Dark Rage
~For Once, A Break ~
***
Forty-six minutes, that's all the sleep I got! Having awoken nine hours previously Harry Potter was laying in his bed, gazing at the ceiling. He wasn't really looking at anything, he was just looking at the ceiling, and not taking anything in, as flashes of Sirius flew threw his brain. The nightmares this time had been about him. Harry felt guilty, remembering that he had not thought about Sirius for quite some time, well, considering the fact that Voldemort and the force that revealed itself as the Dark were tormenting him endlessly.
But now Harry was free to let himself wander in the past with Sirius. The tears that were falling down his face could explain the grief he was feeling. Crying did nothing to help, though, as terrible thoughts and emotions filled Harry to the brim. The fact that he, Harry, had brought about his Godfather's demise was not happy ground to tread. Albeit unintentionally, Harry still found himself guilty for bringing his Godfather to the place of his eventual doom.
The endless abyss that was Sirius could never be filled again. It was now two fathers that had died for him, along with a mother and a newfound friend. He could not help but feel that four murder counts were now placed upon him.
A snore came from a bed to Harry's right. Lupin had spent the night in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts with Harry. Harry could help but feel grateful towards Lupin, for showing such care as to stay here. But then again, if Lupin cared for him too much, then Lupin would end up dying as well. Harry could not lose another fatherly figure. In truth, Lupin was like a father to Harry, for they had been friends before Harry had even known the truth about Sirius.
Sirius, how I wish you could come back. The melancholy of Sirius' untimely death made Harry want to crawl under his covers, curl up, and die. But Harry couldn't curl up, because the slightest movement to his torso sent a ripple of pain jolting through his body. His entire midsection was wrapped in bandages, along with his right arm, which had been scalded by extremely hot coffee by his Uncle Vernon. His midsection had been crushed by a giant snake, Naginni, the pet of the evil Lord Voldemort (dark wizard, desire to rule the world, determined to kill Harry).
Harry recalled what had happened that night, but to his surprise, most of the details Harry had forgotten. That was a good thing though, because he had the slight suspicion that he did not want to remember what had happened to him. Judging by his injuries, it had not been a pleasant experience.
A wave of fatigue washed over him, and he needed sleep. But he did not want sleep, because it was in his slumber that he was most vulnerable to Voldemort and the Dark, and that is how the nightmares came. He did not know which one he feared the most, Voldemort or the Dark. On one hand, Harry thought about Voldemort. Voldemort wanted him dead, and would stop at nothing to do so. The prophecy had condemned him to this fate. On the other hand, he had the Dark: The strange, mysterious force that plagued his mind, offering him power and lordship with no consequences. The latter seemed like the better choice, but Harry had a suspicion that the Dark was not all that it seemed.
A door opened and Harry watched as Madame Pompfrey marched over to his bed to examine him.
"Well Potter, how are you feeling this morning?" she said briskly, eyeing his pale and thin form.
"My ribs just hurt a little, along with my arm, but other than that I'm fine," Harry answered. In truth, every time he breathed in he felt a bit dizzy and his chest ached. But, he detested being in the Hospital Wing, considering he had been here so many times before in his years at Hogwarts, and was keen to leave already. "So when can I leave?"
"Leave? You're not going to be leaving for a long time, Potter! You're entire midsection was crushed, and you had traces of snake venom in your blood, along with serious scalding on your arm and some other bruises and lacerations. You're lucky to be alive!"
Overall the examination went pretty well, with Madame Pompfrey muttering under her breath at how much Harry got injured. He was quite relieved when she left so that he could relax. He had been given several potions to ease the pain and help the bones and internal organs damaged, heal.
Lupin had been awoken by Madame Pompfrey, and was now sitting by Harry's bedside, eyeing him with concern.
"Are you alright, Harry?" he asked.
"Yes," lied Harry. He did not need to worry Lupin; Lupin was already looking older than his age. He looked considerably paler and worn today, which had Harry guessing if the full moon was coming up.
"You're sure?" asked Lupin.
"Yes," Harry repeated. He didn't like lying to Lupin, but he did not want to talk about what was troubling him. Nobody else needed to be bothered by it. He could handle it on his own.
