you raise me up || harry potter

chapter 61

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on the nature of daylight

★ by max richter ★

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The first thing Harry saw as he skidded into the Great Hall on Snape's heel, with him and Hermione dragging in Ron by his shoulders, was the imposing silhouette of Albus Dumbledore standing by its entrance. He and Snape exchanged a glance wordlessly.

It would've been interesting to watch had the situation been less dire. Harry had never seen Dumbledore's eyes this icy, the furrow between his brows so shrewd as he looked down at the frozen form of Peter Pettigrew. There was nothing that gave it away, but Harry would've bet anything that there were a million things going through  Dumbledore's mind at that moment. 

Harry tried to catch his breath. He could no longer hear the awful howling or Sirius' barking, but the silence was even more disturbing. Professor Lupin, with his kind eyes and soft voice, transforming in agony into anything but was a thought too terrible to bear. Harry could only hope that Sirius could keep Lupin calm enough. He had just found out he had a godfather, and for that to be taken away from him so soon... Harry was suddenly overcome with violent trembling.

Snape, as usual never missing anything, sharply turned to look at him. An almost imperceptible frown gave away his concern, which probably meant Harry looked like a complete mess.

"You three," he said roughly, "To the hospital wing. Don't delay. Go straight there, do you understand me?"

Only Hermione was able to answer with a confident, "Yes, sir." Ron looked ready to pass out from pain, Snape's charm evidently having worn off, and Harry felt like he might never get warm again.

Snape looked satisfied with Hermione's answer. With one last glance at Harry, he and Dumbledore hurried off. 

"Come on," Hermione said, who had not once released her tight grip on Ron's shoulder. The whiteness of her fingers gave away her nerves. "The hospital wing isn't too far. Harry, are you alright? You're shaking."

Harry could only give a short nod before hoisting Ron's shoulder back up with determination. With every step he took, he felt like he was walking deeper and deeper into mud. When they finally arrived at the infirmary, Hermione was practically carrying them both.

Madame Pomfrey fussed over them like she normally would, and not for the first time, Harry was grateful for her lack of nosiness. After a particularly painful-looking re-setting of Ron's leg, she turned her attention to Harry. 

"My goodness, you look like you're in shock," she said as she forced Harry into the bed next to Ron's. "I'll be right back with a Pepper-Up and some butterbeer. See to it that these boys don't move, dear," she added to Hermione, who nodded and slowly sat down next to Ron. 

Harry closed his eyes. Just for a little bit, he told himself. He hoped Lupin was okay... He hoped the Minister was in Dumbledore's office right at this second, looking straight into Pettigrew's glassy eyes, realizing they were wrong all this time... He imagined Sirius free at last, giving Harry a proper hug, telling him stories about his parents... 

As he fell into the darkness of sleep, he hoped Snape wouldn't be too mad about the whole thing. 

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"Oh, he's asleep... Let him sleep then, I'll come back later. Let him know I was here, Poppy?"

"Of course, of course... I have a mild Pepper-Up and a warm butterbeer for when he wakes up, poor thing looked like he would fall over at any second..."