Chapter 4: Difficult beginnings and a red cheek
Thursday Harry didn't wake until it was nearly 11am, but that didn't bother him particularly considering how late it had gotten before he had finally closed his eyes. He was happy to find out that he slept much better in his new apartment, than he did in Dudley's old battered bed. When he had gotten himself ready for the day, he made a point to go down in the kitchen for the Dursleys to notice him, before he headed back up into his room and down into his trunk, where he spent the entire day reading trough all the material McGonnagal had brought, and the first of the books on Occlumency:
Occlumency for beginners,
NOT for dummies.
The spell that his professor had discovered was extremely complex to perform, way beyond even seventh year at Hogwarts, but once it had been cast it didn't require anything but a good deal of concentration, and noted Harry amused to himself, the need to hold your wand at all times. He didn't try to perform the spell, as he decided he wanted to do some more intensive study before he would be able to master it.
When he had finished skimming trough the Occlumency book, he had an overwhelming feeling of hatred against Snape. It was clear now, that the greasy git hadn't even tried teaching him how to do this properly. The book explained that the most important thing needed to be able to do Occlumency was the ability to empty the mind of all thoughts and more importantly feelings. Harry knew that already, but he was surprised to find that there were numerous ways of achieving this, most of which figured around meditation. When the which or wizard finally succeeded in clearing his or her mind sufficiently he or she would need to build a fortress around their thoughts and feelings, or more precisely the door behind which they had hid them.
When Harry went to bed that night his mind was spinning with all the information he had forced into it, and he had a strong feeling that he wouldn't be able to remember the slightest thing in the morning. He decided that it was best to hope that Dumbledore wouldn't arrive too early.
Harry only just got ready for 9am the next morning and to his great disappointment Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace at that exact time.
Dumbledore smiled happily at Harry as he spoke. "Good morning Mr. Potter. I assume you have had a good nights sleep and are well prepared as I asked?"
Harry yawned, and sent the old headmaster an apologetic look. "Yes Sir."
"Before we begin Harry there is something else we need to discuss. You remember how Winky was very…. sad….. when she came to Hogwarts? At the time we all assumed that it was because she thought she had betrayed her master, but I fear new evidence has come to light that suggest that there may be more to this then we thought at first. You see Harry, although Winky thankfully isn't drinking anymore, she is still extremely sad, but the thing that worries me the most, is that Dobby seems to be loosing his cheerfulness too. At times he even seems depressed. It has also come to my attention, that even though they wont admit it, their powers are weakening too, and I must say I'm very surprised that they managed to make all this for you" Dumbledore said as he gestured around the room, the smile vanished from his face. "I have done some research, and the only explanation I can find, is that their magic and happiness is simply tied to their close bond with the wizarding family they serve, and if this is true, then the obvious solution to this problem is, that they start to serve a family once again."
Harry contemplated about all this for a couple of moments before he spoke with a worried note evident in his voice. "I see, Sir. It kind of makes sense when you think about it. I just wish I had a way of helping them!"
Harry positively jumped when he heard Dobby's squeaky voice from behind him. "But Harry Potter Sir, can help Dobby and Winky. Harry Potter Sir is such a great wizard and Dobby and Winky would be honoured to serve him."
Dumbledore managed in the last second to turn a chuckle into a cough, he just couldn't help himself. Harry's perplexed expression was priceless.
"Dobby, Winky – what are you two doing here? I mean I'm happy to see you just as always, and I didn't get the chance to thank you for all the work you've done here. And I fell honoured that you would want to serve me, but it's not like I need it. This is all I got and I can easily manage this on my own."
Dumbledore spoke immediately, as he could see that Dobby was about to start crying and Winky were already showing a small flow of tears down her cheeks. "Well Harry, if you think about it you actually do have a need for some help. As you are now the master of the old Black family home, it is your duty to make sure the house is kept to a standard you see fit. And when you get back to school I doubt that you'll have enough time to keep your new "apartment" clean and in order."
