Welcome back, everyone! I'm so glad you could return for yet another installment of Blast from the Past! I know this chapter is a little shorter than my recent ones, but it just screamed to be ended where I ended it. Sooooo, I'll get to work right away on the next chapter and plan on it being a longer one. I don't want to even hint at a date for the next chapter, though, because RL is kicking my ass right now (and I don't mean Remus Lupin). Aside from my normal uber-busy life, I found out today that my brother has cancer. Any healthy thoughts and well-wishes would be much appreciated.
Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers and a big extra-special thanks to my wonderful, fantabulous beta, Azhure! Lots of Butterfinger BB's to you! (See individual responses at the end of the chapter.)
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The Room of Requirement rarely saw such 'round the clock action. Albus, Minerva, Severus, Arthur, Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Lucius and James spent all their waking moments working on their plan. It had been suggested that a multiple-layer plan would be most effective in ridding the world of Tom Riddle once and for all. In light of the logic and reason behind this suggestion, Hermione and Ron spent hours at a time pouring through the stacks of books that littered the room, researching the junctum aeternus, just how powerful it could be and how Harry and Draco could use their new bond. They were also searching for the strongest curses they could find that weren't Unforgivables, various potion ingredients and anything else that crossed their minds. Harry and Draco began practicing curses and hexes and, using Hermione & Ron's research, they were learning how to join their magical auras to increase the strength behind their spells. Severus, James and Lucius began discussing the idea of developing a potion to weaken Voldemort, (though Severus insisted that if it could be done, he would have done it years ago.)
Albus, Minerva and Arthur spent their time contacting people, verifying Ministry records, checking in with Order members and – in the case of Albus and Minerva – attempting to do some amateur scrying for anything else helpful.
Their big breakthrough had come just after dawn on their second day in the Room. Harry and Draco had succeeded in consciously joining their auras a few times. Finally, they tried directing the visible blue lightening streaks toward James (who was momentarily playing the guinea pig). As the blue streaks reached James, he was simultaneously immobilized and levitated, eventually floating closer to the joined wizards and hovering as if waiting for instructions from them. They set him down carefully and looked at each other with a silent, understanding glance.
By this time, everyone else in the Room had stopped their work and were watching Harry and Draco. Draco quirked a questioning eyebrow at Harry, to which Harry smiled and nodded his assent. They focused on joining their auras again and sent the energy throughout the room. Each and every member of their small group was immeasurably surprised to find themselves simultaneously rising a few feet from the floor. There was an impish glint in Harry's green eyes as he flicked his hand. Everyone started revolving around the room, floating in a slightly misshapen circle. Draco smiled at this, an amused smile that seemed to express his own sneaky thoughts. A similar flick of his hand, and the levitating crowd began to alternate up and down as they rotated around the room. It was the perfect imitation of a living merry-go-round.
Finally tiring of that, the bonded wizards set everyone back down and walked over to the large window that faced the lake. Their recent guinea pigs were still somewhat gob smacked, amazed at the display of power and coordinated control. They watched as Harry and Draco opened the window and stood directly in front of it, side by side, almost touching – but not quite. The Headmaster walked back into the room, closely followed by Professor McGonagall, and both instructors simply stood in silence and joined the watchers as Harry and Draco once again looked at each other, seeming to communicate without words. With two nearly imperceptible nods and a couple of mischievous smirks, they turned in unison to face the lake. Immediately, the crackling blue auras were visible again, but this time something was a little different. This time, it was a darker, denser blue. Those in the Room began to feel the slightest of breezes and had to wonder if it was coming from the window or the surge of power they were witnessing.
As the swirling, crackling blue light reached the darkest point just before black, it shot out the window and within seconds, everyone saw the intentions of Harry and Draco. The lake seemed to split down the middle, water rising straight up creating a liquid wall on either side of the divide. Directly in the midst of the walls of water, seated at the bottom of the now-dry lakebed with a very odd expression on its squishy face was a rather uncomfortable giant squid. Heads, arms and fins were seen disappearing into the horizontal surfaces as the mer-people frantically catapulted themselves into the water.
