Harry pushed opened the door to the small hospital inside Warwick Castle, and nervously looked around for the one person who he was hoping to avoid at the moment. His mother was trained as a healer, but only worked occasionally in the hospital. He looked around and initially thought that he was in luck because he only saw the head healer, Madame Pomfrey, tending to a sick child, but he groaned audibly when he saw his mother walk out of the storage room with a handful of potion containers she must have been restocking. He had been holding the door open and as he let it go it slammed, alerting Lily Potter to his presence. She stared at him with a look of surprise and concern.

"Harry, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Lily asked, placing the potion bottles down on an empty bed and making her way quickly over. As she reached him she immediately began searching over his body until she turned him around and gasped at the view of his back. "Merlin Harry, this is horrible! Come with me, we need to clean this out." Harry nearly stumbled forward as his mother dragged him to a bed in the corner of the hospital. He carefully took a seat as his mother pulled a privacy curtain around the bed.

"Should I take my jacket off?" Harry asked when his mother turned back to face him.

She shook her head emphatically. "No, that wouldn't be wise. There are places where the fabric is melted to the skin in your back. There are some splinters too and if you were to take the jacket off they could make bigger cuts in your skin. I'm going to have to cut around all the damaged areas." She reached into a small cabinet that was on the wall next to the bed and pulled out a vial full of a deep red potion. Harry took it from her when she held it in front of him. "That's a pretty strong pain relieving potion—make sure you drink all of it. It should numb your back some, but this will still be painful."

Harry pulled the stopper off of the vial, and knowing the taste wouldn't be pleasant, threw it all back in one gulp. Just as he predicted, the bitterness immediately invaded his taste buds and he did his best not gag. Shaking his head he sat the vial down next to him and looked to his mother who seemed satisfied. "Should I lay down on my stomach or stay sitting up?" He asked.

"It's up to you, but I would suggest lying down," Lily answered pulling her wand out of the white healer's robes she was currently wearing. "Like I said, this will still be painful so if the pain is too much you will be more comfortable that way."

Complying with his mother's suggestion, Harry slowly swung his legs up onto the bed, and then flipped around so that he was on his stomach. He could feel the pain potion beginning to work because his back didn't hurt as much when he moved. He pulled the pillow from the top of the bed and put it under his chin so that he had something to rest his head on.

"Alright, I'm going to start cutting off the jacket, so make sure to stay still," Lily ordered. Harry heard her wand begin to slice into the jacket and the shirt, and felt some of the fabric slip off of his body. She cut off the sleeves and helped him to pull them off of his arms.

The next hour after that was one that Harry would rather forget. He spent most of the time biting into his pillow to prevent screaming as his mother pulled pieces of wood and cloth out of his burnt skin. He knew that she had tried to be gentle, but there was only so much she could do. She had just finished putting burn salve all over his neck and back, and pulled up a chair next to his bed so she could sit down.

Using a small cloth, Lily wiped the sweat away from her son's brow. "I know that wasn't pleasant, but you did really well sweetheart," she said softly. "What I want to know is how this happened."

Harry relaxed as his mother continued to wipe his forehead. "I showed up to the girl's house and talked with her and her family. Everything was going fine, they were really cooperative, and then Dumbledore's soldiers showed up."

Lily took the cloth away and brought both of her hands to her lap. "What did you do when you realized they were there?"

Harry immediately missed his mother's contact, but rested his head deeper into the softness of the pillow. "I left the Grangers to go gather anything important that they wanted to take with them and activated the portkey for them to use. Then I held off the soldiers until I heard them leave." Harry looked up at his mother and hated that she looked so worried. "I just got careless and turned my back to the front door. It could have been worse though."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, still clearly upset.

Harry waited a few moments before he answered his mother. "No one else made it back," he quietly stated, watching his mother's shocked expression. "The soldier's either knew we were coming or had already planned to. I'm thankful I'm just dealing with some burns." Harry realized his mother was crying, so ignoring his pain, he pushed himself off of the bed and moved over to embrace her.

Eventually his mother's tears stopped, but she held onto his soldiers so that he wouldn't move. "I know that you want to be involved Harry, and I know that eventually you'll have to, but you need to slow down alright," Lily said, softly but sternly. "You're going to drive me insane if you're running around fighting all the time."

Harry hugged her again. "I'm sorry that I worry you, but I need the experience if I'm going to get better and have any chance at Dumbledore. You might have a bit of a reprieve though, because I don't think Dad is going to let me out of the castle for a while."

Lily laughed lightly, "I guess I won't make him sleep on the couch anymore then." Harry chuckled as well and they separated and sat in silence for several minutes before Lily restarted the conversation. "So what's the family like, the Grangers I think you said?"

