The Boy that Died

I have to dedicate this chapter to Telepwen whose constant reviewing made me laugh and inspired me to finish off this chapter!

Oh and I think I shall dedicate this chapter as well to Clepsydra Delphinus who I'm beta-reading for. I've just noticed she's dedicated her new chapter to me! You should go read her fic too (The Cat and the Cloak by Clepsydra Delphinus).

The Truth Potion

"That worked well," ventured Ron after a while.

The five of them were all sitting in various positions in Ron's office. Hermione and Ginny were perched on the desk, Sirius was leaning against the wall looking shaken, Ron was on his favourite chair behind the desk and Draco was looking imposing despite his current position on the floor.

"I suppose I had better owl Remus and tell him what happened," sighed Sirius, broken out of his daze by Ron's voice.

Things had gone steadily downhill since Harry had disappeared. Hogwarts somehow managed to stay open amidst the chaos and many people looking for safe house came there. It was the rock that many clung to. Dumbledore still remained Headmaster but outside Hogwarts things were looking a lot bleaker. Voldemort had returned and hit the Wizarding World fast and without any warning. Everywhere was in chaos; it was only Dumbledore's calmness that stopped everything falling apart altogether. Lucius Malfoy, although not Minister of Magic, had become deputy but he still seemed to run the show. His son, Draco Malfoy had joined Dumbledore against Voldemort but people like Ron still didn't trust him. It was difficult for Dumbledore to do anything without alerting Lucius. One of Lucius' 'solutions' to combating Voldemort had been to discriminate and shun any non-human creatures. People like Hagrid and Remus had to go into hiding to escape the detention camps.

So far Sirius had only received a few letters from Remus and they had not been encouraging. He, Hagrid and some other people were hiding in Canada, way up in the mountains. Despite this isolated position the area had been repeatedly searched by Death Eaters. At times like these Sirius sometimes wondered whether there was a traitor in their midst's, there seemed to be no other way to explain how people like Remus and Hagrid never seemed to find a safe house.

Sirius reached over and grabbed a scrap of parchment, Ron handed him a quill and then turned to the others.

"How are we going to talk to him now?" asked Ron, sounding exasperated.

"We're not going to," said Draco. Everyone stared at him. "It's as simple as that. My guess is that the moment we get within 500 yards of him, he's going to call the police. Last time we tried to talk to him "

"Like mature, sensible adults," cut in Hermione.

"Yeah, and then look what happened! He ran off and kicked me!"

"Heh, that was funny," said Ron, his eyes glazing over.

"But we can't just give up!" cried Hermione, "We've spent years looking for Harry and now we're just going to let him go!"

"Hermione's got a point. We have to follow this through, Harry needs to know what happened and so do we," agreed Ginny.

"Whatever, but I'm not coming with you. You can do this on you own," said Draco.

"Oh yes you are," said Hermione firmly, "you might help to jog his memory."

"Looks like he already knew Draco," chuckled Sirius from the far corner of the room, "judging by how he reacted."

Everyone laughed except Draco, who was turning slightly pink.

"Oh leave p-poor Draco alone," gasped Ginny in between giggles.

Ron stopped laughing. He glared at Ginny but said nothing.

"We need to try different tactics," said Sirius, suddenly serious. "If he won't listen then we'll have to "

"Force him to listen?" said Ginny sweetly.

"Well, I-uh wouldn't say it quite like that," spluttered Sirius, "but we need to gain his trust as well."

"So what should we do?"

"I think maybe we should take him to Ron's office, show him a bit of magic, tell him what happened ten years ago. He'd have to see sense eventually," said Hermione.

"It won't work," said Draco quietly, "Do you honestly think that kidnapping him is going to make him understand?"

"Well, we'll have a vote then," said Hermione, "All in favour of, um 'kidnapping' Harry raise your hands." Ginny, Hermione and Sirius all raised their hands. "All against." Ron and Draco raised their hands and Hermione looked questionably at Ron.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," muttered Ron, "Harry won't trust us if we force him into anything."

"But we tried the nice method!" cried Ginny, "And that didn't work at all! We have to take further action."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "This is our last chance, we can't ruin this one or we won't have any chance of getting Harry back. And to do that we need everyone's help."

Everyone in the room nodded except Ron. "Ron?" said Hermione anxiously.

Ron sighed and said, "Okay I'll help but I still don't like this plan."

Hermione smiled at him gratefully and he leaned closer as she explained what to do.

*

Harry lay on his bed fingering his new glasses. Just as he had suspected Nurse Sal had had to pay for the glasses out of her own money. They had gone shopping for them just yesterday. They were okay glasses, round with a black frame, nothing special, but they were the best Nurse Sal could afford.

He lay there looking at the ceiling thinking about those people he had met. What were their names? Ron, Sirius, Hermione, Ginny and Draco. He wondered again what they had wanted. Harry had thought of telling Nurse Sal what had happened but he didn't know how to bring it up. Oh yeah and did you know a group of thugs tried to kidnap me yesterday? He knew she would believe him but he didn't want to worry her, after all, who knows what those people wanted anyway?

*

The wind was high and Harry was having trouble sleeping. He stirred fitfully in his sleep and dreamt of darkness and monsters all night. The wind rustling the trees became murderers creeping about outside, the howl of the wind became poor souls crying out for help. The black trees outside became gigantic hands knocking on the window; random creaks became invisible things scurrying around on the floor.

At about 2 a.m Harry was woken up by a loud crash. He reached for his glasses and put them on nothing. He must have just been dreaming. He settled down and tried to get some sleep. About a second later he heard another crash. He sat bolt upright and looked at the window.

