A/N: IMPORTANT So, for this part, Harry spends most of his time in prison, and I just wanted to describe it so that you get the same picture I have in my head. The prison is a circle, and Harry starts off standing in the middle of it. I know this sounds stupid, but I sort of imagined it as an upside-down fish bowl. It goes out about five feet in any direction. The 'wall' is this clear, sparkly yellow color, and it is solid to Harry alone. The rest of the people can get through, but Harry can not. As I pictured it, people would be on 3/4s of the 'sides,' and Harry faces them, with no one behind him but people on both sides and in front of him. I didn't know how to fit this into the story, and I forgot that you all wouldn't know what I was talking about, so here you go.
Harry felt his wand fly out of his hand, and he cursed himself for being so stupid.
The people were no longer attacking, but he did not expect that to last. Right now, they were busy putting out the fires and taking care of the injured. He knew he could get out of here with ease, even get his wand back, but he was unwilling to reveal all he was capable of.
Instead, he channeled his power and cupped his hands. A small blue orb formed, a messager spell.
He concentrated and thought of what he wanted to say. He wanted this to go to Draco Malfoy. He wanted to tell him not to worry; he had been captured, but Draco should not come get him. He wanted to tell him that he was going to take this chance to finish what they had started. He wanted to tell him that he should let the Dark Lord know what was going on.
He opened his hands, and the ball zoomed away so fast that no one noticed it leaving.
Harry could feel Draco receive the spell, even from so far away, and felt one coming back to him.
The ball of light hit him, containing only three words. Okay, be safe. Harry chuckled to himself.
Draco was the only one who would tell him to be safe when he had just been captured.
Right then, Harry felt his elbow burn briefly white hot. He smirked, knowing the cause of his discomfort at once.
When they were younger, he and Draco had both placed a special mark on their elbows, almost like a Dark Mark, with the slight exception that it only connected the two of them. They used to use it to alert the other that they were needed, most specifically when they were on missions together and were split up. The marks had a special kind of complex magic in them, enabling the other person to apparate to whoever pressed the mark. Harry knew that this was not a plea for help; however, but meant to solidify Draco's message.
Harry ran his hands through his sweaty hair, not wanting to take off his mask just yet. It was still quite hot out, and the battle had been intense, but he was unwilling to reveal his identity.
He watched as the fires were gradually extinguished, and the injured helped.
He saw the pink-haired woman who Bellatrix had been torturing get to her feet, seemingly back to normal.
They still had not been able to figure out how to heal the boy Harry had hit with the paralyzing charm. He knew they would not be able to. It was a branch of dark magic, which their kind did not bother learning. They were just wasting precious time.
Stupid people.
Harry realized more people were watching him now. Some looked scared, others curious, but one face stood out to Harry. It was the man he had been fighting before Draco had called him. He looked angry.
"What did you do to him?" He demanded, coming as close to Harry's prison as he could.
"Me?" Harry toyed with him.
"Yes, you!" Harry could see he was getting angrier by the moment."What did you do?"
"Nothing that can't be reversed."
"How do we fix him?" The man was an inch away from Harry's prison.
"I can show you if you release me." The man let out a noise which was half frustration and half anger.
"Sirius, calm down,"
Harry turned and saw that the quiet voice had come from another redhead. He looked older than the rest of them, obviously their father.
"Please, can you tell us how to heal him?" His eyes pleaded with Harry, searching his still-covered face for some hint of compassion.
Harry sighed heavily, meeting the man's eyes. "I would tell you if it were that simple. The spell can only be undone by the person who cast it."
"Well, that's convenient!" The man, Sirius, said loudly.
Harry turned back to him. "Yes, it is very convenient. If you want me to heal him, then I will, but in order to do so, I will need to be released."
"And how do we know you will not just apparate away?" A different man, the one who had been hand in hand with the pink-haired lady, said.
"I'll give you my word that I won't run," Harry said innocently.
"I don't trust you," Sirius said bluntly.
"Smart move on the whole." Harry agreed, holding back a grin. He was enjoying playing with them.
"Who are you?" Sirius demanded.
"Prince William, though I do not see why that would matter much."
"Listen, boy," A new voice snarled.
Harry turned. In front of him was a man with many scars on his face. He walked with a limp as he approached Harry, and one eye was a bright electric blue, spinning around in every direction. Harry had heard stories of Mad-Eye Moody but had never thought he would be fighting with the Order.
"You are surrounded from all sides. You have no wand, no way to defend yourself. You are utterly powerless against us. I suggest that you stop dodging and start answering our questions truthfully."
"First of all," Harry said, stepping towards the old Auror, a fire visible in his emerald eyes. "You will find I am not as defenseless as you wish. Second, do you really think that I could not break out of here if I wanted to? I am in control here, not you, so I suggest you stop acting as though you are. Last, I have no duty to answer any question you throw at me, and you will find that if I wish not to answer, then I won't."
