Harry was trying to slow down Atticus' attack. Memories kept speeding by and he was powerless to stop them. Every once in a while they slowed so Atticus could see a bit more before he sped on to others. Harry cursed himself. He really should have tried to learn Occulemency. Suddenly a memory came into focus. As it slowed, Harry breathed deeply trying to steady himself.

"Well, here we are at last. I must say your mind is unnaturally cluttered and disorganized," Atticus scoffed. "But I think I will enjoy this none the less."

Harry saw Hermione screaming, her body convulsing in his arms. He remembered this. They had just finished breakfast together and after the attack she had promptly emptied her stomach on the floor. He tried to push the memory away but it didn't budge. Atticus said, "I do love to hear her scream." Without warning memories once again flashed by. Hermione curled in a ball with ice on head, Hermione with blood running from her nose, Hermione sleeping peacefully, Hermione dancing at their wedding, Hermione convulsing at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione not breathing, Hermione accepting his proposal and his mother's ring. Harry felt his mind tugged on as the memory of Hermione being put in the cold tub came into focus. Atticus watched with amusement and pleasure as he saw her squirm with cold and fever. "She looks good wet," his oily voice responded. Harry's anger flared as he felt Atticus focus on Hermione's body. "I wonder what else I can find."

Pain split Harry's mind as Atticus became more determined. As a memory came into focus Harry frantically tried pushing another one into its place. He pushed and pulled and tried to focus on something else but Atticus was in control. Harry watched helplessly as he saw the memory of himself holding Hermione's naked body. Harry could almost feel the water from the shower head spraying them, the heated mist floating in the air, Hermione's eventual scream echoing off the tile walls. Harry could almost sense Atticus' satisfaction and excitement. Harry's anger grew and he felt his magic pulse inside of him. "Stop! Enough!" he yelled desperately.

"I was right. She is a beautiful specimen, so soft looking. Round in all the right places." Atticus leered, laughing. "So much pain. I wonder what the long term affects are?"

Harry was then thrust into a memory of Hermione in a confused state, repeating the same things she had just said. She looked lost, scared, and unsure what was going on. Harry remembered that day well. It had been the scariest lapse in her memory that he had experienced. It was as if her brain couldn't hold on to what he was trying to tell her. She wasn't fully present. It had lasted a few minutes and when she had recovered she had quickly collapsed from a blinding head ache. He could hardly stand to see it again. His heart lurched and he felt his magic throb with fury as Atticus chuckled, "Not so bright anymore is she?"

With an almighty push of power Harry yelled, "Enough!"

He felt Atticus thrown from his mind and then felt himself enter back into Atticus'. The scene was the same as before. It was cold, stark, and empty. He was a bit surprised that he had been able to throw Atticus out. Harry looked around for a moment before Atticus appeared and sauntered toward him, his voice low. "Well, you have some power after all. Push the right buttons did I?"

"You can't win. When our connection is broken you will be handed to the Dementors and it will be over," Harry replied.

"Indeed. But I did so enjoy seeing her squirm. Such a shame she isn't a pureblood. I might have considered making her mine."

Harry watched Atticus smile, licking his lips. It made his stomach churn. Harry felt his anger once again flare up. Atticus stepped toward him and continued, "She has a lovely scream. I do wish I could hear it in person though."

Harry gritted his teeth and watched Atticus move even closer to him. The man's voice was low and threatening. "As you say, it will end tonight. I will be kissed. However, that does not mean I cannot win. I will hear her scream...one last time."

Harry saw the glint of malice in the crazed eyes of his enemy and heard the low purr of pleasure in the man's voice. Harry realized what was going to happen just as Atticus smiled. "NOOOO!" Harry yelled. But before he could do anything a piercing scream filled the air. His heart throbbed and his body tensed as magic seemed to flood every cell in his body. It flared to life and pushed against his skin begging for release. In a flash of pure energy Harry let go of his control. A blinding wave of power shot from his body outwards. Harry felt himself slam back to his own mind before he felt his body make painful contact with something solid. Darkness took him.

Harry felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. He was trying to open his eyes but they felt heavy. His ears were bombarded by noise. There were too many voices, all of them too loud and panicked. Finally, he started to comprehend the voice closest to him. He knew that voice. His eyes fluttered open but his vision was blurred. He felt the person shake him again and he turned toward the voice. Even with his blurry vision Harry could not mistake the mop of red hair beside him. "Ron?" Harry became aware that his voice was horse.

