Harry groaned as light shone in his eyes. He tried to get rid of it by turning his head, but to no avail. Going to drastic measures to refrain from having to wake up, he rolled over.
Dumbledore smiled as Harry stirred in his sleep. Light from the window was shining in his face and he tried to turn his face in any other direction to avoid it. Through the course of the night, Madam Pomfrey had come and healed Harry and Cyradis, as they were both beyond consciousness and could by no means heal themselves. They had both had small holes growing in their hearts from Harry's ill spoken words and were not ready to be separated so harshly. Dumbledore was interrupted from his thoughts by a loud thump. He started and looked up.
Harry was lying sprawled on the floor with his face pressed against the floorboards. He groaned loudly and rolled over, rubbing his face from the impact and opening his eyes blearily. What he was doing on the floor remained a mystery to him, so he lay there and wondered where he was. Then it struck him so suddenly that he sat bolt upright and stared around wildly. No sooner had he done so than Cyradis' mind was alerted of his awakening and she jumped out of bed and went to his side. For a moment they stared into each other's eyes, not thinking in words but in emotions, then they embraced.
Harry was the first to end the embrace, "I'm sorry, Cyradis. I shouldn't have lost control like that. It's just... I lost someone that I loved very much and being reminded of him is so painful". Harry wiped away his tears in shame.
"Never be ashamed to cry, Harry," Harry looked up in surprise at her words, for he had not heard her actually speak since she had woken in his bedroom at the Dursley's, "If there was a better man, he would quail under the pressure of losing so much, only to be destined to a life of horror and misery".
She sounded so wise that Harry just stared and wondered. She was always so different. One minute she was a shy little girl, the next she was speaking confidently and even praising him. Yes, "'If' there was a better man" was definitely a compliment, Harry concluded.
"That is little comfort," Harry muttered broodingly, still pondering over the dramatic change in his 'twin'. Then he thought of something, "Why are you only normal when only I am around you?"
Cyradis hesitated, "Well, being around you is like being alone and I am no good around people because I am afraid that they will touch me".
"What do you mean by that?" Harry said in mock offence, "Well, if my company isn't good enough for you," he made to get up.
"Harry, that is not what I meant!" Cyradis grasped his arm. "Please don't leave me!"
Harry smiled thoughtfully, "Well, how about we make a deal?" He was purposely putting her in a tough place, knowing that she would not refuse and, at the same time, devising a plan in which he might make her come out of her 'shell' around other people.
"What do you ask of me?" Cyradis said pleadingly.
Harry put on an act of looking thoughtful, then said, "Suppose that I only hang around you if you be normal..."
"I will try this act of normalcy, if you were but willing to keep me with you," Cyradis informed him eagerly.
"Well," Harry said slowly, savouring the pleading expression on her face, "It's a deal!"
Cyradis smiled broadly and enveloped him in a hug. "You have much to teach me!"
Harry snorted, "That's for sure!" and laughed at her.
"I want to learn magic, Harry!" Cyradis said excitedly, pulling away from Harry and gazing up at him brightly from where she was kneeling on the floor.
"But you did do magic," Harry frowned, "You healed my hand and you made that door seal itself," then Harry remembered the incident, "Why did you do that, anyway?"
"Because, Dumbledore was of pure heart and reason. He only wanted to help you and he loves you like a son," Cyradis said seriously, all evidence of smiling now completely gone.
Harry stared at her. Of all the things for her to say, this was the last thing he had expected. "Uh, what gives you that impression?" Harry asked hesitantly, suddenly feeling flushed.
Cyradis smiled mysteriously, "I see all".
Harry was silent for a moment, "If you see all, then how come you let these little things happen before you decide to conveniently mention that you know all about them and why they happen?"
Cyradis thought about it for a moment, "Well, I have the information in my head... but I can't know it all until there comes a reason for asking myself a question of why, you understand?" She looked at him enquiringly.
Harry blinked.
