AN:
Thanks to Lexi and Anna for correcting my mistakes and all those who reviewed. I know the plot is complex, but I try to explain little by little.
Enjoy^^ …
Chapter 7Sirius looked confused from his godson to the twins. He didn't understand any of what was going on, but apparently not only the Malfoy brat was involved, as Albus had said, but also these two and maybe even more. Maybe even Harry's friends knew; Dumbledore hadn't mentioned anything about them. Besides, what kind of communication were they having?
As it finally seemed that whatever argument they had was settled, his godson started to bend over coughing blood. It was a wonder he had not fallen out of the bed. Sirius had barely gotten hold of one of his shoulders and held him back. In a matter of seconds Minerva and Remus were at his side to help him. Harry kept thrashing around violently, his eyes wide in shock and it seemed as if he were looking for help and couldn't see any. He heard Dumbledore's' voice calling for Poppy. And a few moments later she was there.
"We have to hold him down!" she said to Remus who was holding Harry's legs in place.
Sirius watched, shocked as blood poured out of the boy's mouth again. Minerva forced Harry to the side so he wouldn't choke on it. Madam Pomfrey's face was pale; Sirius didn't like that, because it could only mean that there was little she could do.
"Why don't you give him something?" he asked, distressed, Sirius couldn't watch this much longer.
"I can't! He might…" she took a deep breath. "His body might react to it wrongly. I might do more harm than good. And I don't dare to use magic, he's not strong enough."
Harry screamed in pain, his voice high-pitched as though he was being killed with a knife in the most painful way possible. Fred stared at his brother then at Draco. They had to decide their next move: Their friend's well being and their secrets coming into the light or do nothing. Could they risk it?
Again the boy screamed, but this time he called for someone. The name became incomprehensible due the cry, and that was all the twins needed deciding what to do.
"Get out of the way!" George pushed Remus aside and taking over his position, while his brother passed the Potion Master and motioned with a determined look in his eyes that Madam Pomfrey and Sirius had better step away from Harry.
"Let us take over, you have no idea how to handle this!" Fred said, taking a piece of wood out of his pocket, as Harry seemed to calm down again and put it in the boy's mouth. "Com'on, bite down, buddy." Immediately the boy reacted to the command. And just in time before he started to thrash around more than earlier.
Suddenly Minerva was pushed away, barely managing to stay on her feet. Draco flung the Invisibility cloak to the corner, shedding with it his own secrecy and laid his hand on Harry's forehead steadying the boy and trying to calm him while with his other hand he held him pinned down to the bed by his shoulder.
"Fred!" Draco hissed.
"I know." Answered the Gryffindor. "George?" he glanced quickly at his brother who nodded.
The Slytherin closed his eyes and started to chant a spell, first alone, then Fred joined in and last his twin. The chant went on and on until a light started to form around their hands, a warm and calming brightness, which spread with every new word over Harry's body. The boy's face started to become less tense, his body relaxing until only his breathing came a little agitated.
Still the three continued their spell.
The others watched the scene before them in amazement. Minerva moved towards Albus to ask what was going on, but by the look on everybody's face, she was not the only one who didn't understand what was going on. So she remained quiet, witnessing the strange event.
The first to stop was George, slowly he lifted his hands from the boy, the brightness vanishing with the contact. Next followed Fred until Draco was the only one who still was connected to Harry, and then he too let go. Slowly for he didn't want to disturb the calmness they had forced upon the boy. Harry's breathing returned to normal, and Draco reached for the piece of wood and threw it aside on the ground, sighing relived.
"That wasn't a normal seizure." George stated as he whipped the sweat from his forehead.
Fred nodded as he leaned exhausted on his hands on the bed.
"Did you feel the energy flow?" asked Draco as he tried to move but his legs gave away under him falling to the cold ground where he remained breathing exhausted.
George rolled his eyes. "I call that timing," he said annoyed.
"Timing and stupidity! He knows Harry's sick!" added Fred looking at Harry's calm and sleeping face.
"Stupidity is the right word!" Draco leaned his head against the bed. "Stupidity, idiocy, and all those other words…" Without looking up he reached for Harry's wrist and checked on the pulse; the adults watched, unsure whether to move or wait for an explanation. "I'll kill him and then I think of a good reason…"
George sat down on the ground feeling sleep invade his mind. "I'll help…"
"Ah…" Fred joined his brother closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Draco looked at the twins laying on the cold floor and smiled. Succumb to the darkness that was what he needed. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting slowly away as suddenly he was grabbed by his uniform and lifted into the air.
"What did you do to my godson?!!"
