Contagion

Chapter 1

The Prisoner

Someone knocked on his prison door before it opened. The light from outside hurt his eyes terribly. He hooded them with his hand and peered at the figure standing uncertainly in the doorway. Looked like a woman...but what woman would want to visit him? Molly and Ginny Weasley were long dead. Hermione Granger was at St. Mungo's...had she died? Was this woman a nurse from the hospital coming to inform him about the demise of his only remaining friend?

The figure took a tentative step forward. Whoever it was, she looked very thin.

"Harry?" she asked softly.

He couldn't believe his ears. He immediately recognised the well-remembered voice. He had never imagined that he would hear it again, though. They had told him at the hospital that it was quite likely that she would die without ever regaining consciousness. Ever since he was arrested, he had given up all hope. Maybe that had something to do with the Dementors...but they didn't affect him too much anymore...

But it couldn't be who he thought it was. He must be dreaming. It was impossible. It couldn't be. And yet that voice could belong to but one woman in the world. But it couldn't be true...she could not be there...

"Hermione?" he croaked, turning his attention back to the woman in front of him. He had not used his voice for such a long time...it felt strange to hear his own voice...

She came up to him and sat down next to him gingerly. She was very weak and her movements were slow and painful. She was very thin and pale. But her eyes held the same warmth for him as they had when he had looked at her last...

"When did you...wake up?" he asked.

"Yesterday. Susan Bones told me what had happened...she's a Healer at St. Mungo's...I came over as soon as I could..."

Harry sat silently, not knowing what to say. Finally, he asked, "How did you wake up? Did they find a cure?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No. I don't think they did. Susan was stunned to see me awake. She said it was a miracle...which it probably was."

"How did it feel - you know - to be unconscious so long?"

"It was like waking up from a long sleep...there was this white mist all around...and then someone called me...he was screaming for me desperately...and I simply had to go and help him...the next thing I knew was that I was lying at St. Mungo's, having given Susan almost a heart attack."

Harry gave her a faint smile.

"Whom did you hear? Did you recognise the voice?" he asked curiously. He wondered if it had anything to do with the dream he had the previous night. He had dreamt of Hermione and he had woken up in the middle of the night, screaming for her, covered with sweat and breathing heavily.

She looked straight at him, her chocolate brown eyes having a sad look.

"It was you," she said softly. Harry started. Had he woken her up? But that was impossible!

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost..."

"Technically, I have," said Harry, chuckling. Hermione was relieved that he could still chuckle. She had been very scared of finding him insane when she had been told what had been done to him. He had always been rather sensitive to Dementors. She smiled at him, but his face grew serious.

"I had this really weird dream yesterday..." he began and told her everything.

"Holy Merlin! It was you, after all! You woke me!" cried Hermione.

Harry hung his head, not knowing what to say. They sat silently for sometime, none wanting to break it. At last, Harry asked, "What date is it?"

Hermione looked at him sadly and said softly, "It is 31^st July, 2000, Harry...Happy Birthday," she held out a small package.

"Has it been only two years?" he wondered. He took the gift and mumbled a thank you. She nodded, peering solicitously at him.

"I'm glad for you, Hermione. You can move to another country and make a life..."

Hermione laughed bitterly.

"And leave my best friend here? No, Harry. When Susan told me what had happened, I wished that I'd died in my sleep rather than wake up to see what they'd done to you...then I realised that there must be a purpose of my awakening..."

Harry stared at her.

"Tell me, Harry, why didn't you ever break free from Azkaban? I believe that you're powerful enough."

"I had nothing to live for, Hermione. All the people I'd cared about were dead...and you were almost...I thought I deserved it...maybe I am destined to be unhappy..."

"So you gave up? Do you even know what has been going on after Malfoy put you in prison?"

Harry shook his head.

"He has become a dictator, Harry...and Hitler was a saint compared to him. He has massacred almost all the Muggle-borns...and lots of half-bloods, too..."

Harry closed his eyes in horror.

"How about Hogwarts?" he asked.

"He has not dared to touch the school...yet. Dumbledore sealed it with a very powerful spell before he died...Malfoy cannot breach that. He cannot harm the students, either - when they are at school. The moment they step outside, the Muggle-borns are killed. McGonagall is planning to stop inviting Muggle-borns to attend the school..."

"You must leave the country, Hermione. If he learns that you have woken up, he'll be out for your blood..."

"I won't leave you here. You have to come out and bring him down."

Harry buried his face in his hands. Hermione put an arm around his thin shoulders.

"Harry, listen to me. I told you a while ago that I believe that I was awakened for a purpose. Have you any idea what that purpose is?" Harry shook his head. "I believe in destiny, Harry. I believe I was given a life to bring you back...back as the saviour - back as the hero of the Wizarding World. You must come out and save the people..."

