AN: Sorry that it took so long to get this out, but I've had a sort of writers block on this story and my other story, Unforeseen, has been going really good. No writers blocks on it and I have so may ideas for it. Anyways, thanks for waiting. I don't know when the next chapter will be out because I'm going to be busy for awhile. Don't forget to review and thanks to all of you who have been reviewing.
– Chapter Twelve –
The Charm and The PowerHarry lay in one of the beds in the hospital wing, tossing and turning, and every so often moaning in pain. He had started moving around violently a little after they had brought him in. No one but Dumbledore seemed to have any idea what was wrong with him.
They all sat around his bed, not knowing what they could do to help. Even Madam Pomfrey was at a loss as to what to do. Hermione was crying softly into Ron's shoulder at the foot of Harry's bed, but Ron didn't seem to take much notice of it as his arm slowly moved up and down her arm in a comforting manner. He seemed lost in his thoughts.
Sirius stood beside Lupin and Dumbledore by Harry's bedside. To say that he was worried about his Godson would be a huge understatement. He didn't understand what was happening or why. All he knew was that Voldemort had something to do with it.
Dumbledore started down into Harry sweaty face with grave eyes. Voldemort was moving much faster then he had originally thought. Harry was in even more danger now then he ever had been before and he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to keep the boy safe. This was all happening far too quickly.
"Sirius? Remus?" Both heads turned to face him. "We need to talk."
They nodded solemnly and followed Dumbledore away from Harry's bedside into Madam Pomfrey's offices. After making sure the door was locked and he had placed a secure silencing charm around the room, Dumbledore quickly head towards the fireplace. He then threw some flew-powder into the flames, which immediately turned a bright emerald green, stuck his head in the fire and said, "Dumbledore's office." His whole head then disappeared.
Lupin watched Sirius very carefully, knowing that Sirius had knack for covering things up but sometimes, if you watched closely enough, he'd let something slip to reveal what was going on inside his head.
"Harry will be alright, Padfoot," Lupin said reassuringly, knowing very well that Harry would pull through.
Sirius sighed, dropping his gaze from the fireplace to the floor for a moment, "I hope you're right, Moony," he said looking up at his friend, "It's just… I don't understand what's happening to him."
Lupin placed a reassuring hand on Sirius' shoulder, "Neither do I. But if I do know one thing, it's that Harry won't give up without a fight."
Sirius was about to reply when suddenly, Dumbledore pulled his head out of the flames. A few moments later, a cloaked figure stumbled out of the flames. He stood and dusted what little soot was on his black robes before turning to look at Lupin and Sirius. From what little they could see of his face, the man looked extremely worried.
"Dumbledore told me what happened," the man said, his voice full of sadness, "Is he alright?"
"We don't know," Lupin answered. "We don't even have any idea what is wrong with him?"
"I believe I may know what is happening to Harry," Dumbledore said, raising a hand slightly to stop their flow of questions, "And Voldemort is behind it."
No one in room seemed surprised to hear this. They had all known Voldemort had had some part to play in this. He always did. Besides, if they hadn't have been able to guess that, Harry's scar would have given it away. It only ever acted up when Voldemort was either around or feeling particularly murderous.
"So, what do you think is wrong with him?" Sirius asked.
Dumbledore sighed wearyingly, "I believe that Voldemort is again using that spell to pull Harry's mind away from us and towards himself. The only way we can stop it is to block the connection between Harry and Voldemort."
"And how exactly do we accomplish that?" The Cloaked figure asked.
Lupin had a thoughtful expression on his face, "Are you referring to the Soul-Guarding Charm?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Remus. I am."
Both the Cloaked figure and Sirius were confused at this point.
"What's the Soul-Guarding Charm?" Sirius asked.
"From what I understand of it," Lupin began, "It's a very complicated charm that is used to Guard a person's soul from unwanted forces, but if not done properly, it can go horribly wrong."
