A/N: Sorry for taking so long. I had trouble with the ending and re-wrote it at least five times. Hope you like it and don't forget to answer the question at the end and put your VOTE in your reviews.
Raging Storm
Remus came hurtling into the room screaming the disarming spell. Gabriel lost all three wands and staggered backward under the force of the spell. Okay. Things just got really confusing. He backed off and Silas came Out, his eyes narrowed in icy fury.
"Wolf." He said in a cold, dangerous voice. "What are you doing?"
xXxXxXx
Remus flinched at Silas' tone, but he had eyes only for the man standing bruised, battered, and wretched against the wall. He lifted a crumpled paper in his clenched hand. "What is this? What do you mean you're going to kill him, Sirius?" His face was pale and his eyes were full of pain. Black just stared at him. Slowly, horror filled the werewolf's face. "Unless… unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"
Very slowly, Black's sunken gaze never leaving Remus' face, he nodded. Remus gave a chocked cry and rushed forward, grabbing Black into a desperate hug. Black returned it and seemed to shrink in the man's embrace, looking more like a broken child than a madman. Silas sneered and raised his hand, carefully focusing. Hermione started yelling hysterically about werewolves, but he tuned her out.
When he felt he had enough magic carefully balanced in his palm, he slashed down yelling, "Accio wands!"
There was the sound of cloth tearing violently and Remus staggered as he was yanked toward Silas by the wand that suddenly flew from his hand. Silas quickly separated Harry's and their wand from the other three and pointed it at the two men in the corner. Hermione stopped her rant about Remus helping Black all along to stare in awe at her friend. Ron was pale and his blue eyes were wide with fear as he stared at the man who had once been his favorite teacher.
"Wait, S--Harry!" Remus quickly corrected himself. He stood in front of the crying Black protectively. "I can explain. Don't you want to know the truth? You have the upper hand. You're in no danger. Just listen."
"Quickly." Silas hissed. "You have five seconds."
"I found a note on my desk. It was in Sirius' handwriting. It said, 'Moony, I'm going to kill the traitor tonight in the Shack.' I came here as fast as I could to capture him, but on the way I thought about what the message meant. It meant he was saying he wasn't the one to betray us to the Dark Lord."
"What's that to me?" Silas drawled, impatient.
"It means he isn't the one who got your parent's killed." Remus said gently.
"If he's not Dark, then how did he escape Azkaban?" Hermione demanded.
"As you saw, he is an Animagus. James, Peter, and Sirius all became Animagi to be with me during the full moon. It was very illegal. James was a stag. Peter: a rat. Sirius: a dog that looks like a Grim. I tried to tell you before, Harry, but I am under a spell that doesn't allow me to talk about their other forms to people who don't already know.
"That's why I didn't tell you the second I saw your Patronus, Harry. And why I didn't tell Dumbledore even though I knew that's how Sirius was likely getting into Hogwarts. And I suspect that's how he escaped Azkaban, am I right?" Remus asked turning to look at the now calm ex-prisoner.
"I don't know how I did it." Sirius croaked. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all become… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…"
He swallowed hard, eyes becoming glittery with madness again. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less – less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…"
"Sirius…" Remus wrapped the man in a one-armed embrace, tears falling from his eyes.
Sirius reached a hand into his ragged, filthy clothes. He seemed to grow stronger and more stable as he brought out a worn piece of paper. Remus took it and Silas could just make out that it was the picture from the Daily Prophet of Ron and his family in Egypt over the summer.
"I got this from Fudge." Sirius explained. His eyes filled with a determined hate. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me this paper and there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"
"My God." Remus turned to stare at Ron. "His front paw…They only found a finger…"
Sirius continued as if he couldn't hear Remus, "He'd be perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Lord was gathering strength again… ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort then? He'd be welcomed back with honors… I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was alive. I had to protect Harry… my godson… I won't let him kill Harry too!"
He leapt at Ron, but Remus grabbed him and held him back. Ron was screaming to know what was going on, Hermione was yelling that it couldn't be true, and Silas finally agreed that this had something to do with him. He didn't care about Black. Or who killed their parents. Lily and James were dead. Nothing would bring them back.
All that mattered was his own survival and safety. He could not allow the traitor to remain within reach. The traitor was a real threat. If Black was telling the truth and the traitor was Peter, he'd have to remove that threat. "Give me Scabbers." He ordered coolly, wands pointed at Ron.
"WHAT?" The redhead bellowed.
"Now." Silas hissed threateningly.
The redhead glared, "No!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. Scabbers can't be…" Hermione shrieked.
Silas ignored her, "Accio rat."
Ron cried out as he lost his new-found pet. Silas snatched the squealing rat from the air and squeezed. It squeaked once more then fell silent. He smirked and tossed him into the air toward Remus and Black. When the rat was halfway between them, Silas concentrated hard and yelled, "Aperio Corpus Natura."
