Disclaimer: I own nothing and am poor.
Warning: Spoilers for all HP books and violence
Authors note: I very much appreciate reviews, good, bad, and ugly.
In Fire Lies Redemption
By Marz
Chapter 3
Awake
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
For a long time that was the only sound. It echoed in his mind, mixing up all thoughts that attempted to form. It grew and faded in volume and sometimes in speed. Often the noise was so quiet and so far away he could almost ignore it, but it was never gone. He felt as if he had been left out under the sun with hundreds of blankets piled on top of him so he could not move. He was in pain, but he could not locate the source of it. It was in every part of him and no where all at once.
There was light all around him. He opened his eyes a little and it rushed in to burn them. There was a new sound, a soft mumbling. A hand brushed the hair off his forehead. His scar burned, and faintly he heard growling. He fell awake with a shudder. He squeezed his eyes closed against the brightness.
"Harry?" asked a soft voice. It was just slightly louder then the beeping.
They have to know. I have to do something. The beeping was making him dizzy.
"They're burning." He heard himself croak. "…all of it's burning."
"Harry can you hear me?" A hand griped his. "Molly!" the voice hissed. "Molly he's coming out of it."
"He didn't tell them though. She killed him before they were finished." Harry continued. He tried opening his eye but the lids just fluttered out of his control. "Sirius was mad…he didn't want me to go there. Burning!" he tried to make himself understood, but all that came out was garbled and disjointed. The beeping grew faster, its pitch increased.
Another hand was on his forehead, smoothing his hair back. His scar seared each time it was touched.
"Stop. Stop." He whimpered. He tried to raise his arms to defend himself. They moved only a few inches and the left one stung horribly.
"Molly, Look at the scar!"
"Oh Merlin! Remus we have to…"
The voices were lost in the droning beeps.
The room was orange and red when he opened his eyes again. The blinds were half closed and a high nervous voice was floating about the room.
"…heard from Dudley he'd been shot. What happened? Is he going to be alright?"
"He'll be fine. He just can't have visitors right now."
"Oh. Could you give him these then? I figured, you know, he'd be kind of bored and those rooms are very depressing and all that…"
"I will. I'll tell him you came by when he wakes up…."
"Joan?" Harry called.
There was low muttering in the door way then a rhythmic creaking. Joan appeared at the end of his bed. She had fading bruises on her cheeks and chin, and a large box under her left arm. Remus Lupin stood at her right, half hidden by the swarm of metallic balloon in her hand.
"Hey Harold, are you all right? What happened? How do you feel? Did they catch the guy? I brought you some stuff. Are you in witness protection or something? I know balloons are for little children, but they do make the room look less, well less grim. How'd you get away? Dudley was all beat up. He was giving me a funny look…"
"You were there." Harry interrupted. Lupin was shaking his head and making odd hand gestures. He was trying to mouth something but Harry was feeling too groggy to even try to understand him. "You tackled Malfoy."
"Harry's still a bit out of it," said Lupin. "He needs to rest."
She set the box at the foot of Harry's bed and picked up his medical chart. "Wow, that's a lot of morphine!" she said.
"Yes," said Lupin, as he tried to steer her back towards the door. "He needs to sleep it off."
"You erased her memory." stated Harry. Lupin looked guilty for a moment but kept shooing Joan towards the door. She looked a bit confused and her hand went to the purplish mark on her chin.
"I'll come back later when you're feeling more awake. Goodbye Harold. Get better soon. Pickles and Spencer miss you. There're games in the box if you get bored! Bye!" she said as she and Lupin walked out the door and he closed it behind them.
Harry stared at the ceiling for a long time. Everything was blurred without his glasses on. The sunset colors faded from the room and Harry closed his eyes again. He felt as if there were a great weight pressing down on his chest; it seemed to get heavier as he drifted off again.
******
He was nearly sprinting by the time he reached the castle. The headmaster had sent a very brief message by owl, but that short sentence had implied entire volumes of urgency. Remus crossed the threshold of the castle and received a scathing glare from the caretaker Mr. Filch, as he made a trail of muddy footprints up the nearest staircase. He was breathing heavily and had to say the password three times before the gargoyle guarding the staircase could understand the word "licorice."
