Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit
Acknowledgments: Rpeh on the beta work.
Chapter 7
"Harry," Priya spoke first, her wide dark eyes locking onto his as he looked up from the grass.
"Priya," Harry responded, just to say something.
"What happened?" Hana asked, still staring down at her skin in amazement. The coloration had returned to normal by then but the girl looked like she expected it to happen once again at any moment.
"You did it!" Priya exclaimed. In her excitement she threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. Harry kissed her back, still shaking from the effort of a few moments ago.
"What happened?" Hana screamed. Priya frowned against his lips before pulling herself away from him and turning to the girl.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I think so," Hana said
"Let me check," Priya said, taking out her wand. Harry watched as she struggled to cast basic diagnostic spells on the girl.
"Okay," Hana frowned as Priya's brow furrowed and she moved her wand slowly around the girl. It took all of ten seconds for her to get the information she was looking for.
"You seem fine," Priya said. "How do you feel?"
"I guess I feel normal. A little warm," Hana said. Priya placed the back of her hand on the girl's forehead and paused for a moment. Harry knew the magic would have already told her if she had a fever. But it was hard to trust magic around the atomic sites in Japan. And, as she'd told him many times, it never hurt to check in two different ways.
"And before, when you were glowing, how did you feel then?" Harry asked. Priya glared at him as if she didn't want her examination interrupted. But she lowered her hand from the Hana's head and didn't comment.
"I don't know," Hana said. "I guess I felt…I don't know."
"Try to describe it as best you can. You can use Japanese if that will help," Priya said.
"But Mister Potter doesn't speak Japanese," Hana said.
"Hey, I'm working on it," Harry scoffed.
"I do, though," Priya smiled. "I can translate for the dum-dum if need be."
"Okay. I guess I wasn't really thinking about it. I was watching Mister Potter and he was being all boring. But then suddenly I felt. I don't know, just amazing. And whole I guess? Like something that was gone came back. But I don't know what. And then I looked down and I was glowing and I got scared," Hana said, sticking to English.
"I see," Priya said.
"Is it bad?" Hana asked.
"No," Harry said.
"Quite the contrary," Priya said. "I think we just had a major breakthrough."
"Huh?" Hana asked.
"You know what we're doing, right?" Priya asked.
"Trying to fix things," Hana answered without hesitation. Harry frowned at the explanation. It wasn't technically wrong, sure. But he doubted the girl really had any idea just what he and Priya were trying to do.
"Yes," Priya said. "And when Harry took whatever that was out of the ground, the magic swelled through it and was everywhere. I felt it too."
"You didn't start glowing," Hana frowned. "Am I a freak?"
"No," Harry said firmly before Priya had a chance to even compute the word. "You're a bright and talented young girl."
"Then why?" Hana frowned.
"What you felt was the magic returning. I can't say for sure but I think it probably focused a little bit more on you. That warmth, that feeling of being whole? That's your body acknowledging the magic. There was probably too much of it for you so it vented off in the form of the glow. I've actually had something sort of similar happen before. But, that's what Priya and I feel like whenever we leave here," Harry admitted.
"Do you glow when you leave here?" Hana asked.
"No," Priya said. "But that's just because we've lived with it our entire lives. We understand it. We know how to control it."
"I see," Hana frowned. "It did sort of feel like I could do anything when it happened. It was pretty amazing."
"I know the feeling," Harry said, smiling. "The first time I really did magic I felt like I could accomplish anything in that instant too. Like a whole new world opened up. It was a liberating feeling."
"Can I ask a question?" Hana asked, ignoring the fact that she'd already asked a few. Harry suspected that meant she was going to ask something far more personal than she had to that point.
"Of course," Priya said warmly.
"If you feel like that when you leave here…then why do you even bother staying here?" Hana frowned. Harry could see the wheels spinning in her head, wondering if she would do the same thing had she known another way. And the worry that she might be losing her teachers to a world she couldn't understand.
"Priya's here," Harry said, flippantly, biting his tongue as soon as it slipped out. Sometimes there was more truth in his snark than he cared to admit. And, given that she swatted him on the arm in response, he suspected she thought it was merely a joke. But, it wasn't. While he'd always been interested in the nuclear sites, he knew that he'd have grown bored and left a while ago if not for Priya Patel.
"Because we're doing work that we think needs to be done," Priya said. "And if we succeed it will be a great boon for both the Japanese and the entire world. We're pushing bounds of magic that people haven't ever really explored before and, even if it takes smarter minds than us a century or two from now, we're laying the ground work for fields of magic that aren't really even understood at this point."
