AN: See Chapter 1
~"Come in."~
Harry entered excitedly, hearing Fang bark. "OK, Hagrid, I'm dying to know why I'm here."
"Just wait, Harry. I don't want to spoil anything." This was the first time Hagrid was able to keep a secret from Harry. This must be pretty important.
"Wow, this must be special. I think we should protect from unwelcome eyes, don't you?" Said Harry, blocking up a small window at the front of the hut with a small towel and locking the front and side door. Hagrid made an awful tasting tea and some patties that were hard as rocks and hurt your teeth. They ate, (Harry softened his patties with a simple spell, after which he found out it was like a giant oatmeal cookie, raisins and all. Just no sugar) and talked about a few things. As the night grew, they reached into deeper subjects. Harry, having trained himself to see Spirit Bonds, saw thin tendrils of ghostly light interweave between their minds, driven to bond by the expression of those things that lie closest to their hearts to those who they have determined were worthy of them.
Remembering the last conversation they had, Harry asked a question. "Hagrid, what's an acromantula?"
Hagrid looked guilty at this. "In my third year, I found a spider. Raised it since he was a baby. It turned out he wasn't a normal spider. He grew into a real big one, an acromantula. I called it Aragog. Well….one day a kid took notice and Aragog had to leave the school. They called it a monster and I got expelled."
"They expelled you for having a giant spider?"
"No, Harry, there's much more to it than that. Anyway, Dumbledore later made me the Hogwarts Keeper of Keys and Grounds. Pays good and everything. Then, on a trip through the forest, I discovered Aragog had built a little nest deep in the forest. Now the forest is populated in lots of acromantulas." Harry shivered. He loved creatures, but giant spiders didn't bode well with him. Perhaps bonding with them would relieve the discomfort of them? Wanting to explore the forest, Harry asked,
"Hagrid, do you need any help in the forest?"
Hagrid was still for a moment, and then his face drooped a little, as if remembering an unfortunate and terrible truth. "Yes, in fact. Something's been killing off the unicorns. Thought it was your snake. I was flying mad at her for a whole three seconds before I realized that there was no poison in any of the unicorn's systems and no evidence of constriction. Even worse still, there's human bite marks on each of them, as if someone's wandering around the forest drinking their blood to sustain themselves." Hagrid shivered at this, making some of his bland tea spill. Harry shivered as well. Suddenly, something in the kettle over the fire began to rattle around inside. Hagrid smiled wide and said, "It's time!" grabbing a pair of massive oven mitts.
Harry's hands pricked with the feelings of needles as he watched Hagrid pull a rattling egg out of the kettle and put it on the table. "What is it, Hagrid?"
"Just wait." He said, staring at the egg in anticipation and something else he didn't recognize. Similar to love, but different somehow. He figured he'd know soon enough. The egg shivered and cracked, jumping off the table at times. Suddenly, it stopped for a few seconds. Hagrid's brow scrunched together in worry. The worst of thoughts ran through Harry's mind. Was it dead? Harry was on the edge of his seat, nails subconsciously digging into the wood chair he sat on.
Suddenly, the egg exploded and bits of shell flew everywhere. Including, embarrassingly enough, into Harry's open mouth. After spitting the shell out onto the floor, he looked up to see a dragon! There was an actual dragon on Hagrid's table. Harry exclaimed in awe,
"Hagrid! How did you manage to get one?"
"Well, some bloke in a hood showed up at the leaky cauldron the other day asking for me. Said something about a problem he needed to get rid of, but wanted to know I could handle it. When he told me it was a dragon I was excited to get my hands on it, but he was insistent that I tell him specific examples of handling other vicious creatures in the past. Well, I told him. I said, 'After Fluffy, a wee dragon's not gonna do me any harm. It's all about finding a way to calm it.' Well, he seemed very interested in specifics and I was very interested in the egg, so I gave him specifics. Even after that, the bloke didn't want to give it to me, thinking he could raise it on its own with what I told him, but I said, 'Even if you can raise it, where are you gonna get the space for it? You don't come across a forbidden forest on sale very often, now do you?' After that, the man reluctantly gave me the egg and left, grumbling to himself."
Harry sensed a red flag in that explanation, but was too distracted by the dragon to care. Pieces of shell stuck to its scales and Harry gently brushed them off. The dragon tried to bite, but found a minor shield around Harry's skin. Harry was amazed that the dragon was focused solely on Harry, not even acknowledging Hagrid. It just looked at Harry, and Harry looked right back. Suddenly, when Harry went to brush shell fragments off its scales again, instead of biting, it rubbed up against his hand with its head and long neck. At that moment, a very powerful Soul Bond formed between them. Harry saw tendrils of brilliant silver light dance and weave between them the instant it allowed Harry to touch it. No, it was a she. Harry felt its nature. So small and simple, yet already so violent. Almost as soon as their bonds were formed, its mind increased in complexity, Becoming far more human far more quickly than his snake had. He could see its mind forming different sectors for different tasks within seconds. Not only that, but as intelligence increased, violent instincts became less pronounced. Even her movements were affected by this, holding herself more like a complex and proud creature rather than the primal and aggressive one she had been only seconds before.
