Chapter Six- Into the Labyrinth/br /br
Harry swung open a heavy wooden door and walked a few steps. In the time it'd taken him to open the door, the sound of Lily and Hermione had faded away. Judging by the footprints in the dirt, they'd both headed into a path lined with rosebushes on either side. Stopping a moment to catch his breath and wait up for Ron, Harry strained his ears. He heard the wind blowing through the snow laden trees but noticed that miraculously there was no snow on the ground in the path. He muttered, "lumos" under his breath and a bright light shot from the tip of his wand. Ron did the same and they walked through the paths carefully, quietly, so as not to miss a noise that might give them a hint as to where the girls were. They followed the path then took a right, then a left, coming up at a solid hedge. br
"What is this!" Ron swore, kicking the bush. Suddenly it clicked in Harry's mind. br
"It's a maze," he said in a barely audible voice, then it struck him and he took off at a breakneck sprint. br
"HARRY WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Slow down!" Ron said, falling behind him as he ran after the possessed Harry. br
"Lily had a prediction; it's a maze, RON SOMEONE'S GOING TO DIE!" Harry yelled over his shoulder as he got back on the straight path. He was running blindly through the maze, not having any clue where he was going, where he was aiming for. He tripped a stray branch and sprawled on the ground, his wand going out and panting so hard he thought he would cover up any sign of the girls anyways. br
Suddenly, to his left, muffled through several hedges he heard, "Hermione? Are you oka…" Lily and Hermione's screams ripped through the crisp night air, cutting it like a knife. There was a wooshing noise, running footsteps, a soft grunt and two thuds as a brilliant, blinding green light lit up the maze around him. br
Abandoning all pretenses, not worried about anything except getting to Lily, Harry raised his wand and said, "Obtrusium." The bush in front of him was blasted away, large enough for Harry to push his way through. "Obtrusium, Obtrusium, Obtrusium." Harry said as he ripped his way through the bushes to his left, not slowing to climb through carefully and emerging from each with his robes a little more ripped and his face a little more cut. He finally made his way into a small opening where a small body was lying crumped on the ground, someone large trying to get up behind her. The bushes behind them were blasted through so far that Harry could see the lake shining on the other side. br
"HERMIONE!" Ron yelled, running over to her and lifting her head into his lap. He shook her vigorously and her eyes popped open. She screamed and tried to pull away from Ron before realizing who it was and just managed to stutter, tears streaming down her face and eyes bulging, "Harry, Voldemort, Avada Kedavra, Krum, Lily, GO!" then passed out in a dead faint, her head falling limply back into Ron's lap. br
Harry got the gist of it and run through the maze faster than he'd ever imagined he could, blasting away rose bushes as he went. A faint glow was coming from the direct center of the maze and he aimed for it. Suddenly he skidded to a stop as a huge something burst into the air. It looked like it was made of twinkling green stars in the shape of a skull with wide gaping holes for the eyes and mouth, and a snake for a tongue, the Dark Mark. Most wizards, perhaps ones that weren't in such a state of panic as Harry, would have run away because Voldemort and his followers only used the Dark Mark when they killed, but something in Harry told him that Lily couldn't be dead, she just couldn't. Nonetheless he prayed silently that he wasn't too late, running as fast as he could towards the center of his maze, thinking only of what would happen if he never saw Lily again. br
As he burst through the last bush a cold, high voice called in a delighted tone, "crucio." Harry was overtaken by a pain the likes of he'd only felt once. He jerked and twitched, eyes rolling in his head and scream on his lips, all his muscles seizing up and stretching, tearing, as his bones crunched together. Suddenly it stopped and he was left on his side, still twitching, his whole body in pain, particularly his forehead, where his scar felt enflamed, like someone had just put it on him with a branding iron. Soon Harry was able to focus his eyes and he saw Lily, alive and conscious but bound with thin ropes that were tight enough that they were cutting into her skin, blood dripping below them. There was no one else there, just Harry, Lily, and the evil Lord Voldemort. br
