Chapter Three
Struck Down
Hermione's bad mood persisted all the way through the dinner of mince that Ron had cooked. The four of them took turns, though Hermione would insist on giving them salad. Harry stabbed his potato. He didn't feel right. And that cut on his finger was sore. He had stitched it back together with magic, but it had come apart once again. As Ron and Ginny cleared away the dishes, he showed the cut to Hermione.
"You don't reckon there's some glass in my finger do you? That would explain why its coming apart all the time." He said.
Hermione held it up to the light.
"It looks fine. Stick a plaster on it and see if that helps."
Ginny sat down to do some paperwork after tea, and filled in a requisition form with much swearing: she hated them. Hermione did the ironing, Ron watched TV, and Harry did the crossword (he intended to beat Hermione at them). All the way through, he had a funny feeling in his stomach, and he was steadily getting hotter. Ginny finished her paperwork, and she snuggled up beside him. He dozed into a fitful sleep, and started moaning. Ginny prodded him awake, concern in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Harry shook his head, which was now beating.
"I don't feel well."
Hermione looked up from her ironing, mid way through ironing one of Ron's sets of robes.
"You look awfully pale Harry." She said in concern.
Ron looked up from watching Fawlty towers on UKTV Gold.
"She's right mate, you don't look…hey!"
A smell of burning met their noses as Hermione shrieked. She had left the iron on top of the robes and had now burnt a large hole in them.
"Whoops!"
"Oh that's great that look. I'm sure it will catch on!" Harry said.
"I thought you were ill?" Ron demanded as he examined his robes.
"A brand new fashion. Didn't know he had it in him." Ginny said.
"Thank you for that!" Ron snarled.
Hermione smiled guiltily. Ron looked at the iron shaped hole on the front of his robes.
"Oh dear." Hermione said.
Harry shook his head. His headache was getting worse.
"You look bad mate." Ron said.
"Go to bed sweetheart." Ginny ordered.
"I…"
"No buts! Go to bed!" Hermione ordered.
Muttering grumpily, he got up and headed for the stairs. Hermione picked up her washing and followed.
Harry suddenly felt worse than ever. The blood rushed to his head, he immediately got hot, his headache came on worse than ever, and terrible pains shot through his stomach. He slowly made his way to the stairs and started to climb.
"Hurry up you, I don't want to miss Stargate." Hermione moaned.
And then Harry, suddenly swayed and collapsed.
"Harry!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ginny watched her husband as he jerked about in his sleep.
"He never gets ill. What's wrong with him?" she asked.
"I don't know. He just collapsed on the stairs. He looks very pale."
"Should I get Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked.
"Hold on a little while before we go and get her. We don't want your mother finding out Harry's ill." Hermione counselled.
Harry jerked again, this time more violently than before. Ginny took his temperature. "He's over forty degrees! He's boiling up!"
He was moaning now, clutching his stomach.
"What's wrong with him?" Ron asked in concern.
Harry yelled in pain, and held his stomach.
"I don't know but I'm calling Madam Pomfrey." Ginny said.
She turned her wand to the door.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Her patronus shot through the door and away. A minute later, Madam Pomfrey's bee patronus shot back through the door with the news that she was en route. A minute later she blazed out of the fire.
"I might have guessed it was him again." She said sardonically, then set about inspecting her patient.
"What's wrong with him?" Ginny demanded.
Harry retched. Madam Pomfrey conjured a bucket that caught the sick before going back to her work.
"I cant say. It's almost as if, but no."
She went back to her work.
"Sickness, hallucinations, headaches, stomach cramps, pale, high temperature, wasting skin…"
"What!?"
Madam Pomfrey turned to Ginny.
"You mean you haven't noticed? Look, see."
She pointed as his neck, where his skin had started to recede so that he had folds.
"Whatever he has its wasting him away. Let me get on with my diagnosis."
Harry suddenly screamed, making them all jump. He started to moan and groan, and thrash about.
"Blast!" Madam Pomfrey hissed.
She started muttering to herself, as Harry cringed in pain, then started to shiver. He then held his head in his hands and screamed again.
"What's going on!?" Ginny demanded hysterically.
Madam Pomfrey was waving her wand up and down over Harry, muttering strangely. Then her eye caught on the cut on his finger. She pulled it up and tapped it with her wand. It healed, then split apart again. A horrible look f dawning comprehension was on her face. She pulled Harry's fingers so that they closed, and then blood poured out from the lines in his fingers. His skin was breaking up.
"Oh no."
She looked horrified.
"What's wrong with my husband!?" Ginny demanded.
Hermione looked at the notes Madam Pomfrey had scribbled and a look of comprehension came onto her face too.
"Oh no. No no no. It cant be."
They all went outside Harry and Ginny's room.
"You figured it out?" Madam Pomfrey asked quietly.
"Yes." Hermione said tearfully.
Madam Pomfrey turned to the other two.
"Do you know what Sorocine is?"
Ginny nodded.
"It's something that Grindewald used when he was around. It's a massive weapon to use. It can destroy…"
She faded away and looked terrified.
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"You never were quick on the uptake Ron. Sorocine is a poison. Grindewald used it when he was powerful. It can be melded into weapon's to create a wizard equivalent of the atomic bomb. Grindewald used it when he wanted to flatten people who opposed him utterly. It was a terrible thing to use. Even Voldemort didn't. It could be used to kill one person, very slowly and carefully, and cause a lot of pain when it does so, or can be used as a massive weapon to kill loads of people at once."
Ron went pale.
"You mean…?"
"Yes. It hasn't been seen in about fifty years, not since Dumbledore defeated Grindewald. The world's Ministries decided it was too dangerous and destroyed all records of how to make it. But just before they were all burned, one was stolen. They never found it again. And now, it's reappeared, inside Harry."
"But how? It's been missing for fifty years, how can it suddenly reappear?" Hermione asked hysterically.
Ginny sniffed.
"You're wrong."
Madam Pomfrey looked at her in deep sympathy.
"I know Ginny, but there's nothing else it could be I'm afraid."
"I know! I know Harry's been infected by Sorocine and that he'll probably die!"
"Ginny!" Ron shouted in dismay.
"I went through hell and back to get him, and the same goes for him. Why does this stuff always happen to us?" she demanded.
Ron pulled his sister into a hug. It showed how upset she was by the fact that she didn't try to fight him off.
"Why does the bad stuff always happen to us or the people we care about?" Ginny asked softly.
"I know sis." Ron said.
"What was I wrong about Ginny?"
"Sorocine. It's been used since Grindewald used it. That's what Dumbledore drunk the night he died."
Silence met these words. They were all startled when Harry screamed in pain. Ginny looked desperate, but Madam Pomfrey stopped her going through.
"You might be right."
"And if she is, Harry will be alright!" Hermione said brightly.
"How?" Ron asked.
"Slughorn and Sprout found it and made an antidote." Hermione said carelessly.
"Did they?"
"Yes." Ginny said in a bored voice.
"When?"
"Honestly, did you listen to anything during the war?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
Ron soured.
"Yes I did." He snapped.
"It's not his fault Madam Pomfrey. Remember, it was me who ordered it when I took over after the Battle of Hogsmeade."
Madam Pomfrey blushed.
"Sorry Ron."
"That's alright. So, did they make one?"
"Yes. But it didn't work when we needed it." Ginny said.
"That's because Dumbledore was already dead." Ron said impatiently.
"No, she's right. It was used at the Battle of Hogwarts and the Battle of Earth. We never noticed much as Harry was too busy trying to kill Voldemort, Ginny was murdering Bella, you were attacking Malfoy and I was fixing Lumiya."
"Is that was the green haze was? I thought that was the merpeople."
"So did we at first, until we saw some of the reasons. The poor souls who died because of it had to be really in the way of it, because all the soot and dirt in the air diluted it."
"Damn."
"but how did he get it? So, the notes were stolen fifty years ago, right?" Ginny asked.
"Yes. And we can make a guess as to who stole them." Hermione said.
"Voldemort." Ron supplied.
"Obviously. But how did Harry get it? It's effects were always quick, the same day they happened normally. So where did he get it from? Unless you went anywhere near Borgin and Burkes?" Madam Pomfrey put out.
