DISCLAIMED!

Okay, reviewers make me so happy that I actually have decided to update again. (Either I have no life or……well, I'll let you decide)

To my reviewers:

Reflective Velvet:

**Does a cartwheel** I've updated!! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reviewing, Have a cookie.

Sweet Sorrow:

I am so glad you like it. **grabs butter** Great! It can be my muse! Have a cookie for reviewing.

Leigh:

Umbridge will pay! Soon…

Cookie?

Crazy-Weasley:

Huh, what? I didn't confuse you, did I?

So far, offing Sirius is not part of the plan…but, you never know where the characters will take me!

Have a cookie and review.

Usernotavailable:

**chants** yes yes yes yes yes!

Have your cookie and eat it too!

Serpentsattire:

"My friend, you bow to no one." It was your brilliance that sparked these creative juices (hehehehe… juices is such a fun word) within me. I am very happy that you like what I've done so far.

Have a cookie.

To all:

This story is really cool so far…even me; (the author!) can't wait to see where this fic is going to go. The characters are running with it! Reviews see me grinning my fool head off. So review!

Meet my muse:

It's a roll.

Random quote of the chapter:

"Fortes fortuna juvat"

Can you tell me what it means? Ten points to Slytherin if you can!

Chapter Three: In Fury and Worry

To say the members of the Order were furious would be an understatement.

Not only had someone cast the Cruciatus curse on an innocent, but this innocent was Harry Potter, the "Boy-Who-Lived."

Not only had someone cast the Cruciatus curse on Harry Potter; but this someone was a ministry official, the headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts.

To say the members of the Order were furious would be an understatement.

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"Siri…er …Snuffles, slow down!" Sirius' animagus form raced down the hallway towards the hospital wing.

Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Dumbledore were jogging to keep up with the Grim-like dog. Kingsley Shacklebolt had volunteered to remain at Headquarters. The rest of them had immediately flooed to Dumbledore's office where Sirius had transformed and made a beeline towards the infirmary, occasionally dodging students in the corridors. The older students recognized Lupin and Moody as their former DADA teachers. They hailed them and Dumbledore as they passed, pausing to consider the fact that this might mean the end of Umbridge.

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Hospital Wing- Hermione's POV

Draco Malfoy

That name burned in my brain. What gave him the right to stand there? Looking like he owned the hospital wing?

It didn't matter to me that; in a moment of cowardice, he had stunned Umbridge and helped Harry. For all the good it had done. If his loyalty lay with us, he would have stopped the curse before it was started.

 He was probably afraid he would be considered an accomplice in the use of an unforgivable. Then he could have gone to Azkaban.

How tragic that would have been.

Now he was here, standing in the doorway. As if we would invite him in.

Ha! Dream on, Death Eater, I'd kill Harry first.

Did he think that a day of the right choices could forgive years of the wrong?

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Draco's POV

I'll be completely honest when I say that I've never been one who enjoys being put on the spot.

But I also never back down from a challenge.

I stood in the doorway of the infirmary, slightly shocked, but determined to see it through. What was I doing here? I asked myself again. Do I really want to see Potter? I should leave.

Leave, now.

Wait! They'll think you're an ass for showing up, sneering, and walking away.

Leave, now.

What if Potter dies? This question left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Leave, now.

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Hermione's POV

Looking at him, standing smug in the doorway, I thought that I could never forgive him for what he had done, what he had planned to become.

I'll be completely honest when I say that I've never been one who enjoys being wrong.

Surprising myself, I stood and levitated a chair across the room, motioning for Malfoy to sit across from me.

Maybe I had finally lost my mind.

I was inviting a Malfoy to sit in the same room as my unconscious best friend.

Dangerous

In retrospect, I might have expected him to sneer and refuse the invitation; maybe that's what I was hoping for. Then I could have had a valid excuse for finally writing him off as scum.

Was I ever surprised when he sat down.

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Draco's POV

Granger suddenly stood up, breaking the awkward silence. What is she doing? I watched her place a chair near Potter's bed and eye me, as if sizing me up, before motioning me to sit down.

I froze.

In terror?

I'll never know.

I don't back down from a challenge.

And at that moment, I suddenly, inexplicably, wanted nothing more than to sit next to Potter and his friends. And share their worry for the raven-haired Gryffindor.

Bloody hell.

I sat down.

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Ron's POV

Hermione had finally lost her mind. And I was mad.

Furious, more like it.

I could feel that famous red-headed Weasley temper, boiling beneath the surface.

How dare he come in here and sit down! He probably wants to kill Harry in his sleep!

Furious did not begin to describe what I was feeling towards the smirking blonde as Hermione invited him in. Hatred was closer.

Hermione had gone insane. Had she forgotten the years of torment Malfoy had put us through? Was she planning on forgiving him?

I could see it now…

Oh, yeah…thank you so much, Death Eater scum, for saving my best friend. Now let's be best mates and drink hot cocoa with Lord Voldemort after Quidditch matches.

I'd kill myself first.

I would make sure that Draco Malfoy did not become close to my best friend.

Or die trying

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Madam Poppy Pomfrey was worried.

It was not right that Potter be unconscious for so long after being exposed to the curse. He could slip into a coma, or wake up with brain damage. The longer he stayed unconscious, the more risky the situation became.

She wished Dumbledore was there.

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Dumbledore was there.

"Harry!" Lupin exclaimed when he caught sight of the boy's slight form lying on the bed in the corner.

Padfoot was barking and growling in barely controlled tones of anxiety and excitement.

In all their fuss over Harry, Ron and Hermione had practically forgotten the reason they were in Umbridge's fire in the first place.

