Story: Swallowed by Shadow
Summary: When Harry begins his search for the Horcruxes, a mysterious man appears. Is he friend, or foe? Can Harry finish his task and beat the Dark Lord, or will he be Swallowed by Shadow? HP? HGRW RLNT
Date: 28 May 06
A.N. I am so sorry this took soo long. I've been really busy, and I haven't had anytime to write or post my writings. To make up for it, here's a double post. R&R!
Chapter 5
Complexio Incantado
"So you haven't even been able to pierce the reflective layer yet?" the man asked Remus.
"There's more than one layer?" he responded, looking up from the cup.
Canopus smirked, taking that as his answer. "Yes," he said. "There are quite a few layers, actually."
"How is that possible?" Remus asked.
"By using a series of spells at the same time," he responded. "There are a number of layers to the protection, each more deadly than the last."
Remus stroked the stubble on his chin and turned back to the cup, staring with bloodshot eyes. He hadn't slept since Harry had disappeared from Number 12. He knew his mind would function better if he did, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep in a house with a part of Voldemort's soul resting in the basement.
"So how do we destroy it?" he asked, hoping that the mysterious man knew how. The man truly was a mystery, with his blonde, well-cropped hair and unmarred face. The name meant something, but Remus couldn't remember what. He thought he remembered hearing it from his astronomy lessons back in Hogwarts, but he couldn't remember exactly what the name meant.
"By countering each layer in the right order, without erring," he responded. "If we fail even one layer after the first, all of the layers are restored and a failsafe triggers."
"What failsafe?" the man asked, afraid of the answer.
Canopus raised his eyes, and met those of the man standing next to him. It had been along time since he'd seen him, and the last time he had, it had hardly been on good terms.
The Marauders never did like me, he thought. Of course, it was mutual, so I can hardly blame them. He had changed a lot since then, and hoped that Moony would understand that, in time. Until then, though, he was forced to keep up the rouse of being 'Canopus', and using glamours to keep from being recognized.
"The failsafe is, in effect, a large explosion," the man said. "Similar to a nuclear explosion in power, but with an added result; just before the spell blows everything and one to pieces, it releases a chain of the Crucius curse on everyone in the vicinity."
Remus paled, if possible, even farther. He didn't think even the wards on this shelter would be enough to keep it from being destroyed by a spell as powerful as the man described.
"Isn't there anyway to dampen it before then?" he asked.
"Yes," Canopus replied. "But anything close enough to protect the casters would also dampen their spells."
Remus sighed and stroked his chin again. "Alright, so how many layers does it have?"
Canopus grinned like a maniac and replied, "There's no way to know that, either."
"Let me make sure I understand you," Remus replied. "Basically, we have to disable the protections around Voldemort's Horcrux, that were likely cast by him to begin with, in the order he cast them, without knowing what each spell is until we've successfully disabled it, or being able to trigger it without killing all of us?"
"Basically," the man agreed.
"So what are we waiting for?" Remus asked sarcastically, burying his face in his hands.
"You figure it out yet?" Harry asked, coming down the stairs with Hermione and Ron trailing close behind, holding hands.
Harry's uncle raised his head for a minute, but dropped it again without a word.
"Er, maybe you should get some rest, Furball?" he asked.
"Furball?" came the indignant reply. "Since when did I get status of furball?"
"Since you became one," Harry said, grinning.
The man sighed, shaking his head, and Harry almost felt bad. But then he remembered it was Remus, and that he deserved it for… being Remus.
"We should announce this to the Order," Remus said, starting toward the stairs.
Canopus nodded, and they all walked back up the stairs. He felt Harry's eyes burning into the back of his head as he opened the door, and he hoped the boy would keep his promise. He would tell them who he was in time, but not yet.
The Order was still assembled in the kitchen, waiting for the results of Canopus' investigation.
He explained briefly the spells he suspected to have been cast on it, and how difficult it would be to pierce the protections.
