Minerva McGonagall started in the residence of the Evans' when vibrations passed through the necklace next to her chest. This could only mean something had gone horribly wrong, as that was her Order of the Phoenix emergency contact. She excused herself from the home of the soon the be student and briskly walked down the street. Making sure that no one was around, she talked into the device she was instructed to carry always.

"What has happened?" She expected Albus to answer, but was surprised to hear Nymphadora instead.

"You need to get to the park by Phoenix Child right away." She started to have trouble breathing. That was Harry's code name, and by Tonks' voice, something very dire had happened. Doing another sweep of her surroundings, she Apparated to the park, a place everyone had been briefed on, seeing as how Harry spent much time there. What she saw made her eyes water.

Harry lay very still, surrounded by five still smoking marks on the ground. She started breathing again, and started towards him, but before she could reach him, he started moving. She gave a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. Her new young charge, Mark Evans, crawled out from under the still form of one of her favorite students. He shuddered when he saw what was around him and shook Harry gently.

"Wake up, their gone. Come on, wake up." He seemed ready to start panicking, so Minerva stepped in quickly to prevent that. She put her hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

"Now Mark-" She wasn't prepared for his reaction. He gave a shriek of fear and shuffled closer to Harry, seeking protection. His still arm seemed to shift slightly, and she suddenly felt very unsure as to what she was doing. She only had a second for doubt, however, before the feeling was made physical. She felt a burning sensation across her hand and stepped back quickly.

The two students were surrounded by heat waves in the air, and she was sure of the fact that stepping into that area would results in very serious burns. She drew her wand to banish the heat, and then hesitated. No doubt Harry had put the field up as some sort of protective reflex, and it would probably last only as long as he felt threatened. However, he couldn't possibly be very strong at the moment, and forcibly breaking this magic might very well injure him even further. She turned to the young woman beside her, who was shaking her hand after trying to pass the barrier.

"What has happened, Tonks?" The Auror looked ashamed, and cleared her throat.

"Well, I followed Harry to the park, under cover, of course. He wasn't looking to happy, but I didn't want to intrude on his grief. That's when- what did you call him? Mark? That's when Mark came running up, clutching his Hogwarts letter and being chased by that oaf of a cousin of Harry's. Harry told Mark to step behind him, and he was in the process of getting the bully's to go away when they started making cracks about his dead godfather." Here Tonks' voice turned harsh, and she waited a minute before she continued. "That's when Harry broke the swings off of the bars and started beating them." Minerva shook her head in exasperation. She had heard of Harry's loss of control, but this was a little more than she had expected. "Anyway, the swings chased them right out of the park and, well, I followed them to do damage control." She started looking ashamed again at this, and for good reason. Minerva didn't exactly blame her for her actions, but she knew that some would. She gestured for her to continue, and the younger woman took a breath. "I heard some screaming, and I rushed right back. When I got here, they were Cruciating him." She shuddered and tears started falling from her eyes, but she struggled on. "Then they dragged Mark up. I think they were trying to get Harry to cooperate or something, because she was going to start in on him. She cast the Cruciatus, and Harry jumped right in front of it! He tackled the boy and covered him with his own body. I don't know if I could do that, but he didn't even hesitate." Minerva tried to get past the pride and pain she was feeling, and get back to the story.

"What happened next, Tonks?"

"Well, I was about to intervene, when there was a...well the best way to describe it is pulse of light. It surrounded the two boys, and suddenly the Death Eaters were burning. When my vision cleared, Harry was unconscious and they dead. How are we going to get him out of here if we can't touch him? Surely you can..." Tonks left the sentence unfinished when Minerva shook her head.

"I could almost certainly dispel this heat field, but take a look at Harry. He's not in very good condition, and breaking his spell might make things worse instead of better. I'm afraid that he's going to have to get rid of it himself, and he's only going to take it down when he feels safe." She looked at the still sleeping young man and shook her head. "We obviously don't qualify for his full and total trust." Tonks looked offended, but Minerva knew that teenagers often saw adults as the enemy, and also that in Harry's unique case that was often true. She grabbed the pendent around her neck and prepared to find those most likely to be trusted. "Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin. Park by Phoenix Child, emergency." She thought a second and added, "acquire Match and Worm." She caught the curious look on Tonks' face, and shrugged. "Those are the only people that he might trust. Now we wait for them."

Hermione Granger gave herself a shake as her head spun. Two person Apparition was an unpleasant experience, she couldn't wait until she got her license. Those thoughts were driven from her head when she saw what was in front of her.

"Harry!" She tried to rush to his side, but she was restrained by a number of hands. She saw that the Headmaster was here, as was Tonks and Professor McGonagall. Behind her, Remus was looking ill. "What happened to him?" The aging Headmaster shook his head, and simply avoided the question.

"Ms. Granger, you have been called here to help us calm Mr. Potter, should we fail." With a frown, he looked around. "Where are Molly and young Mr. Weasley?" Remus answered, overriding Hermione's questions.

"Molly has gone in search of her son. He went out with Fred and George, and you know how hard it can be to find those two." Albus shook his head again, and returned to the matter at hand.