No one made a sound, afraid of breaking the concentration that was obviously needed to perform such strong magic. After sustaining their hold on the water for nearly five minutes, Harry and Draco glanced at each other again and ever-so-slightly reached toward each other. Standing there, each with one hand held out, their fingers just a breath away from touching, the joined wizards seemed to alter the purpose of their magic. Those observing in the room could feel a difference in the atmosphere and saw the glowing auras brighten up a bit. Moments later, as evidence of this change, the walls of water began to separate. At first there were random sized blobs flipping off the tops of the walls and falling into the lake. These blobs got smaller, becoming more directed until the walls were simply the foundation for two great waterfalls on either side of the divide. The observers could almost make out a very perplexed expression on the squid's face as the lakebed began to fill up again. Eventually, the lake water was completely re-deposited and the lake looked as if nothing had changed. Harry and Draco closed their eyes momentarily, breathing deeply as they both pulled the power back, grounding excess energy and releasing the connection between their auras.
Harry turned, looking at James like an excited child seeking his father's approval. James, for his part, was awestruck. He smiled at Harry, stepping toward him, all traces of his earlier exhaustion gone in the wake of this amazing display of power. James was once again overcome with a feeling of being older than his seventeen years as he gathering Harry into a warm hug.
"You're unbelievable. You'll do so many great things, I know you will."
Harry blushed slightly at the compliment, but reveled in this chance to feel close to his father. He turned to smile at Draco, only to find the blond was still staring out the window.
Draco never saw the look of veneration from Lucius. He didn't notice the pointed look of encouragement James offered to Lucius. Lost in his own thoughts; thoughts of realization, fear, loneliness and worry, he was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Draco turned into the touch, certain that he would find Harry's smiling face and be comforted by Harry's arms. Instead, it was Lucius who offered that comforting smile. It was Lucius' arms that enveloped Draco, offering security and love. Draco stiffened for a moment, then relaxed into the unfamiliar embrace. It's okay. This isn't the same Lucius I'm used to. He cares. He's kind. It's okay.
Hermione decided it was high time to share her most recent discovery. "I was about to tell you, I guess this would be a good time… Er, well, I was reading and…" she paused, the now familiar anxiety clawing its way through her system again. She turned quickly to the table and grabbed the book she'd been reading. This allowed her the security of intellect and information, as well as placed her in a position that was just a bit closer to Ron. She felt much better when she could take comfort in his close proximity. "I found some information about your bond. It says you can join your powers, and like Professor Dumbledore said before, this will increase the strength of your magical auras. It's not just going to give you double the power, it's nearly immeasurable, especially if the wizards involved are highly powerful on their own." She looked up, glancing from Harry to Draco and back, not needing to comment on the strength of their individual powers. Everyone knew these were the most powerful wizards of their generation, possibly of their time. "I think it's obvious now that you've gotten the hang of that trick. But you have to be careful, especially at first," she was interrupted by Draco's outburst.
"You think we don't know how to handle some power? Are you afraid we're suddenly going to turn evil just because we can part the lake?" He sneered at her, bringing back memories of a very similar sneer coming from the face of an elder Malfoy. Hermione didn't even realize she was shaking until she felt Ron step up behind her, gently placing his hands on her waist to offer comfort. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that this was exactly what she should have expected.
"No, Draco. I'm just trying to explain that there could be some negative emotional effects of using such high levels of power. My research suggests that you might feel a let-down, with insecurities, fears and anger building inside and a decrease in your ability to control such emotions." Hermione worried that with Harry and Draco's past influences, these emotions could very well lead either of them to violent tendencies. She wasn't about to admit that aloud, of course.
Lost in her worries, she had forgotten that Harry could easily know (and probably did) exactly what she was thinking. This seemed highly probably, especially when Harry chose that moment to levitate (higher than he ever had before) and gaze in turn at each person in the room. Once he had everyone's attention, he slowly lowered himself to the floor and began to say what had been avoided for days.
"Hermione, a little moodiness is not going make either of us homicidal. Stop worrying." He turned to include the rest of the group. "If we're going to succeed, we have to all be honest with one another. Completely honest. Half truths, in this situation could get someone half killed, or worse. Now, for those of you who either didn't know this, or have forgotten it, I have some relatively new abilities that should be taken into consideration. I've developed my Occlumency to nearly the level of my instructor," here he nodded in deference to Severus.
Severus gave a slight nod and a barely audible utter of "better, actually."
Harry chose to ignore that statement, continuing with his prepared statements. "I've also been studying Legilemency. You may remember that I discovered during the summer that I have seer abilities which have since then evolved to include empathic and telepathic abilities. When I spoke with each of you a few days ago I tapped into your emotions and thoughts. I know what's really going on here." He paused, looked around the room and took mental notes on who seemed worried by this information, who seemed confused or surprised and noticed that Draco was the only one who wasn't concerned. Draco wasn't hearing anything new; he was aware of Harry's powers, and felt that it would be nearly impossible for Harry to have any secrets from him now that they were bonded.
