Harry Potter and the Tears of the Light
Chapter 4
From Above and Below
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or anything in here you may be familiar with. New characters, plots etc. are all I am responsible of.
The ominous silence continued to fill the air as Harry continued to be engulfed within the soft glow. He had not attempted to say anything for what seemed to be hours. How had it known what was on his mind? Harry knew very little about the various names that were given to him. One name, that of Zeus, made a stronger connection than the other three. Wishing Hermione was there to fill him in, he pieced together what he did know. Zeus was, in Greek Mythology, the king of the Gods. Then, it hit him.
"So... You're," his timid voice began, "God?"
The glow intensified for the briefest of moments.
"No, I am not. Many before you believed this to be so, but it is not the case."
The voice did not sound within his ear, but as if it rang within himself.
"Then who are you?" Harry asked with awe.
"I am what keeps thought, emotions and life going when needed. I was a part in planting love, peace and creativity on your plane of existence. My role transcends what you consider time and space. I have no given name, but you may entitle as you wish."
Harry's thoughts and feelings froze. Its voice emanated a power beyond all magic. The difficulty to come to terms about what the... being... just said to him. Something so clearly beyond all earthly comprehension, allowed the young wizard to do something as simple as picking a name. This wasn't as if he were naming a dog or even a Hungarian Horntail.
"Rector Lux Lucis."
"I beg your pardon?"
"That is what you may call me since you are having difficulties in your attempts. Now, I believe we need to discuss why I am here with you. You have been predestined to face one of the ultimate evils. It is not often that the two sides collide with such magnitude. Unfortunately, for your world, the time has come again. My role is to facilitate the knowledge you need to defeat Tom Riddle. By helping you to discover the tools you need to fulfill your destiny, the tension will be broken and your world will continue. Your journey will be long and difficult but fear not... You, Harry Potter, will never be alone..."
"If you're helping me defeat Voldemort, I'm sure to win right?" said a voice with a new sense of hope.
"I can only do so much for you Harry Potter. The fact that I am helping you find a way to defeat Voldemort does not ensure victory. You must attain as much knowledge and magical ability before your final encounter. To use an earthly idea... Only your road to the destination is written of. The condition of the road... the stops along the way... things that only you can control. There are infinite amounts of possibilities. You must do what you feel is right.
In an instant, Harry's spirit dulled. Even with, by his account, some sort of heavenly being, there was no clear way how he could take Tom out. Not even Rector knew if he would be the one left standing. At least he had someone else to help him along... Someone he didn't have strong ties with.
"What do I need to do?" asked Harry. "I guess what I've done up until now isn't enough for me to reach my destination, or you wouldn't have come to me. Am I right?"
"Yes Harry Potter, you are accurate in your assumption. You must focus on training magically the rest of your summer and throughout your school year. This will help you amplify not only your magic, but your will and fortitude as well. Just as important is to sharpen your intellect. There is no magic not worth knowing, therefore, you must learn all different forms."
"Even the Dark Arts?" Harry questioned.
"Especially the Dark Arts. You must remember that it is a branch of magic that has been classified by man. Human action and wisdom is marred by fallibility. You yourself have the ability to speak with snakes do you not?"
"Yes... I'm a Parselmouth," replied Harry.
"Many of your kind consider that the sign of only the darkest of wizards. Have you ever used your gift in a manner that would classify you as a dark wizard?
The young wizard pondered upon this question for a moment. There was the dueling club disaster in his second year. The snake Malfoy unleashed would have bitten Justin Finch-Fletchley had Harry not intervened. Unfortunately, the rest of the school didn't see it the same way. No, there was never a time.
"I suppose not. But in my second year so many people thought I would be the next Voldemort," he explained. "They looked at me and saw the Heir of Slytherin in front of them."
