Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything from the Harry Potter Universe.
A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews, they have been great. I'm very humbled at all those who have added this story to their story alerts. It definitely inspires me to write more and to hopefully write something that is enjoyable. So without further ado here is the next chapter in the story.
Chapter 3:
A disoriented Mundungus Fletcher slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. His eyes lulled from left to right and back again, wondering why there seemed to be leaves and branches surrounding him.
He knew he was lying on his back, as he felt several small rocks pushing against his spine, but how did he get here, and where was here? The next thing to break through the mental cloud were the sounds of people, a lot of people, talking excitedly followed by the flashing of blue and red lights searing into his bloodshot eyes.
Mundungus turned his head to the left and was able to see people pointing and staring at something across the way. Straining his eyes to see, he noticed that a house seemed to be on fire, and a bunch of muggle firefighters were spraying water on the flames.
Mundungus stared at the flames for a moment noticing that the flames didn't seem to be affected by the water, and the flames had a noticeable black tinge to them as they snapped viciously at wood, brick, and stone. Mundungus's eyes bulged as recognition of this type of fire finally woke the lethargic brain…"fiendfyre" he whispered in shocked awe.
Mundungus was not known to be an incredibly smart man, but he did have a keen sense of situational awareness. The sense of place and self had saved him more than once during his career as a purveyor of, well let's just say, dubious legitimate items.
Mundungus slowly scooted himself out from under the shrubbery he had found himself in. As he tried to stand he felt a wave of dizziness come over him, raising his hand to his head he winced in pain as he felt a rather large knot on the side of his head and saw the miniscule traces of blood on his fingers.
This was not good; slowly his mind processed what was going on. He had come to the Dursley residence to watch the boy. He remembered sitting by his favorite tree across from the boy's house which gave him a view of the front of the house and part of the back garden, but how did he wind up under the shrubbery?
'Someone must have hit me, knocking me out; but how did they know I was there. I covered myself with the cloak Dumbledore gave me…The Cloak!' Mundungus searched his immediate area but did not see the cloak anywhere.
"Shite, shite, shite," Mundungus put his hands to his face and shook his head, "Dumbledore is not going to be happy about this."
With a resigned look on his face Mundungus looked closely at the burning house…"yep" he sighed deeply, "it's the Potter boy's house."
Mundungus jumped, as did everyone else in the area, when a loud crashing sound accompanied the collapsing of the second floor into the first floor of Number 4 Privet Drive. Mundungus knew that the muggles would not be able to put out the fire before the home was burned to ash along with everything and everyone in it.
Self preservation once again leapt to the forefront of his mind as he quickly went over his options. Dumbledore will be beyond furious about the death of the boy, and he had no desire to being on the receiving end of Dumbledore's wrath.
So he did the most logical thing that came to mind, 'time to take a long vacation, I hear the Americas are nice this time of year' Mundungus mused to himself. With a loud pop Mundungus apparated away. The noise not even registering with the other gawkers whose attention was solely on the blazing inferno in front of them.
Arabella Figg was a squib, a child of magical parents but with no magical ability herself. She was surprised when fourteen years ago she was approached by none other than Albus Dumbledore, one of the most famous and influential people within the magical world with a job offer. She was offered a home, and monthly stipend to be his eyes and ears at Privet Drive in Surrey.
She would be charged with monitoring and reporting all the goings on of one Harry Potter. To say she was shocked would be a gross understatement of gigantic proportions. She, a lowly squib, the exiled of the magical world, was charged with watching The Boy Who Lived.
There was no question that she would take the job, it gave her a sense of importance and vindication. Her family had unceremoniously disowned her, and told her that she would never amount to anything. Well now she was watching over the most important person in the wizarding world since Dumbledore.
'Take that you pompous windbags!' Ms. Figg smirked to herself.
Ms. Figg had retired early in the evening after seeing the Dursleys arrive home with Harry, 'he's such a nice boy', she commented to herself. "It's beyond me why Dumbledore would put that sweet boy with those horrible people. They treat him as if he were their personal servant, and the lies they spread about the boy…scandalous!, but I suppose Dumbledore knows what he's doing; he is Albus Dumbledore after all."
