Harry put out a hand, pressing it against his trunk, trying to
suppress the fear that was threatening to consume him. He was getting
smaller by the second and less than a minute after it started;
everything came to a screeching halt. Harry looked to his right,
slowly, seeing his wand lying on the floor beside him. Only now, the
base of it came up to his hips, and the opposite end looked to be
about fifty feet away.
Taking a shaky breath, he leaned his back up against his trunk, trying to force himself to think. His hand was still bleeding quite badly and his shirttail was now soaked through with blood. He needed to get to Ron's bed, and he needed to do it quick. Whatever had come out of the bottle was still in the room with him, and he had no way to defend himself without his wand.
Looking around tensely, he stepped away from the trunk, only to come face to face with the creature. Harry gasped in horror. It was taller than he was by four feet and consisted of shadow and smoke. It grinned wickedly at him, showing off row upon row of razor sharp teeth. Raising the dagger it had used to slit his hand earlier, it advanced on him. Harry didn't even think, he took a step back out of the creature's reach, before ducking under its arm and starting to run.
It was too fast for him though, just as he made it under the outstretched dagger the creature had turned in its spot, catching the back of his shirt. It yanked him backwards harshly, and Harry could see he was being taken back towards the bottle. The shadowy being let go of Harry's shirt and grasped his arm, making sure he couldn't slip away. They reached the bottle and Harry was flung into the pitch- blackness inside.
He looked around frantically, willing his eyes to adjust, and heard the creature moving behind him. The small light that was coming into the bottle at them winked out of sight as the creature sucked the cork back in on them.
Harry was in complete darkness, and began backing up slowly. He couldn't see to fight the creature and had no idea what it wanted with him. He tried to keep his breathing quiet, though to him it sounded as if it were magnified one hundred times over.
He felt something move behind him and instantly started to spin around when he was grabbed roughly, his arms pinned to his sides by the creature. Knowing it was probably useless, but unable to just sit there, he started to struggle to get away; only to stop however, when the creature raised its dagger, holding it under his head and pushing it into the soft skin of his neck.
Harry didn't breathe. Was the creature going to try to kill him here, where no one would ever find his body? Or did it want something else? Sweat trickled down his face as the minutes ticked by, neither one of them moving. Harry could feel the muscles in his legs cramping from all the exercise he'd put them through the day before, but he didn't dare shift his position.
Suddenly, a light began to surround them, and Harry couldn't see where it could be coming from. He had the brief hope that someone in the room had turned on the light, giving them a possibility of finding them, but that hope faded quickly. The light grew steadily brighter, making it impossible to see. Harry squinted his eyes shut, praying that whatever was happening, it would be over soon.
Another moment passed and Harry could no longer feel the bottle beneath his feet. It was as if they were floating, he could hear wind rushing by his head and his hair was blowing wildly, but all the while, neither he nor the creature moved a muscle. How long they stayed this way, Harry had no idea, but after what felt like ages the imp began to loosen it's grip around him. The dagger was taken away from his neck and Harry let out a sigh of relief, just seconds before he was shoved forward, violently.
The light was gone in that instant and Harry fell hard, wincing as he cracked his knees on the floor. He let out a low moan of pain as he rubbed them gently. Feeling very disoriented and having no idea where he was, he raised his head slowly, but before he was able to get even the slightest glimpse of his surroundings, he scar seared with pain and he shut his eyes tightly as he clutched it. A high, cruel laugh filled the air around him, and he felt his blood run cold.
Forcing himself to do it, he raised his head again, his vision blurring in and out, to see Voldemort standing a few feet away. He was cackling evilly, his glowing red eyes glaring down at Harry with sick glee.
"We've been waiting for you," Voldemort said calmly, still grinning down at Harry.
"How.?" Harry asked, weakly, distantly realizing he was back to his normal size.
Voldemort merely smirked at him, turning his gaze to someone behind Harry. "Pick him up."
Almost immediately, Harry felt himself being pulled roughly to his feet and held there by two death eaters. Looking around the room, he saw it was filled with death eaters; shapeshifters too.
"The boy who lived," Voldemort spat with disgust, hatred burning in his eyes. "Did you like your Christmas present, boy?" he asked, tauntingly. "I assure you there's more to come."
"You sent me the bottle then?" Harry asked, angry with himself for not bringing it to Dumbledore in the first place.
"As much as I'd love to take credit for that, it was one of Saaneeraa's more brilliant ideas."
"Dumbledore knows she's in the school," Harry said, trying to sound threatening. "She'll be found, and when she is."
"Highly unlikely, boy," Voldemort interrupted, stepping closer to Harry, causing his scar to burn with such intensity he wanted to scream. He tried to bring his hands up to it but they were held firmly at his sides, so he clenched his teeth, trying not to think about the pain.
"Bottle imps are quite common in Faerun, you know," Voldemort said, almost casually. "They can be used to kill, or capture. Of course, if you had lived there most of your life you probably would have destroyed the bottle the instant you had seen it. However, you didn't know, and now here you are. A day late, granted, but here just the same. We were a bit worried when you had gotten rid of the bottle by yourself, but luckily it was found, unharmed, and returned to you to carry out its mission."
He paused there, giving Harry another look of hatred.
"It's been more than sixteen years since I tried to kill you, boy. Tonight it will finally happen."
"There's no escape this time, kid," a voice whispered in Harry's ear. He turned to see Gridman standing to his right, smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. "Now we know how to kill you," he continued, almost cheerfully.
"Be quiet!" the death eater on his other side spat. Harry recognized the voice before turning to see. Lucius Malfoy. "You do not speak unless it is requested of you," he said menacingly.
Gridman glared angrily at Lucius, but kept silent, as Voldemort moved closer still, ignoring their little spat.
Harry looked around desperately. The room they were in looked entirely unfamiliar and no one knew where he was. He didn't have his wand, as whatever the imp had done to shrink him obviously didn't affect it. The watch that could lead his friends to him was also back at Hogwart's, as he didn't want to take it with him when they were working in Hagrid's garden. It was lying uselessly in his trunk, at the foot of his empty bed.
Voldemort stepped directly in front of him now and Harry steeled himself for whatever was coming. He expected them to try to curse him, probably even try to kill him, and he knew whatever magic they used, while it would hurt, it wouldn't kill him. Not while he had Lunis.
However, nobody raised their wands, instead, Voldemort turned to look at the death eater nearest the door and nodded. The death eater returned the nod, and left the room. Harry looked after him, confused and uneasy.
After several minutes that felt to Harry like hours, the door to the room swung slowly open. Two death eaters came into the room, dragging someone who was struggling between them.
Harry's jaw dropped in horror and the air in the room suddenly seemed very thin.
"Cho," he said in a shaky voice, watching as his girlfriend was pulled to a stop across the room from him.
"Harry!" she cried when she spotted him, fear evident in her voice. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
Harry just looked at her, feeling helpless.
"Don't hurt her," he said in a low voice, turning to look at Voldemort. "She has nothing to do with this, just let her go."
"She has everything to do with this," Voldemort snapped. "She is the key to getting rid of you."
"What?" Harry asked, deeply confused. "What are you talking about?"
Voldemort looked at him skeptically, sizing him up.
"You mean to tell me you didn't know she's the defender?"
Harry glanced at Cho who looked just as bewildered as he felt.
"I think you're mistaken," Harry said tentatively.
Voldemort's eyes flashed dangerously.
"I most certainly am not mistaken," he spat vehemently. "Why do you think I made sure my servants kept such careful watch over her at the ministry? Since we've known about your defender we suspected her from the first. Every move she made was under surveillance, even her letters were confiscated after she had discarded them."
"But I'm telling you, I don't have a defender," Harry insisted stubbornly, only causing Voldemort to become angrier still.
"I admit you made it hard for us to be certain," he said in an icy voice. "Your broom was cursed, hoping to draw out your defender, but you had given it to that stupid Weasley girl to use. Then just the other night you were cursed with a spell that should have rendered you completely helpless, all of your senses gone. Your defender would have been forced to come out, to help you." he trailed off then, glaring dangerously at Harry. "But it appears, you're learning to use your powers quicker than I'd anticipated. You forced the curse away, which is why we must act now."
"I what?" Harry asked loudly. "I didn't do anything.whoever sent the curse just did it wrong."
"You're a fool if you believe that," Voldemort said, smirking.
Harry narrowed his eyes, glaring up at the twisted man.
"It sounds to me like your attempts to draw anyone out failed.there's no way you can be certain there is a defender.and if there is it isn't Cho."
"You would do well to remember whom you're speaking to boy," Voldemort spun on him, enraged. "I find it very odd that your beloved headmaster never explained this to you, but none of that matters now. I am going to dispose of you and your precious defender, and then your power will be mine."
"No!" Harry couldn't stop himself from yelling. "Just let her go.she doesn't need to be dragged into this, please." he pleaded, now fully struggling against the death eaters gripping his arms.
Voldemort watched Harry with an amused smile, his red eyes glinting maliciously.
"Tell me Harry," he began tauntingly, "what did that muggle loving fool give you as the reason you survived Gridman's attack at the beginning of the school year?"
"Don't," Cho said in a low voice from across the room, tears streaming down her face. "Don't tell him."
Harry hesitated for a moment, uncertain. He knew Voldemort knew about Lunis, but that he didn't know how to kill him. However, if it would save Cho, he'd tell everything he knew.
"He said you wanted control of Lunis," Harry said at last, looking defiantly into Voldemort's eyes. "You want it but you still don't know how to get it."
Voldemort stared at him for a moment, his expression unreadable. The room grew so silent that the only noise was the sound of branches scraping against the side of the house they were in.
"Lunis?" Voldemort asked, his face breaking into a wicked smile. He began to laugh, lightly at first, but growing harder as the seconds passed. "Lunis?" he cried louder this time. "Stupid boy, whatever you've been told it was a lie. I took that pathetic power from your father sixteen years ago, the night I killed him."
Harry couldn't even speak. His head was ready to split from all the conflicting information and he honestly didn't know what to believe.
"Your father and the old fool thought they could beat me with Lunis," Voldemort went on. "But I knew better. My powers were already far beyond that of any other witch or wizard who has lived. I took Lunis from your father, and then I killed him. He stood no chance of defeating me, even if he did know how to use it."
"You're lying," Harry spat, feeling suddenly enraged.
"Am I?" Voldemort asked, cruelly. "It doesn't really matter one way or the other. I know the truth, and what you've been told is far from it."
"Dumbledore wouldn't lie to me, not about this," Harry said fiercely, trying to lunge forward. Gridman and Lucius laughed at his feeble attempts to escape and held him in place.
"Well it appears he has," Voldemort smiled, obviously quite pleased with Harry's confusion. "But I'm through wasting time," he went on, turning serious. "Your power will be mine and I've waited long enough."
Pulling out his wand, Voldemort crossed the room to where Cho was standing. Harry watched helplessly, desperately trying to free himself now.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled as he managed to pull the two death eaters a few feet forward. Tightening their hold on him, Lucius took one hand away from Harry's arm and grabbed a handful of his hair, just as Gridman kicked Harry in the knees from behind. He fell forward again, slamming hard into the floor, as they kept their hold on him.
Cho looked down at him from where she stood, her face had gone white with fear and she was crying hard.
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly at Cho.
"Care to say something, before she dies?" he asked cruelly, smiling at Harry.
"I swear if you do it.I'll kill you," Harry said in a menacing voice.
"Touching," Voldemort said, "wouldn't have been my choice of last words."
"Harry," Cho said softly, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Please.Harry." she cried as her voice broke. Bringing her hands to her face, she wept softly.
"Cho.don't worry." Harry cried, desperately trying to move. "It'll be alright." He wanted so much to go to her.to reassure her of this, but even if he could, his stomach was twisting with fear and doubt. He had no way to get her out of this.they were both in the worst trouble of their lives.
He looked up at Voldemort again to see the glowing red eyes peering back at him. Voldemort turned his face away and looked directly at Cho, who was sobbing into her hands. Smiling once more at Harry's distraught face, obviously savoring this moment, he finally spoke.
"Avada Kedavra."
Harry watched in numb disbelief, seeing everything in slow motion, as the flash of green light left Voldemort's wand and hit Cho with such a force it pushed her backwards. Her arms flung out to the sides and her head whipped back and forth once, as her body fell through the air. She hit the floor with a dull thump, and laid there, dead.
"No!" Harry cried, weakly, trying furiously now to move. He pulled at his arms, needing to free them, needing to get to Cho.
"Release him," Voldemort said with a casual wave of his hand and Harry felt himself being shoved forward. He paid no attention to this, though as he scrambled to his feet and crossed the room to where Cho's lifeless body laid. Her eyes were wide with terror and the tears she had been crying still lay, moist against her skin.
Pain worse than he'd ever felt flooded his being. His knees began to shake and he slumped to the floor. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hurt everyone in the room with him. He wanted to kill Voldemort for what he'd done. But above all of that, he wanted Cho to be alive again.
"Cho." he whispered, feeling as if he would be sick. Ever so gently, he leaned forward and pulled her to him, cradling her in his arms. This couldn't be happening, it had to be a dream. Closing his eyes tightly to cut off the tears threatening to fall, he leaned his head against hers, kissing her gently on her forehead as he rocked her back and forth.
"Don't be sad, Potter," Voldemort said, emotionlessly. "You'll be joining her in a moment."
"Why did you kill her?" Harry asked in a voice shaking with fury.
"The defender had to be killed, in order to get to you," Voldemort said matter-of-factly.
"She wasn't the defender!" Harry screamed, his eyes flashing in hatred. "You killed her for no reason, she's never had anything to do with any of this!"
"Well I wouldn't say no reason," Voldemort said smugly. "I am quite enjoying watching you right now.
Harry balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth. Lying Cho gently to back down to the floor, he stood up and faced Voldemort.
"You're going to pay for what you did," he said in a voice that exhibited much more confidence then he was feeling. He glared in hatred, when something inside him began to stir.
"Your empty threats mean nothing to me, boy," Voldemort spat. "I told you you'd be joining her and that's exactly what will happen. Enough of these games."
