Harry ceramicist and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 21 - Family
~~~***~~~

The ballock Harry had been juggling in the air began to crash down to the story. One by one, valued orb by cherished orb, each and every ball was being sundered. No Sooner had he plugged the dyke with one finger than a new spout of water burst Forth from somewhere else. And all around, in every direction, those he loved, those who loved him were dying.

"I DIDN'T need THIS BLOODY WAR !"

Harry flung his cup of tea against the stone wall and it smashed to composition, shards tinkling to the flat coat, and drips of brownness liquid streaking the wall. Sirius drew his wand cleaned the mess, reassembled the cup and levitated it back down on the table in front man of Harry.

"Well, that's too infernal bad now, isn't it ?"Dog Star poured Sir Thomas More tea into Harry's cup."A short sugar ?"he asked. Harry clenched both his fist and looked up at his uncle.

"Yes, please,"he said through gritted dentition. Sirius dropped a teaspoonful into Harry's cup and the spoon began to touch by itself as he sat back down across from Harry.

"We've been over this a thousand times, Harry. There's zilch you could have done."

"You sat right there last summertime, Sirius, and told me, warned me not to listen to him."Harry donned his practiced Sirius-like vocalism."‘ The clip will come when he asks you to do something you know in your spunk is untimely. When he does, talk to me.'Well, I didn't talk of the town to you first, did I ? And now molly Weasley's dead, the Ministry despises me, Lucius Malfoy's expiry eater have Gabriella, and Voldemort is out there looking for my son so he can… Merlin only knows what. NOTHING I COULD bear DONE ?"Harry's fist wrapped around his cup and he began to bring up it once again.

"Ah, ah, ah !"chimed Sirius, waving his digit back and Forth, and then tapping it to the table. Harry put the cup down."You know it was your sire that was always the calming influence on me."He began to smile."Once Peter…"He paused as his heart grew distant."Never mind."Sirius took a sip of tea.

"I can't just sit here and do nada,"said a very frustrated Harry.

"That's exactly the attitude that nearly cost me my life sentence,"Sirius answered."A petty cerebration, a little patience. Cho and Susan Anthony and Jamie will be condom here. No one knows there here and if they did they still wouldn't know how to get in. I think you'll make an fantabulous arcanum Keeper, and the spell you cast on the castle to relieve oneself it unplottable… well, you didn't learn that at Hogwarts."

"I don't know,"said Harry, pondering the flashing of accomplishment that had penetrated his being since the connexion."It just came to me."

"As for Gabriella,"said Sirius,"the entire Order is out looking for her, Harry. Until they get a lead, there's nothing you can do."

"I can talk to Draco."

"After what he's done ? He can cool off his arse for a few more days."Harry slouched back in his chairman.

What had Draco done ? Had he planned the unit affair ? Was he somehow behind Gabriella's gaining control ? Did he specify for Harry to be ambushed at the Ministry ? It was Draco, after all that had suggested the cloak be used as a Horcrux, but to what end ?

"Two stairs ahead,"Harry whispered.

"What's that ?"Sirius asked.

"I've only been thinking two tone ahead,"Harry answered."You were right ; I need to be thinking four to a greater extent. Only, I can't."Harry's fingers began to tap against the put off top."But I know mortal who can."Sirius leaned forward.

"Harry, you can't go there today… not today. Besides, you won't be able-bodied to get within mi of the Burrow. The Ministry will have the position surrounded. Maybe after the vacation, when they go back to Hogwarts—"

"I can't hold !"Harry snapped."You know what they're doing to her right now, don't you ? You know !"Harry's deal slammed the board and he stood."When the three of us are together… I don't know, the fog clears."

"You can't Apparate in, and they'll have every entrance guarded,"Canicula asserted.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. He hadn't tried his skills as a Metamorphmagus since summer and he'd only done Ron twice. Catching the right spectre of red was particularly difficult. Carefully, he focussed on his right friend. It lasted some five minutes - black to red, a stretch of a few inches, a bit deeper articulation, and a strong pauperism for to a greater extent socks. Looking at a redheaded Harry in clothes a full size of it too pocket-sized for him, Sirius had to smile.

"I don't suppose you're going dressed like that."

"Guess I forgot,"Harry answered sheepishly.

"Yeah… you can't even think one step ahead,"said Canicula rolling his centre."Maybe you're proper after all. grab one of the Black person robes out of my cupboard and be off with yeh."Harry nodded and turned toward Sirius'room.

"And, Harry, if you get a angry hair to put your neck in another noose, let me experience before they tighten the knot, okay."Harry nodded again.

"promise ?"asked Sirius.

"hope,"Harry answered. Once again he turned toward the corridor only this time he stopped himself and turned back toward Sirius."Dec 25,"he said looking at the decorations Dog Star had strung, as best he could, about the bulwark."It's a clip to be with family. Cho should be with her brother at St. Mungo's. I should be here with you."

"And little Jamie ?"Sirius asked.

"lifespan is never what we plan, is it Sothis ?"

"No, Harry. No, it's not."Sirius rose from his chair and walked over to Harry putting his subdivision about his godson. He sighed and looked into Harry's freckled face."I think maybe, with a little thought, you might nominate your family's Yuletide a bit brighter."He ruffled Harry's red hair."Say, ‘ Hi,'to your brother for me."

For a instant Harry didn't understand, but then he whispered,"Bloody hell."He ran down the corridor his pants three inches too abruptly. Sirius chuckled, poured himself another cup of tea and wandered down the corridor to chance Cho, Marcus Antonius and Jamie.

Pulling off his over-tight shirt in Sirius'room, a insensate shiver passed through Harry. It took him a second to realize that it was a ghost, one of the many that haunted the castle. It was a Lester Willis Young man, dressed in a tunic.

"I don't recall… wait… a camouflage. You're the potter boy aren't you ?"Harry glared at the ghost.

"I'm no boy,"said Harry, his heart filled with fire. The ghost chuckled gentle and whispery.

"youngster, I have walked these grounds for over three thousand years, this palace for the final stage five hundred. To my eyes, to Helen's you are all children."He moved closer, reaching out his hand to Harry's shoulder."Is it confessedly what she says ?"His helping hand touched Harry's bare shoulder joint. It was ice, but substantial, uncut and calloused, and Harry instinctively jerked away.

"Ho, Ho !"cried the ghost."capital of Montana was right ! You walk the precipice then ?"

"Precipice ?"asked Harry, slipping on Sirius'robe.

"The knife-edge between this plane and the future, life and… death. Some section of you has died, the relief has cheated death. The piece of you that has died lingers with its living ego ; it has no choice. But it yearns to return to the golden light… to find its way domicile. Can you not finger it ?"

"That's ridiculous,"said Harry dismissively. He turned and found nearly a twelve ghostwriter gathering a unit of ammunition staring at him. They all were smiling as if looking at a new born baby in a bassinet.

"What are you staring at ? !"Harry snapped.

"Perhaps once in an age, does one such as yourself appear."

"So ?"

The gather spectre laughed. Then, they began to hum ; it was a slow soft buzzing that built itself into a chant. Each recited a dissimilar oral communication, but in Harry's mind they sang in unison with a usual tongue that, somehow, he knew they had hummed for centuries.

The golden light shall always call
its wayward tike home.
Yet those who ill prefer found the fall,
remain directionless, alone.
trough comes the day a new sun born,
when dragon wakes the creation
and all the darkness deep be torn,
and coming light unfurled.
We wait the day the firedrake comes
One blind who regains mint
We wait the day the firedrake comes
To guide us to the light.

"My child, those you see around you have been trapped in this plane of universe for centuries, regretting each moment the decisiveness they made on the day of their death, each searching for the screen dragon that would lead us from our folly. Only now are we sure. Only now do we have hope. Through you, when the new sun is born, we have the probability to answer the head again… to pass into the succeeding planer, to die utterly."

"I haven't clock time for this folderal,"said Harry, pulling his wand.

"Over the last hundred age, ghosts have gathered to this point never truly understanding why, never knowing what called them. The answer has now been revealed - they have waited for you - the blind dragon that sees again."

"You're crazy and I have to go."Harry raised his baton preparing to Disapparate.

"You mustn't put yourself at risk !"said the ghost with business."If the rest of you were to die, there would be no Bob Hope for those here."

"Not to worry. I have no intention of dying."Indeed, he focused his mind on practically happier intellection. There was a snatch up - Harry had Disapparated.

When he reappeared, the air was just as moist but far Thomas More frigid. The sun was still high in the sky, casting a myriad of shadows through the leafless trees above. There was a fragile dusting of Baron Snow of Leicester on the flat coat and all about him the Tree rose like skyscrapers, reaching for the heavens. He loved this countryside, he always had and having his seeing back made it just that much More beautiful. For a mo he just looked about taking in the scenery, wishing that he could just… he reached down and made a humble sweet sand verbena in the palm tree of his hands. Smiling down at the Patrick White orb, he heard a distant crack in the trees to his left. An Apparation ? A stick ? He dropped the Abronia elliptica and pulled his wand.

He squinted, but saw aught. Then, he closed his eyes and reached further. Even with his thinker's eye, searching for an aura of animation ahead, he could not distinguish anything through the luminousness of the living trees. Shrugging, he slipped his wand away and made for the road that led to the Borough. He walked for about ten minutes when he found the route. He cast a quick patch, cleaning the C. P. Snow and debris from the bottom of his robe. He could see up ahead three, no four adept certainly part of the Ministry, guarding the roads leading to the Borough, protecting the Weasley kin from interruption on what must surely be a sad Christmas holiday. Once more, he concentrated on his metamorphosis, making sure that every feature was the image of his best protagonist, Ron Weasley.

As he moved forward, he noticed that the sorcerer were wearing black, not the formula Ministerial purple that Mr. Weasley's guard would normally wear. Probably in honour of Mrs Weasley's death, Harry thought. Believing it would look awkward for Ron to try to lift by, Harry decided it Best to simply walk forward with his fountainhead up as if he had null to hide.

"There,"one of the sentry duty ahead cried out, pointing at Harry."Right there !"Two others turned toward Harry.

"It's one of the Weasley boys !"one shouted. Harry smiled to himself. His disguise was working.

"Take him down,"another barked out with a gruff, commanding part.

"Immobulus !"cried the sentry go nearest the Ronald Weasley double. Harry didn't understand. Why were they attacking him ? He had no time to get his scepter. Instead he held out his hand, hoping that if he focused intemperate enough…

"Áreddotu !"he commanded and the shaft reflected back to the sender, freezing him where he stood. The silence afternoon air suddenly filled with a blaze of irradiation from the remaining three thaumaturgist, all attacking Harry. But before even the second spell, a beauty, flew threw the air, Harry had his wand at the gear up and began to deflect them as best he could. The reflected beams crashed into trees, cracking some in two and starting flaming in others. Soon the nearby timber was ablaze and a Negroid billowing smoke rose to the dusty blue angel sky above.

Off to Harry's left, another mavin in black robes appeared as Harry continued to press forward. A beam of blue light flew towards Harry who directed it skyward with a shield charm ; it exploded into a canopy of blue sparkles like a Filibuster Firework. All of Harry's patch to this tip were justificatory, and then he came to the wizard that was prone on the ground, the one that cast the starting time spell. Dangling down around his neck opening was a masquerade - the mask of a death feeder. death feeder ? Harry looked ahead at one of the other assailant. He too had his mask down about his cervix. Evidently, they'd removed them to admit in the sun's passion on the cold, winter day.

Something was haywire, terribly wrong. Had Voldemort's men, or Malfoy's, taken the Borough as they had done the yr before ? live on year the Weasley family had been vacant, but this year… this year… his friends… his family ! Harry began to attack.

He felled two almost at once with a stunning spell. Diving down low to deflect another ravisher from the front, a slashing hex sliced across his left shoulder leaving a tight gash ; he screamed in annoyance as the wizard to his left hand laughed. It was the survive audio he made. Harry spun and took that wizard down, leaving only the two in front of him. Pulling from the lessons he'd learned from Greg Goyle, Harry sent a wide, powerful lulu toward the pair. It blasted both backward to the ground. Harry pressed forward along the swampy roadway, wand held firmly in front. One wiz stayed down, while the other rose unsteadily to his feet.

"Incarcerous !"shouted Harry. forget me drug wrapped about the prone thaumaturgist, but the former deflected the go.

"You're too young to be the older boy,"the wizard in front asserted breathlessly, his wand held at the cook."The one that plays with dragons."He Disapparated and re-apparated to Harry's right, near the tree, casting a stunner that flew wide.

"You're too skilled with a wand to be the young one,"the wizard argued wisely. Again he Disapparated and re-apparated this prison term back towards the road."Incendio !"he called. Had Harry not been a member of the Votary, trained to resist fire, he'd have most certainly been incinerated. Instead, the flaming wrapped about his body like loving snakes. Harry simply pointed his wand forward, toward his opposer, and the fire flew back toward him, encircling him like snapping piranha. He began to scream and Disapparated once more.

There was a snatch to Harry's left ; this time Harry was ready, sending a particularly unassailable stunning charm in the direction of… purpleness robes. The hotshot flew backward and crumpled to the earth.

"Oh, no,"Harry whispered and he ran toward the fallen champion from the Ministry. He looked down to see the thaumaturge, a man Harry recognized from the Hogwarts Express earlier in the class - the same wizard Harry had felled during the Dementor onset.

"Oh, no."

Almost immediately, the air filled with the crepitation of Zea mays everta. Harry ignored the sound to see if the man before him needed assistance, but before he could even place a hired hand on the wizard's chest the air crackled and everything went black.

As he began to regain consciousness, he noticed he was being jerkily jangled about like so often easy alteration in somebody's pouch. He was being carried ; they were running. They were arguing in shut up whispers.

"I'm not the one who just blasted the Minister's son !"

"It was an accident ! I thought—"

"You thought wrong ! The boy sends out a hurt flare and you go in wands blazing."

"Would you two just stop arguing ?"It was a distaff voice."Get the boy inside ; I need to get the others to see if there are more of Malfoy's men than those Ron took down. Incredible ! He takes out five death feeder and our own man shoots him in the back."

"I said it was—"There was a pop and she was gone. Harry, still looking like Ron Weasley, began to conjure. His head was pounding, his left shoulder aching.

"Hey, I… I—"

"arrest still, Ron ; there's a good lad."

"Yes, son, best not to speak."

Harry opened his middle. They had just passed the wooden fence that skirted the forepart of the Weasley home. Harry had never seen it in such good fix. They headed up the front steps, when another whiz in purple robes opened the presence threshold. Behind him was Hermione Granger. For an instant, Harry met eye to eye with her, and in that instant he revealed one of those eyes as a wink of green. She gasped, covering her mouth.

"What's going on ?"asked the ace.

"It's the youngest Weasley boy,"replied one of the men carrying Harry."He was ambushed just down the route. He took down a few destruction eater with him by the looks of things."

"Ron ?"questioned the thaumaturgist at the door."I just saw him not twenty minutes ago… upstairs in his room reading a—"

"Erm, he left for a base on balls,"interrupted Hermione."All the stress… he needed to get away."

"He should know better. Wait until his father finds out."Harry noticed Hermione quietly slip away.

"He was hit with a neuropathy curse,"said the wizard that had struck Harry from behind."Best that we get the cobwebs cleared before he—"

"How can you be so certain ? That's a very composite charm. Besides yourself, only a very few—"

"flavor, I know okay !"the wizard snapped irritably.

"Yeah, you know all right,"muttered the other.

"Let's just get him inside, okay ?"

As they moved him into the house, the sound of scepter fire could be heard off into the distance. Evidently, Harry had stumbled across only one group of what was to be a combined attack. Once inside, Harry was taken to a small room just off the kitchen. His legs began to tingle. He didn't think this way being here before. It was a low health check suite used for treating minor combat injury. He was placed on a tall, hard bed and the wizard that had greeted them at the door began to probe him.

"That's a tight gash."He bathed it in naughty light, and then reached into one of the locker."Here, drink this."He handed Harry a potion and, though his hand was shaking badly, Harry drank it down. The tingling in his stage stopped as did the hammer in his school principal."It's good they got you here while you could still pledge. Potions always treat neuropathy better than spells."Harry began to sit up, but the sensation pushed him back down.

"Best if you rest a bit, Ron. I'll go get your father."Harry dropped his head back down as the wizard left the room. Half a heartbeat later, Hermione slipped in quietly and walked over to his position.

"Harry ?"she asked uncertainly. He smiled, shakily.

"Not quite how I planned it,"he said using his own part.

"Your eyes… one's turning Green River again."She touched the side of his human face which was still grimy from falling look first into the mud.

"I needed to see you guys,"said Harry, rising to a seated position."I couldn't wait and I thought—"The door opened and in walk Ron.

"What in merlin's— whoa !"Ron yelped, seeing his own likeness. Slowly, he closed the threshold behind him, and then stepped over for a penny-pinching look."Harry ?"

"Who's that ?"exclaimed Harry, grasping Hermione by the helping hand."What have you been doing behind my spinal column, Hermione ?"

"I… I didn't know, love,"said Hermione, clinging to Harry's arm.

"You can't be life-threatening,"said Ron. The two just stared at him blankly."I mean… I'm Ron, right ?"

Harry and Hermione began to laugh and Harry transformed back into himself - Sirius'robes growing large for his smaller skeleton.

"You !"Ron snorted, poking Harry in the articulatio humeri."I should—"

"We've got to get him upstairs,"interrupted Hermione."Quick, trade clothes."

"But—"

"Just do it !"

The two swapped clothes, Ron's jeans dropping down about Harry's waste. Hermione ruffled Ron's hair and wiped some mud from one of Harry's kick onto his face.

"Pretend you don't remember a thing,"said Hermione.

"I don't know what you're talking about,"complained Ron.

"perfect,"asserted Hermione. She spun toward Harry."Now… erm, do you think you could suit Percy ? He didn't want to be here for Christmas."

"I… I don't think so,"stammered Harry nervously."I can't really copy someone I haven't… somebody I don't know well. Not exactly."

"Here then,"she grabbed a large blue towel and put it about his capitulum and shoulders."Just pick some other face then… well, other than yours, and let's get you upstairs. Ron, I'll be back in just a minute."

The disruption outside the mansion had drawn all those inside to the battlefront doorway. Even Ginny was plastered against one of the front windows wondering what was going on. Quickly, Hermione and Harry made their way up the steps to where Ron's elbow room was. She sat Harry down on the bed.

"There,"she said,"no one ever bothers to look up here. Only Mrs. We—"She stopped herself."Hey, are you… alright ?"The verbal expression Harry gave her was the one she'd expected. He was not alright ; he was in pain and not from any physical accidental injury."expression, just rest a bit and I'll get Ron up here as soon as I can."She started for the door, then stopped."Are you thirsty ?"Harry shook his head, no, and Hermione nodded that she understood."It won't be too long,"she said softly and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Harry let out a long slow sigh as he looked about the room. It hadn't changed much from the first day he came to visit the Borough. He remembered arguing with Ron about Quidditch. Somehow, life seemed wide-eyed then, but really it wasn't. lifespan had never been simple for Harry, nor had it ever been dewy-eyed for those near him. He stood and walked over to a photograph that hung on the rampart near a carom poster. In the physique, the family was trying to stand for the photographer, but Fred and George had smoke billowing out of their spike. Mrs Weasley was furious and kept trying to smack them to stop. She missed every clock time. Harry smiled as a bout ran down the right side of his fount. He wiped it away with his hand and noticed the scar on his right-hand forearm - the mark of the Dragon. Staring at the mark, he turned his back to the rampart and slid down to the floor.

"What serious have I been ?"he asked defiantly."A magnet for end everywhere I go. Why me, Soseh ?"He dropped his helping hand to the trading floor and wrapped his fingers around a pile of dirty clothes laying there. He looked over toward the outdoors window. The sound of wandfire had silenced. Whatever threat there was had been defeated. Harry continued to whisper to the female parent of his girlfriend, trying to find the import of it all. The back of his brain banged against the wall with a thumping.

"They've all died because of me, and now your daughter's in Malfoy's helping hand. If she's even still alive."He looked around the room, his eyes misting over. Near Ron's bed was a word picture of Ron and Hermione glaring at each early and then suddenly breaking out in laughter followed by a kiss and an embrace."Why am I here ?"Harry muttered, his pump beginning to beat faster. He was putting them in danger once again. It was all a misunderstanding, every bit of it - a grand, cosmic error in the machinery. He had to leave.

Harry stood to his feet and tried to Disapparate. imaginativeness ... Pathway… He couldn't create the pathway. Something was blocking him."Of course it's blocked,"he muttered to himself."I'll need to leave the—"The door opened and in came Ron and Hermione. Ron had a bottle in his mitt filled with some sort of potion.

"Hey, Paraguay tea,"he said, holding up the bottle.

"Hey. Erm, I'm… I'm sorry,"said Harry."This was a mistake. I need to go."Hermione looked at Ron, and he at her. Then Ron looked back to Harry.

"Not so fast,"he said."They wanted me to drink this, but I expect it's outdo if you—"

"I'm fine,"Harry cut in sharply."I just need to—"

"You're a bloody crank is what you are. Well… at least that's normal."Harry glared back at Ron.

"Go on, Harry,"encouraged Hermione."Drink the potion ; your brain's been addled and the neuropathy hex requires two doses."Ron held it up again and this metre Harry took it.

"This is dazed,"Harry said, shaking his headway and offering the bottle back,"I shouldn't have come here. You… you need to be with your family."Harry's vocalisation was shaky and he could not hold Ron's regard."I need to go."Ron did not ingest the feeding bottle in return.

"flavour, Harry,"he said,"just fuddle the gunk."

"If you have to go,"added Hermione,"it'll help you hold back your humour along the way."

Harry held up the bottle containing a brown, burping liquid.

"Did they have to make it wait so vile ?"he asked with a squeamish grimace.

"Go on,"said Hermione."It's the only way I could get them to let him issue forth up to his room. I have to show them he's rummy it down, or they'll be up here snooping around."

"amercement. I drink this… I go… you have a happy Christmas… or at least… ah, crap."Harry gulped the heavyset liquid state in one swig, then handed the bottle back to Hermione."There you go,"he said."Tell them Ron finished his medicine and is feeling f—"The room turned a bit and Harry reached out, taking Ron by the arm.

"What is it, pair ?"Ron asked with a bit of slyness in his oculus.

Harry tried to speak. In fact, he was speaking ; only the run-in he was saying didn't make any sensation. Even Harry knew he was speaking gibberish. He pointed to the bed, but it was too recent. He collapsed to the floor. Ron took one side and Hermione the former and they lifted Harry onto Ron's bed. Everything was growing foggier and foggier - the sound in the way more distant. Before everything faded to nothingness he listen Ron say…

"Blimey, it's Christmas, Harry. It's a time to be with family. Don't you get it ? You're aright where you need to be."


Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 22 - Friendship
~~~***~~~

It was a inscrutable, restful sopor, the form of sopor that takes the head to happier places and Thomas More pleasant time. Cool placid waters, barefoot walks and simple gazing at the stars, whizz with no glimmer red Mars to disrupt their harmony and no comet Ebyrth to mark the rejoinder of war. It was well into the good morning after Noel day when Harry began to evoke, ever so slightly, from this place of abstruse and forgotten memories. His mind was just beginning to serve the voices about him, those of friends and family unit.

"Vampires ?"

"Dozens. And so many Dementors they blocked out the bloody sky."

"No,"Ginny gasped.

"I'm relation you,"answered Fred,"he was right in the midst of it."Someone seated on the end of the bed shifted their weight unit and it let out a small squeaker.

"Shhhh. You'll wake him."That was Hermione.

"The whole lot of them,"continued Fred,"was marching up the wad like a expectant horde of black locust tree. We were outnumbered ten to one… light !"Ginny gasped again."The wolfman were the primary coil subscriber line of defending team. We attacked first, of course."

"That's only because you stink so bad,"said George V."No one in their right mind would be caught on the same field of battle. The odour… it's overwhelming."

"Not the dragons ?"queried Hermione.

"Yeah, well,"said Fred, falling a bit off the tracks of his account,"I don't really recall much after the variety. Except one thing… he saved my life."Harry felt a paw on his arm."That I know as trusted as I'm sitting here."

"Is it true what they say about… You-Know-Who."

"If what Harry says is dependable,"said Charlie,"yes, Ginny. Voldemort's alive."Harry could feel the entire room squirm upon hearing the name."Some of us…"There was a slap.

"Hey ! That scathe,"said George IV. Charlie continued.

"Some of us climbed Singehorn's mountain by foot. I met quite a few necromancer, holding sentry at a issue of frontier settlement on the way up. To a wizard, they all talked about a blond animate being, controlling the night forces at the base of operations of the mountain."

"Blonde ?"

"Lucius Malfoy."Almost everyone in the room hissed… or growled.

"After the battle, they also spoke of how the Primate met him face-to-face and sent him running."

"What's a archpriest ?"

"Harry is, sis. They're calling him the Primate of the Votary of the Dragon. Some say, he was leading the fight for the dragons. Don't ask me much more, because I'm still trying to figure it out. All I know is that afterward he began to cure folks like little brother here and it nearly cost him his life."

"I… I should birth been there."It was Ron. He was seated somewhere in the far corner, somehow distant from the others. His vocalisation was sullen and quite.

"Ron,"chided Hermione,"you were in hospital."

"You don't think he'd have tried to sneak out if the tabular array had been turned ?"

"You were unconscious mind for three Clarence Day !"

"I should have got been there."

"No,"muttered Harry, his mind clearing ever so slightly."No, Ron…"Harry tried to sit up.

"Easy, Harry,"said Hermione, touching his shoulder softly,"the sleeping draught isn't supposed to fatigue off for another hour or two."Harry struggled to bring his head up and looked over at Ron who was slumped in the corner on the floor.

"You're haywire,"Harry said, his idea still fuzzy and his power to draw out a coherent conviction together somewhat impaired."It… it wasn't just Fred, or Remus. You were there. You… you were all there… right… right here."Harry patted his chest and fell back onto the bed."Whoa, that is a bit powerful, isn't it ? George, you could put it… put it in a nougat. Erm ... night nybble. What do you recall ?"Everyone in the way began to laugh, but the jollity was silenced instantly when Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared at the threshold.

He was wearing black robes, wrinkled and somewhat stained as if he'd left them on for sidereal day and hadn't bothered with a spell to clean house them. His aspect was tired, slim down and pale, and his eyes were aloof. Harry suspected that they still, however, bore the same expression of heartfelt choler as when Harry had last seen Mr. Weasley over the eubstance of his wife. The flack in them was penetrating.

"IS THIS THE deference YOU appearance YOUR DEAD MOTHER ? '' he cried. He looked at Charlie, seated on the floor by Harry's bed ; the eldest Weasley in the room.

"We could use with a bit more laughter ‘ tear here,"said Charlie softly."Don't you thing dad ?"

"I want him out of here today,"he said shortly, thrusting a sharp finger at Harry."Today ! Do you get word me ?"Everyone in the room moved uncomfortably, everyone but Charlie, who rose to meet his father.

"His name is Harry, Dad,"he said."You remember Harry do n't you ? He saved you from being crushed by a behemoth live on yr. He's that wizard that may just have saved every one of us yesterday by breaking up a Death Eater plot of land to kill us all right outside our front porch."Mr. Weasley let out a short, snorting laugh.

"Is that what you think ?"he said incredulously, his eyes narrowing on Charlie and then to the others in the elbow room."Saved us ? Is that what you all think ? harbour't you figured it out by now ? The boy carries Death feeder in his book binding pouch ; when he pulls off his trainers Dementors come pouring out. They're with him wherever he goes. Why do you mean Death feeder were on our doorstep in the first-class honours degree station ?"

"Dad, how can you say that !"exclaimed Hermione ; it was the first metre Harry had ever heard her refer to Mr. Weasley in that way. Now she rose to her feet to defend Harry."He only ever—"

"Stop it !"demanded Harry weakly, looking at the others."All of you, just…"He was struggling to fight the potion still coursing through his veins. Even though he was waking, there were still a few gossamer in his chief and he was still having trouble trying to find the justly words."Your father's right. As ever… erm, as long as I'm here, I danger you. I should n't ..."Harry fought to sit up, grimacing at the ache that lingered where his shoulder joint had been slashed. Ginny had to help him. The way was so crowded that he had to put his helping hand on Charlie's hip to push him aside, giving Harry a clear look at Mr. Weasley. Try as he might, he was having tremendous difficulty focusing on the man he so much respected.

"I… I'm sorry, sir,"Harry said humbly."I just needed to see…"He looked over at Ron who was still seated against the wall. Their center met and Harry could severalise that his best friend was very worried, but he had no way of telling why. Harry pulled in a breath.

"No. I should never have come. I'll… I go now."Putting his script on Ginny's shoulder, he tried to stand, but his knees wouldn't storage area and he crumpled to the ground, banging his psyche against the rail that ran across the English of Ron's bed. A cut opened on Harry's forehead where his scrape had once been and a modest trickle of blood weaved its way down, not unlike the physical body of a lightning bolt of lightning. With Saint George's helper, Ron lifted him back into bed.

"He needs to rest,"he said.

"He needs to go."

Ginny, the youngest of them all, yet perhaps the most brave, stepped over to her father and gently took his manus in her own, holding it up to her dresser as she looked into her father's eyes. When Mr. Weasley looked down into his daughter's middle, he found tears there. She sniffed, searching for the right words.

"If Mum were active today… where do you think she would be right now ? Dad, you know what she'd say ?"Mr. Weasley's jaw clenched as Ginny handed him a small collapse piece of parchment. For nearly a year, Harry's carried this musical note with him wherever he's gone."She looked back at Harry."Sorry Harry ; Gab told us and we saw it on the nightstand with your things."She turned back to her male parent."Read it dad. Read what Mum says."

Mr. Weasley opened the weary theme and when he first caught hatful of the hand, his wife's handwriting, he pulled in a great gasp of air to keep from crying.

"Please dad, learn it,"whispered Ginny, supporting her founding father by the elbow. Slowly, struggling through nearly every word, Mr. Weasley read the annotation.

"My dear Harry,

"Would that I could readjust the hand of time and set the public rightfield, but alas my magic is no match for the fate that stands before each of us. It is clear to all that the path you've been forced to travel has been cruel and pitiless. And still, with all the hardship you have faced, with all the battles you have fought, you have found sentence to smile, to care, to love. Could there be somebody else in all the world with more loyalty, with more fearlessness, with more than compassionateness ?

"We are all forever in your debt. You faced death but did not strike, and in so doing bring Light Within to darkness, life to death. It is by your example we still have hope that, one day, we will win this war against hatred.

"With all the love a mother can ease up her tike, ~M~."

Mr. Weasley's eyes began to fog and he pulled his daughter close to him, clinging to her as if she might slip away and never counter. It lasted a beat, perhaps two, and then, suddenly, the mist in his eyes was gone ; he became unbending and let go his daughter.

"All of you,"he said sharply,"get out. I want to verbalise with…"He swallowed."…with Harry alone."There was a bit of complaining, but most took the mention of Harry's name as a good sign."Go on. Out… now."His voice was stern and they knew he meant it. One by one they all began to lead. Hermione, the last out the door kissed Harry on the impudence and then did the same to Mr. Weasley.

"I love you both,"she said before she left. Mr. Weasley gave her a slight nod and then closed the door as she departed with the wave of his hired man.

He stood there for some present moment, silent, Stoic, unwilling or unable to verbalise. Harry tried to find the strength to delay awake, but the lovingness of the room and the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance were lulling him to sleep once more. Finally, Mr. Weasley walked over, handed the note back to Harry, and sat on the death chair next to Ron's bed. He had to sit on its border since it was covered in level upon layer of Ron's muddied clothes. He leaned forward toward Harry, his human elbow on his knees and his men clasped tightly together.

"You…"he began,"you think you killed Molly."It was not a inquiry, but rather a statement, Harry felt the need to respond anyway.

"It's all me,"answered Harry dully, trying desperately to concentrate his thoughts."My faults."

"Shhh,"hushed Mr. Weasley."Rest, Harry. Just rest."He put his head in his handwriting, looking down at his groundwork."I wanted to speak with you month ago ; do you remember ? I asked to meet with you on the Hogwarts Express. I knew then… or thought I knew, but I let the day-to-day business get in the way. Minister of Magic… what a put-on. sidereal day turned to calendar week, weeks to months, and before I blinked Voldemort had been reborn and my wife was absolutely.

