Harry Potter and the Shadowed Light

Chapter 29

Previously

"Why are you telling us all of this now? You have said that you don't need our help, so I question your motives."

Harry smirked at his question. "True, I don't need your help but Tom is still your Lord and I wanted to test your loyalties as well as warn you of Dumbledore's manipulations." Harry focused on Severus for the last part, emerald green eyes boring into black.

Severus felt like his very soul was being searched before he nodded. "I see."

"If that is everything, I think it's best if we retire for the evening. You have your ritual to prepare for and Narcissa and Draco are waiting for me," Lucius said after a beat of silence.

Harry nodded. "I agree. Good evening, gentlemen. Oh, and happy Yule."

Harry took a deep breath as he looked at the collection of horcruxes he had gathered. The diary, the cup, the locket, the ring, and the diadem - each one called to him and enticed him. He was pleased that he had decided to start the ritual today as Yule signified rebirth. Hopefully this would make magic more willing to aid him and help bring Tom back. Reaching in, he picked up the diary, allowing his magic to gently caress the soul shard that rested within.

"I hope this works," he whispered to himself, not noticing how his hands stroked the aged black leather of the cover nor how they lingered over where the name was inscribed on the front cover.

Standing, he carefully reconstructed the wards around the box containing the other horcruxes, not wanting to risk anything happening to them. Once happy that the box was secure, Harry carefully made his way to the ritual room. He had been surprised when he realised that the townhouse had a room specifically for rituals, although not rituals like he was about to perform. The room was originally for holidays and magical celebrations, such a Samhain, however it was easy for Harry (along with Remus, Sirius, and, surprisingly enough, Kreacher) to make the room suitable for the resurrection ritual. The house-elf had looked overjoyed to learn that they would be doing Olde magic; he had even listened to and obeyed Sirius without complaint.

Entering the room, Harry noticed how the air seemed to almost crackle with magic. As the moon moved into position, the circle seemed to emit waves of power, calling to Harry.

Allowing the magic to wash over him, Harry let his own aura swell, releasing the hold on his occlumency shields.

Sirius felt his eyes widen as Harry entered the room. The preteen had his hair unbound so it fell around his shoulders in waves, framing his face which was dominated by illuminating emerald eyes. His skin seemed to almost glow in the dim light - perhaps because of the contrast with both his black hair and robes. He was bare chested under the simple black robe and barefoot, wearing only grey trousers. But what was most eye catching was the power the boy emitted—it was both deadly and alluring, drawing Sirius to him.

Remus let out a breath when Harry entered the room. The overwhelming magical presence of their cub made even Moony pause for a moment. The boy before them was so different from the boy he had imagined over the years, but he couldn't find it in him to be disappointed. No, instead he was proud of the person Harry had become. Yes, he was Dark, and that did admittedly frighten a small part of Remus, but he was also brave, ambitious, intelligent, and loyal. Everything that had happened since Harry had re-entered his life had made Remus realise that he wouldn't change the young man before him; Harry had opened his eyes to the manipulations around him and for that Remus would be forever grateful.

Settling himself down, Harry shared a look with his two guardians - he wanted them to know he was prepared for this. Eventually Harry felt the magic in the room spike and knew it was time. Placing the diary in the centre of the rune circle, meticulously drawn by Sirius, Harry knelt down next to it and took a steadying breath. Harry flicked his wrist so that the candles surrounding it would light, basking Harry in their glow and making him seem even more otherworldly.

"Magicae matrem suam, det mihi ad sanandum potentiam et victus est quod perdidi," he chanted.

The words spilled from him easily as he had studied them religiously, making sure his pronunciation was perfect, not wanting to risk even the smallest of mistakes. Next came the part he was most dreading. He had neglected to inform Sirius and Remus of this as he had known they would most likely refuse to help him, or try and find another even more complicated way.

"Vitam, mortem, irae et amor, sana qui pereunt."

Sirius, who still easily remembered the cruel Latin lessons taught by his mother, lost his breath at the words. He stared down at the runes as the words ran through his head: 'Mother magic, grant me the power to heal that which is broken and lost / life, death, anger, and love, heal who is lost.' The words tugged at his soul, their magic potent and heavy. His eyes glanced back to Harry as the boy began moving.

