A/N: So it's been awhile since I've posted. I have not forgotten this story. I've just been incredibly busy with a bunch of stuff, and I won't bore you with the details. If all goes well, the next posting will take a lot less time.
Harry Potter: Prophecy of the Phoenix - Chapter 9
"No."
The denial came out a whisper from his lips as dissent and betrayal struggled from dominance inside of him.
Dumbledore had known all along that he had been fated to die. That was why he was so insistent that Harry not join the Order. He thought the prophecy referred to a member title and thought that keeping him from the Order would protect him.
It also had to have been why Harry had seen a brief flicker of hope in the headmaster's eyes the night of the third task. He knew that the prophecy was continuing on its course, that there would be a way to defeat Voldemort permanently, and then Dumbledore must have remembered the final outcome.
Why hadn't Dumbledore told him? He wasn't a child anymore, and he had not been one for a long time. He deserved to know the truth. He was not some puppet of the wizarding world to be controlled by strings pulled at its choosing.
He could feel the inside of him being bathed with such an anger that he was beginning to flush with the internal heat, which was quenched by an icy cold dousing of despair and futility that hit him soon afterward.
If he was fated to die, it meant that everyone who had risked, who were risking, and who had given up their lives to protect him or because of him had done so in vain.
It was that thought that drove him back into the text, obstinately looking for some kind of loophole or way that he had misinterpreted it. Remembering that Fawkes had told him that his animagus form would save his life.
There just had to be something.
It all could not have been for nothing.
He perused the writing an additional four times before slamming the book shut in frustration.
He was missing something. It simply felt wrong, so wrong that it was making him physically uncomfortable and slightly ill, but he could not figure out what it was.
Resignedly, he opened his Charms text only to find himself unable to focus, his mind awhirl with conflict. For Harry, the night lasted a few eternities before dawn finally decided to peek into the darkness.
Harry played with his breakfast despondently, having forced himself to take a few bites and finding that anything he put in his mouth tasted like cardboard. Maybe it was because his brain could not come up with a logical reason why he should take in nourishment if he was simply going to die anyway.
The cries of the post owls broke through the murmuring clamor of the Great Hall, and Hermione snatched up her copy of the Daily Prophet.
As she scanned the front page, an amazing transformation came over her. First her eyes grew so wide that they looked as if they were going to fall out of her head, and then a stony expression hardened over her face finally to be replaced with such anger that Harry swore that he could feel the heat flowing off of her.
"That-that… witch!" Hermione sputtered, being so irate that her logical speech processes were impeded.
"What is it, Hermione?"
At Harry's question, Hermione seemed to be conflicted and reluctant. Glancing quickly over at the Slytherin table, he saw Malfoy looking a bit too smug with himself, and he felt his heart and stomach sink like a lead weight.
Turning his attention back to his friend, he spoke too calmly, "You can't protect me, Hermione. I need to know what it says."
As she handed over the paper silently, Harry's first glimpse at the headline confirmed his suspicion. Apparently, Malfoy had felt that his threats at revealing what he said he knew about Harry's secret were no longer eliciting an appropriate response from the Boy-Who-Lived and had decided to turn his threats into action.
The Boy-Who-Lived Abused by his Late Relations and Turned to the Dark Side
By: Rita Skeeter
It has recently come to this reporter's attention from an invaluable inside source close to Harry Potter that the famous Boy-Who-Lived was tormented by his late relations, and it seems as if Potter now has emotional scars to mirror the famous one upon his brow. My inside source has reported that he has been lashing out and attacking his classmates as well as being unable to focus in his classes. It is now that this reporter would like to point out the parallel to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who was also abused as a child.
This fact has caused this reporter not only to question what actually happened during the third task of the Tri-Wizard tournament last year in which fellow Hogwarts champion was killed but also to examine the convenient demise of Potter's relations not so long ago.
According Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Potter's account of what happened during the third task was "complete and utter rubish," leaving the wizarding world and grieving parents to wonder what indeed happened to Diggory. Could the Boy-Who-Lived, longtime hero, have resorted to killing his classmate in an effort to retain his fame and have consorted with fugitive Sirius Black, escaped convict and supporter of You-Know-Who, to destroy his relations and his secret shame?
This reporter begs her readers to be very careful. As she reported earlier in the spring, Harry Potter is unstable and becoming more and more dangerous. It is entirely possible that we are witnessing the emergence of the next Dark Lord.