A flash of blue-white light erupted from the five wands Silas held and struck the rat. Ron and Hermione cried out, Remus and Sirius stared hungrily. Scabbers hung in midair, seemingly frozen, and then he began to grow. It was like watching a sped-up film of a growing tree; a moment later a man was hovering where Scabbers had been and he fell hard to the floor.
Peter was very short, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkept and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Silas saw his beady eyes dart to the door and back again.
"Well, hello, Peter." Remus said pleasantly. "Long time no see."
"Scabbers." Ron moaned in denial. Hermione was silent.
Black tried to attack, but Remus still held him back. "Not yet." He said and took a predatory step toward the traitor and smiled, "We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points."
Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes, "I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… That's why you've been pretending to be a pet all these years, isn't it? ... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep.
"Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways… If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter…"
"Don't know… what you're talking about…" Pettigrew said shrilly. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Remus pleadingly. "You don't believe this – this madness, Remus?"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." Remus glared hotly.
"How could you know I'd find Scabbers and run toward the willow?" Ron demanded. "How did Black know to write you that note? He's making all this up!"
"Hagrid caught little Peter yesterday. I was going to grab him and bring him here before I killed him." Sirius snarled, full of hate as he stared at the sniveling man. "But then you showed up and I heard… I heard you take him back… Crookshanks helped me. He's been helping me all along, brought me the passwords, kept an eye on the traitor…
"He scared Peter into biting you and running… I knew he'd run to the willow… I just had to wait… and then my plan could still happen… I'd still get to kill him on this day, this very day, June 6th; this day when we were ending our first year together at Hogwarts and swore to always protect each other…when we named ourselves Marauders..."
"This is greatly entertaining." Silas drawled. "But it's late. Kill him or I will; I'm ready to leave."
"Give me a wand." Sirius demanded, eyes hungrily watching the rat-man's every move.
"Hand mine over as well." Remus' eyes gleamed gold.
"I will never be forgiven for talking James into making you Secret-Keeper instead of me, but this will be a start." Sirius laughed gleefully and caught the wand Silas tossed to him. Remus caught his and they both aimed at the trembling man before them.
"Stupefy!"
Peter and Sirius both collapsed. Remus and Silas aimed their wands at the door, but before either could say a word Snape appeared as the invisibility cloak fell to the floor. He sneered, eyes full of a terrible fury. "Severus!" Remus said shocked. "Wait! You don't understand!"
"Shut up, Wolf." Snape hissed. "I heard it all."
"Then…?"
"I did not kill the mutt, did I?" He snapped. "Pettigrew must not be killed. He has information Dumbledore will need."
Remus stared at his colleague and slowly began to understand, "And Sirius will not be cleared of the murder charges without Peter's testimony."
"I care nothing for Black!" Snape snarled, his eyes gleaming fanatically.
BANG!
Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Pettigrew's mouth, wrists, and ankles. Another spell and the bound-man floated out the door. Without another word, Snape strode from the room after him. Remus sighed and revived Black.
Silas ignored them and calmly went after Snape as the two men tended to Ron and Hermione. He caught up to them just as they entered the tunnel back to school. Snape stood stiffly, magic crackling erratically around him due to his rage. Peter floated along before him, his head occasionally scraping along the ceiling.
Silas smirked, "Going soft, Severus?"
Snape spun around so violently his robes almost flew up to knee height, "DO NOT SPEAK OF WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW!"
Silas was unimpressed and merely lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. Snape opened his mouth to say something more, but stopped. Remus was coming down the passage with Hermione at his heels. Sirius was taking up the rear with Ron in his arms. Severus glared fiercely and spun back around, continuing his march back to school. Silas gave mercy, not really wanting to be stuck in the tunnel any longer than necessary, and followed him silently.
xXxXxXx
"Sir? What's going on?" Harry asked in confusion, standing just out of reach of the Whomping Willow.
Severus turned to look at the young teenager and ground his teeth in frustration. He was going to kill Silas. Remus and the others were climbing out of the tunnel under the willow so he spoke quickly. "We've found out Pettigrew betrayed the Potters, faked his death, set-up the filthy-mutt Black, and has been pretending to be Weasley's pet all these years."
"Harry?" A coarse, deep voice called.
He turned to see a scarecrow-thin, filthy wild-man walking toward him. Ron was being floated along behind Remus and Hermione was hovering at the professor's side worriedly. Snape was already walking away.
"Well…" The convict spoke nervously. "Moony explained that with Peter caught I'm free… and, well, I am your godfather… I'll understand of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle… But… well… think about it. Once my name's cleared… if you wanted a… a different home…"
Harry was shocked. He had no idea what was going on. He was standing outside, it was dark, his friend was hurt and Hermione was frantic, Snape had a supposed dead-man as a prisoner, and Sirius Black was offering him a place to stay besides the Dursley's. His summer placement hadn't come up yet with Snape. He'd been too nervous to ask where he would be going. But he'd take anything else to escape Privet Drive.
"If I'm not… going anywhere else…" He said hesitantly. "I'd like that."
