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Chapter Three: Almost Nothing Left

After two days had passed without Harry leaving his room on Privet Drive besides to use the facilities, Aunt Petunia started shoving food through the cat flap in Harry's bedroom door. She supposed that his friends had been sending him food, but all the same, she did not want Harry to complain that he had not been fed. Her suspicions were confirmed when she reached back through the cat flap to retrieve the trays and found that besides some small portions that looked suspiciously as if they had been eaten by something with a beak, the food was untouched, the water undrunk. That horrible boy! If all he was going to do was sit in his room and brood, giving the entire family the silent treatment, and if all those owls were going to continue to swoop in and out of the house, the least he could do was tell her that he didn't plan to eat the food she provided. But he didn't, and fearing that the freaks would show up if she didn't keep giving him the food, she put a small meal through the cat flap three times a day.

On the other side of the door, Harry was growing weaker by the hour. It was not that he had decided not to eat. He wasn't trying to hurt himself. It was simply that Harry's head throbbed so badly that eating only made him retch, and he could not stomach even a few spoonfuls of broth or a sip of the tepid tap water that Aunt Petunia provided.

In the back of his mind was an incessant voice, high-pitched and evil, reminding him that all the deaths so far had been his fault, that surrender was the only option. The voice also replayed his parents' last moments, and at these times, Harry would fall to his knees with his hands over his ears and stifle a scream.

Besides reminding Harry to send his note to the Order on the sixth day of the summer, the Dursleys seemed satisfied that Harry was at last staying out of their way, and they no longer attempted to communicate with him at all. Life on Privet Drive continued as usual outside of Harry's doors, not that Harry noticed.

Harry was tortured, plagued by the voice during his waking hours, and vivid nightmares when he slept. His state of mind had gone from bad to worse, and sleep had become almost nonexistent. Harry had taken to tying a t-shirt around his mouth before he fell asleep so that the Dursleys would not be awoken by his screams. The makeshift gag worked, but it did not make for a very comfortable sleep for Harry.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

During the first two days spent in his room, the thoughts of the prophecy had him pacing back and forth, wearing a path into the carpeting. By the third day, however, he had no more energy for pacing; it was all he could do to get up to use the facilities, and he only did so when he was certain that none of the Dursleys would see him.

On the fourth day in his bedroom, the eighth day of his summer holiday, Harry no longer had the strength to get out of his bed at all. Since he couldn't eat or drink, however, using the facilities was no longer a problem. Several owls had come through his window (which remained open, as Harry could not bear to glance at it and chance seeing the reflection again) and dropped letters on his bed, but he did not open them; in fact, he did not even realize that they were there. On close observation, one would notice that he was becoming skeletally thin, his mouth dry and parched from lack of drink, his eyelids sewn together with mucus.

Aunt Petunia peeked into the room once, after it had occurred to her that Harry might be sneaking out through his window, but she did not look closely at her nephew, who was wrapped completely in his blankets to stave off the cold he continually felt. His trembling by then had become so slight from lack of energy that she did not even notice, nor did it occur to her that she should check on her nephew's well-being. She was simply happy that he was not roaming the house or the neighborhood, his "weirdness" flowing out of him like an aura. By the ninth day of the summer vacation, his relatives even forgot to remind him to send a note to the Order.

*

At Number 12, Grimmauld Place, a meeting was being held. Not a meeting of the Order, although all of the adults at the table were members; instead, it was a meeting to discuss Harry.

"We haven't heard from him yet today. Albus, I'm worried. Something is not right. His last letter was barely a sentence long...all he said was that he was fine...and his handwriting was very shaky. Please ..." Molly Weasley looked at the old Headmaster across the table, pleading with him to let her go and check on the boy.

"Molly, Harry is extremely vulnerable to attack right now, both physically and mentally. I fear that Voldemort will find him if he is anywhere but where the blood protection lies, and if too many Order members go in and out of the house, it will attract unwanted attention," Albus answered, but no one at the table missed the worry in his own eyes, or the fact that the usual twinkle was conspicuously absent.

