Disclaimer: We all know how these work, I acknowledge that J.K. Rowlings, Warner Bros. and Scholastic own Harry Potter and all other characters and settings from cannon, and I get to write whatever I please and even add in characters of my own as long as I don't get any money. The no money sucks but there you go, at least I don't get lawyers knocking on my door. Addendum: If you recognize a name of a character from elsewhere it isn't mine.
Sirius' Savior
Chapter 40 The Aftermath
Melanie felt herself panic as her grandfather, her temporary employer and her patient all collapsed. Since he was closest she immediately checked Harry. His heartbeat and respiration weren't as steady as she would have liked. She wasn't surprised he was showing signs of shock. What was surprising was that he had come around long enough to participate in the ritual beyond his initial statement.
Winry checked Yiska. She wasn't terribly surprised when her scanning spell revealed magical exhaustion. She was very tired and she wasn't the one throwing power around during the ritual. "Walter how are you?"
"Tired let me take the wards down and I'll get help. How are they?"
"Magical exhaustion I guess. I'm not far from it myself. I have a box of potions under my bed in the tent would you bring them here."
He nodded.
"How is my grandfather?"
"He'll be alright in a few days, his exhaustion is bad, but not so bad as to go into magical shock." Winry rose to check Sirius. "Shit! Walter get those wards down now I need to get those potions for Sirius, he's in magical shock." From where she was five feet away from Harry she cast a scan on him. "Harry is too. Damn it! What was that kid thinking, throwing his limited magic into the ritual."
Melanie spoke. "I imagine he was thinking he wanted to get rid of that thing, and since grandfather and Sirius weren't enough he would add what he could."
"Well it worked, but I hope I never have to be around again when that much magic is being thrown around ever again. There they're down. I'll be back in a flash." Walter said.
Walter ran to the tent found the potion supply Winry kept under her bed and ran back to the Hogan. His actions caught the attention of everyone else so he was soon followed back to the Hogan. Walter took a potion from the box as he set it next to Winry and headed to Yiska, while Winry poured the same potion into Sirius and tossed one to Melanie, "Get that into Harry." At that moment many other people entered the hogan.
"What happened Winry?" Roy Mustang demanded, while Beth moved to Sirius' side.
"Things didn't exactly go smoothly. The spirit fragment was much stronger than we thought and it was most unhappy to be pulled from its host. Yiska spent most of his energy pulling it from Harry. I think maybe instead of exiting Harry's dead body like we expected, it tried to take over. Anyway..."
"Once it was out, it tested the wards we had up." Walter continued, "But I'm good with wards and so is Sirius so they held up. The fragging thing tested the amulets as well. If we hadn't done a through job on them one of us would be possessed right now. Sirius pulled a spell I never have run across to trap it working with the old man. Then he started doing the destruction spell. But it wasn't enough."
Melanie took over the recitation. "My grandfather joined in the destruction spell. Then Harry came around for a minute and joined in as well, then the spirit seemed to dissipate, and they all passed out."
"Winry, Walter you both concur the fragment is destroyed?"
"Yes the aura within the wards changed night to day after they destroyed it." Walter answered.
"What now?" Beth asked.
"We watch them, let them sleep it off." Winry answered.
Four days later Yiska woke up. He expected to feel tainted from participating in the destruction spell, but the evil in the fragment ensured that his conscience and his spirit was clear.. His wife gave him an energizing potion. "The others?" he questioned.
"Mr. Black and his ward still sleep."
"The boy is more than has been seen for in a thousand years."
"You're nattering husband rest." Jenny soothed him. She had been very worried but now she knew he would recover.
It was three more days before Sirius came around. Beth was sitting in a chair in between their beds when she noticed Harry's hair seemed to be a different color. "Winry?"
"What Beth?"
"Is it my imagination or is Harry's hair green?'
"It's green. Apparently Harry's a metamorph, I wonder how much."
"Metamorph?"
"Short for metamorphamagus, genetic talent can be as simple as controlling the length of fingernails or hair to changing gender and size from child to obese adult. We have two in WIS they usually pull the spying type assignments. Best known metamorph in the country is Rose Tyler she's an actress in San Francisco she's also one of the strongest, someone who can change gender and size. Most metamorphs have limits. Barney, one of the ones in WIS, can change size five percent and change his facial features, but can't change his hair or eyes." Before their eyes Harry's hair changed to a red.
"Hmph... Where's the truck that hit me? The driver should be arrested." Sirius grumbled.
"Sirius!" Beth shouted.
"Not so loud. I haven't felt this bad since the day after James's bachelor party and I didn't even get this from a party." He groaned again.
Winry scanned him, then reached for her potions box. "Drink this." She said Handing him a potion. When it was gone she handed him another. "And this."
After finishing the second potion Sirius felt that he might live and his brain started working. "Harry? Did the ritual work? The last thing I remember was... "
"The ritual was a close thing. That fragment was a hell of a lot stronger than any of us realized. If you hadn't helped Yiska trap it it would have tried to possess him. And it took you, Yiska and Harry to destroy it."
"Harry?!?"
"Yep."
"Is he?"
"Exhausted but fine he's starting to do spontaneous magic so he'll probably start waking up soon. If you roll over a little you can see him and your wife."
Sirius rolled towards Beth and smiled at her before looking at Harry. He grinned as he watched Harry's hair change from red to neon yellow. "Guess it's a good thing our first stop is San Francisco."
"You knew Harry was a metamorph?"
"Yeah. He started changing hair and eye color when he was a couple months old, he also could morph his features just a little. He mostly did that and summoning stuff as a baby. It was hysterical what happened one time when he summoned James' wand. Lily was so annoyed. I think I'm going..."
"Back to sleep now." Winry finished for him.