"Oh," Hana responded. She stared at Priya as if she were speaking in tongues. But, before either of them could comment further, another person spoke from down the path.
"What did you do?" Alexander Avery asked. Harry turned and peered at his traveling companion. He was walking down the path behind the shrine, holding hands with a Japanese woman a few years older than Harry.
"Harry took some of the radiation out of the land," Priya said.
"What?" Avery laughed. "I thought that wasn't possible."
"It wasn't," Priya said.
"Ah," Avery responded, his eyes shifting from Priya and to Harry and a smirk forming on his lips.
"What brought you here?" Harry asked.
"Fumiko and I were out for a walk on her day off. I felt the magic flare from over here and given that, well, magic doesn't flare around Nagasaki, I figured it was worth investigating," Avery explained.
"I felt it too," Fumiko said.
"And given that you ruined our date by distracting us, you're going to owe me something for that. I had a reservation we won't be able to keep now," Avery said.
"Just what am I going to owe you?" Harry laughed.
"A story, I think," Fumiko said. Harry gazed at the woman for a minute. He didn't know her that well, although he knew that she and Avery had been growing closer since the previous Christmas. She was rather pretty and was clinging affectionately to Avery's arm. He wondered just what she knew and what Avery had left a secret. In truth, he found himself rather uncomfortable around Avery's paramour. But he wasn't going to say anything, as he was sure Avery felt uncomfortable around Priya.
"I think that can be arranged," Harry said.
"Good," Fumiko smiled. "Then let's go back to the house and I'll make some yakitori and we can talk about it."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Harry said. Avery just glared at him.
"I think it's a fantastic idea," the older man said. His tone gave every indication that it wasn't up for discussion.
"Fine," Harry said.
"What about me?" Hana asked.
"We should walk you home," Priya said to Hana. "We can meet you back at the house in an hour or so."
"That will give me plenty of time to start cooking," Fumiko said with a smile. "The kitchen does not get nearly enough use for the amount of effort that went into remodeling it."
"Great. We'll see you then," Priya responded with as much of a smile as she held her hand down toward Hana. The girl took it after a moment's hesitation and then they proceeded to follow the path back to the shrine, and eventually Hana's home.
Hana kept their minds occupied with inane conversation as they walked. Harry barely registered any of it. He was too lost in his own thoughts of what just happened, and what he'd tell Avery, to pay attention to the girl. Priya kept her occupied until they dropped her at home, exchanging brief pleasantries with her parents before they left.
It wasn't until they were on their way to a safe spot to portkey that Priya spoke.
"You don't like Fumiko, do you?" she asked.
"I don't have an opinion of Fumiko," Harry said.
"Well you could have been nicer. She's just trying to be friendly," Priya said.
"I don't like strangers knowing much about me. I tend to value my secrecy. And it's only compounded if I don't think they'll be around long," Harry said.
"Why is that?" Priya asked.
"Avery tends to find someone similar every place we stop," Harry shrugged.
"And you don't?" Priya snapped.
"Of course not," Harry lied, surprised at how defensive his tone became.
"You're a bad liar," Priya said. "I don't care what you did years ago. But people change. I'm sure you realize that. And Avery loves her. He's going to ask her to marry him when he works up the courage."
"What?" Harry laughed.
"Is it that weird of a thought to you?" Priya asked.
"Well I just…How do you know that?" Harry asked.
"You know how on weekends I wake you up and you mumble about five more minutes of sleep and then go right back to bed for another two hours?" Priya said.
"Yes," Harry responded.
"Well, sometimes Avery and I talk while you sleep," Priya said.
"How devious," Harry joked.
"I know," Priya said.
"Anyway, how did this come up?" Harry asked.
"Well, he told me how much he loved her. I think he just needed to talk to someone who would listen. And he told me how shortly after Christmas he overheard some school boys teasing her. She's too good of a clerk to say anything to them, or acknowledge that she heard them," Priya started.
"What were they saying?" Harry asked.
"They were calling her Christmas cake in their conversations with each other," Priya said.
"I don't get it," Harry commented.
"Either did he. He was doing his normal shopping. They'd flirted some and gone out once or twice but he didn't think she was really that interested in him. After the boys left the shop he decided to just ask her about it and she told him," Priya said.
"And?" Harry said.
"They have cakes on Christmas here. Apparently they're these little whipped cream and strawberry things. And there's a general idea, I guess, for lack of a better word. They're sweet, pretty, tasty, and no one could possibly want them after the twenty-fifth," Priya said.
