The floo in 12 Grimmauld Place roared to life with bright green flames. Moments later Neville Longbottom excitedly came tumbling through, dropping the book he was holding in the process. He quickly picked the book back up and began looking around for a sign that anyone was home. Daphne and Hermione, who had been alerted that someone was using the floo, walked in from the kitchen to see Neville rushing towards them.
"I think I found it!" he said as he held the book out towards the two girls. "Here!"
"Neville, settle down for a second." Daphne said. "Where'd this book come from?"
"It was in my library at home." Neville said, a little more calmly this time. "We weren't finding anything helpful here, so I thought it couldn't hurt to start looking around there. That's when I remembered there was a locked chest full of books Gran always told me I was not allowed to open. I figured it must be because they were either really valuable or because they were dark."
"Which was it?" Daphne asked curiously.
"Both, I guess." Neville answered. "Some of them I had seen here too, but not this one. I marked the page, tell me if you think it's what is wrong with Harry." Hermione and Daphne stood side by side, holding the heavy book between them. For the next few minutes they read silently, each hoping that the pages in front of them would hold the key to healing Harry.
"Maybe..." Hermione was the first to say as she gave the book to Daphne and sat down to think. "It does sound very similar..."
"I think Neville was right." Daphne said. "This is it. The spell Voldemort used was Loki's Wrath, or some variation of it." The spell that they had found was well over a thousand years old and the instructions on how to cast it were said to have been lost. Still, Neville's book was able to describe its effects which matched what Harry was going through perfectly. The biggest clue was Harry's sudden change from unconscious to somewhat mad and confused. This, the book warned, was to be expected if the mind of the effected was tampered with.
"We still have a problem though." Hermione said, interrupting the silence.
"Yeah, the cure. It's impossible." Neville replied.
"No it isn't." Daphne said angrily. "We'll find a way."
"Ok, let's think about this calmly." Hermione said. "The counter spell can only be cast by two people. First, the person who cast it..."
"And I don't think Voldemort is going to be offering to help us out any time soon." Daphne commented.
"And second, the person who was affected by the spell." Hermione continued. "It has to be Harry then."
"Can he do that?" Neville wondered.
"Not in his current condition." Daphne said, shaking her head. "There has to be something else."
"I think there is." Hermione explained. "In the first part it said that 'those who have mastered their own mind have nothing to fear from Loki's Wrath'. Do you think that might be a reference to Occlumecy?" Daphne's eyes shot open in realization; she had not considered that.
"It might." she agreed. "But Harry doesn't know Occlumency, and I'm not sure he is in the right state of mind to start learning now."
"No, I guess not." Hermione replied, the disappointment obvious in her tone. "When Harry was able to fight off the effects of the spell, how long would you say that lasted?"
"Less than ten seconds, in fact probably closer to five." Daphne answered. "That's not enough time to teach him the spell even assuming we were right there the next time it happened."
"So what now?" Neville asked.
"We've got to show this to the others." Hermione replied pointing to the book. "Maybe one of them has heard of it, or could at least find information on it. It's the best chance we've got."
"She's right." Daphne agreed. "Let's go." Daphne led the others out of the room and into Harry's where Madam Pomfrey was examining him. Thankfully, Harry was asleep and not rambling incoherently as he now did when awake. Pomfrey motioned for the three teenagers to be quiet as they walked in, which they all obediently did. When the nurse was done with her exam she turned to the others who she knew were eagerly awaiting news.
"I've given him something to help him sleep." Pomfrey explained, "But otherwise nothing has changed today. I wish I could do more."
"Neville found something." Daphne said. "We think it's the spell Voldemort used." Madam Pomfrey looked shocked but still took the book that was being offered to her and began to read. She could not deny that the description she found there was nearly identical to what Harry was experiencing.
"Oh my..." Pomfrey said as she finished the relevant section. "I must tell Professor Dumbledore at once! Stay here with him, won't you?"