Lupin sat in silence for a long time, no doubt thinking about Sirius. He had also suffered from Harry's Godfather's death. Lupin had been best friends with Sirius since his school days, and had just been reunited with him two years previously. Lupin then got up and left, saying that he had to meet with the Headmaster today.
At around lunchtime, the door opened again, and a mass of bushy brown hair was all that Harry saw before it obscured his vision. She had him in an awkward sort of hug that made Harry's torso give a very unpleasant ache. She seemed to notice in an instant and let go.
"I'm so sorry Harry," she said quickly. Harry told her not to worry about it.
"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.
"I'm okay. Nothing Madame Pompfrey can't fix," he replied, giving her a small smile.
"You look tired," she said, eyeing the bags under his eyes and expression of fatigue.
"I haven't gotten much sleep this summer," he answered quietly.
"Is it because of the nightmares?" she asked gently.
"Yes," he whispered, almost inaudibly.
At the thought of the nightmares, horrible images flashed in front of his eyes. He remembered seeing all of these things while he was asleep. And then, as he looked at Hermione, he remembered one of his nightmares very clearly.
"There's no pulse Harry, she's gone," Neville said quietly.
"NO SHE ISN'T! SHE CAN'T BE GONE!" Harry roared, "She can't be dead, she just can't be…"
Black spots were appearing in front of his eyes. He couldn't breath; he didn't even realize it when his knees hit the ground. His vision was swirling, he was dizzy, and he felt like he was going to vomit. Over and over again he kept muttering disbelievingly, "She can't be dead… Please, no, don't let her be dead… She just can't be dead."
"Harry?" He was broken from his reminiscence at the sound of Hermione's voice. He looked up at her, and saw that her face was full of worry.
"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" she asked apprehensively.
"Yes," he answered, "wait, no, I'm not."
"What's wrong? Do you need anything?" she asked gently.
"No, not really."
"Then what do you need?"
Harry thought for a second. "Hermione, do you ever have nightmares? Ones that are almost real?"
Hermione shook her head no.
"Oh," he whispered.
At that moment, his stomach gave a loud rumble, and Hermione couldn't resist a giggle.
"Someone's hungry," she smiled. "I'll go get us some food." She gazed at Harry for a few moments, blushed when she realized Harry was looking questioningly at her, and walked out the door.
She returned a few minutes later, her arms laden with all sorts of delicious, mouth-watering, Hogwarts food.
"You didn't have the house-elves make that, did you?" he asked with a grin on his face. "I thought you were against them working without pay?"
"Yeah, well, I can change my views if I want to," she said defensively, although she broke down into a smile as Harry laughed, and then she joined him.
When they were done, both of them were feeling quite content and relaxed. Hermione was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, watching him as he leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes. He looked peaceful, for once today.
For a long time they just sat in silence, glad to be in each other's presence. Instinctively, Hermione moved a bit closer to Harry to get more comfortable. Absentmindedly, she began running her hand through his hair.
"Mmm, that feels good," he said. Hermione only smiled. She was glad she was able to make Harry at peace. Harry had never had an easy life, and it pained Hermione to see him when he looked so tired, and so…old. Not physically was he old, of course, but Hermione could see in his eyes that he had seen things that nobody should see, horrors that would haunt him forever.
"Hermione, how did you get here?" Harry asked suddenly. Her hand stopped its routine as Harry turned his head to face her.
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "I came here by portkey. After you appeared on my front lawn, Dumbledore appeared moments later and came to collect you. How he knew where you had gone, I don't know, but after taking you here, he came back to me and asked if I wanted to come. I said `of course' and he gave me the portkey which brought me here."
She closed her eyes, and seemed to be remembering a rather painful memory.
"The portkey brought me here, into the Hospital Wing. The first thing I saw was you on this bed. You were covered in blood, and you're breathing was ragged, and you looked as if you were going to…" she trailed off as tears filled her eyes.
Harry sat up and wrapped Hermione in a hug, he could care less about the pain in his chest, all he wanted to do was comfort Hermione. He whispered soothing words in her ear, and was letting her cry onto his shoulder.
Soon his shirt was wet with Hermione's tears, but he didn't care. "I'm so sorry Harry," she sobbed. Harry just hushed her.
"What happened that night, Harry?" she sniffed. "What happened to you?"