Albus Dumbledore was sitting calmly behind his desk when Remus entered the room. He was shuffling through a mountain of old scrolls but smiled warmly and waved toward one of the comfortable chairs across from him. Remus sat down.
"Please tell me what's been happening, Remus." he asked in slightly tired voice.
Remus told him all they had found. It took much longer then he had anticipated. Half an hour passed and he was not yet done.
"…And the Ministry has been unable to locate any of the children in question. Mrs. Malfoy reported her son missing two days before the incident. We have finally been able to clear an area in St. Mungo's Hospital. We thought we had it yesterday, but then a Healer set off the sneak-scopes. He turned out to be the brother-in-law of Antonin Dolohov. Strings were pulled and he was removed. As soon as Harry is stable enough we can transfer him."
Without a knock the door opened. Remus closed his mouth so fast his teeth clicked.
"Headmaster I need a word with you as soon as possible." said Severus Snape in a low but slightly strained voice. Remus raised an eyebrow. He must really be exhausted, doesn't even have the energy to insult me, he thought. When Snape turned toward him he glared a bit, but said nothing.
"Sit down Severus, Remus was just finishing up his report. Please continue Remus." The ancient man said.
Remus took a moment to remember where he had left off. "Harry is awake and improving daily. He had a vision while unconscious. He witnessed Mundungus being murdered." He paused for a moment as the Headmaster looked down and sighed.
"Go on Remus." said Dumbledore.
"Voldemort…" He was interrupted by a hiss from Snape.
"Voldemort," he started again. "Bellatrix Lestrange and an unidentified Death Eater surprised Mundungus as he entered his apartment. He refused to give them information and was tortured. They were interrupted by three muggles. Harry was unsure why they were there. Thieves maybe. They concealed themselves from the muggles hoping something would be revealed. One of them saw what was left of Mundungus and apparently decided to put him out of his misery. Voldemort failed to stop her in time. He killed the muggles and set the building on fire. Harry says Mundungus told them nothing before he died."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is Harry certain there were three muggles?"
"He seemed that way."
"Most curious." The old man mumbled. He looked at Remus with a strange crooked gaze. "The Aurors that investigated the building were not members of the Order. I do not take their findings for granted, but I have no reason to doubt their ability to cast identity charms and collect evidence. I have a copy of their report you see and they found only three sets of remains in the apartment: Mundungus and two muggle men. Most curious."
Remus did not know quite what he should say, but fortunately Snape broke the silence.
"Headmaster, it is urgent…"
"Of course. Remus is there anything else you would like to add to your report?"
I keep seeing my dead friend when ever I sleep. He tells me to do things. Yes I'll say that with Snape sitting right here. "No sir."
"Thank you for coming. Please inform me if the situation changes."
Remus made to leave but stopped before the door. "Sir may I ask why you were unreachable four days ago when all of this was happening?"
"You may."
The old man sat watching him. The clock on the wall continued to tick and Remus looked in confusion at him, then at Snape who rolled his eyes. It's a bit too long to be a dramatic pause. What could… He interrupted his own thoughts, and repressed the urge to slap himself on the forehead in frustration.
"Why were you unreachable four days ago sir?"
"I found a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next term. It took me quite a while to convince her to accept the position."
Snape suddenly looked twice as tired.
"May I…" Remus stopped himself and began again. "Who is going to be teaching sir?"
"You don't want me to ruin the surprise do you?" the old man said, smiling.
"I'm not all that fond of surprises at the moment sir."
Dumbledore sighed. "Young people, always so impatient. Ms. Gretchen Grace Graypond has bravely taken on the task."
The name was familiar. Remus' mind whirled. He recalled her then. "But sir wasn't she killed almost sixty years ago?"
"We've worked that out."
******
Harry heard them coming up the hall, but they all got very quiet right outside the room. For a moment he was confused, and then the door burst open.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" cried a multitude of cheerful voices.
Ron and Hermione led the way, followed closely by all of the Weasleys, (except for Percy and Charlie), Professor Lupin, Tonks, and shyly, in the back Neville Longbottom. He was carrying a rather frazzled looking Hedwig on his shoulder. All of them wore ridiculous hats and carried brightly wrapped packages. The owl flew across the room and landed on the bed post beside Harry.