Draco tried to focus his eyes, but his body ached for rest. He murmured a reply hoping to be left alone. But he was shaken awake again and Draco narrowed his eyes in anger. "I helped him, okay?" he snapped wanting only to sleep.
"Sirius! Let him down!" Remus loosened his friend's hold on the boy and steadied him.
"Either I helped him or not!" Draco growled in a furious tone. "You have to let me rest, I promise I'll explain later." His eyes fell shut as his energy started to change and awake his true power. "For everyone's sake, including your well-being, I need to let my body recover the energy it lost!!" He was in no condition to explain further, whatever would happen, he had done his part in warning them. Leaning exhausted onto Remus he finally let sleep overtake him.
Remus picked the boy up in his arms and carried him to one of the beds nearby while Minerva and Albus followed him with the twins floating in the air. The three returned to Harry's bed. Madam Pomfrey had taken the time to check on Harry and at seeing that everything was well, decided to examine the other three boys as well.
"Albus, what was that just now?" Minerva spooled out the question that was in all their heads. "What did those three do?"
The headmaster shook his head. "I don't really know. I believe it is an ancient magic as it was used before the early Dark Ages. " He at down on his chair his eyes thoughtfully fixed on the boy on the bed. "I read in a very old document oces that back then, when people were still unable to use magic in forms of spell as we do nowadays; they used their own life energy to perform their needs.
"Are you saying they used their life energy on Harry?!" Sirius couldn't believe it.
"I'm not entirely sure, but that might very well be the case," answered the headmaster. "It just brings up a much more interesting question up. How would they have known what to do?"
Snape, who until now had kept quietly in the background, walked forward towards the bed, his eyes had seen something the other's completely ignored. "No, that wasn't life energy. " Said the Potion Master slowly trying to recall where he had seen this before. "By the way they collapsed I'd say they used their bodies' energy."
Sirius glared at him, somehow he knew Snape was right, and he didn't like the idea at all.
"Severus, have you seen this before?" Remus asked.
"I…" images… no… sounds formed in his head. It was something he had forgotten, something he had suppressed; something he didn't really want to remember. "I…" Voices so familiar yet he was sure he didn't know them… or was it that he was ignoring the truth. He closed his eyes, if he reached out to that memory maybe…
"Severus?" Remus laid a hand on the Potion Master's shoulder concerned. The Professor wasn't usually at loss of words. "Are you all right?"
"I think I've seen this before." He said finally.
Dumbledore's eyes darkened. "Where?"
"I don't know…" he passed a hand though his hair. "I don't remember." The feeling of loss was grwoing in his chest. It was causing his body to alarm, something he usually had under control.
"Are you sure?"
"No, but do you have a better idea?"
"Tom is right James, you shouldn't do it!"
"Listen Drake, if he dies, what then? He's my friend!"
"Severus?"
Snape starred puzzled at Lupin's confused eyes.
"Severus, are you all right?" the werewolf asked again.
"James was there…"
"What?" Sirius gaped at him.
"Severus, what do you mean?" asked the headmaster, his voice calm yet with a hint of worry.
Snape looked lost. What had that conversation meant? Was it real? Yes, one of the voices was that of James Potter, he had heard it far to often to forget it. And the other voices, he was sure now, he had heard them before as well. The man's and the woman's or maybe a girl's…
"There are pieces connected to this…" he turned his eyes too Harry. "There were others too… Another man and a woman…" should he continue trying to awake that last thought?
"James, that's nuts! You know that as well as we do!"
"Damn it, Tom! Severus is my friend! Either you help me or I'll do it alone!"
"… No, I won't help."
"Fine, your choice anyway!"
"James! Wait! James!!… Tom, do something!"
"What can I do? He likes him. He sees potential in that boy…"
"So you will not aid him? It's dangerous to perform the ritual alone…"
"I know, but it is his choice… I'll be here if he needs me."
"I'm back, step aside you two…"
Yes, then there was the warm call, the strength that had passed trough every part of his body. A union he had longed for. It was far more that when you loved. They had become one, even if it had been for just a matter of minutes, they had shared their souls with each other. It had been a brightness that made him realize how much he longed for someone to care for him. Yes, he had forced that memory into oblivion, hating the fact that it had been James who had seen his true self, his weakness, his longings, and his soul… And then again he couldn't hate him, because James had allowed him the same. He had let Severus reach into his soul and embrace the warmth, the strength, his other self, his fears and his secrets. He hated him for that, because James had saved him and taken away his choice to loath him. That was the true reason for his feelings of anger towards James Potter.