The Order sat in stunned silence at the complexity of the protections for a full minute before Harry broke it.
"Why don't we use Accarlo to tell what kind of spells it has around it?" he asked.
Canopus turned to look at him for a moment as he thought about it.
"I think we can," he said. "It won't tell us what spell we're countering, but it will, at least, tell us what type of spell."
"Even if we have that," Minerva began, "will we be able to counter them?"
"No," Canopus said. "Not without the proper Complexio Incantado."
"I've read about those," Hermione said almost immediately. "They're spell combinations, right?"
"Yes," Canopus replied, impressed. "What else do you know about them?"
"They require either an extremely powerful wizard to cast them alone," she said, "or a group of wizards with the right timing so that the necessary charms are cast at the right times. But they're supposed to be myth."
"That's right," he said, smiling at her. "Do you know any of those spell combinations?" he ventured.
"Just one," she said quietly. "The Crucius-Kedavra shield."
"Ah, yes," he said, almost as quietly. "The Shield of Voldemort."
Gasps went around the room again as someone dared to use his name.
"He created it during the first war," Hermione said. "If someone enters into it, they are first hit by the Crucius curse, and if they somehow manage to continue despite it, or remain in the shield for too long, they are hit with the Avada Kedavra curse."
A few of the members paled slightly at this. They had all heard the rumors of the brutal shields he had over his hide-out, but no one had believed there had been a shield quite like that.
"There are many others," Canopus said. "But we will be using less dangerous spells, hopefully."
"How will we know what to cast, then?" Kingsley asked.
Canopus thought for a moment, before saying, "I will direct you when we try to destroy it, but for now, I would like to see each of you cast certain spells that can be used in combination with others to create a Complexio Incantado so that I know who will be doing which parts of it."
The Order members nodded, and Minerva stood to speak.
"Very well, then," she said. "We will all cast the desired spells, and then we should need to catch some much needed rest while Mr. Canopus decides where best to put us."
The members nodded, and she continued. "Will the first five please go down stairs to begin your testing," she ordered more than asked. "And the rest of you are free to do as you choose after you have been tested."
Canopus went down stairs along with the first five: Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
They each lined up in front of a dummy with wands out.
Canopus cast a charm on the dummies to make them recognize the person who was casting on them and score each spell cast on them between 1 and 1000.
"On three, I would like you all to cast a banishing charm as strong as you can on your dummy," Canopus said. "Ready?" Five heads nodded an affirmative, and he counted, "1, 2, 3!"
Five wands flicked and sent out the non-verbal banishing charm.
Numbers appeared over the dummies heads, and then disappeared.
"Very good," he said. "Now a Stinging Hex."
The process continued through a series of spells, ranging from Accio to Avis to Incendio.
By the time they had finish, they all felt rather drained.
"One more spell," Canopus said, "and then I'll have what I need."
Ron groaned at having to cast another spell, but raised his wand none the less.
"I would like you all to summon a Patronus and rush it straight into the dummies on 3," he said. Harry, Hermione and Ron shared a grin as they all called up memories.
Harry focused on the memory of his godfather asking him to live with him. He let himself relive it, filling his body with the warm feeling he always felt before summoning a Patronus.
"1, 2, 3!" Canopus counted, and five cries of "EXPECTO PATRONUS!" filled the room.
Ron summoned his Jack Russell Terrier, Hermione an otter, Harry the majestic stag, Tonks a werewolf on the full moon. Harry had to turn his head fully to see what Remus summoned, and when he did, he did an immediate double take.
The animal that emerged was a large dog the exact shape and size of--
"Padfoot?" Remus asked quietly in total disbelief.
Everyone stared for a moment, watching the Patronus run straight into the dummy and disappear with a small woosh.
"Er, right," Canopus said. "That--that'll be all, you may g--go." Harry noticed the shocked look on his face and met his eyes. These were the three men that that grieved this most over that loss, and Harry's heart felt heavy for knowing that the man was forced to hide his emotions.
