Silver Blood
Chapter 28: Dead End
His muscles were being pulled to stand still as his brain was taken over. Voldemort had succeeded in trapping now. The question was what he was going to do now that Harry couldn't move. He heard Voldemort sniggering coldly from behind him and he felt like glaring. He felt the tip of his own wand pointed at him from behind.
"Surrender to me, Harry. Do what your parents could not. I know deep inside you don't want to fight anymore. You must want a break," Voldemort said coldly, amusement lighting his tone.
Harry clenched his jaw but couldn't do much else. Voldemort was trying to force him to surrender, that much he knew. Most likely he was just doing it because he realized that there was a chance the black hole, and the Orb, could be destroyed by the Light Charm Dumbledore had Harry cast.
"Turn around," Voldemort ordered.
Against his wishes, his body turned around to face Voldemort, staring into the same brilliantly merciless red eyes he remembered; those same eyes that brought pain, suffering and death. Anger boiled within his veins as he stared heatedly at his nemesis, trying to break free from the curse.
"Don't you want to stop fighting, Harry?" Voldemort asked. When Harry didn't answer, he felt the familiar tug within his body while the wand was still pointed at him. "Answer me."
"Yes," Harry blurted out, unable to control himself.
Voldemort's lips curled into a sneer, "So, why don't you surrender, Harry?" he tempted, walking around him. "You can stop fighting if you just give in. Don't listen to what Dumbledore tells you. He doesn't care for your well-being only everyone else's. Your just the puppet," Voldemort hissed by his ear. "What do you say?"
Harry's eyebrow twitched and slowly his fingers began to move, "No."
He could feel Voldemort's impatience growing, "If you won't surrender to me willingly, then we'll have to do this the hard way."
Harry couldn't see behind him, and he knew that the spell Sirius had cast to clear his vision wasn't going to last much longer. He heard something ruffle, like the sound of clothing, or a robe. Harry's eyes suddenly widened.
Voldemort's lifting his sleeve! That means he's going to try and burn the Dark Mark on me…to make me surrender! I've got to do something!"
He concentrated hard on breaking the spell, only to find that it was much stronger than he last remembered it. He felt the tip of the wand come back to his neck.
"Lift your arm," Voldemort's cold voice ordered.
Harry fought with it but couldn't keep his arm from moving upward. He felt Voldemort's cold hands upon his arm as he lifted the sleeve of his robe. Harry took several deep breaths, knowing the only way he was to escape was to break the bind Voldemort had on him. He remembered discussing the Unforgivable Curses with Hermione. She had told him the best way to fight it was with anger, since it was anger that created the Curses.
Harry closed his eyes tightly, feeling Voldemort's cold skin upon his. He tried to block it out, focusing on all the numerous occasions in which Voldemort had tried to kidnap and kill him, killing others instead. He remembered Cedric, the bodies that were shown in the Daily Prophet, the terrible visions he had when he slept, the old muggle man, his parents…and Sirius. The one person who had stood by him through all the hard times and the good; the one person that loved him like family and wanted to take care of him. Sirius was his family, and he was outside lying on the cold stone of the Ministry building not breathing…possibly dead.
As a burning sensation flared in his skin, tackling his nerves, Harry's eyes shot open and he suddenly wheeled around out of the grip. He lifted Sirius' wand in his hand and pointed it at Voldemort, who was staring at him in anger. Harry was panting for breath, unsure of why until he looked down at his arm. A large red marking had burned onto his skin, luckily just irritating the surface. Voldemort had not gotten the Dark Mark on him…yet.
Instead of the awful sneer he was expecting, Voldemort's lips curled again into a malicious but amused expression.
"You're as stubborn as your father, Harry. He didn't want to die either, nor live by my side. He chose death and now you are choosing the same."
"I don't choose death!" Harry exclaimed angrily, keeping the wand steadily pointed at him. "I won't surrender to you either! You can't make me do anything against my will."
Voldemort's crimson eyes narrowed, "Maybe not, but I can still get you out of my way. You may have slightly altered my plans and blocked the power for now, but once I get rid of you and Dumbledore I can easily find a way to break that charm."
