Possession
Chapter XL – Lament of the Few
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Hermione paused in her reading as a chill passed through the Common Room and almost instinctively her eyes snapped towards Ginny. It was only because she was watching that she saw it, and that alone was reason she knew what had happened.

Ron's little sister stiffened, her quill stilling over the parchment and her luminous blue eyes went wide with a look of pain that almost made Hermione cry out just seeing it. Tears welled at the corners but none spilled out and she mouthed one word. "Harry..."

That was before Ginny screamed. It wasn't articulated but was more a keen of soul searing loss mixed through with her denial. It wasn't loud but despite the din that permeated the Common Room everyone heard it. It touched their minds, bringing back forgotten memories of pain, making everyone shiver with loss.

Ginny looked around frantically, her eyes unfocused before she slumped over her work, knocking over the ink well where it fell, spilling ink in dazzling array over the rug in the now silent room. Her lips were moving and Hermione could just hear the words.

"...I love you for I am you. I will love... I will live... I will kill... I will die... For you... I will die for you... I will die for you... I will die for you..."

"GINNY!" The worried shout came from her brothers, who as one leapt towards their sister, their carrot topped faces alight with concern.

Hermione went with them, and moved to hold Ginny's face, stroking her hair as Fred took his sister into his arms, holding her close and rubbing at her to calm the quivers that were racking her body.

"Ginny," she said gently, calling out to the girl who was still trembling violently. "Ginny... Tell me what happened."

Blue eyes latched on to her own and Hermione suppressed a shudder as she almost drowned in the intensity of the girls stare. Ginny gulped, visibly gathering herself as she became partially aware of everyone surrounding her. "Harry... It's Harry," she whispered as her eyes glazed again and she was lost again with the struggle within, her lips moving silently now as she continued to repeat her promise.

"NO!" The scream broke through their confusion and with the denial Ginny began thrashing, her arms and legs windmilling wildly. "No, no, no... I will die for him!"

"Someone get McGogonall!" Ron shouted, his voice shrill with worry.

"No need, Mr Weasley," the Deputy HeadMistress' voice sounded calmly from the portrait painting.

"Professor!" The wave of relief was almost palatable.

Minerva didn't acknowledge the reaction, instead she looked around with narrowed eyes, seeing everything before her lips pursed. "Misters Weasley, please bring Miss Weasley and with Miss Granger come with me." With that she turned back as if to leave.

"Professor?"

"The rest of you, remain here and do not try to follow as the Dormitory will be warded once I leave. Curfew is in effect tonight as of now and please do not try to leave in the morning until I come to remove the Warding."

"Professor, what's happening?"

"Any number of things Miss Brown, any number of things which do not concern you."

While Professor McGogonall had been speaking Fred had bundled the still trembling Ginny up in a blanket and with George's help they had carried their sister to the portrait and were carefully manoeuvring her through it while Hermione and Ron ran interference, keeping their good intentioned but generally overbearing and overly curious house mates away.

As expected of any gathering of gossip prone students, the whispers and speculation broke out even before the Fat Lady's portrait closed after the Professor. Minerva said nothing as she briefly surveyed their small group before turning, raising her wand to cast the Warding.

"Professor..?" Hermione began uncertainly but fell silent as the older woman turned to face them once more, her lips pursed to the point where it almost seemed as if she had none.

"Where is Mister Potter?"

Hermione and Ron shared a long look. "He went for a walk," Hermione began.

"With Sirius," Ron was quick to interject. Over the past few weeks things had become clear, even to them, that Harry was never unattended. Even when eating in the Great Hall they'd noticed that some of the professors always had a careful eye trained their way.

For an instant Professor McGogonall looked even more severe, if that was possible before the lines around her eyes eased slightly. "Well, Mr Black will..."

She would have said more but was cut off by a chilling howl. It didn't seem human but as it echoed through the corridors they recognised the call.

"Harry..."

"Sirius!" Hermione gasped, her eyes wild at the note she could hear in the older man's voice. There was something not right there...

Minerva's eyes hardened again and she drew her wand as she set off down the corridor, motioning to them that they should stay behind her.

There was another howl of loss, this one was accompanied by a keen from Ginny and neither were overly hindered by the control of sanity. They were animalistic cries and the group wondered for an instant what they might find. They hurried down strangely still corridors. The shining armour lining the walls was still and portraits were quiet. Every painting was shivering, some even going so far as to hid within the confines of their landscapes. Even the torch light seemed still. The flames didn't flicker but they still burned, their yellow light casting deep shadows.

The echoes faded as they got closer but cry became clearer, and Ginny began to provide her own echoing sobs, her eyes closed tightly but tears still escaped.

"Harry... no... har...ry..."