"Surely, though," Lupin answered, "checking on him would do no harm."

"We've got to go!" Tonks spoke up. "Molly's right, something is off about this whole thing."

Charlie, Bill, and the Weasley twins said nothing, which in and of itself testified that they were as worried about Harry as everyone else.

"I do not believe that having us barge into Number 4 would do anything to improve his situation with his aunt and uncle," Albus said gently. "I am sure we will hear from Harry before the day is out."

"No!" Molly interjected, and everyone at the table could see that she was working herself into a state. "No, Albus! We have to go! Don't you see, don't you understand how fragile Harry is right now? He needs us!"

Fred suddenly spoke up. "Mum's right. If you aren't going to do anything about this, Professor, George and I will go ourselves. Try and stop us!"

"Fred, George," Mr. Weasley finally spoke up. "You are adults now and members of the Order. You no longer have the freedom of breaking rules. Think of what could happen! Harry's uncle could throw him out, and the blood protection would no longer be in effect at all. The consequences of hasty action could be disastrous."

"Dad's right, guys. We have to find a way to agree what we are going to do, and we have to have a plan." Bill said. "However, I agree that something needs to be done. We can't just leave him there, and if we don't hear from him today, then I have to assume that things are not going well."

"Please," Lupin muttered, and everyone was surprised to see the stoic man's face beginning to well with emotion. "Please, Albus. Let someone go." Remus knew that if Harry was suffering Sirius' loss as much as he, or even more, that he was not in good shape. Someone had to go talk with him, make sure he was alright.

It was this uncharacteristic plea that finally broke Dumbledore's resolve, and he relented. "We will wait two more days. Remember, we have had someone on duty since the beginning of the summer, and nothing untoward seems to have happened. If we still haven't heard from Harry, Remus will go to check on him. The advance guard will accompany him in case of any problems, but Remus alone will go into the Dursley's home. I do not want to alarm his uncle into taking drastic action."

Molly heaved a sigh of relief and buried her face in her hands. The mother inside of her worried that Harry was in trouble. She hated waiting even two more minutes, much less two more days, but she knew that Dumbledore had his reasons for everything. At least he had consented to let someone go. Even though no Death Eaters had been spotted on Privet Drive, it was Harry's emotional state she was worried about...the loss, and the guilt that she knew he would be feeling. She only hoped he would open up to Remus.

*

On the other side of the kitchen door, Ron and Ginny exchanged looks of relief that mirrored their mother's. They had each written to him several times, and had heard nothing from him since the start of the holiday. In her worry, Mrs. Weasley had forgotten to cast an Imperturbable charm on the kitchen door, and they had heard every word.

"Oh, Ron," Ginny whispered. "I hope he's OK." She hated to think of him all alone, so far away, with those /people/.

"Me too, Sis," Ron replied, his voice almost breaking. "Me too."


*


Remus Lupin dusted himself off as he stepped from the fireplace in Mrs. Figg's home. He did not want to Apparate into Privet Drive, for Dumbledore had insisted that this be done as quietly as possible.

Remus could hardly wait for Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, and Alastor Moody to follow him out of Mrs. Figg's house and onto Wisteria Walk. The tenth and eleventh day of the summer had passed with no word from Harry, and everyone, Dumbledore included, was getting increasingly worried.

All of them were dressed in the closest items they had to Muggle clothing, not wanting to call too much attention to themselves. When they reached Privet Drive, the advance guard waited in the play park for a signal from Remus, who continued walking up to the door to Number Four.

Vernon Dursley opened the door, his face going immediately purple at the sight of Lupin in his faded and torn Muggle trousers and mismatched oxford shirt.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled.

"I fancied a word with Harry," Lupin answered pleasantly. "Could you call him, please?"

Vernon puffed out his chest. "I thought I made it clear to you lot that I don't want you in my home. The boy is fine. I've seen to it that he remembered to write to you, so I ask again, what are you doing here? Leave immediately!"

