The Phoenix's Prophecy
by Daphne Li
Chapter 20.
~*~*~*~
"Nothing's happened! I'm going crazy, here!" Jackson seethed a few days later. They were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating lunch. After Harry's announcement, Rose had alerted the others, drawing their attention away from herself and back to Harry. They had all been alarmed at his realization, but there was nothing that any of them could do, but wait. And all of them were getting impatient.
"The you-know-what is no better then us. Dad wrote me last night and told me that they are all on high alert." Ron muttered, as he leaned over to speak with Harry.
"The teachers are no better. Something's obviously wrong." Hermione stated, as she flashed a look at the teachers table. Dumbledore was eating calmly, but the others looked unsettled. Snape occasionally would rub the arm where his dark-mark was hidden, and May looked tense. McGonagle looked more sour than ever, and Flitwick seemed more.....twittery these days.
"Everyone's up at arms. Can you blame them?" Ginny said, as she met Harry's eyes. He slowly shook his head and sighed.
"But there is nothing we can do, except try to be prepared." He muttered. Ginny snuggled closer to him, her eyes half-closed. He felt Rose slide closer to Neville, and watched as the other boy's face turned slightly red. He noticed that her face was pinched with something more than worry, and her eyes held a restless light in them that was almost..... animalistic. Harry's worry for his sister grew, and he knew that something must be horribly wrong. But since Rose was refusing to tell him, there was nothing he could do or say at the moment.
"I need to think." Rose suddenly announced, getting up abruptly and quickly rushing from the room. Her friends gazed after her in shock, and Harry felt a strange foreboding feeling welling up inside of him. For some reason, his eyes flickered over to where Draco Malfoy was sitting. The other boy had his eyes glued to the doors that Rose had just exited from, and a strange, almost knowing look was on his face. Harry sat up straight and alert.
"I'm going to go talk with her." He informed them as they all looked at him with just as much worry as they had with Rose. It took nearly all his power to walk nonchalantly out the doors of the Great Hall, and the moment he was sure he was free from prying eyes, his casual gate turned into a full-out run.
He had to find Rose, and fast!
~*~*~*~
Harry had no doubt about where he would find her, and his instincts proved to be right. He found his sister laying prostrate on her bed, her body shaking violently.
"Rose?!" He shouted, bounding over to the bed and grasping her shoulder. Her breathing was coming in pants, and her eyes were wide. The green color of them seemed to have taken over her entire eye as he managed to get her to look towards him. He recoiled in horror, but refused to let go of her shoulder.
"Harry.....beware....."
Despite her quaking body, her voice was steady and a bit deeper than usual. He had only seen this sort of thing once, and that had been when Professor Trelawny.....made her prophesy and the end of third year.
"Rose!"
"He is coming! He is coming! Death and distraction in his wake. Two attempts it will take, to rid him of this world forever. But the second may be the death of him who lived, if any die in the first."
This was said in a terrifying tone, and Harry finally released his sister, who had fallen still when she stopped talking. She was gasping weakly for breath, and her skin was pale and sweaty. She was still for a few moments, as Harry's mind whirled with the words she had just spoken. No, not just words, a prophecy!
"Harry....." Weak and drained, Rose's voice sounded like she was talking through a mouthful of chalk. He quickly moved closer and ran his hand through her hair, in what he hoped was a comforting way.
"Harry, what happened?"
"You made a prophecy." He whispered. She choked and struggled to rise onto her elbows to look him in the eyes. Her eyes were now back to normal, but they were full of terror.
"But I don't see into the future!"
"You did this time. And Rose, it's not good." He tried to keep his voice steady, but found it hard. For some reason, he felt exhaustion washing over him like a wave, and he had a strong urge to climb into bed and not get up until the next day. Rose sighed deeply, her breath catching as she did.
"Voldemort's coming, Harry. I can feel it." She whispered. Harry nodded, reaching up and brushing his fingers over his aching scar. It had been constantly hurting as of late, and he had taken to ignoring it. But now, the ache was turning into a full-blown sharp throb, just adding to his need for sleep.