"Of course." Hermione said as the now frantic nurse rushed out of the room to contact Dumbledore. Once she was gone the room was again silent except for the sounds of Harry sleeping Daphne sat down next to him and the other followed her lead and waited for the nurse to come back. "Where's Sirius?" Hermione asked, curious as to why he wasn't the first one they told.
"Out on Order business of some kind." Daphne said. "I only know that because my father went with him. Neither of them would say what they were up to, just that it wasn't dangerous and so I shouldn't worry, which probably means they are now in mortal peril." Neville laughed at the joke, then remembered he was supposed to be quiet and tried to stifle his laughs. Silence returned then as they continued to wait. There was little else they could do at that point.
It was almost twenty minutes later when Dumbledore finally walked into the room with Madam Pomfrey trailing close behind him. The book had been laid on a table and Dumbledore immediately went to it and began reading. He stroked his beard as if in deep thought as he did.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked. "Are we right?"
"I believe you may be." Dumbledore said with a nod. "I have heard of Loki's Wrath before, but never knew what it did. It's been many years since I last heard of someone looking for it."
"Who was the last one?" Daphe asked.
"Gellert Grindelwald." Dumbledore replied, "Though this was before he began attempting to take over the world. I don't know if he ever discovered what it was or how it was performed, but it seems that Voldemort has. That's not important now, what is important is helping Harry."
"We thought we might be able to try and show him the spell the next time he's aware of what is going on." Hermione explained.
"Eventually, that will have to be what we do." Dumbledore agreed. "But before that can happen, I must show Harry how to perform Occlumancy."
"How can you do that?" Neville asked. "He's out."
"Very true, Mr Longbottom." Dumbledore replied while his eyes lit up as if he had just heard a very funny joke. "But I believe Harry is already learning."
"How?" Daphne said.
"His mind has been looking for some way to combat this spell ever since it struck him." Dumbledore explained. "I believe that when I first entered his mind to try and set things right his subconscious was observing me and what I was doing. Perhaps inadvertently, I showed Harry how to fight the effects of the spell and he has been trying to recreate that ever since with some success. What I shall do is return to his mind and continue to demonstrate how to perform Occlumency. It is a most unusual way to learn the art, but if we are successful Harry should be most skilled in it by the time we are through."
"So you are a Legilimens." Daphne smirked. "I've always suspected you were."
"Very intuitive of you, Ms Greengrass." Dumbledore said as he smiled back. "Now, I believe I shall begin at once. I must warn you however, this process could take several days. Do not expect to have the old Harry back immediately." The three teens all nodded a bit sadly but did not say anything in response. Dumbledore turned back to Harry and placed his hand lightly on the boy's forehead. He then whispered "Legilimens" and began the process of bringing Harry out of his own mind.
The next day Dumbledore returned and continued trying to help Harry. The first session had produced a noticeable change in him. Harry no longer spoke of strange, nonsensical things. In fact he did not speak at all. He simply wondered around his room inspecting things as if he were very curious about what they were. Dumbledore seemed to believe this was a good sign, though Madam Pomfrey was not sure what to make of it.
Sirius had quickly become frustrated with merely watching Dumbledore stare at Harry as if in a trance and had left the room. Although he was reluctant to admit it to himself, most of his anger came from that fact that it was Dumbledore helping Harry and not him. But unfortunately Sirius was not a Legilimens and therefore there was nothing he could do. And so he sat in the living room drinking a glass of firewhiskey and waiting for his godson to get better.
"Got another glass of that?" Daniel Greengrass asked as he walked in the room. Sirius pointed over to the table where the open bottle was sitting and Daniel poured himself a glass before sitting down near Sirius. "Give it a few more days and you'll have Harry back as good as new."
"I know." Sirius replied with a smile. "As soon as he's better and I've finished telling him how glad I am he's ok I am going to have to yell at him for no watching his back and putting us through this. Terribly rude of him."
