Chapter 2: The Beginning
Harry was cold. Not I-need-a-blanket-cold but mentally chilled. I'm dead right? He tried to get up but it seemed as though his body was so far away. Where am I? Memories of the Dursleys leaving the house to him and the attack of the creature came rushing back at him. So concentrated was he on figuring out exactly what happened that he nearly missed hearing a voice calling his name.
"Harry-"
Who said that? He thought, confused. All he could see from his position was darkness.
"Harry-"
There it was again. It was a haunting, dreamlike voice. It sounded around him, never truly revealing where it came from. It was almost like it was mocking him. It sounded almost familiar, but he couldn't place it.
"Harry-" This time, a wraith-like apparition began to materialize before him. It started to slowly resemble a woman.
Harry's throat tightened. "Mother?" The word felt strange on his tongue. Unused.
The apparition smiled.
"Mum!" He cried out, tears streaming down his cheeks. He could suddenly move but he felt significantly lighter somehow. He reached out towards her. Lily looked at him for a while before throwing her arms around him, hugging him hard. He was surprised that she was pretty much solid. "What-".
"Quiet, we don't have much time." She said urgently. "I have a message for you."
"Am I dead?" He said, confused, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
"Not exactly. You are in-between. But it's not your time yet. You have to go back soon." She looked at him sadly.
"What if I don't want to go back?" Harry whispered. "What if I want to stay with you?"
"No." Lily answered, shaking her head, looking wistful. "You are an important part of the future. Your death could change everything. Besides, you have to bring something back." She held out her hands. Nestled in her palm was an amulet.
He took it from her, awed. There was a dark red jewel in the center and a thin silver disc encompassed it. Intricate etchings on the silver flared up before growing dim again. He looked up after a while and saw that she was somehow becoming more and more transparent. "Mum?"
"I have to go. It was my greatest desire to hear you call me mother. I'll always love you Harry." Her voice sounded faint but Harry could hear the emotion in her voice. "Keep it safe..." She said, as she disappeared completely.
Harry looked down at the amulet as a wave of sadness washed over him. He closed his eyes as tears spilled down. The amulet flared a bright red as a single tear dropped onto its center.
When he opened his eyes again, he was blinded as light assaulted his eyes. He blinked. When his vision cleared, he recognized the white walls of Number 4, Privet Drive. He clutched at the amulet and assured himself that it was not a dream.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley appeared within Harry's vision, looking down on him, smiling worriedly. "Harry. Are you all right?" The whole Weasley lot, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley, minus Charles and Bill were behind her, peering at Harry anxiously, trying to discern whether he was more dead or alive.
Further on behind them was a group of official looking ministry wizards, Hagrid, and-- Professor Snape??? Harry did a double take.
"Harry? Are you all right? Can you say something? Make a noise." Ron peered in his face worriedly.
"Arghh-." Harry cleared his throat. "What is going on?"
"You were attacked, honey." Mrs. Weasley frowned. "We were so worried that you might not make it."
Harry slowly moved, testing his arms and legs. He only had a few bruises here and there.
"What is that thing, anyway?" Ron asked, pointing to a circular cage that almost half the people in the room were crowded around. A bronze creature raged within it, attempting to pounce on its passive audience.
"THAT would be a Morgrien." A silky voice interrupted. Snape glared at Ron and Harry.
"But they haven't been sighted for nearly five hundred years. It's a myth." Mr. Weasley countered, skeptical.
"And if they do exist, why would they attack a child?" Mrs. Weasley demanded, looking concerned at Harry.
"For one thing, that's what we have been trying to find out." Snape sneered. He looked a bit putout by the questions.
"But Professor," Harry began tentatively, "what exactly is a Morgrien?"
"Elvish creatures, nearly impossible ter kill."
"Hagrid!" Harry shouted with joy at the voice.
"'Arry!" Hagrid scooped him up and started hugging him. "You evil bugger! You got me here so worried."
