Hello! We have reached a turning point of this story. To warn you all, it is not going to be pretty. But it won't be too bad either.:)
Now, all my readers, all my reviewers, all those who have marked this story as favourite and put it in their alert list... THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
Guest reviewers... Cherrie-san, Emily, those who sign as 'Guest'... I cannot thank you all personally because you are not registered to this site, but your reviews brighten my day.
And thank you Sydney Alexis for listing this story in your community archive Story Tracker.
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Chapter Ten –
Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards and the current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sat in his office staring listlessly at his most favourite candy… lemon drops.
It was rumoured that he was one of the most powerful wizards alive. It was also rumoured that the Dark Lord feared only one man and that was… him.
That it was he who would finally defeat Tom and end his dark reign.
He smiled a little derisively at that. While it was true that he could give Tom a run for his money any day, he also knew that he was not the one who was destined to defeat Tom.
No, the one who would defeat Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Voldemort or You-Know-Who, had been born.
The one who had been chosen by Fate herself... Harry Potter.
But instead of rejoicing, Dumbledore's aged heart grieved for the little baby who would have to grow up with such a heavy burden upon his shoulders.
He grieved for Lord and Lady Bones who had been murdered that very day. He grieved for their daughter who had lost her parents even before she knew what death was supposed to be…
… And he grieved for all the innocence lost.
He felt so very old at the moment, his soul leaden with all the death and destruction. Just as he was spiraling to the depths of despair... his familiar, Fawkes, started singing.
The song began with notes of pure sadness and grief which slowly morphed into that of hope and joy.
The phoenix mourned for the dead and then rejoiced for the living.
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The song ended, soothing Dumbledore's wounded heart; and he smiled at Fawkes in gratitude.
He could not break down so soon. The war was only beginning.
The wards around his office alerted him that the finest of his warriors had arrived. Opening the door of his office with a wave of his hand, he welcomed them with a fond smile.
"Ah… come in gentlemen."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Godric's Hollow…
Lily steadied herself and gathering her resolve and courage, she softly promised Harry, "Do not worry baby. I will not let that monster harm you..."
"... It's time to finish the ritual."
"Tipsy," she called for her house-elf. The scared elf appeared before her.
"Tipsy, can you apparate out of this house?"
Tipsy's large eyes filled with water and she started banging her head against the floor. "Bad Tipsy. Can't apparate out. The bad man did something. Can't go out of this house. Can't protect Master Harry and Mistress."
Lily stopped Tipsy from hurting herself anymore. "Stop Tipsy; it is not your fault. Now, listen to me. Harry is going to be all right. I am going to do something which will protect him. But… but I may not survive," she paused as her voice caught in her throat.
Taking a steadying breath, she pulled out a letter from the pocket of her robe and handed it to Tipsy. "Take this Tipsy, and keep this with you safely. On Harry's eleventh birthday, give him this letter. Let no one know about this till then. Okay?"
Tipsy nodded.
"Good. Now, go and hide. Do not come out till the bad man goes away."
Clutching the letter to her bosom, Tipsy bowed and disappeared with a quiet pop.
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Lily rushed for the nursery with Harry in her arms and once they were inside, she sealed the door with a softly whispered spell, "Excitant."
The wards and traps inside the house which had been devised for emergencies were activated by the spell. They would prove to be incapable of stopping Voldemort; but would successfully slow him down.
And that would give her the precious time she needed to complete the ancient ritual.
Laying Harry down in his crib, she summoned the dozen candles she had hidden in the nursery for this very purpose.
With a swish of her wand they surrounded her and Harry, taking the shape of a circle.
Lily kneeled on the floor and raising her hands towards heaven, palm up, she began chanting…
"I call upon fire, to bless this ritual
Fire being my child's ally
Fire, who heeds his destined mate
Fire, who answers to his Veela
My child is marked by the one thou obey
Draconis Lucius Malfoy, his name I say
For there is no love purer
And I ask with love in my heart
Come and protect, make evil flee
As I mote, so mote it be."
Lily felt the air growing thick and heavy, percolating with power and energy.
And as she waited with bated breath, the candles all around her flickered to life… one by one.
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Malfoy Manor…
"Mistress," Dobby squeaked in a high, panicky voice.
Narcissa, who was tending to her plants in the greenhouse, enquired absent-mindedly, "Does anything require my instant attention, Dobby?"
Dobby wrung his hands together, seemingly distressed. "Mistress; Master Draco burned his crib down. Flames came out of his hands."
"Hmm… put him in the other… WHAT?" Narcissa turned around, shocked to her very core. "He burned down his crib by conjuring fire? But… but it is impossible for a Veela so young to conjure fire."
Forsaking her plants with no further ado, she hurried towards her son's nursery. She was almost there when realization hit her and she gasped in fear and dismay.
"Oh Merlin, for a Veela so young to conjure fire can mean only one thing… his mate is in danger!"
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Godric's Hollow…
Lily let out the breath she had been holding. The hardest part of the ritual was over.
Fire was an integral part of all Veelas. In the ancient tomes of magic, Veelas had often been referred to as the creatures born of fire. Their dazzling beauty often made people forget that if crossed… they could be lethal.
While every Veela was said to exert a certain amount of control over fire, only the most powerful and experienced of them could gain complete mastery over the element.
It was a testimony of Draco's exceptional power that fire had heeded one so young, and had indeed arrived to protect his mate… Harry.
She smiled and summoned a ritual knife next. Slashing her palm open, she let her blood drip freely to the ground and continued chanting…
"And so with fire the first circle I cast
The second I cast with blood mine
This blood which flows in my veins
This blood which flows in my child's veins
The blood of a seer
The blood of a mother
Let it protect and let it shield
The one who bears his mark and he
As I mote, so mote it be."
Lily watched as her blood slowly trickled forwards and formed another circle encompassing the candles. The fire of the candles suddenly blazed out, accepting her protection over Harry and Draco and then returned to their normal state.
Then she gracefully rose up to her feet and moved towards Harry. She could feel Voldemort getting nearer. She could feel him tearing the wards apart brutally, without finesse, in his eagerness to reach Harry.
She was running out of time.
As she leaned over the crib, she found Harry looking all around with wide, luminous eyes. She took his tiny fist into her hands and gently pried it open.
"This will hurt a little, my darling." Saying so, she carefully pricked his thumb with the knife. Harry whimpered because of the sudden pain and then started sniffling.
"Shhh… my brave little boy. This is for your safety…"
As their bloods mixed together, Lily chanted the final lines…
"My blood to thy blood
Thy blood to thy mate's
My magic to thy magic
Thy magic to thy mate's
I bind it all together
Magic, blood and fate
Any evil that dares touch ye
Will pay the price
As I sacrifice all I have in a trice
To guard and protect thee
As I mote, so mote it be."
A golden light enveloped them, marking the end of the ritual.
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Malfoy Manor…
Narcissa was extremely worried. Draco, who usually was a bundle of boundless energy, lay quiet and still in her arms. His little fists were clenched tight around the blanket he had acquired a few days ago during his visit to Severus' manor. He had refused to part with it ever since.
Now though, he was clutching it like a lifeline.
Narcissa tried her utmost to remain calm. Failing to do so, she decided to inform Lucius instead. He would know what to do.
She was just about to summon Dobby to go find his master when a sudden bright golden light surrounded Draco...
She nearly dropped him in shock.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts…
"Why were the Bones' attacked?" Severus, as usual, did not waste any time with pointless queries.
James cursed, "What the fuck Snape? The most important thing is to know whether Amelia and Susan are unharmed or not."
"Potter, I do not need to explain myself to you but it should be apparent to anyone with a modicum of intelligence that this was not a hollow attack. And so the 'most important thing' is to know the reason behind this attack," Snape replied acidly.
"Hear, hear… Snivellus has spoken," Sirius added snidely.
With a long suffering sigh Remus growled at Sirius, which effectively silenced him.
Lucius, in turn, managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes… barely though.
Dumbledore only smiled genially at them and cleared his throat meaningfully; which stopped the glaring contest between James and Severus.
"My boys… take a seat. Both Amelia and Susan are physically unharmed. Now to answer your question Severus, Voldemort had sent the Lestranges in order to attain an artefact from the custody of Bones. They have been captured and are currently awaiting their trial."
Lucius interrupted, "The Dark Lord attacked the Most Noble and Ancient House of Bones just to obtain an artefact?"
"Must be hell of an artefact," Sirius muttered.
"Strangely no, Sirius," Dumbledore spoke, "I'll admit that it is a much coveted artefact as it is rumoured to have belonged to Merlin himself... the Merlin's harp; but it contains no special magical properties."
Dumbledore continued, "Tom had been quite obsessed with finding the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw while he was at Hogwarts. At that time I had thought that it was merely a passing fancy of his. But now I wonder; was it just a passing interest?"
As Dumbledore pondered the matter, silence descended upon the group until it was broken by Severus.
"But, to attack and kill the Bones just because of a useless artefact... it seems foolishly overdone. And the Dark Lord is anything but foolish."
Dumbledore frowned, "You are right, my boy. The Lestranges were not expecting Amelia to arrive. Luckily, she decided to visit her family today. Otherwise..."
"... The Order would have been busy trying to rescue the Bones. An effective diversion." Lucius finished.
"The question is... diversion from what?" Remus voiced quietly.
No one had an answer.
At least, not until Alice Longbottom stumbled out of the fireplace; her eyes haunted...
... to be continued.
'Excitant' means 'activate' in latin.
Hope you all liked this. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I will try to update very soon.:)
And for those of you who are wondering... Sirius and Remus are not lovers... yet!:P