Purpose

~ Chapter 26: Right on the Edge ~

There was a feeling of tension in the air as the ghosts were set off to watch the castle by the Headmaster. They made way to the five running figures, running at top speed to reach the Gryffindor Tower. While they were on the run, Fenix had explained the situation to her four companions via mindspeech. Sirius's face darkened by the time she had finished explaining.

: Malfoy... : her oathbrother whispered in an ominous tone.

: Drop it, bro. The kid's innocent. If it's anyone's fault, it should be mine. I should have tried to watch Draco much carefully, : Fenix said, panting as she sprinted up the stairs.

: He's innocent? : Snape questioned her, struggling to catch up with the Fire Master and her oathbrother. I may have surrounded myself with comforts far too long, was his inconsequential thought.

: He was under the control of someone, : she explained. They saw Harry's best friend, Ron, running towards them. They were near enough to make out some shouts and curses coming from the Gryffindor Tower.

"Sirius! Harry's hurt!" Ron yelled and Peeves suddenly appeared before the redheaded Weasley. The poltergeist narrowed his eyes and fled off to find the Founders to strengthen the security of Hogwarts.

"Can we enter the common room?" Fenix inquired and Snape shook his head.

"You could but I--"

"That's a whole bloody bunch of crap and you know it!" Ron lashed out suddenly. He turned and rushed back to the common room. Ron was shouting at his fellow students to clear out the common room to admit the teachers inside. Harry was lying on his back on the carpeted floor, with Ginny and Hermione cutting off Hermione's black silk shirt.

"Did anyone touch Harry's wound?" Fenix asked around. There were several shakes around the room. "Good. Sev?" The Fire Master instructed him to cut off Harry's sleeve and stop the bleeding with piece of fabric that Hermione had prepared. Sirius looked helplessly at his godson.

: Sirius, I want you to try to call him. Get him back to consciousness if you can, : Fenix ordered firmly while she knelt down beside Snape and sniffed experimentally at Harry's bleeding arm. She smelled the taint of venom and prayed silently.

: Sev, the blade was laced with snake venom. Neurotoxic. : Fenix looked at him, her eyes turning dark.

"Harry's going to be all right, won't he?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

Fenix looked at the girl calmly. "It's too soon to tell. Sirius, let's get him to Madam Pomfrey." He nodded and her oathbrother gently pushed the stricken Hermione and Snape away from Harry then lifted his limp godson carefully. The Potions Master carefully picked up the blood-soaked fabric, and placed it in the burning fireplace. He quickly shielded the fireplace, preventing the smoke from flowing about the common room. He doubted that the students would appreciate him if the common room reeked of blood.

Several of Harry's friends made a move to follow Sirius and the Potions Master but she shook her head firmly. "You guys have to remain here. It's a lot safer for you. Dobby?" she called out and the house-elf appeared with eyes brimming with tears. She instructed the sorrowful Dobby, "Some of my Elementals will stay with you to guard the Gryffindor Tower. Don't admit anyone without the password to satisfy the Fat Lady unless I've sent that person. The Elementals will help in screening and scanning anyone that seeks to gain entrance. All right, Dobby?"

"Dobby will do his best to keep the students safe, Miss Maxwell. Please make Harry better."

The Gryffindors all looked worried after that. Some went back to their own bedrooms while others, like Ron and Hermione, lingered in the common room to wait for news and to brood. "Hermione, if I don't send you news by ten-thirty, I want you guys to go to bed. You could visit Harry tomorrow afternoon if you want to." Harry's friends nodded and Fenix stepped out of the Gryffindor common room, giving the Fat Lady a little curtsy that the portrait returned.

The atmosphere in the hospital wing was bleak when Hagrid, McGonagall and Dumbledore saw just whom it was that Sirius was carrying. Madam Pomfrey was still fussing over the Defence teacher, looking around for a moment to see who was occupying another hospital bed and she paled. She muttered some phrases under her breath and feverishly worked on Remus. Snape immediately went over to check on his student, who was laid down on the bed on the werewolf's right. Fenix shook her head when McGonagall offered a mug of hot chocolate and took a chair to sit down beside Harry. Some of the house-elves and her Elementals brought a big basin of clean water and rags. Winky sprayed something on her palms and Fenix rubbed them together before wiping it on a piece of clean cloth. She quickly slipped on the pair of gloves that Winky provided and began to remove the silk that was wrapped around the youngster's arm cautiously. A Salamander took the bloodied piece of silk and vanished to destroy the article.