"I'm not playing a game," Harry hissed, taking a step forward. He could almost feel electricity in the air as he did so and even Voldemort let a doubtful expression cross his face. It was gone in an instant however and he quickly raised his wand.
"This is the end for you, Harry Potter," he said clearly.
Harry didn't move, he stood his ground and waited for what was coming.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted, and for the second time that evening a beam of green light shot from the tip of his wand.
Harry watched with interest as the light sped toward him. He thought for a moment that something was wrong with his eyes, for it seemed to be slowing down, but as he caught the scared expressions of death eaters near him, he realized it wasn't just him. The curse was losing speed by the second. As it neared his chest Harry looked down at the green light, willing it not to hit him.
And it stopped.
The large ball of green light hovered in front of Harry, hissing and popping like a fire. He stared at it, a stunned expression on his face, his mind having trouble believing what his eyes were seeing. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his face as the realization of what was happening sunk in. He had somehow stopped the curse from hitting him. How this was possible he didn't know, but he knew it was he who had done it as whatever energy he had called upon was now slowly fading.
The curse lurched forward half a foot and Harry inhaled sharply, stepping back to avoid contact with it. His face was stretched in a painful grimace as he tried to keep his concentration. Focusing all of his strength into not allowing the deadly light any nearer, he knew it would be impossible to stay this way for much longer.
Harry almost lost control completely and began to hyperventilate as blinding pain shot suddenly through his scar. Gritting his teeth, breathing too quickly, he dared to tear his gaze away from the curse to find Voldemort standing less than two feet from him, glaring at him in silent, deadly fury.
Hatred filled Harry such as he had never felt before. He wanted to destroy Voldemort. End his life as he had done to so many others. Harry was going to kill him, for everything he'd done to cause misery and sorrow, and for all that would surely be coming if he were allowed to live.
Summoning all that remained of his strength and energy, Harry focused everything into the curse, willing it to move, to strike Voldemort down, to end this horrible nightmare. He stopped breathing altogether, straining to do this one last thing, but the green light wouldn't budge. Instead it seemed to grow brighter, while at the same time, becoming smaller, collapsing in on itself. For a split-second Harry could see the green light reflected in Voldemort's nightmarish red eyes, when suddenly, it died. It burst into nothing, disintegrating in front of them, glints of green and silver fizzling out of existence.
Harry felt his energy draining away; his legs were shaking from exhaustion and he was gasping for air. The throbbing in his scar increased intensely and he could no longer remain standing. Unable to stop from crying out, he slumped to the floor in agony, every muscle in his body screaming in pain.
Voldemort looked down upon him with pitiless eyes.
"That girl," he began, his voice thick with disgust, "was not the defender."
The room was utterly silent except for Harry's heavy breathing.
"Lucius, Gridman," Voldemort nearly spat, turning to the two death eaters, his eyes flashing dangerously. They jumped to attention as he said their names, fearing for their lives. "Bring him downstairs and give him the serum. Saaneeraa must be brought here now, the defender must be found and I grow tired of waiting."
"Yes my lord," both men replied in hushed voices. They crossed the room immediately to where Harry sat, only just beginning to breathe normally. Taking him by the arms, they dragged him to his feet. He didn't fight as they pulled him towards the door, having no strength left to even try. He felt a lump rise in his throat as his eyes fell again on Cho's lifeless form, and held his breath until it passed. If nothing else, he would never let Voldemort see him cry.
They passed through the door and he paid little attention to anything around him as they descended several flights of stairs. Coming at last to the bottom, he looked around and saw what could only have been described as a dungeon. There were four cells, all dank and dark. Empty except for a rickety wooden bed attached to the wall and a pail. Moving to the nearest cell, Lucius reached forward with his wand, touching it to the fourth bar from the left. The bars seemed to become hazy, shifting in and out of sight, and they flung Harry through them with such force he slammed into the wall opposite them, before hitting the floor with a dull thud.
He lay there, trying to force himself to move, trying to do anything at all, but unable. Watching helplessly as Lucius reached his hand into his robes, pulling out a small vile of pink colored liquid. Together the two men entered the cell, kneeling down on either side of Harry. Gridman grasped a handful of his hair, and when Harry weakly reached up to try and stop him, the death eater took hold of his wrists as well. Lucius put a hand around his jaw, wrenching Harry's mouth open and forcing the serum down his throat, closing his mouth was a harsh snap. He kept his hand there for a moment more, ensuring it was all swallowed, smirking at Harry's feeble attempts to free himself from their grasp, before easing his grip and dropping his arm. Harry began to cough violently as the two men stood. He was again gasping for air, his throat burning in pain.
The two men left the cell area and Lucius used his wand as he had before to solidify the bars once more. Glaring disgustedly at Harry, they turned and headed for the stairs, leaving him gasping and twitching.
Harry lay against the wall, his insides burning in agony. Clutching his stomach, he tried to keep as still as possible, wondering what the serum they'd given him was for. He knew it couldn't be Veritaserum, as it had a color to it and Veritaserum was completely transparent.
He remembered back to Halloween, when Percy had tried to make him drink a potion, but Neville has smashed it. It had been the same color as what he'd just been given. That had to be what it was, only he never found out what exactly it did.
Moving slowly, he slipped a hand into his pocket, searching for his watch, and remembering once again that he didn't have it on him.
"Dammit," he muttered, thumping his head against the wall behind him. When he'd been getting ready to help Hagrid the previous morning he had decided to leave it in his trunk. He hadn't wanted to take the chance of it falling out of one of the tattered pockets on Dudley's old pants, and being lost in Hagrid's garden.
Everyone would know he was missing soon enough. His bed was empty, his wand was on the floor in the dorm and if he was here long enough for someone to try and use the watch to find him, well they'd end up in his trunk.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and shakily. He tried to shift his position, to make himself even slightly more comfortable, but his stomach flipped slowly, telling him to stop. He didn't want to think about what the serum was doing to him, and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for his stomach to settle.
As the feeling finally passed, he opened his eyes and took a good look around for the first time. He saw immediately, just how slim his chances of escaping the prison he'd been left in were. There were no windows to try to climb through and no locks to pick. Unless he could somehow get hold of a wand, he was stuck in this room until someone came to let him out.
Images of Cho began to creep into his mind, causing his eyes to well up, grief threatening to consume him. But he blinked away the tears, furiously. If he let himself fall apart here, it would make him far more vulnerable. He was going to escape, and when he was strong enough, he was going to hunt Voldemort down.and kill him.
Looking around again, determined, he pushed himself into more of an upright position. Taking a deep breath, still feeling the uneasiness inside, he slid his back slowly up against the wall, forcing himself to stand. The sickness rose in his throat almost immediately, causing him double over as he wretched, but he was able to hold it in. Swallowing painfully, his glasses slipping down his nose from the sticky sweat on his face, he once again forced himself to stand.
With shaky legs, Harry cautiously took a step forward, one hand against the wall to keep him steady. Taking another step, and another, he had to release his grip. Moving slowly, he steadily made his way across to the bars. The room was too hot to breathe and he wanted to just give in, to collapse where he stood, but refused. He would not allow them to find him in a heap; he would face them on his feet.
As he reached the bars, he grasped them with slippery hands, greedily gulping in air as some of his tension was relieved. He rested his head against the bars, which were cool against his skin. There had to be a way through, and he was going to search until he found it.
Glancing towards the bar Lucius had tapped to open the cell, he made his way towards it, reaching hand over hand, until he was directly in front of it. He put out his hand, sliding it along the bar carefully. He knew there would probably never be any way to get through it without a wand, but he had to be sure. He stopped moving his hand as it touched the spot he had seen Lucius hit earlier, when suddenly he heard a noise outside his cell.
Looking up anxiously, he saw the door to the room swinging open very slowly, as if someone were trying to attract as little attention as possible.
"Who's there?" Harry asked weakly, his own voice surprising him. The door was open, but no one had entered the room. Moving the same speed as before, the door began to swing the opposite direction, swinging until it clicked softly shut. Harry listened, trying to push away the fear in the pit of his stomach, as he heard someone moving towards his cell.
"Harry!" he heard a familiar voice whisper. "Are you alright?"
Harry's jaw dropped as he recognized Neville's voice. He watched in disbelief as the other boy appeared before him quickly, flinging Harry's invisibility cloak off of him.
"Neville?" he managed to whisper in shock.
"Yes, it's me," Neville replied quickly, rushing on before Harry could say anything else. "I'm glad I found you in time, we need to get you out of here, right now."
Harry stared at Neville in disbelief, not sure if he should be relieved or worried.
"How did you find me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"Harry we don't have time right now, we have to get."
"Neville!" Harry interrupted, sounding weak but determined. "There's no way I'm going anywhere with you until I'm sure it's really you. Voldemort said Saaneeraa was coming.she can control people.how do I know."
"I swear to you it's really me, Harry," Neville interrupted, looking frantic. His eyes kept straying towards the door, nervously.
"So you just knew I was here?" Harry asked, skeptically. "I don't even know where here is but somehow you." he trailed off, a thought suddenly dawning on him. Trying to keep any anger out of his voice, he met Neville's gaze before continuing.
"Are you the defender?" he asked slowly.
Neville shook his head quickly.
"No I'm not, now we..."
"Don't lie Neville," Harry cut him off crisply, he struggled to keep his voice steady as he went on. "Cho was murdered because Voldemort thought she was the defender."
Neville's jaw dropped in horror and his skin paled noticeably.
"Cho's.dead?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with shock.
Harry nodded miserably, unable to speak, his head sliding up and down the bars he was using for support.
"Harry.I.I'm so."
"Don't say you're sorry," Harry snapped, his voice thick with grief. "Tell me you're not the defender first.that you're not the one who." he trailed off, not wanting to say what he'd been thinking. Whoever the real defender was, Cho had died in their place, and as much as he hated to even think it.it should have been them, whoever they were.
"I'm not the defender," Neville whispered, sadly.
Harry nodded, exhaling a long, shaky breath, which seemed to snap Neville back to attention.
"We have to get you out of here," he said, gazing around wildly, searching for a door or lock. "How did they even put you in there?" he asked, seeing no way to release his trapped friend.
"Malfoy pressed his wand to this bar," Harry answered, tapping on the bar he was holding with his fingers. Neville stepped directly in front of it, examining it closely.
"He just touched it? Anywhere in particular?" Neville asked, still searching.
"Right around this area," Harry replied, sliding his hand to the spot he thought was correct. It was getting harder to breathe again, and he desperately wanted to sit down, relieve the tension in his muscles, but now was not the time for that.
Watching carefully as Neville held his wand out to the bar in front of him, he waited, hoping it would work. The wand connected to the thick piece of metal, but nothing happened. He slid it up slightly, brought it down again, tried moving it to either side, but still no result. Bringing the wand to a stop back where he'd started, Neville glanced up at Harry.
"He didn't do anything else? Say something maybe? Or move it in a specific." he stopped abruptly as the bars suddenly flickered. Catching his balance quickly, he lunged forward to help Harry, who had been using the bars for support, and couldn't stand on his own.
"Are you alright?" Neville asked, breathlessly once he had an arm securely under Harry's and around his back. Harry barely nodded, choking down another wave of nausea that had threatened to push through. He swallowed hard and blinked several times, trying to clear his blurry vision.
"C'mon," Neville said, directing Harry towards the invisibility cloak he'd left in a heap on the floor. "We have to get back upstairs before someone realizes you're gone."
"Why upstairs?" Harry asked, puzzled, as Neville bent to pick up the cloak. Taking hold of it with one hand, he flung it over their heads, closing it around them.
"It's the only way back to Hogwart's," Neville replied in a hushed voice. "Now we can't talk from here on out, so please let's just get back first before you ask anything more."
Harry still felt uneasy, but nodded. He didn't want to be around when Voldemort found he was missing, and with Neville's help, began moving forward.
Creeping along as silently as they could while sticking close to one another under the heavy cloak, they moved slowly up the stairs. Harry had to keep stopping, catching his breath, letting wave after wave of dizziness pass. He didn't know if it was the serum causing this or something else, but he prayed it would just end. Neville was careful to make sure they didn't step into anyone's path; they clung to walls and ducked into doorways anytime someone was near enough to possibly come into contact with them.
After what felt like hours, they reached the room Harry recognized as the one he'd first appeared in, which was thankfully empty. He looked immediately to the spot where Cho had been, but her body was gone. Grief and anger threatened to overcome him as he thought of what would be done with her. They'd never give her a proper burial, and would probably dispose of her body in some horrible manner.
"Are you alright?" Neville asked quietly, feeling Harry go tense.
"They took her." he whispered fiercely, shaking with exhaustion and fury. He swallowed hard, forcing his eyes from the last spot Cho had ever stood, and turned back to Neville.
"We need to get out of here," he said desperately. He couldn't bear to be there any longer.
"We are," Neville assured him, nodding once. He pulled Harry to the back of the room, and raised his free hand. Just as Neville was about to reach through the cloak, the door in the room swung open with a bang. The two boys inhaled sharply, as they spun to look behind them. Harry's scar seared with pain, his vision blurred sickeningly, and he shut his eyes tightly. Fighting to remain conscious, he swayed on his feet, feeling Neville tighten his grip.
"Where is she?" Voldemort screamed furiously as he stalked into the room, tailed by four death eaters.
"We have contacted her my lord," Lucius spoke quietly. "She is already on her way, there was something she needed to take care of."
"I don't want to hear excuses!" Voldemort snapped, slicing his hand violently through the air. The death eaters hung their heads in fear as he continued in a deadly quiet tone. "This evening has shown me exactly how worthless all of you are. After months of failed attempts, you've managed to bring me the wrong person, and Potter has obviously grown much stronger than I'd anticipated. The serum is our only chance of locating the true defender quickly and if Saaneeraa doesn't arrive soon," he went on, his voice escalating steadily, "Potter won't be the only one in a great deal of pain!"
The dark wizard turned away from his servants, rage emanating from him like heat. He brought his hands up in front of him, tapping his long twisted fingers together with impatience.
