Shattered Surrender
by sick-atxxheart
Chapter Eight

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Floating. The word came to mind to Harry, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Was he floating? Was he dying? He didn't remember much except pain- but when was that not the story of his life, when was that not something he expected? It always had been.

But now- now, this was… different. Really different. The pain seemed to almost be going away- and that was something Harry was definitely not used to. Instead of just being plunged into the dark, he could see light; and instead of being cold, he was almost getting warmer. It was the strangest feeling, and Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of it. So instead, he chose to just float…

Floating…

What seemed like years later, but what really could have been only minutes, or hours, or days, or seconds- he had no idea- but later, the light became almost blinding. Harry wanted to scream, he wanted to cry out, he wanted to make it stop-

He had always thought of light as comforting, as something that could make you feel better when you were down or hurting. That's how it had always been for him, before; when he was hurting, just a little glimpse of light seemed to make things better. But not now. Now, the light was blinding him, and it hurt more than anything- his whole body seemed to be ripped apart- it was a huge difference from the nice floating feeling he had felt before…

Confusion filled Harry. He was still floating, that much was obvious- but it felt like his entire body was writhing in pain, shaking along at an alarming speed he found he couldn't control. He was blind, he was deaf, he was dumb, he was motionless, he was helpless- what could he do? What was left for him? What was coming for him?

There was another flash of light, and then all went still.

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It was quite obvious to all that were in the room that something was happening to Harry. As soon as the complex ritual had been started, the boy's body had gone very still for what seemed to be almost a complete five minutes; but after that, it began to convulse even more than before. However, all the soothing words and binding charms and any other kind of medical help couldn't hold him; the magic that was flowing through Harry's body seemed to be too strong. Nothing Bella or Severus did could break it.

Similarly, Voldemort and Sirius themselves seemed to be practically frozen in stone. Their faces were both immensely concentrated, their eyes closed; Sirius had collapsed into a chair before the ritual even started, but Severus guessed that was from exhaustion. Despite his deep hatred for the man, the Potions Master almost felt sympathy for him.

Sirius' story was a strange one, as he had been the person in Hogwarts that everyone knew would be a great advantage to the Dark; however, he had also been the one that everyone expected to never abandon the Light. Sirius, in his infinite wisdom (at least according to him) had chosen the best of both worlds. He had made a contract with the Dark Lord himself, and Severus had been privately amazed at the man's ability to be both nonchalant and respectful at the same time. Sirius, of course, brought his own personality to his loyalty; and that was what was interesting.

Despite Severus' own role as a double agent, he couldn't help but deny that Sirius' had been difficult also. He had lied to his friends all those years; but despite that, part of Sirius' contract with the Dark Lord had been that Lily, James, Remus, and Peter would not be killed. The Dark Lord had agreed, but Severus at the time had doubted the Dark Lord's integrity on keeping that part of the deal.

As it turns out, he had been right.

Sirius had been careful to only kill those members of the Light that he had no association or contact with. In other words, if Sirius knew the person, then he wouldn't kill them or even watch them be killed. It was rather strange, Severus thought, that the Dark Lord was so lenient with the man- so lenient, in fact, that he would allow him to choose who he killed. None of the other Death Eaters were given that immense privilege. Sirius had been, in fact, an "on-again, off-again" Death Eater.

However, Sirius had indeed been punished for this so-called "privilege" when Lily and James had been killed. Severus hadn't been in the vicinity when the man found out about it- but word said that he had stood there and laughed, a cruel laugh that supposedly had echoed for blocks and blocks. The Ministry had caught him, and he had been carted off to Azkaban.

Despite the fact that the Dark Lord felt no remorse for killing Sirius' best friends, no words could describe how infuriated and angry Voldemort had been when he found out that one of his prized, loyal henchmen had been captured. Secretly, Severus had wondered whether or not the Dark Lord would have had the same reaction if it were any other man, and he guessed not; all the same, elaborate plans were made to break him out of the heavily-guarded prison.

It had taken nearly fourteen years, but they had finally gotten it right; and now, there they stood. An odd group, undoubtedly, but one all the same.

Severus shook his head briefly as if to clear it. He hadn't meant to let his mind stray, and even as it had his opinion of Sirius Black hadn't changed one bit; however, the human heart he still in fact did possess always jumped unpleasantly whenever the details of the man's ordeal came up. He had been shipped off to Azkaban, and suffered there for many years. Severus was immensely surprised that the man could stand straight and remember his name, let alone remember who his godson was; it was, in fact, quite amazing.

Severus had no doubts that Sirius would have a million questions and accusations for the Dark Lord as soon as the ritual was over. Of course Voldemort would be expecting it; he even perhaps deserved it, Severus thought, for subjecting Sirius to that hell for all those years. Severus himself had been quite angry at the man when he found out that Lily Evans-Potter was dead, but he had not had the right to confront his Master like he knew Sirius would.

