Chapter 8 – Initiative
Transfiguration and charms went by fast and before Harry knew he was already in his bed, sleeping soundly.
When the Cordeurs came again it was three o'clock and Harry couldn't wait to get started on the staff form training they promised him. It was difficult at first but Harry soon got the hang of it and by the end of their two hours Tasha told him that he was a fast learner.
'No Tasha, he's not a fast learner.' Xilion told her with some amazement 'nobody, nobody has ever done it that fast. We took three months to get to his stage.'
'It seems almost as if it's natural on him.' Tasha said 'Really Harry, haven't you done this before?'
'No, I told you.' Harry insisted.
'But it's impossible.' Xilion said again.
They walked to their departure point still discussing how impossible it was to grasp it so quickly but they soon vanished in mid conversation with one another, not even noticing that Harry walked with them.
Harry was baffled to say the least. It felt like it was something he had known for a long time, something he could do well. It was like riding a bike. He was shaky at first but it all fell into place, like he just needed a bit of practice again.
He was still pondering his thoughts when he entered the through the main doors only to be stopped by Dumbledore's grave look.
Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow him and soon they were inside professor McGonagall's office again.
'Harry,' Dumbledore sighed 'Voldemort struck again.'
Harry didn't say anything, he simply sat there like a zombie.
'Same spells, same method, completely random.' He told Harry 'We have no idea where he will be striking next. The people he killed had two children in Hogwarts, normal jobs and normal lives. We don't know why he went for them.'
'He's trying to grow supporters for him.' Harry told Dumbledore 'The dream I had the summer. He's scaring the kids so that when they grow up they'll flock to him to save their own families.'
'If you look at it like that' Professor McGonagall said 'It does make sense.'
'Harry, don't break yourself down over this, please.' Dumbledore said calmly 'I'll talk to the children.'
Harry nodded to each in turn and walked slowly in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. This day in fact proved to be not as good as he thought. Harry realised that he couldn't keep to his own words, to enjoy the first week back at Hogwarts. He didn't even know how he got inside the tower, he didn't really care, all that went through his mind was to learn to fight.
If this prophecy, the fate of the world, was dumped onto his shoulders then he could handle it. The words Tasha told him rang through his mind like a beautiful song, a motivating tune "Nothing will be placed onto us if we can't handle it." He, Harry Potter, will prove that statement correct no matter what.
'Harry!' he heard Ron shout into his ear.
Harry jumped a little, hearing Ron's voice reverberate through his ears and turned towards him.
'Glad I could catch your attention.' He told Harry sarcastically.
'Sorry, didn't hear you.' Harry said sheepishly
'Come here, sit down.' Ron said 'What happened?'
Harry informed his friends what Dumbledore told him and went up to his room, to find a place to learn the new book he found in Dumbledore's trunk named Three hundred and twenty four light side fighting spells by Albus Dumbledore. He was eager to learn the things Dumbledore wrote down but he couldn't find a place to do the spell. Harry grabbed the book and went out of the common room without anyone noticing him and strolled around the huge castle at night, trying to find a suitable place.
After thirty minutes of walking he came to a stop at a door, right next to the stairs that led to the astronomy tower. He opened it cautiously and peered around the door, to see a small balcony that looked deserted enough. He walked outside and went to the hand railing, looking out to the lake and forest. The whole place was covered in dust and spider cobwebs, there was a stone bench in the middle of the four meter radius platform and a small table right next to it.
He sat down, after he cleaned the dust and opened the book to start.
When he was finally done he closed the book and pulled out his wand to start the spell that he learnt only to realise he couldn't practice into the night air with no target. He improvised however by trying out the spell professor Mungus taught them in DADA. He traced the circle, plunged his wand into the middle and waited. At first there was a tingling sensation in his hands, then his arm and then his whole body. It wasn't like Professor Mungus told them, it didn't hurt and Harry didn't feel the need to let go. When he finally decided that it was enough he let go. It shot forth, sharp as a needle point, at incredible speeds towards the lake, where it darted into the ground.
Later that night Harry's eyes were starting to fall shut and he decided to call it a night.
When Friday finally rolled by Harry decided to get his prize for slaying the basilisk. Martial arts were the same as everyday since. Xilion and Tasha taught Harry the finer arts of staff form, where Harry grasped the concept quickly. Transfiguration, charms and DADA blended together seamlessly in a blur. Hermione noticed his absent look during class and decided to confront him during lunch.
'Harry, really you can't expect to get through this year if you don't concentrate in class.' She scolded
'Leave him Hermione.' Ron told her.
Ginny, who was sitting next to Harry looked at the pair on the other side of the table with amusement but turned her attention to Harry.
'What's wrong?' she asked
'Nothing' Harry replied curtly
Ginny seeing that she wouldn't get anything out of him said 'What are you going to do the rest of the day.'
'I have something I need to do.' He replied cryptically
'Can I come?' she asked
'No.' Harry said and stood up while placing his cutlery onto his plate.