Harry could see the tears in Winky's eyes, and he was pretty sure that Dobby was about to start crying too, and to top it up he was sure that he heard a hint of pleading (pleading is too strong a word, but I can't seem to find something else that fits… sorry) in Dumbledore's voice and he knew that Dumbledore was right. He wanted to be a good host to the order and whoever wanted to stay at Grimmauld place, even though he still didn't want to set foot there. All in all it seemed like a good solution to everyone, and Harry wondered if the two house elves could make some changes in the old Black house so that it would actually be an enjoyable place to live.
Without further holding the tension in the room, Harry grabbed Dobby and Winky in a fierce hug and smiled brightly at them. "Of course I would be honoured to have you live with me, and serve me. Although before I agree, I need a few seconds to think, because I have a bunch of rules racing trough my head, that I want to run by you first." Harry thought for a few seconds before continuing. "First of all, and most importantly: If you want to serve me, I don't want you to ever punish your self, if I haven't specifically ordered you to do so. Secondly: Anything you hear people talking about either here or in Grimmauld Place you cannot tell anyone else about. When you work in Grimmauld Place you'll do as Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonnagal and Remus Lupin instructs you. Further more you must always be polite to people who are my guests whether you like them or not, and finally I would like you to wear clothes if you want to. You can still work for me if you do want to wear clothes, and that way you can always feel free to come to me and tell me that you want to leave my service, although I hope you'll stay with me.
Dobby and Winky were now smiling up to both ears – which are actually some very wide smiles.
"What can Dobby and Winky do for Master Harry Potter, Sir?" Dobby squealed delighted
"Well Dobby. Now that you say it, you remind me I have one more rule for you to abide to. I don't want either of you to call me anything but Harry. This goes for everyone else you speak to too – you have to address them as they want you to. As for the first thing I want you to do, I have 2 very important jobs for you, but I only want you to start on them if you are certain that you are up for it. I can imagine that it'll be a bit strenuous for you."
This time it was Winky's turn to speak up, and Harry was amazed by the way she suddenly seemed as happy as Dobby had always been. "What can we do for you, Master Har…….. Harry? Anything you want." Winky flushed brightly as she addressed Harry, she clearly wasn't used to speak to anyone as their equal.
"Well, now that you are my family, I would think that you would need a place to live, so I would like for you to ad a room each to the apartment, that will be your own, and I would like you both to choose a room at Grimmauld Place too. And I want you to furnish and decorate them as you see fit. When you are finished doing that, and have enjoyed your new rooms for a bit, I would like you to redecorate the entire of Grimmauld place in the same style you have used here in the apartment. Do you think that would be possible?" Harry asked, already a little worried that he may be asking too much of the two small creatures.
Dobby and Winky looked at each other for only the slightest of moments, before they turned to Harry and eagerly nodded their heads. It was Dobby who spoke for the both of them. "We will do the best we can Harry, but we are sorry to say it will take us a couple of days to ad the rooms to the apartment. We need to have a little rest to regain our powers, if you'll allow it, before we can start. When we are done with adding the rooms to the apartment we will do our best to redecorate your other house. It'll be our honour!" Dobby stopped for a second and looked very deep in thought before he added. "But how will we know that you are pleased with us, if you won't come and see how we have changed everything?" Dobby finished, worry evident in his eyes. It seemed the little elves were worried that they weren't going to do their job to their new master's satisfaction.
On a rare note of actually being in tune with other people's emotions, Harry recognised the doubt of his own abilities in Dobby's eyes, and he decided that if they were really going to serve him, the least he could do was treat them as part of a family. So he got down on one knee, and took hold of Dobby and Winky's hands and looked them straight in their huge eyes. "No matter what I ask you to do, I'll never be disappointed in you, if you do the job to the best of your abilities. And judging by what you have done with this apartment, I believe I'll be truly impressed when I hear what people have to say about the house when you are done with it. I maybe even come and see it for myself, when my grief have subsided a bit, but for the moment, I don't even want to think about that place."
After giving Dobby and Winky each a fierce hug once more, Harry sent them of to give him and the old headmaster some time alone. They had already used a lot of the time Dumbledore had been able to take out of his busy schedule, and the rest of the time they discussed what Harry had studied so far, and how he were going to continue his studies. Dumbledore was satisfied with Harry's progress, and he gave him a few pointers on which meditation techniques to start out with and how to make them work.
