A/N: Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but it's finals time, and I've
barely got time to sleep, let alone write fanfic. So this chapter is a
little shorter and a little less worked-over than the others, but I thought
you'd rather have something little than nothing at all.
Notes to reviewers:
Jedi Amoira: Glad you're enjoying it.
Huffy: Thank you muchly! I don't really know how to answer all your questions, but it's not over yet. Although maybe this will continue in a separate story. I don't really know. I probably can't write much fanfiction at home because my family thinks it's a total waste of time.
Alchemine: Wow, thanks for that terrific review. And thank you for the compliment to my poetry :) Now, where's Chapter 8 of Shadowchasers?
Myztrice: All your questions are answered in this chapter.
VoyICJ: There are new questions every chapter because that's how a story stays interesting. If the reader is only sucking it up, but not asking any questions, they inevitably realize they have better stuff to do and stop reading. I don't know how many chapters there will be; this seems to be the last in this story, but maybe I will write a sequel. Or maybe I'll just continue here. I don't know at this point.
Ozma: Yay! Thank you. I'm so glad I'm getting well known in the world of fanfic, or at least more so.
HPluvva: Just read on for answers to your questions. He concentrated on Sirius' letters because what he needed was a link to real life, and that *was* 'concentrating on what he was doing.'
The anonymous reviewer: Yes, BLOOD! Muhahahahaha..... No, seriously, thank you for reviewing. I tried to update rather quickly, but other stuff got in the way.
Carmilla: Thanks. 'Angst-whore' is my new favorite phrase :)
Child-of-the-Dawn: 'Ask and you shall receive.' Here's the continuation.
Whisper: Glad you weren't depressed. Sorry it took so long to update. Yes, I wrote the words of the spell, in about 3 minutes, to be exact, when I came to that juncture of the story.
Gryphix: Yes, there is romance. Surprised, actually, that you couldn't tell from the earlier chapters. But this isn't mush or smut, it's as close to real life, I flatter myself, as Harry Potter could ever get, and the romance comes slowly. In fact, I'm not quite sure what to do next, but I'll think of something.
Bryanna Dumbledore: Thank you! No worries.
Redwoman06: Thank you. But now you're making me feel guilty; I've sort of slacked off on being a 'regular poster.'
geetha: Thank you very much. Yes, I saw the movie, and it was very good. It was a vast improvement on the last one, and I enjoyed it very much, especially Ron.
Skara Brae: Lol. Thank you for coming back!
Nexus: Thank you. I do my best :)
Freelancer: Thank you for commenting on the 'sock' remark! Personally, I cracked myself up repeatedly when I wrote that, but I was disappointed when no one seemed to mention it. Oh well, maybe I'm the only one who finds me funny. Sorry that you find the story hard to follow; this chapter hopefully won't be.
And AWAAYYY we go.....
Minerva struggled to keep consciousness from returning. She was so comfortable; everything was pillow-light and carefree. But something was squeezing her hand. "Stop it," she murmured sleepily. "Professor, come on, wake up," a voice was saying urgently. "Asleep," she protested. But it was no good. Rays of light were stabbing into her vision, and she groaned as her eyes opened. "Ohhh....." Her head hurt. What was going on? "Harry?"
"Yes, we made it," he said. "Do you remember?"
"Yes. How long have I been here?"
"Two days," Harry said softly. "I've come to see you all I could between classes and Snape asking me what I'm doing sneaking around all the corridors." He grinned briefly. "What else do you remember?"
"Everything was spinning, and I couldn't hold on. I didn't want to let go, but I couldn't hold on....."
"It's all right," Harry whispered. "Dumbledore told me the spell worked. You're not going to die."
After several tries, she managed to sit up and look at him. "I'm not?"
"No."
She lifted a shaky hand and rested it against his cheek, which was showing the beginnings of a colorful bruise. "You did it, Harry," she said wonderingly.
He scooted closer to the bed and dropped his head tiredly onto her shoulder. "It doesn't seem quite real, somehow," he whispered painfully. "I can't see my way clear through the spell. It feels like I set things in motion, stood back and crossed my fingers."
"Certainly looks that way," remarked Madam Pomfrey in a very cross voice, pushing up to them and forcing a potion down Professor McGonagall's throat. "Healing spells leave you as strong as ever you were. Whatever saved her, it was very last minute."
"Not quite right, actually," came another voice from over Madam Pomfrey's left shoulder.
"Headmaster!" she squealed. "I must protest against these constant, spontaneous interruptions! My patient needs her rest!"
