Votes are still at about the same levels since only a few people have added votes in their reviews. To review, that's:
A. We have a trial, either big and revealing or small. 57 votes so far
B. We do not have a trial. 11 votes so far
C. We avoid the whole issue of a trial and have Voldemort capture/kill Dumbledore and potentially out his deeds to the world. 7 votes so farIt is looking as if there will be a trial of at least some magnitude. I'll post my official comments on this in the next chapter since I did tell you guys you had until Wednesday to vote. Thank you again for all of the wonderful comments, both for the poll and for regular reviews. Your comments always inspire me to stop messing around on the Internet and write some more.
Incidentally, I have begun another fic called the Black Prince that should appease everyone who lost the last vote, wanting a dark Harry. It is a Snarry fic with Dark!Harry. I'm going to write a bit more before I post anything for that though.
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Chapter 39Tallis lay back in his bed, nervously clutching his heavy blue blanket to his chest as if it could protect him. He was completely naked under the blanket, ready for Madame Pomfrey to begin his final treatment. He hadn't minded having his bones regrown. It was uncomfortable and irritating, but it wasn't terribly traumatic. Last weekend he had his left hand and his left thigh bone regrown and the weekend before that he had done his right collarbone and the ribs that Madame Pomfrey had been concerned about. But this…this was different.
It had been explained to him that removing the scar tissue would be much more invasive than his previous work since Madame Pomfrey couldn't simply point her wand at a large area and vanish whatever needed to be vanished as she had done for the bones. It simply wasn't possible to do that with skin. The work here was painstaking and had to be done meticulously and slowly since mistakes could not be corrected later with a subsequent operation. They had to get it perfect the first time around. That meant that if he freaked out and begged her to stop they were faced with her either ignoring her patient's request—a terrifying thought for a rape victim—or else stopping and risking later exposure by partially healed scarring. They had already explained the importance of these medical procedures to him and he had already agreed that they should be done. But now when he was faced with it he was terrified.
He looked up nervously when Madame Pomfrey, his Father, and Bill all entered the room together. He knew that Ron and Hermione were waiting in the sitting room, wanting to be there for him but also giving him his privacy. "Are you sure we have to do this?" he asked nervously, clenching the blanket in his white fists.
"Yes, Tallis," Poppy said patiently. "I've shown you the charts and your own scans. You've seen it yourself. We need to do this. It won't be that bad. Just an hour or two and we'll be done with the bad part and the new skin will be growing."
"Oh." Tallis didn't sound remotely comforted. It was clear to the three of them that Tallis was trying to remain calm. Bill stepped closer to the bed and sat on the edge, reaching out to comfort his scared boyfriend. Tallis scooted to the far end, avoiding his arms. "I…I'm sorry. I just can't…" Tallis faded away again. "I can't do this, I can't do this!" he finally burst out. "Please go away" he begged all of them, desperate to have them leave. "I need Hermione" he whispered.
Madame Pomfrey and the others exchanged looks and decided it was best to comply for the moment. If they needed to put the treatment off for another week then so be it. It did need to be done soon though. They returned to the sitting room to find Hermione and Ron sitting on the sofa together. "What's going on?" Ron asked, knowing that they couldn't possibly be done already.
"He asked to see Miss Granger" Severus said, and then quickly stepped aside for Hermione to rush down the hall to her friend.
She lightly tapped on the door and pushed it open. The sight that met her eyes made her cringe. Tallis had wrapped himself tightly in his blankets and was huddled up near the headboard, staring ahead of himself blankly. She had known that this scared him more than he had been willing to admit. "Tallis? Are you ok?"
He looked over at her with deadened eyes. "I can't do it. I know I need to but I can't."
She walked forward slowly and sat on the bed next to him, waiting for him to be comfortable with her presence. She knew that soon he would want the comfort and would curl up next to her. "What are you so scared about? What specifically worries you?"
"I don't know. I know she can't hurt me like him. I know it. And she's treated me before. It's just never been for such a long time. An hour, Mione, a whole hour. And maybe even longer! I don't think I can stay calm that long. And if I ask her to stop and she doesn't I don't think I can handle it. I'll lose it, I know I will."
"How about if you were asleep—if you took a potion? Would that help?"
"No! I don't want anyone to touch me when I don't know it." Tallis sounded truly terrified at the idea of such a thing. "I just…"
By this point Tallis had leaned heavily into her side and she had started stroking his hair, trying to keep him calm and talking. He hadn't expressed any reservations with the treatment before this and they all knew that he had been scared. Since he wouldn't talk about it though no one knew how to make it better for him. She heard Tallis start talking again in a bare whisper that she had to strain to hear. "What if he finds me here, and I'm asleep? What if he hurts me again?"