When Dumbledore had finally left around 11am, Harry was getting hungry and he went in to the kitchen to see if he could manage a decent lunch for him self. To his surprise Winky and Dobby were already there preparing lunch, and Harry couldn't help but grin widely as he saw the enormous amounts of food stacked around the kitchen. He was sure there was enough food to feed a small army there.
The two house elves turned around and beamed at him as he entered the kitchen, and positively squealed with delight as they saw his big eyes as he stared at all the food they had prepared. "Why don't you just go sit down living room Harry, then we will bring you your food in a couple of minutes" Winky stated with a cheerful smile smeared across her face.
Harry just stood there a minute and wondered how it was that he had suddenly become so lucky to have not one, but two house elves… After a few seconds thought it occurred to him that maybe Dumbledore had his fingers in on this too. The old man had probably figured that since Harry had cut himself off from his friends, he needed someone else to keep him company at least some of the time. After Harry silently had raged about how that old fool persistently meddled in his affairs for a couple of milliseconds, he realised that he wasn't angry at all, but that he as actually grateful that he knew Dumbledore and that he kept an eye out for him. Granted he had made some mistakes in the last 16 years, quite a lot actually, but Harry had come to realise that Dumbledore only did what he thought was best.
Harry watched the two house elves working for a few seconds and decided that if they should live together then they should at least live like any normal family would, and so he asked them if they wanted to join him for lunch.
Dobby and Winky looked shocked beyond belief at his suggestion and Harry had to reassure them for several minutes before they finally believed that he wasn't taunting him and that he was in fact serious. Winky looked shy when Dobby stuttering started to explain to Harry that the things they ate wasn't exactly the same as Harry, and that they would rather not eat in front of him, as they thought that it was very embarrassing. Harry could see that the thought bothered them very much, and he didn't want to force them to do anything, let alone something that was so insignificant. He thought that he would let the issue drop for now, but when they had become more secure with him, he still thought that he should suggest that they at least would come and sit with him while he ate, so they could talk just like a real family.
After lunch Harry was going to work on the spell that Professor McGonagall had brought for him. Strangely enough it didn't have a name, and Harry wondered if it was so old and unknown that its name had actually been forgotten. As he started studying the spell once more, he found that he wasn't quite capable of concentrating like he felt he should. He kept working for almost 15 minutes and was growing steadily more aggravated that he couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand. After 20 minutes, he was just about ready to explode, when he heard a small cough behind him.
When he turned around, he could see Winky literally cringe at the expression on his face. Still he couldn't help but be annoyed that she disturbed him, when he clearly wasn't capable of concentrating in the first place.
Winky didn't like the way Harry was looking, and she thought that it was her duty to see if she could help her new master. "Winky is very sorry to disturb Master Harry, but Winky though that maybe she could help Master with something? Can Winky do something to ease Masters work?"
Harry sighed and looked down when he spoke. "I told you not to call me Master Winky. And no I'm afraid there isn't anything you can do to help me, unless you know some spell to make me able to concentrate better?" Harry's voice spoke volumes about how likely he found it that Winky could actually help him.
When Winky spoke, he looked up again only to see the small house elf smiling tentatively at him. "No Mas… Harry. Winky does not know any spell of that kind. But Winky thinks she can help Harry help himself, that is if Harry wants help from a simple house elf?"
"Of course I want your help Winky, why wouldn't I? And what is it you mean by you think you can help me help myself?" Harry had the smallest of glimpses of hope in his eyes, but he still looked very down.
Suddenly Winky didn't seem too keen on telling Harry what it was that she thought would help, she actually stuttered quite a lot as she spoke. "Well you see Harry. Winky didn't want to spy, but she kind of overheard Harry speaking with Master Albus Dumbledore. Didn't master Dumbledore and Harry talk about using…. now what was that strange word? Medutanon? To help Harry concentrate on how to keep his mind closed. Winky doesn't understand all this, but she thought that maybe Harry could use this medutanon to concentrate on his studies? Winky wasn't bad, was she?"
