The War of Shades

Chapter 54 The Badger

Ron, Ginny and Hermione woke, looking very well rested. Ginny and Hermione stretched like they had taken a nice late afternoon nap. Ron sat up, noticed a spider that had crawled onto him, and started gently playing with it, letting it crawl up and down his arms.

Hermione was shocked to see this. "Ron, what are you doing? You loathe spiders."

"I know. I do, or at least I thought I did, but I saw this little fella on me, and it seemed kind of ... cute. Look at the cool way it crawls. I can't believe I never noticed how fascinating they can be."

Hermione and Harry both looked at him, and then at each other, puzzled: what could have changed something so deep in him? He had fled from the north battlefield in his terror at spiders and required a potion to get back to the south portion, yet here he was playing with one.

"Are all of you okay?" Harry asked. Seeing that they were, he continued, "If you lot are okay now, I need to ask something - do any of you know the Parable of the Cave?"

It was no surprise that it was Hermione who spoke up.

"Isn't this a curious time to discuss philosophy?" she asked.

"I'm trying to broaden my education," said Harry, with a touch of sarcasm. "Really, I have reason to ask."

"Well, there are actually two versions in popular culture. One says that we only see things as tenuous images of their real nature, like shadows cast on a cave wall by some object nearer the mouth. It's the Platonic concept of the eternal Ideas - there is an Ideal Rock or Tree, but all the rocks and trees we see in real life are just poor approximations of the perfect Form."

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hagrid looked at Hermione like she was daft. Even the birds seemed to have gone silent. Maxime was rather more amused at the others' reactions.

"Well, who knows?" said Harry after several seconds. "That might be what I'm looking for, but humor me - what's the other version?"

"The second is an allegory about learning, comparing an ignorant person to someone who has been living in a deep cave for a very long time. The long time in the darkness makes him unable to tolerate light. Education was bringing him into the light, toward the entrance. You can bring the person slowly toward the light and his eyes will adjust and grow to accept light again. But if you drag him out immediately into full light, the glare is too much for him and he will not be able to see anything. In fact, they are really different lessons from the same story, as we are all supposed to be mired in the shadow images of the physical world and in need of enlightenment so as to perceive the ultimate reality."

"Hmm. Okay then, I can make some use of the second part - too much light blinds someone who has lived in the dark," said Harry. "I can see that as useful - there may be a plan that can come out of that. I know the first step anyway and I'll piece together the rest as I keep healing. If it looks do-able, I'll go ahead with those that want to join me. If not I'll have to start over. I need you people to do some things while I'm at it. If I can put it all together, we'll want to act right away."

They all nodded.

"First, keep it quiet about me working on a plan. All most people need to know is that Harry and Ron are okay and Voldemort escaped from me. Hey, I like the sound of that - 'Voldemort escaped from Harry,' not the other way around. Anyway, Hagrid, Hermione and Madame Maxime - help me out here, finding those who need help. Ginny and Ron, I need you to find Tonks and send her to me ASAP. I need her help particularly."

Ron nodded and said, "Right, mate, how will she know how to find you?"

Harry glanced first at Hagrid and then at Maxime, then back to Ron. "Well, duh!"

"Oh, right, this team won't be hard to spot."

"But it is a big battlefield - we'll be working our way south. She ought to be able to apparate to us guiding on my wands. Next, find me at least ten people with top-notch Patronuses and nerves of steel. They should also be comfortable on a broom. More if you can get 'em. Remus, if he's up for it -"

"You know he will be if we say it's for you," said Ginny.

"I'm sure we can count on him, unless the moon worries him too much. I want people who are battle-tested and have completely corporeal Patronuses. Fred and George, if they can pull themselves away from setting pranks. There should be some students as well who can handle it."

"Are you going to include us?" asked Ron.

"After what I just got you into, I'm afraid to say yes. But we've all been through so much together: if you're game, I won't stop you."

"Count me in," said Ron.

"Me, too," said Ginny.

"You can't make me stay behind," said Hermione.

"Is it somethin' me and Maxime can help with?" asked Hagrid.

"We'll be traveling by broom, Hagrid, and it will be better if everyone who goes is smaller than a dementor. Just do what you can here, okay?"

"O' course, Harry."

"I also want Neville - he'll need to bring the basilisk wand. We'll all meet at," Harry checked his watch, "1:00 a.m. in front of the chapel. See if Reverend MacBoon will see us off with a few words. We need brooms for everyone but Neville. We want him to arrive in one piece, so he'll ride with me. Bring my Firebolt. Tell everyone it has to be kept quiet and it will be as dangerous as anything I've ever done."

Ginny laughed. "Oh, yeah, that's a good selling point!"