"I can't, Hermione," said Harry, as a tear rolled down his cheek, "you weren't there when I was sentenced...they hated me so...all of them...I could see the fear in their eyes...as if I was the next Dark Lord or something...they feared me...they hated me...they were afraid to kill me outright because of that fear...so they put me in Azkaban...with forty Dementors around my cell...I should have gone insane in a matter of hours...and I believe they think that I am...no one ever visited me, so I really don't know...but I do know that I cannot go back..."

"You have to, Harry. Or the magical population will die out soon."

"I can't do anything. Even if I break out of here, there is nowhere I could go to. They have seized all my property. And no one will have me."

"Fred and George will."

"They hate me, Hermione. They think I am responsible for the deaths of all the Weasleys...and it is true, in a way..."

"No, it's not. They don't hate you. They were just very shocked and aggrieved when you saw them last...you can't expect people who have just lost their entire family to the Dark side to behave sanely immediately after hearing the news. They were bound to strike out, and you, unfortunately, were the one present there and got it the most...I have talked to them, and they are quite willing to have us. In fact, they are very guilty for having accused you...and they hate Malfoy. Most people do. But they can't do anything. He crushes any resistance with an iron fist."

Harry sat silently for some time, staring at the cold floor. Hermione scrutinised him. He was very pale...he had always been pale, but now his skin was colourless...as if he had been shut up in a tomb for a long time...which wasn't far from the truth. He was rather thin and weak as well. His dark hair hung limply around his shoulders. The fire in his emerald eyes had gone out...they were a dull green now...

But his aura was unchanged. Hermione had always had an instinctive perception of magical auras. Harry's had been the most powerful one she had ever felt - more than even Voldemort or Dumbledore, and the raw power was still there. He was holding it in very tightly, but it was still there - all of it. She could understand his depression and sense of betrayal...he had almost given his life to save the world, and the ungrateful society had thrown him into this hell-hole for saving them...served them right to have a tyrant like Draco Malfoy. Very few had protested against Harry's unjust arrest - those who had, had been promptly executed.

She had been so angry when Susan had told her that she had made half the things in her room explode. Susan had been quite scared...she had fetched Angelina Weasley immediately...how shocked Angelina had been to see her...she had owled Fred and George...they had been so happy to see her...as if she was a flicker of light at the end of a dark tunnel...

They had formed a secret rebel group, but it was a very weak unit, with very few members...people were loath to join the rebellion, for there was no charismatic leader...they had all remembered Harry then...and all those who had feared him and condemned him to a fate worse than death, now wanted him back to save them...Hermione had almost refused point-blank, but had relented...

Now, looking at the broken young man that had been her Harry, she regretted that decision. She wanted nothing more than to take him away to some unknown place where no one knew them and live there forever...peacefully...without having to worry about saving the ungrateful, back-stabbing people of the world...

Her rage resurfaced as she watched her best friend's shoulders shake with silent sobs. She moved closer to him and held him tightly in her arms.

"Don't worry, Harry, it will be all right...I'll take you away from these monsters...we'll go to India...I have some relatives there...we'll live there in peace without having to worry about anything..."

Harry gave her a weak smile through his tears. She returned it one of her own, her eyes brimming over. He shook his head ruefully.

"Nah...have a good deed to perform...but this time, I won't let them do this to me...I'll go away before that..."

Hermione nodded.

"And I'll go with you..." she said softly.

Harry looked at her with such a sad expression that Hermione wanted to kill all those who had caused misery to such a noble soul.

"Do you still care?" he asked softly. His voice tore at her heart.

"More than anything else in the world...I have loved you, Harry, ever since my first year at Hogwarts...ever since you came to save me from the troll..."

Harry stared at her.

"But you never said so...you let me go...with Cho...then Ginny...I always thought that you fancied Krum...and then Ron..."

Hermione shook her head. "Viktor and Ron were just good friends...Viktor is in the rebel group, in fact. I plan to notify him after we get out of here."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared - of - of being rejected."

Harry laughed.

"I was so blind...and so were you...I loved you since my sixth year...but Ron was so obviously besotted with you that I didn't dare to confess...and I thought you fancied Ron, too..."

"Luna fancied Ron, Harry, I didn't. I was so relieved when he finally noticed her...and then, when everything was so well settled...Ginny and Neville, Ron and Luna...and I was thinking of talking to you about my feelings...oh, Harry! Why did it have to happen?"

Harry felt the tears running down his own cheeks as he tried to comfort Hermione. He remembered it vividly...the arrival of the Death Eaters...the falling of Dumbledore, Remus, Hagrid, Ron and Ginny...he had gone mad with grief then...he had blown up the Death Eaters with a wave of his arm...and a month later, he had killed Voldemort. It was in the Final Battle that Hermione had fallen into her comatose state...he remembered sitting on her bed at the hospital, watching her prone figure...he remembered being arrested by the Aurors there...he remembered Fudge and Draco Malfoy laugh as they sentenced him to life imprisonment in Azkaban and snapped his wand...but he was beyond caring at that point...he had just wanted to curl up and die...