He walked out of the great hall and headed towards his dormitory to get some his broom. After he got it he walked at a fast pace towards the second floor girls lavatory where moaning Myrtle instantly spotted him and squealed in delight. Harry, who didn't have the time or patience, to talk to a delusional ghost whipped out his wand and banished her with a spell he learned earlier that summer. She fled the confines of the place of her death for possibly the first time with an unholy scream.
Harry walked over to the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror, remembering the vision he had last night. Voldemort killed a muggle girl, not older than ten years with the heart shattering curse. Harry could remember how lost, how sad and how terrified she looked right before the spell hit her. Her parents were a sight he didn't want to think about, couldn't think about. The look on their faces was one that no person wanted to see for a second time. After Voldemort killed the girl he said a cheerful goodbye to the parents and left, with the girl lying in her own pool of blood.
Harry shook his head, desperately trying to clear his head of those thoughts and hissed 'Open.' in parseltongue. The sink sunk into the ground to open the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry gripped his Firebolt tightly and hopped into the hole. After he landed on the ground deep beneath Hogwarts he placed his broom on the ground and left towards the path he had walked in his second year.
Harry realised as he was walking how lucky he was to still be alive. The memories of that day came flooding back, the pile of rocks where Ron was trapped, his fear for what was to come, his recklessness. He finally came to the door and opened it where the magical green light poured out of the chamber. The basilisk lay where it was when Harry killed it, the statues stood exactly the same, everything was quiet but it didn't feel the same. Harry walked inside slowly, disgusted at the place. Everything reeked Slytherin.
He walked slowly towards the basilisk, looking exactly like it did all those years ago and inspected the place. Statues of sinister looking people and deformed animals lined the walls, skeletons of animals all over the place and dirt everywhere with the occasional rat or insect scurrying towards the corpse of the dead snake.
He shook himself mentally and revised the spell he would be needing for cutting the hard skin. He started at the head, making sure to spare every bit of the precious armour, and worked his way towards the tail but when he got to the stomach he noticed something glint. Curious, he removed the skin he was busy cutting and peered at the strange metal object. Harry was sure that it was magical because he could feel all around the small seemingly golden pipe and the red and white light emanating from it only proved his theory correct.
It gave a small buzz and vibrated a bit before Harry decided that anything coming out of a basilisk can only mean one thing, danger. He backed up slowly and raised his wand ready to cast any spell that would make it stop but as Harry's luck permit him it shot forth towards his right leg. He bolted for the door, shouting protection charms over himself as he went and grabbed the door handle but the thing struck his leg and disappeared.
Harry swiped furiously at the last place where he felt it make contact, sending it flying away. Not wasting any second he hoped onto his broom and sped towards the tunnel exit. He could hear the thing whirling right behind him and that only fuelled his anxiety. Without any thought of where he was going he shouted for the exit to open and flew out of it. He emerged from the opening to fly straight through moaning myrtle, apparently back at her rightful death place. With a shudder and a quick glance over his shoulder he sped up again only to see three terrified looking first year girls right in front of him. He swerved out of the way but still managed to hook the shoulder strap of one girl's school bag onto the front of his broom, sending her sprawling out onto the floor but by the look on her face he could see that she wasn't hurt to badly.
'Get this bloody thing of off me!' Harry shouted at them hoping one of them was as intelligent as Hermione.
As his reward for swearing the remaining two girls gave a yelp and cowered in one corner, while Harry was flying at breakneck speeds around a girl's bathroom, occasionally going through the damn crying ghost.
'AAARRRGGG!' he shouted again, panic mounting inside of him left for the door.
Without any thought about what he was doing he blasted away the door and went for more open grounds, hoping for all that he was worth that his broom was faster than this beautiful golden pipe. He went for the door, only to find that it was in between periods and the ruckus he made attracted a bunch of students. He went over their heads in a blur and was happy to at least see that he could fly over their heads without problem. He looked over his shoulder to see the thing still hot on his tail but it looked like it was starting to get desperate to get at him.
'MR. POTTER, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!' Shouted someone that sounded like Professor McGonagall.
By way of showing Harry again tried any spell he could think of over his shoulder but when he looked again a wall was right in front of him and the rest of the crowd gone. Harry threw curse after hex after charm after swear word at the thing but nothing helped and he resigned himself to the inevitable. He tried one more spell, conjuring a thick wooden slab right behind him, hoping to stop it that way. He started to slow down when he couldn't hear it and came to a halt when he thought it was gone but he apparently made one huge mistake. Instead of the usual pipe a blade the size of a dagger with the same hilt as the pipe came bursting through and Harry flew once again in the opposite direction.
A solid stream of spells heading right by his head made him look up for the first time and he saw Professor Dumbledore casting spells so fast that his wand tip was practically ablaze. Finally, when Harry was right beside him his Professor struck gold by covering both himself and Harry in some sort of bubble which the thing couldn't penetrate, not even with the dagger point hitting against it.