"It can't be my birthday." Harry started to say, but arguing seemed pointless. Bill conjured up chairs for everyone. Mr. Weasley started to sit down next to the heart monitor, but his wife glared at him until he moved a few chairs down. He had accidentally unplugged one a few days earlier while inspecting it. The steady beeps had been replaced by on low mournful note and ten muggle doctors had come running.
"How are you Harry?" asked Hermione. "I would have come sooner but I was with my parents in Spain." A worried expression crept over her face. Ron gave her a look and it immediately disappeared, fleeing a too wide smile.
"Open my present first Harry, I promise it isn't a book." she said.
"We have to have the cake first." said George.
"He can't eat anything." hissed Ron.
"We know," said Fred, "But we figure if we liquefied it we could put it in one of those." He pointed at the I.V. going into the crook of Harry's left arm.
"NO!" shouted Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and Harry together.
Fred and George both grinned. "We were only joking."
"We did have an actual solution though." said George, taking a small box out of his pocket.
"Invented it in your honor, Harry." said Fred.
Harry took the box. Inside were ten very innocent looking sticks of gum. "What do they do?"
"Yes, what exactly do they do?" said Mrs. Weasley in a very threatening manner.
"No worries mum," the twins said, looking a little offended. "It's just birthday-cake flavored."
"Thanks." said Harry.
The party proceeded and despite the circumstances Harry really enjoyed himself. Everyone sang and he got to blow out the candles on a massive chocolate cake. He chewed the gum and everyone chatted happily as he opened presents. Hermione gave him a magical puzzle box that had, according to the pamphlet that accompanied it, "fifty compartments for storing your most valued treasures." To open it one had to put their fingers on the right symbols on its surface, then twist and press properly. If all was done correctly a little door on the box would swing open, if not the symbols would change and the puzzle would get harder.
"There's another present inside already." Hermione said.
He started working on it right away, and immediately the patterns changed and got more complicated. For ten minutes he worked while people talked around him. I might never get this open, he grumbled to himself. Then another thought occurred to him. Wouldn't it be ironic though if Voldemort started dreaming about trying to get the box open every night, Harry thought, as he had dreamed about the closed door. He laughed out loud and everyone looked at him expectantly. Thinking they might not understand the humor in it he shrugged sheepishly.
"This is really great Hermione. I might never have time for homework trying to get this open."
She frowned, but Ron presented his gift before she could speak. Harry tore off the paper and opened the box. Three ordinary looking quills lay inside. He looked at his friend for an explanation.
"They're Parker's Patent Message Passing Quills. What you right with one the others write too, so we can discuss important things like Quidditch during class without getting caught. They've got a range of twelve leagues, so they should work anywhere in the castle."
Mrs. Weasley gave them a disapproving look, but did not comment. The twins gave Harry a large box of prank items, which Harry did not expose to Mrs. Weasley's unfriendly gaze. Bill gave him a book, Blind Crawford's Best Traps and Trip Ups for Home Security and Entertainment. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave him a new knit sweater. Tonks gave him a book as well. So You Want to Be an Auror, by Elfius Mumblink.
"He caught fifteen dark wizards before he even started training." Tonks said knowledgeably.
Neville gave him a plant. At first glance it looked like a large tulip, but when Harry's hand accidentally brushed the leaves it started to hum softly. His eyes grew heavy and he started to sink back into his pillows.
Neville took the plant back for a moment and gave it a gentle shake. The humming stopped. Harry blinked the sleepy feeling away.
"It's a cross between a Lotus and a regular non magical tulip." Neville explained. "If you have trouble sleeping you just touch the plant and it activates the defense mechanism. The plant makes a sound that will put just about anyone to sleep. Of courses it isn't nearly as strong as a true Lotus plant and it only sings for a little bit, so you'll wake up again, instead of sleeping forever and wasting away. They're good for insomniacs."
"Thanks." Harry said, looking at the plant suspiciously. Neville meant well, but some of his herbology was a little questionable.
