A/N: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know that I will be updating on Tuesday and Friday. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! It is one of the longer ones, but it is one of my favorites so far! Let me know what you guys think!
There were a few moments of silence as everyone seemed to hold their breath collectively.
"Why?" Lupin's eyes narrowed as he finally broke the silence.
"I want to ensure that I did everything correctly yesterday."
"Yes," Mr. Weasley said quickly, "Yes, that will be fine."
"Good," Harry said. "I'll see him as soon as possible then."
"We can go now," Dumbledore suggested. Harry looked around at everyone else. When no one objected, he rose to his feet.
Mr. Weasley led the way out of the kitchen, followed closely by Hermione, Dumbledore, Draco, and Harry.
Harry could tell that everyone else, especially Mrs. Weasley, wanted to come as well, but they stayed behind, not wanting to crowd Ron.
They walked up three flights of steps before stopping in front of a door. Mr. Weasley knocked once on the door and then pushed his way into the room.
Ron's room was tiny and well-lived in. There was a small bookshelf holding wizard comics, a chess set on the floor, and, covering every wall, posters of the Chudily Cannons Quidditch team. Ron was asleep under scarlet sheets, quite obviously Gryffindor colors.
"Ron," Hermione moved over to the bed and stroked his hair gently. "Ron, you have to wake up now."
"Not now 'Mione," Ron mumbled, trying to roll over but flinching in pain. Worry flashed over Harry's face, but he quickly hid it. He did not want to make everyone else concerned.
"Ron, you know how I told you about Harry Potter?" Ron made a sound, trying to cover his face with a pillow. "He's back. He and his friend are going to stay with us for a while."
Ron mumbled something, and Harry could only make out the words Death Eaters and fire.
"I'll explain later; right now, they want to check you to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine," Ron said.
"Please just cooperate." Hermione begged him, "You're making a scene in front of everybody."
"Everybody?" Ron sat up straight, cringing as he did so, and looked around the room.
"Well, this is a pleasant way to be woken." He said, "My father, two Death Eaters who are staying with us now, apparently, and Dumbledore!"
"Ron," Hermione said, "Calm down. Harry and Draco just want to check on you, then you can go back to sleep."
"What are they going to do?"
Every eye turned to Harry and Draco, both of whom were lingering in the doorway.
Harry took a step into the room. "I just need to take a look at your chest. I think I may have left some remnants of the curse by mistake—"
"You did this to me?" Ron asked quickly.
"Yes," Harry said, "I did. I am sincerely sorry about that." Ron didn't say anything but looked at Harry with a face of deep mistrust.
"Look," Harry said, "I know you don't trust me, and honestly, I don't blame you, but me not getting rid of the entirety of that curse will kill you. I will not permit you to die because of this, so I am taking a look at your chest even if I have to knock you out in order to do so."
"You let him keep his wand?" Ron asked, turning to the rest of the group.
"Who said anything about a wand?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. He walked over to Ron's bed, and Ron withdrew as far away from him as he could without falling to the floor.
Harry laughed slightly and shook his head. "I just need to see your chest. I'm not going to do anything yet."
Ron pulled his blankets high, completely concealing his chest.
"Ron, please," Hermione said softly. Ron's eyes shifted to hers, and he sighed.
"You don't have a wand?" He asked, turning back to Harry.
"Nope, Dumbledore took mine and Draco's."
"And you won't kill me or anything?"
"Not today," Harry said, a smile playing on the edge of his lips. Ron glanced at Hermione again and reluctantly lowered the blanket. Harry smiled at him, masking the worry he felt.
"You're going to have to lie down flat again and take off your shirt."
"Why didn't you need to do that yesterday?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry's eyes flicked up to his.
"Yesterday, I was just extracting the curse; now I am looking for remaining bits of it."
"Shouldn't you have done it, though?"
"No, it was too soon after to be able to see. If you want, I can explain the mechanics of both spells to you, but that will have to wait until later. For right now, I need Ron to follow my instructions."
Ron sighed again and took off his shirt, sliding gingerly down his pillows until he was lying flat on his back.
"Great." Harry said, "Hold on, I just have to do one thing…" Harry reached down and pinched him right where his diaphragm began.
"Ow!" Ron said, "What are you playing at?"
"I'm sorry, but I had to. Now be quiet and don't move." Ron looked as if he wanted to protest, but he did not dare oppose Harry.
Harry waited carefully, scanning Ron's chest. Slowly, little spots of darkness began to appear on his skin, so minuscule that they were unperceivable to all except Harry and Draco.
Harry looked up and jerked his head towards Draco. The latter came over at once, also looking at Ron's chest. A few moments passed before Draco looked up and nodded.
"It appears," Harry said to the room, making them all jump, "I did not do a very good job last night. There is still a dangerous amount in you, Ron. I have to get it out unless you want to live out the rest of your days in constant, unquenchable pain, that is." Harry turned to look at Ron. His face had gone white.
"No, of course not!" Ron said. Harry looked up and Dumbledore.