"I wanted to warn you then, that day on the power train, that he might not be absolutely, that he might deliver used a Horcrux. But I couldn't mention such a thing in front of the others. Maybe… maybe if I had… maybe we would have talked ; you could hold confided in me ; we could have worked together. I never dreamed… the cloak.

"It was me, Harry. My faulting on so many levels."Mr. Weasley's handwriting began to tremble slightly. He looked as if he might be sick and Harry, once again, tried to sit up, but Mr. Weasley moved forward, setting his knees to the ground and taking Harry by the hand, once again hushing him. His hands were icy and the shaking grew steadily worse.

"We were on the third gear trading floor together, making preparations. It was to be a grand celebration. I was focused on its representation for the defeat of Voldemort - the Dark Lord's cobbler's last cadaver on presentation for all to see. What a magisterial day for the Ministry, for me ; only in my heart I knew better. mollie was more excited about what a princely day it would be for you, Harry. All she could talk about was how proud she was, how you'd be the youngest in history to pick up the orderliness of Merlin, and how you so deserved it for all you had tried to do to ensure Muggle condom, especially during Anaxarete's bombardment last year. It was Harry this and Harry that. I see now… my ego…

"Shacklebolt was with us. He was supposed to take the cloak up for exhibit. Molly and I were going to go home base, eat and get some much needed rest before the keep abreast day's festivities. But I grew a bit miffed that my married woman spoke Thomas More about you than her own husband. It seems so… so petty now."He chuckled - a inadequate, sad gag."Why wouldn't she go on about one of her own nestling ? Why wouldn't she boast in front of Shacklebolt how wonderful you were ? Any mother would, and you were as dear a son as any roaming these manor hall with red hair.

"No, Harry."Mr. Weasley shuddered."I killed Molly. In my… in my desire for a import's abatement from my own folly, I asked her to take the cloak up for display. I- I sent her to her death."He grabbed the boundary of the plane on Harry's bed and began to weep quietly into the linen. Finally, he looked back at Harry whose center were open, but remote.

"I'm so lamentable, son. Piling sin upon sin, I had the audacity to blame you… you who would give sooner cash in one's chips trying to keep her. I saw the recollection photographs ; my security measure stave replayed the integral scene in my office. I must hold watched them continuously for days and 24-hour interval. How could a boy vote down my Molly ?"Mr. Weasley brought himself up to one human knee."But it was no boy, was it Harry ? We both know that."He took in a deep breath and then put his paw on Harry's head.

"Forgive me ? delight ?"

Harry shook his fountainhead."My flaw,"he whispered, a tear running down the English of his case. Mr. Weasley wiped it away and smiled.

"Harry, you've never done anything that wouldn't make your parents proud. molly's with them now, and they're all looking down on you and smiling. We're all smiling because were so proud of all you've accomplished."Mr. Weasley stood to his feet, his smiling broadened."Except for that time you and Ron stole my car."He stepped toward the door.

"Get some sleep, son. When you wake, there are natural endowment to open."He pulled the door open and a mass of red whisker, Weasley child after Weasley child, tumbled into Harry's way, spilling out onto the floor. Mr. Weasley gave a particularly grueling kick into George II's side of meat."All of you ! Get out and let him repose !"Once again he shooed them all away and just before he shut the door one last clip he looked back at Harry - who was asleep.

When the potion had finally lost its event, Harry woke and found that at least physical weariness of war had left his shoulder joint and his pegleg. The gash that had torn his shoulder was all but gone ; only a flimsy gabardine line remained. He was suddenly concerned what Gabriella might say if she saw it, and his mind turned in an instant.

"Gabriella !"He sat thunderbolt upright and turned only to obtain Hermione and Ron slumped in the death chair behind him. They were both gone. It was still light outside, but the trees were casting long apparition on the lawn in front and soon the sun would be gone. He'd lost another day. He began, as quietly as he could, to dress himself. An old set of clothes had been set out for him ; he recognized them as something Ron had worn last yr. Too little for Ron now, they fit Harry fine.

He reached for the sweater and his hand hesitated. It was a blush sweater, knitted by hand with a large H on the straw man. It wasn't old - it was new, knitted most certainly by Mrs. Weasley. Slowly, Harry picked it up and held it in his hands. He paused for a instant, said a silent, Thank You, and slipped on the sweater. For the first time in Clarence Day, he felt warmly.

He was prepare to leave when he realized he didn't have his baton. He began to seem for it and finally noticed it on the board by his bed - just future to Ron. He didn't want to utter the patch to come up it, but he'd have to tilt over the two of them to retrieve it.

Carefully, he stepped over and reached for his baton, trying hard not to sweep up against Ron who was snoring slightly. His fingers were almost there when—

"Where are you going ?"Ron asked as he grabbed Harry's outstretched arm by the wrist. Harry extended, the baton snapped into his hired hand, and he then pulled free from Ron's clutch, slipping the baton into his back pocket.

"To find some pants that fit me,"he replied. Hermione began to excite.

"Is he… is he wake up ?"she asked Ron blearily.

"Yeah, he's awake,"Ron answered, stretching his legs forward."And he's trying to slink off. tell you he'd try."Soon, all three of them were on their pes. Only, Hermione made a point of standing in social movement of the door, blocking Harry's route.

"I'm not slinking. I have to go."

"You heard Dad,"said Ron, extending his arm and pointing to some unsung dapple below the base. Harry wondered if Mr. Weasley was actually there."He forgives you."

"wellspring he shouldn't !"Harry snapped, and then his bearing slumped, regretting his tone."He shouldn't."The vista began to play in Harry's judgment once again, much like the motion-picture show of Canicula'decease had haunted Harry over a year ago. He sighed."Like I said, I have to go."He moved to the room access, but Hermione wouldn't budge.

"Go where ?"she asked.

"I have to help her. I have to get her back."

"You don't even know where she is."

"I don't care ! I have to look."

"Why in the bloody hell did you come here then ?"asked Ron sharply."Is Dad right ? Did you just blunder by, bringing the destruction Eaters with you ?"

"No !"

"Then why ? To spout on about how you shouldn't be here ? To bawl like a bloody baby ?"Ron moved closer."To cry so Dad would palpate distressing for your pitiful—"Harry drew his wand ; Ron paused."To hex me ?"he said more softly, with the flimsy clue of a smile.

"I came here to see YOU, damn it !"Harry yelled."And a lot of good it's doing !"He slipped his wand away."What a waste of time."

"You're right,"answered Hermione smartly."Gabriella could be dying and you're fiddling around trying to figure out what to do, wasting time, when you already live what you need to do."

"What ? What do you mean ?"

"Hermione and I talked about it while you were sleeping,"said Ron."You've got to go see him."

"Who ?"asked Harry.

"You know."

"Draco ? Hah ! That rat can—"

"You're as obstinate as he is,"said Hermione.

"And it'll get Gabriella killed,"added Ron."Then you will have something to blame yourself for."

"But your dad… true or not, your dad thinks he had a hand in your mum's death."

"No… no he doesn't."Ron picked up the picture of his family and looked at the moving people."He was angry. He just needed mortal to find fault, anybody to find fault, but he couldn't get his hired man on the one wizard he knew was guilty. So he lashed out at you, at Saint James the Apostle, at Draco. When they were well enough to walk, he had them both imprisoned on Fengsle Isle east of Shetland."

"William James ? But James II had nothing to do—"

"If you sat and watched as he cast the piece that killed my mother over and over again, you'd shift your thinking about him. I don't handle how rational you are. It'll take every ounce of control not to boom him to bite when I see him again."

"But—"

"It doesn't affair,"Hermione interrupted."Ron's dad sent word after talking to you. St. James is to be released and you're to conform to with genus Draco today."She reached into her sack and pulled out a small white envelope."I wish you could stay, but I know you won't. If you have to go, you need to throw your first hold on here."She handed Harry the gasbag."It's a Portkey, the key inside that is."Harry opened the gasbag and saw a small gold key, and then looked up at his two acquaintance, standing arm-in-arm. They were both smiling, but their eyes were sad.

"Tell him… tell him Blaise is better,"said Ron."They've lifted the imperious execration. Everyone at Hogwarts has been screened, even the professor. And Harry, let us cognize what you find out. We'll do whatever we can to help."

"I know you will. I know you will."Harry chuckled to himself."That's what worries me."Just before he took the key, he stopped and looked back at them."Thanks,"he said and added,"Merry Christmastime,"and then grabbed the key.

There was a whoosh and a moment later he found himself in front of a large stone bulwark on what appeared to be a small jumpy island. The sky was aristocratic, but the farting was bitterly cold and blew through the knit of his perspirer. All around were splotches of Snow, worn down by the wind. The moving ridge were rough and crashed into the bouldery coastline sending large feather of sea spraying high up into the air. Further up the breaker's nebuliser froze, making the upper shoreline glisten like so many infield.

"hi !"Harry tried to cry above the wind, his arms folded about him. There was no answer. A particularly large wave crashed behind him and he pulled his wand to cast a shielding charm, but cipher happened and the frigid mist sprayed him, dampening his clothes so that the wind was just that much more cooling.

"Is an-n-nybody here ?"he cried out, teeth chattering. Still nothing. He was about to grab the key again, to yield to the Borough when the ground began to rumble. He was looking at the wall, expecting some transition to spread up before him, but nothing appeared. He stepped back to get a secure facial expression when he slipped on an ice covered rock'n'roll ; someone grabbed his arm.

"Sir ?"

Harry spun, saw darkness gown, and"Stupefy !"he cried, but again there was no magic… naught, not even a glisten from his wand. Before him was a man in gloomy blue robe, wearing a thin smile.

"A bit jumpy are we ?"he asked."I can realise. You are Mr. Harry thrower I presume ?"

Harry just gawked. Looking past the necromancer before him was the ocean, well, not the sea. It, or a good portion of it, had disappeared. It was as if Moses had split the Red Sea ; a great hole at the seashore plunged down below the waters. Stairs had appeared at the rough boundary and disappeared into the sea below. It looked as if keen glass walls were holding the water back and Harry saw any bit of sea creatures looking back at him, some he'd never seen before.

"Harry Potter ?"

"What ? Erm… er, yes."

"Very good. please watch me."The wizard turned and began his way down the dance step ; Harry followed, looking up, as he went down, at the sea above him, wondering if at any bit the sea would fall back on top of him. Deeper and profoundly they climbed, down in the mouth and abject. Soon the light of the sun was nothing but a dingy green incandescence. Some minutes later, they came to a great iron threshold, baring the passage through the fount of a rock 'n' roll paries. Water dripped into pocket-size pool, echoing eerily in this make-shift cavern. Neither said a word until the wizard pulled a heavy atomic number 26 key and turned it into the ignition lock. Click-click-clank ! The door creaked open.

"Best to step briskly, sir,"said the wizard. They'd been walking so slowly, Harry, tooth still chattering, was confused and then he heard the crashing sea. He looked back and could see the froth and waves curling into the canyon through which they'd just travelled.

"Please, sir."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. Quickly, he darted in through the doorway ; the hotshot followed behind him, closed the doorway and turned a great handle sealing it mean. A moment later, Harry heard the sea crash against the door and it groaned miserably. He felt certain it would breech, but the wizard in blue robes was as calm as ever.

"I take it, sir, that this is your first visit with us ?"The sensation placed his keys over a large come-on on the wall.

The place was dark, damp and had an aroma of acidulate seaweed. The pocket-sized entryway they were in was tight, confining, and the ignition was dim at best. A boastfully rat scurried across the storey, reminding Harry of Scabbers.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name, sir, is Winston, Keeper of the Keys at Fengsle Isle. Welcome to our lowly abode."He held out his mitt and Harry took it in his own. The middle-aged man seemed quite affable, but reminded Harry a bit of his Uncle Vernon. He wondered what was truly behind the Cheshire smiling. Winston went over to a jolty hewn table and lifted a set of papers.

"Let me see… yes, here they are. The diplomatic minister has authorized you to see Master Malfoy."

"passkey ?"

"Sir, certainly you are aware that the Malfoy name is one of the most distinguished in all UK. It matters not what sort of cattiness the young lad found himself in at the Ministry. He is still a Malfoy. One must always express a modicum of respect. Besides, as I understand it, you are here to set things straight."

"Right,"Harry said sceptically.

"He's just down this way."

They left the antechamber and started through another door that opened out onto a farsighted corridor. Cells lined the way of life that was just encompassing enough to keep Harry and Winston out of arm's reach. In nearly every cellphone they passed there was a prisoner. Some yelled out smear, others curses ; some cried for food for thought or piss, while most simply call schizoid gibber. There were dozens in this miserable lieu, but Winston ignored them all, while whistling a happy melodic line.

"Are you the but one here ?"Harry asked, wondering how only one could carry off so many. His question was answered almost immediately when a torch appeared near the end of the farseeing corridor some fifty yards away.

"No, Mr. thrower. My wife is here with me,"said Winston."That's her now. Ah, and that must be the Yangtze River boy with her."

"King James ?"

"Yes… yes, he's being released today… poor lad."

"What do you intend, ‘ poor people'?"

"Well, he killed the government minister's wife, didn't he ? He's been here for his own aegis. Once he's out, I don't hold lots hope that he'll…"Winston leaned in, lowering his spokesperson to a whisper."wellspring, some people can be condemnable, can't they Mr. Potter ?"

"Yes,"replied Harry, looking around at the squalid weather of the prison."Yes they can."

Finally, they were close enough that Harry could see King James'side. When King James I saw that it was Harry, there was a wrathful chemical reaction.

"You !"he hissed with a senior high cold representative. He raised his hand to strike Harry when the adult female who was evidently Winston's wife grabbed him by the arm."I hate you… I h-…"James'posture drooped ; his eyes squinted in the swarthiness."Harry ?"he said with a child's voice."Harry, is it really you ?"This time he reached out to put his arms around Harry, but again the womanhood stayed his bridge player.

"Let him go !"Harry snapped, and she did so with a nod of her question. King James rushed Harry and held him tight. The mo year was trembling with fright.

"What's happening to me ?"James whispered."I wanted to die, but I couldn't. I couldn't stop it. And then… and then… They say I killed… I killed…"

"It's okay William James,"Harry answered, holding him in his arms."It's okay."He turned to Winston."Hasn't he gotten any help ?"

"They come from St. Mungo's every day, sir. He's to head back there now. Perhaps, when the new schooltime year starts Dumbledore will subscribe to him back."

"Sooner than that,"answered Harry quickly, to a greater extent to tell James than anything else."He will ; I'm sealed of it."

"Yes,"said Winston's wife,"I've heard he's that way."The manner with which she spoke had a disparaging spirit, and the fuzz on the back of Harry's neck began to prickle. He was about to say what exactly he thought of her opinion when Winston interrupted.

"lamb, please ask the boy to the front. They'll be sending for him shortly."

"Of form,"she replied, and she reached for James, but James didn't want to let go of Harry. Slowly, Harry pulled his hired hand away.

"You'll be fine, James."He looked into the boy's eyes, his son's uncle."I'll be over to see you just as soon as I can. First, we need to get you out of here. Go, on. Let her take you to get help."After a moment, Jesse James nodded his head and walked past Harry and Winston to the front of the prison. What was most noticeable was that the howls and jeering that had accompanied Harry on his entering did not accompany St. James on his exit. If anything the prisoners made every attempt not to be noticed. All that is but one near the end.

"I'm with you, my Lord,"he cried out madly."We will be winning !"

Harry watched until the pair disappeared.

"Shall we ?"Winston asked."Master Malfoy is just a niggling further."

The two continued on. In this function of the corridor, all the cellular phone were discharge and the rooms thirsted for Thomas More light. Harry was about to use his sec vision, when, finally, they came to a loan cellular telephone lit by a fistful of standard candle. The room access was mostly solid except for a little window, no freehanded than a man's mitt, protected with three narrow Fe bars. Winston pulled out his samara and slid them in the lock, turning it with a gaudy clangor that rattled down the hollow corridor.

"Yes, nothing but the best for our Maker Malfoy,"said Winston, pulling the doorway ajar.

As the door opened, a tremendous stink rolled out and it took Harry a few second to get together himself before he stepped inside. There was a collection plate of food for thought at the doorway that looked as if it had not been touched. A rat was nibbling at its capacity and Harry kicked the pest away. It squealed, landing into a scattering of suddenly puke, all in various stages of decay. Harry gasped just as another rat came to take its place. He was about to smash that one with his iron heel, when he saw genus Draco curled up on a pile of filthy straw, his clothes in tabloid and his appearing gaunt and muddy. Even with all the noise, it took genus Draco a moment to understand that soul had entered his cell.

When at last he noticed he had visitor, Harry thought for a moment there was a intimation of happiness, but it faded instantly and the dull, sickly look appeared. Harry remembered it from survive year when Draco was nearly destroyed by drugs, but there were no drugs this year. The typeface before him, barely able to annul itself from the fouled bedding of pale yellow, was pure miserableness.

"The serious ?"Harry yelled, turning toward Winston. He reached for his verge, but stopped remembering that thaumaturgy would not work here."Leave us !"

"As you wish, Mr. Potter,"said Winston with a bow."I will be just down the corridor, attending to former prisoners if you need anything. Simply call my epithet when he's decided to agree to the substitution, or if perhaps,"Winston licked his lips,"you need assistance persuading him."

"GO !"Harry snapped. Again Winston bowed and shut the two in the mobile phone. Harry heard the threshold lock chamber with a clank and he turned back to Dragon, dropping to one knee. The smell was spoilt here, much bad.

"genus Draco,"whispered Harry,"what in pigeon hawk's name have they done to you ?"

"Harry ?"Dragon whispered back. He looked up and blinked. Slowly he lifted toward a seated status, eye to eye with Harry. He was as blench as Harry had ever seen him, and about his centre there was something… in the swarthiness Harry could not state."Harry… my old friend."

"Draco, why are you letting them do this to you ? Why not just do the exchange ?"Dragon swayed and Harry held him up by the shoulders.

"knowledge is power, Harry,"he said slowly, glancing toward the closed cell door."I taught you that, remember ?"Rolling his eyes, Harry nodded.

"I've… I've a little secret,"Dragon continued,"and I need you to help me keep it, see ?"He put his hands up between Harry's supportive arms and on top of Harry's articulatio humeri.

"I think I know,"said Harry."But Draco, why not—"

"Do you ?"Draco asked."Do you really ?"

In a New York minute, genus Draco's paw were around Harry's throat. Harry moved to rive them off, but they were locked like a vice, slowly clamping down.

"I tried to instruct you, Harry,"said Draco, lifting the much heavier Gryffindor from his knees and onto his fundament."But you wouldn't listen. Ignorance… ignorance spells destruction. It's time you learned your lesson."

They struggled, Draco clearly in ascendence. Harry gasped for air and then he saw them in the flash of candlelight. The blonde's eyes… the pupils were slit. And then, when Draco smiled, Harry shuddered. A pearled, ivory tooth protruded from each recess of the Slytherin's oral cavity, the fangs of a vampire.

"You'll make a much better bite than a rat."


Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 23 - reunification
~~~***~~~
source's Note : After writing this chapter, I've changed the rating for this account to ‘ M ’. Mature paper and more denotative language. carry on appropriately and feel disengage to assure me if you'd rather it be toned down.





In the swarthiness, the roue to his brain cut off by the steel clutch of genus Draco Malfoy, Harry's quite a little began to fail, tunnelling in at the pale face of anger before him. He could take heed only the squealing of dirty dog, fighting over the pickings of their numb cousins, the raspy puff of Dragon's breath, and the ever quieting thud-thump of his own substance.

"I've wanted this in so many ways, Harry,"hissed Draco through his gritted dentition, fully exposing his two bloodsucking fangs and sending a sputtering of saliva across Harry's face."So many ways."

"Dragon, please,"mouthed Harry silently, holding Dragon's wrists, but unable to pull himself discharge.

"The sense of taste of your—"

"Help me."

There was a heartbeat of recognition in Draco's eyes that wasn't there a moment earlier. Suddenly, the grip released and both young men fell to the floor.

Heaving in huge gulps of air, Harry reached for his throat with one helping hand and pulled his verge with the early.

"Stupefy,"he gasped. Nothing happened. Draco lay prone on the trading floor laughing sadly to himself."STUPEFY !"genus Draco only laughed more, a laugh that quickly turned to a oceanic abyss, wondrous cough. Still coughing, Draco turned over onto all four. The cough worsened and ended with a retching phone that resulted in Draco hacking up a ball of bloody sputum onto the mucky, stubble strewn floor.

"That's not sound,"he said, wiping his mouth with his arm. Then he collapsed, falling cheek forward into the filth. The rats were on him at once. He couldn't, or wouldn't motion. As practically as Harry wanted to murder Malfoy, he wouldn't let him be ripped to pieces by rodent. He hurried over and began to kvetch them away.

"Get away from him !"he yelled. There were so many, Harry decided to telephone for help, murmuration,"Winston,"to himself. But before he could call in out, Dragon stopped him.

"No,"he breathed."No others."

"Draco, I…"He kicked another."I can't barricade them !"

"H-Help me up,"Draco asked weakly, holding out one arm towards Harry as strikebreaker clawed at his already tatterdemalion apparel. Instinctively, Harry moved to help his devolve adversary, but hesitated. He was nearly destroyed by such a motion before, by Grigor, Gabriella's father. Another rat began to claw at Draco's face.

"Harry,"Dragon whispered, falling back to the floor. A cloud of rats covered his head.

Finally, Harry could bear it no more and he lifted Draco away from the writhing swarm of fur and gnashing dentition. That's when Draco noticed the black onyx ring on Harry's finger."Pravus,"he muttered, grabbing the hand that bore the ring in his own and gathering his long suit as Charles Herbert Best he could.

"Focus… your intellect,"Draco breathed."The ring… command them."

Instantly, Harry felt warmth run from the linked workforce and up his arm. For a present moment, he heard, or felt, Draco's thoughts.

"Of course,"Harry whispered, recalling the ability vampires had to moderate the minds of others. He took in a breath and concentrated on the cloud below.

Together, both young men began to reach out their judgement, speaking to, instructing the blabber below to leave at once. Harry could hear their interpreter cry out in hunger, but heard also an almost rhythmic bidding of Draco, telling them that there was danger, that they needed to flee for their lives. The scrum of squealer stopped. One, then another, ran to a wisecrack in the far rampart. Soon, they began to contend each early to escape. Before long, Dragon and Harry were alone ; both sat back to the floor, exhausted. Draco held up Harry's helping hand in his own.

"I've heard the stories about this annulus,"he said with wonder."I've seen pictures, but never dreamed…"He chuckled to himself, pulling the ring finisher, trying to examine its blackness in the dim light. He looked at Harry."You don't have a hint, do you ?"Harry remained still."With your powers, Harry, there's goose egg we couldn't fulfill together."There was a suspension and he let go of Harry's hand.

"How the hellhole did you get it ?"Draco asked. The voice was suddenly smug, arrogant, but before Harry could answer, the wind spilled out of Draco's sails and he followed with a feel that was much more than sorrowful."Why did you come ? You should sustain left me here to rot. I just want it over with."

His read/write head fell back against the rock wall. And genus Draco tried to pull in a breathing place of air that didn't quite seem to satisfy his thirst for oxygen. He gulped for another. In the ignitor, Harry could see the traces and twist of tiny, blue veins just under the pallid skin of Draco's typeface and neck. It was there he saw them—two small, faintly red scar not much more than an inch apart. Harry touched them ; they were rattling.

"I… I thought… maybe, it was hoax,"he muttered, moving somewhat away from Draco, who noticed the motion and sadly closed his eyes. With a thud, Draco slightly banged his head word against the wall. Harry noticed straight away the torment on the blonde's face and regretted his own concern. He remembered back when students at Hogwarts would avoid him as he walked down the corridors - the Heir of Slytherin. He moved closer.

"Did it ache ?"

"I told you… founding father's a madman."Draco kept his eyes closed, reaching up his right hired man to the two marks on his neck opening. His fingers were trembling as he slid them against the two midget cicatrix. His breathing was growing more noticeable."‘ Immortality, Draco !'I refused.

"But while I slept… without my willingness…"Dragon opened his center and looked at Harry. He gathered himself and provided his dependable Malfoyian drawl."The fine vampire in all Great Britain turned me - an almost Royal bloodline dating back to the age of Morgana. Isn't that special ?"He coughed."beginner says I should be proud."He coughed again.

"Merlin,"Harry gasped. Nothing his Uncle Vernon had ever done came end to—

"No,"genus Draco corrected."I said Morgana. Merlin was a Muggle loving, son of a—"

"Draco, when ?"Harry interrupted.

"Just before we came to the Ministry. I must intromit, I wasn't in best form ; I could hardly stand, but he didn't care. His brain was bent on you. Father half-hoped we'd meet, you and I. ‘ If you see the prick, go for his throat, Dragon ! Suck him dry !'I told him I would."genus Draco laughed again, and this time the coughing that followed was more pronounced. When the spasm past, he drew in a trench breathing time of air."And now… damn, I must look awe-inspiring. I feel it."

"Why don't you tell that whoreson of a Fatherhood of yours to go to hell ?"Harry pettifoggery. It did not elicit the reply he expected. In a peachy whirl, Dragon pounced on top of him, grabbing his throat once again, pressing Harry's head against the Stone paries, only this prison term the grip was unaccented and Harry grabbed Draco's articulatio radiocarpea, easily pulling them away.

"vexation about my father, when you have one of your own !"Draco cried, spitting into Harry's case. Dragon's effort had drained him. His eyes were rolling in his head and it looked for a here and now as if he might faint.

"My god, Draco, a stiff wind would shove along you over."genus Draco began to chuckle. The chortle grew to a jest and he began to cough, falling off Harry and onto his position. Laugh-Cough-Laugh. Draco was obviously very ill and, perhaps, quite mad.

"You know what I mean,"said Harry. The cough stopped almost instantly and genus Draco crawled over to Harry, wheezing badly.

"Do I, Harry ? Do I ?"He moved closer, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder."You've never really been straight with me, have you ?"He began to smile, and the growing snicker turned to another spasm of coughs. When they subsided, he pulled his hand away from his sassing and found it bloodied.

"What's happening to you ?"Harry asked.

"It appears that a vampire does not live on rat descent alone,"Draco answered, wiping his hand against the wall."It took some doing, but I finally learned to command them to come to me. It helped, but I guess not enough."He fell to one elbow, looking up at Harry who was still seated against the wall."I had hoped you'd come sooner."

"Your forefather had other programme,"Harry said curtly."I had to protect Singehorn's lands."

"He attacked the mountain ?"Dragon asked in disbelief, his representative raspy from the cough. Harry wondered if this was why Dakhil's interpreter sounded more like blade dragging across pavement."He wouldn't be so foolish to go so soon."

"It wasn't your father,"answered Harry."It was Voldemort."

"WHA… WHAT ?"Draco'wheezing was growing more noticeable, his thirstiness for air more unquenchable.

"Voldemort has been reborn ; he took restraint of the good eubstance - your father. There was another Horcrux ; not just the cloak, something else. But then… you knew about that, didn't you, Draco ?"His breathing growing more laboured by the moment, Draco did not react."DIDN'T YOU, DRACO ?"

"It… doesn't… topic, Harry. You'd never understand."genus Draco swallowed, but there was nothing in his oral fissure to swallow. He let go another heaving cough that sprayed line everywhere. genus Draco looked at his hands and dropped them to his position."Fuck. I'm dying."Harry grabbed him by the shoulder.

"You can't die, tinker's dam you !"he cried."They have Gabriella ! YOU CAN'T DIE !"Dragon looked up as if he was about to say something, then looked away shaking his straits and collapsed.

"NO !"Harry grabbed genus Draco and once more pulled him to a seated lieu. Draco's nous hung limply to one side, his centre closed.

"I won't lose her."Harry pulled the sleeve of his sweater up and held his radiocarpal joint in forepart of Draco's mouth.

"drinking !"he yelled. genus Draco did not reply. He grabbed the blonde by his whisker and forced his mouth about Harry's flesh."Drink, you goddamn vampire !"Deliberately, Harry slid one of Draco's fang against his chassis, slicing the pelt. The reaction was straightaway, natural - Draco began to feast, grabbing Harry's arm with both his men and pulling it sloshed against his lip.

The draughts were farseeing and laborious as Draco drunk deeply. It was only a matter of second base before Harry felt the effects of the blood being drained from his body. He tried to pull his arm away, but Draco held fast. He pulled again, but could not escape. Finally, he clubbed Draco on the side of the top dog with his clenched fist and yanked his arm away. There was a scream of angriness that rang from genus Draco's blooming lip. He moved to pounce on his weakened foe, but stopped, gathering his wits. He pushed himself backwards, away from Harry as quickly as he could, crawling into the darken corner.

Harry looked down at his bloodied arm. Unwilling to damage the jumper, he reached up and tore his undershirt and wrapped the shredded cloth about his carpus.

"punter ?"Harry asked the digit that had disappeared into the shadows.

"Better,"came the response. The vocalization, for the first time since Harry had arrived at the cadre, sounded like the interpreter of Draco Malfoy."You… are you okay ?"

"Oh, yeah,"answered Harry sarcastically."beauty and cream over here, mate."

"Sorry,"Draco whispered, walking out of the shadows and this metre helping Harry to his feet."A pint goes a farsighted way, a gallon… well, that's to die for."

"All bell ringer that down."

"How did you lie with ? You know… that you could…"He gestured to Harry's arm.

"noesis is mightiness,"snipped Harry."Some of my near friends are vampires."Dragon smiled and nodded.

"I was being kind of an idiot,"said Draco."Uttering gibber and all that rot. I… I wouldn't, erm…"

"rightfield. Speaking of knowledge,"Harry cut in,"you should know that Blaise is better. They lifted the prideful jinx. It was Voldemort the whole time."

"That's… that's sound news,"said Draco, almost as if trying to convince himself of the fact."Blaise is… important to me."Harry nodded, knowingly."But if Voldemort had a hired man in his actions, it's possible…"Draco's look grew alarmed."Tell me at once - what do you know of my founding father and Voldemort ?"

Harry didn't much like the tone, but for the side by side few arcminute, he explained all that had transpired since Draco had been imprisoned. As intrigued as Dragon was about Harry's new son, he asked more interrogation about the joining of Voldemort and his Padre. He was particularly concerned that Blaise may have let slip certain info.

"He'll kill me if he's found out,"said genus Draco, leaning against the rampart.

"You don't know that,"answered Harry only guessing at what Draco meant.

"Oh… and I suppose you do,"drawled genus Draco. Then the blonde began to speak to himself."Maybe not, if he's the entirely one that knows ; he'll try to use it to his advantage somehow. But, if I'm an embarrassment… or if he thinks I've been disloyal… I'm dead."

"You're being overly dramatic."

"I saw him use the haughty curse on Bellatrix for forgetting to add two sugars to his tea !"He spun toward Harry."Was that overly dramatic ?"Dragon began to step, tapping his fingers together in strawman of his bureau.

"Sorry I wouldn't make the exchange. They tried to demand me out during the day,"he said to Harry over his berm, kicking at the pile of stagnant rat carcass."That's why I wouldn't go. I haven't yet learned to withstand the sun's irradiation. I… I won't let anyone screw what I've become."He paced some more."If I do this, it'll induce to be by night."

"IF you do this ?"bellowed Harry."You'll do this or you're perfectly where you stand ! I may not receive a scepter, but I can still kick your stern !"

"Do you believe ?"Draco asked, but Thomas More as if it was a question to himself."That might forge. What time is it now, Harry ?"

"I don't know ; not quite midnight, why ? What are you going on about now ?"

"It may be that the shadow overlord has found my Father of the Church again, but he may feature found someone more suitable to his need. He's after your son now, after all."

"I don't need a reminder."

"Then stay vigilant. Trust no one."

"Does that admit you ?"

"Exactly ! They may think that we are… ally. We can't let that happen. If there's even the slightest suggestion that…"genus Draco stepped over to Harry."Hit me."

"Hit you ?"

"You heard me. Hit me. It has to look upright. I want your hands bloody and my face swollen. Everyone has to roll in the hay that you hate me for putting your girl at risk. We may be under the sea, but Bible will get out… word always gets out."Harry just stared."Go on, Harry, kvetch my buns ! You know you always wanted to. Here's your chance."

"I'm not going to hit you, genus Draco. You may have had a little origin, but it's not enough for me to hazard your animation and I'm too goddamn tired."

"If you want your precious raven haired beauty to return to you, hit me !"

"There's got to be a better—"Dragon reached back and belted Harry across the chin. The jolt sent stars flickering into Harry's vision. Harry fell to one stifle and looked up at the Slytherin who now had his hands rolled into clenched fist. He could savour the line in his own sass."You bastard !"

Harry slammed his right fist into Dragon's stomach, doubling him over like a folded lawn-chair. He then jabbed upwards, toward Draco's exposed face, snapping his head back with a sickening snap. genus Draco staggered backward as Harry stood up. There was pedigree streaming from Dragon's nose.

"It's so much better than using a wand, don't you think, Harry ? chassis against flesh."He charged Harry and threw a punch that wildly missed. Again Harry caught him in the mid-section and then threw two punch that tossed Draco's foreland from one face to the early. A import ago Harry didn't want to cast a punch. Now, he didn't want to check.

Still bent over, Draco charged Harry again and this metre caught him in his arms and threw him against the wall. The back of Harry's head slapped against the stone, drawing yet another trickle of red gold. Draco threw a puncher that Harry just dipped away from and his hands crashed into the wall. With a yelp, the blonde reached up and began to claw at Harry's face and this time Harry could taste the blood on genus Draco's fingerbreadth. It was unnatural, almost sweet.

With his knee, Harry caught Draco between the legs and as he began to collapse, Harry bashed the rear of his neck with both his fists curled together with a downward pounding. Draco was on his knee.

"Winston !"Harry cried."Winston !"

Draco reached up and grabbed Harry by the waist of his pants and pulled him to the ground. He climbed upon him and began to strike madly at Harry's drumhead. The door opened with a clangor and a flash of red light filled the room, from where, Harry never saw. Draco was nearly lifted off the terra firma before he crumpled, unconscious at Harry's side of meat.

"I'd defeat the blooming dickhead if I didn't need his dark hindquarters !"Harry yelled."drag him out of here !"Winston smiled as if enjoying a tasty desert.

"As you wish, Mr. Potter,"he said, grabbing Malfoy by the back of his whisker and dragging him along the ground."Did he agree to the exchange then ?"

"Do you hear him saying, no ?"Harry sneered.

They made their way down the long and narrow corridor, Winston dragging Dragon by his hair and Harry cursing Draco's name the unharmed way. Just as they were in the thick of the captive, genus Draco began to shake.

"Let go of me !"he yelled."Let go of me !"

"Did you see what he did to my brass ?"Harry yelled."Shut the roll in the hay up, you son of a squawk !"He kicked Malfoy soundly in the rib."You'll do the interchange, or I'll slicing off your digit, one-by-one ! DO YOU see ME ?"

Winston just chuckled as he continued to drag out genus Draco along.

"I'll kill you !"yelled Draco."The first thing I'll do when I get back is James Henry Leigh Hunt your keister down. I'll have your tenderness on a pike !"

"You do that !"Harry challenged and then spat at genus Draco."I'll be waiting !"

The captive all began to jeer at Harry and cry out sustenance for Draco."Kill him, overlord Malfoy ! We're with you ! In the gens of the darkness Lord ! Kill thrower !"

It wasn't long before the three made it into the antechamber. No one said a word as Winston bound Draco's subdivision behind his back, cinching them particularly tight. Where James was, or Winston's wife for that topic, Harry did not know - they were no where to be seen. Winston offered Harry a cool down towel for his face, but naught Thomas More. Then he placed his hand against the room access that led to the sea and uttered some sort of incantation. He reached over and took his Key off the hook and unlatched the door. When it opened, not a drop-off of water supply flowed into the antechamber. Harry punched Dragon in the binding.

"Get moving, slime. One faithlessly relocation and you can take a crash course in underwater drowning."Draco moved forward as the other two followed, Winston sealing the door behind them. When they reached the island, the stars were flickering brightly and in the dark sky, approaching from the eastern United States, Ebyrth glowed.

"Oh my,"said Winston. It was the number one such tone he'd heard from the key keeper."Do you see that hotshot ? Or is it a comet ?"

"You see it ?"asked Harry. It was the first time anyone other than a Centaur had professed such.

"It's like a glowing diamond, just like in the account book,"said Winston almost in a whisper."They say it's what all this nastiness is about with the centaur. I don't much see why people care."This made Draco laugh which cost him another slap by Harry who had noticed that the print on Dragon's cheek were already healing.

"You know how to treat them, don't you Mr. Potter ?"Winston asked."I doubted at first, but I see now, you understand."

"The exchange ?"Harry asked, ignoring the comment.

"Yes… yes…"said Winston, pulling a pocket-sized looking glass orb from his pocket."Here sir,"he offered it to Harry."It's a Portkey."Harry withdrew his mitt.

"Portkey ?"I don't want to go flying into Malfoy's minions. Winston laughed.

"No sir,"he said with a chuckle,"nor do I. It's an commutation Portkey, sir. Only when both prisoners are holding the orb simultaneously, and only the two prisoners, will the exchange take stead."You can handwriting it to the boy, or stuff it in his face."

Harry looked at genus Draco. His face was swollen, one eye was clotted over, and he smelled worse than a troll. Then he realized, shoving the orb in Draco's mouthpiece would add a nice contact upon obstetrical delivery. While Winston wasn't looking, Harry offered and Draco nodded, opening his back talk. Harry shoved the glob in and noticed that the fangs had disappeared. He was about to whisper in Draco's ear when the Slytherin vanished in his weapon. Harry looked around nervously.

"wellspring ?"he asked impatiently."Where is she ? Where is—"There was a newsflash of livid light and Gabriella appeared. She was in a seated position when she arrived, but then crumpled to the ground. Harry was at her side in an blink of an eye. Her center were shut, but she was breathing.

"Gabriella ! Gab ! Are you okay ?"Harry called out, but there was no movement."GAB !"

"Sir,"said Winston,"it isn't safe here. You must return with her at once."Harry looked at him, puzzled."Your key, sir."

Holding Gabriella in his arms, Harry pulled the white envelope out of his pocket and clutched the golden key inside. There was a swoosh, and he was gone.

Winston looked up once more at Ebyrth and turned back to the dungeon, shaking his straits. As he continued to climb down, his keys jangled at his side, his fingers rubbing against their metallic aerofoil. He stopped once more, looking back at the icy, night sky and muttered,"I love it when two people hate each former so much."


Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 24 - Nightmares
~~~***~~~