"Go easy on him." Daniel laughed. "He is still untrained, though his potential is undeniable. Don't leave his education up to Dumbledore though, there are things about magic that he will never teach."
"Like the Cruciatus I saw you use on your brother?"
"That, I admit, was an error." Daniel agreed. "I should have just Avada Kedavra'd him and been done with it."
"It doesn't bother you?" Sirius asked. "Using the Unforgivables?"
"No, it doesn't." Daniel answered bluntly. "They are tools, nothing more. Whether or not they are evil depends on how they are used. You don't use them, do you?"
"I made a promise to myself to be different than the rest of my family." Sirius explained. "Part of that has been not using the Unforgivables. Maybe, as you say, it isn't a bad thing to use them at all. But I never will. Besides, if I need to finish a duel there are other ways to do that than the killing curse."
"True, but they're probably more painful." Daniel replied. "In a way, the killing curse is quite merciful. It produces instant death. There's no pain, suffering, or false hope that its victim might live."
"That's a unique way of looking at it." Sirius said with a small grin. "I see your point, but I don't think I'll be thanking the Death Eaters for their kindness anytime soon."
"No, I suppose not." Daniel said. He was about to say something else when they both heard Daphne's voice shouting for Sirius to come into Harry's room. She had been sitting and watching Dumbledore during the past hour or so, eager as anyone else was to see Harry's condition improve. Sirius and Daniel jumped out of their seats and rushed to the other side of the house where Harry's room was. When they walked in the first thing they saw was Harry, sitting up in bed looking alert and aware of his surroundings.
"Sirius!" Harry said happily. Sirius immediately ran to Harry's side and gave him a hug.
"Are you better now? Have you cast the counter curse?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Not exactly." Dumbledore answered from the other side of the bed. "He is becoming more adept at overcoming the turmoil in his mind."
"What counter curse?" Harry asked, unsure of what was happening due to the fact he had just regained the use of his mind.
"We identified the curse Voldemort used on you." Daphne explained. "It's called Loki's Wrath, and the counter to it can only be cast by you or Voldemort."
"How do I do it?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Actually Harry, I was hoping you would wait to cast the spell. At least for a few days." Dumbledore said to the shock of all those in the room. Everyone immediately began demanding to know why he would ask such a thing. "Harry, by fighting this spell your mind seems to be teaching itself Occlumancy which is the art organizing your thoughts in a way that prevents them from being manipulated by a Legilimens. I have never seen anyone make as much progress in the art as quickly as you have in the past few days, and I believe that in a few more you will have mastered it on your own. This would be a valuable skill."
"Sirius? What should I do?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"It's up to you, kid." Sirius said. "I won't lie to you, Occlumency is an important thing to learn especially if there is anything in that head of yours you want to protect. But I don't know that I like this method of you learning it."
"I can think clearer now." Harry said. "It's not as confusing as it was before, but even now I am struggling to keep myself going. I can't keep this up forever."
"But you're learning to." Dumbledore commented. "And that is what is important."
"I think you should do it, Harry." Daphne said. "I hate seeing you like this, but you're getting so much better on your own. I just don't want Voldemort to ever be able to do this to you again."
"She's correct." Dumbledore said. "Once you master Occlumancy you will be immune from the effects of the spell. I leave the choice up to you."
Harry looked around at the group which had assembled in his room as he tried to decide what to do. The last week had been very difficult for him, but had improved by leaps and bounds in the previous days and would only get better. He could handle the challenge if he decided to face it, and in the end it was that knowledge which helped him make the decision.
"Fine. I'll do it." Harry said finally. "This should only be for another few days, right? Then I can cast the counter spell and be done with it completely?"
"Precisely." Dumbledore agreed. "You're doing a fine job as it is, just continue doing what you are doing. I'm sure your friends will be happy to sit with you and keep you company as you resist the effects of the spell. I do not believe you need my help anymore, though either myself or Professor Snape may come around to check on your Occlumency progress."
