Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, places, or items.
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Chapter 25 – Blinded, Part 2
Harry didn't feel like looking Lupin in the eye. He stared down at the floor, unwilling to speak, for what seemed like hours. Finally, he looked up.
"I made a mistake," he said, his voice dry, "I was really stupid."
"It wasn't just Harry," Silver spoke up, "It was all of us. We all made a mistake."
She slid her hand through his, and he squeezed it tightly, silently thanking her for not making him face this alone. He looked down at the torch that was still in his other hand, but couldn't bring himself to speak. As he looked at it, visions of blinding whiteness flashed before his eyes, and Silver's panicky voice echoed in his head, "The handle, the handle! Where is it?" Had he ever seen her that scared before? Probably not. And it was his fault.
"Talk to me, Harry," Lupin said.
Harry reluctantly looked up at Lupin. Silver gently rubbed his hand with her thumb. He took a deep breath and started to talk. Once he started, he found it almost impossible to stop. When it came to the part about the torch's light, however, the one that Lupin needed to hear most, his courage seemed to fail him.
"It was bright...so bright," he said, "You couldn't see anything but white. Like the opposite of being blind, I guess. And it was hard to breathe, because it felt like someone was pressing the light over your face, over your whole body..."
Ginny began to cry silently, giving only one giveaway sob.
"And it wouldn't stop, not even when I told it to," he continued, "So we just...somehow...managed to get back up the stairs, and in Sirius' room. And then we came down here."
For a moment, everyone was silent. Harry felt his face burning with shame. Even if it wasn't all his fault, it was mostly. He was surprised nobody had yelled at him yet, but he knew it was coming. Lupin stood up, some unreadable emotion on his face. Then he walked up to Harry. Harry didn't really want to meet his gaze, but he did anyway. Lupin put his hands on Harry's shoulders in a reassuring manner.
"It's not your fault, Harry," he said quietly, "So don't beat yourself up over it."
Harry looked up at him in surprise, and Lupin smiled.
"Yes, I know you," he told him, "I know you're standing there feeling like we're all blaming you, but we're not."
"Thanks," Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Molly," Lupin said, turning to Mrs. Weasley and releasing Harry, "These children look like they could use some hot cocoa, wouldn't you say?"
"Right away," Mrs. Weasley replied, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately as she passed on her way to the kitchen.
"You kids sit down on the couch," Lupin instructed. Quickly everyone on the couches moved to make way for them. They obeyed wordlessly. Ron sat on the edge, and Harry sat next to him, with his arm around Silver, who was on his other side. George sat beside Silver, whilst Fred and Mr. Weasley comforted a shaking Ginny by putting a blanket around her on the couch opposite. Charisma sat on Silver's lap, sound asleep.
Lupin threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped in, saying, "Dumbledore's Office!"
He disappeared, and Harry wondered how Dumbledore would react. Was that what he had meant about the torch being a powerful weapon? And if so, it was pretty useless if Harry half felt like he was using it against himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the torch. He simply stared at it, not daring to tell it to even light up a little. He wondered if he would ever be able to light it again. Or if he tried to, would it do the same thing as it had just done? He put it back in his pocket, not really wanting to think about it. He felt Silver's breathing become deep and regular, and knew that she was sleeping. He leaned his head on top of hers, taking in the scent and softness of her hair. Before he knew it, he, too, had drifted off to sleep.
"Dumbledore wants to talk with Harry," somebody's voice was saying from far away.
"Shh!" said another one, "You'll wake them up!"
There was a pause in which Harry tried to drift back into the wonderful, thoughtless world he had been in, but he was interrupted yet again.
"Cute couple, aren't they?" an amused voice asked.
"I've got lots of pictures," somebody whispered much too close to him.
Silver stirred ever so slightly beneath him, and he realized where he was. He kept his eyes closed and feigned sleep, knowing that if they knew he was awake, he would have to surrender Silver. He matched his breathing with hers, not daring to move a muscle.
"The boy's awake," Snape said suddenly.
"Shh! No he's not, look at him," Mrs. Weasley hissed.
