Pyrotechnics
Part Fourteen
Fireworks

Author's Note:
THIS IS SLASH! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter because that'd make me rich. And I can easily assure you, I'm not. Also, the Lugovaloses are supposedly mine, but if you'd ever like to borrow them, just ask. They're always ready for a new adventure.

Well, I'm sorry this is so late, but with school starting I haven't had time to get on-line, and then my internet has been down, so all in all, this is only partially my fault. I just didn't have time to update until now. The amount of people reading this story has shocked me throughout this story, and I thank you all for reading and reviewing. I especially enjoy the constructive critism, and if someone would like to go back through and beta for me, send me an e-mail and I'll happily let you have free reign. Well, sort of. As free as a beta can get!

Gnomeish: I'm glad you enjoyed the OOCness of Snape, though I thought being told he was beautiful for the first time merited that reaction. Then again, it is Snape. Lol.

Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! And please don't forget to review! Special stuff coming when I reach my 100th review for this story!
oOooOo

The entire year up to that point was the quietest that Harry had ever had, and Harry was greatful. He and Phyrrus were closer than ever, his family, all of his family, was doing great, Chara had gotten custody of Cyrrus and he'd be joining them at Hogwarts for fourth year, and life was going well.

At least until exams.

"I'm never going to remember all this," Hermione groaned, banging her head on the table, notes spread around her, fluttering in the wind from her violent passing like fragile fairy wings.

"I don't know why you're taking so many classes, or when you have the time," Draco sneered. Harry and Ron nodded in agreement as Phyrrus took her books gently away.

"We've still got two weeks," He told her, patting her on the back. "And we've been studying for a few hours now. Let's all take a break. The twins are getting bored."

River and Rayne nodded miserably from where Phyrrus had sat them down to study under his watchful eye. "Wanna go outside," River whined. "Look how nice it is."

It was true, the others agreed, looking out the windows. The sky was blue without a hint of cloud, the sun sparkling invitingly off the crystal blue lake, and the gentle breeze playing with the green leaves on the trees.

"All right," Hermione conceeded, putting her books away, but only after Phyrrus allowed a few sparks to light up one hand. "But I have so much to study. . ."

"It's okay, Hermione. We'll do what we did a while ago," Phyrrus patted her arm. "We'll take our books and after an hour or so we'll study again, okay? Outside, not in here. I'm losing my tan."

The group laughed. Phyrrus was brown from spending time outside planting. He was lucky, one of the rare red-heads that actually tanned, but a heavy dusting of freckles sprinkled his nose, dark on the golden brown of his skin. Teasing Phyrrus and each other merrily, they made their way towards the doors. Draco watched them, uncertain. He had begun to join them to study more often, since Crabbe and Goyle were so stupid that he ended up teaching more than studying, but he wasn't sure he was wanted or welcome in their circle of friends.

"Come on, Draco," Hermione called, waving him over. "If you aren't a friend by now, I don't know when you will be."

Pale silver-grey eyes regarded her with surprise. Harry and Ron both nodded as Neville offered him a shy grin. River and Rayne grabbed his hands as Phyrrus shoved him along from behind. "She's right, you know," Phyrrus propelled him along. Taller than Harry by only a hand, it wasn't hard for Phyrrus to move the other boy.

"I'll lift you, if I have too," Phyrrus added, making Draco start walking a little more willingly.

Draco regarded them for a moment, opening his mouth to ask something, then closing it. Harry noticed. "You can ask, you know." He pointed out. "We promise not to make fun."

"What made you change your mind about me?" Draco finally asked. "We went from archrivals to friends. And that snowball fight, what made you invite me to play?"

"We couldn't be enemies all the time," Phyrrus laughed. "Just because I didn't like you didn't mean we couldn't have grand fun together. And River and Rayne wanted you to join, which is several points in your favor already. Look, we might not agree on everything, but so what? Isn't that half of what friendship is based on? Differences?"

"Yes, but I insulted you, and you seemed to be my enemy!" Draco finally managed. "What made it change?"

"You looked lonely," Harry admitted quietly. "Watching us, you looked lonely. And it reminded me of myself. And I thought. . . maybe it was my fault, you know? Ignoring you on the train first year. I mean, just because of that it seems stupid to be enemies."

"That was a slight on my family," Draco snapped, tilting his head arrogently.

