Disclaimer: You all know the drill by now. This stuff isn't mine and I'm not pretending it is.
Chapter 5 – Nothing is impossible
Nothing much had changed for the first few days following the trio's induction to the Order. They hadn't been told anything about Voldemort's plans and the only sign of extra training was the fact that all three of them would be having their first Advanced Magic class today. They were all excited about this but for very different reasons: Hermione, because she couldn't wait to learn. Ron, because he heard Malfoy had made it into the class to and was looking forward to flashing the chocolate frog card at him. Ginny was more anxious than excited though. The morning after the meeting, she had devoted much of her time to drafting a letter for Harry. Now she just had to wait, hoping she'd hear back from him soon. At first she hadn't been sure how to write to him. Should she let him know how angry, scared, and worried she was for him? Should she try to guilt him into coming back? Should she try to support him in what he was doing? She just didn't know. Finally she decided on a fairly safe letter telling him that they all missed him very much (she had decided to change it from "I miss you" to "we miss you") and had asked that he write back telling them how he was doing. Orion had said that he had delivered the letter to Harry but as of the previous day there was still no response from him.
As the three entered the classroom they found seats near the middle and Ginny decided to take the opportunity to see who else had taken the class. She smiled and waved at Neville and Luna who were sitting together on the other side of the class. She was quite glad that they were both accepted. She figured she'd probably be sitting with them a fair number of times throughout the year so as to avoid the arguments that would no doubt continue to pop up between Hermione and Ron. There weren't any other Gryffindor's in the class but she did recognize some Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's from Quidditch and the DA. Hermione had tried to continue the DA last year but she didn't seem to have the patience that Harry had always displayed whenever they made mistakes. After a couple of meetings everyone had decided that it just wasn't working.
She was jolted out of her pondering by the familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy who in the midst of bragging to his fellow Slytherins about how most of this magic would be a piece of cake for him. The rest of the Slytherins didn't seem terribly impressed by him however and she noted that many of the faces that had become familiar to them were absent. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson obviously had not made the cut for the class and it appeared as if the rest were not as adoring of Malfoy as he thought.
"Well if that's the case then I'll try not to bore you Mr. Malfoy." Professor Orion's voice cut off his bragging and Malfoy flushed as he scanned the classroom trying to find the Professor. His efforts didn't meet with much success.
"Come now Mr. Malfoy. If this class is going to be such a "piece of cake" for you than I'm sure seeing through a simple invisibility charm will be no hard task." Orion sounded quite amused.
Ron was rubbing his hands together and chuckling gleefully as he watched the cocky Slytherin mumble something about 'not wanting to show up the rest of the class'. Ron's glee did not go completely unnoticed.
"Mr. Weasley, you seem to be enjoying your fellow students' discomfiture. Perhaps you can help him out?" Ron was no longer chuckling.
The class listened quietly as they made out the sound of footsteps approaching front of the classroom before the form of a highly amused Professor Orion appeared, sitting at his desk taking a drink from a silver flask looking quite smug.
"I must say," he began with a smile on his face. "I would have been very impressed if any of you had managed to see me. Of course by the end of this year I have no doubt that many of you will be able to so along with duplicating my feat of turning invisible. This can be quite useful since one doesn't always have an invisibility cloak handy." He shot the Gryffindor's a meaningful glance.
"Welcome everyone to Advanced Magic's. We're going to be learning lots of things in this class and I'm going to be asking you to forget almost everything you've already learned about magic." Hermione was beginning to look a little worried. "There's no required textbook for this class, and while you are more than welcome to find the ones I wrote in the library they are not required." He paused and seemed to be collecting his thoughts. "I have one important lesson that I try and teach first to every student that I teach. You all know of course that there are some things that are impossible to do even with magic correct?" a number of nods greeted this statement but Ginny caught the glint of amusement in his eyes as this happened. "Would any of you care to give me some examples?"
Terry Boot, a seventh year Ravenclaw raised his hand. "Bringing back the dead?"
Orion nodded towards him and looked around for more.
"Have more than one Animagus form?" a Hufflepuff suggested.
"Apparating on Hogwarts Grounds." Hermione added which gained her a roll of the eyes from Ron.
"Get a real prediction from Trelawney?" Ron exclaimed, earning him laughter from everyone.
"Defeating the Dark Lord." Malfoy whispered quietly, silencing everyone.