Professor McGogonall paused before rounding the final corner, allowing the small group to catch up to her. She took a deep breath, the wrinkles around her eyes showing the toll the situation was taking on her, before she tightened her grip on her wand and stepped around the final corner.

It was like a painting of hell that seemed to go on forever. There were only four colours.

Black. The shadows were inky and fathomless, their jagged edges extended in sharp angles over everything. Broken puppets of darkness were strewn over the floor in haphazard heaps, twisted with the violence of their passing.

Yellow. Sand stone had been used as a feature in this section of Hogwarts and under the still burning torches, it was starkly obvious and was several shades more lurid than it was usually. It was coldly but garishly brilliant.

White. Froth, still bubbling on lips stained black by poison and stark skin, like alabaster, clawed hands and strained eyes but there was no colour in the flesh, no colour in the faces that stared glassy eyed back at them.

Red. Still fresh, still bright - oxygenated by wrongful exposure to air - and pooled liberally around the heaped darkness. Smudged over white skin and splattered onto the armour suits, to drip thickly from weapons held at the ready.

Sirius was in the centre of it all. His hands and face were white and his black eyes were fathomless, with no glitter at all. They looked dead. Tears streamed from the corners but he made no move to wipe them away and the salt crystals dried on his skin and robes. He was still holding Harry's slight body close to him without moving, crying quietly all the time.

Gathered in the protective embrace of Sirius' arms, Harry looked as if he could be sleeping. His eyes were closed and his face was composed. He looked content, his soft smile looked happy. The burdens that had been thrust upon his small shoulders, burdens that would have killed many full growth men, were gone and he was finally himself.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione wept, clutching at Ron desperately. The red head raised his arms to cradle her, unsure of what to do but knowing he needed her support just as she needed his.

"I killed him."

The sentence was soft, almost so soft that they didn't hear it.

"I didn't... I couldn't... I killed him."

It was stronger this time, as Sirius twisted to face them.

The group shuddered. His voice was broken, his eyes were dead. Ron shivered, remembering what Sirius had been like just out of Azkaban. It seemed as if he were back there and Ron wouldn't have been surprised to see a Dementor gliding down the corridor. From the way Sirius looked now, loosing his soul would be a mercy.

Sirius looked back towards Harry, whispering to himself but they could hear his words. "Harry... The darkness is not the end. There is light and you belong in light. Lily is there, and James and you will never again be alone. You will be safe there. No one will hurt you. He will be there. He is waiting for you and he'll hold you close and you'll be warm. You'll always be warm and everything will be all right."

"Sirius!" Minerva snapped, coming out of her daze. "Now is not the time..."

She paused as his black eyes settled on her, his dark gaze burning. "Now is the time. Now is the only time," he said before he turned back to Harry.

"Sirius..." Hermione began uncertainly. "Who is 'he'?" She finished in a rush.

He didn't look up but shook his head. "I don't know. Harry didn't say... He only said he loved him and then he died."

The group shared a long look. While Fred and George didn't know what had happened to Harry as a child and what had happened to him recently, the others did and they couldn't fathom Harry having a relationship with anyone. They'd have known if he was seeing anyone... especially if he'd thought enough of them to speak of them in death.

Hermione was about to speak again when a serpentine hiss interrupted her, a hiss that was followed by the serpent itself. It crawled out from between the folds of Harry's robes where its bulk had been hidden. The closed eyes gave evidence of its species. Gently it butted its head against his hand, as if trying to wake its Master from slumber. It hissed softly when it received no response, this time with a definite note of frustration before it butted its head against his hand harder this time.

"No Xaos," Sirius murmured, remembering what Harry had called the little basilisk. "He's not going to wake up."

Xaos hissed again, crest rising and eyes opening slightly to revel glowing green irises. $It is time.$

-Yes, it is time,- the Shadows agreed before they moved.

The painting melted. From every point of black a shadow rose. Some were thin and sinuous, others squat and fat but they all moved, making it seem as if the vision was crawling as they converged on a central point, Harry.

"NO! Harry!" Sirius cried, curling his body protectively around his Godson's but it made no difference. The shadows kept coming, at first slithering around Sirius' form but as they became more numerous they simply passed straight through him, disappearing into Harry. Sirius shivered but remained as he was, determined to do what he could to protect him.

The shadows kept coming. Dark folds of robe seemed momentarily lighter when a shadow left but they quickly darkened as a new shadow took form and surged towards Harry. The silence was palatable and the small group behind McGogonall were held in rapture, unable to move at the phenomenon they were seeing. They were used to unusual things, but this was beyond what they knew, each shadow radiated such power that none of them dared to interfere.

Finally when it seemed that both Harry and Sirius would be consumed by the surging shadows, there was a sharp cry and Harry's body jerked as it burst into black flame before a visible wave of power ricocheted outwards, freezing everything between one breath and the next and making the world turn negative.

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