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Chapter Five: PythiaThe blast took them by surprise.
Wild magic tore through the room, shattering the windows, the bedposts and making the fire in the hearth roar. Draco felt his body lifted from the bed and tossed as though a great hand had swatted him away.
No! He hit the wall and the world trembled as his head snapped back with a resounding crack. He slid to the ground, helpless as lightning arced out of the boy on the bed, blasting holes in the wall and ceiling.
Harry…he wanted to reach out, but his arm wouldn't obey him. Harry…Light pulsed through the room, blue then green then red then white. A form rose up from the boy on the bed, serpentine yet winged. It's great beak clicked and the wicked talons looked as though poised to strike.
Draco's magic surged through him. It will not end this way. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't answer. I will not let you take him from me! He reached out with his mind, with his magic, with everything in him that had claimed Harry for his own.
The last traces of the Vision Potion in Draco's system roared to life.
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Visions slammed through Harry's mind. A dark void hovered in front of him. The edge was fragile, slipping under his feet. The path was narrow, so narrow he could barely see it. It wandered out over the cavern, gray and winding, lost amid the flashing sparkles of futures that had come, that were to come, that might come and that would never come.
He struggled to draw in air. The Wild magic roared through him, pushing, pushing, pushing. He could do nothing but take a step, then another and another until he was on the path. He did not dare look down.
The woman in white was crumpled in the sand behind him. Her rose gold hair was in a puddle around her head. He hadn't meant to hurt her…I don't want to hurt anyone! He shuddered and tried to take a step back. The Wild magic screamed and he was frozen in place.
Then arms came around him. Heat seared up his back and a familiar scent filled his nose. "I've got you, Harry." The soft voice surrounded him. The strong arms steadied him, caught him as he was about to fall.
"Draco…" He clutched at the arms around him.
"I won't let you fall, Harry. I've got you and I'll never let you go." The strong arms drew him back. The narrow path grew under their feet until it was wide enough for Harry to find his balance.
He turned in the tight embrace and buried his face in the crook between Draco's neck and shoulder. "It's not over," he said.
A hand ran over his hair and drew him closer. "I know," the blond said. "But I'll be here. Remember? I told you I would never leave. I won't let you go through this alone."
Harry curled his hands into the other boy's shirt. "It's coming," he managed to say. Then the Wild magic was on them and there was no more air for words.
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Lucius held his son in his arms. He counted each breath that made the narrow chest rise and fall. The magic in his son made his arms all but vibrate.
The room looked like a war zone. Severus was on the bed, Harry in his arms, cradled in his lap. The two dark heads were bent close, their hair hiding their faces. Harry twitched in Severus' lap, his hands opening and closing on something they could not see.
Lucius shifted Draco in his arms. He could see his son's eyes moving rapidly under his lids. Four hundred twenty eight. Four hundred twenty nine. He closed his eyes and listened to his son breathe. Four hundred thirty one. Thirty-two.
He had been in the pursuit of the man named Dangle when the wards at Malfoy Manor had gone off. He had not bothered to give Rousse an explanation. His cane had made a mighty crack in the pavement of Diagon Alley as he left for his ancestral home.
He and Severus had arrived at the same time. The Wild magic was still roaring through the room, but it was centered on the two boys. Draco had been on the ground, his body seizing in small jerks as Lucius felt time stop. The Healer Fabing was unconscious near the hearth.
Seconds after they had entered the room, the Wild magic reared up, poised like a snake, and then had struck, slamming into each boy. Lucius felt his heart lurch as emerald colored energy surrounded his son, lifted him up and then threw him to the ground, making his skin glow.
The glow had not dimmed a half hour later. Pale green lights ran under Draco's skin, turning it translucent. The boy shifted and murmured in his arms, making Lucius still. He opened his eyes and looked down at his son.
Draco's nose wrinkled. The pale gray eyes opened and it took everything Lucius had in him to not crush the boy to his chest.
"Father?" Draco's voice was breathy. Then… "Harry!" Arms pushed at his chest, but Lucius did not let go.
"He's alive, Draco." He bowed his head and tightened his grip. "You're both alive."
"But Harry!"
Lucius helped his son into a sitting position, but kept close, one hand planted on the boy's shoulders. He saw Severus look up.
"He lives. He breathes." The Potions Master uncurled his legs from the bed and slid to the ground, his knees giving out as he got off the bed.
Draco crawled towards them, forcing Lucius to move with him. They both looked down at the boy in Severus' arms. Lucius felt his throat grow tight.
