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Chapter 15: The Serpent Bearer
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Summary: What if Harry wasn't taken in by Petunia? What if, instead, he was taken in by another wizard who moved into number four after Petunia forced her family to move to avoid taking in the freak? Neutral!Harry
Beta: Cauchy! Big thanks to her for being my beta! This means less confusing words and spelling errors and brains flying around.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own character. Including the several lines I did take from the book.
A/N: A big thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm impressed this story is so popular!
I was actually thinking about Harry using the severing charm to kill the basilisk, but considering how he doesn't use it until the fourth book… And Harry isn't studious enough to study ahead. So I really had to make due with Harry's very limited spell knowledge. I blame Lockhart and Quirrell for this.
The next chapter will, unfortunately, take an extra week. Sorry guys!
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Harry sat, staring at the body of Ginny Weasley in the Chamber of Secrets. He slowly shuffled towards her, placing a hand on her body. It was still warm.
"Ginny? Ginny?" Harry asked shaking her. "Wake up, Ginny. Tom's gone. He's gone so… you can… get up…" Harry took a deep breath as he realized she wasn't breathing, starting to shake her even more vigorously. "Ginny!"
That was how Dumbledore and Draco found him. He was still shaking Ginny's body, trying to wake her when they stepped into the heart of the Chamber.
"Harry…?" Draco asked, looking between him and Ginny Weasley's body. "Harry, what…?"
"She's…" Harry said softly, his voice breaking. "The basilisk… poison…" He looked up at Draco, his eyes raw and agonized. Like shattered glass. "I…" He slowly removed his hands from her body, bringing them around to cradle himself as if he was trying to hold himself together.
"Mr. Rowan…" Dumbledore said quietly. "Tell me what happened?" He was kneeling on the floor, in front of the body, waving his wand in complicated patterns.
"It was him…" Harry whispered, pointing at the fallen diary. "He was her… somehow."
Dumbledore took the diary, looking through it before spotting the name on the cover. He inhaled through his nose and waited for Harry to continue.
"Riddle? Riddle was Weasley?" Draco blurted. Harry didn't appear to have heard them.
"Summoned basilisk… tried to eat me…" Harry whimpered. "I killed it… But… Riddle…" He trailed off suddenly. Would it be bad to tell Dumbledore the truth? Harry glanced at Draco and Draco was looking at him, alarmed.
"That will do, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "Your father is likely waiting in the Hospital Wing for you."
The trip to the Hospital Wing seemed to take forever.
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Cygnus had just finished placing the bowl of steamed egg on the table was he was suddenly slammed with pain. Intense, hot, white agony burned through his body and Cygnus gasped in shock, his whole body shaking as he slumped to the floor. The sensation of thousands of superheated needles pressing against every inch of his body made him scream as he slumped on the floor, his hands forming into fists. Sweat broke out on his skin and another wave of agony, a hundred times more concentrated than the last, hit him.
Curling up on the floor, Cygnus screamed again, rocking a little, begging for the agony to stop. He felt his magic break and fracture, shattering inside him, each shard like a small explosive against his nerves.
It lasted all of five minutes before Cygnus blacked out, his mind slumping with relief.
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Snape was having a bad day.
Lockhart, the fraud, had done a runner when the other Professors encouraged him to face the monster of the Chamber of Secrets. Not that it had surprised anyone, but adding to that, Snape had just found out, quite abruptly, that three students in his house were missing along with Ginny Weasley.
Draco Malfoy. Theodore Nott. And Harry-bloody-Potter.
Snape was going to kill them. He wasn't sure why they chose now to go missing, of all times, or if they had been kidnapped, but considering how Flitwick had seen them, quite clearly, in class, he was sure that they had simply ran off to explore or investigate.
At least, that was his thought, until he heard the screaming of "HELP, HELP!" come from the girl's bathroom on the second floor.
Snape burst in the bathroom, Myrtle giving a scream and diving into the toilet, splashing him with water. He whipped around, trying to find the speaker and looked in each stall.
"Where are you?!" Snape asked, his voice puzzled.
"Help! We're in the Chamber! We can't get out!" The voice said. Snape recognized it as belonging to Theodore Nott. "The sink in front of Myrtle's stall! We're behind it!"