Moody looked at him with a curious and fierce expression, but a yell from behind him made Harry turn again.
He grinned behind his mask as Sirius was wrestled to the ground.
"Remus Lupin, you let go of me!" Sirius bellowed, trying to push the other man off and struggling to get to Harry. "If he won't tell us who he is, I will go in there and remove his stupid mask myself."
"No, you won't," Lupin said, holding Sirius down.
"I would like to see him try," Harry said with a mocking laugh.
"He's too cocky." Sirius breathed, "Needs to be… knocked off his… pedestal."
As entertaining as this was, Harry was growing tired of standing here. He needed to help things along. He needed to get out of this prison. He needed to earn their trust. Luckily he had just the way to do that.
"Listen," he said, turning to the eldest Weasley. "The longer you wait to heal him, the harder it is to do so."
Harry watched as his face went pale. "If you do not want to release me, then bring him inside."
"Inside?"
"Into this lazy attempt at a prison." Harry clarified in a bored voice, gesturing around him.
Sirius had stopped struggling to get to Harry.
"I would still need my wand, but I am willing to heal him."
The Weasley looked around him, exchanging a look with the others. Harry watched as his eyes came to rest on the boy. He couldn't have been much older than Harry. He was lying perfectly still, but the expression on his face looked as if he was in pure agony.
"We don't have much time. I need you to make your decision now." Harry pushed.
"I'll go inside with them," Sirius offered.
"Me too," Lupin said. About five others agreed.
"Okay then," The Weasley said.
"Mr. Weasley," A girl with fluffy brown hair held onto the boy's hand. "I am sure we could find a cure elsewhere. We shouldn't let him…"
"You are absolutely right," Harry interrupted. "You could find the cure elsewhere, but by the time you do, it will be too late. He is going to die if you don't do something now."
"Let's do it." Mr. Weasley said, taking Harry's wand out and handing it to Sirius.
Harry watched as, one by one, they entered into his small enclosed space. Each had their wands pointing at him, daring him to do anything. Last of all, Sirius entered with two others, carrying the boy. Harry knew each second felt like torture to him. He knew what the pain felt like.
The boy was placed at Harry's feet, and Sirius met his eyes for a moment. Harry thought he saw something flicker across Sirius's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
Slowly, he handed Harry his wand. Harry took it and knelt down beside the boy.
"I'm just going to undo the curse," Harry said, looking around at them all.
"Just do it." Sirius snapped at him.
Harry sighed and turned his attention to the boy. He pointed his wand down at his chest, focusing on nothing but his wand.
"Torpet tacui," Harry muttered, and he watched as the white light slowly streamed from his wand and into the boy's chest. It started to spread through every part of his body, and Harry watched as his face started to relax. Eventually, it reached his feet, and Harry closed his eyes.
This was the hardest part.
Very slowly, Harry started to pull his wand away, using up every bit of his concentration. With a final breath, Harry severed the connection, and the boy's eyes closed, a peaceful expression on his face.
Harry reached down and checked the boy's pulse. He was glad to feel that it was strong.
"He's sleeping," Harry said quietly, "He'll be asleep for a few hours, but he should be okay."
Harry stood, causing everyone to jump, their wands tightening in their hands, still pointing at his chest. Sirius held out his hand, and Harry hesitated before giving him back the wand. Harry was outnumbered. Even if he was able to defeat those with him, he was still inside this prison, surrounded by more people.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked again, soft this time.
"I still don't see why that is important," Harry replied, deciding not to answer sarcastically this time. He did enjoy dodging their questions though.
"What kind of Death Eater heals someone they cursed?"
"A very stupid one," Harry said, shaking his head.
He knew he would have to answer for it later. He could say he was trying to gain their trust. Besides, he was sure it would not matter if some of them ended up dead later.
"Or a very brave one," Lupin said softly. Harry met his eyes, curious.
"So, he's going to be okay?" The girl with the frizzy brown hair asked from the other side of his prison.
"Yes, he should be fine," Harry said.
"Thank you," she whispered. Harry could see from her expression how grateful she was.
Harry didn't say anything but turned back to the rest of the group. They had gently picked up the boy and had carried him back out of the shield. Their wands were still pointed at Harry, but now they were less suspecting. They all looked confused, unsure of what to do.
Great, just great.
Harry sighed again. He had to do something. He couldn't just stand here for the rest of eternity.
"We should bring Ron home." A woman with bright red hair said. Harry guessed she was the boy, Ron's, mother. Mr. Weasley nodded, and he, Mrs. Weasley, the brown-haired girl, and two identical redheads plus their sister made their way into the half-scorched house.
Apparently, the Death Eaters had not done a very good job of destroying it because Harry was able to see them climb into a fireplace and disappear into a swirl of green flames.
Harry turned and saw the rest of the group looking at him. He leaned back against the yellow barrier and looked back at them, his expression still concealed by his mask.
"How old are you?" Lupin's question was unexpected.
