Chapter 22

Policy of Truth

Harry had noticed Mercy opening the door leaving the Entrance Hall at about nine thirty. It was a half hour before curfew. During his Occlumency session tonight, his scar started hurting. Dumbledore decided to call an end to the lesson and gave Harry a vial of pain reliever potion. After being dismissed and on his way back to Gryffindor Tower, that was when he noticed Mercy's departure.

He knew from his previous pain, that Voldemort was very angry. He wondered what he was so angry about and hoped that it meant something good for the Order. He told his roommates that he had a headache and was going to bed, even though the potion the Headmaster had given him eliminated the pain. Harry opened his trunk and pulled out the old parchment that was the Marauders Map. He always got a twinge of melancholy when he pulled the map of Hogwarts and its grounds out. He wondered about his father and friends' mischief and reminisced about his own.

He got in bed, kicked his shoes off, closed his curtains and got comfortable. Then he opened the parchment and with his wand whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Then he whispered, "Lumos," so he could watch the inhabitants of Hogwarts. Everything seemed as it should and everyone was where they should be. All but one. He watched for such along time that the images became blurry and he dozed off.

He woke up a time later realizing that he had fallen asleep. He checked the map again, searching for one name, but did not find her. He was relieved when he seen a dot appear with her name next to it, and he didn't know why he felt that way. Her dot moved slowly, it was hard to tell if she was moving at all, but she made a small bit of progress. He stared so intently at this one point that the dot became fuzzy.

He shook his head to clear his vision and refocused. The small dot signifying her stopped moving, even a small amount. His heart began to race and his palms started to sweat. He almost laughed for actually worrying about this killer who murdered his friend. Whispering, "Nox," he lay down with the intention of going to sleep. He twisted and turned trying to get comfortable and relax enough to fall asleep.

He lay for awhile. The unmoving dot kept haunting him and he persisted on mentally banishing it. He repeated the mantra of 'Why should I care?' over and over in his mind. He wondered why he should feel guilty for not going out to see if she was alive. How can you tell if a vampire is alive or not, he wondered. Weren't they dead anyway? Maybe he should go to Dumbledore? But then he would want to know how Harry knew. No, not a good idea. Dumbledore assured him that Mercy was as safe as a vampire Death Eater spy could be. But that didn't convince him.

Harry punched his pillow and resolved to check one more time, thinking she probably already made it to bed by now. He was unsure of what he would do if she was still there. He with, "Lumos," checked the map once more. She was in the same exact spot. Harry put the map in his trunk, he didn't want to get caught with it again and grabbed his invisibility cloak. Almost out the seventh years' dormitory, he turned around and put his shoes on. He thought of waking Ron, but decided against it seeing as Ron was really hard to wake plus the fact that Ron never really liked Mercy in the first place.

He donned the cloak and silenced his shoes as he raced down the numerous staircases to the Entrance Hall and out the door. He barely noticed the three inches of snow blanketing everything in sight. His shoes made no sound as he walked the path, but the imprints were evident that he had come. He almost walked by her, he could barely make out her silhouette in the snow. He knelt down beside her still form and brushed the snow from her head. The hood of her cloak covered her hair and part of her face. He brought his wand up and illuminated the area surrounding them. He brought his wand down to look closer. He pulled the hood away from her face and saw blood streaked down her cheeks crystallizing from the cold. Her eyelashes were clumped with red crystals as well. Her cheek rested on the unforgiving stone. Harry tried checking for a pulse and surprisingly got a very faint beat. Then it stopped. Just when he thought he imagined it, her heart beat once again, just once. He tried to figure out what to do from here.

He hadn't thought this through before coming out here. The only clear thing right now was to get her inside the castle. He debated the actual mechanics of that task. If he levitated her he couldn't get there unnoticed. If he carried her he could cover them both barely with the invisibility cloak. But carrying her posed its own problem. He did not want to place a known vampire that close while having an unknown injury. Would she come to and bite him?

While he debated coming out here and now debated on what to do, was she dying? He came to the conclusion of throwing his cloak over her and disillusioning himself then levitating her invisible body. He wasn't sure the spell would work on her kind; otherwise he would not put his father's cloak on her. He grasped the cloak with one hand so he could keep track of where she was and used his wand to aim their direction.

He had to turn around and use his back to open the heavy doors. Once inside he climbed the stairs to take the unconscious vampire to the Infirmary. He detoured quickly to the Head Girl's suite. Hermione would know what to do. She would be cross with him for disturbing her at such an hour and definitely for withholding the information that her one time friend was a vampire. He reached her portrait and banged loudly. He cringed a moment when he realized his banging echoed down the silent corridors. After a few moments he knocked again still loudly, but he felt like it was an emergency.