The two women he had met a few days ago were outside the window. Wait, my room is on the third floor. Then he saw something that made him gasp. The two women were on broomsticks.

"Shit."

Harry jumped out of his bed and ran to the door. He struggled with the door handle but it wouldn't open. He could hear the two women fiddling with the window latch and he broke out in a cold sweat. He started banging against the door now, hoping someone would hear him.

Then Harry heard the window slam open with a shocking crack. He spun around and looked at it in terror. The taller woman, Ginny, placed a foot on the windowsill; Harry's eyes widened - he turned to the door again and gave renewed attempts to open it. Something inside Harry snapped. Behind him he heard the window slam shut and felt a wave of relief flood through him. The howl of the wind was quieted, if only for a moment.

Outside the window Ginny was getting increasingly frustrated as she tried again and again to open the window.

"Alohomora! Alohomora! Dammit why won't you open! ALOHOMORA!" The window latch broke as it flung open and the glass shattered. Ginny struggled for a moment with the wind and then wrenched herself in, pulling Hermione in after her.

Harry heard the glass shatter and knew there was no hope. He stopped struggling with the door and stood still, facing the wall.

"What do you want?"

"We want only to explain," said a voice behind him.

Harry slowly turned around. Both women were standing proud in front of the window, holding their broomsticks. The wind grabbed at their hair creating a halo effect around their heads. Their eyes glinted angrily and Harry noticed that the other woman, Hermione was constantly flexing her fingers on her broom, as though she was just itching to place those fingers on his throat.

Ginny bowed her head, still keeping her eyes on him and Harry stepped forwards, his feet didn't feel like they were entirely his own and he seemed to be obeying to some higher power.

Hermione stepped on the broomstick and Ginny swung her leg over hers. Hermione nodded her head towards the back of her broomstick and Harry got on behind her. Then she kicked off and flew through the window.

Once Harry was outside and the wind was whistling in his hair he got some of his sense back. He could see the ground 500 feet below him but he tried to release Hermione's strong arm from around him. She held on tighter and Harry struggled harder. He kicked wildly and heard Hermione yelp and let go of him. The broomstick dropped a few feet and lurched sickeningly to one side. Harry was quite at a loss what to do now that Hermione was no longer holding onto him so he just gripped tightly on the broomstick and edged a little bit away from Hermione.

She noticed and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Trying to get yourself killed?" Harry mumbled something incomprehensible in reply but let her hold onto him. "We'll be there soon, it's only a short ride."

Harry seemed to have forgotten how to speak; the full reality of what was happening was only just beginning to sink in. He was flying on a broomstick with two witches. He decided to enjoy the ride while it lasted.

He looked down and saw fields below with flocks of shabby looking sheep in them. A house occasionally appeared but most of them were deserted and empty. Then Harry spotted one with smoke billowing out of the chimney and leant down to get a closer look. He leaned over to the side and felt his legs slipping. Harry felt panic flood his body and he scrabbled on the broomstick on a desperate attempt to stay on. But it was no use; Harry's hands slipped and he fell free of the broom.

The broomstick shuddered as Hermione was pulled almost off her broom as Harry slipped. She cried out as her arm was pulled almost out of her socket. Hermione looked down and saw Harry holding on with both hands onto her arm; he was looking up at her with wide eyes. Amazingly he hadn't cried out at all.

"Hang on Harry." Hermione muttered down to him.

Gripping tightly with her knees she let go off her other hand and reached out for Harry. She judged badly. She was pulled almost off her broom and gasping she pulled up the upper-half of her body onto the broom.

"Ginny! Help me, I can't hold on to him!"

Ginny swerved tightly under Harry.

"Hermione! Hold it steady," she yelled and turned her attention to Harry, "Harry, you're going to have to let go. I'll catch you, you're just going to have to be quick, Hermione is going to fall soon if you don't hurry."

Harry looked down at Ginny, she was holding out her hands to catch him but he could see even from this position that she couldn't stay there that long. He looked up at Hermione who was scrabbling at the broomstick, desperately trying to stay on.

"Harry!"

Harry took a deep breath, shut his eyes and let go.

"Oomph."

Harry opened his eyes and saw Ginny holding on to him, struggling to regain control of her broomstick. Hermione got on her broom properly and had now drifted down to the same height as them. Ginny was now drifting slowly down to the ground, a few metres away from the cottage Harry had seen before. She landed gently on the ground tipping Harry off. Harry stood for a moment still stunned with what happened. Hermione was just landing and Harry snapped back into action. He started running. He glanced back at Hermione, she yelled out for Ginny and started running after him.

Run run run! Harry felt despair fill his body as he heard Hermione's strong feet pounding behind him. She had much longer legs and was probably much stronger. Don't think about that you fool! Just keep on running!

But then Harry felt Hermione's arm grab onto the back of his pyjamas. The fabric bit into his neck and he choked. He snatched at her arm and tried desperately to loosen her grip.

"Let go of me!" he choked out.

"Stop trying to escape, we're only trying to help." Hermione hissed in his ear.

Ginny had caught up now and she grabbed Harry's other arm. Both of them then frog-marched him to cottage with Harry kicking and struggling.

"Why are you doing this?" he cried out, "Where are you taking me?" Harry looked up at his captors. Hermione just stared straight ahead and said nothing, Ginny however looked down at him sadly. Harry stared back, desperate to understand but Ginny just bit her lip and looked ahead.

They had reached the cottage by now and Hermione let go of him to open the door, Harry tried again to escape by Ginny held on as tightly as ever. Hermione pulled him into the cottage and Ginny stayed behind to make sure he wouldn't escape.