On many occasions Harry would be sent to Ms. Figg's when they would go out, so as to keep him from being alone in their house. Who knows what he would do with all his 'freakishness'. Arabella enjoyed their time together, although the boy was very shy and timid and would flinch when you would get too close to him, or bring up his arms in a defensive move in front of his head as to protect it from being struck.
Arabella had reported these incidents to Dumbledore but he never seemed to be too concerned about them enough to investigate any further. He would shrug it off, and state that boys are boys, and it was probably just a reaction from rough housing with his cousin. Arabella would always nod politely when Dumbledore gave his explanations, and would usually reply 'of course you must be right Albus.' Arabella knew there was much more to it than that.
She had seen the bruises on his arms, neck, and face, these were not the bruises one received from rough housing, and these came from something much more insidious. She kept all this to herself, but placed all these things at the back of her mind and on paper, in her 'Harry Journal' as she called it. It contained fourteen years of comments, insights, and interactions with Harry and the Dursleys, as well as instructions from Albus Dumbledore.
If someone were to read the journal from front to back, an intelligent person could see an almost ritualistic form of abuse and isolation that was wrought on the young hero of the Wizarding World. Arabella worried that one day the Dursley's abuse and the Headmasters neglect would eventually cause the serious injury or death of the young man she had grown so fond of.
Arabella had been sound asleep in her bed, when a fluffy black haired half kneazle cat jumped on her bed and began pawing at her face.
Arabella woke and looked at the cat…"what is it Mrs. Potts?"
The cat jumped off the bed and stared at her from the bedroom door, and with a low growl looked behind its shoulder, communicating with her mistress that she wanted her to follow.
Mrs. Figg got out of her bed, and threw on her dressing gown, and followed her familiar to the front room. Mrs. Potts jumped on to the windowsill and looked out through the sheer curtains that hung there. Mrs. Figg approached the window and looked out to see what had gotten Mrs. Potts so curious.
A loud gasp escaped from Mrs. Figg as she saw the Dursley's house completely consumed by fire. She rushed out of her front door heading toward the fire. She began to question all her neighbors who had also come out to watch the goings on. "
Are the Dursleys safe, has anyone seen the family?" Everyone she questioned had the same response. They didn't know, no one had seen them one way or the other.
She rushed back to her house, grabbing the floo powder from the mantle above the fireplace, and tossed a handful into the low dying flames. She waited a brief moment as the flames turned green. She stuck her head in the flames and shouted "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!"
Albus Dumbledore was scowling as he re-read the reply from Gringotts stating that the will of Sirius Black would not be sealed, and how dare he make such a demand of them. Their client had come to them specifically to be the arbitrators of his will.
Dumbledore swore, he knew had Sirius filed a will at the Ministry, he could have had that will sealed, or even make it disappear altogether. But, it seems that the mutt was smart enough to file it with the Goblins. He did not like having unknown variables when it came to his control over things, especially, when it came to Harry Potter.
Well, at least he had charmed the Dursley's house to redirect all owl post to him. So it was impossible for the goblins to even contact Harry in any event, and if Harry by some fluke did hear about the will, he would have Harry appoint him as his representative and go in his stead.
Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and began to stroke his beard, 'yes…I can still control the situation. I still wish I knew what the mutt put into his will, he had become quite the snoop before his death' Dumbledore smiled a knowing smile.
"Dumbledore, Dumbledore are you there?" Albus was somewhat miffed at the sudden interruption, but schooled his features and walked toward the fireplace.
"Ah, Ms. Figg, It's a little late to make a report don't you think? I take it that Harry arrived back at the Dursleys safe and sound then?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes Albus, er…I mean no Albus, something terrible has happened!" Arabella blurt out in a panic.
"Now, now, Arabella, I'm sure Harry is just fine. You know how he irritates his uncle. I'm sure there is no serious harm being done to Harry," Albus stated, a little condescendingly.
Ms. Figg raised an eyebrow at his response but decided it was best to think on that later. "No Albus. I mean there is a fire! A fire, Albus, at the Dursley's! No one has seen Harry or the Dursley's. I think they may have still been in the house!"
