Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters.
A/N: Well, hello again. I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting this chapter. So, I decided I would write it today before my roomies wake up. Oh, and guess what? I found the disk that was stolen from me, remember, the one with all of my stories saved to it. It 'magically' appeared on top of the television the other day. Hmmm….Anyways, I'll stop babbling on now and start the story for you guys.
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Silence seemed to permeate the room. No one moved, no one spoke. If someone had conveniently decided to drop a needle, the noise it created would have sounded like an explosion to those in the room. Everyone was looking at Indra as if she had lost her mind. Although, some were looking at her with a strange look upon their faces, could it be true, or maybe she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.
Dumbledore was the first to regain his senses and approached Indra cautiously. She had an odd look in her eyes, like she was still being engulfed by whatever had thrown her against the wall. "Indra, can you hear me?" he asked, still remaining a safe distance from her.
She shook her head, seeming to break from the trance she was in, and looked up at Dumbledore. She then turned and saw that all the others were looking at her very strangely, but with a hope in their eyes.
"We don't have time, he's running out of air!" she said, breaking past Dumbledore and running towards the doors.
"Indra! What's happening?" he had a feeling he knew exactly what was happening, but just to make sure, he thought he'd ask all the same.
Indra stopped in her tracks, turned around, and with a look that said I'm only going to say this once and then you'd better move your ass, she spoke. "Harry Potter is alive, but barely. He's running out of oxygen. Now move!" That was enough to get everyone's attention and the sound of a running stampede of elephants followed her out of the castle.
"I can't get onto the burial grounds Dumbledore!" she yelled behind her as she continued running, "As soon as you hit it, get that coffin out of the ground. There's no time left!" she stopped abruptly before she hit the wards surrounding the grave yard. "Go!" she screamed, when the others stopped behind her, even though Dumbledore plowed right through them.
They did as she ordered and entered the burial grounds. When they reached Harry's grave, Dumbledore was saying some kind of incantation in another tongue, something none present had ever heard of, and the ground began to shake beneath them.
Everyone was in such a state of shock that they didn't know what to say. But they all were thinking the same thing. If the woman was telling the truth, and we buried Harry alive, how will he react? Will he get the chance to react? What have we done?
Sirius was in a state of turmoil. He couldn't believe that his godson had been buried alive. As he stood there, anxiously waiting, the ground began to take a turn for the worse and was splitting down towards them. They all jumped backwards as the coffin flew up through the ground and landed carefully beside them. Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore all reached the coffin at the same time and when they each muttered 'alohamora' the lid came crashing open, almost tearing it from its hinges.
"Oh my god!" moaned Sirius. He reached in and pulled Harry out of the casket. He cradled Harry in his arms, rocking him back and forth. "He's so pale." muttered Sirius. He was unconscious, but they could see his chest rising and falling before them.
"What's that?" asked Hermione shakily, pointing at the lid of the coffin. Mrs. Weasley gave a great gasp and nearly collapsed in her husbands arms. Ron reached out his hand and touched the coffin's lid.
"It looks like he tried to claw his way out." Ron sat down with a thud. "What have we done? He must have been terrified! Oh my god, oh my god, we buried him alive, we buried him alive." Ron kept saying this over and over again. Indra could feel that Ron was about to break down.
"Calm down Ron." she whispered, and he did.
Through all of this, Vernon Dursley stood right behind Indra, smiling inwardly to himself. His plans weren't destroyed after all. This only made them better. The kid was already traumatized and he would definitely use that to his advantage.
"We have to get him to the hospital wing, immediately." Remus knew he had to take charge as everyone else was in a state of panic. Sirius was past all understanding, all he knew was that he had to comfort his godson. The Weasley's were trying to comfort Ron, who had thankfully calmed down suddenly, but Mrs. Weasley was still stricken with grief over what had happened. Hermione, who hadn't lost her head, walked over to Sirius and Remus to help.
Sirius was finally getting a grip on himself and stood up, still cradling Harry close to him.
"Do you need me to help?" asked Hermione, who had taken Harry's hand in hers. "He's so cold, is he supposed to be that cold?"
Remus sighed, "Hon, it's because of how deep he was buried, and the length of time he had to spend down there." He rubbed his face with his hands. "Oh, I can't believe this is happening."