"I'm afraid to say," Orion continued as if Malfoy had not spoken. "that you're all incorrect. The first thing you all must learn in this class is that nothing, and I do mean nothing, is impossible. The dead can be brought back to life through the art of Necromancy. It's a highly dark art which we won't be covering but it can be done. Merlin was known for having at least three different Animagus forms and Mr. Weasley, it may surprise you to know that Professor Trelawney has indeed on occasion made accurate predictions." No one noticed the flash of sadness that crossed his face before he continued as they were all too focused on his words. "It was thought by many that the three Unforgivables were impossible to block. Great strength of will can halt the effects of the Imperius and Cruciatus curse and I'm sure you're all aware of Harry Potter's experience with the Killing curse." He turned to look at Malfoy. "Thus also disapproving your theory that Voldemort" many in the class winced "can not be defeated as he found himself without a body for a good 13 years. I would consider that a defeat wouldn't you?"
Orion rose from his seat behind his desk and took a lecturing position in front of the class before speaking again. "If we look back on the history of the wizarding world it is very easy to see that the strength of our magic has been decreasing." This prompted a couple of students to frown. "Some attribute it to the fact that there are more and more muggleborns joining our society." Ginny spotted Malfoy sneering at Hermione. "Others believe it is because the purebloods have been interbreeding with themselves for so long that they have become weak." No more sneer. "One of the most likely reasons however is that wizardkind has simply become lazy. During the time of Merlin witches and wizards didn't need wands. They were seen as a crutch and used only by those who were too weak to cast their spells without aid. Before long more and more people began to use them because it was easier. The trend of finding an easier way of doing things came as a mixed blessing because as new simpler spells were created many people forgot the strong and powerful magics that those who came before them once possessed. After all, who wants to spend decades learning to control the magic within and around themselves when shaping it with a wand is so much simpler? Of course with the use of a wand to focus there were some who were now able to do magic that otherwise wouldn't have been strong enough. As I said before, to do well in this class you'll need to forget almost everything you've learned about magic and start fresh. Are you up for it?" he looked at them with an arched eyebrow.
The class was captivated and all seemed eager for him to get started. Sensing their impatience he decided to give them what they wanted.
"Wands away everyone." This was greeted by many groans as they all were eager to start with some practical work. "Remember what I said about wands being a crutch? Get used to putting your wands away for this class because everything I plan on teaching you will be done without wands." The groans quickly disappeared as everyone prepared themselves. "The first thing you need to do before performing wandless magic is finding your magical core deep within you. Close your eyes and try to block everything out but the sound of my voice. Imagine yourselves casting a spell. Fell the magic coming from deep within you as it moves through your body to your arms. Feel as it shoots out of your hands and into the air." A couple of the students were startled as sparks began to shoot from their fingertips. Ginny and Ron were quite pleased that they were two of those who had succeeded but Hermione seemed to be struggling. Orion seemed to be pleased with the class's progress. "Good job everyone. Now you need to keep practicing finding your core and channeling the magic out of your hands. Before you can cast actual spells you need to be able to make an instant connection. Keep trying and I'll move through the class to help you out."
The rest of the class period was filled with cries of joy and frustration as the students met with varying levels of success. Hermione was especially frustrated as she was having the most trouble out of everyone. It didn't take long for Orion to notice her frustration.
"Miss Granger, you're thinking to much." She seemed offended that she wasn't performing up to her usual standards. "Wandless magic is less about proper movements and words and more about feeling. Forget trying to force the magic out and just feel it within you. Don't try and push it out, instead let it flow out of you." He spoke in a calm cool voice and his words soothed her as she reached within herself again. This time she was rewarded with success as her red and gold sparks shot out of her hand.
"I did it." She squealed.
Orion gave her a smile. "I never doubted you could. Just remember to feel and not force the magic out and you'll be fine." He moved back to the front of the class again. "I want you all to practice this each night for homework. The faster you manage this, the faster we can get to the real fun." Everyone smiled in anticipation, even Malfoy, as they exited the class.
"Wasn't that brilliant?" Ron exclaimed. "I can't wait to zap Fred and George with sparks from my hand next time they steal my wand from me."