Severus head snapped up. James' secret? He had seen into the other and there had been something that somehow had seem… not wrong…but… not right either… there had been something incomprehensible in his aura… something not… not like his own…
He bit down on his thumb, a habit he had gotten rid of, but it was still easy to fall back into it…
"I can't believe he's doing this!"
"Why? Because he's not like us?"
"Yes, because he's mortal…"
"James has his own way of doing things, Drake."
"I know, Tom! I know!!"
"He performed this… ritual by himself to save me, even when the others were against it…" he finally said out loud unaware of it.
"Severus, could you explain this a little further?" Minerva raised an eyebrow at him.
Snape shook his head lightly noticing that he had spoken his thoughts. "I was sick… just like Potter…" Yes, that was the truth, although he didn't know how. "And James did the same that Mr. Malfoy and the Weasley, only he did it by himself…" he looked at the others. "There was that other man… Tom and a woman… they called her Drake… These two told him not to do it, but James insisted…"
Sirius gulped down a comment.
"I can't explain it very well, if it is exactly the same as they did, but the way the energy flow looked and felt… I guess it must have been similar." Severus thoughts were confused. Questioned after questioned seemed to pop up in his mind and there were no answers to them. It was disturbing.
"You can see the energy flow?" Remus asked puzzled.
"You can't?"
"Not really, I have other means of doing so, thanks to my werewolf DNA," explained Lupin. "How come you can? As far as I know normal humans aren't able to do so."
The Potion Master stared at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm not saying anything, Severus, I'm just pointing out some facts out."
"Moony, are you suggesting he's not human?" Sirius asked unsure. "That sounds stupid even to me. As much as I have always said that he's a slimy snake, I still know he's as much man as I am."
"Thanks Black, " snorted Snape, the last thing he needed was Sirius defending him.
Dumbledore got up from his seat and stepped closer to them. "Severus, since when have you've been able to see energy?"
"I don't know, as long as I can remember…" He narrowed his eyes. "I thought it normal."
"Children that have certain abilities don't realize they are special until the difference is pointed out." Minerva said.
Snape stepped back crossing his arms, his body language turning into defense. "What are you getting at?!"
Suddenly there was a sound of glass breaking and blackness filling the room. The next think they knew was as they started to pick themselves up from the ground and all they could see was their bodies.
"What happened?" Minerva asked as she pushed back a bang that fell into her face.
"Seems as though we are no longer at Hogwarts…" the headmaster stated slowly.
"Where's Harry?" Sirius jumped alarm to his feet.
Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "We are the only ones here, I think."
"Not really, Professor." Said a voice coming closer.
"George?" another voice called.
"I'm here Fred!" called the first one coming closer until he became visible to them. Shortly after his brother joined them.
"What is this?" Albus turned to them for answers.
Fred put his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "A Dream Catch, I'd say…"
"And since Draco and Harry aren't here, I bet it's one of theirs." Added his brother.
"A Dream Catch?" Minerva asked quizzing.
"Yes." Fred said. "It is an unusual ability, if I may say…"
"Very rare!" George added. "It's a summoning spell in which people around the caster are sucked into a Dream World and imprisoned."
"Why would Mr. Malfoy or Mr. Potter do something like that?" Minerva wondered.
"Wouldn't it be more interesting to hear how it was done?" Snape growled. He seemed to have returned to his usual state.
"Both good questions." Fred sat down on the ground pulling one leg up to put his arm around and rested his head thoughtfully on it. "With the knowledge I have, I believe this must be Draco's, Harry has never shown signs to be able to do anything like this."
"No, Fred, why would he trap us here too?" George shook his head. "He surely fell into a resting sleep as we did." He passed a hand trough his hair looking own at is brother. "No, this can't be Draco's…"
"Harry's? I don't think so…" he bit on his thumb. "What if Draco did this unconsciously?"
"How? Why?" George turned to the others slowly. "If he fell asleep immediately after the ritual asleep his mind should be in a frozen state until his body recovers fully."
Fred did not reply, he knew what his brother was suggesting.
"… I…" Sirius started. "I didn't let him fall asleep…" his words were barely hearable. "I wanted to know about Harry…"
The twins sighed in unison. "Draco indeed then."
"You know now how we got here. How do we get out?" Snape said impatiently.
"Get out? Are you kidding me?" Fred raised his head smiling ironically. "If our powers were greater than those of the Head of the Council then we could get out of here. But otherwise I don't dare to use spells in here." his features darkened. "They might return to us or kill the caster of the dimension. Meaning, we would be stuck here forever!" he shook his head. "We can just wait in hope his mind returns into a resting form and lets him return us to the real world."