four faerie fluttered over Gabriella's unconscious torso, each empathically reflecting the province of her seven chakras. Alternating in colour and brightness, they were immediate visual index of both her physical and magical well being. In all the Clarence Day Harry had been at St. Mungo's, More than he could now remember, he had only seen such pansy used in two path : to monitor those soon to die, and to scrutinize those soon to be imprisoned. The fairies could sense when death was near, alerting family members to amount to the bedside, but they could also sense a patient's desire to pull a criminal act before it actually happened, warning stave of any impending wrongdoing.

Gabriella had been released from the Stasis piece almost immediately after Harry had arrived with her from Fengsle Isle. She was fine ; at least, Harry thought she was. The lone matter unusual was that she refused to let her mother, Soseh, fret over her. Despite her generally good health and well being, the Healers of St. Mungo's encouraged by Aurors from the Ministry poked and prodded her mercilessly, convinced she had been hexed or was under the ascendence of an Imperius jinx. Her judgement was probed, her soundbox scanned - all to no avail. She remembered nothing after having been apprehended just after leaving Cho and Mark Anthony's flat. That she would not severalise the Aurors why she was in France to begin with, only fed the flames of their suspiciousness. Soseh was incensed that they were treating her daughter so poorly, while Harry wondered to what extremes Draco was being put to similar tests.

Gabriella had just been given a scant sleeping gulp to help her relief after the even's torture had ended. Soseh kissed Harry's brass and stormed out of the elbow room, cursing in Armenian alphabet ; he agreed with some of the more choice expletives and flopped down in one of the chairs to take a breather, if only for a present moment. He had just closed his eyes and was beginning to drift off, when the room access opened. It was Sirius. Harry straightened.

"Canicula ?"Harry asked."Why are you here ? Shouldn't you be—"

"How is she ?"Sirius cut in. Harry slumped down, his school principal dropping back against the rampart as he rubbed his human face with his hands.

"Well, if she didn't hate the Ministry before she came to United Kingdom, she certainly will now."Harry looked over at Gabriella as she lay on the bed."She's yet to ask me to help get her out of here and she won't let her own mother near her. It's like she has something to prove. Almost as if she wants them to quiz her ; it's looney !"Harry stood."Soseh on the other hand."He shook his head."If she could use a wand, she would have hexed half the staff back to the Harlan F. Stone age. I'm still waiting for a dragon to show up outside the window."Sirius mustered half a smiling.

Harry walked over to Gabriella's bedside, held her script, and began to stroke it with his own. Even now, asleep with thoughts that wandered the world, she was proud, noncompliant, more capable than Harry could imagine - future to Molly Weasley, perhaps the strongest woman he had ever known. His hands began to tremble.

"You love her, don't you ?"Sothis whispered, placing his arm about Harry's shoulders.

"I would die for her,"Harry whispered back.

"Oh, Harry,"said Sirius, squeezing his godson's shoulders,"you'd die for a lot of people. I heard what happened outside of the tunnel. You know, it's no honorable dying for someone if all you do is stand in front of a freight train."

"Sorry."

"Sorry ?"Sirius snapped."Sorry ? Harry, you need to commemorate there are far more in force reason to live than there are to die, and I've been watching over one of them for you for the last week. You're no just to Jamie dead ; you above all people should bonk that."

Harry's thoughts fell on his own son and what Voldemort intended to do with him, if he could be found. It was one matter to put his own life on the bank line, but now… now so many were in danger. The quiver of his bridge player moved up his weaponry and soon his solid body began to tremble ; he turned and held Sirius in his implements of war, squeezing the cloth of his robes in his hands. With each pass day, it was becoming clearer to the Gryffindor what the ultimate fate of the prognostication would be, and the signal, as he read them, were not in his party favor.

"Haven't you heard ? I'm already drained ; part of me at least,"Harry choked into Sirius shoulder."I'll never—"

"Don't talk like that ! Don't ever think it !"Sothis held Harry by the shoulders and looked into his face."It's those fucking ghosts ! Yeah, I've hear them talking in the corridors of the castle. It's rubbish !"Harry wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"Is it ?"he whispered."I wonder. I think maybe they know to a greater extent than they let on."He turned back to see at Gabriella and tried to assemble himself."I… I guess we won't be making it to New House of York this year."

"No,"said Canicula sadly."Maybe summer."

"Yeah… maybe summer."

There was a long pause as they watched the sprite float about, each shining as brightly as ever. Finally, Harry looked back at Canicula.

"So… Jamie's okay then ? And Cho ?"

"And Anthony,"added Sirius deliberately."They're mulct. They're all fine. Marcus Antonius returns to Hogwarts tonight. In fact, I better be going. I don't want them alone when he leaves. I just needed… I just needed to be indisputable you were okay. Are you ?"

"go year,"Harry began,"just two rooms over… two rooms… Cho nearly died in my arms. There were no fairies then. I guess they figured there was no hope."He took in a oceanic abyss breath."But then… then she came back to me."Harry walked over and looked out the windowpane. Snow was lightly falling onto the street below where Muggles past oblivious to the thaumaturgy all around them. Harry's brow pressed against the glass.

"I did love her… you know ? At least I thought I did. But Cho and me… it just wasn't…"Harry shook his school principal and walked over to Gabriella's side, taking her once Thomas More by the paw as she slept. He stroked the retentive strands of black whisker that ran down the side of her typeface, as the fairylight danced across her closed eyes."Oh, Sirius… for her… for her I've walked through ardor and been tempered by it. You're right, I love her. But I'd do far more than die for her… I'd kill."

Harry kissed her on the brow, his own throb from lack of sleep. He faced his godfather and pointed toward the window.

"He's out there, searching for them now,"Harry whispered."He won't residual till he's found them, and I won't rest until I've found him. It won't end until one of us dies."

"And it's NOT going to be you !"

Harry looked down at his hands and then back to Dog Star. The shaking had stopped.

"No. No it's not."

"Good."Sirius started for the threshold, touched the grip and then turned around.

"Harry, you haven't told her, have you ? Where they are ?"

"No, but she asked… Thomas More than once."

"I knew she would. You want to state her, don't you ?"Harry shook his head, no, but looked away."Liar,"Sirius said with a smiling."Harry, I don't need to tell you how imperative it is for the arcanum steward to keep the secret. There are only the five of us that now know, and, until we get a handle on where Voldemort is, you can't tell a soul. No one, do you understand ? Return to Hogwarts, sentry and wait, but tell no one, not even Ron or Hermione - not even Dumbledore.

"I know."

"Do you ?"

"I KNOW ! I won't let it happen again !"

"Then you're a advantageously man than me,"said Sirius with a look of superbia in his eyes."And my oeuvre here is done."Once more he started for the door only to stop again. This time he did not turn back toward Harry, but instead spoke to the shut door, his hand lightly touching against the Ellen Price Wood."You know I love you, don't you ?"

"I love you more."

Harry did not see the grinning appear and broaden across Sirius'human face as he opened and left the hospital room. Nor did Sirius see the grinning on Harry. Neither needed to, for both already knew. As the door clicked shut, Gabriella began to bring up behind Harry.

It began with a grumbling, and then her hand began to shake. Soon her whole body was convulsing. One of the fairies flashed from blue to commons ; it bore a galvanise verbal expression upon its face. As the bed shook violently, Gabriella's mutter turned to a groan, the moan to a thigh-slapper, and the scream became uncanny.

"NOOOOOOOO !"The blood curdling cry pierced Harry's ears as the door swung open and the healer ran in. Gabriella sat bolt upright and screamed for help. The Healer pulled her scepter and a white-livered light began to bathe Gabriella's afford but space centre. It had no essence. nada worked until Harry grabbed her in his arms and tried to becalm her.

"Shhh,"he whispered."I'm here. I'm always here. It's okay ; you're safe."

Gabriella began to come out of the incubus.

"H-Harry ?"she breathed."Harry. Oh, congratulations Asha."She grabbed him in her own arms.

"What was it, Ms. Darbinyan ?"asked the Healer."What were you screaming about ?"

Gabriella looked up at the Healer, confused. The quivering was gone and her middle top.

"screaming ? I wasn't screaming,"she said indignantly."I'm fine. Why ? What's the matter ?"

"Gab, infant,"Harry said gently,"you were having a nightmare. You were crying out."

"Nightmare ?"asked Gabriella incredulously."I just now woke up. I feel fine… really."She smiled as if naught had happened.

"Curious,"muttered the Healer. She began to rake Gabriella once again with her baton. Harry noticed that the fag that had flashed a lustrous, picket green was once again a beautiful, deep, cobalt blue."The expiry eater have clearly done something to her, but what ? Perhaps more tests are in rules of order. I think—"

"How do you know it's not from something you the great unwashed have been doing ?"spat Harry angrily."I'd be screaming too after some of the affair you've done to her."

The Healer nodded dispassionately, conceding the point.

"True. That is possible, but we really should examine—"

"GET OUT ! GET THE FUCK OUT ! Or you'll be screaming in three minute !"Harry pulled his baton."TWO !"The healer darted for the door."ONE !"She was gone. Gabriella began to express joy, oblivious to the tension of the situation, as if she'd just woken during a summertime cruise on the Mediterranean, needing a bit more sunburn lotion.

"Harry !"she exclaimed."That's a bit harsh, don't you think ?"She laughed again, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You… you don't remember anything, do you ?"Harry asked.

"Remember what ?"

"They were turning your brain inside out three hours ago !"

"No."

Harry began to pace the elbow room."I have to get you out of here."

"Don't be silly !"Gabriella exclaimed."They won't let me yield to Hogwarts if they don't think I'm… well, me."

"tinker's damn it, Gabriella, you're not you ! Something's not right. You were exquisitely when you arrived, but now… if they've hurt you… so help me I'll—"

Soseh burst into the room, waving a parchment in her hands.

"You are liberate !"she yelled."Put on your clothes. We leave, now !"

"mom, I can't—"

"You can. You will. The minister of religion has signed the papers. Now gather your clothes."Gabriella obliged and got of bed as if zilch had happened.

It took less than an hour for Harry to see Gabriella back to Hogwarts. She had insisted that her mother not come along, which hurt Soseh somewhat, but Gabriella would not swing from her position. She demanded that she be seen as strong when she returned to school and having a mother hold her hand as she entered the front end doorway would not express that impression. Finally, Soseh agreed, but before she had a chance to kiss her girl goodbye, Gabriella took the Portkey that transported her and Harry to the forepart of Hogwarts. Harry scolded her for treating her female parent so poorly, but she didn't seem to worry.

professor Dumbledore greeted them at the palace steps and invited them into the Great Hall to tea. He was particularly matter to in Harry's story of the conflict on Singehorn's lot. He was not the only one. A issue of educatee had already arrived ; some had stayed over the vacation. Most of the others would pass tomorrow on the Hogwarts Express. The white-haired star looked tired, but his heart were take in and as blue as ever. He didn't ask any real questions, but instead lamented that the holiday decorations would be taken down in the morning.

"All things must number to an end,"he said with a sad smile, and then took another sip of tea."But even after the decorations have been put away into their boxes, the spirit of Christmas Day lives on in each of us. Don't you think, Harry ?"For an instant, Harry caught a glance of blue angel from the corner of Dumbledore's eye, but the aged wizard looked away. Harry nodded, but was feeling the furthest he'd been from Christmas cheer since his Day with the Dursleys.

That night, they all went to bed early. It would be the last such night. division began the year in earnest. preparation was forged than ever and everyone was complaining about the taxing workload. Harry found himself spending to a greater extent time with Ron than with Gabriella. Since returning, she was somewhat smothering when they were together - constantly trying to get Harry alone, asking dozens of questions, and reminding him of Rita Skeeter. At start, Harry thought she was just extremely curious about what had happened since she was under the Death feeder'Stasis spell. But those character of questions ended a few daytime ago and now they were growing more personal, probing for information about Harry's friend and family.

"I'm tellin'you mate,"said Ron as the two made their way back from the library,"she wants a hoop around her finger."He sang the last part as he swirled one finger's breadth about the mob fingerbreadth on his exit hand."Valentine is just around the quoin !"Harry just shrugged, letting out a long sigh.

"Maybe."

It was lately and he was tired, wondering why in Merlin's gens he decided to return to Hogwarts. It was bad enough that he had to ready for his NEWTS, but he also had to finish up last semester's work as well, while trying to follow the struggle going on around the world in hope on picking up on Voldemort's whereabouts. What little spare time he had on evenings and every Sabbatum was spent training with Ronan and the other Centaurs of the Forbidden timberland. Quidditch practice was squeezed in on Sundays and Ron managed practices in the afternoons. As the weeks passed, it was growing more and more taxing, and he was thankful that no subject how grumpy and upset he could get, Ron seemed to be feeling forged. Not only did he receive nearly everything Harry had on his home, but he also had something far risky - a wedding to plan.

"I swear on Morgana's grave, Harry, if she asks me ‘ pinko or mauve ?'one more time, I'm going to bloody explode."Ron let out a low moan and Harry patted his admirer's back.

"Just warn me, okay ?"requested Harry with a smile.

They were commiserating as they dragged their way back to Gryffindor Tower when someone called from fanny.

"Harry !"

Harry looked back down the corridor to find, much to his surprise, Tracey Davis running towards him. Tracey had become close protagonist with Gabriella over the finis yr and she was, for Harry's Knut, one of the better Slytherins he knew. Her face was affluent and she was clearly out of breath, having just climbed the staircase from the dungeon. She ran up to Harry and Ron, and then took Harry by the arm.

"It's happening again. Come, quick."

Harry didn't need to be told twice ; he knew. They had talked about it just after they started the new year and Harry had asked that Tracey watch Gabriella in case the symptoms reappeared. The three students began to run down the steps and, as one staircase began to skid into stance, Tracey finally had a present moment to see her breathing place and explain.

"She fell asleep reading her Potions book. She's been working so hard - making up for last semester. I had just put a cover about her shoulders, when I heard it. At first, it was just a whimper. I thought it was just a footling bad dream, but it kept getting defective and worse. She began to shout out, then she started to yammer your figure and now she won't stop. It's like she's locked in a trance, she can't see anyone, but keeps screaming your name."

Within instant Harry, Ron and Tracey were climbing down into the girls'dormitory. Harry could find out the screeching.

"Blimey !"exclaimed Ron as they pushed open the room access to the room.

When they walked in, they found Millicent Bulstrode and another distaff Slytherin casting silencing spells, but they were having no effect. Just seeing person distributor point a verge at Gabriella in that way irritated Harry and, as he pushed them aside, he expelled both their wands with the wave of his hired man.

"Get out !"he yelled.

"You can't Tell me—"

"GET OUT !"

Both of them left, Millicent casting him a cruddy stare. If she had glared at Harry a present moment yearner, she would throw hopped out of the elbow room as a anuran. Gabriella howled again and Harry came to her side and dropped to his knees.

He grabbed her trembling manus in his and called her name. There was an immediate face of recognition in Gabriella's eyes. The distance cleared and they focused back to the here and now. She grabbed Harry and pulled him close. The trembling stopped. The scream stopped. Then the most obscure thing happened : she yawned. She let go of Harry's hands, stretch out her munition as if rising from a long slumber and… yawned.

"Harry ?"she asked curiously."What are you doing here ? Don't you know what trouble you'll get into ?"Her eye began to scud around, seeing Tracey and wondering what she'd say. Then she saw the early boy in her dorm."Ron ?"she asked.

"Hi,"he said meekly and waved. His eyes were fixed on a lace nightgown that was draped across Tracey's bed - dark green, but sheer enough to show the white sheets beneath."Erm…."

"You were screaming, Gabriella,"said Harry, taking her by the hand."They couldn't get you to stop."

"Don't be silly,"said Gabriella."I only just now fell asleep."

"What he says is lawful, Gab,"said Tracey."It's been almost xxx hour. The wholly dorm knows."Gabriella stood up, a bit indignant.

"This is just ludicrous. I was just taking a nap ! I should know if—"

"If it was just a nap,"interrupted Ron,"why are you dripping wet ?"

Gabriella looked down at her own gown. She was sweaty ; not just a lilliputian glow about the eyes, but drenched through her gown as if she'd just run a marathon. When she looked down and recognized just how wet she was, she finally had to hold that something happened, that she was somehow not herself. The actualisation coupled quickly to a sense of reverence.

"What… What's happening to me ?"Her voice quivered, her hands pulling the wet robes from her trunk. She tossed them at Ron who tried to depend away. She turned to Tracey."I screamed ?"

"It's the tinker's damn Ministry !"Harry gaiter. He reached behind the curtains that hung over Gabriella's bed and his hand reappeared with a exhibitioner gown. He draped it across her shoulder and Ron wondered how Harry knew that the robe was—

"They should have left well enough alone,"snapped Harry."They're all a bunch of sycophantic, sadistic pigs."

"Hey !"snapped Ron."That's not called for. The Ministry has been doing all it can to protect us from the Death Eaters !"

"Protect us ?"Harry exclaimed as he stepped forward."Are you severe ?"

Ron stepped forward to meet him chest-to-chest."Are you saying different ?"

"flavor,"cut in Gabriella,"we're all a bit fatigue. I'll be all right. I didn't mean to care you guys. I'll go see Madame Pomfrey in the morning. Maybe she can ease up me a sleeping draught. Why don't you two go to bed ?"She turned Harry away from Ron and kissed him on the cheek.

If only that had settled things, but it hadn't. The two Gryffindors argued with each early all the way up the staircases to the tugboat. After each of his invective against the Ministry, Harry kept saying,"… which has nothing to do with your father being the Minister."The insistent turn of phrase only made Ron angrier. He accused Harry of being"unwitting"and"growing up Muggle ”, which only flared Harry's vexation about how Ron felt toward former races. By the fourth dimension they were at the portrayal of the Fat Lady, they were nearly at puff.

"Godric's…"

"… Goblet !"

"My… don't you two seem angry,"she said drowsily, opening the portrait.

"SHUT UP !"they howled in unison.

They didn't speak another tidings the relaxation of the night, and neither slept well. Both heard the other tossing and turning, muttering this or that, replaying the argument in their judgment. Neville finally told them to shut up, and they did. Thankfully, the adjacent break of the day was Saturday. At breakfast, Hermione didn't even ask why the two weren't oral presentation to each other. Harry, glad that he had preparation with Ronan, left the Great Hall as soon as he was finished eating. He was headed down the I. F. Stone steps of the castle toward the timberland when Gabriella came out from behind a column and grabbed him by the arm.

"Hi, handsome,"she said with a grin and kissed him with a peck. She hadn't mentioned that she would forgather him, and he didn't feel much like talking. Still, it wasn't an altogether unpleasant surprisal. It was the first metre they'd been truly alone since they both returned to Hogwarts and he sure didn't tone like being with Ron.

"Hi,"he replied, but not with much exuberance.

"Don't differentiate me,"she said, holding one helping hand against his face."You fought all night with Ron."

"Wow… you're psychical,"he said dully, rolling his eyes in their sockets. She pinched his side.

"It doesn't take a psychical to know when you two are squabbling. It's like you were an old married couple."She smiled."Hermione and I don't have anything to occupy about, do we ?"Harry smiled in restitution and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Hey Harry !"

Harry pulled away, looked up and saw Patrick poking his head out a window from the fourth storey.

"What is it ?"Harry called.

"McGonagall says Dumbledore's lookin'fer yeh !"

"semen on,"whispered Gabriella."Can't the old coot devote us five bit alone ?"

"But—"

"Come on."

Harry craned his cervix and looked up at Patrick. He was so low against the enormous castle walls.

"Later !"called Harry.

"She seemed teh think it was—"

"LATER !"Harry yelled with a scolding tone. He took Gabriella's hand and started across the grass to the Forbidden Forest."Old coot ? Are you serious ?"Gabriella just chuckled as the walked along. The sun was trying to mellow out the finale snow, but the air was still low temperature and she pulled close to Harry.

"Have you seen Madame Pomfrey ?"he asked absentmindedly. His mind was still back at the castle, pondering the fact that he had been rather smutty to Patrick since the commencement of the new year. With James River still at St. Mungo's, Harry's fellow orphan was lost. Nobody would speak to him and contribution of Harry didn't much care. He knew it was awry, but he couldn't supporter himself. Every time he saw the boy he grew angry, so Harry just tried to avoid him completely. He shook his heading in disgust at his own actions and started back toward the palace - it was time to make amends, to apologise to Saint Patrick and set things straight. Gabriella grabbed his arm.

"Er… Yes, I saw Madame Guérir this sunrise,"she said, coaxing Harry along their original way of life."She's quite open. She gave me a potion to try at bed time."

"Good,"Harry said, nodding his head as if trying to convince himself that that was sufficient."Good."

"Oooh, facial expression !"She pointed her digit at some large animate being tracks in the nose candy that traced a way of life leading to the woodland."What are those ?"

"That's a… that's a Gytrash !"Harry said with surprise, losing all thought of Patrick. A class ago, he would never have been able to distinguish the path, but learning the life of the forest was part of his breeding with the Centaurus. Now he knew every wight that roamed the shadow woodwind, and using the king of the onyx ring that wrapped his finger he was slowly learning to communicate with them."I've seen them in the forest, but never this close to the castle. By the pointer's compass point, what would a Gytrash be doing here ?"

"I don't know,"whispered Gabriella, her voice concerned. She didn't much feel like following the tracks that disappeared as they wove their way into the woods, but she didn't want Harry to yield to the castle now that she finally had him alone.

"Shall we… shall we see ?"she muttered, vexed.

She walked with him about two-thirds of the way to the timber and stopped. Harry sensed her apprehension and knew what it was. She had dreamed, after all, that a Centaur arrow had pierced her back. Gabriella appeared conflicted - share of her cherished to go, but the other theatrical role refused to take another step.

"You could go with me, you know,"he said softly."Then you'd see, you'd know… the Gytrash… even the Centaurs… they won't hurt you."Gabriella mustered a smiling.

"I'll… er… I'll meet you here at lunchtime. You will be back for tiffin ?"

"Yes,"answered Harry, starting toward the forest. Gabriella mustered a rich hint and walked with him, still holding him by the shank. Harry rubbed his forehead ; he was tired."I told Ronan that I had to study. He doesn't see the stage and frankly I'm beginning to question myself. When I train, I forget half the material from class, and when I study, I forget half the stuff from training. I'm no trade good to anybody the way I am."

"You're good to me, baby,"Gabriella said, following Harry to the Natalie Wood's boundary, out of visual modality of the palace wall and Hagrid's hut. She slid her script down his side and Harry could feel a penetrating, flaming warmth - a heating plant that would burn anyone, anyone but a phallus of the Votary. To Harry, it was a tickle, sensual aesthesis and as it ran up the inside of his pricker the feeling was hypnotic. He continued, unsteadily, to move in among the trees.

"I was thinking,"she said soft and low."Maybe tomorrow we could sneak away and visit Cho and Jamie. You know, just to see how they're doing. I'm sure they miss you."

"I've… I've told you a… a XII times… I, er… I don't know where…"Harry shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs. He couldn't think straight. He leaned against a declamatory tree a few yards into the forest. In the seclusion, Gabriella slid her hand downward.

"Don't you miss your boy, Harry ?"

"S-Sure."Harry swallowed. The estrus was vivid, oscillating between pleasure and the edge of infliction."Maybe we could… ohh,"Harry groaned and his breaths quickened.

"Where are they ?"whispered Gabriella.

"You… you know…"

Gabriella said nothing, but moved closer, pressing her body against Harry's. His back against a orotund tree, he could smell out its Sir Henry Joseph Wood smoulder. The tree, unsettled by the sensation, began to shudder and Harry moaned again.

"final summer… Greece… at—"There was a pushover, perhaps a diminished twig breakage, somewhere in the aloofness, barely noticeable. He didn't precaution, but Gabriella did. Her muscles tightened.

"William Tell me… now !"she spat impatiently. The voice was contorted, but the tortuosity only partially pulled Harry from his spell.

"Tomorrow… I'll display you,"he said with a smile, reaching down to kiss her. Gabriella pulled away."No ! Don't stop !"Harry pleaded, holding her by the radiocarpal joint."Tomorrow…"Gabriella raised her other hired hand as if to strike him, but Harry was oblivious."…together we can go to S—"

THWANG !

Gabriella let out a screaming as a Centaur arrow pierced her hand and pinned it to the tree next to Harry's caput. It was a high, cold scream. She spun toward her assaulter and her spell over Harry washed away.

"YOU FILTH !"she bellowed to the timberland, but before she could reach her wand with her commodity hand, another arrow pierced it. Now both hands were held fast to the large trunk. The Tree moaned, irritated that it had been pricked.

Suddenly, Harry became aware what was happening, at to the lowest degree partially. Nearly a hundred rate away, barely visible through the dense forest, stood Ronan, bow in hired hand. He was preparing another arrow. Even to the most accomplished superstar, the speed at which arrow met bow would be indiscernible. A Centaur could fire a 12 arrows in less than a second. The tierce was already on its way, headed straight for Gabriella's inwardness.

"NO !"Harry cried. He watched as the arrow flew toward his lady friend and with a drift taught him by the Centaurs themselves he guided its dot to miss the intended target. It struck the tree with a thump - it moaned again and the earth began to shake.

"Help me, Harry"whimpered Gabriella, her voice as sweet and vulnerable as ever."I told you ! They're going to stamp out me ! strike him down !"

Another pointer flew through the air, and again Harry deflected it.

"Stand away, Harry Potter !"yelled Ronan."Can you not see the animate being next to you ?"

Harry turned to depend at Gabriella. The tree trembled as its sap mixed with the blood that dripped from her palms while she struggled to get free. It was hopeless ; the enchanted arrow would never eject their prey.

"They're mad, Harry ! helper me,"she pleaded.

"Not with your eyes, wizard !"

Harry stepped back and closed his center, reaching out first toward the Centaurus - a brainy white camouflaged in a field of livelihood light, but still noticeable to Harry's, now trained, internal eye. The Centaur had stayed his hand ; he did not score the pointer, but instead held it at the ready.

"Hurry !"called Ronan, moving closer, but slowly.

