Atrum Viridis

AN: Thank you so much for everyone who is reviewing! >< it makes me so happy to know that I’m not totally ruining the story. XD Just imagining that this whole detailed plot I’m coming up with is just based off a single moment in a dream I had is hysterical. Thank you all for reading and please keep telling me what you think or if there is something that you see that doesn’t seem to fit! I might just not have noticed it!

Disclaimer: I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THE NAME MOLDYWARTS OR DEATH-MUNCHERS BUT I DID THINK OF ORDER OF THE PIGEONS! I don’t remember where I read Moldywarts and his Death-Muncher but whoever it is I give you full credit! That was the best joke I’ve seen ever!





Chapter Five: Encounter









The morning was gray with mist as a light pattering of rain created a soft white noise in the background. It was appropriate in Harry’s eyes…finally it seemed like the earth realized that it shouldn’t be all happy and sunshine now after what had happened. Or maybe he was just still struggling with his chaotic emotions and the little sleep he had gotten the night before. Another dream had woken him from sleep; sweating and once again he had been forced to run to the bathroom before thrown up everything in his stomach. At this rate he should just stop eating dinner all together. Even the Draught of Peace that he had taken before bed had done little to settle his unconscious mind and he couldn’t find anything in his potions book about the dreamless sleep potion Madam Pomfrey used to make him at Hogwarts. Maybe he could send an owl to Professor McGonagall and see if she would have her make a copy of the potions formula and send it to him… Oops, couldn’t do that. Some bastard of a Death Eater had killed his bird.



Harry sighed, letting his forehead drop onto the kitchen table tiredly. He tried not to think about Hedwig. He had really loved her; she had been the best owl ever, always loyal. She had always been with him, no matter what, even when he was trapped at the Dursley’s and couldn’t talk to anyone else he still had her to prove to himself that it wasn’t all just a dream. It had hurt terribly when she had been killed…but in the chaos of what was going on he hadn’t been able to really mourn for her…or anyone else. Now…now it seemed like it was all piling on at once.



“I need more of that potion…” he mumbled to himself before dragging himself from the table to stand. “I’ll be back in a minute Kreacher.” He yawned, watching as the house-elf nodded from his place cooking.



“Yes Master Harry!” he squeaked hoarsely.



Harry nodded and trudged upstairs again to the potion’s room where he had poured the entire extra potion into vials for later. Thankfully he had enough for at least a week before had to brew more…as long as he didn’t start becoming dependent on it. He really didn’t like the sound of becoming come potions junkie. He wondered if they had rehab for that kind of thing… Shaking the thought away he picked up one of the glass containers before pulling off the cork and downing it in one go. The tingling, light sensation oozed through his body and a faint chill washed over his mind before settling in. The pain lessened a little and he didn’t feel quite as depressed or down as before. He knew the effects would last a little while but he hoped it wore off before they reached the grave. He didn’t think it was right to visit Ginny and hide his feelings just so he wouldn’t feel like killing himself. She deserved that much at least.



Nodding in agreement with himself he grabbed another vial and headed towards his room to get changed. Kreacher had gone to retrieve his new robes yesterday after Ron, Hermione, and Charlie had left so he now had more clothes which thankfully fit better. It seemed he had grown an inch or two during their time on the run. He was still rather short and no where near as tall as Ron but it was a little boost to know that the whole fiasco hadn’t stunted his growth somehow and he wasn’t forever destined to be a midget.



Harry dressed quickly before placing the extra potion into one of the many hidden inside pockets of the robe, blinking in surprise when it didn’t seem to weight anything. Interesting… He put his hand into the pocket again and blinked with he felt how much room was inside it. It had been magically enhanced like the ministry’s cars had been so he could obviously put a lot of things inside without worrying about it weighting him down. Cool. That might come in handy.



Turned to finish getting ready he washed his face and brushed his teeth before starting to head down to the kitchen again. He needed to get a little bit of food into him before they went to go see Fred. Ron and Hermione would be coming to get him in a few minutes so he should still have time to eat a piece of toast or something.



Unfortunately his friends were a little late, almost an hour so he had situated himself at the window in the living room and had stared out into the streets, watching the muggles neighbors go about their lives. He had almost started dozing off when a crash came and Ron tumbled out of the fireplace and onto the floor. Harry blinked, standing and going to help him up.



“You alright, there Ron?” he asked as the boy brushed himself off.



“Yea, sorry ‘bout that mate. We had a bit of a delay…” he said, shifting a little and obviously not looking too pleased about having to tell him something.



