Chapter Nine:
He could hear someone breathing by his side. Slowly, he opened his heavy eye lids, scared at what he might see.
No Dementors. Harry sighed with relief.
"Harry?" Ron seemed to snap out of what reverie he was in when he heard Harry awaken.
"You're ok," Harry sat up.
"I'm fine. It's yourself that you should be worried for." Ron handed Harry his glasses.
"What exactly....well, I remember the Dementors..." Harry trailed off.
"Yea, knocked you out for a good two days."
"Two days!" Harry nearly choked on the glass of water Madam Pomfrey shoved under his nose.
"Glad you decided to wake up, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley has been worried out of his wits about you. Can't get rid of him. Out!" The nurse tried to shoo away Ron.
"You have?" Harry was surprised. Ron looked at his shoes and nodded. "Madam Pomfrey, can he stay for a few minutes?"
Madam Pomfrey scowled, but agreed. She handed Harry a giant slab of Honeydukes chocolate and ordered him to have the entire thing consumed before she returned. She walked away, mumbling something about the stubbornness of friends.
After she had left, Harry broke away a piece of chocolate and handed it to Ron. They both ate a bit before continuing their conversation.
"So..." Harry said, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Look, I'm sorry. I've been a complete git. I really owe you an apology."
"No," Harry said, " I was supposed to stop you if you were going to act like that. Remember, I promised in the summer."
Ron laughed, "yea, I suppose. But I let Quidditch get in the way of everything."
" I don't deserve to be captain," he said after a pause.
"Sure you do. Wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Harry said honestly.
"Don't be stupid."
"No, really."
"Really?" Ron swallowed the last of his chocolate.
Harry nodded. "Now, can someone please fill me in on what happened exactly?"
Ron reached behind him and handed Harry a copy of The Daily Prophet. Harry took it and read the headline.
"Attack on Hogsmeade leaves village in shambles." Harry took a look at the picture and frowned. It showed a small girl with tears streaming over her face, bending down to her dead father. "Ugh, that's horrible!" Harry throw the paper down with disgust.
"If you think that's bad, you might not want to read the article." Ron warned.
"I should...I don't know if I can just yet. Just tell me, how is everyone from Hogwarts?" Harry awaited Ron's answer anxiously.
Ron brushed some stray ginger strands from his face before answering. "No ones dead, fortunatly. Lots of students injured though. That Marietta girl had to go to St. Mungo's, but most of the people were treated in here with the help of Medi-Witches that came in."
Harry shook his head at the news. "Hagrid said Dumbledore didn't want us to go to the village."
"He didn't. Nearly got in trouble with the Ministry on that one. Luckily he avoided it somehow. All future visits are banned though."
"No surprise there. Well, I'll miss Honeydukes." Harry said glumly.
The two friends sat in silence, thoughts of the horrible events running through their heads. This time Ron broke the silence.
" I don't want to bring it up, but I know you'll ask eventually."
"About...?"
"The vision," Ron gulped.
"Remus..." Harry trailed off.
"Yea. It was only for a second, but I saw him. He was in a cell, all beaten and mangled-looking." Ron paused at the horrified expression on Harry's face. Harry took a moment to recover, and then urged Ron to continue. "That's all," he ended lamely.
" Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"I don't know...sorry, Harry."
"Yea." Harry let a long breath escape his lungs, causing his ribs to protrude from his skin sharply under his white and blue stripped pajamas. He was about to ask about Hermione when Madam Pomfrey rushed to Harry's bed.
"All right, I have given you two more than enough time to catch up. Mr. Potter needs his rest. Out, Weasley," she said harshly, pointing to the door.
Ron stood up with a sigh, "see you."
Harry said bye, and watched his friend leave. Madam Pomfrey took this moment to shove a spoonful of a bitter tasting potion down Harry's throat. He coughed and spluttered.
"Sleeping Draught mixed in with Strengthening Potion, " she said, "a new blend."