Cyradis sighed. "Lets see. When you could suddenly see when you were around me, I only then knew why. I would never have guessed to tell you that you needn't wear your glasses anymore, but when you suddenly exclaimed that you could see, I knew why because I already knew, in a sense, but I didn't know it," she tried to elaborate.
Silence. "Um, err, maybe I wasn't meant to see all," Harry grinned sheepishly.
Cyradis smiled, "I am so glad you understand me, "she said with heavy sarcasm.
As they continued their friendly banter, Albus Dumbledore stood silently in the corner with a merry twinkle in his eyes. He had watched the duo as they had conversed and was pleased to see that Cyradis was interacting in a friendly manner. He decided, at that point, to step in. Both Harry's and Cyradis' heads shot up as they saw movement out of the corner of their eyes. There stood Dumbledore in all his glory and smiling down on them as they kneeled on the wooden floor.
"You were standing there the entire time, weren't you?" Harry stated, looking slightly harassed. "Eavesdropping is rude, you know," he raised a brow at Dumbledore as though asking what his excuse was.
Dumbledore chuckled. "You should have looked to see if anyone was nearby if you wished for your conversation to be private".
Harry was about to answer back but Cyradis, surprisingly, beat him to it, "You concealed yourself, otherwise I would have known of your presence," she said coolly, tilting her head at the headmaster.
Dumbledore chuckled again, "Indeed, you are correct. And I believe Harry will remember a similar occurrence in his first year when he snuck out of his dormitory at night to visit the Mirror of Erised".
Harry did remember quite well but refrained from asking how he had done, resigning himself from going through the process of explanation and understanding. Instead he looked to Cyradis to study her sudden act of confidence. He could see from her tenseness that it was just that, an act and noticed that her left hand was moving rhythmically, her thumb tapping each other finger repeatedly and in chronological order.
Dumbledore conveniently changed the subject at the sight of Cyradis' nervousness, amusing as it was, and spoke, "I need to clear up a few things that were unable to be taken care of yesterday evening. There is of course the question of whether Cyradis needs to be kept a secret. I have already decided against informing the Ministry, however, this will mean that your time for being together at Hogwarts will be greatly effected. If the students find out, then you can almost certainly guarantee that the Ministry will get wind of your relationship and... make life difficult, as you, Harry, have found in the past," he explained. "I am sure Harry will agree with me when I say that my decision is to keep you in the background of this whole affair," Dumbledore paused and Harry felt a 'but' coming on, "however, your bond is too great to go unnoticed for too long, so I will leave it in your hands to keep this as... discreet... as possible from the other students until you no longer can. But also keep in mind that the Ministry is full of Death Eaters and if we can keep Cyradis' whereabouts unknown to them, I would strongly advise it," he left that hanging in the midst of an impenetrable silence before neatly composing himself to continue.
"What if someone touches me?" Cyradis interrupted.
"Yeah, I mean, won't it seem a little suspicious if she starts screaming for no apparent reason?" Harry agreed.
"I am sure a pair of gloves would suffice," Dumbledore replied calmly.
Cyradis' mind was awhirl. There were too many 'what ifs' to consider all at once. Harry noticed how lost she looked and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her shoulders.
"There is also this other matter that you have been trying to evade," Dumbledore proceeded with care, examining Harry's sullen features at the mention of the intrepid discussion, "Harry, are you depressed?"
Harry was caught off guard by the bluntness of this question and looked up at the aged headmaster in shock. "Well," he tried to answer but the truth was too harsh. Was he depressed about losing Sirius, the closest thing he had to a father? Yes, he most definitely was. A nasty little voice in his head was jeering at him, "You don't deserved to be depressed. It was you who got him killed in the first place with your gullibility and pathetic attempt at playing the hero!"
Dumbledore, sensing his inner battle, spoke, "We all make bad decisions from which we are then to learn, but it does not do to dwell on the past, as you did not kill Sirius, nor force him into such a position as to be left bereft of his life-"
"But I did!" Harry interrupted fiercely, tears stinging his eyes, "If I hadn't been so stupid, he would have never have come to help me in the first place!"
"It was his decision to make," Dumbledore said firmly but not unkindly.