Harry and Neville watched, trying desperately to remain motionless, their breathing sounding to them as if it were intensely magnified. It was growing increasingly hot under the cloak; their sweat sticky against their skin, Harry could hear his heart beating in his chest, too fast to count.
Voldemort stepped forward then, moving almost leisurely to the back of the room, closer and closer to where they stood. Harry held his breath, knowing it would do little to help, Voldemort had been able to sense him many times in the past, why should this be any different? He felt the pain increase in his scar and gritted his teeth against it, as the dark lord closed the gap between them, seeming to know exactly where he was going. He stopped, mere inches from where Harry and Neville were hiding, looking directly to the spot they stood, a puzzled expression on his face.
Neither of them dared to move for fear Voldemort would hear them, when he raised his hand ever so slowly, and began to move it towards them, searching.
Feeling trapped and helpless, Harry and Neville watched as Voldemort's hand crept closer. They exchanged a terrified glance, knowing there was nowhere to go from here. Neville would be no match for everyone in the room, and Harry had no way to help even if he hadn't been so weak.
Voldemort reached up, his hand now directly on the side of Harry's face. But instead of stopping, he kept moving past them, brushing softly against the wall. He pressed his bony fingers firmly against the surface, before moving them around, reminding Harry of a crawling spider, feeling for something.
The door burst open loudly, causing everyone, including Voldemort to turn and see what was going on.
"My Lord!" Gridman said anxiously as he stepped confidently into the room. "I've just received an urgent message from Saaneeraa."
"She's still at the school?" Voldemort asked, dangerously. Gridman gulped visibly, nodding.
"Yes my master, she is. The only reason she has yet to leave is because of the commotion over the discovery that Potter is missing."
"Well what does it matter now? She needs to get here before it's too."
"They've already sent someone for him, My Lord," Gridman cut in. "Whoever it is they're already here!"
Voldemort glared angrily at Gridman, as if all of this were his fault. He glanced again at the wall behind him, before turning to address the other death eaters.
"Lucius," he snapped violently, bringing the man to attention. "Have the men split up. Find whomever they've sent, it could be the defender, and bring them to me. Then you will join me in the dungeon where we will keep watch on Potter." His expression grew darker still as he went on, "If he escapes this time, you will all regret it dearly."
"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said very quietly, looking quite afraid, the color draining from his face. He turned to the others, barking out orders of where they were to investigate and who was to go with whom, before exiting the room to relay further orders. The death eaters scurried out hurriedly, anxious to be away from their master in his current state, off to begin their searching.
Harry and Neville stayed where they were, and Harry could feel his knees beginning to buckle. He wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer, no matter how desperately Neville was clinging to him, trying to keep him upright. The strain of trying to control his breathing to stay quiet was agonizing, if the room wasn't empty soon, they were done for.
Voldemort waited until the death eaters had all left, before turning once again to the wall. He brought up his hand, quicker this time, and touched the same spot he had a few moments earlier, looking somewhat irritated. Harry watched with growing anxiety, praying Voldemort would give up whatever it was he was searching for and just leave, when suddenly he dropped his arm to his side.
A perplexed expression on his face, Voldemort took a step back, his eyes fixated on the spot he'd been touching. It was almost as if he were waiting for something to happen, but what it was Harry had no idea. When several minutes had passed and nothing had changed, the dark wizard turned on his heel. He stalked menacingly across the room and in one swift movement he'd flung the door open, passed through, and slammed it behind him, leaving Harry and Neville alone at last.
Sweet relief flooded through Harry, and he let out a shaky breath as he looked to see Neville was feeling exactly what he was.
"That was too close," Neville said, wiping sweat from his eyes. "I thought for sure he would find us."
"Me too," Harry said quietly. "Why didn't he know I was here?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Neville replied. "But I don't think it's a good idea to wait for him to try again. As soon as he sees you're not in that cell." he trailed off, shivering. "Well I don't want to be here."
Harry nodded.
"Neither do I.but.where's the way out you were talking about?" he asked, searching the room and seeing nothing. "How do we get to Hogwart's from here?"
Neville turned them around and touched the spot that Voldemort had been so adamantly searching, moving his hand in a circular motion.
"Like this," he replied, smirking. Harry watched in dull amazement as the wall began to soften, becoming gel-like. It oozed in and out of its own cracks, appearing alive, and Harry threw Neville a nervous glance.
"Now what?" he whispered.
Neville took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. Harry felt the grip around his middle tighten, before Neville stepped forward, pulling them both into the soft wall.
Harry shut his eyes tightly, feeling the cool, sticky substance rub against his skin. Neville seemed to know exactly what to do as Harry felt himself being directed through the mess around them. They moved slowly but steadily for what felt like hours, when at long last, Harry felt cool, refreshing air fill his lungs. He took a deep breath, letting it out shakily, as the two of them stepped away from the wall they'd just come through. Harry looked around, nervously, unsure of exactly where they were. It was too dark to see their surroundings, when suddenly, he heard a new voice, one he recognized immediately.
"Thank goodness you've found him!" Gazten said, breathlessly from very nearby. Harry looked in the direction of her voice and could barely make out her form, standing next to Neville.
"It was very close though," Neville replied quickly. "We almost got caught."
"Well the important thing is you didn't," Gazten said, with obvious relief. "Now let's get out of here, and tell the others you're both back."
Harry listened to the brief discussion with confusion, but didn't protest as Neville began to pull him along again. He was too weak to argue even if he'd wanted to, and just hoped wherever they were going; it would be somewhere he recognized.
Seeing a bright light at the end of what looked to be a tunnel, Harry suddenly realized they were in the blue bottle the creature had forced him into earlier. Neville helped him out, carefully, when they reached the mouth, and Harry couldn't help but stare at the enormous room.
The dizzy sensation he had experienced earlier rose within him once again, as the room began to move. It quickly shrunk back to normal size as the three of them reached their usual heights.
Hearing several voices cry his name in a mixture of worry and relief, Harry looked up to see Sirius' face swim into view.
"Sirius," Harry croaked, his throat very sore. He let go of Neville who hesitantly released the hold on his waist, and began to move forward.
Harry was only able to manage two steps, however, before his knees buckled fully and slammed to the hard wooden floor with a dull crack. Sirius was at his side in an instant, helping him up as he winced in pain.
"Take it easy, I've got you," he whispered to his godson, steering him to a nearby chair. Harry slumped into it gratefully, slouching against the soft cushions. He noticed then, gazing around the room, there were quite a few people there with him. Dumbledore was looking at him, a very grave expression on his face. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were just behind him, seeming both relieved and distraught at the same time. Remus had come up beside Sirius to have a better look at Harry, and Marzia was hovering near the door, keeping watch.
"What happened to him?" Sirius asked apprehensively, turning on Neville with a tense expression. "Why is he so weak?"
"He was like that when I found him," Neville answered quietly, keeping his eyes on the floor.
"I stopped it." Harry spoke up, drawing everyone's rapt attention. He was trying to tell them, unable to get the words out. "The curse.he tried to." A violent coughing fit cut him off abruptly, and Harry doubled over in the chair, his hand covering his mouth, his throat burning in agony. As the fit subsided, his breathing became sharp and irregular. He pulled his shaking hand away from his mouth to see it was spattered in blood, and looked fearfully around the room. What was happening to him?
"Serum." he whispered roughly, turning back to Sirius.
"What?" Gazten asked, sharply, her eyes wide. "They gave you the serum?"
Harry nodded weakly, his eyelids feeling suddenly heavy.
"We have to get it out of him," she said quickly, crossing the room to his chair.
"I think first we should." Sirius began.
"No!" Gazten cut him off abruptly. "There's no time to discuss this Sirius. It has to be now."
"Let's get him downstairs," Dumbledore spoke finally, nodding at Gazten, ignoring Sirius' stunned expression.
Harry had the vague sensation of being lifted into the air, distantly realizing he was being placed on a stretcher. He shut his eyes tightly to block out the moving walls as they passed quickly through the hallways, not really hearing any conversation taking place around them. He could hear Dumbledore and Sirius's voices, and had the impression they were fighting about something, but couldn't make any of it out.
He felt his breathing grow shallower still, as the stretcher moved on steadily. They burst through the doors of the hospital wing and the harshly bright lights penetrated right through to his brain. He let out a small cry, reaching out a hand for anyone, trying to tell them something was wrong, before finally giving in, and letting the darkness take him.
Harry had no idea how much time had passed, but when he finally regained consciousness, his eyes fluttered open slowly. He could tell by the overwhelming medicinal scent in the air that he was still in the hospital wing, but was unable to see clearly and attempted to push himself up.
"Hey there, don't do that kiddo," a friendly voice from next to him spoke.
"Who's there?" Harry asked fearfully, not recognizing who it was, wishing he had his glasses. He could barely make out the shape of a man in the chair beside him.
"It's alright Harry," Dumbledore's voice came through reassuringly from the opposite side of the bed. "Please just try to relax, you've been through a most traumatizing experience today, and you cannot push yourself yet."
Harry looked in the direction the headmaster's voice had come from and nodded.
"Can." he began, hesitantly. "Do you know where my glasses are?"
Dumbledore reached forward and took hold of one of Harry's hands, placing the glasses in them. Harry fumbled with them for a moment, his hands still a bit shaky from what he'd just been through, before bringing them up to his face, and slipping them on.
Blinking a few times as his vision came into focus; he looked over to see who the unknown voice belonged to.
"Hello Harry," the stranger said kindly.
"Hello," Harry replied warily. The man had to be in his late thirties, with light brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be about average height, though it was hard to tell while he was sitting down. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Cole," the man replied gently. "I'm a friend of Allison's."
"Are you from Faerun?" Harry asked. Cole nodded.
"Yes, I'm her uncle, actually."
"Why are you here?" Harry asked almost before the man had stopped speaking.
"Harry," Dumbledore cut in, firmly. "Calm down, please. It would be a very bad idea for you to get yourself worked up right now, especially when there is no reason for it."
Harry looked at the headmaster and nodded. With an almost inaudible sigh, he laid back against the pillows, realizing how much better he felt for the first time.
"What happened to me?" he asked, looking back at Dumbledore. "What was the serum for?"
The headmaster returned Harry's stare evenly, looking quite worn down and tired.
"Everything will be explained to you tonight Harry," he said sincerely, "I promise you that. We are only waiting for the others to return, and then we will begin."
Harry looked down at his hands, feeling a knot of dread building in the pit of his stomach. He kept his head lowered as he asked his next question.
"Do you know about."he stopped momentarily, clearing his throat. "About Cho?"
Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"Mr. Longbottom explained to us what you'd told him. And I'm very sorry to ask this of you, but in a few moments, we will need you to tell us what happened."
Harry swallowed hard, blinking back the tears threatening to spill over. How would he ever manage reliving this horrible night? He didn't even want to think about it.
He began to look around the room, trying to keep his eyes averted from either of the two men, wanting anything to distract him, when he happened to notice another occupied bed in the room. It took just a few seconds for Harry to recognize the sleeping patient and he looked to Dumbledore, confused.
"What happened to Malfoy? Why is he here?"
Dumbledore's eyes strayed in the direction of Draco's bed, before he met Harry's gaze.
"Mr. Malfoy fell ill.just a short while ago."
"He fell ill?" Harry asked. "Then why.not to sound mean.but.why is he in here? I mean I know he should be in the hospital wing but if we're going to talk about."
"I know what you're asking Mr. Potter. Why would we allow Malfoy to possibly overhear what we will be saying?"
Harry nodded, slowly, watching the headmaster carefully.
"I think perhaps we should start," Cole spoke up, looking at Dumbledore, "by telling him this."
"Telling me what?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two men.
Dumbledore sighed, nodding once.
"I'm sure by now Harry, that you've heard about someone called the defender?"
Harry felt anger simmer within him. Whoever it was, Cho had died for him.and when he found out who it was.
"Yes," he said through clenched teeth. "What about him?"
"Well Mr. Potter, isn't it obvious?" Cole asked, almost cheerfully. "Draco Malfoy is the defender."
Harry felt his heart literally skip a beat. He gaped at Cole, wide- eyed and slack-jawed, unable, not wanting, to believe what he'd just heard.
"Malfoy." he began, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Malfoy is the defender? Please.please tell me you're joking," he said, feeling sick all over again.
"Joking?" Cole's smile vanished as he became quite solemn. "About this? Heavens no, my boy.this is a most serious matter!"
Harry raised his hands, massaging his temples and trying not to concentrate on the large, throbbing headache pounding against his skull.
"What exactly is he the defender of?" he asked, not looking up, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Well you, of course," Cole smiled. "You have a defender and a guardian, both born on."
"Cole," Dumbledore spoke abruptly, causing the other man to stop mid- sentence. He looked to the headmaster, inquisitively.
"Harry knows nothing of the defender or the guardian. I think it would be best to explain things a bit more." he paused, searching for a word, "delicately."
Cole seemed to consider this for a moment, before speaking.
"Whatever you think is best, Albus."
"I don't care how you explain it just please someone tell me what's going on!" Harry spoke up, sounding almost desperate.
The three of them looked up suddenly as the door to the room swung open quietly. Gazten, Sirius, Marzia and Remus entered the room, heading immediately for Harry's bed.
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked as he sat beside his godson on the bed, embracing him tightly. His face was drawn in a mixture of stress and concern.
Everything that had happened in the last few hours had been building up steadily within Harry, and he was tempted to let it all go right there. He screwed up his face against the anguish threatening to spill over, and returned his godfather's hug fiercely. He wasn't going to let himself appear any weaker than he already was.
"I've been better," Harry said in a strained voice as the two pulled away from each other. There was no trace of humor whatsoever in his voice as he spoke.
"I'm so sorry," Sirius replied shakily, his own eyes glistening as if he were ready to cry. "That never should have happened to you. I should have been more careful."
Harry looked away, unable to meet his godfather's gaze any longer. He shrugged lightly before whispering, sadly.
"Well at least I'm still alive.though I shouldn't be. Not at all."
