A/N – well this is sooner than I'd planned but here it is anyway, hope you enjoy it. I have to stop now, my Mum is on at me to get off the computer and revise! And she's right, anyways on to the story… (Sorry it's quite short.)
As
the students filed out of the Great Hall and headed back towards their Common
Rooms the teachers assembled to discuss what to do, Professor McGonagall
offered to bring Harry's friends up to speed, and Professor Snape shocked
everyone by offering to help Madame Pomfrey.
Hagrid
was still in shock, he had locked himself in his hut again and Professor Inigma
had agreed to go and try to talk him out. The rest of the professors were to try and re-enforce the castle's
protections, led by Arabella Figg, and to try and find out how Voldemort could
possibly have managed to take down the anti-apparition wards and get inside.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Ron
had woken up that morning feeling fine, he'd noticed the open window and the
icy air and thrown on his cloak before going over to see if Harry was awake,
finding Harry's bed empty he'd headed downstairs, when Hermione had asked where
Harry was he'd started to feel concerned, Harry didn't usually go to breakfast
without them, they'd hurried to the Great Hall and found his place empty, that
was when they'd bumped into Professor Snape who was dragging a traumatised
looking Neville into the Hall closely followed by the rest of the teachers.
The
bombshell had been dropped, Ron had tried to make sense of it in his head but
found his thoughts jumbled and confused, he looked over to Hermione, she was
staring at her tightly clasped hands a vacant expression on her face. Ron could hear Ginny beside him weeping
uncontrollably and he was finding it hard to breathe. The most frightening reaction was Neville's he was completely
detached, no-one could make him speak.
When
they finally got to the Gryffindor Tower they didn't have a chance to think or
speak before Professor McGonagall called over Ron, Hermione and Neville and
started leading them towards the Hospital Wing.
"As
I said earlier, You-Know-Who attacked last night, he's taken a hostage…"
Here
McGonagall glanced at Hermione whose face showed the dawning realisation,
"Sirius!"
McGonagall
nodded,
"Yes,
we don't know what happened to Professor Dumbledore and Harry but we haven't
been able to wake them, they're both alive, but… well, you'll see, and we don't
know where You-Know-Who has taken Sirius. At the moment the best we can do is hope, but I thought you'd like to
see Harry."
They
had reached the door to the Hospital Wing and tears were streaming down every
face, just as McGonagall reached for the knob the door opened and Snape
appeared looking exhausted but frantic.
"Minerva! It's Harry! We think he's waking up!"
They
all rushed in and saw that Snape was right, Harry was moving about as if he
were having a bad dream. Neville, Ron
and Hermione ran over to Harry's side whilst McGonagall and Snape watched on as
a new veil of hope rested on the room.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Harry
felt the darkness lift slightly once more, he fearfully tried to stop it, he
didn't want the terrible pain to return, he was shocked then to hear a soft
voice urging him to listen.
"Harry
dear, can you hear me?"
He
recognised the voice immediately and it gave him fresh strength.
"Mom?"
"Harry,
you mustn't be afraid. Remember the
centaur's warning, the choice you have to make will be very important."
Harry
strained to hear as his mother's voice faded away.
"Your
father and I will be watching…"
There
was a long silence, but then a new voice reached Harry which made him shake
with fear.
"Not
long now Potter. You must make your
choice by the full moon. You'll know
what to do when the time comes."
And
then the terrible laughter that Harry hated so much rang in his ears until he
finally broke free and woke up…
He
was awake!
Realising
this, Harry sat up quickly and looked around. He was in the Hospital Wing surrounded by several tear stained faces,
one of the faces caught his attention in particular, it was Snape, and he'd
been crying! Harry focused disbelieving
on the tired face of the potions master who had always seemed so heartless and
cold.
The
silence didn't last long but when the voices of his friends started to fill the
room Harry was not paying attention, he was instead staring at the bed across
the room where Dumbledore was laying, completely still, as if dead.
Harry
knew at once that he'd do anything to save them, he couldn't fail them, he was
the only one who could save Sirius and Dumbledore and no-one wanted to more
than him.
Meanwhile
Madame Pomfrey had managed to convince Hermione, Ron and Neville to wait
outside with Professor McGonagall.
Harry
turned to her and broke his silence.
"Thankyou." He said simply.
"Harry,
when I examined you I couldn't find anything wrong, can you tell me what
happened?"
Harry's
eyes flicked to Dumbledore and Snape before he looked at Madame Pomfrey and
said.
"My
scar woke me up, on my way to Professor Dumbledore's Office it got worse and I
must have blacked out, that's all I remember." He said without a trace of emotion.
Harry's
mind was buzzing and he felt dizzy, he slowly let himself sink back down onto
the bed.
"Harry,
do you know what happened last night?" Asked Snape.
Harry's
eyes snapped open on hearing Snape use his first name.
"Voldemort
came. He's taken Sirius prisoner and
put Professor Dumbledore under the soul catcher curse, he was not alone. Peter
Pettigrew was with him."
Harry
said in the same expressionless voice whilst glancing at Snape suspiciously.
Madame
Pomfrey gasped,
"The
soul catcher curse! That's ancient dark
magic, very powerful. Only a very
strong dark wizard can perform it and only that wizard can brake it."
Harry
nodded and sent one last evaluating glance over Snape before letting himself
fall to sleep.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Hermione
hadn't seen that distant pained look on Harry's face since the night after the
third test, she knew that Harry had been through something terrible. She had pulled Ron and Neville out of the
room, she agreed with Madame Pomfrey that Harry probably needed some
space. While she waited she thought for
a while about the expression she'd seen on Professor Snape's face. It was strange but she got the feeling that
he was genuinely concerned for Harry.
She
looked over at Ron and Neville, they both still looked shell shocked. Neville caught her eyes and returned her
gaze,
"Hermione, he's going to be okay isn't he?" He asked, his voice shaking.
"I… I never should have left him… He frightened me! Can you imagine! I was scared of Harry! And I left him there, alone!"
Hermione frowned confused,
"What are you talking about Neville?" She asked softly.
"I followed him last night, he noticed me and pointed his
wand at me, you didn't see the look in his eyes, it was… frightening! He sent me to get a teacher, once I'd gotten
Professor Snape and McGonagall I was sent back to bed… I left him!" Neville whimpered.
"I'll never let it happen again!"
Hermione looked at Professor McGonagall who nodded sadly,
"Neville, you did what he wanted, he's always done things
his way. You aren't to blame." Said Hermione gently.
Ron agreed,
"Yeah, don't worry Neville, at least you've actually been
spending time with him recently, I feel awful, I think I've been neglecting him
too much recently."
The three of them looked at each other glumly and each
silently pledged not to let Harry down again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well, I hope that you liked it. I probably wont get the next bit up for a while, but I realise that whenever I've said that it's been really quick, I doubt that will happen this time but hey, you never know. I'm waffling again! I apologise! Now my Parents are gonna strangle me if I don't 'get off the damned computer.' So I'd better get going! My sister tells me that I'm mean to stop here, if you guys agree then I'm sorry! I'll do my best to get more done soon!
Remember to Review!!!! It brings purpose to my life knowing what you think!!!!!!
Luv,
Jona
xxx