The Time of Destiny

Chapter 25 - Everlasting Sleep

"Today's lesson is about Plimpies," Hagrid said, leading his class of mixed Gryffindors and Slytherins to several large cauldrons in which small, mottled, spherical fish were walking around on their rubbery legs. "The Plimpy is found in deep lakes and walks along the bottom looking for food. They move around by walking or by swimming with their webbed feet. They're not really dangerous, but they will nibble the toes or clothing of swimmers at times. Merpeople think Plimpies are pests and at times they'll get rid of 'em by tying the Plimpy's legs together. The Plimpy just floats away until it can get its legs unknotted, which can take a couple o' hours. Their legs are rubbery, no real bones ter speak of, so it doesn't really hurt 'em ter knot up their legs."

"What use are these stupid things?" Blaise Zabini sneered.

"They're magical creatures, and this class is Care of Magical Creatures, since you seem ter have forgotten," Hagrid snapped irritably. "We're goin' ter learn how ter unknot their legs so you can help 'em if you find any the merpeople have tied up." He glanced around the class. "Can anyone tell me what the Plimpy's favourite food is?" Only one hand went up. "Yes, Hermione?"

"The Plimpy's favourite food is water snails, although they will eat other small crustaceans, fish or bugs if they can find them," she replied, textbook perfect as usual.

"Well done, five points ter Gryffindor," Hagrid said happily. "Now then, I've got a Plimpy for each o' you. I want you ter choose one, tie its legs in a good tight knot, then put it back in the water and watch how it tries to free itself. Don't keep them out o' the water too long, I don't want any of 'em ter die. After a bit, I'll tell you ter untie their legs and then you'll turn 'em loose in yer cauldron and see how quick they recover and walk around normally again."

The class followed Hagrid's instructions and soon were giggling or cursing as they tried to hold the slippery spherical fish long enough to knot their legs. Eventually, all of the fish had knotted legs and were bobbing around in their cauldrons looking discouraged and rather sad.

"Oh, poor things," Lavender Brown said, watching them struggle. "Can't we turn them loose now, Hagrid?"

"Give 'em another few minutes," Hagrid said. "It won't hurt 'em. They're just a bit frustrated right now."

On Hagrid's signal a short time later, the class began the difficult task of untying the legs of their Plimpies.

"Bloody hell, they're slippery!" Ron griped as his Plimpy managed to pop out of his arms and back into the water for the third time.

"This is disgusting," Zabini growled in a voice that carried over the entire clearing.

"Not everythin' ter do with caring for magical creatures is fun, Zabini," Hagrid said, with an obvious effort to remain patient.

"Nothing to do with caring for magical creatures is fun," Zabini grumbled.

"I heard that," Hagrid snapped. "Five points from Slytherin. Get back to work and quit complaining."

Ron was still having a great deal of difficulty holding on to his fish. "Tuck it under your arm like this, Ron," Hermione told him, demonstrating, "and then it's easier."

"Easy for you to say," he grumbled with a sigh. "Yours is well-behaved. Mine's a right prat!" Harry and Hermione both laughed and Ron managed a sideways grin.

Eventually, all the Plimpies had their legs untied and were once again doing their oddly bobbing waddle across the bottom of the cauldrons.

"Right. Now I want ya ter sketch yer Plimpy and label its body parts," Hagrid said, "and turn those in at the end of class."

The class quieted down as they settled into their task. Finally, class was over and everyone but Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone.

"That was a fun lesson, Hagrid!" Hermione said with a warm smile. "Plimpies are so sweet!"

"Well, they're not dangerous or anythin', but I do have ter untie their legs every so often. I feel sorry for 'em when I see 'em floatin' around with their legs in knots. I thought it would be good ter teach you lot how ter deal with 'em even if they're not really useful or dangerous," Hagrid said, his black beard bristling in what the three friends knew was a smile.

"I wondered what those were when I saw them during the Third Task," Harry said. "I saw these odd things in the distance and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It's nice to know they weren't! D'you need help putting them back in the lake?"

"Yeah, that'd be lovely," Hagrid said happily. "We can't just dump 'em in. We need to put 'em in one at a time so they get set on their feet and don't get dizzy. We'll set cauldrons at different places along the shore and you lot can pick a spot and turn 'em loose there, how's that?"

The boys and Hermione helped Hagrid by levitating the heavy cauldrons to various quiet spots around the lake where trees overhung the shore so the Plimpies would be protected from birds and the sun until they got into deeper water. Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione each picked a spot and started releasing the little fish. They were separated from each other by quite a distance - Hagrid didn't want the Plimpies to be competing for food in the same part of the lake.

Harry settled in to his task cheerfully. The Plimpies were placid and funny and seemed quite grateful to be set gently into the lake and given a soft shove to help them get into deeper water quickly.

Harry sensed someone coming and looked up. A young Hufflepuff boy stood uncertainly at the edge of the trees. Harry glanced around and saw nothing unusual. He was close enough to Hagrid and his friends that he felt safe, and he sensed no danger from this boy, just a nervousness that people who didn't know Harry often showed when meeting him for the first time. By now, he was used to such reactions. He smiled and said, "Hi. Can I help you?"

"You're Harry Potter, aren't you?" Harry nodded. "I was wondering if I could get into the D.A. next year," the boy said, moving a step closer to Harry, his hands deep in his pockets and his face pale and tense.

"Yeah, sure!" Harry said, sitting back on his heels and grinning at the boy. "I won't be in charge next year, but I'll tell Ginny Weasley that you're interested and she can make sure you know when the meetings are. What's your name?"

"Liam Titmarsh," the boy replied uneasily.

"Well, Liam, it's nice to meet you," Harry said easily. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but I have Plimpy slime on my hands right now. Oops!" Harry's attention was back on the small fish, one of which had slipped out of his hands and was now rolling on the ground. Harry had started to reach for it when he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head and fell over. He wasn't unconscious, but dazed. He tried to reach for his wand, but someone quickly stamped on his hand, smashing several of the small bones in it.

"No, you don't, Potter," a voice snarled. "Stupefy!" The spell was inexpertly cast, so Harry wasn't unconscious but couldn't move. He was also perfectly capable of hearing and seeing, as well as feeling what they were doing to him. He gazed up at Liam in confusion. The boy backed away, looking terrified, as three bigger boys in black Hogwarts work robes and hoods surrounded Harry's still form. They started kicking and pummelling him. One of his attackers ran off for a moment and came back brandishing a heavy tree limb and began beating Harry with it, swinging it like a cricket bat. One boy took particular pleasure in jumping on Harry's long, thin hands, mangling them into pulpy, bloody masses.

Harry heard bones cracking in various parts of his body, but was helpless to do anything about it. His mind was screaming in agony and crying out for help, but he couldn't send an Adfero, he couldn't fight back - he was helpless.

"Hurry up!" Liam urged. "They could come back any time!"

"That's enough," the first voice declared. "We aren't going to kill him. We're going to let the giant squid take the blame."

"How are we going to do that?" a second voice asked. He sounded young and frightened.

"Just do what you were told to do," the first voice assured him. Three incantations were said simultaneously, and then a Banishing Charm was performed by one of the boys. Suddenly Harry's bloody, broken body was flying across the surface of the lake, heading for the deepest part in the middle, far from the shore. He hit with a quiet splash.

Harry was fighting the Stunning Spell and the others the three boys had put on him, but having no success. He attempted the gill transformation, but he had no control over his body. As he hit the water, he tried to grab a breath and hold it, but it was simply impossible. He was frantic because so many of his bones were broken, he knew he couldn't possibly swim even if he hadn't been partially Stunned. He couldn't cast any spells, either. How was he going to get to the surface? How was he going to breathe? His lungs were bursting, burning, searing in agony, demanding a breath - he had to breathe! But he couldn't. Sparkles of light flitted across his vision as he began to lose consciousness. He fought to remain alert. He had to stay awake so he could fight, so he could survive! But he hurt so badly in every single part of his body. Sleep would be a blessing, wouldn't it? No, he couldn't sleep, he had to fight! But how could he, when he couldn't move? Harry continued to struggle, but to no avail.

As he sank deeper into the dark water, the sunlight above him receded until it was a small, delicate flicker far above him. He couldn't take his eyes off that point of light.

His mind flashed suddenly to his childhood. When he was very young, his aunt would lock him in the cupboard under the stairs after removing the light bulb so he'd be in the dark. She thought it would keep him quiet, or be a way of punishing him - he never really knew which. The sight of the light from the hallway disappearing around the edges of the door as she shut and locked it had always frightened him, much more so than the dark itself had ever frightened him. Now he was watching the sunlight fade from sight above him and felt even more horror than he'd felt as a small child. He had to get back to the light, he had to have air, he had to survive! Harry fought as hard as he could, but as he sank deeper and deeper into the cold, dark water, everything finally went black and he knew no more.

* * * * *

"What's that racket?" Hermione said as she carried the last of her empty cauldrons to Hagrid's hut.

