Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the idea of Harry Potter or any of the money making forms of it.
AN: To clarify, Susan Bones is not a part of the Custosae, the Amici, or the Army of Hogwarts; however, she will become a more important character as the story continues. Thanks for the reviews, as you can see, they really do get me to type faster :P
- - - Book 2 — Part 18: Tears and Venom
Dumbledore and the others were now going down the hall, towards the infirmary.
Dumbledore had decided against placing Harry's body on a magic stretcher, feeling that it just wasn't right to do something so…impersonal. But there was more to it than that, but he didn't feel like thinking about it or trying to explain it.
The others just let him, too caught up in their own grief to say much of anything.
They were halfway there when Dumbledore felt something—something ripple across and through his frame.
He stopped, causing the others to freeze with him.
He had felt this sort of magic before… a long time ago….
He looked down at Harry in his arms, wondering if he had imagined it, but all doubt immediately vanished as Harry sucked in a breath of air, nearly choking on it.
"Harry!"
Harry managed to open his eyes, finding Dumbledore cradling him in his arms, white beard, blue, star covered robes and all — his eyes filling with renewed hope as well as worry, and, if Harry was correct, fear.
Harry suddenly shivered, another pulse of magic, this one much stronger than the little one moments before, coming from his center. He slammed his eyes shut, his whole body tensing, his hand of his uninjured arm swinging up and gripping onto the layered scruff of Dumbledore's robes as the wave continued…and then finally stopped.
Dumbledore exhaled slowly, and when Harry opened his eyes again, he realized something had just happened to Dumbledore's robes. They had changed.
They were pitch black, speckled with moving images of yellow lego blocks, both building and falling apart.
Those behind him gasped.
"Minerva, Snape, come with me. Hagrid, take the other children into a secure room within Hogwarts, it is best most be kept away until we understand what is happening," Dumbledore stated, his voice carrying quite well despite how quiet he was speaking.
Dumbledore then immediately went into action, gripping tightly onto Harry as he dashed to the infirmary—Snape, who had a floating Susan Bones beside him, and McGonagall right behind him.
- -
Ron and the others were about to protest, but by the sound of the Headmaster's voice and the speed in which he and the others with him had moved, they didn't.
However, Ron was about to charge after them, but surprised everyone as he came to a sudden halt, nearly tripping on his own feet.
--Stop. You must take Hagrid and the others into the Come and Go Room. Harry's life depends on it-- he heard Fawkes declare in his head.
--What?--
--We must make a potion to save Harry. Come quickly, I am already here. We don't have much time-- Fawkes said urgently.
Ron turned towards the others, who were utterly confused.
"Come with me, I just heard Fawkes. It's to help Harry," he said, already running the opposite way and towards the Come and Go Room.
The others didn't argue, but hurried after him.
- - -
McGonagall opened the doors for Dumbledore and Snape, before closing them behind them.
Snape guided a now sleeping Susan onto one of the closest beds—those petrified on the beds down the same row.
"Albus?! What is goi— Good Merlin! Is-is that?!" Fudge asked, suddenly seeing that Dumbledore was carrying someone, and that that someone was an extremely injured Harry Potter.
"Cornelius, I will explain everything soon, but right now, Harry must be tended to," Dumbledore stated, gently taking Harry past him and laying him on the bed at the far corner of the room.
Madam Pomfrey hurried forward, Snape already examining Susan.
"O-of course, Albus. Is Hogwarts still locked down?" he asked as Dumbledore began quietly speaking with Pomfrey over Harry.
Dumbledore paused and looked to Fudge.
"Yes, and it will stay that way until I am confident that Voldemort will not try to breach the walls. His current state is not yet physical, but as you saw yourself, he is no less dangerous," Dumbledore said briskly.
Dumbledore glanced to the bed that was at the opposite end of the room bearing a still unconscious Lockhart.
"I heartily agree with you, Albus," Fudge said, saying that which showed there was at least some sense in that tiny little mind of his. "But are we… sure that was…you-know-who?"
Dumbledore completely faced him at that, his eyes solidifying in an unwavering blue.
"As I live and breathe, that being, whose true name is Tom Riddle, grew to become Lord Voldemort. I will be very clear in this, Cornelius. Voldemort had created safe guards in ensuring he was bound to this world. That… spirit, you saw possess Mr. Lockhart, is a piece of Voldemort's very being. In all the things that matter, the being we all saw is Voldemort…. And now he has gained the necessary power to return to a physical body, whether we are ready to fight him or not. This is no time to doubt if the enemy is real or not, especially when we have seen him with our own eyes and have seen what he has done.