"Are you sure Arabella?" Arabella Figg rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Of course I'm sure Albus. I saw them go into the house over an hour ago, and none of the neighbors have seen any sign of them!"
"What about Mundungus? He should be there; it's his shift to watch the house."
"I don't know Albus, I haven't heard from him. You need to do something!"
"Right, right, I'll be there momentarily, I need to contact others from the order." Albus said, placatingly.
"Okay, I'll see what else I can find out Albus." With that Ms. Figg withdrew her head from the fire.
Ten minutes later, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Prof. McGonagall exited Arabella Figg's fireplace, each with a different look on their faces. Dumbledore looked more agitated than concerned for the welfare of his student. Snape looked bored, but with a trace of a smirk on his lips and mirth in his eyes.
McGonagall had no trace of her usual stern demeanor, but in its place a look of extreme worry for one of her favorite students. Arabella rushed toward the three visitors with a look of horror on her face. Her eyes were red and swollen as tears fell liberally from her eyes.
"Albus!" she wailed, "your t..too l..l..late, the house has completely collapsed! It's like no fire I've ever seen it just keeps burning no matter what the muggles try! There's almost nothing left but burning cinder now" she wept.
The three visitors peered out the window of number 7 Privet Drive, and gazed upon the remains of Number 4. The three professors looked upon the distinct red and black color of the now shrinking flames.
McGonagall gasped, as she breathed out, "my gods…fiendfyre!"
Albus stared at the now destroyed home of the boy-who-lived, and for the first time in his long life did not know what to say. All his plans were now destroyed, if indeed the Potter boy was dead.
He knew that if word of the demise of Harry Potter were to reach the magical population it would demoralize those that stood against the dark, making it difficult to recruit more people to his agenda, and inversely it would buoy up the supporters of the Dark Lord now that the supposed savior of the magical world was no more. This did not bode well.
Minerva McGonagall turned toward the owner of the house and asked, in hopeful voice, "Arabella, are you positive that Harry and the Dursley's were in the house?"
"I'm afraid so Minerva, I saw them all go into the house, and that molten heap there in front of the house is the Dursley's car. They wouldn't have gone anywhere without it."
McGonagall slowly nodded her head in silent resignation that her little lion was gone. She never had admitted it to anybody, but she loved Harry like a grandson. She had also loved his mother. She had been one of her favorite students, and was such a kind and caring person.
In all her time knowing Lilly she had never heard the younger girl ever speak ill of anyone, and was always willing to help others, or give a comforting word. Lilly's son also exhibited some of those same qualities, not withstanding his rivalry with Draco Malfoy.
He was kind, caring, and very loyal to friends. He was a wonderful legacy of the Lilly she knew. But now he was gone, and she had forever lost the chance to tell him how proud she was of him, and how much she had come to care for him. A silent tear slid from the corner of her eye. A tear of heartbreak, of things left unsaid.
Albus was perplexed. How did the deatheaters learn of Harry's location, and how did they get passed the wards? They were supposed to keep all those who wished the boy harm away; they shouldn't have been able to even enter the area surrounding the house.
It didn't make sense that deatheaters were able to get close enough to the house to perform any spells, let alone an extremely dark one.
'It would have taken a very powerful witch or wizard to cast and control fiendfyre to the point where it only affected the Dursley's home' Dumbledore mused to himself. The questions kept mounting but the answers eluded him.
"So what do we do now Albus? The ministry will need to be notified, this will not go unnoticed for very long, if they don't know already." Minerva asked.
Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head and sighed heavily. "I'll take care of notifying the Ministry. I need you to call a full meeting of the order, contact everyone tonight, and have them meet us at the usual place; we need to find out if we have a leak within the group and come up with a plan on how to move forward. We still do not know for certain if Harry was in the house. We'll have to wait and investigate further when the muggles have left the area. I think I can hold the Ministry off from issuing a statement until we know for certain of Harry's mortal status."
Minerva nodded her head in reluctant resignation. "Very well Albus. Arabella, may I use your fireplace to make some calls?"
"Of course Minerva, take all the time you need dear."
"Severus, has there been any talk from Tom's camp about a planned attack on Harry?" questioned Albus.