Hermione gave him a glare. "This magic isn't supposed to be used for pranks you know. This is advanced stuff so that we can be better prepared." She then seemed to straighten and a smirk made its way onto her face. "Did you notice how he didn't say apparition was possible in Hogwarts?" she seemed to be very satisfied with herself at having gotten one over the new Professor.
All three were stunned as, with a distinct pop, Professor Orion appeared before them. He smiled charmingly at them while his eyes sparkled mischievously. "I just wanted to remind the three of you that you'll be having your private lessons starting tomorrow. You'll be starting with some advanced dueling with Mad-Eye since you still have a ways to go before I can give you extra training in our class work. Enjoy your day." He said before popping away again.
"D-d-did he just…" Hermione couldn't finish as Orion had popped back once more.
"Oh, and Hermione remember, nothing is impossible." And then with a quick wink for the trio he was gone with a pop once more.
The three entered the Great Hall for lunch and took their seats only to be quickly bombarded with questions from their housemates. It seemed that many were interested in just what was going in the Advanced Magic class. There were some students who, upon realizing just what taking the class would have involved, seemed quite relieved that they hadn't been accepted into the class. Ron seemed to be getting a kick out of teasing Hermione about the whole Apparating in Hogwarts.
"Remember Hermione, nothing's impossible." Ron said as he tried to imitate Orion's voice. He kept running into trouble though as he found himself unable to control his laughter at the look of frustration on his friend's face. Not surprisingly Hermione decided to ignore him.
The question and answer (and teasing) period was suddenly brought to a halt by the arrival of a flock of owls making deliveries to many of the assembled students and staff.
"That's strange." Hermione said as she unrolled the copy of the Daily Prophet which had just been dropped in front of her. "We all ready got the paper today." Ron and Ginny watched as she scanned the front page and began to get curious when they noticed her eyes widening. "It must be Harry." She whispered. At the mention of Harry, Ginny quickly snatched the paper from Hermione's hands and began reading it herself.
Special Addition Daily Prophet
A New Mark Flies in the Sky By Rita Skeeter
Late last night Aurors were called to the scene in a small town outside of London. A glowing Mark greeted them in the sky. Not necessarily a surprising sight since the rebirth of You-Know-Who. What was surprising that instead of the green skull and snake of the Dark Mark they were confronted with a Giant Red Lightning Bolt. If that were not enough, Aurors found 20 Death Eaters roped together and left in the middle of the town square. Among the Death Eaters arrested were the Lestrange brothers and Walden Macnair who up until recently was a Ministry employee who specialized in killing magical creatures. This reporter wonders how many other members of the Ministry are sporting the Dark Mark on their arms.
At this point, Auror's are not giving any information on how the Death Eaters were captured but residents of the town said that they heard the sounds of battle at night and looked out their windows to see a singular figure dueling against the Death Eaters. After having defeated them all he fired this Lightning Mark before apparating away It appears that someone out there is not going to sit around while Death Eaters terrorize the country. Perhaps the Ministry should be following the example of this "Red Lightning" and start arresting Death Eaters. When asked what he thought on the matter Minister Fudge seemed to be quite flustered and refused to comment.
Whoever and wherever he is lets raise our glasses to this new hero in the war against You-Know-Who.
Further information on You-Know-Who's activities – Page 2
Possible Identities of "Red Lightning" – Page 3
Recent members of the Ministry found to be Death Eaters – Page 4
What is Fudge doing? – Page 5
The article was accompanied by a picture of the scene soon after the Auror's had arrived. They were in the midst of transferring the prisoners to prison and getting statements from witness. You could still see a slightly faded image of a lightning bolt floating in the sky.
"Well, that's interesting." Ron had been reading over Ginny's shoulder and had summed things up quite well. "Do you really think its Harry?" he asked.
"Of course it's Harry." Hermione said as she rolled her eyes. "Who else would use a Lightning Bolt as their mark? Honestly Ron."
"It was a perfectly reasonable question." Ron huffed indignantly. "I mean this guys took out 20 Death Eaters single handly. Do you realize how powerful he must be? It would be impossible for Harry to take down 20 Death Eaters at once."
"Remember Ron, nothing's impossible." She said with a smirk on her face. "Besides, what if he used the skills taught by Professor Orion." Hermione continued. "In my interview he told me we were going to be learning lots of new spells including some very powerful shields and some offensive spells that can take out multiple people at once. It's quite possible that if he caught them by surprise he could do a lot of damage before they had time to react. Add to that the wandless magic and maybe being able to make himself invisible. It would have given him the advantage."
