A/N: Wow. Amazing. I've actually updated again. And soon! Compared to how I've been doing recently, this is amazing. Really. And I was really happy to see a few old faces. Thanks for sticking with me through my time of no updates!

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Chapter Twelve: Awakenings

Ron looked up blearily. "What?"

"Tea," Harry repeated, holding up a cup and gesturing.

"No thanks," Ron said and turned back to Hermione. He was sitting next to her hospital bed, her hand held between his.

Harry sighed and pulled up a chair next to Ron. He disentangled his friend's hand with Hermione's and put a warm cup of tea into it. Ron looked confused with the barrier between his hand and Hermione's for a moment before sighing and taking a drink.

"Too much sugar," he said, but drank it anyway.

"Ron, you need to go out a little," Harry said. "You're looking pale. You haven't been outside in a week!"

"Hermione's been out that long!" Ron protested, setting aside the empty cup. "I can't leave her here! What if she wakes up?"

Harry sighed. "Ron, if Hermione were awake, she'd tell you to stop being obsessive and go outside a bit!"

"I'll just wait until Hermione tell me herself, shall I?" Ron said, but without conviction. They'd had the same argument everyday since Hermione's unconsciousness.

"Ron, will you please tell me what happened to her?" Harry asked. Ron didn't look at him. Harry had asked that question every day as well. "Ron!"

"What?" Ron asked, blinking.

"Tell me what happened to Hermione!" Harry said. "I don't deserve to be kept in the dark like this!"

"Why not?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry blinked in surprise. Normally Ron avoided the question at this point. Ron was looking at him angrily. "It's not like you ever do anything to help! You just mope around all the time, feeling sorry for yourself! Well let me tell you something, Harry! This never would have happened if it wasn't for you!"

Harry knew that Ron was angry and didn't mean to be angry at him, but Harry suddenly felt a lot less like coolly Ron down and a lot more like getting a few answers. "How do you figure that, Ron?"

"Hermione wasn't powerful enough to do this spell! She knew that all along! I knew that! Sirius knew that! Do you know who did have enough power to do the spell?"

Harry swallowed. "Me. But I'm not going to get involved in this Ron! I've explained that to you!"

"Not well enough, I suppose!" Ron said, he was shouting now and Harry found himself caring less and less. "Do you just not care that everyone's dying? Do you just not care that Hermione and Remus are unconscious and the full moon comes out in two nights? Does their pain and suffering not matter to you?"

"I've done my time, okay?" Harry said angrily. "You don't have any idea why I do what I do!"

"Then tell me!" Ron said. "For God's sake, Harry! It's been five years and you've barely said a word to me about it! You think I'm just supposed to know? You think I've got magic mind reading powers?"

"You're not supposed to know!" Harry said, raising his voice slightly. "You're just supposed to understand that I don't want to talk about it and leave it at that!"

"Hermione understood!" Ron said, standing up and gesturing to Hermione's unconscious form. "She understood and never said a word to you! I'm not Hermione! I don't have her patience with your ridiculous antics while my friends are dying! I'm sorry you're hurt and I'm sorry I don't understand, but I can't stand by while my friends get hurt again and again while you just stand there!"

"You seem so concerned," Harry said angrily. "About your friends getting hurt. You seem so sure that I don't care enough to help! But you've never cared about me getting hurt! Where were those angry outbursts when it was me lying on those hospital beds? Do you have any idea, even for a second, what it feels like to be tortured by the Cruciatus Curse again and again until you're within an inch of your very life and sanity? Do you have any idea what it's like to stand there with a wand in your hand over your friend, unable to control what you're doing and not having enough strength to fight back? You think you know what it feels like, you think you understand enough of what I went through to tell me that I'm worthless, that I'm too selfish to defend my friends! You stand there, Ron. You be there, on your back and lacking to the strength to stand up while the most feared dark wizard in a thousand years points a wand at your heart and knowing, just knowing, that in a few minutes, the last chance the wizarding world had against total destruction is about to die and none of that matters because the first one to go is lying three feet from you, begging you to get up! Don't talk to me about selfishness, Ron Weasley. You don't even know. You can't understand."

Harry turned then and reached for the door, anger and hurt drumming in his ears and Ron's accusing eyes on his back. They thought they knew. They all thought they knew. They were so cocky, so sure that they knew what he went through. So quick to judge, so quick to--

"Ron?"

Harry froze, his hand on the doorknob.

"Hermione!"

Harry whirled around to see Hermione's brown eyes open at last. She sat up and looked around wide eyed. "Harry! Are you okay?"

"What?" Harry asked, blankly. "Of course."

"And you Ron?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Ron's anxious face, grabbing his hand with trembling fingers. "You were there too. She had you on the floor. I didn't think it was you, because you couldn't possibly be there and I had to leave you to get to Remus--"

"It never happened," Ron said hastily. "I've been here the whole time. Hermione! Oh God, I've been so worried about you." He hugged her hard.

"He hasn't left your side," Harry said, when they broke apart. The earlier hurt seemed to have evaporated with Hermione's recovery. "What happened to you?"

Hermione glanced at Ron for a split second, then her eyes widened. "Remus! How is he? Has it been the full moon yet?"

"A few days from now," Ron reassured her. "Did you find out how to help him?"

"Malfoy Manor," Hermione said, looking Ron in the eyes as though giving him a secret message that Harry wasn't supposed to know. "That's where we go."

"I can go there now," Harry said suddenly. "If you need my help so much, now's the time. I've been looking forward to seeing old Malfoy."

"No!" Hermione said hastily. Harry gave her a look. "I mean, I don't want you involved if you don't want to be."

"No problem," Harry said, shrugging. "Apparently I've been moping around here for five years, I should go do something useful." Well, maybe the ill feeling hadn't totally evaporated.

"I didn't mean that," Ron said, not meeting Harry's eye. "You know I didn't. I was just so worried about Hermione."

"Doesn't matter," Harry said with a shrug. "I'll go. What am I looking for?"

"There's no need for you to go," Hermione said. "Really there's not. I know you don't want to be involved in this."

"I'm going," Harry said firmly. "What am I looking for?"

Hermione looked desperately at Ron.

"I'll go," Ron said hastily.

Harry frowned. Suddenly things looked less like they were trying to be nice to him and more like they were trying to stop him from going there for a reason. "You can come along if you want, but I'm going, too."

"It's really not necessary," Ron said, although he looked rather ill at the prospect of visiting the Death Eater headquarters by himself.

"I'll go get ready," Harry said, turning and leaving the room. When the door was completely closed, he froze in place.

Now you've done it, said that little voice in his head. You'll never get out at this rate. They suck you into the roll of hero and you can't get out.

But what are they trying to hide? asked another voice. There's been something going on that they've been keeping from you for ages. Maybe the answer's in Malfoy Manor.

"Going somewhere?" asked a voice behind him. Harry shook himself of his thoughts and turned to seen the squib nurse, Reida, behind him.

"Home," Harry said with a small smile. He'd gotten to know Reida over the last week, with Remus and Hermione both in St. Mungo's. She was assigned to the part of the hospital where the unexplainable cases went. Hopefully another case would be explained before the full moon.

"Wish I could as well," Reida said. "But I've officially got a report to finish. I heard Ms. Granger's awoken. Not that I'm not pleased," she said hastily. "But it's almost the end of my shift."

Harry grinned. "Good luck with that." He turned to go but paused. "Reida?" he said suddenly.

"Mm?" Reida asked, pausing at the door, clipboard in hand.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Reida said, looking at him, her head tilted.

"If, with a word, you could get me fight these Death Eaters, even when you know I don't want to, would you tell me to go, or would you let me stay?"

Reida looked at him hard. Then she sighed. "Harry, I've gotten to know you over the past few weeks and I know for a fact that no one's going to get you to do anything you don't want to. But to be entirely honest, I would tell you to go. And here's why," Reida said firmly. "Because despite everything you've gone through. Despite the pain you suffered five years ago and all the pain you're going through now, I know that you want to help. You can't help it. You help people when they need help and if what the newspapers say is true, you've been doing it all your life. You're kidding yourself if you think its going to go away and you're kidding yourself if you think you don't really want to help. You do. You're just waiting for the dramatic entrance." With a slight smile, she pushed open the door. Harry heard her greet Hermione and Ron happily.

He sighed. "Whatever I want," he muttered to himself. "I'm about to go anyway."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Harry asked.

"A person," Ron said. "Hermione says he invented the spell that's got Remus and only he knows how to take it off."

"And she learned all this from Remus's mind?"

"Apparently she had to get through a trap that was guarding Remus's mind. That's what took so long. Apparently it was a series of tests. That's where she learned most of her information."

"I've heard that those kind of spells take a lot out of a person," Harry said nonchalantly. "If she lasted a week, she must have been powerful enough to do it."

Ron's eyes flickered to Harry. Once again he had the impression that Ron wasn't telling him everything. "I'm impressed, personally."