"Umm, Hagrid?"
"Hmm? Yes?"
"I think you're squishing me."
"Oh. Sorry." Hagrid put him down and ruffled his already messy hair.
"This is most unusual." Snape muttered.
"What is?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Only Slytherin could command these creatures. Voldemort-." He caught himself when the whole Weasley family winced at his words. "I meant, when You-Know-Who attempted to create an army of morgriens, he failed. Only someone as powerful as the Founders of Hogwarts could have been able to control this creature." Snape paused.
"And judging from the fact that morgriens hasn't appeared since the days of the Founders, it couldn't have come without help." Mr. Weasley finished the thought, his forehead creased with wrinkles.
"Lo! I'm Wesley." A thin blonde Ministry wizard passing by them smiled at the group. "Ah! You must be Harry Potter!" He exclaimed, turning to Harry, shaking his hand with him. "Harry was very lucky to survive the assault. Most people wouldn't even last three minutes. Quite lucky." He ruffled Harry's hair and went off.
Ron made a face that said, was that guy weird or what?
Mrs. Weasley paled at the thought that Harry might not have survived. "Harry, maybe you should stay with us for the rest of the summer." She said nervously.
"Absolutely not." A female voice interrupted. An Auror stood there with her arms crossed. "It took seven Aurors just to bring that thing down and five more to bind it. Who knows what would have happened if this house has been any further. He should be living closer to the wizarding community."
"I'll arrange for the boarding at the-" Snape began.
"At your place." The Auror cut in smoothly.
Snape glared at her. "No. No and No." Harry and Ron nodded their heads, agreeing with Snape.
"Yes Severus. Harry needs a safe place to stay and you can provide that." Fred and George started gagging. Mr. Weasley frowned and slapped them over the head. The Auror continued, ignoring them, "It's only for a few weeks. Besides, you owe me."
Snape gave Harry a withering look and sneered. "All right, I'll do it. But one toe out of line, Mr. Potter, and you'll regret it." With that, he turned around and stalked moodily out the door, coat flying out behind him.
"Drama queen." Ron commented, only loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry snickered.
"I should get my stuff now." Harry said. He found his wand under a table, apparently knocked under there before he passed out. Then remembering the amulet he still clutched in his hand, he lifted it over his neck and rested it there. He quickly got his chest out from the cupboard and made his way to the front door. Snape was sitting inside a small car. Harry pushed his possessions into the back and opened the door to the passenger seat.
"No, you sit back there." Snape snarled, motioning to the back.
Harry sighed and got into the back, sitting on his chest, uncomfortably.
It was going to be a long ride.
***
They arrived in front of a three-story house; its walls were entirely made of cold bricks, creating a very unwelcoming effect. Snape got out of the car and stalked into the house without looking back at Harry even once.
Fine, be like that, Harry fumed. Pretend I'm not even here. He slowly dragged his chest up the wide stairs to the entrance. Going through, he stared in awe at the hall. The ceilings were as tall as the Sistine Chapel and stairs went spiraling up, as if into heaven. Snape sure knows how to live, he thought, staring slack jawed at the ornaments and engravings on the banister. Must be magically enhanced since the house barely looks larger than the other ones in the neighborhood.
"Are you going to just stand there drooling all over the floor or are you going to come up?" A voice called out from above him.
Harry looked up and saw a young girl with short black hair, wearing a deep blue robe. He slowly trudged up the stairs and once on top, he heaved his chest on the floor, panting from the effort.
"You know, you could have left that for the servants." The girl smirked, gestured to his belongings. "Then you didn't have to sweat all the way up. By the way, Rianna Snape."
"Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you." Harry replied absent-mindedly, and then snapping to attention once her name registered in his mind. "You're Professor Snape's daughter?" Since when did he have a daughter? Harry thought. He doesn't seem to be a family guy.
