A/N: I'm afraid that Santa Claus brought me an early Christmas present: writer's block. I think that I'm finally over it, but I had wanted to update much sooner. I'm so sorry, but I ended up with five versions of this chapter. Hopefully, the next chapter will come easier.
Also, I'd like to say a special thanks to my sister, TexansFanNumber8, who read through this chapter for any grievous errors and assured me that I could post this and not start a sixth revision. Aren't you guys thankful for her?
Harry Potter: Prophecy of the Phoenix - Chapter 7
"Harry! Harry, wake up!"
The panicked syllables pierced the void that had wrapped around Harry like a warm blanket, infiltrating the temporary sense of peace he had found, and Harry's first instinct was to rebel against it.
Despite his internal rebellion, awareness began to creep into the edges of his mind, untangling him from the remnants of the void.
Pain hit him, a fierce sharpness radiating from his scar and shooting out into his peripheral nervous system.
He winced before even opening his eyes, barely managing to suppress the accompanying groan.
"Harry?"
Harry begrudgingly forced his eyes open at the urgency of the tone in which his name was uttered. His surroundings were bleary, but there was no mistaking the shade of red adorning the top of the figure standing next to him.
Automatically, he reached for his glasses, but the movement of his arm launched tendrils of pain through the limb. Harry had to chew on the inside of his bottom lip to keep from crying out.
Summoning a combination of stubbornness and sheer will power, he grasped his glasses and slid them onto his face, bringing his surroundings and Ron's worried face into focus.
He felt a rush of gratitude as he heard Ron tell the other occupants to go on to breakfast before turning his attentions back to him.
"Harry, are you all right? You wouldn't wake up, and your scar's been bleeding again."
A probe to his forehead found the scar closed over and all of the blood crusted, meaning that it had sealed and stopped bleeding some time ago. It had been several weeks since it had last split open during his premonition of Snape's demise despite his continuing nightmares.
"I'm fine."
The hoarseness of his own voice surprised him and did little to appease his friend's concern.
Ignoring the doubt in Ron's face, Harry pushed himself out of bed, his entire body complaining vociferously as if he had just run a marathon, and he was unable to keep discomfort from flitting across his face.
"You're not all right. Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey."
The last thing that Harry wanted at the moment was to be put under the ministrations of the doting and overprotective mediwitch.
"I'm fine, really." Harry repeated even as his brain began to tingle with nausea and dizziness. "Just give me a moment to get cleaned up."
Ron nodded reluctantly. He wanted desperately to push the issue, to force him to go to the Hospital Wing, but they were still putting the pieces of their friendship back together, making Ron feel as if he should drop the subject for the moment.
His resolve teetered when Harry emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later looking worse than he had previously, despite the fact that the dried blood had been washed from his face and he was no longer wearing blood-stained pajamas.
It was Hermione who saved him from having to bring the subject up again as she burst into their dormitory.
"You two had better hurry. We're going to be la-"
Her eyes grew wide as she took in Harry's appearance, and she interrupted her own comment.
"Harry, you look terrible."
"Hermione, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well."
Ron shot him a look as he remembered how hard it had been to wake him, and Hermione marched straight up to him, placing the back of her hand to his brow and noticing that the infamous mark seemed inflamed.
However, she did not see his eyes flinch in pain at her touch.
"No, you're not. You're burning up. You need to see Madam Pomfrey immediately."
"That's what I said." Ron grumbled quietly.
Harry no longer had the strength to fight them. The blackness of the void tickled the outskirts of his mind in a welcoming invitation, and Harry knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be forced to succumb to it once again.
"Okay." He whispered in defeat.
"Good." Hermione voiced succinctly.
The trio was halfway to the Hospital Wing when they were met by Professor McGonagall, who Harry swore looked a bit distraught behind her usual stern mask.
"Potter, Professor Dumbledore needs to see you immediately."
Hermione broke in before Harry could respond, "Professor, Harry is ill with a high fever. We were taking him to the Hospital Wing."
McGonagall studied the young Gryffindor for a moment, "I'm afraid that it's a matter of some urgency, but have no fear, Miss Granger. Potter will find his way to the Hospital Wing afterwards."
Harry nodded in understanding at the implied order, immediately regretting the movement as it threw off his equilibrium for a brief moment, causing him to sway slightly but noticeably.
Both Ron and Hermione stepped closer to him, but he waved them off. "Go on. I'll be all right."
They looked reluctant to leave, but they both did at McGonagall's nod, slowly while shooting worried glances at Harry with the knowledge that something was terribly wrong.
McGonagall's mask slipped further at their absence, "Harry, I'm going to be needed in the Great Hall, but if you need to talk to me later, I'll be available."
"Thank you." Harry murmured in an almost inaudible voice, surprised that she had used his first name.
She paused for a moment, gauging his reaction, and then nodded slightly, "Well, then you best be off. The password is Jellied Slugs."
Like a well-worn glove, McGonagall's practiced expression slid back onto her face as she reluctantly left the young Gryffindor to head for the Great Hall.
Harry stood in the hall for a moment, delaying facing his headmaster for a few moments more. Finally and with a resigned sigh, he started for Dumbledore's office, allowing his muscle memory to guide him and feeling a growing weight of dread building in the pit of his stomach with each step, irritating the nausea already bubbling there.
He got no satisfaction from the fact that he did not have to play the guessing game with the gargoyle, and finally trudged into the office, only half-surprised at the presence of Sirius and Lupin.
He was, however, disappointed to find that Fawkes was absent from his normal perch and was nowhere to be seen.
Dumbledore's expression was somber and serious, sans the normal glittering in his eyes,
"Harry, please have a seat."
At this point, if Harry had not known what was going on, he would have been very nervous for a different reason.
He sat carefully, trying to make his movements as natural as possible, despite the fact that every movement was protested vehemently by his body.
Both Lupin and Dumbledore's eyes narrowed a bit as they observed his stiff movements, but Sirius seemed too distracted by his own inner conflict to notice.
Sirius stepped forward with a look of determination etched onto his features, speaking his godson's name, but as soon as the word left his lips, he found himself paralyzed both physically and vocally, leaving him to wonder why he had insisted on breaking the news himself.
Seeing the conflict replace the determination in Sirius's face, Harry spoke at a decibel that could barely be heard, "It's all right, Sirius. I already know."
He caught Dumbledore rise out of the corner of his eye, feeling ill-prepared to accept any of the kind platitudes that the elder wizard would be offering.
Right now, what he needed most was time to think, to sort things out. His thoughts and emotions were raging in a chaotic maelstrom centering on guilt and helplessness, but there was a part of him, albeit a small part of him, that felt relieved at the Dursleys' permanent absence.
That part of himself would not be denied, and it both startled and terrified him.
As his aunt's final words continued to resound in his head, he thought that perhaps she was right.
Maybe he was a monster after all.
His body threatened to lurch as it had earlier that morning, but Harry managed to suppress the urge though he knew that giving in would most likely result only in dry heaves.
Dumbledore touched his arm lightly though with his hypersensitive nerves it felt as if the touch was being burned into his skin, and it was enough to break Harry out of his self-recriminations.
"When you did not come to my office to see me last night, I had hoped..."
As his voice trailed off, Harry finally found himself able to meet Dumbledore's eyes and saw a reflection of guilt and helplessness in those azure depths at not being able to protect him.
"Alas, I'm afraid that doesn't matter anymore."
Harry could see the hesitation in Dumbledore at questioning him any further despite the fact that it was necessary, so Harry decided to save him from the burden by offering,
"There really isn't much to tell you, sir. Voldemort killed them all using Avada Kedavra."
Sirius finally broke out of his paralysis and stepped closer to his godson, "Harry, it's not your fault."
"Yes it is." Harry responded with certainty in a voice that was louder than any he had used since awakening. "Voldemort targeted them because of me, and I just stood there and let it happen."
"That I find hard to believe." Lupin spoke for the first time, looking almost sick. "You've neglected the fact that you were hit by the Killing Curse as well."
Sirius's outburst was stayed only by the restraining hand Lupin placed on his shoulder.
Harry's already chaotic thoughts were now jumbled with an additional one, wondering how Lupin had possibly been able to deduce that.
