Harry awoke the next morning, still restrained, still clueless about what was happening to him and still soulsick over his parents. It was a long day. Harry was told he couldn't see his parents untill tomorrow. He learned that his bed could produce a bedpan at his command, and that books and magazines would fly to him if he wished to read. His food rose to his mouth to feed him. Harry got a "Get Well" card from Ron in which he had gone over the details of Sirius' naked flight through the school and gloated over his belief that he, Ron, had put Harry in the mental ward. "It must kill you to be away from your bathroom friends back at Hogwarts. I'll say hello to the toilet for you", he'd added.

Harry had a visit from Snape in the evening. Harry wasn't feeling very talkative. He lay there mostly in silence while Snape talked. "I shouldn't have owled Sirius at all. I know that he can get... rather unpredictable. But I didn't expect him to storm into the castle like that, and then for Dumbledore to pull such a loathsome, abominable stunt... His tyrrany over the school is revolting." Snape said, growing angry as he spoke of Dumbledore. He told Harry that Sirius would be out of prison in a couple of months, which did not do much to reassure Harry.

"Did you know that my parents are here? That they're being kept here?" Harry asked. Snape paused, then nodded. "Yes. But you... you aren't familiar with seeing them in this condition?" said Snape. "No, of course I'm not. I'm not familiar with seeing them at all. They were, untill I got here, dead." said Harry, bitterly. "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry..." said Snape. "This is even worse! They don't deserve this..." Harry said, his eyes welling with tears. He closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't bear to think of his parents, James and Lily Potter, stripped of all sanity, stuck in some little white room for the rest of their lives. When he went in and finally got to see his parents, they wouldn't see him. They wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't hear him, wouldn't open their arms to him. He would be lucky if his presence was acknowledged with a gumwrapper from his mum.

"Of course they don't deserve it. What was done to them is a testament to the evil of Voldemort, not to the value of your parents." Snape said. "Do you know exactly what happened? Why did he do it to them?" Harry miserably asked. "Harry, you're already so burdened right now, perhaps the details are best left for another time." said Snape. "Snape. Tell me the damn truth." said Harry, shooting him a dark glare. If Harry hadn't felt so absolutely wretched, he might have been amused by Snape's startled little expression.

Snape took a breath, then looked into Harry's eyes. "Harry, your father was... at first, he was not opposed to Voldemort's ideas. In fact, he became involved with his cause... your father was a Death Eater, Harry." said Snape.

"No, as a matter of fact, he wasn't! You were, before you turned into the Head of Hufflepuff! You're not real! This place isn't real! My parents are dead!" said Harry, raising his voice. "Harry, please! For the love of Merlin, if you don't learn to keep yourself together, you will never leave Saint Mungo's!" Snape whispered fervently. Harry clenched his fists and shut his eyes. He tried to detach himself from the insanity of this situation. "Your father left Voldemort while he was still in power. Voldemort doesn't take kindly to people abandoning his cause, and he sent his Death Eaters after James and after his family. You... or the you that lives here, was in the custody of Sirius Black at the time it happened. They were put into this condition because they stood up against Voldemort." said Snape.

After Snape left, Harry lay in bed unable to sleep for a few hours. He wondered if he'd been driven mad, like the people sleeping somewhere in this hospital who were supposed to be his parents. Maybe Death Eaters had come into the bathroom and sucked the sanity out of him.

The next day, Harry awoke and anxiously asked his assigned healer, whose name was Margosheth, when he could visit his parents. He needed to see them as much as he dreaded seeing them. Harry had to deal with being asked yet more questions on his thoughts and feelings, which he lied through as best he could. Then, she removed his restraints. It was still late afternoon before he was allowed to see his parents. It took every bit of willpower he had not to run down the hall and try to find them before he permitted to visit them.

With a rather burly, male assistant healer named Ruke Rake leading him, Harry walked down the hall of Saint Mungo's towards his parents' room. They were on the same level as him. "Just one crazy family" thought Harry. They approached the door. "Alright. Short visit today, Potter, then it's back to your room." said Ruke, opening the door. Harry was physically shaking as the door was pushed open to reveal the red haired image of his mother, sitting and staring vacantly into space. Harry gasped. It was like something out of a dream to see her there, living and breathing. All the way on the right of the room stood Harry's father, shuffling back and forth and looking at the floor.

Harry felt as if he were crumbling apart inside, like pieces of him were collapsing and falling over on eachother. "Mum?" he asked. Harry entered the room, and before he knew what he was doing he'd rushed to his mother and thrown his arms around her. Even though she didn't respond to him in any way, Harry was infinately grateful to be able to hold her. He cried on her shoulder for several minutes, then backed up to look into her face. Lily Potter's green eyes looked off towards the window. She had a peaceful expression on her face and her head rocked slightly from side to side. Harry stroked her cheek. He remembered how aware and animated she had been when Harry had seen her in Snape's – the usual, arsehole Snape's – pensieve. The way she'd passionately stood up against his father's and Sirius' brainless cruelty. Harry knew he'd never see that woman, her life had been stolen, but just feeling his mother's warm skin was a blessing he never thought he'd experience. He now felt ashamed that he'd thought his parents were better off dead.

Harry turned towards his father. He noticed Ruke hovering in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. Harry paid him no attention. He looked at his father in amazement. James Potter was just turning from the end of the room that he'd reached, and begining to walk back in the other direction. Harry walked up to his father.

"Dad?" he asked as he stepped in front of his father's path. Harry was surprised to see his father actually look at him for a moment in apparent surprise. Harry's heart leapt in excitement. "Dad?" Harry asked again. His father's head was cocked to one side, his brow furrowed as his eyes darted back and forth over Harry's face. Harry put a hand on his father's arm, but James's expression drifted back into oblivious apathy as he seemed to accept Harry's presence in the room. Harry embraced him tightly anyway, and his father responded only by shifting his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

When Harry pulled away, he miserably took in the pitiful and extremely weird sight of what was nearly his own face, lost, and blank. How much Harry wished James would just open his mouth and say something intelligible. But he'd never hear from James and Lily Potter. Harry decided Neville had some competition as saviour of the wizarding world. He'd better kill Voldemort fast, because if Harry stuck around he was liable to do it himself.

Harry decided he wanted to see the Dark Mark for himself. He pulled up his father's left sleeve and, just as he'd been told, there was the sight of a faint skull with a serpent running through its mouth. Feeling sick, Harry covered back up his father's arm.

Harry realized that the mark probably burned from time to time. He imagined his poor, witless father scratching and rubbing at his arm in confused pain. Or maybe he was incapable of even that, and he would just let out a low, helpless moan when Voldemort called to his servents. Harry couldn't imagine his father as a Death Eater. Harry couldn't imagine any of this. Even though everything looked, sounded, and felt perfectly real, it wasn't his reality. But Harry was standing in the same room with his father and mother, and that eclipsed everything else. Everything except Ruke, who let out a loud, deliberate cough. Harry tried to ignore him, but he began speaking.

"Sorry, Harry, but you've already been down here too long. Soon you'll be outta here and you can visit them normally again. Come on, mate, let's not cause a scene and get you strapped down again, right?" said Ruke. Harry looked longingly one last time at each of his parents, walked over to his mother and kissed her cheek, and then headed for the door where Ruke waited. They walked back down the hallway. Harry's head was spinning, and he was ready to lie down again.

To be continued...

Thanks to all who leave reviews. And Cheelulaucha, I erased that "Draco had tears in his eyes" line about four times before I decided to leave it in. Maybe I should have left it out after all. ;p