"You mean it? You want to?" Black said with childish delight. The brightest smile Harry had ever seen spread on Black's face and most of Harry's doubts faded away. Black may look scary, but he seemed alright.
"Yeah." He smiled back.
Black moved forward to hug him, but before Harry could decide whether to let him or not there was an ear-piercing scream. Snape spun back around and sprinted toward them. Ron scrambled backward, Hermione dragging him with a startled cry. Black threw Harry away and began to transform into a huge black dog.
There was a terrible snarling noise. Remus' head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks' hair was standing on end and he was backing away. As the werewolf reared, snapping his long jaws, Black leapt. The dog seized the werewolf by the neck and pulled it backward, away from the third years and began dragging it toward the forest. The werewolf snarled and lashed out, flinging the dog away and into a tree. Sirius yelped and lay still.
"He must not have taken the potion tonight!" Snape barked out. "He's not safe! Run!"
"Ron can't!" Gabriel shouted as he took up position in front of the downed Gryffindors. Snape snarled and leveled his wand at the redhead to levitate him. "Look out!"
Snape spun, but was too late. Gabriel didn't have a clear shot and could do nothing as the werewolf slammed his mighty clawed hand against his teacher's head and sent him flying. Snape crumpled unconscious ten feet away and Gabriel could see red blood glistening in the moonlight, seeping from the man's nose and mouth. Pettigrew was released from Snape's spells that had bound him. As soon as he saw the werewolf, he transformed.
"Fuck!" Gabriel cursed, but couldn't leave his post in front the helpless Ron and Hermione. "Black! The rat's getting away!"
The black dog was on his feet and was shaking his head hard. At hearing Gabriel's shout, he growled and launched himself in the direction Pettigrew had gone. The werewolf howled and jumped at Gabriel and the others. Hermione screamed. Gabriel held his position, his stance unyielding and his wand steady. He knew this was Remus. He couldn't kill the creature. Alright. So he'd just send a message.
"Reducto!"
The werewolf was flung away with a high yelp of pain. It scrambled back up and darted into the forest with its tail between its legs. He grinned in triumph and turned to Hermione and Ron. The redhead had fainted, from pain or fear Gabriel didn't know. He crouched in front of Hermione. The girl's eyes were wide and she was hyperventilating.
"We'd better get him up to the castle. Come on." Gabriel said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. A yelping noise split the air, a whining. Black! And he was definitely in pain. Gabriel couldn't let anyone get hurt, couldn't leave anyone behind.
"Stay with Ron." He ordered her, glaring into her eyes to make sure she understood. "Check on Snape."
The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. Gabriel pelted toward it. He was so intent on saving Black that he felt the cold without realizing what it meant. And by the time he did, it as far too late. He had run right into the middle of a ring of dementors. Black was crouched on all fours, his head in his hands.
"Nooo," he moaned pitifully. "Noooo…. please…"
"Transform!" Gabriel ordered, coming to stand behind him. He lifted his wand and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver snag leapt from the wand and charged the dementors coming from the right. It forced a handful back, but the other dementors kept coming, closing the gap as they glided forward. The cold was in Gabriel's bones now. His teeth were chattering. Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.
"Expecto Patronum!" He screamed again. A few more were driven back. It hardly made a difference. "Fuck."
Silas shoved Gabriel back In and took his place. The terror was building to almost unbearable levels. Boy was screeching, fighting to get Out. He only had seconds. "Tectum repercutio." He said hoarsely, and right before he fell away managed to call out, "Demon!"
Harry crumpled forward; his green eyes open, but empty of life. Deep inside, his mind was beginning to crumble. His alters were screaming, writhing in agony. Only one was silent. Demon lay and as the screams reached him, as the pain of his others woke him, his bloodless lips began to smile. Long, liquid shadow-hair began to dance and move like snakes around his head as he slowly sat up. Eyes of fire opened, and with a deafening bang his cold stone door was slammed open.
Demon stood, his hands clenched into fists as his eyes blazed with inhuman rage. With a scream of fury, he lashed out; his hand striking the air in a vicious slap. A section of dementors in front of him were pressed to the ground, wailing in pain. The others came to their aid and converged on Demon.
Snarling, Demon turned and bared his teeth with burning eyes. The closest dementors went silent, seemed to swell and undulate before literally exploding. The sound of sickly, rotten flesh tearing filled the air. Demon screamed, black magic streaking from him like anti-lightening. The still-pinned dementors thrashed, high-pitched keening shaking the sky. Trees cracked in half, sounding like giant gunshots in a vicious war. The lake churned and bubbled; pain-filled cries and screams rose from its depth as the water boiled.
Demon raked his hands over the air, as if clawing at it, trying to pull it apart. The downed dementors arched as their black robes were violently torn away and their flesh lacerated. Moon-white, alien bodies were exposed. Stick-thin limbs looked grotesque when paired with their firm rounded bellies. Their heads were elongated skulls with huge gaping mouths that sucked futility at the air. Black ichor-like blood sprayed the night as Demon lashed out at them; each step he took closer inflicting more wounds.