"Why didn't we see he was still alive?" asked Sirius suddenly. They were walking down the corridor towards the Hospital Wing.
"I don't think he was alive, Sirius. When we buried him, he was… gone." Dumbledore opened the door and walked in. "Poppy!" he shouted. "We need some assistance in here."
Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office and stopped dead. "What is this?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.
"It's Harry, Poppy; somehow, he came to life after being buried." said Professor Dumbledore, who was motioning for Sirius to lay Harry down on the bed. He did so, but wouldn't let go of his hand.
"How is he still alive?" asked Madame Pomfrey, still looking for all the world as if she was seeing a ghost.
"I do not know, Poppy. All we do know is that he is. Could you please check him over and make sure he's okay?" asked Remus.
"Of course dear." She quickly did a check up on Harry. "Well, he appears to be fine, a little dehydrated, his throat is extremely coarse..."she paused here, "from screaming."
Sirius laid his head down on Harry's stomach, he never felt more horrible in all his life. "I want to blame somebody, I want to hit somebody, but there's no one to blame, except ourselves." He growled. "This is so frustrating."
"It's no one's fault Sirius. It just happened." Said Remus, placing his hand on Sirius's back.
"Still, what are we going to say when he wakes up? Sorry Harry, if we had known you weren't dead, we wouldn't have buried you alive?" said Sirius in a sarcastic hateful voice. "We'll be lucky if he ever talks again."
Remus sighed; he didn't know what to say to comfort his friend, or anyone else for that matter.
Madame Pomfrey had Harry's hands in her own and was magically cleaning the blood from underneath his fingernails. He had clawed at the lid so furiously that he had bled. She was trying to be inconspicuous about this, she really didn't want the others to notice it. Too late.
"What are you doing Poppy?" asked Remus, stepping up behind her. He looked down and realized exactly what it was that she was doing and gasped. "Okay, now I'm mad." He grumbled and walked out of the room. Sirius looked up and watched as Remus stomped out of the Hospital Wing.
"What was that about?" he asked, looking towards Madame Pomfrey.
Poppy sighed and held Harry's hand out to him, palm side up. "That's what he was on about, Sirius."
"Oh." Sirius reached out and ran his hand through Harry's hair. He would do whatever it took to make it better when the boy woke up. Whatever it took.
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Dumbledore found Sirius in his office an hour later, sitting in a chair with Fawkes staring at him.
"Ah, hello Sirius. What are you doing here? I'm surprised you're not still in the hospital wing." He said, taking his own seat behind his desk.
"I had a question for you." Remus shifted his body in the chair and leaned in towards Dumbledore. "Could Voldemort have done this to Harry? It would seem the perfect thing for the Dark Lord to do. Make it appear that Harry was dead and when he's buried, have him wake up. That's the greatest kind of torture. Fear."
"I had wondered on the same thing, Sirius, but I'm not certain that is the case. Madame Pomfrey would have picked up on any kind of dark spell that had been put on the boy, and there were none. He appeared to be just sick. I believe the most puzzling part of it all is how did he come back to life? Wouldn't you agree?"
Sirius rubbed his face with his hands. "You're right, I just really wanted someone to blame for this, we all do. I knew Poppy would have picked up on any dark spell, and of course, I would really like to know how he's still alive."
"As do I, Sirius, as do I."
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It was so dark where he was. No light could filter through to him. He felt dirt sifting in through the cracks and landing on his face. He tried to bring his hands up to wipe it off, but found he couldn't move his arms. He began to thrash wildly, kicking with his feet, but soon found he couldn't move at all. He was trapped inside this damn coffin, unable to move, unable to see because of the sheer darkness. Finally, he screamed.
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"Hold him still before he falls off the bed!" yelled Madame Pomfrey. Harry had suddenly begun to thrash in his bed, so violently in fact, that they feared he would hurt himself. Remus was holding Harry's arms to the bed, while Poppy held his legs. "Coax him awake, Remus. He needs to wake up, now!"