Blood was matted in the dark hair. Harry's already pale skin was milk white. The same fading lights pulsed under his skin. Lucius checked his son…The magic was settling and the light show was fading. He let out a breath.
"What in the name of Merlin happened?" Fear, the most unwelcome emotion Lucius had ever felt, made his voice rough.
Draco shook his head and reached for Harry. A spark of energy crackled between them. He drew his hand back. "He was having a seizure. We couldn't get him to stop. Healer Fabing…" There was a moan from the hearth. Lucius looked up to see the healer trying to move into a sitting position. "Fabing said that Harry's magic was eating him up from the inside. Then he just…exploded."
Lucius shuddered and moved closer to his son.
"That's when the Wild magic came. It tossed me like I was nothing. I hit my head…" Draco trailed off and touched the back of his head. "I couldn't do anything." His eyes glittered. "My arms and legs wouldn't move. Then there was this…thing poised over Harry and I couldn't, I couldn't…" He bowed his head. "It looked like it was going to kill him. So I pushed back. And then I was gone."
"Gone?" Lucius tried to push away the ball of ice that had formed in his stomach. "What do you mean, gone?"
"I was in the Otherworld." Draco reached for Harry again and Severus let the boy go. With reluctance, Lucius noted with a frown at his lover. Severus wouldn't meet his eyes.
"I was in this cave. And at the far end of the cave was Harry. He was standing on this path that looked like a piece of string. He was about to fall." Once Harry was in Draco's arms, the smaller boy shuddered and calmed. "I caught him." Draco looked up at his father, his eyes fierce. "He's mine. And I'll never let him fall."
There was a surge of magic between the boys that made Lucius' breath catch. The pupils in his son's eyes seemed to lengthen, grow sharp, and then snap back to normal.
He reached out and laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "You did well," he managed to say. He caught Severus' eye. His lover nodded, a dark, worried frown already on his face. "Then what happened?"
Draco drew in a deep breath. "Then, it happened." He shrugged, looking past them at the wall. "It was Wild magic. It was all around us. It wanted Harry. For what, I don't know. But I wouldn't let it hurt him. It couldn't rip him out of my arms." There was an odd shimmer of the air around the two boys. "Some of it hit me, went into me. Most of it went into Harry."
"What was it?"
Draco shrugged. "Magic. Visions." He blinked and looked at Lucius. "I couldn't really see them. I think they were everything that might happen. Could happen. Had already happened. I don't know. It was like looking into a field of stars."
"An apt description."
The new voice made them all turn. Lucius saw Draco draw Harry closer to him. The almost feral snarl that graced his son's face was disturbing.
A woman in white stood between them and Healer Fabing. Her robes were dirty and her hair was falling about her shoulders. She smiled. "I'm Pythia," she said.
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The Crom priest dragged himself across the bog. The foul stench rising from what used to be his body chased the creatures away. He used his arms to pull himself forward, his legs useless.
His god was across the narrow sea. He could still hear the call; it warmed his cold flesh and made his mind buzz. His god was alive. The Bright and Dark gods had not vanquished him completely. And now he had to rise, rise and serve.
He came upon a hard, black substance. It stretched out north and south as far as he could see. A mortal Path? He patted the warm substance. A remarkable thing.
Out of the north he saw a light approaching. He pushed up on his hands, staring. A god? What kind of creature shines so bright? It was fast, he could tell. He could hear a muffled roar in the distance. A dragon?
He pulled himself to the center of the road. He would conquer this new beast for his god. There would be no power in all the world that could stop him.
The auto did not see his body until too late. The shiny silver grill impacted with his face, crushing the fragile soul and sending the remains of the body flying through the air.
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Harry woke to people talking. His head was full of a buzzing noise – Is that Aunt Petunia? It doesn't sound like her. He struggled to open his eyes. They seemed glued together. His body ached in ways he didn't know existed.
He took in a deep breath and let it out. The hard, lumpy surface he was lying on shifted. "Harry?" A familiar voice asked.
Harry moved his mouth, but no sound emerged. More than one set of hands helped him into a sitting position. A vial was set against his lips. He drank and made a face at the taste. The Pepper-Up Potion swept through his body. He unglued his eyes.
Draco was staring down at him. Harry thought for a wild moment that the blond's pupils were slit and scattered with stars. Then he blinked and the vision went away. He looked beyond the other boy, noticing the other adults in the room.
With Draco's help he was transferred to a chair. Lucius Malfoy gave him a cool stare that was ruined by the hint of concern in his gaze. His Potions Professor wouldn't look at him. Harry felt something in his stomach clench at the avoided gaze; the professor knew something, but Harry couldn't place just what it was.