"It's a blood-binding charm between muggles and wizards! There's no way…," Harry suddenly trailed off, his eyes widening.
Voldemort hadn't seemed to notice the lack of his complete sentence as he laughed coldly, "Muggles have no magical gifts. And once I erase all the muggles their power will automatically disappear from the charm. Once that is gone there won't be enough power left to block the Orb."
Something had clicked. Harry hadn't registered anything, nor tried to fit pieces of the puzzle together beforehand. He had gone along with it, mainly because he had no choice when concerning being kidnapped. When he had learned about the Orb and watched the power surge, and what he realized from what he was told at Hogwarts after he survived the curse…It was all making sense. And now, he knew what he had to do.
Harry lifted his head high up and glared straight into the piercing eyes that shattered so many souls.
"You won't win."
Voldemort laughed coldly in amusement, "You sound so sure. And yet this is the same look you gave me before, but you didn't destroy me."
"I don't have to destroy you," Harry said more confidently, keeping his face straight on Voldemort. "All I have to do is destroy the Orb. EXPELLIARMUS!"
The beam of light erupted from the end of the wand heading toward Voldemort who apparated out of the way. That was exactly what Harry wanted him to do. As fast as he could he raced to the end of the room where the markings were carved into the wall. His eyes scanned the pictures as quickly as possible. He turned around as he heard the swish of the cloak and saw that Voldemort had appeared on the very opposite side of the room, trying to appear behind him again. Only he realized that Harry was no longer there. His blood-red eyes locked onto him and they boiled with rage.
"Encantarta!" Harry shouted the advanced spell, aiming for ten feet away.
It would create an invisible barrier around him that made it so no one could apparate within the distance around him, nor approach him. Harry knew he had limited time before Voldemort found his way around that. All ready Voldemort had apparated to the barrier and was angrily trying to break through it.
Harry traced his fingers in a rush over the markings, not wanting to make a mistake. He took out a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket (that had been his divination chart, ironically predicting his death around that time, as well as many other unfortunate occurrences) and muttered Varentio acidus under his breath. The slid of paper almost instantly transformed into a small dagger. Holding his breath, he cut a small sliver in his hand.
He heard a sharp noise from behind and knew Voldemort had broken through so he used every ounce of speed to thrust his hand forward onto the familiar carving of the Orb.
Voldemort hissed angrily in parseltongue as he broke through the barrier.
Harry turned to see a wand pointed almost directly in his face. He saw Voldemort's eyes ablaze and knew there was no way he would escape.
"Remove your hand," Voldemort hissed.
Harry did as he was told, slowly, removing his hand. In place of his hand was the blotch of blood from the abrasion on his palm, trickling down. Voldemort's eyes locked onto it, staring at it with fury as his eyes moved to Harry's hand. The bloody dagger was still locked within his fingers, the tip of the blade stained with blood. Harry knew he was taking a risk, but wasted no time and locked his eyes onto the words inscribed below the carving.
"Eradico orbus!"
"You foolish boy!" Voldemort glared venomously, flicking Harry's wand toward him.
Harry had no time to react as he was sent flying backward across the floor, skidding but not before the side of his head scraped along the stone floor. The dagger flew from his hand, disappearing into the shadows of a corner. The scratch wasn't deep but it was enough to allow blood to trickle down. Harry groaned in pain and forced himself to stumble back on his feet. Voldemort was hovering nearby, the wand still pointed at him.
"You think you can stop me," Voldemort hissed. "You're a fool, like your parents. There is no way an inexperienced boy can defeat Lord Voldemort. I have waited for this moment for too long, and I have worked hard to become what I am," Voldemort's eyes glowered into his. "Finally, your luck has run out."
Harry held his breath, unable to move as Voldemort prepared to kill him. His eyes suddenly darted over to the wall to see something he hadn't expected, even after trying to fit the pieces together. Voldemort saw where his eyes had turned, widening, and noticed too that Harry's blood was now seeping into the wall.
"NO!" Voldemort hissed with fury, turning back toward Harry with death gleaming in his eyes.
