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Chapter X Chaos erupted in the Great Hall as students and teachers broke from their stunned silence, some moving towards the fallen form of Harry Potter, others backing away in fear. Madame Pomfrey pushed her way through the throng of confused people, Remus Lupin and his dog helping to blaze the way, Professor McGonagall following close behind them. All around, students were talking and shouting, some crying, others near panic. "QUIET!" The room fell silent at the magically amplified shout of the Headmaster, everyone stopping in their tracks, looking at the older man and awaiting his instructions. "Everyone return to your seats!" he continued. "No one is to leave the Great Hall! Prefects, help maintain order!" His proclamation ended, Dumbledore rushed down from the teachers' table to where the nurse was hovered over the unnaturally still boy. "How is he?" he asked softly. Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "I don't know," she returned, her hands on Harry's head. She looked up at the Headmaster. "I need to get him to the Medical Wing." "Remus?" Dumbledore asked the werewolf, who was already moving to pick Harry up. He lifted the boy effortlessly into his arms, carrying him as if he weighed no more than a heavy book. Dumbledore nodded and they, along with Professor McGonagall, started to make their way out of the Great Hall. "Headmaster?" Dumbledore turned to see the stricken-face of Hermione Granger, looking at Harry's limp form as he was carried from the Hall with fear and worry. "You need to stay here and help control your House, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore told her gently. "But... Harry..." she protested. Dumbledore shook his head. "As soon as I leave, everyone may start panicking," he said. "You have a very cool head, Ms. Granger. They'll need your strength." Hermione gave a slow nod, but didn't seem mollified. Dumbledore looked over at Ron. "Mr. Weasley, since you were so close to Harry when he was stricken, could you please come with me?" Ron nodded and followed the Headmaster out of the Hall. * * * * * * When Ron and the Headmaster finally arrived at the Medical Wing, Madame Pomfrey was already hard at work, Harry having been placed on one of the beds. She was muttering softly under her breath, her wand glowing a light blue as she held it above the boy's chest. "Anything?" the Dumbledore asked, Remus and Snuffles looking up from where they were sitting next the Harry, Professor McGonagall also standing nearby, twisting her hands. Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "I'm not detecting any curses," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "nor any poisons. It's like his mind is just... gone." She looked over where Ron was hovering behind the Headmaster, his face pale and eyes wide. "Mr. Weasley, did Harry do or say anything before he collapsed?" "N-no," Ron told her, his voice trembling. "He said he was tired and that he wanted to go back to the dorms. Then, he just started..." Ron closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "He just started screaming," he finished softly. "I'll have to run more tests," Madame Pomfrey said, her voice low. She bustled over to the cupboard above her desk, digging around inside until finally withdrawing an earthenware jar. Lifting the lid, she gave a low curse. "I'm out of fireweed," she told them. "There's some in the greenhouse. I can get it," Remus said, standing up. Snuffles let out a low whine, resting both his front paws on Harry's still form. Remus reached down and scratched the dog's head. "It'll be alright," he told him. Snuffles whined again and licked Remus' hand. Giving the dog one final pat, Remus walked quickly out of the Medical Wing. With a sigh, Dumbledore turned back to Ron. "Now, Mr. Weasley," he began slowly, "have you noticed Harry exhibiting any odd behavior before tonight? Anything you can think of at all?" Ron furrowed his brow, thinking. "Actually," he said, "there was something. He's been having some trouble sleeping recently and complaining about strange dreams. He seemed to be in a good mood the past couple of days, but yesterday he was really upset, especially after the Quidditch game. This afternoon, he was acting really strange, saying he needed to find someone." He looked up at the Headmaster, a suddenly anxious look on his face. "Do you think whoever he went to find did this to him? I should have asked him more about it!" "You can't blame yourself, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Madame Pomfrey, do you think..." he turned to look at the nurse, who was staring at Ron with alarm. "Poppy?" Dumbledore asked her, taking a step towards her. The nurse walked quickly over to Ron, grabbing onto his arm. "What did you say about dreams?" she asked him. Ron leaned back. "I... I'm