CH.22

"Come on Harry, you need to wake up now. Just follow the sound of my voice."

"Is he responding?" asked Amelia, raising her voice to make herself heard over the frantic screams that were coming from the person on the bed.

"Signs are good," replied Cyrus "And he's stopped thrashing about. Keep it up Sarah."

"Keep following my voice Harry," Sarah continued, caressing her hand gently over his forehead, though carefully so as to avoid the scar that had turned an angry red "Come on now. It's time to wake up."

Finally Harry's screams ended, and his emerald eyes fluttered open, to find that he was lying on his back.

Sarah Abbott was smiling down at him, though she had tears in her eyes that showed that she had been very worried "Welcome back, Harry."

Shakily Harry pushed himself up into a sitting position, and Sarah helped him to move back to sit against the pillows and the headboard of the bed.

Harry could feel himself shaking all over. Sweat was running off of him, with his clothes and the bed sheets soaked in the stuff. His throat hurt badly as well. Had there been a mirror nearby he would have seen that he was extremely pale.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice croaky.

"We were going to ask you that," replied Madam Bones "You started screaming about an hour ago, and we've only just been able to wake you up."

"So, what was it Harry?" asked Greengrass "What is it that you saw in your mind."

Harry swallowed, through it was uncomfortable as his mouth was very dry. A moment later he summoned up the courage to reply.

"Voldemort. It was Voldemort. I encountered the part of him that lives within me."

At that there was a gasp from over by the door. All eyes turned just in time to see Susan disappear from the slight gap left open between the door and the frame.

Madam Bones got up and went to deal with her eavesdropping niece.

Sarah and Greengrass both turned their attentions back to Harry.

"So you encountered Voldemort in your mind?" asked Greengrass "What happened then."

"He attacked me," replied Harry, his voice now becoming oddly hollow "he tried to kill me. And I was forced to relive some of my worst memories…" he trailed off looking, for lack of a better word, lost.

"All the more reason to get that thing out of you then," replied Greengrass.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Susan protested.

"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done by those who "didn't mean to,"" replied Amelia "In future when I ask you to stay out of the way I expect you to do so."

"Fine, but it's hard ignore that amount of screaming in your own home," retorted Susan.

Amelia sighed and replied "I know it is. But Harry was probably embarrassed enough without you seeing him in that state as well."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Susan.

"Too much," replied Amelia "Though most of that either stems from people poking their nose in where it does not belong, or ignoring things for far too long."

"That's why he's here, isn't it?" asked Susan "You want to help him?"

"It's time someone did," answered Amelia "For now though, I need one thing from you."

Susan gave a nod of understanding. What with her living with the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, this wasn't the first time she had been subjected to something she should not have either seen or heard.

She drew her wand, held it straight up before her and proclaimed "I, Susan Amelia Bones to hereby swear to not reveal any knowledge about Harry Potter that I have learnt in the past hour."

There was a glow that surrounded her before quickly fading out. Amelia gave a satisfied nod and told Susan to head up to bed. Thankfully she had already squared it with the Ministry so that her niece could use her wand to swear an oath of silence on any given matter. This way secrets were kept, and the Ministry did not waste time sending out owls.

She returned to Harry's room to find both Sarah and Cyrus leaving it.

"He's fallen asleep," explained Sarah "I've cast a warning charm around his bed, which will awaken him should he start having nightmares."

"Thank you," replied Amelia "Both of you. You didn't have to come on such short notice."

"Glad we could help," replied Cyrus "I'm just happy we didn't have to resort to drastic measures."

Amelia knew that he was referring to the collection of strange instruments he had brought with him.

"Should I have him continue his occlumency training?" she asked.

"No," replied Cyrus "It's probably for the best that he stays away from that thing in his scar until we know exactly what it is and, preferably, get rid of it."

Amelia nodded in understanding, and bade her two guests' goodnight.

As the pair made their way downstairs to use the floo in the kitchen to return to the respective homes, Amelia pushed open the door to Harry's room.

He was sleeping soundlessly, wrapped in sheets that one of the House Elves must have provided, and he had either changed into his pyjamas or Sarah had dried the clothes he had already been wearing and then transfigured them into appropriate bed wear.

She closed the door and began to make her way to her own room, all the while hoping that whatever that thing in Harry's scar turned out to be, there would be an easy and pain free way to get rid of it. Unfortunately bitter experience told her that life rarely worked out that way.

Many miles away, Lord Voldemort was glad that he had instructed all his minions, devoted or otherwise, to leave him for the evening. It would not have done to collapse in pain like that in front of those bloody-minded sycophants.

With a groan he pulled himself off the floor and slumped back into his black throne-like chair. For the first time in a long time he felt vulnerable, and that was a feeling that Lord Voldemort did not like. He did not like it in the slightest.

.....

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