-1Chapter 26- Help from beyond.
Harry's senses where dead to the world around him. He couldn't smell or hear anything around him. Worried that perhaps his ears and nose had been cut off, he cautiously opened his eyes. He closed them quickly at the brightness of the area around him. He raised his hand to defend his eyes, pleased to feel that his limbs worked fine.
"Ah, you have awoken." A dark and curious voice filled Harry's ears. He opened his eyes again, shielding the bright light from his sensitive pupils. The man hovering above him looked strangely like Sirius. When his eyes adjusted he focused in on Sirius and his ragged looking self.
"Sirius?" Harry asked, completely dumbfounded by what happened. The only explanation was that he died instead of transporting himself into the cup.
"Yes, Harry. It's me, or well my soul." Sirius said, helping Harry sit up on the steel table. Harry finally looked around the room, his eyes adjusted to the light. It appeared to be a surgical supply room. "Don't be afraid if you feel different." Sirius said again as Harry adjusted to his surroundings.
"What do you mean, feel different?" Harry asked, swinging his feet over the table.
"We want you to survive this war even though you weren't meant to. I've seen the future and did what I could to prevent it." Sirius said.
Harry picked up a different tone than he normally would while talking to Sirius. "What is it?" Harry asked, concerned with what was going on.
"You are meant to die because of your condition. I took the necessary action to prevent that." Sirius continued, avoiding the details. Harry stood from the table and grabbed Sirius's arms to help steady himself from his weak knees.
"What did you do?" Harry asked worried over his weakened state. He saw the flesh of his forearms and pulled his hands back to examine it closer. A long scar traveled the length from his wrist to the inside of his elbow, on both arms.
"Your wands have been surgically inserted into your arms, the core's magically attached to your blood. A doctor's way of providing wandless magic." Sirius said.
Harry looked down to his bare chest and traced another faint scar, that ran from his sternum to the middle of his abs. "What is this?" He asked.
"You can't die unless your heart is destroyed." Sirius said, holding Harry steady by his shoulders.
"Did you remove my heart?" Harry asked. Sirius laughed and shook his head no. He lead the pale boy to the other room where a long white bearded man relaxed on a plush couch.
"Dumbledore?" Harry asked shocked to see the old man sitting there with a smile plastered onto his aged face.
"Good to see you awake Harry." Dumbledore said, patting the seat next to him. Harry stumbled to the couch and collapsed in the seat beside his mentor.
"I don't understand." Harry managed to get out. He had to be dead to see these two in the same room as him. He felt Sirius warmth, could smell the smoke from Dumbledore's pipe. Even the couch felt real, and the cold against his chest.
"I'm sorry about the confusion. You are indeed inside the cup, however the plane of existence can be entered by the dead. A limbo if you will." Dumbledore said.
"So I did die?" Harry asked.
"No. You traveled here, body and all." Dumbledore said, smiling to Harry as he explained.
"You are the only one here with a real body. The rest of us are merely souls." Sirius said, sitting across from them in a overstuffed chair.
"So you placed my wands inside my arms to allow wandless magic. So what about my heart?" Harry asked touching the scar on his chest lightly.
"We did nothing to your original heart." Sirius said.
"We installed a second heart." Dumbledore said, "You can only die if both are destroyed." Dumbledore continued.
Harry stared at the two dead guys in shock. They put another heart in his chest. "What?" Harry asked, completely shocked.
"You have gained the advantaged in this war. No need to thank us, my boy." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I didn't ask for you to put another heart in my chest!!" Harry yelled jumping up from his seat. He looked around the room finding a spare shirt. The flimsy material was worn and dirty but it covered his exposed chest.
"I know you didn't. However we rather you not join us anytime soon. You have to find Voldemort's soul and destroy it. Then return home and kill him there." Sirius said.
"Fine, where is his soul and how do I prepare for the next plane I'll get sucked into?" Harry asked.
"This is the last plane you had to travel too." Dumbledore said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"While you recovered the other Horcrux aside from you and Voldemort's pet, was destroyed." Dumbledore said.
"How can I trust what you are telling me?" Harry asked.
"Simple my boy. Enough time has passed that the others found out how to destroy the Horcrux without you being sucked in." Dumbledore said.
"How?" Harry asked confused by how quick the others figured it out. He'd just gotten here, so not to much time had passed, unless.
"They were able to find a few poisonous fangs to stab the item with." Dumbledore said. Harry actually believed that. It could be done, if the fang could be found.
"How did they figure it out so fast. I've only been gone for a few days." Harry said.
"Sorry to inform you of this, but you've been here for ten years." Sirius said.
Harry looked at the two in shock. "The recovery took longer than we thought. However we managed to lure Voldemort's soul out so you can kill him and get home quickly." Sirius continued.
Harry quickly figured up the time in his head. If he was here for ten years then Hermione and the others had been on their own for six months. He rubbed his fingers through his hair in frustration. He'd promised Hermione he would be back soon. She was probably worried sick that he was dead, or that Voldemort had trapped him here.
"Where is he?" Harry asked.
"At the graveyard." Dumbledore said.
Harry headed for the door. "Good luck. Hopefully we won't see you soon." Sirius said. Harry looked back before closing the door. He smiled sadly at his lost family, at least he'd gotten to see them one last time. Harry closed the door and found his way out of the some how, familiar building.
Once outside he recognized where he was. It was right outside where the portkey had dropped off Cedric and himself after the tournament. He pushed aside the image of Cedric being hit with the deadly green flash. He looked over the graveyard and sniffed at the air, pleased that his senses were back.
He could smell the stench of death on human flesh and knew that Voldemort was nearby. He made his way through the high grass to the bottom of the hill where the tombstones resided. He felt his skin chill, and his bones ache as he drew closer to the tombstone he'd been pinned by during Voldemort's resurrection.
"Ah…Potter. What brings you to my hole in the wall?" Voldemort asked stepping from behind a
ruined crypt.
"To end you." Harry said. He followed instinct and raised his palm. A red stunner shooting from beneath the skin and traveling to the tips of his fingers. Voldemort dodged just in time as his shock was quickly placed aside.
"New tricks?" Voldemort asked raising his wand.
"A few." Harry replied. He dodged to the side as Voldemort's killing curse sliced the air beside his head. He could feel the life around him die from the aura of Voldemort's soul and his vicious spells. He peeked around a tombstone, remembering the training he underwent with Tonk's and Remus.
The battle raged long into the night. The shattered stones of tall headstones that had been blown away by powerful spells. Harry was stronger and faster, his spells slipping from his hands before the thought could process.
Eventually, Harry had Voldemort trapped in a crypt unable to retreat without getting hit by Harry. With nothing left to lose, Harry charged in. The force of the stone door slamming into Voldemort's raised arms broke his white wand. The broken pieces lay on the crypt floor.
Voldemort laid at Harry's feet. His hands raised in defense, his snakelike skin covered in his own blood. "Please Potter. Could you kill an unarmed man?" Voldemort asked smiling pitifully up at Harry's dark eyes.
"You deserve no mercy." Harry said, raising his hand to Voldemort's chest. A flash of green and all was black.