In His Memory
Part 14: Horus's Flight
By WeasleyTwin2
I come forth triumphantly against my enemies. I split the heavens and open the horizon. I travel across the earth on the heels of my enemies.
The Book of Coming Forth by Day, Stanza V
Translated from the Egyptian by: Dr. Maulana Karenga
Into terror, into valor
Charge ahead, no never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
Into the Fire
From the musical: The Scarlet Pimpernel
He was on fire. Every inch of his body seemed to burn with it. He was being consumed by the flames he could see dancing around him and even his very soul seemed to burn within him. He didn't know what was happening to him. Harry could see nothing but the flames around him and the pain was beyond anything he'd ever experienced in his short life. He writhed around within the flames seeking an escape from the pain of his body and soul burning but he could not escape. He knew he was screaming but he was unable to even hear his screams above the roar of the fire and the high pitched, evil laughter that was sounding around him.
"Must fight…escape here…warn others…now…"
Even in his current state he still fought on stubbornly and he still thought of others. He knew there was little chance that he would escape from here and yet he was not one to give up without a fight. He knew he had to at least try…even if there was no hope of success. He concentrated all of his mind on blocking the pain caused by the flames that raged around him. He closed his eyes and began to do the exercises to relax his mind, which he'd learned in his fifth year. To his amazement the pain began to slowly recede and he was at last able to think clearly, more clearly then he had been able to since his capture. He opened his eyes and saw that through the fire still flickered around him it was being held back by a wall of bright golden light. He paused, unsure of what had happened or of what even to do next.
The flames rose higher, trying to reach higher than the wall of light that now surrounded Harry. He could hear the fire roar in anger as it leapt still higher, as if it were a living thing beginning denied its prey. The golden wall rose higher in response to the flames around it remaining several feet higher then those flames. Harry steeled himself and began to walk through the flames as he had done once in the past. The flames parted before him and the wall of light around him grew stronger still. He had walked for several minutes when the flames before him parted for the last time and he could see before him what seemed to be a river flowing through a barren wasteland. He took a step forward and the flames roared angrily, attempting to block his passage. They flickered dangerously, glowing an intense blue and the roaring grew louder as the flames surged forward. Afraid that the flames would at last overtop the golden wall and not knowing what else to do, Harry waved a hand at the flames before him not really expecting anything to happen. A stream of scarlet and gold sparks flew from his outstretched hand and the flames instantly disappeared from around him. After a few moments the wall of light glowed an intense scarlet and then it too vanished as if it had never been.
"What the…?" Harry stood looking at his hand in wonder, not daring to believe what he'd just seen. "It's not possible…"
He had no power…he'd transferred it to another. Yet the shimmering sparks of red gold glowing faintly before him could not be denied. It was the signature of his magic…he'd cast a banishing spell without a wand or even words but instead with just a thought and force of will. He shook his head to try and clear it of the jumble his thoughts had become as he began to walk toward the water not really seeing it. He wasn't sure what this meant. He could feel the power within him begin to swell…filling the empty space inside him where his power had always been and yet, at the same time, he could feel an echo of that same power coming from a great distance, from the one he'd transferred his powers to: Draco Malfoy. Harry felt a sudden rush of joy and, as the power surged through him, he began to hope and even to believe that he had a chance to succeed in this. That he could really escape from the Place of Despair and warn the others.
Without realizing it, he'd reached the shore of the river he'd seen through the flames and discovered not a river but a vast lake of jet-black water. The lake's surface was smooth and it seemed to reflect the objects around it as a mirror would. Harry stared down at the water and found himself looking at his own reflection in the black water. He saw a boy of seventeen with messy jet-black hair and bright green eyes wearing tattered and stained scarlet robes and his reflection stared back. He blinked and then he saw something that made his eyes widen and his mouth open in a silent scream. Looking in this lake was worse then a hundred Dementors; every sorrow…every pain…every fear Harry had ever experienced was reflected in the lake's placid surface. The memories washed over him in a wave and he felt himself falling…falling…
When he came to himself, he found that night had fallen. He could no longer see the lake nor the reflections in it and for that he was grateful. He lay unmoving for some time trying to shake off the nightmares he'd been having. He shivered in the chill air and, after a few minutes, he rose shakily to his feet, looking out across the lake. A bright, golden glow met his eyes. It shimmered just out of his reach across the vast expanse of lake. Somehow he knew that if he could reach that place of refuge he would be free of Seth-Ra's power forever but he also knew that to reach the City of Light he would have to cross the Mirrored Lake, which held all of his worst memories and all of his worst nightmares.