The Elementals began cleaning the wound and Fenix nodded to herself when blood still flowed freely from the gash. So whatever the properties of the venom, it did not cause coagulation of the blood cells. So while Sirius explained Harry's current situation to Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey, Remus, McGonagall and the Headmaster, Fenix swarm Harry's body with her Healing. She saw the molecules belonging to the venom as bright yellow lines and she slowly degraded those molecules into harmless substances. Her Healing was interrupted for a brief moment when Krill reported that the group of Death Eaters had already departed from the Forest with a great deal of swearing. From the failed attempt on Harry's and her lover's lives, and to the sudden attack from the band of centaurs. The Fire Master related the news to Dumbledore. When she had purified all of the traces of venom did she turn her attention to Heal the gash on Harry's arm.

"Fenix?" Snape called her name softly and she blinked her blurring eyes. The Potions Master exchanged a significant glance with Dumbledore.

The Headmaster had a thoughtful look on his face and questioned her bluntly, "Was Voldemort the one who had controlled Draco Malfoy?"

Fenix remained silent for quite a while. She answered Dumbledore's question after she had given Harry a last scan with her Sight. "It was his father," Fenix said rather tiredly and focused her attention to call out to Harry using her mindspeech. The Headmaster blinked his eyes in surprise at Fenix's answer. Sirius quickly went over to Fenix when she began to frown.

: His mind is a total blank, oathsib, : Fenix informed him, her mindvoice tight with fear. : I can't reach him. He seems to be in a total coma. : She looked up at her oathbrother, her face indescribable. Sirius looked as if he had just witnessed the end of the world and sat gingerly on the edge of Harry's bed, taking a limp hand and clasped it. The oathsiblings stared wordlessly at the pale and unconscious face.

**********

Something strange was happening to the Gryffindors. They were a rowdy and cheerful bunch but this morning, all of them looked solemn and whispered among themselves. Students from the other Houses looked at each other, trying to guess what had happened during the night before. A portion of the Slytherins snickered at the Gryffindors but Montague and some of the others seemed to be deeply worried about something. Only Parkinson was acting like her usual self, oblivious to the seriousness of her friends. All eyes were turned to the entrance of the Hall and murmurs erupted when they saw Hermione and Ginny's puffy eyes. Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus followed slowly behind, all four boys showing signs that they had not been sleeping the previous night. There was one person who was missing from the group.

Pansy Parkinson stopped her chattering and smiled maliciously at the disheveled state of the two Gryffindor girls. "What's wrong, Granger? Did something happen to your dear friend Potter?" she sneered, almost in imitation of her boyfriend's favorite expression. Hermione stopped and looked belligerently at the Slytherin prefect. The Gryffindor prefect gritted her teeth hard and advanced towards Parkinson. None of her friends intervened and she continued moving forward, her eyes blazing with anger. Ron looked helplessly at his girlfriend who was about to lose her temper. Her hair was standing on end and she pushed Crabbe and Montague apart so that she could lean forward and delivered the Slytherin girl a stinging slap. Hermione was so furious that she had channeled all her anger and strength to that one slap. Parkinson fell off the bench ungracefully, totally shocked at Hermione's bold action.

"You slapped me?" Parkinson exclaimed in disbelief. Hermione's slap was beginning to leave a nasty imprint on her left cheek.

"Isn't that obvious?" Hermione yelled, still feeling furious. Montague suddenly stood up and Hermione backed off instantly. The Gryffindors rushed forward to stand behind their prefect, their faces solemn and unfriendly. None of the Slytherins moved.

"Do you know what's happened to Draco?" Montague asked in a serious voice, looking at Hermione and then Ron.

"He's in the hospital wing," Fenix's voice rang out clearly and the Gryffindors parted to let her through. The Fire Master stared at the Gryffindors until they retreated to their own table to get on with their breakfast. Hermione was struggling to contain her tears and abruptly stopped staring at Parkinson and headed straight toward her friends.

"Hospital wing?" Goyle repeated stupidly. Malfoy's friends began to scramble out of their seats but froze when Fenix shook her head.

"Madam Pomfrey has forbidden any visits this early. Anyway, you guys still have classes," Fenix calmly informed them. "Your friend will be fine." She gave a half-hearted smile at them and turned to approach Ginny and Hermione. The Fire Master sat next to Hermione, giving her silent comfort by placing her arm about the young woman. None of Harry's friends ate their breakfast. They looked up as Sirius accompanied a badly limping Remus and Fenix frowned at them both.

: This is not my idea, sis, : Sirius quickly defended himself.

Fenix was silent as Dean moved away from Fenix so that the two newcomers could sit beside her. There were several conclusive nods all around the Hall. They had gathered that there must be another attack on The Boy Who Lived. Their table was eerily silent as the people sitting all around that particular table showed various degrees of melancholia. They started briefly when Hermione suddenly whispered into the silence.

"How about him? He will be all right, won't he?" Fenix stared helplessly at the young woman, clearly at a loss of what to say to the company.