"I'm sorry to inconvenience you, Mr. Dursley, but we have not heard from Harry in almost a week. I will not be leaving until I have spoken with him. It will only take a moment." Lupin's tone was mild, but even Vernon could see the warning glint in his eye.

"Haven't heard..." Vernon spluttered. "I told him to write you. He must have just forgotten, or maybe the bloody bird got lost."

"Where is Harry, Mr. Dursley?" Lupin asked, his voice growing harder.

"He's in his room sulking," Vernon answered. "Been there for days. We've been giving him food, mind you. It's his choice to stay in his room."

"He hasn't been out of his bedroom for days? Have you seen him at all?"

"No. And we're all the better for it."

"Mr. Dursley, if you do not call Harry downstairs this instant, I will personally go up to get him, and rest assured that I will not be quiet about it." Lupin's tone grew even harder, and there was a note of panic in it now.

"Fine," Vernon scowled. "FINE. Boy!" he shouted up the stairs. "BOY! There is someone here to see you."

Lupin watched the stairs expectantly, but when Harry did not appear, his heart pounded in trepidation. Where was he?

"Potter! Come down at ONCE!" Vernon yelled.

Still no Harry. Just as Molly had suspected, something was very, very wrong.

Lupin took a moment to turn and shoot a signal out of his wand and down the street, and Vernon cowered as though the man had just hexed him.

"Listen here, you....you...I will not have..." Vernon struggled to overcome his fear and his face grew to an even darker shade of purple.

Lupin pushed past him, not even hearing him, and ran up the stairs to Harry's room. He tried the door; it was locked. He knocked softly, but when there was no answer, he began pounding furiously. "Harry! Harry! Are you in there? It's me, it's Remus. Let me in, Harry."

When there was no answer, Lupin raised his wand. "/Alohomora/!" When the lock clicked and he swung the door open, he saw Harry stretched out on his bed.

He crossed to him swiftly, and what color he had in his face drained completely. "Oh my God," he whispered.

Tonks, Kingsley, Dedalus, and Moody came pounding up the stairs, oblivious to Vernon's outraged shouting. They stopped short when they came up behind Remus and saw Harry on the bed.

He was unconscious, a filthy t-shirt binding his mouth, a yellow-tinged bruise on the side of his face. He had no color, and his eyes and cheeks were so sunken that, but for the slight rise and fall of Harry's chest, they would have thought he was dead. Tonks turned, and in an uncharacteristic show of despair, buried her face in Kingsley Shacklebolt's chest. She couldn't stand to look.

Remus bent down over Harry, gently removing the gag from his mouth. "Harry," he whispered. "Harry?" He shook his shoulder slightly, and was startled that he could feel the ridge of Harry's collarbone easily through his shirt.

There was no response. Behind the group, Aunt Petunia entered the room. She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing comment to the weirdoes in her house, but was stopped short when she saw her nephew. For once, she was speechless.

Alastor Moody found his voice first. "Dursley!" he shouted. "Vernon Dursley!"

Vernon came into the room, but could not see Harry through the mass of bodies now surrounding him.

"Dursley," Moody growled in his most dangerous voice. "What in the hell is the meaning of this? What have you done to him?" Moody pointed his wand at Dursley, shaking in an effort to control his rage.

"I've, I've done nothing to the boy. He's been in his room! We didn't lock the door, he just wanted to stay. Has he left?" he stammered, his eyes never leaving Moody's wand. Petunia shook her head silently, and her husband was shocked to see her eyes filled with tears. He looked over the head of the shortest wizard, Dedalus Diggle, and saw Harry on the bed. "I didn't...we didn't..." He started to back away from Moody

"I thought..." Petunia whispered. "I thought that redheaded woman was sending him food and that's why he wasn't eating what I gave him. She has been sending food with that owl for years. I didn't know...I didn't know..." she whimpered slightly. She had no love for the boy, but she would have had to be less than human not to be shocked by what had happened to him. "I just thought he was sulking because he didn't want to come here..."