As Winky finished she was almost shaking like a rather small apple tree in a brewing storm and she was studying her feet very carefully. As such she didn't see Harry's eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree while she spoke, and she was most certainly surprised when Harry literally flung him self at her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"NO Winky, you haven't done anything wrong. Actually I'm very proud of you. It's just a brilliant idea! Thank you so much. And by the way the word is meditation. Oh you are just great! I'll try that right away. By the way Winky, are there any way I can make the light in here a bit dimmer? I like it as it is, but it's hard for me to concentrate on the meditation with the light this bright."
"Winky is happy to help Harry. I will make the light dimmer for you now, and when you need to do it later yourself, I'm sure that you can do it if you want to. You just have to believe in yourself Harry." Winky beamed at him, snapped her fingers and disappeared just as the lights in the living room dimmed to a very comfy setting.
Harry wondered what Winky meant that he should just believe in himself, but banished the though from his mind as he sat down in his favourite chair and closed his eyes. He focused on nothing at all, and at the same time tried to force all of his thoughts, feelings and emotions into a small room in the back of his mind. It took him a great deal of effort, but finally he closed the door to the small room. He could feel his heartbeat slowing as he finally truly relaxed for the first time in ages.
After just sitting and relaxing for an, to Harry, indefinable amount of time, he started rummaging trough his own now empty mind to make sure he had gotten all of his thoughts and emotions locked away. After searching some of the furthest reaches of his mind and collecting some stray memories Harry returned to the door, and chuckled as he really watched it for the first time. It didn't look anything like the fortress he had read it should look like, but more like a thin plywood door bulging out on the middle. Harry slowly moved towards the door, while thinking that even though he still far from sported an impenetrable mind, he had at least made some progress. When he reached the door he grabbed the handle and pulled open the door, fully intending to just throw in the last memories and then lock it up again, only he must have somehow miscalculated something.
As soon as the lock clicked open and he pressed the handle down, the door flew open violently, and Harry was thrown backwards and out of his own mind by the rushing of all his memories, thoughts and feelings retuning to their original places. Harry felt himself land in his own body, heart beating like an express train, and a stream of profanities that he didn't even realise he knew streamed from his lips.
Immediately two loud cracks rang trough the apartment as Dobby and Winky appeared back to back, with a bright blueish glow coming from their hands. They quickly surveyed the entire room and then faced Harry. When they a couple of seconds later were satisfied that he was safe and unharmed, they dropped their stances, excused them self for startling him, and disappeared as fast as they had appeared in the first place.
Harry had forgotten everything about what had happened just seconds ago, the only thing he could think of, was the sight of two positively scary looking house elves. Their usual sweet and kind faces were all screwed up, and their mouths had been half open in what appeared to be a snarl. And when Harry thought really hard about it, he was certain that he had seen pointed teeth… Pointed teeth? Since when did house elves have pointed teeth? Harry was quite sure that they didn't and he was truly happy that they were obviously on his side. He sure as hell didn't want to be on the receiving end of what they seamed to be ready to release on anyone threatening him.
When Harry had just sat there for a couple of minutes a million thoughts rummaging trough his head, he remembered Winky's advice to him earlier and he closed his eyes once more and tried to relax. Soon he was once again feeling his heartbeat slow, but this time he didn't empty his mind completely. Instead he focused on removing everything but all the knowledge he had gathered trough the years at Hogwarts. When he was finally feeling relaxed and ready, he opened his eyes and started reading trough all the information about the spell.
Harry found it loads easier to study like this, he actually felt like he was making tremendous progress when Winky disturbed him again. He hadn't studied for more than half an hour, but still here were Winky telling him that dinner was ready. Harry was quite confused, and Winky seemed to sense this right away, as she immediately explained to him that he had been meditating for hours in his first try, and for a bit over an hour in his second one.
Harry was dumbfounded. Had he really spent that much time? It just didn't seem real. He decided that he must need a lot more practise if he was to be able to clear his mind before he went to bed each evening. But that would have to wait. First things first, and Harry found that he was quite hungry, so he gladly allowed Winky and Dobby to set the table and serve his food. He felt kind of strange having all this attention put on him in such a positive way. He was used to all the attention of the students at Hogwarts, but this was so much different. Kind of enjoyable when he thought about it. He just wished that his friends could join him.