"So, Harry Potter, we meet again. Once again you're in an extremely impossible situation, but this time, I've taken precautions to make sure that we won't have a repeat of last time." The last time Voldemort and Harry had come face to face, Dumbledore had arrived just in time and had saved Harry for the 4th time. Voldemort had somehow gotten a new wand, to prevent their wands for locking again, the means by which Harry escaped in his 4th year. Desperation seized Harry, and he felt as if a vice were slowly tightening over his heart. He tried to pull himself up and was almost on his feet when the Cruciatus curse hit him again. His eyes bulged as he wiggled around on the ground, his entire body feeling as if it were on fire from the inside. He was struggling to focus, to fight the pain, but all he could get in his view was Lily, sobbing as she watched him, blood dripping from her arms and legs onto the ground. br
"It's pathetic. You've escaped me so many times, but there's nothing special about you. You've been a very lucky child, you poor, pathetic little hero." Harry felt himself being lifted as the pain left his body momentarily. He landed on his front beside Lily, feeling the bones in his nose crunch as easily as the bridge of his glasses had snapped. Blood flowed freely as he turned and looked into Lily's damp, horrified eyes. br
Voldemort was saying something that Harry wasn't paying attention to. All his energy was focused on Lily. Harry slid his wand out from under his body and muttered, "Severo," barely above a whisper. The cords that were holding Lily snapped but stayed in place, slightly loosening so that they no longer cut into her skin. Harry didn't want the ropes to fall because then Voldemort would notice and turn his wrath on Lily. Harry smiled weakly and turned to Voldemort who was now standing over him, looking down at him with a pale snake-like face that had slits for nostrils and giant, bloodred eyes. br
"Such a tragic life, but it need not be. You chose this life, you know, Harry, just as your parents chose their pointless lives. They died to save you Harry, and tonight they're going to have died in vain." Harry narrowed his eyes, a terrible anger settling in his chest. He called Voldemort a terrible name and he tsked, lifting Harry up and slamming him down on his side on the opposite side of the clearing. Harry felt a rib crack as searing pain ripped through his chest. br
Voldemort's back was to Lily and he raised his wand to lift him again just as Lily freed herself and screamed "Expelliarmus!" Lily seemed relieved as she caught Voldemort's wand deftly, but her eyes opened in horror as he made a clutching motion in the air and both Lily and his wands went flying back into his hand. br
"Foolish girl, do you think I wouldn't have armed myself against such a simple charm?" he turned to Harry and said, "I think it's best if we end this now, Imperio." br
Harry felt all the pain leave his body as a pleasant floating sensation overcame it. His mind suddenly became mush in his head and he couldn't form thoughts. All of the sudden a cold, controlling voice entered his head. br
"Kill her." Harry willingly raised his wand, ready to perform the curse, but then a new voice floated across the vast expanses of his mind. br
"Why would I kill my girlfriend?" he heard his own voice say. His mind became a little sharper. br
"Kill her!" br
"I don't think I will." br
"KILL HER!" br
"NO!!!!" This burst from Harry's mouth as all the pain rushed back, knocking the wind out of him. Harry raised his wand, more than willing to kill Voldemort but he was too fast. br
"Expelliarmus," Voldemort yelled, and Harry wand was ripped from his hand. "Very well, it was going to be quick for her, but now you'll have to watch her suffer." Harry lunged for Voldemort, forgetting all about magic, about how much more powerful Voldemort was than he, but the same thin ropes snapped out of the ground, cutting into his flesh. Voldemort approached Lily slowly, his red eyes glinting madly. "Crucio." He said, and Lily writhed, held upright by the cords. Harry couldn't stand it. He felt a rage like never before enter his mind. He wasn't thinking clearly, his scar hurt him too badly, but he managed to see what happened next. Volemort released Lily from the curse, but walked up to her, brushing a curl out of her face and running one long, pointed finger along her jaw line. br
