The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was down right gloomy. Gloomier even then before the last heir of the property died. It all seemed to make the death of Harry Potters godfather more pronounced and dreadful as the house seemed to take on his mood.

Harry Potter was not an ordinary boy in many ways. One, he had a strange lightning bolt scar on his forehead that would glow green at times and give him severe head aches. Two, he really wanted to get back to school and his classes. Three, He was a wizard. Bur even in the wizarding world, with its flying brooms and cauldrons of potions, he was an oddity.

Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord, Voldemort when he was a year old. The wizard had killed his parents with two words, Avarda Kedavra, and had turned on the little boy but was unable to kill him. Instead, he had been banished from his body and left only enough power to seek another body deep in the Albanian forests. Harry Potter had become famous but at the price of a family. He had been sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle who hated magic to the core of their existence.

Harry lay in his bed at Number 12 Grimmuald Place, staring at the ceiling numbly. If he didn't move, it wouldn't hurt, he thought over and over. As of late, Harry Potter found his back feeling as though it were to snap in half at any second. However, if he stayed completely still, he just felt numbed over.

Now, you must be wondering why Harry was not at Number 4 Privet Drive with the Dursley's. After the incident at the Ministry, Dumbledore had kept a close eye on our ebony haired friend. But he could not keep tabs on him if he was locked in his room at the muggles home, waiting for Mistress Death to sweep him away in his grief. So, it had been decided that Harry would be placed at the Headquarters for his own safety.

The Order members, pitying him and giving words of sympathy gave Harry quite a lot of attention. This did nothing but fuel his anger as he knew that they just didn't want their savior to commit suicide because he knew he had been the one to kill his godfather, Sirius Black.

Sirius Black was an off limits topic and everyone knew and abided this unspoken law. Everyone but Remus Lupin, Sirius' best friend in their school days and after his break out from prison. Remus seemed to want to get a rise from the boy.

"I just want you to let it out." A choked up Remus whispered teary eyed after a cold refusal to be let into Harry's room. "Why can't you realize it's OK to cry in front of others?" His response was dull grunt from the other side of the door.

No one had been inside Harry's room or seen him since he had last closed the door, a solid week ago. Molly Weasley had been deeply upset about this, as she believed her surrogate son was surely trying to starve himself. No matter what spells or curses, even manual work, could open the door. Some how, Harry had locked his door so that not even Dumbledore could get it open.

It was due to Harry's magic that the door had stayed so stubbornly shut. He had not meant for it to happen but after a while of people trying to get him to talk about how he felt. It was now, the day before his birthday, that they gave him quiet time. Harry doubted though that his magic would be able to keep the door shut much longer and soon it would break.

So, there Harry was, on the brink of dying from boredom. He hadn't moved for the past 6 days and not only was he ready to keel over in hunger and allow his parched throat water but he also needed to use the loo quite badly. It was currently quite late, near midnight, he believed, and the pain in his back was becoming quite pronounced.

Downstairs he heard a dong from the old Grandfather clock in the hall.It was amazing in his opinion that old Mrs. Black didn't start to scream at the noise as he could hear it all the way up in his room. The clock continued to gong loudly and on the 9th gong, something happened.

Gong (9)

Harry felt his blood begin to rush faster in is body.

Gong (10)

His stomach was furling and unfurling and it was tearing at him viciously.

Gong (11)

The pain in his back was killing him, his skin was being ripped open on each shoulder blade a million times and blood was seeping into the sheets.

Gong (12)

Harry let out a blood-curdling scream.

Remus Lupin awoke to the sound of some one screaming out in pain and fright. It seemed as though the person was right next to him or outside the door. Even across the hall. Remus froze up, eyes wide. Harry was across the hall. Throwing his sheets off of him and bounding to the door, wrenching it open while still in his pajamas.

"HARRY!" He shouted, banging on the teens door, attempting to plow though it. Down stairs, Mrs. Black had woken and begun to shriek in symphony with Harry. Several other Order members, who were staying at the Headquarters, came dashing from their own rooms. "What in blazes is going on, Remus?" Minerva McGonagall asked in a panicky voice.

"Harry! Something's happening! If only he'd unlock this bloody-" Remus' voice trailed off. The screams had stopped, leaving only Mrs. Black to shout. With one last bang on the door with Remus' fist, it slowly unlocked and creaked open.

"Harry?" Remus' voice constricted. The sight truly scared him. "Someone get Madame Pomfrey…Minerva, get Dumbledore, now." Everyone obeyed the whispered voice and two of the four refused to even look into the room.

Harry lay, motionless, in a puddle of blood that dripped onto the floor. His face was a deadly white and- it was astounding-enormous, bird-like wings darker than the sky outside poked out of his red-stained back. The nightclothes he had been wearing lay in shreds around him getting stained a brilliant crimson. Sweat covered his face and a few trickles of blood poured from the corner of his lips. Messy black hair was now slightly curled and long with dark red streaks. Harry's jaw was sharper and his face more handsome.