Dumbledore nodded, "That is correct," he said, "But if performed correctly, the charm will tie our magically powers directly to Harry's soul, efficiently blocking Voldemort from doing anything harmful to him."
"We'll end up forming a kind of spiritual circle with Harry's soul. Kind of like a magical shield, guarding Harry's soul and hopefully his mind from Voldemort," Lupin finished.
"Well, that should work," the Cloaked Figure said thoughtfully, "But what are the effects of the charm? A charm like that must have some side-effects."
"It does indeed," Dumbledore said, "But nothing harmful."
"We'll be able to protect him from anything Voldemort tries to do to him through the bond," Lupin said. "We'll also be able to sense when he is in danger and hopefully be able to tell when he uses his new powers."
Sirius nodded, "How's the spell performed?"
"We start by forming a circle around Harry," Dumbledore said. "Then we begin to chant the charm, which is 'inlucesco fulminisi adripui exsuscitare.' By doing so, our magical centers will combine to form a sphere around Harry that should only be visible for a few seconds. After that, he should be safe and we'll still be able to get on with our daily lives using magic."
"So, we won't be draining our magic centers by doing this," Sirius asked.
"No," Dumbledore said, "Our powers will be combined; making it so only a few bits of our magic is needed to protect Harry. If it was just one of us doing the charm, then it would be almost a complete drain on our magic core."
There were a few moments before the cloaked figure answered, "Well, I'm willing to do it if it'll help Harry."
"I will as well," Sirius said.
"Very well then. Follow me," he said heading back towards the door, the others following quietly behind. When they came out into the hospital wing, it was to find everyone in a panic because Harry's scar had started to bleed furiously and they didn't know what they could do to stop it. Madam Pomfrey was near the top of Harry's bed holding a wet cloth to his scar in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
They all glanced at Dumbledore hopefully as they re-entered the room, not noticing the cloaked figure that now accompanied the group. Dumbledore moved swiftly to the bedside. Madam Pomfrey had a very grave expression on her face.
"He's getting worse, Albus," she said quietly.
Hermione made a squeaky noise before burying her head in Ron shoulder. Ron tried his best to comfort her but it didn't seem to be working.
Lupin came up behind then and quietly said, "Harry will be okay you two. Don't worry."
They both merely nodded at his words, not really taking them in.
Dumbledore watched Harry closely, "Would everyone please leave, except you three, of course," he said quietly, gesturing towards Sirius, Lupin, and the Cloaked Figure.
Ron and Hermione were about to protest, but Dumbledore raised his hand to silence them, "I understand that you want to stay with Harry, but we need you to leave the room, just for a moment. I promise you can be with him once we're finished."
Not willing to argue with the Headmaster, they slowly nodded and left.
"You too, Poppy," said Dumbledore, without even lifting his gaze from Harry.
Madam Pomfrey huffed then stalked off to her office, mumbling something about never being able to attend to her patients.
"Same old Pomfrey, huh?" said the Cloaked Figure.
"Umm," said Sirius, nodding his head, "She hasn't really changed much over the years."
They were silent for a moment as the Cloaked Figure moved closer to the bed and stared down at Harry for the first time in almost fourteen years up close. No one was able to read how he was taking this as the darkness in the room completely hid his face under the hood.
"We better get this done," Lupin said after a moment.
They all nodded and the four of them surrounded the bed. Dumbledore took out his wand and pointed it at Harry, the others following. Then they began to chant. After a few moments, different colours started to surround them. Silver surrounded Dumbledore, red surrounded the Cloaked Figure, blue surrounded Sirius and Green surrounded Lupin. The colours swarmed together and created a sphere around Harry. After another few moments, Harry also began to glow a bright gold, which began to entwine itself into the sphere that surrounded him. After another few moments, the sphere disappeared and the room was filled with darkness once again.
