Chapter 5
Feelings And Revealings
Ginny's shrill scream rang through out the household making every occupant jump. It remained silent for a moment, no one daring to move or believe what they had just heard.
"Harry?" Ron said out loud. He looked around at everyone's shocked faces before he and Hermione ran to the hallway where the bang had come from.
"RON! Help me, PLEASE!" Ginny yelled, her voice shaking as she looked up at her brother. Her eyes were wide with fear and her hands shook violently as she moved Harry's head into her lap.
Ron looked upon the scene and couldn't help but gasp. Harry looked as though he hadn't slept for days much less eaten. He had cuts on his face that ran deep through his cheek and had bruises on his arms. His clothes were ripped and he was soaked. Noticing that Harry was shaking in his sisters arms, Ron ran up to them and fell to his knees, Hermione following in his suit.
"What happened Ginny?" Hermione said, her voice unsteady and scared. She touched Harry's hand and pulled it back immediately as he shivered.
"It was like someone opened the door and threw him in here! I don't know; when I came up, he was just falling in and out of consciousness. If he's here," she became thoughtful for a moment, "than where are Sirius and Remus?"
Moments after, the door of Grimmauld Place swung open and Remus and Sirius staggered in looking tired and worn. They closed the door quickly, obviously out of breath. From the look of them, they were both in about the same state as Harry.
Both of them looked around searchingly and their eyes fell upon the four teenagers. Ignoring the many people running up the stairs to the main hallway, the two men ran over and fell next to Harry, who was moaning in pain.
Dumbledore was the first to approach. Ginny looked up at him and it was evident that he knew the situation was bad. She turned away quickly; the look on his face was frightening and for the first time in her life, she feared her headmaster.
He motioned for Arthur to carry Harry upstairs with a wave of the hand. Everyone split apart and allowed them free access to the stair well. Mrs. Weasley followed behind her husband, tears welling up in her warm eyes. Ron and Hermione walked silently behind Sirius and Remus while Ginny lagged behind trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Molly, tell Minerva to call Madam Pomfrey. Tell her to bring all the potions she can for all three of them," Dumbledore said, a sense of urgency in his normally calm voice. Molly nodded and bustled out the door, quickly alerting McGonagall of the situation.
"Sirius, Remus, please sit down. You definitely deserve it," Arthur said to the two men who were watching Harry intently.
"Arthur," Sirius said his voice matching the one he had when he escaped Azkaban," If we sit down we'll fall asleep. I'm not going anywhere until I know if Harry is alright."
"Same here," Remus seconded, his voice matching Sirius'.
Arthur merely nodded.
Moments later, Madame Pomfrey came into the room, a large aray of potions popping out of her bag. She tutted as she saw the state Harry was in and quickly went to work.
"Well he's been through hell this one. Poor boy, so much pain for such a young person," Poppy muttered to herself, digging out all the potions she could find.
One by one, she poured the potions down Harry's throat and healed all his cuts. When she was finished, she wiped her hands on her apron and shook her head.
"He needs sleep. By the looks of it, he hasn't slept or eaten for ages. Give him this dreamless sleep potion as well," she handed it to Molly. She took the bottle carefully and held it close to her chest, watching the young boy in the bed intently.
Quickly as she could, Poppy healed Sirius and Remus and sent them to bed for a much needed sleep. Nodding her head, Poppy tutted once more at Harry and walked silently out of the room, shutting the door with a soft click.
"Albus, they are going to be okay, right?" Molly asked. She noted how peacefully he slept and smiled to herself.
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, he will be okay but I think our young friends here would like some time alone with Mr. Potter. Am I correct?" Ron, Hermione, and Ginny nodded fervently and were soon left alone.
They stood there for a moment, looking at Harry as he slept. Ginny was the first to make a move. She sat on the ground next to Harry's bed and grabbed his hand. Ron and Hermione followed in her suit and it was silent.
For the rest of the night, the three teenagers sat in that postion. Molly would occasionally pop inside and see whether Harry had woken up yet. The house of Black was now silent but the blanket of pain and sadness that had enveloped it had finally passed over.