"Oh Tallis, he's a muggle and couldn't ever come here. Not to mention you're locked safe behind some of the world's most heavily warded doors. And you have Ron and Bill and your dad all here, not to mention me and Poppy. No one could ever hurt you while you're here."
"But what if? I know he…I'm just scared. What if?" He was fully aware that his fear was completely irrational. He had had similar conversations with Hermione before but no amount of comforting ever made him feel better. This fear was too old and too rooted in his mind for him to simply tell himself that he was being irrational and get over it.
"It's alright to be scared, Tallie. And it's also alright to not make much sense, especially given these circumstances. You can't control your fears. But you can realize that you have five people here who love you and would never let anyone hurt you again. I promise you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you during the treatment if you agree to take a sleeping potion. I think it would really help you."
"You'll stay by me the whole time? You won't leave me?" he asked desperately.
"Not for a second. I'll stay right there until you wake up."
"Just you and Poppy?"
"Just the two of us. You'll be safe, I promise. Have I ever let you down before?"
"No" he said hesitantly, thinking the whole thing through carefully. "You'll stay here?" he asked again, wanting confirmation.
"Yes" she said simply. She didn't know what else to say to convince him at this point.
"And you won't let anyone else in here?"
She held in a deep sigh. He was feeling more vulnerable than usual because of the treatment. He was evidently concerned about any of the men being near him while he was still in a forced sleep. "No, Tallis. Just me and Poppy. She'll have to leave to go back to the Infirmary but I'll stay right here. I won't move at all. And you know I'll keep you safe. I always have."
Tallis sat in silence for a few moments as she patiently threaded her fingers through his long hair, trying to keep him calm and focused. "Alright" he said softly. "I'll do it, but only if you stay right here. You'll stay with me?" he asked one more time.
"I won't leave even for a moment. Let me go tell Poppy that we're ready." She slipped off the bed and hurried to tell the others what had been decided. Everyone looked up expectantly when she entered the room. "He'll do it" she said but then held out her hands when Severus and Bill stood up to go into the room. "He'll do it but he requested a sleeping potion so that he doesn't panic." Severus nodded at this and grabbed one out of a small cupboard in the kitchen. He once again prepared to go into his son's room.
Hermione grabbed his sleeve to stop him. "There's more. I…you all need to realize that he's panicked right now and not thinking quite right. He doesn't really feel this way." Everyone nodded, confused as to what she would be saying. "He doesn't want anyone to come near him while he is having the treatment or until he wakes up. He knows that Poppy needs to be present for the actual treatment and he wants me with him to protect him but that is all." She waited nervously for her words to sink in.
The men all looked devastated as they realized that they, as men, had been barred from the room. They were the ones that Hermione was going to be protecting Tallis from. "He doesn't trust us?" Severus cringed as he realized how clear his pain was in his voice. He hadn't been able to mask the hurt at all. "He doesn't trust me?"
"He thinks I would really hurt him? I've never done anything like that to him. He's always been fully awake and aware before I started anything, even just a kiss. Why would he think that?"
"You all have to realize that he is nearly having a panic attack as it is. He knows he's being irrational. The fear started as a fear of his uncle finding his way to Hogwarts while he is incapacitated by a sleeping potion or something similar…a fear that he has held for a while. He told me about that fear two years ago."
"Why didn't he tell me about it?" Ron asked, clearly hurt that his friend hadn't confided in him.
"He thought you would laugh at him, Ron. He knows it sounds absurd. He's had nightmares though about his uncle finding him somewhere and not being able to run or fight back because of a potion."
"Is that why you sometimes stayed in the dorm with us? Is that what was going on?"
Hermione nodded slowly, praying that Tallis wouldn't be upset that she had revealed the truth to Ron. She had stayed the night a few times in the boy's dorm over the years, watching over her friend when he had asked it of her when the insomnia got too bad. It was one of the few things that helped him to get a decent night's sleep. "You know he's always told me a bit more than he's told you of his fears and nightmares. He feels more comfortable telling me, probably just because I'm a girl. You know he always tries to look strong near you all. He feels that people baby him enough because of his size. He's convinced that if he told you about these dreams and his fears then you lot wouldn't treat him like an adult, and he thinks that Ron will see him as less of a man for admitting to such nightmares."
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Bill exclaimed. "None of us would ever make fun of him for his dreams."
"He's a scared, abused, seventeen year old boy, Bill," Hermione said sharply. "When you were seventeen would you have run to your best male friend and poured your heart out to him about your most recent nightmare?"
Bill shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. She was right…there was no way he would have done that. He probably still wouldn't do that. He might tell Tallis but he certainly wouldn't tell Charlie or Ron or any of his other brothers.
"So he's just scared of the muggle coming here and raping him again? Just tell him that he can't anymore."