Harry took a deep, shaking breath and closed his eyes, "Nothing you or anyone says can bring him back. I don't want to talk about it," he said with finality. There was a long silence that was so intense that Harry held his breath, not wanting to be the first to speak. Harry stared at the floor, examining its every small crevice, while Dumbledore gazed at Harry, waiting for him to meet his eyes.
Cyradis closed her eyes and relaxed into a meditative state, trying to channel this calm to him. It was one of those times when she would only understand it when the time came, though she still did not quite understand what possessed her to do it. Everything went blank before images began to swirls around her, forming into some kind of chamber. The room was dim and, for all she knew, could have been the size of a hall, but what she could see made her tremble. She did not fear him, but still the memory of the pain in his touch was hard to bear. Lord Voldemort's darkest memories and nightmare had been so terrible that a lock of Cyradis' hair had turned white, only to be magnified by Harry's first touch at the same time. Cyradis could either be bound to Harry or Voldemort at one time and having them both touch her at once, even for a moment, was too much darkness and power and caused her pain worse than the Cruciatus. Now that she had been bound to Harry, his memories would not torment her but she feared that if Voldemort were to touch her again, she would die or lose her mind...
He smirked down at her, his red eyes glowing with anticipation. "Join me, child," he offers, approaching her.
Cyradis stares, frowning as though trying to think when really she was trying to find a way out. "How?" she whispers.
The Dark Lord did not seem to comprehend the meaning of the question, as he held out his hand to her, "Come to me".
"How am I here?" she whispered once more, backing away from his outstretched hand and staring morbidly up at him. "We have a connection. I touched you once and that was enough. I beckoned to you and you came," he speaks.
Cyradis know that she must escape, lest he touch her and succeed in possessing her. "Am I really here or is it only in my mind?" she asks, stalling.
"Right now, I have only your mind, but if you will come to me..." he reaches out to her once more, stepping forward.
"But if I join you now, then what good will I be?" Cyradis is thinking fast.
"Join me now and you can be no better," he assures.
"Are there not things that you need to know, secrets that I might learn for you? Harry will tell me anything," Cyradis knows that if she does not stay calm and cool, the Dark Lord will not even consider her suggestion. She keeps a completely neutral expression, not allowing herself to break eye contact with Voldemort.
There is a long silence that is broken by the Dark Lord's hiss, "There Prophecy! Yes, you could indeed be so useful. However," Cyradis looks up at him sharply at this, "I need more than just your word on this".
Cyradis cannot help the overwhelming sense of dread that fills her as Lord Voldemort raises his wand. She looks around in hope an escape route, but finds herself surrounded by Death Eaters. One of them catches her eye. She recognises his dark pools of eyes behind the Death Eater's mask but can sense that his intent is not ill, for she does not feel the evil radiating off of him like the others.
"Gileenelt dreogsorshiyor," Lord Voldemort hissed, performing an intricate wand movement. Magenta light exploded from his wand but Cyradis dared not look as she stared intently at the Death Eater with a forlorn expression. Then she felt it. The light enveloped her body and she could feel her every cell screaming against the dark magic. She screamed and dropped to the ground, writhing. The pain was so intense that her heart stopped and she lay there gaping in a silent scream, unable to catch her breath until she finally passed out.
At the same time, Harry had been having a silent protest against talking about his godfather when he clasped at his heart. He gasped and turned to stare at Cyradis, but she sat there silently with her eyes closed.
"What is it?" Dumbledore asked concernedly, making to move towards Harry, who was, by then, hitting himself where his heart ought to be. Dumbledore clasped him by the shoulders to stop him from falling and shouted for help as Harry's eyes rolled into the back of his head and Cyradis fell to the floor in a heap.
The Dark Lord had watched in satisfaction as Cyradis' form had slowly faded and her mind was released back to its body. "Severus," he spoke harshly, beckoning to his Death Eater.