The next two days passed slowly. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny spent most of their time in Harry's room, waiting for him to open his eyes. It was yet to happen.
When they weren't allowed to see Harry, they stayed with Sirius and Remus, both of the men sharing Sirius' large bedroom. Occasionally, one would wake up and be able to give small bits of their story but none of it made sense. Often they would speak of bushes but still, no one knew what had happened while they were away. Anxiously, the Order waited for the real story.
It was early afternoon when Sirius woke up again. A blanket was covering his face so no one could tell his eyes were open. When he sat up, catching Ginny and Hermione by surprise, he yelled in pain from the sunlight.
"AHH! THE LIGHT!" Sirius yelled before covering his head again with the blanket. The noise of Sirius' screams woke up Remus. He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"You're awake!" Hermione said jovially.
Remus waved hello before turning over and hiding under his blanket. Sirius responded with a grunt.
"THEIR AWAKE?" Molly screamed from down the stairs. All four turned towards the door as she jumped inside, her face warm and excited.
Sirius and Remus groaned out of displeasure and tried to fasten the blankets over their heads but Mrs. Weasley practically ripped it to shreds. She hugged and kissed them both before literally dragging them out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen.
They unhappily plopped into the kitchen chairs. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione followed laughing all the way as they looked at the men.
Sirius looked as though he wanted to slap Molly before running back to his room and going back to sleep. His hair was cleaner than usual. He looked as though he had gained a bit of weight and looked more his age. Decked out in an overly large t-shirt and puppy pajama pants, you just couldn't help but laugh.
Remus looked just as unhappy as Sirius did. His hair stuck up at odd angles as Harry's usually does. It was no longer grey but was sandy blonde and suited him well. His pajamas were the funniest thing of all. His pants were partially rolled up on one leg and he wore a shirt that said 'I'm a werewolf, hear me howl.'
Molly made almost everyone in the kitchen for Sirius and Remus. The four plates in front of them were piled high with foods of every kind.
"Molly, we don't need all this food," Remus insisted.
"Shut it Remus, I'm hungry," Sirius said gulping down pumpkin juice.
Remus shrugged and began to eat.
After a half an hour of silence, Remus and Sirius finally ate the last of their pancakes. Molly looked happily at them and took away the plates before sitting down.
"So, how was your sleep?" Ron asked trying to start up a conversation.
"Very resting," Remus said somewhat preoccupied. Sirius followed his gaze and smiled as he saw Ron and Hermione's hands clasped together underneath the table.
"It's about time!" Remus yelled throwing his hands up. Ron and Hermione jumped and blushed deeply, figuring out who they were talking about.
"Knew they were meant for each other. You owe me ten galleons Padfoot," Remus reminded Sirius whose smile vanished from his face.
"Oh fine Moony, be that way," he grunted, handing him the ten galleons he owed him..
"You bet on us?" Hermione asked obviously shocked and appalled at the situation.
"Not just me, Harry too. It was his idea in the first place. I owe him thirty galleons actually," Sirius said angrily.
Two pops could be heard from the hallway and Fred and George came down the stairs. They looked surprised to see Remus and Sirius awake. They greeted them warmly, or at least as warmly as the twins usually do, and sat down at the table.
"So, what happened with you guys?" One of the twins asked expectantly. Remus paled and looked at his companion. Sirius shook his head and looked down.
Mrs. Weasley walked over and slapped each one of the head, "Boys!"
"No Molly," Sirius insisted as she was about to take another go at her son's head, "Don't worry about it. We planned on telling you all at dinner tonight."
Mrs. Weasley nodded but gave a menacing glare to the twins.
As the day continued on, the trio noticed that the news of Sirius and Remus' awakenings had traveled fast throughout the Order. Dinner came around and most of the Order had come to hear the heroic story they hoped for of Remus and Sirius' adventure.
"Kids, go upstairs. We'll call you down when we're all done here," Molly told her children. Sirius shook his head and walked over to the red headed woman.