"None headmaster, with the recent failure of those sent to the Ministry, and subsequent incarceration and deaths of some of the inner circle, the Dark Lord has not been in a position to order any attacks. Also, he is still trying to recover from his attack on Potter. The attempted possession of Potter has somehow injured him. I've been providing the Dark Lord with pain relieving potions and restorative potions. They are working, but are proving to be not as effective as they should be. I think the encounter with the brat has somehow damaged his magical core and is affecting his ability to heal properly."
"Interesting… Very well Severus, please keep me posted if you hear anything. I don't like the idea of a third party involved in this, but it is a possibility we must look at."
"As you wish headmaster, I will take my leave if there is nothing else." Albus gestured dismissively with his hand, and with a pop the potions master was gone.
"Albus. The Order will assemble at Grimauld Place at midnight."
"Thank you Minerva, I expect it to be a very long night for all of us. Arabella, I believe we will make our exit. I would appreciate it if you would contact me should you learn anything else about what the muggles discover."
"Of course Albus." She said tightly, trying to keep her emotions from getting away from her.
Minerva put a slightly trembling hand on Arabella's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "No one could have expected this Arabella, don't let yourself think that any of this was your fault." She said in a comforting tone.
Arabella looked into the deep blue eyes of Minerva McGonagall, and found in them sincerity, and at the same time, loss. The last of her self control fled and Arabella began to cry uncontrollably, mourning the loss of such a sweet boy who had found a place in her heart.
McGonagall swept the other woman into a tight embrace and tried to whisper comforting words into her ear as she rocked her back and forth as a mother would do for her crying child.
"He was such a good boy despite the abuse the Dursley's would heap on him. Honestly, I don't know what Albus was thinking leaving him there with those horrible people…all those cuts and bruises and broken bones 'hiccup…' how they were never arrested for child abuse, I'll never know. And now he's gone, at least the pain and abuses are over with god bless him."
McGonagall stood there in stunned disbelief. "What's all this then?" She stated in a thick Scottish brogue that only manifested itself when she was very angry. "Wha do ye mean…Harry was beaten and abused!"
"Yeah, since he was little. Didn't Albus tell you? I've been given him reports on the goings on for nearly fifteen years now."
Minerva McGonagall was beyond furious. What was Albus playing at keeping all of this quiet? She knew the Dursley's were not a very tolerant bunch, but to physically abuse a child was criminal, at the very least, and something she found as not only an educator, but as a human being, to be absolutely vile and horrific!
She would be having words with Albus Dumbledore about all this, although she knew in the back of her mind that the point was rather moot considering the events of tonight, but that would not stop her from voicing her utter displeasure and disappointment in him.
Minerva gave Arabella one final hug and bid farewell; she had much to contemplate and much to think over when it came to Albus Dumbledore. She had noticed that the aged headmaster had shown no real emotion of sorrow, or loss, or even remorse for the loss of a boy she had thought the headmaster had cared for. His reaction was not typical of a person who had just lost someone in such a horrible way. This bared further investigation.
In a swirl of blue and white, Bella and an unconscious Harry, came into existence in front of an old country manor. It was a two story 800 year old ivy covered manor set in the middle of 6400 acres. It was about half a mile in all directions from the house to the forest edge. This gave an advantage of seeing anyone approaching the house.
The grounds themselves were surrounded on almost all sides by an old growth forest. The eastern side, had an old cobblestone road that lead from the front of the home eastward through the grounds, and disappeared as it entered a narrow patch of forest, the trees overhead making a natural canopy that seemed to stretch for miles. A medium sized trout stream traveled from north to south on the western edge of the property.
The property included a main house, and four smaller buildings behind the main house. The smaller buildings had different uses. One was a fully equipped and stocked potions lab that was maintained and kept up to snuff by the manor's house elves. The second was the ritual house; it was here that the Blacks practiced the old ritual based magic, including blood magic.
Rectangular on the outside, the interior had an ante chamber as you entered, and then a perfectly circular room beyond that. Above the circular room, the roof was retractable, to allow for rituals that needed the presence of the moon and stars.