"Harry?" Dumbledore voiced gently though he no longer had reservations about questioning the younger wizard.
"It went right through me." Harry mumbled almost-unintelligibly.
"Maybe you should start at the beginning." Dumbledore suggested.
Harry's eyes flickered in the direction of his godfather. He immediately decided against sharing the fact that he had witnessed his parents' murders, especially because of his godfather's presence.
He turned his attention back Dumbledore, letting the words come, slowly at first and then faster until the words were tumbling over each other in an effort to get the endeavor over as quickly as possible, but his words stopped before they could relay his aunt's final condemnatory statement.
Sirius and Lupin had made it to his side during the course of his narrative, both looking stricken at his story, and Dumbledore was struggling to keep a calm facade.
"Thank you, Harry. Now I need you to listen to me for a moment. You are not to blame for the Dursleys' deaths. In fact, you showed amazing courage and selflessness, especially concerning recent circumstances."
Harry could not accept his headmaster's words, knowing that his family did hold him responsible, and nothing that Dumbledore could ever offer would change that.
"Meanwhile, I must insist that you make a trip to the Hospital Wing and take a day off from classes." Dumbledore held up a hand, seeing that Harry was about to argue one or both of his assertions, "No arguments this time. You need to take some time off to let this sink in. Sirius...?"
Dumbledore did not even have to finish his question as Sirius changed immediately to his animagus form.
Dumbledore offered the black dog a small smile, "I must be getting predictable in my old age."
"Harry?"
The fuzziness around Harry caused by the Dreamless Sleep potion began to coalesce into shapes.
For a moment he panicked, thinking that it should not be happening, but he relaxed when he saw the form of the man calling his name.
"Dad?" He whispered in awe, his feet refusing to work.
"That's right, son. I'm here to help you." James took a good look at his son before adding, "Has anyone ever told you that you have your mother's eyes?"
Harry nodded, "Where is Mom?"
James chuckled. "Just like you were when you were a baby. You were never satisfied with just your dear old dad. You always had to have your mom in sight too although you were content just to be with her."
"I didn't mean it like that. I-"
"Harry, it's okay. I was just teasing. Your mom couldn't come through this time, but have no doubts that we are always with you. Don't ever feel that you're alone." James chuckled at himself, "Sirius would be busting a gut if he ever heard me say that. Your mother was always in charge of the sentimental speeches."
Harry was now inching towards his father, almost afraid that the image would dissolve if he got too close.
It was James that closed the distance and pulled him into a hug. For a brief moment, Harry allowed himself to sink into the embrace and let all of his troubles fade away.
When they pulled away, Harry was surprised at the dampness on his cheeks, and he quickly swiped the evidence of the tears away.
"Never be ashamed to cry. You can't always keep everything neatly bottled inside. Speaking of which, I need you to make me a promise."
"Anything."
"You need to tell Sirius and Remus what happened during the summer. Let them help you."
"All right." He agreed though he was disinclined to do so.
"Good. Now, I need to show you something. Take my hand."
Harry took his father's hand, and their surroundings dissolved around them, reforming into the restricted section of the library.
James reached out for a book on the shelf and pulled it out, "I believe that you've been looking for this."
Harry stared at the book entitled Ancient Prophesies and the Fate of the World by I. C. Thefuture in his hand in disbelief. He had spent so many nights searching in vain.
"Thanks."
James smiled, "Good luck, Harry. Remember what I told you and your promise."
Harry started awake, immediately catching the attention of the large, black dog, who was keeping vigil at the foot of Harry's Hospital bed.
At the pitiful whine, Harry reached over to scratch behind the dog's ears, "It's all right, Snuffles. It wasn't a nightmare."
The dog whined again, nosing him and then looking in the direction of the empty goblets at Harry's bedside.
"The Dreamless Sleep potion must have worn off." Harry rationalized though he knew that he should have been asleep and not dreaming for several hours yet.
Any further conversation was interrupted as Madam Pomfrey bustled over to fuss over her charge.
Snuffles growled low in his throat.
"Relax, I'm not breaking any promises. I'm not going to a class, and I will take it easy. I'm just going to do it on the Quidditch Pitch."