Harry tried to back away, but felt his legs moving like jello. He was still dazed from being thrown backward and exhausted from using so much energy and power. Harry knew what was coming next…the killing curse.
Just then the whole building began to shake uncontrollably. Harry nearly toppled over but caught himself by holding onto the wall. Voldemort had been distracted by it as well, giving Harry time enough to run. If the Ministry building was falling apart, that meant all the charms or spells on it had been broken, which meant that he could escape. He heard Voldemort hiss in parseltongue but didn't look back as he ran for his life toward the door, flinging it open carelessly and throwing his body through in case any curses were being fired at him. He rolled on the ground, his knees scraping but he scrambled to his feet and raced out toward the roof.
When he got on the roof he noticed, in surprise, that no one was there. The Death Eaters were no where to be seen, nor Dumbledore or the Order. Harry yelped and nearly stumbled off the edge as the Ministry building began to crumble. Thinking quickly he whistled loudly, hoping that wherever his broom had gone it would be able to hear him. He took the risk, feeling the roof crumbling beneath him, and ran toward the edge. His feet pushed on the roof as he jumped off the edge whistling again loudly. He thought he would surely hit the ground but was relieved when he felt the familiar weight beneath him, taking him high above the crumbling debris.
Harry watched the building collapse on itself with a loud crash, unable to believe that the nearly invincible, long-standing Ministry building had finally been defeated. His eyes dimmed as his energy vanished, leaving him with no strength to hold onto the broom. His grip released and he felt himself falling toward the ground, his broom staying in mid-air. He felt a strange tingle inside him that he was sure he had felt before. His eyes opened weakly and he turned his head to look down, noting that he was floating a foot off the ground.
He heard the sound of footsteps approaching and immediately froze. He didn't know who it was, but he was afraid of who he was thinking of. He knew he wouldn't be able to tell because he couldn't sense the pain anymore.
"I am not Lord Voldemort, Harry," a soft voice spoke up.
Harry let out his breath easily, turning to stare at the smiling face of his mentor and Headmaster. Harry felt his body being let down gently, remembering how Dumbledore had used the same spell to catch him in his third year when the Dementors had affected him badly during a Quidditch game. It was something he'd never forget; the cries of his mother and father. It was also something he had managed to put behind him since bonding with Sirius and finally moving in with him.
Thinking of his Godfather suddenly brought back the sickening feeling in his stomach. He hadn't seen Sirius up on the roof where he had last left him and he was quite certain that Sirius hadn't been breathing for more than twenty minutes at least. He felt tears well in his eyes, but managed to hold them off, staring up into Dumbledore's eyes, exhausted.
"Is everyone all right?" Harry asked hoarsely.
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes still twinkling. Harry's stomach sank even more with the thought that Dumbledore didn't realize Sirius was most likely dead. If he didn't then he wouldn't have sent him to St. Mungos or somewhere to be treated, if it was possible to help him. Harry was sure no doctor or nurse would be able to fix whatever the Orb had done to him. It was just too powerful and hadn't been activated for thousands of years, so there was most likely no cure.
Harry blinked the tears away again, remembering how brave he had remained after Cedric's death and Sirius' second near-capture from the Ministry, due for a Dementor's kiss the previous year.
"Where are the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.
"There is no need to worry, Harry," Dumbledore said gently, approaching him and putting a warm hand on his shoulder. "You are exhausted and are in need of an exceptional birthday celebration after tonight. You have again defeated Lord Voldemort's plan, one that he was most definitely proud of. I had a feeling he was planning something, even when he was your age," Dumbledore's eyes dimmed slightly. "He was beginning to become too brilliant and nearly figured out everything about the Orb, but I stopped him from receiving the one piece of information that would've helped him: Muldoon."
Harry blinked, "You mean the sorcerer who used the Orb?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, you see, Voldemort needed to know who had created the Orb in order to know whose blood he needed. He was about to graduate from Hogwarts and I was certain the moment he found this out and graduated he would seek out someone he needed."
"My mother," Harry said softly.
"Not quite, Harry. Your mother didn't receive it until later, but one of your mother's long-past relatives had it by then and he would've wiped out the entire family line, preventing the birth of your mother, which would prevent your birth," Dumbledore explained.
