Bring Me To Life : A Continuation
by I Got Tired of Waiting

Part II : Dearly Departed
Intermission Six : The Castle Always Did Like You Better

Contemplating the large inlaid stone circle in the centre of Severus' office, Harry experienced a keen sense of déjà vu. After Albus had died, they'd merely drawn a chalk circle on the floor. However, in subsequent years, as the wards had grown more volatile and complex, Harry had cast this permanent work-circle, which Severus had subsequently covered with the dark, soft Persian rugs he favoured. They'd cleared them and the furniture out of the room last night for this morning's work.

Harry had a vision of another time, when Minerva McGonagall, now long dead, three spell-sharing Aurors, Filius Flitwick, also long gone, and Severus had stood on the outer edge of the chalk circle with Harry in the middle as the focus; bit by bit they'd rebuilt Hogwarts' wards from the ground up. The day the wards had fallen from treachery within. The day Dumbledore had died with a dagger piercing his heart. The day Severus and Harry had finally defeated the Dark Lord.

Harry shook himself to the present. Unlike those bygone days, when the wards would respond to anyone with the proper keys, these modern wards responded only to them. Hopefully, that was about to change, for Severus and Harry--tired of their custodianship--wanted to transfer the Wards to Colin and Dana. Months of research and planning had gone into this day, this new ritual, and even though they were only moderately certain it would work, they were nonetheless determined to try.

This circle contained within it the leashed strength of the Draconus Ward bound to the Earth Stone. Standing at the edge, waiting for the others, a frisson of power ran up Harry's spine making the hairs stand at attention on his arms; near the centre it would grow stronger, more invasive. The keys in the transfer were the bindings: Castle to Earth Stone to Wards, Severus to Harry, and Colin to Dana. In one blind leap of faith, Severus and Harry were counting on Colin and Dana's binding, so similar to their own, to make the transfer succeed in a trade of equals. Whether the castle--or Colin--would cooperate remained to be seen.

While Colin had few objections to being the next headmaster, he was uneasy they would have to assume control in the same manner Harry and Severus had, as a bonded couple. And therein lay his concern. He knew firsthand from his tenure as Deputy headmaster just how strong the Wards were and the thought of such power harming her... It was one thing for him to risk himself in the transfer of such unspeakable power, quite another to place his Dana in the same danger as well; that he could not protect her any more than he could himself sat sour in his stomach.

However, it was too late to change anything now; they were committed. Severus had been persuasive in his explanation and while he couldn't say they'd been coerced, Dana had turned unexpectedly sympathetic concerning their participation. It was times like these he almost wished he'd married a Gryffindor.

Harry observed the play of emotions across Colin's normally stoic face; that they appeared at all spoke volumes about his trepidation. Not that this would change his or Severus' minds; it was past time to let it go. "Shall we get started? This is going to take a while," Harry said softly.

"Might as well," Severus said sourly. "Delaying won't make it any easier. You two remember what to do?"

Dana nodded in the quiet way she had. "Yes, Severus, we do."

Colin raised a brow. "Though, I admit the wandless magic still feels--uncomfortable." At Severus' matched expression he added, "I know, I know. It's necessary. How else can we make the transfer when both hands are required. Yet... how do we know this will work?"

Harry almost smiled at Severus' glare; Colin had asked this same question at every meeting and in return, received the same impatient non-answer; Harry could almost mouth the words that followed verbatim. "We don't, and if it doesn't, we pour as much power as we have into it and make it happen. We built these wards; we can take them down and rebuild them one by one if we have to." Harry did smile then; Severus might say this with a measure of confidence, but he'd also hedged his bets. A thorough check of the Orrery had augured that this was the best day to do the transfer and the Muggles were auspiciously absent as well. Of course, the Aurors blanketing Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, just in case they failed, were purely an unnecessary precaution.

Holding out his hands in welcome, Harry intoned, "Let us begin," and ushered them into the stone circle.

Severus moved to the north position marked by a round stone, Colin to an identical mark to the south; Harry and Dana settled between them at the east and west, respectively. Arms outstretched, they joined hands and began chanting in an ancient tongue, "First to bridge the Gap, the Plinth."

A large stone square morphed from the floor. Several inches high, its four corners pointed at each of them like a compass. As it solidified, they continued. "Rising from the depths, the Pillar." A round stone column rose out of the stone Plinth until it was just below waist-height, its hollowed top wider than its shaft. With a loud click, felt rather than heard, its wide articulated base bonded with the Plinth.

"Closed with Sight, the Portal." A large globe of solid Mage-glass materialised out of thin air and floated above the column before it descended, merging with the concave top of the column. Colin and Dana shuddered, but remained in place. Harry sympathised; the power of the portal could be overwhelming, but under Severus' impeccable control, it presented no danger to them.

"The Plinth, the Pillar, and the Portal shall be sealed with the Signs of Power." From the column, wrapping around the globe, the symbols of the Four Houses of Hogwarts--the Badger, the Lion, the Eagle, and the Serpent--emerged and insinuated themselves into the base of the globe, anchoring it into place. The snake of Slytherin was the last to proceed and it rose, hissing at them, before entwining itself around the other symbols like a protective arm around a lover. Forming an Ouroboros when finished, it represented the essence of the Wards.

"Thus sealed shall the Serpent lead them to the seat of life." Harry had always liked this part as the globe began to glow, brighter and brighter until it steadied into a brilliant radiance, clearly outlining the symbolic ties that bound it. For the first time since they'd started, they separated hands.