He looked like Sirius with dash of Lily, no James visible. There was quiet, meaning someone had closed the curtains of Mrs. Blacks portrait. Just behind him, footsteps were heard racing up the stairs. It was Dumbledore who reached the room first. He halted and his face mirrored Remus'.

"What happened, Remus?" There was an impatient note in his question. Remus just opened his mouth, but closed it again and shook his head, not taking his eyes off Harry. Dumbledore took this as an, I don't have a clue, and Madame Pomfrey came up from the rear.

With a gasp, she pushed both out of her way and rushed to Harry's side. Checking his pulse, she found it weak, as though he were sleeping. She relaxed a slight bit and began to take in what she had to fix up before getting him to the Hospital Wing.

Quickly she conjured an enormous roll of bandages and gauze. Rushing now, she wrapped the bandages around the wings tightly, though quite messily with the ointment tucked in. Turning back to the two stunned in the doorway she said with great irritation, as the bandages began to unstick and she had to hold them herself. "Headmaster, could you please stop standing there like a buffoon and conjure a stretcher? I'm afraid I'm a bit tied up."

Dumbledore shook his head to clear his mind and shakily did as asked. Remus stepped forwards and help lift Harry onto the floating fabric (" Magic will just cause further damage to him!"). Madame Pomfrey found herself running down the stairs, holding one base of Harry's new wings, and Remus holding the other to keep the bandages from spilling over, while Dumbledore readied the floo.

"Headmaster! We cannot use magic on him! We'll have to find another way!" She cried, slightly distraught. Eyes widening, Dumbledore ran as fast as he could (quite fast for his age) to the front door and pulled it open. "Wait!" Remus mumbled, using his free hand to snatch up his cloak from the hooks on the wall.

"Mr. Lupin!" shrieked Madame Pomfrey, "This is no time to worry about catching the flu!" It felt quite odd hearing that from the nurse who would fuss if someone had even the slightest cough. "Harry won't like being seen in public, not like this and the Prophet would have a field day!" Remus replied, attempting to throw the cloak over Harry.

Realizing this, Madame Pomfrey helped until it looked as though they were hauling a large sculpture underneath. "Hurry, now!"

Dumbledore called the Night Bus as soon as they got outside. "What can we do for yeh?" Stan asked but was pushed aside as they came barreling up the steps. "What in the name of me 'ead!" He was silenced and Dumbledore said, "Get to Hogwarts, this is very important!" Stan, with all respects to the old man nodded and told Ernie what to do.

With a bang, they were dodging trees and the like. "Wha' are yeh doin' out so late?" Stan inquired lazily. "And yeh realize tha' yeh all owes me 2 galleons each?" Dumbledore dug through his pockets and tossed 6 galleons into Stan's hand. "Life and death situation, hurry it-" The bus came to a stop and before Stan could say a word, they were at the bottom of the steps.

After a rough climb, the group found themselves at the castle doors; Dumbledore shoved them open and set off immediately to find his Potions professor. Kicking the Hospital Wing doors open, Remus ran to the nearest bed and gently raised Harry onto it.

"Mr. Lupin, I need you to explain everything that you know," Madame Pomfrey said in a low, harsh voice. Remus swallowed hard and replied quietly, "Harry locked himself in his room all summer, he didn't eat as far as we know. Tonight I heard screaming from Harry's room and I found him like this…" His voice faded as something outside caught his eye.

A disfigured shadow showed up against the lightening sky. As it got closer, it was discernable as an owl. Unfortunately for Remus, who had been directly in front of the window, it became discernable right when it slammed into his face. Literally. The large owl seemed to be unable to stop moving, thus smacking Remus in the head multiple times with a stay wing.

Finally, he tore the owl away from him for it landed on the rail of Harry's bed and stick out a leg like it nothing had had happened to ruffle it's dark gray feathers.

Remus snatched the letter and the owl took off again and nearly slammed into the window frame as it did so. After glaring at the back of the owl, Remus flipped the envelope over to the front.

Harry James Potter

The third bed from the Door

Hospital Wing

Hogwarts

There was no return address. Madame Pomfrey looked up from spreading sanctimonia

potion around the bases of Harry's wings, "What is that?" Remus only grunted to her in response, still rather sour at being attacked by a bird.

Madame Pomfrey gave him an irate look and said, "Mr. Potter will be fine, I believe. I'm afraid I do not have an idea in the slightest of what has occurred. I will have to call St. Mungos to send a PMI." Remus grunted again. Madame Pomfrey completely gave up starting a conversation with the man and left her patient and the werewolf alone as she headed to the fireplace.

PMI stands for PRIVATE MEDI INVESTIGATOR

Sanctimonia is Latin for PURITY

R&R