"I only ask for five minutes," he said quietly, but his tone was so firm that there was no answer from the nurse, and she walked off to her office extremely annoyed.
Dumbledore leisurely settled himself on the bed at Professor McGonagall's feet, and gingerly arranging his robes, said solemnly: "I think both of you should be a good deal more careful in future with such ancient and powerful magic." Minerva felt herself growing very pale. They both waited silently. "Both of you very nearly died," he continued, and the lines of exhaustion in his face gleamed dully in the candlelight. They watched his face, waiting for more. "You were very lucky." He seemed reluctant to begin, but Harry was growing impatient.
"You were there when it finished," he said. "How did you know?"
"How could I not?" was the cryptic answer. "I can only wonder why you decided to go ahead without me." Neither of them had the answer to this, but Dumbledore didn't seem to expect one. "I arrived to find not only the office, but also the spell, in complete chaos," he scolded. He turned his attention to Professor McGonagall, whose eyes had never left him since he had walked through the door. "I saw at a glance that your life had been weighed very carefully, Minerva," he said softly, "and it had only just been spared, by the grace of the most basic magic that lives in our blood and gives us our powers. Even this might not have sufficed, had it not been for the plain force of Harry's will. But you were too weak then to keep this power between you, and you might have died anyway, if I had let the spell run its course."
Harry saw that Professor McGonagall understood, and the horror of the truth had paralyzed her. He spoke up. "You broke it?" he gasped. "But why....."
"There were two lives under the rule of judgment," Dumbledore said sharply. His voice dropped and came out with a slight quiver: "Only one was saved." He gravely let this sink in for a minute, then said: "It became extremely urgent that I do something."
The silence was reaching down over them, an ominous, stifling blanket of truth. "I've been so selfish," Minerva whispered, beginning to tremble and wrapping both arms securely around Harry's waist.
Harry also had gone very white. "Not your fault," he stammered. "I knew I should have found a way to make sure I'd survive."
"That's the trouble, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly. "There was no certainty. There never could have been. But if there was one thing I was absolutely unwilling to risk at that point, it was you. You see, Minerva," and there was a touch of exasperation in his voice now, "what happens when we value ourselves at too low a cost. The greatest possession one ever finds is the comfort in one's own soul. Without ourselves, we are nothing, and if we disregard our own lives, we also ignore other people's claims and feelings in relation to our worth." The words 'It's not her fault, leave her alone!' had just formed in Harry's mind when Dumbledore stood up, walked to the head of the bed and leaned over, speaking so quietly that Harry could not hear, as close as he was. "Care for yourself, Minerva, and you may be able to care enough for others to find some happiness. Look at him," he continued hastily, and she turned her head to meet Harry's eyes. "He is worth it, don't you think?" She nodded, unable to keep the tears down, and turned back to find an overpowering expression on Albus' face.
"It was for me, wasn't it?" she whispered. He flinched slightly as her hand reached for his injured wrist, but he didn't look away. "As special as he is..... it was for *me*."
"Everything always is," he muttered, almost to himself, but she caught the words and felt the truth of them. More tears ran then, and with only the quick words "forgive me" she bent down and kissed his lips.
Harry's voice broke the communion, and a smile softened the impatience of his tone. "You took my place in the spell's fabric. What did that do, exactly?" The scene he was witnessing was not for his eyes; as ecstatic as he was, he felt like nothing so much as an intruder, and he was filled with a desperate wish to change the subject. He was determined to find out precisely how narrow his escape had been. Dumbledore's blood leaking unchecked over the floorboards was not an image he wanted to remain in his mind, and it seemed that the only way to banish it was to explain it fully.
"I don't mind saying, Harry, that I was hard put to it to hold out. The spell was punishing me for interfering; it was very angry. The blood you saw was its payment." The shadow of returning pain filled Dumbledore's eyes as he said these words, but it could not fully quench the new spark that glowed merrily in their depths. "Luckily, as it focused on each of us in turn, we had already regained too much strength. It gave me a final shove and dissipated. As you know, we were all thrown to the floor, and you and I brought Professor McGonagall to the Hospital Wing."
Harry pondered this in silence for a minute, then asked the only remaining question: "Is it over?"
"One of us is in great danger," Dumbledore answered vaguely. "The spell was not brought to completion, so it still hovers, waiting for a chance to strike. For the moment, however, we are all safe. You may see your friends in the morning, Harry," he chuckled, seeing the question forming in Harry's eyes. "For tonight, I think....." Here he paused, taking in their weary, contented faces. "Tonight we belong to each other."