Harry looked at James and Lucius. "I know that you aren't here by accident. You were told to do this so you could stop me." Harry took note of the looks of concern and embarrassment from James and Lucius, but choosing not to react, he turned toward Dumbledore. "I know that you and Professor McGonagall sent them here and you were afraid for me to know the truth. I understand that." He looked around a bit more, directing his next statements at the entire group. "I turned to Draco in September to help me learn more powerful magic so I could protect everyone I love."
Dumbledore and McGonagall glanced at each other; silently berating themselves for not have done something differently.
"After Cedric, Sirius and Charlie, Ron's capture, Neville's sacrifice to protect me, Justin, Lavender, Hermione's torture," both Hermione and Ron were sobered by the inclusion of their names in his list of concerns and motivations. Harry continued, "Snape's injuries, everyone else who's been hurt or affected or threatened during this war, and now … Moony," he choked. "I just can't handle the thought of losing anyone else. I wanted power to protect you all, and I started studying, developing these new skills. I knew that Voldemort had transferred some of his power to me."
Ron still flinched slightly at the name of the Dark Lord. Everyone else seemed mostly immune to it by now. No one moved; no one spoke. It was an unspoken understanding that this release was important to Harry. He couldn't be interrupted. "I learned about my Gryffindor heritage some time ago. It's no secret that Godric was powerful, and as his heir it would be expected for me to be rather powerful as well." There were a few silent nods around the room. Harry's explanation of his power made sense, but there was obviously something he hadn't yet revealed.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself to divulge the biggest secret, the one piece of information that he knew would leave them all speechless. "I've recently discovered that my mother wasn't truly a Muggle-born. She was simply the first witch in a long line of squibs. It's no wonder my Aunt Petunia is so unpleasant and attracted someone like Uncle Vernon. The Evans family is descendent from Magus – Merlin's dark wizard twin brother. Magus was also related to Salazar Slytherin. I believe Salazar's distant cousin Morrigan was my great grandmother many times over."
The shock from this information was evident on every face in the room. Harry Potter, actually related to a dark wizard! Not Slytherin himself as many people had believed back in second year, but a dark wizard, Magus – an extremely powerful dark wizard.
"So, I guess it was because of this heritage that it was pretty easy for me to pick up these new skills. Draco explained that my studying the Dark Arts wasn't the reason I could do this stuff. He told me I was just powerful and didn't realize it. That's when I started researching my family tree. You see, Quirrell was right, actually Voldemort was right. Only I never realized it 'til now."
Snape quirked an eyebrow at this statement. Ron and Hermione looked on with curiosity, seeming to know there was something logical behind that statement. James was more than a little concerned by this announcement, wondering if Harry had managed to fool them all and was honestly in league with Voldemort.
"In my first year," Harry continued, "Quirrell told me about how Voldemort found him. He said he had been a foolish young man but Voldemort taught him that there is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it. Since then, I have realized that those strong enough to seek the power are also strong enough to add their intent to that power. Dark intent brings dark results. When I first started building on my powers, my only purpose was to protect those I love, make sure I wouldn't have to lose any more family or friends. I thought that I might be able to best protect you all by making a deal with him. I was planning to work my way into his inner circle and then find an opportunity to get rid of him. I know now that it wouldn't have worked."
"Why wouldn't it have worked, Harry?" Dumbledore was the first to break the silence.
"Because I…" he paused and his breath hitched in his throat. Draco moved closer to him, hoping to offer comfort. Harry gripped Draco's hand tightly and gave a slight smile of thanks. "Because I couldn't have followed through with it. I wanted so badly to protect everyone that I nearly forgot about my own standards. I didn't think it through. I didn't truly consider how I would react if Voldemort asked me to hurt or torture some innocent person. I also didn't think about how I could possibly kill Voldemort on my own. Because of the brother wands, we can't duel each other. I doubt the killing curse would actually kill him, even if he didn't raise his wand to fight back." This stirred curiosity in Harry's audience, especially James and Lucius who didn't know as many details as the rest.
