Disclaimer: All the usual's apply! I still don't own anything ... even with my foolish wand waving!
Chapter 98
Albus was currently gathering the supplies he would need to hunt for large concentrations of Dark Magic. During Grindelwald's reign, he had used this particular ritual to narrow down locations for the man's Headquarter's.
The problem with the ritual was that depending on how many concentrations of Dark Magic he located, the more it drained him, thus making him weaker. Last time he had used it, it had taken him nearly two full months to recover.
Just as Albus was about to cast the first spell, Fawkes flashed in, landed on his shoulder, and flashed away before the Headmaster could utter a syllable.
When he looked around, he saw that he was at the gates of Hogwarts. He opened his mouth to ask what the meaning of this had been when he heard Harry's voice.
"No! I did not rescue you just so you could die on me!"
He quickly sprinted to the gate. "Harry!"
Harry was currently fighting to stay upright because he had two sources of pain pressing in on him that was threatening to knock him unconscious.
Not only was he absorbing most of the pain from Snape through the Dark Mark, but he was also having his mind assaulted from Voldemort's anger. It was a struggle to keep his occlumency shields up to prevent himself from being overwhelmed completely.
"Harry!"
His head jerked in the direction he heard his name being called and saw Dumbledore rush to his side.
"Don't touch me," he snarled. His voice was laced with pure, unadulterated pain and he hated himself for showing that weakness.
Through the haze the pain was leaving him in, he saw recognition flash through Dumbledore's eyes. The Headmaster had realized that he knew the truth.
"Harry, I'm going to place a port key on Severus. It'll put you and him directly in the hospital wing."
Harry nodded. He then watched in confusion as Dumbledore was suddenly brought up short. He watched the Headmaster frown.
"Harry, you need to drop the shield. I can't place the port key on you until you do."
"Don't have one up," he gritted out.
"You do. I can't get any closer than I am right now."
Harry shook his head, confusion in his eyes. He didn't trust himself to speak anymore. It required way too much energy and he didn't have much left.
Albus eyed Harry in frustration. "Fawkes, see if you can penetrate the shield. If you can, can you flash them to the hospital wing then come back for me?" There was absolutely no way he would be able to move them without some kind of porting system.
He watched as Fawkes hovered over the invisible shield for a moment then landed on Harry's shoulder and flashed away. A moment later he flashed back and retrieved him. When he arrived in the infirmary, he saw Poppy rushing to Harry and Severus.
"Don't touch us," snarled Harry again. "Taking pain. Not allowed to die. Answers to me!"
"Harry, you need to let go of him so we can help."
Harry shook his head. "Being ... tortured ... Dark Mark. Not allowed to die," he said again.
Albus could see that Harry had bitten his lip in an effort not to scream and that it was now bleeding. Actually, the boy looked like he was holding in as much as he could. "Harry, if you need to scream, do so. Holding it in will only cause you to lose consciousness."
The boy shook his head as a response causing Albus to sigh with frustration.
Severus was also twisting in agony, which was how they knew he was at least alive.
"Know a spell, can't remember," Harry said hoarsely. His scar had started bleeding. "Need ... need a house ghost."
"What do you need, Poppy?"
"Just bring several vials of each potion over here."
He nodded and started summoning vials from the potions' cupboard.
It was official. Harry was frustrated. No one was listening to him. Why weren't they listening to him? "I need a house ghost. Now!" said Harry, more fervently and much louder than he had previously.
"Harry, you need to let go of him," Madam Pomphrey said as she filled a pail up with water.
"No! Voldemort will kill him if I do." Harry hissed in pain. "I need a damn house ghost."
"How can a house ghost help?" asked the medi-witch as she inched closer to Harry.
However, she was brought up short by the same invisible barricade that Dumbledore had met with. She couldn't get any closer than three feet.
"Don't care who, just get one." Harry looked down at Snape while the Headmaster finally summoned a house ghost. "Don't quit fighting. You do not get to die on me. Not without first explaining why you never told me the truth. Why you never told me what I did to piss you off so badly that you didn't want me." He wasn't even aware that he was crying.
The pain suddenly eased up for a brief second, which made Harry realize that whoever's mark he had used to torture Snape with was dead.
Three seconds later the pain began again.
"You needed to see me, Headmaster?" asked the Grey Lady as she floated in the room.
Harry's head shot up. "I need to speak to ..." And then even more pain seared through his head. "To ... S-". The force of the Founder's secrecy spell pushed in on him on all sides, threatening to smother him. However, he knew he needed help. He could not do this alone so he pushed against the spell.
Nausea rose up within him from all of the pain being forced on him. He promptly turned his head the opposite direction of Snape and vomited.
After somewhat catching his breath, he tried again. "I need to talk to S .. Slytherin," he finally spat out.