"Merpeople," Hagrid replied, looking across the lake searching for the source of the noise. "They sound upset."

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked, glancing around. "He hasn't come back yet."

"Dunno," Hagrid said, getting worried now. "Harry? Harry, where are you?"

Ron stood still, listening to the merpeople's screeching. "Hagrid! They are upset! Someone's drowned!"

"Drowned?" Hagrid said in shock.

"I think that's what they're saying. It's all jumbled up," Ron said, concentrating on their voices.

"You speak Mermish?" Hagrid said as his eyes scanned the water.

"Harry and I are taking a class. . ." Ron began, then pointed. "There! Look there!" He, Hagrid and Hermione ran as hard as they could to the place where Harry had been releasing Plimpies. The merpeople were just off-shore, holding something very odd-looking above the water and screeching at the top of their lungs.

"What is that?" Hermione said, tilting her head as she stared at the object. Suddenly she gasped. "HARRY!" she screamed, running into the water next to Ron and Hagrid to pull their friend to shore. "He's not. . .is he?" she cried, tears running down her face.

"What happened?" Hagrid said in great distress. "He was just releasing Plimpies! The water's not deep here. Why's he look so funny? Oh, no, he's all broken up." He lifted the boy's limp body as carefully as he could and laid it gently on the shore.

"Look. There's been a fight here," Hermione told Hagrid as she worked on Harry, doing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation she'd learned in swim class years ago, her eyes scanning the area frantically for clues. "There's a rock with blood on it. And that branch over there," she gasped out between breaths.

Suddenly, Harry gasped and coughed, a huge stream of water coming out of his mouth as Hagrid helped Hermione roll him onto his side. When he was breathing regularly, they turned him on his back again.

"Oh, Harry! Please, wake up!" Hermione urged, doing her best to help him.

"Why d'ya suppose he's translucent?" Hagrid said, bending over Harry's battered body. "I can see the ground underneath 'im!"

"No idea," Hermione replied, still trying to wake her best friend.

Meanwhile, Ron was still in the water talking to the merpeople. He screeched a final reply and turned to Hagrid and Hermione. "He was attacked. They saw the whole thing, but the blokes who attacked him were hooded. They say we all look alike to them anyway, except for Dumbledore, Hagrid, Harry and me. There was another boy who wasn't hooded. He had some colour on his robes, lighter than the red on ours. The rest didn't."

"Was it green?" Hermione said, suspecting Slytherins of the attack.

"I pointed to the grass and asked if it was like that colour, but they said no. It was more like a dandelion I showed them."

"A Hufflepuff?" Hagrid said in shock.

"I'm just saying what they told me," Ron said uneasily.

"We need to get Harry to Madam Pomfrey right away," Hermione said urgently. Harry was still gasping for breath and obviously had numerous broken bones. His shoulders sagged from his broken clavicles. An arm and a leg both poked out at weird angles. His hands were lumpy, swollen pulp.

"The castle is all the way round the lake from here," Hagrid said. "Damned nuisance that I can't make you a Portkey."

"I can make one but. . .MERLIN!" Hermione shouted, holding her wand aloft as she'd seen Harry do to call his phoenix. "HARRY NEEDS YOU!"

"Will he come for you?" Ron asked.

"It's worth a try. We need to let Remus and Dumbledore know - and Ginny," she replied just as a flash of light burst over them. Merlin, Harry's phoenix, landed next to Harry and looked at him, then gazed up at Hermione expectantly.

"He needs to go to the hospital wing," Hermione told the phoenix. "Can you take him there?" Merlin blinked serenely at her.

"'Mione, you should go along so you can tell them what happened," Ron urged her.

"All right," she said, grabbing the phoenix's tail just as Merlin dug his talons into Harry's robes. "He has broken bones. I don't know if this is the best way. . . ."

"It's a smoother ride than a Portkey, it's the fastest and he needs care fast, right?" Ron said. She nodded. "Then go on."

With a flash, Merlin, Harry and Hermione disappeared.

Ron pulled out his Famous Wizard card and told the small Harry on it to tell Dumbledore, Remus and Ginny that Harry was hurt and in the hospital wing.

"Again?" the small image of Harry said in disgust. "What's wrong with him this time?"

"Don't you be cheeky with me," Ron growled. "Get those messages delivered right away!"

"Don't be cheeky with me either!" the tiny Harry retorted saucily.

"Move, or I'll tear this card in two," Ron threatened, which made the little picture of Harry scuttle out the side of his picture frame. "Git."

"Harry's not a git," Hagrid said, shocked Ron would say such a thing about his best mate.

"No, but his card has an attitude," Ron grumbled.

"Well, Harry does too, at times," Hagrid agreed, his voice a sad rumble. He cleared his throat gruffly and added, "Let's gather up this stuff," he said, pointing to the rock and tree branch. "Maybe we can find out who did this."

As Ron carefully released the two Plimpies left in Harry's cauldron, Hagrid bent over and picked up something he'd seen glittering in the long grass nearby. "His glasses," he breathed, then broke down into sobs. Ron patted his arm, trying to comfort him. Hagrid did his best to control himself as he put Harry's glasses in his pocket, then helped Ron wrap up the rock and tree branch in a bed sheet from his cabin. The two of them began striding purposefully toward the castle, their faces taut with worry.

* * * * *

"He has quite a few broken bones," Madam Pomfrey said in concern as she examined Harry. "He's taken a terrible beating. And nearly drowned? Well done, Miss Granger, on getting him breathing. I simply don't understand why he's translucent, though. That's very odd."

"Is he going to be all right?" Hermione asked, tears streaming down her face.

"I have a great deal of work to do on him," Madam Pomfrey said kindly. "Why don't you go and tell Professor Dumbledore what happened? He's just come in."

Hermione joined Professor Dumbledore and began explaining what she knew. Ginny raced through the doors, slamming them back hard against the walls in her hurry, skidding to a stop by Harry's bed. Remus wasn't far behind her.

"What happened?" Ginny gasped, her face white with fear.

"I'm busy just now. Miss Granger is explaining things to the headmaster," Madam Pomfrey said brusquely. "If you want to help, stay here. I can use you. If you want to listen, go over there."

"What can I do to help?" Ginny and Remus asked at the same time.

"Remus, I need a strong hand to help me set these bones. He has a severe head injury, which probably means a concussion at the very least, multiple breaks in his jaw, two broken clavicles, compound fractures in both arms, a compound fracture in one leg, a simple fracture in the other and most of his ribs are broken as well. His hands are, quite simply, a mess. There are internal injuries as well as the broken bones and external wounds. I'm amazed he survived being transported by phoenix," she said tartly.

From her place near the door, Hermione heard the nurse's comment. "We didn't know how else to get him here quickly! We thought a Portkey would be too hard on him."

"And so it would," the nurse agreed. "He could have been brought on a litter, but you're right, Miss Granger, he did need immediate attention."

"I thought about contacting you to come out to where we were, but I thought the phoenix would be faster," she said miserably.

"You used your best judgement under the circumstances," Remus said kindly. "You have nothing to feel bad about."

"You say the merpeople saw what happened?" Dumbledore asked Hermione.

"Yes. Ron talked to them, but they talked all over each other and it was hard for him to understand them," she replied.

"I'm going out to speak to the merpeople. If Mr. Weasley comes in, please ask him to join me," Dumbledore said, quickly striding out of the door.

Ginny cleaned Harry's wounds so it would be easier to see how to treat them. Merlin healed every wound he could. Remus helped Madam Pomfrey set Harry's bones, many of which were badly aligned and required Remus's great strength to pull them back into place. Many also required casts due to the complexity of the breaks. His jaw was broken in three places, which meant his teeth had to be sealed together magically to support his jaw as it healed.

"It's going to be difficult to get his potions into him with his jaw broken," the nurse worried.

"Do you think he needs to go to St. Mungo's?" Remus asked quietly.

"Not yet. Let's see how he does," she said, waving her wand to levitate Harry enough that bandages could fly around his body, wrapping around his rib cage to support his broken ribs. "That's all we can do for now," she said at last.

Ginny, Hermione and Remus sat around Harry's bed as they had so many times before, with Merlin nestled in against Harry's side, crooning softly. Finally, Ginny couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"What happened? Nobody can sneak up on Harry! His hair stands up at the back and warns him!" she demanded, her eyes both anxious and furious that such a thing had happened to her boyfriend.

"Maybe it only warns him if he's about to have a spell cast at him," Hermione said sadly. "They apparently threw a big rock at him, or just hit him with it, I'm not sure which. And he was releasing the Plimpies. He enjoyed them a lot, so I imagine he was concentrating on watching them rather than paying attention to his surroundings. And we weren't that far away, so he probably felt safe"

"It had to be other students, didn't it?" Ginny said. "No one has got into the grounds without permission since the dragons have been guarding the gates. Well, except for that battle last year," she said with a distressed shrug. "I guess no place is safe for him anymore." Her shoulders sagged and tears ran down her cheeks.