"He's done far too many things in his attempts to gain power," Harry continued. "He's not even truly human anymore. He was reduced to Merlin knows what when he tried to kill me. Then he drank the unicorn blood," James gasped at this, shocked at this despite knowing that Voldemort was evil. "…And Firenze – the centaur – told me about how that curses a person, slaying something as pure as a unicorn. And the spell he had Wormtail do to bring him back in my fourth year," he didn't even seem to notice James' shock and despair at hearing that his good friend was involved in this. "That can't have been normal. No one could really be human after all that, could they sir?"
Dumbledore shook his head, silently conceding Harry's point. James and Lucius mulled over this new information, wondering what the Dumbledore of their time had been thinking when he sent them to fight this. Hermione began a mental list of books and references to check, planning an endless search for something to destroy this Dark Wizard. She wasn't about to let his humanity-challenged status stop her!
"Harry?" Ron said timidly. "I think there's another reason. You know, why it wouldn't have worked, there's something you maybe didn't think of."
"What's that?"
"Well, you said there's only power, but the intent of the user can affect the power, right?"
"Yes." Harry waited patiently, somewhat intrigued by Ron's train of thought. Ron was known for being an outstanding strategist, but was not typically proficient in analyzing puzzles such as this.
"So dark intent would bring dark results?"
"Yes." Harry said again.
"You couldn't have truly followed him then. You didn't have dark intent. Your reasons for being there were love, loyalty and a desire to protect. Those aren't dark. You couldn't have successfully hurt innocent people as long as you had those desires in mind, right?"
Again the room fell into silence. It was the simplest, most logical explanation of all, but none of them would have thought of it. Hermione beamed at Ron's insight and understanding. Harry smiled at the faith and trust from his long-time friend. Dumbledore secretly thought of how lucky they all were at the truth in those statements. McGonagall privately worried about what would happen if anything were to take those desires out of Harry's mind, especially with the bond increasing the strength of his power.
~TBC~
Okay, like I said, I'm really sorry for this being so short, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer!
Shena – welcome to the club! I'm glad you read, hope you continue! I also hope my reviews of your fic were helpful! Keep writing!
Vividian – wow! I would love a little Remus plushie! That's so cool. Here's your update, hope you liked it.
Menecarkawan – beautiful? You really think so? Wow, thanks!
Fearless Kitty – thank you! I'm so glad you like it! Those inner monologues are often a source of anxiety for me. I tend to be a very introspective and wordy person and I'm always worried about boring my readers when the characters adopt those traits. Patience on the Sev/Lucius thing, remember – good things come to those who wait. J
Louise4 – don't worry, I know how ff.net can be. I'm just glad you updated and that you reviewed! Please update again, and for that matter, please review again, too! Hmmm, Harry back? Jinxes? Can't say, because then I'd have to kill you!
Charmedz – Thank you! I can't begin to express how great it makes me feel to know that people like this so much. As for the Lucius and Severus thing – what confuses you, the age difference? Remember they had a thing for each other when they were both in school, and the 17 year old Lucius is planning to go back to his own time where the 17 year old Severus is. Of course, whether or not that happens, and what will come of it, remains to be seen.
HPIceAngel – yeah, Draco cheers Harry up quite a bit. I think now that he's facing things and accepting the support from those who love him, he'll be able to handle things better…we hope. J
Malfoy Snogger – I think you're the only person who commented on the "official" completion of the bond between Harry and Draco. I was trying to make it subtle, yet steamy hot and sensual at the same time. Guess I need to work on that, huh? As for the rest of your review – I am so glad you like it and that you care enough to wonder about things, but I can't answer a single one of those questions yet and you bloody well know it! (grins) Keep reading, though. The answers are coming!
Web Walker – I know you were reviewing much earlier chapters, but just wanted to say thank you for reading and reviewing! It's wonderful to get new readers. I hope you've continued to read and enjoy! (otherwise you'll never see this reply).
Shadow Bandit – Wow – such incredible flattery! You are too kind! I've really enjoyed A Moment in Time and probably wouldn't have seen it if not for your review, so Thank You for sharing such wonderful talent with ME! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the rest…
Azhure – Awww, thanks, but I couldn't have done it without you. Hmmm, Jason Issacs, yes, hmmmm. Oh, right responses… J so here we are again and with more foreshadowing to boot!
NayNymic – I'm very glad you liked Harry better. I knew he would come around eventually. Now tell me this, how would James and Lucius change the future when Dumbledore's planning to obliviate their memories before they return to their own time? WEG About that snogging idea, I like it! I think I'll try to fit it in the next chapter or so, if you don't mind me using it for real!