Harry did not want to tell her the gruesome details; he did not want to tell her how he had almost been killed yet again, and how he had been tortured all summer long. He did not want to burden her with this.
"Harry?" Hermione pleaded.
"I was attacked by Voldemort," said Harry darkly, pausing at Hermione's gasp, "he possessed my uncle and tried to kill me."
Hermione clung to him even harder, as though afraid he might die any second.
"Is that all?" she asked.
"No," Harry answered, "there's more, a lot more. I don't want to burden you with it, though, it's too horrifying."
"You need to talk about it, and I'm here to listen," she answered.
Before Harry could say anything else, the door opened yet again, and Albus Dumbledore himself walked into the Hospital Wing, followed closely by Lupin.
At the sight of Dumbledore, a surge of anger rose within Harry. This man, this great wizard, had been withholding vital information from Harry, which had in turn led to his Godfather's death. Although Harry blamed himself mostly for Sirius' death, a small part of him blamed it on Dumbledore too.
Harry glared at the aged man as he took a seat next to Harry's bed. Dumbledore mentally winced at the anger and disgust Harry was expressing.
"Harry, I know you and I are not on the best of terms at the moment-"
"Damn right, we're not on the best of terms," Harry spat. Hermione and Lupin looked taken aback at the word choice Harry was throwing in Dumbledore's face. They both muttered things like "Harry!" and "Don't use that language!" Dumbledore, however, looked calm and deserving of Harry's detestation.
"Harry, I am sorry for what I have done, but please, can you at least find the kindness in your heart to forgive me. It is sometimes difficult for the old to remember how the young feel. I will try my best not to repeat my misdoings, but I cannot make a promise I am not fully sure I can keep."
Harry glared for a moment longer, and then his expression softened, a little bit. "What did you want?"
"There were a couple of things that I wanted to do, one of which was to ask you how you are feeling at the moment." Dumbledore said calmly.
"I'm fine," Harry said dismissively.
"That's good," Dumbledore said, "Once again you have thwarted Tom Riddle.
"Which brings me to my next item on my agenda. I would like, if you were willing, to recount what happened to you the night of Voldemort's attack. I understand completely if you decline."
Harry considered it for a moment, and then spoke, "Not today, a lot has happened and I'm too tired to do anything. Maybe some other day."
"That's just fine Harry. We can do this whenever you want. My third item was to answer any questions you have; any I can answer without lying to you."
"I have two questions: one, how did I escape from Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe that you teleported," Dumbledore looked worried as he said this, and Harry was about to ask him about it, when Dumbledore answered his unasked question. "Harry, I must stress this on you, do not try to teleport again. It is dangerous magic, and if not performed correctly, can have serious, if not fatal, consequences. Wizards who meddle with teleportation often end up in different places around the universe, and sometimes in different times, and even worse, in different dimensions. When using teleportation incorrectly, you could end up appearing inside anything, even, another person. Do not try to teleport."
Harry looked slightly sick at the thought of appearing inside of another person, and tried to concentrate on something else; like the tight grip Hermione had on his hand.
"Now, what was your other question, Harry?"
Harry lost his train of thought while concentrating on Hermione's hand, and had to be asked again.
"What? Oh. I was just wondering where I was going to spend the rest of my summer holidays, if I ever get out of this place. I don't want to go back to the Dursley's or Grimmauld Place, and I don't feel like being around so many people at the Burrow."
The familiar twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes shone again, and he glanced at Hermione and then Harry. Harry did not see Hermione blush.
"I think you ought to let Miss Granger answer that question," he said with a smile.
Harry turned to look at her, and saw the blush on her face. When she realized he was waiting for her to speak, her blush deepened. She became immensely interested in the tiles on the floor.
"I asked my parents if you could stay over the summer at my house, and they agreed, and so…if you want to…you know…come over and stay with us…" Hermione said sheepishly.
"I'd love to," Harry said, and Hermione looked up at him with a huge smile on her face, and Harry could not help but give her a wide grin as well.
***
I think I might have put Harry and Hermione a little out of character, and I hope it doesn't detract too much from the story. As you might have noticed, I decided to give Harry a break for once in this story, considering I have been very cruel to him in the previous chapters. Well, off to write another chapter!
The Dark Sorceror
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