Looking around Harry saw that the cottage was completely empty. A fire was roaring in the grate and it cast a pleasant glow around the room. Ginny let go of him and Hermione dragged him over to the fire. Harry watched openmouthed as she grabbed a handful of powder for a jar on the hearth and threw it into the fire. The flames turned green and rose up high into the chimney.

Then as Hermione walked closer to the fire, Harry realised the horrible truth.

They're going to burn me, he thought in a panic. I'm going to die and no one will know I'm dead out in this godforsaken place.

Harry tried desperately to free himself but Hermione kept on pushing him closer and closer to the fire. He kicked her and tried to hit her but she wouldn't let go.

I won't scream, he told himself. I won't give them the satisfaction.

Then Hermione shoved him into the fire and stepped in herself, keeping a tight hold on him. Harry suddenly realised the fire wasn't burning him, in fact it just felt pleasantly warm, like a hot water bottle.

"Ron Weasley's office, department of underage magic, the Ministry of Magic!" Hermione yelled in a clear voice.

Then the whole world spun and the last thing Harry saw was Ginny reaching over for some of that powder. Stars flashed and bright colours swirled past, Hermione was holding onto him and Harry tried again to escape, but as he was trying to hit her something hard hit his elbow. He held it against him, trying desperately not to cry.

And they call it the funny bone, Harry thought bitterly. Can't see anything funny about it myself.

Suddenly the ground appeared underneath Harry's feet again and he stumbled. Wiping the soot from his glasses he saw that he was in an office. The people Harry had met a few days ago were all there, most looking bored and sitting slumped in their chairs. Everyone looked up when they heard Hermione and Harry arrive though, even the blond-haired man, Draco. Hermione gripped his arm tighter and pulled him out of the fireplace. A second later Harry heard Ginny arrive.

"Got him," said Hermione grimly.

Harry was still struggling, he kicked out frantically and then, on some mad animal instinct, bit deep into Hermione's arm. She shrieked and let go, Harry made a bolt for the door. Running his tongue across his teeth he could taste something foreign blood. Harry felt sick and had to fight against the urge to throw up on the spot. He had drawn blood.

"Stop! We're armed!" someone yelled.

Harry stopped dead. No use, he hadn't got a chance if they had a gun. He turned around and saw, to his surprise that none of them had a gun. But every adult in that room was holding a wooden stick and pointing it at him as if it was a gun.

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you," said the red-haired man, Harry remembered he was called Ron.

"Then what are you going to do? Who are you? How did I get here?"

"You got here by Floo Powder, I won't bother explaining it now, we have much more important things to discuss. As for who we are, you already know that. Now sit down"

Harry noticed that he didn't answer his first question.

"And why do I have to take any notice of you? You don't even have a gun; all you have is a piece of wood. You don't scare me."

"I assure you these pieces of wood are much more dangerous than you might think. Now do as Ron says, sit down," spoke Sirius.

Harry edged over to the nearest chair and gingerly sat down. Everybody in the room followed his every movement. He glanced over at the door. Sirius noticed and laughed.

"The doors locked so don't even bother trying. Even if you got out you wouldn't be able to escape, I daresay you'd give everyone a shock though Harry Potter appearing out of nowhere " his eyes took on a glazed look and he smiled slightly, though sadly.

"I think I'll start the story," muttered Ginny, glancing at Sirius, who nodded slightly. "Okay, your story starts 23 years ago. You were just a baby then. You had a father, James Potter and a mother, Lily Potter. They were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew, one of their best friends who sold them to Voldemort. They died when you were just a year old, killed by the most powerful wizard of that time and still now "

Harry looked confused by this piece of information, Draco noticed and mouthed 'Later' at him. Ginny continued.

"He tried to kill you as well, but you survived with only a scar and Vol I mean You-know-who disappeared. You were sent to live with your Aunt and Uncle and their younger son by order of Dumbledore. You stayed there for 10 years, having the most miserable time of your life, so you said. Then on your eleventh birthday you got a letter saying you had been accepted into Hogwarts: that's the best wizarding school in Britain. Anyway when you there you had two best friends..."

"Me," interrupted Ron, "and Hermione." Hermione smiled slightly and waved at Harry. "Ginny, she's my younger sister and she sort-of had a crush on you " Ginny had turned scarlet and was staring intently at her shoes. "Then there was Sirius, your godfather."

Harry stared at Sirius in incredulity. This man was his godfather? He never even knew he had one.

"And me," cut in Draco, "Well, we were worst enemies."

"Anyway," continued Ron, "For the four years we were there we had the most amazing adventures. Flying cars, fighting giant snakes, rescuing Sirius, escaping Voldemort once, twice, no three times! But that all changed in your fourth year " Ron trailed off. He looked imploringly at Hermione.

"There was a tournament at the school called the Triwizard Tournament," carried on Hermione, "Three schools would compete with their own school champions in three tasks. Cedric Diggory was Hogwarts school champion and you were as well, there was only meant to be one champion per school so no one could really understand this. But you had to compete anyway. On the first task you had to get past a dragon and collect a golden egg. The second task was underwater, you had to retrieve the thing you would miss most."

"Me," interrupted Ron, "Hermione was the thing another champion would miss."

"And the-the third task was " Hermione could barely go on, Harry understood that this was something very important and he leaned forward on the chair, eager to hear more.