"Harry? Are you alright? Damn mate, don't ever do that again!"

Harry felt Ron put his glasses into his hand and he gingerly but them on his face. Things began to come back into focus slowly. Why did Ron sound so upset with him? He couldn't focus, it was too loud. "What happened?"

"You flew across the room that's what happened! Atticus might be dead though we aren't sure yet," Ron said flustered.

At the mention of Benton it all came slamming back to Harry's mind. "Hermione!" He tried to scream it but his voice was weak. He tried to stand and felt Ron help him up but he stumbled when he tried to walk toward the mass of people around his wife's bed.

"Whoa! Slow down," Ron said as he supported his friend. "We need to get you looked at."

Harry felt Ron try to steer him away from the loud chaos going on near the hospital bed. He pleaded, "Hermione! Please!" He turned his head and focused on the wand waving and serious voices coming from the medical staff. He got a glimpse of Hermione when one of the healers shifted and saw her body convulse as a shocking spell hit her chest. He heard a mediwitch say, "Again!"

Harry tried to move toward the bed once more but Ron pulled on him. "They're trying mate. Let them work. You shouldn't be here now. Come on."

Harry noticed Ron's voice was tight with emotion as he slowly led Harry toward the door. Harry's head was spinning and he felt like he might collapse any moment. The quiet of the hall way was a horrible shock after the noise of the hospital room. "Sit down," Ron said as he helped him to a chair. "Someone will be here soon to look you over."

For a moment there was silence between them. Harry was trying to wrap his mind over what was happening behind the closed door. After a time a frazzled witch came scurrying over and started checking Harry's vitals. She scanned him and shoved some potions into his hands. "Drink these! You're magical core has dipped below what we like to see. Pepper-Up, Headache draught, and calming draught. You will be fine but you better get plenty of rest. You'll probably feel a bit weak for a while." Harry simply nodded at her as he obediently drank the potions. "I hear that was some burst of magic Mr. Potter. Not wise in my opinion. There may be consequences, though I guess that's not for me to speculate. Still, there is nothing to be done for Mr. Benton." The witch gathered her things and began walking away but turned to them once more and said, "I hope your wife makes it."

Those words seemed to shoot an arrow through Harry's heart and he gasped. He felt Ron's hand on his shoulder and turning to his friend said, "Is she going to die?"

Ron shook his head sadly with uncertainty in his eyes. "I don't know."

"What happened?" Harry asked rubbing his eyes and running his hand through his hair wearily.

"I thought you could tell me," Ron said. "When you used Legilimency on Benton they almost tried to remove you but I convinced them to just wait and hold off seeing as how it might have mentally damaged both of you. It was creepy, seeing you both standing as if in a trance. We had no idea what was going on but after a few minutes everyone was getting antsy. Hermione suddenly began screaming. It was an awful sound and the medical staff jumped into action. Then without warning there was a huge burst of magic and you and Benton were blasted across the room from one another. You hit the wall pretty hard and were unconscious for a time. In all the chaos the Aurors moved to collect Atticus and bind him up. Though from what I could tell he wasn't in any condition to put up a fight. They removed him and I tried to wake you up."

Harry nodded slowly and sat silent for a moment. Finally he said, "He was prepared. Atticus. He is very skilled at Occulemency. I couldn't get in. He taunted me and then he pushed his way into my mind so that he could see my memories of Hermione suffering." He stopped and sighed heavily, his head down.

"That's horrible," Ron said looking pale.

"Yes, it was. I was stupid. I shouldn't have…" Harry rubbed his neck in frustration.

"There was no way to know he would be able to fight back. There are only a small handful of people who are skilled in the mind arts. None of us suspected him to be one of them," Ron said in earnest.

"Maybe, still, it was a mistake. He saw…he saw too much." Harry put his head in his hands and pulled his hair in frustration knowing the intimate images Benton had glimpsed. "My magic finally flared up and I was able to push him out and go back to his mind. After that it wasn't long before he decided to end things and he attacked Hermione. I heard her scream and that's when my magic burst out. I could feel it building and I just made a conscious effort to let go of any control I had over it. I wanted it to hurt him. I had to stop him from hurting Hermione… But I was too late." Harry's voice was sad and quiet. He squeezed his eyes shut to try to stop the tears that were stinging them.

"Hey, she might be alright," Ron said with pleading.