Remus looked down at Harry and back at Madame Pomfrey in exasperation. Trying to get this kid to wake up was going to be about as easy as speaking another language. He didn't know how to do it. But he was sure going to try. "Harry, Harry! Listen to me! It's Remus. Come on, wake up now, come back to us Harry." He soothed. Harry was still fighting underneath the arms that held him. "Maybe we should let him up. This is probably scaring him." reasoned Remus. Madame Pomfrey nodded her approval and they both let go of him, slowly, ready to catch him if he toppled off the bed. As soon as Remus let go of Harry's arms, his eyes shot open, and Remus jumped back in shock. He hadn't been expecting that.
Harry scooted backwards on the bed as far as he could go. His eyes held the look of a wounded animal, he screamed when Remus tried to touch him.
"Whoa, kiddo, it's just me. Harry, look at me." said Remus, trying his hardest not to touch Harry. "Please, kiddo, come on, you're safe now."
Harry continued to look around frantically; he looked so confused and lost. Remus couldn't help it, he slowly reached out and touched Harry's cheek. Harry froze. His eyes darted to where Remus was, but they still hadn't lost the frightening look they held, that of a cornered animal.
"Careful, Remus." said Madame Pomfrey, who was slowly making her way to the other side of the bed. She was afraid that Harry was going to lash out. Harry's eyes flew to Poppy when she had spoken. They kept darting between the two of them. Remus was starting to become worried, he didn't know how to help Harry. He had to calm him down, but he didn't know how. How do you comfort a child who has been buried alive?
At that moment Sirius and Dumbledore walked in, trailed by the Weasleys and Hermione. "They wanted to see him Pop…" Dumbledore's voice trailed off when he saw what was transpiring in the room. "Oh dear."
"No one move!" hissed Madame Pomfrey. She noticed that Sirius was about to come help his godson. "He's terrified, I'm afraid of how he'll react, so no sudden movements." She was looking piercingly at those at the door, hoping they would understand and stay put. The people who cared the most for him were being told not to go near him, she wasn't sure it would work.
Harry's eyes then crossed to those standing at the door. He started to back away from them, but ran into Remus. He flinched and froze again. He felt trapped, with no where to go. He scrambled past Remus, practically flinging himself on the floor, and then crawled underneath the bed beside his own. Once on the other side, he stood up and looked around. He knew these people, but somehow they seemed foreign to him. Almost as if he didn't even know them at all. But as he glanced around, his eyes locked with the man standing in front of the door. He knew this man, but who was he? His eyes radiated concern and love. The black haired man took a step towards him, and Harry remained where he was. Then it clicked, Sirius, godfather, I know him.
"I know you." he whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. Harry was vaguely aware that his throat hurt like hell, and flashes of darkness passed through him. He visibly shuddered, and took an involuntary step away from his godfather. Sirius stopped in his tracks.
"Harry?" asked Sirius. He had seen Harry shaking, and had an eerie feeling of precisely what the boy was thinking of. "It's okay Harry, you're safe now, you're not down there anymore."
Harry's eyes shot up and locked with Sirius's yet again. They could see the barely controlled fear and anguish burning in his eyes. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears once again and Harry looked at her oddly. As he stood there staring at the crying woman, he was overcome by a sense of familiarity. The red hair of all those standing around her was striking a nerve. He knew them. The Weasley's. He knew why Molly was crying. She was sad because of him. They blamed themselves. In the back of his mind he knew it wasn't their fault. But he also couldn't believe they had buried….he shuddered at the thought.
Dumbledore took a tentative step towards the trembling boy in the middle of the Hospital Wing. When Harry didn't cower or run from him, he kept walking. Dumbledore stopped a few feet from him, making sure not to enter Harry's personal space. "Harry, are you alright?" he asked.
Harry looked at him dumbly, of course he wasn't alright. "You buried me." he whispered, voice trembling. He discovered he couldn't do much than whisper, anything louder than that burned his throat.
"Harry, we didn't know you were still alive. When we did bury..."Dumbledore stopped when Harry cringed. Getting the poor child past this was going to be very difficult. He didn't know how to say this to him without emotionally hurting him. "Harry, you were…dead."