"Yeah, 'cept Harry didn't know any better," Ron pointed out. "He was as knew to the wizarding world as Hermione, and he didn't have access to the books and stuff. 'Sides, you made him uncomfortable. Like he was supposed to be nobility or something."

Draco blinked at the announcement. He had never considered that. Harry only shrugged. "It doesn't matter. That's past, this is now, and you're our friend." Draco nodded, accepting the answer and followed them outside.

Ginny was already outside under the tree, talking to Colin Creevy. Ron raised an eyebrow and frowned at the pair. "Ginny and Colin? No way. I refuse."

"They're just friends, Ron," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ginny fancies Dean."

"Dean with Ginny?" Ron blinked again.

Harry rolled his eyes. "She's going to have a boyfriend sometime, Ron. Get a grip. Besides, she's twelve. It probably won't happen until summer yet. And if she and Colin want to talk, so what?"

"And I know Dean isn't interested." Phyrrus laughed. "He's looking at one of the Patil twins."

"How in the hell do you know all that?" Ron finally demanded.

"I'm gay, Ron. They aren't overly afraid I'm going to steal the girls they want to date." Phyrrus laughed. "They started when I didn't know any of the girls they were talking about, and they've gotten so used to it that they just haven't stopped yet."

Ron nodded in understanding, watching the two. As they approached, the Weasely twins jogged towards the figures under the tree, swooped in, and started teasing the both of them. The rest of the group hurried their pace and called out greetings and waving. Joining the group under the tree, they caught each other up about what they had been doing, and were just screwing around for a time, and then doing homework for a bit.

Harry was also forced to hold polite and civil conversation with Colin, who was still taking all sorts of pictures of him. Phyrrus deftly shot a spell at the camera and nearly melted it, warning Colin in no uncertain terms that if he saw another flash go off the camera would be molten plastic and in the lake. Colin dutifully put it away and the rest of the evening was spent in peace.
oOooOo

Ron let out a whoop of delight the moment exams were over late in the after noon. A celebratory party in the Gryffindor common room kept everyone up late, as the students cheered about exams being over. Percy shooed them off to bed at nearly two in the morning, but everyone was still to wired to sleep. Staying up and talking was a favorite past-time, and Harry dug out some Berti Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a small betting pool was soon set up. Two hours later they finally crawled into bed, exhausted.

The next day Phyrrus and Harry spent together, just enjoying each other's company by the lake. Dobby had brought them food for lunch and supper, and it was growing dark when the rest of the group appeared. "It's getting late," Hermione commented. They had appeared just after sunset, when the sun's last rays were still slowly dying in the sky.

"I know." Phyrrus smiled.

"It's getting chilly too," Harry shivered and leaned closer to Phyrrus.

"Not cold," Rayne murmured, stepping closer to Phyrrus. "Sad. Sad and tired and hatred and anger."

"What?" Phyrrus shot to his feet and whirled. "Who's coming?" He demanded, falling into a crouch with his wand out. "Rayne, who is it?"

"Not a friend," Rayne's voice was almost dreamy.

"Fuck." Phyrrus stiffened as the cold chill of Dementors swept through his soul. "Fred, George, take River and Rayne. You're the fastest. Get us help. Now! We can't all out run them!"

"You won't have too," A voice cackled. Harry stiffened next to his boyfriend.

"Bellatrix," He snarled lowly, remembering the dark voice from the Holloween party.

"That's right, bastard child," Bellatrix sneered. "We've come back for you. Aren't we nice?"

"No," Phyrrus snapped.

"Get away from us!" Draco ordered.

"Your daddy won't be happy to see the company you keep," Rudolphus sneered.

Draco growled and pulled his wand free. Shouting a curse and diverting the man's attention from Fred and George even as Hermione did the same to Bellatrix, the two elder twins took off, River and Rayne in their arms. They knew Phyrrus was right, and they knew it was no time to argue, but that made them no happier about the situation. The others watched them disappear into the coming darkness and turned back to Bellatrix and her husband.

Curses and hexs flew through the air, and the chill deepened as they felt the dementors come slowly closer. Fear was a powerful weapon and their fear made them all the stronger for it. Rudolphus went down, screaming incoherently as everyone targeted him at once excluding Harry who was keeping Bellatrix occupied so they could defeat her husband.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed. Phyrrus leapt, spinning in front of Harry to take the curse dead on. Pain streamed through his veins as the curse took hold. The boy screamed in agony, convulsing and falling to the ground. Harry gave an anguished cry and sent several curses in Bellatrix's direction. The curse lifted, leaving Phyrrus panting on the ground. Hair spilled over his face and Hermione screamed a curse that Harry didn't know, sending Bellatrix to the ground.

