Rejuvenation
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any profits from posting this fanfiction.
Summary: Epilogue compliant. Set 2019. Harry and Ron fall into the hands of a mad 'scientist' hell bent on eternal youth. Naturally, something goes wrong in the experimental stage. His test subjects weren't too pleased about their new roles as guinea pigs. Unfortunately for all involved, there were many casualties along the way; the most important of which being the death of their former lives.
Warnings: Gender change. OC character deaths. Kidnapping. Experimentation on human; adults and children. Swearing.
Pairings: HP/OC, RW/?
Rejuvenation - Chapter 8
"Right this way please Mrs Potter." The medi-witch said and indicated to the next curtain along which Harry knew his body was hidden behind.
They had closed the curtains earlier hiding Ron, Harry and Honora from view. They knew it was because they were allowing their families to visit because, over the last few days, nearly all of the Weasley clan and friends of Harry and Ron's had visited. Hermione had turned up earlier that morning too with Rose and Hugo earlier for another visit, dressed head to toe in black. The curtains had stayed shut after that visit so Harry had suspected another visit by somebody later in the day. Now Harry watched with scrutinising eyes, not missing one little detail, as his family walked slowly across the room to the curtains.
Ginny was dressed in black with a black veil and small hat on her head. James and Albus were dressed in smart suits that were also black, though the boys had white shirts on. Lily wore a grey top with a knee length black skirt, black tights and a black hair band. So much black. So much black. It was like they were going to a funeral or something. Had somebody died?!
Last time his family had visited his body they had been dressed in normal clothes. They had looked sad, very sad, but not as dismally depressed as they did now.
"Ginny! Ginny dear, I'm sorry I'm so late. Hermione was in such a state." Molly panted as she hurried across the room in a black dress and grey cardigan with a string of pearls around her neck and her hair drawn up into the neatest bun she had ever worn.
"It's okay Mum." Ginny muttered. Lily ran over to Molly and gave her a hug, Molly squeezing her tightly.
"Oh Lily dear, it's okay. It will be alright. Oh Ginny dear are you sure you want them to be here for this? Surely it's not the kind of thing that…" Molly began but Ginny shook her head firmly.
"No. They need to be here. I won't stop them from saying a proper goodbye."
"But to see…" Molly said again with an imploringly desperately sad look on her face. Ginny's lips wobbled but she raised her chin and Harry could see the determination set itself in them. Ginny would not be swayed. That was her stubborn look. It was also her 'I'm only just holding this together so nobody had better set one foot out of line' look.
"No. Harry would have wanted this."
"But the children…"
"I want to be here Grandma. I know what's going to happen and I want to be here. For Dad. And for mum." James said quietly, but in the ward the voices carried.
Molly sighed and wiped her eye with one pristine white handkerchief. She nodded and helped Ginny herd the children in behind the curtain where Harry couldn't see them.
Harry strained up on his bed, pushing himself up onto his knees to kneel at the end of the bed. He couldn't get out of bed. A medi-witch would come over immediately. But he could get as close as possible to his family.
Arthur came running in a few moments later with Hermione accompanying him, and a medi-witch directed them in behind the curtain with the others.
Harry looked over to Cameron who was also leaning over the bed rail at the bottom of the bed, straining to hear. "What's going on?"
"Dunno."
"Me either."
They watched and waited. They heard mumbling. Harry could make out the voices but not what was said. There was a muffling charm around the curtains so that visiting families had privacy when visiting loved ones. Harry had never found it a problem before. But now, since that was his family and his body, it was irritating to not know.
Ginny's voice, a few short words from each of their children; James first then Lily and then Albus. Molly spoke. Arthur muttered something very short. Hermione gave a slightly longer speech, saying what Harry didn't know, but her words were shaky. Then there was silence and a Healer, in lime green robes, entered into the cubicle.
More silence.
A little bit more.
Then sobbing.
Harry felt tears well up in his eyes. They were crying! Why? They all sounded so upset! And he couldn't be with them! He couldn't comfort them or anything!
He was just climbing out of bed to rush over when the curtain drew back a bit. A weeping Ginny, with her arms around Albus and Lily's shaking shoulders, walked out with a pale faced, wet cheeked James following behind them.
Ginny didn't look over at him, nor did any of the kids and that sent a sharp pain through his chest at being so unnoticed by his family. Each one of them stared at the floor as they walked to the exit. Albus was openly crying and wiping his nose on his sleeve. Lily's face was a crumpled display of sadness; her eyes were as screwed up as she could get them while still being able to see, tears were streaming down her face, her lips were wet with tears and saliva from where she kept licking them and from where her mouth was open as she cried and small whimpers spilled out. James was trying to look stoic but with pale cheeks, wet eyes and clear tear tracks it was clear to anyone and everyone that he had been crying and from the redness around his eyes he had cried a lot, or was about to.
What had happened? Why were they so sad after visiting him?
And where were Molly, Arthur and Hermione? They still hadn't come out from behind the curtain.
Harry froze mid-climb off the bed to listen and watch. Ginny and the kids left the room hurriedly and while Harry desperately wanted to go with them he needed to know what was going on and why Hermione, Arthur and Molly hadn't emerged yet.
Silence. The only thing Harry could hear was the sound of his own breathing. Absolute silence.
Some muffled words. Harry could hear Molly talking, then Arthur. Finally Hermione spoke.
The silence.
More silence.
That lack of noise was more horrible than the sounds of the pleaded words, as muffled and incoherent as they were.
Then a sniffle. Then a sob. Then a rush of words all with a note of desperation in them, pleading.