Last of all Professor Lupin presented his gift. It was a rather heavy box, wrapped in simple brown paper. Harry opened it feeling very curious. Inside was a heavy stone pot with an equally heavy lid on it. Harry lifted up the lid just a little, releasing a faint glowing light. It's a Pensieve, he thought. He took his wand from beneath his pillow and gave it an experimental stir. A boy, looking very much like himself flew on an old-fashion broom stick, carrying a Quaffle up the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Harry looked up at Professor Lupin in surprise.
"It's the 1978 Quidditch season at Hogwarts. I recall Gryffindor completely decimating Slytherin that year." Lupin said with a faint smile on his face. "I wouldn't go diving into that just yet though; I don't know what it would do to all these muggle machines you're attached to..."
"Th-th-thanks." Harry found himself stuttering. His throat stung and his eyes fogged up a bit. Before everyone could get into an embarrassing emotional moment Lupin provided a wonderful distraction.
"Did I mention all your O.W.L.S. scores were delivered this morning?" he asked casually, holding up three thick envelopes.
"Give them to me!" cried Hermione. She jumped out of her seat and was almost in the astonished professor's lap before she got control of herself. She cleared her throat while Fred and George snickered.
"…um. That is to say, heh…May I please have my test results sir?"
Looking a bit frightened the werewolf gave her the envelope with her name on it. She stared at it apprehensively. Her hands shook.
"What if I failed something? I can't open it."
"I know what you mean." said Neville. "I've had mine almost a week and I still haven't got the nerve." He with drew a slightly battered envelope from his pocket.
"Why don't we all trade then?" suggested Ron. The others looked nervously about and then nodded. They shuffled them up then traded. Harry looked down at the one in his hands.
Mister Neville Longbottom.
Attic Room
14 Stormbridge Way
Muirfield; Scotland
Harry looked at the others. Ron was starting to turn a bit red. Fred was looking over his shoulder.
"Go!" said Ron.
Harry tore open the envelope, and pulled out the parchment.
He skimmed through the paragraph talking about the significance of the scores and what they were judged on. He went straight to the raw results.
Astronomy: Poor
Care of Magical Creatures: Acceptable
Charms: Acceptable
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Divinations: Acceptable
Herbology: Outstanding
History of Magic: Poor
Potions: Outstanding
Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectation
He got to the potions score and roared with laughter. Neville looked heart broken.
"No, its good news Neville. You're going to make his life an absolute living hell! His head is going to explode when he learns this!"
Neville snatched the papers from Harry. His face fell, and he grew very pale.
"He really is going to kill me this year." Neville moaned.
"Who's going to kill you Neville Dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley with great concern.
"Professor Snape. I've just got an Outstanding in potions." Neville sighed and sank into his chair as if trying to disappear.
"He's going to explode twice Harry." said Ron. "You've pulled off and Outstanding as well, I don't envy you three." He said looking at his year mates.
George was looking over Hermione's shoulder. "You won't have to envy them, you made it to. Congratulations Ronniekins."
Ron's mouth dropped open. "That's got to be a mistake. Let me see."
The papers were reshuffled and everyone had their own, except Hermione. Fred had taken her papers from Neville, and was trying to get her to guess her grades.
Harry skimmed down the sheet.
Astronomy: Dreadful
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
Charms: Exceeds Expectation
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Divinations: Troll
Herbology: Acceptable
History of Magic: Poor
Potions: Outstanding
Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectation
"There really is a 'troll'" he said slightly amazed.
He looked up to see Bill levitating Fred upside down while Hermione inspected her own grades with a huge frown. Harry knew she must have beaten him in every subject. She took Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes as well, but she could not have done poorly in either of those. Ron noticed the frown as well.
"What's the matter Hermione?"
"She ran out of records to break." said Fred as he hung up side down. His face was turning purple. "One hundred plus percent in every category."
Hermione nodded absently. "I know I made a mistake in Ancient Runes, but I must have made up for it in the extra credit section."
"The department of Mysteries put a job offer in with her test results." said Neville, who once again seemed ready to face the world.