He smiled at Healer Fabing. The older man looked haggard and had an icepack held to the back of his head. He met Harry's eyes and smiled back at him, wincing as the action split the cut on his lip. Harry had a moment to wonder why the Healer hadn't taken the time to magic the wound closed.
The last figure in the room stepped into Harry's direct line of sight. It was the woman from his vision. Her rose-gold hair was hanging about her shoulders. She planted her hands on her hips.
"You, young man, are in a lot of trouble."
He blinked at her. "I didn't destroy the Dursley's house, did I?"
She blinked back at him. "Who are the Dursley's?"
Harry looked past her to Professor Snape. "Sir? What…" He had to stop. His lungs felt like they were full of fluid. He leaned against the side of the chair and coughed. A hand appeared with a handkerchief. He hacked and spat, folding the napkin before anyone could see the reddish-brown color of the mucus.
"Harry?"
He looked up to see Draco kneeling next to him. "What did I do?"
The woman sighed. "I go for humor and I get drama." She touched his shoulder and turned him back to face her. "Child, you're not in trouble. Or at least not a lot."
"He's not in any trouble," Draco fired back at her.
She wrinkled her nose at the blond. "You might want to talk to your fathers before you say that."
That was when Harry registered the destruction around him. He looked at the elder Malfoy. "I did this?" He waved a hand at the burnt bedding and the blasted holes in the walls.
"You did not." Professor Snape spoke before Lucius could. The Potions Master rose from his chair and stepped to Harry's side. "It seems as though the Wild Magic decided that it was time to give you your coming-of-age gifts."
Harry let his eyes drift as he thought. "Yes." He blinked and looked up at the woman. "I remember. I was asleep, but not asleep. I was in cave. With you."
The woman nodded and drew the ottoman close so she could sit. "That's right, Harry. May I call you Harry?"
He nodded, dazed.
"Good." She smiled at him. "My name is Pythia. I was the head Oracle at the temple to Apollo at Delphi." Her hands ran across the thick white robe she was wearing. The golden clasps at her shoulders gleamed in the light of the room. "I am a seer, Harry." She leaned forward. "I was the one kings and heroes went to in times of need. It is a powerful gift that the Wild Magic has given you, Harry."
"But…" Harry licked his lips and glanced at Draco. "I'm not a seer. I told you already. I don't want it."
Her eyes were sad. "And I told you that the magic would have its way." She reached out and put a hand over his. "Harry, it will be all right."
He shook his head. "It wasn't alright when I was taking the Vision Potion." He saw Professor Snape turn away and the ball of ice in his stomach grew. "I didn't know what I was doing. It almost killed me."
He blinked at her smile. "That's because you didn't have me." She patted his hand and leaned back. "You see, Harry. Your friends have told me about what happened at the end of your school year. You and this Slytherin House did more than wake the gods up, I think." Her eyes glittered. "I think you have also woken those who were servants of the gods as well."
Harry looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry?"
Her laughter rang like chimes through the room. He looked up. "Don't be," she shook her head. "Harry, I have not lived for almost two thousand years." She brushed a strand of hair off her face. "It shall be glorious to exist again."
Harry managed a smile back at her. "So…" He said after a moment. "You'll teach me, right?" He swallowed down his fear and sat forward. "How to control what the Wild Magic gave me?"
"I'll teach you both." Harry saw Draco start and look at the woman.
"Both?" The blond asked. Lucius sat forward, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes, both." Pythia stood and walked to the fire. "Oracles must have a guide. A protector. The strength when the world of might-be's becomes more real than the world that is." Her eyes reflected silver light as she stared at the flames. She turned to look at Harry. "Your Draco has already declared himself as your protector. That means he must understand what you are going through."
"Where's yours?" Harry asked.
"Back in the cave, probably going mad with trying to get out." She wrinkled her nose at him. Her form was starting to fade. "You will need to come to me, I'm afraid. I do not have the power I once did to travel back and forth from the Otherworld to the mortal one with ease."
"But how do I do that?"
She crossed the room and knelt at his side. "To find me, picture the cave you first saw me in. Do you remember it?"
Harry closed his eyes and tried to recall the image. "Yes."
"You remember the Path you appeared on?"
"Yes."
"Only Oracles and their protectors can find and follow that Path, Harry."
He opened his eyes as she touched his chest. "But how do we get there in the first place?"
Her hand spread heat into his chest. "The Path is here, Harry." Her eyes were full of lights Harry could not name. "You must trust yourself first to find me. Then, we can begin." With that she was gone, her image fading away like mist in the morning sun.