It wasn't enough. He was Rage and Hate; everything needed to suffer. Nothing should be whole! It all needed to die! Demon screamed again and dropped to a single knee, slamming his fist into the ground. The earth shook. It broke apart with a deep implosion that could hardly be heard. Jagged cracks opened up in the earth with a deafening noise like rolling thunder. The dementors fell; their horrible shrieks snapped off ominously.
The world fell into a trembling silence, the terrible noise ending as abruptly as it had begun. It didn't last long. With a deep rumble, the lake retreated from its bank; a great wave gathering in its center, a deadly typhoon. Louder than the ocean, the waters flowed back and exposed the lake's bank.
Heat-lightening slashed red and purple through the dry, dark sky. Thunder answered in a growl that sent a consistent tremble through the ground. It struck and left scorched craters. Fires exploded into the sky as the forest began to burn; another instrument in this Hellish symphony.
On his knees, nails drawing blood from his fists, he raised them to the sky, and roared in answer, adding his own voice and fury to match the elements at their worst. Power, dark and hungry, poured from him; pure rage made into physical chaos, pure destruction. He'd raze the world!
Without warning, Demon crumpled. Harry's body looked suddenly fragile and small as he lay unmoving. Amazingly, Sirius Black lay unharmed in a circle of burnt grass and cracked earth not fifteen feet away from his godson. The repelling shield had held and amplified the Dark magic as it bounced it back. Nothing would grow in that spot for many years.
The forest's violent thrashing slowly stilled and the gathered wave collapsed with a loud crash, releasing its still-hot water. Severus appeared just in time to levitate both Harry and Black out of the way of the flood. He was shaken and pale, dried blood still crusted on his face.
He had guessed Demon was a horror from his name and Silas saying they never woke him, but beholding the wrath and utter destruction behind the alter was terrifying. And Severus had thought he was past ever feeling that emotion, hardened by all the many horrible things he had witness and experienced in his life.
He, Hermione, and Ron had been well out of reach of Demon's rampage, and thank Merlin for that or they'd be dead. But even from that small distance, the noise as the earth tore itself apart, the torture and murder of the Darkest creatures in existence, the wailing pain of life itself had reached them.
Ron had been lucky and remained unconscious through it all. Hermione had screamed and screamed; sobbing hysterically in her utter mindless terror before she finally fainted dead away. Severus had faired no better. He had cowered, laying on his belly and clutching desperately to the shaking earth, just barely biting back whimpers of fear as everything that was suppose to be solid and unchanging shattered around him.
Nothing was safe. Everything was chaos and death. The very ground could not be trusted to lie under his feet and hold him up. The sky couldn't be trusted to remain steadily above him providing direction and light. His absolutes were no longer absolute. He was a small frightened child, desperately needing protection against the anger of a world so much bigger and stronger than him.
He didn't think about Black, didn't even hesitate to save the man. All he knew was that he had to get away from the horror and bring as many people with him. Humanity seemed so precious and fragile now. He couldn't leave anyone behind; there was strength in numbers. So with four unconscious bodies trailing after him, Severus raced desperately toward the castle and the safety it promised.
xXxXxXx
The whole school was in panic. Demon's rampage had been felt even there. The earthquake sent paintings falling from the walls, mirrors shattered, furniture toppled, and the towers swayed. McGonagall had hurried to Gryffindor Tower as fast as she could; the other Heads of Houses had done the same for their own students. Many were injured.
"Professor!" Dean cried. "Something's wrong with Neville!"
"Bring him and he will floo with the others to the infirmary." She said sternly, helping a first year girl who had a gash on her head from a falling dresser drawer. "You will be alright, child, stop screaming so. Madam Pomfrey will set you good as new."
"He can't move!" Dean answered. "He's had a fit!"
"Percy, see to the injured." McGonagall ordered before making her way to the third-year boys' dorm. There she found Neville staring unresponsively, curled into a ball on his bed. McGonagall scolded him and grabbed his arm to pull him into a sitting position. She gasped. The boy's skin was like ice. He was in shock.
"Did anything fall on him?" She demanded. "Do you cast any spells to try and revive him?"
The boys shook their heads, obviously shaken by everything. Her lips thinned and she impatiently brushed a strand of gray hair from her face. With a flick of her wand, she levitated Neville who was still curled up. She turned to leave the room, but Seamus stopped her. "Professor, we can't find Ron or Harry anywhere."
Her lips thinned still more until her mouth was a sharp line in her face; "When was the last time you've seen them?"
"Dinner." Dean murmured.
"I will find him. Do not go looking yourselves. No one is allowed to leave the Tower unless it is via floo to the Hospital Wing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." The two boys answered and she strode from the room.
xXxXxXx
Neville felt cold and disconnected. It was as if the very thing attaching his soul to his body had been ripped away. Everything was uncertain and unsteady. The pain eventually faded and he found himself fighting against an overwhelming feeling of being lost. Slowly, he recognized he was in the infirmary. Two blankets were wrapped securely around him and they were giving off a soothing heat. Other students were lying unconscious or sniffling or just silently staring around them. Pomfrey was running to and fro tending to everyone.