She finally broke eye contact and looked now to Hagrid, who scratched her little chin and chuckled. "Oh, bless him. He knows his mommy." Harry, out of the blue, felt slightly defensive for a reason he didn't entirely understand. Hagrid spoke again, "Hello, Norbert."
"The dragon's a she, Hagrid." Harry stated, annoyed. Why was he annoyed?
Hagrid looked curious at this, "And how, exactly, do you know the dragon is female?"
"I don't know. I just do." Harry said, looking guilty.
"Harry, did you bond with this dragon?" He asked, now looking even more curious. He knew of Soul Magic from his lessons with Harry.
"Um, I think so. The thing is that I've never seen bond threads as bright as these before. I don't want you to think I'm taking her away from you or anything." He said, part of his mind disagreeing with this statement. Part of him wanted to keep and protect this dragon. Part of him wanted him to raise this dragon as his own. The dragon herself seemed to appreciate the instincts of that side.
Hagrid spoke cautiously, "Well, Harry….if you are bonded to this dragon there is nothing I can do to stop it, and trying to will only hurt you. Why don't you just keep it here and we can raise it together." Harry's other side relaxed a little at this, but his normal side didn't as the implications of a dragon in his life began to reveal itself. He would have to hide her from the ministry, probably from Dumbledore, and definitely from the entire staff and student body. This made his other side anxious. Not only that, but he would have to either cancel his classes or have someone else permanently take over for him. Hermione would be a good replacement. Yes, that's a plan. It would make people curious, but no one would be able to figure it out, what with his ability to perform shadow magic. He would slip right through their nets set out to capture him, if they even had a mind to try. Taking care of the beast would be difficult and would take all of his time, but his instincts told him that it was worth it.
Hagrid sat patiently, allowing Harry to think it through. Harry eventually came out of his thoughts and said, "Should we name her Norberta instead?" Hagrid smiled at this,
"Yes, that name would do. Now, it is late and you need to return to bed. Since tomorrow is a Sunday I expect you to be down here first thing in the morning." He said, smiling. Part of Harry bristled at the command. He dares doubt I'll be there? But Harry realized it was the bond acting up again. It's best not to agitate it, though.
"Of course, Hagrid. Good night." Harry said, stroking Norberta's wing one last time before standing and leaving. After stepping out the door and closing it, Harry sat down and took a deep breath, rubbing his face. He needed to get a handle on these new emotions. Already the other side of him was practically begging him to turn back and sleep inside the cabin. He was already deeply considering it. No, Everyone would notice Harry Potter go missing for a night. If they find him in Hagrid's cabin, they would likely investigate the place for a reason why he stayed there, and would quickly find Norberta. After that thought, the other side of him may have been reluctant to leave, but to stay was to endanger being separated from Norberta, and that wasn't going to stand with either side of him. So, he left.
Attempting to avoid detection, Harry became shadow, floating to Ravenclaw tower. When he got to the window it was closed, so he tried to open it. It slid open quietly, allowing him to slide in undetected, lie on his bed silently, become material again, and almost instantaneously fall asleep.
-oOoOo-
For the next several days, Harry's time was absorbed by his caring for and raising Norberta. His nights were haunted by night terrors that were of Norberta being torn apart by wolves or caught in an acromantula web. Over those several days, he taught no more classes. Instead, he wandered the forest, hunting with Norberta and Thana. They seemed to like each other. Norberta was growing rapidly, and eventually was able to live in the Forbidden Forest alone. Harry's last visit revealed that Norberta had made his house in a cave. In one of his wanderings, he encountered a dying unicorn. After healing it, a strange bond formed between him and the unicorn. Though it was clear, the bonds seemed denser for some reason. He bonded with much of the acromantula hive as well, and they didn't attack him after several of their members began defending him, including the king, Aragog.
The day after Harry bonded with Norbert, Dumbledore delivered a full set of four books to his bed. To understand his predicament, he read a conveniently-named section in book 3 called 'Powerful Soul Bonds, what to expect, and how to deal with them.' This is what Harry had read.
Soul Bonds of a mediocre quality do not need their section of explanation, as they are relatively straightforward. These bonds are that of trusting friends or pets. However, there are a few more powerful bonds that cause many adverse effects, especially to emotion. This section is meant to help the reader identify, understand, and cope with the various effects these bonds may cause one to experience. It is important for the reader to understand that breaking these types of bonds to end these troubling experiences not only wastes a perfectly good spiritual bond, but is also almost always extremely harmful to those involved, so harmful, in fact, we have given it a name: Rejection. Rejection is usually harmful, is always more harmful to the one being rejected, and has the potential to be more harmful than Separation, which is the harmful effects imposed on one side of a bond when the other dies. Because of this, we have not included details in this series on how to carry out Rejection, but have included ways to avoid destabilizing the bond, which would risk a Forced Rejection, which tends to be far more powerful in its effects.
