Will the Pain Stop?
Disclaimer: To make sure I avoid any legal entanglements, here it is again: I only own the plot of this story. Everything else is JK Rowling's.
Opening Comments: Hey all my faithful readers! Thanks so much to: LunaLovegood61, Brightest Star, Cassi Angelica, and Elessar for your reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Between Angels and Insects
The Order's POV
Dumbledore sat in the kitchen of Headquarters once again, though many more were present. Along with Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, and Molly Weasley, there was Arthur Weasley, Alastor Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebot.
The mood in the room had not changed much, if at all, from the last meeting. The one thing that had changed a little was Severus Snape. He had just gotten a letter from Harry. He was surprised to say the least that the boy would even send him a letter.
When Severus told Dumbledore about the letter, Dumbledore politely asked to see it. He read and reread it a few times. That ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach tightened into a very tight knot. Something was not right. That was why the meeting had been called.
"You all have now read the letter that young Harry sent to Severus." All the heads nodded in unison. "And now you must know that now, more than ever, I feel that something is not right at his house in Little Whinging." All heads nodded again. "I was surprised, to say the least, that Harry had written to Severus at all, let alone as an apology."
"Albus, now that we have discovered your feelings, we need to discuss what we are going to do," interrupted Molly.
"Molly, dear, hush," said Arthur gently but firmly.
"No, I will not hush, Arthur. Something is going on with Harry, and I am not just going to sit here and let it happen. Something has to be done."
"And something will be done, Molly. You need to try and be a little patient," said Dumbledore soothingly.
"Albus, if I might make a suggestion?" requested Remus quietly.
"Of course, Remus. Go right ahead."
"Thank you. Um…what I think we need to do, is send someone that Harry trusts over there to talk to him. Face to face. He is no doubt feeling at least a little in the dark about things, and someone, I think, needs to see him and talk to him, let him know that we are here."
"An excellent suggestion. That is what I, too, feel we should do. Are there any volunteers?"
Molly immediately rose her hand, as did Remus, Alastor, and Arthur. Dumbledore looked around. Only two would be going.
"I would like you, Remus, and you, Alastor, to go and see Harry. Molly, don't interrupt. Remus, go inside and talk to him, and Alastor, I want you to stay with the guard, who I believe will be Tonks."
Both agreed. Molly sat sullenly. You could tell she wanted to say something. But she kept her peace. Alastor and Remus left as soon as the meeting was over. But they were unprepared for what they would find.
End the Order's POV
Harry's POV
When Harry woke again, he, wincing as he did so, turned his head to look at the clock. It was almost eight the next morning. Reluctantly, he got off the floor and crept as stealthily as possible into the hallway. He slowly walked down the stairs, not only because he didn't want anyone to hear him, but also because the pain he was feeling made it impossible to move any faster.
He peeked out the window and saw that his uncle's car was gone. He sighed with relief. At least he would have a few hours to himself. Walking into the kitchen, he noticed that Aunt Petunia was not at her usual perch by the window.
Back upstairs, Harry decided to take a shower. The hot water stung, yet was soothing on his bruised and slightly scarred back. The stiffness in his joints began to loosen, and the pain, though still there, subsided to a fairly tolerable level. The shower did him a world of good.
Once in his room again, Harry saw Hedwig sitting patiently on his desk with a letter. He stroked his friend, gave her a few owl treats, and read the letter:
Dear Harry,
Knowing it must be hard on you to deal with the grief you are going through, I will be coming to visit you today. We both can deal with certain issues together. I look forward to our meeting.
Moony
Harry frowned. It wasn't that he disliked Remus. It was that he didn't want to see anyone from the Order right then, especially not the way he was. Harry wondered how long it would be before Remus got showed up.
He sat at his desk for a few minutes more, pondering what he should do. Too soon, though, he heard the Dursley's car pull into the driveway. He almost panicked. He didn't know what to do. He was sick to death of being beaten by someone who didn't even know Sirius. And then it came to him. He walked as quickly as he could to his trunk and pulled out his father's invisibility cloak.