He felt his godfather's hands grip his arms, and slowly brought his eyes back up.
"Don't ever say that," Sirius whispered, hoarsely, tears rolling softly down his cheeks. "You are the most important thing in my life," he went on, giving Harry a slight shake to emphasize his words, "and I never want to come this close to losing you again."
Harry felt a rush of happiness for a brief moment, and smiled weakly at his godfather.
"I love you," Sirius continued, looking upon his godson with pride. "No matter what happens please always remember that."
"I know that Sirius," Harry said, his expression a mixture of joy and sorrow. "And I didn't mean.well.I." he trailed off, unable to find the words. Shaking his head and looking down, he let out a shaky sigh.
"Cho is dead," he said, his voice hollow. "I watched her die. She.she looked at me.right before." he broke off, his voice catching in his throat. Seeing it all over again, replaying in his mind. It was just too much.
"Shhh," Sirius whispered, pulling Harry again into a warm, fatherly embrace. Harry welcomed the feeling and laid his head against Sirius' shoulder. He kept his eyes shut wishing for a way out of this, wanting to take back the last few hours and change them. However, he knew that was impossible, and with a heart that felt like led, he pulled away from his godfather.
"I cannot begin to tell you," Dumbledore spoke up gravely from his seat, "how sorry I am for all that's happened. You have been through more pain in your life than anyone deserves, and you have come through it each time admirably. I can only pray that this is the last time we will need to have one of these discussions, though I fear it will not be."
Harry nodded numbly, knowing what was coming next.
"Do we really need him to tell us now?" Sirius whispered, pleadingly. "He shouldn't have to be put through any more."
"No Sirius, it's alright," Harry spoke up quietly, trying to sound strong and feeling anything but. "I'll tell you all what happened," he went on, turning to look pointedly at Dumbledore. "And then you tell me what's really going on."
Harry began by telling about the blue bottle. He explained what he and Ron had done with it after Sirius and Marzia had left on Christmas morning, and therefore why it was such a surprise to see it when he'd woken in the middle of the night. He spoke quickly, with little emotion in his voice, trying, needing, to get everything out. He rushed through the incident with what Voldemort had called a bottle imp, that had come out of the bottle and slit his hand, which he only assumed had been what had caused him to shrink. Continuing on, he told how the bottle imp had forced him into the bottle and made him keep still, holding a knife to his throat, until finally everything around him went black and he was pushed him forward, where he found himself back to normal size, but in a room surrounded by death eaters, and directly in front of Voldemort.
Pausing a moment, looking at Dumbledore as he spoke, he went on to tell about Cho being dragged into the room and Voldemort thinking she was the defender. Harry explained how he tried to convince Voldemort she wasn't, and even tried to tell him about Lunis, but that the dark wizard had merely laughed at him, saying Harry never had Lunis to begin with.
When he reached the part where Cho had been killed, no, murdered, his voice began to hitch. Tears welled up in his eyes and he clamped them shut tightly, trying to choke down the lump in his throat. He was grateful for his godfather's comforting grip on his shoulder, and felt someone else sit on the bed beside him.
"You don't have to explain what you saw happen to Cho, Harry," Remus' voice came to him gently. "Not if you don't want to, no one expects you to relive the pain involved in that memory."
Harry nodded, the knot that had formed in his stomach from thinking about it easing slightly. He opened his eyes, which he knew were red, he could feel the dampness against the skin underneath them, and wiped at it furiously. Sniffling quietly, he cleared his throat and continued with his story.
No one interrupted as he told of what happened when Voldemort's curse didn't hit him, or when he explained how he thought he destroyed it, but it left him feeling exhausted. He spoke quicker as he rushed through being brought downstairs and into a dungeon, where Lucius and Gridman forced him to take the serum, before leaving him there. He finished by telling how Neville suddenly appeared, with his invisibility cloak, and that is where Dumbledore stopped him.
"Thank you Harry," the headmaster spoke calmly. "Neville has already told us the rest."
Harry nodded, somewhat relieved to not have to explain any more, but still heavily confused as to what was really going on. He sat back against the headboard, glancing around the room. Sirius and Remus were looking sadly down at him, Gazten and Cole seemed somber, and Marzia's expression was unreadable. Finally, he turned away from them and looked expectantly at Dumbledore.
"I can only imagine," Dumbledore began, looking seriously at Harry, "the number of questions you have right now. I don't know that I have all the answers, but I may have a great many of them."
Harry didn't reply, just met the headmaster's gaze evenly, waiting.
"I'm going to begin," Dumbledore went on, "with Lunis. Please try to listen to all that I will tell you before asking any questions."
"Okay," Harry said, noncommittally, nodding.
Dumbledore took a deep breath, looking uncharacteristically worn out, before he spoke again.
"I have not been entirely honest with you, Harry. Voldemort was quite correct when he told you he'd taken Lunis from James all those years ago. You were never in possession of it."
"Then how did I.?" Harry began to cut in, trailing off as he saw Dumbledore's strained expression.
"I have my reasons," the headmaster went on, "for not telling you the truth. However, tonight it is time you were told everything."
Looking across the room to where Gazten stood next to Cole, Dumbledore nodded, before turning back to Harry, who was staring back at him in stunned disbelief.
"You are not an average wizard Harry. You were born with powers far greater than most witches or wizards can ever hope to achieve in their lifetime. Your powers exceed both mine and Voldemort's."
"How can that be?" Harry asked, utterly stunned
"You're a Psion Harry," Cole spoke up from his seat.
Harry spun to look at this man he barely knew, very puzzled.
"What?"
"A Psion," Dumbledore repeated. "You have the unique ability to do magic without the use of a wand. Many other magic using creatures can do it, but humans have always required a wand"
"But." Harry stammered. "But how? Were my parents Psions too? What type of magic? I've barely done any magic without a wand and I certainly don't remember how I did it. Can I control it? And what about."
"Harry, hold on," Remus spoke up, cutting him off. "I know this is a lot to handle, but everything will be explained, you just have to be patient while it's told."
"You knew about this?" Harry asked, incredulously, staring from Remus to Sirius and back again.
"We only just found out earlier tonight," Sirius replied, somewhat sheepishly. "Professor Dumbledore explained it to us ahead of time so we would be able to help with your questions, and not be interrupting the explanation with our own."
Harry swallowed hard, his headache pounding harshly, making everything much harder to take.
"What exactly." he began in a quiet tone, " is a Psion?"
"You are a Psion," Cole replied calmly. "I think your question should be, what is psionics. The answer, simply put, is the art of tapping the mind's potential. You have been blessed with an innate ability that enables you to use mental power in order to achieve goals or perform tasks. Your mind, Harry, is an infinite metaphorical plane, on which all things are possible."
"I don't." Harry began, swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. "I think there's been a mistake. I have barely ever been able to make things happen without a wand, how could what your telling me be the truth if."
"You stopped that curse earlier, didn't you?" Cole interrupted. "You told us yourself, it stopped right in front of you and then you destroyed it."
"But it hurt," Harry replied, refusing to believe what he was hearing. "I could barely stand after I'd done it. Is that what's going to happen every time? I'll stick with my wand, thank you very much."
A sly smile crossed Cole's face as he looked at Harry's stubborn expression.
"No, that will not happen every time. We haven't told you everything yet."
"There are probably several reasons that you felt pain and exhaustion once you had used your powers," Dumbledore began speaking again. "You are unaccustomed to controlling them, the curse that you stopped is so powerful it drained much of your energy, and you don't yet have possession of the crystals."
"What crystals?" Harry asked, his head spinning from the overwhelming amount of new knowledge.
"Psicrystals," Cole picked up the explanation, "are what you will use to channel your power, sending it through them. You have fourteen total, which we will explain more about when we have them."
"Why don't we have them?" Harry asked.
"Your parents kept them in a trunk at their house," Dumbledore spoke, "when we cleared out what was left intact after you'd been found and brought to your aunt and uncle, we sent your few possessions to them."
"But.I never saw them.and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.well they're as good as sold if you gave it to them." Harry said, nervously.
"No, they are still there," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "I spoke with your relatives personally on that matter and while I'm sure they never would have shown them to you.there is no chance they disposed of them."
Harry looked uncertainly at the headmaster, but didn't argue, even though he still believed there to be little chance of the Dursley's keeping anything magical in their house.
"So I use the psicrystals to.to what again?" Harry asked.
"To channel your energy," Cole answered. "When we have them here you will see what I mean. You will learn from them, and they will do as you ask."
"Learn from them?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Cole replied. "No one is qualified to instruct a Psion in the ways of psionics, they must learn from another Psion, which at this time there is none, or their psicrystals."
"Wait," Harry said abruptly. "There is none? You mean I'm the only Psion right now? How often are Psions born? Or do you do something else to become one? And when you say I'll learn from the psicrystals.well, how?"
"You are currently the only living Psion," Cole said gently. There is always one in existence at any given time, sometimes there are more, but each time a Psion dies a new one is born." He paused, smirking as he continued, "it is merely coincidence that you were born on such a day."
"Well I surely couldn't have been the only person born that day," Harry said matter-of-factly. "Why did I get this.power?"
"No one knows how the next Psion born is chosen, Harry," Dumbledore spoke. "We only know that you were born as one. Your parents knew it too, and they were prepared to explain to you what you are, just as we are now."
Lily and James first came to me regarding your powers when you were merely two weeks of age," Cole said, "and I gave them the psicrystals, to keep safe, until you were ready."
"But.they came to you?" Harry asked, thinking this man couldn't be more than ten years older than his parents were.
"I don't look old enough, right?" Cole asked, cheerfully. "I'll tell you a secret Mr. Potter. I'm much older than I look.by about five thousand years."
Harry felt his jaw drop as he stared at Cole.
"How.why.er.who are you?" he stammered.
"I'm Allison's uncle, just as I told you, but in actuality I'm more of a distant relative. I have the distinct pleasure of assisting new Psions.such as yourself. I can only die when there are no more Psions in existence."
"Well if one is always born, when the last one dies.then.you can never die, right?" Harry asked.
"In a perfect world, yes," Cole replied. "However, if Voldemort takes your powers, the next Psion cannot be born as such.and I will cease to exist."
A horrified expression crossed Harry's face and Cole went on quickly.
"Don't think about that now. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen.we won't let it."
Harry nodded, feeling very uneasy that another life was resting in his hands, but tried not to show his feelings.
"Now," Cole went on, "we've strayed from the matter at hand. With each Psion born, there are always two more. A guardian, and a defender."
Harry glanced again at Malfoy, who was still sleeping soundly, feeling only numb disbelief.
"Yes, Draco Malfoy really is your defender," Cole said, seeming to read his mind. "And Neville Longbottom is your guardian."
"Why them?" Harry asked, giving Cole a penetrating stare. "Do they both know, have you told them any of this?"
Cole nodded.
"I sent Allison here ahead of myself so she could prepare Neville. We understand he was something of a slow learner when it came to magic, and I needed him to be more prepared for when I arrived. In doing such, however, he had to be told about all of this before you were. As the defender and guardian, they are able to use Faerunian magic easier than normal wizards that try to learn it. But Neville needed time to adjust to his new abilities, as I'm sure will Draco."
"Well, what exactly are their abilities?" Harry asked.
Cole cleared his throat softly, before speaking.
"The guardian and the defender, both born to protect you from harm. To put it simply, they work together to keep you safe. Now as of yet Mr. Malfoy is still quite unaware of his responsibilities, but he will be told when he's feeling better."
Harry looked towards Draco's bed again, suspicion creeping up inside him.
"When exactly did he fall ill?" he asked, turning to face Dumbledore.
"Earlier this evening," the headmaster replied firmly. "Just a short while before Neville brought you back."
"So, about the time I was given the serum?" Harry suggested.
Cole nodded.
"That's exactly when, kiddo. If you're in pain, he's gonna know it. One of his less desirable powers, without a doubt, but very useful in helping you."
"How do you figure?" Harry asked confused. "If both of us are in so much pain that neither of us can."
"You're not seeing the bigger picture," Cole interrupted. "I said the defender and guardian are supposed to work together. Now the defender will feel your pain, and the guardian will find you. That is how they differ. The defender can tell the guardian when you're in trouble and the guardian has the ability to hone in on your exact spot. That is how Neville found you during the incident with Mr. Weasley and his older brother. That is how he found you earlier this evening. Your friends let him use your invisibility cloak, as we had no way for him to know who would be there when he arrived. But other than that, it was all his powers doing the work. As Draco is taught about his own abilities, he will be shown how to control them so he is still able to help defend you in battle."
"I think we're going to have a hard time convincing him," Harry said skeptically. "Believe me Malfoy is going to fight tooth and nail on this one.probably run to his dad on it too."
"Not likely," Cole said with a smirk. "His father is on the side of the wizard that wants him dead. He would have to have no brains at all to figure out what will happen to him if he tells."
Harry met Cole's gaze evenly, before opening his mouth to speak.
"Whether he tells Lucius or not, I still don't believe he's going to go along with this willingly. He hates me, more than anyone else here, and I can't say I feel any better towards him."
"He may hate you," Cole spoke evenly, "but when he is shown his true abilities, he won't be able to go against them. The pain he felt tonight was from lack of knowledge to what was happening to him, but if he fights it after he knows.and doesn't try to help you when you're in trouble.the pain will only increase. It won't be long before he does anything to make it stop.even if that means helping someone he hates."
"If you say so," Harry shrugged, still not believing what Cole was saying. He looked upon Draco's form, remembering back to the beginning of the year. He had helped him with getting a very injured Snape to the hospital wing, and prior to that had almost seemed concerned, when he'd asked Harry how he'd escaped from Voldemort at the end of the previous school year.
"So you have to kill the defender to kill the Psion?" Harry asked through clenched teeth. He was filled with a sudden surge of anger as he spoke. Cho never should have been killed in place of Malfoy.never.
"Yes," Cole replied simply.
"What about the guardian? Do you have to kill them as well?" Harry asked, tightly.
"No, the guardian doesn't hold that particular connection with the Psion."