Notes to reviewers:
Jedi Amoira: Glad you're enjoying it.
Huffy: Thank you muchly! I don't really know how to answer all your questions, but it's not over yet. Although maybe this will continue in a separate story. I don't really know. I probably can't write much fanfiction at home because my family thinks it's a total waste of time.
Alchemine: Wow, thanks for that terrific review. And thank you for the compliment to my poetry :) Now, where's Chapter 8 of Shadowchasers?
Myztrice: All your questions are answered in this chapter.
VoyICJ: There are new questions every chapter because that's how a story stays interesting. If the reader is only sucking it up, but not asking any questions, they inevitably realize they have better stuff to do and stop reading. I don't know how many chapters there will be; this seems to be the last in this story, but maybe I will write a sequel. Or maybe I'll just continue here. I don't know at this point.
Ozma: Yay! Thank you. I'm so glad I'm getting well known in the world of fanfic, or at least more so.
HPluvva: Just read on for answers to your questions. He concentrated on Sirius' letters because what he needed was a link to real life, and that *was* 'concentrating on what he was doing.'
The anonymous reviewer: Yes, BLOOD! Muhahahahaha..... No, seriously, thank you for reviewing. I tried to update rather quickly, but other stuff got in the way.
Carmilla: Thanks. 'Angst-whore' is my new favorite phrase :)
Child-of-the-Dawn: 'Ask and you shall receive.' Here's the continuation.
Whisper: Glad you weren't depressed. Sorry it took so long to update. Yes, I wrote the words of the spell, in about 3 minutes, to be exact, when I came to that juncture of the story.
Gryphix: Yes, there is romance. Surprised, actually, that you couldn't tell from the earlier chapters. But this isn't mush or smut, it's as close to real life, I flatter myself, as Harry Potter could ever get, and the romance comes slowly. In fact, I'm not quite sure what to do next, but I'll think of something.
Bryanna Dumbledore: Thank you! No worries.
Redwoman06: Thank you. But now you're making me feel guilty; I've sort of slacked off on being a 'regular poster.'
geetha: Thank you very much. Yes, I saw the movie, and it was very good. It was a vast improvement on the last one, and I enjoyed it very much, especially Ron.
Skara Brae: Lol. Thank you for coming back!
Nexus: Thank you. I do my best :)
Freelancer: Thank you for commenting on the 'sock' remark! Personally, I cracked myself up repeatedly when I wrote that, but I was disappointed when no one seemed to mention it. Oh well, maybe I'm the only one who finds me funny. Sorry that you find the story hard to follow; this chapter hopefully won't be.
And AWAAYYY we go.....
Minerva struggled to keep consciousness from returning. She was so comfortable; everything was pillow-light and carefree. But something was squeezing her hand. "Stop it," she murmured sleepily. "Professor, come on, wake up," a voice was saying urgently. "Asleep," she protested. But it was no good. Rays of light were stabbing into her vision, and she groaned as her eyes opened. "Ohhh....." Her head hurt. What was going on? "Harry?"
"Yes, we made it," he said. "Do you remember?"
"Yes. How long have I been here?"
"Two days," Harry said softly. "I've come to see you all I could between classes and Snape asking me what I'm doing sneaking around all the corridors." He grinned briefly. "What else do you remember?"
"Everything was spinning, and I couldn't hold on. I didn't want to let go, but I couldn't hold on....."
"It's all right," Harry whispered. "Dumbledore told me the spell worked. You're not going to die."
After several tries, she managed to sit up and look at him. "I'm not?"
"No."
She lifted a shaky hand and rested it against his cheek, which was showing the beginnings of a colorful bruise. "You did it, Harry," she said wonderingly.
He scooted closer to the bed and dropped his head tiredly onto her shoulder. "It doesn't seem quite real, somehow," he whispered painfully. "I can't see my way clear through the spell. It feels like I set things in motion, stood back and crossed my fingers."
"Certainly looks that way," remarked Madam Pomfrey in a very cross voice, pushing up to them and forcing a potion down Professor McGonagall's throat. "Healing spells leave you as strong as ever you were. Whatever saved her, it was very last minute."
"Not quite right, actually," came another voice from over Madam Pomfrey's left shoulder.
"Headmaster!" she squealed. "I must protest against these constant, spontaneous interruptions! My patient needs her rest!"