"Ah," Harry responded as it clicked in his head. "So, Avery, who was smitten with her. Probably went on about how he didn't care how old she was and that those boys were idiots and if she would have him he'd be honored."
"Over the course of a few months, I imagine," Priya said.
"I'm surprised he didn't talk to me about it," Harry frowned.
"Well in his defense I've kept you rather busy," Priya smirked at him. "And he wants to but isn't sure how to broach the subject. He thinks you'll think he's abandoning you or failing you or something. It's complicated and he didn't explain it properly."
"It is complicated," Harry agreed, sensing Priya's annoyance when he didn't fully explain it. But figuring she could live with that lack of knowledge for now.
"So yeah, in short, you should make more of an effort. She's not another one to him. And she's really incredibly kind. So be nice over dinner," Priya ordered.
"Yes mum," Harry responded.
"Gross," Priya made a face.
"One more thing though," Harry said as he dug into his pocket for their return portkey. They were enough out of sight that it would be safe to return home without being noticed.
"What's that?" Priya asked.
"How old are you again?" Harry narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her as best he could as he said it. The stinging slap was drowned out by the whoosh of the portkey. Still, she squeezed his hand lovingly as they landed in Osaka.
"So, just what did you do?" Avery asked as they stepped into the kitchen.
"At least let me pop open a bottle of wine first," Harry said. Avery was seated at one of the bar stools while Fumiko cooked. They'd appeared to be in mid conversation as Harry and Priya entered. But Avery dropped it and turned his attention to Harry.
"I can do that," Fumiko said an eager helpfulness in her tone.
"I got it," Harry responded. He gave her a warm smile though as she turned toward both him and the refrigerator. She flushed slightly but nodded.
"Okay," Fumiko said. Harry frowned for a moment and wondered if he should have just let her do it. But she busied herself with preparing the chicken while he hoped the smile was good enough to indicate he'd be more open in the coming days.
"Everyone want a glass?" Harry asked.
"Please," Avery said.
"If you wouldn't mind," Fumiko said.
"Of course not," Harry said. He took a bottle of white from the refrigerator and summoned four glasses. He sent two over toward the dining bar where Priya had joined Avery.
"Thanks babe," Priya said as she stretched on the barstool. Harry sent the third glass to the counter next to Fumiko. He walked over by her and peered at the cooking. She tensed as he approached and Harry raised his brows, wondering both how much of a dick he'd been without noticing and just what Avery had told her about him.
"Need a hand with anything? I'm an excellent kitchen bitch," Harry said.
"No I…..actually if you wouldn't mind chopping those vegetables so I can stir fry them," she said.
"Sure thing," Harry responded. He grabbed a knife from the block and proceeded to do just that. Fumiko glanced at his work for a moment but must have decided it was passable as she didn't comment further.
"Well you now have wine. Tell us what happened. Because I haven't sensed magic like that since we were in Canada. And I'm almost certain that magic like that isn't supposed to occur here. It wouldn't shock me if some local officials investigated," Avery said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry responded. "Priya and I were just out on a hike. It was just as surprising to us as it was to them."
"That might get you off the hook with the government the first time. But if you continue doing it, you know they'll just come in force," Avery said.
"Which would be a mild annoyance," Harry admitted.
"So?" Avery asked for the third time.
"Priya and I had a bit of a breakthrough," Harry said. "A stray idea of sorts. We figured what if trying to infuse magic isn't working? How about we instead take out the radiation."
"There's about twenty magical theory papers that say that's impossible," Avery said.
"Well they weren't researched by Harry Potter," Harry responded.
"So, you tried it with no real clue of what would happen?" Avery asked.
"Well, I mean that's unfair. I assumed it wouldn't work and that it would be exactly like those papers you referenced. And it was, for a moment. But then I latched onto something. It fought me. Like a sort of long root that never wants to pull up. But eventually I got it out," Harry said.
"When he did, we noticed Hana, our student at the shrine, was glowing with excess magic," Priya interjected.
"And when I saw that it startled me and I dropped it and it shot back into the land and everything went back to how it was," Harry finished.
"You got it out?" Avery asked.
"For about three seconds," Harry said.
"They're going to investigate that for sure," Avery responded.
"Only if they sensed it," Harry said. "And given their general lack of interest in these areas for the last two decades I highly doubt that they have any idea."
"I hope so," Avery said.
"Why would you not want them to know?" Fumiko asked.
"We are of the opinion that they won't be overly happy with us succeeding where they failed," Harry said.
"That's absurd," Fumiko frowned. "It would be gigantic gift."