The chill closed in. Bellatrix opened her eyes. "Crucio!"

Phyrrus knocked Harry out of the way a second time, leaving himself wide open to the curse. Once again he convulsed on the ground, screaming even as the Dementors closed in on them. One stopped at the writhing boy and lifted him, pulling back it's hood even as Bellatrix cackled as one lifted her. Phyrrus' head rolled limply and Harry screamed.

The outlash of power was too great for anyone to watch. White and gold spread over them, driving the dementors away. Phyrrus crumpled to the ground as his captor let go. Bellatrix screamed in pain from the light, convulsing herself. The others collapsed in magical exhaustion from the battle and could only close their eyes against the magical onslaught.

Grass sizzled and burned under the force of the power as it pushed out in all directions. Harry collapsed over Phyrrus as the circle twisted and writhed, collapsing.

The dementors that had gathered near them were burnt out shells, darkened beyond recognition. Bellatrix was also terribly burned, as was her husband, their faces and other exposed skin blackened and twisted sickly, as though they had been set afire.

But Harry's friends, who had also been caught in the burst of magic, were unharmed.

Harry looked at his friends, all of them were unconscience. Pounding feet in the distance made him lift his head painfully as the pounding headache increased. Several teachers, including Severus, Remus, and Sirius came into view, as did the prefects from the houses. Harry managed a weak smile and grabbed Phyrrus' hand as his head fell limply to the ground and everything went black.
oOooOo

Sirius screamed in rage as he noticed the unmoving form of his godson laying on the blackened earth. Remus howled in reply to his mate's anguish, his own cutting keenly as a knife. Fred and George saw run and rushed towards him, nearly weeping at the sight of their youngest brother laying on the ground, pale as death. Severus lifted Phyrrus' head, placing two fingers to his throat. Despite the chill of the younger's skin, the teenager was alive.

Moving his grip to Harry, Severus smiled briefly. "He lives," Severus told them, moving to allow Remus to lift Harry as Sirius picked Phyrrus off the ground effortlessly. The sheer physical strength of the two, lithe men had always amazed Severus. Fred and George slung their brother into a fireman's carry even as Severus lifted Draco. McGonagall herself picked up Hermione and they rushed towards the hospital wing. Levitation didn't even cross their minds as the chill of the children's skin seeped through their clothing.

Dumbledore himself secured Bellatrix and her husband before rushing after the injured students. Once their parents were notified, he sat in the hospital wing, waiting for them patiently.

Chara was the first to arrive, followed closely by the Weaselys and Lucius Malfoy. Skidding to a halt next to her son, Chara took his hand and pressed his dead fingers to her face. "Phyrrus," The woman moaned, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Phyrrus, please wake."

Chara's tears fell onto Phyrrus' face as she leaned over him. Brushing them away caused his head to roll limply to one side. Chara closed her eyes, burying her face in her son's hair and murmuring something only Remus could hear. A mother's plea for her son. "Please my fire, please my flame, don't be souless. Be dead, my son, but don't have lost your soul."

"They all have souls," Dumbledore told her, brushing his fingers over Harry's forehead where his scar bled sluggishly. Chara nodded, looking at Sirius who was gently brushing away the blood with tearstained eyes.

"Will they live?" Sirius looked up from Harry's cold, still form with tears dripping down his face.

Chara touched their heads, felt their breathing, took their pulses and did other simple examinations. Her smile was genuine as it made her eyes light up in pleasure. "Yes."
oOooOo

There was nothing around him but blackness. The chill Harry felt from the dementors sank into his skin, making him shiver. He was naked in this dark place, shivering from the clod blackness that surrounded him. The blankness he was locked in made him dispair, but he refused to let himself think of the blackness for too long.

Looking around he saw shapes moving in the distance, slowly drawing nearer and pulling the small bit of warmth left in his body away. Harry screamed and writhed, trying to escape their cold chanting. His power flaired and died in the darkness, shadows leaping at his helpless form. Clawed hands grasped his arms, drawing the warmth further away and the coldness closer.

