Disclaimer: my thanks to Conan Doyle, Hiromu Arakawa, LogicalRaven and of course J.K for the central ideas and influences in this story.
Notes: this week I got a lot on my plate, it's an end of year assessment, so expect the updates to this chapter to be short, but many. I've found that a chapter seems about done at 2300 words so I will keep this as the target. The will also be a few new faces in this chapter so hope you keep track, enjoy…
Harry Cried out as she fell away from the bedside onto the hard laminated floor. He was back, this was reality, and he should be ok.
Tonks hand came down on his shoulder to help him up the arm burned, and Harry's hand moved to his stomach where the hand had gone through and looking up into his superiors concerned face exclaimed.
"Huh."
"Harry, you ok?" it was Tonks her concerned eyes ran over him, as she checked her students pulse. Harry looked strained for a second then wrenched, the healers forgetting there earlier argument rushed towards him, a bowl was produced as he feebly waved them away,
"I'm, fine" then he promptly through up.
Tonks moved away ushering the healers back, "give him space that's all he needs" and then as she looked at the orb still in her hand exclaimed, "shit there fast, Amy head to the door and stall whoever comes through it, Harry come on we gota get moving, can you walk?"
To Tonks order Amy had smartly walked over to the doors but before her outstretched hand grasped the brass door handle they few open with such force that Amy darted away, back a few steps having to steady her retreat against the nearest bed.
The were a number of people in the doorway, but prominent among them was Malfoy. His cold eyes seemed to flash a sudden hot anger at there presence, he opened his mouth but before he uttered another word, the was a roar of rage as a slightly shorter man, with a round slightly wrinkled face, short black hair, streaked with grey, and wearing thick red silken costume barged forward with all the grace of a bulldozer. Waving his fists, yelling something in heavy Chinese, as he pressed towards the slightly stunned Auror's.
The Healers present, seeing the racket as no less than a personal insult mounted there own charge baring the older man before he reached a dazed Harry and Tonks.
Harry still feeling slightly agog got up dusting himself of and seeing the man for the first time politely asked, "what's he saying?"
Malfoy still standing in the doorway baring exit, from the mans anger, had composed himself after being barged to the side and hearing Potters remark smirked saying "I was never good with the translation but I believe he wants you strung up for touching his Daughter, and your lucky he left his wand."
"You can speak Chinese?" Harry asked not even looking at Malfoy but at the fireball of fury that had by this point sacred away the Healers and was now stalking towards Harry.
"You pick these things up" Draco smirked again.
The Chinese man was now inches away from Harry "well can you tell him to calm down" Harry asked.
At this the mans eyes bulged and he Roared "I can speak English too you dunce."
"…Oh"
"What the Hell were you doing with my Daughter!"
"Your? So your…"
"Mr Chang, her farther!" Harry still had a headache and was getting annoyed at the mans sudden anger.
He was never good understanding people.
He tried to keep a level voice "We did nothing to harm your daughter in the slightest."
But his opponent did not keep his voice down, indeed he raised the bar "Say that to the Courts, you fayu excuse for a Reg!"
"FAYU? What the hells Fayu? And don't you dare make me out to be one of Malfoy's conies!"
At this point, and to all in hindsight, Malfoy did the most accomplished negotiating in his career. "Careful Potter you don't what to annoy the ambassador."
"Potter?"
"Ambassador?"
The two were looking at Malfoy like he had just grown an extra head, as understanding of whom each other were dawned on them. Draco took the moment of peace to continue, to Mr Chang.
"Sir, Potter here while above board and out of his jurisdiction to see the witnesses, is non the less, an Auour and not part of my team."
He then looked at the other party.
"However, Potter this man is the Chinese ambassador for the ministry and unless you apologise to him ill have the three of you arrested and frog-marched out of the building."
At this Amy and Tonks groaned, giving up all hope of leaving the room without being bound and handcuffed.
Tonks in the 6 years of knowing Harry had never seen him take back what he had said.
Sure enough…
"To hell with that, I've had a bad day and if anything, he should be the one apologising."