"Surprising, huh? But actually I am." She admitted. "I get that a lot."
She doesn't even seem to be as evil as her father. Maybe this won't be as bad after all.
"Come on", she said, dragging Harry. "I'll show you where you'll stay."
***
She ran hard until she was out of breath, collapsing against a tree. She panted in exhaustion as she lay in the serene forest. Completely opposite of the turmoil and pain inflicted upon her when they took him away. They took him away, those few words echoed through her head, calling at her mockingly. She choked down a sob as she remembered of the events of two nights ago. Her parents have passed away exactly the year before. All she had since was Timmy, her little brother, two years younger than her. And he was counting on her to take care of him. And I failed, she thought. Her throat felt stuffy and dry from trying not to cry. They were wearing robes and one man was carrying a book, the Bible. She recalled. They bound him up. He was screaming and crying in a shrill voice, "Anya, help! Make them stop! Make them stop!" They tried to tie her up too. But that when IT happened. The ground started shaking, only at their house, as she later found out. And the windows began to rattle, exploding into tiny sharp fragments. The man in the white robe carrying the book started praying and screaming something about the devil and spawns of evil. He took a club and knocked Timmy out. Then it stopped. Everything ended. They took him away. Her life ended. By now, she was sobbing mercilessly in the grass.
"Give him back!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed in all her fury and anger.
It was their entire fault. The witch-hunters.
***
Harry sat at the end of the dining table, far away from Snape, to his relief. The dinner conversation was minimal and consisted only of 'Pass the bread', 'Pass the peas', and occasionally an order from Snape to one of the house elves. Apparently Hermione's S.P.E.W. house elf liberation campaign had no effect here. After a while, the silence and tension grew to so that Harry quietly excused himself. He almost expected Snape to give him one of his usual glares but the Professor just waved his hand at him without paying attention. He seemed to be preoccupied with something.
Happy to get away from the table, he wandered through the halls, looking at the moving family portraits of the Snape household. Each face seemed to be sneering at him, as they moved pompously from frame to frame.
Wandering on, he soon discovered that the rooms of the house beyond the main corridors seemed to move erratically, shifting positions on the hour. Harry soon grew confused and tried to find his way back. Just when he thought he took the right turn, he ended up in front of a dead end.
Bloody hell, he cursed softly under his breath. There was nothing there save for a round stone table with a small statuette of a unicorn protruding from the top. He was about to turn back around when he noticed something peculiar about the wall. The edges were not properly connected and the wall was slanted, he realized upon closer inspection. He raised his eyebrows. Secret compartment? He put his hand on it and gave it a hard shove.
It didn't move an inch.
"Open Sesame!"
Nothing.
"Abracadabra!"
Nothing.
He took out his wand. "Alohomora!" The spell just hit the wall and disappeared.
Not that I expected it to open either, he thought, embarrassed. Turning around, his hand smacked into the statuette of the unicorn, tilting it back. With a grinding noise, the wall slid back, revealing a dark tunnel.
Harry stood there, wide-eyed. This day is getting weirder and weirder, he thought. "Lumos!" He commanded, as light erupted from his wand. He aimed it at the gaping hole, and hesitated a moment, before he determinedly ventured in towards the unknown.
***
The cauldron bubbled and steam emitted into the air. A cloaked figure reached into his robes and extracted a vial containing a single black hair follicle.
"To know thy enemy is to be thy enemy." He murmured, holding up the small vial to his eye. "Everything has been laid out. Soon, my lord will rise up once again, and I will be by his side."
He then took the vial and threw it into the potion as it turned a sickly orange-green color. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he closed the volume of 'The Moste Potente Potions'.