Harry was chocked by a sob and shook his head. "The only way to break the curse is for one of them to die. He wanted it to be on his terms. He knew there was no escape for him. But he wasn't going to just go quietly. He wanted to kill her. Then the bond would be broken. That's what we asked for." Harry scoffed bitterly as tears ran down his cheeks. He was angry and scared and tired. He stood and paced the floor breathing hard as he pulled at his head. He staggered a bit and felt Ron's arms steady him before pulling him into an embrace.

"Hold on Harry. For her. Hold on. She is a fighter. Don't give up yet," Ron said through his own constricted throat.

Harry took comfort in his friends embrace and let Ron lead him back to the chair. He tried to have hope but the image of Hermione's frail body arching as they tried to shock her heart into pumping was all too clear in his mind. There had been no life in her face. He didn't know what was going on behind the closed door but he prayed they had been able to bring her back.

After what felt like an eternity but was in reality only five minutes, the door to Hermione's hospital room opened. A strong wizard in a white robe came out and looking serious approached them. Harry stood up on shaky legs and searched the wizards eyes for information. "My wife…"

"We were able stabilize her for now." At these words Harry felt his knees buckle with relief and he sat down hard in the chair again. He watched the mediwizard move a chair so he could sit facing him. His deep voice continued, "Mrs. Potter is exceedingly weak. I will not deny that we nearly lost her. After the attack she had her heart stopped. She was not responsive. It took several spells to get her heart pumping again. She is not breathing on her own right now, but we hope she will be able to soon, when she gets some strength back. We are constantly monitoring her vital organs. We have given her several potions to help her organs heal more quickly and work properly without putting a strain on her core."

Harry nodded as he listened. He knew it was bad but he couldn't help the hope that filled him. "How long until her core improves?"

The mediwizard sighed and replied, "We really don't know. I'll be honest, we have never had a patient with core levels as low as your wife's and been able to keep them alive. Right now her levels are at 25%. It is a miracle her heart is working at all. I suspect it will be a long hard road ahead. My hope is that within a week her levels will be back to nearly 35% and she will be able to breath on her own. Mr. Potter I want you to understand that it is going to take quite a bit of time before she begins to feel like herself. My scans show there will be some residual damage to her body and possibly to her mind. It is hard to tell until she begins to recover and is revived. We will keep her heavily sedated for now so that her pain levels are sure to be minimal. You should be prepared though that even with a full recovery she will most likely still suffer from occasional muscle spasms and dizziness. In patients who have suffered from the Cruciatus curse on multiple occasions it is also common for them to have intermittent muscle pain on various levels. Again, we will know more when she is stronger and wakes up."

Harry nodded. He had a pit in his stomach thinking about all the possible trials that Hermione would still have to deal with. But he pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the fact that she was still living. "Thank you. Thank you for saving her."

The old wizard smiled warmly. "I am glad to help. She is a wonder. She must love you very much to fight so hard to stay."

Harry let a smile grace his lips as his eyes burned with emotion. He simply nodded, cleared his throat and asked, "May I see her?"

"Of course, though I warn you she does not look well. I will have the chair transfigured into a bed for you. You seem quite worn out and I'm sure you'd prefer not to leave her side. I will be in and out to check on her and on you. Your own magic took quite a hit. Do try to sleep."

Harry nodded as he slowly stood, shaking the wizards hand. He made his way into the hospital room.

Ron made to follow Harry but the mediwizard pulled him aside. "Look after him. Magical Law Enforcement wants to question him about the events that took place. I have been able to put them off for medical reasons but they won't be held off long. I know you are his friend. He may need a bit of protecting. Whatever happened between him and Benton…well, Benton will not be recovering. I am not at liberty to say much more at this time but I trust you will do what you can to support Mr. Potter."

Ron was a bit taken back by the fact that this old man was concerned about the matter. He was not surprised to hear that Harry would probably be facing an interrogation and possible charges for his actions. He had already been considering excuses to give to hold things off for a bit. Ron smiled at the man. "I'll do what I can. I knew this was not going to end without a mess but I shall do what I can for Harry. He deserves all of our help I should think."

"Indeed, that young man has had a life harder than most. What he has done for this world in so short a time is nearly beyond understanding. He deserves to be happy."

Ron nodded, "Thank you."

"Make him rest."

"I will." Ron shook the man's hand and entered the hospital room.

PLEASE REVIEW SO I KNOW YOU ARE THERE! I am thinking there will be 1 maybe 2 more chapters. Unless, anyone is interested in an Epilogue? Let me know. I would love for reviews to his 100. Please?! You can review on your favorite chapter or this one. I just want to hear form you!