Harry covered the spot she had touched with his hand. He could still feel the heat of her skin. "But I do trust myself." He looked at Draco. "Don't I?" He shook his head.
Draco stood and looked towards his father. "Perhaps food would be good?"
"Indeed." Healer Fabing spoke for the first time. His eyes were focused on Harry. "I think we've had enough mystical conversation to last us until dinner. And I," he paused to take the ice pack away from the back of his neck. "Would much like a chance to regain the energy I have lost."
"Were you…did I hurt you too?" Harry chewed on his lower lip.
The Healer shook his head. "No, boy. I'd say the magic hurt me more than you did." He put his hands on his knees and stood, making a face as his joints popped and snapped. "Now," he cast a look that encompassed them all. "The Healer's orders are food and rest for all of you. Especially you," he leveled a finger at Harry. "And I don't care what that woman said, you'll not set foot in the Otherworld until I say so, is that clear?"
Harry flushed. "Yes, sir."
The Healer winked at him. "Good." He limped from the room.
Lucius got to his feet and gestured to his son. "Come, Draco. A host should never leave his guests."
"But…"
"Now, Draco."
The younger blond stared at his father. Harry missed whatever expression passed across Lucius' face. His own gaze was on the other boy.
"Harry." The blond turned and looked down at him. "I'll be right back. Do you want anything in particular?"
He shook his head.
Draco frowned, but kept his mouth shut. He moved towards his father, looking back every second step as though to make sure Harry had not disappeared. Harry stared back at him, wanting him to stay, but hating himself for the small selfish voice that had started up again in the back of his head.
"Mr. Potter." The Potion Master's voice was rough with an emotion Harry couldn't place. The man still had his back to Harry, so the boy couldn't read his expression.
"Yes, sir?"
Professor Snape turned. His eyes were shadowed by the hair hanging in front of his face. "Would you care to enlighten me why you said nothing of how your muggle relatives treated you during the summer?"
Harry shrank down in his seat. "There was nothing anyone could do about it. The Minister…"
"Would have had his whole platform burnt to ashes if the wizarding world had learned of the deplorable conditions you existed in!"
"That's why I don't want them to know!" Harry shouted back at the man. He paled and shut his mouth with a snap. "I'm sorry, Professor."
The dark eyes glittered. "Mr. Potter. You are a very irritating boy."
"I know, sir." He looked down at his hands.
"You're never going back there."
"That's what Sirius said."
"I have a sight more sense than that mongrel."
Harry frowned at the man. "That's my godfather, sir."
Snape made a curt motion with his hand and turned away. He folded his hands into the sleeves of his robes and faced the fire. "If I have my way…" He let out a sigh. "Potter, you should have said something."
"I couldn't. Then everyone would have known. And," he caught his lower lip between his teeth, then let it go. "And they would have, I don't know. Pitied me or something. I didn't want that."
"Pity? You think…" The narrow shoulders hunched as Professor Snape bowed his head. "Mr. Potter. I want your sworn oath that should anything, anything ever happen to you that even smells of abuse, you will come to me immediately."
"I wasn't abused!" Harry pushed himself forward in his seat. "Sure the Dursley's were awful, but it wasn't abuse. It wasn't!"
The professor turned, the slow glide making Harry's skin crawl. "Really now, Potter? You mean to say that all muggles treat their children as though they were house elves? That they make them work from sun up to sun down? Make them cook, clean and sleep in a room that isn't fit for an animal, much less a growing wizard?"
Harry shook his head. "It wasn't like that." He swallowed. "They…the Dursley's didn't like me, that's true. But they didn't hurt me."
A thick silence hung between them. "We shall see about that, Mr. Potter." Professor Snape unfolded his arms and stepped towards him. "Come now. Can you walk?"
The abrupt change of topic left Harry blinking. "I…I don't know." He looked down at the floor. He braced his hands against the armrests and pushed. For a minute nothing happened. Then…
"Well, this is silly." Harry felt the world sway around him.
A strong hand caught him under the elbow. "I have you, Mr. Potter. I will not let you fall."
"I thought that was Draco's job."
"Young Mr. Malfoy will not always be able to be at your side, no matter how he would have it." With his professor's help, Harry made it out the door and down the hall. "You must accept that there will be others who will be there to help you, in whatever way you need."
The ball of ice in Harry's stomach eased. "Thank you, sir."
"Do not thank me, Mr. Potter. It is merely the truth."
Harry ducked his head to hide his smile. He also didn't complain as the older man helped him down the stairs, one step at a time.
End Chapter Five
A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews!