Chapter 21
• Waking •
Someone was touching him. Harry cringed as a hand ran through his hair, he had dreamed escaping. But, it was all wrong, he couldn't feel her lap as he usually did, instead he was surrounded by a soft feeling. However, the hand through his head was too familiar, too much like what Cin did to him. He knew that he dreamed it all even before he opened his eyes.
His body hurt, but not like it had before. Harry opened his eyes slowly, hoping that he wasn't still in the cell, he felt as if he might die if he was. Still, he'd promised himself that he would live if only to destroy Voldemort. That meant sacrifice.
His vision was blurred at first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing, but it was bright.
The movement through his hair stopped and he felt something breathing in his ear. "Harry," the voice said.
Tears began running down his cheeks. "Tonks?" he asked, finding it was difficult to breathe.
"I'm here. You're alright, you escaped." She said, continuing to softly breath the words into his ear. It felt wonderful that someone he knew well, and trusted, was so close to him. "I'm proud of you Harry," she said, pulling away. and then he felt his head being moved until it was pressed against her and he could feel her breathing. She sobbed, pulling him tighter. "Don't ever do that to me Harry, I'll kill you myself."
Harry nodded and sobbed into her chest. He didn't know how to react to her being there, but all he could do was cry.
When Tonks pushed him over a little he was happy to oblige her crawling into the bed with him, he needed someone to hold him close and Tonks had been doing it for quite a while. Even during his torture he'd envisioned himself waking at night, curled up next to her. It felt so good to be with someone and just be comforted.
Madam Pomfrey entered into the room a few minutes later. He only saw a blob and was surprised when she was instantly in his face. Tonks still had a hand around him, holding him close, and Madam Pomfrey glanced at her, but said nothing. She smiled, and then pulled away. "We're going to have to do something about that vision of yours," she said quietly, checking his vitals. "Every time you get in here you've broken or lost your glasses."
Unsure what she meant Harry opened his mouth, his throat still hurt, and his chest seared with pain again. "Don't speak," Madam Pomfrey chided, moving Tonks' hand again just slightly. "The spell they used on you is restricting the size of your throat. It's been very difficult to remove and it will be a while before the side effects go away. Besides, you don't want to wake her up. She has hardly slept since you disappeared, I believe she felt she was partially at fault."
Harry frowned and fought back the tears in his eyes. He felt Madam Pomfrey's hand on his chest. "I don't know about removing this ring though," she said, touching it with her wand. "It was not put their by magic and your body has healed around it, I think that removing it would be a great deal more painful than leaving it in. If you would like, I could remove it, but I warn against it."
Carefully, moving around Tonks' hand, Harry touched the ring that was buried in his chest. He would leave it as a reminder of the oath he'd taken. When he touched it he was reminded of why he took the oath and he looked up. "Ron, Hermione, they're not here," he commented hoarsely.
"Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger spent the last three days in and out of this hospital. I sent them both back to their beds to get some sleep. I doubt they will be gone much longer though."
Harry sighed with relief, he smiled and relaxed. "Blaise?" he asked tentatively. At the moment he wasn't sure if she had acted with others, and he knew that he couldn't just talk about it. She was a spy and had risked a great deal for him, the least he could do was keep quiet.
"Ms. Zabini?" the matron questioned, eyeing Harry with a hint of curiosity. "I wasn't aware you had a friendship with the young woman. She has been in here, twice in the last three days, and for minor injuries. I did notice she seemed to linger a while even after she was healed."
Of course, Harry thought, if she was working alone she obviously wouldn't want someone to know she was checking in on me. He stopped thinking further about it though, she was doing things covertly, so he would keep quiet as well.
"Is Mrs. Weasley alright?" he asked. Even if some of them had been props it didn't mean that all of them were.
"Ginny or Molly Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey asked, stopping to look down at him.
"Both," Harry said, hoping she would know.
"Well, Ginny Weasley has been in here a few times with her brother. As for the current situation with Molly Weasley, I am unaware of how she is doing. I hear that you know about certain things that have arisen?" Harry nodded. "Well, as far as I know she is doing well since the initial attack."
When Madam Pomfrey was done she expanded the bed a little and leaned over Harry. "I don't know what the she is doing in your bed, but I don't plan on taking her away. I'm afraid I might lose something important to me. It would be best if she did not sleep with you though."
As comfortable as it felt, Harry understood what she was saying. It wasn't as if they were doing anything, but it would quickly be taken the wrong way. "Can you put me in another bed?" he asked, barely able to say the words. He didn't want to leave her, but he didn't want her to get into trouble either.
A few minutes later, Harry was asleep in a bed right next to Tonks, a few feet from her, but with a sheet hanging between their beds. It was pulled back near their heads so Harry could see Tonks, but other than that there was no apparent contact.