Harry frowned, raising an eyebrow slightly over his glasses.



“What kind of delay?” he asked carefully.



Ron heaved a sigh before grabbing his wrist.



“Sorry…you’re going ta have to see it fer yourself mate…” he said apologetically before grabbing some floo powder and throwing it in.



Harry quickly followed, his stomach clenching as he realized where Ron was taking him. The next moment they were whooshed off to the Burrow and they stumbled out of the fireplace and into the cozy and warm living room of the Weasley’s house.



“Oh Harry!” Mrs. Weasley’s voice surprised him before he was once more tackled by the plump woman as she nearly hugged the life out of him. “I’m so glad to see you’re alright! After Ron and Hermione said they went to see you I had hoped that you would come back with them!”



Harry forced a faint smile before hugging her back gently.



“Sorry, Mrs. Weasley…I still had to do some things at the house.” He said before looking to Ron. “Ron said that there was a delay…what’s going on?” he asked.



The woman pulled back, dabbing at her eyes before straightening and pulling herself together and cleared her throat.



“It’s nothing for you to worry about, dear, just something that Arthur’s handling back at the Ministry.” She said simply, wiping her hands on her apron before turning to walk back into the kitchen. “Come sit down! You look half starved!”



Harry shook his head. “Sorry, Mrs. Weasley, I really wanted to see Fred.” He said, glancing at Ron and Hermione who shook their heads, saying they’d explain when they got there.



“Oh very well, you all are so determined not to need me anymore, just shoo so I can finish getting lunch prepared. You WILL be staying for dinner tonight, won’t you Harry, dear?” she said, though it was obvious in her voice that she wasn’t offering it as an option.



He sighed faintly to himself before smiling and nodding.



“Of course, Mrs. Weasley, I’ve missed your cooking.” He said before heading over to the fireplace again to grab some floo powder.



Ron and Hermione quickly followed, saying rushed goodbyes before they jumped in one at a time, calling out. “St. Mugo’s!” Harry went in after them quickly and the next moment tumbled out onto a polished white floor. He quickly scrambled to his feet and brushed himself off, nodding a thanks to Hermione when she used a quick cleaning spell to rid them all of the soot.



Harry hadn’t seen this part of St. Mugo’s before. It seemed to be a long room of nothing but fireplaces, each set one beside the other. People were rushing out on one side with numerous wounds or random spells gone wrong while a couple of fireplaces in the corner had a small line of people waiting to leave.



“It’s the magic way to get in. We couldn’t use it last time with dad because of the commotion and they didn’t want the fireplace to be tracked but it was how mum got here.” Ron explained.



Harry nodded faintly, dodging a man who stumbled past him, his eyes turned completely white as he tried to navigate towards the help desk.



“So…where do we go? Where’s Fred?” he asked.



“Fourth Floor…George and Bill should be with him still. Bill left early this morning to go visit and George has been staying here over night since it happened…no one can get him to leave.” Hermione said, whispering the last part sadly.



Harry understood though and new George would be better off with his brother anyway and just nodded.



“Let’s go then.” He said, trying to offer a smile as they all wound through the random visitors and patients wandering through the halls.



They climbed the stairs and then turned left when they got to the right hall and started heading down to the farthest room. Harry looked around, remembering the place from when they had seen Lockhart. This time he didn’t see him…maybe he had gotten better… Turning his attention back to what they were there for they entered the room where the twins were. Harry bit his lip, unconsciously hanging back a little as he saw Bill and George sitting on either side of Fred’s bed while the three laughed, telling some funny story or another.



“Hey! Look who’s here!” George beamed widely as he looked over and saw them. “If it isn’t our little Ronikins! And Hermy! Oh even Parry Hotter showed up!”



Hermione laughed as she walked over while Ron glared faintly at the nickname and Harry could only smile faintly at the greeting. It was nice to see that at least the twin’s outgoing and sometimes insane behavior hadn’t changed. In fact, Fred looked a bit better than he had expected…thankfully. He had worried that he was going to be half dead or covered in so many bandages that you couldn’t see his skin. The only thing that seemed to be wrong was a bandage around his chest and a few small scratches here and there on his arms and hands.



“Oi! It’s about time you showed up! Where’s my presents!” Fred beamed as the three gathered around him, causing Harry to laugh.



“Sorry, Fred, I didn’t get you anything…I’ll make sure to get something when I go out next.” He chuckled.



Fred made a mocking gasp, looking more hurt and insulted than he really was.



“Oh we get it!”



“You don’t love us!”



