Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 2 - Friends in the Dark

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The soaked sod stuck to the bottom of Harry's boots as he strode over to the stables, and each step from the castle became more laborious than the one before. The air was warm and moist as bits of blue sky sprouted between the clouds. Still, even wearing full wizard's robes, visions of dragons swirling in his head, Harry felt cold. About halfway across the field, he grabbed a stick and began to scrape his boots, and then realized that he was of age and could use his wand. A small smile creased his lips and he dropped the branch of olive in favour of his own holly and Scourgified his soles. It was the first smile to cross Harry's face all morning.

He looked at the stables knowing that Sirius had told him to hurry, but he was not eager to take further steps. Instead, he took in another deep breath of fresh air, cleansed by the night's rain, and watched as the sun peaked out from between the clouds above. The skies were still threatening rain and, unlike his Caduceus, Hippogriffs did not have spells to keep you warm and dry. He looked back at the stables to where the four Hippogriffs waited to carry them on their journey north. Last night before dinner, Harry had been thrilled to see that Buckbeak and Sirius had been reunited. Together, Harry and his godfather had flown around the castle grounds, Harry flying on the back of Frayfeather. As the sun dipped from view and the stars began to sprinkle the sky, they snuck a splash along the ocean's shore; it was wonderful being with Sirius again. How had things gotten so complicated so quickly? Harry sighed again and started once more across the field, his feet squishing in the mud.

When he arrived at the stables, he was surprised to find Gabriella alone. She was wrapping a small leather harness around Buckbeak's neck to make the flight north feel safer; the other three Hippogriffs had been similarly strapped. She looked up at him for the briefest of moments, and then continued to fasten the harness without saying a word. There were so many things he wanted to say. He'd tried to speak to her last night, but couldn't put three words together before she Disapparated in a rage. Harry took a step forward. He was of age. He was brave enough to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters. In a few hours, he would stand face-to-face with a dragon. He could do this; he could set things straight right now. He took another step forward, and cleared his throat.

"I... erm.... Where's Sirius?" he asked weakly, his posture falling somewhat.

"Looking for you," Gabriella said curtly without looking at Harry.

"I just came from the castle," said Harry, "and I didn't see him." Harry didn't know why his words were sharp, but they were.

"Are you calling me a liar?" she asked coolly, again not looking in his direction.

"I'm not calling you anything! All I'm saying is that I just came from the castle and I didn't see Sirius."

"Then your Apparitions passed each other!" she snapped. The tone didn't please Buckbeak and he reared away from her, twisting her finger awkwardly in the leather strap.

"Ayyy!" she yelled, grabbing her right hand with her left. Harry was at her side in an instant.

"Here, let me see if--"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my own injuries, thank you very much!" She jerked her arm away from Harry's touch and walked toward the corner. Whispering something in Armenian, she healed the finger and then turned toward Buckbeak bowing low.

"You're not going near him again," said Harry. "It's too dangerous." She turned to look at Harry and fire raged in her eyes. She strode away from Buckbeak and toward him like a freight train, and Harry began to back away.

"Danger?" she spat. "You want to know about DANGER!" She was on him like a lioness. A poke in the arm, a slap to the chest, a swipe across his legs that brought him to the floor. Harry did not resist as her heel pressed against his sternum. "I could crush you!" she yelled.

"SOCKS, GABRIELLA! HE WANTED MORE SOCKS!"

"It was bad enough I had to listen to such a ridiculous story last night! Was it really Draco you were meeting with in the corridor? Or her?" Gabriella's heel pressed harder. "And now with Ron gone, Hermione has to fly with you to the Carpathians! How convenient!"

"I told you that Sirius could--"

"NO! We must take all four Hippogriffs; I will ride alone and so will Sirius, and while we fly for hours in the cold you and Hermione can decide where your loyalties lie. I can only imagine what Ron would say. If he doesn't kill you, his brothers probably will." She lifted her foot and went back to attend to Buckbeak. Harry sat up on the straw covered floor.

