Part Nine: The Right Hand
"I should've done something. Anything. Tried to escape sooner, tried to explain it better, demanded a new trial. Instead I let myself sit in Azkaban and do nothing and because of that Harry's life is in danger again and I'm helpless." The choked confession broke Glynnis' heart. She had to get through to him, help him see it wasn't his fault.
"So you knew that Peter would betray Harry's parents?" she stated casually. "Well, of course then it was very careless of you."
Sirius lurched to his feet and stared down at Glynnis in furious horror. "I thought he would keep their secret! I thought I could trust him! I had no idea he was working for the other side!" Glynnis frowned up at him, hoping against hope that she was right about her tactics.
"Well, then you are guilty." She could see his own self-loathing and hatred of her building in his eyes. "Of poor judgement." Glynnis saw Sirius' face freeze as her words slowly penetrated. She continued quickly. "Guilty of loving two friends and trusting another, who proved you false."
Sirius was confused, she could see that. He had been so caught up in his own grief that he had neglected to actually look at the facts. Glynnis took advantage of this and pressed on. She stood and put a gentle hand against his face. "You are also guilty of finding hope in a place that has none and loving Harry so much that you risked a fate worse than death to help him." You are also guilty of making me feel again.
Sirius felt the emotions warring inside him. He had spent so many years blaming himself, could he have been wrong? Was it really his fault? Dumbledore had told him no. Many others had told him no, others who had known more about the facts and situation than this Muggle woman. And yet her words seemed to penetrate the haze of self-censure that had consumed him all these years. He looked into her deep eyes and saw a forgiveness that he didn't understand but accepted. A forgiveness of all his sins, real and imagined. He felt a lifting of his soul. Still there lingered a dark heaviness that pulled at him even as he tried to rise above it. "That will always be there." The voice inside his head was hers. "There will always be the deep questions that come in the night, in your dreams, when you hear them scream, see them die. You will always wonder somewhere inside of you what you could have done and didn't."
"But how . . . ?" Sirius said the question aloud.
"I have seen that particular view of hell." The voice echoed with unspeakable heartache.
Sirius saw old wounds open in Glynnis' eyes and his hands cupped her face. It was only then that it occurred to him that she had not spoken. His eyebrows shot up in question and he saw the answer in her small, sad smile. "Some things are better not said aloud."
"Tell me." It was not a command, but a plea. A plea for some reassurance that he was not alone in his fallibility. She closed her eyes, unsure of whether she wanted to share this now. But Glynnis realized that if she was to begin her life anew, she would have to trust someone. Her eyes opened and gazed purposefully into his eyes.
A wave of misery engulfed Sirius as the events of fifteen years past flooded his mind. He saw it all from her eyes. Saw the bodies of her husband and son, the funerals, the weeks of terror and isolation. Saw her finding the will to live again. And, with a physical jolt, saw the newspaper reports she'd gone back and read years later.
"I'm sorry! I should never have done that," Glynnis cried as he jerked away from her. "Please, Sirius, forgive me! I've not done this in a very long time. I should have . . . " Sirius cut her off with a shaking finger to her lips. "It's not that. It's . . . oh, Glynnis!" He pulled her close, uncertain whether to tell her the truth. With trembling arms he held her tight and told her how her family had really died.
"So you see," he said quietly, his hands stroking her back, "it wasn't a bomb. The same man who killed James and Lily killed Seamus and Derek."
Glynnis stood stock still in Sirius' arms. If it weren't for the rapid rise and fall of her chest against his, he would think she was a statue. When she finally spoke, it was so quiet he wasn't sure he'd actually her.
"Did they suffer at all?"
Sirius held her tighter. "No. They didn't feel a thing and they had no time for fear. It was quite literally instantaneous." Glynnis' breath hitched and she exhaled raggedly. Sirius felt her pull away slowly and prepared himself for the worst. He wasn't sure he'd want to hear what she just had. It was with complete astonishment that he met her gaze and found her looking at him with gratitude. "I'd often wondered what had really happened. Something about the whole thing didn't ring true, but now . . . now I know. Thank you, Sirius, for telling me." The sincerity in her voice was his undoing. Without a conscious thought he leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers. Glynnis sighed and leaned into him, her hands going around his back. Sirius groaned and deepened the kiss. A whoosh from the fireplace forced them quickly apart and Attivus Attlewart stepped out of the flames.
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Wormtail stared in fascinated revulsion at his master's changing face. The slitted eyes rounded out, their centers turning a dark brownish green. The bony limbs filled out and flesh expanded the hollows of the skull-like cheeks. Over a period of moments, pale hair sprouted on the evil wizard's head, growing longer as Pettigrew watched.