"Don't listen to him, Harry. Please… I don't want to die ! Strike ! Strike him now !"

Harry turned his judgement toward Gabriella. Instantly, his heart sank to the thoroughgoing depths of despair. There, before him, was an air of putting surface, glowing fierce and strong, but the dripping of blood falling to the timber floor were drear, a glowing Co blue… Gabriella's blue. As for the green, Harry had seen it twice already. The super C was easy ; it had a nauseate pallor all its own, and a visible reek that could only belong to Voldemort.

"I told you ! Now, fend aside !"

Harry's solve faltered.

Ronan let fly another arrow.


Harry ceramicist and the nascency of a New Sun

Chapter 25 - The Fealty of fire
~~~***~~~





The majuscule wizard, Ralph Waldo Emerson said,"This metre, like all times, is a very dependable one, if we but know what to do with it."Muggles measuring rod it by the number of ticks on the face of a clock. wizard record its departure as they watch metric grain of gumption nightfall to the rump of a glass. Centaurs simply gaze at the sky, surveying the sun and headliner as they pass operating expense, and yet they, more than all of God's other introduction, restraint time's power over their animation.

The arrow had left its bow ; Ronan had called the word of advice. Harry had but to abide aside and the arrow would most certainly pierce Gabriella's affectionateness, killing her instantly. Would Voldemort die with her ? Centaurus conjuring trick is deep and Harry had learned but a small portion of Ronan's Wisdom, but Harry could not bring himself to believe that a ace arrow, however magical, could destroy such evil. Certainly the shadow Lord would be forced to leave her corpse to seek for another victim to possess. Perhaps such a plan was already accounted for and the inauspicious decease Eater was near at hand, waiting for just such a eventuality.

Was this the visual modality that Gabriella had so long feared ? And was Gabriella, like her mother ‘ always right'? As these fleeting intellection passed through Harry's creative thinker, the pointer drew ever closer. He could sense its approach and the time consumed in indecisiveness had cost him dearly. There was now no chance, even with his training, to decelerate down prison term degraded enough and still turn to deflect the pointer now coming toward his book binding. No, Harry had time only to remain firm aside… fend aside. Ronan's words echoed in Harry's ears as Gabriella's eyes looked up at him, pleading for mercy… a untruth Harry now knew. He sensed the red smouldering beneath the pools of black.

In this darkest consequence, when all time was lost, Harry grinned back at his opposer. This time was a very salutary one - a clip to live, a time to die. He did not step aside ; he stepped forward toward Gabriella, toward the iniquity that held her in its will and, like the shadow, Harry embraced her and held her tight. There was no time for words ; the arrow struck before Voldemort could even register Harry's activity. Harry could palpate the tip pierce his back, just below the right shoulder blade and sensed it ripping his lung tissue as it passed through his dead body. It clipped a rib just below his right breast and deflected upward. lay aside for that, the arrow would own struck Gabriella in the middle. Instead, it hit high, missing her vital organ, moving though her lung as it did Harry's and then striking the Tree behind. They were now both pinned together like two rag dame poked with push pin tumbler.

Harry tried to take in a breath and a sharp, stabbing pain told him that each such attempt would go more unmanageable. The cheek before him contorted into an vicious grin.

"I'm not - dead, Harry,"she wheezed, her throat whistling with each hard won pant for air."But you - will - be. Both of - you. Before you - die, evidence me… where - is - the boy ? cook it soft on - me, and I'll make it - easy on - our - Jamie. Greece ? Where ?"Gabriella placed her forehead against Harry's face and a searing pain plunged into Harry's skull. Voldemort was probing for the solution. Having practiced often with Ron, Harry had learned to parry the jabbing of a Legilimens, but he could not stand firm the ilk of Voldemort forever. Even as Ronan closed from behind, Harry grabbed Gabriella's oral sex and pulled it away from his.

"Do you like… argh… flaming, Tom ?"Harry asked with blazing gullible center.

"Are you mad !"yelled Ronan. Harry could learn the centaur advance. He could feel the Centaurus grasp the feathered tip of the arrow now pinning Harry to Gabriella. He was going to put out its clenching charms when Harry stopped him.

"STAY BACK !"Harry commanded with grand endeavor.

"But—"Ronan didn't get a chance to finish. flaming erupted from Harry's veracious arm, forcing the Centaur to retreat.

"A little heat… Tom ?"Harry asked again. The look in Gabriella's eyes was confused."Incendio Forté !"Harry whispered with gritted dentition. The flame exploded, engulfing them both in firing. The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree behind Gabriella ignited and flame raced up its thick tree trunk. It cried out shaking the reason worse than ever. The temperature rose gamy and high-pitched as Harry concentrated its energy at the centre of Gabriella's being. Her case was panicked, but Harry's was focused and stern. She, as Harry, knew the shipway of the Votary, but Voldemort did not and he had no way of casting a cuticle spell.

"arrest with me, baby,"whispered Harry, hoping that some part of Gabriella knew what was happening, could contend against its captor. Blistering, searing flaming, and finally Voldemort relented. Harry knew that look of anger, like a fluff child being refused a instant ice emollient for desert. Her scream was pitched luxuriously and the part was cold. Harry watched as the immature left Gabriella's trunk, rising upward with the curling pot and lapping fire. Ronan shot arrows at the vicious mist, but they had no effect. As for the arrow pinning Harry and Gabriella to the tree, they ignited and turned to Negro ash. At once the two fell to the ground.

Gabriella began to cough, short, precipitous, shallow breaths. Blood was running freely from her wounding. It had soaked her blouse and was dripping onto the forest floor. Harry went to impress toward her, but the sharp pain in his chest held him in piazza ; he could taste the blood that had worked its way up into his mouth. Ronan was upon them.

"You fool,"he snapped, gathering leafage and pressing them against Gabriella's chest. Gabriella continued to cough, but the breathing time were light and shallower. The Centaur cursed."Use your powers boy,"he demanded,"before she dies."

Harry pulled his wand and cast a spell to stop the bleeding, it helped, but not much. The Centaur arrow was enchanted to shoot down such deception.

"I… I can't,"said Harry, his voice holler.

"The stone you told me of,"insisted Ronan."Use the stone."Harry's soul grew cold.

"Not… possible."Harry could smell his sight narrowing. He looked down and watched as, with each heartbeat, another squirt of blood dribbled out his chest. Ronan placed an herbal compact standardized to Gabriella's against Harry's wound and cursed again.

"She'll die. You'll both die !"cried Ronan. For the first, time Harry saw the Centaur panicked. But, as always, Ronan was right. If they didn't do something soon, they both would surely die. How could it end like this ? Had she been right all along ?
Harry just shook his nous. He'd sworn an curse word. He'd sat with the Draco Singehorn himself and aver an oath. He would not break it ; not when Gabriella had rejected his whirl to use the I. F. Stone to cure her mother and her dieing father the class before.

"It… it is…"Harry spat out the blood pooling in his lip."…forbidden."

His vision finally failed. His thoughts turned to Singehorn. The firedrake had always told him that he could ring on him if ever he were in trouble. It was an alliance, a blood oath, and now, more than ever, Harry was in motive. He turned his head to the dragon and suddenly the cool, damp air of the Forbidden Forest was parched… dry. Harry opened his eyes and the George Sand of a vast desert opened up before him.

The great hand of a black man reached down and took Harry's handwriting in his own. The case of the usually jovial physique was stern, almost wild, but the ira was not directed at Harry. Of this, he was sure. Singehorn, the man, pulled Harry to his feet. There was no forest, no pain sensation, no blood. Harry, prelate of the Votary, stood in red gown before his master.

"I sense the spectre's presence,"said Singehorn with concern.

"Gabriella,"Harry whispered,"he took her."There was a consequence's pause as Singehorn's typeface John Drew in and his centre looked outward, but then he shook his head in disagreement.

"No,"he said."She is in painful sensation, but there is no such evil."Harry grew impatient.

"There's no time for this. We must hurry."Singehorn laughed a deep, throaty laugh that shook the flat coat and made Harry furious."She's dying !"he cried. Singehorn held Harry's Chin in his monolithic hired hand. The calluses scratched as the man pulled Harry's center upward to meet his red. There was a smile across his mouth, the swooning hint of fang.

"You both are dying, Harry. But there is no hurry."He let go of Harry's Kuki-Chin and stroked his own in thought."Here,"he held out his manpower and showcased the desolate countryside,"here we have all the time in the man. In here,"Singehorn tapped the English of his read/write head,"the mind processes millions of thoughts a second… even in the mind of a wizard. It's nonplus really. And in here, time tie-up still. You can dream a lifetime in the winking of an eye. meter here, Harry, has no meaning."Singehorn crossed his weapon and regarded Harry carefully. Again he shook his head and then, smiling, patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Soseh is quite the charwoman. She's never wrong,"Singehorn whispered."I did not think it possible."He stepped closer to Harry and put his arm upon his shoulders."I could not be more proud as I am at this very second. Darkness covers the Earth, but there is one shining light that will shatter its nicety. I doubted. I doubt no more. Though you are young and you will stumble, I am now convinced that your track will end in light."Singehorn grabbed Harry's left deal and held it up, moving the closed chain finger that bore the ring of onyx stuffy to Harry's face.

"Life, Harry, is all around us. Sometimes, even the sterling and most mightily must summon the smallest and least consequential to their aide. Most are too self-important, others too stupid to earn the energy and tycoon that permeates the world around. The ring, Harry, lets you speak with any beast, any puppet. If you but ask, they will do your bidding."Singehorn knack low to one knee, grimacing as he did so.

"Your body has fallen in a ring of flaming ; all about you is bushed. But, beneath the ashen loam upon which you lay, a fauna survives, millions of them now energized by the heat of your flame. The Christ Within of life history erupts from the ground beneath you ; use your natural endowment and you will see. Call to them ; ask them to help Gabriella, to help you both. Some will not survive, but if you ask, they will bind, for we all stand against the night. boon upon you my son, and also upon the mansion of Hayk."

"The planetary house of— ?"

The scene snapped back to the forest and Harry was instantly aware of the penetrative pain in his chest. Gabriella's cough had stopped and been replaced by a lose weight, whistling pant.

"… both die !"cried Ronan.

"It… it is…"Harry spat out the blood pooling in his mouth."…forbidden."His vision failed, but his mind's eye turned downward as Singehorn had said and there they were - touch of glowing dust, just below the scorched Earth's surface - a sea of microscopic life sentence. Harry made a clenched fist and clutched the mob to his thorax, focussing now on the life beneath him.

"aid us,"he whispered, not really knowing what to carry."Please, assistance - us."He coughed and another splat of blood fell to the ground. And then, from out of the ether, Harry heard the reply of the tiniest of part from the largest of crowds.

"Your wounds are too high !"it called."Come down to us."
"Ronan,"Harry breathed,"lay her… apartment against the earth."

"But—"

"Do it !"A streak of pain shot through Harry's dresser."If we die, we die here, but don't… don't move us until the stars rise."

Ronan obliged and rolled Gabriella onto her book binding. Harry, as well, turned upon his dorsum. For a moment, he could see again and he gazed up at the morning sky. He could feel the blood dripping from his vertebral column as a light, white swarm drifted overhead. It was the shape of a dog and Harry smiled, coughing again as rakehell dripped from the corner of his mouth and into his ear.

"A Grim,"he groaned with a grinning, pointing one finger upward to the sky. His body was growing colder… colder… The last thing he remembered was the thin wisp of a representative calling to its booster.

"In here !"



Drip.

An icicle clung to a large pine Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with great branches that stretched over the path of a bantam brook. Drip. A single driblet of water fell from the frozen crystal and landed on the piddle flowing gently below. Just one drib, among many that filled the tiny creek on its way to who knew where - Harry decided to see. He'd only walked perhaps a C metres when the brook joined another somewhat enceinte creek. There was a tiny waterfall that cascaded over a smattering of tumid rock and roll. Harry jumped down and continued to stick with the water's path. The air grew damper and the prolific globe of the forest trading floor filled his nostrils with a plentiful crude aroma of life and decay.

Eventually the petite creek grew, as more brooks and petite rivulets joined it. It matured into a modest stream and as he followed its winding path, it continued to expand. Harry didn't know how many hours, how many days, how many lifetimes he walked until the stream became a river with rushing rapids and large still pools. Tirelessly, he followed until the river emptied out into a great sea that extended beneath an azure blue sky as far as the eye could see. He walked along the sandy shore, looking for others, but none were to be found. The air here was also rich with life and radioactive decay, only the salty sea air made the aroma more acrid and biting, filled with slap-up hypothesis and more ferocious consequences.

He walked onto an outcropping of rock and roll and looked for life in the shelter tide pools. A great undulation careened against the rock and roll sending white sprayer and foam high up into the air and soaking him from pass to toe. The piss was stale, but inside he was ardent. He wiped his dripping face with his hands and stopped. Holding out his bridge player in front of his expression he observed a one drop cloth of water run down his finger and he wondered if it might not have been the same cliff that had started him on this journey. drip mold. So petite, so inconsequent in its own right wing, but when joined with others… he gazed out across the ocean and another moving ridge crashed violently into the rocks only this time the surge knocked Harry from his feet and he fell headlong into the urine. Drip.

Harry woke with a start, his eyes opening upon the ceiling above him. The flutter of firelight danced across a thatched wood woven of spliff and outgrowth - native plants he now recognized as common to the Forbidden Forest. Outside the plant-covered rampart, it was raining steadily and as the scent of the damp, loamy earthly concern filled his nostrils, his dream haunted him. An instant later his retentivity rushed back and his hired hand guess toward his chest to finger for the hole left by the pointer that had run him through, but his finger found only smooth, flat flesh. He sat up and recognized at once, though he'd never been to their campsite before, that this was a centaur hut. A jiffy of anger flamed briefly through his body and then he looked for Gabriella. The hut was empty and, when Harry tried to stand from the low mat upon which he rested, he found his strong point failing him. He sat back down and tried to gain himself.

"Ronan !"he yelled as loud as he could."Ron—"Before he finished, a Centaur with a chestnut coat entered the hut. It was not Ronan, but rather felspar's female parent, Macleta. Harry had seen her often, cantering next to Ronan during some of his preparation seance with Shahan and Felspar. Her face was placid and her non-white eyes deep. She bowed to Harry as she approached him.

"Ronan is in meditation,"she said softly."He has seen many thing under the exit champion, but today's events have shaken him."She bent low and placed her manus against Harry's face ; the contact was diffuse, warmly, and the dizziness in Harry's forefront began to fade at once."And you, my nipper,"she began again,"I see your wound has mended, but how is your heart ?"

"Gabriella ? Where's Gabriella ?"Harry struggled to get up, but Macleta placed her hand against Harry's shoulder and the steady weighting pushed him back onto the bed. Ordinarily, Harry would have resisted, but there was something calming, something reassuring in the pressure of her hand and, without saying a word, Harry knew Gabriella was well.

"I myself have made poultices from the Fungerum to bring around the lesion of my brothers and sisters. It was fortunate that the soils upon which you fell were full-bodied with their healing powers. Still, even I, who saw the qualifying of Ebyrth in the last age, have never seen them cure so severe a injury so quickly, as if they were driven to save your lives."

"I… I asked them to help us,"said Harry quietly. Macleta laughed.

"I do not doubt it,"she said with a grinning."As for your mate, she too has been healed of her harm. It is but—"

"Then let me see her !"

"Her spirit was not well when she arrived. When Ronan told me of the wickedness Wizard…"Macleta let out a retentive, low sorrowful sigh. She could see the fear filling Harry's heart and again a warm smile graced her grimace offer reassurance."She grows secure by the minute, but it would be unwise if she saw your boldness right now. Your link to Voldemort was once solid and the reaction might not go well."

"But I was Cleansed !"Harry protested."Surely there's—"soul shouted outside the hut. There was a grumbling of hoofs and a sloshing of mud.

"You brought IT here ?"a voice cried out in ire. Harry recognized at once it was the voice of Shahan, the black Colt he had been training with these final stage many months. The tone was not surprising, since every metre the untested centaur opened his mouth it was usually filled with sulphuric acid. His language now, however, carried the slightest whole step of fear."It's swarthiness ; it's hatred ! Where is Ronan ? Why did he not crush it when he had the chance ? You must direct it away and let it die !"

"She carries now no darkness."The new voice was that of felspar."The dark has fled her. It would have fled her in either typeface. How then could we leave her to die ?"

"What is that to us ?"snapped Shahan."And this one !"he sneered. Harry could almost feel Shahan's heavy breaths as the Centaurus leaned close against his hut."This one cost the lives of half the herd in the Carpathians. They died trying to serve his will. Is that what you want for your family line ? I will not wait for him to lead us like blind molamars to our deaths."

During the argument, Macleta, her expression serene, bowed her foreland to Harry and excused herself without saying a Logos. A moment after her tail passed through the room access to Harry's hut, Shahan was about to say something else when his voice was cut short. Harry had trained and even battled with the Centaur and was ineffective to penetrate what power would have the colt gurgling, gasping for breath.

"You will memorise your space,"whispered Macleta calmly,"or you will allow for the herd."Suddenly, Shahan heaved in a gulp of air. There were no more words, only the sound of rain splattering into the puddles collecting outside. bare, as he always was with the Centaurs, Harry stepped outside. It was Night ; a steady, inhuman rain continued to pour down. Macleta and her daughter were standing next to each other as if they were speaking, but no words were passed. Shahan was nowhere to be found. Harry stepped over to them, the mud pushing up through the toes of his bare foot.

"Is everything O.K. ?"he asked, dripping of H2O streaking down his nerve. felspar bowed her head.

"It is good to see you well,"she said."I am glad that you have finally come to see our home."

For the maiden clock time, Harry took in the camping area which was really more like a small village, just a little smaller than Hogsmeade. He'd never seen it before, but he did love its name - Terntalag. There wasn't so much a main street as a main way of life. Huts and shops were an organic fertiliser voice of the environment around them ; it was hard to tell where centaur construction ended and nature began. He looked back at his own hut which had a flak burning warmly inside, but outside there was no lamp chimney and no smoke rose to the air. There were a few honest-to-goodness Colt, full grown centaur, and two aged centaur that made Macleta looking at young still walking about. All noticed Harry as they passed by and all nodded their heads, but none stared, they simply went about their business. Harry had a chance to take in many expressions and appearing, and his maiden imprint was that Felspar was among the fairest of them all. He had never really noticed before, but there was something more energetic, more innocent, and yet fresh that graced her form - traits he now noticed in her mother as well.

With Macleta's license, feldspar walked Harry to Gabriella's hut, but warned him not to go in. Instead, she offered to demo him the remainder of their encampment. As they walked, the rainwater began to halt and Harry saw a flashgun of white he thought might be another Centaur the colouration of felspar, but as quickly as it appeared it faded from view.

"What was that ?"he asked.

"A spook,"she replied calmly."Since Word reached us of the engagement in the Carpathians, foreign things have been happening in the forest."Harry pondered how things could be strange than they already were."to a greater extent whale have arrived, establishing a camp near the caverns of the downfall. Ronan says they are here to help, but others aren't so certain, to the lowest degree of all Shahan. Stranger still are the white spectres that pass in and out of world. I have seen such creatures before, but never so many and their numeral continue to produce throughout the forest. Mother sees it as a sign, but of what she will not say."

"And the Dementors ?"Harry asked. felspar hissed.

"Would that they try to slide onto our kingdom,"she said and then skewer on the background."Nothing has passed our molding without our knowledge. That is why Shahan is so angered that Voldemort himself could make it on to our forest."

"But she… er, he didn't,"said Harry."Ronan saw at once."

"His waver for your sake, may have allowed Voldemort to get by. That he nearly killed the chosen in his haste… it is a soft balance, and he now questions his heart. To what cost may one ruin the swarthiness ? That is why he meditates. May that you never need make the choice."

They walked a bit further. Felspar showed Harry a great opening, beneath a canopy of trees, lined with board but no chairman. It reminded him a bit of the Great anteroom. Here, all the centaur ate together in a common repast. They continued to walk and babble out. It was the offset time they'd had a chance to do such a thing since they'd begun to groom, and it was the kickoff fourth dimension Harry had had the opportunity to get to jazz the filly. She was sweat. Her smile glowed and her flannel hair matched the colour of her coating, but unlike near of the other centaur it was cut short, reminding Harry a bit of Tonks.

At one point the conversation lagged and Felspar's eye gazed upward to the paradise. It was a common looking at among Centaurus and even Harry found himself gazing at the stars unable to comprehend what exactly the Centaurs saw. He noticed that her expression saddened and her eyes squinted, although Harry knew by now that centaur weren't using their eye to gaze at the heavens. She was looking toward Ebyrth, now visible to all - even Muggles.

"What is it ?"he asked."You seem troubled."

"The other day, Ronan told me, but I did not believe him."She continued to gaze intently at the comet."But today… I think I can see."

"See what ?"felspar pointed toward Ebyrth… almost. Her finger's breadth aimed just to the east of the comet - toward Mars which flickered red in the night sky.

"It will be close,"she whispered."But what it means, not even Ronan will say."

"Close ?"

"Ebyrth approaches Mars. They have never been so close. It is potential that they will collide."

"Is that bad ?"Harry asked. Felspar shrugged her shoulder. But in a flash her dower case brightened.

"Gabriella wishes to see you now ; she is well."

Harry ran, Felspar at his side, and before another word was spoken he was outside Gabriella's hut. A Centaur stood guard outside, a bombastic fizgig in his mitt. As Harry moved to enter the Centaur barred his way.

"Only the gentler raceway,"he said. Harry's oculus flashed red. He was about to take action mechanism that was anything but gentle when Felspar stepped between them.

"They are married person,"she said and the guardian nodded with inclusion. He pulled back his spear. Harry looked at felspar and began to blush."wellspring you are, aren't you ?"she asked. There was something coy and flirtatious with her tone. Harry smiled and stepped inside.

Covered in a red wool blanket, Gabriella lay on a buddy-buddy pad on the trading floor of the hut. An aged female Centaur crouched low to her incline. Both their eyes were closed as the Centaur held a hand across Gabriella's os frontale. Harry wanted to interrupt, but a voice inside told him to be silent. The moment soon passed and the Centaur removed her hand and both women opened their eyes. They smiled at each other - almost laughing.

"Thank you,"said Gabriella with a diffuse vocalisation. Her eyes fell upon Harry and her smile widened.

"I never thought I'd see you smile at a Centaur,"he said, wearing a grin himself.

"I never thought I'd see you running around naked for the whole man to see,"Gabriella retorted. Harry blushed, realizing that he must bet unknown to individual who didn't understand their ways.

"Erm… well, I guess you just get used to it after a while."

"I think you enjoy it,"said Gabriella suggestively. The Centaur stood and bowed to Harry. She was quite boastfully and looked down on Harry as she spoke.

"Your spouse is well, though there are still scars upon her spirit that may never fade away. That which bites has been banished."Harry bowed in tax return.

"We are forever in your debt."The gesture surprised the elderly Centaur. Her eyes twinkled with expiation and she looked back at Gabriella with a grin.

"You have chosen well,"she said approvingly."We all have."Then she turned and exited the hut, leaving Harry and Gabriella alone. Harry fell to his stifle at Gabriella's side of meat and took her by the manus.

"How do you finger ?"he asked.

"At ataraxis,"she said as she sat up."I was so affright, Harry. I wanted to die. But now, I am, for the first clip since my family left Lebanon, at peace."

"I thought…"Harry wavered."I thought your vision had come true."

"Evidently, I am not my mother. I do micturate fault. Thank Asha for that !"

"Are you ready to go ?"

"I can travel, but I'm not walking through the forest naked."

Harry smiled."What about walking naked around your tent ?"he asked, flashing his eyebrows up and down."We are first mate after all."Gabriella took Harry's left manus in both of hers and looked up into his middle. Her construction deepened.

"Are we ? Are we really, Harry ?"The question was wearisome and deliberate. He knew what she was asking. He took her rectify hand and wrapped it in his. He fingered the aureate halo that he had given her last twelvemonth on Valentine's. The ring was woven from spun Au and laced with scarlet crimson that glowed in the dim light as he touched them. She wore it on the middle finger of her right hand. He slipped it from her digit and held it in his own.

"If Voldemort only knew what he had in the palm of his hand,"Harry whispered."Do you remember last year when I asked you to control my heart and soul until the time was right ?"Gabriella giggled a bit, remembering the banter of their letters to each former.

"Yes,"she said.

"Well… it's not a Horcrux, but in here I've given a bit of myself that has always been yours to continue. I poured my passion into the ring, Gabriella, and that energy is locked into the weaves of Au. If Voldemort had known, he could receive controlled me utterly."Her eyes widened in disbelief and Harry stroked the long strands of hair from her face.

"Funny thing is… I thought I'd given it all to you, all I had, but in here…,"Harry held his script over his chest,"it's as if my reservoir has been replenished. Nearly XII months and the dearest I have in here surpasses the love held within this ring. It's time you had it all."

"What are you talking about ?"

Harry placed the tip of his finger over the row of rubies, pressed down and slue them with a click to one side. An explosion of white light struck the top of the hut. Its intensiveness was blinding and Gabriella had to shield her eyes.

"It's my honey. And, at the meter, it was all I had."Harry placed his hand over the ring."But now, I have Sir Thomas More and I give it all to you."He closed his eyes and uttered an incantation that ended with :

"Amoramendum !"

His arm and hand began to glow a vivid blue. Gabriella could feel the DOE fill the air. The lambency flowed down Harry's arm and spit out the tip of his finger like a low lightning bolt into the ring. When it was over, the unclouded radiating from the ring was so intense Gabriella had to look away. Harry pressed the precious stone and slid them in shoes ; there was a suction stop and the ignitor faded. When Gabriella looked back at the ring, the row of rubies had been replaced. In their stead was a row of sparkling fire Stone - more rarified than baseball diamond, more brilliant than sapphires, they glowed the coloring material of the rainbow and in their kernel was mounted a dragon Harlan Fiske Stone. Its glow was fiery red and not but a penis of the Votary could abide the heat energy with which it burned.

Harry again turned the ring about in his digit and then his jet eyes met her mordant and a grin creased his face.

"I've fantasized about this here and now for month, but I never dreamed we'd be doing this in our birthday suits. I was hoping for the beach and a golden sundown, not with mud up to my knees on the shite in a Centaurus hut."He positioned himself on one knee and at once Gabriella began to tremble.

"Oh, Harry, I didn't mean value you had to—"

"Shhh,"he whispered,"you'll make me leave my speech."He cleared his pharynx and held the radiance ring out with his hand."I wish that I had had the probability to ask your don for your hand. I can only hope that, before he died, he knew how a good deal I loved you. It's important that you—"

"How much we loved each other."

"Would you let me finish ?"He cleared his pharynx again."Erm… That said, I have received your brother's blessing to—"

"No !"Gabriella gasped in surprise."You asked Antreas ? What did he say ?"Harry sighed.

"Well, if you must know, he said that if one day the star topology so choose, he could think of no other that he would rather squall brother."Harry shifted stead ; his leg was beginning to fall down asleep."Now… as I was saying—"

"That was sweetly. Don't you think ?"

"Yes… I do, but—"

"And if you think about it, a contribution of pa is within Antreas and always will be. So… in a way—"

"Damn it, Gabriella !"Harry yelled."WILL YOU MARRY ME OR NOT ?"

At terminal, Gabriella was silenced and slowly she held out her trembling remaining hand. Harry let go of the ring in mid-air and it hung there suspended as Gabriella extended the fingers on her hand. Without touching the ring, Harry held up his hired man and flames sprang forth from his palm.

"Is that a yes ?"he asked smartly. Gabriella's hand steadied.

"Yes,"she breathed.

"Iunctura !"Harry breathed and the flame pushed the ring forward, glowing White, onto the tintinnabulation finger of her left mitt."By Asha's breathing time we are obligate forever."

For a moment they sat and watched the ring on Gabriella's outstretched bridge player as the glowing gold dimmed, but the Harlan F. Stone never lost their blast. Finally, Harry took her hand into his and kissed it. He could palpate the heat energy burning his sassing, penetrating his tongue. He looked up into her eyes.

"I love you,"he said gently."Did you know that ?"

"You talk too much,"she replied and her eyes began to scintillate. With a relocation worthy of a matador, she spun the red cover from off her bare tit wrapped it about Harry's bare back and pulled him close."Time to ride, stallion."


Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 26 - I do


Night gave way to sunup and the sound of hooves stomping past the hut woke Harry, but Gabriella still slept. The long strands of her hair wrapped Harry's bare chest like a warm cover and he began to stroke the position of her brass, slipping his fingers gently about her ear and down the book binding of her neck opening. He pulled the wool coverlet up over her shoulder joint and kissed the top of her head. Still, she did not stir.

Was it possible ? Were they really—

A fellow coughing came from outside the hut's door, deliberate and loud.

"Enter,"Harry whispered softly, knowing that the Centaur could learn one-half as soft a voice. Macleta entered, wearing a warm grinning. She bowed her drumhead and then stepped forward.

"I trust all is well ?"she asked.

Harry nodded silently in reply.

"The forenoon meal will soon be served. It would do you both well to eat."

"She's tired,"Harry said softly.

"Yes,"replied Macleta,"it was a recollective Nox, I'm sure."Her eyes twinkled, but her face was serene.

Harry could tell she was being plucky, but her locution was static, very much in the way of a Centaur. He smiled and raised his free hand to shake a finger at her, and it was then that he noticed the mark on his leave behind halo fingerbreadth. It looked as if mortal had tattooed a band upon his cutis. It matched the weaving of the gold ring he had given to Gabriella, only the colour woven were red, blue sky and K. They flowed in and out of each other like a twist that wrapped about his finger. Macleta noticed the mental confusion on Harry's face. She stepped close and admired the symbol's clarity and coloration. It was no bare mark, for when it caught the morning light slipping in through the hut's door it shimmered, making Harry trust that he could apprehend it and slip one's mind it off. Harry was surprised when he saw the light wind of a smile appear upon Macleta's grimace.

"Hmmm. dragon ardor. It is… what you have done… a terrific act of devotion."

"devotedness ?"Harry asked.

"A connubial ring,"Macleta answered quietly."There are few Centaur capable of—"

"But I never even tried to—"

"One does not wear a connubial doughnut because they think they should. They can not wave a scepter and take in it so. Such a symbolic representation can only come from the center. It is a deep illusion, rarely seen, but, for the faithful, the forest provides such. Your connection with the majuscule beasts and with the small is solid. Since first you arrived to our lands, these Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree have known your name, even the land, as it did yesterday, bound forth to serve save your life. The forest has been one with you, nature your ally. Firenze saw it first ; soon after you met, he discerned your path. It was he who convinced Ronan to debate the possibility that you might be the Chosen. That was four geezerhood ago, before any knew that Ebyrth would return."

"Firenze ?"Harry asked, not really expecting an solution. He leaned back and again began to stroke Gabriella's hair with one hired man, holding the other up near his face to examine his fingerbreadth. He was not disquieted by it appearance. To the contrary, he found the unique banding a puff and smiled to himself, releasing a soft, contented suspiration."I have not seen Firenze for quite some time. Is he well ?"

"Yes,"answered Macleta,"but quite busy. He was here earlier, but had to return to his duties. He was asked to leave parole with your Dumbledore that you are both healthy and that you shall return today."A abbreviated construction of sadness crossed her case."Florence did lend news that may trouble you. Though none of us can chouse the cycles of the sun, he asked that you be told. Your Master's sensation wanes."

"What do you mean ?"asked Harry."Dumbledore ?"

"I saw the day when his star was foremost born."

"When Dumbledore was born ?"The cadence of Harry's heart and soul began to speed up. He was about to sit up, but forced himself to loosen, to control his emotions, and let Gabriella catch some Z's. Macleta's construction grew aloof, impulsive as she remembered another time, not better, but perhaps to a greater extent good as store often are.

"Not when he was born,"she corrected."When his lead was born. Long ago, my female parent foretold the coming of a new age for the magical beings of the terra firma - a humble seed that would convert the antagonism that had so long grown between our wash. Dumbledore's star was born when he defeated Grindelwald, and the darkness of hatred was diminished. For years, his sensation waxed bright in the morning sky. It was this luminosity that convinced Firenze that it was prison term for Centaur and wizard to figure out together against the wickedness, to protect you against Voldemort when you were less than a colt. Others were not convinced that the time for such an alinement was at hand."

"Yeah, and some still aren't,"said Harry."Shahan for example."

"Centuries of distrustfulness and disparity are not easily washed away, Harry Potter. It was but two years ago that a mad beldam began wildly firing at the herd - at the clock time, she was the very leader of the school you are so ready to support."

"Umbridge,"Harry hissed."She wasn't my leader !"The loudness aroused Gabriella if only for a here and now. Her arm stretched and her hand came to reside upon Harry's belly.

"There is much piece of work to be had by both sides."Macleta bowed her question once more."Please, you must come… eat and prepare for the new day."Without another discussion she slipped out of the hut, before Harry realized he'd forgotten to ask her what exactly she meant by Dumbledore's star waning. He was about to call for her, when the hand on his belly began to slide up his thorax and back down. Gabriella began to finger the trailing of hair beneath Harry's omphalus.

"I thought she'd never leave,"she whispered."Are you quick to get up ?"she asked, her hand slipping downhearted. She lifted her headway to search into his eyes. He wondered if ever he would be able to say no to her and quickly realized that his fate was sealed. He kissed her on the lips.

"Yes,"he replied, rising.

Some time later, Harry, with Gabriella at his English, emerged from the Centaur hut. He held her arm in his and even she marvelled at the new scintillating symbolization emblazoned upon Harry's ring finger. Soseh had told her of such things in chronicle when she was quite vernal. It was the stuff and nonsense of fairy story and magic. She pulled Harry close, imagining, if only for a moment, that he was her prince and she his princess.

Together with felspar, they moved toward the great opening where the herd was assembling for breakfast. Neither wore apparel, nor did they give birth weapons, for it was forbidden within the confines of the Centaur village. Harry told her she'd get used to the feeling, but she was unconvinced. In fact, she was more skittish about being naked than fearful from the Centaurs that passed by - a tremendous improvement, Harry figured, in Centaur-Wizard relations. Not once did she refer to them as ‘ beasts ’.

Harry noticed that as the Centaurs approached them they would first bow their heads to Gabriella and then to Harry. After this had happened a few fourth dimension, Gabriella looked up at Harry and said,"They don't bow to each early like that. What's it all about ? And why me first ? I feel a bit like royalty."The morning sun caught the banding on Harry's finger and dazzled his eye.

"I think, in a way, you are,"said Harry, bowing his own heading, returning that of the last passing Centaur. They had spent nearly the intact year together since Harry first encountered the Centaurs and was thrown into the Falls of the Forbidden Forest. Yet in all that sentence, Gabriella refused to speak with him about his experience."Gabriella,"he continued,"where the Centaurs are concerned, we have some catching up to do."

When they came to the bombastic gathering for their repast, they found the tables filled with food and nearly a 100 Centaurs waiting to eat. Harry was shocked to discover they were all delaying their meal for the arrival of the Chosen one and his mate. Ronan met the two as they approached and took Gabriella by the hand, escorting them to a table that very much resembled the headspring table at Hogwarts.

"I must offer you my apology,"he said to Gabriella,"for it was I that struck you near your heart."Without cerebration, Gabriella's hand moved up to the spot on her breast where the arrow had pierced. No mark now remained. Her mind fell back to that moment when the arrow struck and Voldemort still had ascendance of her consciousness. Her trunk shuddered - not for the arrow, but for the darkness that had so utterly controlled her.

"Are you okay ?"asked Harry. All Centaur eyes were upon them, but he turned to face Gabriella."We don't need to do this."She looked yesteryear him at those assembled. At the eye of the header table, Magorian, their drawing card, stood with two afford blank space at his right.

"Yes we do,"she said quietly. She took in a large breath, as if preparing for a diva in the lake and then let it out slowly. She smiled, kissed Harry on the brass, and then stepped up onto the rise where the heavy stone table before Magorian sat. Gabriella bowed as she approached, placing a fist to her heart as the Centaurus had earlier done to her ; she did resemble royalty.

"Sir,"she said deferentially. Harry followed in kind. Magorian appreciated the gestures and bowed his nous. He raised his hands and demanded the tending of all those gathered. It was hard for Harry to penetrate why they would all wait to eat until the two of them had arrived.

"Not since the Day of old, when Gryffindor ate at this very gemstone, a stone he helped my great-grandsire hew, has a wizard supped at our table. We welcome, this morning, our Chosen and his better half, that they might remain firm as an eternal flame against the pressure cold that would eat up us."

No one said a tidings, but there was a near deafening pounding of hooves, although, against a thatch covered rampart to his left, Harry noticed a few fuming faces. Among them were both Bane and Shahan ; the latter's eyes were filled with a swell expression of fury, well out of position among the mostly dispassionate Centaurus. Then Magorian looked at Harry, who took a moment before he realized he was supposed to say something. Stepping forward, he cleared his throat, searching for words.

"Ebyrth… Ebyrth has returned, marking the coming of yet another battle against the darkness. It is a engagement I fought just utmost year, a battle I thought I had won."He glanced at Gabriella. She stood proud and expressionless, her eye fierce, but unyielding of emotion. Harry could not help but smile, knowing that she was sensing the emotions around her and reflecting them back in her facial face to the crowd. A perfect centaur, he thought.

"You well know that we fought hard in the Carpathians. A great many brave Centaurus lost their lives that night, but many Thomas More of our foes fell and the darkness was repelled. But that did not, that will not end the onslaught of wickedness. The Dementors—"There was a low razzing."The Dementors have joined with the hotshot, Voldemort, who darkened your doorstep just yesterday - the foe I failed to vanquish death yr and who has dogged me and mine these conclusion many months. It will not be long before he gathers the Dementor darkness and others who would suffice his will. Soon they will arrive here as one. On that day we too must put up together, wizard and Centaur, elf and goblin, even the merpeople of the lake - all must stand united against this darkness… this evil.

"My… mate and I owe you are lives."Harry turned to Ronan and nodded toward him, but the Centaur looked away, almost embarrassed."I have trained hard to learn your path, to fight as one with the Centaur herd. My knowledge is less than that of a colt, but I will do all that is within my mogul to defeat that which threatens both our masses. Together, we can—"

There was a crash. Shahan slapped a remains pitcher of Margaret Mead with the book binding of his hand and it smashed against the torso of a tree diagram, shattering to slice and spraying limpid senior high into the air. He turned to exit.

"Shahan !"called Magorian. The young Centaur stopped and turned to confront his leader. His eye smouldered as he crossed his arms, but he spoke not. Magorian continued in a firm, but fatherly vox."There is a wickedness on your psyche that stains your idea and weakens your substance. You would do well to ill-treat back from the brink and meditate on its author. stay alert this night under the stars and divine its meaning."Shahan huffed, but said cypher. Again, he turned to pull up stakes.

"And Shahan,"said Magorian with a vocalism of sword,"if ever you embarrass our ruck again, you will be banished. Is that understood ?"Shahan nodded, but the gesture was insufficient."IS THAT UNDERSTOOD ?"

"Yes, Magorian,"muttered Shahan, placing a clenched fist over his warmheartedness and offering a bow. For a second his eyes drifted over to Harry ; there was hatred."It is understood."He turned and left in silence, his hands clenched so rigorous his knuckles were white.

"Let us eat !"called Magorian. Harry was about to dig in when every Centaur placed arm to chest, and raised their faces toward the heavens. There were no words spoken and the secretiveness lasted but a few seconds. Then, Magorian and the others lifted their heads and all began to eat.

The meal was simple, but satisfying and both Harry and Gabriella ate their fill. There were no chairs and they stood throughout, sharing simple pleasantries with Magorian. At the meal end, there were no house elves to usher plates away. Instead, a unspoiled luck of the ruck remained behind and assisted cleaning the dishes using dry Baroness Dudevant and urine. By the meter they left the tent, the sun was high above the timber canopy and Harry and Gabriella said their good-byes.

Firenze had left fresh clothes for the two of them and they dressed before leaving Terntalag. Quietly, Ronan escorted them back to the bound of the forest without incident. Occasionally, Harry noticed a speckle of Stanford White appear behind the tree. He knew that it was Felspar, following them. With few word, they came to a charred depression that spanned the ground a proficient twenty to thirty ft across. In the pith of the ashes was a small sapling, some two feet mellow.

"The same tree ?"Harry asked."It survived ?"

"No,"replied Ronan."But the cycle of life can still continue. Felspar planted this tree diagram endure nighttime in the rainwater. She has named it Cariad."

"Love,"whispered Harry. Gabriella looked into his heart and took him in her arms.

"Very good, Harry Potter,"said Ronan with a nod of his fountainhead."You show a great deal hope. I only wish we had some years to prepare."

"Please, give our thanks to Felspar, Ronan,"said Gabriella with heartfelt sincerity.

"None are required. It is our bursting charge in these magical farming. Now, be on your way."

Arm in arm, they walked out of the forest and onto the palace flat coat. The air was cool, but the sun's bright beam were warming, and quite a few bookman were out on the dry land. Nobody seemed to point out that Harry and Gabriella had been gone for the day and nighttime, or if they did, they didn't maintenance. As they stepped toward the castle, Harry's pace slowed.

"We cant'tell them you were possessed,"he said."Nobody has to know."

"We have to tell—"

"You don't understand,"he interrupted."Just like Ginny, they'll never look at you the Sami. Ever since the Chamber of Secrets was opened, they still fear her. Oh, they'll smile to her face, they'll act friendly, but they won't get close, not alone snug - none, but Dean."

"Even still, we have to secernate Dumbledore,"Gabriella argued."He has to know."Harry nodded silently. They walked a little promote and he slowed again.

"And the ringing ?"he asked.

"mob,"she corrected, holding his left hand up so that the lot upon his fingerbreadth caught the afternoon sun, its iridescent incandescence forced him to squint his center.

"You know what Ron and Hermione will do if they find out that we—"

"I won't take it off."

"No. But… let's just say that… that we're engaged. That… that this…"he touched his left hand with his right,"…this is just a tradition of the Votary."Her grimace scowled, none too pleased with the idea."They're my friends,"he added."I've upstaged Ron every day since we've been at Hogwarts. I want him to have his moment, without thinking that I beat him to it."

"Okay."Gabriella nodded."For now, but don't be surprised if Hermione recognizes a connubial ring when she sees it. They're in all the great Romance novels."She smiled, her eyes twinkling. They stopped halfway to the castle and kissed each other. The embracement was interrupted be an bitter drawl.

"Well, if it isn't the Riley B King and queen of the ball !"

Harry spun to see Nott, flanked by Crabbe, Millicent and a few former younger Slytherins. What surprised Harry the most was the presence of Blaise Zabini a few steps behind the cluster of unripened, but clearly a member of the pack. Nott stepped toward Harry, glancing from left to rectify, and his followers fanned about, shielding the scene from any prying oculus. Blaise was still a few paces back, but pulled his scepter with all the others. Harry had not carried his wand to training, but Gabriella slipped her hand around hers without pulling it away. Nott, certain that he finally had the vantage, was emboldened and slipped his own sceptre away, stepping closer until he was toe-to-toe with Harry.

"What ? No wand, Potter ?"asked the Slytherin."That's a bit daft, don't you think ? Everyone knows…"he dropped his articulation down low,"the Death feeder are out to obliterate you."

Without reaction, Harry closed his eyes, reaching out his idea to see if any of those facing him might possess been taken by Voldemort. Each individual halo, however, bore a single colour. Some were scared, others filled with hatred. Blaise, however, was the tranquil of them all, which was also the most trouble to Harry. Still, relieved that he was simply facing his mate pupil, Harry opened his middle and smiled.

"teddy, you're looking well,"he said calmly."I see that your, erm… fits have subsided long enough to convince the crew that you can be their drawing card again !"Harry referred to the sloshes in Nott's memory that had left him speechless, or speaking gibber for no reason at all. The remaining effects of St. James ’, or rather Voldemort's mental attack on him."If only you recognized the master you truly serve… you might be more prudent in your actions."

"You're in no position to prattle, Potter."Nott pointed his finger in Harry's face, but in a whirl Harry grabbed him by the wrist."What ? You think I'm frightened of you, Potter ? You'll do what I say, or…"There was a combustion smell in the air."…be a unspoilt boy and… Hey !"Nott noticed the small plume of bullet rising from his right arm. The black striation of jet black upon Harry's finger, the anchor ring of Pravus, had burned through the outer sleeve of Nott's robes and now he was beginning to feel the heat. He tried to rive away, but Harry held him fast."Let me go !"he yelled.

The spirit of burning cloth gave way to burning flesh, and Nott began to cry out, now in pain. Millicent cast a spell at Harry, but Gabriella shielded it. Then Crabbe and another Slytherin raised their sceptre, but they were stopped short by a twinkling of purple light.

"Bohaira !"

The ground erupted before them and dust filled the air, blotting out all visual sensation. Harry felt Nott being yanked away. Unable to see, he reached out with his mind. Blaise still stood off and to the slope, but the others, including Nott, had plummeted down. Gabriella reached for Harry's arm, supporting herself in the whirlwind. At first, Harry thought that the chemical group had been blown to the priming, but their bodies were not prostrate, but erect. They were standing, but beneath the control surface of the earthly concern. When the dust finally settled, he looked down to discover all of them buried up to their necks in the grunge. Barely capable to move her head, Millicent began to scream in panic, suddenly drawing attention to the assemblage. Harry watched as Blaise slipped his baton away.

"You ?"Harry mouthed. Blaise just smiled and retreated toward the castling, his chap Slytherins ineffectual to turn their heads to see him. Students began to look sharp over, as Nott spat dirt from his mouth, cursing Harry for what he'd done.

"You'll pay for this, ceramist !"he yelled. He tried to twist his cervix, but was ineffective to watch as Harry and Gabriella followed Blaise up toward the castle's breast steps.

While they walked, Harry looked down at the Shirley Temple Black band about his finger and, wondering, touched his glossa to its glossy open. It was hot, but it didn't suntan, at least not Harry.

Gabriella stopped Blaise just before he reached the castling dance step."A bit risky, don't you think ?"she asked."Going against your Slytherin checkmate and all."

"You're a Slytherin,"he said with a sly smile."Besides, they think ceramist did it, not me. I'll just say I ran."He chuckled to himself."They'll believe that."

"But why ?"asked Harry."It's not going to do much for mansion unity."

"Isn't it ?"queried Blaise."A friend asked that I watch your back."

"A friend ? Draco ?"

"Patrick."Blaise drew in a breath of air."He and I share a common bond. We'll both see Voldemort pay for what he's done to us and that includes any cocksucker that support him. I don't care what house they're from."

He turned and started up the steps, Gabriella and Harry continued to keep up as student tried to extract Nott and his pals from the soil without a lot achiever. Someone had tried to burst them out and Nott was yelling that they nearly tore off his head. Just after the three passed in through the rook doors, Blaise looked around to ensure that they were alone and stepped close to Harry - so close he could feel his breath.

"As for Draco…"said Blaise in a quieten interpreter,"…you've sent him to die. You know that don't you ? If Voldemort has taken Lucius again… if Draco's with him now… he knows, Harry… he knows. I… I told him when he was here, when he was James. He knows about you two being… friends."

"But Blaise, I… we—"

"It's worse,"Blaise interrupted Harry."He knows… Draco and I… he… he and I… Damn it, Potter ! I told him not to go near you ! You had a fanatical captivation over him and it's spelled his ruin."Without reason, Blaise grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt."You… you don't even care, do you ? He never… he never had a hazard and now he never will."Blaise's centre turned to raise, suddenly hating Harry, but they also bore in their profundity a deep unhappiness. He shoved Harry against the door and left.

"A chance for what, Blaise ?"yelled Gabriella. Just before disappearing down toward the keep, Blaise paused and looked back at his cuss Slytherin.

"He never had the prospect, Gabriella,"he called back, a bout slipping down the incline of his facial expression."Not even with his own parents."Blaise shook his principal, wiped his face roughly with his ribbon and disappeared.

Harry took Gabriella's hand with one of his own, rubbing his freshly bruised berm with the other.

"What's he babbling on about ?"Harry asked. Gabriella squeezed his hand and looked at Harry. Her own expression was melancholy. There was a fusillade of laughter as the castle doors opened and a group of Ravenclaws made their way in, reciting the setting playing outside on the castle grounds. Gabriella's grimace remained stoic, a mirroring of the queenly effigy he had seen in Terntalag.

"erotic love, Harry. He's talking about love."


Harry Potter and the nativity of a New Sun

Chapter 27 - alternative
~~~***~~~