"Have any students been giving Harry a particularly bad time?" Remus asked.

"Blaise Zabini and some other Slytherins," Hermione answered quickly. "But Blaise is cocky, thinks he's a great wizard. I don't believe he'd attack Harry with a rock and a tree branch rather than using magic on him."

"Did they use magic on him at all?" Ginny said. "Or was it just a physical attack?"

"They had to use magic to make him translucent like that," Hermione said with a sad shake of her head. "It looked to me as if he'd been Stunned, as well, but if he was just Stunned, he'd be awake by now. Remus? Can you tell?"

"Professor Dumbledore is better at this than I am," Remus commented, pulling out his wand. He waved it over Harry's still form, muttering a long incantation. In a moment, a complex grid of golden light surrounded Harry, with spots and patches of various colours here and there, sometimes in gaudy layers.

"Can you tell what they were?" Hermione asked.

"Sometimes," Remus replied, looking at the grid of colours suspended above his godson. "This yellow one is the hex we were practicing in D.A. last evening," he said, pointing with his wand. "Remember, it cast a yellow light?" She nodded. "The colours you see here reflect the colours of the spell you see as its being cast. Where you see a lot of them of the same colour on top of each other is probably class work or a D.A. meeting, where someone's been practicing a spell on him repeatedly. This one over here is a Transfiguration colour, but I don't recognize it."

"That's probably the wallaby I turned him into yesterday. He loved it," Hermione said, her voice breaking as she sobbed. "He hopped all around the Common Room. He thought it was great fun. He couldn't wait to do it again."

Remus chuckled softly. "Yes, that sounds like Harry." He continued to examine the colours on the grid before him.

"Ah. This looks intriguing," he commented suddenly, pushing on one particular blob with his wand so it stood out from the rest.

"What?" both girls asked, leaning in to see what had caught his attention.

"This oddly shaped one here, see? It's yellow and orange with a reddish edge on one side, and a kind of muddy colour on the other. It looks to me as if three spells were cast at once, and those not particularly expertly."

Dumbledore hurried into the room just then, followed closely by Ron and Hagrid. They'd gone with him to speak to the merpeople. "Have you learned anything? How is he?"

"I may have found the spells they did on him," Remus said, showing Dumbledore his discovery.

"Well done, Remus. Hold that there, let me study it," the old wizard directed.

"What did you learn from the merpeople, Albus?" Remus asked as the headmaster continued to study the strange spell mark on Harry's grid.

"Three people dressed in black, with hoods over their faces, attacked Harry. The merpeople saw the whole thing. They like Harry quite well since the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and they noticed him releasing the Plimpies. They thought it was funny that he was so gentle with those little fish that they consider nuisances, so they stayed a distance off-shore to watch.

"There was a fourth boy who had a light colour on his robes. When Mr. Weasley pointed at various things to ask if the colour was anything like that, they agreed that it looked about the colour of a dandelion, so he must be a Hufflepuff. They couldn't describe him except that he was a lot smaller than Harry and didn't have a hood on like those who attacked him.

"One of the attackers threw a rock that hit Harry and knocked him out, most likely. Then they put some spell on him - probably a Stunning Spell - and beat him with their fists and kicked him quite a lot. One used a tree branch to hit him. You were right about that, Miss Granger," he said, turning his eyes to Hermione, then back to Harry's grid again. "They cast several spells on him and then Banished him to the deepest part of the lake.

"The merpeople swam out to try to save him, but he was already deep underwater by the time they got to him. They noticed he didn't have his gills, so they lifted his head above the water and started calling for help as they brought him back to shore. They'd seen Mr. Weasley's bright hair and started to take Harry there, but then Mr. Weasley disappeared in the trees, so they turned aside to where Harry had been. They continued to call until Hagrid, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger came and brought Harry to shore.

"They're very angry. If they find out who those boys are, they're liable to harm them," Dumbledore concluded, his face weary and sad.

"Good riddance!" Hermione snapped. Ron nodded his agreement.

"I'll break 'em in two when I find out who they are," Hagrid rumbled furiously.

"I'll help you, Hagrid," Ginny agreed. Her hand rested lightly on top of Harry's heavily bandaged hands. Most of the bones in his hands were broken in numerous places. Ginny's eyes were dark and sad.

Madam Pomfrey came back to Harry's bed. "What have you found, Albus?"

"Three spells badly cast, and interfering with each other. It will take quite some time to sort this out," Dumbledore said unhappily.

"Well, he needs to rest. Get what information you can and then let the boy be," she snapped.

Dumbledore inserted his wand into the odd blob of colour Remus had located. "Hmmm. This dark, muddy-looking edge is a badly cast Body-Bind Curse, I believe," he commented.

"If he has a Body-Bind Curse on him, why is he not hard?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It was cast by someone who hasn't conquered it yet," Dumbledore replied. "He's a little stiff, but not as hard as he would be if he were truly under that particular spell, and Madam Pomfrey has been able to move him enough to set his bones. I think. . . ." he prodded the blob with his wand, "I think I may be able to separate this one and reverse it." He prodded it a bit more, and the muddy coloured portion finally came away from the other two colours. "Ah. Finite Incantatum." Harry's body slumped, far more relaxed than it had been, and a deep exhalation of breath escaped him.

"What happened?" Ginny said in fear, watching for Harry to inhale again.

The group all hovered over the bed, watching for Harry to start breathing normally. Finally, he took a deep, shuddering breath and got back to a normal respiration rate for someone in a deep sleep.

"Why did that happen?" Ginny demanded, her heart pounding in her throat, her hands shaking. "What was that?"

Dumbledore sighed in relief as he watched Harry's cheeks starting to pink up a bit. "He was partially petrified. When the spell was removed and his body relaxed, it's possible the weight of these casts was heavy to him and pushed a big breath out of him. I honestly don't know what else could have caused it," he said, shaking his head.

"He does look better," Remus said, running his fingers lightly through his godson's still-damp hair.

"Yes, he does," Madam Pomfrey said, giving him a quick examination. "Petrification makes the skin a bit grey. He looks much better. His bones should heal more quickly now." She looked up at the headmaster. "Thank you, Albus. That was a great help. Can you do anything about these other spells?"

Dumbledore had already gone back to examining the spell marks on Harry's grid. "The dark mustard colour - I don't know what that is for certain. I have some ideas, but I'll have to do some research. The reddish edge to the mustard colour is some other spell. The three of them hit him at the same time, which means they're interfering with each other. That's why it was so difficult for me to remove the Body-Bind Curse, and it wasn't as involved with the others as these last two are. They've nearly merged - see the orange colour where the red and yellow join? They will be much more difficult to remove because of how they've intermingled." He studied the blob in silence for a while longer, then prodded it with his wand, trying to separate the colours. They swirled around each other, but refused to separate. "Yes. It will be quite difficult to reverse these. I think the reddish one is an Invisibility Charm - I suppose they thought they'd stay out of trouble as long as his body wasn't found. That's probably why he's translucent. This mustard coloured one, though. . .it's some kind of sleeping charm, but I'm not sure which one. I need to go and do some research."

Hermione looked up. "May I help? I need to do something, and I'm good at research."

"Yes, Miss Granger, I would appreciate your help. Remus, would you join us as well? I suspect we'll find the answer in those books of Harry's," Dumbledore said, giving the other man a significant look.

Remus nodded, knowing Dumbledore would want them to investigate both Harry's Dark Arts books and the huge library in the Chamber of Knowledge, neither of which could be mentioned in front of Hagrid and Madam Pomfrey. "Yes, of course," he said, rising to his feet and looking sadly at the too-still form of his godson. He bent down and kissed Harry gently on the forehead. "Get well, lad," he murmured, his voice breaking, before straightening up and striding quickly toward the door.

"I'll help, too," Ron said, giving his sister a quick hug and then following the headmaster, Remus and Hermione out of the hospital wing.

"I wish there was somethin' I could do ter help," Hagrid said sadly.

Madam Pomfrey looked up at him and sighed, understanding how lost Hagrid was feeling just then. "I think fresh air might do Mr. Potter some good, Hagrid," she said suddenly. "The window here is sticking. Could you open it for me, just a few inches?"

Hagrid straightened his massive shoulders and gave her a grateful look. "O' course." He soon had the window opened just enough to let a brisk breeze into the already cool room.

Ginny shivered and looked at Madam Pomfrey curiously. Why had she wanted a window opened?

A few moments later, Madam Pomfrey said, "That's probably enough for now, Hagrid. Could you close it, please?" He hurried to do her bidding. "Thank you so much," she said warmly.

Ginny suddenly understood. The nurse had simply found some way to make Hagrid feel useful. Ginny wished she could think of something useful for Hagrid to do, but her mind was locked in fear for Harry and just couldn't think creatively at all at the moment.