He looked up and down the shoreline, trying to pierce the darkness around him, searching for a bridge or a boat…anything that might help him cross the lake in safety. He could see nothing and his spirit dropped farther.
"There must be a way…"
Harry paced up and down the bank, his eyes turned inward, searching his mind for any information that might help him out. This had to be a test; he'd dealt with enough of them in his life to recognize another one. If he could find a way across then he would be freed from Seth-Ra's control and Seth-Ra would never be able to touch him again. He would be safe for all time and so would his parents. He tried to remember anything at all about The Mirrored Lake, but nothing came to mind, not anything in his seven years of magical training, not one reference to it.
"Maybe I could just float across…"
But even as his thought this, he knew it was impossible. He would have to look at the water below to get his bearings and when he did…He shivered and sank down to his knees, suddenly overcome with despair. Doubt began to creep once more into his heart. Even with his powers seemingly restored he could do nothing to save himself and he was on his own. He could almost feel the flames around him once more. The lake before him and the shining city began to blur as tears welled up in his eyes. To have come this far…through fire only to be stopped by water… this was more then Harry's spirit could stand. He put his face in his hands and began to cry soundlessly, his heart full of fear and such deep sorrow that he thought his heart would burst with the weight of it. There seemed to be no hope…nothing he could do…no help. Then just as he was about to give up…
"You must choose,…" said a deep but quiet voice behind him.
Harry jumped, startled by the sound of another human voice, tears still streaming down his face. He turned his head and through his tears he saw a man sitting cross-legged on the ground before a large boulder that Harry knew wasn't there before. The man stared up at him out of eyes that were silvery gray and that seemed to stare right through Harry. Both his hair and the close-cropped beard the man wore were black. The man looked familiar to Harry but he couldn't quite remember where he might have seen him.
"Do…did I know you?" he asked, confused by the man's familiarity and getting to his feet.
The man sat in silence his gaze fixed on Harry. Then his eyes flicked from Harry to the shining city in the distance and then back to Harry before he answered. The man held Harry's gaze with his own for a moment and Harry felt as if he had looked right into his very soul. The man nodded as if something he's seen in Harry's eyes had pleased him.
"I am and I have always been…from the first dawn to the present darkness…I am all things and great is my power…the source of all light…the life giver and Lightbringer…"
Harry went down on his knees and bowed his head.
"My Lord…" he began in a reverent tone.
Osirius/Gryffindor raised Harry from the ground.
"There is no need for that, Horus, my heir and son…" he looked around for a moment before continuing. "Yet I do not see thy twin spirit brother…my last heir…Where is he?"
Harry gazed back in mild surprise and instantly he saw again the pages of the Hogwarts Record Book, which he had studied several months ago. He saw again the two names followed by the symbol of a lion with the initials G.G. under it.
"My…brother… is still among the living. He fights in my stead."
Osirius/Gryffindor nodded and Harry smiled.
"What is it that I must choose," he asked and it was then that Harry heard the splash of oars hitting the water and he saw three identical boats come into view. They were all made of wood that gleamed in the bright light of the sun. The prows and sterns of the ships curled upward elegantly and were shaped like the heads of falcons. The scarlet sails of the ships were decorated with a golden falcon with a sunburst behind it and each ship flew a golden banner with a rampant scarlet lion surmounted by the same falcon.
"You must choose which ship to board in order to continue your journey but choose carefully, my son. One will take you to my city, where you will find peace, rest and happiness until the time of rebirth. Another will return you to the friends you hold close to your heart and the battle they will soon face. The third will return you to my brother, Set, who will then have control over your soul for all eternity."