Harry looked horrified. "What!" he bellowed, and regretted it instantly. He broke into a harsh bought of coughing. It sounded painful and everyone suddenly felt ten times worse than they already were feeling. Dumbledore tried to lead Harry back to the hospital bed, but when he put his hand on Harry's back, it was violently shoved off. "Don't touch me!" he hissed in a hoarse voice, backing away from the Headmaster.
"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to frighten you." Harry looked at his professor for a moment and then nodded. "Would you like me to continue?" Harry seemed to ponder this question before he finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.
"Harry, do you remember being sick?" when Harry nodded Albus continued. "We brought you to Hogwarts, and afterwards you took a turn for the worst. You were unconscious the entire time, and then, you passed." Harry looked shocked.
"Seriously, I died?" he asked. "Then why am I alive? I woke up…and I was in a…coffin." Harry's eyes clouded over when he mentioned the coffin.
"Harry," Dumbledore put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and when he didn't knock it off continued, "you know we wouldn't have done that if we had the slightest indication that you were still alive, don't you?"
"I know. But, how did you know that I was alive then?" he asked, "And why am I alive, seeing as how I…died."
"We have no idea why you came back, Harry, but we're glad you did." said Sirius, walking up from behind Dumbledore.
He approached Harry cautiously. "Can I hug you?" he asked, kneeling down to Harry's eye level. Harry looked at his godfather for all of two seconds before flinging himself into his arms. Sirius held him tightly. "I love you." he whispered into Harry's ear.
Harry faltered. No one had ever said that to him before. "Really?" he asked, almost incredulously. Sirius's sad gaze fell upon his godson, apparently he would have to tell him this more often. Of course, if he had gone all his life without anyone telling him they loved him, he probably would be skeptical too.
"Of course I do. Always have, always will."
Harry hugged Sirius again, "I love you too."
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A/N: Okay, enough with the corny crap. I had to do it though. Well, sorry this took so long in coming, I started on it yesterday morning and got sidetracked by none other than the annoying roomies. Oh, did I tell you one of them moved out, the most annoying of them all! Woo-Hoo. Okay, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I hope I portrayed the emotions correctly. Of course, I've never met anyone whose been buried alive, so who knows how they would really react. I was going with the he was so traumatized he didn't know who anyone really was or what was going on. Just in case you didn't figure it out. Okay, enough babbling again. Oh, this is finals week, so I shouldn't write anything this week, although, with me, there's no telling, I've already updated like three times when I said I wouldn't. But, you've got to love me, don't ya? Enough of this, review and I'll try and get the next chapter up by this coming weekend!!!!!!!!! This isn't a cliffy is it? Just wait, Christmas is coming up soon! You guys are gonna kill me, more Harry torture to come! Later, tators.
Megan: I'm sorry for being cruel, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't leave you guys with such a cliffy this time, but it's about to get extremely good, and cliffy galore will be coming up! Hee-Hee!
Dabbler: Nope, I didn't wait until December 13th to update, although, now I'm going to. It's only like a week, so don't worry. This wasn't such a crucial moment stopper though, but they'll get better. I promise. *laughs evilly*
Hermione Eveningfall: Wake up now, there's no passing out on fanfic.net! Kidding! Pass out if you need to. Kay's wild raccoons, you say? We'll I updated, so tell her to keep the freaky raccoons away from me. Seriously, my campsite was attacked by raccoons one year; I had to stay on the stupid picnic table the whole time. Darn things.
Anna: Okay, now that I'm reading your review again, I think you described the terrifying events better than I did. I'm half tempted to go back and make it more dramatic, but then you guys wouldn't get this until like tomorrow, and I'm not that mean. Good to stay un-neurotic. I don't know if that's a word, but hey, I'm making it up then. No comic relief, just corny lovey-dovey relief. Ha. Good advice! I wish you could give a thousands reviews. I'm only at 95 right now. Tell your friends, I want to be up there in the numbers! But yes, it's the thought that counts! THANKYOU!
Lei Dumbledore: Holy crap, I'm talking about your homework, that is nuts. Just thought I'd give you my own personal opinion of it. I detest studying right with ya! Procrastination is my favorite thing in the world. I have to write a nine page essay and memorize 12 critical things from my humanities readings, which I remember none of them, and I have to write the whole thing for a final, out of memory. Who can do that crap is beyond me. Oh well, I did it before, I guess I'll do it again. It's horrible. Did you like this chapter? I was hoping to hit the angst on it big time, but I don't know if I got as angsty as I would have liked. What do you think?