As soon as the thought entered his mind, his face fell. Dobby and Winky apparently noted, because in an instant, Dobby had brought a bit flustered Hedwig down in the trunk. In her beak she had no less then what appeared to be four letters. Harry sighed as she landed on his shoulder and dropped the four roles of parchment on his still empty plate.
Harry picked her down from his shoulder, and gently stroked her while she sat on his arm. Hedwig studied him with a very demanding look in her eyes, and Harry sighed once again.
"You know I can't read them honey. I really miss them, but you know that I can't put them in any more danger than they are already in. You need to take the letters back to them. But before you go, why don't you keep me company while I eat? I'm kind of lonely, and I don't think Dobby and Winky are ready to join me for dinner yet."
Harry looked down on his precious friend and stroked her gently and then sat her down on the table.
"Why don't you pick some food for yourself? Dobby and Winky have once again outdone them selves, and there is just too much food here for me to eat. I'll get a glass for you."
Harry decided that he just as well could practise some wand less magic while he was at it, and called out accio glass to summon a glass from the kitchen. Apparently it was more difficult doing the spell without a wand, because although the glass did come flying into the living room from the kitchen, it missed Harry's outstretched hand by almost half a meter, and banged into the wall on the other side of the room and shattered.
Harry was busy swearing, and banging his hands on the table so poor Hedwig hooted and flew to his shoulder and napped him rather hard in his ear. Because of all this, Harry didn't notice that his two faithful house elves instantly appeared behind him, surveyed the scene, only to disappear instantly again. A couple of seconds later Dobby came in trough the kitchen door and started cleaning the mess of the broken glass. Not that it was much of a task. In fact he merely waved his hand above the shattered pieces which assembled themselves quite nicely, and then picked up the glass and went to put it on the table.
Harry thanked Dobby, and absentmindedly continued soothing a startled Hedwig. When Dobby had nearly reached the door to the kitchen, Harry called him back.
"Dobby do you think when you are done with the other chores I've asked of you, that you could make some kind of entrance for Hedwig? I would like it if she could get in here without either of us carrying her."
"Dobby doesn't know if it can be done Harry, but Dobby will try and look into it."
Harry finished his dinner with Hedwig by his side, and decided that he had better get some fresh air. He got up and changed into his running outfit, while he left Hedwig at the table. When he returned he picked her and the letters up, and carried his beloved owl up into his aunt and uncles house. As soon as Harry sat foot outside of the trunk he stopped dead in his tracks. It appeared that Dobby and Winky had decided that his old room needed a bit of cleaning, and they had done a remarkable job. This would make aunt Petunia rather proud Harry thought absentmindedly while he opened the window and sent Hedwig of with the letters from his friends.
Harry watched his only friend at the moment, soar high towards the sky, and felt a little pang of pain as she disappeared against the night sky, becoming one with the stars. Harry trudged down the stairs and hurried out of the front door. He had no intention of having a run in with his relatives. Safely outside he did a few stretches, before he slowly started jogging down the street to get his muscles warm. After jogging for 5 minutes he picked up the pace, and soon he was sweating rather heavily in the warm summer night. When he had run for 25 minutes he turned down a couple of roads, and started running back parallel to the road he had taken on the way out.
Harry was running in his own thoughts when something suddenly jumped out from a rose bush and stood dead still in front of him. He scrambled to a halt, as the sight of the figure in front of him reached his mind, which promptly responded by making his eyes water. There in front of him stood padfoot.
At least it might as well have been. A rather scruffy looking black dog, with deep lonely eyes. It looked up at Harry with almost pleading eyes, but all Harry could do was stare at it with tears streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly the weight of all the memories that had started running trough his mind became too much, and Harry bolted down the street, desperately trying to get away from the haunting memories of his godfather. He sprinted down one street, then one more without even noticing where he was going, the tears in his eyes making everything blurry beyond recognition.
A couple of roads further, he found himself incapable of taking as much as one more step. He had stopped in the middle of the road, and when his mind kicked back into gear a second later, it was with the realisation, that the two lights approaching him rather fast was headlights. He felt as if nailed to the ground. There was no way he was going to make it out of the way in time, and the car was certainly going fast enough to kill him instantly… Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He would get to see Sirius again. And his mom and dad too. Harry could hear the brakes and tires screeching for grip, but it was a matter of seconds before it would all be over.