"Right then," he said, hoping to break the tense silence. "Let's go…"
"Get some food?" Ron prompted.
"Is that all you ever think about, Ron, food and more food?" she asked.
"No," Ron said. "There's Quidditch too."
Hermione rolled her eyes and started to stomp off, but instead turned a blushing face to Ron as he whispered something in her ear.
Harry smiled at them, happy that they had finally decided to channel their energy to a more positive result rather than bicker constantly. Of course, they hadn't stopped bickering, and he didn't think they ever would, but at least now they didn't seem to hate each other.
Take you blessings where you can get 'em, kid, he heard a voice in his head say. Smiling, he led the way up and out of the basement.
"Before we begin," Minerva said, standing at the head of the table. "I would like to make sure that all of you fully understand what could happen if you take part in this."
It was now close to midnight, but the Order was assembled nonetheless. Remus had been forced into bed by Tonks, along with most of the others who were there. Harry had spent the time talking to his parents portrait while they all slept, and found that although he liked speaking to it, it made him miss his parents more.
"The first time I tried this I didn't know what I was doing," Canopus said, rising to stand next to her. "I nearly lost my life a dozen times within an hour of beginning my assault on it."
"What saved you?" Kingsley asked, curious.
The man paused, clearly uncomfortable. "A…friend lent me aid," he said. "Over a year, we discovered how to destroy it."
"Where's your friend now?" Kingsley asked, afraid of the answer.
"We…made a mistake, and one of our more dangerous spells was rebounded at him, along with the Crucius, which he suffered under for only a moment, until his body was blown into smoking ruin," he answered sadly.
While the Order members paled, Minerva spoke up. "This is the point we are trying to make," she said. "We cannot guarantee the safety of any who try to help us, and we understand that some of you have families or other reasons why you shouldn't risk your life. There is no shame in it, and so we offer that you leave now if you will not risk your life here today."
There was silence for a moment, as everyone looked around, seeing who the first to leave would be. After a moment longer, a loud scraping noise sounded as Molly Weasley pushed her chair back and stood.
"I'm sorry, but my children need me," she said, turning to walk away. "Ron," she said, turning back around. "You're an adult now, and so I cannot force you to walk away, but please, don't do this."
Ron looked at her, and then at Hermione's pleading eyes.
"Sorry, Mum," he said, wrapping his arm around Hermione. "But my friends need me."
More chairs scraped as others followed Molly's lead.
When it settled down, there were only about ten heads left.
"Now, if you have not completed your final year of school, you are ordered to leave," she said, looking at the Trouble Trio and the Weasley twins.
They all began rather loud protests, but Minerva cut them short. "You have your entire lives ahead of you, you will not end them here," she said.
No one could think of anything to say, until Harry said, "No, Minerva. We are members of the Order, and we are in the middle of a war. What we are doing here could mean the difference between winning or losing that war, and if we lose because we weren't allowed to help, then there will be no place for us to live our lives." There was a glint of defiance in his hardened eyes as they had a silent staring contest.
She held contact for a moment longer, then broke. "Very well," she said quietly. "You may stay."
"Good," Harry said. "Wouldn't want you to blow up my house without me!"
He succeeded in breaking the tension lightly as a few of the remaining laugh.
Harry looked at each of them in turn. Of the Order, all that remained were: Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Minerva, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Arthur, Filius Flitwick and the Trouble Trio.
"Alright," Canopus began, "I'm going to put you in groups to cast each spell. You might be in one group, or five, it just depends on what you do best and how common that spell is when it comes to Complexio Incantados.
"We'll practice for as long as we need to in order to make sure that we can cast any of the Complexio Incantados that we need to perfectly."
Ten minutes later found them in the basement, preparing for their first groups.
"First, I'd like Harry and Filius to cast one of the simplest," he said. The two stepped forward to the target range and he continued.
"Harry, raise your wand and take aim," he said. "Filius, aim yours perpendicular to his and touching at the tips."