Harry set the paper down, silently fuming. His meal was forgotten as he stood from the table, not saying a word to anyone.
Hermione began to stand too in order to follow him, but Ron pulled her back down, urgently telling her to give Harry some time to himself.
Harry almost made it to the end of the Gryffindor table before he was stopped by the Creevey brothers.
Colin had tears in his eyes as he asked, "It's not true, is it Harry?"
As much as the pair annoyed him, and as much as he was utterly furious at the world and with his life, he could not bear to completely destroy the safety of someone else's world.
"No, Colin. It's all lies and twisted facts. Now, if you'll excuse me."
This time there was nothing to block his dramatic exit, and he could hear the room explode behind him with speculations and gossip as soon as he was on the other side of the door.
What Malfoy did not know was that he had actually done Harry a favor. The anger that he had sparked had drawn Harry out of his despair for the moment, and he now had something other to think about that his prophesized death.
For the first time in his life, Harry was thankful for the darkness and coolness of the dungeons. Their dreary nature not only fit his mood but also seemed to have somewhat of a calming effect on him.
He took his usual seat and opened his text to review the potion they would be brewing that day. He was so focussed on focussing on the book that he was startled by Snape's unctuous timbre.
"You're early, Potter."
"Yes, sir." Harry's attention was still aimed at the text though he could not make the words merge into a cohesive thought.
"You can't hide from them forever. You are the famous Harry Potter, after all."
"I know. I just wanted to give things some time to die down just a little."
"I thought you liked being the center of attention." Snape sneered though it seemed a bit forced.
Harry glanced up, deep, flashing emeralds betraying inner chaos despite his calm tone.
"You also thought that I was being pampered and spoiled by my relatives. Not everything is as it seems, professor. You of all people should know that."
There was a flicker of something unreadable in Snape's face for only an instant, but Harry continued before he could speak.
"Look, I'm not in the mood to trade insults with you this morning. Just leave me alone until the start of class. You can insult me and deduct as many points as you want then."
As soon as Harry spoke them, he regretted the words. Snape's face was hard, and Harry braced himself for the response. Instead of the expected harsh rebuke, Snape simply nodded before turning to settle behind his desk.
Harry's brow furroughed slightly as he held his attention on his supposed greasy git of a Potion's Master, thinking that perhaps he should take his own words to heart about things not always being as they appeared.
The rest of the class began to file in several minutes later, and Harry did his best to ignore their entrance, only looking up as his friends took their seats beside him.
Hermione had not calmed down, being more livid than Harry had ever seen her, and Ron seemed to have found himself in the unaccustomed position of trying to be level-headed.
"I should have never let her out of that jar." Hermione grumbled.
"It's all right, Hermione. If it wasn't her, it would have been someone else."
Hermione blinked, her anger interrupted as she heard the resignation in Harry's voice.
The anger he had shown earlier was more in character, and now it seemed as if he had given up.
"So," Malfoy goaded, "the great Harry Potter can't even defend himself against his muggle relatives."
Snape swept to the front of the room, interrupting the exchange before it could really begin.
"Everyone please take your seats. Hopefully you all reviewed the information in your text on Extractus Magikus Potion as you were instructed. For those of you who didn't, this potion is very difficult to get even moderately correct much less a decent product. Therefore, you will be working in pairs. When I call your names, sit with your partners."
Harry steeled himself, prepared to be grouped with Malfoy. Thus, he was shocked that he heard his name followed by, "Longbottom."
Harry hid a wince. Even though it was a relief not to have to deal with Malfoy and his arrogance, especially today, Neville was always so uptight around Snape that he never managed to brew a potion correctly, and mistakes in this particular potion could be disastrous.
In essence, Snape had doomed him to fail once again.
Snape managed to suppress the smirk that threatened to quirk the corners of his lips as he observed Potter's distress. Unknown to Potter, his decision to pair the boy with Longbottom had a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it kept up the pretense of singling Potter out for punishment, especially with students such as Malfoy in the class, and secondly, as much as he was loathe to admit it, he was placing his strongest student with his weakest student in hopes to keep his classroom relatively intact.
Despite Snape's frequent statements to the contrary, it did seem as if Potter had a talent for Potions though it had not shown itself until the beginning of this year. It appeared as though Diggory's death and Potter's subsequent summer had sobered him into seriousness in his studies, yet he did not flaunt the fact that he knew the answers like Granger.
