Truth and Lies

Truth and Lies Chapter 02

The adults in the room exchanged looks and formed a barrier in front of Harry, whose head had started pounding again.

'Reducto!' shouted a voice. The door was blown off its hinges and Fudge burst into the room, surrounded by Aurors.

'Good morning, Cornelius, what a pleasant surprise.' Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

'Oh, I should have known you would be behind it,' Fudge spat, his wand drawn.

'Well, you cannot have expected me to leave Harry in Azkaban. Not when he had been wrongly convicted.'

'Wrongly convicted?! Of course not! He is lying to the entire wizarding world, and I'll not have it! Action must be taken!' Fudge stood, breathing hard, his face red. Then, without warning, he yelled at the Aurors standing round him, 'Well don't just stand there! They can ALL go to Azkaban!!'

The Ministry workers and the Order all drew their wands at the same time.

Harry dived out of his chair to avoid a single spell that was aimed at him.

Then it began.

Curses, jinxes and hexes flew around the office, crashing into the delicate instruments and furniture. People ran from their portraits to their neighbours, screaming and yelling as their homes were set on fire.

'Harry!' Sirius threw Harry his wand. 'We...ahem...got... it from the Ministry!'

Harry spotted a fierce looking Auror advancing on Tonks, who had been disarmed, and yelled, 'Stupefy!' The spell hit him square in the chest, and he fell to the floor.

'Thanks, Harry!' Tonks shouted, and joined Lupin, who was trying to defend himself against another couple of Fudge's Aurors.

Harry started yelling hexes at random, and brought down a couple more. 'Expelliarmus!' The Auror's wand flew out of his hand, and Harry paused. But for too long.

'Diffindo!' someone cried. Harry felt a burst of white-hot pain spread diagonally across his chest, and he was thrown against a wall.

'Harry! No!'

Harry did not know who cried out, because the office swam in front of him, and he fell to the floor, onto the broken glass and delicate metal instruments. He did not get back up.

~ • ~

'Harry! Harry!'

Harry opened his eyes slowly. He was still in the office. A couple of people were finishing off the last of the Ministry Aurors, but Dumbledore, Sirius and Lupin were bent over him, looking concerned.

He stared weakly up at the ceiling, his head throbbing, and his vision blurred and unfocused.

'Come on, Harry. Can you stand?' It was Lupin. Harry shook his head, and Lupin and Sirius lifted him up by the arms. He swayed, and almost fell, but Lupin steadied him. 'We need to get out of here, but we can't Apparate, obviously, and the Floo network is being watched. We have to get to Hogsmeade.'

'We have your Invisibility Cloak, Harry,' Dumbledore said. 'Here, put it on.'

He handed Harry the silvery cloak, and Harry threw it over himself and Lupin. Tonks and Mrs Weasley finished tying up the Ministry workers, and joined the rest of the group.

They made their way out of the office, Lupin supporting Harry underneath the Invisibility Cloak, and got outside into the Hogwarts grounds.

They walked to Hogsmeade, and Sirius said, in a hushed voice, 'OK everyone, get ready to Apparate or side-along Apparate. I'll go first.' He nodded to the group, and turned on the spot. There was a crack, and he vanished. Everyone else followed suit, until it was only Harry and Lupin left.

'OK, ready Harry? Hold onto my arm.'

Harry spotted some movement in the bushes. He let go of Lupin's arm for a split second, to turn around, and with a crack, Lupin Disapparated. At that moment, five Death Eaters lurched out of the shadows.

They pointed their wands at the invisible Harry, and simultaneously, they all opted for the same spell. 'STUPEFY!'

Harry got the five jets of red light straight to his chest, which was still bleeding from his previous injuries in the office. He was blasted backwards, and ricocheted off a nearby tree. There was a sickening crunch, and he fell to the ground. Blinding pain came from the back of his head, as it hit something jagged, and blood and cold sweat dripped onto his glasses, making it impossible to see.

He was falling, down and down, into a black abyss.

~ • ~

He woke up, his head hammering painfully, and his cheek still squashed against the cold earth. He wiped his glasses on his filthy clothes, and, with difficulty, raised his head from the ground, and sat up, leaning against a tree.

From what he could tell, he was still wearing his Invisibility Cloak, and could hear the Death Eaters calling to each other through the trees. 'MacNair, have you found him yet?' It sounded like Lucius Malfoy.

'No, but he is invisible. You do think we hit him don't you? I mean, they could have Disapparated,' MacNair replied, and Harry heard some undergrowth being blasted out of the way.

'No, I heard him hit a tree or something. He can't be far away.'