An hour of endless noise later Harry was greeted to two of his best friends almost suffocating him with hugs. After the finally let go he gave them a lopsided grin and pushed himself to a sitting position with some difficulty.
"Hey," he said softly, smiling. Hermione and Ron were staring at him.
"You alright mate?" Ron asked. "You look different," he added, as he stared at Harry.
Hermione punched him. "He didn't mean anything by it Harry, we're just glad to have you back."
"Yeah, Tonks most of all," Ron said, glancing at the bed next to Harry's. "You should have seen her when you appeared. She threw a table out of the way. Jumped on the Slytherin table and ran down it, kicking food everywhere. She cursed half the students who got near you. Damn near killed one of them. It's too bad Malfoy was bent over puking, wish she would have done the same thing to that git. Prattling on about how you were dead, he deserved more."
Hermione glared at him, but didn't attack him again. She smiled as sweetly as possible when she turned back to Harry. "She didn't nearly kill anyone. She only broke someone's leg trying to get them from pawing you. I think she knew that having others touching you might cause you more damage."
He stared at him, tears in her eyes. "You should have seen yourself Harry. Covered in blood, robes torn to shreds, some of the Slytherins thought you were dead. Tonks, well, she wasn't exactly happy when you disappeared. She's been blaming herself for it the whole time and when she saw you there looking like you were near death she didn't take it well."
Harry glanced towards Tonks, who was sleeping comfortably, though she looked slightly disturbed. Then he turned back and looked at Hermione. "She told me to wait for her," he said quietly, "so that she could help me. I didn't, I had to go help everyone before it was too late."
Dumbledore entered the room. Harry saw him out of the corner of his eye. Hermione started to say something, but he glanced at her and something showed in his face because she immediately shut her mouth. Dumbledore was looking pale, and slightly withdrawn, but his eyes still sparkled.
"You have overcome the odds yet again Harry," he said proudly. Harry turned away, not really wanting to meet the eyes of Dumbledore. The old man wasn't exactly the first person he wanted to have a long conversation with, but then, he did feel a little comforted that he was there.
Seeming to understand, Dumbledore turned away, patting Hermione and Ron on the shoulder, then left the room. Madam Pomfrey bustled in again and shooed away Ron and Hermione. "I'll still be here later," Harry said weakly, trying to crack a smile.
Even though it didn't happen Ron grinned at him. "Yeah, we'll come back."
As he turned to leave he finally noticed the bed surrounded by a curtain and, curious, he peaked in. When he looked back at Harry his grin was even wider, but he didn't say anything else. Hermione took to shoving him out the door instead of letting him linger with a goofy grin, and when the door closed behind them Harry collapsed back onto the bed.
Madam Pomfrey spent several minutes doing things that Harry didn't understand, but he watched anyway (as best he could) and tried to dedicate the actions to his memory. Tonks had told him that being an Auror was about learning from everything around and now that he was safe he had decided to dedicate himself even more to training. Tonks was around, and hopefully she'd help him.
After she was done, the matron disappeared into the back room again. The door opened and Harry watched to see who had entered.
It wasn't a single person though, instead it was a group, and when he saw the person leading the pack he leaned back, sinking into his cushion and closing his eyes. He really didn't want top speak to Malfoy at the moment. Still, it was sort of nice to see him, and if he was up to it, he'd stand up and mock the bastard.
Through half-open eyes, Harry saw that, surprisingly, Blaise was not far behind Malfoy. She leaned forward, whispered something in his ear, and then slowed. Draco didn't even show he heard, but a moment later he started making a fuss about how the Slytherins never got prompt treatment. A few of the others voiced their agreement and Madam Pomfrey appeared from her office, scurrying forward to help whichever Slytherin had gotten hurt.
The other Slytherins crowded around the table of Mr. Pharnax, or whatever his name was, but Blaise had made it to the back of the pack and slipped away without anyone noticing her. Harry smirked as the veil around him slid shut, keeping Blaise from being viewed.
"You made a scene returning," Blaise said before Harry could speak. Her lips curled up in a smirk. "Luckily enough for me I was in the common room, sick. I hear that Ms. Tonks put more than one Slytherin in the hospital wing."
"I'm alive," Harry whispered throatily, trying to keep his voice down. He could still hear the Slytherins complaining loudly on the other side of the room.
"That you are. Draco informed me of your return and told me it was expected that I make things right. Apparently he doesn't want you reporting where the information came from. He also told me to insure you that what I told you was not meant to trap you."