Voldemort laughed with grim satisfaction as his face pinkened into a healthy glow and his sharp, yellow teeth straightened. "Almost done," he crooned to his reflection. "Soon I will be unrecognizable and the world will know that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned!"
Wormtail swallowed nervously. He didn't want the Potter boy dead. He owed him his life. He had tried to sabotage the knife spells by giving the blade wizard only partial information but that had failed so far. He had one hope left. Voldemort had been very specific about what he'd wanted. "No other wizard or Muggle is to remove that blade, Slagger," he'd said. Slagger's eyebrows had risen at that. "No other wizard? Are you absolutely certain that is what you want?" he asked. Slagger glanced quickly at Wormtail and it was then that he realized there could be a potentially fatal flaw in his master's plan. He'd looked away then but not before a surreptitious wink from the blade wizard confirmed his suspicions. Now he only watched while Voldemort's form changed and hoped that the small flaw would be discovered before it was too late.
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Attivus stepped out of the fireplace and dusted himself off. He didn't seem to notice the awkward silence that had descended on the room nor that both Sirius and Glynnis were flushed. He only smiled when he looked up from his clean robes. "Well, told you I'd be quick. How's Harry? I see you are on your feet young lady. Good, good. Can't be worried about two patients right now, can I? Although seems that Sirius here can manage at least one of you." His twinkling eyes betrayed the fact that he had indeed been aware of what his untimely arrival had interrupted. Glynnis, however, frowned at him. "What do you mean two patients?" Attivus looked at Sirius questioningly. Sirius shook his head slightly. Glynnis' frown deepened. "What is all this head shaking about? What aren't you telling me?"
"I think she should know, Attivus. Glynnis can take it. She's quite a remarkable person." Sirius smiled at her. One rare, beautiful, genuine smile that made her knees shake. She smiled tremulously in return, blushing. Attivus looked from one to the other and nodded knowingly to himself. "Alright, then, miss. Let's sit you down." He took her elbow and guided her back to the chair. "You had a vision," he announced baldly.
"A vision?" Glynnis asked innocently, while at the same time her heart raced inside her chest.
"Glynnis." She looked at Sirius and realized that all was out. She shook her head ruefully. "I'm sorry. I've not confided in anyone in a very long time." Attivus patted her knee. "Quite understandable. Now, I gather this isn't the first time this has happened?" Glynnis shook her head. "No. It happened once before that I know of, when I was twelve. It was the first time my sight kicked in and it rather took me for a loop. My parents thought I was having a seizure. It was only later that I realized what was going on." The doctor frowned thoughtfully. "You were twelve? You're sure?" She thought for a moment. She remembered having her gift only after the age of twelve. She told him as much. "But this first time? Could you have been younger? Eleven, perhaps?" Sirius jerked his head around. He looked at the doctor incredulously. "Attivus, are you going somewhere with this?" Attivus only waved him off. "It's just that I'm curious, my dear. Could you please think very hard about it?" Glynnis took her mind back as far as she could recall. "Perhaps I could have been eleven. I really don't remember. I'm sorry." Attivus patted her hand again. "It's alright, Miss Babcock. Not really important. As I said, just curious." Glynnis reached out and took the doctor's hand in hers. "Did you find out anything? About Harry?"
Attivus smiled his bright smile at her and nodded. "I think I may have. These daggers are very spell specific. And unless the spell was worded precisely, there is a way to circumvent the trap spell. We simply need to figure out what 'the right hand has left means'."
Harry heard voices and tried to wake up. He felt very weak. He knew that he didn't have much time. They were talking about visions. Someone had a vision? "Glynnis," he thought. He listened lazily to their conversation, trying to summon the energy to open his eyes. He heard the questions asked by Doctor Attlewart. "Eleven!" Harry's mind snapped to attention. "He must think she's got witch potential. That would explain everything!" Harry willed himself to consciousness and immediately regretted it. A moan escaped him as his felt the full force of the beating his body was taking by the knife. Immediately, Glynnis and Sirius were beside him.
"Harry," Sirius face was gray with exhaustion. "How do you feel?"
Harry opened his mouth but no sound came. He tried to swallow but his dry throat only choked him. Glynnis saw his distress. "I'll get you some water, Harry. Hold on a minute." And she was gone. Doctor Attlewart took her place and checked Harry over. "You'll be alright soon enough, Harry. We'll lick this thing. I'm certain of it." Glynnis returned with a glass of water and a straw. The doctor moved aside. "Here you are, Harry. Can you help him sit, Sirius?" Sirius' strong arms held him upright while he greedily drank the cool water. "Not too fast, Harry," she chided gently. "Easy. That's it." She set the glass on the bed stand and sat next to him. "How are you holding up?" she said softly, her concern emblazoned on her face. Harry tried again to speak and found he could barely whisper, he was so drained. "I've been better." Sirius turned away at Harry's words. He caught Attivus' eye and the doctor's look said it all. "We're losing him."
