Minister Fudge was still on stage talking to the audience, however when he asked if they had any questions he had been forced into defending himself regarding the accusations he would face at his hearing the next day. It was an uncomfortable position for him and he was desperate to escape it.
"I will answer all of these questions tomorrow." Fudge promised. "But let me assure you of a few things. Sirius Black is guilty and Peter Pettigrew is dead."
As soon as he spoke those words Harry appeared on the stage with Wormtail who was still in shock from seeing Harry alive. Harry stunned the traitor as soon as they arrived and then began looking around. Most of the crowd was still in the stands and had burst into applause as soon as he appeared. The Dark Mark in the sky had faded but was still visible.
"He's back." Harry said to the Minister of Magic, but Fudge chose to turn his head in disbelief. Angered by this, Harry ripped the sleeve of off Wormtail's robes, exposing the dark mark below. "Voldemort is back!" he yelled, but this time it was loud enough for those in the audience to hear. Soon everyone knew what Harry had claimed and were struggling with whether or not to believe it.
Harry was able to watch the Aurors take Wormtail into custody before the exhaustion caught up with him and collapsed right in the middle of the stage.
.....
Harry awoke to the all too familiar sensations of lying in a hospital bed in the Hogwart's infirmary. He was still tired, very tired in fact. His eyes were closed and he felt that it would take a massive effort to open them. Even with his eyes closed he could feel that someone was holding his hand and tightly squeezing it, he just hoped it was Daphne. Gathering his strength, Harry turned his head and opened his eyes to look at the person holding his hand.
Daphne's eyes were red from crying and the tears had left little tracks falling down her cheeks. Her long blonde hair was a mess and Harry guessed that she had been playing with it as she often did when she was worried or nervous. When Daphne saw Harry move she practically jumped into the bed with him to assure herself that he was ok.
"It's ok, Daphne. I'm ok." Harry told her.
"When you disappeared I thought you were going to die." she said softly. Harry decided that moment might not be the best one to tell her that he actually had died, in a way.
"I'm right here, still alive." he assured her. She nodded and curled up next to him in the bed with her head on his chest. Harry took the chance to look around the room and saw that Hermione and Neville were seated in chairs against the wall watching. They both had large smiles on their face, happy to see that Harry was awake and ok but Hermione looked like she had been crying as well. Unfortunately Harry and Daphne's short conversation had been enough to attract the attention of Madam Pomfrey who Harry knew would be eager to examine him.
"Back again, are you Mr Potter?" Madame Pomfrey said gently. "I'm sorry to break this up Ms Greengrass, but I really must insist that you let me attempt to heal him. Daphne sighed and squeezed Harry one last time before getting off of the bed. Harry had felt his energy slowly returning to him since he woke up and was able to sit up in the bed without a problem. He saw that he was still wearing the same robes he had worn in the final task of the tournament and his battle at the cemetery. They were covered with a mixture of dirt, sweat, and blood and Harry thought that he probably smelled awful.
"How long was I out?" Harry asked, knowing that someone would have changed his clothes if he were in the infirmary for long.
"You were brought into the infirmary about a half hour ago." Madam Pomfrey informed him. "We decided to let you sleep, but now that you are up I am guessing you might want a potion for the pain. You were exposed to the Cruciatus curse, correct?" The others in the room gasped when they heard that Harry had been Crucio'd yet again.
"Yes ma'am. But it's weird, when Voldemort hit me with the curse it hurt much worse than last time but now it doesn't hurt as much as the last one did." Harry explained. "Do you know why that is?"
"Of course. How much the spell hurts as it is being cast is mainly dependant on the strength of the wizard using the spell, but how fast a person recovers mostly depends on the strength of the victim. If you are more powerful now than you were then it would only make sense that the recovery will be easier." Madam Pomfrey told him. "Still, I do want you to take these potions and let me know if you are experiencing any other unusual pains." Harry nodded and obediently swallowed the offered potions. The dull ache that the Cruciatus had left behind lifted a little, but Harry could still feel it if he thought about it.
"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey. Is there a clean shirt here I could wear?" Harry asked after smelling the robes he was wearing. He guess that they stank was absolutely correct.
"Certainly." the older witch replied before handing him a shirt from a cabinet. Harry expected her to leave and give him some privacy, but evidently she thought it would be a good idea to watch him and see if there were any injuries she had not seen before. Harry lifted the robes off over his head and placed them on the floor beside the bed and then began to lift the shirt he had on underneath it. When it was almost over his face he heard Madam Pomfrey gasp in shock.
"Is that what I think it is?" Madam Pomfrey asked, pointing at him. Harry followed her gaze and looked down at his chest. Just below his shoulder was a bright red lightning bolt shaped wound covered in dried blood. Harry knew, without a doubt, that it would leave a scar behind. Harry's friends had gathered around them and were all now looking at him in shock, knowing full well what a wound shaped like that meant.
"I can explain." Harry said, hoping he would be able to ease their worries.
"Something we would all like to hear, I'm sure." Professor Dumbledore's voice called out as he entered the room. Not for the first time, Harry wondered how it was that he always was able to make such grand entrances. The Headmaster joined the group standing around Harry's bed and looked at his new scar with interest. "I know Voldemort has returned, Harry. But I am curious to know how he accomplished this."
....
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