"I guess so…"
Ginny stopped paying attention as she turned her thoughts to the article. Was it really Harry? It had to be. But how could she stay safely at school knowing that at the same time Harry was off getting into danger.
'Maybe it isn't Harry.' She tried to convince herself. Suddenly she noticed something in the picture that she had overlooked at first glance.
"Hermione!" Ginny interrupted their debate. "Is there any way to do a close-up on these pictures?"
Hermione seemed to be momentarily stunned by Ginny's outburst C before regaining her cool, although she was still slightly puzzled. "Of course there is. You just use your wand to trace the area you want to magnify and tap the picture once and say 'Magnify'. It's a bit of an adaptation on the Magnification spell. Instead of using the Latin term for…"
"Thanks Hermione." Ginny cut her off. She turned her gaze back to the picture in front of her and traced a small area near the outskirts of the town.
"Magnify" she said as she tapped it with her wand. The picture zoomed in to give a close up on the area traced, focusing on a single figure poking his head out from behind the furthest building. A figure with messy black hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. A figure who every few seconds seemed to almost be able to tell he was in the picture and would wave towards those watching him with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Well," Ron said resignedly as he was looking over her shoulder once more. "I guess that solves the debate about whether or not it was Harry eh?"
"Yeah," Ginny whispered. "I guess so."
The trio was silent in thought for a moment before Ron sighed. "Poor Harry."
Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'Poor Harry'?"
Ron just shook his head sadly. "He just can't catch a break. He always seems to get stuck with the worst names." He looked at his friends and gave a small smile. "I mean first it was the Boy-Who-Lived, now though? Who's going to take him seriously with a name like 'Red Lightning'? It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances and after a moment simultaneously broke into laughter. Ron was quick to join in.
Harry was sitting in a wonderfully comfy chair in the Headmasters office as he waited for the two Professor's who would be arriving momentarily. He allowed himself a brief moment to savor the anticipation of Snape's reaction when he saw Harry sitting there waiting for him. It was going to be amusing.
He turned his attention back to the letter that was sitting safely in his pocket. The letter that he had spent the last few days contemplating. A small smile graced his face as he thought of the redheaded beauty who had written him. To be honest he had expected some sort of Howler from Ginny and the rest of his friends and had been pleasantly surprised to receive a letter wishing him well and telling how much they missed him. He decided to take as a good sign that while all of them missed him it was Ginny who had gone to the trouble of writing him. It gave him hope that he was forgiven for running away. Maybe, just once, things would work out for him. A faint hope. Perhaps it was now time.
He didn't get a chance to pursue that thought any longer though as he began to hear voices coming from the stairway leading up to the Headmaster's office. Two voices.
"Is this really necessary Headmaster. I have plenty of papers trying to masquerade as proper research which I need to correct and I'm expecting some students in detention momentarily." Apparently it hadn't been explained to Snape just what was going to be happening her tonight.
"Alas, I'm afraid I had the detentions you had scheduled for tonight canceled. I know you'll have to be extra strict to maintain your reputation, " It was as if Harry could hear Dumbledore's eyes twinkling in amusement. "but James seemed to think you would be excited about what he's arranged."
"He goes by Orion. Not James." Snape said the last word with a sneer "And if this is something that he's cooked up then I definitely don't want to be involved." He said sulkily.
Dumbledore snorted. "Are you still upset with him for not telling you about his involvement with Harry?"
"If Orion has been fooled into giving any time at all to that arrogant brat then he is obviously not as smart as I grave him credit for. And if he's willing staying contact with him now then he must be insane." Snape spat out.
Harry could hear the amusement in Dumbledore's voice as they reached the door. "There may come a time when you'll be quite happy that Harry is around. He's not a bad boy Severus and he has been quite helpful recently."
"Bah, I would rather dance naked in the Great Hall then receive any aid from Potter." Snape said these last words just in time for Dumbledore to open the door to his office, thereby revealing a highly amused young man waving at them from his seat.
"That can be arranged without to much trouble if you'd like Sevvie." Harry said sweetly.
Snape turned on Dumbledore in a rage. "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?" he shouted.
"Have a seat Severus." Dumbledore replied calmly, ignoring the question he's been asked.