"The Third task was a maze. You had to get past enchantments and magical animals. You and Cedric reached the Cup at the same time and agreed to tie for it, after all it would be a Hogwarts victory anyway. Well, you-you touched the Cup and disappeared. We waited for hours and then you appeared, one hand holding Cedric and the other holding the Cup. You were-were d-dead " finished Hermione and she gave a tiny sob. "We all thought you were dead Harry, and then before we even had a chance to bury you and have a proper funeral, you disappeared and we never saw you again until now," she finished and looked at Harry, her eyes bright and filled with happiness.

Everyone (with the exception of Draco) was looking at him with such love and affection that Harry felt acutely embarrassed. He fidgeted in his seat and then voiced something he'd been wondering about all through the story.

"But you said it all started 23 years ago, when I was one. I should be 24 then, not 14. You-you've got the wrong person."

"Harry, how could we wrong about this? Look." Ginny fished out two photographs and handed them to Harry. One he recognised, it was of him, sitting on the steps of the Orphanage. The other one showed him with his arms around a 14 year old Ron and Hermione. The strangest thing was that the pictures were moving.

"All pictures move in the wizarding world," added Ginny helpfully.

"But-but he looks exactly like me!" exclaimed Harry, staring in disbelief at the picture.

"You see Harry, it is you!" said Sirius, "You must just have a memory charm on you, making you remember a different past," he looked at Harry with increasingly brightening eyes then, without any warning, he reached out and fiercely hugged Harry to him. Harry stiffened and tried to push Sirius of him.

"Stop it! I-I can't breathe."

Sirius let go. "Sorry, sorry. Don't know what came over me," he mumbled.

"We'll give you some time to think about it Harry," said Ron, "Malfoy will take you up to your room."

Draco rose from his seat and beckoned for Harry to follow him. Harry did, but he cast a wary glance behind him at the rest of the group. Draco walked out of the door into a long corridor. Harry noticed that whenever someone would pass them Draco would shove Harry quickly behind him. For a while Harry wondered why he did this but then he remembered something Sirius had said earlier. Something about Harry Potter popping out of nowhere and giving them all a scare. He wondered if he really was this 'Harry Potter' person, either that or his identical twin brother. But all his memories, memories of the orphanage, growing up there; they all seemed so real, how could they not be?

Draco stopped about halfway down the passage in front of a fairly ordinary door. Harry stepped forwards, intending to open it but Draco grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook his head. Harry watched curiously as he drew out that stick again, tapped it twice and muttered something. Amazingly the door swung open. Draco strode in, Harry stopped for a few seconds, gob smacked, then mentally shook himself and scurried along behind him.

"How did you do that? The door just opened and you didn't touch it or anything!" Harry was panting slightly, they were climbing a narrow, winding staircase now.

"You were surprised by a door but not by flying broomsticks!" Draco smiled. "Like we said before, it's magic," they had reached the top of the staircase now. He pushed open the door and walked in.

The room was quite small, one small window let in a minimum amount of light and with the combined effect of night, no moon and that tiny window the room was very dark indeed. It gave Harry the creeps. Draco sat down on the only chair and pulled out his wand. Harry sat on the bed.

"This piece of wood is a wand," said Draco fingering his wand lovingly. "Each wand is as unique as each wizard. It focuses your magical energy and you can use it to cast spells. Look! Nix!" The moment Draco spoke Harry felt something touch his shoulder, he looked up and saw snow softly falling from the ceiling. He laughed and tried to catch a few but they melted as soon as they touched his skin.

"All wizards and witches are kept secret from Muggles, that's a term used to describe anyone who's not magical. We're all part of a secret society I suppose..."

"So how do you know me-I mean Harry Potter?" Harry asked.

"Well, we never really got on at school, sworn enemies in fact. Always fighting and insulting each other. I regretted everything in the end though, especially now..." he trailed off and looked at the floor.

"So how come you're helping Ron and everyone if you used to hate them?"

Draco stiffened and said, "That's not something I'd like to discuss."

The conversation was over. Draco stood up shakily and walked out without a word. Harry stared at the door for a while, thinking he might come back in and say goodnight but he didn't. Shivering, Harry climbed into bed and pulled the curtains around his bed, hoping to keep out the draught from the window. Harry lay awake for hours. The cold was unbearable. His feet felt like blocks of ice, his hands were slowly turning blue and his breath was visible. Eventually though he fell asleep.

*

"Does he believe us?" asked Ginny.

"I think he wants to ... he just doesn't trust us. No thanks to your brilliant 'lets kidnap Harry' idea," said Ron, glaring at her. Ginny opened her mouth to reply but was diverted by an exhausted looking Draco walked in.

"What happened? Did he give you trouble?" asked Hermione anxiously.

"No, I'm fine. We were just talking," Draco sat down with a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. "I don't know. We must seem so distant to him. He's still a kid, how's he going to understand us when we're all grown-up."

"How is it that he's never grown up?" asked Sirius, voicing something they had all been wondering about.

No one answered.

"Do you-do you think this has anything to do with ... you-know-who?" asked Sirius tentatively.

It was Ron who answered this question. "It might be, is we just knew what happened at the Triwizard tournament then maybe all this would be clearer."

"Where did that portkey take Harry and Cedric?" mused Hermione. "I wish Harry could remember. It was an Avada Kedavra curse that killed them both, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," replied Ron, "I still don't have any idea how he survived."

"He survived it once, he can survive it again," said Ginny briskly.

"Yeah ... whatever,"

"We'll talk to him in the morning," said Sirius, "We all need a good nights sleep."

The group all mumbled in reply and trooped slowly out of the door. Pretty soon the only person left was Ron. He stared at the door for a few seconds, waiting to see if anyone would come out, then opened a drawer and pulled out a small black book. He picked up a pen and began scribbling rapidly in it.