There were only a few sixth year students near and they seemed intelligent enough to stay well away.
'To my office.' Dumbledore said hurriedly and walked at a brisk pace towards the stone gargoyles that Harry was surprised to see right in front of him. When they were inside Dumbledore lifted his left hand and pointed his wand straight in front of him. He started a strange incantation that sounded impossible to say while revolving on the spot quickly. When he did a full circle the bubble popped, every strange ornament he had in his office became still and Harry heard the clanking of metal on the floor that was the golden pipe.
It was the first good look at it that Harry got and he had to admit, it was beautiful. Golden pipe the thickness of a staff and the length of about thirty centimetres which curled at the edge. Four rubies, red, blue, brown and white was incrusted in one side of the length and Harry saw it roll around, seemingly of it's own accord to show writing imprinted on the opposite end in gothic script that read "INITIATIVE".
'Tell me what happened.' Dumbledore said with a strange look on his face.
Harry told him everything of going down to the chamber, with the excuse of "Coming to terms with my past" and ended with him here in the office. He was careful to leave out the information of the armour but Dumbledore gave him a small knowing smile but didn't press the matter.
'What did you do to stop it?' Harry asked
'This office has a small feature in it that will disable every magical object inside it until I counter the spell.' Dumbledore told him 'It came in handy more than once but to the matter at hand.'
Dumbledore picked up the golden tube and examined it thoroughly, tapping it every now and then with his wand and muttering strange spells, which Harry took great pride that he could remember most of them.
'Well Harry,' He started 'I can't seem to find any traces of dark magic.'
'But it tried to attack me…' Harry began
'Perhaps we should look at every possibility.' Dumbledore sat down again 'Did it harm you? Even when it was on your leg? Coming out of a basilisk stomach means one of two things. It could be there for obvious dark reasons or it could be where some or other dark wizard placed it never to be found again.'
At Harry's puzzled look Dumbledore continued 'If you were a dark wizard, where would you put a powerful object you cannot wield but your enemy can?'
'So your saying that perhaps this thing isn't dark at all?' Harry asked
'Perhaps, but lets find out about it more.'
Harry and Dumbledore did some experiments, tests and sitting around drinking tea, coming no closer to the problem at hand. What they found out however was that the thing was basically unbreakable. It had the basic charms in place and some hexes but nothing major. In the end they decided to take the risk and put the magic back into Dumbledore's office. Again the same thing, it sprung up and leached itself onto Harry's leg, where it became invisible. Harry couldn't feel it but he somehow knew of its presence. In the end Harry took it with his hand and lifted it where it behaved like a piece of gold, doing nothing.
'See if you can find out more, like how it produced the dagger.' Dumbledore advised
'It has a dagger, sword, axe and a staff, well more like a rod.' Harry said before he could stop himself. 'What the hell?'
'How did you know?' Dumbledore pressed.
'I don't know.' Harry felt like a caged animal, he knew things that he didn't even know how he knew it. Harry pressed the red ruby and a sword produced from the end of the hilt. While Dumbledore toppled over his chair with his wand raised Harry some how knew that it would come out. Red like fire, in fact it looked like fire inside glass, the red is changing colour. He pressed it again and it disappeared.
'How did you do that?' Dumbledore laughed at himself from the other side of the room 'I'm an old man, I can't take surprises as well as I used to.'
'A battle axe.' Harry said simply to himself and he pressed the brown ruby and out came a battle axe, also using the shaft Harry has in his hands. He pressed it again and it disappeared.
'Dagger.' He pressed the white ruby and the same dagger appeared.
'Staff.' He pressed the blue ruby and a blue staff produced from both ends, so that the hilt looked like it was inside of the centre. It was the same length as the one he used with Xilion but this one was lighter and stronger.
'That was something Harry but can you leave it in my office?' Dumbledore asked and indicated towards the glass case, where Godric Gryffindor's sword lay.
'No, I'll keep it.' Harry said without thought. 'Nobody needs to see it.'
'Harry there is much more experiments that needed to be done…' he started but Harry cut him of
'Please, I can tell you every spell on this thing. Something about it, I don't know, I have to keep it.' Harry said 'Or don't you trust me with this?'
'Harry that's not what I meant but if that is what it's about you can keep it. You know I trust you.' He said to Harry.
'Thanks, any news about Voldemort?' Harry asked
'Oh yes, and better news than most.' He said 'The Order of the Phoenix in Africa was successful in their campaign to enlist the help of the Tokolosie. Before you ask, small creatures, the size of garden gnomes but far more intelligent. Most native people are scared of them but I asked my men there, against their better judgement to ask for help and they were astonished when the Tokolosie community served them food and accepted their offer.'
'What will they do?' Harry asked picturing hundreds of garden gnomes on a death eater.
'They will ensure that no creature of Africa can fight in this war. Some of the most fierce creatures are there. It is believed that the basilisk and griffins come from Africa.
