The Promise Ring - by The White Lily
Chapter 29: Blinded by the Light
Harry's hope that they had been wrong about Cho grew with each day as almost four weeks passed and Remus and the Creevey family remaining safe. Each morning over breakfast, Dumbledore would receive a letter from a beautiful sooty owl, read it carefully, and then nod reassuringly to Harry.
For the first few nights, he had been barely able to close his eyes to go to sleep at night, terrified that he would be witness to Remus' capture or the Creeveys' deaths. The tension that had at first wound Harry up so tightly that he could barely breathe was beginning to fade away, to be replaced with another worry that, if it was not quite so life threatening, was at least closer to home.
Mr. Weasley, along with fifty other Ministry employees of various ranks, had been dismissed for supporting Dumbledore's claim that Voldemort had returned.
Since Mr. Weasley was no longer earning anything and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley did not want to accept the money Dumbledore offered them unless it was absolutely necessary, the Weasley family had fallen into deep financial difficulties. All the Weasleys' faces were constantly showing the strain as they worried about their family situation.
Percy had taken the Ministry's side and had completely split from his family, moving to a flat in Diagon Alley in an attempt to escape his mother's wrath. The attempt had not been entirely successful. It had taken Mr. Weasley three weeks to calm his wife down to a state where she sent Percy only one Howler per day.
Malfoy's jibes about the Weasley family's financial difficulties became even more frequent. To hear Malfoy tell it, his father was single-handedly responsible for the removal of Ron's father from the Ministry. Malfoy stopped voicing this opinion quite so loudly, however, after one memorable occasion when Hermione had needed to cast the full Body-Bind on Ron to stop him from beating Malfoy into a bloody pulp.
Harry had suggested beginning the "Make Malfoy's Life Miserable" campaign, even though Malfoy had shown no further signs of making contact with Cho, just to make everyone feel a bit better. The effort was somewhat crippled without Fred and George, however, who only had the time to pull the occasional prank because they were worked into the ground. Along with whatever Bill and Charlie could spare, their jokes were putting the bread on their parents' table now. Harry felt that Cedric would have been proud to know that his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament were helping to support a worthy family who had lost their main source of income in the fight against Voldemort.
All things considered, it was early December before Harry knew it. The sky had been overcast all week, giving the Wednesday morning a particularly depressing overtone as the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins filed into Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Professor Snape was sitting stiffly in an armchair next to Professor Figg's, his nostrils flaring angrily as she fussed over how he should eat more and get out in the sun more often. Snape suffered in silence, glaring at any class member who dared voice any amusement, and staring suspiciously at the piece of chocolate cake that had obviously been forced into his hands, as though it might have been a poisonous snake.
The sight was nothing short of hilarious. Harry snorted softly, while Ron went a kind of puce colour in his efforts to suppress laughter, and even Hermione had to stifle a giggle as they moved to their usual seats.
When the class was all seated, Professor Figg left Snape alone and began to speak to the class. "We have finished the theoretical part of this class, we are about to begin on the practical. As you have learned in previous lessons, you can protect yourself from full strength curses by a wizard with about the same power or less than your own. I have requested Professor Snape's presence in this class to judge each of your raw potential and divide you into pairs with whom you can practice your curses and shielding. Severus?" she asked politely.
Professor Snape stood up and glared darkly around at the class, as though they were hardly worthy to receive his assistance. He reached under the desk and pulled out what looked like a briefcase stacked with small, stoppered vials full of a glowing potion. "This," he said silkily as he held up one of the vials, "is Energy Estimation Elixir. Each of you will drink one of these and, although you will not see your own response to the potion, the others in the class will see you begin to glow. The light will fade within a few minutes, but the brighter the light you produce, the more power you possess. Miss Brown!"
Lavender Brown jumped as her name was called, then quickly made her way to the front of the class. She looked nervously at the vial Snape handed her for a moment before drinking it down in one gulp. A soft glow suffused her body immediately and Snape made a notation next to her name on his list. Harry watched her carefully. Every part of her was glowing, right down to the bright strands of hair she was holding in front of her face as though trying to see the glow herself. Eventually seeming to decide that her best chance of seeing the glow was to watch the next person, Lavender scurried back to her seat.
Snape called for Millicent Bulstrode to come forward, who downed her potion without a second glance. A bright light showed around her and she made her way back to her seat among the cheers of the Slytherins. Crabbe barely glowed at all and Harry snorted when he heard Ron muttering, "Couldn't expect him to be anything but dim." Seamus Finnegan glowed just as brightly as Millicent and as soon as Seamus took his seat, Snape announced that they were to be partners.