Blaise paused again, glancing over her shoulder. She leaned in closer, her dark hair falling around Harry. She was close enough that he could feel the heat from her breath. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to get caught in the attack," she hissed. "You'll ruin everything doing something like that. If you ever pull that again I'll be looking for another means of survival. I am not going to go and risk my life again just because you have to save the world twice over."
Harry blinked, having trouble focus on Blaise words, having her so close to his face was throwing off his perceptions and making it difficult to think at all. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't think..."
"Exactly," Blaise snapped, straightening herself. "Now, I assure you that the Dark Lord is more than a little angry. He almost killed every Death Eater that allowed you to escape. It was something that I would rather not witness again. When he showed up, I was almost discovered, I had to hide in the back and wait until he addressed all of the Death Eaters. If I would have gotten to close, or made eye contact, he would have known about the potion and the escape plan. You and I are going to have to work on my occlumency as soon as you're out of this bed."
"Alright," Harry replied weakly, a hint of a smile. "But I need to thank you for helping me."
"I expect you to do it for me should I ever be in a similar situation. That is enough, so it doesn't need to be brought up again."
Harry nodded, trying to keep his smile from spreading. He could see how relieved Blaise was that he was there. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. There was a startled squeak and Blaise took a step back, pulling away from Harry's hug. "Thank you," he whispered before Blaise fled through the curtain around his bed.
Tonks slept for nearly a full day. Harry was thinking to himself when she woke, having got more sleep and woken to find her still asleep. He heard a jerk and a scraping sound. He glanced up to see a body fall through his curtain and he groaned in pain when she landed on top of him, wrapped in the white veil that had separated them. Luckily enough, Madam Pomfrey had been able to finish healing most of the worst wounds and it didn't hurt so much as surprise him.
He stared down at her frightened face and tried to smiled but groaned when she tried to move and ended up striking him with her elbow. "Tonks," he said, grabbing her struggling figure when he caught his breath. She calmed considerably and stared up at him. It looked as if she was fighting off tears.
"You're alive," she said, "it wasn't a dream."
Harry smiled brightly, happy to see her back to her old self. It made him feel much better knowing that she was going to be fine. After the way she'd acted earlier he had wondered if she'd been emotionally scarred.
"Yeah," he said and sat up, holding the sheet she'd rolled into. "Now, let's get you out of this thing."
•
When he was released from the hospital no one was around. It was mid-day and Harry made his way through the corridors slowly, his hand running along the cool stone walls of the castle, remembering and appreciating the things that had gone on in the castle. After being imprisoned by Voldemort the Dursley's seemed mild and Hogwarts seemed wonderful, almost like the first time he'd come to it. It had been a long time since he'd stood and gawked at his new home, and he didn't do it again, instead he stood and just remembered it, took in the feelings that he felt and smiled.
"You are remembering?" someone asked, and Harry opened his eyes to find himself staring at a crown of soda tabs on top of a blonde head. He smiled immediately, knowing that for anyone else the question might have been implying something, but for Luna it was a straightforward question.
"Sometimes I forget to remember," he said quietly.
"Everyone forgets to remember," she said vaguely, with a smile on her face. Harry could see she had several books in her hands.
"Going to class?" he asked quickly.
She nodded. "Professor Trelawney told me I would be late today," she revealed, as if it were perfectly normal for her to be showing up late because Sybil Trelawney had told her so. Harry smiled, not even asking what had caused her tardiness, or if she'd simply waited so that she was late, it wouldn't surprise him.
"Can I take your books?" he asked, having nothing better to do. Just talking to a friend was making him even happier, and he didn't really want to go into an empty common room.
"Certainly," said, holding them out for Harry to take.
As they walked down the halls Harry asked her about her summer and listened to the stories she had. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to take a trip to find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack that she'd spoken about last year. They had however, had someone send them a Blibbering Humdinger in a bottle. Apparently Luna's father had not read the parchment, and opened the bottle first, interested in what had been sent to him. He'd been thrown from his feet and knocked unconscious when the beast had jumped from the bottle. When he awoke the whole room was in ruin and the Blibbering Humdinger had escaped.
They reached the landing to the Divination room and Harry saw the ladder waiting for them. He handed Luna her books, wished her a good day, and then left Luna to the ravings of the old fraud.
Since the Gryffindor towers were even further than before, Harry decided that it might be easier to just go to the Great Hall and wait for everyone there, since classes would be over in half an hour. He began down the stairs when a small ball of energy struck him midriff, knocking him to the ground. "Harry Potter sir!" the ball of energy said and Harry smiled when he recognized dobby clinging to him. "Dobby is hearing of you coming back. He is trying not to come and let other see him, but he can not wait anymore."
Harry, glad to see the energetic elf, couldn't help but smile. "It's alright Dobby," he assured the elf. "I don't mind."