"And I need not remind you of the actions of his followers during the summer, Cornelius. He has been leaving clues to his growing power and those of his followers; none of this has been random. Please, do not lose face."
Fudge lost several shades of pigment, having winced every time Dumbledore stated you-know-who's name and mentioned the recent dark events; all the while begrudgingly admitting this to himself: Dumbledore is right.
"However, young Mr. Potter and the actions of others have given us some time to prepare, but I will discuss these things with you later; right now, I believe it would be best if we provided you with a room, until the lockdown has been lifted. Minerva, please escort the Minister to the guest chambers," Dumbledore said. "The house-elves will be happy to provide you with anything you may need, Cornelius."
"Uh… Thank you, Albus," he managed, before looking to Harry. "Harry, do get better."
Harry gave a little nod, but did nothing else to confirm he had heard the Minister, save give him a confused and dazed expression, as if he was thinking hard about something.
McGonagall then led him out, the door closing solidly behind her.
Dumbledore and Pomfrey immediately went to Harry.
"Where does it hurt, Potter?" Pomfrey asked.
Where did it not hurt? would probably have been a better question.
Coming back to life was definitely harder than dying, and much less enjoyable too.
"Inside," Harry decided, feeling the phoenix tears at work on his arm and shoulder as something raged within him.
Harry scrunched up his eyes again, feeling another wave about to come.
"Poppy, move back," Dumbledore stated suddenly.
Harry's hands took hold of the sheets, squeezing for all he was worth as the intense pulse came forth.
"Don't fight it Harry, just try to relax. I know it's hard. It's almost over," Dumbledore said gently.
Harry heard Pomfrey inhale sharply, and he silently wondered what had happened this time as he was able to relax.
The sheets had turned blue and had unraveled, lying as loose threads under him.
"Chaotic magic…" Pomfrey breathed, Snape staring silently by Susan's bed.
Harry just laid there and tried to catch his breath, the pain in his arm nearly gone.
"They've been getting stronger, but the time between them has also been getting longer. I'm going to contact someone who may be able to help in this. I will return as soon as I can," Dumbledore stated. "Do not do or give him anything that will affect his magic."
Pomfrey shook herself as Dumbledore quickly left, and went to Harry's side.
"Just try to rest, Potter. We'll figure this out," she said, beginning to remove his outer robes to get a better look at his shoulder.
- - -
Ron and the others were hard at work. Fawkes speaking to Ron before Ron relayed the directions to the others, all of them carrying out tasks to complete the potion in time.
"This potion isn't going to get rid of or counteract the venom; instead, it is going to allow the magic within Harry to coexist with it, including the phoenix tears, for that is where the problem is," Ron said, repeating what Fawkes was telling him.
"Now we just need a Basilisk scale…" Ron said.
"Dobby!" Draco shouted.
"Master has called Dobby, has something happened? All of Hogwarts' house elves feel something has. How can Dobby help?" Dobby asked, his eyes wide.
"Here, take Revlis and go down into the chamber and find one of Salandra's scales, but if Salandra comes, run."
--Salandra's intent was not to kill Harry, but to save him, I believe-- Fawkes said.
"Didn't mean to kill him?! Are you chirpin' mad?!" Ron shouted.
--Harry's condition previously was complicated.--
"It's complicated now!" Ron said, confusing the others who couldn't hear what Fawkes was saying.
"What did he say?" Neville asked.
Ron repeated his statement, though in disbelief.
"Well, just be careful, Revlis and Dobby. We just need one good scale to complete this potion, okay?" Draco said.
"Yes, Master."
-Pop-
Hermione suddenly jumped. They all looked at her.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Greg asked.
"Oh Merlin, he's contacting me!" she exclaimed.
"Who?"
"Long Beard!"
"Oh Merlin," Ron agreed.
"Well, get over here, you need to be glamoured!" Draco said as Vince and Neville stepped towards her with their wands, since Draco was busy cutting up some strange purple leaves.
"Just stay still, we have to hurry. Sorry if you don't look like how you wanted," Neville said as they charmed her.