Powerful Spirit Bonds are characterized by a dual mindset. Some have reported themselves arguing with a 'new self' that appeared the moment the bond was formed. This new self has a personality similar to the living thing you have bonded with, and will often argue in favor of the continued existence of the bond, as well as your continued cooperation in the bond's recommended responsibilities. To accept the bond, one must embrace this 'new self.' Do not fight this self's instincts, simply reason with it if its instincts would otherwise cause negative effects. Such bonds are often initiated by those already in intimate relations with each other and the bond will always conform to the existent relationship. These relationships, if in place, are usually strong and intimate, such as a parent and child, or a husband and wife, and are, more often than not, extremely rewarding and lifelong bonds.
Powerful bonds such as these are often formed by accident, can be formed at certain moments or over a period of time, and exponentially strengthen over time spent together. Those who have already bonded have a much greater likelihood to form another bond. Those who are trained in visually identifying Spirit Bonds will notice that while Mediocre Bonds are always clear, more powerful bonds have color, such as silver, pink, gold, or blue. These colors reveal the characteristics, nature, and stability of such a bond, which in turn determine the effects a person experiences during certain times and situations when bonded, including Rejection and Separation. Because of this, we will describe bonds by color, not by relationship, as the color provides a much more accurate method of describing the bond. NOTE: Though Rejection takes effect almost instantly, Separation takes hours, even days to take full effect, building in intensity as the living Bondmate is starved of the spiritual reciprocation of the dead Bondmate. The effects of both Rejection and Separation wear off unless otherwise mentioned. If two bonds conflict, both bonds will become unstable and will eventually collapse if the Rejection of one isn't caused.
Pink: Also known as a 'Romeo and Juliet Bond'.
Typical relationship type before formed (some variation): Young and foolish people attracted to each other Typical relationship type after formed (little variation): Young and foolish lovers Highly unstable bond, Rejection symptoms are relatively soft, featuring mild depression and mood swings. Separation symptoms more severe, featuring acute depression and mild 'bond-break rashes'. Grief tends to exacerbate Separation. Formed between two individuals who feel great lust for each other, most often forms between a male trained in Soul Magic and a female. Causes near-obsession for Bondmate. If allowed to continue to exist, forced Rejection is highly likely (often occurs on first fight after bond forms) and will grow stronger as time passes. Not recommended. Avoid when possible. Cause Rejection when discovered. If ridiculously lucky, bond color may become 'gold.' conflicts with bond colors blue and gold.Blue: Also known as a 'Veela Bond.'
Typical relationship type before formed: Not Significant, but all are relatively same age as veela. Typical relationship type after formed (No Variation): Very close friends or boyfriend and girlfriend. Stability of bond determined by actions of veela's Bondmate. Rejection symptoms are very severe for veela, causing acute depression and severe 'bond-break rashes'. Rejection symptoms for veela progress until suicide or total organ failure occurs. Rejection symptoms for non-veela tend to be weak, featuring only severe 'bond-break rashes.' Separation symptoms are highly severe for both parties, featuring acute depression, violent mood swings, severe 'bond-break rashes', acute anxiety, and loss of hair. Symptoms of Separation progress until suicide or total organ failure occurs. Formed between veela and Bondmate. Bondmates are never same gender. Bondmate chosen by veela through an unknown system, but is identified through a system of sight, smell, and touch. Those who are trained in Spirit Magic or would be helped/believe that they would be helped by such a bond seem to be chosen by veela more frequently than those who do not have those apparent advantages. Causes a compulsion to be completely devoted to Bondmate, usually leading to an exceptionally healthy marriage and lifelong relationship. Also causes physical pain and mental stress if not in close proximity and/or physical contact. Physical pain and mental stress worsens if close proximity and physical contact isn't allowed. Veela known to show insecurities of relationship, oftentimes panicking or 'shutting down' if they fear Rejection could occur. Forced Rejection occurs when the need of close proximity and physical contact is ignored for too long. If veela causes Rejection, veela doesn't experience any symptoms of Rejection and may re-bond with another. If need of close proximity and physical contact is not ignored for a significant amount of time and if veela's bondmate's behavior is favorable for a lifelong relationship, bond color becomes 'gold.' Conflicts with bond colors pink, blue and gold.Gold: Also known as a 'Marriage Bond'
Typical relationship type before formed (little variation): boyfriend and girlfriend Typical relationship type after formed (very little variation): Husband and wife Very stable bond. Rejection theoretically possible, but never recorded. Separation symptoms are relatively soft, featuring minor 'bond-break rashes' and minor anxiety. Grief and depression seems to occur less frequently and tend to be less potent when Separation occurs to gold Bondmates. Formed between two people already living for the satisfaction of each other's personal needs while living in deep and honest affection of each other and only each other. Rarely forms without one being trained in Spirit Magic. If Separation occurs, living member of bond cannot form a Marriage Bond with another, suggesting that the previous bond still exists. Causes complete devotion to Bondmate. When the bond is settling, Bondmates need to be isolated from any and all potential threats, as each becomes extremely protective of one another. Bondmates need to be in close proximity as much as possible when bond is settling. Prolonged spatial division causes physical and mental discomfort. Close proximity and physical contact causes positive physical and emotional responses. Bond could take between a few days to a few months to settle, depending on the magical strength of the Bondmates and the bond itself. The stronger the bond and Bondmates, the less time it takes to settle. If you already have a gold bond, pink and blue bonds are impossible.Silver: Also known as a 'Mother's Love Bond'