"Yes Master," he knelt before Lord Voldemort. He dearly hoped that the Dark Lord had not seen the girl staring at him or he would suffer worse than death. He had come back into the Dark Lord's service as a spy for Dumbledore and had suffered greatly for not being present when he was reborn on that fateful night, not to mention it had taken almost a year for him to be trusted with more important information.
"You will watch the girl at that fool's school and see that she does not go against her word. I want that prophecy!"
Cyradis burst back into consciousness gasping and tried to jump to her feet only to find herself being held down by professors Dumbledore and Snape. Forcing herself to calm down, she asks, "Where is Harry?"
"He has not yet regained consciousness," answers Dumbledore in a sad tone.
"Good," says Cyradis without thinking and, in turn, receiving a piercing stare from Dumbledore, "I didn't mean it like that, but I think it would be best if he did not know of what has happened," she turns to professor Snape, "I would take it that you have informed Dumbledore of the recent occurrence. Does anyone else know?"
"No. Why does that matter?" Snape snaps, glaring down at her with his arms folded. He does not mean to be so harsh but does not want Potter's 'sister' to think that he pities her, even if he does in the slightest.
"I refuse to help Voldemort but he can still read minds and Harry does not know Occlumency and if he knows, Voldemort could find out that I have no intention of joining him, even though he must already suspect that I won't," Cyradis spoke quickly. "Could you perhaps teach me Occlumency?"
Snape sneered, "And what makes you think that you are any better than Potter?"
"I can control my emotions and I already know meditation, that being why it did not hurt to be summoned by Voldemort," Cyradis then remembered the most important question and wondered why that wasn't the first thing for her to have asked, "What did he do to me?"
Snape dropped his leering you're-a-Potter-and-I-hate-you stance and looked her in the eyes. Cyradis knew then that the answer was not going to be pleasant. "He cursed you in the Gebyadrejin, a Black Curse and one of the Forgotten," he murmured.
"What will happen to me?" Cyradis whispers, not breaking eye contact.
Snape is silent for a moment, "I believe he cast the Night Curse. It only works if you go against your word but when it does... Every night afterwards, you will turn into a frenzied Vampiric creature and attack everything you come in contact with until Lord Voldemort releases you or death takes you. I am not certain if that is all that happens, for this curse is not named Forgotten for no reason. It is an ancient magic used by the Dark Elves of the fifteen hundreds. There are few powerful enough to perform this magic and I assure that even Voldemort will sleep soundly tonight, if anything that evil can sleep".
Cyradis stares down as her bed cover. She was in the girl's bedroom at Grimmauld Place and had obviously been unconscious for some time; "Will it happen tonight?" she looks back up to Snape.
He seems to hesitate a moment, caught in indecision, "Yes, unless I find another way," he pauses as though expecting Cyradis to burst out into sobs of pleading but she merely watches him patiently, "Only five true Dark Elves remain alive. Two chose to live out their lives protecting the knowledge and castle of the Gebyadrejinlegi, dwelling of the dark kin, while another two wanted to live a free life and go as they please. The last one knew not which path to follow and felt left out, so he aids Lord Voldemort in the art of the Forgotten, and that is how he was capable of cursing you so," Snape fall silent.
Cyradis could sense that he would rather not reveal such things to her but remains silent, simply listening. She believes that if he wished to tell her something, then his words should not be questioned, but merely accepted. When Snape seems at a loss for how to propose his next piece of information, she prods without questioning, "You knew them," she stated calmly. After all, there was no point in panic; for there was no way that she could prevent the inevitable.
Snape's eyes give her a searching look once she had spoken, "Yes," and then, "You are too observant for your own good," he sneers, his dark hair falling like a curtain around his face, giving him a haunting look. "As I said, the first two, Laroo and Laryorelt, protected Gebyadrejinlegi and did not associate with humans while the second two, Yashi and Leshi, roamed the earth and befriended three orphaned children, exchanging blood and bringing them up as their own. They were named Railefelyor (life), Yafeleltyorsor (after) and Belyaeltod (death). Life after death. You know, the irony of it was that Life and After died while Death did not. It just proceeds to tell one that there is no life after death," his words were so bitter that Cyradis did not even have to guess.