George put his hands behind his head. "Besides, you should be grateful we didn't get stuck into some Hell dimension or trapped in our own greatest fears. At least we're still together…"
"Well, you two, since it seems that were are going to be hanging around here for some time, you might as well answer a few questions to pass the time. "Remus smirked.
The twins sighed in defense and it seemed as though they were having another internal debate. Finally George sat down next to his brother. "Fine, what do you want to know?" he sounded rather annoyed.
"What d-" but before Professor McGonagall could ask anything Sirius interrupted her
"Before anything, I want to know how my godson got sick in the first place!"
Fred looked at George who nodded for him to go ahead. "He got it like most people get sick. He got infected while taking care of someone who had already been sick with it." He shrugged. "We had completely forgotten that his mother came from the non-magical line."
"There was someone else sick?" Dumbledore asked, concern in his voice.
The twins nodded with a look that said they were not willing to get further into that matter.
"Okay, now, we know how he got it. How come you and Mr. Malfoy are involved?" Minerva said as she sat down on the ground as well.
"That is a very long story…" George said slowly.
"We have time." Snape snapped.
George mutter under his breath but finally gave in. "Draco is helping Harry because of a promise and Fred was sent to take a look at the last Yorae for the clan elders. I for my part am here by pure coincidence.
"Yorae?" Remus had heard that word before, but before he got to figure it out Harry appeared next to Minerva looking rather tired.
"Harry!" they all called out.
"Hey!" he smiled. "Good to see you are finally awake. " He turned to the twins. "And I see you found the others…"
"What are you doing here?" Fred jumped to his feet in a matter of seconds.
"How did you find us?!" George mimicked his brother.
Harry shrugged. "I was here to begin with, but everyone else was unconscious. So I though I'd take a look and figure out where I am."
"You snuck out of a Dream Catch?" Fred couldn't believe it.
"Dream Catch?" Harry turned his head slightly to the side. Snape narrowed his eyes; he had seen that move before, but where? "This is no Dream Catch. This is an ability of Draco's clan. It works like a secret keep as far as I know."
George cursed. "Great! That is even worse!!"
Sirius walked over to Harry and pulled him into an embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
Harry smiled lovingly at him.
"Wait! What's up now?" Remus glared from Harry to the twins. "Where did Harry come from?!"
Harry pushed Sirius away a little and raised his arms trying to calm Remus. "Professor, please." He spoke calmly. "I swear I will explain everything later, but right now there is another important matter I have to discuss with the twins first. That can't wait!"
Fred and George looked curiously at him as Harry stepped closer to them. They had a whispered word exchange for a while. George's face paled and Fred looked as though he wasn't feeling very well. Finally the two red-haired nodded.
"Okay, then…" Fred passed a hand trough his hair as they turned back to the others. "We have to divide the group. Four go with us and Harry takes the remaining one with him. Now listen up, Harry has just explained to us that we can't stay here if we intend to ever get out again. It would take too long to explain it clearly right now, so all I'm going to say is that were are stuck in Draco's memories and if he wakes up before we are out he won't remember that he has to take us out since he did this unconsciously in the first place. So, each of us is going to take two of you and share an aura protection so that we can leave this place. " He looked at his brother.
The red haired raised his hand and stretched his fingers as faraway from the other as possible. "Hmm…I'll take Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. Okay?"
Fred and Harry mimicked his action.
"I think I can take Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, if you can take Professor Snape, Harry."
"I guess." He said not very convinced. He did not really want to go anywhere near the Potion Master. He still couldn't remember what had happened in the dungeon classroom and he feared to be discovered the moment he would touch the other. But under the current circumstance there was no choice but to come close to the man. Harry could see, when he concentrated, the man's energy coming in confused and yet controlled calm waves around him. Maybe with some luck everything would be over quickly…
"Then it's decided. Professor McGonagall and you Mr. Black, would you mind taking your Animagus forms?" asked George.
Sirius blinked surprised that the twins knew, but proceeded to do as asked. Minerva followed suit. Fred, in the mean time, had laid his hand on the ground and a somewhat larger white circular space had formed there.
"Fred, you and Professor Lupin and Mr. Black go first." Said his brother.
Fred nodded Remus to pick Sirius in his arm and then together they jumped into the brightness. George indicated the headmaster to do the same.
"Harry, count to three, that should do it…" he added before the three of them disappeared as well.
Harry didn't dare to look at Snape. He had the feeling of something stuck at the back of his throat, his hand becoming sweaty. He could practically feel his own energy trembling with anxiety to touch and fear of rejection. Why? Why was this happening? What should he do now? Jump into the brightness?