A third building was set up as an infirmary of sorts. The last building, which sat the furthest from the main house, and was the smallest building, was a 10' by 10' room with a trap door in the middle of the room. The trap door opened to reveal a wide stone circular stairwell that descended about twenty feet underground. At the bottom of the stairwell you went forward, and as you looked to either side you saw three dark and damp cells.
The bars for each cell sunk deep into the naturally formed bedrock, for a total of six cells each. They were six foot squared, with a low ceiling of about five feet in height. This forced most prisoners to hunch over if they wanted to stand. It was not built for comfort, but to demoralize and break any prisoner who found themselves as guests.
The entire area had been heavily warded with muggle repelling charms, intent wards, and blood wards that only allowed those of Black Blood, and those that they had given permission, to bypass the defensive and offensive wards that had been layered upon over the centuries. To make an attempt on the house would be disastrous if not deadly for anyone who tried to force their way in. The manor was well hidden from muggle and magical. Not even the Ministry for Magic knew of its existence. It was the safest place that Bella could hide and take care of Harry.
"Hermes!" Bella frantically called out.
An ancient looking house elf suddenly appeared before Bella. He stood at four feet. Tall for a house elf, but not unheard of, he had large gray eyes that with age had begun to lose their ability to see clearly. His head had the occasional long strand of pure white hair that was combed straight back and reached his narrow shoulders.
His once long pointed ears, now drooped down away from his head, but his back was straight and strong. He looked almost proud and dignified, even as the ravages of age were upon him.
"What is Hermes being able to do for Mistress Bells?" His gravelly voice intoned. Cocking his head to one side, he glanced at the broken body of the young man in her arms.
"I need your help getting Harry here to the master bedroom. I then need you to go to Mistress Narcissa and bring her here. Tell her it is an emergency, and to bring as many of her medical supplies as she can."
The aged house elf nodded quickly, he took hold of Bella's hand and placed a hand on Harry, and then silently faded away and reappeared in the master bedroom of Black Manor. Bella quickly laid harry on the large king size bed, and again cast a diagnostic spell over Harry. Her eyes moistened as the results were not hopeful. The traveling had weakened Harry's already weak life-force even more.
"Go Hermes! Bring Narcissa here as fast as you can."
"Yes mistress, I is be leaving now." The old house elf then faded from view and Bella turned her attention to Harry.
"Hold on Harry, we'll get you straightened out, yeah." She breathed as tears began to fall anew.
Bella retrieved a porcelain basin filled with warm water and a soft flannel, and slowly began to clean the drying blood from Harry's face. She began to softly sing the Welsh lullaby that always seemed to calm her, and hopefully, she thought, might let Harry know that she was there.
Huna, blentyn, ar fy mynwes,
Clyd a chynnes ydyw hon;
Breichiau mam sy'n dynn amdanat,
Cariad mam sy dan fy mron.
Ni chaiff dim amharu'th gyntun,
Ni wna undyn â thi gam;
Huna'n dawel, annwyl blentyn,
Huna'n fwyn ar fron dy fam.
(Sleep, my child, upon my bosom,
It is snug and warm;
Your mother's arms wrapped tightly around you,
'Tis a mother's love lies in my breast.
Nothing shall disturb your slumber,
Nobody will do you harm;
Sleep in peace, dear child,
Gently sleep on your mother's breast.)
Huna'n dawel heno, huna,
Huna'n fwyn, y tlws ei lun;
Pam yr wyt yn awr yn gwenu,
Gwenu'n dirion yn dy hun?
Ai angylion fry sy'n gwenu
Arnat ti yn gwenu'n llon?
Tithau'n gwenu'n ôl dan huno,
Huno'n dawel ar fy mron.
(Sleep in peace tonight, sleep,
Gently sleep, my beautiful;
Why do you now smile,
Smile so gently in your sleep?
Is it that the angels on high
smile upon you as you happily smile?
While you return the smile, still sleeping,
Sleeping in peace upon my breast.)
Paid ag ofni, dim ond deilen
Gura, gura ar y ddôr;
Paid ag ofni, ton fach unig
Sua, sua ar lan y môr;
Huna blentyn, nid oes yma
Ddim i roddi iti fraw;
Gwena'n dawel yn fy mynwes
Ar yr engyl gwynion draw.
