Harry Potter & the Journey Into Isolation
By The Short Fat Fag
Chapter Eight: The Waiting Game
Dobby paced back and forth in front of the door. He was more worried at this moment than he had ever been before in his life. "Harry Potter is coming out's of there safe he is," the elf kept saying to himself.
"Madame Poppy?" squeaked Dobby as the door suddenly opened and Madame Pomfrey exited the room carrying a tray of empty potion bottles in something of a hurry. The school nurse ignored the house elf and retrieved more healing supplies and returned to the private room occupied by a seriously damaged Harry Potter.
After the better part of an hour past, Madame Pomfrey once again emerged from Harry's private room.
"Madame Poppy?" squeaked Dobby again, "Is Harry Potter being better now?"
"He's unconscious at the moment, but he'd be far worse if you hadn't prevented him from dying like you did. We are all grateful to you," replied the school nurse wearily.
"Dobby is always being there for Harry Potter."
She smiled at him and went over to her other patient, Professor Severus Snape. As she walked across the infirmary to him, Dobby was glaring hatefully at the potions master.
"Well, Severus, I see that you are healing rather nicely. As soon as I'm sure that those potions I gave you have taken effect, you may return to your quarters," said a very tired nurse. However, on her way back to her office she turned back to the potions master and said, "Oh, yes, Severus, if you ever do anything like this to one of my patients again, I will do something to you to horrid, that you'd only be able to imagine it in your worst nightmares."
The potions master said nothing as he was now itching to leave the infirmary as soon as possible, especially with a very angry house elf glaring at him from across the room.
- - - - -
Outside of the infirmary, several of the Gryffindors, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were pacing waiting for answers. Most obvious was if Harry was still alive or not. Neville was nervously watching the door, afraid to take his eyes away from it, Ron and Hermione were taking turns pacing around in the corridor, both were furious with Snape and McGonagall was glaring at the Headmaster for his part of this fiasco.
Finally Hermione stamped her foot into the floor in frustration, "What is taking so long, it feels like hours."
McGonagall silently agreed with the Head Girl, but said nothing. She was fearful for the young man she had come to cherish. He was not her favorite student, but he was close and he was Lily's son. Lily had always held a special place in the transfiguration teacher's heart.
Moments later Severus Snape came out of the infirmary, rather forcefully if truth be known and landed on his backside just outside the doors. Before the doors closed once again, they all heard the house elf saying, "And you's is staying out!"
As Dumbledore bent over to help the potions master to his feet, he chuckled and said, "I see you're making friends everywhere you go."
Snape scowled at Dumbledore, but said nothing to him. As much as Snape loathed Harry Potter, actually all members of the Potter family, he truly never wanted to see the boy kill himself. As Severus looked at his employer, he felt very guilty about what he had done, but never once allowed anyone to see it in his face.
"Madame Pomfrey is finished with him, she says he'll live," Snape said to the crowd, much to everyone's relief.
"I don't understand why he did it, I mean holding on to that bar thing would have been boring, but to react that way," Ron said, completely unaware of what the bar represented.
Hermione, however, had a vague idea about what that bar meant and with an air of accusation said, "Ron, it must have been part of the torture Harry went through this summer when he was captured and I think Professor Snape knew it as well."
Snape was about to deduct house points from her, when McGonagall said, "What an astute observation Ms. Granger, ten points to Gryffindor."
Snape scowled harder and turned and walked away from the infirmary, with his robes billowing.
- - - - -
Unknown to any of the others, but around the corner stood Draco Malfoy. He was listening intently to the entire conversation between the others.
'Potter tried to kill himself?' thought a stunned Malfoy. Normally he would have been elated to know something bad had happened to the golden boy of Gryffindor, but he never wanted his death.
'I need to write to father and get some answers,' and he then slunk back down to the dungeons.
- - - - -
Sometime that afternoon, Remus Lupin arrived at the castle, he had been on a mission in northern England when he heard about the incident in the potions dungeons and had rushed to be at Harry's side. Remus had felt that he had never filled Sirius' shoes after his death and now felt he should make an effort for Harry.
Also arriving to the castle was Professor Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid had been in France since the beginning of summer on a mission for the Order and not been able to return to Hogwarts until after the school year started but had heard of Harry disappearance a month before.
As the two men entered the main entrance of the castle they dropped whatever it was they were carrying and raced up to the infirmary to see Harry. However, when they reached the doors to the hospital wing, the two were stopped.
"What's you's two doing here?" asked Dobby.
Remus and Hagrid were both taken back by the elf and Remus said, "We're here to see Harry. He's been injured and we want to see him."
"Harry Potter is seeing no one he is," Dobby stated without argument.
"Now see here elf," growled Hagrid, "Harry's been injured and we want to see him."
However, Dobby was no mood to be ordered about and promptly demonstrated it with a snap of his fingers. Moments later, the normally imposing figure of Hagrid found himself bouncing in place on his back side and unable to stop himself.
"You's is not bothering Harry Potter!" Dobby said firmly and closed the doors in their faces.
Remus pulled out his wand and attempted to aid the half giant, but was rather unsuccessful.
"I'm sorry Hagrid, but whatever he did, I can't seem to undo."
"Better move out of the way Lupin, 'cause I'm about to be sick!"
- - - - -
Down in the Room of Requirement, Hermione had used Harry's master coin and summoned all the members of the D. A. Most of them had already heard about the episode in the potions laboratory and wanted to know what had happened since.
Hermione, Ron and Neville stood at the front of the group where Harry normally stood when teaching them everything they needed to know about Defense Against the Dark Arts and waited for everyone to arrive.
"Where's Potter?" demanded Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff House.
Hermione, with a very determined face looked over the crowd and said, "Harry is in the hospital wing and needs our help."
With these words said everyone became restless and wanted to know more. After some prompting from several members of the group, the trio told a modified version of events to them.
"You mean Potter really sucker punched Snape in the stomach?"
Neville grinned and said, "Yeah, it was great." This caused Ron to snicker in appreciation.
However, Hermione didn't find the humor in it. "Everyone, please, what Harry did or didn't do in the potions lab is not as important as the fact that something terrible happened to him over the summer and he was forced to relive it this morning. Because of that he needs our help."
"What can we do?" asked Justin Finch-Fletchley, "I mean we aren't qualified to help him medically."
"No we're not," admitted Hermione, "but what we are capable of is protecting him from those who would make his recovery far worse than it has to be in order to find out what happened to him over the summer."
"What do you propose?" Zacharias Smith asked.
For the first time since before breakfast Hermione smiled and said, "This is what I have in mind…"
- - - - -
"Minerva, may I have a word with you?"
The transfiguration teacher looked up from her essays on the desk in her office and replied, "Of course Remus, what can I do for you?"
"I need to find out what happened to Harry and I need to see him," replied a desperate werewolf.
McGonagall visibly sighed and indicated for Lupin to take a seat. "I'm terribly worried about him also. He seemed to be getting better until the unfortunate incident in the dungeons this morning."
Lupin's jaw clenched and he asked, "Yes, what did happen in the dungeons this morning?"
She eyed his warily and told him the story of what happened in class.
"Bastard!" exclaimed Lupin, "Sirius was right about him all along. How could he do such a thing? I'll kill him as should have done when we were still in school!" Then Lupin jumped out of his chair to find Severus Snape.
"Wait Remus, there is more."
"More? What more could there possibly be?" snarled a livid werewolf.
"Severus was acting under Albus' orders," said the stern witch through tight lips, obviously furious herself.
"WHAT?"
"Sit back down Remus, it's been a very long day and it is far from over."
Lupin complied with her request and listened to her and together they began to devise a plan to teach the Headmaster a lesson.
- - - - -
Across the English country side in an unknown location Bellatrix LeStrange was helping Voldemort up from the floor where he had collapsed earlier that morning.
"My lord, are you alright?"
"I'm fine Bella," hissed Voldemort, "but I suspect the damned fool old man has attempted to extract what information lies in Potter's mind about his abduction."
"What should we do about it master?"
"Nothing right now, I must talk to Severus Snape."
- - - - -
Back in the Hogwarts dungeons, Severus Snape is sitting in his office beside the potions classroom when his arm suddenly burns from the dark mark. He was being summoned by Voldemort. Quickly he put his things in order and sealed the entrance of his office.
"Has you's been summoned by You-Know-Who?" Dobby asked.
Snape snapped his head around to see the house elf looking at him menacingly. "Yes and I have no time to speak with you right now. Don't you have someone to protect?"
"Harry Potter is being in the safest of hands. Is you's being that safe?"
Snape looked coldly at he elf, but inside he was slightly nervous. "I must be going now, he is waiting for me."
"Dobby is knowing that, Dobby is having a message for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Snape looked oddly at Dobby, who smirked back at the potions master and then snapped his fingers.
- - - - -
Sometime later that evening Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin entered the office of the Headmaster, to have a talk with him about his actions that morning.
"Ah, Remus, Minerva, what can I do for you this evening?"
"Actually Albus, Minerva and I have been talking and she was kind enough to explain to me why Harry is in the infirmary on the edge of death," Lupin said calmly.
Dumbledore looked guilty and said, "Remus, I had no idea how Harry would react to the stimulace Severus provided this morning."
"Yes, she told me that also," Lupin replied.
Dumbledore looked mildly confused for a moment, but Lupin continued.
"Because of what you did to Harry, I have decided to punish you for this."
Professor McGonagall then spoke up, "So we've arranged something that you will hopefully remember for some time to come."
Moments later, Molly Weasley barged into the room at full rage after both Professor McGonagall and Remus told her what he had done to Harry.
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To Be Continued … Please Read and Review
Fangalla, sorry about being predictable here, but I needed a catalyst for the next chap.
Benjis VIP, if I killed Harry of in Chapter 7, it would be much shorter story. :)
WinterBliss, sorry about the OOCness of last chapter. I've always seen it as Harry is Dobby's hero and what would anyone do for their hero? As for the past/present tense thing, sorry again. I didn't catch it when I went through it the second time.
SeparatriX, well, the carpet knife I was thinking of is the one my grandmother's brother had before he died. He's been dead since 77 and the thing is still the sharpest knife I've ever seen.
Bluetattingman, no this is not where the story ends.
Clutchy, Harry did try to commit suicide, but he is alive.
By The Short Fat Fag
Chapter Eight: The Waiting Game
Dobby paced back and forth in front of the door. He was more worried at this moment than he had ever been before in his life. "Harry Potter is coming out's of there safe he is," the elf kept saying to himself.
"Madame Poppy?" squeaked Dobby as the door suddenly opened and Madame Pomfrey exited the room carrying a tray of empty potion bottles in something of a hurry. The school nurse ignored the house elf and retrieved more healing supplies and returned to the private room occupied by a seriously damaged Harry Potter.
After the better part of an hour past, Madame Pomfrey once again emerged from Harry's private room.
"Madame Poppy?" squeaked Dobby again, "Is Harry Potter being better now?"
"He's unconscious at the moment, but he'd be far worse if you hadn't prevented him from dying like you did. We are all grateful to you," replied the school nurse wearily.
"Dobby is always being there for Harry Potter."
She smiled at him and went over to her other patient, Professor Severus Snape. As she walked across the infirmary to him, Dobby was glaring hatefully at the potions master.
"Well, Severus, I see that you are healing rather nicely. As soon as I'm sure that those potions I gave you have taken effect, you may return to your quarters," said a very tired nurse. However, on her way back to her office she turned back to the potions master and said, "Oh, yes, Severus, if you ever do anything like this to one of my patients again, I will do something to you to horrid, that you'd only be able to imagine it in your worst nightmares."
The potions master said nothing as he was now itching to leave the infirmary as soon as possible, especially with a very angry house elf glaring at him from across the room.
- - - - -
Outside of the infirmary, several of the Gryffindors, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were pacing waiting for answers. Most obvious was if Harry was still alive or not. Neville was nervously watching the door, afraid to take his eyes away from it, Ron and Hermione were taking turns pacing around in the corridor, both were furious with Snape and McGonagall was glaring at the Headmaster for his part of this fiasco.
Finally Hermione stamped her foot into the floor in frustration, "What is taking so long, it feels like hours."