Snape was beginning to recognize that there was more to him than being James Potter's spoiled brat, but he would never admit it aloud both because of his cover and his own stubbornness.
Neville was actually trembling a bit as Harry slid next to him, and Harry could almost sense Neville's anxiety as if he had been in his animagus form. A pang of sympathy hit him, and he forced what would pass for a small smile onto his face.
"Relax, Neville. Follow my lead, and we'll get through this just fine."
Neville looked grateful, and Harry set him to work tearing the Melba root, thinking that there was no possible way that even Neville in his flustered state could mess that task up,
It was, thus, with surprised horror that Harry watched as Neville moved to scrape the root into the cauldron at the wrong moment, which would result in a disastrous explosion.
"No!"
Even as he spoke the pieces of root were scraped off into the cauldron, but instead of falling into the potion, they hovered above it and then flew back onto the table.
Neville was staring wide-eyed at him, and Harry could feel the weight of the stares coming from his classmates.
Now suddenly conscious of a familiar weight in his right hand that he was almost positive was absent a mere moment ago, Harry shrugged as if nothing was out of the ordinary and held up his wand.
"Wingardium leviosa." He commented in explanation.
Neville looked as if he was about to argue, but it was Snape who kept the conversation from going any further.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?"
"No, professor," Harry responded as Neville could only shake his head
They turned back to there work, anticipating a deduction of points that would never come, and the stares that had turned their way during the brief moment of commotion turned back to their own work, much to Harry's relief. Especially today, he did not need anything to make him stand out even more, but he was very much aware of a pair of onyx eyes narrowed in his direction.
Despite himself, Harry felt a short-rushed surge of gratitude towards his Potions Master. He was positive that Snape had seen what had happened, but instead of conforming to his normal character and emphasizing the situation just to make Harry uncomfortable, he had diffused the situation before it had actually had a chance to become a situation.
Class ended without further incident, and, surprisingly, Neville and Harry's potion turned out half-way decently though not nearly as well as Harry had hoped.
Feeling the need to do something, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione to head out without him. They looked disappointed but not surprised, obviously thinking that he wanted to be alone.
He waited until everyone left before approaching Snape's desk.
"Thank you."
"For what!" Snape snapped, leaving Harry to believe for an instant that he had been mistaken, but there was something that Harry could not even describe in Snape's expression that confirmed his initial beliefs.
However, at least for the time being, they each had roles to play for both their sakes, and chances could not be taken.
Harry nodded curtly in understanding before proceeding to his next class.
Harry's eyes began to sting and water as he climbed into the Divination Tower. If it was possible, the fumes seemed to be thicker and more caustic than ever.
Beside him, Ron was gagging and sputtering phrases like, "Crazy old bat."
Trelawney glided in as if from nowhere, ignoring the coughs and teary eyes of her pupils. As she spoke, her voice seemed lower and more drawled than usual in an effort to sound mysterious.
"Today, we will be exploring our mediumistic abilities. This is one of the most difficult branches of Divination, and even I was surprised when my Inner Eye revealed to me that we would be studying it."
"Mediumistic?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"Talking to dead people." Harry whispered back.
"Oh, okay." Ron's eyes went wide, "What!"
Trelawney either did not hear Ron's outburst or she chose to ignore it. "Please, everyone, find somewhere comfortable to lie down."
Exchanging unsure glances with each other, the students did so.
"Now everyone, close your eyes and clear your mind. Try to open yourself to the other realm. Take slow, deep breaths."
Then Trelawney stopped talking, and a silence fell over the Divination Tower broken only by the soft snoring of a couple of Harry's classmates a few minutes later.
The change was gradual, but Harry felt his body become very heavy. He knew that he would be unable to move if he tried.
Harry felt a warmth and a haziness come about him that was not quite sleep, and the darkness beneath his eyelids morphed slowly into a thick fog. For a moment, his chest tightened, and he felt himself unable to breathe.
After a brief moment of panic, the fog scattered, revealing a figure that Harry had only seen in reflections, echoes, pictures, or early and forgotten memory.
"Mom?" he breathed, unable to fully accept that she was actually there.
The next thing that he knew, he was being held in a crushing embrace. He had theorized at the end of last year that Mrs. Weasley's hug was like that of a mother, but he found that it could not compare to the actual experience.
Returning the gesture, he could feel her shaking, and when she finally pulled back, tears were falling from her eyes and glistening upon her cheeks.
"The last time I held you, you were just a baby. Now look at you. You've grown into a handsome young man."
