$blah$ Phoenix speech
A note for this chapter: I love irony. Irony is fun.
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Weapon (Possession Chapter LVII)
Chapter VI - The Order of the Phoenix
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Thin, pale hands reached up and Harry slowly pushed back his hood, brushing unruly hair from his eyes in the same movement. He was careful not to look around, knowing that already the unknowns in the room would be looking at him with either awe or cold calculation. For the light, that calculation was better hidden, but now that he knew what to look for, it was blatant.
$Relax, child. Their judgement is of no consequence.$
Since he had been warned, he wasn't surprised at the soft voice that entered his thoughts and he recognised the gleam in Fawkes' eyes, identifying him as the speaker.
$You are wise beyond your years,$ the phoenix continued.
$I have been known beyond my years,$ Harry responded with a small nod towards the bird.
$Your pain is my pain,$ Fawkes said softly. $Your pain is the Order's Pain.$
$Know pain and know power?$ Harry interrupted the ritualistic lines, not liking at least some of their implications. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he dared the bird or Dumbledore to answer. If they had known He did not care how long it would take, he would return to the one who knew him and none of these would survive. Emerald fire threatened to engulf him.
$We did not know, Harry,$ Dumbledore's voice came to him in an effort to calm him. $We did not know until the day Voldemort took you.$
Harry forced himself to calm, letting Fawkes smooth voice travel through him in comforting waves as he looked back towards the fire bird, shutting out the ancient wizard. What happened now was meant to be between him and Fawkes only, he knew that instinctually. $I know pain, and I know power.$
$But do you know love?$
He smiled, closing his eyes, and the Order members were surprised. Direct mental interaction with Fawkes was different for each of them. The questions asked were never the same for any two people but seldom did they cause the inductee to smile and Harry was smiling. A soft genuine smile that seemed to make him light from within. A secret smile that had only been seen by a few and was reserved for those alone he loved.
$I know rage,$ Harry replied. $I know hate. I know pain. I know lust. And I know love,$ he confirmed, as he opened his eyes to once again gaze into Fawkes' fiery orbs.
If Fawkes was surprised at the depths of feeling Harry was projecting to him he did not show it. Instead he nodded before fixing fire red eyes on liquid green and commanding. $If you know all then open your mind and know me.$
Harry paused, -Are you ready?- He asked silently and received the mental impression of a nod from Xaos. The basilisk was lurking deep within his mind, woven about with shadows.
$Come into my mind, and know me,$ Harry finally invited after taking a deep breath to cover his pause. He lowered some of his defences but he wasn't going to let the phoenix know he had full conscious control over them all. Let the bird fight his way through.
Most in the audience were pragmatic enough to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw Fawkes initiate the full mind merge when illusionary flame appeared around Harry. Now, any spell, any controls the Dark Lord might have left in place on Harry, any influence he might have could be striped away, leaving the boy theirs to mould. Soft gazes filled with sympathy pervaded the room. It was not Harry's fault. Against such evil, he had shown remarkable courage and resourcefulness but he was still a fledgling and could not protect himself against the full range of evil the Lord Voldemort had at his disposal. Only a Phoenix could do that.
Harry felt his eyes become heavy as a warm presence filled him. He was slightly surprised at how easily Fawkes had entered his mind until he felt the slight tingle of reassurance. Magic held him upright even though he wanted to lie down and sleep. The phoenixes presence was relaxing and he savoured what he knew was going to become a rare sensation until he felt Xaos stir within him.
The illusionary fire vanished as the shadow basilisk struck and the watching Order members started as Harry arched back, emerald eyes opened wide as he screamed silently in pain. Around his body, coiled tight and wreathed with shadows, Xaos appeared, crest raised, fangs barred, ruby eyes burning with power.
-He belongs to me.- The words boomed through the minds of all present as the basilisk locked gazes with Fawkes.
The phoenix screamed but did not burst into his death flames. Dumbledore hastily averted his vision but looked back as he realised the serpent was only a projection. A solid magical protection but nothing more.
-Don't be too sure old man.-
"You are nothing but an illusion. Be gone!" Albus commanded with a sharp flick of his wand.
-Oh no,- Xaos' hissed, still projecting his thoughts. -I don't think so. This one,- he added, wrapping his shadowy coils tighter around Harry, -belongs to the King.-
-He belongs to the Order and to himself,- Fawkes returned.
-His life perhaps, but his death belongs to the King and I am here to ensure that will be the case.-
-But you will die as well.-
-A small sacrifice for the glory of the King.-
"So he commands his servants to die?"
-No more than you do. My death will have purpose though, for I will be accompanied by his greatest enemy.-
"Why has he not yet killed Harry? If he implanted you, he could have killed him."