"Considering the knowledge they possessed, I imagine it would be a viable possibility. You are powerful and resourceful. I know you have heard the same thing before from Albus Dumbledore. He explained how it is the choices you make in life that define a person. Many, even now, question whether you will continue to be their beacon of hope, or turn into a dark wizard... I know you will never be a dark wizard Harry Potter."
Despite the endorsement from Rector, Harry continued to question himself. He had attempted to perform the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange to no avail.
"How can you be so sure? I mean..." Harry paused before pressing on, "I used an Unforgivable..."
"I know because I am looking into your soul. Earlier I said your soul was no longer on earth did I not? All you see is a glowing light before you... so too is the case with me. The light you see is my soul. I myself can see your soul. Believe me when I say that you, Harry Potter, will never turn dark. It has been many a millennia since I have seen one shine such as you. Now, the importance of the Dark Arts is attributed to the fact these Death Eaters rely heavily upon it. You must learn the best ways to defend against it. You may even find yourself in need of magic within the Dark Arts."
"I'm starting to understand, however; it will take some time to grasp," he admitted.
"There are three more articles of discussion we must divulge into before our time here is complete. The first is that although I normally cannot help you directly, I will this one time to allow yourself a little bit of freedom."
Harry immediately saw an intensified glow, as well as an amazing warmth about him. After several seconds, Rector's voice resonated once more.
"You no longer carry a magical signature. Your Ministry of Magic, or any other magical being, will fail to have the capability to detect you. The second point is that you must not mention this meeting to others immediately. I know you have a history of secrets, both ones you keep and ones others keep from you, but it is imperative. There will come a time when it will be possible to disclose my existence, but that time has yet to come."
"But will I be able to have them help me with the training and research? I know my friend Hermione will be able to find loads of information I might need if she doesn't already know it. That and it will be difficult keeping everything from them as is," Harry asked. The idea of keeping this much information would be unbearable in and of itself.
"I am sorry Harry Potter; I should have spoken more clearly. By all means, have them help you. The only portion you must keep from them is of my existence. Finally, you must seek out the Eight Immortals. From there, travel to the Pool of Sorrows. Only then will you be able to defeat Tom Marvolo Riddle... Our time is done, Harry Potter. We will not meet for months to come. I hope by next we convene, you will find the Eight Immortals."
Without another word, Rector Lux Lucis was gone.
Within the earth, numerous torches flickered against the dim walls. The air held the essence of death as it seemed to suffocate the various rooms. So massive was the system of caves that even some of the newer Death Eaters lost their way. Recruit quarters doubled as torture chambers and dungeons not only for hostages, but also for the recruits themselves. Deeper into the caves were the chambers of already loyal Death Eaters, along with Lord Voldemort's elite Inner Circle. Behind one of these solid metal doors, Severus Snape sat... Waiting to be called before the Dark Lord.
The potions master had taken several steps away from the inner circle since the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Riddle had been livid that Severus failed to realize how scrappy and tenacious the band of students were. It had been a week since he returned to the caves. For his failure, The Dark Lord proceeded to perform the Cruciatus curse on him several times... Each lasting right up to the point his mind would have snapped. Now he was alone in his cell with nothing but the remnants of his thought lying curled up on the floor. The energy required to get to his bed failed to surface. Yes, he would live to see day light once again because he knew that the Dark Lord had no other potions master. Still, the pain continued to mount, and it was all thanks to Harry bloody Potter and his fan club.
Suddenly, Severus' door swung open revealing one Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Time for your exercise Sevie!" she said with the warmth of a snow cone.
Mustering all the strength he could to get to his feet, he slowly crept out the door. Eyes only halfway open... Head too heavy to lift up any higher... With Bellatrix behind him, they made their way to Voldemort's throne room where he held court.
The largest area within the cave by far, the Dark Lord situated himself upon his throne. It was fairly simple as the black finish blended into his cloak. He sat five steps above the rest of the common floor. His eyes were closed as Severus made his way before him. Immediately, either out of protocol or exhaustion, the spy fell to his knee.