"Such a pretty girl, it would have been great for you to have died flawless, but thanks to your boyfriend, you'll die painfully, and very much marred." Harry didn't know what made Lily do it, maybe it was just the fury that was burning within her, showing her eyes, or the fact that she knew that she was going to die anyways, but she craned her neck and lurched forward, spitting in Voldemort's face, eyes narrowed dangerously. He reached back, and punched her hard across the face. Blood burst from her mouth as her head twisted to the side. br
Harry couldn't tell what was happening anymore. He'd never been so infuriated in his life. His whole body seemed to be shaking with it and his scar burned in his forehead. It felt like it was going to rip his head in two. He saw a blinding white light and all time seemed to slow down a million times. He wanted to get away from the light, away from the white hot heat that was enveloping his entire head, but something told him that he had to focus deep within, focus on the light. Harry's mind fogged, all he could see was the blinding white light and he pushed through it, a little deeper into himself. br
He saw his mother, heard her screaming to save his life, a little deeper. br
He saw his father, looking so much like he did, standing bravely to fight Voldemort, a little deeper. br
He saw Sirius, locked away in Azkaban for a crime he never committed, a little deeper. br
He saw Cedric Diggory, lying beside him on the ground in a graveyard, dead at 17, a little deeper. br
He saw Hermione, lying limp on the ground in the maze, he saw Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, barely alive, he saw Neville Longbottom, his eyes wide as he saw Crouch perform the curse that had made his parents insane, a little deeper, a little deeper, a little deeper. br
All sound stopped. A scream issued from his mouth and he saw a bright light flowed from his own scar. The ropes snapped and the ground began to shake under Harry's feet as he saw Voldemort turn to face him, a silent scream etched in his disgusting face, eyes wide with fear. He saw Lily, looking at him, eyes wide, holding her side where a large wound had opened, blood gushing to the ground. As she fell on her knees, on her side Harry felt something inside his mind break. A surge of power, all the life he had in him exploded through his forehead and he felt as if he were being turned inside out. He felt his muscles scream as all their energy was thrust outward. All the sounds of the past seconds caught up with him, amplified thousands of times, deafening him, the light blinding him, thinking only of Lily. Then there was blackness. br
For all Harry knew, he was a pair of eyeball suspended in black space. He felt no pain, saw nothing, not even his own body as he looked around, just a vast expanse of pitch black. It was completely silent and devoid of anything, except Harry was suddenly able to think clearly. Something on the edge of the expanse faded from black to grey, in the shape of a tall thin man. It walked closer to him, and it lit up bright white, then suddenly full, realistic color. It got close enough for him to stare into a thin face with messy black hair, piercing brown eyes, wire frame glasses. It was like looking in an aging mirror. Harry was looking at his father. br
James smiled and spoke, his voice echoing as if he was talking from a long ways away in an empty cave. "You did well, son. You fought for the right side all the way to the end. You made us so proud, but you can't be with us yet. It's not your time." br
Harry felt desperate, he was seeing his dad for the first real time in his life, and he reached out, but he had no hands, no form. "But I want to stay with you and mum!" Harry pleaded, a tear slowly trickling down his face. He didn't know what was happening, where he was, but if his parents were there, he wanted to be there too. br
"You'll be with us in time, but there's someone who needs you, that you should be with more…" br
Suddenly Harry saw in his mind a flash of shining blue…br
"…someone else that you love…"br
A light airy smell of a flower…br
"… in a way you could never love me and your mom…"br
A flash of gold in a sea of brown…br
"…someone who needs you…"br
A feeling of soft, cool skin, of luxurious curls…br
"… now more than ever…"br
Lips on his…br