Harry shifted uncomfortably, averting his gaze as a warmth crept into his cheeks.
"You look so much like your father, but you're so serious."
Harry looked back at her blinking in surprise. "Serious? Ask anyone at Hogwarts. Trouble's always finding me."
"I'm afraid, Harry, that your 'trouble' is not the same as the mischief that your father and his fellow band of miscreants got themselves into."
The tears broke again, and Harry could read the pain in the emerald depths that mirrored his own.
"I'm so sorry, Harry. I never wanted to leave you alone in this world. I wish that I could have done more to protect you."
"You did plenty." Harry rushed to console her. "You died for me. You saved my life."
"Oh, Harry, don't you know? Didn't you realize? You saved yourself."
The inner rebellion that resulted from his mother's statement was expressed by the argument, "But the protection that you left…"
"Certainly was not a hindrance but did not save you from the Dark Lord. Harry, don't you think that there were others during that terrible time that sacrificed themselves for the ones that they love? You're the only one who lived. All my spell did was provide a barrier. It was you that rebounded the spell onto Voldemort himself."
Harry could not accept it. "There's nothing special about me."
"Of course there is. We knew it before you were even born."
Once again, the elusive scene that he had seen in the Phoenix Chamber flitted through his mind but would not stick.
"You were doing magic before you were even a year old. You should ask your godfather sometime about the incident that occurred at your first birthday party regarding his hair or lack thereof."
She smiled fondly at the memory before becoming serious once again and continuing.
"Your aunt and uncle's attempt to crush the magic out of you was more successful than they will ever know. I know that you just want a normal life, but someday, you are going to have to drop those barriers that you've placed around your magical powers."
Harry opened his mouth to argue again, but his mother continued before he could speak.
"I'm afraid that we don't have a lot of time left. Harry, I came to tell you to look at the book again. There's something important that you're missing."
"So I don't have to die?"
Tears pooled in Lily's eyes at the hope in his voice, but they did not fall as she spoke,
"No, I'm afraid that Voldemort bound himself to you when he used your blood. In order for him to die, you must die as well, and if you die he will as well."
"Then why is he still after me?"
"The magic that he used is very old. Most of the information has been lost. It would be almost impossible for him to know."
"How do you know if the information has been lost?"
"Things work differently here."
Harry nodded, used to accepting cryptic responses by now and knowing when a better answer would not be forthcoming. "Then I should just kill myself. That way no one else will die because of me."
"No, Harry. The link between you will be severed if you take your own life. That was the only protection built into the spell."
She looked him over lovingly once again as if burning his image and that moment into her head,
"I wish that I could tell you more. Don't give up, Harry. Remember that your father and I love you and are with you even though you can't see us."
He was pulled rather forcefully back into the Divination Tower. His head was throbbing mercilessly, but for once the origin was not his scar.
Beside him, Ron was yawning, obviously one of his classmates that had fallen asleep.
"Great nap, right Harry?"
"Yeah, great nap" Harry replied absently, wishing for just a little more time with his mother. He had so much to ask and so much to learn.
Harry awoke with a start. He had not expected to fall asleep with the anticipation of finding whatever his mother had told him about in the prophecy, but between not sleeping much anyway and the emotional day it had been, the exhaustion had conquered him before everyone had fallen asleep and he could sneak out.
The nightmares had not been far behind, but at least they had been the result of his subconscious demons and not the result of Voldemort and his real atrocities.
From the sound of it, everyone was very much asleep, and it as now all right for him to slip away.
After several readings of picking apart the prophecy, Harry felt his frustration mounting.
There was nothing there that he could see. Despite his mother's encouragement not to give up, he was seriously considering doing so and resigning himself to his fate.
He closed his eyes and spoke softy, "Help me, Mom. I've looked at the book and I don't see what you're talking about."
He opened his eyes, which did not focus on the words right away but the book itself. Suddenly, a thought struck him. His mother had not told him to read the prophecy again but to look at the book.
The lack of numbering on the pages had always bothered him, but he had dismissed it as a bother based on the fact that he had to flip through pages until he found what he wanted. Apparently the original language had not seen the need to include page numbers.
Now he took a closer look at the inside of the spine, bending the book backward to get better look, he could see there was almost-indiscernible evidence of a jagged edge between the pages, which could mean only one thing.
There was a page missing, meaning that it was quite possible that the prophecy did not actually end with his death.