"He's awake," Snape replied, "Potter, open your eyes."
Harry ignored him.
"We won't make you let her go," Snape tempted.
Harry sprung open his eyes, much to the surprise of the people around him.
"What do you want, then?" he asked irritably.
"Dumbledore wants to see you," Lupin answered.
Harry picked up his head and looked down at Silver. "Not yet," he protested.
"Harry," Lupin answered in a you-know-you-have-to-come voice.
Suddenly Silver stirred. Unconsciously, she put her arms around Harry and buried her face into his chest.
"Mm," she murmured softly. Harry grinned and gave a gentle tug on her hair.
She pulled away from him with a start, but her eyes softened when she looked at him. "You scared me," she accused.
"Sorry," he replied, still smiling.
She settled back into his arms, and Harry began to get comfortable when Lupin interrupted.
"Harry," he said in a warning tone.
Harry sighed. "I have to go see Dumbledore," he told her.
She pulled away from him reluctantly. "See you later," she replied.
He kissed her on the forehead and grudgingly took a handful of Floo Powder from Lupin, muttering under his breath as he did so. He stepped into the fire and found that the warmth of the flames was very pleasant.
"Dumbledore's office!" he exclaimed, and the next moment he was spinning undesirably fast, and then being spit out in Dumbledore's office.
"Good evening, Harry," Dumbledore greeted cheerfully, "Please, have a seat."
Harry glanced behind him. "Isn't Moony...er...Lupin...coming?" he asked.
"Oh no, I wanted to talk to you alone," Dumbledore replied, "But first, you must tell me exactly what happened today concerning that passageway."
Harry didn't really feel like describing what had happened again, but with Dumbledore sitting there looking at him with those piercing blue eyes, he didn't have much of a choice. He took a deep breath and told Dumbledore every last detail, excepting his friends' cold attitudes and Silver's near hysterics.
"And what have you been doing since this little escapade finished?" Dumbledore asked when he had finished.
"Um, sleeping," Harry answered.
"You haven't lit the torch again?" Dumbledore inquired.
"No," Harry replied, dreading what he knew Dumbledore was about to do.
"You have it with you, am I correct?" Dumbledore asked politely.
Harry briefly considered telling him no, but he knew that if he did he would just have to go get it.
"Yes," he admitted.
"Would you mind lighting it for me?"
Harry thought that Dumbledore knew the answer to the question perfectly well. Yes, he did mind lighting it. Very much. However, he pulled it out of his pocket and said quietly, "Light." For a moment the bright ball of light that appeared frightened him, but he relaxed as he saw that it was it's normal size.
"Very nice, Harry," Dumbledore complimented, "You may put it out now."
Harry was able to shut it off simply using his thoughts. He felt a huge relief at the fact that he could still control the torch.
"Now, Harry, I think you agree when I say that the passageway should be sealed?"
Harry nodded.
"Very good," Dumbledore replied, "Let's go."
"Wait," Harry said before he could stop himself, "Aren't you going to tell me about the torch?"
"Well, Harry, I would love to, but what happened today presents an interesting side that needs to be looked into before I can give you accurate information," Dumbledore replied pleasantly.
"Can't you just tell me what you know?" Harry asked.
"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore replied quietly, looking Harry straight in the eye.
Harry looked back at him for a long moment, until Dumbledore's eyes began to make his burn. He turned away, feeling frustrated.
"Come, Harry," Dumbledore said.
Harry grudgingly accepted the Floo Powder and transported himself back to Grimmauld Place. When he arrived, he was greeted by a few tentative smiles, but mostly curious looks. Silver and the others were nowhere to be seen.
"I believe they're waiting in Sirius' bedroom," Lupin informed him.
"Thanks," Harry said.
He began to walk towards the room without waiting for Dumbledore. He pushed open the door and found that for the most part, they all looked better. Fred, George, and Ron all looked back to normal except for a faint pale tint, and Ginny, although she looked distant, no longer had red, puffy eyes. Silver was looking worriedly at Charisma, who was laying down on the bed, blinking sleepily, but when she saw him her face lit up.