"You called for me my Lord?" Severus weakly asked as he looked at the floor before him.
"Bella, leave us." With that, his most trusted witch walked to the nearest door and closed it with a thud.
"Severus," said the Dark Lord as he looked upon his servant revealing eyes of red. "I have been most unimpressed with your sudden lapse of intellect and observational skills. Nonetheless, you have been an asset since my return and have proven yourself time and again... You will stay until you have been rehabilitated enough to take your place near the old fool. I want you to tell me everything he plans on doing with regards to my actions against Potter. I must be one-step ahead of him. You will keep a closer eye on the boy, won't you Severus?"
"Of course my Lord. I will not fail you again," the tired man stated.
"See to it that you don't... On the table beside me," Voldemort said while pointing to his left, "is a book of ancient potions. I need you to brew one for me... The page is marked for you to copy down everything you need to know about the potion, and nothing more. You will leave the book back on the table once you are done. From what I gather, it will take several months for it to be complete. I trust you can accomplish this under Dumbledore's nose. Now leave me..."
"As you command my Lord."
Rising to his feet, the potions master made his way over to the red table where a book bound in human flesh lay. It was no longer a myth... The Book of Senvazchios had been found. After holding the book in his hands, he flipped to the page Voldemort had marked. His eyes widened after momentary reading the page.
'Merlin help us...' was all that he could think of. Still weak, Severus quickly copied the information and placed the book back upon the table. Gradually making his way in front of the Dark Lord, he bowed his head and left for his chambers. It would take a few more weeks for the Head of Slytherin to return to the dungeons of Hogwarts.
As his subject left the central chamber, Voldemort continued to save his energy and spent his time formulating his plans. Lost within the twists and turns of his mind, all thoughts slowly left him until he had none.
"You were not supposed to find the Book of Senvazchios yet. So greedy for power... such a thirst for immortality..."
Voldemort opened his eyes only to find a black void. This was not the voice of Potter, nor of any other wizard he'd ever encountered before. Despite the fact of never meeting, the Dark Lord could sense its presence and its intentions.
"Who dares to enter the mind of the great Lord Voldemort!" he demanded.
"You are the lord of nothing! I suggest you reverse your tone with me unless you wish to never achieve your arrogant goals. It is you who will regard me with reverence and honor! I had hoped to never lower myself to your pitiful existence yet somehow, here I am attempting to correct this world's failures."
Despite his fury, Voldemort held his tongue. The voice dripped of anger and a grand amount of force as the advantage of intimidation and fear were now wiped away. He had to play along for now until he knew more.
"Perhaps it would be prudent to start with what or who I am. It will halt your thoughts of deception and insincere replies... I am he who allows you to exist. Without me, you would have no purpose. I am the essence of chaos, pain and suffering. You will address me as 'Lord' or I will find someone else to play my puppet. I am NOT human since that is what you are thinking. To correlate myself with something within the grasp of your feeble mind, I have been called Nergal, Set or Shiva in the past."
Never since he left Hogwarts had Tom Riddle been forced to answer to another. Not only had this being taken his own title, it also knew how he thought. Voldemort couldn't decide which was worse.
"Then you are the Devil or Satan correct?" he asked rather boldly.
"Need I remind you to address me as Lord! No, I am NOT the Devil or Satan. This is all information I refuse to go into because you will fail to comprehend it. You will be nothing but silent until I am finished speaking! This Harry Potter has become quite the problem for you has he not? You neglected to take him seriously... toying with him to have your fun. You wanted to humiliate him... make him suffer. This I approve of save for one thing. YOU FAILED TO KILL HIM! Now, he is a problem for me... If you listen to my words, then you shall be granted power and immortality. The two things you have so desired... I am going to help you defeat Harry Potter and everything else that is good and pure in your world. Once that is taken care of, you will have complete dominion over the land and seas. My powers will then be able to strike your world. With that, I shall allow you to become immortal. The world will be your own personal Hell... You wonder why I would even care if I am as omnipotent as I seem..."