"You're not being rational. If I could just explain, you'd see that--"

The room filled with snaps and pops. Soseh who could not Apparate on her own was holding Remus' hand as they appeared near the entrance to the stables. Hermione stood a few feet behind Sirius and everyone had their pack, everyone, that is, except Harry who had left his in the castle after his earlier argument with Gabriella. Remus and Soseh walked over to the largest of the four Hippogriffs, Flameclaw, so named because of her brilliant red talons.

"Harry, you're a mess!" cried Sirius, and he was right. Harry was coated in mud and straw. "What were you trying to do, make adobe bricks?" Harry stood, slapping the muck from his robes. "Here," said Sirius in exasperation, and he pulled his wand cleaning the younger wizard's clothes. "Where's your pack? We've got to get there before dark."

"Well, I er..." Harry sputtered.

"I'll get it," said Hermione. There was a sharp snap and she was gone.

"Look Harry," said Sirius in a low voice, "it was your idea to fly, and there's no way I can get a Portkey ready now. Are you sure you want to go through with this? I don't care what sort of future Soseh sees for you; if you want to change your mind, do it. You've already faced dragons before; you have nothing to prove."

Yes, it was Harry's idea to fly, but that's when he thought he'd be soaring over the Aegean Sea with Gabriella. He was going to face the fire of the dragon, and his second thoughts were having triplets. He pulled back his right sleeve and looked down at the mark on his forearm - a dragon born of the four houses of Hogwarts. Soseh had said it was Harry's vision of unity that made the moment possible, a vision that would spread to all the magical creatures of the earth.

"Maybe... maybe you're right Sirius," Harry whispered. He lifted his eyes and was surprised to see Gabriella looking back at him, her own eyes wide with concern. She glanced over to Soseh, who was also looking at Harry, but her face was as placid and pleasant as ever. He was used to being stared at, but suddenly he was feeling quite uncomfortable. "Excuse me," he whispered weakly. He pulled his wand and Apparated back to his room in the castle.

He was pacing about, trying to gather himself when the ghost, Helena, appeared through a wall. She hovered for a moment and then took notice of something she hadn't seen before. Looking intently at Harry, or through Harry, she turned to face him.

"You have died," she said in Greek. "A part of you still tarries in our plane." She smiled and floated closer to Harry, who sat down on his bed. For a ghost, she was elegantly dressed - almost royal in stature. "I thought I sensed a new presence, but there are so many here now. Who brought you back from the brink?"

"Albus Dumbledore," answered Harry, his mind still wondering why he hadever wanted to be joined with a family of dragons. Insanity, he thought. Besides, what does she care now, anyway? But then, was he really doing all this just for Gabriella?

"I have heard of him," Helena said with greater excitement in her voice. "He's Headmaster now at Hogwarts... a great wizard."

"Yeah," said Harry, rubbing his right forearm. Unity? Bah! I should just have this thing removed. Maybe Fred and George can--

"Harry," Helena whispered to herself. "Harry Potter?" she asked with excitement. Harry just rolled his eyes and nodded. "I have waited millennia to touch, once again, the hand of a mortal." She reached out. "May I take yours?"

"You're a ghost," Harry said dismissively. "You can't hold my hand any more than I can hold yours." He held out his palm in a gesture to demonstrate. Helena reached out and held it fast. The touch was cold, a sensation Harry had felt many times with ghosts, but he could also sense that her hands were soft and it was this sensation that caused him to jerk his hand away.

"That's not possible!" he asserted, holding his hand as if he had just been bitten. Helena floated closer and sat at Harry's side. She patted his leg and rested her hand on his thigh. For the first time since his first year at Hogwarts, Harry found himself frightened of a ghost.

"Don't be afraid, my child," she whispered. There was something calming about her voice, something compelling in her beauty, and Harry sat fast. "Your crossing to our realm will certainly become legend one day. I have roamed the world since I was laid to rest at Therapne, and I know no souls that have returned from such depths without resorting to the Dark Arts. The ethereal hue rests upon your brow." She touched his forehead, only this time the touch was warm, comforting. "Hmm, you carry a burden with you. Does it concern your visit with Singehorn?" Harry nodded.

"I'm not going," Harry said flatly. Helena floated up and stood before Harry. She appeared more radiant than ever, and Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed her beauty earlier.

"Are you afraid?" she asked.

"No!" said Harry emphatically. "I... she... if she..." and then he let out a long drawn out breath, dropping his head.