"Snape stays out of this house except for Order meetings." Sirius demanded. "That is not negotiable. If I see him in here I you will have to find another spy, understand?" Dumbledore looked disappointed with Sirius' statement, but did not argue with him.
"Very well, I will pass on the message to Severus." Dumbledore said. "I do wish you two would put this feud behind you, though I am beginning to doubt that will ever happen."
"You heard what he said the last time he was here." Sirius replied angrily. "I won't stand for that in my own house." Dumbledore shrugged and said nothing more on the subject.
"I hate to interrupt, but I think I'm about to lose control again." Harry said. "It feels so strange, like when I..." Harry's eyes appeared to glaze over and he slumped back in the bed. He slowly looked from person to person but it was clear that Harry wasn't aware of what was happening any more. Daphne moved to sit on the bed with him, though Harry continued to ignore her.
"You guys can go if you want." Daphne said. "I'll stay with him." No one was in the mood to argue with her and they began to leave. Finally only Harry, Daphne, and Daniel Greengrass were left in the room.
"You've become a very loyal young woman, and I'm proud of you." Daniel said quietly. "Are you sure the sorting hat didn't mean to put you in Hufflepuff?"
"Quiet!" Daphne said in a fake angry voice. "You would do the same thing if mom was in his place."
"You know me too well." Daniel agreed. "Try and make it home for dinner, ok?"
"Sure." Daphne said. Daniel looked at the young couple one last time before turning and leaving the room. Daphne continued to wait, hoping that Harry would awaken once again and give them the chance to talk like they had before he had been hit with the curse.
As the next few days passed Harry's periods of awareness increased in both frequency and length. By the third day he was absolutely normal for the majority of the time he was awake. Once he had passed that halfway mark the improvement seemed to accelerate and just a week after Neville had found the key to repairing the damage done by Voldemort's spell Harry was able to spend the entire day talking with friends and even reading the next year's textbooks without any real problems. Slowly he began to get back into the routine he had established before the battle at Azkaban.
After hours of pestering, Harry was finally able to convince Sirius to duel him as a test of his recovery. The two of them made their way to the cleared out basement, although Sirius was trying to talk Harry out of it the entire way.
"I just don't think this is a good idea." Sirius said. "You haven't even cast the counter spell yet, you're still carrying the curse with you."
"Yes, but I can fight it now." Harry assured him. "I haven't really had the chance to use magic for over a week and it's driving me insane. Does that make sense?"
"I think I understand a little about insanity, Harry." Sirius replied, smiling. "And you certainly are showing all of the early signs, sad to say. You remind me a bit of myself at your age to be honest."
"I'm going to hex that smirk off your face, Padfoot." Harry said. "Assuming you aren't going to chicken out."
"No, I suppose not." Sirius answered. "You're sure about this?"
"For the dozenth time, yes I am sure." Harry said. The two had reached the basement and were now facing each other with about fifteen feet separating them. Harry had his wand out pointed at Sirius who was holding his wand down at his side. Harry could already tell that his godfather was not going to put any effort into the duel due to his worry for him, a problem Harry would just have to correct. "Ready?"
Sirius nodded and raised his wand. Harry decided to wait for him to cast the first spell so as to better judge his frame of mind. Sirius hesitated for a moment as if he were also waiting for Harry to cast first, but eventually he sighed and cast a spell. "Stupefy!" Sirius practically shouted. The spell came out weak and Harry did not even have to move in order to avoid it. His suspicions were confirmed, Sirius was trying to go easy on him.
Harry grinned and shook his head, Sirius was going to pay for not taking him seriously. A silent Levicorpus caught Sirius off guard and hoisted him into the air where he hung upside down. Before he could cancel the spell Harry had silently cast Aguamenti and was spraying him with a jet of water to the face that, while not painful, was still effective at preventing him from casting the counter to Levicorpus. After a few moments Harry got bored with his game and cancelled the spell for his godfather who tumbled to the ground with a loud thump. When Sirius pushed himself up off the ground Harry was amused to see an angry glare on his face.