Secondly, Remus and Tonks found out that most Death Eaters cannot perform the three spells, only few can, the more powerful ones like Malfoy and Bellatrix. Voldemort seems to put in all of his efforts to teaching his followers that spell but it seems all for nought.
And lastly, on a sadder note, Sirius' will.' He paused here and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses 'He wrote separate ones for each of us and if it may make it any easier, he made me a better person so to speak. A great man Sirius Black.'
Harry didn't really understand the abrupt change of topic but it brought unwanted emotions in him. Sirius has written him a letter, the last piece of parchment he would ever receive from his Godfather, ever. But that's how death work, no last words, no happy faces, nothing except memories.
Dumbledore pulled an envelope from his desk and gave it to Harry, who took it with shaking hands.
'I'll be back after some business I need to attend to.' Dumbledore stood up and left the office leaving complete silence in his wake.
Dear Harry, it read
I am dead but I don't want you to worry. Don't question your beliefs and don't now that I am gone. You have always not followed your heart but at least I can say you followed others' hearts.
That is one thing very few people can do, I couldn't but you can. Twelve years in Azkaban can make a man philosophical and one thing I realised is that there are three 'Phases' so to speak.
One, those who strive to follow their hearts but never succeeding. Two, those who actually follow their hearts and then third, people like you. People who always place others in front of them, people who would rather give praise than receive but would take pain rather than see anyone else under it.
Don't stop being like that, never.
On to the matter at hand, the will. What will you get?
Remus got most of my and my families vaults, which included some amount of galleons but not much because I cleaned them out as soon as I was out of Azkaban. It is in a muggle bank, including all of the properties my family owned except for Grimmauld place which I gave to Remus.
The only thing I ask you to do with the money is to use it wisely, don't think like you do, think ahead, in the future. What do you plan to do after Voldemort is dead, after Hogwarts? I know you will think of something.
Don't give up, never give up. Remember that.
Sirius.
P.S. Do me the honour of drinking a fire whiskey with your friends on me. Madam Rosmerta will give you. She always gives underage kids but nobody asks.
It is a sad thing, to read something of someone that doesn't dwell on earth anymore. Almost sadder not knowing what lay beyond death, where do you go, what do you do or do you simply stop to exist, gone?
Something inside of Harry told him there is more to it. He knew that humans have a soul, something no other animal or creature has. He knew it was all about good versus evil, everything is, choices, actions, paths everything. Maybe there is something like good and evil after you die. It is almost the base line of all existence and then there is love.
He finally knew how true love feels like, funny that the only time he felt it since he remembered was when evil attacked him. The protection magic of his mother was sorely based on love, he felt it, and experienced it and it was the best. With a force that powerful nothing can stand in its way. He knew how his mother ensured such magic would happen when Voldemort attacked them, he can feel it burning inside of him. He knew how to use it, it's guiding him through life, teaching him everything he doesn't even know. Like this "initiative", he knew how to handle it. Already he can picture the moves, the best way to attack or defend for every circumstance in his head.
He knew how to manipulate magic, physics, it's running through his head like occlumency with Snape. He can feel the magic surrounding Hogwarts, the earth, even himself. Sirius is dead and there is nothing he can do about it. His mother and father are dead and there is nothing he can do about it. His relatives hate him and there is nothing he can do about it. His friends love him and again there is nothing he can do about it.
The only thing he can do is to enhance the good and fend of the evil. He was prophesised to kill Voldemort, the evil of his time, but why stop there? He didn't want to stop helping, the feeling he got from helping others, is bad at the time but afterwards, when you think back, you know you did the right thing. That feeling is the one that stays and encourage. Between all the bad cycles there is one good that lingers, the one of helping where you can. He knew that his path is a hard one, Xilion told him that, he told Harry that every good man's path is hard. But he would take it so that one day, one day when he is old that he would think back and know he had done the right thing.
Harry walked out of the office and went to his dormitory where he fell down on his bed and took a nap for the rest of the afternoon to recuperate. He hadn't had a good sleep for a while now and all the stressing was taking its toll on him.
The next three days passed in absolute silence, no attacks, easy classes and a normal routine for once. He did what was asked of him in class and he did some extra work. Even Xilion turned up more than planned but he couldn't find any flaw in Harry's fighting form. He said that Harry had one enormous life force name something that sounded like chi. So he started on some control lessons that ensured you would have a calm and collected mind even in the heat of battle. He taught Harry soft spots on the human body and some other strange exercises that he didn't want to dwell on.
Malfoy finally left the dungeon prison to go to his manor and left Harry with the words 'tread lightly potter.'
It was dinner time on Wednesday and Harry with his friends was enjoying a meal and some small talk with Luna when Dumbledore sprang out of his chair after a word with Snape and left the great hall with Professor McGonagall right behind him.
'What do you think happened now?' Neville asked in a random direction.
'Everybody to your dormitories right now!' Snape hissed above the murmur of the students.
There was a moment of silence but then everybody started to move and chaos reigned. Every student rushing for the doors and crazy rumours running around like wildfire. Harry went with the flow and before he knew it he was in the foyer before the castle door.