Typical relationship type before formed (some variation): Mother and unborn child Typical relationship type after formed (some variation): Mother and child (Activates at birth) Very stable bond. Rejection symptoms are relatively severe for child, featuring acute anxiety, often causing the child to have social anxieties related to rejection and abandonment in future. Rejection symptoms are relatively severe for mother, featuring acute depression and 'bond-break rashes'. Separation symptoms for child are severe, featuring acute anxiety and severe 'bond-break rashes', and child may also form a debilitating fear of anything related to that which killed its mother. Separation symptoms for mother are very severe, featuring extreme hatred and anger toward whatever killed their child, acute depression, acute anxiety, severe 'bond-break rashes', and an inability to sleep without risking living through a night terror of the death of their child. Most commonly formed by a mother giving birth to her child, but can be formed by anyone witnessing any living being coming to the world. Causes minds of the mother and child to be mixed like other bonds, but the child typically gets the better deal in this, as the development of their mind is drastically sped up and mental illnesses are repaired. Otherwise, gives the son a sense of love and trust for the mother, and gives the mother the compulsion to be a good mother. This may include instilling fears in her that may become a reality so that the mother avoids it occurring. This fear is most often introduced in night terrors, after which the mother becomes especially protective of the child. These night terrors become more frequent the more distance there is between mother and child. If distance continues to remain extreme, night terrors stop altogether. When that occurs, neither mother nor child experiences Separation or Rejection if it occurs. This doesn't alleviate the grief one may feel upon hearing of this. Is one of the few bonds that allow a massive distance to spread between the Bondmates without threatening to grow unstable. The effects on the mother for the massive distance that occurs between mother and child is often called 'empty nest syndrome'. If the child comes in close proximity after the end of the empty nest syndrome, the bond comes out of hibernation and renews its previous effects unless bond is broken before they come in close proximity again. If the mother lives long enough and both Bondmates are the same species, this bond can become 'gold.' Also, when the mother feels that the child's life is in danger, the bond stimulates a magical upheaval in the mother. Put simply, harming the child is beyond suicide. Bond can be put into hibernation by choice if both mother and child agree. When the child becomes an adult, and the child isn't the same species as the mother, the bond will become green.Green: also known as the 'Eternal Companion Bond'
Typical relationship type before formed (great variation): Two very close friends Typical relationship type after formed (little variation): Two inseparable companions Nearly unbreakable bond. Forced Rejection impossible. Rejection theoretically possible but never recorded. Separation symptoms are extremely severe, featuring, extreme 'bond break rashes', acute depression, loss of hair, spontaneous bleeding of the nose, mental disconnection from reality, possible loss of several senses, including sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch, loss of various thirsts, such as for food, rest, water, and to relieve oneself. Also has the chance to instantly kill the Bondmate instead. Can only be formed when a bond between two individualsWell, that made things a lot less confusing. He had to protect Norberta. Because of this, he needed to get other people in on it. Dumbledore had to know, and so did Hermione and Neville. So, as soon as he could get Neville and Hermione alone inside of an abandoned classroom, this is what was said.
"Harry, what is it you need us to talk about." Neville asked, impatient to get to transfiguration.
"I have made a powerful Soul Bond with a living thing."
"Congratulations, Harry!" Hermione said, hugging him.
"It's a little more complicated than that." He said, sharing the relevant section of book 3 about silver bonds with them.
"Oh, well….what is this 'living thing' you've bonded to?"
"A dragon." They both had strange expressions on their faces.
Neville asked, "Harry, how did you even get a dragon?"
Harry said, "Before I tell you anything more, you need to promise me you won't tell anyone else."
They both said, "Of course." At the same time.
Harry took a breath, sat on a desk, and then told them how Hagrid came across a dragon's egg. When he got to the stranger, the 'red flag' popped up in his head again. Hermione spoke first.
"Wait, so what you're telling me is that a random and unidentified stranger showed up with a dragon egg, asked about Fluffy in a roundabout way, found out how to get past him, and then just gave up the egg after a simple argument of space?! Harry, that's not-"
"Normal, yeah. Someone's going after the stone again."
"Harry, we have to do something!" Neville said
"Yes, we must. Tonight. As soon as curfew begins. Meet me on the third floor. By the way, do you guys have any idea of what this object we are trying to protect may be?"
"The sorcerer's stone. It can turn any metal to gold and produce the Elixir of Life," said Hermione. "I found it in a book I got from the library for a bit of light reading."
Neville raised his eyebrows, looking at Hermione, "Are you saying that that tome was light?"
Hermione gave a rebuttal, "I didn't read all of it, and I usually just skim the table of content for something interesting and then read what I find. If I had tried to read all of it, I would have found out about the stone after Christmas."
Harry interrupted the tangent, "Ok, so this elixir, what does it do?"
"It makes the drinker immortal." Hermione said.
"So, if Voldemort got his hands on it -"
"We're doomed." Neville finished. There were grim looks all around.
And the late bell sounded, causing them to part ways. They went through their classes, Harry visited Norberta (who was about six feet tall at the shoulder) and told him about the day's events as he frequently did. The realization about the stranger in the leaky cauldron seemed to upset her. She was churning the dirt with her serrated claws and growling at the ground. When Harry told her how he was going to handle the situation, he felt waves of sorrow and worry come off of her,
And, for the first time in all of his experiences with Soul Bonds, he heard a thought come from her.
"Harry." She said. It was filled with sadness and worry unlike anything he had so far felt. The look she gave him was almost human and definitely intelligent, full of tortured feelings. She didn't want him to go. She didn't want him to die.
It was then that the silver bonds between them became far more brilliant than they were before, now generating light. Harry hugged Norberta's giant front leg and cried. She didn't because she couldn't, but Harry felt her shake as she sobbed. Harry's heart ached at seeing Norberta in so much pain, but he couldn't not go to the third floor. It could spell doom for much of the wizarding world as well as the muggle world if Voldemort came back. Norberta understood this, as the bond now had her in his mind all the time, but she didn't want him to go. But he did. He was going to destroy Voldemort once and for all. He was going to avenge his parents. As Harry walked away, Norberta's worry and sorrow increased at the sight of him leaving.
"Harry."
-oOoOo-
Harry, Hermione, and Neville met on the third floor in their shadow forms. Returning to their normal selves, Harry said, "Follow me. I've bonded with the dog; don't flip out when you see him. He won't harm us." and went inside, followed closely by the other two. The sight that Harry saw made his heart drop. Fluffy was fast asleep next to a harp. Neville spoke
"Oh, no."
"Oh, no indeed," said Hermione, rushing over to the trap door under Fluffy's paw, pushing the paw out of the way, opening the trapdoor, and beholding an abyss. Harry felt Norberta's worry increase at seeing this through his mind. Harry and Neville went over to see as well. Harry responded.
"Well, looks like we need to fly down. You guys first. I'll make sure Fluffy, here, doesn't attack you guys." They all went, Neville first, down the trapdoor. Harry sensed himself travel through a magical barrier, and as soon as he got to the other side, he was falling. What he landed on was rather squishy. He though it was just a bunch of cylindrical pads, but then several of them grabbed his legs and arms and chest, immobilizing them. Hermione said,
"Harry, they've got my wand! This is devil's snare! It hates-"
"Sunlight." Harry finished in a whisper. Focusing with all of his might on the bond he shared with Norberta, Harry radiated a burst of pure light with his patronus aura. It was far more powerful than he had expected it to be. The devil's snare shriveled up and died the moment his aura had formed. It still provided protection from falling too hard from above, but it was dead. When Neville and Hermione were released, they just sat there for a second; trying to blink away the Harry-shaped spots in their eyes. Then Neville asked,
"What was that?"
"My patronus aura."
Hermione cut in while standing up and walking towards a convenient hole in the wall, "A patronus isn't that bright, is it? Isn't it just supposed to give off a faint glow?" The rest followed Hermione out.
Harry responded, "Not if the memory and/or feeling is powerful enough."
Neville, not particularly listening, asked, "Do you hear wind?"
Harry said, "No, it's more like a fluttering."
They entered a room that had several hundred birds, no, keys flying around. Harry took one look at the door ahead and knew he needed to get a very specific key from this flock of keys. One key stood out to him. It looked big and old, while all of the others were really thin and sharp-looking. Harry said, "This is just too simple."
Hermione asked, "I know, but what are you going to do about the sharp ones?"
Harry said, "Neville, Hermione, you try to burn the thin keys to my right and left. I'll get the ones to the center. When there are only a few more keys, I'll fly up there and grab the big key." and they did so. When they began burning the keys, they swarmed. The small keys tried to impale them and the big key flew away. That only made it easier to burn the wings off all of the small keys, fly after the big key, and unlock the door. Just as he went to unlock the door, Harry found a broom just floating in the middle of the air. Neville commented,
"How hard do you think it would be to get the big key on that broom with all of those thin keys stabbing you?"