She opened the door, sleep disheveled with her Hogwarts robe in one hand and her wand in the other. She looked right through Harry and down both directions of the corridor before Harry realized to put Mercy down and flick his wand on himself, ending the spell. When he materialized Hermione gave an eep of surprise.

"Harry what's going on?" she demanded.

"Hermione, I have something to tell you."

"Well, come in then," she said impatiently.

"No, I can't," he bent over and pulled his cloak off the prone figure.

Hermione gave a gasp and bent over as well to inspect the unconscious girl.

"Don't get to close, Hermione. She's dangerous."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. God, what happened to her?"

"Hermione, listen to me, she's dangerous. I haven't told you before but she's a vampire."

Hermione gave him a look, "I knew that already, Harry. Well, I strongly suspected. You just proved it though. All the signs were there if one bothered to look for them. So, where did you find her? She's freezing."

"I was watching the map and I seen her outside not moving. She was covered in snow when I got there."

"Why were you watching your map at this hour?"

"Long story. What should we do with her?"

"The Infirmary, of course," Hermione looked at him like he was stupid.

Harry sighed and nodded. They stood and Harry pointed his wand at her, "Harry, what are you doing?"

"Taking her to the Infirmary."

"You can't just lift her? She's not diseased. She's not contagious. And she's been our friend for most of the year."

"I don't want her that close to me. It's not you volunteering to carry her with her teeth inches away from your neck."

Hermione looked at Harry for a moment and shook her head in defeat. Harry spelled Mercy the rest of the way to the Infirmary. Harry put her on a cot, face down since he found her that way and moved her that way. Hermione knocked on Madame Pomfrey's chamber door.

The mediwitch burst out with her bathrobe over her floor length nightgown. "What seems to be the problem, Miss Granger?"

"It's Mercedes, Madame Pomfrey. Harry found her and she's unconscious."

"Where did Mr. Potter find her at this hour?" she said bustling over to the Slytherin.

"Outside, under the snow?" he answered, unsure.

"How did you manage that, Mr. Potter?"

"Um, uh…" he stammered.

"Never mind, you. Miss Granger, use the Floo to alert the Headmaster. Mr. Potter, back to your dormitory."

Harry nodded but only walked toward Hermione as she finished her call. After she pulled her head out of the fireplace, Dumbledore stepped through and dusted himself off. Shortly after, Professor Snape did as well, but he didn't have a speck of soot on him.

Madame Pomfrey closed the curtain surrounding her patient and used her wand to remove the girl's clothing. What she discovered she held the back of her hand over her mouth to keep her reaction in. She never had seen such a mess in all her years as a school mediwitch. She would have to assess the damage and the girl would have to be transferred to St. Mungo's.

Dumbledore called respectively from the other side of the curtain, letting her know that he had arrived. Poppy covered Mercedes up to her waist with a white sheet. Before she reached the other side of the bed to inform the Headmaster, the sheet absorbed the blood from the wounds it covered.

She found Albus and Severus waiting for her. "Albus, she needs to be moved to St. Mungo's."

"I'm afraid, Poppy, that isn't possible."

"What? Why?"

As Albus explained Miss Xavier's exact situation and Poppy's objections, Severus listened impatiently. He moved to sidestep the mediwitch but Poppy wouldn't allow it.

Meanwhile, once the two Gryffindors knew the adults were furiously debating in hushed voices they approached the curtained cot. Harry parted the curtain slowly and quickly shut them.

"Come on, Harry."

Harry turned, his eyes as wide as saucers and mutely shook his head. In Harry's shock he wasn't fast enough to stop Hermione from pulling the curtain back sharply. Hermione stood in horror as the sight before her refused to register.

"Oh, god. I think I'm going to throw up."

"Me too."

Hermione turned away embracing Harry for comfort. Harry closed his eyes to escape the scene but the image was seared behind his eyelids. Only faint movement confirmed that she was still breathing. A bustling of cloth alerted the adults to a new presence as well as the two others. Draco stood, disheveled and out of breath from his long trek from the dungeons.

"What do you need, Mr. Malfoy?" Madame Pomfrey enquired.

"Head rooms…alarm…emergency…came here…" he panted.

"We can handle it from here children, go."

Draco could make out a mane of long black hair between the Gryffindors and the curtain. He walked over briskly and pulled the curtain further back. Seeing the woman he loved and lost in that state, he bent double and vomited on the floor. Madame Pomfrey was irate when she cleaned the mess and tried to evict the students.

