If I Should Die Before I Wake
Chapter 9
Away from Home
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!!!! ANYWAYS…---
A/N: Just thought I'd clear some confusion over the last chapter. The area that a wizard enclosed in a 'no-magic' zone was the downstairs, where the bomb was. The upstairs (luckily) happened to be an area where they could use magic. Thus how everyone could use the shielding charms. They were just too nervous to realize they could've easily apparated away from the upstairs. Okay, on with the story!
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Harry was shocked to find that the house had hardly been damaged on the outside. Hermione and Ron seemed a bit puzzled too, but the three of them were obviously quite relieved. They weren't very wealthy yet, and paying for the damage… and trying to repair it with magic… would be difficult.
Hermione seemed overcome. "Oh, thank God. Harry, you're amazing. Well, I'm sure you'd rather not hear weird voices in your head, but it sure helped out a lot, didn't it?"
Ron agreed. "Yeah, thanks mate. Merlin, would somebody please explain to me what a bome-thingy would be doing in our house?"
"A bomb, Ron," Hermione chimed. "And I don't know."
"Let's go inside and see what got damaged," Harry suggested. "Maybe we can do some minor repairs with magic. Besides, a bomb is a Muggle weapon, right? There's probably no lingering magic in the house that our spells would tamper with and cause more problems."
But when the trio entered the house, they found that they were wrong. Very wrong, indeed.
Hermione paled, Harry's blood went cold. Ron seemed the least affected of the three since he didn't know that it wasn't normal for this to happen after a bomb went off.
"Erm… a Muggle weapon can do that?" he asked shakily. "I don't like this one bit. I feel… cold. Like a dementor had come or something."
"A bomb doesn't do this, Ronald," Hermione whispered. "There's some dark magic at work here."
Harry was still frozen and speechless. He was petrified as he stared into the heavy, black mist that was drifting around the house… searching for something. Or someone.
"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly. Harry tried to speak, but he couldn't move. The black mist was calling him… he had go to it…
Harry found himself unconsciously taking a couple faltering steps forward. He was oblivious to the cries of warning from Ron and Hermione. Just as he felt Ron's hand on his shoulder to yank him back, the black mist swooped toward him and surrounded him densely.
Harry's scream died in his throat. He choked on the blackness that entered him, consuming him. Blackness swam all around his vision, and he heard a gasp and the hand left his shoulder. He was alone.
His legs collapsed beneath him, his head hitting against the floor. He was losing consciousness, but couldn't resist as the blackness took over him. But before everything went blank, he heard two people talking.
"M-master, forgive me… they fled before the explosion and-"
"You fool. You and your slimy little Muggle weapons. Foolish scum, Muggles. You have failed me once again, Pettigrew…"
"No, master, no! He is there, trapped in the mist! Surely he cannot escape now!"
A sharp intake of breath. "At last, the Potter boy may be gone. Do not get your hopes up, Wormtail. He can still fight back…"
Suddenly the black mist was shaken around, and though it did not disappear, he could see a faint light in the distance. He tried to move toward it, but could not make his muscles work. But the light faded, and he finally lost consciousness.
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Harry woke up in a brightly-lit room at St. Mungo's. He had the feeling that he'd been here before, and then he realized this was the same room that he'd spent recovering in after his coma. And there was another bed that had been magicked in the room.
"Ron!" Harry cried as he spotted his red-haired mate lying in the bed next to him, his hand in a pot filled with an odd-smelling potion. "Hermione!" She was sitting in a chair next to Ron's bed. But then another red-head entered the hospital room.
"Ginny?" he whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I-"
"What are you apologizing for? Merlin! A bumm explodes in the house and you're apologizing? ----, Potter, what are you thinking?"
Harry chuckled slightly at Ginny's pronounciation of a bomb. "It's a bomb, Gin. Bomb. And I'm sorry I seem to attract trouble. I really don't mean to."
"Oh, Harry, don't apologize. There's nothing to be sorry about," Hermione said kindly. "It's not your fault."
Suddenly, Harry remembered the voices he had heard before he passed out. He sat up abruptly, much to the dismay of the others. He groaned as he felt extremely dizzy, so he laid back down.
"Guys, I heard these – voices – before I passed out," he began, but Ron cut in.
"Oh no, not these voices again," he said with a half-grimace, half grin. Suddenly Harry noticed how shriveled up his hand looked.
"What happened to you?" he said, gesturing at his hand.
"Oh, well, did you feel a hand on your shoulder, trying to yank you back away from that mist? Well, that was me, mate. The black stuff just sort of… came flying out of nowhere and tried to pull you away with it, so I tried to pull back, and it sort of… attacked my hand, I guess." "Still feels numb," he said as an afterthought. "But I'm alright. It's you who you should be worrying about, not me."
