The Phoenix Follies
Pairings in this chapter: Slight Tom/Harry
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not getting money. I wish.
Chapter 3 : Sit and Listen
His eyes opened. There was no period of haziness. It was simply that one moment he was asleep and awake the next. He stared up at a white ceiling, completely unfamiliar. The walls around him were unfamiliar. The bed beneath him was unfamiliar. Actually, the entire room was unfamiliar. He slowly sat up and looked around. Nothing. He had no idea where he was.
A deep ache throbbed at his chest. Slowly, he unbuttoned the white pajamas he found himself in. He paused when he noticed a strange scar upon his skin. A long, jagged line diagonally cut across one pectoral. He traced it with his finger, intrigued when the throbbing slowly began to dissipate.
Buttoning his shirt back up, he glanced around again. It looked like a hospital, all sterile…But that normal hospital-ly smell wasn't around. Odd. You could always smell medicine, chemicals, and death in a hospital. This must be a very strange hospital.
Carefully, he slid out of the bed. His body was sore and achy, limbs weak as if he'd been asleep forever. It took four tries before he was able to stand. His knees wobbled but held as he slowly made his way to the window. The sight outside made him gasp. A huge, lush forest spanning for miles…A clear blue lake…Open land just meant for running! Baseball…It was big enough to hold a full baseball diamond….
"You look shocked, Harry."
Slowly, he turned around and looked at the shimmering figure behind him. It was a boy, maybe sixteen at the most, with smooth black hair and slanted red eyes. He was taller, more filled out, his face smooth with youth. His clothes were of the Hogwarts uniform.
Hogwarts? He blinked and frowned, wondering why that word had suddenly come to him. What was Hogwarts? And why did he know it's uniform? The taller boy was looking at him in an odd way. He had called him 'Harry'. Was his name Harry? He tried to remember but he just couldn't.
"Who are you?" he asked the tall boy. The other boy's red eyes flashed with something he couldn't recognize.
"I'm Tom," he said finally, sitting down on the bed. "You don't remember me?"
"No. Should I?" He came back from the window and sat down beside the taller boy. Tom smiled and reached over to muss up his hair. The shorter boy shivered as a chill went down his spine. "What are you?"
"A ghost," said Tom. "Do you know who you are?"
"You called me Harry," he responded. Tom nodded and smiled again.
"That's your name. Harry Potter."
A flash went through his mind. He gasped, hands jerking up to grab his thick black hair. Images flew through his mind, unfamiliar people shouting that name in fear, hatred, adoration…He didn't realize he'd begun to cry until Tom wiped away a tear with his cold hand. Harry looked up at him in frightened confusion.
"Who am I?" he asked in a begging tone. "I saw…people…but I don't know them. Tom, who am I?"
"A boy," Tom replied softly, wiping each and every tear off Harry's cheeks. "Just a boy."
Harry nodded and reached up to finish the job of drying his face. The skin under his eyes burned from the salty tears. Outside the window, a light rain had begun. The rain was comforting for some reason. Harry didn't understand but neither did he question it. Rain was pure. He wanted it to remain pure.
"Lay down, Harry," Tom said quietly. "You should rest."
Harry nodded and slipped back into bed. He pulled the sheets up to his chin before looking back at the shadowing figure of Tom.
"Don't leave me alone?" he murmured. He remembered being lonely. So very lonely. So much so that it hurt him, making his chest tight and his eyes burn. Tom nodded and moved to sit on the bed. Harry turned over to his side, towards the ghost, and curled about the coolness emanating from the ethereal being. He didn't feel safe. No, Harry didn't feel comfort or safety from Tom. But he did sense understanding. And that was enough.
When Harry woke again, Tom was not at his bedside. He sat up and looked around for the familiar form, only to find that he was no where. Instead, there was a very old man. Harry shifted to rest against his pillows as he watched the man, noting just how old he was. That beard was so long…His hair so white…His face so wrinkled.
"Hello Harry," the man greeted, smiling softly. The smile made him look younger, as did the twinkle in his eye, but he still seemed so very tired.
"Hello," Harry responded quietly. The sheets were fisted tightly in his hands. The old man didn't seem to notice, but Harry knew he did. Somehow, he knew that the old man knew much more than he let on. It almost frightened him.
"How are you feeling?" the man asked.
"I'm okay." He didn't trust this man. It was different than the unsafe feeling around Tom, but no better. This man was dangerous. Tom was not.
"You'll be happy to know that your relatives' home has been restored." Harry knew nothing about any relatives, nor their home, nor why he was being assured about it. "No one was hurt in the neighborhood, thankfully. And…Now that Lord Voldemort has been vanquished, you are free to decide where you will spend the next few weeks before school starts."
"Voldemort?" Harry asked, testing the name. It sounded so familiar, like a bad taste in his mouth, but nothing else came to his mind. The old man looked at him strangely before something dawned in his eyes.
