meantime the Order focused on slowing down his terror attacks.
Harry submitted his name to Professor McGonnagal to stay, as he had done every year before. He was the only seventh-year student to stay, as the rest had gone home to spend their last Winter break with their families. He got a lot of sympathetic looks from his friends, but Harry was more than happy to stay. He briefly considered taking a trip to Harrogate, but it seemed too much trouble to sneak out of the castle. His holiday break was spent studying in the library and daily lessons with Dumbledore. His progress in dueling was remarkable – it truly proved that you couldn't master dueling from a book. Harry was able to conjure a very nice shield that could withstand several of all but the most powerful spells Dumbledore could produce. Harry even mastered the Serpensortia spell; he felt a little uneasy about it, since it seemed clearly a sinister spell. But he figured that if Voldemort gave him the power to speak to snakes, he might as well take advantage of it.
One thing that he could no longer do, however, was peek into Voldemort's mind. After the events of his sixth year, Dumbledore cast several protective wards that prevented mind contact at Hogwarts. Although that meant that Harry was protected, it also meant he couldn't reach out to Voldemort. Harry did not like losing this bit of intelligence, but he was forced to be satisfied by Order reports.
Christmas morning arrived, and Harry was surprised to find a number of presents waiting at the foot of his bed. Being the new kid, Harry wasn't expecting anything, and he was thrilled. He opened his gifts from Ron (a Quidditch book on Seekers, one Ron had already given him, Harry thought with a smile) and Hermione (a homework planner like the one he got in fifth year, though Harry knew he had more use for it this year) with glee. After opening his gifts, Harry reached into his trunk and retrieved the parchment on which Dumbledore's spell was written. Not for the first time, he stared at it; each day it seemed to be harder and harder to maintain his façade; each day he wanted to tell Ron and Hermione his true identity. But Harry knew that the longer he kept his secret from them, the harder it would be to tell them, feeling that they would be hurt that he kept his secret for so long. Finally he put the parchment away, the words long since memorized, and he went downstairs for Christmas breakfast.
******************************
January arrived with the Ravenclaw-Slytherin match, which Slytherin won handily. Ravenclaw was 0-2 and their chances of repeating as champion were slim indeed. Ron was ecstatic, and was preparing almost maniacally for their match with Hufflepuff in February. In late January, the event Harry was looking forward to arrived, his "first" Hogsmeade weekend. There had been one before, during the Fall term, but Harry was too inundated with Potions at the time to be able to go. It had been over a year and half since he had last visited Hogsmeade, remembering with a heavy feeling in his stomach the reason why he missed last year's trip.
Harry had another reason to be pleased: he was going with Ron and Hermione, just like old times. Hermione originally wasn't going to go, citing homework and NEWTs. But when she realized that Harry, as Sean, had never been to Hogsmeade before, she took it upon herself to show him around. She easily enlisted the aid of Ron, and it was quickly decided the three of them would spend the day together. They left Hogwarts together, Hermione in the middle linking arms with the two boys, and Harry didn't think he could ever be happier.
The Hogsmeade visit started out as all the others had; stops at the bookstore, Zonko's, the Quidditch store, and Honeydukes. They ran into their fellow students several times, but overall, the three of them kept to themselves. Finally, with bags laden down with sweets and other packages, they entered the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer. They found a table with Dean, Seamus, and Lavender.
"So Sean," Lavender said with a smile, "how are you enjoying Hogsmeade so far?"
"Oh, it wonderful! I didn't even know there were all wizarding towns like this!" Sean gushed. He privately felt that he was becoming quite skilled as an actor.
"Yeah, he was blown away by all the sweets at Honeydukes," Ron chimed in.
"Although he and Ron spent way to much time at the Quidditch shop," Hermione pouted. Lavender gave her a sympathetic look while the boys laughed. All of a sudden, a piercing scream was heard outside. The Gryffindors looked at each other a moment before rushing outside. What they saw filled them with dread.
It was as if a blanket of darkness had covered the town. Harry felt a cold numbness, and he felt despair fill him. He immediately recognized what was happening, as it seemed to happen to Harry all too often. He looked around wildly for the source, as Lavender started to shake uncontrollably. He finally spotted them coming down the main road; eight Dementers glided towards them, a hooded figure walking ahead of them.
Suddenly, the figure spotted them, and pointed at Harry. "There they are," the figure screamed. "Get them!" The voice only added to Harry's feeling of misery. He would know that voice anywhere, the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange. That woman had more lives then a cat! Harry knew that she couldn't have recognized him, and he looked behind him to see whom she was pointing at. Behind him stood only Ron and Hermione, and he remembered the Daily Prophet article; Lestrange was seeking revenge on his two best friends. He saw that the effects of the Dementers paralyzed them, and he grabbed each of their hands and pulled them away from the oncoming Dementers. Harry led them away from the populated area of Hogsmeade, hoping to spare innocents from the Dementers.
They ran and ran, hoping to escape their pursuers. Harry led them down street after street, but it had been too long since Harry had last been to Hogsmeade, and Ron and Hermione were in no condition to direct him. Harry turned a corner, only to find that he had led the three of them into a dead end. Crying out in frustration, Harry quickly turned them around and headed back to the main street, only to find all eight Dementers slowly turning into the alley. Harry turned back and propelled his friends further down the alley, searching desperately for a door or ladder or anything to escape.
Their backs to the wall, Harry turned to his friends. Ron had a glazed look in his eyes, and Hermione was in tears. He shook them each hard by the shoulders, "Ron! Hermione!" he screamed in their faces. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the Dementers making their slow approach. "Snap out of it! You need to cast a Patronus!" But neither would respond. Ron would only stand there, mumbling something about flying brains under his breath. Hermione sank to her knees, tears spilling out of her eyes. Harry could hear her moaning, "don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"
Harry knew he had no choice. He didn't want to, but the Dementers were almost upon them, and his friends were incapacitated. He turned and drew his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" he cried, but was shocked to see only a small wisp of silver escape his wand. He suddenly felt the despair crash down around him. Images of the last moments of Sirius and Hagrid flashed through his brain. He shook his head; if he didn't do anything, Ron and Hermione were going to die. They were counting on him. He focused on the past three months, remembering the happy feelings, playing Quidditch, the snow fight in the classroom. He raised his wand again.
"Expecto Patronum!" he yelled, and this time a cloud of silver sprang from his wand, quickly taking the shape of a stag. The Dementers paused a moment, and Harry screamed at his Patronus, "Over there! Get them!" The stag obeyed, and it sprang forward, dashing at the Dementers and crashing them aside like bowling pins. It turned and began impaling Dementers on its horns, sending them retreating into the darkness they created. Harry pointed and shouted at his stag, directing him after each and every Dementer. Finally, the three friends were alone, and Harry walked up to his Patronus. He rubbed its head gently, and the stag seemed to nuzzle his hand. "It's good to see you again, Prongs. I missed you," Harry said with a wistful smile, and then the stag disappeared. Sighing in relief, Harry turned around to check on his friends. He saw that Ron had passed out, but Hermione looked back at him with wide-eyes, her eyes sparkling from tears. "Harry?" she asked in a quiet voice, before falling unconscious.