"I know. I just don't know what he's planning. Goyle hasn't been able to get any information, and I've had no contact from Remus for some time, so I don't know what's happening on that end, either. All I know, is that he's not planning on approaching in a way that we'd expect. But then, what else is new?" He asked sarcastically, getting a weak smile out of his sister.
"I suppose the only thing we can do now is wait. And try to figure out why I saw a future scene and not a past or present."
"What did you see, exactly?" He asked, standing up and walking towards the door.
"That's the problem. I don't remember." Were her last words, before he shut the door behind him and walked back up to the boy's dorm for a long nap.
~*~*~*~
It was quiet. Too quiet. The darkness surrounded like a cloak, and pressed in at him from every corner. It was a place unlike any he had seen in his dreams before.
Then, there came the voices.
"I'm a seer, Harry."
"She couldn't say my name, so she called me Lee....."
"It shows you your patron animal!"
"I'm a deer? Like Harry?"
"Maybe Goyle has changed."
"I am Cassia Malfoy."
"I don't regret telling Rose I love her....."
"Tell her when the right time comes."
"I love you, Harry."
"It's time."
"Nothing's happened! I'm going crazy here!"
".....if any die in the first."
"It is time."
He looked around frantically, trying to see where the voices were coming from. The walls around him were warping.....changing. Now there was a long hall before him, almost like the one he had seen in his dreams last year. But this one was different. He could see no door to exit from, just an empty corridor. The voices repeated themselves, over and over, filling the hallway with echoing noise. He did the only thing he could.
He ran.
"Harry....."
On and on he ran.
"Harry."
Faster, faster!
"Harry!"
There! A ending to the hall. Not a door, or a doorway, but an opening nonetheless. That was Dumbledore's voice calling him. But it was weak and ill-sounding. He felt panic enter his chest as he rushed out of the tunnel.
There lay Dumbledore.
It was not a room, nor was it like anyplace he had ever been. It was simply a place with dark, swirling clouds forming the firmness on which he stood, the cover over them, and the four walls.....or whatever they were, around them.
'Professor!' He tried to yell, but no sound escaped from his lips. He rushed forward, and choked when he saw open wounds on the professor's neck, face, and the visible parts of his arms. The other man's robes were torn and tattered, and blood was showing through some of the tears. Dumbledore's eyes were shut, and his beard swayed in an invisible breeze.
He reached for his wand, grasped it and pulled it out. He needed to help Dumbledore! If he didn't, he'd bleed to death! He desperately tried to say a charm that he had been taught earlier in the year, but it was not the charm that sounded from his lips.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He watched in horror as green light tore from his wand and bulleted for the Professor's body.
Everything slowed and the seconds ticked by like minutes.
An evil laugh filled the air at that moment, and his blood ran cold.
"NO! VOLDEMORT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" He shouted, watching as the slowed green light trickled towards Dumbledore.
"I can, Potter, and I have! Say goodbye to your beloved Professor!" The evil laugh rang out again at this, and Harry screamed as pain beyond even the Cruciatus Curse seared through his scar. More screams joined his.
THERE! A flutter of red and gold. A musical cry like none other ever heard!
Time returned.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The curse struck.
All went black.
~*~*~*~
'Where am I? How did I get here?'
Harry looked around himself. It seemed as if his dream had ended, but another one had now taken it's place.
Now he was in a room. A plain white room with no decorations, no windows, no doors. Only a flimsy black curtain hanging against the opposite wall. He had seen that curtain before, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where it had been.
His mind returned to his former dream. It had been so horrifyingly real. Dumbledore injured, Harry trying to help, Voldemort using him as a pathway for that evil curse.....no, that was wrong. Voldemort had taken over his body without him knowing it. And then that melodious cry. That flash of red. It had been a phoenix, if he had ever seen one. Then the curse striking.
Harry closed his eyes to make the image go away, but when he opened them, he wished he hadn't. Because now, he wasn't alone in this dream-room. Now, there was something that he wished he never had to see, even in his dreams.