Madam Pomfrey put her hand on Hagrid's arm. "I think he's stable for now, Hagrid. I'll let you know when he wakes up, how's that?"

"Thank you," he said gruffly, wiping away a tear with the back of his massive hand. "I feel so bad about it. He was helpin' me release the Plimpies. I coulda done it myself, but he and Ron and Hermione all wanted ter help. I shoulda done it myself. He didn't need ter be hurt. I shoulda taken better care o' him -"

"Nonsense! He was doing something perfectly innocent. You didn't put him in danger. Those boys . . ." the nurse shuddered, unable to go on. "I can't believe we have such animals as students here."

"How do you know they're students?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"I don't, quite honestly, but Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin both said the spells were badly cast, so they must be students, probably rather young ones," she said with a shrug.

The three of them were silent for a while. Finally, Madam Pomfrey went back to her office, leaving Hagrid and Ginny alone with Harry. Both of them were crying, but doing their best to be quiet about it. When Ginny noticed Hagrid's tears, she put her small hand over his giant one and rubbed it gently, trying to comfort him. He sat with his head bowed, taking deep, shuddering breaths as he tried to control himself. He glanced at Ginny and saw her trying to put on a brave face, then turned his hand over and squeezed hers gently before standing up.

"I have ter go feed the unicorns," he said, glancing at the position of the sun outside the window. "Will you be all right here?"

"I've done this loads of times now, Hagrid," Ginny said sadly. "I'll be fine."

He smiled down at her. "Yeah, you will. He's lucky he has you, Ginny." He sniffled and rubbed his streaming eyes again, then finally gave up and blew his nose resoundingly into his tablecloth-sized polka-dotted handkerchief. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said, pulling Harry's glasses out of his pocket and setting them carefully on the bedside table. He sighed, hoping he'd see the young man with his cheeky grin and sparkling green eyes healthy and whole again soon. "I'll just go take care of the unicorns, then. You lot let me know how he's doing, all right? I'll check in later."

"OK. Thanks for staying, Hagrid. I'll tell him you were here when he wakes up," Ginny said with a small smile.

"Right. See ya later, then," he rumbled, then left.

Ginny settled herself more comfortably in her chair, one of her hands gently stroking Harry's fingers where they extended out of his cast. She wanted to hold his hand, to cup her cheek in the heart of his palm, but he had so many injuries, she was almost afraid to touch him. She gazed at the sunbeams moving across the wall as the sun neared the horizon, then watched the shadows lengthen until finally the torches lit themselves as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

Madam Pomfrey came in to check on Harry from time to time, but he didn't move, nothing changed, and there wasn't anything she could do for him until he either healed a bit more or woke up. She had a dinner tray brought up for Ginny, since she was unable to get the girl to leave Harry's side.

The evening seemed to go on forever and finally faded into night, with Ginny still sitting devotedly next to Harry's still form.

"Wake up, sweetheart. You've been unconscious long enough," she said over and over. "Please wake up, Harry. Please. . . ."

Many hours later, a very weary-looking Dumbledore came into the hospital wing, Ron, Hermione and Remus close behind him. Ginny woke from the light doze she'd fallen into.

"What did you find out?" she asked anxiously.

"It's a sleeping spell, as I thought. Miss Granger found it in one of Harry's Dark Arts books," he told her. He turned toward the nurse's office and called, "Poppy? Could you come here, please?" When Madam Pomfrey joined them, he said, "It's called the Everlasting Slumber Curse."

"Everlasting Slumber?" Ginny said, aghast. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Dumbledore said sadly. "He could be asleep for forty or fifty years or more. There are reports of it lasting over a hundred years before the person awoke."

"A hundred years?" Ginny breathed in dismay. She glanced at her brother and best friend. Both looked miserable, Hermione crying softly, Ron with his arm around her trying to comfort her, but looking rather ill himself. Remus didn't look any better. She turned her attention back to Dumbledore, who had begun speaking again.

"Do you remember the story of Sleeping Beauty?" Dumbledore said with a small smile.

"Yes, of course. It's a fairy tale my mum read me when I was little," Ginny replied, totally confused.

"It isn't a fairy tale, Miss Weasley. It's a true story. It's changed a bit over many years of retelling, but a spell does exist that can make someone sleep for a hundred years or more."

"I thought she pricked her finger on a spindle. . ." Ginny began, totally confused.

"She did. This spell isn't exactly like the one that made her sleep a hundred years, but it's similar enough that I thought it an apt comparison," Dumbledore said with a shrug.

"So how do we reverse this spell?" she asked anxiously.

"There's no reversal spell given in the books," he said sadly. "We'll keep looking, but this is a very rare spell and was inexpertly cast, so the normal reversal spell might not work."

"What about Finite Incantatum?" Hermione said suddenly. "We haven't tried that on the two spells that are still on him."

"Since they're intermingled, a simple Finite won't have the normal effect," Dumbledore explained. "I'll try to separate them again. Since some time has passed, it's possible the effects of the spells may have waned a bit. Keep your fingers crossed." He smiled slightly, then produced the grid effect on Harry once more, showing the spells that had been cast on him. He worked on the mustard-coloured spot again. The red line was narrowing, the orange portion where the two spells connected growing larger. "The yellow one is absorbing the red one," he commented with a frown as he prodded them with his wand.

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"That the sleeping spell is by far stronger than the invisibility one," he replied. "Hmmm." He touched the red side of the blob and dug at it a bit with his wand, murmuring various incantations as he tugged at the red side of the blob. Finally, he had a larger section of red showing. He pulled at it with his wand as he muttered a long, quiet incantation. Harry's body suddenly disappeared.

Ginny and Hermione gasped and Ron exclaimed, "Bloody hell!"

"What happened?" Hermione said anxiously.

"I managed to get the Invisibility Spell separated, so now it's actually working," he said with a small smile. "Finite Incantatum." With that, Harry's body reappeared, looking solid rather than translucent, and none the worse for having been invisible for a few moments.

"So now you just have the sleeping curse to deal with? It should reverse with a Finite, right?" Ginny said, feeling hopeful for the first time in many hours.

"We'll see," he said noncommittally. "Finite Incantatum," he said once more, pointing his wand at the mustard-coloured spell. Nothing happened. He sighed, then tried several incantations, waiting to see the results each time. "Nothing," he said sadly. "We need to do more research," he said at last. "You should go to bed. It's quite late," he added, looking at his students.

"I'm not leaving him," Ginny said defiantly.

"Yes, I know that, Miss Weasley," he said kindly. "I understand your devotion to him. Remus? Would you help me with the research? I have a few more books we can look through, and we should probably check those other books again in case we missed something."

"Yes, of course," Remus said. "Ginny, let me know if there's any change."

"I will," she promised.

"You two need to go back to Gryffindor Tower," Dumbledore told Ron and Hermione.

"We want to help!" Hermione protested.

"We're not tired!" Ron insisted.

"You've both been a wonderful help, but now you need to rest," Dumbledore said firmly. "No arguments."

Hermione's shoulders drooped in defeat. "Can we sit at least with him a bit?" she said, her eyes sad as she gazed at her best friend's still form.

"Yes, for a little while," Dumbledore agreed. "Good night." He and Remus left.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat silently around Harry for several minutes before Ron spoke. "What woke Sleeping Beauty?"

"A kiss from her true love," Ginny answered, her eyes lighting up as she gazed at her brother.

"Couldn't hurt," Ron said with a shrug, smiling at his sister.

With a hopeful look on her face, Ginny leaned over Harry and kissed his lips lightly.

"Nothing," she said sadly. His lips were warm, but hard and unresponsive, quite unlike the soft, tender lips that had kissed her so well for so long now.

"Since the spell was badly cast, maybe it has to be someone he doesn't love," Ron mused. "Parvati would do it, and he certainly doesn't love her." Both girls gave him withering looks. "What? It was just an idea."

"I'll keep trying," Ginny said. She kissed him more firmly, still being gentle because of his broken jaw. Still no response. She slid her tongue between his lips and ran it around inside his cheeks, all she could reach with his teeth glued together with a Sticking Charm. She felt his breathing change and sat up suddenly.

"He reacted!" she said excitedly.

"What did he do?" Ron said, leaning over to look at Harry more closely.

"His breathing got faster," she said. "I'm going to try again." She kissed him again, her tongue exploring each of his teeth and tickling the insides of his cheeks and lips. She felt his lips move ever so slightly under hers. Ginny sat up, a laugh of surprise escaping her. "He kissed me back! Just a little, but he kissed me back!" She bent over him and studied his face. "Harry? Harry, it's Ginny. Wake up! I know you're in there! Come out and play! Come on, baby, wake up!" She began kissing him again, calling out to him whenever she stopped to sit up. Ron and Hermione grinned and clapped every time Ginny told them of some minute amount of progress in getting Harry to respond to her.

"What's going on?" Madam Pomfrey wanted to know. "It sounds as if you're having a party in here."

"He's beginning to respond to me!" Ginny said, her face glowing. "Ron asked how Sleeping Beauty woke up, and I told him it was her true love's kiss that woke her - at least, that's how I remember the story. So I tried it, and he's been responding more and more with each kiss!"

"Responding how?" Madam Pomfrey asked, lifting Harry's eyelids and looking into his eyes. "He's still deeply asleep, Miss Weasley."

"His lips have moved. His breathing has gotten faster. He kissed me back once, a little bit," Ginny said excitedly.

Madam Pomfrey looked sceptical. "I don't know, Miss Weasley. He doesn't seem to have changed much since the last time I examined him." She looked at the three hopeful faces in front of her. Harry and his friends had spent so much time in the hospital wing that the nurse had become quite fond of them. She didn't have the heart to dash their hopes. "I don't suppose you're doing him any harm. Just mind his jaw, it's not completely healed yet."

"I understand," Ginny agreed.

"You two need to go to your dormitories," Madam Pomfrey said, looking at Ron and Hermione. "It's very late."

Ron sighed and stood up. "OK." He helped Hermione get up, and bent over Harry's still form. "Wake up, you lazy git, or I'll use your Firebolt for firewood!" he said suddenly. Nothing happened. "Well, it was worth a try," he said, shrugging. "'Night, Gin. Take care of yourself, OK? Try to get some rest." He wrapped his arms around his sister and rested his cheek on her hair for a moment.

"Yeah," she said, appreciating the comfort of her big brother's arms. "Thanks."

Hermione hugged Ginny, then leaned down and kissed Harry lightly on the forehead. "Harry, if you don't wake up from Ginny kissing you, I'll snog you myself!" No response. She turned and saw two Weasleys with identical smirks on their faces. "It was worth a shot, right? Ron threatens him with his Firebolt, I threaten him with kisses - those are the best weapons we have with Harry," she said with a sad chuckle.

"We're all getting punchy," Ron said, his jaw cracking in a huge yawn. "C'mon, 'Mione. Night, Gin."

"Thanks for staying so late," Ginny said. "See you in the morning." She settled into her chair next to Harry's bed, her hand resting lightly on his arm. "I'm so tired," she said with a yawn. "I'll just rest a few minutes, then get back to the very serious business of snogging your socks off, Mr. Potter. You're going to wake up or I'm going to know the reason why!" She smiled sadly at the beloved face lying too still and quiet in the bed, then closed her eyes and dozed off.

* * * * *

Hours later, Madam Pomfrey slipped quietly into the curtained area around Harry's bed and examined him, doing her best not to disturb Ginny. She opened his lips and poured some potion in his mouth, pouring slowly so the potion would slide between his teeth a little at a time, using her wand to help him swallow rather than choking. "There. That's the last dose you need to heal your broken bones," she said in satisfaction. "Rest well."

Rest well, she says? Harry thought. I'm locked in here and can't get out and she wants me to rest well? HELP ME! Somebody PLEASE let me out! Ever since Ginny's first kiss, he'd been aware of his surroundings. He could hear, smell, feel everything going on around him. He was fighting the darkness, trying to battle his way through the endless lethargy that filled his body. Every time Ginny kissed him, he could feel the darkness lightening up the tiniest bit, feel his body trying to break free of whatever was wrong with him. He was exhausted, heartsick, in serious pain and more frightened than he'd ever been in his life. What if he stayed this way? Nobody knew he was awake and aware of everything! Madam Pomfrey poking and prodding him, testing his reflexes with needles pricking his feet, legs and arms - he felt all of that. He felt the agonizing pain in his bones as they knitted themselves back together. He heard the conversations around him and was frantic to talk to his friends, to tell them he was here, to please, please help him out of this quagmire, help free him from whatever was holding him hostage, PLEASE!

When he'd first awakened, he hadn't even been capable of coherent thought. He'd just had an awareness that he was in serious trouble, deep in some dark place with no idea how to get out. Then he'd felt her lips brush his again and again, felt her tongue gently exploring his mouth, and he'd tried, oh, how he'd tried to let her know he was there with her! He heard Ron's comments about his Firebolt and Hermione's about her kissing him and wanted to laugh with his friends, wanted anything but this awful, unending, impenetrable gloom, this horrible feeling of separation from everyone he cared about. Harry lay screaming silently in his dark prison, wondering how he was ever going to escape to the light.

* * * * *

Ginny didn't know what woke her, but she went from a deep sleep to instant, anxious wakefulness. She quickly snatched her wand out of her pocket and looked around. Was there some danger close by? What had disturbed her? She didn't see anything near her but Harry's still form. The hospital wing's torches were dimmed to give minimal light so the inhabitants could sleep peacefully. Ginny didn't hear anyone moving, didn't see anything going on that should have upset her so, yet her nerves were jangling wildly. Something startled her awake, but what?

She tiptoed to the edge of the curtained area and peeped out. Nothing. Nobody moving, nothing going on. Madam Pomfrey's office light was out. She'd apparently gone to bed. Ginny looked at her watch. It was three o'clock in the morning. She'd been very sound asleep. What woke her up? It must have been a bad dream or something, she thought as she shook her head in puzzlement. She went back to her cushy armchair, wiggling around trying to find a comfortable position. Her eyes closed and finally relaxed, she was drifting into the first stages of sleep again when she suddenly sat up with her eyes wide in shock. She stared at Harry.

"Harry?" she said, leaning over and looking at him. His eyes were still closed and he seemed to still be in that deep, unnatural sleep. She gently lifted one of his eyelids and moved her lit wand across his field of vision. No response. No flinching, no blinking, no change in the size of his pupil. Ginny sighed, knowing that lack of response was a bad sign.

"I swear, I just heard you calling me," she said, shaking her head. "Baby, please wake up. Please?" She studied that beloved face and bent down to kiss him, tears springing from her eyes. "Please wake up, love," she murmured between kisses. Her tears fell onto his eyelids, making him flinch. She stood straight up, startled. "Harry?" She wiped the puddled tears from his eyes and tapped his cheek gently with a finger. "Harry? Are you waking up? Please, baby, wake up!" No response. She tried for several more minutes, talking to him, kissing him, patting his cheeks She sighed, kissed him once more and settled back in her chair, emotionally and physically exhausted.

* * * * *

GINNY! I'm here! Keep kissing me, it seems to help! HELP ME! I'm HERE! HELP! Harry called from what felt like the bottom of a deep, dark well. He could almost hear his voice echoing around him. It was so dark, so lonely, and he desperately wished he could scratch his nose. His arms and legs were itchy inside their casts, too, but of course, he couldn't move, couldn't ask for help, couldn't tell someone he needed his arms, his legs and his nose scratched soon or he'd go mad from the itching! He tried every spell he could think of, knowing he had to work wandlessly wherever he was, but nothing, not one single damned thing seemed to help at all, except for Ginny's soft kisses. GINNY! WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE'D YOU GO? GINNY! HELP ME!

* * * * *

Ginny sat up, suddenly awake again. "Harry?" She looked at him again. Still no change. It was very early in the morning, still dark.

Madam Pomfrey came into the curtained enclosure, two potion flagons in her hand. "Did you call out, Miss Weasley?"

"I thought I heard Harry calling me," Ginny said, thoroughly confused.

"You were probably dreaming, dear," the nurse said soothingly. "He's looking a bit better, don't you think? His bones should be healed by now, so I can unlock his jaw and take off these casts." She removed the spell that glued his teeth together and heard a gasp from Harry as his mouth relaxed. She looked at him, puzzled by that response, then shook her head and went about removing the casts, showing Ginny how to do it and letting her help. She gave him his doses of potion, using her wand again to help him swallow. Finally, Harry lay in his bed with pyjamas on, still bruised and battered, but with no casts or bandages except on his worst wounds. "I expect that will feel better to him," Madam Pomfrey said in satisfaction as she finished tending him. She looked at Ginny. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Ginny lied. "I'll be better when he's awake, though."

"So will he," Madam Pomfrey agreed. "Try to get some rest."

"Madam Pomfrey? Will it hurt him now if I sit on the bed with him?"

"All the bones are healed, the internal damage is healing well now, so as long as you're careful not to jostle him too much, it should be fine. But honestly, in the state he's in, he probably can't feel anything anyway," she said sadly. "He's very deeply entranced."

"Are you sure he can't feel anything?"

"Fairly sure, yes."

"Because I think he can feel and hear things. I could swear I've heard him calling me," Ginny said, staring at the nurse earnestly.

"We don't know much about the effects of this curse, so I suppose it's possible he can feel things, but it's more likely that you were dreaming," Madam Pomfrey said as kindly as she could. "Try to get some rest, dear. Good night."

