Chapter Fourteen- The way home
Professor Dumbledore had made it a habit of always appearing calm, possibly just because it annoyed other people so much. He smoothed down his beard as he settled himself in a chair next to a much calmer Harry Potter. Calm as in drugged, and nothing could have alarmed him. Ah, magic.
"So, Harry, I already have a description of events provided by Donald and Goofy, but I have zero knowledge of the events that occurred once you and Sora went down into the Chamber to find Professor Snape." Harry was feeling a little odd- although very calm, of course- and shot the wizard beside him an uncertain look, then smiled brightly.
"Oh, we didn't go looking for him," Harry began brightly.
"Not really. We were looking for whatever had cursed the castle, see, and we thought maybe Snape was behind it."
"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore said with slight disapproval. Harry was happily clueless, riding the fading effects of the calming potion. How could he not be happy?
"Yeah, him. We got down without hurting ourselves, and it was Snape alright. Greasy bastard was standing before this big cauldron releasing smoke. The cauldron, not Snape. Sora and me, we knocked him out easy. His Dark Mark was acting all funny, I think, cause it was glowing. Freaky." Dumbledore tried to interrupt, but Harry was on a roll.
"Then I Vanished the cauldron-ha, Hermione! Which hurt my head because I was still kind of tired because of the potion, and I thought maybe everything was over, you know? But then Sora's acting weird, and my scar hurt, and then Sora throws us to the ground and next minute we're facing Voldemort, who looked really happy."
Everybody gasped in horror. This, they had not been expecting. Again, Harry didn't let anybody interrupt, the calming draught was wearing off and he felt positively hyper.
"He was all freaky and calm, like he'd already won, but Sora just flung one of his Keyblade's at the bastard, but he apperated away." Harry paused briefly, and clearly still feeling the potion, seemed to pout a little.
"Why can't we apperate yet? It wouldn't have been near as hard trying to hit him and get out of the way at the same time if we could have apperated too. But nooo. It was Bam! Crucio curse. Bam! Bone breaker. Not to mention that freaky black fire spell. I was going to look that up, I remember." Harry drifted for a moment again as his friends and teachers struggled for words.
"Everything was really rough for a while, but the Keyblade seemed to hurt him a little, but we couldn't corner him because he kept apperating. That's cheating, because we couldn't do it. Then a spell hit the dead basilisk and blasted dead icky stuff everywhere, and we got coated. Then Fawkes showed up, I think. I wasn't paying attention, really, I was trying not to die." The potion made Harry ramble and it also, it seems, made him blunt.
"Sora casts this spell that froze time, which was really cool, and we try to come up with a plan, because he's kind of almost immortal or something, and we just couldn't seem to hurt him. So the spell wears off and we throw everything we've got at him, but he casts something really dark just as we do, and the magic collides like out of control hippogriffs." Harry paused to suck in a breath, seemingly clueless to the open-mouthed people hanging onto his every word.
"It exploded like Neville's cauldron in potions, and we all get flung through the air. We were lucky, Sora and me, we landed on the basilisk, although that was gross, and we didn't die. Voldemort- although, you know, his name's Tom and calling him that makes him unhappy- hit the statue of Slytherin, and fell down. There was this awful breaking sound, but no way was he dead. Everything's all still for a moment, and then he rises up into the air like, like, I don't know, it was freaky, and his rib was sticking out of his chest, and his body was all mushed" (Ron gagged) "but there wasn't any blood. No blood at all. And he was smiling, and he raised his wand, and I thought, shit, we're gonna die. I knew he wanted to hurt us bad and I remembered our wands connecting last time we fought, and I thought maybe we could do it again. But just as our wands connected Sora came outta nowhere and flung one of his Keyblade's at it, and the phoenix song stopped. He used his other Keyblade then- the lighter one, you know- and I swear I have no idea what he did. He started glowing real bright, and there was light everywhere, and it hit Tom-he hates that name, did I tell you? Hits Tom, and Fawkes is singing, and there's this clicking sound, like a key in a lock, which is funny because Sora's weapon's a Keyblade, right? Then Sora collapses, but Tom's really upset, staring at his hands, and he asked, "What have you done?" and then he vanished. Probably apperated. Wish I could do that. Then I went to Sora, and Fawkes got us here, and I must have fallen asleep. You know, I remember, we left Snape behind. He was unconscious and I forgot all about him." Harry's super-fast voice fell silent as he finished and the potion wore off, and he collapsed back onto his pillows.