"Why is it," Harry began, thinking of a new question, "that we are all only experiencing and finding out about these powers now? Why haven't we ever dealt with them before now?"
Taking a shaky breath, he leaned his back up against his trunk, trying to force himself to think. His hand was still bleeding quite badly and his shirttail was now soaked through with blood. He needed to get to Ron's bed, and he needed to do it quick. Whatever had come out of the bottle was still in the room with him, and he had no way to defend himself without his wand.
Looking around tensely, he stepped away from the trunk, only to come face to face with the creature. Harry gasped in horror. It was taller than he was by four feet and consisted of shadow and smoke. It grinned wickedly at him, showing off row upon row of razor sharp teeth. Raising the dagger it had used to slit his hand earlier, it advanced on him. Harry didn't even think, he took a step back out of the creature's reach, before ducking under its arm and starting to run.
It was too fast for him though, just as he made it under the outstretched dagger the creature had turned in its spot, catching the back of his shirt. It yanked him backwards harshly, and Harry could see he was being taken back towards the bottle. The shadowy being let go of Harry's shirt and grasped his arm, making sure he couldn't slip away. They reached the bottle and Harry was flung into the pitch- blackness inside.
He looked around frantically, willing his eyes to adjust, and heard the creature moving behind him. The small light that was coming into the bottle at them winked out of sight as the creature sucked the cork back in on them.
Harry was in complete darkness, and began backing up slowly. He couldn't see to fight the creature and had no idea what it wanted with him. He tried to keep his breathing quiet, though to him it sounded as if it were magnified one hundred times over.
He felt something move behind him and instantly started to spin around when he was grabbed roughly, his arms pinned to his sides by the creature. Knowing it was probably useless, but unable to just sit there, he started to struggle to get away; only to stop however, when the creature raised its dagger, holding it under his head and pushing it into the soft skin of his neck.
Harry didn't breathe. Was the creature going to try to kill him here, where no one would ever find his body? Or did it want something else? Sweat trickled down his face as the minutes ticked by, neither one of them moving. Harry could feel the muscles in his legs cramping from all the exercise he'd put them through the day before, but he didn't dare shift his position.
Suddenly, a light began to surround them, and Harry couldn't see where it could be coming from. He had the brief hope that someone in the room had turned on the light, giving them a possibility of finding them, but that hope faded quickly. The light grew steadily brighter, making it impossible to see. Harry squinted his eyes shut, praying that whatever was happening, it would be over soon.
Another moment passed and Harry could no longer feel the bottle beneath his feet. It was as if they were floating, he could hear wind rushing by his head and his hair was blowing wildly, but all the while, neither he nor the creature moved a muscle. How long they stayed this way, Harry had no idea, but after what felt like ages the imp began to loosen it's grip around him. The dagger was taken away from his neck and Harry let out a sigh of relief, just seconds before he was shoved forward, violently.
The light was gone in that instant and Harry fell hard, wincing as he cracked his knees on the floor. He let out a low moan of pain as he rubbed them gently. Feeling very disoriented and having no idea where he was, he raised his head slowly, but before he was able to get even the slightest glimpse of his surroundings, he scar seared with pain and he shut his eyes tightly as he clutched it. A high, cruel laugh filled the air around him, and he felt his blood run cold.
Forcing himself to do it, he raised his head again, his vision blurring in and out, to see Voldemort standing a few feet away. He was cackling evilly, his glowing red eyes glaring down at Harry with sick glee.
"We've been waiting for you," Voldemort said calmly, still grinning down at Harry.
"How.?" Harry asked, weakly, distantly realizing he was back to his normal size.
Voldemort merely smirked at him, turning his gaze to someone behind Harry. "Pick him up."
Almost immediately, Harry felt himself being pulled roughly to his feet and held there by two death eaters. Looking around the room, he saw it was filled with death eaters; shapeshifters too.
"The boy who lived," Voldemort spat with disgust, hatred burning in his eyes. "Did you like your Christmas present, boy?" he asked, tauntingly. "I assure you there's more to come."
"You sent me the bottle then?" Harry asked, angry with himself for not bringing it to Dumbledore in the first place.
"As much as I'd love to take credit for that, it was one of Saaneeraa's more brilliant ideas."
"Dumbledore knows she's in the school," Harry said, trying to sound threatening. "She'll be found, and when she is."
"Highly unlikely, boy," Voldemort interrupted, stepping closer to Harry, causing his scar to burn with such intensity he wanted to scream. He tried to bring his hands up to it but they were held firmly at his sides, so he clenched his teeth, trying not to think about the pain.
"Bottle imps are quite common in Faerun, you know," Voldemort said, almost casually. "They can be used to kill, or capture. Of course, if you had lived there most of your life you probably would have destroyed the bottle the instant you had seen it. However, you didn't know, and now here you are. A day late, granted, but here just the same. We were a bit worried when you had gotten rid of the bottle by yourself, but luckily it was found, unharmed, and returned to you to carry out its mission."
He paused there, giving Harry another look of hatred.
"It's been more than sixteen years since I tried to kill you, boy. Tonight it will finally happen."
"There's no escape this time, kid," a voice whispered in Harry's ear. He turned to see Gridman standing to his right, smiling like a kid on Christmas morning. "Now we know how to kill you," he continued, almost cheerfully.
"Be quiet!" the death eater on his other side spat. Harry recognized the voice before turning to see. Lucius Malfoy. "You do not speak unless it is requested of you," he said menacingly.
Gridman glared angrily at Lucius, but kept silent, as Voldemort moved closer still, ignoring their little spat.
Harry looked around desperately. The room they were in looked entirely unfamiliar and no one knew where he was. He didn't have his wand, as whatever the imp had done to shrink him obviously didn't affect it. The watch that could lead his friends to him was also back at Hogwart's, as he didn't want to take it with him when they were working in Hagrid's garden. It was lying uselessly in his trunk, at the foot of his empty bed.
Voldemort stepped directly in front of him now and Harry steeled himself for whatever was coming. He expected them to try to curse him, probably even try to kill him, and he knew whatever magic they used, while it would hurt, it wouldn't kill him. Not while he had Lunis.
However, nobody raised their wands, instead, Voldemort turned to look at the death eater nearest the door and nodded. The death eater returned the nod, and left the room. Harry looked after him, confused and uneasy.
After several minutes that felt to Harry like hours, the door to the room swung slowly open. Two death eaters came into the room, dragging someone who was struggling between them.
Harry's jaw dropped in horror and the air in the room suddenly seemed very thin.
"Cho," he said in a shaky voice, watching as his girlfriend was pulled to a stop across the room from him.
"Harry!" she cried when she spotted him, fear evident in her voice. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
Harry just looked at her, feeling helpless.
"Don't hurt her," he said in a low voice, turning to look at Voldemort. "She has nothing to do with this, just let her go."
"She has everything to do with this," Voldemort snapped. "She is the key to getting rid of you."
"What?" Harry asked, deeply confused. "What are you talking about?"
Voldemort looked at him skeptically, sizing him up.
"You mean to tell me you didn't know she's the defender?"
Harry glanced at Cho who looked just as bewildered as he felt.
"I think you're mistaken," Harry said tentatively.
Voldemort's eyes flashed dangerously.
"I most certainly am not mistaken," he spat vehemently. "Why do you think I made sure my servants kept such careful watch over her at the ministry? Since we've known about your defender we suspected her from the first. Every move she made was under surveillance, even her letters were confiscated after she had discarded them."
"But I'm telling you, I don't have a defender," Harry insisted stubbornly, only causing Voldemort to become angrier still.
"I admit you made it hard for us to be certain," he said in an icy voice. "Your broom was cursed, hoping to draw out your defender, but you had given it to that stupid Weasley girl to use. Then just the other night you were cursed with a spell that should have rendered you completely helpless, all of your senses gone. Your defender would have been forced to come out, to help you." he trailed off then, glaring dangerously at Harry. "But it appears, you're learning to use your powers quicker than I'd anticipated. You forced the curse away, which is why we must act now."
"I what?" Harry asked loudly. "I didn't do anything.whoever sent the curse just did it wrong."
"You're a fool if you believe that," Voldemort said, smirking.
Harry narrowed his eyes, glaring up at the twisted man.
"It sounds to me like your attempts to draw anyone out failed.there's no way you can be certain there is a defender.and if there is it isn't Cho."
"You would do well to remember whom you're speaking to boy," Voldemort spun on him, enraged. "I find it very odd that your beloved headmaster never explained this to you, but none of that matters now. I am going to dispose of you and your precious defender, and then your power will be mine."
"No!" Harry couldn't stop himself from yelling. "Just let her go.she doesn't need to be dragged into this, please." he pleaded, now fully struggling against the death eaters gripping his arms.
Voldemort watched Harry with an amused smile, his red eyes glinting maliciously.
"Tell me Harry," he began tauntingly, "what did that muggle loving fool give you as the reason you survived Gridman's attack at the beginning of the school year?"
"Don't," Cho said in a low voice from across the room, tears streaming down her face. "Don't tell him."
Harry hesitated for a moment, uncertain. He knew Voldemort knew about Lunis, but that he didn't know how to kill him. However, if it would save Cho, he'd tell everything he knew.
"He said you wanted control of Lunis," Harry said at last, looking defiantly into Voldemort's eyes. "You want it but you still don't know how to get it."
Voldemort stared at him for a moment, his expression unreadable. The room grew so silent that the only noise was the sound of branches scraping against the side of the house they were in.
"Lunis?" Voldemort asked, his face breaking into a wicked smile. He began to laugh, lightly at first, but growing harder as the seconds passed. "Lunis?" he cried louder this time. "Stupid boy, whatever you've been told it was a lie. I took that pathetic power from your father sixteen years ago, the night I killed him."
Harry couldn't even speak. His head was ready to split from all the conflicting information and he honestly didn't know what to believe.
"Your father and the old fool thought they could beat me with Lunis," Voldemort went on. "But I knew better. My powers were already far beyond that of any other witch or wizard who has lived. I took Lunis from your father, and then I killed him. He stood no chance of defeating me, even if he did know how to use it."
"You're lying," Harry spat, feeling suddenly enraged.
"Am I?" Voldemort asked, cruelly. "It doesn't really matter one way or the other. I know the truth, and what you've been told is far from it."
"Dumbledore wouldn't lie to me, not about this," Harry said fiercely, trying to lunge forward. Gridman and Lucius laughed at his feeble attempts to escape and held him in place.
"Well it appears he has," Voldemort smiled, obviously quite pleased with Harry's confusion. "But I'm through wasting time," he went on, turning serious. "Your power will be mine and I've waited long enough."
Pulling out his wand, Voldemort crossed the room to where Cho was standing. Harry watched helplessly, desperately trying to free himself now.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled as he managed to pull the two death eaters a few feet forward. Tightening their hold on him, Lucius took one hand away from Harry's arm and grabbed a handful of his hair, just as Gridman kicked Harry in the knees from behind. He fell forward again, slamming hard into the floor, as they kept their hold on him.
Cho looked down at him from where she stood, her face had gone white with fear and she was crying hard.
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly at Cho.
"Care to say something, before she dies?" he asked cruelly, smiling at Harry.
"I swear if you do it.I'll kill you," Harry said in a menacing voice.
"Touching," Voldemort said, "wouldn't have been my choice of last words."
"Harry," Cho said softly, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Please.Harry." she cried as her voice broke. Bringing her hands to her face, she wept softly.
"Cho.don't worry." Harry cried, desperately trying to move. "It'll be alright." He wanted so much to go to her.to reassure her of this, but even if he could, his stomach was twisting with fear and doubt. He had no way to get her out of this.they were both in the worst trouble of their lives.
He looked up at Voldemort again to see the glowing red eyes peering back at him. Voldemort turned his face away and looked directly at Cho, who was sobbing into her hands. Smiling once more at Harry's distraught face, obviously savoring this moment, he finally spoke.
"Avada Kedavra."
Harry watched in numb disbelief, seeing everything in slow motion, as the flash of green light left Voldemort's wand and hit Cho with such a force it pushed her backwards. Her arms flung out to the sides and her head whipped back and forth once, as her body fell through the air. She hit the floor with a dull thump, and laid there, dead.
"No!" Harry cried, weakly, trying furiously now to move. He pulled at his arms, needing to free them, needing to get to Cho.
"Release him," Voldemort said with a casual wave of his hand and Harry felt himself being shoved forward. He paid no attention to this, though as he scrambled to his feet and crossed the room to where Cho's lifeless body laid. Her eyes were wide with terror and the tears she had been crying still lay, moist against her skin.
Pain worse than he'd ever felt flooded his being. His knees began to shake and he slumped to the floor. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hurt everyone in the room with him. He wanted to kill Voldemort for what he'd done. But above all of that, he wanted Cho to be alive again.
"Cho." he whispered, feeling as if he would be sick. Ever so gently, he leaned forward and pulled her to him, cradling her in his arms. This couldn't be happening, it had to be a dream. Closing his eyes tightly to cut off the tears threatening to fall, he leaned his head against hers, kissing her gently on her forehead as he rocked her back and forth.
"Don't be sad, Potter," Voldemort said, emotionlessly. "You'll be joining her in a moment."
"Why did you kill her?" Harry asked in a voice shaking with fury.
"The defender had to be killed, in order to get to you," Voldemort said matter-of-factly.
"She wasn't the defender!" Harry screamed, his eyes flashing in hatred. "You killed her for no reason, she's never had anything to do with any of this!"
"Well I wouldn't say no reason," Voldemort said smugly. "I am quite enjoying watching you right now.
Harry balled his hands into fists and clenched his teeth. Lying Cho gently to back down to the floor, he stood up and faced Voldemort.
"You're going to pay for what you did," he said in a voice that exhibited much more confidence then he was feeling. He glared in hatred, when something inside him began to stir.
"Your empty threats mean nothing to me, boy," Voldemort spat. "I told you you'd be joining her and that's exactly what will happen. Enough of these games."