Harry responded, "I'd probably die. It's a good thing we know Unaided Magic." They both agreed. The next room they entered made Harry laugh in an almost maniacal tone. Before him was a giant chess board. Hermione and Neville looked at him nervously. Harry spoke again, "Well, this is a rather pleasant surprise. I love chess!"
Hermione asked, "Why don't we just go through the pieces or blast them apart?"
Harry said, "Forget it, if it was that simple, this chess set wouldn't even be here. No, we need to play to get to the stone. You guy give me tactics support, telling me where I could move. I'll play as the king. That way I'm not risking one of your lives. I am, after all, a reductionist." Hermione shivered at this. Harry walked up to the black king and said, "I'll take over for you." He gave Harry the crown that was on his head. It shrank until it could fit on Harry's head. He put it on and stepped onto the king's spot, which left the chess board and stood by the door they came from. White moved first, putting the pawn in front of their king forward. They attempted a post and pawn rush strategy. It quickly disintegrated as his bishops and knights swiftly eliminated their pawns and his pawns moved forward.
By the time the game reached critical mass, the white team was dying left and right. Harry was actually winning! His queen sighed. She hadn't moved the entire game. For good reason, too. A knight protected by a pawn was constantly in place to put him in check and take out his rook. He couldn't let that happen. His knight just did that, too. Asking the queen, Harry said,
"Would you like to checkmate the king?" It just nodded. "Very well." Harry moved forward a pawn. Check. The enemy queen took his pawn. Harry said to the queen, "Will you do the honors?" The queen jumped to action, or rather slid. Inching forward one block at a time. When it got to the other queen, it picked up its sword and decapitated the other queen. The king, upon the other queen being taken, threw down his crown. Neville and Hermione congratulated Harry. He simply said that this board had a weird pattern, nothing like a level 10 computer. It made too many mistakes. Maybe the style it attempted was too advanced for the witch or wizard who tried to enchant it. Maybe the style only worked towards a certain group of people, like the wizarding world teaches chess differently than the muggle world. Anyway, the next challenge was just a game of 'walk around the smelly, knocked-out troll,' and the one after that was a room with seven vials of different-sized potions all in a line. Next to it was a scroll. As soon as they reached the center of the room, flames on either door shot up out of the ground. Harry picked up the scroll and read it. He read it several times, looking at the different potions. After he made up his mind, he said,
"Hermione, this is a logic puzzle. Can you help?"
"Of course." She said, smiling. Her focus deepened and the only sound was the whisper on her lips and the rasp of her cloak as she pointed at the various potions. Suddenly, she said, "The first is poison" and threw it at the wall, it shattered and turned into harmless vapor. "second is wine, fifth is poison" more throwing and shattering, "Sixth is wine, seventh is a potion that allows you to move backward, forth is a potion that allows you to move forward, third is poison," finally more shattering.
Harry spoke, "That's what I thought. Thank you, Hermione." Grabbing the smallest potion, the only one that would allow him to move forward, he knew that there was only enough for one. Giving Hermione the one that would allow them to move backward, he said, "Go get Dumbledore or McGonagall, whichever you can get to fastest, and tell them that I'm stopping Voldemort's servant from getting the stone. Tell them to come immediately." Hermione hugged him, and then she stopped hugging him, grabbed the potion, and said,
"You know, you're a really great wizard, Harry."
Harry looked to Neville, who had been silent, and saw him nod as he said, "Harry, if you find Voldemort there, make sure he can never come back." Harry simply nodded. Neville's parents had been afflicted by Voldemort as well. They left him alone, drinking the potion before slipping through the flames. Harry did the same through the opposite flames, coming to a large chamber. Inside and in the center of the room was a big mirror. In front of the mirror was Professor Quirrell. This surprised Harry, but he stayed silent, hoping to surprise him. He assumed his shadow form and attempted to wander around the mirror. Suddenly, Quirrell spun around and said, "I know you're there!"
Harry revealed himself, saying, "Yes, and I know you're there. Now we're even." Attempting to cause him to make a mistake. "Why are you here?"
Quirrell laughed a cold laugh, "Isn't it obvious. I want the stone." Looking around to the mirror again. "I see what I desire. I am holding the stone in my hand."
Harry was very interested by this mirror. Judging by the look in Quirrell's reflection, he wanted the stone very very badly. Interesting. Supposing that it was a magical mirror, what would make the most sense to him is that the mirror showed those who looked inside their heart's desire. That could be useful when trying to cast a patronus.
Suddenly, a sharp command came from Quirrell's general area, "Use the boy!" At the exact time that was said, Quirrell spun around to Harry and said,
"Come here, Potter. Now!" Well, Harry, who had already wanted to approach, put a nearly invisible patronus aura around himself (to protect from Quirrell's potential attack) and stepped towards the mirror. When he stood directly in front of it, he did begin to see something. Something that he never expected to see.
"Mom? Dad?" They smiled at him. He didn't feel what he normally called desire. He felt something more. He wasn't in a chamber with Quirrell anymore. He was simply in front of his parents. He felt something akin to the most powerful form of homesickness imaginable, but more. It gripped and twisted his heart in a vice that felt like it would never let go.