The cloaked figure promptly disappeared just as Harry began to stir. The boy slowly opened his eyes to find that his whole world was nothing but a blur. He reached over slowly for his glasses when he felt someone slide them back onto his face.
"Harry, are you alright?" Harry looked up to see the concerned faces of his Godfather, Professor Lupin and Dumbledore.
He slowly sat up, aching all over, "What happened?"
"Voldemort used that spell again, Harry. Do you remember?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry just sat still for a moment trying to pull the memories forth. He could remember seeing Death Eaters, a dead scorched forest, and the old burnt down house, Voldemort, Emily…
"Another Order member is dead," he said quietly, looking down as the sheets.
Dumbledore nodded sadly, he had been expecting that, "Who was it?"
"A woman named Emily Ballinger," Harry said, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.
Lupin gasped, "I knew Emily. We used to be good friends."
Harry looked up at him sadly, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Harry," said Sirius, placing a reassuring hand on his Godson's shoulder, "There was nothing you could have done."
Harry stared down at the sheets again. "I know," he whispered. "But I could have tried."
"Harry," Dumbledore began, "In this war, people are going to die. We may not like it but there is nothing we can do about it. The spell Voldemort had been using wouldn't have allowed you to interfere. It is not your fault. Emily knew the risk and she accepted them. She knew there was a chance that she would be killed and yet she still fought."
Harry nodded sadly.
"Now," Dumbledore said, "To block Voldemort we had to use an ancient charm which is called the 'Soul-Guarding' Charm. It has allowed us to block Voldemort and will also allow us to know when you are in danger."
Harry nodded.
"But I must ask you, Harry, not to tell anyone about what we have done. It would only put you in more danger."
"Yes, sir," Harry said.
"Good," said Dumbledore, "Now I believe Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are just outside the door. Why don't we go see them?"
Harry smiled and got out of the bed slowly, feeling like his legs were going to give out from under him. After a moment, they all walked towards the door and stepped outside.
Harry just saw two blurs coming towards him before something slammed into him. When he looked again, he saw Ron and Hermione crushing him in a tight bear hug.
"Oh, Harry. We were so worried," said Hermione.
"Um… guys," said Harry, having a hard time talking with them crushing him, "Can't… breath.'
They both back off to let him breath, both feeling a little embarrassed.
"Sorry," they both muttered. Harry saw that Hermione's eyes were extremely bloodshot and Ron was as white as a ghost.
"Harry, How-"
"I don't know," Harry lied, "Guess Voldemort just got sick of having me around," he smiled a little though no one found the statement funny.
Dumbledore smiled sadly, "You three should go enjoy the rest of your lunch before you have to head to class."
"Yeah, my class!" Sirius squealed, jumping up and down slightly.
Lupin rolled his eyes, "God help them." Sirius merely smiled.
"I think his class will be fun," said Harry in Sirius defense.
"Yeah, especially since we're sharing it with the Slytherin's. Sirius can make their lives a living hell," said Ron smiling.
Hermione jabbed Ron in the side with her elbow, scowling.
"Ow! Why did you do that?" Ron asked angrily.
"Dumbledore's right there you idiot, or did you not notice!' said Hermione quietly, her voice coming out like a hiss.
Dumbledore looked up when his name was said. "Hmmm… Sorry. I seemed to have gone temporally deaf and I didn't hear a word of what was said just now," he replied, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses.
Harry, Ron, Sirius, and Lupin chuckled as Hermione scowled. Dumbledore smiled fondly at them, "Now you three go enjoy your lunch. I need to speak to Sirius and Remus alone for a moment."
"Okay. See you in class, Professor Black," said Harry smiling as he, Ron and Hermione started heading down the hall.
"If you call me that in class Harry, I swear I'm going to first burst out laughing and then I'm going to hurt you," Sirius yelled after him.
"Whatever, Professor Black," Harry called back as the three of them disappeared behind the corner.
Sirius scowled and Lupin laughed, "Oh, poor Padfoot."