"Good night," Ginny said, then sat on the side of Harry's bed, running her fingers lightly over his face. "Are you in there, baby? Can you hear me? Can you feel what I'm doing?" She continued to caress his face gently. "I know you like this," she said, raking her fingers through his hair and then smoothing out the mess she'd made of it. "I know what else you like, too," she murmured, then bent over him and kissed him, sliding her tongue between his slack lips. His teeth had separated a bit once the Sticking Spell was lifted. She pushed her tongue past his teeth, seeking his. His tongue lay slack in his mouth. She circled it with hers, doing her best to stimulate him to wakefulness.

* * * * *

Ginny! Oh, baby, thank you! Yes, of course, I'm in here! Please, don't stop! Keep kissing me! I can feel that! I can feel THAT! YES! Please don't give up on me!

* * * * *

Ginny sighed and sat up, sad that her efforts didn't appear to be having any effect at all. She settled back in her chair again, not wanting to take a chance of hurting him if she dozed off on the bed.

* * * * *

GINNY! NO! Don't stop, please don't stop, I was so close! PLEASE! GINNY! Harry felt like crying in frustration. He could feel he was nearer to the surface, but still so far below it, somehow. It was still completely dark, and he felt so separate from Ginny and the outside world. GINNY! he screamed with all of his might. GINNY!

* * * * *

"Harry! Harry, are you calling me?" she said, sitting up again suddenly and staring at him. She could see a tear in the corner of his eye. She hadn't cried on him this time, she knew she hadn't. "HARRY! Come on, sweetheart, wake up, you can do it! Come on!" She sat on the edge of the bed again, cupping his cheek in her hand, noticing the stubble beginning on his cheeks. It would soon be the time of morning when he "reset" his beard to keep him clean-shaven, a much simpler process than shaving. But if he wasn't awake to do it, he'd soon have black stubble. His cheeks were already getting scratchy. Ginny scratched his beard a little, then his nose for good measure, playing with him a bit as she did when he was awake.

* * * * *

THERE! Yes, please, keep scratching there! No, don't stop! Ginny, please! Don't stop!

* * * * *

Ginny leaned down and kissed him softly again, then allowed the kiss to deepen. As her tongue tickled his, his moved a little in response, trying valiantly to curl around hers. She laughed and began crying as she continued the kiss. He didn't repeat the movement, and she sat back, disappointed. But when she looked at his face, his eyes were open.

"Harry! MADAM POMFREY! He's AWAKE!" Ginny called, still laughing and crying at the same time. "Hi, sweetheart! I've missed you so much!" Her smile faded as Harry's eyes wandered aimlessly around, not focusing on her at all.

Madam Pomfrey hurried into Harry's curtained enclosure. "He's awake?"

"I thought he was. His eyes are open, but he's not looking at me," Ginny said in confusion.

"Let me see," Madam Pomfrey said, lighting her wand with a quiet Lumos and moving it side to side in front of Harry's eyes. His eyes caught light and followed it jerkily but then wandered off on their own. "I'm afraid he's still under the enchantment. Sometimes people seem to come out of such spells, but they're still not really awake." She watched the disappointment wash over Ginny. "But he looks better, and he is closer to being awake than he has been. Give him time, he'll come round."

Ginny nodded, sighing heavily. She'd been so excited to see those beautiful green eyes open again, but when she looked in them, she could see they were blank and expressionless, even the green of them cloudy and distant-looking. She watched now as his eyes roved aimlessly around the room, flitting from her face to the ceiling, to the window, to her face, to the wall, to some unknown point behind her, to her face, to the ceiling, to her face. . .her face. . .his eyes had stopped on her face. He was looking at her. Her heart leapt and she leaned toward him, then remembered his glasses. She picked them up from the bedside table and put them on his face, watching his eyes jerkily follow her movements.

"You are in there, aren't you?" she said quietly as she gazed into his eyes. They still weren't focusing on her, but they rested on her face for a long moment before roving around the room again. Every so often, they'd find her face and linger there for some length of time. She kept talking to him, encouraging him to keep trying, to keep fighting his way out of that spell.

* * * * *

When his eyes first opened, Harry felt dizzy, nauseated by the riot of colours before him. His eyes moved about aimlessly on their own. He couldn't seem to control them, and the way they were flitting around, unfocused and restless, was making him even dizzier. Finally, his eyes found Ginny. Her image was blurry. He supposed he wasn't wearing his glasses. He tried to get his eyes to stay on her face but they still seemed to have a mind of their own, moving restlessly around, but coming back to Ginny's face more and more often.

Hi, baby, he thought tenderly. It's so good to see you again. Please keep trying to get me out of here. I can't find my way out. Help me, I know you can do it!

When Madam Pomfrey lighted her wand and moved it in front of his eyes, Harry did his best to follow the light, to let the nurse know he was there, he was fine, he just needed to find his way out of this lethargy. He prayed he wasn't paralyzed, a fear that was growing in him as time dragged on and he couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't get out of this prison he was in.

* * * * *

Ron and Hermione came to see Harry some time later. Ginny had spent a lot of time talking to him as she rubbed soothing potions on his skin where he'd had casts and his skin had dried a bit. His eyes still wandered aimlessly, flitting here and there.

"Wow, he's awake! Hi, Harry!" Ron called cheerfully when he saw his best mate was wearing his glasses.

"He's not really awake, Ron," Ginny said sadly. "He looks at me from time to time, but mostly his eyes just roll around like that."

"So he's still under the enchantment, then?" Hermione said unhappily.

"Apparently. But he's come out of it somewhat," Ginny said, giving Harry an encouraging smile. "You'll be fine soon, sweetheart, I'm sure of it."

"You look knackered," Ron said, studying his sister's weary face.

"I am," she admitted, a rare enough thing to make both Ron and Hermione stare at her.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Ginny looked up at them, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes. "It's just. . .hard."

"You need a break," Hermione said, all business. "I'll stay with him while you go to the dorm and take a bath, a nap, change clothes, and all that. Ron can go with you and bring Harry's books back. We can read his lessons to him so he can keep up with his classes."

Ginny gave her a tired smile. "That sounds like a good idea." She looked down at Harry. "Would you mind if I go take a bath and change clothes, sweetie?" She watched for his eyes to stop roving and land on her, and finally they did. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Ginny, honestly, take your time. I can watch him," Hermione said.

"The kissing seems to be helping. I don't want to leave off for too long," Ginny said, a frown of worry crossing her face.

Hermione looked from Ginny to Ron. "Do you mind?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Huh? Oh. Uh, no, sure, that's fine, if it will help him," Ron said when he realized what she was asking.

"And do you mind?" she asked Ginny.

"Password?" Ginny asked with half a smile.

"Norbert."

"And do you have any funny potions on you anywhere?"

"Nope," Hermione assured her.

"Then OK. Thanks," Ginny replied after a moment's hesitation. "Ron, could you do your shaving spell on him? He's getting too stubbly to wash easily."

"Sure, no problem," he said, taking out his wand and performing the simple charm most wizards used to remove their beards each day.

"Thanks, that's a lot better," Ginny said, rubbing her fingers gently across Harry's smooth cheek. She bent down and kissed him, then whispered in his ear, "I'm going to take a little break, sweetheart. Hermione's going to keep the kissing thing going, but she's fine, no potions or anything, and I got her password. Just don't enjoy her kisses too much, OK? You're mine and I'll fight her for you if I have to!" She knew Harry would grin at her for such a statement, if he could. She sat up and searched his face, looking for any expression that would show he understood her. Nothing. But his eyes locked with hers for a moment and she thought the cloudiness in front of the green lifted for a heartbeat - or maybe it was wishful thinking on her part. She kissed him again and followed her brother out of the hospital wing.

"Well, it's just you and me, Harry," Hermione said brightly. "I have some of my books with me. I'll start reading the lessons you've missed, how's that?" She settled into Ginny's chair and began reading the chapters to him, explaining what the teachers had said in class about each topic. When her voice began getting hoarse, she looked over at him and saw him watching her, if only for a few seconds.

"Are you awake now?" she said, her heart lifting hopefully. Her heart sank again as his eyes wandered away. "I guess I should do what I promised," she said, setting the books aside and sitting on the edge of his bed. She cupped his face in her hands, trying to look into his restless eyes, but they flitted quickly away every time they momentarily caught hers. "Harry, I don't know if this kissing thing really works or if it has to be your true love who does it, but I do love you dearly, and I'm going to give this a try, OK? If it helps, great! If it doesn't, well, at least I tried." With that, she brushed her lips lightly across his, hoping for a reaction. Nothing. She pressed her lips warmly to his and kissed him more seriously, then deepened the kiss. When his tongue moved slightly in response to hers, she sat up in shock. "Harry! Are you awake?" His eyes still wandered around with no real purpose. Disappointed, she kissed him again, realizing at last what an overwhelmingly heartbreaking time Ginny had been having up here, doing her best to bring him back and having to celebrate the tiniest movement as if it were a huge victory.

"You're a wonderful kisser, Harry, I do remember that much from my Black Widow episode. I wouldn't mind one of those lovely kisses of yours again, you know." She smiled at him hopefully. His eyes came to rest on her face and she thought he might actually be looking at her, but then they slid away again.