Harry looked down into Gabriella's eye and then glanced back toward the stairs that led to the dungeons of Slytherin. Blaise had long since disappeared, but Harry's glance still lingered for a moment. Then, his hand took hers and his fingers turned the band that had bound them forever. How could he be so blind ? He knew and yet, until now, he didn't truly understand. When Harry's eyes returned to Gabriella's, they were pained.

"Draco…,"whispered Harry,"…no admiration he's so… so…"

"Viciously evil ?"

Harry's eyebrows furled."No ! Well… maybe. He's tried so gruelling to bed, but no one's ever loved him back. Not really."Harry's hand caressed the side of Gabriella's grimace."Not care this. Not here… in the open."Her oculus slid back toward the dungeon steps, at the nothingness left in Blaise's absence.

"I do not recognise, Harry. I think there may be some thing about Dragon Malfoy we will never study. As for his love life…"Gabriella clenched the figurehead of Harry's shirt and pulled him close, smiling."You, my dearest, are mine."

Harry was about to say something when the front threshold burst open again, flooding the front corridor with light. A group of mo years was carrying a scholar in their arms. His font was somewhat charred, the front of his robes were scorched, and the scent of burning tomentum filled the room.

"Out of the way !"one yelled.

"We've got to get him to the hospital wing,"yelled another.

"He tried to move around his toad red and his wand backfired !"

The smouldering student groaned as Harry stepped in front of the group.

"Let me see,"he said dismissively, rolling his eyes.

"We need Madame—"The scholar stopped, realizing who he was speaking with. He pushed back one of his pal, yelling,"Let him see ! Let him see !"

They set the scholar down onto the stone floor, his head making a hollow thump as it hit, and Harry placed his bridge player just above the boy's chest, closing his eyes and reaching forward to get the injuries.

"My name's Harry,"he said to the injured boy."What's yours ?"

"R-Ralph,"muttered the educatee. The left side if his face was pretty badly blistered, as was his wand manus, but overall the injuries were pocket-sized.

"Hufflepuff, right ?"Harry reached out and began to heal the wounds without using his baton."I think your mates, here, would sustain fought Voldemort himself to see you to safety."

"Y-Yeah, I… what the… hey !"The wounds were healed, though his face and arm were still covered in a blackened mess. He shifted up onto one elbow, staring at his hand."The pain… it… it's gone."Harry reached for Ralph's paw and pulled him to his foot - the small group gathered all clapped.

"fine menage, Hufflepuff,"he said."Where's your wand ?"

"What ?"

"Your wand… where is it ?"

"Here,"said one of Ralph's friends."I picked it up for him."

"Good,"said Harry, taking the wand from the student, examining it for a moment, and then handing it back to Ralph."Never let it out of your stack, Ralph. In the improper hands a cursed verge can kill."Ralph's eyes grew large and his rather heavy principal nodded vigorously."What was the spell ?"

"The magical spell ?"asked Ralph.

"Yeah… the spell to work the salientian red."

"Oh… that."Ralph pointed at one of his schoolmate."Spaldy taught it to me. Erm… cheerfulness, Daisies, Buttered Bread ; Turn this stupid person fat frog red."Harry glared at Spaldy, who began to slowly slink away.

"Elfsmora !"cried Harry, sending a greenish Light Within from his wand and striking Spaldy on the oral sex. The young man's whisker disappeared and his spike curled up to tiny period. The group gasped. Harry turned to Ralph."Hufflepuff's a swell home, but you never can be too careful. I'd talk to Baldy a little more about that spell of yours."Spaldy started to move more swiftly down the corridor ; the others giving chase.

"wait a hour, Spal !"one yelled.

"And ask him what he did when he borrowed your wand !"Harry called after him.

"I thought I sensed deceit,"said Gabriella."I just wasn't sure who."

"Good,"said Harry."I was just guessing."

"Harry !"chided Gabriella."You should never—"Again the doors opened.

"Who in blazes name is it this—"Harry looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun, to find Dumbledore framed by the castle doorway. He was wearing hanker blue-blooded gown and, backlit by the sun's streaming rays, he appeared almost godlike in stature. His aid was focused, however, out on the castle terra firma.

"VERY NICE !"Dumbledore cried out to someone well out of quite a little. His voice was so gaudy it shook the floor itself, but Harry noticed a sparsity that wasn't there before."Quite an excellent idea, Mr. Nott ! It is always ripe to see the young person of today trying to learn more about their roots."Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore turned into the castle, stopped himself, and spin around back out-of-door.

"Mr. Creevey !"There was a fragile pause."No. Yes, you Colin. Please add a little weewee to our troupe of truth view finder. Buried as they are, I'm certain it will help oneself to shoot some new estimate !"Harry heard Dennis, Colin's brother, yell something back in agreement, there was a pop, and then a screaming audio, and then Dumbledore turned inside, this fourth dimension to find Gabriella and Harry, smiling at him.

"Ah ! Mr. thrower and Ms. Dar…"His eyes caught the flash of atomic number 79 on Gabriella's finger. Dumbledore's centre darted to Harry. The alteration of his digit did not go unnoticed. Still, Harry slipped his left hand hand into his pocket."A pleasure to see you both well."

"Sir,"said Harry,"we need to talk with you about—"

"I was hoping I might come up you, Harry,"Dumbledore interjected."Florence provided me with a quite extraordinary nates. Even he was excited in its telling and for Firenze that's saying something."

"Sir, about that. You should really know—"

"Would you like to join me for some tea ?"Dumbledore interrupted again.

They followed the Headmaster down a long corridor and Harry presumed they were heading toward Dumbledore's authority, but they past the extremely despicable stone gargoyle and continued down the corridor toward the staircase leading to the astronomy tower. On a few affair, Harry tried to tell his floor, but each time Dumbledore would cut off him by whistling, or describing some cryptic historic fact about a bulwark, or stone, or suit of armour. When they past the stairway to the astronomy tower, Harry began to wonder what exactly Dumbledore was up to. Harry had been down this way, and he knew it was cypher more than a numb end - Amortentia back street. Sometimes students would use the work bench to snog late at Night, using the excuse, if they were caught, that they were just coming down from stargazing and had turned the wrong way. Walking down here with the Headmaster made Harry's palms sweat ; it just wasn't right wing.

At mid-afternoon on a Dominicus, the corridor was deserted. A dim Light Within made its way in from the Windows high above that lined the walls. They walked until they could walk no more. All that was in front of them were a half dozen wooden work bench with various lettering and hearts wanded into them and the stone wall some fifty feet high gear and 20 groundwork across that was covered by an old tapestry that had hidden the bare stones since Harry was a first class. He looked up at the windows, wondering if they would now try to somehow levitate up there ; it seemed, to him, the only way left to go. He could make out the blue sky, but nothing else. A bird flittered by just as he heard Gabriella gasp.

Harry diverted his care back to Gabriella. Her hand was over her rima oris and her eye were fixed on the tapestry. She was backing away from the rampart. Harry glanced at the arras, noticing some bird holding what looked similar arrow - some American affair. Gabriella continued to indorse away.

"What's wrongfulness ?"he asked her, but she said nothing. He looked at Dumbledore."Sir ?"

"zippo is wrong, Harry,"Dumbledore answered quietly. He sat down on one of the benches, took out a diminished gumdrop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his lip."Perhaps you too should step back and admire the weaving. It has draped this wall since I was a student here."Dumbledore smiled and his blue eyes twinkled."In my fourth twelvemonth, small Terry Pensington and I would…"He shook his question, smiled and began to chew a bit more vigorously, scanning one end of the bench he was sitting on for something.

Harry walked over to Gabriella and put his arm around her, and then he turned to look the tapestry. He'd never before given it a instant's mentation, but it was actually quite amazing really - some sort of medieval battle scene set in perhaps the 9th one C. Visible through a nighttime moving mist, there were all sorts of wight that came into and out of position as the scene on the tapestry changed, much like the crusade of hoi polloi in the portraiture that lined the paries. Arrows shot through the dim swarm ; soldiers, wearing armour, slashed with their swords and occasionally a flash of fire or bolt of lighting would cross a portion of the landscape.

A rather large Centaur caught Harry's eye. He'd never noticed Centaurus in the scene before, but he'd never really paid that much attention. Looking more closely, he noticed that it wasn't just one Centaur, it was an integral herd. The night clouds weren't swarm at all, but swarms of Dementors blocking out unscathed portions of the countryside just as they had in the Carpathians. The crash forced Harry's eyes upward and there he saw, heights above the vista, the comet Ebyrth natation in the sky - a shining omen of war and despair. Harry's nerve began to race as he felt himself being drawn into the arras ; it was as if he was on the field again. His arm began to smart and he looked down to see the familiar scrape, raised and red.

On the tapestry, there were whale and vampires, werewolves and virtuoso, all battling because the Centaurs and Dementors had been compelled to do so. Only, in this scene, the selected allies were different ; acquaintance of today were foes of old. The comet flying through the promised land above had ordained war and the face were drawn to fit the age. The battle raged with no victory in sight for either side. It was a battle scene not unlike many in the palace. All such battles told the Lapplander story and Harry wondered why this one, more than than any of the others, besides its more stage implications, would cause Gabriella to count so stupefied and his arm to ache.

He didn't need to waitress long for the result. Her hand tightened about his as the large bird Harry had seen earlier broke through the clouds of darkness. That's when Harry noticed it wasn't a bird at all, it was a dragon. A female Hungarian Horntail as ebon as the dark of night, her shell shimmering like a million petite genius, opened her great sassing and flame roiled out enveloping the entire scene. In her nipper she held not arrows, but a lightning bolt, no, two lightning bolts. They crossed each other as she flew high toward the comet - the Viswa Vajra. Harry felt his hand stroke the scar upon his forearm, his thumb sliding against the similar symbol at his own wrist, a rune uniquely his in all the Votary.

From below, a centaur appeared, took aim and dig at the dragon, but before the arrow left the bow a cleaning lady, one of the commoners by the looks of her tattered garb trapped within a vice of war, threw herself in straw man of the bowman. The arrow pierced her white meat and she fell dead. The dragon turned and attacked the Centaurus and all below. The scene filled with ardour, was blank as if someone had cleared a chalkboard with the wave of a wand, and then the action began anew, like a movie replaying itself over and over again.

"Asha !"Gabriella whispered.

"Yes, it's amazing,"answered Harry.

"No,"Gabriella corrected."Asha… Asha and Aniente."

"Aniente ? Your bang-up, great—"

"She laid down her sprightliness that the dragon might live."

"And ever since,"said Dumbledore, taking to his feet,"the Votary has been bound with the dragon."He too faced the tapestry."It was the arcsecond coming of Ebyrth. Your peachy ancestor, Aniente Hayk, died protecting Asha. In this war, Dakhil was a Loretta Young wizard of seventeen. He was one of the foremost members of the Votary. When Asha died, the evil of that age attacked him, thinking that he might give held the dragon's essence. Fortunately, it was hidden elsewhere and his refusal to speak kept it prophylactic, but he paid a fearful price."

"Vampires,"Harry hissed just under his breathing spell.

"Yes, Harry,"Dumbledore said with a slight nod of his head teacher."Vampires."He reached back into his air pocket."Taffy ?"he offered. The two shook their pass. Dumbledore shrugged and began to chew.

"I don't know why I never noticed,"said Harry as the Centaurus reappeared in the scene.

"Few bookman who wander back here ever do. I suspect your mind was on… other things. Come, I promised you tea."He started back toward his billet.

As they walked, Harry looked over his berm. The fit on the arras once again filled with flame and reset itself. His forearm continued to prickle.

"Sir,"he asked,"how did the war end ? What made them stop fighting ?"

Dumbledore let out a hanker, slow sigh as they came to the gargoyle."Death,"he said softly."They all died. Teatime Taffy."The staircase emerged and they hopped on as it spiralled upwards. Gabriella's centre met Dumbledore's as the staircase rose. For a moment they locked, but then her eyes fell and her head and shoulder slumped.

"But how ?"Harry asked, pressing the question."If I knew how the evil was destroyed, perhaps I could—"

"NO !"Gabriella snapped."Never think it !"The doors to Dumbledore's office opened and the three entered. Fawkes squawked and Harry would normally recognize the boo, but Gabriella's reactions surprised him. She was clearly agitated, but didn't want to say Thomas More. Dumbledore decided to explicate.

"It was the dragons, Harry. They tried to rest electroneutral, but their estate were being threatened, much as they were in the Carpathian Mountains. They decided to finish it."The expression on Gabriella's nerve was pained.

"Please, Professor,"she pleaded.

"The truth is simply that… Ms. thrower,"Dumbledore said, slipping into his chair. Both Harry and Gabriella looked at each early and then to their rings. Harry took her hand. Their bond, right now, was a second base care. Harry needed to know how to vote down the Dementors.

"But sir, if I could only—"

"They incinerated everything !"Gabriella snapped."They purged the battlefields."

"They killed the Dementors ? Their allies ? Isn't that a commodity thing ?"Harry asked.

"Not just the Dementors, Harry. Everything and everyone. Centaurs and Dementors, werewolves and whiz, it didn't matter what side they were on, they were all destroyed."

"The flying lizard called it a purge,"added Dumbldore."Truly a scorched earth policy. The destruction led to famine and provoke. Its rebound were felt for nearly a century. It was guilt over the devastation that turned Asha's heart to Gabriella's kin, the solitary humans that had ever shown them kindness. Although, some say it still bears the anger of the age, tempting those wizards who would try to control it."

"But couldn't the champion just—"

"Not in those days,"said Dumbledore."In the earliest of times, firedrake held the strong of magic."

"They still do,"said Gabriella shortly. Dumbledore nodded kindly in accord, not willing to argue the point.

"But in the tapestry… the symbology… the firedrake held the Viswa Vajra… to destroy ignorance and evil."Harry didn't posting how he clutched his own arm, nor did he get a line how his representative was almost pleading for support.

"Can you intend of a just definition for war, Harry ?"Dumbledore asked simply."During the minute sexual climax of Ebyrth, the Draco didn't guardianship whose side was right. They only wanted the battle to stop. They chose the lone ordered track useable - complete, combined annihilation of both side of meat. Since then, at the showtime sighting of Ebyrth, they have been courted by both side to link up their cause."

"And refused,"Gabriella added.

"Until now,"Dumbledore said."And the genius of that causal agent bears not only the similitude of the flying dragon on his arm, but the symbol that represented Asha's very intent, a spirit that killed everything to balance the scales of justice. And though you have been chosen by the Centaurs, firedrake have never held any affection toward our forest admirer. Knowing your connections, Lucius Malfoy chose to attack, hoping to rekindle the break, hoping they would fight down against each former once again so that he could get to you. He failed.

"Voldemort found himself in the middle of a struggle that was already underway. He will not make the same misapprehension again. Through you, Harry, the superpower of the dragon remains undiminished. When the alternative comes near and the wickedness closes in from all sides, the choice of annihilation will be within your power. What then will you select to break off the insaneness, Harry ? It will not be Singehorn's breath of dragon flame that destroys ; it will be your power, a power you have only just begun to understand."

"I won't destroy the unharmed fuck world to wipe away the darkness !"Harry asserted."That's insane ! I mean… erm… Sorry, sir."

"In the beginning, Harry, when first we set about our righteous journeying, the precipice is never so clear. The crevasse opens with the simplest of things : the deflexion of sound and powerful for baronial causes ; the abandonment of Department of Justice in favour of expediency ; the temptation that, because we are more knock-down, we are somehow wiser. Harry, I wanted to present you the tapestry because you needed to see it ; to truly understand the history that is now at body of work, a chronicle that must be woven into the decision you will make up, decisions that I will soon not be able to apprize you on."

At these language, inhuman darts buried themselves deep into Harry's affectionateness. He'd heard Macleta's speech, but…

"What do you intend ?"he asked, already knowing the answer. Dumbledore leaned back into his chair.

"I am dying."

There was a rowdy cacophony of protest by all the Headmasters and Headmistresses within the portraits that adorned Dumbledore's office. He held up his weapons system to quiet them.

"Why ?"Harry asked, ready to attack the foe, or heal the illness."What happened ?"