"Ah!" Helena smiled. "The girl." She floated down to one knee and lifted Harry's chin. "Listen, Harry. I know quite a bit about what lengths men will go to for the love of a woman. Such motives are never as noble as they first appear." The mist that was her eyes glowed bright with mischief. "From what I've heard, your waters run deeper than that, Harry. If not, the mark on your arm would have faded to nothingness." She chuckled to herself. "If not, you will certainly be turned to ash when you face the dragon lord, Singehorn." She floated back towards the closed door. "That's assuming of course, you're still going?" she questioned, already knowing the answer. "Your affairs have yet to be settled." Her face bore a small smile, but was tainted with sadness. It took some moments before Harry responded.

"The darkness isn't gone yet, is it?" he asked, but she did not answer. Instead she bowed her head and started toward the door.

Harry wasn't sure if she spoke or if he simply knew her thoughts when he heard, "If ever you are in need, Harry, simply call. One of us is always near, and don't forget... you are one of us." She faded through the door just as Hermione walked through coming from the other way.

Hermione let out a short shriek. "Yikes! I hate it when that happens," she muttered to herself. She rubbed her shoulders trying to warm herself from the chilling sensation, and was gazing about the room looking for Harry's pack when she saw him sitting on the side of his bed.

"Harry?" she asked. "Why aren't you at the stables? I said I'd get your pack; I thought it was in the kitchen, but no luck." She spotted it at the foot of Harry's bed. "Ah! There you go." She reached down, picked it up, and offered it to Harry. For a moment, he hesitated and then finally took it into his own hands.

"Thanks," he said dully, and Hermione recognized his mood at once.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I've made a mess out of everything. Maybe it's best if you just don't go through with it. Come back to Hogwarts and forget this whole thing ever happened."

"I can't go back, Hermione. I have to go through with it."

"Why?" replied Hermione. "To impress Gabriella? That's hardly a reason to risk your life, Harry."

"Draco was here last night," said Harry as he stood, taking in a breath of resolve. "The Death Eaters are regrouping, while we're still celebrating Voldemort's death. I have to do everything I can to finish what we started last year. The Centaurs and most of the giants are with us; we may need the dragons too."

"Ron told Charlie what you intend to do, Harry. He says it's suicide. There's no such thing as a tame dragon."

"And is there such a thing as a tame wizard, Hermione?" Harry asked. "Come on, it's time we go. And don't worry about last night. I'll work things out with Gabriella... somehow."

When the two Apparated back to the stables they found everyone else ready to go.

"Well," said Sirius impatiently, "that took longer than it should have." Harry looked at Gabriella wondering what she was thinking seeing Harry and Hermione arrive together so late, but her expression hid all emotion.

"It took just as long as it should have," Soseh said with a calming tone. "Come, let us be on our way."

Soon they were out over the Aegean Sea and turning northward toward the Carpathians. Remus rode with Soseh, Harry flew with Hermione, and Sirius and Gabriella each flew alone. The Hippogriffs flew swift and strong, and the rushing wind made it nearly impossible for anyone to speak. The rhythmic swoosh-swoosh-swoosh of the animals' wings was almost hypnotic. Harry dozed often and, at one point, Hermione had to wake him as Sirius began to dive toward the Osam River in Bulgaria. The Hippogriffs lit without difficulty, and Harry noticed that the sky was darkening - it would rain soon.

"We'll let them rest here for a while and then be on our way," said Sirius. There was no comment of hurry from his mouth, but one could tell from the edge in his voice that something was bothering him, and Harry preferred the more vocal Sirius to the silent, brooding one. Frayfeather took a deep drink from the water's edge as Harry stroked the creature's neck. In a flash, the Hippogriff snapped at the water and pulled out a large fish, swallowing it with one gulp. The motion splashed water over the lower half of Harry's robes. He was about to curse when he checked his emotions and slowly stepped away.

"Unbelievable," he hissed under his breath.

"Here, allow me," offered Remus as he pulled his wand.

"I can do it myself!" Harry snapped, immediately regretting the tone as he pulled his own wand.

"I never doubted you could, Harry," Remus answered calmly. "It's just easier for someone else to reach the back, that's all."