'We better find him; the Dark Lord grows very impatient.'

Harry needed to get to London, and he had the all too familiar problem of not being able to Apparate, or travel by Floo powder. Then it came to him.

He hobbled deeper into the woods, so that the Death Eaters wouldn't hear him, and said, as loud as he dared, 'Accio Firebolt.'

A few agonising minutes later, his faithful broomstick soared gracefully through the dense trees. It hovered about waist height, and Harry weakly swung his leg over it. He adjusted the now blood-soaked Invisibility Cloak so that it covered the broom, as well as himself, and took off into the cool, afternoon air.

~ • ~

It took him a little over four hours to get to London, and by the time he reached Grimmauld Place, it was getting dark. Harry was feeling shaky and unstable when he climbed the stone steps and rang the doorbell.

For an unbearable second, he thought that no one was there, but the door opened, and Mrs Weasley stepped uncertainly forward. 'Who's there?' she asked apprehensively, and Harry wearily pulled off his cloak. 'Harry!' Mrs Weasley looked relieved. 'Oh thank goodness--oh my--what has happened to you?! Are you-?' she broke off as Harry fell face forward, still clutching his broom and Invisibility Cloak.

Mrs Weasley screamed and Harry heard footsteps, but after that he heard no more.

~ • ~

'-think it's really him?'

'I don't know, but he was seriously injured.'

'He could have died.'

'Yes, I know, we'll have to question him when he wakes up.'

'He was a real mess when he arrived; I'm surprised that he didn't die.'

'Yes, yes, I just didn't know what to do.'

Harry opened his eyes and saw the source of the voices. Mrs Weasley and Lupin sat to his right, and Tonks, Sirius and Mr Weasley sat to his left.

'W-where am I?' Harry croaked, pain pulsating round his head.

The others jumped, unaware that he was awake.

'You're in the hallway, dear, we didn't want to move you, not until a Healer comes.' Mrs Weasley sounded tearful.

'Madam Pomfrey's on her way,' Sirius stated, biting his lip.

Lupin, however, did not seem concerned for Harry. He drew his wand, and pointed it at Harry's chest.

'Remus, can't it wait?' Mr Weasley said, but Lupin ignored him.

'What was my nickname at school, and what did I help create with three other people?' he demanded.

Harry took a deep breath, and murmured, 'Moony, and the Marauder's Map.'

'It's him.'

Everyone visibly relaxed.

Harry tried to sit up. 'What happened? Where did you go?'

Lupin looked uncomfortable. 'Well, I thought you were still holding onto my arm when I Apparated. I thought I was bringing you to safety, when I was in fact leaving you behind, undefended. I am sorry, Harry, please forgive me.'

'It's OK,' Harry mumbled. 'I'm alive, so don't worry too much.'

'Only just!' exclaimed Mrs Weasley. 'What happened to you?'

'All I remember is being hit with five Stunning spells--' there were gasps, '--being thrown against a tree, and not really very much after that.' Harry paused; it was becoming harder and harder to think. He could feel his blood dripping down his back.

'Can't someone do anything about his head?' Tonks asked worriedly.

'Not without the risk of sealing something inside. And none of us are qualified Healers,' Lupin answered, shaking his head slowly.

Mrs Weasley reached behind Harry's head, and took a rag from on top of the pillow he was resting on. It was sopping wet, and a sickening red colour.

Mrs Weasley grimaced and said, 'Tergeo.' It dried instantly, and returned to its white colour. She replaced it and looked at Harry. 'He's gone awfully pale.'

Sirius jumped up and paced the hall. 'Where's Poppy got to? We need her here now!'

Harry's head nodded and he felt extremely light-headed. His eyes drooped slightly as he saw Lupin bend over him. 'Harry? Harry? Are you all right?' He turned to the others. 'We need to get him to St. Mungo's!'

'Don't be stupid! He's meant to be in Azkaban! It'll be just great if we waltz in there with him like-' Tonks was cut off as there was a knock at the door.

Mrs Weasley got up to open it, and Madam Pomfrey bustled in. 'Oh, my goodness!' she exclaimed. 'He needs professional care! I can slow down the blood flow for now but...' She bent over Harry as Lupin moved aside. 'You'll be OK, Potter. Don't worry.'

Sirius knelt down on his other side. 'Harry? Can you hear me, Harry? Can you-?'

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but a thick dense fog was obscuring his vision. Darkness was descending, but none of the others seemed to notice it.

His last view was of several people crouching beside him, mouthing soundlessly, looking incredibly scared and agitated.

Harry's scar seared one final time, and his head lolled onto his shoulder.

~ • ~