Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to emikae for being the first reviewer.
Miss Moony would also like to thank Jane silver, Hana and riss for reviewing.
To riss: NO!!! I detest Harry/Snape. Sorry about that little outburst, but I'm glad you think I'd be good at it. And I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------
Chapter 3
Ron? … Come back… Please? … I'll never tease you again… I promise… Please come back…
'Please don't leave me…'
Briar entered Discipline Cottage and faced Niko, placing Harry carefully on the floor, where he continued to hold out his hand and mutter "Lumos".
Niko looked at Harry carefully. 'What is his name?' he asked. Briar looked at Daja; in all his haste, he'd forgotten to ask.
His name is Harry Daja answered, and Briar opened his mouth and repeated this to the older man.
'Do you know what's wrong with him, Niko?' Tris asked suddenly.
Niko shook his head at his former student. 'I will have to call a healer in order to determine that,' he said. 'Briar, Rosethorn, will you watch him while I am gone?'
'Please don't leave me…' The interjection came from Harry, who seemed to have a better grip on reality than they thought.
Niko looked him in the eyes and said, 'I'll be right back.'
Briar and Rosethorn both nodded that they would watch him and Niko left the room quickly.
Briar sat down at the table with Rosethorn, Lark, Daja, Tris and Sandry, while Little Bear sniffed at Harry curiously. Little Bear's nose rubbed against Harry's arm and Briar heard Harry ask, in an adorably childish yet painfully sad voice, 'Padfoot? …'
Briar frowned in confusion. He moved and crouched down at Harry's side. 'What's Padfoot?' he asked.
Harry didn't answer.
Padfoot… Blood… Staining… Can't get it off… Please… There's blood on my hands… Your blood… Hermione's blood… Ron's blood… Ginny's blood… Luna's blood… Moony's blood… Neville's blood… Mum's blood… Dad's blood… Even Snape's blood… I feel dirty… Unclean… Help me… Please? …
A small, moist nose snuffled at his arm and a flame flickered into life somewhere over the abyss. 'Padfoot? …'
Niko, true to his word, returned to Discipline a few minutes later with a Healer-Mage in tow.
The Water Temple Dedicate knelt down next to Briar and asked if anything had happened since Niko had left.
'He asked for a "Padfoot",' Briar said, 'whatever that might be.'
The Healer's eyebrows rose dramatically in surprise. 'I believe,' she said, 'that the question is "who" rather than "what". Padfoot is one of the names of the dog that haunts graveyards. It is widely believed to be the Devil's earthly form, as well as an omen of death.'
Briar shuddered. 'Why is Harry calling out to it, then?' he asked.
The Healer shrugged. 'We will never know unless he tells us. Or until he trusts us.'
'Why until he trusts us?' Tris asked the Healer.
'There is a ritual that can be used to enter his mind. His very essence. But it can only be performed by someone who he trusts completely.'
Rosethorn, Lark and Niko snapped to attention. 'But that ritual is only performed as a possible cure for insanity,' Rosethorn protested. 'And it hardly ever works.'
The Healer matched Rosethorn's stare. 'It may not cure insanity completely, but it nearly always improves the situation,' she said. 'And the child is most definitely insane.'
Niko stepped up now. 'I know that you will certainly want to take him back to the infirmary now, but I ask that you leave him here. Discipline is better equipped to deal with an insane mage with unknown powers than any of the Water Temple infirmaries.'
The Healer sighed. 'Very well,' she said. 'I will leave him in your care. But a Healer will come by every day to check on him.'
'That won't be necessary,' Lark said. 'Rosethorn and Briar are both Healers of a sort. And it will be best for Harry if he doesn't have to deal with too many new people at once. Rosethorn, Niko an I all know the ritual you speak of, so we won't be needing any assistance in performing it.'
The Healer looked very put out, and she left Discipline huffily, leaving its occupants incredibly worried for the newest addition to their numbers.
Light… Please… I don't like the dark… Make it lighter… Lumos… Lumos… Lumos solem… Lumos…
Nothing happened.
After a short discussion, Briar found himself responsible for looking after Harry at night. The reasons that he had given as to why it should be his responsibility rather than anyone else's were as follows: 1. Briar and Keth were the only other males who lived at Discipline.
2. Briar seemed to be quite close to Harry in age, so it would be easier for him to adjust to the situation.
3. He was, as Lark had said, a Healer.
4. Briar, as a former street rat, was used to waking up at odd times in the night.
And 5. Harry seemed to enjoy the company of Little Bear, who usually slept in Briar's room.
The five points had been acknowledged duly, and the overall decision had received very little protest. Of course, the one point that Briar hadn't raised, was that the slight, emerald-eyed boy seemed to be bringing out his rusty and rarely-used paternal instincts.
He wondered what had happened to make Harry this way. It must have been something awful. Briar himself was no stranger to pain and suffering, having lost his mother at the age of four and, form then on, had to survive on the streets, but he had never even been close to insanity.
He picked Harry up, sighing quietly, carried him into their now-shared bedroom and lay him down on the cot that had been set up for him.
Moony? … Ron? … Padfoot? … Mum? … Dad? … Hermione? … Luna? … Neville? … Ginny? … Hagrid? … Hello? … Why did you leave me? …
As always, there was no answer.