"Going to stop playing around now?" Harry asked mockingly.
"You know Harry, I was trying to be nice." Sirius said as he shook the water out of his hair, much like a dog would do. "Yes, play time is over." Sirius dropped into his dueling stance, this time clearly not treating Harry like a sick child. Sirius' opening spell was a bludgeoning hex aimed at Harry's stomach which, if it had hit, would have completely ruined his day. Harry was expecting something similar however and raised a shield that was able to easily absorb it. Sirius growled, obviously unhappy that his opening salvo had been stopped so easily. He then began to let loose a stream of spells at Harry, all of them designed to hurt, slow down, or simply annoy him. Harry avoided almost all of them, the exception being a Jelly Legs Jinx that forced him to the ground and rolling away from Sirius' follow up spells as he countered the jinx. Within seconds he was back on his feet and ready to take the fight to his godfather.
"Incendio!" Harry yelled, wanting Sirius to know what was coming. A wall of flame sprang from Harry's wand so large that avoiding it was not an option for Sirius. Instead he raised a shield and covered his eyes against the bright flames. While his opponent was distracted Harry took the time disillusion himself and move off to Sirius' side. By the time the flames died down Harry was practically invisible, a fact that Sirius quickly noticed.
"You can't hide from me..." Sirius said as he looked around the room searching for a sign of Harry. Disillusionment spells are particularly effective when cast on non moving objects, and so there was little chance Sirius would see him unless he moved. Or cast a revealing charm, "Homenum Revelio!" Sirius said with a wide wave of his wand. Harry's was moving before he even felt the spell taking effect and his disillusionment charm fading out. As he moved behind Sirius Harry cast a spell that sent hurricane force winds towards him and knocked the man to the ground. The wand was knocked out of Sirius' hand and before he could crawl to retrieve it Harry had summoned it. Sirius turned to face Harry and saw that he now had two wands pointed directly at him.
"Lucky move." Sirius said, not really meaning it. Harry had surpassed him and there was little more he could do to teach his godson. "My wand please?"
"Here." Harry said as he threw Sirius' wand back to him. It felt good to once again be using his magic, even if the duel had ended a little too quick for his tastes. "Want to go again?"
"I don't know if that would really help you, Harry." Sirius replied. "You need a more able teacher than me now. You just need to be a little less reckless during real fights. That's what got you hurt last time."
"I know, and it was stupid of me." Harry said. "It was weird though, I didn't even mean to chop off Crouch's head. I was just surprised when it happened."
"That makes sense I suppose. Just don't do it again." Sirius said. "I don't want to have to carry your unconscious body back here again."
"Thanks for that, by the way." Harry answered, grinning. "I do appreciate it. And whoever it was that thought to pick up my Firebolt."
"You can thank Tonks for that one." Sirius told him. "I was more concerned with you. So, no more crazy stuff ok?"
"You know I can't promise that!" Harry laughed. "Have you seen my life over the past four years? Who knows what is going to happen in fifth year!"
"Maybe you will have a quiet year with no one trying to attack you." Sirius said hopefully.
"Sure, that'd be different." Harry agreed. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat to get their attention. When Harry turned to look he saw that it was Professor Dumbledore with Mad Eye Moody right behind him. He had no idea how long they had been there watching.
"I do believe that Harry wouldn't know what to do in a year without conflict." Dumbledore said, obviously having heard the last part of Harry's conversation. "But we shall, as always, strive for that."
"I hope so." Harry answered with a shrug. "What's going on?"