Taking a breath, Harry drew out a purified knife and carefully placed the sharpened edge against his chest. Hearing a sharp breath being draw he quickly looked up and shared a look with Sirius, who was now looking worried. Nodding his head to show he was fine, Harry carefully cut into his skin, breathing through the sharp pain which burned through him as he carefully engraved the runes he needed.

The rune Laguz, for life, memory, and love. To show he accepted who Tom was and forgave him, to show how he was willing to love him despite it all. The rune Mannaz for mental clarity and life, so that Tom would return sane and healed. And finally, the rune Algiz for protection of both mind, body, and, most importantly, soul.

Once done, Harry quickly picked up a glass vial and held it to the bleeding runes, allowing his blood to run until the vial was full. His magic was mixing with the runes and his blood, making it swirl with power and almost glitter in the candlelight. Once the vial was full he placed it down and allowed his magic to heal the cuts, although even his magic couldn't stop them from lightly scarring.

"Sanguinem libenter dedi, sana et revivesco."

Harry uneasily breathed out as the sentence filtered through his head: 'blood willingly given, heal and resurrect.' His magic surged forth to reassure him and Harry could feel himself relax under its pressure, able to continue on.

The final step was the easiest and at the same time the hardest for Harry. Picking up the vial, he allowed exactly seven drops of his blood to fall on the diary. At first nothing seemed to happen. However, the diary soon started to smoke, the shape eventually warping until suddenly an ear shattering and, to Harry, heart wrenching scream was released.

"STOP! STOP IT!" A familiar but surprisingly young voice wailed.

Suddenly, instead of a diary, the ghostly form of Tom Riddle appeared, looking shockingly small and frightened in the middle of the rune circle.

"I'm sorry Tom, but you have to trust me," Harry hissed, Parseltongue sliding on his tongue.

The soul sharp seemed to narrow his wide and frightened eyes.

"You're killing me," he hissed back.

"I promise, you will be fine. You're going to join back with your main soul and eventually you'll be whole. I promise," Harry said, allowing his emotions to shine brightly and clearly through his eyes.

"Why should I trust you?" the young soul shard demanded. Harry noted how it sounded weaker and knew the ritual was working.

"I'm your soulmate. I'm going to resurrect you, but I can't do it yet. You need to be whole."

"My soulmate?" Tom whispered in awe.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Then why would you kill me?"

"I'm not killing you, I'm just making you more human." Harry hoped the soul shard understood. Its' consent didn't matter as the ritual would work even without the shard's willingness, but still this was the first time in this life that he was talking to Tom. Harry wanted him to understand.

"Humans are weak and disgusting."

"I'm human."

The soul shard silenced then and Harry noted how it was less visible now. "But - no... perhaps I was wrong?" it whispered very quietly, making Harry think it didn't mean to be heard.

"I promise, you'll be more powerful when the ritual is completed. You will be whole and we can be together," Harry promised.

"You swear it?"

"I swear."

"I always wanted a soulmate, somebody who would be mine," the shard of Tom's soul said, looking at Harry with a level of possessiveness and hunger that made Harry fight to keep from shivering.

Unsure what to say to that, Harry kept silent and after a few more seconds the shard disappeared entirely. With it gone, Harry was left breathing deeply, his magic seemingly draining as the ritual died down. Slumping forward, Harry let out a groan as it finished completely, taking with it a large chunk of his magical reserves.

Sirius, seeing him slump in exhaustion, quickly darted forward, throwing himself to his knees in order to support and catch him.

"Are you okay? What happened? What did you say?" he asked, firing the questions off quickly, his hands gripping Harry tightly.

Harry let out a weak chuckle as Sirius gathered him in his arms, happily tucking himself into the man's strong chest. "I'm fine, I'm just tired. It was much more draining than I had originally anticipated."

"But it worked, right?" Remus asked hesitantly. Although he had been present, he still wasn't sure what exactly he had just witnessed.

Harry smiled tiredly, closing his eyes. "Yes," he said, breathing the word out, before letting himself go lax in Sirius' arms.

Sirius was surprised when he felt all the tension in Harry's body give, but quickly stood with the boy in his arms.

"He's asleep," Remus said out loud, more from shock than anything else.

"I'll put him to bed, we can start the Yule celebrations without him in the main parlour. Harry said we couldn't disrupt the rune circle in here until the ritual was finished and Tom was back." Sirius said 'Tom' with a slight bitterness, as, although he was behind and fully supportive of Harry, he still found it hard to accept. However, he would do anything for the boy he saw as his child.