Although Voldemort possessed great power through fear, he himself became anxious. One the one hand, he would die if unsuccessful... On the other, the two most important treasures would be his...
"Yes my Lord. Since you are as all powerful as you seem to be, why not rule it yourself?"
"To think that you are the one who has the greatest vision in your world. Do you honestly assume this is all that there is? Your meager planet... your pathetic civilization... Your world is just another pawn in a great game of chess in which I play. It has become immensely important that I win this move..."
Stillness overwhelmed their time and space. Voldemort remained quiet, waiting for his Lord to speak. To think the darkest wizard was now silenced in part to both the prospect of fulfilling his own personal destiny, and the fear that one wrong move would signal his undoing. Although the epitome of a Slytherin, he found some courage to raise his voice.
"My Lord, tell me what it is you wish for me to do. How may I achieve my desired fate, and help you?" he finally asked.
Day turned into night and time passed on into weekend. After several days of constant rain, the heat lowered to manageable temperatures. Except for a few thunderstorms sandwiched in the middle of the week, the precipitation kept a blanket of tranquility upon London. Well, perhaps not all parts of London...
"Ginny, have you seen my good socks?" Ron asked after closing the door behind him.
Ginny was lounging in the living room with her head upon a dark green pillow. She let her copy of "Witch Weekly" fall down into her lap.
"No," she replied. "How do you expect me to know where good socks are? I haven't the foggiest idea where any of your socks are. Why don't you ask mum? She might be giving them a good wash, and coming from your feet, I'd say they probably need it."
"Right. Mum..." Ron began as his voice trailed off with him flying into the kitchen.
The young redhead's attention returned to her magazine. Ever since the beginning of summer, there was a countdown to Harry Potter's 16th birthday. It now read 3 weeks with a striking picture of Harry taken from the Triwizard Tournament. His green eyes shimmered as he flew on his Firebolt past the dragon. In his hand was the golden egg of the first task. That was then... When their biggest worry was getting through Snape's class, or not being caught outside the dormitories past curfew... Now it seemed to be a distant memory.
It had been nearly a week since she last received a letter from him. She had been troubled, but resigned herself to the fact that if something had happened, the Order would let them know. Even if they didn't want to fill them in, it would be difficult considering Grimmauld Place is their headquarters. Suddenly, she saw Ron run out of the kitchen with a pair of socks in his hand.
"Was she washing them?" Ginny asked.
"That she was," he quickly answered while plopping down into a cushy armchair.
"Hang on, why are you all panicky? And why," she persisted, "did you have to find your 'good' socks?"
Ron seemed to rack his brains for a good answer. Nothing coherent left his mouth as he slipped on the socks.
"I uh... that is to say... ummm... I'm not panicky. I just like these socks." Ron answered in a manner that he himself didn't quite believe. Ginny just stared at her brother attempting to figure it out. Then, it dawned on her.
"Hermione's coming today isn't she," she said with a grin.
"Later this evening I gather. So anyway," he said trying to change the subject, "have you heard from Harry lately? It's been a while since I've heard from the bloke and I didn't know if he's sent anything to you."
"No," said the young Weasley. Her smile fell and her eyes dulled when her thoughts found its way to Harry. "Ron, it's just so difficult. When he gets here in a little over a week we'll all be grateful. But when he finds everything out... well, everything that Professor Dumbledore wishes to tell him... He's going to be rather put out."
"Well that's putting it mildly wouldn't you say? He'll be pissed. Pissed at the Order, mainly Dumbledore, but he's going to be furious with us."
"I remember last year when he just arrived. Fred and I walked into your room right after George apparated in, and Harry did seem to be mad and upset, but I don't know about furious Ron. I think he was just venting his anger," said Ginny, oblivious to last year's events.
Ron fell back into the green of the armchair. She had no idea what happened.
"Gin, you came in a little late. He was screaming at Hermione and me for not owling him about what when on here... Bloody hell, we're really going to get it this year," said Ron.