not sure," he told her. "Harry just said he was having strange dreams. That's not anything really new, though." "Oh, that stupid boy," Madame Pomfrey growled, taking a step backing and putting a hand to her head. "What is it, Poppy?" Professor McGonagall asked quickly. "What's going on?" "Maybe nothing," she told him. "But to be on the safe side, we need to bring Severus and Mr. Malfoy in here right now." * * * * * * Remus ran to the greenhouses at a light jog, his senses, already heightened because of the nearness of the full moon, were extended as far as he could get them, constantly on the lookout for danger. His eyes did well in the dark night, aided by the light of the waxing moon, his ears picking up even the most subtle of sounds. As the greenhouses came into view, Remus slowed down his pace, his mind suddenly screaming danger. He stopped, stock still, trying to evaluate what had alerted his instinct. He sniffed and his nose twitched. Blood. He could smell blood. A lot of it, given the strength of the scent and the fact that the night was completely still. Heart pounding in his chest, Remus moved forward silently, crouching low towards the ground, his golden eyes dilating to take in even more of the dim light. When he reached to door to the greenhouse, he couldn't hold back a gasp. Someone had been attacked. The glass door and half of the front wall of the building was shattered inwards, the jagged edges of the glass dripping with blood. On the ground, a black streak was burned into the grass, a sure sign of the casting of a powerful curse. Remus stepped forward, smelling the blood and trying to ignore his growling stomach. The wolf in him howled with delight, insisting that he run off and try to find the wounded creature, whatever it was, and finish it off. The man in him demanded that he find the fireweed first and bring it back to the nurse. Harry was part of the pack, he assured the wilder part of his psyche, and the pack always came before blood sport. The wolf gave a growl of agreement and fell silent. Shaking his head to clear it, Remus carefully stepped through the broken glass, scanning the greenhouse for the fireweed. Many of the pots were tipped over on their sides from the blast of the curse, shattered pottery and dirt littering the floor. After a diligent search through the mess, Remus found what he was looking for and carefully left the greenhouse, fireweed in hand. He ran straight back to the castle as fast as he could. * * * * * * Severus Snape was already on his way to the Medical Wing when Ron Weasley came running around the corner. The redheaded boy skidded to a stop, slightly winded. He took a second to catch his breath, looking up at the imposing professor. "Madame Pomfrey needs to see you and Malfoy," he gasped. Severus nodded. "I'm already on my way there, Mr. Weasley," he informed the boy. Ron looked around. "I need to get Malfoy," he told the Potions Master. Severus shook his head. "Not right now," he said, the walked past Ron towards the Medical Wing. Ron shot him a glare and followed him back. When they arrived, Dumbledore looked up from where he was standing next to Harry, Snuffles giving a little grunt at Professor Snape's entrance. "Where's Mr. Malfoy?" the Headmaster asked him. "He never arrived at the Great Hall for dinner," Severus told him. Ron cursed. "He probably had something to do with this!" he cried. Severus gave him a cold look and seemed about to say something, when Remus burst into the room. "Something's happened," said the werewolf, handing the fireweed to Madame Pomfrey. "There's been an attack." "Slow down, Mr. Lupin," the Headmaster said. "Start from the beginning." Remus nodded and took a deep breath. "There's been an attack out by the greenhouse. Half of the building has been shattered and it looks like someone cast a powerful curse. The whole place is covered in blood." "My God," Madame Pomfrey gasped, looking up from where she was rapidly crushing the fireweed in a small mortar and pestle. "Who?" "I don't know," Remus said. "There was nobody there." A thump sounded in the room and they all turned to see Severus collapsed in a chair, his face white, his hands shaking. "Greenhouse D?" he asked, his voice wavering. Remus nodded. "Yes," he replied. "I sent Draco out there," Severus said, his voice constricted with horror and shock. "He needed to get some laurel for a sleeping potion I was going to teach him to make tonight." Dumbledore tugged on his beard in frustration. "Minerva," he said quickly, turning to look at the Professor, "I need you to go back to the Great Hall and get Hagrid and get some of the other teachers together to start going over the grounds. If Mr. Malfoy is injured and still here, we need to find him right away." He looked over at Remus. "I want you to go as well," he told the werewolf. "Your senses