Professor Dumbledore,
I am now convinced that something is wrong with Harry, Professor. None of the letters by any of his friends have been answered and not a word has been heard from him in a month. I am sorry to nag you, Professor, but I am really worried and I don't know what to do short of going round there. Did you get a reply from yours?
Kind Regards,
Hermione Granger
Albus let the letter slip from his fingers onto his desk. He looked over to Fawkes who looked straight back at him, concern evident in his amber eyes.
"So Fawkes," Albus said stretching, "It looks like we must pay a visit to.."
The fireplace shot green smoke and dumped a body onto the persian carpet of Dumbledore's study. Tonks got up and favoured her right arm and shoulder while looking at a now standing Albus through her blackened eye that was beginning to close.
"They have something going on near Privet Drive, sir" Tonks reported, "We need to go now, there were fifteen Dementors just making sure I didn't get any closer led by that bastard Malfoy." Dumbledore was instant action,
"We leave now." Albus said curtly, as he disapparated Tonks and himself with a loud angry crack.
One single tear slipped from the phoenix's eye in sorrow for what was happening far from Hogwarts.
Vernon Dursley lay in a pool of his own blood moaning incoherently. Petunia and Dudley were ashen faced and sick to the cores of their stomach's watching the beating that Harry was taking.
It started fifteen minutes ago when a group of professional thugs came in through the front door and knocked seven levels of hell out of Vernon without saying a word. Petunia was slapped and thrown on the couch when she started screaming, as others made their way straight to the hutch under the stairs and with bolt cutters, tore the lock off and dragged Harry out.
The thing that shocked Petunia and Dudley was the state of Harry before these characters had a chance to work him over; he was bruised, had obviously been beaten viciously and was only semi awake. They then watched in horror as a couple of them held him and interrogated him asking all sorts of questions about "an Order..", and the "event at the Ministry". Harry tried to croak a few "I don't know's" through his cracked bleeding lips but then didn't say anything else as they began to take their frustratin out on him by punching him in the ribs and the stomach.
After a few minutes, the leader motioned them away and kicked Harry with frustration. He then spat on him and left.
Petunia just held Dudley as they both cried in shock, when bangs and magic explosions could be heard outside. Dudley started to run around the room randomly screaming hysterically, as Petunia struggled over to the door, barely keeping upright,
"Albus, help." she said to his shocked face and then collapsed.
Dumbledore marched into the room and surveyed the surroundings. He cast a spell on the room and proceeded to watch what had transpired for the last hour, greatly speeded up. As soon as he saw Harry get spat on and left behind the couch he knew where he was and ran to him.
"It's okay.. Merlin's Beard! Harry? HARRY?" Albus shouted now, increasingly worried as his hands were covered in Harry's blood.
"Speak to me boy!" Albus took out his wand and pointed it at Harry.
"Resarcio!" The spell which normally healed the recipient seemed to be absorbed into Harry without actually having the desired effect.
"Renovo!" Albus was dumbfounded, something was blocking spells from having effect on Harry, even the higher spell form was having no effect. He needed to get him back to Madam Pomfrey without injuring him further.
"Stay with me Harry! Stay with me." Albus floated him towards the fireplace and disappeared into it leaving everyone else. As soon as they had appeared in his study inside Hogwarts he apparated them to the medical wing. He was still making sure Harry was still breathing when he heard a rasp from Harry as his lung deflated and he started hyperventilating softly.
Madamme Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, and Albus couldn't leave Harry. Albus didn't know how long he had left.
"MADAMME POMFREY, EMERGENCY!" Albus was told later that the whole of Hogwarts heard his booming voice as it searched out the Hogwarts Nurse, rocking the castle to its very core.
Harry was going blue, and Albus had no choice.
"Perculsus!" he casted with no effect again, he looked at Harry, tears running down his own face in rivers at what he had to do, the perculsus spell tried to energise Harry but was absorbed, making his body buck. Albus nearly threw up when he heard another of Harry's ribs crack. At least it kept him alive.
"My boy, I'm so sorr.. Finite Incantatum!" that still didn't break down whatever the shield was around Harry. He was slipping away and Albus knew it.
"Fracta!" the strongest shield shattering spell Albus knew had no effect. Then it hit him, Hermione's mother and father were both doctors. If he could apparate them here maybe they could save Harry.
He summoned all of his power to do what had never been done before. He looked at Harry's broken form on the bed, bleeding and slipping away, and became more angry than he ever had in his life. He didn't know if he or Hermione's parents would survive such a powerful apparate but he had no choice. The air arced around him as his power grew and grew.
"Invenio Arcesso Grangers!" the power spiked out of him, driving him to his knees.
With a huge bang, Dan and Elizabeth Granger popped out of thin air to stand next to the bed having been at work and in the car respectively. Dan who was in the car had fallen on the floor next to Albus, who was trying weakly to stand.
"Save him.." he pointed to Harry.
"Dan." Liz didn't know where she was or why, but she knew this boy was moments away from death.
"Right here, I'll breathe for him, puncture it." he handed her a ball point pen with its refill removed. Dan Granger performed CPR without the chest compressions as Liz reflated Harry's lung. Alberta Pomfrey had arrived and stood next to them to lend a hand not saying anything but nodding to these strangers who she didn't know and had never seen but were so obviously focused on saving Harry's life.
They called for her to get various medical items which Alberta conjured for them on the spot, but they didn't notice. When Harry was hooked up to various drips and an ICU machine that monitored his vitals, they bagged him and let the machine ventilate his breathing as they made sure his ECG rhythym was normal and he was still all there.
"We done?"
"His numbers look good, he's out of the worst of it, Dan."
"Thank God. What the hell is going on?" he turned to see Alberta look at them with a happy face and tears of joy running down her face.
"Thank you." she said hugging both of them, "Thank you for saving Harry Potter's life. But who are you?"
"Who are you?" Dan shot back still wary of his surroundings and how he and his wife had appeared there.
"I believe I will answer that, in a moment" Dumbledore said as he ushered them to sit on whatever they could as he took a small metal phoenix out of his pocket and broke it.
Thirty Aurors in what looked like black and silver armor appeared instantly with Alastor Moody at their head, all had wands out ready to hex, curse and kill anything that moved. Alastor took one look at the occupant of the bed, the seriousness of his injuries and at Albus's face. He waved off two auror's who had their wands in the faces of Dan and Liz Granger, as he said.
"We have failed you, Harry." he said sternly to the deathly silence of the room and the soft beeps of the machine keeping Harry alive.
"Alberta, please stand watch here, a team of auror's will remain here until further notice. Alastor, I need to know Hogwarts is secure."
"Discreetly Albus?" he questioned
"The time for discretion is over, Alastor." the sound of his voice was as cold as the grave.