Estranged

Chapter 3

James and Lily were in shock, Hermione was in tears, Ron was angry, and Ginny was confused.

Harry Potter, who had been missing for eight years, was suddenly pronounced alive. Harry Potter, who had struggled with an addiction to potions, had not overdosed and died. Harry Potter, who had left without a trace, was alive.

Well, barely alive.

"What do we do?" Hermione asked through her tears.

"We go and see him tomorrow." Lily said.

Ron spoke up, "How are we supposed to get the full story?"

"Well, we could ask Draco...Or we could use the Pensieve."

"But he's a muggle, James."

"I'm well versed in memory charms. He will be fine. We can just alter the memories."

The others in the room agreed quietly.

"I'll go floo Padfoot and Moony," James said.

...

The next morning found James and Lily, Ron and Hermione, and Sirius and Remus in a muggle hospital.

"There isn't a need for me to be there right now. You all go." Ginny had said.

Lily and Hermione, being muggleborns, were a little more familiar, though things had changed since they had been to a muggle hospital the last time.

"Hello, yes. My name is Lily Potter and I am here to see my son, Harry Potter."

The nurse at the front desk searched through the system. "The ICU is on the second floor, he's in room 12, stall 4." She had said absently. "You are aware of his condition?"

The six of them nodded and they were allowed to go, two at a time.

They made their way to the second floor, all opting for the stairs, and on their way ran into Draco Malfoy-Potter, who was wearing a white lab coat over grey slacks and a green silk shirt.

"Ah, I'm very glad you came. I'm Doctor Malfoy, and I am the attending in the ICU today. Shall I show you to Harry's stall?" Draco was a completely different man from the one that had been sobbing on their lounge chair last night.

They followed him, and if you looked carefully enough you could see the worry on his face.

"He's in a coma, so he can't communicate. However, there are studies that show coma patients can hear you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm not actually his doctor." Draco pulled the privacy curtain back, stroked Harry's hand briefly, and then left.

James and Lily walked forward, and Lily gasped.

...

It was the summer of 2008. Lily Potter was making breakfast for her family. French toast, Harry's favorite. Lily had hoped that if she cooked his favorite he would be in a good mood. She was rarely so lucky.

James walked down the stairs, pajama clad. "Maria is in the bath, Lils." He said. "French toast? Yummy." He smiled.

The two were sharing a loving embrace when Harry walked down the stairs. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn to bed the night previous, and his hair was a mess. His face was skinny, his eyes tired and sunken, and his nose was runny. He was absently scratching at one of the sores on his arms.

"Mornin'" he said.

Lily was grateful. At least he wasn't going to be completely impossible today.

"Good morning, son. How does it feel, to not have to go to class?" James asked, though he knew how rarely his son went to class his last year of school.

"Nice." He said absently. James sighed. He could tell that Harry had taken something as soon as he had woken up that morning. What, he didn't know.

Maria joined her family at the table, seated beside Harry who seemed to perk up at his sister's arrival.

"So, today we were planning on going to the Weasley's for dinner. Would you like to go, Harry?" Lily asked as she cut into her toast.

"Sure." He said through a mouth of toast, his third helping. "Time?"

"Dinner will start at six thirty, so please be there by five thirty." Harry nodded absently. He finished his food, scratched his arm, and left the table.

James and Lily sighed. They didn't know how to help Harry. They had threatened that he would be kicked out if he didn't clean up his act. He didn't, of course, and they couldn't kick him out. He was their son after all.

...

Lily, James, and Maria arrived to the Weasley's at five. Lily had informed Molly that Harry would be attending, and Ron and Hermione seemed to have been informed. The two of them had very nearly given up on their best friend. They didn't know what else to do, but they couldn't keep enabling him. Everyone told James and Lily that.

Five thirty rolled around and Harry hadn't arrived, though everyone had expected as much.

Six came and went and he still wasn't there.

Dinner had started, and by seven some were worried and others not so much. Harry had been flaky the past few years and it was nothing unusual.

Nothing unusual, of course, until an owl arrived from St. Mungo's saying that a man who resembled Harry was in the emergency department.

James and Lily had rushed out of the house, leaving Maria in the capable hands of Molly. They arrived at St Mungo's and were immediately briefed on their son's condition.

"He's overdosed. He was found on the sidewalk of Knockturn Alley, surrounded by his own sick."

"On potions? Which one?"

The mediwitch shook her head, "He has an excessive amount of calming draught in his system. However, he overdosed from muggle drugs. He has an excessive amount of alcohol in his system, nearly two times the legal amount. Along with this, he seems to have injected himself with a very dangerous drug called cocaine. I warn you, he's not in a very good place right now."

Lily had been trying to hold back the tears. This was her worst fear, her son ending up dead and out of her hands. She gripped James's hand, and he gripped back. The privacy partition was finally pulled back and Lily couldn't hold it in anymore.

...

Lily was sobbing, and James was fighting his tears. "He looks so similar to that day, James." James simply nodded.

The last time they had seen their son, he had overdosed on a muggle drug and had been found in a very similar condition, minus the broken limbs.

James made his way to the other side of his son's bed, and Lily grabbed Harry's right hand.

"Oh, Harry."