'Come on Harry.' Hermione screamed 'What are you waiting for?'
Harry was standing at a window looking out but he didn't like what he saw. Hermione pulled on his sleeve but Harry didn't care, he could see Dumbledore and McGonagall rushing towards the forest with Hagrid in front. It could be a normal sight except for the fact that they are running but something else nagged inside of Harry, something felt wrong very closer than the three running figures. It only took a moment for him to realise what when his scar burst into pain, a numbing thud constantly in his head.
'GO!' Harry screamed 'GO, I'm RIGHT BEHIND YOU!'
They rushed on and when they where at the corner to the entrance of Gryffindor tower Harry duck behind a statue. His friends didn't see him, his friends didn't know of the danger that was near Hogwarts. He jumped out of the nearest window and landed with a thud on the ground but luckily he thought of cushioning charms before he landed. He rushed on, into the direction of the forest, through the fog faster and faster. He knew what was at Hogwarts, he knew he was going to fight or die in this hour but he didn't care.
He saw lights and flames ahead but something else nagged inside of him. He felt like he was running in the wrong direction, he felt like the danger was behind him even though he could see a battle being fought in front of him. Fog so dense that the only thing you can see is flashes of light heading your way. People appear and disappear like ghosts, monsters and beasts screeching and roaring for blood and flesh.
This was a fight like he hasn't seen in his life. Lighting flashed, lighting up all the fighters for a second and Harry realised that he was right in the middle. Hundred or so people, about twenty beasts and thousands of flying things of varying size jumped about. It was chaos, complete disarray, silhouettes of people being slaughtered could be seen, screams of agony from people, shouts of victory from others and commands from leaders.
It felt like a dream, a nightmare but his mind told him that this is real. He plucked out his wand and started to help the small number of aurors to his right. He said incantations so fast that it sounded like a beautiful poem, he did the wand movements in time and it seamed like some strange unearthly war dance.
Step by jump by swing by turn, he did what he could. He registered faces of some Order members and he saw Dumbledore but he didn't care. Words flowed out of his mouth like rivers and spells streamed out of his wand in millions. He could see the faces of the enemy, evil with no remorse but when he turned to them they fled into the fog hoping to get away from Harry's wrath.
He went after them, running as fast as his feet could carry him and stopped them, giving them a moment of pause before he struck and the symphony continued again.
He stopped in front of a chimera and took a moment to look for a weak spot but he couldn't find one. The tail swung around and smashed him in the side of his face. Only then did he realise where he was. He was flying through the air, in the middle of a fight and he could do nothing. The beast didn't stop there, it slashed with its bloody claw and struck him in the arm tearing flesh out of skin and then it all sped up to normal speed. The sounds come crashing down and Harry registered what was really in front of him.
He couldn't give up now. He knew how to fight and he will. His initiative was in his hand with a thought and he carried on. He ran towards the chimera sword raised, red blade shining bright, and he attacked. It swung it's claw but Harry knew what to do, he could see the moves in his head. He jumped to avoid the shot and slashed his sword in a fluent slice, cutting a deep cut into the hide of it's arm. Harry didn't stop, he used his advantage and raised his wand in his left hand, shouting a fatal spell which struck in the heart. With one last roar and a look that clearly said well fought it toppled over and died.
'HARRY, GO TO THE CASTLE NOW!' He heard Dumbledore shout.
He turned around and saw his headmaster standing right behind him looking like a rag doll. His brilliant robes where torn and cut, his left arm hung loosely at his side but his face betrayed his age. Wrinkles showed everywhere, his hair looked more grey than white now but his eyes told Harry that he was truly exhausted. The only thing that kept him going was his love for the school and the student within it.
Dumbledore's expression changed from pensive to fear.
'BEHIN…' the old mans mouth formed words but before he could finish Harry felt object hit his head and then a tug at his navel that signalled the pull of a portkey. The swirl of colours rushed forth and he landed on a stone floor that looked like a dungeon and when he looked up there stood hundreds of figures clad in black robes all with their wands raised towards him.
Harry's first reaction was to duck for cover but something else within him told him to do the exact opposite. He didn't know if it was the adrenaline in his blood or if he just lost his mind but he reacted anyway. With the first step he took spells rained down on him, looking like a beautiful rainbow except that each and every beam was directed towards him. Not one was friendly.
Harry's instinct took over and he jumped as high as he could, foolishly, towards the enemy and evil. His initiative was in his hand, changed to the battle axe, and his wand in his other when he landed right in the middle of a group. Everything he ever learnt sped through his mind and he set his sight on one of the minions, who trembled in fear right the second before Harry struck his head with the blunt side of the axe. Momentum is the key to what enabled Harry to do what he did.
After he hit one of them with the blunt side, his weight was leaned forward so he went with it, breaking out of the circle of black robed men into another. Harry started to fire spells again in the direction his arm lead him.