"sentence, Harry,"Dumbledore said tenderly."The one warrior we can never defeat."There was a pause and then he looked sadly at Gabriella.

"Two old age ago, I would take in seen the evil that darkened these walls. I would give been able to see the poison that had held James in its grip. The mist fogs my oculus and I no longer see as I once did. I can no longer draw, as I once was able, from the deep magic that permeates this school. Soon, the power will go me utterly. How you were capable to flush him from your body—"

"ardour,"Harry whispered, hardly able to address. Dumbledore smiled.

"Of course."The old wizard nodded with approving."You've both been tempered by the dragon. Very good, Harry. Very well done. When the clip comes, I'm confident you will be ready. You would do well to listen to the very equal to enchantress at your side. You must both be set up, for he has again escaped. Another vessel was waiting ; who I do not bed. They had to leave the wood quickly. Perhaps by broom, or a flying animate being of some sort, though I doubt it ; Tom hates heights. It was more likely a Portkey."Gabriella stepped to Dumbledore's desk and took his mitt in hers.

"Sir,"she said softly,"is there anything we can do. You know the talents of the Votary, of the gift Harry carries. Even clock time may be cheated for a petty while."Dumbledore took her hands in both of his.

"I would see this battle through, if it was within my office, but the prophecy is solve it is not my war to win."His eyes fell upon Harry."My only wish is that I would throw come to know you and your fellowship sooner."He let out a contented sigh."I spoke with your mother just yesterday - a delightful char. She offered me a delectable looker of desert pastries. Made by hired man ! incredible ! She was, of course of action with Remus, with whom I have been discussing transition plans."

"But, sir—"

"sufficiency, Harry !"Dumbledore cut in."Like many of those I hold honey, I've written you a varsity letter. Though I must say, yours is one of my right efforts. I think you'll discovery, when you open it, a rather…"His aristocratical eyes twinkled with delight."What will be can waitress till it is. What is must be acted upon now."

Dumbledore rose from his president, stepped from behind his desk and walked toward the flatware official document about which pinpricks of sparkle floated randomly. At least, it looked random to Harry. Dumbledore examined each glowing point with sake. There was a large cluster he was particularly concerned with.

"Lucius Malfoy,"said the schoolmaster, his eye never leaving the legal instrument,"has moved a with child numeral of expiry Eaters and Dementors into Greece. Curious. All within the last few minute. genius are Apparating in all over the country. The Dementors have abandoned their fire on Centaur herd throughout the Carpathians and are moving south. It's as if they're dragging a net from the North down, looking for something… or someone."

"Cho's tyke,"whispered Gabriella with a furtive glimpse toward Harry. Dumbledore didn't conjure up an eyebrow.

"Sir, I've meant to tell you, but I swore. And now… you're dying… and I…"

"Go, on,"Gabriella coaxed.

"Well… Cho had a baby last summer ... my sister. His name is Jamie."The bragging's foot of Dumbledore's eyes rose jovially and the Amytal behind the half-moon spectacles flashed a thick azure. He placed a vauntingly hand on Harry's articulatio humeri and smiled.

"Are you felicitous ?"he asked.

"No… er, yes. I mean, I was,"Harry sputtered."He has a butt the size of it of South Benton on his back. Voldemort intends to take him somehow. Use what spirit he has left and the blood that runs through Jamie's vena to bring himself back again."

"And Greece ?"

Harry stood silent. He refused to say a word. Gabriella saw the painfulness on his face and decided to verbalize what Harry could not.

"They're in concealing,"was all she said.

"I can ideate where,"said Dumbledore,"but… strange. I visited Sirius just last summer and now… I can't remember…"His eyes fell on Harry."You're the arcanum Keeper."

"I won't—"Harry started, but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Nor should you,"he said, his face suddenly appearing more forlorn and weary."I told your parents to veil, to rest veil in hole-and-corner, to let only one know their whereabouts - it failed them.

"No place is dependable, Harry. Wherever they are in Greece,"his eyes fell back on the specification of light floating about the legal instrument,"they will be found. If you wait more than a few days to make a motion them, the net will experience been drawn too pie-eyed and they will not escape. If you move too quickly, without proper provision, you run the risk of a rash mistake and its consequences might… well, you understand more than any.

"You might consider moving them to the Ministry, where Arthur's private Aurors would volunteer some protection, but where there are more shielder, there are More betrayers.

"You could view bringing them to Hogwarts, but there are dark military unit at oeuvre here that even I can not contain. You have done much to bring the houses together. Are they quick to brook, to ill-use up to the challenge of uniting against the darkness, or would they turn on you for bringing it here and putting them all at danger ?"

Harry shook his question with uncertainty.

"You have a great decision to make, Harry. It is not to be taken lightly. As you can see, I am not yet dead, but I would guess that I will not see the end of the school year. I've asked Remus to demand my billet here and have coordinated it with the Minister. Remus is a powerful wizard, Harry. More powerful than you realize and yet, more importantly, he has a warmly and worry soul.

Harry swallowed hard, not sure how he felt, or what he thought."I love Remus with all my heart, sir,"he said,"but he would experience killed Draco last year given the chance."Harry watched as two to a greater extent pinpricks of lighter appeared on the tool.

"More Death Eaters ?"he asked.

"Yes,"answered Dumbledore.

"I… I want you to see him… see Jamie."

"I'm sorry, Harry, but that's no reason to risk his lifespan,"said Gabriella cautiously. Harry nodded.

"But—"

"Gabriella is right, Harry. But that does not intend we won't receive some day."

"Then… then I'll go… stay with him and protect them."

"And your oath to the Centaurus ?"Gabriella asked."The Dementors in the Carpathian Mountains may be moving south, but the Dementors in Britain are moving on the Great forest here at Hogwarts."Harry growled and slammed his fist against the table.

"I didn't make these choices !"he cried."They chose me !"

"You may not have chosen to let a minor, Harry,"said Dumbledore,"but you chose the natural process that led down that path. You were drawn to the Darbinyans from the foremost day they arrived across the street. You may not possess heard the flying dragon calling, but it was, and you answered."He looked down at the lot wrapping Harry's ring fingerbreadth."And sometimes, as it was with the Centaurs, destiny is thrown upon us and all we are left to do is to exist and love and… sometimes… fight.

"Think well upon what you must do, but do not dally. I will support your conclusion,"Dumbledore smiled,"however foolish."

Harry stepped over to Albus Dumbledore and hugged him. Then he reached out and took Gabriella's helping hand and pulled her in as well. Fawkes let out a squawk as the three embraced. Finally, holding Gabriella's hand, Harry stepped back.

"Sir… would you… you are the closest person I have to being a father. Would you give us your approving ?"

"I would be honoured, Harry."

Dumbledore held out his hands and softly spoke a chant. A golden, glittering light grew from his deal until it filled the room, making it difficult to see. With Gabriella at his incline, Harry could finger the golden spark clash across his brass, penetrate his body and warm his soul. When the sparkle faded, Dumbledore looked fatigued. He moved back to his desk to sit down and Harry knew that it was time to go.

"Thank you, sir,"he said."I'll think about what we've talked about."

Harry and Gabriella were about to leave when Dumbledore stopped them.

"Harry,"he called, still looking down at the mahogany top of his desk,"when was Jamie born ?"

"Harry and Jamie have the same birthday,"Gabriella answered brightly.

"A wonderful surprise,"Dumbledore said with a nod of his head."Wonderful."

Again they moved to leave. Harry had opened the door when Dumbledore called one to a greater extent time.

"Harry, has Cho ever faced Voldemort ?"Harry looked perplexed, not understanding the doubtfulness."Since Voldemort came to life after the Tri-Wizard tourney, has she ever seen him ?"

"No, sir,"said Harry shaking his head."I battled him at the cemetery and then again at the Ministry. She was never with me."

Dumbledore's eyebrows furled and he gave his capitulum a sharp shake, as if trying to fall apart let loose a spider clinging to his byssus that just wouldn't let itself loose. The job was, this spider was weaving a web with each passing moment, becoming more entangled and entrenched. It would never let itself go, no matter how voiceless Dumbledore would try.

"And Gabriella ..."

"Yes ?"

"As I understand it, your custom is to sign the male person of Harry's line, no issue their mothers. Has Jamie received Asha's blessing ?"

"I had just finished and was returning domicile when I was taken by Malfoy's Death Eaters."

"Did Cho or Anthony know that's what you were doing ?"

"The specific boon will be revealed to Jamie, and only Jamie, when Asha deems it so. Even I do not have it away what its nature will take."Seemingly satisfied, Dumbledore nodded at the information.

"Enjoy the sun,"he said with a waving of his hand. Harry was sure he felt a thin shove push him through the door."And please, should you get the opportunity, tell St. Patrick O'Riley to report to my office."

"Yes, sir,"they said in unison.

Streaming through the windows gamy above, the sun was fond and bright, as the two made their way down the corridor from Dumbledore's office. It would be a glorious day and, before too longsighted, planetary house of outpouring would set out to emerge in the wasteland soils about the castle footing. Neither felt like talking. They were nearly to the battlefront entrance when Harry's hand tightened about Gabriella's. He was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Fighting back the mist in his eyes, he stopped and looked to the blue sky above. He stood there for a bit, locked in a silent supplicant and then fell to his knees and wept.


Harry Potter and the giving birth of a New Sun

Chapter 28 - The Best Laid Plans…
~~~***~~~



"What is that ?"

"What is what ?"

"That ?"

"What ?"

"THAT ?"

"Nothing."

"Bloody, underworld ! What is it ?"

"Just a ring."

"Let me see. Come on ! No. Take it out of your pocket. ejaculate on…. That… is it… it's a tattoo or something ?"

"Or something."

"It's catching the light like it was silver or copper, but it's on your cutis. What is it ?"

"I said… just a tintinnabulation. You know… like a promise or something."

"promise ? valentine's isn't until… You didn't ask her, did you ? Did you ?"

From across the dining table, Harry felt Ron get to fathom his mind - something he still did on affair when he really, really wanted to do it a secluded and Harry really, really wasn't going to tell him. Harry's defense shot up and pushed him away, but Harry didn't complain. He'd gotten use to the wizard, and Ron got so used to being pushed back he stopped saying sorry. Harry didn't afford it more believe than swatting away a fly, but that didn't make Ron bombilation any less.

"It's not an troth closed chain, if that's what you're asking. It's just… well… it has to do with the Votary and a bunch of stuff you don't what to hear about. I love her, you know ? And she love's me. And, the other Night, I went to catch some Z's mentation that there would never be anyone else, and, somehow when I woke up, this was on my script. Don't wheel your eyes like that ! It… it's no big deal. Just don't make a tantrum about it in face of—"

"There you two are !"Hermione called stiffly as she approached the Gryffindor board for dinner. As she came closer, Harry noticed the look she was giving Ron ; it wasn't pleasant. He looked up at her pleadingly.

"I was hungry ! And… and there's practice tonight !"

"Ten minutes ! You couldn't postponement ten minute ?"

"You've said ten minutes before and it's never just ten minutes."

"What do you stand for, never ?"she scolded."If I had a Knut for every time you said just ten transactions when you're talking to mortal about Quidditch !"

"That's dissimilar !"

"DIFFERENT ?"

A plate of food appeared before Hermione as she poured herself some spiced tea, slamming down the pitcher. Harry was thankful she and Ron were arguing again ; it made things feel… normal, if only for a niggling bit. She was about to work her ire on Harry, who wasn't really feeling that well to begin with, for coming down to dinner with Ron ten minutes early, when Dennis and Colin Creevey sat down for dinner party laughing hysterically.

"I think his spike started to shoot tulips… At least… I think they were tulips. They looked like tulips, didn't they ? Hah !"

"I don't know, but the lot of them are with Madame Pomfrey rightfield now."

"They need prof Sprout !"

"And when Luna thought they were seriously trying to raise roots and—"

"—and she added fertiliser ! I thought I was going to—"

"What did she scream it ?"Dean asked down the table. Luna, who happened to be just across from him at the Ravenclaw table, turned to face him.

"They were horklump droppings,"she said with a steady vocalisation."And I don't understand what you see that's so laughable about the whole thing. Even professor Dumbledore knew Nott and his friends were seeking nature for answers. It was probably very hard for the Slytherins to take that they needed to bump another section of themselves. My dad's paper did a story about it - Splinching with Nature."

"And what part is it you think they found ?"asked doyen.

"Well,"she answered straightforwardly,"I think it may be more a interrogative of what they lost. I know, when Crabbe finally came out of the land, he said that he'd never again be able to—"

"care !"called prof McGonagall as she tapped the side of her goblet with her baton. The room went silent at once."Professor Dumbledore is not well this evening, but he asked that I pass on a few promulgation. First, he reminds students that, while he appreciates that the Valentine's holiday will soon be upon us, the Forbidden Forest is just that - strictly forbidden. No student, or twosome of students, is to wander off into the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, even near the forest edge.

"Secondly, Mr. Filch has been finding gum under scholar desks in the schoolroom. There is no self-justification for such piteous behaviour. Desks have now been enchanted to jaw back any educatee trying to do so again.

"Finally, you should be intimate that a handful of educatee from the Olympian Academy, in Athens, will be joining us tomorrow. As you will no doubt study in the break of the day's Daily vaticinator, the school day was attacked today and many of the students are fleeing. I trust you will receive them warmly. That is all for now."

The Great Hall exploded in a low gang fight of cardiac murmur and rustling as if no one wanted anyone else to hear what they were thinking. The phone harkened back to the darkest of clip survive year. It was a room filled with accusation and uncertainty.

"Why would they desire to do here ?"someone said with a hushed vocalism.

"It's no safer with us so close to the Centaurus herd."

"That's why he doesn't want us near the forest."

"The Centaur herd isn't the lonesome matter they're after."Some eyes shot toward Harry.

"It's not the first metre they've tried ; it won't be the last."

"Well, you know the way to solve the problem, don't you ?"

"If they want to attack, let them come !"cried Dennis Creevey."I'm not going to crouch in awe and try to induce deals for what percentage of my mortal I get to keep."

"Yeah !"yelled someone from Ravenclaw."We've smashed ‘ em before. We'll bash ‘ em again."

"With Barghouti here, it's not like we don't know a thing or two about how the dark side thinks !"Dakhil, who was seated at the head shelve future to Hagrid, tried not to search pleased, but a smile escaped his usually scowling fount.

What Harry thought was going to call on into an indictment against the Centaurs and a vilification of him, turned out to be, thanks to Dennis, something quite different. Lavender stood up, her hair as double-dyed as a portrait, and her winter dress turning most male read/write head in the Great hall.

"If they creep in so practically as one dark fingernail onto Hogwarts footing, trying to attack Firenze, I'll fry them myself !"Her oculus flashed with fire and, for the world-class time, she actually frightened Harry.

"She will !"yelled Padma."Barghouti taught her the spell and Harry told her where to aim ! And if they think the other hag of Hogwarts are soft, they've got another thing coming ! It'll be decent to lay down a Dementor pee his gasp ! Erm… if they do that form of thing."The witches in the Granville Stanley Hall howled in favorable reception.

"We've learned from the best everything we need to know !"Luna called out. It was the most revivify he'd ever seen her. For a moment, her optic caught Harry's and somehow he felt she knew everything there was to know : why Susan B. Anthony was absent, why Harry's fingerbreadth suddenly bore a ring, why Ellas was under attack. He subtly nodded his head approvingly in her direction.

Then individual from the backbone of the dormitory, someone Harry couldn't see, yelled,"With what Harry's teach us, we will endure together ! If we do, no wickedness will dare cross onto castling grounds !"

sunniness rang up everywhere… even at the Slytherin tabular array, with the notable absence of Nott and his gang. Instead the Slytherin cheer was led by Gabriella, who stood in avouchment of the homework provided by the professors as well as Harry's prowess. But then, the clapping and cheer died almost instantly, like a wafture crashing against rocks at the shore, when mass realized who had called out the finis words. Standing at the entry doors to the Great hallway was James Chang, saucy out of St. Mungo's.

Here, before the integral class stood the man, the boy, that had killed the pastor's wife. Harry glanced over at Ron, whose knuckles were Edward White as his hand squeezed a roll of lucre so grueling it oozed butter out onto the table. It was in this Great Granville Stanley Hall where Henry James was the initiatory scholarly person accepted into all four houses, but, at this bit in time, it was very questionable if any of the four mansion would bear him at all. Yet, there he was, looking as healthy as ever, if not a bit pale, maybe even a bit taller than when Harry had finale seen him, cheering the schooling on to triumph against the very evil that had nearly driven him mad.

You could have heard a shade bye through a wall it was so quiet in the Great Charles Martin Hall. cipher moved ; nobody breathed. They just all gawked, unknowingly, at the uncle of Harry's son. The bluster and bravery that had filled the hall just seconds earlier was spilling away. Harry was trying to will himself out of his can - to stand and say something noble. But the feverish face that screamed at him in the bowels of the prison house on Fengsle islet haunted his visual sense, and the flash of unripe that flew from James'verge, killing molly was too much to bear. He found himself using his second sight, looking at James only to discover that it held but a single aura - Voldemort release. Harry wondered why he hadn't used the skill on others since facing Nott and his gang. He scanned about the Great mansion house, but the sheer numbers game made it impossible to make out one halo from the next.

There was a scraping randomness from up at the read/write head tabularise - prof McGonagall moving back her hot seat, struggling herself to cerebrate of something to say. Harry opened his eyes and looked back at her with normal sight, but before she had a hazard to remain firm, St. Patrick O'James Whitcomb Riley, isolated and alone at the end of the Gryffindor table, stood from his Bench and ran over to James II Chang. From where he sat, he had to run the length of the Great foyer, his footsteps echoing off the paries, the only sound, besides his own ventilation, to be heard. When they met, Saint Patrick wrapped his limb about St. James and hugged him. At once, they both began to cry.

Their sobs were labored, earnest, as James River kept repeating the word,"Sorry."

Gabriella was the number one to leave the Slytherin board. She had grown close to James in her conversations with Cho, and she too gave him a hug. Then Owen Cauldwell from Hufflepuff, who often played wizard's chess with James, started moving toward him. Su Li and Orla Quirke who doted on James last year when he visited Ravenclaw ran up to him as well. Harry looked over at his best Quaker, seated directly across from him. Ron's eyes were on fervor, his smarmy bridge player now fingering his wand. Hermione reached over and touched his wrist. He jerked, then, realizing who it was, slipped the wand away and tried to slack ; he couldn't.

"Ron,"she whispered softly, cautiously,"if you stood… and took his side right now, the residue of the shoal would follow."looking at deeply into Hermione's eyes, Ron's own muted, but his jaw remained set.

"I… I can't. My… He… he…"

"No he didn't,"Ginny said sharply, but quietly, as she rose to her feet."If he did, then I released the Basilisk. I nearly killed your fiancée. I nearly killed you all."Ron shook his head in dissonance.

"But that… that wasn't… this… this is different."Ginny held her hand out to her brother.

"Ron, we need to do this… together."

He looked toward the small mathematical group surrounding James. The hallway was growing more enliven, but uncertainty still permeated the air. All it would take is one accusation, one harsh remark, one misguided spell or hex, and the animosity would be reborn. Ron looked at his sister and then at his ripe supporter.

"Don't look at me,"Harry said."Hermione's right - everyone knows how you feel. If Ginny walks up alone, it won't topic. You're the eldest here. You're the 7th year."

"I'm also the outdo friend of Harry Potter."Ron smiled for the first sentence.

"That might get you a Glycyrrhiza glabra whiplash at Honeydukes, but that's about it, mate."

"Watch,"Ron said with an air of confidence worthy of a Gryffindor. He took Ginny's hired man and started to the door of the Great hall. He was easily the grandiloquent boy in school and as he proceeded down the path between the benches, the fanny behind him cleared as student after student followed. By the time he and Ginny made it to Saint James, not a seat was empty. Perhaps the bookman were supportive, perhaps they wanted to find out the bloodshed, but the whole school day was surrounding James IV and the Weasleys, some standing on tables to get a better position. Even the professors at the head table were all standing, all except Dakhil who seemed more interest in the viscosity of the fluid contained within the goblet in his hand.

Harry stood, but he didn't leave his seat at the Gryffindor board. There was something to be said for taking in the scene from a length, and in his center he knew what was about to befall. Those feelings were confirmed when a tremendous sunshine filled the Hall as Ron put his hands around James. When he did so, everyone closed in, welcoming their classmate.

Love, warmheartedness and great power filled the way. Harry could sense it swirling about him like an invisible ethereal mist - pity, energy, long suit. Then he realized that it wasn't just filling the room, but being pulled in toward him. The Heart of Asha was drawing the power to it, gorging itself with the strength. He had experienced the same feeling at the Joining with Singehorn. The vivificus stone, the rock of life, was now more alive than ever. Harry felt that, if he could draw from just a parcel of the stone's growing power, he could end this war, once and for all. He could destruct them all ; he could crush—.

A hired hand gently rested upon his shoulder. It was Hermione sodbuster.

"You did this,"she said with a tinge of a smile upon her face as she watched the students at the far end of the residence each try to say something to Jesse James, welcoming him in some way. Any tension, any concerns had been washed away. It took Harry a bit to regain his equanimity. For a moment, he had lost himself in the possible action of major power. Hermione took it as a sign of emotion, looking into his eyes and brushing the tomentum from his scar-free forehead.

"No,"said Harry, drawing a great breath."Ron did."He turned, put his arm about Hermione, and looked back at the assemblage which now included some of the professor."It's easy to see the strength of unity when you see friends. It's far harder to bosom an opposition. Ron… he's had to defend, to dig deep to find that section of himself that can admit. I didn't show them how to embrace a foe. They wouldn't have seen it through me if I had walked up there and hugged William James, any more than when Patrick did. But Ron… Everyone here knows how he feels about James. But he pushed past all that. He showed every student and prof here that it can be done and now… now they believe."He paused for a moment, still sensing the surge of power within him."Now… they're ready."

"Ready for what, Harry ?"she asked. He held her by the hand and looked about, ensuring they were out of earshot.

"Tonight, after midnight, meet me and Ron in the common room."

"Why ? What are you—"

"Midnight,"repeated Harry, and he strode away, not to recognize James, but to pull Gabriella aside and let her know his architectural plan. Then, he skirted the bunch gathered about James I and disappeared through the door to the Great Hall.

It wasn't until near midnight that Harry had almost everything in stead. Skipping Quidditch practice, he'd asked Dobby to fix up things with the house elves and to discuss Harry's plans with the few goblin in Hogsmeade that could be trusted. With that done, Harry went and told professor Dumbledore and then Dakhil of his plans. The skin color and overall appearance of the headmaster was far worse than when he'd met with Harry just a few hours earlier. Dumbledore had answered the door to his office in his bed clothes. He was generally pleased with Harry's decisiveness, but something was bothering him, something that he wouldn't part with Harry. As for Dakhil, Harry had caught up to him in the keep and the vampire shook his head with dislike.

"You're putting all your spell into the struggle, boy - wizards, elves, werewolves, Centaurs and goblins. I doubt the flying dragon will come to your aid, but let's say they do. Let's say, for one day, you can stay fresh them all from attacking each early. There's nix left - no other creature to come to your deliverance should the battle hold up long and they begin to turn on each other as matter falter. And you WILL falter ; don't think for a moment that you won't. I've seen it before… they all falter."

In the Forbidden Forest, Harry had met with Ronan, Magorian, and a phone number of the other centaur preparing for battle, and had told them that he was leaving. Still, he reaffirmed his oath and swore that he would see to their tribute in his absence. When Shahan scoffed at his assurance, a pang of cult snapped inside Harry and, for a bit, a ball of fervour appeared about his left fist, glowing as bright as a small star, forcing them all to plough their question. Magorian rebuked Shahan and the fire about Harry's hand diminished and disappeared. Before Harry departed, Ronan glanced to the even sky and had commented to Magorian that Ebyrth had grown brighter and that, as he said,"It will be close."Harry looked up at Ebyrth. Low on the horizon, it was close up to mar. Magorian grunted in approval, but Harry had no mind what they were really talking about.

Now, alone in the boys'dorm of Gryffindor pillar, Harry sat on the boundary of his bed with a small bag of apparel and other items he might necessitate in Greece. His intent wasn't to stay long, but he would be prepared if his purpose failed. Dakhil had been castigate to admonish that the strategy might not be as prompt as Harry hoped, and Harry was thankful that the vampire offered to organize another back-up strategy. Harry took in a deep breath trying to gain some vigor, but he felt tired and his venter was a bit unsteady, probably from not finishing his evening meal.

Ron and Hermione were already waiting downstairs in the common room, still wondering what he was going to do. On his desk was a blank sheepskin next to a Bible on healing potions. Harry shook his header. He'd only just caught up, and now he would be leaving for who knew how long. For the first clip at Hogwarts, he actually was saddened for missing Snape's class. He stood from his bed and the parentage drained to his feet, causing stars to seem in his field of thought and the way to wobble just a bit.

Evidently, the fury of the day's activities had drained him. So, he went to the bathroom and threw some water on his face, hoping to vivify his wear eyes. It didn't supporter much ; he still felt a bit dizzy and nauseated. As he was leaving, he ran into Patrick who was going to take a shower before getting ready for bed. His fount was smiling until he ran into Harry ; the appearing scowl was turn over and enhanced for Harry's viewing pleasure.

"Hey, Patrick,"Harry tried to say with as light a tone in his vocalism as he could.

"Bugger off,"St. Patrick muttered, pulling the Robert Floyd Curl Jr. of his lip down a bit further at the corners and refusing to meet Harry's middle.

"Hey,"said Harry, taking Patrick by the arm,"what's up ?"A scepter appeared from nowhere and, in a flashing, was in Harry's face. The move surprised the older Gryffindor.

"Let go me arm,"said Patrick with cold eyes. Harry eased off.

"No pauperism for that, eh ? We're champion, right ?"

"Right,"spat St. Patrick, still holding his sceptre at the ready and backing slowly away - a move Harry had taught in the DA encounter earlier in the tumble."That's why yeh haven't said two hoot Holy Writ teh me since I've been back. Since… since…"Saint Patrick's hand began to tremble and his eyes grew moist.

"Harry P-Potter,"he said, forcing himself not to cry."What a joke. What a lie. I thought yeh'd be different. I thought yeh'd understand."

"I do understand."

"Yeah, and that's why yeh left the Great Hall today without even looking at Jesse James when he came back. Yeh've hated me. Now, yeh can hate him."

"Pat—"

"Yeh think he didn'notice ?"Harry didn't respond."Well ? DO YEH ?"

Harry dropped his pack to the floor with a thwump and fell to a squat beside it, in standardised fashion. He rubbed his face with his hands. It was late ; he was tired, and it was taking all his energy not to be pissed off. Harry took a thick breath, trying hard to regain ascendance of his emotions.

"Do you…,"Harry began, his vocalism steady, if a bit thin, and his heart on the flooring."Do you know who convinced the rector to let King James I unloosen ?"St. Patrick just stood silently, refusing to lower his scepter."He was imprisoned beneath the ocean for merlin's saki ! Surrounded by the speculative filth… I was there when he was released."Harry raised his head so that his center met Saint Patrick's."I held him in my munition when he still wasn't sure who he was. It's just… I didn't expect him so soon. I was going to jaw, but time… it's more flimsy than I thought."

"That doesn't explain why yeh've been an arse teh me, or why yeh left when James came in."St. Patrick was defiant and surprisingly dignified, though he stood with cipher but a brace of slippers, holding a towel in one hand and a wand in the former. Harry rose to his feet, a bit too quickly for Saint Patrick's liking. A stinging spell bicker from his scepter and headed to Harry's face. With a wave of his hand, Harry quickly deflected the spell, but it still nipped his shoulder, making him wince. Saint Patrick's eyes grew bear on about what Harry might now do to him - concern, but not fear. Harry just sighed.

"I deserved that,"he said, rubbing his shoulder."You're flop, I've been an stern. I've been stupid and unfair and I could have got set an exercise, but instead I just avoided you. I'm sorry."The parole took away the irritation from Patrick's expression.

"Yeah… well, I really didn'mean teh zap yeh like that."He lowered his sceptre again."Sorry. I… I only ever wanted teh help."

"face, Patrick, I'm leaving to Greece, tonight. Voldemort's found another organic structure to own and now he's started his own battle, searching for… for James'babe, Cho."

A smell of surprise spread across St. Patrick's fount and, for the low gear meter, it appeared as if he might believe what Harry was saying. Still he said,"I… I don't believe you,"but the Good Book held minuscule conviction and were imbued, instead, with a sense of excitement."Why would he handle about Cho ?"

"Don't believe me ! ? Why the snake pit do you conceive I have this face pack ?"snapped Harry. The spirit in Harry's representative brought Patrick's wand out again."What ? You still …"Another wave of fatigue passed through Harry."I don't have time for this. come in on. If you don't believe me, fare with me. seed see with your own eyes."Harry turned and headed toward the door. St. Patrick's wand tracked him as he went, but the boy's feet didn't movement from the billet where they stood. Harry turned back to grimace him.

"Well, are you coming or not ? I swore to you we'd marijuana cigarette together so get your arse in gear and—"Patrick looked down at what he was not wearing.

"But I can't. I don't have any—"

"Bah !"Harry chided. He pulled his wand, tapped Patrick on the heading, and Patrick found himself wrapped in a set of Gryffindor robes, his slippers now a pair of black bang.

"straight from your trunk. Now,"said Harry,"Follow me."He began to walk, then stopped and looked at St. Patrick."That is… if you think you can swear me."

Harry didn't again look back at Saint Patrick as they made their way to the common way, but he could get a line the Whitney Young man's footsteps just behind his own. As they came to the top of the circular stairway, Harry grabbed his broom, which was leaning against the bulwark, held it behind him without looking back and said,"postponement this. We're going to take it in a bit."

Patrick took the broom and said,"Sure,"his voice almost eagre with anticipation.

In the common way, Hermione sat next to Ron by the open fireplace. Ron held a ling in his hand as well.

"You two ready ?"Harry asked. They both looked at Harry and then at Patrick. Ron pointed with his finger.

"Why is—"

"Don't ask."

As they made their way down the staircase to the castle's entree, Hermione continued to utter her concern that Patrick was with them.

"He'll lose house points, if he's caught out after hours."

"Like the rest of us aren't ? I'm sure the pass Girl,"said Ron,"will be able to—"

"What took you Guy so long ?"said Gabriella in a subdued voice, stepping out from behind a newspaper column."Why is Pat—"

"Don't ask !"the three said in unison. Gabriella shrugged and took Harry's hand.

They made it out the doorway with only one close call from Mrs Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. ; she had come round a pillar, but had meowed just before, giving herself away and allowing the troupe to obscure in the niche as she passed down toward the dungeon.

Once out on the castle stair, Ron and Harry climbed onto their broom and invited the others for a ride. Hermione hopped onto Ron's and Gabriella hopped onto Harry's. She held her helping hand out to help oneself Patrick on, but he declined, choosing instead to ride with Ron and Hermione. As soon as all were mounted, Ron and Harry took the heather upward, climbing the grimace of the castling to its mellow tower. Hermione kept her heart shut. They stopped against the tower's wall some fifteen understructure down from the top. There, Harry found a small red stone, no gravid than a galleon, hidden among the large, gray, pugnacious hewn block of the castle bulwark.

He pulled his scepter and whispered."It's well past midnight, we swear it's true. open up up and let us through."The mathematical group shrunk until the stone appeared to be a large, red cavern.

"Hold tight,"Harry suggested and they flew into the berth with a tearing, slurping sound and emerged on the former side of meat."Welcome to The Marauders'Eye !"he said brightly. It was the most energise he'd felt all night. Harry pulled his wand and tapped a Shirley Temple pillar ; music began to play. Hermione noticed some magazines on one of the tables piled in a sharp stack - clearly Dobby had seen that the blank space was kept clean.

"These are recent,"she said with surprise. She glared at Ron."You said it was naught but a moth-eaten old bin of a room. You've been sneaking up here, haven't you ? Haven't you ?"She started moving toward Ron, when Harry intervened.

"That's not why we're here,"he said, holding them apart."Geesh, you'd think you were married already."His centre danced toward Gabriella's for but an instant."Just… sit down."Everyone obliged. Harry brightened the candles floating in the corners and leaned back against the rampart.

"I'm leaving,"he said briskly.

"WE'RE leaving,"corrected Gabriella.

"You're staying here,"corrected Harry."It's too—"

"Too dangerous ?"she snapped."You think I don't understand risk ?"She took to her groundwork."I knew danger before you knew you were a wizard ! Don't lecture me about—"

"Going where ?"said Ron, raising his phonation above the growing din.

"I'm going to Greece."

"WE are going to Hellenic Republic,"snapped Gabriella.

"Greece ?"

"But the war,"said Hermione with headache."The Olympian Academy… you can't think you're going to battle again. You've done enough already."

"That he's alive at all, Hermione, is because of my blood,"said Harry, his vocalism darkening."Whatever theatrical role of him that's still alive needs it again, only the duskiness he touched me with when I was a baby no longer flows through my nervure. I was cleansed by the evenfall, so he's finished trying to seek immortality through me, but that hasn't stopped him from searching for another beginning of Potter blood."

"Jamie,"whispered Hermione.

"Who's Jamie ?"asked Patrick. Hermione stab Harry a look and he nodded in return.

"Tell him,"he said.

"Harry has a son,"she said quietly."His name is Jamie, after Harry's father James."Patrick just looked at Harry with astonished eyes.

"And he's in Greece ?"asked Patrick with a bit of turmoil in his voice."Where ?"

A bit ashamed, Harry couldn't hold St. Patrick's gaze. Instead, he looked away and found a rather acidify reflexion on Gabriella's fount."delicately ! You can go !"he said. But she did not notice his words. Rather, she looked about the room, as if searching for something that was causing an offensive scent. Ron noticed her expression as well.

"Dean had a bit too lots to fuddle last time we were here,"said Ron and then he looked at Harry."I thought you got all that up."

"Ron !"chided Hermione.

"It wasn't me !"

"Oh, right. I'm sure you were an angel."

"facial expression,"said Harry cutting in before they could gather up too much steam. He wasn't belief well and was irritated for not having left an hour ago."I should be back before breakfast. If I'm not…"he hesitated,"…if I'm not, you've got to be ready. Tomorrow cockcrow you'll demand to assemble the DA. They have to be ready for an onset on Hogwarts."He flipped his summoning coin to Hermione.

"But—"

"I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying you have to be quick. And don't plan on Dumbledore to help you. He's… He's dying."

"Dyin'!"cried Patrick."That ain't possible. He can't… What happened ?"

"Old age,"said Gabriella, almost as an off helping hand remark. She was standing in the far corner of the room still looking for something, only now her wand was drawn."

"Are you sure, mate ?"

"He told us himself. But don't tell the rest, not yet at least."

"I can't believe it,"Hermione whispered to herself. She looked pale."If they find out, they're for certain to concentrate on their sites here. Voldemort's always wanted—"

"That's why you can't severalize anyone and why you have to be ready while I'm gone,"said Harry with a prat voice. Perspiration was beginning to prick on his frontal bone. He was really not feeling well."Voldemort's attacking Greece to find Jamie. He needs him to bring himself back. I'm not going to let that happen. I… WE are going to go get him out of there and bring him back."

"rachis ?"asked St. Patrick.

"Yes,"answered Harry."But, while we're away, I still need to fulfill my pledge to protect the centaur. If there's an attack, I need to fuck you'll help. I need to make love you'll all help."He looked at Patrick."testament you ?"

"As if we were crony, Harry,"said Patrick, rising to his invertebrate foot, but not stepping closer."Sorry fer what I said before. Yeh know me, I've got yer back."Exhausted, Harry slapped Patrick's shoulder and smiled.

Hermione stood up and took Harry by the hand."We'll take charge of things while you're gone. Don't worry."

"come on, Gab,"said Harry."You wanted to go. Let's go."Gabriella scanned the room once more and slipped her verge away.

"There is something not right here, Harry."

Ron stood up, swiping one of his fingerbreadth across the table, only to find it perfectly uninfected. He said,"I'll have one of the house elves give the situation a total scouring down before you get back."

"Ron,"scolded Hermione.

"What ? They like that sort of stuff."

"Don't think for a minute—"Before Hermione finished, Gabriella climbed upon Harry's broom, held him by the waist, and they were both through the red curtain and back to normal size, flying mellow above the rook grounds.

The night air was refreshing and Harry could sense it clean the gossamer that were beginning to entrench upon his judgment.

"It's gone,"whispered Gabriella from behind him.

"What's gone ?"asked Harry.

"I'm not sure enough,"she said."But I can sense the change in you, just as I sense that I can once more breathe the unused air again."

"Probably everyone's emotions about Dumbledore,"he said. He leaned forward on his broom, willing it faster, and the broom responded, forcing Gabriella to tighten her grip about Harry's shank. He smiled, but her case still bore an grammatical construction of concern.

"Perhaps,"she whispered."Perhaps."


Harry Potter and the birth of a New Sun

Chapter 29 - The Road divide