McGonagall silently agreed with the Head Girl, but said nothing. She was fearful for the young man she had come to cherish. He was not her favorite student, but he was close and he was Lily's son. Lily had always held a special place in the transfiguration teacher's heart.
Moments later Severus Snape came out of the infirmary, rather forcefully if truth be known and landed on his backside just outside the doors. Before the doors closed once again, they all heard the house elf saying, "And you's is staying out!"
As Dumbledore bent over to help the potions master to his feet, he chuckled and said, "I see you're making friends everywhere you go."
Snape scowled at Dumbledore, but said nothing to him. As much as Snape loathed Harry Potter, actually all members of the Potter family, he truly never wanted to see the boy kill himself. As Severus looked at his employer, he felt very guilty about what he had done, but never once allowed anyone to see it in his face.
"Madame Pomfrey is finished with him, she says he'll live," Snape said to the crowd, much to everyone's relief.
"I don't understand why he did it, I mean holding on to that bar thing would have been boring, but to react that way," Ron said, completely unaware of what the bar represented.
Hermione, however, had a vague idea about what that bar meant and with an air of accusation said, "Ron, it must have been part of the torture Harry went through this summer when he was captured and I think Professor Snape knew it as well."
Snape was about to deduct house points from her, when McGonagall said, "What an astute observation Ms. Granger, ten points to Gryffindor."
Snape scowled harder and turned and walked away from the infirmary, with his robes billowing.
- - - - -
Unknown to any of the others, but around the corner stood Draco Malfoy. He was listening intently to the entire conversation between the others.
'Potter tried to kill himself?' thought a stunned Malfoy. Normally he would have been elated to know something bad had happened to the golden boy of Gryffindor, but he never wanted his death.
'I need to write to father and get some answers,' and he then slunk back down to the dungeons.
- - - - -
Sometime that afternoon, Remus Lupin arrived at the castle, he had been on a mission in northern England when he heard about the incident in the potions dungeons and had rushed to be at Harry's side. Remus had felt that he had never filled Sirius' shoes after his death and now felt he should make an effort for Harry.
Also arriving to the castle was Professor Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid had been in France since the beginning of summer on a mission for the Order and not been able to return to Hogwarts until after the school year started but had heard of Harry disappearance a month before.
As the two men entered the main entrance of the castle they dropped whatever it was they were carrying and raced up to the infirmary to see Harry. However, when they reached the doors to the hospital wing, the two were stopped.
"What's you's two doing here?" asked Dobby.
Remus and Hagrid were both taken back by the elf and Remus said, "We're here to see Harry. He's been injured and we want to see him."
"Harry Potter is seeing no one he is," Dobby stated without argument.
"Now see here elf," growled Hagrid, "Harry's been injured and we want to see him."
However, Dobby was no mood to be ordered about and promptly demonstrated it with a snap of his fingers. Moments later, the normally imposing figure of Hagrid found himself bouncing in place on his back side and unable to stop himself.
"You's is not bothering Harry Potter!" Dobby said firmly and closed the doors in their faces.
Remus pulled out his wand and attempted to aid the half giant, but was rather unsuccessful.
"I'm sorry Hagrid, but whatever he did, I can't seem to undo."
"Better move out of the way Lupin, 'cause I'm about to be sick!"
- - - - -
Down in the Room of Requirement, Hermione had used Harry's master coin and summoned all the members of the D. A. Most of them had already heard about the episode in the potions laboratory and wanted to know what had happened since.
Hermione, Ron and Neville stood at the front of the group where Harry normally stood when teaching them everything they needed to know about Defense Against the Dark Arts and waited for everyone to arrive.
"Where's Potter?" demanded Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff House.
Hermione, with a very determined face looked over the crowd and said, "Harry is in the hospital wing and needs our help."
With these words said everyone became restless and wanted to know more. After some prompting from several members of the group, the trio told a modified version of events to them.
"You mean Potter really sucker punched Snape in the stomach?"
Neville grinned and said, "Yeah, it was great." This caused Ron to snicker in appreciation.
However, Hermione didn't find the humor in it. "Everyone, please, what Harry did or didn't do in the potions lab is not as important as the fact that something terrible happened to him over the summer and he was forced to relive it this morning. Because of that he needs our help."