Harry still stared at Ron's hand. It looked shriveled up and awfully limp. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to go toward it… it told me to. Curse those voices." He swore. "Listen, I heard this conversation before I conked out-"
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "More voices? Again?" she said sarcastically, and they all laughed.
"Er, yeah. It was Peter talking to – to Voldemort," he said hesitantly. They all stared at him. "Voldemort was angry that Peter used a Muggle weapon and tampered with it to try to kill me. But then Peter said that I was trapped in that mist, and Voldemort said not to get his hopes up because I could fight back still. What happened during all that? I saw this light far away."
Hermione took up the story. "Well, Ron had to let go of you because it attacked his hand. I didn't know what to do, so I did the Patronus charm. It seemed to be working a little, but it faded because my memory wasn't happy enough."
"That's when I passed out," Harry commented. "Sorry. Go on."
"By then, Ron had recovered. His Patronus is a bit stronger than mine, I'll admit," she said, blushing slightly. "But our Patronuses together were able to drive the mist away temporarily enough so we could get you here."
Ginny then told her part. "Something in the back of my mind told me that something was wrong," she said looking into his eyes gently. Oh, she's so beautiful, Harry thought. "I ignored it for a while, but it only got worse, so I floo-ed to the house. I saw this mass of black mist floating everywhere around the house. I floo-ed to the Ministry as fast as a could, but I soon found out you were at St. Mungo's, so I met you here."
Ginny hesitated for a moment. Both Ron and Hermione gave her looks, so she sighed and opened her mouth to talk again.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
Ginny paused again, and Ron and Hermione's looks got worse. She flushed under everyone's stare. "Erm, Harry, Dad thinks it's best if… you stay here for a while," she said quickly, as if to get it over with. She stared down at the floor.
"Oh, of course. I expect I'll be feeling better in a day or two."
Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry. Well, a little longer than a few days. Maybe… a month?"
"A month?" Harry practically yelled. "Gin, I'll be more than fine in a month. I can understand his concern for my health, but I refuse to stay here more than a week. And even that's stretching it."
"It's not that, Harry. It's not about your health. Well, it ultimately is, but… that's not what I mean. This isn't about you getting better from this encounter. It's about keeping you safe from endangering yourself in the future," Hermione cut in.
Harry was frustrated. "So you expect me to live in the samedamn hospital… no. The samedamn room that I've been living in for nearly 4 years? I won't! It isn't happening."
"Harry, mate, it's for the best," Ron said, but Harry could tell he didn't really mean it. He wanted his best mate out of the hospital as much as Harry himself did. Ginny and Hermione seemed to want him out of there, too, but they were concerned that he would get attacked again. Ginny especially. Ron knew that Harry needed to get out of here, even if he was in danger. Ginny was waiting patiently, but she was terribly hungry…
How did I know that? Harry asked himself wondrously. What thehell told me that?
"Erm, Ginny, are you hungry?" Harry asked suddenly, then turned bright red as he realized how random he sounded.
Ginny turned to him in surprise. "Why, yes I am. How'd you know?"
"I, er, nothing. Just asking," he lied a little too quickly, just deepening the shade of red he had turned.
"Harry James Potter! Are you mind-reading your dearest friends?" Ron said sarcastically, stifling a laugh.
"The mind is not made of lines, to be read like a book," Harry mimicked a certain greasy-haired Potions Master.
"Who said that?" asked Ginny.
"Snape," Harry spat with dislike. He loathed that man.
"Anyway, back to the question at hand. Can you read minds, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I really don't know. I wasn't even trying to."
"Alright then. Try me, mate. I'll tell you if you're right," Ron challenged.
"Okay," Harry agreed.
He didn't know how to try to read someone's mind. It's not like he'd ever done it before. Harry stared at Ron, yet letting his mind wander, clearing his head of any thoughts. Finally he felt like he was getting through, but he was quickly blocked out.
"Hey!" Harry said. "You can't block me out on purpose! At least lower your defenses so I can try again."
"Looks like you remember some of the things old Snape taught you, eh, Potter?" Ron joked. "All right, all right. I'll let you in this time."
Harry again cleared his mind and willed himself to explore Ron's mind. For a second, he thought he wasn't getting through, but suddenly, he was thinking Ron's thoughts.
If he actually can read minds, then damn! That's crazy. But…
He's reading my mind. HI HARRY!
This is a bit uncomfortable. Can you leave, please?
Sure, Harry thought. Just one more moment. I want to see if I can figure out what you're feeling, not just your mental conversation with me.
Okay. There was nothing for a split second. Then, he could perceive what Ron was feeling. His hand ached horribly, and felt numb. Also, he wanted to have a chocolate frog. Harry could feel his mate's discomfort at having his mind read, so he quickly stopped trying to read his mind.
But he was still there. Why couldn't he leave?
Harry's mind raced. How could he get out? Why was he still here? What about Hermione and Ginny? What do I look like right now? Did I faint or-
Harry was back. He sighed with relief. Ron let out his held breath too, apparently happy that Harry was out of his head.