Remus followed Sirius as he carefully walked out of the ritual room, wondering if any of this was actually a good idea.

Harry woke up in his room feeling slightly groggy but magically restored. He wasn't yet 100%, but he could once again feel his magic responding to him. Casting a wandless tempus charm, he was surprised to see that it was 9:30 am as he usually woke around 8. He theorised that he needed the rest to restore his magical stores. After spending a few more moments in bed, enjoying the comfort of the silk sheets and warmth, Harry reluctantly stood and decided to have a quick shower before finding Remus and Sirius.

Entering the kitchen, Harry wasn't surprised when he saw both men nursing hot drinks. Sirius was opting for coffee, black with unhealthy amounts of sugar, and Remus had a cup of herbal tea.

"Morning," he said, pouring his own coffee and joining them at the table with half of a grapefruit, opting to go healthy for breakfast.

Remus eyed his cup for a moment before shrugging. If Harry liked it, then he would let go of the notion that coffee was bad for children—or, at least, bad for Harry.

"Morning pup, you slept late. Are you feeling okay?" The genuine worry Harry heard in the man's voice made he feel warm inside.

Harry nodded after taking a sip. "I'm fine, I think I just needed the extra sleep to restore my magic."

"It really drained you that much?" Remus asked. He knew the ritual was powerful, and he didn't doubt it would leave many exhausted, but Harry was so powerful that the concept of him being drained was hard to get his head around.

Harry hummed. "It was the rune and blood magic, the mixture was quite strong."

Sirius felt his eyes narrow then. "Yes, about that - what the bloody hell Harry?! You never mentioned having to carve yourself up!" he shouted.

Harry winced. "I know, but it was necessary! Only I could do it as only I have the emotions and desire necessary to bring him back."

Sirius sighed, his anger quiet behind his eyes. "I know but still. Seeing you bleed, knowing you were in pain, it just… it killed me."

Harry nodded. "I know, and I'm sorry for not warning you, I just knew you would object - that you would both object."

"Will you have to do it again?" Remus asked.

"No, the vial I filled last night should have enough blood to complete the entire ritual and bring Tom back. All that needs to be done now is for a new horcrux to be placed in the circle during each of the old holidays; that, along with seven drops of the blood being placed on it during the moon's highest point, should bring Tom back. I don't need to be present during the holidays so either, so either of you can do the ritual from now on. My blood holds the emotions needed for the ritual to work, all you have to do it say the ritual's enchantment at the right time and make sure that seven drops of blood are used."

"That means that we can continue the rituals while you're at school, right?" Remus asked, intrigued by the blood magic and its properties.

"Yes. The final ritual will be on the summer solstice and I will be home for that and therefore home for Tom's return."

"Well, you certainly have the Potter luck," Sirius said, finally having come to terms with the fact that Tom would be returning.

"It's part of my charm."

Barking out his dog-like laugh, Sirius grinned and decided that he didn't care about the whole soulmate business and instead he focused on the boy in front of him. He wanted Harry to be happy, to be healthy, and most importantly to know he was loved.

"So, how about we show you how Yule is really celebrated?"

Harry smiled. "Please."

"So, normally you would have joined us last night in lighting the three candles on the Yule log, but after the ritual you were drained, so we had to do that without you," Sirius said. He was sad that Harry had missed it, but also knew that the boy wouldn't have wanted them to not do it just because he couldn't join them.

Harry nodded. He knew this from the books he had read and speaking to his friends.

"The actual Yule ritual is simple: tonight after the candles have burned for exactly 24 hours, we all simply add a drop of blood to the flames and ask Magic to bless and restore us, to allow us to be reborn stronger in the coming year. Then the candles are left to burn out and we have the traditional Yule feast."

Harry smiled at the easy way Sirius spoke about the ritual.

"Today is about family and spending time together. It's about remembering those who have come before us and celebrating them and our traditions. Now, normally we would all sit together and share stories - that's how I celebrated as a child. We were taught the Black legacy and what being a Black meant. And although that is important, and you do need to know it, we decided that for your first Yule we could do something else, so we came up with a better idea."

"Don't be modest, it was your idea, Siri," Remus said, smiling at his friend, proud of him and how he had matured. He was turning into a real father for the young wizard.

Sirius grinned at Remus before looking back to Harry. "I know you never had a chance to meet your parents and that your own memories of them are vague at best, so instead I thought that you like might like to visit ours. We would still be celebrating our past and this way you can see how they were growing up, and how much they loved each other and you."