"Okay then."
The headmaster didn't move, though, clearly debating whether or not to give Harry his wand.
"Maybe I did not make myself clear the first time?" Harry asked, taking a step toward him, "I need to remove the remaining portion of the spell from him. If we don't act within 24 hours, then he will stay like this permanently." Harry glanced out of the small window, realizing for the first time how high they were.
"We attacked you right after dinner, which is generally at six. Judging by the current position of the sun, I would say that it is 2:30 right now. That means you only have about three and a half more hours before he is stuck like this for good."
When that still prompted no reaction from Dumbledore, Harry threw his hands in the air.
"Fine, have him stay like this then." Harry turned back to Ron. "Ron, I am very sorry, but I can not heal you without a wand. As I said before, I am very sorry you even had to deal with this in the first place, but there is nothing I can do to change the past. Since I can no longer be of any assistance here, I will be leaving."
Harry winked at Ron, who suddenly looked confused, before turning on his heels and making to walk out of the door.
"Albus." Mr. Weasley said sharply, "You give that boy his wand or else—!" Harry paused at the door.
"Arthur, calm down," Dumbledore said, and Harry heard him get to his feet but refused to turn.
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, and his voice sounded odd.
"How can I be of service?" Harry asked with a smirk, turning back to Dumbledore. The man was much closer to him than Harry had thought, almost touching, but Harry did not take a step back.
"I'm giving you this chance; don't think I will do it again if you do anything to him. Understood?"
"Perfectly," Harry said in an icy voice.
Dumbledore sighed before opening up a pocket and removing Harry's wand from its depths. Harry took it and sidestepped the old man without saying a word.
"Would you like help?" Draco asked as Harry approached him.
"No," Harry said, "I don't want you to have to— I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Draco asked, his tone displaying a hint of worry.
"Yes, just ensure they don't get in the way," Harry spoke as though the rest of the room could not hear him.
"Okay," Draco said, taking a step back, far enough where he wouldn't get in the way but close enough where he would be able to jump in if he needed to.
"What are you going to do?" Ron asked Harry as he stood over his bed.
"I am going to do a slight variation of the spell I did last night. If you're fine with it, I think it would be best to stun you."
"What, why?" Ron said quickly.
"I'm not going to lie; this is going to be extremely painful. I have no choice but to remain conscious, but you can be unconscious during it." Harry explained.
"Why would it matter for you, though?" Ron asked. "
That's not important." Harry brushed away his question, "Do you want to be unconscious, yes or no?"
Ron looked around at the small group, all of them standing far away from Harry, with the exception of Dumbledore. He was standing next to Draco, closer than everyone else.
"If you don't want me to stun you, then you could have one of them do it." Harry offered dully.
"Yeah, let's do that," Hermione said before Ron could answer. She stepped forward and pointed her wand at his head. A bright flash of light shot out of the end of her wand, and Ron was unconscious.
"Great," Harry said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. He pointed his wand at Ron's heart.
"Torpetious tacui" Harry said, his voice strong as the spell hit Ron's chest with a slightly darker white than the day before. It slowly spread through Ron's body, Harry making sure it hit every inch. That was when the pain started.
Harry felt a dull ache in his heart and knew that the shadows were leaving Ron and going to him instead. Then, there was a sharp jab of pain in his lungs, and he gasped automatically. He clenched his wandless fist as another stab of pain threatened to send him to the ground.
One of the consequences of taking this spell from another person was that the pain was tripled. Now, it felt as though a hundred tiny knives were trying to stab from the inside out.
But Harry refused to remove the spell from Ron until he was sure that Ron was fine. This was his fault; he would be making it right.
Thousands of tiny knives, stabbing, stabbing, stabbing. Harry clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together. Ron was almost done. He just had to hold on for a little longer. His lungs were going to be ripped to shreds, his skin torn open. It had to be. No one could take this pain. But he could. He had before.
Harry's face beaded with sweat from the concentration it took to hold the spell. The concentration it took to remain standing alone was enough to kill him. But he would not allow it to kill him. He was not going to give in to it.
Using all of his willpower, Harry started taking the spell back slowly, careful not to hurt the boy in front of him. His body was still stabbing itself as though trying to kill him from the inside, the pain only intensifying. But he kept his hand steady until the connection finally severed, and Harry collapsed onto his knees with a shutter and a gasp.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, rushing forward but not touching him. Harry didn't say anything. His body was still stabbing itself, making it hard for him to breathe, let alone string together complete sentences.
"Give him some space, Hermione," Draco said quietly.
"What happened to him? Did something go wrong?" She sounded very concerned, but Harry could do nothing to comfort her. Not right now, not when he was in such terrible pain.
"No, everything went just the way it should have." Harry could hear the sadness in his friend's voice.
"Then why—?"
"The spell he just used," Draco said, cutting her off, "is different then the one last night. The one he used last night can't be used twice. This spell is meant to take the curse out of Ron, triple it, and give it to the person who is trying to get rid of the curse." Harry's lungs could not gather enough air for his body.