"Harry's had very negative experiences with governments," Avery said. "He tends to be a bit of a pessimist about it."
"You're the one that brought it up," Harry said.
"Well, I don't think you're completely off base. I think that they let us work and explore because they think your efforts will be utterly futile. And they like having you here because there's some prestige to being able to comment that Harry Potter must love Japan because he's stayed for so long. But as soon as there's any reported success I think they'll try to take over," Avery said.
"Why?" Fumiko asked.
"Because they'll want it to be a Japanese accomplishment and not an English one. If Priya and I succeed it would just prove that they didn't try hard enough. They'll try to take some credit regardless," Harry said.
"Surely they'd notice though," Fumiko said.
"We thought any progress we made would be more gradual," Priya said.
"And it was until today," Harry said.
"So, our assumption was that eventually the magic would be restored and people just sort of just ease into it. Not that it would be a massive big thing. Ideally, we wanted to be able to just fade away and publish the research after it was done," Priya said.
"And mostly I dislike attention," Harry said.
"I see," Fumiko said. "I really do think what you two are trying to do is commendable."
"I think that chicken smells commendable," Priya said.
"Ha ha," Fumiko chuckled as she finished their food and started to serve it. The conversation shifted to lighter topics after that as the two couples talked and drank for most of the night. Harry spent the vast majority of the time chatting with Fumiko about nothing in particular until she and Avery retired for the evening.
And he was unsurprised to find that Priya had been right. Even in just a few hours of talking about nothing in particular he could tell the woman was nothing but kind and thoughtful. Every sentence out of her was earnest and it was obvious she was simply a good, kind, person.
Harry couldn't help but wonder just what the hell Avery had done to get her to have any interest in him. But that would be a story for another time.
"See, that wasn't so hard," Priya teased as the other two left.
"Well, you were right about her," Harry said.
"Duh," Priya responded, sliding her arms around him and kissing him softly.
"I know, I know. I should have just assumed that from the get go," Harry said.
"At least you're learning," Priya smirked, letting her lips trail around to his neck. "Bedtime?"
"Sounds lovely," Harry sighed. He let her trace her lips around his skin for a few moments. He held her against himself as he did, enjoying the warmth radiating from her. But after a few moments he simply lifted her up and carried her to their bedroom.
They took a few days off after. Avery was right, the Japanese ministry had come poking around and they all figured it would be better if they spent some time seeming more like tourists than they were.
It made Harry a little antsy at first, but Avery and Priya did most of the talking, seeming to sense that it was best to keep Harry away from any ministry officials. Which he knew was for the best but still found it to be annoying.
They ended that reprieve with a double date. The first time they'd done something remotely like that. The waiter had assumed they were a family and they'd joked about that for a few moments before simply having a nice meal and returning home for more wine and conversation.
Eventually, the topic turned to group brainstorming of what Harry and Priya planned on attempting next. But that just had the effect of making Harry more eager to try things and annoyed him that he'd agreed to wait it out.
Harry wasn't big on acquiescing to governmental authority. Which just meant that every single moment where he wasn't working because of it caused him to want to work more purely to stick it to the government. Thankfully, it wasn't that difficult for Priya to distract him.
By the start of the next week, though, they figured that the commotion had died down enough to resume working. Harry and Priya spent the better part of Sunday mapping out just what they wanted to try in Hiroshima and just where they wanted to try it.
Priya woke him up early on Monday morning with a kiss before she slipped off to shower. He rolled over, groaned, closed his eyes for about twenty seconds, before getting up and walking to the bathroom. He wrapped a towel around her as she stepped out of the shower and stepped into the warm water as she dried off.
By the time he stepped out she was gone. He went through his morning routine and found her in the kitchen doing what looked like attempting to scramble eggs. There was not an open flame or smoke as of yet, but Harry figured it was best to err on the side of caution. He stepped next to her to observe and she responded by elbowing him in the ribs. He made a courageous retreat to the dining bar.
The eggs were fine when she served them, but so was almost any food that one didn't make oneself. They ate quietly at the dining bar until it was time to go to work.
They followed the familiar paths in Nagasaki, returning to the site they'd last visited with Hana just days before. Harry paced around it, looking for something he couldn't even start to describe while Priya watched him.
He found it, again, the taint in the earth. And again, he ripped it from the earth. But the results were the same. He couldn't contain it, hold it, destroy it, anything. And moments later it fled from him and back to the ground.
He knew it was wrong to think of it like a conscious entity that was fleeing from him. But he couldn't get that thought out of his head.
The days continued much like that. And, as the time wound down, it wound uppassed, their efforts were entirely in vain, bringing nothing being nothing more than failure after failure. And it continued for days, weeks, and then months.
It was exhausting. It strained his relationship with Priya. It strained his relationship with Avery. Constant failure put everyone on edge. It was made worse by the fact that their other ideas had garnered some success. Yes, it had been rather limited, but it had been success nonetheless.
And instead now it was just failure after failure. And it was entirely Harry's fault. Priya was too nice to say that to his face, but he could tell, daily, just by her expression, how disappointed she was with their new-found efforts.
Harry hated failure. It reminded him far too much of his time at the Dursleys', when he was constantly berated as a failure even when he'd done nothing wrong. Actually failing just brought back those memories and irritated him no end.
So, he spent the afternoon of his day off wandering through the woods of Nagasaki. Priya and Fumiko went dress shopping in the morning so he and Avery had gone to lunch mostly just to kill time. After that Avery met up with his now fiancée to go over some more wedding planning.
Priya hadn't been interested in doing anything that afternoon, so rather than sit around the house drinking he'd gone for a walk. They'd fought a little bit about it. They both knew that they weren't really fighting though, but rather just letting their frustrations boil over into their words.
He knew, though, that no matter what he did he was in for a rough night. They'd be fine in a day or two, especially if they took another day or so off work. But he knew there was a very cold shoulder waiting for him at home.
He sat in the middle of the forest, staring around at the trees and trying to center himself. It didn't matter. His annoyance of the entire situation was just causing the frustration to grow even more in his own mind.
Everything they'd tried had failed. They couldn't contain it at all once it had been removed from the land. They couldn't store it, fight it, purify it, anything. They could get it out, sure, but that was the end of it. They'd filled up about six notebooks with the methods they'd tried. To the point where Harry was convinced they were trying the same things over and over again for want of any new ideas.
An hour or so passed as he sat and thought. As per usual, he came up with absolutely nothing of use. But, at the very least, he realized that he wasn't going to come up with some sort of eureka moment that solved all of their problems. At least not on the eighth of March that year.
Maybe Priya was right, he thought as he rose to his feet. Maybe they should just go back to what they were doing. Or just take a few weeks off. Could it really hurt to help Avery and Fumiko with the wedding and just enjoy themselves for a while?
"Just giving up that easily?" a soft voice said. Harry spun around and saw a pretty brunette leaning against a tree. She wore a black dress, short black boots, and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"You're not really here," he said.
"I'm always here," she scoffed. "It's my curse. You're dreadfully boring. Too much sex, not enough productivity."
"Well go whine about your curse elsewhere," Harry said. "I don't recall asking for your advice."
"You ask for it all the time. I usually ignore you out of spite," she said.
"You're not helping," Harry said. "And I'm not going to argue with myself."
"Too late for that, isn't it?" she teased.
"Just shut up," Harry said.
"No. It's more fun to pester you about being an incompetent failure," she said.
"I am neither of those things," Harry responded.
"You are both of those things," she countered.
"I am not having this conversation," Harry said.
"It's not really a conversation, given that one of us isn't here," she said. "Anyway, she wouldn't have given up."
"No, you just left the country when Burke told you to," Harry said.
"I did no such thing. She was not trying to fix the country," she said. "Her leaving cannot be considered a failure."
"Doing nothing is always a failure," Harry said.
"And given that you've done nothing just proves that you are a failure," she said. Harry slashed his hand at her and the tree exploded around her, smoke rising from the forest a moment later.
"Sophist," he scoffed.
"Get it all out of your system?" she said from another tree.
"No," he said, destroying that tree as well.
"Such a child," she scoffed.
"Just shut up," Harry said.
"Too stupid to even notice the obvious," she said.
"Just tell me what you're getting at," Harry sighed.
"I thought you didn't want my help," she said.
"If I could kill you," Harry started.
"You have," she scoffed.
"I killed her not you,"Harry said.
"Oh, so you get to be the pedantic one now?" she said.
"If the shoe fits," Harry shrugged.
"You are missing the obvious difference," she said.
"And what's that," Harry asked.
"Magic," she said.
"Magic?" Harry laughed.
"Magic," she said again. "You have it. Nothing else does."
"Some things do," Harry countered.
"Do they, though?" She asked.
"Of course they do," Harry laughed. "That's obvious."
"Is it?" she asked.
"There's still magic here," Harry said, spreading his arms to indicate as much around him as he could. "There's still magic everywhere. There are still magical communities. Magical people. Magic in the air. Magic in the very fabric of the land."