"I refuse to do a thing until you tell me what this boy is doing here." Snape spat out.
"Well if he's not interested I say let him go Albus. I have no qualms about leaving Sevvie here to fend for himself." Harry pointed out. He then smiled cheekily at Snape who seemed to have acquired a giant purple vein on his forehead that seemed to be throbbing as he seethed in anger. Apparently he wasn't a fan of his new nickname.
Dumbledore decided that in the interest of peace it would be best if he got to the point quickly. "Severus, please, calm yourself. I was approached by Orion a few days ago as he had said he had found a solution to your problem." He looked pointedly at Snape's arm where, hidden by his robes, the Dark Mark lay.
All his anger seemed to disappear immediately to be replaced with hope. "He's done it?" Snape spoke quietly and Harry could detect a note of wistfullness in his voice. "Is it true Albus?"
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "He's explained his theory to me and I must say it is well thought out and has a high chance of success."
And then the impossible happened…Snape smiled. (A/N See, nothing's impossible. Just like the chapter title says) Not a sinister smile or even just a little turn of the lips. A real, real honest to goodness, ear to ear, white teeth showing, smile. "Well where is he then. Why doesn't he do it now?"
At this point Dumbledore's smile faltered slightly and he avoided looking the Potions Master in the eye. "Yes," he began hesitantly. "you see, the thing is Orion is not capable of the magic required to remove your mark."
"You then Albus?" Snape was now starting to get slightly concerned.
"Errrr, no."
"Who then?" Snape was panicked. He had this horrible feeling he already knew the answer. He had to be wrong though. Hadn't Fate done enough to him by now? Didn't he deserve a break? He followed the Headmasters gaze to the young man sitting down with his legs propped up smiling as if he's one a million dollars.
Snape paled and looked up at the sky. "Why me?"
Harry chuckled. "Just lucky I guess. Well, no point waiting any longer I suppose." And before either of the other wizards present had a chance to react Harry had closed the distance separating him from Snape, had yanked up the sleeve on his left arm and had slapped his had down on it. Covering the Dark Mark. Snape was about to protest when all the sudden the world went black.
(A/N: I was going to leave it here but since I haven't updated in so long I decided I'd better keep going.)
Harry was standing still in the middle of a dark wasteland examining a knot of glowing cords when Snape found him.
"What have you done now Potter?" As opposed to the normal tone of anger or disgust Snape seemed downright curious.
"That's a little unclear Sevvie. I suppose the best way of describing it would be to say that we're in your soul."
"WE'RE IN MY SOUL!!!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Snape shouted.
"Well we're not exactly in your soul I just said that was the best way of describing it." Harry replied calmly. "Each wizards magic is linked into who they are, their soul if you will, so in order to fix yours I had to come in."
"Fix my magic?" Snape was curious once more.
"Well yes." Harry was still busy examining the knot of cords. "You see, when you let Voldie put his mark on you he was doing more then just giving you an ugly tattoo. You see these cords here?" Harry asked.
Snape took a moment to study the glowing blue cords that Harry had pointed out.
"Those represent your magic and these ugly red ones are Voldie's. When he gave you the mark he was linking a part of his magic in with yours. Makes quite a mess too."
"Well why did you bring me here too? And why does everything look dead?" Snape snapped.
Harry rolled his eyes "Well it's your soul isn't it? Can't exactly just pop in for a visit without you being there too. And however it looks is just a reflection of you. You've been an unfriendly and cold basterd since you got the Mark and your soul shows it. Even more clearly then your greasy hair and characteristic scowl. Now stop bothering me. This is going to take me awhile to unravel it all."
"Well why don't you get started then?" Snape sneered.
Harry finally looked away from the knot to give Snape a look of disgust. "This is very complicated and if I make even one small mistake one of two things could happen. Neither good."
"What?" Snake was curious but confused as well.
"If I make a mistake, best case scenario says your magic and Voldie's magic fuses together and it becomes impossible to separate them without killing you." Harry returned to his contemplation of the knot of magic.
"And worst case scenario." Snape asked quietly.
"Voldie's magic starts to lash out and attaches itself to my magic too then proceeds to drain both of us of every last bit of magic we have before giving it all to him." Harry shrugged indifferently. "Course if that happens our bodies will die from the shock and we won't really have to worry about the consequences now will we?"