Whirling around, Snape's jaw slackened in disbelief. Nott's voice was, indeed, coming from behind the sink. There seemed to be an echoing quality to it, as if Nott was quite deep in the ground.
"Stand back!" Snape yelled, brandishing his wand.
"WAIT!" another voice bellowed, joining Nott's. Snape recognized it as belonging to Draco. "The tunnel is really fragile. There was a rock slide that separated Harry and me! If you blast the door open, it might cause the tunnel to collapse and Harry can't get out!"
Snape stopped dead, swallowing heavily. He lowered his wand and said, "Wait there! I'll get the Headmaster!"
Dumbledore came quite quickly, his eyes narrowed with determination. He looked at his pet phoenix, Fawkes and said, "If you would, Fawkes."
The phoenix sang a few notes before vanishing in a burst of fire. Dumbledore inspected the sink, frowning deeply, trying to find a way through without damaging the old piping further. It was difficult, as Dumbledore was sure that no one had replaced the piping for years.
"Severus, please inform the parents of Mr. Potter, Mr. Nott, and Mr. Malfoy that their sons have been taken hostage," Dumbledore said calmly. "Bring them to the Hospital Wing, as I am sure that the children are injured."
Snape nodded stiffly, walking back to his office quickly and tossing Floo powder into the fireplace. The visit to Malfoy Manor and Nott's home were brisk and to the point. But it was the visit to Rowan's house that disturbed him.
The second Snape stepped out of the fireplace, he knew something was wrong. The wards seemed off, fractured. And as Snape took another step, more of the wards crumbled into dust, as if it had no substance behind it.
Snape looked puzzled, walking around the house carefully. "Rowan?" he called, wondering if the Ward Master was out.
Nothing could have prepared him for the scene that met him in the dining room.
Cygnus was on the floor, face down, as if he had simply slumped over and fallen asleep. But the magic around his body was visible, a silvery-white color, the same color as a Patronus. The magic was rotting, turning black in places and flaking off like burnt parchment. Snape could see that there were several layers of magic to work through before whatever affected Cygnus killed him, but it was still a very serious matter.
Snape rushed forwards, brandishing his wand and murmuring diagnostic spells under his breath. To his alarm, it only caused the flaking to occur faster. Snape realized this was completely out of his league before physically scooping Cygnus off the floor and taking him the fireplace. He threw a handful of floo powder in, screamed out a panicked, "Hogwarts Infirmary" and vanished into the fire.
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"Very serious!" Poppy said, bustling about Cygnus' bedside. "Magic drainage. He's gone into shock, poor dear. He will be fine once we find out what is draining his magic and sever the bond."
Snape folded his hands and stared at the white haired male in alarm. Lucius and Narcissia Malfoy were sitting on the other side of Cygnus' bed, Lucius' hand on Cygnus' arm. Narcissia looked extremely worried, her eyes shining a little with unshed tears.
"Will he be alright?" she asked Snape.
Snape bit back the snarl of "how should I know?!" and swallowed heavily. Poppy spoke for him.
"If whatever's draining him stops," she said briskly. "It seems to have slowed down considerably. I think it will stop soon."
"Is it a ward?" Lucius asked, looking at Snape.
"I don't know enough about wards to know," Snape replied. Lucius accepted this answer and watched Cygnus' face, reaching out his other hand to touch the silvery white magic.
The door slammed open and a very wet Draco, a dusty Theo, and a blood and brain covered Harry Potter stood at the doorway. Narcissia and Lucius leaped up, Narcissia instantly throwing her arms around her son. Nott's father did the same with his son, so Harry looked around to see where Cygnus was. His eyes landed on the bed and he let out a horrified gasp.
"Dad!" he cried, running over to the bed and grabbing Cygnus' limp hand. "Dad! Oh, no, no, no!" Harry stared at his dad's limp body and then down at the bag still hung around his shoulder, a large gaping hole in it from the basilisk's venom. "Dad! Wake up! Dad!" Harry shook his father, tears welling up in his eyes.
Dumbledore looked sadly at Harry before turning to the Weasley family, who had remained respectively quiet though the entire spectacle.
"My condolences to the passing of your daughter," Dumbledore said quietly.
Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and Mr. Weasley looked absolutely stricken with grief. Dumbledore gently lowered the body, which was covered in a white sheet, onto a spare bed, the twinkle in his eyes replaced with sorrow.
"H…how?!" Mr. Weasley choked out.
"She had been poisoned by a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore said softly. "They kidnapped her and these three boys. Harry tried to rescue her, but it was too late. He did manage to avenge her, as the basilisk was murdered."
The Weasley parents glanced at Harry, who was sobbing out apologies to an unconscious Cygnus. Mrs. Weasley wrapped her arms around Harry's torso and started sobbing out 'Thank you' to him. Lucius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, squeezing it lightly.
"He'll get better soon," Lucius said softly. "I'm sure of it. Cygnus Rowan is strong."
Harry remained buried in Cygnus' blanket, ignoring the condolences and thanks. Snape felt his heart lurch in discomfort at the obvious grief.
In the next few days, Harry refused to leave Cygnus' bedside. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't even think about anything else. Dumbledore had excused Harry from his exams due to personal matters and the whole Weasley family came to visit Harry in the Hospital Wing to thank him.
Nothing Draco said or did cheer him up. All he could think about was what he could have done differently, if he didn't activate the wards, if he had realized that Ginny Weasley was being possessed sooner… Perhaps things would have turned out differently.
He fell into fitful dreams.
Cygnus woke the following week. It came as a surprise to Harry, as he walked into the Hospital Wing to visit Cygnus after classes. Harry slowly shifted the curtain and walked to Cygnus' bedside, looking at his dad, but not really seeing him.
"You look thoroughly depressed," Cygnus' voice cut through the silence.
Harry's eyes shot up to look at Cygnus' pale face. Tears welled up in his eyes and he threw his arms around Cygnus, sobbing into his shirt.
"I take it my wards broke?" Cygnus asked after a few minutes, rubbing Harry's back to soothe him. "I felt it."
Harry nodded, too relieved to speak, choking up on his words.
Cygnus paused, looking down at Harry's small frame. "But considering how you're alive, unharmed, it is a small price to pay," he said, in a rather calm tone. "I got a summary of what happened in the Chamber of Secrets. Now I would like to hear it from you."
It took Harry several more minutes as well as several glasses of ice cold water to calm himself. Then he began to speak.
He talked about the first attack, the whispers in the walls. About the writing and the research he did with Draco. About the talk with Dumbledore and the revelation of Tom Marvolo Riddle. About the basilisk and Ginny. About the deaths of the snake and the girl. Harry felt completely worn out by the time he finished, looking at his dad's face for any sign of disappointment.
To Cygnus' credit, he remained quiet as he listened. Harry plowed on, trying to put his feelings into words, the regret, the sadness, the worry, all the emotions he had felt the past week while Cygnus was out.
"If I had only known… I would never have thrown the fang…" Harry said, slumping in Cygnus' chest, trying to reassure himself that Cygnus was real—alive. "I know that it's not really my fault, but I can't help but feel responsible…"
Cygnus' hands tightened around Harry's shoulder. Harry fell silent, waiting for Cygnus' assessment.
"If you had told me… I could have let you know that Tom Riddle was Voldemort," Cygnus said quietly. "Albus told me the day I picked you up from my doorstep."
Harry's jaw dropped, not knowing what to say. His eyes, already puffy from crying, teared up and his lip trembled.
"Harry," Cygnus said softly. "I'm going to tell you a story. A story that happened to me. And I ask you remain silent until I finish. Can you do that for me?"
Slowly nodding, Harry looked up at Cygnus. Cygnus smiled a little.
"When I was in high school, I had three great friends," Cygnus began. "Let's call them A, B, and C for now. A was the type of person who always knew what I was thinking, and comforted me when I was alone. B was the type of person who dragged me into parties, forcing me to meet new people and introducing me, proudly, as a friend. B loved animals, so he would take in strays and feed them like they were his own. C was the type that loved cartoons. He would invite us to his house and we would have marathons of his favorite shows. They were all non-magical, so I never brought wards with me.
"In Taiwan, all boys had to apply to be in the military. So when we graduated high school, we all were drafted into the military and trained as soldiers. We were lucky enough to be in the same bunk, though not in the same squad.
"It feels like a dream, now that I look back at it. Even though training was tough, we were together so we were happy. That lasted almost two years.
"I'll never forget. It was January 6th, 1980. I woke up that morning, early as usual, and woke my friends. A and C were always ready to get up, but B was feeling under the weather. It didn't surprise me, considering how cold it was, so I asked him if he was well enough to attend training that day. He said 'No, go on without me'. So we did.
"Two days later, I woke up to screaming. B was rolling over in bed, shrieking in terror about something or another. All three of us were woken, alarmed. Other bunks had woken as well, knocking on our door, asking what had happened or if we needed help.
"A opened the door and they poured in, worried and alarmed. It was probably around three in the morning at the time. We tried to calm B, but B didn't seem to hear us. All of a sudden, B sat up, looking haggled, but completely aware of his surroundings. We let out a breath of relief, thinking it was over. It wasn't.
"B launched himself out of bed, his mouth open. He reached A and tore open his throat with his jaws. Blood showered on the people closest, C and me, and also the bunk next to ours. In front of so many people, B started chewing on A's throat, A screaming and gurgling. One of the other bunks tried to pry B off, but B was too strong. B turned right around and bit another soldier, foaming at the mouth and snarling at him.
"That started the stampede. C tried desperately to stifle the blood from the wound on A, but it… it didn't…" Cygnus broke off, taking a deep shuddering breath. "A was losing too much too fast. A died that morning from blood loss. I tried to pin B down, but B bit me in the shoulder and threw me off. He turned to C, and his jaws opened. The blood… There was so much of it coming from C. I don't know exactly where he had bit, but it must have been an artery because C died from blood loss, even before the doctor arrived.
"B was still chewing on C's arm when the head officer arrived, having been informed of the situation. I was in shock, wondering what had happened and how the hell things had gone so bad so quickly. The head officer ordered me to pin B away from C or he said he would shoot B. So I tried to pin B away from C, grabbing his arms and legs. Of course, B tried to bite me again, but this time, when his teeth sank in, my magic exploded and killed him."
Cygnus stopped, his voice breaking. "I lost… all three of them that day. In the span of an hour… two died from B and… I killed B. It… It wasn't fair. With all my magic… my wards… the thing it did was kill someone. Defensive as the Taiwan Ministry declared it, of course, but it didn't change the fact that it killed someone. A very good friend, at that."
Cygnus' voice shook as he continued. "I… was discharged after that. Honorably discharged, mostly due to shock. I found out later that B… B had been infected with rabies. Months before, B had fed a stray dog and it had bit him. He laughed it off at the time, saying it was only a small cut. As soldiers, we were taught to withstand pain, so he didn't want to be seen weak if he went to the doctors for that kind of wound."
Harry felt Cygnus' hand tighten around his shoulder. "I performed magic in front of non-magicals. So I had a trial in the Taiwan Ministry. Since memory charms were outlawed, non-magical people claimed it as a freak accident and that my gun had discharged when B bit me. Since then, I was known as the soldier that killed his own comrade. People would come to me for the story… and I couldn't take it. I couldn't take repeating the story of how I lost my best friends. I couldn't take being famous for murdering B.
"So I moved away from there. To England, my father's birthplace. I wanted to start fresh, in a place where I wasn't recognized as a murderer," Cygnus finished, his voice dropping. He looked away from Harry and sighed deeply.
Harry had never seen his dad look so vulnerable. Old. It was as if Cygnus had been sapped of life and was suddenly twenty years older than he actually was. The lines around his mouth seemed to be deeper. Stress in the form of wrinkles lined his eyes. Cygnus turned back to Harry and met his gaze.
Pain. Raw, deep agony was in Cygnus' dark eyes. Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, his hands falling limp on his lap.
"To this day, I cannot say their names. It is physically painful for me," Cygnus said. "I am not a saint. I have killed before. And I will kill again. Sometimes, you have to kill to protect. This is why I keep wards on you. This is why I am willing to risk my life. You are my son, not by blood, but by magic. And I will do anything to keep you safe. Kill, or be killed included. I protect you from the world until you learn how to protect yourself. Then, my duty as a father is done."
Harry felt tears well up in his eyes, his mouth opening to speak, but finding no words for the emotion blooming in his heart. He closed his mouth again, and slowly bringing his arms around his dad to hug him. Cygnus gently hugged back.
Harry made a mental note never to take the wards for granted again.
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To say that Cygnus was angry with Dumbledore was putting it lightly.
Harry gave a tentative wince and glanced at Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was looking particularly pale as he took a step back from the fuming Cygnus.
Cygnus had not fully recovered. In fact, Cygnus had mentioned to Harry that he wasn't sure he would fully recover. It would depend on how well the ritual that Cygnus had planned on the summer solstice went. As the land was filled with energy, Cygnus told Harry that he could draw some of the energy into himself.
Rituals were private affairs. Cygnus had absolutely forbade Harry to attend any of the ones Cygnus had done before, but he had agreed to show Harry this particular ritual. Harry wasn't sure why just yet, but he wasn't exactly inclined to ask while Cygnus was glaring like someone had trodden on his hair.
"You knew it was a basilisk," Cygnus accused out of the blue. Or, perhaps, it wasn't, as Dumbledore let out a low sigh.
"I suspected," Dumbledore admitted.
"You knew it was a basilisk," Cygnus repeated, as if Dumbledore had not spoken at all. "And you decided to just let the students go to class like normal? Lucius? What, exactly, would you have done if you knew a basilisk was running through Hogwarts."
"Evacuate the children immediately," Lucius replied, the tone curt and even, though his face remained pale.
"You're as daft as him," Cygnus snapped at Lucius, wheeling around to face Lucius. "Did it ever occur to anyone—anyone that the solution might have been to place roosters around the school?"
Lucius seemed lost for words. Cygnus turned back to Dumbledore, who was now looking at Cygnus in astonishment. Harry wondered if Dumbledore had truly not thought of the solution.
"Alright then," Cygnus snarled, making Harry's neck hairs stand on end. Harry was impressed that, even without his magic, Cygnus could be quite threatening. "Let's move on, assuming that you did not, in fact, think of this simple solution. What, exactly, have the children learned in Defense Against Dark Arts this year?"
"Not to set pixies loose?" Harry supplied. Without meaning to, Cygnus gave Harry a withering glare. Harry flinched and backed away, closing his mouth.
"Yes, thank you, Harry," Cygnus said, his eyes softening just a bit. "So, the children have learned not to set pixies loose. Anything else?"
Lucius and Dumbledore remained silent. Cygnus rounded on Lucius.
"And you," Cygnus all but hissed, "I would like to have some words with you and Tom Riddle's diary!"
Lucius allowed no emotion to betray his face, though his face had taken a grey hue to it.
Cygnus spent the next half hour verbally chewing Dumbledore out.
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Despite arriving home not two hours ago, Harry grinned widely as he flopped back down in his bed at number four, ready for bed. It was still early evening, but Harry was tired. He was glad that he was back, glad that Cygnus appeared to be well, even if his magic hadn't fully recovered yet, and glad that Draco didn't seem offended in the least when Harry told him that Cygnus had bullied Lucius into giving them Dobby the house elf. Instead, Draco snorted and waved a hand with a, "Sure. Make sure you actually write this summer, okay?"
The summer was humid. Harry could hear Cygnus downstairs, surveying the damage done to his wards by the basilisk. According to Cygnus, the wards at the house would need to be replenished of magic after the summer solstice, so Harry was forbidden to do any magic until they were fully running.
Dobby had been extremely pleased that he was serving the family of "the-great-Harry-Potter". He had been ecstatic when he had arrived in his new home, and had taken to cleaning the house. Cygnus had warned Dobby of going outside, as they had muggle neighbors, so Dobby remained in the house. That didn't seem to bother the elf though.
Cygnus had begun preparations for the ritual. It was strange to see his dad in the living room, day after day, filling cup after cup of his blood. Apparently, a week worth of blood was needed at the ritual, as seven was a powerful magical number.
It had only been a few days since Harry had returned home from Hogwarts when Cygnus called Harry down to assist him with the ritual. Harry scrambled off his bed, dropping his Transfiguration book on his pillow and hurried down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, staring in bewilderment. Cygnus was sitting in the center of the living room, the coffee table and couches pushed back towards the wall. The ground was lined with black and white paper in the classic 'yin and yang' formation and the cups of blood were on the outer circle. Cygnus had two candles, both unlit, in the smaller circles closer to the center.
"The summer solstice is tomorrow at ten in the morning," Cygnus said. "I will require your help, as I cannot move for the next fourteen hours."
"What about dinner?" Harry blurted. Then he mentally smacked himself for the lack of tact. Cygnus shook his head.
"I cannot eat anything during this time. Dobby will prepare dinner for you and you are welcome to eat," Cygnus said, not minding at all. "You will need to pass me the book of matches by the table. Normally, this ritual is to be done outside, but our current location does not allow for that. So I have to compensate for that by extending the time to twice as long."
Harry reached over to the coffee table and offered the book of matches. "Oh… So, what is all this?"
"The blood is from seven days," Cygnus explained. "During these fourteen hours, I will sacrifice a cup of blood to the land every two hours and hopefully receive energy in return. Magic. Truthfully, this ritual does not need pre-prepared blood, but I found that the land does not always accept the blood offered. If the land does not accept the blood offered, you receive no magic. So I have collected blood from different days."
"Why doesn't it always accept the offered blood," Harry asked, watching Cygnus take the matches and strike one.
"Emotions… the food you ate… the blood wasn't mature enough… it could be a lot of reasons," Cygnus said. "It does have to be your own blood for you to receive the magic, or the ritual is a dud. Magic is in your blood, so you give a little to receive aid. During this time, I have to remain silent and attempt to connect with the Earth's magic."
"Can anyone do this ritual?" Harry asked, thinking of Voldemort.
Cygnus was silent for a minute. "Truthfully, the numbers of people who succeed in this ritual are very few. The fact is, to connect to the Earth is difficult enough, but considering that the blood has so many factors in it… I have done this ritual where the Earth did not accept any of the cups of my blood. This ritual is not done by many people due to its high failure rate. Also, sitting for seven hours until the time of the solstice without moving or falling asleep is difficult for most people."
"Then… why did you choose this ritual?" Harry asked, biting his lip.
"Though the failure rate is high, the rewards reaped are very high as well. The Earth has no small amount of magic and to obtain even a sliver of it is enough to bring someone back from the jaws of death," Cygnus said. "I have succeeded in the past and I hope to again."
"Oh… So Voldemort can't use this ritual because it needs… blood purity?" Harry inquired.
"No, he wouldn't be able to use this ritual because it would require him to sacrifice blood, which he does not have as a baby. His body does not belong to him, so any blood sacrificed would not work for him," Cygnus sighed deeply and smiled. "Adding to that, I very much doubt he would be willing to try to connect to Earth's magic, as it would require him to understand and appreciate life and death."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well, with a name like Voldemort which I was told means 'Flight from Death', he doesn't exactly appreciate the life cycles," Cygnus sighed. "I'm about to start. At eight, sharp."
Harry glanced at the clock and then at the sunset outside. The sky was still pale blue, so Harry turned back to Cygnus.
"What do you need me to do?" Harry asked, apprehensive.
"I need you to pass me the first glass of blood," Cygnus said. "That is the most important. Hopefully, contact will be enough. I have shared my magic with you so it is possible you will feel the Earth's magic supply you as it supplies me. If not, that is no matter."
Harry nodded and handed the first cup of blood to Cygnus when the clock struck eight. Cygnus smiled and took the cup, pouring the blood onto the paper, staining it bright red. Then he closed his eyes, his breaths calming.
Harry watched Cygnus for about ten minutes before he found out that it was extremely boring. Cygnus was unresponsive and according to Harry's mental math, he would remain that way until ten the following morning. Harry turned and headed up the stairs. He had been expecting something to happen when the blood hit the paper, but apparently staining the floor wasn't the sign he was looking for.
It seemed like just a few minutes after he fell asleep when he was woken by a loud rumble that seemed to originate from the living room. Harry shot up, glancing at his clock and bolting down the stairs. It read two ten in the morning.
Cygnus hadn't moved a muscle at all, but there was a wind that fluttered around the circle and three more cups of blood were missing. The paper remained stuck to the floor as if Cygnus had glued it down, though Harry knew for a fact that Cygnus had not.
The candles blew out and the air seemed to shift in the circle, diving into Cygnus' body. Cygnus let out a soft breath of relief and opened his eyes.
The papers remained innocently still. Cygnus dipped his head and wordlessly summoned the box of matches to relight the candles. Harry watched in awe as Cygnus resumed his position, wondering if that was the effect of the Earth's magic or if it was Cygnus' magic.
Harry watched Cygnus for as long as he could, but eventually his eyes drooped and he slumped into dreams. When he woke the next morning, Cygnus had already cleaned up the remains of the ritual and the sun was already high in the sky.