He began crying as he sensed himself loosen, as if he had been holding himself together, wearing his anger against Voldemort, his magical abilities, his very identity as a sort of bandage that covered a hole in his heart. And now as he looked at his parents. And as they looked back. He felt that bandage, that mask slip, revealing the brokenness. The shattered, empty heart. The tortured visage. It was then that he knew Voldemort. It was then that he understood him. If Harry was this broken because his parents had died, then how broken was the one who killed them? How would Voldemort react if he looked upon this mirror? Would he feel as Harry felt? Would he cry as Harry cried? Or worse, would he not? Was he so broken that he was incapable of feeling? Has the mask he wore been on for so long in fear of being seen, or rather in fear of seeing, that it was now indistinguishable from his true self? It was when Harry thought this that he stopped being angry. Instead, he only felt the deepest sorrow for him.
Harry quickly refocused on the mirror. He felt the pure joy of seeing his parents again, and didn't realize fast enough that his patronus shield was rapidly increasing in power. Suddenly, a wave of light energy expanded from Harry's patronus aura. The moment it touched Quirrell, he turned to dust. Harry quickly turned around, greeted by a pile of dust where Quirrell once was.
"Whoa." He said. Slowly, dust particles seemed to be swirling into a form. It was ghost-like, humanoid, and yelling distantly. Suddenly, the cloud of dust moved in a ball towards Harry, going through him and exiting the chamber. When Harry was hit, he fell down and knew no more….
-oOoOo-
Harry woke to see Madam Pomfrey standing over him, who said, "Good, you're awake! Your muscles may ache. Try not to move too much before I test your physical state. We don't want you popping a shoulder out of joint if they suffered any damage." He just sat up in bed, letting his eyes adjust. His whole body ached like he had been used as a human punching bag and then ran a marathon. He was also very hungry. Did the patronus aura take up that energy, or was it the Voldemort/dust thing that did it?
He was in the hospital wing. He said, "Madam Pomfrey, can I get out of bed to find some food?" Just before he noticed some on the table next to him. All Madam Pomfrey did was point at the food. When he started his meal, he noticed a cart packed full of sweets. How many people knew about his little adventure on the third floor? He felt Norberta relax in his mind without already knowing that she was tense.
Harry faintly heard an old voice ask Madam Pomfrey for privacy. She left calmly and quietly, shutting the door after her. Then in walked Dumbledore.
"Well, Harry. It seems that, despite your placement in Ravenclaw, you have quite a bit of Gryffindor in you. I am impressed."
"Thank you, sir." Said Harry, wondering what was going to happen.
"Yes, and you can call me Albus if you wanted. Especially since I am currently protecting a particular member of your family who, despite having stormed the castle (as well as being a Norwegian Ridgeback), didn't harm a single person."
It took a few seconds for Harry to realize that he was talking about Norberta. "W-What-"
"Norberta, as I am told is her name, is perfectly safe. She is currently wandering the Forbidden Forest. However, I think that the moment she sensed you passing out she had become incredibly worried and attempted to storm the castle looking for you. She got as far as the first door. Unable to enter, she posted herself at the door, making sure that no one would get through it. I was eventually able to ensure her that I was only trying to help you, but she only allowed me through."
"Dumbledore, what about the stone?"
"The protections put in place were only put there to capture Voldemort's servant. The stone was destroyed the day Snape retrieved it from Gringotts."
Then remembering the mirror, Harry said, "Why did Quirrell disintegrate when I hit him with a patronus?"
"You used a particularly powerful form of light magic, to be sure. However, that would have not been enough to destroy him, only repel him. Another contributing factor to his destruction could have been the extreme form of love that you felt upon looking in the mirror, which, when combined with your patronus aura, allowed you to propel a very powerful form of protection that your mother gave you the day she freely died to save you."
"Wait….forgive me if I sound ridiculous, but did you basically just tell me that love killed Voldemort?"
"Harry, love is a double-edged sword. You may not know it, but it has a very deadly side. The only reason why that side is overlooked is because it only affects those who are truly evil, or those who have committed truly evil acts at exactly the wrong time. I put the mirror in the chamber because I knew two things, it would keep Quirrell there for a very long time, and because, in the off chance you may find out about the whole thing, that you would immediately and accidentally discover a way to destroy your enemy without tainting yourself with the evils of purposefully killing. I also couldn't allow you to fight Quirrell directly, as that could only ever end in your death. Instead, I gave you all of the tools you need to identify and destroy any and all truly evil forces before you at the same time."
Suddenly reminded of something, Harry asked, "Dumbledore, why exactly did you give me to my Aunt and Uncle?"