Everybody was still gaping at the normally silent boy. Harry was ignoring them, however, as he was once more asleep.
McGonagall found her voice first.
"Well. Well then. Considering Severus must have been controlled, I suppose…he'll have to wait until Harry can open the entrance so he can get out." And the normally unflappable teacher wandered over to a chair and fell into it, massaging her temples and muttering about teenagers, and luck, and whiskey.
Hermione leaned over her friend, making sure he was okay.
"Wow," Ron said.
"What was in that potion?"
Dumbledore had his hand over his eyes, apparently deep in thought. He stood up and wondered over to stare down at Harry's face, calm and still in sleep. Then his feet took his across the room to a sad little trio, two awake and one not, and stared down at another boy, face also calm and still but far too pale.
--
Luckily, the heartless numbers were few, as if something had confused them, which was good since Sora was in no shape to fight.
--
Sora continued to sleep, unmoving, but every day his bedside was full of people talking, trying to wake him up. Donald was having long discussions with Madame Pomfrey as they tried to figure out why he still slept. Sora had locked worlds, before, with no ill effects. What had he done that had nearly killed him?
But no-one watched him at night, besides Harry on occasion, so they missed the events that occurred.
--
The figure in black appeared once, a hooded mystery leaning casually against the window, watching the boy sleep. The figure left before dawn, and none of the alarms reacted.
--
The days were still, but at night Sora was sometimes much more active, as if the darkness released him from something. He whispered for Roxas, begged someone called Namine, and tossed and turned over darkness.
--
Sora dreamt. He'd been dreaming a lot lately, but this wasn't like the others. He was standing before a crowd with a hat on his head, talking about dark reflections, and places of possibility.
It's time to go home, Sora, the voice whispered in his ear.
Home? Wasn't he home?
No. You had something to do, but it's done now. You've got to return.
He wasn't sure he wanted to. Return? To what?
Everything. You've got a long way to go, you know.
Long way? He was tired.
Yes. But it's time. You have to lock the world to safety in the place of possibility. This isn't your path, Sora. You've got to go.
If he had too…
It's time to wake up, Sora.
Wake up?
Then he did.
--
The room was white. He tensed. His head hurt and he was in a white room. His heartbeat picked up and the Keyblade reacted instantaneously, appearing in a swirl of light in his hand and resting limply across his chest.
Where was he? He had to-
"You're awake!" An explosion took place in his ear and Sora collapsed again, head spinning. Something impacted with his chest and then someone, or someone's, were trying to hug him to death. The Keyblade dug into his ribs and he wheezed, letting it fade away as he tried to hug his friends and breathe as well.
"Get off him, you lot! He needs air, you know." Thank-you, thank-you…
"Oh Sora, thank goodness your awake! We were so worried." Sora tried to see the owner of the voice, blinking to clear his vision. A delighted blast of song greeted his ears, and then Fawkes was on his pillow, craning his head down to look into his eyes.
"Hi, Fawkes." He reached up with one trembling hand to pat the phoenix's soft chest. Why was he so weak?
"Hey, Harry. You okay? That Voldemort guy was nasty."
"Yeah, yeah he was," Harry said grinning, eyes wet.
"It's so good to see you awake." Sora managed a tired smile, and looked at Donald and Goofy. Goofy was bawling, and Sora winced.
"Aw, don't cry, Goofy. I'm okay. I'm just…Donald, put the staff down. I do not need healing, okay? I'm just- gah!"
As usual, Donald ignored him completely and Sora was hit with a powerful green gold light. Despite his words, Sora sighed happily, feeling warmth and strength flash through his veins. He tried to look at the mage firmly, but laughed instead.
"So not surprised. Just this once…thanks. I probably needed that."
"Oh my!" Madame Pomfrey had once more missed a patient waking up. She teleported- well, moved really fast anyway- to his side and began fussing with her wand.
"Um, Madame Pomfrey, I'm just fine. Can I just-" Word of warning, do not interrupt a healer at work. Weak as Sora still was, she pinned him easily in place and continued her scan. Sora squeaked and fell still. Harry half-laughed in sympathy. He'd only been allowed up for a few days.
"So…how long was I out for?"
"Oh, just a week."
"A week?! A week? And what do you mean, just?"
--
"So when can I get up?" Sora asked hopefully. Madame Pomfrey laughed- actually laughed, and left the pouting boy as she went to refill one of his potions.
"What?"