Snape was shocked. "Why?" he managed to croak out.
Harry gave him a glance and a raised eyebrow. "Awfully articulate aren't you? I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more clear if you want me to answer your questions."
Snape regained his cool. "Why of all people is it you who is doing this? Why are you risking yourself?"
Harry smirked. "Aside from the joy of knowing that if it works you're in my debt?" Snape scowled. Harry didn't notice. "There's a couple of reasons actually. One of the more important ones being that it will piss Voldie off. He's rather annoyed that you managed to get away and has been enjoying causing you pain through it. Anything that bugs him is worth doing in my books. I also have a theory that part of the reason Voldie didn't die when his AK reflected back on him was that he had some of himself tied up in each of his followers. If I can untie it then next time we kill him we'll just have to remove it from or kill all the remaining Death Eaters. Then he'll be gone for good." At this point Harry had started working at the know and was slowly pulling one cord of magic then another as he worked to loosen and untie the mess in front of him.
"And why did Albus say you were the only one who could do it?"
"He didn't. He just looked at me. Thereby implying that I was the only one." Harry replied simply and he managed to free another one of the blue threads. "Well that one freed up some space." Harry smiled and got back to work.
Snape refused to let it go. "Well then if someone else could do it why'd it have to be you."
"Cause the only person who is supposed to be able to do this is the one who's magic is linked to yours." Harry said with a grunt as he pulled at one of the red cords of magic. He fell away as he lost his grip on it. "Well that didn't work. What if I do this one first?" he mumbled to himself as he went to work on a thinner cord of red magic which he eventually freed.
"Voldemort." Snape shuddered as he said the name of his former master. "I'm confused though. If the Dark Lord is the only one who can undo it then what are you doing?"
"Cheating." Harry said with a smile. "I'm using my link to Voldie, through my scar, to get into his link with you. It's ingenious if I do say so myself. Of course it meant I had to be in physical contact with your Mark to make it work. That's what earned you the pleasure of my company."
Snape snorted. "Being in your company is anything but a pleasure."
Harry shrugged, "Whatever, your loss. Personally, I think we would be able to get along quite well if you weren't so convinced I was my father. Your loss though." And with that he tuned out all distractions and went back to working on the knot, which had shrunk in size by about a quarter since he had started.
While Harry worked tirelessly at the knot Snape was starting to re-evaluate his opinion of the young man before him. Deciding that maybe he had been a bit harsh with Harry in the past he decided he would take some time to observe the boy in future to see just how he behaved. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
"Pott-Harry? If you're using your link to the Dark Lord is it possible that he's aware of what's happening?"
Harry laughed. "Of course he's aware. I'm playing around with parts of his magic. How could he not notice? He's actually been watching us since about five minutes after I started."
"WHAT!" Snape spun trying to find some sign of the most evil wizard alive. He stopped when he heard an evil high-pitched laughter that was all to familiar ring across the wasteland that was his soul before coming together and forming the body of Voldemort. Snape reached for his wand before realizing that in this world he didn't have it. Fortunately he was being ignored by Voldemort just as Harry was ignoring everyone and focusing on the job at hand.
"I was wondering if you'd notice I was here boy. I must say that I'm impressed."
"It doesn't take very much to impress you if your Death Eaters are any sign of those with skill. It's actually kind of embarrassing how easily I've been taking them down."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed as he spoke. "So that was you who interfered yesterday?"
Harry snorted. "Obviously. Although I must say I'm rather disappointed with the name. Red Lightning? Honestly you'd think they could be more creative then that. I guess you wouldn't understand though. I mean you thought 'Lord Voldemort' sounded cool." Harry let go of the thread of magic he was working on as he had to clutch his stomach in an attempt to halt his laughter.
Voldemort growled and brought his wand up to curse Harry. Harry just looked at him and laughed even harder.
"Oh no! I'm so scared. The big bad dark wizard is going to hex me." He stopped laughing and looked Voldemort straight in the eye. "I hope you have good aim though. Cause if you happen to hit your own magic then Tommy go bye-bye." Harry pretended to wave good-bye to the seething dark wizard.
An evil small soon found its way onto Voldemorts face as he regarded Snape for what seemed like the first time. "Well let's see how our dear traitor fares then shall we? Crucio!" He called out and the spell hit Snape right in the chest causing him to fall to the ground in pain.