"I'm not playing a game," Harry hissed, taking a step forward. He could almost feel electricity in the air as he did so and even Voldemort let a doubtful expression cross his face. It was gone in an instant however and he quickly raised his wand.
"This is the end for you, Harry Potter," he said clearly.
Harry didn't move, he stood his ground and waited for what was coming.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted, and for the second time that evening a beam of green light shot from the tip of his wand.
Harry watched with interest as the light sped toward him. He thought for a moment that something was wrong with his eyes, for it seemed to be slowing down, but as he caught the scared expressions of death eaters near him, he realized it wasn't just him. The curse was losing speed by the second. As it neared his chest Harry looked down at the green light, willing it not to hit him.
And it stopped.
The large ball of green light hovered in front of Harry, hissing and popping like a fire. He stared at it, a stunned expression on his face, his mind having trouble believing what his eyes were seeing. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his face as the realization of what was happening sunk in. He had somehow stopped the curse from hitting him. How this was possible he didn't know, but he knew it was he who had done it as whatever energy he had called upon was now slowly fading.
The curse lurched forward half a foot and Harry inhaled sharply, stepping back to avoid contact with it. His face was stretched in a painful grimace as he tried to keep his concentration. Focusing all of his strength into not allowing the deadly light any nearer, he knew it would be impossible to stay this way for much longer.
Harry almost lost control completely and began to hyperventilate as blinding pain shot suddenly through his scar. Gritting his teeth, breathing too quickly, he dared to tear his gaze away from the curse to find Voldemort standing less than two feet from him, glaring at him in silent, deadly fury.
Hatred filled Harry such as he had never felt before. He wanted to destroy Voldemort. End his life as he had done to so many others. Harry was going to kill him, for everything he'd done to cause misery and sorrow, and for all that would surely be coming if he were allowed to live.
Summoning all that remained of his strength and energy, Harry focused everything into the curse, willing it to move, to strike Voldemort down, to end this horrible nightmare. He stopped breathing altogether, straining to do this one last thing, but the green light wouldn't budge. Instead it seemed to grow brighter, while at the same time, becoming smaller, collapsing in on itself. For a split-second Harry could see the green light reflected in Voldemort's nightmarish red eyes, when suddenly, it died. It burst into nothing, disintegrating in front of them, glints of green and silver fizzling out of existence.
Harry felt his energy draining away; his legs were shaking from exhaustion and he was gasping for air. The throbbing in his scar increased intensely and he could no longer remain standing. Unable to stop from crying out, he slumped to the floor in agony, every muscle in his body screaming in pain.
Voldemort looked down upon him with pitiless eyes.
"That girl," he began, his voice thick with disgust, "was not the defender."
The room was utterly silent except for Harry's heavy breathing.
"Lucius, Gridman," Voldemort nearly spat, turning to the two death eaters, his eyes flashing dangerously. They jumped to attention as he said their names, fearing for their lives. "Bring him downstairs and give him the serum. Saaneeraa must be brought here now, the defender must be found and I grow tired of waiting."
"Yes my lord," both men replied in hushed voices. They crossed the room immediately to where Harry sat, only just beginning to breathe normally. Taking him by the arms, they dragged him to his feet. He didn't fight as they pulled him towards the door, having no strength left to even try. He felt a lump rise in his throat as his eyes fell again on Cho's lifeless form, and held his breath until it passed. If nothing else, he would never let Voldemort see him cry.
They passed through the door and he paid little attention to anything around him as they descended several flights of stairs. Coming at last to the bottom, he looked around and saw what could only have been described as a dungeon. There were four cells, all dank and dark. Empty except for a rickety wooden bed attached to the wall and a pail. Moving to the nearest cell, Lucius reached forward with his wand, touching it to the fourth bar from the left. The bars seemed to become hazy, shifting in and out of sight, and they flung Harry through them with such force he slammed into the wall opposite them, before hitting the floor with a dull thud.
He lay there, trying to force himself to move, trying to do anything at all, but unable. Watching helplessly as Lucius reached his hand into his robes, pulling out a small vile of pink colored liquid. Together the two men entered the cell, kneeling down on either side of Harry. Gridman grasped a handful of his hair, and when Harry weakly reached up to try and stop him, the death eater took hold of his wrists as well. Lucius put a hand around his jaw, wrenching Harry's mouth open and forcing the serum down his throat, closing his mouth was a harsh snap. He kept his hand there for a moment more, ensuring it was all swallowed, smirking at Harry's feeble attempts to free himself from their grasp, before easing his grip and dropping his arm. Harry began to cough violently as the two men stood. He was again gasping for air, his throat burning in pain.
The two men left the cell area and Lucius used his wand as he had before to solidify the bars once more. Glaring disgustedly at Harry, they turned and headed for the stairs, leaving him gasping and twitching.
Harry lay against the wall, his insides burning in agony. Clutching his stomach, he tried to keep as still as possible, wondering what the serum they'd given him was for. He knew it couldn't be Veritaserum, as it had a color to it and Veritaserum was completely transparent.
He remembered back to Halloween, when Percy had tried to make him drink a potion, but Neville has smashed it. It had been the same color as what he'd just been given. That had to be what it was, only he never found out what exactly it did.
Moving slowly, he slipped a hand into his pocket, searching for his watch, and remembering once again that he didn't have it on him.
"Dammit," he muttered, thumping his head against the wall behind him. When he'd been getting ready to help Hagrid the previous morning he had decided to leave it in his trunk. He hadn't wanted to take the chance of it falling out of one of the tattered pockets on Dudley's old pants, and being lost in Hagrid's garden.
Everyone would know he was missing soon enough. His bed was empty, his wand was on the floor in the dorm and if he was here long enough for someone to try and use the watch to find him, well they'd end up in his trunk.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and shakily. He tried to shift his position, to make himself even slightly more comfortable, but his stomach flipped slowly, telling him to stop. He didn't want to think about what the serum was doing to him, and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for his stomach to settle.
As the feeling finally passed, he opened his eyes and took a good look around for the first time. He saw immediately, just how slim his chances of escaping the prison he'd been left in were. There were no windows to try to climb through and no locks to pick. Unless he could somehow get hold of a wand, he was stuck in this room until someone came to let him out.
Images of Cho began to creep into his mind, causing his eyes to well up, grief threatening to consume him. But he blinked away the tears, furiously. If he let himself fall apart here, it would make him far more vulnerable. He was going to escape, and when he was strong enough, he was going to hunt Voldemort down.and kill him.
Looking around again, determined, he pushed himself into more of an upright position. Taking a deep breath, still feeling the uneasiness inside, he slid his back slowly up against the wall, forcing himself to stand. The sickness rose in his throat almost immediately, causing him double over as he wretched, but he was able to hold it in. Swallowing painfully, his glasses slipping down his nose from the sticky sweat on his face, he once again forced himself to stand.
With shaky legs, Harry cautiously took a step forward, one hand against the wall to keep him steady. Taking another step, and another, he had to release his grip. Moving slowly, he steadily made his way across to the bars. The room was too hot to breathe and he wanted to just give in, to collapse where he stood, but refused. He would not allow them to find him in a heap; he would face them on his feet.
As he reached the bars, he grasped them with slippery hands, greedily gulping in air as some of his tension was relieved. He rested his head against the bars, which were cool against his skin. There had to be a way through, and he was going to search until he found it.
Glancing towards the bar Lucius had tapped to open the cell, he made his way towards it, reaching hand over hand, until he was directly in front of it. He put out his hand, sliding it along the bar carefully. He knew there would probably never be any way to get through it without a wand, but he had to be sure. He stopped moving his hand as it touched the spot he had seen Lucius hit earlier, when suddenly he heard a noise outside his cell.
Looking up anxiously, he saw the door to the room swinging open very slowly, as if someone were trying to attract as little attention as possible.
"Who's there?" Harry asked weakly, his own voice surprising him. The door was open, but no one had entered the room. Moving the same speed as before, the door began to swing the opposite direction, swinging until it clicked softly shut. Harry listened, trying to push away the fear in the pit of his stomach, as he heard someone moving towards his cell.
"Harry!" he heard a familiar voice whisper. "Are you alright?"
Harry's jaw dropped as he recognized Neville's voice. He watched in disbelief as the other boy appeared before him quickly, flinging Harry's invisibility cloak off of him.
"Neville?" he managed to whisper in shock.
"Yes, it's me," Neville replied quickly, rushing on before Harry could say anything else. "I'm glad I found you in time, we need to get you out of here, right now."
Harry stared at Neville in disbelief, not sure if he should be relieved or worried.
"How did you find me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"Harry we don't have time right now, we have to get."
"Neville!" Harry interrupted, sounding weak but determined. "There's no way I'm going anywhere with you until I'm sure it's really you. Voldemort said Saaneeraa was coming.she can control people.how do I know."
"I swear to you it's really me, Harry," Neville interrupted, looking frantic. His eyes kept straying towards the door, nervously.
"So you just knew I was here?" Harry asked, skeptically. "I don't even know where here is but somehow you." he trailed off, a thought suddenly dawning on him. Trying to keep any anger out of his voice, he met Neville's gaze before continuing.
"Are you the defender?" he asked slowly.
Neville shook his head quickly.
"No I'm not, now we..."
"Don't lie Neville," Harry cut him off crisply, he struggled to keep his voice steady as he went on. "Cho was murdered because Voldemort thought she was the defender."
Neville's jaw dropped in horror and his skin paled noticeably.
"Cho's.dead?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with shock.
Harry nodded miserably, unable to speak, his head sliding up and down the bars he was using for support.
"Harry.I.I'm so."
"Don't say you're sorry," Harry snapped, his voice thick with grief. "Tell me you're not the defender first.that you're not the one who." he trailed off, not wanting to say what he'd been thinking. Whoever the real defender was, Cho had died in their place, and as much as he hated to even think it.it should have been them, whoever they were.
"I'm not the defender," Neville whispered, sadly.
Harry nodded, exhaling a long, shaky breath, which seemed to snap Neville back to attention.
"We have to get you out of here," he said, gazing around wildly, searching for a door or lock. "How did they even put you in there?" he asked, seeing no way to release his trapped friend.
"Malfoy pressed his wand to this bar," Harry answered, tapping on the bar he was holding with his fingers. Neville stepped directly in front of it, examining it closely.
"He just touched it? Anywhere in particular?" Neville asked, still searching.
"Right around this area," Harry replied, sliding his hand to the spot he thought was correct. It was getting harder to breathe again, and he desperately wanted to sit down, relieve the tension in his muscles, but now was not the time for that.
Watching carefully as Neville held his wand out to the bar in front of him, he waited, hoping it would work. The wand connected to the thick piece of metal, but nothing happened. He slid it up slightly, brought it down again, tried moving it to either side, but still no result. Bringing the wand to a stop back where he'd started, Neville glanced up at Harry.
"He didn't do anything else? Say something maybe? Or move it in a specific." he stopped abruptly as the bars suddenly flickered. Catching his balance quickly, he lunged forward to help Harry, who had been using the bars for support, and couldn't stand on his own.
"Are you alright?" Neville asked, breathlessly once he had an arm securely under Harry's and around his back. Harry barely nodded, choking down another wave of nausea that had threatened to push through. He swallowed hard and blinked several times, trying to clear his blurry vision.
"C'mon," Neville said, directing Harry towards the invisibility cloak he'd left in a heap on the floor. "We have to get back upstairs before someone realizes you're gone."
"Why upstairs?" Harry asked, puzzled, as Neville bent to pick up the cloak. Taking hold of it with one hand, he flung it over their heads, closing it around them.
"It's the only way back to Hogwart's," Neville replied in a hushed voice. "Now we can't talk from here on out, so please let's just get back first before you ask anything more."
Harry still felt uneasy, but nodded. He didn't want to be around when Voldemort found he was missing, and with Neville's help, began moving forward.
Creeping along as silently as they could while sticking close to one another under the heavy cloak, they moved slowly up the stairs. Harry had to keep stopping, catching his breath, letting wave after wave of dizziness pass. He didn't know if it was the serum causing this or something else, but he prayed it would just end. Neville was careful to make sure they didn't step into anyone's path; they clung to walls and ducked into doorways anytime someone was near enough to possibly come into contact with them.
After what felt like hours, they reached the room Harry recognized as the one he'd first appeared in, which was thankfully empty. He looked immediately to the spot where Cho had been, but her body was gone. Grief and anger threatened to overcome him as he thought of what would be done with her. They'd never give her a proper burial, and would probably dispose of her body in some horrible manner.
"Are you alright?" Neville asked quietly, feeling Harry go tense.
"They took her." he whispered fiercely, shaking with exhaustion and fury. He swallowed hard, forcing his eyes from the last spot Cho had ever stood, and turned back to Neville.
"We need to get out of here," he said desperately. He couldn't bear to be there any longer.
"We are," Neville assured him, nodding once. He pulled Harry to the back of the room, and raised his free hand. Just as Neville was about to reach through the cloak, the door in the room swung open with a bang. The two boys inhaled sharply, as they spun to look behind them. Harry's scar seared with pain, his vision blurred sickeningly, and he shut his eyes tightly. Fighting to remain conscious, he swayed on his feet, feeling Neville tighten his grip.
"Where is she?" Voldemort screamed furiously as he stalked into the room, tailed by four death eaters.
"We have contacted her my lord," Lucius spoke quietly. "She is already on her way, there was something she needed to take care of."
"I don't want to hear excuses!" Voldemort snapped, slicing his hand violently through the air. The death eaters hung their heads in fear as he continued in a deadly quiet tone. "This evening has shown me exactly how worthless all of you are. After months of failed attempts, you've managed to bring me the wrong person, and Potter has obviously grown much stronger than I'd anticipated. The serum is our only chance of locating the true defender quickly and if Saaneeraa doesn't arrive soon," he went on, his voice escalating steadily, "Potter won't be the only one in a great deal of pain!"
The dark wizard turned away from his servants, rage emanating from him like heat. He brought his hands up in front of him, tapping his long twisted fingers together with impatience.
