Experiment chapter 4

Ron looked up at his best friend in confusion.

"huh?" Ron asked.

Harry recounted what he read in the black family library. Ron looked down and started putting more effort into ridding himself of paint.

"Ron?" Harry asked. He was extremely annoyed; he knew he had been lied to.

"I thought you were dead." Ron muttered "We all did."

Harry bought his eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"During a shift change between two order members watching your house, you disappeared. We thought you might have been kidnapped! Everyone was looking for you. We weren't told much about what was going on – just that we shouldn't get our hopes up that we'd see you again."

"What?!" Harry said angrily "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Ron's face reddened "There were meetings everyday. Search parties, all sorts of things – then one day Dumbledore comes upstairs and tells us that you were in hospital up north somewhere and they were going to get you as soon as a guard was assembled, but to expect you do be quite ill when you arrived."

"We were told that they had checked the hospitals in London and surrey for you but hadn't thought to check any others, it didn't sound right to me – you could have been anywhere so why didn't they search everywhere. I thought the order had sources all around the country!"

"I suppose once Dumbledore thought up a good enough excuse about the Illithid fever he told you about it?"

"Yeah. We were told not to make a big deal out of the fact they didn't know where you were at first as you might still be quite paranoid or whatever"

Harry stood up suddenly and swore "WHY, why does this keep happening to me! When are people going to stop treating me like a child! This is MY life they're controlling, not theirs!"

"Think we should go find out what Lupin knows?" Ron asked nervously

"Yes, good idea, lets ask him why the thought lying was such a bloody good idea after what happened with the prophecy"

Harry stormed from the room, Ron in hot pursuit, ran down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Dumbledore was in the kitchen talking to Remus and Molly.

"Harry!" Dumbledore said smiling as Harry sat down at the table.

"Hello Professor. What will it be this time? Thought up a good cover us story for my flashback yet or would you like me to go away for ten minutes while you think of one?" Harry said sarcastically.

"Harry!" Lupin said warningly

"No that's quite alright Remus. I think its time we told him the truth."

Dumbledore looked at Ron "Could you give Harry and I some time to talk please?"

"No. He can stay." Harry stated brusquely.

Ron very nervously sat down next to Harry under the piercing glare of his mother.

"Very well." Dumbledore conceded

"What happened to me?" Harry asked

"First let me explain that what you are about to hear may come as a shock. I wanted you to begin the process of regaining your memories before I told you incase I triggered them all to come back at once. I know your feelings about deception, but once you fully remember everything I'm sure you will understand."

Harry felt himself tense up. He expected to be told another set of lies, or lame excuse, but now he was worried.

"We did of course hope that you would never remember."

"Remember what?"

"Have you ever heard of 'Daleside Halls?"

"No."

Remus flinched at the name of the place "According to the ministry of magic it does not exist. However, there have been a number of witness statements and rumours for most people to have built up theories as to what happens there. The ministry assign it to conspiracy; the only people that ever seem to publish information on it are those at the quibbler."

"What happens there?"

"Research."

"On what?" Harry asked fearfully.

"Magical creatures. For centuries people have been trying to unlock the mystery of the werewolf and other part humans. What is it that gives them their powers? Reports spanning decades tell of a place where people have been taken against their will. None of them are ever seen again, but rumour has it that horrible experiments aimed at increasing the offensive power of wizards have taken place.

Rumours include trying to separate the wolf and human in werewolves, using potions to try and harness the strength and power of vampires so that humans could be imbued with their strength and immortality while retaining none of the bad points, such as demon possession or aversion to sunlight."

Harry gulped, and looked over at a pale Remus.

"Until recently I doubted the place's existence myself. You were missing for weeks. We'd taken to all methods of location, from scrying to casting locator charms to walking around wooded areas calling your name. Eventually Molly Weasley was searching for you using a map.

We had placed one of the hairs from your comb into a power finding crystal and had swept it over map after map. Mrs weasley was trying again when suddenly the crystal glowed brightly and then shattered, leaving a burn mark on the map of the Yorkshire Dales. We believe it was a magical power surge from you that triggered that reaction from the crystal."

"Was I in this Daleside place?"

"Yes. We stormed it using the map and found you in a room tied down and calling for help. We were nearly too late, as I later found out from reading files of parchment that I found in the hospital detailing what had been done to you."

"Files?"

"You were a test subject; the ministry were holding you in that institution because they believe you might be the only person capable of destroying voldemort."

"So why tie me down and try to kill me?"

"They don't trust you to do it; they trust the strength of your power but not you."

Harry looked around in confusion

"When I had the flashback I remember being afraid, they wanted to hurt me, I tried to get away but I couldn't! What were they doing?" He was trembling slightly, his memories were returning he could tell, but they still weren't clear.

"They intended to use you as a weapon. A weapon to kill Voldemort."

"How?"

"Their first experiment was one of mind control. They were trying to crush your individuality, your mind, leaving you open to control by someone the ministry approved of."

Harry began to feel vaguely sick

"That plan did not work. You were too resilient, resisted potions and curses. They considered other methods such as dementors kiss or cruciatus, but did not want to do anything that would damage you too badly."

Harry jumped as Mrs Weasley put an arm around his shoulders "Hurry this up Dumbledore, he's shaking" Molly said in worried voice

"Harry, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked "Do you want me to stop?"

"No. Just tell me, I asked, now I need to be told."

"When that plan failed, they changed tack. They decided that instead they would remove your magic and use it, well do you know what a bomb is?"

Harry nodded jerkily.

"That's what they were doing to you when we found you, that green liquid was designed to separate your magic from your body cells, draw it all into your blood, so all they'd have to do would be to…."

"I understand." Harry cut in. "I don't need to know anymore. Just tell me how close did they come?"

"Very close, I believe that burst of magic was your bodies last ditch attempt to summon help, and luckily, Molly was searching for you at the time."

"Why can't I remember it?"

"I think that last burst of magic had one more function, to numb the pain of it for you. Some part of you I think wished you had no idea what was happening to you."

"How did I recover so fast?"

"Once I removed you from that contraption your magic returned to where it belongs, within every cell of your body, it's where it belongs, so it had no trouble re-integrating. It was the injuries you sustained while you were there that we had to heal, not the magic separation. When we found you, your body was growing weak, and beginning to shut itself off, but almost as soon as you were disconnected, it began to right itself."

"Do you have anymore questions?"

Harry shook his head and stood up. He walked over to the fire place, back to everyone else and tried to process what he'd been told.

Suddenly Harry felt as though something within him had broken. A floodgate opened as his own self-protective spell was broken. Harry cried out and fell to his knees.

Dumbledore was as his side in a second. "We thought this would happen. We're here. It will be alright, you are not alone." With a wave of his wand a small bed appeared a foot off the floor. Dumbledore eased Harry onto it.

Harry felt as though his head had filled with static, there was a confusion of sounds and images that he couldn't process. Someone held his hand. With another cry Harry felt the sounds separate into understandable noises and the pictures to make sense. He was remembering.