"Yes, of course," said Harry. "I'm sorry."

"We're all a bit edgy," replied Remus as he scanned the tree-line surrounding them and then dried Harry's robes. "We'll all feel much better once this whole thing is over."

"Assuming he survives, eh, Remus?" said Sirius with a tone Harry wasn't sure was humour.

"True," answered Remus. "I suspect we'll feel much worse if you're fried alive. You do have your affairs in order, don't you, Harry?" At that, Harry chuckled grimly to himself, at least a little.

The owl from the Ministry had arrived promptly on the morning of his seventeenth birthday. The properties belonging to his parents had officially been released into his name. Their fortune, which he had always had access to in small quantities, could now be spent at will. Also with the letter had come an assignment of inheritance form should Harry die. Who should he leave his estate to? He had no family to speak of. He had thought of Sirius, but the wizard had all he would ever need. He had thought of Dudley and realized he'd never be able to spend Galleons or fly brooms. Instead, he had scribbled the name of his best friend, and sent the paperwork back.

"And he won't even be there to watch me die," said Harry darkly, standing at the river's edge. "I would have thought... Oh, well." Harry skipped a stone across the water, turned and walked back to Frayfeather.

"We can turn back at any time, Harry," said Soseh. "The choice is yours."

"Hermione, let's go," Harry called out. "We won't make it there by nightfall if we keep dallying."

Harry was right; they did not arrive before the setting sun, although they never saw the sun sink in the evening sky because the air was too thick with rain. Indeed, they could barely see each other, let alone the ground, when Soseh called for everyone's attention.

"THERE!" she cried, pointing her finger toward the earth below. Flameclaw dropped her head and plummeted as the others followed. The rain began to ease, allowing Harry to see smoke rising from the chimneys of a nearby town, but they passed that town and flew into a dense forest about a mile away. The canopy of the forest swallowed them whole, and they found themselves in utter darkness; nearly everyone lit their wands simultaneously, save for Soseh, who carried none. The combination of tiny lights fought back against the darkness, revealing a thick, green undergrowth.

"It's a Confundus charm," said Remus raising his wand. "These trees aren't really here. Aspicio!" he cried out, and the trees in this portion of the forest slowly receded away like a lifting fog, revealing a stone road and then old wooden and brick buildings. "The village was here long before Chata Zverovka to the south, and the locals chose not to move when the Muggles arrived."

They were at the edge of a small village about half the size of Hogsmeade. Gas lamps lit the cobblestone streets, and their teasing glow left Harry wanting more. The rain stopped and, leaving his wand stashed away, he pulled off his glasses and dried them with a wave of his hand. Still, he was unable to see into the many darkened corners. Not a soul walked the streets, and the air was dead and silent, save for the heavy breathing of the Hippogriffs.

"Bogden should be here," said Soseh quietly, her voice tinged with concern.

"Perhaps he went in as it grew dark," offered Remus.

"No," answered Soseh, looking about and cautiously stepping from one spot to another like a bloodhound sniffing out its quarry. "No," she said again, only this time with more urgency. She began moving swiftly away from the village and toward an opening in the trees. Walking without a wand, she would have been swallowed by the darkness if Gabriella and Remus hadn't followed quickly behind.

"I don't like this, Harry," said Hermione, taking hold of his arm.

"It's my fault," whispered Harry. "We should have been here over an hour ago."

"Stop it," Sirius snapped, "and pay attention. Keep your wands ready... follow me." He started after the dim glow ahead, and Harry and Hermione followed. As they pushed through the wet branches Sirius added in a whisper, "We were never meant to leave on time, Harry. It was the damn rain." Harry was about to ask what he meant by that, when they came upon the three in the lead. They were standing in a circle, if you could call it that, looking down at something on the ground. Hermione was first to join them.

"What is it?" she asked. "Have you found--" She let out something between a shriek and a scream, and wrapped her hand across her mouth gripping her wand tightly. She had just given away their location within the trees.