-Old man, your understanding is deficient. Simple death is far too easy. The boy has suffered true, but the boy has not yet suffered for my Master. One by one shall his friends be taken and broken. Slowly shall he lose all hope, slowly shall my Master take all that he holds dear, until pain is all he knows and death seems like a reward. And then my Master shall withhold that gift, until this child is completely broken, until he screams, until he cries, until he begs, until he calls my Master 'Master'. Only then will my Master consider ending it. I am here to ensure that he survives that long, a gift as it were, protection against himself and others who might grant him mercy.-
-No, I will not allow that,- Fawkes answered.
Xaos looked amused. -And what makes you think he's going to give you a choice?-
-I cannot stop Riddle's actions but I can stop you,- Fawkes returned.
The basilisk looked back flatly. -Try it, bird,- he invited the conflict, allowing his presence to fade slightly so that it looked like he was entwined not just around Harry, but through him as well. -I am in his mind - that little whisper of advice, guaranteeing survival. I am in his body - my poison and my eyes can be his if life is the goal, and I am in his soul - for only one who is a serpent my speak my tongue.-
-I will drive you from his mind, and I will take you from his body, and his soul has not been touched by you, you feel your Master though him and I will close that link forever, so that the Dark Lord may not gain life from him.-
Fawkes said nothing more before he struck, his talons reaching out to strike the basilisk. Harry screamed silently again and his body jerked but was held in place by the coils surrounding him. Xaos retaliated, his tail coming around to attempt to swat the phoenix and his jaws snapping at the fire bird. A few feathers was all he caught.
Xaos was careful to keep his eyes protected but as the motion of strike and counter strike continued it became obvious, by the small cuts accumulating on him that Fawkes had more experience. The phoenix was old, and had fought many basilisk. He knew when and where to strike.
-You cannot win against me,- the bird said eventually, rising to hover out of Xaos' range. -You are alone, you have no support and your host is against you. Leave him, and let it end quickly.-
Xaos said nothing as he drew himself up, blinking his eyes to clear the thin trickle of blood from them. Fawkes' talons had pierced his skin around them and the blood stung as it mixed with liquid of his eyes. He tightened his coils around Harry, the dry rasp of scale against scale loud in the silence. The rest of the Order watched on silently as the ancient enmity played out. Finally, the basilisk narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the phoenix, his movements regally slow. -I have my orders,- he hissed. -And unlike the phoenix, the basilisk do not betray their Lord!-
He surged, mouth open at the phoenix and Harry couldn't hold back a cry. Fawkes screamed his war song, his pinions glowing at there was a deafening noise as the two met in a tangled spiral of feathers and scales. They traded blows, Xaos' hissing as the glowing pinions broke his skin but the gentle rain of feathers indicated that the damage was not all one sided. Harry felt his true self wince with every injury Xaos had and he could feel his anger growing. He wasn't sure how long he could stand this.
-Master, it's okay,- his serpent reassured him silently. -I will end this now though.-
"Arhhh!"
There was a scream of triumph and Fawkes struck quickly, swooping in to drive Xaos down as the basilisk tried to cover himself.
-Master!- Xaos screamed in as loud a mental voice as he could manage, his tone anguished.
-He cannot help you here,- Dumbledore responded coldly.
Finally there was a thud as the serpent fell to the ground, still partially coiled around and through Harry, but to the Order he was defeated. Blood dripped to pool around his head before it vanished. The basilisk was only a magical construct, left to protect Harry and once his energy was gone, he could not maintain his existence.
-I will not...- Xaos breathed deeply, around the blood pooling in his throat. -betray... my master.-
Fawkes said nothing as he swooped in for the final blow, his enhanced pinions biting deeply into the softer tissue under Xaos' crest. The serpent whimpered but then faded further.
Dumbledore smiled before he reached forward to catch Harry as he fell. "Now!" He commanded Fawkes, and before the serpent had faded entirely, the phoenix shone, fire seeming to outline him completely.
As if in benediction he touched his wing tips to Harry's temples, his fiery red eyes catching liquid emeralds.
$Harry, I welcome you into the Order and bid you to serve as your parents did: loyally, strongly and with all their hearts. The Order has one rule, little one, do what is right and follow your heart because if one cannot be true to oneself, one cannot be true to the Light.$
Harry nodded. And Fawkes drew back, still blazing. He landed back on the crystal and as Harry wondered when he had moved towards it he understood what the phoenix needed him to do now. He reached out slowly, laying both hands on the burning crystal. The fire that surrounded Fawkes now surrounded Harry, and the Order watched as the flames slowly seeped inwards, dying the white robes of initiation black with the ash as the fire motif danced.
-NO!- The denial came from the almost gone basilisk. Being a magical construct, injured and damaged by Fawkes' attacks, the basilisk had lain, dying, fading from existence while the ceremony proceeded, but now it surged back towards its charge. Ruby eyes glowed and the remaining magic gathered there, making them solid once again. -I will not fail!- Xaos hissed determinedly as he slammed into Harry, disappearing entirely.