"Harry, who am I?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Do you know where you are?"
"No, sir."
The old man was looking more distressed. Harry felt a little sorry for him.
"Your muggle relatives?"
"No, sir."
"Do you remember magic, Harry?"
And like that, a flash went through his head. Harry cried out, grabbing at his hair as pain seemed to split his head in two. Images and voices screamed through his mind, blinding him and confusing him further. People in strange clothing talking, walking, casting, reading, wondering, fighting! Voices taunting, laughing, yelling, crying, cheering, complaining! It was too much! Pain, fear, anger, TOO MUCH!
And then, suddenly, it was gone. All of the images, the voices, simply vanished as if they'd never been there. Harry sat still, panting as sweat dripped down his skin. His hands were still tight in his hair, body shaking. Then he noticed that there was another pair of hands on his own. The skin was coarse and wrinkled with age, a strange feeling of electricity emanating from them. The man was touching him.
Fear sprung up inside. Harry screamed out once more and jerked away from those hands, new images springing before his eyes. A man, purple faced and angry! Leaning over him, laughing, touching-
"NOOOO!"
He fell from the bed and scampered backward until his back in the wall. His breath was quick and loud, eyes wide with panic. Damp locks of black hair clung to his skin. Sweat soaked cloth stuck to him uncomfortably.
"Harry, it's all right! I'm not going to hurt you-"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Harry screamed, knees drawn to his chest and arms covering his head. The man stopped and waited as Harry stared at him from under his arms. The old man's face was drawn with despair, but he made no more move to approach him. It took a long while, but Harry was finally able to drop his arms. His breath was hitching with sobs that he refused to release.
Slowly, the man took a few steps towards him. When Harry's breath began to quicken again, he stopped. Then, he lowered himself to the ground. It was a loud affair, complete with creaks as old joints moved and cloth rustled, but he finally got down to sitting cross legged before the young boy.
"Are you all right now, Harry?"
"Yes, sir," Harry answered, his voice weak and breathy. The images were gone and he could remember little from them, but the panic had yet to completely leave him. The weakness of his body only aided the problem.
"Harry, what do you remember?"
The boy was quiet as he thought. His began to ache, but he couldn't find anything other than…words…so many words…Spells, his lost memory suddenly supplied. He remembered spells. Not how he learned them or if he'd ever used them, just…the spells themselves.
"The spells," Harry murmured. The old man nodded gently and smiled that sad smile of his.
"My name is Albus Dumbledore," said the old man, pausing as if to see if Harry had any recognition. He didn't. "This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Again, he paused and the twinkle dimmed when all Harry did was nod.
"You are a student here, Harry."
"That's how I know the spells…"
"Yes, that's right. Do you remember your teachers?"
Harry's brows came together as he tried to remember. It only made his head ache more.
"Dark eyes," Harry said suddenly, shutting his own as he tried to summon an image around those eyes. "Dark…haunted…so sad…angry…There was…a mark…"
"Severus," murmured Dumbledore softly.
"Snape," responded Harry as he opened his eyes. His fatigue showed well in his eyes. "Sir, where did Tom go?"
"Tom?"
"Yes…He was there when I fell asleep," Harry muttered sleepily, his heavy eyelids beginning to drop. "Where is he?"
"I don't know, Harry…"
"If you see him," he paused to yawn widely. "Ask him to come back…? I liked talking to him…"
"I will, Harry."
The world was darkening as Harry's body started to give out. Too much excitement after such a long sleep. The boy was well into his dreams when Severus Snape and Remus Lupin arrived and lifted the boy onto his bed.
A/N: Some what longer this time...I like Tom. I have this weird obsession with bad guys/badasses in stories. Snape is my favorite character. ^^ Draco and Tom come in a tie at a close second.
Acknowledgements for you weirdos who like this story:
Lilypurewhite - My first reviewer. You get the gold star. ^^ Thanks for the encouragement! It means a lot to me.
capitulatedDream/AoiHyou - I agree on the irony of Harry's life. Mew. Yes, the 'Happy Birthday' line is cliche...but it worked. Protective!Draco? ^^ You'll see. As to a happy ending...well, I haven't really decided yet. We'll see. ^^
Foxx66 - Yes, Dark Harry totally rocks my world. *laughs*
Cassie Angelica - Happy Harry stories are boring! We need a good load of angst, damn it!Glad I could be of service...*bows*
Walk Away Love - Yes, normal sucks...Go dark fics!
Zizzo - I'm glad you like my ideas and you DON'T seem like a yes-man. If you even ARE a man...*switchy eyes* ...Harry-torture, I can do well. ^^
TeeDee - Muhahaha...Wrong wrong wrong...but did you like this answer anyway?
Reading these reviews made me realize something...
We writers all have very weird handles...