*

Bright sunlight was shining in Harry's eyes. He groaned and covered his eyes with one hand. He struggled to sit up but he realised someone was holding his shoulders down. He scrabbled for his glasses on the table beside his bed. Someone handed them to him and he placed them on. Instantly the room swam into focus and Harry could see the group all crowded around his bed. Ron was looking stricken and was staring at Harry horrified. Draco hung at the edge of the group looking down at the floor. Everyone else was looking at him weirdly, excitement plainly etched all over their faces. Harry didn't like the looks they were giving him.

"Come on Harry!" said Hermione with a bright smile as she pulled Harry out of the bed.

"Where are you taking me?" said Harry rubbing his eyes, he hadn't got nearly as much sleep as he'd liked to last night.

"We're going to help you get your memory back. Coming Ron?" Ron shook his head and muttered something that sounded like 'I'll have no part in this...' Draco shook his head as well.

"Fine by me," Hermione was dragging Harry down the stairs now, the rest of the group were all trotting obediently behind her.

"What are you going to do?" asked Harry, some of his fear from last night was returning to him. No one answered. Harry didn't bother struggling; there was only one of him and three of them.

They reached Ron's door but Hermione just walked straight past it. Harry twisted around to look at it.

"Hey! Aren't we meant to be...?"

"Not today," said Ginny as she followed Hermione through another doorway.

They were in a dark room now, there were no windows and there was a disgusting stench of something ... something like blood. Harry looked around with wide eyes, what were they going to do now?

Hermione pushed Harry forcibly into a tall chair. Black ropes sprung out of it and wound themselves around Harry's arms and legs. He struggled furiously with the bonds but they were far too strong. He felt very weak, those ropes were draining him of any strength he might have had.

Sirius stepped forward and looked at Harry. He drew out his wand and fingered it thoughtfully. He looked straight at Harry.

"You don't remember anything we told you?"

"Well no," this was a lie, Harry did recognise little things. He hadn't been that surprised when Draco had made snow fall; he'd done stuff like that before. And he was sure he'd seen Hermione somewhere before.

"What about when Ginny saw you doing wandless magic in the library?"

"I-I've always been able to do that," Harry was a bit surprised, he didn't think anyone had seen him doing that. And if Ginny had been able to see him then who else knew about that? He'd thought it was secret

"Ah! So you admit that you always knew about magic," Sirius smirked.

"No! No, I didn't know it was magic, I didn't think it was anything special,"

"You remember nothing else?"

"Nothing," more lies, Harry thought.

Sirius frowned and looked at Harry. Harry tried to keep eye contact and show he wasn't lying. Sirius broke away first and turned to Ginny.

"Ginny, fetch me a truth potion. It doesn't need to be that strong, this won't take long."

Ginny turned and ran out of the room. Sirius sat down on a chair and stared at Harry. Harry fidgeted under the Sirius' gaze and began examining his fingers. He looked up every few minutes but Sirius still stared.

"Here," Ginny had returned and was holding a small bottle containing a clear liquid. Sirius reached over and grabbed it from her.

"Now, if you could just swallow this Harry."

Harry shook his head wordlessly; he was staring at the bottle in horror. Truth Potion? He didn't think so. Poison more like.

"Come on, just a little swallow," said Sirius, waving the bottle tantalizingly in front of Harry. When Harry did nothing he grabbed Harry's nose and pinched it tight. His eyes narrowed in triumph. Harry kept his mouth firmly shut but he couldn't hold his breath for much longer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginny start forward and try to pull Sirius off him.

"Stop it Sirius! He-he's going blue!"

But Sirius shook his head and threw Ginny off him easily. His eyes were wide with madness. Harry could bear it no longer. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath. At the same time Sirius tipped the whole contents of the bottle in his mouth. Harry choked and spluttered and tried to spit it out but he had already swallowed some.

Sirius was smiling and leaning back on the chair; Harry's eyelids drooped and the world turned grey.

He was dimly aware of Hermione asking him questions but he couldn't stop himself saying anything. His mind was paralysed and he felt like he wasn't really in control.

"Harrrry,"

Harry didn't look or turn his head but he focused his mind towards the source of the voice.

"Haarrrry,"

The voice pulling him in and Harry could do nothing to stop it. The last thing he remembered was slumping down in his chair and a gasp

*

Harry was in Ron's office. He looked at the desk and saw a small black book on a pile of papers. He picked it up and began to flick through it. Sentences jumped out at him.

"She must be mad, she's still looking for him after all these years. I think I've already given up."

"That son-of-a-bitch is after Ginny now. Caught him staring at her the day before. It's only been a week since he finished Hermione. They're all blind, can only seem to see his good points, blind."

"I still can't believe he's gone. I had a dream about him the other night. He was bleeding and bruised all over. He had the dark mark tattooed on his arm. He kneeling and holding out his arms crying 'Help me' ... I woke up in tears..."

"Ginny showed me the picture of him, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was our Harry. But he hasn't grown up and we have ... I don't think he'll want to know us. We've all grown up so much since the Triwizard tournament."

"Seen him today. He was looking so scared and I wondered whether we had done the right thing. He didn't remember us; maybe he would have been happier living his life in the Orphanage? He reminds me of some many painful things, is their any point in digging the past up?"

Harry had reached the end of the end of the book. He put it down on the table but it slid off and fell onto the floor. He looked around, and he noticed something he hadn't seen before. Two people were in the room. One on a chair behind a desk and one on a chair opposite the desk. Their faces were blurred and they were coloured slightly grey. They were staring at the diary and then one man pointed at Harry, his mouth forming a perfect 'o'.

