Harry Potter and the Dark Lord
Chapter 56 St. Mungo's
Summary: Set in Harry's sixth year. He encounters far more than he ever could have expected, but he does not have to go through it alone. An old friend returns to help him. Harry's defeat of Voldemort rests on him getting The Scepter of Light and Dark, something that would allow Voldemort to destroy the world if he can get the whole thing. Voldemort's powers are getting stronger and Harry has more than one encounter with him.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Updates: will be several times a week. if you want to be notified of updates, please join then review and add me to your author alerts.
Thank you to the following reviewers: acciodanrad9, lonlyheart, Pure Black, PussyKitten, seirra, Mpro1(3), Lillian Marie Potter
Lillian Marie Potter: What else can I say but WOW. Well, I've updated now...
This Chapter: In St. Mungo's
Sirius' memory is from page 65 of POA, which conveniently enough, I don't own. Darn.
Grippe means 'flu' in French for those who are interested.
Esprit Lien means 'mind link' in French.
Now...on with the story!
The Healers took Harry away from them as soon as they arrived. Sirius collapsed into a chair in the waiting room. He sat there for and hour next to Kingsley, but no one came to tell them anything about Harry. Finally, he stood up and asked the Welcome Witch where Harry was.
"I cannot give you any information on him at the moment." said the witch.
Sirius stalked back to Kingsley and said, "I'm going to go find him myself."
He walked off without waiting for a reply. He glanced at the floor guide and decided that Harry would probably be on the Ground Floor. He walked through the double doors and down the narrow corridor beyond.
He looked at the labels on the doors until he found one that read: Private Room.
Harry would probably be in a private room. There was no window in the door, so he cast a spell that would allow him to see through the door. He gasped as he saw Harry surrounded by Healers. He tried the door, but it was locked. He sat down on the floor next to the door and waited. He was just about to fall asleep when a Healer came out of the room.
He sprang up and asked, "How's Harry?"
"Are you Sirius Black?" asked the Healer.
"Yes," said Sirius.
"Okay. He's in an enchanted sleep, but should wake up in a few days. We've managed to heal most of his injuries. There are a few that will take some time to heal. The other Healers will be coming out soon and you can go in then." said the Healer. Sirius could only stare numbly. Most of his injuries? Then it hit him.
"His back," he whispered. The Healer nodded.
"It will take some time to heal, being as it has already been broken once." she said, then walked off down the hall.
Sirius slumped down to the floor. Minutes later, the other Healers emerged. Sirius stood up and entered the room. He sat down in a chair and waited, but Harry didn't wake the next day or the day after that. Sirius watched him sleep for two weeks. The Healers had started to give up on him, but Sirius would not lose hope that Harry would wake. He sat in his chair and watched Harry. He heard the door open and close and assumed it was another Healer, so he didn't turn around.
"Hello Mr. Black," came a woman's voice.
Startled, Sirius turned around to see a beautiful, golden-haired woman in pale blue robes. "Dumbledore sent me here. He believes that I can help Harry. Actually, help you help Harry." she said with a small laugh.
"Who are you and what do you mean?" asked Sirius. My name is Camellia. I am an esprit lien, I can link minds. It means I can connect you and Harry's minds, so you can talk to him and hopefully wake him up." said Camellia.
"I don't think that's a very good idea. Harry's been possessed by Voldemort and I doubt if he wants anyone, even me, in his head." said Sirius.
"This may be his only chance. I'm sure he would forgive you." said Camellia.
"I know," said Sirius, glancing over at Harry's motionless body.
"That's why I'm going to do it."
"When would you like to do it?" asked Camellia.
"Anytime, preferably as soon as possible." said Sirius.
"We can do it now, if you'd like." said Camellia.
"Okay," said Sirius.
"You take one of his hands, and I'll take the other, then hold my hand. Once the link is established, you can speak to him in your mind." said Camellia.Sirius picked up one of Harry's hands. It was surprisingly warm. Camellia took his other hand and closed her eyes.
Sirius felt a tingling sensation all over his body, then Camellia whispered, "You can talk now,"
'Harry, its Sirius. You've got to wake up now. We need you here, especially Ginny. Wake up Harry, please.'
Sirius felt Camellia slip her hand out of his. They both sank into chairs. Camellia looked exhausted.
"Now, we wait and see if he responds," said Camellia.
Harry's POV
He lay in the never-ending darkness. He couldn't open his eyes or move. He felt peaceful here. There was nothing to worry him.
