Disclaimer: I get so SICK of doing this. I don't own it already! --
THE BELGUM POTION
Chapter Eight: Rage and Truth
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!"
"No, Sirius, no!" Remus said, holding Sirius's arms to prevent him from doing anything he might regret later. Even with Sirius being only 15, he was still stronger than ever. "I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation as to why Harry is in the hospital wing--""Oh ho ho!" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing out a wand from his robe pocket. "I HAVE A WAND... I couldn't hex him before, but NOW... I'm going to make that slimy git wish he had never been BORN!"
Sirius's eyes gleamed maniacally. "AND I HAVE PERMISSION! Dumbledore, you told me if that one hair on Harry's head was hurt, I GET TO KILL THE SLIMY GIT! Remus, let go of me!"
"You're going to kill me?" Snape taunted. "Look at yourself, Black. You're a mere fifteen year old… as pathetic back then as you are now."
Dumbledore glanced at him warningly. The headmaster made him swear previously not to loose his temper, knowing full well that Sirius would get rather… testy with him. Snape, if anything, wanted to laugh, much less rage at the idiot fool.
"Why you--!"
"PLEASE, Sirius... get a hold on yourself!" Lupin yelled over him."Sirius, please," Dumbledore said calmly. "If you would calm yourself, you would be able to hear an explanation as to why Harry is this way."
Dumbledore sat humbly at his desk in his dimly lit office, eyeing Sirius with the utmost patience. He motioned them to take a seat in front of his desk. Sirius was still very heated, and wasn't about to calm down anytime soon.
"Dumbledore... did you see him!? Did you see Harry!? How can you expect me to calm down!" Sirius said impatiently, his voice still loud, yet quieter than before. "Didn't you see Madame Pomfrey? She's worried sick!"Dumbledore nodded. He suddenly looked very old and weary. "I am quite aware of Harry's state, Sirius. Please... take a seat."
Lupin put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Harry is in good hands now... the least you could do is listen to what Albus has to say," he said, leading Sirius to his seat and forcing him down into it. He then took his own seat beside him.
Sirius huffed and crossed his arms. For the moment, he certainly did look like a spoiled fifteen year old.
Lupin nodded to Dumbledore, asking him to go on.
Sirius sat up on his chair, his fists clenched and his face tense. His godson was in the hospital wing... he wanted more than anything to be there with him. But more than that, he wanted an explanation as to why Harry was this way when he was perfectly fine a couple nights before when he spoke to him in the mirror! Could a fever rise that fast? It was impossible!
Dumbledore sat back on his chair. "I am sure you are questioning why Harry is so sick, and how it came by him so quickly."
Sirius didn't even have to nod. In his book, it was the most stupid question he was ever asked.
"It had nothing to do with Severus," he said, eyeing the professor out of the corner of his eye. "Severus was merely doing what I sent him out to do: to bring Harry back to Hogwarts with as little of a commotion as possible. And he did just that."
"How can you be so sure?" Sirius asked, scowling at Snape. "He hates Harry... how do you know that he was civil with him!?"
Snape stepped forward. "Potter was sick when I arrived, you fool," he snarled angrily. He was careful to keep his temper down.
"Yeah, whatever."
"Enough," Dumbledore half-yelled, eyeing the two in warning. Nothing else more was needed to be said on the matter. Dumbledore's word was a good enough warning for everyone.
"Now..." Dumbledore said, relaxing again. "As Severus told you, Sirius, Harry was sick for a good deal before he arrived. Arabella Figg told me several times how sick he has been getting. Gradually, day by day, his condition worsened, as her reports showed But it hasn't been as noticeable until yesterday..."
"He… he was getting sick, and you didn't do anything?"
"We could not."
"Why the hell not!?"
"You know that answer," Dumbledore said. "Taking Harry away from the Dursley's would inflict a great danger upon Harry. He needs those wards now more than ever… especially ever since Voldemort heard wind of the prophecy sometime last summer after Harry escaped. We could not bring him to Hogwarts or Grimmuald Place, where the protection is less defined. We had to keep him as safe as possible."
"So you got him out of there when he captured Mundungus and heard the prophecy in full? That doesn't make sense! Why keep him there when Voldemort didn't know the words of the prophecy, and get him out of there when he did?"
"The Dursley's wards would not have been as safe anymore," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort's rage will be no match for Lily's protection, I'm afraid. He will do anything and everything to get to Harry now, even if it meant burning all of Surrey to a crisp to get to him."
"So… so you sent this bloke here to get him, then?"
"Precisely."
"I don't understand," Sirius said, returning to the previous conversation. "If Harry was getting so sick, why didn't he tell me?"
"He probably didn't want to worry you," Remus said. "Harry's like that."
Sirius sighed. He hated that about his godson. The boy would never tell him what was on his mind!
He was much too strong for a fifteen year old….
He suddenly pitied Harry immensely, and hated the feeling more than anything. Harry would be disappointed... what he needed was everything but pity.
"Back to Harry's condition, then." Dumbledore said, straightening up. "I cannot help but say that I expected something like this to happen."
Sirius' eyes grew wide. "What? You expected this?!"
Dumbledore nodded. "But it came much sooner than I have expected... indeed, much sooner. It seems that Voldmoert is beginning to slowly infect Harry's mind."
Sirius nearly fell off his chair. Lupin gasped loudly, sitting rigid in his seat as if he had just been electrocuted. "Wh–what?!" he said, as if he didn't hear the headmaster correctly. "Albus... V-Voldemort is... what?!"