But then Harry felt something move slightly beneath his feet. The room was swiftly changing into something else. Cloaked figures stood around him forming a circle. Their faces were hidden but a malevolent evil radiated from them.

"Harry Potter," a voice hissed.

Harry spun around but he could not tell where it came from, it seemed to come from everywhere.

"You must leave this place. You are not welcome here. There are people who wish to harm you. They speak lies. Leave or stay in danger of your life " the voice hissed. The scene was fast fading and Harry tried to hold onto it, but it was no use. The darkness was fast changing into familiar shapes and Harry soon recognised five people bending over him.

*

Ron leaned back on the chair and sighed heavily. Draco copied the gesture and put his feet on Ron's desk.

"Hey! Feet off!" said Ron waving his hands but gave up halfway and let them slump by his side. "What do you think they're doing to him?"

"It-it shouldn't be that bad," said Draco, his voice breaking slightly. "They said they were only going to use a medium strength potion on him."

"Do you think?" Ron was cut off by a bang. Draco had taken his feet off the desk and was holding a black book.

"It just fell off, I didn't touch it or anything," he said, clearly surprised.

"That's my diary. Give it here Malfoy."

Draco threw the book and Ron held out his hands to catch it. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he stopped. He gasped and pointed. A ghostly figure of Harry was standing just beside him. He was grey and slightly fuzzy but it was Harry all right.

"Ouch," the book had just hit Ron on the head.

"Why didn't you catch it then?"

Ron turned to where Harry had been but nothing was there. "II thought I saw Harry, I think it was him who knocked my diary over."

Draco looked at the spot Ron was pointing to. "He's not there anymore, do you think he had his invisibility cloak on?"

Ron shook his head. "No, he was sort-of grey and fuzzy around the edges. Jesus, what the hell do you think they're doing to him in there?"

Draco didn't answer; he was already walking through the door.

*

Hermione watched as Harry slumped down in his chair. He stayed there for a few seconds but then his head snapped up and he was sitting rigidly in the chair.

"I'll take over," said Hermione as she gently pulled Sirius out of the way. "Okay then what is your name?"

"Harry James Potter," Harry said in a dead monotone voice.

"Do you recognise me?"

"Yes," said Harry, not looking at her.

"Who am I?"

"You are Hermione Granger, my best friend from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have two best friends, you and Ron."

"What do you remember about Hogwarts?"

"I was in the house Gryffindor with my two friends Ron and Hermione. My worst enemies were Draco Malfoy and his two followers, Crabbe and Goyle. In the first year we stopped Voldemort from getting the Philosopher's Stone. In the second year I defeated a "

"That's enough," said Hermione, holding out her hand. "We don't need to hear all of your adventures. What happened at the Triwizard Tournament?"

"The Cup was a portkey. It took us to a graveyard near the Riddle House. Wormtail was there. He killed Cedric and put the Cruciatus curse on me " Harry stopped. He gasped and his eyes went wide.

Ginny stepped forwards. "What the hell is happening to him?"

Harry's mouth was open and he was trying repeatedly to take a breath but something was stopping him. Suddenly he slumped forwards, Hermione caught him before he hit the ground and lowered him gently onto the floor.

"At least he's still breathing," said Sirius from behind Ginny.

Harry's eyes were shut and he was breathing steadily now. He just looked like he was sleeping.

"He was about to tell us!" cried Hermione, clenching her fists tightly. "Someone didn't want us to know what happened. They did this!"

"Calm down Hermione. What did he say just before he lost consciousness?" said Sirius, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He said-he said something about a graveyard near the Riddle House. That's Voldemort's last name. And Wormtail was there too."

"It all points to Voldemort," said Ginny, she had her face in her hands. "How could we have been so stupid? Everything always points to Voldemort! We didn't need to do this to Harry! We're meant to be his friends and look what we've done now! He might be dead for all we know!"

Hermione and Sirius said nothing. Ginny looked sadly at Harry and knelt down beside him, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"He's still our Harry, he just doesn't remember anything," Ginny looked at the two of them. "Promise me, promise me you'll help him get his memory back. Don't just use him to get some information. He should mean more that that to us."

Hermione and Sirius nodded, both were looking sadly at the floor and Ginny could tell they were truly sorry.

A sudden bang made Ginny jerk her head up. Ron stood in the doorway, his hair was everywhere and he was breathing heavily. Draco was right behind him.

"What have you done to him? Where is " Ron looked to the side of Ginny. "Oh my God!"

He rushed forwards and knelt beside Harry, Draco following close behind.

"You've killed him, haven't you?" said Draco turning to Ginny, his eyes were two harsh slithers of ice.

"N-no. He-he collapsed, he's alright," said Hermione, her voice trembling.

"And how many Cruciatus curses did you have to put on him before he collapsed?" Ron said, breathing heavily and looking at Hermione with hot anger.

"Stop!" shouted Sirius, "We did nothing of the sort. We gave him a Truth Potion, and he collapsed when he was in the middle of telling us what happened at the Triwizard Tournament."

"You mean he remembers?" asked Draco in disbelief.

"He has a lot of memory spells on him but he can tell us with a Truth potion."

"What did he tell you?" said Ron, his anger replaced by curiosity.

"He didn't get that far," said Hermione. "He collapsed just before he was going to tell us what happened. I think someone was trying to stop him from telling us."

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Voldemort. As usual,"

"How come wait a second," Ron grabbed hold of Hermione's arm and nodded his head towards Harry.

"He's waking up " whispered Ginny.

*

The grey mist was slowly lifting and Harry felt a mist in his head lift too. He opened his eyes and stared at the five people. They were kneeling around him all looking worried and serious. They were the last people Harry felt like seeing. He moaned a little and covered his eyes with his hands.