"Going to save him Potter?" Voldemort said with a smirk.
Harry, who was almost finished with the knot, didn't even look up as he answered. "I wasn't planning on it actually. This is his soul. He has the power to help himself and if he doesn't realize that then that's his problem not mine."
This appeared to puzzle the dark lord and he broke the spell over Snape. "So you don't care if I torture him?" he asked wonderingly.
Harry shrugged. "Nope, not really. He's kind of annoying and God knows he probably deserves it. Try to do it quietly though. I'm busy right now." There were now less than half a dozen threads to untie and Harry was moving through them quickly. Voldemort noticed this.
"I see you're hoping you can free him while I'm distracted torturing him. I suppose I should just finish him off then. If he's not mine anymore then there's no reason why he should live. AVADA KEDAVRA!" He shouted the words for the killing curse and as the green light left his wand Snape began to think maybe he had been right about Harry all along. 'I always thought his stupidity would get me killed.' He thought to himself. Time seemed to slow as he watched the green light that was his death slowly approach. His only regret was that he would still have the Mark on him when he died. Even in death he would have the reminder of that monster. He closed his eyes and prepared to welcome death.
"Accio Snape!"
Snape felt himself being pulled to the side and as he opened his eyes he saw the killing curse crash into his previous position as he went flying over to Harry's side.
"I said you could torture him. Not kill him." Harry placed himself in-between the fallen Snape and Voldemort. He then reached out to what used to be a knot and was now just two cords of magic, one red, one blue, and with one smooth motion he untied the two. With the last of the red threads gone Voldemort felt himself weaken slightly. He watched in frustration as the form of Severus Snape disappeared from view. He snarled in fury as the sun came out and life began to return to what had once been the wasteland of Snape's soul.
"You haven't gotten rid of me yet." He snarled. "As long as I'm still here I can rebuild my connection to him."
Harry smiled. "Then I suppose I'll just have to kick you out then. Won't I?"
"You think you have the power to banish me from his mind." Voldemort laughed. "Foolish boy. While you may be stronger then you used to be you're still no match for me."
"Ordinarily that would be true." Harry's eyes began to sparkle. "But right here I have the advantage. Both of us are straining our magic being here but I have Snape on my side."
Voldemort's eyes widened in realization and he turned just in time to by a plant that looked a lot like Devil's Snare.
Harry chuckled. "I'd say that as Snape's soul rebuilds itself it's trying to get rid of you. That's just my guess though."
Voldemort quickly dispatched the dangerous vine but looked around himself in horror. The wasteland that had been present before was gone and they now stood in a forest teaming with life. A forest that appeared to be angry. From the treetops dropped a group of Acromantula who quickly tried to feed on the dark lord. He quickly blasted them away but they were followed by many other monsters and plants which attacked him in an attempt to drive him from it's midst.
Harry watched as Voldemort continued to fling large amounts of magic around as he protected himself from the vengeful forest. He was surprised, and a little concerned, at just how much magic Voldemort was using and he began to wonder if he was actually going to be able to stop him. With one finally surge of power Voldemort erected a shield around both himself and Harry which separated them from the rest of the forest.
"It's you." He choked out. "You're the reason he's fighting so hard. You've been giving his soul some of your strength to speed up its recovery."
Harry prepared himself. It was just the two of them now. "You got it Tommy. Guess we'll just have to finish this ourselves now." He collected all of his magic, knowing that if this failed he'd be to exhausted to fight back, and threw it all in a concentrated beam of white light at Voldemort. Voldemort shot a beam of red light from his hand and the two met in the middle. They began to push against one another and slowly Harry began to lose ground.
"See Potter. You can't beat. Once I've beaten your puny magic back you'll be expelled out of Snape and I can rebuild my control over Snape. This time I'll make it stronger and he'll serve me once more. Willingly or not. There's nothing you can do." Voldemort began to laugh as his beam of red pushed ever closer to Harry's outstretched hand.
Harry was already putting everything he had into his beam and he now knew it wouldn't be enough. "Now would be a great time to help me out Sevvie!" he called out. He felt some force acknowledging his request and from behind him came a beam of blue light, joining with his own in fighting back the red. Harry turned to see the ghostly form of Snape standing behind him with a slight smile on his face.
"My name isn't Sevvie."