"Just not here," she said, pointing to the ground with her brows raised.
"Exactly," Harry said.
"Now you're just fibbing. And if you're going to lie to yourself there's no reason for me to be here," she said as she faded away. "Just keep failing, like the failure you are."
"I am not a failure," Harry said through grit teeth, feeling the anger rise into him, feeling his magic rise into him. And then there was something he hadn't noticed before. A pull on him coming from below him. It was slight, but it was there. He paused and stared at the ground.
"Then prove it," she whispered into his head. And his rage flared again. The thought of failure reverberating through his head as something tugged on him once more.
He let it pull him to his knees, the palm of his right hand landing flat on the soil. He closed his eyes and concentrated through the rage. He made no attempt to calm himself as the pull wrapped around his hand.
He knew nothing was actually encircling his hand. But he could still feel it, tugging at his very being. He focused on it, marveling in the sensation, letting it do as it would for a moment. And it was just a single moment before it all clicked.
Magic needed magic. Magic fed off of magic. Magic powered magic. Magic was magic. What they were fighting wasn't magic. But a part of it, wanted nothing more than to be with magic.
So, he thought to himself as he forced his hand deeper into the dirt, be with magic.
"Harry?" a voice gasped from behind him, but he ignored it, not wanting to be taunted any more that afternoon.
Instead he focused his magic down into his hand, he felt it billow out and he felt foreign pull flock to it. He could feel it from everywhere. He could feel it all around Nagasaki. He could feel it from even further than that. It surrounded his entire psyche. It swarmed him.
But it didn't stop him. He couldn't tell if it wanted to stop him or if it merely wanted more. So he forced more power into his hand. He kept the magic flowing through him as he did. And soon it was all that he could possibly focus on.
More. The only thought he had was that he needed more power. He focused on more and more power. He pushed more and more magic into the land. He could sense that it didn't do anything. That the power there just smothered it immediately. But the more he pushed, the more came. And he could feel it swarming to him from miles away.
He forced open his eyes to stare at the earth, to see if there was any change in the dirt around him. It all looked the same. But he just continued to focus on the magic. To push everything he had into the dirt. To use all of the magic he'd been gifted with. He could feel it radiating from himself.
And soon flares of red and gold shot from his body, the excess that he couldn't focus into his hand burning off around him. And then he could see flashes of purple and black from the earth, slashing at the flares of his magic, engulfing them.
He focused with everything he had, the entire world blacking out around him and soon all he could see was the dirt his hand was buried in as he continued to force his magic outward. Somehow he knew it was almost time. He could feel the same things he'd ripped from the earth swarming to him. He could feel them coming from as far as Hiroshima, all drawn by the power they were desperate for. And he was more than willing to provide.
"Harry, what are you doing?" the voice said from behind. He didn't turn to face her. He couldn't turn to face her. He focused on the energy he felt swarming him. More and more seemed to be pooling in his hand with each passing moment. He could feel it weighing him down, rooting him into the spot.
That thought should have concerned him. But he pushed it from his mind and continued to focus on the energy coming to him.
And then it just stopped. He stared down at his hand, now buried up to the wrist in the earth. It wasn't worth wondering just how that changed. He tried to pull his hand from the ground, but it wouldn't budge. His entire arm tensed as he pulled, the magic still radiating off of him as he tried to remove himself from the land. But still his hand didn't budge.
He closed his eyes again and focused once more. This time he didn't reply purely on physical strength. Instead he used his magic to pull upward, fighting for every inch as he moved.
It felt like he was tearing the country, no, the very planet apart as he did. When he opened his eyes and focused once more on his hand he was shocked that some type of fissure wasn't cracking out around him.
Every inch his hand moved felt more exhausting than anything he'd ever attempted before. He was struggling to keep his eyes open as sweat pooled on his brow. He'd started panting with the effort at some point.
But still he struggled on. He had to free his hand. He knew that in it lay the source of all of his troubles, the source of all of his failures. He could hear every insult the Dursley's had hurled his way on his years of Privet drive as they rang through his head. He could hear every schoolyard taunt of Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin lackies. Snape joined in, talking about how he was just as pathetic as his father. And then Umbridge, about how he was a mad liar only interested in his own fame.
One common theme reverberated through all of their insults. That he was nothing but a failure. A weak, hopeless fool that would never amount to anything or accomplish anything. That he was absolutely nothing.
The words ripped through him and his hand sunk back into the earth, being pulled by the force he didn't fully understand. And he let it pull him, because he was weak. Because he was nothing.