"Yes, that would be a perfect solution, Weasley" Severus snapped impatiently. "Then he will know exactly what happened when we visited the muggles and he will be angry with all of us. You know he wants to protect the creatures out of some fit of Gryffindorish behavior."
"Listen," Hermione interrupted before things got too out of hand. "His nightmare doesn't make much sense, as most nightmares do not but it is a recurring dream of his that he has at least a few times a month—sometimes more. He's terrified of it, regardless of how rational it may or may not be. Frankly, even if you did decide to tell him about his uncle I doubt that it would calm him down at all. He's beyond that right now."
"But why is he scared of us?" Bill asked quietly.
"He is terrified of this treatment. I don't think that you, any of you, understand how much this scares him. His fears have gotten completely out of control. I assure you, he is totally aware that he is being irrational and that you wouldn't really hurt him but it is a very real fear. The only way that I could talk him into having the treatment at all was if I stayed at his side the entire time and didn't let anyone in until he woke up. I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do."
"But I've been with him before when he's been knocked out by potions. I've slept next to him before when he's unconscious!"
"I know Ronald" Hermione snapped but then calmed almost immediately. She knew it had to hurt to have your best friend admit so openly that he didn't trust you. "I've told you…he's having a minor panic attack and is not being rational. You boys need to stop taking offense. He doesn't really know what he's saying right now. The only way he would let any of you near him though anytime soon is if he doesn't take the potion. If he doesn't take the potion I guarantee that he will have a full fledged panic attack the second Poppy doesn't stop when he asks her and we all know that she cannot stop if we intend to properly protect him. I don't think that we could survive a panic attack of the proportions that I am sure this would entail, especially in such close quarters."
"Miss Granger is correct," Severus said heavily. "We will do as he asks. Here is a potion that should keep him completely knocked out and unable to move for eight hours. Unfortunately, he cannot take a partial dose and wake up sooner because it might not work properly. He must drink the entire thing. It might be best to not tell him that it will arrest his movement, he might panic, given the situation. Poppy will need him still though. If it will make him feel better then tell him that none of us will leave the apartment until he is fully awake and functional again."
Hermione nodded and took the potion. "Are you ready, Poppy?"
"If you are. Please do not allow anyone or anything to interrupt us until I come out of the room, gentlemen. This is delicate work and I've never treated a case quite like this before. I need to concentrate fully on Tallis."
The men turned almost as one toward the liquor cabinet as the women left. Severus nearly snorted at the idea that there were two Weasleys who knew where he stored his liquor. His life had changed so much in only a few short months.
Hermione and Poppy knocked lightly on Tallis' door and entered. He was once again lying on his bed, but was still clutching his blanket to himself nervously. He looked up at Hermione with pleading eyes, clearly still terrified. Hermione turned toward the door and cast an extremely strong locking charm and a few additional charms to repel people in general and one aimed specifically at men. Tallis gave her a nervous smile, thanking her for doing that while he was still awake so he would be able to take his potion without worry that she would forget.
"Now dear, we have a sleeping draught here for you to take. This will keep you asleep for around eight hours. I expect my part of the work to take around one hour. Before I leave I will give you another potion to help the new skin to develop more quickly. You can look at that now to make sure it is safe, if you wish. After I am done I will leave but I will return in a few hours to check to make sure that everything is working as planned and I will return around the time that the potion should be wearing off. Does that sound alright?" She ran through the schedule of things that would be happening to him in order to calm him down some. She knew he always felt better when he knew what to expect.
Tallis nodded nervously and held out a shaking hand for the potion. "You need to drink all of that, Tallis," Hermione said softly. He looked over at her once again, seeking comfort. She smiled and sat on the edge of his bed, taking his hand in hers. "I'm here now, Tallie, you're safe. I won't ever let anything hurt you. I promise that I won't let anyone in this room beside Poppy Pomfrey until you wake up," she reassured him. She was well aware that he was barely holding it together and hearing her promise again would calm him down. "Do you want to set a password for us so I know it is her when she returns?"
"Februare."
Hermione smiled lightly, feeling a twinge of pain at his choice. Did he really feel that he needed to be purified? "All right. Are you ready?"
"You won't leave me?" he asked one last time, desperately.
"No, I promise you Tallis, I will not leave your side even for a second."
Tallis nodded his thanks and drank the potion quickly, settling back in the bed. Hermione lightly stroked his hands until he let go of his death grip on the blanket and his eyes drifted closed. Once he was completely out she looked up at Poppy who was struggling to hold her emotions in check. She hated seeing her young friend in such pain. "Let's begin," she said quietly. The two women pulled the blanket off the naked young man and quickly but gently turned him onto his side, preparing him for treatment. Hermione could do little to assist, having no training in medical magic, but she stayed within touch of her small friend the entire time. She knew that he would have no way of really knowing but she had promised him that she would stay near him and she would not do anything to break her promise.