***********

Montague knocked on Professor Snape's office in the dungeons and to the captain's relief; the Potions Master was in. Snape had a fire going in the fireplace and looked up at Montague, exhaustion lining the Potions Master's face.

"What is it?" Snape asked with mild annoyance.

"Will it be all right if we forgo our Quidditch training session this afternoon?"

"Why?"

Montague paused for a moment to choose his words carefully. "There are several reasons. Miss Maxwell seemed terribly tired this morning. Two; I don't think the Gryffindors would be able to function properly. And three; there's a lightning storm."

Snape leaned back and stayed motionless for a moment to listen. Sure enough, he was able to feel the crackling of energy and the vibrations of thunder that followed. The Potions Master nodded his agreement and Montague made a move to back out. "Is Draco's condition as bad as Potter's, sir?"

Professor Snape gazed solemnly at his student. "No." Montague nodded and went off to the common room to gather his friends to visit Malfoy. Shortly after the Slytherin captain left his office, there was another knock on his door and Fenix went in. She looked about the same condition as the Fire Master and sat down tiredly on a chair.

"Have you found anything?" she asked tiredly, though her eyes were hopeful.

"I'm not sure. The poison was a neurotoxic as you said. I am surprised that Harry did not have difficulty in breathing, because that's usually how it works. It paralyzes the respiratory muscles. What I do not understand is why Harry fell into a coma."

Fenix rubbed her temple tiredly, feeling a migraine building up because of lack of sleep and overextended use of Healing. "I have asked Hermione. Harry's breathing before we reached the common room yesterday was shallow but he fell into normal breathing when we arrived. So, I have several theories. That brief moment of paralysis might be the cause of his comatose. Another is that the poison on that dagger had already started to deteriorate, making Harry suffer from a mild case of paralysis."

Snape frowned and began pacing about the office. The office went silent until the Potions Master suddenly exclaimed in horror. "He is not brain-dead!"

"No, he is not," Fenix answered, suppressing her need to scream in frustration.

"Gods." Snape stopped pacing and sat restlessly in his chair. "Why don't you get some rest and try not to think too much about Harry or Malfoy. Sometimes answers don't come to us if we're too set on trying to find them."

"You're right. You better get yourself some rest too." Snape stood up to open the door for the Fire Master. She paused to give him an inquiring look. "There's no Quidditch practice today, right?" Snape nodded and she sighed with relief.

: See you later at dinner... maybe not. The hospital wing then. : Snape said and gently smiled at the diminutive woman.

**********

Hermione and the other Gryffindors relieved Professor Lupin and Sirius from guarding Harry. They all sat quietly around the bed, ignoring Parkinson's whimpers coming from three beds away from their unconscious friend. Malfoy was in a more or less stable state, but he had not regained his consciousness.

"He's a much better person when he's sleeping, isn't he?" Dean whispered to a forlorn-looking Ginny who nodded in agreement, as she looked at the Slytherins.

"Maybe someone should ban that harridan from visiting. She's really making me nauseous." Ginny stared at the Slytherin prefect with absolute disgust. "Yuck." Ginny grimaced and Hermione gave the Weasley a faint smile.

The bushy-haired Granger chuckled lightly and said in a voice almost loud enough for the Slytherins to hear. "I seriously have no idea why Malfoy's going out with her. Maybe when he's awake, someone ought to tell him that he should replace that girl with a girl with guts and brains, and a great deal more sincere compassion." Unfortunately for her, Parkinson was too busy getting sentimental to hear her.

"Hermione, I think you're taking Fenix's acceptance of the Slytherins to the extremes," Ron remarked, smiling at his partner briefly before he continued to look at Harry's pale face with grim concern.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Ron. Your assessment of our own Potions Master was not that accurate after all. And we're all schoolmates, aren't we? Why can't we all cooperate with each other for once?" Hermione argued weakly.

"What about Alamanda?" Ginny interrupted suddenly and they all looked at her quizzically. Ron's sister had spoke in normal tones and caught the attention of Montague and Dina Free of the Slytherins.

"What about her?" Seamus asked.

"If you had been watching carefully during meals, I dare say that the girl's got a major crush on Malfoy," Ginny explained and Hermione smiled happily for the first time that day, while Montague gave the Gryffindors a measuring stare.

"Yeah. Every time I see Parkinson cuddling him, her eyes went sort of narrow," the Gryffindor prefect said slowly. Ginny exchanged a very sly smile with the prefect. While the Gryffindors were calmly sitting watch on Harry's bed, tension was building within the Slytherins, mainly between the Quidditch captain and the female Slytherin prefect. Montague took a deep breath to prevent himself from exploding in the hospital wing. He bore a look of sufferance as he stared dangerously at the head of a very syrupy Parkinson. However, his annoyance soon evaporated when McGonagall suddenly appeared, her face lighting up when she saw Parkinson. Montague looked strangely relieved when McGonagall called her out, presumably appointing Parkinson with a task. And hopefully that task will take her the rest of the evening. That Mudblood is right. I don't understand why Draco went out with her. Her behaviour is somewhat disgusting.