It is incredible to think how everything falls into place. Who would have thought that one could fire spells as fast as Harry did at that time but if you look closely he performed every wand movement perfectly. Every thing fits together. Aim left, turn then fire, aim up and jump, then the spell stream out of the tip of Harry wooden wand.
'WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!' Harry shouted and one man flew upwards hitting the thirty-meter high sealing of the chamber he finds himself in.
Spells came and went towards Harry because they were either dodged or returned with another three spells from him.
He saw three attackers approaching at a fast rate, to close to stun or disarm so he changed the form of his axe into a staff and swung in one fluent movement to stop them. He swirled around and struck the left most one with a blow to the side of his neck, shattering it with a force impossible to obtain in any means by a normal person. Using the back force he swirled the other way round and struck the right most one in exactly the same manner.
For the last one he swung the staff back and with a predictable blow went for the man's ribcage which he blocked with his arm. All this time Harry turned and attacked, he managed to avoid all the other spells sent his way by the people around him, just out of range for his staff. One spell, Harry didn't manage to predict in his subconscious but he felt it coming, Avada Kadavra, from right behind him. The green light raced forth and Harry dodged it, much easier than he was used to, hitting Harry's direct opponent min the torso.
'STOP THIS PETTY FIGHTING NOW!' a hissing voice said from somewhere above Harry. He jumped around to see Voldemort standing on a floating rock right behind him.
'I must say, you have improved since we last met.' The snake like man continued 'There you were only a small boy, not even worthy for the name wizard but now, look at yourself.'
Harry looked down only because he was so astonished by the words spoken by Voldemort. What he saw gave him a small fright. His arm was glowing faintly, his hair on his arm stood on end, moving slightly as if in a faint breeze. But the thing that caught his attention most was the fact that his wand was on fire, completely ablaze in a golden flame. He lifted his staff, which sent small lightning sparks in every direction, in a movement so fast his hand looked like a blur and let it fall to his side again.
'Let's see if you, in all your glory can dodge this!' He hissed 'ADURO!'
The black coils started again, exactly like it did the first time but something was askew. Voldemort had spoken the words without aiming towards him but yet; here is the sick black light heading his way at astonishing speeds.
At a time like this, when you know you have to face something horrible, something that you know the feeling of from before, you don't act rationally. Harry lost it.
His instinct evaporated and his logic left him, leaving him with fright and memories of the last time the spell had hit him. Already he can feel the pain, burning, pounding and to top it all of it felt like acid on raw flesh.
A small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face and Harry truly 16-year-old mind took over. What do a 16 year old do when he is in danger and imminent pain such as this? He run like hell and that is just what Harry did.
He didn't think that if the spell follows him, he is going to slow down from exhaustion eventually and be hit. He didn't think that he is surrounded by hundreds of Voldemort's followers and even if he somehow managed to avoid the spell, they will get him.
But he couldn't give up this easily, he couldn't give up hope, the will to go on. Even in his state of mind his will continued to fight the fight against his inner demons. He ran full tilt, pouring every ounce of magic he had left into his muscles, towards open grounds. A wall right in front of him stopped Harry eventually and the spell made impact.
The same pain, only stronger, more pronounced, penetrated his body from the heart and spread like a virus towards every part of his body. Before he knew it the spell was lifted but the damage was done, his arms felt sticky full of sweat mingled with small droplets of blood and he couldn't go on.
The last words he heard before he lost consciousness were Voldemort giving orders.
'Tie him up, make sure that he doesn't get away. Bellatrix, come with me. There is important business to finish.'
'AFTER I HAVE COMPLETED MY MISSION, WE WILL RULE BRITAIN!' He shouted to the crowd who cheered so hard the sound of it made Harry pass out.
5 hours earlier in the Gryffindor common room
'Where is Harry?' Ron heard Hermione scream right into his ear.
'What happened?' someone else yelled.
'How did we lose him?' Hermione again.
Gryffindor tower was in absolute pandemonium after the abrupt departure of Professor Dumbledore and the dismissal of Snape. Every person talked or yelled at the same time, not knowing what is going on or speculating about it.
The only logical explanation was that the school was under attack and that Professor Dumbledore was trying to fend them off. The only mystery that remains now was the fact that Harry is missing. He was right behind them, Ron saw him when he turned into the tower but then he was gone, like a ghost disappearing into thin air.
Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, he needed to find his friend, Harry needs him at his side, his logical brain man. Harry trained hard and one could rarely see him not revising some or other spell incantation or wand movement. Harry was permanently stiff from the exercises he did with that other bloke, Xilion.
'RRROOOONNNNN, WHERE IS HARRY!' This time she went to far, the Sonorus spell is meant for crowds not one's ears.
'Dammit how the bloody hell should I know!' He yelled back straight at her.
'He is fighting.' Ginny said softly, barely hard enough for them to hear above the cacophony of sounds.
'How do you know?' He asked urgently.
'I saw him running out towards the forest.' She said 'He jumped out of the window.'