The two wizards complied, though slightly perturbed at this strange request. There was a slight delay as Filius had to summon a stool to stand on so that he could touch Harry's wand with his own.
"Now, there is no wand movement for these, only the verbal aspect. Since you need to complete your spells at the same time, you must stagger their beginnings. Timing is everything."
The two nodded, and he stepped back. "Harry, you will summon a Patronus, and Filius, you will cast Incendio. On 3, you may begin, Harry."
Again, the two nodded, and he counted. "1, 2, 3."
"EXPECTO PATRONUS/INCENDIO!" the two cried, with their last words in unison.
From the tip of Harry's wand shot the same Patronus as he was used to seeing, except the stag was covered in red flames.
All of the assembled wizards let out gasps as the beautiful Ember-Patronus galloped to the dummy and struck it dead center, exploding in a flash of silver flames.
"Magnificent," Harry heard Hermione whisper behind him.
"That's bloody brilliant, that is!" Ron said excitedly. He heard the distinct sound of Hermione elbowing him, and the laughing of Kingsley at their strange relationship.
"Good job," Canopus said. "Now, I'd like to see it a couple more times."
The two complied, and before long had produced an Ember-Patronus to his liking.
He moved on and had a few more pairs of casters, including the Avis-Diffindo cast by Minerva and Remus, which sent a flock of birds that ripped large, bird-sized holes in the dummy.
"As I'm sure you've noticed," Canopus said, "each of these has required either a Patronus or the Avis charm."
Hermione nodded, saying, "It needs a focus, right?"
The man smiled at her and nodded curtly. "Yes indeed, Hermione. But is that always the case?"
"Yes and no," she said, "I read up on what I could find of these while you were testing people, and according to one theory, you don't need an animal or Patronus necessarily, just something corporeal to carry the effects of the Complexio Incantado."
Harry heard Ron mutter something that sounded a lot like, "Don't suppose you read about an abbreviation for that, huh?" before Hermione elbowed him again and turned her attention back to Canopus.
"You are correct," he said. "Though I would say that the Avis charm or the Patronus are the easiest."
"So you could mix Incendio and Accio?" Ron asked.
"I'm certain you could, though I wouldn't suggest it, as it would likely bring a flaming object hurtling towards you," Canopus said with a glint of humor in his eyes.
Ron blushed crimson and turned his head down as the others chuckled lightly.
"Let's try another, then, shall we?" Canopus asked, reaching for his own wand. "Remus, Filius, would you mind shielding the dummy as well as you can?" he asked. "Harry, Hermione, Tonks and Ron, please."
"You must gather shoulder to shoulder for this, now, with Harry and Tonks in the middle, please. Now touch your wands." The four did as instructed. "Harry, a Patronus again, please. Tonks, Avis. Ron, Relashio. Hermione, Finite Incantatem. Everyone got it? Alright, Harry and Hermione on 3, then."
The four nodded and he counted. "1, 2, 3!"
"EXPECTO/FINITE PATRONUS/AVIS/RELASHIO/INCANTATEM!" the four cried.
A flock of silver birds shot from the tips of their wands and rushed toward the well-protected dummy.
Harry counted five spell-wards meant to last for a hundred casts lash out at different targets. The spells immediately rebounded, sending balls of fire at the dummy at the same time as the ward was negated.
The group watched in awe as the wards destroyed what they were supposed to protect and the birds came on, unharmed. When they made contact, the already beaten dummy fell to pieces under the twenty tiny Bird-Patroni's impact.
"That," Canopus said, interrupting their gawking, "is how we destroy the Horcrux."
Not a single witch or wizard protested as Regulus Alphard Black set to assigning them more spell groups.
A.N--And there you have it. Who likes the idea of Complexio Incantado? Oh, and, incase you haven't noticed, I just revealed the mysterious man's name. Yes, as a couple of you guessed, he IS R.A.B.