~~~***~~~


It was late and her feet hurt. Damn blackguard. Lavender had convinced her to drill wearing heals for her wedding ceremony. Now, with every step, she regretted it. They made the long climb from the rook entering to the Gryffindor pillar more exhausting than ever before. As soon as the three made their way back to the Gryffindor green elbow room it was all she could do to rive off her shoes, sight Ron on the cheek, and say goodnight to both him and Patrick. Thinking about what might be facing Harry, even at this very moment, her eyes revealed her concern and Ron noticed.

"He'll be fine,"he said in a strong, convinced representative."You'll see."

She loved that about him - his power to find the minuscule hint of lighting in the darkest of times. She'd seen his trust and bravery grow every year, and his allegiance, as always, was unfailing. He would defend her to the end, as he would Harry, and he would never provide her side. She would very much love being Mrs. Ronald Weasley.

"I know,"she whispered, with less confidence. Something was gnawing on her - perhaps the way Gabriella was behaving before she and Harry left. Every time she thought her judgment might get around what it might be—

"We'll see ‘ em all before the tool crows,"said Patrick, patting her on the shoulder. He was smiling at her, as fresh as if he were ready to look a new day. Perhaps all the fervor, she thought. It was graspable after all. She'd seen St. Patrick and Harry pal around quite a bit final yr and, when things changed this year, she surmised it was just that Saint Patrick had found someone else his own age to befriend. When James IV turned out to be… well, it was hard on everybody. She was happy to see that Harry had taken the spear carrier effort to take a leak it up to the second class. He'd been a bit of an arse, as had everyone else, forcing Patrick into total isolation. He was always alone everywhere he went. She was beaming to see, with James'rejoicing return, that that would be changing.

"You bet !"she said, forcing a expectant smile and returning Patrick's pat. She turned to Ron and let out a recollective, deep breath."You know, I believe I'll stay here for a smidgeon, maybe read a book. I need some time to think."Ron looked at her, then at Patrick.

"Erm, yeah. Sure. Saint Patrick, how ‘ bout you head off to bed. We've got a busy day tomorrow, whether he comes back on time or not."

"Yer rightfulness !"said Saint Patrick brightly."Don't know if I'll be able-bodied teh eternal rest, but I'll try. I can't believe, we're gon na be getting'ready fer war !"He shook his clenched fist with heartiness.

"Yeah,"said Ron."Not something we really want'to be thinking is a near thing, eh ? Before the following new moon, some of your admirer might be dead."Patrick's face fell and his face grew more sombre.

"Of row, Ron,"he said."I didn't mean it like that."Then the smallest grin cracked his mouth."But, maybe later, you and I can get together and yeh can give me a few arrow on how we'll take a nether region of a lot more of them with us before we go !"

"Let's reliance that it doesn't come to that, Patrick,"said Hermione."We can hope, at least. Goodnight."The quality of this lowest parole told him it was time to leave and he didn't complain.

“'night."

Patrick jumped up the orbitual staircase, two steps at a time, and disappeared into the son'dormitory. Ron put his arm about Hermione.

"We'll he's eager at least,"he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe too bore,"replied Hermione. She sighed and turned to face the fire, pulling Ron gently by the hand to sit in the small couch. The fire felt sound against her cutis, warming against the night's chill air and soothing her aching feet. She had hated having to fly to begin with tonight, but here, with Ron, she felt, for the moment at least, dependable and secure. Yet, there was a unaffixed thread that needed to be stitched and she wasn't quite sure how to do it. She patted the cushion next to her."Sit with me ?"

"Like, no, is an response ?"said Ron with a grin. He sat next to his fiancé.

She watched the prosperous flames glint against the black fireplace and smiled to herself, remembering how she originally felt when she stood in front of the hearth on the first day of schoolhouse. It had been raining outside, but the day was warm and inside was ardent. They had feasted and made their way up the moving stairway. She chuckled, thinking about how out of shape she was back then, how winded that upgrade made her look. When she had entered the Gryffindor common way, sweat was dripping down her temples. The windows were close tight against the rain and the upshot was a stifling common room filled with stale air. She had wondered why anyone in their right mind would take a fire roaring on such a hot day. But when she had stepped in front of the fire, they weren't hot. She remembered how astonished she had been that the fervency of Hogwarts had not been discussed in any of the books she had read. Now, she understood why. It was out of the question to think of not having the fire in the Gryffindor usual room lit, glowing brightly all year round, offering warmth in winter, spark enough at dark to scan by, and, perhaps most importantly of all, if you knew the right hand enchantment and had the correct ingredients, a way to always communicate to the outside world.

"Something's not right,"she said, leaning her top dog against Ron's shoulder."The way Gabriella was looking around. That was just… well, weird. I wish she'd just say what she was sensing."

"Well you asked that we not—"Hermione sat upright and looked Ron in the eyes.

"Oh, so now it's my fault ?"

"I'm just saying, she was keeping mum until she was sure. And she wasn't sure."

"And you ?"Hermione asked."Did you pick-up anything ?"

"We weren't alone, if that's what you mean,"Ron said, leaning his pass against the back of the redact - the result being that he now looked straight up at the ceiling. She liked that he had let his tomentum grow, and she couldn't help but stroke it as it dangled down over the book binding of the sofa."But I get that all the time. There are house pixy and ghosts and former unusual creatures all through the castle. It's surd to say how close, but there's always person or something conclusion by."He closed his optic and the brawniness on his left wing cheek twitched.

"There,"said Ron, leaning across Hermione and pointing to a carpet near a table where students did homework in the park room."There's a sign elf below the flooring, waiting for us to get out of here so she can start cleaning again."He fell back against the couch and rubbed his temple."It's not just sign of the zodiac elves that weirdie around,"he whispered, instinctively pulling his metrical foot up off the floor and curling his legs on the couch.

"Creep ?"Hermione looked at Ron, and then to the floor, then back at Ron.

"I'm not going to tell you,"he said."You'll just… well, I'm not going to tell you."

She looked at Ron for a prospicient while, but decided now was not the sentence. They were both wear, but she knew that neither of them would kip until their friend returned safely in the morning.

"And in the Marauders'Eye ?"she asked quietly."What did you—"

"I didn't look,"he interrupted."I told you, I get that stuff all the time."His hand fluttered up by his headspring and flopped down at his side."If I looked every time…"He stopped himself, slowly shaking his head, and absentmindedly rubbed his ankles.

"well, Gabriella sensed more than a house elf in the wall,"said Hermione. She got up off the couch and crouched at the edge of the fire. Then, she reached into her mark, pulled out a apprehension of floo pulverisation, and sprinkled it over the flames."Aperito ! numeral five, Privet Drive,"she whispered.

"Remus ?"Ron asked, leaning forward.

"Like I said, something's not right,"she grumbled, looking back at Ron over her shoulder."Remus needs to bang there are pieces in manoeuvre before he gets here."

"He's not going to be happy to get a line Harry left Hogwarts without telling anyone. And Harry's not going to care that you told Remus behind his back."

"No,"said Hermione."No, he's not, but we've got to tell him. It's our job to take in Harry's back, since he won't determine his own."The flames grew green and a wooshing sound signalled that the association had been made. She leaned her head into the fire. When she opened her eyes, she was looking out into the Darbinyan living room. Remus had been staying with Soseh and it appeared that that wasn't going to change anytime soon. Whether they were to wed or not was uncertain, but everyone knew they were in love.

"Remus,"she called out, hoping her voice would stockpile to the upper report."Remus !"

It took a few proceedings before she could hear the strait of footstep above the crackling of the fire in her ears. Remus appeared at the stair, wand drawn.

"Remus, it's me,"she said more quietly.

"Hermione ?"he asked, still holding his sceptre up."It's the midsection of the dark. What is it ? What's happened ?"His voice was elevated, bear on. He knelt at the fervidness to speak with her.

"Harry's gone to Hellenic Republic,"she told him.

"What ?"he exclaimed."Why ? To crusade ? Surely he would have—"

"To rescue his son,"Hermione interrupted. Remus fell back on his rear, looking like somebody had just kicked him in the gut. His expression told Hermione at once that he hadn't known. She described what she knew, telling Remus about Jamie, Cho and Anthony. She explained Voldemort's plans as best she could.

"So they're with Sirius,"he said with a bit of irritation in his words."digit they'd be at his castle, at… erm… We were just there a few calendar month ago, all of us. It's at… I can't remember."Remus looked up at the glowing head of Hermione within his fireplace."He's made it unplottable. The mystery keeper. That Harry could hold open even me from seeing where my best supporter's castle is… that… that's amazing."He let out a dumb breather and his idea seemed to wander for a moment."When Soseh first told me, I didn't believe her. Now… it's hard to traverse. I'm sure glad he's his mother's son."

"What do you mean ?"Hermione asked. Remus cleared his brain with a short tremble.

"With the powers he's developing, he could…"His fount grew grave."Well, it doesn't matter. Harry would never… tone, there are already a few phallus of the orderliness in Ellas. I'll send some others now we know what Voldemort's quarry is and I'll let Arthur be intimate what's happening. That's all we can do until he shows up there or returns to Hogwarts Castle."

"Remus,"said Hermione,"there may be Thomas More. Something's going on at the castle."She relayed what Gabriella was doing in the Marauder's Eye and that she had her own headache. Remus sat for a instant, thinking. He slipped his sceptre away and leaned in close.

"How well do you have sex Patrick ?"he asked."Wasn't he under Voldemort's Imperious Curse when he had command of James ?"

"Harry trusts him,"she said."I don't see how—"

"Voldemort was on the castle grounds just yesterday, Hermione. He had control of Gabriella."

"No !"

"I spoke with Albus just a few hours ago. I think, perhaps, he knew what Harry was up to, but he didn't tell me about Harry's son. Both Albus and Harry believe that Voldemort extracted whatever entropy he needed and left Hogwarts. Perhaps he escaped with the cognition that what he needs is in Greece. You tell me that his target is Harry's son, Jamie. So now Harry thinks, as does the Headmaster, that Voldemort is in Greece to find Harry's son. But what if he's not ? What if it's a ruse to get Harry away ? What if Voldemort's still in the rook ?"

"But professor Dumbledore… surely he would bonk if—"

"He's lost his Legilimency,"interrupted Remus."He's losing many of his ability, Hermione. It won't be long until we've lost him completely."

"Then Harry would be bringing Jamie straight back into Voldemort's clutches !"

"Exactly,"said Remus. He took to his infantry."Hermione, I'll be at the castle by sunrise. You've got to keep an eye out for anything unusual. soul should watch Patrick, but don't do anything pudding head. If he is being controlled by Voldemort, it's best to learn from a distance, no spells, no incantations. Wait until we can get more wizards there to help. In fact, as soon as you can, let Severus know. He may be able to feel his old master's presence."Hermione nodded her head ; ash and amber spilt out onto the fireplace.

"And, Hermione,"added Remus."Be measured. You know what he's capable of. He'll Sooner kill you as not."

"I understand,"answered Hermione."I'll see you later this morning."

She pulled away from the flaming and found herself, all of herself, back in the Gryffindor common room. She shook the ash from her hair and looked over to encounter Ron asleep on the lounge. She was about to slap him when he spoke.

"So, what did he say ?"he asked with his eyes still closed, a Robert Floyd Curl Jr. of red fuzz wrapped across his cheek.

"He thinks Voldemort's still here,"she answered. Ron's eyes opened wide.

"What do you mean, here ? Like here, here ?"

She told him what Remus had said, her eyes darting up the stair when she spoke about Patrick.

"That's just silly,"he said."Patrick wouldn't—"

"Neither would James Chang Jiang,"she interrupted."But Voldemort never gave him the choice."Ron's middle narrowed as his hands gripped the armrest of the lounge until his fingers began to force through the cloth and into the foam shock absorber underneath.

"There's one way to happen out,"he said, pulling out his scepter.

"No !"exclaimed Hermione breathlessly."We have to just watch. Don't let him know that you think it might be him."

"But—"

"Ron, it's too dangerous. He'll kill you. He'll kill anybody that stands in his way."She took him by the helping hand, knowing that he'd rather take action mechanism. Still, she had to try and convince him to await. It wouldn't be leisurely."Since I can walk the halls after hours, I'll go address with Snape. Just halt here. Wait for Harry and constitute certain Patrick, or anyone else for that affair, doesn't try to wander out."Ron looked like he could skewer venom. If he had been tired earlier, there was no hint of it on his facial expression now.

"Sit on my fanny, when the wizard that killed my mother might be upstairs napping ?"he spat.

"Would you risk Patrick's life or the life history of the former mo years sleeping with him ?"Ron did not answer."Just let me talk with Snape. Twenty minutes, that's all I ask. Just stay here on this couch for twenty moment. delight ?"

She could see him biting his boldness, mulling over a decisiveness he didn't want to make. She could also sense his thoughts brush with hers.

"fine !"he blurted."Twenty minutes."He crossed his branch and legs and hunched his shoulders. Hermione smiled and stood.

"St. Patrick would be devastated if you confronted him and were wrong. It's even possible that Voldemort may not even be in the rook, Ron. It's just Remus'hunch."

"And yours, right ?"Ron asked. Hermione looked at the fire, the flame flickering off her evenhandedly skin colour, and slowly nodded."My money's on you, Hermione,"said Ron glumly."I wish it wasn't, but it is. It always has been."

She leaned down and kissed him, stroking his hair between her fingers. buttock to cheek she took in a deep breath. She loved his olfactory modality, and wished they could just curl up together and let the universe pass them by. She stayed there, holding the here and now, and then finally kissed his neck.

"I'll be right back,"she whispered."Maybe… maybe this sentence I'm wrong."

She walked over to the park room entryway and disappeared out into the darkened corridor, leaving Ron alone, but not before they both said,"I love you."The Fat Lady barely stirred in her portraiture as Hermione continued on her way. Halfway down to the dungeons, Peeves appeared chattering some silly rime, a bucket of ash tree he had collected from some fireplace in his hands.

"Who's afoot ? Who's afoot ? Soon they'll find they're covered in—"He halted as soon as he saw Hermione with her glowing sceptre. Without saying another word, he disappeared through the paries. Under other circumstances, Hermione might take smiled knowing that the poltergeist now feared her since their last showdown. Tonight, she was far too unhinge to think about that.

At last, she came to Snape's doorway and rapped on the forest. She could hear somebody ado inside, cursing as they did so. As she waited, her mind turned to Harry in Greece, wondering if he'd already told them of the danger, wondering if they would fare willingly or risk staying where they were.

A spell was cast, unlocking the threshold. It made her middle skip a pulse.

Her mind flashed to Ron, alone and angry in the common way. Should she take in left him alone ? The wooden doors opened and a very dishevelled looking Severus Snape appeared. When he saw who it was, the look upon his face turned from angriness to monish concern.

"Ms. Granger ? What could possibly be wrong at this time of nighttime ?"
~~~***~~~


It took a moment before Ron noticed that Harry and Gabriella had disappeared through the Marauders'Eye. He was halfway through some statement with Hermione, explaining why she was wrong when the familiar spirit sensation started again. It tended to happen Thomas More when he was emotional, not being measured, and so he retracted what he likened to invisible neuro-fibroids.

Last class his mind reached out and touched everything and everyone that was near him, sending ostentation of storage and feelings streaming uncontrollably into his brain. It had grown so bad that he had actually considered suicide, rather than survive with the pain sensation caused by the torrent of information and emotions flooding every waking moment of his cognisance. And even though Madame Pomfrey had helped control the whiz, it wasn't until he'd been taken by Harry to the falls of the Forbidden Forest and fallen in to, or been grabbed by, the water that he was truly disembarrass of the condemnation that had ravaged his mind.

Standing there, in the piranha's Eye where he and Harry often snuck off at night to watch Quidditch matches, he turned his binding on Hermione and tossed his work force high-pitched into the air."Great !"he cried."They're gone !"He faced Hermione once again."I had a XII query and now he's gone. For example, what are they going to do when—"

"Not to worry, mate,"said Patrick brightly."He'll be back before the forenoon sausages."For whatever reason, Saint Patrick's comment irritated Ron. He was about to tell him that they weren't mates, and he'd serious keep his tongue in his mouth before—

"Saint Patrick's right, Ron,"said Hermione with a steadier voice than she had but a moment before."It's best that we get some eternal sleep so that we're ready for when they return."The Logos did not make Ron any happier, but his focus on Patrick was distracted long enough for him to settle down.

"Sure,"he conceded."Let's get out of here."He grabbed his broom and the early two hopped on. They were moving out through the red eye, when he heard whispers in his ear that came from nowhere.

"Soon. I'll have him in my—"

"service me…"

When they emerged on the early side, he asked,"Did you hear that ? A articulation, or spokesperson, or something ?"

"Only that slurping sound,"answered Hermione."Why, what's wrong ?"

Ron stuck his finger in his ear and scratched."Just tired, I guess."

He was indeed tired. As if school wasn't draining enough, Quidditch practice lasted an spare hour. With Harry gone, he needed to be sure that Dennis could handle Seeker, if it came to that on biz day. He tried to overhear a few twinkling after dinner party, but Hermione wanted to discuss floral arrangements for the wedding. He couldn't understand why she thought he cared, but he was forced to participate in every decision. There were only two pick that she offered him that he really cared about. Both came after the"I do's."First, that there would be a lively band at the reception that could seriously rock the Wizarding world, and second base, that there would be plenty of Irish whiskey ale on hand. Fred and George were handling both, so Ron had null more to business organization himself with. If only Hermione could see it that way.

By the fourth dimension the three made it into the common room, he wanted to just drop on the base and sleep, but he knew that he wouldn't. He'd wait for Harry to repay, and if he didn't, Ron would gear up for war. He'd gotten a low boost of vigour when Patrick left for the night, but it began to melt as Hermione continued to rat out poor Harry to Remus through the floo. Merlin, the woman could chat. He leaned back against the couch and closed his oculus, thinking about how Hermione's theories were almost always right. Something was wrong, but whatever it was Ron certainly couldn't cipher it out - not the way his psyche was muddled right now. Instead, he let his thinking turn to Quidditch. He was analyzing one of Ginny's moves above the lurch, when he heard Hermione displume out from the flames.

"So, what did he say ?"he asked with his oculus still closed.

"He thinks Voldemort's still here,"she answered. Ron couldn't believe his ears. It wasn't fear that opened his oculus all-inclusive, but hope. The Dark master's name held no big businessman over him now. As far as Ron was concerned, Voldemort was the adept that had killed his female parent, nothing more, nothing less, and, given the opportunity, Ron would destroy him. He could feel the flaming begin to incinerate in his paunch, anger growing, hatred rising.

When she told him it might be Patrick, Ron's get-go urge was to climb the stairs and blast him in his bed. He'd human body out the rest later. But Hermione's cautiousness forced him to steady his emotions and think further ahead. He loved that about her, the calming event she had that balanced his inherent aptitude to be purely reactive. He was always much more efficient in all expression of his life, if he would simply take the time to intend two, or even three, steps ahead. He was, after all, the Hogwarts sensation chess game whiz two twelvemonth running.

"20 moment,"said Ron, finally agreeing to his fiancé."If you're not back by then, I'll public figure out myself what to do."They hugged and he took in the suggestion of flowers that always followed her wherever she went. He loved that odor, the brush of her hair against his cheek, the confidence she held in whatever decision she made… even if she was a bit misguided on social function.

"I love you too,"he said, an restless feeling turning in his innards, as if, somehow, he knew it would be the last prison term he'd say those row.

When she left the green elbow room to go get Snape, Ron began to yard.

"Lumos !"he called, lighting his wand. He'd take a few steps."Nox."

He stopped on the carpet that he had earlier pointed out to Hermione and looked down. He hadn't done this for a retentive metre, at least not on determination. He reached out his thinker. The house elf was gone. Probably overheard us and ran, thought Ron. He reached further just to see if the elf was still around.

"Help me. Let me—"

There was a stabbing pain in Ron's head and he immediately drew back to within himself. The voice… it was the same he'd heard earlier in the Marauders'Eye, only this time it sounded familiar.

"St. Patrick ?"Ron whispered to himself.

"Hey mate ! I couldn't sleep either !"

Ron spun to ascertain Saint Patrick, dressed in his school robes, at the top of the stairway. Ron fingered the wand that was still in his fingers."Something wrong ?"he asked with doubtful eyes.

"Nah,"answered Patrick with a hushed articulation as he eased his way down the staircase."I'm just too shake. If everythin'goes well, he could be back at any moment."He flopped down in one of the overstuff chairs. Ron noted that he was still wearing his boots from earlier."Where do yeh think he'll bring them when they get here ?"

Ron shrugged. They'd forgotten to talk over that part. Wherever was dependable he figured. But where would that be ?"Dumbledore's office, I guess,"he replied, not really sure.

"Yeh suppose ? With old Dumbledore almost gear up to recoil it ?"

"Don't say it like that !"snapped Ron, irritated by the discourtesy in Patrick's voice.

"Sorry,"replied Patrick with a humbler quality that was clearly a bit forced."You ever been ?"he asked."In the old ma— erm, master's federal agency ? Should we go there to see if he's set up ?"

"Yes,"said Ron stiffly,"I've been there, and, no, we don't need to go see if he's quick. He'll be set if he needs to be. Besides, if person needs to get in to see him, it'd best be Hermione. She's question Girl."

Patrick's eyes grew remote for a moment. He was nervously grinding his dentition with a distinct clicking audio, thinking about something. As Ron watched him fidget, the fervidness glinted off Saint Patrick's eyes, casting them with a red glimmering hue. It was as if person had poured ice body of water down Ron's back and lit his stomach on flak. He was sure as he could ever be that Voldemort was sitting before him. He'd never make it to twenty minutes. But then, it wasn't his mistake, was it ? Patrick had come to him.

"Where's Hermione ?"Patrick asked finally.

"Upstairs, in bed,"Ron lied.

"funny story, I didn't see her."

"Not unusual for a second year to overlook a few things."

Patrick stood. Ron's clutches tightened about his wand.

"Nope, I guess not. I just figured Hermione to be the stopping point to wander off to sleep on a night like tonight."Patrick moved closer to Ron."Chess ?"he asked, pointing to the hotshot's chess game board that was set out on the table.

Ron didn't answer. He really, really wanted to know… to have intercourse if this was Voldemort before him, and the best way to find out was to reach in. He opened his mind and reached for Patrick's. There was, at first, a slight opposition, almost as if Patrick knew he was being probed. That was rare in most citizenry and it did not go unnoticed by Ron.

The initial images flashing into Ron's thinker came from Patrick's memories, not all of them good : The accident that killed his parents, the night his best friend James Changjiang cast the Imperius curse on him. Still, there were flashes of light and good. There was the night he first met Harry, and at this memory he heard it again.

"Help me !"

It was distant and yet near. Ron pressed profoundly, but beyond the impassioned plea, something else was bothering him. Normally, he should be sensing emotions ; he should be able to recite immediately if Saint Patrick was excited, scared, or deceitful. None of that was here. All this he noticed in lupus erythematosus time than it takes Professor McGonagall to metamorphose into a cat. As he moved on he came to what appeared to be a bulwark, something baring his way. He'd run up against this with Harry and, on juncture, found ways around them. He was now More certain than ever that Voldemort was in here somewhere.

He probed a few places and then found a helplessness. He pushed against it. There was resistance. He pushed harder. The barrier gave way, but as if Ron had stumbled across a washy spot on a frozen lake of ice, he found himself, slipping, falling, uncontrollably inward, sucked into a vortex from which he could not escape. He tried to pull away, to retract his penetration, but St. Patrick's mind held fast. It was then that he first felt the emotion - loathing, pure hatred and revulsion.

There was laughter, slow and tranquillity at first, but it built into a high gear, proud vocalism.

"Finally ! You are mine !"

"Let ‘ im go !"

"secretiveness !"

Ron could find the pain in the ass, the pain Voldemort was using to punish Patrick for trying to exert his own will. Then Voldemort's thoughts turned to Ron and immediately the red-header tried to shield his mind. Initially, it worked, and all Voldemort could do was continue to stick their minds and verbalise his own.

"I… I feel as if we've met before - another life perhaps."The vocalisation was amiable, well-disposed, but Ron knew better than to lose his concentration."I was right to hold off. I've wanted you for some prison term, but I knew wagerer than to cast a while, or, speculative, battle your mental powers on your home turf. No, I had to hold off, bide my metre, and here you are. Welcome to my vessel, humble, yet sufficient to play Potter to his ruin."Ron tried once Sir Thomas More to pull out away, but was held fast. He could feel Voldemort's thoughts swirling, snakelike about his own, searching for their own way to fall into place Ron's defences.

"Formidable,"Voldemort whispered."Lester Willis Young Draco said as much, said that it would be impossible. But I need you my Danton True Young friend. I've waited too hanker to determine you away from her, away from your acquaintance, willing to probe my thoughts.

"The feint on Greece has successfully convinced Harry to bring his son here. Within the hr he will miraculously engagement his way through Lucius'army and dodging with the boy. But we must be ready for him when he arrives and certain people need to be… plow with.

"number one we will kill Dumbledore, after you get your filthy mudblood girlfriend to help us. Then, when he returns, Harry will be slain by his own best friend for cheating with your fiancé. You will bestow his son, my blood, to me. Soon I'll have destroyed them all."There was a pain, shrill and sweetheart at Ron's temple."We'll destroy them all, you and I.

"Wormtail has been little more than useless this past year. But you… pure of line as you are… you show forebode, more promise than Malfoy's boy. If you make this well-situated, I may find a blank space for you, a piazza of high school power. Once I've regained my late ego, you, Ron Weasley, will stand at my right side !"

"Go… to… inferno !"Ron screamed back. The outburst of emotion distracted Ron's mind only momentarily from his steady defending team, but it was all that the darkness Lord needed. The pain was excruciating as it flooded Ron's thought process to the ejection of all else.

"We'll go together !"Voldemort excitedly cried in a common cold, clear voice."Imperio !"
~~~***~~~

A/N : Thanks for the reviews !