He wrapped it around himself and settled underneath his desk. It was a slightly tight fit, but if he didn't move, then it worked out. He was glad it had come to him as quickly as it did because a few seconds later, his uncle burst into the room, his giant face purple with anger.
Vernon glanced around the room, and, not seeing Harry, stormed out and slammed the door behind him. Harry heard him yelling at his aunt about him being missing. And then, right in the middle of part of his rampage, he stopped.
Harry half-smiled half-cursed. He knew why his uncle had stopped. Remus had shown up. He heard, almost the first time, Remus get very angry. Harry heard his voice as clearly as Uncle Vernon's.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?" Remus screamed.
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW? WE CAME HOME AND SAW THAT HE WAS GONE!" his uncle roared.
"ALASTOR, GET IN HERE!"
Harry almost kicked himself when he heard that. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody could see through invisibility cloaks. Not soon after Remus had called for Moody, Harry heard hurried footsteps and a thump on the stairs. And then Harry's door burst open.
It took Moody a few minutes to find Harry, but he did. And when he did, his face looked shocked, and he tapped Remus and pointed in Harry's direction.
Vernon was standing behind Moody, and Harry involuntarily flinched and began shaking. Moody saw this and turned to face the purple-faced man.
"You're right," he stated calmly. "He's gone. Why don't you go downstairs and wait for us, and we'll talk about this together. I'm sure you are as anxious as we are to know where he is."
Obviously picking up on Moody's bluff, Remus nodded his head, agreeing with what his partner had said.
Knowing all too well what would happen if he refused these two fully-grown wizards, no matter how haggard they looked, Vernon stormed down the stairs. And when he was gone, Moody shut the door, while Remus went over to the desk which Harry was hiding under.
"Harry, come out." His voice was kind, but firm.
"And take off that cloak," added Moody. "Let Remus see you."
"Sorry, but I would rather keep it on," said Harry quietly.
"Harry, take it off, now." Remus' voice was still soft, but there was an edge on it that startled Harry, for he had never heard it before from Remus. Reluctantly, Harry took it off.
"Oh my God! What happened to you?" Remus looked completely startled.
Harry didn't answer. He just stood there, in only his pants, with all his cuts and bruises shown for the world to see. His eyes were closed. They were the one thing that he refused to let Remus see.
Moody knew what had happened, though. He looked once more at Harry before leaving the room. Remus and Harry were left alone in Harry's bedroom. Remus still looking at the boy in shock, and Harry too afraid to let the older man look him in the eyes.
Moody came back soon enough, and he had two more people in tow. Neither, Harry wanted to see. Moody had called in Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore. Both walked into Harry's room.
They were talking to Moody when they walked in, and hadn't seen Harry yet. Remus had gotten up to join them. Harry took this advantage to hide himself once more under his invisibility and crawled to a corner where his shirt was. He hurriedly put it on and buttoned it up. Then he stayed in that corner. Even when Moody told him to stop hiding.
Harry didn't want anyone else to see him. He wanted to be left alone. He wasn't worried about what had happened to his uncle. He just wanted to be left alone. That was all he cared about.
"Potter, stop acting like such a child. Come out now!" Snape had said this. It infuriated Harry. He was sick of it all.
He stood up, threw off the cloak, and then threw off his shirt. He stood there and glared daggers at his potions teacher.
"There! Are you happy now?" He almost yelled.
No one said anything. They all just stood there. Remus had his eyes closed, and he looked like he might start crying. Moody just stood there like his usual self. Dumbledore was looking at Harry in disbelief. Snape had a look on his face that Harry had never seen before: complete alarm. And Harry just stood there, glaring at Snape, his emerald eyes blank and extremely dark, so dark, in fact, that they were almost a forest green, rather then emerald.
The next thing that happened was that Harry stormed out of the room, just as he was, leaving the stunned adults even more stunned. He briskly walked right out of the house. He just didn't care anymore. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't pay attention.
The person following him spun him around and faced him. It was Remus.
"Harry, tell me now, what happened. I am not going to let you move from this spot until you tell me. It's just me here. Spill it."
"No. I'm not going to. Besides, you can't tell me that you honestly don't know anything. You know."