(Fear you not, 'tis but a leaf
Beating, beating at the door;
Fear you not a lone wave's
Murmur, murmuring on the seashore;
Sleep, my child, for there is nothing
Here to frighten you.
Smile in peace here on my bosom
At the white angels yonder.)
Bella was finally gaining some control of her emotions, 'some evil witch I am. If the Ministry could see me now,' she softly chuckled. Her eyes never left Harry as she continued to gently clean his face.
"I promise Harry, I will never let anyone ever do this to you again. I vow on my magic, that I will always love and protect you. I will train you in all that you will need to know to defeat all your enemies, whoever they may be. This I vow, so mote it be." A white aura glowed all around her, sealing her magical oath, and then slowly was absorbed into her skin.
Hermes and an out of breath Narcissa came into the master bedroom. Upon seeing her sister, Bella flung herself into the taller woman's arms, and once again let the dam of tears break free. She sobbed into her sister's shoulder.
"You have to save him Cissy! You just have to save him!"
Narcissa Malfoy, nee Black, was a strong woman with an equally strong constitution, but as she looked at the broken and bloodied body on the bed, she gave a startled gasp. The face was horribly swollen, heavily bruised and split open in several places.
The arms and legs were just as bruised and bent at odd angles, and there was so much blood that covered the entire body. Even as a wife of a death eater, she had never seen a body in such a state before. It made her stomach lurch, it was all she could due not to be sick.
"Bella, what have you done? Who is this person?"
"It's Harry, Narcissa; and his relatives did this to him", Bella choked out.
"Harry Potter… my gods Bella are you mad bringing him here! Everyone will be looking for him. Bella you got…"
"Cissy! I had to save him, he's…I lo…Cissy, just help him please!"
Narcissa just stared at her younger sister for a moment. Trying to get her head around all that she was seeing and hearing, she nodded and walked over to the side of the bed looking at the boy-who-lived. Her healing instincts surfaced and she began to examine him.
Narcissa waved her wand over the prone body. "He has massive organ and tissue damage, several broken ribs, his right femur is shattered, and he has a compound fracture of the fibula and tibia of his left leg. His left eye…is lost… completely destroyed. He has multiple skull fractures and swelling of the brain…sweet Morgana, whoever did this to him doesn't deserve to live!"
"They don't anymore." Bella said matter-of-factly. "Can you save him Cissy?" Bella asked hopefully.
"This is way beyond me Bella; I wouldn't know where to begin. There is just so much damage, and I'm amazed that he is still alive as it is." Bella collapsed into a chair, and doubled over with her head in her hands, and began to rock herself back and forth.
Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, startling Narcissa. Bella's wand was in her hand, and was pointing straight at her sister's chest.
"No! I refuse to believe that nothing can be done. You have to try Cissy, or so help me I will curse you into oblivion!"
Narcissa glared at her younger sister, "how dare you threaten me Bella! I am not some simpleton that you can scare into doing what you want! If I try any healing spells on him it just might kill him rather than heal him. There is too much internal damage for me to make any mistakes. He needs a professional healer Bella. You need to take him to St. Mungos, or he will die."
Bella let her wand arm drop as she crumpled to the floor and began to cry again. "I…I'm s…sorry Cissy, please isn't there anything you can do?" Bella pleaded.
Narcissa released a heavy sigh, and looked at her sister, and then over to Harry. She stared at him for a few minutes, wondering what, if anything, she could do for the dying young man. A thought popped into her head and she whispered…"there may be something that I can do, but it is extremely dangerous, and it hasn't been done in several hundred years."
Bella looked at her sister with renewed hope. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she asked…"What is it Cissy, how can you help him?"
"There is a ritual that I found in one of the books from the Black family library. It was a healing ritual of sorts, which was used on one of our ancestors. Basically, it uses the life-force of another to stabilize the magical core of the injured person. Their magical cores are actually bound together as if it were one core. This allows the healer to work on the body without fear of killing the patient."
"Okay, that's sounds promising, but you're not telling me everything, are you?" Bella asked staring into her sister's eyes.