Harry stilled, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "Really?" he asked.

Sirius nodded. "Come on," he said, standing and leading the way to the family parlour.

Entering, Harry saw the large Yule log in the centre of the rome, the three candles burning away happily. Sirius, however, continued towards the circle of comfy chairs in the corner, which Harry noted now sported a pensive in the centre.

"We've added hours of our memories: from when we met to simple conversations, our adventures to boring lessons. From when Lily would simply curse your father pink to when they held you in their arms for the first time and everything in between," Remus said. They had wanted to show Harry his parents as they were, how Lily had a fiery temper as a young girl and how besotted James was; they wanted him to get to know his parents and for him to be able to experience what they were like.

Harry nodded. "Thank you," he said, his voice catching as he tried to convey just how much this meant to him.

"Come on, pup," Sirius said. "I want you to see your mum in her wedding dress. I swear Lils must have had some angel blood in her, she was always beautiful but that day… that day she was gorgeous."

Harry didn't even realise he was crying until he felt Sirius wipe his face. He was smiling so hard his face ached.

"They would be so proud of you, Harrison," Sirius said, using Harry's full name to convey just how serious he was.

Harry smiled and hoped the animagus was correct. "They were so in love, so happy."

"They were. They were lucky in that regard."

Harry nodded. Thinking about them made his chest ache to be with Tom, but it also tore him apart to realise that it was thanks to his soul mate that his parents were dead. That the people he had spent the past few hours watching were gone - the people who were so full of life, of joy and love. He had never really had a chance to get to know his parents; sure he had heard stories, but actually seeing them… he felt for the first time how deeply he missed them. For the first time he truly realised what he was missing.

Harry had watched everything from the first time the marauders met, both Remus' point of view and Sirius', to the last time Sirius had seen his parents alive. A lot of the memories featured Wormtail and other people Harry despised, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he took in everything about the parents he never knew.

Harry was shocked at how much his father had looked like the previous him—he truly had been a clone of James Potter. They had the same raven hair that defied gravity, the same crooked grin, and even their builds had been similar, though James had been much healthier and taller than Harry had ever been. The only difference were the eyes. Harry had Lily's eyes, not just the colour but the almond shape, too.

His father had been confident, slightly cocky, but still he was young. Harry watched, fascinated, as the marauders were born on their first journey to Hogwarts. He didn't even mind seeing a young and still snivelling Peter as it showed how his father treated people. James had taken the young traitor under his arm and more or less declared him under his protection.

He watched them be Sorted, how Sirius had been so nervous when he had gone into Gryffindor and how James had comforted him.

Harry watched in awe as his father fell in love with his mother and then in hilarity when his mother dismissed him and all of his attempts. Simple conversations between friends and cruel pranks, late night plotting and boring lesson -, Harry watched all of them with wonder.

He witnessed his mother curse his father pink, blue, green, bald and—well, she cursed him a lot over the years because of his antics.

He watched as his mother slowly started to respond to his dad's unrelenting devotion, how her eyes slowly started to soften and her smiles became much less rare. He watched them slowly fall completely and utterly in love.

He watched how his father had spent weeks building up the courage to ask for her hand in marriage; how he had a whole speech planned only to bottle it at the last minute and practically throw the ring at her in fear of rejection.

He watched as his mother and father fought Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the first war, how they duelled together and complemented each other in battle.

He watched as they planned his nursery, how they argued over names, and how Lily eventually won and got Harrison instead of James, who wanted Harold. He watched them as he grew and saw how much they loved him.

He saw the pride and devotion in their eyes as he was born.

Eventually Harry, Sirius and Remus were all spat out of the pensive. Harry could feel the tears running down his face, but he didn't care enough to brush them aside.

"Thank you," he whispered, emotion clogging his voice.

Sirius and Remus were in similar states, the memories dragging up emotions long buried.

"It's okay, pup," Sirius whispered, pulling both Remus and Harry into a three-way hug. They had hardly spoken during the memories, instead letting Harry get the full experience.

Harry smiled, grateful for what they had done. Eventually the hug ended, all of them left feeling better for it.

AN: This chapter is shorter than normal but I like it, so hope you do as well.

Remember people that reviews are always appreciated but I won't hold the story to ransom for them.

Updates should come every few days and like usual this is being posed on Ao3 under the same name.

Hope you enjoy reading

~ Annie