Draco watched sadly as Harry covered his face. He didn't blame him. After what he had probably been through the poor kid had plenty of reason not to want to see them again.

Someone was tugging at Harry's sleeve. It was Ron.

"Come on Harry. I think you need a rest now."

"But can't we " Hermione stopped at a sharp look from Ginny.

Ron helped Harry up and walked out of the door. Draco watched them go through the door, as soon as they had left he turned to the others. "What the hell were you doing to the poor boy in there?" he yelled.

No one answered, the other three looked down guiltily at the floor.

"Sirius? What happened?" Draco said, his voice dangerously quiet.

"It was-it was nothing. We only gave him a truth potion, he collapsed in the middle of it."

"As if I'm going to believe that!" yelled Draco, "You tortured him, didn't you? You put the Cruciatus curse on him, didn't you!" he lunged forward and grabbed Sirius by the collar. "Tell me what you were really doing to him!"

"Alright! Alright, I'll tell you," Sirius snarled. "We did put a truth potion on him," Draco snorted. "But-but he didn't want to take it. I had to pinch his nose before he would take it. That's all."

"He didn't even stop when Harry turned blue!" exclaimed Ginny, pointing an accusing finger at Sirius.

"Is this true, Hermione?" asked Draco. Hermione looked up from the floor and silently nodded.

Draco's lips curled as he glared at Sirius. "You don't even deserve to be that boy's Godfather, you know that?"

Then he turned on his heel and strode out of the door, leaving Ginny, Hermione and Sirius alone with their thoughts.

*

As soon as they were out of that room Harry began to relax a little. Ron wasn't as bad as the rest.

He leaned heavily on Ron as they walked up that corridor. Every breath he took was a strain on his lungs and his legs were shaking badly. He tried not to think about what had happened, all he wanted to do was to get out of this place. He would be grateful even to go back to the Orphanage.

He didn't notice that people were staring at him, staring at his blank eyes and his frail shaking body. He didn't see the fingers pointed at him or hear the whispers that started as soon as they saw him. He seemed to be on autopilot, his legs were walking but his mind was somewhere else. They reached the little bedroom quicker than Harry remembered it to be. Ron opened the door and Harry gratefully sank into the bed. Ron stood awkwardly for a few seconds then cleared his throat.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell me what happened ?"

"No."

Harry turned over on his side, his back facing Ron. Ron got the message and left, closing the door extra quietly. When he was gone Harry allowed one thin tear to escape from his eyes.

*

Harry woke up freezing. He shivered and pulled his legs up to his chest. He stared around the room, it was thick with tension and Harry found it difficult to breath properly. He was soon gasping and had to dash to the window. He opened it and took a deep breath, drinking in the frosty air. He looked outside. The building was in a large park; Harry could see swings and tarmac pathways leading this way and that. Then he looked directly down underneath the window and gasped. Three cloaked figures were climbing up the wall; the nearest one was only a few metres away. Harry pulled his head in and ran to the door. He tried to open it but it was locked. He stopped and looked around in desperation for a hiding place. His eyes alighted on the bed and casting a quick glance at the window he suddenly shot forwards and dived under the bed.

He was just in time; he heard a soft footstep on the windowpane and a thump as the person jumped down. The other two people jumped in a few seconds after. Harry watched their feet slowly prowl the room, looking in the wardrobes and behind the curtains. Then a pair of feet stopped at the bed. They were very expensive leather boots, Harry noted.

Suddenly a head bobbed down and scanned underneath the bed. As soon as the man saw Harry his eyes glinted triumphantly and he smirked. He reached underneath and grabbed Harry's foot. Harry gasped and tried to grab onto something but the man was too strong and he pulled Harry easily out from the bed.

Harry looked up at the man and stood up, staring at him fearfully. The man was tall, with silvery blond hair and grey eyes, though Harry noted that his hair was turning grey. The man strongly resembled Draco.

"Ah, so we finally have the pleasure of meeting, Harry Potter," said the man, holding out his hand. Harry looked at it uncertainly but gingerly shook it none the less. "My name is Lucius Malfoy."

Ah ha! Thought Harry, he must be related to Draco. Maybe it's his dad? Perhaps he's just here to visit Draco?

Harry looked around at the other two people. They had their hoods up so it was hard to see them properly but he could just make out their features. The man on the left had straw-coloured hair and he kept on glancing around worriedly. The man on the right had shoulder length black hair and a hooked nose. He was looking at Harry with a fearful and disbelieving expression.

"We're here to warn you," continued Lucius, Harry looked away from the hook nosed man and stared at him. "The people you are with do not intend to help you. They are lying; if you stay here any longer you will endanger your own life. Myself and my friends have become worried for your safety and wish to help you escape."

This was just like Harry's dream. He wondered if they were telling the truth, after all they had just jumped in through his bedroom window. The straw-haired man's constant glancing around made Harry extra-alert.

"How can you be sure they're not my friends?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes.

"Harry, have you seen what they've been doing? They haven't been trying to help you, they've force-fed you poison, they've kidnapped you and told you a pack of lies. Isn't that enough?" Lucius spread out his hand and as he did this Harry felt a curious sensation spread through his body. His senses felt clogged but he felt a sudden rush of something towards this man. He's only trying to help me he thought drowsily.

"Yes."

Lucius smiled and then spoke in a soft whisper, "You can reveal yourself now, my lord."