A cry of desolate grief.
And Molly and Arthur emerged from the curtains with Hermione between them being held up to walk by her arms. Hermione's face was a picture of absolute devastation; bright red puffy eyes, pale cheeks, tear tracks and makeup trails. Her hair was in disarray. Her legs were shaking, her hands were shaking. She was giving off the tiniest noises of distress as half walked and was half carried out of the room.
Harry made to get off the bed, and from the corner of his eye he could see Cameron had done the same.
"Ah ah! Stay there please." A voice commanded and Harry's body froze, hit by a silent spell that stopped him mid-movement. Half on, half off the bed, he was stuck. The only thing he could do was watch as Hermione was lead out and the large doors closed with an ominous low boom behind them.
The spell was released. Harry jumped off the bed.
"What happened?! What's going on?!" Harry demanded.
"What the hell happened to her?! What happened to Hermione?!" Cameron screamed at the medi-witch who gave them a sad smile.
"Mrs Potter and Mrs Weasley were here today to turn off the life support to their husband's bodies. They were here to say goodbye. Now, it's-it's nothing to concern yourselves with. Hey! HEY!"
WHAT?!
Harry turned and ran before the witch had even finished talking. Half her words didn't make it to his ears. She wasn't a medi-witch he had seen before, wasn't one of the main witches for their ward and therefore probably hadn't been briefed on the situation. But those first words she had said resounded in Harry's head like a badly broken record player, screeching and yelling out the same words on repeat.
'Turn off the life support'.
'Say goodbye'.
Harry made it to the curtain before the witch could react properly. He yanked it back and dived inside, nearly stumbling in his haste. There on the bed was his unmoving body. His unmoving adult body. Pale faced, still, unmoving. Black hair brushed back off his forehead, his lightning bolt scar was showing for all the world to see. His body was dressed up in his most formal wizarding suit and robes. When they did that he didn't know. But his body was dressed up smart, all in black.
His chest was still. Completely still.
Harry reached out a trembling hand. No…they couldn't have. Please say they hadn't! PLEASE!
He let his small hand rest on top of his body's chest, pressing down a little to feel.
To feel nothing. No movement. Nothing.
"Nonononono please…" He whispered cringing at his voice. He reached up and pressed his fingers into Harry's neck to check the pulse point.
Nothing.
No! No it was just that he couldn't find it!
The wrist. Check his wrist.
Harry quickly turned and grabbed his body's arm, lifting it up. It was surprisingly heavy but then again in his now very small hands it was no wonder. Harry found his wrist and pressed his fingers against the area to check for a pulse.
None. Nothing.
He shifted his fingers a little to check again. Nothing. No pulse. No signs of life. Nothing.
Tears welled up in Harry's eyes. They hadn't. Please! They couldn't have! They didn't just let him die! Why?! He thought they loved him! Why did they just let him die?! Why?! And why hadn't he been asked about his opinion?! He was still here, just because he was separate from his body didn't mean that he should have any less input into his life! It was his body! HIS!
They had no right! How could they?! How could they do that to him?!
There was a loud bang followed by a grunt of anger. Another bang. A chair came flying through the curtain, smashing on the floor. Harry jumped and leaned over the bed trying to protect the body from whatever harm was coming.
"Cameron! Stop that this instance! Put that chair down! CAMERON!" Came a voice, yelling and screaming.
Another chair flew through the curtains, tearing it down and revealing Cameron lashing out at everything. Cameron picked up the last lightweight visiting chair and threw that at the medi-witch who was rushing over. Then came a vicious kick to the bed. A yell of rage. A string of curse words all vulgar, nasty and filled with anger. Then Cameron started pounding into the pillow, feathers flying everywhere with the rage and fury of each punch.
Something pooled in Harry's eyes. He blinked, then blinked again getting vision back. He looked away from Cameron who was still raging. Harry could hear the pounding of feet and the yells of medi-witches and wizards and healers who were rushing to the scene.
"GET OFF ME! YOU KILLED ME! YOU KILLED ME!" Cameron screamed.
Harry gasped. He pinched his fingers into his body's wrist. Please let there be a pulse. PLEASE!
Nothing.
Harry choked.
"YOU KILLED ME!"
Harry looked through bleary watery eyes over to the still unmoving body of Ron who lay on the bed next to Harry. Ron was unmoving, ghostly pale. His chest did not rise. IT did not fall. He did not twitch. He was still as a statue. As unmoving as the dead.
Dead.
Harry gasped and gasped again, desperately getting air. His chest ached. It was moving too fast. His heart hurt. Dead. Ron was dead.
Harry looked back down.
And so was Harry.
Dead.
Dead.
Harry choked again. The world spun around and Harry fell down to the floor. Desperately he clung to the hand in his. The cold, limp and lifeless hand.
Dead.
He was dead.
They had let him die.
Dead.
Harry screamed.
The sound tore from his throat raw and blood curdling.
It pierced his ears.
It impaled his heart.
It speared his soul.
Dead.
He was dead.
Gasping for breath Harry choked out a sob. He fell forwards and felt his tears drop from his eyes. He could feel the hand in his. The cold dead hand belonging to a cold dead body.
Dead.
They killed him! They let him die! But he was right here! He was here but now they had killed him he had to stay away!
They killed him!
He was dead!
There was no going back.
Harry opened his mouth to yell.
But all that came out was a primal, gut wrenching, soul-chillingly anguished scream.
He screamed.
And he screamed.
He was dead.
Harry was dead.
Mafalda was all that was left.
Harry was dead.
He screamed.
She screamed.