A bit more than an hour later, Poppy straightened up and started putting away the instruments she had brought with her to scan him and read the levels of scar tissue. She and Hermione gently rolled him back onto his back, propping him up slightly with pillows. "I just need to give him a potion to encourage the new skin to grow more quickly. Can you prop him up a bit more?" Hermione slid partially underneath her friend, pulling him up to nearly a sitting position and supporting him against her chest. She helped Poppy open his mouth and encourage the potion down her sleeping friend's throat. The women gently lay him back down and tucked the blanket tightly around him.
Hermione didn't move from her place on the bed. Poppy smiled at her, albeit weakly. "I'll be back in three hours to check on him and give you a bit of a break if you need it."
"I should be fine. Thank you though."
Poppy packed up the rest of her things and quickly left the room. Hermione put up the few spells that she had taken down to allow Poppy to safely leave. She knew that the men were probably worried but she wasn't about to betray her friend, regardless of how irrational he was being. Too many people had betrayed him when it really mattered for her to even consider a small betrayal.
Severus and the Weasleys looked up anxiously when Poppy finally emerged from the room, about an hour and a half after she had disappeared into it. "How is he?" Bill asked anxiously.
"Sleeping comfortably. I am pleased that Hermione managed to talk him into the sleeping potion. I wanted to suggest it earlier but I didn't think he would ever agree. Every time I've suggested one previously he has refused adamantly. It certainly made it easier."
"May we look in on him, just for a moment?" Severus asked desperately. Damn it, his son was hurting and scared and he wanted to comfort him! Alright, if he was entirely honest with himself it would be more of a comfort to him to see his son sleeping peacefully since clearly Tallis wouldn't be awake or aware enough to take comfort in anything right now. This was his first forced separation from his son since he this summer and it made him nervous. The two had obviously been separate before, even for relatively long periods of time, but it had always been by choice and if he wanted to see his son he could do so. This time though, he had no choice in the matter and it was killing him. As much as he hated to say it he was nervous about losing him and liked to keep an eye on the young man.
"I wouldn't recommend it. Hermione knows quite a few powerful spells and the vast majority of the spells currently on that door are aimed to attack men particularly. Unless you wish to be faced with incurable boils and a castration jinx that lasts for two weeks, I would remain where you are," she said as she left the apartment.
The men all turned pale hearing the spells she had put up. "Damn it, that girl's too smart for her own good" Ron said, clearly irritated that she had picked her spells so well. She knew that most of them would have dealt with the boils but wouldn't risk the castration jinx.
"You're the one dating her" Bill slurred, clearly drunk. He had known that with Hermione standing as guardian for his lover that he stood absolutely no chance of getting in to see him anytime soon. She was as fierce as a lioness when it came to protecting Tallis. He was still reeling over the pain of Tallis' mistrust as well, even though he knew that he shouldn't take it personally. Tallis had done similar things in the past and, as much as each time hurt him, he also understood as well as he could that there would always be times when Tallis needed to keep him away. It still hurt though.
"I'm not dating her!" Ron protested as he finished his drink, clearly drunk as well. "We're just fu…erm…" he tried to edit his words for the sake of his professor but was unable to find a more appropriate word in his drunken haze.
"Please spare me the sordid details, Ronald" Severus said waspishly, not even realizing that he had used Ron's first name. "I really don't wish to know about anything you may or may not do with Miss Granger. I hear enough details slip about my son and Bill, I really don't need anymore information about the sex lives of the teenagers at Hogwarts. When the hell did I become the go to person for sex therapy here?"
Bill laughed lightly. "Come off it, Sev. You know you were happy when Tallis went to you for advice."
Ron turned slightly green. "Tallis asked you for sex advice?"
"I'll have you know I do have a sex life…albeit a decidedly straight one and not very active recently." He looked surprised at his admission and glared at the bottle of whiskey responsible for his loose tongue. "Damn whiskey," he muttered as he finished another drink. "When did Tallis tell you that we had spoken? Did you have your talk yet?"
"Hm? About what? He didn't tell me what he spoke with you about, just that he did."
"Erm…I'll leave that to him, shall I?"
"So what did he want to know? Your favorite position? Something new to spice up his sex life?" Ron asked, pouring everyone another round.
"Not exactly. It was something to do with that bastard uncle of his." The mood turned serious again as they all thought about Vernon.
Bill looked desolately down the hall. "I wish I could see him. I wish I could have been there for him."
"We all do" Severus said quietly.
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A/N: For those inquiring minds, Ferbuare is the Latin root of our current (English) February, meaning "to purify."