Harry smiled. "Yeah, who wouldn't jump at that? Now that's for you and Ron, but Ron, before you do anything else, there're a few things you need to do."

"What's that, Harry?"

"First, get up to the Hospital Wing and show yourself to your family. They've heard you're okay, but they need to see it. And since you'll be up there, find out from Madam if there are any survivors up there who won't make it without my help. I'll want you to come right back to us with that information. But before you do that even, there's one thing you have to do for all of us: CHANGE YOUR ROBES! You're a hideous sight and a worse smell - between the vomit and the blood and the sweat and ...," Harry sniffed, "... Cologne!? You wore cologne to a battle?"

Ron blushed. "Well, it looked like there wasn't going to be a battle and I was, uh, going to, erm, spend the day with ... someone."

Harry glanced over at Hermione who was trying to look innocent, glancing around at the trees, and not doing a very good job of it, what with the blush rising on her cheeks.

"What is that scent? Eau de Flobberworm?" Harry laughed. "Right then, once I know if I'm needed at the Hospital Wing later, you can help Ginny round up volunteers. Let's get to it."

Ginny and Ron disapparated to the castle steps, while the remaining four scanned for the purple flares. They moved from person to person. Several victims he barely knew, a few not at all. Starting the healing magic kept getting easier and easier for Harry. He found that he could tell himself, "this is a person with family and friends, people that love him, people that would be heart-broken to lose him. This is a person with qualities and hopes and dreams all his own, that make him special and wonderful." And that was enough for Harry to find enough love in his heart to start the healing. Still the pain was always oppressive - they wouldn't have purple flares if the injuries were not dire.

Twenty minutes later, Ron returned. "I almost needed you again; Mum liked to hug the stuffings out of me."

Harry looked him in the eye. "Never, ever complain that you have people that care about you that much."

"Right, mate," Ron replied, a bit abashed. "No complaint really, just a bit embarrassing there in front of everyone in the hospital wing. I told Madame Pomfrey what was up with you. She was thrilled, of course, 'Just like his Mum and then some - well, he's spent enough time filling these beds, he may as well spend some time emptying them.' She said she had about a dozen who wouldn't make it to dawn without something more than what she can do. She wants you as soon as you can make it."

"Well, we'll be up pretty soon. Not many purple flares out here any more. A good many of those left are already dead."

Ron disapparated back to the castle. Madame Maxime called to Harry. She had found another yet-living student. Harry was surprised to see it was Dennis Creevy.

Hagrid said, "Yeh'll never get him and his brother to stop takin' yer picture if yeh save him."

As Harry knelt he said, "Yeah, but I'll do it anyway."

As the green light glowed around Dennis's body, Tonks showed up. Someone had given her a spare robe. She gasped as she saw the changes come upon Dennis's body . She saw Harry's body tense and writhe, and started to breathe deeper as Harry drew strength from her, Hermione, Hagrid and Maxime.

"That's awesome, Harry, but why did I get winded there, too."

"When I need extra strength for the healing, I draw it from those around me," replied Harry.

"Ah, well, it's a good cause - take what ya need," she replied.

Dennis woke up. He looked up at Harry. "Oh, hiya, Harry. I was in a right state, wasn't I? Did you give me a potion or something Harry? Did you invent it yourself? Did you get a chance to fight Voldemort again? Did you ..."

"Oh, shut up, Dennis!"

And for once, Dennis did.

Harry continued, a bit more patiently, "Yeah, I healed you. Film at 11."

Dennis laughed. Being from a muggle family, he knew what the phrase meant. Harry told him to go on up to the castle to check in and see about his brother Colin in the hospital wing. Colin had not been injured badly enough that he couldn't be moved, so he had been taken up to the castle. Harry didn't even want to tell Dennis how he had been healed. He knew Dennis would figure it out back at the castle. There would be no stopping people talking about this new-found ability, especially with so many of those who had been guarding the injured having seen it

Once Dennis started scurrying up to the castle, Tonks spoke up. "What'dja want me for, Harry? Remembered what ya been missing? It's a strange time for a date."

She giggled and winked.

"I want you to be Voldemort," said Harry.

Tonks blanched, as only a metamorphmagus can.

"Voldemort!? But why?"

"I need you to look just like him and say everything you can to get me angry, to fill me with hatred, to make me lose my cool. Follow me around as I go to heal people. Distract me, annoy me, insult me. I have to be totally without the slightest trace of animosity when I go to meet him again in a few hours."

"If you say so, but I can't say I fancy ticking off Harry Potter while looking like Voldemort. I remember the last time when I riled you as LeStrange."

Tonks transformed her appearance into a perfect likeness of Voldemort, muttering as she did how the transformation was going to hurt. Harry realized that rather than the bitter feeling he might have had even a few hours ago about someone complaining about pain when he had gone through so much this night, he was only mildly amused at the relative absurdity of her complaint.