Hermione's appearance aged fifty years. Her hair went short and spiky and turned sky blue. Her eyes were light green, and her face was lightly covered in wrinkles. Her clothes turned into blood red robes with laces of silver thread throughout.
They then nodded, before she hurried to the far side of the Come and Go Room, walls suddenly materializing around her, a door appearing as well.
Apparently she decided she needed a study.
Entering the room she just required, she pulled out her mirror and placed it on the desk and then spoke the words to activate it, taking a calming breath as she did so.
"Long Beard, I apologize for the delay. I am Hermit, what is the emergency?" she asked, trying to sound as calm and collected as she could.
"Hermit, I trust Mage told you of our previous conversation?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, has…" Hermione decided not to complete the sentence.
"I'm afraid so, but from some events and circumstances I do not currently understand, Harry is alive, though having been gone for a time; however, I fear we may lose him again if something is not done," Dumbledore said gravely.
"What is his condition?" Hermione asked.
"He is conscious, but his magic has gone into chaos, and I know the magic in the basilisk venom will soon take its toll, both despite and because of the phoenix tears."
Hermione pursed her lips together.
"Stand by," Hermione said, quickly leaving the room with the mirror on the desk.
She closed the door behind her.
"Is there anything they can be doing for Harry until the potion is done?" Hermione asked, looking at Fawkes.
"They can give him anything to heal his physical body, but they should not even think about giving him anything that affects his magic. Also, don't cast any spells on or near him," Ron said. "But he," motioning to Fawkes, "is sure they already know that."
"Okay," Hermione said, turning back and reentering her 'sanctuary'.
"Long Beard, do what you can for his physical condition if you aren't already, and in case you don't know, do nothing that may affect his magic, including giving him potions or casting spells on or close to him. We'll deliver the package that will help as soon as we can," Hermit said.
"Hogwarts is in lockdown," Dumbledore stated.
"That won't be a problem, we'll still be able to deliver it to you, just focus on keeping Potter stable until we do."
"If you're sure," Dumbledore said, not looking convinced about them being able to get through Hogwart's defenses.
"I am; now, I believe we both have work to do," Hermione said certainly, hoping her new persona was working out okay.
Dumbledore gave a nod, before cutting off communication with, "We are a Formation of Defenders."
Hermione heaved a sigh of relief, before putting the mirror away, canceling the charms, and returning to the others.
-Pop-
Dobby returned, a smooth shiny scale in his hands.
"It was in the middle of the chamber, Master," Dobby said, bowing to Draco as he handed it to him.
:I believe she left it for us: Revlis said before Neville translated.
--See? Believe me now?-- Fawkes asked.
"I believe you're still chirpin' mad," Ron grumbled.
- - -
Dumbledore hurried back into the infirmary, pausing ever so slightly at Pomfrey's current condition.
Her hair… it was now a short, silver… Mohawk…
But the state of the room was far less amusing as he suddenly slowed upon seeing it.
The bed across from Harry's was a pile of mush, the shelves beside the door of Pomfrey's office beside his bed had been turned upside down, and the items that had been on them had either been partly transfigured, charmed, or just utterly destroyed.
It reminded him of Ariana.
"Albus?" Pomfrey asked, actually seeing a momentary shell shocked expression pass over Dumbledore's face.
He quickly shook himself out of it as he went forward, realizing they were now the only ones in the room with Harry, which was probably a good thing.
"Severus and Minerva took Lockhart, Ms. Bones, and the others to a different room before any of this happened since there was nothing else they could do here. I am sure they have adapted it into a second infirmary.
"From what they have told me, Lockhart is still out and Bones is sleeping, though her magic levels are extremely depleted. I honestly don't know if she is still a witch," Pomfrey said regretfully.
Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh before turning to Harry.
"I think he's becoming delirious. He was calling you earlier," Pomfrey whispered.
Dumbledore gave a small start at that before he slowly approached the side of Harry's bed and pulled up a chair.
Harry turned his tired face towards him.
"Professor?"
"I'm here, Harry, just rest. Help will soon be coming."
"I was afraid you wouldn't come back," Harry mumbled.
"You don't need to be afraid, I'm here," Dumbledore said, leaning forward.
Harry opened his eyes a little more, wanting to make sure he was truly seeing Dumbledore and wasn't imagining him, especially since Pomfrey had warned him earlier that he might begin seeing things that weren't there as the effects of the venom progressed.