"No. Sirius might have done it the way he's been acting recently." Ron said.
"No. He's been an idiot, but he wouldn't poison Harry. He loves him. He just isn't showing it much at the moment. And I think it's getting to Harry too." Ginny said.
"This is off topic. Who could have poisoned Harry?"
There was a scream, and Hermione and Ginny rushed inside. Harry was shaking and moaning, and he began to retch. Hermione conjured a bin to catch it, and then looked him over in dismay. Ginny rubbed his head, and looked up for support. She wasn't getting any from Hermione.
She was looking at Harry in horror.
"Oh she knows!" Madam Pomfrey said happily.
"I hate it when she does that. I'll have to listen to her tell me how she deduced it all night now!"
"Akryt!" Hermione breathed in wonder.
"Akryt? The doctor?" Ron asked.
"Ginny, do you remember what colour Sorocine is?"
"Yeah, it's green!" she said in a voice of awe.
"Ron come here." Hermione ordered.
He did as he was told.
"Hold out your arm."
"I don't have a Dark Mark."
"Ron! Your best friend is dying and you're making stupid jokes! Do you as you're bloody told!" Hermione yelled.
"Alright, alright!"
He did so, and Hermione took it.
"How do you do?" Ron asked.
"Shut up!"
She forced her palm into his fingers.
"It was him!"
"What do you mean?" Ginny snarled.
"Akryt knocked over that tube remember? The green stuff that he said he didn't know how he made?"
"Yeah."
"He did know how he made it. It was the Sorocine. He knocked it over on purpose, and then used the glass fragment to poison Harry."
Ginny went scarlet with rage.
"He did what?"
Ron closed his eyes to help remember what happened.
"He did it on purpose. He stuck that shard into Harry to poison him. He knew full well what he was doing."
Ginny snarled like a lion. She took Harry's hand and examined it.
"What do we do?" she asked, her voice betraying her.
She was on the verge of tears.
Madam Pomfrey looked hopelessly at Harry.
"I don't know. I'm sorry Ginny, but I don't know. Sorocine has no known vaccination."
Ginny finally succumbed to tears. Ron wrapped her in a hug, and it was a sign of how upset she was that she didn't force him away.
"Unless…" Hermione began.
"What?" Ron asked.
He was pale, and looked to be on the edge of tears himself. No one could get away with harming is best friend, or his little sister.
"Maybe Akryt has the cure to it."
Ginny nodded.
"He must have. Sorocine a highly volatile substance, and accidents happen in a lab. He'd need to keep it around in case of accidents."
Madam Pomfrey sighed and took out her wand.
"No don't!" Hermione shouted.
"We need them all. Just in case." Madam Pomfrey said sadly.
Ginny whimpered.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Her bee flew outwards.
"I still don't understand Sorocine. How can we be sure, I mean I know it looks that way, but how can we be sure Akryt did it on purpose?" Ron asked.
Hermione sighed.
"Sorocine is thick, and heavy. When that tube hit the floor, anything left on the shards should have dropped down, because of its weight. Gravity would of got hold of it. It should have all dropped off. And because of it being thick, it would have caught on Harry's skin rather than go into his body. The only way for it to get in was for it to be absorbed all ready. It was in the glass that Akryt stuck into him."
Ron sighed.
"So, what do we do?"
Ginny snarled.
"What do you think?"
Ron rolled his eyes.
"We need to find Akryt's family."
"Whatever for?" Madam Pomfrey asked in surprise.
"To send flowers. Last time Ginny got this mad, an entire species got wiped out."
"Oh dear."
The fire blazed and McGonagall arrived in the grate.
"What's happening?" she demanded.
But before she could get out, the fire blazed again, and Mrs Weasley rushed out, looking hysterical, leaving a flattened McGonagall behind her.
"What's wrong with Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked hysterically, and hugging the three Aurors to her.
"Long story mum." Ginny said quietly.
McGonagall groaned and started to move, when Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, Trelawney, Tonks and everyone else who was in the Order at Hogwarts arrived, utterly flattening poor McGonagall.
"Minerva." Madam Pomfrey said kindly and pulled the other woman out of the fire.