The room erupted in chatter, and the adults who had kept silent through the tense opening process were now giving congratulations and advice. Ron passed every subject but divinations where he was given a "Poor". He received an outstanding in Defense as well as potions, exceeded expectation in charms, care of magical creatures, and somehow transfigurations. He got "Acceptable" s in everything else. They all chatted and laughed and Harry felt better then he had in months, but as the day wore on and people began to head home a faint prickling of guilt returned. When he had blown out the candles on his cake he had wished Sirius was alive. Guess I didn't wish hard enough. He said good by to Ron and Hermione who were the last to leave. They took Hedwig with them, and promised to return the next day.
It was growing dark out side, and he was getting lonely with only the beep to keep him company. There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in?" he said.
The door opened and Joan creaked in.
"Hey Harold!" she said brightly. She looked a bit tired. "Mind if I sit?"
"Sure."
She sank into the chair and sighed. "It's really strange, I know I knew where this room was but it's taken me three hours to find it. I must be getting old and senile or something. Anyway, Happy Birthday Harold!" She handed him a two packages with cards. One was from her and he opened it right away. It was a muggle novel. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller.
"It's about a guy in a hospital in World War Two. It's completely hilarious though." she said.
"Thanks. It looks interesting." Harry said, setting the book down. He was glad the Weasleys had put all his magical present in a box under his bed. He looked at the card on the second package.
From: Dudley Dursley
To: Potter
He looked at Joan in surprise.
"I went by your house to see if he wanted to go visit you today. Your aunt sort of threw me out, but Dudley caught up with me at the bus stop. He told me it was your birthday and asked me to deliver that present."
Harry nodded. He carefully turned the small box around in his hand, and then shook it. Dudley wasn't clever enough to rig something to explode, but you couldn't be too careful. He peeled off the polka dot wrapping paper. Inside was a thick card board box, stamped with gold letters. It read Tarot: Divine the Future. He opened the box and inspected the cards. It was a muggle deck, without moving pictures, and the instruction book contradicted a lot of things he had been taught in divinations class. Of course I could be remembering them wrong. I can't believe I got a "troll". Why would they even make that grade? I can't believe Dudley got me a birthday present. Joan was looking at the cards.
"You're into that stuff?" she asked curiously. There was a strong emphasis on the word stuff.
Harry recalled some of the odder muggles he'd seen on the television, who thought they could do magic and tell the future. I don't want her to think I wear leather pants and dark eye make on the weekends.
"My parents were sort of into this, that's why they didn't get along with my aunt Petunia. Religious differences." He said. He thought he must have had a funny look on his face. She looked embarrassed.
"Oh." She paused awkwardly. "Maybe I should go home, and let you sleep." She said and got up.
The room grew full of odd little sounds as she walked towards the door. The oxygen machine hissed and clicked. The heart monitor beeped incessantly and he could hear doctors mumbling in the hallway. Wind rattled the windows and he felt terribly alone all of a sudden.
"Do you want me to tell your fortune?" Harry asked.
She turned around and made her way back to the chair. "Sure, but if I don't win the lottery and become a millionaire I'll be really disappointed."
******
He stirred the bubbling yellow liquid a third time and waited exactly fifteen heart beats before adding the mandrake roots. From the potion a sour rotting smell poured. Thirty seven minutes to simmer, then the feverfew leaves. The pale dark haired man reached across the crowded counter and turned over an hour glass with the number thirty seven painted neatly on the top. He exhaled slowly then sat down on a near by stool, anything more comfortable and he would likely fall asleep. He had been awake three days in a row. And now Potter has conceived to make it four. Of course Albus! I will make any potion you require! Had to say yes before asking who needed it didn't I? It will be near dawn before I can bring it to him. At least most of the Weasleys will be gone by then. Off to their crowded little shanty. Lupin will be there though. 'Sorry Headmaster I can't do any actual work this week, I have to hold Potter's hand and wipe his nose for him. Of course, of course. Severus, would you mind covering all of his shifts?' The dog should just sit in his lap and get it over with.
"If you keep grinding your teeth like that you won't have any left." Called the portrait on the wall behind him.
Not bothering to reply Professor Snape whipped out his wand and stunned the magical painting. He sat on the wobbly stool for the next half hour, thinking about what he could add to the potion to make it taste worse without reducing its potency.