"Harry!" she exclaimed.
He made his way over to her and sat down beside her.
"What's wrong with Charisma?" he asked.
"I think she's just a bit tired from what happened," Silver replied, "I'm sure she'll be fine."
Harry could tell that Silver wasn't so sure, and truthfully, he wasn't either. As they watched, the tiny silver hippogriff closed it's eyes and settled off into sleep. At first, Harry wasn't sure whether she had died or not, but he saw her side rising and falling and knew that she was still alive.
"I think she just needs a lot of sleep," Silver said, trying to sound confident.
Harry felt incredibly guilty. Silver looked over at him and then enveloped him in a hug.
"I don't blame you, Harry, so stop feeling guilty," she admonished gently.
Harry just looked at the sleeping hippogriff wordlessly. Stupid torch, he found himself thinking, Why did I ever have to find it in the first place?
The door opened and Dumbledore walked in, followed by Lupin and Snape.
"Under the trunk," Harry informed them, without being asked, "Pull the hanger and you can see which floorboards move."
Lupin dragged the trunk out of the way and joined Dumbledore and Snape as Dumbledore pulled the hanger firmly. The floorboards opened, and the entire closet lit up with a white glow. Harry saw the suffocating whiteness below it – you couldn't see a single stair.
"It's still there," Ginny whimpered.
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed gravely. He knelt and put his hand into it. It disappeared into the whiteness.
"Very powerful magic," he commented, withdrawing his hand, "Very powerful."
"Do you reckon Lestrange is still down there?" Ron asked.
"I highly doubt it," Dumbledore replied, "My guess is that she and Mrs. Malfoy ran up the nearest staircase they could find. If not, I'm sure we wouldn't be hearing silence. Neither woman is the type to keep quiet."
Harry remembered the screams he had heard when the passageway had been ignited – they hadn't just been Silver's.
Dumbledore rose as the floorboards began to creak back into place. Then he, Lupin, and Snape withdrew their wands.
"Children, there may be side-effects to this spell that you will not want to be around for," Dumbledore said, "I would suggest moving to another room."
Immediately they all rose. Silver gathered Charisma in her arms, and Harry felt guilty again as he looked at the formerly-spunky hippogriff that was now still asleep in it's owners arms. They went into Harry and Ron's room. Silver lay Charisma down, concern in her eyes as she looked at the small bundle. Harry touched her shoulder, and she broke down into tears. She turned into his arms, and he wrapped them around her. Ginny began crying as well, and Ron comforted her awkwardly.
"We never should have gone down there," Silver sobbed.
"I'm sorry," Harry said.
"It's not your fault!" she exclaimed, and to his surprise, she hit him hard in the shoulder. "Stop thinking that way!" she said, sounding angry.
"Uh, sorry," he said, half amused. She continued to cry, and he held her, gently rubbing her back.
Soon, her sobs had subsided, and she was asleep once more in his arms. Harry found that Fred and George were also asleep against the wall, and Ginny looked as if she was about to doze off on Ron's shoulder. Ron put his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Harry watched Charisma closely, making sure that the tiny hippogriff was still breathing. It was oddly soothing to watch it's sides rise and fall so rhythmically.
Harry awoke to find that he was alone. The last thing he remembered was watching Charisma sleep, but Charisma was gone, also. Ron was asleep on his bed beside Harry. Harry got up out of bed and made his way to Ginny's room – he assumed Silver was sleeping there. He walked in quietly and walked past Ginny's bed to the second one, where Silver was sleeping soundly. Charisma was in her arms, and they were breathing in perfect harmony. He hovered there for a moment, watching her, and then gently brushed her hair out of her face.
"Night," he whispered.
He walked out of the room without hearing her almost unconscious, "Goodnight, Harry."
He had no sooner lay down in his bed than he fell asleep again. Although he was not exactly plagued by dreams, his sleep was restless, and he found himself waking up countless times, each time with a flash of white light and Silver's scream, not sure if it could be counted as a nightmare or not.