"Molly, they deserve to know as well. Harry is their friend too," he said quietly. She reluctantly agreed and they followed her, taking a seat at the large table. As they looked around, the trio noticed there were many, many more members now. Some of which included their former house mates like Oliver Wood and Alicia Spinnet and others they knew from odd encounters like Fleur Delacour and even Viktor Krum.
Ron looked at him angrily before grabbing Hermione's hand protectively. Ginny choked back a laugh as Dumbledore stood up.
"We are having this meeting for you all to hear the account of the events that happened early June from Mr. Sirius Black and Mr. Remus Lupin. They have decided to allow everyone see the memory through a pensieve. Everyone gather around and place your hand inside the pensieve," Dumbledore motioned to the pensieve and members locked hands and one by one they put a hand into the bowl and were sucked into the memory.
"Sirius? Sirius wake up," Remus whispered groggily.
Sirius' eyes flickered open and he looked around. The place they were in was silent but he knew it well. He crawled over to his godson who was unconscious.
"What's happened to him?" Sirius asked. Remus lifted Harry's wrist and felt his pulse.
"James and Lily did say that when we go through the veil we will lose a lot of energy and since he's the youngest he lost the most."
Sirius nodded to his fellow Marauder and remembered something that James said to him in his final moments beyond the veil.
"Did you hear it?" Sirius asked quickly, picking up Harry. Remus gave him an odd look.
"Hear what?"
"James," he said exasperatedly, "He said to me 'I'll meet you out there soon.' Do you think he meant that?"
"I don't know. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't. But now is not the time to worry about that. Someone is bound to come in and check on what the noise was, we need to get out."
Sirius nodded and stood up. His legs were shaky just as Remus' were but he made an attempt to help his friend. Just then, Harry began to cough in his godfather's arms.
"Hello," he croaked, smiling at them.
"How are you feeling?" they asked in unison.
Harry laughed.
"Just peachy," he replied trying to stand up but failed miserably as he fell back onto the floor with a small thump.
"Okay, let's try and get out of here. I suppose everyone thinks were dead so it may be a bit weird if we prance out of the Department of Mysteries and drag you along with us. Especially since I'm a mass murderer on the loss," Sirius said the last bit very quickly as he and Remus picked Harry up again.
"What's that? In the corner I mean," Remus pointed to a shining object in the middle of the darkness of the room.
They began to walk over to the object. Keeping a fair distance away, Remus looked it over. From its shining, they concluded that it was a portkey.
Suddenly, almost ten popping noises echoed through out the hall.
Out of the darkness, ten black figures walked out slowly with their wands raised.
"Hello Black, Lupin," the voice of Lucius Malfoy drawled, "Potter."
"I thought you were in Azkaban," Harry questioned weakly. He was not in the mood for this, not now.
The death eaters laughed before answering.
"Escaped. It was actually quite easy since we have the dementors on our side," the high pitched voice of Bellatrix Lestrange rang out.
Lupin and Sirius put Harry down and drew out their wands. Harry did that same.
"Harry, you're not fighting," Remus whispered out of the side of his mouth, "You can hardly stand."
"Dream on, Remmy. I'm fighting," Harry said determined.
"STUPEFY!" Harry yelled catching on of the death eaters off guard. The death eater was hit by the curse full force and fell to the floor.
"STUPEFY!" "EXPELLIARMUS!" "DIFFINDIO!" "IMPEDIMENTA!"
Spells were being thrown left and right.
Lucius was vigorously trying to reach Harry. As he pushed through his fellow death eaters he kept using them as shields. One by one they fell to the ground unconscious.
Four death eaters were down by the time Lucius was even remotely close to Harry who was sending curses behind his back at his enemy's father.
When four more death eaters were put unconscious the group focused on Lucius and Bellatrix, the only death eaters left standing.
"You need some practice," Sirius said mockingly to his cousin.
She turned to him and smiled her menacing smile before she sent a final curse at Sirius.
"CRUCIO!"
The spell was going in slow motion it seemed. Harry ran and pushed Sirius out of the way. He was now in the line of fire.