Harry and Neville watched, trying desperately to remain motionless, their breathing sounding to them as if it were intensely magnified. It was growing increasingly hot under the cloak; their sweat sticky against their skin, Harry could hear his heart beating in his chest, too fast to count.
Voldemort stepped forward then, moving almost leisurely to the back of the room, closer and closer to where they stood. Harry held his breath, knowing it would do little to help, Voldemort had been able to sense him many times in the past, why should this be any different? He felt the pain increase in his scar and gritted his teeth against it, as the dark lord closed the gap between them, seeming to know exactly where he was going. He stopped, mere inches from where Harry and Neville were hiding, looking directly to the spot they stood, a puzzled expression on his face.
Neither of them dared to move for fear Voldemort would hear them, when he raised his hand ever so slowly, and began to move it towards them, searching.
Feeling trapped and helpless, Harry and Neville watched as Voldemort's hand crept closer. They exchanged a terrified glance, knowing there was nowhere to go from here. Neville would be no match for everyone in the room, and Harry had no way to help even if he hadn't been so weak.
Voldemort reached up, his hand now directly on the side of Harry's face. But instead of stopping, he kept moving past them, brushing softly against the wall. He pressed his bony fingers firmly against the surface, before moving them around, reminding Harry of a crawling spider, feeling for something.
The door burst open loudly, causing everyone, including Voldemort to turn and see what was going on.
"My Lord!" Gridman said anxiously as he stepped confidently into the room. "I've just received an urgent message from Saaneeraa."
"She's still at the school?" Voldemort asked, dangerously. Gridman gulped visibly, nodding.
"Yes my master, she is. The only reason she has yet to leave is because of the commotion over the discovery that Potter is missing."
"Well what does it matter now? She needs to get here before it's too."
"They've already sent someone for him, My Lord," Gridman cut in. "Whoever it is they're already here!"
Voldemort glared angrily at Gridman, as if all of this were his fault. He glanced again at the wall behind him, before turning to address the other death eaters.
"Lucius," he snapped violently, bringing the man to attention. "Have the men split up. Find whomever they've sent, it could be the defender, and bring them to me. Then you will join me in the dungeon where we will keep watch on Potter." His expression grew darker still as he went on, "If he escapes this time, you will all regret it dearly."
"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said very quietly, looking quite afraid, the color draining from his face. He turned to the others, barking out orders of where they were to investigate and who was to go with whom, before exiting the room to relay further orders. The death eaters scurried out hurriedly, anxious to be away from their master in his current state, off to begin their searching.
Harry and Neville stayed where they were, and Harry could feel his knees beginning to buckle. He wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer, no matter how desperately Neville was clinging to him, trying to keep him upright. The strain of trying to control his breathing to stay quiet was agonizing, if the room wasn't empty soon, they were done for.
Voldemort waited until the death eaters had all left, before turning once again to the wall. He brought up his hand, quicker this time, and touched the same spot he had a few moments earlier, looking somewhat irritated. Harry watched with growing anxiety, praying Voldemort would give up whatever it was he was searching for and just leave, when suddenly he dropped his arm to his side.
A perplexed expression on his face, Voldemort took a step back, his eyes fixated on the spot he'd been touching. It was almost as if he were waiting for something to happen, but what it was Harry had no idea. When several minutes had passed and nothing had changed, the dark wizard turned on his heel. He stalked menacingly across the room and in one swift movement he'd flung the door open, passed through, and slammed it behind him, leaving Harry and Neville alone at last.
Sweet relief flooded through Harry, and he let out a shaky breath as he looked to see Neville was feeling exactly what he was.
"That was too close," Neville said, wiping sweat from his eyes. "I thought for sure he would find us."
"Me too," Harry said quietly. "Why didn't he know I was here?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Neville replied. "But I don't think it's a good idea to wait for him to try again. As soon as he sees you're not in that cell." he trailed off, shivering. "Well I don't want to be here."
Harry nodded.
"Neither do I.but.where's the way out you were talking about?" he asked, searching the room and seeing nothing. "How do we get to Hogwart's from here?"
Neville turned them around and touched the spot that Voldemort had been so adamantly searching, moving his hand in a circular motion.
"Like this," he replied, smirking. Harry watched in dull amazement as the wall began to soften, becoming gel-like. It oozed in and out of its own cracks, appearing alive, and Harry threw Neville a nervous glance.
"Now what?" he whispered.
Neville took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. Harry felt the grip around his middle tighten, before Neville stepped forward, pulling them both into the soft wall.
Harry shut his eyes tightly, feeling the cool, sticky substance rub against his skin. Neville seemed to know exactly what to do as Harry felt himself being directed through the mess around them. They moved slowly but steadily for what felt like hours, when at long last, Harry felt cool, refreshing air fill his lungs. He took a deep breath, letting it out shakily, as the two of them stepped away from the wall they'd just come through. Harry looked around, nervously, unsure of exactly where they were. It was too dark to see their surroundings, when suddenly, he heard a new voice, one he recognized immediately.
"Thank goodness you've found him!" Gazten said, breathlessly from very nearby. Harry looked in the direction of her voice and could barely make out her form, standing next to Neville.
"It was very close though," Neville replied quickly. "We almost got caught."
"Well the important thing is you didn't," Gazten said, with obvious relief. "Now let's get out of here, and tell the others you're both back."
Harry listened to the brief discussion with confusion, but didn't protest as Neville began to pull him along again. He was too weak to argue even if he'd wanted to, and just hoped wherever they were going; it would be somewhere he recognized.
Seeing a bright light at the end of what looked to be a tunnel, Harry suddenly realized they were in the blue bottle the creature had forced him into earlier. Neville helped him out, carefully, when they reached the mouth, and Harry couldn't help but stare at the enormous room.
The dizzy sensation he had experienced earlier rose within him once again, as the room began to move. It quickly shrunk back to normal size as the three of them reached their usual heights.
Hearing several voices cry his name in a mixture of worry and relief, Harry looked up to see Sirius' face swim into view.
"Sirius," Harry croaked, his throat very sore. He let go of Neville who hesitantly released the hold on his waist, and began to move forward.
Harry was only able to manage two steps, however, before his knees buckled fully and slammed to the hard wooden floor with a dull crack. Sirius was at his side in an instant, helping him up as he winced in pain.
"Take it easy, I've got you," he whispered to his godson, steering him to a nearby chair. Harry slumped into it gratefully, slouching against the soft cushions. He noticed then, gazing around the room, there were quite a few people there with him. Dumbledore was looking at him, a very grave expression on his face. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were just behind him, seeming both relieved and distraught at the same time. Remus had come up beside Sirius to have a better look at Harry, and Marzia was hovering near the door, keeping watch.
"What happened to him?" Sirius asked apprehensively, turning on Neville with a tense expression. "Why is he so weak?"
"He was like that when I found him," Neville answered quietly, keeping his eyes on the floor.
"I stopped it." Harry spoke up, drawing everyone's rapt attention. He was trying to tell them, unable to get the words out. "The curse.he tried to." A violent coughing fit cut him off abruptly, and Harry doubled over in the chair, his hand covering his mouth, his throat burning in agony. As the fit subsided, his breathing became sharp and irregular. He pulled his shaking hand away from his mouth to see it was spattered in blood, and looked fearfully around the room. What was happening to him?
"Serum." he whispered roughly, turning back to Sirius.
"What?" Gazten asked, sharply, her eyes wide. "They gave you the serum?"
Harry nodded weakly, his eyelids feeling suddenly heavy.
"We have to get it out of him," she said quickly, crossing the room to his chair.
"I think first we should." Sirius began.
"No!" Gazten cut him off abruptly. "There's no time to discuss this Sirius. It has to be now."
"Let's get him downstairs," Dumbledore spoke finally, nodding at Gazten, ignoring Sirius' stunned expression.
Harry had the vague sensation of being lifted into the air, distantly realizing he was being placed on a stretcher. He shut his eyes tightly to block out the moving walls as they passed quickly through the hallways, not really hearing any conversation taking place around them. He could hear Dumbledore and Sirius's voices, and had the impression they were fighting about something, but couldn't make any of it out.
He felt his breathing grow shallower still, as the stretcher moved on steadily. They burst through the doors of the hospital wing and the harshly bright lights penetrated right through to his brain. He let out a small cry, reaching out a hand for anyone, trying to tell them something was wrong, before finally giving in, and letting the darkness take him.
Harry had no idea how much time had passed, but when he finally regained consciousness, his eyes fluttered open slowly. He could tell by the overwhelming medicinal scent in the air that he was still in the hospital wing, but was unable to see clearly and attempted to push himself up.
"Hey there, don't do that kiddo," a friendly voice from next to him spoke.
"Who's there?" Harry asked fearfully, not recognizing who it was, wishing he had his glasses. He could barely make out the shape of a man in the chair beside him.
"It's alright Harry," Dumbledore's voice came through reassuringly from the opposite side of the bed. "Please just try to relax, you've been through a most traumatizing experience today, and you cannot push yourself yet."
Harry looked in the direction the headmaster's voice had come from and nodded.
"Can." he began, hesitantly. "Do you know where my glasses are?"
Dumbledore reached forward and took hold of one of Harry's hands, placing the glasses in them. Harry fumbled with them for a moment, his hands still a bit shaky from what he'd just been through, before bringing them up to his face, and slipping them on.
Blinking a few times as his vision came into focus; he looked over to see who the unknown voice belonged to.
"Hello Harry," the stranger said kindly.
"Hello," Harry replied warily. The man had to be in his late thirties, with light brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be about average height, though it was hard to tell while he was sitting down. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Cole," the man replied gently. "I'm a friend of Allison's."
"Are you from Faerun?" Harry asked. Cole nodded.
"Yes, I'm her uncle, actually."
"Why are you here?" Harry asked almost before the man had stopped speaking.
"Harry," Dumbledore cut in, firmly. "Calm down, please. It would be a very bad idea for you to get yourself worked up right now, especially when there is no reason for it."
Harry looked at the headmaster and nodded. With an almost inaudible sigh, he laid back against the pillows, realizing how much better he felt for the first time.
"What happened to me?" he asked, looking back at Dumbledore. "What was the serum for?"
The headmaster returned Harry's stare evenly, looking quite worn down and tired.
"Everything will be explained to you tonight Harry," he said sincerely, "I promise you that. We are only waiting for the others to return, and then we will begin."
Harry looked down at his hands, feeling a knot of dread building in the pit of his stomach. He kept his head lowered as he asked his next question.
"Do you know about."he stopped momentarily, clearing his throat. "About Cho?"
Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"Mr. Longbottom explained to us what you'd told him. And I'm very sorry to ask this of you, but in a few moments, we will need you to tell us what happened."
Harry swallowed hard, blinking back the tears threatening to spill over. How would he ever manage reliving this horrible night? He didn't even want to think about it.
He began to look around the room, trying to keep his eyes averted from either of the two men, wanting anything to distract him, when he happened to notice another occupied bed in the room. It took just a few seconds for Harry to recognize the sleeping patient and he looked to Dumbledore, confused.
"What happened to Malfoy? Why is he here?"
Dumbledore's eyes strayed in the direction of Draco's bed, before he met Harry's gaze.
"Mr. Malfoy fell ill.just a short while ago."
"He fell ill?" Harry asked. "Then why.not to sound mean.but.why is he in here? I mean I know he should be in the hospital wing but if we're going to talk about."
"I know what you're asking Mr. Potter. Why would we allow Malfoy to possibly overhear what we will be saying?"
Harry nodded, slowly, watching the headmaster carefully.
"I think perhaps we should start," Cole spoke up, looking at Dumbledore, "by telling him this."
"Telling me what?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two men.
Dumbledore sighed, nodding once.
"I'm sure by now Harry, that you've heard about someone called the defender?"
Harry felt anger simmer within him. Whoever it was, Cho had died for him.and when he found out who it was.
"Yes," he said through clenched teeth. "What about him?"
"Well Mr. Potter, isn't it obvious?" Cole asked, almost cheerfully. "Draco Malfoy is the defender."
Harry felt his heart literally skip a beat. He gaped at Cole, wide- eyed and slack-jawed, unable, not wanting, to believe what he'd just heard.
"Malfoy." he began, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Malfoy is the defender? Please.please tell me you're joking," he said, feeling sick all over again.
"Joking?" Cole's smile vanished as he became quite solemn. "About this? Heavens no, my boy.this is a most serious matter!"
Harry raised his hands, massaging his temples and trying not to concentrate on the large, throbbing headache pounding against his skull.
"What exactly is he the defender of?" he asked, not looking up, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Well you, of course," Cole smiled. "You have a defender and a guardian, both born on."
"Cole," Dumbledore spoke abruptly, causing the other man to stop mid- sentence. He looked to the headmaster, inquisitively.
"Harry knows nothing of the defender or the guardian. I think it would be best to explain things a bit more." he paused, searching for a word, "delicately."
Cole seemed to consider this for a moment, before speaking.
"Whatever you think is best, Albus."
"I don't care how you explain it just please someone tell me what's going on!" Harry spoke up, sounding almost desperate.
The three of them looked up suddenly as the door to the room swung open quietly. Gazten, Sirius, Marzia and Remus entered the room, heading immediately for Harry's bed.
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked as he sat beside his godson on the bed, embracing him tightly. His face was drawn in a mixture of stress and concern.
Everything that had happened in the last few hours had been building up steadily within Harry, and he was tempted to let it all go right there. He screwed up his face against the anguish threatening to spill over, and returned his godfather's hug fiercely. He wasn't going to let himself appear any weaker than he already was.
"I've been better," Harry said in a strained voice as the two pulled away from each other. There was no trace of humor whatsoever in his voice as he spoke.
"I'm so sorry," Sirius replied shakily, his own eyes glistening as if he were ready to cry. "That never should have happened to you. I should have been more careful."
Harry looked away, unable to meet his godfather's gaze any longer. He shrugged lightly before whispering, sadly.
"Well at least I'm still alive.though I shouldn't be. Not at all."
He felt his godfather's hands grip his arms, and slowly brought his eyes back up.