could help out a great deal." Remus nodded and he, along with Professor McGonagall, raced out of the room. Professor Snape rose to follow. "One moment, Severus," said the Headmaster. "He's my Godson," the Potions Master told him, voice filled with anguish. "I have to help find him." "I know," Dumbledore said, "but I need to know why you were going to teach Mr. Malfoy a sleeping potion." Before he could answer, Madame Pomfrey spoke up from where she was putting the finishing touches on the potion designed to revive Harry. "They must have been connected, Severus," she told him, ignoring Dumbledore's perplexed look. "He didn't tell us, but he must have known. Harry must have collapsed when Draco was attacked. That's why he doesn't have a curse signature." "I can't believe Draco wouldn't have told me about this," Severus said darkly. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Dumbledore interjected before anymore could be said. Severus cast a look at the Headmaster, then took a deep breath and explained the attack on the train and the reflected spell. "But I had no idea he and Mr. Potter had formed a connection because of it," Severus finished. "Madame Pomfrey and I believed it would only truly effect Draco and therefore wasn't worth mentioning, since it left him with no permanent injuries." "I wish you had told me," Dumbledore said, looking down at Harry. Snuffles growled fiercely at Severus from where he was perched near the bed. The Headmaster placed a hand on the animagus' head to still him. "You've been keeping a lot of things from me these past few weeks, Severus." "We live in complicated times," Severus said shortly, having no room in his whirling emotions for guilt. Madame Pomfrey walked over to Harry and pulled him to a sitting position, a vial of brown-liquid in her hand. "If they are connected, as we suspect," she said, cutting off what looked to her like the start of an argument, "then they may be sharing a dream as we speak. If this is the case, Harry may be the only one who can tell us where Mr. Malfoy is." She poured the potion down Harry's throat, then laid him back down. "What do we do now?" Ron asked. He'd been silent throughout the whole telling of the reflected spell story, wracked with guilt, thinking he may have been part of what put Harry in this state. Madame Pomfrey gave him an even look. "We wait." * * * * * * There was nothing. No light, no air, no floor or ceiling, no sense of up and down - nothing except an unending rolling blackness. Harry struggled to orient himself against the darkness, trying to make sense of what he wasn't seeing. Moments before, he'd been in the Great Hall, preparing to go back to his dorm. Then... Harry shuddered, remembering the ungodly pain that had wracked through his body. It felt ten times worse than the cruciatus curse, shooting through every nerve in his body. He remembered hearing screaming, then barely understanding that it was coming from him, and then... blackness. Nothingness. Where he was now. Harry bit his lip and wondered if he was dead. A sound finally reached his ears, very soft, but sounding amazingly loud in the nothingness. Harry turned, trying to locate the sound, the only thing he had to latch onto. It sounded like a whimpering or a soft crying, and it echoed around him, filling him with despair. Draco. Harry saw the smaller boy, floating in the blackness, not far from him, completely naked, his legs pulled up again his chest, head buried in his knees. His pale body seemed to glow in the dimness, his long silvery hair hanging limply around him. Without seeming to move, Harry instantly found himself next to the Slytherin, afraid to touch him. "Draco?" he whispered. The boy whimpered again, pulling himself tighter into a ball. "Draco?" he said again, reaching out a tentative hand to touch Draco's back. Draco cried out, his whole body shaking. "Stop it," he hissed, his voice gravelly and rough. "Stop it." "Draco, it's me!" Harry said, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Calm down." Draco shook his head, his eyes squeezed shut. "It's hurts," he whispered. "This is when I wake up. I can't wake up! Why can't I wake up?" Harry shook his head, even though Draco couldn't see him. "I don't know," he replied. "I don't know what's going on." Draco finally looked up, his silvery eyes red-rimmed. He shuddered, his arms crossed over his chest. "I can't wake up," he whispered. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's shivering frame and the Slytherin buried his face in Harry's shirt, his body wracked with sobs. Harry cradled him, resting his chin on top of Draco's head, brushing his hand along Draco's hair. "I'm here," Harry said softly, trying to calm him. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." Without warning, Harry felt himself tugged away from Draco, who screamed at the loss, a scream that echoed Harry's own. The blackness melted away, bright light slamming into Harry's eyes, filling his head with pain. A horribly bitter taste filled his mouth and Harry gasped at the cold air filling his lungs. He breathed fitfully, hands grabbing at the sheets of the bed he was on, looking in shock at the faces suddenly hovering over him. "Harry!" cried Ron, his voice horribly loud to his ears, Harry shrinking back from them in panic and confusion. "Back away, back away!" cried another voice, pushing the faces away from him. Madame Pomfrey came into view. "Give him some room," she said softly. Noticing how rapidly Harry was blinking away at the light, muttered a quick spell to dim the brightness in the room. "What did you do?" Harry panted, his voice rough and angry. "Why did you take me away? Where's Draco? Where is he?" "Calm down, Harry," Madame Pomfrey said soothingly. "You've been unconscious for over an hour." "Where... is... Draco?" Harry ground out between clenched teeth. "We were rather hoping you could tell us." Professor Dumbledore hovered into view, old eyes looking down at Harry in concern. "Mr. Malfoy is gone, Harry. It looks as though he may have been attacked. He's not on the grounds and we can't find him." Harry looked around at those gathered. Professor Snape was standing in the back, his expression unreadable in the dim light. Ron stood a little ways away, Snuffles at his side. Harry closed his eyes, trying to reach out to Draco's mind like he'd been able to do before, but felt nothing. He shivered. "I saw him," Harry finally answered, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "He's in so much pain. Everything was distorted... strange. I-I don't know where he is. I don't think he knows, either. He's scared and somebody is hurting him. That's all I know for certain." Severus suddenly stepped forward. "I'm going to go contact Lucius and Narcissa," he stated. Dumbledore whirled on him. "I don't think that's a good idea, Severus," he said sternly. "We need to find something concrete to tell them before they come down here." Severus shook his head firmly. "I'm telling them right now," he said, then turned around and swept out of the room. Dumbledore sighed at his exit. "Now we'll have even more problems," he said under his breath, then looked back at Harry. "You try to relax, Harry. There's nothing you can do about this right now." Harry shook his head weakly. "I can help," he insisted. "I can help find him. Just let me go back to sleep and talk to him..." "That could be dangerous," Dumbledore said firmly. "Because your minds are connected, if Mr. Malfoy were to... pass on while you were with him, it could have disastrous effects on you." He looked over at Madame Pomfrey. "I want you to keep him awake, please." "No!" Harry cried, but Madame Pomfrey nodded her head. "I will," she promised. "No!" Harry shouted again, trying to get out of bed. Madame Pomfrey reached over to hold him down. "You can't do this! I have to help him! I have to find him!" Dumbledore turned to the others in the room. "Mr. Weasley," he said, taking in the dismayed expression on the redhead's face, "I think it would be best if you returned to the Great Hall with your peers. I need to go make the announcement that everyone will need to stay there tonight, as we did a few years ago." He looked down at Snuffles. "If you wouldn't mind coming with me?" he asked the dog, who whined in Harry's direction, then nodded his head. "Good," Dumbledore finished. "After the announcement is made, we'll meet up with the others outside to take gauge of the Mr. Malfoy situation." "Please," Harry begged, now being held down by invisible, magic restraints conjured up by the nurse. "Please, let me help find him! He's my friend and he needs me!" Dumbledore just gave Harry's cheek a little pat, then turned and led the others out of the room, Ron shooting one parting glance at Harry over his shoulder before he disappeared from view. Harry let his head collapse back on the pillow and whimpered. * * * * * * Severus had read once, somewhere, that the most dangerous animal in the world was an angry mother protecting her offspring. He hadn't been sure what to make of it at the time, thinking nothing could be as dangerous as some of the magical creatures he'd come across during his studies, but now, he was a firm believer. His belief was helped along by the fact that he was currently shoved up hard against a wall, the petite hands of Narcissa Malfoy lifting him easily off the ground as she clutched at the front of his shirt, eyes blazing with anger. "Where... is... my... SON?" she growled, banging him back against the wall. "Where is he?" "'Cissa, I don't know," Severus choked out, glancing over at Lucius. The tall man wasn't paying attention to his plight, instead leafing through several books, looking