“And after we were even-“



“-going to name a joke toy after you!”



Harry rolled his eyes. “Oh that’s just what I need.” He said amused. “One more thing for people to remember my name from.”



“That’s right! We’re trying to help you out here!”



“Managerial support and all that!”



The group laughed, causing Harry’s nerves to calm a little as he settled down for the visit. Bill ruffled Harry’s hair before saying he’d go grab something to eat before stepping out. Instantly the twin’s turned to him.



“Alright, spill.”



“What in the bloody hell happened?” the two asked, causing Harry to faintly glare at Ron and Hermione for not explaining things to them.



He didn’t mind telling them – it was Fred and George after all – but telling how he had died and watching Snape get attacked and all that he had seen and done wasn’t exactly a topic that he liked going over and over on. He had kind of hoped that they wouldn’t ask – though he knew that was impossible – or that his two friends would have told them before he came…



Ron put his hands up defensively.



“Sorry, mate, we haven’t had time to see them yet either after talking to you.” He said quickly, making Harry give in.



“Alright…here’s what happened.” He said before giving a quick and simple story of what had occurred, promising that he’d give details later once Fred was out of the hospital and they had more privacy.



Once he had finished Fred and George blinked at him before beaming.



“Alright! You know, once I’m outta here and we open shop again you need to come by and be a promoter!”



“TONS of people will come if your there!” George laughed, making Hermione roll her eyes.



“You two are just as bad as Ron! You completely missed the whole point!” she said in exasperation, making Ron and Harry hide their chuckles as Fred and George teased Hermione, acting scared and chided.



“Sorry, mum-“



“-didn’t mean to be rude.” they smirked, causing her to throw her hands in the air.



“Okay, I give up, you boys are all insane. Maybe you’ve just been hit my too many stupefies.” She said, causing Fred to gasp and grip at his heart.



“Fair Gryffindor maiden! You wound me!”



“Oh prefect of our eyes how could you say such things!”



Hermione just sighed as the boy’s laughed, Harry’s heart lifting a little as things started to feel a little normal now, being with them…if only they weren’t missing the youngest of their group… The thought sobered him quickly but he tried to force another smile. If she had been there still Ginny would be sitting at his side, teasing and poking fun at Fred for getting himself injured.



“So how are you holding up?” he asked, trying to keep his mind from going in that direction again. “It’s not fun being stuck in bed.”



Fred shrugged. “Nah, but we’ve got it covered. We’ve been working on a whole new line of joke items!”



“Yeah! Action figures that fight and shoot real sparkles and stuff out of their wands!”



“We’ve got a good side and a bad side-”,



“-the Order of the Pigeons-”



“-and Moldywarts and his Death-Munchers!”



“Both with color-coded outfits and small scale sets of a crumbling Hogwarts where-“



“-you can have your very own mini battle between-“



“-the forces of good and moldy evil!”



Harry blinked slowly, not sure if he heard right.



“Moldy…warts?” he asked amazed, glancing at Ron who looked like he was going to choke on his own tongue.



“Yeah! And the Order of the Pigeons!” George smiled widely, obviously very proud of their names and the idea that he and his brother had come up with.



The three stared before Harry dissolved into laughter, almost falling off the bed as he gasped for breath.



“Gah! Moldy-warts! HAHAHAHA!!”



Ron instantly started laughing as well while Hermione just looked scandalized.



“How can you say something like that about the Order!?” she chastised, though it was obvious in the sparkle in her eyes that she found the names faintly amusing as well.



The twins easily waved off the words, watching the two boys nearly rolling around on the bed hysterically as they fought to breathe.



“Well we’re glad that you-“



“Are pleased with the idea.” They said, identical smirks on their faces.



Harry tried to wipe the tears from his eyes as he sat up again, still laughing but was managing to reel it in.



“Whatever you want me to do I’m there! I so wanna help make those!” he laughed, looking up at the two. “If you need money I’ll give as much as you need.”



“Harry! I can’t believe you’re agreeing with this!” she gasped, making Harry roll his eyes faintly, a wide smile on his face.



“Oh come on Hermione…people need to be able to stop being afraid of him! I don’t want to still hear them calling Voldemort You-Know-Who even when he’s really dead now! It’s a great idea and I’m just sorry I didn’t come up with it myself!” he laughed, chuckling at how the twins looked like Christmas had come early.



“Great! You’ll be the first person to see them!”



“Oh maybe we can even have the Death Munchers send glowing pink bunnies with a flower in its mouth above their heads!”