--
Luckily, Sora had lots of company to keep him from going insane. The fact that he was in a white room didn't help things, though. He kept having odd flashes- like a dream he didn't remember. Harry and his friends were by every day, and Donald and Goofy barely left his side, apparently convinced that if they did something terrible would happen.
Now, where would they get that idea?
Still, the days were long to a boy used to constant movement, and to make things worse, he had the feeling that there was something he was supposed to be doing. His dreams were deep and anxious, and urgency took hold of him once more.
More than once, he drove Madame Pomfrey to distraction- and nearly tears- as he constantly devised plans to escape. He almost made it, too, after stunning the witch with a stopgra. Unfortunately, he was still weak and the spell faded before he could get fully out of the door. After telling him, quite firmly, that if he didn't stay still she was going to tie him down, Sora finally stopped his escape attempts. To Ron's absolute amusement. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to learn the time-stop spell for future reference.
Hermione wanted to learn the spell on basic principal.
The glorious day came, however, that Sora was released from his prison, and it so happened to coincide with the day of the end of year feast.
A touch of fate, perhaps.
--
The day was one to be remembered. The day began on a somewhat somber note, with Dumbledore- and with a curious trio listening- asking what spell he had cast on Voldemort that had so drained him. The trio waited breathlessly, and Sora took his time answering.
"There was something really wrong with that man. I'm met some shady characters, but Tom…he wasn't all there. He was like a piece of a shattered heart. Like a Nobody. We couldn't seem to hurt him much, and I just wanted to fix it. Whatever was wrong. I could feel it. So I asked the Keyblade. I don't pretend to understand what the Keyblade is or what it does. I do a lot of things for it that I don't understand, but I know it understands what I was thinking. I just poured all my energy into the Keyblade, and it is what took the magic and transformed it into something solid. When it hit Voldemort, it seemed to be calling for something. I couldn't…I didn't…I wasn't all there. It was really powerful. But it kept calling until something answered, and then the Keyblade locked him, somehow. I've never heard of anything like that. Not on a person. I've done it to a world, even, but a person?" Sora clenched his fists. His eyes were dry.
"I locked his heart. I called something back- what was missing, I think, and I locked his heart. He's still strong. But he's not what he was, anymore. You said he performed rituals to try to become immortal?" Harry jumped at the sudden question. Dumbledore was watching Sora intently, very still.
"Yes. He was different once, Sora. Brilliant. Talented. But he always feared death. It grew to be too much. There is power in darkness, and people mistakenly think that it can solve all their problems. Ultimately, it makes them worse." Sora's eyes burned anew, and he could see Riku in his mind's eye.
"I think that's what I did then. What the Keyblade did. Called back the parts he sacrificed in whatever dark rituals he did, and put them back in his heart. Then I- the Keyblade- locked his heart so that it couldn't be done again.
What have you done?
Harry felt his mouth slip open in wonder. Shivers raced down his spine.
"Sora, Sora you made him mortal again. Didn't you? Called his heart back, made it so he was vulnerable to death again…and he was terrified. That's why he left so suddenly." Harry fell silent, leaning back against the window frame as he stared out over the forest.
Sora shrugged a shoulder, but he looked like he agreed.
"I think so. As I said, it was really the Keyblade."
"Blimey." Ron whispered, as Hermione took his hand.
No-one could think of anything to say, and they stood staring out over the forest for a time.
"Come on Sora, hurry up!" Sora laughed, enjoying the feeling of the wind against his face after so long inside. He bolted after Harry, who was quite a fast runner, surprisingly, as the teens enjoyed the last day of freedom.
And spell-casting.
Thwack!
"What the…" Harry brushed at the back of his head, blankly.
"Ron! Who the hell conjures snowballs on a sunny day?"
"You're just jealous you didn't think of it first!" Laughing, they ran about pelting each other- and a few passerby's- with snowballs until they collapsed laughing to the ground. Donald and Goofy watched bemused from their seat near the stairs, wondering if they'd ever had that much energy.
It was a beautiful day.
--
"I can't believe it's the end of year already. I'm glad O.W.L's are done, though."
Sora snorted.
"I'm glad I missed them when I was unconscious. Not like I could have used those credentials later on."
The golden trio slumped a little, not liking the reminder that soon he would be gone.
Sora stopped mid-stride.
"The Keyhole…" He whispered.
"What?"
Flash.
His dream suddenly erupted into his conscious mind, and he went still.
A place of possibility.
He'd been searching for ages. What could it be?
Something occurred to him.
Hold on, it couldn't possibly be…
Sora's eyes widened.