Suddenly time seemed to slow down, and Harry watched in horror, as he could see someone running towards him hidden under an invisibility cloak. Just before time itself seemed to come to a complete stop Harry could see that the person under the cloak had jumped, and was going to try and push Harry out of the speeding cars way. It was also painstakingly obvious that his attempted rescuer wasn't going too succeed. The only thing the person would accomplish was getting him or her self killed too.
When Harry thought about it later, he didn't know if he had in fact slowed time, if someone else had, or if maybe his mind had suddenly jumped into overdrive, but it was a matter of fact, that a great deal of thoughts ran trough his mind during this time. Harry wondered who were under the cloak, and why they would willingly die to save him. He also wondered if he should just pretend that he hadn't seen this person, and let faith have its will, and have him done for. Well he couldn't let that happen. He didn't want to add one more to the list of people he had brought death upon. First his parents, then that poor ministry employee, then Cedric and Sirius of course. He was sure he wouldn't be able to live with him self, if he allowed one more person to die on his account.
Suddenly time sprang into action again, and Harry without thinking much about it, and completely ignoring the fact that it was supposedly impossible, wandlessly used Wingardium Leviosa to lift him self 6 feet into the air, and out of harms way, and while he couldn't stop the person hurdling trough the air to save him, he boosted their altitude, so that the car sped underneath both of them.
This had a rather undesirable side effect though. While the car righted it self and drove on as if nothing had happened at all, Harry could see the invisibility cloak and its wearer fly straight towards a lamp post. Milliseconds later Harry heard something that sounded eerily like skull against metal. Harry was in complete shock. First he had saved the person from being hit by the car, only to have him slam head first into a solid metal object, which in the best case, wasn't a very good thing. How come everything always went wrong for him? It wasn't fair! Harry watched the scene, as his two faithful house elves appeared below him, looking absolutely livid, only to have their expressions changed to ones of disbelief, as they discovered Harry floating 6 feet above their heads sitting in something like a lotus position.
As soon as Winky let out a small scream, Harry apparently lost his concentration, and abruptly dropped to the ground. "Is Harry all right?" dobby squealed, and ran to Harry's side. Harry, with only a few bruises and a sore bum to show for it, got up and assured the two frightened house elves that he was okay. When the house elves a minute later had backed just a few inches away, Harry pushed them apart, and went over to the lightning pole to check up on the person that had been guarding and trying to save him. He felt his feet bump into something soft lying on the ground, but the person under the cloak clearly wasn't conscious, as he or she didn't make a sound. Harry carefully searched for the hem of the cloak, and when he had found it he gently started pulling the cloak of.
The face that met him was covered in blood, and Harry didn't even recognise it until he had wiped a lot of blood away with his own sleeve. As soon as he recognised who had been trying to rescue him, he could feel tears pressing on in the corners of his eyes.
"No!" he thought. He couldn't let this happen. He quickly pulled the cloak completely of the unconscious figure, and then proceeded to put it on himself. He left the hood down, so Dobby and Winky could still see him. "Dobby I want you to take him directly to St. Mungos. Don't tell them what really happened to him, just tell him that he fell down. Winky you will take me along under the cloak. When we are safely there, you will go to headquarters and tell the order to go to the hospital to see him. Do you both understand?"
"We understand Harry Potter Sir, but we can't let….."
"Don't argue with me now. We don't have time. This is how it's going to be. Now let's get going!"
Dobby and Winky shot each other a concerned glance, and the Dobby grabbed hold of the unconscious figure and disappeared with a soft pop. Winky got under the cloak with Harry, grabbed a hold of his leg, and then Harry felt a strange sensation flowing trough his body as they were swept away to the wizading hospital in London.
Not more than a split second later they arrived, and Harry had to restrain himself physically to not let out a small yelp. This was so much better than travelling by portkey. He wondered if it felt the same way to apparate, and decided that if it did, then he would definitely cherish the day he could travel like that.
Harry didn't have too much time to think about this though, as he immediately had to jump out of the way of medi-witch hovering a seemingly lifeless body by her side. He only just managed to keep himself and Winky hidden under the cloak. He quickly manoeuvred himself and the small house elf over to one of the walls, where they were mostly safe from all the people bustling about the arrivals area.