***************************** Chapter Finite Incantatem @
This chapter was mostly focused on Harry… making up for nearly killing him in the last chapter. Hmm… more unresolved problems I See. Anyways, tell me what you think. And thank you for those of you that reviewed!!! ^_^
Harry was cold. Not I-need-a-blanket-cold but mentally chilled. I'm dead right? He tried to get up but it seemed as though his body was so far away. Where am I? Memories of the Dursleys leaving the house to him and the attack of the creature came rushing back at him. So concentrated was he on figuring out exactly what happened that he nearly missed hearing a voice calling his name.
"Harry-"
Who said that? He thought, confused. All he could see from his position was darkness.
"Harry-"
There it was again. It was a haunting, dreamlike voice. It sounded around him, never truly revealing where it came from. It was almost like it was mocking him. It sounded almost familiar, but he couldn't place it.
"Harry-" This time, a wraith-like apparition began to materialize before him. It started to slowly resemble a woman.
Harry's throat tightened. "Mother?" The word felt strange on his tongue. Unused.
The apparition smiled.
"Mum!" He cried out, tears streaming down his cheeks. He could suddenly move but he felt significantly lighter somehow. He reached out towards her. Lily looked at him for a while before throwing her arms around him, hugging him hard. He was surprised that she was pretty much solid. "What-".
"Quiet, we don't have much time." She said urgently. "I have a message for you."
"Am I dead?" He said, confused, wiping the tears away from his eyes.
"Not exactly. You are in-between. But it's not your time yet. You have to go back soon." She looked at him sadly.
"What if I don't want to go back?" Harry whispered. "What if I want to stay with you?"
"No." Lily answered, shaking her head, looking wistful. "You are an important part of the future. Your death could change everything. Besides, you have to bring something back." She held out her hands. Nestled in her palm was an amulet.
He took it from her, awed. There was a dark red jewel in the center and a thin silver disc encompassed it. Intricate etchings on the silver flared up before growing dim again. He looked up after a while and saw that she was somehow becoming more and more transparent. "Mum?"
"I have to go. It was my greatest desire to hear you call me mother. I'll always love you Harry." Her voice sounded faint but Harry could hear the emotion in her voice. "Keep it safe..." She said, as she disappeared completely.
Harry looked down at the amulet as a wave of sadness washed over him. He closed his eyes as tears spilled down. The amulet flared a bright red as a single tear dropped onto its center.
When he opened his eyes again, he was blinded as light assaulted his eyes. He blinked. When his vision cleared, he recognized the white walls of Number 4, Privet Drive. He clutched at the amulet and assured himself that it was not a dream.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley appeared within Harry's vision, looking down on him, smiling worriedly. "Harry. Are you all right?" The whole Weasley lot, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley, minus Charles and Bill were behind her, peering at Harry anxiously, trying to discern whether he was more dead or alive.
Further on behind them was a group of official looking ministry wizards, Hagrid, and-- Professor Snape??? Harry did a double take.
"Harry? Are you all right? Can you say something? Make a noise." Ron peered in his face worriedly.
"Arghh-." Harry cleared his throat. "What is going on?"
"You were attacked, honey." Mrs. Weasley frowned. "We were so worried that you might not make it."
Harry slowly moved, testing his arms and legs. He only had a few bruises here and there.
"What is that thing, anyway?" Ron asked, pointing to a circular cage that almost half the people in the room were crowded around. A bronze creature raged within it, attempting to pounce on its passive audience.
"THAT would be a Morgrien." A silky voice interrupted. Snape glared at Ron and Harry.
"But they haven't been sighted for nearly five hundred years. It's a myth." Mr. Weasley countered, skeptical.
"And if they do exist, why would they attack a child?" Mrs. Weasley demanded, looking concerned at Harry.
"For one thing, that's what we have been trying to find out." Snape sneered. He looked a bit putout by the questions.
"But Professor," Harry began tentatively, "what exactly is a Morgrien?"
"Elvish creatures, nearly impossible ter kill."
"Hagrid!" Harry shouted with joy at the voice.
"'Arry!" Hagrid scooped him up and started hugging him. "You evil bugger! You got me here so worried."