He felt the spell from the Founder's Library break. He then put what was left of his energies into staying upright. The breaking of the spell almost knocked him unconscious - especially with all of the pain pressing into him.
Suddenly the hospital door slammed shut, a wave of magic washed over the hospital wing, the Grey Lady faded out, and another ghost faded in.
"Mr. Potter! Enough with the wild magic," scolded Madam Pomphrey. "You're going to pass out."
"Not me. Him."
"Dear Merlin," exclaimed the Headmaster as he turned around to see who Harry had indicated.
"Return to sender spell. Don't remember it."
The ghost looked between Harry and Snape and nodded.
Albus Dumbledore had seen a lot of things in his life but this beat them all. He and Poppy had been summoning supplies and trying to breach the ward that had surrounded Harry and Severus when the ghost of someone who looked remarkedly like the portrait of Salazar Slytherin appeared in the room.
The Headmaster watched with fascination as the ghost and Harry conversed in parseltongue. He couldn't understand what either of them was saying, but the ghost looked a little put out about something. Despite the situation, Harry had looked relieved to see him, as if they were old friends.
It was a bizarre situation.
So many questions passed through his mind, but at the moment they all took a back seat as Harry began talking to the ghost in parseltongue with more passion.
"Professor," said Harry, startling Albus out of his trance. How the boy was still awake and upright was a mystery. "I need," here the boy glanced to the ghost again, "a 12 foot braided rope, an effigy - whatever that is, and help from Fawkes. I'm about to pass out."
"Most spells that use puppets are considered Dark," said Madam Pomphrey, frowning.
Albus, however, transfigured something that would work will enough as a puppet.
"Attach the rope to its left forearm," said Harry with urgency.
Albus did as he was instructed, trusting to the fact that this would hurt neither Harry nor Severus. Fawkes had started trilling an encouraging and hopeful song in order to keep Harry up.
Harry's vision was starting to dim. "I can't hold on much longer," he hissed to the ghost.
"The Headmaster has almost got it ready. You will most likely pass out after you say the spell. It will probably drain you of whatever magic you have left. You need to warn them."
He noticed that Snape was no longer twitching, which wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"I want your word that when I do this, you'll ignore me and tend to him first," demanded Harry.
"Mr. Potter, I can't give you that," said Madam Pomphrey.
"I promise I'll be fine but this is going to cause ..." Harry stopped to hiss in pain again. "... cause me to pass out. Promise me you'll check him first."
The Headmaster turned to look at the ghost. "Will he be fine?"
The ghost nodded then turned toward him and hissed, "Tell them it will drain your magical core and that you'll need a big dose of an energy replenisher spelled into you as soon as they get the chance."
Harry gave a frustrated sigh as he blinked the blood out of his eyes that had leaked down from his scar. "He says that this will drain my magical core. I'll need an energy replenisher after you check him over."
"Mr. Potter. You can't do it then. You're already strained. If you do the spell, then it will most likely kill you."
"If I don't do the spell, it will kill him and he's ... he's not allowed to die. I want your word that you'll tend to him first. I will be fine."
"You have my word, Harry, that we will tend to Severus first," the Headmaster said.
Harry nodded and looked down at Snape. "You better fight," he whispered.
Albus watched with helplessness as Harry removed one of his hands from Severus' swollen Dark Mark, slid his wand in his hand, and grabbed a hold of the braided rope - which formed a connection between Severus and the puppet with him as a conduit.
When Harry suddenly screamed in pain, that surely the entire castle heard, it chilled Albus to the bone.
He then watched as the young man starting hissing in parseltongue.
Thirty painful seconds later, the effigy exploded, Harry collapsed to the floor, and Severus was no longer breathing.
A/N: I am sooo incredibly sorry that this is being posted so late and that it's so short. RL has become really crazy. I have a family member in the hospital and everyone is moving houses and I need a really really big tranquilizer for myself. LOL
I've gotten some new reviewers! YAY! Help yourself to the cake and pie and pitchforks that are lying around. Wait .. pitchforks! *hides those* The cake and pie is still there though! I've had several reviewer's tell me that I continually mess up did and done and I really am trying to catch those, but I live in the sticks, so we mess them up all the time in everyday speaking. hehe
Another reason this chapter was so late was that I had a Point of View problem. I think I more or less have it straightened out. I hope so anyway. Yes, Harry connection w/ Snape's mark is unique, which will be seen in an upcoming chapter - as for the mechanics of it, that will be explained later as well. Unless I change it, the next chapter does not have such a big cliffhanger. ;) Since this one is so short, I'll try to post it on Saturday. Like I said, RL is crazy at the moment. I hope that it calms down, if not, I'm running away from home. :P
As for the help from the ghost and the Founders secrecy spell, let's just say good old Dumbles has lots of questions for Harry assuming he makes it through this alright. *points to cliffie for reference*