"Oh, Harry, how long is this going to go on?" she cried in sudden despair. "I don't know how Ginny stays so strong. I'm sorry, this is just breaking my heart. I'll go back to reading to you, is that all right with you?" she asked, gazing down into his suddenly still eyes. He was looking at her again, a slight frown between his eyebrows as if he was trying to focus his eyes. "Can you see me? Can you hear me? Blink if you can," she said with sudden inspiration. Very slowly and deliberately, Harry blinked. "Blink once for yes, twice for no, OK? Are you in pain?" One blink. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Have I hurt you?" Two blinks, and then his eyes slid away from her and he gasped, as if he'd been working hard and run out of breath. "This is real progress, Harry!" she said excitedly. "You can communicate now! Ginny will be ecstatic!" With one more very intentional blink in response to her comment, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * * * *

"How did you think to have him blink for yes and no?" Ginny said a couple of hours later, very excited over Hermione's news.

"It just occurred to me," she said dismissively. "I thought it was worth trying."

"Do you have any other ideas?" Ginny said hopefully.

"No, not really," Hermione replied sadly. "I wish I did."

"But that's brilliant, 'Mione," Ron said encouragingly. "At least he can communicate now!"

"Yeah. Madam Pomfrey gave him some more potion when I told her he was in pain. She didn't believe me at first, but then he answered her questions with blinks and she knew he understood her," Hermione said.

"We've got to go," Ron told Hermione reluctantly. With N.E.W.T.'s coming this year, they couldn't afford to miss any classes. "Will you be all right, Gin?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I hope he wakes up soon. Professor McGonagall told me I can't stay with him all the time. She's going to make me go to class if this takes more than a few days. She said they'd find different people to take turns watching him."

"Well, that's good then," Hermione said encouragingly. "You need to keep your grades up."

Ginny exploded. "I don't care about grades! I don't care about school! I'll quit school like Fred and George and marry Harry as soon as he'll have me. He just has to get well first!"

"I know he's talked about it, but has he asked you?" Hermione said in surprise. She thought she and Ron would have known about it if Harry had made such a momentous decision.

"Not yet," Ginny said sadly, running her fingers lightly through his hair and cupping his cheek. "I don't want to rush him, but when he says the word, I'm ready."

"Gin, you're sixteen," Ron began uneasily.

"I know how old I am, Ron," she snapped.

"What about Healer School?" he asked carefully.

"I don't care anymore! I just want to be with Harry. I want to live in peace, in the country, and just be happy with Harry." Her voice broke toward the end of her speech, and her eyes filled with tears that she brushed angrily away.

"He's getting better, Ginny," Hermione said comfortingly.

"I know. It's just so hard!" Her body began shaking with sobs she was trying desperately to suppress.

Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend and just held her for a few moments, until Ginny finally relaxed. "You all right now?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Sorry I yelled at you," Ginny said quietly.

"You're tired and upset. We understand," Hermione replied. She looked up at Ron and sighed. "I guess we should go. Will you be OK?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Ginny said with a brave smile, holding Harry's hand and wishing his eyes would settle on her face again and finally light up in recognition.

"See you later, then," Ron said as he and Hermione turned to go.

"Yeah, see you," Ginny said quietly. She sat looking quietly at Harry for a while, then leaned down and rubbed noses with him. Her nose wrinkled and she sat back up and smiled at him. "You know what? You still smell like the lake, and I know you'd hate that. I'm going to try to clean you up a bit." She went and got a basin of warm water, soap and a flannel, then poured herself a goblet of cold water to drink. She set the goblet and basin on the bedside table and opened his pyjama top.

"Oof! Getting a bit gamey here, Potter," she teased. He'd been sweating off and on, probably due to pain, according to Madam Pomfrey. She dipped the flannel into the warm water and soaped it up, then began washing him. As she took a break from scrubbing his side, she reached for her goblet of water and tipped it up to drink from it, too tired to pay close attention to what she was doing. The water sloshed out of the goblet, getting her face and blouse wet and splashing onto Harry's side as well. He grunted and flinched at the sudden touch of cold water.

"Harry! Are you awake?" Ginny asked hopefully. His eyes were open and wandering around aimlessly. "Maybe not now, but you will be soon," she said, then poured the cold water on her flannel and applied it mercilessly to his sides, making him flinch hard and gasp. "I'm sorry, baby, but if it helps you wake up," she said, applying the cold cloth to his armpits. He gasped again and clenched his arm on her hand, the first time he'd moved either arm voluntarily since he'd been hurt.

Ginny stared at his face, willing his eyes to look at her. "Wake up, or I'll do it again!" she warned him. His eyes flashed to her face and suddenly, for a long moment, they cleared.

"Harry! You're back!" she said excitedly, then slumped as his eyes drifted off again. She cupped his face in her hands. "Harry, look at me. LOOK at me!" His eyes found hers again and rested, the cloudy, unfocused look clearing for a longer moment and the corners of his eyes crinkling as he tried to smile at her.

"Come on, sweetheart, you're nearly here! Come on, keep fighting!" she encouraged him. He began panting as if he had been running a race.

"Easy, easy," she soothed him. "Don't exhaust yourself. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be pushing you so hard."

Please, please, baby, keep pushing, he thought excitedly. I'm so close!

Ginny was so worried about him that she didn't hear him calling her this time. She went back to washing his face, chest and arms with the warm water, dried him and buttoned his pyjamas again. She could see he was exhausted. His whole body was drooping, along with his eyelids. "You should rest now. I've tired you too much. I'm sorry. But you made so much progress this time! Next time you're awake, you'll be fine! I'll bet you on it! What shall we bet?" She looked at him, doing her best to be playful, a smile on her face. He was looking back at her, his eyes clear and focused, which lifted her heart tremendously. "Hmm. What's a good bet? Not your Firebolt, mine's newer," she teased. "Um. . .how about if you're fine, which is my bet, since I'll be the winner, you can kiss me. And if you're not fine, I'll kiss you and make you better. How's that?" She smiled as his eyes crinkled a bit at the corners. He'd heard and understood her, she was sure of it. She leaned down and kissed him. "You rest now. You look knackered." She ran her fingers through his hair lightly and smiled at him, watching him drift off to sleep.

"How's he doing?" Madam Pomfrey asked a while later. Ginny told her about the progress he'd made.

"Excellent," Madam Pomfrey said with a smile. "Keep up the good work, Miss Weasley." Ginny just smiled, then sat back in her chair and fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * * * *

"Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter, sir! Oh, where is my master?" came a worried voice from somewhere near the entrance to the darkened hospital wing. The voice got closer and closer to Harry's bed, eventually waking Ginny.

"Hi, Dobby! What time is it?" Ginny said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She glanced at her watch. Midnight. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Professor Dumbledore just told Dobby and Winky that Harry Potter sir was hurt. Dobby is here to make his pumpkin soup for Harry Potter sir to make him feel better," the elf explained, coming to the side of the bed and peering into Harry's sleeping face closely. "What is wrong with Dobby's master?"

"Some bad people hurt him, but he's better," Ginny assured him kindly. "He's under a sleeping spell, but he's beginning to wake up. It may take him a while to be fully awake, but when he is, I'm sure he'd love some of your soup."

"Who were the bad people? Have they been caught? Have they been punished?" Dobby asked, his voice both anxious and fierce.

"Not yet. We don't know who they are. When Harry wakes up, he'll tell us," Ginny said with more assurance than she felt.

Dobby tilted his head until his face was nose to nose with Harry's. "Harry Potter sir? Dobby is here. Dobby will take good care of Harry Potter sir," the elf said softly. He moved away from Harry a little and turned to Ginny. "Does Ginny Wheezy need anything? Dobby will take care of Ginny Wheezy. Harry Potter sir would want him to."

"No, Dobby, I'm fine, thank you," Ginny said with a sad smile.

"Then Dobby will go to the kitchens and prepare the soup and keep it perfect for Harry Potter sir. Ginny Wheezy will let Dobby know when Harry Potter sir wakes up?"

"Absolutely," Ginny promised.

"Thank you, miss," Dobby replied. He stood wringing his long-fingered hands for a moment. "Dobby wants to help find the bad people. What can Dobby do?"

"All we know about them is that they're probably students and were wearing black work robes and hoods," Ginny replied. "The merpeople told us that much."

"Dobby will help find the bad people," the house-elf said ardently, then snapped his fingers and vanished.

Ginny looked at Harry's still form. "I hope Dobby does find them, and does something absolutely awful to them," she murmured. She sighed, settled back in her chair and went to sleep.

* * * * *

The next morning, a cramp in her neck woke Ginny up. She sat up and rubbed the sore spot, glancing at Harry as she did so. He was awake and watching her.

"Harry! How are you?" she said eagerly, hoping he was truly awake and aware this time.

