Chapter Text
Harry lay face up, listening to the silence. He felt perfectly alone; that nobody was watching; that nobody else was there. He was not entirely sure that he was there himself. A long time later, or maybe no time at all, it came to him that he must exist, must be more than disembodied thought, because he was lying, definitely lying, on some surface. Therefore, he had a sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too. He wondered whether, as he could feel, he would be able to see. In opening them, he discovered that he had eyes. He saw only a bright mist. The scene swirled as if the cloudy vapour had not yet formed into surroundings. The surface on which he lay seemed to be white, neither warm nor cold, but simply there, a flat, blank something on which to be. This all seemed very familiar. Was he back in limbo at Kings Cross?
The longer he looked, the more there was to see. A white featureless ceiling stretched away to either side. All was hushed and still. He raised his head and looked to his left. Blinding white sunlight flooded the room through a tall arched window. Empty white beds lined the two sides of the room. Not Kings Cross this time then. A ghostly version of the Hospital wing instead. His head fell back to the pillow. The afterlife was weird.
As expected, Dumbledore’s voice interrupted the silence, “Hello Harry.”
Harry groaned, “You again.”
Dumbledore’s face loomed over him, “I’m afraid so.”
Harry interrupted. “Don’t bother offering me the choice. I chose to go on.”
“Go on?” Dumbledore sounded puzzled.
“Yes. Go on. Board the train. Continue the journey. Start the next great adventure... however you want to put it.”
“Ah. You think you’re dead then?”
Harry glared at him, “Okay, fine. We’re in limbo, I’m not dead yet. Merlin, you’re such a nit-picker! Let’s just get on with it shall we?” Suddenly Harry noticed something – Dumbledore was wearing his trademark garishly coloured robes.
Harry’s eyes went wide, “Why aren’t your robes white?”
In a panic, he raised himself onto his elbows and looked past the Headmaster. Two aurors flanked the doors at the far end of the room.
“ARGH!” he screamed and sank back to his bed. There was silence for a moment.
“I’m not dead,” he said finally. “This actually is the Hospital wing. You saved me!”
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and screamed, “God damn you! God damn you all!”
“You would rather be dead?” Dumbledore asked softly.
“After the life I’ve had?” Harry spat. “Of course I would! Don’t pity the dead; pity the living. You told me that. How right you were.”
Dumbledore frowned, “That doesn’t sound like me.”
Harry huffed, “I’m paraphrasing.” He glowered at Dumbledore, “So you saved me just in case Voldemort returns?”
Dumbledore smiled gently, “We saved you because it was the right thing to do.”
Harry scoffed, “Yeah, sure. I’m to be tried for murder then?”
Dumbledore looked troubled, “I’m afraid the trial has already happened. With hundreds of witnesses the evidence was overwhelming. It was not felt that your testimony was necessary.”
Harry laughed, which seemed to take Dumbledore by surprise, “Of course not” Harry scoffed. “Why would it? First Sirius and now me... You never learn do you? So what was my sentence... the Veil?”
“They pushed heavily for it, but I managed to get it reduced to twenty years in Azkaban.”
Harry chuckled mirthlessly again, “Great. You saved me from a swift death and consigned me to twenty years of torture instead. Perfect! Thanks for that. With friends like you I think I prefer my enemies.”
“It will give you a chance at redemption.”
“Bullshit! It will give you the chance to wheel me out again if Voldemort returns. It might even make me more pliable, and in the meantime it will stop me from telling everyone about the future.”
“You judge me too harshly... but no, we can’t allow you to corrupt the present. Time travel is forbidden for a reason.”
“You really are a ruthless bastard, you know that.”
“It brings me no pleasure to see you incarcerated, Harry. But I must do what is right, not what is easy. In any case, there was nothing I could do – the entire Wizengamot was against you. Your case was open-and-shut. None of us is above the law.”
Harry sneered. “Oh that’s rich! In my fifth year they tried to arrest you for plotting against the Minister. What do you suppose happened? Did you agree to go quietly and face a trial? No, of course not! You got Fawkes to spirit you away. You could do the same for me now... but you won’t will you? Having me locked up in Azkaban fits your plans perfectly.” Dumbledore was about to object when Harry held up a hand, “Enough, Headmaster. I don’t want to hear it. Just make sure you get Sirius released. He’s innocent. Get him out. No excuses; just do it. One more thing – before I go to Azkaban I would like to see Hermione Granger. If you arrange that, I’ll go quietly.”
Over the next few days Madam Pomfrey fussed around him constantly. Apparently it had been ‘a devil of a job’ to save his life. It had taken every ounce of her skill as a healer, and quite a bit of luck. Harry chose not to comment, other than to thank her politely for her efforts. He discovered that his ankles were chained to the bed, so going to the loo was a bit of a hassle. The Aurors had to unlock them, and then accompany him with their wands trained on him the entire time. Harry promised not to do a runner, but his assurances fell on deaf ears. The Aurors on duty rotated every six hours. Harry was hoping to see Tonks, but realised she wouldn’t graduate the Auror programme for another few years. Mad-Eye never took a rotation either, which was a shame.
Harry was growing stronger by the day. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he was transported to Azkaban. His suspicions were confirmed when Dumbledore entered, accompanied by a terrified-looking Hermione Granger. Harry beamed at her. She seemed to shrink away from him, but Dumbledore placed a hand gently on her shoulder and encouraged her forward. They stopped near the end of his bed. Harry was sitting cross-legged reading an advanced arithmancy book that Dumbledore had agreed to lend him.
Harry closed his book, “Hello Hermione, Happy Birthday!”
Hermione looked up at Dumbledore, as if seeking guidance on what she should do. He smiled encouragingly down at her. She turned back to Harry. “Hello... um, Harry. Thank you,” she said hesitantly.
“Don’t be scared. I would never hurt you. In any case, they took my wand.” Harry displayed his empty hands, which seemed to relax her somewhat. “I don’t know what they’ve told you...” He glanced up at Dumbledore, who was frowning and shook his head once. “... But I’m a seer of sorts.” Dumbledore seemed to relax. “I have seen you many times in my... visions. First though, I want to apologise if you were scared at the Welcome Feast. I did what I did to avert a truly awful future, and now I must pay the price for that. But before I do, I wanted to tell you to enjoy your time at Hogwarts. You’re going to be a truly amazing witch. I’ve seen it. Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise, okay? We would have been great friends, you and I, if circumstances were different. Securing a bright future for you and everyone else will cost me dearly, but losing your friendship is the thing I regret the most. You... would have been... the very best friend I could have hoped for, and I want to thank you for that. In my absence, find friends worthy of you, Hermione. Don’t let anyone spoil your time at Hogwarts.”
Harry looked up at the Headmaster, “That’s all I wanted to say. Is it time?” The Headmaster nodded solemnly.
Harry sighed. “Then I will go quietly, as agreed.” He smiled again at Hermione. “Goodbye, Hermione. I hope I have given you a good life.”
She seemed at a loss to know what to say, and merely squeaked out a “Bye,” before Dumbledore steered her from the room.
Under the close supervision of the Aurors, Harry dressed himself in his school robes. Six more Aurors entered the ward to escort Harry to Azkaban. One of them handed Dumbledore an old boot. Dumbledore did something to it, then held it out for everyone to grasp. The portkey transported them all directly to the island. Angry skies and heavy rain lashed at them as they entered the forbidding stone keep of Azkaban.