Sirius in his animagus form did not look pleased, but at this point Harry did not care, having spent the majority of the day cooped up in the Hospital Wing bored to tears.
Although he was still a little sore, his fever had broken, and because he was dying to get to the library and check out the book, he had a lot of excess nervous energy to burn off.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Fred demanded as the rest of the Quidditch team converged on him.
"The last time I checked, I'm the one who called this practice in the first place. I'm not about to abandon you guys, and we have the match against Hufflepuff coming up this weekend."
"But Harry-"
"No buts, or as your captain I'll be forced to add on another practice at five in the morning."
"Let's get to work." George announced, taking off on his broom,
The others were right behind him, and with a smile and wave to his disgruntled godfather, Harry took off as well.
The wind whipped through his hair as he raced through the air, knowing that later his godfather would definitely be giving him a lecture about his definition of "taking it easy."
While the rest of his teammates were going through their respective drills, Harry scanned the area for the Snitch and chuckled as he spotted it buzzing around Snuffles's head.
Snuffles snapped at the Snitch, missing it as it deftly escaped its capture while continuing to be a nuisance.
Harry swooped down just as Snuffles snapped at it once again and this time managed to nab it.
"Trying to give me a run for my money?" Harry teased as Snuffles looked entirely too pleased with himself. "Well, would you mind releasing it? I need the practice, and I don't think that we'll be able to use you in our game this weekend."
There was a moment of hesitation as his godfather clearly shot him a look saying that he would only release the Snitch if Harry promised not to overdo it.
"Come on, let it go. I'll be fine."
Snuffles sighed and spit out the Snitch, which sputtered a moment indignantly before shooting across the pitch with Harry on its tail.
The black dog shook his head in defeat, and at the same time, he felt pride swell up inside of him at his godson's talent.
He could remember when James had him keep a watch out for Lily as he would smuggle baby Harry with him onto a broom. Harry had taken to it immediately, squealing with delight as they rose into the air.
Harry's first word had been "Pafoo," which had annoyed Lily to no end, but his second word had been, "up." They had all been shocked when the broom had risen into the small hand, and James's cover had been blown.
Snuffles looked up from his reminiscing as Harry landed beside him at the end of practice, a grin spread across his face.
The animagus growled jokingly to show his displeasure of Harry's antics on the broom, and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Look, see, I'm fine. Come on, let's get to dinner, and then there's something that I need to talk to you and Remus about."
Snuffles trotted alongside of him, smiling inwardly at the use of his friend's first name.
When they had first come to Hogwarts, Harry had called him "Professor Lupin," and Sirius had burst into laughter at the thought of his fellow Marauder playing the part of a professor. From then on, upon Lupin's own insistence, Harry had called him "Remus."
Harry waited on his bed silently for the others in his dormitory to fall asleep so that he could sneak off to the library and retrieve the book, memories of that long day washing over him.
Upon entering the Great Hall that evening, it had not taken long for Harry to find out why Professor McGonagall had been needed there that morning.
Hermione had hugged him tightly as she stammered out, "You saw all of it, didn't you? That's why you were so sick this morning."
He felt frozen, unable to answer her question, and instead responded with, "How did you know?"
She pulled out that day's issue of the Daily Prophet, sporting a large picture of the rubble that had once been Privet Drive under the title, "Boy-Who-Lived's Remaining Relatives Killed by Escaped Convict Sirius Black."
It appeared that Fudge was still using scapegoats, unwilling to admit to the possibility that Voldemort had indeed returned.
Snuffles nudged his hand to get his attention, and Harry saw no surprise in the dog's brown eyes. He had already known.
After Harry had managed to force down dinner, he had excused himself from his friends and followed Snuffles to where he and Remus were hiding out in the castle.
He almost lost his nerve, but he remembered that he had promised and who he had promised. Soon the entire story of the summer came flooding out. Though they were obviously concerned, they also appeared relieved that he had finally confided in them.
As he was leaving, he heard Sirius growl when he thought that Harry was out of earshot, "If I would have known earlier, I would have killed those filthy Muggles myself."
The soft sounds of sleep from the other members of his dormitory pervaded his thoughts, letting him know that it was now safe to sneak out.