Harry Potter and the nascency of a New Sun

Chapter 30 - Absolute big businessman
~~~***~~~

When Gabriella arrived upon the beach of the Island of Kefallinia, her number one sensation was warmth. She and Harry had left the wintry atmospheric condition of Hogsmeade just as it had begun to snow and Apparated across the distribution channel, but the Paris air was still chilled. Staying warm on Harry's heather, they flew for awhile and then Apparated again to Greece ; this meter the warmer Mediterranean air wrapped her in its weaponry welcoming her nursing home. Finally, she could take off her scarf. With a wave of her wand, it vanished and her boots fell at her slope, freeing her feet to walk the beach bare.

Gabriella was born in the mint of Armenia and while she loved the rugged and vulgar terrain of her birthplace, the nation where her grandmother still lived, she was more at home with the sea. The gritty feel of guts between her toes, the lemonlike taste of salt in the ocean's breather, the ebb and stream of the ocean's wafture, and the warmth and passion of the man she loved had converged on one spot and, for a mo, her mind wandered to the summer before, when times were well-chosen, when watching was well-situated. She smiled.

"What's that for ?"Harry asked with beautiful green eyes and a glowing grinning of his own. She could sense that he was feeling the Same joy and memories of the summer before.

"This ?"she asked in return, pointing at her boldness. Gabriella reached over and took Harry's hand. She pulled him close and held him wet."I wish…"she began in a quiet whisper."I wish we didn't have to be here, but we are, and I'm so glad we're here together."She gently kissed his ear and he flinched from the tickle."Hmmm… I think I've found another spot. That's three now that belong to only me."She kissed his ear again and Harry pulled back a bit to look her in the eye.

"Three ?"he asked incredulously."Thirty-three's more like and that's only counting the Earth's surface of my skin. If I had to—"

Gabriella suddenly shuddered in his arms. An polar blast shot across her creative thinker, well-defined and insensate - a vision of red and then of melanize. It was a champion she knew all too well. It was Voldemort and he was punishing someone… mortal dear. Her breathing quicken, as did the yard of her heart, while the effigy of torture, defiance and pain continued.

"Gab ?"Harry called."GAB ?"he yelled. But she would not react ; her mind had been torn away. mortal was calling to her, yelling for help in one final endeavour to—

The visual sense ended and she collapsed in Harry's limb. sweat beaded upon her forefront, but her bones felt cold, more fatigued than if she'd just climbed Olympus. Harry continued to speak, but her judgment was not yet processing it. Instead, she was trying to take in what she had seen, what it meant. Save for her nightmare, she had never had so vivid a visual modality in her liveliness. What did it mean ?"Red,"she whispered, trying to pull the memory back into her judgement and assemble it with the disjoint opus.

Her mother had taught her how to reassemble the fractured collecting that often came with visual sense, even though Gabriella never showed any preindication of being so gifted.

"Maybe… maybe because I was his host… maybe we were linked,"she muttered to herself. But while that sounded right, it didn't spirit right. The connection she felt wasn't of Voldemort ; it didn't originate with him. She had heard another voice, fairly and familiar. someone calling. Red ?"Blood ?"she whispered contemplating the possibility, but then rejected it."No."

"Gabriella, can you learn me ?"Harry asked again, giving her a bit of a handshaking. It was enough to snap her from her enchantment, if that's what it was, and, for the firstly time, she heard his words.

"Harry ?"she asked looking back into his oculus.

"What is it ? What's wrong ?"

"I… I had a vision,"she replied quietly."I think,"she added with precariousness.

"But I thought—"

"So did I."Her consistence stiffened ; she was anxious once more. She waved her sceptre and her boots were back on her invertebrate foot."We have to hurry !"

"Why ?"

"Voldemort. I think… I think he's attacking someone, someone right now, mortal I care deeply about. I saw red."

"Blood ?"

"Or his center. His…"She shuddered."…eyes."There was a pause."Someone was calling for assistance, or—"

"They may already be at the castling !"cried Harry. A stale tingling cascaded down her spine - so much for warm and tender moments.

She looked up at the easterly sky as he ran across the gumption to get his broom. Sirius'castle was still over a 100 land mile away, but it was too severe to Apparate in. Voldemort's army could be anywhere in their lookup to bump the palace. From here on out, the two of them needed to strike in slowly and that meant they had to fly. If the castle was already under attack, they'd never make it in prison term. She pondered, for only a import, calling to the dragon, beseeching him for aid, but as her centre scanned the distant horizon she did not see weather that would portend a great engagement. Surely such a sign would cling in the early aurora light, but none was to be seen. She pulled in a deep breathing time to settle her cheek. Perhaps her apprehension was causing groundless awe. Knowing what Mama would say, she kicked the earth, cursing herself for her own ignorance ; clearly she had the star sign incorrectly.

Her optic fell back on Harry as he ran toward her, Scots heather in paw. He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. She knew what he was doing, looking at her, wondering if by prospect she was still possessed or held under the control of Voldemort. She understood ; she almost wondered herself what had just happened and, when he opened his middle and came toward her with a look of backup, the same expression crossed her own aspect. She was, at least, free of that lunacy.

She dropped her caput, staring at the sand. Why was she here ? It was, what she was doing, foolish. If the struggle was at paw, Harry would demand to sneak in quickly and by stealing. Her front would clear it that much easier for the two of them to be found. Her weight would decelerate his forward motion on the broom, threatening Harry's deputation. She shook her head to meet her cheek, but when she reached up to contain Harry's articulatio humeri as she mounted his broom, her fingers were trembling.

Her center was tearing. obligation, honour, a bloodline of a hundred generations… they were calling on her to use her own eyes, to learn as clock time unfolded. She shook her head to clear the voices of her root calling to her. She knew the man before her. He would never… No. It was her responsibility to be sure that Harry—

"You okay ?"he said with concern, gently holding her by the arm.

"I… I should last out,"she said in a hollow voice."You could be there in far less time without my weight."She moved to get off the broom."I'll Apparate back to—"Harry grabbed her.

"I won't lose you again. obligate slopped,"he said sharply. If he was smiles before, he was deadly serious now. There was no mirth in his voice and, as they rose together above the sea, the sun beginning to peak above the view, there was no joy. It was a beautifully frightful present moment - a blood red sun rising in the Orient and, with it, the likeliness of last.

"The coming sun will play to our favor,"she said with a shudder in her voice."I don't much caution to see the likes of Dragon, or his ilk."

"No. I don't either,"he said, staring straight. There was a pause and Gabriella could feel the intimate struggle rising up within Harry once again. His feeling, she knew, were quite conflicted when it came to genus Draco. It stewed for so long she began to rue mentioning their good fortune in timing. Finally, his intellection cleared, focusing instead on what he must do."Do you call back anything else ?"he asked as they streaked across the sky, gamey above the gulf of Corinth.

"I didn't see much of anything. It wasn't that kind of visual sensation. It was more like spirit, jangled funnies of emotions, each trying to say something. I need to try to piece them together, but I don't know if I can. mum has the gift, not me."

"And Voldemort… you're sure it was Voldemort ?"

fright began to wrap itself about her heart. Even though the two were alone as they flew in high spirits above the waters below, she looked behind to see if, perhaps, they were being followed."Y-Yes, I'm sure, and I'm… I'm also sure that he was angry."She spit toward the distant dry land below for feeling so afraid, and then held compressed to Harry's waist and squeezed, drawing strength from his self-assurance.

She remembered back to the end of summer, when Harry first crossed into Singehorn's dry land. She was so charge, feeling his reverence and forcing herself to pretend that she didn't upkeep. Yet, that too was her duty. He had grown so much these stopping point few months. He was more afraid of Snape's exam than he was of the venomous peril that lurked about every quoin. His mind was fixed on the well being of others, and he would risk his own life to see to their safety. more than than anything else, she loved that quality of self-sacrifice within him, but she also worried about the recklessness of his actions. He rarely took time to measure out the consequences, or to meter the possibilities. With the king he now had at his fingertips, such choices would experience far corking consequences ; they would pass beyond Harry and cutaneous senses others if he wasn't careful. Mama was right ; it had grown more refine. Perhaps it was because she had lost her warmheartedness to Harry long ago, but Gabriella never expected the entanglements between making love and duty to become so complex so quickly.

wish she could part her cerebration with Harry, Gabriella closed her eye, leaned her fountainhead against his dorsum and John Drew in a longsighted breath of the early daybreak air. After a minute she added,"Whomever he was trying to control was fighting back, refusing to obey."Dwelling upon the mental battle that she sensed being put up against Voldemort, she noted to herself that she wasn't nearly as successful at repelling the wickedness Lord's will when he had attacked her.

"There aren't many that could take him on like that,"said Harry, scratching the back of his head, not realizing the care she held inside."I don't think Cho could, maybe Sirius."

"Or, if they've found the castle, another phallus of the Order. Mad Eye maybe ?"She knew before the words left her lips that that was wrong. She had sensed that it was a Friend, someone she cared about. Maybe it was Cho.

Not knowing her thoughts, Harry nodded, trying to will his Scots heather faster, but it was already rushing through the air at full velocity. In a matter of s, they crossed over the Corinth epithelial duct and out over the Saronic disconnect. The water below glimmered, a bejewelled breastplate with each island a outstanding jade or granite stone rimmed in emerald green. She was about to say they should slow down when Harry pulled back on his broom and began to descend. They would reach the rook soon and from here they needed to move in with even greater vigilance. Maybe he had tempered his rashness after all.

They were less then twenty Roman mile away from the castle when she saw the smoke to the due north. A low, dark fog that spanned the purview, she wondered if it didn't reach from glide to sea-coast. But this was no fog.

"fire ?"she asked.

"Dementors,"Harry replied coldly."It's what it looked like over the Carpathian Mountains - a midst, black swarm of hatred. If there's enough to blot out the sun, then you can bet that there will be no reprieve from vampires."

Gabriella couldn't believe her eyes. It was a railway line that stretched ten of miles from English to side ; a wickedness band hovered above the crown. She was sure it was smoke, but she was more certain that Harry was telling the true statement. She began to smell the darkness, the cold, the ruefulness as they flew closer. It was a tempest of despair ; she swallowed.

"Voldemort must throw summoned them from all across Europe,"she said breathlessly."There… there are so many. But they're in the middle of their own war, battling the Centaurs. Why would they come to his aid ?"

"He's promised them his aid,"answered Harry."If they—"He halted and she felt him shiver within her arms.

"What is it, Harry ?"

"C-Centaurs. In Greece, there are two groovy herd. I… I don't know how I know, but… one… one just disappeared. It… it's not possible… is it ?"Harry leaned forward on his broom, trying to peer into the iniquity for some clue as to what had just happened."The early heard is being attacked ! The screams… the short I. They're being pushed toward the sea. We have to do something !"

The broom suddenly veered from its easter direction and started north, right into the centre of the swarm of darkness. The sensation was palpable ; Gabriella didn't need to ask. Harry was angry and growing More angry by the second. The air around them was so institutionalize she could almost smell it.

"Harry, it's self-annihilation. We can't case them alone."

Without Harry saying a word, the heather shot upward, higher than she thought possible. The variety in perspective revealed just how rich the shameful cloud of Dementors was. The course was wide, spreading like a swarm of jumbo locust tree, but it was not that cryptical, perhaps a Swedish mile across.

"They're tangle across the country,"said Harry,"looking for Jamie. Centaurs are just a bonus."He pointed down and to his right toward a small spell of putting green earth that stood out against the surrounding innocence."They've yet to reach the castle, but it won't be long."

Gabriella looked down to find the crease of shadow only a few miles away from reaching its goal. They might be capable to make it to the castling on time, but they'd never be capable to assemble Cho and the rest before it was too late.

"We don't have plenty time,"she said.

"We can, if we Apparate."

"From here ?"

"Yes, from here !"snapped Harry.

Gabriella looked into his eyes. There was something Thomas More, something he wasn't saying, but his anger was masking the other feeling.

"You first,"he said."Focus on the courtyard. I'll follow."

"What is it that you're not—"

"There's no time ! GO !"

She was torn ; something was amiss. Without saying another news, knowingly denying her duty, Gabriella nodded her head."Be careful, my love."She placed her hand across his facial expression and pulled her sceptre."Asha protect you."

"And also you,"he replied, kissing her on the lips.

When Gabriella Apparated onto the courtyard, she found it hush - too quiet. She opened a large wooden door that led to the chief corridor. It creaked loudly. She quieted the hinge with her wand, but still cursed herself for not silencing them sooner. Stepping slowly forward, she found the corridor empty. She stood at the out-of-doors door, waiting for Harry, but knowing that he wouldn't be following her. She was timid what to do. There was no way to Apparate back ; she'd probably appear in the eye of the air. She was about to ill-use back outside, when she heard laugh from within - a child's. The strait pulled her in and down the corridor.

Still holding her wand aloft and following the giggles, Gabriella noticed that the touch that usually appeared in every corridor were absent. None were to be found hovering, or passing through walls. She continued to fall out the laughter until she came to a door. She knew that it led to one of the larger entertaining Chambers. Then, suddenly, Gabriella heard Cho's vocalisation cry out in scare.

"Jamie ! NO !"

Gabriella fit through the door, set to strike. Framed in front of a great paries of trash that faced toward Athens, was Cho, Anthony and little Jamie. Mark Antony sat, reading a book of account, apparently unconcerned about the danger they were facing. Jamie was crouched on a pocket-sized swath of ruby carpet, only it wasn't touching the ground. He was a good six feet in the air and climbing mellow. Cho was chasing after him.

"Jamie ! Get down here this instant !"Jamie simply laughed again and climbed in high spirits.

Cho's eyes met Gabriella's and they filled with a new sort of business concern.

"Gabriella ?"

"Cho, Susan Brownell Anthony !"cried Gabriella."It's an attack ! They're outside the earth. Get Jamie and get out of here ! rear to England. rachis to Hogwarts. Before it's—"

"Gab ?"asked Cho. Gabriella stood freeze out as she looked preceding Cho and out through the open window. To the Frederick North was the b where they cared for the Hippogriffs. Beyond it was a rolling fog of black, surging toward them at incredible speed. It was like a behemoth tidal wave, rising to crash over the top of them. Gabriella took one dance step toward the window, watching the pealing darkness, readying her wand to tramp a spell when her entire survey filled with a flash bulb of fiery light. The keen looking glass window imploded. low gear she felt the rut, then she felt her foot being lifted off the undercoat. Then, all went dark.



When Harry arrived upon the beach of the Island of Kefallinia, his first sensation was that of frigidness. It was as if 100 of vocalism were crying out in reverence, but it quickly faded and the sensation passed.

"I hate Apparation,"he muttered to himself. Apparating over unawares distances was bad enough. Passing over hundreds of miles pushed him to his limits. His hands were dank, his venter churned, but he was thankful, after traveling over such a distance, that he wasn't splinched into a rock 'n' roll paries.

He watched as Gabriella vanished her kick and wandered barefoot toward the water. She stopped and turned back at him with a smile, one he'd seed to recognize.

"What's that for ?"he asked, walking over to her. Before he knew it, she was tickling his ear and he had to apply her away from him. He loved it, but insisted,"Would you stop—"He never finished. Suddenly, she shuddered in his arms in some sort of seizure.

"GAB !"he cried. She continued to shake, and even after the quivering stopped, she wouldn't respond."Gab, please !"He was beginning to panic when, finally, she noticed he was calling out to her. And, after she had explained what happened, he began to wonder if that's what people thought of him when his forehead exploded in pain in the neck. Instinctively, he moved his deal up to rub the scar that was no longsighted there.

"We need to hurry ! Come on !"he called. He ran and got his broom and then a moth-eaten thought shaft into his tenderness. What if she was still under his control ? He paused and used his inner eye to see that her atmosphere was queer. When he opened his eyes, he could see that she'd noticed. He wasn't sure what to say.

"You okay ?"he asked.

When she looked at him, her eyes showed her warring emotions. She suggested that it would be best if he go alone. He couldn't believe his auricle. He'd offended her. There was no way of telling how finis to danger they were. For all he knew they were surrounded right now. He'd lost her in French Republic ; he wasn't going to lose her in Greece, not here, not ever.

He insisted she come and, once she'd mounted his ling, he flew as fast as he could toward Dog Star'castle. As they passed over the Korinthos epithelial duct, he began to get wind voices cry out to him again. It was then that he realized that the minds screaming inside his head were the voices of centaur - stallions, foals, voices of every gender, of every age rose up into a marvellous crescendo and then sharply disappeared into silence. Though he was uncertain what it was he had just sensed, he was nonetheless confident that it had been total genocide, and the ones responsible for were now being led by Voldemort towards their genuine goal, Harry's tyke. His insides felt frozen, and a sense of ire, a need for payback began to make within him, rekindling an unnatural affectionateness to meet the vacuum.

As they approached the castle, Harry slowed his broom, proceeding cautiously. His bully desire was to attack, to exterminate his foe - immediately. The only affair stopping him was the girl on his broom ; he wouldn't put Gabriella in any more risk than necessary. His fickle emotions were challenged more when he saw a blacken band of fog, rolling in from the North. He knew at once what it was - Dementors being driven forward by Voldemort. Immediately, he turned his broom in their direction, away from the palace and toward the coming shadow.

"Harry, you're crazy !"cried Gabriella. In the beat of a butterfly wing, he'd forgotten she was there. It disturbed him, but not enough to stimulate his purpose. He wasn't sure what to do… what to do…

Pulling hard on the broomstick, Harry guided their climb higher, straight up into the sky. He needed to see what the Dementors were doing, how far this circle of wickedness stretched. Down and to the right field, he noted that Sirius'castle was as yet unharmed, but it wouldn't be long before it was discovered. He'd never reach the palace in prison term if they flew ; not to do what he needed to do. Even Gabriella knew they were too far away, but for different reasons.

"We don't have enough time,"she said, and she was right ; there wasn't enough time. Not unless… unless they split up. Gabriella would have to try to save Jamie and the others, while Harry would have the chance to destruct the swarming Dementors that had harmed his kinsfolk. It was an odd sensation, but sincere - yes, the Centaurs were now very much his kin.

"We could Apparate."For an second, his mind dwelt on the large tapis back at Hogwarts, showing the annihilation of the Dementors, the annihilation of everything. He looked down. Other than the castling, there were no other colonisation in the area. Maybe, if he could see it—

"From here ?"

"Yes, from here,"he snapped. Why wouldn't she just go ? They were running out of fourth dimension."You first,"he added."I'll follow."

If she didn't Disapparate soon, the Dementors would be too snug to the castle and he might—

"What is it that you're not—"

"There's no metre ! GO !"

At last, there was a snap and Harry took in a long, slow intimation. Finally, he thought. He pulled at his collar ; it felt stiff, restrictive. He was developing a very Centaur-like despite for the Dementors moving toward the castle, threatening his family and friends. They had killed. So would he. He would defeat them, kill them all ; he knew it was within his exponent. He would Apparate down in their midst and— A prickling, burning sentiency brushed against his ear, singed the nape of his neck. He spun to see who was there.

"Singehorn ?"Harry exclaimed. The panorama had changed. He was no farseeing flying heights in the air, but was instead on a dry, arid plane. The Dragon, in his massive human strain, stood before him. His red optic glared, not with anger or approval, but with an impassive oddity.

"Do you have a hour ?"the dragon asked as a thing of courtesy with his oceanic abyss, scratchy part.

"NOW ! But—"Harry stopped himself. In here, in this meeting blank space of the thinker, prison term stood still. They could converse for what would seem like minute, only to have Harry return back on his Calluna vulgaris the instant he left. He nodded to the elderberry bush dragon and bowed."Forgive me."

"We,"began the dragon,"are not far away. There are a few of us that have been watching, waiting. These Dementors are wiser. They have avoided our aviaries on the peninsula and have steered clear of our hatchlings."

"But they've killed an total ruck of Centaur !"protested Harry.

"That is none of our concern."

"What ? You can't be unplayful !"

"I am old, Harry, and have seen many evilness in my day. I would not speculation to take which evil I dislike most. It does not pain me to see wizards shoot down wiz, Dementors kill Centaur, or… well, I could go on for some fourth dimension. They all have, for their part, done very lilliputian for our kind."

"I'm a thaumaturgist,"said Harry, stepping closer, almost in defiance. He was still furious over the death of his own, his Centaurus kin. For a instant, his inner awareness questioned why the dedication was so unassailable, but the tempering sensation was fleeting and the anger bubbled away once more."We have to take action ! We have to destroy the Dementors and those leading them !"

"I wonder of such wisdom,"said Singehorn crossing his arms and saying zip Sir Thomas More. Not listening, Harry contemplated that with Draco flack he could charge the kernel of Asha far in effect than if he cast his own Incendio spell.

"The stone… are you near enough ?"Harry asked impatiently."You could recharge it and then I could—"Singehorn chuckled.

"wealthy person you not learned, my child ? It does not command it. Since the Joining your fire charm alone have been able to destroy these dour creatures. And it was there that Asha's heart was charged with something far more enduring, far more powerful than flaming, Harry. Do you not think back what it was ? Would you then use such king to feed your thirst for retaliation, to quench your hate ?"

"They're murdering vermin ! The don't deserve to—"

"Then again,"interrupted Singehorn. His behaviour seemed to change, a svelte echo of Harry's emotions, and he leaned forward toward the young wizard, his red heart glaring."Fire does not destroy, Harry. It is, itself, alive. It is purifying. It cleanses all that it touches."Singehorn grinned and his smile revealed long rows of sharp white-hot tooth. There was a gleaming in his eye that was most seducing, and Harry's anger began to ebb to another thought - that the vicious out of doors Sirius castle needed to be cleansed. It wouldn't be murder. It was simply a prison term for a freshly start, a new beginning.

"Yes,"whispered Harry to himself."Yes, I understand. The war… it must be stopped. The darkness on both sides… I must—"

Harry watched as the perfectly cleansed terrain behind Singehorn, the lifeless desert, faded and then vanished, and he found himself, still hovering on his Scots heather, high in the air. Without hesitation he Apparated into the thick of the Dementors, just north of the castle, as a wafture of iniquity rolled past the barn where Buckbeak and the other Hippogriffs were usually stabled. For a second gear, he thought he heard voices… they were arguing.

It was then that he noticed a swirling Patronus, racing past the barn to fulfill the darkness ; then another. A wizard, or wizards, was battling the onslaught from bum. Harry's head was cloudy, unclear on what exactly he should do. Another farseeing, narrow down Patronus passed him, a brawny one, knocking him to the land. The tumble only served to stoke his fad.

"This war,"he muttered to himself."It must intercept !"He held his arms out wide, spanning the line of Dementors flying above him, swirling around him. It was low temperature, and the sounds of screams were beginning to work their way into his mind. It was then that he noticed a great, green dragon as it roared above his head teacher - Casinius ! Harry concentrated, trying to reach his mind to the dragon's.

"Icendiamos !"he cried.

Emanating directly from the Stone, hidden within his chest, fervour erupted from between his outstretched blazonry. At the Lapp moment, the dragon spit fire and it was like adding a oiler of propane to an already raging inferno. There was an blowup of heating and power. Harry could listen the screams… the burning, sizzling sounds… the secretiveness. Another flying lizard, this time a sick blue, roared as it passed on Harry's right hand - Crestian. He could see her speaking to him and he responded. There was a another roar and the two dragons split up, strafing the line of Dementors, on either side of Harry, with flaming.

Harry held his arms outward again, stretching to each horizon and repeated the charm."Icendiamos !"This prison term, great spheres of fire, twisting into tornadoes of fiery flatulency, roared from both his outstretched medal and swirled along the transmission line of Dementors on either side of meat of him. There were more screams, but this clock time distant, this time man.

"We can cease them,"he thought to himself with excitement."We shall stop them ! Stop them all !"…or were the dragons speaking… ?"We shall cleanse the land and it shall be reborn anew."Again the imaginativeness of the tapestry at Hogwarts flashed in Harry's mind, the desiccate desert fit behind Singehorn, it was a visual sense of expiry and destruction, revealing to Harry his own sensory faculty of Centaurian fury and dragon glee and… and something Thomas More, something darker. He paused, frightened that the emotions swirling in his creative thinker, prodding him to wield to a greater extent king, weren't truly his own. In that moment's interruption, there was a cry, faint and distant… a child's cry from fundament. Harry turned.

"Jamie ?"he muttered, trying to bring in his mentation, trying to find his own centre ; then he saw it."The castle !"he breathed.

From where Harry stood, all the way to the presence of the castle wall, a full football game field away, nothing stood eminent than a few inch off the ground, much of it polished a glossy contraband. No Dementor remained alive. The barn… the barn holding Buckbeak and the other Hippogriffs was gone. There was nothing but blackened ash. Whatever wizard or wizards that had been casting Patronus spells had either vanished or been destroyed.

"What… What have I done ?"The two firedrake circled above. He could sense their pleasure.

"wellspring done, Primate !"one of them congratulated him."There are to a greater extent creatures just to the north. Shall we attack ?"

"GO !"he commanded."Leave me !"They obliged, flying to the east, the fading sound of their flank beating against the air the only noise to be heard. There was no early strait of biography, save for the crying coming from the castle.

"JAMIE !"Harry yelled out, running toward the broken castle walls which had fallen inward on themselves. No sooner had the Dragon left than the dark swarm began to reform above the castle grounds, filtering out the sun. There was a handful of snaps and pops from behind him, and Harry looked back to see a group of sensation, some fifty yards away, wearing the garb of Death eater, hoodlum covering their faces, standing like carved statues. Harry raised his wand to come to when, from their nitty-gritty, emerged a slim, pale wizard, wearing no hood and dressed in vivid red robe.

"genus Draco ?"Harry sputtered in disbelief. The blond smiled and, even at this aloofness, Harry could see two long, pristine fangs. The sometime Slytherin was still cut, but he looked far practiced off than when Harry had cobbler's last seen him in prison.

"I heard about the fervor and I knew it was you,"Draco called, but his voice was unnatural. Had the vampirism affected him as it had Dakhil ?"I had to total see for myself."

Harry kept his wand high, but Dragon made no such comparable relocation. Then Harry remembered Gabriella's vision… red… was this—

"What are you playing at ?"Harry called out, the cloud of darkness, Dementors, swirling senior high about his head, still blotting the sun. He was beginning to feel frigidity and the faint sounds of screams tickled the back of his nous, but there was more… a collection of voices, mutterings, and calls of command. Harry shook his top dog, unsure what it was he was hearing. His eyes shot around, looking for Lucius ; or was Draco the watercraft for Voldemort ?"Where's your sire ?"he yelled."Where's Voldemort ?"

The hooded death Eaters unmoving, statuesque and frozen in spot, genus Draco continued to abuse forward as if he wasn't listening. Soon he was some thirty feet in front of Harry, a mass of Dementors at his back. The vocalisation in Harry's head grew louder.

"Tell them to stay back, Draco, or I'll fry you all. I swear !"

Draco simply smiled."Always the dramatic play queen,"he drawled. Again the tone of his words was phantasmagoric, as if it emanated from—

"This is ridiculus !"someone clicked and scratched."Take his soul."It took a moment before Harry realized he was hearing the voice of one of the Dementors. He'd never heard them speak before. Then, he remembered. For a split import, Harry glanced to the ebon ring on his finger. Of course of instruction, not only could he hear them, he could mouth to these tool !

"Stay back, you filth !"he yelled, focusing his password to bend to their spoken language. The Dementors halted, if only briefly, taken aback that they had all heard Harry's language in their own clapper. Oblivious, Draco continued to bully ahead.

His grinning was Cheshire like and the arrogance was overwhelming. Every fibre in Harry's body said not to believe him, but he was hesitating. Why ? He should destruct him and the Dementors behind him now. Yet, the persuasion of what he had done to the barn and Buckbeak was burned into his memory ; he took no action. Soon Draco was ten feet away. The screams began to crawl into Harry's brain, growing louder as genus Draco moved closer and the Dementors closed in from behind the blonde. Harry's bridge player began to tremble.

"I can't believe this is going to work,"a Dementor clicked.

"What ?"Harry mentation."Work ?"He hesitated no longer.

"Expecto Patronum !"he cried. An enormous stag erupted from his wand. It wouldn't harm Dragon, but at least it would repel the swirling wickedness. The Dementors screeched and scattered. Harry could hear them cursing. With the cloud parted, the sun's full shaft of light fell on Draco's face. There was a drag of smoke and naught but a diminished pile of ash remained in the billet where he stood.

"Dragon !"Harry screamed out, rushing forward and falling to his knees. He'd killed him !"No !"Suddenly, a blast of insensate struck Harry's back. He never heard the while, but he knew at once what it was - Petrificus Totalus. He could palpate his body turn inflexible as he crumpled to the flat coat.

He heard the crunch, crunch, compaction of pace moving toward him over the sear and kiln-dried earthly concern. soul took his berm and spun him over. It was Draco Malfoy, only he was dressed in different robes - these were green. Above his mind was something that looked like a floating umbrella, shading him wherever he moved. His facial expression was drawn and tired, more gaunt than the Draco he'd seen before, the one dressed in red. He looked ill ; nonetheless there was a thin argument across his brim and, when he spoke, Harry could see his Fang. They were barely obtrusive, not the continue spike heel curing about the grim lip of the red dressed genus Draco.

"I knew you wouldn't vote out me,"he whispered, kneeling down at Harry's position. His articulation was as Harry always remembered it - snide and haughty."You're wondering about this ?"he asked, rubbing the ash of his other self's remains in his fingerbreadth."A bit of shape up metamorphosis is all. You really should be more thrifty. I might not be at Hogwarts, but that doesn't mean I haven't been training."Harry's eyes were on fire, wrath beginning to fill his veins once again. He'd been duped."You're angry. I understand. I would be too, but we're cooperator, right ? We're going to see this thing through to the end… no topic the monetary value. He must be stopped."

There was another collecting of pops and cinch in the length. Immediately, Dragon bent low to Harry's ear."Harry,"he whispered,"trust me… now, more than ever. This can't spirit tangible, it has to be real."genus Draco rose to his feet, fear flickering across his eye."I'm… I'm… Forgive me for this."genus Draco waved his sceptre and, with a sharp tearing sound, the front of Harry's robes were torn away, revealing his bare chest.

"Draco ?"called a low, drawling part from across the burnt field. There were Thomas More pop music.

Draco looked down at Harry and mouthed the words,"Be ready."There was the briefest of hesitancy and then…

"Diffindo !"he cried. Harry's chest exploded with searing pain. He would receive cried out, but he couldn't. Four razor-like gash appeared across his chest. He was sliced as if a lion had run his large nipper from Harry's left shoulder to the lower ribs of his flop side."Diffindo !"Another slashing effort criss-crossed the clawing form on Harry's pectus, mimicking the one before and leaving an enormous, broad X created from bleeding strips of build.

bloodline began to flux freely as Draco knelt low and drank from the unfastened wound. The Dementors began to affect in, but Draco cast his own Patronus, a large silvery snake that coiled and struck."arrest away from him !"he yelled."He's mine !"

"Dragon !"Lucius Malfoy suddenly appeared in Harry's panorama."Are you mad ? What in the name of Morgana are you— ceramicist ?"Lucius'centre flashed with a spark of glee. Then his head snapped up, looking toward the crush Stone of the rook."Is this it ? Is the boy here ?"Then back at genus Draco. The younger blond was drawing another deglutition of Harry's lineage. Lucius seemed to snap to his senses. His voice was relentless, reproachful."Do you sleep together what you're doing ? This isn't what—"he stopped himself and then sighed. Draco had ignored him throughout, lapping at Harry's overt injury. Harry was wincing with pain as he saw a flavor of disgust fill Lucius'reflexion.

"What have you become,"his don drawled in disdain. Draco stopped, and, for the first fourth dimension, he looked up, his case covered in ancestry.

"Only what you have made me, father ; only what you have made me."

"You know that the nighttime Lord—"

"The mother fucker's mine !"yelled Dragon, rising to his feet."I finally have him under my control and you want me to deal him over to that… that bankruptcy !"Lucius slapped Draco hard across the face, spraying bloodline into the air.

"Never speak like—"

"You're a chump !"yelled genus Draco. He pointed at Harry."potter has the stone ! Don't you see ? He knows where it is ! With it, you could lead the decease Eaters !"Dragon stepped toward his male parent, wiping his face with his hand and shaking the excess rake onto the adust ground beneath."smell around you ! He did this because he has the vivificus Harlan Stone. Who gives a tinker's damn about a sister ? Get Potter to hired man it over to you, and YOU would be the new night Maker ! Father, whatever top executive he held over you twenty years ago, with the stone, you can pay that wisp of a spirit back for what he's done to our kinfolk !"

Lucius hesitated… and then his eye darted all about. Was he looking to see if anyone was listening ? Harry couldn't move to see if there were others nearby. He'd heard former Apparations. Where was Voldemort ? Whose dead body had he taken control of ? Lucius'eyes settled on something or somebody behind Harry. Nonchalantly, he slipped out his baton, pointed it initially at Harry, but then quickly raised it up to the object he had been looking at.

"Avada Kedavra !"he hissed. Green visible radiation sprang from his wand and Harry heard a thump as something fell to the ground. With a smirk, Lucius slipped his sceptre away."I always liked Goyle, but we couldn't have him blubbering about things he doesn't have the inclusion to understand. Besides, he was never the same after his son died."

The elder Malfoy stepped close to Harry and knelt. Between pollex and index, he grabbed a landing strip of at large flesh on Harry's pectus and pulled. Harry tried to defy the suffering in his optic, but they gave him away as a tear of pain slipped out and slapped against the glassy globe.

"Now… Potter,"he drawled,"what's say you tell me where the I. F. Stone is and I heal these nasty lucre ? Otherwise, I think Dragon here might just have to drink you dry."He tugged on the flesh again and Harry screamed in silence."What do you say, lad ?"Lucius placed his bridge player on Harry's forehead and the Gryffindor felt his muscles freeing from the neck and above. He could speak."Is it really worth it ?"Harry felt Lucius get a tighter traction on the open soma."Do we have a deal ?"