It was three in the morning when the Healing draft was complete. The boy would be stable enough to transfer to St. Mungo's within two hours of ingestion. Snape poured the now glowing green potion into a flask. He stuffed that and a goblet into the pockets of his robes and marched outside, beyond the wards protecting the school. He apparated to the parking lot of St. Catherine's Hospital in Surrey. Snape cast an invisibility charm over himself then walked into the crowded muggle building.
Potter's room was on the fifth floor, and he took the stairs to avoid contact with any muggles in a packed elevator. He was disappointed in the guards the Order had posted. Diggle was leaning against the wall outside Potters room, clearly asleep, the other was no where to be found. Snape decided he would not bother to check in with them. Still invisible he quietly opened the door and stepped inside. The bed was partially concealed by a curtain. A faint night light glowed near the floor. He stepped around the curtain and paused. Potter was pale and gaunt looking. Every bone in the boy's face was visible. Tubes ran into the veins of his left arm and up his nose. Wires stuck out the neck of his light blue hospital gown. It's a miracle anyone gets out of this place alive. The chair beside the bed was occupied, but to his surprise it was not Remus Lupin sitting there, but a muggle girl. She was carefully filling out a crossword puzzle, a yellow pencil held oddly between the too short fingers of her hand. Potter twitched and mumbled in his sleep.
"No don't. Run…go…they know were you are…"
One of the boxes he was wired to began to beep rapidly. The girl leaned forward in her chair and tapped the boy on the shoulder with the book until he woke up. Potter looked about the room blearily for a moment then closed his eyes again, breathing softly. Time to get ride of the fan club Potter. Snape silently cast a compulsion charm on the girl. You want to go to the dinning hall and get coffee. She readjusted herself in the chair, but did not leave. He cast it again. You need coffee. The second time it sunk in. She got slowly to her feet, and walked with creaking steps to the door, but paused before leaving.
"I'll be back in a minute Harold." She said quietly.
The boy did not answer. The door closed quietly behind her. Snape lifted the charm from himself and stepped to the side of the bed.
"Wake up Potter." he said in a low voice.
The boy bolted upright, eyes wide and unfocused. His hand darted to the bed side table and snatched up his glasses. As soon as he had them on his face he glared at Snape.
"What are you doing here?" he growled. His eyes darted to the empty chair. "Where'd she go?" he demanded.
"I neither know, nor care Potter." Snape took the goblet from his robes and filled it from the flask. "Drink this." he ordered.
"No one told me you were coming." Potter said, not taking the goblet.
"That isn't my problem, now drink."
"What is it?"
"It's a healing draft, so you can be moved to an actual hospital. The headmaster believes you are too…" Snape paused to think of a suitably insulting adjective. "…delicate to be transferred at the moment."
"What's in it?"
"This potion was covered on the O.W.L.S. Didn't bother to study though, did you?"
"As a matter of fact I did," said the boy in a cold voice. "Which is why I remember that potion is supposed to be light blue not green!"
Blast, I shouldn't have added so much extra stink sap. "You must not have studied hard enough then Potter, Now drink this so I can leave."
"You drink it." said the boy insolently.
Strangling him will only make things worse. Snape leaned closer, holding the goblet out. "Do as your told you stupid child. You think I haven't got better things to do with my time?"
The boy lifted a hand and for a moment Snape thought he would finally take his potion, but he only pushed the goblet away, splashing some of the expensive liquid onto his blankets. The cotton fibers sizzled and smoke rose from them. The boys eyes widened and his hand darted under his pillow. Going for a wand! Snape thought and caught his wrist. The boy started struggling. More of the potion spilled.
"Get away from me!" Potter yelled desperately.
"Harold!" a voice shouted. Snape turned in surprise. Scalding liquid splashed across his face. He roared in pain. He released the boy and stumbled across the floor. There was a loud creaking sound and suddenly someone pushed him from the side. His arm lashed out and he felt his hand collide with the side of that someone's head. Glass shattered. Voices were screaming and shouting. Someone was pounding on the door. Still blinded Snape pulled the emergency portkey from his robes.
"Stop!" yelled a deep male voice, but Snape activated the key and was gone.