Disclaimer: Not mine.
The Brotherhood
A/N - Surprise! I actually got in some writing time this morning and was able to write this chapter. However, don't count on that happening too often.
~~~ Chapter Forty Three ~~~
Sirius stared down at Dora. "You're sure that they're both dead?" he repeated again.
"Sirius! Yes, I'm sure! I saw it," she told him. Remus glared at Sirius. The werewolf was sitting on the edge of Dora's bed, on the opposite side of Sirius, and was holding Dora's hand.
"It's just so unreal. It can't be true," Sirius whispered.
From the chair next to him, Ginny nodded in agreement. She had yet to say anything at all since the announcement of Harry's death had reached her ears.
The group was gathered in the Hogwarts hospital wing, mostly so that they didn't have to face the general public, but also because Dumbledore thought it best that they stay close to the school, where there was more protected.
The deatheaters would no doubt want revenge for their master's death.
Dumbledore entered the hospital wing right then. "Sirius, there is another reporter here. You can't avoid them forever. They are refusing to leave until they get the story," he informed them.
Sirius sighed and rubbed his hand down his face tiredly.
"What if I don't want to talk about Harry's death right now?" he muttered to himself, but obligingly went out to talk. Dumbledore followed him out.
Somehow, the story that both Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort was dead had spread like the press. Those who knew the truth hadn't said a word, which meant that a deatheater must have spoken to someone about it.
Still, they supposed that it wasn't all bad. Harry's name was not being whispered with the words 'murderer' and 'fugitive' anymore. Those words were replaced with words such as 'hero' and 'saviour'. The general public seemed to have changed their vision of him, once again. However, the Ministry hadn't. They were still out for his blood. Until they saw his body, they were still going to believe he was guilty. After all, he did have the Dark Mark branded on his arm, did he not?
The hospital wing doors opened once again, but this time Dumbledore didn't enter, and neither did Sirius return. In the doorway, standing nervously as if she didn't belong, was Hermione.
~~~TB~~~
Harry groaned slightly as his eyes flickered open. The sky was dark, but Harry could see a few flickers of light. Stars. Harry drew in a deep breath and choked. The air smelled of death. He hoped it wasn't coming from himself.
Harry glanced around quickly. Seeing no one, he sat up and tried to figure out where he was. It looked like a pit, filled with bones and decaying bodies. Harry cringed away from the small body of a little girl. It hit him after a moment what the place must be. He was in Voldemort's dumping grounds, where the deatheaters dumped all the bodies.
Climbing to his feet, Harry warily made his way to the edge of the pit, where there was no recent bodies. He raised a hand up to plug his nose, so he could concentrate a little better. He had to get out of there.
Looking around more fully, he found that the walls of the pit were almost twice as tall as him. He wouldn't be able to climb out. Besides, anyone around might freak out seeing someone climbing out of a burial pit. However, seeing a bird fly out, was nothing new, he was sure.
Harry grinned slightly as he shifted into his animagus form that he had been working on he entirety of the time he had spent with Voldemort. It was his secret weapon now. Nobody knew he could shift into an eagle, and he suspected that nobody even knew he was alive.
Edging away from the wall of the pit, Harry flapped his wings, trying to create a slight updraft. He managed and was lifted up a little.
He hadn't attempted to fly before, but he hoped that it came naturally. He let the mind of the bird do the work, and sure enough, he was off the ground, out of the pit, and soaring through the sky in no time at all.
Though Harry had many worries, they all faded away as he soared through the clouds, wiping away any soreness or tiredness that he may have previously felt. For a long time, he just floated up there, enjoying the relaxing moment. However, life brought him down quickly.
He perched himself on the branch of a large pine tree and thought about what he had to do next. He knew nothing of what had happened after he had died. He figured that Voldemort was still around, and that Dora was probably still in his grasp. He had to remedy that. However, he couldn't and wouldn't do it alone this time.
Harry took off again, this time with a purpose. He was going to find Sirius.
A/N - Yes, Harry is actually alive. I was actually planning on killing him off, but since there were so many protests, I changed my mind. No worries, though, I do have some ideas on how to end this with him alive rather than dead, like my original plot line.