Harry steeled himself for what he was about to see, but when he and Sirius joined the others he worked hard to suppress the scream wanting to escape from his own lungs. Bathed beneath the white light of their wands, an alabaster face wore a masque fixed with horror. His eyes were wide, his mouth open in a scream, his arms thrust forward and his fingers extended as if still trying to push the attacker away. His throat, however, was gone. It had been completely ripped away, revealing his spine from his jaw down to his broken collarbones. It was as if a great beast had taken a single enormous bite, but there was no blood. Not a single drop stained his light blue shirt, and no blood had spilt to the forest floor. Harry began to kneel to take a closer look.

"What could have--"

"Vampires," Hermione whispered.

"Yes," Soseh affirmed. "He was a dear friend, and knew these woods and their inhabitants better than any. I don't understand why he would be a victim."

Remus reached down and pulled Harry to his feet. "Vampires don't leave kill behind for anyone to see," he said briskly. "We've interrupted the demon and he's likely near. We must go."

"We must bring Bogden back to the village," demanded Soseh. "His family must know."

Harry's heart was pounding and he began to hear strange noises in the trees; he wondered if his imagination was getting the better of him.

"It wasn't a blood kill," said Sirius drawing close to Harry and bringing his left arm around the younger wizard's shoulder. "It was an execution."

"They know we're here," said Hermione.

"Draco," Harry whispered.

Quickly, Remus levitated Bogden's body and they began to briskly step toward the village, like a large scrum moving through the trees and undergrowth. "Stay close," he whispered.

There was a loud fluttering sound above followed by the breaking of branches some ten yards into the darkness. Harry was certain he saw a flash of white eyes reflect back the glow of wandlight. There was another great beating of wings. Was it the nearby Hippogriffs, or something much more terrifying? They were nearly back to where they started, but the Hippogriffs were nowhere to be seen. Harry turned his eyes toward the sky, but only saw darkness.

"They are upon us," spoke Soseh as calmly as if she were describing the weather. No sooner had the words left her mouth than an enormous figure cloaked in black robes appeared from above, grabbed Soseh from behind, and disappeared with her back into the darkness above.

"MAMA!" Gabriella cried out, but it was too late.

A great swooshing filled the air and Sirius yelled for everyone to run toward the village, and everyone did -- everyone that is but Gabriella. Harry didn't notice until he was only a few feet from safety. He turned to see her still standing there, calling for her mum. The clouds above burst open in a great torrent of rain.

"Gabriella!" he screamed, and ran back toward her.

"Harry! NO!" yelled Remus, but Harry didn't listen; he kept running.

He was thirty feet away, twenty feet away, and then it appeared above her head like a dark billowing cloud ready to spit lightning. Only it was Harry that spat the first bolt.

"Stupefy!" he commanded, sending an enormous bolt of red light straight into the dark bundle. There was a tremendous screech that filled the air with a horrible noise, and Harry's hearing harkened back to the Mandrakes from his second year that caused Neville to faint. The creature landed in a heap against the base of the tree just as Harry grabbed Gabriella in his arms.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She was trembling, oblivious to his presence and pulling away from him to enter the wood in search of her mother. "She's gone, Gabriella."

"No she's not!" Gabriella yelled back.

The sky filled with flashes of red, and Harry looked back toward the village. Six vampires were descending upon Remus, Sirius and Hermione. The three of them had followed Harry back toward the forest, and were now caught in a tremendous fire fight. For a moment, he found himself watching as Hermione cast spell after spell knocking two to the ground. Still, the three were being pushed back past a stone wall and into the dense foliage. Then he saw the two that Hermione had dropped to the ground rise again and join the other vampires into the darkness as the trees glowed bright with the explosion of wand power. How could they recover so quickly?

"Quick we need to--"

It was too late. The vampire that Harry had stunned, like its brethren, had risen. It grabbed Harry by the shoulders and, with a great thrust of its wings, pulled him skyward. Gabriella turned in time to grab him by the waist, but the creature lifted her as well, the beating of its wings swooshing through the air.

"Potter," he heard the creature hiss from behind, its rotten breath warm against the side of Harry's face, "the stone is ours. Tell me where it is and you may--"

Another screech filled the air, but it was a sound Harry knew well, a friendly sound. Frayfeather appeared from high on the left just as the vampire carried Harry above the canopy of the trees, and then Buckbeak joined him from the right. They were fast and they were vicious as they struck at the vampire's back. Harry felt Gabriella loosen her grip, and he dropped his wand so that he could hold her fast with both hands.