'Come on lets help him!' Ron screamed
'We can't, it's locked. All of the windows are locked, I tried them already.' She said again, this time more desperately.
'Let me show you!' Ron screeched.
If there is one thing he learned from Harry it was to never give up.
'REDUCTO!' he shouted with all of the might he had within his adrenaline filled blood stream. The window shimmered and after a moment it shattered, sending shards of glass and brick everywhere. He didn't waist any time for the girls to catch up before he jumped out of the window into battle and possibly death. For Harry, he would give his life.
Professor Dumbledore walked silently through the fields of bodies that littered the green grass of Hogwarts. Only a few hours ago the battle ended in favour of them because of the help from centaurs and some of Hagrid's eight legged Pets. Not to mention the arrival of Harry's friends.
If he ever doubted that those three could fight a battle of this scale he was sorely mistaken. Hermione could shoot spells out of that wand of hers like he hasn't seen anyone do ever. Ginny could do some training though but she could give as much as she got. The only thing that she needs to learn is to keep your distance. She tends to go in, head first. And Ron, he shot a Death Eater right through Hagrid's hut, with power most couldn't imagine to achieve.
'ALBUS!' He heard frantic screaming from right behind him.
'Yes Severus.' His voice, something in his voice made Dumbledore realise that it would have been better for Harry to be dead at that moment.
'I've seen him.' He whispered 'He shouldn't be alive, he should have been dead about three hours ago. He should have been dead. Nobody should be able to live in a state like him.'
'Severus' Dumbledore soothed 'Calm down, relax. Tell me what happened.'
'All right.' He said, seeming to have regained himself 'Not here, his friends might overhear.'
The two old friends walked back to the castle, still standing proud and tall, and entered the safe surroundings of ancient magic. When they were seated in Dumbledore's chairs around the fireplace Severus started again.
'Right after you told me Voldemort took Harry I went over, which wasn't to hard because Voldemort's dark mark summoned all. Something to do with Harry…'
'What's that?' Dumbledore asked, Harry having an affect on Voldemort's dark mark is serious business.
'I'll tell you later.' He said to the headmaster 'Well, I got there in Death Eater attire and saw when Harry appeared right in front of Voldemort. Four hundred and fifty wands on one boy, Albus he didn't look scared. His eyes, it was almost glowing white; people around me were so scared. When Harry didn't drop his wand Bellatrix attacked first and as you know it only takes one spell to burn down a house.
About a hundred spells heading his way, he didn't even flinch. He stood and waited with that crazy sword in his hand and when the first one struck him he jumped towards the Death Eaters, not away, into them. Over their heads and right in the middle. He killed them all, about twenty, not one spell hit him. It was like some kind of dance he performed. Everything he did led to another, every shot he threw were followed by another.
That's not even the biggest part. His spells, Albus I'm not kidding, he cast spells faster than I can think. Not the small things you do without saying anything like conjuring, huge spells with massive power. The only thing you can hear is his voice, almost amplified, chanting spells over and over. He can say three spells at once, or it sounded like it but anyway he held his own for about two hours against three hundred. He just didn't stop. Finally Voldemort hit him with Aduro and he fell. Voldemort disappeared to who knows where and some of his inner circle took over.
As we speak he is being tortured non-stop. He should have been dead, physically, but he is still standing on his own two feet when the next round begins. It's disgusting, Macnair is on the show right now, using his knives and dagger. I tried to stop them, I tried my best but Bellatrix got me and it seems like the whole place moved. I can't find it anywhere, not even Voldemort.
I don't like Potter but it's disgusting.'
'Get our men from the order, everybody, and find Harry, do it now!' Dumbledore said urgently. Harry is in grave peril and from what Severus has told him it doesn't sound good. Plus, Severus always under exaggerated with torture. Something that is pleasant for him is hell for most others.
He must to find Harry.
Right after Severus left he stood up and went to Fawkes, who was watching the whole scenario with something as sorrow in his eyes.
'Find him.' He said to his trusty familiar, sadness pushing towards the surface 'Please find him.'
Fawkes disappeared, leaving behind a small flame where he had sat before. Albus knew what that flame represent, he knew that if the flame is gone, so is Harry. He peered intently into the flame, looking for some kind of indication, anything that might help him find Harry.
When he looked at the flame he could see it shrinking but it ignited again after a second or so. Something or someone is helping Harry… Perhaps it could be Harry himself, the kind loving and caring Harry helping himself, as he had to do his whole life because of Albus himself.
Only thinking of that brought a wave of nausea into the pits of his stomach. Albus always thought of himself to be caring, putting others interests in front of his own but seeing Harry last year break down like that stirred something inside of him. Something that was always there, for fourteen years but he suppressed it with cool logic.
Harry is safe with his family, Harry will become a great wizard and rid the world of Voldemort once and for all but things turned out so bad, so horribly bad. Yes, Harry turned out to be good and loving and a great kid but how easily could it have gone wrong? How easily could Harry have decided to turn dark?