Something was moving in the corner of Harry's eye and he turned, with great effort it seemed, to the right. The air was shimmering, as if he was seeing it through heat, and then something thickened and the figure of a man appeared. He seemed almost alien-like; his eyes were red and staring, his skin was pale and stretched. Something stirred in the back of Harry's mind, he had seen this man somewhere before.

"So it is you," the man hissed. "I had thought they were lying, yet here you are. How defenceless you appear now, how easily you have been trapped. I had envisioned something better. Where is that Gryffindor courage I have heard so much about?"

Normally Harry would have been outraged at these comments but he barely noticed the man talking. He was staring dully, swaying slightly as he struggled to keep his balance.

"Follow me Harry Potter and we shall see where that courage lies," hissed the man.

Harry stepped forwards and stared blankly into the man's eyes. The wind blew in, covering Harry and the other man with his cloak, then, in a split second they had gone.

*

Hermione stretched out and sighed. She looked at Ron; he was sitting on his desk chair with his head in his hands. He had not moved ever since he had sat down. Ginny was sitting on the floor next to Ginny. Draco was leaning back on a chair, his face also etched with worry. Sirius was sitting slightly away from everyone else; an action Hermione was sure was deliberate.

"Shall we check up on him?" began Hermione timidly, "He should be up by now, it's already half ten."

"No point," sighed Ginny. "The doors locked, what could he get up to in a locked room?"

"It's not locked," said Ron, "I made sure to unlock it before I left."

"No," said Ginny, looking at him funnily. "I checked on him an hour ago, the door was locked."

"Then who ?" Ron looked at Ginny and swore.

"Come on," said Draco, already at the door.

Ginny, Hermione and Ron jumped up quickly. Sirius stayed where he was but when he saw the others beckoning for him to follow he sighed and stood up. Ron ran quickly to catch up with Draco, the others close behind.

"Do you think we're too late?" said Ron, panting heavily.

"I hope not," replied Draco grimly, "If they found him at night then "

They had reached the door now. Draco grabbed his wand, tapped the door quickly and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. The door swung open and he ran full pelt up the stairs, taking them three at a time. The rest of the group followed, slightly behind. When they reached the door it was already wide open. Mouth dry Draco ran in, afraid of what he might find in there.

The bed was empty, the covers were neatly folded and something lay on the pillow. A note. Draco grabbed it and scanned it quickly. It slipped from his numb fingers and he stared blankly ahead. Ron picked it up and read it out aloud.

Dear Draco,

Yes, it's me, your father. You may think I'm out of your life but I'm afraid that's not the case, you can't deny the Dark Lord.

I heard an interesting piece of news. Apparently you and your new friends have found Harry Potter. I know you must be very excited but the Dark Lord doesn't like you meddling in his plans. You may hear from Harry again but I don't think he'll want to see you again. He came with us willingly, no fight or struggle left in him. He doesn't want to see you again, he believes you to be his enemies and I don't think it'll be that easy to change his mind.

Yours sincerely

Lucius Malfoy

Ron looked up. His eyes were cold and hard with fury.

"You know what this means?" he said. "It means it was your fault. I told you he wouldn't trust us if we kidnapped him and now look what's happened! Voldemort has taken him!"

Ginny's eyes were bright with unshed tears, Hermione was staring down at the floor, Sirius was just staring at the bed with horror on his face.

"You-you mean Voldemort's taken him? How-how will we g-get him back?"

"Well I don't know!" yelled Ron angrily. "You're supposed to know what's best for him!"

Draco stood up. "Come on," he muttered quietly. "Back to the office."

Ron glanced murderously at Sirius. "Okay."

Ron ran down the stairs, through the corridor and into his office. But nothing would have prepared him for what he found in there.

A tall figure of a man was standing beside Harry. Three Death Eaters. stood around them. Ron recognised Lucius Malfoy and Snape, but he had never seen the other man.

"Well Weasley. It seems you have caught us in the nick of time," Voldemort's face twisted into a smirk. "I was just reading this, it contained everything I needed to know," he held up a small black book.

"My diary," whispered Ron, breathing heavily. Behind him he heard the others arrive. "Give it back Voldemort."

"Oh no. Why would I do that? You may have us outnumbered but my power exceeds all of you. And I have something here that you may not want me to harm."

Quick as a flash Voldemort grabbed Harry, his wand pressing into Harry's neck. "One wrong move Weasley, one wrong move."

Ron swallowed. He looked at Harry. The boy's eyes were wide with fear as he realised his mistake.

"Leave him," said Draco, stepping out from behind Ron. "Take me instead."

Voldemort laughed. "My business is with Harry Potter, not with you. I shall leave my Death Eaters. to take care of you." Then with a swish of his cloak they both vanished.

Ron stared around the room; the three Death Eaters. were closing in slowly. "Ginny, run! Go get help!" he yelled.

Ginny opened her mouth to refuse but she saw the look on his face. Before the Death Eaters. had time to react she had run out of the door. Ron pulled out his wand, Draco, Hermione and Sirius did the same. Lucius Malfoy smiled evilly, his eyes two little slits.

"Oh really now," he said. "Do we have to fight over this? Why can't we all just be friends?" Lucius had his hand open with the palms facing them. As soon as Lucius opened his hands Ron felt a queer feeling. He felt drowsy and not in his right mind. Sleeping powder! He's given us sleeping powder! Ron tried to yell and warn the others but he was too tired to even talk. He flung one spell at Lucius, who deflected it easily, before he crashed to the floor. Hermione was leaning heavily against the wall, trying desperately to fight but it was too strong. Her eyelids closing she slid down the wall and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Sirius watched through half-closed eyelids as the Death Eaters. surrounded Draco and stunned him before his eyes closed.

And all Sirius remembered after that was darkness.