"As you can see, Harry is not in very good shape, and he needs medical attention. However, he has put a heat shield in place, possibly to protect young Mr. Evans, there." Hermione looked again, and was startled to see a young boy hunched up next to her friend. "Now, for reasons that are fairly evident, we have decided that breaking the shield would be a bad idea, so we must convince Harry to dispel it on his own. However, this is complicated by the fact that it won't allow either Minerva or Tonks through. We've been call together because it is likely that among out number will be someone Harry trusts enough to let close. It will then be that person's task to calm him to a point where the shield collapses. All of the order members will go first, and then, if that doesn't work, the students will try." He didn't even wait for their nods of understanding, he just strode over to the still form that he had dedicated many years of his life to. Moving his hand slowly, he approached the shimmers in the air. As he made contact, however, they appeared to start moving faster, and he quickly drew back, a very sad expression on his face. Almost to himself, he mumbled "It appears I have not been forgiven." In a louder voice, he stated "Remus, you're next." The werewolf stepped up to the boy, carefully extending his hand. The shimmers didn't react to him at first, and there seemed to be glimmers of hope on the faces of the adults, but a couple of inches in he suddenly pulled his hand back out.

"They warned me out" he said by way of explanation. Albus nodded his understanding, and finally turned to Hermione.

"Now, child, I'm afraid I must ask you to try your hand. If you feel any sort of danger, withdraw immediately. Should you pass, try very calmly to get him to lower the shield." He looked her in the eye, and she nodded briskly. She approached the shield, trying to quash the fear rising from her stomach. She put out her hand, moving at a torturous pace, until she made contact. To her surprise, the shield felt only pleasantly warm. She sped up slightly, until her whole arm was amid the shimmers. Looking back towards the Headmaster, who gave her an encouraging nod, she continued in, until her entire body had passed through the shield. She knelt down to her fallen friend and placed her hand on his arm. Other than a slight flinch, during which she tensed, he didn't react. She started combing his sweaty hair with her fingers, hoping to make him feel safer. She had indeed forgotten about the many adults waiting nearby. He was so skinny! And he looked ill. Surely someone was taking care of him.

"Harry? It's me, Hermione." At her words, the boy looked up, alarmed, and made to scramble away from her. He was stopped, however, when a pale hand gripped his arm. They both looked down into a pair of weary green eyes, and relief was evident all around.

"It's alright, Mark. This is a good friend of mine, Hermione Granger." She was shocked at how grating and tired his voice sounded, but she enveloped him in a bone crushing hug none the less. He chuckled hoarsely. "Yes, I'm happy too, but could you ease up?" She let him go, blushing hard and stuttering an apology, but that made him laugh all the harder. After a minute, he grabbed his side and started coughing. She automatically grabbed his hands, and tried to help him through the fit. She heard some sounds behind her, but ignored them. Soon, however, a voice broke through.

"What's going on, Professor?" She turned her head to find Ron standing right behind her, being restrained by Professor McGonagall. She noticed Harry turning his head too, and suddenly remembered what the others had asked her to do.

"Harry, you need to take down the shield." He turned a quizzical expression to her and blinked.

"The what?" She was taken aback by his confusion, and filled him in on the happenings of the past couple of minutes. He only now seemed to notice the others standing there, waiting for the go ahead to help him. As soon as she finished explaining, the shimmering shield vanished, and he tried to stand up. She helped him to his feet and he started apologizing. "I guess I've gone and done it again. Sorry you had to come.." he slumped over here, and only the quick actions of Ron and Hermione that he didn't fall on his face. Mark gave a small shriek and tried to help, but there wasn't really room, so he settled for wringing his hands nervously. The Headmaster was in the middle of making a portkey, and the other adults were making plans of what to tell everyone. It was decided that Harry Aunt and Uncle would be told he was leaving for the rest of the summer, and Mark would have his memory modified. At this Harry spoke up, telling them he would not allow that. Minerva looked shocked.

"Seriously, Mr. Potter, we can't allow him to enter the school with this on his shoulders." He simply shook his head and looked directly in the eye of the Headmaster.

"Better a fearful truth than a happy lie." There was an almost accusing tone in his voice, and the Headmaster sighed again.

"He is right, Minerva." He made to speak with him, but was cut off by Harry.

"Listen, Mark, they're going to take you home now. I won't be around for the rest of the summer, but I'll see you back at school. If you have any questions, or just want to talk..." he trailed off until a snowy white owl came from nowhere and landed primly on Marks shoulder, hooting softly. In her claws she carried Harry's wand, of all things. He smiled fondly at her, taking possession of it. "Write me a letter and Hedwig will bring it to me. You will, won't you girl?" She trained an eye on him, as if wondering whether he could survive the summer without her. After a minute, she hooted her assent, giving his hand a nuzzle when he petted her. Mark's eyes were wide in awe, but he let himself be led away by Professor McGonagall and Tonks, who was telling him about the care of owls and the role they played in the wizarding world. When he drew his attention back to the others, Albus was holding out an old sock. They all grabbed it together and the world blurred around them. When his vision cleared, he knew he was back.

Hermione watched Harry's face closely, looking for any sign that the sight of Grimmauld place would put him back in a stupor. She was relieved when he seemed to shrug it off, even if his eyes did look sadder. He started shuffling towards the kitchen, only to have his progress halted by Remus Lupin.

"Listen, Harry, we have to talk about this. Sirius left a will.." He stopped at the flash of intense pain that crossed the face of the young man, and nodded sympathetically. He was about to continue when a new expression crossed that face. A look of intense pain contorted his features, and from his mouth issued a screech that shook those around him. That was when he collapsed.