"Umm, Hagrid?"
"Hmm? Yes?"
"I think you're squishing me."
"Oh. Sorry." Hagrid put him down and ruffled his already messy hair.
"This is most unusual." Snape muttered.
"What is?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Only Slytherin could command these creatures. Voldemort-." He caught himself when the whole Weasley family winced at his words. "I meant, when You-Know-Who attempted to create an army of morgriens, he failed. Only someone as powerful as the Founders of Hogwarts could have been able to control this creature." Snape paused.
"And judging from the fact that morgriens hasn't appeared since the days of the Founders, it couldn't have come without help." Mr. Weasley finished the thought, his forehead creased with wrinkles.
"Lo! I'm Wesley." A thin blonde Ministry wizard passing by them smiled at the group. "Ah! You must be Harry Potter!" He exclaimed, turning to Harry, shaking his hand with him. "Harry was very lucky to survive the assault. Most people wouldn't even last three minutes. Quite lucky." He ruffled Harry's hair and went off.
Ron made a face that said, was that guy weird or what?
Mrs. Weasley paled at the thought that Harry might not have survived. "Harry, maybe you should stay with us for the rest of the summer." She said nervously.
"Absolutely not." A female voice interrupted. An Auror stood there with her arms crossed. "It took seven Aurors just to bring that thing down and five more to bind it. Who knows what would have happened if this house has been any further. He should be living closer to the wizarding community."
"I'll arrange for the boarding at the-" Snape began.
"At your place." The Auror cut in smoothly.
Snape glared at her. "No. No and No." Harry and Ron nodded their heads, agreeing with Snape.
"Yes Severus. Harry needs a safe place to stay and you can provide that." Fred and George started gagging. Mr. Weasley frowned and slapped them over the head. The Auror continued, ignoring them, "It's only for a few weeks. Besides, you owe me."
Snape gave Harry a withering look and sneered. "All right, I'll do it. But one toe out of line, Mr. Potter, and you'll regret it." With that, he turned around and stalked moodily out the door, coat flying out behind him.
"Drama queen." Ron commented, only loud enough for Harry to hear. Harry snickered.
"I should get my stuff now." Harry said. He found his wand under a table, apparently knocked under there before he passed out. Then remembering the amulet he still clutched in his hand, he lifted it over his neck and rested it there. He quickly got his chest out from the cupboard and made his way to the front door. Snape was sitting inside a small car. Harry pushed his possessions into the back and opened the door to the passenger seat.
"No, you sit back there." Snape snarled, motioning to the back.
Harry sighed and got into the back, sitting on his chest, uncomfortably.
It was going to be a long ride.
***
They arrived in front of a three-story house; its walls were entirely made of cold bricks, creating a very unwelcoming effect. Snape got out of the car and stalked into the house without looking back at Harry even once.
Fine, be like that, Harry fumed. Pretend I'm not even here. He slowly dragged his chest up the wide stairs to the entrance. Going through, he stared in awe at the hall. The ceilings were as tall as the Sistine Chapel and stairs went spiraling up, as if into heaven. Snape sure knows how to live, he thought, staring slack jawed at the ornaments and engravings on the banister. Must be magically enhanced since the house barely looks larger than the other ones in the neighborhood.
"Are you going to just stand there drooling all over the floor or are you going to come up?" A voice called out from above him.
Harry looked up and saw a young girl with short black hair, wearing a deep blue robe. He slowly trudged up the stairs and once on top, he heaved his chest on the floor, panting from the effort.
"You know, you could have left that for the servants." The girl smirked, gestured to his belongings. "Then you didn't have to sweat all the way up. By the way, Rianna Snape."
"Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you." Harry replied absent-mindedly, and then snapping to attention once her name registered in his mind. "You're Professor Snape's daughter?" Since when did he have a daughter? Harry thought. He doesn't seem to be a family guy.