'Harry, its Sirius. You've got to wake up now. We need you here, especially Ginny. Wake up Harry, please.'
Who was that? The voice sounded strangely familiar. And Ginny, he thought he knew her too. Sirius, that name was so familiar. Where had he heard it before? Then a snippet of memory came to him.
"…they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible…."
Sirius Black, he had escaped from Azkaban, which was guarded by………dementors. That was right, dementors.
He had learned how to cast a ….Patronus from………Remus Lupin, one of Sirius's best friends along with his dad, James Potter.
Suddenly, the rest of his memories came flooding back. The torture by the Death Eaters, the Mark, hitting that stone wall……..He shuddered and moaned at the pain the slight movement brought.
"Harry?" asked a familiar voice.
"Sirius," he said hoarsely.
He opened his eyes and blinked in the harsh light. He squinted and saw Sirius's blurry form, along with a blonde woman he did not recognize.Sirius set his glasses on his face and the room came into focus.
"Where am I? Where's Ginny?" asked Harry.
"Calm down. You're in St. Mungo's and have been for the past two weeks. Ginny is at Hogwarts." said Sirius.
"Wait, why am I in St. Mungo's?" asked Harry.
"You and Ginny were taken to Azkaban. Ginny couldn't tell us more. She said she was asleep most of the time and when she was awake, you weren't there. She doesn't know what happened to you. Can you tell us what happened?" said Sirius. Harry refused to look at Sirius. He couldn't tell him about the Mark.
Sirius's POV
Sirius watched Harry's face grow, if possible, paler when he'd asked him to tell him what had happened to him while he had been in Azkaban. He noticed that Harry also wouldn't look at him.
"I cant, Sirius." whispered Harry.
Sirius realized that he wasn't ready to talk about the things that had occurred while he was in Azkaban, but he was going to have to soon.It was the only way he was going to be able to cope with it.
"All right Harry. But you're going to have to tell someone soon. We need to know what happened so we can help you." said Sirius.
"Here Harry," said Camellia, holding out a vial of turquoise liquid.
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"A simple Sleeping Draught." said Camellia.
Harry took the vial and drank it. He quickly fell asleep. Sirius moved to Harry's left side and slid up the sleeve of his robes, which were extremely tattered and dirty from his days in captivity. He sighed in relief when he saw that Harry had not been Marked.
"What is it, Mr. Black?" asked Camellia.
"I was checking to see if he had the Dark Mark. One of the Death Eaters said that he had consented to being Marked, and I wanted to see if he had it or not." said Sirius. Several hours later, Harry had woken up and consented to telling Sirius what had happened. At the end of his tale, Sirius was shocked.
"Don't worry, Harry. You don't have the Dark Mark." said Sirius.
"I'm sorry Sirius. I couldn't remember anything…..and he…Voldemort…"
"Harry, calm down. It wasn't your fault." said Sirius.
"But I let him do it!" protested Harry.
"You aren't Marked, now are you?" said Sirius.
"No." said Harry in a small voice.
"None of it was your fault. If anything, it was mine for getting drunk and not watching you properly. If I had been awake, you wouldn't have left the Tower. Therefore, that makes it my fault." said Sirius.
"But-"
"No more discussing this. It wasn't your fault." said Sirius.
He turned around and pointed at Camellia.
"This is Camellia. She helped Heal you." said Sirius.
"Hello Harry," said Camellia in a soft voice. "It's nice to see you awake."
"Hello," said Harry.
"Camellia, I need you to report to Dumbledore." said Sirius. Camellia nodded before disappearing in a flash of white light.
'Damn Camellia,' he thought as he spun around to see Harry's reaction. His eyes were closed and his face was white. He must have passed out in shock.Sirius sat down and waited for Harry to wake up again. After several minutes, it appeared as though Harry was having a nightmare. He was tossing and turning and mumbling in his sleep.
"Not Ginny. No, don't hurt her." muttered Harry.
Sirius covered his ears with his hands. He didn't want to hear Harry reliving his nightmare in Azkaban. He left the room and sought out the Healer in charge of Harry, Emilay Rayne. He found her near the end of the hallway, staring out of a magical window.
He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Harry woke up a few minutes ago." She jumped, startled by Sirius.
"How is he?" asked Emilay.
"He doesn't look too good. Camellia scared him so much that he passed out." said Sirius. "She didn't do it on purpose," he hastily added, seeing the look on Emilay's face.
"Okay, let's go see him." said Emilay, heading to Harry's room. Sirius watched Emilay look over Harry, who was still sleeping fitfully.