for spell, any spell, that could help them. With a shake of his head, he dropped the book, then carefully extracted Severus from his wife's grip. "Severus would never purposely allow our son to be injured," he told her gently, though also looking quite pale and strung-out. "Killing him won't help the situation." Severus coughed a few times and nodded his head, thankful to have his airway back. When he had first returned to his private chambers, intent on contacting the Malfoys, he'd been rather surprised to find them already there, having taken advantage of a private Floo network Severus had installed the year Draco began attending school. They'd already known something had happened to their son, which shouldn't have been a surprise to Severus. There were enough charms on the boy for them to keep tabs on him at all times. It was a consequence of constantly living in fear that one day, something horrible might happen to their son. It seemed as though that day had come. "When I find out who's hurt my son, I'm going to KILL them," Narcissa ground out, rapidly pacing the length of the room, tugging at her hair. She shook her head. "No, I'm not going to kill them," she amended darkly, "I'm going to TORTURE them, for as long and as painfully as I can, and THEN I'm going to kill them!" "Get in line," Severus said, his voice still rough. Lucius shook his head angrily. "We need to focus," he said adamantly. "We need to figure this out. After we got the signal that Draco was in mortal danger, we couldn't track him anymore. Whoever took him must have known about the charms we have on him." "It's a common practice," Severus said. "Especially in high risk situations like Draco's." "But the charms are strong," Narcissa interjected. "Only a powerful wizard with great knowledge of those sort of protections would be able to block them." "That doesn't leave very many suspects," Lucius finished. "The only people with knowledge of those sort of protection spells are the Divinators who cast them, but we did the protection spells ourselves, so that's out. Other than that, I'd say some of the other Death Eaters, and..." "Aurors," Severus finished. "Moody." "Alastor Moody was here?" Narcissa asked wildly. "He was," Severus said, "but he was supposed to have left." "No doubt with my son tucked under his arm," Lucius growled. "We never should have let Draco come here," Narcissa said fiercely. "We should have tutored him at home, where he'd be safe." "We couldn't have sheltered him forever," Lucius told his distraught wife, giving her a brief hug. "We did the best we can. Now, we just have to keep doing that." "The Headmaster should be informed," Severus said, not really wanting to break the tender moment, but knowing time was of the essence. "If Moody really is suspect, he might know where he is." "And he might have been in on it!" Lucius snapped. "I'm afraid I have no reason to hold that crazy old man in the same respect you do, Severus. No, we'll do this on our own. All we need is some kind of lead." Severus frowned. "I think I know where to start," he said darkly. * * * * * * The Hogwarts' grounds were lit up like day, the majority of the teaching staff hovering around the greenhouse, looking at the carnage with everything ranging from disgust to fear. In the full light, it looked even worse than Remus had described. The amount of blood on the ground and stuck on the glass was staggering, the air filled with what smelled like burnt rice, the blackened grass still smoking lightly. Professor Sprout crouched down over the only glass outside of the greenhouse, what looked like the remains of a glass jar, laurel petals, once bright white, now stained with blood. She had tears running down her face. "If he hadn't come out here, this wouldn't have happened," she said brokenly. Professor Flitwick patted her shoulder with shaking hands. Hagrid came trotting back up to the group, his face not indicating any good news. "The centaur's didn't see nothin'," he said gruffly. "Whatever happened, it was quick. None of the charms surrounding the school hav' been broken, so nobody was here what shoudn'ta been." "So we've reached a dead end," Professor McGonagall said with a frown. She looked over at the Headmaster. "Should we contact the Ministry?" "They won't know what to do," Dumbledore replied, "and worse, they'll probably leak it to the press. I can't imagine that helping Mr. Malfoy's situation at all." He sighed. "Everyone, spread out again," he called to the group. "Let's give it one more look and see if anything comes up." The teachers nodded and walked off into the darkness. Remus and Snuffles stayed behind. "Headmaster," Remus said quietly, "maybe we should allow Harry to help. It might be Draco's only chance." Dumbledore shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "Harry's much more important than that