"Surprising, huh? But actually I am." She admitted. "I get that a lot."
She doesn't even seem to be as evil as her father. Maybe this won't be as bad after all.
"Come on", she said, dragging Harry. "I'll show you where you'll stay."
***
She ran hard until she was out of breath, collapsing against a tree. She panted in exhaustion as she lay in the serene forest. Completely opposite of the turmoil and pain inflicted upon her when they took him away. They took him away, those few words echoed through her head, calling at her mockingly. She choked down a sob as she remembered of the events of two nights ago. Her parents have passed away exactly the year before. All she had since was Timmy, her little brother, two years younger than her. And he was counting on her to take care of him. And I failed, she thought. Her throat felt stuffy and dry from trying not to cry. They were wearing robes and one man was carrying a book, the Bible. She recalled. They bound him up. He was screaming and crying in a shrill voice, "Anya, help! Make them stop! Make them stop!" They tried to tie her up too. But that when IT happened. The ground started shaking, only at their house, as she later found out. And the windows began to rattle, exploding into tiny sharp fragments. The man in the white robe carrying the book started praying and screaming something about the devil and spawns of evil. He took a club and knocked Timmy out. Then it stopped. Everything ended. They took him away. Her life ended. By now, she was sobbing mercilessly in the grass.
"Give him back!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed in all her fury and anger.
It was their entire fault. The witch-hunters.
***
Harry sat at the end of the dining table, far away from Snape, to his relief. The dinner conversation was minimal and consisted only of 'Pass the bread', 'Pass the peas', and occasionally an order from Snape to one of the house elves. Apparently Hermione's S.P.E.W. house elf liberation campaign had no effect here. After a while, the silence and tension grew to so that Harry quietly excused himself. He almost expected Snape to give him one of his usual glares but the Professor just waved his hand at him without paying attention. He seemed to be preoccupied with something.
Happy to get away from the table, he wandered through the halls, looking at the moving family portraits of the Snape household. Each face seemed to be sneering at him, as they moved pompously from frame to frame.
Wandering on, he soon discovered that the rooms of the house beyond the main corridors seemed to move erratically, shifting positions on the hour. Harry soon grew confused and tried to find his way back. Just when he thought he took the right turn, he ended up in front of a dead end.
Bloody hell, he cursed softly under his breath. There was nothing there save for a round stone table with a small statuette of a unicorn protruding from the top. He was about to turn back around when he noticed something peculiar about the wall. The edges were not properly connected and the wall was slanted, he realized upon closer inspection. He raised his eyebrows. Secret compartment? He put his hand on it and gave it a hard shove.
It didn't move an inch.
"Open Sesame!"
Nothing.
"Abracadabra!"
Nothing.
He took out his wand. "Alohomora!" The spell just hit the wall and disappeared.
Not that I expected it to open either, he thought, embarrassed. Turning around, his hand smacked into the statuette of the unicorn, tilting it back. With a grinding noise, the wall slid back, revealing a dark tunnel.
Harry stood there, wide-eyed. This day is getting weirder and weirder, he thought. "Lumos!" He commanded, as light erupted from his wand. He aimed it at the gaping hole, and hesitated a moment, before he determinedly ventured in towards the unknown.
***
The cauldron bubbled and steam emitted into the air. A cloaked figure reached into his robes and extracted a vial containing a single black hair follicle.
"To know thy enemy is to be thy enemy." He murmured, holding up the small vial to his eye. "Everything has been laid out. Soon, my lord will rise up once again, and I will be by his side."
He then took the vial and threw it into the potion as it turned a sickly orange-green color. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he closed the volume of 'The Moste Potente Potions'.
***************************** Chapter Finite Incantatem @
This chapter was mostly focused on Harry… making up for nearly killing him in the last chapter. Hmm… more unresolved problems I See. Anyways, tell me what you think. And thank you for those of you that reviewed!!! ^_^