Harry smiled genuinely, "They're nice. The parents' names are Anne and Steven and the daughter's name is Hermione."

"Hermione—that's not a name you hear every day," Lily commented. "How old is she?"

Harry thought for a moment, "We're probably around the same age; we would have been in the same year at Hogwarts. She took the fact that she was a witch really well—seemed really interested in magic."

"Is she pretty?" Lily asked her son teasingly.

Harry groaned at his mother's question, but answered her anyway. "Yes mum, she's pretty."

"Just pretty?" She continued with a large grin.

Harry shook his head and ran his hand through his disheveled hair. "No, she's more than just pretty. Are you happy?" Harry asked, ready to steer this conversation somewhere else entirely.

Lily smile widely. "Of course I'm happy. My son is smitten with a beautiful girl. It's about time you found someone too. I know your training is important, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to spend time with someone special."

"Mum I'm not smitten," Harry denied, not looking at his mother and unconsciously fiddling with a fold in the sheet that covered the bed. "Honestly, I just met this girl."

Harry watched as his mother raised her hands in a placating manner, but continued to smirk. "Whatever you say sweetheart, but mothers can tell these things about their children. No matter how good you are at occlumency, I can still read you like an open book."

"Well, that's certainly an unsettling thought, so I think I'm going to head out if that's alright, before this conversation becomes anymore uncomfortable." Harry hopped off of the bed, eager and ready to walk out, but suddenly remembered that he was without a shirt and that wouldn't do with the freezing temperatures outside. He turned back towards his mother. "Do you have anything I can wear outside?"

Lily thought for a moment, "I think there may be a spare healer's robe in the storage room. Wait here and I'll go check for you." She stood up and walked through the privacy curtain. Harry heard her talking to Madame Pomfrey for a moment, but she was quickly back holding a white robe similar to the one she was currently wearing. He took the robe from her hands and slipped it on over his bare upper body.

"Can I go back and wash this burn salve off?" Harry asked his mother as he pulled the robe securely around himself.

"Your skin should be healed by the time you get back, so I think it's alright. And when you get back, make sure your sister is studying her charms work. I told her I was going to be testing her later tonight," Lily added pulling away the curtain from around the bed. Madame Pomfrey must have finished with her patient and gone to her office because she was nowhere to be seen. Harry walked next to his mother until they reached the main hospital door. "I'll only be a few more hours unless the hospital gets busy, so I'll fix dinner when I get back. Please try to stay out of here for at least a few more years Harry," Lily said giving Harry one last hug.

Harry patted his mother on the back, knowing it was pointless to promise he wouldn't be injured again—even though he wouldn't actively go out looking to be hurt, he spent more time in the hospital then most people he knew just from training. "I'll do my best mum. I'll see you back at home."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Walking into his family's flat, Harry sighed in relief at being able to rest and relax for a few hours. There was nothing quite like being home after a stressful day. He was trying not to think about the four resistance members and the muggleborn families who had likely perished, but the reality of it was too heavy to completely cast away. He didn't envy his father who had to give the dreadful news to the families.

As soon as he stepped inside, Harry slipped off the healer's robe and hung it onto the coat rack that was next to the door. He continued walking until he reached the sitting room, where he noticed his sister seated on the couch, with her jean clad legs tucked beneath her body. She had a pair of headphones on her ears and they were connected to a CD player that her parents had managed to acquire. Most electronics didn't work at the castle, but things with batteries tended to work. Vera had her head leaning back against the couch with her eyes closed, and her right hand was tapping her leg to the beat of the music that was inaudible to Harry.

Taking advantage of the fact that she hadn't noticed him yet, he snuck up behind the couch and pulled his wand out of his jean pocket. Crouching down, he cast a simple levitation spell on the couch and watched as it slowly began to rise off of the ground. Surprisingly, it took quite a while before he heard a high pitched scream from the other side of the couch. He quickly ended the spell and let the couch and his sister fall to the ground.

He couldn't help laughing at the look on her face when she hopped off of the couch, minus the headphones, and stared at him with her mouth agape. "That was mean Harry! You scared me you jerk," Vera yelled.

Harry settled down after a few moments and tried to put on a look of shame for his actions, but didn't fare very well. "Sorry V, it's been a lousy day so far and I needed something to cheer me up."

"Did it work?" Vera asked looking mildly sympathetic.

"A little bit," Harry answered. He reached over the couch and picked up the CD player that Vera had been using. "Aren't you supposed to be studying? I don't think they've made any audio versions of magical texts yet, so I know you weren't listening to them."

Vera put on an indignant expression. "I've already finished my reading, or else I wouldn't have been listening to music. It's not like I can actually practice anything, Mum and Dad won't let me have a wand yet."