"ROSE!" He shouted, running towards her prostrate body. She was deathly pale, and motionless. Her eyes were closed and her long lashes brushed against her colorless cheeks. She wore a strange dress of pure white, that covered her arms, and went past her feet. Harry leaned down and took her wrist, searching for a pulse.
Nothing.
He put his fingers under her nose, praying for a breath.
Nothing.
"No.....NO!" Harry moaned, pulling her still body against him as he desperately tried to think of ways to wake her.
This was a worse dream than the first one.
Oh, so much worse!
He sobbed, bringing her pulse-less wrist up to his face, kissing it gently. His sister! His little lost sister! DEAD!
Something wet smeared across his forehead as her wrist brushed across it, but he barely noticed. Her body was cold. So cold.
Again, the wetness returned as he bowed his head over her hand, brushing her wrist against his forehead. This time, it annoyed him and he reached up to brush it away. Harry then looked at his fingers with growing horror.
Blood.
His scar was bleeding. But worse yet, blood was beginning to stain the white sleeve of her dress, right around the area of her wrist!
Pushing the sleeve up, he was horrified to see a lightning-bolt shaped scar, identical to his, cut into her skin. Blood was seeping from the cut, mingling with that that had begun to drip from his own scar. Harry wanted to pull back in disgusted horror, but instead, an invisible force pushed him foreword, causing his head to rest back on her wrist. His tears of anguish began to fall again, as he felt his blood mingle with that of his sister's.
Then, the wet was gone. The blood vanished.
Pink returned to white.
Gasps of breath rattled a air- deprived chest.
A hand clenched another.
A choked gasp and the rise of two shocked emerald eyes.
"Rose?"
"H.....Harry....."
Eyes fluttered open to meet shocked, tear-filled ones. Harry caught his breath, and with a moan, gathered his weak sister into his arms.
"You're alive! You're alright!" He chanted over and over, unable to help himself. She weakly reached up and placed her arms around his neck.
"Harry, Rose....."
Harry and Rose looked over their shoulders to see the black curtain flailing in an invisible wind. Then, it moved aside. Harry choked on a lump of pure shock that entered his throat, and he heard his sister gasp next to him.
For there, in front of them, stood.....
Sirius Black.
His hair was a mess, and his eyes were full of shock, but he seemed younger, somehow. Even younger than when Harry had last saw him, just before he fell behind the.....
"The Veil! That's what that is! That's the veil that's in the Ministry!" Harry choked, standing up as shock overwhelmed him.
"And I'm supposed to be behind it.....I thought. Why am I here? Why are you here?! You didn't die, did you?" Sirius asked in obvious panic. The two younger people stared at him in surprise.
"WHAT? No! This is just a dream." Harry stated uncertainly. Sirius's eyes turned sad.
"No, Harry. It's not. This is the place that people who are crossing over come. They may stay here seconds, they may stay here days.....even years. But it all leads to the same place, and there's only one way you could have come here. You are dead."
These last words were ominous, and Harry shivered.
"Then how come you're here and not behind the veil? And how come Rose was dead, and now she's alive. This *is* a dream." He tried to sound more assured, but his voice shook at the end. Sirius's brown eyes widened.
"What is happening? Why is this happening?" He muttered. Neither of his companions could answer.
"Harry, look." Rose whispered. Harry turned and saw what she was motioning at. On the other side of the room, there had appeared a.....hole in the wall, just like the vastness that he had encountered in his first dream.
"We have to go." She whispered. Harry didn't argue, but Sirius shook his head.
"I can't."
"You are here, aren't you?" She asked, her voice sounding more like an annoyed hiss. Harry looked at her in surprise, and Sirius blinked.
"But I'm *dead*." He whispered. Rose rolled her eyes and took his right hand with her own right hand. Then she took Harry's right hand with her left. Harry took the hint and grabbed Sirius's left hand with his own left and together in this circle, they walked through the hole.