Harry tried to pull away, tried to scream. His words were muffled and deadened in the blank blackness as the shadows slowly engulfed him. "Phyrrus!" Harry managed to scream as his breath was sucked from his body.

The low trill of a pheonix made him cry out. Fiery warmth engulfed his body and threw the shadows away, encasing them in darkness and he was cradled in the warm light. Fire burst from his skin as he sank into its burning embrace. The pheonix song grew and changed. It was still wordless, a melody lost through endless ages, but the voice was familier.

"Phyrrus?" Harry called, reaching out. The music didn't falter, but the flames burned brighter and brighter, Phyrrus' voice twining with the song of the pheonix with a seamless elegance. The fire drove away the cold chill and restarted Harry's frozen heart. "Phyrrus, please."

The flames shifted, taking shape. Long fire red hair, golden tan skin, a dusting of freckles across the nose, and fire-gold eyes, so different from the wolf-gold that Remus wore. "Harry," Phyrrus' voice seemed to echo from so far away.

"Phyrrus," Harry reached out and grabbed the flames. Phyrrus would never harm him.

Fire burned against his hand, but didn't hurt. The song intensified, the fire causing lightspots to appear on Harr'ys vision. Harry grasped the hand tighter, the flames burned brighter and hotter.

Everything went white.
oOooOo

Phyrrus turned restlessly. He was in nothing, and he was nothing. And yet, at the same time, he was light and air and life. He was power and beauty and strength.

He was fire.

Pheonix song overtook his senses, dulling the sense of pain that had been aching in his heart. Loosing himself to the pheonix song, Phyrrus parted his lips, drinking in the power of Pheonix fire and allowing the ageless, endless melody to fill him. Fire filled his vision and his lungs. He bacame fire and fire became him.

There was no past or present or future, there was no such thing as time in the void Phyrrus burned in, his song mingling with that of the pheonix, drifting through the darkness. There was someone lost in the darkness that needed his song of light and hope, his song of fire and ash and rebirth.

"Phyrrus?" The voice was scared and questioning. Phyrrus knew that voice, but not as fire and not as pheonix. But he knew that voice all the same.

"Harry," Phyrrus felt the song weave his words into it's endless melody even as he cradled his love's body with his warm flames, burning brighter just for Harry.

"Phyrrus, please," Harry pleaded, reaching out. His broken voice made Phyrrus concentrait on holding him. Flames parted and shifted, forming his all too human flesh and bone and blood. He was still fire and yet, he was something more.

"Harry." Phyrrus could hear his voice echo, as though from a deep distance. Harry reached out and took his hand. Phyrrus squeezed Harry's hand in his own even as the flames shifted and burned brighter.

And everything went white.
oOooOo

In the hospital wing, Chara, Sirius, and Remus kept careful watch over Harry and Phyrrus, the only two still unconscience after Bellatrix's attack on the group. It had been their magic that had saved the others, after all, and they were magically depleted in a severe way. Their coma was their body's way of coping.

A blinding white light filled the room and both boys convulsed. Sirius and Remus cried out horsely as Chara grabbed them. But the convulsions had already ended. Hesitently Chara reached out to touch their arms. Both boys were hot to the touch, as though they were on fire.

Pheonix song filled the air, deafening in it's volume and soft as a whisper all at the same time. A song of fire and ashes and rebirth. Both boys cried out again, and all was still. Chara frowned and examined both boys.

At the apex of the song, the room war ringing and it was several moments before the adults realized that the song had ended and the noise still in the room was only its echo. The boys shifted slightly, their bodies fully healed. Chara ran a few tests on them, and Phyrrus stirred, his golden eyes fluttering open.

"Their magic is back to normal," Chara murmured, brushing her son's hair from his eyes even as he managed to smile up at her.

"Hey, Mom." Phyrrus murmured. Chara gathered him in her arms.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, understand?" Chara demanded, glaring. "I was afraid I'd lost you!"

Phyrrus smiled at his mother, shaking his head. "Try to put out fire with cold and the fire only burns stronger."

Chara held him tightly, rocking him in her arms, enjoying that he felt real. Harry looked over and offered a thin smile, tired and weak feeling. "Hey, Mum Chara."

"Harry!" Sirius had gathered up his godson, holding him gently. "Are you all right?"

Harry considered the question, looking over to meet Phyrrus' eyes, the turned back to Sirius. "I don't know yet, Sirius, but I think I will be."
oOooOo