A nerve twitched on Malfoy's temple, "why dose Wonder boy make things so difficult?"
Mr Jasper Chang, was going red in the face indigent at the young mans refusal to stand to order, his hands timbering tight, white, with rage.
"GET OUT"
"NO" Harry responded the mood emanating from him affecting others,
Unchecked, defiant.
The pair would off been restrained from dulling on the spot.
It was in then in that medical ward, Cho Chang made the horrid transaction back to cold reality.
"She saw it in slow-motion her tern in a crimson ark, the burning in her arm, then the foot swung from nowhere slammed to her head and she hit the hard grey floor. When she landed she on level with Enoch, she stared into his face, a mask of death…"
Her eyes opened and She Screamed,
Screamed with tears running down her chalk white face and everyone else froze.
The healers ran up, one darting for a potion on a bedside table and uncorking it he tried to poor it to her mouth but her good arm was wildly flaying about and knocked the small bottle from the mans hand.
It shattered the continence spilling out, Harry dimly recognised the potion from the wispy blue colour, it was one to dampen the senses and cut off feeling, he might at one point used it himself, but now the occupant of the bed looked like the one in need.
Cho was still riving in the bed, with her neck bound, as it was she couldn't raise herself up from the sheets but her back was arched. Her hand cawing the air, the screams fading to a moan of loss, as she still twitched and her eyes wide stared tormented at the ceiling, the healers were trying to restrain her, before she hurt herself further, and one was yelling to a subordinate to find some medicine.
"What's happening, what's wrong?" shocked Mr Chang looked at his daughter, fearful.
Tonks answered recognising the signs "she's gone into shock."
"What, No, some one do something" at this Mr Chang ran up to her side pushing a healer out the way clasping Cho's hand.
Harry didn't know what made him do it, he just knew something should be done and he could do it. He walked up swaying slightly till he was standing over her tilted form when Malfoy saw this he started yelling but Harry couldn't hear it now the was just a strange static sound, some Regs. When ordered, dived towards Harry,
Again he touched her forehead.
Cho looked around, a moment ago she was in a ward of sorts, now she was no where it was just a bright white as far as she could see, yet it wasn't blinding and she felt empty memory's lifted out of her, her body light, cut off.
"Cho" the voice came from behind, it sounded familiar.
Startled she wheeled round to see a dark shadowy form behind her, "Enoch?"
The figure became clearer, he was shaking his head "its been a while Cho"
"…Harry, what's going on where are we?"
"Were talking." He said simply
"I know that, but where are we?"
'He's so dense sometimes.'
But as she fought this the words came out of nowhere as if shed yelled them.
"Am I dense?" he smiled slightly
"And a show off" Cho added scowling, folding her arms "but again, where are we?"
"In your head, well mind, hence I can hear me speak out loud"
"Me?"
At this Harry gave a slight laugh the white around him flickered a healthy yellow, "are minds are connected, sometimes its hard to distinguish ones thoughts from the others."
"What, but why are we here?"
"Because of what happened" Harry sated concerned his face falling, the white turning a tinge of grey.
The image flashed up in front of her "Enoch!" she was on her knees.
"Yes"
"Is he…"
"Yes"
"Did I…"
"Yes"
"Am I…"
"No"
"Dam it could you let me think strait," she yelled though the forming tears.
She realised she was crying the setting changed to memory of her years ago, they were at Hogwarts, in a corridor during 5th year, they had been yelling Cho knew where this was going he was going to get angry, that's how it should off gone that's how it had been.
This time though the boy in front of her looked sympathetic, understanding.
"Aren't you angry?"
"This time I'll let it slide."
"So is the another reason for the social 101?"
"So inquisitive, but yes I've been putting up some blocks between your memories and feeling,"
"What but who said you could do that, what if I want to feel" the colour of the corridor sparked an angry red. "I don't what to run away."
"It's not permanent, it will only last a day at most, it's to much to take onboard all at once."
"But"
"Besides the healers would off done the same had you not smashed the bottle."