No. Fuck that, he thought. You're all failures. You've accomplished nothing. What I have, I've earned.
His hand slid toward freedom as his thoughts shifted. He was the only one that could do this. Everyone else has failed. Everyone else was too weak. But he would not be. He would succeed where everyone else failed. And he'd do it purely because he could. To show that he could. To show them all how much better he was.
He knew he was screaming, he could feel it in his lungs even if he couldn't hear it. He fought against it as he pulled and pulled and pulled and then, almost as if there was nothing there, his hand broke free of the surface.
He rose up on his knees and stared as remnants of dirt fell off of his skin. He turned his hand over and held it, palm to the sky, as a misty-purple orb floated just out of his reach. It was desperate to return to the ground, but, for the moment, he had control of it.
This wasn't new though, he frowned to himself. This had happened before. Never quite this powerful, never to the point where he could sense the oppression so close to himself, so encompassing to the area around him. But it had still happened before.
And it didn't matter. Because he couldn't stop it from fleeing. As it would in moments.
But what had she said? Something about magic? It needed magic? It lusted for magic? So it went to where magic was the most intrinsic, into the land itself. Back to the magic there, to steal the magic from everything else. To sap it away for eternity.
That was problematic though, and quite contrary to his goals. Despite that, he couldn't think of anything that would actually help him. And the ball of purple that floated above his hand was getting harder to control.
It was actively fighting him, trying to get back to the ground, to get back to what it must have considered safety. It was strong enough to pull his arm when it moved. He tensed and fought to keep it above ground.
He knew he'd only have any semblance of control over it for a few more moments. And he still had nothing that remotely resembled a plan to take care of it. He chuckled to himself for a moment. The small action seemed to reverberate through him completely, causing a slight ache in his ribs as the noise escaped him. Priya always told him he needed to think more about what he was doing rather than just acting.
He'd shrugged off her comments. Thinking hadn't ever worked out as well as winging it. But now he had no idea what the next step should be. He stared at the glowing orb in his hand, his mind rattling through every possible solution to his present problem.
It needed magic. That thought rang through his head. Whatever exactly it was, whatever residue came from the bombs, whatever sentience it had, it needed magic. So it had found magic. And taken it from the area.
So he needed to distract it, to get it magic. But where could he get enough of it to warrant not fleeing?
The solution surprised him. He could only think of one thing that would even have a chance. He stared down at the orb in his hand and his lips turned up in a smirk.
"You want magic?" he growled at the orb. "Then have it." and then he pushed the orb into his chest.
His world exploded. His vision flashed in and out of focus and he fell onto his knees ashe felt a pain far worse than any curse he'd ever experienced raked through his body. He could feel that he was screaming deep in his throat but he couldn't hear any noise.
He could feel it tearing through him. He could feel it everywhere around him. He could tell it was destroying him. But he couldn't do much more than let it and writhe. For a moment he could have sworn someone was yelling, panicking, behind him. He felt every muscle tear and every bone break as it encompassed his entire body.
And then, finally, as his vision blurred to black, he could feel his heart stopping.
The locals would talk about the eighth of March for years. Never before had so many strange things occurred at once. Most thought it was simply a hoax and that the stories were all made up.
Afterall, some of them sounded so obviously fabricated that it didn't matter how many people think they saw something. It started with an explosion, or what many thought was one. Thousands reported hearing something akin to a blast, even feeling something akin to a blast in the area around Nagasaki. But there was no physical evidence of such an event occurring.
Then there were the scores of students who reported that some of their classmates started glowing. Some of them insisting that it lasted for a few hours. But, by the time anyone managed to investigate properly there were no signs of it. So, it was easily dismissed as a trick of the light.
There were other oddities as well. A young man in Hiroshima spent the morning dreading cleaning up the restaurant he worked at after a night of too much alcohol with friends, only to discover that the kitchen was absolutely pristine when he entered work in the early afternoon. He assumed the night shift must have stayed late to clean, something they so very rarely did.
A young girl who ran into the middle of a street in Nagasaki as she chased after a ball. A speeding car drove straight through her, quite literally. The driver slammed on his breaks and jumped out to investigate, only to find a clueless young girl walking to the curb with her ball. The driver thought it must have been his imagination acting up. What other explanation could there be?
There were also two students who suffered severe burns to their hands and wrists. They claim a younger student did it to them, one they were known to bully. But there was no actual evidence of it. Still, the wounds were very severe and there had to be an explanation for them, but none that anyone could think of.