"I have come to test your mental shields, and if they are as strong as I believe them to be you can cast the counter curse and be done with this 'Loki's Wrath' business once and for all." Dumbledore informed him. The professor then conjured a pair of chairs in front of Harry. He sat in one and motioned for Harry to sit in the other. Harry, eager to have to be done with the curse, sat down and waited. "Now, you have never tried to prevent an attack from another person so it may be a bit different. In the end your goal is the same, to protect the knowledge and feelings that make up who you are. I am going to attempt to take that from you, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry answered nervously. Dumbledore nodded and cast the spell, beginning the legilimancy process. Harry closed his eyes, hoping that would help him concentrate. At first nothing happened, but then he became aware of another presence in his mind. It was different than how he felt when he could not fight the effects of Voldemort's spell, but at the same time somewhat similar. Suddenly a memory rushed to the forefront of his mind. It was of the welcoming feast in his first year. Dumbledore was giving his typical speech and also warning people to stay away from the room where Harry knew Hagrid's cerberus Fluffy was. It took Harry a moment to realize that he was seeing this memory because Dumbledore had caused him to, and if Dumbledore could call up this memory so easily he could retrieve any other as well. Harry focused on the feeling that he associated with fighting Loki's Wrath and tried to hide the memory from Dumbledore. Slowly things went black and silent as the memory faded from view, but as it did a fresh assault began as Dumbledore attempted to view another memory. Harry could not tell what he was after but knew he could not stop to find out. Again he fought back against the mental intrusion but this time it was a little easier because he realized what he needed to do.
Harry thought he had won the contest when Dumbledore renewed his attack, this time more powerful than ever. Harry's defenses buckled under the pressure of Dumbledore's mental assault but amazingly held, though for how long they would remain Harry could not say. Suddenly the pressure was gone, as was Dumbledore's presence in his mind. Harry opened his eyes to see Dumbledore and the others smiling back at him.
"How'd I do?" Harry asked.
"Marvelously!" Dumbledore answered happily. "Very impressive work, Harry. You should be proud of yourself."
"Oh. Well then thanks." Harry replied. "So can I get rid of the spell now? It doesn't affect me like it used to, but it is still very annoying."
"Certainly." Dumbledore smiled. "I trust you know the wand movements and incantations?" Harry nodded, he had spent long hours committing every detail to memory. "Then proceed."
Harry gripped his wand and stood up from the chair, careful to give himself enough room. The incantation was in Old Norse, though Harry did not know that. He knew how to pronounce the words and in what order, but not the meaning behind them. If he had he would have recognized it as a prayer to old gods, begging for mercy. As he spoke he waved the wand in an elaborate movement, careful not to make any mistake. As he spoke the last syllable and finished the wand movement he was surrounded by a bright yellow light that flashed and then faded away. Immediately he could tell that the force which had been draining his magic to turn his mind against itself was gone.
"It worked!" Harry said happily. "I'm me again."
"Nice work, Harry!" Sirius said, grinning happily. "I knew you could do it."
"Now, there was one more reason we are here today." Dumbledore said. "A request from Sirius actually." Harry looked at his godfather uncertainly, wondering what was going on.
"Like I said before, you need a better teacher than me. And we just happen to have one." Sirius said. "Mad Eye? He's all yours."
"You?" Harry said, surprised the old Auror would be willing to train him.
"Aye, me." Moody said, grinning evilly. "Vacation's over. I hope you are ready to go through hell for the next month, because this isn't school and I'm not your professor anymore. The gloves come off, are you ready for that?"
"Sure." Harry answered uncertainly. Moody had a certain reputation that even the most talented Death Eaters had to respect. The prospect of him tutoring Harry was both exciting and terrifying for him. But there were few better teachers in the world. "When do we start?"
"Right now!" Mad Eye answered, whipping out his wand and beginning to attack Harry who was caught completely off guard. Neither Sirius nor Dumbledore could keep themselves from laughing at the predicament Harry now found himself in.
Author's Note: Hopefully the next update won't be so slow coming. On the bright side there should only be one more chapter left before school starts again and we return to more familiar territory. Thanks again for all the reviews and comments!