"What's wrong with Harry?" Tonks demanded.
"We'll tell you when everyone arrives." Hermione answered.
"He looks terrible." Slughorn commented.
The fire blazed once more, and Daraala stepped out, looking terrified.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" she asked as she shot to the bed.
The fire blazed, and the twins, Mr Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Ekria arrived.
"What's up?" Fred asked.
"You said Harry was dying." George said worriedly.
They were very protective of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, though they wouldn't admit it.
"Are you alright Ginny, Molly?" Mr Weasley asked, hugging his wife.
"Sorocine." Bill said in disgust.
"How do you know?" Hermione asked.
"Because some damn fool drunk it when I was a curse breaker. Killed him."
"What's Sorocine?" Fleur asked.
"Nasty stuff." Charlie answered.
Atris staggered out of the fire, Kale looking distressed behind her.
"Now what?" Kale asked.
"Harry." Atris sighed in pain.
Lupin arrived with the rest of the Ministry workers, looking worried and tired. The full moon was approaching.
"What's wrong with Harry?" he demanded as he kissed Tonks on the cheek.
Sirius, the last to arrive, suddenly appeared.
"What's wrong with Harry? What's wrong with my godson?"
Ginny, who had been furious with him ever since he upset Harry, rounded on him, as did Mrs Weasley, but Daraala got there first.
"Your godson!? You haven't been treating him like much of a godson recently! You've been treating him like dirt. You've been treating us all like dirt, even me. And we're all fed up of it! Harry only did what the rest of us wanted to do! Ever since Idalma came along you've been an arrogant, bad tempered, foul old git, and we've had enough. So, don't you dare, come here, and pretend like you care when you haven't so much as said good morning or how are you to him in the last year!"
Daraala finished her rant, breathing heavily. Sirius looked mortified.
"Daraala., now's not the time." Lupin said.
"No, she's right Remus. I've been an idiot. Ever since Idalma came along and wrecked the joint, I've not been myself. It was just seeing, seeing everything go back to the state of fear we had during the war, and the mass murders for just one person, it was scary. And seeing Daraala scared scared me."
Daraala softened, just a bit.
"You've still been an idiot."
"I know, and I'll make it up to all of you. But Harry needs help."
They all turned to Ginny and the others.
"Doctor Akryt infected Harry with Sorocine." Ginny said sadly.
"How?" Sirius asked huskily.
"By stabbing him in the hand." Ron snarled viciously.
"He tried to murder my son in law?" Mrs Weasley asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"No, he hasn't tried. He has murdered him, all we're waiting for is for it to work." Bill corrected.
"Bill!" Ginny shrieked.
"Sorry sis, but we have to be realistic."
Ginny dissolved into tears, one of the rare occasions she did so. Fred went over and hugged her.
"It's not over until it's over." Tonks said boldly.
Mr Weasley looked at her, a small smile on his face.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I think she must be. After all, Akryt has to have a cure in case of accidents. And now that he's attempted to murder Harry…" McGonagall began.
"We have incentive to go in." Bagman said happily.
"Brilliant!" Hermione said savagely.
"Hold on." Rosmerta said.
"What?" Fleur asked.
"She has a point. Why does Akryt have Sorocine in the first place?" Kale asked.
"Does it really matter? My husband is dying here!" Ginny yelled.
"It matters. Because if he made it on purpose, as we think, he could be trying to use it for a weapon." Charlie said.
"And we don't need you infected too." Ekria pointed out.
"So, why do they have Sorocine?" Zacharias Smith asked.
He worked for Intelligence, but he was still a git.
Realisation came onto Rita's face.
"Dawlish!"
"what?" Angelina asked.
"Dawlish runs Dawlish Labs."
Togga clapped sarcastically.
"Well done! Now onto the two hundred pound question."
"Shoosh!" Dobby ordered.
"Dawlish was Umbridge's right hand man. And we know what she was like."
Firenze gasped.
"Of course!"
"You see it?" Rita asked.
"The old plan. It's so simple, so brilliant, no one would notice until it was too late."
"And with the way the races have been at each others throats recently, it would be easy." Lupin said.