"Don't you think two days are a long enough rest, Ma'am?"
"Don't be cheeky, and rest Mr. Potter."
Harry was about to comment, but the nurse gently pushed him down so that his head rested against the soft pillow. His eyes grew heavy, and soon he could not keep them open any longer.
Harry awoke to the sun's gentle rays spilling down on his bed. He sat up, stretched, and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. It took him a moment to remember why he felt so miserable, then it dawned on him. It was the 15th of October, the first Quidditch match of the term. Harry groaned, burrowing under his covers once more. He lay there for a moment, miserable. Then he slowly sat up again, and let his maroon comforter fall off of his head. Looking around the dormitory he could see that he was the first one awake. He could still get out of this.
After dressing quickly, Harry quietly rummaged through his trunk for his invisibility cloak. When he found it he muttered a quick "sorry" to a sleeping Ron, and left the dormitory without making his bed. Relieved, he saw that Hermione was not yet awake and in the common room, waiting for the boys to get up like she did everyday. Harry climbed out of the portrait hole without meeting a single soul, and walked to the only place he wanted to be in the world.
On his way to the Room of Requirement, Harry narrowly escaped bumping into a dismal Professor Snape, who was on his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The halls were still fairly empty, so this was his only encounter.
Must be earlier than I thought.
When he came to the door of the Room of Requirement, he walked by it three times, concentrating fully on a relaxing place he could be alone. After doing so, Harry yanked the door open, stormed in, and sat upon a red pouffe. He declined the shaking table of the biscuits and glass of milk it tried to offer him. When he did, the table shook so violently that all four legs snapped off, leaving Harry face-to-face with a wooden board.
"Go away," he mumbled to the broken furniture. He buried pulled his knees to his chest, and covered his face with his hands.
Memories of Sirius and Remus played through his mind. Sirius escaping his fate of receiving the Dementor's Kiss as he flew away on Buckbeak. Remus trying to get him to eat chocolate after Harry fainted during an Expecto Patronum lesson. The three of them smiling at each other after their victory of capturing Peter Petigrew.
Petigrew. The mere thought made Harry nauseous. Petigrew was the reason Sirius was unable to fulfill his duties as Godfather. He was the reason Harry was an orphan, and had to spend 11 years being abused by people who hated him. Petigrew ruined any chance he might have had at a normal life. Then there was Remus. When Sirius had died, Remus and Harry both suffered. Unable to comfort each other in person, they exchanged letters until Remus had to take on his duties as an Order Member. In his last letter, Remus had promised Harry they would go through the legal papers Sirius left behind, as well as more belongings of the Black and Potter families. It would help them move through the grieving process, he said. The letter also hinted of Remus wanting to tell or show him something important. What it was, Harry did not know, but it seemed as if it was something he did not want to wait to reveal.
Now, Harry though, he might never find out. Ron's vision had been a bit disturbing, and dampened most of the little hope Harry had. He and Luna's searching through both ancient and contemporary texts in the library, and clues in newspapers had proven to be a dead end. While Harry's confidence waned, Luna kept urging him to continue to search. Now he realized that she too was beginning to lose all hope.
"Stupid Wormtail," he muttered to himself.
He could not force one tear out of his eyes. He wanted to cry, he really did. All of a sudden all the grief he had tried to swallow down erupted, and he could not even cry. What was wrong with him?
Finding no purpose to linger in the room, Harry got up and left. Harry descended the staircase that led to one of the side entrances to the school, the one Quidditch players used to walk to the locker rooms and pitch. He did not know why he journeyed to the Quidditch pitch when before he was so eager to be as far away as possible. He decided it was because he still wanted to see the match, but to view it in the company of others would be too much. Harry sat against the inner stadium wall, under the bleachers. Under the comfort of his invisibility cloak it would be ok to cry.
A/N: Sorry for the delay...stupid exams are this week. As your reading this I'm probably sitting in my Geometry final. I love it as much as Harry adores Potions.