Harry looked into Osirius/Gryffindor's eyes, which had now become shadowed. He looked back at the darkness from which he'd just escaped and shivered. He did not want to return there ever again. He looked across the lake at the city that glimmered invitingly in the noonday sun at him and a fierce longing swept through him. He suddenly realized how tired he really was. He wanted nothing more then the rest and peace that was promised him there. Hadn't he already done enough to deserve rest and peace…and yet, even as he stared longingly at the City of Light, a part of his mind was thinking of the friends he'd be leaving behind should he chose to tread that path, leaving all behind. As he looked at the city it dissolved into Hogwarts and once more he saw his friends all standing around his grave…giving their oaths to fight the coming evil. He'd made a promise to them…to return if he was able…before the final battle. Suddenly he knew what his choice must be…there was really no alternative. He'd sworn an oath and he would be held to it, even in death.
"I shall return to my friends, to help in their hour of gravest need. I made a promise to them that I would return to them and I must keep my word for it is my bond."
Osirius/Gryffindor smiled and it was like the sun bursting into view on the horizon.
"You have never chosen the easy way but have instead always blazed new trails, Horus…Harry. Good luck on this trail. My the light of Ra always shine on your path."
Osirius/Gryffindor glowed with a brilliant white light and faintly Harry heard him say. "Watch over thy brother…he has need of thee."
The light grew blinding and with a flash it and Osirius/Gryffindor were both gone. Harry stood for a moment, dazzled by the bright light. When his eyes had readjusted, he turned back to the three ships before him and began to study them. After several moments of study, he could find nothing to distinguish one from another; they all appeared to be absolutely identical in every respect. Harry's eyes narrowed behind his glasses and he frowned in concentration, trying to discern any difference in their magical signatures that might tell him which chose but the ships seemed to have no signatures, no auras at all.
Harry sat down on the boulder that Osirius had sat in front of just moments before. He had sat, deep in thought for some minutes when he noticed that the sun was about to set yet again. Nearly a full day had passed and still he had not been able to choose. He felt a sense of urgency and he began to hear again the chanting of the Light…no wait…he could hear both chants again. They seemed to be battling and, as he listened, it seemed that the Chant of Darkness was growing stronger with each moment that passed. He could hardly hear the voices of Light anymore though they were definantly still there, holding on stubbornly by force of will alone. Suddenly he felt the power within him vibrate in response to a distant echo, a flare of power somewhere very close to his friends and at the same moment a distant alarm bell sounded from Hogwarts.
"Draco… the others are in peril…"
He could hear the echo of a distant battle being waged…shouts of anguished pain…the clash of swords and spells…the frantic scrabble of feet running and voices crying…and growing closer… the Chant of Darkness. There was no choice…he had to pick one of the ships now before it was too late and hope that he'd chosen wisely. Harry closed his eyes and willed his heart to stop its wild beating. Slowly, the sense of urgency growing within him all the while, he was able to calm his fears and inner struggles. He stretched out his hand and muttered, "Isodynumus", concentrating with all his might on the ship that would return him to his friends. He felt rather than saw the three ships in front of him flare with power. He opened his eyes and saw the ship farthest from him was radiating a bright white light while the one next to it had become shrouded in darkness.
Soon after seeing these changes, the two ships vanished without a trace leaving the one nearest to him bobbing in the waters of the lake, which had now become choppy. Harry boarded the remaining ship with no hesitation and sat in the canopy-draped chair at its center. He could not see the lake and for that he was glad. The ship began to move slowly across the lake as soon as he had settled himself. It moved with a smooth and stately grace and its slight motion was beginning to lull him into slumber. He tried to stay awake, tried to keep his eyes open with the strength of his will alone, but he fought a losing battle. He'd spent far too much time without any real rest and even a ghost needed to "sleep". Slowly, his eyelids closed and he slumped forward in his chair, sleep having at last claimed him, and he dreamed of battles (past and present), of his family, his life and, most of all, of his friends and of a traitor's smiling face, a traitor who wore the guise of a friend. He had to warn the others, to tell them before it was too late. He slept on as the ship carried him further and further east, away from the Lands of the Dead and back to the Lands of the Living.
Well, that's finally finished. Sorry for the wait but I was sick…stupid cold…Anyway…who could Harry's Spirit twin be? Well, the answer for that will have to wait for another part to tell it. Part 15 will be called "The Amulet of Sirius". Finally you will learn what the "Key" is and which of the characters has the power to wield it. Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing. The end of this is in sight now. Hopefully I can finish it before I run out of space on F.F.
WeasleyTwin2