"Where is he? We need his help." Neville heard McGonagall mutter.
The elderly witch was standing not ten feet from him, right outside the door to Pomfrey's office. Dumbledore stood with her. Neville felt his heart pickup when he got a good look at the headmaster. He looked older than ever before. There was even a trembling in his hands and beard.
"I don't know, Minerva. We can only wait." Dumbledore said tiredly.
"Sinistra is seeing to his House?" McGonagall asked sharply.
"She is. They suffered no injuries, but were quite distraught. The shaking was worse below ground. I did the best I could."
"Of course, Albus. But what was it?"
"A magic storm." He said gravely. "Like none I've ever seen before or hope to see again."
"Is there still no sign of the missing children?" McGonagall looked very worried at this.
"I'm afraid not." Dumbledore looked over the filled infirmary. "I can only hope Severus is with them."
"Lupin?"
"He is not in his place."
McGonagall gasped in horror; "To be trapped in that storm with…"
Before she could finish, the infirmary doors slammed open and Professor Snape took a tentative step inside. Dumbledore and McGonagall rushed over to him. Neville wished to do the same. He was desperate to know if Harry was alright, but he couldn't untangle himself from the blankets.
He had to settle for watching with chattering teeth as his once most-feared teacher spoke low and urgently to the others. Dumbledore said not a word and neither did McGonagall as the headmaster herded Snape back out of the room. Neville gritted his teeth and struggled harder against the bedding. He had to get to Harry.
xXxXxXx
Dumbledore quickly guided Severus to a room not far from the infirmary. McGonagall quickly transfigured hospital beds from the furniture in the room and the four unconscious victims were laid gently on them. Severus protested the fifth bed, but Dumbledore insisted that he sit. Severus finally did as he was told and bent forward with his hands on his face, his long hair further hiding him from view.
"What happened to them, Severus?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"Is that Black?" McGonagall demanded, preparing to cast binding charms. "Should we call the Minister?"
"Let us wait to hear what Severus has to say." Dumbledore cautioned. "Well, my boy?"
Severus took a deep breathe, gathering his composure. His head came up and he wore his expressionless mask again. He calmly explained that Neville Longbottom had come to him stuttering about the Whomping Willow attacking Ron and that Harry and Hermione had gone after him. He sent the pathetic Gryffindor back to the Tower and hurried to the willow, knowing that it guarded the passage to the Shack and that Lupin had need of it tonight.
"When I arrived, I found them all upstairs." Severus continued. "I hid in the shadows to understand the situation before acting and overheard Black explaining to the Troublesome Trio and the Wolf that he was not the Potter's Secret-Keeper. That he switched with Pettigrew at the last minute believing that the Dark Lord would suspect Pettigrew less."
"Dear Merlin." McGonagall had a pale hand clasped around her long neck as she stared in horror at the filthy man lying limp on the transfigured bed.
"Black went to confront Pettigrew after the attack. Pettigrew yelled out to the crowd that Black had murdered the Potter's and then cut off his own finger before causing an explosion. He transformed into his illegal Animagus form and disappeared, allowing the Aurors he had summoned to arrive and arrest Black."
"Animagus?" McGonagall snapped. "Impossible!"
"Potter, Black, and Pettigrew all mastered the Animagus transformation so that they could be with Lupin during the full moon. Lupin, not knowing Black was innocent, had wanted to tell us that he was getting into the castle by transforming into a large dog, but couldn't due to the oath of silence he swore. He cannot speak of their transformations unless the one he is speaking to already knows."
"And you have proof Sirius was speaking the truth?" Dumbledore looked down at his former student with a twinkle in his eye.
"I've seen Pettigrew myself. He had been posing as a pet all these years. He was Weasley's rat and is missing a finger. The very one he cut off himself before staging his death in front of Black."
"Where is he now?" McGonagall whispered, looking like she might faint.
Severus sighed, "I had him bound and was bringing him to the castle. With all that I had overheard and seeing Black… I forgot about the moon. Lupin followed us, equally distracted. He transformed. I was attacked and knocked unconscious. Pettigrew escaped. When I regained consciousness, Granger was floating an unconscious Weasley over to my side. She was frantic saying Potter had run off thinking Black was being hurt by the werewolf. I ordered Granger to return quickly to the castle with Weasley, but before she could the storm hit."
"Was there any forewarning? Which direction did it come from?" Dumbledore asked intensely, eyes boring into Severus'.
"None." Severus answered, eyes steady and Occluding his mind. He was unsure if Dumbledore should be made aware of Harry's condition yet and it was always better to withhold information than to give it up and regret it later. If it came down to it, Severus could explain the boy's condition at another time. "I believe it came over the forest, hit the lake, and continued on to the castle."