"I guess I'm an unlucky person..." he muttered dejectedly.

Hermione lifted her head and looked into his eyes. There was such pain and grief in them...how she wanted to take it all away...how she wanted to make him smile...

She kissed him lightly on the lips. Harry blushed.

"Let's go," he said.

"Won't you need your wand?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Harry shrugged and shook his head.

"The Dementors around my cell have become sort of servants...may be they are scared of me...I don't really know, but they won't stop me when I choose to go. And as for a wand, I don't really need it. I'll get one from Ollivanders later."

Hermione stared at him in awe.

"Can you control them?" she asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

Harry shrugged again.

"Sort of."

"Are you trying to tell me that you have been sitting in this hell-hole for two years when you could have walked out to your freedom any minute?" Hermione asked angrily.

Harry shrugged again.

"I told you, Hermione, I had nothing to back to. I didn't want to live. I was content to sit here and wait for death."

"And now?"

"And now you're back," he said softly. Hermione gave him another tight hug, tears in her eyes.

"You still haven't opened your birthday gift, you know."

Harry blushed and picked up the abandoned package. His eyes went wide in wonder as he saw what lay inside.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked hoarsely.

Hermione nodded her assent.

"But they had snapped it! I saw them do it with my own eyes!"

"Fred and George nicked the real one and placed a fake one in its place before your trial. They kept it all these days and asked me to return it to you."

"Thank you, Hermione, thank you so much!"

Hermione was pleased to see the fire in his eyes returning. As he held up his wand, his eyes glowed with power and a strange feeling of warmth passed over both of them.

"Your wand..." began Harry.

"Is in my pocket. Courtesy, Fred and George again. They have saved all of your things."

"I am really thankful to them."

"It's their way of saying sorry."

"It's amazing that they managed to save it," he said, cradling his wand affectionately. He waved it and a pair of dark glasses appeared in his hands. Hermione raised an eyebrow as he put them on.

"Light hurts my eyes. Have been in the dark too long. The momentary flash of bright sunlight when you came in was intolerable...I'll need some kind of shield if I am to go out," he said casually.

Hermione removed his dark glasses, whipped out her wand and performed a healing spell on his eyes. Harry gave her a sheepish look and thanked her.

"You're welcome."

Harry gave her a faint smile. He performed a few more spells with his own wand and sighed contentedly.

"Using a wand has its own satisfaction...my wandless magic tends to become uncontrolled."

Hermione knew that very well. She remembered those Death Eaters being blown up...and the little things that went unnoticed by most people. Harry's very essence was entwined with magic...he kept doing it without even realising that he was using magic...

"Hermione?" his voice cut short her musings.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking...maybe I should retain control of the Dementors?"

"What for?" asked Hermione, looking scandalised.

"They will come in useful if we are to manage Malfoy."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"All right," she said.

"How do we leave? We cannot Apparate at the Weasley Manor, as far I remember."

Hermione put her hand in her pocket and took out a little broomstick. She muttered a spell and it enlarged. It was Harry's Firebolt. He stared at it for some time, thinking of his Godfather who had given it to him in his third year...who had died in his fifth year...

Hermione nudged him gently. She knew perfectly what was going on in his mind. He shook himself and nodded.

"I'll tell the Dementors to make sure no one comes near the cell," he said curtly and stepped out. Hermione followed him.

Harry's voice was resonant as he said imperiously, "I want you all to make sure that no one finds out that I have left this place. Don't let anyone come near it. It is essential. I may require your services in a few days. I will come over to fetch you at that time. Till then, you all must behave as if everything is normal. Also, I want you to contact the rest of your people. I will require all the help I can get."

A horrible voice floated towards them, which made Hermione's hairs stand on an end. She clutched Harry's arm.

We will do as you say, Master...

As Harry and Hermione mounted the broom, with Hermione behind Harry, Hermione pulled out his invisibility cloak and covered both of them with it. They took off.

After flying for some time in silence, Harry asked Hermione, "How did you manage to get in? The Dementors are not supposed to allow anyone in."

"I used the Patronus Charm."

"You spent that much of your magical energy just to see me? Hermione, you are very weak at present! You just woke up from a coma...you shouldn't exert yourself!"

"Thanks for your concern, Harry. But I'm fine. I promise I won't faint until we reach the Manor."

"Good."

"You must promise the same."

"Ok," said Harry, chuckling.

They fell silent again. As they neared the Manor, Hermione asked him softly, "Will you be able to forgive them?"

"Maybe. I don't know."