He heard her whisper, "Oh no."
"What?" asked Sirius.
"I need to run some tests, but I think Harry has Grippe." said Emily.
"What's that?" said Sirius.
"It's like the flu, same symptoms, only…."
"Only what?" prompted Sirius, growing anxious. Emilay sighed before responding.
"It slowly drains a wizard of their powers, eventually killing them, since taking their powers takes away part of their soul. It's not a normal sickness. It's a curse, a Dark one. Caused by a combination of a Dark Curse, Viemort, and then a potion. It's an extremely Dark Curse, close to being an Unforgiveable. There is a cure, but it is very hard to make. I've never known anyone to be able to make the cure." said Emilay.
Sirius stared at Emilay. That time in Hogsmeade and Malfoy. That would have been when he had gotten it. Or even while he was in Azkaban. But Malfoy wouldn't do anything like that to Harry, he was a spy for the Order. Or was he? Wormtail had turned traitor and he was a Gryffindor, Malfoy was a Slytherin, much more likely to be a Death Eater. His father was one, after all.
Speaking of Slytherin Death Eaters, he knew just the person that would be able to make the cure for Harry. Much as he hated to admit it, Hogwarts' prestigious Potions Master, Sirius' sworn enemy, would be the one to save his godson.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" asked Emilay.
"I know just the person to make the cure." said Sirius.
"But we don't know yet-" She was interrupted by Sirius.
"He does have it," said Sirius grimly.
He quickly explained about Hogsmeade and Malfoy, leaving out parts about the Order and other sensitive information. He told her to keep an eye on Harry and Disapparated to the gates of Hogwarts. He ran to the Dungeons and found Snape in his office, grading papers.
"Quick, we have to go to St. Mungo's." he said.
"What?" asked Snape.
"No time to explain. We've got to go now." said Sirius.
He grabbed Snape's arm, much to his displeasure, and began dragging him along. Snape quickly yanked his arm out of Sirius' grasp and began walking briskly of his own accord. Once outside of Hogwarts' gates, they Apparated to St. Mungo's. Sirius led Snape to Harry's room.
Emilay handed Snape several pieces of parchment and said, "I need you to make this." Snape looked at the parchment and frowned, but didn't say a word.
He looked up at Emilay and asked, "Where can I make this?"
"There's a Potions lab in the basement. I'll take you there." said Emilay.
She left the room, followed quickly by Snape. Sirius heard a soft 'pop' behind him and spun around to face the intruder with his wand raised. He quickly apologized upon seeing Dumbledore standing there, looking grave.
"Do not let Harry know, but Miss Weasley has become ill. She had the same symptoms as Harry, but less severe. I believe her illness hasn't had the time to develop to the extent to which Harry's has." said Dumbledore softly. Sirius felt as though his stomach had dropped to the floor.
"Emilay needs to know. It's Voldemort's work. She has Severus working on the cure right now." said Sirius.
"Where is she?" asked Dumbledore.
"Down in the basement." said Sirius. Dumbledore immediately set off for the door. He had his hand on the doorknob when Sirius remembered about Malfoy.
"Don't trust Malfoy." said Sirius.
"I haven't trusted him for some time. I fear he has changed his mind about spying for the Light, though I have hoped for him to see the error in his ways. Thank you for telling me, Sirius. I will be sure to keep a eye on him." said Dumbledore before heading out of the room.
Sirius sat back down in his chair and watched Harry. His face was flushed, though he had stopped tossing and turning. He mentally noted to ask Emilay if she could get Harry some Dreamless Sleep potion when she returned. Emilay returned about ten minutes later.
"Professor Snape is making the sure for Harry and Miss Weasley. It should be ready in about a month, about the same time as Harry's back should be completely healed. Harry can leave after he takes the potion and we find his back is satisfactorily healed. I spoke to Dumbledore and we will arrange to have Miss Weasley brought here after she has taken her OWLs. She should be in a good enough condition to take them and will be brought here immediately upon completion of them. Dumbledore has also said that Harry will be tutored when he goes home to catch up to the rest of the sixth years." said Emilay.
"Thank you, Emilay. Can you get some Dreamless Sleep potion or something for Harry? I don't want him having nightmares about Azkaban." said Sirius.
"Yes, of course." said Emilay and left the room again. Sirius sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. Harry would be all right.
Just a warning: There are only 2 chapters left after this!
Next Chapter: Time passes in St. Mungo's
