He woke to warmth on his face and cold everywhere else. It was a few minutes after dawn and the sun was warm on his cold face. The sky overhead was bright, pristine blue over London and the rooftops sparkled with dew. Harry yawned and stretched and a blanket slid off him. Surprised that he didn't ache from all the bruises and small injuries of the previous days and weeks, he stood and faced the sun, feeling like the light was recharging some inner battery, banishing the tiredness and stresses, lifting his mind.
Birdsong filled the air as he stood, rubbing sleep from his eyes and putting his glasses back in place. He walked back up the overgrown garden path toward the house, for the first time able to see through the windows which had been cleaned at some point through the night. One of the new house elves, Kori opened the back door onto the kitchen and walked out to meet him, a silver tray in hand.
'Good morning Mr Harry Potter, sir.' She said, balancing the tray on one hand and handing him a large mug of steaming coffee.
'Good morning, Kori, thank you.' He said, sipping. It was very strong with a little milk and a little sugar – perfect.
'Miss Ginny is already awake, sir. She asked Kori to tell Mr Harry Potter sir that she was going to visit her family.' She said.
Harry nodded, the grey face of one of his oldest friends flashing in his mind. The Weasley's would have to prepare a funeral for Fred, killed by Bellatrix Lestrange who had in turn been killed by Fred's mother, Molly.
He hadn't spent enough time with Weasleys since the end of the battle, but his attention had been pulled away time and again. Since then there just hadn't been time to really take in the idea that he'd never see the grinning face again, except reflected in that of his twin, George who would never be complete again.
'Is there anything Kori can get for Mr Harry Potter sir?' Kori asked, rising to tiptoe in anticipation.
'No thank you, Kori, and don't call me that all the time. Just Harry will do.'
The elf's eyes went wide and her mouth fell into a wide 'o'. 'No sir, I am sorry Mr Harry Potter sir, but to not call Mr Harry Potter sir would be to do him a terrible disservice, sir.'
Harry smiled weakly, embarrassed as always by house elves' deference and respect. 'Okay, okay. How about… just Mr Potter then?'
The elf balanced on her toes for a few seconds, thinking hard. 'When we is in private? When there is company, Kori can still call Mr Potter Mr Harry Potter sir?'
That was exactly the opposite of what he wanted but Harry nodded. 'Okay, let's go with that.' Maybe he could work on the name thing in time.
'So what would Mr Ha… Mr Potter like for breakfast?' Kori asked.
'Nothing, Kori, I'm fine. I would just like to have a wash, brush my teeth and go to the Ministry.'
'Not without breakfast, sir. Miss Weasley told Kori in no uncertain terms that Mr Potter must eat breakfast.'
Harry sighed. 'Okay, where are Hermione and Ron?'
'Miss Granger has gone to the Ministry of Magic, sir and Mr Weasley left with Miss Weasley. Esti went shopping this morning and has stocked the pantry with everything Mr Potter might want to eat.'
Harry was about to protest again, but his stomach interrupted and he realised that he hadn't had a real meal in well over twenty-four hours. He took out his wand, thought of Ginny's face, full of fire and beauty and righteous rage and spoke the incantation that created the silver stag which burst into existence next to him.
He smiled at the beast that shimmered in the bright morning sunlight. It stood eye to eye with him, but its twelve-pointed antlers rose another two feet overhead. 'Kingsley, I'll be on my way there soon. Is there anything I can do on the way?' He said to the stag, knowing the words would be relayed to the acting Minister for Magic within a few seconds.
The stag vanished like a burst soap bubble, leaving just the house elf and the Man-Who-Won. Harry turned to the elf and sighed. 'Sausage, bacon and eggs?'
Christianna Styliannou was ready for bed, truth be told she was exhausted. She had three hours left on her ritual examination, which had started twenty-seven hours ago. She was used to long hours and long classes – being a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Thaumaturgy was a to become used to challenges. She checked the formulae again and nodded to Janice and Hakim at their stations.
'Completion in three, begin the fading in… three… two… one…'
They made their incantations at precisely the right moment and the air, which had been growing uncomfortably hot, cooled instantly. Janice sagged noticeably as the spell took its toll, drawing out more of her flagging strength.
Anna shivered and pulled her jacket back on as mist condensed in the air, forming a dew on the dozen metal orbs between the three of them. The orbs had started to change hours ago and were now barely recognisable. The amount of power used on them had been prodigious, but so would be the result if they were successful.
Hakim stood and started the gesture for his final spell, which was in many ways the linchpin of the whole ritual, the thing that would provide the final spark and set all their work into final action. The gestures were long and complex, more of a kata and barely recognisable as spell-work. He looked tired like the others, but was handling it with his standard predictable bravado.
Five minutes past and the band of hot air inside the cold room formed around the orbs, small flickers of light dancing on the borderline.
Janice stood and began her own final spell, to create a containment around the orbs. She was grey with deep purple circles under her eyes and clearly at the end of her stamina. She made the moves but had to restart twice before getting it right and creating the shimmering green bubble around the orbs.
It was Anna's turn. She stood and completed the amplification and focus gestures, the last step before they had to leave the results to cook. Just before she made the final shape and imbued the spell with energy she saw Janice waving at her and pointing across the room with her other hand. Anna shook her head, feeling the spell starting to slip and caught it, completing the final shape as she noticed what Janice was pointing at.
As the amplifier took effect, pulling out most of Anna's remaining strength, she saw Hakim falling, his eyes closed and his hands convulsing at his sides. There was blood on his face, sheeting down onto his white shirt from where he had bitten his tongue. The amplifier drew all the power it could from Hakim's spell and she saw it all go wrong.
Hakim was still effectively conscious but powerless to stop his spell feeding on him and it consumed him quickly. The lightning that should have been controlled, boosted by her amplifier, roared into life, blinding her. Hakim was disintegrating, his flesh turning to carbon as the life was dragged out of him.
The lightning surged, growing exponentially and out of control. Anna chocked off the amplifier, but it was too late. The lightning hit the orbs and they changed as planned, but too quickly. There was too much power and Janice's shield wasn't going to hold.
Hakim's head hit the floor and shattered into a thousand burned, desiccated fragments at the same moment that Janice desperately ended her shield spell then lost consciousness.
Anna felt the temperature rise fifty degrees in less than a second and acted on instinct. She twitched her wand and a shimmering golden bubble enclosed her as the whole room exploded.
The whole unplottable wing of the university was shattered by the blast, most of the protective spells bound into the structure sacrificing themselves in the attempt to save teachers and students alike. Anna, Hakim and Janice's spells, designed to prove something thought impossible, that if, successful would have made them the greatest living magicians went out of control.
When the protective enchantments built enough force to stop their progress, they'd consumed the whole campus, magical and muggle and killed more than two thousand people.
In the smoking ruins of the ritual chamber, the twelve orbs were now seven, the rest burned to nothing. The orbs now glowed with every imaginable colour, shimmering over their burned and pitted surfaces.
With a series of sharp cracks, five figures appeared. They wore what a muggle would probably mistake for radiation suits, but ones studded with crystals. They moved quickly, making lights with their wands and lifting the orbs into sacks made of woven gold. Within twenty seconds, all trace of the orbs was gone and the only thing alive in the ruins was a young woman, saved by a spell cast in desperation and unconscious.