Harry screamed, and those that were close enough could see the now visible conflicting streams of magic vying for dominance. Fawkes' essence was a blazing light, tangling with the shadowed darkness of the basilisk.
Unconsciously several Order members shifted their grip on their wands, ready to strike down their young initiate should the darkness triumph. They didn't want to and they would remember Harry as a young man who was taken from them too young, but they would not, could not allow the Order to be tainted. This wasn't part of the ceremony but this initiation had been permanently corrupted by the taint of the Dark Lord. A taint that could only be removed if Fawkes arose triumphant from this final match, and that could only happen if Harry fully embraced the light within himself. And that was a step that he could, regretfully, be too young to achieve completely. But they were the purifiers, they could not accept anything else. The Order could not.
One by one they relaxed, looking at the newest Order member with newfound respect, as the fire light that was Fawkes' energy won out over the shadowy darkness of the basilisk.
There was one last desperate scream from the serpent before the energy disappeared. -No... I will not fail.- A flicker of a tail seemed to appear to strike Harry but Fawkes intercepted it, dissipating the energy harmlessly.
Harry fell to his knees, gasping as his personal energy was pulled in waves first one way then the next. It was disconcerting and he cried out when he felt Xaos vanish but then a burning seared his chest, and before he could stop himself he was clawing at his cloths, trying to stop the pain.
His robes parted and the Order saw the image of the phoenix, the proof that Harry had in some way, like the rest of them, bonded with Fawkes. But unlike the rest of them, the phoenix tattoo that was emblazoned on Harry's skin was not in the colours of the fire bird. Harry's was inky - black, charcoal, grey, the different tones worked together, defining every feather, talon and claw beautifully. But it was wrong.
Fawkes sung softly as wands were once more raised, and Dumbledore stepped forward, placing his withered hand on Harry's shoulder. He stroked one finger over the living tattoo as it faded completely before he looked around, Fawkes coming to settle on his shoulder.
"Harry has been touched by Darkness but he has not succumb to it but the coloration is a reminder to us all that we must be vigilant. Now and forever though, Fawkes has accepted him and so he is a full member of the Order. Like the rest of us, Harry will fight against the Darkness." Dumbledore nodded towards the rest of the Order as several of them stood to leave.
The Initiation was done, and as dramatic as it had been, there was no need to stay. If Fawkes vouched for Harry, then the darkness that was the basilisk that the Dark Lord had left guarding his rival had been defeated and there was no need for them to wait. A few others lingered but there was nothing to see.
Sirius came forward with Remus and gently took Harry from Dumbledore. The boy had a soft smile on his face but seemed fine for the ordeal of his initiation.
"Sirius, I would like to see Harry tomorrow, after classes. There are things that need to be discussed."
He nodded. "I know, I told him as much. I think you can expect some questions."
Dumbledore smiled, "I would be disappointed with anything less. Please take him to Madam Pomfrey. Fawkes has removed the basilisk but I'd like to be sure that Tom hasn't left anything else."
"We'll see to it," Remus responded as he escorted Sirius and his precious bundle out of the room.
Dumbledore let out a sigh as he looked around. The room was empty now. He reached up and stroked Fawkes. The phoenix seemed to sigh before he nibbled gently on the finger tips. "That was interesting," the old wizard said conversationally.
$More interesting than you know,$ Fawkes agreed.
"Oh, was there something other than the basilisk?"
$Not from the Dark Lord, although I cannot fully close the link between them but what interests me is Harry himself.$
"Is Harry blocking the link?"
$As much as he can. I can help now, although that probably won't be necessary since the link isn't that extensive.$
"Good, so what is it with Harry himself?"
$I asked him the usual. He knows rage, pain, hate and lust. He knows the darkness and he knows light. He does not know fear, not in the way most people do. You do know that he simulated the necessary reactions.$
"I noticed, yes. His power doesn't easily allow him to fall prey to magical illusions."
$That's not a bad thing. What surprised me is that he knows love.$
"Love?"
$Love, and not just that of a parent to a child, or that of a boyfriend to a girl friend. He knows the love one feels towards a life partner.$
"Who?" Dumbledore was surprised. He had expected Harry to know love, but more the immature love of one his age but Fawkes was indicating something completely different, something that could change everything.
$I could not find out. He is hiding that information. I'm guessing he was hiding it from the basilisk as well, that on some level, Harry knew the serpent was there but couldn't do anything about it but the information didn't come to light. He's still hiding it.$
Dumbledore nodded. That would make sense although now that Harry was safe he expected they would know soon enough. "If it's one of the other students, will it be a problem?"
$No,$ Fawkes said easily. $For Harry to be able to love so deeply and so young, they will be true to him as well, although we will have to see to their protection. I will not have another betray me.$
Albus closed his eyes briefly before he turned and walked from the room. This was an unexpected twist, but it was nothing they couldn't handle, not now that Harry was under their control.
"Tom... The Light does not bow to the Dark. You will know that soon."
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