A/N: Well, there you have it. I am very excited about the next chapter. Thank you all for hanging in there with me. Hopefully, my life will allow me to post in a much more timely fashion. Now for my reviewers:
beckiWhat did the review gods do now? No fear, they don't have a special fondness for me either. The fifth book will be much better than this so-called attempt. I must say, though, that I am relieved that there will be no more stalking. Tell your apartmentmate that I appreciate it. See you next time. J
SkysongThanks, I'll try.
Tiger Eyes: Believe me I want to update more than anyone.
rangerThanks, I did.
howling wolf: There is method to my madness. He will have to die, but…
Cataclysmic: I'm glad there's a full range of emotions going although, the morbid humor was not necessarily intentional.
CitriusBabe I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I hope that you didn't die. As for the length, I don't have a certain length that I write for. I go where the stories take me. Some will be longer others shorter. I think that the next one will be longer, but I'm not sure.
IndigoStar12020: I hate people who ignore their stories too. I apologize, but ask my roommates how many times I've said, "I don't want to do my homework. I want to write."
Starflash64: I did work on it but didn't finish it. Thanks for the info.
JerseyGirl03: Thanks, sorry for the wait.
jake Okay, consider it done.
sopybubblesCriticism written in a positive manner is always welcome. Thank you. I happen to agree, and I'm hoping to add more in. Keep reading Harry will die, but…
mysia Thank you, I will do what I can.
Thelvyn Shh… don't ruin it for everybody.
SandraJo Yes, the wait for the next book is driving me insane too. Sorry for the wait on
this story.
XiaBai Oh no, another dying reviewer on my hands. It's up now come back to life.
sherman Rest assured. No crazy Harry. I'm glad that you like the Oliver Wood impression
HogwartsMoonGyrl03: No problem. Trust me. You'll like Harry dying.
Xirleb Don't skin shdurrani, but I'm glad that you liked it.
kateydidnt Don't worry about not signing in. The gravidius mortis potion I made up simply because I needed something, but you're dead on with the second part. I'm glad the prophecy was not so bad. Harry will die though.
t.a.gI'm not really a cruel person really… Let's assume that the members of the Order know about the prophecy, so yes, I suppose Snape would know. As to Remus's sensing of the Killing Curse, I wrote it in three of the five versions of the chapter exactly what happened. It didn't sound right, so I cut it. As soon as I can get it in and get it to sound right, yes.
Iniysa Thank you, hope you enjoyed it.
Kelzery No more what?
Hermione-star: I will keep going, and I'll give it a shot.
Illustrious Sorror: Of course more on Harry's destiny. That's what this story is all about.
Lily Skylo: I hate when I close the box! Thank you for coming back. I'm very glad that you were not bored, and I like Lupin and Back too. Hopefully you received an e-mail.
Kim: It wasn't that bad was it. Was that the loud scream I heard? Wow I'm sorry. J
Charma1219: I hope this one was too.
Lily Rainwater: Can you cast a spell on my evil teachers who won't let me sleep let alone write? I'm sorry once again that the wait was so long.
john Umm… you'll like it I promise.
Karen: Thank you. I will finish I promise. I think that we're about halfway done.
Von: smacks forehead And I had it edited too… you were the only one to say anything. Yeah, I don't like reading prophecies, especially, and I don't particularly like my writing of them. Nothing happened in this chapter either. I'm sorry. Please give me one more chapter, The next one promises excitement I promise. Thank you for your honesty.
Jarvey I'll try
live the rainbow: Thanks for not ruining it. There are tons of wonderful fics out there, but thank you. Rambling is perfectly acceptible.
Ariel: I'm glad I survived the initiation. Sorry about the book thing, but I wanted to have a little fun with all of you. Harry was in shock so not really able to react like that. I hope this chapter detailed his emotions more to your liking. As for your last theory, all I have to say is yes and no. J
Insane Pineapple from Naboo: winks Maybe. Padfoot and Remus will come back. Until then we'll all miss them. Conversing is natural after a while. I don't know why. P.S. I just gave my senior flute recital using piccolo, flute, alto flute, and bass flute. Hve fun
Corie I understand. I hope that you found this one.
JaimeyKay Like I'm one to talk, but when are you updating Against All Odds? I understand busy. Thanks for the review.
shdurraniDid you know that someone threatened to skin you? Yes, poor Harry.
Angel Baby: Glad that you like the idea.
TonyaAnn: Why thank you. I hope that you are enjoying I've added you to the list.