Harry pulled the invisibility cloak around himself, slinking out softly as not to disturb anyone.
His heart was pounding loudly as adrenaline jolted through his veins. If the book was not there, he would be in for a severe disappointment, but he had a strong sense that what he had experienced had been so much more than a dream.
He went through the portrait and noticed that the Fat Lady no longer questioned the fact that her portrait was opened by no one that she could see in the middle of the night.
The Marauder's Map showed that his pathway to the library was clear, so Harry was able to move quickly to his destination
Soon, he was standing in front of the same bookshelf that he had seen with his father, and he reached out with a trembling hand to retrieve the book.
He took in a deep breath of anticipation and opened the book.
Author sighs in relief. It's done. I hope that you enjoyed it. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. The mailing list is up and running. If for some reason you did not get a notification and you should have, please yell at me in the review. From now until all future chapters, if you want to be added, simply leave your e-mail in the review. Thanks.
Corla I'm glad that it was only mild shock. I hope that you've recovered because here's the next part.
jessieI'm flattered, and I'm glad that it captured your imagination. I think the best fics out there are the ones where you could make up your own plots to.
Tanya: Sorry that it's been hard to keep track of. I hate when I lose a story, which was the inspiration of the mailing list. Hopefully, it will help. As for feeling sorry for Harry, that's only partly my intention. I really don't want to turn this into a poor Harry fic.
unknown (even to me): I love your handle. I'm glad that you're enjoying it.
squeak It doesn't matter which chapters you review. I appreciate them all :)
Kim: Wow, oblivion is an interesting place, but I'm glad that you brought me back.
Charma1219: Thank you.
Angel Baby: I tried to post sooner. I really did. I hope that you continue to like it.
Catchfire Yay. Thank you.
Ariel: Really? Chapter 3 was the worst? Hmmm. Maybe that was because chapter 3 grew to have a life of it's own, and I really didn't plan to end it there. By the way, congratulations on being the only one to comment on the symbolism of the final scene. Everyone, pay attention to little details. There's almost always method to my madness.
Buckbeak Girl: Yay! A constant reviewer! I'll be looking for you.
JaimeyKay Believe me, my attention span has something to be desired. I'm glad that you got goosebumps. That was my attention, but so many people cheered at their deaths... As for the romance, that will not be a focus. Sorry to those shippers, but it just won't fit at least for now. As for the pairing, I'm going to go the way the story takes me. It could even switch. Who knows.
Jocelyn: I also think that the Snape Harry relationship has a great potential in the non-slash variety. This story will not be slash for the simple reason of I can't write it, and I will not put anything up that I do not feel is not poorly done. J.K. Rowling? That is the highest compliment you could pay me. I appreciate it.
Felicia: Sometimes just saying that you're speechless is better than the words.
Chava Well, here's some more Quidditch. The game will be next chapter. I'm glad that you like the Snape/Harry interactions. There will be more to come.
Von: That was real time as you saw from this chapter. I'm glad the alert worked out for you.
angelhitomi They were mean, weren't they? I figured after so many teases I actually had to do something. Sorry that I missed your review from the last chapter.
Insane Pineapple from Naboo: Another cool screen name. I hope that the prolonged suspense did not in fact kill you. Oh, and I'll let you in on a little secret… I have no time. I just don't always write chapters in order, and I had the last one basically finished before I posted the previous one.
Randal: I appreciate your enthusiasm. Putting this in multiple places is always good. Sometimes I need that.
jlilies When I wrote the chapter, I certainly did not expect cheering at the end of the chapter, but I'm glad that you liked it.
nineringsYes, Ron does that nasty habit. Harry's got a lot ahead of him. Don't worry.
Raiyden Seth: Um, are you trying to confuse the poor discombobulated author? Are there multiple of you? And yes, Petunia had absolutely no right to say that.
becki Well, I'm relieved to know that there's someone living with you that has some sense. J I'm glad that you are allowing the Dursleys to die because they are not coming back. I might a problem with the no one else rule though.
F5Chaos: I'm glad that you like Snape. He's very hard for me to write.
wquadI will keep going, believe me. I hope that you keep enjoying it.