Spread wide, Severus placed his hands flat on the Globe, saying, "From me comes the Headmaster... The Keeper of the Wards." The globe flashed a brilliant green.

Immediately following, Harry touched the globe with both hands, his fingers covering Severus' as he chanted, "From me comes the Wellspring, The Keeper of the Stone." The globe pulsed red.

With a sigh, Colin put his hands on the Globe, his fingers overlapping Harry's. "From me shall come the Headmaster... The future Keeper of the Wards." The globe sparkled silver.

As the last to go, Dana spread her hands to reach and cover both Severus and Colin's. "From me shall come the future Wellspring... The future Keeper of the Stone." The globe shimmered gold.

Together they incanted, "Four, the sign of stability, the houses of sanctuary. We are One and seek passage to our hearts."

The castle shuddered as their joined hands sank into the Mage-glass. Down, down, down, they descended to the very heart of Hogwarts, the Earth Stone. With a twist, the globe disappeared to be replaced by the Earth Stone itself. Housed in a rough cave, they shifted to accommodate the new position, their hands never leaving the plain ochre stone or each other's.

The castle roared!

Severus and Harry, their faces drenched in sudden sweat, wove the spell to facilitate the transfer. As the last syllable echoed in the small chamber, the surge of magic flowed through them to Colin and Dana in a steady stream. He could sense Dana as his control of the Wards slid smoothly from him to her, and he began to feel a modicum of hope that they just might be successful despite the odds.

But midway, the transfer slowed to a mere trickle; their spell was not enough.

Sensing Severus faltering, Harry concentrated and added more of his own power to the joining. He knew Colin and Dana could do nothing at this point to help them; they could only stand by helplessly and watch the two of them struggle with the castle.

The stone burned his hands. Instead of reflecting and transferring the power to Colin and Dana, it was acting like a sponge, draining Harry and Severus; something was wrong. The castle bucked and rumbled around them in angry discontent.

Are you all right? Harry asked.

I've been better. This obviously isn't working; we need to focus it better. Damn it, I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this.

Harry nodded his agreement, concentrating too hard to answer.

Their hands were still touching, overlapping each other on the stone. Severus nodded to Colin and, in a series of complicated manoeuvres of bodies and hands, the two men shifted their spouses until they stood behind them, arms wrapped protectively around their waists much like the serpent's attitude on the globe. Throughout their movements, Dana and Harry managed to transfer the contact for the four of them to their own right hands held tightly together at the top of the stone, the other hanging loose at their sides.

Steady now-- Severus' thoughts whispered as they fought to bring their talents to bear in one effort. Harry sagged back into Severus, his body an unsupportable, heavy weight as their combined power filled him.

Quiet now, love-- Colin thought to Dana as she leant into him, pressed close by the power pushing on her, eyes flying wide as his words rang in her head.

When all was secure, Harry and Dana lifted their left hands from their sides and placed them simultaneously--palm down, fingers splayed, on the stone in front of them, rings exposed and in full contact with the stone. They waited.

Severus and Colin removed their left hands from the waists of their bond-mates and held them out over the respective left hands waiting to receive them. This was the tricky part, the last resort they'd hoped to avoid. Watching Colin closely, Severus nodded once, and then as one they lowered their hands on top of the waiting hands of their lovers and mated the pairs of rings there, scissoring their fingers strongly, pressing the hands below theirs firmly into the stone.

A searing jolt of power ran from Severus to Harry, who cried out as it augmented his power, draining him as it shot across the contact at their joined hands in the centre to flow into Dana and then into Colin. They stood transfixed while the magic of their bonds flowed through them, never losing contact with the Stone as the resources they drew upon wrestled with the castle's magic, compelling it to release the bond it had with Harry and Severus and transfer it to Dana and Colin.

Small pieces of stone rained down on them as the castle shuddered. With one final wrench, it surrendered to the sheer strength of their combined power, relinquishing the Stone's control to Dana. Out-finessed, the Wards woven into the Stone followed.

Unhappy with losing Harry, the aftershocks of the castle's displeasure rippled in ever-decreasing intensity until, with one final shiver, it sighed and acquiesced. Now resigned, it would obey.

Colin was now the new Headmaster, Keeper of the Wards. Dana was now the Keeper of the Stone.

Severus was just Severus and Harry, well, Harry was really tired and feeling a bit bereft with the loss of the constant white noise that had been an intimate part of him for so many decades. He could still feel some dim echoes of it and guessed it would just have to be good enough.

Using the last of her reserves, Dana ordered the Stone to take them home. They rose in the same manner they'd fallen and with a resounding click, the circle, the plinth, the column, three very tired wizards and one witch returned to their rightful place in the headmaster's office, now Colin's office. Their hands sprang out of the globe, now inert Mage-glass, Dana's still under Harry's.

They broke contact. Severus stumbled and fell to one knee. Harry felt pretty shaky himself. Colin fell prostrate to the floor; Dana bent over him on her knees, reassured by the steady rise and fall of his chest. Her own breathing ragged, the unsettling chittering of the castle roiled in her head.

They'll be fine after some sleep, Harry thought, his head reeling. We all will.

Obviously woozy, Severus stood. Joining him, Harry asked, "Are you all right?" as he ran his hand through his hair and touched his cheek.

"I'm fine. Just give me a few moments to recover." He grimaced. "Thrice-damned castle always did like you better."

TBC