Harry noticed a wet sensation in his robes and when dobby pulled away to talk to him he noticed that the elf's eyes were poring tears. "Master Harry Potter sir," he sobbed, "Dobby is so sorry for letting you get captured. Dobby is punishing himself for letting you leave. He is thinking that Master is not coming back and is trying to find Master himself. But, he is unable, and he is scared. Masters friend though, they is telling Dobby that they is going to save you and he believes them. He even helps them when they is going into the forest."
"Friends?"
"Missus Grangers and Missus Zabini's sir. They is telling Dobby that they is having a plan and is needing his help to get Master free."
"Blaise and Hermione were working together?" Harry wondered out loud.
"They is sir," Dobby exclaimed. "They is needing Dobby for all sorts of things." Dobby paused for a moment. "Dobby is thinking that Missus Grangers is knowing that Harry Potter is Dobby's master now," he said quietly, flinching slightly, waiting for Harry to get angry at him.
Harry sighed and wondered when that was going to be brought up. Hermione certainly wouldn't let it rest. "It's alright Dobby. It was going to happen sooner or later, might as well face it now when she's not going to get too angry at me. Anyway, t might be best if I get down to the Great Hall now. Tonks is going to be there and classes'll be out soon."
Dobby nodded and then looked up, his face scrunched in thought. "Dobby is thinking sir..." he said, and Harry looked up, surprised.
"Thinking?" he asked, curious to know what Dobby was thinking, usually he didn't think, he just did, and the last time dobby had revealed he was thinking about something Harry had ended up being his master. Not that it was an altogether bad thing, it was just something that he wasn't quite read to do then.
"Dobby is thinking about how Master Harry Potter wants to help Winky and Dobby is thinking of a way. He is finding something while he is looking for Harry Potter, something that might help Winky forget."
Relieved, Harry smiled. "If you can get her to do it, go ahead, I want Winky cured just as bad as you do. Just don't tell Hermione that you're having her do work."
Dobby's head bobbed up and down so fast that Harry wasn't sure if it was going to fall off. "It's not going to cost me anything, is it?" Harry asked in an after thought. Dobby shook his head and Harry just nodded. "Then go ahead and do it, you've got my permission to help her out as best as possible even if it takes away from helping me."
A moment later, Dobby was gone, and Harry was again alone. He made his way to the great hall as quickly as possible, stopping twice as he remember things that had happened in the past. The first was on the landing that lead down to the next floor and up to the third floor corridor that had hidden Fluffy, the monstrous three headed dog he'd had to get past in his first year. He smiled, remembering when he Ron ad Hermione had first encountered it. They hadn't even been friends then, well, he and Ron hadn't been, Hermione had been tagging along to insure that they didn't get in trouble. She'd been the reasons they didn't get in trouble, but she was also the reason that they'd discovered something was there and being guarded. Harry doubted that they would have even known about the Sorcerer's Stone if she hadn't been around at the time.
He continued down, making sure to jump the trick step. When Peeves appeared he smiled wider. "Hello Peeves!" he exclaimed and then continued on down the stairs, leaving a bewildered Peeves floating halfway up the stairwell. He got to the first floor and stopped again as he passed by the doorway to the girls restroom. A small pool of water was making its way under the door and Harry grinned even wider, wondering why Myrtle had flooded the bathroom again. He considered going in to talk to her for a moment, but thought it might be better to do it when no one might see him entering or exiting. A lot had gone on in that room too. They'd brewed a potion that he was suppose to know about for the O.W.L.s, not even something they were expected to be able to brew. It was mostly Hermione, and he was sure if the potion showed up on the N.E.W.T.s she'd pass with flying colors. She probably remember a great deal about its effects, especially the side-effects should the potion go wrong.
It was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets too, where a skeleton of the monster of the school lay, the Basilisk that had killed Myrtle and almost killed numerous others. So many good and bad things had happened there, and through the rest of the school. It was amazing to Harry that now none of it seemed all that unusual, he'd done so many things in his life over the past few years and he rarely thought about them at all as amazing as they were to others.
When he entered the Great Hall he was smiling brightly, happy that he was alive and had had so many adventures in the past few years. Even though they had been reckless, even deadly, they had been adventures, and made his life – which had been rather boring up to that point – much more fun than he could have even imagined when he was a child. He was living a life that was rather like a dream with hero's and villains, good and evil, life and death.
Some of the things that had happened had been a great loss, but now that he was seeing it all from the larger perspective it didn't seem so bad. He hoped one day that he was going to see Sirius again, but he finally understood that right now he needed to focus on the part of his life that hadn't died, the things that were important now. Sirius was dead and there was nothing he could do about it, it was time to move on, he understood now.
• Updated 2004.12.07 •