~*~*~*~
by Daphne Li
Chapter 20.
~*~*~*~
"Nothing's happened! I'm going crazy, here!" Jackson seethed a few days later. They were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating lunch. After Harry's announcement, Rose had alerted the others, drawing their attention away from herself and back to Harry. They had all been alarmed at his realization, but there was nothing that any of them could do, but wait. And all of them were getting impatient.
"The you-know-what is no better then us. Dad wrote me last night and told me that they are all on high alert." Ron muttered, as he leaned over to speak with Harry.
"The teachers are no better. Something's obviously wrong." Hermione stated, as she flashed a look at the teachers table. Dumbledore was eating calmly, but the others looked unsettled. Snape occasionally would rub the arm where his dark-mark was hidden, and May looked tense. McGonagle looked more sour than ever, and Flitwick seemed more.....twittery these days.
"Everyone's up at arms. Can you blame them?" Ginny said, as she met Harry's eyes. He slowly shook his head and sighed.
"But there is nothing we can do, except try to be prepared." He muttered. Ginny snuggled closer to him, her eyes half-closed. He felt Rose slide closer to Neville, and watched as the other boy's face turned slightly red. He noticed that her face was pinched with something more than worry, and her eyes held a restless light in them that was almost..... animalistic. Harry's worry for his sister grew, and he knew that something must be horribly wrong. But since Rose was refusing to tell him, there was nothing he could do or say at the moment.
"I need to think." Rose suddenly announced, getting up abruptly and quickly rushing from the room. Her friends gazed after her in shock, and Harry felt a strange foreboding feeling welling up inside of him. For some reason, his eyes flickered over to where Draco Malfoy was sitting. The other boy had his eyes glued to the doors that Rose had just exited from, and a strange, almost knowing look was on his face. Harry sat up straight and alert.
"I'm going to go talk with her." He informed them as they all looked at him with just as much worry as they had with Rose. It took nearly all his power to walk nonchalantly out the doors of the Great Hall, and the moment he was sure he was free from prying eyes, his casual gate turned into a full-out run.
He had to find Rose, and fast!
~*~*~*~
Harry had no doubt about where he would find her, and his instincts proved to be right. He found his sister laying prostrate on her bed, her body shaking violently.
"Rose?!" He shouted, bounding over to the bed and grasping her shoulder. Her breathing was coming in pants, and her eyes were wide. The green color of them seemed to have taken over her entire eye as he managed to get her to look towards him. He recoiled in horror, but refused to let go of her shoulder.
"Harry.....beware....."
Despite her quaking body, her voice was steady and a bit deeper than usual. He had only seen this sort of thing once, and that had been when Professor Trelawny.....made her prophesy and the end of third year.
"Rose!"
"He is coming! He is coming! Death and distraction in his wake. Two attempts it will take, to rid him of this world forever. But the second may be the death of him who lived, if any die in the first."
This was said in a terrifying tone, and Harry finally released his sister, who had fallen still when she stopped talking. She was gasping weakly for breath, and her skin was pale and sweaty. She was still for a few moments, as Harry's mind whirled with the words she had just spoken. No, not just words, a prophecy!
"Harry....." Weak and drained, Rose's voice sounded like she was talking through a mouthful of chalk. He quickly moved closer and ran his hand through her hair, in what he hoped was a comforting way.
"Harry, what happened?"
"You made a prophecy." He whispered. She choked and struggled to rise onto her elbows to look him in the eyes. Her eyes were now back to normal, but they were full of terror.
"But I don't see into the future!"
"You did this time. And Rose, it's not good." He tried to keep his voice steady, but found it hard. For some reason, he felt exhaustion washing over him like a wave, and he had a strong urge to climb into bed and not get up until the next day. Rose sighed deeply, her breath catching as she did.
"Voldemort's coming, Harry. I can feel it." She whispered. Harry nodded, reaching up and brushing his fingers over his aching scar. It had been constantly hurting as of late, and he had taken to ignoring it. But now, the ache was turning into a full-blown sharp throb, just adding to his need for sleep.