"Shut up, Moony," Sirius growled, but then he just smiled.
Dumbledore smiled slightly at them, but his eyes had become grave. Sirius and Lupin saw this and they began to frown.
"You both can feel that, can't you?" he asked.
Both Sirius and Lupin nodded.
"What is it?" Lupin asked.
"Its Voldemort, isn't it?" said Sirius, crossing his arms across his chest.
Dumbledore nodded, "He knows we're blocking him and sooner or later he will find a way to by-pass it. I just hope that we will have giving Harry enough time to develop his powers.
***
Harry, Ron and Hermione slowly walked down the corridor towards the entrance hall. It was a beautiful day outside and with the cold weather coming soon; they weren't going to be seeing many more days like this.
"So, how much fun do you think we'll have in Defense his year?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure it'll be tons of fun. It'll be like third year all over again, but with Sirius instead of Professor Lupin," Ron said.
"Hermione?" Harry asked, curious to know what she thought.
"Well," Hermione started. "I suppose it'll be great. We did have to get a lot of interesting books for Defense this year and I remember reading somewhere that Sirius used to be an Auror. It should be a great learning experience."
Both Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at her. Leave it to Hermione to state all the educational side to things.
"Hermione, can't you see the other side to this. Sirius will get all those Slytherins off our backs. Plus he was a Marauder," Ron pointed out.
Hermione sighed, "He's a teacher. He's not supposed to be picking sides."
"Snape does," Harry added.
"Yes, but that's Snape," said Hermione, shaking her head.
"I don't see your point, Hermione. If Snape's awful to us, Sirius can be awful to them," said Ron.
Harry sighed as they started to argue. He didn't even bother to try and stop them. It was always useless and some times they would just turn their anger on him. No, it was better just to ignore them when they get like this.
As they were walking, Harry saw something move out of the corner of his eye but when he looked again it was gone. He frowned deeply. He could have sworn that he had seen something moving in the shadows of the hall, but whatever it was, it was gone now. 'You're becoming paranoid, Harry,' he told himself.
"Oh look who it is. 'The Boy who ran away', accompanied by Mudblood and Weasel," said a drawling voice.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sent death glares at Malfoy and his band of Slytherins. Malfoy was smiling brightly for some reason.
"What's wrong Malfoy? Didn't learn your lesson last time so now you've come back for more?" Harry asked coolly.
"At least I didn't run away when things got a little tense. What was the matter, Potter? Did all that noise startle you?" Malfoy said, causing the Slytherins around him to laugh.
"It's none of your business, Malfoy," said Harry.
"Is that so?" said Malfoy, "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll be rid of you by the end of the year."
"What's that suppose to mean?" said Ron.
Malfoy stepped closer to them, "It means that the Dark Lord will get rid of him for me and if I'm lucky," he smiled, "You'll join him."
Hermione and Ron didn't know what to say to that, Harry's anger was rising.
"Watch it, Malfoy!" he said hotly.
Malfoy came to stand in front of Harry, "What are you going to do about it, Potter? Sic your dog on me. The pathetic thing won't last much longer once my father gets through with it."
Harry's anger exploded, "Phoenicurx Levisonus!"
There was a flash of golden light and Malfoy was thrown backwards across the hall, slamming into a coat of armour on the other side. Harry blinked back in surprise. Where had that come from?
The Slytherins stared at Harry in shook and made a mad run for it scared that Harry's anger would soon turn on them and he'd do the same thing to them as he had done to Malfoy. They left Malfoy in a pile on the floor, to scared to help him. They just wanted to save themselves.
Ron and Hermione were just as shocked and surprised as Harry was, though Ron more then Hermione.
"Wow, Harry! How did you do that?" Ron asked, coming out of his shock to stare at Harry in amassment.
Harry frowned looked down at Malfoy and then at his hands. They looked normal, but they tingled slightly from whatever he had done, "I…I don't know."