The spell hit the young boy square in the chest. The pain was immense. Hot daggers seemed like they were going to penetrate Harry's skin and he felt that his scar practically burst open but he didn't give them the satisfaction. Harry didn't scream. He merely bit his lip and held back the screams that were trying to escape his lips.
As soon as the spell hit Harry it ended. Remus ran up and tackled Bellatrix with Sirius keeping his wand on Lucius.
Harry was now on his knees and soon darkness crept into his mind and he knew no more.
"THE DARK LORD WILL HAVE HIS TIME! IT WILL BE SOON!" Bellatrix screeched before her and Lucius apparated away with the other death eaters.
Remus and Sirius ran over to the unconscious Harry who was shaking badly.
"The portkey is our only chance, Sirius," Remus said quietly raising the boy up.
Sirius paled and followed Remus to the portkey. They looked at each other and nodded before they touched the object and were swept away.
When the three finally felt the ground they stood up quickly. Harry, who was still unconscious, was shaking even more than before.
The two final marauders looked at each other concerned for the young boy.
"Why did he have to push me out of the way anyway?" Sirius asked.
"He's a lot like his father. You know James would have done the same," Remus answered.
Sirius looked around and saw that they were in the back alleys of London. A wild idea came to him and Sirius stuck out his wand.
All of a sudden, a large purple bus came into focus and stopped in front of him.
"'Ello, I'm Stan S---"Stan cut himself off when he got a look at the group in front of him.
"YOU'RE DEAD YOU ARE! HOW ARE YOU 'ERE?" He yelled.
Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it between Stan's eyes.
"Shhh, we need to be taken to Spinners End. No stops in between. You will not say anything about this," he said menacingly.
He nodded numbly and let the three onto the empty Knight Bus.
After laying Harry down on a bed, Remus and Sirius took a seat and held on for the ride.
BANG!
The Knight Bus was in motion. Remus fell immediately to the floor and held on to Sirius' leg for dear life. Sirius was holding onto his wobbly chair and tried his best not to fall on top of his friend.
BANG!
Sirius looked out of the window and saw they were getting very close to their destination. Remus had pulled himself up and his knuckles were white from holding onto his chair.
BANG!
"I hate this damn bus," Remus muttered darkly when they finally stopped. He had once again fallen forward and was sitting with his arms crossed on the floor.
"Wow! 'Arry Potter on dis here bus. Ern, 'Arry Potter," Stan muttered standing over the 15 year old boy.
"Obliviate," Sirius said before leaving a very confused Stan on the bus.
Remus and Sirius decided to drag Harry along with them. They looked back at Spinners End and ran across the street.
The next 20 minutes they walked in silence except for an occasional moan from Harry whose shaking had now ceased.
Harry opened one eye and looked at his godfather whose eyes seemed to be drooping down.
"You look tired," he whispered.
Sirius jumped slightly before smiling down at his godson.
"That's probably because I am," Sirius answered the boy back.
Harry looked up at the sky and saw that it was beginning to rain.
"It's raining," Remus said pointing out the obvious.
"No duh, Remus," Harry said back rolling his eyes.
Sirius laughed but stopped when the rain began to become harder. Harry had once again begun to shake and the wind didn't make it much better.
"Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun," Remus hummed to the tune of an old song.
"You're really bad at that Moony. I suggest you stop," Sirius said causing his friend to blush.
The rain once began to get harder and harder as the group walked. Sirius put Harry onto his back and him and Remus ran down the streets not noticing the two animals that were watching them closely.
Grimmauld Place became clearer and the group turned the corner cautiously making sure that no one was watching them. As numbers 11 and 13 came into focus Remus ran to the middle and looked closely.
The houses 11 and 13 suddenly seemed to be pulling apart and another house squeezed in the middle.
"God, I hate this house," Sirius said angrily as his old home appeared.
Remus, Sirius, and Harry walked closer to the house when a rustle in the bushes could be heard. Sirius ran quickly to the house as Remus whipped out his wand. Sirius opened the door and practically threw him inside the house. He ran back to Remus' side and they ran quickly to where the sound had come from.
When they were unsuccessful the two men ran as fast as they could back to the house.
At that moment, the many order members and children were sucked out of the pensieve.