"Ersooog yasoryor Belyaeltod," Cyradis stated with a hint of sadness (You are Death).
Snape stared at her, his eyes alarmed, furious and in awe all at once, "How do you know these words?!" he demanded.
"I know only what is revealed to my mind-" Cyradis tried to explain.
"You mustn't speak the words of the Black Tongue! You could have caused more damage by such a simple proclamation than an avalanche!" Snape is furious at this point. "Headmaster!" he turns to Dumbledore, who has stood silently and listened to the entire conversation, "I cannot take her if she is going to say such perfectly stupid things! If she had mispronounced the 'o' in Ersooog and the 'yor' in yasoryor, she could have caused for me to have an attack!"
Cyradis had not known Snape for long, but if she had (and if she were any normal witch), she would have been shocked to see him in such a state. His teeth were bared in anger and his face was a pure mask of hatred and... hurt? Cyradis was so deep in thought that she half-heartedly paid attention as Dumbledore firmly insist that Snape take her to Yashi and Leshi and try to undo what was supposedly irreversible. Therefore it was to her utmost shock that she found Snape standing before her. She watched in slow motion as his hand reached out to grab her and she quickly rolled out of the opposite side of the bed, barely able to land on her feet. She stared at Snape as barely recognisable realisation dawned on his face and he turned sharply to Dumbledore.
"If she messes this up, there is no way in hell I am going to train Potter!" he spat Harry's name before rounding on her. He pulled out his wand and muttered a summoning charm. A pair of gloves and a rusted old chain flew into the room and Snape caught them fluently. He threw the black, leather gloved to her and barked, "Hurry up and put them on!" He then made sure she was holding firmly onto the chain before tapping it once with his wand and Cyradis felt the familiar sensation of a portkey.
When their feet hit the earth, Cyradis lost her footing and was falling when a strong hand grasped her gloved hand and pulled her up. Cyradis regained her footing and nodded appreciatively to Snape. She was dressed in a pale night gown and a pair of black, leather gloves, not that she particularly cared, and they were standing by a small stream in what appeared to be a rainforest.
In a surprisingly harmonious voice, Snape chanted, "Leelt leshi yashi leelt leshi!" (it is as it is). Cyradis watched in wonder as the empty space a few feet from her shimmered darkly and two figures appeared. A man and a woman, both with telltale pointed ears and piercing blue eyes, approached, their fluid movement entrancing her. "Chale Belyaeltod!" they greeted kindly to Snape who replied, in turn, "Chale Leshi yagibi Yashi!" They then formally embraced, which involved clasping hands, leaning forward and grasping each other's shoulder with their free hand.
Cyradis watched with amusement and was slightly startled when the female Dark Elf caught her eyes and smiled sadly. The male Dark Elf also looked at her but he frowned before turning his head sharply to stare at Snape, his long, dark as the night sky hair falling across his face. They began discussing her in their own language but Cyradis was not listening.
She worried about Harry. They had only been together for little more than a day after an entire lifetime apart and they still needed a lot of time together before the bond was securely in place. Little did she know that at the same time Harry was having a vision:
There was an unending field of dead. The lifeless bodies of small children lay strewn crudely in the pools of blood and dirt. Upon this field stood the only living creature in sight.
Cyradis.
She was all in dark clothing a wielded a black sword with green jewels. Along the blade of the sword were the clear, shining letters: SLYTHERIN.
Lord Voldemort materialised before her, smirking at the death and horror that surrounded him.
"I have done as you commanded my Lord," Cyradis spoke obediently, "I could not kill Potter myself so I destroyed all that he held dear and forced him to reft away his own life. Your power has made me strong, my Lord," she looks into his eyes at this point, something that not even the most loyal Death Eaters dare to do, "but I am dying. I have distributed my power evenly and so that I may give birth to your child before my time of passing". She then proceeds to kneel before Voldemort and bow her head, holding the sword by the blade before her so that the Dark Lord could claim it once more. The sword that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin...
"No!" Harry screamed as he woke.