Dumbledore froze slightly, looking into Harry's eyes.
Their brilliant green was still present, but there was more.
A thin band of gold was around the iris, the colored portion of his eye, and outside of that, the area that should be white…was sickly green.
Dumbledore looked up at Pomfrey, who nodded her head, letting him know she had noticed it as well.
Harry stiffened, and Dumbledore knew another wave was coming as the air around them shifted at the sudden present magic.
It was clear to Dumbledore that Harry was scared, probably afraid he would do something more than just break something, and if Dumbledore was honest with himself, he was afraid of that very same thing.
Harry arched his back slightly, forgetting Dumbledore's previous words of just letting it come. He didn't want it to come, he wanted it to stay away, to stay inside him, where it didn't have the chance of hurting anyone.
Dumbledore grabbed his hand, clasping it with both of his.
"Listen to me, Harry, don't fight it, it will only make it worse. Just let it come, we'll take care of any damage later; I dare say Pomfrey has enough things anyway, you should see her office, more cluttered than mine," Dumbledore said, now sitting on the side of the bed.
Harry gritted his teeth, the magic still building and not having truly released yet.
But then it did.
It was like floodgates opening, a mountain of water coming to its new found freedom.
Harry tried to pull his hand free from Dumbledore's grasp, tried to get away, even to roll off the bed, but nothing worked. He felt the magic rush down his arm and into Dumbledore, and he could only pray it did no harm….
He heard a roar of magic expand outwards, followed by a huge boom and several crashes, practically right after another. He heard Pomfrey scream, though she sounded almost distant for some reason.
Silence saturated the room once it was over.
Complete silence.
- - -
Draco added the basilisk scale he had just cut up when he felt it, an almost burning sensation within himself, but not his physical self, no, this went much deeper.
"Draco?" Neville asked, seeing Draco falter.
"I don't feel right," Draco managed, putting what he had in his hands down on the table as he hunched over slightly, wrapping an arm around himself.
--Get him in the study, quickly! Shut the door behind him!-- Fawkes shouted suddenly in Ron's head.
Hearing the urgency, Ron grabbed Draco's arm and practically propelled him towards the study Hermione had created earlier.
The others got out of the way, knowing Fawkes had just told him something.
Draco stumbled, but Ron kept him on his feet before shoving him into the study and slamming the door behind him.
"Ron! What's hap—" Hermione began asking as suddenly they saw the door to the study crack, loud crashes coming from within as the whole entire room seemed to shake.
It finally stopped after several long seconds.
Ron threw the door open, the others quickly going towards him.
"Draco?" Ron asked.
"I think… something much worse, has just happened… on Harry's end," Draco said, trying to catch his breath, on his hands and knees in the middle of the completely obliterated room, not a single undamaged thing within.
"We need to get this to him now," Hermione said, suddenly going back to the recently finished potion to pour it into two flasks.
Hagrid nodded, taking them both from her.
Fawkes began giving directions to Ron who then began telling them to Hagrid.
"Tell them he has to drink one of them entirely right now. The other he needs to take two swigs of every two hours after this until it is all gone," Ron said. "He still can't have any potions after this, until his magic is completely stable, which will be a long time from now."
Hagrid nodded, Greg helping Draco to his feet.
"The chaos magic will now be contained to a certain space around him and shouldn't leak through the bond like it just had, but it will take time until it is no longer a problem around Harry. But I don't actually know if it will ever truly settle, but at least the venom and tears will stop fighting each other."
Ron sighed, understandably finding it difficult to repeat what Fawkes was telling him to the others.
"Hagrid?" Draco asked.
"Yeah?"
"You may need to reveal yourself to the Amici here."
The others nodded slightly.
"I think it is for the best," Hermione admitted. "We'll be here."
"I'll get this to 'arry as soon as I can," Hagrid said with a nod, before quickly turning around and running out of the room.
- - -
Harry fearfully opened his eyes, afraid of what he would see and yet needing to know, still feeling his hand in both of Dumbledore's.
Harry blinked.
Was he hallucinating?
Who was this guy sitting at the edge of the bed?
He was wearing the same robes Dumbledore had been, had the same deep blue eyes Dumbledore had, was about the same size, had the same posture and everything except….
He had no beard.
It was beyond odd, it was also almost disturbing for some reason.