The first-years entered the hospital wing silently. Alamanda placed a bouquet of strange lily-colored flowers beside Malfoy's head and then went over to the Gryffindors to place another bouquet on Harry's bed. Alamanda straightened up and looked at Hermione directly. "It's not much, but maybe it'll help them to return to awareness."

The Gryffindors smiled at her and mumbled thanks. The Slytherin girl went over to her seniors, listening attentively to them. She occasionally gave the oblivious Malfoy several wistful looks and the Gryffindors smothered their amusement. Hermione gazed intensely at Harry and wished that he was up and sitting on the bed, feebly joking with them. Tears silently dropped from her eyes and hit Harry's lifeless fingers.

**********

Harry was standing on the edge of a strange place. There was neither sound nor light but he could see everything around him clearly. It was a little weird and he felt strangely alone yet he was not. Behind him was a grove of huge trees, all silent. Just an inch ahead of him, was a dark abyss and he could see a tiny flicker of light below. He wanted very much to be with the light but his wits told him to stay where he was. He had no recollection of how he had ended up here, in this dismal place. He wondered why he was not with his friends, or why he was not in the castle.

He moved towards a tree and slowly sat down, leaning against the tree trunk. Something must have happened. But what? Harry fretted and stared out at the vast darkness. In other circumstances, he should be afraid at being totally alone in this queer place. There was no other life about him, except for himself and the trees. God help me. Where in Merlin's world am I? Harry began to brood and tried to remember all the events that had happened ever since term started.

He recounted everything right until he reached the time span where he had just headed out of the library for the common room. His mind went blank then and he stood up, feeling very frustrated. God! Here I am stuck in the middle of god-knows-where and I'm attacked by a bout of amnesia! Harry carefully walked towards the edge of the cliff. The light was still flickering at the bottom and he had the feeling that he should not even think of getting down to that light. If it's light... He took a deep breath and thought about his godfather and his friends to calm him down. I know that Sirius, Fenix and probably Snape would be trying to figure something out to save me. Let's start again. It's Thursday and we had Transfigurations so that was why I went to the library to read up on some of what McGonagall had mentioned. Ron and Hermione left first because they had a Prefect meeting and I lingered in the library for a while... Harry sat down again at his previous position and calmly thought things through.

**********

Professor R. J. Lupin was feeling a little unhappy and his best friend decided to be blunt and pester his friend. Sirius knocked on his door and went in without waiting to be invited into the office. Remus looked calmly at his friend and wordlessly conjured Butterbeer for his friend.

: Why are you looking unhappy, Moony? Is it because of Fenix's lack of attention to you? She had been spending a lot of time in the hospital wing, : Sirius spoke up, smiling a little when Remus's eyes flared involuntarily. : Don't give me that look, friend. Why don't you bring her up to that place we used to hang out up above the Tower? And get her to talk. :

: Stop trying to be enigmatic, Padfoot. What are you trying to say? : Remus asked, feeling irritated all of a sudden.

: What I'm trying to say is that you're being incredibly, super thick, Moony. You should try being more observant of her looks and body language. Go on and bring her there. : Sirius got up and pulled the Defence teacher from his seat, and pushed him towards the door. : By the way, she's in the library with Snape. : Sirius looked sadly at his friend and cast his thought to God why he was feeling helpless about Harry. He sighed and went to his own office to brood.

The Defence teacher walked slowly to the library and was deciding to go back to his room but stopped himself. Admit it werewolf, you miss that small woman. He was swearing silently, nodding to the librarian and headed to the study corner where Fenix usually sat. The Fire Master was unaware of him as she continued sketching a picture of Remus and his bandaged arm while Snape gave him a curious look. Remus made sure that he talked to Snape alone.

: Do you mind if I steal her for a while? : Remus asked the Potions Master politely.

Snape gave him a crooked smile. : You could. Both of us don't have the energy to concentrate to do any kind of research. And I expect that she's thinking about you too much. : Remus blinked his eyes at Snape's observation. Snape continued, : You certainly are a lucky man, werewolf. You have someone who's worried that she can't protect your back all the time. :

Remus felt stunned at Snape's words. He took a deep breath. : Fenix? : The Fire Master stopped her sketching, fingers frozen. She craned her neck up to meet Remus's slightly confused eyes. : Mind if you take a walk with me? :

Fenix smiled slowly and nodded. She was about to send an apology to Snape via mindspeech when he slightly shook his head and told her that he wanted to go and visit his students. The Fire Master briskly kept all her sketching stuff in her file and followed her partner as he led her to the top of Gryffindor Tower.