"I know. I just don't know what he's planning. Goyle hasn't been able to get any information, and I've had no contact from Remus for some time, so I don't know what's happening on that end, either. All I know, is that he's not planning on approaching in a way that we'd expect. But then, what else is new?" He asked sarcastically, getting a weak smile out of his sister.
"I suppose the only thing we can do now is wait. And try to figure out why I saw a future scene and not a past or present."
"What did you see, exactly?" He asked, standing up and walking towards the door.
"That's the problem. I don't remember." Were her last words, before he shut the door behind him and walked back up to the boy's dorm for a long nap.
~*~*~*~
It was quiet. Too quiet. The darkness surrounded like a cloak, and pressed in at him from every corner. It was a place unlike any he had seen in his dreams before.
Then, there came the voices.
"I'm a seer, Harry."
"She couldn't say my name, so she called me Lee....."
"It shows you your patron animal!"
"I'm a deer? Like Harry?"
"Maybe Goyle has changed."
"I am Cassia Malfoy."
"I don't regret telling Rose I love her....."
"Tell her when the right time comes."
"I love you, Harry."
"It's time."
"Nothing's happened! I'm going crazy here!"
".....if any die in the first."
"It is time."
He looked around frantically, trying to see where the voices were coming from. The walls around him were warping.....changing. Now there was a long hall before him, almost like the one he had seen in his dreams last year. But this one was different. He could see no door to exit from, just an empty corridor. The voices repeated themselves, over and over, filling the hallway with echoing noise. He did the only thing he could.
He ran.
"Harry....."
On and on he ran.
"Harry."
Faster, faster!
"Harry!"
There! A ending to the hall. Not a door, or a doorway, but an opening nonetheless. That was Dumbledore's voice calling him. But it was weak and ill-sounding. He felt panic enter his chest as he rushed out of the tunnel.
There lay Dumbledore.
It was not a room, nor was it like anyplace he had ever been. It was simply a place with dark, swirling clouds forming the firmness on which he stood, the cover over them, and the four walls.....or whatever they were, around them.
'Professor!' He tried to yell, but no sound escaped from his lips. He rushed forward, and choked when he saw open wounds on the professor's neck, face, and the visible parts of his arms. The other man's robes were torn and tattered, and blood was showing through some of the tears. Dumbledore's eyes were shut, and his beard swayed in an invisible breeze.
He reached for his wand, grasped it and pulled it out. He needed to help Dumbledore! If he didn't, he'd bleed to death! He desperately tried to say a charm that he had been taught earlier in the year, but it was not the charm that sounded from his lips.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He watched in horror as green light tore from his wand and bulleted for the Professor's body.
Everything slowed and the seconds ticked by like minutes.
An evil laugh filled the air at that moment, and his blood ran cold.
"NO! VOLDEMORT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" He shouted, watching as the slowed green light trickled towards Dumbledore.
"I can, Potter, and I have! Say goodbye to your beloved Professor!" The evil laugh rang out again at this, and Harry screamed as pain beyond even the Cruciatus Curse seared through his scar. More screams joined his.
THERE! A flutter of red and gold. A musical cry like none other ever heard!
Time returned.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The curse struck.
All went black.
~*~*~*~
'Where am I? How did I get here?'
Harry looked around himself. It seemed as if his dream had ended, but another one had now taken it's place.
Now he was in a room. A plain white room with no decorations, no windows, no doors. Only a flimsy black curtain hanging against the opposite wall. He had seen that curtain before, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where it had been.
His mind returned to his former dream. It had been so horrifyingly real. Dumbledore injured, Harry trying to help, Voldemort using him as a pathway for that evil curse.....no, that was wrong. Voldemort had taken over his body without him knowing it. And then that melodious cry. That flash of red. It had been a phoenix, if he had ever seen one. Then the curse striking.
Harry closed his eyes to make the image go away, but when he opened them, he wished he hadn't. Because now, he wasn't alone in this dream-room. Now, there was something that he wished he never had to see, even in his dreams.