It was well over an hour before they got to all the injuries on the field. In addition to sorcerers, they came across Bane, the centaur, and at least a dozen goblins who would have died, and Harry healed them all. The rest they found were already dead. All those that could be evacuated had been. All the time, Tonks was saying every foul thing she could think of - insulting Harry, Harry's father, his mother, the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Hermione, Sirius, Lupin, Neville, indeed everyone Harry cared for. She even insulted herself in quite graphic and grotesque terms with what Harry thought was a rather odd enthusiasm - perhaps she thought it was funny.

Finally she hit upon what she thought must have been the lowest thing of all that she could say. She went into a long rant, as Voldemort, about Harry's mother being glad his father was killed, because she desired Voldemort instead, and had begged him to do everything and anything he wanted to with her after James was killed. This did prove to be too much, but for Hagrid, rather then for Harry.

Hagrid seized her around the waist with one hand - a poor fit until he squeezed - and began to shake her violently.

"No one will speak of Lily Potter like that aroun' me. That woman was the saintliest I..."

"Petrificus Totalis!" shouted Harry, pointing his wand at Hagrid. Then Harry levitated Hagrid so he would not fall and crush Tonks. Tonks resumed her usual shape, which left her small enough to slide out of his grasp.

Harry knelt beside her, as she collapsed. "Tonks, are you okay?"

"I don't know, Harry. I think he did some real damage to me. I can't really feel my legs right now. I can't say as I blame him - I really went over the line there."

"Nonsense - you did just as I asked."

Harry then held her hands and, looking gently into her eyes, healed her.

"Wow, Harry, that felt better than just about anything I've ever known," she said, then added with a wink, "and you know I've known some pretty nice things."

Harry smiled. "That's good to know - everyone else has been unconscious or nearly so. I'd hate for it to hurt them."

Tonks then kissed him warmly. "Everything seems to be back in working order. Thanks, Harry, it's good to have a friend like you."

"Harree," interrupted Madame Maxime. "I think Hagreed would like to be able to move now."

"Right, Professor, sorry. Okay. Hagrid, I'll release the spell now, but don't you be mad at Tonks. She was doing what I asked her to do. Finite Incantatem!"

Hagrid's movement returned. "Sorry there, Tonks, I kind of lost my head and, well, Lily was such a special lady."

"I understand, Hagrid. I like men who will defend a lady's honor - well, within reason," said Tonks.

Then Hagrid turned to Harry, "Harry, yeh really have grown strong - nobody's ever stopped me with a single hex like that before."

"I hated to do it to you, Hagrid, but Tonks couldn't wait for me to reason with you," said Harry with a shy smile.

Then he added more seriously, "Actually Tonks was closer than any of you knew," said Harry, and the others stared at him in shock.

He nodded. "It's one of the hardest things I've had to deal with these past few months. I saw it all through Voldemort's memories. She didn't want my father dead or anything like that. But when my father had been killed, and Voldemort was coming for me, she was willing to do anything to save me. She begged Voldemort to spare me. She offered to do anything, to be anything for him. And since he never stops using his legilemency, I know that she meant it; she would not have been just giving in but she would have acted enthusiastically - if only I could be spared. It was the closest in decades that Voldemort had come to having a warm human emotion. He had so little human left to him, he couldn't have accepted her offers anyway, even if he had been willing to spare me, but it did move him to offer to let her live, if only she would move aside so I could be killed. That was the one thing that she would not do."

"Aw, Harry," said Hagrid, "that image would be tough enough to carry of anyone, much less yer own mother. I'm so sorry."

"Well, it's helped in a way, in that I can see him better now for the sick and depraved individual he is. He's not a machine, and while he is in some senses a 'monster,' he is not totally inhuman. Mostly, he is a person whose soul is twisted almost beyond recognition. And Tonks, in saying these things, has brought that out for me."

"Well, I'm glad to help, but if you don't mind, I'd rather not do anything like that ever again," said Tonks.

"Absolutely. You've done an excellent job. I can already feel that I've given up virtually all of my negative feelings. And the result now is that I'm shielded from Voldemort. He cannot bear to look where there is nothing but love. Even though he knew my intentions when you started, he doesn't understand why he can no longer see into my mind. He just knows he can't. He is deeply disturbed by it. But - he remains open to me, and he doesn't know that."

They scoured the battlefield for any more survivors and asked around among the students and adults still removing the dead and those with healable wounds, but there were only a couple who were neither dead nor otherwise recoverable still left. When the area was clear of those, they returned to the castle. Tonks kept her usual form, lest she start a riot in the castle by looking like Voldemort. Harry also didn't want to give away that he had a plan.