A long moan of pain from the bed diverted her attention. The students closed in without the mediwitch noticing. Snape smirked at Malfoy for his weak constitution before he seen her too. He worked hard to not display his reaction, but it was difficult.

Mercy's eyes opened a fraction to take in her surroundings before she closed them again. Her breathing had sped up with her awareness.

"Poppy, perhaps they can stay. You may need a set of extra hands."

"What help would they be, Albus? They are children." She flicked her wand conjuring four leather straps and secured her patient to the bed. Mercy struggled a moment then relaxed. Poppy grabbed a wash cloth and a bottle of saline solution. After discovering what Miss Xavier was, there wasn't much else they could do for her. It also ruled out any pain potions she had in her cabinet.

She doused the cloth and swiped her back gently but firmly. Mercedes screamed and arched. Her muscles flexed once, twice and the third time she ripped the straps from the bed. Harry, Hermione, Draco and Severus each grabbed a limb instinctively. Hermione and Draco were closer to her arms and Harry and Severus held a leg each. Mercy held her hand holders and squeezed. Draco grimaced in pain and Hermione gasped.

"Good thing they are here, Poppy?"

"Yes, yes, of course you're right. Fetch more cloths and saline while you're being right, Albus."

Dumbledore did as she bid. Draco swiped hair out of her face. She looked up and smiled at Draco. Even through her pain, her heart was in her eyes. Hermione did not miss the look she gave him of adoration. She couldn't understand how Mercy could love or adore someone like Malfoy, but resolved that it wasn't really any of her business.

Dumbledore came back and handed Pomfrey the requested items. Poppy poured the solution directly on her back issuing another ear piercing shriek. "I hope someone put a sound barrier on the Infirmary or else the entire castle would have heard that," Severus stated.

"I took care of that before I retrieved the items Poppy needed," Albus said.

"Who would have done such a thing?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"One guess, Granger," Draco answered.

"In all my years…Never…such a state…" Poppy grumbled.

"What caused it?" Hermione wondered.

Mercy gasps between flexing from pain, "Whip…Acid…Hurts…"

"You can't go back, Mercy." Harry adamantly said.

"Have to," she weakly replied.

"Next time, he'll kill you for sure," Harry said. He still wondered why he cared.

"If he was going to do that, Potter, he would have done so by now," Snape said.

Talking directly to Mercy, Draco caressed her hair offering comfort, "What did you do? Why did he do this?"

"Don't wanna talk about…it."

"We should know, Mercy. Just in case," Snape softly requested. Surprise was evident on the faces of the onlookers, excluding Dumbledore, that Snape addressed her by her first name.

"Back door…Harry's mind…Occlumency…"

"What does that have…oh no."

"What, Potter?" Draco demanded before anyone else had the chance.

"Mercy…I…we…and I guess Voldemort got through my mind, my memory."

"Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean," Draco pleaded.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Afraid so," he finally answered.

Draco dropped her hand and stepped away like she was diseased.

Fed up with the boy's behavior, Hermione interjected, "Damnit, Malfoy. Open your eyes. She's had no one for months. You're off shagging Pansy at every opportunity. But do you see the way she looks at you? Do you?"

"This is not the time for this discussion, Draco." Severus forestalled any further debate. "Now if you don't mind, hold a hand. If not, then leave. We have a job to do."

Draco nodded and resumed his task of holding her hand to keep her still, but ceased any comforting gestures.

Poppy applied more saline and Mercy arched up and shrieked once more. Poppy continued her ministrations using a fresh washcloth for each pass, removing a bit more of the blood, acid and saline. Mercy gripped her hand holders and screamed again. She struggled for a few moments, trying to escape the pain. Then her body went limp.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he relaxed his grip on her leg.

The sheet covering her from the waist down to her thighs was dark red from the blood seeping through. The linens beneath her were pink from the combined fluids streaming off.

"She passed out again, I'm afraid. I still need you to hold her. She will come around again shortly." Madame Pomfrey addressed the small crowd. Usually she would have insisted on absolute quiet. This time though she seemed to need the distraction in order to separate her mind from what she was actually seeing. That was the main reason mediwizards were trained and employed at St. Mungo's in pairs. A school mediwitch, in the public's opinion, did not need the benefits of partnership. They usually only took care of colds, hexes, and Quidditch injuries. This trauma would have been treated at St. Mungo's for that reason.

But Dumbledore overruled on Poppy's decision to transfer the girl to a more qualified facility. He stressed greatly that it should not go further than the Infirmary. He insisted that Poppy could handle it. Poppy wasn't so sure anymore. This would haunt her nightmares for a very long while.