Harry bent down and whispered in Winky's ear: "Now go and get someone from the order. But don't tell them I'm here. If they ask just tell them that I told you not to say anything else than that Dobby and you are watching me, ok?" Winky nodded her head, but Harry could see that she wasn't pleased about the prospect of not telling someone the entire truth. Harry just gave his friend a small smile, and he watched as Winky disappeared in front of his eyes, with a single snap of her fingers.
As soon as Winky was gone Harry looked around in the rather large and crowded room, and soon spotted Dobby walking down a corridor after 2 medi-wizards anxiously looking over his shoulder from time to time. What Dobby couldn't see was that Harry was already hurrying to catch up with him, and was actually only a few steps behind him when the two wizards turned into a room on the right hand side of the corridor. Dobby followed them inside, but he kept the door open just long enough for Harry to slip inside undetected.
From the corner where he was standing, the only thing he could really see was a lock of red, blood stained hair. Harry was happy to listen to the talk of the two wizards as they examined the body lying in the hospital bed, because it quickly became obvious that he wouldn't have another life on his hands.
Harry slowly rested himself against the wall and slowly slid down it until he sat crumbled up in a corner of the all white hospital room. Only a few minutes later the door to the ward opened and in poured half of the order. Remus, McGonagall, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Molly Weasley, the twins, Ron and Ginny all looking extremely anxious Harry noted, before he hid his face in his hands. The guilt of all he had brought upon these people hit him hard, and he couldn't help but feel that he didn't deserve all the kindness they had showed him.
All the Weasley 's were standing around the bed, when the rest of the order quickly turned on Winky who had by now joined Dobby on the other side of the ward. It was McGonnagal who spoke first and voiced all of their concerns. "Winky, you told us that you and Dobby were watching Harry. Now he is clearly not here, and both of you are. So would you care to explain where he is, so we can send someone to see to him?" McGonagall's voice was friendly but firm, and there was no doubt that she wanted an answer fast. The answer she got far from pleased her.
"Winky and Dobby are watching Master Harry Potter Sir, Miss McGonagall, but Winky can not tell you where Master is. Master said not to." Winky looked very frightened as she finished the sentence and looked up into the eyes of an absolutely furious witch.
It was painstakingly clear to everyone in the room, that the strict professor was about to blow her top, when a calm voice spoke from the door. "Calm yourself Minevera. I have every confidence in Dobby and Winky, and I can assure you that Harry IS quite safe at the moment."
"But Albus…." McGonnagal started, only to stop speaking as Dumbledore glared at her above his half moon spectacles, the merry twinkle in his eyes only just there. "Not now, Minevera! I see that our friend has finally awoken. Now Mr. Weasley, would you care to explain to us what has happened to you tonight?" Dumbledore's voice was still calm, but the tone in it left no room for argument. Not that it was really necessary as all eyes in the room had already turned to Charlie lying in the bed with a pained expression on his face.
Charlie's eyes suddenly flew wide open, but they clearly didn't focus on anything in the room as he screamed out: "NO Harry! Don't do it!"
Ms. Weasley quickly bent down and soothed Charlie, and soon he was well and aware enough to tell them what had happened during the evening. He started out by telling them about Harry coming out and starting running, and how he followed him with ease, his fitness from being a dragon trainer helping him. Then he explained that Harry had suddenly froze as he came face to face with a black dog, and pain showed on all their faces at the memory of Sirius. Then he explained how Harry had suddenly started sprinting aimlessly down the street and how it seemed like he run with super-human speed. Charlie's voice almost cracked over with emotion as he told them how Harry had just stood there waiting for the speeding car to hit him.
There was an uproar when Charlie finished his little speech. Everyone speed talked on top of each other, and soon everyone were more or less screaming at the top of their longs. No one was shouting at anyone in particular, except maybe at Harry, but since they didn't know he was there it was more out of frustration than anything else.
