In His Memory
Part 15: The Amulet of Osirius
By WeasleyTwin2
In the darkest hour of the darkest day will the six be joined as one and through them shall the Greatest Evil fall…
Godric Gryffindor, 1580 A.D.
When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back
The Dark is Rising
Susan Cooper
I slipped quietly down the hallway, listening carefully for any sound of pursuit but I heard nothing, nothing but the deep silence that seemed to cling to the walls of the castle. I walked for several minutes before pausing to catch my breath. I sat for a moment on a large, jagged piece of stone that had fallen from the ceiling. It was silent and the corridor before me was shadowy and eerie.
"Lumos."
The tip of Harry's wand glowed brightly, shedding its light into all parts of the corridor. I opened the book I was carrying and found it was a journal written in several different hands and inks. It described Castle Gryffindor and the surrounding area. I flipped through its pages and words leapt out at me…Mural Room…Room of Light…the Dark Lord attacks…Osirius Room… Finally, I stopped flipping aimlessly through the book and turned to the entries near the end of it. They were written in a strong, clear hand and in shimmering scarlet ink. I recognized the handwriting at once for it was Harry's. What interested me more, however, was the entry that came right before where Harry's own began. It was in a feminine hand and bore the date, October 31, 1981-the day Harry's parents had been killed. I felt strange reading it but it drew my attention; almost as if it was calling to me in a voice I could barely register.
Harry,
If you are reading this book and my letter herein it is because the impossible has happened and we have been betrayed. We believed ourselves to be safe and protected under the Fidelius Charm but that spell has somehow failed us. The Dark Lord searches for us and if you hold this book and we are not there with you then he has managed to find us. This will be our last gift to you, given to you in your 17th year. This book and a love that will remain true even should we be parted forever by death. Know that we always have and always will love you and watch over you. Don't let anyone ever convince you otherwise. We will never be far, you have only to think of us and we will be at your side and in your heart.
I must warn you of two things so that you will know of them and will thus be able to prepare yourself. The first is this…Voldemort will shadow you through the years. He will attempt to ensnare you, to turn you against the Light or even kill you. You must do all in your power to prevent this. You are the last remaining heir to Godic Gryffindor and it is for this reason he seeks to destroy you. Be always on your guard and remember there are protections around you that were set in place when you were born. Be careful, my son.
The second warning I bring is this…After the fall of Voldemort there will arise one who is like in power to him but much more evil and stronger still. He carries with him the power of eternal death. You or the ones you deem most worthy in the event of your own death must seek out the ruins of the ancient home if Gryffindor for therein lays the hope of the Light. This book will tell you all you need to know. Follow its instructions and you will find the long lost Amulet of Osirius.
Remember our love,
Lily Potter
There was a postscript to the above entry, which read:
There is a poem that has been handed down to me from my father who heard it from his father…
On the darkest day
When the Evil has grown to power
You will find the way
In the Light's dying hour.
All hope seems lost'
To many lay in graves
You count the cost
Yours is the power that saves
These clues I give you
So you will know where to go
Restoring the castle to new
The power to gain o're your foe.
Stand within an armored hall
Where there seem no way clear
The way is barred, yet fear no fall
To protect all once held dear
Stand fast and true within the storm
Bravery is here required
By grief and guilt your hear is torn
To gain that which you most desire
When you have done these tasks
You will then hold Light's Key
The Light will shatter all the masks
The Greatest Evil at last to meet
When these things at last are joined
The Wand, the Sword, the Cloak, the Key
The world will then at last rejoice
And all that was once lost will return to thee.
When the six shall stand as one
Then will the Dark Lord of Lords fail
With the return of the Sun's son
Will the Light at last prevail.
Please be careful in this quest and remember to always stand in the Light. Dumbledore will keep this safe for you until he deems you ready to handle the responsibility. I leave with him also a letter addressed to you and my Invisibility Cloak, which he shall also pass on to you. I ask only one thing …that you can someday forgive us for leaving you to face all this alone. Be brave and steadfast.
Good Luck in your quest my son and Godspeed,
James Potter
The pages of the book were tearstained and the ink was slightly smudged in places. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind of the sudden doubts that were overwhelming it. I felt a surge of panic at the thought of searching for this lost artifact that I had seen only in a vision. I opened my eyes and pulled out the letter I had found with the book. The parchment made a faint crackling noise as I opened it. Harry's neat handwriting marched across the page in shimmering scarlet ink and I could almost hear his voice reciting the words that were written there.
If you have found this letter, you are the one chosen as Heir to Gryffindor's power and the one who must complete the quest that I cannot. I have seen many things in my dreams regarding the future and as I sit here to write this letter I have seen a time when the Greatest Evil will rise again. The six heirs must stand united in this time of Darkness or the Light will fail and evil will reign forever.
I paused in my reading, puzzled by Harry's reference to the six heirs.
"There are only three of us…" I shook my head and continued to read the letter, still pondering the phrase.
The weapons that are needed for the coming battle are in my possession now~ the ones spoken of in the ancient prophesy. The Wand is my own wand, the Sword is the same one I pulled from the Sorting Hat years before, the Cloak is the one that has been handed down for ages in my family. I only lack the Key, which will join all of these together. I don't have it yet but I do know its location. It lies in the ruins of Castle Gryffindor within the Room of Light, which is also called the Osirius Room. I have read the book and have a good idea where to find the missing Key: the Amulet of Osirius. The answer is to follow your heart and let it be your guide. For its power shall call you. Your heart and the book will tell you where to look.
At this point in time I have no idea who may be taking up the banner I have dropped but I do know that I will not be here then. I have seen this in my dreams as well. My time on this earth will end before this time next year and I can only hope that it is in defense of my friends that I fall. The quest for the Amulet is for you to complete and you are to stand in my place in this time of Darkness. You have become our Light. Have courage and do not let that light fail. I have seen that you will succeed in your quest but not how. I wish you luck and grant you now a part of the protection that I once received. Remember to follow your heart in all things.
Harry Potter
July 31, 1997
P.S. You are not to blame for my death in any way. Don't feel responsible for it…it is something that was meant to happen and it was a destiny that could not be avoided as much as I wished I could have. Please carry no guilt in your heart because of it. For what it's worth I forgive you knowing that you will not believe me unless I say the words. Everything in the world has but a small amount of time to live and it was my time to go. There was nothing else for it and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. Let it go and try to remember the good times instead.
I felt a small surge of power and tears began to course down my cheeks. In this letter Harry had managed to bring me a message I most needed to hear. My courage mounted and the fear and uncertainty I'd been feeling were pushed to the back of my mind. Somehow he'd known exactly what I needed to hear.
"Thank you," I whispered as I scanned the letter again.
Judging from what the letter said, Harry had known he would die before his next birthday. I shivered slightly hoping that he hadn't known how he would die. That would be too horrible: to know you fate and to know how it would come about. I know I couldn't have dealt with it.
"I wonder how he managed it?"
I put the letter down and turned my attention back to the book. I opened the front cover and saw words in hieroglyphics on the cover page, which read~Here is the Book of Osirius, Protector and Guardian of the Light of Life. I turned the page and found words written in a cramped hand. The scarlet ink on the page was faded in places and smudged in others where the writer's hand had brushed it. I began to read and felt a flare of power coming from the book. Instantly, images appeared in my head, memories of all past heirs of Godric Gryffindor that had written anything in the book. I saw events that I had only read of in books, had faces to go with certain historical names I heard, saw the building of many places and the establishment of cities around the world. The whole history of the magical world and of the Potters was absorbed into my brain in a few seconds time. The book closed on it own and lay silent in my hand. My head was spinning from all the information that had been forced into it. I closed my eyes and willed the information to form a logical pattern. After several minutes it did so and I was able to think clearly again.
I now knew exactly were the Key was and how to find it. The room in which it lay, hidden by a spell that only I could break was down this very corridor. Without realizing what I was doing, I'd gotten to my feet and was running down the corridor, overcome by sense of peril coming nearer to us with each passing minute. I ran not really paying attention to where I was going other than to avoid the piles of debris in the corridor. I could see a bright white light some distance ahead of me. I slowed to a walk and felt the air around me vibrating with power. I was so close…I could feel it. Somewhere nearby lay the Key. I stopped and closed my eyes feeling something calling to me. It was pulling me north toward the light I had seen moments before. I opened my eyes and my mouth gaped open.
The walls around me gleamed like new, which had been a tumbled down ruin before. I looked around me and saw that the rubble had been cleared from the entire corridor and that torches were blazing in their mountings, which were shaped like gryphons. I closed my eyes and opened them again but the passage remained in its pristine and new condition.
"It's not possible…"
I continued down the passage toward the light at the end of it, still looking around me in wonder. The walls were of pure white stone polished till it seemed to glow with an inner light. The torches looked new and gave off a woodsy aroma. There were paintings and tapestries on the walls. The occupants of both were whispering and I could sense that they were watching me. I looked back at them and was greeted by each one. I noticed that each portrait was in an ornate gold frame and that the backgrounds of each were different. The first frame held the portrait of Godric Gryffindor and in its background was the same walled city I'd seen in my vision distant and shadowy and two castles. He smiled at me as I passed and I waved back at him. Farther on there was a portrait of a man in a ruff and pantaloons with a wide brimmed hat with a large feather in it. In the background was this castle and knights on horseback jousting. There was also a beautiful, fair-haired woman holding a dark haired child in her arms in this portrait. She smiled at me and waved me onward. I grinned back.
I passed many portraits, some of men with dark hair and some of woman holding children. All of them had Castle Gryffidor in the background and all of the people in the paintings greeted me with a nod or a wave or a smile tat somehow made me feel welcome into their midst though I was not a part of their family. Finally, I reached a portrait of a sad-eyed young man. He, too, waved me on but he had such a look of deep sadness that I stopped to take a closer look at the painting. The castle in the background was a ruin off in the distance and instead there was a large manor house nearby. I looked at the plate on the frame of the painting and realized that I had almost reached the end of the portraits. There was a name and a date: Henry J. Potter, 1942. This must have been Harry's grandfather. He was black-haired with piercing blue eyes.
I walked on and saw another portrait of the same man, this time with a wife and a small dark-haired son. The manor house was still in the background. There were other children in the portrait too: a fair-haired girl and two twin boys whose hair was reddish. The boy in the woman's arms smiled at me and waved. I smiled sheepishly back and waved too.
"James…" I heard the woman say quietly as she looked at the child and I nodded.
I was nearing the great double doors at the end of the passage that I knew lead to the vast chamber beyond but before I would reach them there were still some portraits to look at. I stopped to look at them before entering the chamber knowing they might be gone when I returned this way again. James and Lily Potter smiled back at me with an infant Harry in Lily's arms. The manor house was off in the distance and a little way beyond it was the ruins of the castle. The Potters instead stood in a garden with a well-kept and large cottage in the background. I smiled and waved and they pointed to the doors before me. I nodded and they smiled again, as Harry waved his arms and cooed at me.
Before turning my attention to the double doors I looked at the last two frames. In the first one was a portrait of a seventeen-year-old Harry, his green eyes sparkling as he laughed at something. He was standing in front of the same cottage but it was now an overgrown ruin as the castle was. He saw me and his eyes widened a moment. Then he bowed at me indicating that I could proceed, smiling encouragingly at me as I passed. As I stepped in front of the doors, I looked at the final painting. It was empty except for a manor house in the background and the sky above it, which was a brilliant shade of blue. I walked over to it and read the plate on the frame. It said: The line shall be restored. I studied the painting again but could make no sense of the words on the plate nor did anyone appear in it.
There was a flash of light behind me and I turned to look but saw nothing. I walked back to the doors and looked at them. They were silver with the Potter crest upon them. I reached out my hand and as with the gate, the doors opened alone. I stood a few moments in the doorway, unsure of what to do.
"Enter!" I thought I heard a whispered voice say.
I walked forward until I stood in the doorway of the room and all around me torches flared to life. The room beyond was made of white marble with a high vaulted ceiling and suits of armor, which were ranged along the walls. There was a door on the far side of the room exactly opposite the door I stood in. The door seemed to glow with a faint white light or was it merely the reflection of the torches and wand's light? I could feel something tugging at me, calling to the power that now resided within me.
"The Key…" I whispered.
It was the only thing it could be. The door glowed more brightly for a moment and then the light faded again. I stepped across the threshold and my foot hit empty air. My balance lost, I tried to pull myself back, my arms wind milling in the air. I fell backward and landed hard on the floor outside the door. After a few minutes I got up and peered through the door again: the room before me had no floor except at its very edges were the suits of armor stood. There was no way that I could walk around the edges of the room and reach the door. I stood on the edge and looked down. I saw nothing but a seemingly endless pit. I stared across at the door trying to think of a way to reach it. I had no way to fly across to the door, having no broom, I thought for a moment, my eyes darting from the floor to the door. I tried to think of any spell that might help me but none came to mind.
"Wingardium Levioso!" I cried in desperation but the spell refused to work and, as I watched, the light at the tip of the wand in my hand began to dim.
"No magic," said a voice that had an echoing quality about it.
"Leap of faith," said a second voice and it was then that I noticed the two suits of armor near the entrance; their visored helmets were turned toward me.
"What do you mean 'leap of faith ?'" I asked, slightly annoyed by their cryptic remarks.
They remained silent and unmoving though and I turned my attention back to the door. Suddenly a part of the poem that Harry's father had written down came unbidden into my head.
Stand within the armored hall
Where there seems to be no way clear
The way is blocked, yet fear no fall…
The place I stood at was the "armored hall" and the way was indeed "blocked".
"Yet fear no fall?"
Did this mean that there was no pit before me, that it was an illusion only? I wasn't sure. I stood in the doorway, irresolute, staring at the door across the way. How long I stood thus I'm not really sure but it was long enough for my feet to become tired. There was no other way, I would have to try and cross the room. I kept my eye on the door, trying not to think of the deep, endless pit under my feet. Once more I took a step forward and this time I could feel a solid floor beneath my foot. I kept walking forward one step at a time not daring to take my eyes from the door. Finally, I stood before my goal and as I looked back the yawning pit behind me vanished and was replaced with a wooden floor.
I turned back to the door and looked at it. It was made of silver with the Potters' crest upon it. There was an ornate red crystal key in the lock. I stood with my hand poised over the key, ready to unlock the door. I could feel the power within me hum and I knew the Amulet of Osirius had to be behind this door.
"What makes you so sure you're the one that has been chosen?" said a voice, coldly.
I whipped around and found myself slammed against the door, held there by some magical force. I looked around but saw no one, which didn't surprise me in the least.
"What are you doing here foul Slytherin?" spate a second voice. "Trying to find the Key so that you can return it to your Master?"
"How can you be sure the Darkness is no longer a part of you?" a third voice asked.
"You cannot lie to the Guardians, Slytherin. Even now you long to have the power you once controlled."
Voices swirled around me, shouting out a myriad of questions, all of them dealing with my past association with the Dark and my unworthiness to claim the treasure beyond the silver door. I longed to shout out answers to the questions being asked and to defend myself against the accusations they were piling on my head but something held me back.
"Stand fast…" I heard a faint and yet familiar voice say. "Only one answer to all…"
I shook my head but remained silent as the voices continued to swirl around me. Finally, they stopped and I heard a cold and echoing voice.
"Why did you turn your back on the Darkness? Why join with the Light? What is holding you there?"
Suddenly I knew the answer to all the questions that were being asked. There was only one answer to all of the questions my vow. The vow I had made to myself on the night Harry died. My mind drifted back to a year ago. It had been three days since Harry's final duel with Voldemort. Harry lay in Gryffindor Tower being eaten from within by the poison running through his veins. The poison was too much for his weakened body to deal with and so the Dark Lord last victim would be the "Boy Who Lived". Harry had made me swear to guard the weapons of Gryffindor with my life and I had watched him close his eyes for the final time. This was a part of the vow that I still held to with all my heart and soul and it was this vow that had lead my here but there was another vow I had made; a life changing and deeper vow to renounce the Dart Arts forever.
Late on the night before Harry's funeral, I had gone to the Great Hall where his flag draped casket was resting in a shaft of moonlight. I knelt there, eyes closed, preying for his soul for I'm not sure how long. Then I stood and stared at the casket without really seeing it. The moonlight was growing stronger and I could clearly see the coat of arms engraved on the casket's lid and the golden threads that made up the embroidered Gryffindor Lion sparkled as the light hit it. I knelt down again and looked around the rubble-strewn Great Hall at the coffins of the others who were killed in the battle and then back at Harry's. I closed my eyes and saw again the bodies strewn across the grounds like useless rag dolls, the look of insane joy on the faces of many of my fellow Slytherins as they killed, the laughter of the Death Eaters and Voldemort as they slaughtered the innocent. I heard the screams of the wounded and saw the haunted faces of those of us who had survived the battle. I knew then that I no longer wanted to be a part of something that so callously disregarded life. I stood up then, raised Harry's wand in the air and spoke these words over Harry's casket:
On this night I vow to renounce all powers of the Dark and instead serve only the Light. Let the Dark have no more hold on me from this night forth for it has caused me nothing but unending sorrow. It has claimed the lives of my friends and family. It is in their memories and in memory of all who have died that I renounce all my Dark Powers and turn forever from them. By this do I seal forever my solemn vow in the name of he who lies here.
I pointed Harry's wand at the Dark Mark on my left arm and a brilliant white light shot from it and covered my forearm. I could feel tiny pinpricks of heat all along the Mark but they felt comforting and didn't hurt me at all. As I watched the light turned golden shot through with scarlet, then it glowed fiercely for a moment before vanishing altogether. When I could see again and I looked at my left arm, I found that the Dark Mark was gone. In its place was a new mark: a rampant lion surmounted by a falcon. It was the mark of Gryffindor and it was this arm that I struggled to move now. Slowly, inch-by-inch, I moved it while The Voice's questions lingered in the air unanswered. Finally, I managed to move my arm into position and I could feel the power within me gathering, ready to break the spell that held me bound.
"It is because of my vow!" I cried as the spell holding me was broken.
I held my left arm up and the Mark on it began to glow.
"The Heir! The Heir!" I heard the voices around me cry. "The Heir has come."
I turned to the door and found it had opened. The room beyond it was dark and cold.
"Lumos." I whispered and a faint circle of light spread into the room, which appeared to be empty. Uncertain of what to expect, I passed through the doorway and a brilliant light surrounded me. It felt warm and seemed to be coming from the eastern corner of the room. I walked through the light to a golden chest inlaid with hieroglyphics and runes of power. Taking a deep breath, I opened the chest carefully and there, sitting on a bed of scarlet velvet and glowing faintly was the Amulet of Osirius. I lifted it out and felt it vibrate in my hand as it and the power within me resonated.
"Long I have waited for one of like power…Heir to Osirius you are and will now forever be."
The Light flared and then died and everything around me was cast into darkness. Then I heard a faint hissing and a cold chanting voice broke over me. The Darkness around me flared a second time and a dark fire surrounded me.
"Give me the power you have stolen from me!" demanded a cold voice, which sent shivers down my spine.
"Never!" I cried tightening my grip on the wand and Amulet.
"Surrender those weapons to me and I will let you live. Join me and we can rule this pathetic world together." Seth-Ra hissed from the darkness.
"I will not betray them!" I said firmly as his Living Darkness surrounded me, trying to stifle the Light within my heart.
I felt myself falling for what seemed like forever and then I hit the floor so hard that the wind was knocked out of me. I began to feel faint and my scar burned again. Seth-Ra's voice was hissing in my mind…offering me anything… all the power that I could want…everything if I would just join him. If I would turn away from the feeble Light and let the Darkness claim me again. He tried to get me to renounce my sacred vow. I could hear chanting all around me and I fought against the spell…tried to block their voices. He attempted to cast another spell on me, something like an Imperious Curse but much more devious and stronger. I fought harder to free myself.
"Join Me," he hissed.
"No!" I cried weakly, my face screwed up with the effort of trying to throw off a curse that I barely understood.
"Join me or suffer!"
A stabbing pain went through me and I felt as if I was on fire.
"I! Will! Not!"
"Join with me and all your powers will be restored."
There was more white-hot pain.
"Never!" I cried out as his Darkness rose to claim me.
Then, just when I thought all was lost, a bright white light came from the Amulet, piercing the Darkness and a figure stepped through it. The figure glowed with a blinding red-gold radiance and for a moment I was unable to see who it was. Then the light was toned down and I heard Seth-Ra gasp in surprise. Standing in the midst of this light, still in the tattered robes he'd died in, stood Harry. His blazing green eyes were narrowed and he glared at Seth-Ra with hatred mixed with fury. Seth-Ra's own eyes narrowed and a smirk played about his mouth.
"You cannot harm him for he is under my protection now!"
"I see you've escaped your just punishment for defying me. No matter, you will be mine again."
Seth-Ra pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry who stood calmly, waiting with no hint of fear.
"Incindus Sulus!" Seth-Ra cried in triumph.
His eyes were glowing with a red light as a beam of Darkness came from the wand in his hand and the obsidian amulet around his neck glowed darkly. The beam flew toward Harry and I cried out a warning. As soon as the Darkness touched the edge of the red-gold light around Harry it was dissolved. Seth-Ra cried out in rage and began to fire random spells, all of which the Shield of Light absorbed.
"I will never do you bidding again." I thought I heard Harry mutter under his breath.
Harry's green eyes boar into Seth-Ra's dark ones and Seth-Ra's eyes lit up with pure hatred and he looked down at where I still lay and then back at Harry with a triumphant look.
"You may have escaped me but your heirs shall not! They and the weapons destined to defeat me will be destroyed…beginning with this fool and the two most powerful of the weapons!"
Before I knew what was happening or even had time to defend myself, Seth-Ra had pointed his wand at me.
"Sulus Enternus Oblivius!"
I flung up the hand holding the Amulet of Osirius and there was a flash of light and a brief moment's pain. Then all was cast into darkness and I knew nothing more.
I finally managed to get this part up. I must apologize to those of you how have been waiting. I could offer up an excuse but I have none to give. Don't worry I WILL finish this story and hopefully soon. The next part will be called But Where There's Hope. Reviews are encouraged. Thanks a bunch.