And there was the shop girl in Nagasaki who was habitually harassed by some local boys. They'd sneak into the shop after her European beau would wander off and tease her where they knew she had no real recourse. On March Eighth, though, they ran out almost as soon as they entered, hands at their throats.
Three days later they claimed that the girl had cursed them. But everyone knew how irrationally stupid that was.
Cases like that flashed through the news for the following week. Every day it was something different, something unexplained, something as simple as someone supposedly flying, to darker things like unexplained injuries or deaths.
But it only lasted a week. After that everything seemed to return to normal.
When Harry opened his eyes two women leaned over him. One was pretty in a take-home-to-mum sort of way. Her dark chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her dark eyes looked bored with the entire situation and her arms were crossed over her chest.
The other was a far more exotic beauty. She too had dark eyes and hair, but her hair was closer to black than brown and it was done back in an elaborate braid. She had coppery skin and looked frantic, a rather stark contrast from her brunette companion.
She kneeled on the ground next to him and was slashing her wand over him, repeatedly casting spells. Harry groaned and held up a hand.
"I'm okay," he said.
"No you're not you're…you're..you idiot what did you do I can barely feel your magic. You're hardly even here!" Priya said as she continued to work. Harry sat up. It took more effort than he would like to admit.
His eyes shifted from Priya to the brunette. He opened his mouth, but no words came. The other woman simply gave him a one-dimpled smirk before fading completely away. He turned his gaze back to Priya.
"I'm fine," he said. His head was fuzzy, like he'd spent the last few days drinking. Everything seemed a little hazy as he looked around. Priya pressed her hand to his forehead.
"What did you do," she asked.
"I found a place for it to go," Harry coughed.
"You're insane," she said.
"And you're doing magic," Harry responded.
"Of course I am," Priya scoffed. "Had to makes sure you didn't kill yourself."
"Lots of magic, in quick succession," Harry amended. His ribs hurt when he spoke. He winced. Priya noticed and immediately cast a diagnostic spell and then healed one of his ribs with a flick of her wrist, causing Harry to wince once more.
"And?" Priya asked as she cast another diagnostic on him.
"Don't you feel it in the air?" Harry asked. Priya paused for a moment and raised her brows at him. Then her eyes went wide.
"Oh Gods," she whispered. And then, a moment later, her arms flew around his neck and her lips met his. Harry kissed her as well as he was able before murmuring against her lips.
"Ow," he intoned.
"Oh. Sorry," she whispered. Then turned her eyes on him. "You did it."
"We did it," he countered, still holding her.
"I didn't do anything," she frowned.
"Bullshit," he said. "All I did was the grunt work. The theory, that was all you."
"I guess," she said, sounding rather unsure of herself. It was Harry's turn to kiss her.
"I couldn't have done it without you," he said as Priya melted against him.
"I don't know if that's true," she said after a moment.
"I do," Harry said. Priya was quiet for a moment before a question bubbled to the surface.
"You took it into you," she said, frowning. "Can you…?" Harry knew what she was getting at without her finishing the sentence. He paused. He didn't feel any different. But he wasn't positive.
He slid one arm from her and raised his hand to a nearby tree, intending to reach out and pluck some of the leaves with a summoning charm. It was simple magic he'd performed thousands of times before. But when he called for it, nothing came.
His stomach dropped. He stared at the tree, feeling the fear rise into him, feeling the doubt fill him, wondering if his sacrifice would be worth it. Hell, wondering exactly what his sacrifice entailed.
But something scoffed in his head, as if he was being silly and foolish. Something inside his mind told him to try again but to actually put some effort into it. His fingers stretched toward the tree and again, nothing happened.
He tried for a third time, focusing on the branch, willing it to him. And on the third attempt it listened. The branch that held the leaves he was interested in snapped from the tree and flew into his hand, impacting with a hard crash.
"Ouch," Harry said.
"That seemed excessive," Priya responded.
"It was. But I can still do magic," Harry said. His mind wandering to just what that entailed.
"That shouldn't be possible," Priya frowned.
"And yet here we are," Harry said.
"Story of your life, eh?" Priya chuckled.
"You could say that," Harry smiled.
"What do we do now?" she asked, sounding lost.
"Well, we still have papers to publish," Harry said.
"And to see just what happened, I suppose," Priya said.
"And I should probably tell Avery," Harry said.
"Honestly, you should probably get some rest too, you look like hell," Priya said.
"I do feel utterly spent," Harry agreed. Priya stood and helped him to his feet.
"Shall I?" she asked. Harry just nodded and closed his eyes as she apparated them back to Osaka.