"Headmaster, Longbottom has informed me there are more patients I must tend to?" Pomfrey asked as she stepped into the room, a shaking Neville standing behind her. "Goodness!" The med-witch got a good look into the room and hurried over.
"It is good you are here, Neville." Dumbledore smiled and gestured the boy closer. "Why is it that you and your fellow Housemates were outside so late at night?"
Neville looked fearfully to Snape, but the man was giving no clues. He swallowed hard. McGonagall snapped that he answer the headmaster and Neville about fainted with indecision. He was having a hard enough time of thinking as it was. Pomfrey saved him. "That boy has suffered a severe magical trauma. Leave him to rest and ask your questions later." She glared at them. "I have patients to tend to and I will ask you to leave if you continue disrupt my work."
"Neville, come have a seat." Dumbledore said kindly. "We are just worn thin due to this unexpected event. We are not angry and your friends are not in trouble. Tell us what happened, hmmm?"
"Ron and Hermione wanted to be there for Hagrid." Neville spoke slowly, staring into the headmaster's twinkling eyes. "They left after dinner to go visit him. Ga---" Severus felt his heart clinch and with strength born of his fierce protectiveness of Harry, he forced a barrier between the headmaster's compelling spell and Neville's mind. "---H-h-harry," Neville finally stuttered out, turning red, "and I snuck out after them."
"To do what, my boy?" Dumbledore encouraged. "I assure you that anything you say will not get you or your friends in trouble."
"Of course not." Severus sneered viciously, just to maintain his part.
Dumbledore gave him a sharp glance before turning back to Neville.
"W-we waited until Hagrid forced Hermione and Ron to leave and for y-you and the Disposal of D-dangerous Creatures people to go inside the hut before sneaking over and e-escaping with Buckbeak. We were walking along the forest when we saw Ron and Hermione c-chasing something. Ron was near the willow by this time and got a-attacked by a big black dog.
"The d-dog dragged him to the willow and pulled him inside. I was t-told to tie Buckbeak up deeper in the forest and to go get help, while H-harry ran down to help Hermione and Ron. P-professor S-snape was the first teacher I ran into. I told him e-everything and then made my way back to the Tower."
"Outrageous." McGonagall muttered, glaring at the chubby Gryffindor for the multiple rules the escapade had broken.
"That is as it may be." Dumbledore chuckled as he patted Neville on the shoulder. "But the boys did it for the noble cause of saving a life. And for that we can find forgiveness, I am sure."
"Although they may have done all that work for nothing." Snape smirked. "The hippogriff may very well be dead. The forest was hardly safe, was it?"
Neville felt tears fill his eyes. Dumbledore patted him again and scolded Snape. Neville blushed. He wasn't really upset over Buckbeak. It would be horrible if the beautiful creature had died, but he had hardly been personally attached to it. No, something else was tugging on his emotions; making them fly in a hundred different directions. Pomfrey came over and cast a spell at him. He immediately felt more stable.
"What did I say? My patient needs rest! Back to bed, Mr. Longbottom, this instant!"
"I-I-I want to s-stay with Harry." He argued nervously.
"Minerva, could you?" Dumbledore asked. With a great put-upon sigh, she transfigured another bed by Harry's and Neville climbed eagerly into it. Pomfrey tucked him in and spelled the sheets warm before coming back to the teachers. Dumbledore asked the question they all wanted answered. "How are they?"
"Mr. Longbottom will recover on his own in a day or so. Mr. Weasley has a broken shin and arm. I have set them and tended to the breaks as best I can. He should be able to leave by tomorrow morning. Nothing was wrong with Miss Granger besides severe stress. I've given her restorative potions and spelled her into a deep-healing sleep. She will be free in the morning as well. It is Mr. Black and Potter who have the most serious conditions."
"What is wrong with them?" Severus barked sharply. He regretted his outburst as soon as he gained McGonagall and Dumbledore's curious attention. He sneered at them. "They were in the worst of the storm. I would wish that on no one. Not even Black."
"Of course not, my boy." Dumbledore smiled, patting the annoyed man on the arm before turning his attention back to the medi-witch.
"Mr. Black has the symptoms of being nearly fatally drained by dementors. On top of this, he is severely malnourished and suffering from a severe case of suppressed pneumonia. As you know, if you suppress an illness instead of caring for it, it will only get worse. I've taken apart the magical block and he is now very sick, but stable. He will need a week of bed-rest and constant care. I recommend regular doses of a cheering potion if he shows signs of depression."
"And Harry?" Dumbledore asked, eyes falling on the small teenager.
"Mr. Potter is a different story altogether. He is almost completely drained of all magical resource and has slipped into a coma. There is a chance he may never wake up, Albus. I will do the best I can."
"Thank you, Poppy." Dumbledore smiled at her. "I'm confident they are in good hands."
She harrumphed and went to check on her other patients. Severus felt his heart go cold. Harry may never wake up. And even if he did, Black's symptoms suggest that he and Harry were under attack by the dementors before Demon broke free. That was probably why the powerful alter was allowed Out. So even if Harry woke, he may not be sane.