"Did your uncle do this to you?"
"Yes."
Harry wriggled out of the werewolf's grasp and looked at him. His eyes were so dark now that they were almost black. It was uncanny. Harry, of course, couldn't see it, but Remus could. And it scared him.
Harry saw over Remus' shoulder that Snape was walking briskly towards them. But when he was just behind the werewolf, he stopped in his tracks. Remus turned and saw him. They both seemed to be talking to each other with their eyes.
During that time, Harry thought about turning and walking again, but he didn't. Instead, he walked past Remus and Snape, back to Number 4. The two adults stayed where they were. But they started conversing with words. The-Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Bloody-Die didn't hear what they said, and he didn't really care. He was used to people talking about him.
He kept on walking. He walked right in the house and back up into his room, where Moody and Dumbledore were in a deep discussion. But they turned when Harry walked in.
Dumbledore seemed to have aged a great deal. His eyes had no sparkle, and they looked weak and tired. But there was still a power around him that no one could ignore easily.
"Where are my relatives?" Harry asked simply.
"Your uncle is unconscious in the backyard, and you aunt and cousin left," said Dumbledore.
"Harry, what exactly happened?" asked Moody in his usual growl.
"I don't want to talk about it, and you can't make me."
"We don't plan on making you, Harry. But you do need to tell us," replied Dumbledore quietly.
"No offense, sir, but I don't need to tell you anything. No one ever feels the need to tell me anything until it is too late, or not at all, so I am merely returning the courtesy."
"Harry, I know that you are upset about the fact that we have kept things from you, but I really thought that it was for the best. I admit that I was wrong in that matter. I do want you to forgive me." Dumbledore practically whispered this.
"I do forgive you, sir. But I don't really trust you much anymore."
"Trust is something that is earned, and I will work to earn back some of yours."
Just then, Snape and Remus returned. Harry looked at everyone and then closed his eyes. They were tired. He was tired. He felt this crushing weight in his head and in his chest. It felt as though a dam was trying to break. He had to sit down. He found his desk chair and slumped in it.
No one said anything for a little while. Each person was caught in their own thoughts and feelings. All was quiet in the house. The sky outside grew dark, as though to match the mood of the small crowd.
A storm was brewing in those dark clouds. And all the while, the five people in that room sat in various places, thinking. But the silence was soon broken. But it wasn't by the storm outside, for it had not yet come. No. The silence was broken by a weary werewolf, who had begun to cry.
Harry looked at the man who had become his friend. He felt wretchedness for that man. He felt so many different things that the weight in his head and chest grew even heavier. It was crushing him.
End Harry's POV
Remus' POV
Remus stopped crying. He felt a little better. He looked up at the young boy whom he cared for like a son. There was something there amongst the bruises. A haunted look was in the young boy's eyes, which were still a scarily dark color.
Remus saw that the son of James and Lily Potter was in some type of inexplicable new pain. He didn't think it was his new found bruises and cuts that were doing it. It was something else. But he didn't know what it was.
He looked around the room. His mentor, Albus Dumbledore, was staring intently at Harry. It seemed as though he too had noticed the pain in the boy. And then Albus looked at Remus. They shared a brief knowing glance before going back to look at the boy that they both so deeply cared for.
End Remus' POV
Harry's POV
Harry looked up and saw that almost every eye, meaning that every eye but Snape's, was on him. He got up, went to Remus, and did something no one expected: He hugged him. It was brief, but it was a hug nonetheless. Then he went and put on his shirt, socks, and shoes and grabbed his trunk.
"Are we getting out of here or not? Of course, I still don't want to go to Headquarters, but I do want to get out of here."
"Harry, you have to go to Headquarters for at least a few days. I know that it will be hard for you there, so I will see what I can do about someplace else for you to stay for your duration of the summer," replied Dumbledore, smiling at the boy.
"Let's go, then."
With that last word, they all went down to the fireplace, where they flooed to a secluded place in London, and from there it was a walk to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Ending Comments: There it is! I won't be able to write another chapter until next weekend, but stay with me everyone. I will try to write more than one next time to keep you all into it.