"Well, I guess that is why they call it chaotic magic," Dumbledore stated, blinking a few times. "It has been a while since my face has been this exposed to the air. I feel more naked than Fawkes after a burning day; I must tell you, it is quite an odd feeling."
Harry was so relieved, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but then he looked beyond Dumbledore, and around them.
Every single bed, save the one he and Dumbledore were on, had been thrown back and were in shambles. The windows were all broken, patches of the walls and a few objects about were on fire. Around them was a large circular scorch mark, created by his magic, odd pulsing residue still flickering as evidence.
"Albus?" a clearly scared voice asked, coming from the office beside Harry's bed.
Harry turned his head, finding a little worse for wear Madam Pomfrey, but aside from the dirty clothes and bright silver mohawk, she was alright.
"Poppy, glad you found cover from the flying objects," Dumbledore said.
"Are you and Harry alright?" she asked, moving towards them.
"Yes, seems to have only caused material damage, for the most part," he said, running one of his hands against his bare face before looking down to Harry, who was clearly relieved.
Dumbledore smiled, sharing in Harry's relief, but he frowned slightly when he noticed Harry's eyes dim slightly.
"Harry?" he asked, leaning closer to him.
Harry gave a half smile, now clearly out of it.
"I saw them, you know. It was the best. Part of me wishes I could have stayed, even though I feel guilty thinking that. I probably shouldn't be telling you that; there's other things I should be saying to you instead. She told me," Harry rambled, pausing slightly as it was obvious his thoughts had suddenly shifted. "You look younger without a beard, but you also look smaller. I wonder if I will look bigger once I can grow a beard. There's charms for them. Ron found a book to glamour yourself with goatees and stuff. The first one he tried gave him a uni-brow though. Hermione had to fix him."
Dumbledore glanced at Pomfrey. She sighed.
"They don't hate you, you know. You can stop thinking that," Harry continued, though slowing down in his speech. "She's very pretty. Shy too."
Dumbledore became noticeably concerned at that.
"Harry, what are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry mumbled something, but nothing intelligible.
"Harry?"
He didn't even respond that time, just continued mumbling things they couldn't decipher. Pomfrey quickly came up and began waving her wand over him.
She gasped.
"Harry, can you hear me?" she asked, her free hand grabbing his now healed shoulder.
Dumbledore looked to her in obvious worry.
"He's declining fast, Albus, and there's nothing we can do."
Before Dumbledore could respond, though, McGonagall and Snape reentered, Filius and Pomona now watching Bones and Lockhart.
"Good Merlin! What's happened?" McGonagal shouted, seeing the condition of the infirmary and only seeing Dumbledore from the back.
She was now very glad she and Snape had taken the others into that empty classroom.
"It seems the chaos magic is getting worse," Snape stated.
Dumbledore turned slightly.
"Great Merlin's beard! Albus, where's your beard?!" McGonagall asked, staring.
Snape was now gaping, though barely noticeable, but to Dumbledore he might as well have lost his jaw to the floor by how much surprise he was showing compared to how much he had ever shown.
"Banished by the mysterious effects of chaos magic," Dumbledore stated simply, turning back to Harry and giving Harry's hand a light squeeze.
"How is he?" McGonagall asked, focusing on Harry and pushing aside all else.
Dumbledore was about to answer, but the doors to the infirmary suddenly flung open before slamming shut again, revealing a panting Hagrid with two potion bottles, one in each hand.
"These are fer Harry," he stated, hurrying in, kicking aside pieces of bed.
"What is it? His current condition does not allow him to have potions," Pomfrey stated.
"And where are the children? You did not leave them alone unsupervised, did you?" McGonagall asked.
"Of course not," Hagrid said, deciding Fawkes counted as supervision; he watched Dumbledore all the time, after all.
"Rubeus," Dumbledore said gently, but seriously. "What are you doing here?"
Hagrid looked around the room, finding only Amici, save for Harry who was obviously Custosae, and Pomfrey, who they were thinking about having join soon anyways.
He made a decision, standing tall and going to his full height, which wasn't exactly needed, since everyone was already looking up at him, but it was still impressive.
Hagrid faced Dumbledore.
"Long Beard, we are a Formation of Defenders. I am Little John, a member of the Custosae. Here is the package; my fellow Custosae just delivered it to me, with the help of Fawkes, I might add…."
The faces of everyone were priceless.
- - -
Next Part: Ariana's Message