“What a genius idea, brother mine!”



“We should get started as soon as we get out!”



“Agreed! Harry here will be our advice expert.”



Harry laughed, his heart lightening as he set back on the bed a little to watch the four. The twins were laughing and thinking up more ideas while Ron smiled weakly at Hermione as if to tell her it wasn’t his fault while his girlfriend was arguing to the twins on how upset it would make their mother. It felt wonderful to laugh again…for a while he had thought he would never do so…and he suddenly felt very guilty. Here they were talking and joking about Voldemort when the man had killed countless people. He knew they needed to move on…to heal…but it still seamed wrong to be moving on without their friends and family. He didn’t want to ruin it for the others though and smiled faintly.



“Hey guys, I’m going to go look for Bill, he’s not back yet…I’ll be back in a sec…” he said before standing and looking at the twins. “You two keep working on great ideas for the toys.”



The others didn’t seem to mind and nodded, waving at him as he stepped out.



“Don’t’ get lost Harry! And be careful! We don’t know who else is here!” Hermione called before he managed to shut the door.



Harry shook his head, faintly amused before heading downstairs to see if he could find Bill. The walls were just as he remembered, cold and white and just like any other muggle hospital that he could imagine except that the random paintings on the walls were of famous witches and wizards who had contributed to the hospital. That and they moved as well. He wandered around, glancing carefully into the rooms that were already open and making sure not to bother anyone in search of the eldest Weasley. He doubted the young man was there but since he was passing by anyway might as well check incase he saw someone he knew and stopped to talk.



Harry got all the way down to the first floor and still had yet to find Bill. He was about to turn and head back up but looked down the hall and saw the sign above the Dangerous: Dai Llewellyn Ward. It was the smaller room where the more critical patients of animal attacks were held. It was where Mr. Weasley had been kept…and it was where Snape was staying as well… He had been bitten by Nagini, who was probably the most dangerous snake besides the Basilisk. He had to be kept there.



He glanced over his shoulder and winced when he saw a few people who were straining to see him…probably wondering if it was really him or not. Figuring it was safer to be with Snape at the moment he quickly turned to walk briskly towards the smaller private ward and timidly opened the door. It hadn’t changed either since the last time he had been there except for different curtains and a few more pictures. In one corner a woman lay unconscious with a large purple arm that was almost twice the size of her body. A few feet away from her in another bed was a younger boy who looked to be sleeping. He didn’t have any obvious injuries but he did seem to be uncomfortable lying on his back. Glancing to the other side of the room Harry saw Snape. He was lying in a bed in the farthest corner from everyone and had a curtain pulled mostly around his bed.



Seeing the man who had cared so much about his mother laying there unconscious made Harry suddenly not want to be there at all. He couldn’t turn around now though…and he wanted to make sure that Snape really was alive… Seeing Nagini launch at him and the fangs rip out of the man’s neck had made his heart stop. Even now the reaction confused him. Snape had been nothing but a bastard to him and this was before he had seen the memories. He should have DANCED when he saw him almost be killed…but instead his heart had stopped, just like it had stopped when he had seen Dumbledore fall from the tower and saw Ginny and Remus’s bodies lying lifeless on Hogwarts grounds. Even after all that, in the end he had still been worried about the man. Stupid Gryffindor complex…he really needed to stop trying to save everyone. Maybe Hermione was right and he needed therapy on his “saving people” thing.



Shaking off the thoughts, Harry pushed the door open a little more to try and slip in. The hinges gave a low squeal and he cringed at the noise before looking to make sure he hadn’t woken anyone up. Thankfully they had remained asleep and he was able to step over to Snape’s bed.



For a moment Harry could only stare. He had seen Snape in pretty bad situations, blasted across the room by Hermione in the Shrieking shack and attacked by a three headed dog, but he had never seen him look so…so dead. If he hadn’t know that he would have been taken out if he was dead Harry would have thought the doctors just left him in there after he stopped breathing. His skin was so pale that the blue and red veins under the skin could be traced all the way up his arms. His neck was heavily bandaged with red already starting to seep through showing that it had failed to stop bleeding yet. His cheeks were sunken in and his eyes had dark circles around them, making Harry believe that he had been hit as well but there was no swelling. His inky black hair stuck to his forehead where he was sweating faintly.



For a moment Harry saw himself in Snape’s place. How easy would it have been for Dumbledore to use him instead if things had been different? If things had changed would he have been the one laying there half dead in a hospital bed with no one to visit and the only color being a wilted flower beside the bed that looked like it had been there since the previous occupant. He hated it…Snape wasn’t an angel and he was damn well annoying as the sadistic bastard that he was…but he didn’t deserve this.