"So what's this person look like?" Harry asked. Again with the eye flicker.

"Not sure entirely. Hermione said she just got a location, not a name or appearance."

"So we're going to Malfoy Manor for a person we don't know at all for the counter curse to a spell we don't know the name of?"

"That's about it," Ron said, nodding. "Just like old times, eh?"

"Just like old times," Harry agreed. He took a deep breath. "Meet me half a mile from the house?"

Ron nodded.

Harry Disapperated with a pop and appeared in the middle of the woods. Clearly it had just rained because the dirt had turned into a thick mud. Ron was a second behind.

"Very nice," Ron said sarcastically.

"This is what you've been doing?" Harry said jokingly. "No wonder I was so reluctant."

"Ha ha," Ron said. "Hey, do you-"

Harry cut him off with a wave. He had heard something in the woods. He put a finger to his lips and proceeded toward the sound on near silent feet. Ron followed, equally as quiet.

It seemed whatever he had heard was stalking them, too because Harry didn't hear another sound, but he'd been sure of it the first time. He motioned for Ron to stop moving. The little noise they were making was enough to summon the thing to them.

Harry stood listening for a full minute and heard nothing but his own and Ron's breathing. Suddenly Ron shifted behind him and before Harry could stop him, Ron whispered, "What did you hear?"

Harry's eyes widened and the next second a beast came shooting out of the trees and hit Ron in the chest. Ron yelled and fell back under its weight and hit the forest floor hard, the beast standing on his chest. Harry hit it in the chest with a well placed jinx and it flew backwards and hit a tree. It was on its feet when it his the ground and was at their throats in seconds.

It was a giant spotted cat, far too large to be a real leopard, but it resembled one just the same. For a horrifying moment, Harry thought it might be a Nundu, before he realized that his hex had knocked it back and he had heard it in the jungle. The vastly dangerous Nundu is nearly impenetrable to spells and deathly silent.

Harry had very little time to decide what it really was, however, because at that moment, the leopard leapt directly at his throat. Harry dropped to the ground hard, feeling the beast's powerful claws graze his hair. He spun on one foot and raised his wand to attempt stunning the beast.

But it was gone.

"What was that thing?" Ron asked, his voice oddly high pitched.

Harry heard a rush of wing and jumped at Ron just in time. He grabbed Ron's legs and they went crashing to the ground just in time to prevent the flying creature tearing out their eyes. It too vanished into the night.

Harry held a finger over his mouth. Ron nodded, his face white. Slowly and carefully, Harry lifted himself to his feet, thankful for the mud that muffled all sounds, even if it was now stuck all over his robes.

Running feet came at them again, but this time, Harry was ready. He turned to face the cat but instead found himself facing a wolf, its teeth bared in a snarl.

Harry threw a stunning hex at it but the wolf dodged, rolling off to the side and on its feet in an instant.

"I think we're dealing with the same animal here," Ron said to Harry as the wolf made another attack, which Harry barely dodged.

"The only animal I know that shape shifts is the Kelpie and it's water dwelling!" Harry said, throwing another hex at the wolf to distract its attention from Ron.

"How do you stop a Kelpie?" Ron asked.

Harry's mind snapped into place. He sent a stunning hex that the wolf easily dodged, moving to the right at the last second. Harry anticipated the move and sent another charm at the beast while it was off balance.

A bridal appeared over the wolf's head and the next instant, the wolf stopped, looked around, and promptly sat down panting, its tongue lolling out.

"What did you do?" Ron asked, careful to keep his voice low.

"Subdued a Kelpie," Harry said, looking in puzzlement at the docile creature. "But that doesn't make any sense. Kelpies have to stay in water."

"There's a lot that doesn't make sense in this place," Ron said. "Kind of creeps me out. Lets get in and out as fast as we can."

"Agreed," Harry said. He conjured a rope and tied it to the dog bridle, then tied the other end to a tree. "Let's go."

They made their way toward the mansion without speaking, careful to make as little noise as possible on the wet ground. For the first time in five years, Harry felt the excitement of an adventure, something he'd been careful to avoid since the incident. He subdued the feeling. Someone could die here tonight. Someone like Ron.

They walked for what seemed like ages before Harry pulled up short, frowning.

Ron sent a questioning look his way. Harry shook his head. Slowly and carefully, Harry raise trembling fingers. The next second he withdrew them sharply. A tingling had suddenly and unexpectedly shot down his arm.

"There's some kind of barrier here," he whispered quietly to Ron. "I can feel it."

"What kind?" Ron asked, just as quietly.