Harry's eyes began to sparkle a bit. "Of course it isn't Sevvie. Why don't we worry about that latter though after we've kicked old Voldie out of here."
Snape nodded and a look of concentration appeared on his face. Harry turned back to face Voldemort who was looking very angry, and a little afraid, as the two joined beams began to push the red away. Harry concentrated even harder, pushing himself far beyond his limits, and their light beam began to push the red back even quicker. When the joined beam of blue and white was just inches from Voldemort he realized that he had lost. "Impossible! I won't let you beat me. You can't." he wasn't taking it well. With one last push the beams of Harry and Snape crashed into Voldemort and in a blast of light he was gone.
Harry smiled and as he dropped to his knees, completely exhausted and drained of magic, he remembered one of the most important lessons he had ever learned.
"Nothing's impossible." He whispered before giving in to exhaustion and collapsing face first onto the ground.
A/N: How do you like that everybody? So the kid's have had their first class with Orion. Harry's running a much with the nickname "Red Lightning" (poor guy) and Snape and Harry managed to work together. Not bad for one chapter eh?
My apologies to all you guys on the long wait between chapters. Would any of you believe that a meteor through flew my window destroying my computer? Anybody? Really, you believe me? It was a pretty lame excuse you know. Anyways, I'm sorry and I'll try not to let it go this long again. I hope the extra length of this chapter makes up for the wait you suffered through.
On to the responses:
Athenakitty: There may be other bets between Snape and Harry but we'll have to see. Snape isn't terribly pleased with Orion right now but he'll get over it. Will the Dark Nark be gone? Yeah, it is now. Harry won't reveal himself to anyone else for a while though. His friends will be catching peaks of him though as you saw in this chapter. Ron and Hermione getting together? Probably but who knows when those two will ever clue in.
RealityIntrovert: I think reading my fic should come before doing work so please don't hit yourself on the head. I like your idea but unfortunately it isn't right. Sorry.
fhippogrif: Yes this fic will cover the entire seventh year and end with Voldemort's defeat. Or Harry's. One or the other.
Lady of Masbolle: You seem awfully convinced that Harry and Orion are the same person. Only time will tell if you're right though. I imagine Harry would very much like to know what Ginny's thinking but next chapter Ginny will get a look at what Harry's thinking.
Maxfic: I said very clearly at the end of last chapter that I used the names "James" and "Orion"because I liked them and for no other reason.
GiGiFanFic: Don't feel stupid about the Mary-Sue reference. The term "Mary-Sue" is used to describe an original character that comes out of nowhere and is pretty much a perfect person. For example a girl that transfers to Hogwarts who is stunningly beautiful, smarter than Hermione, perfect personality, very powerful magically and an expert dueler who just happens to become Harry's soulmate. She would fall under the category of a "Mary-Sue". I hope that clears things up.
Remmy Wolf: Orion and Harry don't have to be the same people. Orion spent a year training him and could have been told plenty about Harry's adventures and his friends.
BJH: I didn't come right out and say James Orion wasn't Harry Potter because I'm enjoying the fact that none of you know for sure. Some people are sure they're the same. Some are sure they aren't. I refuse to get in the middle of it so you'll just have to wait and see. How did the person of James Orion publish things three years ago? Maybe because it isn't a persona and James Orion is a person who published those books three years ago.
Harry Foureyes: Okay I have to get this off my chest: I LOVE YOUR THEORIES! Every time I read your reviews I spend a good five minutes laughing at them. The love child of James Potter and Sirius Black? I don'' even want to know how that would work. You're killing me. And yes, this will be Harry/Ginny and things will start happening soon. Very soon.
QueenWeasel: I like your theory because that's the way I think canon will go. Harry did display an ability to grow his hair out so maybe he will have some metamorphmagus skills. I hope so.
Rosaline Kells: Here's a bit more Harry for you. Hope you enjoyed.
Silver Warrior: Heck, I'm a little scared of Mrs. Weasley myself and I even know she's just a fictional character.
To everyone else who reviewed thanks. I wouldn't be able to keep going if I didn't have your support. To all you people who were hoping for a definitive answer on whether or not Harry and Orion were the same…tuff.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next one. It will be coming out MUCH sooner and will probably be titled "The Unsent letters" or something to that effect. You'll start to get details on exactly what Harry was up too, and what he was thinking during his year absence.
Catch you all later and please review.