Goyle glowed only a little and was put with Crabbe while Harry stifled a laugh at another nasty comment from Ron. Hermione almost ran to the front of the classroom when her name was called, somehow managing to look both eager and terrified at the same time. She needn't have worried, though, because she glowed even more brightly than Seamus and Millicent had. Neville's soft glow led him to be paired with Lavender. Malfoy let out a respectable glow only slightly less than Hermione's.
Most surprising to everyone but the teachers, was Parvati Patil, who shone brilliantly, like a small sun. It almost hurt Harry's eyes to look at her.
Before he knew it, Harry was down at the front of the class, taking his vial of potion from Snape. "Potter!" called Snape derisively, just as Harry raised the vial to his lips. "If you've got any of your mother in you at all, you'd better take a small sip first."
Staring at Snape, puzzled and apprehensive at what a larger sip might do to him, Harry followed orders and took only a small sip from the glowing vial in front of him.
Harry watched in amazement as all the others in the classroom instantly threw up their arms or hands, as if to shade their eyes from some brilliant light. Harry simply stood there, the horrible feeling dawning in him that he was special in one more way.
Professor Figg sat calmly in her chair with her hands over her face, calling out directions for everyone to cover their eyes, to sit down where they were, and not to panic. Snape seemed incapable of coherent speech, spluttering, "Potter! Headmaster! Now!" Then he swept out of the room, his black robes swirling behind him.
Harry meekly followed Snape through the halls. A strangely detached feeling came over him as he noticed that Snape's usual long strides had become somewhat shorter and more hesitant. He seemed to be wandering slightly from side to side in the corridor and his hands twitched slightly, as though they longed to reach out in front of him to feel the way. With a numb feeling approaching horror, Harry realised that Professor Snape was almost entirely blind from the dazzling light he seemed to have produced.
Snape, however, must have had the memory of an elephant, because he led them through the school unerringly. They went up stairs, down corridors, and finally stopped outside the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office. Snape seemed to flow up the moving staircase, one hand trailing unobtrusively on the wall, and then burst into Dumbledore's office, the door crashing into the wall spectacularly.
"He only had a tiny sip, Albus!" railed Snape at a spot slightly to the left of Professor Dumbledore's face, sounding confused and outraged. "That was ten minutes ago!" Dumbledore shaded his eyes as though from a moderately bright light as he looked at Harry, then nodded to Fawkes, his pet Phoenix. The bird brushed Harry's face lightly with his wing in greeting as he lifted off his perch and flew to Snape.
"Go away, you idiotic creature," snapped Snape, scowling and batting the large crimson and gold bird away as he attempted to settle on Snape's shoulder. Harry had to stifle a laugh at the sight of the dour Potions master beating wildly at the air all around him like a maniac.
"Severus," said Dumbledore quietly, but there was a note of command in his voice. Snape seemed to give up, lowering his arms to his sides, and tilting his head back. Fawkes settled calmly on Snape's shoulder and reached his long neck up over Snape's face, dropping one pearly tear into each of Snape's eyes.
Snape blinked a couple of times, then turned to face the bird on his shoulder, looking up to meet its eyes. "Thank you, Fawkes," he said resignedly, reaching up to stroke the bird's feathers. Then he seemed to remember Harry's presence in the room and quickly lowered his hand, as though embarrassed. Harry discarded that notion quickly as he found himself pinned by Snape's irate glare.
"Thank you, Severus," interrupted Dumbledore as Snape opened his mouth, the set of his jaw making it obvious that the Potions Master was itching to take house points. "Perhaps you would like to ask Poppy to attend to Arabella's class of dazzled students?" Snape glared at Harry for a moment more, then turned and stalked out of the office, pulling the door shut behind him with a sharp snap.
"Sit down, Harry," said Professor Dumbledore. "Sherbet lemon?" he asked, holding out a small tin. The Muggle sweets had fused into a single sticky yellow brick and since Harry couldn't see any way to extract a single sherbet lemon, he shook his head.
"Professor?" he asked tentatively. "What happened?"
"I believe you may have given Professor Snape the fright of his life, Harry," said Dumbledore with a slight smile. "He was struck blind by a stray curse in his youth and I believe he has always felt it to be one of the greatest indignities a wizard can suffer."