"What?" Hermione said sharply.
"What does that mean?" Dumbledore asked Draco.
"It means," Draco said with a sigh, "that by curing Ron, Harry subjected himself to triple the pain and agony Ron had been feeling."
Breath, Harry thought to himself, breath he had to.
"Why would he choose to do that?" Hermione asked. "It was the only way to save Ron from constant pain. Harry's pain will only last about an hour, possibly longer, and then he will be fine, but Ron would have lived his entire life like that if Harry hadn't done that." Draco explained. "Though why he chose to take all of it…"
"What do you mean?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"If two or even three people perform the spell at one time, then the pain will spread out, making it much more bearable. I offered, but he refused, the idiot."
"Will it kill him?" Hermione asked quietly.
No, he refused to let it kill him. This would be such a stupid way to die.
"Normally, yes, but Harry, as you can imagine, has a very high tolerance to pain."
"What can we do to help him?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"If there were anything, I would have already done it," Draco said.
He had to stand. He had to get to his feet. He had to move. But to do anything other than kneel here hunched over himself would be agony. He knew he looked so childish right now. He knew what they must think of him.
"Are you positive there is nothing?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." Draco's single word seemed to hang in the air.
Harry took a deep breath, forcing himself to ignore the pain tearing a hole right through him. He let it out slowly, lifting his head as he did so.
Everyone was looking at him. He couldn't bear to see their pity. Didn't want to show them how much he was hurt. Didn't want them to know how close he was to death. Using the edge of Ron's bed, he started to try to get up.
"Harry," Draco said sharply, "Don't." Harry ignored him and instead took a seated position on the edge of Ron's mattress. Draco walked over to where he was and knelt so they were at eye level.
"Harry," He said gently, "There is no punishment for staying down."
"No," Harry said through clenched teeth, "I'm fine." Draco actually laughed at that.
"You should see yourself. You look like the antonym of fine." Harry tried to smile, but he couldn't. He could still hardly breathe.
"What do you mean punishment for staying down?" Dumbledore asked, and Harry knew the question was directed at Draco, but he forced himself to answer anyway.
"Whenever we were punished…" Harry's head was starting to swim from the effort it took to stay upright. "He had this rule. We had to get up from the floor within ten seconds or…" Air, he needed more air. "or he would punish us again for double the amount of time."
"Harry, stop," Draco begged him.
"I'm—"
"You're clearly not fine!" Draco said angrily. "Lay down on the floor and don't speak."
"That would require movement," Harry said, flinching and trying not to show his pain.
"Yes, but it would be short, and you would be on the ground then. Less of a distance to fall for when I stun you."
"What? No!" Harry said; he tried to get up, but the movement was too much. Harry cringed, his hand automatically jumping to his heart.
"Mr. Potter, I suggest you do as Mr. Malfoy wishes and lie down." Dumbledore took a few steps forward and knelt beside Draco.
"No," Harry said stubbornly. His breaths were coming in gasps, and every movement felt like it might be his last.
Draco sighed and turned to Mr. Weasley and Hermione, both of whom were still watching with deeply concerned expressions.
"Would you mind leaving us for a little while?" Draco asked them. They glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. They exited the tiny bedroom, and Hermione closed the door gently behind her.
"I don't know… what you thought… that was going to do," Harry said, having trouble catching his breath.
"Harry, get on the floor, or I will make you." Draco threatened. "It wouldn't take much right now. I would probably just have to touch your chest, and you would crumble."
"You play dirty," Harry said, his voice weak.
"Do it, Harry."
"No, Draco, I said I'm fine."
"Mr. Potter—"
"Oh, just call me Harry!" Harry said, frustrated, "Everyone… else does."
"Okay then, Harry," Dumbledore amended, "Why are you refusing this? Mr. Malfoy—"
"Draco," Draco corrected quickly.
"Draco," Dumbledore corrected, "will stun you, and when you wake up, everything will be back to normal."
"I'm not doing it," Harry said, desperately trying not to gasp for air. His lungs felt as though they had been punctured.
"Why not?" Draco asked.
"I'm not leaving you here. It's just an hour; I can take it."
"Exactly, it's just an hour," Draco said calmly.
"I can assure you," Dumbledore said, "That Draco will be quite safe with us."
"I don't need you to protect me, Harry," Draco said quietly.
"I know, but—"
"Harry, please," Draco begged. "Please just lay down." Harry met Draco's eyes.
"Okay," Harry said reluctantly.
He closed his eyes and tried to take a breath. His chest was still stabbing him, every bone cracking. He fixed his mouth into a grim line, his jaw clenching as he slid down the bed onto the floor. It took everything in him not to yell. His right hand was grasping at his heart.
He felt a hand on his back as Draco helped him lower himself onto his back. A shutter ran through Harry's body as he struggled for air. He couldn't even think. If he never moved again, it would still be too soon.
Harry didn't even see Draco's spell hit him. His brain just sunk into a blissful oblivion.