Hesitating Harry reaching out and gently moved to touch Snape’s hand. His fingers trembled as they felt the chilled skin under his fingertips. He was so cold. For a horrible moment Harry thought perhaps he had died and the nurse just hadn’t realized it yet. The man’s chest rose and fell again and Harry relaxed faintly. He was still breathing…still there. He was the last…the only one who had survived who had a connection with his parents. He had been friends with his mother, the first person to tell her about magic. In his own strange way he could tell that he had cared about her even if he had been too unsure to show it. He still cared about her…Harry needed no other reason to be able to forgive him for everything he had done. He couldn’t hate the man who had given up everything to try and gain his mother’s forgiveness even after her death.



Pulling out his wand, Harry sent a small jet of water into the potted plant beside the bed, promising himself that he would be bringing more for the man. He deserved to not be forgotten after all he had given up.



“Don’t…die yet bastard…I still haven’t proved to you that I’m not my father…” he whispered softly, not sure why he had said it or where the words came from.



Shaking his head, Harry stepped back, glad that Snape didn’t wake up. He turned to leave, glancing one last time at the broken man that had saved his life…before slipping out. He didn’t see as he pulled the door shut as quietly as possible…that Snape’s fingers twitched faintly.



He trudged back up the stairs to Fred’s room and blinked when he saw Hermione and Ron standing outside the door.



“Harry, where’ve you been? Bill came back a while ago. We had to leave though because Fred has to take his medicine again and get some rest.” Hermione said softly.



Harry smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, got…delayed.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his head before looking around. “So…”



“Well…it would probably be a good idea…to go see her now Harry.” She whispered softly, making Harry’s heart jolt again before he forced himself together and nodded.



“Yeah…yeah okay.” He whispered before they turned to leave.



Harry’s mind was numb as they walked down the stairs again and into the fireplace room. He tried to gather himself as Ron and Hermione stood in line to use the exiting fireplaces. He didn’t know if he could handle this…he didn’t know what he could possibly say…what he could do to make this right…He couldn’t make it right…



But he still had to see her…



He had to say goodbye.



TO BE CONTINUED…



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^^ Read and review please!!



Yasa: ^^ thank you for always being so supportive! *huggles* and thank you for being so excited when a new chapter comes out!

Karisma: lol hai! >> I can’t get over your Xena story! It’s amazing!!! I used to watch Xena all the time and now I wanna go buy the seasons so I can watch it all over again! I’m telling all my friends to go read it too!

Simon-the-Duck: TT thank you! That means so much to me! >> I used to hate AUs too but finding the wonderful world of Crossovers killed that XDDDDD

Tribebohemian: Thank you so much! I’m actually trying really hard to keep them into character, though it’s a bit difficult sometimes to do so while still getting out the information and details that I need. To be truthful I really didn’t like Ginny at all, I thought she was a very ill written way to have Harry be happy in the end and it just didn’t seem to fit. I didn’t want to completely write her out though because even when I don’t like her she did play a role in the book and didn’t deserve to be completely bastardized. I also have to agree on the ending of DH. Especially the epilogue. I almost don’t even consider it part of the book because it was so horribly written and so incredibly vague. I don’t believe that killing the villain instantly brings about a peaceful revolution. There’s going to be a lot of lag over problems for the wizarding world to deal with and unfortunately for Harry…they’re going to expect him to help solve them too. Thank you so much for your review!

Vittani: lol Thanks. I had to add the nightmare – and probably more to come – because that’s just simply how Harry is. He does have that “saving people” thing so I can’t see him just getting over what had happened so fast. The only reason I did not have him have one before was because for the three days he was sleeping he was practically in an exhausted coma and people either don’t dream in those or they don’t remember them. And as for Snape, I feel bad for him too but I also don’t think he’d realistically be able to leave the hospital too soon after being attacked by Nagini especially when I think I’m pushing it a bit as it is with letting Fred out so soon. >> I just feel so sorry for him!!! *Cries* ahem, anyway, I agree with you on the man that was evil about Collin and Denis – who I absolutely adored – but I wanted to show that the people weren’t just being annoying and following him around but that some were being down right pricks about it like there always is when something big happens – good or bad. I also won’t take credit for the funeral XD. It wasn’t some insightful act or anything when I didn’t have him go, I just didn’t think I could write it and do it justice. Thank you again and I really appreciate your comments!