"Don't ever say that," Sirius whispered, hoarsely, tears rolling softly down his cheeks. "You are the most important thing in my life," he went on, giving Harry a slight shake to emphasize his words, "and I never want to come this close to losing you again."
Harry felt a rush of happiness for a brief moment, and smiled weakly at his godfather.
"I love you," Sirius continued, looking upon his godson with pride. "No matter what happens please always remember that."
"I know that Sirius," Harry said, his expression a mixture of joy and sorrow. "And I didn't mean.well.I." he trailed off, unable to find the words. Shaking his head and looking down, he let out a shaky sigh.
"Cho is dead," he said, his voice hollow. "I watched her die. She.she looked at me.right before." he broke off, his voice catching in his throat. Seeing it all over again, replaying in his mind. It was just too much.
"Shhh," Sirius whispered, pulling Harry again into a warm, fatherly embrace. Harry welcomed the feeling and laid his head against Sirius' shoulder. He kept his eyes shut wishing for a way out of this, wanting to take back the last few hours and change them. However, he knew that was impossible, and with a heart that felt like led, he pulled away from his godfather.
"I cannot begin to tell you," Dumbledore spoke up gravely from his seat, "how sorry I am for all that's happened. You have been through more pain in your life than anyone deserves, and you have come through it each time admirably. I can only pray that this is the last time we will need to have one of these discussions, though I fear it will not be."
Harry nodded numbly, knowing what was coming next.
"Do we really need him to tell us now?" Sirius whispered, pleadingly. "He shouldn't have to be put through any more."
"No Sirius, it's alright," Harry spoke up quietly, trying to sound strong and feeling anything but. "I'll tell you all what happened," he went on, turning to look pointedly at Dumbledore. "And then you tell me what's really going on."
Harry began by telling about the blue bottle. He explained what he and Ron had done with it after Sirius and Marzia had left on Christmas morning, and therefore why it was such a surprise to see it when he'd woken in the middle of the night. He spoke quickly, with little emotion in his voice, trying, needing, to get everything out. He rushed through the incident with what Voldemort had called a bottle imp, that had come out of the bottle and slit his hand, which he only assumed had been what had caused him to shrink. Continuing on, he told how the bottle imp had forced him into the bottle and made him keep still, holding a knife to his throat, until finally everything around him went black and he was pushed him forward, where he found himself back to normal size, but in a room surrounded by death eaters, and directly in front of Voldemort.
Pausing a moment, looking at Dumbledore as he spoke, he went on to tell about Cho being dragged into the room and Voldemort thinking she was the defender. Harry explained how he tried to convince Voldemort she wasn't, and even tried to tell him about Lunis, but that the dark wizard had merely laughed at him, saying Harry never had Lunis to begin with.
When he reached the part where Cho had been killed, no, murdered, his voice began to hitch. Tears welled up in his eyes and he clamped them shut tightly, trying to choke down the lump in his throat. He was grateful for his godfather's comforting grip on his shoulder, and felt someone else sit on the bed beside him.
"You don't have to explain what you saw happen to Cho, Harry," Remus' voice came to him gently. "Not if you don't want to, no one expects you to relive the pain involved in that memory."
Harry nodded, the knot that had formed in his stomach from thinking about it easing slightly. He opened his eyes, which he knew were red, he could feel the dampness against the skin underneath them, and wiped at it furiously. Sniffling quietly, he cleared his throat and continued with his story.
No one interrupted as he told of what happened when Voldemort's curse didn't hit him, or when he explained how he thought he destroyed it, but it left him feeling exhausted. He spoke quicker as he rushed through being brought downstairs and into a dungeon, where Lucius and Gridman forced him to take the serum, before leaving him there. He finished by telling how Neville suddenly appeared, with his invisibility cloak, and that is where Dumbledore stopped him.
"Thank you Harry," the headmaster spoke calmly. "Neville has already told us the rest."
Harry nodded, somewhat relieved to not have to explain any more, but still heavily confused as to what was really going on. He sat back against the headboard, glancing around the room. Sirius and Remus were looking sadly down at him, Gazten and Cole seemed somber, and Marzia's expression was unreadable. Finally, he turned away from them and looked expectantly at Dumbledore.
"I can only imagine," Dumbledore began, looking seriously at Harry, "the number of questions you have right now. I don't know that I have all the answers, but I may have a great many of them."
Harry didn't reply, just met the headmaster's gaze evenly, waiting.
"I'm going to begin," Dumbledore went on, "with Lunis. Please try to listen to all that I will tell you before asking any questions."
"Okay," Harry said, noncommittally, nodding.
Dumbledore took a deep breath, looking uncharacteristically worn out, before he spoke again.
"I have not been entirely honest with you, Harry. Voldemort was quite correct when he told you he'd taken Lunis from James all those years ago. You were never in possession of it."
"Then how did I.?" Harry began to cut in, trailing off as he saw Dumbledore's strained expression.
"I have my reasons," the headmaster went on, "for not telling you the truth. However, tonight it is time you were told everything."
Looking across the room to where Gazten stood next to Cole, Dumbledore nodded, before turning back to Harry, who was staring back at him in stunned disbelief.
"You are not an average wizard Harry. You were born with powers far greater than most witches or wizards can ever hope to achieve in their lifetime. Your powers exceed both mine and Voldemort's."
"How can that be?" Harry asked, utterly stunned
"You're a Psion Harry," Cole spoke up from his seat.
Harry spun to look at this man he barely knew, very puzzled.
"What?"
"A Psion," Dumbledore repeated. "You have the unique ability to do magic without the use of a wand. Many other magic using creatures can do it, but humans have always required a wand"
"But." Harry stammered. "But how? Were my parents Psions too? What type of magic? I've barely done any magic without a wand and I certainly don't remember how I did it. Can I control it? And what about."
"Harry, hold on," Remus spoke up, cutting him off. "I know this is a lot to handle, but everything will be explained, you just have to be patient while it's told."
"You knew about this?" Harry asked, incredulously, staring from Remus to Sirius and back again.
"We only just found out earlier tonight," Sirius replied, somewhat sheepishly. "Professor Dumbledore explained it to us ahead of time so we would be able to help with your questions, and not be interrupting the explanation with our own."
Harry swallowed hard, his headache pounding harshly, making everything much harder to take.
"What exactly." he began in a quiet tone, " is a Psion?"
"You are a Psion," Cole replied calmly. "I think your question should be, what is psionics. The answer, simply put, is the art of tapping the mind's potential. You have been blessed with an innate ability that enables you to use mental power in order to achieve goals or perform tasks. Your mind, Harry, is an infinite metaphorical plane, on which all things are possible."
"I don't." Harry began, swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. "I think there's been a mistake. I have barely ever been able to make things happen without a wand, how could what your telling me be the truth if."
"You stopped that curse earlier, didn't you?" Cole interrupted. "You told us yourself, it stopped right in front of you and then you destroyed it."
"But it hurt," Harry replied, refusing to believe what he was hearing. "I could barely stand after I'd done it. Is that what's going to happen every time? I'll stick with my wand, thank you very much."
A sly smile crossed Cole's face as he looked at Harry's stubborn expression.
"No, that will not happen every time. We haven't told you everything yet."
"There are probably several reasons that you felt pain and exhaustion once you had used your powers," Dumbledore began speaking again. "You are unaccustomed to controlling them, the curse that you stopped is so powerful it drained much of your energy, and you don't yet have possession of the crystals."
"What crystals?" Harry asked, his head spinning from the overwhelming amount of new knowledge.
"Psicrystals," Cole picked up the explanation, "are what you will use to channel your power, sending it through them. You have fourteen total, which we will explain more about when we have them."
"Why don't we have them?" Harry asked.
"Your parents kept them in a trunk at their house," Dumbledore spoke, "when we cleared out what was left intact after you'd been found and brought to your aunt and uncle, we sent your few possessions to them."
"But.I never saw them.and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.well they're as good as sold if you gave it to them." Harry said, nervously.
"No, they are still there," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "I spoke with your relatives personally on that matter and while I'm sure they never would have shown them to you.there is no chance they disposed of them."
Harry looked uncertainly at the headmaster, but didn't argue, even though he still believed there to be little chance of the Dursley's keeping anything magical in their house.
"So I use the psicrystals to.to what again?" Harry asked.
"To channel your energy," Cole answered. "When we have them here you will see what I mean. You will learn from them, and they will do as you ask."
"Learn from them?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Cole replied. "No one is qualified to instruct a Psion in the ways of psionics, they must learn from another Psion, which at this time there is none, or their psicrystals."
"Wait," Harry said abruptly. "There is none? You mean I'm the only Psion right now? How often are Psions born? Or do you do something else to become one? And when you say I'll learn from the psicrystals.well, how?"
"You are currently the only living Psion," Cole said gently. There is always one in existence at any given time, sometimes there are more, but each time a Psion dies a new one is born." He paused, smirking as he continued, "it is merely coincidence that you were born on such a day."
"Well I surely couldn't have been the only person born that day," Harry said matter-of-factly. "Why did I get this.power?"
"No one knows how the next Psion born is chosen, Harry," Dumbledore spoke. "We only know that you were born as one. Your parents knew it too, and they were prepared to explain to you what you are, just as we are now."
Lily and James first came to me regarding your powers when you were merely two weeks of age," Cole said, "and I gave them the psicrystals, to keep safe, until you were ready."
"But.they came to you?" Harry asked, thinking this man couldn't be more than ten years older than his parents were.
"I don't look old enough, right?" Cole asked, cheerfully. "I'll tell you a secret Mr. Potter. I'm much older than I look.by about five thousand years."
Harry felt his jaw drop as he stared at Cole.
"How.why.er.who are you?" he stammered.
"I'm Allison's uncle, just as I told you, but in actuality I'm more of a distant relative. I have the distinct pleasure of assisting new Psions.such as yourself. I can only die when there are no more Psions in existence."
"Well if one is always born, when the last one dies.then.you can never die, right?" Harry asked.
"In a perfect world, yes," Cole replied. "However, if Voldemort takes your powers, the next Psion cannot be born as such.and I will cease to exist."
A horrified expression crossed Harry's face and Cole went on quickly.
"Don't think about that now. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen.we won't let it."
Harry nodded, feeling very uneasy that another life was resting in his hands, but tried not to show his feelings.
"Now," Cole went on, "we've strayed from the matter at hand. With each Psion born, there are always two more. A guardian, and a defender."
Harry glanced again at Malfoy, who was still sleeping soundly, feeling only numb disbelief.
"Yes, Draco Malfoy really is your defender," Cole said, seeming to read his mind. "And Neville Longbottom is your guardian."
"Why them?" Harry asked, giving Cole a penetrating stare. "Do they both know, have you told them any of this?"
Cole nodded.
"I sent Allison here ahead of myself so she could prepare Neville. We understand he was something of a slow learner when it came to magic, and I needed him to be more prepared for when I arrived. In doing such, however, he had to be told about all of this before you were. As the defender and guardian, they are able to use Faerunian magic easier than normal wizards that try to learn it. But Neville needed time to adjust to his new abilities, as I'm sure will Draco."
"Well, what exactly are their abilities?" Harry asked.
Cole cleared his throat softly, before speaking.
"The guardian and the defender, both born to protect you from harm. To put it simply, they work together to keep you safe. Now as of yet Mr. Malfoy is still quite unaware of his responsibilities, but he will be told when he's feeling better."
Harry looked towards Draco's bed again, suspicion creeping up inside him.
"When exactly did he fall ill?" he asked, turning to face Dumbledore.
"Earlier this evening," the headmaster replied firmly. "Just a short while before Neville brought you back."
"So, about the time I was given the serum?" Harry suggested.
Cole nodded.
"That's exactly when, kiddo. If you're in pain, he's gonna know it. One of his less desirable powers, without a doubt, but very useful in helping you."
"How do you figure?" Harry asked confused. "If both of us are in so much pain that neither of us can."
"You're not seeing the bigger picture," Cole interrupted. "I said the defender and guardian are supposed to work together. Now the defender will feel your pain, and the guardian will find you. That is how they differ. The defender can tell the guardian when you're in trouble and the guardian has the ability to hone in on your exact spot. That is how Neville found you during the incident with Mr. Weasley and his older brother. That is how he found you earlier this evening. Your friends let him use your invisibility cloak, as we had no way for him to know who would be there when he arrived. But other than that, it was all his powers doing the work. As Draco is taught about his own abilities, he will be shown how to control them so he is still able to help defend you in battle."
"I think we're going to have a hard time convincing him," Harry said skeptically. "Believe me Malfoy is going to fight tooth and nail on this one.probably run to his dad on it too."
"Not likely," Cole said with a smirk. "His father is on the side of the wizard that wants him dead. He would have to have no brains at all to figure out what will happen to him if he tells."
Harry met Cole's gaze evenly, before opening his mouth to speak.
"Whether he tells Lucius or not, I still don't believe he's going to go along with this willingly. He hates me, more than anyone else here, and I can't say I feel any better towards him."
"He may hate you," Cole spoke evenly, "but when he is shown his true abilities, he won't be able to go against them. The pain he felt tonight was from lack of knowledge to what was happening to him, but if he fights it after he knows.and doesn't try to help you when you're in trouble.the pain will only increase. It won't be long before he does anything to make it stop.even if that means helping someone he hates."
"If you say so," Harry shrugged, still not believing what Cole was saying. He looked upon Draco's form, remembering back to the beginning of the year. He had helped him with getting a very injured Snape to the hospital wing, and prior to that had almost seemed concerned, when he'd asked Harry how he'd escaped from Voldemort at the end of the previous school year.
"So you have to kill the defender to kill the Psion?" Harry asked through clenched teeth. He was filled with a sudden surge of anger as he spoke. Cho never should have been killed in place of Malfoy.never.
"Yes," Cole replied simply.
"What about the guardian? Do you have to kill them as well?" Harry asked, tightly.
"No, the guardian doesn't hold that particular connection with the Psion."
"Why is it," Harry began, thinking of a new question, "that we are all only experiencing and finding out about these powers now? Why haven't we ever dealt with them before now?"