"I am the biggest idiot I have ever met. I am so stupid it's sad. How could I not have figured it out?" Sora said it all quite calmly, then leapt into the air with a cry of exaltation and humor. He broke into a sprint, laughing madly, and his friends followed on behind, shouting questions.
He ignored them all.
--
They gathered a lot of attention running wildly through the corridors, with Sora laughing and his friends yelling for answers. People dived for cover as the group zigzagged down corridors. It was the last day at Hogwarts for the year, and people all over were acting exuberantly, but this took the cake. Except, maybe, the fireworks Gred and Forge were testing in Filch's little office…
Ahem.
Sora finally skidded to a stop, and whirled around, eyes bright and hands trembling. Clueless faces stared back, as Ron bent over wheezing for breath after the wild run.
"Sora, what on earth are you-" Sora leaned forward, cutting Hermione off. The small crowd of interested bystanders- they were bystanders after they'd gotten interested and followed, anyway, and one very confused Professor McGonagall, who actually had been passing by, leaning forward as well in expectation.
"A place of possibility," Sora lectured.
"A Keyhole is most often found in a place of importance and possibility. I've been looking everywhere for the damn thing and the entire time I was so close." And Sora leapt to the side and made a grand gesture, pointing towards the door he'd stopped in front of.
"Harry, Hermione, Ron, everyone else- I present the Keyhole." And Sora started laughing again.
Nonplussed, the trio stared where he pointed.
Straight at the Door to the Room of Requirement.
"You're kidding me."
Sora continued laughing.
--
Finally, Sora managed to stop, although his mouth kept twitching.
"It's killing me, it really is." Donald and Goofy, who'd finally caught up, stared at him like he was mad.
"It was so close. No wonder I couldn't sense it. The Keyblade was so close…and then I had something to do as well, I suppose. Still." Sora summoned the Keyblade, which appeared eagerly in his hand.
"Wait! Sora, if you seal it, won't you leave?" Hermione asked a little tearfully.
"And forgive me, it doesn't look like a Keyhole." Sora's mouth twitched again.
"They never do. You'll see in a second, promise. And no, the Keyhole being sealed won't take us away- either the weird light will, or a path will appear like last time. An item that connects us…another road being created." And smiling, and before awed eyes, he raised the Keyblade.
It was time. The door that led to the Room of Requirement flashed and then faded away. Swirling mists, dark but not scarily so, appeared in the open space, and several people sucked in sudden breaths.
It was beautiful. Like scattered stars, pinpricks of light pierced the darkness, and reminded Sora of the cavern beneath the lake. Slowly, the shape of a keyhole appeared in glowing lines, pulsing in time to the beat of the world's heart. The Keyblade flashed, and Sora backed up. To him, he was suddenly transported to the heavens as he spun the glowing Oathkeeper around and then pointed it straight at the Keyhole, taking the blade in both hands. Light sparkled around him as a sudden wind threw his hair up and dragged at his clothing. A beam of intense light linked the youth to the Keyhole for a long, timeless moment.
Nobody breathed.
Then there was a click, loud but final, and slowly the Keyhole faded away into nothing. Sora gasped a little and he was back in the hallway, looking at a plain, nondescript door.
To the others, it was a moment of awe- and confusion. They were part of a magical world, and then knew the feeling of magic. It built around the youth in incredible amounts. Wind flashed from nowhere, and for a moment, Sora, who looked a million miles away, was hard to see for the light. A beam of bright light connected Keyblade and Keyhole, and then through the wind and the light they heard a distinct 'click'. The light and wind died down, and left Sora, standing looking at the plain door in front of him with a slightly sad smile.
"All done."
--
The awed silence lasted for a long moment, and then everyone broke into excited whispers, marveling over what they had just seen. Harry laughed at the look on Ron's face, but then noticed that Sora seemed to be waiting for something.
"Sora!" Professor McGonagall had pushed her way to stand next to the youth, and stared at the door.
"That. That was the Keyhole? You sealed it?" She sounded amazed as she considered the Gryffindor before her. Sora smiled distractedly, seemingly looking for something.
"Yep. That's it. I locked the world against the heartless. And now…now I'm finished."
"You're going to leave," Harry stated sadly.
Sora looked pained.
"Yes, but Harry, I've got to go. I've really loved my time here, it's been like a dream. But I've got so much to do. So many people relying on me. So many other worlds out there, and people like Voldemort that me and Donald and Goofy have to stop. I promise you, though, that I'll come back to visit." Harry nodded, and then the golden trio grabbed him into a massive bear hug. Sora hugged them back, and laughed as he watched Donald and Goofy vanish under their hugs as well.