He could hear someone breathing by his side. Slowly, he opened his heavy eye lids, scared at what he might see.
No Dementors. Harry sighed with relief.
"Harry?" Ron seemed to snap out of what reverie he was in when he heard Harry awaken.
"You're ok," Harry sat up.
"I'm fine. It's yourself that you should be worried for." Ron handed Harry his glasses.
"What exactly....well, I remember the Dementors..." Harry trailed off.
"Yea, knocked you out for a good two days."
"Two days!" Harry nearly choked on the glass of water Madam Pomfrey shoved under his nose.
"Glad you decided to wake up, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley has been worried out of his wits about you. Can't get rid of him. Out!" The nurse tried to shoo away Ron.
"You have?" Harry was surprised. Ron looked at his shoes and nodded. "Madam Pomfrey, can he stay for a few minutes?"
Madam Pomfrey scowled, but agreed. She handed Harry a giant slab of Honeydukes chocolate and ordered him to have the entire thing consumed before she returned. She walked away, mumbling something about the stubbornness of friends.
After she had left, Harry broke away a piece of chocolate and handed it to Ron. They both ate a bit before continuing their conversation.
"So..." Harry said, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Look, I'm sorry. I've been a complete git. I really owe you an apology."
"No," Harry said, " I was supposed to stop you if you were going to act like that. Remember, I promised in the summer."
Ron laughed, "yea, I suppose. But I let Quidditch get in the way of everything."
" I don't deserve to be captain," he said after a pause.
"Sure you do. Wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Harry said honestly.
"Don't be stupid."
"No, really."
"Really?" Ron swallowed the last of his chocolate.
Harry nodded. "Now, can someone please fill me in on what happened exactly?"
Ron reached behind him and handed Harry a copy of The Daily Prophet. Harry took it and read the headline.
"Attack on Hogsmeade leaves village in shambles." Harry took a look at the picture and frowned. It showed a small girl with tears streaming over her face, bending down to her dead father. "Ugh, that's horrible!" Harry throw the paper down with disgust.
"If you think that's bad, you might not want to read the article." Ron warned.
"I should...I don't know if I can just yet. Just tell me, how is everyone from Hogwarts?" Harry awaited Ron's answer anxiously.
Ron brushed some stray ginger strands from his face before answering. "No ones dead, fortunatly. Lots of students injured though. That Marietta girl had to go to St. Mungo's, but most of the people were treated in here with the help of Medi-Witches that came in."
Harry shook his head at the news. "Hagrid said Dumbledore didn't want us to go to the village."
"He didn't. Nearly got in trouble with the Ministry on that one. Luckily he avoided it somehow. All future visits are banned though."
"No surprise there. Well, I'll miss Honeydukes." Harry said glumly.
The two friends sat in silence, thoughts of the horrible events running through their heads. This time Ron broke the silence.
" I don't want to bring it up, but I know you'll ask eventually."
"About...?"
"The vision," Ron gulped.
"Remus..." Harry trailed off.
"Yea. It was only for a second, but I saw him. He was in a cell, all beaten and mangled-looking." Ron paused at the horrified expression on Harry's face. Harry took a moment to recover, and then urged Ron to continue. "That's all," he ended lamely.
" Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"I don't know...sorry, Harry."
"Yea." Harry let a long breath escape his lungs, causing his ribs to protrude from his skin sharply under his white and blue stripped pajamas. He was about to ask about Hermione when Madam Pomfrey rushed to Harry's bed.
"All right, I have given you two more than enough time to catch up. Mr. Potter needs his rest. Out, Weasley," she said harshly, pointing to the door.
Ron stood up with a sigh, "see you."
Harry said bye, and watched his friend leave. Madam Pomfrey took this moment to shove a spoonful of a bitter tasting potion down Harry's throat. He coughed and spluttered.
"Sleeping Draught mixed in with Strengthening Potion, " she said, "a new blend."
"Don't you think two days are a long enough rest, Ma'am?"
"Don't be cheeky, and rest Mr. Potter."
Harry was about to comment, but the nurse gently pushed him down so that his head rested against the soft pillow. His eyes grew heavy, and soon he could not keep them open any longer.
Harry awoke to the sun's gentle rays spilling down on his bed. He sat up, stretched, and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. It took him a moment to remember why he felt so miserable, then it dawned on him. It was the 15th of October, the first Quidditch match of the term. Harry groaned, burrowing under his covers once more. He lay there for a moment, miserable. Then he slowly sat up again, and let his maroon comforter fall off of his head. Looking around the dormitory he could see that he was the first one awake. He could still get out of this.
After dressing quickly, Harry quietly rummaged through his trunk for his invisibility cloak. When he found it he muttered a quick "sorry" to a sleeping Ron, and left the dormitory without making his bed. Relieved, he saw that Hermione was not yet awake and in the common room, waiting for the boys to get up like she did everyday. Harry climbed out of the portrait hole without meeting a single soul, and walked to the only place he wanted to be in the world.
On his way to the Room of Requirement, Harry narrowly escaped bumping into a dismal Professor Snape, who was on his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The halls were still fairly empty, so this was his only encounter.
Must be earlier than I thought.
When he came to the door of the Room of Requirement, he walked by it three times, concentrating fully on a relaxing place he could be alone. After doing so, Harry yanked the door open, stormed in, and sat upon a red pouffe. He declined the shaking table of the biscuits and glass of milk it tried to offer him. When he did, the table shook so violently that all four legs snapped off, leaving Harry face-to-face with a wooden board.
"Go away," he mumbled to the broken furniture. He buried pulled his knees to his chest, and covered his face with his hands.
Memories of Sirius and Remus played through his mind. Sirius escaping his fate of receiving the Dementor's Kiss as he flew away on Buckbeak. Remus trying to get him to eat chocolate after Harry fainted during an Expecto Patronum lesson. The three of them smiling at each other after their victory of capturing Peter Petigrew.
Petigrew. The mere thought made Harry nauseous. Petigrew was the reason Sirius was unable to fulfill his duties as Godfather. He was the reason Harry was an orphan, and had to spend 11 years being abused by people who hated him. Petigrew ruined any chance he might have had at a normal life. Then there was Remus. When Sirius had died, Remus and Harry both suffered. Unable to comfort each other in person, they exchanged letters until Remus had to take on his duties as an Order Member. In his last letter, Remus had promised Harry they would go through the legal papers Sirius left behind, as well as more belongings of the Black and Potter families. It would help them move through the grieving process, he said. The letter also hinted of Remus wanting to tell or show him something important. What it was, Harry did not know, but it seemed as if it was something he did not want to wait to reveal.
Now, Harry though, he might never find out. Ron's vision had been a bit disturbing, and dampened most of the little hope Harry had. He and Luna's searching through both ancient and contemporary texts in the library, and clues in newspapers had proven to be a dead end. While Harry's confidence waned, Luna kept urging him to continue to search. Now he realized that she too was beginning to lose all hope.
"Stupid Wormtail," he muttered to himself.
He could not force one tear out of his eyes. He wanted to cry, he really did. All of a sudden all the grief he had tried to swallow down erupted, and he could not even cry. What was wrong with him?
Finding no purpose to linger in the room, Harry got up and left. Harry descended the staircase that led to one of the side entrances to the school, the one Quidditch players used to walk to the locker rooms and pitch. He did not know why he journeyed to the Quidditch pitch when before he was so eager to be as far away as possible. He decided it was because he still wanted to see the match, but to view it in the company of others would be too much. Harry sat against the inner stadium wall, under the bleachers. Under the comfort of his invisibility cloak it would be ok to cry.
A/N: Sorry for the delay...stupid exams are this week. As your reading this I'm probably sitting in my Geometry final. I love it as much as Harry adores Potions.