"How much longer will they need to sleep like this?" Beth asked.
"Two more days or so, I expect. Yiska will want to do another cleansing ritual and he says Harry is likely to need a bit of counseling because that fragment was so entrenched. They still have six weeks before Sirius planned the first jump."
"What did Roy say after the debrief and how did Zoe take not being in the loop?"
"Well Roy wasn't especially thrilled that Harry had to jump in as a third on destruction spell, It being his first premeditated magic and all, but I think talking to Yiska has reassured him on that score. As for Zoe well she understands that we didn't realize just how bad things would get. All in all it probably worked out best that Harry was the third. He and Sirius having the most reason for hating the fragment."
"Actually Harry has more reason that Sirius. He remembers the night the horcrux was made and his mum's murder."
"Yeah that would definitely motivate the anger the destruction spell needed. Melanie is amazed at how quickly Harry's burns disappeared."
"Yeah, but his forehead is taking it's sweet time."
"Happens with curse scars. I thought it interesting that Melanie used surgical glue to close it."
"I just hope being rid of fragment will mean that it fades."
"Well even if it doesn't he has a story that goes with it. After all scars are just tattoos with more interesting stories." Winry said wryly.
"I don't quite think Harry sees it that way. He always tries to get his hair to cover it, he seldom succeeds but it doesn't stop him from trying. At least Melanie believes we're past the danger point of complications from stopping his heart. I just wish he'd wake up."
"He was pretty far drained, in my experience wizards tend to hit magical exhaustion when they've expended two thirds of their core it's true of mages down to ordinary witches and wizards. Shock happens when they get down to an eighth or less of their core. They wake back up when they get to a third or more but usually before their at half. His numbers are getting close to Sirius' so he should come around soon."
"I hope so I'm due back in Washington in five more days. My boss isn't real happy years of no vacation and then this year I keep taking it and right and left."
"You still have like what five months worth, after this stretch right."
"Yes, I'm saving it for when the babies come."
"What does Sirius say, for him this pregnancy is going to be the longest ever right. It'll be like a over a year for him."
"Yes, thank god it isn't the other way around."
"You should probably get some rest."
"In a bit."
It was two more days before Harry woke up. What that implied about his core was slightly scary to Winry. Harry's initial numbers had been lower than Sirius'. She hadn't expected anything different a young wizard could more easily deplete their core. His number when he woke up was just short of that of a non depleted sorcerer class wizard and Harry was depleted and he was still just a kid. How powerful would he be as an adult?
From the time Harry woke up there was a constant flow of accidental magic some minor some major. George, Rachel, Sirius, and Yiska all tried to help him get it locked down. Beth and her security team had to leave before that happened. Which left Sirius Yiska and Rachel to work with him on it.
Two weeks later Harry was frustrated. It felt like he had no self control. He tried to do his mediation but it seemed like he had no focus. When he looked in the mirror he never looked the same twice, he had short circuited a radio, and he stayed away from Yiska's trailer after he accidentally blew out one of the windows. He had done that to the rental car too. And yesterday when he sat on a wooden chair to study, it changed from dead wood into a living tree. The adults were consulting on what to do, while Harry attempted to meditate. The only times he felt close to control was during his daily spar with Rachel.
Yiska was trying to come up with convincing arguments to sway Sirius and Rachel to allow him to take Harry into the desert and guide him through a vision quest. He thought that a quest might help Harry regain his center. After listening for several minutes while they argued he finally came up with how to describe what he saw as the problem. "Sirius, Rachel we are all agreed that as he is Harry is or rather has a problem. But we are in a conundrum about how to fix it or what the problem really is. I think I have found a way to describe the problem as I see it. All wizards have a center this center is from where our power flows. It is what connects us to the earth. We as wizards are instinctively aware of our centers we don't need to be shown, the basic exercises that we are taught in our first month of school teaches us the control so that we don't ever lose it as we get older." Yiska waited until he got nods of understanding before continuing. "Harry's core developed to counter the soul fragment becoming like a see saw, his core on one side the fragment on the other." He waited until they nodded again. "What happens on a see saw if one side's weight is suddenly taken away?"
"It loses balance and crashes to the side that still has weight. So the true question becomes how do we help Harry re-acquire his center and build from there." Rachel said.
"I would like to take Harry into the desert and guide him through a vision quest. He is young for it, most of my people don't do it until they are in their mid-teens but I think it would help him to find his center."
"What is involved?" Sirius asked.
"I would do several cleansing ceremonies and a Blessing Way ceremony then we would ride out into the desert and find a place where he would feel connected to the earth. Harry would participate in the ceremonies and he would fast for many days. In a vision quest one fasts to loosen the ties to the body and free the soul for a vision this process helps one to center to find that which is most important, and to give direction to one's life."
"You're sure this would help?" Sirius asked.
Yiska nodded.
"When do we go?"Sirius asked.
"We do not. This journey is between the myself and Harry, no one else comes. As to when a few days Harry will need to start fasting tomorrow morning and we will do a cleansing ceremony in the morning. But before that he and I must talk."
"Can I be there for that?"
"Of course. You both can."
"How about now? If I know Harryand the way things have gone lately, he has hit frustration with attempting meditation by now." Sirius said.
Forty-five minutes later it was agreed. The next four days all started with a morning spar followed by a cleansing ceremony and meditation. Yiska noticed on the second day Harry always seemed to face the same direction the southeast when he attempted to meditate. During the afternoons Harry and Yiska spoke of spiritual things. Yiska attempting to give Harry a basis to go forward from while on his quest. On the fourth day Harry achieved a meditative state so the next day after the cleansing ceremony, Yiska and Harry did the Blessing Way ceremony and left for Harry's quest.