JaimeyKay: Hey girl. I love you, so ha! Sorry about the cliffy in the last chapter, but I decided to go easy on you guys and not give you one in this chapter. But, as I said in my a/n just wait, it'll get worse. Christmas is coming for poor Harry! Just wait and see what I do to the poor kid. I've got ideas coming out of the wazoo. I know, I would hate to be buried alive. Really, Harry's not over his trauma yet, because I don't think you could ever fully recover from something like that. Yeah, and you hit me with soft things, that always helps. How was this chapter? Was it okay too? Must know, I'm having issues. Yes, he did die, but it wasn't explained why he died. That will happen in later chapter, and why he's still alive will also be explained in later chapters. By the way, Harry and Hermione just can't be a couple. RON AND HERMIONE forever. Just had to add that. HA!
Burnin' Broom Gal: You're welcome ever so much. Don't die! That would mean you couldn't review for my story! THAT WOULD SUCK! Calm down, no need to bash your brains against the lid of a coffin, although, you're probably right, I'd freak out. I'm sorry I made you cry! You seriously have nightmare problems? That's weird. I never have nightmares, even after I watch stuff like The Ring. Did you see that? Seriously freaky. Okay, I'm sorry too about the dream with evil fairies burying you alive! You put the imperious curse on me? Not nice! I wrote it anyways. Hope you liked this chapter. Not as evil, just angst. Chill out with the killing yourself. I don't need a ghost tracking me down! Are they seriously selling a summary of book five? I don't know if I'd even want to read it. I'd just wait for the book to find out what's going on. If I read the summary, I'd drive myself crazy trying to figure out what was going to happen!
MixedUpAgain: Don't die of suspense. Here is the next chapter for you. Yeah, they figured out that it was Harry she was talking about. But they were thinking she was a bit off her hinges. Review and I'll hurry with the next chapter, I promise. Oh, and no cliffy this time! Be happy!
Autumn Breeze: I'm an amazing Harry Torturer! Great praise! Thanks so much! That was cute. Dying to see how Harry gets out of his grave. Well, he got out, but his torture isn't over yet! Now you get to live anxiously awaiting what the heck I'm talking about!
LisaRose: You're welcome for the angst. You buried a character too, to cool. What is that about? Kung Fu: TLC? That may be a stupid question, but oh well.
Arizosa: You'd think I'd get it straight on how to spell your pen name, but I keep getting the s and the z mixed up. Anyways, yea, you loved it. I know, I loved that part too. I am so mean! Here's the chapter for ya! Later!
Iniysa: I stopped ending chapters like that! Ha! I'm glad you liked that chapter and I hope you like this chapter as well!
Anonymous: You're welcome for updating. Yes, somebody heard him. And now he's out. Although, the worst is yet to come.
Tiger Lily: Sorry for the cliffy, but as you noticed, I didn't leave you with an evil cliffy again! Yes, there can be no story without the main character! I just can't kill anybody, anyways. Unless they're really getting on my nerves. Keep that in mind.
Japangirlcmw: Glad to know you don't hate me! Sorry about the distressing cliffhanger. Not one in this chapter, at least, I don't think so. I updated for ya! Number one fan! Hee-Hee!
Masty2424: Glad you like it. Yeah, the school is going to be freaked out. Yes, he has lived like ten million times, I know. HA! You dance? That's cool. BUMP? Hmm…I haven't got a clue what that means either. Hope you liked this chapter. I promise it will get more angsty soon!
Starkitty: Here's the next chapter for you!
Weird: Thank you for saying numerous times that this story is great. I live on that kind of praise! Well, he survived with the small amount of oxygen!
Sara: Don't be impatient; I'm trying to write fast. I know though, I hate having to wait for the next chapter. It's like really annoying. So I try to get them out as fast as possible. Did you like Sirius's reaction by the way? I can't even remember now, I'm so caught up in replying to my reviews! He was a smidge ticked off though.
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To anyone who went down this far, I'm listening to Christmas music! Just wondering if anyone would read that! I'm not on crack, I swear!