"What can we do?" asked Justin Finch-Fletchley, "I mean we aren't qualified to help him medically."
"No we're not," admitted Hermione, "but what we are capable of is protecting him from those who would make his recovery far worse than it has to be in order to find out what happened to him over the summer."
"What do you propose?" Zacharias Smith asked.
For the first time since before breakfast Hermione smiled and said, "This is what I have in mind…"
- - - - -
"Minerva, may I have a word with you?"
The transfiguration teacher looked up from her essays on the desk in her office and replied, "Of course Remus, what can I do for you?"
"I need to find out what happened to Harry and I need to see him," replied a desperate werewolf.
McGonagall visibly sighed and indicated for Lupin to take a seat. "I'm terribly worried about him also. He seemed to be getting better until the unfortunate incident in the dungeons this morning."
Lupin's jaw clenched and he asked, "Yes, what did happen in the dungeons this morning?"
She eyed his warily and told him the story of what happened in class.
"Bastard!" exclaimed Lupin, "Sirius was right about him all along. How could he do such a thing? I'll kill him as should have done when we were still in school!" Then Lupin jumped out of his chair to find Severus Snape.
"Wait Remus, there is more."
"More? What more could there possibly be?" snarled a livid werewolf.
"Severus was acting under Albus' orders," said the stern witch through tight lips, obviously furious herself.
"WHAT?"
"Sit back down Remus, it's been a very long day and it is far from over."
Lupin complied with her request and listened to her and together they began to devise a plan to teach the Headmaster a lesson.
- - - - -
Across the English country side in an unknown location Bellatrix LeStrange was helping Voldemort up from the floor where he had collapsed earlier that morning.
"My lord, are you alright?"
"I'm fine Bella," hissed Voldemort, "but I suspect the damned fool old man has attempted to extract what information lies in Potter's mind about his abduction."
"What should we do about it master?"
"Nothing right now, I must talk to Severus Snape."
- - - - -
Back in the Hogwarts dungeons, Severus Snape is sitting in his office beside the potions classroom when his arm suddenly burns from the dark mark. He was being summoned by Voldemort. Quickly he put his things in order and sealed the entrance of his office.
"Has you's been summoned by You-Know-Who?" Dobby asked.
Snape snapped his head around to see the house elf looking at him menacingly. "Yes and I have no time to speak with you right now. Don't you have someone to protect?"
"Harry Potter is being in the safest of hands. Is you's being that safe?"
Snape looked coldly at he elf, but inside he was slightly nervous. "I must be going now, he is waiting for me."
"Dobby is knowing that, Dobby is having a message for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Snape looked oddly at Dobby, who smirked back at the potions master and then snapped his fingers.
- - - - -
Sometime later that evening Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin entered the office of the Headmaster, to have a talk with him about his actions that morning.
"Ah, Remus, Minerva, what can I do for you this evening?"
"Actually Albus, Minerva and I have been talking and she was kind enough to explain to me why Harry is in the infirmary on the edge of death," Lupin said calmly.
Dumbledore looked guilty and said, "Remus, I had no idea how Harry would react to the stimulace Severus provided this morning."
"Yes, she told me that also," Lupin replied.
Dumbledore looked mildly confused for a moment, but Lupin continued.
"Because of what you did to Harry, I have decided to punish you for this."
Professor McGonagall then spoke up, "So we've arranged something that you will hopefully remember for some time to come."
Moments later, Molly Weasley barged into the room at full rage after both Professor McGonagall and Remus told her what he had done to Harry.
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To Be Continued … Please Read and Review
Fangalla, sorry about being predictable here, but I needed a catalyst for the next chap.
Benjis VIP, if I killed Harry of in Chapter 7, it would be much shorter story. :)
WinterBliss, sorry about the OOCness of last chapter. I've always seen it as Harry is Dobby's hero and what would anyone do for their hero? As for the past/present tense thing, sorry again. I didn't catch it when I went through it the second time.
SeparatriX, well, the carpet knife I was thinking of is the one my grandmother's brother had before he died. He's been dead since 77 and the thing is still the sharpest knife I've ever seen.
Bluetattingman, no this is not where the story ends.
Clutchy, Harry did try to commit suicide, but he is alive.