"I only ask for five minutes," he said quietly, but his tone was so firm that there was no answer from the nurse, and she walked off to her office extremely annoyed.
Dumbledore leisurely settled himself on the bed at Professor McGonagall's feet, and gingerly arranging his robes, said solemnly: "I think both of you should be a good deal more careful in future with such ancient and powerful magic." Minerva felt herself growing very pale. They both waited silently. "Both of you very nearly died," he continued, and the lines of exhaustion in his face gleamed dully in the candlelight. They watched his face, waiting for more. "You were very lucky." He seemed reluctant to begin, but Harry was growing impatient.
"You were there when it finished," he said. "How did you know?"
"How could I not?" was the cryptic answer. "I can only wonder why you decided to go ahead without me." Neither of them had the answer to this, but Dumbledore didn't seem to expect one. "I arrived to find not only the office, but also the spell, in complete chaos," he scolded. He turned his attention to Professor McGonagall, whose eyes had never left him since he had walked through the door. "I saw at a glance that your life had been weighed very carefully, Minerva," he said softly, "and it had only just been spared, by the grace of the most basic magic that lives in our blood and gives us our powers. Even this might not have sufficed, had it not been for the plain force of Harry's will. But you were too weak then to keep this power between you, and you might have died anyway, if I had let the spell run its course."
Harry saw that Professor McGonagall understood, and the horror of the truth had paralyzed her. He spoke up. "You broke it?" he gasped. "But why....."
"There were two lives under the rule of judgment," Dumbledore said sharply. His voice dropped and came out with a slight quiver: "Only one was saved." He gravely let this sink in for a minute, then said: "It became extremely urgent that I do something."
The silence was reaching down over them, an ominous, stifling blanket of truth. "I've been so selfish," Minerva whispered, beginning to tremble and wrapping both arms securely around Harry's waist.
Harry also had gone very white. "Not your fault," he stammered. "I knew I should have found a way to make sure I'd survive."
"That's the trouble, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly. "There was no certainty. There never could have been. But if there was one thing I was absolutely unwilling to risk at that point, it was you. You see, Minerva," and there was a touch of exasperation in his voice now, "what happens when we value ourselves at too low a cost. The greatest possession one ever finds is the comfort in one's own soul. Without ourselves, we are nothing, and if we disregard our own lives, we also ignore other people's claims and feelings in relation to our worth." The words 'It's not her fault, leave her alone!' had just formed in Harry's mind when Dumbledore stood up, walked to the head of the bed and leaned over, speaking so quietly that Harry could not hear, as close as he was. "Care for yourself, Minerva, and you may be able to care enough for others to find some happiness. Look at him," he continued hastily, and she turned her head to meet Harry's eyes. "He is worth it, don't you think?" She nodded, unable to keep the tears down, and turned back to find an overpowering expression on Albus' face.
"It was for me, wasn't it?" she whispered. He flinched slightly as her hand reached for his injured wrist, but he didn't look away. "As special as he is..... it was for *me*."
"Everything always is," he muttered, almost to himself, but she caught the words and felt the truth of them. More tears ran then, and with only the quick words "forgive me" she bent down and kissed his lips.
Harry's voice broke the communion, and a smile softened the impatience of his tone. "You took my place in the spell's fabric. What did that do, exactly?" The scene he was witnessing was not for his eyes; as ecstatic as he was, he felt like nothing so much as an intruder, and he was filled with a desperate wish to change the subject. He was determined to find out precisely how narrow his escape had been. Dumbledore's blood leaking unchecked over the floorboards was not an image he wanted to remain in his mind, and it seemed that the only way to banish it was to explain it fully.
"I don't mind saying, Harry, that I was hard put to it to hold out. The spell was punishing me for interfering; it was very angry. The blood you saw was its payment." The shadow of returning pain filled Dumbledore's eyes as he said these words, but it could not fully quench the new spark that glowed merrily in their depths. "Luckily, as it focused on each of us in turn, we had already regained too much strength. It gave me a final shove and dissipated. As you know, we were all thrown to the floor, and you and I brought Professor McGonagall to the Hospital Wing."
Harry pondered this in silence for a minute, then asked the only remaining question: "Is it over?"
"One of us is in great danger," Dumbledore answered vaguely. "The spell was not brought to completion, so it still hovers, waiting for a chance to strike. For the moment, however, we are all safe. You may see your friends in the morning, Harry," he chuckled, seeing the question forming in Harry's eyes. "For tonight, I think....." Here he paused, taking in their weary, contented faces. "Tonight we belong to each other."