"I wish we had something to give you," Harry said sadly. Professor McGonagall interrupted as she whipped what appeared to be a paperweight, of all things, from her pocket and waved her wand over it. Out of nowhere a soft light appeared as the transfiguration teacher worked her art. The light died down slowly, leaving behind a tiny statue, with the four House animals in miniature, exquisite detail. She offered it to Sora with a teary smile, and awed, Sora ran a finger down the tiny lion's head, mouth opened in a silent roar.
A tear ran down his face. Then he smiled, glowing.
"I won't forget any of you, I promise."
--
Down the hallways phoenix song echoed, beautiful and sad and glorious, all at once. It seemed to be what Sora was waiting for, because he made an odd sound, and shifted forward. Captivated by the song, Harry managed to ask,
"Sora? What is it?" Sora lit up in anticipation.
"The way home, Harry, the way home."
They didn't run, only walked, slowly like in a dream, down the seemingly endless hallways of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sora walked side by side with his friends, clutching his gift, listening to the sound of a phoenix singing. The Great Hall was beginning to fill with people for the feast, and they all stared upward in wonder as Fawkes circled high up near the enchanted roof, where the stars were shining brightly.
Sora was distantly glad that the room wasn't full, because this was going to be painful as it was.
Dumbledore was standing by the teacher's table, head back as he watched his old friend soar overhead. He didn't seem surprised to see Sora and the others, either.
"You sealed the Keyhole, I take it?" The wizard asked, eyes still on the phoenix. Sora looked at the old wizard.
"Yes. We were just saying goodbye." The teachers in the hall gasped. Snape looked happy, but avoided looking at him. He'd been like that ever since Harry regained consciousness and let him out of the Chamber of Secrets. He was constantly watched, now, and he hated it.
Sora, who'd been whispering to Professor McGonagall, hopped up onto the platform and walked over to Madame Pomfrey.
"Thank-you, for taking such good care of me. I'm sorry I don't really have anything to give you, but I hope the cure potion does your world some good." Poppy sniffed, suddenly realizing that now he was going, back to his war.
"It was my pleasure, Sora. Just promise me you'll take care of yourselves, okay? I don't know what's waiting for you, but I know it's dangerous. Just be careful." Sora nodded.
"I will." Sora hesitated, then turned to Hagrid.
"Thanks, Hagrid. I really enjoyed your classes." Hagrid nodded, too overcome to speak. He pulled out a handkerchief the size of a towel and blew his nose.
"Take care, Sora." Sora looked at the teachers, then flashed them a classic Sora grin.
"Come on guys, I'll be fine. Thanks for looking out for us while we were here. We appreciate it. We aren't always so lucky." Donald and Goofy chimed in, agreeing.
Sora turned back to Harry.
"Don't forget, Harry, to keep believing, and to keep fighting. That's all it takes. To believe and to stand up for what you believe. You're in my heart- you're all in my heart. I won't forget you, and I'll visit as soon as I can." They hugged again, and then Sora stepped back, Donald and Goofy at his side. He looked at them all, face somber, memorizing them. A sudden flash startled him, and he turned to stare at Colin as he lowered his camera.
"Sorry," the boy whispered. Sora just grinned, then looked up.
"Fawkes? I'm ready."
The phoenix folded his wings and plummeted. He spread his wings just above the little group, still singing, then twisted his head down and plucked from his tail a single feather. It drifted down then halted, glowing.
"The path," Sora whispered.
"Thank-you Fawkes." The phoenix called out mournfully, then swept away, and then outside, still singing.
The feather continued to glow, taking on a brilliant golden glow.
Every eye was fixed on it. Oathkeeper appeared in a blaze and Sora lifted the blade and pointed it at the glowing object.
A key-shape appeared. The Keyblade lit up again, and a wind kicked up around Sora as he opened this new path, that would take him home again.
Well, home as in back to where he had been, anyway. Golden light spread from Sora and wrapped around Donald and Goofy. As the light intensified, Sora turned his head to look at his friends.
Thank-you, he mouthed. The light grew…and then contracted sharply, and when it died away they were gone.
Hermione sniffed, and Harry and Ron put a hand on each shoulder.
"We'll see him again."
"I know. But it already seems darker."
Yo! 'Tis the end! (Of the story, peoples.) Well, I had fun, and I hope people enjoyed it too. See ya round.