"For a moment I thought you were stuck there, mate!" Ron said. "No offense, I'm glad you're out of my brain there. It wasn't very comfortable at all. Merlin, I feel sorry for you if this is what you had to deal with after Snape every Occlumency lesson…"
He groaned and held his hand to his forehead. Hermione asked him what hurt, and he said. "Splitting headache."
"Harry, why can you suddenly read minds? Doesn't this seem a bit… odd to you?" Hermione asked.
"I never could before, Hermione. I swear. And I won't do it again so forcefully with you guys. Sorry Ron. I didn't know what would happen."
"S'okay," Ron said simply.
"I can't help but think, Voldemort could read minds," Harry said. "He'd enter my thoughts at night."
"Perhaps he passed that on to you somehow," Ginny mused. "Seems a bit far out."
"Well, we do share a lot of qualities," Harry commented. "That scar bonded us in many ways. I am a Parseltongue, so is he. The sorting hat said I should be in Slytherin, where he was. Plus the whole 'only one can survive' kinda thing. Maybe giving me the scar gave me all those things and the ability to read minds."
"But why did it only show up now?" Hermione asked with a frown, as if she was trying to think of something. "Why not when you were younger?"
"I don't know."
No one spoke for a moment. Then, Harry spoke again.
"Well, since you're hungry, Ginny, and Ron wants a chocolate frog," he grinned sheepishly at Ron's surprised face. "Let's go to Diagon Alley!"
Their grins faded. "What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"You're supposed to stay here, Harry. To keep you safe," Ginny said sadly. "Diagon Alley would make you very vulnerable and easy to attack."
Harry groaned in frustration. "I don't want to stay here! I'd rather run the risk of getting attacked than stay cooped up here for a month!"
"Harry, we know you've been a man who wants action and doesn't like to sit around, but we need you to stay here. It's the safest place for you right now," Hermione said.
Suddenly, Harry remembered something Hagrid had said.
'Ere's Gringotts. Safest place there is, except maybe Hogwarts, o' course.
Harry obviously didn't want to camp out in a vault at Gringotts, but Hogwarts! "How about Hogwarts? That's the safest place there is! And Ron and Hermione are there!"
Ron hesitated before answering Harry.
He sighed. "We were hoping you wouldn't think of that. Yes, Hogwarts would be even safer than St. Mungo's, but…" Ron broke off, nodding at Hermione or Ginny to continue.
"The students would probably swarm you. And the Slytherins might want to hurt you, Harry," Hermione said flatly.
"I'm not useless, you know!" Harry said with a hint of anger in his voice. "I can defend myself!"
"I doubt the Slytherins would try to pull anything on Harry. The Dark Days are over… there are even some Slytherins that have turned to the good side again, according to you yourself, Hermione," Ron said with a smirk, and Hermione blushed.
"Well, yes, I supposed I did, but-"
"Nevermind," Harry said coldly. "I think Ron is right. And if I do get hurt, I will take responsibility for it. It's not like you guys encouraged me to go to Hogwarts."
"Well, all right. Hermione, I think it's for the best," Ginny said.
"I suppose so," Hermione said, but Harry could tell she still wasn't sure.
"Alright, mate!" Ron cheered. "Want to leave tomorrow and head off to school?" he teased. "You got some real catching up to do!"
Harry realized something all of a sudden. "So, what happened, that last week of school, when I was… asleep?"
"We got let out the day after the battle. The school was without a headmaster, a Charms teacher, and a nurse. All the students were anxious to get home to their families, and teachers needed to time to repair and rebuild the school."
"Yes, Harry. Professor Flitwick was killed by a Death Eater in the battle. But Madame Pomfrey recovered later on," Ginny said.
"Oh." What else could Harry say? "I'm feeling a bit light-headed again, so do you think I could take a nap?"
"Fine with me!" Ron said grinning. "I could use one myself."
"Bye Harry! We'll come by tomorrow!" Hermione said.
"We'll be off to Hogwarts at noon," Ginny said with a wave.
Another woman appeared outside the hospital door. "Back to see me, Harry?" Anne remarked sarcastically. "I see you relapsed because you weren't doing your exercise routine, eh?"
Harry chuckled. "I didn't quite get to it, no."
"You really should. It'll do you good," she said seriously. "But, for now, just relax. You'll be out of here tomorrow."
"Thanks, Anne."
"Hey, I was sleeping! Could you two keep it down?" Ron retorted grumpily. Anne rolled her eyes and then exited the room with a wink.
Then Harry fell asleep dreaming about going back to Hogwarts once more.
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Sorry, again, about taking my time to update. I'm writing another story now, Flight of a Dove, so things will be going a bit slower. If you have a moment, read and review my other story! It's a little bit short on reviews, lol. I know it's probably not as good as this story, but just read it anyway. Review this chappie too! Luv ya!
Kelsey