Shaking his head once again, Severus gave greater concentration to what was happening in front of him. Harry had finally stopped moving; in fact, it seemed like he had stopped in one great motion, like all of the sudden the magic had suddenly subsided. Both Sirius' and Voldemort's eyes had flown wide open to meet one another's, red meeting piercing black; it was almost as if a connection was being made, one Severus didn't quite understand. Chancing a quick glance at Bella, Severus noticed that she too looked frozen, but in her case from fear and wonder. She was no doubt worried about Harry.

The ritual had consisted of a series of spells said in quick coordination with one another. Severus had been worried about the accuracy and even the safety of the spell, considering it was first of all medieval, and second of all it had been tampered with; but the Potions Master new better than to ask questions, so he didn't. Instead, he chose to just sit and watch, waiting.

Who knew what the outcome would be.

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The world seemed to be hazy. Harry wondered briefly what was going on- was he still blind? Was he still deaf? He didn't appear to be blind, as everything seemed to be there; but he was still so dizzy it was hard to tell. Harry was grateful that he was no longer in pain, but confused all the same. Where was he? What had happened?

Harry briefly remembered being rescued from Azkaban, by a strange man he hadn't recognized. He remembered being healed, and being extremely grateful for the rest and the freedom from pain he had been granted; but then he remembered more pain. What had happened? Had he been taken back?

Unknowingly, but without caring, Harry began to cry. The sensation of the hot tears rolling down what he knew to be his face was almost relaxing; it told him he was real, that he wasn't dead. He could still feel something.

The light wasn't blinding anymore, but Harry almost wished he was back in the pleasant sensation of floating. That was easy. Relaxed. There wasn't any of the pain of living in torture; there was only floating... floating...

There was almost a huge weight on his body, and it hurt. Harry wanted it to go away... he wanted it all to go away...

Harry continued to cry softly, but he hadn't the slightest idea why.

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The sound of crying jerked Voldemort out of his magic-induced stupor, and he looked up to see that Harry was crying softly, his eyes shut tightly closed and his hands bunched up into fists. Across the room, Sirius Black was also watching Harry, his black eyes soft and pained. Severus and Bella were also there, but they seemed to be watching him instead, waiting for instructions.

Voldemort shook his head slowly. Had the ritual worked? Harry seemed to no longer be in great pain, and his face and body was no longer bright red from fever; but had they merely saved his life, or had the Protector in Harry been unleashed?

Shaking his head to Bellatrix and Severus, who both immediately turned back to watch Harry, Voldemort opened up the book he had left under his chair. Flipping once again to the chapter on Protectors, he read once again the missing paragraphs he had neglected to read beforehand.

If a child is forced to take part in the ritual of the Protector at a young age, the result will often cause the child much pain in its early stages. The best remedy for this is not rest and relaxation, but quite the opposite; training and excersize will often help diminish the left-over magic in the child's body. Although moving around is often painful, the more action the child partakes in, the better.

In extreme cases, explaining to the person exactly what is happening is a plus. Protectors, after the ritual has been performed, have immense stores of magical energy within their body; it is wise not to give cause for that magic to be released in anger. Not only is their magic increased tenfold, but the physical strength of the person, regardless of their age, is also enhanced. Training is necessary for the person to not only be able to control their strength, but also use it in the correct ways.

The mentor's role in the Protector's life is a crucial one. Should the mentor perish, the Protector will be weakened immensely. Thus, it is the mentor's duty to ensure that not only is the Protector kept safe during their training, but also the protection of one's own life is necessary. In addition, the mentor provides schooling, support, and advice to the Protector throughout all the stages of his life. The Protector often becomes immensely dependent on the mentor, and for this reason it is prudent that the two not be separated for any length of time. If this happens, the Protector will most likely lose their control on their magic due to their emotions.

Protectors have a duty in the world around them, and in order to fulfill that the correct opportunites must be placed in front of them. This also falls to the mentor, who through contacts and other influences must give the Protector the chances to make a difference. Sheer force and wit alone cannot win a war, undoubtedly.

Protectors can only be killed in two ways; with a direct hit from the Killing Curse, or with a sword through the heart.

Voldemort sighed and looked up. It appeared they had a bigger task in front of him than he had originally anticipated.

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Please review! What did you think of this chapter? Was the explanation of Sirius being a Death Eater good enough?

Poll:

1) Should Dumbledore be informed of this new development right away, or later when Harry is undoubtedly super-strong and angry?

2) Should Ron, Hermione, or Draco be Harry's friends? (Have I already asked that?)

Please review! Thanks all!