Glynnis voice echoed in Sirius head. "Hang on, Sirius. You have to be strong now." He turned his gaze toward her and nodded. Satisfied, Glynnis turned back to Harry. "We're going to . . . " Her words were cut off by Harry's cry of pain. He writhed on the bed as the dagger sent screaming pulses of white-hot misery into his chest.
Glynnis grabbed his hand and Harry cried out again, pulling away from her. She looked down and saw red, angry marks marring the skin between the thumb and finger. The inflamed cuts were obviously swollen and infected. She raised frightened eyes to Attivus and he moved her aside to look at the wound. "Harry, how did this happen?" he asked. "It bit me," Harry ground out through clenched teeth. "What bit you?" Harry tossed his head from side to side, trying in vain to get away from the agony that burned through him. "Harry! What bit you?" Attivus was firm in his insistence. "The dragon," Harry gasped. He panted in relief as the pain subsided. "The dragon bit me when I tried to pull out the knife."
Attivus shot to his feet, yelling. "That's it! Attlewart you are an idiot! A blind man could have seen it!"
Sirius and Glynnis stared at the doctor in shock. He was dancing around in a circle, his hair streaming out around him. "Of course, of course! How simple. How stupidly simple!"
"Attivus!"
At Sirius' shout, Attivus abruptly ceased his cavorting and stood shaking his head. "I should've figured it out, Sirius."
"Figured what out, Attivus?"
"Have you found a way to remove it, Doctor?" asked Glynnis, her voice filled with hope. He nodded. "We got it all wrong, Sirius, you and I. Miss Babcock didn't say the right hand has left. She said the right hand is left." Sirius just stared, not comprehending at all. "Harry must be the one to remove the dagger."
The doctor's simple statement left a gaping silence in its wake. Glynnis, Sirius, and Harry looked at him as if he'd just sprouted wings. He shook his head and chuckled grimly. "Don't you see? Harry can touch the dragon. It bit him, yes, but that is all. He wasn't knocked for a loop, or burned. Harry must be the one to remove the dagger. With his left hand. 'The right hand is left'." He looked at Harry who looked both relieved and terrified. "Are you up for it, Harry?"
Harry couldn't speak, he was so shocked. Could it be? Could his enemy have been so careless? Apparently Sirius wondered the same thing because he asked that very question. Attivus nodded in reply but his eyes never left Harry's face.
"It's a test of character."Glynnis' simple statement made them look her way.
Attivus nodded again. "You-know-who has no honor. No sense of what makes a man who he is. He sees only greed, violence, hate, all the negatives in a person and exploits that. He does not see that a strong character, a strong sense of right and wrong, can be as powerful as anything his evil mind can concoct. Lily and James should have proven that to him, but he never was one to learn a lesson."
"You mean, all I have to do is pull it out?" Harry asked, the simple act of talking leaving him breathless and weak. Attivus nodded. "It will bite me again," Harry observed as the dragon, noticing his attention, gnashed its teeth and snarled. Attivus nodded again. "I'm afraid it will, Harry. However, you must remember this - pain is fleeting, strength of character is forever. I think perhaps this is a lesson your godfather has finally learned." Harry's eyes moved to Sirius who was looking at Glynnis with an unreadable expression on his face. Sirius' gaze moved slowly to meet Harry's. He smiled soberly and nodded. Harry looked at Glynnis. She too nodded and then, very faintly, Harry heard her voice inside his head. "I told you would not die this day. You must trust in that." His eyes widened and he knew his face must be registering his shock because Sirius moved next to her and his arm encircled her shoulders. "Trust her, Harry," was all he said.
Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his pounding heart. "I can do this. I can do this." He repeated the litany over and over until, of its own accord, his left arm reached over and he grabbed the dragon hilt.
The dragon's razor sharp teeth immediately cleaved into him. The already pained hand was a mass of lacerated skin and muscle in seconds and it was all Harry could do to hang on. With a great cry he poured the last of his strength into his fingers and yanked as hard as he could. Like Excalibur coming free of the stone, the dagger supposedly belonging to King Arthur sailed free of Harry's shoulder and into the air above the bed. Miles away, Voldemort screamed in rage and defeat, a sound that was echoed by the dragon as the blade shattered into a million shards of shimmering metal.