His eyes didn't leave hers. They were clear and bright and crinkling in the corners as the hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"You're much better! That's wonderful!" she said eagerly. "Are you hungry? Dobby was here a few hours ago. He came to make his pumpkin soup for you. Do you want some?"

Harry's eyes crinkled in a smile again and he blinked once. After a moment, he blinked twice.

"Yes? No? What?" Ginny said, confused. She watched him closely and noticed he was having difficulty trying to swallow. "OK, we'll wait for the soup. You should be able to have it soon." She thought a moment. This was the first time he'd been lucid for more than a moment or two at a stretch. "Professor Dumbledore would probably like to see you, maybe use Legilimency on you to try to find out who hurt you. Are you up to that?" One blink, but then his eyes wandered away aimlessly again. "It's OK, sweetheart," she assured him, wishing his eyes would focus on her again. She sighed, forcing herself to be grateful for any signs of progress at all.

"I'll call Professor Dumbledore," she said after a moment's thought, pulling out her Famous Wizard card. She tapped on it to wake the sleeping portrait of Harry. "Tell Professor Dumbledore Harry's awake. He can't speak yet, but his eyes are staying focused for several moments at a time. He might be able to use Legilimency on him now to see what happened. Go on, hurry!" she urged the picture. The small Harry zoomed out of his frame and quickly returned.

"He's on his way," little Harry announced.

"Thanks," Ginny said with satisfaction. She turned back to the real Harry. His eyes were still wandering. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and leaned down until they were nearly nose to nose. Finally, his eyes stopped roving and stayed on hers, clearing after a moment's stillness.

"Harry, can you answer some questions for me?" One blink. "OK. The merpeople said there was another boy there, with a light colour on his robes. Was he a Hufflepuff?" One blink. "Do you know him?" Two blinks, a moment of rest, then one blink. "I'm confused. Do you know who he is?" One blink. "Wonderful! Let's see, um. . .OK, I'll say the letters of the alphabet and you blink once when I get to the right one. That way, you can spell out his name. OK?" One blink. She began the process and had gotten the boy's first name by the time Dumbledore arrived in the hospital wing.

"Professor! Harry's told me the other boy was a Hufflepuff named Liam!" Ginny said eagerly when he neared Harry's bed.

"He's speaking now? Wonderful!" Dumbledore said with delight.

"No, we did it with the eye blinks," Ginny said, and then went on to explain how she'd worked out the boy's name.

"Well done, Miss Weasley, very clever," Dumbledore said approvingly. He turned to Harry. "And how are you this fine morning, dear boy? Feeling better?" Harry's eyes were back to wandering aimlessly.

"You have to get his attention, I think," Ginny said, sitting on the side of the bed and putting her hands on his cheeks again. "Harry? Look at me. Look at me, baby, come on, you can do it." His eyes wandered past her face, nearly stopped but slid off to the side. "Come on, Harry, you can do this!" she insisted. His eyes fell on her face and stayed there, the unfocused expression clearing and his eyes crinkling a bit. "Professor Dumbledore is here. Try to keep your eyes on him so you can talk to him, OK?" He blinked once. Ginny smiled at him and got up, allowing the headmaster to sit in her place.

"Harry, look at me," Dumbledore said, following Ginny's example. "Ah, there you are, lad," he said with a smile as Harry's eyes stilled and focused on his face. "Are you feeling better?" Harry blinked once, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he tried to smile. "You're much closer to being free of that spell. Excellent. May I try to see if I can tell who attacked you? I don't want to tire you, nor do I want you to dwell on that awful memory. But I do need to see it, if you can manage it. All right?" One blink. Dumbledore went still, staring into the green depths of Harry's eyes. His face grew taut as the scene progressed, his mouth becoming a thin line. Finally, he patted Harry's cheeks gently and thanked him, then stood up again.

"What did you see?" Ginny said. She, Ron and Hermione were learning Legilimency and Occlumency from Harry, but hadn't progressed very far yet.

Dumbledore's eyes fell on Harry, who was panting and looked exhausted now. "Please don't try to do this yourself, Miss Weasley. He doesn't need to go through that again. This was quite hard on him," he said, looking sadly at his protégé. He sighed and glanced back at Ginny. "I saw a Hufflepuff boy watching while three other boys beat Harry horribly, then Banished him to the middle of the lake. None of the spells were properly cast. The Stunner only made him unable to move, rather than truly stunning him. The Everlasting Sleep Curse didn't take effect right away, so Harry was awake and aware for the whole thing, including when he fell into the water. He didn't lose consciousness for quite a while underwater. He was fighting to survive with everything he had, bless him." The old wizard shivered. "It was awful. You don't need to see that, nor does he need to relive it. All right?"

"Yes, professor," Ginny agreed, her face ashen from what she'd heard. Ron and Hermione entered just then.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"How is he?" Hermione said at the same time.

"I've just done Legilimency on Harry and the merpeople were right. There was a Hufflepuff boy watching while the others were attacking Harry. Miss Weasley managed to get his name from Harry with that ingenious eye-blink method you came up with, Miss Granger." He gave Hermione a small smile and she blushed at the praise. "The boy's name is Liam. There are only two Liams in Hufflepuff, and one of them has fair hair. This was the dark haired boy. Mr. Weasley, I'd like you to go to Professor Flitwick's class and bring me Liam Titmarsh. Bring him here, so Harry can identify him as the witness, all right?"

Ron's face was grim. "Yes, sir."

"And Mr. Weasley, please try not to damage him on the way here," Dumbledore said with a slight smile.

"If you insist," Ron replied grimly, his face stony. "I'll be right back."

"Professor Dumbledore! Professor Dumbledore!" Dobby cried as he popped into the hospital wing. "Dobby has found something!"

"What is it?" Dumbledore said.

"Dobby was talking to the house-elves in the kitchen. . .ah, my master is awake! Does Harry Potter want soup now?"

"Not just now, Dobby," Ginny told him kindly. "I'll let you know."

Dobby bent close to Harry's face. "Dobby is so happy to see Harry Potter sir awake!" Harry blinked once, his eyes smiling a little.

"He said 'hi,' Dobby," Ginny explained. "He can only talk by blinking his eyes right now."

Dobby looked up at her in surprise, then looked back at his master and blinked his huge green eyes once, very deliberately, which made Harry crinkle the corners of his eyes again in an attempt to smile.

"Dobby, what did you find out?" Dumbledore prompted him.

"OH! Dobby is talking with the house-elves and they is most upset! They all likes Harry Potter sir very much. The elves who do the housekeeping for Hufflepuff and Slytherin is finding something, sir, when they is doing the weekly cleaning out of the wardrobes of the bad students who won't put their dirty robes in the laundry bin." He shuddered, apparently with horror at having dirty laundry stuffed in the back of a wardrobe.

"What did they find?" Dumbledore said patiently.

"Something awful!" Dobby gasped, his eyes huge. "They is finding work robes with blood all over the bottom edges and spattered up the fronts! And shoes with blood on them, as well!"

Dumbledore's eyes sharpened. "Whose things are they?"

"The house-elves is getting them now, sir. They put them aside. They is afraid to clean them, but doesn't know what to do. They will have them waiting for Professor Dumbledore when he gets there."

"The laundry room or the kitchens?" Dumbledore said, already striding toward the door.

"The laundry room, sir," Dobby called.

"Well done, Dobby!" Dumbledore said, throwing open the door and hurrying out into the corridor. He paused and called back, "Tell Mr. Weasley to keep Mr. Titmarsh out of Harry's sight and to keep him quiet until I return. I don't want Harry disturbed any more than necessary."

"Yes, Professor," Ginny replied. "Wow, baby, we're going to get to the bottom of this!" she said smiling down at him. His eyes settled on hers and he tried his best to smile before his eyes drifted closed as he fell asleep again. Ginny sighed and sat back in her chair. Dobby was hovering around Harry, looking for something to do for him.

"Dobby," Ginny said, "thanks for finding out about those robes."

"Dobby sees so many wounds on Harry Potter sir, Dobby is thinking the bad people who hurt Harry Potter sir must have blood on their robes," the house-elf said wisely, "so Dobby is asking about robes that is hidden somewhere, or has blood on them. These robes is both hidden and bloody." His ears were erect, his posture rigid, his eyes flashing fiercely. "Bad wizards hurt my master. Bad wizards must be punished!"

"You're right, Dobby, and thanks to you, they'll be caught," Ginny said with a smile. "Well done!"

Author's note: This "everlasting sleep" episode in Harry's life reflects information I learned while there were several stories in the news in March 2005 about people in long-term comas. They often seem to look at people, or respond in various ways that make those caring for them think they're waking up. Some people who have come out of long-term comas say they heard and felt everything that went on around them while they were in the coma. I found the thought of being inside an inert body while being fully aware of everything going on around you to be quite horrifying and thought it would make an appropriately nasty experience for poor Harry. I'm so mean to that dear boy!!