Harry nodded slowly, too tired to reply. He didn't want to face reality, knowing that he would again have to return to the Dursleys with no home to go to now that Sirius was gone.
"Is something bothering you?" Dumbledore asked gently, his eyes searching the tired green orbs.
Harry blinked, rubbing his eyes as his vision began to fade. "It's just…," Harry hesitated.
If Dumbledore had known he had been thinking of Voldemort moments before, how come he didn't know about Sirius. Did it have something to do with the Orb's power? Had Sirius been sucked up into the hole? Harry's eyes turned upward to stare at the large hole that was being held by the charm.
Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he turned back to Dumbledore, "How come the black hole didn't disappear?"
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore smiled, staring up at it. "It is because of the charm. You see I added an extra spell in it so that once the main power source was destroyed that it would remain open."
"But…why?" Harry asked, surprised.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with mystery, "How else would we be able to retrieve the poor muggles that were sucked within?"
Harry's eyes lit up, "You mean…You can save them?!"
Dumbledore smiled, "My dear boy, I do believe you still have much to learn. The Orb was using their life essence to absorb its power, but it did not finish, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to stop it. And because it did not complete the curse it did not kill those inside. They are still in a deep sleep, probably thinking everything they witnessed was a nightmare."
"Their memories will be erased, won't they? The muggles that helped with the charm too?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose, "I have had a talk with Arthur and we've decided that the muggles that helped with the charm are a different case. They are up to sending their children to Hogwarts."
Harry's mouth opened slightly, "Wait, can they do that?"
"The Ministry and Order, including myself, are not sure of that yet. But there may be a way to open their dormant powers. For a while now, the Ministry has believed that everyone in the past long ago had powers. Because of the battle with good and evil and possibly even with Muldoon, many denied their heritage to run away from the wars. We are not sure, but perhaps that is why there are muggles and why they deny magic even when it's in front of them. They may in fact be wizards and witches all along," Dumbledore smiled cheerfully.
Harry's smiled softly, pushing his bad feelings down, "That's…incredible."
"Yes, but that will take some time to test out before anything is final. These muggles in particular deserve a choice in whether they want to forget or not since they made the charm possible. Now then," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he folded his arms casually in front of him, "do you have anything that is bothering you?"
Harry's smile faded, "It's just…It's my birthday," Harry said quietly. "It's my birthday and…and I'm going to have to return to the Dursleys."
Dumbledore remained quiet, waiting for him to continue. Harry licked his dry lips, feeling the side of his face burn from the wind pushing against it.
"I wanted this birthday to be special since it's the first birthday I've had…living in the wizard world. And…," he hesitated, "Sirius promised me I'd have a great birthday, even while we were almost sucked into oblivion…He promised he'd make it up to me. But, how can he? Now that he's…," Harry was unable to say the word and instead stared down at the ground.
He felt the tears begin to well up again and this time he was certain he wouldn't be able to hold them back. He was too exhausted and in pain, half not believing everything he had been through in just that summer compared to the years of facing Voldemort before.
"Now that I'm what?"
Harry's head whorled around in shock, his heart beating fast in his chest, as he spotted Sirius, looking a little bruised and battered, but standing there before him nonetheless.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, running toward him despite his exhaustion and threw himself at him.
Sirius stumbled backward a bit from the force, "Hey, take it easy," he smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."
Harry squeezed him tightly, mumbling against his robe, "I thought you died."
"You should know me by now, Harry. I've looked death in the eye before, much like you, but I'm too stubborn to lose."
Harry raised his head and smiled widely up at him, blinking away the tears that had nearly fallen.
"I love you, Sirius."
He grinned, ruffling his hair, "And I love you."
Harry rested his head against him again and tightened his arms around him, holding onto the embrace that he thought he'd never feel again. Dumbledore was standing nearby beaming at them, the twinkle in his eyes growing.
More footsteps were heard as Arthur Weasley, Tonks, Kingsley and others from the Order and Ministry came into view. Arthur immediately went to Dumbledore's side, watching Harry and Sirius with softened eyes.