boy." He walked off quickly, heading into the darkness. Remus stared dumbfounded after him. "What?" he asked the air, then looked back down at Snuffles, whose face echoed his own confusion even with a dog's expression. * * * * * * Harry struggled against the magical restraints, trying to get away. He looked wildly over at Madame Pomfrey, who was sitting at her desk across the room, looking at Harry with concern. Harry struggled again, gnawing nervously on his bottom lip. "Let me up!" he shouted at her. "Let me help him! Let me GO!" "Harry, please calm down," she begged the boy. "The Headmaster knows what's best, you know that. We don't want you getting hurt, too." "I don't care!" Harry cried. "I can't feel him anymore, don't you understand that? I need to find him! He's part of me now! I can't let him be in pain!" "Harry..." she said worriedly, rising from her chair to walk over to him. Suddenly, the door the infirmary burst open, Severus Snape striding into the room, closely followed by Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The nurse gaped at the sudden appearance of Draco's parents. "How did you two get here?" she asked, once she'd found her voice. The three of them ignored her, walking over to Harry's bedside. The boy had fallen very still at their entrance, staring closely at the worry-filled faces of Draco's parents. "Harry," began Narcissa quietly, putting a soft hand on his head, "do you think you can find our son?" Harry nodded, unable to speak at the anguished tenderness of the woman's voice, so much like he often imagined his own mother might speak to him. Her eyes were kind, though frightened. Harry couldn't imagine the pain of losing a son and never wanted to know what that felt like. He hadn't been able to help Cedric, but maybe he could help Draco. "Absolutely not!" All of them looked up as Madame Pomfrey strode over, Narcissa removing her hand from Harry as she stood up straight. "The Headmaster insisted that Harry be kept awake and out of this!" continued the nurse. "I won't have you three putting him in harm's way!" "My SON is in harm's way as we speak!" Lucius shouted, walking up the nurse. She wasn't fazed in the least. "I'm aware of that," the nurse said calmly, "and we're doing everything we can to find him. But I refuse to allow you to put a one student in danger for the sake of another!" "If he wants to help, then let him!" Severus replied, taking a step forward. "He doesn't know what he wants!" countered the nurse. "He doesn't have the slightest understanding of--" "SOPORUS!" Madame Pomfrey's eyes rolled back in her head and she hit the floor before she could finish her sentence. Both Lucius and Severus turned to see Narcissa standing firm, her wand still pointed where the nurse had once stood. "We don't have time for this nonsense," she said shortly, turning around and waving her wand over Harry to release his magical restraints. The boy sat up and rubbed his wrists, looking at the fallen nurse, then back at Draco's mother, very impressed. "Lucius, lock and guard the door," continued Narcissa, barking out orders to the men in the room. "Severus, come over here with that sleeping draught for Harry." She looked back at Harry and gave him a small, if sad, smile. "Are you sure you're up to this?" she asked him. Harry nodded again. "I want to help find him," he told her earnestly. "I know I can do it. We haven't really gotten along all that well in the past, but I feel like I've really come to understand him these past few days." Narcissa smiled again and Harry could see tears at the corners of her eyes. He reached out and put a hand on her arm. "He'll be alright," he promised her. "He's strong and resourceful. You two raised him well." Narcissa gave a small nod, then reached down and gathered Harry in a tight hug, placing a small kiss on the top of his head. "Thank you, Harry," she whispered. Harry didn't want her to let go - she smelled nice and was warm. It was like the hugs he got from Mrs. Weasley. He wondered if it was something special about mothers. He suddenly missed his own. Narcissa finally let go and Severus handed him a vial filled with a light blue liquid. "You'll fall asleep almost instantly," he warned him, "but you'll be able to wake up any time you want. It's designed to put you to sleep, but not to keep you asleep. That should give you a safeguard. Try to convince Draco to look around and find out where he is - any detail will help." Harry nodded and looked down at the potion, taking a deep breath before putting the glass to his lips and drinking it down. The vial was plucked from his hand just as his head started to hit the pillow, and the last thought Harry had was that it tasted a bit like raspberries. The world went dark. prologue, part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten, part eleven, part twelve back? |