"I meant…" Harry replied, not sure whether Dumbledore had wilfully misunderstood him or not. "I meant… why? Why was I…" He trailed to a halt, simply looking at Dumbledore.
"Your mother was a very powerful witch, Harry," said Dumbledore, probing the sweet tin cautiously with his long fingers in his attempt to extract a sweet. "One of the more powerful ever to be at Hogwarts. And judging by Professor Snape's reaction, you seem to have a great deal more power than she did.
"If I'm not mistaken," Dumbledore continued gravely, squinting slightly at Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles, "you have the combined strength of three incredibly powerful people in you." Harry just gaped at him.
"Have you learned anything about blood magic, Harry? No, of course," Dumbledore hurriedly continued, "you have not, the elective begins next year, since it is not available as an O.W.L." Abandoning his sherbet lemons, Dumbledore steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "Where to begin?
"Ah yes," he said finally. "Do you remember in your first year, I told you the reason that Professor Quirrell could not touch you was because of your mother's love?" Harry nodded numbly. "That was, of course, true, but it was not the whole story. Magic and blood are heavily interrelated, which is where all this foolishness about purity of blood started. Completely unwarranted, of course, because most of the pureblood lines are now so inbred that the strength of their magic is diminishing. But I digress.
"Family members tend to share magical talents, leading to similar magical signatures. Many strange things can be accomplished by family members working together, as their magic melds in a way it could never do with those of dissimilar blood. In particular, identical twins are currently an enormous area of research interest. Their magical signatures are identical and they are generally more powerful than other wizards. It has been theorised, but never proven, that they actually share their source of power, pooling all their powers between them by virtue of the similarity of their blood.
"From what I have surmised, your mother loved you so much that when she died, she was shielding you with all her might, not sparing a single thought for her own safety." Dumbledore did not appear to notice as Harry's eyes suddenly burned with unshed tears, as he had returned to the engrossing task of separating the sherbet lemons in his tin.
"As a result, when she died, her power merged into your own; surrounding you; sheltering you; saving you from Voldemort. It is partially her power, come to you through love and blood, that you hold within your veins in addition to your own. The shield your mother left around you at her death remains in your body to this day, sustained by all the power you currently hold.
"When Voldemort attempted to kill you all those years ago, there was a very strange magical situation created by the combination of such a powerful and evil curse and a shield created by your family member, strengthened by the ultimate sacrifice of love. The curse was partially absorbed and partially reflected. All the power he put behind that curse was absorbed into your mother's shield of pure love, which formed a bridge for his power, causing it to be assimilated it into your body. As a result, you are not only a powerful wizard in your own right, but you have the borrowed power of both your mother and Voldemort flowing in your veins."
Harry's eyes dropped to survey the bare skin and slightly raised bluish veins on the back of his hand. They looked perfectly normal. As Harry glanced up again, trying to get his head around the notion of holding power in his blood, he saw that Dumbledore was still looking at him very seriously. "That's not all, is it, Professor?" Harry asked, feeling a little sick as he realised that the headmaster had not finished.
Professor Dumbledore sighed. "No, Harry, indeed it is not. I am familiar with the rite Voldemort used to bring about his resurrection. Since Voldemort used your blood to resurrect himself, the blood flowing in his veins is yours, just as his flesh is Wormtail's and his bone is his father's. Your blood is shared between the two of you, sustaining you both. This has strengthened your connection to him, giving us more warning on his plans and humanising him in a way that he wasn't before, so that he can – eventually – be defeated. There is, however, a catch.
"Sharing blood has prepared a path for your magical energies to be fused together, similar to the way identical twins draw from the same pool of power. Should he die," Professor Dumbledore continued, "the rest of his powers will be transferred to you in full."
Harry gaped again. "Do you mean that if I die…" Harry trailed off, unable to complete his sentence. His brain was whirring too fast with the possibilities.
"Do you understand now, Harry, why he wants you dead so badly, and why it is imperative to the side of the Light that you stay alive?" asked Dumbledore gravely. "If Voldemort comes into possession of the power you bear, he will be almost entirely unbeatable."
***
Harry stumbled back into the common room and went straight to bed, barely noticing the sudden hush that fell over the common room as he entered, thanks to his new reason for fame. Ginny followed him, not asking for any explanation of his visit to the headmaster, for which he was grateful. It was still light outside when he fell into a fitful sleep, the shadows only soothed away by Ginny's comforting embrace.