"While she is out, I'm going to peel back the remaining sheet and clean those wounds. I want you to hold her and prepare for her to startle. Everyone close your eyes."

"I think we've all seen that much of her," Draco spat. "Well at least I hope not all of us," he referred to Dumbledore.

"I can assure you, Mr. Malfoy, that I have seen no more of your paramour than this." Dumbledore lowered his chin and leveled his gaze over his glasses at Draco.

Poppy gently peeled the sheet back as she grumbled of the impropriety of having so many men in the room. She mumbled about witches valuing their decency. Dumbledore turned around though and busied himself retrieving more supplies. The sheet was sticking in some areas and the mediwitch eased it off. Since her patient was still unconscious, she tried to do the most efficient job as fast as possible, while the girl couldn't feel it. She finished cleaning the wounds and dressed them with gauze.

She shooed the men out behind the curtain because she was going to levitate her and change the bed linens and complete her exam. She hoped the Slytherin's front half wasn't a mirror of the back.

Hermione stayed, holding her hand needlessly soothing the unhearing girl. The front half was covered in drying blood, but there was no evidence of injury. The mediwitch continued her evaluation by checking her pelvic region for evidence of rape. There was so much blood; it was hard to determine where it originated from.

She cleaned her patient up with a murmured incantation and discovered two disturbing things. The first was the evidence of an impenetrable chastity spell. The other was minor evidence that she was sodomized without care or consent. Poppy decided to lay her patient back on her stomach so she didn't have to turn her over to recheck the progress of healing. Once everything was neat and tidy she recalled the concerned men back in.

"Madame Pomfrey, will she be all right?" Hermione broke the silence.

"She can technically sustain much worse and would unfortunately live through it."

"Unfortunately?" Hermione responded.

Draco interjected before Madame Pomfrey had a chance. "Surviving unending torture and not being allowed the release death brings. Surviving things that would kill us, she would be forced to endure over and over again."

"Vivid, Mr. Malfoy. Had this conversation before, have you?" Snape said not unkindly.

"A few times, yes," he answered.

"If something like this were to happen to one of us, would we survive it?" Hermione questioned.

"From what I've seen, the time she passed out on the grounds is when a human would have died. The shock plus the immense blood loss would have been too much for the average human to sustain," Pomfrey finished in her lecturing tone.

"I believe we are done. Children go back to bed. The Headmaster will excuse your absence from class later today since it is almost five am. You have been very mature, all three of you."

After the students departed, Poppy addressed Severus and Dumbledore. "There are a few things I need to inform you both of, before you return to bed as well."

Normally she would notify the student's Head of House anyway, but since Albus informed her of the girl's role as a Death Eater and spy he should know as well. Things kept getting more and more complicated. In hushed tones she explained, "I found evidence of an impenetrable chastity spell. Only the person who cast it can break it. It prevents either form of penetration or any form of self satisfaction." Poppy was proud of her ability to refrain from blushing at the least part. Talking with the girls was one thing, but telling such details to two men was another.

"She was roughly sodomized beforehand and the residual semen leakage burned her clothing and linens, but didn't affect her skin. I don't understand, but it's what I found."

"The Dark Lord ingested enough of Nagini's venom during the ritual that killed the naga snake. All his bodily fluids are just as toxic as the pure venom extracted. When he sacrificed Wormtail to Nagini and then sacrificed the snake and ate it he became what his is now. I've seen him spat on a muggle once. His saliva ate through his clothing and then his skin. I would assume that any other fluids would be just as toxic, if not more." Severus explained to the best of his ability.

"Well I believe that it answers our questions of why he wanted her in the first place. He discovered that a vampire would be immune. That is most likely when he sent the Aurors to her home, to bring her to him," Dumbledore said.

"She's been regularly drinking his blood, Poppy. What effect would that have?"

"I don't know, Severus. Not much is known about a magical vampire. I only have one or two seminars when I was in my apprenticeship at St. Mungo's. So really I am at a loss on what her reactions would be. She evidently can handle it, not only that, but it strengthens her more than muggle blood. She sustained injuries prior to the ones we treated but they healed so quickly that no wounds or scars were present. I'm afraid that her back will scar. She will need blood soon to replenish what she lost. Even then, her injuries will leave their scars. I don't know how long it will take for them to heal over, with or without blood."

"You did the best you could, Poppy. And it was more than enough. When she wakes give her a bag of blood, warmed to body temperature and she will be fine," Albus assured the mediwitch. Poppy nodded and all three went to their chambers to get ready for their day.

9