Dumbledore was slow to respond, "Um….Harry, you must understand that Voldemort was not the only one out to kill you. You were a target to many death eaters that day. We were lucky to get you out of the house alive, let alone unnoticed. The very fact that we got you at all was an extreme accomplishment. In order to keep you alive, I used the protections that your mother gave you that night and expanded them from just Voldemort to include all of his followers as well. Then, I put you with your only surviving family members that were related to you by blood so that the protections would still work. Even now these protections keep you alive. That's not to say that we left you alone, but we couldn't interfere with anything as that very likely would have caused your horrible aunt and uncle to throw you out of their house, thus breaking the protections."
"Why didn't you just put wards around me?"
"Because I already had. The best, in fact. But, your parents died anyway. So, I made it impossible for Voldemort or any of his followers to touch you, so long as you are welcomed, no matter how begrudgingly, into a family of blood's residence and accept their residence as home."
Harry just sat, taking it all in, and then asked the obvious question, "Why are all of these sweets here?"
Dumbledore looked at them and then back at Harry in amusement. "Well, I made it very apparent to everyone involved that your little excursion into the bowels of the third floor be kept in utmost secrecy. So, naturally, the whole school knows." Harry and Dumbledore laughed at this.
"Yes, they do tend to do that." He said, all too aware that secrets in Hogwarts are almost impossible to keep. Dumbledore, noticing an empty package. "Well, it seems like Ronald has taken the liberty of relieving you of a few of your chocolate frogs. Look at this. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I used to like them but I had the misfortune in my childhood to run across a vomit flavored bean once. Perhaps I could try one now?" He said, asking Harry.
"Of course." Harry said, not feeling that he wanted to eat any of them.
"Thank you, Harry." He replied, picking a yellow bean. He smiled and said, "Alas….earwax." He laughed a little at this and Harry joined in. "I'll be seeing you later, Harry, good day to you."
"You, too professor." Harry said, smiling as Dumbledore left. Norberta liked Dumbledore. He made her feel safe. Harry sent a brief thought to her, "I'm glad you approve of him."
Harry, not knowing the amount of growth their bond had done while he was unconscious, was surprised when Norberta thought back, "I am glad that he acts in a way that I approve. Are you OK, Harry?"
"Wait, I thought you could only say my name?"
"Our bond has become much greater of late. Your muscles hurt. You are hungry. You need to eat. You need to move and stretch."
"Madam Pomfrey told me not to move before she checks up on my physical status. I will eat, though." Harry thought back. This seemed to please Norberta, and Harry ate every last crumb on the plate, wanting more. That thing must have taken a lot of energy out of him. Harry was checked by Madam Pomfrey, given more food, stretched and then jogged down to the Forbidden Forest to be with Norberta. Harry quickly found out that the Ministry of Magic had given Norberta a special rating of intelligence: near-human, nullifying her state as an animal to be controlled. Apparently the news of what went on in the castle that day had spread farther than the castle. Now Harry didn't need to hide her from anyone in fear that they would attack her or take her away.
The rest of the year went smoothly. He got high grades in all subjects, impressing many. The only classes he seemed to be weak in were History of Magic and Potions. The bond between Harry and Norberta increased in strength over time, though didn't perform the leaps and bounds it did when Harry explored the third floor. Norberta herself was rapidly increasing in size and needed more and more food. Harry found out that creatures sometimes made spirit bonds too, as Norberta and Thana had a rather solid one when Harry saw them together again. Thana was now big enough to pass as a rather large green anaconda, except for the fact that he had a hood and can inject you with venom. On the last day of school, Harry put the bond between him and Norberta into hibernation, which basically stopped all effects of the bond from taking effect at a distance. Unfortunately this means that they couldn't talk during the summer, though he now didn't have to endure night terrors anymore. When Harry got back all he would have to do is think about the bond and if he were in range he would be able to know where Norberta was and would be able to share information with her mind.
The summer was pretty unique. After Harry got all of his magical stuff to the Longbottom's, Harry went back to the Dursley's, escorted by Snape, who was dressed exactly the same as the last time. Harry got to tell Dudley, in secret, what the school really was, what happened to him there, and why he hid the truth from his Aunt and Uncle. Dudley listened to every detail, hoping to soak it all up. Harry detected a minor bond growing between them the more of himself he revealed, and then noticed a pattern. The bond grew with trust, and trust is a way you can show that you care about someone and consider them trustworthy. In other words, trust is a minor form of love. Funny how love seems to tie into everything that makes him powerful.
Vernon and Petunia still believed the story about the secret school. However, it seemed like they were slightly suspicious of him. However, it could be that they were just falling back into their old routine of 'Treat Harry Like a Freak of Nature'. Harry came back and was almost immediately welcomed with smaller portions at meals and the common insults and attitude. Whatever had gotten into these people? Maybe they just thought that they should stay strict to prevent Harry from 'slacking'. Oh, well.
Well, that was emotional. Tell me if I should change it and how (because I can if I wanted to, and I would want to if your idea was better). If you love it, tell me. If you hate it, tell me. Want me to do something in the future? Then tell me. I am not the only one with their hearts and minds into this story. You can change it, too.