"Oh," she said with sad eyes. "But it's not our fault that Dumbledore intercepts all our owls! Do you remember the one I sent telling him about Dolau? The professor told me that I had to send something that didn't mention it!"
"I know... It doesn't matter because Harry's going to be Harry. He's going to —"
"No!" Ginny interrupted. "It's ok for him to be mad at the Order. It's ok for him to vent his frustration. But if he gets mad at us, I'll tell him what he can do with his attitude! Just because Harry's Harry, doesn't mean he can treat us like that. I care about him too Ron, but I'm not going to bend and let him have his way if I know he's wrong."
"Well then, it seems that when the moment comes, I'll just step outside the room," the tall red haired wizard said with humor. "I don't fancy a tango with his temper. But have a go at it if you like. Your funeral."
"Where's your Gryffindor courage Ron?"
"It's the holidays Gin! Courage needs to take a break every now and then," said Ron as he stood up making way for his room.
"So then you're in trouble huh?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Isn't Hermione coming in a few hours?"
Thrust back into the here and now, Ron's mind began to race. And he wasn't quite finished getting dressed.
"I'll talk to you later." With that, he bolted through the hallway, up the stairs and slammed his door with a BANG. It was then that the curtains flew open.
"Scum! Muggle lovers! Get ouuuut!" came the screams from Mrs. Black's portrait. "You are not fit to step foot in this noble wizarding house!"
Just then, Molly burst though the kitchen door into the hallway.
"I've had enough of you the past year!" Molly cried back at the portrait. "Ginny, come help me get the curtains back over her!"
"Don't you dare come near me either of you! Blood trait—"
"Pipe down you stupid, old hag!" Ginny's patience with Mrs. Black had reached its breaking point. "Incase you haven't noticed over the course of the year, but nobody cares about what you say! I'm tired of your shrill voice echoing in this house, and your incessant rant! Now SHUT UP!"
It was by far the best attempt at shutting her up before the curtains closed all the way. After finishing with Mrs. Black, Ginny felt it was time for a little more fun at Ron's expense. After climbing the stairs to the second floor, she knocked on his door.
"Ron, Hermione's already here. Shall I tell her to come on up?"
The door opened revealing a flustered Weasley.
"What! She's already here?" he asked in hushed tones. "No, wait, don't let her up!"
One look would lead someone to believe a hurricane blew through the bedroom. He continued to race around the room trying to clean up throwing laundry under the bed and stuffing his Quidditch books in the closet.
"Ron —"
"Ginny, go down and keep her from coming up." Ron glanced into the mirror for a second before realizing he hadn't changed. "Ahh I still have my pajamas on!" Ron said frantically while closing the door on his sister.
"So what was the point of finding his socks if he didn't have pants in the first place?"
A/N: Wow, second straight a/n to start with an apology! It's been a long time since I've updated. Now, I realize how hard it is to keep up with a busy life. At any rate, this chapter gets the main plot going which is what I needed to get out.
Thanks to my reviewers: Tron, Jim, snuffles, Shasta
It occurs to me that the biggest question is about the relationship aspects of the story thus far. What I can promise is that YES it will be Ron and Hermione. I think this chapter puts that to rest as far as Ron is concerned. More on this pairing in the next chapter. The kicker in all of this is Harry and ? Ginny, Cho, OC? It's safe to say that I'm going to disappoint some people regardless of who I pair Harry with. Sorry guys! I hope that you won't be too disappointed if it's not who you pull for. I'll try to write it as believably as possible. That's part of the reason Harry doesn't get the girl till later in the story.
I would've personalized my response, but you all seemed to be on the same page and I thought I'd knock them out with one swing.
I love getting the input and reviews as always. Let me know if you guys have anymore question.
Next update: I'm going to forget posting an update time for now. I haven't really been to reliable on that have I? Send me some reviews to get my ass in gear.