"I'm not going to run, I'm going to cry"
"And what will that achieve? It never helped me." The young Harry said sternly
"Don't make this personal, it's my mind, and I'm not YOU!" Cho Roared
She didn't know how she did it but the setting changed yet again and she was standing in a Room, it was the kitchen at the Weasley's, she didn't know how she knew this but she knew. There was Harry standing by the table, the only other occupants were two Red Heads, an older couple, the man was holding his wife who was yelling at Harry the words sounded distant but could be made out.
"Why did it happen? You were meant to be there for her!"
"Why did my baby die?"
"I'm sorry Molly" Harry responded, his face calm, controlled.
Molly with pure anger slapped him hard round the face,
"Molly!" Arthur said shocked, as molly suddenly looked aghast at her hands,
The was a pause over the room as Harry fell then broke down, curled up to a ball and cried.
"No!" the voice came out of nowhere.
Commanding.
They were back to a blank slate, the seen was white, and the two stood facing one another.
"Sorry" Cho said to the man in front. He seemed to stiffen
"It's ok you couldn't of known you would see that." He looked down a hand rubbing the bridge of his nose knocking up his glasses, she couldn't see his eyes but broke into a smile as he said
"one can't forget the past, despite all it will still be there." He gave this statement with a thoughtful air, like he had just realised it and things were falling into place.
"Really, what about age? Memory can fade." The question she burned to ask rose up and spoke its self.
But Harry's now vaguely stupid grin never faltered as he counted with another theory "True, but it will of still of affected us at one stage, and moulded us into something else."
"Oddly deep for you Harry. Seems you've changed?" Cho said a calm Pink tingeing her side of Canvass.
Harry flushed running a hand through the hair, remembering a comment that felt like a lifetime ago smiled "you pick these things up."
Cho nodded feeling a rushing sound, then fell through the white void to land on a hospital bed, her dad holding her hand, and a pair of green tinted glasses hovering over her, he gave a weary grin before he was grabbed and pulled back by to burley uniformed Reg's. And marched out of the room.
"Cho" her dad was starring at her worried. And the healers amazed at the sudden change in her condition.
"Its ok." Cho said. Her head hurt hell her whole body stung, and she looked at her arm, bound and unmoving, she remembered last night, instead of panic though, she unexpectedly found her self empty, at pace "what now?"
The group marked swiftly down the stairs most at a loss for what happened Malfoy was grim faced and had arrested them on the way down. Harry was leaning on Tonks for support.
As they re-entered the entrance hall however the red head form of Ron stood out from the parted crowd and strode towards the on coming preseason. As he saw the predicament he fort hard to keep his face strait, "Hay there guys, are we in trouble?" his good humour vanished completely at the sight of Malfoy.
"What do you want" Draco spat, his annoyance only matched by Ron's now glacial expression.
"I've got papers to bale them out," Ron answered flatly
"So, I still want them out of here, and you can apply that rule to you as well."
"Wow, your head doesn't deflate with time Malfoy, still giving orders like you own the place?"
Malfoy raised his hand to a weary expression,
To be fair his day had not progressed well, first the rebuke at the ministry, then the hot head of an ambassador wish with a small ounce of luck had stopped complaining about the Regular department since Potter had taken on. And two run-ins with the wonder boy and the lackey in a single day.
He wondered briefly why life wasn't quieter, but was sparred answering by Tonks, who herself was now frankly pissed off.
"Dam it Ron, just hand him the forms and we can get lunch!"
Ron taken aback by the sudden outburst complied with haste. Handing them over to Malfoy with as little politeness possible, waving them in front of him.
Draco snatched the fluttering parchments, glanced over them, before waving at the men surrounding Tonks, Harry and Amy, to back down, and pull away, this they did as Malfoy looked at Tonks with as much grace as he could muster and asked her to get out. And he walked away, backwards the stares.
"Well?" asked Tonks to Harry,
"I got what we needed and calmed her down, I don't know bout you but I'm going to get some food."
"Why don't you use the canteen, on the 5th floor?" Amy asked but at this Tonks pulled a face and complained that hospital food made her queasy, her hair turning a dark sickly green as she told them.