Harry held his hands up in defense. "Hey I didn't mean to question you. I was on orders from Mum to check that you did your work. I had complete faith in you."

"Sure you did," Vera commented sarcastically. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt, and what's that smell?" she asked switching topics.

Harry sighed tiredly before he answered. "It's a long story V. The stuff that smells is the burn salve that's all over my back."

"What happened?" Vera asked seriously, walking over to him and looking around at his back.

"I went on an assignment for Dad, and got into a fight again," Harry told her walking towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower, we can hang out after I get out and I'll tell you more if you want."

"What I want is you to stop getting hurt, so that you have an excuse not to take me flying," Harry heard her comment as he walked further down the hall. Harry just shook his head and entered the bathroom.

He walked over towards the shower, pulled the blue curtain back, and turned on the tap causing a stream of water to immediately start flowing. Reaching a hand in, he checked to make sure the temperature was desirable then quickly undressed out of what he still had on, only his jeans, boxers, and shoes. Stepping into the shower he began to relax the instant the warm water met his skin. The feeling was so addicting that he just stood under the spray for twenty minutes before actually washing. By the time he was finished, his skin resembled a prune, but his mind and body were definitely less tense.

After turning off the water, he exited the shower and dried off with a clean towel that was sitting on a small, white shelf next to it. Harry walked over to the sink and used his hand to rub off the steam fogged mirror above it. He turned his back to the mirror and was glad to see that it didn't look any worse for the wear, just a few red and rough patches of skin. Wrapping his towel around his waist, he headed for his bedroom.

Several minutes later, dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a t shirt, Harry left his room and went in search of his sister. He was not surprised to find her still sitting on the couch, headphones back in place secured to her ears. She smiled at him when she saw him walk in, and Harry immediately felt bad about scaring her earlier. He went over and took a seat next to her. Vera leaned her head onto his shoulder, and Harry moved his arm around her small shoulders so that she was tucked into the crook of his arm. They just sat there in silence, enjoying each others' company. Not even realizing how exhausted he was, Harry leaned his head back against the softness of the couch and in no time was asleep.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"Harry, wake up."

Harry's eyelids quickly opened and he was met with the sight of his mother standing over him. He looked to his left and realized that his sister had moved and he was by himself on the couch. "What time is it?" Harry asked looking back up at his mother.

Lily pulled up the sleeve of her white blouse and checked the time on her watch. "It's almost six. How long have you been asleep?"

"A few hours," Harry answered, rubbing his eyes. "Where are Dad and Vera?"

Lily turned and took a seat next to her son. "You're father hasn't been back yet and your sister is in her room. How are you feeling?"

Harry shrugged, "A little stiff in the back, but I think that might be from falling asleep sitting up on the couch—other than that, I'm fine. Hopefully I can get back to training tomorrow—the last couple days have thrown off my routine."

"Don't overdo it," Lily ordered as she stood up again. "I'm going to start dinner; it should be ready in an hour or so."

Harry watched as his mother entered the kitchen and heard her start pulling things out. He was thinking about going back to sleep, and was just about to sprawl out—this time vertically—but stopped when he heard the front door open. Harry watched as his father walked in with a tired and solemn look on his face. James attention turned to his son when he realized he was seated on the couch.

"Did anyone make it back?" Harry asked quietly.

James shook his head sorrowfully. "We waited hours and there hasn't been any sign of them. If they were coming back they would have made it back by now. I just got finished breaking the news to the families." James came over and took the seat on the couch that his wife had vacated minutes ago. "All I can say is I hope they really are dead."

Harry almost broke his neck, turning it so fast to give his father an incredulous stare. "How the hell can you say that?" Harry questioned heatedly.

James shook his head ignoring his son's stare. "They're much better off dead than captured. If they're in Dumbledore's hands now then we should start praying for them because there isn't any guessing the terrors he's going to put them through. There won't be any mercy coming from him."

Harry backed down from his stared and transfixed his vision to his hands that were curled into fists in his lap. He couldn't deny that his father was right, those men were much better off dead than in the hands of Dumbledore's vicious soldiers—but it didn't make him feel better. There was still a chance those men were alive, but they couldn't do a fucking thing about it. Harry hated feeling so useless. Why was he the one who made it back?

"And what of the Grangers?" Harry asked trying to downplay his true interest.

"They still haven't decided," James answered, "said they wanted to sleep on it. I'll go back and talk to them in the morning. " James leaned over so that he could whisper to Harry, " And don't tell your mother, but Sirius is coming by the castle tomorrow. I'd rather like to avoid any altercations between them seeing as Sirius still has a black eye from their last meeting."

Harry laughed shortly, glad that his godfather was coming by again. It was one good thing to think about—well besides Hermione Granger whose image hadn't left his mind for most of the day.