"I did not stutter, Remus," he said.
"But... you just told us at the last Order meeting that Voldemort was taking over Harry's mind... and now he's infecting it?! What do you mean, Albus, what's the difference?" Remus inquired, his eyes wide and his mouth open in awe. "What more bad news could you possibly give us!?"
"This is what it means," Snape said, cutting in for Dumbledore. "You know how the boy gets whenever the Dark Lord gets near him. He feels a great amount of pain, due to the curse that was inflicted upon his forehead." He looked over toward Sirius. "With Voldemort in Harry's mind, it almost has the same effect. With Voldemort near, Harry will be in pain. But with Voldemort in Harry's mind... Harry's mind won't be able to function properly..."
"What do you mean, Severus?" Lupin asked. "What is going to happen to him?"
"My biggest fear is that the Dark Lord will have complete control of Potter's emotions and actions, if we do not do anything soon…"
There was a stunned silence.
"But it will be difficult for even him to master," he continued. "It will be quite a while before the Dark Lord manages to take over the boy's mind fully, especially if he has to do it hundreds of miles away, and through the walls of Hogwarts, no less."
"Currently, the link to Voldemort's and Potter's mind will just cause Harry to become ill," Dumledore added. "I was afraid that this all might happen, and now I realize that I should have prepared earlier for that chance. An old man's mistake," he said solemnly, looking toward Sirius, who sat rigid in his chair.
"So..." Sirius choked out, his eyes on the floor. "What're we to do...? Will Harry's fever get worse?"
"I know it is much I am asking for, but a remedy will have to be made, Severus," the headmaster said, looking towards Snape. "You know of the one I'm talking about."
Sirius looked towards Dumbledore. "What are you talking about?"
"He will have to take Remedies, I am afraid," Dumbledore said, folding his hands upon his desk. "It will lower his fever and cause him less pain."
Sirius rubbed his eyes. "So... what are you suggesting? That he needs to live off a potion in order to... to live?!"
Dumbledore stood up from his desk and walked around it until he stood straight in front of Sirius. "It is going to be a hard path for Harry, Sirius... we know this. Which is one of the reasons I have ordered you on the mission of The Belgum Potion." His voice was soft and understanding, almost soothing to his ears. "You will be able to be with Harry, and provide with him the comfort that you always wanted to give him..."
Sirius stood up. He had had enough. "I'm going to see Harry now." And with that, not another word was said. He simply turned away from them and left the office, his footsteps heavy. Not even Snape had a remark to say to him.
Dumbledore bowed his head in exhaustion. "Severus... I am aware of the length of time it takes to make the remedy... but if you can start on it right away..."
"Of course, Albus," Severus said as he stood up from his chair. He also turned away from them and left the office without another word. Lupin and Dumbledore were now the only ones in the room.
"Albus... I just don't see how this is possible. Everything seems to be against us..."
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes... but Harry is a remarkable wizard, Remus. He is made of sterner stuff that you or I realize. If anyone can get through this, he will."
"But... but Voldemort being inside his mind? Voldemort knowing of the prophecy? Harry has no idea how much danger he is in..."
"And let us leave him without knowing. It is the only way he can survive this," Dumbledore said, taking his seat back at this desk again.
Remus suddenly looked very serious, his fifteen year old face suddenly showing much strength and wisdom. "Albus... I will do everything in my power to make sure Harry stays safe," he said, grabbing his wand unconsciously from within his robes. "I'm not going to let anything happen to him. I swear to you that."
And with that, he left Dumbledore's office, leaving the headmaster quite alone.
Albus looked over to his right at the sight of Fawkes, as he got lost in his own thoughts.
Harry was facing a path with more obstacles in it than any wizard he has ever met, and indeed–he has met plenty of them. He was aware that Voldemort would continue to pollute the boys mind for weeks until Snape had the remedy ready, and it would be hard for Harry to control his actions in the future...
He would indeed be in a lot of pain because of this fever, no doubt, until the potion was ready. And even then, the pain would live on. Dumbledore closed his eyes. Would it ever end? If only it would be him the prophecy was about. But a fifteen year old boy? Why did such a pure-hearted wizard have to endure such a hard life? The best wizard he had every met, in fact.
He was aware that Voldemort was slowly growing to his full power, and that soon the Dark Lord would be even stronger than he. Pretty soon, he was sure that not even he would have influence over Voldemort. He would be unstoppable...
But it would never be impossible. No... not with Harry Potter around. He could sense something hidden in the boy so magical, so amazing that it was indescribable. He had complete faith in the boy.
He stood up from his desk and looked out the window at the starry sky above. Yes... the future had many obstacles, most to be faced by the young wizard. A war was about to begin, he knew. It would not be peaceful like this for long–Voldemort was on the rise. Harry was in danger.... And if Harry was in danger, the future was also in danger.
Because Harry and the future is one in the same. Without him... there was no tomorrow.
"For one cannot live while the other survives..."
Hundreds of miles away, Voldemort sat in his chair in front of the fire, an evil smile on his lips.
Finally... after years and years and years of waiting for an answer as to why he was defeated by a small child and then defeated time and time again afterward... he finally had an answer.
The prophecy... the knowledge was now his. He knew he had to end the boy's victory before pursuing in his own reign, as the prophecy foretold. He would make sure that Harry Potter wasn't going to live to rise to powers that would rival his own. He had only one thing on his mind...
The-Boy-Who-Lived was going to die.
Review, will ya?