Harry shook his head. He didn't know, but somehow, he knew how to get through it.

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Harry paced nervously up and down the small room. He had no idea where he was in Malfoy Mansion and for some reason, Hermione had seen fit to send the kid after him!

He sighed and looked out the window at the boy fighting the Kelpie. "It's a simple charm, you numbskull," he muttered darkly. "Cast the light of truth on it and it dies!" He couldn't watch. It was too pathetic. Had no one else been available to help him?

He ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he had to calm down. He forced himself to sit and assess the situation.

He was in Malfoy Manor. He didn't know where, but he knew that wherever he was, Malfoy was keeping him unconscious. The stupid git knew just about the only thing in the world that could completely stop him from doing anything, so he was trapped in his own mind, playing out this stupid scenario in stupid attempt to keep himself from falling completely asleep. He was tempted for a moment to simply cease this stupid mental trick and just go unconscious.

And let someone kill you? asked the mental voice in his head.

It doesn't matter! Harry said angrily back to it, in essence, arguing with himself. All I can do at this point is watch myself die.

He knew the argument was stupid, but he had nothing better to do that watch his 'rescue team' kill itself.

Wait.

Harry stood up from his place on the floor and went to the window. It wasn't a window really. It was simply his outer awareness. He was, in essence, asleep. Normally when people sleep, they dream, but when he was summoned to Hermione's aid, he was pulled out of his own head and dreams and into another's. Therefore, when he returned to his own head, weak and barely functional, he was nevertheless able to retain the state of awareness that had transpired over his time with Hermione. The window allowed him to see outside himself to certain things he wished to see. His connection with the Potter boy allowed him to watch him, even in his semi-conscious state.

The Potter boy had, at this point, placed a bridle over the Kelpie's head which, Harry supposed, was the non-lethal way to subdue one, and proceeded through the forest with Ron at his side. They were about three feet from walking straight into a shimmering silver barrier they didn't appear to see. Suddenly the Potter boy stopped and stretched out a hand as though to touch it, but withdrew it at the last minute. Harry sighed in relief. One step through that barrier would have painfully shredded them into a billion tiny pieces.

"He doesn't have a clue how to take that down, you know," said a voice behind Harry. He whirled around. It was Ron. Or rather, not Ron, but Hermione's guide through the spell. It was fate.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked tiredly. "Surely you can't ask anything of me now, when I'm unconscious."

Ron smiled slightly. "You'd be surprised what you could accomplish in this state. For example, did you know that that boy down there had no idea there was a spell there, blocking his way?"

Harry sighed. "So, once again, it's up to me to lead the boy through whatever dangers lie in his path. Did you ever think that maybe he needed to learn some things on his own?"

Ron's smile didn't fade. "You have a connection with the boy because you're the same person. You know that. Because of the connection, you were able to stop him from killing himself without knowing what you were doing. That's because of your connection with him. It doesn't require a connection, however, to impose your will on someone. It just makes it easier."

Harry nodded. That made sense. "How far can I take this?"

"Until your literally seeing through the person's eyes. With the Potter boy, you could completely control him."

Harry smiled humorlessly. "But you don't want me to take over the Potter boy."

"No."

"You want him to learn."

"He must."

"Who do you think you are? Dumbledore?"

Ron smiled slightly. "The time will come when there is only one Harry to reside over the world. He must be ready to step up."

"You mean this world," Harry said. Harry didn't really think fate made grammatical mistakes, but he decided not to think about it and shrugged it off. "Well, thanks for the tip. Just a question, but don't you have something better to do than obsessively watch the comings and goings of a single person?"

"Oh, it's not obsessively," Ron said with a smirk. "In fact, it's more like a passing glance. But compared to all the people in the world that I must pay attention to, you should be flattered."

"I am," Harry said sarcastically. He looked back at the window. No one had moved an inch since he had last looked over there.

"Privileges of being fate," Ron said with a smirk. "They move when I leave."

"Bye," Harry said without removing his gaze from the window.

Ron snorted derisively. "Give him an inch and he takes a mile."

"It's human nature to want more than you have."

"And you're human," Ron said pointedly. "I am fate. Remember your place." He turned on his heal and vanished into the wall.

"I do," Harry muttered. The window flickered and began to move.

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A/N: Another down! This fic is almost over. I have this really amazing idea for a sequel to this one that would really answer a lot of questions about the two universes and stuff, but I'll see if I can finish this one before going to another. I don't know if you've noticed this, but my heart really hasn't been in this fic and I'm really anxious to go on to another. :) Thanks for still reviewing!

Gilthas