"Does it really matter?"
"Yes, it does." Lupin said firmly, "How old are you?"
Harry glanced around at the rest of the group. Though he had just saved the boy, they all looked as if they would have no problem cursing him. He couldn't see why it would matter to them, and he could see no harm in telling them.
"I just recently turned eighteen," Harry said.
"What day?" Sirius whispered.
"July 31st." Harry said, "Why does that—" Harry stopped, looking around at them.
Their eyes had gone wide, looks of disbelief evident on every face. They knew. They had to know. Now, they would try to kill him, just as they had with his parents.
"Take off the mask," Moody commanded.
"No, I—"
"Do it now!" The roar was enough to make anyone stumble back, but Harry didn't. He stepped forward threateningly.
"No." He said calmly. "No, I don't think I will."
"If you don't, I'll—"
"You'll what? Torture me?" Harry asked, his tone daring.
"Yes, I will," Moody said. At his words, everyone's grip on their wand tightened, though now they were not looking at Harry but at Moody.
"Mad-Eye, you can't." The lady with the pink hair said.
"And why not Tonks?" Moody growled, "He would do the same to each of us."
"Please," Lupin told Harry, "We'll give you one last chance. Tell us your name and take off the mask."
"I do not need your chances. If you are going to torture me, then do it. Nothing you can ever do to me will compare to the punishment I'll receive for helping you." Harry had not meant to add on the last part.
"Punishment?" Sirius asked.
"Really?" Harry said, almost laughing. "Did you actually think a Death Eater would be able to get away with things like that? He'll use me as an example when I return."
"Bold of you to assume that you will be returning to him," Moody said.
"Bold of you to assume that I can't return to him whenever I want," Harry replied.
"Then why haven't you?" The only remaining redheaded young man asked.
"Strategy, stupidity, curiosity, all of them and more."
Moody raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. "One more time. Lower your—"
"No," Harry said firmly.
"Crucio," Moody said.
Harry did not bother to dodge it, and the spell hit him, but nothing happened. Harry smirked as he watched their confused faces. The spell did not affect him in the slightest.
Moody tried the spell again and got a similar effect.
"Is something wrong with your wand, Mad-Eye?" The woman with pink hair asked.
"I don't know," Moody said gruffly. "I need to test it on someone else to see if it is the wand or him."
At his words, everyone recoiled again, and Harry grinned, his features still hidden. An Order member was going to get hurt instead of him. This was going better than he had thought.
The red-headed boy stepped forward after a minute. "I'll do it." He offered, and Harry had to admire his bravery. To willingly submit to torture was a hard thing to do. A blond woman next to him gasped, but he brushed her aside lovingly.
So Moody pointed his wand at the boy instead of Harry, and he repeated the spell for a third time.
"Crucio."
Immediately, the boy crumpled to the grass, screaming in agony. Harry watched as he thrashed around in pain.
The curse was over as quickly as it had come, and now everyone was looking at Harry again with intrigued expressions.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked innocently, "It seems as if your wand works."
Moody said nothing but tried the spell again. Harry wouldn't have even known it was on him.
"So, now that we have ruled out torture, I assume your next plan will be mind control?" Harry asked in a rather bored voice.
"No," Moody said firmly, "We will not be doing any more of that."
Harry nodded as he looked around. Everyone was still looking at him like he was some sort of weird animal that they had never seen before.
"How do you do that?" Moody asked, catching Harry's attention again.
"Magic," Harry said deadpan.
A spell flew out of Moody's wand towards Harry. Apparently they wanted to test him further. They would pay for that mistake. He stepped calmly out of the way.
"You dare?" Harry asked, his voice dripping with murder. "You dare try to curse me?"
Moody sent a jet of light flying towards him again, and he sidestepped it.
"Mad-Eye, stop it!" Lupin said, running over to the man.
Moody growled and paid no attention to Lupin. He sent spell after spell at Harry, but Harry was too quick. He dodged them with ease.
"Come on, surely this isn't the best you can do?" Harry drawled.
Moody shot spell after spell at him, missing every time.
A flash of light to his left caused him to spin around, but he was too late. The spell caught his cheek, causing his mask to disappear.
The attacks stopped immediately.
Harry looked up at the person who had hit him. Sirius was standing there, frozen in place, his wand still outstretched. He seemed unable to form words.
"James?" Harry's eyes snapped to Lupin, who was still standing by Moody. Harry sharply met his gaze, and Lupin gasped, stumbling backward.
They knew. They had to know. Now, they would kill him.
"Harry?" The quiet voice made him turn again. Sirius's wand had fallen slack in his hand.
"How dare you try to curse me." Harry spat at them, hoping to provide a distraction. "You are going to pay for this."
Before Harry could say anything else, a bright light flashed to his left. It was so unexpected that he did not have enough time to roll away from it. He ducked but was not fast enough.
The world suddenly went dark around him as his vision faded to black.