"It seems that everything has turned out for the better," Dumbledore said, smiling at him. "There are only a few reported deaths, many injuries that can be healed or helped and those that were caught in the Orb's power will also be taken into the best care. No major catastrophes, minus the Ministry building."
Arthur's eyes widened at the sight of the crumpled building, "Oh my fiddlesticks," he said, trying to use a muggle term but not quite getting the meaning. "How on earth are we going to fix that?"
"I'm sure there's a way, Arthur. Just be thankful that the Orb was deactivated," Dumbledore once again turned toward Harry.
"Oh, I knew it!" Tonks exclaimed. "I knew Harry would save the day again! He always does!"
She just barely missed hitting Kingsley in the face from her excitement, but luckily he moved out of the way in time.
"Tonks, Kingsley, please report back to the others and make sure all the muggles and those injured are taken to a safe place," Dumbledore said, and they nodded, disapparating (though Tonks nearly crashed into the rubble). "Arthur, if you would be so kind as to inform Minerva that it is safe to let everyone out of the tower."
He nodded, but didn't disapparate right away and instead turned to Harry.
"I'm glad you're all right, Harry," he said sincerely.
Harry nodded with a smile, still embraced by Sirius, "Thank you Mr. Weasley. Oh, how are Ron and Hermione? They're safe, right?"
Mr. Weasley smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course. They're in the tower with the rest of the people. I'll go inform them to meet you at Hogwarts."
With a nod to Sirius and Dumbledore, he disappeared with a pop. Dumbledore once again turned toward them, smiling.
"I believe it's our time to leave now. Sirius, you still need to be further inspected and treated by Poppey to make sure there aren't any side-effects of the Orb."
Sirius nodded in understanding, "I know. I promise I won't run away," he added with a grin.
Dumbledore smiled back and looked down at Harry, "And you as well, Harry," he said, eyeing the cuts and bruises on him, including the more profound one on the side of his face.
Harry nodded slowly, but his eyes were focused on the rubble that was once the Ministry.
"Harry, are you all right?" Sirius asked, rubbing his head gently.
Harry sighed heavily and turned back to stare at Dumbledore, "He can't come back this time, can he?"
Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle momentarily, "I'm afraid so. Lord Voldemort refuses to die, as I'm sure you've realized. There is always a chance he can come back."
Harry groaned in frustration and hit his head against Sirius' chest several times. Sirius squeezed him gently.
"Don't worry, we'll be better prepared next time."
"I just want it to end!" Harry said, looking up at him, then at Dumbledore. "I don't want to fight anymore. Why can't he just give up?!" he sighed heavily. "Maybe the prophecy is right," he said, leaning up against Sirius again. "Maybe one of us has to die in order to stop the cycle. And if Voldemort can't die then…"
Sirius turned his head sharply with his hands and looked down at him, kneeling to his height, "Harry, you're not going to die. That's not your destiny."
"But Voldemort can't die, Sirius, he's immortal!"
Sirius opened his mouth, but Dumbledore spoke first, "It's true, Sirius, Voldemort cannot completely die…for now."
Harry turned, his eyes widening, "So…there's a way to destroy him?"
"The Order and I have been discussing that, on top of trying to prevent the apocalypse from the Orb. We think there is a way, but it is only a vague idea. It will have to be looked into. In the meantime, we will have to increase your private studying," his eyes twinkled again, "to be better prepared in case something of this measure should happen again. I have all ready set up some parameters to help. But for now, you two must be treated by Poppey and get a good rest. The Order and Ministry and I will take care of the muggles and those that were injured."
Harry sighed with relief, "Thank you."
Dumbledore nodded in return, waiting for them to apparate.
"Do you have even strength to apparate?" Sirius asked him.
Harry couldn't lie and shook his head, all ready feeling his legs begin to give in. Sirius held onto him tightly, turning to glance and Dumbledore nod with a slightly smile, before he apparated with Harry.
Dumbledore's eyes dimmed only a little as he stared at the ruins of the Ministry, where Harry had been staring moments before. His eyes flashed momentarily before he too disappeared with a pop.
TO BE CONTINUED…