"Well…" Narcissa started. "It has only been performed once that I can find, and although the patient lived and made a full recovery, the one who shared his core died. It was hypothesized that the magical core of the volunteer was not powerful enough to reassert itself after the sharing, and was literally ripped from him and joined itself to the other core. The backlash caused the other participant to scream in agony, and then the next moment was dead." Narcissa paused to let that information sink into Bella.
"It is possible for both parties to survive isn't it?" Bella asked timidly.
Narcissa hesitated for a moment before answering. "The theory behind it is shaky at best, but I believe if someone were a powerful enough witch or wizard it could be done safely. There is however, the chance of unexpected complications or side effects. In the previous incident, the survivor took on traits of the 'donor'. It is not known if that was a natural occurrence of the sharing, or if it was due to the permanent bonding of one core to another. There are a lot of unknowns Bella."
Bella thought for a moment, as she watched the unmoving form of Harry on the bed. Her mind drifted back to the many conversations and times that she had spent with Harry. She reflected on the way she felt when she was near him, or when they had held each other, when Harry had discovered her holding him in his room at Grimauld Place.
She knew that she loved him, and it didn't matter to her at this moment, what kind of love, whether it was maternal or romantic. All she cared about was that he had become someone important to her, and someone she did not want to lose.
Without moving her eyes from Harry, she whispered, "What do you need to perform the ritual?"
"First we need to find someone we can use to bind the cores." Narcissa said.
"You already have that Cissy…I'll be the one to bind my core to his." Bella stated emphatically.
Narcissa was about to argue with her little sister, but saw the resolve and determination in her eyes. "Very well Bella, we will need to get him to the ritual house. It should have everything I need to perform the ritual."
Bella nodded…"Hermes!" the wizened elf silently appeared in front of his mistress.
"Youz is calling for Hermes Mistress."
"Yes, Hermes, go prepare the ritual house for use, then come back here and help me get Harry there." "
Right away mistress, I'z be back shortly."
Bella turned back to Narcissa, and asked…"will you be needing anything else Cissy?"
"I just need to floo back to Malfoy Manor and retrieve the ritual book; I will then meet you at the ritual house." Narcissa commented.
"Hurry back Cissy." "I will dear." Narcissa then left the room to floo back to Malfoy Manor.
Fifteen minutes later, Hermes materialized next to Bella…"Mistress Narcee iz saying the ritual room is ready and to bring your Harry there."
Bella walked over to Harry, and gently placed a hand on his chest. "Here we go Harry. I don't know if you can hear me, but I wanted to say this to you if one of us doesn't survive the ritual." Bella's eyes became misty, as tears threatened to spill again.
"You have been a light in the darkness that has been my existence Harry. Watching over you has been my greatest pleasure and honor. Who knew that this icy cold heart of mine could have been melted, but you love, have not only melted it, but are the one responsible for giving it new life and new purpose. I don't know what the future will bring, but a future without you in it is a future I would not wish to be part of. This is how much you mean to me Harry; I am willingly tying my soul to yours in the slimmest of chances that you will live. If I don't survive, I wanted you to know…that I love you Harry."
Silent tears fell from Bella's eyes and gently fell on Harry's bruised cheek. Bella slowly leaned forward, and placed a very soft chaste kiss on Harry's lips.
"We are ready Hermes." The ancient elf nodded respectfully. He held Bella's hand, and then reached for Harry's, and then in a swirl of smoke the three faded from the bedroom and reappeared in the torch lit circular room of the ritual house.
A/N: Don't hate me I know I've left this in an awful place, but it seemed like a natural breaking point. For those of you who are wondering this will not be a Soul Bond fic. But there will definitely be some side affects from the ritual some good, some maybe not so good. For those who are interested the name of the lullaby that Bella sings is "Sau Gan" it is a beautiful Welsh lullaby. I definitely suggest that you look it up on Youtube.
I know some of you are curious as to which way Harry and Bellatrix's relationship will go, I have left hints but we really haven't had Harry's perspective on Bella yet so you'll have to wait and see.
Reviews are the life-blood of writers so please review, review, review, helpful critiques and story suggestions or ideas are always welcome. I'm also still looking for a Beta or two so if you're interested please let me know.