Kingsley Shacklebolt patted Tonks awkwardly on the back as he surveyed the room. Lupin was now kneeling next to Harry's bed, trying to rouse him. Tonks still had her head buried in Kingsley's chest, Moody stood stock still with his wand pointed at Vernon Dursley, and Dedalus Diggle was searching the room for any clue as to what had been happening. Had someone managed to get into the room? Everyone who had been duty had said that no one unusual had entered or left the house, and Vernon and Petunia had kept to a normal routine...but since they couldn't see past the curtained windows of Number 4, no one had realized that Harry had stopped moving about the house.

"OK," Kingsley said in his deep voice. He pulled Tonks away from him. "Tonks, I need you to find Madam Pomfrey, as quickly as you can. Apparate to Hogsmeade and get up to the school, as I believe she is still there. Send her to headquarters."

Tonks nodded and with a soft "pop", disapparated.

"Moody, take the Dursleys outside the room and try to find out what has happened here."

Moody gestured at Petunia and Vernon with his wand, and the three moved out into the hall.

"Dedalus, find Dumbledore. We're going to need him. Use Arabella Figg's floo and check at the school, and at the Hog's Head, as I believe he had planned to visit his brother today. After you have found him, both of you go back to headquarters."

Another soft "pop" and Dedalus was gone.

"Remus," Kingsley began, but the man beside Harry's bed did not look up. "Remus."

"What happened, Kingsley? How did this happen?" Remus' whisper was pleading, almost desperate, and Kingsley noticed that he was shaking badly and had tears in his eyes.

"I don't know, Remus. I just don't know. We need to get Harry back to headquarters though. It's obvious that he can't stay here. Why don't you stay here and pack his things? We'll need to get him to Arabella's without being seen, and floo him back to headquarters."

Remus nodded. "Harry has an invisibility cloak. It is large enough to cover us both on the way."

"I need to go back to headquarters, Remus, and warn Molly. She'll want to keep the children out of the room when we bring Harry through the floo. Can you manage?"

No longer trusting his voice, Remus nodded. Kingsley Disapparated.

Alone in the room with Harry, who was still unconscious despite all of Remus' efforts to awaken him, Remus gingerly touched the boy's cheek. He hadn't realized how much Harry meant to him until that night in the Department of Mysteries when he had to hold him back from running through the veil after Sirius, but he knew now that losing Harry would be more than he could bear.

Knowing that he had very little time, Remus began bustling around Harry's room, enchanting everything that looked like it belonged to him to fly into Harry's school trunk at the foot of the bed. He noticed for the first time that there were several scrolls of parchment littering the floor next to Harry's bed, and he recognized one of them as his own. He had sent it two mornings ago! Had Harry been in this state for that long?

Assured that everything was in the trunk, Remus called Hedwig into her cage and shut her in for the journey. He rummaged through Harry's messily-packed trunk until he found the invisibility cloak and put it in his pocket. He went to the door and looked out. Moody was still talking to Vernon and Petunia, but he had lowered his wand.

"Alastor?"

Moody turned to look at Remus.

"When you are done here, would you please get Harry's things to headquarters?"

Moody nodded. "Is the boy going to be alright?"

Remus nearly choked on the words. "I don't know, Alastor. From the looks of things, he's been like this for at least two days. He's not doing well." A lump formed in Remus' throat, making it hard to speak. He couldn't lose Harry.

Crossing back to the bed, Remus picked Harry up, astonished at how light the boy had become. This was not the same athletic teenager who had fought to be released at the Ministry only weeks ago. Remus felt as though he were carrying either someone very young or extremely old, but not a vital fifteen-year-old boy. Without a word or a glance at the Dursleys, Remus carried Harry gently down the stairs, carefully covering both of them with the invisibility cloak before walking out of the house.


~~~*~