Neville knew this as well as Snape and was sobbing, his arm bridging the gap between his bed and Harry's as he clung to his unconscious friend's hand. McGonagall was also crying, but silently and with a stiff back, her face averted. Dumbledore smiled tiredly at them both. "Do not look so." He recommended. "Harry will be fine. He is a strong young man and there is still hope."
No one said anything for a long moment. McGonagall was the first to speak; "What about Black?"
"He was never given a fair trial in the backlash of all that had happened. We cannot send him back to Azkaban if he is innocent." Dumbledore decreed.
"Then what will we do? Hide him here?" Severus glared hotly, making his opinion of that course of action clear.
"Perhaps not." Dumbledore chuckled. "Hogwarts cannot afford to arouse anymore distrust with the Ministry. No. Poppy will see to it that he is recovered and then he will disappear again. Maybe Remus will take him away and spend some time with him. But before that we have more pressing matters at hand. Minerva, we will make rounds of the school. Severus, I believe you need to get some rest and see to your Slytherins. Sinistra has been caring for them in your absence."
Severus bowed his head and strode from the room, fighting for every inch when in truth he didn't want to leave Harry's side. Dumbledore and McGonagall followed him at a slower pace. Neville was left alone with not a word from any of them. His thoughts were on Harry. He had just found someone who understood him, had just found his brother.
It wasn't fair that Harry would be taken from him. Not so soon. Not like his parents. He didn't think he could handle having another loved one in the hospital; mindless as a human doll, but still breathing. He whimpered and wished desperately for a razor as it became difficult to breathe.
xXxXxXx
A ghost stepped out of the shadowed corner. The storm had woken him and he found himself pulled to infirmary. For long minutes he watched the chaos there. He'd been surprised when Professor Snape came in looking shaken. Curious, he had followed the adults silently, none seeing him. No one ever did unless he wished it. He was shocked by the conversations that followed.
Now he stood staring at the clumsiest boy in school and the world's savior. Gently, he brushed against the first boy's minds to taste their flavor and was appalled. Neville was in mental pain, his magical core off-kilter. Did the teachers even know what was wrong with him? Did they pay attention to the signs?
But did they even know how to recognize an Elemental? It had been close to five hundred years since the last Elemental wizard. And a hundred more since one had been born connected to Earth. This also explained why the Gryffindor was below average at spell-casting. Neville's magic would not fit in with Latin and wand-flicks. He possessed a more specialized type of magic; both more powerful and less useful in everyday things.
Harry's mind was completely different. The ghost flinched back as terror filled his mind. He caught a glimpse of a small five year old boy crying in a dark cupboard before everything went pitch-black. The ghost's eyes widened. This couldn't be right; Harry was much older than five. Shivering as he delved deeper into the fear and helpless desperation, he reached a door. He pushed and had to bend down to step through.
The ghost looked around the circular room. The walls were stone, like a castle, and there was no ceiling. The carpet was white, a long luxurious black couch sat exactly in the center of the room, and cream drapes hung around the room as the only decoration. He stepped over to the couch and his eyes widened.
Lying there was the Harry he had seen in Hogwarts, deeply asleep. The ghost brushed the mind of this image, but felt nothing. Harry was in a coma just as Pomfrey said. But then what was that before? That terrified child, crying even in his sleep? Frowning, the ghost looked around and counted five doors.
This was nothing like any other mind he had touched. No one had rooms or doors. Where was the soul, the colors and pictures that symbolized who a person was? Were they guarded by the doors? Only one way to find out, he thought and faced the small wooden cupboard door he had come through.
The door directly to the left of it was huge. Hagrid would have fit through it easily. Made of thick dark gray stone with large black iron hinges and two iron bands crossing it vertically, it looked impossible to break down. And there was no opening it. The heavy black lock had no keyhole that he could see.
He turned his attention instead to a normal square door to the right of the cupboard. It was painted white and had a round brass doorknob. The ghost turned it and looked in. The room was pretty. The carpet was white like in the sitting room and the walls were a sky blue. Directly across from the door was a twin bed with a rose patterned comforter and pink pillows to match. A little girl lay in it. The ghost stepped closer to look.
Her long, thick blonde hair was beautiful, but her features were pinched in her pretty round face. Dark circles lay under her eyes. He brushed against her mind. It was dark. She was in a coma as well. He looked around the room; confident the girl wouldn't wake and catch him.
There was a white-painted table against the wall, across from the foot of the bed. It sat under a large window that let in warm golden sunlight. The plants there looked healthy and happy. Garden tools sat beside them. Against the same wall as the door, he could see a small bookcase. It had etiquette manuals and cookbooks on its shelves. A white apron hung on a silver hook next to it. On the other side were a small reading chair and an oval mirror.
Shaking his head, he backed out. The door on the other side of the girl's was red mahogany. It was curved at the top in a half circle and had elegant carvings of snakes that were rather beautiful and not frightening at all. The door-handle was the kind that you had to squeeze and was unlocked. He swung it open.