Again I go on with logic instead of my heart. How easily could Harry have turned out a miserable kid who hated the world, thought that the world owed him something? But no, Harry thinks he is a burden to anybody and anything. Harry could be happy and at ease with himself, Albus could see that but Albus had to pay for his mistakes. He has to see Harry smile, it makes him happy to see Harry smile, he has to see Harry strain to come out of his shell once in a while but worst of all he is the only one that noticed Harry truly. The poor boy, everything he does, says, everything Harry does with a subconscious saying, shouting "You are a burden to all those around you!"
How can an old man like himself live with that, knowing that he was the reason behind all that turmoil.
A small thrill of Fawkes' song brought him back to the present, he has to find Harry. He has to tell his friends, they are probably worried sick by now. That is his burden.
Albus silently walked the halls of Hogwarts thinking of how the best way would be to break the news to Harry's friends at four in the morning. When he arrived at the fat lady she opened with one glance and closed right behind him again. There, on two comfy chairs sat Ron, Hermione and Ginny facing the back of the portrait.
'Any news?' Hermione asked. Ron looked eager as well but Ginny didn't even look up or acknowledge his presence, she looked to deep in thought.
Dumbledore summoned a chair from next to him and sat down facing the three friends. He started at the beginning, he told them everything.
In the darkest dungeon of the earth, our hero sat huddled up in one corner of a small room. Every now and then a shudder overtook him or he would convulse in pain for a few seconds as the potions they forced down his throat began its next onslaught until it completed its job, to kill the person, his soul.
Whoever said that magic knew no bounds must have been one sick person. This potion, Harry figured out, was to target your very being. It was like an insult thrown at you but in a literal way. He could actually feel the potion eating away in the flesh of his soul, his hart.
I have to pull through… Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Everybody I care for will die if I do and I will not take them down with me!
That was his mantra, his source of inspiration that kept him going through every action they took on him. With the short glimpses of conversation he heard he realised that they made a betting pool to which person could actually do the worst thing to him before he died.
His Initiative was still with him, they didn't know it, it didn't matter. If he used it he would only die faster.
Someone entered and Harry stood up, he wouldn't go down like a fool, a hopeless man like Pettigrew. He would look every man or woman or what you would like to call them in the eye when they tortured him, letting them know, in Harry's own way, that he isn't afraid.
It was a foolish thing to do, he knew but it was his only thread of reality in him. His only connection to the world out there. To stand for what you believe in. He knew he was going to be hurt beyond help, beyond any hope of recovery but it didn't matter for him, he would give it willingly for the people he love.
Is this what Pettigrew felt like when he gave his arm for Voldemort? Did he love Voldemort or feared him? What a stupid question. His brain answered for him. How ironic, Pettigrew giving flesh willingly as a servant, Harry giving flesh. Maybe not as a servant but close to it, a servant to mankind. His purpose was to rid the world of Voldemort, nothing else matters.
Don't think like that! It's the potion talking. Pull yourself together.
'LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT!' said the voice that pulled Harry back to the present, the hard reality of what he has to face. Harry only glared at him in return, his hand itching to grab hold of the initiative and to kill this man before him with an axe over the head!
Pull yourself together!
The man wasn't a fool, quite the contrary; he was the most intelligent man Harry saw in the ranks of Death Eaters. He immediately noticed the twitch of Harry's fingers, the jump of his eyes to search for weak spots on the man, Harry's facial expression. In a flash the man was out of the room, door closed.
What a pathetic excuse for a man, cowardly, if he would only come back in here!
You're falling for the potion. Harry's mind warned him silently, becoming softer and softer every time it talked, or thought?
The door opened and Harry was prepared for the coward. Initiative in hand, raised above his head, battle axe out, footing perfect, ready to behead the man.
Don't.
What he didn't expect was the four beams of amber light heading his way at breakneck speeds. It made impact before he could clear his mind, picture the pain in his head, counter it with everything he got. It was the third task all over again.
Pain, unbearable pain, not the pain of Aduro but enough to make a person lose his mind. His axe dropped to the ground along with Harry who writhed in terrible pain. He could feel the magic assaulting his nerves, his nerves sending to much current through to his brain, his brain pulsing from the inside, not knowing what to do with the signals it's receiving.
After a moment it was lifted but the damage was done. Harry couldn't do anything for a few seconds and that was all it took for the man to take his Initiative, his only hope of escape.
The four men bound him to the wall with magical handcuffs, steel and strong. It was already uncomfortable to be tied up with his hands raised above his head, feet bound against the wall, unable to do anything but writhe in pain.
'Let the games begin.' One man announced.
Two of them left the room, clearly to spread the news while the other two stripped Harry down to only his boxers. Harry was unsure of what their real intentions was at that moment but he became sure when one man started to draw a picture on Harry's back with the scorching hot tip of his wand, leaving a thin trail of burned and blistered skin where it went.
A small yelp of pain escaped Harry's mouth. They weren't in it for direct pain. They wanted to leave scars for him to remember every detail, every day of his life.