"ROSE!" He shouted, running towards her prostrate body. She was deathly pale, and motionless. Her eyes were closed and her long lashes brushed against her colorless cheeks. She wore a strange dress of pure white, that covered her arms, and went past her feet. Harry leaned down and took her wrist, searching for a pulse.
Nothing.
He put his fingers under her nose, praying for a breath.
Nothing.
"No.....NO!" Harry moaned, pulling her still body against him as he desperately tried to think of ways to wake her.
This was a worse dream than the first one.
Oh, so much worse!
He sobbed, bringing her pulse-less wrist up to his face, kissing it gently. His sister! His little lost sister! DEAD!
Something wet smeared across his forehead as her wrist brushed across it, but he barely noticed. Her body was cold. So cold.
Again, the wetness returned as he bowed his head over her hand, brushing her wrist against his forehead. This time, it annoyed him and he reached up to brush it away. Harry then looked at his fingers with growing horror.
Blood.
His scar was bleeding. But worse yet, blood was beginning to stain the white sleeve of her dress, right around the area of her wrist!
Pushing the sleeve up, he was horrified to see a lightning-bolt shaped scar, identical to his, cut into her skin. Blood was seeping from the cut, mingling with that that had begun to drip from his own scar. Harry wanted to pull back in disgusted horror, but instead, an invisible force pushed him foreword, causing his head to rest back on her wrist. His tears of anguish began to fall again, as he felt his blood mingle with that of his sister's.
Then, the wet was gone. The blood vanished.
Pink returned to white.
Gasps of breath rattled a air- deprived chest.
A hand clenched another.
A choked gasp and the rise of two shocked emerald eyes.
"Rose?"
"H.....Harry....."
Eyes fluttered open to meet shocked, tear-filled ones. Harry caught his breath, and with a moan, gathered his weak sister into his arms.
"You're alive! You're alright!" He chanted over and over, unable to help himself. She weakly reached up and placed her arms around his neck.
"Harry, Rose....."
Harry and Rose looked over their shoulders to see the black curtain flailing in an invisible wind. Then, it moved aside. Harry choked on a lump of pure shock that entered his throat, and he heard his sister gasp next to him.
For there, in front of them, stood.....
Sirius Black.
His hair was a mess, and his eyes were full of shock, but he seemed younger, somehow. Even younger than when Harry had last saw him, just before he fell behind the.....
"The Veil! That's what that is! That's the veil that's in the Ministry!" Harry choked, standing up as shock overwhelmed him.
"And I'm supposed to be behind it.....I thought. Why am I here? Why are you here?! You didn't die, did you?" Sirius asked in obvious panic. The two younger people stared at him in surprise.
"WHAT? No! This is just a dream." Harry stated uncertainly. Sirius's eyes turned sad.
"No, Harry. It's not. This is the place that people who are crossing over come. They may stay here seconds, they may stay here days.....even years. But it all leads to the same place, and there's only one way you could have come here. You are dead."
These last words were ominous, and Harry shivered.
"Then how come you're here and not behind the veil? And how come Rose was dead, and now she's alive. This *is* a dream." He tried to sound more assured, but his voice shook at the end. Sirius's brown eyes widened.
"What is happening? Why is this happening?" He muttered. Neither of his companions could answer.
"Harry, look." Rose whispered. Harry turned and saw what she was motioning at. On the other side of the room, there had appeared a.....hole in the wall, just like the vastness that he had encountered in his first dream.
"We have to go." She whispered. Harry didn't argue, but Sirius shook his head.
"I can't."
"You are here, aren't you?" She asked, her voice sounding more like an annoyed hiss. Harry looked at her in surprise, and Sirius blinked.
"But I'm *dead*." He whispered. Rose rolled her eyes and took his right hand with her own right hand. Then she took Harry's right hand with her left. Harry took the hint and grabbed Sirius's left hand with his own left and together in this circle, they walked through the hole.
~*~*~*~