"LILY!" Harry said, the darkness and his father all vanishing in an instant as his eyes popped open. Searing pain ripped through his entire body but he ignored it as his mind became abnormally sharp. He saw Voldemort's body, lying unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Harry had a feeling he was really dead that time, somehow his guards against mortality having been broke, but Harry didn't dwell on this. He pulled himself up, every muscle in his body moaning in protest and crawled over to Lily. She was lying on the ground, head lolled to the side, a huge gash across her stomach, eyes closed. She was barely breathing, a death rattle, dying from both external and internal injuries. He didn't have much time. br
"ACCIO DIETIEM TEARS!" Harry said, grabbing his wand out of Voldemort's cold hands. No thought of 'What if this doesn't work?' filled his mind, just hoping, praying that it would get there in time. There was no one else around, what was taking so long…br
Harry caught the bottle as it zoomed towards him and emptied half of it into Lily's mouth. She swallowed, barely alive. Harry quickly poured the rest over her stomach, which healed instantly. Her breathing stopped for a while and Harry panicked, blindly searching his mind for a spell, but then it came back, regular but labored. Relief spread through Harry as he leaned back, a different sort of blackness overcoming him, unconsciousness. br br
"If you two don't shut up you're going to wake him up," came the sharp, tear laden voice of Hermione. Fred and George were arguing loudly about something, but before Harry could figure out what, they had stopped abruptly. br
"It's all right, Hermione, I'm awake." Harry said in a feeble voice. He opened his eyes and stared around at the faces. It looked as if the entire Weasley family was there, much of the Griffindor House and all of the teachers. When Harry pulled on his glasses and focused his eyes on all of them, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny burst into tears, Hermione throwing herself on Harry, pulling him into a hug. Miraculously, there was no more pain. "Hermione, get off…" Harry shoved her off and marveled at the fact that he could used his arms, that he could sit up and feel perfectly normal again, like he had before the Yule Ball. br
"How long have I been here?" br
"About three days," said Mrs. Weasley, through her tears, "when they found you, they thought you were, you were…" she broke off. br
"They didn't know if you were ever going to wake up, once they confirmed that you weren't," said George, looking down at him with the most concerned face Harry had ever seen him muster. br
"But I did," said Harry, who was just remembering everything that had happened in a surge. "I died. I saw my dad. He told me it wasn't my time, the I just woke up…" Harry tried to explain. There was no way he could put into words what he'd seen. "Where's Voldemort, what happened to him?" br
Mrs. Weasley cringed at the name but Hermione said, "He's dead, for good. Harry, you finally defeated him. He's gone for good!" She hugged Harry again and he looked around. Everyone was looking at him with the deepest admiration. It finally sunk in. Voldemort was gone. He'd never come back. He'd never kill innocent people again. He'd never torture Muggles again. Harry had defeated the greatest dark wizard of all time. Harry's eyes focused on Dumbledore's, which were shining with unseen tears. He wanted to communicate more than anything that he did not want to tell what happened. He'd had to explain very painful things twice in his life, the past two years in fact, but now that Voldemort was gone there was absolutely no reason to make him relive it. br
Dumbledore, making Harry wonder once again whether he could read minds said, "Miss Cannonbergh has already told us everything." br
"Where is Lily?" said Harry, noticing that she wasn't one of the faces in the crowd around his bed. br
"I'm right here," she said, pushing her way forward, looking as stunning is ever, although her hair was frizzy and matted with blood and her face was extremely dirty. "Oh Harry," she said, throwing herself on him and jamming her lips onto his, as if they'd been separated for months. Harry wished the other people would look away but they just stood there, smiling down on them. She pulled away and whispered, tears in her eyes, "I love you." br
"I love you too," Harry said, meaning it with his whole heart. br
Professor McGonagall came into the room, her face confused, but it lit up when she saw Harry. "Ah, you're awake. I…er… I just called the Dursleys and they… er… well." br
"That's it," said Mrs. Weasley seriously. "We're adopting you." br