Harry lifted his head out of his hands for a moment, when he almost could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. Dumbledore looked straight at him and Harry felt as if Dumbledore was warning him about something. He couldn't figure out what it was though, and when Dumbledore turned and faced the screaming order members and Weasley family members, he put his face back in his hand. He couldn't handle this… All these people were shouting at him. He figured they blamed him for Charlie's condition. And they were right too, he kept telling himself in his mind. The only positive thought he could think at the moment, was that he was confirmed in his decision to go back to Hogwarts under cover. He would brake down if one more of his friends were hurt, he just knew it!
Dumbledore apparently didn't appreciate all the screaming, because for the first time Harry could ever remember, he raised his voice. "ENOUGH!" Just that one word. But it was more than sufficient. The room immediately fell completely silent and more than one person thought they had heard thunder in the voice of the old man. When Dumbledore had everyone's attention, which really didn't take long, he looked each of them deep in the eyes and continued, addressing Charlie. "Now Mr. Weasley would you care to explain what happened next to put you in this state, please?"
"No – I want to now something first." He turned his head to Dumbledore. "Is Harry alright? With all of you here, Dad caught up at the ministry and Moody on assignment, then who is watching Harry?" Charlie's voice had started shaking again, and he looked almost as pale as the hospital bedspreads.
"Take it easy Charlie. You really need to rest. Dobby and Winky tell me that Harry is alright and I can assure you that they are trust worthy in this matter. As to who is watching Harry, they themselves are taking care of that too. But please tell us what happened next." Dumbledore's voice was back to its calm self, and his eyes twinkled again, although not as merrily as they used to.
Charlie sighed. "There really isn't much to tell. As I told you he just stood there and waited for the car to hit him. I couldn't let that happen. So I jumped to push him out of the way and let the car hit me instead. That's all I can remember. I'm fairly sure I didn't get to him in time though."
At Charlie's last words Ms. Weasley broke into a fit of sobs. She clearly didn't enjoy the thought of one of her sons sacrificing himself for the sake of someone she considered her 7th son.
Immediately all the Weasley children rushed to their mother's side, and hugged her fiercely. It was Ginny who put a voice to all their emotions. It's all right mum. Charlie's okay. And so is Harry. They are both okay." She continued muttering under her breath, but it seemed nobody heard what she said: "although Harry better be wicked fast with his wand when I get my hands on him!"
Dumbledore looked a bit worried that Charlie couldn't tell them more, but he knew where to get the information he wanted, although he didn't like the though of what Ginny Weasley would do to Harry in a couple of minutes. Dumbledore shot a quick glace to the corner where Harry was still hiding his face in his hands. God he felt old. That boy had gone trough so much. He wished that he could take all the hurt back Harry had experienced, but here he was about to make life even more difficult from him. He sighed. "Well Mr. Weasley I know one person who can tells us all of what happened, so why don't you just relax."
Ginny cut in. "Yes Harry can tell us, the only problem is we don't know where he is."
"I have to disagree with you Ms. Weasley. As Dobby and Winky already told you, they are watching Harry as we speak. As am I. Harry. Would you care to tell us what happened tonight?"
Everyone now stared at Dumbledore like he had finally lost it. Everyone besides Dobby and Winky, who were shooting each other and one of the corners of the room strange glances.
Everyone's eyes turned to the corner of the room when they herd a flutter of a cloak being dropped on the ground. Everyone stood deadly still and watched the suddenly appeared Harry in shock. The first person to move was Ginny, and she strode across the room so fast, that nobody could stop her in time.
SMACK, SMACK. She slapped Harry so hard his cheeks got so red they matched the fire in her hair and her eyes. "That's for not talking to us all summer, and that's for not getting out of the way of that car. Now explain yourself Harry Potter, or Merlin I'll hex you so bad Voldemort will seem like a nice uncle when I'm done with you."
"Ginevera Molly Weasley, Will you stop this instant! You should know better….." Molly started shouting, until she was silenced by Harry's soft, sad voice.
"Dobby, Winky. Will you please take me home? Professor Dumbledore, I'll send Dobby or Winky to Hogwarts or Headquarters, which ever you prefer, and then they can tell you what they saw. I'm certain you can figure the rest out. If not then I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow." Harry shot a meaningful look at Dumbledore, before he turned to Dobby and Winky, took their outstretched hands, and gave a single nod.