A stone fireplace stood to the far right and had a gentle fire burning in the hearth, casting its light throughout the whole room. A large black reading chair sat beside it and a silver full-length mirror on the other side. The room was carpeted in black and he couldn't tell the color of the walls due to the mahogany bookshelves and the many books filling them.
His attention turned to the large four-poster bed made from the same mahogany wood. The thick dark green bedding hid the sleeping teen from view until he was standing right next to the bed. The boy looked to be fifteen at most and he had chin length black hair and sharp narrow features. A silver stud glinted in his left ear. Like Harry and the little girl, the teen's mind was in a coma.
The ghost looked down at the boy's face and felt a frown build. The boy looked like he could be Harry's older brother, their features were so similar. He thought back to the round face of the girl. Yes, she looked a bit like Harry too. Only her face was fuller instead of thinner, and she was younger than Harry rather than older. Disturbed, the ghost silently pulled the mahogany door closed and went to the next.
This door was a warm, golden-colored oak. A single lion head was engraved in the center and the doorknob was pure gold. It swung open silently and he stepped inside. The floor was done in hardwood that matched the door and the walls were a pale golden yellow. A huge dueling platform stood to the right and had three dummies on it in a triangle formation. Lights blared down from the ceiling, but from no specific source the ghost could find. The far left wall was shelved and books on Defense Against the Dark Arts filled it.
The four-poster bed was identical to the one in the previous room, but it had ruby red sheets. The teen in it looked more muscular than the other boy, but he was still lean. Untamable, thick, auburn hair, much like Harry's, was splayed across a red pillow. The boy looked fifteen and a lot like the previous teen, but with less sharp features. He was probably the closet to Harry's appearance, but this boy's jaw line was a bit stronger. Again, the teen's mind was in a coma from magic depletion.
Ghost left and looked to the scarred stone wall that separated the Gryffindor room from the locked stone door. The stone wall was gorged and scratched up. He checked for a hidden door, but there was nothing there. He frowned and turned to look out over the sitting room. He didn't get it. This was Harry's mind. How can Harry be here in his mind, and who were these other people? Siblings? But how? Why did they have rooms? Why were they in comas too?
He looked at the cupboard door. That wasn't true. Not all of them were in a coma. The mind he had come here through was just sleeping. He went over and opened the door. It was dark, as all sleeping minds were. He waited patiently and was rewarded with snippets of the dreams of the child. There was appalling flashes of pain, fear, abusive words, and yelling. He flinched away. It was too much and he carefully pulled free of the dream and out of the boy's mind.
He stood frowning over the still boy-savior. Neville was asleep, thankfully. The ghost had no idea what he had just experienced or found in Harry's head. It was almost like the sleeping mind in Harry's skull was that of a severely abused and traumatized toddler. The ghost shook his head. He didn't get it at all, but he would. He'd get answers; all he'd have to do was a bit more spying.
Chapter end.
A/N: Reviewers worry that Harry is not treating Silas and Gabriel as parts of himself, but instead as different people. It is true that he was told not to do this and that's why he hasn't told Severus that he communicates to Silas and Gabriel through his journal. I did this purposely because I want Silas and Gabriel to be one of the last personalities to merge back with Harry. Plus, those who suffer from DID or MPD often do as Harry does and communicates with a few or all of their alters in some way. I wanted to confront that.
A/N2: I got a complaint that not enough people are realizing something is wrong with Harry. It is not that I believe the people around Harry are stupid, I'm just assuming they do not have a lot of experience with recognizing or knowing about MPD. It would be an odd thing to just assume someone has. Dumbledore will be growing suspicious in the next chapter, but McGonagall isn't really paying attention. She's a busy woman and hardly around or watching Harry.
As for Ron and Hermione, they are thirteen years old. I don't know about everyone else, but I was pretty clueless at that age. Hermione and Ron will have questions about the way Harry/Silas was acting in the Shack (ordering them around, glaring, ECT), but they wouldn't find Gabriel strange at all. They've already met him. And as for Harry acting different when a crisis arises, that's normal. Most people do act differently in stressful situations, so I don't think they would question that. And they haven't met Rose or Boy.
Lupin has already been made aware of Harry's condition, and I think he and Dumbledore are the only ones that could possibly realize that something was really wrong with Harry without being told. So no, I don't think it unreasonable that no one knows that Harry has MPD. I don't foresee Ron or Hermione finding out anytime soon. Dumbledore will be told something, but I'm still not sure how much. He probably wouldn't tell anyone else what he learns about Harry. We all know how good Dumbledore is at keeping things to himself.
A/N3: Vote- I've made Neville an Earth elemental wizard. I have a basic idea of what his talents and powers should be, but would like to know what you think he should or shouldn't be able to do.
A/N4: I promise neither the ghost or Neville will be all-powerful. They will have limitations and weaknesses. I see their abilities as specialized skills (only useful in very specific ways) more than incredible powers and will try to portray that in the story.
Well, that's it. Review and Vote. Thanks!