"Fool!" she yelled at him. "Arripio!" she called, casting a gripping charm that held her fast to Harry.

"I would have thought you'd thank me!" he yelled back. The vampire was cursing in Harry's ear as the Hippogriffs continued to claw at its back. The three were starting to lose altitude and began to sink back into the trees.

When they fell to the forest floor Harry heard a snap as Gabriella released the gripping charm and dropped to her feet. Her kick was swift and true striking the vampire squarely on the side. It was enough to make it let go of Harry, but no more. An instant later, the creature had thrown Gabriella backward thirty feet through the air and held Harry by the neck. It was his first chance to see its face.

He had seen drawings of vampires in the blood state and always thought they were embellished to illicit fear in the students. If anything, this creature was far more horrifying. Its two eyes were white, streaked with slits of red, but beyond the two eyes its resemblance to humanity vanished. There was nothing that could be called a nose. Instead, the face was a marbled mass of flesh designed for stretching when the creature opened its enormous mouth. Holding Harry fast in its arms, water dripping down its face, the vampire smiled to reveal long rows of ragged teeth that grew progressively larger as they came to the fore, both top and bottom ending in one large fang, the pair resembling a great pincer that would have easily fit around Harry's thigh. The stench was almost too much to bear.

"Where is the stone?" the vampire asked again, from where, Harry could not tell.

"Go to hell!" Harry spat in its face. The vampire simply laughed a great rolling laugh.

"You'll join me there soon enough!" it sneered, and the great jaws began to open wide and reach around Harry's neck.

He was about to cast a spell without his wand when there was a swift, single swoosh, a thwump, and the creature stopped cold. Still holding fast to Harry's robes, it pulled away and the wizard saw a tremendous look of surprise in the creature's eyes. Finally, it released Harry and stepped back revealing its reason for concern. In its chest was an arrow that had certainly pierced the vampire's heart.

"Centaur?" Harry asked to the darkness, trying to look about in the rain and seeing nothing.

Cloaked in darkness, the vampire fell to the ground flailing at the arrow, but unable to pull it free. At last, the thrashing stopped and Harry walked over to the vampire's side, ready to cast a stunning spell with his hand if need be. But the vampire was gone. On the ground laid a man, not much older than Harry, and certainly no bigger. He had dark hair and clear brown eyes that gazed forward to the sky. He seemed ridiculously dwarfed by the large black cloak surrounding him.

"Thank you," he breathed without looking at Harry. Wincing in pain, the man heaved in one great breath; his eyes fell on Harry's. "He calls again," he whispered, and then vanished in a pulse of light and smoke. Harry placed his hand on the empty robes to convince his mind of what his eyes were seeing. Then he rose quickly and ran to Gabriella's side.

"Accio wand!" he called out, retrieving his wand from the forest and lighting their way back down toward the village. They were just passing a small shed not much bigger than an outdoor privy, when two more dark figures appeared in the sky above. "Not again," Harry moaned.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with arrows. The door of the shed opened and the head of a stooped, old man poked out.

"Quick, in here!" he whispered as loudly as he dared. Gabriella and Harry darted into the shed, but when they entered, they found it enormous inside, reminding Harry of the tents at the World Cup. There was a small kitchen at the far end of the flat with something boiling on the stove. To the side was a space for a single bed and a chest of drawers. They stood in what would be called the living room, with a couch, two stuffed chairs, and coffee table in its centre.

"Put her over on the bed," the old man said urgently as he locked the door behind them using his wand. Harry obliged and then reached down and touched Gabriella's forehead.

"It's my ribs," she said with a grimace. "They're broken."

Harry knelt low next to her and closed his eyes.

"You can't use it on me," she whispered.

"I don't need to use it for broken ribs," he answered, and then he bathed her side in a splash of blue light from his wand. "What do you think I am, a fool?" He tried to smile, but his mind was filled with concern for the others.

Her ribs quickly healed, and when they did she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Then, unexpectedly, she rapidly gripped Harry by his soaked robes and slowly pulled him close. He was expecting a kiss, but instead she whispered in his ear.

"Harry, the old man standing by the door... he's a vampire."