"Snuffles!" Ron and Hermione screamed when they caught sight of Sirius. Neville and Luna gave them odd, questioning looks. Draco simply smirked; his father had told him all about Sirius Black.

 "We thought you had been caught!" Ron trailed off as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. In the brief awkward silence that followed, everyone could barely hear Harry's wheezing breath.

"Dumbledore, we have so much we really need to tell you." Hermione began.

"Not here…or now." Dumbledore told her kindly. "I will speak to you all about the implications of this event later."

Draco could swear that the old headmaster had winked at him. I must be losing my mind.

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Madam Pomfrey chose then to come out of her office.

"What is all this commotion abou…oh…Thank goodness, you're here, Headmaster." Poppy came out of her office, grinning with relief. Until she spotted Padfoot.

"A dog!" She shrieked, "Merlin, Albus, I can't have every flea-bitten mongrel traipsing around within a sanitary environment!"

At this, Padfoot dropped his head and had the decency to look properly ashamed. Lupin, Tonks, Ron and Hermione could barely contain their laughter.

"Poppy, once again, I can assure you that this dog is perfectly house trained." Dumbledore smiled gently. "Now, can you tell us about Harry?"

At mention of the Boy-Who-Lived, the smile was wiped off of everyone's face as they turned to the nurse for a long awaited explanation.

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(Should I leave it here? I'm afraid I might lose readers.)

The nurse turned a sober face towards the Headmaster and members of the Order. "Harry was under the Cruciatus Curse for a long time…maybe too long of a time. Even if he wakes up…which is not a sure thing…he could suffer brain damage, memory loss…he could even be paralyzed from the effects on his nerves..."

"Preposterous." Everyone turned at the sound of Snape's voice in the doorway.

"Severus?" Dumbledore bade him continue.

"I am sure you have all had sufficient enough training with the Cruciatus curse to know that it is not lethal unless a victim has experienced prolonged exposure." Sirius woofed and Tonks and Moody nodded for him to continue. "Potter was not under the curse for too long." He proceeded to summarize coldly. "From the time I left Umbridge's office, to conversing in the hall with Fillius, It could not have been longer than a few minutes. We all know Potter is stronger than that." He concluded.

Everyone turned hopeful gazes towards Madam Pomfrey, who sighed as she explained softly, "I had thought the same thing, Severus, until I examined the source of where the curse had entered his body. Correct me if I am mistaken, children, but I believe the curse was cast at Harry's forehead."

"Yeah, that's right." Hermione confirmed the nurse's fears.

"Then my original diagnosis was correct."

Hermione gasped as tears filled her eyes. Draco's head snapped up from its position of staring blankly at the floor. Ron and Ginny were on the edge of their seats. Neville was openly sobbing. Lupin was attempting to comfort Sirius, who had gone slack on the floor and was whining in a heart-wrenching way.

The entire twinkle was gone from Dumbledore's eyes.

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Dumbledore's POV

The boy I had worked so hard to protect was lying comatose in a hospital bed. I had failed him; I had failed James and Lily.

I had failed Sirius; the last pure thing left in his life was dying. I had been a fool to think that Umbridge was relatively harmless when compared to Voldemort.

She was worse. She was possibly more dangerous, due to the fact that she held a position of authority within the ministry and could practice her diabolical schemes without suspicion. Behind closed doors she had cast an unforgivable curse on the Boy-Who-Lived.

And I could not shake the feeling that I was to blame.

We needed Harry Potter to live. More than I wished to admit to anyone else. The prophecy had to be fulfilled.

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"Now, there is still hope for him." Madam Pomfrey began. "He has been exposed to this curse before and he has always been a remarkably strong child. I have high hopes that he will pull through. The only serious problem may be a…selective… memory loss. Meaning; he may or may not remember all or some of us, the experiences he has had, and any number of things."

"So," Ron started, attempting to grasp the concept, "he might not remember me?"

"Either that; Mr. Weasley, or he might not remember that he broke his arm his second year. It all really depends on the severity of memory loss. It is highly likely that if he wakes up he will remember you, seeing as how you three are practically inseparable."

"That Umbridge woman is foul." Tonks frowned, "I'd like to…"

"We all would." Remus assured her, chancing a glance at Padfoot, who was growling at the mention of Umbridge's name. "Where is she?" Moody smiled maliciously.

"Now, Alastor, there will be no attempts on her life while she remains at Hogwarts." Dumbledore stated firmly.

"Why not?" Snape whispered to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, what that woman has done is inexcusable. Even the Dark Lord has more sense than to cast that curse at his servant's foreheads!"

"Why, Severus," Dumbledore's eye had begun to twinkle once again, "are you suggesting that you care what that woman has done to Harry?" Snape sent Dumbledore one of trademark glares, but the old headmaster simply laughed it off.

"I think what we need now is a system, of watching Mr. Potter while he recovers. We can make shifts, why don't Ron, Hermione and Lupin begin. Snuffles is welcome to stay also." Dumbledore smiled.

"Headmaster…" Poppy interrupted. "A dog?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered firmly, "Now, I'd like to see Severus and Mr. Malfoy alone in my office, followed by Tonks, Moody and Lupin. We have some things that need to be discussed immediately. Finally, I would like to see Mr. and Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood, Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom" With this final announcement, Dumbledore turned and left the room, leaving it's occupants to stare after him open-mouthed.

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End of chapter three.

Chapter four will either be "In Dumbledore's office" or "In Harry's dreams". You will just have to wait and see which one. (Or you can beg me to do one of them, otherwise known as influencing the author.)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I will answer any questions about it if you leave them in a review. I hope I didn't miss anything in my typing frenzy!

Update by the end of this week.

Review!