"What do you mean?" Tonks asked.
"Umbridge's racism." Ron said slowly.
"Exactly. After her little adventure in the Forest, she feared centaurs as much as werewolves." Lupin said.
"So?" Justin asked.
"Don't you see? Let me explain then. The centaurs and the werewolves at the moment are at breaking point. They're determined that the other side is more at fault, because of the murder of the herd last year when Idalma was around. They're at each others throats. So, along comes Dawlish, blabbing on about the Cure. The rest of the people get so focused on what the muggle borns are doing, no one notices the other races. Akryt makes the Sorocine, and someone fires it into the werewolves. The centaurs, because of their mystique, are automatically suspected, because they know a lot about potions and the such like, and they want revenge for what Idalma did. So, the werewolves, in retaliation, declare war on the centaurs. A massive race war breaks out, and by the time we realise what's happened, its too late and the first salvos have been fired. It would be too late to negotiate and the war will have started. A war that would end one way or the other: with either the destruction of the werewolves, or the destruction of the centaurs. Then, Akryt, on Dawlish's orders, creates a disease that will affect only the victors and wipe the rest of them out. Meanwhile, the Ministry would be powerless as we wouldn't know what was causing the genocide. Then, with the two main races gone, it would only be a matter of time until the rest went with them." Lupin explained.
Silence met these words. Firenze pointed to Dobby.
"With us and the werewolves out the way, it would only be the house elves, goblins and such things left over. House elves have never really stood up for themselves, and would disappear unnoticed. The giants are still to few in number, even with us helping them rebuild their society, and wouldn't require much effort. The hags, ogres and goblins would soon follow, as would the others. Total destruction of all species barring humans."
"Very clever from where I'm standing." Sirius said.
"So, now we know. Can we go and kill Akryt now?" Ginny demanded angrily.
Mr Weasley smiled.
"There is work to be done."
He turned to Rita.
"How long can you keep it quiet?"
"A day or two."
"Then do so."
Rita Disapparated, and Mr Weasley turned to Kale.
"Block all access to the island. You know the drill."
"Of course."
Kale gave them a sharp salute, winked at Atris, then vanished. Mr Weasley looked to Atris.
"Atris, just this once, I want you to go into work."
Atris beamed in delight.
"For what?"
"Get the file on Akryt, and the cronies he has in the lab. We need to know what we're dealing with."
Atris vanished.
Mr Weasley turned to his next targets.
"Remus, Grawp, Firenze, Dobby, I want you to delegate the rest of your tasks to someone else. Unless you want to miss getting your hands dirty?"
"Of course not." Firenze said, scandalised, and disappeared at once, the others following.
"The same goes for you two." Mr Weasley said, talking to Ronan and Togga.
McGonagall turned to Tonks.
"Tonks, go to Hogwarts, and inform Charity that she's in charge."
"With pleasure."
Mr Weasley looked at Sirius and Daraala.
"Of course." They said, and disappeared.
"Now, I think that's everything."
"Wait! Who'll run the Ministry?" Bagman asked.
"Oh, I forgot."
"Doesn't Intelligence get it?" Zacharias asked.
"He's right." Ernie said.
"Well, there you are then. Ludo, go to Brisha and tell her she's in charge until further notice."
"My, I quite like this approach in you dad." Bill said cheekily.
"Your father and I haven't got our hands dirty since we bumped off the Malfoys. Time to fix that." Mrs Weasley snarled.
"No one tries to murder someone in our family and gets away with it."
"Look what happened to Demagoth and Drakul." Sprout said happily.
Ten minutes later, they were all ready.
"Atris, Madam Pomfrey, stay and watch after Harry. I'd do it myself but…" Ginny said.
"We know." Atris said wheezily.
"She has to do this." Hermione said.
"Damn right. No one interferes with us Weasleys." Fred said.
"Or my best Seeker!" McGonagall crowed.
"Thanks!" Charlie shouted.
"Whoops."
"Time to get our hands dirty again." Tonks said happily.
"Can we please get a move on and stop the grandeur before Harry does die?" Sirius asked.
Ginny snarled.
"Look out Akryt, I'm coming to get you."